To what purpose?

in my faith we recite the Apostle's Creed. It says, in part, Christ was crucified, dead and buried. He descended into hell.

My question is; why did He descend into hell? What was the purpose?
To defeat death.
 
PART ONE
THE PROFESSION OF FAITH

SECTION TWO
THE PROFESSION OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH

CHAPTER TWO
I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, THE ONLY SON OF GOD

ARTICLE 5
"HE DESCENDED INTO HELL. ON THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE AGAIN"


631 Jesus "descended into the lower parts of the earth. He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens."476 The Apostles' Creed confesses in the same article Christ's descent into hell and his Resurrection from the dead on the third day, because in his Passover it was precisely out of the depths of death that he made life spring forth:
Christ, that Morning Star, who came back from the dead, and shed his peaceful light on all mankind, your Son who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.477
Paragraph 1. Christ Descended into Hell

632 The frequent New Testament affirmations that Jesus was "raised from the dead" presuppose that the crucified one sojourned in the realm of the dead prior to his resurrection.478 This was the first meaning given in the apostolic preaching to Christ's descent into hell: that Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in his soul joined the others in the realm of the dead. But he descended there as Savior, proclaiming the Good News to the spirits imprisoned there.479

633 Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down, "hell" - Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek - because those who are there are deprived of the vision of God.480 Such is the case for all the dead, whether evil or righteous, while they await the Redeemer: which does not mean that their lot is identical, as Jesus shows through the parable of the poor man Lazarus who was received into "Abraham's bosom":481 "It is precisely these holy souls, who awaited their Savior in Abraham's bosom, whom Christ the Lord delivered when he descended into hell."482 Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned, nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just who had gone before him.483

634 "The gospel was preached even to the dead."484 The descent into hell brings the Gospel message of salvation to complete fulfilment. This is the last phase of Jesus' messianic mission, a phase which is condensed in time but vast in its real significance: the spread of Christ's redemptive work to all men of all times and all places, for all who are saved have been made sharers in the redemption.

635 Christ went down into the depths of death so that "the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live."485 Jesus, "the Author of life", by dying destroyed "him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and [delivered] all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage."486 Henceforth the risen Christ holds "the keys of Death and Hades", so that "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth."487
Today a great silence reigns on earth, a great silence and a great stillness. A great 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 Adam, our first father, 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 Adam in his bonds and Eve, captive with him - He who is both their 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 a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead."488
IN BRIEF

636 By the expression "He descended into hell", the Apostles' Creed confesses that Jesus did really die and through his death for us conquered death and the devil "who has the power of death" (Heb 2:14).

637 In his human soul united to his divine person, the dead Christ went down to the realm of the dead. He opened heaven's gates for the just who had gone before him.
 
Did Jesus descend into hell?

Do the apostles know what is written in the Apostles' Creed?

:dunno:

Yes and no. From very early Church writings we know that the Rules of Faith were said by a person being baptized. Our very first copy of these date to 341 A.D., but these rules of faith are mentioned in other places by 140 A.D., most much earlier. The original Apostles Creed reads as follows (341 A.D version with those early rules of faith):

I believe in God the Father Almighty. And in Jesus Christ His only (begotten) Son our Lord, who was born of the Holy Ghost and the Virgin Mary; crucified under Pontius Pilate, and buried; the third day He rose from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father, from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. And in the Holy Ghost; the holy Church; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; the life everlasting.

It was expanded and clarified ten to twenty-five years later to its current form because of the Gnostic heresies that were sprouting up.

Did the Apostles know this Creed? Probably not as a creed, but possibly as part of early Christian baptism ceremonies.
 
I'm no longer a Christian but was for many years and my guess is that it was to put Satan on notice. Just a guess.
You were never a Christian. There is no such thing as a former Christian.

And there it is. I was wondering if someone would chime in with that old "You were never a Christian" gem.

The only thing required to become a Christian is that you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, correct? That's what I was told and no Christian I ever knew told me different. So when I accepted Jesus all those years ago, my Christian friends rejoiced, called me a Christian and welcomed me to the fold. Were they wrong? If they were wrong then, that means that any of the Christians you call Christian today may not actually be one.
 
Did Jesus descend into hell?

Do the apostles know what is written in the Apostles' Creed?

:dunno:

Yes and no. From very early Church writings we know that the Rules of Faith were said by a person being baptized. Our very first copy of these date to 341 A.D., but these rules of faith are mentioned in other places by 140 A.D., most much earlier. The original Apostles Creed reads as follows (341 A.D version with those early rules of faith):

I believe in God the Father Almighty. And in Jesus Christ His only (begotten) Son our Lord, who was born of the Holy Ghost and the Virgin Mary; crucified under Pontius Pilate, and buried; the third day He rose from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father, from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. And in the Holy Ghost; the holy Church; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; the life everlasting.

It was expanded and clarified ten to twenty-five years later to its current form because of the Gnostic heresies that were sprouting up.

Did the Apostles know this Creed? Probably not as a creed, but possibly as part of early Christian baptism ceremonies.
The Apostles' Creed is irrelevant. The Scriptures do not say that Christ went to some place called hell.

No descension; no purpose.
 
The Apostles' Creed is irrelevant. The Scriptures do not say that Christ went to some place called hell.

No descension; no purpose.

Then you hold the belief that when someone dies, they lose all consciousness?
 
I said Christ didn't descend. I believe the Bible before any creed.

What did he do, then? Was he aware or was he not? Or, is it the figure of speech to which you object?

(The figure of speech at the time is that people descend into death, they don't rise into it.)
 
I said Christ didn't descend. I believe the Bible before any creed.

What did he do, then? Was he aware or was he not? Or, is it the figure of speech to which you object?

(The figure of speech at the time is that people descend into death, they don't rise into it.)
Aware of what?

What figure of speech?

I know what the Bible (and how it says it). I don't care about any creed that embellishes. Not even if it's Catholic.
 
Did Jesus descend into hell?

Do the apostles know what is written in the Apostles' Creed?

:dunno:

Yes and no. From very early Church writings we know that the Rules of Faith were said by a person being baptized. Our very first copy of these date to 341 A.D., but these rules of faith are mentioned in other places by 140 A.D., most much earlier. The original Apostles Creed reads as follows (341 A.D version with those early rules of faith):

I believe in God the Father Almighty. And in Jesus Christ His only (begotten) Son our Lord, who was born of the Holy Ghost and the Virgin Mary; crucified under Pontius Pilate, and buried; the third day He rose from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father, from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. And in the Holy Ghost; the holy Church; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; the life everlasting.

It was expanded and clarified ten to twenty-five years later to its current form because of the Gnostic heresies that were sprouting up.

Did the Apostles know this Creed? Probably not as a creed, but possibly as part of early Christian baptism ceremonies.
The Apostles' Creed is irrelevant. The Scriptures do not say that Christ went to some place called hell.

No descension; no purpose.
I'm no longer a Christian but was for many years and my guess is that it was to put Satan on notice. Just a guess.
You were never a Christian. There is no such thing as a former Christian.

And there it is. I was wondering if someone would chime in with that old "You were never a Christian" gem.

The only thing required to become a Christian is that you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, correct? That's what I was told and no Christian I ever knew told me different. So when I accepted Jesus all those years ago, my Christian friends rejoiced, called me a Christian and welcomed me to the fold. Were they wrong? If they were wrong then, that means that any of the Christians you call Christian today may not actually be one.

Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart.
 
Did Jesus descend into hell?

Do the apostles know what is written in the Apostles' Creed?

:dunno:

Yes and no. From very early Church writings we know that the Rules of Faith were said by a person being baptized. Our very first copy of these date to 341 A.D., but these rules of faith are mentioned in other places by 140 A.D., most much earlier. The original Apostles Creed reads as follows (341 A.D version with those early rules of faith):

I believe in God the Father Almighty. And in Jesus Christ His only (begotten) Son our Lord, who was born of the Holy Ghost and the Virgin Mary; crucified under Pontius Pilate, and buried; the third day He rose from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father, from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. And in the Holy Ghost; the holy Church; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; the life everlasting.

It was expanded and clarified ten to twenty-five years later to its current form because of the Gnostic heresies that were sprouting up.

Did the Apostles know this Creed? Probably not as a creed, but possibly as part of early Christian baptism ceremonies.
The Apostles' Creed is irrelevant. The Scriptures do not say that Christ went to some place called hell.

No descension; no purpose.
I'm no longer a Christian but was for many years and my guess is that it was to put Satan on notice. Just a guess.
You were never a Christian. There is no such thing as a former Christian.

And there it is. I was wondering if someone would chime in with that old "You were never a Christian" gem.

The only thing required to become a Christian is that you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, correct? That's what I was told and no Christian I ever knew told me different. So when I accepted Jesus all those years ago, my Christian friends rejoiced, called me a Christian and welcomed me to the fold. Were they wrong? If they were wrong then, that means that any of the Christians you call Christian today may not actually be one.

Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart.

Who says I didn't?
 
I said Christ didn't descend. I believe the Bible before any creed.

What did he do, then? Was he aware or was he not? Or, is it the figure of speech to which you object?

(The figure of speech at the time is that people descend into death, they don't rise into it.)
Aware of what?

What figure of speech?

I know what the Bible (and how it says it). I don't care about any creed that embellishes. Not even if it's Catholic.


Hell wasnt a word used back then. Did it get translated from Hades
(which could also mean grave)
It proved death, sin, satan and all his workers will be defeated.
 
In order to defeat Satan and to gain redemption of mankind, Jesus had to die on the cross.

But....but... I still see Progressives and Liberals alive and well ?
Evil more prevalent than ever? Was Jesus' death all in vain?

There's a LOT of people walking around that seem to be the body of Satan.....while fewer and fewer the body of Christ.
No judgement....just an observation.
 
Did Jesus descend into hell?

Do the apostles know what is written in the Apostles' Creed?

:dunno:

Yes and no. From very early Church writings we know that the Rules of Faith were said by a person being baptized. Our very first copy of these date to 341 A.D., but these rules of faith are mentioned in other places by 140 A.D., most much earlier. The original Apostles Creed reads as follows (341 A.D version with those early rules of faith):

I believe in God the Father Almighty. And in Jesus Christ His only (begotten) Son our Lord, who was born of the Holy Ghost and the Virgin Mary; crucified under Pontius Pilate, and buried; the third day He rose from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father, from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. And in the Holy Ghost; the holy Church; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; the life everlasting.

It was expanded and clarified ten to twenty-five years later to its current form because of the Gnostic heresies that were sprouting up.

Did the Apostles know this Creed? Probably not as a creed, but possibly as part of early Christian baptism ceremonies.
The Apostles' Creed is irrelevant. The Scriptures do not say that Christ went to some place called hell.

No descension; no purpose.
I'm no longer a Christian but was for many years and my guess is that it was to put Satan on notice. Just a guess.
You were never a Christian. There is no such thing as a former Christian.

And there it is. I was wondering if someone would chime in with that old "You were never a Christian" gem.

The only thing required to become a Christian is that you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, correct? That's what I was told and no Christian I ever knew told me different. So when I accepted Jesus all those years ago, my Christian friends rejoiced, called me a Christian and welcomed me to the fold. Were they wrong? If they were wrong then, that means that any of the Christians you call Christian today may not actually be one.

Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart.

Who says I didn't?

I didnt mean to imply you werent sincere.
Maybe I just have to learn everything the hard way. lol
 
In order to defeat Satan and to gain redemption of mankind, Jesus had to die on the cross.

But....but... I still see Progressives and Liberals alive and well ?
Evil more prevalent than ever? Was Jesus' death all in vain?

There's a LOT of people walking around that seem to be the body of Satan.....while fewer and fewer the body of Christ.
No judgement....just an observation.
In order to defeat Satan and to gain redemption of mankind, Jesus had to die on the cross.

But....but... I still see Progressives and Liberals alive and well ?
Evil more prevalent than ever? Was Jesus' death all in vain?

There's a LOT of people walking around that seem to be the body of Satan.....while fewer and fewer the body of Christ.
No judgement....just an observation.

His sacrifice was not for nothing. He didn't die on that cross to save mankind worldly suffering, as there is something better than this life. Satan has domain over this world we live in.

The human or carnal part of Jesus allowed Himself to be crucified so that after we pass on from this world, we won't spend forever in Hell.

Satan, the deceiver, the murdering liar that he is, was given authority over this world. But according to Christian theology, there is something that comes after this. Something, a place or an existence that far exceeds the life we've lived here. A place where we have a new body, where we can walk over mountains with a single stride and never be tired.

I'm probably not what anyone would call a "model Christian", but I'm pretty damned familiar with the nature of sin. As a reformed drug addict, I went through a point in my life where the Satan appeared around every corner. I have met him face to face and have stared into his eyes and know this: The only thing he wants is to kill you and own your soul. The only thing he wants for you is for you to be condemned along with those one-third of the angels he led into his revolt against heaven, into a place of eternal pain and suffering.

We as God's beloved creations have the option of forgiveness.That is what Jesus died for. Unlike ourselves, the Great deceiver, the murderer, and liar Satan will never ever be forgiven, nor will those miscreant angels who followed him in his war against God.

Therefore, the devil will have dominion over this carnal world up until the time of judgement, when all the dead shall be called up to be judged for their sins. Following their judgement, they shall be cast into a lake of everlasting fire and torment, and the world shall be reborn into a paradise to be given to those who believed in Him.

Until then, we'll see the persecution of Christians here on earth, the wanton murder of the unborn, all sorts of perversions, violence, debauchery, death, revolution, liberalism, denial that God even existed, and such,.
 
Did Jesus descend into hell?

Do the apostles know what is written in the Apostles' Creed?

:dunno:

Yes and no. From very early Church writings we know that the Rules of Faith were said by a person being baptized. Our very first copy of these date to 341 A.D., but these rules of faith are mentioned in other places by 140 A.D., most much earlier. The original Apostles Creed reads as follows (341 A.D version with those early rules of faith):

I believe in God the Father Almighty. And in Jesus Christ His only (begotten) Son our Lord, who was born of the Holy Ghost and the Virgin Mary; crucified under Pontius Pilate, and buried; the third day He rose from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father, from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. And in the Holy Ghost; the holy Church; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; the life everlasting.

It was expanded and clarified ten to twenty-five years later to its current form because of the Gnostic heresies that were sprouting up.

Did the Apostles know this Creed? Probably not as a creed, but possibly as part of early Christian baptism ceremonies.
The Apostles' Creed is irrelevant. The Scriptures do not say that Christ went to some place called hell.

No descension; no purpose.
The view of the afterlife held by ancient Jews, which can be surmised from passing references throughout the Bible, is that all people, Jews and gentiles, go to a netherworld called Sheol, a deep and dark place in which shadowy spirits called refaim dwell. These could be summoned by the living to answer questions (1 Samuel 28:3–25), though this practice is forbidden (Leviticus 20:27). The ancients seemed to have viewed this fate as final: Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die (2 Samuel 14:14).

What is the Jewish afterlife like?

Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in his soul joined the others in the realm of the dead. But he descended there as Savior, proclaiming the Good News to the spirits imprisoned there. Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down, "hell" - Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek - because those who are there are deprived of the vision of God. Such is the case for all the dead, whether evil or righteous, while they await the Redeemer: which does not mean that their lot is identical, as Jesus shows through the parable of the poor man Lazarus who was received into "Abraham's bosom." It is precisely these holy souls, who awaited their Savior in Abraham's bosom, whom Christ the Lord delivered when he descended into hell. Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned, nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just who had gone before him. Christ went down into the depths of death so that "the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live."

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits.
 

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