When Christ Descended to Hades ...
There is this fantastic little apocryphal work that was composed somewhere between the 2nd and 5th Centuries, entitled The Gospel of Nicodemus.
This book has never been recognized by the Church as an inspired book, or as belonging to the canon of Scripture - let's get that detail out of the way right away.
However, not everything in the book is false. It describes the death of Christ and His descent into Hades - both true events. I find the work interesting, however, because it gives a much more elaborated account of what St. Matthew hints at in his gospel, that when Our Lord died, the tombs in Jerusalem broke open and the dead were raised.
The second half of The Gospel of Nicodemus picks up from this point, and gives us the account of two men (the two sons of Joseph of Arimathea) who actually participated in this resurrection spoken of by St. Matthew.
It gives a fascinating account of the descent of Christ into Hades from the perspective of those who were already there, awaiting liberation - the souls of the just, in Abraham's bosom.
Obviously, there is no obligation on anyone to believe these accounts are accurate - they could just as easily be products of the author's imagination. On the other hand, they may represent at least the core of a well-known tradition of the times.
I present it here just for the fun of it ... at the very least, it's interesting reading, and I love what the author does with each Old Testament saint's recognition of Christ as He descends into Hades. Beautiful stuff.
*******************
The story begins when the Jewish authorities apprehend the two sons of Joseph and demand a true account of their resurrection.
The sons ask for paper and pen, and proceed to record independent accounts of their experience - the authorities are shocked when both accounts agree, and do not contradict each other (a tell-tale sign that the witnesses were telling the truth).
The sons say that they were in Hades, "with all who had fallen asleep since the beginning of the world."
At midnight (it later becomes clear in the text that the time referred to is sometime around 3:00 on Good Friday, just before Our Lord dies), the sons saw a light "as if of the sun," shining into the darkness of Hades - "and we were all lighted up, and saw each other."
Now being able to see, Abraham set about finding the other patriarchs and grouping together with them, all of them saying, "That light is the Source of eternal light, Who has promised to transmit to us eternal light."
Then begins the testifying of the patriarchs ...
Isaiah cries out, "This is the light of the Father, the Son of God, as I predicted when I was alive upon earth: The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali across Jordan, Galilee of the nations, the people who sat in darkness, have seen a great light; and light was shining among those who are in the region of the shadow of death. And now it has come and shone upon us sitting in death."
Next comes Simeon, who held Jesus in his arms in the temple: "Glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God; because I took Him up when born, an infant, in my hands in the temple; and instigated by the Holy Spirit, I said to Him, confessing: Now mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared in the sight of all peoples, a light for the revealing of the nations, and the glory of Thy people Israel."
After each patriarch gives his testimony, the entire multitude of these souls gets increasingly more excited.
After Simeon, St. John the Baptist comes forward, saying "I am John, the voice and prophet of the Most High, going before the face of His coming to prepare His ways, to give the knowledge of salvation to His people for the remission of their sins. And seeing Him coming to me, instigated by the Holy Spirit, I said: Behold the Lamb of God! behold Him who taketh away the sins of the world! And I baptized Him in the river of Jordan, and I saw the Holy Spirit descending upon Him in the form of a dove; and I heard a voice from the heavens saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And now I have gone before His face, and have descended to announce to you that the rising Son of God is close at hand to visit us, coming from on high to us sitting in darkness and the shadow of death."
That's an interesting twist ... St. John the Baptist plays the same role in Hades as he did on the earth: he goes before Christ and heralds His coming.
When Adam hears the story of Our Lord's baptism in the Jordan, he prompts his son Seth to tell his experience. Apparently there was a tradition that when Adam was sick, he sent Seth back to the angel who was guarding the Garden of Eden, to beg for "oil from the tree of mercy" to anoint Adam's body.
Seth did so, and at this point in the story of Christ's descent into Hades, he tells all the patriarchs what transpired with the angel:
"When I was praying to the Lord at the gates of paradise, behold Michael, the angel of the Lord, appeared to me, saying, I have been sent to thee by the Lord ... do not labour with tears in prayers and supplications for the oil of the tree of mercy ... thou shalt not receive of it, until the last days and times, after 5,500 years have been fulfilled. At that time the most beloved Son of God will come to the earth, to raise up again the body of Adam, and the bodies of the dead; and when He comes, will be baptized in the Jordan. And when he comes out of the water of Jordan, then He will anoint with the oil of His mercy all that believe on Him; and that oil of mercy shall be for the generation of those who shall be born of water and the Holy Spirit into life eternal. Then, descending upon earth, Christ Jesus, the most beloved Son of God, will lead our father Adam into paradise to the tree of mercy."
Then comes more rejoicing and excitement.
Suddenly the scene changes, and now we see Satan having a conversation with Hades: "Prepare to receive Jesus, who boasts himself to be the Son of God, yet is a man who fears death, who said, My soul is sorrowful, even unto death. He has resisted me greatly, doing me harm; many people whom I made blind, lame, deaf, leprous, and demoniac, he has healed with just a word; and those whom I have brought to you dead, he has dragged away."
There appears to be a note of expectation here, a belief on Satan's part that his dealings with Jesus are over, because Jesus is now dead and to become the prisoner of Hades.
Hades responds, "Who is this that pretends to be so powerful, when really he is a man who fears death? For all of the powerful men of the earth are now subjected to my power, whom you have subjected by your power. If then, you are powerful, what is this man Jesus like, who, though he fears death, can withstand your power? If he is so powerful in humanity, truly I tell you, he is all-powerful in divinity, and no one can resist his power. And when he says that he fears death, he wishes to lay hold on you, and woe be to you to the ages of eternity."
Interesting, no? Satan believes he has won, but Hades isn't convinced - Hades has a hunch that Jesus is God, and that Satan is about to be in serious trouble.
Satan responds, "Why do you doubt, and why are you afraid to receive this Jesus, your adversary and mine? For I have tempted him, and I have stirred up my ancient people the Jews with hatred and anger against him; I sharpened a lance to strike him; I mixed gall and vinegar to give him to drink; I prepared wood to crucify him, and nails to pierce him, and his death is approaching, that I may bring him to you, subject to you and me."
Hades remains unconvinced, saying, "You just told me that it is he himself who drags the dead away from me. There are many who are here kept by me, who, while they lived on earth, took the dead from me, not by their own power, but by godly prayers, and their almighty God dragged them away from me. Who is this Jesus, who by his word has withdrawn the dead from me without prayers? Perhaps he is the same one who, by the word of his command, brought Lazarus to life after he had been dead for four days, in stench and corruption."
Satan affirms, "It is the same Jesus."
When he hears this affirmation, Hades becomes quite alarmed: "I beg you by your powers and mine, do not bring him to me! For on that day, when I heard the command of his word, I trembled with terror and dismay, and all my officers were confounded along with me. We could not hold that Lazarus; rather, shaking himself like an eagle, he sprang out, and left us with speed, and the same ground which held the dead body of Lazarus immediately released him alive. I know that that man who could do these things is God, strong in authority, powerful in humanity, and He is the Saviour of the human race. But if you bring Him to me, all who are here trapped in the cruelty of the prison, and bound by their sins in chains that cannot be loosed, He will loose them, and will bring them to the life of His divinity for ever."
This is the really cool part. :)
Satan and Hades continue arguing, and while they argue, suddenly they hear "a voice of many thunders," and this voice quotes the old Psalm: "Lift up your gates, you princes; and be lifted up, you everlasting gates; and the King of glory will come in."
Hades says to Satan, "Leave me, and leave my realms: if you are a powerful warrior, go out and fight against the King of glory. But what have you to do with Him?"
So Hades casts Satan out and says to his officers, "Shut the cruel gates of brass, and put up the bars of iron, and resist bravely, that we, holding captivity, may not take Him captive."
Now all the patriarchs and saints begin to rebuke Hades: "Open your gates, that the King of glory may come in."
David speaks up, "Didn't I, when I was alive, prophesy to you: Let them confess to the Lord His tender mercies and His wonderful works to the children of men: for He has shattered the brazen gates, and burst the iron bars; He has taken them up out of the way of their iniquity?"
Isaiah follows this with, "Didn't I, when I was alive, prophesy to you: The dead shall rise up, and those who are in their tombs shall rise again, and those who are upon earth shall exult; because the dew, which is from the Lord, is their health? Again I said, Where, O Death, is thy sting? where, O Hades, is thy victory?"
The saints hear this word from Isaiah, and turn again to rebuke Hades: "Open your gates. Since you are now conquered, you will be weak and powerless."
Like a great refrain, the voice of thunders repeats: "Lift up your gates, you princes; and be lifted up, you infernal gates; and the King of glory shall come in."
In a masterful literary twist, the author has Hades be the one to recite the next part of the Psalm: "Who is the king of glory?"
David, because he wrote the Psalm, says "I recognise the words of the shout, since I prophesied those same words by His Spirit. And now, what I had said while I was on the earth, I say to you, The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle; He is the King of glory. And the Lord Himself hath looked down from heaven upon earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners, and to release the sons of the slain. So now, most filthy and foul Hades, open your gates, that the King of glory may come in."
At that moment, while David is still speaking, Jesus appears with radiant light and bursts the chains.
Death and Hades see this take place, and cry out "We have been overcome by you! Who are you who, undestroyed by corruption, the uncorrupted proof of thy majesty, condemns our power with fury? Who are you, so great and also little, lowly and also exalted, soldier and also commander, wonderful warrior in the form of a slave, and the king of glory dead and alive, whom slain the cross has carried? You, who lay dead in the sepulchre, have come down to us alive; and at your death every creature trembled, and the stars were moved; and now you have been made free among the dead, and you disturb our legions. Who are you, who sets free those who are held captive, bound by original sin, and who recalls them to their former liberty? Who are you, who sheds a divine and splendid and illuminating light upon those who have been blinded by the darkness of their sins?"
This is followed by a confession from the demons, "Where are you from, O Jesus, a man so powerful and splendid in majesty, so excellent, without spot, and free from guilt? For the world of earth which has always been subject to us until now, which used to pay tribute for our uses, has never sent us such a dead man, has never destined such gifts for the powers below. Who are you, who has so intrepidly entered our territory, and who not only has no fear of our punishments, but, moreover, attempts to free everyone from our chains? Perhaps you are that same Jesus of whom our prince Satan said, that by your death of the cross you were destined to receive the dominion of the whole world."
Jesus makes no response, but simply tramples Death, seizes Satan, hands him over to the power of Hades, and draws Adam to His side.
Hades goes ballistic and yells at Satan, "O prince of perdition, and leader of extermination, Beelzebub, derision of angels, to be spit upon by the just, why did you wish to do this? Did you wish to crucify the King of glory, in whose death you promised us such great spoils? Like a fool, you did not know what you were doing. For, behold, Jesus is putting to flight all the darkness of death by the splendour of His divinity, and He has broken into the strongest and lowest depths of our dungeons, and has freed the captives, and released those who were bound. All who used to groan under our torments insult us, and by their prayers our dominions are taken, and our realms conquered, and no race of men has now any respect for us. We are also greatly threatened by the dead, who have never been haughty to us, and who have not at any time been joyful as captives. O Prince Satan, father of all impious wretches and renegades, why did you wish to do this? From those who from the beginning even until now have despaired of salvation and life, there is heard no bellowing after the usual fashion; and no groaning of theirs resounds, nor in any of their faces is a trace of tears found. O Prince Satan, possessor of the keys of the lower regions, all your riches which you had acquired by the tree of transgression and the loss of paradise, you have now lost by the tree of the cross, and all thy joy has perished. When you hung up that Christ Jesus the King of glory, you were acting against yourself and against me. Henceforth you will know what eternal torments and infinite punishments you are to endure in my everlasting keeping. O Prince Satan, author of death, and source of all pride, you should have first inquired into the bad cause of that Jesus. You perceived no fault in Him - why did you dare to crucify Him unjustly and without reason? Why have you brought to our regions one innocent and just, and as a result have lost the guilty, the impious, and the unjust of the whole world?"
Jesus then issues the decree to Hades: "Satan the prince will be in your power for ever, taking the place of Adam and his sons, my righteous ones."
Then follows a beautiful speech by Our Lord: "Come to me, all my saints, who bear my image and likeness. You who have been condemned through the tree and the devil and death, now see the devil and death condemned through the tree."
He turns to Adam, saying, "Peace be to you, with all your children, my righteous ones!"
Adam and the saints all fall down and proceed to a long hymn of worship and praise, after which the text says that Jesus "made the sign of the cross upon Adam and upon all His saints; and holding Adam by the right hand, went up from the powers below: and all the saints followed Him."
As they ascend, David breaks out into one of his old Psalms, "Sing unto the Lord a new song, for He hath done wonderful things; His right hand and His holy arm have brought salvation to Himself. The Lord hath made known His salvation; His righteousness hath He revealed in the sight of the heathen."
Habbakuk says, "You went forth for the salvation of your people, to deliver your elect," and the saints respond, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; God is the Lord, and He has shone upon us. Amen, alleluia."
It goes on like this for a while, the prophets giving testimony and the saints responding, until finally, Jesus delivers Adam to the care of St. Michael, "and all the saints followed Michael the archangel, and he led them all into the glorious grace of paradise."
Of course, they run into Enoch and Elijah, the two saints of the Old Testament who never experienced death. They say that they "have been reserved until the coming of Antichrist, to do battle with him by divine signs and wonders, and, being killed by him in Jerusalem, after three-and-a-half days to be taken up alive again in the clouds."
Finally, the saints meet up with a strange looking man who was "carrying on his shoulders the sign of the cross," but who had the appearance of a robber.
Guess who?
"Truly have you said that I was a robber, doing all sorts of evil upon the earth. And the Jews crucified me along with Jesus; and I saw the miracles in created things which were done through the cross of Jesus crucified, and I believed Him to be the Creator of all created things, and the King omnipotent; and I entreated Him, saying, Be mindful of me, Lord, when you come into your kingdom. Immediately He accepted my entreaty, and said to me, Amen; I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. And He gave me this sign of the cross, saying, Walk into paradise carrying this; and if the guardian angel of paradise will not let you in, show him the sign of the cross, and say to him, 'Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who has now been crucified, has sent me.' Having done so, I said all this to the guardian angel of paradise. And when he heard this, he immediately opened, and led me in, and placed me at the right of paradise, saying, Lo, wait for a little, and there will come in the father of the whole human race, Adam, with all his children, holy and just, after the triumph and glory of the ascension of Christ the crucified Lord."
Great little story, eh?
This book has never been recognized by the Church as an inspired book, or as belonging to the canon of Scripture - let's get that detail out of the way right away.
However, not everything in the book is false. It describes the death of Christ and His descent into Hades - both true events. I find the work interesting, however, because it gives a much more elaborated account of what St. Matthew hints at in his gospel, that when Our Lord died, the tombs in Jerusalem broke open and the dead were raised.
The second half of The Gospel of Nicodemus picks up from this point, and gives us the account of two men (the two sons of Joseph of Arimathea) who actually participated in this resurrection spoken of by St. Matthew.
It gives a fascinating account of the descent of Christ into Hades from the perspective of those who were already there, awaiting liberation - the souls of the just, in Abraham's bosom.
Obviously, there is no obligation on anyone to believe these accounts are accurate - they could just as easily be products of the author's imagination. On the other hand, they may represent at least the core of a well-known tradition of the times.
I present it here just for the fun of it ... at the very least, it's interesting reading, and I love what the author does with each Old Testament saint's recognition of Christ as He descends into Hades. Beautiful stuff.
*******************
The story begins when the Jewish authorities apprehend the two sons of Joseph and demand a true account of their resurrection.
The sons ask for paper and pen, and proceed to record independent accounts of their experience - the authorities are shocked when both accounts agree, and do not contradict each other (a tell-tale sign that the witnesses were telling the truth).
The sons say that they were in Hades, "with all who had fallen asleep since the beginning of the world."
At midnight (it later becomes clear in the text that the time referred to is sometime around 3:00 on Good Friday, just before Our Lord dies), the sons saw a light "as if of the sun," shining into the darkness of Hades - "and we were all lighted up, and saw each other."
Now being able to see, Abraham set about finding the other patriarchs and grouping together with them, all of them saying, "That light is the Source of eternal light, Who has promised to transmit to us eternal light."
Then begins the testifying of the patriarchs ...
Isaiah cries out, "This is the light of the Father, the Son of God, as I predicted when I was alive upon earth: The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali across Jordan, Galilee of the nations, the people who sat in darkness, have seen a great light; and light was shining among those who are in the region of the shadow of death. And now it has come and shone upon us sitting in death."
Next comes Simeon, who held Jesus in his arms in the temple: "Glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God; because I took Him up when born, an infant, in my hands in the temple; and instigated by the Holy Spirit, I said to Him, confessing: Now mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared in the sight of all peoples, a light for the revealing of the nations, and the glory of Thy people Israel."
After each patriarch gives his testimony, the entire multitude of these souls gets increasingly more excited.
After Simeon, St. John the Baptist comes forward, saying "I am John, the voice and prophet of the Most High, going before the face of His coming to prepare His ways, to give the knowledge of salvation to His people for the remission of their sins. And seeing Him coming to me, instigated by the Holy Spirit, I said: Behold the Lamb of God! behold Him who taketh away the sins of the world! And I baptized Him in the river of Jordan, and I saw the Holy Spirit descending upon Him in the form of a dove; and I heard a voice from the heavens saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And now I have gone before His face, and have descended to announce to you that the rising Son of God is close at hand to visit us, coming from on high to us sitting in darkness and the shadow of death."
That's an interesting twist ... St. John the Baptist plays the same role in Hades as he did on the earth: he goes before Christ and heralds His coming.
When Adam hears the story of Our Lord's baptism in the Jordan, he prompts his son Seth to tell his experience. Apparently there was a tradition that when Adam was sick, he sent Seth back to the angel who was guarding the Garden of Eden, to beg for "oil from the tree of mercy" to anoint Adam's body.
Seth did so, and at this point in the story of Christ's descent into Hades, he tells all the patriarchs what transpired with the angel:
"When I was praying to the Lord at the gates of paradise, behold Michael, the angel of the Lord, appeared to me, saying, I have been sent to thee by the Lord ... do not labour with tears in prayers and supplications for the oil of the tree of mercy ... thou shalt not receive of it, until the last days and times, after 5,500 years have been fulfilled. At that time the most beloved Son of God will come to the earth, to raise up again the body of Adam, and the bodies of the dead; and when He comes, will be baptized in the Jordan. And when he comes out of the water of Jordan, then He will anoint with the oil of His mercy all that believe on Him; and that oil of mercy shall be for the generation of those who shall be born of water and the Holy Spirit into life eternal. Then, descending upon earth, Christ Jesus, the most beloved Son of God, will lead our father Adam into paradise to the tree of mercy."
Then comes more rejoicing and excitement.
Suddenly the scene changes, and now we see Satan having a conversation with Hades: "Prepare to receive Jesus, who boasts himself to be the Son of God, yet is a man who fears death, who said, My soul is sorrowful, even unto death. He has resisted me greatly, doing me harm; many people whom I made blind, lame, deaf, leprous, and demoniac, he has healed with just a word; and those whom I have brought to you dead, he has dragged away."
There appears to be a note of expectation here, a belief on Satan's part that his dealings with Jesus are over, because Jesus is now dead and to become the prisoner of Hades.
Hades responds, "Who is this that pretends to be so powerful, when really he is a man who fears death? For all of the powerful men of the earth are now subjected to my power, whom you have subjected by your power. If then, you are powerful, what is this man Jesus like, who, though he fears death, can withstand your power? If he is so powerful in humanity, truly I tell you, he is all-powerful in divinity, and no one can resist his power. And when he says that he fears death, he wishes to lay hold on you, and woe be to you to the ages of eternity."
Interesting, no? Satan believes he has won, but Hades isn't convinced - Hades has a hunch that Jesus is God, and that Satan is about to be in serious trouble.
Satan responds, "Why do you doubt, and why are you afraid to receive this Jesus, your adversary and mine? For I have tempted him, and I have stirred up my ancient people the Jews with hatred and anger against him; I sharpened a lance to strike him; I mixed gall and vinegar to give him to drink; I prepared wood to crucify him, and nails to pierce him, and his death is approaching, that I may bring him to you, subject to you and me."
Hades remains unconvinced, saying, "You just told me that it is he himself who drags the dead away from me. There are many who are here kept by me, who, while they lived on earth, took the dead from me, not by their own power, but by godly prayers, and their almighty God dragged them away from me. Who is this Jesus, who by his word has withdrawn the dead from me without prayers? Perhaps he is the same one who, by the word of his command, brought Lazarus to life after he had been dead for four days, in stench and corruption."
Satan affirms, "It is the same Jesus."
When he hears this affirmation, Hades becomes quite alarmed: "I beg you by your powers and mine, do not bring him to me! For on that day, when I heard the command of his word, I trembled with terror and dismay, and all my officers were confounded along with me. We could not hold that Lazarus; rather, shaking himself like an eagle, he sprang out, and left us with speed, and the same ground which held the dead body of Lazarus immediately released him alive. I know that that man who could do these things is God, strong in authority, powerful in humanity, and He is the Saviour of the human race. But if you bring Him to me, all who are here trapped in the cruelty of the prison, and bound by their sins in chains that cannot be loosed, He will loose them, and will bring them to the life of His divinity for ever."
This is the really cool part. :)
Satan and Hades continue arguing, and while they argue, suddenly they hear "a voice of many thunders," and this voice quotes the old Psalm: "Lift up your gates, you princes; and be lifted up, you everlasting gates; and the King of glory will come in."
Hades says to Satan, "Leave me, and leave my realms: if you are a powerful warrior, go out and fight against the King of glory. But what have you to do with Him?"
So Hades casts Satan out and says to his officers, "Shut the cruel gates of brass, and put up the bars of iron, and resist bravely, that we, holding captivity, may not take Him captive."
Now all the patriarchs and saints begin to rebuke Hades: "Open your gates, that the King of glory may come in."
David speaks up, "Didn't I, when I was alive, prophesy to you: Let them confess to the Lord His tender mercies and His wonderful works to the children of men: for He has shattered the brazen gates, and burst the iron bars; He has taken them up out of the way of their iniquity?"
Isaiah follows this with, "Didn't I, when I was alive, prophesy to you: The dead shall rise up, and those who are in their tombs shall rise again, and those who are upon earth shall exult; because the dew, which is from the Lord, is their health? Again I said, Where, O Death, is thy sting? where, O Hades, is thy victory?"
The saints hear this word from Isaiah, and turn again to rebuke Hades: "Open your gates. Since you are now conquered, you will be weak and powerless."
Like a great refrain, the voice of thunders repeats: "Lift up your gates, you princes; and be lifted up, you infernal gates; and the King of glory shall come in."
In a masterful literary twist, the author has Hades be the one to recite the next part of the Psalm: "Who is the king of glory?"
David, because he wrote the Psalm, says "I recognise the words of the shout, since I prophesied those same words by His Spirit. And now, what I had said while I was on the earth, I say to you, The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle; He is the King of glory. And the Lord Himself hath looked down from heaven upon earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners, and to release the sons of the slain. So now, most filthy and foul Hades, open your gates, that the King of glory may come in."
At that moment, while David is still speaking, Jesus appears with radiant light and bursts the chains.
Death and Hades see this take place, and cry out "We have been overcome by you! Who are you who, undestroyed by corruption, the uncorrupted proof of thy majesty, condemns our power with fury? Who are you, so great and also little, lowly and also exalted, soldier and also commander, wonderful warrior in the form of a slave, and the king of glory dead and alive, whom slain the cross has carried? You, who lay dead in the sepulchre, have come down to us alive; and at your death every creature trembled, and the stars were moved; and now you have been made free among the dead, and you disturb our legions. Who are you, who sets free those who are held captive, bound by original sin, and who recalls them to their former liberty? Who are you, who sheds a divine and splendid and illuminating light upon those who have been blinded by the darkness of their sins?"
This is followed by a confession from the demons, "Where are you from, O Jesus, a man so powerful and splendid in majesty, so excellent, without spot, and free from guilt? For the world of earth which has always been subject to us until now, which used to pay tribute for our uses, has never sent us such a dead man, has never destined such gifts for the powers below. Who are you, who has so intrepidly entered our territory, and who not only has no fear of our punishments, but, moreover, attempts to free everyone from our chains? Perhaps you are that same Jesus of whom our prince Satan said, that by your death of the cross you were destined to receive the dominion of the whole world."
Jesus makes no response, but simply tramples Death, seizes Satan, hands him over to the power of Hades, and draws Adam to His side.
Hades goes ballistic and yells at Satan, "O prince of perdition, and leader of extermination, Beelzebub, derision of angels, to be spit upon by the just, why did you wish to do this? Did you wish to crucify the King of glory, in whose death you promised us such great spoils? Like a fool, you did not know what you were doing. For, behold, Jesus is putting to flight all the darkness of death by the splendour of His divinity, and He has broken into the strongest and lowest depths of our dungeons, and has freed the captives, and released those who were bound. All who used to groan under our torments insult us, and by their prayers our dominions are taken, and our realms conquered, and no race of men has now any respect for us. We are also greatly threatened by the dead, who have never been haughty to us, and who have not at any time been joyful as captives. O Prince Satan, father of all impious wretches and renegades, why did you wish to do this? From those who from the beginning even until now have despaired of salvation and life, there is heard no bellowing after the usual fashion; and no groaning of theirs resounds, nor in any of their faces is a trace of tears found. O Prince Satan, possessor of the keys of the lower regions, all your riches which you had acquired by the tree of transgression and the loss of paradise, you have now lost by the tree of the cross, and all thy joy has perished. When you hung up that Christ Jesus the King of glory, you were acting against yourself and against me. Henceforth you will know what eternal torments and infinite punishments you are to endure in my everlasting keeping. O Prince Satan, author of death, and source of all pride, you should have first inquired into the bad cause of that Jesus. You perceived no fault in Him - why did you dare to crucify Him unjustly and without reason? Why have you brought to our regions one innocent and just, and as a result have lost the guilty, the impious, and the unjust of the whole world?"
Jesus then issues the decree to Hades: "Satan the prince will be in your power for ever, taking the place of Adam and his sons, my righteous ones."
Then follows a beautiful speech by Our Lord: "Come to me, all my saints, who bear my image and likeness. You who have been condemned through the tree and the devil and death, now see the devil and death condemned through the tree."
He turns to Adam, saying, "Peace be to you, with all your children, my righteous ones!"
Adam and the saints all fall down and proceed to a long hymn of worship and praise, after which the text says that Jesus "made the sign of the cross upon Adam and upon all His saints; and holding Adam by the right hand, went up from the powers below: and all the saints followed Him."
As they ascend, David breaks out into one of his old Psalms, "Sing unto the Lord a new song, for He hath done wonderful things; His right hand and His holy arm have brought salvation to Himself. The Lord hath made known His salvation; His righteousness hath He revealed in the sight of the heathen."
Habbakuk says, "You went forth for the salvation of your people, to deliver your elect," and the saints respond, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; God is the Lord, and He has shone upon us. Amen, alleluia."
It goes on like this for a while, the prophets giving testimony and the saints responding, until finally, Jesus delivers Adam to the care of St. Michael, "and all the saints followed Michael the archangel, and he led them all into the glorious grace of paradise."
Of course, they run into Enoch and Elijah, the two saints of the Old Testament who never experienced death. They say that they "have been reserved until the coming of Antichrist, to do battle with him by divine signs and wonders, and, being killed by him in Jerusalem, after three-and-a-half days to be taken up alive again in the clouds."
Finally, the saints meet up with a strange looking man who was "carrying on his shoulders the sign of the cross," but who had the appearance of a robber.
Guess who?
"Truly have you said that I was a robber, doing all sorts of evil upon the earth. And the Jews crucified me along with Jesus; and I saw the miracles in created things which were done through the cross of Jesus crucified, and I believed Him to be the Creator of all created things, and the King omnipotent; and I entreated Him, saying, Be mindful of me, Lord, when you come into your kingdom. Immediately He accepted my entreaty, and said to me, Amen; I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. And He gave me this sign of the cross, saying, Walk into paradise carrying this; and if the guardian angel of paradise will not let you in, show him the sign of the cross, and say to him, 'Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who has now been crucified, has sent me.' Having done so, I said all this to the guardian angel of paradise. And when he heard this, he immediately opened, and led me in, and placed me at the right of paradise, saying, Lo, wait for a little, and there will come in the father of the whole human race, Adam, with all his children, holy and just, after the triumph and glory of the ascension of Christ the crucified Lord."
Great little story, eh?
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