19/04/2025
LET US LEARN TOGETHER: HE DESCENDED INTO HELL
1. A portion of the Apostles' Creed reads: "He descended into hell."
2. The word "He" is in reference to Jesus, the Son of God. It is Jesus, who died on Good Friday.
3. By popular knowledge, hell refers to the state of the damned. It is the abode of the Devil. You may call it the kingdom of Satan.
4. If no.3 is correct, then the question is, why the descent into hell on the part of Jesus? Was Jesus unfit for heaven? Did Satan conquer Jesus, hence, the Lord's descent into hell? Why did Jesus go to hell when He could have gone to heaven? By the way, what is this hell that we are even talking about? Where is it located? What does it look like? Did heaven reject Jesus? What did Jesus go to do in hell? Who saw Jesus descend into hell?
5. Well, let us journey together in answering the above question. Please pay attention to every detail
6. The gate of Heaven was closed on account of the sin of Adam.
7. The just among the dead couldn’t enter into Heaven until Jesus had opened this gate through His death.
8. After His death on Good Friday, Jesus satisfied the above (point 7) by going to the abode of the dead.
9. The abode of the dead, as expressed in the above (point 😎 is translated as “hell” in the old English usage. It is the same “hell” that is used in the profession of the faith.
Let me emphasise at this point that the word "hell" as used in this context shouldn't be confused with the "hell," which is the abode for the Devil. This "hell," in the creed, refers to the "world of the dead."
• Sheol:
The Old Testament describes the state of the dead as Sheol (Genesis 37:35). It is frequently described as being located under the earth (Isaiah 7:11; 57:9; Ezekiel 31:14-15). It is typically portrayed as having bars or gates (Job 17:16; 37:17; Isaiah 38:10; Psalm 9:13), thus making it reminiscent of a prison.
• Hades:
In classical mythology, hades is the underworld that is inhabited by departed souls with the god Pluto as its ruler.
The New Testament uses the term "hades" to refer to the abode or state of the dead. In some places, it seems to represent a neutral place where the dead awaited the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus.
• Hell:
The word that is properly translated “hell” in the New Testament is the Greek γέενναν (geennan).
In Latin, the word translated as hell in English is "inferna." In the ancient world, this word had the generic meaning of underworld, not hell specifically.
In the Vulgate, it is used to translate a number of different Hebrew and Greek words from Scripture.
Two Greek words are especially important here: hades and gehenna.
Hades, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew sheol, is the biblical term for where righteous people went who died before Jesus Christ.
Gehenna, on the other hand, is the destination of the damned. Note that the "hell" in this context is not in reference to the state of damnation, but the world of the dead (what the Akans will call "asamando").
10. Consequently, the "hell" that Jesus descended into after His death on Good Friday isn't in reference to the state of damnation. No! Rather, it is in reference to the world of the dead, where the righteous were waiting for the gates of Heaven to be opened.
11. In support of Jesus' descent into hell, let us look at these:
• Fr. Sev Kuupuo says: Jesus went to hell to liberate souls who have been held in prison. The task of Jesus in descending into hell was for the liberation of the Old Testament holy people.
• R.C Sproul puts it: “He (Jesus) goes to hell to liberate those spirits who, from antiquity, have been held in prison. His task in hell then is one of triumph, liberating Old Testament saints.”
• An ancient homily of the early Church for Holy Saturday reads: "The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and He has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began....He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, He has gone to free from sorrow the captives of Adam and Eve, He who is both God and the Son of Eve....'I am your God, who for your sake have become your Son....I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead."
12. Interestingly, there are some people who don't subscribe to Jesus' descent into hell. They don't believe it. Their arguments are presented below:
• John Piper:
There is no textual basis for this belief of Jesus’ descent into hell. Accordingly, he (Piper) skipped the "descent into hell" when reciting the creed.
• Wayne Grudem:
The foundation to this belief seems to be around for so long a time that an old mistake is still a mistake.
• Adrian Warnock:
In his book, "Raised with Christ" (pages 33-34), Adrian agrees that there is no solid biblical evidence to prove the decent of Jesus into hell.
• Others opine that the chief source of evidence (1 Peter 3:19-20) is more "allegory" than "history."
13. You may want to know the reasons for Jesus’ decsent into hell. Check out these:
• To affirm that Jesus truly died.
• To release captives.
• To tell us that God hasn't abandoned us.
• To announce the Gospel (1 Peter 3:19; 1 Peter 4:6).
• Punishment for humanity' sin.
14. To observe the third day of the triduum, I propose the following for your considerations:
• Spend a moment in prayer.
• Ponder over the passion of Jesus.
• Pray for the souls of the departed.
• Help in cleaning your Church.
• As you clean God's house, extend it to your heart.
• Maintain silence.
• Go for Confession.
It is well....🌿
