Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume VIII/Apocrypha of the New Testament/Christ's Descent into Hell: Latin. Second Version/Chapter 7

Chapter 7 (23).

And again there came the voice of the Son of the Father most high, as it were the voice of a great thunder, saying:&#160; Lift up your gates, ye princes; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting gates, and the King of glory will come in.&#160; Then Satan and Hades cried out, saying:&#160; Who is the king of glory?&#160; And it was answered to them in the voice of the Lord:&#160; The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.

After this voice there came a man, whose appearance was that of a robber, carrying a cross on his shoulder, crying from the outside of the door, and saying:&#160; Open to me, that I may come in.&#160; And Satan, opening to him a little, brought him inside into his dwelling, and again shut the door after him.&#160; And all the saints saw him most clearly, and said to him forthwith:&#160; Thy appearance is that of a robber.&#160; Tell us what it is that thou carriest on thy back.&#160; And he answered, and said with humility:&#160; Truly I was a robber altogether; and the Jews hung me up on a cross, along with my Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father most high.&#160; I, in fine, have come heralding Him; He indeed is coming immediately behind me.

Then holy David, inflamed with anger against Satan, cried out aloud:&#160; Open thy gates, most vile wretch, that the King of glory may come in.&#160; In like manner also all the saints of God rose up against Satan, and would have seized him, and divided him among them.&#160; And again a cry was heard within:&#160; Lift up your gates, ye princes; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting gates; and the King of glory shall come in.&#160; Hades and Satan, at that clear voice, again asked, saying:&#160; Who is this king of glory?&#160; And it was said to them by that wonderful voice:&#160; The Lord of powers, He is the King of glory.