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CHURCH HISTORY for DUMMIES Class #13: The Apostles’

The Apostles’ Creed

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

The Apostles’ Creed was written some time in the 2nd century and was altered throughout the first few centuries of its existence. But it’s important to know that it was not written by the 12 apostles, because if it was written in the 2nd century, then the 12 apostles are already dead! So it could not have been written by the 12 apostles if it was written in the 2nd century ‘cause they’re all dead!

But it’s called the Apostles’ Creed because it was the early church’s attempt to give a summary of apostolic teaching. That’s why it is spelled:

Apostles’ Creed

And not:

Apostle’s Creed

This creed did not originate with the 12 apostles. It’s a summary of apostolic teaching. So the creed is a summary of Christian essentials. We have a snapshot of the essentials of Christianity.

But there is still a legend that each of the 12 articles of the creed were written by one of the 12 apostles. For example, Rufinus of Aquileia (345–411) wrote,

So they [i.e., the apostles] met together in one spot and, being filled with the Holy Spirit, compiled this brief token . . . each making the contribution he thought fit; and they decreed that it should be handed out as standard teaching to believers.

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Despite its title, there is no evidence the Apostles’ Creed was actually written by the 12 apostles, and the legend was largely abandoned by scholars by the time of the Renaissance.

But what’s so interesting is that this creed is widely accepted by all Christians, more than any other profession of faith. and and Origen all affirmed various parts of it. John Calvin devoted an entire chapter to it in his first edition of his Institutes.

The Apostles’ Creed is a variant of an ancient baptismal confession known as the Old Roman Creed (also, the Roman Creed or the Old Roman Symbol). The Old Roman Creed is believed to have been created in accordance with Jesus’s command in Matthew 28:19:

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

One of the main uses of the Apostles’ Creed was in . Those coming to be baptized were asked:

Do you believe in Almighty?

Do you believe in Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who was born of the Holy Ghost and of Mary the virgin, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and died, and rose again at the third day, living from among the dead, and ascended unto heaven and sat at the right hand of the Father, and will come to judge the quick and the dead?

Do you believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy church, and the resurrection of the flesh?

So we see an emphasis in stressing basic Christian doctrine in the early church, according to the Apostles’ Creed, especially at baptism.

Several Reformation catechisms, such as the Heidelberg Catechism (1563) and Luther’s Small Catechism (1529), use the Apostles’ Creed as a way of articulating the basics of the Christian faith. For example, question #22 in the Heidelberg Catechism asks-

“What, then, must a Christian believe?” and answers, “All that is promised us in the gospel, which the articles of our catholic and undoubted Christian faith teach us in a summary.” 162

The answer then, to next question of the Heidelberg Catechism— Question 23“What are these articles?”—is the text of the Apostles’ Creed. So the Heidelberg Catechism (1563) affirms the Apostles’ Creed.

Similarly, the Apostles’ Creed forms the answer to question #31 of the New City Catechism, that we recite every Sunday morning in church:

New City Catechism - Question 31

Q31: What do we believe by true faith?

A: Everything taught to us in the gospel. The Apostles’ Creed expresses what we believe in these words:

And it then the New City Catechism goes to recite the Apostles’ Creed.

Why ?

But why have creeds at all? Why do we need creeds? If we have the Bible, why do we need creeds? You’ve probably heard people say, “No creed, but Christ.” But the irony is that is a creed in itself!

The word creed simply means, “I believe.” So when someone says, “No creed, but Christ,” they are telling you what they believe! A creed is simply a statement of what someone believes; a statement of faith.

So what reasons were there for developing the Apostles’ Creed, or any of the other creeds that we will look at, in the early church? The main reason is that creeds draw up boundaries, and they transmit truth, and they protest error and false teaching.

One of my church history professors, Dr. Jeff Bingham, said it this way-

“You cannot trust me to be a gentleman with Scripture on a date by myself (unobserved and unmonitored). You must send a chaperone: tradition. I don’t want to date tradition, but Scripture. I am interested in having a relationship with Scripture, but in order for it to be fruitful, I have to bring in tradition. Tradition helps me stay in the straight and narrow.”

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We need a chaperone when we read Scripture because left to ourselves we can come up with some wacky interpretations and explanations of Scripture, right? So we need chaperones when we read the Bible. We need tradition. We need the community of God where the Spirit of God is. And we need the traditions that have been passed down to us in the creeds and councils of church history. Otherwise we’ll come up with some crazy ideas about God.

Dr. Bingham, also said-

“This is, after all, what church leaders do. They explain to their congregations acceptable parameters within which they are to understand and interpret the Bible. They also point out unacceptable interpretations. Good theology doesn’t just happen. Church leaders who care for their congregations don’t allow unacceptable thinking about the Trinity and Christ’s person to go unchecked…Church leaders must first be the church’s theologians…Do the councils of Nicaea, Constantinople, and Chalcedon answer all of our questions about the Trinity and the incarnation? No. But they do give us boundaries within which we find acceptable interpretations of the Scriptures about the Trinity and the two natures of Christ. We may not have all the answers, but we know things we should say and believe and we know views we shouldn’t hold. Mature Christians may be more than those who know and confess true doctrine, but they can never be less.” (Pocket History of the Church, p.52, 54)

So pastors and elders must labor to explain acceptable parameters within which people are to understand the Bible. And the creeds and councils of church history give us boundaries within which we find acceptable interpretations of the Scriptures about Jesus.

The creeds and councils of church history give us parameters and they draw circles around what we can and can’t say about God.

The Apostles’ Creed was originally called “the Roman Symbol” and appeared on the scene around 150 to 175 AD, around the time of the Apologists that we have been looking at. So, perhaps the logical question is what was happening in Rome about that time? Answer: Everything that we have been looking at!

The church was dealing with all the heretics and heresies that we have been discussing: Marcion, Valentinus, Gnosticism, Docetism, etc. So the church begins crafting the Apostles’ Creed to bring unity to the church and to stress what it means to believe Christianly.

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But if we are naïve to think that simply introducing a creed would bring an end to heresy, then we are too optimistic about the nature of heresy and just how persistent heretics can be.

With the introduction of the Apostles’ Creed- and all the later creeds- the heretics simply sharpened their heretical teachings. These creeds did not faze them. So as the heretics refined and repackaged their false theologies, the church then was forced to further define orthodoxy and make more things explicit. And so, the Apostles’ Creed was gradually amended through the years to answer the heretics.

For instance, even though the idea of Jesus’ resurrection was in the original form of the creed the word “body” was added for the sake of emphasis and to combat the false teaching that Jesus was resurrected spiritually, and not bodily.

Also, the word “suffered” was also added to the Apostles’ Creed: suffered under Pontius Pilate. Why? To stress that Jesus really came and had a body. Because the Docetists, if you remember, claimed that Jesus did not have a body and that He only appeared to have one, kinda like a ghost. So Jesus could not have suffered because He didn’t have a body! So the word “suffered” was added in response to the Docetists.

The

Tertullian mentions a “Rule of Faith” which most likely is the Apostles’ Creed. He says-

Now, with regard to this rule of faith—that we may from this point acknowledge what it is which we defend—it is, you must know, that which prescribes the belief that there is one only God, and that He is none other than the Creator of the world…

Tertullian then goes on to discuss all the elements of the creed.

Augustine, who we will look at in time, also said that the Apostles’ Creed was the Rule Of Faith-

1. Receive, my children, the Rule of Faith, which is called the Symbol (or Creed). And when ye have received it, write it in your heart, and be daily saying it to yourselves; before ye sleep, before ye go forth, arm you with your Creed. The Creed no man writes so as it may be able to be read: but for rehearsal of it, lest haply forgetfulness obliterate what 165 care hath delivered, let your memory be your record-roll: what ye are about to hear, that are ye to believe; and what ye shall have believed, that are about to give back with your tongue. For the Apostle says, “With the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” For this is the Creed which ye are to rehearse and to repeat in answer. These words which ye have heard are in the Divine Scriptures scattered up and down: but thence gathered and reduced into one, that the memory of slow persons might not be distressed; that every person may be able to say, able to hold, what he believes. For have ye now merely heard that God is Almighty? But ye begin to have him for your father, when ye have been born by the church as your Mother. AUGUSTINE in De symbolo ad catechumenos (A Sermon to the Catechumens) in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers 1.3, Augustin: On the Holy Trinity, Doctrinal Treatises, Moral Treatises

So Augustine basically said that we should be “rehearsing the Gospel” by “rehearsing the Apostles’ Creed.” He said that we should write it on our hearts, recite it, say it daily, right before you go to sleep, right before you go somewhere.

How might that aid in your personal discipleship if you rehearsed the Apostles’ Creed daily? It might change our outlook, huh? It might renew our minds!

So one the Apostles’ Creed was not just polemical, to deny heresy. It was also written to encourage believers with basic Christian doctrine. Remember, not many people have access to all the Scriptures at this point. So the Apostles’ Creed aided believers in 1) refreshing their hearts, but 2) in defending truth and denying heresy.

Christians were armed with the basic truths of Christianity, so that if they did meet a Gnostic at Starbucks, their ears would perk up when they heard the Gnostic say that creation was bad. The Christian could recall the very first words of the creed:

“I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth…”

So it equipped Christians to defend the faith against heresy.

Let’s look at the text of the Apostles’ Creed and make some observations as we go along. We’ll begin with the first 3 words:

“I believe in”

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Remember, we are people of faith, and we see this at the very beginning of the Apostles’ Creed. This is what a creed is: a statement of faith. So we confess what we believe.

We confess what we believe as God’s redeemed children, because he has caused us to see the truths expressed in these creeds (Apostles’ Creed, , etc) as believable and beautiful!

I do want to look at 2 phrases in particular, in the Creed:

“God, the Father Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth”

Now, why does the creed begin with God the Father, Maker of all things? Who might this be addressing?

Do you remember Marcion? Marcion believed that there were 2 gods: a wrathful, judgmental god in the Old Testament, and a good, gracious, merciful one, the god of the New Testament.

Marcion thought that the Jews and their Scriptures, the Old Testament, had zero value because they were associated with the wrathful god. So Marcion’s Bible only had a chopped up version of Luke’s gospel and the 10 letters of Paul. Marcion hated all the “laws” of the Old Testament.

Marcion was influenced by Gnosticism, which proposes a dualistic understanding of life. Recall, that Gnosticism teaches that the physical world is bad and the only the spiritual realm is good. But Marcion didn’t go all in on Gnosticism, but he was heavily influenced by it.

Marcion actually applied this dualism to the Bible. According to Marcion, the God of the Old Testament was wrathful, angry, and out for vengeance. This god only wanted to keep humanity in subjection to him, while Jesus, on the other hand, was sent by the real God to bring a message of love.

Marcion’s most well known book is called Antithesis, in which he pitted the New Testament against the Old Testament. Marcion saw too many discrepancies between the OT and the NT. So he came to the conclusion that there were 2 gods: Yahweh of the Old Testament and Jesus of the New Testament. They were both bitter enemies, and by coming to Israel, Jesus was challenging the rule of Yahweh. 167

Marcion read passages like Isaiah 45:7 and concluded Yahweh is the one who has caused the evil and darkness of the world:

I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the LORD, who does all these things.

Marcion read that and said, “See! Yahweh is the bad guy! He’s the one responsible for all this calamity. He says so Himself.”

Marcion called the angry OT god “Yahweh” and the nice, loving NT god “Abba.” He hated everything about the Old Testament. All that Marcion wanted to talk about was God’s love.

Marcion wanted to rid the church of captivity to the law, and the only way that he saw fit to do that was to get rid of the entire Old Testament.

So when the Creed begins with “God, the Father Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth” it’s addressing the heresies of Marcionism as well as Gnosticism.

Recall, that the Gnostics believed that there was one supreme God, the Father, who is spiritual but has nothing to do with the material world or anything physical. Because this God is so transcendent and not of this world, we cannot know him. He is completely unknown. He is out there and is unknowable. In fact, his name is Bithus (which means “deep”). He’s very deep, profound.

The Gnostic’s believed that there was a good god and a bad god. The good god was the Father, whose name was Bithus, the immaterial, spiritual being. The bad god was the Demiurge, the creator of the physical, material world. The Father was the good god who wanted nothing to do with this world and the bad god, the Demiurge, who made this stinking, rotten, evil world full of people.

So, right off the bat, the Apostles’ Creed is addressing and refuting the heresies of Marcion and the Gnostics. Christians believe in God the Father.

And John reminds us of this incredible, flabbergasting truth-

1 John 3:1

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See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are…

We have been adopted into God’s family. That is amazing! Never cease to be amazed by this!

Adoption is the Highest Privilege

In his book Knowing God, J.I. Packer tells us that the highest privilege of the Gospel is adoption- that we have been adopted into God’s family and have Him as Father-

“[Adoption] is the highest privilege that the gospel offers: higher even than justification… That justification—by which we mean God’s forgiveness of the past together with his acceptance for the future—is the primary and fundamental blessing of the gospel is not in question. Justification is the primary blessing, because it meets our primary spiritual need. We all stand by nature under God’s judgment; his law condemns us; guilt gnaws at us, making us restless, miserable, and in our lucid moments afraid; we have no peace in ourselves because we have no peace with our Maker. So we need the forgiveness of our sins, and assurance of a restored relationship with God, more than we need anything else in the world; and this the gospel offer us before it offers us anything else… But contrast this, now, with adoption. Adoption is a family idea, conceived in terms of love, and viewing God as father. In adoption, God takes us into his family and fellowship—he establishes us as his children and heirs. Closeness, affection and generosity are at the heart of the relationship. To be right with God the Judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is a greater.” (J.I. Packer, Knowing God, 206–207)

What a wonderful phrase to begin the Apostles’ Creed with: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth…

I want to now look at another phrase in the Apostles’ Creed: he descended into hell

Did Jesus Descend Into Hell?

The earliest reference that we can find to the phrase “descended into hell” is probably around the middle of the third century.

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This, of course, does not mean that this phrase was not in the original— we don’t know when the original was written because the dates in church history, as we have seen, are flexible (!!)— but the phrase seems to be a later addition.

Rufinas, You Rascal!

So let’s fast forward to the fourth century. By this time, there were several versions of different creeds floating around the church. And in 395, a man named Rufinus, who I mentioned earlier, he wrote a commentary on one of those creeds (called the Aquilian Creed). Rufinus is the guy who claimed that each of the 12 apostles contributed a phrase to the Apostles’ Creed.

But Rufinus did something else that forever changed our understanding of what is known as the Apostle’s Creed. He changed the words of the creed regarding the descent clause. Instead of using the word for “lower regions” or “grave,” he used the word for “hell.” He even admits the change in wording saying,

“But it should be known that the clause, ‘He descended into Hell,’ is not added in the Creed of the Roman Church, neither is it in that of the Oriental Churches.”

(Rufinus of Aquileia. (1892). A Commentary on the Apostles’ Creed. In P. Schaff & H. Wace (Eds.), W. H. Fremantle (Trans.), Theodoret, Jerome, Gennadius, Rufinus: Historical Writings, etc. (Vol. 3, p. 550). New York: Christian Literature Company.)

Rufinas admitted, in writing, that this phrase was not in the original Apostles’ Creed. But from that point on, this new phrase “descended into Hell” stuck, because, well, that’s just how church history works!

But what does Scripture say about what happened between Jesus’ death and resurrection? Does Scripture say that Jesus descended into hell?

Jesus, when he’s on the cross in his dying agony, speaks to the thief next to him and assures him of what?

“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Luke 23:43

That seems to indicate that Jesus was planning to go to Paradise, to Heaven, and not Hell. We know that His body goes into the tomb, into the grave, and His spirit, along with the thief’s spirit, goes to be with His Father. 170

So, if Jesus does go to Hell after death, when does he go to hell? Or, does he go to hell at all? I would say that Jesus did not go to Hell.

But first, where did the idea of “descending to Hell” come from? Can you think of any passages in Scripture that might give someone this idea?

There are 2 main passages that are used to say that Jesus descended into Hell:

Ephesians 4:9-10 1 Peter 3:18-20

Ephesians 4:9-10 English Standard Version (ESV) 9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)

I like the way the NET Bible translates this:

Ephesians 4:9-10 New English Translation (NET Bible) 9 Now what is the meaning of “he ascended,” except that he also descended to the lower regions, namely, the earth? 10 He, the very one who descended, is also the one who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things.

Ephesians 4:9-10 New Living Translation (NLT) 9 Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. 10 And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.

“to the lower parts of the earth.” This phrase has been interpreted in 3 ways:

(1) The traditional view understands it as a reference to the underworld (hell), where Jesus is thought to have descended in the three days between his death and resurrection.

(2) A second option is to translate the phrase “of the earth” as a genitive of apposition: “to the lower parts, namely, the earth.” Many recent scholars hold this view and argue that it is a reference to the incarnation.

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(3) A third option, which also sees the phrase “of the earth” as a genitive of apposition, is that the descent in the passage occurs after the ascent rather than before it, and refers to the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost (cf. Acts 4:11-16).

I think option #2 best explains The idea of “descent,” although option #3 is not terrible.

So the idea in the Apostles’ Creed is that Jesus descended to earth and then ascended to Heaven, not that He actually descended into Hell.

But there’s another passage that seems to imply that Jesus descended into Hell.

1 Peter 3:18–20 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.

This has been the principle text to say that Jesus descended into Hell.

Who are these spirits that Peter speaks of and why are they in prison?

1) INTERPRETATION #1: THE SPIRITS ARE UNSAVED PEOPLE IN NOAH’S DAY. The first interpretation argues that the “spirits” that Peter mentions were unsaved human spirits in Noah’s time. So Jesus preached or proclaimed the Gospel in Noah’s day, through Noah, to unbelievers- to the unbelievers who ridiculed Noah while he built the ark. These people did not believe Noah’s message so now they are “spirits in prison” meaning, now they are in a place/prison of judgment awaiting the final judgment.

2) INTERPRETATION #2: THE SPIRITS ARE FALLEN ANGELS. The second interpretation argues that these “spirits” are fallen angels that rebelled and were thrown into hell/prison to await the final judgment. Peter actually speaks of this in 2 Peter 2:4. So, according to this interpretation, in between His death and resurrection, Jesus went and proclaimed His victory over sin and death and the Devil to these fallen angels who were locked in prison.

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3) INTERPRETATION #3: THE SPIRITS ARE UNSAVED PEOPLE IN HELL. The third interpretation argues that Jesus went, in between His death and resurrection, and preached the Gospel to people in Hell to offer them a second chance. The Bible nowhere teaches that there is a second chance to receive Jesus after death.

Here’s my interpretation, which is probably wring and far off, but I still hold to it and some day in some church history books, maybe I’ll get labeled a heretic, who knows?

I think that Peter is saying that Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, went and proclaimed the Gospel to Noah and his family while Noah was building the ark.

Let me repeat that: Peter is saying that Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, went and proclaimed the Gospel to Noah and his family while Noah was building the ark.

Now, here’s the million-dollar question: Why would Jesus need to proclaim the Gospel to Noah and his 7 family members? Why would Jesus need to preach to Noah?

Here’s the answer: because Noah and his family were the only believers on the whole planet! There were only 8 Christians on the planet! And the entire human race was against Noah and what his family believed. Don’t you think that they needed some extra encouragement? Don’t you think that they needed some extra rehearsing of the Gospel? For 120 years while the ark was being built and they were ridiculed by the entire world, don’t you think that they need some Gospel refreshment, needed some Gospel promises proclaimed to them?

It was 8 people vs. the entire world! 8 believers vs. the entire human race! There were only 8 Christians on the planet and everyone else was an unbeliever that did not want to hear the Gospel that Noah preached. So 8 people undergo severe persecution at the hands of the entire world! The entire human race was against Noah and his family! Wouldn’t you need Jesus to come proclaim some good news to you in that situation? Wouldn’t you need some Gospel refreshment for your weary, exhausted heart?

Like many English words, this word in Greek “prison” can have several meanings. It’s translated as “prison” here, but it’s also translated as “to watch over, to guard, to protect” in other places. Here are a few examples of when it’s translated as “watch, keep” and not as prison: 173

Luke 2:8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

Same word as prison.

John 12:25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Same word as prison.

So when translated this way, it has the idea of watching over something, guarding something, protecting something, preserving something. And isn’t that exactly what Jesus was doing with Noah and his family? As Jesus proclaimed and preached Gospel promises to Noah and Co., they were being protected, guarded, and preserved. They were being strengthened by grace.

And Peter will use this same word in 2 Peter 2 to describe how God “preserved” Noah as a “preacher” (which is the same word he uses here for “proclaimed”).

2 Peter 2:5 if he (God) did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly…

The word “preserved” is the same Greek word as “prison!” In 2 Peter 2:5 it gets translated as “preserved” but in 1 Peter 3:19 it gets translated as “prison.” I think Peter is telling us that God preserved Noah and his family through the preaching of Jesus in the Spirit.

I think 1 Peter 3:19 should be translated this way:

…in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits being preserved, being protected, being kept…

So in both of his letters, Peter tells us that God preserved Noah, kept Noah, guarded Noah, protected Noah. Two times in his letters Peter is telling us that God sustained and preserved and protected Noah and his family! 174

In my humble opinion, Jesus did not preach to the spirits of fallen angels, or people in Hell, or unbelievers in Noah’s day- He proclaimed Gospel promises to the people who needed them the most: Noah and his family! Jesus proclaimed Gospel promises to 8 people who were suffering persecution at the hands of the entire world!

I think the phrase “because they formerly did not obey” is a parenthetical note describing Noah and his family before Yahweh appeared to them. So it could be worded this way-

…in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits being preserved, being protected, being kept (because they formerly did not obey) when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water…

So Peter is telling us that at one time Noah and his family disobeyed. They were not born again. They were part of the wicked human race that God wanted to wipe out. They formerly did not obey. Then God granted grace to Noah and his family. God declared Noah righteous.

Anyways, that’s my 2-cent heretical opinion.

John Calvin’s View

John Calvin argued that Christ’s descent into hell happened on the cross prior to His death.

And when you think of what Jesus endured on the cross, I think “Hell” would be an appropriate description.