The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCCC), no 125 summarises points 632-637 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) and asks:
What is the “hell” into which Jesus descended?
This “hell” was different from the hell of the damned. It was the state of all those, righteous and evil, who died before Christ. With his soul united to his divine Person Jesus went down to the just in hell who were awaiting their Redeemer so they could enter at last into the vision of God. When he had conquered by his death both death and the devil "who has the power of death" (Hebrews 2:14), he freed the just who looked forward to the Redeemer and opened for them the gates of heaven.
There are different terms in Hebrew and Greek which have been all translated into English as "hell". These terms are Sheol, Hades, and Gehenna. Sheol and Gehenna are Hebrew words whereas Hades is Greek.
1.1 "Sheol" and "Hades"
Peter Klein, in The Catholic Source Book (3rd ed. Harcourt: 2000, p 123) explains thus:
Sheol. This Hebrew word, which occurs sixty-five times in the Old Testament, refers to the gloomy abode of the dead beneath the earth, the destination of the righteous as well as those who are evil. It has been variously translated--nether world, the deep, grave, pit--and is also the personification of death. (See Numbers 16:30-35; I Samuel 2:6; II Samuel 22:6; Job 11:8; 33:24,28; Proverbs 9:18; Psalms 9:17-18; 28:1; 30:3,9; 66:15; 63:9; 88:3-4,6; Amos 9:2; Isaiah 14:9,11; 44:23; Ezekiel 31:16-17; 32:21)
Hades. The Greek version of the underworld is Hades, a word that occurs eleven times in the New Testament. It is left as it is in some translations, but it is rendered "grave" or "hell" in others. According to Greek myth, Hades was ruled by Pluto and Persephone; a place to which the dead (with coin in mouth) were ferried across the River Styx by the avaricious Charon. Judgement followed, with the righteous going to a meadow on the edge of western world (Elysian Fields) and the wicked doomed to eternal suffering in the depths of Hades (Tartarus).
"Sheol" or "Hades" is the place of the dead. Contrast this with "Gehenna", in no 2 below.
1.2 "Gehenna"
Peter Klein, in The Catholic Source Book (3rd ed. Harcourt: 2000, p 123) continues:
Gehenna. This Hebrew word means "Valley of Hinnom"; it was a deep ravine on the southwest side of Jerusalem, long a dumping ground for human waste, corpses, and rotting matter--hence "incessant fire". Once even the site of human sacrifice, Gehenna became in Jesus' time, a popular symbol for what Christians call "hell". (See Mark 9:43-48; Luke 12:5; Matthew 5:29; 18:9, 23:33.)
"Gehenna" is the place of the damned, the real hell. Souls in gehenna have, by their own free will, decided to reject God's offer of eternal happiness. If they die without having changed their mind, without repenting of this choice, God respects and executes (in a way of speaking) their decision, forever depriving them of the possibility to taste any sort of happiness again. The CCC, no 1033, calls hell the "state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed".
1.3 "Bosom of Abraham"
In the Creed, we profess that Jesus "descended into hell". Sometimes we also say, "He descended to the dead". What we profess is that Jesus Christ went to the place of the dead ("Sheol" or "Hades"), not to "Gehenna".
Theologians have tried to give a special name to this state of the just souls who were awaiting the coming of the Saviour so that they could be admitted to heaven. It was called "limbo", from the Latin limbus, which means the edge or the fringe (of heaven). The term does not appear in Scripture and is equivalent to the Scriptural name "bosom of Abraham" (cf Ps 89:49; I Sam 28:19; Ezek 32:17-32; Lk 16:22-26) (cf CCC 633).
In an ancient homily for Holy Saturday (PG 43, 440A, 452C; Liturgy of the Hours, Holy Saturday, Office of Readings), it says:
Today a great silence reigns on earth, a great silence and a great stillness. A great silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. . . He has gone to search for Adam, our first father, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow Adam in his bonds and Eve, captive with him - He who is both their God and the son of Eve. . . "I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. . . I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead."
2.1 Body and Soul Reunited
When we die, the soul separates from the body. The same thing happened in the case of Jesus. Nonetheless, Jesus' divinity remained united to both body and soul. As the CCC, no 650 teaches:
The Fathers contemplate the Resurrection from the perspective of the divine person of Christ who remained united to his soul and body, even when these were separated from each other by death: "By the unity of the divine nature, which remains present in each of the two components of man, these are reunited. For as death is produced by the separation of the human components, so Resurrection is achieved by the union of the two" [St. Gregory of Nyssa, In Christi resurrectione. Orat. I: PG 46, 617B; cf also DS 325; 359; 369].
Jesus Christ rose by His own power, never to die again. CCC no 649 quotes St John's gospel (John 10:17-18):
I lay down my life, that I may take it again. . . I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.
2.2 A Real and Historical Event
The Resurrection really happened. It did not, as some "theologians" claimed, happen only in the minds or the faith of the believers. The apostles touched the risen Christ (John 20:24,29); Jesus ate food (Luke 24:36-43); He spoke with them at length (Luke 24:13-35; Acts 1:34); He was seen not only by some or by one but by all present (Mark 16:14; John 24:36,50). One proof is the effect of this: it transformed many lives!
The mystery of Christ's resurrection is a real event, with manifestations that were historically verified, as the New Testament bears witness. In about A.D. 56 St. Paul could already write to the Corinthians: "I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. . ."[I Corinthians 15:3-4] The Apostle speaks here of the living tradition of the Resurrection which he had learned after his conversion at the gates of Damascus [cf Acts 9:3-18].
The CCCC, no 127 (cf CCC 639-644, 656-657), says:
Along with the essential sign of the empty tomb, the Resurrection of Jesus is witnessed to by the women who first encountered Christ and proclaimed him to the apostles. Jesus then “appeared to Cephas (Peter) and then to the Twelve. Following that he appeared to more than five hundred of the brethren at one time” (1 Corinthians 15:5-6) and to others as well. The apostles could not have invented the story of the resurrection since it seemed impossible to them. As a matter of fact, Jesus himself upbraided them for their unbelief.
Following are proofs, both direct and indirect, of His Resurrection.
2.2.1 The empty tomb
CCC no 640 explains:
"Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen" [Luke 24:5-6]. The first element we encounter in the framework of the Easter events is the empty tomb. In itself it is not a direct proof of Resurrection; the absence of Christ's body from the tomb could be explained otherwise [cf John 20:13; Matthew 28:11-15]. Nonetheless the empty tomb was still an essential sign for all. Its discovery by the disciples was the first step toward recognizing the very fact of the Resurrection. This was the case, first with the holy women, and then with Peter [cf Luke 24:3, 12, 22-23]. The disciple "whom Jesus loved" affirmed that when he entered the empty tomb and discovered "the linen cloths lying there", "he saw and believed" [John 20:2, 6, 8]. This suggests that he realized from the empty tomb's condition that the absence of Jesus' body could not have been of human doing and that Jesus had not simply returned to earthly life as had been the case with Lazarus [cf John 11:44; 20:5-7]
2.2.2 The appearances of the Risen One
The proofs that Jesus truly rose is so important that it is worth quoting here points 641 to 642 of the CCC:
Mary Magdalene and the holy women who came to finish anointing the body of Jesus, which had been buried in haste because the Sabbath began on the evening of Good Friday, were the first to encounter the Risen One [Mark 16:1; Luke 24:1; John 19:31,42]. Thus the women were the first messengers of Christ's Resurrection for the apostles themselves [cf Luke 24:9-10; Matthew 28:9-10; John 20:11-18]. They were the next to whom Jesus appears: first Peter, then the Twelve. Peter had been called to strengthen the faith of his brothers [cf I Corinthians 15:5; Luke 22:31-32], and so sees the Risen One before them; it is on the basis of his testimony that the community exclaims: "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" [Luke 24:34, 36]
Everything that happened during those Paschal days involves each of the apostles - and Peter in particular - in the building of the new era begun on Easter morning. As witnesses of the Risen One, they remain the foundation stones of his Church. The faith of the first community of believers is based on the witness of concrete men known to the Christians and for the most part still living among them. Peter and the Twelve are the primary "witnesses to his Resurrection", but they are not the only ones - Paul speaks clearly of more than five hundred persons to whom Jesus appeared on a single occasion and also of James and of all the apostles [I Corinthians 15:4-8; cf Acts 1:22]
2.2.3 The state of the Apostles after Christ's death
Another proof of the fact that Jesus rose is the attitude of the apostles, which changed from incredulity to belief.
Given all these testimonies, Christ's Resurrection cannot be interpreted as something outside the physical order, and it is impossible not to acknowledge it as an historical fact. It is clear from the facts that the disciples' faith was drastically put to the test by their master's Passion and death on the cross, which he had foretold [cf Lk 22:31-32]. The shock provoked by the Passion was so great that at least some of the disciples did not at once believe in the news of the Resurrection. Far from showing us a community seized by a mystical exaltation, the Gospels present us with disciples demoralized ("looking sad" [Luke 24:17; cf John 20:19]) and frightened. For they had not believed the holy women returning from the tomb and had regarded their words as an "idle tale" [Luke 24:11; cf Mark 16:11, 13]. When Jesus reveals himself to the Eleven on Easter evening, "he upbraided them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen" [Mark 16:14].
Even when faced with the reality of the risen Jesus the disciples are still doubtful, so impossible did the thing seem: they thought they were seeing a ghost. "In their joy they were still disbelieving and still wondering" [Luke 24:38-41]. Thomas will also experience the test of doubt and St. Matthew relates that during the risen Lord's last appearance in Galilee "some doubted" [cf John 20:24-27; Matthew 28:17]. Therefore the hypothesis that the Resurrection was produced by the apostles' faith (or credulity) will not hold up. On the contrary their faith in the Resurrection was born, under the action of divine grace, from their direct experience of the reality of the risen Jesus.
2.4 Transcendent event--it surpasses history
At the same time that the Resurrection is a historical fact, it is also a transcendent event, because it requires those who did not witness it personally to rely on the witness of the first apostles and accept their testimony in faith. The CCCC (no 128; cf also CCC 647, 656-657) tells us:
While being an historical event, verifiable and attested by signs and testimonies, the Resurrection, insofar as it is the entrance of Christ's humanity into the glory of God, transcends and surpasses history as a mystery of faith. For this reason the risen Christ did not manifest himself to the world but to his disciples, making them his witnesses to the people.
2.5 Did Jesus have the same body after His resurrection?
The resurrected body of Jesus possessed some properties which it did not have before. The CCCC, no 129 (cf CCC 645-646), teaches us:
The Resurrection of Christ was not a return to earthly life. His risen body is that which was crucified and bears the marks of his passion. However it also participates in the divine life, with the characteristics of a glorified body. Because of this the risen Jesus was utterly free to appear to his disciples how and where he wished and under various aspects.
Theology explains to us that our Lord's body had the following properties:
CCC 645 says:
By means of touch and the sharing of a meal, the risen Jesus establishes direct contact with his disciples. He invites them in this way to recognize that he is not a ghost and above all to verify that the risen body in which he appears to them is the same body that had been tortured and crucified, for it still bears the traces of his Passion [cf Luke 24:30,39-40, 41-43; John 20:20, 27; 21:9,13-15]. Yet at the same time this authentic, real body possesses the new properties of a glorious body: not limited by space and time but able to be present how and when he wills; for Christ's humanity can no longer be confined to earth, and belongs henceforth only to the Father's divine realm [cf Matthew 28:9, 16-17; Luke 24:15, 36; John 20:14, 17, 19, 26; 21:4]. For this reason too the risen Jesus enjoys the sovereign freedom of appearing as he wishes: in the guise of a gardener or in other forms familiar to his disciples, precisely to awaken their faith [cf Mark 16:12; John 20:14-16; 21:4, 7].
Moreover, Jesus' resurrection was not a return to earthly life where He could die again; hence, it was not similar to the other resurrections he effected. CCC 646 says:
Christ's Resurrection was not a return to earthly life, as was the case with the raisings from the dead that he had performed before Easter: Jairus' daughter, the young man of Naim, Lazarus. These actions were miraculous events, but the persons miraculously raised returned by Jesus' power to ordinary earthly life. At some particular moment they would die again. Christ's Resurrection is essentially different. In his risen body he passes from the state of death to another life beyond time and space. At Jesus' Resurrection his body is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit: he shares the divine life in his glorious state, so that St. Paul can say that Christ is "the man of heaven" [cf 1 Cor 15:35-50].
2.6 Why is the Resurrection important for a Christian like me?
St Paul says (I Corinthians 15:14-19)
14* if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. 17 If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18* Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied.
The CCCC (no 126; cf CCC 631,638) asks, "What place does the Resurrection of Christ occupy in our faith?"
The Resurrection of Jesus is the crowning truth of our faith in Christ and represents along with his cross an essential part of the Paschal Mystery.
One proof that this fact is the crowning truth of our faith is that many Christians were put to death because they refused to deny the resurrection of Jesus. If it were just an invention, or a hallucination, they would have easily given it up instead of their life.
The CCC (cf nos 651-655), reiterating what has been said above, summarises the importance of the Resurrection. Jesus' rising again from the dead
St Luke writes in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:9-11; cf Mark 16:19; Luke 24:51; John 14:28):
9* And when he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."
The CCCC, no 132 (cf CCC 659-667) teaches:
After forty days during which Jesus showed himself to the apostles with ordinary human features which veiled his glory as the Risen One, Christ ascended into heaven and was seated at the right hand of the Father. He is the Lord who now in his humanity reigns in the everlasting glory of the Son of God and constantly intercedes for us before the Father. He sends us his Spirit and he gives us the hope of one day reaching the place he has prepared for us.
Being "seated at the right hand of the Father" is best explained by the following Scripture verse in the book of Daniel (7:14):
To him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
4.1 Trials, judgement, Christ's reign
The CCCC, no 133 (cf CCC 668-674,680), asks, "How does the Lord Jesus now reign?". It replies as follows:
As the Lord of the cosmos and of history, the Head of his Church, the glorified Christ mysteriously remains on earth where his kingdom is already present in seed and in its beginning in the Church. One day he will return in glory but we do not know the time. Because of this we live in watchful anticipation, praying “Come, Lord” (Revelation 22:20).
"How will the coming of the Lord in glory happen?" the next point (134; cf CCC 675-677,680) asks. And it answers:
After the final cosmic upheaval of this passing world the glorious coming of Christ will take place. Then will come the definitive triumph of God in the parousia and the Last Judgment. Thus the Kingdom of God will be realized.
The CCCC (no 135; cf 678-679,681-682) then asks, "How will Christ judge the living and the dead?". The reply is:
Christ will judge with the power he has gained as the Redeemer of the world who came to bring salvation to all. The secrets of hearts will be brought to light as well as the conduct of each one toward God and toward his neighbor. Everyone, according to how he has lived, will either be filled with life or damned for eternity. In this way, “the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13) will come about in which “God will be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28).
The final reign of Christ is still to come (cf CCC 671). We are in a time of trial and waiting and of distress (cf CCC 672). The time of His final coming is not known to us (cf CCC 673) and the Church must pass a final trial which will shake the faith of believers (CCC 676).
4.2 The Antichrist
Many people identify the "antichrist" with some person. The antichrist, however, is a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh (cf CCC 676). The antichrist's deception happens everytime someone makes the claim that he can turn this earth into a heaven (cf CCC 677). Such is what secularism does, for example. It makes man forsake God and concentrate all his efforts on building an earthly paradise. Christ's coming will be preceded by one last assault of the powers of evil (cf CCC 680).