Daniel Burke over at Religion News Service What did Jesus do on Holy Saturday?
Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and most mainline Protestant churches teach that Jesus descended to the realm of the dead on Holy Saturday to save righteous souls, such as the Hebrew patriarchs, who died before his crucifixion.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls the descent “the last phase of Jesus’ messianic mission,’’ during which he “opened heaven’s gates for the just who had gone before him.”
[ . . .]
But some Protestants say there is scant scriptural evidence for the hellish detour, and that Jesus’ own words contradict it.
Well, all we have is speculation until the veil is lifted as there’s no detailed account written that I’m aware of. In general though I would say our understanding will probably never be complete until we are complete in Him. It seems that Christ’s crucifixion is a temporal yet eternal event standing in the “center” of all *time. Which I think I understand as something that even though in human terms of time happened at a certain point it’s effect actually happens during all time. It would make sense of the words of Christ that His Father is the “God of the living not the dead” and His Transfiguration with Moses and Elijah.
So to me the Apostle’s Creed statement of “He descended into hell” is something that is connected to His crucifixion and thus it’s effect is the same – upon all time.
*Of course we have to remember, time is a construct of this universe and does not necessarily exist outside of it (and most probably doesn’t), and in any case He is not subject to it and so all of His actions are eternal. ;)
St. Therese of Lisieux said one day this GREAT LINE : “Yes, I believe that there is an hell, but I don’t believe that there is somebody in there !!!”
When you understand that God is Love, you understand that he will never resign to let even one of his children in hell… And I don’t know how he will do it, but I have plenty of hope that he will because he his Love.