IKTO HADES : A STUDY IN COMPARATIVE RELIGION. 235 



in the passage where St. Paul refers to his ecstatic experience, and 

 he plainly believed, as a result of his Jewish training, that there 

 were several heavens, in one of which Paradise was situated. In 

 early Christian literature, such a scheme as this is often adhered to, 

 but very frequently Gehenna and Hades are used synonymously, and, 

 as in the Gospel of Nicodemus, Hades is itself a place of punishment 

 apparently for all the dead, who are described as coming out of theii- 

 prisons at the call of Christ. In this document Hades is also the 

 region where Satan dwells. These confusions are inevitable, and 

 one is bound to follow them more or less. But it is fairly certain 

 that many of those who believed in Christ's descent into Hades 

 thought of it as a descent into a state where the wicked were. 



Eeference has been made to the passages in St. Peter's epistle. 

 One is quite aware that these are still the subject of discussion, and 

 that such interpretations as Mr. Tuckwell and Mr. Coles have men- 

 tioned have obtained a wide currency. But if we believe in the 

 descent it is difficult to understand why we should not take the Petrine 

 passages in what is their obvious sense and see in them a reference to it. 

 The idea that the apostle is referring to a preaching not in Hades, 

 but in the days of Noah by the Spirit of Christ, strikes one always 

 as more ingenious than true. As I pointed out in the paper, many 

 of the Fathers do not refer to these passages when speaking of thi^* 

 doctrine, probably because they did not suit their particular theory 

 of the Descent. But, even if they contain no hint of a presence of 

 our Lord with the dead, and His preaching to them between His 

 death and resurrection, there are other passages in the Nevr 

 Testament which clearly do refer to these. This, added to the 

 constant belief of the early Church in the Descent, makes it easier 

 to give up, if necessary, the Petrine texts. 



As to the criticism that the " larger hope " which one seems to 

 find in the Descent doctrine is a dangerous teaching, we must 

 remember that it is not claimed that we shall be forced to accept 

 forgiveness in the other world, any more than we are forced to do 

 so here. The human will must still have its power of choosing or 

 rejecting these as here. Yet one may trust that even the most 

 stubborn wills shall at length bow before the love of God, whose 

 punishments work through love, and cry aloud for His mercy which 

 is infinite and unfailing. No Christian teacher would ever instruct 

 people " not to worry about the Gospel," because " all will be pi t 



