Descensus ad Inferos (Part 10): Other Early References
posted by Krista | 4/3/2004 2:27:38 PM | Permalink | 
Stumble It!
Jeremiah-logionThe Jeremiah-logion is an apocryphal collection of passages attributed to Jeremiah that, according to Justin the Martyr (d.165), were cut out of the Old Testament by the Jews because the passages referred to Christ. Justin quotes:
'The Lord God remembered His dead people of Israel who lay in the graves; and He descended to preach to them His own salvation.'
Iranaeus
Iranaeus (c.130-c.200) also quotes a similar passage of Jeremiah, "The holy Lord remembered His dead Israel, who slept in the land of sepulture; and He descended to them to make known to them His salvation, that they might be saved." And in Epid., ch. 78, Irenaeus states:
"And by Jeremiah He so makes known His death and His descent to Hades saying: 'The Lord, the Holy One of Israel, remembered His dead, those who had formerly slept in the dust of the earth, and descended to them to preach His glad tidings and to deliver them.'"
Irenaeus clearly states his opinion here that Christ's descent is for the salvation of those who were dead. These passages in Irenaeus and Justin may be influenced by preaching to the dead in 1 Pet iv.6.
Reference
- PDF (66KB): Paper with Footnotes - This essay is adapted from an old undergrad paper for a Historical Jesus Class I wrote a few years ago. (Yes, it could use editing.)
