So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
Gospel of Mark 16:19 ESV
Why we believe
Here we have further evidence that the crucified Son of Man, the risen Son of God IS was and will be God. The Apostles’ Creed reiterates the great mystery of the Trinity revealed by Christ.
During His incarnation as the Son of Man and prior to His crucifixion Jesus had confessed:
ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν
“I and the Father are [*] one.”
* One in substance, one and the same.
John 10:30 LSB
During Jesus' many appearances to more than 500 men for 40 days after His resurrection; unlike Lazarus, He appeared to be a man with certain spirit-like charactistics more similar to an angel or even God.
And it happened that when He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and after breaking it, He was giving it to them.
Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him. And He vanished from their sight.
Gospel of Luke 24:30-31 LSB – Jesus on the road to Emmaus
Jesus himself stood among them.
But they were startled and frightened, and supposed that they saw a spirit.
“See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.
Luke 24:36-40 RSV excerpt
And after the days leading up to the Pentecost (50 days after the Passover feast), Jesus ascended.
And from the Olde English of the King James Version of the Creed:
‘and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty’
“Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
“It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority.
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Sama’ria and to the end of the earth.”
And when he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said,
“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
Acts of the Apostles 1:6-11 RSV excerpt
I believe that JESUS ascended to heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty
Here’s a brief outline of the fundamental objects of our faith found in The Creed:
God
Jesus Christ
the Holy Spirit
and the Virgin Mary
Jesus was crucified
and was buried
He rose from the dead
more..
source: apostles-creed.org
The Apostles’ Creed
Our outline above used for this SERIES taken from the Old Roman Creed (vide ante) from which the Apostles’ Creed was adapted and possibly in use before the mid-2nd century.
The Apostles’ Creed and other affirmations of faith were adopted corporately by the Church to refute permeating heresies plaguing believers since the time of the Apostles.
Roger@TalkofJesus.com
We believe He descended to hell.
On the third day he rose again.
He rose! Is there Life after Death?
Jesus frequently had asked, “Have you never read the Scriptures?”
One of the great Jewish divisions in doctrine had been that many did not believe in life after death. But some of the Pharisees, like Nicodemus, believed that the body and soul rose from death at the Last Day.
In fact, recent evidence had been overwhelming, since Lazarus rose from his grave in nearby Bethany.
Temporary Resurrections until a later death.
“Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.”
.. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died,
Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.
Jesus said to her [Martha], “Your brother will rise again.”
Now listen carefully to Martha's response:
Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
Gospel of John 11:11-24 excerpts ESV
Jesus said to her,
“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Gospel of John 11:25-26 ESV
She said to him,
“Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
John 11:27 ESV
Lazarus rose.. and then Jesus would rise that all might live.
Martha and Mary could not have known what was about to take place at the command of Christ calling her brother from his tomb.
Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.
Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
.. he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”
The man who had died came out…
John 11:38-44 excerpt ESV
Lazarus, Mary and Martha could not have known that their friend Jesus, the Son of God, would soon enter Jerusalem, followed by adoring crowds. Or that He would be crucified, dead and buried.
But then He too rose from the grave, as all had just witnessed of Lazarus at the command of Christ.
Yet neither that of Lazarus or of Christ is the resurrection of the Last Day.
Hell, the dead and waiting…
What happens after we die?
Some versions of the Creeds omit, “He descended into Hell” or “He descended to the dead.”
Even the Catholic Church later minimized the punishment and depth of the pit of purchased sins.
While there are many that deny Heaven, Hell, or both, the Bible teaches that the righteous go to eternal life and the unrighteous to eternal destruction. Jesus said,
“And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matt 25:46 NAS)
Mary and John had witnessed the death of her Son and his Master, Lord and friend. Lazarus has risen to witness his friend — the all-powerful Son of God who had called him out of the grave.
Once again, JESUS — in His resurrected body — would touch, teach and influence hundreds of disciples who would follow Him to the death.. and eternal life.
But what about you? — Do you embrace an Apostolic faith confirmed in the Apostles’ Creed?
He rose from death!
He descended into hell;
The Scriptures teach Christ went to Sheol or Hades.
The word “Hell” is the specific location where sinners go for punishment.
“Gehenna” in Greek.. was an actual valley outside of old Jerusalem that was a smoldering garbage dump at the time of Jesus.
Hell is also the Greek word “Tartaros.” It is the name of the subterranean region, doleful and dark, regarded by the ancient Greeks as the abode of the wicked dead, where they suffer punishment for their evil deeds.
The penalty for our sin is not only dying, its remaining dead and suffering the eternal punishment of God.
Christ could only do this because He is fully God and Man.
“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Our outline above used for this SERIES taken from the Old Roman Creed (vide ante) from which the Apostles’ Creed was adapted and possibly in use before the mid-2nd century.
The Apostles’ Creed and other affirmations of faith were adopted corporately by the Church to refute permeating heresies plaguing believers since the time of the Apostles.
Roger@TalkofJesus.com
I believe:
Jesus Christ suffered and died…
Jesus Christ suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
from The Apostles’ Creed
Do some not believe, though the historical evidence of the facts overwhelmingly support the Gospel accounts?
YES, because the Spirit of God has not revealed to them the significance of the Messiah Jesus, the Son of God SUFFERING or His role of sacrifice and redemption as the “Son of Man.”
The apostate, heretic and pagan alike create a god, goddess or false prophet of their own liking — an idol to follow into the abyss of sin’s punishment — in deference to the One God and Lord Jesus Christ.
Roger@TalkofJesus.com
New Testimony of John (witness of Yeshua):
He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own, and those who were his own didn’t receive him. But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe in his name:
Gospel of John 1:10-12 Hebrew Names Version
From his fullness we all received grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moshe.
Grace and truth came through Yeshua the Messiah.
No one has seen God at any time.
The one and only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him.
Pilate therefore entered again into the Praetorium, called Yeshua, and said to him,
“Are you the King of the Yehudim?”
Yeshua answered him, “Do you say this by yourself, or did others tell you about me?”
Pilate answered, “I’m not a Yehudi, am I? Your own nation and the chief Kohanim delivered you to me. What have you done?”
Yeshua answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight, that I wouldn’t be delivered to the Yehudim. But now my kingdom is not from here.”
Pilate therefore said to him, “Are you a king then?”
Yeshua answered, “You say that I am a king. For this reason I have been born, and for this reason I have come into the world, that I should testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
“I AM the way, the truth, and the life…”
Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
Gospel of John 18:33-38a HNV
Is this not the first question asked by those who question the truth of Scripture and the Lord Jesus Christ?
Therefore, WE will pick and choose what we will believe from the Bible.
Pilate said to them,
“Shall I crucify your King?”
“Hail, King of the Yehudim!”
Don’t you know that I have power to release you, and have power to crucify you?”
Yeshua answered,
“You would have no power at all against me, unless it were given to you from above. Therefore he who delivered me to you has greater sin.”
Gospel of John 19: excerpts Hebrew Names Version
The Christ of God, of course, refers to the one of the Twelve who had betrayed JESUS, because He was not the King who would follow the whims of religious nationalism. (Judea would not have JESUS to lead them to expel Rome.)
was crucified
..Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Yeshua, took his garments and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also the coat.
But there were standing by the cross of Yeshua his mother, and his mother’s sister, Miryam the wife of Klofah, and Miryam from Magdala…
“It is finished.”
He bowed his head, and gave up his spirit.
John 19:30b HNV
died, and was buried.
but when they came to Yeshua, and saw that he was already dead, they didn’t break his legs. However one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
So they took Yeshua’s body, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as the custom of the Yehudim is to bury…
Then because of the Yehudim’ Preparation Day (for the tomb was near at hand) they laid Yeshua there.
The Son of Man — born of the virgin Mary some thirty years before — the Son of God who the angel told would overshadow her and she would bear Him — DEAD! gruesomely crucified and nailed to and hung from a Roman cross!
HOW CAN THIS BE?
next – in the Apostles’ Creed
an ANSWER
after three days in the tomb of JESUS…
Cookie Consent
We use cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using our site, you consent to cookies.
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests
10 minutes
__utmb
Used to distinguish new sessions and visits. This cookie is set when the GA.js javascript library is loaded and there is no existing __utmb cookie. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
30 minutes after last activity
__utmc
Used only with old Urchin versions of Google Analytics and not with GA.js. Was used to distinguish between new sessions and visits at the end of a session.
End of session (browser)
__utmz
Contains information about the traffic source or campaign that directed user to the website. The cookie is set when the GA.js javascript is loaded and updated when data is sent to the Google Anaytics server
6 months after last activity
__utmv
Contains custom information set by the web developer via the _setCustomVar method in Google Analytics. This cookie is updated every time new data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
2 years after last activity
__utmx
Used to determine whether a user is included in an A / B or Multivariate test.
18 months
_ga
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gali
Used by Google Analytics to determine which links on a page are being clicked
30 seconds
_ga_
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gid
ID used to identify users for 24 hours after last activity
24 hours
_gat
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests when using Google Tag Manager
1 minute
_gac_
Contains information related to marketing campaigns of the user. These are shared with Google AdWords / Google Ads when the Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts are linked together.
