For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And his ears open to their prayer; But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

 As it stands this doctrine is stated in categories which are outworn. It speaks of the descent into Hades and the very word descent suggests a three-storey universe in which heaven is localized above the sky and Hades beneath the earth. But, laying aside the physical categories of this doctrine, we can find in it truths which are eternally valid and precious, three in particular. 