In the Apostle's Creed it states in part..."He descended into hell" isn't hell reserved for sinners?

Question

ALSO, in the Apostle's Creed (no connection to Apollo Creed), it also states in part..."On the third day He ROSE AGAIN!" When and what other time did Jesus rise the first time in order for this statement of faith to have stated He rose again? Can anyone explain this?

Answer 1

In the first place, what is the creed? Here, first of all, it is to be pointed out that the received form of the creed is not its oldest or original form. The creed exists in two forms — a shorter and a longer; the former, known as the Old Roman Form, going back certainly as early as the middle of the 2nd century (about 140 AD), the latter, the enlarged form, in its present shape, of much later date. Its final form was probably given to it in South Gaul not before the middle of the 5th century (in one or two clauses, as late as the 7th). It is desirable, at the outset, to put these two forms of the creed (in translation) clearly before the reader.

1. Old Roman Form:
First, the Old Roman Form is given from the Greek of Marcellus, of Ancyra, 341 AD. It runs thus:
“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).”
The last clause is omitted in the Latin form preserved by Rufinus, 390 AD.

2. The Received Form:
The Received Form of the creed reads thus: “I believe in God the Father Almighty; Maker of Heaven and Earth; and in Jesus Christ His only (begotten) Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose from the dead; He ascended into heaven; and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.”

The "rose again" form probably relates to the Ascention.

Answer 2

That expression "He Arose Again" is the Spirit that never Dies After Your Flesh Is Put To Death.

In Better Terms: Your Spirit Is The Real You And Your Body Houses The Spirit. Like A Spaceman In A Spacesuit. When Your Body Dies, Your Spirit Goes Away And Leaves The Body To Enter A New Realm Of Living, So You Really Never Die! You Still Live And Continue A New Life!

Answer 3

In the Hebrew Scriptures, the word used to described the realm of the dead is "Sheol." It simply means the "place of the dead" or the "place of departed souls/spirits." The New Testament Greek word that is used for hell is "Hades," which also refers to “the place of the dead.” Other Scriptures in the New Testament indicate that Sheol / Hades is a temporary place, where souls are kept as they await the final resurrection and judgment. Revelation 20:11-15 gives a clear distinction between the two. Hell (the lake of fire) is the permanent and final place of judgment for the lost. Hades is a temporary place. So, no, Jesus did not go to “Hell” because “Hell” is a future realm, only put into effect after the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15).

Sheol / Hades is a realm with two divisions (Matthew 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27-31), the abodes of the saved and the lost. The abode of the saved was called “Paradise” and “Abraham's bosom.” The abodes of the saved and the lost are separated by a "great gulf fixed" (Luke 16:26). When Jesus ascended to Heaven, He took the occupants of Paradise (believers) with Him (Ephesians 4:8-10). The lost side of Sheol / Hades has remained unchanged. All unbelieving dead go there awaiting their final judgment in the future. Did Jesus go to Sheol / Hades? Yes, according to Ephesians 4:8-10 and 1 Peter 3:18-20.
His soul/spirit went to the Paradise side of Hades. Jesus did not go to Hell. Jesus’ suffering ended the moment He died. The payment for sin was paid. He then awaited the resurrection of His body and His return to His glory in His ascension. Did Jesus go to Hell? No. Did Jesus go to Sheol / Hades? Yes.

Answer 4

The Apostle's Creed had the right understanding of the New Testament word that is translated as "hell" (hades) in some versions. The word simply means "the grave."

Some other versions of the Creed do not say that Jesus descended into "hell," but use the Greek word katotata, which simply menas "down," i.e., He descended to the dead. Please see:

http://www.mountainretreatorg.net/classics/apostlescreed.html

The Greek word for "resurrection" (anastasis) means "to stand up again." That's probably what the Creed means also: after lying down in death, he rose up again to life.

Answer 5

According to dogma, Jesus indeed descended into Hell for the three days that somehow occurred between Friday night and Sunday morning. This is usually referred to as the "Harrowing of Hell." During his stay, Jesus is said to have released all the devout Hebrews who had kept God's Old Law but had obviously missed out on the Atonement This feature of the doctrine was inferred from such scriptural texts as 1 Peter 3:19-20.

As for "He rose again," it simply means that, having been dead, he rose again into life.

Of course, the Creed was written in Greek, and the word translated as "Hell," ta katôtata, meant only "The Lowest," implying the "Underworld" or abode of the dead, but not necessarily at all what we think of as "Hell" today. In fact the concept of Hell in Christianity has scarcely remained the same from century to century.

Answer 6

According to the story I remember, Christ went down into Hell to "speak for" the sinners already there in order to help those who died before he had a chance to die for their sins. The phrase, "On the third day he rose again" is more a situation of bad grammar and the vernacular of the day when the King James Bible was written then an actual description of the event. It simply means that on the 3rd day he rose from the dead and that was the only time he did it.

Answer 7

I can try.
Time is a physical plane thing. It's a frame of reference for the decomposition of physical matter. Therefore beyond the physical plane time doesn't exist, at least not as we know it. This means, as confusing as it may sound, the rose again statement may actually refer to the second coming (from our point of view yet to happen, but outside time...), although that opens a whole new can of worms.
The other bit about him descending into hell can be related to Karma. You see every soul must completely balance their personal Karma before they can evolve to the next level. Being such a righteous and enlightened being Jesus would have had to have done this at some point before his journey back to the planes above the physical could happen, it's a simple case od balance.

Answer 8

Many persons who have been church members will remember reciting “The Apostles’ Creed,” in which they said: “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, who . . . was crucified, dead, and buried: he descended into hell; the third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty.” Thus the reciters of this Creed have expressed the belief that Jesus Christ “descended into hell.” Did they mean by those words that he descended into fire and brimstone under the earth in order to be tormented there forever in place of mankind? They could not have meant that, for in the very next words they said: “the third day he rose from the dead.” Thus they themselves, as well as the apostle Peter, confess that, in the case of Jesus Christ, “hell” (infernus) is not a place from which dead humans, once entering into it, cannot ever get out. Jesus felt no torment there.

What does Ecclesiastes 9:5 tell us about the dead? "For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all"...

“For by a man came death, and by a man the resurrection of the dead. And as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive.”—1 Cor. 15:21, 22, Douay.

That “hell” (Ha´des or Sheol) is the place out of which all the dead are to be released by a resurrection is made sure for us by the words of the resurrected Jesus Christ. About the year 96 C.E., or thirty-two years after the burning of Rome by Emperor Nero, the resurrected Jesus Christ appeared to the apostle John in a vision. This vision is set out in the last book of the Bible, called Apocalypse or Revelation, and in it he says to the apostle John: “I am the first and the last, and alive, and was dead, and behold I am living for ever and ever, and have the keys of death and of hell.”—Apoc. 1:17, 18

What happens to a person when he dies?” The Bible answers this very pointedly at Psalm 146:4: “His spirit goes out, he goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts do perish.” His thoughts perish because he ceases to exist as a living soul. The dead person sleeps in death, unconscious. Hope for future life lies in a resurrection from the dead, being brought back to life, as the Bible promises: “Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out.” (John 5:28, 29) Since God gives you the hope of a resurrection from the dead, why hold to the false hope that comes from belief in an immortal soul—something that does not exist?

Answer 9

As for the hell part, Jesus conquered sin and hell and death. So he had to go there to close the gates of hell. A point many Christians miss altogether.

As for the "rose again," I am 55 and have recited the creed as long as I can remember and never noticed the "again" part. I will have to research that. You raised a very very interesting point. Thanks.

Answer 10

The Apostle's Creed is not from the Bible though it is loosely based on Biblical truths. This was written by the Catholic Church as a stock verse to memorize and repeat. A bit silly, if you ask me.