THE AFTER LIFE A HELP TO A REASONABLE BELIEF IN THE PROBATION LIFE TO COME I iililiilli : HENRY BUCKLE Please andle this volume with care. University of Connecticut Libraries, Storrs <^ ' t THE AFTER LIFE THE AFTER LIFE 6T A HELP TO A REASONABLE BELIEF IN THE PROBATION LIFE TO COME HENRY BUCKLE Of the Burma Commission (Retired) PHILADELPHIA GEORGE W. JACOBS & CO. PUBLISHERS ■^;-5&t4" PREFACE When I retired, in 1902, after more than thirty years service in Burma, I learnt that the truth of the Life after Death was one of the absorbing topics of the day. I had never before had the leisure or opportunity ^ to study the subject, and I soon found that no single -r- book gave me the full information which I wanted on *T the point. I therefore undertook a course of study, ?sp and I think others besides myself may be interested in the result. This explanation will account for the fact that my book is little more than a compilation, and I only claim ^ to have dealt clearly and concisely with the different J, subjects, and to have made each chapter complete in ^ itself, even at the risk of repetition. . f I have to thank the authorities who have given me ^ permission to quote so largely from their works. - The plan of the book has been to show that the behef "v^ in an Intermediate State, which was held by the Jews ^ at the time of the birth of Jesus, was upheld and ^ sanctioned by Him, and it was taught by the Apostles, and the early Fathers, and the Undivided Cathohc ^~. Church, and it has always been taught by the Church of .V;^ Rome, but with accretions. John Wychffe, in 1380, nJ^ broke the continuity of the teaching in the Anghcan ..^ Church by the mistakes he made in his translation of J the Bible, and it is only now that the Church is return- vi Preface ing to the original teaching, uncontaminated by the Romish doctrine that the Pope and his priests can reduce the period of detention in purgatory, and can obtain entrance for a spirit into Heaven before the Last Day. 83, IvERNA Court, High Street, Kensington, May I, 1907. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION I. LIFE ON EARTH 3 II. LIFE IN HADES ...--.. ^ III. LIFE AT THE RESURRECTION ----- 5 CHAPTER I I, THE HEBREW IDEA ABOUT SHEOL - - - - 19 II. THE LOCALITY OF " SHEOL," OR " HADES " - - 22 CHAPTER II I. THE TEACHING OF JESUS ABOUT HADES - - - 2/ II. ALL SPIRITS REMAIN IN THE INTERMEDIATE STATE UNTIL THE SECOND ADVENT OF JESUS, OR THE RESURRECTION ON THE LAST DAY - - - 56 CHAPTER III I. THE TEACHING OF THE APOSTLES AND ST. LUKE ABOUT HADES ------- 6^ II. ALL SPIRITS REMAIN IN THE INTERMEDIATE STATE UNTIL THE SECOND ADVENT OF JESUS, OR THE RESURRECTION ON THE LAST DAY " " " 79 CHAPTER IV THE TEACHING OF THE EARLY FATHERS - - 9 1 CHAPTER V INNOVATIONS INTRODUCED BY THE CHURCH OF ROME ---------99 THE GREAT SCHISM IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY - "99 THE SECOND SCHISM IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY IGQ vii viii Contents CHAPTER VI PAGE SOME OF THE MISTAKES AND DIFFICULTIES IN THE LANGUAGE OF THE AUTHORIZED VERSION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT - - - - - -IO7 CHAPTER VII THE PRESENT DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH OF ROME 1 37 CHAPTER VIII I. THE TEACHING OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH - - 143 II. SHEOL, HADES, TARTARUS, PARADISE - - - 145 III. HADES IS DIVIDED INTO MANY SPHERES, BOTH FOR THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED - - - 161 IV. IN THE INTERMEDIATE STATE SPIRITS REMAIN CON- SCIOUS, RETAIN THE MEMORY OF THE LIFE ON EARTH, AND ARE SENSIBLE TO PAIN AND PLEASURE 1 63 V. IN THE INTERMEDIATE STATE THE SINNER, WHO IS WILLING TO BE SAVED, IS GIVEN EVERY OPPOR- TUNITY OF BECOMING PURIFIED, AND GRADUALLY MADE PERFECT - - - - - 7 I 66 VI. THERE IS PREACHING AFTER DEATH IN HADES - 1/8 VII. EVERY SPIRIT HAS TO REMAIN IN THE INTERMEDIATE STATE UNTIL THE SECOND ADVENT OF JESUS, OR THE RESURRECTION ON THE LAST DAY, BUT THE CONDITION OF THE FAITHFUL, AND OF ALL THE SAINTS, IS ONE OF PEACE AND HAPPINESS - - 1 89 CHAPTER IX THE JUDGMENT ON THE LAST DAY - - - 197 CHAPTER X I. HEAVEN --------- 227 II. GOD THE FATHER ------- 238 CHAPTER XI CONCLUSION 251 APPENDIX AUTHORS quoted: THE TITLES OF THEIR WORKS AND DATES OF PUBLICATION, WITH THE PUB- LISHERS' NAMES - - - - - - " 285 INTRODUCTION I.— LIFE ON EARTH. II.— LIFE IN HADES. III.— LIFE AT THE RESURRECTION. THE AFTER LIFE INTRODUCTION ' But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, con- cerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. ' For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. ' For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent* them which are asleep. ' For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God : and the dead in Christ shall rise first : ' Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air : and so shall we ever be with the Lord. ' Wherefore comfort one another with these words.' I. — Life on Earth. * R.V. pre- cede. I Thess. iv. 13-18. I. The Natural Man.- spirit, the soul and body. -The dormant, or embryo, fjohn iii. 6. < I Cor. ii. 14. [jude xix. 2. The spiritual Man. — The quickened spirit, thejRom. viii.^o soul and body. j I Thess. v. 23 iHeb. iv. 12. ' That which is born of the flesh is flesh ; and that which John iii. 6. is born of the Spirit is spirit.' ' But the natural man receiveth not the things of the i Cor. ii. 14. Spirit of God : for they are foolishness unto him : neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.' ' These be they who separate themselves, sensual,t having not the Spirit.' ' It is the spirit that quickeneth ; the flesh profiteth nothing : the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are John vi. 63 life.' 3 I — 2 Jude 19. tR.V.ornat- ural or animal. The After Life Rom. viii. 9. * R.V. spirit. I Thess. V. 23- Heb, iv. 12. ' But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit,* if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.' ' And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly ; and / pvay God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.' ' For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.' t R.V. an- guish. 2 Pet. ii. 4. Lukexvi. 19- 31- 2 Pet. ii. 4. + R.V. Tar- tarus. Luke xvi. 19- 31- §R.V. Hades. il R.V. I am in anguish in this flame. H R.V. in an- guish. II. — Life in Hades, Which is a place divided into many spheres, of which the highest is Paradise, or Abraham's bosom, and the lowest is a place of torment| of some description. Tartarus is a sphere of Hades. 1. The Natural Man. — The dormant, or embryo, spirit in its spirit-body, and the soul. 2. The Spirihial Man. — The quickened spirit in its spirit-body, and the soul. ' For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast thefi^ down to hell, J and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.' ' There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day : ' And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores. ' And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table : moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. ' And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom : the rich man also died, and was buried ; ' And in hell§ he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. ' And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue ; for I am tormented in this flame. || ' But Abraham said. Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things ; but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.^ ' And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed : so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot ; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. ' Then he said, I pray thee, therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house : ' For I have five brethren ; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Introduction ' Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets ; let them hear them. ' And he said, Nay, father Abraham : but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. ' And he said unto him. If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.' III. — Life at the Resurrection. I. The Natural Man. — The still dormant, or embryo. spirit in its spirit-body, and the soul. 2. The Spiritual Man.- soul, and celestial body. -The quickened spirit, the ' And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul : but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.'* ' For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul Pf or what shall a man give in- exchange for his soul ?J ' For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die : but if ye through the Spirit§ do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.' Matt. X. 28. Matt. xvi. 26. Mark vUi. 37. Rom. viii. 13. James v. 20. I Cor. XV. 40, 44. 50- Rev. xxi. 27. Matt. X. 28. * R.V. Ge- henna. "Matt. xvi. 26. t R.V. life. Mark viii. 37. + R.V. life. Rom. viii. 13. § R.V. the spirit. ' Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from Jas. v. 20 the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.' ' There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial : but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terres- trial is another.' ' It is sown a natural body ; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.' ' Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God ; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.' ' And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie : but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.' 1. " The body (Greek, soma), or sense-consciousness, is that which feels, eats, drinks, and rests. "^ 2. " The soul " (Greek, Psyche), or self-consciousness, " is the life of man in its widest and most inclusive sense, embracing not only the animal, but also the intellectual and moral faculties; in so far as their exercise has not been depraved by the Fall."^ ^ " Immortality and Destiny," by Rev. R. P. Downes, LL.D., 1903, p. 19. (Smith's Publishing Company, Limited.) 2 "The Tripartite Nature of Man," by Rev. J. B. Heard, 1866, p. 90. (T. and T. Clark.) Edition 1870. y I Cor. XV. 40, 44, 50. Rev. xxi. 27. Body, soul, spirit. 6 ' The After Life The body and the soul together are called the flesh (Greek, sarx). 3. " The spirit (Greek, Pneuma), or God-conscious- ness, is that which receives impressions of heavenly things, and communes with the unseen Deity. "^ It niay also be described as " that part of man which is made in the image of God. It is the conscience, or faculty of God-consciousness, which has been depraved by the Fall, and which is dormant, though not quite dead. The pneuma in the physical or natural man has some little sense of the law of God, but no real love for Himself, and therefore it drives man from God, instead of drawing him to God."^ "As God is spirit, so the spirit in man is that which, in an eminent and peculiar sense, comes from God. . . . The spirit in man is Divine, consubstantial with God, who is the Father of spirits, as our bodies of flesh are consubstantial with those of the parents of our flesh. "^ " It is important to see where to draw the line when we say that man is fallen, and that the spirit is dead in trespasses and sins. The spirit is dead as to all higher exercises of faith, hope, and charity ; but not so dead as to have lost all fear of God, all sense of dependence on Him, or all sense that His law is the supreme standard of right. Were man to lose this remains of the spirit which we call conscience, then he would have no sin. ... So our Lord says to the John ix. 41. Pharisees : ' If ye were blind, ye should have no sin : but now ye say, We see ; therefore your sin remaineth.' Thus we identify conscience with the remains of the pneuma in fallen man."4 The Pneuma. When God breathed into Adam's nostrils the breath of life, " he was given that which we call the pneuma, or spirit, the conscientia, or consciousness, common ^ " Immortality and Destiny," by Rev. R. P. Downes, LL.D. 1903, p. 19. (Smith's Publishing Company, Limited.) 2 "The Tripartite Nature of Man," by Rev. J. B. Heard, 1866, p. ix. (T. and T. Clark.) 2 Ibid., p. 103. * Ibid., p. 158, 159. Introduction between him and God." ^ Adam was not created holy and immortal as well as innocent. " He was innocent because he had a well-balanced nature, in which the passions had not got the mastery over reason, as they now have." ^ He was " capable of becoming holy by not eating of the one tree in the garden, and so of a.ttaining immortality by having the right to eat of the other tree." ^ In Adam the " conscience was the knowledge of good as godly, and of evil as ungodly";"* and the discipline " man was put under in Eden was not merely to choose the good, and refuse the evil, to make reason the sovereign and appetite the servant ; it was also to know good and evil, to know that the essence of goodness consisted in obedience to God's rule as such ; and that the root of sin is disobedience or self- will."5 * Sin is the trangresssion of the law.' i johniii. 4. " This was the root of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the reason why God planted it in Para- dise, and tried man by it, before he could have right to the tree of life."^ "The temptation of Satan lay in this, that he urged Adam not only to know the distinction of good and evil, but to know it as gods — i.e., in a god-like, not in a creaturely way."'^ And Eve ' took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and Gen. iii. 6. gave also unto her husband with her ; and he did eat.' ' And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become Gen. iii. 22, as one of us, to know good and evil : and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever : Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden.' At the same time, " God withdrew from Adam the presence of His Holy Spirit, and thus the pneuma fell 1 "The Tripartite Nature of Man," by Rev. J. B. Heard, 1866, p. 169. (T. and T. Clark.) 2 Ibid., p. 173. ^ Ibid., p. 173. * Ibid., p. 170. 5 Ibid., p. 171, 172. ^ Ibid., p. 172. ^ Ibid., p. 171. The After Life back into a dim and depraved state of conscience toward God."^ Distinction " The distinction between psyche and pneufna was psyche\nA caught by the Greek, but lost or neglected by the pneuma. Latin fathers. The Latin language wanted the pre- cision of the Greek, and spiriUis and anima never acquired the same precision of meaning as pneuma and psyche. Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Didymus of Alexandria, Gregory of Nyssa, and Basil of Csesarea all note the distinction of soul and spirit, and designate the spirit as that which bears the truest image of God. With the error of Apollinaris, who denied to Christ a human pneuma, the reaction came, and the trichotomy fell into dis- favour, and was neglected even in the East. In the West it cannot be said to have ever received the atten- tion it deserved. TertuUian opposed it from the first, and Augustine thought it safest to neglect it" (see Bishop Ellicott's " Destiny of the Creature," p. 117).^ Luther. " Scripture, Luther says, divides man into three I Thess. V. parts, and he quotes, * and I pray God your whole ^3- spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless.' " " Each of these three parts, together with the whole man, is also divided in two spheres, which we call spirit and flesh. Which division is one not of nature, but of quality only — i.e., human nature has three parts (spirit, soul, and body), and these must each and all be good or bad " ^ (see the passage quoted at length in Delitzsch's " Psychologie," Appendix, p. 372, second Aufiage). Dr. T. Arnold, in 1829, said : " When this threefold division of our nature is mentioned, the term ' body ' expresses those appetites which we have in common with the brutes ; the term ' soul ' denotes our moral and intellectual faculties, directed only towards objects of 1 " The Tripartite Nature of Man," by Rev. J. B. Heard, 1866, p. 185. (T and T. Clark.) * Ibid., p. 4. 3 ifyid,^ P- 75. Introdtiction the world, and not exalted by the hope of immortality ; and the term ' spirit ' takes these same faculties when directed towards God and heavenly things, and from the purity, the greatness, and the perfect goodness of Him who is their object, ' transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.' "1 I have consulted several other authors, who agree about the tripartite nature of man, and Canon Luckock quoted: 'The Spirit itself beareth witness with our Rom.viii. i6. spirit, that we are the children of God.'^ The Spirit-Body. The Duke of Argyll ^ said : "The Christian doctrine of the resurrection of the body sanctions and involves the notion that there is some deep connexion between spirit and form which is essential, and which cannot be finally sundered even in the divorce of death." The Rev. R. H. Brenan,4 in 1887, referred to ' the Luke risen Lord, in whose image His people hope to spring from death.' Canon Luckock,^ in 1890, held that " there are spirit- forms, and that the soul, when it has left the body, still retains some incorporeal shape or figure." The Rev. E. H. Palmer,® in igoo, thought that at 1 Sermons by Thomas Arnold, D.D., head master of Rugby School, 1S29, vol. i., Sermon 26, on i Thess. v. 23. (Rivington.) 2 " The Intermediate State," by Canon H. M. Luckock, D.D., 1890, pp. 16, 17. (Longmans.) Sermon by Bishop EUicott on " The Threefold Nature of Man," quoted in "The Communion of Saints," by Rev. W. Rede, 1893, P- 26. (Longmans.) "Hades; or, The Intermediate State of Man," by Canon H. Constable, 1893, p. 84. (Elliot Stock.) "The Hope of Immortality," by Bishop J. E. C. Welldon, 1898, pp. 40-47. (Seeley and Co., London.) 3 " The Reign of Law," by the Duke of Argyll, 1866, p. 286. (Straham and Company.) Edition 1871. * " Surpassing Fables; or. Glimpses of our Future Home," by Rev. R. H. Brenan, 1887, pp. 4, 5. (James Nisbet.) ^ " The Intermediate State," by Canon H. M. Luckock, 1890, p. 119. (Longmans.) ^ In " White Robes," by Rev. E. H. Palmer, 1900, pp. 58, 59. (Skeffington.) 39- 44- lo The After Life death the spirit finds itself " clothed in an iatemiediate bod}- adjusted to the conditions of Paradise," and that this body in. all essential features is like the body which it had upon earth, and is therefore capable of recognition. The Rev. A. Chambers,^ in. 1900, taught that man, in his essence, even while on earth, is a spirit, and " this spirit is enclosed in its o\mi spirit-body, from which it is never dissevered. The spirit-body possesses shape as well as faculties of sight, hearing, and speech, and probably other faculties." I Cor. x%-.4o. He referred also to St. Paul's mention of " celestial bodies " as well as " bodies terrestrial," and a " spiritual body " as distinct from a " natural body." It is very interesting to notice that Irenaeus, whose teaching on the poiut is given at length in the fourth chapter, taught, in the second centur\- of our era, that spirits after death preser\-e the sam^e form as the bodies the\' have quitted, "so that they ma}' be recognized." Angels and men also — after death — possess spirit- bodies, %rith bodily shape and organization. In most of the foUo\\TQg passages the spiritual beings spoke to the hmnan beings who saw them.^ Old Testament. 1. ' And the angel of the Lord found her (Hagar) by a fountain of water,' and spoke to her. 2. ' The Lord appeared to Abram,' and spoke to him. 3. ' And the Lord appeared unto him (Abraham) in the plains of Mamre,' and spoke to him. 4. ' Angels of God met ' Jacob, and he scuju them. 5. Jacob \\Testled \rith One, of whom he said, ' I have seen God face to face.' 6. ' And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him (Moses) in a flame of fire,' and spoke to him. 1 "Man and the Spiritual World," by Rev. A. Chambers, 1900, pp. 92-95 and 114, 272. (Charles Taylor.) 2 ihid., pp. 135-147- Gen. x%-i. 7' 12. Gen. x\-ii. I- 22. Gen. srviii I- 33- Gen. xxxii. T, 2. Gen. xxxii. 24-30. Exoc .iii. 2. Introduction 1 1 7. Balaam * saw the angel of the Lord standing in Xum. xxii. the way,' and the angel spoke to him. ^^' 8. Joshua saw One who described Himself as ' Cap- josh. v. 13, tain of the host of the Lord.' ^4" 9. "And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him ' Judg. vi. 12- (Gideon) in Ophrah, and spoke to him. ^ ' 10. The angel of the Lord appeared unto Manoah Judg. xiii. 3- and his ^^dfe, and spoke to them. 11. Samuel was seen, after his death, bv both Saul iSam.xxviii. 12-20. and the woman, in the cave at En-dor. {2 Sam. xxiv. 12. David and Oman both saw the angel that| 17. smote the people.' j^ ^^°^- ^^^• 13. ' And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night,' 2 Chron. \nx. and spoke to him. 14. Nebuchadnezzar saw One, whose ' form ' was Dan. m. 25. ' like the Son of God, walking in the midst of the fire.' 15. Daniel saw an angel in the den of hons. Dan. \A. 22. 16. Zechariah saw and Lord on several occasions. 16. Zechariah saw and talked ^^ith an angel of the Zech. New Testament. 1. 'And there appeared, unto him (Zacharias) an Lukei. n. angel of the Lord.' 2. ' The angel Gabriel . . . came in unto her (the Luke i. 28. Mother of Jesus). 3. ' The angel of the Lord came upon ' the shepherds Luke ii. 9. of Bethlehem. 4. 'Suddenly there was ^^ith the angel a multitude Lukeii. 13. of the heavenly host.' piatt. x%-ii. ^. 5. Moses and Ehjah appeared to the three Apostles | Mark Lx. 4. at^the Transfiguration. ^^''^l ^- ^°' 6. ' And there appeared an angel imto Him (Jesus) Luke xxii. from heaven, strengthening Him.' 7. ' The anejel of the Lord descended from heaven, ^^^^- ^^iiJ- 2, 4. . . . and for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.' 12 The After Life Mark xvi. 5. 8. ' And entering into the sepulchre, they (the women) saw a young man.' Matt, xxvii. 9. ' And many bodies of the saints which slept arose ^^'5^" ... and appeared unto many.' Acts i. 10. 10. ' Two men,' evidently spiritual beings, ' stood hy ' the disciples on Mount Olivet. Acts V. 19. II. ' But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth,' and he spoke to them. Acts vii. 55. 12. Stephen ' looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God.' Acts viii. 26. 13. ' And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip.' Acts X. 3. 14. Cornelius saw ' an angel of God coming in to him.' Acts xii. 7. . 15. ' The angel of the Lord came upon ' Peter in the prison, and spoke to him. Acts xxvii. 16. ' The angel of God ' ' stood by ' Paul on board ^^' a ship. 17-29. The thirteen appearances of Jesus after His crucifixion : Mark xvi. 9-~| John XX. ^^-\ (i) ^o Mary Magdalene. 18. j Matt, xxviii. v^) To the other women who had taken spices to the 9. 10. tomb. Luke xxiv. (3) To Peter : ' The Lord is risen indeed, and hath I Cor. XV. 5. appeared to .Simon.' (4) To two of the Apostles going to Emmaus. (5) To all the Apostles, except Thomas. (6) To all the Apostles, including Thomas. (7) To seven of the x\postles, by the Sea of Galilee. Mark xvi. 12-' Luke xxiv. j 13-35- J Mark xvi. 14-1 18. Luke xxiv. | 36-49- John XX. r 19- 23- 1 John XX. 24-1 29. I Cor. XV ,.[ John xxi I- 25- Introduction 1 3 (11) To the Apostles at Bethany, near Jerusalem. (12) To St. Paul. (8) To ' the eleven disciples,' on a mountain in Matt, xxviii. Galilee. ^^■^°- (9) To above five hundred brethren. i Cor. xv. 6. (10) To the Apostle James. • i Cor. xv. 7. CMarkxvi. 19- 20. Luke xxiv. 50-53- Acts i. 3-9. (1 Cor. ix. I. I Cor. XV. 8- 23- Acts ix. 1-30. Acts xxii. I' 21. Acts xxvi. 2- 23. (13) To St. John, in Patmos. Rev. i. 13, During the last century it is certain that there have ^7. iS- been many well-authenticated cases of a spirit appear- ing to one or more human beings immediately after it has left its body, and in all these cases the spirit has been recognized by the resemblance to its late body. In the following pages I propose to show that, Belief of the before the birth of Jesus, the Jews believed that the J®'^^- spirits of all the dead went to Sheol (Hades), the just to Abraham's bosom, and the lost to a place of punish- ment ; but this, in the majority of cases, was of only temporary duration. Jesus taught in the Parable that Lazarus was in Teaching of Paradise, which was the same as Abraham's bosom, Jesus. and the rich man was in torments* in another sphere * r.v. in an- of Hades. S*^^-'^- He also told the thief on the cross that he should be with Him, the same day, in Paradise. Throughout His ministry, Jesus often referred to Chap. il. the Life after Death in His Parables and other teach- ing, and we now see that He upheld the established belief in an Intermediate Life, between Death and the Resurrection. The passages from the Gospels, which I have col- lected in the second chapter, show the teaching of Jesus to have been that — H The After Life John i. 3, 6, i8, 13, 46. I Johniv. 12, Teaching of the Apos- tles. Chap. III. Teaching of the early Fathers. Wycliffe's Bible. Books of Homilies. Authorized Version. 1. ' No man hath seen God at any time,' and there- fore it is certain that all spirits must remain in Hades until the second Advent of Jesus, or the Last Day. 2. There are different spheres in Hades, both for the righteous and the wicked. 3. The spirits are alive and conscious. 4. There is provision for purification, and penitence is followed by forgiveness. The Apostles carried on this teaching about Hades, and they taught that all spirits remain there until the second Advent of Jesus, or the Last Day, but the wicked are given every opportunity of becoming purified, and gradually made perfect. The early Fathers taught the same, and this con- tinued to be the teaching of the one undivided Catholic Church until the Great Schism in the twelfth century, when the Greek Church finally seceded from Rome because of the innovations regarding Purgatory, which had been introduced by successive Popes. This was followed in the sixteenth century by the Second Schism, of the Western Churches. Nearly two centuries before this, in a.d. 1380, John W^^cliffe had published his translation of the Bible, and he then struck a great blow at the Romish teaching about Purgatory by using the one word " Helle " in place of Gehenna, Hades, and Tartarus, as in the original. This mistake was no doubt the origin of the teaching of the two books of Homilies, which were printed in 1547 and 1563, and which laid down that " the soul of man, passing out of the body, goeth straightwaj^s either to heaven or else to helle." This mistake was repeated in the Authorized Version of the Bible, which was published in 161 1, and the doctrine of immediate judgment after death was the one most generally accepted up to quite recent times. Introduction 1 5 Within the last century, the original teaching of Anglican Jesus and His Apostles has been revived, and the teaching following is the present doctrine of the Anglican of to-day. Church : 1. That there is an Intermediate State between Death and the Resurrection. 2. That there are different spheres in the Inter- mediate State, both for the righteous and the wicked. 3. That, in the Intermediate State, spirits remain conscious, retain the memory of the life on earth, and are sensible to pain and pleasure. 4. In the Intermediate State, the sinner who is willing to be saved is given every opportunity of becoming purified and gradually made perfect. 5. That there is preaching in the Intermediate State. 6. That every spirit has to remain in the Inter- mediate State until the second Advent of Jesus, or the Resurrection on the Last Day, but the condition of the faithful, and of all the saints, is one of peace and happiness. I have also collected the passages of Scripture which The Second speak of the Second Coming of Jesus, and the Judgment the Judg- at the Last Day, and Heaven, to which the righteous ment, and •11 1 1 1 1 Heaven. Will then be translated. CHAPTER I I.— THE HEBREW IDEA ABOUT SHEOL. II.— THE LOCALITY OF "SHEOL," OR "HADES. CHAPTER I I.— The Hebrew Idea about Sheol. The old Hebrew idea about the life after death was that all spirits, both of the just and unjust, went to a dim underworld called Sheol, and remained there throughout all eternity.^ The existence in Sheol, although conscious, was hope- less, * for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, Eccles.ix. lo. nor wisdom,' and in Sheol ' who shall give thee thanks ?' Ps, vi. 5. For the sinner, however, Sheol contained sorrows and pains, and we read : ' Drought and heat consume Job xxiv. 19. the snow-waters : so doth Sheol those which have sinned.' Isaiah and the later prophets revealed something more of the life beyond the grave, and so the Jews came to believe in a resurrection, and to dream of a heaven and a place of punishment for sinners. 2 At the time of the birth of Jesus the Jews generally, with the exception of the Sadducees, * which say that Matt. xxii. there is no resurrection,' believed that the spirits of ^^' all the dead went to Sheol — the just to a place of rest Ezek. xxxU. 17-32. and happiness, known as Abraham's bosom, or the Garden of Eden, or Paradise, and the lost to the lowest Sheol, which was a place of punishment. ^^^^' ^^^^^• ^ " Exposition of the XXXIX. Articles," by Bishop Edward Harold Browne, 1882, p. 80 (Article III.). (Longmans, Green and Co.) " The Future State," by Dr. J. A. Dorner, translated by Rev. Newman Smyth, 1883, p. 50. "The Intermediate State and the Last Things," by Rev. G. S. Barrett, D.D., 1898, p. 15. (Elliot Stock.) 2 " Whither ; or. The Condition of the Soul after Death," by Rev. J. R. Porte, D.D., 1904, p. 21. (Sampson Low, Marston and Co.) 19 2 — 2 22. 20 The After Life " Sheol." According to Buxtorff's Hebrew Concordance, the word " sheol " occurs sixty-five times in the Hebrew Bible, and a marginal note to Genesis xxxvii. 35, in the Revised Version of the Old Testament, explains that " sheol " is " the name of the abode of the dead, answer- ing to the Greek Hades " (Acts ii. 27). In the Authorized Version of the Old Testament the word " sheol " has been translated " hell " in thirty-one passages, " the grave " in thirty-one passages, and " the pit " in three passages. Deut. xxxii. 22. 2 Sam. xxii. 6. Job xi. 8. Job xxvi. 6. Ps. ix. 17. Ps. xvi. 10. Ps. xviii. 5. Ps. Iv. 15. Ps. Ixxxvi. 13- Ps. cxvi. 3. Ps. cxxxix. 8. Prov. V. 5. Prov. vii. 27. Prov. ix. 18. Prov. XV. II. Prov. XV. 24. Prov. xxiii. 14. Prov. xxvii. 20. Isa. V. 14. Isa. xiv. 9. Isa. xiv. 15. Isa. xxviii. IS- Isa. xxviii. 18. Hell. 1. ' For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell (sheol).' 2. ' The sorrows of hell (sheol) compassed me about.' 3. ' Deeper than hell (sheol) ; what canst thou know ?' 4. ' Hell (sheol) is naked before him.' 5. ' The wicked shall be turned into hell (sheol).' 6. ' For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (sheol).' 7. * The sorrows of hell (sheol) compassed me about.' 8. ' Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell (sheol).' 9. ' For great is thy mercy toward me : and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell (sheol).' 10. ' The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell (sheol) gat hold upon me.' 11. 'If I make my bed in hell (sheol), behold, thou art there.' 12. ' Her feet go down to death ; her steps take hold on hell (sheol).' 13. ' Her house is the way to hell (sheol).' 14. ' But he knoweth not that the dead are there ; and that her guests are in the depths of hell (sheol).' 15. ' Hell (sheol) and destruction are before the Lord.' 16. ' The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell (sheol) beneath.' 17. ' Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell (sheol). 18. ' Hell (sheol) and destruction are never full.' 19. ' Therefore hell (sheol) hath enlarged herself.' 20. ' Hell (sheol) from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming.' 21. ' Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell (sheol).' 22. ' And with hell (sheol) are we at agreement.' 23. ' And your agreement with hell (sheol) shall not stand.' The Hebrew Idea about Sheol 21 24. ' And didst debase thyself even unto hell (sheol).' 25. ' When I cast him down to hell (sheol).' 26. ' They also went down into hell (sheol) with him.' 27. ' The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell (sheol).' 28. ' And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised which are gone down to hell (sheol).' 29. ' Though they dig into hell (sheol).' 30. ' Out of the belly of hell (sheol) cried I. 31. ' Who enlarge th his desire as hell (sheol).' Isa. Ivii. 9. Ezek. xxxi. 16. Ezek. xxxi. Ezek. xxxii. 21. Ezek. xxxii. 27. Amos ix. 2. Jonah ii. 2. Hab. ii. 5. The Grave. 1. ' And he said, For I will go down into the grave (sheol) unto my son mourning.' 2. ' Then shall ye bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to the grave (sheol).' 3. ' Ye shall bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to the grave (sheol).' 4. ' And thy servants shall bring down the grey hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave (sheol).' 5. ' He bringeth down to the grave (sheol), and bringeth up.' 6. ' And let not his hoar head go down to the grave (sheol) in peace.' 7. ' But his hoar head bring thou down to the grave (sheol) with blood.' 8. ' So he that goeth down to the grave (sheol) shall come up no more.' 9. ' O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave (sheol). 10. ' If I wait, the grave (sheol) is mine house.' 11. ' And in a moment go down to the grave (sheol).' 12. ' Drought and heat consume the snow waters : so doth the grave (sheol) those which have sinned.' 13. 'In the grave (sheol) who shall give thee thanks ?' 14. ' O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave (sheol).' 15. ' Let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave (sheol).' 16. ' Like sheep they are laid in the grave (sheol).' 17. ' And their beauty shall consume in the grave (sheol).' 18. 'But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave (sheol).' 19. ' And my life draweth nigh unto the grave (sheol).' 20. ' Shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave (sheol) ?' 21. ' Our bones are scattered at the grave's (sheol) mouth.' 22. ' Let us swallow them up alive as the grave (sheol).' 23. ' The grave (sheol) and the barren womb.' 24. ' For there is no work, nor devise, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave (sheol).' Gen. xxxvii. 35- Gen. xlii. 38. Gen. xliv. 29. Gen. xliv. 31. I Sam. ii. 6. I Kings ii. 6. I Kings ii. 9. Job vii. 9. Job xiv. 13. Job xvii. 13. Job xxi. 13. Job xxiv. 19. Ps. vi. 5. Ps. XXX. 3. Ps. xxxi. 17. Ps. xlix. 14. Ps. xlix. 14. Ps. xlix. 15. Ps. Ixxxviii. 3- Ps. Ixxxix. 48. Ps. cxli. 7. Prov. i. 12. Prov. XXX, 16. Eccles.ix. 10. 2 2 The After Life S.of. Sol.viii. 25. 'For love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the 6. grave (sheol).' Isa. xiv. II. 26. ' Thy pomp is brought down to the grave (sheol).' Isa. xxxviii. 27. ' I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the 10. gates of the grave (sheol).' j3 J 28. ' For the grave (sheol) cannot praise thee.' J ■ ■ j- 29. ' In the day when he went down to the grave (sheol).' Hos. xiii. 14. 30. ' I will ransom them from the power of the grave (sheol).' Hos. xiii. 14. 31, ' O grave (sheol), I will be thy destruction.' The Pit. Num.xvi. 30. I. ' And they go down quick into the pit (sheol),' Num.xvi. 33. 2. 'They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit (sheol).' Job. xvii. 16. 3. ' They shall go down to the bars of the pit (sheol), when our rest together is in the dust.' II. — The Locality of " Sheol," or " Hades." A great many of the quotations from the Old Testa- ment, collected under the head of " sheol," prove that the belief in ancient times was that " sheol " was below the earth. Jesus confirmed this opinion of the Jews when He said to certain of the Scribes and Pharisees : Matt. xii. 40. ' For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly ; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.' St. Paul wrote to the same effect in two of his Epistles . Eph.iv.9, 10. '(Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth ? ' He that descended is the same also that ascended up far Phil ii 10 ^ ^^^"^^ '^ heavens, that He might fill all things.)' * R V in the I ' That at the name of Jesus* every knee should bow, of nartie of \-things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the Jesus. J earth.' ' St. John also, in the Revelation, showed that he was of the same belief : Rev. v. 3.. ' And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.' The Hebrew Idea about Skeol 23 ' And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, Rev. v. 13. and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, he unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.' There is no doubt that the early Fathers taught that "Hades " was situated beneath the earth they stood upon. CHAPTER II I.— THE TEACHING OF JESUS ABOUT HADES. II.— ALL SPIRITS REMAIN IN THE INTERMEDIATE STATE UNTIL THE SECOND ADVENT OF JESUS, OR THE RESURRECTION ON THE LAST DAY. CHAPTER II I. — The Teaching of Jesus about Hades. In the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, Jesus, Lukexvi. 19- speaking to Jews, confirmed and sanctioned the current beUef, and He explained that, while Lazarus was com- forted in Abraham's bosom, the rich man was in tor- .^ _ .. . j * K. V. m ail- ments* in hell.f He said that between Abraham andj guish. the place of torment there was a great gulf fixed, ^^ ' ' "so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot ; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence." The parable further teaches that the rich man re- membered the incidents of his past life, and was anxious to help his brethren, who were still on earth ; and, lastly, we are told that Abraham knew of the teaching of Moses and the prophets, although he died long before their time. Among the last seven words spoken by Jesus on the cross were those addressed to the thief who was cruci- fied with Him : ' Verily I say unto thee. To-day shalt Luke xxm. thou be with Me in Paradise.' The Jews who heard this naturally understood that " Paradise " was the same as " Abraham's bosom," and it is certain that " Paradise " cannot mean " heaven," because Jesus said to Mary Magdalene, after His Resurrection : " I am not yet ascended to My John xx. 17. Father." Jesus spoke this parable to a number of His dis- ciples, who all believed in an Intermediate State under 27 28 The After Life Matt. xi. 23. Luke X. 15. * R.V. Hades. Matt. xvi. 18. * R.V. Hades. Matt. 12. the name of either Sheol or Hades ; and as it was narrated in the plainest language, there can be no doubt that the hearers understood it as confirming the ancient doctrine. Nevertheless, Mr. W. Tupman^ said it " may be taken to represent the cutting off of the Jews, who were rich above all others, because 'unto them were committed the oracles of God'"; and, again, the Jews "despised the poor man, who may represent the Gentiles, treating them as dogs ": " The Jews were cut off and tormented because they obeyed not." The following are the only other occasions on which the Gospels record that Jesus actually mentioned Hades : 1' And thou Capernaum, which are exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell.' 1 ' And upon this rock I will build My church ; and the gates I of hell shall not prevail against it.' Although the Gospels only contain a record of these three occasions on which Jesus actually mentioned Hades, it is certain that He often referred to the State after death, and both by His words and His actions (in talking to Moses and Elijah at His transfiguration) He taught that Hades is divided into many spheres ; that spirits are conscious ; that they have oppor- tunities of becoming purified ; and that they all remain in the Intermediate State until His second Advent, or the Resurrection on the Last Day. ' Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, ana shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. ' Rejoice, and be exceeding glad : for great is your reward in heaven : for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.' Bishop Ellicott, in his " Commentary," says : " Liter- ally, in the heavens, as in the phrase, ' the kingdom of ^ " The Faith or Heresy — Which is it ? An Examination of Conditional Immortality," by Mr. W. Tupman, 1899, p. 10. (Digby, Long, and Co.) The Teaching of Jesus about Hades 29 heaven/ the plural being used possibly with reference to the Jewish belief in three or seven heavens, more 2 Cor. xii. 2. probably as implying, in its grand vagueness (like the 'many mansions'), the absence of any space-limits John xiv 2. to the promised reward." I have quoted the above passage in this place because, no doubt, the promised reward commences in the Intermediate State, which is thus seen to consist of different spheres, as sinners cannot be in the same sphere as the spirits here referred to. ' Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him ; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee rMatt. v. 25, to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and) 26. thou be cast into prison. jLuke xii. 58, ' Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come I 59- out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. The word " prison " is that used in, " By which also he i Pet. ill. 19. went and preached unto the spirits in prison." It is clear that St. Peter referred to spirits in Hades, and this passage must also refer to the same place or state. The teaching is that recovery from the unhappy sphere of Hades is most difficult, but not impossible. ' For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Matt. vi. 14, Father will also forgive you : ^S- ' But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither wUl your Father forgive your trespasses.' This surely teaches that repentant sinners can find forgiveness in Hades as well as on earth. ' Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. ' For every one that asketh receiveth ; and he that seeketh findeth ; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. ' Or what man is there of you, whom, if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone ? ' Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent ? ' If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him ? ' Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them : for this is the law and the prophets.' Matt. vii. 7- 12. iMatt. xxi.22. "* Mark xi. 24. Luke xi. 9- 13- 30 The After Life " The three words imply distinct degrees of intensity. There is the ' asking ' in the spoken words of prayer ; the ' seeking ' in the efforts and labours which are acted prayers ; the ' knocking ' at the gate with the urgent importunity which claims admission into our Father's house. "^ " The words are absolute and unqualified." If "we ask, as Christ has taught us, in His name, and according to His spirit," we shall receive. ^ Matt. vii. 13- « Enter ye in at the strait gate : for wide is the gate, and 20- broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat : ' Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto hfe, and few there be that find it. ' Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. ' Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles ? ' Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit ; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. ' A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 'Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. ' Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.' " The picture is a dark one. ... If there is any wider hope, it is found in hints and suggestions of the ' Tv^'e^"' ^^' possibihties of the future ; in the fact that the words are emphatically present ; in the belief that the short span of this life is not necessarily the whole of the dis- cipline of a soul made for eternity ; and that the new life, nascent, and feeble, and stunted here, may be quickened by some new process of education into higher energies. "2 I go farther than this, and say distinctly that there must be an Intermediate State, where the heathen and children are taught, and the many gracious messages left by Jesus must mean that there is still hope there for any sinner who repents. 1 " A Bible Commentary for English Readers," by various writers, edited by Bishop C. J. EUicott, D.D. (Cassell and Co.) 2 iii^^ 3 7^^-^. The Teaching of Jesus about Hades 31 ' Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter Matt. vii. 21- into the kingdom of heaven ; but he that doeth the will of 23. My Father which is in heaven. ' Many will say to Me in that day. Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name ? and in Thy name have cast out devils ? and in Thy name done many wonderful works ? ' And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you ; depart from Me, ye that work iniquity, ' Strive to enter in at the strait gate : for many, I say unto Lu^g xiii 24- you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. ^o. ' When once the Master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying. Lord, Lord, open unto us ; and He shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are : ' Then ye shall begin to say. We have eaten and drunk in Thy presence, and Thou hast taught in our streets. ' But He shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are ; depart from Me, all ye workers of iniquity. ' There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. ' And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. * And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.' This clearly points to the consciousness of spirits in Hades, and to the retention of the memory of the life on earth. ' And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and r^r ,. ■•• Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. J ^^ 'Vin. i , 'But the chidren of the kingdom shall be cast out into j L^j^g ^^^^ 28 outer darkness : there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' While the words "weeping and gnashing of teeth" are admitted to be naturally connected with " the misery of those who are excluded from the joy and blessedness of the completed kingdom, and that is, doubtless, what they ultimately point to," it is held that they may also refer to " the children of the king- dom" — i.e., the Israelites — being left "in the 'outer darkness ' when they were self-excluded from fellow- ship with that Church — the Church of Christ — and its work among the nations."^ ^ Bishop EUicott's " Commentary." (Cassell and Co.) 32 The After Life This is one of the many terms used in connection with the final lot of unrepentant sinners. Matt. X. 24. Luke vi. 40. John xiii. 16. John XV. 20. * R.V. every one when ~ he is per- fected. ' The disciple is not above Ms Master, nor the servant above his Lord ' (Matthew). ' The disciple is not above his master : but every one that is perfect* shall be as his Master ' (Luke). Matt. X Luke xii * R.V. Ge henna. Jas. iv. 12. Matt. 31. The passage in Luke may be held to point to the disciple going to Hades, as his Master would go, and there preaching the good tidings. The more common interpretation is that the dis- ciple, like his Master, should teach and not judge. :. 28. "^ i. 4, 5 . (_ ' And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able j to kill the soul : but rather fear Him. which is able to destroy J both soul and body in hell.'* In James we read : ' There is one Ivawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy.' I have found nearly one hundred different terms used as types of the final place of destruction of un- repentant sinners, and the above is the only occasion, on which Gehenna was so used. On other occasions, Gehenna, or the Valley of Hinnom, was pointed to as the place where the dead body might be thrown after death, as a punishment inflicted by a court of law. The " soul " is the "life," and this distinctly teaches that man is not immortal by nature, but God has the power to destroy both the " life " and the spirit body of all unrepentant sinners at the Final Judgment on the Last Day. ' Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing ? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. ' But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ' Fear ye not, therefore, ye are of more value than many x. 29- Matt, xi. 28- 30. sparrows. ' Come that labour and are heavy laden. unto Me all ye and I will give you rest. ' Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me ; for I am meek and lowly in heart : and ye shall find rest unto your souls. ' For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.' The Teaching of Jestts about Hades 2)Z ' For God so loved the world, that He gave His only be- John iii. i6, gotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not 17. perish, but have everlasting life. * R.V. eter- ' For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the nal life, world : but that the world through Him might be saved.' How is it possible to believe that Jesus left the above loving and gracious messages to men of all nations, and of all times, but, nevertheless, daily sentences to immediate, never-ending torments in material flames all those whose spirits leave their earthly envelopes without coming to Him, although many of them never heard of Him ? This is, however, the teaching of the Church of Rome of to-day, and it was taught by the two books of Homilies in 1547 ^'^'^ ^S^S- I declare, in spite of this, that the sentence is so an- tagonistic to the message that it cannot be pronounced by Jesus. Again, how is it possible to believe that Jesus said : [Matt. xix. 14. 'Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto) Mark x. 14. Me : for of such is the kingdom of heaven,' 1 Luke xviii. I 16. and, at the same time, to credit the doctrine that the spirit of every child dying unbaptized is committed to the said flames ? Still, this is taught to-day, I know, by some of the country clergy of England. I say this teaching is not only false, but it is disloyal to God, and cruel to simple human beings, who think the minister in the pulpit must know the truth. The inference to be drawn from Scripture is that God's love for every human spirit does not cease when it quits this earth, but follows it into the Intermediate State, and continues until the Last Day. ' He that receiveth you receiveth Me, and he that receiveth Me receiveth Him that sent Me. TMatt x 40- ' He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shallj .^ ' receive a prophet's reward ; and he that receiveth a righteous I Mark ix. 41. man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. 3 34 The After Life Matt. xii. xi 21. Matt. xii. 32. Mark iii. 29. Luke xii. I John V. 31, 28, 10. 16. * And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold ivater only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.' This reward may consist of admission to the happiest sphere of Hades, which is called Paradise. ' Behold My servant, whom I have chosen ; my beloved, in whom My soul is well pleased : I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. ' He shall not strive, nor cry ; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. ' A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. ' And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.' In quoting this passage I am supported by Bishop Ellicott's " Commentary," which says : "What is implied is that this tender compassion was to characterize the whole work of the Christ until the time of final judgment should arrive, and truth should at last prevail." I have put in italics the sentence which teaches that the attempt to save sinners will be continued in the Intermediate State; even a "bruised reed," "which is the type of one broken by the weight of sorrow, or care, or sin," will not fail to receive the most gentle assistance to enable it to recover itself. ' Wherefore I say unto you. All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men : but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. ' And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man,, it shall be forgiven him : but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.' " Our Lord's words, it may be noted, clearly imply that some sins wait for their full forgiveness, the entire cancelling of the past, till the time of that ' age to come ' which shall witness the great and final Advent. Does this imply that repentance, and therefore pardon, may come in the state that follows death ? We know not, and ask questions that we cannot answer ; but the words at least check the harsh, dogmatic answer in the negative. If one sin only is thus excluded from forgiveness in that * coming age,' other sins cannot The Teaching of Jesus about Hades 35 stand on the same level, and the darkness behind the veil is lit up with at least a gleam of hope."^ I hold that this passage, when read with other passages from the Gospels which I have collected, makes it clear that repentance, at any time before the Last Day, will be followed by forgiveness, in the Intermediate State. ' Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from Thee. ' But He answered and said unto them, An evil and adul- terous generation seeketh after a sign ; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas : ' For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly ; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.' " The purely chronological difficulty is explained by the common mode of speech among the Jews, according to which, any part of a day, though it were but a single hour, was for legal purposes considered as a whole. "^ ' Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind : ' Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. ' So shall it be at the end of the world : the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just. ' And shall cast them into the furnace of fire : there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.' Bishop Ellicott's " Commentary " points out that " in the actual work of the kingdom the very casting of the net may change, and is meant to change, the nature of the fish that are taken in its meshes, and, therefore, that those that remain ' bad ' are so in the end by the result of their own will." The above passage contains three of the hundred terms used in the New Testament as types of the final destruction of unrepentant sinners, viz. : 1. Being cast away like bad fish. 2. Being cast into the furnace of fire. 3. Where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth. Commentary." (Cassell and Co,) fMatt. vi. 14, IS, xii. 18- 21, xviii. 21, 22, xxi. 22, vii. 7. Luke XV. 3-7, John i. 29, iii. 16, 17, xii. 32. Matt. xii. 38- 40. Matt. xvi. 4. Jonah i. 17. I Sam. XXX. 12, 13- Matt. xiii. 47- 50. ^ Bishop Ellicott's 2 Ihid. 3—2 3^ The After Life Matt. XVI. i8- ' And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon ^ ^- this rock I will build My church ; and the gates of hell shall •Jl' J not prevail against it. ' And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. ' Then charged He His disciples that they should tell no man that He was Jesus the Christ.' The promise here made to Peter, beginning with the words, " and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth," was Mat^t. xviii. afterwards " extended not only to the other Apostles, but to the whole society of which they were the repre- sentatives. ... It was binding or loosing, directly as interpreting the Law, only secondarily^ and indirectly as punishing or pardoning. "^ The power that was given to the Apostles at the appearance of Jesus after His crucifixion is " immedi- ately connected with the representative character of the disciples as Apostles sent by Christ, as He was Him- self sent by His Father, and its validity is dependent upon their reception of the Holy Ghost, by whom Christ Himself is present in them."^ John XX. 21- ' Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you : as 23- My Father hath sent Me, even so I send you. ' And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost : ' Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them ; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.' " God has promised forgiveness wherever there is repentance. ... It results from every declaration of forgiveness made in the name of the Father through Jesus Christ, that hearts which in penitence accept it receive remission of their sins, and that the hardness of the hearts which wilfully reject it is by their rejection increased, and the very words by which their sins would be remitted become the words by which they are retained. "2 1 Bishop EUicott's " Commentary." (Cassell and Co.) 2 Ibid. 3 7^^-^. The Teaching of Jesus about Hades 2>7 With regard to the passage on which the claims of the Church of Rome are founded — ' And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Matt. xvi. 17- Simon Bar-jona : for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto ^9- thee, but My Father which is in heaven. ' And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church ; and the gates of hell* shall * R.v. not prevail against it. Hades, ' And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven — ■' it is said : " (i) that it is at least doubtful . . . whether the man Peter was the rock on which the Church was to be built ; (2) that it is doubtful . . . whether Peter was ever in any real sense Bishop of the Church of Rome, or in any way connected with its foundation ; (3) that there is not a syllable pointing to the trans- mission of the power conferred on him to his successors in that supposed episcopate ; (4) ... the power was not given to him alone, but equally to all the disciples ; (5) that the power of the keys, no less than that of * binding ' and ' loosing,' was not sacerdotal, but belonged to the office of a scribe or teacher."^ ' And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John TMatt. xvii. i- his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain 3. apart. i Mark ix. 2-4. ' And was transfigured before them : and His face did shine j Luke ix. 30, as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light. I 31- ' And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias* * R.V. talking with Him.' Elijah. Peter was one of the three disciples who were present at this time, and he afterwards wrote : ' For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when 2 Pet. i. 16. we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of His majesty.' The appearance of Moses and Elijah teaches us several things. In the first place, it is clear that they were still in the Intermediate State. ^ Bishop Ellicott's " Commentary." (Cassell and Co.) 3^ The After Life They appeared in their spirit-bodies, which re- sembled their appearance while on earth. They were conscious, were able to converse with Jesus, and, according to Luke, knew what was about to take place in Jerusalem. Matt. xviii.\ ' Then came Peter to Him, and said, Lord, how oft shall 21, 22, vi. my brother sin against me, and I forgive him ? till seven H- y. times ? ' Jesus saith imto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times : but. Until seventy times seven.' 25. Mark xi. 26. Luke xvii. 4., Amos i. 3. Matt, xviii. 33-35. vi. 15- Mark xi. 26. Matt. 26. v. 25. Matt. 26. Mark xix X. 23- 23- 27. Luke xviii 24- 27. " Seven " was the sacred number, and in going so far beyond the " three transgressions and for four" of the Old Testament, Peter no doubt thought he had reached the limit. The answer of Jesus showed that, so long as a sinner truly repents, the forgiveness of God has no limit. ' Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee ? ' And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tor- mentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. ' So likewise shall My heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.' The word translated "tormentors" does not neces- sarily mean those who actually inflict torture, but it is applied also to the keepers of a prison.^ The teaching is the same as in a previous passage, that recovery from the unhapp}^ sphere of Hades is most difficult, but not impossible. ' Then said Jesus unto His disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. ' And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. ' When His disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved ? ' But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible ; but with God all things are possible.' Bishop Ellicott's " Commentary " says : " There is no reason to think that the comparison, even if it was not ^ " Future Retribution," by Rev. C, A. Row, 1887, p. 248. (William Isbister, Limited.) The Teaching of Jesus about Hades 39 already proverbial, would present the slightest diffi- culty to the minds of the disciples. Like all such comparisons, it states a general fact — the hindrance which wealth presents to the higher growths of holiness — in the boldest possible form, in order to emphasize its force, and leaves out of sight the limits and modifica- tions with which it has to be received." In Mark we find an explanatory and softened state- Mark x. 24. ment : " How hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God !" It is thought that " a marginal note, added by some- one who felt as the disciples felt, has here found its way into the text." ' For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is Matt. xx. i an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire i6. labourers into his vineyard. ' And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ' And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the market-place. ' And he said unto them : Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. ' Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. ' And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle ? ' They say unto him. Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard ; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. ' So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward. Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. ' And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. ' But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more ; and they likewise received every man a penny. ' And when they had received it, they murmured against the good man of the house. ' Saying, These last have wrought hut one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. ' But he answered one of them, and said. Friend, I do thee no wrong : didst not thou agree with me for a penny ? ' Take that thine is, and go thy way : I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. 40 The After Life * R.V. the last sen- tence is omitted. Luke 43- ' Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own ? Is thine eye evil, because I am good ? ' So the last shall be first, and the first last : for many be called, but few chosen.'* "The labourers in the vineyard, who did their work, and bore the burden and heat of the day, did not alto- gether lose their reward because they murmured against the larger generosity, the considerate equity, of the lord of the vineyard."^ In Bishop Ellicott's " Commentary " I find under the words, " So the last shall be first." " This, then, is the great lesson of the parable, and it answers at once the question whether we are to see in it the doctrine of an absolute equality in the blessedness of the life to come. There, also, there will be some first, some last, but the difference of degree will depend, not on the duration of service, nor even on the amount of work done, but on the character and temper of the worker ; and ": " No disciple who had entered into his Master's spirit would xxiii. grudge the repentant thief his rest in Paradise. No consistent Christian thinks that he ought to have som.e special reward because he sees a death-bed repentance crowned by a peace, the foretaste of eternal life, as full and assured as his own." Matt. xxi. 22, vii. 7. Mark xi. 24. Luke xi. 9- 13- Matt. xxii. 14. ' And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.' This passage, again, shows the unlimited love of God, and His readiness to forgive if only asked to do so. ' And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said : ' The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son. ' And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding : and they would not come. ' Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner : my oxen and my fathngs are killed, and all things are. ready : come unto the marriage. 1 " The Spirits in Prison," by Dean E. H. Plumptre, D.D., 1884, p. 62. (William Isbister, Limited.) The Teaching of Jesus about Hades 41 ' But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise : ' And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. ' But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth : and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. ' Then saith he to his servants. The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. ' Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. ' So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good : and the wedding was furnished with guests. ' And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment : ' And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment ? And he was speechless. ' Then said the king to the servants. Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness ; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ' For many are called, but few are chosen.' " It is not said even of the man that had not on a wedding garment that the door which was shut upon him would never again be opened, and that he was to be left for ever in the outer darkness. The terms of the parable would be satisfied by his exclusion from the joy and triumph symbolized by the first resurrec- Rev. xx. 6. tion. If admitted at all, it must be after a long dis- cipline of suffering, and under the eternal conditions that there must be a wedding garment. i" If this parable refers to any time before the Last Day, I certainly agree with Dean Plumptre. The order of the king, however, is that the man, " who had not on a wedding garment," should be bound and cast into " outer darkness," which is one of the hundred terms used in the New Testament as types of the place of the final destruction of unrepentant sinners. ' For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. ' But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying. Matt. xxii. 30-32. Mark xii. 25- 27. Luke XX. 34- 38. ^ " The Spirits in Prison," by Dean E. H. Plumptre, D.D., 1884, p. 62. (William Isbister, Limited.) 42 The After Life ' I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob ? God is not the God of the dead, but of the hving,' We are told here one feature of the Kfe in heaven — that there will be no marriage ; but nothing is said about individual recognition, which would seem to be probable if the appearances of spirits in spirit-bodies, which I have collected in my Introduction, are con- sidered. The expression " / amP not " / was^^ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, shows that these three men were still alive in the Intermediate State, and conscious. Matt. xxiv. ' Watch therefore : for ye know not what hour your Lord 42-51. doth come. ' But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. ' Therefore be ye also ready ; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. ' Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season ? ' Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. ' Verily I say unto you. That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. ' But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart. My lord delayeth his coming ; ' And shall begin to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with tlie drunken ; ' The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of. ' And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites : there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' " The words ' He shall make him ruler ' are note- worthy as among the indications that the work of the faithful servant does not cease, either after his own removal from his earthly labour, or even after the final consummation of the kingdom. Over and above the joy of the beatific vision, or what is figured to us as the peace of Paradise, there will still be a work to be done The Teaching of Jesus about Hades 43 analogous to that which has been the man's training here, and in it there will be scope for all the faculties and energies that have been thus disciplined and de- veloped. "^ " Cut him asunder" is an Eastern form ol punishment, and this expression is one of nearly one hundred different terms used in the New Testament as types of the final punishment of unrepentant sinners at the Last Day. ' Then shall the kingdom, of heaven be likened unto ten Matt, xxv, virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the i-i3- bridegroom. ' And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. ' They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them : ' But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. ' While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. ' And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh ; go ye out to meet him. ' Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. ' And the foolish said unto the wise. Give us of your oil ; * R.V. are for our lamps are gone out.* going out. ' But the wise answered, saying, 'Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you : but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. ' And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came ; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage : and the door was shut. ' Afterward came also the other virgins, saying. Lord, Lord, open to us. ' But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. ' Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.' " It is not said even of the foolish virgins that the door which was shut upon them would never again be opened, and that they were to be left for ever in the outer darkness. The terms of the parable would be satisfied by their exclusion from the joy and triumph symbol- ized by the first resurrection. If admitted at all, it ^^v. xx. 6. must be after a long discipline of suffering, and under the eternal conditions that there must be the burning ^ Bishop EUicott's " Commentary." (Cassell and Co.) 44 The After Life lamp ; that there is no heaven possible without holi- ness."^ (See my remarks on Matt. xxii. 1-14.) Matt. XXV. ' For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a 14-30. far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. ' And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one ; to every man according to his several ability ; and straightway took his journey. ' Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. ' And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. ' But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. ' After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. ' And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying. Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents : behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. ' His lord said unto him, Well done, thovi good and faithful servant : thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things : enter thou into the joy of thy lord. ' He also that had received two talents came and said. Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents : behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. ' His lord said unto him. Well done, good and faithful servant ; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things : enter thou into the joy of thy lord. ' Then he which had received the one talent came and said. Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed : ' And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth : lo, there thou hast that is thine. ' His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed : ' Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. ' Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. ' For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance : but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. ' And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness : there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' *- " The Spirits in Prison," by Dean E. H. Plumptre, D.D., 1884, pp. 62, 63. (William Isbister, Limited.) The Teaching of Jesus about Hades 45 " Here again, as in chapter xxiv. 47, we have a ghmpse given us into the future that hes behind the veil. So far as the Parable brings before us promi- nently either the final judgment or that which follows upon each man's death, we see that the reward of faith- ful work lies not in rest only, but in enlarged activity. The world to come is thus connected by a law of con- tinuity with that in which we live ; and those who have so used their ' talents ' as to turn many to righteous- ness may find new spheres of action, beyond all our dreams, in that world in which the ties of brotherhood that have been formed on earth are not extinguished, but, so we may reverently believe, multiplied and strengthened. "1 ' When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all Matt. xxv. the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne 31-46. of His glory : ' And before Him shall be gathered all nations : and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth Ms sheep from the goats : ' And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. ' Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the Avorld : ' For I was an hungred, and ye gave Me meat : I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink : I was a stranger, and ye took me in : ' Naked, and ye clothed Me : I was sick, and ye visited Me : I was in prison, and ye came unto me. ' Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungred, and fed Thee ? or thirsty, and gave Thee drink ? ' When saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in ? or naked, and clothed Thee ? ' Or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee ? ' And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me. ' Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,* prepared for the * R-V. eter- devil and his angels : ^^^ ^^^• ' For I was an hungred, and ye gave Me no meat : I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink : ' I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in : naked, and ye clothed Me not : sick, and in prison, and ye visited Me not. ^ Bishop EUicott's " Commentary." (Cassell and Co.) 46 The After Life * R.V. eter- nal pun- ishment. Matt, x: 52, S3- ' Then shall they also answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee ? ' Then shall He answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you. Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me. ' And these shall go away into everlasting punishment :* but the righteous into life eternal.' This passage clearly refers to the Last Day, and it is only quoted in this chapter because the majority of those who are to be judged must be spirits waiting in the Intermediate State, and it shows that they are conscious, and retain the memory of the life on earth. ' And the graves were opened ; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, ' And came out of the graves after His resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.' In Bishop Ellicott's " Commentary," attention is called to the fact that these appearances occurred ajter our Lord's resurrection, and it has been thought that the saints referred to were those who, believing in Jesus, had passed to their rest before His crucifixion. The appearances certainly prove that spirits remain conscious after death. Matt, xxviii. 19, 20. Mark xvi. 1 5 . ' Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost : ' Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you : and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.' Bishop Ellicott's " Commentary " points out that it is " interesting that this full declaration of the univer- sality of the Gospel should be specially recorded in the Gospel (Matthew) written . . . specially for Jews." The Gospel, or good tidings, being intended for the whole creation, how can it be imagined that all those who have died without having heard it are even now undergoing torments in what is called " Hell " ? When put in this way the idea is preposterous, but this was the doctrine taught until quite lately. The Teaching of Jesus about Hades 47 An Intermediate State is a necessary complement to the above message. ' For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice j j ^"^ y^' ^^' shall be salted with salt.' lEzIk.xliii^24. It is explained in Bishop Ellicott's " Commentary " " that ' fire ' represents the righteousness of God manifested as punishing and chastising — the discipline, in other words, of suffering. Of that discipline, our Lord says, ' every one ' shall be a partaker. He shall thus be ' salted with fire,' for the tendency of that fire, the aim of the sufferings which it represents, is to purify and cleanse." The ritual prescribed that " salt," as the natural Lev. ii. 13. symbol of incorruption, should be added to every sacrifice. In this passage it is declared that " salt," the purifying grace of the Eternal Spirit, is needed that the sacrifice of the spirit, soul, and body may be acceptable. 'Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make j ^^^^ •'^"- 40- long prayers : these shall receive greater damnation.'* \ v' 3°^' The teaching here that all human spirits do not suffer equal condemnation shows that there are different unhappy spheres in the Intermediate State. ' And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and pre- Luke xii. 47, pared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be 48. beaten with many stripes. ' But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whom- soever much is given, of him shall be much required : and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.' Bishop Ellicott's " Commentary " says the words " his Lord's will " " included the use of all gifts and opportunities, as in the Parables of the Pounds and the Talents, with faithfulness and activity in using them." The second verse is constantly quoted as appropriate to the heathen and others who have never had an opportunity of learning. 48 The After Life Whatever else this passage teaches, it clearly points to different spheres in the unhappy part of Hades. Luke xiii. 6- ' He spake also this parable : A certain tnan had a fig-tree 9- planted in his vineyard ; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. ' Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig-tree, and find none : cut it down ; why cumbereth it the ground ? ' And he answering said unto him. Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it : ' And if it bear fruit, well : and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.' The before-mentioned "Commentary" says: " (i) The vineyard is uniformly, in the parabolic language of Scripture, the symbol of Israel." " (2) The owner of that vineyard is none other than the great King, the Lord of Hosts." (3) The context points to the fig-tree " being the s^/mbol of the individual soul, which, in- heriting its place in a Divine order, is as a tree planted in the garden of the Lord." (4) The three years " represent, as the symbol of completeness, the full opportunities given to men, the calls to repentance and conversion which come to them in the several stages of their lives in youth, manhood, age." " (5) The dresser of the vineyard is the Lord Jesus Himself." I quote this passage, as it may include improvement in Hades. 7- ' And He put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when He marked how they chose out the chief rooms ; saying unto them, ' When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room ; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him ; ' And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee. Give this man place ; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. ' But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room ; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee. Friend, go up higher : then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee ' For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased ; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.' " Even the abasement of those who came seeking in their pride the chief places in the kingdom did not, in Luke xiv. 1 1. The Teaching of Jesus about Hades 49 the feasts of heaven any more than in the feasts of earth, necessarily imply exclusion from it. The lowest place, and the shame and humiliation of accepting it, might be for such persons the beginning of better things."^ ' And He spake this parable unto them, saying, Luke xv. 3-7- ' What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose See Matt, one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilder- xviii. 12- ness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it ? 14. ' And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ' And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them. Rejoice with me ; for I have found my sheep which was lost. ' I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.' I cannot see that there is anything to limit this gracious seeking and recovering of lost sinners to this earth, and I believe the same action will go on in the Intermediate State until the Last Day. ' Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she Luke xv. 8- lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house 10. and seek diligently till she find it f ' And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying. Rejoice with me ; for I have found the piece which I had lost. ' Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.' The teaching here is the same as in the Parable of the Lost Sheep. ' And He said, A certain man had tAVo sons : Luke xv, 11- ' And the younger of them said to his father. Father, give 32. me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living, ' And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. ' And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land ; and he began to be in want. ' And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country ; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. ' And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat : and no man gave unto him. ' And when he came to himself, he said. How many hired 1 " The Spirits in Prison," by Dean E, H, Plumptre, D.D., 1884, p. 62. (William Isbister. Limited.) 50 The After Life servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger ! ' I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, ' And am no more worthy to be called thy son : make me as one of thy hired servants. ' And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. ' And, the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. ' But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him ; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet : ' And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it ; and let us eat, and be merry : ' For this my son was dead, and is alive again ; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. ' Now his elder son was in the field : and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. ' And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. ' And he said unto him, Thy brother is come ; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. ' And he was angry, and would not go in : therefore came his father out, and intreated him. ' And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither trangressed I at any time the com- mandment : and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends : ' But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. ' And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. ' It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad : for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again ; and was lost, and is found.' " The elder son, who murmured at the welcome given to the repentant prodigal, was not, therefore, shut out from the father's house, but was reminded, rather, that he was ever with that father, and that he had, and might, if he would, evermore enjoy his full share of the inheritance. "1 Lukexvi. 19- ' There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple 31- and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day : ^ " The Spirits in Prison," by Dean E. H. Plumptre, D.D., 1884, p, 62. (William Isbister, Limited.) The Teaching of Jesus about Hades 51 ' And there was a certain beggar named I.azarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores. ' And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table : moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. ' And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom : the rich man also died, and was buried ; ' And in hell* he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and * R.V. seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Hades. ' And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue ; for I am tormented in this flame. f t R-V. in an- ' But Abraham said. Son, remember that thou in thy guish. lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. J + R.V. in an- ' And beside all this, between us and you there is a great guish. gulf fixed : so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot ; neither can they pass to us, that ivould come from thence. ' Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house : ' For I have five brethren ; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. ' Abraham saith unto him. They have Moses and the prophets ; let them hear them. ' And he said, Nay, father Abraham : bTit if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. ' And he said unto him. If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.' The teaching in this parable, which was spoken to men who all believed in Sheol, or Hades, was clearly a confirmation of the existing doctrine, and it empha- sized the bitter anguish of the rich man who was in the unhappy sphere of Hades. Irenseus, who taught in the second century after Christ, interpreted the parable according to its simple language, and I hold it is monstrous for men now to say that it had no reference to the Intermediate State, but was a prophecy of the future of the Jews. ' For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which Luke xix. lo. was lost.' These words were spoken by Jesus when He stayed in the house of Zacchseus, " which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich." On a previous occasion, Jesus had spoken these Matt, xviii. 4-2 52 The After Life words, with the exception of " to seek," with reference to a " httle child." There is no reason why these words should be held to apply only to this world, and I hold that the seeking and saving will be continued in the Intermediate State. Lukexix. 12- 'He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far 27- country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. ' And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. ' But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying. We will not have this man to reign over us. ' And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. ' Then came the first, saying. Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. ' And he said unto him. Well, thou good servant : because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. ' And the second came, saying. Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. ' And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. ' And another came, saying. Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin : ' For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man : thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. ' And he saith unto him. Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow : ' Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury ? ' And he said unto them that stood by. Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. ' (And they said unto him. Lord, he hath ten pounds.) ' For I say unto you. That unto every one which hath shall be given ; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. ' But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.' " * Have thou authority over ten cities.' The reward of faithfulness in this life, and probably in the life to come, will be found in yet wider opportunities for work in God's service. ' Authority over ten cities ' must have something corresponding to it, The Teaching of Jesus about Hades 53 some energy and work of guidance, in the realities of the unseen world, and cannot simply be under- stood as fulfilled in the beatific vision, or the hfe of ceaseless praise and adoration."^ ' And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To-day Luke xxiii. shalt thou be with Me in Paradise.' 43- It is certain that " Paradise " is a sphere of Hades, and not heaven, because Jesus said to Mary Magda- lene, on the Sunday morning after His resurrection : John xx. 17. " I am not yet ascended to My Father." ' And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, He said, Luke xxiii. Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit : and having 46. said thus, He gave up the ghost.' This passage is quoted to lay stress on the fact that the cry was, " I commend My spirit ^ and not my soul, which would have been in accordance with the mis- taken thought even of to-day. ' The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and John i. 29. saith. Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.' ' For God so loved the world, that He gave His only be- John iii. i6, gotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not i7- perish, but have everlasting life.* * R-V. eter- ' For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the "^^^ 1^^^- world ; but that the world through Him might be saved.' I quote these two passages, because they seem to be a complete answer to Calvin's doctrine that the vast majority of mankind will be tormented for ever and ever in material flames of fire to satisfy the outraged dignity of God. ' And as Moses lifted up the servant in the wilderness, John iii. 14. even so must the Son of man be lifted up : i5- ' That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.' " Perish " is one of the many terms used as tj^pes of the final destruction of unrepentant sinners, and as many have no chance of knowing, and so of believing in, Him on this earth, it is clear that they must have ^ Bishop Ellicott's " Commentary." (Cassell and Co.) 54 The After Life johnv.24-29. * R.V. eter- nal life, t R.V. Judg- ment. % R.V. Judg- ment. John viii. 56. Lukexvi. 19- 31- their opportunity in the Intermediate State, or they cannot escape perishing. ' Verily, verily, I say unto you. He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, * and shall not come into condemnation f ; but is passed from death unto life. ' Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God : and they that hear shall live. ' For as the Father has life in Himself ; so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself ; ' And hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man. ' Marvel not at this : for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, ' And shall come forth ; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life ; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation,'! The words " the dead shall hear " certainly teach that the spirits in Hades are conscious, and " they that hear shall live " contain a promise of forgiveness to repentant sinners.- ' Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day : and he saw it, and was glad.' " Our Lord reveals here a truth of the unseen world that is beyond human knowledge or explanation. From that world Abraham was cognizant of the fact of the Incarnation, and saw in it the accomplishment of the promise which had brought joy to shepherds watching their flocks, as the patriarch had watched his ; there came an angel, as angels had come to him, and a multitude of the heavenly host, exulting in the good news to men. In that joy Abraham had part. The truth comes as a ra}'' of light across the abyss which separates the saints in heaven (in Paradise, a sphere of Hades) from saints on earth. As in the parable, where Lazarus is in Abraham's bosom, the rich man is represented as knowing and caring for his brethren on earth, so here the great patriarch is spoken of as knowing and rejoicing in the fact of the Incarna- tion. The faculty of reason cannot explain how it is, but the faculty of faith can receive the truth that The Teaching of Jesus about Hades 55 there is a ' communion of saints,' and finds in it a Heb. xii. i. comfort which robs separation of its bitterness, and a power which strengthens all the motives to a holy and devoted life."'- ' And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men {^^ ?^!^- 32. i , \ Tohn 111. 14. "^*0"^^- ljohnviii.28. This passage is quoted as proving the unlimited love of God towards men, and as the words * all men ' include every human being who has ever lived upon this earth, there must be consciousness and teaching in the Intermediate State, as many millions have never heard of Him, who is eager to draw them to Himself. ' I am the true vine, and My Father is the husbandman. John xv. 1-6. ' Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away : and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. ' Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. ' Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine ; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. ' I am the vine, ye are the branches : He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit : for without Me ye can do nothing. ' If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered ; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.' This metaphor, in which Jesus is the Vine and human beings are the branches, is carried on from this life on earth, through the life in Hades, to the Day of Final Judgment. The branches are purged — i.e., pruned and trained — both on earth and in Hades. The branch that is worthless when that Great Day arrives is, we are told, to be gathered with other similar withered branches into a bundle, and burned. The clear meaning here is that all human spirits which are unrepentant and disbeheving, and therefore worthless, will, on that Day, be destroyed by what is figuratively called " fire." 1 Bishop Ellicott's " Commentary." (Cassell and Co.) 56 The After Life John XX. 17. 'Jesus saith unto her, Touch Me not; for I am not yet ascended to My Father : but go to My brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto My Father, and your Father ; and to My God, and your God.' Jesus had told the thief on the cross that he should be with Him in Paradise on the Friday ; and as on this, the Sunday morning, He told Mary Magdalene He had not yet ascended to heaven, it is clear that He had been during the interval in Hades, and that Paradise is a sphere of Hades. 24. Luke X. IS. II. — All Spirits remain in the Intermediate State until the Second Advent of Jesus, or the Resurrection on the Last Day. Matt. X. 15. '\ ' Verily I say unto you. It shall be more tolerable for the Matt. xi. 20- land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than rfor that city. ..." 13- 'Then began He to upbraid the cities wherein most of '' His mighty works were done, because they repented not : ' Woe unto thee, Chorazin ! woe unto thee, Bethsaida ! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ' But I say unto you. It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. ' And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, R.V. shalt be brought down to hell :* for if the mighty works, which Hades. have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. ' But I say unto you. That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.' Bishop Ellicott's "Commentary" says : "The phrase — 'in the day of judgment' — like the Old Testament ' day of the Lord,' is wider in its range than the thoughts we commonly connect with it, and includes the earlier and more earthly judgments, as well as that which is the great consummation of them all." These passages point to the Day of Judgment as the time when the iinal punishment of sin will be awarded, although three of these villages — Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum — have been completely obliterated. The Teaching of Jesus about Hades 57 John iii. 13. Matt. xiii. 24- 30, 36-43- 49, 50, iii, 12. ' All things are delivered unto Me of My Father : and^ no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweih \ Ma,tt. xi. 2y. any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the fLuke x. 22. Son will reveal Him.' J This is the same teaching as in St. John's Gospel : " No man hath ascended up to heaven." ' Another parable put He forth unto them, saying. The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field : ' But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. ' But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. ' So the servants of the householder came and said unto him. Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field ? from whence then hath it tares ? ' He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him. Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up ? ' But he said. Nay ; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. ' Let both grow together until the harvest : and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers. Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them : but gather the wheat into my barn.' ' Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house : and His disciples came unto Him, saying. Declare unto ' us the parable of the tares of the field. ' He answered and said unto them. He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man ; ' The field is the world ; the good seed are the children of the kingdom ; but the tares are the children of the wicked one ; ' The enemy that sowed them is the devil ; the harvest is the end of the world ; and the reapers are the angels. ' As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire ; so shall it be in the end of this world. ' If the Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend,* and * ^•^- cause them which do iniquity; stumb- ' And shall cast them into a furnace of fire : there shall be ^"^" wailing and gnashing of teeth. 'Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in therprov. iv. 18. kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear, j Dan. xii. 3. ***** ' So shall it be at the end of the world : the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, ' And shall cast them into the furnace of fire : there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.' The binding the tares in bundles and burning them, and the gathering of "all things that offend,* and * R- v. cause " " ° stumb- them which do iniquity," " mthe end of the world," and ling. 58 The After Life casting them into a furnace of fire, are types of the final destruction of unrepentant sinners at the Last Day. Until the second Advent of Jesus, the good and the bad will grow together in different spheres in Hades. Matt. xvi. 27.\ ' For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father Markviii. 38. 1 with His angels ; and then he shall reward every man according Luke ix. 26. J to his works.' This clearly teaches that the final rewards will not be distributed until ajter the Second Coming of Jesus. Matt. xvii. i-i 'And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John 3. his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain Mark ix. 2-4. l apart. Luke ix. 28- ' And was transfigured before them : and His face did shine 7P- ] as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light. ' And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.' This passage is quoted again because it proves that Moses and Elijah were still in the Intermediate State. Matt.xix. 27-^^ ' Then answered Peter and said unto Him, Behold, we have 30, XX. 16. Mark x. 28- 31- Luke xviii. 28-30, xxii. 28-30, xiii. 30. R.V. Eter- nal life. forsaken all, and followed Thee ; what shall we have there- fore ? ' And Jesus said unto them. Verily I say unto you. That ye which have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ' And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.* ' But many that are first shall be last ; and the last shall he first.' The phrase, "in the regeneration," like the phrase, * R.V. res- "the times of restitution* of all things," refers to the k.c£'l^^^2\' Second Advent of Jesus, and it is not until then that even the Apostles will receive their full reward. 29-32. Mark xii 27. > xii ' Jesus answered and said unto them. Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. -4- ' For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. ' But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, ' I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the The Teaching of Jesus about Hades 59 God of Jacob ? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.' ' And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this Luke xx. 34- world marry, and are in given in marriage : 38. ' But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage : ' Neither can they die any more : for they are equal unto the angels ; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. ' Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. ' For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living : for all live unto Him.' These passages, and particularly that from Luke, show that " the resurrection " is in the future, and that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are still in the Inter- mediate State, and they are alive. ' When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the' holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory : ' And before Him shall be gathered all nations : and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats. ' And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. ' Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand. Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world : ' For I was an hungred, and ye gave Me meat : I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink : I was a stranger, and ye took Me in : ' Naked, and ye clothed Me : I was sick, and ye visited Me : I was in prison, and ye came unto Me. ' Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungred, and fed Thee ? or thirsty, and gave Thee drink ? ' When saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in ? or naked, and clothed Thee ? ' Or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee ? ' And the King shall answer and say unto them. Verily I say unto you. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me. ' Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand. Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,* prepared for the devil and his angels : ' For I was an hungred, and ye gave Me no meat : I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink : ' I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in : naked, and ye clothed Me not : sick, and in prison, and ye visited Me not. ' Then shall they also answer Him, saying. Lord, when Matt. XXV. 31-46. Markviii. 38, xiii. 26, 27. Luke ix. 26, xiii. 24-30, xxi. 27. R.V. eter- nal fire. 6o The After Life saw we Thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee ? ' Then shall He answer them, saying. Verily I say unto you. Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me. * R.V. eter- ' And these shall go away into everlasting punishment* : but nal pun- the righteous into life eternal.' ishment. This seems completely to disprove the teaching of the Church of Rome that those dying with the guilt of mortal sin unabsolved are at once thrown into the fire prepared for the devil and his angels. John i. i8. \ ' 'No man hath seen God at any time ; the only begotten Matt. xi. 27. j-Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Luke X. 22. J Mm,.' Tohn iii I ^ 1 ' And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that Prov. XXX. 4. rcame down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in J heaven.' John V. 28, ' Marvel not at this : for the hour is coming, in the which a 29. all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, ' And shall come forth ; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life ; and they that have done evil, unto the t R.V. judge- resurrection of damnation. 'f ment. This shows that the resurrection is in the future, and therefore " all that are in the graves " must still be in the Intermediate State. John vi. 39, ' And this is the Father's will which hath sent Me, that 40, 46. of all which he hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. ' And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have ever- X R.V. eter- lasting life •.% ^^d I will raise him up at the last day.' nal life. ' J^Q^ ^^^^ ^^y ^y^^^^n hath seen the Father, save He which is of God, He hath seen the Father.' John XX. 17. 'Jesus saith unto her, Touch Me not; for I am not yet ascended to My Father : but go to My brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto My Father, and your Father ; and to My God, and your God.' Jesus here taught that at death the spirit does not naturally ascend at once to heaven. CHAPTER III I.— THE TEACHING OF THE APOSTLES AND ST LUKE ABOUT HADES, n.— ALL SPIRITS REMAIN IN THE INTERMEDIATE STATE UNTIL THE SECOND ADVENT OF JESUS OR THE RESURRECTION ON THE LAST DAY CHAPTER III I. — The Teaching of the Apostles and St. Luke ABOUT Hades. I. ' Because Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt Acts ii. 27. Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption.' 2. ' He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, Acts ii. 31. that His soul was not left in hell, neither His fiesh did see corruption.' 3. ' I am He that liveth, and was dead ; and, behold, I am Rev. i. 18. alive for evermore. Amen ; and have the keys of hell and of death.' 4. ' And I looked, and behold a pale horse : and his name Rev. vi. 8. that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.' 5. 'And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and Rev. xx. 13, death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them : and 14. they were judged every man according to their works. 6. ' And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.' In the Revised Version the word " Hades " is found in the above six verses in place of " Hell." The reason that the Apostles did not lay more stress on the continuance of life in Hades has been explained by the undoubted fact that they expected the im- mediate return of Jesus, and Hades, therefore, had not the same importance to them as it has since acquired. ' That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, Acts i. 25. from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.' This passage may perhaps be read as teaching that, after death, the spirit naturally finds its way to the sphere of Hades, which is appropriate to its spiritual state. 64 The After Life Acts ii. 2 1 . ' And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.' This is a continuation of the teaching of Jesus, that no cry of a penitent sinner will be overlooked, and that the mercy of God is without limit. Acts li. 24 ' Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of 27- death : because it was not possible that He should be holden of it. ' For David speaketh concerning Him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is on my right hand, that I should not be moved : ' Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad ; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope : ^•^- ' Because Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell,* neither wilt Hades. thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption.' ' This was the first public witness to the stupendous fact of the Resurrection of Jesus, and it amounted Matt, xxviii. to a denial of the story invented by the chief priests to the effect that the body of Jesus had been removed by His disciples while the Roman soldiers of the watch slept. " Because it was not possible." *' The moral impos- sibility was, we may say, twofold. The work of the Son of Man could not have ended in a failure and death, which would have given the lie to all that He had asserted of Himself. Its issue could not run counter to the prophecies which had implied with more or less clearness a victory over death. The latter, as the sequel shows, was the thought prominent in St. Peter's mind."^ Acts ii 39. ' For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.' This shows that all people are included in the promise, and therefore those who do not hear the name of Jesus Christ while they are on earth must hear it, and be taught, in the Intermediate State. ^ Bishop EUicott's " Commentary." (Cassell and Co.) The Teaching of the Apostles about Hades 65 ' Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins Acts iii. 19- may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come 21. from the presence of the Lord ; ' And He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you : ' Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitu- T* R.V. res- tion* of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth ofJ toration. all His holy prophets since the world began.' a ^+ •^^' ^^' This passage expresses " the idea of a state in which ' righteousness,' and not * sin,' shall have dominion over a redeemed and new-created world ; and that idea suggests a wider hope as to the possibilities of growth in wisdom and holiness, or even of repentance and conversion, in the unseen world, than that with which Christendom has too often been content," ^ ' Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant Acts iii. 25, which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, 26. And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. ' Unto you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.' St. Paul afterwards recognized the truth of this Gal. iii. 8. point of St. Peter's teaching — namely, that " all nations " were included in the promise made to Abra- ham. It follows, therefore, that the spirits of the dead millions of heathen and others, who had never heard the Name of Jesus while they were on earth, must hear it in the Intermediate State. ' And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying. Acts vii. 59. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' The cry of Jesus on the cross was : ' Father, into Luke xxii:. Thy hands I commend My spirit' ^ ' Here Stephen cried : ' Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' These two instances should be sufficient to correct the misuse of the word " soul." ' And He commanded us to preach unto the people, and to Acts x. 42, testify that it is He which was ordained of God to he the Judge 43. of quick and dead. ^ Bishop EUicott's " Commentary." (Cassell and Co.) 5 66 The After Life ' To him give all the prophets witness, that through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of This " remission of sins " must apply to the Inter- mediate State, as well as to this earth, because many millions have never heard that Name until they entered the Intermediate State. Acts xiii. 38, ' Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that 39. through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins : ' And by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.' St. Paul here clearly taught that the promise of forgiveness was absolute and without limit to all that believe, ancf the promise must have extended to the Intermediate State, where those who had never heard the Name on earth would be taught to believe. Acts xxvi. 6, * And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise 7. made of God unto our fathers : * Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, King Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews.' This passage is quoted because " the promise " in- cludes the resurrection from the dead, and this implies an Intermediate State between Death and the Last Day. Rom.ii. 1-16. 'Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou con- demnest thyself ; for thou that judgest doest the same things. ' But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. ' And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God ? ' Or despiseth thou the riches of His goodness and forbear- ance and longsuffering ; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance ? * But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God ; ' Who will render to every man according to his deeds : To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life : ' But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, The Teaching of the Apostles about Hades 67 ' Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile ; ' But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile : ' For there is no respect of persons with God. ' For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law : and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law ; ' (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. ' For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves : ' Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another ;) ' In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to My gospel.' /"Matt. xvi. 27, " According to his deeds." " The Apostle here lays down with unmistakable definiteness and precision the doctrine that works, what a man has done, the moral tenor of his life, will be the standard by which he will' be judged at the Last Day. There can be no question that this is the consistent doctrine of Scripture. "^ There is another side, however, to the theology of St. Paul, He teaches that, " in consideration, not of any fulfilment of the Law, but that the main tenor and direction of a man's life has been right as proved by his faith in Christ, the grace of God is extended towards him, and makes up that in which he is behind. Though not deserving, in a strict sense, the bliss of the Messianic kingdom, the believer is, nevertheless, admitted to it on account of his belief in the great Head of that kingdom, and his participation through that faith in the Christian scheme. "^ The words, " will render to every man according to his deeds," are often quoted as proving that there are different spheres in Hades, both for the righteous and the wicked. Bishop Ellicott's " Commentary "^ says : " Jew and Gentile alike will be judged, each by the method proper ^ Bishop Ellicott's "Commentary." (Cassell and Co.) 2 Ibid. 3 ii^id^ 5—2 XXV. 31 e^ seq. 2 Cor. V. 10. Gal. vi. 7 et seq. Eph. vi. 8. Col. iii. 24. Rev. ii. 23, XX. 12, xxii. 12. 68 The After Life to his case — the Jew by the written Law against which he has sinned, the Gentile by the unwritten law of conscience against which he, too, has sinned. The mere hearing of the Law will bring no exemption to the Jew ; and, on the other hand, the Gentile, who, at the dictates of conscience, acts as if he were subject to law,, shall have the full benefit that law can give him. In fact, his conscience is to him a law." This, no doubt, is a correct exposition of St. Paul's teaching, which was applicable to the expected speedy return of Jesus, and the near approach of the Final Judgment. Too much stress, however, appears to be laid on the Mosaic Law, which has been superseded by the Law of Christ ; and the words, " as many as have sinned without law," would seem to be more applicable now to the heathen as opposed to those professing Chris- tianity. Rom. viii. 22, ' For we know that the whole creation groaneth and tra- 23. vaileth in pain together until now. ' And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within our- selves, waiting for the adoption, to tvit, the redemption of our body.' I see no reason why " the whole creation," or " every creature," according to the margin, should not be held to include the spirits in the Intermediate State. Rom. xiv. 8- ' For whether we live, we live unto the Lord ; and whether 12. we die, we die unto the Lord : whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. ' For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that He might be Lord both of the dead and the living. ' But why dost thou judge thy brother ? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother ? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. ' For it is written, Asl live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. ■ So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.' This certainly points to consciousness in the Inter- mediate State. The Teaching of the Apostles about Hades 69 ' Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one : i Cor. iii. 8- and every man shall receive his own reward according to his 15. own labour. ' For we are labourers together with God : ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. ' According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. ' For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ' Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble ; ' Every man's work shall be made manifest : for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire ; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. ' If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. * If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss : but he himself shall be saved ; yet so as by fire.' The Church of Rome quotes this passage as proof of the doctrine of Purgatory, which it teaches ; but Bishop ElHcott's " Commentary " points out that " the whole passage, and especially the reference to fire, is to be regarded as metaphorical, and not to be under- stood in a literal and physical sense." The reference to " the day " in verse 13 seems to point clearly to the fact that no man's work shall be finally judged until the Last Day, and, therefore, until then all spirits — except those that rise at the second Advent — must remain in the Intermediate State. ' To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of i Cor. v. 5. the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord See Job ii. Jesus.' 4-10. The reference to " the day of the Lord Jesus " points to there being no Final Judgment before the Second Coming of Jesus. ' For now we see through a glass, darkly ; but then face to i Cor.xiii. 12. face : now I know in part ; but then shall I know even as also See Numb. I am known.' xii. 8. The word " then " clearly points to the Last Day. Until that Day the spirits in the Intermediate State will evidently not know everything. JO The After Life I Cor. XV. 28, ' And when all things shall be subdued imto Him, then 29. shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all. ' Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise; not at all ? why are they then baptized for the dead ?' This is "an allusion to the wholly unauthorised, and perhaps, purely local, custom of having a survivor baptised by proxy for a Christian, who, from the bad practice of deferring baptism in the hope of wiping away all intermediate sins by one act, had died before he could be baptised." ^ Bishop Elhcott's " Commentary " says : " Does St. Paul, then, by what he here says, sanction the super- stitious practice ? Certainly not." It was an " argu- mentum ad hominem. The practice known as baptism for the dead was absurd if there be no resurrection. To practise it and to deny the doctrine of the resurrec- tion was illogical." 1 Cor. XV. 35- ' But some man will say, How are the dead raised up ? and SO- with what body do they come ? ' Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die : ' And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain : ' But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed His own body, ' All flesh is not the same flesh : but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. ' There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial : but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the ter- restrial is another. ' There is one glory of the sun, and another glorv of the moon, and another glory of the stars : for one star differeth from another star in glory. ' So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption ; it is raised in incorruption : ' It is sown in dishonour ; it is raised in glory : it is sown in weakness ; it is raised in power : ' It is sown a natural body ; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 1 " Texts Explained," by Dean F. W. Farrar, D.D., F.R.S., 1899, p. 196. (Longmans, Green and Co.) The Teaching of the Apostles about Hades 71 ' And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a Genesis ii. 7. living soul ; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. ' Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural ; and afterward that which is spiritual. ' The first man is of the earth, earthy : the second man is the Lord from heaven. ' As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy : and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. ' And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. ' Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God ; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.' This wonderful passage seems to teach, among other things, that all spirits remain waiting somewhere until the second Advent of Jesus, or the Resurrection at the Last Day. 'Behold I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, iCor. xv. 51- but we shall all be changed, 58. ' In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump : for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. ' For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. ' So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. ' O death, where is thy sting ? O grave, where is thy victory ? ' The sting of death is sin ; and the strength of sin is the law, ' But thanks he to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. ' Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, un- movable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.' St. Paul evidently thought that Jesus would come again during the lifetime of some to whom he was writing. The righteous dead would not come down from heaven, he taught, but would be raised from the Intermediate State, where they had been waiting. ' For which cause we faint not ; but though our outward 2 Cor. iv. 16- man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 18. ' For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory ; ' While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen : for the things which are seen are temporal ; but the things which are not seen are eternal.' 72 The After Life " The inward man," the higher spiritual hfe, is " day by day" gaining fresh energies. "The things which are not seen" (the very phrase of Heb. xi. i) "are the objects of faith, immortaUty, eternal life, the crown of righteousness, the beatific vision. These things are subject to no time-limits, and endure through all the ages of God's purposes.^'* 2 Cor. ix. 6. ' But this 7 say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly ; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.' This passage seems to point to different spheres in the Intermediate State, where degrees of reward are reaped. 2 Cor. xii. I- ' It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will 5- come to visions and revelations of the Lord. ' I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell ; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell : God knoweth ;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. ' And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell : God knoweth ;) ' How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard un- speakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. ' Of such an one will I glory : yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.' Whatever else may be taught by St. Paul in these marvellous words, it is certain that he means us to understand that the spirits, waiting in that sphere of the Intermediate State which he called Paradise, are conscious and are able to converse. Gal. vi. 7, 8. ' Be not deceived ; God is not mocked : for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. ' For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption ; but he that soweth to the spirit shall of the Spirit ^" • ■^^^■'^" reap life everlasting.'* nal life. This passage, also, points to different spheres in the Intermediate State. Eph. iv. 7- ' But unto every one of us is given grace according to the 13- measure of the gift of Christ. ' Wherefore He saith, when He ascended up on high. He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. ^ Bishop Ellicott's " Commentary." (Cassell and Co.) The Teaching of the Apostles about Hades ']2, ' (Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth ? ' He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things.) ' And He gave some, apostles ;* and some, prophets ; and * r y. to be some, evangelists ; and some, pastors and teachers ; apostles. ' For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, + j^ y build- for the edifyingf of the body of Christ : '^p ^^ ' Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the ggg pg_ ixviii. knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the ig. measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ :' Verse 8 is quoted by those who beheve that, since the Resurrection of Jesus, the faithful are no longer detained in Hades, but are admitted into heaven immediately after death. The true explanation of the passage is that He made a show of the " principalities and powers," openly Col. ii. 15. " triumphing over them^ " in the Cross. ^ This passage is held by many to prove all the as- sumptions I have made about the Intermediate State, including the preaching to waiting spirits being continued till the Last Day. ' Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers ; but as the servants of Eph. vi. 6-8. Christ, doing the will of God from the heart ; ' With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men : ' Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he he bond or free.' The last verse may be understood as pointing to different spheres in the Intermediate State. ' Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath Philip, i. 6. begun a good work in you will perform it* until the day of * R.V. per- Jesus Christ.' feet it. " The day of Jesus Christ " is the day of the Final Judgment, and this passage clearly points to purifica- tion in the Intermediate State. ' For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Philip, i. 21- ' But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour : 24. yet what I shall choose I wot not. ' For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ ; which is far better : ' Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.' ^ Bishop EUicott's " Commentary." (Cassell and Co.) 74 The After Life No one can doubt that St. Paul believed that after death he would be conscious, and in communion with Christ. Philip, ii. 9- ' Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given 15. Him a name which is above every name : See Eph. i. ' That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of 20, 21. things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the Rev. V. 13. earth? ' And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ' Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. ' For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. ' Do all things without murmurings and disputings : ' That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.' Verse 10 clearly shows that " things under the earth," by which I understand spirits in Hades, are conscious, and have the power of speech of some description. Philip, iii. 8- ' Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the 14' excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord : for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, ' And be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith : ' That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death ; ' If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. ' Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect : but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. ' Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended : but this one thing / do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, ' I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Jesus Christ.' I think the words, " If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead," show that St. Paul knew he would have to wait in the Intermediate State before he could win " the prize." The Teaching of the Apostles about Hades 75 'For it pleased the Father that in Him. should all fulness Col. i. 19-21. dwell ; ' And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself ; by Him, / say, whether they he things in earth, or things in heaven. ' And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in youv mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled.' " To reconcile all things unto Himself." By all things I understand all spirits that have ever been on the earth, and it is, therefore, certain that there must be preaching in the Intermediate State to enable the millions of spirits of the heathen and others to be recon- ciled to Jesus. ' For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain i Thess. v. 9, salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, i°- ' Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.' Whether we wake (are alive) or sleep (are dead), we should live together with Him. The continuance of life after death is here clearly- taught. ' And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly ; and / i Thess. v. pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved 23. blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.' This verse is always quoted as proving the Tripartite nature of man. The soul is distinctly a function of the body, and together they form " the flesh " of Scripture. It is the " spirit," in its spirit-body, which awaits in the Intermediate State the second Advent of Jesus, or the Last Day. ' For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our i Tim. ii. 3-6. Saviour : ' Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. ' For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus ; ' Who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. ' " Redemption is universal, yet conditional ; all may be saved, yet all will not be saved, because ^^ The After Life all will not conform to God's appointed condi- tions."! I Tim. iv. lo. ' For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.' While the above words " warn us from entertaining any hopes of a universal redemption, such a saying as this seems to point to the blessed Atonement mystery as performing a work whose consequences reach far beyond the limits of human thought, or even of sober speculation. "2 Heb. i. 13, 14. ' But to which of the angels said He at any time, Sit on My Ps. ex. right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool ? ' Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation ?' Bishop EUicott's " Commentary " says : " This word ' minister ' is usually applied to those who stood before God in His earthly sanctuary : so here it is fitly used of the nobler offices of the unseen world." Heb. iv. 1-16. ' Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of enter- ing into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. ' For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them : but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. ' For we which have believed do enter into rest, as He said. As I have sworn in My wrath, if they shall enter into My rest : although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. ' For He spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all His works. ' And in this place again. If they shall enter into My rest. ' Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief : ' Again, He limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To-day, after so long a time ; as it is said, To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. ' For if Jesus had given them rest, then would He not afterward have spoken of another day.' ^ EUicott, quoted in " Texts Explained," by Dean F. W. Farrar, D.D., F.R.S., 1899, p. 278. (Longmans, Green and Co.) 2 Bishop EUicott's " Commentary." (Cassell and Co.) The Teaching of the Apostles about Hades jy ' There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. ' For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His. ' Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. ' For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. ' Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight : but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. ' Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. ' For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities ; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. ' Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.' " ' Lest a promise being left us.' Here it is simply said that such a promise remains unexhausted, waiting for complete fulfilment. "^ " ' Any of you should seem to come short of it.' St. Paul refers to the judge who witnesses and declares the failure. ' Lest any one ... be held (or be ad- judged) to have come short of the promise.' "^ ' And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this Heb. ix. 27. the judgment.' In the Revised Version this passage reads, " And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment" — not the judgment. ^ Canon Luckock explains the meaning to be that after Chap. VI. death there is a judgment or crisis by which the place of the spirit in Hades is determined. This verse is quoted by those who believe that spirits will be judged immediately after death, and then admitted into heaven, or cast into everlasting flames. ^ Bishop EUicott's " Commentary." (Cassell and Co.) 2 Ihid. 2 " The Intermediate State," by Canon H. M. Luckock, D.D., 1890, p. 22. (Longmans, Green and Co.) 78 The After Life Heb. xi. 13- 'These all died in faith, not having received the promises, 16. but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. ' For they that say such things declare plainly that they * R.V. a seek a country.* country ' And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from of their whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to own. have returned. ' But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly : wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God : for He hath prepared for them a city.' " It will be easy to see how each one for himself (of the patriarchs) would be led to regard the state of wandering in which he spent his life as an emblem of a state of earthly waiting for an enduring home ; the sojourning in the land was a constant symbol of the sojourning upon earth. Hence the same language is used from age to age after Canaan is received as an inheritance. "1 Heb. xii. 5- ' And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh II. unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him: ' For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. ' If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons ; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not ? ' But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are par- takers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. ' Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which cor- rected us, and we gave them reverence : shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live ? ' For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure ; but He for our profit, that we might be par- takers of His holiness. ' Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous : nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peace- able fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.' This " chastening " may be continued in the Inter- mediate State, after the spirit, which would not " endure " it on earth, has left its body. I Pet. V. 10. ' But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.' ^ Bishop EUicott's " Commentary." (Cassell and Co.) him life. The Teaching of the Apostles about Hades 79 St. Peter may have had in his mind the " perfecting " of the spirits in Hades as well as the men still on earth. ' The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some 2 Pet. iii. 9. men count slackness ; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. ' " Not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." These words must include repentance in the Inter- mediate State, because there is no salvation except through the Name of Jesus, which Name many millions have never heard on earth. 'If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto i John v. 16 death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life* for them that 17. sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death : I do not say * R-V. God that he shall pray for it. wiU give ' All unrighteousness is sin : and there is a sin not unto death.' It is on this passage that the Church of Rome rests its dogma that mortal sin is the " sin unto death," and venial sin is the " sin which is not to death." Bishop Ellicott's "Commentary" remarks that to so divide sins, on the authority of this passage, " is to mis- understand the whole argument of the Epistle, and to seduce the conscience. St. John only means that, though prayer can do much for an erring brother, there is a wilfulness against which it would be power- less ; for even prayer is not stronger than free-will." It is clear that the " death " here referred to is the " second death " of the Last Day to which unrepentant sinners will be sentenced. II. — All Spirits remain in the Intermediate State UNTIL THE Second Advent of Jesus, or the Resurrection on the Last Day. ' Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the Acts ii. patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his 35. sepulchre is with us unto this day. ' Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, 8o The After Life * R.V. Hades, Matt. X 44. Ps. ex. I. according to the flesh, He would raise up Christ to sit on his throne ; ' He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that His soul was not left in hell,* neither His flesh did see corruption. ' This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are wit- nesses. ' Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. ' For David is not ascended into the heavens : but he saith himself. The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, ' Until I make thy foes thy footstool.' In Bishop Ellicott's "Commentary " it is pointed out that " there is, when we remember what had passed but seven weeks before, something very striking in the reproduction by St. Peter of the very words by which our Lord had brought the scribes to confess their ignorance of the true interpretation of the Psalmist's mysterious words. Those who were then silenced are now taught how it was that David's Son was also David's Lord." ' I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ ; ' That in every thing ye are enriched by Him, in all utter- ance, and in all knowledge ; ' Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you : ' So that ye come behind in no gift ; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ : ' Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may he blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.' It is true that St. Paul expected " the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ " to take place very soon, but, still, the promise that He " shall also confirm you unto the end" must apply to the spirits in Hades, as well as to men on earth. The teaching clearly is that it was to the Day of this coming that men were to look for the great reward. I Cor. XV. 21- ' For since by man came death, by man came also the resur- 26. rection of the dead. See I Thess. < jtq]- ^g j^ Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made - 13. 17- alive. ^^' ■'" ' But every man in his own order : Christ the firstfruits ; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming. Ps. ex. I. Matt. 1 AA- I Cor. i. 4-8. Rev. 15 The Teaching of the Apostles about Hades 8 1 ' Then conieth the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father ; when He shall have put doM'n all rule and all authority and power. ' For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. ' The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.' In Bishop Ellicott's " Commentary " I find : " There is to be a sequence in the resurrection of the dead, and St. Paul explains this by the three groups : (i) Christ Himself, the firstfruits ; (2) the faithful in Christ at His coming ; (3) all the rest of mankind at the end, when the final judgment takes place. The interval between these latter two, as to its duration, or where or how it will be spent, is not spoken of here." ' If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at i Cor. xv. 32. Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not ? let us See Isa. xxii. eat and drink ; for to-morrow we die.' ^3- The words in the last sentence recall " an inscription on a statue at Anchiale, a town in Cilicia, which was St. Paul's native province : ' Sardanapalus, the son of Anacyndraxes, built Anchiale and Tarsus in one day. Stranger, eat, drink, and play, for all the rest is not worth this.' The figure is represented as making a con- temptuous motion with its fingers. "^ St. Paul is really arguing the truth of the Resurrec- tion, and he says, " if the dead rise not," our conduct is illogical. ' For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle ~ Cor. v. i- were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made lO- with hands, eternal in the heavens. ' For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven : ' If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. ' For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being bur- dened : not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. ' Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.* * Compare 'Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst Phil, i^ - 1-25. we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord : ' (For we walk by faith, not by sight :) ^ Bishop Ellicott's " Commentary." (Cassell and C0.I 6 /f4743 S2 The After Life ' We are confident, / say, and willing rather to be absent froin the body, and to be present with the Lord. ' Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him. ' For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.' Bishop Ellicott's "Commentary" explains verse 8 as: "We are content, if death comes before the coming of the Lord, to accept death ; for even though it does not bring with it the glory of the resurrection bod}^ it does make us at home with Christ among the souls who wait for the resurrection." Eph. i. 9-12. ' Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, ac- cording to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself : ' That in the dispensation of the f^llness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth ; even in Him : ' In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will : ' That we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ.' The following passage is quoted in explanation of verse 10 : Col. i. 16-20. ' For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers : all things were created by Him, and for Him : ' And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist . ' And He is the Head of the body, the Church : who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead ; that in all things He might have the pre-eminence. ' For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell ; ' And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself ; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.' These two passages seem to be a sufficient answer to Calvin's awful doctrine that the majority of mankind were doomed to suffer everlasting torments in material frames. ^^'y '^^■u 1 ' Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath Derfe'-t -^Ggun a good work in you will perform* it until the day of ^ I Jesus Christ. ' The Teaching of the Apostles about Hades S3 This perfecting of the " good work " must be continu- ally carried on in the Intermediate State. ' And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and Phil. i. 9, 10. more in knowledge and in all judgment ; ' That ye may approve things that are excellent ; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ.' This passage, also, must point to the life in the Inter- mediate State, as well as to the life on earth. ' When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye Col. iii. 4. also appear with Him in glory.' Compare : ' Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned Phil. iii. 21. like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself.' ' Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed i John iii. i, upon us, that we should be called the sons of God : therefore 2. the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not. ' Behold, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be : but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him ; for we shall see Him as He is.' ' But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, con- i Thess. iv. cerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as 13-18. others which have no hope. ' For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. ' For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent* them which are asleep. * R.V. pre- ' For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a cede, shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God : and the dead in Christ shall rise first : ' Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air : and so shall we ever be with the Lord. ' Wherefore comfort one another with these words.' Bishop Ellicott's " Commentary " explains that, " We here learn what was the exact nature of the Thes- salonians' anxiety concerning the dead. They were full of excited hopes of the coming of that kingdom which had formed so prominent a part of the Apostle's preaching there ; and were afraid that the highest Acts xvii. 7. glories in that kingdom would be engrossed by those who were alive to receive them ; and that the dead, not being to rise till afterwards, would have less blessed 6—2 84 The After Life privileges. This would make them not only sorry for their dead friends, but also reluctant to die themselves." The teaching is clear that all the dead remain in the Intermediate State until the second Advent of Jesus, or the general Resurrection. iTim. vi. 14- 'That thou keep this commandment without spot, un- 16, rebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ : • ' Which in His times He shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords ; ' Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto ; whom no man hath seen, nor can see : to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.' Compare : Deut. iv. 12. ' And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire : ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude ; only ye heard a voice.' Exod. xxxiii. ' And He said. Thou canst not see My face : for there shall 20. no man see Me, and live.' John 1. 18. \ - j^Q ^^^ \vs±\v seen God at any time.' 1 John IV. 1 2. J ^ The above passages teach that all spirits remain in the Intermediate State until the second Advent of Jesus, or the Last Day. 2 Tim. i. 12, 'For the which cause I also suffer these things : neverthe- 18. less I am not ashamed : for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.'' He 4: 4: ^ ^ ' The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day : and in how many things he ministered unto .me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.' " That day " means the second Advent of Jesus, or the day of the Final Judgment, and it is clear that St. Paul taught that spirits do not receive their final reward until then. 2 Tim. iv. 8, ' Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteous- 18. ness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day : and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.' ' And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom : to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.' Heb. xi. 38- ' (Of whom the world was not worthy :) they wandered xii. 2. in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. The Teaching of the Apostles aboiLt Hades 85 ' And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise : ' God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not he made perfect. ' Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so !;reat a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, ' Looking unto Jesus the Author and finisher of our faith ; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.' The teaching in verse 40 is the same as in i Thess. iv. 15. ' But ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of Heb. xii. 22 the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumer- 23. able company of angels, ' To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.' These words recall the last verses of the preceding chapter. " The analogy of Scripture forbids us to consider their present state as the full consummation ; for that, these * spirits ' and we who are yet * in the body ' await the day of the resurrection. These words, however, do not refer to the period of the Old Covenant only ; indeed they do not in strictness belong to that period at all. The spirits of the righteous servants of Christ join the same fellowship ; and only when Christ was manifested does the state to which the name ' perfec- tion ' is thus given seem to have begun. What was received by those ' spirits of the righteous ' when they saw the day of Christ, we cannot tell ; but the teaching of Scripture seems to be that they were raised to some higher state of blessedness."^ ' For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for i Pet. iii. 18- the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death 20. in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit : ' By which also* He went and preached unto the spirits in * R.V. in prison ; which . also. ^ Bishop Ellicott's " Commentary." (Cassell and Co.) 86 The After Life ' Which sometime were disobedient, when once the long- suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.' I Pet. iv. 6. ' For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.' Bishop Ellicott's " Commentary " says that " by the Spirit,-' in verse i8, should be " in spirit," and explains the passage by teaching " that the spirit, set free from the body, immediately receives new life, as it were, thereby. To purely spiritual realities it becomes alive in a manner which was impossible while it was united to the flesh. The new powers are exemplified in what follows immediately. So long as Christ, so long as any man, is alive in the flesh, he cannot hold converse with spirits as such ; but the moment death severs flesh and spirit the spirit can deal with other spirits, which Christ pro- ceeded forthwith to do."^ It is, further, distinctly held that " directly Christ's human spirit was disengaged from the body. He gave proof of the new powers of purely spiritual action thus acquired by going off to the place or state in which other disembodied spirits were, and conveyed to them certain tidings : He ' preached ' unto them."^ 1 Pet. V. 4. ' And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.' This clearly teaches that the reward is not received until the chief Shepherd shall appear, and therefore spirits must be waiting in the Intermediate State. 2 Pet. ii. 4. > * R.V. Tar- ' For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast tarus. \them down to hell,* and delivered them into chains of dark- See Gen. vi.2 ness, to he reserved vmto jvidement.' andjude6.j •' ^ The Greek word, translated "hell," means Tartarus, and it occurs nowhere else in the Bible. 5 Pet. ii. 9. ' The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of tempta- tions, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.' ^ Bishop Ellicott's "Commentary." (Cassell and Co.) 2 Ibid. The Teaching of the Apostles about Hades 87 The Revised Version reads, " and to keep the un- righteous under punishment unto the day of judgment." The error is similar to that of : "such as should be Acts ii. 47. saved," instead of, " those that were being saved," ol the Revised Version. The first passage certainly teaches that there are different spheres in the Intermediate State. ' And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left Jude 6. their own habitation. He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.' Compare : ' Those who seduced them shall be bound with chains for Enoch Ixviii. ever.' 39. ' For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast 2 Pet. ii 4. them down to hell,* and delivered them into chains of darkness, * R.V. to be reserved unto judgment.' Tartarus. ' / am He that liveth, and was dead ; and, behold, I am Rev. i. 18. alive for evermore. Amen ; and have the keys of hell* and of * R-V. death.' Hades. This passage teaches the continued existence of Hades, and is against the theory that, since the Resur- rection of Jesus, the spirits of the righteous are not detained in Hades, but are transported at once to heaven. ' And I will kill her children with death ; and all the churches Rev. ii. 23- shall know that I am He which searcheth the reins and hearts : 26. and / will give unto every one of you according to your works. ' But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak ; I will put upon you none other burden. ' But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. ' And he that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations :' 'And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the Rev. v. 3, 13. earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.' - ' And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying. Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.' ' And when He had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the Rev. altar the souls of them that were slain for the word gf God, 11^ and for the testimony which they held : VI. 9- S8 TJie After Life See Isa. ix.>^ 7-18. * R.V. or ' shoiild have ful filled their course.' Rev. xi. 1 8. ; Rev. xiv. I ^. * R.V. ' for"^ their works follow with them.' Rev. XX. 12, 13. * R.V. Hades. Rev. xxi. 5- 8. Rev. xxii. 12. ' And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not jvidge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth ?' ' And white robes were given unto every one of them ; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little 'season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should he fulfiMed.'* ' And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, . and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear Thy name, small and great ; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.' ' And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me. Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth : 'Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours ; and their works do follow them.** ' And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God ; and the books were opened : and another book was opened, which is the book of life : and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. ' And the sea gave up the dead which were in it ; and death and hell* delivered up the dead which were in them : and they were judged every man according to their works.' ' And He that sat upon the throne said. Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write : for these words are true and faithful. ' And He said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. ' He that overcometh shall inherit all things ; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son. ' But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone : which is the second death.' ' And, behold, I come quickly ; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be.' CHAPTER IV THE TEACHING OF THE EARLY FATHERS. CHAPTER IV The Teaching of the Early Fathers. There is no doubt that the early Fathers and the early Church continued the Apostolic teaching that the spirits of all the dead went to Hades, the faithful to Abraham's bosom, or Paradise, and the ungodly to a state of unhappiness. "The unanimity, indeed, of the early Church in holding this opinion has been one of the strongest arguments alleged by the Romish Church in favour of purgatory." ^ "It is well known that the early Christians believed in an Intermediate State of the soul between death and resurrection, and this Intermediate State they too, like the Jews, called Hades." ^ In Justin Martyr's Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, J"P^"^ before a.d. 165, we read : " However, I afhrm that no soul perishes entirely, or is annihilated, for this would really be good and joyful news to the wicked. What then ? Why, that the souls of the righteous are reserved in a place of happiness, and those of the wicked and unjust in a place of misery and torment, in expectation of the great day of judgment. So that those which shall be judged worthy to appear before God shall not die any more ; but these shall be punished as long as it shall 1 " The Tripartite Nature of Man," by Rev. J. B. Heard, 1866, third edition, 1870, chapter xv. (T. and T. Clark.) 2 " Exposition of the XXXIX. Articles," by Bishop E. Harold Browne, 1882, Article III., pp. 81, 82. (Longmans.) 91 92 The After Life please God to suffer them to exist, and to punish them." ^ Irenseus. Irenseus, who was born between a.d. 120 and 140, and was Bishop of Lyons, in France, during the last quarter of the second century, wrote in Book II., chapter xxxiv. : " Souls can be recognised in the separate state, and are immortal although they once had a beginning. " The Lord has taught with very great fulness, that souls not only continue to exist, not by passing from body to body, but that they preserve the same form (in their separate state) as the body had to which they were adapted, and that they remember the deeds which they did in this state of existence, and from which they have now ceased— in that narrative which is recorded respecting the rich man and that Lazarus who found repose in the bosom of Abraham. In this account He states that Dives knew Lazarus after death, and Abraham in like manner, and that each one of these persons continued in their own proper position, and that (Dives) requested Lazarus to be sent to relieve him — (Lazarus) on whom he did not (formerly) bestow even the crumbs (which fell) from his table. (He tells us) also of the answer given by Abraham, who was acquainted not only with what respected himself, but Dives also, and who enjoined those who did not wish to come into that place of torment to believe Moses and the prophets, and to receive the preaching of Him who was to rise again from the dead. By these things, then, it is plainly declared that souls continue to exist, that they possess the form of a man, so that they may be recognised, and retain the memory of things in this world ; more- over, that the gift of prophecy was possessed by 1- The above " Dialogue," translated by Rev. Henry Brown, Vicar of Nether Sewell, in 1745, and reprinted in the " Christian Fathers of the First and Second Centuries," by Rev. E. Bicker- steth. Rector of Watton, Herts, 1838. (Seeley and Burn- side.) The Teaching of the Early Fathers 9^ Abraham, and that each class (of souls) receives a habitation such as it has deserved, even before the judgment." ^ Tertullian, before a.d. 225, wrote in a treatise, "De Tertuiiian. Anima," in chapters Iv. and Iviii. : " You have a treatise by us, ' De Paradiso ' (On Paradise), in which we have established the position that every soul is detained in safe-keeping in Hades until the day of the Lord." And again : " All souls, therefore, are shut up within Hades. ... In short, inasmuch as we under- stand ' the prison ' pointed out in the Gospel to be Hades, and as we also interpret ' the uttermost farthing ' to mean the very smallest offence which has to be atoned for there before the resurrection, no one will hesitate to believe that the soul undergoes in Hades some compensatory discipline, without preju- dice to the full process of the resurrection, when the recompense will be administered through the flesh besides." ^ Origen, before a.d. 254, declared his belief that Origen. " not even the Apostles have received their perfect bliss ; for the saints at their departure out of this life do not attain the full reward of their labours ; but are awaiting us, who still remain on earth, loitering though we be, and slack." ^ Lactantius, about a.d. 315, in his " Divine Insti- i-actantius. tutes," Book Vn., chapter xxi. : " Nor, however, let anyone imagine that souls are immediately judged after death. For all are detained in one and a common place of confinement, until the arrival of the time in which the great Judge shall make 1 " Ante-Nicene Christian Library," edited by Rev. Alex- ander Roberts, D.D., and James Donaldson, LL.D., 1868 ; " Irenaeus," translated by Rev. A. Roberts, D.D., and Rev. W. H. Rambant, B.A. (T. and T. Clark.) 2 Ibid., 1870 ; " Ouintus Sept Flor TertiiUianus," translated by Peter Holmes, D.D., F.R.A.S. (T. and T. Clark.) ^ " Exposition of the XXXIX. Articles," by Bishop E. Harold Browne, 1882, Article III., p. 82. (Longmans.) 94 The After Life an investigation of their deserts. Then they whose piety shall have been approved of will receive the reward of immortality ; but they whose sins and crimes shall have been brought to light will not rise again, but will be hidden in the same darkness with the wicked, being destined to certain punishment." ^ St. Hilary. g^. Hilary, who was born between a.d. 315 and 320, wrote before a.d. 368 : " Evil is mingled in varying proportions with good in the character of men at large ; God can detect it in the very best. All, therefore, need to be purified after death, if they are to escape condemnation on the Day of Judgment. . . . All who are infected by sin, the heretic who has erred in ignorance among them, must pass through cleansing fires after death." ^ Ambrose. Ambrose, a contemporary of St. Hilary, still more fully says that " while the fulness of time is expected, the souls await the reward, which is in store for them. Some, pain awaits ; others, glory. But, in the mean- time, the former are not without trouble, nor are the latter without enjoyment." ^ Eusebius. Eusebius of Gaul, about a.d. 371 : Speaking of " those worthy of temporal punishment," and referring to Matt. v. 22, he says : " In proportion to the matter of the sin will be the lingering in the passage. In proportion to the growth of the fault will be the discipline of the discerning flame ; in proportion to the things which iniquity in its folly hath wrought will be the severity of the wise punishment." (" De Epiph.," Hom. III.)^ ^ " Ante-Nicene Christian Library," edited by Rev. Alex- ander Roberts, D.D., and James Donaldson, LL.D. ; ' Lac- tantius,' translated by William Fletcher, D.D. (T. and T. Clark.) 2 " Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church," edited by Rev. W. Sanday, D.D., LL.D., vol. ix., pp. xciii and xciv. (James Parker and Co., Oxford.) 3 " Exposition of the XXXIX. Articles," by Bishop E. Harold Browne, 1882, Article III., p. 82. (Longmans.) * " Mercy and Judgment," by Canon F. W. Farrar, D.D., F.R.S., 1 88 1, p. 22. (Macmillan.) The Teaching of the Early Fathers 95 St. Gregory of Nyssa, about a.d. 395 : St. Gregory. " Since, however, it is necessary that the stains which have been implanted into the soul from sin should be taken away by some process of healing, therefore in the present life the medicine of virtue is applied to it for the healing of such wounds ; but if it remains unhealed, the healing is reserved in the life beyond'' (" Orat. Catech.," 0pp. II. p. 493).! St. Augustine, before a.d. 430, in his " Enchiridion St. Augus- to Laurentius," chapter cix. : *^°®- " During the time, moreover, which intervenes between a man's death and the final resurrection, the soul dwells in a hidden retreat, where it en- joys rest or suffers affliction, just in proportion to the merit it has earned by the life which it led on earth." 2 St. Paulinus of Nola, about a.d. 431 : St. Paulinus. " That which the flame has not burnt, but proved, will be rewarded with a perpetual reward. He who hath done things which should be burned shall suffer loss, but shall himself escape safe out of the fires. Yet, wretched with the marks of his scathed body, he shall keep his life, not his glory " (" Paraphr.," Ps. i.).^ St. Isidore, about a.d. 633 : St. Isidore. " When the Lord says, ' Neither in this world nor in the world to come,' He shows that, for some, sins are there to be forgiven " (" De Off Eccl.," 18) .^ "The learned and thoughtful Lutheran Bishop Bishop Mar- Martensen, after arguing in favour of ' a realm of progressive development in which souls are prepared and matured for the final judgment,' adds that, though the Romish doctrine ' must be repudiated ^ " Mercy and Judgment," by Canon F. W. Farrar, D.D., F.R.S., 1881, p. 42. (Macmillan.) 2 " The Enchiridion of Augustine to Laurentius," taken by- permission from T. and T. Clark's edition of St. Augustine's works. 3 " Mercy and Judgment," by Canon F. W. Farrar, D.D., F.R.S., 1 88 1, p. 22. (Macmillan.) * Ibid., 1 88 1, p. 23. (Macmillan.) 96 The After Life because it is mixed up with so many crude and false positions, it nevertheless contains the truth . that the Intermediate State must, in a purely spiritual sense, be a Purgatory destined for the purifying of the soul.' "^ 1 "Eternal Hope," by Canon F. W. Farrar, D.D., F.R.S., 1S78, Preface, p. 20. (Macmillan.) CHAPTER V INNOVATIONS INTRODUCED BY THE CHURCH OF ROME. THE GREAT SCHISM IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY. THE SECOND SCHISM IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. CHAPTER V Innovations introduced by the Church of Rome. The Church of Rome, however, gradually introduced innovations into the original simple doctrine, and in indulgences A.D. 878 Pope John VIIL, for the first time, granted granted, indulgences from the penalties in Hades due for their sins to those who fell, or were to fall, in battle with the Pagans.^ In the eleventh century indulgences were, for the Indulgences first time, openly sold, and this and other abuses led, openly in the twelfth century, to what is known as the Great sold. Schism between the East and the West, between the Church at Constantinople and the Church at Rome.^ The Great Schism in the Twelfth Century. The relations between the Greek Church and the Roman had been estranged from the fifth to the eleventh century, and it is sometimes held that the final break came in 1054, when Leo IX. excommuni- cated Michael Cerularius and the whole of the Eastern Church.^ According to Ffoulkes, however, intercourse between Rome and Constantinople was renewed more than once after that date, and the permanent breach in the twelfth century was caused by the overbearing character of the Norman crusaders.^ 1 "Explanation of the XXXIX. Articles," by Bishop A. P. Forbes, 1867, Article XXII., p. 358. (James Parker.) 2 Ibid. 3 " Encyclopaedia Britannica," vol. xi., p. 156. * Ibid. 99 7 - 2 loo The After Life Letter from Xhe causes that led to this Schism were set forth in XIII. in reply to a letter from Pope Leo XIII. in 1895, in which 1895- he " invited all the Eastern Churches and the people of England to acknowledge his supremacy and preroga- tives, and restore the unity of Christendom by sub- mission to him."^ Reply " The Patriarch of the Orthodox Eastern Church Eastern sent a powerful answer, signed by himself and his Church. suffragans, declaring that there could be no union till the Church of Rome abandoned her innovations and heterodox doctrines, and returned to the faith of the ancient fathers and councils. "^ On the subject of the Intermediate State, the Eastern Bishops said : " The One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of the seven (Ecumenical Councils, in accordance with the inspired teaching of Holy Scripture and with the Apostolic tradition of old, in praying, invokes the mercy of God for pardon and repose of those who are asleep in the Lord. But the Papal Church, from the twelfth century onward, invented and accumulated in the person of the Pope — as if he enjoyed exclusively some special privilege — a multitude of innovations respecting Purgatory, the superfluity of grace in saints, and its distribution among those deficient in it, and such like ; and she has further propounded the belief in a complete recompense of the just before the general Resurrection and Judgment."^ The Second Schism in the Sixteenth Century. Before the Reformation England was in a state of slavery to the Pope of Rome in all questions of religion, and all the higher offices of the Church were filled up 1 " The Eeformation Settlement," by Canon M. MacColl, D.D., 1899, pp. 327, 328. (Longmans.) 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid. Innovations introduced by Church of Rome loi from Rome, and large fees were collected from the suc- cessful candidates.^ Rome claimed the power to grant or withhold dis- pensations for marriage, and insisted on all church services being conducted in Latin, which was an un- known tongue to most of the people.^ Among other abuses may be mentioned the traffic in Masses for the spirits in Purgatory ; the sale of in- dulgences, by which persons were allowed to purchase the remission of the penalties due for their sins ; the enforced practice of private confession ; the prayers to saints ; the denial of the cup to the laity ; and the worshipping of images and saints.^ "It is a popular error to suppose that the struggle England's began with Henry VIII. He inherited it from a long with line of predecessors. It will suffice to give the follow- Rome, ing summary of i6 Richard II., Cap. 5 ; and Richard was by no means the first English King who resisted the Pope's encroachments. This early Statute of Praemunire declares that the Crown of England has been free at all times ; that it has been under no earthly sub- jection, but immediately subject to God in all things touching the regality of the same Crown, and of none other. That no submission should be made to the Pope, who aimed at the perpetual destruction of the King, his crown, his regality, and all his realm, which God defend. The Commons, and the Lords spiritual and temporal, pledged themselves to the defence of the liberties of the Church of England and of the Crown as against the pretensions, claims, and usurpations of the Pope, with respect to sentences of excommunica- tion, and the Pope's appointment to bishoprics and benefices, or any other interference with the rights and liberties of the Church of England. And all persons getting any Bull from Rome containing any matter 1 " Anglican Church History," by E. Webley- Parry, 1879, chapters xxi.-xxv, (Griffith and Farran.) 2 lUd. 3 Ihid. I02 The After Life The Protes- tant Reforma- tion. Act of Su- premacy. whatsoever, or publishing or putting the same in use, were to be judged traitors to the King and Realm ; and being thereof lawfully indicted and attainted, according to the course of the laws of the Realm, would suffer pains of death, and to lose and forfeit all their lands, hereditaments, tenements, goods, and chattels, as in cases of high treason, by the laws of this Realm. "^ The Protestant Reformation may be said to have commenced in 1517, when Luther's thesis was published at Wittenberg, and it was consummated in 1545 when the Council of Trent sanctioned the " direct and open renunciation of mediaeval doctrine which he initiated."^ In England, however, there had been resistance to the extortions practised by Wolsey's agents previous to 1517. In 1531 a proclamation was issued, "making it penal to introduce Bulls from Rome " ; and this was followed by an Act imposing "severe penalties on all who should be found going about the country for the purpose of carrying on the sale of indulgences."^ Finally, in 1534, the clergy, assembled in both houses of convocation, renounced the Pope's authority, and expressly declared " that by the word of God, he has no more jurisdiction in England than any other foreign Bishop." In the same Act King Henry VIII. was styled supreme head of the Church of England under Christ.'* The oath of supremacy, taken in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, " contained a declaration that the sovereign is the only supreme governor of this realm, as well in spiritual and ecclesiastical causes as temporal ; and that no foreign prince, prelate, state, or potentate hath, or ought to have, any jurisdiction, superiority, or authority, ecclesiastical or spiritual, within this 1 " The Reformation Settlement," by Canon M. MacColl, 1899, pp. 93, 94. (Longmans.) 2 " Encyclopaedia Britannica," vol. xx., p. 319. 3 Ibid., p. 331. * "Anglican Church History," by E. Webley-Parry, 1879, pp. 216 and 257, 258. Innovations introduced by Church of Ro7ne 103 realm," To guard against any wrong construction of this oath, the Queen at the same time pubhshed in- junctions wherein she declared that she pretended to no priestly power ; and that " she challenged no authority but what was of ancient time due to the imperial crown of England . , . so as no other foreign Power shall or ought to have any superiority. "^ ^ "Anglican Church History," by E. Webley-Parry, 1879, pp. 216 and 257, 258. CHAPTER VI SOME OF THE MISTAKES AND DIFFICULTIES IN THE LANGUAGE OF THE AUTHORIZED VERSION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. CHAPTER VI Some of the Mistakes and Difficulties in the Language of the Authorized Version of the New Testament. Hell and damnation. Damned, damnation. Damnable. Hell. Gehenna. Death. Destruction. Unquenchable fire. Tormented, and Tormentors. Punishment. Everlasting, as applied to punishment. The unpardonable sin. Hell, and Damnation. The misuse of these words has been the cause of much of the antagonism to Christianity, and it has also proved a great stumbling-block to many who wished to believe. It is true that some of the errors have been corrected in the Revised Version of the Bible, but this is not yet in general use, and until it is, and until a generation has sprung up with no knowledge of the Authorized Version, John Wycliffe's mistakes will continue to be a serious obstacle to the spread of Christianity both at home and abroad. 107 io8 The After Life My objection to the use of the word " Hell " is that, while in its original meaning it was a sufficiently correct translation of the words " Sheol " and " Hades," it was in no way an equivalent of the word " Gehenna." The Hebrew word " Sheol," the Greek word " Hades," and the Anglo-Saxon word " Helle," simply meant the grave,, or the Intermediate State, where spirits remain between death and the resurrection. The Latin word Tartarus meant the place where " the angels that sinned " were " reserved unto judgment " in " chains of darkness." The Hebrew word " Gehenna " is one of nearly one hundred different terms which are used in the New Testament as types of the place where unrepentant sinners will finally cease to be. Thus, this place is described as : Matt. viii. 12. ' Outer darkness, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' Matt. X. 28. \ ' Fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in Luke xii. 5. J Gehenna.' Rev. xix. 20. ' A lake of fire, burning with brimstone,' in which sinners Rev. xiv. 10, will be ' tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence II. of the holy angels, and in presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever.' Other passages refer to " a second death," and say that the persistent sinner shall be everlastingly de- stroyed, shall be slain, shall be ground to powder, rooted up, cast out, cast away like bad fish, cut asunder, shall perish, and shall be a castaway. All this imagery of the Gospels and the Apocalypse has been attached to the word " Helle " by John Wy- cliffe and by divines who succeeded him, down to Charles Spurgeon, and even to the present day, and it seems to me to have been a cruel mistake. The explanation is that this teaching was necessi- tated by the false dogma which had been laid down that " the soul of man, passing out of the body, goeth straightways either to heaven, or else to hell, whereof Language of the New Testament (A.V.) 109 the one needeth no prayer, and the other is without redemption."^ I say it became necessary, because only in this way could the Reformers silence questions about the different places mentioned in the original. I suppose that most of us who are over fifty have sat in church and heard clergymen in the pulpit describing the torments in the place they invariably called " Hell," and telling the congregation that every man, woman, and child, who was not fit to enter heaven when they died, would be at once thrown into the flames. The effect of such preaching was to send men away from church with the idea that the Omnipotent God was a cruel, revengeful tyrant. It was probably far from the intention of the preacher to produce such a result, and he may have concluded his sermon by quoting the following passages of Scrip- ture, which are quite opposed to the awful denunciation with which he had commenced : ' God is love,' i john iv. 8. God ' will have all men to be saved,' and i Tim. ii. 4. Jesus came ' that the world through Him might be saved.' John iii. 17. Sermons such as I have described are not so often heard now as they were a few years ago, but I know for certain that the same doctrine is taught in some Sunday classes. This teaching j arred on the feelings of even the young, who saw that it was inconsistent with the idea of a merciful God to hold that He would cast into ever- lasting torments millions of heathen and others who had never had a chance of learning His laws. When men grew up and thought for themselves, they simply refused to believe in the everlasting fire, and each man either evolved a creed for himself, or ceased to believe in anything. I have been told that to do away with the teaching of ^ "Sermon concerning Prayer, in the Second Book of Homilies," 1563. no The After Life Hell is to remove a check on the commission of sin ; but this is a mistake, and the present teaching of the Anglican Church is that sinners are punished in Hades, and those who are still unrepentant on the Day of Judgment will be cast into the lake of fire, and cease to be. The great difference between the Puritan and the present doctrine is that it is now taught that the final sentence will not be passed immediately after death. Matt. 14. Damned, Damnation, Damnable. These words are found in fifteen verses of the Author- ized Version of the New Testament, but in the Revised Version the original words have been translated, in six verses, " condemned " or " condemnation "; in five verses, "judged" or "judgment"; in two verses, " destructive " or " destruction " ; in one verse, " an eternal sin " ; and one verse has been omitted. ^ Greek, krima, denotes " judgment," the sentence pro- nounced. Matt, 14. Mark xii. 40 Luke XX. 47 Rom. iii. 8. Rom. xiii. 2. I Cor. xi, -}, Authorized Version. ' The greater damnation.' ' Greater damnation.' 3. ' Greater damnation.' 4. ' Whose damnation is just.' 5. ' Shall receive to them- selves damnation.' 29. 6. ' Eateth and drinketh dam- nation.' I Tim. V. 12. 7. ' Having damnation.' Revised Version. Verse omitted. ' Greater condemnation.' ' Greater condemnation.' ' "Whose condemnation is just.' ' Shall receive to themselves judgment.' ' Eateth and drinketh judg- ment. ' * Having condemnation.' Greek, krisis, denotes " judgment, "- of judging. -i.e., the process Matt, xxiii. -| 33- U. Gehenna. J Mark iii. 29. 9. John V. 29. 10. yl uthorized Version. The damnation of hell.' Eternal damnation.' ' The resurrection of dam- nation.' Revised Version. ' The judgment of hell.' ' Is guilty of an eternal sin.' ' The resurrection of judg ment.' ^ " Our Life after Death," by Rev. A. Chambers, 1894, Appendix, edition 1903. (Charles Taylor.) Language of the New Testament (A.V.) 1 1 1 Greek, krinein, denotes " to judge," not necessarily " to condemn." Attthorzzed Version. Revised Version. II. 'That they all might be 'That they all might be 2 Thess. damned.' judged.' 12. Greek, katakrinein, denotes " to condemn." Authorized Version. Revised Version. 12. ' Shall be damned.' ' Shall be condemned.' Markxvi. 16. 13. ' And he that doubteth is 'But he that doubteth is Rom. xiv.23. damned if he eat.' condemned if he eat.' Greek, apoleias, denotes " destructive." Authorized Version. Revised Version. 14. ' Damnable heresies.' ' Destructive heresies.' 2 Pet. ii. i. Greek, apoleia, denotes " destruction." Authorized Version. Revised Version. 15. 'Their damnation slum- 'Their destruction slum- 2 Pet. ii. 3. bereth not.' bereth not.' These Greek words occur more than one hundred and fifty times in the New Testament, and they were cor- rectly translated except in the fifteen passages noted. ^ It is clear that the translators used the words " dam- nation" and "damned " when they thought the passages pointed to future punishment ; and as their idea of future punishment was of endless suffering and misery, they thought these words were better suited to the popular idea. 2 If these Greek words had always been translated as in these fifteen passages, we should have read :^ 1. ' For krima (damnation) I am come into this world.' John ix. 39. 2. ' Woe unto you, Pharisees ! for ye . . , pass over krisis Luke xi. 42. (damnation) and the love of God.' 3. ' As I ]n.ear I judge ; and my krisis (damnation) is just.' John v. 30. 4. ' So opened He not His mouth : in His humiliation his Acts viii. 32, krisis (damnation) was taken away.' 33. 5. ' Do ye not know that the saints shall krinein (damn) i Cor. vi. 2. the world ?' i "Our Life after Death," by Eev. A. Chambers, 1894, Appendix, edition 1903. (Charles Taylor.) 2 Ibid. 3 75^-^. 112 The After Life Matt, xxvii. 6. ' Then Judas . . . when he saw that he was hata krinein 3- (damned).' John viii. lo, 7. ' Hath no man kata krinein (damned) thee ?' ii> 8. * Neither do I kata krinein (damn) thee.' " The verb ' to damn ' probably came from an old Teutonic verb, deman, ' to deem.' It is at least closely related to the words ' deem ' and ' doom.' It meant to deem anyone guilty of any kind of offence, and to doom him to its appropriate punishment. Thus, for example, a man might be damned to prison — i.e., deemed worthy of it, and doomed to it ; or his goods might be damnified — i.e., injured or condemned ; or a play might be damned — i.e., hissed off the stage, deemed too poor for farther representation, and doomed never to appear again. "^ Hell. This word occurs twenty-three times in the Author- ized Version of the New Testament, but in the original Greek the words used were' : Chaps, ii. Hades . . . . . . . . 10 and iii. Gehenna . . . . . . . . 12 Tartarus . . . . . . . . i 23" The meaning of the Anglo-Saxon word " Helle " was simply to cover, to hide, or conceal. 2 1. In some counties of England, to cover in with a roof was " to helle the building," and thatchers and tilers were called " helliers."^ 2. In the sense of to hide or conceal, " helle " is used for the name of the dark place under a tailor's shop- board, where he throws the refuse pieces of cloth cut off in the course of his work."* ^ " Salvator Mundi," by Rev. Samuel Cox, 1877, pp. 40, 41. (Kegan Paul, Trench and Co.) 2 " New English Dictionary on Historical Principles," by J. A. H. Murray, 1905. (Clarendon Press, Oxford.) 3 "Dictionary of Phrase and Fable," by Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D., 1894. (Cassell, Petter, and Galpin.) * " New English Dictionary on Historical Principles," by J. A. H. Murray, 1905. (Clarendon Press, Oxford.) Language of the New Testament {A.V^ 113 3. The same word is also used for the place where broken type is thrown by printers.^ 4. " Helle " is also the name of the " den " to which captives are carried in the games barley-break and prisoners' base.^ 5. A gambling-house or gambling-booth is called a " helle."! 6. A place of confinement for debtors was called a " helle," or sponging-house.^ From very early times "Helle " was used for the grave, the abode of the dead. Hades, or the Intermediate State. ^ 1. In a Saxon Psalter, about a.d. 825, this word was used in verse 15 of Psalm \v.-?- ' Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick Hebrew, into helle.' Sheol. 2. About A.D. 1000 we find " Helle " used in verse 35 of Gen. XXX vii. :^ ' For I will go down into helle unto my son mourning.' f Hebrew "i Sheol. 3. In another Saxon Psalter, before a.d. 1340, in verse 10 of Ps. xvi. :^ ' For Thou wilt not leave My soul in helle.' /Hebrew, ^ \ Sheol. It appears that the word " Helle " was also used by some Saxon writers to denote Tartarus, or those parts of Hades where the wicked and certain fallen angels suffer punishment. The following are translations of extracts from certain Saxon writings : 1. About A.D. 888, in King .Alfred Boeth, 15 : "The fire in Helle is burning like that which is in the mountain called Etna."! 2. About A.D. 1020, Rule St. Benet, 36 (Logeman) : " Not with fear of Helle, but with Christ's love."! 3. About A.D. 1175, Lamb, Hom. 61 : " From whence the angels are fallen into the darkest Helle."! ^ " New English Dictionary on Historical Principles," by J. A. H. Murray, 1905. (Clarendon Press, Oxford.) 114 The After Life 4. Before a.d. 1225, Ancr, R. 150 : "It is good for nothing but the fire of Helle."^ 5. Before a.d. 1300, Cursor, M. 478 : " Satan, who first fell through his pride into Helle."^ In the earliest copy of the Gospels in the Anglo- Saxon language ^ the translators were careful to avoid confusion, and while " Hades " was always translated " Helle," perfectly different words were used for Ge- henna : 1. Matt. V. 22 : ' to tinterge fyres.' 2. Matt. V. 2Q : 'in tintergo in cursung.' 3. Matt. V. 30: 'in tintergo.' 4. Matt. X. 28 : ' in tintergo cursung.' 5. Matt, xviii. 9 : ' in tintergo fyres.' 6. Matt, xxiii. 15 : ' cursunges.' 7. Matt, xxiii. t^t, : ' tint 'ges.' 8. iNIark ix. 43 : 'in tintergo fyres.' 9. Mark ix. 45 : 'in tintergo fyres.' 10. iNIark ix. 47 : 'in tintergo fyres.' 11. Luke xii. 5 : ' in tintergo.' 12. Jas. iii. 6 : not included with the Gospels. Rev. Joseph In the Rev. Joseph Bosworth's " Anglo-Saxon and ^%IT^^^^' English Dictionary," 1888, I find : '"Tintergo ' means torment, affliction, or torture; 'cursung' means a cursing, torment, a curse." John Wycliffe, who has been called the forerunner of the Enghsh Reformation, pubhshed the first English translation of the Bible in 1380 ; but, instead of retain- ing the words " Hades," " Gehenna," and " Tartarus," or translating them into different English equivalents, as the Saxon translators had done, he made the mistake of rendering the three Greek words by the one word "Helle." Unfortunately, the English Reformers followed the lead given by John Wycliffe, and his error was repeated in the Authorized Version, published in 1611. (In the Revised Version, while "Hades" has been retained, 1 " New English Dictionary on Historical Principles," by J. A. H. Murray, 1905. (Clarendon Press, Oxford.) 2 " The Lindisfarne and Rushforth Gospels," printed from the Original Manuscripts in the British Museum and Bodleian Library. Published in Latin and Saxon for the Surtees Society of Durham, 1854-1865. Language of the New Testament {A.V.) 115 the word " Hell " has been used for Gehenna and Tar- tarus, but marginal notes explain what the word was in the original.) The Reformers, in the mistaken zeal of their crusade against the false teaching of Rome, were determined to throw over all idea of an Intermediate State. They missed the grand opportunity of restoring the original pure teaching about Hades, and they upheld the awful Puritan idea that all spirits are judged immediately after death, and are then translated to heaven or cast into everlasting flames, in the place they called " Helle." Gehenna. This is the Greek form of the Hebrew Ge-Hinnom, which means " the valley of Hinnom." It was situated in the immediate vicinity of Jerusalem, and in the time of King Solomon it was full of gardens belonging to wealthy inhabitants of Jerusalem.^ The valley was afterwards defiled by King Josiah to 2Kingsxxiii. put an end to the horrid rites which had been intro- ^°- duced, connected with the worship of Molech, and at the time of the birth of Jesus it was used as the common cesspool of Jerusalem, into which the bodies of certain criminals were flung, and fires were always kept burning to purify the air. .Matt. V. 22. I* R.V. 'hell 1, 'Whosoever shall say. Thou fool, shall be in danger of] °^ ^^^' hell* fire.' H or ' Ge- henna of I fire.' 2, 3. ' For it is profitable for thee that one of thy members ( ^•"^•29. should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast J. ^'^r ,^ intohelL't |t V' \ \ henna. ^ " Salvator Mundi," by Rev. Samuel Cox, 1877, p. 6?'. (Kegan Paul, Trench and Co.) "Eternal Hope," by Canon Farrar, D.D., F.R.S., 1878. (Macmillan.) " The Spirits in Prison," by Rev. Plumptre, 1884. (William Isbister. ) 8—2 ii6 The After Life Matt, xviii. g.N Mark ix. 43, 45, 47- 4-7. " It is better for thee to enter into life " with one eye, * R.V. ' Ge- or maimed, or halt, rather than having two eyes, or two henna of /'hands, or two feet "to be cast into hell* fire," or "the fire fire,' or that never shall be quenched." ' Gehen- 1 na.' ) Matt, xxiii. \ 15. Is.' Ye make him twofold more the child of hellf than t R.V. Ge- 1 yourselves.' henna. ) Matt, xxiii. \ X R.V. judg ment of Gehen- na. J as. iii. 6. § Greek, Ge- henna. Matt. X. 28. II R.V. Ge- henna. Luke xii. 5. \ R.V. Ge- henna. 9. ' How can ye escape the damnation of hell ?'J 10. ' And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity "it is set on fire of hell.'S and (II. ' And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul : but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.'|| "I 12. ' But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear : Fear iHim, which after He hath killed hath power to cast into hell ;^ J yea, I say unto you. Fear Him.' INJatt. V. 22. I, ' Whosoever shall say. Thou fool, shall be in danger of the Gehenna of fire.' Jesus was "simply teaching an Oriental people, in the Oriental forms with which they were familiar, that every sin, however inward, will receive its due recompense of reward ; that the heart is the fountain from which all sin flows ; that in God's sight the mur- derous wish, scheme, bent, is murder : and that every utterance of it, whether in word or in deed, since it deepens and confirms it, will entail a still severer punishment. "1 Matt. V. 29, 2, 3. ' For it is profitable for thee that one of thy members 30. should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into Gehenna.' " Our Lord treated the law of adultery in precisely the same method and spirit in which he had treated the law of murder. "1 1 " Salvator Mundi," by Rev. (Kegan Paul, Trench and Co.) Samuel Cox, 1877, p. 81. Language of the New Testament (^A.V.) 117 4-7. " It is better for thee to enter into life" with one eye, Matt. xviii.9. or maimed, or halt, rather than having two eyes, or two Mark ix. 43, hands, or two feet "to be cast into the Gehenna of fire." 45, 47. " What our Lord is really teaching here is one of the first and most important moral lessons we all have to master — viz., that we must learn to go without a great many things we should like to have ; that we must learn to rule and deny ourselves on pain of being ruined and undone."^ 8. ' Ye make him twofold more the child of Gehenna than Matt, xxiii. yourselves.' 15. 9. ' How can ye escape the judgment of Gehenna ?' i ^^^"- xxiu. I, 33- Shaitan ki butcha — a child of Satan — is a very common expression applied by Mahometan elders generally to a younger man who has done something outraging their sense of propriety ; and ' a child ot Gehenna ' had much the same meaning. " The judgment of Gehenna " referred to the sentence which the Jewish High Court, called the Sanhedrin, had the power to pass — namely, that the criminal should be killed by stoning, and that his dead body should be thrown into the polluted valley of Hinnom, where fires were always burning to consume the refuse of the city and the carcasses of animals. " What our Lord intended was that the Pharisees corrupted the proselytes they were so zealous to make ... by teaching them to veil greed, perjury, unclean- ness, and even murder itself, behind a mask of religion ; and that they themselves, therefore, deserved that very sentence to the death and horrors of Ge-Hinnom to which they were so ready to doom men far less guilty than themselves."^ 10. ' And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity . . . and jas. iii. 6. it is set on fire of Gehenna.' The fire kindled by a mischievous tongue is here 1 " Salvator Mundi," by Rev. Samuel Cox, 1877, PP- 84 and 87. (Kegan Paul, Trench and Co.) ii; The After Life Mark ix. 48. figuratively likened to the evil-smelling fires which were always burning in the valley of Hinnom. Matt. X. 28. II, ' And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.' Luke xii. 5. 12. ' But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear : Fear Him, which after He hath killed hath power to cast into Gehenna ; yea, I say unto you, Fear Him.' These are the only passages in which the mention of Gehenna had any reference to the soul, which lives on in its spirit body after the first death, together with its dormant or quickened spirit. Jesus may here be under- stood as expressly refuting Plato's doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul, and He taught that God has the power to kill the soul and its spirit body in some terrible place, which He metaphorically com- pared with the loathsome valley of Hinnom. 43- In the record found in Mark there is clearly an allu- sion to the following passage in Isaiah, and it may be noted that it was only dead carcasses of which Isaiah said : " Their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched." 23, ' And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the Lord. ' And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against Me : for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched ; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.' It is clear that "Gehenna, or the valley of Hinnom, which supplied the imagery of destruction by fire and worm, was not a place of suffering or torture. The refuse and the vile were thrown there to be destroyed."^ Milton wrote in "Paradise Lost " : Book I., lines " And made his grove 403-405. The pleasant valley of Hinnom ; Tophet thence And black Gehenna call'd, the type of Hell." ^ "The Entire Evidence of Evangelists and Apostles on Future Punishment," by Rev. W. Griffith, 1882, pp. 41, 42. (Elliot Stock.) Isa. Ixvi. 24. Language of the New Testament [A. V.) 1 1 9 Milton used the word " Hell " in the sense common to Milton, 1667. his time, but he would have been correct if he had written " type of the place of final destruction." " Gehenna continued to be the name of the abode of the lost, both among those who received our Lord's teaching — Latins, Greeks, Syrians — and those who rejected it, even in our seventh century, when the name of Gehenna, as the place of everlasting punishment, was transferred into the Koran from Mohammed's Jewish teacher."^ I believe, with the Rev. Samuel Cox, that, on this one occasion, Jesus used the word "Gehenna" in the same^ ^uke xii. 5.' sense as He used some one hundred different terms — as a type of the place where persistent sinners will finally be blotted out of existence after the judgment on the Last Day ; on all the other occasions that Jesus used this word. He referred to the earthly punishment of the dead body being cast into the polluted valley of Hinnom. The translation from the Greek of the following words is correct, but to the words themselves, as used in Scripture, both in Greek and English, divines have attached a false meaning, from the time of the early Fathers down to the present day : Death. Destruction. Unquenchable fire. Tormented and tormentors. Punishment. Everlasting, as applied to punishment. The meaning attached to the above words, and to all the similar expressions in the New Testament, has been endless existence in never-ending torments, and the explanation is that many of the early Fathers had adopted the doctrine of Plato (429-348 B.C.) about the 1 " What is of Faith as to Everlasting Punishment," by Rev. E. B. Pusey, D.D., 1880, pp. 105, 106. (Parker, Strand.) I20 The After Ltje natural immortality of the soul, before they became Christians, and they insisted on retaining their old ideas when they entered the Church. It is certain that we should have been spared all the misery which has been caused by following the lead given by these early converts, if the words quoted above had been interpreted in a natural way, according to the wise rules for interpretation which have since been laid down. Canon of in- The judicious Hooker laid down the canon of inter- S.^^*^ pretation that " where a Hteral construction will stand^ the farthest from the letter is commonly the worst. "^ " Of the literal sense, Luther said that it was the substance of faith and of theology' ; and Dean Alford held ' that a figurative sense of words is never admis- sible except when required by the context.' "^ Mr. W. Fetherston maintained that, " if a passage of Scripture admits of two interpretations, one of which would contradict numerous other passages of Scrip- ture, and lead to results inconsistent with our funda- mental ideas of God, whereas the other would be re- concileable with both, we may unhesitatingly reject the former interpretation and adopt the latter. "^ Language of With regard to the question of the language, the xStf-^^ Rev. C. A. Row wrote : " My general conclusion with ment. respect to the terminology of the New Testament in relation to future retribution therefore is, that the Greek words which are used by its writers conveyed the same general meaning to a Greek-speaking Christian as the corresponding English ones do to a reader of English ; that they are used in their commonly accepted signification, and not in a special or technical sense, which would have been intelligible only to the initiated ; that taking them as a whole, they were calculated to 1 " Future Punishment," by Rev. R. H. McKim, D.D., 1883, p. 23. (Thomas Whittaker, New York.) 2 " The New Symbols; or. Suggestions as to Future Divine Punishments," by W. Fetherston, 1890, p. 12. (Hodges, Figgis and Co., DubUn.) Language of the Nezv Testament [A.V.) 121 convey to the reader the firm persuasion that it was the intention of the writer to affirm that God will execute a righteous judgment on mankind in the world beyond the grave, when He will reward and punish men accord- ing to their deeds; ; and that sin wilfully persisted in will be attended with suffering, which will end in the ultimate destruction of the sinner ; yet that none of the terms employed in their ordinary or natural meaning convey even a hint that the suffering will be of endless duration."^ Death. "The second death is, we suppose, when the capa- bility of receiving a spiritual life is at an end, and when there shall be no more place found for repentance. In that case, which Scripture speaks of as following the day of the general judgment, the final state of the lost will be sealed for ever."^ " The well-known penalty for eating of the forbidden tree is thus expressed : * In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die ' ; or, as it is in the Hebrew, and as the margin shows you : ' Dying thou shalt die ' — words of the most emphatic character. " Now, those words are interpreted to mean, Dying thou shalt never die. Just as destruction is taken to signify eternal preservation in woe ; and, being burnt up like chaff, is taken to signify being kept unconsumed, like the bush in the flames, unlike the bush, for ever." " If to die is to live for ever, whether in suffering or in bliss, no language can be confidently construed. "^ ' And these shall go away into everlasting punishment : Matt. xxv but the righteous into life eternal.' 4^>' ^ "Future Retribution," by Rev. C. A. Row, 1889, p. 22i?)' (William Isbister.) 2 " The Tripartite Nature of Man," by Rev. J. B. Heard, 1866, p. 269. (T. and T. Clark.) 3 " Endless Suffering not the Doctrine of Scripture," by Rev. T. Davis, 1866, pp. 19, 24, edition 1867. (Longmans.) 122 The After Life " The antithesis supphed in the same verse to this word ' punishment ' is ' hfe,' and therefore we are irresistibly driven to the conclusion that the word ' punishment ' means ' death ' ; and on looking into the original expression, we find it is kolasis, which word, according to Liddell and Scott, means ' a pruning or cutting off, separation, as a branch from a tree.' " Here there is an everlasting result, not a process, and in this sense is quite an equivalent to death, thus Rom. vi.'23. making Jesus agree with Paul, who said, ' The wages of sin is death ; but the gift of God is eternal life.' " In the Epistle to the Hebrews may be found the following expressions, which are grammatically con- structed precisely as the phrase * everlasting punish- ment ' : Eternal judgment. ,, salvation. ,, redemption. ,, covenant. Is it not evident that the expressions all imply an ever- lasting result, and not an everlasting process ?"^ Matt. X. 28. ' Fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.' This is " the ' pivot ' on which our Lord bases His general teaching, and is not less the grand pivot on which hang the essential doctrines of the Church of England." Mr. Tomlinson shows that the daily service in the church assumes that the soul may die ; that we pray for "life everlasting" (thereby proving that it is not our lot by birth) ; that we may rise to " the life immortal," and that we may " ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life.'"^ 1 "Where are the Dead ? Will any suffer Eternal Tor- ment ?" by Antipas, Defender of Faith, 1885, pp. 19, 20. (J. Martin and Co.) 2 " Thoughts on Everlasting Death," by Rev. W. R. Tom- linson, 1888, p. 15. (Digby Long.) Language of the New Testament (A.V.) 12, Destruction. " If we suppose the hearers of Jesus and His Apostles to have understood, as nearly as possible in the ordinary sense, the words employed, they must naturally have conceived them to mean (if they were taught nothing to the contrary) that the condemned were really and literally to be ' destroyed,' and cease to exist ; not that they were to exist for ever in a state of wretchedness. "On the whole, therefore, I think we are not war- ranted in concluding, (as some have done), so positively concerning the question as to make it a point of Chris- tian faith to interpret figuratively and not literally the * death ' and ' destruction ' of the Scripture as the doom of the condemned ; and to insist on the belief that they are to be kept alive for ever."^ "The majority of these nouns and verbs, denoting destruction of some sort, are used by Plato again and again in the ' Phaedon,' a dialogue on immortality, expressly for the purpose of conveying the idea of the literal destruction or extinction of the soul. ... It is said that these words in the New Testament are not used in the sense in which Plato and all his readers for four hundred years, not less than all good writers in Greek following the times of Christ, used them ; but in a new and special sense, which was created for them by inspiration of God ; so that inspiration must be regarded as having for its object to give, not only a new, but a self-contradictory sense to some of the most familiar words in the Greek language. . . . " * Where their worm dieth not' is also one of ^^ark ix. 44. .0 Plato's expressions for existence coming to an end. " Isaiah wrote : ' For the moth shall eat them up isa. li. 8. like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool.' " The words of Jesus are plainly a citation from thef^^ark ix. 44- last verse in the prophecies of Isaiah, where the context! igg; {xvi. 24. ^ "The Future State," by Archbishop Whately, 1829, pp. 180, 181. (B. Fellowes.) 124 The After Life Matt. vii. 13. Matt. X. 28. R.V. Ge- henna. proves beyond question that the worm stands naturally for ' putrefaction,' the concomitant of death, and in this case the death of those ' slain by Jehovah.' "^ ' For wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction.' " What is meant by the destruction of a man ? I reply, the making an end of him as a man. . . . Just as a tree destroyed has no longer the properties of a tree, so a man destroyed has no longer the properties of man. His life, his consciousness, his feelings, are gone. . . . " There seems, indeed, to be an impression on many minds that a spiritual entity, being, as it is said, a simple substance, cannot be destroyed ; but Jesus said : ' Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul : but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.'* . . . "If the wicked will never be destroyed, never perish, never die, never come utterly to an end, we must cast aside some hundreds of sentences as not to be received in their natural meaning — their natural meaning, that is, as either directly or implicitly expressed. . . . " Let others say that destruction means endless pre- servation in misery : I accept what God declares ; and I am sure that His truth will better promote virtue than man's error. . . ."^ " Destruction can be called everlasting when the effect, not the act of destroying, lasts eternally. Thus, a tree burnt to ashes is destroyed for ever. So a man is destroyed for ever if he be reduced to non-existence as a man, and is no longer a sentient creature."^ During the last quarter of a century, many writers have declared that the word "destruction," when applied to sinners, cannot be understood to mean 1 " Life in Christ," by Rev. Edward White, 1846, pp. 387- 390. (EUiot Stock.) 2 " Endless Suffering not the Doctrine of Scripture," by Rev. T, Davis, 1866, pp. 6-8, edition 1867. (Longmans.) 3 Ibid. Language of the New Testament {A.V.) 125 " conscious life in never-ending torments," but that it must mean that they will be killed irrevocably, never to be resuscitated, and become extinct. Unquenchable Fire. The translation of the Greek word asbestos as " that never shall be quenched " in the Authorized Version of Mark ix. 43, the New Testament was quite unwarranted, and it has 45- been altered in the Revised Version to " unquenchable fire." This word asbestos occurs only three times in the NewJ Lu^e m." ly'. Testament. "Unquenchable fire" is the metaphor iMark ix. 43. used by John the Baptist for the fire used to burn up the chaff, and in Mark it is used for the fire of Gehenna, or the valley of Hinnom.^ To understand the meaning in Jewish speech of the term ' unquenchable fire,' we must look at its meaning in the Old Testament, and in secular writings of the day. Thus, in the Old Testament we read : ' Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Ezek. xx. 45- ' Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy 48. word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field ; ' And say to the forest of the south. Hear the word of the Lord ; Thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every " Mercy and Judgment," by Canon F. W. Farrar, D.D., F.R.S., 1881, pp. 405, 406. (Macmillan.) "Future Punishment," by Rev. R. H. McKim, D.D., 1883, p. 23. (Thomas Whittaker, New York.) " Thoughts on Everlasting Death," by Rev. W. R. Tom- linson, 1888, p. 11. (Digby Long.) " Future Retribution," by Rev. C. A. Row, 1889, pp. 240- 245, 418. (William Isbister.) " The Fate of the Dead," bv Dr. Thomas Clarke, M.D., 1889, p. 68. (F. Norgate.) " The Unspeakable Gift," by Rev. J. H. Pettingell, 1898, pp. 22, 23. (Digby Long.) " Immortality in Christ," by Rev. S. Hemphill, D.D., Litt.D., M.R.I. A., 1904, pp. 15, 43. (Simpkin, Marshall.) ^ " Mercy and Judgment," by Canon Farrar, D.D., F.R.S., 1 88 1, pp. 406, 407. (Macmillan.) 126 The After Life dry tree : the flaming flame shall not he quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein. ' And all flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it : it shall not he quenched.' " The people should be as forest-trees devoured by fire that could not be quenched — that is, as the words mean, could not be extinguished till its work was done."i Jer. xvii. 27. ' But if ye will not hearken unto Me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day ; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jeru- salem, and it shall not he quenched.' " The meaning is that nothing should stay the destructive flame until it had consumed utterly. "^ The following passage ^ proves that Jerusalem was burnt, but it is certain that the " unquenchable fire " went out after doing its work : Jer. lii. 13. ' And burned the house of the Lord, and the king's house ; and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great men, burned he with fire.' 1 note,^ with reference to the metaphor used by John the Baptist of the chaff being burnt up with " unquenchable fire," that Isaiah wrote : Isa. V. 24. ' Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust.' Matt. XXV. The article being prefixed in the expression ' the '^^' eternal fire ' proves the fire in question to have been one well known to our Lord's hearers — viz., the Ge- ^ " Endless Suffering not the Doctrine of Scripture," by Rev. T, Davis, 1866, pp. 42-45, edition 1867. (Longmans.) 2 "Where are the Dead ? Will any suffer Eternal Tor- ment ?" by Antipas, Defender of Faith, 1885, p. 19. (J. Martin and Co.) " Thoughts on Everlasting Death," by Rev. W. R. Tom- linson, 1888, p. 25. (Digby Long.) " The Fate of the Dead," by Dr. Thomas Clarke, M.D., 1889, p. 68. (F. Norgate.) 3 " Mercy and Judgment," by Canon Farrar, D.D., F.R.S., 1 88 1, pp. 406, 407. (Macmillan.) Language of the New Testament {A.V.) 127 henna referred to in His previous teaching. The fire being described as prepared for the devil and his angels shows that the word denotes an instrument of destruction.^ Turning to secular writings, we find the same word applied in Homer* to the fire which for a few hours raged in the Grecian fleet ; to the gleam of Hector's helmet ; to glory ; to laughter ; and, most frequently, to shout- ing, f^ " The well-known historian, Eusebius, who wrote in the latter part of the third century and the beginning of the fourth, in recording the martyrdom of four Christians, writes : ' Cronion and Julian were scourged, and afterwards consumed with unquenchahle fire.' And, in another passage : ' Epimachus and Alexander, who had continued for a time in prison enduring innumerable sufferings from the scrapers and scourges, were also destroyed with ' unquenchable fire.' "^ " The everlasting fire, the unquenchable fire, and the fire that shall not be quenched, were coextensive in meaning, and were used interchangeably and in- differently." 4 It appears clear that, at the time when they were spoken by Jesus, the words " unquenchable fire " meant so intense and fierce a fire that, before it died out, it would utterly consume anything submitted to its flames. 'Iliad,' XVI. 123; I- 599; XI. 50; XVI. 267, etc. f See Wetstein, 'Nov. Test.' I, 267. Tormented. ' And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb : ' And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever.' Rev. xiv. 10, II. ^ " Future Retribution," by Rev, C. A. Row, 1889, pp. 26 t- 267. (William Isbister.) 2 " Mercy and Judgment," by Canon F. W. Farrar, D.D., F.R.S., 1 88 1, pp. 406, 407. (Macmillan.) 3 " Ecclesiastical History," b. 6, c. 41, quoted by Rev. T. Davis. * " Endless Suffering not the Doctrine of Scripture," by Rev. T. Davis, 1866, pp. 42-45, edition 1867. (Longmans.) I2i The After Life "No man worthy to be listened to believes that it will be part of the happiness of heaven to witness the sufferings thus awfully represented as inflicted on the worshippers of the Beast and his image. The language is evidently in the highest degree figurative."^ Isa. xxxiv. ' For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year 8- ID. of recompenses for the controversy of Zion. ' And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. ' It shall not be quenched night nor day ; and the smoke thereof shall go up for ever : from generation to generation it shall lie waste ; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.' " Now, here again no one construes literally ; no one supposes that the streams of Idumasa have been turned into pitch, or the dust thereof into brimstone, or the land thereof into burning pitch. No one supposes that flames have been kindled in it that have not been quenched night nor day ; nor that the smoke thereof is going up at this time. " Its real meaning evidently is utter desolation and ruin, or, in a sense, destruction."^ Matt. 34. Tormentors. ' And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tor- mentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.' " This word in the Greek language does not neces- sarily mean one who actually inflicts tortures, but the keeper of a prison, the term being applied to him because he not infrequently acted in the capacity of torturer."^ The words "torment," " torments," "tormentors," and " tormented," in relation to the state after death, only occur in the New Testament, outside of the Revelation of St. John, in the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, and in the First Epistle of St. John. 1 " Endless Suffering not the Doctrine of Scripture," by Rev. T. Davis, i866, pp. 47-49, edition 1867. 2 " Future Retribution," by Rev. C. A. Row, 1889, p. 248. Language of the New Testament [A.V.) 129 There is no reason to suppose that the words " tor- Luke xvi. 23, ment," "torments," or " tormented "* in the parable =1= ^y^\^^ meant any degree of torture ; and torment of the mind anguish, may be understood as the meaning. In the Epistle of St. John, " fear hath torment " has i Johniv. 18. been changed in the Revised Version to " fear hath punishment." In the following passages from the Revelation the words cannot be understood literally, as the book is acknowledged to be full of symbols to which no key has as yet been found : ' And to them it was given that they should not kill them, Rev. ix. 5. but that they should be tormented five months : and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.' ' And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, Rev. xi. 10. and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another ; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.' ' And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud Rev. xiv. 9- voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive 11. his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, ' The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his in- dignation ; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb : ' And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever : and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.' ' And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon Rev. xviii. 2, the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of 7, 15. devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. :)e :fc :{c :{: :Je :>: ' How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. ' The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing.' ' And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake Rev. xx. 10. of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.' Mr. Row has pointed out that " tormentors " does not necessarily mean more than " gaolers." 9 130 The After Life Punishment. Matt. XXV. I jj^g Greek word kolasis occurs only twice in the New I Johniv. 18. 1 Testament. In Matthew it is joined with aionios, and trans- lated " everlasting punishment " ; but in St. John's Epistle the translation "torment" in the Authorized Version is altered in the Revised Version to " punish- ment." Canon Farrar and the Rev. F. N. Oxenham, both in 1881, argued that the word kolasis means, according to Grotius, " that kind of punishment which tends to the improvement of the criminal."^ " The word literally means ' pruning.' We ' prune ' trees to make them better and more fruitful, not in order permanently to destroy them. When, therefore, our Lord used these words, so far from asserting the doctrine of everlasting punishment. He was implicitly denying it, and by His very words reminding us that the punishment of those ' on His left hand ' will not be a hopeless and endless misery, but ' a correction,' inflicted for the express purpose of amending and restoring them."^ Matt. XXV. \ I do not agree with the two authorities I have quoted ^ 46. khat the punishment called here "everlasting* punish- eternai. J ment " means "a correction inflicted for the express purpose of amending and restoring." I believe that that kind of punishment will be in- flicted on sinners in the Intermediate State, but that at the Judgment on the Last Day persistent sinners will be completely cut off, like a branch from a tree, and will no longer exist ; and this is the meaning given to the word kolasis by Liddell and Scott. 1 " Mercy and Judgment," by Canon F. W. Farrar, D.D., F.R.S., 1881, pp. 407-409. (Macmillan.) 2 " What is the Truth as to Everlasting Punishment ?" by Rev. F. N. Oxenham, 1881, pp. 108, 109. (Longmans.) Language of the New Testament {A.V.) 131 Everlasting, Greek "Aionios," as applied to Punishment.* * r,v. eternaL It appears that from very early times attempts have been made to argue that the Greek word aionios only meant " age-long." "St. Augustine sums up the argument as to the mean- ing of the word drawn from the parallelism in a way the weight of which has of late not been felt : * What a thing it is to account eternal punishment to be a fire of long duration, and eternal life to be without end, since Christ comprised both in that very same place, in one and the same sentence, saying, " These shall go Matt, x into eternal punishment, but the righteous into life "^ ' eternal." If both are eternal, either both must be understood to be lasting with an end, or both per- petual without end. " For like is related to like ; on the one side, eternal punishment, on the other, eternal life. But to say in one and the same sentence, life eternal shall be without end, punishment eternal shall have an end, were too absurd : whence, since the eternal life of the saints shall be without end, punishment eternal shall doubtless have no end to those whose it shall be."i The Archbishop of Canterbury issued an authorita- tive ruling on the point in a pastoral letter dated March 14, 1864 : " I am sure you will beware of giving any other inter- pretation to the word ' everlasting ' in the passages of our formularies which relate to the punishment of the lost, than that of ' eternal ' in the sense of ' never- ending.' For, whatever be the meaning of the word in these passages in the case of the lost, the same must be its meaning in the case of the saved ; and 1 " What is of Faith, as to Everlasting Punishment," by Rev. E. B. Pusey, D.D., 1880, p. 44. 9—2 Matt. 132 The After Life our certainty of never-ending bliss for penitent believers is gone if the word bears not the same signification in the case of the impenitent and unbelieving. "^ The Rev. J. W. Haley, ^ in 1881, and Bishop J. C. Ryle, D.D.,2 in 1883, wrote to the same effect. What I have already written seems to place the old argument that aionios, when applied to punishment, should be translated " age-long," quite out of court. Some authorities,* however, while admitting that sinners will be eternally lost, deny that they will be kept eternally in woe ; and they say " that whilst the believer's living joy is endless, the unbeliever's death and extinction is endless."^ R,v. The words " everlasting punishment "* are not found eternal. anywhere in the Bible except in the following passage : "att. XXV. \ 46. ' And these shall go away into everlastingf punishment ; but f R.V. I the righteous into life eternal.' As is so often the case in quoting passages of Scrip- ture, the mistake has always been made of quoting the above passage apart from the context. In this case it is clear that the actual sentence was recorded in verse 41 : Matt. XXV. ' Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart 4j^ from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.' ^ " Endless Suffering not the Doctrine of Scripture," by Rev. T. Davis, 1866, p. 50. Edition 1867. (Longmans.) 2 " Supplicium Sternum," by Rev. J. W. Haley, 1881, PP- 5> 6. 3 " Thoughts on Immortality," by Bishop J. C. Ryle, D.D., 1883, pp. 75, 76. (C. J. Thynne.) * " Lectures on Future Punishment," by Rev. H. H. Dobney, 1844, pp. 76-79. (T. Ward and Co.) "Endless Suffering not the Doctrine of Scripture," by Rev. T. Davis, 1866. (Longmans.) " Mercy and Judgment," by Canon F. W. Farrar, D.D., F.R.S., 1881, p. 14. (Macmillan.) " Future Retribution," by Rev. C. A. Row, 1889, p. 416. (William Isbister.) The Bible Standard of September, 1887. " Punishment for Sin : is it Eternal ?" by H. S. Solly, 1893, p. 156. ^ " Thoughts on Everlasting Death," by Rev. W. R. Tom- linson, 1888, p. 29. (Digby, Long.) eternal. Language of the New Testament (A.V.) 133 I have already explained that " everlasting " or " un- quenchable" fire did not mean endless life in never- ending torments, and I am satisfied that St. Paul gave the true explanation of this much-debated passage when he told the Thessalonians that sinners " shall be 2 Thess. i. 9. punished with everlasting* destruction from the pre- * R.V- sence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power." I beheve that at the Judgment on the Last Day persistent sinners will be sentenced to some over- whelming destruction, and that they will be blotted out entirely, and cease to exist. The Unpardonable Sin. There is no question here of the translation, but the passage is certainly a " difficulty »" and I was told once that suicide was the sin referred to. St. Matthew having been himself present at the /Matt. xii. 31, time and heard what Tesus said, his record is more L.^^/ ... - Mark in. 28 probably correct than that of St. Mark, who wrote 1 29. ' what he remembered of a sermon preached by St. Peter. vLuke xii. 10. The authorities I have consulted are generally agreed that the sin in question consists in imputing to devilish magic the miracles which Jesus wrought by the power of the Holy Ghost. ^ The Rev. C. F. Aked, however, says, " the sin itself consists in a persistent, deliberate rejection of the truth, which is known to be truth ; a persistent, deliberate choice of the falsity which is known to be a falsity. "^ ^ " Life in Christ," by Rev, Edward White. 1846, p. 434. (Elliot Stock.) " Notes on the New Testament," by John Wesley, 1703- 1791. " Commentary on the New Testament," by Dr. Morison. " Purgatory," by Rev. M. Canty, P.P., 1886, pp. 16, 17. "Future Retribution," by Rev. C. A. Row, 1889, p. 255. (William Isbister.) " New Testament Commentary," edited by Bishop C. J. Ellicott, D.D., 1905. (Cassell and Co.) 2 " Eternal Punishment," by Rev. C. F. Aked, 1892, p. 29. (James Clarke and Co.) 134 The After Life Eph. ii. 7. Matt, xii 31. 32. Mark iii. 28,- 29. Ii Luke xii. 4,:--.: 10. The Rev. A. Jukes has been followed by some writers in his argument that " the text says nothing of those ' ages to come,' elsewhere revealed to us ; much less does it assert that the punishment of sin not here forgiven is never ending. . . . When there- fore we remember how our Lord has taught us to forgive, ' not until seven times, but until seventy times seven ' ; and when we see the length and breadth of this commandment, that it is bidding us to forgive as God forgives ... we may be pardoned for believing that the threatening, ' It shall not be forgiven, neither in this age, nor in the coming age,' does not measure or exhaust the possibilities of God's forgiveness."^ ' Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men : but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. ' And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him : but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.' " The meaning of this mysterious text is not that there is an absolutely unpardonable sin, involving everlasting torments, which is a common misinter- pretation of it ; but that the radical spiritual perversion involved in, not only resisting, but blaspheming the Holy Spirit, has no forgiveness provided for it, either in the present or the future aeon, either under the Law or under the Gospel. "^ 1 " The Second Death, and the Restitution of all Things," by Rev. A. Jukes, 1869, pp. 113, 114. (Longmans.) 2 "Texts Explained," by Dean F. W. Farrar, D.D., F.R.S., 1899, p. 22. (Longmans.) CHAPTER VII THE PRESENT DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH OF ROME CHAPTER VII The Present Doctrine of the Church of Rome. The doctrine of the Church of Rome, at the present day, regarding Purgatory is said to be founded " on the authority of the Church and her Apostohc Tradi- tions, recorded in ancient Liturgies," and by many of the ancient Fathers.^ The Church has given no definition as to the locaUty of Purgatory, or the nature of the sufferings undergone therein.^ The Church has confirmed the behef in Purgatory from the following passages in Holy Scripture :^ ' Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in Matt. v. 25, the way with him ; lest at any time the adversary deliver 26. thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. ' Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.' ' Wherefore I say unto you. All manner of sin and blasphemy Matt. xii. 31, shall be forgiven unto men : but the blasphemy against the 32. Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. ' And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him : but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.' ' And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon Matt.xvi. 18, this rock I will build My Church ; and the gates of hell* shall 19. not prevail against it. * R.V. ' And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of Hades, heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.' ^ " Catholic Belief," by the very Rev. J, Faa di Bruno, D.D., 1884, p. 186. (Burns and Gates, Limited.) 2 Ibid., p. 185. 3 Ibid., p. i87. 137 The After Life Matt. xvi. 27. I Cor. iii. 11- 15- I Cor. xiii. 8. * R.V. love. Jas. V. 16. I Pet. iii. 19. ' For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels ; and then He shall reward every man accord- ing to his works.' ' For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ' Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble ; ' Every man's work shall be made manifest : for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire ; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. ' If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. ' If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss : but he himself shall be saved ; yet so as by fire.' ' Charity* never faileth : but whether theve he prophecies, they shall fail ; whether theve he tongues, they shall cease ; whether there he knowledge, it shall vanish away.' ' Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.' ' By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison.' The Church teaches that sin may be divided into Original, and Actual or Personal sin ; and the latter is again divided into Mortal, and Venial sin.^ " Original sin is that sin which our human nature has committed with the will of Adam, in whom all our human nature was included."^ " Of the original sin in which we are born we are not personally guilty with our own personal will, but our nature is guilty of it by the will of Adam, our head, with whom we form one moral body through the human nature which we derive from him."^ Mortal sin is the " sin unto death," and Venial sin is the " sin which is not to death."-* " When death comes the final doom of every one is fixed, and there is no more possibility of changing it."^ Eccles. xi. 3. ' And if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree faileth, there it shall be.' The south and the north are explained as meaning Heaven and Hell, and it is taught that " at death ^ " Catholic Belief," by the very Rev. J. Faa di Bruno, D.D., 1884, p. 59. (Burns and Oates, Limited.) 2 Ibid., p. 4. ^ Ibid., pp. 4, 5. ^ Ibid., p. 60. ^ Ibid., p. 189. Original sin. Rom. v. 12. Personal sin. I John V. 16. Final judg- ment at death. Present Doctrine of the Church of Rome 1 39 either heaven or hell is allotted to every man, Purgatory being only a passage to heaven. So, too, the just ones of the Old Law, though sure of heaven, yet had to wait in some middle state, until after the Ascension of Jesus Christ."^ If a man dies with the guilt of Mortal sin unremitted, Mortal sin. his soul is at once thrown into the " everlasting fire, Matt. xxv. which was prepared for the devil and his angels. "^ '^^' If a man " dies after the guilt and everlasting punish- ment of mortal sin have been forgiven him, but who, either from want of opportunity or through his negli- gence, has not discharged the debt of temporal punish- ment due to his sin," his soul "will have to discharge that debt to the justice of God in Purgatory."^ " If he dies guilty of only Venial sin, his soul does Venial sin. not ' immediately enter Heaven, where nothing defiled ' can enter, but goes first to Purgatory for an allotted time, and after being purified there from the stain of these venial or lesser faults, is then admitted into Heaven."^ " Souls who die perfectly in the Lord ; that is, Spirits free entirely free from every kind of sin, even venial, gi^. and from the stain, the guilt, and the debt of temporal punishment of every sin, . . . have no pain to suffer in Purgatory, as is the case also with the Martyrs and Saints who die in a perfect state of grace. "^ I feel sure that the Romish doctrine concerning Purgatory is not generally understood, and therefore I call special attention to the teaching that, first, " when death comes the final doom of everyone is fixed, and there is no more possibility of changing it " ;^ and, second, " at death either heaven or hell is allotted to every man, Purgatory being only a passage to heaven.""^ 1 " Catholic Belief," by the Very Rev. J. Faa Di Bruno, D.D., 1884, p. 189. (Burns and Gates, Limited.) 2 Ibid., p. 65. 3 75^-^.^ p, 185. * Ibid. 5 Ibid., pp. 188, 189. 6 lud., p. 189. 7 ji)ici. CHAPTER VIII I.— THE TEACHING OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH. II.— SHEOL, HADES, TARTARUS, PARADISE. III.— HADES IS DIVIDED INTO MANY SPHERES, BOTH FOR THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED. IV.— IN THE INTERMEDIATE STATE SPIRITS REMAIN CONSCIOUS, RETAIN THE MEMORY OF THE LIFE ON EARTH, AND ARE SENSIBLE TO PAIN AND PLEASURE. v.— IN THE INTERMEDIATE STATE THE SINNER, WHO IS WILLING TO BE SAVED, IS GIVEN EVERY OPPORTUNITY OF BECOMING PURIFIED, AND GRADUALLY MADE PERFECT. VI.— THERE IS PREACHING AFTER DEATH IN HADES. VII.— EVERY SPIRIT HAS TO REMAIN IN THE INTER- MEDIATE STATE UNTIL THE SECOND ADVENT OF JESUS, OR THE RESURRECTION ON THE LAST DAY, BUT THE CONDITION OF THE FAITHFUL, AND OF ALL THE SAINTS, IS ONE OF PEACE AND HAPPINESS. CHAPTER VIII I. — The Teaching of the Anglican Church. The Anglican Church teaches :^ 1. That man consists of spirit, soul, and body, and i Thess. v. that, on the death of the body, the spirit and soul ^^' enter a spirit-body.^ 2. That Hades or, as it is now more generally called. Many the Intermediate State is divided into many spheres, Hades^ both of happiness and of misery, and the sphere in which each Spirit finds its own place by spiritual attraction depends on the life the man has lived on earth ; and it has been held that retribution commences i Cor. iii. 13. immediately. 3. That every Spirit will remain conscious, will Spirits retain the memory of the life on earth, and will be ccms^\ous. sensible to pain and pleasure. 4. That the sinner who is willing to be saved is given Purification every opportunity of becoming purified, and gradually possib e. made perfect. 5. That there is preaching and ministration in the Intermediate State. The Rev. A. Chambers^ urges that there must be this preaching of the Gospel in the Intermediate State, ^ " An Explanation of the XXXIX. Articles," by Bishop A. P. Forbes, 1867. (James Parker.) 2 "The Tripartite Nature of Man," by Rev. J. B. Heard, 1866. (T. and T. Clark, Edinburgh.) "After Death," by Canon H. M. Luckock, D.D., 1879. (Longmans.) 3 " Our Life After Death," by Rev. A. Chambers, 1894. (Charles Taylor.) 143 144 The After Life because many millions have left this earth-life with- out ever having heard the Gospel, and there is an express promise that no member of the human race is excluded from God's offer of salvation. Remain in Finally, the Church teaches that every Spirit has Last Day ^^ remain in the Intermediate State until the second Advent of Jesus, or the Resurrection on the Last Day, but the condition of the Faithful, and of all the Saints, is one of peace and happiness. Difference Tho, following is, I believe, a fair statement of the the Angii- difference between the teaching of the Anglican Church can and regarding the Intermediate State, and the doctrine of Church ^h® Church of Rome about Purgatory : teaching. The Anglican Church teaches that there is no final judgment immediately after death, but that the Spirits of the Faithful and of the Wicked all go to Hades, which is divided into many Spheres, and they are all given every opportunity of becoming purified, and gradually made perfect. I Tim. vi. 1 6. No Spirit, although perfect, is translated to Heaven Acts ii. 34. before the Judgment Day, and even " David is not ascended into the heavens." The Church of Rome teaches that Christians are judged immediately after death, and those who have their mortal sins unremitted are cast at once into the Matt. XXV. " everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels."^ Christians, who have had the guilt and everlasting- punishment of mortal sin forgiven, and Christians, with the guilt of venial sins only, are cast into Purgatory, and, after being purified, they are admitted into Heaven, without waiting till the Day of Judg- ment. The Church of Rome farther, under the authority of the following passage, claims the power of regulating the period of purification in Purgatory : 1 " CathoUc Belief," by the Very Rev. J. Fak Di Bruno, D.D., 1884. (Burns and Oates, Limited.) 41. The Teaching of the Anglican Church 145 ' And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon Matt. xvi. i5 this rock I will build My Church ; and the gates of hell* shall 19. not prevail against it. * R.V. ' And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of Hades, heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.' II.' — Sheol, Hades, Tartarus, Paradise. " The Intermediate State is one of those lost truths of the Bible which it is to the credit of our age to have rediscovered and restored to its right importance. "^ Kades. Under the teaching of Jesus and His Apostles I have given (Chapters II. and III.) the four passages from the Gospels in which Hades was mentioned by Jesus, and the two passages from the Acts, and the four from the Revelation of St. John, in which it was referred to by the Apostles ; and I have explained (Chapter VI.) how the word was abandoned for the word " Helle," to which a strange and terrible meaning was attached. Sheol. This has already been fully explained (Chapter I.). Tartarus. This word is only used once in the Bible, and it clearly refers to an intermediate state : I 2 Pet. ii. 4. ' For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them I * R.V. down to hell,* and delivered them into chains of darkness, -i Tartarus, to be reserved unto judgment.' Compare I. Jude vi. 1 It may, perhaps, be here noted that, while the word " Sheol " is Hebrew ; and " Hades " and " Paradise " are Greek ; " Tartarus " is Latin. ^ "The Tripartite Nature of Man," by Rev. J, B. Heard, 1866. (T. and T. Clark.) 10 146 The After Life Paradise. •" Paradise, Greek Paradeisos, is a word of Persian origin, and signifies a park or pleasure-grounds. The Greek translators quite naturally gave -paradise as the Gen. ii. 8. equivalent of garden in : ' The Lord God planted a •• A.nt " I i. paradise in Eden '; in which they were followed by sec. 3. Josephus."^ " The orthodox Jews were accustomed to speak of the abode in Hades, where the souls of the righteous awaited the resurrection, as Abraham's bosom, Gan Eden, and Paradise. "^ St. John, in his Revelation, wrote of the same place or state as " under the altar," and this has become a Christian expression, which means much the same as the " Throne of God " did to a Jew. Ps. xvi. 10. " David foretold that Christ's human spirit should go to Hades at His death ; and, seeing that Jesus told Luke xxiii. the thief on the cross, ' To-day shalt thou be with Me 43- in paradise,' it follows that ' paradise ' is a sphere of ' hades.' "^ The word " Paradise " is only found in two other passages in the New Testament : In one, St. Paul says 2 Cor. xii. 4. he was caught up into Paradise, which was evidently a sphere of the Intermediate State, and he heard un- speakable words, and this proves that the Spirits were conscious. Rev. 11. 7. ^ jYie other passage is in the Apocalypse, which is a or "gar- -book of symbols to which no key has been found, and den," as m J Qffgj- j-^q comment on it. Gen. 11. 8. .' Meaning of The word " Hades " means " not seen," and it is Hades. ^j^g ^^^^^ equivalent of the Hebrew word, " Sheol." 1 " Salvation Beyond Death," by Rev. G. W. Hunt, 1900, p. 104. (A. R, Mowbrav.) 2 " The Soul in the Unseen World," by Rev. G. W. Hunt, 1 90 1, p. 155. (A. R. Mowbray.) 3 "The Souls of the Righteous," by Rev. W. R. Savage, 1 88 1, p. 58. (Chapman and Hall.) The Teaching of the Anglican Church 147 Before the Advent of Jesus, it meant " that vast subterranean kingdom, that dim shadow-world, into which the spirits of all men, good and bad alike, were held to pass at death. "^ " Both the Eastern and Western nations of anti- quity " — including the Jews — " assumed the earth to be a vast plain, floating through space as a broad leaf floats through air, the upper side of which, illumined by the sun, was reserved for the living, while the spirits of the dead were condemned to the dark under- surface. . . ."^ " All the best ancient writers, Greek and Roman, Jewish and Christian, speak of their noblest men as dwelling in Hades, and looking with solemn expecta- tion and sustaining hope for the dawn of some great day of deliverance."^ It is, I think, generally held that we are not told the Locality of locality of the Intermediate State. It is true that Jesus appeared to uphold the idea of the Jews when He said : Hades. ' As Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's Matt. xii. 40. belly ; so shall the Son of man be three da^ys and three nights in the heart of the earth.' It is clear, however, that the reference to Jonah was made to foretell the resurrection of Jesus, and not to teach the locality of Hades, and it has been thought that the spirits of the departed may be in the air, some close to the earth, and others in the enormous expanse of ether, beyond. In the second chapter I have collected all the Summing up passages in the Gospels which contain the teaching of teaching Jesus about Hades, and I will now only refer to some of Jesus of the most important ; at the same time I call atten- tion to the numerous passages which teach that the love of God for fallen man is unlimited, and particu- larly to the Parables of the Lost Sheep, and the Piece of Money ; and complete forgiveness is promised to every ^ " Salvator Mundi," by Rev. Samuel Cox, 1877, pp. 61, 62. (Kegan Paul, Trench and Co.) 10 — 2 about Hades. 148 The After Life sinner who repents, even after he has suffered the first death. I. During the first visit of Jesus to Jerusalem after His baptism, in the course of the wonderful conversa- John iii. 13. tion with Nicodemus, He said " no man hath ascended up to heaven," and therefore it follows that there must be an Intermediate State. John iii. 14, 2. On the same occasion. He promised that " who- ^^* soever belie veth " in the Son of man should " have eternal life." Now it is certain that many millions have never had a chance on this earth of believing in, or even hearing of, Him, and therefore there must be teaching in the Intermediate State, and a second probation. 3. In the Sermon on the Mount, preached during the second tour in Galilee, Jesus said : Matt. V. 26. "^ ' Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out Luke xii. 59. jthence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.' This passage is generally held to be a reference to Hades, and the teaching clearly is that recovery from the unhappy sphere of Hades is most difficult, but not impossible. 4. It was in the same sermon that Jesus spoke the Matt. vii. 13- passage commencing, " Enter ye in at the strait gate," and Bishop EUicott's "Commentary" says: "The short span of this life is not necessarily the whole of the discipline of a soul made for eternity." 5. During His second visit to Jerusalem, Jesus said to the Jews : John V. 25. ' The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God : and they that hear shall live.' And again : John V. 28. ' All that are in the graves shall hear His voice.' This clearly teaches that spirits in the Intermediate State are conscious, and may still obtain pardon there. 6. During the third tour in Galilee, Jesus taught The Teaching of the Anglican Church 149 that the sin of speaking against the Holy Ghost was /Matt. xii. 31, unpardonable either in this world or in the world toL.^^,' ••• o ^ 'Mark in. 28, 29. Luke xii. 10. ,1 John V. 16. come, that is to say, in the Intermediate State, and the natural inference is that all other sins can be for- given there, after sincere repentance. 7. Shortly after this, Jesus spoke the Parable of the Wise Steward, in which He used the well-known words : ' And that servant, which knew his lord's will and prepared Luke xii. 47, not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten 48. with many stripes. ' But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whom- soever much is given, of him shall be much required : and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.' This clearly points to different spheres in the un- happy part of Hades. 8. The Transfiguration took place after Jesus had /Matt. xvii. i- visited " the coasts of Csesarea Philippi," between the Ij^^^j^ -^ third and fourth tours in Galilee, and it clearly showed Luke ix. 30- that Moses and Elias* were alive and conscious, and, ^ ^^' * R.V. according to Luke, aware of the " decease which He Elijah. (Jesus) should accomplish at Jerusalem." 9. During the fourth tour in Galilee, Jesus spoke the parable of the talents which He concluded with the words : ' And his lord was worth, and delivered him to the tor- Matt, xviii. mentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.' 34, It has been held that the teaching here is the same as in the Sermon on the Mount, namely, that recovery Matt. v. 26. from the unhappy sphere of Hades is most difficult but not impossible. 10. Afterwards, in Capernaum, Jesus, knowing that the disciples had been disputing among themselves who should be the greatest, spoke the words which" have been so much misunderstood about cutting off a hand or a foot, or plucking out an eye, that offended (see Chapter VI., Gehenna), and He added : ' For every one shall be salted with fire.' Mark ix. 49 'Matt, xviii. 1-14. Mark ix. 33- 50. Luke ix. 46, I50 The After Life It is generally held that this fire represents purifica- tion and cleansing in the Intermediate State. II. During the third visit to Jerusalem, Jesus was teaching the people in the Temple, and He said : John viii. 56. ' Your father Abraham, rejoiced to see my day : and he saw it, and was glad.' This can only mean that Abraham was alive and conscious in Hades, and aware of what was happening on earth. Lukexvi. 19- 12. During the fourth, and last, journey to Jerusa- ^^' lem, Jesus told His disciples the well-known Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, and I refuse to accept the teaching that the parable " may be taken to represent the cutting off of the Jews." The parable could not have been told in simpler language, and, considering that all the disciples already believed in Sheol or Hades, no unprejudiced person can doubt that Jesus intended to sanction the current belief. If we bear in mind that the parable was spoken while Jesus was travelling to His death in Jerusalem, I think it must be understood that He deliberately summed up in it all His previous teaching on the subject of Hades. The teaching clearly is that Hades is divided into a Paradise for the righteous, and a place of anguish for the wicked, and that all spirits remain conscious, retain the memory of the life on earth, and are sensible to pain and pleasure. 13. Among the events recorded as having taken place in Jerusalem and its neighbourhood, while waiting for the last Passover, is the visit to the house of Zacchseus, in Jericho. Lukexix. 12- It was here that Jesus spoke the Parable of the '^'^' Pounds, and it is held that the teaching in the words, " Have thou authority over ten cities," is the same Matt. xxiv. as in the words, " He shall make him ruler," in the 47- The Teaching of the Anglican Church 151 Parable of the Faithful and Wise Servant, and as in Matt. xxv. the Parable of the talents. I note that the two last-mentioned parables were spoken by Jesus to His disciples, on the Mount of Olives, after they had come to Him, saying : 'Tell us, when shall these things be ? and what shall be Matt.xxiv. 3. the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world ?' It is very important to lay stress on the teaching of these three parables, which is that those who have been doing God's work on earth will find a new sphere of usefulness in Hades in bringing sinners to repent- ance. 14. After the visit to Zacchseus, Jesus "put to,'^^^"- ''''"• . 29-34. silence " " the Sadducees, which say that there is noJMarkxii. 24- resurrection," and He taught them that Abraham, L y- ° 1 Luke XX. 27- Isaac, and Jacob are still alive, and God is still their v 38. God. 15. In Mark, we find the teaching that there are Mark xii. 40. different spheres in the unhappy part of Hades in the words, f * R.V. con- ' These shall receive greater damnation.'* \ demna- [ tion. 16. In the terrible description of the Final Tudg- JO ry[^\^ xxv. ment on the Last Day, which was also spoken on the 31-46. Mount of Olives, we find the Spirits who are to bel See Matt. vii. judged depicted as conscious, and retaining the ^ memory of their life on earth. 17. In the metaphor of the vine and the branches, John xv. 1-6. which was spoken by Jesus during the last Passover supper, it is clearly taught that the purging, i.e., the pruning and training of the human beings who are represented as the branches, as Jesus Himself is the vine, is carried on from this life on earth, through the life in Hades, until the day of final judgment. 18. Among the last words He spoke with His human Luke xxiii. earthly body, Jesus said, " Verily I say unto thee, ^'^' To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise," and so taught that spirits do not ascend straight to heaven, 152 The After Life but that the righteous go to the happy sphere of Hades called Paradise. 19. The first words Jesus spoke with His resurrec- tion body were : John XX. 17. « Touch Me not ; for I am not yet ascended to My Father.' 20. We have also the teaching of Jesus that all Spirits remain in Hades until the Last Day : John iii. 13. ' And no man hath ascended up to heaven.' Matt. xi. 27.1 , ^., . , , Luke X. 22. ( Neither knoweth any man the Father.' John vi. 46. ' Not that any man hath seen the Father.' 21. And John the Baptist said : John i. 18. ' No man hath seen God at any time.' The Apostles The Apostles continued the teaching of Jesus about the teach Hades, but, as I have explained in the third chapter, ing of they undoubtedly expected the speedy return of Jesus, Jesus. g^j-^^ therefore the state after death had not the same importance to them as it has to us. Acts i. 25. I. We read that Judas went "to his own place," which shows that there are different spheres in the unhappy part of Hades. ... ^ 2. We are told that " the promise " included " all Acts iii. 25, [that are afar off," and therefore there must be teach- ^^•... ling and a possibility of purification in Hades, as many millions have died without ever hearing the name of Jesus. 3. Another passage suggests a hope as to the possi- bilities of repentance and conversion in Hades : Acts iii. 19- ' Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins 21. may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord ; ' And He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you : ' Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitu- * R.V. re- tion* of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of storation. ^^ His holy prophets since the world began.' Rom. xiv. 9. 4. St. Paul told the Romans that Christ was " Lord both of the dead and living," and this teaches that there is consciousness in Hades. The Teaching of the Anglican Chttrch 153 ■ 5. In the wonderful passage about the resurrection iCor.xv. 35- body, St. Paul clearly intimated to the Corinthians 5°" that all Spirits remain waiting somewhere till the second Advent of Jesus, or the Last Day ; and he proceeded to i Cor. xv. 52. say that "the dead shall be raised.^'' 6. In his Second Epistle, St. Paul certainly implies 2 Cor. v. 6-8. that Spirits remain conscious after death, because he says he is " willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." 7. Again, St. Paul taught that there are different spheres in Hades, in the words : ' He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly ; and 2 Cor. ix. 6. he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.' 8. In the account of his vision of Paradise, St. Paul 2 Cor. xn. i- certainly taught that Spirits are conscious, and are able to converse. 9. St. Paul also told the Galatians and the Ephesians Gal. vi. 7, 8. that there are different spheres in Hades. P • vi. - . 10. To the Philippians, St. Paul repeated what he Phil. i. 21-24. had written to the Corinthians, and expressed his longing to be with Christ, which forces upon us the conclusion that there is conscious fellowship in Paradise. 11. He again taught that there was this conscious- Phil. ii. 10. ness of all spirits by writing that " things under the earth " should bow " at the name of Jesus." 12. St. Paul explained that life continues in Hades i Thess. v. by the words, " whether we wake or sleep, we should ^°' live together with him." 13. The Hebrews were assured that those who died Heb. xi. 40. were not made perfect until the Last Day ; and that Heb. xii. 5- " chastening " continues in Hades. 14. There are also numerous passages in the Epistles and in Revelation which teach that all Spirits — even since the resurrection of Jesus — remain in Hades until the last day, and even " David is not ascended into Acts ii. 34. the heavens." 154 The After Life Apostolic teaching in Rome, Acts x: IS- Rev. XX. 2 Cor. V. 10. / Teaching of the ancient Church. Regarding those who died in grace. Considering that there has been an unbroken suc- cession of Popes in Rome since the first Bishop was appointed in the middle of the first century after Christ, it is most probable that the original Apostolic teaching is to be found in the doctrine of that Church, however covered over and concealed it may be by subsequent innovations. I accept the teaching of Rome that there is an Intermediate State, and that Spirits are there purged of their sins by some form of suffering. We are, however, distinctly taught that there will .be a resurrection both of the just and unjust, and that all the dead must appear before the " great white throne " of God, and I therefore find it impossible to believe that those who die with the guilt of mortal sin unremitted are at once thrown into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels, or that some Spirits, after being purified, are translated to heaven, before the Resurrection on the Last Day. " The ancient Church, East and West, divided the unseen realm into three states. (i) The highest heaven, where God is seen in unclouded majesty. Into this disembodied spirits do not enter ; they must wait to be ' clothed upon ' with the spiritual body. (2) Hades, which was divided into a place of torment, as in the case of Dives, and into Paradise, as in the case of Lazarus. (3) Gehenna. " Into Paradise passed all souls who died in grace, but in every degree of ethical and spiritual develop- ment, from the brand snatched from the burning to the mature saint ; each going to his own place — to the mansion prepared for his special need. In this inter- mediate state there was progress for all, and visita- tion of angels, and such measure of the Divine glory as was suited to the capacity of each."^ " So strongly did the Church of the first ages recog- 1 " Life Here and Hereafter," by Canon M. MacColl, 1894, second edition, 1 896, Preface, xxv, xxvi and p. 92. (Longmans. ) The Teaching of the Anglican Church 155 nize the need of preparation in the intermediate state for admission into heaven, that it regarded martyrs, and even the Blessed Virgin, as still in Hades with the rest of the faithful departed, and, with them, fit sub- jects for the prayers of the Church on earth. "^ Canon Farrar wrote that the Reformers rejected the Reformers Roman doctrine of Purgatory " because it was con- Roman nected in their minds with the deplorable but para- doctrine.- sitic abuses of indulgences, pardons, works of superero- gation, purchasable Masses for the dead, and all the sixteenth-century devices of Tetzel and Leo X. " It was a deep misfortune to the Church that, while rejecting Purgatory, the Reformers did not distinguish it from the widespread, ancient, reasonable, and, I had almost said, necessary, belief in some condition in which — by what means we know not, whether by the 'poena senstts or only the pozna damni — imperfect souls who die in a state unfit for heaven may yet have per- fected in them until the day of Christ, that good work of God which has been in this world begun. There are few great theologians, whether of pre-Reformation or of modern times, who have not used language which, consciously or unconsciously, favours such a view as this."^ It is argued that there must be an Intermediate Arguments State between death and the Last Judgment because, ^JJ the^°^ as Dr. Van Ulrich Maywahlen observes, " the strongest belief. mind of man would not he able to bear the sudden transition from this vale of tears to the presence of the throne of God."^ Again, as Johann August Dorner pointed out, " not merely would nothing of essential importance remain for the judgment if everyone entered the place of his ^ " Life Here and Hereafter," by Canon M. MacCoU, D.D.. 1894, second edition, 1896, p. 92. (Longmans.) 2 " Eternal Hope," by Canon F. W. Farrar, D.D., F.R.S., 1878, p. 26. (Macmillan.) 3 " Life in the Invisible," Anonymous, 1875, P- 44- (Elliot Stock.) 156 The After Life eternal destiny after death, but in that case also no space would be left for a progress of believers, who are not sinless at the moment of death. "^ Again, it cannot be supposed that if the spirit of Lazarus, whom He loved, had been translated to heaven, Jesus would have recalled him from thence to take up his life again on earth. Bishop Bull Bishop Bull, of St. David's (a.d. 1634-1710), in a Inter- sermon concerning the middle state of Happiness or mediate Misery, between Death and the Resurrection, said : " Now I do affirm the consentient and constant Doc- trine of the Primitive Church to be this, That the Souls of all the Faithful, immediately after death, enter into a Place or State of Bliss, far exceeding all the Felicities of this World, tho' short of that most consummate perfect Beatitude of the Kingdom of Heaven, with which they are to be crowned and rewarded in the Resurrection : And so, on the con- trary, that the Souls of all the Wicked are, presently after Death, in a State of very great Misery, and yet dreading a far greater Misery at the Day of Judg- ment."2 Only taught It is, however, only during the last forty years that openly ^^^ appreciable number of the Anglican clergy have forty openly taught this doctrine. years. jj^g authorities I have consulted teach that all spirits — good and bad — go at death to Hades, or the Intermediate State, where each finds the Sphere which is suited to its development, and goes to " its own place," as the present Bishop of London teaches in a paper to working men, entitled " Five Minutes after Death." Jesus the Dr. Pope, in 1875, wrote : " It is, however, made Lord of all certain that the Intermediate State is under the the dead. 1 " Man's Immortality and Destiny," by Rev. R. P. Downes, LL.D., 1903. (Smith's Publishing Company.) 2 "An Inquiry into the Scripture Doctrine concerning the Duration of Future Punishment," by Rev. M. Horbery, D.D., 1744. (Wesleyan Conference Office, reprinted.) The Teaching of the Anglican Church 157 special control of the Redeemer as the Lord of all the dead who have ever passed from the world ; that those who have departed in unbelief are in a condition of imprisonment waiting for the final judgment, while those who have died in the faith are in Paradise, or rather with Christ, waiting for their consummation ; and that the universal resurrection will put an end both to death, and to the state of the disembodied dead."^ , In America, It may be unknown to some that in America, the belief is belief in an Intermediate State is not confined to^ ^ned to members of the Anglican, Roman, and Greek Churches. the older Churches. The Rev. C. H. Fowler, D.D., Bishop of the Metho- Rev. c. H. dist Episcopal Church, said : fss^^^'^' " The teaching of the Bible on this subject, as we understand it, is substantially this, namely, at death the soul is separated from the body and enters into Hades, the receptacle of disembodied spirits, whether good or bad. Hades contains both classes. The good are in the Paradise of Hades, or in Abraham's bosom, and the bad are in Hades, or the Tartarus of Hades. After the experiments of probation are finished with the human race, and time is ended, comes the resur- rection of the dead, when all spirits shall be called out of Hades, and all bodies out of the grave (the sea and the earth give up their dead), and these spirits and bodies, being reunited, shall be judged at the general judgment, according to the deeds done in the body. " After this judgment, the righteous, with their resurrection bodies, are received into heaven, the final and eternal home of the blessed, and the wicked are cast into Gehenna or Hell, into everlasting punishment. " Hades ceases at the judgment. Heaven and Gehenna begin after the judgment. "^ ^ "A Compendium of Christian Theology," by Rev. W. B. Pope, D.D., 1875, p. 376. (C. H. Kelly.) 2 Quoted in " That Unknown Country ; or, What Living Men believe concerning Punishment after Death," 1889, Anonymous, p. 304. (C. A. Nichols, Mass., U.S.A.) 158 The After Life Rev. Augustus Schultze. Luke xvi. 24. The judg- ment after death is not the final judg- ment. Heb. ix. 27. * R.V. Cometh judg- ment. Canon H. M. Luckock. The Rev. Augustus Schultze, President of the Moravian Theological Seminary, Bethlehem, Pa., U.S.A., taught : " We conclude, therefore, that there is an inter- mediate state between the death of the body and the resurrection day. To the believer the intermediate state cannot be a state of unconsciousness, although it is sometimes termed a sleep. ... To him who has lived a life of sin, the entrance into the spirit world must bring a painful sense of want, a feeling of misery and anguish, as illustrated by the outcry of the rich man in the parable, ' I am tormented in this flame.' "^ This "is a passage which seems at first sight to support the view of those who deny the Intermediate State. " ' And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the* judgment.' Jesus sanc- tioned the current behef. In the original Greek the definite article is wanting and the absence of it is very significant, for it is invariably prefixed to the noun in all the passages where that judgment is clearly spoken of, which is to decide finally the eternal destiny. What the author of the Epistle teaches is, that death is immediately followed by a judgment or crisis ; but it can only be that by which the place of the soul is determined in Hades or the Intermediate State. "^ The Rev. H. E. Hutton, in 1898, farther pointed out that, " Our Lord must have been familiar with the teaching of an Intermediate State of punishment, since it was the common belief of Israel, and was officially sanctioned by the use of prayers and sacrifices ^- Quoted in " That Unknown Country ; or, "What Living iVIen beheve concerning Punishment after Death," 1889, Anonymous, p. 793. (C. A. Nichols, Mass., U.S.A.) 2 " The Intermediate State," by Canon H. M. Luckock, 1890, p. 22. (Longmans.) The Teaching of the Anglican Chii7'ch 159 for the dead in the Temple services, and by prayers used in the Synagogues, and at other times. " Our Lord by no means passed over corrupt tradi- tions of His people. His language on fasting, prayer. and almsgiving, severely censured popular abuses. His reference to other corruptions, such as the ' corban,' the buying and selling in the temple, and the ' washing ' of vessels, leaves us in no doubt whatever that our Lord condemned what He did not approve in the traditions of Israel, It is, then, remarkable that we have not a word of censure for the tradition that some sins are only temporarily punished in the world to come. But this is not all. To the Jewish people our Lord's words, on more than one occasion, must have been a strong confirmation of their belief. When He spoke of a prison whence none should go out until the uttermost farthing had been paid, it is not at all certain that He intended to imply the sum could never be forth- coming. When He spoke of all sins, except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, as pardonable either here or hereafter, He certainly confirmed those who heard Him in their belief that some sins were forgiven after death. " Again, He told them of the servant who knew not Luke xii. 4s. his Lord's will, and how he should be ' beaten with but few stripes.' All this teaching pointed out our Lord's acceptance, rather than His rejection, of the Jewish and Gentile belief, that some souls might , . ., after a ' few stripes,' pass upward. " This probability becomes almost a certainty when we find that not only were the dead prayed for by the Jews, but that there has never been a doubt in the Catholic Church, from the Apostolic days downwards, as to the duty of prayer for the dead."^ Lastly, Jesus taught in His description of the Day Matt. xxv. of Judgment that all mankind will be arranged in •'^"4 • " two classes, finally and determinately, good or evil. ^ " The Soul Here and Hereafter," by Rev. R. E, Hutton, 1898, pp, 208-210, (Longmans.) i6o The After Life A change must therefore have taken place in the condition of many after their departure from the world, since the great mass of Christians do not belong to one class or the other. They are partly good and partly evil, even the lives of those mainly on God's side are imperfect and stained with sin, so that in their present state they are manifestly unfit for His presence and kingdom ; and in case of others who we may hope will finally be saved, there is a far greater amount of imperfection and sinfulness."^ Supposed Any reference to an Intermediate State is supposed taint of ji^y people who have not studied the subject to savour ism in this of Romanism, and it is commonly said that the belief. Doctrine of a Purgatory was condemned in the twenty- second Article of the Church of England. This is a mistake, because the Article in question only con- demns " the Romish Doctrine concerning Purgatory, meaning the popular teaching on the subject of Purga- tory among Roman Catholics at the time when the Article was drawn up."^ In other words, the Church of England condemned the innovations which had been superadded to the original teaching that, there is some Intermediate State where spirits which, at the time of death, are still im- perfect and unworthy, may be reached by God's mercy. These innovations include the Indulgences which were openly bought and sold before the Reformation ; also, the teaching that, although " the sinner may receive by Absolution, through God's Priest, full for- giveness of the guilt of his sins, and full remission of the eternal punishment due for those sins," still " the debt of temporal punishment due for those sins, if not paid in this life, must be paid in the next."^ Also, the doctrine of "a Treasury of Merit which 4 means, not only the merits of Christ, but all the credit 1 " Theological Dictionary : Purgatory," by Rev. J. H. Blunt, 1870, p. 602. (Longmans.) 2 "Things beyond the Tomb," by Rev. T. H. Passmore, 1900, pp. 20-24. (Longmans.) ^ Ibid. * Ibid. The Teaching of the Anglican Church i6i of such good works done by the Saints of the Church, as are not necessary to salvation. These works are called Works of Supererogation, that is, works over and above what God expects us to do if we want to be saved." The key, so to speak, of this Treasury is in the hands of the Pope of Rome, who makes grants from it to whomsoever he likes. " These grants are called Indulgences, because they are believed to convey to the persons who receive them an Indulgence from the whole or part of the punish- ment due for sin, in the next world." These are the innovations condemned by the twenty-second Article. III. — Hades is divided into Many Spheres, both FOR THE Righteous and the Wicked. " Death does not break the continuity of character. Many Human beings appear on the other side of death in "^^^^f^ ^" precisely the same moral condition in which they left this world. But that means innumerable degrees of moral development." . . > " At death, therefore, every soul will be drawn by spiritual attraction to- wards the particular abode for which it is suited. The predominating bias, the ruling passion, will be the determining cause of man's future destiny." . . .^ " If you have followed me so far," Canon MacCoU says, " you will see that Paradise, or the intermediate state, is the abode of all who die in the grace of God ; but that their condition must necessarily vary indefi- nitely, from the brand plucked out of the burning to the purity and stability of mature sancity ; from the penitent prodigal to ' the disciple whom Jesus loved.' It follows that those diverse characters need diverse treatment ; but they have all this note in common, ^ " Life Here and Hereafter," by Canon M. MacColl, D.D., 1894, pp. 122. Edition 1896. (Longmans.) ^ ii)id., p. 129. II Hades. 1 62 The After Life that they are imperfect, more or less incomplete, and will remain so, in spite of general progress, till they are summoned to ' inherit the kingdom prepared for them.' "1 " That there are degrees of misery, as well as degrees of glory in the future state, that the condition of some who are lost will be far worse than that of others, all this is undeniable. "^ ■'^^troned^the '^^ understand the teaching of Jesus we must re- current member that " Jew, Heathen, Christian were all belief. addressed in words to which they attached a distinct meaning. ' Hades ' spoke to the Jew, who knew it to be the equivalent of the Sheol of his older Scrip- tures, of a state or region in which dwelt the souls of the dead. In that region there were consciousness, memory, sympathy. ... To the Greek the word would come with all the associations that had gathered round it from the days of Homer, ripened, developed, purified, as they had been by the teaching of Plato in the myths of the Republic, the Phcedo, and the Gorgias. He, too, thought of the dwelling-place of the spirits of the dead, of Tartarus, and the Elysian fields, of punishments, partly penal, partly purgatorial, some temporary, and some without end. " It might be the work of the preachers of the new doctrine to confirm, correct, discard some of these thoughts, but when the word was chosen which was identified with them, and used, so to speak, without any previous caveat, we may be quite sure that they were as a whole, recognised and adopted, that the word, as the current symbol of ideas, was not, and could not be, stamped with an entirely new connotation. We may be quite sure that no Jew or Greek in the apostolic age would ever have thought that the words ^ " Life Here and Hereafter," by Canon M. MacColl, 1894, p. 132. Edition, 1896. (Longmans.) 2 " Thoughts on Immortahty," by Bishop J. C. Ryle, D.D., 1883, p. 62. (C. J. Thynne.) The Teaching of the Anglican Chtirch 163 ' He descended into Hades ' meant only that the body of Christ had been laid in the grave, or that His soul had suffered with an exceeding sorrow in Gethsemane and on the cross. "^ IV. — In the Intermediate State, Spirits remain Conscious, retain the Memory of the Life ON Earth, and are Sensible to Pain and Pleasure. " We are living, conscious beings, capable of willing, Death does thinking, loving, acting, up to the hour of death. "°* .^*°P ° ° o JT conscious- What is there in the fact of bodily death that should ness. lead us to think that it stops that conscious and energetic life of the soul ? And if the soul's existence continues, must not we think of it as passing into its new phase of being with the same capacities, with the character, plastic and capable of re-formation, in the same measure as at the hour of death ?" ^ All the authorities I have consulted are agreed spirits that the spirits of the " departed, in the intermediate state, are possessed of consciousness, memory, and sensibility to pain and pleasure ; and that the life of all men, whether good or bad, is continued without interruption after the separation of soul and body." ^ The frequent use in the Old Testament of analogous phrases, " And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace " ; Gen. xv. 15. (Deut. xxxi. 16. Gen. XXV. 8. to his people " ; certamly seem to pomt to a recogni- Old tion by spirits of the relationship which subsisted te^^h^^'^* between them on earth .^ about re- remain conscious. 1 " The Spirits in Prison," by Dean E. H. Plumptre, D.D.. 1884, pp. 10 1, 102. (William Isbister.) 2 Ihid., p. 22. 3 " After Death," by Canon H. M. Luckock, D.D., 1879, pp. 29, 33. (Longmans.) * " Souls of the Righteous," by Rev. W. R. Savage, 1881, p. 114. (Chapman and Hall.) II — 2 cognition. 164 The After Life " Again, David, whilst mourning the loss of his beloved child, can yet take comfort from the thought, 2 Sam, xii. ' I shall go to him.' He evidently believes, not only ^^' that it was ' well with the child,' but that there will be mutual recognition between parents and their off- spring in that unseen world to which all are hastening.^ " Furthermore, it is surely incredible that Moses Matt. xvii. 3. and Elijah, who both knew our Lord, and conversed with Him at His transfiguration, should yet have been ignorant of one another. " Once again, in the parable, Dives recognises Abraham, and Abraham Dives. "^ Job, Isaiah, and Ezekiel certainly thought that the spirits of the departed remain conscious : Jobiii. 17-19. 'There the wicked cease from troubUng ; and there the weary be at rest. ' There the prisoners rest together ; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. ' The small and great are there ; and the servant is free from his master.' Isa. xiv. io,\ II. ! ' All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also * R.V. to J- become weak as we ? art thou become like unto us ? Thy Hell, pomp is brought down to the grave.'* Sheol. j Isa. Ivii. 2. ' He shall enter into peace : they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.' ' The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the ^ ^Vt- ot- 1 r midst of hell* with them that help him.' * R.V. Sheol. ^ Appearances We find in Scripture fifteen instances of the human ^^^^^^ spirit appearing after death, clothed in a recognisable spirit body, and possessed of full consciousness. I Sam. xxviii. The first is the apparition of the prophet Samuel, four years after his death, to Saul, in the witch's cave at Endor, and Canon MacColl said that this, " however we explain it, implies belief in the consciousness of the soul after death, and of its knowledge of what is happening and is about to happen on earth." ^ 1 "Souls of the Righteous." by Rev. W. R. Savage, 1881, p. 114. (Chapman and Hall.) 2 /fo^^.^ pp. n 3-1 15, 3 " Life Here and Hereafter," by Canon M. MacColl, D.D., 1894, p. 103. Edition 1896. (Longmans.) Ezek. xxxii. 21 14, 15- The Teaching of the Anglican Church 165 The second is the appearance of Moses, with Ehjah — who did not undergo death — on Mount Tabor, when Jesus was transfigured before His three disciples, Peter, James, and John. The remaining thirteen are the appearances of Jesus Himself after His resurrection (see Introduction). In the New Testament we have the direct teaching of Jesus on this subject in the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, which was spoken while He was travel- ling to His death in Jerusalem, and it may be under- stood to be a summing up of all the previous teaching about Hades (see Chapter 11. , and Chapter VIII., II.). Irenseus, in the second century of our era, under- stood this parable according to its simple language. Canon Luckock wrote : " While, then, admitting that the literal interpretation of details must be rejected, we hold that its whole teaching is based on substantial truth."! Canon MacColl declared that " The story of Dives and Lazarus leaves us in no doubt as to what our Lord wished us to believe. The rich man, and Lazarus, and Abraham are all represented as in the full enjoyment of consciousness and mental activity. '"In the Transfiguration scene, again, we find Moses and Elijah talking to Jesus about His ap- proaching Passion. . . . Our Lord's promise to the penitent robber is another sidelight on the subject plainly implying consciousness on the part of dis- embodied souls. "2 The Rev. A. Chambers has pointed out that " when disputing with the Sadducees, who denied an After- life,"^ Jesus sought to convince them that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were still living, because God had 2 Kings ii. ii. Matt. xvii. 3. The direct teaching of Jesus. Luke xvi. 1 9- 31- Irenasus. Canon Luckock. Canon MacColl. Rev. A. Chambers. 1 "After Death," by Canon H. M. Luckock, D.D., 1879, p. 29. (Longmans.) 3 "Life Here and Hereafter," by Canon M. MacColl, 1894, p. 104. Edition 1896. (Longmans.) 3 " Our Life after Death," by Rev. A. Chambers, 1894, p. 38. (Charles Taylor.) 1 66 The After Life Matt. xxii. 32. Luke XX. 38. Matt. X. 28, Teaching of of the Apostles. said, " I am (not I was) the God of Abraham," etc. This argument He followed up by saying, " For He is not a God of the dead, but of the living : for all live unto Him." Again, in His words, " Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul," the inference is unmistakable. " And St. Peter's declaration that Jesus went and ' preached unto the spirits in prison ' — that is, the generation who disregarded tJie preaching of Noah — is a still more emphatic assertion of the continued consciousness of the soul after death. St. Paul echoes the same belief when he desires ' to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better,' as well as in his account of his temporary translation to Paradise, though he could not tell ' whether in the body or out of the body.' The souls under the altar, too, in the Apocalyptic vision, are conscious, for they cry for retribution on the persecutors of the Church on earth, and are soothed with white robes and a message of peace. "^ There are many passages in the Gospels and Epistles, besides those quoted in this chapter, which teach the continued consciousness of departed spirits (see Chapters II. and III.). V. — In the Intermediate State, the Sinner, who is WILLING TO BE SaVED, IS GIVEN EVERY OPPOR- TUNITY OF BECOMING PURIFIED, AND GRADUALLY MADE Perfect. Teaching m Old Testa- ment. No teaching on this subject can be looked for in the earlier books of the Old Testament, because Sheol or Hades was thought, at the time when they were written, to be a place of dreamy inactivity, where 1 "Life Here and Hereafter," by Canon M. MacColl, D.D., 1894, p. 105. (Longmans.) The Teaching of the Anglican Church 167 "there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor Eccles.ix. 10. wisdom." When, however. Revelation had become fuller, we read : ' When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the Isa. iv. 4. daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jeru- salem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.' And again.: ' And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver : and He Mai. ill. 3. shall purify the sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.' For the teaching of Jesus and His apostles under Teaching of this head of the subject, I refer readers to Chapters II. J®^^^ ^^^ and III. ; and I will only quote here one passage : Apostles. ' Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath Phil. i. 6. begun a good work in you will perform* it until the day of * R.V. per- Jesus Christ.' feet it. Dr. Davidson, of the University of Halle, declared Early that : " Whatever be its (the fire of Hades) nature it is Fathers. reformatory. This idea was entertained of old. It is in the writings of Origen, who thought that the fire of torment is cleansing in conformity with the doctrine of universal restoration realized after long periods of purification. He even ventured to say that the last enemy, the devil, should cease at some indefinite time ; not cease to exist, but to be a devil and the enemy of God. " In like manner, Scotus Erigena looked to a period when vice and evil should cease, grounding the hope on the negative nature of evil. " The idea is reflected in the purgatory of Gregory the Great, where the souls of those who have committed venial sins go after death that they may be prepared for heaven."^ Writing of the belief of the early Church, Dean Plumptre, in 1884, said : ^ " Doctrine of Last Things," by Rev. S. Davidson, D.D., LL.D., 1882, pp. 81, 143. (Kegan Paul.) 1 68 The After Life Belief of the first fifteen centuries. Martin Luther's belief. Martin Luther. " We may be quite sure, that if the Descent into Hell had brought to men's minds no other thoughts than those which we commonly attach to it, it would never have gained a place in the Creed of Christendom, or seized, as it did for centuries, on men's thoughts and feelings. To those who so received it it spoke of a victory over death, which was the completion of the sacrifice of the cross. It told them that He who came to seek and save the souls He loved on earth had continued that divine work while the body was lying in the rock-hewn grave. He had passed into that unseen world as a mighty King, the herald of His own conquests. . . . There had He gathered round Him the souls of those righteous ones, from Abel onwards . . . and these He had delivered from the passionate yearning of expectancy, and the pain of unsatisfied desire, and had taken them to rest till the Resurrection in that paradise of God where He had promised to be with one whose lawless life had melted at the last hour into some touch of tenderness, and awe, and pity. Others, worthy of but a lower place, had yet found mercy. ... In His Father's house there were many mansions, and there was a place found there for them. " Such at one time was the Creed of Christendom. It retained its hold on the minds of the great masses of mankind for fifteen centuries. ... In part, at least, it retained its hold on our own Church even at the Reformation."^ " God forbid," Martin Luther once wrote to Hansen von Rechenberg, in 1522, " that I should limit the time of acquiring faith to the present life. In the depths of the Divine mercy, there may be opportunity to win it in the future state. "^ Again, Luther, in a.d. 1545, (as quoted by Bengel) 1 " The Spirits in Prison," by Dean E. H. Plumptre, D.D., J 884, pp. 3-6. (William Isbister.) 2 Quoted in " Salvation Beyond Death," by Rev. G. W. Huni;, 1900, p. 124. (A. R. Mowbray.) The Teaching of the Anglican Church 169 in his exposition of Hosea, accepted " the idea that Christ appeared to the souls of some who in the time of Noah had been unbeheving, that they might recognise ' that their sins were forgiven through His sacrifice.' "^ " Dr. Johnson would, I presume," wrote the Rev. '^'^- Johnson. G. W. Hunt,2 in 1900, " be generally recognised as a very typical Englishman, with very English habits of mind, yet Boswell records the following conversation between himself and that famous worthy. Boswell inquires, ' What do you think, sir, of Purgatory, as believed by the Roman Catholics ?' Johnson replies, ' Why, sir, it is a very harmless doctrine. They are of opinion that the generality of mankind are neither so obstinately wicked as to deserve everlasting punish- ment, nor so good as to merit being admitted into the society of blessed spirits, and, therefore, that God is graciously pleased to allow of a middle state, where they may be purified by certain degrees of suffering. You see, sir, there is nothing unreasonable in this.' Boswell thereupon persists, ' But, then, sir, their Masses for the dead ?' To this Johnson makes answer, ' Why, sir, if it be once established that there are souls in Purgatory, it is as proper to pray for them as for our brethren of mankind, who are yet in this life.' " Dr. Van Ulrich Maywahlen considers, " The Inter- Dr. Van mediate State an agreeable and peaceful abode (which) ^^'^'^ y. affords the believer an opportunity for undisturbed len." recollection and self-examination ; for a deeper insight into the most secret dispositions and desires of his soul ; and for a gradual completion of his own sanctifi- cation. Every inclination and disposition still re- maining and drawing him away from God, as also every- thing which hindered man heretofore to give himself ^ " Immortality in Christ," by Rev. S. Hemphill, Litt.D., D.D., M.R.I.A., 1904, p. 53. (Simpkin, Marshall.) 2 " Salvation Beyond Death," by Rev. G. W. Hunt, 1900, pp. 12, 13. (A. R. Mowbray.) 170 The After Life entirely and unreservedly up, with all he is and has, to his Saviour, will thus be overcome."^ Julius Julius Mtiller, in " The Christian Doctrine of Sin," was positive that : " The way of return to God is closed against no one who does not close it against himself ; therefore, those who have not yet closed it against thernselves, in that the means of salvation, the re- demption of Christ, has not yet been offered to them, will indisputably hereafter, when beyond the limits of this earthly life, be placed in a condition to enter upon this way of return to God if they choose."^ Opinions of Coming down to our own time, I find the general time. opinion to be that very few human spirits, if any, are fit to enter heaven at the time of death, and, as "nothing reaches perfection except by slow stages of growth and advancement, "^ the perfecting of the spirit cannot be accomplished in the act of dying. It follows therefore that " the work of bringing a human spirit to a state of full development and per- fection "■* must go on in the Intermediate life. The Rev. J. B. Heard, in 1866 : The teaching ' ' Thus we look forward to the Intermediate State as ^gjj. the time when God will perfect that which is lacking. known Not in purgatorial fires — quite the contrary — but ^^^ ^^^' under the sunshine of God's love, His spirit shall then grow in increased likeness to the Father of spirits. Rev. J. B. Thus, as the spirit grows in likeness to God, so it will 1866^ ' ^" grow in strength and mastery over the rational soul. . . . Then relieved altogether from the conflict with the lower or animal nature, the spirit can give its whole undivided strength to subdue the soul. . . . The blissful and unbroken communion with Christ which the spirit will enjoy during the interval between death ^ Quoted in "Life in the Invisible," by an anonymous author, 1875, PP- 44» 45- (Elliot Stock.) 2 Quoted in " Man's Immortality and Destiny," by Rev. R. P. Downes, LL.D., 1903, p. 93. (Smith's Publishing Com- pany. ) 3 " Our Life after Death," by Rev. A. Chambers, 1894. (Charles Taylor.) * Ihid. The Teaching of the Anglican Church 1 7 1 and the resurrection may be intended to procure us advances in holiness which are impossible in our present low condition of being. "^ The Rev W. B. Pope, D.D., in 1875 : " The Apocalypse shows that the disembodied spirits of the saints 'follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.' "... and other passages indicate " a progress in blessedness and in the development of moral energy in the disembodied state. They have the discipline of hope, and of hope as not yet eternal in the heavens, though no longer probationary. They wait for the consummation, their Lord's and their own. And then progress in the spiritual life is not simply that which after the judgment will go on for ever, but an advance from stage to stage peculiar to the Intermediate State. Time is behind them ; time is also before them ; the day of eternity is not yet fully come."^ The Rev. Samuel Cox,^ in 1877, wrote to exactly the same effect as the Rev. J. B. Heard had written eleven years before, and he quoted : " Whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord." Canon F. W. Farrar, D.D., F.R.S., in 1878 : " My hope is that the vast majority, at any rate, of the lost, may at length be found. If any hardened sinner, shamefully loving his sin, and despising the longsuffering of his Saviour, trifle with that doctrine, it is at his own just and awful peril. But if, on the other hand, there be some among you — as are there not ? — souls sinful indeed, yet not hard in sin ; — souls that fail indeed, yet even, amid their failing, long, and pray, and love, and agonise, and strive to creep ever nearer to the Hght ; — then, I say. Have faith in God. There is hope for you ; — hope for you, even if death overtake 1 " The Tripartite Nature of Man," by Rev. J. B. Heard, 1866, pp. 286, 287. (T. and T. Clark.) 2 " A Compendium of Cliristian Theology," by Rev. W. B. Pope, D.D., 1875, vol. iii., p. 384, second edition, 1881. (Wes- leyan Conference Office.) 3 " SalvatorMundi,"by Rev. Samuel Cox, 1877, pp. 157, 158. (Kegan Paul, Trench and Co.) Rev. xiv. 4. Rev. W. B. Pope, in 1875- Rev. Samuel Cox, in 1877. Eph. vi. 8. Canon F. W. Farrar, in 1878. 172 The After Life you before the final victory is won ; hope for the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven ; — hope for the mourners, for they shall be comforted. . . . Lsa. iii. 10, Yes, my brethren, 'Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him ; for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe unto the wicked ! it shall be ill with him ; for the reward of his hands shall be given him :' — but say also, as Christ's own Apostles said, Acts iii. 21. that there shall be ' a restitution of all things,' — that 2 Pet. iii. 9. j I Tim. ii. 4. |- God wlUeth not ' that any should perish ;' — that ' Christ Rom. ii. 4. j Rom. xiv. 9. both died, and rose, and revived that He might be I Cor. XV. 22. Lord both of the dead and living ' — that ' as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive '; — and I Cor. XV. 28. that the day shall come ' when all things shall be sub- dued unto Him,' ' that God may be all in all ' — Trdvra iviracriv — omnia in omnibus — all things in all men. . . . " Ay, my brethren, fear not ; have faith in God ; think noble things of God ; be sure that trust in the righteous God means the ultimate triumph of good over evil ; — be sure that the cross of Christ, Christ's infinite atonement, Christ's plenteous redemption, means, — for all who do not utterly extinguish within their own souls the glimmering wick of love to God, — the conversion of earth's sinners, lar off it may be, — but at last, far off, at last, — into God's saints."^ Rev. " There are those passages which speak of Jesus' Newman descent into Hades, and of His preaching to the dead, 1881. ' to a class of souls represented as being in prison. . . . These texts, and certain glowing passages in which St. Paul speaks of the final completion of Christ's kingdom, do not teach explicitly a second probation, or mean without doubt that there shall be a final re- conciliation of evil to God ; . . . yet so long as such expressions have been left in the Bible, our theology 1 " Eternal Hope," by Canon F. W. Farrar, D.D., F.R.S., 1878, pp. 88, 89. 116. (Macmillan.) The Teaching of the Anglican Church 173 ought, at least, not to be over-confident that it has learned the whole mind of the Spirit concerning God's work and purpose in the interval — we know not how long it may be — between death and the final judgment. . . . All the analogies of experience would seem to compel us to believe that disciplinary processes of life must be continued after death ; and in this intermediate period, suggested by some Scriptures, room would be found for the play of those forces of moral development whose working we observe in the present life. Not, then, until the day of revelation shall disclose to our eyes the secrets of Hades, are we warranted in raising one question of our troubled understandings, or one doubt of our beating hearts, concerning the just judg- ments of God ill eternity. " The reformers found in their day that this half- revealed truth of the intermediate life had developed into the overgrown and corrupt doctrine of Purgatory — a doctrine saturated through and through with the poison of meritorious works and penance ; and rightly, therefore, the reformers laid the axe at the root of the tree, and cut down the whole deadly doctrine. But back in the minds of the Christian fathers had been simpler ideas of moral purification which had grown into that corrupt Papal teaching ; and back still in Scriptural ground may lie, perhaps, the germs of a better doctrine of an intermediate life, and its processes of purification and perfecting, which it may remain for our Protestant theology more carefully to discrimi- nate, and to cultivate, for the healing of many souls now bruised and wounded by too bare and crushing dogmatism."^ Dean E. H. Plumptre, D.D., in 1884 : "The words, then, of the Apostles lead us to theci Pet. iv. 6. belief of a capacity for repentance, faith, love — forJ-^P^' ^"^- 9. growth, discipline, education, in those who have passed (phii. ii. 10. 1 The works of the Rev. Newman Smyth — "The Orthodox Theology of To-day," 1881, pp. 80-83. (Ward, Lock and Co.) 174 The After Life Dean E. H. away. We have no sufficient grounds for limiting F^"^P^^®' the work on which they dwell to the representative instance or the time-boundaries of which they speak. " Our Lord's personal teaching, as might be ex- pected, is less explicit. He had many things to say John xvi. 12. to His disciples which they could not bear while He was yet with them, and this might well be one. It was not till the work had been accomplished that in this, as in other things, they could enter fully into the mystery of the Cross. Yet hints, suggestions, glimpses of the truth there are, which receive a new significance when we look at them in the light of the later teaching. Now we see more clearly than we did before what He meant when He taught His disciples ^ .. that there is one sin only which has never forgiveness ,^ 32. I ' neither in this world, neither in the world to come ' : Mark m. 28, j ^9- -' how it is that the servant which knew not his Lord's Luke xii. 48. will, and did it not, ' shall be beaten with few stripes ' ; TVT X.. -\ or the condemnation of those who never listened to a Matt. X. 15. Matt. xi. 22- vpreacher of repentance be ' more tolerable ' than ^4- J that of those who have sinned against light and John xiv. 2. knowledge : how in the ' many mansions ' of His Father's house there may be room for souls in all stages of grace, strength, illumination." We " believe that the state into which the soul passes at death is one which admits of discipline, change, progress — that there also the love which does not will that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance, proclaims evermore to the ' spirits in prison,' as during those hours of the descent into Hades, the glad tidings of reconciliation."^ Three The Rev. L. Abbott, D.D., Congregational Pastor, DSftorTof Brooklyn, New York : Divinity. " If any man avers that Christ's work of redeeming ■^^7- . , , mercy ends for any soul at death, the burden of proof L. Abbott, J J 1889. 1 " The Spirits in Prison," by Dean E. H. Plumptre, D.D., 1884, pp. 20, 21, 23. (William Isbister.) The Teaching of the Anglican Church 175 rests upon him to make good the assertion. Pre- sumptively Christ's work of redeeming love will continue so long as love can see any hope of achieving redemption, and no longer. I see no ground in Scrip- ture whatever for the assertion, on the one side, that this work of redemption continues for every man till death, or ends for any man at death. Christ uniformly represents the end of His redemption as coming not at death, but at the last judgment, and he who asserts that it ends at death, and he who undertakes to assert that it will certainly be carried on beyond death are wise above what is written. . . . He who looks on life and sees how little apparently is done for the redemption of some souls, cannot but hope that more will be done hereafter than has been done here. There is nothing in Scripture to forbid this hope, though nothing to convert it into an assur- ance of conviction."^ The Rev. George Harris, D.D., of Andover, Mass. : Rev. George ' It is probable that those who have no knowledge 1889.^^' of the gospel in this life will, after death, come under its enlightening and saving influences. How, when, where, I do not profess to know. But it seems to me reasonable to suppose that, before Christ confronts men as Judge, He will have been made known to them as Redeemer. ... I do not discover any passage of Scripture which necessarily forbids the belief that some may have the gospel after death. "^ The Rev. E. De Pressense, D.D. : Rev. e. De "It is enough for me to know that God is love, Pressense, tSSq to be convinced that He never ceases to love His poor creatures, even though fallen to the lowest depth. Only His love never ceases to be a holy love and saves only when it has been responded to by repentance, which is the renunciation of rebellion. 1 Quoted in " That Unknown Country," essays by numerous writers, 1889, pp. t^, 74. (C. A. Nichols, Mass., U.S.A.) 2 Quoted in " That Unknown Country," Anonymous, 1889, p. 437. (C. A. Nichols, Mass., U.S.A.) 176 The After Life Canon H. M. Luckock, in i8qo. Mark ix. 49. 1 Cor. iii. 13. Isa. iv. 4. Mai. iii. 3. Now this response can only be made by accepting the work of Christ which makes us, through faith, one with Him in His hfe and in His death. Therefore, it is He alone, as Paul says, who can reconcile all things. To state it briefly, no obstacle to the con- version or salvation of a sinner can ever, either in this world or the other, proceed from God. It is the sinner who condemns himself by his impenitence."^ Canon H. M. Luckock, D.D., in 1890 : " It seems almost impossible to form any other conclusion than that the souls of the departed pass through some purifying process between death and judgment, "2 and he quoted the following passages : ' For every one shall be salted with fire.' ' And the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.' ' When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jeru- salem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.' ' And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver : and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver.' Bishop Webb, 1893. Rev. G. W. Hunt, in 1900. Bishop Webb said : " We must remember, when we speak of the Holy Spirit's ' perfecting ' work, that there will be much to be done as to the perfecting of the spirit — and, probably, much to be revealed — in the Intermediate State ; though not, of course, in- volving the necessity of pain. We often grow and- expand, and the love of God takes hold upon us, quite as much in happiness as in sorrow. There is a discipline of happiness, as well as a discipline of suffering, in our Father's household."^ The Rev. G. W. Hunt, in 1900 : " They are guarded words, these of the present * Quoted in " That Unknown Country," by Anonymous, 1889, p. 257. (C. A. Nichols, Mass., U.S.A.) 2 "The Intermediate State," by Canon H. M. Luckock, D.D., 1890, pp. 63-72. (Longmans.) ^ Quoted in "Glimpses of the Far-off Land," by A. J. Sey- mour, with introduction by Rev. W. H. Hutchings, 1895, p. 65. (Skeffington.) The Teaching of the Anglican Church 177 Archbishop of Canterbury, guarded, as you would expect them to be, when spoken by a man in his responsible position in dealing with a highly contro- versial subject ; but they sufficiently convey to us just that hope, to which we cling, on behalf of some, aye, the vast majority, of those who have passed or are passing out of our sight, but never out of our hearts. ' We do not know,' said Archbishop Temple, Archbishop in his now historical first Visitation Charge, ' we Temple, cannot know, for God has not told us, what is happening " to them in that other world, and we have no right to set up inventions of our own, and adapt our worship to such inventions. What they may need, in order to be fitted for the final entrance into perfect happiness, we cannot tell. We are told that there will be at the last day some whose work will be burned, but who nevertheless will themselves be saved, and we see men die who seem to be forgiven, but nevertheless are so full of imperfections that we can hardly believe them as yet fit for heaven. They are not sanctified. They have not that holiness without which no man can see the Lord. We have no right to invent accounts of the way by which they may be purified. We know that they will be changed when the Lord comes ; but the nature, the manner, and the process of that change is not made known. "^ The Rev. R. P. Downes, LL.D., in 1903 : Rev. R. P. " How can we escape the conviction that there is a Downes, ,. . p 111 1903. condition of the sinner m the next world which is not final, but which makes improvement and restoration to virtue and God yet possible ? It is very probable that this will be brought about through penalty and suffer- ing proportioned to the offence — that those in the mystic under-world will be exposed to what Dean Farrar called ' the aching glow of God's revealing light, the willing agony of God's remedial fire.' But we ^ " Salvation Beyond Death," by Rev. G. W. Hunt, 1900, pp. 72, j-i^, (A. R. Mowbray.) 12 178 The After Life cherish the hope that this agency will not be without avail — a hope strengthened by those words of the Master : Luke xii. 48. ' The servant that knew not his master's will, and did it not, shall be beaten with few stripes.' And again : Matt. V. 26. ' Verily T say unto thee. Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. '*• It seems to me that, when Spirits find themselves after death in the Intermediate State, there will be an end to all the doubt which exists in this world about the whole subject of religion ; and the vast majority of Spirits, while wondering at their own refusal to believe when they were on earth, will recog- nise the justice of God's treatment of them, and I think this will be the case even with those who, like the rich man, are in a penal sphere of Hades. Spirits in Paradise, who fail to find there the dear ones they knew on earth, will know that they will certainly meet at some future time, when the erring ones have been purified and refined. VI. — There is Preaching after Death, in Hades. I Pet. iii. 14- ' But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are 20. ye : and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled ; ' But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts : and he ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear : ' Having a good conscience ; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. ' For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. ' For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for 1 " Man's Immortality and Destiny," by Rev. R. P. Downes, LL.D., 1903, p. 125. (Smith's Publishing Company.) The Teaching of the Anglican Church 179 the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit : ' By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison ; ' Which sometime were disobedient, when once the long- suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.' This passage has been the subject of much contro- versy from very early times. One of the two main ways of interpretation is to dissociate the passage entirely from the doctrine of the descent into Hades, and to hold that it was " ' in spirit,' i.e., mystically speaking, that our Lord Him- self " " through the person of Noah, preached repent- ance to the old world. "^ This idea appears to be untenable, as it bears no reference to the context. The second interpretation is based on the undoubted fact that " St. Peter's object through the whole of this section is to encourage the Hebrew Christians to be ready, through a good conscience, for a brave martyr- dom, if need be. They are to think how their deaths, like Christ's, may bring their persecutors to God. Nay — he seems to imply — their very spirits going forth into the world of spirits may conceivably carry a gospel of some kind even to Hebrew relatives who have passed away, like those Antediluvians, in the ' disobedience ' which was characteristic of the Jews."^ This second interpretation is that, " directly Christ's human spirit was disengaged from the body. He gave proof of the new powers of purely spiritual action thus acquired by going off to the place, or state, in which other disembodied spirits were (who would have been incapable of receiving direct impressions from Him had He not Himself been in the purely spiritual condition), and conveyed to them certain tidings " — the gospel of good tidings. ^ Bishop EUicott's " Commentary." (Cassell and Co.) 2 Ihid. 12 — 2 The two main ways of inter- pretation of the passage. i8o The After Life Opinion of St. Clement. Opinions of well- known writers. I Pet. iii. 19. " Some have thought that Christ went to proclaim to them the certainty of their damnation," but " it would be too grim to call that a gospel which (in Calvin's words) " made it more clear and patent to them that they were shut out from all salvation." " St. Clement of Alexandria, who derives the notion from the Shepherd of Hermas, gives his belief that the Apostles also, when they died, preached to those who had died before them ; and though there is little that throws light on our occupation in the Intermediate State, it can hardly be pronounced impossible for some spirits to be allowed to follow Christ's example there by preaching to spirits in prison " ^ (" Stromata," ii. 9 and vi. 6). The Rev. Andrew Jukes, in 1869 : ' By which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison.' Rev. Andrew " This passage, I know, is called ' difficult,' that is, Jukes, m j^ jg one which it is hard and even impossible fairly to reconcile with the views called Orthodox. The words, however, are not difficult. They distinctly assert that our Lord went and preached to the spirits in prison, who once had been disobedient in the days of Noah. The ' difficulty ' is that Protestant orthodoxy has decided that there can be no message of mercy to any after death. Protestant commentators there- fore have attempted to evade the plain statements of this Scripture, and their forced and unnatural inter- pretations show how very strong the passage is against them. Anyone who wishes to see a summary of these interpretations may find them collected in Alford's Greek Testament, in loco. His own comment is as follows : 1 " An Inquiry into the Scripture Doctrine Concerning the Duration of Future Punishment," by Rev. M. Horbery, D.D., 1744. (Wesleyan Conference Office, reprinted.) The Teaching of the Anglican Church i8i " ' I understand these words to say, that our Lord, in His disembodied state, did go to the place of deten- tion of departed spirits, and did there announce His work of redemption, preach salvation, in fact, to the disembodied spirits of those who refused to obey the voice of God, when the judgment of the flood was hang- ing over them.' " The fact, that in the Prayer-Book these verses are appointed to be read as the Epistle for Easter Even, that is for the day after the crucifixion, and before the resurrection of our Lord, shews plainly enough the judgment of the English Church as to the true sense and interpretation of this passage. The Early Fathers,- almost without exception, understood it to speak of Christ's descent to Hades. "^ Mr. Jukes thought that, to " those who are Christ's," death " shall only introduce them to fuller and wider service to lost ones, over whom the Lord shall set them as His priests and kings, until all things are restored and reconciled unto Him. ... To whom, I ask, shall the Church after death be priests ? Shall it be to that great mass of our fellow-men, who have de- parted hence in ignorance ? Shall it be to ' spirits in prison,' such as those to whom after His death Christ Himself once preached ? Shall not His saints, made like Him, do the same works, still following Him, and with Him being priests to God ? Will not their glory be to rule and feed and enlighten and clothe those who are committed to them, even as Christ has fed and clothed them ? For He is ' King of kings and Lord of i Tim. vi. 15. lords,' words which indicate the many kings and rulers under Him, of whom He is Head, and whom He makes heads to others. "^ Canon F. W. Farrar, D.D., F.R.S., in 1881 : Canon f. w. " As early as the first century it had been inferred f^^^^' ^" that, since His saints and apostles continue His work ^ " The Second Death and the Restitution of All Things," bv Rev, Andrew Jukos, 1869, pp. 39, 40. (Longmans.) "3 Ibid. \i 1»2 The After Life Dean E. H. Plumptre, in 1884. Canon H. M. Luckock, in 1890. on earth, so they too preached, and by their preaching helped to dehver, or to ameHorate the lot of those who pass hence into a state of punishment."^ Dean E. H. Plumptre, D.D., in 1884 : May we not " believe, as some did in the earliest ages of the Church, and as others have thought of late, that those whose joy it has been in life to be fellow-workers with Christ in leading many to righteousness, may continue to be fellow- workers there, and so share the life of angels in their work of service as in their ministries of praise ? The mani- festation of God's righteous judgment and of His changeless love may thus, using men and angels as His instruments, help to renew throughout His uni- verse all who are capable of renewal. "^ Canon H. M. Luckock, in 1890 : "As in this life, experience shows that ministering to those who are ignorant or imperfectly instructed in the knowledge of God, is a great means of strengthen- ing a man's religious character ; as the very desire to hold up for imitation the highest example of a Christ-like life is a powerful factor in developing the faculties that create it, so, it may be, hereafter the act of ministering spiritual service to other souls within the fold of the Invisible Church will prove to be an important means for one's own advance- ment. " The possibility of such opportunities of usefulness after death helps us to understand the deep mystery of Divine Providence, when God cuts short the earthly career of one whose life, as man judges, is of priceless value to the Church. The influence, the preaching, the ministrations are not stopped, they are only transferred to another sphere, to be continued with intensified energy under spiritual conditions, though ^ " Mercy and Judgment," by Canon F. W. Farrar, D.D., F.R.S., 1 88 1, p. 80. (Macmillan.) 2 " The Spirits in Prison," by Dean E. H. Plumptre, D.D., 1884, pp. 24, 25. (William Isbister.) The Teaching of the Anglican Church 18 o no material ear may hear the voice, no mortal hand shall feel the touch ; they are lost to the Church on earth, they are gained by the Church in the Inter- mediate State. "^ The Rev. A. WilHamson, B.D., in 1890 : Rev. a. Wii- " We conclude that consciousness, hereafter, will ^j^s^^^"'^" centre round a mentally active life. Memory, aspira- tion, solicitude, intercession, and all the different exercises and occupations of the human mind will have an enlarged scope given them. Passionate prayer will ascend incessantly to God, for each human tie left on earth. Contrition may be experienced in a way which would now be impossible. The soul is set free to give expression to its deepest longing, and the remembrance of the past will be reflected with a vivid reality that can make it almost possible, in thought, to live over again the earthly life of past experience."^ " In the Intermediate State, progress and develop- ment, under due limitation, ma}^ possibly and reason- ably be conceived."^ " We can imagine, for instance, the Church in the Intermediate State, continuing a course of ministry similar to that by which the sanctification of souls is carried on in present time. The Divine Word may be proclaimed by a company of preachers unem- barrassed by the difficulties which now hinder its free course and acceptance. A ministry of intercession may be employed, which by its faith and intense reality may lead to miracles of grace quite impossible to the Church in her militant state. There ma}^ be even some further operation of the Holy Ghost, by which, without the aid of visible means, the blessings of incorporation into Christ's Church and of the soul's 1 ' ' The Intermediate State," by Canon H. M. Luckock, D.D., 1890, p. 99. (Longmans.) 2 " The Intermediate State," by Rev. A. Williamson, B.D., 1890, pp. 34. (Wells Gardner, Darton and Co., Limited.) 3 Ihid., p. ij. 184 The After Life feeding upon His Body and Blood may be vouch- safed."! Rev. A. The Rev. A. Chambers, in 1894 : in 1894. ' " God's attitude toward the human race, as por- trayed by the writers of Scripture, makes it a necessity that there should be a preaching of the Gospel in the Interrnediate-lif e . " When God devised the scheme of Redemption, He contemplated humanity as a whole. " It was no expedient whereby only a limited number of the human race should be brought within the pale of salvation, and the remainder left outside. . . . " Of no person is it true that God does not wish him to be saved. . . . " But the above representation of God is untrue in the face of the millions who leave the Earth-life without so much as hearing the Gospel, if there be no preaching of that Gospel in the Intermediate-life. "^ Rev. G. w. The Rev. G. W. Hunt, in 1900 : " I take it absolutely and literally, that each and every soul, into which God has ever, or shall ever breathe the breath of life, shall have his or her oppor- tunity of accepting or rejecting the offer of salvation, that offer being made to him or her so fully and so intelligibly, as to render its rejection a crime against his or her own soul. . . . The conviction that every man, qua man, and every woman, qua woman, by virtue of wearing the same humanity that Christ wears, must somewhere, at some time or other, have the chance of salvation in Him, is to me the Magna Charta of Christendom, without which Christianity tends to become the shibboleth of a petty sect, instead of the creed of a Catholic religion."^ 1 " The Intermediate State," by Rev. A. Williamson, B.D.. 1890, pp. 53, 54, (Wells Gardner, Darton and Co., Limited.) 2 "Our Life after Death," by Rev. A. Chambers, 1894, pp. 140-168. (Charles Ta5'-lor.) 3 " Salvation beyond Death," by Rev. G. W. Hunt, 1900, pp. 18, 19. (Mowbray and Co.) Hunt, in 1900. The Teaching of the Anglican Church 185 Dean Alford, of Canterbury (a.d. 1810-1871) ' For this cause was the gospel preached also to them i Pet. iv. 6. that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.' " It will be gathered from all which has been said Dean Alford. that, with the great majority of commentators, ancient and modern, I understand these words to say that our Lord, in His disembodied state, did go to the place of departed spirits, and did then commence His work of redemption — preach salvation, in fact, to the disembodied spirits of those who refused to obey the voice of God when the judgment of the Flood was hanging over them."^ The Rev. R. P. Downes, LL.D., in 1903 : ^Sownesjn " The Church of Christ is in the Intermediate State 1903- as well as here, and in that unseen world there are agencies and activities not less needed and not less blessed than those which exist in our present world. Children will need training and instruction, perplexed souls will need guidance, and multitudes who never knew Him here will need leading into the knowledge and the love of Christ. " It is a violation of the lesson of analogy and of all the laws of mind to suppose that children, and the ignorant, and depraved will become wise and holy at a flash, or as the result of mere change of place. . . . " This largely explains the mystery of arrested service in the present life."^ The Heathen. It is marvellous to consider how cruel has been the teaching of some divines regarding the lot of the heathen, and of those who have never been granted * Quoted in " Man's Immortality and Destiny," by Rev. R. P. Downes, LL.D., 1903, p. 97. (Smith's Publishing Co.) 2 "Man's Immortality and Destiny," by Rev. R. P. Downes, LL.D., 1903, pp. 118, 119. (Smith's Publishing Co.) 1 86 The A fie J' Life any opportunity of finding the light. Some have taught that we know nothing about the lot of the heathen, and others have declared that the heathen are doomed to perdition. The American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions, in 1889, in a tract entitled, " The Grand Motive of Missionary Effort," said : " The heathen are involved in the ruins of the apostasy, and are expressly doomed to perdition."^ A minister of the Gospel, in England, when plead- ing the cause of Foreign Missions, said, that the Heathen '' must be for ever exposed to the torments of hell. "2 If this is the Gospel which missionaries carry to the Heathen, it is surprising that they get anyone to listen to them, as they are trying to introduce a God who, according to them, is more cruel than any heathen god. It must be remembered that, before the advent of Jesus, the term Heathen included all the nations of the world except the Israelites, and it is monstrous to hold that aU the millions who died natural deaths, or were slaughtered by the Israelites in their conquest of Palestine, have been condemned to torments in everlasting fire. The first opinion, that we know nothing about the lot of the heathen, is a cowardl}^ plea, and it would be a poor answer for a missionary to give to a convert questioning him about the state of his dead mother, who had never heard of the Christian God. The belief that the Gospel will be explained and offered to the heathen in Hades, while not expressly taught in the Bible, is in accordance with what we know, or imagine, of the justice of God, and it is, I ^ ' ' That Unknown Country, or What Living Men believe Concerning Punishment After Death," pubUshed in America, 1889, p. 229. (C. A. Nichols and Co., Mass., U.S.A.) 2 " Man's Immortality and Destiny," by Rev. R. P. Dowries, LL.D., 1903, pp. 134, 135. (Smith's Publishing Company.) The Teaching of the Anglican Church 187 think, more generally accepted now than the cruel doctrine of old. I know no reason why it should be thought that the Heathen are excluded from the very full offer of salvation made in the Gospels — of which I give a few passages — and this necessitates preaching in Hades to those who never heard the Gospel on earth. ' Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered --jy^^^^ ^^ ,g unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom ^or-^ j^j^^jj ^' ^" many.' ^ ' Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in /Malt, xxviii. the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the HolyJ xq. Ghost. ' ( Mark xvi. i s . ' And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.' Luke iii. 6. ' And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men. john xii. 32, unto Me. 47. ****** ' And if any man hear JNIy words, and believe not, I judge him not : for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.' St. Paul, in writing to the Romans about " the Rom. ii. 2. judgment of God," distinctly referred to the Gen- tiles : ' For there is no respect of persons ■w'ith God. Rom. ii. 11- ' For as many as have sinned -without law shall also perish 16. Avithout law : and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law ; ' (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. ' For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law. are a law unto themselves : ' Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and theiv thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another ;) ' In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.' Besides those who are nominally Christians, there The Heathen, are now, as in the past, millions upon millions to whom the Most Holy Name of Jesus is utterly unknown ; there are also " masses of the population of even a pro- fessedly Christian countr}^ like England " to whom The After Life that Name is, " through no fault of their own," prac- tically unknown.^ Unless, therefore, we are prepared to hold that all these Heathen will be doomed to the sentence passed on those on the left hand of Jesus, we must believe that there is an Intermediate State between death and the Judgment Day, in which all these classes of spirits can receive the training which they never had on earth. In considering the case of those — other than the Heathen — " who have never been granted any oppor- tunity of finding the light," I seem to notice an indis- position on the part of most of the authors I have con- sulted to entertain the idea of a second Probation for any who have been educated and taught the rudiments of the Christian religion. My objection to this reserve is founded on the argument that many men have never been taught what may be called the reformed doctrine of the Anglican Church, either in their youth, at school, or in after-life, from the pulpit. A man brought up in the old Puritan doctrine of immediate judgment after death, never heard of an Intermediate State, in his youth, and the subject is very seldom mentioned in the pulpit. I hold, therefore, that it is reasonable to expect that such men will be given an opportunity to hear the true Gospel preached in the Intermediate State, and I go further, and say that I believe the Gospel will be freely preached in the Intermediate State, and every Spirit will have opportunities of hearing it. ^ " Salvation Beyond Death," by Rev. G. W. Hunt, 1900. pp. 137, 138. (A. R. Mowbray and Co.) The Teaching of the Anglican Church 189 Intermedi- ate state denied by Reformers, VII. — Every Spirit has to remain in the Inter- mediate State until the Second Advent of Jesus, or the Resurrection on the Last Day, BUT the Condition of the Faithful, and of all the Saints, is one of Peace and Happiness. The direct teaching of Jesus and His Apostles on this point appears to me to be clearer and more ex- plicit than it is under any of the other heads into which I have divided the subject of the Life after Death (Chapters II. and III.). Nevertheless, since the publication of John Wy- cliffe's translation of the Bible in a.d. 1380, when the Reformers determined to throw over the idea of an In- termediate State, the general teaching in England, until quite recently, has been that Spirits are judged imme- diately after death, and, while the righteous are ad- mitted at once into Heaven, the sinners are sen- tenced to everlasting punishment, and are cast into flames of material fire, in what is always called " Hell." It is a curious fact that the teaching of the Re- formers was similar to the present doctrine of the Church of Rome as regards the judgment immediately after death, with the omission of Purgatory. I have already pointed out (Chapter VII.) that the Church of Rome teaches that all Spirits are judged immediately after death, and " the final doom of every one is then fixed, and there is no more possibility of changing it." If the sentence is to everlasting punishment, the sinner is at once thrown into the everlasting fire ; if Heaven is his lot, the spirit has first to be purified in Purgatory. Jesus clearly taught that "Not that any man hath (Teaching :.r. f-^o TTo+v-or " ov,^ "^Q mau hath ascended up to^ ^^j^j^^'^^j' ^ le down from heaven." Uohn iii. i^ Reformers agreed with Rome about immediate judgment. of seen the Father," and heaven, but He that came 190 The Afte7' Life Enoch and Elijah. St. Paul's teaching misunder- stood. Eph. iv. 8. Heb. ix. 2; Heb. ix. (R.V.). Eph. iv. 8. Col. ii. It;. Teaching of St. Peter, St. John, and St. Paul. These passages are accepted as explicit on the point that no spirits were admitted into Heaven previous to the Crucifixion, but it is argued that St. Paul taught, in the following passage, that the result of the descent into Hades was that Jesus led out the spirits of the faithful, who had been in captivity : ' Wherefore he saith, When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.' St. Paul is again quoted as teaching that, since that time, all spirits are judged immediately after death : ' And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.' Unfortunately for those who hold this belief, the revisers of the text have altered the passage to : ' And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgement.' Canon Luckock has pointed out that the definite article is always prefixed to the noun when the final Judgment is spoken of. The absence of it in the above passage shows St. Paul's teaching to be that " death is immediately followed by a judgment or crisis ; but it can only be that by which the place of the soul is determined in Hades. "^ The explanation of the first passage which commends itself to me is that it is probably best interpreted by the passage, " And having spoiled principalities and powers " — the powers of sin and death — " He made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it "^ — the cross (see the passage quoted in Chapter HL). 1 confess I cannot understand how the Reformers brought themselves to oppose the direct teaching of St. Peter, St. John, and St. Paul, that the Resurrection of Jesus made no change as regards the detention of all Spirits in Hades until the Second Coming of Jesus. ^ " The Intermediate State," by Canon H. M. Luckock, D.D., 1890, p. 22. (Longmans.) 2 Bishop Ellicott's " Commentary." (Cassell and Co.) The Teaching of the Anglican Church 19 1 As Canon Luckock points out, the Fathers and Doctors of the Early Church did not make this mistake, but followed the teaching in the Epistles. Shortly after the Crucifixion, St. Peter told the Jews in Jerusalem that, " David is not ascended into the Acts ii. 34. heavens." In his first Epistle, he told the elders, " when the chief i Pet. v. 4. Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away," but not before ; and, in his second Epistle, he referred to the angels who sinned, and who were " reserved unto judgment,"" not already 2 Pet. ii. 4. ' sentenced ; and, in the same Epistle, he wrote of the unjust being reserved " unto the day of judgment to be 2 Pet. ii. 9. punished," but not before. St. John, in his first Epistle, wrote, " when He shall i J^hn iii. 2. appear, we shall be like Him," but not before ; and, " No man hath seen God at any time." ^ Johniv. 12. In nearly all his Epistles St. Paul taught this doc- trine : 1. ' Waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.' j" i Cor. i. 7. 2. ' Afterward they that are Christ's at His comiyig.' i i Cor. xv. 23. iPhil. i. 6. 3. ' Will perform it* until the day of Jesus Christ.' * R. V. per- fect it. 4. ' When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall Col. iii. 4. ye also appear with Him in glory.' 5. ' The dead in Christ s/ia// n'se first.' ■/ , " ^' ■^ { 16. 6. ' Whom no man hath seen nor can see.' i Tim. vi. 16. 7. ' That they without us should not be made perfect.' Heb. xi. 40. The Rev. H. Constable, in 1873, wrote : "Paul's teaching is reiterated by our Lord Himself i Cor. xv. in the Book of Revelation. He is comforting His Rev. H. Apostle John, overcome by His divine presence. His words of comfort are : Constable, in 1873. '"Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am He that Rev. i. 17, 18. liveth, and was dead ; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, + r y Amen ; and have the keys of hellf and of death.' ' Hades " The teaching of Christ here is very plain. He refers to His own death, when His body was in the grave and His soul in Hades. He refers to His own 192 The After Life resurrection, when His body left the grave and His soul was delivered from Hades. He does this to com- fort the mind of his Apostle John, and so of all believers, that what He had done for Himself He would do for them. He conveys the comfort in the words, ' I have the keys of Hades and of death.' What is this but saying, ' I will open Hades and the grave for my people, even as I opened them for Myself ?' And hence we are taught that for believers in Christ, since His resurrection, Hades still has the very same existence and power that it ever had, that it as truly reigns over them as death reigns. The words of Christ are but the reiteration of the sentiment of 1 Cor. XV. 55. Paul : ' O death, where is thy sting ? O Hades, where is thy victory ?' The sting of death would be removed, and the victory of Hades changed into defeat, when, in the morning of resurrection, Christ uses the keys of death and Hades, and lets the prisoners of hope free for ever."^ Canon H. M. Canon H. M. Luckock, D.D., in 1879, also said : Luckock, "It is clear that the Fathers and Doctors of the 79- Early Church were right in their conclusion, that the souls of the saints, whether martyrs or others, will not see God and be admitted to the Beatific Vision till after the Day of Judgment. It follows also that the perfect knowledge of which St. Paul spoke must be still in the future, and dependent on the same mani- festation."^ Rev.j.Bush, jj^g Rgy J Bush, in 1896, agreed, and wrote : in 1896. :Matt. XXV. ' And these shall go away into evei'lasting punishment : 46. but the righteous into life eternal.' " If the wicked and the righteous, who are thus judicially disposed of, had been, on the average, thousands of years in a state of absolute retribution ; 1 " Hades," by Rev. H, Constable, 1873, PP* 69, 70. (Elliot Stock.) 2 "After Death," by Canon H. M. Luckock, D.D., 1879, p. 227. (Longmans.) The Teaching of the Anglican Church 193 if they had left, these their chains and those their harps, to come to the judgment seat, then this verse would have read, ' And these shall go back into ever- lasting punishment, and the righteous into life eternal. . . . " We conclude that, until the general judgment, rewards are not bestowed and punishment is not inflicted."! 1 "The Intermediate State," by Rev. J. Bush, 1896, p. 15. (Methodist Pubhshing House.) 13 CHAPTER IX THE JUDGMENT ON THE LAST DAY. 13—2 CHAPTER IX The Judgment on the Last Day. ' HovvBEiT when He, the Spirit of truth, is come. He will Johnxvi. 13. guide you into all truth : for He shall not speak of Himself ; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak : and He will shew you things to come.' ' The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, Rev. i. i. to shew unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass ; and He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John.^ " What the First Coming of the Messiah was to the ancient saints His Second Coming is to us : we have the same certain but indefinite future ; very much more clearly outlined as to its great events, but equally undefined as to times and seasons, and vanishing into equal, if not deeper, mystery. "^ I feel that it is beyond me to attempt to criticize the different views held on this subject and to come to any final conclusion, and I shall therefore content myself with collecting the passages of Scripture which refer to the Last Day, and adding extracts from four of the authorities I have consulted. I venture only to add one thought that has occurred to me. St. Paul taught the Thessalonians that the i Thess. iv. faithful, who had died, would not lose any of the 13-18. glories of the coming Kingdom of God on earth by precedence being given to those who were still alive. ^ " A Compendium of Christian Theology," by Rev. W. B. Pope, D.D., 1875, vol. iii., p. 368, second edition 1881. (Wes- leyan Conference Office.) 197 198 The After Life St. Paul's words were : 1 Thess. iv. ' For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a 16, 17. shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God : and the dead in Christ shall rise first : ' Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air : and so shall we ever be with the Lord.' If the Apocalypse is read with the above, it woul4 seem to point to a millennial reign, which is to last for a " thousand years." Rev. XX. 4-6. ' And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judg- ment was given unto them : and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands ; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. ' But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. ' Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrec- tion : on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.' See Luke xiv. It appears probable that the rest of mankind on 14, XX. 35; ga^j^i-]^ ^]-^Q ^^Q j^Q-j- f^i iq -jjQ caught up to meet the John V. 29; ° ^ Phil. iii. Lord, will, at this time, die the " first death " ; and 11; I Cor. they will be kept in Hades during this "thousand years," and will be given the opportunity of becoming purified, which they would not have had, if the Final Judgment had been held immediately after the Second Coming of Jesus. At the end of the "-thousand years," the Final Judgment will take place, and the faithful will then be admitted into Heaven, and those sinners who are still unrepentant will die the " second death," which 2 Thess. i. 9. St. Paul explains as meaning " everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power." The lake of fire, Gehenna, and all the other numerous terms, by which the final punishment of sinners is expressed, refer to this " everlasting destruc- The Judgment on the Last Day 199 tion " written of by St. Paul ; and, as we are taught nothing to the contrary, we may rightly understand " destruction " to mean what it means in ordinary use. I therefore hold positively that the word " destruc- tion " does not mean, as many divines have taught, being kept alive for ever in never ceasing torments in material flames, but it is synonymous with extinc- tion, annihilation, and extermination. 1. ' Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter Matt. vii. 21- into the kingdom of heaven ; but he that doeth the will of 23. My Father which is in heaven. Luke xiii. 25- ' Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we 27. not prophesied in Thy name ? and in Thy name have cast out devils ? and in Thy name done many wonderful works ? ' And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you ; depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.' " No part of the Sermon on the Mount is more marvellous in its claims than this. ... At the com- mencement of His ministry, in a discourse which, though it is spoken in the tone of authority, gives no prominence to His mission as the Messiah, He yet claims, with the calmness of assured conviction, to be the Judge before whom the faithful and the hypo- crites will alike have to give an account. In ' that day ' (the words, though they would not suggest, as afterwards, the thought of His own advent, would yet carry the minds of men to the ' great and dreadful Mai. iv. 5. day ') the words ' Lord, Lord,' would mean hiore than the expression of human courtesy."^ 2. ' Another parable put He forth unto them, saying, The Matt. xiii. kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good 24-30, -^6- seed in his field : 43, 47-50. ' But while men slept, his enemy cam^ and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. ' But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. ' So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field ? from whence then hath it tares ? 1 Bishop Ellicott's " Commentary." (Cassell and Co.) 200 The After Life ' He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The ser- vants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up ? ' But he said, Nay ; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. ' I>et both grow together until the harvest : and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers. Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them : but gather the wheat into my barn. R.V. cause stumbling. ' Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house : and His disciples came unto Him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. ' He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man ; ' The field is the world ; the good seed are the children of the kingdom ; but the tares are the children of the wicked one , ' The enemy that sowed them is the devil : the harvest is the end of the world ; and the reapers are the angels. ' As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire ; so shall it be in the end of this world. ' The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend,* and them which do iniquity ; ' And shall cast them into a furnace of fire : there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. ' Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. ' Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind : ' Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. ' So shall it be at the end of the world : the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, ' And shall cast them into the furnace of fire : there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.' Bishop EUicott's " Commentary " explains the Verse 39. words, " the harvest is the end of the world " — strictly speaking, the end of the age — i.e., of the period that precedes the " coming " of the Son of Man as Judge, which is to usher in the " world " or the " age " to come.^ Matt, xvi.27.^ 3. ' For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father Markviii. 38. Iwith His angels ; and then He shall reward every man accord- Luke ix. 26. J ing to his works.' ^ Bishop EUicott's " Commentary." (Cassell and Co.) The Judgment on the Last Day 201 4. On the night before the Crucifixion, when the high priest said, " I adjure Thee by the Hving God, that Thou tell us whether Thou be the Christ, the Son of God," Jesus answered : ' Thou hast said : nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter Matt. xxvi. shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, 64. and coming in the clouds of heaven.' " He was indeed what the words they had uttered implied. More than this, He was also the Son of man of Daniel's vision, the Head of an everlasting kingdom. Dan. vii. 13. No words in the whole Gospel records are more de- cisive against the views of those who would fain see in our Lord only a great moral teacher like Socrates or Cakya Mouni. At the very crisis of His history, when denial would have saved His life, He asserts His claim to be much more than this, to be all that the most devout Christians have ever believed Him to be."i 5. ' Then answered Peter and said unto Him, Behold, we have\ Matt. xix. forsaken all, and followed Thee ; what shall we have therefore ? j 27-30. ' And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye Mark x. 28- which have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of ^ 31. man shall sit in the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon /Xuke xviii. twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel 28-30. ' And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or Luke xxii. sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for/ 28-30. My name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.* * R.V. ' But many that are first shall be last ; and the last shall be eternal first.' life. The words " the Son of man shall sit in the throne of His glory " recalls the vision of Daniel. Dan. vii. 14. " The repetition of the promise at the moment when Luke xxii. apparent failure was close at hand (and sit on thrones ^o- judging the twelve tribes of Israel), is significant as carrying the words into a higher region of symbolic meaning. Not on any thrones of earth were those disciples to sit, any more than the Master was to sit on the throne of His father David in an earthly Jeru- salem."2 ^ Bishop Ellicott's " Commentary," (Cassell and Co.) 2 Ibid. 202 The After Life Matt. xxiv. 6. ' And as He sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came 3-28. unto Him privately, saying. Tell us, when shall these things Mark xiii. i- be ? and what shall he the sign of Thy coming, and of the end 23. of the world ? Luke xvii. ' And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that 20-33, xxi. no man deceive you. 8-24, xxiii. ' For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ : and 29, 30. shall deceive many. ' And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars : see that ye be not troubled : for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. ' For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom : and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. ' All these are the beginning of sorrows. ' Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you : and ye shall be hated of all nations for My name's sake. * R.V. ' And then shall many be offended,* and shall betray one stumble, another, and shall hate one another. ' And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. ' And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. ' But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. ' And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations ; and then shall the end come. ' When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, Dan. xii. 11. spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand :) ' Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the moun- tains : ' Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house : ' Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. ' And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days ! ' But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day : ' For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. ' And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved : but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. ' Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there ; believe it not. ' For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders ; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. ' Behold, I have told you before. ' Wherefore if they shall say unto you. Behold, He is in the desert ; go not forth : behold, He is in the secret chamber ; believe it not. ' For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth The Judgment on the Last Day 203 even unto the west ; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. { Luke xvii. ' For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be | 37. gathered together.' | * R.V. vul- V tures. These prophecies referred to events which should take place before the destruction of Jerusalem, and they were most completely fulfilled. We read of wars, actual or threatened, that affected the Jews, under Caligula, Claudius, and Nero (Jos., "Ant.," XX. I, 6).i At Seleucia, 50,000 Jews are said to have perished (" Ant.," xviii. 9, §§ 8, 9) ; others at Caesarea, Scytho- polis, Joppa, Ascalon, and Tyre (" Wars," ii. 18) ; and there was the memorable conflict between Jews and Greeks, at Alexandria, under Caligula, a.d. 38, of which we learn from Philo.^ The reign of the Emperor Claudius was marked by "continual scarcity" (Suetonius, Claud., c. 18); and in the ninth year of his reign there was a severe famine in Syria.^ A pestilence is recorded as sweeping off 30,000 persons at Rome (Sueton., Nero, 39; Tacitus, Ann., xvi. 13).^ Many earthquakes were recorded during this period.^ Bishop EUicott's " Commentary " points out that from verse 29 " onwards the prophecy takes a wider range, and passes beyond the narrow limits of the destruction of Jerusalem to the final coming of the Son of man, and the one is represented as following ' imme- diately ' on the other. "1 7. "The truest and most reverential explanation" of versa 29. the use of the word ' immediately,' although actually so many centuries have passed, is to be found in Mark. ' But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not Mark xiii. the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the 32. Father. ' ^ Bishop EUicott's " Commentary." (Cassell and Co.) 204 The After Life Phil, ii. 7. " and therefore He, as truly man, and as having, therefore, vouchsafed to accept the Umitations of knowledge incident to man's nature, speaks of the two events as poets and prophets speak of the far-off future."^ Matt. xxiv.>, 8. ' Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall 29-36. the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, Markxiii.24- and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the 32. Iheavens shall be shaken : Luke xxi. 25- ' And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven : 33- and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they Markxiv. 62.J shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ' And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. ' Now learn a parable of the fig-tree ; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh : ' So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. ' Verily I say unto you. This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. ' Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away. ' But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only.' " The words, ' shall the sun be darkened,' reproduce isa. xiii. 10. the imagery in which Isaiah had described the day of the Lord's judgment upon Babylon."^ Matt. xxiv. 37-51. Mark 9. ' But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. xui. I ' For as in the days that were before the flood they were 33-37. Veating and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage, until Luke xvii. the day that Noe entered into the ark, 34-36. I ' And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away ; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. ' Then shall two be in the field ; the one shall be taken, and the other left. ' Two women shall be grinding at the mill ; the one shall be taken, and the other left. ' Watch therefore : for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. ' But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. I Thess. v. 2. Bishop Ellicott's " Commentary." (Cassell and Co.) The Judgment on the Last Day 205 ' Therefore be ye also ready : for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. ' Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season ? ' Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. ' Verily I say unto you. That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. ' But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart. My lord delayeth his coming ; ' And shall begin to smite Ms fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken ; ' The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, ' And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites : there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' 10. ' Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. ' And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. ' They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them : ' But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. ' While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. ' And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bride- groom cometh ; go ye out to meet him. ' Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. ' And the foolish said unto the wise. Give us of your oil ; for our lamps are gone out.* ' But the wise answered, saying, 'Not so : lest there be not enough for us and you : but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. ' And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came ; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage : and the door was shut. ' Afterwards came also the other virgins, saying. Lord, Lord, open to us. ' But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. ' Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.' 11. ' For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. ' And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one ; to every man according to his several ability ; and straightway took his journey. ' Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. ' And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. ' But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. Matt. XXV. 1-46, see vii. 21-23. Mark viii. 38, ix. 41. Luke xii. 31- 59, xiii.24- 30, xix. 12- 27. * R.V. are going out. Matt. xxv. 14-30. 2o6 The After Life ' After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. ' And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents : behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. ' His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant : thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things : enter thou into the joy of thy lord. ' He also that had received two talents came and said. Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents : behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. ' His lord said unto him. Well done, good and faithful servant ; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things : enter thou into the joy of thy lord. ' Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed : ' And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth : lo, there thou hast that is thine. ' His lord answered and said unto him.. Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed : ' Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. ' Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. ' For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shaU have abundance : but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. ' And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness : there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' Matt. XXV. 12. ' When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all 31-46. the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of Dan. vu. 13. pjjg g^Q^-y . ' And before Him shall be gathered all nations : and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats : ' And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. ' Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand. Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world : ' For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat : I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink : I was a stranger, and ye took Me in : ' Naked, and ye clothed Me : I was sick, and ye visited Me : I was in prison, and ye came unto Me. ' Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying. Lord, when saw we Thee an hungred, and fed Thee ? or thirsty, and gave Thee drink ? ' When saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in ? or naked, and clothed Thee ? The Judgment on the Last Day 207 ' Or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee ? ' And the King shall answer and say unto them. Verily I say unto you. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. ' Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand. Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,* prepared for the * r.v. devil and his angels : eternal ' For I was an hungred, and ye gave Me no meat : I was fire, thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink : ' I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in : naked, and ye clothed Me not : sick and in prison, and ye visited Me not. ' Then shall they also answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee ? ' Then shall He answer them, saying. Verily I say unto you. Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ve did it not to Me. i* R.V. ' And these shall go away into everlasting punishment :* but J eternal the righteous into life eternal.' 1 punish- l ment. 13. 'Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them Matt, xxviii. in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy ig_ 20. Ghost : ' Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you : and, lo, I am with you alway, eveyi unto the end of the world. Amen.' I have already pointed out (Chapter VI., "Ever- lasting as applied to punishment") that verse 46, which is the only passage in the whole Bible which contains tjie words " everlasting punishment," should be read with verse 41. The first verse contains the sentence, " Depart from Verse 41. Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels," and the second contains the con- Verse 46. tinuation, " into everlasting, or eternal, punishment," that is to say, punishment from which there can be no recovery, and which is eternal in its effect. " Ever- lasting," " eternal," and " unquenchable " fire are three of the many terms used to describe the final state of persistent sinners, and, as we are told nothing to the contrary, we may properly understand some awful and final destruction which is likened to chaff, tares, or withered branches being thrown into an intensely hot and raging fire, where they must be utterly consumed. 208 The After Life John V. 24 29. * R.V. eternal life. t R.V. judg- ment. John vi. 39, 40. % R.V. eternal life. John xii. 48- 50. § R.V. life eternal. Acts i. 9-1 1. Dan. vii. 13. Acts iii. 19- 21. Matt. xvii. 1 1. 2 Pet. iii. 13. II R.V. restora- tion. Acts xvii. 29- 31. \ R.V. God over- looked. 14. ' Verily, verily, I say unto you. He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life,* and shall not come into condemnation ; but is passed from death unto life. ' Verily, verily, I say unto you. The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God : and they that hear shall live. ' For as the Father hath life in Himself ; so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself ; ' And hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man. ' Marvel not at this : for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, ' And shall come forth ; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life ; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. '| 15. ' And this is the Father's will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. ' And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have ever- lasting life :% and I will raise him up at the last day.' 16. ' He that rejecteth Me, and receiveth not My words, hath one that judgeth him : the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. ' For I have not spoken of Myself ; but the Father which sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. ' And I know that His commandment is life everlasting : § whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto Me, so I speak.' 1. ' And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld. He was taken up ; and a cloud received Him out of their sight. ' And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel ; ' Which also said. Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven ? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.' 2. ' Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord ; ' And He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached 'unto you : ' Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitu- tion || of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.' 3. ' Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. ' And the times of this ignorance God winked^ at ; but now commandeth all men every where to repent : ' Because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will The Judgment on the Last Day 209 judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained ; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead.' St. Paul, in verse 30, "was reproducing what our Lord had taught as to the servant who ' knew not his Lord's will,' and should therefore be beaten, but ' with Luke xii. 48. few stripes.' "^ 4. ' And have hope toward God, which they themselves also Acts xxiv allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of 15. the just and unjust.' 5. ' But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up Rom. ii. 5- unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of 16. the righteous judgment of God ; ' Who will render to every man according to his deeds : ' To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality,* eternal life : * r.V. incor- ' But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the ruption. truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, ' Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile ; ' But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile : ' For there is no respect of persons with God. ' For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish Avithout law : and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law ; ' (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. ' For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves : ' Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another ;) ' In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.' 6. ' For the earnest expectation of the creaturef waiteth for Rom.viii. 19- the manifestation of the sons of God. 23. ' For the creaturef was made subject to vanity, not will- ■]• R.y. of the ingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in creation, hope, ' Because the creature f itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. ' ' For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. ' And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within our- selves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our bodv.' ^ Bishop EUicott's " Commentary." (Cassell and Co.) 14 2IO The After Life I Cor. XV. I- 7. 'Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which 28, 3S"58- I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand ; ' By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. ' For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures ; ' And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures : ' And that He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve : ' After that. He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once ; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. ' After that. He was seen of James ; then of all the Apostles. ' And last of all He was seen of me also, as of one born out '-of due time. ' For I am the least of the Apostles, that am not meet to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God. ' But by the grace of God I am what I am : and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain ; but I laboured more abundantly than they all : yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. ' Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed. ' Now if Christ be preached that He rose from the dead, how say some among 3'ou that there is no resurrection of the dead ? ' But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen : ' And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. ' Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God ; because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ : whom He raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. ' For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised : ' And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain ; ye are yet in your sins. ' Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. ' If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. ' But now is Christ risen from the dead, and, become the firstfruits of them that slept. ' For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. ' For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. ' But every man in his own order : Christ the firstfruits ; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming. ' Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father ; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. ' For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. ' The last enemy tliat shall be destroyed is death. The Judgment on the Last Day 2 1 1 ' For He hath put all things under His feet. But when He saith all things are put under Him, it is manifest that He is excepted, which did put all things under Him. ' And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all. * But some man will say. How are the dead raised up ? and with what body do they come ? ' Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die : ' And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain : ' But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed his own body. ' All flesh is not the same flesh : but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and ^.nother of birds. ' There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial : but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. ' There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars : for one star differeth from another star in glory. ' So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in cor- ruption ; it is raised in incorruption : ' It is sown in dishonour ; it is raised in glory : it is sown in weakness ; it is raised in power : ' It is sown a natural body ; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 'And so it is written. The first man Adam was made a living soul ; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. * Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural ; and afterward that which is spirtual. ' The first man is of the earth, earthy : the second man is the Lord from heaven. ' As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy : and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. ' And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. ' Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God ; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. ' Behold, I shew you a mystery ; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, • ' In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump : for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised in- corruptible, and we shall be changed. ' For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal ■must put on immortality. ' So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victorv. 14—3 212 The After Life ' O death, where is thy sting ? O grave, where is thy victory ? ' The sting of death is sin ; and the strength of sin is the law. ' But thanks he to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. ' Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmove- able, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. 2 Cor. iv. 14. 8. ' Knowing that He which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.' 2 Cor. V. 10. 9. ' For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, accord- ing to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.' Phil. iii. 20, 10. ' For our conversation is in heaven ; from whence also we 21. look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ : ' Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself.' Col. iii. 4. II- ' When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.' I Thess. iv. 12. ' But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, con- 13-18. cerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. ' For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. ' For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord * R.V. shall not prevent* them which are asleep. precede. ' For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God : and the dead in Christ shall rise first : ' Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air : and so shall we ever be with the Lord. ' Wherefore comfort one another with these words.' 4: Hi :(: 4: * =)< 1 Thess. v. 13. ' But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no 1-5. need that I write unto you. ' For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so Cometh as a thief in the night. ' For when they shall say. Peace and safety ; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child ; and they shall not escape. ' But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. ' Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day : we are not of the night, nor of darkness.' 2 Thess. i. 7- 14. ' And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord 10. Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, ' In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not + R.V. God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ : eternal ' Who shall be punished with everlasting destructionf destruc- from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His tion. power ; The Judgment on the Last Day 213 ' When He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.' 15. ' Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord 2 Thess. ii. i- Jesus Christ, and hy our gathering together unto Him, 12. ' That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. ' Let no man deceive you by any means : for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition ; ' Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped ; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. ' Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with, you, I told you these things ? ' And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. ' For the mystery of iniquity doth already work : only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. ' And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming : ' Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, ' And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish ; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ' And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie : ' That they all might be damned* who believed not the * R.V. truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.' judged. 16. 'For the which cause I also suffer these things : neverthe- 2 Tim. i. 12. less I am not ashamed : for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.' 17. ' I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus 2 Tim. iv. i Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing 8. and His kingdom ; ****** ' Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day : and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.' /"Heb. ix. 27, 28. t R.V. after this Cometh judg- ^ ment. 19. ' Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Jas. v. 7-9. Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. 18. * And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment :f ' So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many ; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.' 2 14 ^'^^ After Life ' Be ye also patient ; stablish your hearts : for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. ' Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be con- demned : behold, the Judge standeth before the door.' I Pet. i. 3-6, 20. ' Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 13. which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ' To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, ' Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ' Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations :' ' Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ ;' I Pet. iv. 5- 21. ' Who shall give account to Him that is ready to judge the ^ 7. quick and the dead. ' For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but hve according to God in the spirit. ' But the end of all things is at hand : be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.' 1 Pet. v. 1-4. 22. ' The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed : ' Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the over- sight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly ; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind ; ' Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being en- samples to the flock. ' And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away, 2 Pet. ii. 9. 23. ' The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of tempta- tions, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished : 2 Pet. iii. 7- 24. ' But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the 14. same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. ' But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ' The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness ; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not wiUing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. ' But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night ; in the Avhich the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. ' Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and Godliness, The Judgment on the Last Day 215 ' Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat ? ' Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. ' Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.' 25. ' And now, little children, abide in Him ; that, when He i John ii. 28. shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.' 26. ' Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not i John iii. 2, yet appear what we shall be : but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him ; for we shall see Him as He is.' 27. ' Herein is our love m.ade perfect, that we may have bold- i Johniv. 17. ness in the day of judgment : because as He is, so are we in this world.' 28. ' And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied Jude 14, 15. of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, ' To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.' I have included the following passages from the Revelation of St. John, although it is admitted that the book is figurative and symbolical, and no key has yet been found to enable us to interpret it in a satis- factory way. 1. ' Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words Rev. i. 3. of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein : for the time is at hand.' 2. ' Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also Rev. iii. 10, will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come 11. upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. ' Behold, I come quickly : hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.' 3. ' And I beheld when He had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, Rev. vi. 12- there was a great earthquake ; and the sun became black as 17. sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood ; ' And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig- tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. ' And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled to- gether ; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. ' And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains ; 2i6 The After Life And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb : ' For the great day of His wrath is come ; and who shall be able to stand ?' Rev. xi. 1 8, 4. ' And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and 19. the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear Thy name, small and great ; .and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. ' And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament : and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earth- quake, and great hail.' Rev. xiv. 8- 5. ' And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is II, 14-20. fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. ' And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and re- ceive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, ' The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brim- stone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb : ' And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever : and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. ' And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on His head a " golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. * And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in Thy sickle, and reap : for the time is come for Thee to reap ; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. ' And He that sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth ; and the earth was reaped. * And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. ' And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire ; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying. Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth ; for her grapes are fully ripe. ' And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great wine press of the wrath of God. ' And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.' Rev. xvi. I- 6. ' And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the 21. seven angels. Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earih. The Judgment on the Last Day 217 ' And the first went, and poured out his vial upon tlie earth ; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image. ' And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea ; and it became as the blood of a dead man : and every living soul died in the sea. ' And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters, and they became blood. ' And I heard the angel of the waters say. Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because Thou hast judged thus. ' For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and Thou hast given them blood to drink ; for they are worthj^ ' And I heard another out of the altar say. Even so. Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgments. ' And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun ; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. ' And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues : and they repented not to give Him glory. ' And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast ; and his kingdom was full of darkness ; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, ' And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds. ' And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates ; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. ' And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. ' For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. ' Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. ' And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. ' And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air ; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying. It is done. ' And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings ; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. ' ' And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell : and great Babylon came in remem- brance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. ' And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. ' And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent : and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail ; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.' 2i8 The After Life Rev. XV ii. i- 7. ' And there came one of the seven angels which had the 18. seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither ; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters : ' With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornica- tion, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. ' So he carried m.e away in the spirit into the wilderness : and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. ' And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication : ' And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HAREOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. ' And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus : and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. ' And the angel said unto me. Wherefore didst thou marvel ? I will tell thee the mj^stery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. ' The beast that thou sawest was, and is not ; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition : and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. ' And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. ' And there are seven kings : five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come ; and when he cometh, he must con- tinue a short space. ' And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. ' And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet ; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. ' These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. ' These shall make war with the I.amb, and the Lamb shall overcome them : for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings : and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faith- ful. ' And he saith unto me. The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. ' And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. ' For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil His will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. ' And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.' The Judgment on the Last Day 219 8. ' And after these things I saw another angel come down Rev. xviii. i- from heaven, having great power ; and the earth was hghtened 24. ^ with his glory. ' And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. ' For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed forni- cation with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. ' And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. ' For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. ' Reward her even as she rcAvarded you, and double unto her double according to her works : in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. ' How much she. hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her : for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. ' Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine ; and she shall be utterly burned with fire : for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. ' And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornica- tion and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, ' Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city ! for in one hour is thy judgment come. ' And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her ; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more : ' The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, ' And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankin- cense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. ' And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. ' The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, ' And saying, Alas, alas that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls ! ' For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, ' And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city ! 2 20 The After Life ' And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and waiUng, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness ! for in one hour is she made desolate. ' Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy Apostles and prophets ; for God hath avenged you on her. ' And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great mill- stone, and cast it into the sea, saying. Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. ' And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee ; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee ; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee ; ' And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee ; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee : for thy merchants were the great men of the earth ; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. * And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.' Rev. xix. 17- 9. ' And I saw an angel standing in the sun ; and he cried 21. with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God ; ' That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of cap- tains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. ' And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. ' And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. ' And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth : and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.' Rev. XX. I- 10. ' And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the 15, key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. ' And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, ' And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled : and after that he must be loosed a little season. ' And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them : and / saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands ; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand vears. The Judgment on the Last Day 221 ' But the rest of the dead hved not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. ' Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrec- tion : on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. ' And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison. ' And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle : the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. ' And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and com- passed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city : and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. ' And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. ' And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away ; and there was found no place for them. ' And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God ; and the books were opened ; and another book was opened, which is the book of life : and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. ' And the sea gave up the dead which were in it ; and death and hell* delivered up the dead which were in them : and * R.V. they were judged every man according to their works. Hades. ' And death and hellf were cast into the lake of fire. This t R.V. is the second death. Hades. ' And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.' 11. * But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, Rev. xxi. 8. and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone : which is the second death.' " It is solemnly and distinctly asserted that all who Rev. H. H. have ever lived shall be awakened from the sleep of 1844^*^^'^° death, and shall come forth from their graves, and undergo a scrutiny. The judgment will take place according to fixed principles, universally applied : there will be, we are assured, ' no respect of persons.' Rom. ii. n. The statements of Scripture are explicit : ' We must 2 Cor. v. 10. all appear before the judgment seat of Christ ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.' 222 The After Life Matt, XXV 34- Matt. XXV 41, 46. " And the Judge Himself represents Himself as say- ing to one class, ' Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the founda- tion of the world '; and to another class, ' Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels,' and he asserts, that as a conse- quence, the one class will rise to highest bliss, the other sink into awful woe — ' These shall go away into ever- 2 Thess. i. 9. lasting punishment '; — they ' shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power.' "^ " Although in one noted description of the ' torment ' in Hades of the spirit of the selfish sensualist, Christ seems, according to St. Luke, to indicate suffering as awaiting the separate souls of wicked men who have had ' Moses and the prophets,' He and His Apostles more usually point to ' a day of judgment ' in the future as the ' appointed ' time of the execution of these awful threatenings. Rev. Edward White, in 1846. Luke xvi. 29. Matt. X. 15. " ' It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment than for that city.' " And by Christ Himself it is distinctly said that men Rom.viii. II. who are thus judged will appear before God in their bodies, to undergo the infliction. John V. 28, " ' All that are in the graves shall hear His voice, 29. " ' And shall come forth ; they that have done good, unto *R.V. judge- '^■he resurrection of life ; and they that have done evil, unto ment. the resvirrection of damnation.'''^ Acts 15- "St. Paul speaks of himself as having hope toward V. God ' that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.' "St. John also, in the vision in the Apocalypse, appears to confirm this tremendous expectation, when he says : Rev. XX. 12, 'I saw the dead, (the dead who lived again at the end of the 15. millennium), small and great, (high and low), stand before ^ "Lectures on Future Punishment," by Rev. H. H. Dobney, 1844, pp. 26, 27. (T. Ward and Co.) The Judgment on the Last Day 223 God ; . . . and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. . . . ' And whosoever was not found written in the book of hfe was cast into the lake of fire.' "^ " Then, when the Great Assize takes place, shall be Rev. S. the resurrection of the unjust, as also of the just. Then in^^o4.* ' the judgment, the sentence, the going into the eternal fire, and the destruction of both soul and body in Gehenna, like chaff, or tares, or withered branches : ' this is the second death.' "^ Rev. xx. 14. "Our Lord makes a distinction as to the Kingdom. Rev. j. Bush, Up to the end of this world, it is ' His own Kingdom ' ; ^^ ^^^^' after that crisis, it is ' the Kingdom of the Father.' So long as probation lasts, and until the day of reckoning and retribution, it is His Kingdom and He governs ; and the last act of His government will be the judging of all those whom He had redeemed and governed. After that, the Son of God retires from the mediatorial office and work, and thenceforth it is the Kingdom of the Father. "3 Matt.xvi.27. I think I have made it clear that I do not believe the body, which is laid in the grave and gradually becomes dust, will be raised again exactly as it was. St. Paul gave no uncertain answer to the question : ' How are the dead raised up ? and with what body do they j Qqj. ^^ ,,-. come ? ^8* ' Thou fool,' he said, that which thou sowest is not quick- ened, except it die : ' And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain : ' But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed His own body.' I believe that, immediately after death, the soul and the Spirit — whether dormant or quickened — enter a 1 " Life in Christ," by Rev. Edward White, 1846. pp. 375. (EUiot Stock.) 2 " Immortality in Christ," Litt.D., M.R.I. A., 1904, p. 94. 374, 3 " The Intermediate State, (Methodist Publishing House.) by Rev. S. Hemphill, D.D., ( Simpkin, Marshall. ) by Rev. J. Bush, 1896, p. 28. 224 '^^^ After Life spirit-body suited to the conditions of the Intermediate State, and, at the Resurrection, it is the spirit-body which will rise, and which, in the case of the righteous, will be changed for a celestial body. A certain resemblance is preserved through all these changes, so that recognition will be possible in Hades, and also in Heaven. CHAPTER X I.— HEAVEN. II.— GOD THE FATHER. 15 CHAPTER X I. — Heaven. II. — God the Father. We have some glimpses of Heaven in the passages of Scripture which I have collected and arranged under the above two Heads. ' Thou wilt show me the path of hfe : in Thy presence is -Ps. xvi. ii. fulness of joy ; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for ever- more.' ' For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His P^- ^"^- "• m.ercy toward them that fear Him.' ' Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty : they shall ^^^- ^^^^ behold the land that is very far off.' ^7- I. — Heaven. Matt. 12. V. 8- 1. ' Blessed are the pure in heart : for they shall see God. ' Blessed are the peacemakers : for they shall be called the children of God. ' Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake : for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ' Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute yoti, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. ' Rejoice, and be exceeding glad : for great is your reward in heaven : for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.' 2. 'Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the Matt. xiii.43 kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.' 3. ' For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels ; and then He shall reward every man according to his works.' 4. ' And was transfigured before them : and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light.' 5. ' Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones ; for I say unto you. That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of My Father which is in heaven.' 227 15 — 2 (■Matt. ■1 Mark (Luke (Matt. 1 Mark ^Luke Matt. 10. XVI. 27. viii. 38. ix. 26. xvii. 2. ix. 3. ix. 29. xviii. 228 The After Life Matt. XIX. 13- Mark IS- X. 13 16. Luke XVlll 15, 16. Matt. xxii 29-32. Mark xii 24- 27. Luke XX 34- Matt, xxviii 2, 3- Mark xvi. 5. Luke xxiv. 4, John XX. 12. Matt, xxviii. 18-20. Mark xvi. 15. Luke xxiv, 47- Luke XV. 3 10. See Matt, xviii. 12-14 Luke xxiv 36-40. \ 6. ' Then were there brought unto Him Httle children, that He should put His hands on them, and pray : and the disciples ^rebuked them. ' But Jesus said. Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto Me : for of such is the kingdom of heaven. ' And He laid His hands on them, and departed thence.' "\ 7. ' Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. ' For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. ' But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, ' I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob ? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.' 8. ' And, behold, there was a great earthquake : for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. ' His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow.' 19. ' And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying. All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. ' Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost : ' Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you : and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.' 10. ' And He spake this parable unto them, saying, ' What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it ? ' And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ' And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me ; for I have found my sheep which was lost. ' I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. ' Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it ? ' And when she hath found it, she calleth hev friends and hev neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me ; for I have found the piece which I had lost. ' Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.' 11. ' And as they thus spake, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them. Peace he unto you. ' But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. ' And He said unto them, Why are ye troubled ? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts ? ' Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I myself : handle Heaven 229 Me, and see ; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have. ' And when He had thus spoken, He shewed them Kis hands and His feet.' 12. ' And He led them out as far as to Bethany, and He hfted Luke xxiv. up His hands, and blessed them. 50, 51. ' And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.' 13. ' And He saith unto him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, John i. 51. Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.' 14. 'And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that John iii. 13, came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.' 15. ' In My Father's house are many mansions : if it were not John xiv. 2, so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for 3- you. 'And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself ; that where I am, there ye may be also.' 16. ' Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, John xvii. be with Me where I am ; that they may behold My glory, 24. which Thou hast given Me : for Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world.' 17. ' And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld. Acts i. 9, 10. He was taken up ; and a cloud received Him out of their sight. ' And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel.' 18. ' And He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached Acts iii. 20, unto you : 21. ' Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitu- * R.v. tion* of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of restora- all His holy prophets since the world began.' tion. 19. ' The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we Rom. viii.i6- are the children of God : 18. ' And if children, then heirs ; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together. ' For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.' 20. ' But as it is written. Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, i Cor. ii. 9- neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which 12. God hath prepared for them that love Him. ' But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit : for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. ' For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him ? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. ' Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God ; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.' 21. ' For now we see through a glass, darkly ; but then face to i Cor.xiii. 12. face : now I know in part ; but then shall I know even as also I am known.' 23'o The After Life 1 Cor. XV. 35- 22 ' But some manwiW say, How are the dead raised up ? and 5°- with what body do they come ? ' Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die : ' And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain : ' But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed his own body. ' AH flesh is not the same flesh : but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. ' There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial : but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. ' There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars : for one star differeth from another star in glory. ' So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in cor- ruption ; it is raised in incorruption : ' It is sown in dishonour ; it is raised in glory : it is sown in weakness ; it is raised in power : ' It is sown a natural body ; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. ' And so it is written. The first man Adam was made a living soul ; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. ' Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural ; and afterward that which is spiritual. ' The first man is of the earth, earthy : the second man is the Lord from heaven. ' As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy : and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. ' And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. ' Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God ; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. ' Behold, I shew you a mystery ; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, ' In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump : for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. ' For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. ' So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. ' O death, where is thy sting ? O grave, where is thy victory ? ' The sting of death is sin ; and the strength of sin is the law. ' But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. ' Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmove- able, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.' Heaven 231 23. ' But Ave all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory - Cor. ill. i8. of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.' 24. ' For we know that if our earthly house of tins tabernacle - ^or. v. i -4. were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ' For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven : ' If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. ' For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened : not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.' 25. ' It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come "^ ^^' ■^"' ^" to visions and revelations of the Lord. '^' ' I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell ; or whether out of the body, I can- not tell : God knoweth ;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. ' And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell : God knoweth ;) ' How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.' . 26. ' Which he wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from ^V"^- ^- 20-23. the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, ' Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come : ' And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the Church, ' Which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.' 27. ' For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Eph. m. 14, Lord Jesus Christ, ^^' ' Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.' 28. ' Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Phil. u. 9, 10. Him a name which is above every name : ' That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth.' 29. ' For our conversation is in heaven ; from whence also we Phil. iii. 20, look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ : 21. ' Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself.' 30. ' Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet Col. i. 12-20. to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light : ' Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son : ' In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins : ' Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature : ' For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be 232 The After Life thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers : all things were created by Him, and for Him : ' And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. ' And He is the head of the body, the Church : who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead ; that in all things He might have the pre-eminence. ' For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell ; ' And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself ; by Him, / say, whether they he things in earth, or things in heaven.' Col. iii. 4. 31. ' When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.' I Thess. iv. 32. ' For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a 16-18. shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God : and the dead in Christ shall rise first : ' Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air : and so shall we ever be with the Lord. ' Wherefore comfort one another with these words.' I Tim. vi. 14 33. 'That thou keep this commandment without spot, unre- 16. bukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ : ' Which in His times He shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords ; ' Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which * R.V. no man can approach unto ; whom no man hath seen, nor can eternal. see : to whom be honour and power everlasting.* Amen.' Heb. i. 1 3, 34. ' But to which of the angels said He at any time, Sit on My 14. ' right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool ? ' Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation ?' Heb. xi. 5. 35. ' By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death ; and was not found, because God had translated him : for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.' Heb. xii. 28. 36. 'Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which*- cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God accept- ably with reverence and godly fear.' Tas. i. 17. 37. ' Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and Cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.' I Pet. i. 3, 4. 38. ' Blessed he the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ' To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.' 1 Pet. v. 4. 39. ' And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.' 2 Pet. iii. 13, ^0- ' Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new 14. ' heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. ' Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless.' I Tohn iii 2 ^^' ' ^^loved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be : but we know that, when He Heaven 233 shall appear, we shall be like Him ; for we shall see Him as He is.' 1. ' He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white Rev. iii. 5. raiment ; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels.' 2. ' Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple. Rev. iii. 12. of My God, and he shall go no more out : and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from My God : and / will write upon him My new name.' 3. ■' And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four Rev. v. 8-14. and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. ' And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof : for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ; ' And hast made us unto our God kings and priests : and we shall reign on the earth. ' And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders : and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousa,nd, and thousands of thousands ; ' Saying with a loud voice. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. ' And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying. Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. ' And the four beasts said. Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped Him that liveth for ever and ever.' 4. ' After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no Rev. vii. 9- man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, 17. and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands ; ' And cried with a loud voice, saying. Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. ' And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, ' Saying, Amen : Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. ' And one of the elders answered, saying unto me. What are these which are arrayed in white robes ? and whence came they ? ' And I said unto him. Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me. These are they which came out of great tribulation, and 234 I^he After Life have washed their robes, and made them white in. the blood of the Lamb. ' Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple : and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. ' The}'' shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. ' For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters : and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.' Rev. X. 6, 7. 5. ' And sware by Him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer : ' But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as He hath declared to His servants the prophets.' Rev. xiv. I- 6. ' And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Sion, 7, 12, 13. and with Him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. ' And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder : and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps : ' And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders : and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were recieemed from the earth. ' These are they which were not defiled with women ; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These were redeemed from among men, heAng the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. ' And in their mouth was found no guile : for they are without fault before the throne of God. ' And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, ' Saying with a loud voice. Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. ' Here is the patience of the saints : here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. ' And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me. Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth : Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours ; and their works do follow them.' Rev. XV. 1-8. 7. ' And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues ; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. ' And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire : and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. Heaven 235 ' And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty ; just and true ave Thy ways, Thou King of saints. ' Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name ? for Thou only art holy : for all nations shall come and worship before Thee ; for Thy judgments are made manifest. ' And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened : ' And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. ' And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. ' And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from His power ; and no man was able to enter into the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.' 8. ' And after these things I heard a great voice of much people Rev. xix. i- in heaven, saying, Alleluia ; Salvation, and glory, and honour, i6. and power, unto the Lord our God : ' For true and righteous ave His judgments : for He hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of His servants at her hand. 'And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. ' And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying. Amen ; Alleluia. ' And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye His servants, and ye that fear Him, both small and great. ' And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of manv waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying. Alleluia : for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. ' Let lis be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him : for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready. ' And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white : for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. ' And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me. These are the true sayings of God. ' And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not : I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus : worship God : for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. ' And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse ; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. ' His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns ; and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself. 236 The After Life ' And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood : and His name is called The Word of God. ' And the armies which, were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. ' And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations : and He shall rule them with a rod of iron : and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. ' And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.' Rev. XX. II- 9. ' And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, 13- from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away ; and there was found no place for them. ' And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God ; , and the books were opened : and another book was opened, which is the hook of life : and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. ' And the sea gave up the dead which were in it ; and death * R.V. and hell* delivered up the dead which were in them : and they Hades. were judged every man according to their works.' Rev. xxi. I- 10. ' And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first 7, 9-27. heaven and the first earth were passed away ; and there was no more sea. ' And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ' And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying. Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and he their God. ' And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain : for the former things are passed away. ' And He that sat upon the throne said. Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write : for these words are true and faithful. ' And He said unto me. It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. ' He that overcometh shall inherit all things ; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son. ' And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. ' And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, ' Having the glory of God : and her light was like unto a stone most px'ecious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal ; ' And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon; Heaven 237 which are the navvies of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel : ' On the east three gates ; on the north three gates ; on the south three gates ; and on the west three gates. ' And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. ' And the city lieth four-square, and the length is as large as the breadth : and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. ' And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, accovding to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. ' And the building of the wall of it was of jasper : and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. 'And the foundations of the wall of the city weve garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper ; the second, sapphire ; the third, a chalcedony ; the fourth, an emerald ; ' The fifth, sardonyx ; the sixth, sardius ; the seventh, chrysolyte ; the eighth, beryl ; the ninth, a topaz ; the tenth, a chrysoprasus ; the eleventh, a jacinth ; the twelfth, an amethyst. ' And the twelve gates weve twelve pearls ; every several gate was of one pearl : and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. ' And I saw no temple therein : for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. ' And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it : for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. ' And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it : and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. ' And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day : for there shall be no night there. ' And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. ' And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoevev worketh abomination, or maketh a lie : but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.' 11. ' And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as Rev. xxii. i- crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the 21. Lamb. ' In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was theve the tree of life, which bare twelve mannev of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month : and the leaves of the tree weve for the healing of the nations. ' And there shall be no more curse : but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it ; and His servants shall serve Him : ' And they shall see His face ; and His name shall be in their foreheads. ' And there shall be no night there ; and they need no 238 ■ The Afte7'- Life candle, neither light of the sun ; for the Lord God givetli them light : and they shall reign for ever and ever. ' And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true : and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to shew unto His servants the things which must shortly be done. ' Behold, I come quickly : blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. ' And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. ' Then saith he unto me. See thou do it not : for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book : worship God. ' And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book : for the time is at hand. ' He that is unjust, let him be unjust still : and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still : and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still : and he that is holy, let him be holy still. ' And, behold, I come quickly ; and My reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. ' I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. ' Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. ' For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. ' I Jesus have sent Mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. ' And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say. Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. ' For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book. If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book : ' And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. ' He which testifieth these things saith. Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. ' The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ he with you all. Amen.' II. — God the Father. Matt. V. 45. 1. ' That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven : for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.' Matt. v. 48. 2. ' Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.' God the Father 239 3. ' That thine alms may be in secret : and thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly.' 4. ' But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret ; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.' 5. ' Be not ye therefore like unto them : for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.' 6. ' For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you : ' But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.' 7. ' That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret : and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.' 8. ' Behold the fowls of the air : for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns ; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they ?' 9. ' Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith ?' 10. ' (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek :) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.' 11. 'If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him ?' 12. ' For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.' 13. ' Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing ? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.' 14. ' At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. ' Even so, Father : for so it seemed good in Thy sight. ' All things are delivered unto Me of My Father : and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father ; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him.' 15. ' And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona : for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven.' 16. ' For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels ; and then He shall reward every man accord-- ing to his works.' 17. ' Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones ; for I say unto you. That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of My Father which is in heaven.' 18. ' Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.' 19. ' Again I say unto you. That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven.' 20. ' So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their - trespasses.' Matt. vi. 4- Matt. vi. 6. Matt. vi. 8. Matt. vi. 14, IS- Matt. vi. 18. Matt. vi. 26. Matt. vi. 30. Matt. VI. 32. Matt. vii. II, Matt. X. 20. Matt. X. 29. rMatt. j 27. 1 Luke xi. 25- X. 21, I 22. Matt. xvi. 17. (Matt. Mark (^Luke Matt. 10. Matt. 14. Matt. 19- fMatt. iMark XVI. 27. viii. 38. ix. 26. xvni. xi. 26. 240 The After Life Matt. XX. 23. Matt. ' xxiv. 36. Markxiii. 32. Matt. XXV. 34- Matt. XXV. 40. Matt. xxvi. 29. Matt. xxvi. S3- Luke vi. 35, 36. Luke xi. 13. Luke xii. 30- 32. John iv. 21- 24. John V. 17- 31- 21. ' And He saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with : but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not Mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of My Father.' I 22. ' But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the 1^ angels of heaven, but My Father only.' 23. ' Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand. Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.' 24. ' And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.' 25. ' But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom.' 26. ' Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He shall presently give Me more than twelve legions of angels ?' 27. ' But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again ; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest : for He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. ' Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.' 28. ' If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children ; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him ?' 29. ' For all these things do the nations of the world seek after : and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. ' But rather seek ye the kingdom of God ; and all these things shall be added unto you.' ' Fear not, little flock ; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.' 30. ' Jesus saith unto her. Woman, believe Me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. ' Ye worship ye know not what : we know what we worship : for salvation is of the Jews. ' But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth : for the Father seeketh such to woi;ship Him. ' God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.' 31. ' But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. ' Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill Him, because He not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. ' Then answered Jesus and said unto them. Verily, verily, I say unto you. The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do : for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. ' For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth Him all things that Himself doeth : and He -will shew Him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. God the Father 241 ' For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them ; even so the Son quickeneth whom He will. ' For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son : ' That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent Him. ' Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and belie veth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life,* and shall not come into condemnation ;f but is passed from death unto life. ' Verily, verily, I say unto you. The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God : and they that hear shall live. ' For as the Father hath life in Himself ; so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself ; ' And hath given Him authority to execute Judgment also, because He is the Son of man. ' Marvel not at this : for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, ' And shall come forth ; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life ; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. J ' I can of Mine own self do nothing : as I hear, I judge : and my judgment is just ; because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent Me. ' If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. 32. ' But I have greater witness than that of John : for the works which the Father hath given Me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father hath sent Me. ' And the Father Himself, which hath sent Me, hath borne witness of Me. Ye have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His shape. 33. ' Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you : for Him hath God the Father sealed." 34. ' Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven ; but My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.' 35. ' All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me ; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out. ' For I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me. ' And this is the Father's will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day,' 36. ' No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him : and I will raise him up at the last day. ' It is written in the prophets. And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. ' Not that any man hath seen the Father, save He which is of God, He hath seen the Father.' 37. ' As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father : so He that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me.' 16 * R.V. eternal life, t R.V, into judge- ment. X R.V. resur- rection of judge- ment. John v. 36, 7>7- John vi. 27. John vi. 32. John vi. 37- 39. John vi. 44- 46. John vi. 57. 242 The After Life John vi. 65. John vii. 28, 29. John viii. 16- 19. John viii. 27- 29. John viii. 38. Jolm viii. 42. John viii. 54, 5 5- John X. 15- 18. John X. 25. John X 30. ■ 29, John X. 32. 38. ' And He said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto Me, except it were given unto him of My Father.' 39. ' Then cried Jesus in the temple as He taught, saying. Ye both know Me, and ye know whence I am : and I am not come of Myself, but He that sent Me is true, whom ye know not. ' But I know Him : for I am from Him, and He hath sent Me.' 40. ' And yet if I judge. My judgment is true : for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent Me. ' It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. ' I am one that bear witness of Myself, and the Father that sent Me beareth witness of Me. ' Then said they unto Flim, Where is Thy Father ? Jesus answered. Ye neither know Me, nor My Father : if ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also.' .41. ' They understood not that He spake to them of the Father. ' Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself ; but as My Father hath taught Me, I speak these things. ' jXnd He that sent Me is with Me : the Father hath not left Me alone ; for I do always those things that please Him.' 42. ' I speak that which I have seen with My Father : and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.' 43. ' Jesus said unto them. If God were your Father, ye would love Me : for I proceeded forth and came from God ; neither came I of Myself, but He sent Me.' 44. ' Jesus answered. If I honour Myself, My honour is nothing : it is My Father that honoureth Me ; of whom ye sa}^, that He is your God : ' Yet ye have not known Him ; but I know Him : and if I should say, I know Him not, I shall be a liar like unto you : but I know Him, and keep His saying.' 45. ' As the Father knoweth Me, even so know I the Father : and I lay down My life for the sheep. ' And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold : them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice ; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. ' Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again. ' No m.an taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of My Father.' 46. ' Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not : the works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.' 47. ' My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all ; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand. ' I and My Father are one.' 48. ' Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from My Father ; for which of those works do ye stone Me ?' God the Father 243 John xii. 49, SO. * R.V. life eternal. John xiv. 2. John xiv. 6- 31. 49. ' Say ye of Him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and John x. 36- sent into the world, Thou blasphemest ; because I said, I am 38. the Son of God ? ' If I do not the works of My Father, believe Me not. ' But if I do, though ye believe not Me, believe the works : that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.' 50. ' If any man serve Me, let him follow Me ; and where I am, John xii. 26- there shall also My servant be : if any man serve Me, him 28. will My Father honour. ' Now is My soul troubled ; and what shall I say ? Father, save Me from this hour : but for this cause came I unto this hour. ' Father, glorify Thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.' 51. ' For I have not spoken of Myself ; but the Father which sent Me, He gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. ' And I know that His commandment is life everlasting :* whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto Me, so I speak.' 52. ' In My Father's house are many mansions : if it ivere not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.' 53. ' Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life : no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me. ' If ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also : and from henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him. ' Philip saith unto Him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. ' Jesus saith unto him. Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip ? He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father ; and how sayest thou then. Shew us the Father ? ' Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me ? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of My- self : but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works. ' Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me : or else believe Me for the very works' sake. ' Verily, verily, I say unto you. He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also ; and greater works than these shall he do ; because I go unto My Father. ' And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ' If ye shall ask any thing in My name, I will do it. ' If ye love Me, keep My commandments. * And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever ; ' Even the Spirit of truth ; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him : but ye know Him ; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. ' I will not leave you comfortless : I will come to you. ' Yet a little while, and the world seeth Me no more ; but ye see Me : because I live, ye shall live also. ' At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in 3^ou. 16 — 2 244 ^-^^ After Life ' He that hath I\Iy commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me : and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him. ' Judas saith unto Him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto the world ? ' Jesus answered and said unto him. If a man love Me, he will keep My words : and My Father will love him, and we ^vill come unto him, and make our abode with him. ' He that loveth Me not keepeth not My sayings : and the word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father's which sent Me. ' These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. ' But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name. He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. ' Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you : not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. ' Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved Me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father : for My Father is greater than I. ' And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. ' Hereafter I will not talk much with you : for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me. ' But that the world may know that I love the Father ; and as the Father gave Me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.' John XV. 8- 54. ' Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit ; lo. so shall ye be My disciples. ' As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you : con- tinue ye in My love. ' If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love ; even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love.' John XV. 15, 55. ' Henceforth I call you not servants ; for the servant knoweth 16. not what his lord doeth : but I have called you friends ; for all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you. ' Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that 5^our fruit should remain : that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name. He may give it you.' John XV. 23- 56. ' He that hateth Me hateth My Father also. 26. ' If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin : but now have they both seen and hated both Me and My Father. ' But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law. They hated Me without a cause. ' But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which pro- ceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me.' John xvi. 3. 57. ' And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor Me.' God the Father 245 58. ' And in that day ye shall ask Me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you. ' Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name : ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. ' These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs : but the time Cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. ' At that day ye shall ask in My name : and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you : ' For the Father Himself loveth you, because ye have loved Me, and have believed that I came out from God. ' I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world : again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.' 59. ' These words spake Jesus, and lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said. Father, the hour is come ; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee : ' As Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him. ' And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. ' I have glorified Thee on the earth : I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. ' And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.' 60. ' And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to Thee. Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, as we are.' 61. ' That they all may be one ; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us : that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. ' And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them ; that they may be one, even as we are one : ' I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one ; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me. ' Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given me, be with Me where I am ; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me : for Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world. ' O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee : but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me.' 62. ' Jesus saith unto her. Touch Me not ; for I am not yet ascended to My Father : but go to My brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto M}^ Father, and your Father ; and to My God, and your God.' 63. ' Then said Jesus to them again, Peace he unto you : as My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you.' 64. ' One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.' 65. ' He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment ; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels.' John xvi. 23- 28. John xvii. i- John xvii. II. John xvii. 21-25. John XX. 17. John XX. 21. Eph. iv. 6. Rev. iii. 5. 246 The After Life A general view of heaven. Rev. S. D. F. Salmond, D.D.. I Cor. ii. 9. A symbolical view. Rev. H. H. Dobney, 1844. Summary of the Bible teaching. " The Scriptures give us a large general view of heaven as the final home of God's servants ; of its re- wards as having degrees corresponding to the character and the service ; of its blessedness as found in freedom from all sin, pain, sorrow ; in the manifestation of the eternal love and glory ; in the realization of hope ; the possession of all good ; the presence of Christ ; the immediate vision and fellowship of God. It leaves much to the sanctified imagination, and makes its final teaching this : ' Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.' "^ " Heaven is set forth as a paradise, a pleasure garden, where are found trees of delicious fruitage, and springs and streams of water as clear as crystal (an idea pecu- liarly grateful to the Easterns among whom the word originated). It is a city with splendid walls and gates and streets, where gold and pearls and precious stones abound, giving to all on which the eye can rest a most magnificent aspect. It is a banquet, the most costly that can be conceived, at which we are to sit down on eims of happy friendship with the noblest guests. A palace, and the inhabitants are princes, arrayed in sumptuous robes, and wearing crowns of glory. " It is in this way heaven is presented to us ; but none of us expect that all this will be literally fulfilled : yet thus is the imagination stimulated to conceive of what- ever may be glorious, and heaven will immeasurably exceed all we have ever imagined. ' Then shall we be satisfied.' There is no danger of our colouring too highly the glories of the heavenly world. "^ I do not propose to attempt to write an imaginary description of heaven, about which very little is told us, but I shall adhere to the exact words of Scripture. 1 "A Dictionary of the Bible," by Rev. James Hastings, D.D., vol. ii., 1S99, p. 324. An article by the late Principal Rev. S. D. F. Salmond, D.D. (T. and T. Clark, Edinburgh.) 2 " Lectures on Future Punishment," by Rev. H. H. Dobney, 1844, p. 82. (T. Ward and Co.) God the Father 247 St. Paul wrote that " flesh and blood cannot mherit i Cor. xv. 50. the kingdom of God," and we read, " there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither what- Rev. xxi. 27. soever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie." As regards the Appearance of the Faithful. 1. " We shall be like Him ; for we shall see Him as i John iii. 2. He is." 2. They will have " a spiritual body," or " a celestial i Cor. xv. 40, body." 44. 3. They " are changed into the same image — ^the 2 Cor. iii. is. glory of the Lord — from glory to glory." 4. Their vile bodies shall be changed that they " may Phil. iii. 21. be fashioned like unto His glorious body." 5. If any raiment is worn, it would seem from the many passages of Scripture which I have quoted that it will consist of " white robes," but perhaps the words Rev. iii. 5. are symbolical. Life in Heaven. ,„ , ' /Zech. vm. 5. I. I think it is certain that one feature of the life will be the number of children. IMatt. xviii. 10, xix. 14. Mark x. 14. Luke xviii. 16. 2. The Spirits in Heaven " neither marry, nor are ( 30. given in marriage, but are as the angels of God." JL^k^ ^" "^' 3. I shall lay no stress on the passages in the Apoca- lypse which speak of singing and harping, as the words are probably symbolical, and we have no key to enable us to translate them. The Glory of Heaven. 1. Jesus Himself said : ' In My Father's house are many mansions.' John xiv. 2. 2. St. Paul wrote : 'I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not Rom. viii. 18. 248 The After Life worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.' 3. And St. Paul, again, said : I Cor. ii. ix. ' Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered (Isa. Ixiv. 4.) into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.' Peace of Heaven. Rev. xiv. 13. !• ' They may rest from their labours.' Rev. vii. 16. 2- ' They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.' Rev. xxi. 4. 3' ' And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain : for the former things are passed away.' Rev. xxii. 3. 4- ' And there shall be no more curse.' CHAPTER XI CONCLUSION. CHAPTER XI Conclusion. The chronology of the Bible, which was drawn up by Bishop Usher in the reign of Charles I., has now been Antiquity of generally repudiated. Bishop Usher gave the date of ™^°" the creation of the earth as 4004 B.C., and this being printed on the first page of the Bible made many persons think that it was part of the Sacred Record. Writing in 1863, Sir Charles Lyell said, " Since the commencement of the present century, the occasional occurrence, in various parts of Europe, of the bones of man or the works of his hands, in cave breccias and stalactites, associated with the remains of the extinct hyaena, bear, elephant, or rhinoceros, has given rise to a suspicion that the date of Man must be carried back further than we had heretofore imagined. . . . Of late years we have obtained convincing proofs that the mammoth and many other extinct mammalian species, very common in caves, occur also in undis- turbed alluvium, embedded in such a manner with works of art, as to leave no room for doubt that man and the mammoth co-existed."^ Human civilization in Europe has passed through four distinct stages, which have been named as follows : 1. The Stone Age, which is divided into the Palaeolithic, or rough-hewn stone age, and the Neo- lithic, or polished stone age. 2. The Copper Age. 3. The Bronze Age. 4. The Iron Age. 1 " Antiquity of Man," by Sir C. Lyell, 1863, pp. i, 2. (John Murray. ) 251 252 The After Life The evidence of the antiquity of man is generally arranged under the following heads •?- 1. Flints worked into stone implements. 2. The Bone Caves. 3. The Peat Mosses. 4. The Kitchen-middens. 5. The Lake dwellings, and 6. The Nuraghi of Sardinia. Many attempts have been made to estimate from the above the date of the first appearance of man in Europe, but the only result is the saying, "God is eternal, but man is indeed old." The Higher Before proceeding to draw conclusions from the Criticism account of the Creation found in Genesis, I must protest of the Old ... Testa- against the Higher Criticism of the Old Testament ,2 ™^"*" which has affirmed that the first of the two Creation narratives corresponds closely to the great Assyrian Epic of Creation, of which a copy was found among the ruins of Nineveh. The second resembles the more ancient narrative which comes to us from the Acca- dians, written perhaps 2,000 years before Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees. The great antiquity of the two Babylonian poems makes it certain that they were earlier than Genesis. Dr. Driver,^ Canon of Christ Church, Oxford, has gone much deeper into these questions than was possible in a school text book, but the result is the same. The two German writers, Wellhausen"* and Kuenen^, ; 1 " Man before Metals," by Joly, 1883. (Kegan Paul, Trench.) 2 "Lessons from the Old Testament: Senior Course," by Rev. M. G. Glazebrook, late head-master of Clifton College. 2 " Commentary on the Book of Genesis," by Dr. S. R. Driver, 1904. (Methuen.) * " Sketch of the History of Israel and Judah," by Professor Wellhausen, third edition, 1891. (Adam and Charles Black, London.) ^ " Religion of Israel," by Dr. Kuenen, translated from the Dutch by A. H. May, 1873 (Theological Translation Fund), quoted in New ' Biblical Guide,' by Rev. John Urquhart, 1899. (S. W. Partridge and Co.) Conclusion 253 have, I believe, gone beyond any English critics, and they assert that there is nothing to be relied on in the History of Israel before 800 B.C., when Hosea and Amos wrote, and they protest that all the history contained in the books named after Moses and Joshua is in- credible. Dr. Kuenen^ said there has been no revelation from God, and there is no difference between the origin of the religion of Israel and any of the other religions of the world. 2 In denying that Moses wrote the Pentateuch, the later critics have gone astray from the teaching of Jean Astruc and Professor Eichhorn of Gottingen, the Father of their so-called science, in the same way that Darwin's disciples have exceeded his teaching. It is a common saying now that Darwin proved Darwin, the descent of human beings from monkeys, whereas, in writing to George Bentham, on May 22, 1863, Darwin said : " The belief in natural selection must at present be grounded entirely on general considerations. When we descend to details we cannot prove that a single species has changed. "^ I do not consider that the critics are warranted in Truth of the holding that the Hebrew accounts of the Creation, Bible ° ' record. the Fall, and the Flood, are founded on earlier Assyrian, Babylonian, and Chaldean narratives, and I think it more probable that the true accounts were handed down by tradition in Abraham's branch of the human family, and that distorted accounts were adopted by the races mentioned. The researches of Dr. Glaser'', in Arabia have brought 1 " Religion of Israel," by Dr. Keunen, translated from the Dutch by A. H. May, 1873 (Theological Translation Fund), quoted in ' New Biblical Guide,' by Rev. John Urquhart, 1899. (S. W. Partridge and Co.) 2 " A Study on the Pentateuch : Introductory on Dr. Kuenen's ' Religion of Israel,' " by Rev. R. P. Stebbins, D.D., 1 88 1, p. 9. (George H. Ellis, Boston.) 3 National Review, September, 1895. * " New Biblical Guide," by Rev. John Urquhart, 1899, pp. 132-137. (S. W. Partridge and Co.) 254 The After Life Population of the earth before Adam. Gen. ii. 7-22. to light an ancient civilization, whose monuments seem to show that the use of the Hebrew writing goes back to a remote antiquity, and that the Book of Job may have existed, as we have it now, before the time of Moses. It is therefore quite possible that Abraham's family may have possessed records on clay cylinders or tablets of an earlier date than those found in Babylon and elsewhere, which were buried or lost during the subsequent wanderings, and their discovery would at once upset the theory now set up. " The Sinaitic survey and the researches of Professor Palmer, of Mr. Trumbull, and of others, have led scholarship past the quibblings of Colenso, and have disclosed the marvellous fidelity of the narrative of Israel's memorable journeyings.''^ Dr. Bickell writes : " It is a fact well worthy of remark, that the great historical discoveries of our epoch in a way join hands to defend the Mosaic author- ship of the Pentateuch. While Egyptology makes us acquainted with the condition of Egypt even to the minutest details, and thus proves the authenticity of that Book, by compelling us to admit that its author must, like Moses, have lived in the valley of the Nile, Assyriology demonstrates the falsity of the hypothesis of various original sources, and proves the unity of this fundamental writing of Divine revelation. "2 Turning now to the Bible record, I adhere to the account of the formation of Adam and Eve, ajter the seventh " dayT in 4157 B.C., according to the Hebrew text, or 5328 B.C., according to the Septuagint Version.^ There is, however, a distinct account of the making 1- " New Biblical Guide," by Rev. John Urquhart, 1899. p. 137. (S. W. Partridge and Co.) 2 Ibid. 3 " Commentary on the Book of Genesis," by Dr. S. R. Driver, 1904. (Methuen.) Conclusion 255 of man on the sixth " day," and this I hold refers to Gen. i. 26-29. the ancestors of the human beings who preceded Adam on the earth. We are told again of these previously existing people in the account of the exile of Cain : 'And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater Gen. iv. 13, than I can bear. i4' ' Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth ; and from Thy face shall I be hid ; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth ; and it shall come to pass that everyone that findeth me shall slay me.' This clearly points to the presence on the earth of human beings other than Adam's family, and the Higher Criticism, while admitting the fact, meets the difficulty by saying that " Cain and Abel are not mere individuals, but types representing two kinds of men — the settled, pastoral people, and the wandering Arabs of the desert."^ There is no suf&cient warrant for this view, and the critics have adopted it only because they saw no other way out of the difficulty. ' And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and Gen. iv. 16, dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. And Cain 17. knew his wife, and she conceived and bare Enoch : and he builded a city.' Now, in the first place, Cain's possession of a wife presupposes some previously existing people, unless he married a sister, as is, I know, taught in some Sunday schools ; and, besides, Cain and his family could not have built a city. Every difficulty, however, is solved if we admit that there were to the east of Eden human beings of a lower type than the Adamites, and the appearance among them of Cain, the Adamite, and his taking one of their women to be his wife, may very naturally have induced them to accept him as their chief, and under his guidance they built a city. ^ " Lessons from the Old Testament : Senior Course," by the Rev. M. G. Glazebrook, late head master of Clifton College. 256 The After Life Gen. vi. 2. The statement, " that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair ; and they took them wives of all which they chose," has been ex- plained in many ways. The simplest explanation is that the Adamite women intermarried with the sons or servants of the gods — false gods as distinguished from "the living God,"^ who may have been the previously existing negroes, or some of Cain's descendants. The author of " Adam and the Adamite " came to the same conclusion as I have, namely, that the Bible teaches the existence of human beings on the earth before Adam. He says that if the Hebrew words, which are trans- Gen. i. 26,27. lated "man," had been more correctly rendered " Adam " and " the Adamite," it would be seen that " this record of Adam's creation, in the first chapter of Genesis, is obviously suggestive of the existence of other and inferior races of human beings. "^ The author further points out that there is another Hebrew word — " ish " — which " is the generic term for man," or mankind in general, including the Adamite ; and he gives the following passages in Scrip- ture to show the distinction between " Adam " and " ish," the one denoting the higher race, and the other as including the lower races of men : Ps. xlix. 1,2. ' Hear this, all ye people ; give ear, all ye inhabitants of * A.V. low the world : Both sons of Adam and sons of man,* (ish) rich and high, and poor, together.' Ps. Ixii. 9. •j- A.V. men of low degree, and men of high degree. Isa. ii. 9. + A.V. the mean man, and the great man. ' Surely sons of Adam are vanity, and sons of manf (ish) are a lie.' ' The Adamite boweth down like as man J (ish) humbleth 'himself.' 1 " Adam and the Adamite," by Dominick M'Causland, Q.C., LL.D., 1S72, pp. 156-200. (Macmillan.) 2 /j^'^. Conclusion 257 ' And the Adamite shall bow down, and the man* (ish) shall humble himself.' /-Isa. V. 15. * A.V. the mean man, and the mighty- man. " Scripture revelation was given to instruct us as to the origin and history of the first Adam and his race, to render intelHgible the advent and the office of the second Adam, and it scrupulously adheres to that theme, to the exclusion of all collateral matters ; so that the allusions to the non- Adamite are, as might have been expected, few and indirect, being introduced only when necessarily connected with the primary subject. In illustration of this economy of the Bible revelations, we may remark that neither Moses nor the prophets make any allusion to the Negro, though the Israelites in Egypt must have been brought into contact with them. . . . " While salvation is proclaimed to the heathen, it is proclaimed by faith in Christ, to be preached by Adamite missionaries. "^ The teaching of the day seems to be that the Creation Evolution narratives cannot be understood literally, and that the appearance of all living forms on the earth must be attributed to evolution. After considerable study of the subject, my own judgment is that this theory is " non-proven," but, on the supposition that it may be correct as regards the making of man on the sixth day, I point out that Darwin's^ idea was that the Ancestors of Mankind may have branched off, in the first or earliest part of the Tertiary period, from a species of the Catarrhine group of apes, which are long since extinct. " It must not be supposed," he said, " that the divergence of Man from his Simian ancestors can be traced back to any one pair of progenitors."^ The ^ " Adam and the Adamite," by Dominick M'Causland, Q.C., LL.D., 1872, pp. 185, 295, (Macmillan.) 2 " Descent of Man," by Darwin, 1871. (John Murray.) 3 Ibid., p. 608. 17 258 The After Life process of evolution was going on in every part of the world, and, in those parts inhabited by this species of apes, human beings were evolved, about the same time, similar to each other, but with well marked diver- sities. This is sufficient to account for the difference to be found in the aborigines of different parts of the world, and these again have no doubt been modified by crossing with members of the Caucasian and Mongolian families. The Negro I believe it is generally admitted that, if Man type- evolved^ from lower anthropoid ancestors, it is prob- able that the New Beings resembled the Negro, rather than the Caucasian or Mongolian. This may also have been the case if the appearance of these First .Beings was due to a special act of creation, and not to evolution. There is no possible means of discovering for how many centuries the world was inhabited by these Negroes before the appearance of Adam, but we know that a high state of civilization had been reached in Egypt 6,000 years before Christ. The Mongo- The marriage of the Adamite Cain, who was a Uan type. Caucasian, with a Negro, may possibly have resulted in the production^ of the Mongolian type, and Cain's descendants may have continued the migration towards the East, which he had commenced ; they may in this way have travelled through Central Asia, Siberia, and China, leaving colonists as they went, until they reached Behring Straits.^ The Straits are still passable by crossing in canoes from island to island, and they may in this way have become the ancestors of the North American Indians, who are Mongolians ; a party may also have found their way to Greenland, where the same type is found. 1 Sir H. Rawlinson. 2 gge Philippson and Knobel. 3 " China's Place in Philology," by Edkins, 1871. (Triibner and Co.) Conclusion 259 At this stage the easterly migration must perforce have ceased, but parties may have turned south in search of a more congenial climate, and have become the ancestors of the Incas of Peru, and the Aztecs of Mexico.^ M. Peschel also connects the inhabitants of China with the American tribes, and he says : " The Asiatic and American tribes of Behring Straits are so much alike as to be mistaken for one another. "2 As far as we know no revelation from God had been Satan and made to these " Evolved Beings," and I have won- worship. dered whether it may not be that Satan thought he saw his opportunity to set up a kingdom on earth in opposition to God, and that with this object he taught these Negroes, in all quarters of the world where they had been evolved, or to which parties of them had travelled, to worship him as their God, in the image which he afterwards assumed in the Garden of Eden, Dr. James Fergusson, D.C.L., F.R.S., M.R.A.S., etc., in 1873, after visiting India, wrote : Serpent Worship, " if not the oldest, ranks at least among the earliest forms through which the human intellect sought to propitiate the unknown powers. Traces of its exist- ence were found not only in every country of the old world ; but before the new was discovered by us, the same strange idolatry had long prevailed there, and even now the worship of the Serpent is found lurking in out-of-the-way corners of the globe, and startles us at times with the unhallowed rites which seem generally to have been associated with its prevalence. . . . " When we first meet Serpent Worship, either in the Wilderness of Sinai, the Groves of Epidaurus, in Sar- matian huts, or Indian Temples, the Serpent is always the Agathodaemon, the bringer of health and good fortune. His worship may have originated in fear, 1 " History of the Conquest of Mexico," by W. H. Prescott, 1874, p. 329. (G. Routledge and Sons.) 2 "The Races of Man," by O. Peschel, 1876. (Beccles, London.) 17 — 2 26o The After Life Serpent Worship in Africa. In Asia. Num. xxi. 9. 2 Kings xviii. 4- In America. but long before we become practically acquainted with it, it had passed to the opposite extreme among its votaries. . . . Love and admiration, more than fear or dread, seem to be the main features of this faith, and there are so many unexpected features which are at the same time common to it all the world over,, that it seems more reasonable to suspect a common origin. "^ Serpent Worship has always been at home in Africa, where it " now flourishes in all its pristine vigour," and it has always been known in China. ^ Dr. Fergusson says, it " certainly did prevail in the Central Provinces of India at one time, and it is still to be found in all the hilly countries south of the Vindhya Hills, from Canara to Cuttack, and in Cash- mere, and Nepaul."^ With the Brazen Serpent in the Wilderness, we have the first record " of actual worship being performed to the Serpent " by the Jews, and it may be noticed that the Serpent was adored because of its supposed healing powers.^ This Brazen Serpent was preserved in the Temple until King Hezekiah " brake it in pieces " because " the children of Israel did burn incense to it." There is no further trace of Serpent Worship among the Jews, but it cropped up again among the Christian sect of Ophites, who quoted " the Gospels to prove that Christ was an imitation of the serpent, because it is said, ' As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilder- ness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.' "^ " In America," Dr. Fergusson declares, "it is cer- tain that there existed extreme veneration for the serpent before its discovery by Columbus." It is " impossible to read the numerous evidences which Miiller has collected together with so much industry ^ ' Tree and Serpent Worship,' by James Fergusson, D.C.L., F.R.S., M.R.A.S., etc., 1873, pp. i, 3. (India Office.) 2 Ihid., p. 34. 3 /5^'(^,^ p, 84. * Ihid., p. 8. 5 ihid., p. 9. Conclusion 261 not to feel convinced that Serpent Worship did prevail all over the continent."^ In Greek mythology, the " Serpent himself repre- Serpent sents iEsculapius, and is the indispensable concomi- in Europe, tant of Hygeia."^ Dr. Fergusson adds that " Serpent Worship cer- tainly prevailed to a greater or less extent during the whole period of Grecian history. "^ " The Edda seems sufficient to prove that a form of Serpent Worship did certainly prevail in Scandi- navia in the early centuries of the Christian era ; and nothing seems more probable or more in accordance with Pictish traditions, than that it should have passed thence into Scotland, and should have left its traces everywhere between the Orkneys and the Firths. ""* Miss Gordon Gumming gave a brief description of the Loch Nell Serpent. " The mound is situated upon a grassy plain and the tail of the serpent rests near the shore of Loch Nell. The head forms a circular cairn on which there still remains some trace of an altar. The mound has been formed in such a position that the worshippers, standing at the altar, would naturally look eastward, directly along the whole length of the great reptile, and across the dark lake to the triple peaks of Ben Cruachan."^ In Highland County, Ohio, there is a similar Serpent mound, 1,254 f^et in length, near the three forks of the river, and General Forlong, comparing the two, wrote, " A spot overlooking three streams being even more sacred than that which looks on to a hill with three cones, as does the serpent of Loch Nell. Three rivers form a Tri-Moorti of awful and sublime import."® 1 " Tree and Serpent Worship, " by James Fergusson, D.C.L., F.R.S., M.R.A.S., etc., 1873, P- 40- (India Office.) 2 Ihid., p. 8. 3 /ftV^.^ p. 13. 4 lud., p. 33. ^ Good Words, March, 1872, by Miss Gordon Gumming. The Century Magazine, April, 1890, by F. W. Putnam. 8 " Rivers of Life," 1883, by Major-Genera] Forlong. (B. Quaritch.) The Century Magazine, April, 1890, by F. W. Putnam. 262 The After Life The scheme I imagine that the object of the formation of Adam tion. and Eve may have been the peophng of the earth with a race of superior human beings who, having earned the right to higher powers by perfect obedience to God, would act as His agents in making Him known to the people who had been deceived by Satan. The Fall. Satan, no doubt, understood that the appearance of Adam threatened the stability of his earthly king- dom, and he seized the first opportunity to bring about his fall, and so ruined his chance of being allowed to eat of the tree of life. By his fall, Adam struck a severe blow to the design of his creation from which, however, he and his de- scendants could perhaps have recovered if they had been willing to give implicit obedience to God's com- mands. Commencing, however, with Adam's eldest son, Cain, the history of that portion of Adam's descendants who are known as " the chosen people " is one long record of disobedience and rebellion against God, so that God's fair scheme came to nought. The New This explains the necessity for the New Dispensa- tion.^^^^' tion, ushered in by the birth of Jesus, and the estab- lishment of the kingdom of God on earth. I hope on some future occasion to consider the three words, connected with this kingdom, which meet one's eye on almost every page of the New Testament, namely. Love ! Life ! Death ! — Love, the love of God, for mankind ; Life, the eternal life, promised to the Faithful ; and Death, the second death, which will be the fate of the Wicked. I shall now content myself with dealing with the three questions : — the Tripartite Nature of man ; the Natural, or Conditional, Immortality of the Soul ; and Everlasting Punishment. Tripartite " As in the case of the doctrine of the Trinity, it man.^^ °^ was not fully understood until the Spirit was given, so the distinction between Psyche (Soul) and Pneuma Conclusion 263 (Spirit) is implied rather than taught (in the Old Testa- ment) when the race was still in its spiritual infancy. "^ Jesus commenced, however, to teach this truth very early in His ministry. • During the first visit to Jerusalem, after His baptism, occurred the wonderful discourse with Nicodemus, during which Jesus said, ' Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of Jo"i^ "i- S. ^^ water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. ' That which is born of the flesh is flesh ; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.' Again, at the close of the sermon which He preached in the synagogue at Capernaum, He said to His dis- ciples, ' It is the spirit that quickeneth ; the flesh profiteth nothing : Jo^" "^i- the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.' 63- When He was sending forth the Twelve on their mission " to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," He Matt x. 6. said : ' And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able Matt. x. 28. to kill the soul : but rather fear Him which is able to destroy * R-V. both soul and body in hell.'* Gehenna. We see here the whole teaching of the Tripartite nature of man — Spirit, Soul, and Body, and we may conclude that Soul and Body constitute the Flesh. Jesus referred again to the loss of the " Soul," or See R.v. the "Life," after Simon Peter's declaration of his Matt.xvi.i6 belief : ' Then said Jesus unto His disciples, If any man will come Matt. xvi< after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and 24-26. follow Me. ' For whosoever will save his life shall lose it : and who- soever will lose his life for My sake shall find it. ' For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soulf ? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul ?'t Mark viii. 34- 17- t R.V. life. 1 " The Tripartite Nature of Man," by Rev. J. B. Heard, ^66, p. 39. (T. and T. Clark.) 264 The After Life The last occasion on which Jesus mentioned the Spirit was when, as He was hanging on the cross, He said, Luke xxiu.j 'Father, into Thy hands I commend my s/?m7.' I may note here that, when Stephen was stoned to death, not long afterwards, he cried out. Acts vii. 59. ' Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' Mr. Heard, however, said that " those deeper views of the Spirit as the soul of the soul were not disclosed under a carnal dispensation, and while as yet the per- sonal indwelling of the Holy Ghost had not been taught."! It is clear that the Apostles afterwards fully com- prehended the doctrine, and, although most of the following references are to the writings of St. Paul, we must understand that all the Apostles were of the same mind on this point. Writing to the Romans, St. Paul said : Rom. i. 9. * For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers ;' And, then, he explained the doctrine clearly : Rom. viii. i- ' There is therefore now no condemnation to them which 16. are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. ' For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. ' For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh : ' That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. ' For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh ; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. ' For to be carnally minded is death ; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 1 " The Tripartite Nature of Man," by Rev. J. B. Heard, 1866, p. 39. (T. and T. Clark.) Conclusion 265 ' Because the carnal mind is enmity against God : for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. ' So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. ' But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. ' And if Christ he in you, the body is dead because of sin ; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ' But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you. He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you. ' Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. ' For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die : but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. ' For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. ' For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear ; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. ' The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.' To the Corinthians, St. Paul explained the new doc- trine very fully, and he intimated that in the Natural man the Spirit was unquickened, and he was therefore unable to discern spiritually : ' But as it is written. Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, i Cor. ii. 9- neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which 16. God hath prepared for them that love Him. ' But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit : for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. ' For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him ? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. ' Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God ; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. ' Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth ; com- paring spiritual things with spiritual. ' But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God : for they are foolishness unto him : neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. ' But he that is spiritual judge th all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. ' For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him ? But we have the mind of Christ.' He then explained that " the union betwixt Christ 266 The After Life and each member of His Church is a spiritual one :"i I Cor. vi. 17- ' But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. 20. ' Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body ; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his o\\'n body. ' WTiat ? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ve have of God, and ye are not your own ? ' For ye are bought with a price : therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.' And, lastly, after recapitulating the proofs of the resurrection of Jesus, he answered his own question of, " How are the dead raised up ?" with the illustra- tion of a grain " of wheat or of some other grain ": I Cor. XV 35- ' But some man \\t.11 say, How are the dead raised up ? and SO' with what body do they come ? ' Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die : ' And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain : ' But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed his own body. ' All flesh is not the same flesh : but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. ' There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial : but the glor^^ of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. ' There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars : for one star differeth from another star in glorv. ' So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in cor- ruption ; it is raised in incorruption : ' It is sown in dishonour ; it is raised in glory : it is sown in weakness ; it is raised in power : ' It is sown a natural body ; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a. natural body, and there is a spiritual body. ' And so it is ■written, The first man Adam was made a h\'ing soul ; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. ' Howbeit that ivas not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural ; and afterward that which is spiritual. ' The first man is of the earth, earthy : the second man is the Lord from heaven. ' As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy : and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. ^ Bishop EUicott's " Commentary." (Cassell and Co.) Conclusion 267 ' And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. ' Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God ; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. ' At the end of his first epistle to the Thessalonians, St. Paul prayed for their " whole spirit, and soul, and body ": ' And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly ; and 7 i Thess. v. pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved 2-^. blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.' The absolute distinction between " Spirit " and " Soul," was brought home to the Hebrews by St. Paul, in the following words of his Epistle to them : ' For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper Heb. iv. 12. than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and ' is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.' And he afterwards referred to " the spirits of just men Heb. xii. 23. made perfect." In the last verse of the epistle of James, we learn Jas. v. 20. that the " soul " can die, as in Matthew we learnt that Matt. x. 28. it can be destroyed : ' Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from Jas. v. 20. the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.' St. Peter wrote of Jesus preaching " unto the spirits i Pet. ill. 19. in prison." In the epistle of Jude, we find a reference to the Natural man : rjude 19. ' These be they who separate* themselves, sensual, having f * R-V. make not the Spirit.' 1 separa- ^_ tions. It seems clear from the above that the Natural man consists of " Soul," and " Body," and an embryo, or dormant, " Spirit," and that this " Spirit " is quickened in the Spiritual man. 268 The After Life The " Soul " means all that part of man other than the " Spirit " and. the " Body," and includes the Life, the Will, the Mind, and the Conscience, or, in Bishop Welldon's words, " the life, the sense, the affection, or appetite, and the reason." The word " everlasting," or " eternal," is never attached to the " Soul," and we are clearly told that the " Soul " can be destroyed and can die. Natural im- I have not hitherto considered the question of the ofThe ^ ^ Natural Immortality of the Soul of man, because it is soul. only those who deny that there will be a General Resurrection who also deny that Life continues, after the first Death, until the Resurrection Day. The Orthodox doctrine, however, goes farther than this, and the teaching is that the Soul of man is by nature Immortal, and is therefore destined to live for ever and ever in weal or woe ; and it is on this that the dogma of everlasting Punishment is founded. It is impossible to show that the Old Testament anywhere assumes the natural immortality of the soul. The word does not occur at all in the Old Testament,^ but an expression, which is perhaps equivalent, was spoken by the Devil to Eve : Gen. iii. 4. ' Ye shall not surely die.' No one, however, would like to quote this saying of the Devil as the authority for his belief on this point. The word " Immortal " occurs only once in the New Testament, and then it is used as an attribute of God!— \ .£™- }• •'7' 1 ' Now unto the King eternal, immortal,* invisible, the only incor- V^j^gg Qod, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.' "^ "Here and Hereafter, or Man in Life and Death," by Rev. U. Smith, 1897, pp. 56, 57. (Review and Herald Pub- lishing Company, Mich., U.S.A.) Conclusion 269 " Search the Bible from beginning to end, and no- where will you find sinners addressed as immortal beings who are endowed with eternal life."^ Nowhere is man " declared to be immortal apart from the quickening power of Him who only hath immortality to give."^ So far from the words " Immortal " and " Immor- tality " being applied in the Bible to man, " the terms are used to point out the contrast between God and man : " 'And changed the glory of the uncorruptible* God into anj ^?P- ^•. ^3- image made like to corruptible man.' j ' ' ^?;%j?g" God is uncorruptible, or immortal ; man is corruptible or mortal. The word is used to distinguish between heavenly and eternal objects, and those that are earthly and decaying."^ Immortality is placed before us as an object of hope for which we are to seek. The doctrine of the Natural Immortality of the Soul Origin of the was first propagated among the Egyptians ; in later '^ ""^' years it was adopted by a school of Grecian Philo- sophers, Socrates, Plato, etc* After the Advent of Jesus, the idea that mankind was dependent for eternal life on a Jewish peasant, who claimed to be " God manifest in the flesh," was most repugnant to all thinking men, as was seen when Jesus proclaimed the doctrine in the synagogue at John vi. 26- Capernaum, with the effect that "many of His dis- ^ ' ciples went back, and walked no more with Him," 1 " Endless Suffering not the Doctrine of Scripture," by Rev. T. Davis, 1866. (Longmans.) 2 " Conditional Immortality," by Rev. W. R. Huntington, 1878. (E. P. Dutton and Co., New York.) 3 " Here and Hereafter, or Man in Life and Death," by Rev. U. Smith, 1897, pp. 56, 57. (Review and Herald Pub- lishing Company, U.S.A.) * " The Faith or Heresy, Which is it ? An Examination of Conditional Immortality," by W. Tupman, 1899, p. 4. (Digby, Long.) 270 The After Life saying, " This is an hard saying ; who can hear it ?"i When Christianity began to spread, the Jewish and Grecian converts insisted on retaining their old ideas on this subject when they entered the Christian Church.^ " Men hke Luther, Tyndale, and others fought hard against it, but the tide was too strong for them, until at last this ' tradition of men ' has become part of the established faith of Christendom, undermining the great and grand truths of the Gospel."^ Even up to the present day, the majority of Christian scholars and thinkers refuse to believe the clear teach- ing of Jesus that Immortality is the Gijt of God, to men in Christ, and that it is not the common posses- sion of all men. ArRument It is universally admitted, however, that the Natural Scrk)ture Inimortality of the Soul cannot be proved indepen- dently of Revelation, and the supporters of this, the Orthodox doctrine, used to point to the account of the Creation, as proof of their claim : Gen. i. 27. ' So God created man in His own image.' Gen. ii. 7. ' And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.' The Rev. H. H. Dobney,^ in 1844, and other writers since, have pointed out that there is no good reason for asserting that man bears the image of God in respect of Immortality. There are other attributes of God, such as Omnipotence, Omniscience, and Infallibility, and these might with equal justice be claimed for man, but no one has ever ventured to do so. * " Life in Christ," by Rev. Edward yVTiite, 1846, pp. 78, 79. (Elliot Stock.) 2 Ibid. 3 " The Faith or Heresy, Which is it ? An Examination of Conditional Immortality," by W. Tupman, 1899, p. 4. (Digby, Long.) * " Lectures on Future Punishment," by Rev. H. H. Dobney, 1844. (T. Ward and Co.) Conclusion 271 21, 22. Gen. i. 20, 21, 24, 30. With regard to the Soul, Cruden says in his " Con- cordance " that " The Scripture ascribes to beasts a soul," and it is certain that the " breath of life " was Gen. vii. 15 in all animals ; and the word " soul " is applied to all the lower order of animals. The above arguments would seem to have proved conclusive, because later writers have generally aban- doned the attempt to prove the Natural Immortality of the Soul of man from the account of the creation, and they have argued only from reason. I believe the following summary contains all the Arguments arguments from reason brought forward in the books reason I have studied. Before, however, commencing the enumeration, I must point out that many of the argu- ments are based on the false assumption that immor- tality is denied to the righteous as well as to the per- sistently wicked ; and that a resurrection of the just and unjust is disputed. The truth is that the doctrine of Conditional Im- mortality teaches that all men are raised for the pur- pose of retribution and reward, and the " spiritual " man then enters upon life immortal, but sentence of death — the second death — is passed upon " natural " men — " not temporal and bodily death only, but eternal death, that is, death from which there will be no recovery, and of the whole man," soul and body.^ Arguments from Reason. 1. " Upon the Principles of all true Philosophy, the Rev. M. Hor- Souls of Men are (under God) naturally immortal."^ 1744'^^ 2. " The intellectual endowments of man, together Rev. R. P. with his inherent capacity for almost boundless in^iSjg.' ^ " Harmony of Scripture on Future Punishment," by Rev. S. Minton, 1872, pp. 9, 10. (Elliot Stock.) 2 " An Inquiry into the Scripture Doctrine Concerning the Duration of Future Punishment," by Rev. M. Horbery, D.D., 1744, pp. 9, 10. (Wesleyan Conference Office.) 272 The After Life progress, afford strong probability of his immor- tality."! 3. " Reason asserts the immateriality of the think- ing principle, and the possibility of its existence when released from its earthly environment. "^ 4. " Reason demonstrates that as far as our know- ledge goes, nothing in the universe is annihilated, not even an atom of unconscious matter — why then should we suppose that the self-conscious, immaterial, and indivisible soul of man is annihilated P''^ 5. " Reason recognises in the moral consciousness of man a prediction of immortality. "^ 6. " Reason affirms the more than probable immor- tality of a creature capable of God.''^ 7. "^It seems to be demanded by the bewildering inequalities of human life.''^ 8. " The unfinished justice apparent in our world asserts the necessity for man's immortality. "^ 9. " God the Creator has endowed man with an instinct for immortality which He will not mock.''^ 10. " God has constituted our earthly life an educa- tion, and as He is wise and just, this education must involve a destiny. "^ 11. "God cherishes in man aspirations, finding their end in immortality. "^ 12. " God has accepted from the noblest men a trust based on immortality, which He will not betray."^ Dr. w. B. 13- " First, because nothing is said to the contrary Pope, in when the separation of soul and body is spoken of ; and, secondly, because death is said to be in its widest meaning done away in Christ. "^ Rev. F. J. B, 14. " The doctrine was so generally and so confi- \n\ir7\ dently held by those among whom Christ and His ^ " Man's Immortality Argued from Reason," by Rev. R. P. Downes, LL.D., 1875, pp. 2-15. (Smith's Publishing Com- pany.) 2 "A Compendium of Christian Theology," by Rev. W. B. Pope, D.D., 1875, p. 372 (second edition i88t). (Wesleyan Conference Office.) Conclusion 273 Apostles moved, and taught, that no occasion arose, and no opportunity was given, for a direct and ex- plicit affirmation of it."^ 15. "The belief of mankind that a soul or ghost w.r. Alger, survives the body has been so nearly universal as to ^'^ ^^'^^' appear like the spontaneous result of an instinct. "^ 16. "The faith of the Old Testament is a faith inpD.^p^'g;! a living God, and therefore a faith in everlasting life."^ 1 mond, in 17. " An argument for immortality is based on thef^^^. Isaac -V ^,- „4 ^ 1 Hartill,in affections. ^ [ 1896. " fBishop Well- 18. " Jesus believed it, and taught it, and lived it."^- don, in [ 1898. 19. " The utiHty of the doctrine."^ \ Pettingeii, [ in 1898. 20. "The sons of God must be immortal, for His [Rev. r. p. own sons God cannot slay."''' I in°^t^' The above arguments are all quoted from the writings of Divines, and I have read numerous other books in which the same arguments are used. 21. John Stewart Mill (1806-1873) wrote : — " The common arguments are : " I. The goodness of God. "2. The improbability that He would ordain the annihilation of His noblest and richest work, after the greatest part of its few years of life had been spent in the acquisition of faculties which time is not allowed him to turn to fruit. 1 " Endless Sufferings the Doctrine of Scripture," by Rev. F. J. B. Hooper, 1877, p. 52. (Elliot Stock.) 2 " Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life," by W. R. Alger, 1878, p. 583. (George W. Childs, U.S.A.) 3 " Christian Doctrine of Immortality," by Rev. S. D. F. Salmond, D.D., 1895, P- 293. (T. and T. Clark, Edinburgh.) * " Immortality," by Rev. Isaac Hartill, 1896, p. 75. (Alex- ander and Shepheard, London.) ^ " The Hope of Immortality," by Bishop J. E. C. Welldon, 1898, p. 283. (Seeley and Co., London.) 6 "The Unspeakable Gift," by Rev. J. H. Pettingeii, 1898, p. 90. (Digby, Long and Co.) ' " Man's Immortality and Destiny," by Rev. R. P. Downes, LL.D., 1903, p. 21. (Wesleyan Conference Of&ce.) 18 274 '^^^ After Life "3. And the special improbability that He would have implanted in us an instinctive desire for eternal life and doomed that desire to complete disappoint- ment."i My reply to many of the eleven arguments put for- ward by the Rev. R. P. Downes, in 1875, is that, while it is admitted believers will attain Immortality, it is clainied that the utterly depraved and persistently wicked probably have no moral consciousness, and no instinct, or aspiration, for Immortality ; neither can they be called " creatures capable of God," or noble men from whom God has accepted a trust based on Immortality. The Rev. H. H. Dobney, in 1844, wrote : " The desire for Immortality (even if the fact be admitted) can no more prove that it is the necessary portion of every individual than the desire for happiness proves that it also is the inalienable portion of everyone. "^ To the Rev. F. J. B. Hooper I would point out that Jesus made the opportunity to speak the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, in which He affirmed the doc- trine of the life in Hades, which was already as generally and confidently held as Plato's belief in the Immortality of the Soul. It is a sufficient answer to the argument of the Rev. Stewart D. F. Salmond to quote the celebrated Jew Maimonides : " This is the penalty which awaits the unjust ; — that they shall not attain that (eternal) life, but shall be utterly destroyed."^ The common argument, quoted ironically by the Rev. J. H. Pettingell, seems to be that the Soul must 1 Quoted in "The Problem of Immortality," by Rev. E. Petavel, D.D., translated by F. A. Freer, 1892, p. 58. (Elliot Stock.) 2 " Lectures on Future Punishment," by Rev. H. H. Dobney, 1844- (T. Ward and Co.) 3 " The Fate of the Dead," by Thomas Clarke, M.D., 1889. (F. Norgate.) Conclusion 275 be Immortal because it is useful to be able to tell sinners that, as the Soul cannot die, the punishment in store for them must last for ever. As regards John Stewart Mill, I think it is a question whether persistent sinners can be called the " noblest and richest work of God." After careful consideration of all the arguments in immortality support of the Orthodox view, I have come to the ^°^, conclusion that Immortality is Conditional, and is not common to all men. The Rev. W. R. Tomlinson wrote, in 1888 : " That the Soul is mortal by nature is practically laid down early in the Book of Genesis."^ ' And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one Gen. iii. 22. of us, to know good and evil : and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever : Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden,' but con- ditional. The following passages also support this opinion : 'Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not:* he is like the beasts that perish.' ' The soul that sinneth, it shall die.' ' And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul : but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.'f ' There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy : who art thou that judgest another ?' ' For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul ?J or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul ?'J ' For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die : but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.' ' Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.' Ps. xlix. 12. *R.V. abideth not in honour. jEzek. xviii. I 20. [Matt. X. 28. J Luke xii. 4. I I R-V. V Gehenna. Jas. iv 12. Matt, xvi.26. Mark viii. t,7- X R.V. life. Rom. viii. 1 3. Jas. V. 20. I have already pointed out, more than once, that The there are about one hundred different terms used in '' second . death. the New Testament as types of the final punishment 1 " Thoughts on Everlasting Death," by Rev. W. R. Tom- linson, 1888, p. 36. (Digby, Long.) 18—2 276 The After Life of persistent sinners, and the clear meaning of these terms is that the " Soul " or " Life," and the Body, which appear before the " great white throne," will, in some terrible way, cease to exist. I know that it has been held that many of these terms bear a different meaning in Scripture to what they bore in the ordinary literature of the day, but I have found nothing to support this dictum. The following are a few of the terms referred to : 1. Hewn down like a tree and cast into the fire. 2. Burnt up as chaff, as tares, as withered branches, in unquenchable fire. 3. Cast into a furnace of fire, or into everlasting or eternal fire, or into the fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 4. Cast into the lake of fire. 5. Cast out into outer darkness. 6. Cast into sea like bad fish. 7. Be destroyed. 8. Be destroyed body and soul. 9. Be miserably destroyed. 10. Be consumed. 11. Be lost. 12. Be drowned in destruction and perdition. 13. Be ground to powder. 14. Be rooted up like a plant. 15. Be cut off. 16. Be cut down like a fig-tree. 17. Be cut asunder. 18. Be a castaway. 19. Perish. 20. Die the second Death. I foresee one difficulty in connection with the doc- trine of Conditional Immortality, and the extinction of the unrepentant sinner at the Judgment on the Last Day which I have not seen mentioned by its critics, or explained by its supporters. I have shown in my Introduction that the Natural Conclusion 277 man on earth consists of a dormant or embryo Spirit, a Soul, and Body ; and, at the Resurrection, he will consist of a still dormant or embryo Spirit, in its Spirit body, and a Soul. It cannot be supposed that the Spirit, which emanates from God, can be annihilated, and I think the explanation must be that this dormant or embryo Spirit in unrepentant sinners — of whom I imagine there will not be many — will be reabsorbed into the Deity, to utilize the expression which is often wrongly employed when trying to explain what Nirvana means to a Buddhist. This appears to be the actual teaching of Scripture, because we read : ' Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was : and the Eccles. xii. 7. spirit shall return unto God who gave it.' The doctrines of Everlasting Punishment and the Everlasting Natural Immortality of the Soul are closely connected, ^enT because the former would never have come into exist- ence but for the fact, which I have just dealt with, that the terms which, in ordinary language, clearly imply total destruction, have been held to have in Scripture a meaning which is just the reverse. The belief in Everlasting Punishment is based on two passages in Daniel and Matthew : — ' And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth Dan. xii. 2. shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.' ' Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand. Depart Matt. xxv. from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the 41. 46. devil and his angels. ****** ' And these shall go away into everlasting* punishment : * RV. but the righteous into life eternal.' eternal. The marginal references, in the " Speaker's Com- mentary," under the passage in Daniel, are to the "everlasting," or eternal, "punishment," and to the|^^*g- ^^'^• (.<. ■ I- 1 ( Johii V. 29. resurrection of damnation, f and reference is also f R-V. judge- • ( ment. 278 The After Life Kev. XX. * R.V. Hades. 14. made in a note to "the second death," when "death and hell "* were cast into the lake of fire. Wordsworth's " Commentary " explains the word " shame " by a reference to the following passage : r ' Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and of My Mark viii. 3 8. J words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also Luke ix. 26. j shall the Son of man be ashamed, when He cometh in the [glory of His Father with the holy angels.' It is clear that " shame and everlasting contempt " do not necessarily imply that sinners will live eternally, and I agree with the Rev. J. H. Pettingell, who wrote : " This contempt the righteous j who will live for ever, may well entertain for ever toward all the wicked who perish, as we now entertain a contempt for the treachery of Judas, eighteen centuries after he has passed away."^ I have already pointed out (Chapter VI., "Ever- lasting as Applied to Punishment") that the mistake has been made in quoting verse 46 of Matthew, chapter xxv., apart from verse 41, of which it is clearly a continuation. The sentence is pronounced in verse 41, " Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire ";t and the continuation, in verse 46, says that the punishment shall be "everlasting, "J that is to say, the result shall last for ever and ever, and there shall be no recovery. We may properly assume that the Soul and the Resurrection body will be utterly consumed, as in the natural action of a fire, which is raging so fiercely, as to be called unquenchable, everlasting, or eternal. This, then, is the frail foundation on which has been constructed the awful doctrine of never-ending tor- ments in material flames, which has been taught for many centuries as the " Gospel," or good tidings, of Jesus ; this it is that has made it hard for Missionaries to obtain any success among races who have an estab- 1 ' The Unspeakable Gift,' by Rev. J. H. Pettingell, 1898, pp. 200, 201. (Digby, Uong.) t R. V. eternal. X R.V. eternal. Conclusion 279 lished religion of their own, although I admit that they have obtained converts among wilder races, who accept their teaching on trust ; and thh it is that sends religious maniacs into the asylums, and encourages atheism. It is a libel to teach — as the undermentioned divines of different ages have done — that the Christian God is as cruel and relentless as any of the monstrous gods who are worshipped in Africa with human sacrifices, and other devilish rites. How can anyone expect to make Christianity accept- able to Mahometans and Buddhists when these ideas underlie much of the teaching of to-day, although they are not, perhaps, so openly declared as formerly ? The African Bishop TertuUian in the third century. Cyprian. St. Augustine. Thomas Aquinas, in the thirteenth century. Peter Lombard. Calvin. Jeremy Taylor, in the sixteenth century. Jonathan Edwards. The Bishop of Toronto, in 1889. Rev. J. Furniss, C.S.S.R. . Rev. C. Spurgeon. And the Jesus of whom this is said was daily, throughout His three years' ministry, repeating the cry of Ezekiel, ' Why will ye die, O house of Israel ?' /Ezek. xxxiii. And He went about saying : ' And ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life.' John v. 40. And again : ' I am come that they might have life.' John x. 10. The word " die " here clearly refers to " the second death " after the General Resurrection ; and the word " life " refers to the " eternal life " which will then be the reward of the righteous. 28o The After Life I hold that the whole of the teaching of Jesus is against the doctrine of Everlasting Punishment. He taught that God willeth to have all men to be saved, and that, after the first death, all Spirits are detained in Hades, where sinners suffer terrible tor- ments of remorse, but, while they have to bear disci- pline, they are given opportunities of becoming purified. Recovery — although likened to the payment of a very large debt — is not impossible. Finally, I would point to the wonderful order of the creation, which, according to the science of evolution, commenced with the lowest form possessing life, and culminated in the pre- Adamite human beings. No revelation from God was apparently given to these evolved beings, and I have explained the preva- lence of Serpent worship in the old world by the sup- position that Satan had attempted to set up a kingdom on earth in opposition to God, and had ordered the worship of himself in the form which he afterwards assumed in the garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were created, I imagine, to be the parents of a godly race who would act as missionaries to the previous inhabitants of the earth, and the Advent of Jesus was rendered necessary by the failure of the chosen race to be true to God. I am convinced that the final judgment will not take place immediately after death, and no one will be translated to Heaven until after the Last Day. At death, each soul — with its dormant, or quickened, Spirit — will enter its spirit-body, and will go to its own place, or sphere, in Hades, or the Intermediate State, to which it is suited by its life on earth. I believe that most sinners will recognise the mercy of God when they find themselves in Hades, instead of being in awful torments in material fire, and I think many will then accept the teaching which they will receive from angels and spirits, who will visit them from the higher spheres of Hades. Conclusion 281 Many souls will thus resign themselves to the disci- pline they will receive, and they will gradually become purified, and promotion may be possible until the happy state of Paradise is attained. I believe that, at the second Coming of Christ, the dead in Christ will rise first, and will be joined by the righteous who are on earth, and they will live and reign on earth with Him, for what is called a thousand years. The unrighteous on earth will then die the first death, and will go through the discipline of Hades with those who were still unfit to rise and meet Christ at His Coming. On the Last Day, all will appear before the great white throne, and will be judged, and those who are still unrepentant — but of whom I hope there will be feW' — will be pronounced to be unfit for a place in the new kingdom of God, and they will be finally blotted out of existence. APPENDIX AUTHORS QUOTED : THE TITLES OF THEIR WORKS AND DATES OF THEIR PUBLICATION, WITH THE PUB- LISHERS' NAMES. Appendix 285 O 5 c Tl rt fi "1 . rt C ^ ^ O. 05 a 03 (11 § o o o +-> CO +-> o > ;=) o Td O - C rt C ^ ^ d .0 )C/2 P^ W HJffic^ o CJ nd a; ^ 0) W '"' '-I C „ O cti (-; Fk k:i O o o Q I b c« O 03 h-1 o3 CO (U fe ^ -h! >. a; B u CI iH fH o ra o3 ^H CO H .-^ r-' ^ H H O u 03 03 C O! -M - %-> (/) 1 <^ 3 1 PL, 1— > >^ - S-? fl 1 rt •-' C/3 d oj 2 « ,-, ^ iU ■ii tuD 8 J ^^ "U -, C/D^ (P cu /:3 ^ H H H < W csj 00 00 00 H H 00 vD 00 00 H H M 00 H On 00 H 0^00 00 MO C^ CO CO 00 00 )H \-\ )-\ T^ 0^ J>. On 00 00 00 }-i y-i ^ > fo P^ J^ tuo hH fe 3 P OJ ^ p Cin >, -(-> hn Ul Vh <^ 0^ m O ^Q ■^ ^ ■P4 W > P^ P^ ■ ffi O 2 Q o3 -(-> -M _M V^ OJ o o3 cu -i:; P5 P3 p:) P5 pq 286 The After Life p to H o ID at CO o W H < d CJ u, O ill -^ o ■^ to « <15 ,^ «3 -c^ CO iH w 04 fl ^ SB rt JS 3 rt Jr; ^ t3 S' o,^ ndT isbet Pett( t Pu rt O _: O " Charles Tayl F. Norgate. Elliot Stock. C. A. Nichol Springfield, Kegan Paul. t3 Reeves a James Ni Cassell, Galpin Methodis o ffi ;::3 CO to 1 S3 d o 52 aj O X! ■^ ^ 3 H S '^ y 'n ri ^ rO O Q^ ^ ^^ 03 t> .ri -B -d r^ '^ '73 1— 1 ^-' CD j_) •^ _, H-) CO o :S ^ :3 >. W 1-1 H H o-Saxon and Eng assing Fables, or iture Home lonary of Phrase Intermediate Sta o Four Last Things wy Magazine, A nt Mound of Ohi ur Life after Deal revised edition o an and the Spirit Fate of the Dead 3S Unknown Countr ator Mundi I' 1^^ .2 ^ 13 oo 00 OO OO >* H i-i H H H H H H H H H H H H > • : ' ■ ' Rev. M.D. Rev. 0. Rev. O < iS worth, Jos enan, R. H. ewer-Cobha: Rev., LL.D ish, J., Rev " id hambers. A., larke, Thos., onstable, H., ichols and C ox, Samuel, ; O S-H ',-, ^ oj o3 pi pq pq pQ cQ U Yt CJ o o ^ o 1 III 1 t>. i_ 1 o6 d^ d H csi CO rf- H H H H H H H CM OJ M N M Appendix 287 d s ^ c/5 be 11 W PQ Ph i- I: rt ^ =2 is ^ 1| ^ a S cj 1 d rt tuo ti oj ^ 42 ^ > ^ °l.§ >^ ^ S H M-H _g in ^ hi w p! ■^ 1 >^ a "a; H a S-l m > -- 'escent of Man 'octrine of Last Things ndless Suffering not the Scripture. (Edition of •3- >> s CO a dia Britannica, " The Protesta The Schism in B 0) > Man's Reas Man's I ommenta hina's PL Bible Readers -t-> P CD X PI '^ « P W P H H N CJ 0 Tf- ro m CO T^ H in CO .0O vO T^oo t^ c^ 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0^ a^oo 0^ 00 \-K ' q : • > p > & ^.< %^ > • p'^ H k' • p^ r w' X ■ «• «|u 6 2 a3 i> • i-T :2 +^ PI i_l 5j g ^p .>:3.2 Ip |P cti cri c^ i^ ^ 7=i p p p PP P P w w w 100 j>. 00 d^ d H m' ro ^ IT) W IN (M M IN ro CO ro ro ro ro The After Life -^ o Q W H O P Ot o H T3 dCo. Co., d 1 h-1 a: CJ o3 fl 4 c W3 rt >:; So Vh o 13 O ^ cS.^ ,d a -g PQ ts d t/T o p^ . Ul o ^ o u 1 jir PLh a 1—5 p CJ CO 3 (13 -(-''' -71 fl tn _o OJ < i '3 X' -g .B^fl 1— 1 ■Tj o W S o ^ OJ :=! .S « (in O h-1 H 0) -t-> OJ M-H M-H ^ g a ^ Ij W hH "TJ Oh tr C3 W c X OJ -g r-H 03 y CO .> ^ fe S ^ 2 o § ^ CO ;_( a; u -i-J !=! fa 2 § 4~ 3 O 2 C2 O o'a 5=! i3 ^ W^H ^B a< > OJ 5o a; t/3 CO 'IS a; 3 oS u 3 X ' -C 0) o 3 O H N roH fe w S H h-) c^ fa « '^ 00 H 0> fO o t^ CO CO M CM <3 W oo 1^x00 On J>N a^ ^ oo l>» t^ 00 oo 00 00 OO OO 00 oo 00 oo 00 00 H H H H H H H H H H H a ' '■ ; ^4 O 'c? 6 bJo 'Vh tn o M H < > ^« §1 O S^P ^:2 a c a 'SI S o OJ H CJ) 0^ o o en i-< Si > P^ u d s oo ON 1. d 1. H 1_ £2 1 3: 1 CO CO CO CO ^ '^ Th ■^ "^ "^ Appendix 289 a d 6 ^ u « ■k, E all. irence and and w (Tj rin w r3 C/5 d rf d in m , Ando ans, Gi der Sh . T. C h. L T. C h. n, Mar ork. CO .0 an Co: e. Mowbr; Dutto: York. Draper Longm Alexan T. and burg T. and burg Simpki New Y Wesley Offic A. R. ] E. P. New en 1 , QJ s ^ 00 <; CO 00 C^ 0^ ^o m ^ !>, -^ t^ W 00 CO 00 00 00 C7^0O in 00 ir^ o^oo >^ }-!,)-{ \-{ i-l, H H M H H H \-{ \H : : : ; Q : 5" ^ > V. v., D. Bish( > tn f-( • IS '^ pq c/) , M., Re . W., R( don, W. p ^ _ K'o >—) r^ c >. ci M . < ley, rold Bish rtill, stinj ard, mph bart D.D a, rber nt, < ntin D.D ct3 cti cti C^ 0) oj P 3 ffi ffi ffi ffi w ■ ffi ffi m in o c^ vO !>. 00' C^ d H m' ■-o ^ -^ Tt- -^ ^ in U-) in m in in in in 19 290 The After Life X ^ g d d CJ Td ■D Vm 'd d r rf^ d rt d « 03 o3 d w (U ;-< 03 J>sj QQ OJ M "^ C Ui S § 1 0) %-t it .it's H-IH 111 CO C/5 - _0 -f-> o3 0) ™ 1-7-1 irt 3 o3 p, rd CO (u ^ ^ d rap^ "^ ^ c ^ t^ d Vi '^ ;^ *• -^ d "^ d >, ° )— 1 -(-J OJ rd _o^h-I r~* '-M 0) d xJ H 01 H S p^ P4 ^ ^ H (M -< H ^ < « 00 H m fO 0^ CO m Jt- m c^ 00 00 00 CO ro CO . a^'^D CTn W 00 a^oo 00 00 00 00 00 00 >H H M H H H H H M M ^~r" . ; • ; '. '. d" M '■ « 2 P^ rn" , > d •'I ^ (-1 OJ CJ . " r ^ rf d ^ 2 £ c3 S-" ►-J P ^ ^. d ^ r d t2 i ^ ^' (/J )-i d Cti ri^ Q T3 ^ ^ "7 P cd d 1 -" P^ rfT d a i=l el C 1-1 o3 - a 1 § +-> CO Hi Cfi '^ -(-> "d 3 '% o3 >. fe o3 ft o3 T3 H H ^ ►-^ CD rt .t; 6 .^ ^ a; ^ i- K riPii Ph H-1 CO H -3 1 -M '^ PI o3 a 03 .Oh 'G +-> M-l "ti tfl s^ OJ J §1 '^ gl >-i id Ph «s ^ « -t-j C a s >^ a ;-! oi o3 -M CI CI, •2c/3 .. ft.l ^ 1 1 II a ^ *^ A > CD (^ ia 1— 1 fci ^^ C7\ CO M !>. (M 10 10 H H <: 0> 0^ C^oo J>N 'sD C^ 0^ 00 00 w 00 C30 00 00 00 \0 00 0^00 00 00 a\ >^ \-< )-{ \-^ >-^ H M H M H H H H ^ '^ »* • • •^ . • *^ , > • > • • > . Oi « 62 1^ PI f^ „ > 1 Pd P > ffi A";^ p^ Id a 1— ) s 00 ^ i>> tx t^ i:^ I>N t^ Cv c^ C^ IQ — 2 292 The After Life . d 6 ri w w 13 pq PL, ifQth, Farran and Co •ngmans. Green and C ;ccles. Hot Stock, gby, Long and Co. m. Isbister. esleyan Conference Office. mpson, Low and Co. Routledge and Sons mes Parker and Co. .. H. Kelly, ngmans, Green and C and T. Clark, Edii burgh. h4 m w ft ^ l> CO A cj h-l H 1 reer) n of ^ CO fe _o cu -a; 2^ 03 '■^ -d r^ H- 1 - < -^ ian T n of t i a -^ .2 ico shment g, April aints stian Lib rtullian ft W 1-1 H H -2 ° The Races of Man Immortality (translate The Unspeakable Gift The Spirits in Priso of Ch I, 188 Cond: Pi nglican Church hings beyond t Light A Compendium > (second editior Whither ; or the after Death onquest of Mex verlasting Puni entury Magazin fter Death ommunion of S; nte-Nicene Chri Lactantius, Te < H cj w . t^ o> c^oo t^ ^vco a^ CT>^ W c» cr« CO 00 00 00 00 c^ 00 00 CO C^CO CO >H H H H H H H H H )-{ >-\ }-\ >-{ y-{ }-{ R ft '■d '-a '■ > ft ft' Q « .- 7 T >" > • > • X3 \i^^ 0) nj P^ « escott, W. H. sey, E. B., Re tnam, F. W. . mdles, M., Re :de, W., Rev. . »berts, Alexan Rev., D.D. <: rry-Weble}- ssmore, T. eschel, 0. F, etavel, E. R ettingell, J. lumptre, E. D.D. Oh t; c3 c3 in P P " 'J-' '-' 1 1 Ph Pl^ PL, Ph PLh Ph piH PLh Ph p::; p^ P^ 1 1 1 1 1 1 c^ 6 H sc6 6\ 6 H c <^ Appendix 293 h c rO c '^ ;-( a3 <: w w w Wm. Isbister. C. J. Thynne. It. and T. Clark, burgh. James Parker, Oxf P m i-i o3 en and Co. Chapman and Hall Skeffington. Review and Herald lishing Associat: Washington, U.S Philip Green. T. and T. Clark, burgh. tfi -(-' ^ tD >. 5P CO a +-' h^ a A-. . 0) n ortality ine of Immorta eaven " in Has of the Bible Nicene Fathers ^^ 15 c %^ .c TLE. 3 CO bjO eous Far-off L Rev. W. 03 n : is it Et of Aug H uture Retributio: houghts on Immi Christian Docti Article on " H( (49) Dictionary icene and Post- Hilary ife of the Waitin Duls of the Right limpses of the Introduction by mgs) ;ere and Hereafte Death unishment for Si he Enchiridion Laurentius fe H H ^ H H H H H H H H H H • R >' d >■ • ' * P^ >■ ci, - r ^ OJ >^ f^' ^ W ^ : >' w ^s «■ ^ P^' pi^ 0^ <[j ^: ^ cT ^^' tD H. S gust C) 1^ ^Q «^ "^ i-l < nders D.D. vage, ymor a ^1 Oj CO 1 03 } CO Tf U-5 ^' !>. CO c^ 0> 0^ 0^ a^ C^ cr^ H H H 294 The After Life 'IS O in O W H < c ^H ^ c o o w c v-l o CU 6 6 s 03 , pq fe o o t/) P C/5 ^" d C 0) CU fcT 3 13 bo gby. Long a gby, Long a W. Partridg effington. 6 a3 CJ T3 d o3 CU O tg o CO >. a a3 13 -M t/) "^ s^' ^^ fe 1-^ Q Q c/5 CO OJ CO m w ^ O "K >. § 13 '.5 O l-H -^t^ o N -M 03 p-l PQ o; "-w Xi o3 w H i-i H 03 Q o 13 CI OJ -M (V o OJ Ti ^ 9. ts on Everlas th or Heresy bhcal Guide 3sence and -t-l o B B 1— 1 o3 1— 1 03 CO o3 +-> CO CD c« 0) o ^ O CJ o "o _2 •T3 O o 5 hough he Fai ew Bi he Pr( Spirit o o •2 ^ •■^ l-H ^^ 0) /:3 t/3 -^ < W H H iz^ H H K H H-1 H « H Tt- OO On 0> On 00 H o> o o < OO in OO CTn C^ !>. On O^ N T*- a\ W OO t^ OO 00 CO OO OO OO OO OO 00 >H H H i-i >-< t-i H H H H H H > o —Tomlinson, W. R., Rev. —Tupman, W. . . —Urquhart, John, Rev. -Webb, A. B., Bishop, D.D. cJ O o o •^ Peh p^' ^Q w 'B-{ M M H H H H H Elliot stock, 62, Pater?ioster Row, London, E.C.