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1. NOW as to Hades, wherein the souls of the of the good things
they see, and rejoice in the righteous and unrighteous are detained,
it is necessary to speak of it. Hades is a place in the world not
regularly finished; a subterraneous region, wherein the light
of this world does not shine; from which circumstance, that in this
region the light does not shine, it cannot be but there must be in it
perpetual darkness. This region is allotted as a place of
custody for souls, ill which angels are appointed as guardians to
them, who distribute to them temporary punishments, agreeable
to every one's behavior and manners.
2. In this region there is a certain place set apart, as a lake
of unquenchable fire, whereinto we suppose no one hath hitherto
been cast; but it is prepared for a day afore-determined by God, in
which one righteous sentence shall deservedly be passed upon all men;
when the unjust, and those that have been disobedient to God, and have
given honor to such idols as have been the vain operations of the
hands of men as to God himself, shall be adjudged to this
everlasting punishment, as having been the causes of defilement;
while the just shall obtain an incorruptible and never-fading
kingdom. These are now indeed confined in Hades, but not in the
same place wherein the unjust are confined.
3. For there is one descent into this region, at whose gate
we believe there stands an archangel with an host; which gate
when those pass through that are conducted down by the angels
appointed over souls, they do not go the same way; but the just are
guided to the right hand, and are led with hymns, sung by the
angels appointed over that place, unto a region of light,
in which the just have dwelt from the beginning of the world; not
constrained by necessity, but ever enjoying the prospect of the good
things they see, and rejoic in the expectation of those new enjoyments
which will be peculiar to every one of them, and esteeming those
things beyond what we have here; with whom there is no place of toil,
no burning heat, no piercing cold, nor are any briers there; but the
countenance of the and of the just, which they see, always smiles
them, while they wait for that rest and eternal new life in
heaven, which is to succeed this region. This place we call The
Bosom of Abraham.
4. But as to the unjust, they are dragged by force to the left
hand by the angels allotted for punishment, no longer going with a
good-will, but as prisoners driven by violence; to whom are sent the
angels appointed over them to reproach them and threaten them with
their terrible looks, and to thrust them still downwards. Now those
angels that are set over these souls drag them into the neighborhood
of hell itself; who, when they are hard by it, continually hear the
noise of it, and do not stand clear of the hot vapor itself; but when
they have a near view of this spectacle, as of a terrible and
exceeding great prospect of fire, they are struck with a fearful
expectation of a future judgment, and in effect punished thereby: and
not only so, but where they see the place [or choir] of the fathers
and of the just, even hereby are they punished; for a chaos
deep and large is fixed between them; insomuch that a just man that
hath compassion upon them cannot be admitted, nor can one that is
unjust, if he were bold enough to attempt it, pass over it.
5. This is the discourse concerning Hades, wherein the souls of all
men are confined until a proper season, which God hath determined,
when he will make a resurrection of all men from the dead, not
procuring a transmigration of souls from one body to another, but
raising again those very bodies, which you Greeks, seeing to be
dissolved, do not believe [their resurrection]. But learn not to
disbelieve it; for while you believe that the soul is created, and yet
is made immortal by God, according to the doctrine of Plato, and this
in time, be not incredulous; but believe that God is able, when he
hath raised to life that body which was made as a compound of the same
elements, to make it immortal; for it must never be said of God, that
he is able to do some things, and unable to do others. We have
therefore believed that the body will be raised again; for although it
be dissolved, it is not perished; for the earth receives its remains,
and preserves them; and while they are like seed, and are mixed
among the more fruitful soil, they flourish, and what is sown
is indeed sown bare grain, but at the mighty sound of God the
Creator, it will sprout up, and be raised in a clothed and
glorious condition, though not before it has been dissolved, and
mixed [with the earth]. So that we have not rashly believed the
resurrection of the body; for although it be dissolved for a time on
account of the original transgression, it exists still, and is cast
into the earth as into a potter's furnace, in order to be formed
again, not in order to rise again such as it was before, but in a
state of purity, and so as never to he destroyed any more. And to
every body shall its own soul be restored. And when it hath clothed
itself with that body, it will not be subject to misery, but,
being itself pure, it will continue with its pure body, and rejoice
with it, with which it having walked righteously now in this world,
and never having had it as a snare, it will receive it again with
great gladness. But as for the unjust, they will receive their bodies
not changed, not freed from diseases or distempers, nor made glorious,
but with the same diseases wherein they died; and such as they were in
their unbelief, the same shall they be when they shall be faithfully
judged.
6. For all men, the just as well as the unjust, shall be brought
before God the word: for to him hath the Father committed
all judgment : and he, in order to fulfill the will of his
Father, shall come as Judge, whom we call Christ. For Minos
and Rhadamanthus are not the judges, as you Greeks do suppose, but he
whom God and the Father hath glorified: CONCERNING WHOM WE HAVE
ELSEWHERE GIVEN A MORE PARTICULAR ACCOUNT, FOR THE SAKE OF THOSE WHO
SEEK AFTER TRUTH. This person, exercising the righteous judgment of
the Father towards all men, hath prepared a just sentence for every
one, according to his works; at whose judgment-seat when all men, and
angels, and demons shall stand, they will send forth one voice, and
say, JUST IS THY JUDGMENT; the rejoinder to which will bring a just
sentence upon both parties, by giving justly to those that have done
well an everlasting fruition; but allotting to the lovers of
wicked works eternal punishment. To these belong the
unquenchable fire, and that without end, and a certain fiery
worm, never dying, and not destroying the body, but continuing its
eruption out of the body with never-ceasing grief: neither will sleep
give ease to these men, nor will the night afford them comfort; death
will not free them from their punishment, nor will the interceding
prayers of their kindred profit them; for the just are no longer seen
by them, nor are they thought worthy of remembrance. But the just
shall remember only their righteous actions, whereby they have
attained the heavenly kingdom, in which there is no sleep, no
sorrow, no corruption, no care, no night, no day measured by time, no
sun driven in his course along the circle of heaven by necessity, and
measuring out the bounds and conversions of the seasons, for the
better illumination of the life of men; no moon decreasing and
increasing, or introducing a variety of seasons, nor will she then
moisten the earth; no burning sun, no Bear turning round [the pole],
no Orion to rise, no wandering of innumerable stars. The earth will
not then be difficult to be passed over, nor will it he hard to find
out the court of paradise, nor will there be any fearful roaring of
the sea, forbidding the passengers to walk on it; even that will be
made easily passable to the just, though it will not be void of
moisture. Heaven will not then be uninhabitable by men, and it will
not be impossible to discover the way of ascending thither. The earth
will not be uncultivated, nor require too much labor of men, but will
bring forth its fruits of its own accord, and will be well adorned
with them. There will be no more generations of wild beasts, nor will
the substance of the rest of the animals shoot out any more; for it
will not produce men, but the number of the righteous will continue,
and never fail, together with righteous angels, and spirits [of God],
and with his word, as a choir of righteous men and women that never
grow old, and continue in an incorruptible state, singing hymns to
God, who hath advanced them to that happiness, by the means of a
regular institution of life; with whom the whole creation also will
lift up a perpetual hymn from corruption, to incorruption, as
glorified by a splendid and pure spirit. It will not then be
restrained by a bond of necessity, but with a lively freedom shall
offer up a voluntary hymn, and shall praise him that made them,
together with the angels, and spirits, and men now freed from all
bondage.
7. And now, if you Gentiles will be persuaded by these motives, and
leave your vain imaginations about your pedigrees, and gaining of
riches, and philosophy, and will not spend your time about subtleties
of words, and thereby lead your minds into error, and if you will
apply your ears to the hearing of the inspired prophets, the
interpreters both of God and of his word, and will believe in God, you
shall both be partakers of these things, and obtain the good things
that are to come; you shall see the ascent unto the immense heaven
plainly, and that kingdom which is there. For what God hath now
concealed in silence [will be then made manifest,] what neither eye
hath seen, nor ear hath heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of
man, the things that God hath prepared for them that love him.
8. In whatsoever ways I shall find you, in them shall I judge
you entirely: so cries the END of all things. And he who hath at
first lived a virtuous lift, but towards the latter end falls into
vice, these labors by him before endured shall be altogether vain and
unprofitable, even as in a play, brought to an ill catastrophe.
Whosoever shall have lived wickedly and luxuriously may repent;
however, there will be need of much time to conquer an evil habit, and
even after repentance his whole life must be guarded with great care
and diligence, after the manner of a body, which, after it hath been a
long time afflicted with a distemper, requires a stricter diet and
method of living; for though it may be possible, perhaps, to break off
the chain of our irregular affections at once, yet our amendment
cannot be secured without the grace of God, the prayers of good men,
the help of the brethren, and our own sincere repentance and constant
care. It is a good thing not to sin at all; it is also good, having
sinned, to repent; as it is best to have health always, but it is a
good thing to recover from a distemper. To God be glory and
dominion for ever and ever Amen.
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