Dr Paul Allen

The descent clause in both the Apostle’s Creed and the Athanasian Creed declares that after being crucified, Jesus descended into the realm of the dead, from which he ascended on that first Easter morning . While the descent clause has fallen on hard times recently—well, ever since Calvin rejected it as a Roman Catholic hangover I suppose—I still hold to it . I think it represents biblical teaching, well attested in church history, and more importantly, because it intersects with so many other areas of theology, it’s probably best not to tinker with it. It is the kind of theological thread that when you pull it in one place, you find it snags in so many other unexpected places. This Easter, in particular, I was reminded of the importance of the doctrine of the descent of Christ . Of all Holy Saturdays I’ve experienced, this was the one closest to what the disciples went through on that first Saturday after the crucifixion. They were in lockdown mode . It was the Sabbat...

One of the most solidly attested truths of the Gospel is that on the third day after Jesus died on the cross and was laid in a tomb, God raised Him from the dead, never to die again. Jesus’ resurrection fulfilled this thousand-year-old prophecy by David: “No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever” (Psalm 16:9–11 NLT). The apostles Peter and Paul proclaimed that Jesus had fulfilled this prophecy (see Acts 2:24–32; 13:35–37). Peter stated, “You can be sure that the patriarch David wasn’t referring to himself, for he died and was buried, and his tomb is still here among us… . David was looking into the future and speaking of the Messiah’s resurrection” (Acts 2:29, 31 NLT). Jesus Himself had repeatedly prophesied that He would be arrested, mocked, beaten,...