V. In the second bay, the web on the left shows Christ in Limbo and the Resurrection, in accordance with the fifth Article of the Creed: DESCENDIT AD INFEROS, TERTIA DIE RESURREXIT A MORTUIS (“He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again from the dead”). Below, Christ brings the fruits of redemption to the just who lived before His death and resurrection. Crowded into a cavernous cave, these dead come forward and turn their pleading eyes towards the Savior. Among them can be recognized the patriarchs: Adam is shown as an old man with a long gray beard, stretching out his hand to Christ and bowing, while Eve kneels with her arms folded. On the right is John the Baptist, dressed in animal skins and a purple cloak and holding a scroll with the words ECCE AGNUS DEI (“Behold the Lamb of God”). John is the link between the Old and New Testaments, since he is considered the last of the prophets and the first Saint of the New Dispensation; you will note that, compared to the other souls in Limbo, he has a halo. On the left, the devil has just come out of the door to the Underworld. Up above is the Resurrection: Christ stands on his half-open marble tomb holding the flag with a red cross on it in his hand. In the lower right corner, following the usual iconographic scheme, is the apostle Thomas who says: DESCENDIT AD INFEROS, TERTIA DIE RESURREXIT A MORTUIS (“He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again from the dead”). Corresponding to Thomas on the opposite side is the prophet Hosea who says: “MORSUS TUUS ERO INFERNE”, referring to the sentence in his prophecy: “O mors ero mors tua, morsus tuus ero, inferne” (“O death, I will be your death, o place of the dead, I will be your punishment”).
VI. The illustration of the apostles’ Creed continues with the Ascension, as James the Lesser foretold: ASCENDIT AD CAELOS, SEDET AD DEXTERAM PATRIS OMNIPOTENTIS (“He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Almighty Father”). The Redeemer is shown in a solemn pose, perfectly frontal, seated on high; below, the earth is suggested by a pleasant landscape and a rarefied atmosphere which stretches from the turreted cities to the hills, as far as the picture of an enchanting seascape. On the left side of the web, the prophet Amos proclaims: [QUI AE]DIFICA[V]IT I[N COELO] ASC[ENS]ION[EM] S[U]A[M] (“He built his ascent in heaven”).
VII. The seventh scene is presented by the scroll help by Philip, which says: INDE VENTURUS EST IUDICARE VIVOS ET MORTUOS (“He will come again to judge the living and the dead”). On the other side of the web, Joel reads from his book the prophesy: IN VALLE IOSAPHAT IUDICABIT OMNES GENTES (“In the valley of Jehosaphat he shall judge all the peoples”). Here we recognize the depiction of the Last Judgment, or the Second Coming of Christ, when the living and the dead will be judged. In the center we see Christ the Judge, showing his wounds, seated in the midst of the apostles arranged in a circle, to whom he said at the Last Supper: “You shall sit on a throne and judge the twelve tribes of Israel.” On either side of Christ are the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Baptist, while below is Saint Michael the Archangel, the one who accompanies souls to the next life. At his right are the just, who will be led to heaven by a host of angels, while on the left are the damned, pushed by the devil towards the jaws of a leaden Leviathan, the sea monster mentioned in the Book of Job, from whose mouth “come fiery torches, sparks of fire fly out of it.”
VIII. The eighth scene is presented by Bartholomew, who professes CREDO IN SPIRITUM SANCTUM (“I believe in the Holy Spirit”). On the left we read on Haggai’s scroll SPIRITUS MEUS ERIT IN MEDIO VESTRUM (“My spirit will be in your midst”).
The scene shows the dove, symbol of the Holy Spirit, descending in a ray of light to the Host elevated in the ciborium on the altar in order to transform the bread into the Body of Christ.