Posted on 04/02/2018 11:00:18 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
In an article on Good Friday, NPR described Easter inaccurately as "the day celebrating the idea that Jesus did not die and go to hell or purgatory or anywhere like that, but rather arose into heaven — is on Sunday." The error was corrected that Easter commemorates Jesus' resurrection, but did He go to hell after crucifixion?
NPR corrected it as, "Easter — the day Christians celebrate Jesus' Resurrection — is on Sunday." But the error "practically begged Christians to renew charges that the media is biased against them," an article in The Washington Post commented.
The post referred to the Apostle's Creed, saying it states that Jesus "was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell."
However, the term "hell" in the Creed "refers not to the hell of eternal punishment (Gehenna), but to the realm of the dead, the underworld (OT Sheol, NT Hades)," wrote Bruce Corley, president of the B.H. Carroll Theological Institute, in an earlier article in Baptist Standard. "Hence modern translations of both the NT and the Creed read 'Hades,' 'dead,' or 'death.'"
Greek Hades is translated "hell" in the King James Version.
"That Christ in his human soul descended to the place of the dead, until his resurrection, is clearly stated in the NT (Acts 2:31; Rom. 10:7; Eph. 4:9) and underscores the reality of his death," Corley added.
The Bible does not mention anywhere that Jesus "descended into hell."
The 1989 United Methodist Hymnal includes the "likely more accurate" translation, "He descended to the dead," and mentions "descended into hell" only as a footnote, according to United Methodist News Service.
"It means there is no part of human existence to which Christ did not 'descend,'" the Rev. J. Warren Smith, associate professor of historical theology at United Methodist-related Duke Divinity School in Durham, N.C., was quoted as saying. "It's what it means for Christ to take upon himself ... the punishment of sin, which is death. If Christ really dies, then that means he (journeys) all the way to the place of dead."
"Until A.D. 650 no version of the Creed included this phrase with the intention of saying that Christ 'descended into hell'—and the only version to include the phrase before A.D. 650 gives it a different meaning," Zondervan Academic blog earlier quoted evangelical theologian Wayne Grudem as saying in one of his books.
Writing for DesiringGod, Joe Rigney, a professor at Bethlehem College & Seminary, wrote in 2015, "Following his death for sin, then, Jesus journeys to Hades, to the City of Death, and rips its gates off the hinges. He liberates Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, John the Baptist, and the rest of the Old Testament faithful, ransoming them from the power of Sheol (Psalm 49:15; 86:13; 89:48). They had waited there for so long, not having received what was promised, so that their spirits would be made perfect along with the saints of the new covenant (Hebrews 11:39–40; 12:23).
"After his resurrection, Jesus ascends to heaven and brings the ransomed dead with him, so that now paradise is no longer down near the place of torment, but is up in the third heaven, the highest heaven, where God dwells (2 Corinthians 12:2–4).
"Now, in the church age, when the righteous die, they aren't merely carried by angels to Abraham's bosom; they depart to be with Christ, which is far better (Philippians 1:23). The wicked, however, remain in Hades in torment, until the final judgment, when Hades gives up the dead who dwell there, and they are judged according to their deeds, and then Death and Hades are thrown into hell, into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:13–15)."
Someone at NPR needs to review their Bible, or take an online course with tests.
Wonderful poem about the “harrowing of hell” written br a nun where Joseph ask Jesus, “how’s your mother, son.”
They obviously never learned the Creeds when they were young.
Seriously, I think the NPR reporters/staff are mostly Jewish, I know they have made comments themselves about that before on one of their programs.
I thought Trump was pulling funding from this Heathen Liberal Cabal.
“I thought Trump was pulling funding from this Heathen Liberal Cabal.”
That’s the 1st I’ve heard that but I agree. Taxpayers should not be subsidizing them. IIRC they said themselves a few years ago, they are self-sufficient.
Much has been lost, which in the past was thought common knowledge among Christians. The Creed mattered.
Now, we hear,.... “What creed?”.
Apostles Creed:
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; 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.
And if he had descended into Hell, I’m certain
it could not have held him.
I’d normally think that NPR got its facts from an Ivy League Divinity School in making a mistake like this. But then again, I’d be surprised if most Ivy League Divinity Schools still believe in the divinity of Jesus.
So, who are these spirits in prison?
Bells ringing from the rafter;
Bells beckon to hereafter.
All is forsaken when toll is taken.
Hell's bells ringing in my ear.
--Art Kassel
Verse 20 covers that. They are the unbelievers. “To those who were disobedient long ago...” - Peter
On the Hell square, which is a corner square, there is a little area for “Just Visiting”
Jesus landed on that part. He got to roll again next turn.
“He descended into Hell” has given rise to line of false teaching. The idea is that the price was not paid on the Cross; that it wasn’t “finished”; that Christ was punished in Perdition until he rose.
Where ever he went for those days, he is alive and well today and forever.
RE: Verse 20 covers that. They are the unbelievers. “To those who were disobedient long ago...”
And where were they located?
Hell is often described as a place, devoid of any contact with God the Father. For the first time in his life, God had abandoned Jesus (for a day). A punishment that would have been more painful to Jesus than any physical wounds.
I wondering about Dysmas...
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