According to
Luke 23.43 KJV - And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
But popular Christian mythology says Jesus went to the other part of the afterlife. He died, they argue, with all humanity’s sin on his soul; with every single wicked thing every human has ever done. (And have yet to do. Trillions more sins have yet to be committed before the end of the world. That’s a whole lot of human depravity!) So where does such a wicked being go? Well, if you believe in
This is a long, old Christian myth. It’s been around since the fourth century. It’s the idea that on Holy Saturday, the day after he died, the day his body was resting in the sepulcher, Jesus did go to hell. Not to be tormented though; to bring salvation to the Old Testament saints who’d been there since the beginning of death.
Seems none of these saints had been to paradise; certainly not heaven. Instead they were in some form of limbo, “border”—a shadowy place wedged between heaven, where they didn’t deserve to go; and hell, where they also didn’t deserve to go. (“Deserve” is the operative word here—again, grace isn’t part of this story.) Supposedly these “fathers” of our faith—nothing about the mothers—sat around at the border of hell, waiting for Messiah to die for their sins and free them from this limbus patrum, “limbo of the fathers.” As opposed to the limbus infantum, “limbo of infants”—where unbaptized babies go ’cause they neither merit heaven nor hell—a myth the Roman Catholics formally rejected in 2007 as inconsistent with God’s grace. Really all supposed “limbos” are inconsistent with grace, and not biblical; hence mythological.
As the myth goes, after Jesus died he went straight to hell and proclaimed the gospel to these saints. As is implied in 1 Peter:
1 Peter 4.6 KJV - For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
I firmly believe “them that are dead” is a metaphor,
The fun parts of the Gospel of Nicodemus.
There’s an apocryphal gospel called The Gospel of Nicodemus. Parts of it might have been composed around the first century, but its current form dates from the 300s or later—as shown by the fact other ancient Christians knew nothing about it before the year 376. Here’s the main source of the myth of Jesus going to hell.
Y’might know after Jesus died, some saints came to life and came out of their sepulchers.
18. Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection and the life of the world: Grant us grace so we may give an account of your resurrection, and the miracles you did in Hades.
We were in Hades, with all who’d fallen asleep since the beginning of the world. At the midnight hour rose a light like the sun, which shone into these dark regions. We were all illuminated; we saw each other. Quickly our father Abraham was united with the patriarchs and prophets, and they were likewise filled with joy, and told each other, “This light is from a great source of light!”
The prophet Isaiah was there, and said, “This light is from the Father, from the Son, and from the Holy Spirit, about whom I prophesied when I was alive, saying, ‘Land of Zebulon and land of Naphtali, the people who sat in darkness, have seen a great light.”
Is 9.1-2 Another came into our midst—an ascetic from the desert. The patriarchs told him, “Who are you?”
He said, “I’m John, the last of the prophets, who straightened the paths of the Son of God, and proclaimed to the people repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The Son of God came to me. Seeing him a long way off, I told the people, ‘Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,’ and with my hand I baptized him in the river Jordan. I also saw the Holy Spirit, like a dove, come upon him; I heard the voice of God the Father saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I’m well-pleased.’
“On his account he sent me to you, to proclaim the only-begotten Son of God is coming here. Whoever believes in him shall be saved, and whoever doesn’t believe in him shall be condemned. On his account I tell you all: When you see him, you should love him. For loving idols in the useless upper world, for all the sins you committed, your time of repentance is now; only now. It is impossible any other time.”
19. While John was teaching this to those in Hades, the first-created father Adam heard him and told his son Seth, “My son, I want you to tell the fathers of humanity and the prophets where I sent you when it was my time to die.”
Seth said, “Prophets and patriarchs, hear me! When my first-created father Adam was about to die, he sent me to make a request of God at the gate of paradise—that he would guide me, by an angel, to the tree of compassion. I might get oil from it and anoint my father, and he might rise up from his sickness. So I did.
After the prayer, an angel of the Lord came and told me, “What do you ask, Seth? Do you request oil which raises the sick, from the tree from which it flows, on account of your father’s sickness? This isn’t to be found now.
“So go tell your father: After 5,500 years from the the creation of the world have passed, the only-begotten Son of God will come into the earth, and be made man. He will anoint him with this oil, raise him up, and wash him clean with water and the Holy Spirit—both he, and those from him. Then every disease will be healed. But now, this is impossible.”
When the patriarchs and prophets heard this, they rejoiced greatly.
20. While they rejoiced, Satan the heir of darkness came and told Hades, “Insatiable all-devourer, hear my words. One named Jesus, of the Jewish race, calls himself the Son of God. Being a man, by our working with the Jews, they have crucified him. Once he’s dead, be ready to secure him here. I know he’s a man; I head him saying, ‘My soul is extremely sad, even unto death.’
Mk 15.34 “He’s done me many evils in the upper world, living among mortals. Wherever he found my slaves, he persecuted them. Whatever men I made crooked, blind, lame, lepers, or anything, he cured by a single word. Many whom I got ready to be buried, he brought to life again with a single word.”
“Is this man so powerful he can do such things with a single word?” said Hades. “If so, can you stand up to him? Seems to me no one can withstand him, if he’s as you say. And if you say you heard him dreading death, he must have said this mocking you and laughing, intending to grab you with a strong hand. Woe to you for all eternity!”
“Insatiable all-devouring Hades,” said Satan, “are you this afraid after hearing of our common enemy? I wasn’t afraid of him; I worked on the Jews and they crucified him. They gave him bile and vinegar to drink. So get ready to hold tight to him when he comes!”
“Heir of darkness, son of destruction, devil,” said Hades, “you just told me many whom you got ready to be buried, he brought to life again with a single word. If he’s rescued others from the sepulcher, what kind of power can we use to hold him? Not long ago I swallowed down one of the dead—Lazarus by name—and not long after, one of the living, by a single word, dragged him out of my bowels by force! I think it was the one you speak of! If we’re getting him here, I’m afraid we’re in danger of losing the rest!
“Look at all those I swallowed from ages ago. I see they’re excited—and my belly is in pain. The snatching away of Lazarus before, seems to be no good sign to me. He flew out of me not like a dead body, but like an eagle; that’s how suddenly the earth threw him up. So I implore you, for your sake and mine, don’t bring him here. I think he’s coming to raise all the dead. By the darkness in which we live, I tell you if you bring him here, not one of the dead will be left behind for me.”
21. While Satan and Hades argued, a great voice like thunder said, “Lift up your gates, rulers! Be lifted up, everlasting gates! The King of glory will come in!”
Ps 24.7 Hades, hearing this, told Satan, “Go withstand him, if you can.” So Satan went outside. Then Hades told its demons, “Secure the bronze gates and iron bars well and strongly. Set up my bolts and stand ready. See to everything. If he gets in here, woe to us.”
Hearing this, the fathers began to rebuke him: “Insatiable all-devourer! Open so the King of glory may come in.” The prophet David said, “Don’t you know, blind ones, that when I lived in the world I prophesied this saying? ‘Lift up your gates, rulers’?”
Isaiah said, “Forseeing this by the Holy Spirit, I wrote, ‘The dead will rise, and those in their sepulchers will be raised, and those in the earth will rejoice.’
Is 26.19 ‘And where, death, is your sting? Where, Hades, is your victory?’ ”Ho 13.14 A voice came again: “Lift up the gates.”
Hades, hearing the voice again, answered as if he didn’t know it: “Who is this King of glory?”
The angels of the Lord said, “The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.”
Ps 24.8 With these words, the bronze gates were immediately shattered, and the iron bars broken. All the dead bound in there, came out of the prisons—and we with them. The King of glory came in, in human form, and all Hades’s dark places lit up.
22. Hades immediately cried out, “We’ve been conquered! Woe to us!
“Who are you, with such power and might? What are you, who comes here without sin, who look small but have great power; lowly yet exalted, slave yet master, soldier and king, with power over dead and living? You were nailed to the cross and placed in the sepulcher—and now you’re free and destroyed all our power! Are you the Jesus about whom the great prince Satan told us?—that through cross and death, you’re to inherit the whole world?
The King of glory then grabbed the great prince Satan by the head and handed it to his angels, and said, “Bind its hands, feet, neck, and mouth with iron chains.” Then he handed it to Hades and said, “Take him, and keep him secure till my second coming.”
23. Hades, taking Satan, told him, “Beelzebul, heir of fire and punishment, enemy of the saints: Did you need to cause the King of glory to be crucified, so he could come in here and deprive us of our power? Look and see!—not one of the dead has been left in me. All you gained through the tree of knowledge, you lost through the tree of the cross. All your joy has turned into grief. You wanted to put to death the King of glory; you put yourself to death.
“And now that I have to keep you safe, you will experience the many evils I will do to you. Oh archdevil, founder of death, root of sin, cause of all evil, what evil did you find in Jesus that made you plan his destruction? How have you dared to do such evil? How have you busied yourself to bring such a man into this darkness? Through him, you’ve been deprived of all who died from ages past.”
24. As Hades said this to Satan, the King of glory stretched out his right hand, took hold of our father Adam, and raised him.
Turning to the rest, Jesus said, “Everyone come with me!—as many as died through the tree he touched. Look, I raise you all again through the tree of the cross.” And he brought them all out.
Filled with joy, our father Adam said, “I thank you, majestic Lord, that you brought me out of the lowest Hades.” All the prophets and saints said likewise: “We thank you, Christ, savior of the world, that you brought our life out of destruction.”
After they said this, the Savior blessed Adam with the sign of the cross on his forehead. He also did this with the patriarchs, prophets, martyrs, and fathers. Taking them, he leapt up out of Hades. As he went, the holy fathers accompanying him sang praises, saying, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hallelujah! To him be the glory of all the saints.”
25. Setting course for paradise, he told our father Adam by the hand, and handed him and all the righteous to the archangel Michael.
As they went into the door of paradise, they met two old men, to whom the holy fathers said, “Who are you? You’ve not seen death; you’ve not come down to Hades; you live in paradise in body and soul?”
“I am Enoch,” one of them answered. “I was well-pleasing to God, and was raptured here by him. This is Elijah the Tishbite. We are to live until the end of the world. Then we’re to be sent by God to stand up to Antichrist and be killed by him—then after three days rise again, and be raptured into the clouds to meet the Lord.”
Rv 11.3-12 26. As they spoke, another lowly man came up, carrying a cross on his shoulders. The holy fathers told him, “Who are you? You look like a thief. What’s this cross you carry on your shoulders?”
“In the world I was a thief, as you say,” he said. “For these things the Jews got hold of me and put me to death on the cross, along with our Lord, Christ Jesus. While he was hanging on the cross, I believed in him, seeing the miracles that were done. I begged him, ‘Lord, when you become king, don’t forget me,’ and immediately he told me, ‘Amen amen; I tell you today you’ll be with me in paradise.’ So I came to paradise—carrying my cross.
“Finding the archangel Michael, I told him, ‘Our Lord Jesus, who’s been crucified, sent me here. So—bring me to the gate of Eden!’
“The flaming sword, seeing the sign of the cross, opened to me and I went in. The archangel then told me, ‘Wait a little. Here comes the father of humanity, Adam, with the righteous. They too might come in.’ And now I saw you, and came to meet you.”
Hearing these things, the saints all cried out with a loud voice, “Great is our Lord, and great is his strength!”
27. We saw and heard all these things—we two brothers, who were sent by the archangel Michael, and were ordered to proclaim the Lord’s resurrection. But first we had to go to the Jordan and be baptized, so we went there, and were baptized along with the rest of the dead who rose. Afterwards we came to to Jerusalem and celebrated the Passover of the resurrection. But now we’re going away; we can’t stay here.
The love of God the Father, and the grace of our Lord, Christ Jesus, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
After they wrote this and sealed it, they vanished.
The Latin version of the story is longer, has Jesus say more stuff than this, and includes the names of the guys who supposedly told this story—Karinus and Leucius. Supposedly they wrote their testimonies separately, on separate sheets of papyrus. Then after handing the scrolls over to Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, and head priests Annas bar Seth and Joseph Caiaphas, they were transfigured, then vanished.
And then the Judean leaders had a whole discussion about this with Pontius Pilate—which took place in the temple, which is one of the many ways we know this story is bogus. Roman orders were to immediately kill any gentile who dared to set foot in the temple. Even if he was the Roman prefect himself, like Pontius. But supposedly Pontius and the Judean leaders talked things out, then Pontius sent the emperor a letter including it—and blamed the Judeans for everything, as people do.
If this story sounds like fanfiction to you, it definitely does to me. But Christians throughout history have wanted to believe it, or something like this. They’ll figure, “Meh, it’s got kernels of truth in it,” and skip over the parts which bother them—like the idea that Hades has Satan bound in it for the next thousand years. (Especially since the thousand years were up in the year 1033.) They’ll embrace the general idea that on Holy Saturday, Jesus went to hell, freed Adam and the saints, and brought ’em to paradise. Or heaven. Or it’s all the same thing to them. Whatever comforts ’em most.
The reality: The Old Testament saints already went to paradise. Jesus’s self-sacrifice, his atonement, their forgiveness, worked retroactively. The saints didn’t have to wait for any new dispensation before they could enter paradise; they already could. Because in Jesus’s story about Dives and Lazarus, both Abraham and Lazarus were already in paradise. Jesus told this story before he died; he wasn’t foretelling how the afterlife worked, but describing things as people already knew ’em.
Christians shoulda taken that story and ran with it. But this story sounds way cooler to them, so they embrace mythology and ignore bible. Meh; that’s nothing new.
