If you wanna know what I’m talking about, the “Harrowing of Hell” is the idea that Jesus descended into Hell, that he triumphed over inferos, releasing Hell’s captives, particularly Adam and Eve, and the righteous men and women of the Old Testament period.
J.K. Elliott, editor/updater of M.R. James, “The Aprocryphal New Testament” (1924), for Oxford in 1993, writes that, “The biblical origin for this belief, which is a major and normal part of Christian tradition, seems to be based on a particular interpretation of 1Peter 3:19 (‘In the spirit he [Christ] went and preached to the imprisoned spirits’). Not surprisingly, this statement encouraged later generations of Christians to elaborate what was meant by Jesus’ appearance before ‘imprisoned spirits’. The apocryphal stories of Jesus’ descent in the underworld.”
“The main text describing these events is the fifth or sixth century ‘Descensus ad Inferos’.” (Edward’s et al., eds., “Early New Testament Apocrypha,” 2022, p.150) This is part of a chapter titled “The Pilate Cycle,” about a variety of works which come from a wide span of time, possibly originating in the 2nd century, but flowering in multiple forms in late antiquity and the Middle Ages.
*I should add that Acts 2, Ephesians 4, and 1 Peter 4 kind of make a reference as well.
There’s an abundance of apocryphal material on this too:
Ascension of Isaiah
The Beloved will descend … into the world in the last days of the Lord, who will be called Christ … And the god of that world will stretch forth his hand against the Son, and they weill crucify him on a tree, and will slay him not knowing who he is. And thus his descent, as you will see, will be hidden even from the heavens, so that it will not be known who he is. And then he has plundered the angel of death, he will ascend on the third day … And then many of the righteous will ascend with him, whose spirits did not receive their garments till the Lord Christ ascends and they ascend with him
The Gospel of Peter
And while they were narrating what they had seen, they saw three men come out from the sephlcure, two of them raising up the one and the crucified one following them. And the heads of the two reaching to heaven but that of him who was being led out by the hand by them reaching beyond the heavens. And they heard a voice out of the heavens crying “Have you preached to those who sleep?” And from the crucified one was heard the answer “Yes”.
The Teachings of Silvanus
O soul, persistent one, in what ignorance you exist! For who is your guide into the darkness? How many likenesses did Christ take on because of you? Although he was God, he [was found] among men as a man. He descended to the underworld. He released the children of death. They were in travail, as the scripture of God has said. And he sealed up the [very] heart of it [the underworld]. And he broke its strong bars completely. And when all the powers had seen him, they fled so that he might bring you, wretched one, up from the abyss, and might die for you as a ransom for your sin. He saved you from the strong hand of the Underworld.
- The Gospel of Bartholomew
- After the resurrection from the dead of our Lord Jesus Christ, Bartholomew came unto the Lord and questioned him, saying:”Lord, when thou wentest to be hanged upon the cross, I followed thee afar off and saw thee hung upon the cross, and the angels coming down from heaven and worshipping thee. And when there came darkness, I beheld, and I saw thee that thou wast vanished away frorn the cross and I heard only a voice in the parts under the earth, and great wailing and gnashing of teeth on a sudden. Tell me, Lord, whither wentest thou from the cross?” And Jesus answered and said: “Blessed art thou, Bartholomew, my beloved, because thou sawest this mystery, and now will I tell thee all things whatsoever thou askest me. For when I vanished away from the cross, then went I down into Hades that I might bring up Adam and all them that were with him, according to the supplication of Michael the archangel.” Then said Bartholomew: “Lord, what was the voice which was heard?” Jesus saith unto him: “Hades said unto Beliar: ‘I perceive, a God cometh hither.’ And Beliar said unto Hades: ‘Look carefully who it is that, for it is Elias, or Enoch, or one of the prophets that this man seemeth to me to be.’ But Hades answered Death and said: ‘Not yet are six thousand years accomplished. And whence are these, O Beliar; for the sum of the number is in mine hands. Be not troubled, make safe thy gates and strengthen thy bars: consider, God cometh not down upon the earth.’ Hades saith unto him: ‘These be no good words that I hear from thee: my belly is rent, and mine inward parts are pained: it cannot be but that God cometh hither. Alas, whither shall I flee before the face of the power of the great king? Suffer me to enter into myself: for before thee was I formed.’Then did I enter in and scourged him and bound him with chains that cannot be loosed, and brought forth thence all the patri-archs and came agam unto the cross.
- The Gospel of Nicodemus
- And the Lord stretching forth his hand, said: “Come unto me, all ye my saints which bear mine image and my likeness. Ye that by the tree and the devil and death were condemned, behold now the devil and death condemned by the tree.” And forthwith all the saints were gathered in one under the hand of the Lord. And the Lord holding the right hand of Adam, said unto him: Peace be unto thee with all thy children that are my righteous ones.” … And the Lord stretched forth his hand and made the sign of the cross over Adam and over all his saints, and he took the right hand of Adam and went up out of hell, and all the saints followed him …. And the Lord holding the hand of Adam delivered him unto Michael the archangel, and all the saints followed Michael the archangel, and he brought them all into the glory and beauty of paradise.
- Anyways, it is mainly the Apostles Creed that states Jesus descended to hell. The “Apostles Creed” is a later forgery in the 4th century that is based off of later exegetical reference to the verses above.
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