The descent of Christ: Examining the controversial claim in the Apostles' Creed

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“Three questions guide the investigation: 1) Does this clause belong in the Creed in the first place? 2) To what does it refer, and 3) where is it taught in Scripture?” - DBTS Blog

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Discussion

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JD Miller
Sat, 07/22/23 9:30 am

"Hell" originally meant the grave and then came to mean the place of the departed dead, and eventually came to be equated with the lake of fire. In Luke 16 Jesus tells of a rich man being sent to Hades (translated "hell" in the KJV) and seeing Lazarus far off in the bosom of Abraham. They had both died and were in the place of the departed dead, but they were in different areas of this place. The rich man was in a place of torment and Lazarus in Abraham's bosom- a place of comfort. Thus, it has been argued that both were sent to Hades, but that there were different locations within Hades. It was also made clear that there was no way to pass from one section to another.

In Revelation 20:14, we are told that death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire which is the second death. Verse 15, then clarifies that those who are not written in the book of life were cast into the lake of fire. This shows that the lake of fire is a place distinct from Hades. As bad as the place of torments was for the rich man, the lake of fire would be worse.

But what about the bosom of Abraham. Is that also a part of this place called Hades? Will that "place" also be cast into the lake of fire? If so, those written in the book of life need not worry. Some speculate that Jesus went to the place of the departed dead for 3 days and immediately released the Old Testament saints thaat were in the bosom of Abraham (the saints were seen walking in Jerusalem) and then they were taken to heaven to be with Christ (After his resurrection the Apostle Paul tells us to be absent from the body is to present with Christ). Therefore, I believe that post resurrection those who have trusted Chrsit and are thus written in the book of life no longer go to the same place of the departed dead as people did before his death on the cross. It is also possible that the bosom of Abraham is now with Christ in heaven. There are a lot of interesting theories surrounding this subject.