Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume VIII/Apocrypha of the New Testament/Descent of Christ into Hell: Greek Form/Chapter 2

Chapter 2 (18).

O Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection and the life of the world, grant us grace that we may give an account of Thy resurrection, and Thy miracles which Thou didst in Hades.&#160; We then were in Hades, with all who had fallen asleep since the beginning of the world.&#160; And at the hour of midnight there rose a light as if of the sun, and shone into these dark regions; and we were all lighted up, and saw each other.&#160; And straightway our father Abraham was united with the patriarchs and the prophets, and at the same time they were filled with joy, and said to each other:&#160; This light is from a great source of light.&#160; The prophet Hesaias, who was there present, said:&#160; This light is from the Father, and from the Son, and from the Holy Spirit; about whom I prophesied when yet alive, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, the people that sat in darkness, have seen a great light.

Then there came into the midst another, an ascetic from the desert; and the patriarchs said to him:&#160; Who art thou?&#160; And he said:&#160; I am John, the last of the prophets, who made the paths of the Son of God straight, and proclaimed to the people repentance for the remission of sins. &#160; And the Son of God came to me; and I, seeing Him a long way off, said to the people:&#160; Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world. &#160; And with my hand I baptized Him in the river Jordan, and I saw like a dove also the Holy Spirit coming upon Him; and I heard also the voice of God, even the Father, thus saying:&#160; This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. &#160; And on this account He sent me also to you, to proclaim how the only begotten Son of God is coming here, that whosoever shall believe in Him shall be saved, and whosoever shall not believe in Him shall be condemned. &#160; On this account I say to you all, in order that when you see Him you all may adore Him, that now only is for you the time of repentance for having adored idols in the vain upper world, and for the sins you have committed, and that this is impossible at any other time.