This one is new to me...

A website was referenced in another thread about the Apostle's Creed (http://www.ccel.org/creeds/apostles.creed.html). Reading through this, I saw something that I had never, ever heard about and was hoping someone could shed some light on for me...



1. I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:

2. And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord:

3. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary:

4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell:

5. The third day he rose again from the dead:

6. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:

7. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead:

8. I believe in the Holy Ghost:

9. I believe in the holy catholic church: the communion of saints:

10. The forgiveness of sins:

1l. The resurrection of the body:

12. And the life everlasting. Amen.


I am referring to #4 where it says that Jesus descended into hell?? Is that where He was for those 3 days before He rose? What was He doing down there? And why on Earth would the HE go to Hell when He died? If He lived his life as such and He still went to Hell (if even for only 3 days) how long will the Christians, who can't hold a candle to the way Jesus lived His life, have to spend down there before ascending to Heaven?

From the compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (http://www.vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html):
"This “hell” was different from the hell of the damned. It was the state of all those, righteous and evil, who died before Christ. With his soul united to his divine Person Jesus went down to the just in hell who were awaiting their Redeemer so they could enter at last into the vision of God. When he had conquered by his death both death and the devil “who has the power of death” (Hebrews 2:14), he freed the just who looked forward to the Redeemer and opened for them the gates of heaven."

For a more expanded explanation, see here:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P1R.HTM

Where is this story told in the Bible?

This whole story of the Lord's descent into Hell seems to be a story out of this Ancient Homily for Holy Saturday... which seems to be some sort of Catholic story book? Or added scriptures to the Bible? Isn't that a big no-no?

Eph 4:9 "What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions?"

This, along with the frequent NT affirmations that Christ was raised "from the dead", simply confirms that He went where the dead were when He Himself died.

This "hell" is simply the word for where the dead were. Sheol in Hebrew.

... not the same "Hell" as some use to day to describe where those not in "Heaven" are.

[This also speaks to the "dual nature" of Christ mentioned in another thread recently: Jesus, like all men, experienced death - and in his soul joined the others in the "realm of the dead".]

Rickj is right in reference to the word sheol being translated as "hell"
It's very unfortunate that modern translations except for a few, continue to translate sheol as "hell" in the NT and certain other OT passages since doing so causes this kind of misunderstanding. In the OT we have Job asking God to send him to hell so that he won't suffer anymore. Of course Job was really using the word sheol, the common grave of mankind. But translating it as "hell" causes the reader to wonder why Job would want to jump from the frying pan into the fire so to speak.



Job 14:13 (King James Version)

That thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!

http://www.orlandobible.org/pamphletFiles/hell.htm


The following website proivides a chart showing how different transators have chosen to translate the word sheol.

http://www.what-the-hell-is-hell.com/HellStudy/HellCharts.htm