"What do you
know about THE AFTER LIFE? Is it a place of endless SUFFERING, Or is it A
PLACE OF ETERNAL BLISS? WHO WILL GO WHERE?
In a moment on the World, the Word & You! Broadcast we'll open the
Scriptures and find SOME STARTLING answerS."
I’m Dennis
Finnan, host and speaker on the World, the Word & You! Broadcast and in a
moment we’ll talk about it…
…What one thing do most Christians worldwide do every Sunday? The answer
is, many recite what is called the "Apostles' Creed." Still others,
who were brought up in churches that question its purpose and usefulness in a
worship service, wouldn’t dare recite such a thing. Who’s right? Well, the
answer is neither, for in the "Apostle’s Creed," one can find the
most beautiful truth about the Christian faith woven among its words, wherein
lies what is the "common heritage of the universal Christian
Church." Now, at the onset we must ask, "Why did some of our
early church fathers think it necessary to formulate such a creed?"
The answer is fourfold:
(1) Christians needed to know the truth of the Christian faith in an
easy to understand but concise form,
(2) In the day it was written (325 AD), it was a powerful tool to refute
the growing heresy taught about the nature and work of Christ,
(3) It was formulated to give the variety of Christian churches a
solidarity or unity of truth to believe,
(4) It was designed to keep God’s people on the right track and be a
check point against false teaching that might arise in the midst of any
particular fellowship.
So indeed, the "Apostles' Creed," was and is a worthy statement.
However saying all that, we must remember our faith and hope must never
be in a document formulated by man, even the best of men ¾
rather it must always be centered in the infallible, inerrant and inspired
Word of God alone.
However, if we must have creeds, then it must be the Bible, and if we hold
to any particular interpretation of it, we must in each generation check it
out against the benchmark of God’s Word. If it stands the test it is
faithful, but if it fails the test, it is fallible and must be set aside.
So with that we shall examine “the Apostles' Creed,” and I’ll begin
by reciting it in its entirety. Listen now as I read the Apostle’s Creed:
"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."
This then is a great creed that the church has for centuries adhered to and
recited in faith before the throne of God’s grace. However, in a moment I
want to take issue with a section of it, for millions of followers of Christ
are confused by what it says, and others today have formulated bad theology as
a result. So, in light of that I wish to clear up the controversy and give you
a handle on the truth of God’s glorious Word. Stay with us now, you hear?
… It has been said that the Apostles’ Creed is the oldest of all
Christian creeds, and serves as the basis of most of the others. Now the Word
creed means, "rule of faith," and that is appropriate as this was
what it was meant to be ¾ the
standard confession of all true Bible-believing people, and stands as a
reliable "test" of the authenticity of their faith in Jesus Christ.
However as I stated in my opening "salvo," there has been trouble in
the camp of those who unreservedly adhere to this creed, for in it a statement
is made that has caused much controversy and confusion.
Although the Apostle’s Creed has suffered a multitude of attacks down
through the centuries, it is not my desire to ridicule this creed, for
basically it carefully describes in simplest form, real truths of the
Christian faith. However, remembering it is a document forged by men and not
directly by God, it is not an infallible, inerrant or inspired writing.
On account of this, every generation of believers must re-examine such
church statements and articles of faith for their truthfulness to God’s Word
as revealed in the Bible. On that account, I take you to the specific words of
this Creed which state:
"I believe… 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.."
There you have it, four words “He descended into Hell”
included in this marvelous and wonderful creed that have brought much
confusion, misunderstanding and error. Now what does it mean that Christ
"descended into Hell?"
For starters, we must come to understand that our present day meaning of
the word "Hell," IS NOT what the early church meant by it, nor what
the Bible teaches about it either! Is that startling? You know, if I asked the
average person today what does the word Hell mean, they will most likely say
it is a term used in the Bible that describes a place in the afterlife where
the unsaved dead go to suffer punishment for their sins. Various further
definitions come to mind that Hell is a place of everlasting torment,
suffering and separation. Yet, it is precisely with this definition that most
people either recite this creed, or hearing the word "Hell," apply
this modern definition. But do you know ¾
THIS IS CATEGORICALLY THEOLOGICALLY WRONG, INCORRECT, AND INAPPROPRIATE.
Here’s why.
The English word Hell is derived from an Anglo-Saxon word "Hellan"
meaning "an unseen or covered place." Hundreds of
years ago it was the exact equivalent of the Hebrew word Sheol and of
the Greek word Hades. Both these terms in biblical meaning referred
strictly and narrowly to "the place of the dead." Yet, as time
passed, this word Hell came to mean something more specific, that is,
the exclusive place of the unsaved dead, and a place of torment, suffering,
shame, separation, and punishment for unforgiven sins.
As a result, the modern English word Hell today, has this exclusive
meaning to almost every imagination. However friend, this is NOT the meaning
of the writers of the Apostles’ Creed, or the biblical writers who alone
were inerrant in their Biblical writings.
Therefore, here is the error and controversy in the creed. Did Christ
"DESCEND INTO HELL? The answer is yes but NO as well. Yes, in the sense
of the original meaning of the word, Hell ¾
Hell, Hades, or Sheol were as the Bible describes it as a place where
"ALL" souls went after death, regardless of their eternal state.
Now, before Christ died on the cross and paid for the sins of the world, God
could not bring the righteous dead to Heaven, so He placed them in Sheol, or
Hades, a place where the righteous awaited heaven and their blessed release in
time and eternity.
Therefore, it is essentially wrong to recite the Apostles' Creed with the
thought and meaning in our minds, that Christ descended in the place of
torment where God kept the unrighteous dead, a compartment if you will within
Sheol or Hades, but separated from the righteous dead. You see, there is no
Scripture that teaches that at all!
What’s worse, some modern day cultic-like Christians have confused this
teaching and come up with the most absurd if not blasphemous interpretation.
For instance, the WORD-FAITH Movement I spoken of in previous broadcasts ¾
well, teachers such as Kenneth Hagan, Jr. & Sr.,
Frederick K.C. Price, Paul
Crouch, Kenneth Copeland, Robert Tilton, Benny Hinn, and a host of other far
out charismatic teachers have taught, that Christ upon death temporarily lost
His divinity, was made obedient unto Satan, and went to "Hell" for
punishment. There, some of them say, the Lord Jesus was even tortured beyond
human understanding, and tormented by Demons and literally born-again just
like all believers. They say it was accomplished to show us the "faith
way." Now can you believe that? How can a Christian minister teach such
heresy? Well the Apostles’ Creed seemingly helped them, by the confusion of
this word “Hell.”
But listening friend, at Christ’s death on the cross, His soul and spirit
certainly DID NOT GO DOWN TO HELL, the place of the unrighteous dead, where
all lost souls await final judgment and punishment.
Now let's get some insight on this matter. To do so, we must go to the
Bible, God's inerrant word written through the apostle Peter who declared on
the day of Pentecost,
Acts 2:24-31
(Selected verses) "However, …[God] raised him back to life again, for
death could not keep him [Christ] in its grip. 25 King David said this about
him: .. My body rests in hope. 27 For you will not leave my soul in [Hades] or
allow your Holy One to rot in the grave…"
This was one of the verses upon which the writers of the Apostles’ Creed
formulated their statement "He descended into Hell." Now we
know where Christ’s body was upon death. It was laid in a grave where it lay
for three days in lifeless form. If dead, where then was Christ’s Spirit and
soul? Well in another passage of Scripture, we have the words of Jesus who
said to the dying thief on the cross who believed in Him,
Luke 23:43 (NIV)
"I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.""
In Paradise. In the Bible this refers to a number of places that have one
thing in common. It is always a description of a perfect sinless place, a
place of peace, rest, hope, joy and the "presence" of God. Now we
must remember that before Christ died and fully paid for sin, we know
God sent all the souls who died, to a place call "Sheol." There in
different compartments, it appears, God housed all the souls of the righteous
and unrighteous dead. Now mind you, these were differing places and a
description beyond the grave is given to us about it in the account of Lazarus
the beggar who died (Luke 16:20-31). We read,
Luke 16:20-31 (NIV)
"At his [rich man's] gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus…22 "The
time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side.
The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell, where he was in torment, he
looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called
to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me … because I am in agony in this
fire.’ 25 "But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime
you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he
is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us
and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here
to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.
In this story Jesus tells about life beyond the grave, and we find out that
Hell or Hades was a multifaceted place housing both the unsaved and
righteous dead. Now taking that into account we have yet another portion of
Scripture to hear. Listen as I read Eph. 4:8-10,
Ephesians 4:8-10 (NIV)
"This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in
his train and gave gifts to men." 9 (What does "he ascended"
mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions ? 10 He who
descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order
to fill the whole universe.)"
Now light dawns on this controversy. Christ descended upon death all right,
but not to the place of the wicked dead, they are forever lost and have no
hope or opportunity to be saved. Rather, Christ descended into the "lower
regions" of Hades, or Paradise, where all the souls of humanity who were
ever born and died, and trusted in the Messiah Jesus Christ to be the lamb
that paid for their sins. Upon descent to this "Paradise," he proclaimed
His long awaited and promised victory! We again read this in 1 Peter 3:19,
1 Peter 3:19 (NIV)
"through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison"
I believe here Peter is referring to Christ’s "descent into Hades,
not Hell" and these "spirits in prison" were in fact, the saved
ones kept in that special compartment of Hades, who awaited their deliverance
and passage to Heaven. So when Christ arrived there to pick them up,
He proclaimed the Good News they were forever freed from their sins.
(Ephesians 4:8-10). In these passages, the Greek word for "preached"
is not the word for "preaching the gospel" (euaggelizo) as in 1
Peter 1:12,25; 4:6, but rather (kerusso,) which means "proclaimed"
(Luke 12:3) or "published" (Luke 8:39) Yes, Christ was proclaiming
victory over Satan and his hosts, as He "freed these captives of
sin," and brought the entire hosts of them and “Paradise” to Heaven
where all are for eternity.
So if and when, you recite the Apostles’ Creed, please be sure to
understand the meaning of the word "Hell" in its statement. It is
NOT referring to the keeping place of the wicked unsaved dead. But it is a
description, in its unique usage, to describe where Christ’s soul and spirit
went upon death ¾ to free the saved
dead and bring them to Heaven with Him. Indeed, Christ tasted death for
everyone. He also tasted the Hell to come for all sinners. For, the Father
while Christ was dying on the cross, separated Himself from the man Christ
Jesus, as God poured out His overflowing wrath for sin, in full-blown power
and might. Yes, on the cross Jesus suffered more of Hell to come that all
humanity will bear for eternity!
So, we need not fabricate silly and blasphemous teachings of Christ being
punished by Satan, needing to be born again, and other nonsense proposed by
sinful minds. No, we must just read our Bibles for the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth.
Now, on account of the confusion surrounding this aspect of the Apostles’
Creed, many Bible believing churches have set aside this ancient creed, as
good as it is, and simply refer to the Bible for all truth to believe and
state before men. It is the safest place too, for no error, no confusion or
wrongful conclusions can come if we properly interpret and teach it. Indeed,
the words still have power as we recall,
"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
[Paradise]; 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
Christian Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the
resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen."
That about says it all, doesn’t it? But most important, do you
believe it? If you are a true believer, there is nothing you can say to this
concise statement other than, Amen! But if not, you indeed will one day join
the unrighteous dead in that place called Hell. A place of unimaginable
suffering and torment, a place where God has abandoned all human being that go
there. But friend the Good News is none have to be there. God provided a plan
to save all who want to avoid it. All they need to do is reach out and trust
Jesus Christ as their Lord God and Savior from their sins.
His death and resurrection from the dead are full payment for your sin
and mine and can only be applied to our sin account before god when we
surrender our hearts, minds and bodies to the Lordship and Saviorhood of
Christ. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved declares the
Scripture and to that I can add no more. May God bless these thoughts to you
now and for eternity…
…The Apostles’ Creed is an ancient one, but
it is one filled with the truth of what Christianity really is However, it is
probably best to not focus on man’s interpretations of the Word, for often
it can lead us astray. Bit, if we trust in the Bible alone and if we examine
what we have been taught to believe, based solely on what God’s Word says ¾ it will always lead us out of darkness in the
precious light of Christ. May God’s Word so accomplish this in your hearts
today. Amen.
- Radio talk #0901
- Broadcast date: March 04, 2001
- Speaker: Dennis L. Finnan, Commentator
- Program: The World, the Word & You! Radio Broadcast
- Address: P.O. Box 40133, Grand Junction, CO 81504
The World, the Word & You! Broadcast is a non-denominational ministry based on the historic fundamental evangelical interpretation of the Scriptures. A copy of our doctrinal statement is available upon request. These weekly radio commentaries are not exhaustive studies of any particular subject due to the time limit of broadcasting. Actual broadcasts can be heard in selected areas around the nation, as funding provides. Dennis Finnan has been the speaker for over
20 years, and serves as General Director.
These transcripts are available free of charge to all who desire them.
Also available are actual radio cassette tapes and printed booklets of each message. A free listing of recent messages is available upon request also.
For further information, reprints, or a listing of all topics, please
write to our speaker, Dennis L. Finnan(dennis@wwy.org),or visit our webpage at http://www.wwy.org/