The Descent of Christ Into Hell.
Greek Form.
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CHAP. 1 (17).—
CHAP. 2 (18).—
CHAP. 3 (19).—
CHAP. 4 (20).—
CHAP. 5 (21).—
CHAP. 6 (22).—
CHAP. 7 (23).—
CHAP. 8 (24).—
CHAP. 9 (25).—
CHAP. 10 (26).—
CHAP. 11 (27).—
Joseph says: And why do you wonder that Jesus has risen? But it is
wonderful that He has not risen alone, but that He has also raised
many others of the dead who have appeared in Jerusalem to many.(1) And
if you do not know the others, Symeon at least, who received Jesus,
and his two sons whom He has raised up—them at least you know. For we
buried them not long ago; but now their tombs are seen open and empty,
and they are alive, and dwelling in Arimathaea. They therefore sent
men, and they found their tombs open and empty. Joseph says: Let us go
to Arimathaea and find them.
Then rose up the chief priests Annas and Caiaphas, and Joseph, and
Nicodemus, and Gamaliel, and others with them, and went away to
Arimathaea, and found those whom Joseph spoke of. They made prayer,
therefore, and saluted each other. Then they came with them to
Jerusalem, and brought them into the synagogue, and secured the doors,
and placed in the midst the old covenant of the Jews; and the chief
priests said to them: We wish you to swear by the God of Israel and
Adonai, and so that you tell the truth, how you have risen, and who
has raised you from the dead.
The men who had risen having heard this, made upon their faces the
sign of the cross, and said to the chief priests: Give us paper and
ink and pen. These therefore they brought. And sitting down, they
wrote thus:—
O Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection and the life of the world, grant
us grace that we may give an account of Thy resurrection, and Thy
miracles which Thou didst in Hades. We then were in Hades, with all
who had fallen asleep since the beginning of the world. And at the
hour of midnight there rose a light as if of the sun, and shone into
these dark regions; and we were all lighted up, and saw each other.
And straightway our father Abraham was united with the patriarchs and
the prophets, and at the same time they were filled with joy, and said
to each other: This light is from a great source of light. The prophet
Hesaias, who was there present, said: This light is from the Father,
and from the Son, and from the Holy Spirit; about whom I prophesied
when yet alive, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of
Nephthalim, the people that sat in darkness, have seen a great
light.(2)
Then there came into the midst another, an ascetic from the desert;
and the patriarchs said to him: Who art thou? And he said: I am John,
the last of the prophets, who made the paths of the Son of God
straight,(3) and proclaimed to the people repentance for the remission
of sins.(4) And the Son of God came to me; and I, seeing Him a long
way off, said to the people: Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away
the sin of the world.(5) And with my hand I baptized Him in the river
Jordan, and I saw like a dove also the Holy Spirit coming upon Him;(6)
and I heard also the voice of God, even the Father,(7) thus saying:
This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.(8) And on this
account He sent me also to you, to proclaim how the only begotten Son
of God is coming here, that whosoever shall believe in Him shall be
saved, and whosoever shall not be- lieve in Him shall be condemned.(1)
On this account I say to you all, in order that when you see Him you
all may adore Him, that now only is for you the time of repentance for
having adored idols in the vain upper world, and for the sins you have
committed, and that this is impossible at any other time.
While John, therefore, was thus teaching those in Hades, the first
created and forefather Adam heard, and said to his son Seth: My son, I
wish thee to tell the forefathers of the race of men and the prophets
where I sent thee, when it fell to my lot to die. And Seth said:
Prophets and patriarchs, hear. When my father Adam, the first created,
was about to fall once upon a time into death, he sent me to make
entreaty to God very close by the gate of paradise, that He would
guide me by an angel to the tree of compassion and that I might take
oil and anoint my father, and that he might rise up from his sickness:
which thing, therefore, I also did. And after the prayer an angel of
the Lord came, and said to me: What, Seth, dost thou ask? Dost thou
ask oil which raiseth up the sick, or the tree from which this oil
flows, on account of the sickness of thy father? This is not to be
found now. Go, therefore, and tell thy father, that after the
accomplishing of five thousand five hundred years(2) from the creation
of the world, thou shall come into the earth the only begotten Son of
God, being made man; and He shall anoint him with this oil, and shall
raise him up; and shall wash clean, with water and with the Holy
Spirit, both him and those out of him, and then shall he be healed of
every disease; but now this is impossible.(3)
When the patriarchs and the prophets heard these words, they
rejoiced greatly.
And when all were in such joy, came Satan the heir of darkness, and
said to Hades: O all-devouring and insatiable, hear my words. There is
of the race of the Jews one named Jesus, calling himself the Son of
God; and being a man, by our working with them the Jews have crucified
him: and now when he is dead, be ready that we may secure him here.
For I know that he is a man, and I heard him also saying, My soul is
exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.(4) He has also done me many
evils when living with mortals in the upper world. For wherever he
found my servants, he persecuted them; and whatever men I made
crooked, blind, lame, lepers, or any such thing, by a single word he
healed them; and many whom I had got ready to be buried, even these
through a single word he brought to life again.
Hades says: And is this man so powerful as to do such things by a
single word? or if he be so, canst thou withstand him? It seems to me
that, if he be so, no one will be able to withstand him. And if thou
sayest that thou didst hear him dreading death, he said this mocking
thee, and laughing, wishing to seize thee with the strong hand; and
woe, woe to thee, to all eternity!
Satan says: O all-devouring and insatiable Hades, art thou so
afraid at hearing of our common enemy? I was not afraid of him, but
worked in the Jews, and they crucified him, and gave him also to drink
gall with vinegar.(5) Make ready, then, in order that you may lay fast
hold of him when he comes.
Hades answered: Heir of darkness, son of destruction, devil, thou
hast just now told me that many whom thou hadst made ready to be
buried, be brought to life again by a single word. And if he has
delivered others from the tomb, how and with what power shall he be
laid hold of by us? For I not long ago swallowed down one dead,
Lazarus by name; and not long after, one of the living by a single
word dragged him up by force out of my bowels: and I think that it was
he of whom thou speakest. If, therefore, we receive him here, I am
afraid lest perchance we be in danger even about the rest. For, lo,
all those that I have swallowed from eternity I perceive to be in
commotion, and I am pained in my belly. And the snatching away of
Lazarus beforehand seems to me to be no good sign: for not like a dead
body, but like an eagle, he flew out of me; for so suddenly did the
earth throw him out. Wherefore also I adjure even thee, for thy
benefit and for mine, not to bring him here; for I think that he is
coming here to raise all the dead. And this I tell thee: by the
darkness in which we live, if thou bring him here, not one of the dead
will be left behind in it to me.
While Satan and Hades were thus speaking to each other, there was a
great voice like thunder, saying: Lift up your gates, O ye rulers; and
be ye lifted up, ye everlasting gates; and the King of glory shall
come in.(6) When Hades heard, he said to Satan: Go forth, if thou art
able, and withstand him. Satan therefore went forth to the outside.
Then Hades says to his demons: Secure well and strongly the gates of
brass and the bars of iron, and attend to my bolts, and stand in
order,(7) and see to everything; for if he come in here, woe will
seize us.
The forefathers having heard this, began all to revile him, saying:
O all-devouring and insatiable! open, that the King of glory may come
in. David the prophet says: Dost thou not know, O blind, that I when
living in the world prophesied this saying: Lift up your gates, O ye
rulers? Hesaias said: I, foreseeing this by the Holy Spirit, wrote:
The dead shall rise up, and those in their tombs shall be raised, and
those in the earth shall rejoice.(1) And where, O death, is thy sting?
where, O Hades, is thy victory?(2)
There came, then, again a voice saying: Lift up the gates. Hades,
hearing the voice the second time, answered as if forsooth he did not
know, and says: Who is this King of glory? The angels of the Lord say:
The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.(3) And
immediately with these words the brazen gates were shattered, and the
iron bars broken, and all the dead who had been bound came out of the
prisons, and we with the n And the King of glory came in in the form
of a man, and all the dark places of Hades were lighted up.
Immediately Hades cried out: We have been conquered: woe to us! But
who art thou, that hast such power and might? and what art thou, who
comest here without sin who art seen to be small and yet of great
power, lowly and exalted, the slave and the master, the soldier and
the king, who hast power over the dead and the living? Thou wast
nailed on the cross, and placed in the tomb; and now thou art free,
and hast destroyed all our power. Art thou then the Jesus about whom
the chief satrap Satan told us, that through cross and death thou art
to inherit the whole world?
Then the King of glory seized the chief satrap Satan by the head,
and delivered him to His angels, and said: With iron chains bind his
hands and his feet, and his neck, and his mouth. Then He delivered him
to Hades, and said: Take him, and keep him secure till my second
appearing.
And Hades receiving Satan, said to him: Beelzebul, heir of fire and
punishment, enemy of the saints, through what necessity didst thou
bring about that the King of glory should be crucified, so that he
should come here and deprive us of our power? Turn and see that not
one of the dead has been left in me, but all that thou hast gained
through the tree of knowledge, all hast thou lost through the tree of
the cross: and all thy joy has been turned into grief; and wishing to
put to death the King of glory, thou hast put thyself to death. For,
since i have received thee to keep thee safe, by experience shall thou
learn how many evils I shall do unto thee. O arch-devil, the beginning
of death, root of sin, end of all evil, what evil didst thou find in
Jesus, that thou shouldst compass his destruction? how hast thou dared
to do such evil? how hast thou busied thyself to bring down such a man
into this darkness, through whom thou hast been deprived of all who
have died from eternity?
While Hades was thus discoursing to Satan, the King of glory stretched
out His right hand, and took hold of our forefather Adam, and raised
him. Then turning also to the rest, He said: Come all with me, as many
as have died through the tree which he touched: for, behold, I again
raise you all up through the tree of the cross. Thereupon He brought
them all out, and our forefather Adam seemed to be filled with joy,
and said: I thank Thy majesty, O Lord, that Thou hast brought me up
out of the lowest Hades.(4) Likewise also all the prophets and the
saints said: We thank Thee, O Christ, Saviour of the world, that Thou
hast brought our life up out of destruction.(5)
And after they had thus spoken, the Saviour blessed Adam with the
sign of the cross on his forehead, and did this also to tire
patriarchs, and prophets, and martyrs, and forefathers; and He took
them, and sprang up out of Hades. And while He was going, the holy
fathers accompanying Him sang praises, saying: Blessed is He that
cometh in the name of the Lord:(6) Alleluia; to Him be the glory of
oil the saints.
And setting out to paradise, He took hold of our forefather Adam by
the hand, and delivered him, and all the just, to the archangel
Michael. And as they were going into the door of paradise, there met
them two old men, to whom the holy fathers said: Who are you, who have
not seen death, and have not come down into Hades, but who dwell in
paradise in your bodies and your souls? One of them answered, and
said: I am Enoch, who was well-pleasing to God, and who was translated
hither by Him; and this is Helias the Thesbite; and we are also to
live until the end of the world; and then we are to be sent by God to
withstand Antichrist, and to be slain by him, and after three days to
rise again, and to be snatched up in clouds to meet the Lord.(7)
While they were thus speaking, there came another lowly man, carry-
ing also upon his shoulders a cross, to whom the holy fathers said:
Who art thou, who hast the look of a robber; and what is the cross
which thou bearest upon thy shoulders? He answered: I, as you say, was
a robber and a thief in the world, and for these things the Jews laid
hold of me, and delivered me to the death of the cross, along with our
Lord Jesus Christ. While, then, He was hanging upon the cross, I,
seeing the miracles that were done, believed in Him, and entreated
Him, and said, Lord, when Thou shall be King, do not forget me. And
immediately He said to me, Amen, amen: to-day, I say unto thee, shall
thou be with me in paradise. Therefore I came to paradise carrying my
cross; and finding the archangel Michael, I said to him, Our Lord
Jesus, who has been crucified, has sent me here; bring me, therefore,
to the gate of Eden. And the flaming sword, seeing the sign of the
cross, opened to me, and I went in. Then the archangel says to me,
Wait a little, for there cometh also the forefather of the race of
men, Adam, with the just, that they too may come in. And now, seeing
you, I came to meet you.
The saints hearing these things, all cried out with a loud voice:
Great is our Lord, and great is His strength.(1)
All these things we saw and heard; we, the two brothers, who also have
been sent by Michael the archangel, and have been ordered to proclaim
the resurrection of the Lord, but first to go away to the Jordan and
to be baptized. Thither also we have gone, and have been baptized with
the rest of the dead who have risen. Thereafter also we came to
Jerusalem, and celebrated the passover of the resurrection. But now we
are going away, being unable to stay here. And the love of God, even
the Father, and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the communion
of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.(2)
Having written these things, and secured the rolls, they gave the
half to the chief priests, and the half to Joseph and Nicodemus. And
they immediately disappeared: to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.