CHRIST'S DESCENT INTO SPIRIT PRISON, HELL, HADES, LIMBO, ANASTASIS (LINKS TO HISTORIC CHRISTIAN ART & WRITINGS)

CHRIST'S DESCENT INTO SPIRIT PRISON:
(HELL, LIMBO, HADES, PURGATORY, PIT, UNDERWORLD, ANASTASIS)
TO PREACH THE GOSPEL & RESURRECT THE DEAD DURING HARROWING OF HELL

HOW DESCENTS & ASCENSIONS OUT OF SOME BAPTISMAL FONTS
WERE TYPES OF CHRIST'S DESCENT & THE RESURRECTION

Justin Martyr Jr., 2008

In primitive to later Christian histories, the spirit prison was an after life realm which was also called the spirit prison house, hell, limbo, hades, purgatory, the pit, the underworld, the lower regions, one of the realms of the dead, the grave, sheol, and gehenna, etc. The act of Christ's descent into hell to preach the gospel to the captive spirits was also referred to as the harrowing of hell, the descent, the liberation of the captives souls, the resurrection, the anastasis, the rescue, & one of the passions.

The descent was predicted & mentioned by many of the Old and New Testament writers, the earliest to later Christians, & it is found in many religious documents, poems, songs, legends, & traditions. It was depicted in numerous art works, on monuments, stone carvings,# book designs, illumination manuscripts, and glass windows. It was also dramatized in numerous mystery plays, and rituals throughout history.

Christ's descent made it possible for the dead to be able to live again, and be set free from the bonds of death. For if they didn't have the chance during their mortal life to hear and obey the gospel, they would be given that opportunity in the after life realms. If, however, they did have the chance but were once disobedient and thus went to the spirit prison and upon hearing it again, and repenting, and living according to God in the spirit, they would eventually be released, resurrected, and guided over into paradise, having been redeemed from their sins.

Geoffrey R. King tells us how Christ “went into the world of the dead, conquered the warden and master of that place, wrenched from his grasp the keys of death and of Hades, so that ever since Good Friday night Christ has held the keys. He says so in Revelation i., you remember: “I am He that liveth; I became dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore; and I have the keys of death and of Hades.” Satan had them before: I have them now. Then when Jesus ascended He took these released captives under Satan’s government with Him up into Heaven. That is why I have called this study “The Divine Missionary to Hades”.#

In some cases, the story about Jonah in the belly of a great fish, this was a type of Christ’s descent into hell to rescue the captive spirits there, and bring them over into paradise. Hence, art works show these types, for example, an early 3rd— 4th century work shows how that “the paradise to which the soul of Jonah is transported is depicted in a tomb at Cagliari in Sardina”.#
The descent was one of the passions, and it was depicted in many of the 12 passions of Christ. The different writings and art works of the descent could include some or many different elements and symbolical types, and there were numerous versions in each of the following. For writers & artists had to decide which moments in the whole drama they wanted to depict, or write about. Some writers mentioned how those who had preached Christ's coming into mortality, while they were in mortality, had gone on to continue to preach his coming to the spirit prisoners too, after they had died. Some artists showed Christ kicking the doors of hades, etc.,

Christ kicks at the doors of hades to break them down, an angel (Michael) with a weapon, is ready to do battle with the underworld demons,# while others showed the moment when the doors began to fall, others after they had fallen, others when Christ stood on the doors & the under-world demonic-monsters. Others at the moment when the captive spirits came forth to greet Christ, others when Adam reaches forth his hand to clasp Christ's hand. Others show different types of hand# and wrist grasps. Others decided to depict the moment when Christ began to turn, others of him turned# to act as a guide,# at the moment when they began to ascend up towards paradise, while others showed Christ presenting the liberated to his Mother. And others of him bringing them to God the Father, or when Christ and the liberated had entered through the doors into paradise.

In other cases, different aspects of Christ’s world wide trek are seen in art works and sources that also show Christ’s descent into and out of hell, & the tomb. For it is after Christ’s ascension out of hell that his post-resurrection victory march around the world takes place. Hence, some artists show these events in sections and series.#

PART ONE: AN ANCIENT SETTING FOR BAPTISMS FOR THE DEAD

For many early to later Christians, baptism was a type of Christ's descent into the spirit prison, for after having been anointed, they became an anointed one, or in a symbolical way, a "Christ". After which they descended down into the baptismal waters as a type of how Christ had descended into the spirit prison, thus, in some cases, they were baptized as if they were in the spirit prison.

To understand how this was so, let us consider first the doctrine of Christ's descent. Peter wrote that there was an answer that the earliest Christians could give to the charges raised by early anti-Christians who had spoken evil against them. Some of the early critics charged that Christianity was new and therefore could not have been able to have saved any body in pre-Christian times. The answers to this charge and others was that Christ had descended into the spirit prison to preached the gospel there (1 Peter 3:15-22, 4:5-6; Eph. 4:7-10, Isa. 42:6-7).
The early anti-Christian Porphyry, 2nd half of the 3rd cent. A.D., asked: If Christ is the way the truth and the life, and no ones comes to the Father but through Him, (John 14:6), what happened to the innumerable souls before the time of Christ, why did he hide himself for so many ages? Julian the Apostate asked why God had sent prophets to the Jews only, but no prophets & oil of anointing to other nations? Did God neglect us? The answer to these polemical questions, as given by some of the early Christian Fathers was that the gospel had been preached throughout the world and in the realms of the dead for prophets, angels and Christ had gone forth everywhere to spread the word.#

In The Recognitions Of Clement, [1ST--4TH Centuries A.D.?] Clement was concerned about what happened to those who lived in the times before Christ's birth, how could they be saved? Peter answered Clement by telling him that Christ had pre-existed, for He was from the beginning, for Christ had been secretly present with the pious throughout all their generations; especially with those who had waited for Christ. For it was to them that Christ frequently appeared. However, the time was not yet that there should be a resurrection of their bodies after their bodies had been dissolved. Therefore when they passed on into the next life, plus those who pleased His will, they were translated to Paradise so that they should be kept for the kingdom. While all those who hadn't been able completely to fulfil the rule of righteousness, but still had some remnants of evil in their flesh, their bodies were also eventually dissolved too, while their spirits were kept in good and blessed abodes, so that at when they are resurrected, or when they shall recover their own bodies, purified even by the dissolution, they too may eventually obtain an eternal inheritance according to their good deeds. While those who were blessed enough to attain to the kingdom of Christ shall have not only escaped the pains of hell, but they shall have also remain incorruptible, and shall have become the first to see God the Father, and shall have obtained the rank of honour among the first in the presence of God.#
In the Greek version of The Report of Pilate the Procurator, sent to the August Caesar in Rome, the descent is mentioned. A number of saints were said to have risen from the dead. "And as lightnings come suddenly in winter, so majestic men appeared in glorious robes, an innumerable multitude, whose voice was heard as that of a very great thunder, crying out: Jesus that was crucified is risen: come up out of Hades, ye that have been enslaved in the underground regions of Hades."#

DURING CHRIST'S TIME AND THE 1ST CENTURY A.D: Can you imagine what the apostles must have asked Christ, during those 40 days after His resurrection? (Acts. 1:3). For the apostles, this was the opportunity of a life time, for they had the chance to talk with Christ about what it was like to die. So we might imagine what might have been some of their questions. What happened when your spirit left your body, Lord? Were did your spirit go? What was it like on the other side? What did you see, & do? They must have had many questions. And, according to the scriptures, plus the different so-called "40 day sayings." Christ answered those questions, by giving them the mysteries of the Kingdom which included the work of salvation for the dead.#
John wrote that Christ said that the "dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear him shall live" (John 5:25-29). This prediction, as well as other Old Testament predictions were fulfilled, as recorded by Peter & Paul, & others who passed down the story of Christ's descent into the spirit world to preach the gospel to the dead, to free the captive spirits held there.#

30-107, Ignatius, an apostolic fathers, a fellow disciple with Polycarp under St. John, also passed on the story of Christ descent into the spirit prison. Ignatius' words, as well as the words of scripture, & other early Christian writers, may have become the inspiration for some of the early Christian art works. According to the short version of Ignatius epistle to the Magnesians, "the prophets themselves in the Spirit did wait for Him [Christ,] their Teacher? And therefore He whom they rightly waited for, being come, raised them from the dead."#

In another letter of Ignatius, the long version said to be written to the Trallians, Ignatius quotes from Matt.27:52, which is in reference to the saints who had arisen with the Lord, when Christ had ascended up out of the grave. "He descended, indeed, into Hades alone, but He arose accompanied by a multitude".#

In the Epistle of Barnabas, Christ redeems the spirit prisoners out of darkness, (citing Isa.42:6-7): "I, the Lord Thy God, have called Thee in righteousness, and will hold Thy hand, and will strengthen Thee; and I have given Thee for a covenant to the people, for a light to the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, & to bring forth from fetters them that are bound, and those that sit in darkness out of the prison-house." Ye perceive, then, whence we have been redeemed. And again, the prophet says, "Behold, I have appointed Thee as a light to the nations, that Thou mightest be for salvation even to the ends of the earth, saith the Lord God that redeemth thee." (Isa. xlix.6). "And again, the prophet saith, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because He hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the humble: He hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim deliverance to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind; to announce the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of recompense; to comfort all that mourn."#

The Odes of Solomon argued that Christ's incarnation or birth into the flesh, and the descent defeated the forces of evil.# Jeffrey Burton Russell gives the date for the Odes of Solomon, a Jewish-Christian document, to be a 2nd or 3rd century work. He then wrote that they gave two reasons for Christ’s descent into hell. One, death naturally brought him into the underworld. Two, his descent “broke the power of Death so that the baptized might henceforth obtain eternal life.”# “The Odes took Saint Paul’s idea that Christ defeated the powers of evil by his death and synthesized it with Saint John’s idea that he defeated them by breaking down the barriers of hell and letting in his life.”#

DURING THE 2ND CENTURY A.D., about A.D 100-105, the Apocryphon of John presents that descent in a different way than other versions for it mentions how the perfect providence descended into the darkness, to the prison, and the foundations of chaos were shook, the descent into the underworld was part of the saving plan. The descent may have been interpreted by some groups as being a descent into this world.#

Justin Martyr [A.D. 110-165], wrote a polemical work that responded to some of the early anti-Christian Jews. He accused some of them having removed from some of the copies of the sayings of Jeremiah a prophecy that predicted Christ's descent. "The Lord God remembered His dead people of Israel who lay in the graves; and He descended to preach to them His own salvation." Lundy gives another translation of this prediction as it was recorded by Irenaeus: "`And the Lord remembered His dead saints (Israel) who slept in the land of sepulture; and He went down to preach His salvation to them, and to rescue and save them.'"#

A Coptic manuscript of the 2nd century, mentioned Christ's descent.#

Irenaeus, [A.D. 120-202], was the Bishop of Lyons, a disciple of Polycarp, who was St. John's pupil. Irenaeus also mentions the prediction but quotes it a number of times, as being from both Isaiah and Jeremiah.#

Irenaeus objected to Marcion's interpretation of the descent story. According to Marcion, "...Cain, and those like him, and the Sodomites, and the Egyptians, and others like them, and in fine all the nations who walked in all sorts of abomination, were saved by the Lord, on His descending into Hades, & on their running unto Him, and that they welcomed Him into their kingdom...." Whereas, "...Abel, & Enoch, and Noah, and those who were pleasing to God, did not partake in salvation..." [for they] "...did not run to Jesus, or believe His announcement: and for this reason he" [Marcion], "declared that their souls remained in Hades."# Irenaeus had a different interpretation. Christ had "...descended to those things which are of the earth beneath, seeking the sheep which had perished..."# But in his descent Christ had brought "the ancient fathers" unto Himself through "regeneration" (baptism).#

Russell notes that "Marcion the Gnostic said that Christ descended to save all who believed in the true, hidden God as opposed to the evil demiurge who created the world."#

Alfred Firmin Loisy observed that Marcion had his own account of Christ's descent into Hell.#

Although Irenaeus believed in the descent of Christ into the realm of the spirit prison, he rejected many of the interpretations of the doctrine that came from different “apostate Christian" sects of his time, whom he felt were teaching "heresies." Hence, Marcion was listed as one of the "heretics" in Irenaeus’ works. Irenaeus seems to disagree with Marcion's interpretation as to who was saved when Christ descended into Hades. Irenaeus accused Marcion of distorting & mutilating the Gospels. During this century many different views were expounded upon concerning what Christ did when he went down into the spirit prison. Who got saved? Who rushed towards Christ to greet the glorious deliverer? Who did not? These questions, plus many others, were polemically considered by different Christian writers.#

In 1882, Lundy cites Irenaeus, as he had responded to heretics, for he wrote that: "...for three days He [Christ] dwelt in the place where the dead were, as the prophets says concerning Him:" He goes on to cite the missing prediction mentioned earlier, and then says: "And the Lord Himself says, `As Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth.' Then also the Apostle says, `But when He ascended what is it but He first descended into the lower parts of the earth?' [see Eph. 4:7-10] This, too, David says, `And Thou hast delivered my soul from the nethermost hell.' If, then, the Lord observed the law of the dead that he might become the First-Begotten from the dead, and tarried until the third day in the lower parts of the earth; then after-wards rising in the flesh, so that He even shewed the print of the nails to His disciples, He thus ascended to the Father;-- if all these things occurred, I say, how must these men not 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? For as the Lord went away into the midst of the shadows of death, where the souls of the dead were, yet afterwards arose in the body, and after the resurrection was taken up into Heaven, it is manifest that the souls of His disciples also, upon whose account the Lord underwent these things, shall go away into the invisible place allotted to them by God, and there remain until the resurrection awaiting that event; then receiving their bodies and rising in them, just as the Lord arose, they shall come thus into the presence of God."#

Irenaeus wrote that the Lord Jesus Christ, upon being the "first-begotten of the dead" (Rev.1:5), Christ received into His bosom the ancient fathers who had died long ago. He regenerated them into the life of God. Irenaeus hints to the idea that the ancient fathers who had died before Christ's birth were embraced by Christ, upon Christ's descent into hades, after Christ's own death. They were Chirst's other sheep too, just as those who had been scattered amongst the nations were. Justin Martyr & Irenaeus had claimed that the prophets of old had predicted that "The Lord God remembered His dead people of Israel who lay in the graves; and He descended to preach to them His own salvation." Irenaeus said that the Lord should save that very man Adam who had been created after His image and likeness. In the art works throughout the centuries, Adam is one of the very first ones to be raised up out of the underworld.#

Walter Lowrie explains that the Good Shepherd was a favorite symbol in the catacombs and on sarcophagi. It was an appropriate symbol in sepulchral art because it was symbolic of the shepherd of the 23rd Psalm who leads his sheep "through the valley of the shadow of death". In some cases, Peter is the one to carry the lost sheep back to the Church, while Christ the Good Shepherd is the one to carry the sheep up to paradise.#

The Pastor of Hermas, became a source for Clement of Alexandria, who suggested that the apostles, after death, also became missionaries to the spirits in prison in the under world.#
By the 2nd century A.D., one of the most widespread and popular explanations concerning what Christ was doing between his crucifixion on Friday afternoon & his resurrection on Sunday morning, was the belief that he had spent that time descending into the spirit world, there to face death who was sometimes personified, and who's abode was thought to be in the underworld. The devil was often associated with death, and as chief enemy of humanity, they fought together against Christ, but lost.

The Gnostics, with their hatred of created, material world, argued that the descent was identical to the descent from heaven made to this world through Christ's birth. Mortal life in a body of flesh, was for the Gnostics, the descent into hell.

For many other Christians, the descent into hell was seen as a theology that embraced both justice and mercy, for since the birth of Christ had come long after the "original sin" of Adam, and millions of human beings had already lived and died on the earth by that time. These souls might have been deprived of an opportunity to recieve salvation, but since Christ did descend, they too would be given an opportunity. Thus, if the act of salvation included Christ's descent, and if Christ had also preached the gospel there to those who had died before his birth, then the effects of redemption could be felt by all.#

About A.D. 170, the descent of Christ into hades, and the hand clasp was mentioned towards the end of a sermon ascribed to Melito, [A.D. 160-170-177], bishop of Sardis. He said that Christ arose from the dead and cries to us saying: "Who is he who contends against me (Isaiah 50:8)? Let him stand before me. I freed the condemned, I made the dead live again, I raise him who was buried. Who is he who raises his voice against me (cf. Isaiah 22:2)? I ...am he who destroyed death and triumphed over the enemy and trod upon Hades and bound the strong one and brought men safely home to the heights of heaven... Therefore come hither, all ye families of men who are defiled with sins, and receive remission of sins. For I am your remission... I lead you up to the heights of heaven, I will show you the Father who is from the ages, I will raise you up by my right hand."#

One of The Twelve Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs is entitled: The Testament of Benjamin, composed about A.D. 192, or earlier. Benjamin says that the Lamb of God (Christ) shall be put to death on a tree for ungodly men in the blood of the covenant, for the salvation of the Gentiles and of Israel, and shall destroy Beliar, (the devil), and them that serve him. Those who follow the Lamb's (or Christ's) compassion in a good mind may wear crowns of glory. Further on he says that the Messiah shall arise from the grave. Other translations say that the Messiah shall ascend from Hades. And even though he will be lowly upon the earth, he shall be glorious in heaven.#

During the 2nd half of the 2nd century on into the 3rd, many Christians were concerned with the question as to whom Christ favored with his preaching in hell, and who was released. Some Christians answered this by saying that Christ preached to the people of the Covenant, such as the Old Testament Patriarchs and all the devout Hebrews. Others were of the opinion that Christ preached to all the dead, the sinners included. Ignatius, Irenaeus, [2nd cent.], and later Hippolytus [3rd cent], were of the opinion that Christ preached only to the righteous Hebrews.#

DURING THE 3RD CENTURY A.D.: “As legend began to depart from theology, Hell and Death were personified. In the early third century “The Teachings of Silvanus” described a full, elaborate story: Christ descends to the underworld but finds his way barred, for Hell knows that his visit will doom its power. Christ smashes the iron bars and bronze bolts of hell’s gate. When he enters, Hell tries to catch and bind him, but he bursts the chains. Finding Hell and Death arrayed with the Devil against him, he humbles them all and “breaks Hell’s bow” to show that its power is forever vanquished.”#

Different versions of the story about the descent still retain some theological basis to them, but were becoming more and more legendized, for as legends eventually began to departed from theology, Hell and Death eventually became personified beings who would often attempt to stop Christ's descent. In the early part of this century, "The Teachings of Silvanus" tell how Christ descended into the underworld to find his way barred by hell who was afraid that Christ's visit would doom its power. Christ smashes through the iron bars and bronze bolts of hell's gate, and as he enters, hell attempts to catch and bind him. Christ bursts the chains and finds that hell, death, and the devil all want to defeat him in a underworld battle. Christ humbles them all and breaks Hell's bow, showing that its power was then to be vanquished forever. The Teachings of Silvanus also links this active destruction of Satan by Christ with opinion of some Christians that Christ was offered as a ransom for the souls held hostage in Hell.#

Clement of Alexandria, wrote: "Wherefore the Lord preached the Gospel to those in Hades, as well as to all in earth, in order that all might believe and be saved, wherever they were. If. then, the Lord descended to Hades for no other end but to preach the Gospel, as He did descend, it was either to preach the Gospel to all, or to the Hebrews only. If accordingly to all, then all who believe shall be saved, although they may be of the Gentiles, on making their profession there; since God's punishments are saving and disciplinary, leading to conversion, and choosing rather the repentance than the death of a sinner; and especially since souls, although darkened by passions, when released from their bodies are able to perceive more clearly, when no longer obstructed by the paltry flesh. And because the Gospel further says, that many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after His resurrection, and went into the Holy City and appeared unto many, it is manifest that they were translated to a better state, or higher post; wherefore there then took place a universal movement and translation through our Saviour's dispensation." Clement suggests that everyone would get a fair chance to be saved, no one would be forced to follow, for while in hades Christ gave the prisoners a chance to come forth, if it was according to their will, for he said: "Come forth, ye that will, from your bonds!"#
Tertullian, [A.D. 145-220] noted that some Christians believed that Christ's descent had freed the saints from the obligation of sojourning to hades when they died, for they would immediately enter into paradise. However, He was of the opinion that only martyrs would bypass hades, while both the righteous and unrighteous souls would both have to descend into hades to await the resurrection. The living could make intercession and relief for their righteous departed souls, and there were some souls who needed to pass through penitential cleansing before receiving their final reward. These types of views would show up in later centuries in the basic doctrines behind purgatory. Tertullian also presented the vivid image of Christ breaking the bolts and smashing the down the doors of hell. Numerous artists throughout the centuries depicted this very thing in their works on the descent.#

Origen wrote that John the Baptist had died before Christ, "so that he might descend to the lower regions and announce [preach] his coming. For everywhere the witness and forerunner of Jesus is John, being born before and dying shortly before the Son of God, so that not only to those of his generation but likewise to those who lived before Christ should liberation from the death be preached, and that he might everywhere prepare a people trained to receive the Lord." Hippolytus, also wrote that John the Baptist had died first that he might prepare those in hades for the gospel. Thus John became the forerunner there, also, "...announcing even as he did on this earth, that the Savior was about to come to ransom the spirits of the saints from the hand of death." Later, a medieval Easter drama, the "Harrowing of Hell," John descends first, then is there to greet Christ when Christ descended. Many art works depict this sort of thing. The Old Testament Saints, the prophets, are there to greet the glorious King upon his descent. Clement of Rome [30-100 A.D.], hints to this when he wrote: "Thou shalt raise me up, and I shall confess unto Thee;" (Psa.28:7), and again I laid me down, and slept; I awaked, because Thou art with me;" (Compare Psa.3:6), and again, Job says, "Thou shalt raise up this flesh of mine, which has suffered all these things." (Job. 19:25-6).#

In Origen’s Against Celsus, Origen mentions a prophecy in Isaiah which was concerning how Christ would set the captive spirits free from the spirit prison, & preach the gospel to them, & bring them out of darkness into the light. Celsus charged that the Christians had "invented" the doctrine.

Celsus accused the early Christians of believing that they alone would be saved while the rest of the human family would be roasted in the fire. However, this was not a very fair statement for Celsus to have made. For he knew that many of the early Christians believed that the gospel had been extended to the many souls in the realms of the spirits. For he mocked them for this belief by saying: "Certainly, you Christians will not say that Christ, when He found that He could not induce the inhabitants on the surface of the earth to believe in His doctrines, descended to the infernal regions, in order that He might persuade those that dwelt there." Celsus also goes on to accuse the early Christian of "inventing absurd apologies by which you are ridiculously deceived". Celsus may have also noted that the pagan nations had correlative stories, and so he may have charged that the Christians' version was borrowed. Origen wrote in response to Celsus that like it or not, Christ did descend to preach unto the spirits in hades.#

In another translation of Celsus: "Perhaps you Christians will say that having failed to convince men on earth of his divinity, he descended into hell to convince them there. In all of these beliefs you have been deceived; yet you persist doggedly to seek justification for the absurdities you have made doctrines."#

T. W. Doane, a late 19th century A.D., anti-Christian writer, notes that the "Ancient Christian works of art represent his [Christ’s] descent into hell."# "The apocryphal gospels teach the doctrine of Christ Jesus' descent into hell, the object of which was to preach to those in bondage there, and to liberate the saints who had died before his advent on earth. . . . The saints were then liberated from their prison, and all those who believe in the efficacy of his name, shall escape hereafter the tortures of hell. This is the doctrine to be found in the apocryphal gospels, and was taught by the Fathers of the Church."#

Doane also mentions other sources and notes the parallels in other nations, and then, like the early anti-Christian Celsus, he suggested that the Christians’ versions were borrowed from the heathen: "The reason why Christ has been made to descend into Hell, is because it is a part of the universal mythos, even the three days' duration. The Saviours of mankind had all done so, he must therefore do likewise." Doane goes on to says that Crishna, the Hindoo Saviour, Zoroaster of the Persians, Osiris of the Egyptians, Horusm the virgin born Saviour, Bacchus, Hercules, Mercury, the Word and Messenger of God, Baldur, the Scandinavian god, Quetzalcoatle, the Mexican crucified Saviour, plus others, all descended into hell.#


Lundy notes another similar type for He wrote: "As Orpheus went with his lyre into Hades, so Christ went and preached to the spirits in prison. His Gospel has sounded everywhere throughout the whole wide universe; and it shall yet accomplish its blessed work of restoration, of bringing all things together in Christ, both in heaven and earth, and things under the earth."# It may be that as more and more Christian converts came from pagan backgrounds, they may have brought into the Churches different blends of the many different elements, aspects and parallels concerning descents and ascensions.#

Origen responded to Celsus: "Whether he like it or not, we assert that not only while Jesus was in the body did He win over not a few persons only, but so great a number that a conspiracy was formed against Him on account of the multitude of His followers: but also, that when He became a soul, without the covering of the body, He dwelt among the disembodied spirits, converting such of them to Himself as were willing, or those whom He saw for reasons known to Himself, to be fitted for salvation."#

Following Christ's example, the early to later Christians used the story of the fish that swallowed Jonah, as a type of Christ's descent. (Compare Jonah 1:17 & Matt. 12:39-40). In some cases, the Christian symbol for Christ was the fish symbol, and the early Christians were considered symbolically as fish. There may have been a type of baptism for the dead in such typologies too.#
Hippolytus, A.D. 170-236, Bishop of Portus, near Rome, A.D. 220-30, saw the act of Christ's descent as being an integral part of salvation during which Christ redeemed the righteous Hebrews who had perished before Christ's advent. He also wrote that the Father had made Christ the ordained Lord & Judge of things in heaven, on earth, and "under the earth." Thus hinting to how Christ had extended his dominion into the lower regions by defeating death. He also saw a type of Adam in what Christ did. Christ had become man in the midst of men "to re-create Adam through Himself; and of things under the earth, because He was also reckoned among the dead, preaching the Gospel to the souls of the saints, (and) by death overcoming death."# John P. Lundy suggested that the early Treatise of Hippolytus on the subject of Hades, "is further evidence as to the Descent into Hell being an integral part of the early Christian faith."#

In Hippolytus, Fragments From Commentaries: The "warders of Hades trembled when they saw Him; [Christ] and the gates of brass and the bolts of iron were broken. For lo, the Only-begotten entered, a soul among souls, God the Word with a (human) soul. For his body lay in the tomb, not emptied of divinity; but as, while in Hades, He was in essential being with His Father, so was He also in the body and in Hades. For the Son is not contained in space, just as the Father; and He comprehends all things in Himself. But of His own will he dwelt in a body animated by a soul, in order that with His soul He might enter Hades, and not with His pure divinity."#

Hippolytus also wrote that when John the Baptist died he became a witness for Christ in hades so that the those in hades would be prepared when Christ descended to preach the gospel to them. Thus, as in life, John was a forerunner, so also in death was he a forerunner for Christ in hades.#

DURING THE 4TH CENTURY A.D.: Eusebius says that "Christ descended into Hades to free the souls long detained there, who for ages had been expecting His coming; and again,... He was crucified, and descended into Hades, and burst the bars which had never yet been broken, and rose again; and He also raised with Himself the dead that had slept for ages. And how He descended alone, but ascended with a great multitude to His Father."#

Athanasius, born some time between 296 and 298, he lived during the time of the Arian Controversy about A.D. 318--325, and took part in it. He died May 2-3, A.D. 373. He wrote his Four Discourses Against the Arians, between the years A.D. 356 and 360. In his 3rd Discourse, he mentions Christ's descent after his death upon the cross. For "the keepers of hell's gates shuddered and set open hell, and the graves did gape, and many bodies of the saints arose and appeared to their own people." Further on he mentions how David predicted in his Psalm: "`Thou shalt not leave My soul in hades, neither shalt Thou suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption.'" (Ps. 16:10).#

Mid-fourth century: In the Christian prayer book of Bishop Serapion of Thmuis, there is a prayer that was said over a corpse, and in which the descent and ascension in and out of hades was mentioned too. "Deus, . . . qui deducis ad portas inferorum et reducis. . ." ("God, . . . you who lead down to the gate of Hades and lead back up. . .").#

About A.D. 359-60, some of the published creeds mentioned the descent. For the 8th confession, or 3rd Sirmian, says that after Christ was crucified, and died, he "descended into the parts beneath the earth, and regulated the things there, Whom the gate-keepers of hell saw (Job 38:17, LXX.) and shuddered; and He rose from the dead the third day..." In another, The 10th Confession at Nike and Constantinople, says that after Christ was crucified, he died and was buried, and "descended to the parts below the earth; at whom hades itself shuddered: who also rose from the dead on the third day..."#

Athanasius mentions the descent in a letter written to Epictetus, bishop of Corinth. Christ's body was laid in the grave, "when the Word had left it, yet was not parted from it, yet was not parted from it, to preach, as Peter says, also to the spirits in prison. [1 Pet. 3:19] And this above all shews the foolishness of those who say that the Word was changed into bones and flesh. For if this had been so, there wree no need of a tomb. For the Body would have gone by itself to preach to the spirits in Hades. But as it was, He Himself went to preach, while the Body Joseph wrapped in a linen cloth, and laid it away at Golgotha." (Mark 15:46).#

By this century, legends and myths had Christ in a dramatic dialogue with the personified forces of darkness, as Christ descended to vanquish them in a dramatic underworld war. Numerous art works also depicted this battle which took place during the descent.#

Cyril of Jerusalem, A.D. 315-386, also wrote that Christ had descended into the realms of the dead, or hades. "...He who was crucified on Golgotha here, has ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives on the East. For after having gone down hence into Hades, and come up again to us, He ascended again from us into Heaven,..."#

"...Death was struck with dismay on beholding a new visitant descend into Hades, not bound by chains of that place. Wherefore, O porters of Hades, were ye scared at the sight of Him? [Christ]. What was the unwonted fear that possessed you? Death fled, & his flight betrayed his cowardice. The holy prophets ran unto Him, [Christ], and Moses the Lawgiver, and Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob; David also, and Samuel, and Esaias, and John the Baptist, who bore witness when he asked, Art Thou He that should come, or look we for another?"

"...All the Just were ransomed, whom death had swallowed; for it behoved the King whom they had proclaimed, to become the redeemer of His noble heralds. Then each of the Just said, O death, where is thy victory? O grave, where is thy sting?" (1 Cor.15:55). For the Conqueror hath redeemed us. Of this our Saviour the Prophet Jonas formed the type, when he prayed out of the belly of the whale, and said, I cried in my affliction, and so on, out of the belly of hell, (Jonah 2:2), and yet he says that he is in Hades; for he was a type of Christ, who was to descend into Hades.... I am a type of Him, who is to be laid in the Sepulchre... And though he was in the sea, Jonas says, I went down to the earth since he was a type of Christ, who went down into the heart of the earth."#

Gregory of Nyssa, A.D. 330-386, had also likened the baptismal rite to the grave. "The old man is buried in water, the new man is born again, and grows in grace." (De Poenitentia). He also wrote that in baptism there were three immersions, & he compared these as being a type of Christ's descent into the grave, or the underworld. "Now our God and Saviour, in fulfilling the Dispensation for our sakes, went beneath the... earth, that He might raise up life from thence. And we in receiving Baptism, in imitation of our Lord & Teacher and Guide". Gregory also spoke of how Christ had opened the prison, and did release the condemned so that they would be able to enter into paradise.#

St. Ambrose, born about A.D. 340, and died on the eve before Easter in A.D. 397, wrote about the descent, by saying that even though Christ had "died as man, yet was He free in hell itself." He then goes on to cite from Ps. LXXXVII. [lxxxvii] 4, 5, as saying that Christ would be free among the dead. "Wilt thou know how free? "I am become as a man that hath no help, free among the dead." And well is He called free, Who had power to raise Himself, according to that which is written: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." [John 2:19] And well is He called free, Who had descended to rescue others."#

Chrysostom, A.D. 354-407, suggested that in baptism they had fulfilled the pledges of their covenant with God. It was also likened unto death and burial, resurrection and life which took place in a symbolical type of that which was to come. In being immersed under the water the old man is buried as in a tomb below & then raised up a new man. For a Christ was buried in the earth, & brought forth out of the earth, so also in baptism, being thus buried in water & coming up out of the water, they were likened unto Christ's resurrection, which would also happen in their case. Chrysostom had the words of Paul to help him with this similitude. "We were planted together in His death but in the likeness of His death." Concerning the descent, Chrysostom asks: "Who but an infidel would deny that Christ was in hell?"#

John P. Lundy notes that the doctrine of the descent into hell was being taught from the earliest times in Christian history and was represented in on their monuments, and eventually incorporated in a creed about A.D. 390.#

St. Augustine of Hippo, A.D., 354-430, and most later Christians writers, according to Russell, "denied that 1 Peter [3] referred to the descent and hesitated as to whether the descent released all or only some of the dead."# And yet, Augustine also exclaimed: "Quis ergo nisi infidelis negaverit fuisse apud inferos Christum,--"Who but an infidel would deny that Christ went to the lower regions!"#

DURING THE 5TH CENTURY A.D.: Loe the Great (d. 461 A.D.), wrote that the 3 immersions were an "...imitation of the 3 days burial: and the rising again out of the water is like the rising from the grave."#

At the end of the Ethiopic Book of Adam and Eve, which was written by a Christian probably in the 5th or 6th century A.D., it says that Christ went down into hell, and saved Adam and Eve, and all their righteous seed or descendants, as he had promised.#

DURING THE 6TH CENTURY A.D.: In The Gospel of Nicodemus, Satan or Beelzebub, the "heir of darkness," informs Hell that Christ is on his way to defeat him. Hell bars all his doors, but this does not stop Christ from entering and lighting up hell's dark realm with glorious light and power. Christ says to the doors to crumble and let light flood in, and at his word they do fall down. Christ grapples Satan down and orders the angels of light to bind him, and then turn him over to hell to be held there until the second coming. Christ also shows Adam the sign of the cross and a hand grip by which he may enter into paradise when he and the others ascend up to the angel who guards the door leading to paradise.#

The descent was depicted on a copperplate in which Christ reaches down to pull up Adam. Behind Christ is the penitent thief, etc.#

During the second quarter of the 6th century, Christian rivals fought with each other over different details and interpretations of beliefs, doctrines, and many of them rejected, in some cases, some aspects of earlier Christian beliefs. Such as those which had been presented in the writings of Origen. Furthermore, with imperial pressures and the power of the state to back them up, anti-Origenists pressured many of their rivals in to going along with edicts that they had the Emperor Justinian and others publish and circulate. One of which was the Fifteen Anathamatisms against Origen. In number nine of these fifteen, we read of certain aspects of this later version of Christ’s descent into hades which was rejected by anti-Origenists. It says:
“If anyone maintains that it was not the Word of God made flesh by assumption of a flesh animated by the ψυχλoγική and υoερά who went down into Hades and again returned into heaven, but says that this was done by the so-called (by them) ς, of whom they impiously assert that HE is Christ in the proper sense, and has become so through knowledge of the Unit,— let him be anathema.”#

Now from this, we might note that they weren’t rejecting the whole idea of Christ’s descent into hades, but rather, their rivals’ version of it.

In A.D. 570 the so-called "Apostles' Creed" contained reference to the descent of Christ into hell. The Aquileian, and some Eastern versions of the Apostles' Creed contain the phrase which was further defended by Augustine and in the late 6th century by Venatius Fortunatus.#
Gregory the Great (ca. 540-604), agreed with the Alexandrians that the harrowing of Hades by Christ had removed the need for the righteous to go there.#

DURING THE 7TH CENTURY A.D.: A worked showing the descent, dates back to the 7th to 8th centuries A.D., and it shows Christ clasping the right hand wrist of a man.#

Another depiction of "The Descent into Hell" dates back to 7th or 8th centuries.#

DURING THE 8TH CENTURY A.D.: The Iconoclast period, among the frescoes of the Greek pope John VII (705-7), & in Sta Maria Antiqua, Rome, a depiction of the descent shows Christ striding forward over the body of Satan and stretching out a hand to ADAM AND EVE.#

When considering the numerous art works on Christ's descent, we must remember that the artists had to decide on what point in the event that they were going to depict. Thus, some depicted Christ before the doors or gaits of hell, hades, limbo, etc. Others of Him, as He is kicking down the doors of hades, limbo, etc. Others show the doors crashing down on the devil, or some other demon of hell. Others, as Christ steps over the doors, or gaits of hell, limbo, hades, etc., while Adam, & those who follow after him, come forth to greet their King. Some art works show Christ and Adam then reaching with their hands towards each other, depicting the moment just before the hand clasp. Then the hand clasp, (which is different types of hand clasp & grips, as depicted by the different artists). Christ then begins to turn. Other art works show the point in which He has turned. He then starts to lead the captives out of the spirit prison. They begin to ascend towards paradise (some art works show Adam & Eve, & the others naked). The soul often rides up on a garment. And then is clothed in a garment. In some cases the garment seems to act as a protective covering against the demons who are depicted as attempting to reclaim, or stop the person in their ascension into paradise.#

With his right hand, Christ grasps a person's left wrist.# The Akhmim Fragment says that those who were sent to guard Christ's tomb, saw two bright person supporting another, as they came out of the tomb, they then heard a voice from heaven asking: "Have you preached to those who sleep?" The response was "Yes".#

DURING THE 9TH CENTURY A.D., in a versions of the harrowing of Hell, St. John the Baptist, and king David and Solomon also appear to greet Christ. Satan is trampled under the feet of Christ, & crushed under the gaits of hell.#

DURING THE 10TH CENTURY A.D.: A 975 A.D. depiction of the descent shows a person, (Eve) with up-lifted hands (in prayer?) as she watches the naked Adam as he is being raised up out of the pit by Christ who is grasping his left wrist with his right hand.#

Another depiction of Christ's descent, is the Pala d'Oro, retable in St Mark's Basilica, it was created in Constantinople in 976 and was brought to Venice in 1105. The hand clasp is also depicted in this one too. Another depiction of Christ's descent is seen with other art works. Christ goes down to a cave like caven and clasps the hand of Adam while a number of souls wait in the background to greet their deliverer.#


The 10th century Fulda Sacramentary shows the crucified Christ, the Tree of the Cross piercing the serpent and "thereby overcoming sin and death and providing the means of eternal life for Adam and Eve and their heirs, who, it can now be seen, are already rising from their graves."#
The Harrowing of Hell was more rarely depicted in the West, usually only under Greek influence.#

Another source, 980 A.D., is a portion of an ivory bucket which has a depiction of the descent of Christ at the point where a person, perhaps Adam, is being raised up out of limbo. Off to the right of Christ & Adam is an angel which has taken a hold of a demon's arms to bind him.#
A work dated some time between A.D. 981 & 987, shows a later moment during the descent of Christ into limbo. Thus, it seems that the artist wanted to suggest up-ward movement, for it shows Christ in the mandorla, the symbol often seen behind a person or persons making other realm pilgrimages. Christ has also turned and is striding up-ward as he pulls Adam up out of the flames of hell by grasping, with his right hand, the left wrist of Adam. Eve stands naked engulfed in flames with up-lifted hands while looking towards Christ. They were being rescued by Christ who would guide them up towards paradise.#

Another work showing the 12 Feasts of the Church, dates back to the 10th-11th centuries A.D., it includes the descent, or the Anastasis (resurrection) as one of the feasts. Christ clasps with his right hand, the right hand of a person. During the same time, another depicts right hands being used to make the hand grip.#

10th— 11th century, on an Altar cross, “c. 1024/39; in the centre a Fatimid crystal, tenth century.” We see, in the lower portion of the cross, angels descending toward a soul with up lifted hands. One of the angels is reaching out towards those hands, hence it is the moment before the clasp.#

DURING THE 11TH CENTURY A.D.: A mosaic dated about 1020 shows Christ coming up out of hell with David & Solomon off to the left, while Adam and Eve are on the right. Christ has turned while grasping, with his left hand, the right hand wrist of Adam. Under Christ's feet are the broken down doors of hell.#

11th century, a mosaic in Daphni shows the harrowing of hell. St. JOHN THE BAPTIST and kings DAVID and Solomon also appear among those rescued. The gates of Hell as well as Satan are trampled under the feet of Christ.# Another source says that this Byzantine work is a 11th century mosaic of the Torcello Cathedral depicting, among other things, the descent of Christ who has "just passed through death and seems to have increased in stature on emerging from the tomb; he seizes Adam by the hand and leads him, along with Eve, towards the light. He wrenches the symbolic pair from eternal darkness, as on that day he released all of humanity from the law of death. Satan and the Gates of Hell,... are beneath his feet."#

Peter Damiani, A.D. 1006 or 1007, died at Faenza on Feb. 22, 1072, in a speech entitled: The Glory of the Cross of Christ, he said that: "...It was by the Cross that the King of Glory delivered us from the fetters of the cruel tyrant, and penetrated by His might into the dungeons of hell. He absolved all His elect from the chains of their ancient condemnation; whom also He raised with Himself by the glory of His resurrection. What shall I say of the fame of that Cross, which, as its own first-fruits, caused the theif to enter into heaven, and by him opened the gates of Paradise, that henceforth all the elect might pass through them? That angel who had received the sword which excluded from Paradise beheld the key which was to open it in the Cross, and no longer opposed himself to the entrance.... "I," said the Lord, "if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me." He goes on to say how that the thief on the cross who had acknowledged Christ had entered into paradise too. He used a tree as a type of Christ and the cross and said that the noble tree's "fruit was the prey of hell; now thou bearest the cedars of Paradise".#
1018—1045, on the book-cover of Archbishop Aribert, Christ descent into hell is seen below the crucifixion. Hence, it may be that this work is derived from the traditional tomb of Adam, said to be below the cross. In this case, Christ, with his right hand, holds a cross over his right shoulder, while his left hand grasps the right wrist of Adam. Under Christ feet is the devil, or the demonic forces then defeated and also thrust through with a lance, for off to the side is what could be Michael or an angel assisting Christ during his underworld battle, as Christ resurrects the dead to life.#

With his right hand Christ holds the cross as a victory sign and walks all over the devil under his feet, while clasping, with his left hand, the right wrist of Adam.#

Another mosaic shows Christ thrusting the cross down on the devil(?) who's hands and feet have been bound. Christ's left foot stands on one of the doors of hell, while his right foot is on the fallen devil beneath his feet. While others stand making gestures and acting as if witnesses, Christ grasps the right wrist of a man (Adam?) with his own left hand.#

Christ stands on the broken down and crossed doors of hades, he has turned, & with his right hand, Christ has pulled a clothed man up by grasping the man's right wrist. Others, such as kings, and perhaps a number of saints and prophets are near by, they watch the ascension out of hades. Below, a number of people in graves, stand with up-lifted hands in praise and prayer.#
11th century, Byzantine work, a Lectionary of the Gospels, in Greek, shows, in the left portion, Christ stepping on a fallen demon, if not the devil, as he grips, with his right hand, the right wrist of Adam, to lift him up out of his grave. The doors of hades are underneath the fallen devil too. In the right portion of this page, we see the hand of God extending down.#

In the middle of the 11th century A.D., another mosaic of Christ's descent into limbo shows Christ holding the cross in his left hand, while clasping the wrist of a person with his right.#
A work dated between the 11th and 12th century A.D., shows the anastasis, or the descent into limbo, in which Christ has already broken down the door of limbo and is standing on them as he grasps Adam's left wrist with his right hand.#

A depiction of the harrowing of hell said to date back to the late 11th century through the early 12th century, shows bolts, fragments of iron, and the doors hell flying through the air, while Christ tramples under his feet the devil(?). Through the fire comes the first in many to be rescued, for Christ's left hand grasps the right wrist of the person. The other souls behind the first also reach out their hands, as if waiting to be grasped by Christ.#

A Byzantine work, dated 11th—12th centuries, shows no hand grasping, instead Christ, standing on the gates of Hell, is spreading out his hands toward Adam and Eve rising from their tombs. Up above this scene is the crucifixion.#

DURING THE 12TH CENTURY A.D., a mosaic shows the broken down doors of purgatory, with Christ standing on the devil who has been bound in irons. Christ grasps, with his right hand, the right wrist of a person (Adam?) to raise him up out of his tomb. A number of people stand near by with up-lifted hands.#

The harrowing of hell was "shown on a carved stone slab of the 12th c. in Bristol Cathedral, and is one of the scenes on an altar frontal of the 12th c. at Klosterneuburg, Austria." Another work shows: "The Harrowing of Hell. Christ trampling on Satan and the gates of Hell, rescuing Adam and Eve. St. John stands on His left, kings David and Solomon on His right. Detail from mosaic on the west wall of Torcello Cathedral (12th c.) In this art work Christ left hand raises Adam up by clasping Adam's left wrist.#

The Miniatures of the Life of Christ, France, c. 1200, shows the harrowing of hell in which Christ lances a monstrous Satan while drawing the just out of the mouth of hell with a left hand clasp on both hands of a naked soul. Some of the other have their hands raise up together as if in prayer and praise of Christ.#

Another 12th century work shows the descent into limbo in which Christ is about to turn while holding on to the left hand wrist of a person, with his own right hand. A number of writings, which we have considered already, suggest that Christ had guided Adam and the others up into paradise. And so the artist here may have depicted that moment when Christ was about to turn towards paradise.#

Matthew 12:29 may have been seen as a type of Christ's descent, for Christ binds satan (the strong man's) hands and feet and enters into his prison house in order to spoil his house. A 12th century Winchester Bible illustration of the letter B shows Christ casting out devils in the top portion of the B, while in the lower half, the descent is depicted in which Christ, with his right hand, grasps the right wrist of the naked Adam, other naked souls with up-lifted hands, begin to ascend up out of the jaws of hell. The devil's feet and hands are bound too.#

As late as the 12th century the anonymous writer of a Symboli Apostolici Explanatio (Explanation of the Apostolic Creed), includes the comment that Christ "descended to the lower regions that he might liberate the saints who were there by the first penalties (dedita) of death."#

The Harrowing of hell was depicted in another Mosaic dated some time between 1130-1187.#
Another 12th century depiction of the descent into limbo is from the Monastery of Saint Catherine, Siani.#

Some of the different passion plays of the 12th century A.D., on into later centuries would dramatized Christ's descent into hell.#

A 12th century window in the cathedral of Le Mans shows the descent which is said to be based on other works at Venice and Torcello. Christ turns toward the left to seize Adam's hand and draw him along, while Satan is beneath Christ's feet. Souls are springing toward Christ out of the fire as devils try to hold them back.#

A 14th century work shows about the same moment during the descent, for Christ has turned and is in the act of guiding a person by grasping, with his right hand, the person's right hand.#
While standing on the doors of limbo, Christ, with his right hand, grasps the right wrist of a person being raised up during the harrowing. Another 12 century work on a book cover shows the descent in which Adam is being raised up out of the grave by his left hand by Christ who has grasped his wrist with his right hand.#

Another 12th century depiction of the Anastasis shows the doors of hell under the feet of Christ who has turned while grasping, with his left hand, the right wrist of a person being raised up out of the grave.#

Another work shows the two angels Gabriel, Michael, and St. John the Baptist pointing to the figure of Christ, who is seen trampling down the doors of Hell and the devil as he leads a soul out of Limbo.#

A 12th century fresco at Chaldon church, Surrey, depicts "the deliverance of Adam and Eve at the harrowing of Hell". A ladder extends from the bowels of hell up to heaven, on which many naked soul ascend. The Tree/Ladder provided the means by which Christ descended to deliver Adam and Eve from the grave, and it still continues to offer the means of heavenly ascensions and eternal life to the human who will but climb its rungs.#

The descent in part of a panel from the 12 century that depicts the 12 feasts of the Church, Toledo. While standing on the fallen crossed doors, Christ has turned, and, with his right hand he grasps the left hand wrist of a person being raised up during a later moment in the descent and ascension up out of the underworld.#

The descent into Hell (Anastasis), was depicted in a 12th century Gospel book. Christ stands on crossed and broken down doors of hell, and has turned as if in the act of ascending up-ward. His left hand holds a cross, while his right hand grasps the left wrist of a clothed person (Adam?). A woman, two kings, and another person were included in this work too.#

An English manuscript, A.D. 1150, shows the naked souls of John the Baptist and the Hebrew patriarchs being harrowed from the jaws of hell by Christ. With his right hand, Christ holds the cross which has also become a weapon to defeat the devil who lies bound with the cross thrust into his mouth like a lance. Christ's left hand grasps the right wrist of a person. While at the same time that person extends behind him his left hand and grasps the right wrist of a woman.#
1150, in the Alton Towers triptych is an enamel work, it shows Christ delivering Adam and Eve from the gates of Hell. Christ has turned, right hand holds the cross, while his left has grasped the right hand of Adam, the first in many to be raised from hell.#

1150—1160, on an altar frontal from Ølst, Christ sits in Majesty, below, to the right, is another scene of Christ’s descent into hell. The grasp is made with left hands, in this case.#
Another work, 1154-9 A.D., is an interpolation in the De imagine mundi of Honorius of Autun. This one has preserved the legend concerning the place of Adam's grave which is said to be under the cross.#

A work from the 3rd quarter of the 12th century A.D., shows Christ, with his right hand, clasping the right hand wrist of a person (Adam?). A second naked soul follows behind the first to be rescued.#

Christina the Astonishing [1150 - 1224] an orphan born at Brusthem, "she is said to have returned from the dead to try to liberate some of the souls she had seen in Purgatory."#
Christian artists, during this century, continued to depict different types of hand grips in works on the descent.# Neophytus caused that art works depicting the Crucifixion and the Anastasis to be painted in the niche over his tomb, thus the "Enkleistra" was painted in 1183 A.D. The Anastasis shows Eve behind Adam. With his right hand, Christ grasps a hold of Adam's left wrist to raise him up. Christ has also turned and is standing on the gates of Hell while moving to the right.#

A late 12th century depiction of Christ on the cross, shows (among other events), the descent in which Christ bends forward while grasping, with his right hand, the hands of a person being raised up out of a grave. The cross is said to have originally hung over an altar.#
The Descent into Limbo is a scene conceived in the East, and also a theme that was adopted and soon transformed by Western artists, as a late twelfth-century French miniature shows. Christ is carries a long-staffed cross with which he pierces Satan with under his feet. Through a monster's mouth emerge the saints of the Old law. Christ, with his left hand, grasps "Adams's hand--an Adam who seems to be clothed in new innocence: redeemed by the blood of Christ, he becomes again what he was before the fall."#

Another late 12 century work shows a number of smaller scenes with the crucifixion, on the lower right is the descent, with the hand grasp being done with left hand to right.#
In a work dated 1196 A.D., Eve stands behind Adam, while Christ stands on the crossed gaits of hell and is about to move upward to the right. He has grasped with his right hand, the right wrist of Adam in order to raise him up. David, Solomon, and John the Baptist stand in their graves with others in the back ground behind them. John unrolls a scroll which says: "Behold Him of Whom I told you", suggesting that after John had been martyred, he still was a forerunner for Christ, for he went to the souls of the dead to predict Christ's descent and the resurrection.#

DURING THE 13TH CENTURY A.D., the harrowing of hell was depicted in a mosaics at St. Mark's Venice.#

Another work, A.D. 1213 A.D., shows a number of naked souls exiting out of the jaws of hell. Some of them make gestures with up-lifted hands, or extend their hands as if they too will eventually be grasped by Christ too, just as Adam was then being grasped by Christ.#

A number of works show similar versions of the descent into Hades. One dates back to A.D. 1220. They show the crossed doors of Hades under the feet of Christ as he grasps with the hand of Adam to raise him up out of hades. Others, such as John the Baptist, David, & Soloman stand near by watching this event. A number of others stand as witnesses to this event.#

One dated A.D. 1222, shows a later moment in the descent for Christ is turning away as if about to guide Adam and the others over into paradise. As Christ is raising Adam from "the abyss", he holds on to Adam's right wrist with his right hand, while in his left, he holds the cross. The doors of hell lay broken beneath Christ. Others stand near by witnessing the descent and making gestures with their hands.#

Scenes around a cross date back to 1230 A.D., below the crucifixion of Christ, a small depiction of the descent shows Christ raising souls by their hands.#

In a French work, Christ's left hand clasps the right wrist of a man who is being set free from the spirit prison house. Other naked persons follow in the back ground. Christ's right hand holds a cross-staff which is placed on the gates of Purgatory, while He tramples under His feet a demon.#

A 13th century icon, in the Church of St. Clement, Macedonia, shows the harrowing of hell, in which Christ in glory, grasps with his right hand, the left wrist of a person.#

In some manuscripts, all who have sinned since their Baptism are yet saved from Hell-mouth because they had passed through a certain sacrament, and had become repentant & penitent. Hence, these souls are taken up-wards in napkins by their attendant angels in exactly the same manner as traditional Last Judgment iconography familiar in sculptured tympana over the west doors of churches which show angels taking the blessed souls to rest in Abraham's bosom. An example of this is at Bourges & Rheims, 13th century.#

1240—1250, is the date for another composition of Christ’s descent into limbo.#
1250—75, a Venetian artist shows the Harrowing of hell with the doors under Christ's feet. In his left hand, Christ holds a cross, while his right hand grasps the left hand of Adam(?), while an older woman (Eve?) rests her left hand thumb on the wrist of that same hand being clasped by Christ. Also, she is extending her right hand as if before being grasped by Christ too.#
Another work dated between 1250-1285 shows Christ grasping, with his left hand, the left wrist of a person being raised up out of the hell. In this version of the descent, the doors of hell have fallen, and the jaws of hell have opened as souls with up-lifted hands clasped together in prayer, also seem to wait to be raised up by Christ's hand. Though the devil has been bound, other demons attempt to stop the descent with their weapons.#

Christ has turned, as his left hand grasps the left hand wrist of a person who has his right hand raised in an oath or vow position. The jaws of hell have flames coming up out of them, as other naked souls ascend up out of hell's mouth.#

A panel from the Monastery of Vatopedi, Mount Athos, assigned to the 13th—14th centuries, shows the 12 feasts which includs the descent, in which Christ, already turned away, is in the act of grasping, with his right hand, the right hand wrist of a person being raised up.#
DURING THE 14TH CENTURY A.D., a painting on plaster dated about 1305 shows the gaits of hell broken down under the feet of Christ as he is bringing up Adam (clothed in this case), by grasping, with his right hand, Adam's left hand wrist. With his right hand, Christ is also raising up Eve (also clothed), by her right hand wrist. A number of other saints join them too, among them are John the Baptist and David.#

1308—11, in Siena Cathedral, Duccio di Buoninsegna, there are different scenes from the passion of Christ, some of which showed the harrowing of hell in which the doors have collapsed on the devil. As Christ steps over the devil to grasp, with his right hand, the first person, (Adam?), to ascend up out of the mouth of a cave, a host of other souls are waiting to follow behind them.#
An early 14th century Russian icon shows different events in the life of Christ, one of which is the descent into Hell. The hand shake, in this case, is with the right hand. Christ stands in a mandorla symbol too, through which John the Baptist, David, Solomon, and the prophets seem to have passed through during their ascension up to the entrance way to paradise. There, they are greeted by a person who is reaching out a hand as if about to clasp their hands. Other art works show hand clasps taking place in the door way to paradise, and so it may be that this work shows the moments before the hand clasping takes place.#

In other versions of the harrowing of hell, St. John the Baptist, David and Solomon were set free from hell. The gates of Hell, and Satan are trampled under the feet of Christ.#

1310—20, is the date for a fresco showing the Anastasis.#

1320—30, Christ bends forward to grasp the hand of the first soul in many souls to be rescued from hell.#

1330, a Spanish work shows the jaws of hell have opened, as Christ grasps the hand of the first person to come forth, followed by others.#

Christ's right hand clasps the right hand wrist of a man who may represent Adam. The mouth of the cave might remind us of the jaws of hell which have opened during the descent of Christ. Christ stands on the doors of hell which have fallen on the keeper of the underworld who holds a key in his hand.#

In another 14th century depiction of the descent, bright circles of light extends out from Christ's resurrected body as he grasps, with his left hand, the left wrist of Adam. Another work dating back to this century shows the descent.#

Another icon from 14th century shows the descent into limbo in which Christ strides forward over the crossed doors of limbo and grips, with his right hand, the right wrist of Adam to raise him up out of the grave. Light shines from Christ, and the symbolical shape around Christ, the mandorla, suggests that he is in the act of passing from one realm into another. The mandorla and different kinds of hand grips are often seen in depictions that show other realm pilgrimages, such as the descent down in and ascension up out of hell, and the ascension up into heaven.#
Standing on the broken down and crossed doors of hades, Christ bends forward to raise up a person up out of the grave by clasping, with his right hand, the left wrist of the clothed person (Adam?). Others are there too.#

During the 1st half of the 14th century, a number of art works in Christian churches show among other subjects, Christ's descent with the traditional hand clasp, followed by another portion which shows Christ's exit out of the tomb. In another, the jaws of hell open wide as the redeemed are rescued by a hand clasp from Christ. Another shows flames coming out of the jaws of hell as Christ clasps the hand of the first one to be rescued.#

William Langland [c. 1332-c. 1400], in a poem, he mentions the Harrowing of Hell in which Christ is surrounded by glory and light as he commands the infernal creatures to unbar the gates of hell.#

A 14th century(?) Steatite plaque, Byzantine, has carved on it, “the Descent into Limbo. Christ in a mandorla and holding a cross staff, tramples on the gates of Hell and extends his hand to a group including Adam and Eve. . .” The clasp is done with Christ’s right hand grasping the right of the person being lifted up out of his grave.#

The Master of Westphalia 14th Century depiction of Christ in Purgatory shows the middle of Christ's right hand with a nail wound mark with little drops of blood coming out. That same hand also holds the banner which is also a weapon against the demons who takes the traditional role of attempting to stop the descent. The doors of purgatory lay broken at their feet as a number of naked soul appear to greet Christ. Christ's left hand thumb rests on the knuckle of Adam's left hand middle finger. Both of Adam's hands are raised and clasped together in the traditional prayer gesture with the fingers pointing up, and so, Christ is actually clasping both of Adam's hands. The right hand in not visible to our view, but judging by the position of Christ's hand, it may be that some of Christ's fingers rest on the middle of Adam's right hand as if Christ was showing Adam the area in he was wounded by the nail.#

Another 14th century work on the descent is a late Byzantine fresco in the apse of the parecclesion of Kariyeh Djami, Constantinople. Christ stands on the broken down doors of limbo, while clasping a male person's left hand wrist with his right hand, while clasping the right wrist of a female, who is behind him, with his left hand. Other persons stand witnessing this event.#
An altarpiece from the 3rd quarter of the 14th century includes, among other scenes, the harrowing of hell in which Christ, with his right hand, clasps the right hand of the first person to come forth from a cave.#

Another late 14th century work shows the crossed doors of hell under the feet of Christ who, with his right hand, grips the left wrist of Adam. Other kings and saints stand near by.#

An interesting version of Christ in Limbo, shows limbo personified to a certain extent, with a large bald head, eyes, a round nose, and a wide long mouth stretched open beyond normal size, and in the shape of a cave which throat descends down into the earth. A number of souls begin to ascend up & out of the mouth limbo to be greeted by Christ who grasps them with his hand. Adam and Eve stand naked behind Christ, as though they had already been raised up, Christ slightly bends forward and grasps, with his left hand, the left wrist of a naked soul who is being raised up. In his right hand, Christ holds the cross-banner. Late 14th -- early 15th centuries A.D.#

DURING THE 15TH CENTURY A.D., many depictions of the descent still showed the hand clasping rite of passage, as Adam clasped the hand of Christ.#

The cave out of which the spirit prisoners are rescued from is in the shape of jaws which seem to have been based on earlier depictions of the jaws of hell. A large croud of souls wait to be grasped by the hand as Christ begins with the first person (Adam?). This descent depiction, (14th-15th cent. A.D.?), was part of the "Passion Scenes. Florence, Santa Maria Novella, Spanish Chapel, north wall." Earlier Christians had often used the writings of Sybil. A later depiction of her shows her holding a scroll which has written on it "Morte morietur, tribus diebus somno subscepto et tunc ab inferis regressus ad lucem veniet primus". Translated: "He will die by death, [so that] on the third day he will be the first to come from the dominion of sleep and into the light from the lower depths". Another depiction of the descent shows Christ standing inside the door way and on top of the doors of limbo which have fallen on the devil. From out of the dark cave towards the light come a number of souls to greet Christ. The first is an elderly man (Adam?) who reaches out with both hands to clasp Christ's right hand. Christ is surrounded by the mandorla, and in his left hand he hold a banner with the cross symbol on it.#

Adam is raised up by the right hand of Christ, who clasps his left wrist. A number of kings, and other saints of the Old Testament time come forth to benefit from the descent of Christ into limbo, and the anastasis or resurrection.#

Another 15th century work shows "Christ releasing the Redeemed from the Jaws of Hell." With his right hand, Christ grasps the left hand of the first person to be rescued, while Christ's feet trample on the fallen devil.#

With his left hand, Christ grasps the right hand of a person as naked souls exit out of the jaws of hell. "The message of redemption has always been central to the church's teaching. Until modern times this has been taken completely literally: without Christ's vicarious suffering on behalf of mankind, everybody would spend eternity in hell. The image of the Harrowing of Hell was therefore both a literal truth and an allegory. According to tradition, as embodied in the Apostles' Creed, between Christ's burial and resurrection he descended into hell and released all the virtuous who had lived up to that time. In this spirited rendering in alabaster made in Nottingham in the 15th century, he is shown taking Adam by the hand and leading him out of hell's jaws. Eve follows, then John the Baptist and then all the patriarchs and prophets who foretold Christ's coming. Allegorically, it is a picture of every soul's rescue, since original sin--let alone the sins that we actually commit--..." Why would God do such a thing? It was because of his love and passion for the human family.#

Adam and Eve are said to represent the human family, thus Adam is raised up by his left wrist as Christ grasps it with his right.#

1425-30 A.D., with his right hand Christ holds a banner with the cross symbol. The banner is seen in numerous other art works on the descent, and is sometimes used as a weapon against the underworld demonic forces who attempt to stop Christ from descending and freeing the captive souls. In this work, Christ's left hand thumb rests on the knuckle of the middle finger of Adam's left hand. The other souls with Adam hold out their hands together as if they too will be raised up out of the jaws of hell by the helping hand of Christ.#

One dated 1430 shows Christ about to put his left hand into the right hand of Adam, as the jaws of hell open wide to allow the prisoners to go free.#

Flemish work, 1430-1460 A.D., shows scenes from the harrowing of hell. The jaws of hell open wide as the naked souls are rescued out of it. The hand clasp is seen in this work too.#
The Venetian painters, Bellini and sons knew about the descent. The father, Jacopo Bellini [A.D. 1395-1471] had studied with Gentile de Fabriano. Jacaopo had great success as a pageant painter and one of his works shows the descent of Christ into limbo where Adam, on his knees, grasps and kisses the right hand of Christ. The doors of limbo have crashed down on a demon, other demons run away. A person holds a cross, while in Christ's left hand is a banner with the cross symbol on it. Other souls are about to come forth out of the cave too. They kneel down before the great King of Kings who has come to rescue them out of limbo.#

Towards the end of the 15th century A.D., the descent of Christ into Hell and the entry of Old Testament persons and Patriarchs into paradise were depicted by Bermejo. The hand clasp, is in the form of a clasp that includes the kissing of the hand. Royal and religious leaders were often greeted in this way, as seen in other depictions of the traditional rites of passage hand clasps before Christian kings' thrones. Christ and others stand on the doors of hell, as in other depictions, and many of the souls coming out of hell are naked, except some have a thin cloth that covers their lower parts. Upon entering in through the doors of paradise, many of them were still naked, and so it may be that they had not yet been clothed in robes and garments yet. Three of the angels in paradise hold a scroll that has written on the it the 1st & 2nd verses of the Te Deum, a subsequent verse of the canticle says: "When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers."#

During the 14th -- 16th centuries mystery dramas, plays, and miracle plays were based on a number of themes, some of which were about "the Harrowing of Hell."#

As the earlier writings and stories about the descent were translated and passed down to later Christians during later centuries, eventually different lores and legends were developed concerning the descent and the harrowing of hell. Some of the mystery plays during the Middle Ages, and the Vision of Piers Plowman were said to have been based on later folk lore about the descent and the resurrection of the saints. The harrowing of hell is understood in Medieval English to mean Christ's descent into Hades and his victory over Satan, the powers of death and evil. A number of English mystery-play cycles are said to be based on the harrowing.#

In, The Great Golden Legend, Medieval Poetry: "And what happened when Jesus died? For He invaded death's a bode and robb'd him of his sting. The house of dust enthralls no more, for He, the strong to save, Himself doth guard that silent door, Great Keeper of the grave.
One day, in Satan's realm-- the dark domain, Where souls of dead in chains of death remain. The Prince of darkness, boastful, spake aloud -- to his abject, imprisoned, awestruck crowd: `Hearken, ye spirits. Lo, I bring you this day -- Another victim bound beneath my sway: Jesus, the Nazarene, the Master Fraud -- Who proudly claimed Himself the Son of God! I laid the snare, which the Impostor caught, -- And to the tree of shame the Boaster brought; -- and now, between thieves He helpless hangs, -- In Death's dissolving and resistless pangs. You shall behold Him pass through Hades' door, -- To walk among the living -- nevermore! My power shall hush the Archpretender's breath.'

Then Hell itself in fear began to quake, -- And, in alarm, thus to the Devil spake, -- `Jesus! Dost thou not fear that mighty Name? And is this Jesus--Nazarene-- the same who once cried, "Lazarus! Come forth!" & swift the bands of death were loosed, his fetters rift, and through thy gates impassable he broke, -- so soon as that almighty word was spoke? Let but that Jesus once invade these halls, -- And in that hour thy boasted empire falls! What if the victim thou dost proudly claim -- Shall as the Victor bring thy pride to shame?'

While Hell thus spake, a voice like thunder rolls, -- throughout the realms of Death's imprisoned souls: `Lift up your heads, ye everlasting gates! The King of Glory at your entrance waits.' -- Then Hell inquires, `Who is this glorious King?' And with the answer all its chambers ring: `The Lord of Hosts -- strong to subdue all foes, Mighty in battle -- none can Him oppose.'
Then, in the realm of Death's unbroken shade -- Appeared the Conqueror in light arrayed. It was as tho' in crimson & in gold -- The splendour of a thousand suns had rolled -- Their mingled glory in one matchless beam, -- And lit up Death Shade with the lustrous gleam. Ineffable that glory; as it shone -- Like to the radiance of the Great White Throne, -- Precipitate, demons of darkness fled, -- And lost souls, to the confines of the dead. Whilst through the open gates and broken bars, -- Toward realms of light more fadeless than the stars, -- The Prince of Life a host of captives led -- From out" [of] "the night and bondage of the dead."#

Isaiah's words of the Light shining in darkness in the valley of the shadow of death, along with David's words from Psalm 24:3-10, seem to be reflected in this Golden Legend. But also the reference to combat with his foe. (Isaiah 9:2-6).#

Durer's wood-engravings of the PASSION shows Christ meeting with Adam and Eve before the gates of Hell.#

1497, The descent and resurrection were common themes that often went together, and so they were often depicted together too. A number of Valencian works show what tradtions say happened after the ascension up out of limbo or hades, for Christ presents the redeemed of the old dispensation, both men and women, to His mother. A depiction of this corresponds closely to the Vita Christi of the Valencian nun, named Isabel de Villena, published in 1497.#

With his left hand, while his right hold a banner, Christ clasps the right hand of a naked soul (Adam) as he is about to ascend up out of the jaws of hell with other not too far behind him.#
In another work, a 15th century artist decided to depict the moment just before the hand clasp, thus, Christ is about to take a hold of Adam's hands with his left hand. The jaws of hell open wide to allow the souls to come forth to greet Christ.#

Another shows naked souls as they are set free from the spirit prison house, some lift their hands in praise, others wait to greet Christ their deliverer. An old man, (representing Adam), clasps Christ's right hand with both of his hands.#

At the end of the 15th century, an icon depicting the descent shows Christ, with his right hand, lifting a person (Adam?) up out of limbo by grasping (Adam?) right hand. Another late 15th century icon shows the harrowing of hell.#

DURING THE 16TH CENTURY A.D.; in a work showing the harrowing of hell, Christ stands on the doors of hell and helps Adam up by clasping his hand. Adam and the others are naked, and so the artist picked that moment in the event, for they will eventually be clothed in garments and robes upon their ascension into paradise.#

Another 16th century work might remind us of the legendary place for Adam's grave under the cross, for the descent is depicted in a portion below a cross. Again, a hand clasp is depicted too.#
A work in 1512 shows a later moment in the descent, for near the broken down doors of hell stand Adam and Eve who have already been lifted up by the hand of Christ. With his right hand, Christ clasps the left wrist of a man as he begins to lift him up. Christ's face shines with glory, and in his left hand he hold a banner. A stone work shows this very same version of the descent.#

Another one shows the traditional rites of passage hand clasp again, and the souls exit out of hell naked to be clothed in garments during their ascension. At least this is what numerous other art works show, when we consider the whole drama. The monsterous demons of hell attempt to combat the harrowing, however, in this work, Christ is armed with the cross-spear.#

The flames that shoot forth from the prison castle don't seem to harm the liberated souls who have been freed. Standing on the door, with his right hand Christ clasps the right hand of Adam.#

Adam and Eve come forth and kneel in pray and praise to their deliverer who has brought them out of captivity. They are followed by others who follow not too far behind them. In this particular case, the hand clasp was not depicted, but rather Christ makes a gesture of blessing.#
Another work is based on the traditions of how Christ and the redeemed patriarchs had first appeared to Christ's mother Mary, after their ascension up out of limbo or hades. This work is in a publication at Burgos in 1520, and it is enacted in a very similar way as the account of Villena. Other sources and art works seem to suggest that it was during this visit to Mary, as in other post-resurrection appearances to others, that Christ explained the symbolical meanings and types behind the mysteries or ordinances by expounding of the prophecies. Many early to later Christians understood these mysteries to included prayer & other sacramental gestures, baptism, anointings, garments, robes, coronations, & rites of passage hand grips, etc., all of which were types of that which was to come when it was their time to die and ascend into heaven to be glorified & deified.#

A work dated A.D. 1529 shows Christ standing on a monstrous underworld dragon, while in the mouth of a cave.#

1531—38, Christ reaches down low to grasp the hand of a person being set free from hell. Others may have already been rescued, for they stand watching in the back ground.#

In 1552 a statement of belief was presented by the Church of England, which mentioned how Christ's spirit went and preached the gospel to spirits in prison. However, in the 1562 version, the reference to the preaching and the verses about it were removed.

"In the statement of the explication of the articles of belief of the Church of England after the Reformation, in the form produced in the 4th year of the reign of Edward the Confessor in 1552, it is said of Christ that his body lay in the grave until the Resurrection, while his spirit was with the spirits who were detained in hell, and preached to them. This belief is then put into... verse: `And so he died in the flesh, But quickened in the spirit; His body then was buried, As is our use and right. His spirit did after this descend into the lower parts, of them that long in darkness were the true light of their hearts.'"

"In the 1562 version of the explication both the reference to the preaching and the verses about it are removed."#

1568, the Docheiarion, Mount Athos, has a depiction of Christ treading the gates of hell while on His left are Jonah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, two Just Kings, David, John the Baptist, Adam, and on His right Eve and others accounted righteous under the old dispensation: beneath the gates of hell an angel is chaining Beelzebub and broken locks are scattered.#

1572—73, shows Christ standing on the broken down doors of hell. Christ grasps, with his right hand, the right hand wrist of a man, (Adam?). A number of people, plus angels act as witnesses to the descent. And even take part in it.#

16th century, another icon shows the descent of Christ into limbo.#

1700, Russia, Christ reaches down to clasp the hand of a person ascending out of the jaws and doors of the underworld.#

DURING THE 17TH CENTURY A.D.: The descent was also depicted on "THE MASSIVE SILVER BINDING OF THE GOSPELS, IN THE CATHEDRAL OF ST. GEORGE "THE NEW". Christ is clasping the hand of a person. Another work shows a hand clasp involved in the descent. "FUNERARY TAPESTRY OF 1600 FROM THE THREE HIERARCHS, JASSY. THIS PALL IS OF BLACK GENOSES VELVET EMBROIDERED WITH GOLD AND PEARLS". While another depicts Christ clasping the hand of an old man. The mouth of the cave is jagged as if to remind us of the other art works that depict the jaws of hell. This work is of "Christ in Limbo, by Sassetta, in the Fogg Museum, Cambridge."#

A work dated some time between the 16th— 17th centuries shows the harrowing of Hell in which Christ stands on the doors of hell and grasps, with his left hand, the left hand wrist of Adam to raise him up. David, Solomon, and other patriarchs watch as this happens.#

DURING THE 18TH CENTURY A.D.: 1763, another depiction of the descent shows Christ clasping, with his right hand, the right hand of a person (Adam). A number of others come forth to meet Christ too.#

1772, a beautiful depiction of Christ's descent into Hell is on the cover of an altar Gospel book. Christ's glory surrounds his face as He and Adam clasp each others' right hands. A throng of souls come forth from the mouth of the cave of hell. Christ holds a banner in his left hand and stands on one of the doors of hell which have fallen. The Father (with up-lifted arms, and the symbolical triangle about His face), watches this event from heaven, he may also be waiting to greet these newly liberated captives, when they ascend heaven wards.#

After the American Revolution of 1776, a group of religionists sent applications to be given Episcopal consecration, however, the Bishop of England refused to give it to them because in their "Proposed Book" of Common Prayer which was first prepared, one of the things they had omitted was the clause in the Apostle's Creed of Christ's descent into hell.#

October, 1786, at a convention held in Wilmington, Del., it was resolved that the clause, "He descended into hell," should be retained in the Apostles' Creed; and that the Nicene Creed should be inserted in the Book of Common Prayer. "Bishop White distinctly affirms that "the omission of the article of Christ's descent into hell, in the Apostles' Creed, was the thing principally faulted; nor was it inserted and restored without warm debate in Connecticut, or carried except by a division in the votes of the clergy and laity by dioceses; the numerical majority of votes was against it. Had the issue been different, there could have been no proceeding to England for consecration at this time."#

DURING THE 19TH CENTURY A.D:
1868—70, a depiction of the descent of Christ into limbo shows him reaching down towards the souls held there.#

In a work published towards the later end of the 19th century, some of the earlier views and interpretations about the descent of Christ were considered and given a personal interpretation as to what it meant by Professor Christopher E. Luthardt, D.D., Ph. D., University of Leipzig, Germany.#

DURING THE 20TH CENTURY A.D.: There is a tradition that seems to have reference to, and has possible fragments of the earlier Christian doctrines of Christ's descent into the spirit prison, and his pilgrimage into other nations. It is how in the blessing of the Fire, in the Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and while in the total darkness, a flame springs up in the very place where the dead body of Jesus is said to have been placed. From that flaming torch which was raised by the Patriarch, thousands of candles are lit, plus lamps & tapers. Thus, the vast crowd that gathered there is transformed immediately into a sea of light, perhaps as a reminder of that hour when those who lay "in the shades of death" saw the redeeming light of Christ as he descended unto them. Some years ago, another custom was to "carry the torch lit at the Holy Sepulcher, stage by stage, on horseback to Athens, Constantinople, Kiev and Moscow."#
As part of the celebrations for the Resurrection. At night, after all the lights in the church are put out to symbolize the darkness of the world, and at the stroke of midnight. A religious leader and Father steps from the Royal Doors of the sanctuary with a lighted candle, chanting "Come forth and receive light from the unwaning light and glorify Christ.# who is risen from the dead." From this candle a number of candles are lit and carried home.

1962, an "Easter Hymn" by Charles Wesley was published, a portion says: "Christ hath burst the gates of Hell! Death in vain forbids His rise; Christ hath opened Paradise!"#

In the traditions, folk lore and legends of Russia, such as in the Tver’ & Saratov Provinces, legends tell how the “Lord came to hell and led Adam and all his race out.” In another tradition, Mary has a prophetic dream about how that her son, Christ, would be crucified. Christ tells her that her dream is true, and then adds: “And I shall lead the righteous out of hell with me, and I shall raise them to the heavens, and you, Most Holy Mother, I shall glorify with my testament, and we shall ascend to heaven together.”# From the Iaroslavl’ Province, legends say how that after Christ was crucified he “descended into hell and led everybody out of there with one exception of Solomon the Wise.” Solomon was told to use his own wisdom to figure out a way out of hell.#

PART TWO: PRIMITIVE BAPTISMAL FONTS AND TYPES OF THE DESCENT

A study of the locations of some baptismal fonts is also another clue to understanding the doctrines of Christ's descent & the ritual practice of baptisms for the dead. Some fonts were a representation of the grave, the pit, limbo, hades, etc. To add to this symbolical effect in the minds of those who practiced these rituals, some of the early to later Christians built their fonts in the lower parts of their churches.

JOSEPH SMITH ON AN ANCIENT SETTING FOR A BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD

In the Doctrine & Covenants = (D&C), section 128:12-13 we read: "Herein is glory and honor, and immortality and eternal life-- The ordinance of baptism by water, to be immersed therein in order to answer the likeness of the dead, that one principle might accord with the other; to be immersed in the water and come forth out of the water is in the likeness of the resurrection of the dead in coming forth out of their graves; hence, this ordinance was instituted to form a relationship with the ordinance of baptism for the dead, being in likeness of the dead.

Consequently, the baptismal font was instituted as a similitude of the grave, & was commanded to be in a place underneath where the living are wont to assemble, to show for the living and the dead, and that all things may have their likeness, and that they may accord one with another-- that which is earthly conforming to that which is heavenly, as Paul hath declared, 1 Corinthians 15:46, 47, and 48:" [See D&C 128:12-18.]

Notice that Joseph Smith, September 6, 1842, had written that baptismal fonts were a type of the grave, and therefore had been built in a place "underneath" in the symbolical likeness of the realms of the dead, and in which baptisms for the dead where performed. Historical evidences shows us that some Christian baptismal fonts were in fact built in the lower parts of some churches in the likeness & in a similitude of the under world, the pit, limbo, hades, or the realms of the dead. Thus one could not ask for a better ancient setting for a baptism for the dead than in such symbolical settings & places as these. But how did Joseph Smith come across such historical data? Did he have, in his day in time, any historical data of this kind to learn from? If there was, how can we know for sure that he had learned about it, and thus used it? If there was no historical data of this kind available to him. Then it seems to suggest that the Prophet Joseph Smith was truly inspired of God in this area.

The ritualistic journey of the soul through the different realms of existences took place in different levels and rooms of some of the Churches. Some fonts had steps on both sides, as if to suggest that the person was on a journey through the different realms of existences. When they descended down into the font, this was thought of as a type of how Christ had descended down into hades, limbo, the grave, etc. When they ascended up the steps on the other side, it was a type of Christ's ascension up out of hades, etc.#

Paul saw baptism as a double assimilation, the first being a type of Christ death, the second of his resurrection and victory over death. In the "earliest form of Christianity there is a connection between baptism and Christ's descent into hell immediately after his death.... In the liturgical and doctrinal texts of the patristic era, numerous indices can be found of this conjunction of baptism with the descensus ad inferos..." Paul and Peter are said to have seen in baptism a type of Christ's descent into the spirit prison.#

In the Latin west, the baptismal creed of the Italian see of Aquileia (Rufinus, Symb. 18;28) made reference to the descent. Richard Temple suggested that "the Harrowing of Hell, is the psychological prison into which... [humanity] is expelled from Paradise. Or we may say it is the dark place in ourselves where God has not yet entered.... In order to understand man as he actually is, we need to study the icon of the Harrowing of Hell, the Easter icon. Here man, represented by Adam and Eve, is in that psychologically low place signified as a tomb."#

During the 4th century A.D., S. Cyril of Jerusalem said that the three immersions in the baptismal waters were a type of Christ's burial, for they "descended three times into the water, and ascended again; here also covertly pointing by a figure at the three-days burial of Christ."#

John P. Lundy wrote that Ciampini explains an ancient mosaic on the right of the altar, in the chapel of St. Pudentiana, in Rome, as representing nude trine immersion and Confirmation together. "The legend is significant enough. "Here in the living font the dead are born again." Alcuin, who, in the eighth century, saw this mode of Baptism, says this of it: "Baptism is performed in the name of the most Holy Trinity by trine immersion (submersione), and rightly so, because man, being made in the image of the Holy Trinity, is restored to the same image, and because he fell into death by a three-fold gradation of sin, he thrice rises from the font to life through grace."#

In some cases, during the early Christian baptismal mystery the catechumens would receive a new name, take a baptismal vow or oath, strip their old garments to receive new ones, and would be guided by the hand. They must have also received a number of hand grips similar to the ones depicted in the art works that show Christ's descent in to the underworld, etc., and his ascension into heaven, etc. They also received the imposition of hands--(laying on of hands on their heads), and would pass through a veil or curtain that was hung across the font. This was all part of their ritualistic journey through the different realms on towards the higher realms.#

Both the art works and early Christian writings, show that the way people are “drawn” in unto Christ, is by hand and wrist grasps, for Christ reaches out with his hands and graps hold of their hands or wrists and pulls them to him. Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, A.D. 298 to 373, and other early Church Father,# must have had these types of hand and wrist grasp in mind, as noted in the word of Athanasius, in his De Incarnatione Verbi Dei (Incarnation of the Word), when he wrote: "Whence it was fitting for the Lord to bear this also and to spread out His hands, that with the one He might draw the ancient people, and with the other those from the Gentiles, and unite both in Himself. For this is what He Himself has said, signifying by what manner of death He was to ransom all: "I, when I am lifted up," He saith, "shall draw all men unto Me." And once more, if the devil, the enemy of our race, having fallen from heaven, wanders about our lower atmosphere, and there bearing rule over his fellow-spirits,... [and] tries to hinder them [the redeemed] that are going up [towards heaven] (and about this the Apostle says: "According to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience"); while the Lord came to cast down the devil, and clear the air and prepare the way for us up into heaven, as said the Apostle: "Through the veil, that is to say, His flesh"---and this must needs be by death... [on the cross].”#

During part of the ritualistic journey through the afterlife realms, before going down into the font, which again was a type of Christ’s descent into hell, they were anointed which symbolically made them "Christs". Hence, in connection with the rites of baptism and anointing, Cyril said: "Being therefore made partakers of Christ, ye are properly called Christs, and of you God said, Touch not My Christs, or anointed (Heb. 3:14; Ps. 105:15). Now ye were made Christs, by receiving the emblem of the Holy Ghost; and all things were in a figure wrought in you, because ye are figures of Christ." He goes on to say that the anointing was made on the forehead, ears, nostrils, and breast. "Then on your breast; that having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ye may stand against the wiles of the devil. For as Christ after His baptism, and the descent of the Holy Ghost, went forth and vanquished the adversary, so likewise, having, after Holy Baptism and the Mystical Chrism, put on the whole armour of the Holy Ghost, do ye stand against the power of the enemy, and vanquish it, saying, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Phil. 4:13)."#

Perhaps some Christians during these later centuries may have also thought of last rites as a sort of protection against the devil and his demons, just as in the earlier rite of anointing before baptism, they were anointed before descending down into the font, or waters of baptism, as if, in a symbolical and ritualistic way, they were about to die and descend into hades, limbo, etc., just as Christ did to do battle with the devil and his demons.

Russell points out that baptism was considered, in some branches of Christendom, to be a type of the descent of Christ into the under world, & that the anointing was a seal against the further assaults by the Prince of Darkness. For in some cases, the "priest blew into the candidate's face to express contempt for the demons and drive them away. The priest also touched the catechumen's ears with spittle in imitation of Jesus' healing. He marked the sign of the cross on the candidate's brow to keep demons away. During the Easter vigil, the catechumen would face the west, the region of darkness and death, and make a formal threefold renunciation of Satan. Then he turned toward the east, the direction of light and resurrection, and formally transferred his allegiance to Christ. He was anointed with holy oil as a seal against further assaults by the Prince of Darkness. In the central act of baptism, the descent into water symbolized descent into the underworld of death, and emergence from the water symbolized rebirth and resurrection. Baptism, the culmination of the individual's freedom from Satan, had powers to cure illness of body and mind as well as corruption of soul."#

Clara Erskine Clement points out that during the Romanesque period, "the spiritual life of the Christian was seen as a struggle with the monstrous powers of evil. It was necessary for the soul to be armed by baptism; to enlist the power of Christ and his warrior Saint Michael in the unending struggle with the Devil."#

Christ, the angels, etc., during the descent were sometimes depicted as being armed with weapons (sometimes the cross was used as a weapon), when doing battle with the devil and his demons. Squires who longed to be dubbed knights may have thought about these things, or they may have been reminded of them when they passed through different kinds of rites to knighthood. The rites to knighthood included different things, depending on the time, and place. These rites might include, among other things, prayers with up-lifted hands, oaths, ceremonial baths, being clothed in new garments, receiving a shield, sword and banner, & the cross was one of their symbols too.# Thus, as "Christs" they descended down into the font, just as Christ had descended into the lower regions. And, as anointed "Christs," they could also defeat the demons of the underworld, just as Christ had, during his descent.

E. Baldwin Smith notes how that in many Christian baptisteries’ art works, there were numerous imageries & symbolical architectural designs that related to death, martyrdom, the descent into hell or the anastasis (the resurrection), plus, the ascension into paradise. This “artistic symbolism was given deeper content by the Church Fathers who had established a mystic equation which made baptism a reexperience of the death and resurrection of Christ.”#
Lundy notes that ancient works presented Christ as having become incarnate, suffered and died, and "He had gone down to Hades seemingly defeated and undone; but now He comes forth in the resurrection as a Conquerer over sin and death, and must needs be crowned as all other conquerors are."# Lundy goes on to cite Ps. 8:5 and Heb. 2:9.# And then notes how Samson was thought of as a type of Christ in how that he carried off the gaits of Gaza. Hence, this was likened to Christ "bursting open and carrying away the gates of Hades, and conquering His and our enemies by His death and resurrection."#

As the saints of old come forth out of the spirit prison during Christ's harrowing of hell. Numerous hosts tramples under their feet the devil & the demonic prison-house wardens. Satan is often depicted in art works as having been thrust through with a spear, or the cross-spear. Or trodden under foot. Or in other cases, Christ has made the enemy of the human race, (satan), his foot stool. In that we see Christ as the victor, resting his foot on the fallen satan, who also, in some cases, has been bound hand & foot in irons, or chains, etc. The early to later Christian writers, & artist had plenty of scriptural types to help them in their stories, art works, legends, mystery plays, illuminated manuscripts, icons, & symbols, etc. Isaiah 14:12-20 may have been seen by the early to later Christians as not only a type of satan's fall from heaven. But also of his defeat in the under world. For in numerous art works satan has often been depicted as a warden who refused to open the house of his prisoners. (Isaiah 14:17). He is often depicted as having been cast out of the grave & thrust through with a sword. And is often depicted as a carcass trodden down under the feet of Christ and the hosts of resurrected saints who come forth out of hell. (Isa. 14:19). The spirit prisoners are gathered together in the pit, & are shut up in the prison, and after many days they are visited by the King of glory. (Isa. 24:21-23). Those who are bound in hades shall be loosed, the bonds of death shall be broken. Satan, having been bound in irons or tied hand & foot is a type of the strong man that Christ's mentioned in scriptures. Thus, having been bound, Christ robs satan's prisons house & the captives are set free. Having said to the prisoners to go forth; to them that are in darkness Shew yourselves. The captives having hastened that they may be loosed from the pit.#

Upon being baptized they became a proxies for those of their friends or kindred who needed the seal of baptism in order to escape out of the spirit prison. And like Christ, they too would also bring out spirits who had been held in captivity.
As the proxy ascended up out of the font, in some cases the proxy may have been raised up with different types of ritualistic rites of passage hand grips. This was a similitude and type of how God the Father had raised Christ up in the resurrection and ascension into heaven with different types of hand grasps. And in turn, how Christ, or his angels lift up the dead from the underworld, limbo, hades, the pit, from the fall, or the grave during the resurrection and ascension into paradise or heaven.#

The hand clasp to raise the newly baptized out of the baptismal waters is seen in a 3rd century crypt, again, perhaps connecting the resurrection out of the underworld, or the grave, with its ritualistic counterpart, baptism, if not even baptism for the dead. Hence, in a wall painting fragment in Rome, in the crypt of Lucina, the baptismal scene shows a person grasping, with the right hand, the right hand of the person being raised up out of the water.#

There is an interesting depiction of baptism that reminds us of some of the symbolic hand clasps which are often depicted in works depicting Christ's descent, for just as Christ raised up the soul up out of the grave, hades, & limbo, etc., in a similar manner, a person is being raised out of a baptismal bowl, as if also coming up out of the grave. The font was symbolic of the underworld, the grave, etc., in many cases in early to later Christianity, & thus the artist may have wanted to present a type of Christ's descent, & the hand clasp that is depicted there also. For Christ clasps, with his left hand, the right wrist of the person in the baptismal bowl, while His right hand has been placed on the head of the person. The depiction above this one show the ascension into heaven.#

In a gothic manuscript, a possible baptismal scene, or type of one, shows a naked soul in a barrel, with both hands raised up towards the hand of God extending down from above. Hence, it may be the moment before the clasp.#

In the act of Christ reaching down towards Adam's hand to clasp it, in order to raise him up from the grave, the pit, hades, limbo, etc., (as that realm has been called in early to later Christendom.) And as Adam reaches up towards Christ's hand. (Again we see the hand clasping "rites of passage" or ritualistic symbols in such hand clasps, see: Isa. 42:6-7; Eph.4:7-10; 1 Pet. 3:15-22, 4:5-6; etc.) Adam's "reentry to paradise has already begun & his deification (along with the deification of mankind) is already under way in this miracle of re-creation, as the Anastasis came to be known."#

John of Damascus mentions the descent of the proxy as a type of Christ's descent into hades: "The soul when it was deified descended into Hades, in order that, just as the Sun of Righteousness rose for those upon the earth, so likewise He might bring light to those who sit under the earth in darkness and shadow of death: in order that just as He brought the message of peace to those upon the earth, and of release to the prisoners,... so He [too] might become the same to those in Hades: That every knee should bow to Him, of things in heaven, and things in earth and things under the earth. [citing Phil 2:10], And thus after He had freed those who had been bound for ages, straightway He rose again from the dead, shewing us the way of resurrection."#

In many cases the hand clasp or helping hand is seen in how Christ takes a hold of their hand. Perhaps as in also in the symbolical "rite of passage hand clasps" mentioned & seen so many times in the early to later Christian art works & writings concerning the descent & ascension of Christ, in & out of the under-world, hades, limbo, the pit, grave, etc. In thus taking a hold of their hand, they are raised up from their fallen state or conditions. And supported, so as to never fall away again. Christ had thus sealed them His, with this hand clasp.

Later Christian art works show tug of wars, between angels of God & demons. The demons attempt to cause the "fall" of those who are on their way towards the heavenly realms, & moral perfection. Angels clasp a hold of the ascending souls,' arms, hands, or wrists, in order to pull them up towards the heavens. While demons attempt to hold them back, or pull them down, thus helping in their fall.

Earlier, Clement of Alexandria seems to suggest that the garment is a symbol of Christ. "And I will be" He [Christ] says, "their Shepherd," and will be near them, as the garment to their skin. He wishes to save my flesh by enveloping it in the robe of immortality, and He hath anointed my body."#

Clement then seems to hint to the symbolical journey of the soul on it way towards immortality. In the mysteries, upon coming out of the font & being clothed in a garment, it was a type of the newly resurrected soul's journey or passage towards the realms of the divine in immortality. For he also wrote: "They shall call Me," [Perhaps making reference to those in the spirit prison who call unto the Lord for help.]# "He" [Christ] "says, "and I will say, Here am I." Thou didst hear sooner than I expect, Master. "And if they pass over, they shall not slip," saith the Lord. For we who are passing over to immortality shall not fall into corruption, for He shall sustain us. For so He has said, & so He has willed...."# Clement goes on to hint to the symbols & types in the mysteries. The garment & anointing is a type of that deification to come. The anointed are deified, their bodies are clothed in a body which shines forth with immortality & that same type of divine light as Christ's glorious body does. The garment of light being a type of this.
Clement of Alex.: "Boast not of the clothing of your garment, & be not elated on account of any glory, as it is unlawful." [Speaking of those who cloth themselves after the luxurious garments of this earthly world. For God has in mind a better and more luxurious garment to cloth them in.] For "those that wait at the court of heaven around the King of all, are sanctified in the immortal vesture of the Spirit, that is, the flesh, and so put on incorruptibility."#

Clement also wrote that the priestly robes of the Jews in the Old Testament times, in their laws & ordinances, these were a prophetic type of Christ's ministry in the flesh. The point here being, that one of the symbolical meanings behind robes & garments was that it was a symbol & similitude of the body, the flesh. And in some cases the deified glorified resurrected body. The Christian was also to take upon themselves the same type of glorified body as Christ's resurrected body. Thus, the garments & robes of the mysteries were a type of this. Clement of Alex., wrote: "Truly, then are we the children of God, who have put aside the old man, & stripped off the garment of wickedness, & put on the immortality of Christ; that we may become a new, holy people by regeneration, & may keep the man undefiled."#

Clement of Alex., also wrote that in "our regeneration, we attained that perfection after which we aspired". And in having followed Christ's example in “being baptized, we are illuminated; illuminated, we become sons, being made sons, we are made perfect; being made perfect, we are made immortal. "I," says He, "have said that ye are gods, & all sons of the Highest." [Citing from Psa. 82:6.] "This work is variously called grace, & illumination, & perfection, & washing: washing, by which we cleanse our sins; grace, by which the penalties accruing to transgressions are remitted; & illumination, by which that holy light of salvation is beheld, that is by which we see God clearly."#

In coming up out of the font, (again, the font was a type of the spirit prison, grave, limbo, hades, the pit., etc.,) the Lord would reach down to clasp their hand. Clement seems to hint to this, when he wrote concerning the descent of Christ into hades. "...For some the Lord exhorts, & to those who have already made the attempt he stretches forth His hand, & draws them up...." (TANF) 2:490-2, Isa.42:6-7). This is what we see many times in the art works of the harrowing of hell, the descent, etc. (Anastasis, Kartsonis, p.72, etc. Gothic Painting I, p.48; Christian Art, C.R. Morey, p.86.)

and so it seem reasonable & logical to suppose that the early to later Christians saw in their art works of the descent and resurrection of Christ, a type of that which happened in their mysteries and sacraments.

(Roger Adam wrote that Basil (329-379 A.D.), had likened baptism unto the grave. "How can we be placed in a condition of likeness to His" [Christ's] "death? By being `buried with Him in baptism.' How are we to go down with Him into the grave? By imitating the `burial' of Christ in baptism; for the bodies of the baptized are in a sense buried in water." (De Baptismo). Notice here that Basil seems to hint of the descent into the grave or realms of the dead, in that he asked: "How are we to go down with Him" [Christ] "into the grave?")

Upon ascending up stairs into higher parts of the church, this must have been considered as a type of Christ's ascension up out of the grave, the spirit world, the pit, limbo, hades, etc., as Christ & the newly resurrected saints ascended into paradise. Thus, the proxy, upon having followed Christ's example, had brought souls out of the spirit prison house over into paradise.
In some cases, a 2nd anointings would take place, & garments would be put upon them after they had ascended out of the font. The anointing, the putting on of garments, and the ascension may have been a type of how the angels in the other realms had taken the spirits by the hand to guide them over into paradise.*

Clement of Alexandria, with the help of symbolical types, he wrote that the three days that Christ was in the grave, having risen on the 3rd day. These things were a type of the 3 immersions, or "The three days may be the mystery of the seal," [n. "Baptism. [Into the Triad.]" "in which God is really believed." Clement then seems to hint to how Abraham had been in the realms of the dead & had been initiated by the angel. He hints to the type of baptism being as a type of the realm of the dead, for Abraham was "in the realms of generation," or baptism.# The Jews "once taught that when Michael and Gabriel lead all the sinners up out of the lower world, "they will wash and anoint them of their wounds of hell, and clothed them with beautiful pure garments & bring them into the presence of God."#

In the Testament of Abraham the chief-captain and archangel Michael is "God's commander-in-chief," and he is "one whose intervention is so powerful with God that at his word souls can be rescued even from Hell itself." Abraham pleaded with Michael that he would call upon the Lord to have mercy on the souls of the sinners "who the earth swallowed up" reminding us here of the many different depictions of the descent of Christ that show hell, limbo, hades, or the lower regions of the earth, as a pit, or cave which open before Christ like jaws. Also the jaws of hell were often depicted as having swallowed up sinners. But to return to the story of Abraham-- they call upon the angel for help, and in turn the angel calls upon the Lord to have mercy on these souls in hell. The Lord answered by saying: "I forgive thee thy sin, [Abraham,] and those whom thou thinkest that I destroyed I have called up and brought them into life by my exceeding kindness,..." Another example of where Michael conducts the souls out of hell into the holy light of paradise is seen in a chant in "Masses for the dead", here they ask the Lord to "deliver the souls of all the faithful departed from the pains of Hell and from the deep pit". The chant continues to plead that the dead would be delivered from the lion and jaws of hell that they would not be swallowed up. It asked that "the standard-bearer Michael [may] conduct them into the holy light, which thou didst promise of old to Abraham and his seed." The mass included prayers and sacrifices for and in behave of the dead in the hopes that they would be allowed to pass from hell over into paradise with Michael as their guide.#

On some stone works, a number of angel "hold the hands of the little persons whom they cover with their mantels. These are symbols of the souls tenderly borne to paradise."#

A Christian mosaic, on the cupola of the Baptistery of S. Giovanni, Florence, 13th century A.D., shows an angel conducting the souls of the virtuous to the door of paradise. Another angel is standing inside the half-open door and welcomes a soul by clasping, with the right hand, the soul's right hand.#

Furthermore, in the early Christian mysteries’ symbolical types, it was as if they were clothed in a resurrected bodies. Hence, the garment was a type of this. Darell D. Thorpe, The Garments Of The First And Second Adam: [The Symbolical Meanings Of Garments In Early To Later Christendom], (Salt Lake City, Utah: Religious, Historical and Polemical Studies, Oct. 1993); William Henry Paine Hatch, Greek & Syrian Miniatures in Jerusalem, (Cam., Mass.:The Medieval Academy of America, 1931), p.68-9, pl.12, the baptism. Greec, xi, fol.172. See also: G. de Jerphanion, Les eglises rupestres de Cappadoce (Paris: Geuthner, 1925-28,), pl.78, 89, 103, & 119; Robert P. Bergman, The Salerno Ivories, Arts Sacra from Medieval Amalfi, (London, England: Harvard University Press, 1980 & Fellows of Harvard Col.), fig., 169, Baptism, ivory plaque, Lugano, Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection; Walter Lowrie, Art in the Early Church, (Washington Square, New York, New York: Phatheon Books, 1947), pl.121 a, top portion. Marshall B. Davidson, written by Roland H. Bainton, The Horizon History of Christianity, Editors of Horizon Mag., 1964- A.H.P.C.; Art & Mankind, Larousse Encyclopedia of Byzantine & Medieval Art, General Ed., Rene Huyghe, Prof. in the Col. of France, Pub. by Prometheus Press, N.Y., 1958- Auge, Gillon, Hollier-Larousse, Moreau et Cie (Librairie Larousse, Paris, this ed., 1963- Paul Hamlyn LTD, Lon. p.240, fig. 501, baptismal font in Hildesheim cathedral. See also p.237, fig.497, detail from the baptismal font in St. Bartholomew, Liege; Art of the Medieval World, by George Zarnecki, Pub. by Harry N. Abrams, Inc. N.Y., fig.154, depicting the baptism of Christ. Gospels of Etchmiadzin, 6th century A.D. Matenadaran Library (Ms. 2374), Erevan; The Book of Art (A Pictorial Encyclopedia of Painting, Drawing, & Sculpture) Origins of Western Art, texts by Dr. Donald E. Strong & others, Prof. Giuseppe Bovini, & Prof. David Talbot Rice, Peter Laske, Prof. G. Zarnecki & George Henderson, Pub. by Grolier Inc., N.Y., Montreal, Mexico City & Sydney, p.104, A. Metz School. Ivory casket, depicting baptism, 10th century A.D., Brunswick, Herzog Anton Ulrich Mus.; The Art of Byzantine Empire (Byzantine Art In The Middle Ages), by Andre Grabar, Tarns., by Betty Forster, 1st Ed., pub. in 1963, Holle Verlag G.M.B.H., Baden-Baden, Germany. English Trans., 1966, by Methuen & Co., LTD., Crown Pub., Inc., N.Y., p.125, pl.27, the baptism, a mosaic at the Hosios Lucas in Phocias, ca, 1000. Cf., p.124; Byzantine Painting (Historical & Critical Study) by Andre Grabar, Pub. by Skira Rizzoli, New York, 1979, first pub. in 1953. Page 116, in the Nave, Church of Daphni; Studies In Classical & Byzantine Manuscript Illumination, by Kurt Weitzmann, Ed. by Herbert L. Kessler, Pub. by The Un. of Chicago Press, Chic. & Lon., 1971, page 272, fig. 261, Vatican, Biblioteca. Cod. gr. 1613, p.299, Baptism of Christ; another baptismal depiction is seen on page 273, fig. 262 (Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery. Cod. W 521, fol. 38r. This is very similar to the other one mentioned. See also page 274, fig. 263, (Mount Athos, Dionysiu. Cod. 587, fol. 141v. Page 282 fig. 275 Paris, Bib. Nat. Cod. gr. 74, fol. 169r. Page 308 fig. 305 Mount Sinai, St. Catherine's Icon. 12 Feast, pp. 309, 312, fig. 308, Mount Sinai, St. Catherine's Icon. Deesis & 12 feasts. Studies In Classical & Byzantine Manuscript Illumination, Weitzmann, op. cit., p.272, fig. 261, p.274, fig.263, p.282, fig. 275, p.308-9, fig. 305, & p.312, fig.308; Iconography of Christian Art, by Gertrud Schiller, Vol.1, trans., by Janet Seligman, 1966 & 77, New York Graphic Soc. Greenwhich, Conn., #364., dated c.1170 Hortus Deliciarum; Monuments of Romanesque Art, by Hanns Swarzenski, 1954 & 1967, Un. of Chic., pl.113, fig. 253 & 258, see also: Art of the Medieval World, by George Zarnecki, Pub. Harry N. Abrams, N.Y., 1975, dated "1107-1118" A.D. The baptismal font of Renier de Huy, Church of St. Barthelemy, Liege. See also: 1 Kings 7:23-4; Jer.52:20; Schiller, op. cit., #374, Manuscript Illumination, c. 1200. Lower Saxony, Codex, Trier Cath; Classical Inspiration In Medieval Art, by Walter Oakshott, 1959, Frederick A. Praeger, Pub., N.Y., Pl.III, fig., A, the Liege font, with medieval art works dated back to the 12-13th century A.D., see also: pl.III, fig.B; The Icon, by Kurt Weitzmann, & others, 1982, by Arnoldori Editore, pub. Alfred A. Knopf, N.Y., p.170. Greek work at Ohrid Tempera on wood. The Church of the Virgin Peribleptos, cent. 1300. Gallery of icons in the church of St. Clement, Ohrid, Macedonia; The Art of the Copts, by Pierre M. Du Bourguet, S. J. (Translated by Caryll Hay-Shaw) 1967 & 1971. Pub. Crown Pub. Inc. New York. pp. 176-7; La Peinture Byzantine, by Paul Muratoff, (Pub. Paris A. Weber, MCMXXXV). Plate CXXIV; Pl. CXCI; Episodes de L'Historie de S. Jean Baptiste Detail du Tableau d' autel - Art Neo-Hellenistique (1250-1270) Academie, Sienne, pl. CCXLVII, Pl. CCXLVIII; Iconography of Christian Art, op. cit., #365; Jerusalem A History, by E.O. James, Pub. by G.P. Putnam's Sons, N.Y., Ed. by J. Boudet, p.131, the Baptism of Jesus, Barna, 14th century A.D., fresco at San Gimignano; Frescoes of the Church of the Assumption At Volotovo Polye, Text by M.V. Alpatov, & others, pub. by Moscow Iskusstvo 1977, fig.96, baptism, Fresco on the southern wall about 1380 A.D.; Byzantine Painting, Grabar, op. cit., p.190-1, this art work is part of a 6 part depiction, 2nd down on the right, "SIX OF THE GREAT FEASTS OF THE YEAR." Dated back to the 14th century A.D. Portable mosaic, Opera Del Duomo, Florence; The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Edward Gibbon, Vol.III, 1185-1453 A.D., page 437, Pub. by The Modern Library, New York, see also footnote 57 on p.437. "Framea scutoque juvenem ornant. Tacitus, Germania, c. 13." St. Gregory the Great mentions the white vestment (birrum) in which a person was clothed when he rose from the font. St. Ambrose calls the garments of the mysteries the chaste veil of innocence. While S. Cyril of Jerusalem in his lectures on the mysteries called it the garment of salvation, and said that is was a type of the cloth that Christ's body was covered in while his body was in the tomb. (See: The Nicene & Post-Nicene Fathers = (TN&PNF) Vol.13. p.3 Ep.6; (TN&PNF) Vol.x, pp.321-3, chap.6-7; Library of Fathers, Vol.2, pp.260-66, Lec. xix-xx); Art in the Early Church, Lowrie, pl.121; Iconography of Christian Art by Gertrud Schiller, Vol.I, fig.376. Zech.3:1-4. Behold the Christ, Bainton, p.79, fig.76. Rev.7:14-17 & Christ Lore, by Fredk. WM. Hackwood, p.117. Baptism For the Dead, Roger Adam, pl.16, p.29, see his note 23, from "Cote, Archaeology, 53." Ad Fabiolam, Ep.cxxvii. Baptism for the Dead, Adam, op. cit., p.57-9 & 61).

And: Textile Art in the Church, by Marion P. Ireland, 1966, 67, & 1971, Pub. Abingdon Press., Nashville & N.Y., p. 73; The Toledo Museum Of Art European Paintings, (The Toledo Mus. of Art, Tol. Ohio., Dist. by Penn. State Un., Press, 1st printing 1976, Designed by Harvey Retzloff, p.389. Acc. no. 48.74. "SPIRIDION CHRYSOLORAS 17th Century. Cretan. The Baptism of Christ."; Treasures From The Kremlin, (An Exhibition from the State of Museums of the Moscow Kremlin at the Metropolitan Musesum of Art, N.Y., May 19-Sept.1979, and Grand Palais, Paris, Oct. 12, 1979 & Jan. 7, 1980), Pub. by Metro. Mus., of Art, N.Y., Distrib. by Harry N. Abrams, Inc., pp.70 & 166, pl.39.

One of the traditions that preserved in part the use of baptismal garments, in later centuries was the festival known as "Whitsuntide", Whit Sunday, or "White Sunday."#
In coming up out of the font, (again, the font was a type of the spirit prison, grave, limbo, hades, the pit., etc.,) the Lord would reach down to clasp their hand. Clement seems to hint to this, when he wrote concerning the descent of Christ into hades. "For some the Lord exhorts, and to those who have already made the attempt he stretches forth His hand, & draws them up."
(TANF) 2:490-2, Isa.42:6-7). This is what we see many times in the art works of the harrowing of hell, the descent, etc. (Anastasis, Kartsonis, p.72, etc. Gothic Painting I, p.48; Christian Art, C.R. Morey, p.86; The Human Story, Europe In The Middle Ages, by Michel Pierre, Morgan -- Antoine Sabbagh, Pub. by Sliver Burdett Press, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1988, see p. 34, originally published in 1986 by Casterman, under the title: L' Histoire des Hommes: L' Europe du Moyen Age.) An Illustrated Cultural History Of England, by F.E. Halliday, 1967-8, A Studio Book, The Viking Press, N.Y., p.47 & p.68: "Opus anglicanum. English ecclesiastical embroidery was recognized as the finest in medieval Europe. Detail from the Syon Cope, c. 1280. The Gospel Of Philip, by R. Mcl. Wilson, Pub., A.R. Mowbray, London, p.179; Art in the Early Church, by Walter Lowrie, Pub. by Phatheon Books, Wash., Sq., N.Y., N.Y., 1947, pl.121 a, top portion; The Horizon History of Christianity, by the Ed. of Horizon Mag., Marshall B. Davidson, written by Roland H. Bainton, 1964- A.H.P.C.; The March Of The Cross, by Leonard W. Cowie, 1962, (First Pub. in Great Britain by Weidenfeld & Nicolson LTD. 1962), & firts pub. in the USA by McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., N.Y., Toronto, & Lon., 1962, p.58, fig.61; Studies In Classical & Byzantine Manuscript Illumination, p.272; The Life Of Our Lord In Art, (With Some Account Of The Artistic Treatment Of The Life Of St. John The Baptist), by Estelle M. Hurll, 1898, Boston & N.Y., Houghton, Mifflin & Co., The Riverside Press, Cambride, MDCCCXCVIII, p. 314, XXVII, The Descent into Limbus. According to the "Latin Gospel of Nicodemus, Christ was occupied with the liberation of the souls of the patriarchs and prophets of the old dispensation. In the typical composition Christ carries the resurrection banner, and standing on a higher level reaches out a helping hand to the company of long-bearded old men who flock eagerly towards him with lifted faces and outstretched arms." See also: Monumente Istorice Bisericesti Din Mitropolia Moldovel Si Sucevei, 1974, p. 41, figs. 23-4.

The hand clasps during the ascension were types of the ritualistic hand clasping rites of passage in the mysteries and sacraments. Thus, as proxies*

(Note: Certainly, in the Catholic rites, the idea of how the sponsor answers for the child by proxy at the time of the "baptism," the anointing, & the placing of the white cloth on the child's head, etc. All these later traditional & later ceremonies seem to suggest fragmented hints to the use of a proxies, anointings, and garments. (The Reign of Antichrist, Sjodahl, op. cit., pp.24-30, & 36-45.)

in earth life, as they were passing through these rites of passage, on the other side, those to whom the work was being done for were also passing through the heavenly coronation ceremonies, and rites of passage with the angels as they literally ascended out of the spirit prison towards paradise. At least, this is what numerous art works, & writings seem to suggest.
Note: A later Christian mosaic on the cupola of the Baptistery of S. Giovanni, Florence, 13th century A.D., shows an angel conducts the souls of the virtuous to the door of paradise. Another angel is standing inside the half-open door and welcomes a soul by clasping, with the right hand, the soul's right hand. (Heaven and Hell in Western Art, Huges, op. cit., pp.180-191; History of Italian, Renaissance Art, Hartt, 4th ed., 1994, op. cit., p. 59, colorplate 19, dated in this source as being the 2nd half of the 13th century A.D. In the Gospel of Nicodemus, "all the saints were joined together, hand in hand, and the Lord Jesus laid hold on Adam's hand, and ascended from hell, and all the saints of God followed him." (Citing from Nic. Apoc. chap. 16 & 19). When the saints arrived in paradise, two "very ancient men" met them, and they were asked by the saints: "Who are ye, who have not been with us in hell, and have had your bodies placed in paradise?" One of them answered: "I am Enoch, who was translated by the word of God". The other man was Elijah the Tishbite. (Nic. Apoc. 20), mentioned by Doane in his Bible Myths, pp. 211-214. ).
Theodulf (760-821 A.D.), wrote that "We die to sin when we renounce the devil & all his works; we are buried with Christ when we descend into the font of washing, as into a sepulchre, & are immersed 3 times in the name of the Holy Trinity; we rise with Christ when, purified of all our sins, we come out of the font as from a tomb." (De Ordine Baptismi.) Ambrose is also reported to have mentioned 3 immersions, after which they then had climbed up out of the font. (Baptism For the Dead, Roger Adam 1977, p.9, 10, 48-9, see also Col. 2:12).

The early Christians of course had conflicting views on what these rites should include, what they meant, how they were to be done, who could pass through them, and who was worthy to enjoy the fruits of their proxy works for the dead.

Some fonts also sat on the back of 12 oxen in a circle.# In some cases the 12 oxen were said to represent the 12 apostles, in other cases they were the 12 tribes of Israel. Paul and some of the early Christians must have saw types of baptism in the scriptural references about the tank of water, or the "brasen sea" in which the Israelites did ritualistic ceremonial washings.# Since some of the art works about Christ's descent into limbo, hades, the grave, etc., were found near, or on baptismal fonts. And since, in many of art works and writings, the devil and his demons were being thrust through with different types of weapon-crosses, and crushed under the doors of hades, limbo, or hell, etc., as Christ and hosts of the freed resurrected come forth out of the spirit prison. And since some fonts show beasts being crushed by the baptismal font too. And since the descent down into the font was seen as a type of Christ's descent. It may be that the proxy, or those being baptized for the dead, they may have thought of themselves as having defeated the devil in an under world battle to free their dead relatives or other spirits from hades, limbo, etc., during baptism or other rites performed for the dead.

Perhaps some early to later Christians may have saw types for the descent and baptism for the dead in the writings of Paul & other New Testament writers, which they later put to art works about the descent in connection with baptism, and baptism for the dead. Paul defended the bodily resurrection during a time in early Christian history when the doctrine was coming under attack. Even some of the new converts may have been bringing into the Church many Hellenistic Greek ideas which conflicted with the early Church's doctrines. It may be that the anti-body doctrines of the Greeks may have Hellenized some of the Christians at Corinth, and this may be why Paul responded with a strong defense of a literal resurrection. Paul lists a number of those who had witnessed that Christ had literally been raised up from the dead into a glorious body. In 1 Corinthians chapter 15 he said that Christ was buried and rose again the third day according to the scriptures (1 Cor. 15:4). He goes on to list some of the witnesses who had seen Christ's resurrected body, such as Cephas, the 12, and 500 hundred brethren at once, then James, then all the apostles, and then he lists himself as being a witness too (verses 5-8). Now if all these had become witnesses to the fact that Christ had a resurrected body and had risen from the dead, why was there some among the Christians at Corinth who had said that this was no so? (verse 12). He then goes on to point out that if there was no resurrection their faith would be in vain (verses 13-17). He then proceed to testify that Christ had risen from the dead for he was the first to be risen, then others were too (verses 18-23). Paul then mentions what early to later Christians (who read Paul and others), may have seen as being references to the war in the underworld, the defeat of death and the devil. The art works and writings of early to later Christendom are filled with the details of satan's defeat in the underworld. For as Paul said, Christ put all enemies under his feet, the last enemy that was destroyed was death (verses 24-28). In the art works, it was a common thing to see Christ resting his foot on a defeated and fallen satan, or monstrous figure representing a personified death. Paul also went on to point out the inconsistency of those Christians at Corinth who were performing the ritualistic type of a bodily resurrection, while at the same time saying that there was no resurrection. For baptism was the ritualistic type that signified a person's passage from earth life to death, burial and the resurrection where their bodies would be fashioned like unto Christ's glorious resurrected body (verse 29; Rom. 6:3-9; Phil. 2:10; 3:10-11, 19-21; Col. 2:12; 2 Cor. 3:18). In baptism they were symbolically facing the jeopardy, the coming battle with the demonic forces in the underworld, the beasts there in. Thus, Paul, to further point out their inconsistency, he asks them why they would stand in jeopardy of this every hour? Why would they make themselves ready to do battle in the underworld, if they didn't believe in a bodily resurrection? What was the point? Paul then seems to hint to the fact that he may have also been baptized for the dead, for he too had also ritualistically died in being baptized, for he said "I die daily". He had said that he had fought with beasts at Ephesus, this may have been suggesting a further type in the descent drama & it's ritualistic type (baptism and baptism for the dead). During the descent demons and monstrous beasts from hell were defeated, (artists, legends, and mystery plays would later depict these battles, and with dramatized battles too). And as Paul had suggested earlier, the defeat of death and the devil would be included (1 Cor. 15:23-31).

In excavations at Corinth, a few reliefs included “a hideous “angel,” from some Christian grave, perhaps; terra-cotta lion-head spouts,” from which perhaps water would flow or drain from.# Furthermore, in excavations of ancient Corinth, a room was discovered that contained seven steps down to the floor, and “two bronze lion-head spouts in place on the back wall of the chamber and beneath them holes in the pavement where water-jars might be set. That this was probably a fountain was further indicated by the fact that this back wall was built under a crust of conglomerate like that in Peirene, where the soft yellow stone, almost clay, beneath was dug out to make water channels. Very likely an investigation would show that behind this wall are similar channels and a reservoir, of course long since dry. The waste water may have been carried off by a drain, of which it is possible that two sections have been found, one just west of the west pier of the Propylaea, the other running outside the north apse of Peirene.”#
Perhaps such symbols in Christian graves, and in excavations in Corinth may have been looked upon by the Christians in Corinth as containing types of Christ’s descent to defeat the devil. Hence, its ritualistic type, baptism and baptism for the dead, may have been done in similar symbolical settings. At least, the former pagans, who were converted to Christianity, may have secretly attempted to use what ever access to water they could get at, in order to perform their rites. And in so doing this, the symbols and types of their pagan counterparts could have been used and thought of as being types of Christ, rather than of the pagan gods’ symbols and types. Consequently these types of symbolical reliefs, in which the “hideous angel” perhaps symbolic of the devil, or other beasts, such as the lion-head water spouts, were seen, like Paul seems to suggest to the Corinthians, as being types of how Christ defeated the devil in during his descent into hell. Which descent had ritualistic types, that of baptism, and baptism for the dead.
Furthermore, early to later Christian artists and writers may have saw in Paul's writings many things which they put to art works concerning the descent and baptism. In the baptismal rites of the 3rd and fourth centuries, the devil is named as “the ancient destroyer.”# Hence, in the art works, and in its ritualistic types, baptism & baptism for the dead, the “ancient destroyer” is himself destroyed when Christ’s and his ritualistic types descend into the baptismal waters, (the type of hell), to free the captive spirits held there.#

Many different types of fonts were used in the different scattered branches of early to later Christianity, they should also be considered with in the historical settings, times, & places, & the dogmas that were going on during the times & places that they are found in. Some fonts have been found in different parts of the Churches throughout the history of Christianity. Some in the lower parts of the Churches, others near the entrance ways, others in separate buildings, etc., etc. Some fonts have persons carved on them, with hands raised up, perhaps as if they were in a prayer circle. While other fonts show persons reaching out their arms towards each others as if they were about to clasp hands. Other works show a person being helped out of the baptismal water with a helping hand clasp which may have been a ritualistic type of the hand grips found in numerous depictions about the descent.

The Praeger Picture Encyclopedia of Art, by Frederick A. Praeger, 1958, p. 54, fig. 55, the Baptismal font from St. Mary's in Wismar, 14th cent., rests on the shoulders of 4 persons making hand gestures, some of the hands were held mid-section level, arm extended out, palm up-ward with the fingers slightly curled up. See also: Christian Art, Vol. 1, #5, pp. 204-5, Aug. 1907, English fonts and covers, by the Rev. P.H. Ditchfield, M.A., F.S.A. Locking, Sumerset; The Catholic Encyclopedia (An International world of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, & History of the Catholic Church), Ed. by Charles G. Herbermann, Ph.D., LL.D., Edward A Page, Ph.D., D.D., & Conde B. Pallen, Ph.D., LL.D., Thomas J. Shahan, & others, (In 15 vols.), see Vol. II: p. 274-276; Baptismal Font. Pub. by Robert Appleton Co., N.Y., 1907. Baptismal fonts, Norman. Stoke Cannon, Devonshire; Ivory Carvings In Early Medieval England, by John Beckwith, Pub. by New York Graphic Society LTD, Harvey Miller & Medcalf 1972. Fig.20; A History Of The Baptists, Armitage, op. cit., p.259, #4; Iconography of Christian Art, Vol. I, Schiller, op. cit., pp. 345-6, fig. 346, see also fig. 377, font dated c. 1290, Rostock, Church of St. Mary, this font rest on the shoulders of four persons. And fig. 378, stone relief 11th cent., font Freudenstadt; Art and Mankind (Larousse Encyclopedia of Byzantine and Medieval Art), Edited by Rene Huyghe, p. 240, fig. 500. Gothic. Baptismal font in Hildesheim Cathedral, c. 1200. Pub. Prometheus Press, N.Y., 1958, & 1963 Paul Hamlyn LTD., Lon. This font rests on the shoulders of 4 persons. Some of the art works on it show Christ's baptism with the angels holding garments. See also: Italy (History-Art-Landscape), by Mercury Art Books, 1954, 55-7 by Edisioni Mercurio, pp. 195-6.

In Roger Adam's thesis, entitled: Baptism for the Dead, we read that "there is a very close connection between baptisteries and sepulchral monuments. Baptismal fonts are found in the catacombs, tombs have been discovered in the baptistery proper & baptisteries have been located in cemeteries."

(Note: Roger Adam then goes on to present a number of examples & references concerning these kinds of baptismal fonts & their settings. (Rom.6:4). The Christian House, Dura Europas, baptistery (ca., 230) was uncovered at Dura Europas in 1931-2, in excavations carried on jointly by Yale Un., & the French Academie des Inscriptions et Belless-Letteres and is today commonly known as the Christian house..." (n.6, C. Hopkins & N. Rostovtzeff, Excavations at Dura Europas, 1931-2, New Haven, 1934, 238-53, Also: Rostovtzeff's Dura Europas & its art, Oxford, 1938, 130f.) [Baptism for the Dead, Roger Adam, op. cit., p.81.] "...It contained the baptismal font at the west in the form of a sarcophagus set into a depression in the floor...some art historians,..." [argued], "that it may indeed be a martyrion rather than a baptistery." (Note. 7, M. Aubert, "Les Fouilles de Doura-Europas," Bulletin Monumental, 1934, 398, quoted by Lasssus, Sanctuaires chretien de Syria, Paris, 1947, 14.") Some of the art works & symbolism in that setting seemed to suggest that the font was in likeness to the grave. And in fact was in the form of a "sarcophagus."
Mr. Adam went on to present another example. The Baptisteries in Catacombs, Cemeterium Ostrianum on the Via Nomentana, near the church of St. Agnese, which was discovered in 1876. Another font, in the area of the catacomb & the Baptistery of St. Ponianus had a small stream of water that flowed through the cemetery, and at a certain place the channel had been deepened so as to form a pool. Steps descended down to the font, & the water depth depended on the height of the Tiber.

At the cemetery of Priscilla, discovered in 1901 by Marucchi. At the bottom of a certain staircase of S. Silvester, near the chapel of Acilii Glabriones, writings on an arch read as follows: "qui sitit veniat ad me et bibat," suggests that in this area, within a catacomb, the chamber was used for baptizing. Professor Marucchi, reports Mr. Adam, had suggested that baptisms by immersion were performed there. While others had suggested other modes of baptism.
Mr. Roger Adam wrote of another baptistery at Oxyrhynchos, & which was said to be a half subterranean structure that dated back to be from about the 3rd -- 5th centuries, A.D. And is said to have been a possible baptistery. (Note: E. Breccia, Musse Alexandria, 1933, 36-8.) Another was said to have been at Castiglione (Tunesia), in which a font in form of a crypt was discovered. (Note: O. Grandidier, Bulletin de la Societe d' archeologie de' Alger, I, 1895, 106-116.)

Another under ground baptistery dated 3rd -- 4th cent. A.D., was discovered at Gabia La Grande. (Note: J. Cabre Aquilo, Monumento Christiano-Bizantino, de Gabia La Grande, Memorias Junta Superior Excavaciones y Antiquesdades, LV, 1923, 7.)
In Greece a half subterranean church called Christos in Milos (Kepos). And other underground fonts with funerary symbolisms, types & settings, & art works. Plus a study of early Christian writings had become some of the evidences that Roger Adam presented in his thesis on Baptism for the dead.

Op. cit., Baptism For The Dead, Roger Adam, 1977, p.66-84. St. Hippolytus, Bishop of Portus, near Rome, A.D. 220-30, says that Hades "is a place in the created system, chaotic, a locality beneath the earth, without light. This locality has been destined to be as it were a guard-house for souls, at which the angels are stationed as warders, distributing to each one's deeds the temporary awards according to different characters. 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; for it is prepared against the day appointed by God, in which one sentence of righteous judgment shall be applied to all. And the unrighteous, and those who believed not God, shall be sentenced to this endless punishment. But the righteous shall obtain the incorruptible and unfading kingdom, who indeed are at present detained in Hades, but not in the same place with the unrighteous." (Monumental Christianity, Lundy, op. cit., p. 265, see note 3, Adver. Graecos. Fabricius' Ed., p. 220. 34.)

In the early Christian church at Dura, one of the depictions on their walls of their sacred rooms depicted different religious themes. In the one used for baptism “the sacrament of baptism assimilated this room to the tomb of the ‘old Adam,’ reborn by the rite of baptism to eternal life.#

The Dura baptistery, with its art works, dates back to the beginning of the third century. In this baptistery, is “a stone-built font shaped like a sarcophagus. . . Adam and Eve, too, are represented, in a curiously narrow Garden of Paradise. Thus the purport of the panel over the baptismal font is evident: it tells of the old Adam who sinned and the new Adam, Christ, who redeems the victims of original sin.”# It is interesting to note how fonts were types of the grave, and how that many art works contained types of the descent and resurrection, as would be expected inasmuch as the presence of this image evoking the Resurrection and the place it is given on the wall relate no doubt to the symbolic value of the baptismal rite as signifying the death and resurrection of the Christian, prefigured by Christ’s.”#

Further evidence for the relationships of tombs with baptisteries is seen in the way that Christian tombs have been found “in many baptisteries, as in the baptistery of the Arians at Ravenna”.# Furthermore, the use of the martyrium as a baptistery is established at Nisibis; in Africa; and by the baptism of Severus of Antioch in the martyrium of S. Leontius. Plus, by Prudentius; and in the baptistery at Jerusalem, which was connected with the Anastasis, which as we have already noted, is the descent into the underworld, and resurrection. In addition to all this, a baptistery was also added onto the cruciform martyrium of S. Babylas at Antioch-Kaoussie, early in the fifth century.#

578, by the Council of Auxerre, the practice of placing graves in baptisteries, or perhaps baptisteries in tombs, was prohibited.# Hence, it may be that this practice, during earlier centuries, was popular, and had, in fact, spread to many areas of Christendom to the point where it was later prohibited by the Christian leaders of Auxerre, during this 6th century Council.# At any rate, it seems that these Christian leaders must have frowned on these earlier types and symbolical architectural designs, that had connected death, martyrdom and the grave with their symbolical types, that of baptism and baptisteries. However, the fact that history records that such a council was held, shows further evidence of these types and symbolisms, which seem to be faded reminders of the earlier practice of baptism for the dead. Hence, it seems that such a council marks the time frame when the apostasy continued to help cause the symbolical types of baptism for the dead to continue to fade out in some areas of Christendom.#

Domes and Baptism for the Dead

Baldwin Smith points out how in historic Christianity, “the dome was of great symbolical interest to the Christians. It was a shape which. . . had an antique sepulchral association with memorials to the dead. . . . with martyrium because of its traditional mortuary symbolism.”# “With the growth of the ritual of the dead and the architectural elaboration of the simple provisions for the mensa martyrium into a commemorative monuments and church, the symbolism of the primitive shelter and house of the dead was extended to the whole church: the dome gradually became the manifest symbol of the martyrium. In Syria this association of the dome with the martyrium and its transformation from a symbolic shape into a monumental form of architecture was first brought about by wood carpentry, which made it possible to construct in the architecture itself a sepulchral ciborium, a royal baldachin, a divine form and celestial symbol over an altar, throne, tomb, pulpit and baptismal font.”#

Inasmuch as many other baptismal fonts were in the shape of chalices, with a dome shaped lid, could it be that the dome shaped lid represented the paradise, or celestial regions to which souls would ascend to, after they were raised up out of the lower regions? “The later dome over the Anastasis” suggests that the upper area of the Church, was symbolic of the heavenly realms to which the freed souls from hell were being lifted up by their hands to.#

The dome was carried over from the tomb to the baptistery, so that during the fourth century in Italy, the Christians began to construct their baptisteries like domical mausolea and martyria.# Baldwin Smith further notes how during the 4th and 5th centuries, the dome shaped architecture was symbolically connected with death & martyrdom in the symbolism of their baptisteries and baptismal rites. Plus how that it was because the Christians had habitually used their “burial places as baptisteries and their baptisteries as martyria, they transformed the imagery of the tomb, or martyrium, as a heavenly tegurium to the font house, which they then visualized as a symbolic, cosmic shelter in a sylvan paradise where animals drank at the Fountain of Life.”#

PART THREE: EARLY TO LATER CHRISTIANS PRACTICED
BAPTISMS AND PRAYERS FOR THE DEAD

Baptism for the dead is mentioned in the New Testament, but it was not expounded upon. However, it was mentioned while Paul was defending the doctrine of the resurrection. Baptism for the dead was also part of the ritualistic symbolism for the resurrection in early Christianity, and so it seems that Paul was making reference to a practice that he knew supported the doctrine of the resurrection, while pointing out the inconsistency of those who rejected the bodily resurrection, while they practiced a ritualistic type of the resurrection through baptism for the dead.

Nicodemus was the disciple of Christ as referred to in John 3:1; 7:50; 19:39. In Nicodemus 21:13, two sons of the high priest of Simeon were among those resurrected from the dead at the time of the resurrection of Christ (Matt. 27:52). They were also baptized in the river of Jordan.

Note: Second Gospel of Nicodemus, in 14 Sacred Books and Literature of the Far East, p. 360, Chapter 27. The angel Michael appointed them to go and preach the resurrection, but first, they were to go and be baptized at the river Jordan. Thus, they went and were baptized with the other dead who had arisen. See also: Christ Lore, Hackwood, op. cit., p. 163-4.
Some versions about the descent say that it begun at midnight in the nether world. A bright light shown forth in the darkness like unto the light from the sun. Abraham, (other version have) Adam commenting about bright light. Isaiah and John the Baptist repeat prophecies they made about it. John warns the idolaters to take their last chance to repent by worshiping Christ. Death and Satan talk with each other about how Jesus had taken Lazarus away, and Death feared that all of the dead would be soon taken out of hell. Thunder is heard with the command to lift up the gaits so that the King of glory can come in. Satan and his demons attempt to bar the gates, asking who is this King of Glory? Isaiah and David, and the other prophets mock the devil and his demons. Angels answer back from the other side of the gates that it is the Lord might in battle. The gates of brass break and the bars of iron break and in through the doors comes the King of glory. Light floods all the dark places of death, and the bound are set free. Death and his host protest and ask who this King is that has so much power over the living and the dead? Christ seizes satan and tells the angels to gag his mouth, bind him hand and foot and then have Death hold him until the second coming. While Death scorns satan, Christ lifts up Adam and takes him over into paradise along with the other patriarchs, prophets, martyrs and forefathers. He blesses them all by making the sign of the cross. Enoch and Elijah meet them at the gait, they are joined by the penitent thief who gives them Christ's promise to him, as a password. "In some sense the risen dead are certainly thought to be on earth, for some of them were baptized in the Jordan and kept the passover of the resurrection in Jerusalem." (See: Christian Mythology, Every, op. cit., p.65; The 40 Days, King, 1949, op. cit., pp. 15-20. End Note

An early Christian work that was even among the earlier canonical books of the New Testament for some time, but was later taken out, was the second century apocalypse known as the Shepherd of Hermas.

Note: Early Christian Art and Architecture, by Robert Milburn, 1988, Un. of Calif., Press, Berkeley and L.A., p.55; The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol.2, Intro. note to Hermas, p.3-7; Mormon Issues #1, April, 1991, p.4, Bible, So Many Versions, by Van Hale & Bill Forrest with Don Bradley on this issue. See also: Apostasy to Restoration, by T. Edgar Lyon, Deseret Book Co. SLC., Ut., 1960, p.67; John P. Lundy wrote that that the Shepherd of Hermas "was the most popular of books in the Christian community, i. e., from the second to the fifth centuries" (Monumental Christianity, by John P. Lundy, Pub., in N.Y., J W Bouton, 1876, p.196). "The Shepherd of Hermas was treated by some of the early fathers as if it formed part of the canon of scripture,..." (Butler's Lives of the Saints, revised edition by Herbert Thurston, S.J., and Donald Attwater, Vol.III, July . August . September, Pub. P.J. Kenedy & Sons, N.Y., 1956, p.678). See also: 1000 Evidences, by Allen H. Richardson, David E. Richardson, & Anthony E. Bentley, 1994, Hawks Pub., Inc., S.L.C., Utah, Vol. 1, pp. 294-5, Evidence No. 471: Redemption For The Dead; Encyclopedia Of Early Christianity, Ferguson, op. cit., p. 421.

In the Ninth Similitude of Hermas: "...And I said, `Why then, Sir, did these forty stones also ascend with them out of the deep, having already received that seal.' He answered, 'Because these apostles and teachers who preached the name of the Son of God, dying after they had received his faith and power, preached to them who were dead before; and they gave this seal to them. They went down, therefore, into the water with them, and again come up. But these went down whilst they were alive, and came up alive; whereas those, who were before dead, went down dead, but came up alive. Through these therefore, they received life, and know the Son of God; for which cause they came up with them, and were fit to come into the building of the tower; and were not cut, but put in entire; because they died in righteousness and in great purity only this seal was wanting to them. Thus you have the explication of these things'".
Note: Barker mentions a source that says that: "The idea that hearing the gospel and baptism is necessary for salvation of the righteous dead of pre-Christian times is common." (Apostasy From The Divine Church, by James L. Barker, Pub. by Kate Montgomery Barker, 1960, p. 63, note 20, citing Lake, footnote 1, in his translation of the Shepherd in Apostolic Fathers, Vol. II, p. 263, in The Loeb Classical Library).

Some time between about A.D. 150-200, "...Valentinian Theodotus... associates the baptism for the dead in the New Testament with the heavenly model of angels baptism: "`Those who are baptized for the dead' are the angels who are baptized for us (who being mortal are as dead), in order that we too, posessing the (baptismal) name, may not be held back (at the ascent) and be prevented by the `border post' (horos) from entering into the Pleroma."
Gnosis, Rudolph, op. cit., pp. 228, see note * Clem. Alex., Ex Theodoto 22, 4, see also p. 378 for date.
"In the sphere of doctrine a natural consequence of the stress laid on the necessity of baptism was inquiry into the ultimate fate of the righteous unbaptized dead. Hermas settled this inquiry by ascribing to the apostles the function of baptizing in Hades." (Unknown source). Clement of Alexandria In Book 2, Chapter 9 of his Miscellanies," [See: (TANF) 2: p.357; Nibley note an ancient Christian belief that John the Baptist was believed to have continued his mission as a prophet and baptizer even after John had been martyred. Others descended after that, such as Christ, the Apostles, and others. They preached the gospel and baptized too. See: Codex Vaticanus 3848, cited by Nibley, in his Mormonism and Early Christianity, see note 115; see also: Sheperd of Hermas, Sim. III, 9, 16; Max Dressel, Patrum Apostolicorum Opera (Leipzig, 1863), 548-49, & 631.

"Clement of Alexandria, who lived about 150 A.D., and whose eminence in learning and integrity stand forth in brilliant outline among the church fathers of the earliest times, has likewise discussed the subject of baptisms for the dead, and interprets the vision of Hermas as applicable to the Gentiles and the Jews. Says he: "And the Shepherd, speaking plainly of those who had fallen asleep, recognizes certain righteous among Gentiles and Jews, not only before the appearance of Christ , but before the law, in virtue of acceptance before God- as Abel, as Noah, as any other righteous man. He says accordingly,'that the apostles and teachers, who preached the name of the Son of God, and had fallen asleep, in power and by faith preached to these that had fallen asleep before.' Then he subjoins `And they have them the seal of preaching. They descended, therefore, with them into the water, and again ascended. But these descended alive, and again ascended alive. But those, who had fallen asleep before, descended alive, and know the name of the son of God. Wherefore, they also ascended with them, and fitted into the structure of the tower, and un hewn were built up together; they fell asleep in righteousness and in great purity, and wanted only this seal.' 'For when the gentiles, which have not the law do by nature the thing of the law, these having not the law,are a law unto themselves.' according to the apostle." See also: Clement of Alexandria, Stromata III, 6, in PG 9:268; Stromata II, 9, in PG 8:980; Hermas, Sim. 9, 16.

Ariel L. Crowley cautioned that the so-called Epistle of Kallikrates, a fragment of a second century Greek uncial manuscript, consisting of 34 pages, is, in fact "a work of fiction, conceived in the fertile imagination of Dr. Witherow". Therefore, it is not to be considered as an ancient source with regards to baptism for the dead.

The Improvement Era, Vol. 48, No. 7, July 1945, pp. 386, & 430, The Epistle of Kallikrates and Baptism for the Dead, by Ariel L. Crowley, LL.B.

"...Tertullian: Quintus Septimus Florens Tertullianus, prince of Christian historians, born 155 A.D., is called the creator of Christian Latin Literature. Certain it is that in the west he was the greatest of ancient church writers. In his admirable dissertation on the resurrection of the flesh, he has occasion to consider the meaning of I Cor. 15:29, wherein Paul makes reference to baptism for the dead as herein before set forth. As a commentary upon that passage, Tertullian says (De Res. Ch. 28.)

"If therefore, we are to rise again after the example of Christ, who rose in the flesh, we shall certainly not rise according to that example unless we shall ourselves rise again the flesh. ...For if 'as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive' their vivification in Christ must be in the flesh, since it is in the flesh that arises their death in Adam. 'But every man in his own order' because of course it will be also every man in his own body. For the order will be arranged severally, on account of the individual merits.

Now as the merits must be ascribed to the body, it must needs follow that the order also should be arranged in respect of the bodies, that it may be in relation to their merits. But inasmuch as `some are also baptized for the dead' we will see whether there be a good reason for this.
Now it is certain that they adopted this practice with such a presumption as made them suppose that the vicarious baptism in question would be beneficial to the flesh of another anticipating of the resurrection; for unless it were bodily resurrection there would be no pledge secured by this process of a corporeal baptism, "Why are they then baptized for the dead" he asked, "unless the bodies rise again which are thus baptized?"

When Tertullian became a Montanist later on in his life, he must have known that they practiced baptism for the dead, and he may have even took part in them too. He seems to hint to this while writing as a Montanist against the Church of Rome. "Whence, too, it was that there flowed out of the wound in the Lord's side water and blood, the materials of either baptism." Numerous art works, writings, and legends in later centuries would depict Adam's grave under the cross. The blood and water from Christ's wounds was believed to be a sort of baptism, thus, the bones of Adam were washed and baptized. These later legends, etc., may have been based on earlier types and symbols for baptism for the dead, which eventually became corrupted and legendized in later centuries. Tertullian may have accepted an earlier version of this tradition as a type of baptism for the dead.

The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. IV, pp. 99-101, Tertullian, On Modesty, Chap. XXII; Metamorphosis Of A Death Symbol, (The Transi Tomb in the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance), by Kathleen Cohen, Un. of Calif. Press, Berkeley, L.A., London, C/R 1973, by the Regents of the Un. of Calif., pp. 104-119.

Irenaeus, bishop at Lyon at the end of the second century after Christ, wrote of baptisms for the dead (I, 14:2) (Hastings): "The seven varieties are as follows:...(g) Finally, there were those who in other respects seem to have agreed with those mentioned above as the fifth party (those who use oil and water in the ordinance of baptism instead of merely water) but deferred baptism until after death. Epiphanius perhaps thought that this must mean `in articule mortis' (Epiph. 36:2) but the text of the Latin Irenaeus is clear: `Alli sunt qui mortuos rediment ad finen defunctionis, mittenten exorum capitibus oleum et aquam' alludes to the same practice (HE L:11). The object of this was to safeguard the soul of the dead person in its journey through the realm of the spirit world. This view may be paralleled with the Pistis Sophia, and seems to have Egyptian affinities." Hastings of Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, supra, Vol 2, p. 388.
At the end of the 2nd century A.D., St. Cyprian of Antioch says in a prayer for the dead: "Father, deliver his soul as thou has delivered Jonah from the sea monster, the young Hebrews from the furnace, Daniel from the lion's den, Susanna from the hands of the elders...."
Religious Art In France, (12th century, A study of the Origins of Medieval Iconography), by Emile Male, Bollingen Series XC - 1, Princeton Un., Press, 1978, p. 52.

Eznik: This man, Christian Armenian, wrote an attack upon the doctrines of Marcion. Marcion, disciple of Paul, caused the ordinance of baptisms for the dead to be observed in all the widespread Marcionite churches. Beyond the fact that he was one of the earliest of the writers of the faith, I have not been able to give a definite date to the writings of Eznik.
Marcion was a wealthy shipowner on the Euxine, he held to the teachings of Paul, and founded a system of Christian thought and practice based on the teachings of Paul. He was affiliated with the church at Rome, and left that church in 144 A.D. The doctrine of baptisms for the dead played important parts in his version of Christianity.

Ency. Vol. C, p. 172; Fisher, Hist of the Church, 77; Smith Dict. 242; Ency.Brit. Art. Marcion; Apostasy from the Divine Church, Barker, op. cit., p. 64.

Nibley notes that the Marcionites could not accept many of the other early Christians' beliefs that the Hebrew prophets and Patriarchs had recieved the preaching and the seal of baptism, for they believed that it was the prophets' and patriarchs' enemies that had, and thus, according to Marcionite beliefs, they were the only ones to be liberated by Christ when he descended.
Mormonism and Early Christianity, Nibley, op. cit., note 120, Theodoretus, Haereticae Fabulae (Heretical Tales) 1, 24, in PG 83:373, 376; Epiphanius, Adversus Haereses (Against Heresies) 42, 4, in PG 41:700-701; Irenaeus, Against Heresies I, 27, 3, PG 7:689; The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1, p. 352, Irenaeus Against Heresies, Book I, Chap. XXVII:2-3).

Despite the fact that Marcion was assailed most bitterly by Tertullian on other matters, on the matter of baptism for the dead, Tertullian leaves him unscathed, and on the contrary recognized the doctrine as accurately Pauline (Res. 48; Adv. Mar. 5:10).

While the writer of the "Five Books in Reply to Marcion" scourged Marcion on everything except baptism for the dead, the writer praised the Shepherd of Hermas, who also wrote about baptism for the dead. And so the writer, who ever they may have been, may have agreed on the practice. In the case with Tertullian, he too wrote many things against Marcion, and yet he still may have felt that baptism for the dead was not too much of an issue to make a big fuss over, for he later forsook the Church at Rome to became a Montanist, which sect accepted the doctrine of baptism for the dead, like the Marcionites did.

“The Marcionites, a heretical sect founded about 144 in Rome, is known to have practiced the doctrine of baptism for the dead. They existed not only in Rome and Italy but in Egypt, Palestine, Arabia, Syria, and as far away as Persia and survived for some 300 years in the West and several centuries longer in the East.”#

Montanus was said to be a Christian prophet about 156 A.D., in the reign of Zntoninus Pius, at Ardabau in Nysia, near the Phrygian border. Philastrius, Bishop of Brascia, writing in 350 A.D. (WE Haeres c. 2) makes note that: "The practice of baptism for the dead prevailed most among the Phrygian followers of Montanus." In the University Encyclopedia, under the heading "Baptism" it says that: "The Montanists in Africa baptized even the dead."

Note: Peterson & Ricks mention the "Montanist" as having performed baptism for the dead. They mention the practice of prayers for the dead by Roman Catholics. (Offenders For A Word, Peterson & Ricks, op. cit., p.108-110; The Temple And Its Significance, Muren, op. cit., 1973, p.4, see the Encyclopedia Britannica, "Baptism", "The Montanists in Africa believe in baptism for the dead. Justin Martyr says, A.D. 90: "Candidates for baptism fasted for one or two days as would their sponsors. The candidates stepped into the font quite naked, bishops, priests, and decons officiated. After the candidate came out of the water he was breathed upon to excorise the devils.
He was given symbolically milk, honey, and salt. He was touched upon the arms, lips, and nose with spittle, accompanied by a ceremony of words. He was anointed with oil, then he was clothed in a white robe, and was given a new name."

In John P. Lundy's Monumental Christianity, he wrote of a curious custom that prevailed in the primitive Church. That of "baptizing the dead through some living person taking the responsibility. St. Paul alludes to it, in his great argument on the resurrection, (1 Cor. 15:29), but neither condemns nor approves the practice. A century and a half later the Marcionites also denied the resurrection of the body, as they of St. Paul's day did: and Tertullian in twice speaking of it, says: "No matter what the practice was, the Februarian lustrations will perhaps answer him (Marcion) quite as well, by praying for the dead. Do not then suppose that the Apostle here indicates some new author and advocate of this custom. His only aim in alluding to it was that he might all the more firmly insist upon the resurrection of the body, in proportion as they who were vainly baptized for the dead resorted to the practice from their belief of a resurrection. We have the Apostle in another passage defining but `one Baptism.' To be `baptized for the dead.' therefore, means, in fact, to be baptized for the body; for it is the body which becomes dead. What, then, shall they do who are baptized for the body, if the body rise not again?" (n. 4. "Marcion, lib.v.c.10.")

Lundy give us another quote from Tertullian: "But inasmuch as `some are also baptized for the dead,' we will see whether there be good reason for this. Now it is certain that they adopted this practice with such a presumption as made them suppose that such vicarious baptism would be beneficial to the flesh of another, in anticipation of the resurrection; for unless it were a bodily one there would be no pledge secured by this process of a corporeal baptism." "Why are they then baptized for the dead," he asks, "unless the bodies rise again which are thus baptized? For it is not the soul which is sanctified by the baptismal bath; its sanctification comes from the answer of a good conscience." (n. 5. "De Res. Car., c.48.") Lundy then wrote that from these two passages from Tertullian, "the practice of baptizing for the dead was wholly in the belief of a bodily resurrection, as a substitute for the Pagan lustrations and prayers for the happiness and welfare of the dead, whom surviving friends never hoped to see again in a resurrection body. This Pagan custom was observed on the 15th of February. But the practice of baptizing for the dead was discontinued by the council of Carthage, at the end of the 4th century." (Monumental Christianity, Lundy, op. cit., p.382-3).

Nibley observed through historical writings, that Tertullian may have agreed with the practice at first, but later began to have doubts: "I don't believe that the Apostle was giving his approval to the practice, but rather signifying that those who practiced it thereby indicated their belief in a physical resurrection, being foolishly (vane) baptized for the dead.... For elsewhere he speaks of only one baptism. Therefore to baptize "for the dead" means to baptize for bodies; for the body, as we have demonstrated, is really dead."

Mormonism and Early Christianity, Nibley, op. cit., pp. 121-5, notes pp. 203-4, note 132, Tertullian, Adversus Marcionem (Against Marcion), 5, 10, in PL 2.495; see also note 131, Tertullian, De Resurrectione (On the Resurrection), 48, in PL 2:864; see also: Roger Adam's thesis: Baptism for the Dead, pp. 148-151, Appendix, citing from: PL II, pp. 526-7; Tertullian Operum Pars II. Series 1, Polemica. Lib. V Adv. Marcionem, 10; PL II, p. 912; Tertullian Operum Pars II. Series 1, Polemica. Liber de Resurrectione Carnis, 48.
Mani [born about 216 A.D.], became the founder of a Christian sect known as the Mandeans. About 250-300 A.D., a number of Mandean writings were composed, and which made references to hymns for the mass for the dead, plus other rituals which included hand clasps as part of the ritualistic journey of the soul. Three immersion baptisms, laying on of hands, crowning with a myrtle, anointing, a sacramental meal, plus the "hand-clasp with the right hand which priest and neophyte exchange at the ceremony" followed by prayers, etc., all these were part of the Mandean rites of passage. The mass for the dead was called the masiqta, and it was celebrated at the death of a believer and served to help the ascension of the soul into the realm of light. Elaborate ceremonies for the dead were developed by the Mandeans. "Meals in memory of the dead, like baptismal ceremonies, belong almost to every Mandean feast and thus reveal an essential side of the Mandean world of faith."

Gnosis, Rudolph, op. cit., pp. 345, 360-2, & 378, see fig. 44.
Chrysostum was the patriarch of Constantinople, he lived about 347407 A.D., and was a native of Antioch. He wrote of how the Marcionites practiced the rite, for: "After a catechumen was dead they had a living man under the bed of the deceased; then coming to the dead man they asked him whether he would receive baptism, and he making no answer, the other answered for him, and said he would be baptized in his stead; and so they baptized the living for the dead." He also wrote: "For to be baptized and submerged and then to come back and emerge once more is a symbol or sign of the descent to the lower regions and the ascent from there."
PG LXI, p. 347, In Epist. I AD Cor.; I Smith Dict. of the Bible 242; PG, 61, 348.

St. Ambrose [A.D. 340-397], wrote of baptism for the dead: "Fearing that a dead person who had never been baptized would be resurrected badly (male) or not at all, a living person would be baptized in the name of the dead one. Hence he (Paul) adds: `Else why are they baptized for them?' According to this, he does not approve of what is done but shows the firm faith in the resurrection (that it implies)."

Migne, Patrologie Latine, XVII, p. 279; Ad Opera S. Ambrosii Appendix, Comment. In Epist. 1 Ad Cor. 163f. See also: Roger Adam, Baptism for the Dead, op. cit., pp.153-154.
Seaich tells us that Ignatius, Ambrose and later Augustine are said to have attested to the former practice of baptism for the dead, even though they no longer approved of it.
Ancient Texts And Mormonism, Seaich, op. cit., p. 67, & notes 258-60 on pp. 135-6, making references to Ambrose, Commentarty on 1 Corinthians in the Latin Patrologia 17:163f; Ignatius, Epistle to the Magnesians VIII.1 and IX.2; Augustine, Contra Julianum (Against Julian the Apostate), in the Latin Patrologia 45:1596-7.

Cerinthus was a Christian, who some considered as heretical, for his doctrine were a curious blend of Judaism, Christianity and Gnosticism. Among his disciples the doctrine of baptism for the dead also prevailed. Epiphanius notes this, (Haeres 28), and so also does Irenaeus (3:2; Acv. Haer. I, 26:1).

Epiphanius was a Jew, born in Palestine, and was bishop at Constantia in 367 A.D. He is the staunch denouncer of heresies who assailed John of Jerusalem so violently from his own pulpit that John was forced to beg him to desist. In his work against heresies he says (23:7): "In this country, I mean Asia, and even in Galatia, their (the Marcionite) school flourished eminently; and a traditional tact concerning them has reached us, that when any of them had died without baptism, they used to baptize others in their name, lest in the resurrection they should suffer punishment as unbaptized."

During the late 4th century, Epiphanius related that the custom of baptism for the dead prevailed among the Cerinthians, which he said prevailed from the fear that in the resurrection those who should suffer punishment would be those who had been unbaptized. Also, the dead were remembered by performing ritual prayers, by carrying out certain ordinances, and by making special arrangements (oikonomias). He had heard reports from Asia and Gaul of a certain practice, that when a person died without baptism, another was baptized in their place, and in their name. In so doing this, they would not have to pay the penalty of having failed to receive baptism. They had based this tradition on Paul's writings (1 Cor. 15:29).

Smith, in his larger Dictionary of the Bible, p. 242; Ancient Text And Mormonism, Seaich, op. cit., pp. 65-7, note 251 on p.135, Against Heresies I.23; 3:77; 7:21.

J. K. Howard and John Short argued that despite the doubts that some members of the church had about baptism for the dead, there were others who were firm in the practice because of their belief in the resurrection. Thus, "they submitted to this rite of vicarious baptism on behalf of certain of their brethren, probably catachumens, who had passed away before they had been baptized and received into full membership of the Church."

Ibid., Seaich, pp. 68, & 136, notes 268-9, Howard, 1965, in Evangelical Quarterly 37, 137-46; and Short in Interpreter's Bible, X:240.

Ariel L. Crowley, in his "BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD" suggests a number of ancient places in which the doctrine and practice of baptism for the dead may have been taught and practiced. Such as Ephesus, Constantinople, Armenia, Rome, Carthage, Corinth, Phillipi, Caesarea, Alexandria, various churches in Greece, the general area of the province of Asia, Galatia, Constantia, Ardubau, Phrygia, Africa in general, Brascia, and Armenia.

Nicolaus was one of the seven deacons appointed in the apostolic church, as recorded in Acts 6:3. Tertullian (Adv. Haer. C. 1), suggested that Nicolaus became a heretic. Nicolaus bacame the founder of a sect known as the Nicolaitans. Irenaeus says that Nicolaus was the actual founder and promulgator of the doctrines of Coriathus, some of these doctrines also included baptism for the dead. Nicolaus, in Acts 6:5, was a proselyte at Antioch. He may have learned of baptism for the dead from the elders, but later strayed away into paths which caused others to consider him to be a heretic.

Philastrius was Bishop of Brascia, about 350 A.D., and died about A.D. 397, he wrote De Haeres, in c. 2, he mentions the practice of baptism for the dead which prevailed among the Phrygian followers of Montanus. He said "they baptized their dead and openly solemnized such mysteries (secret rites)."

Philastruis, as noted by Edward Hayes, Professor of New Testament Exegesis in King's College, London, in his Dictionary of Christian Antiquities (Smith & Chesthan Eu); see also: Baptism for the Dead, Adam, op. cit., p. 155, Migne, Pat. Lat., XII, p. 1166; Sanctus Philastrius, Liber de Haeresibus, XLIX Cataphryges.

Theodoret was born about 366 A.D., in Antioch, and was bishop at Cyrrhus, in the district between Antioch in Syria and the Euphrates River. He wrote five volumes of history in addition to his dogmatic works. As a historian, He noted how that the practice of baptism for the dead had prevailed in the ancient church. (See his church history (HE 1:11).

Marcus, whose followers are familiar with church history under the name "Marcosians" was a Velantinian of South Gaul, who lived about 150 A.D. His influence and following extended round the Mediterranean Sea into Asia minor. In II Mythology of All Races 409, it says that: "Baptism for the dead seems to have been practiced in such cases by the Marcosians, and there are a few traces of parallel custom of vicarious baptism." (See also 27 Ency. Brit. (11th ed.) 852d and Irenaeus, Au. Haer. 1:1321).

Nibley noted some of the explanations and theories that some had about these practices. One was to explain the rite as the actual baptism of dead bodies. Another was that before the righteous could enter Paradise, Christ must first lead them through a fiery river to receive baptism. Origen says that no one could be baptized in this river unless they had first been baptized with water and the Holy Ghost on earth.

Mormonism and Early Christianity, Nibley, op. cit., note 129, Origen, Homily on Luke 24, in PG 13:1864-65.

Eventually, the practice of baptism for the dead must have been distorted into that of baptism of the dead. If this distorted version was being practiced by some Christian sects during the time Celsus wrote his "On the True Doctrine" about 170-80 A.D., he may have noted it, for he had argued & charged that the Christians were "grave robbers". He also may have noted that there were some Christian sects who practiced baptism for the dead too.

Celsus On The True Doctrine, op. cit., pp.65-6 & 74; The Ante-Nicene Fathers, 4: pp. 419-20, bk.1 chap.liii, p. 448, bk.2 chap. xliii. p. 454, chap. lvi. p.458, chap. lxvii, p.487, bk.3 chap. lix. Some writers suggest that there were some groups who did baptized the dead. See: "Those Who Are Baptized For The Dead," Foschini, op. cit., pp. 40-1; Primitive Christianity And Early Criticisms, by A. S. Garretson, 1912, Boston, Sherman, French & Co., pp. 87-8.

Further retrogression away from the original practice of baptism for the dead, may have resulted in how some of the later Christians towards the end of the 4th century A.D., had retrogressed to the point where they offered food for the dead. Pagan customs were also being Christianised by this time too, for some Christians regularly attended pagan commemorative celebrations. Paxton tells us that: "The Syriac Apostolic Constitutions (ca. 380), for example, warned Christians not to overindulge at such events, but did not proscribe then. Under such circumstances, it is no wonder that Christians continued to celebrate with food and drink, song and dance, during commemorations for Christian dead, especially for martyrs and saints. In the West, Augustine tried to alter such behavior. His strategy was to raise the issue whether the dead could really be aided by the living and to redirect the outlay of food and drink away from the grave site toward the living poor. In his tract on care of the dead, he argued that the acts of the living are more for their own benefit than for the good of the dead, and in a letter to Bishop Aurelius of Carthage he suggested that "if anyone for the sake of religion should wish to offer something of money, let it be paid out directly to the poor."

Christianizing Death, Paxton, op. cit., pp. 26-7, see notes 32 and 33, Didascalia et Constitutiones Apostolorum, ed., Funk, I.555, 8.44; Augustine, De cura pro mortuis gerenda, ed. Joseph Zycha, CSEL 41 (Vienna, 1900), 623; and Epistulae, ed. A. Goldbacher, CSEL 43 (Vienna, 1895), I.59 letter 22.6.

A number of years after the The Syriac Apostolic Constitutions (ca. 380), was written, a number of Christians gathered in Councils to deal with what may have been further distortions, practices & retrogressed versions of baptism for the dead, which by that time, may have eventually been changed into baptisms of the dead, etc. Thus, at the Council at Hippo, a church synod convened at Hippo in Africa in 393 A.D., in number 4 in the second series it reads that: "The eucharist shall not be given to dead bodies, nor baptism conferred upon them." In the same meeting, in the thirty-second canon of the second series it says that: "Sick persons, no longer able to speak, but whose relations testify that they had desired baptism shall be baptized."

During the Third Council of Carthage, in North Africa, and in the year 397 A.D., about four years after the council at Hippo. In its sixth canon, it readopted the fourth canon of the second series adopted at Hippo, an indication that during the interim the practice of baptism for the dead, so far as it related to baptism of dead bodies, had not been fully stamped out. During the Fourth Council of Carthage, in the year 398 A.D., in the seventy-ninth canon, the provision was made for the zealous penitents who had die accidentally at sea, or on a journey in which no one was able to come to their assistance. The Christians could then offer prayers in their behalf.

Adam, op. cit., p.156, Joannes Dominius, Sacrorum Conciliorum Nova, et Amplissima Collectio, Florentiae 1759, p. 887; The Nicene And Post Nicene Fathers, Vol. XIV, pp. 450-1; "Those Who Are Baptized For The Dead," Foschini, op. cit., pp. 40-43, & 52-3; The Reign of Antichrist, Sjodahl, op. cit., p.49; Christianizing Death, Paxton, op. cit., p. 33, & note 61. The practice of administering the Eucharist to corpses was condemned in 393 at a North African council and as late as the end of the 6th century A.D., at a council in Auxerre. Note 61, Concilia Africae a. 345-a. 525, ed. C. Munier (Turnhout, 1974), 21, Concilium Hipponense, c. 4; Concilia Galliae a. 511-a. 695, ed. Carlo de Clercq (Turnhout, 1963), 267, Synodus dioecesana Autissiodorensis, c. 12.
Some art works even showed, among other themes, prayers for the dead.#

St. Augustine seems to have been interpreted by some writers as having rejected how some had interpreted 1 Cor. 15:29 as suggesting that baptism for the dead could be traced back to the apostolic times. For that passage, he says, was the source of their error, "by which some think there had been in Gospel times a custom of pouring the waters of Baptism over the bodies of the dead."

"Those Who Are Baptized For The Dead" by Fr. Bernard M. Foschini, 1951, op. cit. The Mormon interpretation of Paul, and the ancient & modern practice of baptism for the Dead was strongly rejected by Foschini. On p. 60 he cites St. Augustine, see note 221, In St. Augustine, o.c., 1. VI, no. 38, P.L., 45, 1597. On pp. 60 and 80, Julian is said to have not accepted how some had interpreted Paul, while Augustine also rejected Julian's comments on this passage too. See also: The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Vol. 12, July 1950.

Sacraments for the dead remained in the eye of the fathers for many years, for in the 16th Council of Carthage, held in 418 A.D., "If any man says that in the kingdom of heaven or else where there is a certain middle place where children who die unbaptized live in bliss, whereas without baptism they cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven, that is, into eternal life, let him be anathema."

By 442 A.D., a synod convened at Viason, adopted as its second canon the chance for those who were, or had gone through penance, but had unexpectedly died to be accepted, and their memory and funeral was to be celebrated with ecclesiastical love. They were not to be excluded from the saving sacrifice & mysteries, even though they had been earlier because of sin before their penance.

A fortiori, these just men who have died without baptism, by no fault of their own, is it not "wrong" if they shall "be excluded from the saving sacrifice?"

In the second synod at Arles, about 443 A.D., the precise date being now uncertain, it adopted as its twelfth canon a provision that says that if any one should die during their time of penitence, their oblations were to be accepted.

It seems that even though some councils had attempted to smother out what may have been some of the distorted versions of baptism for the dead, despite this, as one historian notes: "In all parts of the church, and for some centuries we find traces of the prevalence of the practice of administering baptism to the corpse." (Dr. Charles Joseph Hefele, Bishop of Rottenbun, as translated from the German by Henry N. Oxenham of Oxford, under the title History of the Councils of the Church from the Original Documents.)

Other distorted fragmented reminders of baptism for the dead may have eventually retrogressed to become such practices as that of the placing of the Eucharist within the lips of a dead person. This was rejected in the 3rd Council of Carthage (397 A.D. c 6), in the Council of Trullo at Constantinople (A.D. 692 C 83), in that of Auxerre (A.D. 578, c. 12) and in the canons of Boniface, bishop of Maintz (c.20). Also, Gregory of Nazianzum (O. 40) warned against it too.
Cyprian (Epist. 66, p. 114 ed. Bened.) ordered that no prayers should be said, nor sacrifices offered for Geminius Victor who was dead. The reason being that Victor had appointed a priest named Geminius Faustinus as guardian to his children to act after his death. Such appointments had been forbidden by a council in Africa under Agrippinus.

It may be that prayers for the dead, & to the dead, eventually began to be more popular and accepted in the minds of later Christians. Perhaps in some way, and in the minds of later Christians, prayers for the dead may have began to serve the same results as that which baptism for the dead had earlier. "Apparently, this divine practice of baptism for the dead was substituted with prayers and candles to assist endangered souls in limbo to escape the fires of purgatory, and eventually lost altogether during the long night of apostate darkness."
1000 Evidences, op. cit., Vol. 1, p. 295; The Ceremonies Of The Roman Rite Described, by Adrian Fortescue and J. B. O'Connell, Pub. The Newman Press, Westminster. Maryland, 1962, Chapter VII, pp. 81, & 163-4, chapter XVIII, pp. 200-1; Dictionary of the Middle Ages, by Joseph R. Strayer, Editor in Chief, Vol. 10, pp. 215-17, Augustine, (d. 430) is said to have taught that suffrages--prayers, alms, and celebrations of Mass performed by the living on behalf of the dead-- were effective substitutes for the temporal punishment due to sin." Purgatory was said to be a place in between heaven and hell where souls went for further cleansing. See also: Christianizing Death, Paxton, op. cit., pp. 17-18, 20-21, & 26, etc; Metamorphosis Of A Death Symbol, (The Transi Tomb in the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance), by Kathleen Cohen, Un. of Calif., Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles, London, CR 1973 by The Regents of the Un. of Calif., pp. 96, 98-9, the alchemist Nicholas Flamel (died 1418) was concerned about his soul, and the souls of others and so he had a tombstone prepared before his death which had inscription of "Flamel's numerous bequests given in return for prayers separates the upper register from the lower." Note 11 says: "Flamel's concern with prayers for his soul and for the souls of other deceased sinners is illustrated by the almshouse he built in Paris, the Maison du Grand Pignon."
When St. Ephraem was near death, he told his disciples to make a rememberance of him 30 days after he died. He said that the dead are helped by the offerings made by the living. He made reference to 1 Cor. 15:29 as scriptural proof text to show this was so. He mentioned other cases, such as that of the men of Matthatias, (2 Mach. 12:43-46), and then said: "how much more will the priests of the Son of God, by their holy offerings and prayers of their tongues, be able to wipe out the depts of the dead!" St. Ephraem, Testamentum sue De fine suae vitae, in Opera omnia, (Romae, 1743), pp. 239 & 401.

"In the early Christian community the living faithful prayed to God for their dead; now the dead saint is asked to pray for the living: a whole new liturgy comes into being." The Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity, Ed., John McManners, Oxford Un., Press, Oxford, N.Y., 1990, p.83; Nibley says that "The Early Christian Prayer Circle", BYU Studies 19:41-78, see pp. 70-2. Some prayer circles often included prayers on behalf of the dead.

Note cont. Lundy says that in the earliest Liturgies of the Church this prayer was constantly repeated: "Remember, O Lord, the God of spirits and of all flesh, those whom we have remembered, and those also whom we have not remembered, our fathers and brethren, who have died in the faith of Christ hitherto; and our ancestors from righteous Abel even unto this day. Do Thou give them rest in the region of light and of the living in the bosoms of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whence grief and sorrow and sighing are banished away, and where the light of Thy countenance shines continually. And vouchsafe to bring them to Thy Heavenly kingdom." (Monumental Christianity, op. cit., p. 267, see note 1, Rattray's Liturgies, p. 119. St. James' amd St. Mark's).

Prayers for the dead, or art works showing the dead praying, still show them with up lifted hands. For example in early Christian sarcophagi art, Old Testament themes are shown with other types and themes, such as God delivering his faithful servants, Daniel in the lions den with up lifted hands in prayer, the three Children in the fiery furnace, again often shown with up lifted hands. “On the whole, these scenes are visual counterparts of prayers said in the Office of the Dead, in the form it is known to have had since the Middle Ages, and also of the invocations in other Christian prayers. The same practice had obtained in the earlier Jewish and Gnostic liturgies”. In Jewish and Christian images, such as Noah saved from the flood and Daniel in the lion’s den, “both with their arms raised in prayer, were familiar themes in the Jewish iconography of Antiquity.”#

Epiphanius, born about A.D. 520. "From Asia and Galateo has reached us the account (tradition) of a certain practice, namely, that when any die without baptism among them, they baptize others in their name, so that, rising in the resurrection, they will not have to pay the penalty of having failed to receive baptism, but rather will become subject to the authority of the Creator of the World. For this reason this tradition, which has reached us, is said to be the very thing to which the Apostle himself refers when he says, `If the dead rise not at all, what shall they do who are baptized for the dead?'"

PG, XLI, p. 383; Epiphanii, Adversus Haereses, I, 28, sect. 6, cited by Adam, op. cit., p. 157.
Nibley points out that Epiphanius said that other interpret Paul as saying that those who were at the point of death, if they were catechumens, (or candidates for baptism), they were to be considered as being worthy, even though they had died before they were baptized. They also point out that he who died shall also rise again, and thus they will stand in need of that forgiveness of sins which comes through baptism.

Mormonism and Early Christianity, Nibley, op. cit., note 137, Epiphanius, Against Heresies I, 28, 6, in PG 41:384-85.

During the 9th century A.D., Bishop Almon of Halberstadt, upon speaking of the primitive church, he says: "If their loved ones (friend or relative: propinquus) happened to depart this life without the grace of baptism, some living person would be baptized in his name: and they believed that the baptism of the living would profit the dead." However, even though the bishop had accepted the fact that earlier Christians had practice baptism for the dead, he denied that Paul had approved of the practice.

Ibid., Nibley, note 240, Haymon Halberstatensis, Expositio Sancti Pauli in Epistolam I ad Corinthios (Commentary on the 1st Epistle to the Corinthians), in PL 177:598.
Theophylactus, in the 11th century A.D., says that the Marcionites were upbraided for baptism for the dead, and he insists that they were wrong. He then proceeded to give his own interpretation on 1 Cor. 15:29: "what shall they do who were baptized expecting their own dead bodies to rise again."

Mormonism and Early Christianity, Nibley, note 151, Theophylactus, Expositio in Epistolam 1 ad Corinthios, Commentary, PG 124:768.

Peter the Venerable in the 12th century A.D., seemed to be willing to accept the fact that baptism for the dead were practiced. However, he attempted to find in the words of Paul a condemnation of the practice too.

Ibid., Nibley, note 141, Peter the Venerable, Adversus Patrobrusianos Haereticos (Against the Patrobrusian Heretics), in PL 189:831-32; See also: "Those Who Are Baptized For The Dead", 1 Cor. 15:29 (An Exegetical Historical Dissertation), by Fr. Bernard M. Foschini, O.F.M., S.T.D., The Heffernan Press, Worcester, Mass., 1951, p.16, & note 56; Ancient Texts And Mormonism, Seaich, op. cit., p. 67, & note 261, on p. 136.

St. Bruno said that the early saints would baptize themselves in the place of a dead parent who had never heard the Gospel, in so doing this they believed that they had secured their salvation in the resurrection. Ibid., Seaich, pp. 67 & 136, note 262, St. Bruno, Exposition of 1 Cor. 15:29 in Latin Patrologia 153:209.

ADAM'S GRAVE, AND THE BLOOD FROM THE CROSS
AS A RETROGRESSED FORM OF BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD

In later centuries, hints to what could be fragments of the doctrine and practice of baptism for the dead may have been retained to a certain extent in the later traditional grave site for Adam which was believed to have been under the cross. Plus Adam's ascension up out of that grave. "By about 1000 A.D. legends related that the blood and water that flowed from Christ's wounds came into Adam's mouth, simultaneously baptizing him and giving him the sacrament of the Eucharist."#

1063, on an altar cross of King Fernando and Queen Sancha, in the lower section, is a person(?), perhaps Adam, with up raised hands, as if praying to be delivered from the grave.#
11th century, in an ivory panel, mounted on the cover of a Gospel Book, a man ascends out of a box or grave that is located under the wounded feet of Christ on the cross. Hence, it could be that the man represents Adam, who baptized in the blood of Christ, is resurrecting out of his grave.#
Franciscan iconography included types and similitudes between the Tree of Life and the wood of the Cross. St. Francis is said to have received nail mark wounds in his hands and feet, (a number of art works depict this too). In later Franciscan art works, etc., we see a number of symbolic types and similitudes between Adam, the rivers of Paradise, etc., & the sacraments with the blood flowing down from the wounds of Christ on the cross. Another type was based on the river of life, (in some cases earlier baptismal fonts were fed by "living waters" from a flowing stream or river). In iconography the waters of life flowed near the Tree of life in Paradise, and the waters seem to have been considered in some cases in later Christianity as a type of baptism, while in other cases, not to be mistaken for baptism, but rather as types and reminders of certain sacramental rites of passage. Some of which were performed for and in behalf of the dead.

Mid twelfth century, under the crucifixion scene, from a Sacramentary, is a man, perhaps Adam, with up lifted hands, perhaps in the traditional prayer gesture. He is also in a box or tomb, the blood from Christ’s wounds is dripping down on the man. Hence, perhaps this is derived from the traditions about Adam’s grave, and how the blood of Christ, in this case, sprinkled baptized him, as he prays to be rescued out of his grave.#

In a German work, 12— 15th centuries(?), a series of art works show different events of Genesis, except that the drama doesn’t start with the creation, but rather shows the pre-existing Christ before his birth to Mary, watching as Satan and his followers fall from heaven to earth below. Another shows the pre-existing Christ reaching, with his left hand, towards the right hand of Adam who is being created out of the dust of the earth. This seems to suggest a type like unto how Adam would later be raised up out of the earth again, during Christ’s descent. Hence, some of the hand grips in creation dramas, were types of those seen in descent and baptismal dramas.#

1190, on an altar cross, in the lower portion, Adam is seen with up-lifted hands, rising out of his grave under the crucifixion scene.#

A mosaic of Christ on the cross is known as the Tree of Life, it is in the apse of the Augustinian church of San Clemente in Rome, early 13th cent. A.D. Christ is depicted on the cross under which a number vines grow out and encircle a number of religious persons, etc. Four streams of the Water of Life flow out from the bottom of the tree from which deer (symbolic of Christian souls), drink from. Perhaps the watering of deer (Christian souls) was considered as sacramental type to the watering of souls in purgatory, limbo or hades. In an early 14th century work, scenes of the creation of Adam and Eve were depicted below Christ on the cross. One scene shows Eve half way out of Adam's side as God raises her up by clasping her hand. Around the main scene of Christ on the cross is a number of scenes, some of which are on the different passions which includes the descent with a hand clasp too. This depiction is near the blood which flows from the wound in Christ's side. The symbolical types behind all this may hint to a possible faded retrogressed fragment of a baptism for the dead, or at least, they may hints to the later sacramental rites which were being performed for the dead during these later centuries. Other art works which we will consider, show the blood from Christ's wounds flowing down into a baptismal bowl in which different ones were baptized in. However, in this work there may have also been a type between how God had pulled Eve, (with a hand grip), out of the side of the 1st Adam, and how the 2nd Adam (Christ) had pulled Adam (with a hand grasp) out of limbo or hades (near the wound in Christ's side), and guided Adam and the others up into paradise again. It is also interesting to note that the blood from Christ's wounds also flows down towards what could be Adam's grave and his bones under the cross. Plus, the creation scenes also shows Adam and Eve and their expulsion from Paradise, next to "the font from which flow the four rivers". Thus, further possible sacramental types seem to be hinted too here. For they must pass through the living waters upon their return to paradise after Christ had raised them up from their fall into the pit, hades, limbo, &, or purgatory. Roots as a type for the souls in purgatory, and their watering seems to be further hinted to by one writer who wrote of the Tree of life "whose root shall be watered by the font of a perpetual spring, which, moreover, shall grow out into a lively and great river, to wit, of four heads, to water the paradise of the whole Church."
Christianity And The Renaissance, (Image and Religious Imagination in the Quattrocento), edited by Timothy Verdon & John Henderson, Pub. by Syracuse Un. Press, Syracuse, N.Y., 1990, pp. 136-142, Figure 5.I, The Tree of Life, mosaic. Rome, San Clemente, early 13th century A.D., see also fig. 5.2, painted by Pacino di Bonaguida, now in the Accademia in Florence, early 14th century. Figures 5.13, is said to be of the annunciation to Mary, "the second Eve who reopened the door to Paradise" and it is explicitly related to the scene of Adam's burial depicted.

The Dangerous Deep

One of the types for baptism, and baptism for the dead, were how that the baptismal waters were symbolically, if not later, literally looked upon as the dangerous deep abyss, where demonic forces held their captives. Hence, there may have been more symbolical types to baptism, beside being ritualistic cleansing of sins.

Baptism, we are told, in the classical Greek, can mean to “immerse.” This is a sense given to it by “Hippocrates, Plato and especially later writers.” Also, it can mean “to suffer shipwreck, drown, perish.” Or, in a figurative sense, “to bring the city to the border of destruction.” Another possible meaning is, “to be overwhelmed by faults, desires, sicknesses, magical arts.” “The sense of “to bathe’ or ‘to wash’ is only occasionally found in Hellenism. . . . The idea of going under or perishing is nearer the general usage.”# This makes sense when we consider how this type was used by Christ, Peter and Paul, when they likened baptism unto death, and the descent into the spirit prison. And how that Christ used Jonah as a type for his death and descent into the watery dangerous abyss too.

Even the words immersion and submersion, though they can have several meanings, one of them was how that “in this metaphorical sense. . . [they] strikingly illustrates our Lord’s speaking of His passion as a “baptism” [Mark 10:38]. . . The metaphorical idea is related to its basic meaning in the sense of “flooded” or “overwhelmed with calamities.”# In 1 Corinthians 15, before the reference to baptism for the dead, Paul, in building up his defense of the resurrection, by making reference to its ritualistic type, baptism for the dead, first mentions the dangers of the abyss, but how that Christ overcame all his enemies there, a theme so often repeated in historic Christian art works of the descent. For Christ, as Paul said, met the challenges to his descent by putting down all that challenged him (1 Cor. 15:24). The forces of darkness, or all his enemies were put under his feet, symbolic of how he gained the victory over them, in the battle that took place in the watery abyss, or underworld. Another common theme in the art works too. For he destroyed death, which is often personified in the art works and later legends, as being thrust through and trodden down (Isa. 14:12—19, note verse 19, and 1 Cor. 15:26). Hence, upon meeting the dangers, he put all things under his feet, or under him (verses 27-28). Then Paul, in verses 29—32, Paul gives the ritualistic types for the descent into the dangerous watery abyss, the resurrection out of the abyss, the jeopardy, the figurative dying daily, and the battle with beasts at Ephesus. A theme which shows up later in baptismal types where we see beast being crushed under the baptismal font. Just like in the art works where Christ crushes the dragon under his feet in the waters of Jordan. Roger J. Adam suggests, based on his research, that this epistle “was probably written during his [Paul’s] stay at Ephesus, the saints in that city may equally have been participating in the practice” [of baptism for the dead].#

Peter also connects up the dangers of the descent into hell, with baptism too when he wrote how that how Christ’s descent into the spirit prison was: “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us” (1 Peter 3:15—17, note the dangers they were to face, that of evil doers speaking ill of them, and his admonishing them to be willing to suffer for well doing rather than for evil doing). Then note the hint Christ victory in the abyss, how that after his descent into hell, he ascended into heaven to be on the right hand of God, with “angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.” (1 Peter 3:15—22; 4:4—8; Eph. 4:7—10). Note too, how that they admonished to “arm yourself” to be willing and ready to suffer and fight for the cause of Christ too, as Christ suffered (1 Peter 4:1, 4—6). For as Paul told the Ephesians they were to be armed to do battle and wrestle with the demonic forces (Ephesians 6:10—20).

One theme in art which may have been seen as a type of Christ’s the hand and wrist grasps in the harrowing of hell dramas, and art works, is the how Christ grasps the hand of Peter to lift him up out of the water in order to help him walk on water. In the case with the 3rd or 4th century version of this type, in the Dura-Europos, baptistery, the clasp is done with the thumb resting in the middle of the palm area, like unto some of the grips seen in Christ’s descent into hell. The fact that this work is in a baptistery suggests that this was seen as a type of baptism, a ritualistic type for the descent into the abyss.#

JONAH, A TYPE OF CHRIST'S DESCENT & BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD

One of the earliest types for Christ's descent, and perhaps even baptism, and baptism for the dead was the story of Jonah in the belly of a great fish under the water. Christ himself had used the story as a type while predicting his descent, "for as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matt. 12:39-41).

Note: A number of writers have wonder and speculated about what type of fish or sea creature it was. Rather than be side tract on that issue, I would rather have us considered the symbolical types and meaning behind the story of Jonah in early to later Christianity.

Jonah was cast out of a boat into the sea, and was swallowed by a great fish. While in it's belly he prayed, and the Lord heard him, for he said: "...Thou didst hear my cry from the womb of Hades; Thou didst hearken to my prayer; Thou hast cast me into the depths of the heart of the sea: When streams emcompassed me--all Thy billows and Thy waves passed over me. Then I said, I am cast out from Thy sight; nevertheless I will continue to look towards Thy holy temple. The water was poured round me to my soul; and the lowest abyss encompassed me; my head hath gone down into the clefts of the mountains; I have gone down to a land, the bars of which are everlastingly fixed; let my soul now, corrupted as it is, ascend, O Lord, my God. When my soul was fainting I remembered the Lord; let my prayer now come to Thee into Thy holy temple..... I will pay Thee what I have vowed to the Lord for my deliverance.'"
Note: Monumental Christianity, Lundy, 1876, op. cit., pp. 258-264.

Lundy points out that in pagan symbolism, a number of creatures of the sea where connected with symbolical types for death, burial and resurrection. Some of the sea creatures were seen on tombs, and subterranean monuments and cemeteries, and were symbolic of the protective powers during the soul's journey across the dangerous sea of death, and the passage from earth to Paradise. Early Christian typology used similar symbols for similar ritualistic types. Dutton notes that when the Babylonian version of the flood story spread to India, "the ship was identified with the fish, as another form of the "Womb of Sheol," in which the seeds of life were preserved to produce the new creation." (Elephants & Ethnologists, by G. Elliott Smith, 1924, Pub. E.P. Dutton & Co., N.Y., p. 78, note 2, William Simpson, The Jonab Legend, 1899, p. 127). Dictionary Of Christian Lore and Legend, Metford, see hell. "Hell is symbolized by the mouth of a whale, recalling Jonah in the belly of a great fish, Leviathan, the sea monster mentioned by Job (Jb 41:1)." Also: "When used as a symbol of evil, the fish represented the earth (man's lower nature) and the tomb (the sepulcher of the Mysteries). Thus was Jonah three days in the belly of the "great fish, " as Christ was three days in the tomb." (The Secret Teachings of All Ages, by Manly P. Hall, 1977, LXXXV Fishes, etc.)

As Jonah had sought for protection while under the waters of hades, and had prayed for deliverance. So also in baptism of the living and baptism for the dead, many early to later Christians may have considered the baptismal waters as a type of the river or sea of death through which they had to pass through. Hence, Christ's descent into the waters of Jordan, according to Jewish Christian texts, was regarded as a type of descent into the waters of death where the dragon lives.# Cyril of Jerusalem, in his Cat. Lecture III:11 says that Christ broke the head of the dragon, for he went down to bind the strong one in the waters. "The theme of the dragon in the waters of death, and Christ's baptism as a descent into the dragon's domain was to endure in tradition."# Olivier Rousseau showed it was symbolic of Christ's descent, and his victory over satan.# Anton Baumstark points out that the blessing of the waters against the forces of darkness persisted in Greek prayers over baptismal water to consecrate the water.# Later art works continued to reflect this symbolical type, for a work, dated A.D. 1049 or 1065, shows Christ crushing beast under his feet while being baptized in the river Jordan. Off to the side, an angel hold what could be the traditional baptismal garments, or at least the garment he had on before he descended into the river.#

As time went by, and as Christianity converted pagans to the different Churches, the old pagan themes, were Christianised and blended in with similar themes in Christian traditions, symbols and lore. Hence, the “story of Jonah, unlike the other paradigms of deliverance taken from the Bible, was often represented in two or three successive episodes. The popularity of this subject may be due to its analogies with the theme of the journey oversea to the Hereafter and also with the adventure of the beautiful young shepherd Endymion (assimilated to Jonah) on whom Zeus bestowed eternal life in a unbroken slumber.”#

Danielou also shows that baptism was a type of Christ's descent. (The Development of Christian Doctrine Before the Council of Nicaea, Vol. 1, p. 228, Ignatius III.2, baptism destroyed death). Christ's descent into the waters purified it from the presence of demonic beings. (Danielou, ibid., Vol. 1, p. 227). See also pp. 228-9 & Chapter 8 on the descent, plus Justin Dial, lxxxviii. 3.
thus they need to be guided and protected (in a symbolical way) during their ritualistically descent into the deep abyss and ascension towards Paradise.

Note: In many cases, the different types of hand & wrist grasps in early to later Christian art works, and mysteries, not only serve as symbolical rites of passage grips, but they seem to be symbolic of God extending his love and arm of mercy towards those who pray for protection with up-lifted arms. The pilgrimage through life and death is filled with pit-falls and dangers, and the souls always needs to be protected against the forces of darkness which are always looking for opportunities to drag the soul down. Upon taking a hold of Christ's (or God's, or God's angelic guide's) hand, the saint will not slip or fall because they have made it, Christ has sealed them his with that clasp. They are no longer in danger of being pulled down.

Clement of Alex., wrote: "They shall call Me," [Perhaps making reference to those in the spirit prison who call unto the Lord for help. See: Psa.20:6, 28:2, 68:18, 88:1-14; Isa.41:13, 42:6-7, 43:2, 51:14, & Eph.4:7-10]. "He" [Christ] "says, "and I will say, Here am I." Thou didst hear sooner than I expect, Master. "And if they pass over, they shall not slip," saith the Lord. For we who are passing over to immortality shall not fall into corruption, for He shall sustain us. For so He has said, & so He has willed...." (TANF) 2: p.231.) Clement goes on to hint to the symbols & types in the mysteries.

In time, the dangerous sea, and it’s the dangerous sea creatures that lived deep down in the abyss, this imagery became a popular type for baptism, and for the resurrection, and perhaps even baptism for the dead. For example, a third marble sculpture, from the Greek East, shows Jonah being spewed froth from the jaws of a sea creature. The head of the creature is like the head of a dog, perhaps, earlier versions of the hounds of hell. However, the body, is like unto large fish.# We have already noted how numerous art works on the descent into hell, show souls being raised up out of gapping jaws, hence, this symbol of the resurrection seems to be a type of the ascension out of hell. A type which even Christ used in reference to his ascension out of the belly of the earth.#

PETER, A TYPE OF CHRIST'S DESCENT & BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD:
In later centuries, part of a medieval baptismal rite seems to have preserved a fragment of the hand clasps in the mysteries, some of which were symbolic of God's saving power and grace. For the priest commands any unclean spirits to depart. "Accursed and damned spirit, hear the command of God Himself, he who walked upon the sea and extended his right hand to Peter as he was sinking."

The Facts On File Encyclopedia Of World Mythology And Legend, by Anthony S. Mercatante, 1988, Facts On File, N.Y., Oxford, pp. 108-9.

A number of art works show Christ standing on top of the waves of the sea, while raising Peter up by grasping his hand, thus, Christ saves him from drowning by being swallowed up by the waves of the sea. Other works show Christ on the bank of the sea pulling Peter up out of the sea by grasping his hand. These types of art works must have reminded the early to later Christians of the different types of hand clasps which were done in their mysteries. And in fact, evidence seems to suggest that they saw types of Christ's descent into hell, baptism, & even possibly baptisms for the dead in such works. For the raging sea may have been considered as a type of the symbolical dangerous waters of the abyss. Christ on top of the water, or on the shore, was a type of how Christ rescued souls out of hell by resurrecting them.

Note: Ephrem, of the Syrian Church, was born at Nisibis in Mesopotamia about 306 A.D., and died about 378 A.D. In a work entitled: The Pearl, Or, Seven Rhythms On The Faith, Ephrem Syrus (Ephraim Syrus) presented a number of types for baptism, the mysteries, & possibly the descent of Christ. The sea was a type of baptism and tomb which divers came up from. Divers were also a type of those who went through the mysteries, for they put on Christ, were anointed with oil, took off garments to be clothed in raiments of glory and light, and were crowned. "The naked men in a type saw thy rising again by the seashore; and by the side of the lake the Apostles, truly naked, saw the rising again of the Son of thy Creator.... The diver arose from the sea and put on his garments; and from the lake also Simon Peter came swimming, and put on his garments; each was clad, as with clothes, with love for both of you."

The World's Orators, Editor in Chief, Guy Carleton Lee, Ph.D., University Edition, G.P. Putnam's Sons, N.Y., & London, The Knickerbocker Press, 1900, pp. 193-214; The Nicene And Post-Nicene Fathers, Vol. XIII, pp. 293-301). In the New International Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Art, (General Editorial Consultant, Sir John Rothenstein, C.B.E., Ph.D., LL.D., Greystone Press, N.Y., MCMLXVII, etc.), in Vol. 2, pp. 402-3, it shows the panel altar of Saint Peter, church of Santa Maria in Tarrasa, near Barcelona, Spain. The art work was by Luis Borassa, early 15th century A.D. Peter is half way in & out of the water as Christ clasps, with his left hand, the right hand of Peter to raise him up. See also: The Devil At Baptism, Kelly, op. cit., pp. 9-12, 20-32. In Anthony Cutler's Transfigurations (Studies in the Dynamics of Byzantine Iconography), [1975, The Pennsylvania State Un., Park and London], fig. 65, Monreale, Duomo, St. Peter is saved from drowning, for Christ stands on top of the waves as he pulls him up by grasping, with his right hand, the right wrist of Peter. This is very similar to wrist grasps in numerous depictions of Christ's descent into hell. (Ibid., fig. 85, Athos, Lavra, skevophylakion, fol. 1v, Anastasis, & fig. 87, Trebizond, Hagia Sophia, St. John; Anastasis). Peter, in turn, is also one who was given power from Christ to raise souls up too. For in a number of art works, Peter was given keys to loose or to bind, or lock hell's gait. He descends into hell with his key and reaches down to those in hell, (just like Christ did), and raises them up by the hand, and guides them over into paradise. In some cases, he stands before the door to paradise and greets with hand grasps as they ascend to paradise. See: The Golden Age of English Manuscript Painting (1200-1500), by Richard Marks and Nigel Morgan, 1981, Pub. by George Brazuller, Inc., N.Y., Fig. III, Portrait of William de Brailes, Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum, MS. 330, last Judgment depiction p. 9; Romanesque Art In France, by Joseph Gantner & Marcel Pobe, 1956, Pub. by Thames & Hudson, pl. 135, p. 64 for explanation. See also: The Horizon History of Christianity, Bainton, Roland H. Bainton, English Ed., 1964, by American Heritage Co., pp. 214-15.

WATER, RIVERS AND SEAS AS A TYPES FOR BAPTISMS FOR THE DEAD:
Water, rivers, and seas in ancient times, as we have already noted, were seen as symbolical types of the dangerous deep, the depths of the abyss, the grave. This may be why Peter mentions the flood story of Noah in connection with Christ’s descent into hell to preach the gospel to the dead, and how that baptism was the “like figure” or type of that descent (1 Peter 3:15—22; 4:5—6, note especially verses 18—21).

Furthermore, it may also be why Paul, a little later, in writing to the saints at Corinth, used the Old Testament time story of the Moses and the Israelites crossing of the Red Sea as a type of baptism too (1 Corinthians 10:1—3).

It is also the imagery that the book of Revelation presents too. For the dragon, symbolic of the fallen angel, the devil, spews forth from its mouth a flood of water intended to cause a woman harm, or to “cause her to be carried away of the flood.” (Revelation 12:15). The woman, who gave birth to a child (Mary and Jesus), was thus in danger of being drowned in the waters of hell. However, the flood is swallowed up by the earth, perhaps symbolic of the watery abyss, the dangerous underworld. Hence, these waters of hell were located in the jaws of hell, having been swallowed up (Isaiah 5:13—14; Revelation 12:1—2, 7—17, note especially verses 15—16). All these elements of the descent, baptism, and baptism for the dead were preserved in part in the images, types, and symbols found throughout early to later Christian art works, legends, mystery plays, sacraments, liturgical dramas and mysteries.

In later centuries, the otherworld pilgrimage of the Treatise on the Purgatory of St. Patrick, relates the vision of the Knight Owen, composed near the end of the 12th century by an English Cistercian monk, H. of Sawtry. Owen comes to a river of fire and sulphur and the way across is by passing over a bridge, if he falls off, he will land in the clutches of demons and will be dragged down to hell. The bridge is slippery, narrow, and steep. However, upon crossing it, these difficulties decrease because he had already been cleansed earlier in his journey. The narrative helped to remind the Christians of it's time of the challenges in the afterlife, and helped to promote private acts of penance, spiritual reform, & liturgical rites for the living and dead. (See: Otherworld Journeys, Zaleski, pp. 35-37).

In historic Christendom, many believed this happened to righteous, for during the first moments of their deaths, a veil is lifted to reveal the face of God. “The crucial moment in one’s life is the moment of death since the conditions of one’s soul at that instant will determine whether one will in fact be admitted to bliss. For those who have been baptized and have devoted themselves to good works and to holiness of mind and body, crossing the river of death will mean that the veil will be lifted so that one might see God “face to face” instead of in a murky reflection. Such souls will be taken up into heaven to be with the angels and other saints.”#

Lundy tells us of a later Christian work for in John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, "a river must be crossed before the Christian can reach the heavenly city; and every congregation of Protestant Christians sings the hymn beginning with: "On Jordan's stormy banks I stand," &c." (Monumental Christianity, pp. 259 & 262). Another art work shows a pregnant woman standing near water out of which comes a 7-headed dragon. In Rev. 12:13-17, is a possible hint to an element which shows up in many descent dramas and it's ritualistic type in baptism, and that's how it says that "the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth."

Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the Walters Art Gallery, Vol. 1, France. 875-1420, by Lilian M. C. Randall, etc., 1989, Pub. by The John Hopkins Un. Press in Association with The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore and London, p. 292, pl. vic, cat. 74, f. 262v; The Devil At Baptism, (Ritual, Theology, and Drama), by Henry Ansgar Kelly, Pub. by Cornell Un. Press, Ithaca & Lon., 1985, pp. 10-12 & 17-24, etc.

"The symbolic design of a ship traversing the sea was used in early Christian funeral sculptures, and also in pagan Rome, to denote the course of life. For the Christians the tempest-tossed vessel of life found its port and resting place in death. This idea is rudely figured in a design on a sepulchral stone, in memory of a certain Firmia Victoria, from one of the early Christian cemeteries of Rome. On it appears a ship riding the waves, and in the background a four-storied tower from which rises a flame, the lighthouse marking."

Rings For The Finger, by George Frederick Kunz, originally pub. in 1917, by J. B. Lippincott. Republished by Dover Pub. Inc., N.Y., 1973, pp. 254-55, see also note 8, Raoul Rochette, "Tableau des Catacombes de Rome," Paris, 1837, pp. 235, 236.

Note continued: In later centuries, Offero/St. Christopher may have been seen as a type of baptism & Christ descent into & out of the dangerous waters of the abyss. For according to legends and traditiosn, while the wandering Christ child was wandering throughout his kingdoms of the world, he came to test St. Christopher to see if he would help him across a river. With the Christ on his back, they began to cross. Christopher began to notice that the child began to become more and more heavier. He asked the child who he was, and the child said that he was the redeemer of the world, and that he was feeling the sins of the world on his back. Thus, it may be that some Christians saw types of baptism and Christ's descent in these later legends about St. Christopher. (See: Everyday Life of Medieval Travellers, Rowling, op. cit., p.147; Early Gothic Manuscripts, [II], 1250 - 1285, by Nigel Morgan, Pub. Harvey Miller - London, 1988, fig.5; See also: The Saints In Art, (With Their Attributes And Symbols Alphabetically Arranged), by Margaret E. Tabor, Pub. by Frederick A. Stokes Co., N.Y., see title pages. The Oxford Dictionary Of Saints, by David Huge Farmer, 1978, Pub. by Clarendon Press Oxford, p. 78-9; Italian Paintings in the Walters Art Gallery, by Federico Zeri, 1976, Baltimore Pub., by the Trustees, Vol. 1, pp. 23, fig.14, pl.10; The Oxford Dictionary Of Saints, Farmer, 1978, p.78; The Oxford Dictionary Of Saints, Farmer, 1978, p.78; Early Gothic Manuscript [II] 1250 - 1285, by Nigel Morgan, (A Survey of Manuscripts Illuminated in the British Isles - General Editor: J. J. G. Alexander), Pub. by Harvey Miller - London, 1988, see fig. 308. See also fig. 5; McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Art, Ed., by Bernard S. Myers, etc., Vol. 5, Rouault - Zyl, Pub. by McGraw-Hill Book Co., N.Y., Toronto, Lon., etc., 1969, p.269; History of Art, H. W. Janson, pp. 303, fig.466; A Handbook Of Legendary And Mythological Art, by Mrs. Clara Erskine Clement, 1871 & 1881, Pub. Boston & N.Y., Houghton Mifflin Co., The Riverside Press Cambridge, see pp.74-77; The Facts On File Encyclopedia Of World Mythology And Legend, by Anthony S. Mercatante, 1988, Facts On File, pp.177-8; It's Time For Christmas, (Written and Compiled by Elizabeth Hough Sechrist and Janette Woolsey, 1959, Decorations by Reisie Lonette,) Pub. by Macrae Smith Co., Philadelphia, pp.54-57; The Christmas Book of Legends & Stories, by Elva Sophronia Smith & Alice Isabel Hazeltine, C/R 1944 by Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co., N.Y., 3rd printing Oct. 1945, pp.272-276).

Lehi's dream as interpreted by Nephi, says that a filthy river was symbolic of an awful gulf which separated the wicked from the tree of life and the saints of God. It also represented that awful hell which was prepared for the wicked. (The Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 15:25-29).
Wall gives us another later Christian story of a monk who had died and while crossing a river, wicked demonic spirits began to seize him, at that moment the Virgin appeared and rescued the monk's soul from danger, and brought him back to his body to live again. An art work depicting this, is found int the Winchester Cathedral. The monk stands in a river as the Virgin grasps, with her left hand, the right wrist of the monk. This might remind us of the same sorts of hand grasps seen in descent & baptismal scenes, and perhaps these later stories & art works have preserved, to a certain extent, the earlier ritualistic concept of the symbolical jeopardy which the early Christians faced when they descending into the baptismal waters while on their ritualistic journey through the underworld. (See: 1 Cor. 15:23-45; Devils, Wall, op. cit., pp. 123-5;).
Jonah was also a popular type and symbol of death and resurrection, and was often depicted in the Catacombs. In these subterranean chapels where many Christians came to worship, there was also the danger of becoming martyrs through the violence of their enemies. And upon seeing the symbolical types of Jonah, they may have been reminded of the hope of a future life in heaven, for as Jonah had been preserved in depths of the waters of hades, so also would Christ preserve "the souls of the righteous after death in Hades until the general resurrection, when they shall be brought forth to the perfect life and bliss of Heaven." (Lundy, op. cit., pp. 263-4).
Moses was also delivered, for when Satan found Moses flat on his back in the darkness, he came and introduced himself as if he were the Only Begotten, Moses mockingly challenged him after which Satan's true nature comes forth as he attacks Moses with such ferocity that Moses is overwhelmed and cast down. Moses then comes to know "the bitterness of hell... crying from the depths with his last ounce of strength, he is delivered. Satan is cast out and Moses is again in the presence of God, who formally declares him the victor over many waters... and appoints him the divine king..." (Temples Of The Ancient World, 1994, Chapter 20, Huge Nibley, On the Sacred and the Symbolic, p.588).

Perhaps some Christians during later centuries may have also thought of this last rite as a sort of protection against the devil and his demons, just as in the earlier rite of anointing before baptism, they were anointed before descending down into the font, or waters of baptism, as if, in a symbolical and ritualistic way, they were about to die and descend into hades, (limbo, etc.,) as Christ had to do battle with the devil and his demons. In some art works angels come to the rescue souls out of the grasps of fiendish demons during the souls ascension after death. Russell shows an engraving from a 19th century catechism showing priests performing last rites during both the death of a sinner and that of a just man. The sinner's guardian angel departs sorrowful, while demons begin to pull the sinner down. The just man's guardian angel open up to him a death bed vision of the Father and Son to whom he is about to ascend to. See: Heaven and Hell in Western Art, Huges, op. cit., pp. 8-9, & 243; The Place of Book Illumination in Byzantine Art, Kurt Weitzmann, p. 40, fig. 33, demons pull some souls off the ladder to heaven and thrust them into the jaws of hell below, those who make it to the top, clasp Christ's hand to enter into heaven. See also: The Illustration of the Heavenly Ladder of John Climacus, by John Rupert Martin, Pub. Princeton Un. Press, 1954, LIX, fig. 179, CX, fig. 293, etc.; The Ancient Civilization of Byzantium, Antione Bon, 1972, p. 144, fig. 71; The Christian World, edited by Geoffrey Barraclough, Pub. by Harry N. Abrams, Inc., N.Y., 1981, pp. 100-1; Russian Illuminated Manuscripts, Olga Opova, trans. by Kathleen Cook, Vladimir Ivanov and Lenina Sorokina, CR 1984, Aurora Art Pub., Leningrad, fig. 42; Otherworld Journeys, Zaleski, op. cit., pp. 27-28, 40-42, & 61-74; The Prince of Darkness, Russell, op. cit., p. 214; Otherworld Journeys (Accounts of Near-Death Experience In Medieval And Modern Times), by Carol Zaleski, 1987, Oxford, Un. Press, pp. 26-27, Enoch and Elijah ascended bodily into heaven to receive God's commission and descended bodily into hell to win respite for souls in torment. Paul "observes the departure of three souls from their bodies and witnesses their journeys after death: the soul of a just man exits his body in the company of shining angels who defend him against the hostile powers of the air and escort him to the heavenly court to be vindicated and welcomed by God;" The journey of the wicked man's soul was brutal and harsh.

Russell points out that baptism was considered, in some branches of Christendom, to be a type of the descent of Christ into the under world, & that the anointing was a seal against the further assaults by the Prince of Darkness. For in some cases, the "priest blew into the candidate's face to express contempt for the demons and drive them away. The priest also touched the catechumen's ears with spittle in imitation of Jesus' healing. He marked the sign of the cross on the candidate's brow to keep demons away. During the Easter vigil, the catechumen would face the west, the region of darkness and death, and make a formal threefold renunciation of Satan. Then he turned toward the east, the direction of light and resurrection, and formally transferred his allegiance to Christ. He was anointed with holy oil as a seal against further assaults by the Prince of Darkness. In the central act of baptism, the descent into water symbolized descent into the underworld of death, and emergence from the water symbolized rebirth and resurrection. Baptism, the culmination of the individual's freedom from Satan, had powers to cure illness of body and mind as well as corruption of soul." (The Prince of Darkness, Russell, op. cit., p. 122). Clement pointed out that during the Romanesque period, "the spiritual life of the Christian was seen as a struggle with the monstrous powers of evil. It was necessary for the soul to be armed by baptism; to enlist the power of Christ and his warrior Saint Michael in the unending struggle with the Devil." (A Handbook Of Christian Symbols And Stories Of The Saints As Ilustrated In Art, by Clara Erskine Clement, edited by Katherine E. Conway, Pub. by Houghton Mifflin Co., The Riverside Press Cambridge, Boston and N.Y., 1871, 1881, 1886, p. 108).
During part of a medieval baptismal rite, the priest would exorcise any unclean spirit that might be there and commanded them in the name of God to depart. (The Facts On File Encyclopedia Of World Mythology And Legend, by Anthony S. Mercatante, 1988, Facts On File, N.Y., Oxford, pp. 108-9).

Lundy also wrote that: "...Jonah went down into the lowest parts of the earth and sea, called the womb of Hades: Christ descended into Hell, but no fish swallowed Him; Jonah prayed to God in Hades; and Christ preached to the spirits in prison; Jonah was brought out of corruption; Christ saw no corruption; and Jonah went to Nineveh for its salvation, even as Christ ascended up on high to make the city of God a New Jerusalem for His redeemed people."

Monumental Christianity, op. cit., p. 259.
In a 2nd or 3rd century A.D. fresco, Jonah was also depicted with Noah as he "stands in the cross-like attitude of prayer, signifying by what means Christ was to effect the world's regeneration..." Noah also stands half in and out of a square box that is "floating on the flood of baptismal waters". In some of the early Christian sermons, "Christians were also spoken of as fish because they lived in the waters of baptism."

Lundy, op. cit., pp. 279-80, fig. 124, & pp. 286, & 291; Origins of Judaism, Vol. III, Part 1, Judaism and Christianity in the First Century, Edited by Jacob Neusner, 1990, Garland Pub., Inc., N.Y., & Lon., pp. 104-109, & 267; Dictionary Of Christian Lore and Legend, Metford, op. cit., p. 100.

Tertullian, [A.D. 160-240], "compares the baptized to the earth emerging from the flood of Noah".

A History of the Baptists, by Thomas Armitage, Pub. in N.Y., Bryan, Taylor & Co., plus Morningside Pub. Chicago, 1887, p. 161; Grabar shows that some icons of Noah, etc., in the Paleo-Christian catacombs and sarcophagi were types of baptism, etc., which represented examples of divine intervention for the salvation or preservation of certain believers. When they are depicted next to the body of the dead, they have the same meaning as the prayer of the burial office called the commendatio animae. Thus, they "enumerate the precedants for divine intervention for one of the faithful, and express the desire that God may excercise the same benignity toward the person who is now dead; God, save him, as you saved Daniel, Noah, etc." (Christian Iconography, by Andre Grabar, Pub. by Bollingen Series XXV . 10, New York, N.Y., & Princeton Un. Press, CR 1968, by the Trustees of the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., p. 10, fig. 18). Baptism for the living and for dead may have also been performed in these types of settings too, for many of these examples are found in the catacombs, and sarcophagi, and were types in connection with baptism, etc., and funerary prayers for the faithful dead which asked God to preserve the faithful dead through His divine intervention. Grabar notes that many of these images, "found only in sepulchral art, serve to point out that the deceased was a Christian by representing the two sacraments. [Baptism and communion] It is no longer only the intervention of God but participation in the sacraments of the Church which assures the salvation of the dead." (Ibid., p. 11).

Earlier we considered a number of works in early to later Christianity of Christ's descent to rescue the souls of the dead out of the jaws of hell. If the story of Jonah was considered a type of baptism, (even baptism for the dead), the descent, and resurrection, then it may be that the ascension up out of the jaws of hell may be considered as a possible hint to baptism for the dead.
The Oxford Companion To Art, Osborne, op. cit., pp.525 & 526; The Bible In Art, Harby, op. cit., p. 265; Heaven and Hell in Western Art, Huges, op. cit., p. 187, the shape of the mouth of the cave reminds us of the jaws of hell. See also pp. 195-7, the shape of hell is in the "traditional fish-shape", and "through gaping fish-mouth pour jubilant flocks of redeemed souls, raising their arms towards the mandorla in which Christ has floated down to them." See also: The Christian World, Barraclough, op. cit., pp. 8-9; A World History of Art, Cheney, op. cit., p. 467.
Paul saw baptism as a double assimilation, the first being a type of Christ death, the second of his resurrection and victory over death. Peter and Paul wrote of baptism as being a ritualistic type of Christ's descent into the spirit prison. In the earliest form of Christianity there is a connection between baptism and Christ's descent into hell immediately after his death. In the liturgical and doctrinal texts of the patristic era, numerous indices can be found of this conjunction of baptism with the descensus ad inferos. Later art works and writings reflect these symbolical types together. For example, one work shows the serpant (symbolic of satan), being crushed under the crossed doors of limbo, just as it is often depicted in numerous art works, which we already have considered, of Christ's descent into the prison house, limbo, hades, hell, & purgatory. However, in this case, Christ is also in the middle of a river being baptized by John the Baptist, on the other riverbank, angels hold garments in their arms.

Mythologies, Compiled by Yves Bonnefoy, The Un. of Chicago Press, Chicago and Lon., 1991, Vol. 2, p. 653; The Birth Of The Christian Religion, by Alfred Loisy, [1857-- 1940], CR 1962 by Un. Books, Inc., see pp. 235-7; Encyclopedia Of Early Christianity, Ferguson, op. cit., p. 411 says that in the Latin west, the baptismal creed of the Italian see of Aquileia (Rufinus, Symb. 18;28) made reference to the descent. Richard Temple suggested that "the Harrowing of Hell, is the psychological prison into which... [man] is expelled from Paradise. Or we may say it is the dark place in ourselves where God has not yet entered.... In order to understand man as he actually is, we need to study the icon of the Harrowing of Hell, the Easter icon. Here man, represented by Adam and Eve, is in that psychologically low place signified as a tomb." (Icons (And The Mystical Origins of Christianity), Temple, op. cit., pp. 132, & 135). During the 4th century A.D., S. Cyril of Jerusalem said that the three immersions in the baptismal waters were a type of Christ's burial, for they "descended three times into the water, and ascended again; here also covertly pointing by a figure at the three-days burial of Christ." (Library of Fathers, Vol. II, pp. 260-66, Lec. XIX-XX, Cyril on the Mysteries, Pub. by John Henry Parker, Oxford, London, MDCCCXXXIX). John P. Lundy wrote that Ciampini explains an ancient mosaic on the right of the altar, in the chapel of St. Pudentiana, in Rome, as representing nude trine immersion and Confirmation together. "The legend is significant enough. "Here in the living font the dead are born again." Alcuin, who, in the eighth century, saw this mode of Baptism, says this of it: "Baptism is performed in the name of the most Holy Trinity by trine immersion (submersione), and rightly so, because man, being made in the image of the Holy Trinity, is restored to the same image, and because he fell into death by a three-fold gradation of sin, he thrice rises from the font to life through grace." (Monumental Christianity, Lundy, op. cit., p. 388, the white baptismal garments is mentioned on p. 389). For the work showing Christ on the doors of limbo while being baptized, see: L'Iconographie De L'evangile, Millet, op. cit., p.199, fig. 172.

There was a time in early Christian history when the doctrine of a literal resurrection was not too popular with many at Corinth, & other areas where the Church had new converts who were bring in some of the Hellenistic ideas of the Greeks. Thus, as the anti-body doctrines of the Greeks began to Hellenize different areas where the church had taken root, different ones like Paul wrote to combat these ideas by giving strong defenses of a literal bodily resurrection. This was why Paul had reminded the converts at Corith of baptism for the dead because it was a Church ordinance that had strong ritualistic types and symbolism in support of a literal resurrection. Paul had also attempted to get them to see how inconsistent it was of them to reject the literal bodily resurrection, while they practiced a ritualistic type of the resurrection through baptism for the dead.

New Testament Abstract 1975, p. 59, # 216, says that baptism for the dead mentioned in 1 Cor. 15:29, was a vicarious baptism for the dead. See also: Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. 1, p. 542, note 63, Joh. W. lk., ad loc. All interpretations which seek to evade vicarious baptism for the dead (most recently Bchm. lk.) are misleading. Cf. Preisker, 2NW, 23 (1924), 298ff.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, Paul said that Christ was buried and rose again the third day according to the scriptures (1 Cor. 15:4). He goes on to list some of the witnesses who had seen Christ's resurrected body, such as Cephas, the 12, and 500 hundred brethren at once, then James, then all the apostles, and then he lists himself as being a witness too (verses 5-8). Now if all these had become witnesses to the fact that Christ had a resurrected body and had risen from the dead, why was there some among the Christians at Corinth who had said that this was not so? (verse 12). He then goes on to point out that if there was no resurrection their faith would be in vain (verses 13-17). He then proceed to testify that Christ had risen from the dead for he was the first to rise, but was not the only one for others were raised up too (verses 18-23). Paul then mentions what early to later Christians (who read Paul and others), may have seen as being references to the war in the underworld, the defeat of death and the devil. The art works and writings of early to later Christendom are filled with the details of satan's defeat in the underworld. For as Paul said, Christ put all enemies under his feet, the last enemy that was destroyed was death (verses 24-28).

In many of the art works we have considered, Christ rests his foot on a defeated and fallen satan, or monstrous figure representing a personified death, or hades, etc.
Christian Art, Morey, op. cit., p. 86; Satan, The Early Christian Tradition, Russell, op. cit., pp.118-122; Art In The Early Church, Lowrie, op. cit., pl. 100; Gothic Painting I, p. 48; The Winchester Psalter, Wormald, op. cit., fig. 27; Byzantine Art And Archaeology, Dalton, op. cit., p. 663, fig. 420; Illuminated Manuscripts, Herbert, op. cit., pp. 166-7, pl. XX; Byzantine Wall Painting In Asia Minor, (Plates II), by Marcell Restle, 1967, pl. 95; Lucifer, The Devil in the Middle Ages, Russell, op. cit., pp. 146 & 150; Hanna Swarzenski op. cit., p. 85; Behold the Christ, Bainton, op. cit., p. 171, fig. 195; Age of Spirituality, Weitzmann, op. cit., pp. 634-6, fig. 574; also Weitzmann's Studies In Classical And Byzantine Manuscript Illumination, edited by Herbert L. Kessler, Pub. by the Un. of Chicago Press, Chic. & Lon., 1971, p. 258, fig. 245. Leningrad, Public Library. Cod. gr. 21, fol. 1v. Anastasis, "Christ is represented in a mandorla trampling over Hades as he grasps the hand of Adam." See also: Art of the Early Renaissance, Batterberry, op. cit., pl. 130, pp. 120-1; Signs & Symbols in Christian Art, Ferguson, op. cit., pl. 42; Medieval Art, Lethaby, revised by Rice, op. cit., p. 50, pl. 14; Art of the Middle Ages, Batterberry, op. cit., p. 76, fig. VII-14; & Romanesque Frescoes, Anthony, op. cit., pl. 40.

Note continued: Christ, the angels, etc., during the descent were sometimes depicted as being armed with weapons (sometimes the cross was used as a weapon), when doing battle with the devil and his demons. Squires who longed to be dubbed knights may have thought about these things, or they may have been reminded of them when they passed through different kinds of rites to knighthood. The rites to knighthood included different things, depending on the time, and place. These rites might include, among other things, prayers with up-lifted hands, oaths, ceremonial baths, being clothed in new garments, recieving a shield, sword and banner, & the cross was one of their symbols too. (See: The Age of Chivalry (Manners and Morals 1000--1440), by Charles T. Wood, Pub. Un., Books, N.Y., CR 1970 in London, Eng. by George Weidenfeld & Nicolson LTD. See also: Records of Christianity, Vol. II, Ayerst, Fisher, Blackwell, 1977, op. cit., pp. 130-1; Heraldry (Sources, symbols & Meaning), Ottfried Neubecker, etc., Pub. by McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1976, N.Y., St. L. San. Fran. Montreal, etc., p. 69; The Winchester Psalter, Wormald, op. cit., fig. 27; The Anastasis, Kartsonis, op. cit., fig. 19; Art of the Middle Ages, Batterberry, op. cit., p. 76, fig. VII-14; The Illuminated Book, Diringer, op. cit., 3, 14b; Lucifer, Russell, op. cit., p. 150). Thus, as "Christs" they descended down into the font, just as Christ had descended into the lower regions, and anointed "Christs", they could also defeat the demons of the underworld, as Christ had during his descent. Lundy notes that ancient works presented Christ as having become incarnate, suffered and died, and "He had gone down to Hades seemingly defeated and undone; but now He comes forth in the resurrection as a Conquerer over sin and death, and must needs be crowned as all other conquerors are." Lundy goes on to cite Ps. 8:5 and Heb. 2:9. Lundy also says that Samson was a type of Christ in how he carried off the gaits of Gaza, this was like how Christ "bursting open and carrying away the gates of Hades, and conquering His and our enemies by His death and resurrection." (Monumental Christianity, Lundy, op. cit., p. 269).

Note: As the saints of old come forth out of the spirit prison during Christ's harrowing of hell. Numerous hosts tramples under their feet the devil & the demonic prison-house wardens. Satan is often depicted in art works as having been thrust through with a spear, or the cross-spear. Or trodden under foot. Or in other cases, Christ has made the enemy of the human race, (satan), his foot stool. In that we see Christ as the victor, resting his foot on the fallen satan, who also, in some cases, has been bound hand & foot in irons, or chains, etc. The early to later Christian writers, & artist had plenty of scriptural types to help them in their stories, art works, legends, mystery plays, illuminated manuscripts, icons, & symbols, etc. Isaiah 14:12-20 may have been seen by the early to later Christians as not only a type of satan's fall from heaven. But also of his defeat in the under world. For in numerous art works satan has often been depicted as a warden who refused to open the house of his prisoners. (Isaiah 14:17). He is often depicted as having been cast out of the grave & thrust through with a sword. And is often depicted as a carcass trodden down under the feet of Christ and the hosts of resurrected saints who come forth out of hell. (Isa. 14:19). The spirit prisoners are gathered together in the pit, & are shut up in the prison, and after many days they are visited by the King of glory. (Isa. 24:21-23). Those who are bound in hades shall be loosed, the bonds of death shall be broken. Satan, having been bound in irons or tied hand & foot is a type of the strong man that Christ's mentioned in scriptures. Thus, having been bound, Christ robs satan's prisons house & the captives are set free. Having said to the prisoners to go forth; to them that are in darkness Shew yourselves. The captives having hastened that they may be loosed from the pit. (See: Isa. 49:8-9, 51:14, 61:1, 9-10, Eph.4:7-10, Ezk. 26:20, 31: 14-18, 32:18, 23-32, Luke 11:14-22, John 5:25-29, 11:25-6, Acts 2:23-36, 13:33-37, Psa.16:10, 68:18, Acts 24:15, Rom. 6:4-11, 10:6-7, 14:7-9, Col. 1:18, 2:12, 1 Cor. 10:1-5, 15:12-31, Heb. 10:13, Psa. 110:1, etc. 1 Pet. 3:15-22; 2 Cor.4:10-14, 5:1-4; Col.2:12-14, 20, Rom.6:1-11; Isa. 14:9-19, 42:6-7; 51:14; Ezra 9:5-8, 1 Cor.15:16-28. (TANF) 1: p.12, 33, 62, 70, 144-6, 154, 183, 190-1, 234-5, 330, 352, 388, 421, 446, 448-51, 455-7, 471, 488-9, 493-5, 499-500, 506, 510, 532, 543-4, 549-50, 560, 572-3, 576, op. cit. And: (TANF) 2: p. 37, 49-50, 203, 357, 415, 461-2, 490-2, etc. And: Satan (The Early Christian Tradition), Russell, op. cit., p.118-122. The Book of Art Vol. 1, p. 68. The Lost Books of the Bible, p.86-8. Art in the Early Church, Lowrie, op. cit., pl.100. Gothic Painting I, p.48, op. cit. Christ's Image, op. cit., p.129. The Winchester Psalter, Francis Wormald, 1973, fig. 27. Apostasy From the Divine Church, Barker, op. cit., p.63. Byzantine Art & Arch., Dalton, op. cit., p.663, fig.420. (TN&PNF) Vol. 4, p.454, 467, 572. Illuminated Manuscripts, by J.A. Herbert, p.166-7, pl.20. Byzantine Wall Painting In Asia Minor (Plates II), by Marcell Restle, 1967, pl.95; Bible Myths, Doane, op. cit., p.211-14; Lucifer, (the Devil in the Middle Ages), Russell, op. cit., pp. 145-6, & 150, etc. Christian Mythology, Every, 1970, op. cit., pp. 65-66; Hanna Swarzenski Vorgotische Miniaturen Die Ersten Jahrhunderte Deutcher Malerei, p.85. The Bible In Art, op. cit., Art of the Early Renaissance, Batterberry, pl.130, p.120-1. The Icon, Weitzmann, op. cit. Signs & Symbols in Christian Art, Ferguson, op. cit., 42. Art of the Middle Ages, Batterberry, op. cit., p.76, fig.VII-14. A World History of Art, by Sheldon Cheney, op. cit., p.467. The Apostles Creed, Barcley, op. cit., p.119-133. Romanesque Frescoes, Anthony, op. cit., 40. Lundy, op. cit., p.73-4. Loisy, op. cit., p.204, 270-1. The Secret Sayings of Jesus, by Robert M. Grant, 1960, p.41 & 43. Mormonism And Early Christianity, Nibley, op. cit., pp. 115-121, etc. The Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers Vol. X, p.191. etc. Satan attempts to gain victory over Christ during a war in the under world, however, Christ is the one who wins the battle and gains a victory over death, hell & the devil. "Jesus rose from the dead... and by his resurrection death had been overcome and the access to paradise lost through Adam's sin regained." (Christianizing Death, Paxton, op. cit., p. 24, see also note 21, McWilliam Dewart, Death and Resurrection, 25-35). Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, mentions the dangers of being challenged by demons during the ascension, but also says that Christ cleared the air of the demonic forces, and gained victory and triumph over death, for death was destroyed. (Select Writings And Letters of Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, edited by Archibald Robertson, pp. 50-52).

Also, in Paul's writings, he points out that baptism was the ritualistic type that signified a person's passage from earth life to death, burial and the resurrection where their bodies would be fashioned like unto Christ's glorious resurrected body.

1 Corinthians 15; Rom. 6:3-13; Phil. 2:10; 3:10-11, 19-21; Col. 2:12; 2 Cor. 3:18; Isa. 14:9-19.
Thus, in the symbolical types for baptism they were symbolically facing death, for their life was in jeopardy, but not in a literal way, but rather in a ritualistic way only. For upon following Christ's example of how he had died and descended into the underworld to defeat death, and the devil.

Russell says that in early Christian thought, during Christ's descent, Christ "went to seek out his enemies Death and the Devil in the underworld where they dwelt." (The Prince of Darkness, op. cit., p. 76; Great Discoveries That Confirm The Two Newly Added Mormon Scriptures, tape by Einar C. Erickson, 1986, tape #98, Tree of Life Productions, Las Vegas, Nev.)

So also the early Christians must have thought of themselves as being a type of Christ, and as anointed "Christs", they were about to go down into the spirit prison to fight against the forces of darkness, and to preach the gospel. Thus, Paul, to further point out the inconsistancy of those at Corinth, asks them: "And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?" (1 Cor. 15:30). Why would they put themselves in jeopardy by ritualistically doing battle with the demons & beasts in the underworld, if they didn't believe in a bodily resurrection? Paul then seems to hint to the fact that he was often baptized for the dead, having ritualistically died, for he said "I die daily", and said that he had fought with beasts at Ephesus. Thus, he may have been suggesting further types for the descent drama & it's ritualistic types in baptism and baptism for the dead. (1 Cor. 15:23-45).

Note: On an ancient font is a sculpture of a number of scenes, one of which shows, in the lower section, "monsters symbolic of the forces of Evil crushed by the grace of baptism." The "monsters" look like lions. (Art of the Early Middle Ages, Souchal, op. cit., pp. 134-5, baptismal font. 1129, Stone. Former monastic church, Freckenhorst (Westphalia); L'Iconographie De L'evangile, Millet, op. cit., p. 199, fig. 172, showing Christ's baptism, as he crushes the serpant under the fallen doors of limbo.

Further on Paul wrote: "But some man will say, "How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?" (1 Cor. 15:35). Since they had descended into the baptismal waters as a ritualistic type of death and the descent; and since baptism was also a ritualistic type of the ascension out of the underworld during the resurrection. Upon coming up out of the waters they were a type of how Christ ascended up out of the spirit prison, the grave, hell, limbo, or hades. And as the Father raised Christ up with a hand clasp, so also were they raised up by the hand.
Note: As the proxy ascended up out of the font, in some cases the proxy may have been raised up with different types of ritualistic rites of passage hand grips. This was a similitude and type of how God the Father had raised Christ up in the resurrection and ascension into heaven with different types of hand grasps. And in turn, how Christ, or his angels lift up the dead from the underworld, limbo, hades, the pit, from the fall, or the grave during the resurrection and ascension into paradise or heaven.

The Nicene And Post Nicene Fathers, Vol. VII, S. Cyril of Jerusalem, Intro. Catechetical Instruction, xi--xxxv; Select Writings And Letters, of Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, by Archibald Robertson, pp. 49-50, Incarnation of the Word, 25, the cross and how Christ's hands were spread out on the cross, this was a type of how Christ spread his hands out to draw in the ancient people and those from the Gentiles. "Whence it was fitting for the Lord to bear this also and to spread out His hands, that with the one He might draw the ancient people, and with the other those from the Gentiles, and unite both in Himself. For this is what He Himself has said, signifying by what manner of death He was to ransom all: "I, when I am lifted up," He saith, "shall draw all men unto Me." And once more, if the devil, the enemy of our race, having fallen from heaven, wanders about our lower atmosphere, and there bearing rule over his fellow-spirits,... [and] tries to hinder them [the redeemed] that are going up [towards heaven] (and about this the Apostle says: "According to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience"); while the Lord came to cast down the devil, and clear the air and prepare the way for us up into heaven, as said the Apostle: "Through the veil, that is to say, His flesh"---and this must needs be by death... [on the cross].
Note: Library of Fathers Of The Holy Catholic Church, Vol. II, pp. 264-5, The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril, Archbishop of Jerusalem, (A.D. 386), Lec. XX, On the Mysteries II, On the Rites of Baptism, verse 5, Pub. by Oxford, John Henry Parker; J. G. F. Rivington, London, MDCCCXXXIX.

There is an interesting depiction of baptism that reminds us of some of the symbolic hand clasps which are often depicted in works depicting of Christ's descent, for just as Christ raised up the soul up out of the grave, hades, & limbo, etc., in a similar manner, a person is being raised out of a baptismal bowl, as if also coming up out of the grave. The font was symbolic of the underworld, the grave, etc., in many cases in early to later Christianity, & thus the artist may have wanted to present a type of Christ's descent, & the hand clasp that is depicted there also. For Christ clasps, with his left hand, the right wrist of the person in the baptismal bowl, while His right hand has been placed on the head of the person. The depiction above this one show the ascension into heaven. (Ivory Carvings In Early Medieval England, by John Beckwith, Pub. by New York Graphic Society LTD, Harvey Miller & Medcalf 1972. Fig.20. This art work is said to be an Anglo-Saxon work dated back to the 8th century A.D. And can be seen in the London, Victoria & Albert Museum [Cat.5]. See also: Les Ivories Gothiques, op. cit., pl. LVI, No. 220. Berlin. coll. du Prof. Weisbach; pl. CXLVI, No. 823 bislyon, coll Baboin; pl. CLIV, No. 858, Londers, Victoria and Albert Museum; pl. CLXVII, No. 955; pl. CLXVIII, No. 959; Ikonen, by Konrad Onasch, 1961, Guterslocher Verlashaus Gerd Mohn, #73 & 39; Art and Archaeology (The Arts Throughout the Ages), Vol. XXVII, p.82, Feb. 1929, Number 2, Neopalimaya Kupina, The Unconsuming One, shows, among other scenes, the descent, in which Christ, with his right hand grasps the right hand of a person being raised up. See also: Early Christian And Byzantine Art, #713, 705, 612, lxxx, pp. 122-139, showing the descent of Christ, or the harrowing, with different types of clasps, some on the wrist, others on the hand. See also: Heaven and Hell in Western Art, by Robert Huges, 1968, pp. 180-191; See also: La Resurrection Du Christ, Dans L'Art Chretien Du IIe Au VIIe Siecle, Villette, op. cit., plates XLIV-XLVIII; See also: Romanesque Frescoes, by Edgar Waterman Anthony, Princeton Un. Press, 1951, Princeton, New Jersey, intro. p. 47, & p. 190, fig. 470, Chaldon, SS. Peter and Paul. W. Wall. Ladder of Salvation, showing souls ascending a ladder, etc., plus the descent of Christ into hell in which the souls coming forth clasps Christ's right hand. See also fig. 132, S. Angelo in Formis, Church. N. Wall of Nave. New Testament Scenes, depicting Christ's descent, in which he is in the act of lifting a person up by grasping, with his right hand, the person's right hand wrist. See also figs. 49 & 51. Rome, S. Clemente, Lower Church, Nave. Descent into hell, etc. Christ clasp the right wrist of a person with his right hand. See also fig. 40. London, British Museum. Ms. Cott. Tib. c. VI (Psalter), fol. 14 ro. Harrowing of Hell, showing satan bound as souls come forth from the jaws of hell to be blessed and grasped by the hand by a giant Christ. See also: Studies in the Iconography of the Virtues and Vices in the Middle Ages, O'Reilly, op. cit., pp. 356-7, where it mentions depictions of Christ from the iconography of the Anastasis "where He grasps Adam and Eve to deliver them from Hell". Another depictions shows Christ grasping "the soul who has struggled up the rungs [of a ladder] just as He seizes Adam and Eve to deliver them from the jaws of Hell in scenes of the Anastasis." See also: A Dictionary Of Angels, (Including the Fallen Angels), by Gustav Davidson, 1967, The Free Press, N.Y., Collier-Macmillan Lim., Lon., p.25; Propylaen Kunstgeschichte In Achtzehn Banden, Band 3, Byzanz Und Der Christliche Osten, Von Wolfgang Fritz Volbach Und Jacqueline Lafontaine-Dosogne, 1968, Propylaen Verlag Berlin, fig. 15, X, & 47; Legenda Aurea: Sept Siecles De Diffusion, Editions Bellarmin, Montreal 1986, etc., p. 236, showing the soul exiting the body at the moment of death. The soul reaches out to clasp the hand of one of the angelic guides. Another sources shows a right hand shake between an angel and a person about to ascend. (Heaven: A History, by McDannell & Lang, op. cit., p. 187, pl. 34, J. Flaxman, 1784 A.D.)
Note continued: Lundy mentions an early resurrection monument of Christ "ascending a hill with a roll in one hand, while the other is grasped by the hand of the Eternal Father, as it is seen reaching down out of heaven. It is an ivory carving, and said to belong to the fifth or sixth century. It is at Munich." (Monumental Christianity, op. cit., p. 268, see Mrs. Eastlake in Mrs. Jameson's "History of our Lord," Vol. II. p. 263. 2nd Ed. Lond. 1865). See also: Early Christian Art, Text by W.F. Volbach, Photo. by Max Hirmer, Pub. by A. Abrams, fig. 93, Munich, Bavarian National Museum, dated in this source "c. 400". In a 10th century work of Christ's ascension into heaven, the right hand of the Father extends out of heaven to clasp Christ's right hand (New International Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Art, op. cit., Vol. 15, pp. 3054-55). A similar clasp is seen in: Romanesque Bible Illumination, by Walter Cahn, Cornell Un. Press, 1982, Ithaca, N.Y., pp. 210-11, fig. 171. See also: Monuments of Romanesque Art, by Hanns Swarzenski, (2nd ed.), 1967, pl. 66, fig. 151, 10th century ascension, showing an angel clasping the hand of Christ, while the Father clasps Christ's wrist. In a 11th century depiction of the parable about Lazarus, angels come to Lazarus' soul, one clasps his hands while the other angel lifts him up, while the ritch man is taken hold of by dark demons who have come to take his soul away. (Jeffery Burton Russell's book: The Prince of Darkness, (Radical Evil And the Power of Good In History), Cornell Un. Press, 1988, Ithaca, N.Y., p.134, Manuscript illumination from the Pericope Book of Henry II, Germany).

In the act of Christ reaching down towards Adam's hand to clasp it, in order to raise him up from the grave, the pit, hades, limbo, etc., (as that realm has been called in early to later Christendom.) And as Adam reaches up towards Christ's hand. (Again we see the hand clasping "rites of passage" or ritualistic symbols in such hand clasps, see: Isa. 42:6-7; Eph.4:7-10; 1 Pet. 3:15-22, 4:5-6; etc.) Adam's "reentry to paradise has already begun & his deification (along with the deification of mankind) is already under way in this miracle of re-creation, as the Anastasis came to be known."

Anastasis (The Making of An Image), by Anna D. Kartsonis, Pub. by Princeton Un. Press, 1986, p.72, etc. The Gospel In Art, by Albert E. Bailey, 1916, Pilgrim Press, Boston & Chicago, pp.382-385; The Birth of the Christian Religion, Loisy, op. cit., pp. 260-1, Christ "became man that he might deliver men from their bondage to death and lead them forth into immortality" [see Hebrews 2:5-18]. See also: The Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine, (Trans. and adapted from the Latin by Granger Ryan and Helmut Ripperger), 1941, Arno Press, A Publishing and Library service of the N.Y. Times, N.Y., 1969, p. 293.

A work that seems to mention the descent of the proxy as a type of Christ's descent into hades is found in: The Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers, Vol. IX, pp.72-3, Chap. XXIX; John of Damascus, Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, translated by the Rev. S. D. F. Salmond, D.D., F.E.I.S. Concerning the Descent into Hades: "The soul when it was deified descended into Hades, in order that, just as the Sun of Righteousness rose for those upon the earth, so likewise He might bring light to those who sit under the earth in darkness and shadow of death: in order that just as He brought the message of peace to those upon the earth, and of release to the prisoners,... so He [too] might become the same to those in Hades: That every knee should bow to Him, of things in heaven, and things in earth and things under the earth. [citing Phil 2:10], And thus after He had freed those who had been bound for ages, straightway He rose again from the dead, shewing us the way of resurrection."

Garment: Note: Earlier, Clement of Alex., seems to suggest that the garment is a symbol of Christ. "And I will be" He [Christ] says, "their Shepherd," & will be near them, as the garment to their skin. He wishes to save my flesh by enveloping it in the robe of immortality, & He hath anointed my body." (TANF) 2: p.231).

Clement then seems to hint to the symbolical journey of the soul on it way towards immortality. In the mysteries, upon coming out of the font & being clothed in a garment, it was a type of the newly resurrected soul's journey or passage towards the realms of the divine in immortality.
The garment & anointing is a type of that deification to come. The anointed are deified, their bodies are clothed in a body which shines forth with immortality & that same type of divine light as Christ's glorious body does. The garment of light being a type of this.

Clement of Alex.: "...Boast not of the clothing of your garment, & be not elated on account of any glory, as it is unlawful." [Speaking of those who cloth themselves after the luxurious garments of this earthly world. For God has in mind a better & more luxurious garment to cloth them in.] For "...those that wait at the court of heaven around the King of all, are sanctified in the immortal vesture of the Spirit, that is, the flesh, & so put on incorruptibility." (TANF) 2:265.)

Clement also wrote that the priestly robes of the Jews in the Old Testament times, in their laws & ordinances, these were a prophetic type of Christ's ministry in the flesh. The point here being, that one of the symbolical meanings behind robes & garments was that it was a symbol & similitude of the body, the flesh. And in some cases the deified glorified resurrected body. The Christian was also to take upon themselves the same type of glorified body as Christ's resurrected body. Thus, the garments & robes of the mysteries were a type of this. Clement of Alex., wrote: "Truly, then are we the children of God, who have put aside the old man, & stripped off the garment of wickedness, & put on the immortality of Christ; that we may become a new, holy people by regeneration, & may keep the man undefiled...." (TANF) 2:217, 452-4, 265-6, etc.)

Clement of Alex., also wrote that in "...our regeneration, we attained that perfection after which we aspired..." [And in having followed Christ's example]. "...In being baptized, we are illuminated; illuminated, we become sons, being made sons, we are made perfect; being made perfect, we are made immortal. "I," says He, "have said that ye are gods, & all sons of the Highest." [Citing from Psa. 82:6]. "This work is variously called grace, & illumination, & perfection, & washing: washing, by which we cleanse our sins; grace, by which the penalties accruing to transgressions are remitted; & illumination, by which that holy light of salvation is beheld, that is by which we see God clearly...." (TANF) 2:215)

In coming up out of the font, (again, the font was a type of the spirit prison, grave, limbo, hades, the pit., etc.,) the Lord would reach down to clasp their hand. Clement seems to hint to this, when he wrote concerning the descent of Christ into hades. "...For some the Lord exhorts, & to those who have already made the attempt he stretches forth His hand, & draws them up...."
(TANF) 2:490-2, Isa.42:6-7). This is what we see many times in the art works of the harrowing of hell, the descent, etc. (Anastasis, Kartsonis, p.72, etc. Gothic Painting I, p.48; Christian Art, C.R. Morey, p.86; A Treasury Of Illuminated Manuscripts, by Franz Unterkircher, Pub. by G.P. Putnam's Sons, N.Y., CR Thames and Hudson London, 1967, see p. 53, as in many other depictions of Christ's descent into limbo, Christ left hand holds a banner while his right hand grasps the raised right arm of Adam.)

and so it seem reasonable & logical to suppose that the early to later Christians saw in their art works of the descent and resurrection of Christ, a type of that which happened in their mysteries and sacraments.

(Roger Adam wrote that Basil (329-379 A.D.), had likened baptism unto the grave. "How can we be placed in a condition of likeness to His" [Christ's] "death? By being `buried with Him in baptism.' How are we to go down with Him into the grave? By imitating the `burial' of Christ in baptism; for the bodies of the baptized are in a sense buried in water." (De Baptismo). Notice here that Basil seems to hint of the descent into the grave or realms of the dead, in that he asked: "How are we to go down with Him" [Christ] "into the grave?")
Upon ascending up stairs into higher parts of the church, this must have been considered as a type of Christ's ascension up out of the grave, the spirit world, the pit, limbo, hades, etc., as Christ & the newly resurrected saints ascended into paradise. Thus, the proxy, upon having followed Christ's example, had brought souls out of the spirit prison house over into paradise.
In some cases, a 2nd anointings would take place, & garments would be put upon them after they had ascended out of the font. The anointing, the putting on of garments, and the ascension may have been a type of how the angels in the other realms had taken the spirits by the hand to guide them over into paradise.

Note: The Pastor Hermas, I, Chap. II, tells the leaders of the Church to be righteous, steadfast, and doubt not, so that when they died their "passage" or otherworld journey "may be with the holy angels." (The Ante-Nicene Fathers, 2, p. 11). Clement of Alex., with the help of symbolical types, wrote that the three days that Christ was in the grave, having risen on the 3rd day. These things were a type of the 3 immersions, or "The three days may be the mystery of the seal," [n. "Baptism. [Into the Triad.]" "in which God is really believed." Clement then seems to hint to how Abraham had been in the realms of the dead & had been initiated by the angel. He hints to the type of baptism being as a type of the realm of the dead, for Abraham was "in the realms of generation," or baptism. (TANF) 2: p.462.) Huge Nibley tells us that R. Akiba, cited by S. A. Horodezky, wrote that the Jews "...once taught that when Michael & Gabriel lead all the sinners up out of the lower world, "they will wash & anoint them of their wounds of hell, & clothed them with beautiful pure garments & bring them into the presence of God." (What is a Temple, by Huge Nibley, (IDE-T), (The Idea of a Temple in History), Reprinted by F.A.R.M.S., from: The Millenial Star 120 (Aug. 1958), p.228-237, see pages 234, & 249, ft. nt.s 52, op, cit., & 56. R. Akiba, cited by S. A. Horodezky, in Monatsschr.f. Gesch. u. Wins. des Judentums LXXII. 505.
In the Testament of Abraham the cheif-captain and archangel Michael is "God's commander-in-chief," and he is "one whose intervention is so powerful with God that at his word souls can be rescued even from Hell itself." Abraham pleaded with Michael that he would call upon the Lord to have mercy on the souls of the sinners "who the earth swallowed up" reminding us here of the many different depictions of the descent of Christ that show hell, limbo, hades, or the lower regions of the earth, as a pit, or cave which open before Christ like jaws. Also the jaws of hell were often depicted as having swallowed up sinners. But to return to the story of Abraham-- they call upon the angel for help, and in turn the angel calls upon the Lord to have mercy on these souls in hell. The Lord answered by saying: "I forgive thee thy sin, [Abraham,] and those whom thou thinkest that I destroyed I have called up and brought them into life by my exceeding kindness,..." Another example of where Michael conducts the souls out of hell into the holy light of paradise is seen in a chant in "Masses for the dead", here they ask the Lord to "deliver the souls of all the faithful departed from the pains of Hell and from the deep pit". The chant continues to plead that the dead would be delivered from the lion and jaws of hell that they would not be swallowed up. It asked that "the standard-bearer Michael [may] conduct them into the holy light, which thou didst promise of old to Abraham and his seed." The mass included prayers and sacrifices for and in behave of the dead in the hopes that they would be allowed to pass from hell over into paradise with Michael as their guide. (Butler's Lives of the Saints, revised edition by Herbert Thurston, S.J., and Donald Attwater, Vol.III, July . August . September, Pub. P.J. Kenedy & Sons, N.Y., 1956, pp.678-9; See also: Deutche Spatgotische Malerei, 1430-1500, Alfred Stange, Karl Robert Langewiesche Nachfolger, 1965, see p. 14. Some stone works, a number of angel "hold the hands of the little persons whom they cover with their mantels. These are symbols of the souls tenderly borne to paradise." (Holy days and Holidays, (The Medieval Pilgrimage to Compostela), by Horton and Marie-Helene Davies, Pub. Lewisburn, Bucknell Un., Press, Lon., & Toronto, 1982, p.147, see also pp.140-49. An interesting depiction of Christ's descent shows Christ clasping the wrists of Adam and Eve, but also angels descend down into an open pit, perhaps to also raise souls up out of the underworld. (Handbuch Der Ikonenkust, Slavisches Institut Munchen, 1966, p.71, see also pp. 125, 144, 157, & 308).
Note continued: A Christian mosaic on the cupola of the Baptistery of S. Giovanni, Florence, 13th century A.D., shows an angel conducts the souls of the virtuous to the door of paradise. Another angel is standing inside the half-open door and welcomes a soul by clasping, with the right hand, the soul's right hand. (Heaven and Hell in Western Art, by Robert Huges, 1968, pp. 180-191; Encyclopedia Of World Art, Pub. by McGraw-Hill Book Co., N.Y., Toronto, Lon., 1960, Vol. III, pl. 12.).

Note contin. In later centuries, a number of art work have depicted death bed scene in which angelic guide come to guide the soul over into heaven. See: Death and the Afterlife in Modern France, by Thomas A. Kselman, Princeton Un. Press, Princeton, N.J., 1993, p.87-88, no. 5 "Another Angel in Heaven. Holy card distributed by Bouasse-Lebel, mid-nineteenth century". A child died an was carried into heaven by angels. In some cases, dead children were considered to have become angels whose prayers in Heaven would redeem their entire family. On p. 120, fig. 7, shows an angel clasping the hands of a soul being raised out of the fires of purgatory. See also: Church Monuments in Romantic England, by Nicholas Penny, (Pub. for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art by Yale Un. Press, New Haven & Lon., 1977, see pp. 90-97, figs. 66-72, p. 98, fig. 74 shows an angel grasping the hands of a couple of souls who were resurrected. On p. 102-3, an angel ascend with a soul towards heaven. See also p. 127, fig. 94; Archaeological Discoveries, Mancini, op. cit., p. 168.n coming up out of the font, (again, the font was a type of the spirit prison, grave, limbo, hades, the pit., etc.,) the Lord would reach down to clasp their hand. Clement seems to hint to this, when he wrote concerning the descent of Christ into hades. "For some the Lord exhorts, and to those who have already made the attempt he stretches forth His hand, & draws them up."

(TANF) 2:490-2, Isa.42:6-7). This is what we see many times in the art works of the harrowing of hell, the descent, etc. (Anastasis, Kartsonis, p.72, etc. Gothic Painting I, p.48; Christian Art, C.R. Morey, p.86; The Human Story, Europe In The Middle Ages, by Michel Pierre, Morgan -- Antoine Sabbagh, Pub. by Sliver Burdett Press, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1988, see p. 34, originally published in 1986 by Casterman, under the title: L' Histoire des Hommes: L' Europe du Moyen Age.) An Illustrated Cultural History Of England, by F.E. Halliday, 1967-8, A Studio Book, The Viking Press, N.Y., p.47 & p.68: "Opus anglicanum. English ecclesiastical embroidery was recognized as the finest in medieval Europe. Detail from the Syon Cope, c. 1280. The Gospel Of Philip, by R. Mcl. Wilson, Pub., A.R. Mowbray, London, p.179; Art in the Early Church, by Walter Lowrie, Pub. by Phatheon Books, Wash., Sq., N.Y., N.Y., 1947, pl.121 a, top portion; The Horizon History of Christianity, by the Ed. of Horizon Mag., Marshall B. Davidson, written by Roland H. Bainton, 1964- A.H.P.C.; The March Of The Cross, by Leonard W. Cowie, 1962, (First Pub. in Great Britain by Weidenfeld & Nicolson LTD. 1962), & firts pub. in the USA by McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., N.Y., Toronto, & Lon., 1962, p.58, fig.61; Studies In Classical & Byzantine Manuscript Illumination, p.272; The Life Of Our Lord In Art, (With Some Account Of The Artistic Treatment Of The Life Of St. John The Baptist), by Estelle M. Hurll, 1898, Boston & N.Y., Houghton, Mifflin & Co., The Riverside Press, Cambride, MDCCCXCVIII, p. 314, XXVII, The Descent into Limbus. According to the "Latin Gospel of Nicodemus, Christ was occupied with the liberation of the souls of the patriarchs and prophets of the old dispensation. In the typical composition Christ carries the resurrection banner, and standing on a higher level reaches out a helping hand to the company of long-bearded old men who flock eagerly towards him with lifted faces and outstretched arms." See also: Monumente Istorice Bisericesti Din Mitropolia Moldovel Si Sucevei, 1974, p. 41, figs. 23-4; Art Treasures of Eastern Europe, by Anthony Rhodes, 1940, Pub., by G.P. Putnam's Sons, N.Y., one of the wall paintings from the Boyana Church shows Christ's descent into hell. With his right hand, Christ grasps the left wrist of a man (Adam?), to raise him up.

In some cases, during the early Christian baptismal mystery the catechumens would receive a new name, take a baptismal vow or oath, strip their old garments to receive new ones, and would be guided by the hand. They must have also received a number of hand grips similar to the ones depicted in the art works that show Christ's descent in to the underworld, etc., and his ascension into heaven, etc. They also received the imposition of hands--(laying on of hands on their heads), and would pass through a veil or curtain that was hung across the font. This was all part of their ritualistic journey through the different realms on towards the higher realms.
The Nicene And Post Nicene Fathers, Vol. VII, S. Cyril of Jerusalem, Intro. Catechetical Instruction, xi--xxxv; Select Writings And Letters, of Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, by Archibald Robertson, pp. 49-50, Incarnation of the Word, 25.

Before going down into the font they were anointed which symbolically made them "Christs".
Library of Fathers, Vol. II, pp. 260-269, Lectures On the Mysteries, XIX-XXI, S. Cyril of Jerusalem, Archbishop, 4th cent. A.D., Pub. Oxford, John Henry Parker; London, MDCCCXXXIX, in connection with the rites of baptism and anointing, Cyril said: "Being therefore made partakers of Christ, ye are properly called Christs, and of you God said, Touch not My Christs, or anointed. (Heb. 3:14; Ps. 105:15) Now ye were made Christs, by receiving the emblem of the Holy Ghost; and all things were in a figure wrought in you, because ye are figures of Christ." He goes on to say that the anointing was made on the forehead, ears, nostrils, and breast. "Then on your breast; that having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ye may stand against the wiles of the devil. For as Christ after His baptism, and the descent of the Holy Ghost, went forth and vanquished the adversary, so likewise, having, after Holy Baptism and the Mystical Chrism, put on the whole armour of the Holy Ghost, do ye stand against the power of the enemy, and vanquish it, saying, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Phil. 4:13)." (Library of Fathers, Vol. II, pp. 267-9). See also: Ephesians 6:10-19; The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology, Edited by Richardson and Bowden, op. cit., p. 22, see Anointing, by J. Martos, "An anointing with oil which signified the reception of the Holy Spirit very early became part of the rite of baptism..." See also: Our Christian Heritage, (Church History and the Episcopal Church), by Powel Mills Dawley, Pub. by Morehouse-Barlow Co., N.Y., 1959, 3rd ed., 1960, pp. 49-50; Baptism For The Dead, Adam, 1977, op. cit., p. 48; The Other Bible, ed. by Willis Barnstone, 1984, Harper & Row, Pub. San. Fran. "The Gospel of Philip" [2nd half of the 3rd cent. A.D.], p.96: The Temple And Its Significance, compiled by Joseph C. Muren, Temple Publications, Odgen Utah, 1973, 3rd printing, see pp. 208-9, & saying No. 95; The Teaching of The Twelve Apostles Or, The Oldest Church Manual The Didache and Kindred Documents in the Original, by Philip Schaff, D.D. LL.D., New York: Funk & Wagnalls, Pub., Astor Place, 1890, pp. 275-6; The Nicene And Post Nicene Fathers, (2nd Series), Vol. X, St. Ambrose, On the Mysteries, Chapters VI-VIII, pp. 321-3; reprinted Aug. 1979; see also Vol. V, p. 321, Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, 4th cent., and pp. 269-71, Ephraim Syrus, in the 15 Hymns for the feast of the Epiphany, translated by Rev. A Edward Johnston, B.A., see Hynm III; & pp 518-25, Gregory of Nyssa; Vol. XII, pp. 152-3, see note 6; New Catholic Encyclopedia, CR 1967, by the Catholic Un. of America, Wash., D.C., Vol. I, pp. 567-8). In earlier centuries the anointing ritual was often connected with baptism, which was a ritualistic type of death, burial and the resurrection. (Colossians 2:12; Romans 6:2-6; Basil, De Baptismo; Chrysostom, Hom. xxv, In Joannem; Hom. xl., In Epist. ad Rom.; Baptism For The Dead, Adam, op. cit., pp. 9-10, & 48-9, etc.) Perhaps as time went by this type may have become part of the "Extreme Unction" which was given to a person who was sick, etc., and who was believed to be near death. And even though baptism had been the ritualistic type of death, burial and resurrection; the extreme untion was often given to those who were believed to be facing not the ritualistic type of death, but the real thing. Thus, the dying person would be anointed on the eyes, mouth, nose, ears, hands and feet. (See: Records of Christianity, Vol. II, (Christendom), by David Ayerst & A.S.T., Fisher, CR Basil Blackwell, 1977, pub. in the USA by Harper & Row, Inc., & Barnes & Noble Books, N.Y., p. 225).

Upon being baptized they became a proxies for those of their friends or kindred who needed the seal of baptism in order to escape out of the spirit prison. And like Christ, they too would also bring out spirits who had been held in captivity.

They would be clothed in a resurrected bodies, & garment, the garment in the mysteries being a type of this. Note: Baptismal garments: See: The Garments Of The First And Second Adam: [The Symbolical Meanings Of Garments In Early To Later Christendom], By DaRell D. Thorpe, OCT. 1993, an unpublished research paper and file. See also: Greek & Syrian Miniatures in Jerusalem, by William Henry Paine Hatch, Pub., by the Medieval Academy of Amer., Cam., Mass, 1931, p.68-9, pl.12, the baptism. Greec, xi, fol.172. See also: G. de Jerphanion, Les eglises rupestres de Cappadoce (Paris: Geuthner, 1925-28,), pl.78, 89, 103, & 119; The Salerno Ivories (Arts Sacra from Medieval Amalfi), by Robert P. Bergman, Harvard Un. Press, Lon., Eng., 1980 & Fellows of Harvard Col. fig., 169, Baptism, ivory plaque, Lugano, Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection; Art in the Early Church, by Walter Lowrie, Pub. by Phatheon Books, Wash., Sq., N.Y., N.Y., 1947, pl.121 a, top portion; The Horizon History of Christianity, by the Ed. of Horizon Mag., Marshall B. Davidson, written by Roland H. Bainton, 1964- A.H.P.C.; Art & Mankind, Larousse Encyclopedia of Byzantine & Medieval Art, General Ed., Rene Huyghe, Prof. in the Col. of France, Pub. by Prometheus Press, N.Y., 1958- Auge, Gillon, Hollier-Larousse, Moreau et Cie (Librairie Larousse, Paris, this ed., 1963- Paul Hamlyn LTD, Lon. p.240, fig. 501, baptismal font in Hildesheim cathedral. See also p.237, fig.497, detail from the baptismal font in St. Bartholomew, Liege; Art of the Medieval World, by George Zarnecki, Pub. by Harry N. Abrams, Inc. N.Y., fig.154, depicting the baptism of Christ. Gospels of Etchmiadzin, 6th century A.D. Matenadaran Library (Ms. 2374), Erevan; The Book of Art (A Pictorial Encyclopedia of Painting, Drawing, & Sculpture) Origins of Western Art, texts by Dr. Donald E. Strong & others, Prof. Giuseppe Bovini, & Prof. David Talbot Rice, Peter Laske, Prof. G. Zarnecki & George Henderson, Pub. by Grolier Inc., N.Y., Montreal, Mexico City & Sydney, p.104, A. Metz School. Ivory casket, depicting baptism, 10th century A.D., Brunswick, Herzog Anton Ulrich Mus.; The Art of Byzantine Empire (Byzantine Art In The Middle Ages), by Andre Grabar, Tarns., by Betty Forster, 1st Ed., pub. in 1963, Holle Verlag G.M.B.H., Baden-Baden, Germany. English Trans., 1966, by Methuen & Co., LTD., Crown Pub., Inc., N.Y., p.125, pl.27, the baptism, a mosaic at the Hosios Lucas in Phocias, ca, 1000. Cf., p.124; Byzantine Painting (Historical & Critical Study) by Andre Grabar, Pub. by Skira Rizzoli, New York, 1979, first pub. in 1953. Page 116, in the Nave, Church of Daphni; Studies In Classical & Byzantine Manuscript Illumination, by Kurt Weitzmann, Ed. by Herbert L. Kessler, Pub. by The Un. of Chicago Press, Chic. & Lon., 1971, page 272, fig. 261, Vatican, Biblioteca. Cod. gr. 1613, p.299, Baptism of Christ; another baptismal depiction is seen on page 273, fig. 262 (Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery. Cod. W 521, fol. 38r. This is very similar to the other one mentioned. See also page 274, fig. 263, (Mount Athos, Dionysiu. Cod. 587, fol. 141v. Page 282 fig. 275 Paris, Bib. Nat. Cod. gr. 74, fol. 169r. Page 308 fig. 305 Mount Sinai, St. Catherine's Icon. 12 Feast, pp. 309, 312, fig. 308, Mount Sinai, St. Catherine's Icon. Deesis & 12 feasts. Studies In Classical & Byzantine Manuscript Illumination, Weitzmann, op. cit., p.272, fig. 261, p.274, fig.263, p.282, fig. 275, p.308-9, fig. 305, & p.312, fig.308; Iconography of Christian Art, by Gertrud Schiller, Vol.1, trans., by Janet Seligman, 1966 & 77, New York Graphic Soc. Greenwhich, Conn., #364., dated c.1170 Hortus Deliciarum; Monuments of Romanesque Art, by Hanns Swarzenski, 1954 & 1967, Un. of Chic., pl.113, fig. 253 & 258, see also: Art of the Medieval World, by George Zarnecki, Pub. Harry N. Abrams, N.Y., 1975, dated "1107-1118" A.D. The baptismal font of Renier de Huy, Church of St. Barthelemy, Liege. See also: 1 Kings 7:23-4; Jer.52:20; Schiller, op. cit., #374, Manuscript Illumination, c. 1200. Lower Saxony, Codex, Trier Cath; Classical Inspiration In Medieval Art, by Walter Oakshott, 1959, Frederick A. Praeger, Pub., N.Y., Pl.III, fig., A, the Liege font, with medieval art works dated back to the 12-13th century A.D., see also: pl.III, fig.B; The Icon, by Kurt Weitzmann, & others, 1982, by Arnoldori Editore, pub. Alfred A. Knopf, N.Y., p.170. Greek work at Ohrid Tempera on wood. The Church of the Virgin Peribleptos, cent. 1300. Gallery of icons in the church of St. Clement, Ohrid, Macedonia; The Art of the Copts, by Pierre M. Du Bourguet, S. J. (Translated by Caryll Hay-Shaw) 1967 & 1971. Pub. Crown Pub. Inc. New York. pp. 176-7; La Peinture Byzantine, by Paul Muratoff, (Pub. Paris A. Weber, MCMXXXV). Plate CXXIV; Pl. CXCI; Episodes de L'Historie de S. Jean Baptiste Detail du Tableau d' autel - Art Neo-Hellenistique (1250-1270) Academie, Sienne, pl. CCXLVII, Pl. CCXLVIII; Iconography of Christian Art, op. cit., #365; Jerusalem A History, by E.O. James, Pub. by G.P. Putnam's Sons, N.Y., Ed. by J. Boudet, p.131, the Baptism of Jesus, Barna, 14th century A.D., fresco at San Gimignano; Frescoes of the Church of the Assumption At Volotovo Polye, Text by M.V. Alpatov, & others, pub. by Moscow Iskusstvo 1977, fig.96, baptism, Fresco on the southern wall about 1380 A.D.; Byzantine Painting, Grabar, op. cit., p.190-1, this art work is part of a 6 part depiction, 2nd down on the right, "SIX OF THE GREAT FEASTS OF THE YEAR." Dated back to the 14th century A.D. Portable mosaic, Opera Del Duomo, Florence; The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Edward Gibbon, Vol.III, 1185-1453 A.D., page 437, Pub. by The Modern Library, New York, see also footnote 57 on p.437. "Framea scutoque juvenem ornant. Tacitus, Germania, c. 13." L'Iconographie De L'evangile, Aux XIVe, XVe Et XVIe Siecles, by Gabriel Millet, Pub. in Paris, Editions E. De Boccard, 1960, p.23, fig. 3, p. 25, fig. 4, & pp. 170-215; An old vestment has a number of scenes on it, one of which is the descent. (Textile Art in the Church, by Marion P. Ireland, 1966, 1971, pp. 114-115, fig. 52a). St. Gregory the Great mentions the white vestment (birrum) in which a person was clothed when he rose from the font. St. Ambrose calls the garments of the mysteries the chaste veil of innocence. While S. Cyril of Jerusalem in his lectures on the mysteries called it the garment of salvation, and said that is was a type of the cloth that Christ's body was covered in while his body was in the tomb. (See: The Nicene & Post-Nicene Fathers = (TN&PNF) Vol.13. p.3 Ep.6; (TN&PNF) Vol.x, pp.321-3, chap.6-7; Library of Fathers, Vol.2, pp.260-66, Lec. xix-xx); Art in the Early Church, Lowrie, pl.121; Iconography of Christian Art by Gertrud Schiller, Vol.I, fig.376. Zech.3:1-4. Behold the Christ, Bainton, p.79, fig.76. Rev.7:14-17 & Christ Lore, by Fredk. WM. Hackwood, p.117. Baptism For the Dead, Roger Adam, pl.16, p.29, see his note 23, from "Cote, Archaeology, 53." Ad Fabiolam, Ep.cxxvii. Baptism for the Dead, Adam, op. cit., p.57-9 & 61).

And: Textile Art in the Church, by Marion P. Ireland, 1966, 67, & 1971, Pub. Abingdon Press., Nashville & N.Y., p. 73; The Toledo Museum Of Art European Paintings, (The Toledo Mus. of Art, Tol. Ohio., Dist. by Penn. State Un., Press, 1st printing 1976, Designed by Harvey Retzloff, p.389. Acc. no. 48.74. "SPIRIDION CHRYSOLORAS 17th Century. Cretan. The Baptism of Christ."; Treasures From The Kremlin, (An Exhibition from the State of Museums of the Moscow Kremlin at the Metropolitan Musesum of Art, N.Y., May 19-Sept.1979, and Grand Palais, Paris, Oct. 12, 1979 & Jan. 7, 1980), Pub. by Metro. Mus., of Art, N.Y., Distrib. by Harry N. Abrams, Inc., pp.70 & 166, pl.39.

One of the traditions that preserved in part the use of baptismal garments, in later centuries was the festival known as "Whitsuntide", Whit Sunday, or "White Sunday." (CELEBRATIONS (The Complete Book of American Holidays), by Robert J. Myers, with The Editors of Hallmark Cards, Doubleday & Co., Garden City, N.Y., 1972, pp.108 & 156-7; A Holiday Book, Easter, by Lillie Patterson, 1966, pp.21-22; A Crowell Holiday Book, Easter, by Aileen Fisher, 1968, Pub. Thomas Y. Crowell Co., N.Y., pages not numbered; The Facts On File Encyclopedia Of World Mythology And Legend, by Anthony S. Mercatante, 1988, Facts On File, N.Y., Oxford, p.673; Concise Dictionary of Holidays, Raymond Jahn, Pub. by Philosophical Library, N.Y., 1958, p.100; A Dictionary of Days, by Leslie Dunkling, Pub. Facts On File Pub., N.Y., N.Y., Oxford, England, p.131; Easter And Other Spring Holidays, by Gilda Berger, Pub. by Franklin Watts, N.Y., Lon., Toronto, Sydney 1983, A First Book, p.38; Biblical Myths & Mysteries, by Gilbert Thurlow, Pub. by Octopus Books, 1974, London, p.64).

Rev. 1:6; 2:17; 3:4-5, 12, 21, 10:7; Rom.16:25; 1 Cor.2:7; 4:1; Col.2:1-3; 1 Tim.3:8-9. & Historical Commentaries on the State of Christianity, Dr. Johann L. Mosheim, 1854, Vol.1. pp.77, 127, 373, 391, Vol.2 p.472. Gen.3:21; Ex.28:2; 29:4-30; 40:7-16; Lev.14:14-29; Num.18:8; Isa.1:16-18; 22:21-3; 52:15; Ezk.36:24-27; 41:1-23; 42:14; 44:17-21, etc.

The Ante-Nicene Fathers = (TANF) 2: p.49-50, 54, 91-3, 104-5, 174, 198-200, 203-6, 209-11, 213, 215-219, 231, here Clement of Alex., mentions being anointed & clothed in a garment, symbolic of Christ. He also made reference to "the robe of immortality". See also p.234, 253-56, 265-6, 271, 302-3, 312-13, 461-2, etc. Monuments of Romanesque Art, Hanns Swarzenski, 1954 & 1967, Un. of Chicago Press, pl. 20, fig.45, pl.173, fig. 380, & 381, pl.173; Anastasis, Kartsonis, p.72, etc.; An Illustrated History of England, by F.E. Halliday, 1967-8, The Viking Press, N.Y., p.47, an art work depicting souls riding up on a garment in the hands of the angel ("St. Michael") towards God. (12th century A.D. Shaftesbury Psalter.); The Painted Romanesque Ceiling Of St. Martin In Zillis, Text by Ernst Murbach, Pub. by Frederick A. Praeger, N.Y., & Wash., 1967, English trans., see: J-II; The Toledo Museum of Art European Paintings, Pub. by the Tol. Mu. of A., Toledo Ohio, Dist. by Penn. State Un., Press, 1976, p.389, Spiridion Chrysoloras 17th century A.D.; The Voices of the Cathedral, by Sartell Prentice, 1938, p.174; Byzantine Wall Painting In Asia Minor, Plates II, by Marcell Restle 1967, pl.28, & pl.203; Italy, by Mercury Art Books, Florence: Edizioni Mercurio 1954-7, p.231; Ethiopia Illuminated Manuscripts, by Otto A. Jager, Pub. by the NY Graphic Soc. & Unesco. pl.13; Ludmila Kybalova's book: Coptic Textiles, 1967, p.68-69 fig.15-16, & p.34; BYU Un., Studies Vol.22, Winter 1982 #1 pp.31-45, St. Ambrose, (Hamman, Traite des Mysteries in L' Initiation Chretienne, p.74; B.Y.U. Studies, Vol. 22, Winter 1982, #1, pp.31-45. Heb. 10:16-22; Brigham Young Un. Studies Vol.22, Winter 1982 #1, pp.31-45, Clothed Upon: A Unique Aspect of Christian Antiquity, by Blake Ostler; The Gospel Of Philip, by R. Mcl. Wilson, B.D., Ph.D., pp.87-91, etc. We read of garments which were used as part of the baptismal ordinances, & which were symbolic types of what happens to the spiritual & mortal bodies. Thus, in some cases the garment in many Gnostic & even anti-Gnostic sources, is symbolic of the body. (Ibid., pp.87-91).

The hand clasps during the ascension were types of the ritualistic hand clasping rites of passage in the mysteries and sacraments. Thus, as proxies*

(Note: Certainly, in the Catholic rites, the idea of how the sponsor answers for the child by proxy at the time of the "baptism," the anointing, & the placing of the white cloth on the child's head, etc. All these later traditional & later ceremonies seem to suggest fragmented hints to the use of a proxies, anointings, and garments. (The Reign of Antichrist, Sjodahl, op. cit., pp.24-30, & 36-45.)

in earth life, as they were passing through these rites of passage, on the other side, those to whom the work was being done for were also passing through the heavenly coronation ceremonies, and rites of passage with the angels as they literally ascended out of the spirit prison towards paradise. At least, this is what numerous art works, & writings seem to suggest.
Note: A later Christian mosaic on the cupola of the Baptistery of S. Giovanni, Florence, 13th century A.D., shows an angel conducts the souls of the virtuous to the door of paradise. Another angel is standing inside the half-open door and welcomes a soul by clasping, with the right hand, the soul's right hand. (Heaven and Hell in Western Art, Huges, op. cit., pp.180-191; History of Italian, Renaissance Art, Hartt, 4th ed., 1994, op. cit., p. 59, colorplate 19, dated in this source as being the 2nd half of the 13th century A.D. In the Gospel of Nicodemus, "all the saints were joined together, hand in hand, and the Lord Jesus laid hold on Adam's hand, and ascended from hell, and all the saints of God followed him." (Citing from Nic. Apoc. chap. 16 & 19). When the saints arrived in paradise, two "very ancient men" met them, and they were asked by the saints: "Who are ye, who have not been with us in hell, and have had your bodies placed in paradise?" One of them answered: "I am Enoch, who was translated by the word of God". The other man was Elijah the Tishbite. (Nic. Apoc. 20), mentioned by Doane in his Bible Myths, pp. 211-214. ).
Tertullian and Augustine saw a type of baptism in how the Israelites crossed through the Red Sea, while the Egyptians were drowned. The drowning Egyptians in the story were a type of how the devil was said to have been drowned in baptism. (Monumental Christianity, Lundy, op. cit., pp. 380-1).

Since some of the art works about Christ's descent into limbo, hades, the grave, etc., were found near, or on baptismal fonts. And since, in many of art works and writings, the devil and his demons were being thrust through with different types of weapon-crosses, and crushed under the doors of hades, limbo, or hell, etc., as Christ and hosts of the freed resurrected come forth out of the spirit prison. And since some fonts show beasts being crushed by the baptismal font too. And since the descent down into the font was seen as a type of Christ's descent. It may be that the proxy, or those being baptized for the dead, they may have thought of themselves as having defeated the devil in an under world battle to free their dead relatives or other spirits from hades, limbo, etc., during baptism or other rites performed for the dead.

Art of The Early Middle Ages, text by Francois Souchal, Pub. by Harry N. Abrams, N.Y., p. 134, A font shows inscriptions of scenes from the life of Christ. Christ in glory appears in a mandorla surrounded by symbols representing the Evangelists. Below are monsters symbolic of the forces of Evil, they are being crushed by "the grace of baptism." A font at EARDISLEY (HEREFORDSHIRE), ST. MARY MAGDALENE, is goblet/shaped and dates back to 1145 A.D. On it is a depiction of the descent, for with his left hand, Christ clasps the wrist of Adam to raise him up out of limbo. See: Romanesque Art In Europe, edited by Gustav Kunstler, 1968, Pub. New York Graphic Soc., LTD., Greenwich Connecticut, pp.264-5, fig.226; see also: Roger J. Adams, The Iconography of Early Christian Initiation: Evidence for Baptisms for the Dead, (unpublished manuscript 1977); Huge Nibley's Baptism for the Dead in Ancient Time, Improvement Era 51-2, (Dec. 1948-- April 1949, see also note 35, Evang. Nicodemi, c. 15; Tischendorf, Evangelia (Leipzig, 1876), 389-91; Bernard M. Foschini, Those Who Are Baptized for the Dead, Catholic Biblical Quarterly 13 (1951): 328-44; The Temple in Antiquity, edited by Truman Madesn, 1984, p. 12, & note 37 on p. 18; Nicodemus was the disciple of Christ as referred to in John 3:1; 7:50; 19:39. In Nicodemus 21:13, two sons of the high priest of Simeon were among those resurrected from the dead at the time of the resurrection of Christ (Matt. 27:52). They were also baptized in the river of Jordan.

Note: Second Gospel of Nicodemus, in 14 Sacred Books and Literature of the Far East, p. 360, Chapter 27. The angel Michael appointed them to go and preach the resurrection, but first, they were to go and be baptized at the river Jordan. Thus, they went and were baptized with the other dead who had arisen. See also: Christ Lore, Hackwood, op. cit., p. 163-4; The Sacred Books And Early Literature Of The East, Horne, op. cit., pp. 23-24, & pp. 30, 36, 41, : During the rite of baptism for the Adam who was once dead, as with the others, they were promised that they would be raised up during Christ descent, and would be baptized, and anointed with oil, and then would ascend into paradise with archangel Michael as their guide. See also pp. 327-380, for different versions of the Gospel of Nicodemus.

Some versions about the descent say that it begun at midnight in the nether world. A bright light shown forth in the darkness like unto the light from the sun. Abraham, (other version have) Adam commenting about bright light. Isaiah and John the Baptist repeat prophecies they made about it. John warns the idolaters to take their last chance to repent by worshiping Christ. Death and Satan talk with each other about how Jesus had taken Lazarus away, and Death feared that all of the dead would be soon taken out of hell. Thunder is heard with the command to lift up the gaits so that the King of glory can come in. Satan and his demons attempt to bar the gates, asking who is this King of Glory? Isaiah and David, and the other prophets mock the devil and his demons. Angels answer back from the other side of the gates that it is the Lord might in battle. The gates of brass break and the bars of iron break and in through the doors comes the King of glory. Light floods all the dark places of death, and the bound are set free. Death and his host protest and ask who this King is that has so much power over the living and the dead? Christ seizes satan and tells the angels to gag his mouth, bind him hand and foot and then have Death hold him until the second coming. While Death scorns satan, Christ lifts up Adam and takes him over into paradise along with the other patriarchs, prophets, martyrs and forefathers. He blesses them all by making the sign of the cross. Enoch and Elijah meet them at the gait, they are joined by the penitent thief who gives them Christ's promise to him, as a password. "In some sense the risen dead are certainly thought to be on earth, for some of them were baptized in the Jordan and kept the passover of the resurrection in Jerusalem." (See: Christian Mythology, Every, op. cit., p.65; The 40 Days, King, 1949, op. cit., pp. 15-20. By Study And Also By Faith, Vol. 1, Edited by John M. Lundquist And Stephen D. Ricks, 1990, D.B.C & F.A.R.M.S., Provo & S.L.C., Ut., pp. 225-256, & p. 325, note 126. End Note
An early Christian work that was even among the earlier canonical books of the New Testament for some time, but was later taken out, was the second century apocalypse known as the Shepherd of Hermas.
Note: Early Christian Art and Architecture, by Robert Milburn, 1988, Un. of Calif., Press, Berkeley and L.A., p.55; The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol.2, Intro. note to Hermas, p.3-7; Mormon Issues #1, April, 1991, p.4, Bible, So Many Versions, by Van Hale & Bill Forrest with Don Bradley on this issue. See also: Apostasy to Restoration, by T. Edgar Lyon, Deseret Book Co. SLC., Ut., 1960, p.67; John P. Lundy wrote that that the Shepherd of Hermas "was the most popular of books in the Christian community, i. e., from the second to the fifth centuries" (Monumental Christianity, by John P. Lundy, Pub., in N.Y., J W Bouton, 1876, p.196). "The Shepherd of Hermas was treated by some of the early fathers as if it formed part of the canon of scripture,..." (Butler's Lives of the Saints, revised edition by Herbert Thurston, S.J., and Donald Attwater, Vol.III, July . August . September, Pub. P.J. Kenedy & Sons, N.Y., 1956, p.678). See also: 1000 Evidences, by Allen H. Richardson, David E. Richardson, & Anthony E. Bentley, 1994, Hawks Pub., Inc., S.L.C., Utah, Vol. 1, pp. 294-5, Evidence No. 471: Redemption For The Dead; Encyclopedia Of Early Christianity, Ferguson, op. cit., p. 421.
In the Ninth Similitude of Hermas: "...And I said, `Why then, Sir, did these forty stones also ascend with them out of the deep, having already received that seal.' He answered, 'Because these apostles and teachers who preached the name of the Son of God, dying after they had received his faith and power, preached to them who were dead before; and they gave this seal to them. They went down, therefore, into the water with them, and again come up. But these went down whilst they were alive, and came up alive; whereas those, who were before dead, went down dead, but came up alive. Through these therefore, they received life, and know the Son of God; for which cause they came up with them, and were fit to come into the building of the tower; and were not cut, but put in entire; because they died in righteousness and in great purity only this seal was wanting to them. Thus you have the explication of these things'".
Note: Barker mentions a source that says that: "The idea that hearing the gospel and baptism is necessary for salvation of the righteous dead of pre-Christian times is common." (Apostasy From The Divine Church, by James L. Barker, Pub. by Kate Montgomery Barker, 1960, p. 63, note 20, citing Lake, footnote 1, in his translation of the Shepherd in Apostolic Fathers, Vol. II, p. 263, in The Loeb Classical Library).
Some time between about A.D. 150-200, "...Valentinian Theodotus... associates the baptism for the dead in the New Testament with the heavenly model of angels baptism: "`Those who are baptized for the dead' are the angels who are baptized for us (who being mortal are as dead), in order that we too, posessing the (baptismal) name, may not be held back (at the ascent) and be prevented by the `border post' (horos) from entering into the Pleroma."
Gnosis, Rudolph, op. cit., pp. 228, see note * Clem. Alex., Ex Theodoto 22, 4, see also p. 378 for date.
"In the sphere of doctrine a natural consequence of the stress laid on the necessity of baptism was inquiry into the ultimate fate of the righteous unbaptized dead. Hermas settled this inquiry by ascribing to the apostles the function of baptizing in Hades." (Unknown source). Clement of Alexandria In Book 2, Chapter 9 of his Miscellanies," [See: (TANF) 2: p.357; Nibley note an ancient Christian belief that John the Baptist was believed to have continued his mission as a prophet and baptizer even after John had been martyred. Others descended after that, such as Christ, the Apostles, and others. They preached the gospel and baptized too. See: Codex Vaticanus 3848, cited by Nibley, in his Mormonism and Early Christianity, see note 115; see also: Sheperd of Hermas, Sim. III, 9, 16; Max Dressel, Patrum Apostolicorum Opera (Leipzig, 1863), 548-49, & 631.

"Clement of Alexandria, who lived about 150 A.D., and whose eminence in learning and integrity stand forth in brilliant outline among the church fathers of the earliest times, has likewise discussed the subject of baptisms for the dead, and interprets the vision of Hermas as applicable to the Gentiles and the Jews. Says he: "And the Shepherd, speaking plainly of those who had fallen asleep, recognizes certain righteous among Gentiles and Jews, not only before the appearance of Christ , but before the law, in virtue of acceptance before God- as Abel, as Noah, as any other righteous man. He says accordingly,'that the apostles and teachers, who preached the name of the Son of God, and had fallen asleep, in power and by faith preached to these that had fallen asleep before.' Then he subjoins `And they have them the seal of preaching. They descended, therefore, with them into the water, and again ascended. But these descended alive, and again ascended alive. But those, who had fallen asleep before, descended alive, and know the name of the son of God. Wherefore, they also ascended with them, and fitted into the structure of the tower, and un hewn were built up together; they fell asleep in righteousness and in great purity, and wanted only this seal.' 'For when the gentiles, which have not the law do by nature the thing of the law, these having not the law,are a law unto themselves.' according to the apostle." See also: Clement of Alexandria, Stromata III, 6, in PG 9:268; Stromata II, 9, in PG 8:980; Hermas, Sim. 9, 16.

Ariel L. Crowley cautioned that the so-called Epistle of Kallikrates, a fragment of a second century Greek uncial manuscript, consisting of 34 pages, is, in fact "a work of fiction, conceived in the fertile imagination of Dr. Witherow". Therefore, it is not to be considered as an ancient source with regards to baptism for the dead. The Improvement Era, Vol. 48, No. 7, July 1945, pp. 386, & 430, The Epistle of Kallikrates and Baptism for the Dead, by Ariel L. Crowley, LL.B.
"...Tertullian: Quintus Septimus Florens Tertullianus, prince of Christian historians, born 155 A.D., is called the creator of Christian Latin Literature. Certain it is that in the west he was the greatest of ancient church writers. In his admirable dissertation on the resurrection of the flesh, he has occasion to consider the meaning of I Cor. 15:29, wherein Paul makes reference to baptism for the dead as herein before set forth. As a commentary upon that passage, Tertullian says (De Res. Ch. 28.)

"If therefore, we are to rise again after the example of Christ, who rose in the flesh, we shall certainly not rise according to that example unless we shall ourselves rise again the flesh. ...For if 'as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive' their vivification in Christ must be in the flesh, since it is in the flesh that arises their death in Adam. 'But every man in his own order' because of course it will be also every man in his own body. For the order will be arranged severally, on account of the individual merits.

Now as the merits must be ascribed to the body, it must needs follow that the order also should be arranged in respect of the bodies, that it may be in relation to their merits. But inasmuch as `some are also baptized for the dead' we will see whether there be a good reason for this.
Now it is certain that they adopted this practice with such a presumption as made them suppose that the vicarious baptism in question would be beneficial to the flesh of another anticipating of the resurrection; for unless it were bodily resurrection there would be no pledge secured by this process of a corporeal baptism, "Why are they then baptized for the dead" he asked, "unless the bodies rise again which are thus baptized?"

When Tertullian became a Montanist later on in his life, he must have known that they practiced baptism for the dead, and he may have even took part in them too. He seems to hint to this while writing as a Montanist against the Church of Rome. "Whence, too, it was that there flowed out of the wound in the Lord's side water and blood, the materials of either baptism." Numerous art works, writings, and legends in later centuries would depict Adam's grave under the cross. The blood and water from Christ's wounds was believed to be a sort of baptism, thus, the bones of Adam were washed and baptized. These later legends, etc., may have been based on earlier types and symbols for baptism for the dead, which eventually became corrupted and legendized in later centuries. Tertullian may have accepted an earlier version of this tradition as a type of baptism for the dead.

The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. IV, pp. 99-101, Tertullian, On Modesty, Chap. XXII; Metamorphosis Of A Death Symbol, (The Transi Tomb in the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance), by Kathleen Cohen, Un. of Calif. Press, Berkeley, L.A., London, C/R 1973, by the Regents of the Un. of Calif., pp. 104-119.

Irenaeus, bishop at Lyon at the end of the second century after Christ, wrote of baptisms for the dead (I, 14:2) (Hastings): "The seven varieties are as follows:...(g) Finally, there were those who in other respects seem to have agreed with those mentioned above as the fifth party (those who use oil and water in the ordinance of baptism instead of merely water) but deferred baptism until after death. Epiphanius perhaps thought that this must mean `in articule mortis' (Epiph. 36:2) but the text of the Latin Irenaeus is clear: `Alli sunt qui mortuos rediment ad finen defunctionis, mittenten exorum capitibus oleum et aquam' alludes to the same practice (HE L:11). The object of this was to safeguard the soul of the dead person in its journey through the realm of the spirit world. This view may be paralleled with the Pistis Sophia, and seems to have Egyptian affinities." Hastings of Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, supra, Vol 2, p. 388.
At the end of the 2nd century A.D., St. Cyprian of Antioch says in a prayer for the dead: "Father, deliver his soul as thou has delivered Jonah from the sea monster, the young Hebrews from the furnace, Daniel from the lion's den, Susanna from the hands of the elders...."
Religious Art In France, (12th century, A study of the Origins of Medieval Iconography), by Emile Male, Bollingen Series XC - 1, Princeton Un., Press, 1978, p. 52.

Eznik: This man, Christian Armenian, wrote an attack upon the doctrines of Marcion. Marcion, disciple of Paul, caused the ordinance of baptisms for the dead to be observed in all the widespread Marcionite churches. Beyond the fact that he was one of the earliest of the writers of the faith, I have not been able to give a definite date to the writings of Eznik.
Marcion was a wealthy shipowner on the Euxine, he held to the teachings of Paul, and founded a system of Christian thought and practice based on the teachings of Paul. He was affiliated with the church at Rome, and left that church in 144 A.D. The doctrine of baptisms for the dead played important parts in his version of Christianity.

Ency. Vol. C, p. 172; Fisher, Hist of the Church, 77; Smith Dict. 242; Ency.Brit. Art. Marcion; Apostasy from the Divine Church, Barker, op. cit., p. 64.

Nibley notes that the Marcionites could not accept many of the other early Christians' beliefs that the Hebrew prophets and Patriarchs had recieved the preaching and the seal of baptism, for they believed that it was the prophets' and patriarchs' enemies that had, and thus, according to Marcionite beliefs, they were the only ones to be liberated by Christ when he descended.
Mormonism and Early Christianity, Nibley, op. cit., note 120, Theodoretus, Haereticae Fabulae (Heretical Tales) 1, 24, in PG 83:373, 376; Epiphanius, Adversus Haereses (Against Heresies) 42, 4, in PG 41:700-701; Irenaeus, Against Heresies I, 27, 3, PG 7:689; The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1, p. 352, Irenaeus Against Heresies, Book I, Chap. XXVII:2-3).

Despite the fact that Marcion was assailed most bitterly by Tertullian on other matters, on the matter of baptism for the dead, Tertullian leaves him unscathed, and on the contrary recognized the doctrine as accurately Pauline (Res. 48; Adv. Mar. 5:10).

While the writer of the "Five Books in Reply to Marcion" scourged Marcion on everything except baptism for the dead, the writer praised the Shepherd of Hermas, who also wrote about baptism for the dead. And so the writer, who ever they may have been, may have agreed on the practice. In the case with Tertullian, he too wrote many things against Marcion, and yet he still may have felt that baptism for the dead was not too much of an issue to make a big fuss over, for he later forsook the Church at Rome to became a Montanist, which sect accepted the doctrine of baptism for the dead, like the Marcionites did.

Montanus was said to be a Christian prophet about 156 A.D., in the reign of Zntoninus Pius, at Ardabau in Nysia, near the Phrygian border. Philastrius, Bishop of Brascia, writing in 350 A.D. (WE Haeres c. 2) makes note that: "The practice of baptism for the dead prevailed most among the Phrygian followers of Montanus." In the University Encyclopedia, under the heading "Baptism" it says that: "The Montanists in Africa baptized even the dead."

Note: Peterson & Ricks mention the "Montanist" as having performed baptism for the dead. They mention the practice of prayers for the dead by Roman Catholics. (Offenders For A Word, Peterson & Ricks, op. cit., p.108-110; The Temple And Its Significance, Muren, op. cit., 1973, p.4, see the Encyclopedia Britannica, "Baptism", "The Montanists in Africa believe in baptism for the dead. Justin Martyr says, A.D. 90: "Candidates for baptism fasted for one or two days as would their sponsors. The candidates stepped into the font quite naked, bishops, priests, and decons officiated. After the candidate came out of the water he was breathed upon to excorise the devils.
He was given symbolically milk, honey, and salt. He was touched upon the arms, lips, and nose with spittle, accompanied by a ceremony of words. He was anointed with oil, then he was clothed in a white robe, and was given a new name."


In John P. Lundy's Monumental Christianity, he wrote of a curious custom that prevailed in the primitive Church. That of "baptizing the dead through some living person taking the responsibility. St. Paul alludes to it, in his great argument on the resurrection, (1 Cor. 15:29), but neither condemns nor approves the practice. A century and a half later the Marcionites also denied the resurrection of the body, as they of St. Paul's day did: and Tertullian in twice speaking of it, says: "No matter what the practice was, the Februarian lustrations will perhaps answer him (Marcion) quite as well, by praying for the dead. Do not then suppose that the Apostle here indicates some new author and advocate of this custom. His only aim in alluding to it was that he might all the more firmly insist upon the resurrection of the body, in proportion as they who were vainly baptized for the dead resorted to the practice from their belief of a resurrection. We have the Apostle in another passage defining but `one Baptism.' To be `baptized for the dead.' therefore, means, in fact, to be baptized for the body; for it is the body which becomes dead. What, then, shall they do who are baptized for the body, if the body rise not again?" (n. 4. "Marcion, lib.v.c.10.")

Lundy give us another quote from Tertullian: "But inasmuch as `some are also baptized for the dead,' we will see whether there be good reason for this. Now it is certain that they adopted this practice with such a presumption as made them suppose that such vicarious baptism would be beneficial to the flesh of another, in anticipation of the resurrection; for unless it were a bodily one there would be no pledge secured by this process of a corporeal baptism." "Why are they then baptized for the dead," he asks, "unless the bodies rise again which are thus baptized? For it is not the soul which is sanctified by the baptismal bath; its sanctification comes from the answer of a good conscience." (n. 5. "De Res. Car., c.48.") Lundy then wrote that from these two passages from Tertullian, "the practice of baptizing for the dead was wholly in the belief of a bodily resurrection, as a substitute for the Pagan lustrations and prayers for the happiness and welfare of the dead, whom surviving friends never hoped to see again in a resurrection body. This Pagan custom was observed on the 15th of February. But the practice of baptizing for the dead was discontinued by the council of Carthage, at the end of the 4th century." (Monumental Christianity, Lundy, op. cit., p.382-3).

Nibley observed through historical writings, that Tertullian may have agreed with the practice at first, but later began to have doubts: "I don't believe that the Apostle was giving his approval to the practice, but rather signifying that those who practiced it thereby indicated their belief in a physical resurrection, being foolishly (vane) baptized for the dead.... For elsewhere he speaks of only one baptism. Therefore to baptize "for the dead" means to baptize for bodies; for the body, as we have demonstrated, is really dead."

Mormonism and Early Christianity, Nibley, op. cit., pp. 121-5, notes pp. 203-4, note 132, Tertullian, Adversus Marcionem (Against Marcion), 5, 10, in PL 2.495; see also note 131, Tertullian, De Resurrectione (On the Resurrection), 48, in PL 2:864; see also: Roger Adam's thesis: Baptism for the Dead, pp. 148-151, Appendix, citing from: PL II, pp. 526-7; Tertullian Operum Pars II. Series 1, Polemica. Lib. V Adv. Marcionem, 10; PL II, p. 912; Tertullian Operum Pars II. Series 1, Polemica. Liber de Resurrectione Carnis, 48.
Mani [born about 216 A.D.], became the founder of a Christian sect known as the Mandeans. About 250-300 A.D., a number of Mandean writings were composed, and which made references to hymns for the mass for the dead, plus other rituals which included hand clasps as part of the ritualistic journey of the soul. Three immersion baptisms, laying on of hands, crowning with a myrtle, anointing, a sacramental meal, plus the "hand-clasp with the right hand which priest and neophyte exchange at the ceremony" followed by prayers, etc., all these were part of the Mandean rites of passage. The mass for the dead was called the masiqta, and it was celebrated at the death of a believer and served to help the ascension of the soul into the realm of light. Elaborate ceremonies for the dead were developed by the Mandeans. "Meals in memory of the dead, like baptismal ceremonies, belong almost to every Mandean feast and thus reveal an essential side of the Mandean world of faith."

Gnosis, Rudolph, op. cit., pp. 345, 360-2, & 378, see fig. 44.
Chrysostum was the patriarch of Constantinople, he lived about 347407 A.D., and was a native of Antioch. He wrote of how the Marcionites practiced the rite, for: "After a catechumen was dead they had a living man under the bed of the deceased; then coming to the dead man they asked him whether he would receive baptism, and he making no answer, the other answered for him, and said he would be baptized in his stead; and so they baptized the living for the dead." He also wrote: "For to be baptized and submerged and then to come back and emerge once more is a symbol or sign of the descent to the lower regions and the ascent from there."
PG LXI, p. 347, In Epist. I AD Cor.; I Smith Dict. of the Bible 242; PG, 61, 348.
St. Ambrose [A.D. 340-397], wrote of baptism for the dead: "Fearing that a dead person who had never been baptized would be resurrected badly (male) or not at all, a living person would be baptized in the name of the dead one. Hence he (Paul) adds: `Else why are they baptized for them?' According to this, he does not approve of what is done but shows the firm faith in the resurrection (that it implies)."

Migne, Patrologie Latine, XVII, p. 279; Ad Opera S. Ambrosii Appendix, Comment. In Epist. 1 Ad Cor. 163f. See also: Roger Adam, Baptism for the Dead, op. cit., pp.153-154.
Seaich tells us that Ignatius, Ambrose and later Augustine are said to have attested to the former practice of baptism for the dead, even though they no longer approved of it.
Ancient Texts And Mormonism, Seaich, op. cit., p. 67, & notes 258-60 on pp. 135-6, making references to Ambrose, Commentarty on 1 Corinthians in the Latin Patrologia 17:163f; Ignatius, Epistle to the Magnesians VIII.1 and IX.2; Augustine, Contra Julianum (Against Julian the Apostate), in the Latin Patrologia 45:1596-7.

Cerinthus was a Christian, who some considered as heretical, for his doctrine were a curious blend of Judaism, Christianity and Gnosticism. Among his disciples the doctrine of baptism for the dead also prevailed. Epiphanius notes this, (Haeres 28), and so also does Irenaeus (3:2; Acv. Haer. I, 26:1).

Epiphanius was a Jew, born in Palestine, and was bishop at Constantia in 367 A.D. He is the staunch denouncer of heresies who assailed John of Jerusalem so violently from his own pulpit that John was forced to beg him to desist. In his work against heresies he says (23:7): "In this country, I mean Asia, and even in Galatia, their (the Marcionite) school flourished eminently; and a traditional tact concerning them has reached us, that when any of them had died without baptism, they used to baptize others in their name, lest in the resurrection they should suffer punishment as unbaptized."

During the late 4th century, Epiphanius related that the custom of baptism for the dead prevailed among the Cerinthians, which he said prevailed from the fear that in the resurrection those who should suffer punishment would be those who had been unbaptized. Also, the dead were remembered by performing ritual prayers, by carrying out certain ordinances, and by making special arrangements (oikonomias). He had heard reports from Asia and Gaul of a certain practice, that when a person died without baptism, another was baptized in their place, and in their name. In so doing this, they would not have to pay the penalty of having failed to receive baptism. They had based this tradition on Paul's writings (1 Cor. 15:29).
Smith, in his larger Dictionary of the Bible, p. 242; Ancient Text And Mormonism, Seaich, op. cit., pp. 65-7, note 251 on p.135, Against Heresies I.23; 3:77; 7:21.

J. K. Howard and John Short argued that despite the doubts that some members of the church had about baptism for the dead, there were others who were firm in the practice because of their belief in the resurrection. Thus, "they submitted to this rite of vicarious baptism on behalf of certain of their brethren, probably catachumens, who had passed away before they had been baptized and received into full membership of the Church."
Ibid., Seaich, pp. 68, & 136, notes 268-9, Howard, 1965, in Evangelical Quarterly 37, 137-46; and Short in Interpreter's Bible, X:240.

Ariel L. Crowley, in his "BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD" suggests a number of ancient places in which the doctrine and practice of baptism for the dead may have been taught and practiced. Such as Ephesus, Constantinople, Armenia, Rome, Carthage, Corinth, Phillipi, Caesarea, Alexandria, various churches in Greece, the general area of the province of Asia, Galatia, Constantia, Ardubau, Phrygia, Africa in general, Brascia, and Armenia.

Nicolaus was one of the seven deacons appointed in the apostolic church, as recorded in Acts 6:3. Tertullian (Adv. Haer. C. 1), suggested that Nicolaus became a heretic. Nicolaus bacame the founder of a sect known as the Nicolaitans. Irenaeus says that Nicolaus was the actual founder and promulgator of the doctrines of Coriathus, some of these doctrines also included baptism for the dead. Nicolaus, in Acts 6:5, was a proselyte at Antioch. He may have learned of baptism for the dead from the elders, but later strayed away into paths which caused others to consider him to be a heretic.

Philastrius was Bishop of Brascia, about 350 A.D., and died about A.D. 397, he wrote De Haeres, in c. 2, he mentions the practice of baptism for the dead which prevailed among the Phrygian followers of Montanus. He said "they baptized their dead and openly solemnized such mysteries (secret rites)."

Philastruis, as noted by Edward Hayes, Professor of New Testament Exegesis in King's College, London, in his Dictionary of Christian Antiquities (Smith & Chesthan Eu); see also: Baptism for the Dead, Adam, op. cit., p. 155, Migne, Pat. Lat., XII, p. 1166; Sanctus Philastrius, Liber de Haeresibus, XLIX Cataphryges.

Theodoret was born about 366 A.D., in Antioch, and was bishop at Cyrrhus, in the district between Antioch in Syria and the Euphrates River. He wrote five volumes of history in addition to his dogmatic works. As a historian, He noted how that the practice of baptism for the dead had prevailed in the ancient church. (See his church history (HE 1:11).


Marcus, whose followers are familiar with church history under the name "Marcosians" was a Velantinian of South Gaul, who lived about 150 A.D. His influence and following extended round the Mediterranean Sea into Asia minor. In II Mythology of All Races 409, it says that: "Baptism for the dead seems to have been practiced in such cases by the Marcosians, and there are a few traces of parallel custom of vicarious baptism." (See also 27 Ency. Brit. (11th ed.) 852d and Irenaeus, Au. Haer. 1:1321).

Nibley noted some of the explanations and theories that some had about these practices. One was to explain the rite as the actual baptism of dead bodies. Another was that before the righteous could enter Paradise, Christ must first lead them through a fiery river to receive baptism. Origen says that no one could be baptized in this river unless they had first been baptized with water and the Holy Ghost on earth.

Mormonism and Early Christianity, Nibley, op. cit., note 129, Origen, Homily on Luke 24, in PG 13:1864-65.

Eventually, the practice of baptism for the dead must have been distorted into that of baptism of the dead. If this distorted version was being practiced by some Christian sects during the time Celsus wrote his "On the True Doctrine" about 170-80 A.D., he may have noted it, for he had argued & charged that the Christians were "grave robbers". He also may have noted that there were some Christian sects who practiced baptism for the dead too.

Celsus On The True Doctrine, op. cit., pp.65-6 & 74; The Ante-Nicene Fathers, 4: pp. 419-20, bk.1 chap.liii, p. 448, bk.2 chap. xliii. p. 454, chap. lvi. p.458, chap. lxvii, p.487, bk.3 chap. lix. Some writers suggest that there were some groups who did baptized the dead. See: "Those Who Are Baptized For The Dead," Foschini, op. cit., pp. 40-1; Primitive Christianity And Early Criticisms, by A. S. Garretson, 1912, Boston, Sherman, French & Co., pp. 87-8.
Further retrogression away from the original practice of baptism for the dead, may have resulted in how some of the later Christians towards the end of the 4th century A.D., had retrogressed to the point where they offered food & drink for the dead. Pagan customs were also being Christianized by this time too, for some Christians regularly attended pagan commemorative celebrations. Paxton tells us that: "The Syriac Apostolic Constitutions (ca. 380), for example, warned Christians not to overindulge at such events, but did not proscribe them. Under such circumstances, it is no wonder that Christians continued to celebrate with food and drink, song and dance, during commemorations for Christian dead, especially for martyrs and saints. In the West, during Augustine's day, he tried to alter such behavior. His strategy was to raise the issue whether the dead could really be aided by the living and to redirect the outlay of food and drink away from the grave site toward the living poor. In his tract on care of the dead, he argued that the acts of the living are more for their own benefit than for the good of the dead, and in a letter to Bishop Aurelius of Carthage he suggested that "if anyone for the sake of religion should wish to offer something of money, let it be paid out directly to the poor."
Christianizing Death, Paxton, op. cit., pp. 26-7, see notes 32 and 33, Didascalia et Constitutiones Apostolorum, ed., Funk, I.555, 8.44; Augustine, De cura pro mortuis gerenda, ed. Joseph Zycha, CSEL 41 (Vienna, 1900), 623; and Epistulae, ed. A. Goldbacher, CSEL 43 (Vienna, 1895), I.59 letter 22.6; See also: The Appointed Hour, (Death, Worldview, and Social Change in Brittany), by Ellen Badone, Un. of California Press, Berkeley, L.A., Lond., 1989, on p. 63-64.

A number of years after the The Syriac Apostolic Constitutions (ca. 380), was written, a number of Christians gathered in Councils to deal with what may have been further distortions, practices & retrogressed versions of baptism for the dead, which, by that time, may have eventually been changed into baptisms of the dead, etc. Thus, at the Council at Hippo, a church synod convened at Hippo in Africa in 393 A.D., in number 4 in the second series it reads that: "The eucharist shall not be given to dead bodies, nor baptism conferred upon them." In the same meeting, in the thirty-second canon of the second series it says that: "Sick persons, no longer able to speak, but whose relations testify that they had desired baptism shall be baptized."
During the Third Council of Carthage, in North Africa, and in the year 397 A.D., about four years after the council at Hippo. In its sixth canon, it readopted the fourth canon of the second series adopted at Hippo, an indication that during the interim the practice of baptism for the dead, so far as it related to baptism of dead bodies, had not been fully stamped out. During the Fourth Council of Carthage, in the year 398 A.D., in the seventy-ninth canon, the provision was made for the zealous penitents who had die accidentally at sea, or on a journey in which no one was able to come to their assistance. The Christians could then offer prayers in their behalf.
Adam, op. cit., p.156, Joannes Dominius, Sacrorum Conciliorum Nova, et Amplissima Collectio, Florentiae 1759, p. 887; The Nicene And Post Nicene Fathers, Vol. XIV, pp. 450-1; "Those Who Are Baptized For The Dead," Foschini, op. cit., pp. 40-43, & 52-3; The Reign of Antichrist, Sjodahl, op. cit., p.49; Christianizing Death, Paxton, op. cit., p. 33, & note 61. The practice of administering the Eucharist to corpses was condemned in 393 at a North African council and as late as the end of the 6th century A.D., at a council in Auxerre. Note 61, Concilia Africae a. 345-a. 525, ed. C. Munier (Turnhout, 1974), 21, Concilium Hipponense, c. 4; Concilia Galliae a. 511-a. 695, ed. Carlo de Clercq (Turnhout, 1963), 267, Synodus dioecesana Autissiodorensis, c. 12. Despite the efforts of these councils to discontinue and discourage the practice of baptism of the dead, in certain places, baptizing the dead, especially still borns, still continued to be practiced in certain places, even down into the 18th and 19th centuries. See: H. Schaverte, Die Totentaufe, Theolglaub 50 (3, `60) 210-214, & 199.

St. Augustine seems to have been interpreted by some writers as having rejected how some had interpreted 1 Cor. 15:29 as suggesting that baptism for the dead could be traced back to the apostolic times. For that passage, he says, was the source of their error, "by which some think there had been in Gospel times a custom of pouring the waters of Baptism over the bodies of the dead."

"Those Who Are Baptized For The Dead" by Fr. Bernard M. Foschini, 1951, op. cit. The Mormon interpretation of Paul, and the ancient & modern practice of baptism for the Dead was strongly rejected by Foschini. On p. 60 he cites St. Augustine, see note 221, In St. Augustine, o.c., 1. VI, no. 38, P.L., 45, 1597. On pp. 60 and 80, Julian is said to have not accepted how some had interpreted Paul, while Augustine also rejected Julian's comments on this passage too. See also: The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Vol. 12, July 1950; By Study and Also By Faith, Vol. 1, p. xxi.
Sacraments for the dead remained in the eye of the fathers for many years, for in the 16th Council of Carthage, held in 418 A.D., "If any man says that in the kingdom of heaven or else where there is a certain middle place where children who die unbaptized live in bliss, whereas without baptism they cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven, that is, into eternal life, let him be anathema."

By 442 A.D., a synod convened at Viason, adopted as its second canon the chance for those who were, or had gone through penance, but had unexpectedly died to be accepted, and their memory and funeral was to be celebrated with ecclesiastical love. They were not to be excluded from the saving sacrifice & mysteries, even though they had been earlier because of sin before their penance.

A fortiori, these just men who have died without baptism, by no fault of their own, is it not "wrong" if they shall "be excluded from the saving sacrifice?"
In the second synod at Arles, about 443 A.D., the precise date being now uncertain, it adopted as its twelfth canon a provision that says that if any one should die during their time of penitence, their oblations were to be accepted.

It seems that even though some councils had attempted to smother out what may have been some of the distorted versions of baptism for the dead, despite this, as one historian notes: "In all parts of the church, and for some centuries we find traces of the prevalence of the practice of administering baptism to the corpse." (Dr. Charles Joseph Hefele, Bishop of Rottenbun, as translated from the German by Henry N. Oxenham of Oxford, under the title History of the Councils of the Church from the Original Documents.)

Other distorted fragmented reminders of baptism for the dead may have eventually retrogressed to become such practices as that of the placing of the Eucharist within the lips of a dead person. This was rejected in the 3rd Council of Carthage (397 A.D. c 6), in the Council of Trullo at Constantinople (A.D. 692 C 83), in that of Auxerre (A.D. 578, c. 12) and in the canons of Boniface, bishop of Maintz (c.20). Also, Gregory of Nazianzum (O. 40) warned against it too.
Cyprian (Epist. 66, p. 114 ed. Bened.) ordered that no prayers should be said, nor sacrifices offered for Geminius Victor who was dead. The reason being that Victor had appointed a priest named Geminius Faustinus as guardian to his children to act after his death. Such appointments had been forbidden by a council in Africa under Agrippinus.

It may be that prayers for the dead, & to the dead, eventually began to be more popular and accepted in the minds of later Christians. Perhaps in some way, and in the minds of later Christians, prayers for the dead may have began to serve the same results as that which baptism for the dead had earlier. "Apparently, this divine practice of baptism for the dead was substituted with prayers and candles to assist endangered souls in limbo to escape the fires of purgatory, and eventually lost altogether during the long night of apostate darkness."
1000 Evidences, op. cit., Vol. 1, p. 295; The Ceremonies Of The Roman Rite Described, by Adrian Fortescue and J. B. O'Connell, Pub. The Newman Press, Westminster. Maryland, 1962, Chapter VII, pp. 81, & 163-4, chapter XVIII, pp. 200-1; Dictionary of the Middle Ages, by Joseph R. Strayer, Editor in Chief, Vol. 10, pp. 215-17, Augustine, (d. 430) is said to have taught that suffrages--prayers, alms, and celebrations of Mass performed by the living on behalf of the dead-- were effective substitutes for the temporal punishment due to sin." Purgatory was said to be a place in between heaven and hell where souls went for further cleansing. See also: Christianizing Death, Paxton, op. cit., pp. 17-18, 20-21, & 26, etc; Metamorphosis Of A Death Symbol, (The Transi Tomb in the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance), by Kathleen Cohen, Un. of Calif., Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles, London, CR 1973 by The Regents of the Un. of Calif., pp. 96, 98-9, the alchemist Nicholas Flamel (died 1418) was concerned about his soul, and the souls of others and so he had a tombstone prepared before his death which had inscription of "Flamel's numerous bequests given in return for prayers separates the upper register from the lower." Note 11 says: "Flamel's concern with prayers for his soul and for the souls of other deceased sinners is illustrated by the almshouse he built in Paris, the Maison du Grand Pignon."
When St. Ephraem was near death, he told his disciples to make a rememberance of him 30 days after he died. He said that the dead are helped by the offerings made by the living. He made reference to 1 Cor. 15:29 as scriptural proof text to show this was so. He mentioned other cases, such as that of the men of Matthatias, (2 Mach. 12:43-46), and then said: "how much more will the priests of the Son of God, by their holy offerings and prayers of their tongues, be able to wipe out the depts of the dead!" St. Ephraem, Testamentum sue De fine suae vitae, in Opera omnia, (Romae, 1743), pp. 239 & 401.

"In the early Christian community the living faithful prayed to God for their dead; now the dead saint is asked to pray for the living: a whole new liturgy comes into being."
The Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity, Ed., John McManners, Oxford Un., Press, Oxford, N.Y., 1990, p.83; Nibley says that "The Early Christian Prayer Circle", BYU Studies 19:41-78, see pp. 70-2. Some prayer circles often included prayers on behalf of the dead.
Note cont. Lundy says that in the earliest Liturgies of the Church this prayer was constantly repeated: "Remember, O Lord, the God of spirits and of all flesh, those whom we have remembered, and those also whom we have not remembered, our fathers and brethren, who have died in the faith of Christ hitherto; and our ancestors from righteous Abel even unto this day. Do Thou give them rest in the region of light and of the living in the bosoms of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whence grief and sorrow and sighing are banished away, and where the light of Thy countenance shines continually. And vouchsafe to bring them to Thy Heavenly kingdom." (Monumental Christianity, op. cit., p. 267, see note 1, Rattray's Liturgies, p. 119. St. James' amd St. Mark's).

Epiphanius, born about A.D. 520. "From Asia and Galateo has reached us the account (tradition) of a certain practice, namely, that when any die without baptism among them, they baptize others in their name, so that, rising in the resurrection, they will not have to pay the penalty of having failed to receive baptism, but rather will become subject to the authority of the Creator of the World. For this reason this tradition, which has reached us, is said to be the very thing to which the Apostle himself refers when he says, `If the dead rise not at all, what shall they do who are baptized for the dead?'"

PG, XLI, p. 383; Epiphanii, Adversus Haereses, I, 28, sect. 6, cited by Adam, op. cit., p. 157.
Nibley points out that Epiphanius said that other interpret Paul as saying that those who were at the point of death, if they were catechumens, (or candidates for baptism), they were to be considered as being worthy, even though they had died before they were baptized. They also point out that he who died shall also rise again, and thus they will stand in need of that forgiveness of sins which comes through baptism.

Mormonism and Early Christianity, Nibley, op. cit., note 137, Epiphanius, Against Heresies I, 28, 6, in PG 41:384-85.

A 6th century pope, Gregory the Great, wrote in his Dialogues of "the reality of postmortem punishment and the efficacy of masses and pious works on behalf of the dead."
Otherworld Journeys, Carol Zaleski, Oxford Un. Press, Oxford, N.Y., 1987, p. 28.
An 8th century Anglo-Saxon monk and scholar Bede wrote of the vision of Drythelm a pious Northumbrian family man who died, but revived the next day and told what it was like on the other side. A man with a shining countenance and bright apparel escorted the man to a hellish valley of flames, etc., where mis-shaped souls were being tormented. His guide told him that this was a place of tempory torment for deadbed penitents "who can be released from their punishments by masses, prayers, alms, and fasts performed by the living on their behalf."
The story came to Bede through a monk, & both Bede and the monk may have slanted the story to go along with traditional views of the afterlife during their time. Bede relates this story in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People. "Whatever role Drythelm may have played in the development of the narrative, Bede's account of the vision can be read as a manifesto for Benedictine monasticism, ascetic discipline, and intercessory masses for the dead. The vision also reflects the eschatology of the Anglo-Saxon church of Bede's time; by intimating a purgatorial state distinct from hell, it departs from earlier Celtic Christian traditions and conforms to the orthodoxy of Rome." (See: Otherworld Journeys, Zaleski, op. cit., pp. 31-32).

During the 9th through the 13th centuries storys & otherworld visions of this kind were used by different preachers & monks in helping them express their views concerning penance, intercession, religious vows, and rites for the dead by which "the living purged their faults, prepared for death, and petitioned for the welfare of their departed kin."
Otherworld Journeys, Zaleski, pp. 32-33, & note 18, on p. 217, see The Birth of Purgatory, p. 228.

During the 9th century A.D., Bishop Almon of Halberstadt, upon speaking of the primitive church, he says: "If their loved ones (friend or relative: propinquus) happened to depart this life without the grace of baptism, some living person would be baptized in his name: and they believed that the baptism of the living would profit the dead." However, even though the bishop had accepted the fact that earlier Christians had practice baptism for the dead, he denied that Paul had approved of the practice.

Mormonism and Early Christianity, Nibley, op. cit., note 240, Haymon Halberstatensis, Expositio Sancti Pauli in Epistolam I ad Corinthios (Commentary on the 1st Epistle to the Corinthians), in PL 177:598.

Theophylactus, in the 11th century A.D., says that the Marcionites were upbraided for baptism for the dead, and he insists that they were wrong. He then proceeded to give his own interpretation on 1 Cor. 15:29: "what shall they do who were baptized expecting their own dead bodies to rise again."

Mormonism and Early Christianity, Nibley, note 151, Theophylactus, Expositio in Epistolam 1 ad Corinthios, Commentary, PG 124:768.

Peter the Venerable in the 12th century A.D., seemed to be willing to accept the fact that baptism for the dead were practiced. However, he attempted to find in the words of Paul a condemnation of the practice too.

Ibid., Nibley, note 141, Peter the Venerable, Adversus Patrobrusianos Haereticos (Against the Patrobrusian Heretics), in PL 189:831-32; See also: "Those Who Are Baptized For The Dead", 1 Cor. 15:29 (An Exegetical Historical Dissertation), by Fr. Bernard M. Foschini, O.F.M., S.T.D., The Heffernan Press, Worcester, Mass., 1951, p.16, & note 56; Ancient Texts And Mormonism, Seaich, op. cit., p. 67, & note 261, on p. 136.

St. Bruno said that the early saints would baptize themselves in the place of a dead parent who had never heard the Gospel, in so doing this they believed that they had secured their salvation in the resurrection.
Ibid., Seaich, pp. 67 & 136, note 262, St. Bruno, Exposition of 1 Cor. 15:29 in Latin Patrologia 153:209.

LATER FRAGMENTS AND HINTS TO BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD: In later centuries, though many basic ideas about the descent of Christ into the spirit prison were passed down and preserved and retained in later art works, writings, and legends. In the case with it's ritualistic type, (Baptism for the Dead), it was a different matter, for this ordinance was eventually replaced in later centuries by prayers, rites, & different masses for the dead which were believed to have had the same type of effects on souls in the afterlife, as baptism for the dead had earlier.
Eventually the later concept of the soul's escape from the spirit prison changed, evolved and developed over the years until the concepts about a realm called purgatory became popular. The doctrine is said to date back to a papal letter of 1253, but it was not finally confirmed till the Council of Trent, and the Catechism which came out of this council said that "there is a purgatorial fire in which the souls of the pious are purified by a temporary punishment so that an entrance may be opened for them into the eternal country in which nothing stained can enter." Souls detained there are "helped by the suffrages of the faithful, but especially by the acceptable sacrifice of the altar." (The History of Hell, by Alice K. Turner, 1993, Pub. by Harcourt Brace & Co., N.Y., San Diego, London, see p.127).

The effects that these later rites & sacraments for the dead were believed to have had on the souls held in purgatory were depicted in a number of art works during the 13th--17th centuries. A 14th century work shows a soul being rescued out of the mouth of hell.

The Dragon (Nature of Spirit, Spirit of Nature), by Francis Huxley, Pub. by Collier Books, A Division of Macmillan Pub. Co., Inc., N.Y., CR 1979, Thames & Hudson Ltd., Lon., p. 37, showing a soul being rescued from the monsterous jaws of hell, French enamel plaque, 14th century A.D.; Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the Walters Art Gallery, Vol. 1, France, 875-1420, by Randall, etc., op. cit., p. 294, pl. viii, Cat. 88, f. 3, souls ride up on a garment as they ascend into heaven with their guardian angels who have come to protect them from the demons who are busy grasping souls and pulling them down to hell. Other portions of this work show the mass being performed for and in behalf of the dead. Lines are drawn from the sacrament in the up-lifted arms of the priest down to the souls in flames of purgatory. One soul has just ascended up out, suggesting that while the priest was performing the mass, souls were being set free from purgatory. At the top a number of naked souls are presented to God by their angelic handclasping guides and protecter. On p. 320, fig. 101, Cat. 49, f. 64, the descent into the spirit prison house again depicts a hand grip. Christ grasps, with his left hand, the up-lifted hands of a person.

Other art works & funerary monuments and foundations seems to combine several ideas that all seem to be later fragments and retrogressed forms of baptism for the dead. For some would combine the ideas of the traditional place of Adam's grave under the cross, the Golgotha chapels were masses for the dead were performed, and a funerary foundation with an altar for prayers for the dead. Plus, in some cases, the deceased were placed under the cross, or the place usually reserved for the body of Adam. Thus, some must have thought that as the blood from the cross had washed over Adam, as a sort of baptism and sacrament for the dead, so also would the souls of the deceased recieve the benefits of redemption, and be raised up like Adam was.
Metamorphosis Of A Death Symbol, Cohen, op. cit., pp. 104-9.

As noted earlier, in some cases, earlier Christian baptisms, and baptisms for the dead, were ritualistic types of Christ's descent down into and up out of the grave, the pit, limbo, hades, the underworld, etc., in which Adam, representing humanity, was raised up in the resurrection by different types of hand and wrist grips. Writings & art works about the types and symbols of baptism, in some cases depicted or mention hand clasps when ascending up out of the font or baptismal waters. However, these earlier rituals and artistic reminders, and ideas that derived from the baptisms for the dead were eventually replaced with faded and retrogressed forms in the legends about Adam's grave under the cross with Christ's blood flowing down on his bones as a sort of baptism, plus art works that show the hand clasp and ascension out of limbo, hades, purgatory, the grave, etc., from under the cross. And the sacramental rites, baptismal liturgies, masses, and prayers for the dead, some of which were performed at altars under the cross symbols. All these seemed to have eventually replaced baptism for the dead, while still retaining to a certain extent fragmented reminders of the earlier rituals and their types. The later fragmented versions, seem to have faded further away from the earlier ritual, while still retaining to a certain extent, the symbolical artistic types and symbolical meanings, such as in the ways in which a number of Christian tombs and funerary monuments would sometimes depict hand clasps under the cross symbols. Or different funerary monuments and tombs which depicted orants, or persons with up-lifted hands in prayers, some of which were the prayers of the desceased, others of prayers for the dead. And in some cases, one of the orant's up-lifted hands is grasp by the hand of God as a symbol of being raised up in the resurrection.
Metamorphosis Of A Death Symbol, Cohen, op. cit., pp. 104-119, figs. 46, & 47-50, on p. 115 is says that one of the symbols for the future resurrection as it was depicted on some funerary monuments was "the hand of God". See Monuments of Medieval Art, by Robert G. Calkins, 1979, Pub. by E. D. Dutton, N.Y., pp. 84-5; L' Europe Des Invasions, by J. Hubert, J. Porcher, & W.F. Volbach, Pub. by Gallimard, 1967, p. 72, fig. 84; Early Christian Art, by Andre Grabar, translated by Stuart Gilbert & James Emmons, Pub. Odyssey Press, N.Y., p. 27, fig. 25, p. 101, fig. 97, p. 142, fig. 146, p. 137, fig. 140; Stones, by Betty Willsher & Doreen Hunter, 1978, Pub. in 1979 by Taplinger Pub., Co., N.Y., pp. 14-15, & 53; Early American Gravestone Art In Photographs, Duval & Rigby, op. cit., pp. 124-5; Of Graves And Epitaphs, Lindley, op. cit., grave marker of Withington, Gloucestershire shows a hand extended to clasp the hand of a soul who is ascending to heaven. Arte Paleocristiano, op. cit., pp. 146-151, fig. 88, an orant recieves the hand of God; A Lithuanian Cemetery, op. cit., p.65, fig. 15, shows a hand clasp under the cross on a tomb stone.

An altarpiece dated 1454 shows, Christ on the cross, while to the lower left side, an angel is about grasp the hands of a soul who is about to be set free from the hell's fire.
New International Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Art, Vol. 5, pp. 982-3, The Coronation of the Virgin, (1454), altarpiece; hospice of Villeneuve-les-Avignon, Avignon, France; Art, by Frederick Hartt, Vol. II, Pub. Harry N. Abrams, N.Y., 1976, pl. 21.

During the 1460s a depiction of a mass being performed for the dead shows the priest at the altar, while another portion shows what many believed was taking place in purgatory, for while the priest did the rite, angels were busy releasing souls from purgatory. One angel clasp the hands of one soul as they ascend up out of purgatory. Under this scene, another soul awaits to be rescued next.

Time Sanctified, (The Book of Hours in Medieval Art and Life), by Roger S. Wieck, Pub. by George Braziller, Inc., N.Y., in association with The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, p. 146, pl. 38. Funeral Mass with Souls Released from Purgatory, (Office of the Dead), France, Anger?, 1460s, by the Coetivy Master (Henri de Vulcop?) Walters 274, fol. 118; Cat. 42). An angel grasps the hands of a soul being released from purgatory during a mass for the dead.

An interesting 15th century depiction of purgatory from the French Book of Hours, shows angels clasping the hands of some of the souls they are lifting up, some liberated souls are carried of in the arms of angels. The History of Hell, Turner, op. cit., p.130.

An 1480 work shows a priest as he raised up the sacrament over his head, (reminding us of the traditional prayer gesture with up-lifted hands). At that very moment, angels on the other side of the veil were also in the very act of lifting up souls out of purgatory. And like the hand clasps depicted in the works showing Christ's descent into purgatory, there are angels clasping the wrists of the souls they are lifting up. Thus, the sacrament for and in behalf of the dead was believed to have had the same effect that baptism for the dead had in earlier centuries. A number of art works show how that when the rites were being performed, the angels descended down to take the souls by the hand to raise them up out of purgatory, in some cases on a garment, and they guide them over into paradise where Peter was waiting to clasp their hand again as they entered through the door or gaits to paradise.

Note: Himmel Holle Fegefeuer, Das Jenseits im Mittelalter, 1994, Schweizerisches Landesmuseum, Zurich, Wilhelm Fink Verlag, Munchen, pp. 23-5, 51, 65, 79, 133, 155, 159-63, 191, 197, & 398, Abbs. 11, 13, 30, 39, 47, 90, 103, 107-112, 117, & 144. On p.109, Abb. 79, Christ clasps the wrist of Adam as he and others come out of the door way of the prison house. A monsterous demon is crushed under the broken doors. See also kat. 18, on p. 191, & Kats. 82-3, p.272, kats. 92-3, p.284, kats. 94-7, pp. 286-305, kats. 98-106, p.341, kat. 131, p.398; The Harvard Classics, Edited by Charles W. Eliot, LL.D., The Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan, Vol. 15, Pub. by P. F. Collier & Son Corp., N.Y., 1910, 1938, & 56th printing 1965, pp. 3-319; Art, by Frederick Hartt, Vol. II, Pub. by Harry N. Abrams, N.Y., 1976, pl.21, among other things depicted, an angel clasps the hand of a soul ascending out of the fires of hell. See also: Religious Art In France, The Late Middle Ages, by Emile Male, 1986, Bollingen Series, Princeton Un. Press, p. 354, fig. 224, soul of a dead man is carried to heaven by an angel. See also pp. 410-11, figs. 255-6, & fig. 261, and p. 436, fig. 273, "Angel and one of the Elect. Rouen (Seine-Maritime), Church of St. Maclou. West facade, central portal, voussure", showing an angelic guide clasping, with the left hand, the right hand of a crowned elect. See also p. 437, fig. 274. See also: A Garland Series, Outstanding Dissertations In The Fine Arts, The Last Judgment in Sixteenth Century Northern Europe: A Study of the Relation Between Art and the Reformation, by Graig Harbison, Garland Pub., Inc., N.Y., & London, 1976, p.316, #8, Martin Schaffner, The Blessed, a fragment of the last Judgment, (Pfullendorf Altar), panel, c. 1500. In this work, the crowned Peter (?) has a glove that has a symbol in the middle of the wrist area. He clasps the wrist of a naked soul who is on the right hand path leading to paradise. On p. 357, #49, another work of The Last Judgment, etc., 1490-1500 A.D., shows, among other things, Peter guiding the souls by the hand towards the doors of paradise. He clasps one person by the hand, as others follow after them. See also p. 383, #72, Jan Provost, 1506, Douai, Museum, showing the last Judgment in which an angel clasp the hand of a person about to ascend up. On p. 425, #115. Jacob van den Coornhuuze, Last Judgment, 1576-1578, shows an angel clothing a soul in an ascension robe, while in the background souls are passing through the door way to paradise. See also: Ernest Lotthe, La Pensee Chretienne Dans la Peinture Flamande Et Hollandaise, de Van Eyck (1432 - 1669), Le Christ Et La Vierge Marie, II, Pub., S. I. L. I. C., 1947, fig. CCXVI, Roger Van Der Weyden, (686), Le Jugement dernier, Hospice de Beaune. Showing, among other things, an angelic guide clasping the hands of a soul as a number of souls are guided over towards the door way to paradise. See also fig. CCXVII. -b. (688), Bosch. The angelic guides help the blessed as they ascend up through a tunnel towards paradise. On p. 309, fig. CCXIX, Hans Memling. (693), the naked souls ascend up stairs towards Peter and clasp his hand as they ascend towards the doors to paradise. See also: Hieronymus Bosch, by Charles De Tolnay, 1965, by Holle Verlag, pp. 109-115; Romanesque Art In France, by Joseph Gantner & Marcel Pobe, 1956, Thames and Hudson, pl. 135, & p.64. Peter clasp the hand of souls ascending towards the door of paradise. A hand extends to greet a soul. See also: The Horizon History of Christianity, by Roland H. Bainton, English ed., 1964, Pub. by American Heritage Pub., Co., pp. 214-15; Heaven and Hell In Western Art, by Robert Hughes, 1968, pp. 188-190; The Golden Age of English Manuscript Painting (1200-1500), by Richard Marks and Nigel Morgan, 1981, Pub. by George Braziller Inc., N.Y., Fig. III, Portrait of William de Brailes, Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum, MS. 330. Detail from a single leaf of the Last Judgment, p.9, showing Peter extending down to clasp the hand of a person, while on the other side an angel clasps the wrist of a soul who seems to be one in many who are being rescued from hell. Another source says that one of the angels who protects and guides soul into heaven is Michael the Archangel, for "He receives the souls of the saints, and leads them into the Paradise of bliss." (The Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine, op. cit., p. 578). A depiction of the harrowing of Hell shows Christ delivering the souls out of the jaws of hell, while an angel behind him thrusts a monsterous demon with a lace. (The Winchester Psalter, by Francis Wormald, Pub. N.Y. Graphic Soc., LTD, Harvey Miller & Medcalf 1973, fig. 27).

Another depiction that dates back to 1483, shows a soul ascending out of the fire from the underworld, the soul is being raised up by a Saint who is clasping, with his right hand, the person's left wrist in a similar manner as many depictions of Christ's descent.
Deutche Spatgotische Malerei, 1430-1500, Alfred Stange, Karl Robert Langewiesche Nachfolger, 1965, see p.62; An Illustrated History of Germany, Andre Maurois, translated from the French by Stephen Hardman, Published by The Bodley Head, Lon., 1966, CR 1965 Librairie Hachette 1965, pp. 100-1; The Encyclopedia Of Visual Art, op. cit., vol. 8, see P, "Michael Pacher c. 1435-98, altarpiece of The Fathers of the Church, 1483 A.D., Alte Pinakothek, Munich; Praeger Encyclopedia of Art, Praeger Pub., NY., Washington, & London, 1971, Vol. 4, p. 1502.
A later retrogressed and fragmented off-shoot practice that seems to hint to the descent & baptism for the dead, was that of the later Christian practice of paying for souls to be able to escape out of purgatory. A woodcut by Jan Breu the Elder & which dates back to 1530 A.D., shows different ones paying for indulgences, etc. "`AS THE PENNY IN THE COFFER RINGS, THE SOUL FROM PURGATORY SPRINGS': or so the Dominican friar Tetzel and other purveyors of papal pardons are supposed to have taught their hearers and customers." (The Oxford Illustrated History Of Christianity, Ed., McManners, op. cit., 1990, p.244).
This was one of the things that bothered Martin Luther, for as a parish priest, monk, and professor in the Saxon town of Wittenberg, he felt that his congregation had been underminded when they crossed the river to foreign territory in order to buy letters of indulgence with the name of the pope on them. Those purchasing them were told that they would not only be relieved of the temporal consequences of their sins, but it would also the souls of their dead grandparents would be released from purgatory. Luther protested against this practice in the Ninety-Five Theses of October 1517. (Ibid., p.245).

Eventually, these later retrogressed forms of works for the dead, were rejected by many of the Protestants during the Reformation. "Protestants discarded beliefs which were apparently at the heart of the everday religion of the majority:... [such as] "prayers as efficacious for the dead. Late medieval religion has been called a religion practised by the living on behalf of the dead. But now it was taught that good works contributed nothing to salvation. If they could not help the living they could certainly do nothing for the dead." (Ibid., p. 254).

In Catholic thought, the concept that souls can eventually escape out of purgatory through the communion of souls: the union of the faithful on earth, the saints in heaven, and the souls in purgatory, all this seems to reflect fragmented hints that seem to go back to the basic concepts of the earlier beliefs in the descent and baptism for the dead. The results was believed to be basically the same thing, for the souls in prison (later called purgatory), would be set free and allowed to cross over into paradise. An interesting depiction of the communion of souls depicts a soul in purgatory pleading towards one of the saints, who in turn is pleading to the three members of the Godhead. (Ibid., p. 449). Earlier, some art works that depicted Christ's descent into limbo, hades, etc., also showed the souls in the lower regions with up-lifted hands pleading and praying to God for help, and when help does come during Christ's descent, the prayers of the dead, turn to prayers of thanksgiving and praise.

Note: History of Art, (A Survey of the Major Visual Arts from the Dawn of History to the Present Day), by H. W. Janson, Pub. by Harry N. Abrams, Inc., N.Y., first printed in Oct., 1962, 19th printing in Dec. 1973, see pp. 159, 176-7, fig.286, & fig.758; Gothic Painting I, p.48; The Winchester Psalter, by Francis Wormald, Pub., N.Y., Graphic Soc., LTD, Harvey Miller & Medcalf, 1973, fig. 27; The Art of the Iluminated Manuscript, by David M. Robb, Pub., South Brunswick & N.Y.: A.S. Barnes & Co., Lon.: Thomas Yoseloff LTD, 1973, see pp. 168-9, fig. 107.
Certain saints, such as St. Theresa [born March 28, 1515], have been portrayed in the act of pleading for souls in purgatory. In one work, she kneels before Christ who gestures with his hand toward an angel who is in the very act of raising up a soul out of the flames by grasping the soul's right hand.

A Hanbook of Legendary And Mythological Art, by Clara Erskine Clement, 1871 and 1881, Pub. in Boston, & N.Y., Houghton Mifflin Co., The Riverside press Cambridge, pp. 288-9.
The Imperator Salvatus reports in the Chester Last Judgment play of the sufferings that souls have to endure in purgatory. However, the different types of sufferings that different souls have to go through will eventually come to an end (Chester XXIV.90, 97—100). “Those in Purgatory thus are also in some sense pilgrims who, purging away their sins, are destined eventually for salvation, and they too can hence be assisted both by earthly prayers by people in this life and by the saints in bliss.”#

The jaws of purgatory, seen so often in the art works, where soul exit out of, during Christ’s descent, are also mentioned as being what happens on the other side of the veil, during the mass for the dead, in which the sacramental “bread of the angels made food for wayfarers (“panis angelorum/ Factus cibus viatorium”) now will provide a safe journey through the mouth of death and into the heavenly kingdom, where man’s sight will no longer be defective but will be made to see the Good, the Beatific, in the land of the living: “Tu nos bona fac videre/ In terra viventium.”#

In order that souls may pass over from purgatory to the safety of Paradise, angelic protection and guidance was needed. Hence, in the “offertory anthem of the mass for the dead, Michael is charged with the care of all departed souls that he ‘the holy standard bearer (may) introduce them to the holy light, which thou didst promise of old to Abraham and to his seed’.”#
In 1708, one Beissal, upon accepting a literal interpretation of Paul, baptized for the dead, for Emanuel Eckerling was baptized for his dead mother, and Alexander Mack for his father.
Sachse, Jules Friedrich. The German Sectarians of Pennsylvania, 1708-1800. A critical and Legendary History of the Ephrata Cloister and the Dunkers, Philadelphia, Printed for the author 1899-1900, Chapter XXIV, pp. 365-66, The Amwell Dunkers.

Depictions of the deliverance of souls from purgatory during Masses for the Dead, was a popular theme in religious iconography throughout the Catholic world from the 17th to early 20th century A.D. The Appointed Hour, Badone, op. cit., p. 103.

Later beliefs that the dead could pray to be released from hell, the spirit prison, limbo, hades, etc., seems to have eventually become part of the later practice of the communion of souls, which may have also branched out from each other from a common doctrinal and traditional source going back to the descent, prayers for the dead, and baptism for the dead.

Some of the "Holy Cards" published by Bouasse-Lebel, in the second half of the nineteenth century, illustrated Catholic beliefs & rites for the dead, and the "power of the clergy, whose celebration of masses could liberate souls from Purgatory". One card showed a mass being performed for the dead, during which an angel grasps the arms of a soul being liberated out of the fires of purgatory.

Death and the Afterlife in Modern France, Kselman, op. cit., pp. 120, & 122-3, see #7, right.
Further retrogression away from the original ordinances of baptism, & baptism for the dead may have resulted in how washings and anointings, plus baptism seem to have been eventually blended together to become the so-called rite of "baptism" in which water was sprinkled on the head of infants. Another retrogressed version which would also continued on into later centuries, was developed as a results of further blending of other nations' customs and rites for the dead, in which water would be sprinkled on the corpse, and in some cases, on the coffin too.

Note: After a person died, there was a time set aside in which friends and loved ones would come to view the body before it was placed in the grave. During this time, each visitor would bless the corpse by tracing the sign of the cross with a twig in the air above the dead person's body, while simultaneously sprinkling holy water on the body. The holy water during masses for the dead, and funerary rites was said to regenerate the dead, and was a symbol of immortality. This is very much like the rite performed by Anna Le Guen in the Plouguerneau cemetary, this gesture is said to have been derived from a long-established Indo-European & Semitic folk tradition that depicts the dead as thirsty and dry. Water was believed to metaphorically represented fertilization, & regeneration in folklore motifs, and the practice of providing libations for the dead is well known from classical sources. Archaeological and ethnographic contexts in Palestine & other parts of the Near East and the Mediterranean world show that graveside containers held water and other liquids as offerings to the dead. "In Brittany, blessing with holy water figuratively regenerates the dead and symbolically grants them immortality." In later centuries, & in some cases, masses for the dead included the sprinkling of water on the corpse, at the wake and in the cemetery, this was symbolically linked to the conception of regeneration and immortality (The Appointed Hour, Badone, op. cit., pp. 63-65). A hymn sung before the blessing of the corpse seems to have fragments of washings and anointings in it, for it says this about the sprinkling of water on the coffin: "The water that gave you life will cleanse your vision, And your eyes will see the salvation of God." (Diocese de Quimper 1975:376). "Here an explicit parallel is drawn between the holy water used to bless the coffin at the funeral and the water of baptism, without which, according to traditional doctrine, salvation is not possible." (Ibid., pp. 92-3). See also: The Reign of Antichrist (Or The Great "Falling Away") by J.M. Sjodahl, 1913, pp.36-45; Death and the Afterlife in Modern France, Kselman, op. cit., pp. 88-93; "There are many popular legends of bodhisattvas who fulfill their vow to save all sentient beings by journeying to retrieve sinners from the deepest hells." Zaleski mentions other traditions in China which speak of different ones who have descended into the underworld to rescue loved ones, and bring them out. (Otherworld Journeys, Zaleski, op. cit., pp. 24-25).

On up to World War II, on of the tableaux used in helping to teach church doctrine at Breton missions, was the depiction of "the deliverance of souls from purgatory". In this work is a depiction of a mass for the dead, below this scene is another that shows souls benefitting from the mass, for an angel empties a golden chalice by sprinkling drops of water on the upstretched arms and faces of the souls in purgatory. Earlier we considered how chalice shaped baptismal fonts seem to be retrogressed fragments of baptism for the dead. Here is another possible fragment, for after this retrogressed form of a sort of baptism for the dead by sprinkling, another portion shows what happens next. For another angel raises purified souls up out of purgatory. The soul stands clothed in a robe, and is about to embrace the angel who grasps the soul's arms as they begin to ascend. In another portion, an angelic guide is about to ascend with a soul through the clouds up into heaven. Above this, in heaven, the purified souls meet with the Virgin Mary and the Christ child who both had been crowned, enthroned and glorified centuries earlier.#

Masses for the dead were believed to shorten the time that the deceased spent in purgatory. Hence, people continue to give Masses and services with the intentions of helping the soul of the dead.#

1950's, Masses for the dead increased in Brittany, several types of Masses for the dead were offered. “The spiritual justification for requesting Masses has its roots in medieval Catholicism, which taught that the soul must do a period of penance in purgatory before achieving heaven’s grace. The prayers of the living, including services and Masses, were held to hasten the release of those suffering in purgatory.”#

1960's Breton and René Le Corre, note how in some cases in traditional Catholicism in Brittany, the clergy would sing the petits services, some “singing as quickly as possible the Latin psalms and matins for the dead. . . those verses of which he understood nothing and which no one understood. But people didn’t need to understand: the rite functioned by itself.”#
1980's, in Plouguerneau and La Feuillée, there were several other types of Masses for the dead.# Before funerals, the curé asks the family “where they would like the Masses given for the deceased relative to be sent,”# while in other cases, Masses were not done in public, hence doubts arose as to whether or not they were actually done, even though such services were payed for.#

WATER SPIRITS
FURTHER RETROGRESSION IN LATER LEGENDS & TRADITIONS

Now, even though later Christians continue to argue about what Paul meant in 1 Corinthians 15:29, and what it was that the earlier Christians had practiced, or if they had practiced it at all, or if Paul was making reference to a pagan rite.# Still, despite this, there are some lingering reminders of rites for the dead, during later centuries, when the practice had almost faded out of the Christian picture completely.
The people of Corinth, in Greece had the doctrine and practice of baptism for the dead, but later it retrogressed into fairy tales and legends. "According to Bulgarian tradition in Macedonia, the Navi and Navjaci (meaning dead) are invisible spirits (genii), scaring in the depths of the firmament, appearing in the shape of birds and crying like infants. They are the souls of children who have died unbaptized and in their search for their mothers they attack and trouble women in childbed. They may be set free however, if the baptismal formula is said over them." (III Myth of All Races 253).
In the Balkan countries, the Slovenian Savje, in like manner, are believed to fly about in the form of huge black birds pleading to be baptized. If anyone should happen to have pity on them and should baptizes them, they will become their great benefactor. (III Myth of All Races 253).
In Little Russia, always orthodox Greek Catholic, the Mauky, are children who have either been drowned by their mothers, or were not baptized. They are said to have the appearance of small babies, or young beautiful girls with curly hair. During the fairy week they run about the fields and meadows lamenting "Mother had borne me and left me unbaptized." They are angry at those who allowed them to die unchristened, and whoever chances to hear their wailing voices should say: `I baptize thee in the name of God the Father God and the Son and God the Holy Spirit.' This will set them free; but if for seven years they find no one to take pity on them they are turned into water nymphs." (id).

Among the Poles, such spirits were called "Latawei." A child that has died unchristened wanders about the world for seven years and begs for baptism; but if it meets no one to take compassion on it, it will be turned into one of these spirits." (id)...." (Again from: Baptism for the Dead, by Ariel L. Crowley).

As time went by the retrogression process of the apostasy caused many things to be legendized. But, despite this, the Christian world has retain many faded hints, some brighter, others more faded & fragmented, but enough to show any one with an open mind, that the doctrine was taught anciently in almost every area of Christianity, despite differences in practice & interpretations.

In Russian folk beliefs, the rusalka is a water spirit which “leads travelers astray, abducts children, and is connected with the impious dead. Like the water spirit (vodianoi), he often resides in deep pools.”# This might remind us of earlier beliefs about how the baptismal waters were bless because of the earlier type of the baptismal waters being a type of the abyss, hell, hades, limbo, etc., was eventually legendized into thinking that demons dwelt there, and thus, the waters needed to be cleansed and blessed.#

Furthermore, in Russian folk beliefs: “Devils supposedly lived in swamps, dark thickets, deep pools or lakes on the one hand, and in hell, imagined as an expanse beneath the earth, on the other. They moved between the upper and the lower worlds through special holes in the earth (skovz’ zemliu). . . [There are folk tales about how] a peasant discovered these holes in the earth and then fell into hell or, in one popular tale, pushes a wicked wife down one of them. Devils gathered in bathhouses or abandoned dwellings.”#

“A particularly large number of superstitions accompanied the Yuletide celebrations. In some areas peasants thought that unbaptized children were released from hell to walk the earth from Christmas to the Baptism of Christ.”#

To many of the people of Southern Great Russia and the Ukraine, these rusalki were “souls of unbaptized or stillborn babies and drowned maidens.”# Faded reminders of baptism for the dead are seen in the Rusal’naia Week celebrations, the “farewell” or burial of the rusalka, which, by the end of the 19th century, was still wide spread in the southern province of Voronezh, Russia, even down to the 1930'. In some cases, such as in the region of the Riazan’ Province, some of the peasants would fashion dolls of rags about the size of a small infant, and then place them in coffins, covering them with muslin and flowers. The village youths would then carry the coffins to the banks of the river. “Some girls pretended to be priests or deacons; they made a censor from an egg shell and sang “Lord have mercy.” At the river the girls combed the rusalka’s hair and bade her farewell, both laughing and crying. Then, fastening a stone or two to the coffin, they threw it in the water. After this they sang and danced the Khorovod.” In acting as priests and deacons, and singing that the Lord will have mercy on these spirits who had died without baptism, and upon throwing the coffins in the water, all these seem to be faded and legendized reminders of baptism for the dead.

In numerous art works that show the baptism of Christ in the river Jordan, down in the water can be seen “water gods.” In Russian folk belief, the devil tricks Adam into signing a note that said Adam and his offspring would belong to the devil when they died. After Adam signed the note, the devil “hid it under a rock in the river Jordan so that no one would find it and take Adam and [the rest of] the people from him.”#

“And from that time Adam and all the people until Christ had to go to hell and be under the devil’s power after death. Christ was born and came to Jordan to be baptized. The Lord stood on the same rock under which Adam’s voucher lay. The rock moved from its place, and the voucher turned up under the Lord’s feet, and now all the writing was erased from it. And the voucher was destroyed, and there was no way that the devil could keep Adam and all the people in hell any longer. And the Lord came to hell and led Adam and all his race out.”#

THE ROOTS OF A TREE AS TYPES: Another ancient to later Christian type for the descent, and the watering (baptism) of the souls of the dead in ther underworld was the roots of a plant which extend down into the earth. Some art works show a hand clasping the hand of Adam to raise Him & the others there up out of the pit, which is right under the cross. Many early to later Christians may have saw symbolical types in the roots, trunk, branches, & higher up parts of a tree,-- as being types of those in different realms of existences. Those in heaven, (the upper up branches), on the earth, (the trunk.) And those underneath the earth, (the roots,) could have been considered as being a type of those who were in the underworld, or the lower regions, etc.
Isaiah warned how that different ones had gone down, or descended into captivity. And upon being in hell they were "dried up with thirst." Hell or "the pit", was believed to have been a hot & waterless pit of fire. Thus, those who go there would be among a "multitude dried up with thirst." (Isa.5:1-14).

In some cases in early to later Christendom, Christ's flowing blood from the cross is like a life giving stream that washes over those in the pit below the cross. Thus, the blood of the covenant watered the roots of Israel who extended down from the tree into the lower regions of the earth. Some Christian translations of the Old Testament reflect these traditions too. David wrote that those who sat in the shadows of death, or in the underworld were those who had been rebellious against the words of God, & `contemned the counsel of the Most High.' Thus they had fallen into the pit, or into the darkness of the shadow of death. Hungry & thirsty, their soul fainted in them. They prayed unto the Lord & He came down unto them & satified their hunger & thirst by giving to them his word, which healed them. He broke down the gaits of brass, and cut the bars of iron which held them prisoners & led them out of captivity by the hand, & raised them up out of hell. They ascended up the right way into a city.

Note: Psalm 107:1-7, 9-14, 16, 20, 23-4, 26, 30, 40-41. Isaiah 30:14; Zechariah 9:11; Luke 11:14-24; 16:19-31; Habakkuk 2:14; Isa.11:9; Zech.8:12-13; Temple, by Huge Nibley, (IDE-T), (The Idea of a Temple in History), Reprinted by F.A.R.M.S., from: The Millenial Star 120 (Aug. 1958), p.228-237, see pages 234, & 249, ft. nt.s 52, op, cit., & 56. R. Akiba, cited by S. A. Horodezky, in Monatsschr.f. Gesch. u. Wins. des Judentums LXXII. 505; Psa.23; Jer.30:7-17; Isa.30:8-33; Tours Of Hell (An Apocalyptic Form in Jewish and Christian Literature), by Martha Himmelfarb, Un. of Penn. Press, Philadel., 1983, pp. 8-19, 50-56, 94-97, 106-120, 122-126, 136-7, & 151-158; Isa. 30:14-15; S. Caecilius Cyprian, 3rd century A.D., cites from Paul's testimony, 1 Cor. 10:4, see: A Library of Fathers of the Holy Catholic Church, Vol.III, p.101, Oxford, John Henry Parker, J. G. F. & J. Rivington, Lon., MDCCCXL; The Forgotten Books of Eden, Edited by Rutherford H. Platt, Jr., Assistant Editor J. Alden Brett, Pub. by Alpha House, Inc., 1927, U.S.A., The First Book of Adam & Eve, pp.8-10, 12-13, 26-8, 30; Archaeological Discoveries, (Relative to the Judaeo-Christians), Historical Survey by Ignazio Mancini, O.F.M., Pub. of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Collection minor #10, Jerusalem, 1970, pp.165-170, & fig.39, on p.166, "Adam under Calvary in a medieval miniature of Valenciennes, with detail of Adam. (from LTS 1965, p. 278)"; Christ Lore, Hackwood, op. cit., p. 117; The Encyclopedia Of Visual Art, Biographical Dictionary of Artists, by Limburg Brothers - Francisco Ribalta, Pub. by Encyc. Britannica Intern., LTD., Lon., Vol.6, see "Attavante degli Attavanti: Crucifixion, a leaf from the missal illuminated for Thomas James, Bishop of Dol; 1483. Nouveau Musee des Beaux-Arts, Le Havre". (Luke 23:32-43); The Encyc. Of Vis. Art, Vol.6, p.32; Ivory Carvings In Early Medieval England, by John Beckwith, 1972, Harvey Miller & Medcalf, p.84, fig. 152. "Deposition. English (Hereford), about 1150. London, Victoria and Albert Museum [Cat. 88]"; Rev.7:13-15, Isa.1:15-20; 1 Nephi 12:6-11; Jacob 1:18-19; 3 Nephi 27:14-19; In the places of the earth where the water (or word of God) is dried up, the people wander to and fro to find water (the word). The Book of Mormon, 1981 ed., pp.288-291, Alma chapter 32; 1 Nephi 21:6, 9-10, John 4:1-38; Amos 7:16, 8:7-8, 9, & 11-13.

Every notes that the root of the connection between the tree of life and Christ's death goes back to the beginnings of Christianity. "Jesus, the second Adam, dying on Golgotha, the place of Adam's skull, must pass down the tree into the nether world, to the root of the tree in his throat, and come up again through the sepulchre, bringing Adam and Eve with him, for hell must be harrowed if the human race is to be saved. The fruit of the tree, of life or of knowledge, must be below the crucifix, on the way whereby Christ finds man, even at hell's bottom."
Library of The World's Myths and Legends, Christian Legends, by George Every, 1970, 1987, Peter Bedrick Books, N.Y., p.60, see also pp. 61-2; The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol.2, pp.490-2; Mediaeval Art, by Charles Rufus Morey, Pub. by W. W. Norton Co., 1942, N.Y., N.Y., p.129; The Christian World, text, Geoffrey Barraclough, etc., Pub. by Harry N. Abrams, N.Y., 1981, pp.8-9; Christmas Customs And Traditions (Their History and Significance), by Clement A. Miles, Pub. by Dover Pub., Inc., N.Y., 1976, pp.138-9, as a republication of the original work by T. Fisher Unwin in 1912, entitled: Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, Christian and Pagan.) Biblical Myths & Mysteries, by Gilbert Thurlow, Pub. by Octopus Books, London, 1974, p.70; Rev. 22:1-5, 13; Christianity And The Renaissance (Image and Religious Imagination in the Quattrocento), Edited by Timothy Verdon & John Henderson, Pub. by Syracuse Un. Press, 1990, pp.135 & 141, see chapter 5, pp.132-160, entitled: The Tree of Life And The Holy Cross (Franciscan Spirituality in the Trecento and the Quattrocento), by Rab Hatfield; Monumental Christianity, op. cit., Lundy, 1876, pp. 270-1; Studies in the Iconography of the Virtues and Vices in the Middle Ages, O'Reilly, 1972, op. cit., pp.344-5; Origins of Judaism, Vol. XI, Part 1, The Literature of Formative Judaism: The Midrash-Compilations, edited by Jacob Neusner, 1990, Garland Pub., Inc., N.Y., & Lon., pp. 5-6, note 3. Some early Christian rings depicted on them the vine for it was a type of Christ. Also a blade of wheat, symbolic of "The Harvest of souls?" see: Rings For The Finger, Kunz, op. cit., 1973, pp. 253-4.

Trees, branches, vines, & roots where also a symbolical way to present a person's genealogical lineages. In early to later Christian art works, the genealogical descent of Christ was often illustrated in these symbolical ways in order to show that Christ royal lineage went back to the seed of Jesse. In prophecies, the long awaited Messiah would grow out of the seed of Jesse.# Christ would remember his roots, or the genealogical lineage he grew out of, and the covenants which he made with the prophets of old and his ancient forefathers before his incarnation, and so, when he descended into the underworld, his saving powers also descended down through the genealogical tree from the top on down under the earth to the roots, then like a seed in the earth, Christ would grow like a tree reaching up and outward until he had spread forth into all the world.

A number of ancient prophets have glorified God for this, they rejoiced in knowing that many years after their deaths, they would not be forsaken to the devil and his angels, but would be remembered and visited by the Messiah who would descend unto them and raise them up in the resurrection. For the Lord would "see his seed", and would pass through his vineyards and roots. In the Patriarch Levi, used vineyards as a type of the saving power of the Lord.# Jeremiah seems to hint to a time of an apostasy by using "plants" etc., in a symbolical way too. (Jer.2:21). Amos wrote that the Lord would also be gracious unto "the remnant of Joseph", for He would "pass through" into different places of his "vineyards". (Amos 5:14-18, & 20). Isaiah warned the Israelites about how their sins had caused them to descend into the pit of hell. And how their "root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel." (Isa.5:11-24, & 26). On an altar cross, dated 1100—1130, an the lower portion, a male and female figure, perhaps Adam and Eve, are grasping at the lower section of the cross, which is also a branch or tree. Perhaps this symbolically represents how Christ’s “roots” will be rescued out of the underworld, as they cleave to Christ. (Peter Lasko; Editors: Nikolaus Pevsner and Judy Nairn, The Pelican History of Art, (Australia, etc., Penguin Books, 1972), vol. 36, Ars Sacra, 800—1200, p. xvii, plate 177: Altar cross, with a tree cross as part of its shape, and with two people clasping the bottom area. Perhaps Adam and Eve. 1100—30, Ivory. New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Colisters Collection, Purchase 1963).

The prophet Jacob, upon expounding on the words of the Prophet Zenos (who symbolically compared the descendants of Israel like unto tame & wild olive trees, vineyards, branches & roots), said: "how merciful is our God unto us, for he remembereth the house of Israel, both roots and branches; and he stretches forth his hands unto them all the day long; and they are a stiffnecked and a gainsaying people; but as many as will not harden their hearts shall be saved in the kingdom of God." (Jacob 6:4-8.) The Prophet Abinadi of the ancient Americas, about 148 B.C., upon commenting on a portion of Isaiah (53:10), said that Christ's seed was a type of those who had heard and believed the world's prophets who had testified of Christ. Christ would also see his seed, or would visit the saints of old during his descent, and would raise them up in the resurrection to dwell with God who would redeem them and break the bands of death. (Mosiah chapters 15-16, see: 15:10-23; A later Christian Russian icon of Christ's descent shows Jesus on the crossed doors of hell as he grasps, with his right hand, the right hand of Adam. Jesus is also "surrounded by his ancestors, raising Adam and Eve to life." see: ABC's Of The Bible, Reader's Digest, op. cit., p. 219. Another source says this of Albrecht Durer's version of the descent, in which Hell is represented as a ruined underground mansion, instead of the traditional fiery mouthed dragon. Demons attempt to stop Christ but are not able too, for a number of souls, such as Adam and Eve have already been raised up, and more souls come forth out of the dark vaults towards Christ's banner of victory, thus, in this version of the descent, Christ "is helping, or rather dragging, up the souls of His ancestors." (The Life Of Christ, (As Represented In Art), by Frederic W. Farrar, D.D., F.R.S., Pub. in London by Adam & Charles Black, 1894, pp. 431-437, citing from p. 434). In another work shows Christ's descent in which he grasps, with his right hand, an elderly looking man's right hand to raise him up. Others follow close behind the man. See: La Pinacoteca Nazionale Di Siena, i dipinti dal XV al XVIII secolo, by Piero Torriti, 1978, Sagep Editrice Genova, pp. 148-151, fig. 427, Christo al Limbo). Alma, another ancient american prophet, about 82 B.C., wrote of how the gospel was spreading forth into "all parts of our vineyard." (Alma 13:23). He also said: Blessed "is the name of my God, who has been mindful of this people, who are a branch of the tree of Israel. [Thus] ...we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth." (Alma 26:36-7).

This same type of symbolism was also used by early to later Christians, for some of the earliest Liturgies of the Church included prayers asking the Lord to remember those whom they had remembered, plus those also whom they had not remembered, such as their descendants who had been in the faith and had died, "and our ancestors from righteous Abel even unto this day." May they rest in the region of light too. Monumental Christianity, op. cit., p. 267, see note 1, Rattray's Liturgies, p. 119. St. James' amd St. Mark's.

In the Fragments From The Lost Writings of Irenaeus, [A.D. 120-202.] Irenaeus used a mustard seed as a type of what Christ did. The seed was sown in the world, as in a field, and from that seed grew a tree that spread out from the heart of the earth into all the world. The descent, baptism for the dead, the resurrection, and the post-resurrection pilgrimage of Christ and his missionary forces into all the world seems to be symbolically presented here in such a way. The Pastor of Hermas, or The Shepherd [A.D. 160], also used branches, willows, twigs, trees, etc., as symbolical types for how Christ and his servants were to spread the gospel and water (or perhaps baptized) the different nations' people of the world. Tertullian [A.D. 145-220], likened the 12 apostles to fountains and rivers which should water the Gentile world. Christ, as it was predicted by Isaiah, was as a root in a thirsty land (Isa. 53:2). Christ was also likened unto a seed through which the nations of the earth would be blessed. Clement of Alexandria, [A.D. 153-193-217], used a "seed" as a type of how God had filled the universe with "the seed of salvation." Christ was "diffused over the whole face of the earth; by whom, so to speak, the universe has already become an ocean of blessings."

The Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, p.573, XXXI; vol. 2, pp. 39-41, The Pastor of Hermas, Book III, Similitude 8, Chap. I-VI; p. 202, Clement of Alex., Exhortation To The Heathen, chap. x; Vol. 3, pp.164, 169-70 & pp.364-5, Tertullian Against Marcion, Book IV, chap. xiii; & p.172, An Answer to the Jews, chap. xiv; Isa. xliii. 20; John 15:1-8; Rom. chap.10, 11:16-27. In a 13th century depiction, an angel clasps the wrist of person as they ascend up to the heavenly Jerusalem, it also shows a "river of life" which flows from the throne of God, from either side of this river the tree of life grows. (See: The Horizon Book of the Middle Ages, by the Editors of Horizon Magazine, Editor in Charge, Norman Kotker, author, Morris Bishop, Pub. by American Heritage Pub., Co., N.Y., 1968, p.81). Later Christian artists depicted Christ as the true vine which branches are his disciples. In the Painting by Pacino di Bonaguida, some of the symbolical types were that of a great river from which the roots of a tree would be watered. Thus, there were "four heads, to water the paradise of the whole Church. Next, from the trunk of the tree let there come forth twelve branches adorned with fronds, flowers, and fruits; and let the leaf of the tree be a most effective medication, both preventing and healing, against every kind of disease, because the word of the cross is the virtue of God for the health of every believer." (Christianity And The Renaissance (Image and Religious Imagination in the Quattrocento), Edited by Timothy Verdon & John Henderson, Pub. by Syracuse Un. Press, 1990, pp.135 & 141, see chapter 5, pp.132-160, entitled: The Tree of Life And The Holy Cross (Franciscan Spirituality in the Trecento and the Quattrocento), by Rab Hatfield; Monumental Christianity, op. cit., Lundy, 1876, pp.270-1; Studies in the Iconography of the Virtues and Vices in the Middle Ages, O'Reilly, 1972, op. cit., pp.344-5. "In semitic tradition and the Bible, the Tree is a great cosmological tree piercing the very centre of the earth at Jerusalem and, in the dream of Nebuchadnezar for example, providing refuge for the fowls of the air in its branches reaching up to the heavens and the ends of the earth, shade for the beasts beneath it and nourishment for all (Daniel iv, 10-13)." A Garland Series, Outstanding Theses In The Fine Arts from British Universities, Studies in the Iconography of the Virtues and Vices in the Middle Ages, by Jennifer O'Reilly, Oct. 1972, Pub. by Garland Pub., Inc., N.Y., & London. 1988, see pp.346-7; Museum of Antiquity (A Description of Ancient Life): The Employments, Amusements, Customs and Habits, The Cities, Palaces, Monuments and Tombs, The Literature and Fine Arts of 3,000 Years Ago), by L. W. Yaggy M.S., and T. L. Haines, A.M., Pub. by Western Pub. Co., House, Chicago, 1883, pp.940-1; E. Baldwin Smith, The Dome, A Study in the History of Ideas, (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1950, 1978), pp. 26—28, see note 52: Trees where an important symbol to show that souls had entered paradise.

The first ancient American prophets brought with them a record and knowledge of many of these symbolical types from the old world, when they came to the ancient Americas. Thus, Nephi read & taught his brethren many of the things which were engraven on the plates (1 Nephi 19:21-22). In it, Israel was likened unto an olive-tree, broken off and scattered throughout the world. Lehi had a dream which Nephi later interpreted. In the dream a river of filthy water was symbolic of the gulf which separated the wicked from the tree of life, and also from the saints of God. It was also a representation of that awful hell which was prepared for the wicked. (1 Nephi 10:12; 15:7-36; 2 Nephi 15:7).

Inasmuch as the scriptures and writings that the historic Christians used were perhaps the same types which were in the copy of the scriptures, the brass plates, which Lehi brought with him to the Americas, and which he studied, and passed on to his descendants. It is interesting to note how that historic Christianity continued to use these old types, that of branches, vineyards, trees, roots, etc. One of these types was the tree of life and the tree of death, the good fruit, which the Church encouraged the saints to taste was the tree of life in paradise. The cross was seen as a type of the tree of life too, its lower portion pierces the serpent, and thus overcame death and sin. Its upper branches contain the life giving fruit, the crucified Christ.# For example, the ancient Jewish apocryphal story of Seth son of Adam, journeying to Paradise in search of the oil of mercy, this was known in Europe as the Vita Adae et Evae, in Latin. The origins of the wood for the cross, in legend, is said in Geoffrey of Viterbo (c. 1180), to have come from one of the “three twigs which Hiontus, the apocryphal son of Noah received when he journeyed to Paradise.”# Though these fragments and types were Christianised in later Christian lore, still the imagery of these types, and the use of twigs, branches, wood, and trees were preserved in later legendized versions. Which versions often connect up with types about the descent into hell and the resurrection. And like in the case with Lehi’s types, the fruit of the tree of Life in Paradise, in the case with historic Christian lore, “the Tree of Life in Paradise, its evergreen leaves being the word of God,” have redemptive powers, to raise the human family up from the underworld, the grave, and to feed the nations with the sweetest faith.# Hence, such a tree is very desirable to press towards, despite the trials and tribulations which the forces of hell may put in the way to block the souls ascent towards it, because they know that if these souls cling unto God as he clings to them, clinging which often is illustrated in the art works by different types of hand and wrist grasps,# that these souls will be protected, and out of their grasps, and hence will be perfected and deified, when they are pulled into heaven or paradise by their hands or wrists.#
As in Jacob 5 and 6, so also in historic Christianity, these different parts of trees, and plant types, were used to illustrate how God and his servants sought to nourish the human family with the gospel, so they could grow up to be productive members of the assembly of the gods in the universe. Hence, there is the imagery of how the pure rivers represent the waters of life, which river proceeds out of the throne of God and the Lamb. Plus, how that the roots of the tree represent the lower regions of the underworld, the place of Adam’s grave. Moreover, connecting such a place with the tree of life and the cross which penetrates the regions of death to provide a means of ascension for the human family, and the descent into hell for God to lift souls up by their hands out of hell.# Hence, there is also the imagery that the roots, or souls who have been rescued out of hell, are perfected too, as they ascend through the virtues towards moral Christian perfection in their victory over the vices of hell.#

Like the early Christians, who’s scriptures included many Old Testament time writings, types and symbols, the ancient American Prophet’s scriptures consisted of the same types of ancient writings, types, and symbols too, hence, Isaiah, and others' writings were cited, and the descent is prophetically hinted to when it mentions the prisoners going forth out of darkness to feed in the pastures on high. They have mercy shown to them and are led by the springs of water, for the Lord would not forget them because he had made a hand clasping covenant with them, having graven them upon the palms of his hands.# Descent types and imagery is also hinted to also in how the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered, by the Lord. Nephi tells of types in the mysteries in how the arm of the Lord would be revealed (1 Nephi 21:21-25, 22:1, 9-11; Isa. 49). Hand clasping guides are mentioned in covenants made between the Lord and Nephi, and how the Lord led them by the hand (2 Nephi 1:5-6). Further types from the mysteries are hinted to in the words "awake, from a deep sleep,... of hell, and shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe." Nephi rejoiced that he had been redeemed from hell and encircled about eternally in the arms of the Lord's love (2 Nephi 1:13-15, 21-23).

In The Book of Mormon, other types, imagery, and symbols of the mysteries, the descent into hell, and salvation for the dead are found in the words:
1. The first-fruits of the resurrection.
2. How souls are to be freed from darkness and the captivity of the devil.
3. Praising the Lord for the plan of redemption and the resurrection, because if there wasn't one, we would have been left in hell and would have become devils, angels to the devil.
4. Hell delivering up its captive spirits.
5. Thanking the Lord that he prepared a way to escape the grasp of the awful monster death and hell through the resurrection.
6. Praying that the gaits of hell will be closed continually, so that one doesn’t have to enter in through those gaits.
7. Robes of righteousness.
8. The Lord's hand redeems.
9. May God raise you from death.
10. The eternal plan of deliverance from death.
11. People going into captivity by descending into the enlarged mouth of hell.
12. The Lord's arm of mercy extended.
13. The devil's kingdom being shaken, and they which belong to it being stirred up unto repentance.
14. Priests doing their duty to preach the word, so that the peoples' blood would not be upon their garment.
15. Being clothed in robes of righteousness during the resurrection.
16. Covenants with oaths.
17. Baptism.
18. Breaking the bands of death, gaining victory over death.
19. The Lord seeing his seed, or the saints of old and all those who would be raised to dwell with God.
20. The Lord delivered souls from hell, loosed the bands of death, raised them up in immortality.
21. Garments washed white in the blood of Christ.
All these are common elements, types, symbols and motifs that present Christ’s descent into hell, the preaching of the gospel there, the deliverance up out of hell, and the resurrection, or raising the dead to eternal life.#
In ancient Jewish and early Christian thought, it was important to be worthy of being counted as part of the Messiah's lineage, or to be watered, nourished, and grafted into it. However, if a person continued to sin and refused to repent, this resulted in them having symbolically altered their genealogy lineage to be that of the devil, and his demons. Paul seems to hint to this when he wrote to the Galatians that God sent Christ to "redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons." The Devil At Baptism, (Ritual, Theology, and Drama), by Henry Ansgar Kelly, Cornell Un. Press, 1985, Ithaca & London, p. 21-2, note 13, Galatians 4:3-10; 3:19.

In the Book of Mormon, Jacob chapters 5-6, Jacob cites from the Prophet Zenos who symbolically compared the descendants of Israel like unto tame & wild olive trees, vineyards, branches & roots, etc., with symbolical hints to the underworld, or spirit prison, in that this parable mentions that the "roots thereof profit me nothing so long as it shall bring forth evil fruit." (Jacob 5:35). However, in Jacob 5:36, the Lord & his servants did not neglect the roots of the trees, (the spirits in prison), for they went to them also. Jacob expounded a little on this parable by saying: "how merciful is our God unto us, for he remembereth the house of Israel, both roots and branches; and he stretches forth his hands unto them all the day long; and they are a stiffnecked and a gainsaying people; but as many as will not harden their hearts shall be saved in the kingdom of God.

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I beseech of you in words of soberness that ye would repent, and come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you. And while his arm of mercy is extended towards you in the light of the day, harden not your hearts. Yea, today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts; for why will ye die? For behold, after ye have been nourished by the good word of God all the day long, will ye bring forth evil fruit, that ye must be hewn down and cast into the fire? Behold, will ye reject these words? Will ye reject the words of the prophets; and will ye reject all the words which have been spoken concerning Christ, after so many have spoken concerning him; and deny the good word of Christ, and the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and quench the Holy Spirit, and make a mock of the great plan of redemption, which hath been laid for you?" (Jacob 6:4-8.)

Jacob then warned that if they rejected & denied these things they would go down to the lake of fire, or into the infernal regions,--hell. The parable shows us that the Lord did not neglect the world, or the realms of the dead, for He & his servants went down into different parts of His vineyard, (or world), & also unto the roots (or spirits in prison), & thus gathered the good fruit, or good people unto himself.

Note too, how Jacob hints to the rites of passage hand clasps, & hand gestures, that symbolized the saving hand of God reaching out to clasp the hand of those who would reach out towards God. He wrote that God stretches forth His hand unto them all the day long, so "cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you. And while his arm of mercy is extended towards you." (Jacob 6:4-5.) `Cleave unto God' or clasp God's hand of mercy, while God extends His hand unto you. Again, a common theme in the art works of early to later Christendom, where we see the saving hand of God extending down to clasp the hand of those who reach up towards God's extended hand. God, Christ, or his angels then guide the soul up into heaven.

Note: Romanesque Art In France, by Joseph Gantner & Marcel Pobe, pl.135, & p.64. The Horizon History of Christianity by Roland H. Bainton, p.214-5. The Icon, Weitzmann, pp.170, 225, 282-3, 342-3, etc.; Art in the Early Church, Lowrie, pl.100, etc.; Gothic Painting, I, p.48. Ps.73:23-4; The Secret Book of Revelation, by Gilles Quispel Professor, 1979, p.48; Age Of Spirituality, Ed. by Kurt Weitzmann, 1979, #438: left; Monuments of Romanesque Art, Hanns Swarsenski; Byzantium, by Antoine Bon, 1972, Nagel Pub., in Great Britian, Barrie & Jenkins, London, in this source is a work that shows Christ grasping the wrist of a person, (Adam?) with his right hand, while his left grasps the right wrist of a woman; See also: Byzantine Art, (in the Collection of Soviet Museums), by Alice Bank, Pub., by Harry N. Abrams, N.Y., 1977, Aurora Art, Pub., in Leningrad, this source shows the descent with Christ grasping, with his right hand, the left hand wrist of a man (Adam?); Medieval Art, by Charles Rufus Morey, Pub. W.W. Norton, 1942, p. 99, fig. 48, Monastery Church of St. Luke of Stiris: Mosaic: the Harrowing of hell, showing Christ turning while pulling a person up with his left hand grasping their right wrist.
Another sources says how that when Christ was ascending out of the spirit prison, "he ascended with a great prey of men and a great multitude of angels." A Psalm says: "`Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led captivity captive; Thou hast received gifts in men.' And that He ascended with a great multitude of angels appears from the queries which the lesser angels made to the greater when Christ ascended..." In the Gloss it says that certain angels did not have full knowledge of the mystery of the Incarnation, Passion and Resurrection; and seeing the Lord ascending into Heaven by His own power, with a multitude of angels and of holy men, they wondered at the mystery... and said to the angels who accompanied the Lord: `Who is this that cometh'; and in the Psalm: `Who is this King of glory?'" Further on Saint Jerome is cited, and he seems to hint to how Christ is a hand clasping guide during the ascension, for Christ "redeemed man, and "Thy right hand shall conduct Thee wonderfully," that is, Thy power and Thy virtue shall lead thee to Heaven.'" (The Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine, (Trans. and adapted from the Latin by Granger Ryan and Helmut Ripperger), 1941, Arno Press, A Publishing and Library service of the N.Y. Times, N.Y., 1969, p. 290).
Christ right hand grasps the left hand wrist of a naked soul (Adam?) as they and others begin to come forth out of the prison house. (Hanna Swarzenski Vorgotische Miniaturen Die Ersten Jahrhunderte Deutscher Malerei (1927 or 28), Karl Robert Langewiesche Verlag-Konigstein Im Taunus and Leipzig, p.85).

In later stages, and moments during the descent. Christ takes a hold of Adam by the hand and guide them up towards paradise. "Thus the Lord went into paradise holding the hand of Adam and entrusted him to Michael the archangel; and all the saints were following Michael the archangel, and he led them through the glorious door into paradise." (See: By Study And Also By Faith, Vol. 1, pp. 255-6, & 325, "Christ's Descent Into Hell: The Gospel of Nicodemus. In Tischendorff's Latin text, & Edgar Hennecke & Wilhelm Schneemelcher, New Testament Apocrypha, translated by R. Mcl. Wilson, 2 Vols. (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1963, pp. 225-6. After having been freed from the underworld, and while they were ascending towards paradise "they meet Enoch and Elijah. See also: The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 8, pp.416-458, for different versions of the Gospel of Nicodemus.

See also: The Illuminated Book, by David Diringer D. LITT, 1st published MCMLVIII, by Faber & Faber Lit., Lon., see VII-31, b, "Utrecht Horae W. 188, fol. 122r: Christ's descent into the jaws of Limbo, with Adam and Eve ascending for from the jaws. With his own right hand, Christ clasps the right hand wrist of Adam who is the first to be raised up from a cave which is in the form of jaws. (A World History of Art, by Sheldon Cheney. Pub. The Viking Press, N.Y., 1947, p. 467 "Sassetta: Christ in Limbo (Fogg Art Mus.) Har. Un., 1937-Sheldon Cheney).

Another work shows Christ standing on the doors of hell, clasping, with his left hand, the right hand of a man, while his left hand clasps the hand of another man. (Signs & Symbols in Christian Art, by George Ferguson, Pub. by Oxford Un., Press N.Y., 1959, "42. Benvenuto di Giovanni: The Descent into Limbo. From the predella `The Passion of Our Lord'. National Gallery of Art, Washington").

An artist shows a later moment during the descent, for Christ has already raised up a number of people out of the grave, and then reaches down with his right hand to grasp the hands to raise up and "release" the "penitent thief". (Behold the Christ, Bainton, 1974, op. cit., p. 172, fig. 196).
Christ has turned to guide the others out of hell, as he grasps the right wrist of a clothed person (Adam?) with his left hand. Other souls follow, some of which are clothed, they are followed by naked souls with up-lifted hands clasped together in the traditional prayer gesture. (L' Art Religieux Du XIIe Siecle En France, Emile Male, Paris Librairie Armand Colin, 1922, p. 105, fig. 94. Descente aux Limes. Fragment d' un vitrail du XIIe siecle. See note 2: Hucher, Calques des vitraux peints du Mans (Paris, Didronet Morel. Cathedrole du Mans.)

See also: Romanesque Frescoes, by Edgar Waterman Anthony, Pub. by Princeton Un. Press, 1951, Princeton, N.J., see fig. 146. Caramanico, S. Tommaso. Nave. Christ in Limbo. See also fig. 49. Rome, S. Clemente, Lower Church, Nave, "Descent inot Hell", & for another on the descent, see fig. 51. A number of souls watch, as Christ grasps, with his right hand, the right hand wrist of Adam to raise him up. Eve seems to be next, for she lifts her hands up, as if in prayer and praise, but also because Christ will clasp her hand to raise her up too. (Romanesque Frescoes, ibid., fig. 135. S. Angelo in Formis, Church. Christ in Limbo. Detail of fig. 132.

Naked souls, some with up-lifted hands in praise and prayer, are rescued out of the jaws of hell by Christ and an angel (Michael?). With his left hand, Christ has thrusted the cross-banner into a bound demon, while the angel also has thrusted a lance into another demon. Christ's right hand grasps the right wrist of a naked soul with up-lifted hands. (The Winchester Psalter, by Francis Wormald. Pub. by N.Y. Graphic Soc. LTD, Harvey Miller & Medcalf 1973, fig. 27, The Harrowing of Hell, Folio 24). See also: The Illuminated Book, by David Diringer D. LITT., Pub., in MCMLVIII, by Faber and Faber Limited, R. Q., Lon., see 3, 14 b, S. Swithin Psalter, Christ in limbo).

The jaws of hell open as naked souls are rescued by Christ who grasps, with his left hand, both of the wrists of the first to leave hell. (Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the Walters Art Gallery, Vol. I, France 875-1420, by Lilian M. C. Randall, etc., 1989, p. 310, fig. 65, Cat. 32, f. 25. A similar manner in which the hand clasp takes place during the harrowing is seen in: Books of Hours (and Their Owners) by John Harthan, 1977, Pub. Thames and Hudson.
The jaws of hell open wide as Christ grasps, with his left hand, the right wrist of the first to be rescued. He is followed by another close behind him. (Les Ivoires Gothiques, Francais, Par Raymond Koechlin, Planches. Reimpression F. DE Nobele Paris 1968, No. 34 Petrograd, Musee de l`Ermitage).

Another work, from the Middle Ages, shows naked souls being lifted up by their hands out of the jaws of hell, and of course there is the hand clasp, except in this particular case, Christ’ left hand thumb rests on the knuckle of the up lifted hands of Adam, the first to be raised up during the “Harrowing of Hell.”#

In another, Adam's right hand wrist is the first to be clasped by Christ's left hand as souls begin to pass through the arch way of the prison castle during the harrowing of hell. (Age of Chivalry (Art in Plantagenet England 1200--1400), Ed. by Jonathan Alexander and Paul Binski, Pub. 1987, by Royal Academy of Arts, London, with Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Lon., see fig. 308, p. 328. The Harrowing of hell. Christ's descent, Walrus ivory).

Holding a banner in his left hand, Christ reaches down as if he is in the act of pulling another soul up through the arch ways of limbo, for there are others naked souls off to the side as if they had already been raised up by the hand of Christ. (Heaven and Hell In Western Art, by Robert Hughes, 1968, p. 192, Giovanni Bellini? Christ's descent into limbo. City Art Gallery, Bristol.)
See also: Les Ivories, op. cit., p. 31; Les Ivoires Gothiques, op. cit., pl. LVI, #220. Berling, coll. du Prof. Weisbach; Greek and Syrian Miniatures In Jerusalem, Hatch, op. cit., 1931, pp. 58-9, pl. II, the harrowing of hell; Ikonen, by Konrad Onasch, Gutersloher Verlagshaus, Gerd Mohn, 1961, see fig. 39, & 73.

With the doors of hell having fallen down, numerous souls begin to pour out over them and through the jaws of hell to be greeted by Christ who has come with angels with him. The first man extents a hand towards Christ. Thus, this moment is a little before the hand grips take place.

Heaven and Hell in Western Art, Hughes, 1968, Jerome Cock after Pieter Bruegel: engraving, The harrowing of hell. Bibliotheque Albert I, Brussels. See also: By Study & Also By Faith, 1: pp.611-642; Ps.16:8-10; 17:4-7; 20:6; 24:3-10; 25:4-5; 68:18 & Eph.4:7-10; "Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, & afterward receive me to glory." (Ps.73:23-4), & Ps.89:13; 118:16-21; & Psalm 23; In some depictions of the Hand of God extending down out of heaven. Some depictions show "the Hand of God reaching out of heaven to rescue the souls of the just and translate them to Paradise" (Didron's Icon., Chret. p.216; A fresco in the church of the great Greek convent at Salamis.) "These souls are represented as little, naked children, kneeling meekly, with folded hands, in joyful adoration and safety. It illustrates that passage of Scripture which says that all God's saints are in His hand; (Deut. xxxiii.3;) and that other consoling passage read on All Saints' Day, "The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there no torment shall touch them; they are in peace;" (Wisdom of Solomon, iii. 1-4;) or that saying of Jesus Christ our Lord, in which He identifies Himself with God the Father, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one." (John 10:27-30.) (Monumental Christianity, Lundy, op, cit., p.99; See also: The Migration of Symbols, by The Count Goblet D'Alviella, 1st pub. at Westminster in 1894, reproduced by University Books, 1956, pp.26-27; The tree of life is an ancient symbol, and has appeared frequently in Near Eastern art. Its fruit was believed to bring immortality. Hippolytus wrote that in Paradise is the tree of knowledge and the tree of life. In the same way today, there are two trees planted in Paradise, the Law and the Word. (Com. Dan., I, 17; Griechische christliche Schriftsteller, p.29, lines 16-19.) Hippolytus seems to hint to Christ's the Word as guiding into Paradise, or perhaps the planting of the saints of old in Paradise, & the preaching of the Law or gospel there. For the faithful were referred to as God's planting, in both Old and New Testaments, this was a concept that was carried further by the early church fathers. Isaiah 60:21 refers to "the shoot of my planting" and 61:3 to "the planting of the Lord." "Closely related to the tree of life is the vine, also a part of the "planting" theme." (Danielou, Ch. II, "The Vine and the Tree of Life," supplies numerous references and interpretations to be found among the literature of the early Christian Fathers. (See: Primitive Christian Symbols, pp.24-25). In the parable of the vineyard, we see that "the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel" (Isaiah 5:7). Many of the parables of Jesus pertained these types (John 15:1-7). Jesus said that he was the true vine, and that His Father was the vinedresser. This signified that He was the true Israel; and "I am the vine, you are the branches," symbolizing the union of Christ with his disciples. The sacramental vine juice was also symbolic of the passover meal. (Matthew 26:29). See: Textile Art in the Church, Marion P. Ireland, p.92, see also notes 14-15; The symbolical use of roots & plants as being types for people is seen: "In the section "The Diminutive and Precious Plastic Art, Wood, Ivory, and Metal Sculptures" (pp. 516-550), one will indeed find much that is of significance as an analogy to old Jewish products." In this particular case Jewish symbolism was blended with Christian symbolism. For on a silver goblet, which was believed to belong to the first century. The relief is described in detail, in that 12 vine-branches grow in pairs from the ground, they represent the 12 apostles around the Lord. In some myths Adam grows out of the earth, as a parallel in the Iranian myth where Mahryag and Marynang, the first pair, grow out of the earth like plants. Between them is the Divine power of light, which originates from Gayomard, & which grows out of the earth also. (Origins of Judaism, Vol.III, Part 1, (Judaism & Christianity in the First Century), Ed., by Jacob Neusner, 1990, p.120, Early Christian Archaeology From the Jewish Point of View, by Ludwig Blau, p.208; Origins of Judaism, Vol. XI, Part 1, p.6, (The Literature of Formative Judaism: The Midrash-Compilations), Ed., by Jacob Neusner, 1990, Garland Pub. N.Y., & Lon., see article entitled: The Gnostic Background of the Rabbinic Adam Legends, by Alexander Almann, Manchester, p.376, note 3; In some of the art works underground in the catacombs "Christ is shown as vine, as lamb and even more often as fish, the Greek word for which is an acrostic of Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour." (Mary Portrayed, by Vincent Cronin, 1968, 1st pub. by Darton, Longman & Todd Limited, London, 1968, page 6, & p.35: "...Aaron, at God's command, laid a dry branch in the Ark of the Covenant; next day the branch flowered and bore fruit. The sterile branch bearing fruit is the Virgin Mary who gives birth to Jesus Christ..." See also: During the 15th century A.D., Dominicans sang: "Rorate, celi, de super, et nubes pluant justum. Aperiatur terra, et germinet Salvatorem;" "Drop down dew, you heavens, from above, let the clouds rain down the Just One. Let the earth be opened and bud forth the Savior." These words seem to reflect Christ descent from the pre-existence, and his ascension up out of the spirit prison (see: Fra Angelico at San Marco, Hood, 1993, op. cit., p. 269). Peter Damiani, [A.D. 1006 or 1007, died at Faenza on Feb. 22, 1072], in a speech entitled: The Glory of the Cross of Christ, he said: "...By the Cross, or rather by Him who vouchsafed to hang upon the Cross, all things are restored, all things are blessed, all things are covered with the dew of heaven.... O truly noble tree, which proceedest indeed from an earthly origin, but stretchest forth thy happy boughs beyond the stars! Once thy fruit was the prey of hell; now thou bearest the cedars of Paradise, and those living stones come forth from thee with which the dwellings of the heavenly Jerusalem are constructed." (The World's Orators, Editor in Chief, Guy Carleton Lee, Ph.D., University Edition, G.P. Putnam's Sons, N.Y., & London, The Knickerbocker Press, 1900, pp. 307, 314, 317, & 318).

ANCIENT AMERICAN PROPHETS' KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST'S DESCENT: The Brass Plates which Lehi brought with him over the ocean to the ancient americas, was later passed down from one Prophet to another. Lehi studied them and found that they contained the five books of Moses, and the prophecies of the holy prophets from the beginning down to the time of the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah, and many of the prophecies of Jeremiah, plus the mysteries or ordinances, commandments, and covenants of the Lord, etc. Perhaps Lehi, Nephi, Jacob and other ancient american Prophets may have had a copy of a prophecy which may have been preserved on the brass plates. Later on in the Old World during Justin Martyr's time, [A.D. 110-165], Justin must have compared the different versions of the Jewish writings, for noted that some manuscripts were different from others, for he charged that the Jews had left a prophecy out from "the sayings of Jeremiah". It reads: "The Lord God remembered His dead people of Israel who lay in the graves; and He descended to preach to them His own salvation." Another version recorded by Irenaeus reads: "`And the Lord remembered His dead saints (Israel) who slept in the land of sepulture; and He went down to preach His salvation to them, and to rescue and save them.'" The Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 5:10-13; Mosiah 1:3-4, 16; 2:1-3, 9; The Ante-Nicene Fathers = (TANF) 1: pp. 234-5, chapter LXXII; The Birth of the Christian Religion and The Origins of the New Testament, Loisy, op. cit., pp. 204, & 270-1; Apostasy From The Divine Church, Barker, op. cit., p. 63; Encyclopedia Of Early Christianity, Ferguson, op. cit., pp. 411-12; Monumental Christianity, Lundy, op. cit., 1882, pp. 264-5; Irenaeus, [A.D. 120-202], quotes it as being from both Isaiah and Jeremiah. (TANF) 1: pp. 234-5, 325, 421, 449-451, 455, 457, 488, 493-4, 499, 506, 510, 543-4 & 549-50; The Apostles' Creed For Everyman, Barclay, op. cit., pp. 119-133; Mormonism and Early Christianity, Nibley, op. cit., note 97, Justin, Dialogue with Trypho 4, 6, in PG 6:645; Irenaeus, Against Heresies III, 20, 4, in PG 7:945; IV, 22, in PG 7:1046; V, 33, 1, in 7:1208; also cited by Jerome, Commentaries in Evangelium (Commentary on Matthew) 4, 27, in PL 26:213.

Nephi read & taught his brethren many of the things which were engraven on the plates (1 Nephi 19:21-22). In it, Israel was likened unto an olive-tree, broken off and scattered throughout the world. Lehi had a dream which Nephi later interpreted. In the dream a river of filthy water was symbolic of the gulf which separated the wicked from the tree of life, and also from the saints of God. It was also a representation of that awful hell which was prepared for the wicked. (1 Nephi 10:12; 15:7-36; 2 Nephi 15:7). Isaiah's writings were cited and the descent is prophetically hinted to when it mentions the prisoners going forth out of darkness to feed in the pastures on high. They have mercy shown to them and are led by the springs of water, for the Lord would not forget them because he had made a covenant with them. Having graven them upon the palms of his hands, (hinting to the hand clasps in the covenants, and the wounds of Christ, Zech. 13:6; 1 Nephi 21:6-16). The captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered, by the Lord. Nephi tells of types in the mysteries in how the arm of the Lord would be revealed (1 Nephi 21:21-25, 22:1, 9-11; Isa. 49). Hand clasping guides are mentioned in covenants made between the Lord and Nephi, and how the Lord led them by the hand (2 Nephi 1:5-6). Further types from the mysteries are hinted to in the words "awake, from a deep sleep,... of hell, and shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe." Nephi rejoiced that he had been redeemed from hell and encircled about eternally in the arms of the Lord's love (2 Nephi 1:13-15, 21-23).
Other hints to the descent are found in the words: The first-fruits of the resurrection; Being freed from darkness and the captivity of the devil; Praising the Lord for the plan of redemption and the resurrection, because if there wasn't one, we would have been left in hell and would have become devils, angels to the devil; Hell delivering up its captive spirits; Thanking the Lord that he prepared a way to escape the grasp of the awful monster death and hell through the resurrection; Praying that the gaits of hell will be closed continually so that one does not have to enter in; Robes of righteousness; The Lord's hand redeems; May God raise you from death; The eternal plan of deliverance from death; People going into captivity by descending into the enlarged mouth of hell; The Lord's arm of mercy extended; The devil's kingdom being shaken, and they which belong to it being stirred up unto repentance; Priests doing their duty to preach the word, so that the peoples' blood would not be upon their garment; Being clothed in robes of righteousness during the resurrection; Covenants with oaths; Baptism; Breaking the bands of death, gaining victory over death; The Lord seeing his seed or the saints of old and all those who would be raised to dwell with God; The Lord delivered souls from hell; Loosed the bands of death; Raised them up in immortality; And garments washed white in the blood of Christ. All these are common elements, types and motifs that present Christ descent into hell, and resurrection. 2 Nephi 2:6-10, 26-29; 3:5; 4:31-35; 7:2; 8:18, 23-24; 9:6-26, 44, 50; 10:23-25; 11:5; 15:13-14; 28:19-23, 32; 33:6; Jacob 1:19; 2:2; 3:11; 4:11; Mosiah 2:28; 5:5-15; 6:1-3; 13:10; 14:9; 15:8-25, 31; 16:7-14; 18:8-14; Alam 5:1-38; 7:12, 25; 11:41-45.

In the Book of Mormon, Jacob chapters 5-6, Jacob cites from the Prophet Zenos who symbolically compared the descendants of Israel like unto tame & wild olive trees, vineyards, branches & roots, etc., with symbolical hints to the underworld, or spirit prison, in that this parable mentions that the "roots thereof profit me nothing so long as it shall bring forth evil fruit." (Jacob 5:35). However, in Jacob 5:36, the Lord & his servants did not neglect the roots of the trees, (the spirits in prison), for they went to them also. Jacob expounded a little on this parable by saying: "how merciful is our God unto us, for he remembereth the house of Israel, both roots and branches; and he stretches forth his hands unto them all the day long; and they are a stiffnecked and a gainsaying people; but as many as will not harden their hearts shall be saved in the kingdom of God.

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I beseech of you in words of soberness that ye would repent, and come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you. And while his arm of mercy is extended towards you in the light of the day, harden not your hearts. Yea, today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts; for why will ye die? For behold, after ye have been nourished by the good word of God all the day long, will ye bring forth evil fruit, that ye must be hewn down and cast into the fire? Behold, will ye reject these words? Will ye reject the words of the prophets; and will ye reject all the words which have been spoken concerning Christ, after so many have spoken concerning him; and deny the good word of Christ, and the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and quench the Holy Spirit, and make a mock of the great plan of redemption, which hath been laid for you?" (Jacob 6:4-8.)

Jacob then warned that if they rejected & denied these things they would go down to the lake of fire, or into the infernal regions,--hell. The parable shows us that the Lord did not neglect the world, or the realms of the dead, for He & his servants went down into different parts of His vineyard, (or world), & also unto the roots (or spirits in prison), & thus gathered the good fruit, or good people unto himself.

Note too, how Jacob hints to the rites of passage hand clasps, & hand gestures, that symbolized the saving hand of God reaching out to clasp the hand of those who would reach out towards God. He wrote that God stretches forth His hand unto them all the day long, so "cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you. And while his arm of mercy is extended towards you." (Jacob 6:4-5.) `Cleave unto God' or clasp God's hand of mercy, while God extends His hand unto you. Again, a common theme in the art works of early to later Christendom, where we see the saving hand of God extending down to clasp the hand of those who reach up towards God's extended hand. God, Christ, or his angels then guide the soul up into heaven.

Note: Romanesque Art In France, by Joseph Gantner & Marcel Pobe, pl.135, & p.64. The Horizon History of Christianity by Roland H. Bainton, p.214-5. The Icon, Weitzmann, pp.170, 225, 282-3, 342-3, etc.; Art in the Early Church, Lowrie, pl.100, etc.; Gothic Painting, I, p.48. Ps.73:23-4; The Secret Book of Revelation, by Gilles Quispel Professor, 1979, p.48; Age Of Spirituality, Ed. by Kurt Weitzmann, 1979, #438: left; Monuments of Romanesque Art, Hanns Swarsenski; Byzantium, by Antoine Bon, 1972, Nagel Pub., in Great Britian, Barrie & Jenkins, London, in this source is a work that shows Christ grasping the wrist of a person, (Adam?) with his right hand, while his left grasps the right wrist of a woman; See also: Byzantine Art, (in the Collection of Soviet Museums), by Alice Bank, Pub., by Harry N. Abrams, N.Y., 1977, Aurora Art, Pub., in Leningrad, this source shows the descent with Christ grasping, with his right hand, the left hand wrist of a man (Adam?); Medieval Art, by Charles Rufus Morey, Pub. W.W. Norton, 1942, p. 99, fig. 48, Monastery Church of St. Luke of Stiris: Mosaic: the Harrowing of hell, showing Christ turning while pulling a person up with his left hand grasping their right wrist.
Another sources says how that when Christ was ascending out of the spirit prison, "he ascended with a great prey of men and a great multitude of angels." A Psalm says: "`Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led captivity captive; Thou hast received gifts in men.' And that He ascended with a great multitude of angels appears from the queries which the lesser angels made to the greater when Christ ascended..." In the Gloss it says that certain angels did not have full knowledge of the mystery of the Incarnation, Passion and Resurrection; and seeing the Lord ascending into Heaven by His own power, with a multitude of angels and of holy men, they wondered at the mystery... and said to the angels who accompanied the Lord: `Who is this that cometh'; and in the Psalm: `Who is this King of glory?'" Further on Saint Jerome is cited, and he seems to hint to how Christ is a hand clasping guide during the ascension, for Christ "redeemed man, and "Thy right hand shall conduct Thee wonderfully," that is, Thy power and Thy virtue shall lead thee to Heaven.'" (The Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine, (Trans. and adapted from the Latin by Granger Ryan and Helmut Ripperger), 1941, Arno Press, A Publishing and Library service of the N.Y. Times, N.Y., 1969, p. 290).
Christ right hand grasps the left hand wrist of a naked soul (Adam?) as they and others begin to come forth out of the prison house. (Hanna Swarzenski Vorgotische Miniaturen Die Ersten Jahrhunderte Deutscher Malerei (1927 or 28), Karl Robert Langewiesche Verlag-Konigstein Im Taunus and Leipzig, p.85).
In later stages, and moments during the descent. Christ takes a hold of Adam by the hand and guide them up towards paradise. "Thus the Lord went into paradise holding the hand of Adam and entrusted him to Michael the archangel; and all the saints were following Michael the archangel, and he led them through the glorious door into paradise." (See: By Study And Also By Faith, Vol. 1, pp. 255-6, & 325, "Christ's Descent Into Hell: The Gospel of Nicodemus. In Tischendorff's Latin text, & Edgar Hennecke & Wilhelm Schneemelcher, New Testament Apocrypha, translated by R. Mcl. Wilson, 2 Vols. (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1963, pp. 225-6. After having been freed from the underworld, and while they were ascending towards paradise "they meet Enoch and Elijah. See also: The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 8, pp.416-458, for different versions of the Gospel of Nicodemus. See also: The Illuminated Book, by David Diringer D. LITT, 1st published MCMLVIII, by Faber & Faber Lit., Lon., see VII-31, b, "Utrecht Horae W. 188, fol. 122r: Christ's descent into the jaws of Limbo, with Adam and Eve ascending for from the jaws.
With his own right hand, Christ clasps the right hand wrist of Adam who is the first to be raised up from a cave which is in the form of jaws. (A World History of Art, by Sheldon Cheney. Pub. The Viking Press, N.Y., 1947, p. 467 "Sassetta: Christ in Limbo (Fogg Art Mus.) Har. Un., 1937-Sheldon Cheney).

Another work shows Christ standing on the doors of hell, clasping, with his left hand, the right hand of a man, while his left hand clasps the hand of another man. (Signs & Symbols in Christian Art, by George Ferguson, Pub. by Oxford Un., Press N.Y., 1959, "42. Benvenuto di Giovanni: The Descent into Limbo. From the predella `The Passion of Our Lord'. National Gallery of Art, Washington").

An artist shows a later moment during the descent, for Christ has already raised up a number of people out of the grave, and then reaches down with his right hand to grasp the hands to raise up and "release" the "penitent thief". (Behold the Christ, Bainton, 1974, op. cit., p. 172, fig. 196).
Christ has turned to guide the others out of hell, as he grasps the right wrist of a clothed person (Adam?) with his left hand. Other souls follow, some of which are clothed, they are followed by naked souls with up-lifted hands clasped together in the traditional prayer gesture. (L' Art Religieux Du XIIe Siecle En France, Emile Male, Paris Librairie Armand Colin, 1922, p. 105, fig. 94. Descente aux Limes. Fragment d' un vitrail du XIIe siecle. See note 2: Hucher, Calques des vitraux peints du Mans (Paris, Didronet Morel. Cathedrole du Mans.)

See also: Romanesque Frescoes, by Edgar Waterman Anthony, Pub. by Princeton Un. Press, 1951, Princeton, N.J., see fig. 146. Caramanico, S. Tommaso. Nave. Christ in Limbo. See also fig. 49. Rome, S. Clemente, Lower Church, Nave, "Descent inot Hell", & for another on the descent, see fig. 51. A number of souls watch, as Christ grasps, with his right hand, the right hand wrist of Adam to raise him up. Eve seems to be next, for she lifts her hands up, as if in prayer and praise, but also because Christ will clasp her hand to raise her up too. (Romanesque Frescoes, ibid., fig. 135. S. Angelo in Formis, Church. Christ in Limbo. Detail of fig. 132.

Naked souls, some with up-lifted hands in praise and prayer, are rescued out of the jaws of hell by Christ and an angel (Michael?). With his left hand, Christ has thrusted the cross-banner into a bound demon, while the angel also has thrusted a lance into another demon. Christ's right hand grasps the right wrist of a naked soul with up-lifted hands. (The Winchester Psalter, by Francis Wormald. Pub. by N.Y. Graphic Soc. LTD, Harvey Miller & Medcalf 1973, fig. 27, The Harrowing of Hell, Folio 24). See also: The Illuminated Book, by David Diringer D. LITT., Pub., in MCMLVIII, by Faber and Faber Limited, R. Q., Lon., see 3, 14 b, S. Swithin Psalter, Christ in limbo).
The jaws of hell open as naked souls are rescued by Christ who grasps, with his left hand, both of the wrists of the first to leave hell. (Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the Walters Art Gallery, Vol. I, France 875-1420, by Lilian M. C. Randall, etc., 1989, p. 310, fig. 65, Cat. 32, f. 25. A similar manner in which the hand clasp takes place during the harrowing is seen in: Books of Hours (and Their Owners) by John Harthan, 1977, Pub. Thames and Hudson.
The jaws of hell open wide as Christ grasps, with his left hand, the right wrist of the first to be rescued. He is followed by another close behind him. (Les Ivoires Gothiques, Francais, Par Raymond Koechlin, Planches. Reimpression F. DE Nobele Paris 1968, No. 34 Petrograd, Musee de l`Ermitage).

In another, Adam's right hand wrist is the first to be clasped by Christ's left hand as souls begin to pass through the arch way of the prison castle during the harrowing of hell. (Age of Chivalry (Art in Plantagenet England 1200--1400), Ed. by Jonathan Alexander and Paul Binski, Pub. 1987, by Royal Academy of Arts, London, with Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Lon., see fig. 308, p. 328. The Harrowing of hell. Christ's descent, Walrus ivory).

Holding a banner in his left hand, Christ reaches down as if he is in the act of pulling another soul up through the arch ways of limbo, for there are others naked souls off to the side as if they had already been raised up by the hand of Christ. (Heaven and Hell In Western Art, by Robert Hughes, 1968, p. 192, Giovanni Bellini? Christ's descent into limbo. City Art Gallery, Bristol.) See also: Les Ivories, op. cit., p. 31; Les Ivoires Gothiques, op. cit., pl. LVI, #220. Berling, coll. du Prof. Weisbach; Greek and Syrian Miniatures In Jerusalem, Hatch, op. cit., 1931, pp. 58-9, pl. II, the harrowing of hell; Ikonen, by Konrad Onasch, Gutersloher Verlagshaus, Gerd Mohn, 1961, see fig. 39, & 73.

The banner is also seen in the hands of the victorious Christ when he wanders the earth visiting different saints, during his world wide trek. Furthermore, inasmuch as the baptismal waters, seas, rivers, and lakes were early to later types of hell, where spirits of the dead dwelt. It may be too, that an early Jewish belief passed onto the early Christians, then to the later ones. And that belief is how that “all Jews, even the most pious, lived in fear of evil spirits. Particularly prevalent was the notion that the earth was infested with the ghosts of those who were supposed to have drowned in the Great Flood.”# Peter may have used this belief to point out that even the once disobedient who had died during the great flood, could hear the gospel preached to them, and even though they were in their spirit form, they could still live according to God in the spirit. He then goes on to use the flood story, and Christ’s descent into hell, as a type of baptism (1 Peter 3:18—21; 4:5—6).

In Christian art works, Christ’s cross banner is seen in numerous depictions of the descent into hell. Hence, inasmuch as seas, rivers, lakes, in some cases, were types of baptismal waters, and even where baptisms took place, it could be that this later tradition has preserved, to a certain extent, the idea of Christ’s victory march throughout the world, after his ascension out of the baptismal waters, again, the ritualistic ascension out of hell to bear the sign of the cross to all nations, wandering door to door. Consequently, this later tradition says that in Constantinople, “the baptism of Christ is celebrated at Christmas. The head of the church throws a wooden cross out into the Bosporus and three boys swim out after it. The boy who gets the cross is blessed by the priest and given a present. He takes the cross from door to door and receives many gifts which the people give him in gratitude for being permitted to see this sacred object.”#
With the doors of hell having fallen down, numerous souls begin to pour out over them and through the jaws of hell to be greeted by Christ who has come with angels with him. The first man extends a hand towards Christ. Thus, this moment is a little before the hand grips take place.

Heaven and Hell in Western Art, Hughes, 1968, Jerome Cock after Pieter Bruegel: engraving, The harrowing of hell. Bibliotheque Albert I, Brussels. See also: By Study & Also By Faith, 1: pp.611-642; Ps.16:8-10; 17:4-7; 20:6; 24:3-10; 25:4-5; 68:18 & Eph.4:7-10; "Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, & afterward receive me to glory." (Ps.73:23-4), & Ps.89:13; 118:16-21; & Psalm 23; In some depictions of the Hand of God extending down out of heaven. Some depictions show "the Hand of God reaching out of heaven to rescue the souls of the just and translate them to Paradise" (Didron's Icon., Chret. p.216; A fresco in the church of the great Greek convent at Salamis.) "These souls are represented as little, naked children, kneeling meekly, with folded hands, in joyful adoration and safety. It illustrates that passage of Scripture which says that all God's saints are in His hand; (Deut. xxxiii.3;) and that other consoling passage read on All Saints' Day, "The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there no torment shall touch them; they are in peace;" (Wisdom of Solomon, iii. 1-4;) or that saying of Jesus Christ our Lord, in which He identifies Himself with God the Father, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one." (John 10:27-30.) (Monumental Christianity, Lundy, op, cit., p.99; See also: The Migration of Symbols, by The Count Goblet D'Alviella, 1st pub. at Westminster in 1894, reproduced by University Books, 1956, pp.26-27; The tree of life is an ancient symbol, and has appeared frequently in Near Eastern art. Its fruit was believed to bring immortality. Hippolytus wrote that in Paradise is the tree of knowledge and the tree of life. In the same way today, there are two trees planted in Paradise, the Law and the Word. (Com. Dan., I, 17; Griechische christliche Schriftsteller, p.29, lines 16-19.) Hippolytus seems to hint to Christ's the Word as guiding into Paradise, or perhaps the planting of the saints of old in Paradise, & the preaching of the Law or gospel there. For the faithful were referred to as God's planting, in both Old and New Testaments, this was a concept that was carried further by the early church fathers. Isaiah 60:21 refers to "the shoot of my planting" and 61:3 to "the planting of the Lord." "Closely related to the tree of life is the vine, also a part of the "planting" theme." (Danielou, Ch. II, "The Vine and the Tree of Life," supplies numerous references and interpretations to be found among the literature of the early Christian Fathers. (See: Primitive Christian Symbols, pp.24-25). In the parable of the vineyard, we see that "the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel" (Isaiah 5:7). Many of the parables of Jesus pertained these types (John 15:1-7). Jesus said that he was the true vine, and that His Father was the vinedresser. This signified that He was the true Israel; and "I am the vine, you are the branches," symbolizing the union of Christ with his disciples. The sacramental vine juice was also symbolic of the passover meal. (Matthew 26:29). See: Textile Art in the Church, Marion P. Ireland, p.92, see also notes 14-15; The symbolical use of roots & plants as being types for people is seen: "In the section "The Diminutive and Precious Plastic Art, Wood, Ivory, and Metal Sculptures" (pp. 516-550), one will indeed find much that is of significance as an analogy to old Jewish products." In this particular case Jewish symbolism was blended with Christian symbolism. For on a silver goblet, which was believed to belong to the first century. The relief is described in detail, in that 12 vine-branches grow in pairs from the ground, they represent the 12 apostles around the Lord. In some myths Adam grows out of the earth, as a parallel in the Iranian myth where Mahryag and Marynang, the first pair, grow out of the earth like plants. Between them is the Divine power of light, which originates from Gayomard, & which grows out of the earth also. (Origins of Judaism, Vol.III, Part 1, (Judaism & Christianity in the First Century), Ed., by Jacob Neusner, 1990, p.120, Early Christian Archaeology From the Jewish Point of View, by Ludwig Blau, p.208; Origins of Judaism, Vol. XI, Part 1, p.6, (The Literature of Formative Judaism: The Midrash-Compilations), Ed., by Jacob Neusner, 1990, Garland Pub. N.Y., & Lon., see article entitled: The Gnostic Background of the Rabbinic Adam Legends, by Alexander Almann, Manchester, p.376, note 3; In some of the art works underground in the catacombs "Christ is shown as vine, as lamb and even more often as fish, the Greek word for which is an acrostic of Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour." (Mary Portrayed, by Vincent Cronin, 1968, 1st pub. by Darton, Longman & Todd Limited, London, 1968, page 6, & p.35: "...Aaron, at God's command, laid a dry branch in the Ark of the Covenant; next day the branch flowered and bore fruit. The sterile branch bearing fruit is the Virgin Mary who gives birth to Jesus Christ..." See also: During the 15th century A.D., Dominicans sang: "Rorate, celi, de super, et nubes pluant justum. Aperiatur terra, et germinet Salvatorem;" "Drop down dew, you heavens, from above, let the clouds rain down the Just One. Let the earth be opened and bud forth the Savior." These words seem to reflect Christ descent from the pre-existence, and his ascension up out of the spirit prison (see: Fra Angelico at San Marco, Hood, 1993, op. cit., p. 269). Peter Damiani, [A.D. 1006 or 1007, died at Faenza on Feb. 22, 1072], in a speech entitled: The Glory of the Cross of Christ, he said: "...By the Cross, or rather by Him who vouchsafed to hang upon the Cross, all things are restored, all things are blessed, all things are covered with the dew of heaven.... O truly noble tree, which proceedest indeed from an earthly origin, but stretchest forth thy happy boughs beyond the stars! Once thy fruit was the prey of hell; now thou bearest the cedars of Paradise, and those living stones come forth from thee with which the dwellings of the heavenly Jerusalem are constructed." (The World's Orators, Editor in Chief, Guy Carleton Lee, Ph.D., University Edition, G.P. Putnam's Sons, N.Y., & London, The Knickerbocker Press, 1900, pp. 307, 314, 317, & 318). End of Note.

In later centuries, in the americas, these doctrines may have faded off into legends and tradtions during the apostasy here in the Americas, centuries after Christ's visit. During the Christianization period of the 15th -- 16th centuries, and later, the native american's legendized versions of the descent, may have been blended in with later Christians' versions. And even though many of these accounts have retained only fragmented hints to the descent, they are interesting to consider. In considering some of them, we need to ask ourselves as to how much of these accounts were based on ancient native american legends? How much may have been based on a blend as a results of the later Christianization process. How much may have been Christianized as they were retold and recorded by the different later Christian missionaries and explorers? These are valid questions, and the reader is invited to explore these issues and questions.

P. De Roo mentioned some of the traditions of the native Americans that might remind us of the early to later Christian traditions about Christ's descent into the underworld to defeat death and the powers of hell. In a tradition among the Guatemala natives, it says, "that, at a distance of thirty leagues from its capital, in the province of Ultlatlan, now Vera Paz, there was born a god, Exbalanquen by name, who set out to make war upon the powers of hell and fought against its inhabitants, whose king he made a prisoner, together with a great host of his army. After his victory he returned to the earth with his spoils, but the king of hell asked him not to be ejected from his dwelling, alleging that already now it was three or four degress below the region of light. For answer Exbalanquen gave him, in his anger, a dreadful kick, telling him to go back and to take along all that would be dry, rotten, and stinking on earth."

History of America Before Columbus, Roo, Vol. 1, pp. 431-32, see also note 8, Pub. by J. B. Lippincott Co., 1900, citing "Bishop Las Casas, in his "Colleccion de Documentos ineditos, t. lxvi., B. de las Casas, p. 456.

Other native American legends hint to the descent, in the Algonquin-Ojibway legend called the Sea-Gull, the great live-giver travelled to "the gloomy land of shadows." (Isa. 9:2). In the tradition of the Pericues of Lower California, Niparaya was their Great Spirit who had three sons, one of which was called Cuajup or True Man, he was born on earth in the mountains of Acaraqui. "He was most powerful and had a great number of followers, having descended into the bowels of the earth and brought them thence."

Ibid., Roo, Vol. 1, pp. 434-5. Further on Roo mentions how: "The Mexicans also sprinkled the face of the corpse with water." (Ibid., p. 508, note 3, Short, p. 463, ref. to Kingsborough, Mex. Antiq., t. viii. p. 248.

In Josiah Priest's book: American Antiquities, 1833, p.109-110, we read of an interesting discovery: "...Further down the Susquehannah, some 30 or 40 miles below Towanda, at a place called the Black-walnut Bottom, on the farm of a Mr. Kinney, was discovered the most extraordinary specimen of pottery ever known before on earth."

"Respecting this discovery, the owner of the farm relates, as we are informed, by a clergyman, who examined the article on the spot, though in a broken state, that soon after the first settlements on that river, & especially on that farm, a great freshet took place, which tore a channel, in a certain direction, across the flat, when the vessel which we are about to describe, was brought to light."

"It was 12 feet across the top, &, of consequence, was 36 feet in circumference, & otherwise of proportionable depth & form. Its thickness was 3 inches, & appeared to be made of some coarse substance, probably mere clay, such as might be found on the spot, as it was not glazed....But who can tell for what use this vessel was intended; conjecture here is lost, no ray of light dawns upon this strange remnant of antiquity. One might be led to suppose it was made in imitation of the great Laver in the court of Solomon's Temple which was 17 feet 2 inches in diameter, & 52 feet 6 inches in circumference, & 8 feet 9 inches deep. --2 Chron. iv.2." (American Antiquities, op. cit., p.109-10). See also: 1 Kings 7:23-4, Jer. 52:20, & Swarzenski, op. cit., pl.113, fig.258, & pl.218, fig.515.) What ever this vast vessel in the ancient americas was used for is not certain. But as Lundy, & others have shown, baptism was practiced amongst the early Christians, & ancient americans. Some of the ancient peoples of the americas may have also practiced some form of baptism for the dead, for there are also fragmented hints to baptism for the dead, in some cases, according to some writers. (See: Monumental Christianity, Lundy, op. cit., p.380-1, & 389-93. The Ancient Maya, by Sylvanus Morley, 1946, p.205.)

Kersey Graves wrote that the Hindoos as well as the early Christians practiced baptism for the dead. (See: The World's 16 Crucified Saviors or Christianity Before Christ, 6th Ed., Revised & Enlarged, pp. 198-199., 1875, cited in Joshua Moses Bennett's The Gospel of the Great Spirit, 1990, ibid. p.573 Appendix P., see also p.606-9, note 35). Alexander W. Bradford's book: American Antiquities, (1841), op. cit., p.386, tell us that "...In the Hindoo temples are tanks of water, surrounded by colonnades & steps, whither the pilgrims descended to employ themselves in ablutions & religious contemplations." (Heeren's Res., vol. 3 p.81), Tanks precisely similar may be observed in the ruins of Zacatecas in Mexico...." Other possible fonts are said to have been found & were used for different reasons, some have suggest that baptism were performed in some of these structures. (See: Christ in Ancient America & The Book of Mormon, Vol.2, Hunter, op. cit., p.218-9, fig. 109. The World of Aztecs, by William H. Prescott, 1970). See also: Copan (Home Of The Mayan Gods), by Francis Robicsek, Pub. by The Museum of the America Indian Heye Foundation, N.Y., 1972, pp. 11, & 25-26, mentions Itzmna, the God of sky, who journeys beneath the earth during his nightly descent. Don Diego Garcia de Palacio, Oidor to the Audiencia Real of Guatemala, says of the ruins of Copan in his letter of March 8, 1576, to Philip II, King of Spain, that they found the cross symbol, sculptures of figures in clothing that resembled pontifical robes, etc., and a large basin that appeared to have been used for baptism.
Duet. 10:20 hints to oaths and cleaving unto the Lord, or perhaps ritualistic hand grasps for covenants with the Lord, see Isa. 42:6-7, where it mentions a covenant being made with a hand clasp in connection with the descent to those who sit in darkness in the prison house. Isa. 45:1-2 also mentions a hand clasp as a rite of passage through broken down gaits. Luke 24:39, Christ caused a number of his followers to feel his wounds in order to show to them that he was the same Christ who was crucified, but who also had risen from the dead with his body.
The Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity, Ed. by John McManners, Oxford N.Y., Oxford Un., Press 1990, p.32); The Crucible of Christianity, (Judaism, Hellenism and The Historical Background to the Christian Faith), Edited by Arnold Toynbee, Pub. by World Pub. Co., N.Y., & Cleveland, C/R Thames & Hudson, 1969, Lon., see pp.20-21, & 358, comments to I, 21 I; dated before AD 256. National Museum. Damascus. See also: Temple & Cosmos, by Dr. Huge Nibley, 1992, (Part of the Collected Works of Dr. Huge Nibley, Vol.12), pub. by Deseret Book Co., SLC., Ut., & F.A.R.M.S., Provo, Ut., see pages 110, fig.26-A; Mosiah 2:1-9; Jewish Symbols in the Greco-Roman Period, by Erwin R. Goodenough, Vol.11, #331, Bollingen Series XXXVII, 1964, Pantheon Bks., Illustrations XV, #331. "Moses Gives Water to the Tribes, WB1, Gute's Copy (X, 27)"; The Allegory Of The Olive Tree, (The Olive, the Bible, and Jacob 5), Edited by Stephen D. Ricks & John W. Welch, Pub. by Deseret Book Co., S.L.C., Utah, & F.A.R.M.S., Provo, Utah. Another possible connection between the types for Christ's descent and baptism for the dead are found in the types used by Ignatius of Antioch. "Christ the tree of life... has the Apostles for branches, the redeemed for fruit, words for leaves; baptism is the root, and the Father, the gardener" (Hom. 1.5)." (Cited in: New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1967, The Catholic Un. of America, Wash., D.C., Vol. XIII, pp. 867 & 874). As noted earlier, the early Christians saw in baptism a ritualistic type symbolic of Christ's descent into the underworld, hades, limbo, & the grave, etc. Thus, upon saying that baptism is the root, it seems to suggest that Ignatius may have known about how roots also represented the souls in the underworld to which Christ had preached to and redeemed by watering the roots through baptism, even perhaps baptism for the dead. Peter and some of the early Christian fathers had considered baptism to be a type of Christ's descent into the spirit prison. They also saw the story of Noah's ark and the flood as a type of baptism. (See: Ibid., p.874; 1 Peter 3:15-22, 4:5-6; Danielou, From Shadows to Reality 69-103). In the Fragments From The Lost Writings of Irenaeus, [A.D. 120-202], a mustard seed growing into a great tree was a type of Christ descent, the spreading of the gospel into the underworld, and the ascension out from there into the nations of the whole world (see: The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol.1, p.573, XXXI). See also: Gnosis (The Nature and History of Gnosticism), by Kurt Rudolph, translation edited by Robert McLachlan Wilson, Pub. by Harper & Row Publishers, San Francisco, etc., 1977, 1980, 1984, p. 104; Studies in the Iconography of the Virtues and Vices in the Middle Ages, O'Reilly, op. cit., pp. 347-8, Semitic and Biblical traditions were incorporated into medieval iconograpy, for under the Tree of life a number of birds, etc., "drink from the four Rivers of Paradise which gush from the baptismal Fountain of Life into a continuous stream at the root of the Tree. Higher up, the trunk and main branches form the Cross which bears its fruit in the crucified Christ and is flanked by the Virgin and St. John." With the traditions of Adam's under the cross, the "cosmological Tree of Life thus penetrated the very regions of death and provided the means of ascent for man and descent for God." (Ibid., p. 348-9, see also pp. 358-91, 403, 406, & 410-11, etc.). Other traditions say that when Adam was sick, he told Seth to ask the angel that kept paradise for the oil of mercy to anoint his body with, however, the angel gave him three grains of the same tree which eventually became three trees, and later the wood for the cross "that bare good fruit and blessed, namely our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom Adam and all that come of him, should be saved and delivered from dread of death without end, unless it be by their own fault." (Christ Lore, Hackwood, op. cit., see pp. 41, & 140.)

Ignatius wrote to the Trallians (long version), & said that when the Lord had risen from Hades, after his descent. He rose "...accompanied by a multitude;..." (The Ante-Nicene Fathers, = (TANF) Vol. 1, p.70, see also p.144-6, 154, 207, 234-5.)

A missing prediction said to have been taken out of "the sayings of Jeremiah" says Justin Martyr, reads: `The Lord God remembered His dead people of Israel who lay in the graves; & He descended to preach to them His own salvation.' See also p.330.

Cyril of Jerusalem [315-386 A.D.], also wrote that Christ had descended into the realms of the dead, or hades. "...He who was crucified on Golgotha here, has ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives on the East. For after having gone down hence into Hades, and come up again to us, He ascended again from us into Heaven,..." (TN&PNF) Vol.7, p.22, Lec.iv:14.) He also wrote of the descent into the font. (Catech. xvii.) "...Death was struck with dismay on beholding a new visitant descend into Hades, not bound by chains of that place. Wherefore, O porters of Hades, were ye scared at the sight of Him?" [Christ]. "What was the unwonted fear that possessed you? Death fled, & his flight betrayed his cowardice. The holy prophets ran unto Him," [Christ], "and Moses the Lawgiver, & Abraham, & Isaac, & Jacob; David also, & Samuel, & Esaias, & John the Baptist, who bore witness when he asked, Art Thou He that should come, or look we for another?"

"...All the Just were ransomed, whom death had swallowed; for it behoved the King whom they had proclaimed, to become the redeemer of His noble heralds. Then each of the Just said, O death, where is thy victory? O grave, where is thy sting?" (1 Cor.15:55). For the Conqueror hath redeemed us. Of this our Saviour the Prophet Jonas formed the type, when he prayed out of the belly of the whale, and said, I cried in my affliction, and so on, out of the belly of hell, (Jonah 2:2), and yet he says that he is in Hades; for he was a type of Christ, who was to descend into Hades.... I am a type of Him, who is to be laid in the Sepulchre... And though he was in the sea, Jonas says, I went down to the earth since he was a type of Christ, who went down into the heart of the earth...." (TN&PNF) Vol. 7, Cyril of Jer. lec. iv:14, p.22, xiv:19-20, p.99.)
(Anastasis (The Making of An Image), by Anna D. Kartsonis, Pub. by Princeton Un. Press, 1986, p.72, etc.)

ADDITIONAL SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY:
"Buried with him " (Christ), "in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." (Col.2:12). "Know ye not that as many of us were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." (Rom.6:3-6).

The History of Hell, by Alice K. Turner, 1993, Pub. by Harcourt Brace & Co., N.Y., San Diego, London, see pp. 66-73, 96, & 117; A History of Mosaics, by Edgar Waterman Anthony, reprinted by Hacker Art Books, N.Y., 1968, pl. LVIII, fig. 208; Dritter Band, Altchristliche Und Mittelalterliche, Byzantinische Und Italienische, Bildwerke, Bearbeitet Von Oskar Wulff, Teil II: Mittelalterliche Bildwerke, Berlin, Druck Und Verlag Von George Reimer, Tafel III, # 1840, bottom part of cross shows the descent. Also Tafel IV, # 1853 shows the descent. "Byzantinische Ikone (Diptychon) mit doppeltem Festzyklus."

An interesting depiction which seems to have combined the later part of the descent with the resurrection show Christ Christ with a banner in his right hand while he clasps the hands of a naked soul as if guided the soul and others who follow, up out of the under-world below his tomb. By the tomb a number of guards lay fast asleep. And so it seems that the artist decided to depict the later moments of the descent drama at the point where Christ was almost out of the grave upon ascending up out of the under-world. Another work shows the harrowing of hell taking place in the background, for Christ clasp a hold of Adam's wrist to raise him up, others follow close behind Adam as being next in line to be rescued from hell. Another portion shows Christ coming out of the tomb during the resurrection. (De Noord-Nederlandsche Schilderkunst Door G. J. Hoogewerff, 'S-Gravenhage, Martinus Nijhoff, 1936, pp.179, Afb. 76. De Passie uit O. L. Vr. Munster te Roermond (rechter helft). Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. See also: page 187, Afb. 80. Beweening en Verrijzenis Christi. Onderdeel der Passie uit Roermond; see also p.527, Afb. 292. Meester van den Lantaarn. De Opstanding van Christus. Rijks-museum te Amsterdam. See also: Himmel Holle Fegefeuer, op. cit., Abb. 6, p. 355, Kat. 143.)

An old hymn mentions how Adam fell from heaven to hell and thus condemned us all to hell to dwell. However, through Christ we would recieve help, our ails for to redress, and our hearts to aid. (Happy Christmas, by William Kean Seymour and John Smith, The Westminister Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1968, pp.72-3.

See also: Religious Art In France (The Late Middle Ages), by Emile Male, 1986, Bollingen Series, Princeton Un., Press, fig.8. "Entombment. Harrowing of Hell. Noli me tangere. Parement de Narbonne (textile), right section. Paris, Louvre."; The Life Of Christ, (As Represented In Art), by Frederic W. Farrar, D.D., F.R.S., New York, Pub. by The Macmillan Co., 1923, London. C/R 1894, pp.433-7, chapter III. THE DESCENT INTO HELL. "When Thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, Thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers." -- Te Deum.; Myth And Ritual In Christianity, by Alan W. Watts, Pub. by Thames and Hudson, Lon., & N.Y., 1954, pp.166-169; The Oxford Companion To Art, Edited by Harold Osborne, p.525; The Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine, Translated and adapted from the Latin by Granger Ryan and Helmut Ripperger, 1941, Pub. by Arno Press of New York Times, N.Y., 1969, foreword, p.viii.; p.216-17, 221-223; The 40 Days, by Geoffrey R. King, 1949, pp.15-20; The Macmillan Illustrated Encyclopedia of Myths & Legends, by Arthur Cotterell, Pub. by Macmillan Pub., Co., N.Y., C/R 1989 by Marshall Editions Lim., p.157; Jesus And His Times, Daniel-Rops, vol.2, pp.234-5.

The great fish that swallowed Jonah and later cast him forth on dry land, this was a type of Christ's descent and the resurrection. (See: Jewish Symbols in the Greco-Roman Period, by Erwin R. Goodenough, Bollingen Series XXXVII, 1956, N.Y., N.Y., Pantheon Books, Vol. 5, pp. 47-8).

Christ grasps, with his left hand, the arm of a naked soul, (Adam?), others naked souls follow after the first (Romanesque Bible Illumination, by Walter Cahn, Cornell Un. Press, 1982, Ithaca, N.Y., pp. 208-9, fig. 169, harrowing of hell, Avila Bible, (Madrid, Bib. Nac., Vit. 15-1, fol. 350v).
The Iconography of Preface and Miniature in the Byzantine Gospel Book, by Robert S. Nelson, Pub. by N.Y. Un., Press, N.Y., 1980, fig. 13. Bratislava. Lycaeum Augustanum, Gospel book, p. 443, John. Top portion shows the descent. See also fig. 15.

One of the event that is part of the resurrection of Christ was how "He led out the holy fathers, who were in Limbo, and what He Himself did there." Also: "His Resurrection was of great profit, for He led the prey with Him. It is written: `The lion is come up out of his den, and the robber of nations hath aroused himself.' And again, `And I, if I be lifted up from the earth,' that is, when I bring My soul from Limbo and My body from the grave, `will draw all things to Myself.'" (The Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine, (Trans. and adapted from the Latin by Granger Ryan and Helmut Ripperger), 1941, Arno Press, A Publishing and Library service of the N.Y. Times, N.Y., 1969, pp. 216, & 218).

See also: Art of the Early Middle Ages by Fancois Souchal, Pub. H.N.A. p.134. Byzantium, Andre Garbar, 1966, p.26-7, fig.24. Monuments of Romanesque Art, by Hanns Swarsenski, 1st ed. 1958, 2nd ed. 1967, pl.113, fig.258, pl.218, fig.515 & 516, 253.
1 Cor.10:1-4, Jer. 52:20. Ex.14:21-31, 1 kings 7:23-4. The Praeger Picture Encyc. of Art, Frederick A. Praeger, 1958, p.54 fig.55. Art & Mankind, Ed. Rene Huyghe, p.240, fig.500. Gothic & Renaissance Art in Nuremberg 1300-1550, by Philippe de Montebello, 1986, p.75 fig.84, p.76, fig.85. Italy, Ed. Mercurio p.195-6. The Atlas of Medieval Man, Colin Platt, 1979, p.172. The Art of Byzantium, Rice, op. cit., 127. Heb.1:9-10, 10:16-22, 1 Cor.6:9-11, Rev.3:4-5, 2 Cor.3:14-15. (TN&PNF) Vol.5, p.269-71, p.321, 325, n.1, Vol.7 p.22, Vol.X, p.321-3, p.522-4. Vol.12, p.148, 152-3, Vol.13, p.3. Library of Fathers Vol.2 p.267-9, op. cit. Ps.34:5 & Ezek.34:25-7, Zech.3:3, Acts 28:8-9, James 5:14-15. The Teachings of the 12 Apostles, or The Oldest Church Manual The Didache & Kindred Documents in the Original, by Philip S. op. cit., p.275-6, etc. What is a Temple, Nibley, op. cit., p.228-37, & 249. Zech.9:11, 10:4, Luke 16:19-31, Isa.24:22, 42:6-7, 49:8-9, 59:1-2, 9-18, 60:1-5, 61:1, 10, 62:1-3, Ezra 9:8. Gothic Painting I p.48, op. cit. Art in the Early Church, Lowrie, op. cit., pl.100. Dawn of the Middle Ages, Grant, op. cit., p.31.
The Golden Age of English Manuscript Painting, p.60-1, pl.11. Medieval French Miniatures, Porcher, 27. L' Art Roman En Espagne, Durliat, fig.219. See also: The New Cath. Encyc. Vol.I, p.565-77, op. cit., The Christian World, Barraclough, op. cit., p.119. The Encyc. of Visual Art, Vol.3 p.187. Early Christian Art, Volbach, op. cit., Behold The Christ, Bainton, op. cit., p.79, fig.76, p.170-2, fig.194-6. Byzantine Wall Painting In Asia Minor, (Plates II) Restle, pl.28, 174, 203. The Golden Age of English Manuscript Painting (1200-1500) Marks & Morgan, op. cit., p.60-1, pl.11. etc. Zech. 9:11-12, chap. 3, Isa. 22:21-25, 42:6-7, 49:8-9, 51:14, 63:9, Ezra 9:5-8. Heb. 10:16-22, 11:13-40; 1 John 2:20-29, 3:2-3. Rev. 3:5, 6:11. Psa. 16:8-10, Acts 13:35, 18:50, 20:6, 25:14, 68:18, 73:23-24, 82:1, 6, 88:1-12, 104:1-2, 132:17, 133:2, 136:23, 138:7, 139:8, 142:7, 143:6-12, Eph.4:7-10, etc.; The Ante-Nicene Fathers, = (TANF) Vol. 1, pp.12, 17, 27, 33-4, 39, 50, 56, & 62.(TANF) 1: p.474, 488-90, 493-4, 497, 499-500, 506, 509-10, 521-26, 532, 540-44, 550, 560, 567, 572-3, 576-7, (TANF) 2: p.174, 178, 196-200, 202-6, 209-13, 215-19, 222-4, 230-1, 234, 253-6, 263, 265-6, 270-4, 291, 293, 302, 312-13, 349, 351, 357, 364, 374-8, 409-22, 426-441, 444-447, 452-63, 490-509, etc.)

The Golden Age of Dutch Manuscript Painting, Catalogue by Henri L. M. Defoer & others, (The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York.) March 1, 1990 -- May 6, 1990. The English edition 1989. Plate VIII 65; Luke 16:19-31; Page 212, Pl.66, fig. 119, Cat. No. 66, f. 176v. Master of Gijsbrecht van Brederode: God the Father holds 3 souls in a sheet-garment. From the Book of Hours, Brederode (ca. 1460-1465). Page 214 pl.67, fig. 121, Cat. No.67, f. 89r; On page 230, pl.X 85, left page, Christ's descent into hades. With His left hand, Christ grasps Adam's hands & others behind him are set free as they come out of the jaws & prison house of hell. The dark lord of the under world is also crushed under the tongue-door of hades.

The Rothschild Canticles (Art & Mysticism In Flanders & the Rhineland Circa 1300) by Jeffery F. Hamburger, Pub. Betty Grant Program, Yale Un. Press New Haven & Lon. 1990. Pl.47. RC, ff. 74v-75r (below); 48, RC, ff. 76v-77r (above). And: 51, RC, ff. 8ov-81r (above). And: 52. RC, ff. 83v-84r (above). & 55. RC, ff. 87v-88r (below). And: 57. RC, ff. 91v-92r (below). In 67. RC, ff. 118v-119r (below); Pl. 88. RC, ff. 185v-186r (above).

Ariel L. Crowley of Boise Idaho, wrote about "BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD" (Prepared for Electronic Media), by Stanley D. Barker.

Different versions of 1 Corinthians 15:29:
King James Authorized Version: "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?"

Revised Version:"Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are they baptized for them?"

American Standard: "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are they baptized for them?"

Douay (Catholic) Bible: "Otherwise what shall they do that are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for them?"

Moffats's New Testament (1913) (Moffatt is Yates Professor of New Testament Greek and Exegesis at Oxford): "Otherwise, if there is no such thing as a resurrection, what is the meaning of people getting baptized on behalf of their dead? If dead men do not raise at all,why do people get baptized on their behalf?"

Wescott & Horts (Rev. Ed. Revell and Co.), in Twentieth Century New Testament: "Again, what good will they be doing who are baptized in behalf of the dead? If it is true, that the dead do not rise, why are people baptized on their behalf?"

Wycliff (Edition of 1380 as revised by Purvey in 1388): "Ellis what schulen thei do, that been baptized for dead men, if in no wise dead men risen agan? Whereto beenthei baptized for them?"
Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 4, P. 654); Ecclesiastical History, Part II, Chapter 4:1)...." "...Gospel of Nicodemus, Commonly called "The Acts of Pilate" The Gospel of Nicodemus, which is certainly of great antiquity, since it was known to Epiphanies, who mentions it in his writings in 376 A.D. (see I Catholic Encyclopedia 100), and which probably dates actually to about the first half of the second century after Christ (see Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol 2, 11th Ed., p. 170) is received in the Roman Catholic Church, though not ordinarily included in the bound volumes in use. The work was known to Justin (Apol 135, 48), to Tertullian (Apol. 21), to Eusebius (HE 2:2), and is elaborately considered in Tischendorf's Evangelia Apocrypha, pp. 210458.

The Preliminary discourse of Archbishop Wake in his Apostolic Fathers, and the articles in the Encyclopedia Britannica (Vol 13, 11th ed., p. 367) and Schraff-Herzog Religious Encyclopedia (Vol 5, p. 240).

In Encyclopedia Brittanica, Vol. 13, pl 360 (11th Ed.) Dr. James Vernon Bartlett, professor of church history, Mansfield College, Oxford, writing the article on Hermas, agrees fully with the view taken here of the sense of the Ninth Similitude of Hermas, and says in that relation: "Hermas regarded Christians as `Justified by the most reverend Angel' (i.e. the pre-existent Holy Spirit of Son who dwelt in Christ's flesh) in baptism, the 'seal' which even Old Testament saints had to receive in Hades and so attain to life."

Clement of Alexandria, [153-193-217 A.D.], understood that the mysteries or ordinances & their symbols, types, & covenants were a journey of the soul towards deification. Those in the realms of "generation" = [baptism, thus also = to the grave, & hades, etc.], would be set free with the help of the heavenly angels. In being anointed, baptized, clothed in a garment & robes, & later even baptized for the dead, etc. He knew that these mysteries were steps of faith, for the worthy, towards perfection, glorification, and deification = godhood. His writings reflect these ideas over & over again.

He wrote of being clothed in a garment, which was a type of Christ, & his glorious body, thus perhaps the "garment of light." And "robe of immortality." Along with the anointing ritual. He hints to those who pass over to immortality. How that they shall not slip or fall, because the Lord will support them. Thus, perhaps hinting to the ritualistic & symbolical hand clasp which would help them & support them in their journey towards the other side of the font, or up out of the font, [a type of the grave, or hades, etc.]

Clement of Alexandria, [153-193-217 A.D.], with the help of symbolical types, wrote that the three days that Christ was in the grave, having risen on the 3rd day. These things were a type of the 3 immersions, or "The three days may be the mystery of the seal," [n. "Baptism. [Into the Triad.]" "in which God is really believed." Clement then seems to hint to how Abraham had been in the realms of the dead & had been initiated by "the angel." "For the region of God is hard to attain; which Plato called the region of ideas, having learned from Moses" [Or having borrowed the concept from Moses's writings], "that it was a place which contained all things universally. But it is seen by Abraham afar off, rightly, because of his being in the realms of generation," [or baptism, the realms of the dead], "and he is forthwith initiated by the angel. Thence says the apostles" "Now we see as through a glass, but then face to face," by those sole pure & incorporeal applications of the intellect...." (TANF) 2: p.462.)

Huge Nibely tells us that R. Akiba, cited by S. A. Horodezky, wrote that the Jews "...once taught that when Michael & Gabriel lead all the sinners up out of the lower world, "they will wash & anoint them of their wounds of hell, & clothe them with beautiful pure garments & bring them into the presence of God." (What is a Temple, by Huge Nibley, (IDE-T), (The Idea of a Temple in History), Reprinted by F.A.R.M.S., from: The Millenial Star 120 (Aug. 1958), p.228-237, see pages 234, & 249, ft. nt.s 52, op, cit., & 56. R. Akiba, cited by S. A. Horodezky, in Monatsschr.f. Gesch. u. Wins. des Judentums LXXII. 505.).

Perhaps Clement may have had this Jewish concept in mind, when he wrote of Abraham being in the realms of the dead being initiated by the angel. The old Testament prophet Zechariah wrote of the prisoners going forth out of the pit (or spirit prison, the under world), wherein their is no water. Perhaps it was believed that the seal, or the waters of baptism would have to be taken to those in the pit, or the spirit world, in order for them to be set free, & healed of their wounds they had received in the under world, Shoel, Gehenna, hades, or limbo, etc., as that realm has been called. And in being thus baptized, anointed, clothed in a glorious garment, & then taken by the hand towards the higher realms & degrees of glory, with angelic guides. Then perhaps even the captives spirits would be set free, resurrected & even deified through the help of the Messiah & his angels.

(See: Zech. 9:11-12, chap. 3, Isa. 22:21-25, 42:6-7, 49:8-9, 51:14, 63:9, Ezra 9:5-8. Heb. 10:16-22, 11:13-40; 1 John 2:20-29, 3:2-3. Rev. 3:5, 6:11. Psa. 16:8-10, Acts 13:35, 18:50, 20:6, 25:14, 68:18, Eph.4:7-10, 73:23-24, 82:1, 6, 88:1-12, 104:1-2, 132:17, 133:2, 136:23, 138:7, 139:8, 142:7, 143:6-12, etc. And: (TANF) Vol. 1, p.12, 17, 27, 33-4, 39, 50, 56, p. 62, in the Ep. of Ignatius to the Magnesians, (short version) we read that the ancient prophets "...in the Spirit did wait for Him as their Teacher? And therefore He whom they rightly waited for, being come, raised them from the dead." (Matt.27:52). Ignatius also wrote to the Trallians (long version), & said that when the Lord had risen from Hades, after his descent. He rose "...accompanied by a multitude;..." see p.70, also p.144-6, 154, 207, 234-5, the missing prediction: `The Lord God remembered His dead people of Israel who lay in the graves; & He descended to preach to them His own salvation.' See also p.330. Irenaeus seems to suggest that even those "under the earth" would be able to confess that Jesus is the Christ, & thus would be able to receive a just judgment also. See also p.352, 388, 421, 430-1, 444, 446, 449-51. Irenaeus also wrote that Christ had received the ancient fathers unto Himself upon His descent down in & ascension out of the underworld, & "has regenerated them into the life of God...." p.455. (Or perhaps baptized them into a life of God.) See also p.456-7, 471, "...The Lord vindicated Abraham's posterity by loosing them from bondage & calling them to salvation,..." See also: (TANF) 1: p.474, 488-90, 493-4, 497, 499-500, 506, 509-10, 521-26, 532, 540-44, 550, 560, 567, 572-3, 576-7, (TANF) 2: p.174, 178, 196-200, 202-6, 209-13, 215-19, 222-4, 230-1, 234, 253-6, 263, 265-6, 270-4, 291, 293, 302, 312-13, 349, 351, 357, 364, 374-8, 409-22, 426-441, 444-447, 452-63, 490-509, etc.)
The word "regeneration" has been used in reference to, & with in the ritualistic symbolic terms concerning baptism. Gregory of Nyssa, wrote that "...Baptism, then, is a purification from sins, a remission of trespasses, a cause of renovation & regeneration.... For as the child new-born is free from accusations & from penalties, so too the child of regeneration has nothing for which to answer, being released by royal bounty from accountability...." Gregory goes on to say that the water serves as a symbolical setting for the cleansing of sin which comes through Christ. He interpreted John 3:5, to be in reference to baptism. He also hints to the descent of Christ who "...in the fulfilling the Dispensation for our sakes, went beneath the... earth, that He might raise up life from thence. And we in receiving Baptism, in imitation of our Lord & Teacher & Guide, are not indeed buried in the earth..." [For baptism was not a literal burial in earth, but was in water as a type of Christ's burial], "...and by doing this thrice" [the 3 immersions under the water], "we represent for ourselves that grace of the Resurrection which was wrought in 3 days:...." (TN&PNF) Vol. 5, p.519-20.)

The idea of the beasts of hell, or the devil, & his fallen host, being crushed, thrusted through, defeated, trodden under foot, for which defeated foes, Christ rests his foot upon. These scriptural symbolical types later legendized in later Christianity, show us the retrogression of the doctrine centered on the descent, & the work of salvation for the dead.

A baptismal font perhaps reflecting these symbolical types, depict a number of beast, (symbolic of the forces of evil), being crushed by "...the grace of baptism..." (Art of the Early Middle Ages, Text by Francois Souchal, op. cit., p.134.)

The writers of The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 8, p.132-3, 136-7, feel that 1 Pet. 3:18-22, 4:5-6, is in reference to Christ's descent into the spirit prison, to preach the gospel unto the dead. For (3:18-22) concerns Christ's "...preaching to the "spirits in prison," is led to speak of Christian baptism, and ends with attention fixed on the risen and exalted Savior...." (Ibid., p.131). That Peter should go from writing about salvation for the dead, through Christ's preaching to the spirits in prison. To then, talk of "Christian baptism," is interesting. Was he also hinting to baptism for the dead, then? Was that also part of his defense? (See: The Interpreter's Bible, Vol.8, p.128-137, Ed. George Arthur Buttrick, & others, 1952, Pub. Abingdon Press, N.Y, & Nashville.)


The Spirits in Prison:

THE NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE
OF A FORMER ATHEIST:

(SOURCES: Howard Storm's experience on some tapes. This type script was based on the tapes. The information of this type script was typed by JBB, Silverdale, WA, from 1988 cassette tape from N.D.E. Research Institute, Ft. Thomas, KY. I had also given him some taped radio interviews of other people, plus Howard Storm's interview with Martin Tanner, July 15th, 1990 on "Religion on the Line" 630 AM RADIO, (KTKK- "K-Talk"), Utah. Later, on Thursday, September 17, 1992, at the 3rd meeting for IANDS's branch for the Salt Lake City valley area in Murray Utah, at the Cottonwood Hospital. (IANDS = International Associations & Near Death Studies). I obtained another version of Howard Storm's NDE, which was being made available at that meeting. Dr. Johnson told me that it was another version, besides the others he had given me earlier. This version was based on a tape recording made in 1989 at the NDE Research Institute, in Kentucky. The typescript of this 1989 taped version has been entitled: An Experience of Howard Storm. The following is based on these tapes, & the July 15th 1990 "K-Talk," interview & this later 1989 version & typescript.)

`THE PEOPLE THAT WALKED IN DARKNESS
HAVE SEEN A GREAT LIGHT'

On June 1, 1985, Howard Storm was taking a group of college students around Europe & was going to different art galleries & Museums. He says that about 11:00 in the morning in a Paris hotel room while he was attempting to get a group organized to go to another museum. He fell to the floor of the hotel room screaming. Holding his gut in a lot of pain, he had his wife call the doctor. The doctor came & gave him a shot of morphine, & He was rushed to a hospital...." At the moment of his death. "...I closed my eyes & relaxed & let go to die. There was no question in my mind that I could do it. It was real easy to do at that point. The doctors told me here that considering the surgeon's report that I had a 5mm hole in the duodenum, without any treatment all day that my life-expectancy, like 5 hours was good, and so I was way beyond that. I felt like I was going to sleep, & I was real glad of it & I knew that what would happen next would be that forever & ever I would no longer have a thought or an existence or anything else. I knew that to be true, absolutely. During this entire day the idea of praying or a life after death or anything never even crossed my mind; it wasn't a possibility, & I drifted into darkness, just kind of like going into a sleep; & it felt wonderful. Then the next thing was before I opened my eyes, I knew I was standing up & I opened my eyes to see why I was standing up & I was standing by my bed looking at a body in the bed where I had been, & there was my wife next to that body. And I looked at that body & I realized that that body was me. And I looked down at myself & my reaction was real anger & bewilderment & confusion. How could I be standing here, & there I am right there. I was right within arms reach. There was this body & I was standing next to it looking at the body. How can you be two places at the same time? My thoughts were: "This must be madness I must be losing my mind, `cause this is crazy. This can't be real." Except that my hands hurt when I did that, & I could feel the sweat in my hands & I could smell things & I had bare feet & the linoleum floor of the hospital was cold & my feet were damp. I could feel that dampness & the coldness. And I could feel the pain in my joints. Although I didn't have that tremendous pain in my gut anymore, I felt bad. I felt weary all over... I tried to get my wife's attention. I yelled & screamed at her & she just remained motionless with her head down next to my bed." (In the K-Talk interview, Storm said that he tried to communicate with his wife & a friend in the most "violent manner" by coming right up to them, & yelling & screaming right in front of their faces, but they didn't respond in any way.) Storm said that he was angry, & every emotion he had had up to that point was anger, hear, & confusion.

He says that he no longer had interest in his body, & his attention turned towards some voices he heard calling to him from outside the room. He said that: "...I heard voices out in the hallway calling me by name & that was unsettling because the people in the French hospital couldn't say Howard very well....The people out in the hallway knew my name was Howard & they were saying it without a French accent. And I was saying: "Who are you? What do you want" And they'd say: "Hurray up. Come on out here." I'd say: "I'm sick. Something's the matter in here. Something is very, very wrong." They said: "Oh, we can fix it. Come on out. Let's go." And we had this exchange & I kept getting closer & closer to the doorway, & I had this feeling that if I left the room, which was vivid & real & contained my wife, & my roommate, & my body...If I left that room, I had a feeling that it might be hard to get back to that room. And the people in the hallway said: "We can't help you, if you don't come out here. Just come through."
"So I stepped through the doorway with a certain amount of anxiety. And when I stepped through the doorway into the hall of the hospital, all that I could see was a mist or a fog. It was fairly light; it wasn't dark. And back in the fog in the hedge were people. And they were tall & short, large & small, male & female, young & old but no children-nobody that small or that young looking, as best I could make them out, but they were kind of unclear. And as I would towards them, they would move back away from me. And I'd ask them: "What do you want? Who are you? Where are we going? What am I doing here? How come I'm not in my body? How can this be real? What's the matter with my wife?" I had thousands & thousands of questions I could ask them & they wouldn't answer anything. Everything I asked them they would answer with a "Let's go. Hurry up. What's the matter with you? Don't you want to get better?" Stuff like that. It was very confusing."

"And I followed them & we walked & walked...what seemed like days, weeks. I had no real concept of the time frame, because my sense of time wasn't working--because I hadn't figured out that there wasn't any sense of time there!..." "...As we walked, the fog kept getting thicker & darker, & finally we got to the point where I couldn't go on. I was exhausted, & I couldn't go with them any further. It wasn't a physical exhaustion; it was a mental exhaustion. I felt that there would be no end to it, & I realized that we were in the dark in this very thick fog in complete darkness. And I said: "I don't want to have anything more to do with you." They had become increasingly crueler & difficult. Actually they got to the point of making jokes & being sarcastic. And when I said I wouldn't go any further with them, they started pushing & shoving, & I started punching & kicking & hitting." (In the K-Talk interview, Storm said that he could punch them as hard as he could in the face, but it seem to have no effect. In fact they mocked & laughed at his efforts to try & defend himself. He said that he could sense them coming at him from all sides, in massive mobs & demonic hosts.) "In stead of there being just a few of them or a dozen of them, I had a sense that there were lots of them, many, many, many, of them. In the dark I had no idea but I could tell by the voices & everywhere I turned someone was pushing, someone was punching, & I was hitting back. And I felt like a wild man, & the fight went on for a long time. and one of the reasons why it went on so long was because they weren't in any hurry to win....Everything that hurt me gave them delight. And there was a lot of laughter & a lot of insults to me (which I don't need to go into), but I can't imagine anything more degrading or horrible than what took place. And ultimately I was so badly torn to that I was laying in a heap in that place--in the dark. People were just sort of kicking at me...trying to get me to react, & I was beyond reacting."

(In the k-Talk interview: Storm said that as he laid their ripped & torn, & after they had violated him in the most unspeakable manners, & while they surrounded him. A voice came from with in side his mid section that said "Pray." He said that at that time he thought to himself. I don't do that, that doesn't work, I don't believe in God.) "...That's a cop-out." And the voice said: "Pray to God." Well, I haven't done that since I was a kid, & the voice said: "Pray" again. And I felt...My first reaction was I'm going to try this, but I don't know what it is. I can't remember how to do it, because praying to me was always watching some adult doing it somewhere, & it always sounded real fancy....So I tried to recite prayers like remembering small pieces of the 23rd Psalm, & the Lord's Prayer, & I threw in the Pledge of Allegiance, & I threw in pieces of God, Bless America, & anything I could think of that sounded potent, that sounded churchy. And I started out tentatively with this stuff (and it was just bits & pieces, phrases here & there,) & these beings that had been persecuting me in this darkness were real angry with what I was doing. And this really incited me to say this stuff with a little more force & conviction. And they were yelling at me--that nobody could hear me & what a coward I was & they thought less of me...." (He said they had also used a lot of vulgarities, & were swearing at him the whole time). They told him that there was no God, & that he was a fool for attempting to pray because nobody cared, or no body could even hear him, that it was useless, & that he was worthless. He said that what he was doing caused them to back away from him into the darkness.

"...I couldn't see them but I could sense them, & I certainly could hear them, & they just kept backing up. And so I'm down there yelling: "And though I walk through the valley..." (of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;..." (see: Psalms 23), "...God bless America...." "And it was really kind of a funny scene, & I was really feeling pretty empowered by all this stuff. I wasn't actually up; I was just lying there doing this stuff & I realized that there wasn't anyone around anymore."

"I was all alone. They were gone & this next period that I have very little to say about took a long period of time, but I laid alone in the dark. I had no idea where I was. I felt horribly & painfully alive & real. The pain that I had suffered during the day was nothing compared to what I was feeling now. I even was at the point of hoping that they would come back! I was really beginning to think that if they come back, maybe I could be with them or something." (In the K-Talk interview: He said that maybe he could get these beings to help him some how, but he knew that it was hopeless, so sank down into a state of deep depression & despair.) "This was all a long time, & I became increasingly hopeless, & I began to think that this was really the real, real end of my existence...."

"...And then that funny voice that had asked me to pray before started to sing to me something from my childhood. This voice was just coming from me, which was a rich experience for me because I had never heard it before in my life..." And what that meant to me at that time...was that somewhere out in that darkness, there is something that is good & something that wants me,... To me there was a childhood memory that Sunday School teachers had planted in me & it was recalled. I thought growing up in a Protestant church that God/Jesus (one in the same) loved me, & I wanted someone to love me....and it was like it was a shot in the dark but I believed that somebody out there did love me, and I screamed: "Please save me! Jesus, please save me!"

["The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined." Isaiah 9:2].

"In the dark I saw a small point of light. My first reaction was a star. How come I hadn't seen it before & how beautiful. And it kept getting brighter & brighter. And I realized that it was moving & my next though was: "Oh-no. It's a meteorite & it's headed right at me." And it kept getting brighter & really fast. It was so intense; it would be like looking into a spotlight, except that not only did it not feel bad--it felt wonderful to look into it. And I knew in that life, I was seeing more color, more beauty, more radiance than anything I had ever seen before,...It was just amazing! And as that light came to me & came upon me, I very quickly realized that it wasn't light at all; it had nothing to do with light. It was brilliant & it was radiant, but it was a being. When that being enveloped me, I was down & I rose up off the floor..." (In the k-talk interview, Storm said that this beautiful angelic being of light & love also healed him of the abuse that he had received from the demonic beings. He said that he saw he wounds healed). He said: "I didn't lift myself; I just rose up, upright into the light, & I felt this light embracing me & lovingly. I was crying & crying....And I knew that this being of radiance, of brilliance, knew me & loved me--no questions asked, nothing expected. It was proverbial unconditional love. And I didn't speak; I didn't ask. I had the most wonderful experience of ecstacy!"

Storm goes say that "...the worst that evil can do in this world, the very worst thing it can do is to keep a person from God, but God's not ever going to allow that to happen because everybody's going to end up with God, sooner or later. God's got a lot of time. If a person fails in a lifetime, they might have another life experience or they might live in another world or they might live in another dimension or they might spend 50 billion years in heaven learning from the angles themselves. There are endless numbers of levels of learning & this is just one of them, so if a person doesn't learn here, they may learn some place else or they may learn differently here. God has got the whole situation in hand. You do your best, but you've got to trust God..."
"...Can a being in the darkness choose to turn toward the light?" [Answer:] "...It's between them & God. It that's what they want & what God wants, sure. In other words, can a demon repent-- sure." (An Experience of Howard Storm, transcript of the 1989 tapes, op. cit., section: Howard Storm Question & Answer Period, p.10, Q & A number 22.)

[Storm has expressed here some concepts that are like unto some of the things that some of the early Christians seemed to have believed. For example, Origen, (who may have been influenced by Clement), Origen & others after him thought & wonder if even the devil & his fallen angels could eventually be saved in the process of time. Origen seemed to have believed also that Christ atonement also included the sins of the fallen angels, & thus they might even one day be able to come back, despite how deep their fall may have been. Though such beliefs were not shared by to many other Christians, the question was considered in the early century of Christianity. (Satan: (The Early Christian Tradition), by Jeffery Burton Russell, 1981, p.197, And: The Prince of Darkness, Russell, 1988, p.81. And: Acts 2:25-36; Rom.8:38-39; 1 Pet.3:15-22, 4:5-6; Eph.4:7-10; Isa.42:6-7; 1 Cor.15:19-28; Gal.6:7-9. There were & are those who have & would disagree with this, of course, but nevertheless, it still was a belief that was held by some of the early Christians, & perhaps now is shared here by Howard Storm, perhaps because of his N.D.E.
Storm seemed to suggest that there may be some souls that will retrogress for years away from God, & away from any light & love that they may have once known & enjoyed. But that in some point of the existence they may become so tired of their hate, & their bitterness, & situation, etc., that they may finally turn around & attempt to find their way back towards God after having wandered for endless ages. And do you think that a loving God is going to turn them away? And when that happens, He'll be there to pick them up, to receive them with open arms, to welcome them back home. (Luke 15:3-32).]

The Gospel Preached Unto The Spirits
In Prison. (1 Pet. 3:15-21; 4:5-6,
Eph.4:7-10, Isa. 42:6-7, etc.)

(Sources: Return From Tomorrow, by George G. Ritchie, Jr., M.D., with Elizabeth Sherrill, Spire Books, Pub. by Fleming H. Revell Co., Originally Pub. by Chosen Books Pub. Co., 1978, see pages 35-74. Also on November 12, 1989, in Utah, on KTKK 630 AM Radio, "K-talk's" "Religion on the Line." Hosted by Martin Tanner. Mr. Tanner interviewed by phone, Dr. George G. Ritchie. And: My Life After Dying (Becoming Alive to Universal Love), by George G. Ritchie, Jr., M.D. 1991, Pub. by Hampton Roads Pub. Co., Norfolk Va., p.21-5.)

Ritchie learned, based on his NDE, that angels of light & love are always attempting to minister unto the unrepentant spirits in the after life. The gospel is being preached unto the spirits in prison. He points out what types of prisons departed spirits might find themselves in, when the unrepentant person passes on. Different kinds of additions to cigarettes, alcoholic drinks, worldly things they had left behind, different sexual additions, false religious beliefs, etc., unrepentant bad habits of different kinds of sins, hate, lust, greed, murder, etc., etc. All of these things created a sort of spiritual prison that held these spirits back from progressing. In Return From Tomorrow, Ritchie described this hellish realm which Christ had allowed him to become a witness to.

In this realm he saw spirits who were attempting to do all sorts of barbaric hateful acts on each other. Some were fighting over different things. Religious beliefs, political, etc., others were attempting to perform all kinds of lustful sexual acts. Others violently attempted to kill one another, but because they were already dead, it was as though each spirit was boxing the air.

He saw that "...that entire unhappy plain was hovered by beings seemingly made of light.... I could see that these immense presences were bending over the little creatures on the plain. Perhaps even conversing with them. Were these bright beings angels?..."

"...I clearly saw...that not one of these bickering beings on the plain had been abandoned. They were being attended, watched over, ministered to. And the equally observable fact was that not one of them knew it. If Jesus or His angels were speaking to them, they certainly did not hear. There was no pause in the stream of rancor coming from their own hearts; their eyes sought only some nearby figure to humiliate.... I realized..." [that] "...Angels had crowded the living cities & towns we had visited. They had been present in the streets, the factories, the homes, even in the raucous bar, where nobody had been any more conscious of their existence than I myself had. And suddenly I realized that there was a common denominator to all these scenes so far. It was the failure to see Jesus. Whether it was a physical appetite, an earthly concern, an absorption with self--- whatever got in the way of His Light created the separation into which we stepped at death."

In the K-talk interview, Nov. 12, 1989, Ritchie said that in this hellish realm, "...I saw what we would call angels trying to get these people to come to their senses, because God is a God of love. And it's His desire that everybody!, learns from their experiences. But these peoples' minds seemed to be absolutely shut...."

In his book: My Life After Dying, Ritchie again suggested, based on his NDE, that the gospel is being preached unto these unrepentant rebellious & wicked spirits. "...Even here were angels trying to get them to change their thoughts. Since they could not admit there were beings greater than themselves, they could not see or hear them...." (My Life After Dying, p.25.)

In Raymond A. Moody's book: "Reflections On Life After Life" Moody wrote about "A Realm of Bewildered Spirits." -- He wrote that several people reported to him during different interviews, that during their NDEs they saw "...beings who seemed to be "trapped" in an apparently most unfortunate state of existence....these beings seemed to be, in effect, unable to surrender their attachments to the physical world. One man..." [said that] "...the spirits he saw apparently "couldn't progress on the other side because their God is still living there." That is, they seemed bound to some particular object, person or habit...."

[They also reported that] "...these beings appeared "dulled," that their consciousness seemed somehow limited in contrast with that of others....these "dulled spirits" were to be there only until they solved whatever problem or difficulty was keeping them in that perplexed state." (Reflections On Life After Life, by Raymond A. Moody, Jr., M.D., 1977, Pub. by Mockingbird Bk.s, p.9-46.)

Others have said that during their NDEs they saw some of the activities of the different spirits. Some of which included "...conducting missionary service...." One account of a man who had a NDE mentions "...a realm occupied by evil spirits...." [There] "...the wicked & the unrepentant were confined to a certain district by themselves, the confines of which were so definitely determined and impassable as the line marking the division of the physical from the spiritual world, a mere film, but impassable until the person changed.... There was much activity within the different spheres, and appointed ministers of salvation were seen coming from the higher to the lower spheres in pursuit of their missionary appointments..." (Omega, Vol. 12(4), 1981-2, The Perceived Other World In Mormon Near-Death Experiences: A Social And Physical Description, by Craig R. Lundahl, Western New Mexico Un. 1982, Baywood Pub., Co., p.319-27.)

http://murraycreek.net/higher/harrowingsmall.gif

http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=JustinMartyrJr

http://www.beyond-the-pale.org.uk/winchesterMS1.jpg

http://www.the-orb.net/encyclop/culture/artarch/danish/hell/harrow.html

http://www.creeds.net/ancient/harrow.gif

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPj0ySUQXkxBKlNAGmhpAC9QNK9Rl9Ve0jdOMw2BzoUJHbNZvIk9x8mkMorgq_BzjoF6LCmNdXiqX6G-9725NZwrlQusxdM8ez2ykQmnvnVhFJ3-KX_DnNmtL3B8nrLmHz4ftLTKV8cnZU/s320/harrowing.hell.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/76/165258337_111bb702cc_o.jpg

http://www.ecclsoc.org/wenhaston/alab3.jpg

http://www.asiexhibitions.org/Exhib/Uview.asp?ID=72

http://www.stdavidsepiscopal.org/images/hellascent.jpg

http://www.paintedchurch.org/ncovehar.jpg

http://www.honoluluacademy.org/cmshaa/uploadedImages/academy/Collection/Medieval/HarrowingofHell2.jpg

http://www.aug.edu/augusta/iconography/spain2005/harrowingCaparroso.jpg

http://www.armsite.com/miniatures/images/miniature44.jpg

http://www.nlr.ru/eng/coll/prints/images/173page_b.jpg

http://www.paintedchurch.org/pickrhar.jpg

http://www.philthompson.net/images/anastasis.jpg

http://www.stjames-cathedral.org/tour/iconimages/Harrowing-of-Hell.gif

http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/sacredtexts/images/melispsalter_lg.jpg