Hades
De Schrift en de eerste christenen maken duidelijk dat in Hades er twee ‘regionen’ zijn. Een voor de zielen van de rechtvaardigen, ook wel paradijs of Abraham’s boezem genoemd, en een lager en duister gedeelte waar de zielen van de onrechtvaardigen verblijven tot de opstanding en het uiteindelijke oordeel op de oordeelsdag.
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"Er was eens een rijke man die gewoon was zich te kleden in purperen gewaden en fijn linnen en die dagelijks uitbundig feestvierde. Een bedelaar die Lazarus heette, lag voor de poort van zijn huis, overdekt met zweren. Hij hoopte zijn maag te vullen met wat er overschoot van de tafel van de rijke man; maar er kwamen alleen honden aanlopen, die zijn zweren likten. Op zekere dag stierf de bedelaar, en hij werd door de engelen weggedragen om aan Abrahams hart te rusten. Ook de rijke stierf en werd begraven. Toen hij in het dodenrijk, waar hij hevig gekweld werd, zijn ogen opsloeg, zag hij in de verte Abraham met Lazarus aan zijn zijde. Hij riep: "Vader Abraham, heb medelijden met mij en stuur Lazarus naar me toe. Laat hem het topje van zijn vinger in water dompelen om mijn tong te verkoelen, want ik lijd pijn in deze vlammen." Maar Abraham zei: "Kind, bedenk wel dat jij je deel van het goede al tijdens je leven hebt ontvangen, terwijl Lazarus niets dan ongeluk heeft gekend; nu vindt hij hier troost, maar lijd jij pijn. Bovendien ligt er een wijde kloof tussen ons en jullie, zodat wie van hier naar jullie wil gaan dat niet kan, en ook niemand van jullie naar ons kan oversteken." Toen zei de rijke man: "Dan smeek ik u, vader, dat u hem naar het huis van mijn vader stuurt, want ik heb nog vijf broers. Hij kan hen dan waarschuwen, zodat ze niet net als ik in dit oord van martelingen terechtkomen." Abraham zei: "Ze hebben Mozes en de profeten: laten ze naar hen luisteren!" De rijke man zei: "Nee, vader Abraham, maar als iemand van de doden naar hen toe komt, zullen ze tot inkeer komen." Maar Abraham zei: "Als ze niet naar Mozes en de profeten luisteren, zullen ze zich ook niet laten overtuigen als er iemand uit de dood opstaat.”’"
Luk. 16: 19:31
"Jezus antwoordde: 'Ik verzeker je: nog vandaag zul je met mij in het paradijs zijn.’" Luk. 23:43
"Broeders, u zult mij wel toestaan dat ik over de aartsvader David zeg dat hij gestorven en begraven is; zijn graf bevindt zich immers nog steeds hier. Maar omdat hij een profeet was en wist dat God hem onder ede beloofd had dat een van zijn nakomelingen zijn troon zou bestijgen, heeft hij de opstanding van de messias voorzien en gezegd dat deze niet aan het dodenrijk [Hades] zou worden overgeleverd en dat zijn lichaam niet tot ontbinding zou overgaan. Jezus is door God tot leven gewekt, daarvan getuigen wij allen." Hand. 2:29-32
"En als de Opperherder verschijnt, zult u de onverwelkbare krans van de heerlijkheid verkrijgen". 1Pet. 5:4
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Peter, through unrighteous envy [of his persecutors], endured not one or two, but numerous labors. And when he had at length suffered martyrdom, he departed to the place of glory due to him. . . . Paul also obtained the reward of patient endurance, after being seven times thrown into captivity . . . and suffering martyrdom under the prefects. In that manner, he was removed from the world and went into the holy place.
Clement of Rome (c. 96, W), 1.6.
All the generations from Adam even unto this day have passed away. However, those who, through the grace of God, have been made perfect in love, now possess a place among the godly. And they will be made manifest at the revelation of the kingdom of Christ. For it is written, “Enter into your secret chambers for a little time, until my wrath and fury pass away. And I will remember a propitious day, and will raise you up out of your graves.” Clement of Rome (c. 96, W), 1.18.
[IN REFERENCE TO SOME FAITHFUL MARTYRS:] They are in their due place in the presence of the Lord, with whom they also suffered.
Polycarp (c. 135, E), 1.35.
After we have departed from the world, no further power of confessing or repenting will belong to us. Second Clement (c. 150, W), 7.519.
The souls of the godly remain in a better place, while those of the unjust and wicked are in a worse place, waiting for the time of judgment.
Justin Martyr (c. 160, E), 1.197.
You may have fallen in with some [Gnostics] who are called Christians. However, they do not admit this [intermediate state], and they venture to blaspheme the God of Abraham. . . . They say there is no resurrection of the dead. Rather, they say that when they die, their souls are taken to heaven. Do not imagine that they are Christians. Justin Martyr (c. 160, E), 1.239.
[Christ’s enemies] imagined they would put Him to death, and that He, like some common mortal, would remain in Hades.
Justin Martyr (c. 160, E), 1.248.
It is likely enough that they themselves are now lamenting in Hades and repenting with a repentance that is too late.
Justin Martyr (c. 160, E), 1.288.
If they believe that there is nothing after death, but declare that those who die pass into insensibility, then they become our benefactors when they set us free from sufferings. Justin Martyr (c. 160, E), 1.182.
The Lord has taught with very great fullness that souls continue to exist. They do not do this by passing from body to body. Rather, they preserve the same form as that of the body to which they were adapted. . . . The Lord states that the rich man recognized Lazarus after death, as well as Abraham. . . . From these things, then, it is plainly declared that souls continue to exist, that they do not pass from body to body, that they possess the form of a man (so that they may be recognized), and that they retain the memory of things in this world. Moreover, it is plain that the gift of prophecy was possessed by Abraham and that each class receives a habitation such as it has deserved, even before the judgment.
Irenaeus (c. 180, E/ W), 1.411.
The heretics . . . do not acknowledge the salvation of their flesh . . . but claim that immediately upon their death, they will pass above the heavens and the Demiurge [Creator] and go to the Mother or to that Father whom they pretend exists. . . . For they do not choose to understand, that if these things are as they say, the Lord Himself, in whom they profess to believe, did not rise again upon the third day. Rather, immediately upon His expiring on the cross, He undoubtedly departed on high, leaving His body to the earth. . . . The Lord observed the law of the dead so that He might become the First-Begotten from the dead. And He waited until the third day “in the lower parts of the earth.” . . . [Accordingly,] these men [the Gnostics] must be put to confusion, who allege that “the lower parts” refer to this world of ours, but that their inner man, leaving the body here, ascends into the super- celestial place . . . .
The Lord “went away in the midst of the shadow of death,” where the souls of the dead were. However, afterwards, He arose in the body. And after the resurrection, He was taken up [into heaven]. From this, it is clear that the souls of His disciples also (upon whose account the Lord underwent these things) will go away into the invisible place allotted to them by God. And they will remain there until the resurrection, awaiting that event. Then receiving their bodies, and rising in their entirety (that is, bodily), just as the Lord arose, they will come in that manner into the presence of God. Irenaeus (c. 180, E/W), 1.560.
“No disciple is above the Master.” . . . Our Master, therefore, did not at once depart, taking flight [to heaven]. Rather, He awaited the time of His resurrection, as determined by the Father. . . . Likewise, we also shouldawait the time of our resurrection determined by God.
Irenaeus (c. 180, E/W), 1.560, 561.
For their benefit, “He also descended into the lower parts of the earth,” to behold with His eyes the state of those who were resting from their labors. . . . For Christ did not come merely for those who believed on Him in the time of Tiberius Caesar. Nor did the Father exercise His providence only for the men who are presently alive. Rather, He exercised it for all men altogether, who from the beginning . . . have both feared and loved God. Irenaeus (c. 180, E/ W), 1.494.
It was for this reason, too, that the Lord descended into the regions beneath the earth, preaching His advent there also. And He [declared] the remission of sins received by those who believe in Him. Irenaeus (c. 180, E/ W), 1.499.
He gathered from the ends of the earth into His Father’s fold the children who were scattered abroad. And He remembered His own dead ones, who had previously fallen asleep. He came down to them so that He might deliver them. Irenaeus (c. 180, E/W), 1.506.
For three days He dwelt in the place where the dead were, as the prophet said concerning Him. “And the Lord remembered His dead saints who slept formerly in the land of the dead. And He descended to them to rescue and save them.” The Lord Himself said, “As Jonah remained three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so will the Son of man be in the heart of the earth.” Irenaeus (c. 180, E/W), 1.560.
If, then, the Lord descended to Hades for no other reason but to preach the Gospel (as He did descend), it was either to preach the Gospel to all, or else to the Hebrews only. If, accordingly, He preached to all, then all who believe will be saved on making their profession there—even though they may be Gentiles. For God’s punishments are saving and disciplinary, leading to conversion. He desires the repentance, rather than the death, of a sinner. This is especially so since souls, although darkened by passions, when released from their bodies, are able to perceive more clearly. For they are no longer obstructed by the paltry flesh. Clement of Alexandria (c. 195, E), 2.490, 491.
The Lord preached the Gospel to those in Hades. . . . Do not [the Scriptures] show that the Lord preached the Gospel to those who perished in the flood, or rather had been chained, as to those kept in ward and guard? And it has been shown also . . . that the apostles, following the Lord, preached the Gospel to those in Hades. . . . If, then, the Lord descended to Hades for no other reason but to preach the Gospel (as He did descend), itwas either to preach the Gospel to all, or else to the Hebrews only. If, accordingly, He preached to all, then all who believe will be saved on making their profession there—even though they may be Gentiles. For God’s punishments are saving and disciplinary, leading to conversion. He desires the repentance, rather than the death, of a sinner. This is especially so since souls, although darkened by passions, when released from their bodies, are able to perceive more clearly. For they are no longer obstructed by the paltry flesh. . . . Did not the same dispensation obtain in Hades? For even there, all the souls, on hearing the proclamation, could either exhibit repentance, or confess that their punishment was just, because they did not believe. And it was not arbitrary that they could obtain either salvation or punishment. For those who had departed before the coming of the Lord had not had the Gospel preached to them. So they had been given no opportunity to either believe or not believe.
Clement of Alexandria (c. 195, E), 2.490, 491.
He preached the Gospel to those in the flesh so that they would not be condemned unjustly. So how is it conceivable that He did not for the same reason preach the Gospel to those who had departed this life before His coming? Clement of Alexandria (c. 195, E), 2.492.
Our answer to this is that the Scripture itself . . . expressly distinguishes between Abraham’s bosom (where the poor man dwells) and Hades. Hades means one thing; and “Abraham’s bosom,” another. A great gulf is said to separate those regions and to hinder a passage from one to the other. Tertullian (c. 207, W), 3.406.
It must therefore be evident to every man of intelligence who has ever heard of the Elysian fields, that there is some determinate place calledAbraham’s bosom. It is designed for the reception of the souls of Abraham’s children—even from among the Gentiles. . . . This region, therefore, I call Abraham’s bosom. Although it is not in heaven, it is yet higher than Hades. And it is appointed to afford an interval of rest to the souls of the righteous until the consummation of all things completes the resurrection of all men with the full recompense of their reward. . . . By Abraham’s bosom is meant some temporary receptacle of faithful souls, wherein is even now foreshadowed an image of the future, and where is given some foresight of the glory of both judgments. Tertullian (c. 207, W), 3.406.
Now we must speak of Hades, in which the souls both of the righteous and the unrighteous are detained. Hades is a place in the created system, rude, a locality beneath the earth, in which the light of the world does not shine. And since the sun does not shine in this place, there is necessarily perpetual darkness there. This place has been destined to be, as it were, a guardhouse for souls. The angels are stationed there as guards distributing temporary punishments for characters, according to each one’s deeds. And in this locality there is a certain place set apart by itself, a lake of unquenchable fire, into which we suppose no one has ever yet been cast. . . . But the righteous (who will obtain the incorruptible and unfading kingdom) are indeed presently detained in Hades, but not in the same place with the unrighteous. For to this locality there is one descent, at the gate of which we believe an archangel is stationed with an army. And when those who are conducted by the angels who are appointed unto the souls have passed through this gate, they do not all proceed down one and the same path. Rather, the righteous are conducted in the light toward the right. And being hymned by the angels stationed at the place, they are brought to a locality full of light. And there all the righteous persons from the beginning dwell. They are not ruled by any necessity. Rather, they perpetually enjoy the contemplation of the blessings that are in their view. Also, they delight themselves with the expectation of other blessings, ever new. In fact, they consider the new blessings as ever better than the first ones. And that placebrings no labors for them. In that locale, there are neither fierce heat, cold, nor thorns. But the faces of the fathers and the righteous are seen to be always smiling, as they wait for the rest and eternal revival in heaven that follow this location. And we call this place by the name of “Abraham’s bosom.”
However, the unrighteous are dragged toward the left by angels who are ministers of punishment. These souls no longer go of their own accord. Rather, they are dragged as prisoners by force. And the angels appointed over them hurry them along, reproaching them and threatening them with an eye of terror, forcing them down into the lower parts. And when the souls are brought there, those appointed to that task drag them on to the vicinity of Gehenna. And those who are so near [to Gehenna] hear incessantly its agitation, and they feel the hot smoke. And when that vision is so near, as they see the terrible and excessively glowing spectacle of the fire, they shudder in horror at the expectation of the future judgment, already feeling the power of their punishment. And again, when they see the place of the fathers and the righteous, they also suffer punishment merely from seeing this. For a deep and vast abyss is set there in the midst, so that neither can any of the righteous in sympathy think to cross it, nor do any of the unrighteous dare to cross it.
I think I have said enough on the subject of Hades, in which all souls are detained until the time that God has determined. And then He will accomplish a resurrection of all—not by transferring souls into other bodies —but by raising the bodies themselves.
Hippolytus (c. 205, W), 5.222.
The rich man was in torment and the poor man was comforted in the bosom of Abraham. The one was to be punished in Hades, and the other was to be comforted in Abraham’s bosom. Yet, they are both spoken of as before the [second] coming of the Savior and before the end of the world.Therefore, their condition is before the resurrection. Methodius (c. 290, E), 6.377, as quoted by Photius.
Read also:
Origen (c. 225, E), 4.372.
Novatian (c. 235, W), 5.612.
Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.331.
Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.332.
Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.465.
Treatise against Novatian (c. 255, W), 5.662, 663.
Lactantius (c. 304–313, W), 7.85.
Lactantius (c. 304–313, W), 7.217.
Arnobius (c. 305, E), 6.445.