First some info about the Apostles Creed because this statement in the creed is considered to be controversial. These notes may seem complicated but are the substance of what we know.

The Apostles Creed did not come from one of the ecumenical conferences like the Nicean or the Definition of Chalcedon. Many Confessions of faith and catechisms arose with the Reformation in the welter of change, but the Apostles Creed was kept. Its origins were from apostolic times but began with only single statements – the first “Jesus Christ is Lord’. It gathered other statements and became the Old Roman Creed and then developed into the Apostles creed. It did not reach its present form until about AD 700. The idea was for a short useful composition when orthodoxy had to be confirmed, - as at baptism. Anglican churches adopted it as part of their formal liturgy. There are hundreds of confessions and creeds. No creed is inspired. They do not have the authority of the Word itself.

The legend of Christ’s descent into a prison in the depths of the earth – or hell. It rests mostly on 1 Peter 3.9 Christ ‘preached to the spirits in prison,’ and Ephesians 4:7-13 – “he descended into the lower parts of the earth”. Nowhere does it say he went down into hell. Paul quoted from Ps. 68. and he reversed what the Psalm said and also it says nothing about ‘descending’, only ascending. Paul’s argued that Christ had to go down (into death?) to go up. This sounds more like His coming to earth to be exalted on his return to glory – as in Phil 2. The idea of hell under the earth’s surface for the dead has no Scriptural confirmation and a physical prison can hardly be the place for the spirits of the dead.

The Athanasian Creed written about AD 450 refers to the ‘descent’. The earliest church fathers, even Polycarp and Justin Martyr interpreted Ephesians 4 that Christ did descend into the lower parts of the earth. 1 Peter 3:9 also said Christ did preach to the spirits in prison but in fact no Scripture says that Christ descended into hell.

Greek of Eph. 4.9. (katotera… ges) see margin of NEB ‘Lower parts THAN the earth not ‘of’ the earth. That is not geographical but comparatively speaking. The Greek is uncertain and could mean that Christ descended to the earth (at His birth) the earth being the ‘lower part’ of the cosmos. All we are sure of is that Peter subscribed to the theory that Christ preached to those ‘spirits’ (possibly fallen angels) who were imprisoned for disobedience when Noah’s ark was being built and it does not say at His death. But there is no other reference to confirm it. Their may be hints in the OT of God descending into the underworld – Isaiah 26:19. Psalm 49:15, Hosea 13.14, Jonah 2:2. But no doctrine can be built on hints.

The teaching of Christ going to hell is the basis of the E. Kenyon’s false “Jesus

died spiritually” doctrine. (JDS) – denying Christ bore our sins on the cross, which has been taught by also by Ken Copland and Benny Hinne.

The word Hell in Hebrew and Greek have varied meanings. Mainly sheol (OT) and hades (NT) the word used for where both sinners and the wicked go. Luke 16: 19-21. The thought of two compartments is Rabbinical and Jesus used their idea for this parable. While the early church belief was of Christ dying and going to preach in prison in the lower parts of the earth it was also believed that Christ went to Paradise when He died and met the crucified thief that day not I hades. (Tertulian). It is not Gehenna or Tartaros. Other Scriptures or His decent into hell are Acts 2:31, using the word ‘hades’ – the tomb or state of death.

My Connect group discussed hell. They all had a problem over punishment for the ungodly. One or two were adamant that they could never accept that a decent, moral person would go straight to hell if they were killed after not responding to the Gospel. They thought God was not like that. One or two were sure there was fire. All agreed that we must preach the Gospel however. My reply was that God does not automatically consign to hell those who are not recorded as having been born again – like a computer, but he JUDGES and is good in His judgment, so everyone gets their true deserts. Not every man has the same judgment.

( To clear the ground … The apostle Paul says nothing in Eph. 4 about these 5 gifts being a God-given structure for church organisation. In 1 Corinthians 12.27 he says God had appointed other operations – not just 5. ‘Office’ is not in the NT Greek anywhere. The gifts are God’s the Spirit at work. In the body of Christ are many ‘administrations’ 1 Cor. 12:4 – functions, not appointments, generally throughout the body of Christ.)

“Hell” Greek words NT.

Hades – used 10 times (In the OT Greek version (LXX) 100 times. Means either a place of the state of the dead. Hebrew ‘sheol’ is translated by ‘hades’ in the Greek OT.

Abyssos – Pit. The prison for demons. Used by Paul only in an oratorical passage ( Romans 10:7) meaning the underworld.

Gehenna. This is a pictorial word based on the Jerusalem waste dump burning smoking and rotting. Jesus uses it to compare with the destiny of sinners. But except for the parable of Dives and \Lazarus the torments of hell are not described in the NT. The rest is from Dante or cartoons.

The idea that Satan has Hell as his centre where he sits planning evil, is popular lore - not Scripture. He is the prince of the power of the air.

All doctrine must accord with the revealed character of God. The medieval horrors of people burning for ever in flames are not commensurate with anything we know about God whose character is love and His disposition mercy. But God’s anger is a raging fire against sinners. “God is angry with sinners every day”.

The debate about God being vengeful or imposing retribution goes on all the time. Universalism (‘the larger hope’ ) is accepted as possible by some leaders – e.g. John Stott – I wrote him about it. Origen (died c 254) speculated about it and of the salvation of devil, but was condemned by church councils centuries later.

However, whatever we mean by hell, the Scriptures make it very clear that nobody gets away with sin. Matt 10:15, John 28.29, Matt. 18.8. Mark (: 47-49./ Luke 3:17. This world is founded on God’s righteous judgments. The terms for the state of the unrepentant dead include ‘lost’, perishing, not in the book of life, condemnation, destruction , reaping corruption, exclusion from God’s presence, (never annihilation.) The terms used vary so much that we can’t now declare what the punishment really is. It includes exclusion from God’s presence, but that cannot mean totally for it would mean ceasing to exist. Our existence has no independence away from God. There could be degrees of such banishment. One thing we know, that the Gospel must be preached and that to reject it means rejecting Christ – and must have tragic consequences.

“The gates of hell” which Jesus said would not prevail against the church has nothing to do with ironwork. In ancient times independent cities had leaders who met in the gates of the city which were seats in the fortified walls where decisions were made – as mentioned in OT). Their decisions on war. But the gates of hell - a figure of speech for Satan hostility cannot make war against the church and overcome it.

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George Canty. May 2009.

e:mail george@canty.org.uk