Researchers at the University of Athens have deciphered a roughly 1,600-year-old Greek papyrus fragment from the Austrian National Library in Vienna, Charisma reports (via the Daily Mail). It’s only about 2 by 3 inches.
What they think it says
Marianna Thoma and Amphilochios Papathomas found wording that appears to describe a figure descending into Hades and ascending again. Their sense of the passage: “only Jesus and no one else went into Hades and returned through his resurrection.” Much of the manuscript is missing, and they published the findings in the journal Tyche.
That theme already shows up in Scripture: 1 Peter 3:18-20, Ephesians 4:8-10, and Revelation 1:18, where the risen Jesus says He holds “the keys of death and Hades.”
My take
Garlic on the “lost Resurrection account” framing. This looks more like a sermon or hymn fragment that lines up with what the New Testament already teaches, not a new Gospel. Still, it’s cool to see early Christians preaching the same victory we celebrate. Death doesn’t get the last word.
God Bless, and Needs Garlic!
