{"id":86894,"date":"2024-03-30T08:00:21","date_gmt":"2024-03-30T16:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/?p=86894"},"modified":"2024-03-10T08:47:34","modified_gmt":"2024-03-10T16:47:34","slug":"many-accepted-myths-related-to-holy-saturday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/church-history\/many-accepted-myths-related-to-holy-saturday\/","title":{"rendered":"Many accepted myths related to ‘Holy Saturday’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\n‘Holy Saturday descent’ icon (Wikipedia)
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

COGwriter<\/a><\/p>\n

This Saturday is called ‘Holy Saturday’ by the Roman Catholics. The Church of Rome and the Eastern Orthodox celebrate the day called Pascha (which is the Greek word for Passover<\/a>) by the Eastern\/Greek Orthodox<\/a> and called ‘Easter<\/a>‘ by English-speaking Protestants and Catholics on different days (for the Orthodox it is a week later). Both also observe something called ‘Holy Saturday’ (which is later for the Orthodox).<\/p>\n

Now, the Bible does call the Sabbath<\/a> day holy which, on the Roman calendar is a day called Saturday:<\/p>\n

8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. (Exodus 20:8-9)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But that is not what Roman Catholics mean when they call today “Holy Saturday.”<\/p>\n

The Apostle Paul taught that Jesus died and that death is essentially like being asleep:<\/p>\n

34 \u2026 It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. <\/span>(Romans 8:34)<\/p>\n

14<\/span> For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 4:14)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Yet, many falsely claim that Jesus did not really die, but that He descended into \u2018hell\u2019\/hades to preach to fallen angels and\/or others after His physical death on the stake.<\/p>\n

Vatican News<\/em> called that “an ancient tradition” as opposed to a biblical teaching:<\/p>\n

20 April 2019<\/p>\n

Holy Saturday is the interlude between the pain of the death of Jesus and the joy of His resurrection. No liturgy is celebrated during the day. In silent expectation, the Christian community relives the loss of the disciples of Christ as recollection and meditation reign supreme. …<\/p>\n

Even if everything seems to be silent, Christ is at work. In fact, according to ancient tradition, on this day, Jesus descended into the realm of the dead to save man and take him along with Him to heaven, where He precedes us and where He awaits us with open arms.<\/p>\n

In the realm of the dead, Jesus meets Adam, the first man who here symbolizes the whole of humanity, shakes him out of his slumber and proclaims His salvation from which no one is excluded. https:\/\/www.vaticannews.va\/en\/church\/news\/2019-04\/holy-saturday-silence-expectation-mary.html<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here is some of what the Church of Rome has historically taught that happened on the day they call Holy Saturday:<\/p>\n

\n

What happened on the first Holy Saturday?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Here on earth, Jesus\u2019 disciples mourned his death and, since it was a sabbath day, they rested. \u2026<\/p>\n

What happened to Jesus while he was dead?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:<\/p>\n

633 Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down, \u201chell\u201d \u2013 Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek \u2013 because those who are there are deprived of the vision of God.<\/p>\n

Such is the case for all the dead, whether evil or righteous, while they await the Redeemer: which does not mean that their lot is identical, as Jesus shows through the parable of the poor man Lazarus who was received into \u201cAbraham\u2019s bosom\u201d:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is precisely these holy souls, who awaited their Saviour in Abraham\u2019s bosom, whom Christ the Lord delivered when he descended into hell.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned, nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just who had gone before him.<\/p>\n

634 \u201cThe gospel was preached even to the dead.\u201d The descent into hell brings the Gospel message of salvation to complete fulfillment.<\/p>\n

This is the last phase of Jesus\u2019 messianic mission, a phase which is condensed in time but vast in its real significance: the spread of Christ\u2019s redemptive work to all men of all times and all places, for all who are saved have been made sharers in the redemption. http:\/\/www.ncregister.com\/blog\/jimmy-akin\/12-things-you-need-to-know-about-holy-saturday3<\/a><\/p>\n

632<\/strong> The frequent New Testament affirmations that Jesus was \u201craised from the dead\u201d presuppose that the crucified one sojourned in the realm of the dead prior to his resurrection.478 This was the first meaning given in the apostolic preaching to Christ\u2019s descent into hell: that Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in his soul joined the others in the realm of the dead. But he descended there as Savior, proclaiming the Good News to the spirits imprisoned there.479 (479 Cf. 1 Pet<\/em> 3:18-19.) (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 632)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While Jesus\u2019 disciples mourned His death and would have rested on the Sabbath, when Jesus was dead, He was actually dead. Though He was raised from the dead on the day we now call Saturday.<\/p>\n

There are several theological problems with the Roman view of \u2018Holy Saturday.\u201d Consider:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. If Jesus did not really die, which He did (Romans 5:8, 8:34; 1 Thessalonians 5:10), then He did not really give His life.<\/li>\n
  2. Jesus said He would be like Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish (Matthew 12:40)\u2013does anyone really claim that Jonah preached in \u2018hades\u2019 (called sheol in Hebrew) during that time? It is certainly not recorded that Jonah did that in the Old Testament.<\/li>\n
  3. There is no New Testament teaching that Jesus descended into Hades to preach to various spirits or dead humans. Plus dead humans are dead (see Did Early Christians Believe that Humans Possessed Immortality?<\/a> and What Happens After Death?<\/a>).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    On that third point, first let me quote the Bible:<\/p>\n

    27 For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. (Acts 2:27)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    That passage does NOT say that Jesus descended and preached. Consider also the word translated as Hades means the grave or place of the dead.<\/p>\n

    It is NOT the same word as Gehenna<\/em> (which had a fire) that is often translated as hell in many New Testaments.<\/p>\n

    It is also NOT the same word as Tartarosas<\/i> which is used as a place of restraint for fallen angels (2 Peter 2:4). The Bible never teaches that Jesus went there after He was executed.<\/p>\n

    Furthermore, realize that Acts 2:27 is a quote (per Acts 2:25) of something David wrote in the Psalms:<\/p>\n

    10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. (Psalms 16:10)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Sheol also means grave or place of the dead. Notice the following where Sheol is translated as grave:<\/p>\n

    5 For in death there is no remembrance of You; In the grave who will give You thanks? (Psalms 6:5, NKJV; both the Catholic NJB and NABRE leave the word as Sheol, instead of using the translation as grave\u2013see their Psalm 6:6)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Now let me refer to a statement from the late French Cardinal Jean-Guenole-Marie Danielou on whether the New Testament teaches the descent:<\/p>\n

    The Descent Into Hell\u2026This doctrine appears nowhere in the New Testament,1<\/p>\n

    1 So W. Bieder, Die Vorstellung von der Hollenfardt Jesus Christi<\/em>, p. 128<\/p>\n

    (Danielou, Cardinal Jean-Guenole-Marie. The Theology of Jewish Christianity. Translated by John A. Baker. The Westminister Press, 1964, p. 233)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Here is another Roman Catholic report:<\/p>\n

    April 7, 2023<\/p>\n

    Saturday in the Jewish Calendar, Shabbat<\/em>, was the day of rest. Having completed his saving work on the cross, Christ honors the Sabbath as his body lays at rest in the tomb. And yet, Christ does not remain idle, for he is lord even of the Sabbath. …<\/p>\n

    As the Paschal candle enters the church in the Easter Vigil, one speck of light multiplies to hundreds. As the light spreads, God\u2019s deeds and promises in the history of salvation from the creation of the world forward are read. We are reminded of God\u2019s promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all of God\u2019s holy people who died before Christ\u2019s coming.<\/p>\n

    There is only one name under heaven given to men through which they can be saved\u2014the name proclaimed to the dead on Holy Saturday. But how could those who died not hearing Christ\u2019s name recognize it, and be saved? …<\/p>\n

    The harrowing of hell is a great mystery in more ways than one. How can an incorporeal spirit, the God-man Jesus Christ subsisting apart from his body, \u201cdescend\u201d to the lower parts of the earth? The precise way in which incorporeal souls can be \u201cin a place\u201d cannot be fully manifest to us<\/a>. Still, it can be said that Christ\u2019s descent is like that of angelic motion<\/a>: he contacts the souls in that place, and leads them forth to glory through his power.<\/p>\n

    If mourning is proportioned to the love lost, and if Christ is most deserving of our love, then Holy Saturday is the <\/em>day of sorrow. Because mourning the dead is characteristic of man, Holy Saturday is a metaphor for the human condition. https:\/\/www.wordonfire.org\/articles\/contributors\/holy-saturday-people\/<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Let’s briefly consider the above:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Yes, Saturday is the day of rest–but as Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus kept the Sabbath holy when He was alive.<\/li>\n
    2. Paschal, a reference to Passover, was kept by Jesus well as His disciples (Luke 22:14-22).<\/li>\n
    3. Neither Jesus disciples nor the early Christians kept an Easter vigil. The name Easter comes from paganism (see Did Early Christians Celebrate Easter?<\/a>).<\/li>\n
    4. Yes, there is only one name under heaven by which we can be saved and that is Jesus–but Holy Saturday teachings are not the plan (to learn more of the plan, check out the free online book Universal OFFER of Salvation, Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God\u2019s plan of salvation<\/a>).<\/li>\n
    5. To answer the question, “But how could those who died not hearing Christ\u2019s name recognize it, and be saved?,” let me briefly state that the belief of the original catholic church was NOT anything resembling Holy Saturday (see the free online book
      \n      Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession?<\/a>). Instead. a version of apocatastasis was taught (for many scritural and historical details, check out the free online book
      \n      Universal OFFER of Salvation, Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God\u2019s plan of salvation<\/a>).<\/li>\n
    6. Holy Saturday is not a biblical doctrine. It is a symbol of error, not a metaphor for the human condition.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Anyway, the Bible teaches that Jesus was dead for three days and three nights. Jesus emptied Himself of His divinity upon incarnation (Philippians 2:7) and did not receive it back until He was resurrected (cf. John 20:24-29).<\/p>\n

      As far as WHEN He preached to certain fallen angels, the idea is claimed to come from 1 Peter 3:18-20). So let\u2019s look at that:<\/p>\n

      Jesus Christ was the same God who walked and talked with Moses in the wilderness \u2014 the same \u201cI AM\u201d (see Ex. 3:14) who brought the children of Israel out of Egypt. Paul makes this plain. \u201cI want you to know, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the [Red] sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea\u2026. For they drank from the same supernatural Rock which followed them, and the [\u2018that,\u2019 KJV] Rock was Christ\u201d (I Cor. 10:1-4).<\/p>\n

      This same Personage in the Godhead presided over the Flood in Noah\u2019s day. Peter gives us the facts: \u201cFor Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: by which also he [Christ] went and preached unto the spirits [demons] in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a-preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water\u201d (I Peter 3:18-20, KJV). (Schroeder JR. Who Was Jesus? Good News magazine, November 1975)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

      The time frame of the \u2018descent\u2019 was the time of Noah and that flood. Thus, it DID NOT happen during the time called the \u2018crucifixion week.\u2019<\/p>\n

      It has been said that one of Mel Gibson\u2019s Passion<\/em> movies was promoting this descent on Saturday error. Here is a video about that:<\/p>\n

      \n
      \n
      \n

      <\/a><\/p>\n

      12:42 <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
      \n
      \n

      \u2018Passion\u2019 sequel: Descent into Hades <\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

      Mel Gibson\u2019s \u2018Passion of the Christ\u2019 movie grossed over $600 million. He is working on a sequel tentatively titled \u2018Resurrection.\u2019 The actor who plays Jesus (Jim Caviezel) said this movie will have \u201cshocking\u201d parts. One part, that has been reported, is the idea that Jesus went to Hades after the crucifixion and prior to the resurrection to preach to souls in \u201chell.\u201d\u2018 Is that what the New Testament teaches? Is this something original to the Apostles and what is called the \u201cApostles\u201d Creed\u2019? Did Jesus really die? What do the terms Hades, Sheol, Tartarosas, and Gehenna signify? What does the Bible teach about when Jesus preached in Tartarosas? Did Jerome include this in his Latin Vulgate? Is the \u2018descent into Hades\u2019 (Acts 2:27<\/a>) the same as taught by the Catechism of the Catholic Church?<\/em> What does the Bible teach us? Dr. Thiel answers these questions and more.<\/p>\n

      Here is a link to our video: \u2018Passion\u2019 sequel: Descent into Hades<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

      Do not let anyone mislead you that the \u2018descent into hell\u2019 position was taught in the Bible or was part of the original teaching of the Apostles.<\/p>\n

      Those who wish to learn more should also study the following articles:<\/em><\/p>\n

      What Happened in the \u2018Crucifixion Week\u2019?<\/a> How long are three days and three nights? Was Palm Sunday on a Saturday? Did Jesus die on \u201cGood Friday\u201d? Was the resurrection on Sunday? Do you really know? Who determined the date of Easter? (Here is a related link in Spanish\/espa\u00f1ol<\/span>: \u00bfMuri\u00f3 Jes\u00fas un d\u00eda mi\u00e9rcoles o un viernes?<\/a>) A sermon of related interest is titled What did and did not happen in the \u2018Crucifixion week\u2019?<\/a><\/span>
      \n      What Was the Original Apostles\u2019 Creed? What is the Nicene Creed?<\/a> Did the original apostles write a creed? When was the first creed written? Are the creeds commonly used by the Eastern Orthodox or Roman Catholics original?
      \n      Did Early Christians Believe that Humans Possessed Immortality?<\/a> What does John 3:16, and other writings, tell us? Did a doctrine kept adopted from paganism? Here is a YouTube video titled Are humans immortal?<\/a>
      \n      The Rich Man and Lazarus<\/a> What was Jesus teaching in Luke 16?
      \n      Where are Enoch and Elijah?<\/a> Booklet by the late Dr. Herman Hoeh.
      \n      What Happens After Death?<\/a> Is death like sleep, or is that a cultic idea? Can you speak to the dead? Here is a link to a related sermon: What really happens after death?<\/a>
      \n      The Second Death<\/a> The New Testament speaks of something called the “second death.” Who will be subject to it? How does it end? Here is a link to a related sermon: First death, Second death<\/a>.
      \n      Study the Bible Course Lesson 15: What is \u201cHell\u201d?<\/a> What are the different words translated as “hell” in English? Does Gehenna mean something different than Hades. What happens? What about worms dying not?
      \n      Are The Wicked Tormented Forever or Burned Up?<\/a> How does one explain Revelation 14:11 in light of Malachi 4:3? What happens to the incorrigibly wicked<\/span>?
      \n      Did Early Christians Celebrate Easter?<\/a> If not, when did this happen? What do scholars and the Bible reveal?
      \n      Why Easter?<\/a> Did early Christians observe Easter? What are the origins of Easter? What does Easter have to do with the goddess Ishtar. Where did the word Easter come from? Where do Easter eggs come from? What do rabbits have to do with Easter? Was Jesus resurrected on a Sunday? This is a video.
      \n      Should You Observe God\u2019s Holy Days or Demonic Holidays?<\/a> This is a free pdf booklet explaining what the Bible and history shows about God\u2019s Holy Days and popular holidays. A related sermon is Which Spring Days should Christians observe?<\/a>
      \n      Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession?<\/a> Did the original \u201ccatholic church\u201d have doctrines held by the Continuing<\/em> Church of God? Did Church of God leaders uses the term \u201ccatholic church\u201d to ever describe the church they were part of? Here are links to related sermons: Original Catholic Church of God?<\/a>, Original Catholic Doctrine: Creed, Liturgy, Baptism, Passover<\/a>, What Type of Catholic was Polycarp of Smyrna?<\/a>, Tradition, Holy Days, Salvation, Dress, & Celibacy<\/a>, Early Heresies and Heretics<\/a>, Doctrines: 3 Days, Abortion, Ecumenism, Meats<\/a>, Tithes, Crosses, Destiny, and more<\/a>, Saturday or Sunday?<\/a>, The Godhead<\/a>, Apostolic Laying on of Hands Succession<\/a>, Church in the Wilderness Apostolic Succession List<\/a>, Holy Mother Church and Heresies<\/a>, and\u00a0Lying Wonders and Original Beliefs<\/a>. Here is a link to that book in the Spanish language:\u00a0Creencias de la iglesia Cat\u00f3lica original<\/a>.
      \n      The History of Early Christianity<\/a> Are you aware that what most people believe is not what truly happened to the true Christian church? Do you know where the early church was based? Do you know what were the doctrines of the early church? Is your faith really based upon the truth or compromise?
      \n<\/strong>      Continuing History of the Church of God<\/a> This pdf booklet is a historical overview of the true Church of God and some of its main opponents from Acts 2 to the 21st century. Related sermon links include Continuing History of the Church of God: c. 31 to c. 300 A.D<\/a>. and Continuing History of the Church of God: 4th-16th Centuries<\/a> and Continuing History of the Church of God: 17th-20th Centuries<\/a>. The booklet is available in Spanish: Continuaci\u00f3n de la Historia de la Iglesia de Dios<\/a>, German: Kontinuierliche Geschichte der Kirche Gottes<\/a>, French: L \u0019Histoire Continue<\/em> de l \u0019\u00c9glise de Dieu<\/a> and Ekegusii Omogano Bw\u2019ekanisa Ya Nyasae Egendererete<\/a>.
      \n<\/strong>      Universal OFFER of Salvation, Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God\u2019s plan of salvation<\/a> Will all get a fair chance at salvation? This free book is packed with scriptures showing that God does intend to offer salvation to all who ever lived\u2013the elect in this age, and the rest in the age to come. Here is a link to a related sermon series: Universal Offer of Salvation 1: Apocatastasis<\/a>, Universal Offer of Salvation 2: Jesus Desires All to be Saved<\/a>, Mysteries of the Great White Throne Judgment (<\/a>Universal Offer of Salvation part 3)<\/a>, Is God Fair<\/a>, Will God Pardon the Ignorant?<\/a>, Can God Save Your Relatives?<\/a>, Babies, Limbo, Purgatory and God\u2019s Plan<\/a>, and \u2018By the Mouth of All His Holy Prophets\u2019<\/a>.
      \n<\/strong><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      ‘Holy Saturday descent’ icon (Wikipedia) COGwriter This Saturday is called ‘Holy Saturday’ by the Roman Catholics. The Church of Rome and the Eastern Orthodox celebrate the day called Pascha (which is the Greek word for Passover) by the Eastern\/Greek Orthodox and called ‘Easter‘ by English-speaking Protestants and Catholics on different days (for the Orthodox it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church-history"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86894"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86896,"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86894\/revisions\/86896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}