I'm not sure about the part of Christ descending to Hades. Everything else I pretty much agree with.
Thank you.
It can be seen by looking at several NT Scriptures, as well as the Apostle's Creed. First, look at how Peter applies Psalm 16 to Jesus in Acts 2:25-31, particularly the last sentence. Note that in the translation I am using (NASB), all caps means it is an OT quote... No, I'm not yelling at you lol:
"For David says of Him, 'I SAW THE LORD ALWAYS IN MY PRESENCE; FOR HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN. 'THEREFORE MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE EXULTED; MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL LIVE IN HOPE; BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES, NOR ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY. 'YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; YOU WILL MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH YOUR PRESENCE.' "Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. "And so, because he was a prophet and knew that GOD HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SEAT one OF HIS DESCENDANTS ON HIS THRONE, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SUFFER DECAY. (Acts 2:25-31)
Taking that into consideration, it helps us understand what Paul meant in Ephesians 4:8-10...
Therefore it says, "WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN." (Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.) (Ephesians 4:8-10)
The way I understand it, this passage indicates that when Jesus was physically dead, He descended into
hades (see also Luke 16:19-31, where Jesus revealed that there were two compartments in
hades that held the pre-resurrection dead, a place of torment and what Jesus called "Abraham's bosom"). According to this understanding of Ephesians 4:8-10, when Jesus ascended, He brought with Him the faithful OT saints who were in Abraham's bosom, and took them with Him to heaven. Short side note: when the ancient Jews translated the OT Scriptures into Greek, the Hebrew word s
heol, which is the OT word for the realm of the dead, was translated into the Greek word
hades, which had a similar meaning in Greek culture. It is important to note that the NT usage of the word should definitely be understood in the way the OT described
sheol, with the addition of Christ's clarification in Luke 16.
Finally, we have the witness of the most widely accepted creed of orthodox Christianity, the Apostle's Creed (Catholic version... no, I am not Catholic):
I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell; [note inserted by me: the Greek word translated "hell" is actually hades]
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen.
Of course, I would reject the relevant line of the creed if it was not supported by the Scriptures I mentioned. Hope this helps. God bless you;
Michael
