Over the Lenten and Paschal season there have been many news stories how modernistic "Christians" are removing from the Apostles' Creed the part about Jesus' Descent in to Hades, even though the event is completely Biblical. Well now, I hear that modern Christians are now even denying Hades' existence, saying it is a theological invention. Funny, since their religion is a modern made-up invention having nothing to do with the longstanding teachings of the Church. Who are they to call this teaching an invention?

Here is the Apostles' Creed just as an FYI:

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to Hades. On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen.

Now I will agree that the Nicene Creed is better, but for whatever reason, many Western Christians prefer the Apostles' Creed, so we will go with that. I will also look at various Bible versions which are not my favorites, and may translate the Greek word άδης differently, just to show a point. The original Greek clearly says that there is a Hades and that Jesus, who is the Christ, God the Son, descended to it.

So, what is Hades, exactly? The Old Testament view of the afterlife was that all people, whether righteous or unrighteous, all went to Sheol/Hades when they died. No Hebrew figure ever descended into Sheol/Hades and returned. Several works from the Second Temple period elaborate the concept of Sheol, dividing it into sections based on the righteousness or unrighteousness of those who have died.

The New Testament maintains a distinction between Hades, the common "place of the dead", and the eternal destiny of those condemned at the Final Judgment, variously described as Gehenna, "the outer darkness," or a lake of eternal fire. Some Modern English translations of the Bible maintain this distinction (e.g. by translating Hades as "the Pit" and Gehenna as "Hell"), but the influential King James Version used the word "hell" to translate both concepts causing mass confusion, it seems.

After the soul leaves the body, it journeys to the abode of the dead (Hades). Before Christ came, this was the end, except that these souls that knew, expected the Christ to come to them and be their Saviour. When we die, we must remain in this condition of waiting. Because some have a prevision of the glory to come and others foretaste their suffering, the state of waiting is called "Particular Judgment". When Christ returns in His second glorious coming, the soul rejoins its risen and perfected body to be judged by Him in the Last judgment. The 'good and faithful servant' will inherit eternal life, the unfaithful with the unbeliever will spend eternity in hell. Their sins and their unbelief will torture them as fire." A final Universal Judgment will be pronounced on all human beings when soul and body are reunited in the resurrection of the dead. The fate of those in the abode of the dead differs, even while awaiting resurrection: "The souls of the righteous are in light and rest, with a foretaste of eternal happiness; but the souls of the wicked are in a state the reverse of this."

So now that we understand what Hades is, let's look more in to where Hades and Christ's descending is mentioned in the Old and New Testaments.

In the Septuagint (the ancient pre-Christian, pre-Masoretic translation of the Old Testament into Greek which is older than the modern Hebrew versions available today), the Greek term "ᾅδης" (Hades) is used to translate the Hebrew term "שׁאול" (Sheol) in, for example, Isaiah 38:18. This use refers the term hades to the abode of the dead in general, rather than the abode of the wicked.

Thus too, in New Testament Greek, the Hebrew phrase "לא־תעזב נפשׁי לשׁאול" (you will not abandon my soul to Sheol) in Psalm 16:10 is quoted in Acts 2:27 as "οὐκ ἐγκαταλείψεις τὴν ψυχήν μου εἰς ᾅδου" (you will not abandon my soul to Hades).

In the textus receptus version of the New Testament, on which the English King James Version is based, the word "ᾅδης" (Hades), appears 11 times; but critical editions of the text of 1 Corinthians 15:55 have "θάνατος" (death) in place of "ᾅδης". While the King James Version translated "ᾅδης" as "hell", except in this very verse of 1 Corinthians, where it uses "grave". Modern translations, for which there are only 10 instances of the word "ᾅδης" in the New Testament, generally transliterate the word, as "Hades".

In all appearances but one, "ᾅδης" has little if any relation to afterlife rewards or punishments. The one exception is Luke's parable of Lazarus and the rich man, in which the rich man finds himself, after death, in Hades, and "in anguish in this flame", while in contrast the angels take Lazarus to "the bosom of Abraham", described as a state of comfort.

Death and Hades are repeatedly associated in the Book of Revelation. The word "Hades" appears in Jesus' promise to Peter: "And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 4:18), and in the warning to Capernaum: "And thou, Capernaum, shalt thou be exalted unto heaven? thou shalt go down unto Hades." (Matthew 11:23)

Now what about Christ descending in to Hades? Let's look in to that too!

Several passages from the Old and New Testament teach that Christ descended into Hades, the realm of the dead before the Ascension. These include:

• Matthew 12:40 draws a comparison between Jonah being swallowed by a huge fish, and Christ being three days in the earth.
• Acts 2:27-31 declare in effect that Hades could not hold the crucified Christ.
• 1Peter 3:19–20 says that Jesus "went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah…."
• 1Peter 4:6 says that the gospel was "proclaimed even to the dead…"). ("εἰς τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ νεκροῖς εὐηγγελίσθη…")
• Ephesians 4:8–10 "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men. (Now this, 'He ascended'-- what does it mean that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)"
• διὸ λέγει, ἀναβὰς εἰς ὕψος ᾐχμαλώτευσεν αἰχμαλωσίαν, ἔδωκεν δόματα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. τὸ δὲ ἀνέβη τί ἐστιν εἰ μὴ ὅτι καὶ κατέβη εἰς τὰ κατώτερα [μέρη] τῆς γῆς; ὁ καταβὰς αὐτός ἐστιν καὶ ὁ ἀναβὰς ὑπεράνω πάντων τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἵνα πληρώσῃ τὰ πάντα. Verse 8 is a truncated paraphrase adapting Psalm 68:18.
• Zechariah 9:11 refers to prisoners in a waterless pit. "As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water." The verses' reference to captives has been presented as a reflection of Yahweh's captives of the enemy in Psalm 68:17–18: "God's chariots were myriad, thousands upon thousands; from Sinai the Lord entered the holy place. You went up to its lofty height; you took captives, received slaves as tribute. No rebels can live in the presence of God."
• Isaiah 24:21-22 also refers to spirits in prison, reminiscent of Peter's account of a visitation to spirits in prison: "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited."
• The Gospel of Matthew 27:51-53 relates that immediately after Christ died, the earth shook, there was a Crucifixion darkness and eclipse, the veil in the Temple was torn in two, and many people rose from the dead and walked about in Jerusalem and were seen by many people there.

According to the apocryphal The Gospel Of Nicodemus, the Harrowing of Hades was foreshadowed by Christ's raising of Lazarus from the dead prior to his own crucifixion. The hymns proper to the weekend suggest that John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus in Hell by prophesying to those held there that Christ would soon release them, just as he prepared the way for Jesus on Earth.

The Harrowing of Hades was taught by theologians of the early church. Here are just a few examples from the first few hundred years of Christianity:

• Melito of Sardis (Homily on the Passion)
• Tertullian (A Treatise On The Soul)
• Hippolytus (Treatise on Christ and Anti-Christ)
• Origen (Against Celsus)
• Ambrose (Exegetical Works)

If you believe in the Bible, you have to believe in Hades and Christ;s descent into Hades. But maybe none of this means anything to the worldly men of man-made, watered down, pseudo-religion made by man for man in the name of Christ, but truly is only made to fit in to the world and to this age?

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So, after you get your wife here and maybe have some children, inevitably, she will need to go back and visit her family. Maybe you will go with her, or maybe she will go alone, along with any children you may have had with her. But how do you do it?

If you have children, likely your doctor did not let her fly when pregnant, and you likely waited at the very least for 12-18 months before you dared to send your child on that 15 hour trans-continental flight, per doctor's order and courtesy for the other passengers. So, her family has not seen your child in-person ever and have not seen your wife in at least 2 years, likely more.

Your child will be a superstar in china, especially in the smaller cities and the villages. Because of this, my wife insisted on having a baby leash for him for use in China only due to the perceived high amount of baby-nappings there. My son loved the amount of people and wanted to go outside every day just to people watch from the safety of his stroller. He liked being a celebrity, I guess! :-)

She will need to take a large suitcase for gifts for her family and friends, and may bring that suitcase back full with new Chinese clothes for her and your children and possibly some gifts too.

Well, of course you have to buy plane tickets, but what does she need and what will your kids need? Your child, like you, can get a 2 year visa with a 60 day maximum stay (unlike the standard 30 day maximum stay), but you will need to send a copy of his or her birth certificate, your birth certificate, her birth certificate and passport, and your marriage license. along with your child's passport and passport photos and the proper forms. Starting in 2012, you need to use an agency or visit the proper Chinese consulate. Before Washington D.C. could handle all of them, but no more. See the Chinese Embassy web site for more information.

As for her, she will need her passport and her green card, or her work authorization card with travel authorization if she has not gotten her green card yet. That being said, I highly advise that you wait until she gets her green card. There have been stories of ladies traveling on the work authorization card with travel permit and not being allowed back in to America!

Unfortunately inflation has hit China badly and so she actually will need a lot of money. Besides her ticket, you should expect to send her with $3,000.00-$6,000.00 per month she will stay in order for her to fulfill all her filial responsibilities with her friends and families, besides the thousands of dollars she will spend on American gifts to take back to her family.

She likely will want to go for 1-2 months. There are 2 trains of thought on this. My wife went back for 1 month and after that month she was ready to come back home. A friend of mine sent his wife, who wanted to go back for 1 month, back for 2 months. After 1 month, she was ready to come back, which is the usual experience. But after 2 months, she hated being in China. She wanted to be back in her home in America. After 1 month, it seems that many Chinese-Americans realize how Americanized they have become and understand that China is no longer home to them, and that America is. However, your mileage may vary.

Regardless, to save you an average of $5.00 fees from your bank and from the foreign bank for her to take money out of your bank account, make sure you set up a Bank of America Tiered Interest Checking account and only withdraw money in China from Chinese Construction Bank ATMs (often they have multiple ATMs in front of the banks, but only one works for international cards, unknown to the bank officials, so if at first an ATM does not succeed, try, try again by going to the next machine and the next one. CCBs are in almost every city, so it should be easy to find, even if your taxi driver thinks only Bank of China can do international business!

While she is gone, enjoy your time, doing all the things she does not like, such as eating American fast food, staying up late, and not immediately cleaning up after yourself, but once she returns, have a perfectly cleaned house and gifts for her too. She will be ready to be back home and you will be ready for her and your children to be back too. Enjoy!

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(The five Sundays following Pascha (Easter) emphasize, through the appointed scrīpture readings and hymns, (1.) the post-resurrection appearances of Christ; (2.) the Church’s early life and missionary endeavors (epistle readings are taken from the Book of Acts); and (3.) aspects of baptism, through which we ourselves have died and risen with the Lord to a new life in God (Gospel readings are taken from the most “sacramental” of the Gospel accounts, that of John the Theologian. Several focus on acts or conversations that take place near or around “water,” reminding us of our own baptism into Christ). May 20th will be the last of the Sundays of the Paschal Season, that of the Blind Man. The Gospel reading for that day is, John 9: 1-38. The following is a sermon given by Metropolitan Anthony on that lesson).

We heard today the story of the man born blind. We do not know from experience what physical blindness is, but we can imagine how this man was walled in himself, how all the world around him existed only as a distant sound, something he could not picture, imagine. He was a prisoner within his own body. He could live by imaginations, he could invent a world around himself, he could by touch and by hearing approximate what really was around him; but the total, full reality could only escape him.

We are not physically blind, but how many of us are locked in themselves! Who of us can say that he is so open that he can perceived all the world in its depth? We meet people, and we see them with our eyes; but seldom it happens that beyond the outer shape, features, clothes — how often does it happen that we see something of the depth of the person? How seldom it is that we look into a person’s eyes and go deep in understanding! We are surrounded by people and every person is unique to God, but are people unique to us? Are not people that surround us just “people,” who have names, surnames, nicknames, whom we can recognize by their outer looks but whom we do not know at any depth?

This is our condition: we are blind, we are deaf, we are insensitive to the outer world, and yet, we are called to read meanings. When we meet a person, we should approach this person as a mystery, that is as something which we can discover only by a deep communion, by entering into a relationship, perhaps silent, perhaps in words, but so deep that we can know one another not quite as God knows us, but in the light of God that enlightens all and each of us.

And more that this, we can do, each within his own power, within his own gifts, what Christ did: He opened the eyes of this man. What did this man see? The first thing he saw was the face of the Incarnate Son of God, in other words, he saw love incarnate. When his eyes met the eyes of Christ, he met God’s compassion, God’s tenderness, God’s earnest concern and understanding. In the same way could so many people begin to see, if by meeting us they meet people in whose eyes, on whose face they could see the shining of earnest, sober love, of a love that is not sentimental but is seeing, a love that can see and understand. And then, how much could we be to people around us a revelation of all the meanings that this world holds and contains through art, through beauty, through science, through all the means by which beauty is perceived and proclaimed among human beings.

But are we doing this? Is our concern to convey the width, and the depth, the beauty and the meaning of things to every person whom we meet? Are we not rather concerned with receiving than with giving? And yet, St. Paul who knew what it meant to receive and to give, said, “It is a more blessed thing to give than to receive.” And yet how much had he received! He had received the knowledge of God in his own experience; he had received teaching, and knowledge, and experience within the Old Testament, and then Christ revealed Himself to him: what did he not receive! And yet, he exulted more in giving than in receiving, because he did not want to be the owner of all the richness that had come his way; he wanted to share it, to give it, to set aglow and afire other lives than his own.

Let us reflect on how rich, how richly endowed we are, how much it was given us to see, and to hear. And let us realize at the same time how tragically walled we are within ourselves, unless we break this wall in order to give, as generously, as richly, as abundantly as we were given. And then indeed, our joy will be fulfilled according to Christ’s promise. And no one, nothing will ever be able to take it away from us. Amen! Christ is Risen!

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With the 28th overall pick in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers have selected USC Trojans defensive end/outside linebacker Nick Perry. Perry played as a 4-3 defensive end in college and stated previously that he would prefer to continue to play the position, but there's no question that he has the athletic ability to play standing up.

The Green Bay Packers are, beyond any shadow of a doubt, going to use Perry as an outside linebacker. Because of the average production that came from the ROLB position in 2011, he will have the opportunity to win a starting job in training camp from Day 1.

Measurables:

• 40-yard dash - 4.64 seconds
• Bench Press - 35 reps
• Vertical Jump - 38.5-inch vertical jump
• Broad Jump - 124.0 inches
• 3-cone Drill - 7.25 seconds

The Green Bay Packers have selected Michigan State Spartans defensive tackle/defensive end Jerel Worthy with the 51st overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. The Packers originally had the 59th overall pick in the draft and traded with the Philadelphia Eagles to move up eight spots in order to secure Worthy. To get up to No. 51, the Packers had to give up their 4th round pick.

Worthy, like 1st round pick Nick Perry, fills an immediate need along the front seven. The Packers have been in serious need of a 3-4 defensive end since Cullen Jenkins left, and they played a rotation of largely average or ineffective players in 2011. Worthy will have the opportunity to step in and compete for a starting spot immediately.

Combine:

• Size - 6'2", 308 lbs, 33" arms, 9 3/8" hands
• 40-Yard Dash - 5.08 seconds
• Bench Press - Did not participate
• Vertical Jump - 28.5"
• Broad Jump - 107.0"
• 3-Cone Drill - 7.60 seconds
• 20-Yard Shuttle - 4.56 seconds

Ted Thompson traded up for a second pick in the second round on Friday night, giving up the Green Bay Packers'third and fifth round picks for the New England Patriots' second round pick, number 62 overall. With the 62nd pick, Green Bay selected cornerback Casey Hayward from Vanderbilt.

Thompson addressed the defensive problems from 2011 by addressing a different unit from his first two picks. Hayward will likely compete for a spot in the secondary rotation, and should contribute on special teams. Hayward stands 5'11" and weights 185 pounds. He shows good speed and quickness in the secondary and is good in zone coverage -- it's possible that Hayward could be seen as a candidate for a move to free safety.

Combine:

• 40-yard dash: 4.57 seconds
• Bench: 19 reps
• Vertical jump: 34 inches
• Broad jump: 119 inches
• 3-cone drill: 6.76 seconds
• 20-yard shuttle: 3.90 seconds
• 60-yard shuttle: 11.10 seconds

The Packers were locked into the 132nd and 133rd picks of the draft, their compensatory selections near the end of round four. Ted Thompson continued to focus on the defense, drafting defensive lineman Mike Daniels from Iowa and safety Jeron McMillian from Maine.

Mike Daniels' measurables:

• Height: 6'0"
• Arms: 32 1/2"
• Hands: 9 5/8"
• Weight: 291 lbs

Jeron McMillian's combine results:

• Height: 5'11"
• Arms: 30 5/8"
• Hands: 9 3/8"
• Weight: 203 lbs
• 40-yard dash: 4.56 seconds
• Bench press: 17 reps at 225 lbs
• Vertical jump: 36.5 inches
• Broad jump: 120 inches
• 3-cone drill: 6.69 seconds
• 20-yard shuttle: 4.22 seconds

The rest of the picks will also be impressive, I am sure, but i will take 2 or 3 years before they are starters, while the above men likely can start in the 2012 season.

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Few Christians realize that there have been over 200 new Bible translations published just within the last 30 years. It's blatantly obvious that this evil is the result of much greed and love for money (1st Timothy 6:10). So as the world plunges further into the depths of wickedness and apostasy, new translations must follow along if they are to sell. Let's face it, the corrupters who are publishing demonic bibles are all out to make a fast buck, filthy lucre! In order to reach the largest market base possible, they trim and water down the scrīptures as much as tolerable. To be politically correct, rather than scrīpturally correct, gender-inclusive language is used. This is evil. It is obvious that the NLT's "thought-for-thought" methodology, while making the translation easier to understand, is less accurate than a literal (formal equivalence) method, and thus the New Living Translation Bible is absolutely not suitable for those wishing to undertake detailed study of the Bible. Here are 32 of the most severe errors I could find in the NLT (New Living Translation) Bible.

1. 1 Kings 15:12 - "sodomites" replaced with "shrine prostitutes"
2. 2 Kings 23:7 - "sodomites" replaced with "shrine prostitutes"
3. Matthew 17:21 - entire verse omitted
4. Matthew 18:11 - entire verse omitted
5. Matthew 19:9 - half of the verse is omitted
6. Matthew 23:14 - entire verse omitted
7. Mark 6:11 - half of the verse is omitted
8. Mark 9:44, 46 - entire verses omitted
9. Mark 11:26 - entire verse omitted
10. Mark 15:28 - entire verse omitted
11. Mark 16:9-20 - entire passage is questioned by a footnote that says, "The most reliable early manuscrīpts conclude the Gospel of Mark at verse 8"
12. Luke 4:8 - "get thee behind me Satan" is omitted
13. Luke 17:36 - entire verse omitted
14. Luke 23:17 - entire verse omitted
15. John 3:13 - "which is in heaven" is omitted 
16. John 3:16 - the all important word "begotten" is omitted, thus denying the deity of Christ
17. John 5:4 - entire verse omitted
18. John 7:53 - 8:11 -- entire passage is questioned in a note which says, "The most ancient Greek manuscrīpts do not include John 7:53 - 8:11"
19. Acts 8:37 - entire verse omitted
20. Acts 17:29 - completely removes the "Godhead"
21. Acts 28:29 - entire verse omitted
22. Romans 1:20 - completely removes the "Godhead"
23. Romans 16:24 - entire verse omitted
24. Philippians 2:6 -removes the word "equal," thus denying Christ's deity
25. Colossians 2:9 - completely removes the "Godhead"
26. 1 Timothy 3:16 - "God" is omitted thus denying the deity of Christ
27. 1 Timothy 6:5 - "from such withdraw thyself" is omitted
28. Hebrews 1:3 - the all-important words "by himself" are omitted
29. 1 Peter 4:1 - "for us" is omitted
30. 1 Peter 4:14 - half of the verse is omitted
31. 1 John 4:3 - the all-important words "Christ is come in the flesh" are omitted 
32. 1 John 5:13 - half of the verse is omitted