I actually laughed out loud when I read that saying! Strangely, I never encountered it before.

But I hope you won’t take it personally if I introduce some Orthodox clarification that might take the fun out of it(!). For those who are familiar, Hades is more like old Jewish Sheol, the “abode of the dead,” than Milton’s fire and brimstone. In my reading it sounded like a dull, boring place where nothing much ever happened. Some scholars say pre-Maccabean Judaism at best struggled with an idea of an afterlife (even though Orthodox Christians realize they were dealing with the vision of God’s Glory throughout their history), so maybe Sheol was the beginnings of that conceptualization for the ones they’re thinking of. From the post-Resurrection perspective, Hades was the place where the righteous of the Old Testament awaited liberation by Christ. In connection with the icon above, I’ve read that the gates of Hades were, on their other side, also the gates to Heaven: think like adjacent rooms… even the “waiting room” vs. the destination.

And Hades may still be the place or state where we are said to wait between our own repose and the general resurrection at the end of time… where we experience a small foretaste of our eternity, the Glory of God, whether we’ll experience it as the glorious Light of Tabor, or painful fire.

Just to remind us that for Orthodox, Hades isn’t Hell… although sometimes prayers are translated that way into English imprecisely. Nor is it Latin Purgatory: there’s no “purgation” available – or at least none that will ever end, for those who’ve earned the fire-experience – just a foretaste of your future before God.

(And remember that “Heaven” is merely a Second-Temple Jewish/New Testament euphemism for “God,” ie, no clouds or harps, just the “Kingdom of Heaven,” ie, the Reign or Rule of God, ie, His Energies.)

Sincerely,
Leo Peter

I love the traditional resurrection icon, with Christ bringing Adam and Eve out of their tombs. He opened the gates of Hades and freed the captives. Christ’s incarnation, passion, death, and resurrection was a rescue mission.

My favorite saying: “Hell: once full of captives, now staffed by volunteers.”