YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE LIBRARY OF THE DIVINITY SCHOOL FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. BY WILLIAM DeLOSS LOVE PASTOB AT SOUTH HADLEY, MASS. FOTK & WAGNALLS. NEW TOEK : LONDON : 1888. 18 & 20 Astob Place. 44 Fleet Street. All Bigkts Reserved. Copyright, 1888, By Wm. DeLOSS LOTH. TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE Introduction 1_2 CHAPTER H, Usage Determines the Meaning of Language, . . . 3-5 CHAPTER IH. Jesus Christ a Trustworthy Teacher, 5-8 CHAPTER IV. Biographical Memoranda. Apocrypha, Targums, Book of Enoch, Josephus, Philo, Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Barnabas, Ignatius, Diognetus, Pastor of Hermas, Papias, Justin Martyr, Athenagoras, Tatian, Theophilus, The Clementine Recogni tions, Irenseus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Commodianus, Novatian, Cyprian, Minucius Felix, Origen, Methodius, Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius, Arnobius, Lactantius, 8-19 CHAPTER V. TJod Eternal. Apocrypha, Targums, Book of Enoch, Philo, Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Athen agoras, Clementine Recognitions, Irenseus, Clement of Alex andria, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Cyprian, Origen, Lactantius, The Scriptures, 19-24 CHAPTER VI. Life Eternal. Apocrypha, Targums, Book of Enoch, Jose- phus, Philo, Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Ignatius, Pastor of Hermas, Justin Martyr, Athenagoras, Tatian, Theophilus, iv TABLE OF CONTENTS. Page Clementine Recognitions, Irenseus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Cyprian, Origen, Methodius, Gregory, Dionysius, Arnobius,, Lactantius, The Scriptures, .... 25-34 CHAPTER Vn. Punishment Eternal. Apocrypha, Targums, Book of Enoch, Josephus, Philo, Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Barnabas, Igna tius, Diognetus, Pastor of Hermas, Justin Martyr, Athenagoras, Theophilus, Clementine Recognitions, Irenseus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Cyprian, Origen, Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius, Arnobius, Lactantius, The Script ures, 34-55 CHAPTER VHI. The Eternal and Immortal. Book of Enoch, Josephus, Philo, Clement of Rome, Ignatius, Diognetus, Justin Martyr, Athenagoras, Tatian, Theophilus, Clementine Recognitions, Irenseus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Ori gen, Lactantius, The Scriptures, 56-61 CHAPTER IX. The Resurrection. Apocrypha, Book of Enoch, Josephus, Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Barnabas, Papias, Justin Martyr, Athenagoras, Tatian, Theophilus, Irenseus, Clement of Alex andria, Tertullian, Minucius Felix, Origen, Methodius, Dionys ius, Arnobius, Lactantius, The Scriptures, 62-69 CHAPTER X. The Day of Judgment. Apocrypha, Book of Enoch, Jose phus, Polycarp, Barnabas, Justin Martyr, Athenagoras, Ta tian, Theophilus, Clementine Recognitions, Irenseus, Clem ent of Alexandria, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Cyprian, Origen, Methodius, Gregory Thaumaturgus, Lactantius, The Script ures, 70-79 TABLE OF CONTENTS. T CHAPTER XL Page No Probation after Death. Apocrypha, Book of Enoch, Josephus, Philo, Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Barnabas, Igna tius, The Pastor of Hermas, Papias, Justin Martyr, Athen agoras, Theophilus, Clementine Recognitions, Irenseus, Clem ent of Alexandria, Tertullian, Cyprian, Origen, Gregory Thaumaturgus, Lactantius, The Scriptures, 79-104 CHAPTER XII. The Heathen Guilty. Apocrypha, Targums, Book of Enoch, Josephus, Philo, Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Diognetus, Pas tor of Hermas, Justin Martyr, Clementine Recognitions, Ire nseus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Cyprian, Origen, Methodius, Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius, Arno bius, Lactantius, The Scriptures 104-119 CHAPTER XIII. The Unevangelized Heathen may be Saved. Apocrypha, Targums, Book of Enoch, Josephus, Philo, Clement of Rome, Pastor of Hermas, Justin Martyr, Theophilus, Clementine Recognitions, Irenseus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Commodianus, Cyprian, Minucius Felix, Origen, Methodius, Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius, Arnobius, Lac tantius, The Scriptures, 119-134 CHAPTER XIV. Early and Later Opinions that Unevangelized Heathen may be Saved. The Targums, Clement of Rome, Pastor of Hermas, Justin Martyr, Irenseus, Clement of Alexandria, Ori gen, Arnobius, Augustine, The Schoolmen, Arminius, Robert South, Cotton Mather, David Brainerd, Jonathan Edwards (father and son), Thomas C. Upham, Philip Schaff, . . 134-141 CHAPTER XV. The Scripture Method of Salvation for the Unevangel ized Heathen. Two classes, Their advantages differ, Both Vi TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE classes have probation, God holds both as guilty, Both threat ened with punishment, Both can be saved, All the unevangel ized can be saved, Divine mercy bespeaks Christ, . . . 141-150 CHAPTER XVI. The Doctrine of Free Will. The Apocrypha, Book of Enoch, Josephus, Philo, Clement of Rome, Justin Martyr, Athenagoras, Tatian, Theophilus, Clementine Recognitions, Irenseus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Com modianus, Novatian, Minucius Felix, Origen, Methodius, Gregory Thaumaturgus, Arnobius, Lactantius, The Script ures, 150-160 CHAPTER XVH. Sheol, Hades, Gehenna, and Paradise. The Apocrypha, Targums, Book of Enoch, Josephus, Clement of Rome, Igna tius, Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenseus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Cyprian, Origen, Gregory Thauma turgus, Arnobius, The Scriptures, 160-173 CHAPTER XVIH. Gehenna by Figure a Place of Fire ; Hades by Figure a Prison. " Gehenna " in New Testament ; " Sheol " in Old Testament ; " Hades " in New Testament ; Scripture basis for calling Hades and Sheol a " Prison " ; Basis in the Apocrypha ; Basis in the usage of Early Fathers, — Irenseus, Clement of Alexandria, Hippolytus, Tertullian ; the name " prison " given to hades by Tertullian, Clement, Hippolytus, 173-187 CHAPTER XIX. The Primitive Doctrine that Christ and his Apostles Preached to the Righteous Dead. Ignatius, Pastor of Hermas, Justin Martyr, Irenseus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Gregory Thaumaturgus, The Script ures, 188-195 TABLE OF CONTENTS. vii CHAPTER XX. PAGE The Cause of the Primitive Doctrine that Christ and his Apostles Preached to the Righteous Dead. A rational reason, Justin Martyr, Pastor of Hermas, Irenseus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Augustine, The Script ures 196-199 CHAPTER XXI. The Doctrine that Christ Preached to the Unright eous Dead Pronounced a Heresy in both the Second and Third Centuries. Marcion, Irenseus, Origen, Rufinus, Jerome, 200-202 CHAPTER XXH. A Primitive View of the Nature of Future Punishment. Philo, Book of Enoch, Pastor of Hermas, Tertullian, Com- modianus, Cyprian, Origen, Jerome, Ambrose, Augustine, Cbrysostom, John of Damascus, Theophylact, .... 203-207 CHAPTER XXIH. A Re-statement of the Nature of Punishment after Death. Figurative language, Figurative ideas, Incongruity, Conscience a fire and worm, Loss of mental power, Depriva tion, Evolution in character, 208-213 CHAPTER XXIV. Clement of Alexandria not an After-death Probation- ist or Untversalist. Dr. Shedd, Baumgarten-Crucius, Giese- ler, Redepenning, Neander, McClintock and Strong, Schaff- Herzog, Clement on punishment, Clement on unending retri bution, Prof. Sheldon, 214-240 CHAPTER XXV. Canon Farbar's Ebroneous Positions and Citations. Wrong statement of others' views, Misapplication of Scripture, Vlll TABLE OF CONTENTS. Page Misapplication of citations from the Early Fathers, Of Clem ent's views, Of the meaning of alovioc, of Hermas' views, Of Justin Martyr's views, Of Irenseus' views, .... 240-246 CHAPTER XXVI. Objections and Concessions by Origen. His inconsistency, Misapplication of Scripture, His argument against the doc trine of eternal punishment, His argument in favor of it, His plea against Celsus, His later views, 247-253 CHAPTER XXVH. Objections by " New Departure." Judgment in relation to Christ, No forgiveness in world to come, Case of Tyre and Sidon, etc., Christ Lord of living and dead, Matthew 25, The dead raised, Sheol, The judgment, 253-265 CHAPTER XXVIII. The Primitive View that Some Antediluvians Repented under Noah's Preaching. Clement of Rome, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Methodius, Tertullian 266-269 CHAPTER XXIX. Preaching to Spirits in Prison, and to the Dead. ' Afore time disobedient,' The preaching after Noah's time, Preach ing " in the spirit," " Spirits in prison," Hades the under ground world, Paradisaic hades a waiting-place, Christ went to lower paradise, Preached to righteous dead, This view agrees with Scripture. Preaching to the dead, The " dead " and " spirits inprison " the same, The " quickand the dead," Dead as to temporal life, A place for the doctrine that the gospel was preached to the dead, The righteous dead adjusted to the gospel, Live according to God, They were righleotts dead, Doc trine of Jews bearing on this point, 269-275 TABLE OF CONTENTS. IX CHAPTER XXX. PAGE Prayer for the Dead. Apocrypha, Nothing of it in many authors, Tertullian, Not a doctrine of Scripture or Early Fathers, 275-278 CHAPTER XXXI. The Salvation" of Infants. The Pastor of Hermas, Athen agoras, Tertullian, Commodianus, Cyprian, 278-280 CHAPTER XXXII. No Doctrine of Annihilation. The Apocrypha, Book of Enoch, Josephus, Philo, Polycarp, Barnabas, Ignatius, To Diognetus, Pastor of Hermas, Justin Martyr, Athenagoras, Ta tian, Theophilus, Recognitions of Clement, Irenseus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Cyprian, Origen, Metho dius, Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius, Lactantius, Arnobius, The Scriptures, 280-289 CHAPTER XXXIII. No Sleep of the Soul between Death and Resurrection. The Apocrypha, Book of Enoch, Josephus, Philo, Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Ignatius, Pastor of Hermas, Justin Martyr, Recognitions of Clement, Irenseus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Cyprian, Dionysius, Ancient Letter, The Scriptures 290-294 CHAPTER XXXIV. The Inspiration of the Scriptures. The Apocrypha, Tar gums, Book of Enoch, Josephus, Philo, Clement of Rome, Bar nabas, Ignatius, Papias, Justin Martyr, Athenagoras, Theophi lus, Recognitions of Clement, Irenseus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Cyprian, Origen, Methodius, Apostol ical Constitutions, Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius, Lactan tins, The Scriptures, 295-304 X TABLE OF CONTENTS. Page CHAPTER XXXV. Review and Summary, 305-309 Appendix, 310-317 Index of Subjects, 318-322 Index of Texts, 323 CHAPTER I.— Introduction. It is the chief design of this work, to examine the theory of probation after death, by the light of Script ure, and of religious literature during three centuries next preceding Christ, and three centuries next after him. The language of Scripture may well be judged by the language of its time. Christ being a Jew, if we establish Jewish belief before and during his min istry, wherever we find him employing Jewish lan guage to express his doctrines, we may be confident of his belief. And wherever we establish the belief of Christ's early followers, and find them employing the language of Christ and his Apostles to express their opinions, we may safely infer that their belief was derived from him. In this way we may cause the light of both Jewish and Christian literature to converge upon the teachings of Christ to make us surely understand them. Where there is substantial agreement among both Jewish and Christian writers, and the Redeemer uses their current language on the same questions, without any dissent, we have in their writings a key to the understanding of his doctrines. We must trust his word or anarchy of opinion will follow. We must believe Christ or not be Christians. No appeal is here made to uninspired early writings as authority on doctrine. They are used merely to show what Christ meant by his instructions. Where Christ and the early writers agree, as shown by many comparisons, then to determine the meaning on either side determines that of the other. In this way we 2 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. may get a kaleidoscope view of Scripture instruction. Taking any particular doctrine, and seeing from un inspired writings what was held concerning it before and at the time of Christ, and by his followers after him, and then finding it buttressed or underlaid by Christ's and his Apostles' teaching, according to the common or evangelical understanding of his instruc tions, we then may be sure that after such investiga tion we have the truth as it is in Christ Jesus. And each truth thus determined will rule out certain errors opposed to it. It is not the design in these pages so much to give comment as evidence, which shall amount to proof from external sources of what the Scriptures teach. Doctrines will chiefly be considered which pertain to the future state ; a few however which have only an indirect connection with such doctrines, yet impor tant in the circumstances. The writings of some of the authors quoted were not extensive, or have not been extensively preserved, and therefore testimony from every author on each question here considered, is not to be expected. But, where a considerable array of witnesses is produced, running through the space of hundreds of years, with no essential disagreements among the witnesses, the evidence as to opinion in that age in general should be considered satisfactory. And on no question are witnesses produced here, where among Jewish and Christian writers there is any essential variance with each other. But often it is the case, that only a very small portion of the passages are quoted from an author on the question in hand ; yet enough to show his belief. USAGE THE LAW OF LANGUAGE. ,CHAPTER II.— Usage Determines the Meaning of Language. Words are only signs of ideas. If the signs are differently understood a difference in ideas ensues. From a difference in ideas often come disagreements and contentions. To settle the meaning of language often ministers to peace. The late civil war in the United States had a part of its cause in a different understanding of language. Did the Constitution allow the right of Secession ? There were two par ties on that question. Theological controversies have often risen and reigned from a different understand ing of Scripture language. At the present moment different views prevail, on the doctrine of the Trinity, of the atonement, of future probation, and universal salvation ; on the doctrine of baptism, and saints' per severance, and church organization and government, because of differences in the understanding of lan guage. Difference in heart-wishes were not enough cause for difference in views and doctrines, without different conceptions of the meaning of language. Settle the meaning of the signs of ideas, of the mean ing of language, and you settle many questions of doubt and doctrine. But, what can settle the meaning of language ? Is there any sure key that will open to its meaning ? any umpire that will determine it ? We search for the roots of words and study them, to see what ideas they convey ; but the second or third meaning may be the usual one, and that may be varied much from the original. Other communities or generations may 4 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. modify or otherwise change the thought carried in the same phraseology, and the language may need some alteration in order to retain or convey the first idea. The "taking thought" may have to be dis placed by the "being anxious." We must come to this conclusion, that it is usage which decides the meaning of language. Every candid and trustworthy speaker and writer intends to' use language with the meaning given by others, his con temporaries. If he does not choose the primary sense, he takes some other, perhaps a figurative one. To ascertain the meaning of any document or writing, we need to apply the common usage of language at the time it was written. Thus we interpret the Dec laration of Independence, and the Constitution of the United States, and all other writings whether of much or little importance. If we are in doubt as to any word or phrase we consult contemporaneous usage.- To insist on some new meaning which was unknown when the article or book containing it was written, would be violence to common sense and rea son. Words are given a new or varied meaning by new uses. By usage many words now found in the New Testament were brought out from heathen or mere secular use, and endowed with new and signify cant thought in religious narrative and discourse. To determine the meaning of the word "eternal" in Christ's time, we need not so much to investigate the original root, as to settle what was the meaning in use at that age. Unquestionably the original word was sometimes employed to convey the idea of end less duration. Did usage at that time give it that meaning when descriptive of " life " and of " punish- CHRIST S WORD TRUSTWORTHY. 5 ment" ? Settling the usage then, we settle the mean ing of the word. To decide on the meaning of the word "prison" in the phrase " spirits in prison " in the first epistle of Peter, we need to determine whether "Gehenna" was called a prison then, or "Hades," which included "Abraham's bosom" as well as " Gehenna." If "Hades " as a whole was often termed a kind of " prison," then all reliance on the passage in Peter to prove that Christ preached to the impenitent dead, who were in Gehenna, is futile ; for, his preaching may have been only to the righteous dead in Hades. Other Scripture words, and also phrases, pertaining to questions in eschatology, may be examined by the law of usage, and important evi dence in respect to their meaning thus be obtained. It were worse than folly to undertake to settle ques tions concerning the future state, without weighing the usage of meaning in that age when the language relative to the world of the dead was employed. CHAPTER III.— Jesus Christ a Trustworthy Teacher. Whatever may be said or thought respecting the Deity of Christ, the civilized world is constrained to agree with Nicodemus in his saying to the Redeemer, " Thou art a teacher come from God." As such he was unerring, and trustworthy in every particular. For him to teach falsehood would have been sin; but he was without sin, and no guile was found in his mouth. He knew what to teach, and men should 6 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. have confidence in his teaching. He went about doing good, and he taught what was good. He wished to raise the thoughts of men to higher things, and therefore sometimes used language which required reflection to understand it ; but he spoke not in an unknown tongue, ah d his Apostles deprecated unintelligible speech. The philosophers of his, and of previous, ages, often sought to speak so that the masses of the people could not hear or understand them; but Jesus Christ sought to speak, and< [d speak, so that the common people heard him gi^aly. He therefore used the plain lan guage to which the people of his time were accus tomed. God does not delight in speaking to his creatures in an unintelligible manner. He invites them to come and reason together with him. He therefore uses their language that they may under stand hina. He does not give some new meaning to particular words, unless in some way he interprets it to them. It is in the highest interest of his benevo lence, to make his creatures perceive his meaning in what he says to them. He therefore uses the language current with them, and with such usage of meaning as they give to it. When God through his prophets and apostles speaks of his eternity, and uses the same language which was currently used by others at the time, he must have meant by it substantially what they did. If Christ's contemporaries, and those be fore him, spoke of man's eternal future in the same terms that they spoke of God's eternal future, and in both cases meant that the eternal state is endless, and if then Christ spoke in the same language and terms of the future state of both the righteous and the wicked, he must have meant what they meant. Our belief in CHRIST'S WORD TRUSTWORTHY. 7 his sincerity and truth compels us to that conclusion. The case is made stronger still, if the Apostles, and Apostolic Fathers, employed the same language with the same ideas. If before Christ, and after Christ, we find explicit language among Jews and Christians, teaching the resurrection of all the dead, and the day of judgment) and then find Jesus himself using the same language with added impressiveness, our infer ence must be that he intended to teal h, and did teach, both the resurrection and the judgm< *¦• If we find teachers both preceding and succeeding Christ and his Apostles, representing that death is the great crisis in human accountability, and that if men die in their sins they must perish, and then find both Christ and the Apostles using language which apparently teaches the same, we must conclude, that Christ means to be understood as teaching that there is no probation after death. If we find in both secular and sacred literature ante-dating and after-dating the ministry of Christ, the teaching that the heathen are account able and guilty, and that they can be saved on repent ing, and only on repenting, according to the light they have, and that they without the gospel are not to be judged by the gospel, then when we find Christ set ting forth the same views, we need not, and ought not, to doubt his meaning. Since determining the plan of this book, and since preparing nearly all the matter it contains, its author has found, that the early and prominent Christian Father, Irenseus, in his day, pointed out the same general method of testing doctrines that arose, by as certaining if they could be traced back to the Apostles and to Christ. This course appears in the following: 8 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. " For how stands the case? Suppose there arise a dis pute relative to some important question among us, should we not have recourse to the most ancient churches with which the Apostles held constant inter course, and learn from them what is certain and clear in regard to the present question? For how should it be if the Apostles themselves had not left us writings? Would it not be necessary [in that case] to follow the course of the tradition which they handed down to those to whom they did commit the churches? To which course many nations of those barbarians who believe in Christ do assent, having salvation written in their hearts by the Spirit, without paper or ink, and, carefully preserving the ancient tradition, believing in one God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and all things therein, by means of Christ Jesus, the Son of God; who, because of his surpassing love towards his creation, condescended to be born," etc. (Agt. Her. B. iii. c. 4). Irenseus tested new doctrines by seeing whether they, or their opposite, were to be found in the writings of the Apostles, or among the churches they founded, or among the men to whom they com mitted those early churches. Such, in substance, is the course adopted in this book. CHAPTER IV.— Biographical Memoranda. Some biographical notices should be given of the leading uninspired authors quoted in this book, that we may fairly judge whether their testimony is worthy of credit. Were their relations, education, and stand- BIOGRAPHICAL MEMORANDA. 9 ing such as to make them reliable representatives of opinion in their time, among the classes to which they belonged ? A brief account of them in each case will tell. It has been said by some, that one can prove almost anything by the Fathers of the first five centuries of the Christian era. This is not true of the great portion of them. Look back into the past five centuries from this date, and what idea or doc trine can you not find advocated among nominal Christians ? Yet, the great bulk of their teaching has been self-consistent and of an evangelical character. Full as much so, or more; was it in the early Chris tian era. On the great questions, the testimony of the early Christian Fathers is so uniform, as to show that they in general had one common fountain head. It is not designed here to treat them or their writings as the fountain head of authority, but to employ them to ascertain the character of the stream that flows from the fountain, and thence judge, in that aspect, of the fountain itself. The Apocrypha — The Apocrypha of the Old Testa ment is made up of books included in the Septuagint, or Greek Bible canon, but excluded from the Hebrew canon. The Hebrew canon was settled before the Christian era, as is evident from Josephus's writings. Yet, both he and the early Christians quote from the books of the Apocrypha as of importance and au thority, though not inspired. And the first complete edition of Luther's Bible speaks of them as " useful and good to be read." These books are called the "Apocrypha" because they are somewhat "hidden" or obscure as to their origin. Still, they were in chief part, or wholly, in existence and use in the time of 10 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. Christ and his Apostles. They were written by vari ous authors, chiefly between the close of the Old Testament writings and the beginning of the new. They are reliable, so far as here quoted, for the pres ent purpose, which is to ascertain what views the Jews held in the time of Christ and his early follow ers, which have any bearing on the question of a pro bation after death and on similar topics. The trans lation of passages herewith given, is that of Edwin Cone Bissell, D.D., in the Apocrypha as given in con nection with the Schaff-Lange Commentary. The Targums — Targum means the Chaldee version or paraphrase of a part of the Old Testament. The Targum of Onkelos on the Pentateuch, and of Jona than on the prophets, date at least back to the early part of the first century, A. D. The Targums show the understanding the translators had of the original text. And, since they believed the original text in spired, the Targums show the religious opinions of the translators. The Book of Enoch— The Book of Enoch is another Apocryphal work, though not found in the Old Testa ment Apocrypha. Its chief part dates between about a century and a century and a half B. C. In refer ence to the future state, and other religious questions, it shows the atmosphere of belief prevalent among the Jews in the time of Christ and his Apostles, and for this reason it is highly important. It is quoted by the Apostle Jude, and by some of both the earlier and later of the Christian Fathers. The quotations from the work here made, are from the translation of Prof. George H. Shodde. Josephus— Josephus, born three or four years after BIOGRAPHICAL MEMORANDA. 11 Christ's ascension, is much and rightly quoted from in his explanations and comments on the Scriptures, and on religious questions in general. Canon Farrar is pleased to call Josephus "an untrustworthy wit ness." He does not prove him to be such, or even attempt to do it. Some prejudices in behalf of his own people Josephus had, but these do not affect his general testimony. Scholars generally regard him as highly trustworthy in describing the different classes and various opinions of his people, the Jews. Though living after the close of Christ's earthly life, his writings reflect the opinions of the Jews during Christ's life, as well as during Josephus's time. Philo — Philo, a learned and distinguished Jew, was born in Alexandria about twenty years B. C, and he died at some time during the reign of the Roman Em peror Claudius, A. D. 41-54. Consequently he was about fifty years of age, and in the prime of life, when Christ entered upon his ministry. He visited Jerusalem, and other parts of Palestine, though it is not known that he ever saw Jesus of Nazareth. He wrote extensively as a philosopher, a politician or statesman, and an exegete of the Old Testament. He was scrupulously faithful to Jewish doctrine, and on the main questions he must have reflected the belief of the Jews in that and previous eras. If in Philo's time none advocated the doctrine of a proba tion after death, then we need not look for anything in his writings in direct or studied opposition to that view; but we may look for implications and assump tions bearing upon that question. Clement of Rome— This Clement was probably the 12 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. fellow-laborer of Paul, referred to by him (Phil. 4:3). The first epistle ascribed to him is conceded to be genuine, and it was written about A. D. 97, just after the persecution under Domitian; or, possibly, A. D. 68, which was just after the persecution under Nero. Its doctrines in general must have been Apostolic, since Clement was conversant with the Apostles. His writings are chiefly hortatory, and do not abound in doctrinal statements. Polycarp — Irenseus was a disciple of Polycarp. He tells us that " Polycarp was instructed by the Apos tles, and was brought into contact with many who had seen Christ." Polycarp was the renowned Bishop of Smyrna, and he died a Christian martyr, about A. D. 166. There is no reasonable doubt now as to the genuineness of his epistle to the church at Philippi. If any interpolations have been made in it, there is no reason to suppose that they pertain at all to ques tions concerning the future state. And the same in substance may be said of the epistle, purporting to have been written by the church at Smyrna, concern ing the martyrdom of Polycarp. Each epistle dates not later than about the middle of the second century, or not more than about fifty years subsequent to the death of John, the last of the Apostles. It is hardly possible that the leading opinions in them can be other than genuinely Christian. Barnabas — The epistle of Barnabas was written by some gentile Christian early in the second century, or soon after the Apostle John's death. Ignatius— Ignatius wrote early in the second century, for he perished as a martyr, probably A. D. 107 or 116. The extracts from his writings here given, are BIOGRAPHICAL MEMORANDA 13 from the shorter version, or are contained in both, unless otherwise indicated. Diognetus — The beautifully written, clear, and dis criminating epistle to Diognetus, whose unknown author lived near, or not long after, the close of the Apostolic age, gives some statements bearing upon our general subject. The Pastor of Hermas — The Pastor of Hermas, written about A. D. 130, called by some on account of its allegorical style, the " Pilgrim's Progress " of the second century, was much valued by the early Chris tians, was often read along with the Scriptures in re ligious assemblies, and was thought by some of the early Fathers, though unwisely, to belong with the inspired writings. It shows the Christian belief on various questions soon after the Apostolic age, and that belief on leading subjects must have been in sub stance what the Apostles held. Papias — A few fragments have been preserved, of* the writings of Papias, bishop of the church at Hi- erapolis in Phrygia. Papias was born, probably as early as A. D. 70 or 75, and he died, probably a mar tyr, about A. D. 163. His five volumes, from which a few extracts remain, were written probably about A. D. 130. He was conversant with many who knew the Apostles, and he heard either John the Presbyter, or John the Apostle. The fragments of his writings now extant touch only a few points on the subject here investigated. Justin Martyr — Justin Martyr was born about A. D. 100. He was first a Pagan philosopher. He became a Christian convert through reading the Old Testa ment Scriptures, and through witnessing the extraor- 14 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. dinary fearlessness of Christians in suffering martyr dom. He became an evangelist and Christian teacher, and probably he resided some time at Rome. There or elsewhere cynic philosophers plotted against him, and procured his death as a martyr. The gen uineness and authenticity of many of his reputed •writings are unquestioned. Among these is his First Apology, addressed to the emperor and senate of Rome, with other distinguished persons, and designed to allay the unreasonable and cruel opposition to the disciples of Christ, and to deliver them from bonds and violent death. It must have been written at some time during the second third of the second cen tury. Justin must have heard many intelligent Christians who had heard Apostles, and thus he must have known the Apostolic views on the important doctrines of the Christian faith. No circumstances existed to bias his statements of doctrine in address ing the Roman rulers ; particularly none in reference to the future state. Athenagoras — Athenagoras wrote about A. D. 176. He was probably an Athenian philosopher, converted to Christianity through reading the Scriptures to find arguments against them. Tatian was a prominent Christian writer of the second century, who flourished about A. D. 150. He was a native of Assyria, but extensively acquainted with affairs in Greece and Rome. He was educated a Pagan and was learned in all that Grecian literature could give in philosophy and religion. But he be came greatly dissatisfied with heathenism, and learn ing about the sacred books of Christians he read them with much interest, and finally as a hearer of Justin BIOGRAPHICAL MEMORANDA. 15 Martyr at Rome he became a Christian. He then wrote an address to the Greeks, on the inconsistencies and absurdities of their religion, and his treatise pro duced a profound impression. The future state was not the chief subject of his discussion, but in it some hints appear as to his views concerning it. Theophilus of Antioch was made bishop of the church there in the eighth year of the reign of Mar cus Aurelius, A. D. 168. He was a Pagan in early life, but was converted to Christianity by reading the Scriptures. He was a prolific writer, and his har mony of the Gospels was probably the first ever writ ten. Eusebius says he was the sixth bishop of the church at Antioch from the Apostles. He wrote against the heresies of his times, but his only work preserved to us is a defense of Christianity addressed to his Pagan friend Autolycus. The Clementine Recognitions, taking their name from Clement of Rome, stand next in the Ante-Ni- cene Library. Clement was perhaps the third presby ter of the church in that city, succeeding the Apostle Peter. There was such a man, and no doubt he lived and wrote in Rome some time during the second cen tury, if not earlier. The writings termed "Recogni tions," " Homilies," and " Epitome," may in part have been his in some small original ; and enough so to indicate the tenor of his beliefs. The " Recogni tions " and " Homilies " are quite similar to each other, and the "Epitome " is made up very much of extracts from the " Homilies." The enlargement of the original may have been made in the second or third century. It certainly indicates doctrines con cerning God and the future state held in the early 16 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. J Christian era, and probably indicates what Clement himself held. Clement is the nominal writer, and he represents the Apostle Peter and one Simon Magus as contestants in a discussion. Irenseus, bishop of Lyons, one of the most distin guished and able laborers and writers of the early Christian church, was born about A. D. 115, and died about 190 ; perhaps not until 202. His life and writ ings, consequently, date in the first century subse quent to the Apostolic age. His usage of language, and his views of truth, on leading questions, can hardly have been other than Apostolical. Especially it is so, since no evidence of a difference between him and them anywhere appears. Clement of Alexandria, one of the most noted of the early Christian Fathers, came to the head of the Alexandrian Catechetical school about A. D. 189, and either then or awhile after was made a presbyter of the church in that' city. Persecution under Severus drove him from his post of instruction there in A. D. 202. Subsequently he was at Jerusalem and Antioch, honored and beloved. His writings preserved are extensive. Tertullian was in his prime about the close of the second century, and ' at that date many of his relig ious writings must have been completed. His views in general must have agreed with those of the earlier Christian Fathers and of the Apostles. He was one of the most noted and able authors in the second century. Hippolytus— As Polycarp was especially a disciple of the Apostle John, and Irenseus was a disciple of Polycarp, so Hippolytus was a disciple of Irenseus. Hippolytus was born in the earlier part of the second BIOGRAPHICAL MEMORANDA. 17 half of the second century, a little more than a half century after the death of John the Apostle. The line is direct between him and the Apostles, and not of great length. He taught the same general truths held by his Christian teachers. Commodianus was a native of Gaza in Syria, was brought up in Paganism, was converted to Christian ity by reading the Scriptures, and he became one of the leading Christian Latin poets. Some of his writ ings date in the earlier part of the third century. His birth must have been in the latter part of the second century. Noyatian was probably a native of Phrygia, a man of piety, learning, and eloquence, an able and extensive writer of the third century, but many of his works have failed to come down to us. He is repeat edly referred to by Cyprian with confidence and re spect. Cyprian was born in Northern Africa about A. D. 200. He became highly educated, taking the profes sion of rhetorician. He was converted through the agency of Caecilius, a Christian presbyter, and was baptized A. D. 245 or 246. He had great wealth, and immediately he gave a large portion of it to the poorer class of Christians residing, as he then did, in Carthage. In about two years he was made bishop of the church in that city. He was conversant with Christian bishops in Rome and other large communi ties of Christians. He employed his extensive learn ing and other resources to know the truth of Chris tianity, and his views of the main Christian doctrines may be depended upon as Apostolic. He suffered' martyrdom after being bishop about twelve years. 18 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. Minucius Felix was a successful lawyer in Rome when he was converted to Christianity. He was an elegant writer, and in his noted work "Octavius," he replied to nearly all the objections brought against Christianity in his time. That work was written in the early part of the third century. It is in the form of a supposed argument between the heathen Csecil- ius, and the Christian Octavius. Origen was born at Alexandria, about A. D. 185, and he died at Csesarea or Tyre, in 254. Contrary to the Fathers who preceded him, he advocated the doctrine of the pre-existence of souls, and of the final resto ration of the wicked, and even of Satan, to heaven. These views, however, seem to have been expressed chiefly in the early part of his ministry. Later, he supported the doctrine of the eternal punishment of the finally wicked, so far as language can express it. Methodius, bishop, first, of Olympus and Patara in Lycia, and then of Tyre, died a martyr at Chalsis in 311. He strongly opposed the peculiar theological views of Origen. Gregory Thaumaturgus, a disciple and admirer of Origen, was a native, and chiefly a resident, of Neo- Csesarea, though a student eight years under Origen in Csesarea of Palestine. He died about 270. He no where gives any sign of having embraced Origen's belief in the pre-existence of souls, or in the final restoration of all men and of Satan, but of having be lieved the opposite. This fact favors the opinion of some ancient scholars that heretics inserted in Ori gen's writings, and in those of Gregory of Nyssa, the doctrine of restoration. It also favors the view that even if Origen advocated restorationism in early life, BIOGRAPHICAL MEMORANDA. 19 he said little or nothing of it in his later years. He died at nearly seventy, while Gregory was a student with him. Dionysius, of Alexandria, also called Great, was for a time director of the catechetical school in that city, and afterwards was made bishop there in 247. He was a pupil of Origen, and by some is regarded as more distinguished than any other of his disciples. Yet so far as Dionysius' writings have been preserved, they show no leaning to restoration doctrine, but to what is the opposite. He died in the year 265. Arnobius, a teacher of Rhetoric at Sicca, in Africa, was first a writer against Christianity, and after con version a writer in its favor. Some of his writings date near the close of the third century, and others in the early part of the fourth. Lactantius was a disciple of Arnobius, a favorite of Diocletian until he embraced Christianity, and subse quently a tutor of Constantine's son Crispus. He was an author of much repute, and is generally called the " Christian Cicero." His chief work was his "Divine Institutes," written early in the fourth century, during the persecution by Diocletian, be tween A. D. 307 and 310. CHAPTER V.— God Eternal. The object in this chapter is to show, that in the uninspired writings of both Jews and Christians, dur ing centuries both before and after Christ, the attri bute "eternal" was universally ascribed to God, and 20 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. that the various original words now rendered by the word "eternal" or its synonyms, as applied to God, meant what we mean by ceaseless time. The Apocrypha — "Praise the Lord of righteousness, and extol the everlasting King " (Tob. 13:6). "Bless the everlasting King " (v. 10). " He is from everlasting to everlasting" (Eccl. 42:21). "May know that thou art the Lord, the eternal God" (36:17). "Banished from the eternal Providence " (Wis. 17: 2). " My hope was in the Everlasting, that he would save you" (Baruch 4: 22). The Targums— The passage in Deut. 33:27, "The eternal God is thy refuge," both Onkelos and Jonathan render, "The habitation of Eloha [God] is from eternity." In the paraphrase of Jonathan on Gen. 16: 13, he represents Hagar as saying unto God, " Thou art living and eternal." In Jonathan's paraphrase of Micah 5:2, he says, "Messiah . . . whose name is called from eternity." Besides employing the Scripture names given to God, the writers of the Tar gums, and other uninspired Jewish authors, fre quently denominated Jehovah as " The Ever-Living One." The Book of Enoch— "The holy and great God of glory, the eternal King " (25: 3). " Towards the house of the Lord, the eternal King" (v. 5). " Then I blessed the Lord of glory, the eternal King" (v. 7). " They who have found mercy will bless the Lord of glory, the eternal King" (27:3). "Blessed is my Lord, the Lord of glory, and of justice, who rules all things to eternity" (22:14). Ruling to eternity he must be eternal. " Bless him, and let him be blessed from the beginning and to eternity" (39:10). "Blessed art GOD ETERNAL. 21 thou, and blessed the name of the Lord to all eternity " (v.13). "Thy power is to all generations, and thy glory to all eternity" (63:3). Philo—" But it is the eternal law of the everlasting God which is the most supporting and firm founda tion of the universe " (Works, Bohn's edition, vol. i. pp. 417, 418). " For the Lord God everlasting" (Ibid. 433). " In order to obtain an inheritance of the incor poreal and imperishable life, which is to be enjoyed in the presence of the uncreate and everlasting God " (Ibid. 332). Can any one doubt that Philo meant that God is eternal ? Clement of Rome — " To whom be glory for ever and ever " (c. 38, 43). " Jesus Christ, by whom be to him glory, and majesty, and power, and honor, both now and for evermore" (c. 58). "And eternal dominion, from everlasting to everlasting " (c. 49). The " glory " and "dominion" being "eternal" and "for ever," God who receives it must be eternal. Polycarp — God and Christ everlasting : "But may the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ himself, who is the Son of God, and our everlasting High Priest, build you up in faith and truth, and in all meekness, gentleness, patience, long- suffering, forbearance, and purity" (c. 12). The word "everlasting" is used here with reference to the con tinued existence of Christ. It must mean endless. The being of Christ is not going to fail at some time in the ages of eternity. Polycarp must have had the endlessness of Christ in view, and must have chosen the proper Greek word to express it. In Polycarp's prayer just previous to martyrdom, he speaks of " the everlasting and heavenly Jesus Christ " (Martyrdom, 22 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. c. 14). "But Jesus Christ being King forever, to whom be glory, honor, majesty, and an everlasting throne" (Mar. c. 21). Ignatius — Christ eternal : "I salute in the blocfi of Jesus Christ, who is our eternal and enduring joy" (Epis. to Phil., Introduc). Christ must be as " endur ing" as the "joy" he gives. "Look for him who is above all time, eternal and invisible, yet who became visible for our sakes " (To Polycarp, c. 3). Justin Martyr — God eternal: " The unchangeable and eternal God, the Creator of all " (First Apology, c. 13). "The King immortal" (Discourse to Greeks, c. 5). " He is the only one who eternally exists " (Ad. Greeks, c. 22). He alone is eternal in both past and future. Athenagoras — "One uncreated and eternal God" (Plea for Christians, c. 6). " One God, uncreated, eternal, invisible" (Ibid. 10). "If you acknowledge one God, the supreme and uncreated and eternal one " (Ibid. 22). "But the Deity is immortal, and immov able, and unalterable" (Ibid.). The Clementine Recognitions— " The Eternal does not always make things corruptible, nor always 'in corruptible" (B. iii. c. 29). "He who is eternal, and from whom nothing is secret, inasmuch as he is without end" (B. x. c. 29). Irenaeus— God and Christ eternal : " But that he is himself in his own right, beyond all men who ever lived, God, and Lord, and King eternal, and the In carnate Word (Agt. Her. B. iii. c. 19, s. 2). " And is the eternal King; .... King to all eternity" (Frag. Lost Writings, 53). He also denominates him " immortal." " He also understands respecting God GOD ETERNAL. 23 that he is immortal and powerful to such a degree as to confer immortality upon what is mortal " (Her. B. iii. c. 20, s. 2). ^Clement of Alexandria — " According to the com mand of the eternal God" (B. v. c. 10). "There is one God . . . everlasting" (B. vi. c. 5). "Ask for the eternal paths of the Lord" (Instructor, B. i. c. 10). " The manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal foreknowledge, which he purposed in Christ " (Miscellanies, B. i. c. 17). Tertullian— "And the living, eternal God, of sempi ternal divinity, prescient of futurity, immeasurable " (Execrable Gods of the Heathen). " That essential character of divinity, eternity, which is reckoned to be without end " (To Nations, B. ii. c. 3). He defines eternity as " without end." Hippolytus—" But he says that the Deity is eternal" (Refutation, B. i. c. 12). This though being the sentiment of Xenophanes was also that of Hippolytus. " There is one God— immortal " (Noetus, 8). Cyprian — " He that doeth the will of God abideth for ever, even as God also abideth for ever. We who desire to abide for ever should do the will of God, - who is everlasting" (Lord's Prayer, 14). . Origen — He unquestionably held to the real eternal future of God: " Because the nature of Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit, ... is incorruptible and eternal, it is altogether consistent and necessary that every substance which partakes of that eternal nature should last for ever, and be incorruptible and eternal, so that the eternity of divine goodness may be understood also in this respect, that they who obtain its benefits are also eternal" (De Principiis, B. 24 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. iv. c. 1, s. 36). Man's nature is eternal because God is eternal of whose nature man partakes. "As he himself is eternal and immortal" (Princ. B. iii. c. 1, s. 13). " His wisdom is eternal and everlasting splen dor" (Do. B. i. c. 2, s. 11). Lactantius — "The Spirit of God which is eternal" (Divine Institutes, B. vii. c. 12). The Scriptures — " And Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting (Hebrew olam) God" (Gen. 21:33). "Ogive thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever" (1 Chron. 16:34). His attribute of mercy being eternal, he is eternal. " The Lord shall endure for ever " (Ps. 9: 7). " The mighty God, the everlasting Father" (Isa. 9: 6). "According to the commandment of the eternal (Greek aionios) God " (Rom. 16 : 26). " Who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish unto God " (Heb. 9:14). "Now unto the King eternal, incorruptible, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever"(l Tim. 1:17). "And the God of all grace, who called you unto his eternal glory in Christ " (1 Pet. 5: 10). These passages, and many more, teach the endless continuance of God in the future. Some passages also refer to God's eternity in the past. A repetition of the idea of continuance does not add to the duration, but makes the thought more emphatic. " The Lord shall reign for ever and ever" (Ex. 15: 18). " Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever " (Heb. 1:8). LIFE ETERNAL. 25 CHAPTER VI.— Life Eternal. The original words translated "eternal" and "everlasting," and having the meaning "without end," as Tertullian says, whenever they are applied to God, can they mean anything less than that when applied to " life," in the phrase " life eternal," or in any equivalent words ? The Apocrypha — "But the, righteous live for ever more ; their reward also is in the Lord" (Wis. 5:15). "And incorruption maketh us near unto God; so a desire for wisdom bringeth us a kingdom. If then your delight be in thrones and scepters, O ye rulers of the people, honor wisdom, that ye may reign for ever more" (6:19-21). "Command my spirit to be taken. from me, that I may be dissolved. . . . Command therefore that I may now be delivered out of this dis tress, and go into the everlasting place" (Tob. 3:6). "Ye that fear the Lord, hope for good, and for ever lasting joy and mercy " (Eccl. 2:9). "Joy and a crown of gladness, and an everlasting name shall he inherit " (15: 6). " He established an everlasting covenant with them" (17: 2). " But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seemed to be dead ; and their departure was taken for a misfort une, and their going from us annihilation ; but they are in peace. For though they shall have experi enced punishment according to the judgment of men, yet is their hope full of immortality," acpdaQaia, incapac ity of decay; spoken of their future state (Wis. 3:1-4). "That there is foretold to us an everlasting 26 FUTURE probation examined. hope" (2 Es. 7:120). "Shall bring you everlasting joy with your salvation" (Baruch, 4:29). The Targums— Onkelos renders Deut. 33:6 thus: " Let Reuben live in life eternal, and not die the sec ond death." The last part of the paraphrase on Ps. 140: 10 is this : "That they rise not again to life eter nal." The writers held to the doctrine of life eternal for the righteous, and not for the wicked. The Book of Enoch—" Blessed are ye, the just and chosen, for your portion is glorious ! And the just will be in the light of the sun, and the chosen in the light of everlasting life ; and there will be no end to the days of their life, and the days of the holy will be without number" (58:2, 3). "He calls 'Peace' unto thee in the name of the world to come, for thence peace proceeds since the creation of the world, and thus it will be to thee to eternity and from eternity to eternity. And all who will continue to walk in thy path, . . . their dwelling places will be with thee, and they will not be separated from thee in eternity and from eternity to eternity " (71: 15, 16). " Who is over penitence and the hope of those who inherit everlasting life" (40: 9). Josephus — " The just shall obtain an incorruptible and never-fading kingdom " (Dis. on Hades, s. 2). " While they wait for that rest and jeternal new life in heaven" (Ibid. 3). "To those that have done well an everlasting fruition " (Ibid. 6). "Souls have an immortal vigor, . . . there will be rewards " (Ant. B. xviii. c. 1, s. 3). Philo—" Those who die in the company of the pious everlasting life will receive" (Works, vol. i. p. 295). He frequently represents the state of the righteous life eternal. 27 after death as everlasting. " The tree which bore as its fruit everlasting life ; " " If it [the mind] chose the better part it would reap immortality and glory " (Ibid. 425). "An eternal end;" "Its end life and immortality ; " " Imperishable life ; " " Everlasting peace" (Ibid. 467). By his frequent word "everlast ing " does he not mean the same endless future that he does when that word is applied to God ? How can it be otherwise ? And how could Christ mean other wise ? Clement of Rome — "Are now heirs of glory and honor, and have been exalted and made illustrious by God in their memorial for ever and ever" (c. 45). Polycarp—" Thou [Lord] hast counted me worthy of this day and this hour, that I should have part in the number of thy martyrs, in the cup of thy Christ, to the resurrection of eternal life, both of soul and body" (Martyrdom, c. 14). Ignatius — "The cross, which is a stumbling-block to those that do not believe, but to us salvation and life eternal" (To Eph. c. 18). "God himself being manifested in human form for the renewal of eternal .life" (Ibid. 19). "Incorruptible love and eternal life " (To Rom. c. 7). " The prize set before thee is immortality and eternal life " (To Poly. c. 2). " That which is promised to us is life eternal, which can not be corrupted " (Ibid. Syriac Version, c. 2). " But is to you for salvation and eternal life " (Ibid. Eph. c. 18). Pastor of Hermas—" Those who possess such virt ues will wax strong against every form of wicked ness, and will abide unto eternal life. Blessed are all they who practice righteousness, for they shall never be destroyed" (Vision ii. c. 3). "If he restrain 'him- 28 future probation examined", self from all evil desire, he will inherit eternal life" (Vis. iii. c. 8). " That great and holy calling in which the Lord has called his people to everlasting life" (Commandment iv. c. 3). Justin Martyr — " Impelled by the desire of the eter nal and pure life, we seek the abode that is with God " (1st Apol. c. 8). " By our works also to be found good citizens and keepers of the command ments, so that we may be saved with an everlasting salvation" (1st Apol. c. 65). " In the hope that some one of you may be found to be of that remnant which has been left by the grace of the Lord of Sabaoth for the eternal salvation" (Dia. Try. c. 32). "Jesus the Son of God has promised again to deliver us, and invest us with prepared garments, if we do his com mandments ; and has undertaken to provide an eter nal kingdom [for us] " (Dia. Try. c. 116). Athenagoras — " If there be mixed with it the least defilement of thought, it excludes us from eternal life " (Plea for Christians, c. 32). " Therefore, having the hope of eternal life, we despise the things of this life" (Ibid. 33). Tatian — In saying that demons "will not partake of everlasting life," he implies that righteous men will, and adds, " And as we, to whom it now easily hap pens to die, afterwards receive the immortal with enjoyment, or the painful with immortality" (Ad dress to Greeks, c. 14). Theophilus—" To those who by patient continuance in well-doing seek immortality, he will give life ever lasting, joy, peace, rest, and abundance of good things " (B. i. c. 14). " For as man, disobeying, drew death upon himself; so, obeying the will of God, life eternal. 29 he who desires is able to procure for himself life ever lasting " (B. ii. c. 27). Clementine Recognitions— " Thou shalt be written heir of eternal blessings" (B. i. c. 13). "This only it is enough for us to know, that God shall confer upon the good an eternal possession of good things " (B. i. c. 51). " For he understands what is the eternal hope hi presence of the true and good God " (B. iii. c. 62). "For those who have lived righteously, for the sake of God alone and his righteousness, they shall come to eternal rest, and shall receive the _per- petuity of the heavenly kingdom" (B. x. c. 2). Irenseus — "He teaches that that adoption of sons pertaining to the Father, which is eternal life, takes place through himself, conferring it [as he does] on all the righteous" (Against Heresies, B. ii. c. 11, s. 1). "While the Father, too, confers [upon him] incorrup- tion for eternal life" (Ibid. B. iv. c. 20, s. 5). " That he was the Son of God, who gives eternal life to man " (Ibid. B. iv. c. 23, s. 2). " These do receive the king dom for ever, and make constant advance in it " (Ibid; c. 28, s. 2). " That the receivers of these antitypes may obtain remission of sins and life eternal " (Frag. Lost Writings, 37). He shows that the reward of the righteous is endless. "While we hope ever to be re ceiving more and more from God, and to learn from him, because he is good, and possesses boundless riches, a Kingdom without end, and instruction that can never be exhausted" (Her. B. ii. c. 28, s. 3). "And may surround them with everlasting glory " (Ibid. B. i. c. 10, s. 1). " By the Spirit they possess a perpet ual life " (Ibid. B. v. c. 7, s. 2). Clement of Alexandria — "He confers everlasting 30 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. life, you wait for punishment" (Exhortation to Heathen, c. 9). " If eternal salvation were to be sold " (Ibid.). " Lovers of righteousness, 'who pursue eternal life " (c. 10). " Now the Lord himself will feed us as his flock for ever " (Instructor, B. i. c. 4). " From him is the eternal salvation of the eternal Saviour " (B. i. c. 6). "Which . . . nourishes up to life eternal " (Ibid.). " A notable exhortation to the blessed life, which is the reward of a life of goodness— ever lasting life " (Ibid. B. i. c. 10). " An eternity of beat itude," eternal life (c. 12). " Those who have been rightly reared in the words of truth, and received provision for eternal life, wing their way to heaven " (Miscellanies, B. i. c. 1). " Faith is power in order to salvation, and strength to eternal life " (Ibid. B. ii. c. 12). " So as by a good life, according to knowledge, to be trained for the state of eternal life " (Ibid. B. iv. c. 6). " The partaker of the eternal and blessed life " (Ibid. B. vii. c. 2). " Ordained that he should receive eternal life and the blessed prize" (Ibid.). Many other similar passages could be given. It must be that " eternal " as an attribute of life means the same in duration as an attribute of God, Tertullian — "You are about to pass through a noble struggle, in which the living God acts the part of superintendent, in which the Holy Ghost is your trainer, in which the prize is an eternal crown of angelic essence, citizenship in the heavens, glory ever lasting" (To Martyrs, sec. 3). "We, with the crown eternal in our eye " (Ibid. ). " And therefore after this there is neither death nor repeated resurrections, but we shall be the same that we are now, and still un changed—the servants of God, ever with God, clothed LIFE ETERNAL. 31 upon with the proper substance of eternity " (Apolo- geticus, sec. 48). " This victory of ours gives us the glory of pleasing God, and the spoil of life eternal " (Ibid. 50). " He who thinks that he wins it [life] by denying, will lose it in hell. On the other hand, he who, through confessing, is killed, will lose it for the present, but is also about to find it unto everlasting life " (Scorpiace, sec. 11). " It was by the Creator's precepts that eternal life is acquired" (Marcion, B. iv. c. 36). Hippolytus — " The indissoluble and everlasting kingdom of the saints" (Com. Daniel, 7:17). "The righteous shall obtain the incorruptible and unfading kingdom" (Against Greeks, 1). "To those who have done well, shall be assigned righteously eternal bliss " (Greeks, 3). Cyprian — " To be honored to receive with Christ, thy Lord God, the joy of eternal salvation and light " (People of Thibaris, 10). "Let no one think of death, but of immortality; nor of temporary punish ment, but of eternal glory" (To Sergius, 2). "Ex pecting from the help and mercy of the Lord the crown of eternal life" (To Successus, 1). "Believe him who will give to all that believe the reward of eternal life " (To Demetrianus, 23). " What a pleasure is there in the heavenly kingdom, without fear of death; and how lofty and perpetual a happiness with eternity of living" (Mortality, 26). "Let us, while there is time, take thought for our security and eternal salvation" (Works and Alms, 24). "By that conflict the righteous attain to the reward of the divine abode and eternal salvation" (Exhor. to Martyr. 10). Many other similar passages occur in Cyprian's writings. 32 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. , Origen — "He declares that that eternal house in the heavens which he promises to his saints was not made with hands" (De Prin. B. ii. c. 3, s. 6). "Let us inquire whether in that life which is the true one (which is said to be hidden with Christ in God, i. e. in that eternal life), there will be for us some such order and condition of existence" (Ibid. B. ii. c. 11, s. 1). Methodius — " And receive as a reward the eternal crown of immortality and riches from the Father ; and I triumph in eternity " (Ten Virgins, Dis. vi. c. 5). " When we shall receive eternal tabernacles, no more to perish or be dissolved into the dust of the tomb " (Ibid. Dis. ix. c. 2). Gregory Thaumaturgus — " And the good man shall depart with rejoicing to his own everlasting habita tion" (Eccl. c. 12). "For the Saviour did all, not in order that he might acquire virtue himself, but that he might put us in possession of eternal life " ( Annun. to Mary, Second Homily). Dionysius— " And the former [the righteous] will become the followers and comrades of the good an gels ; and both in this world and in the other, with the enjoyment of perfect peace and immunity from all ills, they will fulfill the most blessed destinies unto all eternity, and in God's fellowship they will be for ever (in possession) of the supremest good " (Ex. Lapsed to Penitence). "But if you can not prevail so far with your recusant brethren, see to it that you save your own soul " (To Novatus). Arnobius—" In the same way, then, in which the boon of immortality is God's gift to [these who were] assuredly produced, will he deign to confer eternal life upon souls also " (Adversus Gentes, B. ii. s. 36). LIFE ETERNAL. 33 " So it is the right of Christ alone to give salvation to souls, and assign them everlasting life " (Ibid. B. ii. s. 65). " By no efforts will you be able to reach the prize of immortality, unless by Christ's gift you have perceived what constitutes this very immortality, and have been allowed to enter on the true life " (Ibid. B. ii. s. 66). Lactantius—" They may be given to a life of bless edness " (Inst. B. vii. c. 20). " Because he has raised them to his kingdom and to perpetual life " (Inst. B. vii. c. 23). Scripture. Eternal Life and Blessedness. — " This is my covenant with them, saith the Lord : my spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever [olam] " (Isa. 59:21). "God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever" (Ps. 73:26). "Everlasting joy shall be unto them" (Isa. 61:7). "Some to everlasting life " (Dan. 12: 2). " Should not perish but have eternal [aionios] life" (John, 3:16). " I give unto them eternal life " (John, 10: 28). " Shall keep it unto life eternal " (John, 12:25). " As many as were ordained to eternal life believed " (Acts, 13: 48). "To them that by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life " (Rom. 2:7). "Lay hold on the life eternal" (1 Tim. 6:19). "Having obtained eternal redemption" (Heb. 9:12). " Who called you unto his eternal glory in Christ " (1 Pet. 5:10). "Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life " (Jude, 21). There is a great amount of language teaching in a variety of 3 34 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. forms, that eternal happiness is the reward of the saved in heaven. The language used is by various Scripture writers. The same writers use the word "eternal" to express alike the future endless exist ence of God, and the endlessness of the final reward of the righteous, and with not the least sign of a dif ference of meaning in the two cases. CHAPTER VII.— Punishment Eternal. The Apocrypha— " The Lord Almighty will punish them in the day of judgment, putting fire and worms into their flesh ; and they shall wail with pain for ever," sag alavog (Judith, 16:17). This is the Jewish understanding and comment on Isa. 66: 24 in the time of Christ. Both the Vulgate and the Syriac of Judith also express the eternity of punishment. "An as sembly of transgressors is tow collected together; and the end of them a flame of fire. The way of sin ners is paved with stones, and at the end thereof is the pit of Hades" (Eccl. 21:9, 10). The "pit" was Gehenna. " For the punishment of the ungodly is fire and the worm" (7:17). The "fire" and the "worm" usually or always indicated remediless destruction. " Woe be unto you, ungodly men, . . . and if you die, a curse shall be your portion ; ... so the un godly shall go from a curse to destruction " (41: 8-10). " Strive not after death through the false direction of your life ; and draw not upon yourselves destruction through the works of your hands ; for God made not death ; neither hath he pleasure in the destruction of punishment eternal. 35 the living. . . . Nor is the kingdom of death upon earth. For righteousness is immortal ; but injustice is an inheritance of death ; and ungodly men by their works and words called it to them" (Wis. 1:12-16). The writer speaks of spiritual death, and of destruc tion that has no remedy. " They shall afterwards be . . . a reproach among the dead for evermore" (4:18). "For the hope of the ungodly is like dust that is blown away by the wind. . . . The right eous live for evermore ; their reward also is in the Lord" (5:14, 15). "And through their unrighteous ness they perish" (1 Es. 4:37). "Then, therefore, shall no man be able to save him that is lost " (2 Es. 7: 115). "And if, indeed, he belongeth to those who have despised and not kept the way of the Most High, and to those who have had contempt for his law, and to those who hated them that fear him, these souls will not go into dwelling-places, but will wander around, from this time forth in torments, always in pain and sorrow. The first kind [of pain] is, that they have despised the law of the Most High. The second kind, that they can make no sufficient repent ance that they may live [Dr. Pusey translates, " be cause they can not be converted to good, that they may live "]. The third kind, that they see the reward laid up for those who believed the covenants of the Most High. The fourth kind, that they will behold the pain laid up for them against the last day" (7: 79-84). " Always in pain and sorrow," — unending punishment. The teaching on this point in the Fourth book of Maccabees, as given by Dr. Bissell, is this : " The virtuous, by whom he means those who have proved 36 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. faithful to the law of Moses, will enjoy eternal blessedness in the company of one another and of God, while the wicked will suffer fiery and unending torments after the death of the body." The teaching of the so-called Psalms of Solomon, according to Dr. Pusey, is the following : " For the transgressions shall utterly desolate the houses of sinners, and the sinners shall perish for ever in the day of the Lord's doom, when God shall visit the earth in his judgment, to requite sinners for evermore. But they that fear the Lord shall be compassionated in it, and shall live in the compassion of their God." " He that doeth right eousness treasureth to himself life with the Lord, and he that doeth unrighteous things, himself is guilty of his soul in perdition." The Targums— The first clause of Deut. 33 : 6, " Let Reuben live, and not die," the Targum of Onkelos renders, " Let Reuben live in life eternal, and not die the second death." The Targum of Palestine renders the same, "Let Reuben live in this world, nor die the second death whieh the wicked die in the world to come." The Targum of Jerusalem renders it the same. Here is Jewish belief in "life eternal," and in the " second death," which comes in the " world to1 come," and which the " wicked die " in that world, by implication without any after-death probation. In Scripture the " second death" appears to be the " ever lasting punishment." The Targum of Palestine, in its paraphrase of the closing part of Deut. 6, says: " And [the reward of] righteousness will be reserved for us in the world to come, if we keep all these com mandments to perform them before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us." The same Targum para- PUNISHMENT ETERNAL. 37 phrases near the close of Deut. 7, thus: "And who repayeth to them who hate him the reward of their good works in this world, to destroy them [for their evil works] in the world to come." The Targum of Jerusalem renders the same thus: " And he repayeth them who hate him for their little deeds of good which are in their hands in this world, to destroy them in the world to come." In Targums quoted by Dr. Pusey are the following: Of Jonathan, on Num. 31:50, "And might not. die by the death which the wicked die in the world to come, and this might be remembered for us in the day of the great judgment, to atone for our sins before the Lord." Jonathan paraphrases Isa. 65:5, 6 thus : " Their wrath is as smoke before me, their vengeance is in Gehenna, wherein the fire burneth every day. Lo, it is written before me, I will not give them lengthening in life, but I will repay them vengeance for their guilt, and will give their bodies to the second death; " and again, " the Lord shall make you die the second death." Elsewhere, " they shall die the second death, and shall not live in the world to come." No life unto salvation. The spiritual death must be endless. The Book of Enoch— "And thus also is one such apartment made for the sinners when they die, and are buried in the earth, without a judgment having been passed upon them in their lives. Here their souls are separated in this great affliction until the great day of judgment and punishment and affliction upon the revilers to eternity, and the vengeance for their souls, and here he binds them to eternity " (22: 10, 11). "Ye hard-hearted, ye will have no peace. 38 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. And therefore ye will curse your days, and the years of your lives perish; the everlasting curse will in crease and ye will receive no mercy " (5 : 4, 5) . " When all their sons shall have slain one another, and they shall have seen the destruction of their beloved ones, bind them under the hills of the earth for seventy generations, till the day of their judgment and of their end, till the last judgment has been passed for all eternity. And in those days they will be led to the abyss o.f fire, in torture and in prison they will be locked for all eternity " (10: 12, 13). Of this figurative language, consideration hereafter. Think now that Christ and his Apostles knew it, and that one of them (Jude, 14, 15) quoted from Enoch (1 : 9) concerning the certainty and solemnity of the judgment to be passed upon the wicked, and the destruction to be sent upon them. "And from now on ye will not ascend into heaven to all eternity" (14:5). "And in the latter days there will be the spectacle of a just judgment upon them in the presence of the just, in eternity for ever " (27: 3). " And will be thrown into a condemna tion of fire, and will be destroyed in anger, and in a strong judgment which Avill be to eternity " (91: 9). Josephus — " The souls of bad men are subject to eternal punishment" (Wars, 2, 8, 14). "Shall be ad judged to this everlasting punishment" (Hades, 2). The vicious" "are to be detained in an everlasting prison " (Antiq. 18, 1, 3). It is an " everlasting prison " of punishment, not of detention merely for the righteous. " Allotting to the lovers of wicked works eternal punishment " (Hades, 6). Philo—" Those who die in the company of the pious everlasting life will receive, but everlasting death will PUNISHMENT ETERNAL. 39 be the portion of those who live in the other way " (Works, vol. i. p. 295). " That he may endure unmit igated and everlasting misery" (Ibid. 176). " They shall undergo eternal banishment " (Ibid. 177). " Cast out for ever and ever " ( 279). " Irremediable punish ment in all eternity" (288). "His hand of salvation supports man and raises him up, not permitting the whole race to be utterly destroyed and to perish ever lastingly " (357). " Their final and complete destruc tion" (89). Does not "everlasting," applied to death and punishment, mean the same as applied to life and God? No hint to the contrary is given. No other inference is allowed. Clement of Rome — "I desire not the death of the sinner, but rather his repentance" (c. 8). Without repentance spiritual death comes and continues. "Remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, how he said, ' Woe to that man [by whom offenses come] ! It were better for him that he had never been born than that he should cast a stumbling-block before one of my elect' " (c. 46). To such sinners there seems to be no recovery. Existence were a blessing and not a curse to the sinner, if there were recovery however late, and eternal life afterwards. " The wicked shall seek me, and they shall not find me" (c. 57). Polycarp — "And, looking to the grace of Christ, they despised all the torments of this world, redeem ing themselves from eternal punishment. . . . For they kept before their view escape from that fire which is eternal and never shall be quenched " (Mar. c. 2). "Polycarp said, 'Thou threatenest with fire which burneth for an hour, and after a little is ex tinguished, but art ignorant of the fire of the coming 40 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. judgment and of eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly" (Mar. c. 11). Barnabas — Retribution certain: "The Lord will judge the world without respect of persons. Each will receive as he has done : if he is righteous, his righteousness will precede him : if he is wicked, the reward of wickedness is before him " (c. 4). " There fore the ungodly shall not stand in judgment, nor sinners in the counsel of the just ; for the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish " (c. 11). " He who keepeth these [judgments of the Lord] shall be glorified in the kingdom of God; but he who chooseth other things shall be destroyed with his works " (c. 21). - Death in sin fatal to future hope : " Take heed, lest resting at our ease, as those who are called [of God] we should fall asleep • in our sins, and the wicked prince, acquiring power over us, should thrust us away from the Kingdom- of the Lord" (c. 4). To " fall asleep" is to die, and doing that "in our sins," causes rejection from the Kingdom of God. Eternal death: "But the way of darkness is crooked, and full of cursing; for it is the way of eternal death" (c. 20). Ignatins — "Any one who corrupts by wicked doctrine the faith of God, for which Jesus Christ was crucified! Such an one, becoming defiled [in this way], shall go away into everlasting fire, and so shall every one that hearkens unto him" (To Eph. c. 16). Death and life : " Seeing, then, all things have an end, these two things are simultaneously set before us— death and life; and every one shall go unto his own place " (To Mag. c. 5). Are not death and life PUNISHMENT ETERNAL. 41 parallel in duration, as well as opposites in nature and place? Danger of perishing : " I restrain myself, lest I should perish through boasting" (To Tral. c. 4). "When we were almost on the point of perishing through the depravity that was in us " (Ibid. Long. Ver. c. 8). Losing the soul : " For what shall a man be prof ited, if he gain the whole world, but lose his own soul" (To Rom. c. 6)? He speaks here of his antici pated martyrdom, and implies that dying as a world ling would cost him his soul. Not inherit the Kingdom of God: "If any man follows him that makes a schism in the church, he shall not inherit the Kingdom of God " (To Phil. c. 3). Diognetus — " When thou shalt despise that which is here esteemed to be death, when thou shalt fear what is truly death, which is reserved for those who shall be condemned to the eternal fire " (c. 10). Pastor of Hermas — "But they who have known God, and have seen his mighty works, and still con tinue in evil, shall be chastised doubly, and shall die for ever " (Similitude, ix. c. 18). "To these repentance is not open; but death lies before them" (Ibid. c. 19). " Have torn themselves away from God for ever, and have delivered themselves over to luxuries and deceits [of this world]. . . . Such men, therefore, are appointed unto death. . . . But death has ever lasting ruin " (Simil. vi. c. 2). The writer speaks of spiritual death and destruction. " Who have departed for ever from the living God" (Vis. iii. c. 7). Perishing in sin: "Deceiving them with wicked desires, through which they will perish" (Ibid.). 42 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. " As many as do not repent at all, but abide in their deeds, shall utterly perish " (Simil. viii. c. 7). The lost do not repent: "These, therefore, at the end were lost unto God. And you see that not a single one of them repented. . . . From such life, de parted" (Simil. viii. c. 6). "Are those who have departed for ever from the living God; nor does the thought of repentance ever come into their hearts, on account of their devotion to their lusts and to the crimes which they have committed" (Vis. iii. c. 7). An after-death probation would be of no avail. " But all who will not repent have lost their lives. . . . Repentance involves life to sinners, but non-repent ance death " (Simil. viii. c. 6). Some of the foregoing Patristic writers saw and heard Apostles. Others saw and heard many who had seen and heard them. They must have understood Apostolic doctrine in regard to the future state, and without doubt they believed and taught it. Justin Martyr— "And that each man goes to ever lasting punishment or salvation according to the value of his actions " (1st Apol. c. 12). The one word, " ever lasting " is applied to both " punishment " and " sal vation," and in both cases must mean the same. "And eternal punishment is laid up (i. e., for the wicked), see that ye neglect not to be convinced, and to hold as your belief, that these things are true " (1st Apol. c. 18). "We believe that those who live wickedly and do not repent are punished in everlast ing fire" (1st Apol. c. 21). "And that he would be sent into the fire with his host, and the men who follow him, and would be punished for an endless duration, Christ foretold " (1st Apol. c. 28). "Ye can PUNISHMENT ETERNAL. 43 do no more, as I said before, than kill us; which indeed does no harm to us, but to you and all who un justly hate us, and do not repent, brings eternal pun ishment by fire " (1st Apol. c. 45). " And shall clothe those of the worthy with immortality, and shall send those of the wicked, endued with eternal sensibility, into everlasting fire with the wicked devils" (1st Apol. c. 51). " Except those who have been persuaded that the unjust and intemperate shall be punished in eternal fire, but that the virtuous and those who lived like Christ shall dwell with God in a state that is free from suffering" (2d Apol. c. 1). " But when she came to the knowledge of the teachings of Christ, she became sober-minded, and endeavored- to persuade her husband likewise to be temperate, citing the teaching of Christ, and assuring him that there shall be punishment in eternal fire inflicted upon those who do not live temperately and comformably to right reason" (2d Apol. c. 2). "And they [the devils], having been shut up in eternal fire, shall suffer their just punishment and penalty. For if they are even now overthrown by men through the name of Jesus Christ, this is an intimation of the punishment in eternal fire which is to be inflicted on themselves and those who serve them. For thus did both all the prophets foretell, and our own teacher Jesus teach " (2d Apol. c. 8). Athenagoras — The punishment of the wicked in con trast with the reward of the righteous: "For if no judgment whatever were to be passed on the actions of men, men would have no advantage over the irra tional creatures, but rather would fare worse than these do, inasmuch as they keep in subjection their 44 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. passions, and concern themselves about piety, and righteousness, and the other virtues ; and a life after the manner of brutes would be the best, virtue would be absurd, the threat of judgment a matter for broad laughter, indulgence in every kind of pleasure the highest good, and the common resolve of all these and their one law would be that maxim, so dear to the intemperate and lewd, ' Let us eat and" drink, for to-morrow we die' " (Res. c. 19). "I mean by the re ward or punishment due to each man in accordance with righteous judgment. . . . And that such man becomes accountable for all his actions, and receives for them either reward or punishment" (Res. c. 18). " On these grounds it is not likely that we [Christians] should wish to do evil, or deliver our selves over to the great Judge to be punished " (Plea, c. 31). " The reward or punishment of lives ill or well spent is proportioned to the merit of each " (Res. c. 25). "But since we know that God is witness to what we think and what we say both by night and by day, and that he, being himself light, sees all things in our heart, we are persuaded that when we are re moved from the present life we [Christians] shall live another life, better than the present one, and heav enly, not earthly (since we shall abide near God, and with God, free from all change or suffering in the soul, not as flesh, but as heavenly spirit), or, falling with the rest, a worse one and in fire " (Plea, c. 31). He refers to the " eternal fire." Theophilus—" I do not disbelieve, but I believe, obedient to God, whom, if you please, do you also submit to, believing him, lest if now you continue unbelieving, you be convinced hereafter, when you PUNISHMENT ETERNAL. 45 are tormented with eternal punishment " (B. i. c. 14). " But do you also, if you please, give reverential at tention to the prophetic Scriptures, and they will make your way plainer for escaping the eternal pun ishments, and obtaining the eternal prizes of God" (Ibid.). Clementine Recognitions— " But the souls of the wicked, for their impure actions being surrounded with fiery spirit, should be plunged into the abyss un quenchable, to endure punishment through eternity. Now that these things are so, the true Prophet [Christ] has testified to us " (B. iii. c. 26). " For if you receive those things [gospel offers] which we bring you, you shall not only be able yourselves to escape the" incur sions of the demon, but also to drive them away from others ; and at the same time you shall obtain the rewards of eternal good things. But those who shall refuse to receive those things which are spoken by us, shall be subject in the present life to diverse de mons and disorders of sicknesses, and their souls after their departure from the body shall be tor mented for ever. For God is not only good, but also just ; for if he were always good, and never just to render to every one according to his deeds, goodness would be found to be injustice. For it were injustice if the impious and the pious were treated by him alike " (B. iv. c. 14). " But, what is worst of all, at the end of the world, when that demon shall be consigned to eternal fire, of necessity the soul also which obeyed him shall with him be tortured in eternal fire, to gether with its body which it hath polluted " (B. iv. c. 15). "For he who offends against Csesar shall undergo temporal destruction ; but he who offends 46 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. against him who is the sole and true God, shall suffer eternal punishment, and that deservedly" (B. v. c. 19). Irenaeus — Eternal sin : " He pitied him [and did not desire], that he should continue a sinner for ever, nor that the sin which surrounded him should be im mortal, and evil interminable and irremediable" (Agt. Her. B. iii. c. 23, s. 6). He instituted means for a day of probation and grace. Even on-coming death would have a tendency to lead to repentance. Punishment: "That he may send 'spiritual wick edness,' and the angels who transgressed and became apostates, together with the ungodly, and unrighteous, and wicked, and profane among men, into everlasting fire" (Agt. Her. B. i. c. 10, s. 1). " He shall send the unrighteous, and those who do not the works of right eousness, into everlasting fire, where their worm shall not die, and the fire shall not be quenched " (Ibid. B. ii. c. 32, s. 1). "Shall come in glory, the Saviour of. those who are saved, and the Judge of those who are judged, and sending into eternal fire those who trans form the truth, and despise his Father and his ad vent" (Ibid. B. iii. c. 4, s. 2). "In both Testaments there is the same righteousness of God [displayed] when God takes vengeance, in the one case typically, temporarily, and more moderately ; but in the other, really, enduringly, and more rigidly : for the fire is eternal, and the wrath of God which shall be re vealed, etc." (Ibid. B. iv. c. 28, s. 1). "So those who fly from the eternal light of God, which contains in itself all good things, are themselves the cause to themselves of their inhabiting eternal darkness, des titute of all good things, having become to themselves the cause of [their consignment to] an abode of that PUNISHMENT ETERNAL. 47 nature " (Ibid. B. iv. c. 39, s. 4). " But that those on the left he will send into eternal fire ; for they have deprived themselves of all good " (Ibid. B. v. c. 28, s. 1). "Now all good things are eternal and without end with God, and therefore the loss of these is also eternal and never-ending " (Ibid. c. 27, s. 2). The sin ner who perishes suffers the "never-ending" loss of heaven, and they themselves are "the cause " of their loss. Clement of Alexandria — " The affection which arises from the fire which we call love [sinful], leading to the fire which will never cease in consequence of sin" (Instructor, B. iii. c. 11). "For God bestows life freely ; but evil custom, after our departure from this world, brings on the sinner unavailing remorse with punishment " (To Heathen, c. 10). " And will you not allow the heavenly Word, the Saviour, to be bound on to you as an amulet, and, by trusting in God's own charm, be delivered from passions which are the dis eases of the mind, and rescued from sin ? — for sin is eternal death " (c. 11). "The angels ... . reserved to the judgment of the great day, in everlasting chains under darkness of the savage angels" (Instructor, B. iii. c. 8). " You wait for punishment, and prefer the fire which the Lord has prepared for the devil and his angels. . . . What remains for the unbeliev ing than judgment and condemnation " (To Heathen, c. 9) ? " So I sware in my wrath, they shall not enter into my rest. Look to the threatening ! Look to the exhortation ! Look to the punishment ! Why, then, should we any longer change grace into wrath, and not receive the word with open ears, and entertain God as a guest in pure spirits" (To Heathen, c. 9)? 48 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. " Enslaved as you are to evil custom, and clinging to it voluntarily till your last breath, you are hurried to destruction " (c. 10). " Not conveying the idea that death, which deprives of sensation, is the forgiveness of sin, but meaning that death of salvation which is the recompense of sin" (Instructor, B. ii. c. 1). " ' The way of the ungodly shall perish'" (Mis. B. ii. c. 15). "It is in reference to the unbelieving that it is said, that they are reckoned as the chaff which the wind drives from the face of the earth, and the drop which falls from a vessel " (Mis. B. iv. c. 24). " Punishments after death, on the other hand, and penal retribution by fire." . . . And most plainly of the same opin ion is Heraclitus of Ephesus, who considered that there was a world everlasting . . . speaking thus . . . ' but there was, and is, and will be, everlasting fire, kindled according to measure, and quenched ac cording to measure:'" in substance endorsed by Clem ent (Mis. B. v. c. 14). " For, punished by a limitless infliction of unquenchable fire, and dying not, they obtain no end of their misery " (Frag, on Soul, Shel don's Hist. Chris. Doc. vol. i. p. 154). Tertullian — With no sign of change in the meaning of the word "eternal," Tertullian applies it to future punishment. "Let him say, 'I have sinned against God, and am in peril of eternally perishing' " (On Re pentance, c. 11). " The Lord indeed ransomed him from the angelic powers which rule the world — from the spirits of wickedness, from the darkness of this life, from eternal judgment, from everlasting death " (Persecution, sec. 12). " Let him recollect that the fire of hell is eternal — expressly announced as an everlasting penalty " (Resurrection, c. 35). PUNISHMENT ETERNAL. 49 He uses many expressions where eternal life and eternal punishment are put in contrast, and the word " eternal " must in both cases have the same meaning. " Will come with glory to take the saints to the en joyment of everlasting life and of the heavenly promises, and to condemn the wicked to everlasting fire" (Heretics, c. 13). "As there are some things which he forbids, against which he denounces eternal punishment, ... so, too, on the contrary, . . . he enjoins and sets down as acceptable, and repays with the reward of eternity " (Chastity, c. 2). " How that both awards of everlasting punishment and eternal salvation rest with him, the one only God, who kills, and who makes alive " (Against Marcion, B. iv. c. 34). He defines " eternal " as meaning without end : " At the end of all to adjudge his worshipers to ever lasting life, and the wicked to the doom of fire at once without ending and without break" (Apologeficus, sec. 18). "According to thy deserts art assigned to misery or bliss, in either way of it for ever" (Test. Animse, sec. 4). "They make all who believe them better men and women, under the fear of never-ending punishment and the hope of never-ending bliss" (Apolo- geticus, s. 49). "We alone make real effort to attain a blameless life, under the influence of our ampler knowledge, and the impossibility of concealment, and the greatness of the threatened torment, not merely long-suffering, but everlasting" (Apologeticus, s. 45). By "long-suffering" he implies limited duration, and by "everlasting," unlimited. He says that eternal life is more than lengthened life. " If, indeed, it were only about a lengthened life, such as is at the 50 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. Creator's disposal, that he [the lawyer] inquired and Christ answered, and not about eternal life. . . . It is enough for me, that the Christ who invited men to the eternal — not lengthened — life," etc. (Marcion, B. iv. c. 25). Hippolytus — " For when the soul that is united with Christ forsakes its faith, it is given over to perpetual death, viz., eternal punishment" (On Susannah, 24). " Those who are attached to Antichrist, and who are cast with him into everlasting punishment" (Com. Dan. 12: 2). " To the lovers of iniquity shall be given eternal punishment " (Greeks, 31). Cyprian — "The punishments to come upon unbe lievers, and the eternal torments decreed for the faithless" (Unity of the Church, 26). "There re mains after all the eternal dungeon, and the continual fire, and the everlasting punishment" (To Deme- trianus, 9). "Believe him who will call down on them that believe not, eternal punishments in the fires of Gehenna" (Ibid. 23). "Too late they will believe in eternal punishment who would not believe in eternal life " (Ibid. 24). The second death : " Assuredly he may fear to die, who, not being regenerated of water and the Spirit, is delivered over to the fires of Gehenna; he may fear to die who is not enrolled in the cross and passion of Christ; he may fear to die, who from this death shall pass over to a second death " (Mortality, 14). Perished: "The devil was the first who both perished [himself] and destroyed [others] " (Jealousy and Envy, 4) . " Perished " does not mean annihilated, but cast off from God and lost, as Satan is. Minucius Felix—" They [the Christians] promise to PUNISHMENT ETERNAL. 61 themselves, as being good, a blessed and perpetual life after their death; to others, as being unrighteous, eternal punishment" (c. 11). Origen— Eternal defined : ' ' That is properly termed everlasting or eternal which neither had a beginning of existence, nor can ever cease to be what it is " (Do Principiis, B. i. c. 2, s. 11). According to this, only the endless can be eternal in the future. Of course Origen did not claim that joy or pain in human beings was eternal in the past. Eternal pun ishment : Origen admits the soundness of the view allowed by Celsus, that "those who lead a good life shall be happy, and the unrighteous shall suffer eternal punishments " (Against Celsus, B. viii. c. 5). "He [Celsus, a heathen philosopher] would then have us believe that we, and the interpreters of the mysteries [heathen priests], equally teach the doctrine of eternal punishment-, and that it is a matter for inquiry on which side of the two the truth lies. Now, I should say, that the truth lies with those who are able to induce their hearers to live as men who are convinced of the truth of what they have heard. But Jews and Christians have been thus af fected by the doctrines they hold about what we speak of, as, the world to come, and the reward of the righteous, and the punishments of the wicked. Let Celsus then, or any one who will, show us who have been moved in this way in regard to eternal punishments by the teaching of heathen priests and mystagogues" (Agt. Cel. B. viii. c. 48). The Jewish and Christian doctrine of eternal rewards and punishments was the true one, because its fruits were better than the same doctrine as pro- 52 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. fessedly held by the heathen. So Origen professed, and so may we. The Apostles taught eternal reward and eternal pun ishment : " The particular points clearly delivered in the teaching of the Apostles are as follow. . . . After these points, also, the Apostolic teaching is that the soul, having a substance and life of its own, shall, after its departure from the world, be rewarded ac cording to its deserts, being destined to obtain either an inheritance of eternal life and blessedness, if its actions shall have procured this for it, or to be deliv ered up to eternal fire and punishments, if the guilt of its crimes shall have brought it down to this " (De Principiis, Preface, s. 4, 5). " But since the discourse has reminded us of the subjects of a future judgment and retribution, and of the punishments of sinners, according to the threatenings of holy Scripture and the contents of the Church's teaching — viz., that when the time of judgment comes, everlasting fire, and outer darkness, and a prison, and a furnace, and other punishments of like nature, have been prepared for sinners" (Princ. B. ii. c. 10, s. 1). "That even the body which rises again of those who are to be destined to everlasting fire or to severe punishments, is by the very change of the resurrection so incorruptible, that it can not be corrupted and dissolved even by severe punishments" (Ibid. s. 3). Gregory Thaumaturgus— " The laughter is only a three days' pleasure, while the wailing is eternal; and his [Satan's] great laughter has prepared for him a greater wailing and ceaseless tears " (Discourse on all the Saints). "Continuous punishments impend like a multitude of flying locusts. . . . And the good PUNISHMENT ETERNAL. 53 man shall depart with rejoicing to his own everlasting habitation ; but the vile shall fill all their places with wailing " (Metaphrase on Eccl. c. 12). Dionysius — " The former will become the followers and comrades of the good angels; and both in this world and in the other, with the enjoyment of perfect peace and immunity from all ills, they will fulfill the most blessed destinies unto all eternity, and in God's fellowship they will be forever [in possession of] the supremest good. But the latter will fall away at once from the peace of God and from peace with themselves, and both in this world and after death they will abide with the spirits of blood-guiltiness '"' (Reception of the Lapsed to Penitence). Arnobius — "Do you dare to laugh at us when we speak of hell, and fires which can. not be quenched, into which we have learned that souls are cast by their foes and enemies'" — through temptations (Ad- versus Gentes, B. ii. s. 14). Lactantius — "He, truly being condemned, shall suffer eternal punishment, which the sacred writings call the second death " (Divine Institutes, B. vii. c. 10). " As the life of the soul is everlasting, ... so also its death must be eternal, in which it suffers per petual punishments" (Ibid. c. 11). "Nor did they deserve the reward of heaven, but the punishment of hell " (Ibid. c. 14). The second death : " We term that punishment the second death, which is itself also perpetual, as also is immortality. We thus define the first death: Death is the dissolution of the nature of living beings; or thus: Death is the separation of body and soul. But we thus define the second death : Death is the suf- 54 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. fering of eternal pain; or thus: Death is the con demnation of souls for their deserts to eternal punish ments " (Inst. B. ii. c. 13). The Scriptures — " Some to shame and everlasting contempt" (Dan. 12:2). " These shall go away into eternal punishment " (Mat. 25: 46). "And of resurrec tion of the dead, and of eternal judgment " (Heb. 6:2). " Who among us shall dwell with everlasting [olam] burnings " (Isa. 33: 14.)? " Suffering the punishment of eternal [aionios] fire" (Jude, 7). " To be cast into the eternal fire" (Mat. 18:8). "Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire" (Mat. 25:41). "Who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might" (2 Thess. 1: 9). "It is good for thee to enter into life maimed, rather than having thy two hands to go into hell [Gehenna], into the unquenchable fire " (Mark, 9: 44). " It is good for thee to enter into life halt, rather than having thy two feet to be cast into hell. . . . It is good for thee to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell; where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched " (Mark, 9 : 45, 47, 48). The evident teaching of these passages combined is, that " eternal " means never-ending, whether ap plied to the future existence of God, or to the future reward, or retribution of men. Not the least intimation is given of any difference of meaning in the several cases. We certainly have the thought that God is eternal. The ancients had it also. They sought to express the thought by the word "eternal," or its original. Jesus had the thought of what is "eternal," and he employed the same language that men around PUNISHMENT ETERNAL. 55 him employed to express it, and he applied that lan guage to both future happiness and future unhap- piness. The only rational inference is, that he meant what others meant, an endless state in each case. Life and death alike eternal. Jesus not only de scribed the future state of both the righteous and the wicked as never-ending, but he used the same lan guage for it in' the two cases, and the same language in the same connection and the same sentence. " And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life" (Mat. 25:46). Christ, on this point, could not possibly have been more explicit with human language. Accepting him as the offered Saviour of sinners, we must accept his teaching. How can we wish to do otherwise! Sin eternal. Jesus not only taught the doctrine of eternal punishment, but he taught also the doctrine of eternal sin as the cause of that punishment. "Verily I say unto you, All their sins shall be for given unto the sons of men, and their blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme : but whosoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit hath never forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin" (Mark, 3:28, 29). As elsewhere taught, no sin is forgiven except repented of, but as here taught, one sin is never repented of, and is endless. We must infer that all sin unrepented of is "eternal." 56 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. CHAPTER VIII.— The Eternal and Immortal. The Book of Enoch— Eternity : " When all things will be atoned for and consummated for eternity" (25: 4). " In eternity for ever " (27: 3). " And praise the great work of his hand and bless, him to eternity" (36:4). " Bless him, and let him be blessed from the beginning and to eternity" (39: 10). The soul lives after death : " That upon them may be assembled the spirits, the souls of the dead" (22: 3). " And I saw the spirits of the children of men who had died" (22:5). "In order to separate the souls of the dead " (22: 9). Josephus — The soul immortal: "They [the Phari sees] also believe that souls have an immortal vigor in them" (Ant. B. xviii. c. 1, s. 3). "They [the Essenes] teach the immortality of souls " (Ibid. s. 5). " The doctrine of the Sadducees . . . that souls die with the bodies; . . . but this doctrine is received but by a few " (Ibid. s. 4). Immortality defined : " That the souls are immortal, and continue for ever" (Wars, B. ii. c. 8, s. 11). Im mortal means continuing " forever." Philo — The mind immortal: Some have doubted whether the Old Testament teaches the immortality of the soul. Philo did not doubt the doctrine, and un doubtedly he found it in the Scriptures of the old dis pensation. He did not think Scripture taught less than reason. He says: "The mind is immortal" (Works, vol. i. p. 208). " He [man] was born at the same time, both mortal and the immortal. Mortal as to his body, but immortal as to his intellect " (40). the eternal and immortal. 57 Clement of Rome— The soul immortal : " Life in im mortality" (c. 35). "By him the Lord has willed that we should taste immortal knowledge " (c. 36). Ignatius— Things eternal : " But the things which are not seen are eternal" (To Rom. c. 3). Diognetus — The soul immortal: "The immortal soul dwells in a mortal tabernacle " (c. 6). Doubtless to the early Christians immortality implied endless existence; yet, it rather seems that the word was primarily used in contrast with no hereafter, and taught that to the soul there was no annihilation at death. The soul not of the body : " The soul dwells in the body, yet is not of the body; and Christians dwell in the world, yet are not of the world " (c. 6). The soul imprisoned in the body : "The soul is im prisoned in the body, yet preserves that very body; and Christians are confined in the world, as in a prison, and yet they are the preservers of the world. . . . And Christians dwell as sojourners in corrupt ible [bodies], looking for an incorruptible dwelling in the heavens" (c. 6). A "prison" is a place of con finement, without necessarily being a place of pain. " Sojourners in corruptible bodies " are prisoners in one sense. The " spirits in prison" (1 Pet. 3: 19) may be only sojourners in a place of confinement, or tem porary detention. Justin Martyr — Souls survive' after death: "And that the souls survive, I have shown to you from the fact that the soul of Samuel was called up by the witch, as Saul demanded" (Dialogue with Trypho, c. 105). " But since sensation remains to all [after death] who have ever lived" (1st Apol. c. 18). "And 58 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. while we affirm that the souls of the wicked, being endowed with sensation even after death, are pun ished" (1st Apol. c. 20). Athenagoras — The soul immortal: "The intermi nable duration of the soul" (Resurrection, c. 15). "An immortal soul" (Res. c. 15). "He made man of an immortal soul" (Res. c. 13). "A soul of itself, as being immortal" (Plea, c. 27). Tatian — "Following the law of the Father of im mortality" (c. 32). "The soul is not in itself immor tal." "But, again, if it acquires the knowledge of God, it dies not, although for a time it be dissolved." " The dwelling-place" of the spirit is above, but the origin of the soul is from beneath." " If, indeed, it [the soul] knows not the truth, it dies, and is dissolved with the body, but rises again at the last end of the world with the body, receiving death by punishment in immortality" (c. 13). Tatian, according to the psychology of his time, made a distinction between the soul and the spirit of man, yet held to the im mortality of the spirit. " The Father who begat him made man an image of immortality." " Man, sharing in a part of God, might have the immortal principle also " (c. 7). Theophilus — " He is unchangeable, because he is immortal. And he is called God " (B. i. c. 4). " God will'raise thy flesh immortal with thy soul; and then, having become immortal, thou shalt see the Immor tal, if now you believe on him " (B. i. c. 7). Clementine Recognitions — One character speaks thus: " The Son of God is now in the regions of Judea, promising eternal life to every one who will hear him, but upon condition that he shall regulate his actions THE ETERNAL AND IMMORTAL. 59 according to the will of him by whom he hath been sent, even of God the Father. Wherefore turn ye from evil things to good, from things temporal to things eternal " (B. i. c. 7). Irenieus — Eternity: "The Lord, who judges for eternity those whom he doth judge, and lets go free for eternity those whom he does let go free " (Agt. Heresies, B. iv. c. 28, s. 3). " What honor can those things which are temporal confer on such as are eternal and endure for ever? or those that pass away on those that remain? " (Agt. Her. B. ii. c. 7, s. 1.) Eternal defined: "Now, good things are eternal and without end with God, and therefore the loss of these is also eternal and never-ending " (Agt. Her. B. v. c. 28, s. 1). Immortal the same as eternal: "Men therefore shall see God, that they may live, being made im mortal by that sight " (Agt. Her. B. iv. c. 20, s. 6). Clement of Alexandria—" The never-ending day of God extends over eternity" (Exhortation to the Heathen, c. 9). " For eternity and time are not the same" (Instructor, B. i. c. 6). " That which partic ipates in eternity is wont to be assimilated to the incorruptible" (c. 5). " Eternity, for instance, presents in an instant the future and the present, also the past of time " (Miscellanies, B. i. c. 13). " The absence of respect of persons in God is not then in time, but from eternity" (Mis. B. vi. c. 8). Tertullian— "Sing thanks to God to eternity " (Mo- nogany, c. 10). "Not be accounted casual and ex traneous, and thereby temporary and wanting in eternity" (Against Marcion, B. i. c. 22). Eternity endless : " Eternity, however, can not be 60 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. lost, because it cannot be eternity, except by reason of its immunity from loss" (Hermogenes, c. 12). " Measureless in extent and endless in duration " (Marc. B. ii. c. 3). Hippolytus—" He had both striven nobly for his own immortal soul," etc. (Fragments, Magistrianus). "As the soul is already imperishable" (Refutation of Heresies, B. ix. c. 22). " These [Pharisees] acknowl edge . . . that soul is immortal " (Ibid. c. 23). Cyprian — " What, dearest brethren, will be that glory . . . when the Lord begins to number his people, and ... to give heavenly things for earthly, eternal things for temporal ... to bestow upon us immortality and eternity, to which he has renewed us by the quickening of his blood " (Works and Alms, 26). " That every one of us may think less of death than of immortality " (To Successus, 2). " Immortality is given to the persevering, eternal life is set before them" (Dress, 21). "Laying aside the fear of death, let us think on the immortality which follows " (Mortality, 24). " His [Christ's] immortality being in the mean time laid aside, he suffers himself to become mortal, so that the guiltless may be put to death for the salvation of the guilty " (Patience, 6). Mortality is being subject to death; immortality is being delivered from the possibility of death. Origen — Eternal as an attribute : "Paul also declares that the Son is the splendor of everlasting light " (De Principiis, B. iv. c. 1, s. 28). " Thus by an eternal and immutable law of equity " (Ibid. B. iii. c. 1, s. 17). " By the institutions of the true and everlasting law" (Ibid. B. iii. c. 6, s. 8). " The gospel which is called everlasting" (Ibid.). " When he will transfer all the THE ETERNAL AND IMMORTAL. 61 saints from a temporal to an everlasting gospel " (Ibid. B. iv. c. 1, s. 25). He evidently uses " eternal " in the usual sense, and not as limited duration. Man immortal and eternal: "Since the heavenly virtues are incorruptible and immortal, the essence of the human soul will also be immortal and incorrupti ble " (Ibid. B. iv. c. 1, s. 36). " If we restate with all possible brevity our opinions on the immortality of rational natures " (Ibid.). " Whether this very bodily nature, which bears the lives and contains the move ments of spiritual and rational minds, will be equally eternal with them, or will altogether perish and be destroyed" (Ibid. B. ii. c. 3, s. 1). Lactantius — " The subject seems to require in this place, that since we have taught that immortality is the chief good, we should prove this also, that the soul is immortal" (Inst. B. iii. c. 13). "That being presented with the garment of immortality they may serve God for ever" (Epitome, Inst. c. 72). The Scriptures—" Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity" (Isa. 57: 15). Doubtless this means "eternity" of both past and future. "Who only hath immortality" — deathlessness, with the power to give it to whomhe will (1 Tim. 6: 16). " Seek for glory, and honor, and immortality" (Rom. 2:7). "Hath brought life and immortality [incorruption] to light "(2 Tim. 1:10). 62 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. CHAPTER IX.— The Resurrection. The Apocrypha — The resurrection of the dead: "Thou, indeed, O persecutor, takest us out of the present life, but the King of the world will raise us up, who have died for his laws " (2 Mac. 7: 9). " It is desirable, being put to death by men, to look for hope from God, to be raised up again by him ; truly for thee there shall be no resurrection to life " (v. 14). " Accordingly, the Creator of the world, who origi nated and formed man, and found out the origin of all things, will in mercy give you back both breath and life again, as you now give up yourselves for "his laws' sake " (v. 23). " Sent it to Jerusalem to offer a sin-offering, doing very nobly and properly, in that he was mindful of the resurrection" (12:43). "If he had not expected that they that had fallen untimely would rise again" (v. 44). The foregoing express Jewish sentiment, though possibly not written until after Christ's ministry. Jewish opinion may indi rectly have been clarified and emphasized by Chris tian doctrine. The Book of Enoch — "And the just one shall rise from sleep, and wisdom will arise and will be given to them" (91:10). The phrase "just one" is used collectively for all. "And the just one will arise from sleep, will arise and walk in the paths of justice, and all his paths and ways will be in everlasting goodness and grace"" (92:3). "And even if the holy sleep a long sleep there is nothing to fear" (100:5). They need not fear for they shall rise again. The resurrection of the wicked is not so clearly stated, but THE RESURRECTION. 63 seems in some places certainly assumed, that they may be ready for the judgment. " And in those days the earth will return that entrusted to it, and Sheol will return that entrusted to it, which it has received, and hell will return what it owes. And he will choose the just and holy from among them, for the day has come that they be saved" (51:1, 2). The judgment is here contemplated. "The earth will return that entrusted to it," — which seems to mean that the bodies of all the dead will be raised in prepa ration for the judgment. There are other similar assumptions. Josephus — " But that the former [the virtuous] shall have power to revive and live again " (Ant. 18, 1, 3). " That the souls of good men are only removed into other bodies " (Wars, 2, 8, 14). " When he will make a resurrection of all men from the dead ; " " We have not rashly believed the resurrection of the body" (Hades, 5). Clement of Rome — "Do we then deem it any great and wonderful thing for the Maker of all things to raise up again those that have piously served him in the assurance of a good faith" (c. 26)? "Let us con sider, beloved, how the Lord continually proves to us that there shall be a future resurrection, of which he has rendered the Lord Jesus Christ the first fruits by raising him from the dead " (c. 24). Polycarp — " Whosoever perverts the oracles of the Lord to his own lusts, and says that there is neither a resurrection ... he is the first-born of Satan" (Epistle to Philippians, c. 7). " Resurrection of eternal life " (Martyrdom, c. 14). "He has promised to us that he will raise us again from the dead " (Epistle, c. 5)- 64 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. Barnabas — "That he might abolish death, and re veal the resurrection from the dead" (c. 5). "On this account there will be a resurrection " (c. 21). Papias — "There will be . . . the resurrection from the dead" (6). Justin Martyr— "He [Christ] shall raise the bodies of all men who have lived " (1st Apol. c. 52). " They shall be saved through Christ in the resurrection" (Dia. Try. c. 45). "For even if any one be laboring under a defect of body, yet be an observer of the doc trines delivered by him [Christ], He shall raise him up at his second advent perfectly sound, after he has made him immortal, and incorruptible, and free from grief" (Dia. Try. c. 69). "But I and others, who are right-minded Christians on all points, are assured that there will be a resurrection of the dead " (Dia. Try. c. 80). " When he shall raise all men from the dead, and appoint some to be incorruptible, immortal, and free from sorrow in the everlasting and imperish able kingdom ; but shall send others away to the everlasting punishment of fire " (Dia. Try. c. 117). Athenagoras — "All human beings who die rise again " (Res. c. 14). A whole treatise on the subject. Tatian — A " resurrection once for all . . . for the purpose of passing judgment upon them " [men] (c. 6). ' Theophilus — "And all these things does the wisdom of God effect, in order to manifest even by these things, that God is able to effect the general resur rection of all men" (B. iv. c. 13). " The resurrection of all men which is to be " (B. ii. c. 14). The modern doctrine of the resurrection of the righteous only, had no currency in the primitive age. THE RESURRECTION. 65 Irenaens— " Yet, reluctant as they may be, these men shall one day rise again in the flesh, to confess the power of him who raises them from the dead ; but they shall not be numbered among the righteous on account of their unbelief " (Against Heresies, B. i. c. 22, s. 1). "And then the doctrine concerning the resurrection of bodies which we believe " (Ibid. B. ii. c. 29, s. 2). " For our Lord and Master, in the answer which he gave to the Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection, and who do therefore dishonor God, and lower the credit of the law, did both indi cate a resurrection, and reveal God " (Ibid. B. iv. c. 5, s. 2). " Nor did the Father exercise his providence for the men only who are now alive, but for all men together, who from the beginning, according to their capacity, in their generation have both feared and loved God, and -practiced justice and piety towards their neighbors, and have earnestly desired to see Christ, and to hear his voice. Wherefore he shall, at his second coming, first rouse from their sleep all per sons of this description, and shall raise them up, as well as the rest who shall be judged, and give them, a place in his kingdom" (Ibid. c. 22, s. 2). Clement of Alexandria—" But the end is reserved till the resurrection of those who believe " (The In structor, B. i.' c. 6). " Accordingly to the Corinthians (for this is not the only instance), while discoursing on the resurrection of the dead, he makes use of a tragic Iambic line, when he said, ' What advantageth it me if the dead are not raised ?'" (Mis. B. i. c. 14). Clement evidently agrees with Paulon the resurrec tion. Tertullian— " Raising up again all the dead from 5 66 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. the beginning, reforming and renewing them with the object of awarding either recompense," — that of the righteous or that of the wicked (Apologeticus, s. 18). "He will come with glory to. take the saints to the enjoyment of everlasting life and of the heavenly promises, and to condemn the wicked to everlasting fire, after the resurrection of both these classes shall have happened " (Against Heretics* c. 13). He teaches that the resurrection is not at death but at the end of the world ; that there is a spiritual resurrection at conversion, but a resurrection of the body at the close of time : " Those Scriptures also which forbid our be lief in such a resurrection as is held by your ' Animal- ists,' . . . that it is either to be assumed [as taking place] now, as soon as men come to the knowledge of the truth, or else that it is accomplished immediately after their departure from this life. Now, forasmuch as the seasons of our entire [blessed] hope have been fixed in the Holy Scripture, and since we are not permitted to place the accomplishment thereof, as I apprehend, previous to Christ's coming, our prayers are directed towards the end of the world, to the pass ing away thereof at the great day of the Lord " (Res urrection, c. 22). " It moreover follows, that the very maintenance of this spiritual resurrection amounts to a presumption in favor of the other bodily resurrec tion." " It is therefore more competent for us even to maintain a spiritual resurrection at the commence ment of [a life of] faith, who acknowledge the full completion thereof at the end of the world" (Res. c. 25). The resurrection occurs in connection with the judgment. "To the resurrection of life, . . . THE RESURRECTION. 67 unto the resurrection of damnation." "Those who are dead through their ignorance of God . . . are plainly here spoken of as having to come from their graves for judgment" (Res. c. 37). " The day of the Lord," which is the "coming of the Lord Jesus Christ" tor judgment, is the time "of the resurrec tion " (Res. c. 24). " Both the recompense of reward, and the danger of losing it, depend on the issues of the resurrection " (Res. c. 21). This places both kinds of award at the judgment, in connection with the res urrection. Hippolytus — "That he might become himself the first fruits of our resurrection" (On Daniel, 7: 14). " Since the Saviour was the beginning of the begin ning of the resurrection of all men" (Christ and Anti-Christ, 46). Minucius Felix — " The doctrine of resurrection." "All nature suggests a future resurrection" (Octa vius, c. 34). Origen — "It was necessary that, . . . there should be a resurrection, the type of which was in our Lord and Saviour, and that his resurrection should have its ground in the wisdom and word and life of God " (De Principiis B. i. c. 2, s. 4). " The saints will receive those bodies . . . bright and glorious after the resurrection. So the wicked also, . . . may be clothed with dark and black bodies after the resurrection" (De Princ. B. ii. c. 10, s. 8). Methodius — "Such fruit it is necessary that we bring when we come to the judgment-seat of Christ, on the first day of the feast ; for if we are without it we shall not be able to feast with God, nor to have part, according to John, in the first resurrection" 68 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. (Ten Virgins, c. 3). He seems to imply that the res urrection and judgment will come together. "Fori can not endure the trifling of some who shamelessly do violence to Scripture, in order that their opinion, that the resurrection is without flesh may find sup port " (Discourse on Res. c. 2). Opposed to the the ory that there is no resurrection but the mere spir itual. Dionysius—" Of our own resurrection from the dead, and of our being gathered together to him" (Promises, s. 1). "When one thinks of the death which the transgression of Adam brought on us, it is a time to mourn ; but it is time to hold festal gather ings when we call to mind the resurrection from the dead which we expect through the new Adam" (Com. Ecclesiastes, 3:4). Arnobius — "Do you dare to laugh at us, because we say that there will be a resurrection of the dead ? " (B. ii. s. 13.) Lactantius—" They will not be born again, which is impossible, but they will rise again, and be clothed by God with bodies, and will remember their former life, and all its actions" (Institutes, B. vii. c. 23). "At the same time shall take place that second and public resurrection of all, in which the unrighteous shall be raised to everlasting punishments " (Inst. B. vii. c. 26). The Scriptures — "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt" (Dan. 12:2). "Marvel not at this: for the hour Com eth, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life ; and they that have THE RESURRECTION. 69 done ill, unto the resurrection of judgment " (John, 5: 28, 29). "And this is the will of him that sent me, that of all that which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that every one that be- holdeth the Son, and believeth on him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day " (John, 6:39, 40). "Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day " (John, 11: 23, 24). "And proclaimed in Jesus the resur rection from the dead" (Acts, 4: 2). "Having hope toward God, which these also themselves look for, that there shall be a resurrection both of the just and unjust" (Acts, 24: 15). "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 that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (1 Thess. 4: 16, 17). These passages taken together show, that the Jews in gen eral of Christ's time believed in the resurrection of the dead, that Christ taught the resurrection, that the time of it is to be at the last day or the end of the world, and that it will be of both the righteous and the wicked. The early Christian Fathers, concerning the resurrection, agree with the common understand ing of the Scriptures. 70 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. CHAPTER X.— The Day of Judgment. The Apocrypha—" But the day of judgment shall be the end of this time, and the beginning of the immor tality to come" (2Esdras, 7:113). " The Most High shall be revealed upon the seat of judgment, and mercy shall pass away" (v. 33). "They shall have no hope, neither comfort in the day of decision" (Wis. 3:18). "At the reckoning up of their sins they shall appear with trembling; and their transgressions shall convict them to their face" (4:20). "The day of judgment is the decisive day and will make manifest to all the seal of truth" (2 Es. 7: 104). The Book of Enoch— "And behold he comes with the myriads of the holy to pass judgment upon them, . . . and will call to account all flesh" (1:9). "And on the great day of judgment he will be cast into the fire " (10: 6). " Until the great day of judg ment and punishment and affliction upon the revilers to eternity" (22:11). "Until the time of the great judgment " (25: 4). "And in the latter days there will be the spectacle of a just judgment upon them in the presence of the just" (27: 3). "And the holy Lord will come forth in anger, and with punishment, that he may pass judgment on the earth" (91:7). "And in those days the angels will come into the secret places, and will collect in one place all those who aided sin; and the Most High will arise on that day to pass a great judgment over all the sinners " (100: 4). Josephus—" It is prepared for a day afore-deter mined by God, in which one righteous sentence shall deservedly be passed upon all men; when the unjust DAY OF JUDGMENT. 71 and those that have been disobedient to God. . . . while the just," etc. " For all men, the just as well as the unjust, shall be brought before God the word; for to him hath the Father committed all judgment "' (Hades, 2, 6). The awards of judgment are taught elsewhere as already quoted. Polycarp — " ' We must all appear at the judgment- seat of Christ, and must every one give an account of himself ' " (Epis. c. 6). " Whosoever perverts the ora cles of the Lord, . . . and savs that there is nei ther . . . nor a judgment" (Epis. c. 7). "But art ignorant of the fire of the coming judgment" (Mar. c. 11). Barnabas—" Thou shalt remember the day of judg ment " (c. 19). " Do it that ye may be safe in the day of judgment" (c. 21). The judgment not immediately after death : "By preparing a new people for him self, might show, while he dwelt on earth, that he, when he has raised mankind, will also judge them " (c. 5). When he has raised them, will judge them. It seems to imply that he will judge them just after rais ing them, and not before, or at death. Justin Martyr— "The souls of the pious [dead] re main in a better place, while those of the unjust and wicked are in a worse, waiting for the time of judg ment " (Dia. Try. c. 5). " Recognizing him to be the Christ of God, and that it is given to him to be abso lute Judge of all " (Dia. Try. c. 46). " Incur condem nation in the judgment which God the Maker of all things shall hold through my Lord Jesus Christ" (Dia. Try. c. 58). "And that thereafter the general, and, in short, the eternal resurrection and judgment of all men would likewise take place " (Dia. Try. c. 72 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. 81). " The judgment which is to be after the termina tion of this life " (Address to Greeks, c. 1). Athenagoras— " He will not escape the judgment of God " (Plea for Christians, c. 12). " That we may escape condemnation at last" (Ibid.). "The right eous judgment" (Resurrection, c. 18). "All human beings who die rise again, yet not all who rise again are to be judged " — " very young children " excepted (Res. c. 14). This teaches that the judgment for all accountable beings is to follow the resurrection. Tatian — "A resurrection once for all, . . . for the purpose of passing judgment upon them" (c. 6). Theophilus — "Spoke things. in harmony with the prophets regarding the monarchy of God, and the judgment and such like " (To Autolycus, c. 8). The Clementine Recognitions—" So, in the day of judgment, when the righteous shall be introduced into the kingdom of heaven, and the unrighteous shall be cast out, then also the justice of God shall be shown " (B. iii. c. 38). "And therefore this very fact, that in the present life a return is not made to every one according to his deeds, affords, to those who know that God is just, an indubitable proof that there shall be a judgment" (B. iii. c. 41). "He suffers them to remain even till the day appointed, in which judg ment shall pass upon all " (B. iii. c. 49). " For unbe lief, while it does not believe that there is to be a judgment by God, affords license to sin, and sin makes men liable to sufferings ; but faith, believing- that there is to be a judgment of God, restrains men from sin" (B. v. c. 3). "And may bring them purified to the general judgment of all, provided always that their faith do not fail them in their chastisement" DAY OF JUDGMENT. 73 (B. v. c. 34). "But he does not receive these things as true who does not believe that there is to be a judgment by God, and therefore, being bound by the pleasures of the present life, is shut out from eternal good things " (B. v. c. 35). "I spoke of the will and purpose of God, which he had before the world was, and by which purpose he made the world, appointed times, gave the law, promised a world to come to the righteous for the rewarding of their good deeds, and decreed punishments to the unjust according to a judicial sentence" (B. ix. c. 1). "And that for the future you may bridle your lusts by fear of the judg ment to come " (B. ix. c. 11). - " By which knowledge is imparted fear of the judgment to come " (B. ix. c. 31). " And appointed times to each, and decreed that a day of judgment should be expected, which he determined, in which a severance is to be made of things and of souls : so that the wicked indeed shall be consigned to eternal fire for their sins ; but those who have lived according to the will of God the Creator, having received a blessing for their good works, effulgent with brightest light, introduced into an eternal abode, and abiding in incorruption, shall receive eternal gifts of ineffable blessings "(B. i. c. 24). Irenaens— " Who [Christ] shall also descend from heaven in his Father's power, and pass judgment upon all, and who shall freely give the good-things of God to those who shall have kept his command ments " (Agt. Her. B. iii. c. 5, s. 3). " Therefore God . . . hath appointed a day, on which the world shall be judged in righteousness by the man Jesus ; whereof he hath given assurance by raising him from the dead" (Ibid. B. iii. c. 12, s. 9). "It shall be more 74 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the judgment than for that city" (Ibid. B. iv. c. 28, s. 1). "It will be more tolerable for Sodom in the general judgment than for those who beheld his wonders, and did not believe on him, nor receive his doctrine " (Ibid. B. iv. C 36, S. 4). Clement of Alexandria —"And the Word, having unfolded the truth, showed to men the height of salvation, that either repenting they might be saved, or refusing to obey, they might be judged. This is the proclamation of righteousness : to those that obey, glad tidings ; to those that disobey, judgment " (To Heathen, c. 11). " To you still remains this conclu sion, to choose which will profit you most — judgment or grace. For I do not think there is even room for doubt which of these is the better ; nor is it allowable to compare life with destruction " (c. 12). " For there is power over both together, and judgment separates that which is just from its opposite " (Instructor, B. i. c. 9). " He hath reserved to the judgment of the great day" (B. iii. c. 8). "Wherefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, being already con demned, for he that believeth not is condemned already" (Miscellanies, B. ii. c. 15). "Be therefore God-taught, seeking what the Lord seeks from you, that he may find you in the day of judgment lying in wait for these things " (B. ii. c. 18). " Nay more, the oracle exhibits the prophecy which by the Word cries and preaches, and the judgment that is to come ; since it is the same Word which prophesies and judges, and discriminates all things " (B. v. c. 6). It has been said that Clement did not believe in a day of judgment fixed in the future, but as a process con- DAY OF JUDGMENT. 75 tinually going on. Yet he speaks of " the judgment that is to come," and of " the day of judgment," and of "the judgment of the great day." Why discredit what he says? Why deny his statements as to his own belief ? Tertullian— He teaches that thero will be a day of judgment, not immediately after death, but at the end of the world. " This, in short, will be the process of that judgment which is postponed to the last great day " (Resurrection, c. 17). " Who bears in mind that future judgment, when ' we must all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ ' " (Heretics, c. 44). " Let them deny that, for their wickedness condemned already, they are kept for that very judgment-day, with all their worshipers and their works " (Apologeticus, s. 23). "For he who once for all appointed an eternal judgment at the world's close " (Ibid. s. 41). " By the award of the judgment, we say that the wicked will have to spend an eternity in endless fire, the pious and innocent in a region of bliss " (Nations, B. i. c. 19). The righteous and the wicked will be separated from each other, both between death and the judg ment, and after the judgment. Referring to the case of the rich man and Lazarus, Tertullian locates it previous to " the consummation of all things . . . and the resurrection of all men," which is previous to the judgment, and he says : " The Scripture itself . . . expressly distinguishes between Abraham's bosom, where the poor man dwells, and the infernal place of torment. ' Hell ' (I take it) means one thing, and 'Abraham's bosom7 another" (Agt. Marcion, B. iv» c. 34). "And lookest forward to a day of judgment, and according to thy deserts art assigned to misery 76 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. or bliss" (Animse, s. 4). "The twofold award of a final judgment." "An eternity in endless fire, the pious and innocent in a region of bliss" (Nations, B. i. c. 19). Hippolytus— He approvingly gives the sentiments of the Essenes : "They affirm that there will be both a judgment and a conflagration of the universe " (Refutation of all Heresies, B. ix. c. 22). " By whom [Christ] too, the judgment is to enter for the whole world" (Christ and Anti-Christ, 46). "And is to be manifested again at the end of the world as Judge " (Ibid). Cyprian — " Or as if he would not provoke a greater wrath and indignation of the Lord against himself in the day of judgment" (To Epictetus, 1). "He must take the blame to himself when the day of judgment shall come " (Epic. 5) . " In the day of j udgment, before the tribunal of Christ, both will be read " (Epistle, 68, s. 10). "Will not they, when the day of judgment comes" (The Lapsed, 9). The day of judgment is to. be after this life and at the end of the world: "But that will be when the day of judgment shall come — when, after the conclusion of this life and the world, his people shall stand before the tribunal of Christ" (Lapsed, 17). " Finally, such are crowned by the Lord, such will be avenged with the Lord in the day of judgment " (Lord's Prayer, 24). "For he who will give us in the day of judgment a reward for our labors and alms, is even in this life a merciful hearer of one who comes to him in prayer associated with good works" (Ibid. 32). "But the day of judgment is still future which the Holy Scripture denounces " (Demetrianus, 22). " For the Lord says, that when DAY OF JUDGMENT. .. the day of judgment shall come, those who have labored in his church are admitted to receive the kingdom" (Works and Alms, 9). "He softens his in dignation, and in patience waits for the day of retri bution, once for all determined " (Patience, 4). Origen—" There is no doubt that at the day of judg ment the good will be separated from the bad, and the just from the unjust, and all by the sentence of God will be distributed according to their deserts throughout those places of which they are worthy " (De Princ. B. ii. c. 9, s. 8). "And that a general judg ment is announced to come, in which the wicked are to be punished according to their deserts, and the right eous to be duly rewarded " (Against Celsus, B. i. c. 7). Methodius— " By it also the death of Christ is per sonified, by whose blood souls made safe and sealed shall be preserved from wrath in the burning of the world; whilst the first-born, the sons of Satan, shall be destroyed with an utter destruction by the avenging angels" (Ten Virgins, Dis. ix. c. 1). Gregory Thaumaturgus— " For the wise man knows and discerneth beforehand the judgment, which shall come at the right time, and sees that it shall be just. For all things in this life of men await the retribution from above; but the wicked man does not seem to know verily that as there is a mighty providence over him, nothing in the future shall be hid " (Eccl. c. 8). "In that thou dost not look for the judgment that shall come from God upon all these things" (Eccl. c.ll). Lactantius—" The dead shall rise again, on whom the same King and God shall pass judgment " (Inst. B. vii. c. 20). 78 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. The Scriptures — The day of judgment : 1. It is to be after death. "It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment" (Heb. 9:27). 2. It is to be of all men. " He hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness " (Acts, 17:31). " We must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ" (2 Cor. 5:10). "So then each one of us shall give account of himself to God " (Rom. 14: 12). 3. It is to be in connection with the resurrection; for both resurrection and judgment are to be at Christ's coming. " For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trurnp of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first " (1 Thess. 4:16). " For our citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of his glory " (Phil. 3:20, 21). According to these passages the Lord's coming to the resurrection is to be waited for, and he himself will descend from heaven when the dead in Christ shall rise. His second coming is also joined to the judgment: "Who shall judge the quick and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom " (2 Tim. 4: 1). " When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: and before him shall he gathered all nations " (Mat. 25: 31, 32). "Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make man ifest the counsels of the hearts" (1 Cor. 4:5). 4. The judgment-day is to be at the end of the world. " But the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same DAY OF JUDGMENT. 79 word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of un godly men. . . . But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up. . . . What manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness, looking for and earnestly de siring the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? " (2 Pet. 3:7, 10,11,12.) CHAPTER XL— No Probation after Death. Death the great crisis : Beyond it the award of pun ishment to the wicked, and of happiness to the right eous. The Apocrypha — " And after death to look for pun ishment" (2 Es. 7: 117). " With him who feareth the Lord, it shall be well at the last, and he shall be blessed on the day of his death " (Eccl. 1 : 13). By im plication he who does not fear the Lord, will fail of being blessed on the day of his death. He cannot, then, have probation after his death. "Remember that death will not be long in coming, and that the covenant of Hades [grave] is not showed unto thee " (Eccl. 14:12). Death a great and important event. " Though the righteous pass away [die] early he shall be at rest " (Wis. 4: 7). Death produces great change, 80 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. but does not deprive the righteous of his happiness. The wicked in the world after death reproach them selves, and say of their life on the earth, " We sur feited ourselves in the ways Of transgression and destruction" (Wis. 5:7). Of beasts it is said, "They expect no judgment, and know no torments, nor sal vation promised them after death " (2 Es. 7:66). An implication that with men death brings reward or punishment. "And if, after death, we were not to come into judgment, it might, perhaps, have gone better with us" (2 Es. 7:69). Seeming to imply that as death .finds us so our judgment will be. " More over they have trodden down his righteous, and said in their heart, that there is no God ; yea, and that knowing they must die. For as the things promised shall receive you, so thirst and pain which are pre pared, them" (2 Es. 8: 59). "Thirst and pain" shall receive them at death. " For they that in their life have received benefits, and have not known me ; and they that have loathed my law, while as yet they had liberty, and while as yet place for repentance was open unto them, understood it not, but despised it, these must know it after death by pain " (2 Es. 9: 10, 11). This teaches that the place for repentance is previous to death. " For what profit is it to men in this pres ent time to live in heaviness, and after death to look for punishment ? " (2 Es. 7: 117.) With the wicked death is immediately succeeded by punishment. "For while we lived and committed iniquity, we considered not that we should begin to suffer after death" (2 Es. 7:126). Death the opening door for suffering by the wicked, " If therefore you will rule your understanding, and instruct your hearts, you NO PROBATION AFTER DEATH. 81 shall be kept alive, and after death shall obtain mercy. For after death will the judgment come, when we shall live again ; and then shall the names of the righteous be manifest, and the works of the ungodly shall be made known " (2 Es. 14 : 34, 35). Second Esdras, from which the immediately forego ing passages are cited, faithfully expresses Jewish sentiment, whether it was composed after the destruc tion of Jerusalem or near the beginning of the Chris tian era. The view that the end of probation has no special relation to the event of death, and that it may be either before or after death as well as at that time, is utterly antagonistic to Jewish opinion in the days of Christ and his Apostles. Did Christ and his Apostles, on that point, harmonize with the current view of their age, or with the new theory of the latter part of the nineteenth century ? " Or, if they [the wicked] die early, they shall have no hope, neither comfort in the day of decision ; for miserable is the end of the unrighteous generation" (Wis. 3:18, 19). There is no hope for those who die in sin, and hence there is for them no after-death probation. " A reproach among the dead for evermore " (Wis. 4: 18). No recovery by means of a second probation. " Woe unto you, mir godly men, who have forsaken the law of the most high God ! And if you be born, you shall be born to a curse ; and if you die, a curse shall be your portion ! All that is of earth shall return to earth ; so the un godly shall go from a curse to destruction " (Eccl. 41 : 8-10). A curse awaits the ungodly when they die, even a curse unto "destruction." No exceptions are intimated for further probation. " When the decis- 82 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. ion shall have gone forth from the Most High that a man is to die, the Spirit departeth from the body that it may return again to him who gave it, in order, first, to prostrate itself before the glory of the Most High. And if, indeed, he belongeth to those who have de spised and not kept the way of the Most High, and to those who hated them that fear him, these souls will not go into dwelling-places, but will wander around, from this time forth in torments, always in pain and sorrow "(2 Es. 7:78-81). No further probation, and no ground of hope, for those who die in impenitence. The Book of Enoch — "Woe to you, sinners, if ye die in your sins" (103:5). "Do ye know that their souls will be caused to descend into Sheol, and it will be ill with them, and their trouble great" (103:7)? Descending into Sheol is dying. "Have ye seen the just, how their end was peace, because no oppression was found in them to the day of their death " (102: 10)? " And now know that ye are prepared for the day of destruction, and do not hope that ye will live, ye sin ners, but ye shall depart and die, for ye do not know a ransom ; for ye are prepared for the day of the great judgment, and for the day of trouble and of great disgrace to your souls " (98: 10). , " Behold, as we, they have died in anxiety and in darkness" (102:7). "When . . . the sinners are condemned because of their sins, and expelled from the face of the earth, . . . where will be the habitation of the sinners, -and where the resting-places of those who have denied the Lord of the spirits" (38:1, 2)? "Happy the man who dies as a just and good one" (81: 4). " But the sinner will die with the sinner, and the renegade will sink down with the renegade" NO PROBATION AFTER DEATH. 83 (v. 8). These and other passages lay emphasis on the event of death as a sealing time, determining the future of both the righteous and the wicked. Josejtlms^-Future awards according to deeds done in this life : " That under the earth there will be re wards or punishments, according as they have lived virtuously or viciously in this life " (Antiq. 18, 1, 3). The future state dependent on conduct "in this life." Josephus speaks of the belief of the Pharisees, who were much the largest of the three classes of the Jews. He speaks of their belief concerning all men, including Gentiles and heathen, and not Jews merely. That belief allows of no probation after death. Jo sephus implies that the Essenes held with the Greeks, that the just have hope of " reward after their death," and that the unjust shall "suffer immortal punish ment after their death" (Wars, 2, 8, 11). "Punish ment after their death " means punishment beginning at death, thus impliedly cutting off all probation after death ; and " reward after their death " means re ward beginning at death. Besides, " immortal pun ishment " forbids any probation after the punishment begins, or implies that it would be useless. Philo — No probation after death : " The soul which has once been utterly separated from it [right rea son], and which has been removed to a different abode [by death], has been cast out for ever and ever, as utterly incapable of reconciliation or peace, and is entirely unable to return to its previous habitation " (Works, vol. i. p. 279). He assumes that after death there is no return to this life, and he equally assumes that the soul removed to the abode beyond death, if in a state of sin, is incapable of reconciliation to God. 84 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. His view leaves no place for after-death, probation. " Those who die in the company of the pious everlast ing life will receive, but everlasting death will be the portion of those who live the other way" (p. 295). The pious after death will receive " everlasting life," and the impious in this life will, after death comes, receive " everlasting death." Temporal death is the point where the award of happiness or punishment begins. Hence, no probation after death. "He ex pressly declares his opinion, and pronounces this last to be an everlasting evil "(p. 482). The " everlasting evil" is the death threatened for drinking wine or strong drink when entering the tabernacle. There can be no probation after such a death. Death is the crisis. " Who now that they are dead are, and still more were, when alive, a grief and sorrow to their parents " (Vol. iii. p. 493). Such persons, being evil when alive, are hopeless when not alive, which cuts off all opportunity for after-death probation. " What is bad is, not being punished here, but being worthy of punishment hereafter" (Vol. iv. p. 275). "Here after" is after death, and being "worthy of punish ment" "after death," in Philo's mind shuts out all hope for the punished, and that necessarily excludes after-death probation. He speaks of men in general, not of Jews only. Where he lived he was chiefly surrounded by other men than Jews, and he often spoke of them. He is not quoted here for his author ity of opinion on this question, but as a witness con cerning Jewish sentiment at that time when and where Christ taught. Clement of Rome — Death decisive of the future:. "Peter, . . . when he had at length suffered mar- NO PROBATION AFTER DEATH. 85 tyrdom, departed to the place of glory due to him." " Paul also obtained the reward of patient endurance. Thus was he removed from the world, and went into the holy place" (c. 5). Faithfulness to death insured them glory. "They went down alive into Hades, and death swallowed them up. Pharaoh with his army and all the princes of Egypt, and the chariots with their riders, were sunk in the depths of the Red Sea, and perished" (c. 51). " Those, therefore, who do anything beyond that which is agreeable to his will, are punished with death" (c. 41). Death, the opening door to glory to the righteous, and apparently the doom of destruction to the wicked. They perish at death, and then their condition is hopeless. " Let us also, while we are in this world, repent with our whole heart of the evil deeds we have done in the flesh, that we may be saved by the Lord, while we have yet an opportunity of repentance. For after we have gone out of the world, no further power of con fessing or repenting will there belong to us. Where fore, brethren, by doing, the will of the Father, and keeping the flesh holy, and observing the command ments of the Lord, we shall obtain eternal life " (Sec. Epis. c. 8). This is strong testimony from a pupil of an Apostle. He gives no intimation that the hea then are exceptions. Polycarp — Probation in this life, award in the next : "If we please him in this present world, we shall re ceive also the future world " (Epis. c. 5). The ques tion of award, and of its character — good or bad — is settled at death, the termination to us of the "pres ent world." 'If we do not please him in this world, we shall not receive the future world of glory.' Such 86 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. the apparent implication. " Let the young men . . . be cut off from the lusts that are in the world" (5). Their trial is while in this world. Award comes at once after death: " They [certain departed believers] are in their due place in the presence of the Lord " (Epis. c. 9). " For they loved not this present world, but him who died for us, and for our sakes was raised again by God from the dead " (Ibid. ). They are in the " presence of the Lord " because " they loved not this present world." "All these have not run in vain." The " present world " is where they run, but not " in vain." This world, then, must be the place where the wicked do run in vain. Barnabas — Death, retribution to the wicked : " That he might convince them [the bitten by serpents], that on account of their transgressions they were given over to the straits of death" (c; 12). No probation thought to be given after temporal death. Ignatius — The " end": " For the beginning has been well ordered, if I may obtain grace to cling to my lot without hindrance unto the end" (To Rom. c. 1). "Fare ye well to the end, in the patience of Jesus Christ" (Ibid. c. 10). The "end" of life, implying that if he endured to the end he would be saved. If he did not endure until death he would not be saved. Hence, death the termination of probation. Character after death as before death : "And as they believe, so shall it happen unto them, when they shall be divested of their bodies, and be mere evil spirits " (To Smyr. c. 2). No probation after death : ' 'All things have an end, these two things are simultaneously set before us — death and life; and every one shall go unto his own NO PROBATION AFTER DEATH. 87 place " (To Mag. c. 5). Ignatius means the " end " of this life; and in saying that every one will go to his own place, he implies that the righteous and wicked will be separated in the next world according to their choice in this earthly state. This forbids after-death probation. "And, while yet we have opportunity, exercise repentance towards God" (To Smyr. c. 9). He evidently means that the beginning of a penitent life must be in this world. In the longer version he immediately adds, " For in Hades there is no one who can confess his sins," which means, that repentance begun after death is out of the question. He further adds, " For 'behold the man, and his work is before him,' " which implies condition in the next life accord ing to " work " in this life. The Pastor of Hermas — No repentance after death : " To those who do not repent, but abide in their pleas ures, death is near " (Simil. viii. c. 9). No repentance after death, is implied. " These still have repentance in their power, if they repent speedily. . . . And if they do not repent they too have lost their lives. These, then, have repentance within their reach, if they repent quickly, and do not remain in their pleasures; but if they abide in their deeds, these, too, work to themselves death" (Simil. viii. c. 8). "They indeed have repentance in their power, if they repent quickly; but if they are slow in so doing, they shall die " (Simil. ix. c. 19). Temporal death is spoken of, beyond which it is implied, that there is no repent ance. Repentance of Christians who go astray : " These are they who have sinned, and wish to repent. . . . They will yet be useful in the building, if they repent. Is^ffRL. J. l 88 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. Those who are to repent, if they do repent, will be strong in faith, if they now repent" (Vis. iii. c. 5). " That he might strengthen me, and give repentance to all his servants who were going astray " (Vis. iv. c. 1). "If then ye prepare yourselves, and repent with all your heart, and turn to the Lord, it will be possible for you to escape it, if your heart be pure and spotless, and ye spend the rest of the days of your life in serv ing the Lord blamelessly " (Vis. iv. c. 2). Fallen asleep : " Some ,of them have fallen asleep, and some still remain alive" (Vis. iii. c. 5). The end : " These, therefore, at the end were lost unto God. And you see that not a single one of them repented. . . . From such life departed" (Simil. viii. c. 6). " Others continuing to live until the end " (Simil. viii. c. 9). "But if they do not repent, then others will come in their place, and these at the end will be cast out" (Simil. ix. c. 14). The "end" evi dently means the last of life. The last day: " When one becomes somewhat old, he despairs of himself on account of his weakness and poverty, and looks forward to nothing but the last day of his life " (Vis. iii. c. 12). " But to the heathen, re pentance will be possible even to the last day " (Vis. ii. c. 2). The last day is the last of life. No probation in the next world: "The righteous who are to live in the world to come; for the coming world is the summer of the righteous, but the winter of sinners. . . . But the heathen and sinners, like the withered trees which you saw, will be found to be those who have been withered and unfruitful in that world [before death], and shall be burnt as wood, and [so] made manifest, because their actions were evil NO PROBATION AFTER DEATH. 89 during their lives " (Simil. iv.). Here is the idea that the future state will be according to the deeds done in the body. " But such as entertain wicked thoughts in their minds are bringing upon themselves death and captivity; and especially is this the case with those who set their affections on this world, and glory in their riches, and look not forward to the blessings of the life to come. For many will their regrets be; for they have no hope, but have despaired of them selves and their life " (Vis. i. c. 1). The impression is, that of no hope unless obtained in this life. Bear in mind: This Epistle of the Pastor of Hermas was much read by the early Christians along with the four Gospels. Papias — Two classes in the future state : " The gra dation and arrangement of those who are saved " (5). This implies that some are not saved; apparently not saved in this life, or at death, beyond which, no salva tion. Justin Martyr — Dying in sin a great calamity : ' ' He himself shall die in his sin" (Dia. Try. c. 82). Dying in impenitence fatal to salvation : "I hold, further, that such as have confessed and known this man to be Christ, yet who have gone back from some cause to the legal dispensation, and have denied that this man is Christ, and have repented not before death, shall by no means be saved. Further I hold that those of the seed of Abraham who live according to the law, and do not believe in this Christ before death, shall likewise not be saved " (Dia. Try. c. 47). This is contrary to the opinion that death does not necessarily close probation with any. It closes it with unbelieving Jews, and with impenitent apos- 90 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. tates, and the apparent implication is, that it closes it with all. The ancient heathen had no after-death probation : "For neither will you commit any offense against your fathers, if you now show a desire to betake your selves to that which is quite opposed to their error, since it is likely enough that they themselves are now lamenting in Hades, and repenting with a too late re pentance; and if it were possible for them to show you thence what had befallen them after the termina tion of this life, ye would know from what fearful ills they desired to deliver you. But now, since it is not possible in this present life that ye either learn from them, or from those who here profess to teach that philosophy which is falsely so called, it follows as the one thing that remains for you to do, that, renouncing the errors of your fathers, ye read the prophecies of the sacred writers," etc. (Ad. Greeks, c. 35). Accord ing to Justin those heathen fathers did not go into probation after death. They repented "with a too late repentance"; not with the true godly sorrow, so far as appears. The doctrine of an after-death proba tion, for the heathen, or any of the wicked, could not have been current or broached in Justin's time; else he would not have used the foregoing language. And his views in general, and in nearly all particulars, grew out of Apostolic teachings. He was born about the time the Apostle John died. Athenagoras— The judgment for deeds done in the body : " From the judgment of their Maker upon them according to the time each has lived, and ac cording to the rules by which each has regulated his behavior,— a judgment which no one can doubt will NO PROBATION AFTER DEATH. 91 be just" (Res. c. 11). He speaks of judgment for the time "lived" in this world, and according to each one's "behavior" here. "In order that those who were dead, having been made alive by the resur rection, and the parts that were separated and en tirely dissolved having been again united, each one may, in accordance with justice, receive what he has done by the body, whether it be good or bad" (Res. c. 18). Athenagoras evidently understands 2 Cor. 5 : 10, as teaching that the judgment after death and the resurrection will be for this life, and not in part for any probation after death. Award not perfect in this life: "Neither do the good in the present life obtain the rewards of virtue, nor yet do the bad receive the wages of vice " (Res. c. 19). Theophilus — "When the resurrection shall take place, then you will believe whether you will or no ; and your faith shall be reckoned for unbelief unless you believe now " — in the accepted time of this life (B. i. c. 8). The Clementine Recognitions— " Although he is sure by these very things that souls are immortal, and are judged for the deeds which they have done." " Or that he is to be judged for those things which he hath done, who, knowing the judgment of God, despises it" (B. ii. c. 16). "Being bound by the pleasures of the present life, is shut out from eternal good things " (B. v. . c. 35). " For God is not only good, but also just ; for if he were always good, and never just to render to every one according to his deeds, goodness would be found to be injustice. For it were injustice if the impious and the pious were 92 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. treated by him alike " (B. iv. c. 14). " For since it is certain that God is just, it is a necessary consequence that there is another world, in which every one, re ceiving according to his deserts, shall prove the justice of God. But if all men were now receiving according to their deserts, we should truly seem to be deceivers when we say that there is a judgment to come ; and therefore this very fact, that in the present life a return is not made to every one according to his deeds, affords, to those who know that God is just, an indubitable proof that there shall be a judgment" (B. iii. c. 41). "I spoke of the will and purpose of God, which he had before the world was, and by which purpose he made the world, appointed times, gave the law, promised a world to come to the right eous for the rewarding of their good deeds, and decreed punishments to the unjust according to a judicial sentence" (B. ix. c. 1). "Whether it [the soul] shall be brought into judgment for those things which it does here" (B. i. c. 14). " If there be no im mortal soul to suffer punishment in the future for impious deeds, or enjoy rewards for piety and recti tude " (B. iii. c. 40). The phrases, " Deeds which they have done," " Things which he hath done," "Accord ing to his deeds," "Receiving according to his deserts," "According to his deeds," "Rewarding of their good deeds," " Those things which it does here," must have been fashioned much by the inspired words, " That each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad " (2 Cor. 5: 10). The words "things " and " deeds " in those phrases, must mean the same as " The things done in the body," in the Scripture NO PROBATION AFTER DEATH. 93 sentence. The " judgment" spoken of in those phrases must be in general the awards given after death. And the awards are as truly for those who " Suffer punish ment in the future for impious deeds," as for those who " enjoy rewards for piety and rectitude." There fore the writer of the " Clementine Recognitions " un derstood the passage in 2 Cor. 5:10, to apply to the wicked as well as the righteous, and not to the right eous only, as some in recent time have supposed. And what that primitive writer understood was doubtless the understanding of all Christians of his time, and also of the Apostolic writer himself. Moreover, ' ' If any persist in impiety till the end of life, then as soon as the soul, which is immortal, departs, it shall pay the penalty of its persistence in impiety " (B. v. c. 28). No after-death probation. Irenaeus — The future state according to the deeds done in the body : "The Lord has taught with very great fullness, that souls . . . continue to exist, . . . and that they remember the deeds which they did in this state of existence, . . . in that narrative . . . respecting the rich man and that Lazarus who found repose in the bosom of Abraham. . . . That each one of these persons continued in his own proper position. . . . That each class [of souls] receives a habitation such as it has deserved " (Her. B. ii. c. 34, s. 1). " They do in fact contradict them selves, inasmuch as they no longer maintain that souls pass, on account of their nature, into the inter mediate place to those substances which are similar to themselves, but [that they do so] on account of the deeds done [in the body], since they affirm that those of the righteous do pass [into that abode], but 94 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. those of the impious continue in the fire " (Her. B. ii. c. 29, s. 1). Irenseus plainly has 2 Cor. 5 : 10, in mind, and he understands it to mean, that the wicked, as well as the righteous, will in the future state be awarded according to things done in the body. And yet, Irenseus declares that in his early youth he was acquainted with Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, and lived in that city. He says that Polycarp conversed with many who had seen Christ, and that he was instructed by Apostles, especially by John, and was appointed bishop of Smyrna by them. He being a sincere man must have been very careful to hold the truth as it had come down from the Apostles. Clement of Alexandria — Death in sin cuts off all hope: Death is the decisive event for all, heathen and others. If there is no right heart before, none afterwards. " It is therefore of no advantage to them after the end of life, even if they do good works now, if they have not faith" (Miscellanies, B. i. c. 7). " And they will understand neither the honors after death, which belong to those who have lived holily, nor the punishments of those who have lived unright eously and . impurely. . . . ' Life were indeed a feast to the wicked, who, having done evil, then die ; were not the soul immortal, death would be a god send'" [Mis. B. iv. c. 7). "But with the hope after death — a good hope to the good, to the bad the reverse —"etc. (Mis. B. iv. c. 22). " ' Except ye believe,' says the Lord, ' ye shall die in your sins ' " (Mis. B. v. c. 13). " Such an one consequently withstands all fear of everything terrible, not only of death," etc. (B. vii. c. 11). " For some suffer from love of glory, and others from fear of some other sharper punishment, NO PROBATION AFTER DEATH. 95 and others for the sake of pleasures and delights after death, being children in faith " (Mis. B. vii. c. 11). " Nor is he ashamed to die, having a good con science, and being fit to be seen by the Powers. Cleansed, so to speak, from all the stains of the soul, he knows right well that it will be better with him after his departure" (Mis. B. vii. c. 13). "Well, the rich man was punished in Hades, being made partaker of the fire ; while the other flourished again in the Father's bosom " (Instructor, B. ii. c. 11). "Not only unable to pity yourselves, you are incapable even of yielding to the persuasions of those who commiserate you ; enslaved as you are to evil custom, and clinging to it voluntarily till your last breath, you are hurried to destruction " (To Heathen, Works, vol. i. p. 92). Tertullian — Much language of Tertullian teaches by asserting, assuming, or implying, that the wicked after death receive punishment, and not another probation. " Even those who did not believe then}, or at least did not sincerely believe that after death there were punishments for the arrogance of wealth and the glory of luxury, announced indeed by Moses and the prophets, but decreed by that God who de poses princes from their thrones, and raiseth up the poor from dunghills " (Marcion, B. iv. c. 34). " We maintain that after life has passed away thou still remainest in existence, and lookest forward and art assigned to misery or bliss " (Test, of the Soul, sec. 4). " Trouble to his ashes in the realm of the dead" (Ibid.). "Fear not them who are able to kill the body, . . . fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Persecution, sec. 7). 96 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. He teaches that death is the crisis, that the state at death is decisive of the character and condition after wards. " Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life" (Scorpiace, s. 12). "That after death there were punishments " (Marcion, B. iv. c. 34). "AH souls, therefore, are shut up in Hades. . . . There are already experienced there punishments and consolations " (Anima, c. 58). " How prompt in par doning David on his confession of his sin ! — prefer ring, indeed, the sinner's repentance to his death " (Marcion, B. v. c. 11), as though the soul is for ever unpardoned that dies impenitent. " When even the outward fashion of the world itself . . . passes away, then the whole human race shall be raised again, to have its dues meted out according as it has merited in the period of good or evil," that is in this life before ' the world passed away ' (Apologeticus, s. 49). " He says, too, that our outward man perishes, not meaning by an eternal perdition after death " — as though eternal perdition immediately succeeds death to some — "but by labors and sufferings, in reference to which he previously said, ' For which cause we will not faint ' " (Marcion, B. v. c. 11). " When he says that ' we have an eternal home in heaven, not made with hands,' he by no means would imply that, be cause it was built by the Creator's hand, it must per ish by a perpetual dissolution after death. He treats of this subject in order to offer consolation against the fear of death, and the dread of this very dissolu tion " (Ibid. c. 12). This assumes that the state at death is decisive of the future. Some of these pas sages make that principle applicable to the righteous and some to the wicked, and some to both classes. NO PROBATION AFTER DEATH. 97 " What, would you have hope be still more confused after death ? would you have it mock us still more with uncertain expectation? or shall it now become a review of past life, and an arranging of judgment, with the inevitable feeling of a trembling fear ? " " Why, then, can you not suppose that the soul under goes punishment and consolation in Hades in the interval, while it awaits its alternative of judgment, in a certain anticipation either of gloom or of glory " (Anima, c. 58) ? These passages assume that the state after death, or in Hades, is what it is at death. " Again, if it is the confessor who will have nothing to fear after his violent death, it is the denier to whom everything will become fearful after his natural death. Since, therefore, that which will have to be feared after death, even the punishment of hell, be longs to the Creator, the denier, too, belongs to the Creator " (Marcion, B. iv. c. 28): Cyprian — Hope of mercy in this life only: "I en treat you, beloved brethren, that each one should con fess his own sin, while he who has sinned is still in this world, while his confession may be received" (Lapsed, 29). "Let us, while there is time, take thought for our security and eternal salvation" (Works and Alms, 24). Origen — Punishment hereafter according to sins here: "And perhaps as those here, dying according to the death common to all, are, in consequence of the deeds done, so arranged as to obtain different places according to the proportion of their sins" (De Princ. B. iv. c. 1, s. 23). " The end of the world, then, and the final consummation, will take place when every one shall be subjected to punishment for 98 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. his sins " (De Princ. B. i. c. 6, s. 1). " So the wicked also, who in this life have loved the darkness of error and the night of ignorance, may be. clothed with dark and black bodies after the resurrection, that the very mist of ignorance which had in this life taken pos session of their minds within them, may appear in the future as the external covering of the body" (De Princ. B. ii. c. 10, s. 8). " For we must all appear be fore 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 " (De Princ. B. iii. c. 1, s. 20). The natural meaning of all these passages is, that award in the future state is accord ing to deserts in this state. " Dying, . . . are, in consequence of the deeds done " — before dying. " The wicked . . . who in this life, . . . may be clothed with dark and black bodies ; mist of igno rance which had in this life, . . . may appear in the future." Punishment hereafter for sins here. Hence, apparently, no probation after death. Origen does not accept the modern idea of some, that 2 Cor. 5:10, "That every one may receive the things done in his body," refers to believers only. Neither does any early Christian Father accept it. Gregory Thaumaturgus — " A wicked man perishing with his wickedness. ... Be not thou audacious and precipitate, lest an untimely death surprise thee " (Eccl. c. 7). " All things in the life of men await the retribution from above. . . . The impious are snatched prematurely from this life, and put out of the way because they have given themselves to van ity " (Eccl. c. 8). " Senseless art thou, my friend, in that thou dost not look for the judgment that shall NO PROBATION AFTER DEATH. 99 come from God upon all these things" (Eccl. c. 11). "And that ye believe that all shall be judged sever ally in the future, and that every man shall receive the just recompense for his deeds, whether they be good or whether they be evil " (Eccl. c. 12). "Deeds," of this life; "future," after death; "all shall be judged " then ; no probation after death. Such is the evident meaning. Dionysius — " The death of sinners indeed is evil : yet the memory of the just is blessed, but the name of the wicked is extinguished" (Com. Eccl. 2:16). Lactantius — " Therefore frail things must be de spised, that we may gain those which are substan tial ; earthly things must be scorned, that we may be honored with heavenly things ; temporal things must be shunned, that we may reach those which are eternal " (Epit. Inst. c. 73). This assumes that death is a crisis; that certain preparation must be made previous to death in order to inherit blessedness, be yond. The Scriptures — The state after death what it is at death : So Christ represented the state of both the rich man and Lazarus. " And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and that he was carried away by the angels into Abraham's bosom : and the rich man also died, and was buried. And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom" (Luke, 16:22, 23). "Yet a little while am I with you, and I go unto him that sent me. Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me : and where I am, ye cannot come" (John, 7:33, 34). " He said therefore again unto them, I go away, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sin : whither I 100 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. go, ye cannot come " (8: 21). " Ye shall seek me : and as I said unto the Jews, whither I go, ye cannot come ; so now I say to you. . . . Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now ; but thou shalt follow after wards" (13: 33, 36). " And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you unto myself ; that where I am, there ye may be also " (14: 3). Death does not change the character, but it does introduce each one to the state of reward or con demnation to which he belongs. As death leaves us so the judgment finds us : " For we must all be made manifest before the judgment- seat of Christ -; that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad" (2 Cor. 5: 10). The "all " who must be made manifest, are not the saints merely, but all men. They all must be judged. " He hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world " (Acts, 17:31). "To execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their works of ungodliness " (Jude, 15). We are not informed to the contrary, and therefore we are justified'in the be lief, that the same rule of judgment will pertain to all, viz., " That each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad." Besides, the "good " refers to the conduct of those who will be acquitted and placed at the right hand in the judgment ; and the " bad " refers especially to the conduct of those who will not be acquitted then, and will be condemned to the left hand. Further still, the time when "we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat," will be just after Christ's coming with his angels, and while he NO PROBATION AFTER DEATH. 101 will occupy the judgment throne, and at that same time all men will be judged. And it is natural and warrantable to suppose that a rule on that day to judge according to what hath been done in the body will apply to all, and not merely to a part. More over, this same rule of judgment — accountability for " things done in the body " — in the next verse the Apostle assigns as a reason for " the fear of the Lord," and he says that he and his fellow-laborers use it to "persuade men." He means all classes of men. He used the rule with the heathen as well as others ; for example, with the Athenians, to whom he says that God " hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world." And yet further, Polycarp, who was instructed by the Apostles, and was familiar with many who saw Christ, in his epistle to the Philip- pians (c. 6), cites this passage of 2 Corinthians con cerning the judgment-seat of Christ, in an appeal to Christians to behave well under all provocations and trials. And it is utterly incredible that Polycarp thought, that though the followers of Christ were to be judged according to things done in the body, the heathen who knew not Christ were not to be thus judged. Such a doctrine of release from accounta bility to that extent, either then or now, would set a bounty on heathenism. It is a just opinion from all this, that the kind of character which men haye when they die will be the kind they will have at the judg ment. It follows also from the account given of the judg ment in Mat. 25, that the review and award in that day will be concerning things done in this life, in ministering or not ministering to the earthly wants of 102 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. men — to the sick and suffering — as unto Christ. If an opposite rule pertained to the heathen, so great a difference would be named. Besides, the judgment described in this chapter is that of "all the nations," which must embrace the heathen, if it does not refer to them exclusively, as some suppose. When Jesus sent out his Apostles to preach the gos pel, he doomed every city that would not receive them in this manner: "Verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city " (Mat. 10: 15). In dooming Chorazin and Bethsaida for their unbelief he said: " It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you" (11:22). To Capernaum he said: "It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judg ment than for thee " (11 : 24). The day of their earthly destruction was not the day of judgment to Tyre and Sidon and Sodom. That day of final account was yet to come. ' ' It shall be," not ' ' it had been," Christ says, in each case. But he assumed that those three hea then cities, that had never heard of Christ, were to be condemned in the judgment. Why did he do so if they were to have an after-death probation ? With the doctrine of future probation his language is irrecon cilable. "And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment" (Heb. 9:27). The natural inference from this passage is, that the judgment is for the purpose of reviewing, and award ing for, the things that precede death, and not, with a part of men, for things after death. The teaching of the passage is, that death and judgment are appointed NO PROBATION AFTER DEATH. 103 for all men, and it is unnatural and inconsistent to suppose that the judgment is to be for different worlds with different men. " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowl edge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest " (Eccl. 9: 10). The things of this life cannot be done in the world of the dead. But the great thing of this life could be done among the dead if there were an after- death probation. Therefore the text disallows the doctrine of future probation. " For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words ft this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of man also shall be ashamed of him, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels" (Mark, 8:38). The judgment is to be when the Son of man cometh. And every one of that " gen eration," who was ashamed of Christ when he was here below, will be condemned when he comes again. No space for obtaining salvation between death and judgment; no probation there. No exception taken or intimated for the heathen. They come under the gen eral law just before stated: "What doth it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life "[lose ' his soul] (v. 36) ? The gaining of the world must be in this world; and losing the soul is in consequence of what is done here by making the world the chief object. No after-death probation saves any such of fender, Jew or Gentile. Everywhere the Scriptures are constructed on the principle that as death leaves a man so the judgment finds him. No change of char acter between the two great events. " The Lord knoweth how to . . . keep the un- 104 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. righteous under punishment unto the day of judg ment" (2 Pet. 2:9). It is implied that the unrighteous of this world are kept under punishment between death and the judgment, which is contrary to the con jecture that there is a probation for the wicked be tween those two events. The principle covers the case of the heathen, because unrighteous Sodom and Gomorrah (and the deliverance of righteous Lot) are spoken of in the connection. The angels that sinned were reserved, still godless, " unto judgment," and in like manner the wicked inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah were reserved unrighteous " unto the day of judgment." No more probation between death and judgment for those ungodly heathen cities than for the fallen angels. And if no after-death probation for those heathen cities, then where is there any evi dence of such probation for any heathen, or any peo ple of the human race ? CHAPTER XII.— The Heathen Guilty. A modern thought of some is this: that the hea then, without a knowledge of Christ, are not suffi ciently guilty to warrant their condemnation. It is important to know whether this idea had any favor or even conception among the ancients of Christ's day, or either before or after. If the idea universally pre vailed then, that the heathen were guilty, and Christ and his Apostles expressed the same idea, we must conclude that the modern thought is unsustained by either Scripture, history, or reason. On this question THE HEATHEN GUILTY. 105 only a small part of the evidence available can here be given. Apocrypha— "And now make confession unto the Lord God of our fathers, and do his will, and separate yourselves from the heathen of the land, and from the strange women " (1 Es. 9:9). In separating from sin they were to separate from the heathen, which shows that the heathen were regarded as guilty. " When I came hither [Babylon] I saw impieties without num ber. . . . For I have gone here and there among the heathen, and seen their abundance; and they think not upon thy commandments" (2 Es. 3:29, 33). "So shall the heathen experience his wrath" (Eccl. 39:23). "Take also unto you all those that observe the law, and avenge ye your people. Recompense fully the heathen, and take heed to the command ments of the law " (1 Mac. 2: 67, 68). " Showing them therewithal the faithlessness of the heathen, and their breach of oaths" (2 Mac. 15:10). In Christ's time the heathen were regarded as very guilty. Yet, at any time they could abandon heathenism and join the Jewish people. Some did; and more had a heart to do it. The sinfulness of the Jews : " For they [the Jews] also had the wicked heart" (2Es. 3:26). "OLord, lam confounded and ashamed before thy face; for our sins are multiplied above our heads " (1 Es. 8: 75). "And their sins were multiplied exceedingly, so that they were removed out of their land " (Eccl. 47:24). "For all this the people repented not, neither departed they from their sins" (48:15). "According to truth and judgment didst thou bring all these things upon us because of our sins " (Dan. Azarias, v. 5). " For we 106 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. suffer because of our sins" (2 Mac. 7: 32). There was the sentiment among many of the Jews of true and sincere acknowledgment of their own sins, and not merely a disposition to charge the heathen with guilt. The specific dates, so far as known, of the several books of the Apocrypha which are cited in this work, are as follows: The "Wisdom of Solomon," written by a Jewish philosopher, dates, as all agree, at least a half century, and probably a century or more, B. C. " Ecclesiasticus " was written first in the Hebrew nearly two centuries B. C, and then by the author's grandson was translated into Greek upwards of a cen tury B. C. First Maccabees was written nearly a century B. C. ; and Second Maccabees must have been written before the destruction of the temple at Jeru salem, A. D. 70; and Fourth Maccabees was also writ ten previous to the destruction of the temple, and yet subsequent to the date of the Second Maccabees. Baruch was probably written by two authors, the first author writing the first part in Hebrew, and the sec ond the second part in Greek; the whole finally being edited by one writer during the reign of the Emperor Vespasian, A. D. 69-79. Tobit dates about 200 B. C. Judith is supposed to have been written during the Maccabean era, at least more than a century B. C. First Esdras must have been written before Josephus's day, for he uses it; and Second Esdras dates previous to the close of the first century, perhaps early in it. Additions to Daniel were doubtless written long be fore Christ, and the Psalms at about 70 B. C. All of these books were current among the Jews, had Jewish authors of more or less note, and must have reflected Jewish opinions. The greater portion THE HEATHEN GUILTY. 107 were commonly read by Jews of learning in Christ's time, and their teachings were familiar to the people. Christ himself read them, or at least knew them, and he taught in full view of the fact that their instruc tions were generally known to the Jewish people. He would not have used language similar to theirs with out a similar meaning. The Apostles must also have been well acquainted with the Apocryphal writings; especially must Paul, a man of wide reading in the religious literature of that age, aside from his inspira tion. The sentiments taught in the Apocryphal books must have been prevalent among the Jews during Paul's ministry, and in reference to the future state those doctrines are in accord with what Josephus rep resents to have been the general Jewish belief; there being only a small Sadducean exception. The Targums— The Targum of Onkelos renders Deut. 12: 29-31, thus: " When the Lord thy God shall have destroyed the nations of (the land) whither thou art going to cast them out from before thee, and he cast them out, and thou dwell in their land, — take heed to thyself that thou stumble not after them when they shall have been dispersed before thee, and that thou seek not to their idols, saying, ^How did these nations serve their idols? for so will I do also. Thou shalt not do so before the Lord thy God; for all that is abominable before the Lord, and that he hateth, have they done to their idols. For even their sons and daughters they have burned in the fire." The closing part of Lev. 18, the Targum of Palestine paraphrases thus: " Defile not yourselves by any one of all these; for by all these have the peoples defiled themselves whom I am about to drive away from before you. 108 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. And the land hath been defiled, and I have visited the guilt upon it, and the land delivereth itself of its in habitants. But you, O congregation of Israel, observe my statutes, and the order of my judgments, and com mit not one of these abominations, neither (you who are) native born, or the strangers who sojourn among you. For these abominable things have been done by the men of the land who have been before you, so that the land hath been polluted: lest, when you pollute the land, it cast you forth, as it will have delivered itself of the people that were before you." " Thou shalt not . . . saying, ' For the sake of my right eousness hath the Lord brought me in to inherit the land; but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord driveth them out before thee ' " (Tar. Onk. Deut. 9). "As the nations which the Lord destroy eth from be fore you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the Word of the Lord your God" (Ibid. 8). The guilt of the heathen was something like, if not as great as, that of the Jews when they turned away from obeying the Lord. The Book of Enoch— "And they commit crimes with their hands, and everything they make they de vour criminally, they, the sinners" (53:2). "On account of their injustice, because they became sub ject to Satan, and have led astray those who dwell on the earth " (54: 6). " And in those days the angels will assemble, and turn their heads towards the east, towards the people of Parthia and Media, in order to excite the kings, and that a spirit of disturbance come over them, and disturb them from off their thrones " (56:5). Josephus— "He [Nimrod] persuaded them not to THE HEATHEN GUILTY. 109 ascribe it to God, as if it was through his means they were happy, but to believe that it was their own courage which procured that happiness. He also gradually changed the government into tyranny, — seeing no other way of turning them from the fear of God. . . . He also said he would be revenged on God ; . . . and that he would avenge himself on God for destroying their forefathers " (Ant. 1, 4, 2). " Lest, before he be aware, he lay an obstruction in the way of the divine commands, and so occasion his own suffering such punishments as it was probable any one that counterworked the divine commands should undergo " (Ant. 2, 13, 4). " Cambyses . . . being naturally wicked" (Ant. 11, 2, 2). "And while these princes ambitiously strove against each, every one for his own principality, it came to pass that there were continual wars, and those lasting wars too. . . . He also seized upon Jerusalem, and for that end made use of deceit and treachery " (Ant. 12, 1,1). " God was therefore much displeased at them [the Sodomites] and determined to punish them for their pride, and to overthrow their city, and to lay waste their country" (Ant. 1, 11, 1).- These are in dices of the wickedness of heathen rulers and others, and of the sentiment concerning their depravity which prevailed in Christ's time. Philo — "Therefore, the race of mankind, if it had met with strict and befitting justice, must have been utterly destroyed, because of its ingratitude to God, its benefactor and Saviour" (Works, vol. i. p. 50). " It is worth while also to consider the wickedness into which a man who flies from the face of God is driven." "The wicked man, yielding to a perverse and insane 110 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. disposition " (p. 291). " The inhabitants are the com panions of impiety, ungodliness, self-love, haughti ness, falsehood, vain opinions ; the men wise in their own conceit, the men who know not wisdom as relat ing to truth, the men who are full of ignorance, and stupidity, and folly ; and all the other similar and kindred evils. The laws are, lawlessness, injustice, inequality, intemperance, boldness, folly, insolence, immoderate indulgence in pleasure, and immoderate appetites in despite of nature" (pp. 297, 298). This language does not apply specifically to the Jews ; but more especially to those not Jews, to the world at large, principally, then, to the heathen. A sad pict ure of sin and its fruits ! Clement of Rome — "For they that do such things are hateful to God ; and not only they that do them, but also those that take pleasure in them that do them" (1st Epis. c. 35). This refers to the heathen. Polycarp — " Gazing with a stern countenance on all the multitude of the wicked heathen then in the sta dium" (Mar. c. 9). "Being desirous to escape all the more quickly from an unrighteous and impious world " (c. 3). " If a man does not keep himself from covetousness, he shall be defiled by idolatry, and shall be judged as one of the heathen " (Epis. c. 11). Diognetus — " For while the Gentiles, by offering such things to those that are destitute of sense and hearing, furnish an example of madness" (c. 3). "They [Christians] are assailed by the Jews as for eigners, and are persecuted by the Greeks [heathen] ; yet those who hate them are unable to assign any reason for their hatred" (c. 5). The Pastor of Hermas—" For the sinners shall be THE HEATHEN GUILTY. Ill consumed because they sinned and did not repent, and the heathen shall be burned because they knew not him who created them " (Simil. iv). They had not knowledge according to light. " And did not cleave to the righteous, but lived with the heathen, and this way of life became more agreeable to them. . . . Others continuing to live until the end with the heathen, and being corrupted by their vain glories [departed from God, serving the works and deeds of the heathen] " (Simil. viii. c. 9). Justin Martyr — "But if those who are under this law- appear to be under a curse for not having ob served all the requirements, how much more shall all the nations appear to be under a curse who practice idolatry, who seduce youths, and commit other crimes " (Dia. Try. c. 95) ? The heathen are not exon erated from guilt by their heathenism, and they ap pear not to be indemnified against losing the soul by dying in sin. The heathen have cause for alarm : "It is therefore necessary, ye Greeks, that you contemplate the things that are to be, and consider the judgment which is predicted by all, not only by the godly, but also by those who are irreligious, that ye do not without in vestigation commit yourselves to the error of your fathers, nor suppose that if they themselves have been in error, and have transmitted it to you, that this which they have taught you is true ; but, looking to the danger of so terrible mistake, inquire and investigate carefully into those things which are, as you say, spoken of even by your own teachers " (Ad. Greeks, c. 14). There was cause for alarm in embrac ing the erroneous opinions of their fathers ; they 112 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. would be guilty in doing it without investigation ; they were responsible for right views according to the light they had ; they sinned if they willfully or carelessly blinded their eyes and erred. "Let not any one, therefore, of sound judgment prefer the ele gant diction of these men [philosophers] to his own salvation, but let him, according to that old story, stop his ears with wax, and flee the sweet hurt which these sirens would inflict upon him. For the above- mentioned men, presenting their elegant language as a kind of bait, have sought to seduce many from the right religion, in imitation of him who dared to teach the first men polytheism. Be not persuaded by these persons, I entreat you, but read the prophecies of the sacred writers " (Ad. Greeks, c. 36). Clementine Recognitions— " The rest of the Indians commit both murders and adulteries, and worship idols, and are drunken, and practice other wicked nesses of this sort " (B. ix. c. 20). Irenseus — " And, for this reason, certain of the Gentiles, who were less addicted to [sensual] allure ments and voluptuousness, and were not led away to such a degree of superstition with regard to idols, being moved, though but slightly, by his providence, were nevertheless convinced that they should call the Maker of this universe the Father " (Agt. Her. B. iii. c. 25). "For as these men did not impute unto us (the Gentiles) our transgressions which we wrought before Christ was manifested among us, so also it is not right that we should lay blame upon those who sinned before Christ's coming. . . . That we might know, „ . . that sins do not please him although committed by men of renown, and . . . THE HEATHEN GUILTY. 113 that we should keep from wickedness " (Her. B. iv. c. 27). The Gentiles were guilty of "transgressions" " before Christ was manifested "; yet then less than afterwards. Clement of Alexandria — The heathen, without knowl edge of Christ, can be, and are, sinners : Evidence is very abundant in Clement's testimony. " Let revelry keep away from our rational entertainments, and foolish vigils, too, that revel in intemperance. . . . For plainly such a banquet, as seems to me, is a thea ter of drunkenness " (The Instructor, B. ii. c. 4). "And every improper sight and sound, to speak in a word, and every shameful sensation of licentiousness . . . must by all means be excluded" (Ibid.). "Further, among the ancient Greeks, in their ban quets over the brimming cups," etc, (Ibid.). "From filthy speaking we ourselves must entirely abstain, and stop the mouths of those who practice it by stern looks and averting the face. . . . What proceed- eth out of the mouth . . . shows him to be un clean, and heathenish, and untrained, and licentious " (Inst. B. ii. c. 6). " Preoccupying and forearming the ears against those that would lead away from the truth" (Ibid.). "But life has reached this pitch of licentiousness through the wantonness of wickedness, and lasciviousness is diffused over the cities, having become law. . . . These things your wise laws allow : people may sin legally ; and the execrable in dulgence in pleasure they call a thing indifferent " (Inst. B. iii. c. 3). "For the heathen are fixed in the destruction they have caused" (Misc. B. vi. c. 6). "'Declare among the heathen his statutes'. . . . But those who speak treacherously with their tongues 114 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. have the penalties that are on record " (Misc. B. vii. c. 16). The heathen Greeks had some knowledge of the true God. Clement's chapter on this theme amply shows his opinion (Misc. B. vi. c. 5). Tertullian — He emphatically taught that heathen, without the gospel, are guilty and deserving de struction. " He [Pharaoh] deserved, however, to be seduced to his destruction, who had already denied God, already in his pride so often rejected his ambas sadors, accumulated heavy burdens on his people, and (to sum up all) as an Egyptian, had long been guilty before God of Gentile fdolatry " (Marc. B. ii. c. 14). "Who more 'perishes' from God than the heathen, so long as he ' errs ' " (Mod. c. 7) ? Hippolytus — "Therefore become adepts in this doc trine, and learn, ye Greeks, Egyptians, Chaldeans, and the entire race of men, what the nature of God is, and what his well-arranged creation, from us who are the friends of God" (Ref. Her. B. x. c. 27). Cyprian—" Now if they who despise the church are counted heathens and publicans, much more certainly is it necessary that rebels and enemies . . . should be counted among heathens and publicans " (Epistle 75, 1). " Since, therefore, the Lord threatens these torments, these punishments, in the day of judgment, to those who obey the devil and sacrifice to idols," etc. (Epistle, 63, 2). Origen—" We must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice " (Princ. B. i. c. 5, s. 2). " But to depart from good is nothing else THE HEATHEN GUILTY. 115 than to be made bad. For it is certain that to want goodness is to be wicked. Whence it happens that, in proportion as one falls away from goodness, in the same proportion does he become involved in wicked ness" (Princ. B. ii. c. 9, s. 2). "Even the Saviour him self, the Son of the great God, protests in the Gospels, and declares that ' if signs and wonders had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes'" (Princ. B. ii. c. 5, s. 2). He assumes that they had sins to repent of, and hence that they were guilty. " The Ethiopians, who are accustomed to feed on human flesh; or amongst the Scythians, with whom parricide is an act authorized by law; or amongst the people of Taurus, where stran gers are offered in sacrifice," etc. (Princ. B. ii. c. 9, s. 5). He plainly deemed such heathen accountable sinners. "Among Scythians, whose laws were un holy; . . . the law of truth, which the Scythians would regard as wickedness " (Agt. Celsus, B. i. c. 1). Methodius — " But [man] having transgressed, he was rejected and cast far away. . . . And the first message to him after the transgression was preached by Noah, to which, if he had applied his mind, he might have been saved from sin " (Ten Virgins, Dis. x. c. 3). Man, all men, having been in sin, the hea then are in sin. " This ' world ' which ' lieth in wick edness ' " (Res. Synopsis, c. 5). Gregory Thaumaturgus — " On account of which the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedi ence. . . . And have no fellowship with the un fruitful works of darkness, "but rather reprove them; for it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret " (Idols, Canon 2). Both 116 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. Paul and Gregory referred to the heathen. " Is alto gether the work of unbelievers, and impious men, and men who know not the very name of the Lord " (Idols, Can. 6). "Neither shall we have to speak Of the words of inspiration, but we shall have to speak of the works of men . . . and in our case, indeed, those of wicked men" (On Origen, c. 16). "For he has overthrown everywhere his altars and the wor ship of vain gods, and he has prepared for himself a peculiar people out of the heathen nations" (On Annun. to Mary, 2d Homily). Dionysius — "Had previously roused and exasper ated against us the masses of the heathen, inflaming them anew with the fires of their native supersti tion. Excited by him, and finding full liberty for the preparation of wickedness, they reckoned this the only piety (and) service to their demons, namely, our slaughter " (To Fabius, Epis. iii. s. 1). " That if any one should refuse to repeat their blasphemous expres sions, he must be dragged off and burnt " (To Fab. Epis. iii. s. 3). "For he heaped his own wicked pas sions, for which he had failed in securing satisfaction, upon the heads of his sons, and thus wiped off upon them his wickedness, and transferred to them, too, the hatred he himself had shown toward God" (To Her- mammon, Epis. xi. s. 4). " But among the heathen it was all the very reverse. For they thrust aside any who began to be sick, and kept aloof even from their dearest friends, and cast the sufferers out upon the public roads half dead, and left them unburied, and treated them with utter contempt when they died, steadily avoiding any kind of communication and in tercourse with death; which, however, it was not easy THE HEATHEN GUILTY. 117 for them altogether to escape, in spite of the many precautions they employed " (Epis. to Alexan's, s. 4). Arnobius — " He has told us himself how true an idolater he was, how thoroughly he complied with the ceremonial demands of superstition; but the fre quency and the vehemence of language with which his abhorrence of the sensuality of heathenism is ex pressed, tell us as plainly that practices so horrible had much to do in preparing his mind to receive an other faith " (Intro, p. 13). " You have been in the habit of exciting against us the most violent ill-will, of calling us atheists, and inflicting upon us the pun ishment of death, even by savagely tearing us to pieces with wild beasts, on the ground that we pay very little respect to the gods " (Ad. Gentes, B. vi. c. 27). Lactantius — " Therefore let those who destroy their own souls and the souls of others learn what an inex plicable crime they commit; in the first place because they cause their own death by serving most aban doned demons, whom God has condemned to everlast ing punishments " (Inst. B. v. c. 20). " For they have no knowledge of anything except the earth, and they estimate good and evil things by the perception and pleasure of the body alone. And as they judge of religion according to its pleasure, so also they ar range the acts of their whole life. And since they have turned away once for all from the contempla tion of the heaven, and have made that heavenly faculty the slave of the body, they give the reins to their lusts, as though they were about t6 bear away pleasure with themselves, which they hasten to enjoy at every moment; whereas the soul ought to employ 11.8 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. the service of the body, and not the body to make use of the service of the soul " (Inst. B. vi. c. 1). The Scriptures — The heathen accountable and guilty, though without knowledge of Christ. "And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually " (Gen. 6:5). "And God saw the earth, and behold it was corrupt: for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth" (6:12). " They are corrupt, they have done abominable works; there is none that doeth good" (Ps. 14:1). " The heart of the sons of men is full of evil " (Eccl. 9:3). "For the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full" (Gen. 15:16). "This was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom. . . . And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me" (Ezek. 16:49, 50). " Flee out of the" midst of Babylon, and save every man his life; be not cut off in her iniquity " (Jer. 51:6). "According to the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel " (2 Kgs. 16:3). "The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made. . . . Let the heathen be judged in thy sight" (Ps. 9:15, 19). "I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the nations [hea then] which hearkened not " (Micah, 5:15). "And he did very abominably in following idols, according to' all that the Amorites did, whom the Lord cast out be fore the children of Israel" (1 Kgs. 21:26). "Doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaan- ites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites " (Ezra, 9 : 1). " For after all these things do the Gentiles seek " (Mat. 6: 32). " But I say, that the » HEATHEN MAY BE SAVED. 119 things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils and not to God " (1 Cor. 10: 20). " For we be fore laid to the charge both of Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin" (Rom. 3:9). These passages combine with reason, and both unitedly show, that the heathen do not need a knowledge of Christ to make them accountable. Their accountability extends as far as their knowledge, or responsibility for knowl edge, extends. Wherein they are ignorant, and are not culpably ignorant, they are not responsible. God will do no wrong if he judge and condemn them to the extent of their guilt. CHAPTER XIIL— The Unevangelized Heathen may be Saved. The heathen without the gospel can be saved by re penting of the sins of which they know they are guilty. Christ died for all. His sacrifice is sufficient. He will mercifully save all who repent. The heathen can as truly repent of their known sins, as the evan gelized of their known sins. True repentance of even one sin contains the spirit of repentance for all sin. The sense of guilt always implies the ability to repent. Charging the heathen with sin is claiming that they can and ought, under God's grace, to repent of and put away their sins. The Apocrypha — " Thou art the most high Lord, of great compassion, long-suffering, very merciful, and repentest of the evils of men. ... Of thine in finite mercies hast appointed repentance unto sinners, 120 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. that they may be saved " (Prayer of Manasses). He includes heathen sinners. "O ye children of men, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever " (Song of Holy Children, v. 60). The call is to all men. " Confess him before the Gentiles, ye children of Israel." (Tobit, 13: 3). Evidently for good effect upon the Gentiles, as well as to honor God. The Targums — "And Hagar gave thanks and prayed in the Name of Memra of the Lord, who had been manifested to her, saying, Blessed be thou, Eloha, the living one of Eternity" (Jerusalem Tar. on Gen. 16: 7). According to this, Hagar is an illustration of a Gentile believer in the old dispensation. " I will now appear, and see whether . . . they [Sodom and Gomorrah] have made completion of their sins (or, whether they have made an end of their sins); and if they have wrought repentance, shall they not be as (if) innocent before me" (Palestine Tar. on Gen. 18)? "And if they [people of Sodom and Gomorrah] seek to work repentance, behold, they shall be con sidered before me as if those works had not been known " (Jer. Tar. on Gen. 18). The Book of Enoch — "And all the children of men shall become just, and all the nations shall worship me as God" (10:21). This assumes the responsibility of the Gentiles to be righteous. "And all men will look for the path of rectitude " (91: 14). In the millen nium. " Oh that my eyes were clouds of water, and I could weep over you, and pour out my tears like a cloud of water, and I could rest from the sorrow of my heart. Who has empowered you to practice hate and wickedness" (95: 1, 2)? This implies that the ancient ungodly could, and ought to, have served God. HEATHEN MAY BE SAVED. 121 Josephus — " For the third of those Ptolemies, who was called Energetes, when he had gotten possession of all Syria by force, did not offer his thank-offerings to the Egyptian gods for his victory, but came to Jerusalem, and, according to our own laws, offered many sacrifices to God, and dedicated to him such gifts as were suitable to such a victory" (Against Apion, B. ii. s. 5). This Ptolemy seemed to use such light as he had, at least to some extent, even before coming to Jerusalem, and Josephus seemed to sup pose that heathen people could do righteously, like other men, according to their light. " But since I perceived that these Jews, that were by this pernio cious fellow devoted to destruction, were not wicked men, but conducted their lives after the best manner, and were men dedicated to the worship of that God who hath preserved the kingdom to me and to my ancestors " (Ant. B. xi. c. 6, s. 13). This expression in the second proclamation of Artaxerxes in the story of Esther, Mordecai, and Haman, as rendered by Jose phus, indicates a Gentile sense of justice and right eousness in the king, and a degree of obligation, like those possessed by other men both before and since Christ. And the prevalent impression in Josephus's day must have been, that Gentiles could be saved on terms like those which the Hebrews had had given to them. Those terms were repentance and faith according to light enjoyed. Philo— "It follows of necessity that the Creator must always care for that which he has created." " That God has a being and existence, and that he who so exists is really one, and that he has created the world, and that he has created it one as has 122 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. been stated, having made it like to himself in single ness ; and that he exercises a continual care for that which he has created will live a happy and blessed life, stamped with the doctrines of piety and holiness" (Works, vol. i. pp. 51, 52). This implies that all men have £ome way of salvation set before them in this life. Clement of Rome— " Which [the blood of Christ] having been shed for our salvation, has set the grace of repentance before the whole world. Let us turn to every age that has passed, and learn that, from generation to generation;, the Lord has granted a place of repentance to all such as would be converted to him. . . . Jonah proclaimed destruction to the Ninevites ; but they, repenting of their sins, pro pitiated God by prayer, and obtained salvation, although they were aliens [to the covenant] of God " (First Epis. c. 7). As to a way of salvation for the unevangelized heathen this is pointed and strong, and particularly valuable-, because it comes from one familiar with one or more of the Apostles. Pastor of Hermas — " But to the heathen, repentance will be possible even to the last day" (Vision, ii. c. 2); the day of death. Justin Martyr — "Since those who did that which is universally, naturally, and eternally good are pleasing to God, they shall be saved through this Christ in the resurrection equally with those righteous men who were before them, namely, Noah, and Enoch, and Jacob, and whoever else there be. along with those who have known this Christ, Son of God " (Dia. Try. c. 45). Justin held that those of a certain 'character can be saved without any previous knowledge- of Christ, yet through him. HEATHEN MAY BE SAVED. 123 Theophilus — " To those who by patient continuance in well-doing seek immortality, he will give life ever lasting, joy, peace, rest, and abundance of good things " (To Autolycus, c. 14). He quotes from Rom. 2 : 7, and applies his statement to both Jew and Gen tile as Paul did. The Gentile can obtain " life- ever lasting " by " continuance in well-doing," without the necessity of first knowing Christ. The Clementine Recognitions— " For in God's esti mation he is not a Jew who is called a Jew among men (nor is he a Gentile that is called a Gentile), but he who, believing in God, fulfills his law and does his will " (B. v. c. 34). He adds in words, "Though he be not circumcised " ; and he implies in thought, ' though he may not have known Christ.' Some godly heathen : " There are likewise amongst the Bactrians, in the Indian countries, immense mul titudes of Brahmans, who also themselves, from the tradition of their ancestors, and peaceful customs and laws, neither commit murder nor adultery, nor wor ship idols, nor have the practice of eating animal food, are never drunk, never do anything maliciously, but always fear God " (B. ix. c. 20). Whether this be fact or fiction, the true God may have been worshiped and served under the name of Brahma. Irenaeus — " And that the Lord did not abrogate the natural [precepts] of the law, by which man is justi fied, which also those who were justified by faith, and who pleased God, did observe previous to the giving of the law, but that he extended and fulfilled them, is shown from his words " (Her. B. iv. c. 13, s. 1). He implies that some have been justified before knowing Christ. " For it was not merely for those who believed 124 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. on him in the time of Tiberius Csesar that Christ came, nor did the Father exercise his providence for the men only who are now alive, but for all men altogether, who from the beginning, according to their capacity, in their generation have both feared and loved God, and practiced justice and piety towards their neigh bors, and have earnestly desired to see Christ, and to hear his voice " (Her. B. iv. c. 22, s. 2). Clement of Alexandria—' ' Not only then the believer, but even the heathen, is judged most righteously. For since God knew in virtue of his prescience that he would not believe, he nevertheless, in order that he might receive his own perfection, gave him philos ophy, but gave it him previous to faith. And he gave the sun, and the moon, and the stars to be wor shiped [not idolatrously we may suppose he means] ; ' which God,' the law says, made for the nations, that they might not become altogether atheistical, and so utterly perish. But they, also, in the instance of this commandment, having become devoid of sense, and addicting themselves to graven images, are judged unless they repent; some of them because, though able, they would not believe God ; and others because, though willing, they did not take the necessary pains to become believers " (Mis. B. vi. c. 14). The heathen, then, know enough to repent, and are judged if they do not. Quoting from the Shepherd of Hermas he says: " The Shepherd, speaking plainly of those who had fallen asleep, recognizes certain righteous among Gentiles and Jews, not only before the appearance of Christ, but before the law, in virtue of acceptance before God,— as Abel, as Noah, as any other righteous HEATHEN MAY BE SAVED. 125 man " (Mis. B. ii. c. 9). The Gentiles or heathen could repent, for some of them did repent. Some heathen before Christ were measurably obedi ent according to knowledge, and were saved. "Speak ing plainly of those who had fallen asleep, recognizes certain righteous among Gentiles and Jews, not only before the appearance of Christ," etc. (Mis. B. ii. c. 9). "He distinguished the most excellent of the Greeks from the common herd. . . . And that the men of highest repute among the Greeks knew God, not by positive knowledge, but by indirect expression " (Mis. B. vi. c. 5). Quoting Socrates in Plato : " ' These, in my opinion, are none else than those who have philos ophized right ; to belong to whose number, I myself have left nothing undone in life, as far as I could, but have endeavored in every way. Whether we have endeavored rightly and achieved aught, we shall know when we have gone there, if God will, a little afterwards.' Does he not then seem to declare from the Hebrew Scriptures the righteous man's hope, through faith after death" (B. i. c. 19)? Tertullian— " Now, to inflict punishment on the heathen, who very likely have never heard of the gospel, is not the function of that God who is natu rally unknown, and who is revealed nowhere else than in the gospel, and therefore cannot be known by all men. The Creator, however, ought to be known even by [the light of] nature, for he may be under stood from his works, and may thereby become the object of a more widely spread knowledge. To him, therefore, does it appertain to punish such as know not God, for none ought to be ignorant of him" (Marc. B. v. c. 16). " Whether a Christian or heathen 126 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. sinner be the object it aims at in the matter of restora tion " (Modesty, c. 7). G°cl will not punish man for what he could not help. "Nor, again, would he have threat ened with the penalty of death a creature whom he knew to be guiltless on the score of his helplessness " (Marc. B. ii. c. 8. ) ' 'Was that, then, the reason why Jonah thought not repentance necessary to the heathen Nine- vites, when he tergiversated in the duty of preaching? or did he rather, foreseeing the mercy of God poured forth even upon strangers, fear that that mercy would, as it were, destroy [the credit of] his proclamation ? and accordingly, for the sake of a profane city, not yet possessed of a knowledge of God, still sinning in igno rance, did the prophet well-nigh perish ? except that he suffered a typical example of the Lord's passion, which was to redeem heathens as well [as others] on their repentance. It is enough for me that even John, when ' strewing the Lord's ways,' was the herald of repentance no less to such as were on military service and to publicans, than to the sons of Abraham " (Mod esty, c. 10). It is evident that Tertullian held that the heathen could repent and be saved with what , light they had. He had no thought that Christ must first be revealed to them to render them accountable and condemnable. " If, then, God will judge the secrets of men — both of those who have sinned in the law, and those who have sinned without law (inas much as they who know not the law yet do by nature the things contained in the law) — surely the God who shall judge is he to whom belong both the law, and that nature which is the rule to them who know not the law " (Against Marcion, B. v. c. 13). Hippolytus— " This constitutes [the import of the HEATHEN MAY BE SAVED. 127 proverb], 'know thyself ' ; [or, in other words, Learn to] discover God [within thyself, for] he has formed thee [after his own image]. For with the knowledge of self is conjoined the being an object of God's knowledge, for thou art called by [the Deity] him self " (Ref. Heresies, B. x. c. 30). This addressed to heathen, then without the gospel. They could know God and serve him. " Therefore become adepts in this doctrine, and learn, ye Greeks, Egyptians, Chal deans, and the entire race of men, what the nature of God is, and what his well-arranged creation, from us who are the friends of God " (Ref. Her. B. x. c. 27). Commodianns — "I in like manner have wandered for a long time, by giving attendance upon [heathen] fanes" (Chris. Dis. sec. 1). "Ye have conveyed to heaven by your authority one [Jupiter] guilty of so many crimes and, moreover, a parricide of his own relations " (Ibid. s. 6). " Ye yourselves will be what ye wish for, and pray to as gods and goddesses. Thus I worshiped while I went astray, and now I con demn it " (Ibid. s. 7). " Vain man, art thou not mad, to worship painted gods in heaven ? If thou knowest not how to live, continue to dwell with the beasts " (Ibid. s. 9). " Art thou not ashamed, O fool, to adore such pictures ? Seek one God who will allow you to live after death. Depart from such as have become dead in life" (Ibid. s. 14). " A few wicked and empty poets delude you ; while they seek with difficulty to procure their living, they adorn falsehood to be for others under the guise of mystery. . . . They cast a shadow over a simple people, lest they should be lieve, while they perish" (Ibid. s. 17). "Ye do not worship the gods whom they themselves falsely an- 128 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. nounce; ye worship the priests themselves, fearing them vainly " (Ibid. s. 19). Cyprian — " Nor did she hesitate to obey ; nor did the mother prefer her children to Elias in her hunger and poverty. Yea, there is done in God's sight a thing that pleases God : promptly and liberally is pre sented what is asked for" (Works and Alms, 17). The widow of Zarephath was probably a Gentile, but Cyprian seems to suppose her a person of true faith. "The bees have one king, and in the flocks there is one leader, and in the herds one ruler. Much rather is the ruler of the world one ; who commands all things, whatsoever they are, with his word, disposes them by his wisdom, and accomplishes them by his power. . . . He must be dedicated in our mind ; in our breast he must be consecrated. . . . For even the common people in many things naturally confess God, when their mind and soul are admon ished of their author and origin. . . . This is the very height of sinfulness, to refuse to acknowledge whom you cannot but know " (Vanity of Idols, 8, 9). He addresses idolaters, and assumes their ability to repent and reform. Minucius Felix — ' ' When my thoughts were travers ing the entire period of our intimacy and friendship, the direction of my mind fixed itself chiefly on that discourse of his, wheroin by very weighty arguments he converted Csecilius, who was still cleaving to su perstitious vanities, to the true religion " (Octavius, c. 1). The arguments were chiefly from natural re ligion, addressed to a heathen, with the assumption that heathen know better than to cleave to their false religion. " The very beauty of our own figure espe- HEATHEN MAY BE SAVED. 129 dally confesses God to be its artificer : our upright stature, our uplooking countenance, our eyes placed at the top, as it were, for outlook ; and all the rest of our senses as if arranged in a citadel ." (Octavius, c. 17). An appeal to the reason of all men. All may be convinced of the existence of the true God, and may serve him. Origen — " Unless all men had naturally impressed upon their minds sound ideas of morality, the doc trine of the punishment of sinners would have been excluded by those who bring upon themselves the righteous judgments of God. It is not therefore mat ter of surprise that the same God should have sown in the hearts of all men those truths which he taught by the prophets and the Saviour, in order that at the divine judgment every man may be without excuse, having the ' requirements of the law written upon his heart ' " (Agt. Celsus, B. i. c. 4). This assumes that the heathen need not suffer condemnation at the judgment, and will not if they use the light already given them. Methodius— " And the first message to him [man] after the transgression, was preached by Noah, to which, if he had applied his mind, he might have been saved from sin ; for in it he promised both hap piness and rest from evils, if he gave heed to it with all his might. . . . But after they began to be surrounded and drowning by the waters, they began to repent, and to promise that they would obey the commandments" (Ten Virgins, c. 3). Gregory Thaumaturgus—" Wherefore, having pon dered at once the advantages of wisdom and the ills of folly, I should with reason admire that man greatly, 130 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. who, being borne on in a thoughtless course, and afterwards arresting himself, should return to right and duty. For wisdom and folly are wholly sepa rated, and they are as different from each other as day is from night. He, therefore, who makes choice of virtue, is like one who sees all things plainly, and looks upward, and who holdeth his ways in the time of clearest light. But he, on the other hand, who has involved himself in wickedness, is like a man who wanders helplessly about in a moonless night, as one who is blind, and deprived of the sight of things by his darkness " (Metaphrase of Eccl. c. 2). Gregory evidently speaks of all men, and not of Hebrews merely. He holds that all can make "choice of vir tue," and " return to right and duty." Dionysius — "How shall we bear with these men who assert that all those wise, and consequently also noble, constructions [in the universe] are only the works of common chance ? . . . Truly these men do not reflect on the analogies even of small familiar things which might come under their observation at any time, and from which they might learn that no object of any utility, and fitted to be serviceable, is made without design or by mere chance, but is wrought by skill of hand, and is contrived so as to meet its proper use " (Against Epicureans, 2). Nature herself shows the existence of God, and hence that all his creatures should serve him. Dionysius would have said that ability to know God is ability to serve him, and ability to repent under the grace given to all men. Arnobius—" Does not he [God] free all alike who invites all alike ? or does he thrust back or repel any HEATHEN MAY BE SAVED. 131 one from the kindness of the Supreme who gives to all alike the power of coming to him " (Against Gentiles, B. ii. s. 64) ? The heathen have now the power of com ing to God. Lactantius— " The common people for the most part, if they ascertain that these mysteries were instituted in memory of the dead, will condemn them^ and seek some truer object of worship" (Div. Institutes, B. v. c. 20). Ability to "seek some truer object of wor ship." " That God, I say, who sees the secret places of the heart, who is always hostile to sins, who re quires justice, who demands fidelity " (Ibid.). God demands of all what implies their ability to repent as far as their knowledge of wrong extends. The Scriptures — 1. The heathen ivithout knowledge of Christ have a mediatorial probation ; a probation under a mediator: " The earth, O Lord, is fujl of thy mercy" (Ps. 119:64). Then all men share it. "And ye shall be sons of the Most High; for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil. Be ye merciful, even as your Father is merciful " (Luke, 6 : 35, 36). "I hasted to flee unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and full of compassion, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy, and repentest thee of the evil" (Jonah, 4: 2). Mercy to the Ninevites was mercy to heathen having no knowledge of Christ, and mercy to those heathen is like God's mercy to all heathen. " The Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world " (John, 1: 29). " God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him " (3: 17). "And know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world " (4: 42). "As through one trespass the judgment came unto all 132 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. men to condemnation; even so through one act of righteousness the free gift [offer] came unto all men to justification of life " [for all who could by faith re-. ceive it] (Rom. 5: 18). " Who gave himself a ransom for all " (1 Tim. 2:6). " That by the grace of God he should taste death for every man " (Heb. 2: 9). " He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world " (1 John, 2:2). " The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isa. 53:6). "But where sin abounded, grace did abound more exceedingly " (Rom. 5: 20). These passages show, that the whole world is under a Divine Mediator, and that all by using aright the light and opportunities they have will be saved. " For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, himself man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all " (1 Tim. 2: 5, 6). These opportunities of grace are in this life; the probation, the trial, is in this world. Here salvation is offered. " There was the true light, even the light which lighteth every man coming into the world" (John, 1: 9). "God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation, he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is acceptable with him" (Acts, 10: 35, 33). Through the Mediator men can be saved with out a knowledge of the historic Christ. No soul is lost because not knowing Christ, but souls are lost be cause not repenting according to their light. 2. The heathen without Christ to be judged by the law of nature, not by the law of the Gospel : "And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and made not ready, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes; but he that knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few HEATHEN MAY BE SAVED. 133 stripes. And to whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required: and to whom they commit much, of him will they ask the more" (Luke, 12:47, 48). " 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 under law shall be judged by law; for not the hearers of a law are just before God, but the doers of a law shall be justified: for when Gentiles which have no law do by nature the things of the law, these, having no law, are a law unto themselves, in that they show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bear ing witness therewith, and their thoughts one with another accusing or else excusing them; in the day when God shall judge the secrets" of men, according to my gospel, by Jesus Christ " (Rom. 2: 11-16). Had in spiration known anything of an after-death probation for the heathen, here would have been the place to mention it. But in respect to that the revelation is as silent as death. When Jesus told of his Father's love in giving " his only-begotten Son, that whosoever be- lieveth on him should not perish, but have eternal life," he implied that unbelievers would perish hope lessly; for, perishing stands in contrast with eternal life. There is no shadow of ground in the case for the inference or opinion that those who perish will finally have eternal life; but, the contrary opinion is necessitated. So, when inspiration says that some who " have sinned without law shall also perish with out law," there is no liberty to concliide that they will have a probation after death and finally not perish. Also, when God teaches that 'Gentiles which have no law, and yet do by nature the things of the law,' 134 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. and that they which ' fear him, and work righteous ness, are accepted with him,' there is no room to sup pose that they cannot be saved without knowing Christ, though his atoning work will be the basis of their salvation. Under this mediatorial probation, the great question for salvation, in both evangelized and unevangelized lands, is, do men submit to the law of repentance and obedience according to their light ? Wherever they do, they will be saved. CHAPTER XIV. — Early and Later Opinions that Unevangelized Heathen may be Saved. Still later than the third century the question was considered, How the godly who were not Jews, and were before Christ, could be saved. Some in modern times have said, that all heathen perish who do not obtain a knowledge of Christ in this life. Some of the present time say, that the heathen must have a knowledge of Christ in this life or the next, that they cannot be saved or condemned until they have had the Redeemer presented to them for either their ac ceptance or rejection. Others say that all will be judged by their state of heart, that some not coming to a knowledge of Christ in this life, do come to a state of mind ready to receive Christ when made known to them, whether in this world or the next, and that all such will be saved through the Redeemer. Which of these two present classes are sustained by the Christian early and later Fathers ? EARLY AND LATER OPINIONS. 135 First, recall some items of testimony from writers quoted in the next preceding chapter. The Targums — "And if they [people of Sodom and Gomorrah] seek to work repentance, behold, they shall be considered before me as if those [evil] works had not been known " (Jer. Tar. Gen. 18). They could have been saved. Clement of Rome — "From generation to generation, the Lord has granted a place of repentance to all such as would be converted to him" (1st Epis. c. 7). Pastor of Hermas — " To the heathen, repentance will be possible even to the last day " (Vis. ii. c. 2). Justin Martyr — " Those who did that which is uni versally, naturally, and eternally good are pleasing to God equally with those righteous men who were be fore them, namely Noah, and Enoch, and Jacob, and whosoever else there be, along with those who have known this Christ, Son of God" (Dia. Try. c. 45). Irenaeus — "Christ came . . . for all men alto gether, who from the beginning, according to their capacity, in their generation have feared and loved God " (Agt. Her. B. iv. c. 22, s. 2). Clement of Alexandria — "Not only then the be liever, but even the heathen, is judged most right eously " (Mis. B. vi. c. 14). Origen — " It is not therefore matter of surprise that the same God should have sown in the hearts of all men those truths which he taught by the prophets and the Saviour, in order that at the divine judgment every man may be without excuse, having the ' requirements of the law written upon his heart ' " (Agt. Cel. B. i. c. 4). Arnobius — " The Supreme who gives to all alike the power of coming to him " (Agt. Gen. B. iii. s. 64). 136 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. Augustine, born A. D. 353, and therefore near to the Ante-Nicene, and the Apostolic, Fathers, writes as fol lows: " Nor do I think the Jews themselves dare con tend that no one has belonged to God except the Israelites, since the increase of Israel began on the rejection of his elder brother. For in very deed there was no other people who were specially called the people of God; but they cannot deny that there have been certain men even of other nations who belonged, not by earthly but heavenly fellowship, to the true Israelites, the citizens of the country that is above. Because, if they deny this, they can be most easily confuted by the case of the holy and wonderful man Job, who was neither a native nor a proselyte, that is, a stranger joining the people of Israel, but, be ing bred of the Idumean race, arose there and died there too, and who is so praised by the divine oracle, that no man of his times is put on a level with him as regards justice and piety. And although we do not find his date in the chronicles, yet from his book, •which for its merit the Israelites have received as of canonical authority, we gather that he was in the third generation after Israel. And I doubt not it was divinely provided, that from this one case we might know that among other nations also there might be men pertaining to the spiritual Jerusalem who have lived according to God and have pleased him " (City of God, B. xviii. c. 47). Augustine held, that to the souls of such believers there was revealed in this life the mercy of God, which he would call in some sense a revelation of Christ. So let it be. But this opinion of Augustine, that some are saved of other nations. than Jewish or Christian, and without knowing Christ EARLY AND LATER " OPINIONS. 137 in person in this world, yet here having their proba tion, and obtaining spiritual life, may be expected to stand. The Schoolmen, of the latter part of the middle ages, commencing their time about the twelfth cen tury, held and taught this : " God will do that which is in him, for the man who does what is in himself, . . . not because the act of man merits any such thing, but because it is befitting the great mercy and beneficence of God." Having such provision by the Lord, that course adopted by any heathen would result in his salvation. James Arminius, born A. D. 1560, in commenting on the view held by the Schoolmen, said : " God will be stow more grace upon that man who does what is in him by the power of divine grace which is already granted to him, according to the declaration of Christ, ' To him that hath shall be given,' in which he com prises the cause why it was ' given to Apostles to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven,' and why ' to others it was not given' " (Defense, art. xv.). Robert South, D. D., born A. D. 1633, says: "I think we may pronounce safely in this matter, that the goodness and mercy of God is such, that he never deserts a sincere person, nor suffers any one that shall live (even according to these measures of sincerity) up to what he knows, to perish for want of any knowl edge necessary, and, what is more, sufficient to save him. "If any one would here say, Were there then none living up to these measures of sincerity among the heathen ? And if there were, did the goodness of God afford such persons knowledge enough to save 138 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. them ? My answer is according to that of St. Paul, ' I judge not those that are without the church ' : they stand or fall to their own master : I have noth ing to say of them. ' Secret things belong to God ; ' it becomes us to be thankful to God, and charitable to men" (Sermons, vol. i. ser. 6, 4th part). Evidently his leaning is to the opinion that such heathen refer red to would be saved. By the phrase, " living up to these measures of sincerity," he no doubt means, liv ing thus now, in a state of "repentance, and does not mean having lived thus from the beginning of ac countability. Cotton Mather, born A. D. 1662 (1663). Rev. Abijah P. Marvin, of Lancaster, Mass., says : "In Cotton Mather's immense work, entitled ' Illustrations of the Scripture,' in six folio volumes in manuscript, . . . in the fourth volume thereof, there is an article on the Book of Jonah. In that, Dr. Mather raises the inquiry : ' What might be one special intention of writing the Book of Jonah?' He answers : ' To make the Jews understand that the circumcision and cere monies of their law were not the things which their salvation depended upon. Since the Ninevites, with out law and Judaism, by faith alone and repentance of a past unholy life, had pleased God.' " By ' lege et Judaismo ' [the work is in Latin] I un derstand God's revelation in the moral and ceremo nial law. " Inference : If the Ninevites could please God by repentance for sin, and faith in God, why not any other heathens ? " David Brainerd, born A. D. 1718, missionary among the American Indians, and as such sustained by the EARLY AND LATER OPINIONS. 139 "Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge," gives the following items concerning an Indian he found near the "Forks of the Delaware." " He had not always, he said, felt as he now did ; but had formerly been like the rest of the Indians, until about four or five years before that time. Then, he said, his heart was very much distressed, so that he could not live among the Indians, but got away into the woods, and lived alone for some months. At length, he says, God comforted his heart, and showed him what he should do, and since that time he had known God, and tried to serve him ; and loved all men, be they who they would, so as he never did before. ... I was told by the Indians, that he opposed their drinking strong liquor with all his power ; and that, if at any time he could not dissuade them from it by all he could say, he would leave them, and go crying into the woods. . . . He seemed to be sincere, honest, and conscientious in his own way, and according to his own religious notions " (Life Brainerd by Jonathan Edwards, c. 7). Presi dent Edwards, senior, records the foregoing without any dissent. His son, Jonathan Edwards, President of Union College, born 1745, says : "In favor of the salvation of the heathen, it is sometimes said, if a heathen be truly virtuous and holy, what will become of him ? Will he be cast off merely because he is ignorant of Christ ; though if he had known him, he would most cheerfully have received him as his Saviour ? Of this I observe, no doubt if any heathen be truly virtuous and holy ; if he love God supremely, as an infinitely great, wise, holy, and good God, and his neighbor as himself, he 140 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. will be saved. But the question is, whether any such persons can be found among the heathen" (Works, vol. ii. p. 465). We must not estimate the heathen by the standard of perfect works, but by that of repent ance and faith according to light. Prof. Thomas C. Upham, D. D., born 1799, in com menting on the case of the Indian which is related by Brainerd, says : " The faith of this poor Indian existed under the most unfavorable circumstances, but it gave him power ; power over himself ; power against threatening vices among his own people; power, in solitary places, with no companions but the wild woods, and waters, to hold communion, after the imperfect manner of heathenism, with the Great Spirit, who is the Father both of the Christian and the Gentile. ... It can be no discredit to a per son, however advanced he may be in civilization and human culture, to regard such faith, whatever may be the amount of its supposed or its acknowledged imperfections, with a degree of sympathy and respect. . . . Among nations, both ancient and modern, that with more or less of civilization have not been visited and blessed with the lights of Christianity, we discover other instances illustrative of the same gen eral views " (Life of Faith, c. 13, s. 4, 5). Philip Schaff, D. D., born 1819, says : "Hence the same Apostle [Paul], when proclaiming to the Athe nians the ' Unknown God,' to whom they had built an altar in testimony of their unsatisfied religious wants, hesitates not to quote, with approbation, a passage from a heathen poet [Aratus], on the indwelling of God in man, and to adduce it as proof of the possibil ity of seeking and finding God (Acts, 17: 27, 28). St. SCRIPTURE METHOD OF SALVATION. 141 Peter discovered in Cornelius the marks of preparing grace, and acknowledged, that there are in every nation such as 'fear God and work righteousness' (Acts, 10:35). Of course he does not mean by this, that man can at all fulfill the divine law, and be saved without Christ ; for then Cornelius need not have been baptized ; he might have remained a heathen. But the Apostle does mean, that there are everywhere Gentiles, with honest and earnest longings after sal vation, who, like Cornelius, will readily receive the gospel, as soon as it is brought within their reach, and find in it satisfaction and peace " (Hist. Apol. ch. Judaism and Heathenism, § 40). CHAPTER XV.— The Scripture Method of Salva tion for the Unevangelized Heathen. [First published in the New York Independent.'] The Apostle Paul was qualified to speak with divine authority. Miracles were wrought at his conversion and apostolic appointment, and through him during his ministry. At his word Elymas, the sorcerer, was instantly smitten with blindness : a cripple at Lystra, impotent in his feet from his birth, was suddenly made whole ; at his bidding a damsel at Philippi was dispossessed of a demon of divination ; and there a miracle of deliverance met Paul and Silas to liberate them from prison ; by Paul's hands the Holy Ghost was imparted to believers ; events of the future were foretold by him; he healed many of diseases at Melita, and there a viper fastening upon his hand 142 future probation examined. hurt him not ; and at Troas he raised the dead to life. A ministry thus miraculously attested must have been from God, and the teaching of such a man must have been by the inspiration of God. God would not give miraculous signs to falsehood. Therefore we may trust, and ought to trust the instructions given by the Apostle Paul. Paul in his ministry had to deal with two classes of people who were not Christians. One class were un believing Jews, and the other unbelieving Gentiles or heathen. As described by him, some " sinned under law," and some '" sinned without law" (Rom. 2: 12). In general the Gentiles were " without law," and the Jews were "under law." The law was both moral and ceremonial. The moral was the ten command ments, and other specific laws coming under them. The ceremonial was the observances and sacrifices which prefigured Christ's mediatorial and atoning work. The Jews had all of these, along with the •prophecies concerning the Messiah. The Gentiles in general had none of these as engrossed in the sacred writings, and hence were "without law," while the Jews having them, were "under law." Hence there were two broad classes, concerning whose sins, and the way of whose salvation, the Apostle had to treat. Both Jews and Gentiles were to be evangelized as rapidly as possible. But those that remained without any knowledge of the historic Christ, or of the person of Christ, was their case utterly hopeless ? 1. The advantages of the two classes differed from each other very greatly. The Jews in general had all the privileges and light which that age of the world could give. As the Apostle says: " What advantage SCRIPTURE METHOD OF SALVATION. 143 then hath the Jew ? . . . Much every way " 3: 1, 2). "Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises ; whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came " (9: 4, 5). But the Gentiles then, brought up in heathenism, being without the law, were destitute of these high advantages of the law; of the gospel, as we should now say. They had not the "oracles," or Scripture revelations ; they were without the special Jewish in structions concerning Jehovah ; they were without the benefit of the long line of Jewish godly fathers ; they in general were sunk in idolatry, iniquity, im purity, corruption. The masses were not lifted into light and knowledge, and their superiors in general advised their being held in ignorance. The Jews had much light ; the Gentiles had little light. 2. But, in one thing both classes were alike ; they both were in a state of probation, of trial for the future life. That is evident- from the fact that they all had sinned, and were still alive in this world. The Apostle expressly says that all had sinned. Judg ment for their sins they deserved at once, as soon as they were guilty. That is true with all men. As soon as we sin we deserve punishment for our sin according to our ill-desert. If a man commits crime, he is guilty as soon as he commits it. He does not wait until he is condemned by a human tribunal be fore becoming guilty and ill-deserving. So, the fact that we live after we sin, and have the offer of for giveness on condition of repentance, decides that we enjoy probation. All understand that there is theprin- 144 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. ciple of forgiveness. When the Israelites sinned, and Moses lifted up a brazen serpent in the wilderness, that whosoever believed might be healed and not perish, they who had the offer had probation. So we all have probation, because the Son of Man is lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Plainly, the Ninevites had a probation when Jonah preached to them ; for they had the opportunity therein to repent and be par doned. Also they had the opportunity before Jonah preached, as well as afterwards. And all of our race, at all times in this world, having come to accounta bility, have the opportunity to repent and be par doned, and that opportunity is probation. Therefore the Jews and Gentiles alike when Paul lived and preached were having a probation. 3. But, did the Apostle treat both these classes of sinning people as guilty? What did he say about that? To the Jew he said, " Therefore thou art inex cusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest : for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself ; for thou that judgest doest the same things. . . . Despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering? . . . But after thy hardness and impenitent heart " (2: 1, 4, 5). Of the Gentiles without the gospel the Apostle says: " When they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful ; but became vain in their imagination, and their foolish heart was darkened. . . . And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. . . . Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and SCRIPTURE METHOD OF SALVATION. 145 worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator" (1:21, 23, 25). The Apostle gives separately much other language descriptive of the sins of both Jews and Gentiles. Then he says, "We have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin." Then he adds concerning both classes united, as being in their sins, "There is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become un profitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. The way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes" (3: 9-12, 17, 18). This is only apart of the united description of the guilt of both Jews and Gentiles. 4. Next, the desert of punishment of both Jews and Gentiles. To and concerning the Jews the sacred word says: " Thinkest thou this, . . . that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? . . . Treasurest up unto thyseK wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his deeds. As many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law" (2:3, 5, 6, 12). Concerning the condemnation of the Gentiles, the word says: " For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. . . . God gave them over to a reprobate mind. . . . Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death;" which, as the famous commentator Meyer says, means eternal, and not temporal, death (1: 18, 28, 32). "As many as have sinned without law shall also 10 146 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. perish without law. . . . We are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things" (2: 12, 2). The divine word concerning retribution to both the Jewish and Gentile wicked is, " Unto them . indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile. ... In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ" (2:8, 9,16). "Whose condemnation is just. . . . De struction and misery are in their ways " (3: 8, 16). 5. Can both classes of sinners, the evangelized and unevangelized, be saved with what light they have ? Concerning both we read: "Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life: ... of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;^ . . . Glory, honor, 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 " (2: 6, 7, 9, 10, 11). Concerning the acceptance and salvation of the Gentiles we read, "When the Gentiles, which have not the law do by nature the things contained in the law [as, the things required by the commandments, which embrace the duty of repentance for disobedi ence], these having not the law, are a law unto them selves [their own minds teaching them much of what the letter of the law teaches] : which show 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" (2:14, 15). This shows both knowledge and ability enough SCRIPTURE METHOD OF SALVATION. 147 to be saved. The phrase, "Do by nature the things contained in the law," seems to imply that some of the Gentiles do these things, and if they do they are saved. One of the things taught both by the law of the Bible and the faculties of the mind, is, the ceasing of disobedience and giving obedience, which involves repentance for sin. And true repentance under our probation, which all men have, implies salvation. "Glory, honor, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile." This implies that some Gentiles do work good, and that, apparently, while in the Gentile or unevangelized state. " Therefore if the uncircumcision [a Gentile or heathen] keep the righteousness of the law [as far as he knows it], shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision" (2:26)? Shallhe not be accepted and saved? This implies that such Gentiles are saved; "And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfill the law [which implies that in some Gentiles it does fulfill it by a present spirit of obedience — past sins forgiven through the atonement], judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law" (2:27)? Next the Apostle puts this inquiry: "What advan tage then hath the Jew" (Rom. 3:1)? What advan- . tage if Gentiles can be saved as well as Jews? His reply is, " Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God"; the Scrip tures. The Gentiles, then, who are without the Scrip tures, and are heathen, can be saved (3: 1, 2). To enforce this view by an illustrative fact, soon the word of the Lord goes on to show, that a certain one not a Jew, and without the Scriptures, was ac- 148 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. cepted of God, and placed in a gracious state for his salvation. That man was Abraham. Before he was a Jew, before there were any Jews, before he re ceived any special revelation so far as we know, Abraham had faith, and was in a condition to be saved. "We say that faith was reckoned to Abra ham for righteousness. How was it reckoned : when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision ? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision ; " and when he was without the Gospel, but not without God (4: 9, 10). He received the rite of circumcision for himself and the Jews to come after him; not to give him faith, but because he had faith. Abraham had faith as a Gentile ; that is, while nominally a heathen. So did other Gentiles of his age of the world. Conspicuous among them, undoubtedly, were Job and Melchisedec. The so-called heathen, then, in both the Patriarchal and Apostolic ages, could be saved with what light was offered them, and some or many of them doubt less were saved. 6. But may the unevangelized heathen of every age, and all nations, be saved? The inspired Apostle Peter says : " Of a truth I perceive that God is no re specter of persons: But in every nation he that fear- eth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him" (Acts, 10: 34, 35). This is a general principle • deduced from a specific case. It is true in every nation. The conditions are not a personal knowledge of Christ, and faith in him; but, fearing God, and working righteousness. The real conditions go far ther back in time, and farther abroad in space, than a knowledge of Christ can go at once now. Whoso complies with the conditions " is accepted with him." SCRIPTURE METHOD OF SALVATION. 149 His salvation is already begun. Such an one will accept of Christ when he sees who he is, and what is his mission. Christ is the mediator between God and men . In effect he was mediator, from the time of the promise of him in the garden of Eden. The lives of all are spared after they sin because of his mediator- ship. Our day of testing or trial is a probation under the divine mediator. Hence, it is a mediatorial pro bation. Provision being made for the salvation of one heathen that repents, that provision is sufficient for all repenting heathen. The Gentile Abraham having repented, the Gentile or heathen Nero could as well have repented and been saved; and so of all the race. It is not perfection of life or of heart under a media torial probation that is the condition of salvation. It is only repentance and the ivilling mind. Jesus' atonement takes away the necessity of entire perfec tion, though that must be the aim of all the saved. 7. Divine mercy bespeaks Christ. And both Jews and Gentiles could always be saved through practical faith in that mercy, accompanied with sincere repent ance for sin. That faith was the heart of an Israelite indeed, the heart of a Christian, the regenerate heart. Salvation was thus possible by means of "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." Many believing Jews before Christ had but an indis tinct view of their Messiah to come. But in him was Divine mercy, and that by faith they accepted. Believ ing Gentiles before Christ, and before the Law, ac cepted of Divine mercy, and that mercy was to them the dimly revealed Christ. The universal sacrificial system declared Divine mercy, though greatly per verted by both Jews and Gentiles. 150 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. The foregoing is the divinely revealed method for the salvation of the unevangelized heathen. Both of the Apostles, Peter and Paul, are very positive in their statements about it. Peter says, "Of a truth I per ceive." Paul says, "We know that the judgment of God is according to truth." This revealed method plainly pertains to the heathen in this world, not afterwards. It does not answer to displace this method by another of our own supposition. That would foster procrastinating repentance, and harden ing the heart. It would endanger ourselves and mankind. Mercy to men forbids the adoption of any theory which Scripture disallows. CHAPTER XVI.— The Doctrine of Free Will. The Doctrine of Free Will was emphatically held by the early Christians. They used it against the doctrines of necessity and fate that prevailed widely among the heathen around them. Unless man were free they saw that it was wrong to hold that he was guilty. They could emphasize the evil and guilt of sin because all sinners were obligated to repent and reform. Much of their effectiveness lay in depicting the heinousness and ill-desert of sin; and for that they in part justified themselves by frequent appeal to human freedom and accountability. Only examples of their language respecting this are here given ; the whole of it would fill volumes. The same doctrine, if not made as conspicuous, was as truly held by both DOCTRINE OF FREE WILL. 151 Jews and Christians previous to the days of the early Christian Fathers. The Apocrypha— The books of the Apocrypha abound in passages acknowledging accountability and sin, and thus assuming the self-evident truth that blameworthiness implies free-will. " And now, 0 Lord, what shall we say, having these things ? for we have transgressed thy commandments, which thou gavest by the hand of thy servants the prophets" (1 Esdras, 8: 82). " But the ungodly shall be punished according to their own imaginations, who have de spised the righteous, and forsaken the Lord " (Wis. Sol. 3 : 10). Being responsible for their sins, they must have free-will. Book of Enoch — There are the same assumptions here : " Be not impious in your hearts, and do not lie, and do not change the words of rectitude, and do not call a lie the words of the Holy and Great One, and do not glorify your idols ; for all your untruths and all your impiety will not be to you for a justification, but for a great sin " (104: 9). Josephus — This writer is more didactic ; and states doctrine besides assuming it. "And, when they [the Pharisees] determine that all things are done by fate, they do not take away the freedom from men of acting as they see fit ; since their notion is, that it hath pleased God to make a temperament, whereby what he wills is done, but so that the will of men can act virtuously or viciously " (Ant. 18, 1, 3). This sets forth the freedom of all men, of heathen as well as of Jews ; of the wicked as well as of the righteous. Philo — "For they also of their own free-will and without any compulsion, drink unmixed wine, so that 152 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. of their own accord they eradicate sobriety from their souls, and choose folly ; for, says the Scripture, ' I hear the voice of those who are beginning revelry and drunkenness ' ; that is to say, of men who are exhibit ing a madness which is not involuntary, but who injure themselves with a voluntary and deliberate frenzy." " Unintentional errors are as light again as deliberate sins, inasmuch as they are not weighed down by the irresistible conviction of conscience" (Works, vol. i. pp. 478, 479). Clement of Rome — " From generation to generation, the Lord has granted a place of repentance to all such as would be converted to him" (1st Epistle, c. 7). This teaches that conversion is through personal choice, or free-will. Justin Martyr — The Fathers between Clement and Justin constantly assume the accountability, sinful ness, and free-agency of men. Justin in substance speaks their views when he says : "In the beginning he made the human race with the power of thought and of choosing the truth and doing right, so that all men are without excuse before God; for they have been born rational and contemplative" (1st Apol. c. 28). " But neither do we affirm that it is by fate that men do ,what they do, or suffer what they suffer, but that each man by free choice acts rightly or sins " (2d Apol. c. 7). "He created both angels and men free to do that which is righteous, and he appointed periods of time during which he knew it would be good for them to have the exercise of free-will ; and because he likewise knew it would be good, he made general and particular judgments ; each one's freedom of will, however, being guarded " (Dia. Try. c. 102). DOCTRINE OF FREE WILL. 153 Athenagoras — "Just as with men, who have free dom of choice as to both virtue and vice (for you would not either honor the good or punish the bad, unless vice and virtue were in their own power)" (Plea, c. 24). Tatian — "Die to the world, repudiating the madness that is in it. Live to God, and by apprehending him lay aside your old nature. We were not created to die, but we die by our own fault. Our free-will has destroyed us [the wrong exercise of it] ; we who were free have become slaves ; we have been sold through sin. Nothing evil has been created by God ; we our selves have manifested wickedness ; but we, who have manifested it, are able again to reject it " (Ad. Greeks, c. 11). Theophilus — Free-ivill in conversion: "Therefore, do not be skeptical, but believe ; for I myself also used to disbelieve that this would take place, but now, having taken these things into consideration, I be lieve. ... I believe, obedient to God, whom, if you please, do you also submit to, believing him, lest if now you continue unbelieving, you be convinced hereafter, when you are tormented with eternal pun ishments " (To Eutolycus, c. 14). The Clementine Recognitions — "And the freedom of will which is implanted in man by the Spirit " (B. ix. c. 25). "For we are free in will." "It is clearly manifest that there is in men a liberty of choice " (B. v. c. 6). " For of necessity the judgment of God turns upon this, if a man was able to do good and did it not " (B. iii. c. 37). "Having freedom of will, we some times oppose our desires, and sometimes yield to them. And therefore the issue of human doings is uncertain, because it depends upon freedom of will " (B. x. c. 12). 154 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. "For there is no credit in being that from which the necessity of your nature does not admit of your chang ing" (B. ix. c. 4). " For salvation is not attained by force, but by liberty ; and not through the favor of men, but by the faith of God" (B. x. c. 1). "Along with the fact that freedom of will is in man, there is also some cause of evil without him, whereby men are indeed incited by various lusts, yet are not compelled to sin " (B. ix. c. 16). " Since God is righteous, and since he himself made the nature of men, how could it be that he should place genesis [our origin] in oppo sition to us, which should compel us to sin, and then that he should punish us when we do sin? Whence it is certain that God punishes no sinner either in the present life or in that to come, except because he knows that he could have conquered, but neglected victory" (B. ix. c. 30). Irenaens — "But man, being endowed with reason, and in this respect like God, having been made free in his will, and with power over himself, is himself the cause to himself, that sometimes he becomes wheat, and sometimes chaff. Wherefore also he shall be justly condemned " (Her. B. iv. c. 4, s. 3). " God made man a free [agent] from the beginning " (Her. B. iv. c. 37, s. 1). " Since all men are of the same nature, able both to hold fast and to do what is good; and, on the other hand, having also the power to cast it from them and not to do it " (Her. B. iv. c. 37. s. 2). Clement of Alexandria— God is not the author of sin : " So in no respect is God the author of evil [sin]. But since free choice and inclination originate sins, and a mistaken judgment sometimes prevails, from which, since it is ignorance and stupidity, we do not DOCTRINE OF FREE WILL. 155 take pains to recede, punishments are rightly inflicted. For to take fever is involuntary; but when one takes fever through his own fault, from excess, we blame him. Inasmuch, then, as evil is involuntary, — for no one prefers evil as evil; but induced by the pleasure that is in it, and imagining it good, considers it desir able; — such being the case, to free ourselves from ignorance, and from evil and voluptuous choice, and above all, to withhold our assent from those delusive phantasies, depends on ourselves" (Misc. B. i. c. 17). Man by free-will is the author of sin: "And God does not inflict punishment from wrath, but for the ends of justice; since it is not expedient that justice should be neglected on our account. Each one of us, who sins, with his own free-will chooses punishment, and the blame lies with him who chooses. God is without blame" (The Instructor, B. i. c. 8). "Fur ther, to Moses he says, ' Go and tell Pharaoh to send my people forth; but I know that he will not send them forth.' For he shows both things: both his divinity in his foreknowledge of what would take place, and his love in affording an opportunity for repentance to the self-determination of the soul" (Inst. B. i. c. 9). " Nor are actions estimated by their issue alone; but they are judged also according to the element of free choice in each" (Misc. B. ii. c. 6). " Therefore volition takes the precedence of all; for the intellectual powers are ministers of the Will " (Misc. B. ii. c. 17). "But God's will is especially obeyed by the free-will of good men " (Misc. B. vi. c. 17). " Nor shall he who is saved be saved against his will, for he is not inanimate; but he will above all voluntarily and of free choice speed to salvation " (Misc. B. vii. c. 7). 156 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. No one will judge correctly, of human responsibility,. and of the future state, unless he emphasizes the idea of free choice as much as the Scriptures do, and as Clement does, following the Scriptures. Tertnllian — " It is assuredly no part of religion to compel religion — to which free-will and not fore* should lead us — the sacrificial victims even being re quired of a willing mind" (Ad Scapulam, s. 2). "This will be the power of the grace of God, more potent in deed than nature, exercising its sway over the faculty that underlies itself within us — even the freedom of our will" (Anima, c. 21). "We have assigned, then, to the soul both that freedom of the will which we just now mentioned, and its dominion over the works of nature" (Anima, c. 22). "But as there are some things which he forbids, against which he denounces even eternal punishment, ... so, too, on the con trary, what he does will, he enjoins and sets down as acceptable, and repays with the reward of eternity. And so, when we have learnt from his precepts what he does not will and what he does, we still have a volition and an arbitrating power of elect ing the one; just as it is written, ' Behold, I have set before thee good and evil' " (Chastity, c. 2). "So in the Creator's subsequent laws also you will find, when he sets before man good and evil, life and death, that the entire course of discipline is arranged in precepts by God's calling men from sin, and threat ening and exhorting them; and this on no other ground than that man is free, with a will either for obedience or resistance" (Agt. Marc. B. ii. c. 5). " Therefore it was proper that [he who is] the image and likeness of God should be formed with a free will • DOCTRINE OF FREE WILL. 157 and a mastery of himself; so that this very thing — namely, freedom of will and self-command — might be reckoned as the image and likeness of God in him " (Marc. B. ii. c. 6). " But the reward neither of good nor of evil could be paid to the man who should be found to have been either good or evil through neces sity and not choice " (Marc. B. ii. c. 6). God is not the author of sin: "The goodness of God, when fully considered from the beginning of his works, will be enough to convince us that nothing evil could possibly have come forth from God " (Marc. B. ii. c. 6). " If it is man's sin, it will not be God's fault, because it is man's doing; nor is that Being to be re garded as the author of the sin, who turns out to be its forbidder, nay, its condemner " (Marc. B. ii. c. 9). God's desire that sinners repent: "Therefore, to rejoice over the sinner's repentance — that is, at the recovery of lost man — is the attribute of him who long ago professed that he would rather that the sin ner should repent and not die " (Marc. B. iv. c. 32). Hippolytus — "Might prove that God made nothing evil, and that man possesses the capacity of self-de termination, inasmuch as he is able to will and not to will, [and] is endued with power to do both " (Ref. c. 29). Commodianns — "Ye yourselves will be what ye wish for, and pray to as gods and goddesses. Thus I wor shiped while I went astray, and now I condemn it " (Chris. Dis. 7). Character depends on choice; or, " what ye wish for," and implies free-will. NoTatian — "And when he had given him all things for his service, he willed that he alone should be free. And lest, again, an unbounded freedom should fall 158 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. into peril, he laid down a command, in which man was taught that there was no evil in the fruit of the tree; but he was forewarned that evil would arise if perchance he should exercise his free-will, in con-^ tempt of the law that was given. For, on~the one hand, it had behooved him to be free, lest the image of God should unfittingly be in bondage; and, on the other, the law was to be added, so that an unbridled liberty might not break forth even to a contempt of the Giver " (Nov. Rom. Pres. Trinity, c. 1). Minucius Felix — " Neither let any one either take comfort from, or apologize for, what happens from fate. Let what happens be of the disposition of fort une, yet the mind is free; and therefore man's doing, not his dignity, is judged. For what else is fate than what God has spoken [f atus] of each one of us " (Octa vius, c. 36)? Origen — "The Apostles related, etc. . . . This also is clearly defined in the teaching of the church, that every rational soul is possessed of free-will and volition" (Princ. Preface, s. 4, 5). " Since it seems a possible thing that rational natures, from whom the faculty of free-will is never taken away " (Princ. B. ii. c. 3, s. 3). "Let us observe how Paul also converses with us as having freedom of will, and as being our selves the cause of ruin or salvation when he says, etc. . . . There are, indeed, innumerable passages in the Scriptures which establish with exceeding clear ness the existence of freedom of will " (Princ. B. iii. c. 1, s. 6). Methodius— " When we say that man is possessed of free-will, and prove that," etc. (Ten Virgins, c. 13). " Those who decide that man is not possessed of free- DOCTRINE OF FREE WILL. 159 will, and affirm that he is governed by the unavoid able necessities of fate, and her unwritten commands, are guilty of impiety towards God himself, making him out to be the cause and author of human evils " (Ten Vir. c. 16). "It is in our power to do, or to avoid doing, evil; since otherwise we should not be punished for doing evil, nor be rewarded for doing well; but the presence or absence of evil thoughts does not depend upon ourselves " (Res. 10). Gregory Thaumaturgus — " For the soul is free, and cannot be coerced by any means, not even though one should confine it and keep guard over it in some secret prison-house" (On Origen, 6). Arnobius — "Nor can another's choice be rightly attributed to any one, since freedom of choice was put in his power who made it" (Ad. Gentes, B. ii. s. 64). Lactantins — "For nothing is so much a matter of free-will as religion; in which, if the mind of the wor shiper is disinclined to it, religion is at once taken away" (Div. Institutes, B. v. c. 20). The Scriptures — The Bible does not in direct lan guage teach the free agency of man, for it is not its direct office to teach philosophy; but, it assumes or im plies man's free agency in a great number of pas sages. The following are a few: "Choose you this day whom ye will serve " (Jos. 24: 15). David said unto the Lord, " I have sinned greatly in that I have done" (2 Sam. 24:10). "They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof" (Prov. 1:30). "A man's heart deviseth his way " (Prov. 16: 9). " O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself" (Hos. 13:9). "Their eyes have they closed" (Mat. 13:15). "Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life " (Jo. 160 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. 5: 40). " Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. 2: 12). " I have inclined my heart to perform thy statutes alway " (Ps. 119: 112). '*Keep thy heart with all diligence" (Prov. 4:23). "Enter ye in at the strait gate " (Mat. 7: 13). " To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory, and honor, and immortality; eternal life" (Rom. 2: 7). "Ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man" (Col. 3:9, 10). "My re ward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be " (Rev. 22: 12). CHAPTER XVII.— Sheol, Hades, Gehenna, and Paradise. A right conception of the meaning of these Bible terms is necessary to a right understanding of the Scriptures respecting the world of the dead. A knowl edge of usage here is of great importance. The Apocrypha — "And the lake of torment shall appear, and over against it shall be the place of rest ; and the furnace of gehenna shall be seen, and over against it the paradise of delight. And the Most High will then say to the nations which have been raised, Look, and understand whom ye have denied, or whom ye have not served, or whose commandments ye have despised. And see, on the other hand, the opposite state : Here is delight and rest ; and there is fire and torment ; this now, wilt thou speak and say to them on the day of judgment " (2 Es. 7 : 36-39). In the foregoing, some of both the conceptions and the Ian- SHEOL, HADES, GEHENNA AND PARADISE. 161 guage are the same as those in the account of the rich man and Lazarus. Evidently, paradise and gehenna embrace the world of the dead, both classes. And yet by Apocryphal, and other, usage, hades embraced both classes and places of the world of the dead, except that, sometimes, under that term, only one class and place are referred to instead of both. "Heleadeth down to hades, and bringeth up again " (Tob. 13:2); as by sickness down near to the world of the dead, and then causeth recovery. " My soul drew near to death, And my life was near to hades beneath " (Eccl. 51 : 6). By usage hades embraced both gehenna and paradise. Targums — Gehenna defined : Jonathan paraphrases Isa. 33:14 thus: "The guilty are broken inZion; fear hath taken hold of sinners who steal their ways. They say, Who of us shall dwell in Zion, wherein is the brightness of his presence, as a con suming fire ? Who of us shall dwell in Jerusalem, where the wicked shall be judged, to be delivered to gehenna, the everlasting burnings?" "Gehenna" and " everlasting burnings " are synonymous. As elsewhere, gehenna is represented as a place of fire. The Targum on Ps. 140: 10, 11 is this : " Let there fall upon them coals from heaven ; into the fire of gehenna let them cast them as burning coals, that they rise not again to life eternal. A man who smootheth a calumnious tongue cannot be directed in the land of the living ; the violent evil man the angel of death shall chase, and cast him down into gehenna." In contrast with " life eternal" is the " fire of .gehenna," which by implication here, as by declaration else where, is also eternal. ii 162 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. But, Dr. Farrar lays much stress upon a limitation of punishment in gehenna to twelve months, as taught in the Talmud, which is teachings of Jewish law not embraced in the Pentateuch. Several con siderations totally undermine and destroy his argu ment. First, the Talmud was not committed to writing until the middle of the sixth century, and hence does not necessarily give Jewish belief in the time of Christ and his Apostles. Second, the limitation of punishment in gehenna to twelve months was for the Jews only, or for believing Gentiles in addition, and was merely a purgatory for those already having virtue of char acter. Third, those Jews who believed in this pur gatory, believed also in unending punishment for the persistently wicked. Fourth, no such belief in purgatory existed among the Jews in Christ's day. Fifth, Jesus used language which forbids such a lim ited meaning to punishment in purgatory. He speaks of the soul destroyed in gehenna, and of the un quenchable fire in gehenna, and of the worm there that never dies. The Book of Enoch — Sheol, Hades, and Gehenna: Sheol in the Hebrew was the world for all the dead, as hades was in the Greek. "That here all the souls of the sons of men might be assembled" (22:3). There are different apartments for the dead ; the holy are separated from the unholy : " I therefore asked concerning him, and concerning the judgment of all, and said, ' Why is one separated from the other ? ' " (22: 8). Sheol gives up its dead for the judgment, which is a day of release and blessing to the right eous : " These places have been made their dwellings till the day of their judgment" (22:4); "Sheol will SHEOL, HADES, GEHENNA, AND PARADISE. 163 return that entrusted to it" (51:1). Gehenna is the apartment of sheol for the wicked. It is the ' depth of sheol,' or the 'pit of sheol,' or the place of 'de struction in sheol.' " And in those days the mouth of sheol will be opened, and they will sink into it ; and their destruction, sheol, will devour the sinners from the presence of the chosen " (56 : 8). Sheol is not the grave; it is quite distinct from it ; it is the place for "the souls of the sons of men" (22:3). The fate of its inhabitants is well-known to them. The just certainly go to that abode : " Be not sorrowful that your souls descend into sheol, in great trouble and lamentation and sorrow, and in grief, and that your bodies have not found it in your life as your goodness deserved. . . . And when ye die the sinners speak over you : ' As we die the just die, and what benefit have they in their deeds?'" (102:5, 6). One of the two great apartments in sheol is for the righteous, and one for the wicked. And each of . these two apartments is subdivided into two others. One apart ment for the righteous is for the martyrs, and the other for the remaining righteous. One apartment for the wicked is for those who received a part of their retribution in this world, and the other for those who received none until in the next world (22). The valley of Gehinnom, near Jerusalem, was the type of gehenna, the place of future punishment (26 and 27). Josephns — Hades a temporary confinement or prison, to the righteous: Hades, "a subterranean region, wherein the light of this world does not shine " ; but in which is " a region of light [of another kind], in which the just have dwelt from the beginning of the world"; "a place of custody for souls;" "these are 164 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. now indeed confined in hades, but not In the same place wherein the unjust are confined." "Wherein the souls of all men are confined until a proper sea son" (Hades, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6). The words "subterra nean," "custody," "confined," pertain to a "prison" ; yet, only temporary for the righteous,— "until a proper season." Hades embraces abodes for both the righteous and the wicked: "Hades, wherein the souls of the right eous and the unrighteous are detained." " In this region there is a certain place set apart as a lake of unquenchable fire ;"" while the just . . . are now indeed confined in hades, but not in the same place wherein the unjust are confined" (Hades, 1, 2). " The punishments and rewards in hades " (Wars, 2, 8, 14). Both the wicked and the righteous are em braced there. Abraham's bosom: "As to hades, there is one descent into this region, . . . but the just are guided to the right hand, . . . unto a region of light, in which the just have dwelt from the beginning of the world. . . . This place we call the bosom of Abra ham" (Hades, 3). Philo — "And banishing the unjust and ungodly soul, he disperses it and drives it to a distance from himself to the region of the pleasures and appetites and acts of injustice ; and this region is, with exceed ing appropriateness, called the region of the impious, more fitly than that one which is fabled as existing in the shades below. For indeed, the real hell is the life of the wicked, which is audacious and flagitious, and liable to all kinds of curses " (Works, Bohn's Ed. vol. ii. pp. 168, 169). SHEOL, HADES, GEHENNA, AND PARADISE. 165 Clement of Rome — " For they went down alive into hades, and death swallowed them up " (1st Epis. c. 51). These were Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and such others as engaged in the rebellion against Moses. In this case the wicked were in hades, but not in the paradise of hades. Ignatius — Saints in hades, and under the earth : ' ' He was truly crucified, and [truly] died, in the sight of beings in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth" (To Tral. c. 9). "I mean ... by those under the earth, the multitude that arose along with the Lord. For says the Scripture, ' many bodies of the saints that slept arose,' their graves being opened. He descended, indeed, into hades alone, but he arose accompanied by a multitude" (Ibid. Long. Ver.). Christ by this view must have visited, between his death and resurrection, the saints that rose with him from the dead. If this addition to the Shorter Version does not date near the first part of the second century, then it must near the last part. Hades received both the righteous and the wicked, both Christ and Korah. It was therefore for both classes of men, and had two apartments, as we shall see. Papias — A lower paradise : "As the presbyters say, then [in the future state] those who are deemed worthy of an abode in heaven shall go there, others shall enjoy the delights of paradise. . . . The first will be taken up into the heavens, the second class will dwell in paradise" (5). This is certain, that the early Christians often conceived of a paradise lower then heaven, and that they sometimes called it "Abraham's bosom," a temporary place for nearly all the departed saints previous to Christ's resurrection. 166 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. Justin Martyr — Two classes of men go to hades. He quotes approvingly from Sophocles : — " There are two roads to hades, well we know ; By this the righteous, and by that the bad, On to their separate fates shall tend ; and he, Who all things had destroyed, shall all things save " [keep alive]. (Gov't of God, c. 3.) Hades, therefore, receives all of the dead. Christ did not remain in hades : "So likewise Christ declared that ignorance was not on his side, but on theirs, who thought that he was not the Christ, but fancied they would put him to death, and that he, like some common mortal, would remain in hades " (Dia. Try. c. 99). Irenaeus — Christ in hades : " The holy Lord re membered his dead Israel, who slept in the land of sepulture ; and he descended to them to make known to them his salvation. . . . ' He also descended into the lower parts of the earth,' to behold with his eyes the state of those who were resting from their labors " (Against Heresies, B. iv. c. 22, s. 1). " But the case was, that for three days he dwelt in the place where the dead were, as the prophet says concerning him" (Her. B. v. c. 31). Clement of Alexandria— "If, then, the Lord de scended to hades for no other end but to preach the gospel, as he did descend ; it was either to preach the gospel to all," "who had lived in righteousness," "or to the Hebrews only" (Mis. B. vi. c. 6). The right eous who died before Christ, were in hades to hear the gospel there from him. Both classes of the dead were in hades. " The rich man was punished in SHEOL, HADES, GEHENNA, AND PARADISE. 167 hades, being made partaker of the fire ; while the other flourished again in the Father's bosom " (Inst. B. ii. c. 11). Both men were in hades. Tertullian — Hades has two apartments and condi tions : " I must compel you to determine [what you mean by hades], which of its two regions, the region of the good or of the bad" (Anima, c. 56). "Nay, even in hades the admonition has not ceased to speak ; where we find in the person of the rich feaster, con vivialities tortured ; in that of the pauper, fasts refreshed" (Fasting, c. 16). "Whatever amount of punishment or refreshment the soul tastes in hades " (Anima, c. 7). Christ descended to hades : " But what is that which is removed to hades after the separation of the body ; which is there detained ; which is reserved until the day of judgment ; to which Christ also, on dying, de scended" (Anima, c. 7)? Gehenna like the place of punishment in hades : " 'Fear him who, after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell ' " [gehenna] (Marc. B. iv. c. 28). Abraham's bosom : " That there is some determi nate place called Abraham's bosom, and that it is designed for the reception of the souls of Abraham's children, even from among the Gentiles. . . . Although it is not in heaven, it is yet higher than hell, and is appointed to afford an interval of rest to the souls of the righteous, until the consummation of all things shall complete the resurrection of all men with the 'full recompense of their reward.'" "The Scripture itself . . . expressly distinguishes be tween Abraham's bosom, where the poor man dwells, and the infernal place of torment. ' Hell ' (I take it) 168 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. means one thing, and Abraham's bosom another." "By Abraham's bosom is meant some temporary receptacle of faithful souls " (Marc. B. iv. c. 34). "And after this life's course is over, repose in hades in Abraham's bosom" (Marc. B. iii. c. 24). Heaven : " This city has been provided by God for receiving the saints on their resurrection." "We shall then be changed in a moment into the substance of angels, even by the investiture of an incorruptible nature, and so be removed to that kingdom of heaven of which we have now been treating" (Marc. B. iii. c. 24). Tertullian differed from most of his con temporaries, in believing that the saints, except martyrs, do not change their abode from Abraham's bosom to heaven until after the final resurrection and judgment. Others thought that those in Abraham's bosom at Christ's ascension ascended with him to heaven. Hippolytus— " But now we must speak of hades, in which the souls both of the righteous and the unright eous are detained. .... And in this locality there is a certain place set apart by itself, a lake of un quenchable fire, into which we suppose no one has ever yet been cast; for it is prepared against the day determined by God, in which one sentence of righteous judgment shall be justly applied to all. And the un righteous, and those who believe not God, who have honored as God the vain works of the hands of men, idols fashioned (by themselves), shall be sentenced to this endless punishment. But the righteous shall obtain the incorruptible and unfading kingdom, who indeed are at present detained in hades, but not in the same place with the unrighteous. For to this locality SHEOL, HADES, GEHENNA, AND PARADISE. 169 there is one descent, at the gate whereof we believe an archangel is stationed with a host. And when those who are conducted by the angels appointed unto the souls have passed through this gate, they do not proceed on one and the same way ; but the righteous, being conducted in the light toward the right, and being hymned by the angels stationed at the place, are brought to a locality full of light. And there the righteous from the beginning dwell, not ruled by necessity, but enjoying always the contemplation of the blessings which are in their view, and delighting themselves with the expectation of others ever new, and deeming those ever better than these. And that place brings no toils to them. There, there is neither fierce heat, nor cold, nor thorn ; but the face of the fathers and the righteous is seen to be always smiling, as they wait for the rest and eternal revival in heaven which succeed this location. And we call it by the name Abraham's bosom. But the unrighteous are -dragged toward the left by angels who are ministers of punishment, and they go of their own accord no longer, but are dragged by force as prisoners. And the angels appointed over them send them along, reproaching them and threatening them, with an eye of terror, forcing them down into the lower parts. And when they are brought there, those appointed to that service drag them on to the confines of hell (gehenna) " (Discourse against Greeks, s. 1). It seems that by a general statement, "Abraham's bosom " is a part of hades, and by a more specific statement, it may perhaps be called a region for the blessed next beyond hades, or on the further side of it, with heaven still beyond that. In like manner, gehenna in one 170 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. sense is a part of hades, and in another sense is a region beyond it. Yet, there is a place of punishment for the wicked in hades, if the conception be allowed that none are cast into gehenna until after the judg ment. This figurative language, and thought, of the early Fathers, had a substratum in their real belief. Cyprian — "A horrible place, of which the name is gehenna, with an awful murmuring and groaning of souls bewailing, and with flames belching forth through the horrid darkness of thick night " (Martyr dom, s. 20). Origen — " Now as we found that gehenna was men tioned in the Gospel as a place of punishment, we searched to see whether it is mentioned anywhere in the ancient Scriptures, and especially because the Jews too use the word. And we ascertained that where the valley of the Son of Ennom was named in Scripture in the Hebrew, instead of 'valley,' with fundamentally the same meaning, it was termed both the valley of Ennom and also Geenna " (Agt. Celsus, B. vi. c. 25). Gregory Thaumaturgns — Christ descended to hades: "It becometh me to descend even into the very depths of the grave, on behalf of the dead who are detained there. It becometh me, by my three days' dissolution in the flesh, to destroy the power of the ancient enemy, death " (Holy Theophany). Hades abolished for those of faith, since Christ rose: "And if any one believes not that death is abolished, that hades is trodden under foot, that the chains thereof are broken, that the tyrant thereof is bound, let him look on the martyrs disporting themselves in the presence of death, and taking up the jubilant SHEOL, HADES, GEHENNA, AND PARADISE. 171 strain of the victory of Christ. . . . For since the second Adam has brought up the first Adam out of the deeps of hades, as Jonah was delivered out of the whale, and has set forth him who was deceived as a citizen of heaven to the shame of the deceiver, the gates of hades have been shut, and the gates of heaven have been opened, so as to offer an unimpeded entrance to those who rise thither in faith" (Dis course on Saints). Arnobius — "But [will he not be terrified by] the punishments in hades, of which we have heard, as suming also [as they do] many forms of torture " (Agt. Gentiles, B. ii. s. 30). He does not say that there is punishment in all parts of hades. Lactantius — "Now, that he would not remain in hell [hades], but rise again on the third day, had been foretold by the prophets " (Div. Insts. B. iv. c. 19). The Scriptures — Sheol the world of the dead in Old Testament usage : "I will go down into the grave (sheol) unto my son " (Gen. 37: 35). Jacob believed his son, Joseph, had been destroyed by wild beasts, and hence that he had no grave; and therefore " sheol" was to him the spirit world of the dead. Yet, he did not ex pect to share the lot of the wicked; therefore in sheol was a place for the righteous, according to his concep tion, which must have been correct at that time. Sheol also contained, or led to, a place for the wicked. " The wicked shall be turned into hell (sheol), and all the na tions that forget God " (Ps. 9:17). " Let them go down quick into hell (sheol) : for wickedness is in their dwell ings, and among them" (Ps. 55: 15). " Her house is the way to hell" (sheol) (Prov. 7: 27). These passages im ply the condemnation of the wicked in the future state. 172 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. Sheol in the Old Testament the same as hades in the New Testament: The word "sheol" occurs sixty-five times in the Old Testament. And the translators of the Hebrew into the Greek, giving the Septuagint, in all cases except four rendered the Hebrew word "sheol" by the Greek word "hades." This work was completed about B. C. 150. And the two words unquestionably retained and held the same meaning in the New Testament era. Hades the world of the dead in New Testament usage: "The rich man also died, and was buried. And in hades he lifted up his eyes" (Lu. 16:22, 23). It was not the grave in which he lifted up his eyes. "And death and hades gave up the dead that were in them" (Rev. 20:13). Death was the power, and hades was the place or state or both. There must have been both righteous and wicked that were given up by hades for the judgment. But the two classes were not in the same place in hades. Therefore: hades embraced two regions in the world of the dead. In the world of the dead was a place of happiness : "And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and that he was carried away by the angels into Abraham's bosom" (Lu. 16: 22). " To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise" (Lu. 23:43). "Abraham's bosom" and this "paradise" were doubtless the same. Yet, this "paradise" was not heaven, because Christ said to Mary at the tomb, " I am not yet ascended unto the Father. ... I ascend unto my Father and your Father" (Jo. 20:17). There was a celestial paradise (2 Cor. 12: 2, 4; Rev. 2: 7). In the world of the dead was aplace of unhappiness : "And in hades he lifted up his eyes, being in tor- GEHENNA— FIRE: HADES— PRISON. 173 ments " (Lu. 16: 23). " Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell (gehenna)" (Lu. 12: 5). " Fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (gehenna)" (Mat. 10:28). Christ at his death went to the paradise in hades : To the penitent on the cross he said he would on the day of their death be with him in paradise. Else where it is taught that he went to hades at death. The Apostle Peter interpreted the Psalmist as prophe sying of Christ, " Thou wilt not leave my soul in hades," and as affirming, " Neither was he left in hades " (Acts, 2: 27, 31). This language certainly per tains to Christ, and to his state between his death and resurrection. CHAPTER XVIII.— Gehenna by Figure a Place of Fire ; Hades by Figure a Prison. [This chapter is a reprint of an article in the BibliotWeca Sacra of Oct., 1887, and with consent it is republished here.] The Scriptures and contemporaneous and subse quent Jewish and Christian writings, represent hades — the world of the dead, both righteous and wicked — as a " prison," or place of confinement or detention, such as the Apostle Peter speaks of in his first Epistle. And those inspired and other writings do not repre sent gehenna — the place of the wicked dead — as a "prison," but as worse, a fire. The bearing of these facts on the subject of Christ preaching to " spirits in prison " is very important. They indicate that he did not preach to the wicked dead, else gehenna would 174 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. have been named or implied ; and that he did preach to some of the righteous dead. For, he preached to some in "prison," and hades was termed a prison, the part where the righteous were, being a prison of detention to them, where they remained until their resurrection, or ascension after Christ ascended to his Father. If the foregoing statements can be established, or even made to seem probable, it will forbid the use of the two texts concerning preaching to the dead (1 Peter, 3 : 19, 20 ; 4: 6), to support the doctrine of future probation for those who die impenitent. The use of the word " gehenna" in the New Testa ment : It always means more than a place of partial confinement for a limited period. The twelve in stances of its New Testament use are the following : " Whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of the hell of fire [gehenna of fire] " (Mat. 5 : 22). "It is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy whole body be cast into hell [gehenna] " (ver. 29). "And not thy whole body go into hell " (ver. 30). " But rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell " (10 : 28). gehenna is a place of destruction ("destroy"), and not merely of confinement for a season. " It is good for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire" (18 : 9). In the preceding verse the place of punish ment is called " eternal fire "; more than a temporary prison. " Ye make him twofold more a son of hell than yourselves " (23 : 15). " Ye serpents, ye off spring of vipers, how shall ye escape the judgment of hell?" (ver. 33). The "judgment of hell" is more GEHENNA — FIRE: HADES— PRISON. 175 than the restraint of waiting for future action and development, which is a prison in one sense. " It is good for thee to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands to go into hell [gehenna], into the unquenchable fire " (Mark, 9 : 43). Gehenna is here defined by the "unquenchable fire" which is not a mere prison of some kind. "It is good for thee to enter into life halt, rather than having thy two feet to be cast into hell " (ver. 45). " It is good for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell ; where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched " (ver. 47, 48). The "eternal fire" of Matthew, 18: 8, and the " unquenchable fire " of Mark, 9 : 43, are in Mark, 9 : 48, defined as "fire not quenched," never put out. " Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell ; yea, I say unto you, Fear him " (Luke, 12 : 5). "And setteth on fire the wheel of nature, and is set on fire by hell " (James, 3:6). Gehenna here, too, is a place of fire ; for the tongue is set on fire by it, Gehenna — valley of Hinnom — is well known to have been a place of constant fire, where the physical corruption of Jerusalem was consumed ; that process for health purposes answering to the sewage system of modern cities. Doubtless the fire of punishment is figurative, not material, fire ; for, there, "their worm dieth not," and literal fire and literal worm could not subsist together. In not one of the foregoing passages is gehenna rep resented as a "prison," but in each one as something far worse. In five of the twelve it is spoken of as fire, and in each of the rest as consistent with fire. It fol lows that the "prison" spoken of by Peter cannot 176 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. with any authority be called gehenna, the place of the wicked dead. The time of destruction to the wicked is often said or implied to be at death. "Ye shall die in your sins." The Galilseans whom Pilate slew, perished when he slew them ; and the eighteen on whom the tower fell perished when they died (Luke, 13 : 1-5). The natural inference is, that all who die in their sins perish when they die. And Christ's words, " Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell," naturally teach that being cast into gehenna comes to the wicked just " after " death. It does not appear that there is any place intermediate for the sinner between death and gehenna. This suggests— of which we shall further learn — that gehenna is a part of hades. The rich man in hades apparently went to the place of punish ment immediately after death, and he went into a place of " flame," which, according to usage in the foregoing passages, must have been gehenna, or the approach or entrance to it. The use of the word "sheol " in the Old Testament : In general, sheol means the world of the dead. Some times qualifying phrases or circumstances give it a more specific meaning ; as the abode of the wicked dead. The " lowest hell " was the place of the wicked in sheol. "But he knoweth not that the dead are there ; that her guests are in the depths of sheol" (Prov. 9 : 18). They are the "guests" of the foolish woman. The word "depths" indicates the part of sheol where the wicked are. " That he may depart from sheol beneath" (Prov. 15 : 24). "Sheol be neath " is in contrast with " The way of life upward." The latter pertains to the righteous ; the former, to GEHENNA— FIRE: HADES— PRISON. 177 the wicked. "Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell [sheol], to the uttermost parts of the pit" (Isa. 14 : 15). The whole sentence taken together shows that the part of sheol meant was the place of the con demned. "When I cast him down to sheol with them that descend into the pit" (Ezek. 31 : 16). The phrases, "Cast him down," and "Descend into the pit," would not be used in the case of the death of the righteous. " In a moment they go down to sheol" (Job, 21: 13). The connection shows that the wicked depart to sheol. " And they go down alive into the pit [sheol] ; then shall ye understand that these men have despised the Lord" (Num. 16: 30). Sheol must in part be the abode of the wicked. Sheol is also represented as the abode of the right eous. The first instance of its use in Scripture is a case in point, " I will go down to the grave [sheol] to my son mourning" (Gen. 37: 35). The sheol here is more than " grave " ; it is a place for souls,: — for Jacob and for Joseph. Jacob supposed his son was torn in pieces, and had no grave ; yet he expected to meet him in sheol. Job said, "O that thou wouldest hide me in sheol, that thou wouldest keep me secret until thy wrath be past ! " (Job, 14: 13). Job had confidence in his own integrity, and believed in his final salvation. He therefore believed that sheol in some part was the abode of the righteous. His view must have been correct. "What man is he that shall live and not see death, that shall 'deliver his soul from the power of sheol?" (Ps. 89:48). This im plies that all men become inhabitants of sheol. Then two classes must have been there, both the righteous and the wicked. They must be, or must have been, 12 178 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. in two states, and doubtless in two places. As the committee on the revision of the Old Testament say, sheol is " the name of the abode of the dead," includ ing both classes. The use of the word "hades" in the New Testa ment: The Septuagint nearly always translates the Hebrew "sheol" by the Greek "hades." The ex ceptions employ some word of similar meaning. For at least three hundred years before Christ, hades meant what sheol meant ; and since the latter was the abode of the dead of both classes, the former was also. No evidence appears of any change at the time of Christ, or afterwards. Where the word "hades" is used to signify the place of either the righteous or the wicked, some qualifying language or circum stances, as in the case of sheol, indicate which part or state of hades is meant. "Thou . . . shalt be brought down unto hades" (Mat. 12: 23). "Thou . . . shalt be brought down unto hades" (Luke, 10:15). Such expressions imply judgment, and the place of destruction in hades. "And in hades he lifted up his eyes being in torments" (Luke, 16:23). This passage makes it certain that in hades there was a place for the wicked dead. The rich man was there, and feared that his brethren would come there. That part of hades seems to have been gehenna ; for it was a place of "anguish in . . . flame"; and gehenna was a place of punishment in fire. There is no reason for supposing a difference between gehenna and the place of punishment in hades. But was the whole of hades a place of punishment ? When Christ in the book of Revelation says, " I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore," he added, GEHENNA— FIRE: HADES— PRISON. 179 "And I have the keys of death and of hades" (Rev. 1: 18). He having been dead and now being alive, it seems quite natural and appropriate for him to say that he had the keys of — the power over — death and the world of the dead. But to understand him as say ing that he had the keys of death, and of the place of a part of the dead only, seems unnatural and inap propriate. Therefore we infer that hades was the world of all the dead. John "saw, and behold, a pale horse : and he that sat upon him, his name was death ; and hades followed with him" (6:8). We can see why the place of the whole world of the dead should follow in obedience to death; but we cannot see why only the place of the punishment of the wicked should follow death. John " saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne ; and the books were opened : and another book was opened, which is the book of life : and the dead were judged out of the 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 hades gave up the dead which were in them : and they were judged every man according to their works" (20: 12, 13). At the scene of the judgment, why should only death, and the place of punishment among the dead, give up the dwellers in them for the great account ? But, mak ing hades mean the world of all the dead, it agrees with teaching elsewhere, that the righteous, as well as the wicked, shall be judged at the great day. Judging from these three passages in Revelation alone, it would seem impossible that hades should mean the world of the wicked ,dead only ; or, that it should mean the growe only. Was it the grave only 180 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. that followed death on the pale horse ? They were evidently beings, not mere bodies or dust, > that fol lowed death. " My flesh also shall dwell in hope : because thou wilt not leave my soul in hades" (Acts, 2:26, 27). This undeniably refers to Christ. There is a differ ence between his "flesh" and his "soul" : one is in the grave, the other is in hades. The flesh rejoices in hope, because the soul is coming from hades to re vivify it. What is this hades in which is the soul of Christ ? Is it the place of the wicked dead ? Christ has died for sinners ; he does not need to go there to work out redemption. He has suffered the agonies of Gethsemane and the cross ; he does not need to suffer in gehenna. That is the place of punishment for the wicked ; Christ is not one of the wicked. Was not Christ in that part of sheol where Jacob expected to meet Joseph, and where, no doubt, he did meet him and multitudes of others at last ? The Apostle Peter, in this passage, quotes from David's prophecy of Christ (Ps. 16: 10). There the psalmist uses the He brew sheol, while Peter translates it hades, an in spired translation. The seventy-two writers of the Septuagint also translate sheol in this place by hades, and as there were two regions in sheol, there are also in hades ; and Christ there is with the blessed. The penitent thief was to be with Christ in paradise — the place of the blessed — on the day of their death. Still, Christ was in hades. Hades, therefore, had a para disiacal part, which was the "Abraham's bosom," where Abraham and Lazarus were. Abraham and his grandson Jacob were doubtless in the same place in sheol or hades. The place in hades where the GEHENNA— FIRE: HADES — PRISON. 181 rich man was, being in plain sight of Abraham's bosom, with only a gulf between, may well be sup posed to have been in the same world of the dead. Peter, to make his meaning clear to his hearers at the day of Pentecost, repeats by saying, "Neither was he left in hades, nor did his flesh see corruption " (Acts, 2: 31). The repetition should make the meaning ihe more clear and the more emphatic to us. The basis and usage for calling hades and sheol a "prison." The Scripture basis and usage : The Apos tle Peter speaks of Christ as preaching to spirits in prison. He also says of him, " That neither was he left in hades" (Acts, 2:31). This very expression, "left in hades," when hades is understood as the world of the dead, suggests the idea of confinement, detention, and in that sense a prison. This is one Apostle. Another, Paul, locates hades in the under ground world, according to the common conception and expression of that early time. " Now this, he ascended, what is it but that he also descended into the LOWER PARTS OF THE EARTH" (Eph. 4: 9) ? This was not his descent from heaven to earth, but to the " lower parts of the earth," the under-world, when he died. In hades he was detained for a brief season. Compared with heaven, or even this life, hades was to him, and those he visited, a prison of detention in a mild sense. They all there awaited their resurrec tion, or ascension to a higher sphere. Christ's came soon. Many Bible expressions indicate that sheol and hades, to the conception of Hebrews and Christians in Scripture times, meant an under- world of the dead, which often had to the living a prison aspect. Some 182 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. examples of such Bible expressions are these : " Deeper than sheol ; " " From sheol beneath ; " " Sheol from beneath;" "Brought down to sheol;" "When he went down to sheol;" "They also went down into sheol;" "Out of the midst of sheol;" "Shalt be brought down to hades;" "The keys of hades and of death ; " " Death and hades delivered up the dead." The Lord has never revealed to men where the world of the dead is. Their conceptions of it are naturally somewhat conformed to their astronomical views. It is no sin in them to have some inexact ideas about it. When astronomy taught that the earth was a flat body, with the sun, moon, and stars going around it, it was no coarse conception that there was an under world, and there might well be in it a paradise, or elysian fields, as well as a tartarus. That under world was naturally conceived of as down below the grave, and the grave was the opening to it. The two were often conjoined in both thought and speech. There is progress shown in the revelation given by the Scriptures, and a part of it is based on progress in the divine acts, as in those of redemption. In the earlier and greater part of the revelation the dead in general were consigned to an under-world, or, a state and place below and apart from the highest heaven, where God reigned and angels dwelt. After Christ's ascen sion the righteous seem to have followed him at death to glory. But while the dead in general were in the under- world, it was often conceived and spoken of as a kind of confinement and detention, even for the righteous, until there should come for them a better day. And in that aspect hades or sheol, as a whole, was a kind of prison, and was so regarded. Such GEHENNA— FIRE : HADES— PRISON. 183 Scripture phrases as "went down into sheol," and "keys of hades," are sufficiently explained in no other way. Besides, the Greek for "prison" often means only a " watch " of the night (Mat. 14 : 25 ; 24: 43; Mark, 6: 48; Luke, 12: 38), in which time there were those that kept guard for the detention of some and the protection of many more. Job said, "O that thou wouldest hide me in sheol, that thou wouldest keep me secret until thy wrath be past " (Job, 14: 13). He had in this expression a view of sheol as a place of confinement for protection. And what sheol was, hades was. The Apocrypha shows many Hebrew conceptions at the time of Christ, and that also of the under-world. "He leadeth down to hell [hades] and bringeth up" (Tob. 13 : 2); " Out of the bottoms of inevitable hell [hades]" (Wisdom, 17 : 14); "At the end there of is the pit of hell " (Eccl. 21: 10) ; " My life was near to the hell beneath" (Eccl. 51 : 6) ; "For he hath delivered us from hell" (Dan. Aza. v. 66). In nearly or quite all these instances, the word "hell" stands for the world of the dead, and not for that of the wicked dead alone. Some of the dead went to a pris on of punishment, and some to one of detention, until their redemption was made complete by their resur rection, or other deliverance, from the dead. That whole under- world was a prison in some aspect. The early Christian Fathers used many expressions befitting the conception of hades as a prison. Irenaeus says, " He also descended into the lower parts of the earth, to behold with his eyes the state of those who were resting from their labors " (Her. B. iv. c. 22, s. 1). " The Lord descended into the regions 184 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. beneath the earth, preaching his advent there also " (Her. B. iv. c. 27, s. 2). " He remembered his dead saints, — and he descended to them" (Her. B. v. c. 31. s. 1) ; " The Lord went away in the midst of the shadow of death, where the souls of the dead were " (Ibid. s. 2) : " When the holy soul of Christ descended [to hades] many souls ascended and were seen in their bodies" (Frag. 2?). Clement of Alexandria says, "• For Dionysus eagerly desiring to descend to hades " (Ex. Heath, c. 2) : " Let us put him out of sight, all alive, as he is, into hades" (Inst. B. i. c. 10) ; • " They have vanished, and gone down into hades " (Inst. B. ii. c, 3) : "The Lord descended to hades" (Mis. B. vL c. 6). Hippolytus says : " Hades is a place in the created system, rude, a locality beneath the earth, in which the light of the world does not shine ; " •• To this locality there is one descent'" (Dis. Greeks, s. 1). Tertullian says : " Every eddy thereof sucks down into hades" (Idol. c. 24) ; "You must suppose hades to be a subterranean region ; " "A vast deep space in the interior of the«arth;" "The secret inner recess which is hidden in the earth" (Anima, c. 55) ; "The fact that hades is not in any case opened for [the escape of] any soul" (An. c. 5?) : "All souls, there fore, are shut up within hades " (An. c. 58). These citations show, that, by the post-apostolic conception, hades was an underground inclosure, which it would be no straining of language to term a "prison." The early Christian Fathers actually give to hades thename "prison." Tertullian says, that he has " established the posi tion [' Essay on Paradise '], that every soul is detained GEHENNA— FIRE: HADES— PRISON. 185 in safe keeping in hades until the day of the Lord " (An. c. 55). "Detained" suggests a prison of de tention. Whether Tertullian had " established " that "position" or not, such was the position of the Fathers concerning the righteous dead previous to Christ's resurrection. Tertullian thought it would continue to be the condition of the righteous until their own res urrection. On that point the Fathers in general differed from him. They believed the righteous dead were taken to be with Christ at the right hand of the Father after his ascension. Tertullian says, " We un derstand 'the prison ' pointed out in the Gospel to be hades" — Mat. 5:25 (An. c. 58). Speaking of hades and the departed, he assumes that "the same prison awaits them all when dead" (An. c. 55). He says, "All souls, therefore, are shut up within hades " (An. c. 58). Being "shut up" implies a kind of prison. He speaks of the righteous as well as the wicked in hades, for he adds, " There are already experienced there punishments and consolations; and there you have a poor man and a rich " (An. c. 58), referring to Lazarus and the rich man in hades. Clement speaks of the righteous deceased Gentiles as in " hades and in ward " (Mis. B. vi. c. 6). " Ward " means " prison." He did not mean that they were in gehenna, but, they being righteous, that they were with the righteous in hades. Hippolytus, commenting on Luke 23, and on Christ in hades, speaks of the "warders of hades" (Frag. Lu. 23). The " warders " were the guard, and a guard implies a kind of prison. Gregory Thaumaturgus speaks of those in hades as "the dead who are detained there," implying that 186 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. hades is a prison of detention (Holy Theophany, near close). Extensive search among writings of the early Fa thers has discovered only one instance where even possibly the word " prison " applies to gehenna. Yet there that word may be only a synonym of the word "lodging," which refers to "Abraham's bosom." And in the same sentence gehenna is termed "the fire." The language is that of Tertullian (An. c. 7), whose usage is to term and represent hades in its whole as a "prison," and gehenna as a "fire," and "abysmal depths." Patristical usage termed hades a prison. Did the Apostle Peter write contrary to the usage adopted by his followers? Did they not copy him ? Both Irenseus and Tertullian speak of those who re garded the human body as a " prison." That was a common conception. The "interesting and elo quent" epistle to Diognetus, written early, and per haps by Clement of Rome, has the following: "The soul is imprisoned in the body, yet preserves that very body; and Christians are confined in the world as in a prison, and yet they are preservers of the world " (c. 6). Hades to the righteous was a prison only as the body is a prison to the soul. That was the Patristical view, and the Petrine and Apostolical view. The primitive saints believed that their salvation would not be complete until they were delivered from their detention in hades. Hence they looked with great expectation to their resurrection, particularly until they received the idea that the souls of the righteous were transferred to be with their Saviour at the right hand of the Father. When such leading teachers and writers as Tertul- GEHENNA— FIRE: HADES— PRISON. 187 lian, Clement, and Hippolytus, representing such com munities as Carthage, Alexandria, and Rome, termed hades a "prison," we may be sure that such was the usage of their times. When we add the fact, that the known universal usage of centuries before and after, as well as during, their time, regarded hades as an underground inclosure, — temporary for the righteous, — we may justly be confirmed in the opinion that hades was then deemed a kind of prison. Adding to this the fact, that gehenna of itself was not called a prison, but something far worse — a place of fire, we are further helped on to the conclusion that Christ preaching to " spirits in prison " did not preach to the impenitent dead. He did go to "paradise," or "Abra ham's bosom," when he died, for he was to be there that day with the penitent one on the cross. Besides all this, it is known that among the Apos tolic Fathers — even the earliest of them — there was the current idea, that Apostles and eminent saints, on dying, carried more or less gospel intelligence to their saved brethren in the world of the dead. And some of the more prominent and able of those Apostolic Fathers taught also, that Christ at his death visited his saints among the dead, and unfolded to them more than they knew before of his work of redemption. This was the gospel preached to "the dead," and " preached to the spirits in prison." 188 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. CHAPTER XIX.— The Primitive Doctrine that Christ and his Apostles Preached to the Right eous Dead. [Some part of this chapter, and a part of the second following, were embraced in an article, by the present writer, published in The Independent of New York city, December 1, 1887. The article was entitled " Probation in the Second Century."] Ignatius — Christ after his death was with the dead : " He was truly crucified, and [truly] died, in the sight of beings in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth. He was also truly raised from the dead, his Father quickening him " (To Trallians, c. 9. Shorter Recension). " By those under the earth, the multitude that arose along with the Lord. For says the Script ure, 'Many bodies of the saints that slept arose'" (Ibid. Longer Rec). Pastor of Hermas — " These Apostles and teachers who preached the name of the Son of God, after fall ing asleeprin the power and faith of the Son of God, preached it not only to those who were asleep, but themselves also gave them the seal of the preach ing. . . . By these, then, were they quickened and made to know the name of the Son of God. For they slept in righteousness and in great purity " (Similitude, ix. c. 16). Nothing here of preaching to the wicked dead. Justin Martyr—" He rose again from the dead. . . After you learned that he rose from the dead " (Dia. Trypho, c. 108). " ' The Lord remembered his dead people .of Israel who lay in the graves; and he de scended to preach to them his own salvation ' " (Ibid. c. 72). PREACHING TO RIGHTEOUS DEAD. 189 Irenaeus— " ' The holy Lord remembered his dead Israel, who slept in the land of sepulture; and he de scended to them to make known to them his salva tion, that they might be saved.' . . . But com ing the second time, he aroused them, and made them stand up, in token that his passion is the arousing of his sleeping disciples, on whose account ' he also de scended into the lower parts of the earth,' to behold with his eyes the state of those who were resting from their labors, in reference to whom he did also declare to the disciples: ' Many prophets and righteous men have desired to see and hear what ye do see and hear.' "For it was not merely for those who believed on him in the time of Tiberius Caesar that Christ came, nor did the Father exercise his providence for the men only who are now alive, but for all men altogether, who from the beginning, according to their capacity, in their generation have both feared and loved God, and practiced justice and piety towards their neigh bors, and have earnestly desired to see Christ, and to hear his voice. Wherefore he shall, at his second coming, first rouse from their sleep all persons of this description, and shall raise them up, as well as the rest who shall be judged, and give them a place in his kingdom. For it is truly ' one God who ' directed the patriarchs towards his dispensations, and ' has justi fied the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith.' For as in the first we were prefigured, so, on the other hand, are they represented in us, that is, in the church, and receive the recompense for those things which they accomplished " (Against Her. B. iv. c. 22, s. 1, 2). This teaches salvation for even the 190 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. penitent heathenr without an after-death probation; and such Christ visited in hades. "And that it was not a mere man. who died for us, Isaiah says: ' and the holy Lord remembered his dead Israel, who had slept in the land of sepulture; and he came down to preach his salvation to them, that he might save them'" (Her. B. iii. c. 20, s. 4). Though this passage is not found in the prophecy of Isaiah, and there is some error in respect to the quotation as to the place whence it came, still it serves fully to show that Irenseus believed that Christ, between his death and resurrection, preached to the righteous dead. " It was for this reason, too, that the Lord descended into the regions beneath the earth, preaching his ad vent there also, and [declaring] the remission of sins received by those who believe in him. Now all those believed in him who had hope towards him, that is, those who proclaimed his advent, and submitted to his dispensations, the righteous men, the prophets, and the patriarchs, to whom he remitted sins in the same way as he did to us " (Her. B. iv. c. 27, s. 2). He teaches that believers after death were righteous before death. Christ at death went to the place where the departed saints were: "For three days he dwelt in the place where the dead were, as the prophet says concerning him [what prophet or other writer does not appear], 'And the Lord remembered his dead saints who slept formerly in the landof sepulture; and he descended to them, to rescue and save them.' And the Lord him self says, 'As Jonas remained three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man PREACHING TO RIGHTEOUS DEAD. 191 be in the heart of the earth.' Then also the Apostle says, ' But when he ascended, what is it but that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth?' This, too, David says when prophesying of him, And thou hast delivered my soul from the nethermost hell'; and on his rising again the third day, he said to Mary, who was the first to see and worship him, ' Touch me not, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to the disciples, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and unto your Father ' " (Her. B. v. c. 31, s. 1). " This event was also an indication of the fact, that when the holy soul of Christ descended [to hades], many souls ascended and were seen in their bodies" (Fragments, xxviii.). " For as the Lord ' went away in the midst of the shadow of death,' where the souls of the dead were, yet afterwards arose in the body, and after the resur rection was taken up [into heaven], it is manifest that the souls of his disciples also, upon whose account the Lord underwent these things, shall go away into the invisible place allotted to them by God, and there re main until the resurrection " (Her. B. v. c. 32, s. 2). Clement of Alexandria— "And the Shepherd [of Her mas] . . . says accordingly, 'that the Apostles and teachers, who had preached the name of the Son of God, and had fallen asleep, in power and by faith, preached to those that had fallen asleep before ' " (Mis. B. ii. c. 9). " Wherefore the Lord preached the gospel to those in hades [' to those that were right eous according to philosophy,' or ' to the law,' and died without the gospel]. . . . The Apostles, fol lowing the Lord, preached the gospel to those in hades. ... If, then, the Lord descended to hades 192 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. for no other end but to preach the gospel, as he did descend. ... If, then, he preached only to the Jews, who wanted the knowledge and faith of the Saviour, it is plain that, since God is no respecter of persons, the Apostles also, as here, so there, preached the gospel to those of the heathen who were ready for conversion " (Mis. B. vi. c. 6, first part). But who are they " ready for conversion "? Let Clement answer: "It is accordingly expressly said, ' Declare among the heathen his statutes,' that they may not be judged, but that those who have previously given ear may be converted" (Mis. B. vii. c. 16, close). "Previously given ear," — those who have given obedience under nature, — already converted according to the light they have. Tertullian—" But what is that which is removed to hades after the separation of the body; which is there detained; which is reserved until the day of judgment; to which Christ also, on dying, descended " (An. c. 7) ? " Now although Christ is God, yet, being also man, ' he died according to the Scriptures,' and ' according to the same Scriptures was buried.' With the same law of his being he fully complied, by remaining in hades in the form and condition of a dead man; nor did he ascend into the heights of heaven before descend ing into the lower parts of the earth, that he might there make the patriarchs and prophets partakers of himself" (An. c. 55). Partakers of his resurrection and ascension power. Tertullian differed from most in holding that the patriarchs and prophets preceded the other righteous dead to heaven. Hippolytus—" He was also numbered among the dead, and preached to the souls of the saints, (and) by PREACHING TO RIGHTEOUS DEAD. 193 death overcame death" (Com. Daniel, 7:14). "For this reason the warders of hades trembled when they saw him; and the gates of brass and the bolts of iron were broken. For, lo, the Only-begotten entered, a soul among souls, God the Word with a (human) soul. For his body lay in the tomb, not emptied of divinity; but as, while in hades, he was in essential being with his Father, so was he also in the body and in hades" (Com. Luke, 23). "He showed all power given by the Father to the Son, who is ordained Lord of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth, and Judge of all: of things in heaven, because he was born, the Word of God, before all (ages); and of things on earth, because he became man in the midst of men, to re-create our Adam through himself; and of things under the earth, be cause he was also reckoned among the dead, preach ing the gospel to the souls of the saints, (and) by death' overcoming death" (Christ and Anti-Christ, s. 26). Syriac Documents, attributed to the first three centuries : " He (Christ) humbled and emptied and abased himself, and was crucified, and descended to hades, and broke through the enclosure which had never been broken through [before], and raised up the dead, and descended alone, and ascended with a great multitude to his Father" (King of Edessa). This implies communication with the righteous dead, in substance preaching to them. And it being in the language of a people farther East than the greater portion of Christian churches in that age, the conclu sion is justified that the belief that Christ visited the righteous dead and preached to them between his own 13 194 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. death and resurrection, was then prevalent in Chris tendom. Gregory Thaumaturgus— " It becometh me to ascend the cross, and to be pierced with its nails, and to suffer after the manner of that nature which is capable of suf fering, and to heal sufferings by my suffering, and by the tree to cure the wound that was inflicted upon men by the medium of a tree. It becometh me to descend even into the very depths of the grave, on behalf of the dead who are detained there. It be cometh me, by my three days' dissolution in the flesh, to destroy the power of the ancient enemy, death " (The Holy Theophany). Here is an evident allusion to the preaching of Christ to the righteous dead. The Scriptures — Christ in hades: "Him . . ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain : Whom God raised up. . . . Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hades. . . . Breth ren, I may say unto you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried. . . . Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins he would set one upon his throne; he foreseeing this spake of the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he left in hades, nor did his flesh see corruption " (Acts, 2:23 . . . S3). " My flesh also shall dwell in safety. For thou wilt not leave my soul to sheol ; neither wilt thou suffer thine holy One to see corrup tion" (Ps. 16:9, 10). "But God will redeem my soul from the power of sheol: for he shall receive me" (Ps. 49: 15). "God hath fulfilled the same unto our children, in that he raised up Jesus. . . . And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now PREACHING TO RIGHTEOUS DEAD. 195 no more to return to corruption. . . . He saith also in another Psalm, Thou wilt not give thy holy One to see corruption. For David, after he had in his own generation served the counsel of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: but he whom God raised up saw no corruption " (Acts, 13:33 . . . 37). " Wherefore he saith, When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now this, he ascended, what is it but that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth ? He that descended is the same also that as cended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things) " (Eph. 4: 9, 10). With this Scripture in view, what candid mind can doubt, that Christ at his death went by his soul to hades, the world of the dead, and remained there until the resurrection of his body ? "And he said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise " (Luke, 23: 43). This shows that he went to the region of the blessed. And no Scripture shows that he went to the region of the lost. " Jesus saith to her, Touch me not ; for I am not yet ascended unto the Father: but go un to my brethren, and say to them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and my God and your God " (John, 20: 17). He had been to " paradise " but not to .heaven whither he was to go, and where he was to be at the right hand of his Father. There was therefore a paradise lower than heaven, the upper paradise. The lower paradise was Abraham's bosom, where Abraham and Lazarus were (Luke, 16: 23). 196 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. CHAPTER XX.— The Cause of the Primitive Doc trine that Christ and his Apostles Preached to the Righteous Dead. A rational reason for a doctrine goes far to sustain the doctrine itself. After the early Christians, espe cially the converted heathen, learned how sinners could be saved through faith in Christ, they became anxious to know how it fared with the righteous who died before Christ came, and had no opportunity for personal faith on him. They wondered whether any of the Gentiles, righteous according to their light, could be saved at all, not having known Christ, or anything of him, in this world. The earlier Chris tians had not then embraced our present doctrine, that the truly righteous at death go directly to heaven, and there immediately learn all about these things. They had not yet received our opportunity for that belief, which with us comes in part from the revealed fact, that Christ having still our human mental nat ure with him, has gone to be at the right hand of the Father in the heavens, and thus has opened the way for righteous human spirits to follow him thither, both from earth, and from the abode where the right eous dead were previous to Christ's ascension. Naturally, then, the early Christians inquired about the condition of the righteous who died before Christ. And we now, with a full understanding of the case, may rationally suppose, that those early inquirers were told that the gospel was made known to the de parted righteous, that the glad news of Christ's aton ing work was soon carried to the abodes of the" right- primitive doctrine of preaching. 197 eous dead, that even Christ, while his body lay in the grave, went and preached to them, and that deceased Apostles did also, especially those, and other eminent Christians, who early passed away through martyr dom. This view makes a very suitable place for the doctrine, that Christ preached, between his death and resurrection, to the departed spirits that were in Abra ham's bosom, that is, that were in the paradisaic part of hades. Now, is there evidence in the writings of the early Christian Fathers, that there was a question, and even an earnest solicitude, among the Primitive Christians respecting the salvation of the righteous who died before Christ was made known in the flesh ? Justin Martyr — In his dialogue with Trypho, a Jew, Justin represents him as saying, " Tell me, then, shall those who lived according to the law given by Moses, live in the same manner with Jacob, Enoch, and Noah, in the resurrection of the dead, or not?" One of the more definite sentences of Justin's reply is this : " Since those who did that which is universally, naturally, and eternally good are pleasing to God, they shall be saved through this Christ in the resur rection equally with those righteous men who were before them, namely, Noah, and Enoch, and Jacob, and whoever else there be, along with those who have known this Christ, Son of God" (c. 45). The Pastor of Hermas— He probably wrote even earlier than Justin, and he undoubtedly wrote to meet the wants of the people. He says of some saints who died before Christ came, "they slept in righteousness and in great purity." Then, through the work of some of the "Apostles and teachers" they were 198 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. "made to know the name of the Son of God" (Simil. ix. c. 16). Irenseus — "For it was not merely for those who believed .on him in the time of Tiberius Csesarthat Christ came, nor did the Father exercise his provi dence for the men only who are now alive, but for all men altogether, who from the beginning, according to their capacity, in their generation have both feared and loved God, and practiced justice and piety to wards their neighbors, and have earnestly desired to see Christ, and to hear his voice." " The holy Lord re membered his dead Israel, who slept in the land of sepulture ; and he descended to them to make known to them his salvation, that they might be saved" (Her. B. iv. c. 22, s. 2, 1). Clement of Alexandria — " That the excellent among the Greeks worshiped the same God as we, but that they had not learned by perfect knowledge that which was delivered by the Son." "Wherefore the Lord preached the gospel to those in hades " (Mis. B. vi. c. 5, ch. 6). Tertullian — "Descending into the lower parts of the earth, that he might there make the patriarchs and prophets partakers of himself" (Anima, c. 55). As though some further work with them were necessary to fit them for heaven. And that work was accom plished by Christ's visit to them in hades. Augustine —"And I doubt not it was divinely pro vided, that from this one case [Job's] we might know that among other nations also there might be men pertaining to the spiritual Jerusalem who have lived according to God and have pleased him" (City of God, B. xviii. c. 47). At some time after death they PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE OF PREACHING. 199 would need to be informed concerning Christ and his work of redemption. And the early Christians espe cially believed that the Saviour performed much of that important service between his death and resur rection. The particulars of their belief made a very suitable place for that view, and the facts pertaining to Christ and his death allowed that view. The Scriptures— A similar question disturbed the minds of many early Christians, of whom we have account in the New Testament. They heard of Christ's coming with his angels to meet his servants and take them to judgment and to glory. They endeavored to be ready to meet him. But, how would it be with the departed saints ? " But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that fall asleep; that ye sorrow not, even as the rest, which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that are fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen 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 that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord " (1 Thess. 4: 13-17). They who needed assurance concerning the fate of the righteous dead at Christ's second com ing, were likely to need assurance concerning the sal vation of the righteous that died before Christ's first coming. 200 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. CHAPTER XXI. — The Doctrine that Christ Preached to the Unrighteous Dead Pro nounced a Heresy in both the Second and Third Centuries. The doctrine that Christ preached in hades or ge henna to the impenitent dead was indeed broached and advocated in the second century. But it was Marcion, the great heresiarch of that century, who had the honor of that office. His heretical writings were opposed by such men as Justin Martyr, Irenseus, Clement, Hippolytus, Tertullian. His views are known by extracts from his works given by his opponents. On probation after death, Irenseus gives Marcion's doctrine thus: "That Cain, and those like him, and the Sodomites, and the Egyptians, and others like them, and, in fine, all the nations who walked in all sorts of abominations, were saved by the Lord, on his descending into hades, and on their running unto him, and that they welcomed him into their king dom." (Her. B. i. c. 27, s. 3). Did the evangelical Christians of that age give this view, that Christ preached to the unrighteous dead, the least countenance ? So far as appears they all opposed it along with Marcion's other heresies. Ire nseus, who states it from him, himself says of it, that Marcion taught "in direct opposition to the truth." (Ibid.). It follows, that the doctrine that the Gospel was preached to the unrighteous dead by Christ or his Apostles, was deemed an unchristian view by the Christians of the second century. And if the believ ers of that age had thought that doctrine warranted no preaching to unrighteous dead. 201 either by tradition, as from the Apostles, or by Script ure instruction, it must be they would have expressed it. And since they did boldly proclaim the doctrine of the Gospel preached to the righteous dead, they could and would easily have inserted along-side of it, the doctrine that it was preached to the unrighteous dead, if they had held it. Thus far the teaching of the second century. In the earlier part of the third century, while Origen was still at Alexandria, where he long engaged in philosophical studies, he wrote various theories as speculations, not as positive truths. Among them was the theory of the pre-existence of souls, even of Christ's human soul, and also of the final restoration of all the fallen, among men and angels. He customarily pref aced these speculations with ' I think,' or ' I am of the opinion,' as though not confident that the Scriptures sustained him. He did not base so much on Christ's preaching to the dead, as on the discipline of punish ment in the future state. He adverts to Christ's preach ing to the spirits in prison ; but, by saying " who once were unbelievers," he seems to imply that they were believers at the time of the preaching ; and by speak ing of "the hope of those who were destroyed in the deluge," he seems to suppose that they had a hope before being destroyed, as though brought to repent ance by the coming of the flood (De Princ. B. ii. c. 5, s. 3). In commenting on, "When he slew them, then they sought him" (Ps. 78: 34), Origen says: "He does not say that some sought him after others had been slain, but he says that the destruction of those who were killed was of such a nature that, when put to death, they sought God" (Ibid.). He seems to suppose 202 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. that as they were about to be put to death they re pented. And so he argues that punishment after death may have a like reformatory effect. Origen's peculiar views, including that of restora tion, were not widely known until a large part of his writings were translated from Greek into Latin, by Rufinus, A. D. 398, nearly a century and a half after Origen's death. That Rufinus' translation was quite incorrect, his contemporary Jerome declares. Jerome says: 'Origen himself, in an epistle which he wrote to Fabian, Bishop of Rome, expressed regret for hav ing written such things, and threw the blame upon Ambrose, who made public what he had written pri vately ' (Dr. Pusey, "What is of Faith as to Everlast ing Punishment," p. 133). And Jerome declares that Origen departed from the Catholic faith. Origen had no great following in his own time, nor ever after wards, as to his peculiar views. The voice of the church as a whole was strongly against his doctrine of pre-existence and of restoration. Church councils pronounced against them. So that, the idea of the final salvation of all men, and of Christ's preaching to the unrighteous dead, were not widely extant in the third century, Origen's time, and both views, so far as considered, were generally deemed heretical. Origen himself introduces and advocates those views with the implied acknowledgment that they are con trary to the usual faith. NATURE OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 203 CHAPTER XXII.— A Primitive View of the Nat ure of future Punishment. Some of the early Christian Fathers used Scripture language respecting future punishment without ques tion or instruction as to the nature of the language or the character of the punishment. That is the course pursued by the Scripture writers. A few of the Fa thers undertook to show the literal and material nat ure of the punishment, which course the Scriptures do not adopt. But some of the Fathers and earlier writers reasoned upon the nature of future punish ment. Philo — "What is the meaning of the expression 'Ye shall surely die' (Gen. 2: 17)? The death of the good is the beginning of another life; for life is a two fold thing, one life being in the body, corruptible; the other without the body, incorruptible. Therefore one wicked man surely dies the death, who while still breathing and among the living is in reality long since buried, so as to retain in himself no single spark of real life, which is perfect virtue. But a good man, who deserves so high a title, does not surely die, but has his life prolonged, and so attains an eternal end " (Works, vol. iv. pp. 292, 293). This accords with a leading thought in Ephesians, 2: "Who were dead in trespasses and sins"; also with a view in Romans, 6: "Dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God." Philo says: "And so attains an eternal end." Inspired Paul says: "Ye have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end eternal life." Both of them speak at various times of character in this life, in the case of 204 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. both the righteous and the wicked. Spiritual life terminates in the "eternal" state according to its character, and the natural inference is, that spiritual death terminates in the opposite eternal state. Of much the same tenor is this: " He who appears to be dead is alive, inasmuch as he is found to be a suppliant of God and to utter a voice, and he who believes that he is still alive is dead, as to the death of the soul, inasmuch as he is excluded from virtue, according to which alone he is worthy to live" (Works, vol. i. p. 259). Philo clearly had the idea of the spiritual death of the soul, and that, according to other passages, he regarded as "eternal" after the death of the body. The Book of Enoch— "And when the secrets of the just shall be revealed, then the sinners will be judged, and the impious will be expelled from the presence of the just and chosen" (Sec. vii. c. 38, v. 3). Expulsion from heaven. The Pastor of Hermas—" Those who have departed for ever from the living God; nor does the thought of repentance ever come into their hearts " (Vision, iii'. c. 7). In his conception the punishment, in part, at least, is mental alienation from God, and confirmed impenitence. The "Pastor" lived near the time of the Apostles. Tertullian — " But the profane, and all who are not true worshipers of God, in like manner consigned to the punishment of everlasting fire — that fire which, from its very nature indeed, directly ministers to their incorruptibility. The philosophers are familiar as well as we with the distinction between a common and a secret fire " (Apologeticus, s. 48). NATURE OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 205 Commodianus— " His own law teaches thee; but since thou seekest to wander, thou disbelievest all things, and thence thou shalt go into hell. By and by thou givest up thy life; thou shalt be taken where it grieveth thee to be: there the spiritual punishment, which is eternal, is undergone; there are always wail-' ings " (Chris. Discipline, s. 29). Cyprian — " From this source, even at the very be ginnings of the world, the devil was the first who both perished [himself] and destroyed [others] " (Jealousy and Envy, s. 4). " Perished " means, being lost from God for ever. It does not mean annihilated, else, Satan, having "perished," would not afterwards have " destroyed " others. Origen— "When the mind itself, or conscience, re ceiving by divine power into the memory all those things of which it had stamped on itself certain signs and forms at the moment of sinning, will see a kind of history, as it were, of all the foul, and shameful, and unholy deeds which it has done, exposed be fore its eyes: then is the conscience itself harassed, and, pierced by its own goads, becomes an accuser and a witness against itself. And this, I think, was the opinion of the Apostle Paul himself, when he said, ' Their thoughts mutually accusing or excusing them in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.' From which it is understood that around the substance of the soul certain tortures are produced by the hurtful affections of sins themselves " (Princ. B. ii. c. 10, s. 4). The foregoing citations show, that, during the first three centuries of the Christian* era, the idea was held by some of the leaders of the church, that the future 206 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. punishment of the wicked was not corporeal, not ma terial, but mental, spiritual. Later Christian Fathers corroborate this opinion. They hold to this view themselves, and indicate that they were in accord with some or many before them. Their view was not considered heretical, like the restorationism and some other early doctrines of Origen. Jerome, born about A. D. 340, an eminent bishop and writer of his time, as quoted by Dr. Pusey, says: ' The worm which will never die and the fire which never will be quenched is by very many understood of the conscience of sinners, which tortures them when under punishment, why, through their own fault and sin, they missed the good of the elect.' Ambrose, born A. D. 340, one of the great leaders and teachers of the church, says: ' There is no gnash ing of corporeal teeth, nor any perpetual fire of corpo real flames, nor is the worm corporeal. . . . The fire is that which the sadness over transgressions gen erates, because the sins pierce with compunction the mind and sense of the irrational soul of the guilty, and eat out the, as it were, bowels of conscience; which sins are generated like worms out of each, as it were from the body of the sinner. . . . The gnashing of teeth also indicates the feeling of one indignant because each repents too late, is too late wroth with himself, groans over himself too late, that he offended with such obstinate wickedness.' Augustine, born A. D. 353, one of the greatest of theologians and of men, says: ' There will therefore continue without end that eternal death of the damned, that is, alienation from the life of God, and itself will be common to all, whatever men according NATURE OP FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 207 to their human feelings may imagine concerning va riety of punishments, or concerning relief or intermis sion of pains; as the eternal life of the Saints will remain in common the life of all, in whatever distinc tion of honors they harmoniously shine.' The death of the lost will be in great part " alienation from the life of God." Chrysostom, born A. D. 347 : ' The worm and the fire, which punish sinners, is the conscience of each, and the memory of the foul deeds committed in this life, which prey upon him like a worm, and search him like fire.' Victor of Antioch, contemporary of Chrysostom : ' By this ' worm ' is designated an impure and wicked conscience, seeing that this pricks and gnaws the sin ful soul, conscious of no good, with the stings of an endless regret, like a devouring worm. Every wicked man will be an accuser of himself. For while he shall continually weigh and revolve in his mind, what he did wickedly in this mortal life, he will be compelled against his will to own himself guilty, driven by the stings of conscience and openly con victed by its testimony against himself.' John of Damascus, born about A. D. 800 : 'The un godly and sinners shall be delivered to the everlasting fire, not material fire like ours, but such as God knoweth.' Theophylact, who flourished in the eleventh century, held that future punishment is spiritual (Dr. Pusey, Everlasting Punishment, pp. 20, 21, 208). Much other such testimony could be added, from nearly or quite every age of the New Dispensation, and from parts at least of the Old. 208 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. CHAPTER XXIII,— A Restatement of the Nat ure of Punishment after Death. The great proportion of religious teachers, in speak ing of punishment after death, prefer to use Scripture language. That is safe, and ordinarily the better course. But those who affirm that the " fire " and the "worm" are material and literal, go beyond what Scripture says, and needlessly expose to objection a doctrine that needs careful statement, because it is so important. Many have held, and some now hold, that the finally wicked are punished in literal "fire." Dr. Pusey avows that belief. It is not best to affirm that they are not thus punished, but the subject will bear a restatement. 1. Much of Scripture language declaring or describ ing punishment after death is probably figurative. It cannot all be literal. The literal " fire '' would de stroy the literal " worm " buried in it. The soul, or soul and body, of one person, would not have expan sion enough to be a prey to both material " fire" and " worm." The language of Scripture comprising the words "fire" and "worm," is certainly drawn from the ancient ever-present scene in the "Valley of Hin nom " on the southeast side of the city of Jerusalem. There formerly some of the people of Israel offered in fire their children to the god Moloch ; and there sub sequently the place was purposely degraded by being made the receptacle of all putrefying and other ab horrent matter cast off from a great city. Some of it worms devoured, and some the fire destroyed. As applied to future punishment the thought is evidently RESTATEMENT OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 209 figurative rather than literal. The " fire " may be the accusations of conscience, the "worm" may be the gnawing of bitter memories. The word "gehenna" is the Greek for the Hebrew word denoting " Valley of Hinnom." In each language the word was long used to denote the everlasting punishment of the wicked after death. The unceasing nature of it was imaged by the ever-gnawing worms and the un- quenched fires in that vale. That was the common meaning of gehenna when Christ came ; he certainly often used that word ; he must have used it in the usual sense. 2. It is not legitimate to say, that the figurative meaning in a phrase or sentence, is always greater than the language would imply if interpreted liter ally. That is, to say that the figurative or spiritual fire, in the case of punishment, is necessarily worse than literal fire would be, in its place, is unwarranted. It may or may not be worse. Figurative language drawn from material objects does not admit of such comparison or measurement. In that respect the two ideas, figurative and literal, are incongruous with each other. It is like asking which is the greater, a statesman or a mountain? The two objects are not measured by the same scale. The literal is in some respects like the figurative drawn from it. The figu rative or spiritual suggests the literal or material for its illustration. The comparison holds good in some respects, not in all. The word of God is like a fire (Jer. 23:29). But it is not so destructive of all kinds of evil, or so melting to all objects, as literal fire would be. Christ said, " I am come to send fire on the earth " (Lu. 12: 49). But it would be quite inapposite 210 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. to say, that the conflagration produced by that fire will be greater than the final burning of the world. The two fires have some resemblance to each other, but they are too unlike to bear either strict compari son or contrast. The eternal fire will be sad and pain ful to all who bear it ; according to Christ's represen tation there will be even anguish in it to some at least (Lu. 16:24) ; but to give its measurement, or set its limits, belongs to no finite mind ; except that none will be punished beyond their deserts. 3. The conscience no doubt is a fixed factor in the punishment of the impenitent and unpardoned after death. It is a constant monitor in the mind during life. It is too important a body in the firmament of the soul, and too much an every- where present judge of the moral state and actions of the mind, not to be a minister of condemnation to the guilty. Its nature and office are such that it must condemn what the soul knows to be sinful, and remorse is the necessary consequence if the sin is unforgiven. The remorse must be eternal unless repentance and forgiveness come. After death the gulf between the righteous and the wicked is pronounced impassable. A due sense of sin in the light of . Christ's love it will be ter rible to bear. 4. Doubtless the punishment of the finally lost to some extent will be, the loss in part of some of the functions of the soul itself. Some hardened or stupe fied consciences appear to have lost a part of their original power. Conscience in some does not suffi ciently condemn them, and who can affirm, or find it revealed, that it ever will ? Some are in a sense so far demented by sin, that they seem to be in part RESTATEMENT OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 211 thrown away, both by themselves and by the Lord. We have seen the libertine and murderer so deadened and sodden-witted by sin, that apparently it could be only by a new creation of more conscience, that ho could sufficiently be brought to see and feel his great guilt. And we find no divine assurance that a new creation will ever be made. Those demons that Christ encountered in some of the suffering and possessed, and that counted it a pleasure to be in swine if not in men, seem to have lost a part of their former being, or of the higher functions of their original mind. And some sinners of earth seem to be following nearly in their footsteps, and already seem to be nearly swine possessed. It is indeed a great work to rescue and save them if possible while this their probation re mains. Sin pinches the human powers, and belittles them. Possibly it may be sound reasoning to suppose that the powers and happiness of the righteous will expand for ever, and yet never be infinite. But it seems very questionable and even untrue, that the powers and unhappiness of all, if of any, of the finally wicked will for ever increase. And yet, no entity can actually decrease into nothing. 5. A part of the punishment of the lost must be in deprivation. They are excluded ; the door to heaven is shut against them ; they must depart. And yet, they would not be contented with heaven if admitted. They would not like its society or employments. They have no relish, no heart, or spirit for them. They re fused to sow to the Spirit when they might. They reap nothing of the Spirit. They did sow to the flesh. The consequent corruption which they reap soon passes by, and is unsatisfying. The flesh and all things 212 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. of earth are merely temporal. And a soul only earth- born, after leaving the earth, what happiness can it find? Christ represents everlasting life as that which springs up from spiritual life begun in the soul in this world. The spiritual life is begun in that heart which believes, or is ready to believe, in him. The graces of the Spirit come where spiritual life begins and lives. They who will not repent and believe, forbid the rise and growth of the spiritual life within, and thus by their own choice they necessitate their depri vation of spiritual life, and of the precious graces of the Spirit, and of heaven. It is a consequence and penalty of their sin. The process of evolution in a sense is applicable to the soul. The soul evolves in moral character after its own kind, and not after another kind. If it does not take in the principle of spiritual life, it will have nothing to develop into everlasting life. The soul may change its character under the power of free-will and the Holy Spirit. But if -it will not, it must bear the consequences. If it will seek change, now or ever, merely for self -gain, and not in submission and love to God, the true change will not be made. Now is the accepted time ; there comes a time when the Lord may not be found ; confirmation in sin, and the light of eternity, will set the soul in aversion to God for ever. So it is revealed. 6. Beyond all this there may be some further posi tive infliction of punishment. It is not for us to say there will not be. One thing looking like it is this: " Fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Mat. 10:28). The word for "hell" is RESTATEMENT OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 213 "gehenna," not "hades." The warning cannot refer to the destruction of the body of flesh in the grave. It may portend some evil to the resurrection body of the sinner in the world of the lost. At least, the lost sinner cannot have the glorious body of a child of God in heaven. That destruction of "both soul and body in hell," who can dare or think to name the sum of it all? 7. The condition of the lost as viewed in. Scripture is from the stand-point of holiness, and not of sin. The evils of sin are far more terrible to the eye of obedience than to that of disobedience. The stupor of transgression blinds the sight to much that is wrong. The moral ruin of the lost soul can be fully appreciated only as viewed from the heights of holi ness. Worms do not realize the corruption in which they crawl. Sinners do not amply gauge what they refuse and never have. Revelers in sin delight in what would shock the virtuous. Abodes of filth and misery are a delight to some, while others would sicken and die if confined there. A seamstress, working late at night, hears from her window the oaths and songs of corrupt and brutalized men near by, and it so alarms and horrifies her that she seeks to be a Chris tian. God, no doubt, will break up in eternity the spell of depravity that falls upon some here ; and yet, hell will never appreciate the purity, and godli ness, and bliss of heaven. It is from near to heaven, and not from hell, that the Scriptures are written. 214 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. CHAPTER XXIV.— Clement of Alexandria not an After-death Probationist or Universalist. [First published in the Bibliotheca Sacra, October, 1888.] Of late, in the " New Departure " controversy, some have gladly and some have regretfully said, that Clement of Alexandria was a believer in after-death probation. Some- have gone farther, and said that he believed also in the doctrine of Universal Salvation, even in the- salvation of demons, and of Satan the ruler of demons. These views have found some sanc tion among authors of former days. Several writers have recently quoted Dr. Shedd, thus: " Clement and Origen both found the final recovery of Satan and his angels, upon this abiding existence of free-will to good in the rational spirit " (Hist. Chris. Doc. vol. ii. p. 416). Dr. Shedd does not cite Clement's language to prove his statement, but cites Baumgarten-Crucius. The reference of the latter is to Clement, thus: " Now the devil, being possessed of free-will, was able both to repent and to steal; and it was he who was the author of the theft, not the Lord, who did not prevent him " (Mis. B. i. c. 17). Though Clement believed the devil was able to repent, that does not show that he be lieved he would repent. The passage cited for proof does not prove that Clement believed in "the final recovery of Satan and his angels." It is not best for evangelical men to be led about by such sort of evi dence, or for unevangelical men to trust to it. In our day, the greater portion of theologians believe in the free-will of Satan; and yet, they have not the least expectation that he will ever repent. They believe CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. 215 that something more than power to repent is neces sary to repentance. The second reference of Baumgarten-Crucius to Clement's testimony is, to Miscellanies, Book seven, chapter twelve. On those several pages, the only pos sible reference, in either Greek or English, to anything approaching this subject, is in one place to human freedom of choice, and in another to the true Gnostic or Christian, not to Satan, thus: "He, attracted by his own hope, tastes not the good things that are in the world, entertaining a noble contempt for all things here; pitying those that are chastised after death, who through punishment unwillingly make confession." This does not claim "the final recovery of Satan and his angels." Its most probable reference is, to punishment after death of sinners of the human race, who are not recovered, because their confession is "unwillingly" made. Possibly it is a reference to Clement's view of purgatory; yet, sinners there con fess "willingly." In connection with this second reference to Clement, Baumgarten-Crucius gives two Greek phrases, apparently the first and last of a sen tence, or passage, with a dash between, thus: "sx- §iat,ovtai [istavoislv — naidsvaug avayxaicu." The former phrase may be rendered, " They are severely forced to re pent"; Or, possibly, "they give great diligence to bring themselves, to repent* " The latter phrase means, "Necessary disciplinings." The whole pas sage seems to be a quotation from Clement; and yet it is not found in this place of reference or anywhere else so far as appears. As it here stands it does not prove anything. If it be a mere comment of Baum garten-Crucius, it is only his opinion. If there is a 216 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. passage in Clement's writings, beginning and ending thus, it may refer to his purgatorial view. Investigation since this chapter was published as a review article, has led to the conclusion, that the pas sage referred to in the foregoing is in the second in stead of the twelfth chapter of the seventh book of Clement's Miscellanies, at its close. It is as follows: " But necessary corrections, through the goodness of the great overseeing Judge, both by the attendant angels, and by various acts of anticipative judgment, and by the perfect judgment, compel egregious sin ners to repent." This is far from showing the final salvation of Satan, or of all men. In this second chapter are such expressions as these: "He does care for all, which is befitting for him who has be come Lord of all;" "Nor does he ever abandon care for men." From this "care" might be argued the salvation of all, if human free-will did not stand in the way. According to Clement it does stand in the way with some. In this same chapter he says : "For he does not compel him who ... is able to re ceive salvation from him" [God]. "Those, then, who choose to belong to him, are those who are per fected through faith." " Ordained that he should re ceive eternal life and the blessed prize, who chose them." This implies that some may not have "eter nal life " because of not choosing it. It does not imply that all will choose it, or that Satan will choose it. It does not teach that God will compel the right choice; rather, that he will not compel it. Gieseler (Ch. Hist. vol. i. p. 214) says that Hofstedc de Groot has proved that Clement did not hold that the devil was capable of salvation. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. 217 With reference to probation after death for man kind, Professor Shedd says : ' ' Clement of Alexandria, the teacher of Origen, makes the following represen tations, according to Redepenning: ' The deep corrup tion of mankind fills God, whose compassion for man is as unlimited as his hatred towards evil, not with anger, for he is never angry, but with the tenderest and most pitiful love. Hence he continually seeks all men, whom he loves for their own sake and their resemblance to God, as the bird seeks her young who have fallen from the nest. His omnipotence, to which nothing is impossible, knows how to overcome all evil, and convert it into good. He threatens, indeed, and punishes, but yet only to reform and improve; and though to public discourse the fruitlessness of repent ance after death be asserted, yet hereafter not only those who have not heard of Christ will receive forgiveness, but it may be hoped that the severer punishment which befalls the obstinate unbelievers will not be the conclusion of their history. For man, like every other spiritual being, can never lose his free will. By means of this power, at all times, here and hereafter, noble minds, aided by that divine power which is indispensable to success, are lifting them selves up from ignorance and deep corruption, and are drawing nearer, in greater or less degree, to God and the truth ' " (Hist. Chris. Doc. vol. ii. p. 235). How are the foregoing representations concerning Clement's views sustained ? The most or all persons would much prefer that Dr. Shedd himself should give citations from Clement's writings which would sustain the allegations. But they are not thus grati fied. The rather, Professor Shedd says: "The cita- 218 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. tions from Clement upon which Redepenning relies for the above representation, are," etc. He then copies Redepenning's references, which will here be cited and briefly examined. Clement's writings are divided into three classes, thus: Cohortatio, or, Exhortation to the Heathen ; Psedagogus, or, The Instructor ; and, Stromata, or, The Miscellanies. Redepenning's cita tions from Clement, as given by Professor Shedd, are : 1. " Cohortatio, 74," which is equivalent to, " Exhor tation to the Heathen," chapter 10, first part. It is a plea to the heathen to abandon the evil customs of their fathers. Sentences from that paragraph are these: "The good and godly shall obtain the good reward, inasmuch as they held goodness in high esteem ; while, on the other hand, the wicked shall receive meet punishment. For the author of evil, torment has been prepared. . . . What an infatu ated desire, then, for voluntary death is this, rooted in men's minds ! Why do they flee to this fatal brand, with which they shall be burned, when it is within their power to live nobly according to God, and not according to custom ? For God bestows life freely ; but evil custom, after our departure from this world, brings on the sinner unavailing remorse with punish ment. . . . The idols' temples to be in reality graves or prisons. . . . And will you not escape" from those dungeons, and flee to the mercy that comes down from heaven ? For God, of his great love to man, comes to the help of man, as the mother-bird flies to one of her young that has fallen out of the nest." Here is the idea of free-will in the phrase, ' ' voluntary death. " Here is the idea of ' ' good reward" for the "godly," and of "meet punishment" for the CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. 219 "wicked." Here is the idea of God's "great love to man," illustrated by the love of the " mother-bird " for her young. But it all pertains to sinful men in this life, in an exhortation to them to break off from their sins. Here is the idea of punishment to the impeni tent "after our departure from this world," when " evil custom," or sin, "brings on the sinner unavail ing remorse with punishment." In this paragraph there Is not even a hint at universal salvation, or at after-death probation, but at what is directly the oppo site. " Unavailing remorse with punishment " " after our departure from this world !" " Torment has been prepared" "for the author of evil." No indication here that Satan is to be restored to holiness ; rather, the opposite. On the next two pages following the foregoing cita tion, are these and similar passages. " What, then, of the Lord? He remembers not our ill desert ; he still pities, he still urges us to repentance." " Let us there fore repent, and pass from ignorance to knowledge, from foolishness to wisdom, from licentiousness to self- restraint, from unrighteousness to righteousness, from godlessness to God. It is an enterprise of noble daring to take our way to God ; and the enjoyment of many other good things is within the reach of the lovers of righteousness, who pursue eternal life." " You have, 0 men, the divine promise of grace ; you have heard, on the other hand, the threatening of punishment." 2. "Cohor. 79,"— the same as Exhor. etc., c. 10;— in Clark's Ed. Ant. Nicene Library, Clement, vol. i. pp. 90, 91. " Let us then openly strip for the contest, and nobly strive in the arena of truth, the holy Word being the judge, and the Lord of the universe pre- 220 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. scribing the contest. For 'tis no insignificant prize, the guerdon of immortality which is set before us. Pay no more regard, then, if you are rated by some of the low rabble who lead the dance of impiety, and are driven on to the same pit by their folly and insan ity, makers of idols and worshipers of stones." "To whom shall the Lord say, 'Yours is the kingdom of heaven ? ' Yours, whose choice is set on God, if you will ; yours, if you will only believe, and comply with the brief terms of the announcement ; which the Ninevites having obeyed, instead of the destruction they looked for, obtained a signal deliverance." No sign in this citation of either universal salvation, or second probation. Rather, on the next page, the oppo site is indicated by the following striking sentence: "Not only unable to pity yourselves, you are incapa ble even of yielding to the persuasions of those who commiserate you ; enslaved as you are to evil custom, and, clinging to it voluntarily till your last breath, you are hurried to destruction." 3. "Cohor. 82" = Exhor. c. 10 ;— Ant. Nic. Lib. Clem. vol. i. pp. 93, 94. Clement shows here how un real and vain are the, gods of the heathen, and how real, gracious, and sovereign, is the true God. He adduces nothing to show that there is an after-death probation, or universal salvation. He even warns the heathen by the case of Sodom, and Lot's wife. On the next page, he writes : " Christ is able to save in every place." He is speaking to dwellers on the earth, and not to the lost in hell. He holds out hope in the power of God to save all who call upon him. His next sentence is this : " For he that is fired with ardor and admiration for righteousness, being the CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. 221 lover of One who needs nothing, needs himself but little, having treasured up his bliss in nothing but himself and God, where is neither moth, robber, nor pirate, but the eternal Giver of good. With justice, then, have you been compared to those serpents who shut their ears against the charmers." On the second page following he says : " If you have respect for old age, be wise, now that you have reached life's sunset ; and, albeit at the close of life, acquire the knowledge of God, that the end of life may to you prove the be ginning of salvation." No after-death probation, no universal salvation, here ; but a strong trend to the opposite. 4. " Cohor. 89 "=Exhor. c. 11 ;— Ant. Nic. Lib. Clem. vol. i. pp. 102-104. In this passage occur the follow ing : " That light is eternal life ; " "Through the cross brought death to life ; " " For sin is eternal death ; " "And the Word, having unfolded the truth, showed to men the height of salvation, that either repenting they might be saved, or refusing to obey they might be judged. This is the proclamation of righteous ness : to those that obey, glad tidings ; to those that disobey, judgment." "And, what is of the highest importance, salvation runs parallel with sincere* will ingness — choice and life being, so to speak, yoked together." "The spark of true goodness, kindled in the soul by the Divine Word ;" "What, then, is the exhortation I give you ? I urge you to be saved. This Christ desires. In one word, He freely bestows life on you." In saying, "I urge you to be saved," he im plies a doubt about their being saved, and that indi cates that he did not believe in universal salvation. This closes the evidence cited from "Cohortatio." 222 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. 5. "Stromata, VI. 763, 764"=The Miscellanies, B. vi. c. ' 6 ;— Ant. Nic. Lib. Clem. vol. ii. pp. 329-331. This is Clement's chapter on the gospel preached to righteous Jews and Gentiles in hades ; in that part of it where the righteous were. The next previous chap ter he devotes to showing, that the Greeks, or Gen tiles, had some knowledge of the true God. He ar gues from that the repentance and salvation of some of the Gentiles. (1) There is nothing in the chapter even attempt ing to show universal salvation. (2) There is nothing in the chapter attempting to show probation for any after death. Such probation means being put back into another state of trial, with uncertainty as to conversion and salvation. It is not that for which Clement pleads. But he pleads for be lief in the salvation of unevangelized, righteous Gen tiles, as well as righteous Jews, the Gentiles espe cially receiving new light after death, and exercising repentance according to the new light. (3) They were righteous Gentiles on earth, who had died without the gospel, to whom the gospel was preached in hades. Passages, on the three pages now referred to, concerning this point, are the following : (a) "Wherefore the Lord preached the gospel to those in hades." Who were they ? Just previous they are described as "those that were righteous according to philosophy." (b) "And they [should bring to repentance] the Gentiles ; that is, those who had lived in righteousness according to . . . Phil osophy." (c) "It was suitable to the divine admin istration, that those possessed of greater worth in righteousness, and whose life had been pre-eminent, CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. 223 . . . yet confessedly of the number of the people of God Almighty, should be saved." id) "One right eous man, then, differs not, as righteous, from another righteous man, whether he be of the Law or a Greek." (e) "And [if] those who lived rightly before the Law and were classed under faith, and judged to be right eous,— it is evident that those, too, who were outside of the Law, having lived rightly, . . . with all speed turned and believed." (4) Clement speaks of those unevangelized Gentiles or Greeks as not having faith, though having right eousness. Truly, they had not faith in the things of salvation not yet revealed to them ; but, if really righteous, they must have had the character and heart of faith, ready to believe whenever and wherever the new, gospel revelation came. Clement says, on the three pages now under inspection: "For to those who were righteous according to the law, faith was wanting." " Then all who believe shall be saved, although they may be of the Gentiles, on making their profession there." "If, then, he preached only to the Jews who wanted the knowledge and faith of the Saviour." "And those who lived rightly before the Law were classed under faith, . . . those, too, who were outside of the Law, ... on hearing the voice of the Lord, . . . with all speed turned and believed." (5) Clement assumes that the righteous, though unevangelized, Gentiles, do believe on having the opportunity, and do exercise proper repentance. " Straightway, on the revelation of the truth they also repented of their previous conduct." "That those possessed of greater worth in righteousness, 224 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. . . . on repenting of their transgressions." "Those, too, who were outside of the Law, having lived rightly, . . . with all speed turned and believed." "On hearing the proclamation, might either exhibit repentance." Clement regards the gospel proclaimed in hades* as a touchstone to test souls and draw them to it if of the same spirit. (6) Clement calls the beginning of the new era of faith and repentance on the part of those dying right eous but unevangelized, a " conversion " ; but, plainly, by his own view it is only a second conversion. The first was in this life, when they began to be " right eous." " The Apostles also, as here, so there, preached the gospel to those of the heathen who were ready for conversion." And the same he held concerning the well-disposed Jews who died before Christ came. Isolated sentences might seem to favor the probation and restoration after death of all who die impenitent ; but fairness requires interpreting those sentences ac cording to their connection, and that certainly shows that Clement is arguing to prove that some Gentiles, righteous in this life, will be saved in heaven after some further instruction and training in the next life. (7) While nothing appears in this section really favoring universal salvation, or probation after death, there does appear the seed of what became the Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory, which is.not an after-death probation, but a purification for the "righteous" who die not sufficiently holy to be ad mitted at once into heaven. " God's punishments are saving and disciplinary." He does not mean that they are wholly and only such, as we shall hereafter see, but so with such as will rightly use them. Clem- CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. tiO ent adduces no Scripture proof for even the germ of the doctrine of purgatory. Nor does he give any evi dence that the earlier Christian Fathers held the doctrine. He does refer to the Shepherd of Hermas, where he teaches that the gospel was proclaimed to the righteous dead who departed before Christ came. But the Shepherd has nothing of a purgato rial nature. The doctrine that some of the heathen are righteous and will be saved, Clement doubtless applies to an unwarranted number, embracing even some idolaters. Yet, it is possible that he refers only to such as worshiped the true God under merely an idol by name. 6. "Strom. VII. 832" = Mis. B. vii. c. 2;— Ant. Nic. Lib. Clem. vol. ii. p. 410. Here, instead of finding Redepenning's representation that "Omnipotence, knows how to overcome all evil, and con vert into good," we find just the opposite in this: " For he does not compel him who through choosing and fulfilling ... is able to receive salvation from him." There is evil contrary to God's will. We find here, that the Saviour "does care for all"; yet not in a way to justify Universalism; for "He has dispensed his beneficence both to Greeks and Barba rians, even to those of them that were predestinated, and in due time called, the faithful and elect." Still, he "called all equally, and assigned special honors to those who have believed in a specially excellent way." 7. "Strom. VII. 895 "=Mis. B. vii. c. 16;— Ant. Nic. Lib. Clem. vol. ii. pp. 481-483. In this passage Clem ent speaks of " partial corrections, which are called chastisements, which many of us who have been in transgression incur, by falling away from the Lord's 15 226 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. people." He says also, that God does not punish in " retaliation for evil." He says, that some " heretics," who may be those who temporarily fall " away from the Lord's people," " precipitate themselves into judg ment," by which he means discipline ; and he prays that they may " be chastised by God, and undergo paternal admonitions previous to the judgment." He may mean, previous to death. If he means after death, unless corrected before, it is again the germ idea of purification by the discipline of purgatory. 8. "Strom. VII. 860"=Mis. B. vii. c. 7;— Ant. Nic. Lib. Clem. vol. ii. pp. 438-440. Clement here describes at length the Gnostic, who in his view is the highest kind of Bible Christian. He says: "And the man who turns from among the Gentiles will ask for faith, while he that ascends to knowledge will ask for the perfection of love." He regards faith as rudimentary, and love as the greatest of Christian attainments." 9. "Strom. I. 369"=Mis. B. i. c. 17;— Ant. Nic. Lib. Clem. vol. i. pp. 407-409. " So in no respect is God the author of evil. But since free choice and inclination originate sins, and a mistaken judgment sometimes prevails, from which, since it is ignorance and stupid ity, we do not take pains to recede, punishments are rightly inflicted." " For it is the work of divine wis dom ... to ensure that what happens through the evils hatched by any, may come to a good and useful issue, and to use to advantage those things which appear to be evils, as also the testimony which accrues from temptation." He is speaking in general of natural and not moral evils, and wholly, so far as appears, of things of this life. This closes Clement's citations from "Stromata." CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. 227 10. "Psedagogus I. 102"=The Instructor, B. i. c. 3; —Ant. Nic. Lib. Clem. vol. i. pp. 118-120. The "In structor " is the Word, the Logos, Christ. The present chapter is on " The Philanthropy of the Instructor." The concluding sentence, which comes nearer to our particular inquiries than any other, is this: "Where fore let us regard the Word as law, and his commands and counsels as the short and straight paths to immor tality; for his precepts are full of persuasion, not of fear." 11. "Psed. I. 137"=Inst. B. i. c. 8;— Ant. Nic. Lib. Clem. vol. i. pp. 155-157. Leading sentences are these: "Consequently God does all good. And he does no good to man without caring for him, and he does not care for him without taking care of him. " ' ' The gen eral of an army, by inflicting fines and corporeal pun ishments with chains and the extremest disgrace on offenders, and sometimes even punishing individuals with death, aims at good, doing so for the admonition of the officers under him." This is not reformatory but exemplary punishment, intended as a sanction or support of law. " It is not, then, from hatred that the Lord chides men; for he himself suffered for us, whom he might have destroyed for our faults." This implies that sinners might justly be destroyed. 12. "Psed. I. 140"=Inst. B. i. c. 8;— Ant. Nic. Lib. Clem. vol. i. pp. 159-161. "For the Divine Being is not angry in the way that some think; but often re strains, and always exhorts humanity, and shows what ought to be done. And this is a good device, to terrify lest we sin." This is not saying that it is best to "terrify" under false pretenses. It is equivalent to saying, " Knowing, therefore, the fear of the Lord, 228 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. we persuade men " (2 Cor. 5:11). Clement quotes from Ecclesiasticus : ' ' For. the fear of the Lord drives away sins, and he that is without fear cannot be justified " (1: 27, 28). He adds: "And God does not inflict pun ishment from wrath, but for the ends of justice; since it is not expedient that justice should be neglected on our account. Each one of us, who sins, with his own free-will chooses punishment, and the blame lies with him who chooses. God is without blame." He means by "justice" something beyond mere correction. 13. "Psed. I. 142"=Inst. B. i. c. 8;— Ant. Nic. Lib. Clem. vol. i. pp. 160-162. " I will grant that he [the Lord] punishes the disobedient (for punishment is for the good and advantage of him who is punished, for it is the correction of a refractory subject); but I will not grant that he wishes to take vengeance. Revenge is retribution for evil, imposed for the advantage of him who takes the revenge. He will not desire us to take revenge, who teaches us ' to pray for those that despitefully use us.' But that God is good, all will ingly admit; and that the same God is just, I require not many words to prove." "To show that he is just, and that Jesus is the justifier of him who is of faith." But what does he hold concerning those not of faith? "For if one must censure, it is necessary also to re buke; when it is the time to wound the apathetic soul not mortally, but salutarily, securing exemption from everlasting death by a little pain." He holds that those of faith are corrected, and those not of faith re ceive everlasting death. 14. "Psed. I. 149"=Inst. B. i. c. 9 ;— Ant. Nic Lib. Clem. vol. i. pp. 164-173. The object of the chapter is to show, that a beneficent God may justly use severe CLEMENT OP ALEXANDRIA. 229 chastisements for correction and recovery of the fal len. There are no hints that this is to extend to the future world. There are hints of unavailing correc tion. " The Lord acts towards us as we do towards our children." " He shows their offense to be clearer, by declaring that they understood, and thus sinned willfully." " For if you do not receive his love, ye shall know his power. " ' ' Such are the causes of prov ocation for which the Judge comes to inflict punish ment on those that would not choose a life of good ness. Wherefore also afterwards he assailed them more roughly ; in order, if possible, to drag them back from their impetuous rush towards death." " He declares that it belongs to the same power both to judge and to do good. For there is power over both together, and judgment separates that which is just from its opposite." " Then justice came down to men both in the letter and in the body, in the Word and in the law, constraining humanity to saving repentance ; for it was good. But do you not obey God? Then blame yourself, who drag to yourself the judge." 15. "Psed. III. 302"=Inst. B. iii. c. 11;— Ant. Nic. Lib. Clem. vol. i. pp. 329-331. "But not to-morrow in truth, but already, are these dead to God; burying their dead, that is, sinking themselves down to death. The Apostle very firmly assails them: 'Be not de ceived; neither adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covet ous, nor drunkards, nor railers,' and whatever else he adds to these, 'shall inherit the kingdom of God.'" " The affection which arises from the fire which we call love, leading to the fire which will never cease in consequence of sin." Not universal salvation. 230 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. The foregoing are all of Redepenning's citations from Clement, as given by "Prof. Shedd. Redepen ning's representations of Clement's views, on the more important questions, are his own mistaken in ferences. (1) His citations fail to show Clement holding that Omnipotence "knows how to overcome all evil, and convert it into good" in the eternal future. (2) His citations do not show Clement hold ing that God punishes "only to reform and improve." (3) His citations do not show Clement so insincere and immoral as to teach "in public discourse the fruitlessness of repentance after death," and then in private to teach or hold the opposite. (4) His cita tions do not show Clement holding that all "those who have not heard of Christ" in this world, "will receive forgiveness." (5) His citations do not show Clement holding that there is hope of the final salva tion of even " the obstinate unbelievers." Redepenning says further of Clement's views, which Prof. Shedd does not quote: " In the Stromata, which are intended for the more advanced, the eternity of hell pains, and the immutability of the fate of the dead, is everywhere denied. See Strom, vi. c. 6. The expression adavaxov, komov, declared in Strom, iii. c. 5 to be destined for sinners, is no exception, as the expres sion is borrowed from the Odyssey xii. 118." 1. Red epenning gives no proof of Clement's denial of "the eternity of hell pains " in respect to all. 2. Homer doubtless meant literally " deathless evil," and Red epenning gives no proof that Clement did not mean it. Neander attributes to Clement the "doctrine of a progressive development and course, of purification CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. 231 after death " (Torrey's Trans. Ed. 1852, vol. i. p. 656). That doctrine, Clement held concerning heathen who had "lived rightly" in the world. Neander cites from Clement (Mis. B. vi. c. 6; Clark's Ed. vol. ii. p. 331, 13, sentence 2): "For it is not here alone that the active power of God is beforehand, but it is every where and is always at work." But this does not prove that Clement held to a "universal restoration." He wrote the sentence in supporifof his theory that the heathen or Gentile "righteous" would be saved. It is not logical or fair on that ground to represent him as either a Universalist or after-death probationist. No one shows that Clement made a universal applica tion of his language. The same kind of reasoning would make him a believer in the final salvation of Satan and all his angels, but it would not be just. McClintock and Strong's Cyc. Bib. Theol. and Eccles. Lit., in article "Punishment, Future," quotes from Clement (Mis. B. vi. c. 6) thus: "If in this life there are so many ways for purification and repentance, how much more should there be after death. The purification of souls, when separated from the body, will be easier. We can set no limits to the agency of the Redeemer: to redeem, to rescue, to discipline is his work: and so will he continue to operate after this life." This must be a professed summary, and is not wholly correct. Clement, in his plea for Jews and Gentiles " who had lived in righteousness according to law and philosophy," and yet " had ended life not perfectly," says this: "God's punishments are saving and disciplinary, leading to conversion, and choosing rather the repentance than the death of a sinner; and especially since souls, although darkened by passions, 232 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. when released from their bodies, are able to perceive more clearly, because of their being no longer ob structed by the paltry flesh " (Mis. B. vi. c. 6). This is simply the doctrinal germ of purgatory. When Clem ent is speaking of " righteous " Jews and heathen, dying before Christ, it is not right to say he applied his statements to others, or to say on that ground that he " advocated Universalism." Schaff-Herzog's Encyclopaedia represents Restora- tionism as Universalism, and then in article " Pun ishment, Future," by Dr. Francis L. Patton, it de clares that Clement was a restoratdonist. But in article " Apokatastasis," by Dr. J. Kostlin, it declares that there is no proof of his being a restorationist. Was the former statement a fruit of Redepenning's unwarranted representations, and the latter a fruit of original investigations ? Dr. Kostlin, Professor of Theology in Halle, says : " He [Clement] merely as serted, that, in the next world, there is an operation of salvation upon lost souls ; but how far it effected a change he does not say." Kostlin- does not say, "op eration of salvation upon all lost souls." He refers, doubtless, to the heathen that " lived rightly " in this life. Clement on punishment : Redepenning represents Clement as holding that God punishes "only to re form, and improve " ; and many, following this state ment made some fifty years ago, have said, that Clem ent's view leads to Universalism, because he held that all punishment is simply reformatory. Clement's chief statements about punishment pertain to its in fliction upon the righteous, and mostly in this world. In all these cases its design, as he conceived it, was CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. 233 reformatory. He often speaks of God's design in punishment, implying that its tendency is reforma tory, whether in all cases it ref orms or not. Just as, when the Lord says, ' ' The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance," the meaning is that it tends to lead ; not, that it always does lead to repentance. The three designs in punishment are, first, reforma tory ; second, exemplary, or deterrent, or preventive ; third, vindicatory, or retributory. The vindicatory has also a deterrent influence, and those two kinds of punishment, inflicted upon some, have often a reform atory influence upon others. Did Clement hold to anything but a reformatory design in punishment ? He says : " But punishment does not avail to him who has sinned, to undo his sin, but that he may sin no more, and that no one else fall into the like. Therefore the good God corrects for these three causes : First, that he who is corrected may become better than his former self ; then, that those who are capable of being saved by examples may be driven back, being admonished ; and, thirdly, that he who is injured may not be readily despised, and be apt to receive injury" (Mis. B. iv. c. 24). Here are the re formatory and deterrent designs. And in the third kind may be the vindicatory ; for God does not pun ish the transgressor after death for the sake of re venge, but by the retribution of justice to protect his universe from "injury." Clement elsewhere speaks of punishment for the ends of justice, implying the Divine right to punish the guilty. " God does not in flict punishment from wrath, but for the ends of jus tice ; since it is not expedient that justice should be neglected on our account" (Inst. B. i. c. 8). "Such 234 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. he wishes us to be, that we may be blessed. Again, showing the opposite scale of the balance of justice, He says : ' But not so the ungodly— not so ; but as the dust which the wind sweeps away from the face of the earth.' By showing the punishment of sinners, and their easy dispersion, and carrying off by the wind, the Instructor dissuades from crime by means of punishment ; and, by holding up the merited pen alty, shows the benignity of his beneficence in the most skillful way, in order that we may possess and enjoy its blessings " (Inst. B. i. c. 10). Here is retrib utive punishment upon some, and by it others are warned and dissuaded. " ' Being judged by the Lord,' says the Apostle, 'we are chastened, that we may not be condemned with the world.' For the prophet had said before, ' chastening, the Lord hath chastised me, but hath not given me over unto death ' " (Mis. B. i. c. 27). Here is punishment of some for correction — chastisement — and the assump tion of retributive punishment to others. Judging from all this the conclusion follows, that they are wrong who represent Clement as holding that God punishes "only to reform and improve." Clement on unending retribution : Probably it is on the ground of Redepenning's statements, that McClin- tock and Strong's Cyclopaedia, article "Universal- ists," says, that Clement of Alexandria "advocated Universalism on the ground of the remedial character of all punishment." Many have joined in a similar statement. We have seen that Clement did not say that all punishment is effectually remedial. Did Clement hold that to some unending retribution would be allotted? "Will you not allow the heav- CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. 235 enly Word, the Saviour, to be bound on to you as an amulet, and, by trusting in God's own charm, be de livered from passions which are the diseases of the mind, and rescued from sin ? — for sin is eternal death" (Exhor. c. 11). "Such are the men who be lieve in their belly, ' whose God is their belly, whose glory is their shame, who mind earthly things.' To them the Apostle predicted no good when he said, 'whose end is destruction'" (Inst. B. ii. c. 1). "Pun ishments after death, on the other hand, and penal retribution by fire, were pilfered from the Barbarian [Jewish] philosophy." " For the fiery men are meant to signify the angels, who seize and punish the wicked. ' Who maketh,' it is said, ' his angels spir its ; his ministers flaming fire.' It follows from this that the soul is immortal. For what is tortured or corrected, being in a state of sensation, lives, though said to suffer" (Mis. B. v. c. 14). Clement quotes from Heraclitus as a borrower from the Hebrews, "who considered that there was a world everlasting," and who said that there "is, and will be ever-living fire, kindled according to measure and quenched accordT ing to measure " (Mis. B. v. c. 14). " 'They which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God ' " (Mis. B. iv. c. 8). '"Declare among the heathen his statutes,' that they may not be judged, but that those who have previously given ear [lived rightly] may be converted [to Gospel truth]. But those who speak treacherously with their tongues have the penalties that are on record " (Mis. B. vii. c. 16). " 'And the way of the ungodly shall perish ' " (Mis. B. ii. c. 15). " It is in reference to the unbelieving that it is said, ' that they are reckoned as the chaff which the wind 236 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. drives from the face of the earth, and the drop which falls from a vessel ' " (Mis. B. iv. c. 24). " The Gospel supposes two ways — the Apostles, too, similarly with all the prophets — and seeing they call that one ' nar row and confined' which is circumscribed according to the commandments and prohibitions, and the oppo site one, which leads to perdition, ' broad and roomy,' open to pleasures and wrath " (Mis. B. v. c. 5). " ' The broad and wide way leadeth to destruction.' . . . ' Fool, this night shall thy soul be required of thee.' . . . ' What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ' " (Mis. B. iv. c. 6)? "'For except ye believe,' says the Lord, 'ye shall die in your sins ' " (Mis. B. v. c. 13). "And they will understand neither the honors after death, which belong to those who have lived holily, nor the punish ments of those who have lived unrighteously and im purely.'" He quotes approvingly, '" Life were indeed a feast to the wicked, who, having done evil, then die ; were not the soul immortal, death would be a god send'" (Mis. B. iv. c. 7). "For God bestows life freely ; but evil custom, after our departure from this world, brings on the sinner unavailing remorse with punishment" (Exhor. c. 10). Even where Clement contends that "the excellent among the Greeks wor shiped the same God as we," and hence would have the privilege of hearing the gospel in hades, he im plies the final condemnation of those who " believed not " (Mis. B. vi. cc. 5, 6 ; Clark's Ant. Nic. Clem. vol. ii. pp. 326, 332). " It was therefore a fit subject for all fear on the disciples' part ; if both he that pos sesses wealth and he that is teeming with passions were the rich, and these alike shall be expelled from CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. 237 the heavens. For salvation is the privilege of pure and passionless souls" (Who is the rich man that shall be saved ? s. 20). " Being deprived of eternal life " (Ibid. s. 26). " The penalty for which is the pun ishment of eternal fire " (Ibid. s. 33). " But if one chooses to continue and to sin perpetually in pleas ures and values indulgence here above eternal life, and turns away from the Saviour, who gives forgive ness ; let him no more blame either God, or riches, or his having fallen, but his own soul, which voluntarily perishes " (Ibid. s. 42). " Immortal are all souls, even those of the wicked, for whom it had been better not to have been incorruptible ; for, punished by a limit less infliction of unquenchable fire, and dying not, they obtain no end of their misery " (Fragment from Clement's lost work on the "Soul"; Patres Graeci, vol. vi. Wirceburgi ; Sheldon's Hist. Chris. Doc. vol. i. p. 154). In reference to the above Fragment from the work on the " Soul," Prof. Sheldon recently says, that he has found it also "in the writings of Maximus (Confessor), a distinguished writer of the seventh century, who quotes it as coming from Clement, to gether with another extract on the nature of the soul. It is contained in his Capita Theologica, Sermo liii., a work made up mostly of quotations from a great num ber of writers. Migne's Patrologia gives the passage both in the writings of Clement (under the head of 'Fragmenta') and also in those of Maximus. The reference of the passage to Clement's work on the ' Soul ' is rather a probable conjecture than a certain conclusion. Maximus does not specify the particular work of Clement from which he obtained it. The editor in Migne gives it as being from the De Anima." 238 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. Taking all of the . foregoing into consideration, sev eral conclusions follow: — 1. It cannot be just longer to say, that Clement of Alexandria "advocated Universalism," or was a Uni- versalist. 2. It is not right against Clement's own declaration to say, that he held to the " remedial character of all punishment " as to its effect, whatever he may have held as to its tendency. Therefore, his view concern ing punishment does not favor Universalism. 3. It is unsustained by evidence, that Clement was an after-death probationist. He did teach that both Jews and Gentiles, dying before Christ came, and in many things having lived "rightly" here, yet having ended life "sinfully," had the gospel preached to them by either Christ or his Apostles, and became purified for heaven. This was not probation but pur gatory. 4. It is wrong to charge Clement, as some do, with double dealing, — teaching the opposite of Restoration- ism in public, and Restorationism itself in private. So grave an impeachment requires evidence. He seems too serious and earnest, too much a believer and dealer in Scripture, too able and fruitful in writ ings, to resort to any such deceitful pretense in doc trine. Even his Gnosticism did not make him such a consummate hypocrite. He claimed that every true Gnostic was a high-minded Christian. 5. The suggestion of some that Clement was a Restorationist because his pupil Origen was, is un worthy of credit. The same kind of reasoning could be applied to convict Clement of believing in the pre- existence of all human souls, even of the human soul CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. 239 of the Redeemer; for his pupil Origen believed in it. Even Origen himself proves to be but a feeble support of the doctrine of Restorationism. It was a tenet he held in his earlier age. His work against Celsus, by far his most able and interesting, and written in his later years, contains hardly any glimpses of that view; nothing that of itself would clearly show it. Neander was so impressed with signs of change on this point in Origen that he said, " It may be questioned whether this also was not one of those points upon which his views became changed at a later period of his life " (Hist. Chris. Rel. Ch. Torrey, vol. i. p. 656). 6. The last evidence that after-death probation was held by the Christian Fathers in the second century gives way in the showing that Clement did not hold that view. His writing of anything akin to that sub ject dates as late as A. D. 195. There is no rational claim that any other of the Fathers of the second cent ury held it. 7. Clement's view on any given subject should be inferred, not from isolated passages, but from the great sum of all he says concerning it. He did not define, or adhere to his definitions, so carefully as authors generally do now. Nor did scarcely any of his period. Not observing this difference has led to many misinterpretations of his meaning. 8. Redepenning's misstatements concerning Clem ent's belief, having been put in circulation long ago, . and having been handed on through a long line of students and scholars, have done much harm to evan gelical religion. They have delusively encouraged errorists, and have unjustly weakened the hearts and hands of many loyalists to the truth. 240 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. 9. We all have an urgent and solemn duty not to slander or misrepresent the dead. We have an im portant office in keeping the just reputation of those who are not here to answer for themselves. [See Ap pendix I.] CHAPTER XXV— Canon Farrar's Erroneous Positions and Citations. Canon Farrar has spoken and published so much favoring after-death probation, that some notice here should be made of his views. 1 He has been in error in stating the views of oth ers. He says that "the current pulpit teaching about ' hell ' " is as follows: — (1) "That the fire of 'hell' is material, and that its agonies are physical agonies." He should have in formed himself, and not have made such a statement. (2) "That the doom of 'everlasting damnation' is incurred by the vast majority of mankind. " He should have learned better. (3) " That this doom is passed irreversibly at death on all who die in a state of sin." Not the doom which he names. Bishop Butler and many others have re garded it as coming by a law of nature. Prof. Park and others hold that the punishment is through con science, which is a mental natural law. (4) " That the duration of these material torments is necessarily endless for all who incur them " (Mercy and Judgment, c. 2). Not of such torments as he names, but of such as Christ meant. CANON FARRAR'S POSITIONS. 241 Canon Farrar has done much harm by these un warranted statements. He seems to acknowledge some correction since Dr. Pusey's published exami nation of his book called "Eternal Hope." He de clares himself not a Universalist. He sees " the most probable solution to our difficulties and perplexities in the doctrine of the Intermediate State " as held by the Roman Catholic Church (Ibid. c. 1, s. 4). His view of after-death probation seems to be satisfied and exhausted with what Dr. Pusey calls purgatory, and which he denies is probation. 2. Canon Farrar misapplies Scripture to some ex tent. In the appendix of his " Eternal Hope," he cites some thirty passages which teach universal re demption, with the idea that they have some bearing on universal salvation. Such would be the impres sion on many minds. But, they have nothing to do with the subject. Two great elements he little con siders : one, man's free-will ; the other, the earthly mediatorial probation. 3. In like manner he misapplies citations from the early Fathers. He refers to the early Fathers as hold ing "the belief that the Apostles, as well as our Lord, preached to the dead — even to the sinful dead — in hades, and thereby gave them at least the chance of repentance " (Mer. and Judg. c. 9, s. 4). The truth is, that all of the Fathers of the first three centuries who refer to this have reference to preaching to the right eous dead. Even Clement of Alexandria refers to preaching only to " righteous " Greeks, who are not put upon a probation, but into a system of purifica tion. Isolated sentences might seem to imply more, but every writer must in fairness be interpreted ac- 16 242 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. cording to the main object and trend of his writings. Hence Dr. Pusey is right; Clement means purgatory, not probation. Canon Farrar misapplies evidently Clement's cita tion from the poet Diphilus: "And then he shall save all things which he formerly destroyed" (Mer. and Judg. c. 9, s. 4; Clement, Mis. B. v. c. 14). The poet speaks of the earth's destruction by fire, and then of its restoration. The Canon thinks he speaks of the restoration of souls. Again, Clement is speaking of the Saviour's " care for all "; " of Greeks and of Barbarians "; and of the fact that " He is in no respect whatever the cause of evil." Then he adds, as the Canon quotes, "All things have been appointed by the Lord of all for the salva tion of all, both in general and in particular." That is, to save Greeks and Barbarians alike. In the same chapter: "So the Lord of all, of Greeks and of Bar barians, persuades those who are willing. For he does not compel him," etc. This implies that some are not "willing." Same chapter: "And how is he the Saviour and Lord, if not the Saviour and Lord of all? But he is the Saviour of those who have be lieved, because of their wishing to know; and the Lord of those who have not believed, till, being en abled to confess him [he being made known to them after their death, as he had previously said] they obtain the peculiar and appropriate boon which comes by him" (Clem. Mis. B. vii. c. 2; Mer. and Judg. c. 9, s. 4). It is a plea for the Lord's universal love and atonement. Further: " Necessary discipline, by the goodness of the great overseeing Judge, through the proximate angels, through various previous judg- CANON FARRAR'S POSITIONS. 243 ments, through the final judgments, compels even those who have entirely despaired to repent." Trials are often blessed unto repentance and salvation in this life. Nothing appears to show probation after death to those who die destitute of what Clement calls "righteousness." By "the final judgments," refer ence is probably made to the trial as by fire in the last hours or moments of life (1 Cor. 3:13), which were deemed by many as very effective in preparing for the future state. 4. Canon Farrar claims that the word alaviog, eter nal, in the writings of many of the Fathers, did not mean endless. Since it did with many, did it not with all, unless exception was made? Was there not a common usage? Since it meant everlasting as ap plied to God, and to eternal life, with all the Fathers, did it not of necessity mean the same as applied to eternal punishment? Usage determines the meaning of language. The fact is established that the contem poraries of Christ, and the early Christian Fathers, meant for ever by the Greek word for eternal. Some trifling case of exception cannot overthrow the rule of usage for its meaning. 5. Canon Farrar misinterprets other statements of some of the early Fathers. He says that Hermas " certainly taught a possible amelioration after death; for a possibility of ' repentance,' and so of being ulti mately built into the tower, is granted to some of the rejected stones" (Mer. and Judg. c. 9). He wrongly assumes that a 'rejected stone' means a person dead. Hermas says of the stones built into the tower — the church — in his picture, "Some of them have fallen asleep, and some still remain alive " (Vision, iii. c. 5). 244 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. Therefore the building of the tower is not in the other world, and some stones are rejected in this life. Her mas says further: " I said again to the Shepherd, ' Can these stones return to the building of the tower, after being rejected?' He answered me, and said, ' Do you see these stones? ' 'I see them, sir,' I replied. ' The greater part of these stones,' he said, ' I will hew, and put into the building, and they will harmo nize with the others'" (Similitude, ix. c. 7). Therefore, a rejected stone in this life may be hewn and tried again and accepted in this life. And no "possibility of repentance" after death is here taught. Hermas says, "But to the heathen, repentance will be possi ble even to the last day " — " the last day of his life," elsewhere (Vis. ii. c. 2; Vis. iii. c. 12). This implies that repentance is not possible after the last day. "Many, however, repented, but some of them hesi tated and were in doubt. These, then, have repent ance within their reach, if they repent quickly, and do not remain in their pleasures; but if they abide in their deeds, these, too, work to themselves death" (Simil. viii. c. 8). The "pleasures" of sinners are in this life, and therefore the repentance spoken of is to be in this life. The Canon thinks Hermas favors an nihilation by the word "death" as penalty to the wicked. But the Shepherd says, "Death has ever lasting ruin," and the wicked "shall die for ever," which seems to imply an activity in their death which is inconsistent with annihilation. Of the finally wicked he says, "These, therefore, at the end were lost unto God"; "From such life departed" (Simil. viii. c 6); which phrases seem to imply the opposite of annihilation. The current view in Hermas' time was CANON FARRAR'S POSITIONS. 245 not that of annihilation, and he could not be proven an annihilationist except by strong reasons, now con spicuously absent. Dr. Farrar's citation in his " Eter nal Hope" of Hermas as sustaining his view was without good evidence. Canon Farrar attributes to Justin Martyr the belief that " at the end of a certain time, defined by the will of God, the punishment of souls shall cease either by the cessation of their existence or the removal of their punishment" (Mer. and Judg. c. 9). He attributes that sentiment merely on the statement of an aged man whose language Justin gives, but in no way sanctions. In the connection Justin also gives Plato's belief, which on many points was contrary to his own (Dia. c. 5). His citation was no sanction. In the sev enth chapter of this work is given Justin's view on "Punishment Eternal." In twelve different places, quoted by Dr. Pusey, Justin indicates his belief in the doctrine of the ceaseless lost condition of the impeni tent. Dr. Farrar's plea is not valid. Dr. Farrar argues that Irenseus taught the final an nihilation of the wicked by the following: " For life does not arise from us, nor from our own nature ; but it is bestowed according to the grace of God. And therefore he who shall preserve the life bestowed upon him, and give thanks to him who imparted it, shall receive also length of days for ever and ever. But he who shall reject it, and prove himself ungrate ful to his Maker, inasmuch as he has been created, and has not recognized him who bestowed [the gift upon him], deprives himself of [the privilege of] con tinuance for ever and ever. And, for this reason, the Lord declared to those who showed themselves un- 246 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. grateful towards him : ' If ye have not been faithful in that which is little, who will give you that which is great?' indicating that those who, in this brief tem poral life, have shown themselves ungrateful to him who bestowed it, shall justly not receive from him length of days for ever and ever" (Her. B. ii. c. 34, s. 3). God's great gift is, "length of days for ever and ever. " It is more than existence ; it is not existence with pun ishment ; it is a privilege, a boon. This is forfeited by sin and continued impenitence. The life with happiness is withheld. The passage does not teach that mere existence is also withheld. In the next par agraph Irenseus says : " Let me speak concerning the creation and the continued duration of the soul," im plying that all souls have "continued duration." In seven or more places Irenseus teaches the eternal pun ishment of the wicked7 which forbids their final anni hilation. He applies " eternal " to God's future exist ence, to the believer's salvation, and to the sinner's condemnation and punishment. As an honest man and Christian does he not mean the same by that one word "eternal" in the three cases? Canon Farrar's plea respecting the views of Clem ent of Alexandria are in substance considered in the previous chapter. His claim in his book "Eternal Hope " that Clement held views analogous to Univer salism is not sustained. It is a striking fact, that, after all that has been said and assumed in recent times respecting the gospel preached to the impenitent dead, not a single instance of that doctrine held by the early Christian Fathers is yet produced. ORIGEN'S OBJECTIONS AND CONCESSIONS. 247 CHAPTER XXVI. — Objections and Concessions by Origen. We have seen that Origen employed the word " eternal" to mean endless, that in that sense he ap plied it to define the unending future existence of God, and also the unending reward of the righteous. We have seen that he employed the same defining term in describing the duration of future punishment to the finally wicked. We have also seen that he represents the Apostles as holding to the "eternal" reward of the righteous, and to the " eternal " punish ment of the wicked, after death. How, then, can Origen contradict the Apostles, and contradict himself, by teaching the final restoration to holiness of those who die in their sins, and are con signed to eternal punishment ? Does he attempt to establish his self -consistency ? Not at all. One may well question whether he was not vacillating in his opinion on this subject, sometimes sincerely stating the Apostolic doctrine, and then at other times allow ing himself in an opposing argument. But what ar guments does he use ? He quotes the Psalmist : "Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool " (110: 1). The figure is drawn from the ancient custom of conquering kings in placing their feet on the necks of kings subdued. The subjection does not mean conversion, either in the original cus tom or the symbol ; and therefore does not mean sal vation. " For Christ must reign until he has put all enemies under his feet" (1 Cor. 15: 25). The last enemy is death; but death will not be converted. 248 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. How do we know that all other enemies will ? He quotes from Christ's communion prayer : "That they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and lin thee, that they also may be one in us " (John, 17: 21). This was a prayer for the unity of Christ's followers ; and no proper inference can be made from it that all sinners will become united to Christ. " Until we all come in the unity of the faith to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4: 13). " That ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you ; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment" (1 Cor. 1: 10). Exhortations to Christian union are far from proving either universal salvation, or future probation. "All the ends of the earth shall remember, and turn unto the Lord ; and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee" (Ps. 22:27). This is declarative of the millen nial glory that will finally prevail on the earth, and not of the salvation of all men. On this verse De- litzsch says : "The conversion of the nations by that preaching will be thus the realization of the kingdom of God." Origen's argument on this question is not extensive. He only touches it in a few places. (De Principiis, B. i. c. 6, s. 2; B. iv. c. 1, s. 36.) Origen says : "The Apostolic teaching is that the soul, having a substance and life of its own, shall, after its departure from the world, be rewarded ac cording to its deserts, being destined to obtain an inheritance of eternal life and blessedness, if its actions shall have procured this for it, or to be deliv ered up to eternal fire and punishments, if the guilt of its crimes shall have brought it down to this " (De origen's objections and concessions. 249 Princ. Pref. s. 5). By this he seems to make out the Apostles to be evangelical on these points, " accord ing to the threatenings of holy Scripture and the con tents of the church's teaching — viz., that when the time of judgment comes, everlasting fire, and outer darkness, and a prison, and a furnace, and other pun ishments of like nature, have been prepared for sin ners — let us see what our opinions on these points ought to be" (Ibid. B. ii. c. 1). " Let us now see what is the meaning of the threatening of eternal fire. We find in the prophet Isaiah that the fire with which each one is punished is described as his own ; for he says, ' Walk in the light of your own fire, and in the flame which ye have kindled'" (50:11). Walking in our own light will be walking in darkness. "By these words it seems to be indicated that every sinner kindles for himself the flame of his own fire, and is not plunged into some fire which has been already kindled by another, or was in existence before him self." Though we kindle a fire of reproof or punish ment ourselves, the finally impenitent are to depart into "the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels " (Mat. 25: 41). " Of this fire the fuel and food are our sins, which are called by the Apostle Paul wood, and hay, and stubble (1 Cor. 3:12)" (De Princ. B. ii. c. 10, s. 4). Nothing here shows the lim ited duration of future punishment. He conjectures doubtless that " our sins " suffer the eternal punish ment, but Scripture teaches that sinners suffer it. How can sin suffer? "That the punishment, also, which is said to be applied by fire, is understood to be applied with the object of healing, is taught by Isaiah, who speaks thus of Israel : ' The Lord will wash away 250 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. the filth of the sons or daughters of Zion, and shall purge away the blood from the midst of them by the spirit of judgment, and the spirit of burning' (Isa. 4:4). Of the Chaldeans he thus speaks : 'Thou hast the coals of fire ; sit uponihem : they will be to thee a help ' (Isa. 47: 14, 15). And in other passages he says, ' The Lord will sanctify in a burning fire ' (Isa. 10: 17 ; 66:16); and in the prophecies of Malachi he says, ' The Lord sitting will blow, and purify, and will pour forth the cleansed sons of Judah' (Mai. 3: 3)" (De Princ. B. ii. c. 10, s. 6). And is this the argument for the limitation of future punishment ? Much concerning the foregoing passages goes to show that they pertain to God's disciplinary dealings with Israel in this world. Nothing goes to show that they teach proba tion, or universal restoration in the next life. Origen in his inconsistency actually argued in favor of the doctrine of eternal punishment, and main tained that it was highly useful in conferring the ben efits of Christianity. In his extended work against Celsus, a Greek philosopher who wrote against Chris tianity about A.- D. 178, Origen says : "And he [Cel sus] allows the soundness of the doctrine, that ' those who lead a good life shall be happy, and the unright eous shall suffer eternal punishments.' And yet I wonder at what follows, more than at any thing that Celsus has ever said ; for he adds, ' and from this doc trine let not them or any one ever swerve.' For cer tainly in writing against Christians, the very essence of whose faith is God, and the promises made by Christ to the righteous, and his warnings of punish ment awaiting the wicked, he must see that, if a Christian were brought to renounce Christianity by origen's objections and concessions. 251 his arguments against it, it is beyond doubt that, along with his Christian faith, he would cast off the very doctrine from which he says that no Christian and no man should ever swerve. . . . And Celsus in like manner [as Chrysippus], after having embraced the doctrine, ' that the righteous shall be blessed, and the wicked shall suffer eternal punishments,' should have followed out his subject ; and, after having ad vanced what seemed to him the chief argument, he should have proceeded to prove and enforce by fur ther reasons the truth that the unjust shall suffer eternal punishment, and those who lead a good life shall be blessed " (Against Celsus, B. viii. c. 51). "But Jews and Christians have been thus affected by the doctrines they hold about what we speak of as the world to come, and the reward of the righteous, and the punishments of the wicked. Let Celsus then, or any one who will, show us who have been moved in this way in regard to eternal punishments by the teaching of heathen priests and mystagogues. For surely the purpose of him who brought to light this doctrine was not only to reason upon the subject of punishments, and to strike men with terror of them, but to induce those who heard the truth to strive with all their might against those sins which are the causes of punishment" (Ibid. B. ix. c. 48). Origen means that God has "brought to light" the doctrine of "eternal punishments." How then could he admit that "eternal" means unending, and then argue against the eternity of the punishment? How could he be so confident of the utility of the doctrine, and then say a word to lessen its power? Could he have failed to see that the doctrine of the final restoration 252 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. of all the unrighteous, if received, would nearly or quite utterly destroy all benefits that might result from the Christian belief in eternal punishment? Could he have failed to see that God would not de ceive his creatures by the fear of eternal punishment when there was to be no such ground for fear? So far as Origen held to Restorationism, it was an after- death probation, not for heathen alone, but for all who die in their sins. Celsus belonged to an earlier generation than that of Origen. His argument against Christianity was made before Origen was born. He attributes the doc trine of eternal punishment to the Christians of his time, and Origen admits his correctness in so doing. This constitutes another and unanswerable testimony that such doctrine was early held by- the disciples of Jesus. It makes it certain that no doctrine of future probation was taught in the church at about seventy- five years after the death of the Apostle John, and if not then; it was never taught among the early Chris tians. Origen was too late to be one of the early fol lowers of Christ. So little appears in Origen's works in favor of pro bation after death, and that little is so weak, that some have doubted whether he ever advocated that view; conjecturing that what appears in favor of it is the doing of an interpolator. Doubtless that opinion can never prevail. But it is unquestionably true that Origen advocated the doctrines of after-death proba tion and universal restoration as speculations rather than as fixed truths, and in the earlier rather than the later part of his life. It seems to be certain that he did not intend his writings on those subjects ever to OBJECTIONS BY "NEW DEPARTURE." 253 be made public. And Neander is probably correct, as heretofore quoted, in supposing that Origen aban doned these speculations in later life. CHAPTER XXVII. — Objections by "New De parture." The objections now to be considered are the most fully stated in the article on " Eschatology " in the volume entitled " Progressive Orthodoxy." 1. Early in the essay is this statement : " All men are to be judged under the gospel ; "to be judged in their relation to Christ " (p. 72). It is meant by this that men must know Christ before they can be finally judged. For, in the same book, article on the atone ment, is this statement : " Itwould not be just for God to condemn men hopelessly when they have not known him as he really is, when they have not known him in Jesus Christ" (p. 64). This is contrary" to Revelation ; for, there the heathen without Christ are many times charged with guilt, and consigned to the fruit of their own doings without hope. When God destroyed the inhabitants of Sodom, he was still "just," though he did not give them a probation "under the-gospel." Was the hardened Pharaoh un justly dealt with, if after death he was not made to know God as he "is in Jesus Christ," and then given another space for repentance ? Pharaoh well knew he was wrong and wicked. Was Jehovah wrong for destroying him then and there for ever ? The African 254 future probation examined. chief that put to death the late Bishop Hannington, did not do it under the bright rays of a gospel sun. If he dies as he is, with no after-death probation, will he be able to say in the judgment ' that it would not be just for God to condemn him hopelessly' ? Will any be able to say it for him ? Further, Revelation teaches thus : "As many as have sinned under law shall be judged by law. As many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law" (Rom. 2: 12). By the Lord's rule some are to " perish with out law," as that law is known inevitably by those who know Christ. And is God unjust because thus they perish ? Is God sinful if he does not give them another probation ? Revelation says that even the heathen do know God : "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead ; so that they are with out excuse" (Rom. 1:20). Missionaries tell us that the heathen who worship dumb idols believe in a Su preme Being. Him they should love and obey. They worship idol deities and demons to propitiate them ; not because of any love for them. They are all con scious of sin; they know they deserve punishment. They have an idea of grace, of sins remitted ; they offer sacrifice for pardon. To some extent they must be accountable, but not beyond their knowledge of what is right and true. Their disabilities and losses by sin they have" no right to claim that God should restore. Yet, in this life and world of probation he offers to restore them. Beyond this life no one has any right to say that the gracious offer is continued, or in justice ought to be continued. The objection in objections by "new departure." 255 part loses sight of free-agency in man. So did objec tions to Christianity in the Primitive age, and hence the early Christians stoutly contended for the doc trine of free-will. The objection assumes that men cannot justly be condemned on a small amount of obligation ; they must have a large amount before they can rightfully be irrevocably lost. But that is groundless assumption ; reason is against it. Reve lation condemns it. As to how much light each one shall have God takes into his own sovereignty ; and man has no right to complain. He is responsible only for what he has. Under the blessings of human free dom and modern civilization we are prone unduly to magnify our rights, both with men and with God. We do not enough sympathize with the Psalmist : " What is man that thou art mindful of him ? and the son of man that thou visitest him ? " They are not those who have the most light that always repent ; often they are those that have but little light. More of the heathen may be saved in this life than most are wont to suppose. None are competent to judge of the number. Often the last hours of the dying are not known. ' " In every nation, he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is acceptable to him" (Acts, 10:35). "In every nation ;" as though there were many. The true God may sometimes be wor shiped under the name of a heathen deity. There may be acceptable self-loathing and penitent sorrow without yet the ray of hope. Thus it may be with many who die and find Christ their Saviour after death. "Progressive Orthodoxy" says, "The vast majority of the heathen die in sin." By this it must mean that they die sinners. The statement cannot 256 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. be true, because half of the heathen die in infancy and innocency, and by the common Christian belief they are saved. Some other heathen are saved, and therefore a large majority of them are saved. The "New Theology " very much ignores the fact that " There was the true light, even the light which light- eth every man, coming into the world" (John, 1:9). It also much or wholly ignores the great work being done by the Holy Spirit. "And he, when he is come, will convict the world in respect of sin, and of right eousness, and of judgment " (John, 16: 8). Every ac countable being has much light, and much knowledge of duty. Many even in gospel lands have far less light than others. Will it be said that it would not be just for God to condemn any for such light as they have and abuse, if their light is not of the highest amount ? To say it, would be to charge God with sin. He does condemn sinners of low degree of light. He may without injustice condemn heathen sinners. Much as we may regret that many heathen do not have the gospel, our regret does not justify saying that they cannot be saved without the gospel, or saying that God_would do unjustly to juage them by such light as they have. God declares concerning the heathen in view of their sins that they "are worthy of death" (Rom. 1: 32), by which he means, not tem poral, but the spiritual and eternal death. " Progress ive Orthodoxy" objects that Paul "affirms that all men at last are to be judged ' according to my gospel by Jesus Christ ' " (p. 95). It infers that therefore all men are to have the gospel, in the next life if not in this. What is his "gospel"? That which he had just been declaring : among other things that the OBJECTIONS BY "NEW DEPARTURE." 257 Gentiles, the heathen, have light and are guilty, and "that the judgment of God is according to truth against them that practice such things ; . . . who will render to every man according to his works : to them that by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life : but unto them that are factious, and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, shall be wrath and indigna tion, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that worketh evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek ;. but glory and honor and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek : 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 under law shall be judged bylaw" (Rom. 2:2, 6-12). Here are both the condition of salvation, and the law of condemnation, for both Jew and Greek, Hebrew and heathen. These are the gospel terms by which men can be saved, and by non-observance of which they will " perish." The theater of action is in this life. Nothing is said of a probation after death for the Greeks, who have not the law of the gospel. Jesus Christ is to be the judge, but that does not imply that he would be unjust to judge men according to the light they have, even not having heard of him. We might as well say that God would be unjust to judge us without our seeing him. The "gospel " per tains to the terms with which men are saved, and without which they are lost. There are gospel terms of salvation separate from actual knowledge of Christ, and by those terms any heathen can be saved. Being saved by the provisions of the gospel does not imply 17 258 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. either having seen or heard of Christ, but it does im ply being saved through his atonement. We may properly ask whether the benevolence of God will give to any men a probation after death. Benevolence does not answer our question. But Scripture answers it in the negative. We may prop erly say that justice will not condemn the guiltless. But we may not properly say that justice will give to any of the guilty a probation after death, or even a probation before death. We may properly say that justice will not condemn those who have no light. But to say that justice will not condemn any who are without a knowledge of the, historic Christ is wrong. Chapters xii., xiii., and xv. bear upon these questions. 2. A passage adduced in favor of future probation is that concerning the sin against the Holy Ghost,: " Therefore I say unto you, Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men ; but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. And who soever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him ; but whosoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come " (Mat. 12: 31, 32). It is inferred from the phrase, "nor in that which is to come," that other sins than that against the Holy Spirit may be forgiven in the world to come. Either of two views cuts off this theory. First, the phrase referred to may be only a strong negative, like the phrase in the corresponding passage in Mark (3 : 28, 29), " hath never forgiveness "; no forgiveness for this sin or for any sin. No repentance by him who sins against the Holy Spirit, and hence no forgiveness. Luke, in a similar passage, says, OBJECTIONS BY "NEW DEPARTURE." 259 " Every one who shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him " ; of course forgiven only on being repented of. " But unto him that blas- phemeth against the Holy Spirit it shall not be for given" (12:10). God abandons him who sins against the Holy Ghost, and never inclines him to repentance. Secondly, noting the law of usage, there is another view. Some Jews, perhaps not many, previous to and at the time of Christ, believed that some of their people, suddenly cut off by death, though righteous, did not have passed upon them the full act of forgive ness until they reached the other world. Some of them believed in prayer for such departed ones, as will hereafter be shown (chap. xx.). On similar grounds, baptism for the dead was practiced by a few among the early nominal Christians, though gener ally discountenanced. A living Christian was bap tized for an unbaptized dead Christian (1 Cor. 15: 29). By a few it was thought that without receiving such baptism the departed unbaptized could not be re ceived into bliss. Knowing this belief", among some of his hearers, concerning the forgiveness of the dead who had suddenly been cut off, Jesus, without at all lending his sanction to that view, may have added the phrase, " nor in that which is to come," thus cut ting off a groundless hope. Christ's declaration con cerning "blasphemy against the Spirit" had much pertinence, because some had just charged him with having an unclean spirit (Mk. 3: 30). 3. The case of Tyre and Sidon is appealed- to, and the question is put, " If the inhabitants of Tyre and Sidon are to be condemned to everlasting woe, in what sense can their judgment be more tolerable than 260 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. that of Chorazin and Bethsaida ? " It can be more tolerable in the sense of less in degree, though not less in length. Difference in degree of both future rewards and punishments is generally conceded. That Sodom would have remained if it had received the great light given to Capernaum, does not show that Sodom will have, or has had, an after-death probation. Nor does it show that such a probation would have been effectual. That Tyre and Sidon would have repented with the light of Chorazin and Bethsaida, is no evi dence that under the circumstances of a new proba tion after death they would have repented. Whether Christ spoke of the temporal or eternal judgment against those cities, or of both, the principle remains unshaken, that they who die in their sins cannot go where Christ is. So Jesus taught and illustrated in various ways. 4. It is claimed that some passages speak of Christ as " Lord of the living and the dead, as if his power is not absent from the abodes of the dead." Granting all that is claimed, nothing is thereby shown which proves, or makes it probable, that any of the impeni tent dead-are to be saved. Three times Christ is spoken of as judge of the quick and the dead, yet in no case implying the use of his power to save the impenitent, but in each case impressing the reader that all in sin should immediately repent. Once we read, "For to this end Christ died, and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living" (Rom. 14 : 9). But the connection shows that both the living and the dead referred to are saints. The phrase just after, " Every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess to God," is explained by the next verse to OBJECTIONS BY "NEW DEPARTURE." 261 mean, that bowing and confessing to God, is ' giving account of one's self to God.' It has never been sup posed that God vacated all power from the abodes of the impenitent dead. The case of the rich man on the other side of the impassable gulf does not look like absence of divine power there. He is held by God's power still. When Christ says, " God is not the God of the dead, but of the living," and means by it that the dead are still in existence, ready for the resurrec tion at the appointed time, it is not in the least inti mated that the impenitent dead are to be converted. He elsewhere teaches that they are to rise from the dead unto condemnation. 5. The twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew is cited, not to prove after-death probation, but to show that there is nothing in it to disprove it. But the judgment there depicted is for deeds done in the body ; none for deeds in the spirit-land between death and the resurrec tion. This is an inspired assumption against after- death probation. If the "nations" there spoken of are all Gentile and heathen, as some suppose, then the works for which they are judged are done in this world while they are without a knowledge of Christ. 6. Dr. Dorner relied upon the few cases in Christ's time of resurrection from the dead, to show the possi bility and probability of-a probation after death. The chief cases are, that of Lazarus at Bethany, that of the daughter of Jairus, that of the widow's son atNain, and that of those raised when Christ was raised. No doubt the future state of each was settled before or at the first death, and they all were confirmed in holiness then. Their subsequent brief visit to this world made no difference in their condition ; no more than an 262 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. angel's visit to this world makes a change in his state of mind. If possibly any of those human beings died at first impenitent, confirmation in sin may have set in at the first death. If power to repent remained, that by no means insured true repentance. 7. It is argued that "sheol" in the Old Testament signifies the world of the dead, where no difference exists between the two classes. That is not proven. There might have been two apartments without specific mention of them. The two classes of the dead are indicated, as has been shown (chap. xvii.). Before and when Christ came, as appears in the Apoc rypha, Book of Enoch, and Josephus, "sheol" or " hades" was plainly represented among the Jews as having two apartments. 8. It is claimed that men are to be judged on the question whether they have believed in Christ or not (Mk. 16 : 16). This was naturally spoken of as the test question where Christ and the gospel were known. But, it has been shown (chap, xv.) that it is not the test question where Christ is not known. Mankind everywhere are judged according to the light they have. This is a Bible principle. " To whomsoever much is given of him shall much be required " (Lu. 12 : 48). And Christ " lighteth every man, coming into the world" (Jno. 1:9). Every person must render an account according to his light. "THE 'ANDOVER THEORY7 OF FUTURE PROBATION." Under the above title Dr. Thomas P. Field discusses and defends the Andover theory. His article was first published in the Andover Review for May, 1887. OBJECTIONS BY "NEW DEPARTURE." 263 It furnishes some points relative to that theory which it may be well here to notice. 1. The article cites, without sanctioning, the theory of future probation, on the ground that free-agency continues after death. How can that view have any trustworthy foundation ? Mere ability, and the right exercise of ability, are two different things. So far as revealed, repentance occurs only under the system of divine grace. It is revealed that divine grace is offered for the acceptance of men, only in this life (Day of Judgment, chap. x. ; No Probation after Death, chap. xi.). Nearly six thousand years Satan has had free- agency without repentance. It teaches that no re liable hope of repentance in the spirit world can be based on any free-agency that there may exist. 2. " Now, if Christ died for every man, and faith in Christ is absolutely essential to salvation, then it fol lows, as a necessary inference, that the offer of this salvation will be made to every man before the final judgment." (1) Christ did die for all. (2) Faith in the historic Christ is not necessary for acceptance with God and for the gift of that life which springs up into everlasting life. That is, the salvation of a person may be determined before he knows of the his toric Christ. So it was with Abraham, Job, and numerous others. (3) But repentance and faith in God are in this life. (4) That the personal Christ will be known to all the penitent "before the final judgment," is unquestionably true. (5) "Faith" is "absolutely essential to salvation "; but "faith in Christ" — in the personal or historic Christ— is not "absolutely essential to salvation" for those who have no means of knowing him. So the Scriptures 264 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. reveal (See chap, xv., The Scripture Method of Sal vation for unevangelized Heathen). 3. After stating Dr. Dorner's view, Dr. Field says : " It follows, as a necessary consequence from this view, either that all who do not hear of Christ in this life will be lost, or that all will have opportunity to hear of Christ that they may be saved." (1) The "view "is wrong. "Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness." This is three times stated in the Scriptures. It is an em phatic idea. Abraham believed God. So far as ap pears he did not believe on Christ before he had his faith "counted unto him for righteousness." All others without a knowledge of Christ can believe God and have it counted unto them for righteousness, and thus be saved. This is not saying that they can be saved without Christ, or by their good works. The whole system of divine grace is through Christ. It was begun without the knowledge of any men. It is carried on without the knowledge of many men. Yet, it is efficacious for all men who like Abraham have faith in God. Abraham had faith in Christ, also, whenever he was made known to Him ; and so will all who believe, whenever he is made known to them. (2) The " gospel " is defined as " The good news con cerning Christ and his salvation." Abraham came into the believing or righteous state without having heard the gospel, and others unevangelized may thus come into the same state. (3) Being ' saved in the name of Christ ' (Acts, 4: 12) is being saved through Christ. It does not mean that all who are saved must first know his name or him. It does mean that no one can put another name against that of Christ and be OBJECTIONS BY "NEW DEPARTURE." 265 saved. Rejecting Christ, and not knowing about Christ, are two different things. Being saved 'ac cording to the gospel,' that is according to the terms given in the gospel, does not imply that all who are saved will have heard the gospel, as in Christ, in this world. 4. " This modern theory that men may be saved by the light of nature," etc. Among Christians there is no theory that men may be saved by the mere " light of nature." But there is a theory that Christ lighteth every man (Jno. 1:9); and that he is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world (1 Jno. 2:2); and that the Spirit convicts the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment (Jno. 16:8); and that in every nation he that feareth God, and worketh righteousness, is acceptable with him (Acts, 10:35); and that every one that knows of Christ, must accept of him, and of his way of salvation, or not be saved (Acts, 4: 12; Jno. 3: 18). If " one live up to the light he has," he will repent, and believe as far as his light goes. Thus he will have the new nature, and will be ready to accept of Christ as soon as revealed to him, and such God will save through his Son. Other statements in this article are in effect an swered in different parts of this volume. 266 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. CHAPTER XXVIII. —The Primitive View that Some Antediluvians Repented under Noah's Preaching. Not all of the early Fathers whose writings are pre served to us, would be likely to speak on the question whether some antediluvians repented under Noah's preaching. If even a few uniformly spoke affirm atively on the question, and none spoke negatively, it would indicate a current sentiment in that age in favor of that belief. Clement of Home — " Let us turn to every age that has passed, and learn that, from generation to gener ation, the Lord has granted a place of repentance to all such as would be converted unto him. Noah preached repentance, and as many as listened to him were saved" (c. 7). "Noah being found faithful, preached regeneration to the world through his min istry" (c. 9). It would seem that more "listened to him " effectively than the seven with him in the ark ; and also, it would seem, that in Clement's time the opinion prevailed that some repented before death who were destroyed by the flood. That was close to the Apostolic time. Clement of Alexandria— " But how? Do not [the Scriptures] show that the Lord preached the gospel to those that perished in the flood, or rather had been chained, and to those kept in ' ward and guard' " (Mis. B. vi. c. 6)? In a discussion of six pages, Clement six times speaks of those as having done rightly or right eously in this world, to whom Christ or his Apostles preached the gospel in the next world. Therefore he repented under noah's preaching. 267 had the idea, that the punishment of the flood led some to immediate repentance, and that Christ visited them, and others, between his crucifixion and resur rection. He speaks also as though this was an undis puted view in his day. Doubtless he thought that such late or imperfectly repenting ones were in a place intermediate between gehenna and the lower paradise or Abraham's bosom, which some now call purgatory. He held, that those who had some germ of " righteousness,," or repentance, or faith, as a con sequence of the discipline of this life, received devel opment of the germ in purgatorial discipline. Origen — " They do not read what is written ^respect ing the hope of those who were destroyed in the deluge [he speaks as though Christians of his time generally had hope for them] ; of which hope Peter himself thus speaks in his first epistle: ' That Christ, indeed, was put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the spirit, by which he went and preached to the spirits who were kept in prison, who were once un believers, when they awaited the long-suffering of God in the days of Noah, when the ark was prepar ing " (De Princ. B. ii. c. 5). The natural suggestion is, that they were "unbelievers" when "the ark was preparing," but believers after it was prepared and the flood came. If Origen differed on this passage from Christians of his time, he would not assume agree ment with them. Methodius—" But neither did this law rule mankind, for men did not obey it, although zealously preached by Noah. But, after they began to be surrounded and drowning by the waters, they began to repent, and to promise that they would obey the commandments. 268 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. Wherefore with scorn they are rejected as subjects; that is, they are contemptuously told that they can not be helped by the law; the Spirit answering them back and reproaching them because they had deserted those men whom God had commanded to help them, and make them glad; such as -Noah and those with him. ' Even to you, O rebellious,' said he, ' I come, to bring help to you who are destitute of prudence, and who differ in nothing from dry trees, and who for merly did not believe me when I preached that you ought to flee from present things ' " (Ten Virgins, Dis course x. c. 3). They believed too late to be saved from the flood, but not too late to be barely saved in heaven, " works burned." Such seems to have been Methodius' thought, and the thought in general in the early Christian era, so far as the subject was consid ered. Tertullian — He teaches that Christ went to hades between his death and resurrection, "that he might there make the patriarchs and prophets partakers of himself," and to take the martyrs with himself to the higher " paradise." In the same connection he speaks of Christians as in " prison " while in hades. The nat ural inference is, that he had in mind Peter's state ment concerning Christ's- preaching to "spirits in prison," and that he regarded that Apostle as teaching that some who perished in the flood were finally among the saved, and that Christ preached to them as saints while in hades, and that hence they repented at last before death (De Anima, c. 55). The conclusion is justified or necessitated, that some of the early Fathers believed that some souls repented as the world was perishing by the flood, that none of PREACHING to "spirits IN PRISON." 269 that day, so far as appears, disbelieved in that view, and that the opinion widely prevailed that Peter taught that Christ preached to such penitents in hades. CHAPTER XXIX.— Preaching to Spirits in Prison, AND TO THE DEAD. The first of the two passages of Scripture examined in this chapter, is the following: " Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unright eous, that he might bring us to God; being put to death in the flesh, but quickened in the spirit; in which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison, which aforetime were disobedient, when the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing" (1 Pet. 3: 18-20). The present writer has examined this, and the fol lowing given, passage, at length in a small volume entitled, "Christ Preaching to Spirits in Prison" (pub lished by the Congregational Sunday School and Pub lishing Society, Boston). It is not intended here to repeat the argument given there, or to investigate the original Greek here as is done there. In inquiring for the meaning of any language, if all the related historic facts and circumstances can be ascertained, the object is greatly facilitated. In this case important historic facts and circumstances, to gether with inferences from the language itself, are as follows: — 1. It is the natural inference, that the spirits 270 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. " which aforetime were disobedient," were not diso bedient when Christ ' preached unto them in prison.' Otherwise why is "aforetime" mentioned? Not be ing disobedient when Christ preached to them, they were not impenitent when he preached to them. The preaching was not for conversion, but for comfort, growth in knowledge, and other blessings. No argu ment for preaching to the impenitent dead can be drawn from this case, because the "spirits" were converted previous to the preaching. 2. The spirits "were disobedient, when the long- suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing." The preaching being after the disobedience, and the disobedience being in the days of Noah, it follows that the preaching was not in the days of Noah. 3. The preaching seems to have been after Christ " suffered for sins once," after he was " put to death in the flesh "; therefore, again, apparently, not in the days of Noah. And it was ' in the spirit,' — ' ' in which," etc., — therefore, apparently, it was when Christ was out of the body, and between his death and resurrec tion, when his 'soul was in hades' (Acts, 2:27). 4. The ".spirits," to whom Christ preached, were "in prison"; apparently in prison when he preached to them. 5, Hades was the under-ground world of the spirits of the dead, of the righteous as well as the wicked, with two apartments, one for each class. This has been shown in chapter xvii. of this work. The con ception of such an under-ground world prevailed when it was the general or universal belief that the earth was flat, and had extremities or sides where PREACHING TO "SPIRITS IN PRISON." 271 there was a great leap into immensity, and thus easy communication with the world below. 6. This whole under-ground world was often in the Primitive era, and long before, represented as a kind of "prison," which embraced the part for the right eous as well as that for the wicked. This has been shown in chapter xviii. of this work, and also in the volume called "Christ Preaching to Spirits in Prison." Some of the early Fathers even termed that world a "prison," meaning a prison of detention, — a waiting-place, — until the resurrection or Christ should come. This also has been shown. It follows, that Christ preaching to "spirits in prison" may have been to the righteous, and not to the unrighteous, dead. 7. We know, independently of this passage, that Christ did go, immediately after death, to the place of the righteous dead with the soul of that penitent one at his side on the cross. We have no evidence outside this- passage that he ever went to the place of the un righteous dead, and none that he ever preached to them there. 8. In chapter xix. of this volume it is established, that the early Fathers, standing near to the Apostles, held that Christ did preach to the righteous dead be tween his death and resurrection, and that they did not hold that he preached to the unrighteous dead. See also chapters xx. and xxi. 9. The foregoing facts seem to justify, and even necessitate, the conclusion, that Christ preaching to "spirits in prison" was his communication with the righteous dead, in the paradisaical part of hades, be tween his death and resurrection. What other view 272 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. so accords with the facts and circumstances of the case, and with the Scriptures in general, and this par ticular Scripture under consideration? THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THE DEAD. The passage of Scripture here examined is this: — "Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. For unto this end was the gospel preached even to the dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit " (1 Pet. 4: 5, 6). 1. This passage is in the same Epistle, and in the same or the next following paragraph, as that just before considered. They both pertain to preaching, and to preaching to the dead. Therefore the explana tion of the former may aid in understanding the latter. 2. It is apparent from the foregoing, that preaching to "spirits in prison" was preaching to some "who were dead. It is natural to suppose that the "dead" mentioned in the passage now considered are of the same class as those meant by the phrase "spirits in prison." The gospel was preached to both. No inti mation appears that they were of different classes. 3. In the phrase, "the quick and the dead," the word "quick," or living, must mean those having natural or temporal life. The word "quick" is in contrast with the word " dead." As therefore the word "quick" pertains to those living in respect to natural life, so the word "dead" must pertain to those dead in respect to natural life. In the next sen tence the word "dead" occurs again, and by it must be meant the same as before, for no indication, in GOSPEL PREACHED TO THE DEAD. 273 either thought or language, is given of any other kind of dead. We should infer the same meaning in the two cases if no reason for change appears. Therefore the gospel was preached to some who had departed this life. 4. In chapter xx. of this volume reasons are given why the doctrine was early held and declared, that the gospel was preached to the righteous dead who died before Christ came. One reason was the preva lent idea that such believers needed the gospel news through preaching in order that they might become fully adjusted to the last or gospel dispensation. It being the opinion that the saints dying before Christ came, did not go at once to heaven, but to the lower paradise, or Abraham's bosom, there was fit place for the doctrine that the gospel was preached to the dead who passed away before Christ. They needed more gospel knowledge. 5. In this Scripture, one reason given for this preaching to the dead is this : "That they might be judged according to men in the flesh." They needed adjustment to the gospel, that they might be judged "according to," or as, men then in the flesh who "knew of Christ were to be judged. Christ must be made known to them, and they must accept him, and have faith in him, as they had the heart to do. And all this must be before the judgment. The Apostle Paul indicates that "When Gentiles which have no law do by nature the things of the law" (Rom. 2: 14), they will be judged so far forth according to the light they have. But of course he would say that they must soon or later know both the law and Christ, and be judged with reference to their acceptance of them. 274 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. Thus they will "be judged according to, or as, men in the flesh " who know of Christ. 6. The other reason given in this Scripture for the preaching of the gospel to the dead who died before Christ, is this : " That they might . . . live ac cording to God in the spirit." "In the spirit;" in their souls separate from the body. " Live according to God ; " live according to God as he is made known in the gospel, not merely as known in nature. They needed the gospel preached to them, that, as far as possible, they might appreciate the great love of God, and the way of salvation, and thus in spirit fully live. 7. These were righteous dead to whom the gospel was preached, for, (1) we naturally suppose that they were of the same class as the ' spirits in prison,' and they were disobedient before, and not when, the gospel was preached to them. (2) There is a reason to suppose they were righteous, in the prevalent views of that age respecting the need of the righteous dead who died before Christ came. (3) The belief pre vailed among Christians that the gospel was in fact preached to such righteous dead, and it did not pre vail that it was preached to the wicked dead. There was no customary belief on which to found a theory that the gospel was preached to the dead who were destitute of righteousness iii this life. 8. The view that the gospel was preached to the dead who held some claim to righteousness in this life, is supported by Jewish teaching in that early age. Rabbi Akiba was the most prominent Jewish teacher whom the Jews produced between the de struction of Jerusalem (A. D. 70), and the final disso lution of the Rabbinical schools in Palestine (A. D. PRAYER FOR THE DEAD. 275 358) (Schaff-Herzog). He seems to have been the in ventor of the idea of purgatory for the Jews, through which he claimed that some Jews could be saved who died not wholly fitted for heaven. He taught that the Messiah to come whom he declared, would do as much in preaching to the dead, as Christians claimed that Christ did in preaching to spirits in prison.' If this view is possibly not rightly accredited to Akiba, it would seem to be rightly accredited to the Jews of his time. Rabbi Akiba taught about three-fourths of a century after Christ's ascension (Dr. Pusey). The foregoing is submitted as the most rational, self -consistent, and Scriptural view that can be taken of the two passages considered in this chapter. CHAPTER XXX.— Prayer for the Dead. The Apocrypha — " Having made a collection of money, ... he sent it to Jerusalem to offer a sin- offering, doing very nobly and properly, in that he was mindful of the resurrection ; for if he had not expected that they that had fallen untimely would rise again, it had been superfluous and vain to pray for the dead ; and also in that he took into considera tion that there was great favor laid up for those that died godly, it was a holy and good thought ; where fore he made reconciliation for the dead, that they might be delivered from the sin" (2 Mac. 12:43-45). Judas Maccabseus may have provided for a sin-offer ing at Jerusalem in behalf of the living, that they 276 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. might not suffer for the sins of the dead. It may have been only the thought of the writer of Second Maccabees, that it might apply to the dead. If it were Judas Maccabseus' thought and plan, still, he was not inspired, and no proof exists that the Jews in general of that age believed in offerings or prayers for the dead. Moreover, the offering and prayer were not for the godless, but for the reputed "godly,"- dead, if at all ; for Jews that sinned when fighting and dying for their countrymen. The Persians to some extent held to purgatory and prayer for the dead ; and this may have been a Persian thought crept in. Roman Catholic purgatory is only for the righteous dead. Whether prayer may be offered for the godless dead, is answered, according to the ancient general Jewish opinion, in Second Esdras : " Show me . . • whether on the day of judgment the righteous can give excuse for the godless, or pray on their behalf to the Most High ; fathers on behalf of sons, or sons on behalf of parents, brothers on behalf of brothers, relatives on behalf of neighbors, confidants on behalf of those whom they love best. And he an swered me and said, . . . The day of judgment is the decisive day and will make manifest to all the seal of truth. For as now the father sendeth not the son, or the son the father, or the master the servant, or the confidant his best beloved, that he may be sick, or sleep, or eat, or be cured for him, so no one will ever pray on behalf of any other one, for all shall then bear, each for himself, his own wrong-doing or well-doing" (7:102-105). No prayer is approved for the ungodly dead. And so far as appears, none of the Jews, except some of the later, ever practiced offer- PRAYER FOR THE DEAD. 277 ing prayer for the dead. Only one book of the Apoc rypha? favors the act. We find no reference to prayer for the dead in the Targums, or Book of Enoch, or writings of Josephus, or of Philo. Passing to the early Christian Fathers, we find no allusion to the subject in the writings of Clement of Rome, or of Polycarp, or Barnabas, or Ignatius, or Diognetus, or Pastor of Hermas, or Pa pias, or Justin Martyr, or Athenagoras, or Tatian, or Theophilus, or in the Recognitions of Clement, or writings of Irenseus, or of Clement of Alexandria, or HippClytus. With the last few of these writers we come nearly to the end of the second century. By this whole list of authors in general we have frequent discourses on prayer, or allusions to it, but no ref erence to prayer for the dead. We have in their writings nearly a half score of references to preach ing to the dead by Christ or his Apostles, after their death, but no allusion to prayer for the dead by the living. And we find nothing of it in the Scriptures. Therefore we must conclude, that in the earlier part of the Christian era, the practice of prayer for the dead was at least not prevalent, and the faith in its utility not strong. Tertullian wrote in the latter part of the second century, and he alludes to this subject thus: "For the first wife you cannot hate, for whom you retain an even more religious affection, as being already received into the Lord's presence; for whose spirit you make request; for whom you render annual oblation" (Chastity, c. 11). "Indeed, she prays for his soul [he being dead], and requests re freshment for him meanwhile, and fellowship [with 278 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. him] in the first resurrection" (Monogamy, c. 10). " As often as the anniversary comes round, we make offerings for the dead as birthday honors " (De Co rona, s. 3). The " offerings " cannot have been sin- offerings, or animal sacrifices. These had been su perseded by Christ's great sacrifice. They were gifts in some way bestowed as " honors " in memory of the "birthday" of a soul by death into paradise. The "requests," or prayers, seem to have been little more than good wishes for the dead. They were always for those for whom there was ground of hope before death. The Christian world, having no Scripture revelation of the need of such prayers, has generally turned its attention to prayer for the living, whose probation was not closed. Fabian made a decree, about A. D. 250, concerning the service of Mass, but said nothing as to prayer for the dead, which, doubtless, came in subsequently. A century later prayer for the dead was frequent, and then Aerius, a presbyter of Pontus, ineffectually sought to have it abolished, on the ground that it was useless. The custom aided the doctrine of purgatory, but not that of probation, after death. CHAPTER XXXI.— The Salvation of Infants. The Pastor of Hermas—" For all infants are honor able before God, and are the first persons with him" (Simil. c. 29) . Athenagoras—" Although all human beings who die rise again, yet not all who rise again are to be judged: THE SALVATION OF INFANTS. 279 for if only a just judgment were the cause of the res urrection, it would of course follow that those who had done neither evil nor good— namely, very young children — would not rise again; but seeing that all are to rise again, those who have died in in fancy as well as others, they too justify our con clusion that the resurrection takes place not for the sake of the judgment as the primary reason, but in consequence of the purpose of God in forming men, and the nature of the beings formed" (Res. c. 14). He implies that young children dying have no proba tion between death and the judgment, and yet are to be saved. Tertullian— Infancy and youth : " The Lord does indeed say, ' Forbid them not to come unto me.' Let them 'come,' then, while they are growing up; let them ' come ' while they are learning, while they are being taught whither to come ; let them become Christians [by baptism] when they have become able to know Christ. Why does the innocent period of life hasten to the ' remission of sins ' " [or, tend to a character for remission] (Baptism, c. 18)? He rec ognizes a guiltless period. He seems to assume that infants dying then would certainly be saved. Commodianus — "The enemy has suddenly come flooding us over with war; and before they could flee, he has seized upon the helpless children. They can not be reproached, although they are seen to be taken captive " (Chris. Dis. s. 51). Cyprian— "If even to the greatest sinners, and to those who had sinned much against God, when they subsequently believed, remission of sins is granted— and nobody is hindered from baptism and from grace 280 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. — how much rather ought we to shrink from hindering an infant, who, being lately born, has not sinned, except in that, being born after the flesh according to Adam, he has contracted the contagion of the ancient death at its earliest birth, who approaches the more easily on this very account to the reception of the for giveness of sins — that to him are remitted, not his own sins, but the sins of another " (Epis. 58, s. 5). Among the foregoing writers there is agreement in respect tothe innocence and irresponsible character of infant children, and, so far as appears, in respect to their salvation without probation between death and the judgment in the case of those that early die. CHAPTER XXXII. —No Doctrine of Annihilation. Did the doctrine of the annihilation of the finally wicked exist among the contemporaries of Christ and his Apostles, or for two centuries afterwards? When did it first rise? The usual view of future punish ment forbids the doctrine. What is Patristic testi mony? What views did the Fathers and others hold which were irreconcilable with the doctrine of anni hilation? The Apocrypha— "The Almighty shall take ven geance of them in the day of judgment, in putting fire and worms in their flesh; and they shall feel them, and weep for ever " (Judith, 16: 17). The Book of Enoch—" Here their souls are separated in this great affliction until the great day of judg- NO DOCTRINE OF ANNIHILATION. 281 ment and punishment and affliction upon the revilers to eternity, and the vengeance for their souls, and here he binds them- to eternity " (22: 11). " And in the latter days there will be the spectacle of a just judg ment upon them in the presence of the just, in eternity for ever" (27:3). This " punishment ... to eternity," and this "judgment ... in eternity for ever," are irreconcilable with annihilation at death, or at any subsequent time. Josephus — " They [Pharisees; also Jews in general] also believe that souls have an immortal vigor [deathless force] in them, . . . and the latter are to be detained in an everlasting prison [perpetual im prisonment] " (Ant. B. xviii. c. 1, s. 3). This irrecon cilable with annihilation. Philo— "The death "of the man is the separation of his soul from his body, but the death of the soul is the destruction of virtue and the admission of vice; and consequently God calls that not merely ' to die,' but to die the death" (Works, vol. i. p. 79). " Death of the soul " does not mean its annihilation; but, " the destruction of virtue and the admission of vice." Polycarp — "And, looking to the grace of Christ, they [martyrs] despised all the torments of this world, redeeming themselves from eternal punishment by [the suffering of] a single hour. For this reason the fire of their savage executioners appeared cool to them" (Martyrdom, c. 2). This assumes that "eternal punishment " is the lot of the finally wicked, which forbids annihilation. Barnabas — "But the way of darkness is crooked, and full of cursing; for it is the way of eternal death with punishment, in which way are the things that 282 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. destroy the soul" (Epis. c. 20). The " eternal death" has " punishment " with it, which implies suffering, and that is inconsistent with annihilation. Ignatius — " Such an one becoming defiled [in this way] shall go away into everlasting fire, and so shall every one that hearkens unto them " (Ep. Ephesians, c. 16). To Diognetus — " The immortal soul dwells in a mortal tabernacle" (c. 6). "Immortal" certainly meant that the soul did not die with the body, but passed into the future state, and that was assumed to be without end. The Pastor of Hermas — " But those which fell into the fire and were burned, are those who have departed for ever from the living God; nor does the thought of repentance ever come into their hearts " (Vis. iii. c. 7). If they were to be annihilated they would not natu rally be spoken of as having " departed for ever." Justin Martyr — The final lot of the wicked worse than non-existence: "For reflect upon the end of each of the preceding kings, how they died the death common to all, which, if it issued in insensibility, would be a godsend to all the wicked. But since sen sation remains to all who have ever lived, and eternal punishment is laid up," etc. (1st Apol. c. 18).. " But I do not say, indeed, that all souls die; for that were truly a piece of good fortune to the evil " (Dia. Try. c. 5). He means the death of extinction. The wicked not annihilated : "And shall send those of the wicked, endued with eternal sensibility, into everlasting fire with the wicked devils " (1st Apol. c. 52). "That the members of those who have trans- grossed shall be consumed by the worm and unquench- NO DOCTRINE OF ANNIHILATION. 283 able fire, remaining immortal" (Dia. Try. c. 130). "Eternal sensibility," and "remaining immortal," are inconsistent with annihilation. Athenagoras—" He made man of an immortal soul and a body " (Res. c. 13). " For God has not made us as sheep or beasts of burden, a mere by-work, and that we should perish and be annihilated " (Plea, c. 31). Tatian— In one place, according to the psychology of that age, he makes a distinction between the "soul" and the "spirit." The soul "dies, and is dissolved with the body, but rises again at the last end of the world with the body, receiving death by punishment in immortality " (Address, c. 13). But the spirit con tinues existence. "Death" consists with "punish ment," and does not terminate punishment. "And as we, to whom it now easily happens to die, after wards receive the immortal with enjoyment, or the painful with immortality, so the demons, who abuse the present life to purposes of wrong-doing, dying continually even while they live, will have hereafter the same immortality, like that which they had dur ing the time they lived, but in its nature like that of men, who voluntarily performed what the demons prescribed to them during their lifetime " (Ad. c. 14). Theophilus — "And at the last everlasting fire shall possess such men" (To Auto. B. i. c. 14). "And thus he who acts righteously shall escape the eternal pun. ishments" (To Auto. B. ii. c. 34), reserved for the unrighteous. Recognitions of Clement— "But if any persist in impiety till the end of life, then as soon as the soul> which is immortal, departs, it shall pay the penalty of its persistence in impiety. For even the souls of the 284 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. impious are immortal, though perhaps they them selves would wish them to end with their bodies. But it is not so; for they endure without «nd the torment of eternal fire, and to their destruction they have not the quality of mortality " (B. v. c. 28). Irenseus — First, God is eternal: "And King eter nal." Secondly, God is immortal : " He is immortal and powerful " (Her. B. iii. c. 19, sec. 2; c. 20, s. 2). These two attributes probably mean the same. Man is immortal: " For by no other means could we have attained to incorruptibility and immortality, unless we had been united to incorruptibility and immortal ity" (Her. B. iii. c. 19, s. 1). "And the angels who transgressed and became apostates, together with the ungodly, and unrighteous, and wicked, and profane among men into everlasting fire" (Her. B. i. c. 10, s. 1). Then not annihilated. Clement of Alexandria — God is everlasting: "In comprehensible, everlasting, unmade, who made all things by the Word of his power " (Mis. B. vi. c. 5). God is immortal: "If we only join that which is mortal of us with the immortality- of God" (Mis. B. iv. c. 6). Man is immortal: Clement quotes Theaao ap provingly: " ' Life were indeed a feast to the wicked, who, having done evil, then die; were not the soul im mortal, death would be a godsend ' " (Mis. B. iv. c. 7). Tertullian — " For although the soul is evidently im mortal, this attribute is limited to it alone: it is not extended to that with which it is associated, that is, the body" (Nations, B. ii. c. 3). "Here, then, we have a recognition of the immortality of the soul, which cannot be killed by men" (Res. c. 35). "If, therefore, any one shall violently suppose that the de- NO DOCTRINE OF ANNIHILATION. 285 struction of the soul and the flesh in hell amounts to a final annihilation of the two substances, and not to that penal treatment (as if they were to be consumed, not punished), let him recollect that the fire of hell is eternal — expressly announced as an everlasting pen alty" (Res. c. 35). Hippolytus — " For they [the Essenes] acknowledge both that the flesh will rise again, and that it will be immortal, in the same manner as the soul is already imperishable. . . . They affirm that there will be both a judgment and a conflagration of the universe, and that the wicked will be eternally punished " (Ref. Her. B. ix. c. 22). Hippolytus cites the foregoing ap provingly. "He had both striven nobly for his own immortal soul" (Frag. Part iii.). Cyprian — " That in the mean time we die, we are passing over to immortality by death." " Laying aside the fear of death, let us think on the immor tality which follows" (Mortality, ss. 22, 24). "Did he not before ordain both for those who deny him eter nal punishments, and for those that confess him sav ing rewards " (Lapsed, Treat, ii. s. 7) ? Origen— " Whether this verily bodily nature, which bears the livek and contains the movements of spirit ual and rational minds, will be equally eternal with them" (De Princ. B. ii. c. 2, s. 1). He assumes the eter nal nature of the mind. " If we restate with all possi ble brevity our opinions on the immortality of rational natures" (De Princ. B. iv. c. 1, s. 36). He holds to the affirmative. Origen assumes what Celsus admits, that " those who had a good life shall be happy, and the unrighteous shall suffer eternal punishments" (Agt. Cel. B. viii. c. 51). 386 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. Methodius—" But it is the flesh which dies; the soul is immortal. So, then, if the soul be immortal, and the body be the corpse, those who say that there is a resurrection, but not of the flesh, deny any resurrec tion " (Res. s. 12). Gregory Thaumaturgus—" Consequently, if the soul is self-acting, as has been shown above, it follows that it is incorruptible and immortal " (Soul, s. 6). Dionysius — "And both in this world and after death they will abide with the spirit of blood-guiltiness" (Frag. Lapsed). Lactantius — " We term that punishment the second death, which is itself also perpetual, as also is immor tality " (Div. Inst. B. ii. c. 13). Arnobius — "For they are cast in, and being annihi lated, pass away vainly in everlasting destruction. For that which is seen by the eyes is [only] a separation of soul from body, not the last end — annihilation: this, I say, is man's real death, when souls which know not God shall be consumed in long- protracted torment with raging fire " (Ad. Gens. B. ii. s. 14). In the foregoing, we have passed along a line of witnesses almost six centuries in length,— more than half that time being since Christ came, — and all testi mony is against the annihilation of the finally sinful soul, until we come to the beginning of the fourth century of the Christian era, where we find a single writer, Arnobius, testifying in favor of the final ex tinction of the unbeliever. And who was Arnobius? He was not converted early, and not until he had written some books against Christianity. Before con version he was a rhetorician, and afterwards he was NO DOCTRINE OF ANNIHILATION. 287 not well instructed in religion. He seems to have understood the soul's immortality to mean its self -ex istence, and partly on that ground denied it. He was clearly in error as judged by Christian sentiment in the previous ages. It is certain that the doctrine of the annihilation of the finally wicked did not prevail with the early Fathers until we come to the end of the third century, and that Arnobius had few if any followers. No un inspired men before them held that view, except that the Sadducees held to all soul-extinction at death. And both Christ and Apostles denied being Saddu cees. We may not, then, expect to find the doctrine of annihilation in the Scriptures. The Scriptures— 1. The words "life" and "death" in Scripture sometimes have a spiritual sense without meaning annihilation or extinction in the case of " death." " But the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlast ing life" (John, 4: 14). " 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" (Jno. 5 :24). "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins " (Eph. 2: 1). "Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God" (Rom. 6: 11). "For I through the law died unto the law, that I might live unto God" (Gal. 2:19). "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren" (1 Jno. 3: 14). 2. If the word "death" does not necessarily in volve extinction, then the phrase "second death" does not. " He that overcometh shall not be hurt of 288 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. the second death" (Rev. 2: 11). "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: over these the second death hath no power" (Rev. 20: 6). "And death and hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, even the lake ,of fire " (Rev. 20: 14). The definition of second death — "the lake of fire " — is not extinction. 3. The post-judgment state of the devil and his angels. "Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eter nal fire which is prepared for the devil and his an gels " (Mat. 25: 41). "And angels which kept not their own principality, but left their proper habitation, he hath kept in everlasting bonds under darkness unto the judgment of the great day " (Jude, 6). Doubtless the same or worse after as before the judgment, for the " bonds " are " everlasting." "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brim stone, where are also the beast and the false prophet; and they shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever" (Rev. 20:10). 4. Lost men are to be joined with the fallen angels in their eternal retribution. " Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels" (Mat. 25:41).- "But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and mur derers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters,. and all liars, their part shall be in the lake that 'burn etii with fire and brimstone; which is the second death " (Rev. 21: 8). "And if any was not found writ ten in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:15). 5. Annihilation not eternal punishment. "And NO DOCTRINE OF ANNIHILATION. 289 these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life " (Mat. 25: 46). " Shall go away into annihilation^" would not have the same meaning. In annihilation there is no soul to be in punishment. If Christ taught annihilation would he not have said that the Sadducees were about half right instead of rejecting their doctrine that there is no spirit after death (Acts, 23: 8)? 6. To " destroy" and to " perish" do not mean an nihilation. Both words are often used respecting things that are perverted or destroyed from their proper use, without any extinction of parts. "But these, as creatures without reason, born mere animals to be taken and destroyed, raihng in matters whereof they are ignorant, shall in their destroying surely be destroyed" (2 Pet. 2:12). Of these it is said, "For whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved " (v. 17). Of the same class, in Jude, it is said, "For whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved for ever " (v. 13). It is not darkness to a thing an nihilated; for, there is no thing to experience dark ness. Those "destroyed" are to suffer "the black ness of darkness" "for ever." Therefore, their de struction cannot be total extinction. 19 290 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. CHAPTER XXXIIL— No Sleep of the Soul Be tween Death and the Resurrection. Some suppose the wicked are annihilated at death, and the righteous put into a sleep from which they awake when the body is raised. The Apocrypha — " The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God. . . . Their departure was taken for a misfortune, and their going from us annihila tion ; but they are in peace" (Wis. 3:1-4). "These souls will not go into dwelling-places, but will wander around, from this time forth in torments, always in pain and sorrow " (2 Es. 7: 80, 81). The Book of Enoch — " Whose soul is that one whose voice thus reaches to heaven and laments ? And he answered and said to me, saying,: 'That is the spirit that proceeded from Abel, whom his brother Cain slew'" (22:6, 7). Abel is dead, but his spirit is not asleep; it laments. "Do ye know that their souls will be caused to descend into sheol, and it will be ill With them, and their trouble great " (103 : 7) ? Trouble after death, in sheol. "And I saw the spirits of the children of men who had died, and their voices reached up to heaven " (22: 5). They were not asleep. Josephus—" That under the earth there will be re wards or punishments " (Ant. B. xviii. c. 2, s. 3). This faith of the Pharisees implies mental activity. " But ' that when they are set free from the bonds of the flesh, they then, as released from a long bondage, re joice and mount upward" (Wars, B. ii. c. 8, s. 11). Action, not sleep. Faith of Essenes, and substan tially of Pharisees. NO SLEEP OF THE SOUL. 291 Philo—" The death of the good is the beginning of another life " (Works, vol. iv. p, 292). Hence, not a continuous sleep. Clement of Rome— "And when he [Peter the Apos tle] had at length suffered martyrdom, departed to the place of glory due to him. . . . And went into the holy place" (c. 5). "But they who with confi dence endured [these things] are now heirs of glory and honor " (c. 45). Not asleep. Polycarp — "In the assurance that all these have not run in vain, but in faith and righteousness, and that they [Apostles and others like them] are [now] in their due place in the presence of the Lord, with whom they suffered" (Epis. c. 9). Doubtless Poly carp, in common with nearly all the early Fathers, believed that the departed Christians had ascended from the paradise of hades to be with Christ, which certainly was not a state of insensibility. Ignatius— " But when I suffer [martyrdom], I shall be the freed-man of Jesus, and shall rise again eman cipated in him " (Ep. Rom. c. 4). " Since he [Igna tius] was in haste to leave this world, that he might attain to the Lord whom he loved " (Mar. c. 5). The Pastor of Hermas — " These Apostles and teach ers who preached the name of the Son of God, after falling asleep in the power and faith of the Son of God, preached it not only to those who were asleep " (Similitude, ix. c. 16). " Asleep " to earth, yet awake in soul to hear the gospel. Justin Martyr — "And that the souls survive, I have shown to you from the fact that the soul of Samuel was called up by the witch, as Saul demanded" (Dia. Try. c. 105). "Let these persuade you that even after 292 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. death souls are in a state of sensation " (First Apol. c. 18). Recognitions of Clement— "As soon as the soul, which is immortal, departs, it shall pay the penalty of its persistence in impiety" (B. v. c. 28). "As soon as." Irenseus — "The Lord descended into the regions of the earth, preaching his advent there also, . . . the righteous men, the prophets, and the patriarchs" (Agt. Her. B. iv. c. 27, s. 2). The saints that heard the gospel could not have been asleep. Clement of Alexandria — "Evil custom, after our de parture from this world, brings on the sinner unavail ing remorse " (To Hea. c. 10). Remorse implies men tal action and feeling. "The end of piety is eternal rest in God. And the beginning of eternity is our end." " Rest," then, begins at death when ' eternity begins' (Inst. B. i. c. 13). "Not knowing that such a gate of death is the beginning of true life ; and they will understand neither the honors after death " (Mis. B. iv. c. 7). " True life " and "honors " indicate men tal action. Tertullian—" We maintain that after life has passed away thou still remainest in existence, and lookest forward to a day of judgment, and according to thy deserts art assigned to misery or bliss, in either way of it for ever "-(Test. Soul, s. 4). 'Looking forward' forbids a state of insensibility. "All souls, therefore, are shut up in hades : . . . there are already ex perienced there punishments and consolations. . . . Full well, then, does the soul even in hades know how to joy and to sorrow even without the body" (De An ima, c. 58). NO SLEEP OF THE SOUL. 293 Hippolytus— "He [Christ] was also numbered among the dead, and preached to the souls of the saints" (Com. Dan. 7:14). "He was also reckoned among the dead, preaching the gospel to the souls of the saints " (Christ and Anti-Christ, s. 26). The saints that Christ preached to between his death and resurrection were not asleep. Cyprian — " He may fear to die, whom on his de parture from this world eternal flame shall torment with never-ending punishments" (On Mortality, s. 14). " On his departure," at once. " That in the mean time we die, we are passing over to immortality by death ; nor can eternal life follow, unless it should befall us to depart from this life" (Mor. s. 22). Eternal life seems to begin when this life closes. This life is not a sleep ; therefore, eternal life is not. Origen— "The soul, having a substance and life of its own, shall, after its departure from the world, be rewarded according to its deserts" (Pref. de Princ. s. 5). Its reward could not be without its conscious ness. " After its departure from the world " seems to mean beginning immediately after. No state of sleep is indicated, but rather, wakefulness. Dionysius — "Those sainted martyrs, accordingly, who were once with us, and who now are seated with Christ, and^re sharers in his kingdom " (Epis. Fabius, s. 10). "And the blessed Alexander, having been cast into prison, went to his rest in blessedness " (To Cor nelius). With Lactantius' Works— "While the blessed Blan- dina, last of all, after having like a noble mother en couraged her children, and sent them on before her victorious to the King, trod the same path of conflict 294 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. which her children had trod, hastening on to them with joy and exultation at her departure, not as one thrown to the wild beasts, but as one invited to a mar riage supper " (Ancient Letter copied by Eusebius). Their death introduced them to precious communion, not to the stupor of soul sleep. If Christ and his Apostles intended to teach the sleep of the soul from the time of death to the resur rection, they would have had some followers in that faith, and not all of the early Fathers would have been against them. The Scriptures— " God is not the God of the dead, but of the living" (Mat. 22: 32). Jesus meant that the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were then living, though dead. And he implied that what was true of them was true of all the righteous dead. He did not mean that they were living merely in a state of insensibility. " But now he is comforted, and thou art tormented " (Lu. 16: 25). The rich man and Laza rus were representatives, each of a class of the dead. Both were conscious, though in the world of spirits. "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" (Acts, 7:59). Ste^ phen prayed to be received in spirit, immediately after that left the body, into the presence of Christ in his kingdom, and not into a sleep. " Having the de sire to depart and be with Christ ; for it is very far better" (Phil. 1:23).' "Knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord " (2 Cor. 5:6). Paul expected to be with Christ in soul activity and enjoyment when he died. As an inspired man he was not deceived. His case in substance ex emplifies that of all the righteous. inspiration of the scriptures. 295 CHAPTER XXXIV. — The Inspiration of the Scriptures. It will be well here to ascertain the primitive view of the Scriptures, since in this investigation so much depends upon them. The Apocrypha— "All these things are true of the book of the covenant of the Most High God. " The law which Moses commanded us As an heritage unto the congregations of Jacob. It filleth with wisdom, as Phison, And as Tigris in the time of new fruits. It maketh insight abound like Euphrates, And as Jordan in the time of the harvest. It maketh instruction appear as the light, As Geon in the time of vintage. The first man knew her not perfectly, And so shall the last not trace her out. For her thought aboundeth more than the sea, And her purposes than the great deep." — Ecclesiasticus, 24: 23-29. This expresses unbounded confidence in the "book of the covenant," in the "law which Moses com manded," evidently regarding it as inspired. In gen eral throughout the Apocrypha, there is frequent ref erence to statements in the Old Testament, with the implication that they are reliable. The Targums — These are a paraphrase of parts of the Old Testament ; and they assume the same inspi ration for the Old Testament which it assumes for itself. The Book of Enoch— The author of this work is evi- 296 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. dently one of the faithful in Israel, and he stands on the basis, given by the Old Testament. In his para phrases of Old Testament history, and comments on portions of it, he often implies that he is treating of a ' Thus saith the Lord.' Josephus — "He lighted upon the holy books of Moses that were laid up in the temple " (Ant. B. x. c. 4, s. 2). " They occasioned the fulfilling of those very prophecies belonging to their own country" (Wars, B. iv. c. 6, s. 3). " There, was at that time a prophet, whose name was Nahum, who spake after this man ner concerning the overthrow of the Assyrians and of Nineveh : ... all which things happened about Nineveh a hundred and fifteen years afterward" (Ant. B. ix. c. 11, s. 3). Philo— "But Moses, who had early reached the very summits of philosophy, and who had learnt from the oracles of God the most numerous and important of the principles of nature," etc. (Works, vol. i. p. 2). "But the great Moses" (Ibid. p. 3). "Moses says also" (Ibid. p. 6). "Moses is right also" (Ibid. p. 8). "As Moses tells us" (Ibid. p. 16). "The Scripture saith" (Ibid. p. 339). "For God says"— Deut. 24: 7 (Ibid. p. 340). These phrases are but examples of many instances which show the most confident belief in the Old Testament as the word of God. Clement of Rome— "Look carefully into the Script ures, which are the true utterances of the Holy Spirit. Observe that nothing of an unjust or counterfeit char acter is written in them" (c. 45). Barnabas—" It is well, therefore, that he who has learned the judgments of the Lord, as many as have been written, should walk in them. For he who keep- INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 297 eth these shall be glorified in the kingdom of our God; but he who chooseth other things shall be destroyed with his works " (c. 21). Ignatius— " For the divinest prophets lived accord ing to Christ Jesus. On this account also they were persecuted, being inspired by his grace to fully con vince the unbelieving" (To Magnesians, c. 8). "Ye are initiated into the mysteries of the gospel with Paul, the holy, the martyred, the deservedly most happy" (Eph. c. 12). Papias — "With regard to the inspiration of the book (Revelation), we deem it superfluous to add another word;. . . and even men of still older date . . . bore entirely satisfactory testimony to it " (Frag's 8). Justin Martyr — "But since the Scripture is true, God is always willing that such even as you be nei ther foolish nor lovers of yourselves, in order that you may obtain the salvation of Christ, who pleased God, and received testimony from him, as I have already said, by alleging proof from the holy words of proph ecy" (Dia. Try. c. 92). "There existed, long before this time, certain men more ancient than all those who are esteemed philosophers, both righteous and beloved by God, who spoke by the Divine Spirit, and foretold events which would take place, and which are now taking place. They are called prophets. These alone both saw and announced the truth to men, neither reverencing nor fearing any man, not influenced by a desire for glory, but speaking those things alone which they saw and which they heard, being filled with the Holy Spirit. Their writings are still extant, and he who has read them is very much helped in his knowledge of the beginning and end of 298 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. things," "etc. (Dia. Try. c. 7). "And Christ, who by so many Scriptures was proved to you to have become man." " For some statements in the Scriptures, which appear explicitly to convict them of a foolish and vain opinion, these they venture to assert have not been so written " (Dia. Try. c. 48). Athenagoras — " I think that you also, . . . can not be ignorant of the writings either of Moses or of Isaiah and Jeremiah, and the other prophets, who, lifted in ecstasy above the natural operations of their minds by the impulses of the Divine Spirit, uttered the things with which they were inspired" (Plea Chris. c. 9). Theophilus—" Countless are the sayings in the Holy Scriptures regarding repentance, God being always desirous that the race of men turn from all their sins" (B. iii. c. 11). Recognitions of Clement—" For there are many say ings in the divine Scriptures which can be drawn . to that sense which every one has preconceived for him self; and this ought not to be done. For you ought not to seek a foreign and extraneous sense, which you have brought from without, which you may confirm from the authority of the Scriptures, but to take the sense of truth from the Scriptures themselves" (c. 42). IrenaBus— " They [heretics] adduce an unspeakable number of apocryphal and spurious writings, which they themselves have forged, to bewilder the minds of foolish men, and of such as are ignorant of the Script ures of truth" (Her. B. i. c. 20, s. 1). "A sound mind, . . . will eagerly meditate upon those things which God has placed within the power of mankind, and has subjected to our knowledge. . . . These INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 299 things are such as fall [plainly] under our observa tion, and are clearly and unambiguously in express terms set forth in the sacred Scriptures " (Her. B. ii. c. 27, s. 1). " Whatsoever things he had heard from them respecting the Lord, both with regard to his miracles and his teaching, Polycarp having thus re ceived [information] from the eye-witnesses of the Word of life, would recount them all in harmony with the Scriptures" (Frag's s. 2). "Since, there fore, the entire Scriptures, the prophets, and the Gos pels, can be clearly, unambiguously, and harmoni ously understood by all, although all do not believe them " (Her. B. ii. c. 27, s. 2). "The two Testaments joined together. Clement of Alexandria — "And if the prophets and Apostles knew not the arts by which the exercises of philosophy are exhibited, yet the mind of the pro phetic and instructive spirit, etc. . . . For the prophets and disciples of the Spirit knew infallibly their mind. For they knew it by faith, in a way which others could not easily, as the Spirit has said " (Mis. B. i. c. 9). " But those who are ready to toil in the most excellent pursuits, will not desist from the search after truth, till they get the demonstration from the Scriptures themselves" (Mis. B. vii. c. 16). Tertullian — " We point to the majesty of our Script ures, if not to their antiquity. If you doubt that they are as ancient as we say, we offer proof that they are divine. And you may convince yourselves of this at once, and without going very far" (Apol. s. 20). "We assemble to read our sacred writings" (Apol. s. 39). " If they fell upon anything in the collection of sacred Scriptures which displeased them, in their own 300 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. peculiar style of research, they perverted it to serve their purposes " (Apol. s. 47). " I revere the fullness of his Scripture, in which he manifests tome both. the Creator and the creation. In the gospel, moreover, I discover a Minister and Witness of the Creator, even his Word" (Hermogenes, c. 22). "Holy Scripture would be sufficiently explicit," etc. (Hermog. c. 31). "I will take another [example], which has the author ity of Scripture itself " (Ibid.). Hippolytus— " Does the Scripture speak falsely? God forbid" (Frag. Song of Songs). " That therefore was fulfilled which was spoken in the Scriptures" (Frag. Com. 33). "Let us mark the words of Daniel, and learn that the Scripture deals falsely with us in nothing" (Frag. Com. Susan. 52). Cyprian — " Let the faithful Christian, I say, devote himself to the sacred Scriptures, and there he shall find worthy exhibitions for his faith " (Pub. Shows, s. 10). Origen — " Now it ought to be known that the holy Apostles, in preaching the faith of Christ, delivered themselves with the utmost clearness on certain points which they believed to be necessary to every one, even to those who seemed somewhat dull in the inves tigation of divine knowledge. . . . Then, finally, that the Scriptures were written by the Spirit of God, and have a meaning, not such only as is apparent at first sight, but also another, which escapes the notice of most " (Princ. Pref. ss. 3, 8). " Than by means of those Scriptures alone which were inspired by the Holy Spirit, i. e., the Gospels and Epistles, and the law and the prophets, according to the declaration of Christ himself" (Princ. B. i. c. 3, s. 1). "Let us see INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 301 whether we can obtain any declarations from Holy Scripture, by the authority of which these positions may be more credibly maintained " (Princ. B. i. c. 5, s. 4). " It seems necessary to show, in the first place, that the Scriptures themselves are divine, i. e. , were in spired by the Spirit of God. We shall therefore with all possible brevity draw forth from the Holy Script ures themselves, such evidence on this point as may produce upon us a suitable impression, [making our quotations] from Moses, the first legislator of the Hebrew nation, and from the words of Jesus Christ, the Author and Chief of the Christian religious sys tem " (Princ. B. iv. c. 1, s. 1). Methodius — " Who, corrupting the Scriptures by false doctrines, bring forth an imperfect and imma ture wisdom, mixing their error with piety" (Ten Virgins, Dis. ii. c. 3). "Wherefore let it show the Jews that they do not perceive the deep things of the Scriptures, thinking that nothing else than outward things are contained in the law and the prophets" (Ten Vir. Dis. ix. c. 1). " For we find in the Sacred Writings," etc. (Ten Vir. Dis. x. c. 5). "Now one says in Holy Writ that man has learnt [evil] " (Free Will, near close). Apostolical Constitutions — " Or if thou stay est at home, read the books of the Law, of the Kings, with the Prophets; sing the hymns of David; and peruse diligently the Gospel, which is the completion of the other " (B. i. c. 5). Gregory Thaumaturgus — "That treasure of the in spired Scriptures the Paraclete has unfolded to us this day " (Annun. to Mary). Dionysius—" We accepted all that could be estab- 302 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. lished by the demonstrations and teachings of the Holy Scriptures" (Prom. Part i. s. 2). " I admit fur ther, that it was also the work of some holy and in spired man " (Ibid. s. 4). Lactantius — " Inasmuch as it has been handed down to us in the sacred writings that the thoughts of phi losophers are foolish," etc. (Div. Inst. B. iii. c. 1). The foregoing selections extend through the first three centuries since Christ came, and through nearly the three next before he came. Through the whole length of time they show the most unbounded confi dence in the Sacred Scriptures as the divine word, first the Old Testament and then the New. They do not represent that some parts of the Bible are more inspired than other parts, but all sufficiently for entire accuracy so far as actually given by the Lord, and to the extent they were intended to teach. The fact that some parts of Scripture are of greater importance than other parts, does not lead the early Fathers to say that the less important are the less inspired. To say that the Bible contains a revelation from God, and to deny that it is a revelation from him, would be too weak a statement for them. They speak of Moses as the writer of the books accredited to him, and as though they had been so taught by their Lord and his Apostles. Into such a state of sentiment rel ative to the Old Testament Christ came, and such a state of sentiment he authorized to be continued. And he so taught and blessed his Apostles as to pro duce a like sentiment relative to the New Testament. The Scriptures— "And the people saw the great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians, and the people feared the Lord : and they believed in the Lord, INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 303 and in his servant Moses " (Ex. 14: 31). " The sweet Psalmist of Israel : The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was upon my tongue " (2 Sam. 23 : 1, 2). "Our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do according unto all that is written in this book" (2 Chron. 34:21). "To fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah" (36:21). "Many years didst thou bear with them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit through thy prophets" (Neh. 9: 30). " Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth ; and the Lord said unto me, Be hold, I have put my words in thy mouth" (Jer. 1: 9). " Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by his spirit by the hand of the former prophets : therefore came there great wrath from the Lord of hosts " (Zech. 7: 12). "As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets which have been since the world began " (Lu. 1:70). "Brethren, it was needful that the Scripture should be fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost spake before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who was guide to them that took Jesus" (Acts, 1: 16). "But the things which God foreshowed by the mouth of all his prophets, he hath so fulfilled" (3:18). "Well spake the Holy Ghost by Isaiah the prophet unto your fathers" (28:25). "They were entrusted with the oracles of God " (Rom. 3: 2). "Which things also we speak, not in words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Spirit teacheth" (1 Cor. 2:13). "For I make known to you, brethren, as touching the gospel which was preached by me, that it is not after man. For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, 304 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ " (Gal. 1 : 11, 12). " Ye accepted it not as the word of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which also worketh in you that believe " (1 Thess. 2: 13). "Every Scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teach ing, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness" (2 Tim. 3: 16). All true Scripture was deemed inspired. "God having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers por tions and in divers manners, hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in his Son " (Heb. 1: 1, 2). "And this voice we ourselves heard come out of heaven, when we were with him in the holy mount. And we have the word of prophecy made more sure ; where- unto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of private interpretation. For no prophecy ever came by the will of man : but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Pet. 1:18-21). "Thy testimonies are very sure" (Ps. 93:5). "Thy law is truth" (119:142). " Thou hast done wonderful things, even counsels of old, in faithfulness and truth" (Isa. 25: 1). "The word of our God shall stand for ever " (40 : 8). " Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Mat. 24:35). "And he said unto-them, These are my words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, how that all things must needs be fulfilled, which are written in the law of Moses, and the prophets, and the Psalms, concerning me" (Lu. 24: 44). The Scriptures and the writings of the early Fathers agree. REVIEW AND SUMMARY. 305 CHAPTER XXXV.— Review and Summary. It is not intended here to give a complete review or summary. 1. If any still say they do not place much depend ence on the early Fathers, they ought to observe the difference between trusting to the Fathers for au thority, and trusting to them for testimony. Both their direct and their incidental testimony is here taken. Their testimony is certainly reliable as to their own views. And where a doctrine is clearly traced to the end of the third, or even the second, century, and is seen to have been held by the Fathers that were contemporary with the Apostles, or with those taught by the Apostles, and also that it agrees with Apostolic instruction as generally understood, then that Patristic testimony is of much conse quence. It makes the Biblical view certain. 2. It becomes certain that no doctrine of after-death probation prevailed among the early Christians. Hence, Christ and his Apostles never taught such doctrine; for, if they had, it would have been re ceived and disseminated, instead of the opposite, as was the case. Therefore, such doctrine cannot now be according to the mind of God ; for, his mind would not becontrary to what he has evidently taught by his Son and the Apostles. 3. The doctrine of purgatory had no early prev alence in the church. If Clement of Alexandria taught the germ of it, it was then a new doctrine. The other early Fathers who held that Christ and his Apostles after their own death preached to deceased 20 306 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. saints, did not give that view a purgatorial aspect. They did not suggest the idea of discipline, or suffer ing, among the saintly dead. 4. The doctrine of Universalism or Restorationism cannot have been taught or held by Christ and his Apostles. (1) They taught much that appears to be the opposite. (2) Their predecessors in the Jewish church taught the opposite. (3) Christ and his Apos tles, on the subject of the future state, used the cur rent language of their day, which was contrary to the view that all will be saved. (4) They would not }Use language which meant one thing, while they themselves meant the contrary. (5) They did not teach one thing, and hold its opposite. (6) If any thing in their language seems to some to favor Univer salism, the seeming must be incorrect, because at least the great weight of their language is directly and positively against that view, and rules all things into its own meaning. (7) The early Fathers, closely succeeding the Apostles, gave the strongest testimony to the view that some will never be saved, and that view must have come down from the Apostles them selves. 5. The doctrine of the annihilation of those who die in sin received no support during the six centuries now under review (except by Sadducees, who believed in neither angel nor spirit in the future state), until we come to Arnobius, near the close of that whole period. Christ and his Apostles never entertained that view ; for, had they held it, they must have im pressed it on some around them, and on some who succeeded them. 6. The doctrine of the sleep of the soul, of either REVIEW AND SUMMARY. 307 the righteous or the wicked, between death and the resurrection, has not even the support of either the Sadducees or Arnobius. 7. The doctrine respecting hades, which in this work is shown to have prevailed among the early Fathers, suggests a natural reason why the Apostle Peter, in writing of Christ's example in his sufferings and death, alluded to his preaching to " the spirits in prison." It is this : In speaking of Christ's action be fore death, and of his death and resurrection, he would naturally speak of his action immediately after death, which was carrying comfort to his believing ones that he found in the abode of the dead. This. view accords with the natural order of thought in what immediately follows, viz. : the mejition of the flood suggests the reference to baptism,; it was not _the anticipated thought of baptism that suggested the flood. The flood came into the Apostle's notice be cause it was a great crisis, something like the coming final judgment, which he soon after repeatedly men tions. And the penitent dead who were swept away so suddenly by the flood would especially need the new revelations of Christ's accomplished work of re demption. Some of the Fathers recognize two classes of the unrighteous, and two of the righteous, dead ; the diversity being according to degree of desert. Abraham and Lazarus, under the promises, would be more deserving of good than they who repented only when the flood came. And the abode of the latter might more properly be termed a "prison " or waiting- place. 8. Evidence accumulates that many theologians of the past have not believed the 'unquenchable fire' to 308 FUTURE PROBATION EXAMINED. be material in its nature. Saurin, born A. D. 1677, more than two centuries since, the most eloquent preacher in the French-Reformed church, said this: "We dare not pretend to determine, that hell consists of material fire " (Sers. vol. iii. No. 13). The elements of-future punishment he put as "Privation of heav enly happiness — sensation of pain — remorse of con science — horror of society — increase of crime" (Ibid.). 9. Saurin. said concerning the heathen this: "Had the doctrine of diversity of punishments been prop erly attended to, the condemnation of the heathens would not have appeared inconsistent, with the per fections of God, provided it had been considered only as a punishment proportional to what was defective in their state and criminal in their life. For no one has a right to tax God with injustice for punishing Pagans, unless he could prove that the degree of their pain exceeded that of their sin: and as no one is able to make this combination, because Scripture positively assures us God will observe this proportion, so none can murmur against his conduct without be ing guilty of blasphemy " (Ibid.). 10. No one should represent that God is unjust be cause in his providence some of mankind have greater privileges than others ; since he holds none account able beyondvwhat they have received. He gave to Chorazin and Bethsaida more than to Tyre and Sidon, and held them accountable for more ; and to Caper naum more than to Sodom, and held each accountable for what it had (Mat. 10 : 20-24). " He that knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. And to whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required " (Lu. 12 : 48). REVIEW AND SUMMARY. 309 11. There is no Christian consciousness which has any just claim to set stside the teaching of revelation. True Christian consciousness comes in part from the teaching of Scripture, the sword of the Spirit. And the consciousness produced would not set aside that which produced it. If man's interpretation of Script ure seems to conflict with Christian consciousness, that is just cause for re-examining the interpretation. If the interpretation cannot be overthrown, then the sup posed consciousness should be set aside as not genuine. 12. The citations made in this book from various authors are in no instance selections from counter testimony to make out a case; but they are a fair ex pression from the authors quoted. There are not among the early Fathers the many self-contradic tions, and inconsistencies, and lack of unity in doc trine, which some represent. 13. The views and doctrines set forth in this volume through the authors quoted, have in general been held by the active, earnest, evangelical Christians, in all ages of the world. Sometimes philosophy has be clouded or perverted some truth, but in general doc trine has held its even and steady course through all generations of true believers. There is no progress that will forsake the main pillars of truth. APPENDIX. I.— P. 240. Chapter XXIV contains some matter additional to, and confirmatory of, the article in the Bibliotheca Sacra, of which article the chapter is chiefly a copy. It is here the design to answer some objections that arise. 1. ' The £ -neral opinion of scholars regards Clem ent as an after-death probationist and Universalist.' Majorities may err. An editor remarking on the above-named article, and on the opinion of some that Clement was an after-death probationist and Univer salist, says: " Certainly those who so represent him seem to have supported their representation more by quoting one another than by actual study of their author." Prof. H. C. Sheldon, Historical Theology in Boston University, says: "The position of Clem ent of Alexandria has been diversely interpreted" (Hist. Chris. Doc. vol. i, p. 153). 2. " Clement is explicit in teaching probation after death, and the salvation of souls in the next life." He is explicit in teaching the salvation of unevangel ized Greeks, or heathen, who were measurably right eous in this life, and that, not by after-death proba tion, but by gospel means used in what may be called a kind of purgatorial training. Good usage does not term gracious means in the future state with those who attained a righteous character in this life, a pro bation, but a sanctifying discipline and training, or a purgatory. appendix. 311 Neander held that Clement advocated "with great zeal," "the doctrine of a progressive development and course of purification after death." But for proof he referred simply to Clement's argument for the salva tion of Greeks who "lived rightly" in this life. His only quotation from Clement in support of his view was this : " The beneficent power of our Saviour is not confined barely to the present life, but operates at all times and everywhere " (Torrey's Trans. Crocker & Brewster's ed. 1852, vol. i, p. 656). " Pi of. Shedd relies on the same pas^ge, quoted at moie length, to show that Clement taught "probation after death." He translates Clement thus: "Christ is the power of God; power is never weak; the power ful Lord gives salvation to those who convert, whether here or elsewhere. For his effectual power reaches not alone here, but is everywhere, and works always." In the Ante-Nicene Library the same passage is trans lated thus: "The Lord is 'the power of God ' (1 Cor. 1 : 24), and power can never be weak. So I think it is demonstrated that the God being good, and the Lord powerful, they save with a righteousness and equality which extend to all that turn to him, whether here or elsewhere. For it is not here alone that the active power of God is beforehand, but it is everywhere and is always at work" (Clem. Alex. vol. ii. p. 331). These eminent scholars seem not to have noticed that there is a limitation set to the divine power in the very passage they quote; though Neander does not quote the whole of it. " The powerful Lord gives sal vation to those who convert." "Extend to all who turn to him." Clement here teaches nothing about power to make men " convert," but simply of power 312 APPENDIX. to save Greeks who had "lived rightly," and would "convert" or "turn to him" (God). Farther on in the discussion of this subject Clement says: " So the Lord of all, of Greeks and of barbarians, persuades those who are willing. For he does not compel him who (through choosing and fulfilling, from Him, what pertains to laying hold of it the hope) is able to re ceive salvation from him" (B. vii. c. 2, p. 410). "Per suades those who are willing;" he does not exert power to make them "convert." "For he does not compel him," etc. Clement did not hold that God used power to work impossibilities, or inconsistencies, or things contrary to the free-will which he held that God had ordained. The Scriptures call " Christ the power of God," and so does Clement. The Scriptures teach that divine power reaches everywhere. So does Clement. The Scriptures do not imply that God's power will save all, or give any an after-death proba tion who died unrighteous. No more does Clement imply it. Of whose salvation does Clement speak in his long argument? Look at the terms he uses in describing them: " The men of highest repute among the Greeks knew God;" " The excellent among the Greeks wor shiped the same God as we, but that they had not learned by perfect knowledge that which was de livered by the Son; " "Accordingly, then, from the Hellenic training, and also from that of the law, are gathered into the one race of the saved people those who accept faith" (Misc. B. vi. c. 5). "But to those that were righteous according to philosophy, not only faith in the Lord, but also the abandonment of idola try, were necessary." Thus far Clement is speaking. APPENDIX. 313 of living Greeks who became righteous in this life. Next he says, "Wherefore the Lord preached the gospel to those in hades." Naturally we may suppose they were of the same righteous character. " Those who had lived in righteousness according to . . . philosophy;" "Possessed of greater worth in right eousness, and whose life had been pre-eminent; " " Being confessedly of the number of the people of God Almighty; " " If, then, he [Christ] preached only to the Jews, who wanted " — desired, were ready for — " the knowledge and faith of the Saviour, . . . the Apostles also . . . preached the gospel to those of the heathen who were ready for conversion," — pre pared for the new light and faith hereafter by their course in this world; "One righteous man, then, dif fers not, as righteous, from another righteous man, whether he be of the law or a Greek;" "Those, too, who were outside of the law, having lived rightly; " "For some the Lord exhorts, and to those who have already made the attempt he stretches forth his hand, and draws them up " (B. vi. c. 6). "Now those are called philosophers, among us, who love Wisdom, the Creator and Teacher of all things, that is, the knowledge of the Son of God; and among the Greeks, those who undertake arguments on virtue. Philosophy, then, consists of such dogmas found in each sect (I mean those of philosophy) as cannot be impugned, with a corresponding life. . . . They think they have hit the truth perfectly; but, as we un derstand them, only partially" (B. vi. c. 7). "We shall not err in alleging that all things necessary and profitable for life came to us from God, and that phi losophy more especially was given to the Greeks, as a 314 APPENDIX. covenant peculiar to them — being, as it is, a stepping- stone to the philosophy which is according to Christ — although those [many] who applied themselves to the philosophy of the Greeks shut their ears voluntarily to the truth " (B. vi. c. 8). "He [God] nevertheless, in. order that he [the hea then man] might receive his own perfection, gave him philosophy, but gave it him previous to faith " (B. vi. c. 14). Clement does not consider that even the " right eous " heathen has faith until Christ is revealed to him, though after death; and yet in reality he does exercise faith to some extent as soon as he is "righteous." From the foregoing it is evident that Clement la bors to show that " righteous " though unevangelized Greeks, or heathen, dying without a knowledge of Christ, would receive that knowledge, and be saved through him. That is the burden of his discourse. Does he take the unnatural course of proving that those few would be saved, by showing or claiming that all will be saved, or will have an after-death pro bation for that object? A method so improbable must have the clearest proof or not be credited. Yet, it has no clear proof or even assertion. All the evidence claimed by any seems to be explainable by some other theory. Recall the fact, that none of the Christian Fathers preceding Clement advocate universal salvation, or after-death probation. Would Clement introduce either of those views into Christendom by mere sug gestion or implication? or by any ambiguous phrase ology? When Origen comes to introduce those doc trines by speculation, he clearly states what he means. Would not Clement also if he meant the same? ' APPENDIX. 315 In explanation of Clement's writings, it should be borne in mind, that a prevailing doctrine of unbelief in his era was, that God did not care for his creatures. Hence some of Clement's strong and unguarded state ments, leading some to unwarranted deductions in our day. The same accuracy of statement, and clear ness of theology, should not be expected of Clement that is justly expected of writers now. The doctrines of after-death probation and universal salvation not having been held by the Christians previous to Clem ent's time, those who claim that he made a change and held them take the burden of proof upon themselves, and need to bring explicit testimony in support of their view. Where do they find it? It is admitted by one of very high authority on that side of the ques tion, that " the passages which Baumgarten-Crucius and Redepenning refer to are hardly explicit enough to support all their assertions." Then where are the passages that are explicit enough? The imputation of new views to Clement, by mere deduction, must be necessitated to be justified. 3. " If power to repent in the future state is affirmed, the probability rather is that it will be used." There may be free-will left to the lost sinner, but he may be so averse to repentance that he never will repent. As in this world the sinner never will repent without the Holy Spirit, so he will not after death. And the Spirit's work in the next world with the impenitent, we have reason to believe, is practically impossible; made so by their own wrong and persistent choice in this life. It is a great thing to get a free agent to choose life; and in some circumstances the persuasion is impossible. 316 APPENDIX. II.— P. 134. That some have been righteous, and been saved, who were neither of Jewish nor Christian nationality or profession, seems to be evinced by what is termed "The Oldest Book in the World." It is a papyrus manuscript discovered in the tombs of Egypt, ' and given by Prisse to the National Library in Paris in 1847. Monsieur Philippe Virey has recently trans lated it into French, and Professor Howard Osgood, of Rochester Theological Seminary, into English. See Prof. Osgood's article upon it in the Bibliotheca Sacra of Oct., 1888. This manuscript is judged by all Egypt ologists of note to have been written chiefly in the fifth dynasty of Egypt, many centuries before Moses' time, and long before Abraham went down into the Egyp tian land. It leads to the inquiry whether the ancient Egyptian god Osiris was in that early time really wor shiped and served as Jehovah the true God. Some in that time and land seem to have had a high concep tion of God, and of morality and religion. As Prof. Osgood presents the teachings of Ani, — God dwells in light above the firmament; He is the source and giver of life; He hears and answers prayer; He knows the thoughts and acts of men; He punishes the guilty. Hence it is man's duty,— To give himself wholly to God; To avoid what is abominable to God; To hearken to God; To pray to God; To be grateful to God; To keep God's appointed seasons; To elevate his spirit towards God; To worship in quietness in the sanct uary, for God will hear though no words are uttered; To prepare for death. Tiele's summary of this belief is this: "A moral APPENDIX. 317 life, a life of holiness and beneficence, was conceived of as being a matter of solemn obligation towards the deity himself. To become like god Osiris, a benefac tor, a good being, persecuted but justified, judged but pronounced innocent, was looked upon as the ideal of every pious man, and as the condition on which alone eternal life could be obtained and the means by which it could be continued." Among those who held to these views and duties in that early period, were there not some who had real faith, repentance, and obedi ence towards the true God, and who were accepted of him through Christ's "eternal atonement"? Had not the Apostle Peter a conception of such when he said, " In every nation, he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is acceptable to him"? INDEX OF SUBJECTS. The " Table of Contents " is the chief index of this volume. This index is only supplementary to that. The figures refer to pages. Ambrose, Nature of punishment, 206. Apocrypha, 9 ; God eternal, 20 ; Life eternal, 25 ; Punishment eternal, 31 ; Resurrection, 62 ; Judgment, 70; No after-death probation, 79 ; Heathen guilty, 105 ; Unevangelized heathen may be saved, 119 ; Free-will, 151; Sheol, 160; Hades, 161; Under-world, 183; Prayer for dead, 275; No annihilation, 280 ; No sleep of soul after death, 290 ; Scripture inspira tion, 295. Apostolical Constitutions, 301. Arminius, Unevangelized heathen may be saved, 137. Arnobius, 19 ; Life eternal, 32 ; Punishment eternal, 53 ; Resur rection, 68 ; Heathen guilty, 117; Unevangelized heathen may be saved, 130, 135 ; Free will, 159 ; Hades, 171 ; No an nihilation, 286. Athenagoras, 14 ; God eternal, 22 ; Life eternal, 28 ; Punish ment eternal, 43 ; Eternal and immortal, 58 ; Resurrection, 64 ; Judgment, 72 ; No after-death probation, 90 ; Free-will, 153 ; Infant salvation, 278 ; No an nihilation, 283; Scripture in spiration, 298. Augustine, Unevangelized hea then may be saved, 136 ; Right eous dead B. C, 198; Nature of future punishment, 206. Baptism, For the dead, 259. Barnabas, 12 ; Punishment eter nal, 40 ; Resurrection, 64 ; Judg ment, 71 ; No after-death proba tion, 86 ; No annihilation, 281 ; Scripture inspiration, 295. Baumgarten-Crucius, Clement of Alexandria, 214 ; In error, 214. Brainerd, David, Unevangelized heathen may be saved, 138. Celsus, Origen against, 250. Christ, Use of language, 6 ; Faith in, 262. Chrysostom, Nature future pun ishment, 207. Clement of Alexandria, 16 ; God eternal, 23 ; Life eternal, 29 ; Punishment eternal, 47 ; Eter nal and immortal, 59 ; Resur rection, 65 ; Judgment, 74 ; No after-death probation, 94 ; Hea then guilty, 113 ; Unevangelized heathen may be saved, 124, 135; Free-will, 154; Hades, 166; Hades a "prison," 185; Christ preached to the right eous dead, 191, 198; Punish ment, 232 ; Unending retribu tion, 234; Some antediluvians repented, 266 ; No annihilation, 284 ; No sleep oi; the soul after death, 292 ; Scripture inspira tion, 299. Clement of Rome, 11 ; God eter- INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 319 nal, 21 ; Life eternal, 27 ; Pun ishment eternal, 39 ; Eternal and immortal, 57 ; Resurrection, 63; No after-death probation, 84; Heathen guilty, 110; Un evangelized heathen may be saved, 122, 135; Free-will, 152; Hades, 165 ; Some antediluvians repented, 266 ; No sleep of the soul after death, 291 ; Scripture inspiration, 296. Clementine Recognitions, 15; God eternal, 22 ; Life eternal, 29 ; Punishment eternal, 45; Eter nal and immortal, 58 ; Judg ment, 72; No after-death pro bation, 91 ; Heathen guilty, 112 ; Unevangelized heathen may be saved, 123 ; Free-will, 153 ; No annihilation, 283 ; No sleep of the soul, 292 ; Scripture inspi ration, 298. Commodianus, 17 ; Heathen may be saved, 127; Free-will, 157; Nature future punishment, 205 ; Infant salvation, 279. Conscience, Element in punish ment, 210. Cyprian, 17 ; God eternal 23 ; Life eternal, 31; Punishment eternal, 50 ; Eternal and immortal, 60 ; Judgment, 76 ; No after-death probation, 97 ; Heathen guilty, 114 ; Unevangelized heathen may be saved, 128 ; Gehenna, 170 ; Nature future punishment, 205 ; Infant salvation, 279 ; No annihilation, 285 ; No sleep of the soul after death, 293 ; Script ure inspiration, 300. Deprivation, Element in punish ment, 211. Diognetes, 13; Punishment eter nal, 41 ; Eternal and immortal, 57; Heathen guilty, 110; No annihilation, 282. . Dionysius, 19; Life eternal, 32; Punishment eternal, 53 ; Resur rection, 68 ; No after-death pro bation, 99 ; Heathen guilty, 116 ; Unevangelized heathen may be saved, 130; No annihilation, 286; No sleep of the soul after death, 293 ; Scripture inspiration, 301. Dorner, Rev. Dr., Argument for probation after death, 261. Edwards, Jonathan, Heathen may be saved, 139. Enoch, Book of, 10 ; God eternal, 20 ; Life eternal, 26 ; Punish ment eternal, 37 ; Eternal and immortal, 56 ; Resurrection, 62 ; Judgment, 70 ; No after-death probation, 82 ; Heathen guilty, 108 ; Unevangelized heathen may be saved, 120 ; Free-will, 151 ; Sheol, hades, gehenna, 162 ; Nature of future punish ment, 204; No annihilation, 280 ; No sleep of the soul after death, 290 ; Scripture inspira tion, 295. Evolution, Applicable to the soul, 212. Farrar, Canon, On gehenna, 162. Field, Rev. Dr. T. P., His objec tions, 262. Free-will, Not prove Satan's re pentance, 214; Nor man's re pentance, 263. Gehenna, In New Testament, 174. Gieseler, On Clement, 216. Gregory Thaumaturgus, 18 ; Life eternal, 32 ; Punishment eter nal, 52 ; Judgment, 77 ; No after-death probation, 98 ; Hea then guilty, 115 ; Unevangelized heathen may be saved, 129 ; Free-will, 159; Hades, 170; Hades a " prison," 185 ; Christ with the dead, 194 ; No annihi lation, 286 ; Scripture inspira tion, 301. Hades, In New Testament, 178 ; A "prison," 181. Hermas, Pastor of, 13 ; Life eter nal, 27; Punishment eternal, 41 ; No after-death probation, 320 INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 87; Heathen guilty, 110; Un evangelized heathen may be saved, 122, 135 ; Christ preached to righteous dead, 188 ; Right eous dead B. C, 197; Nature future punishment, 204 ; In fant salvation, 278 ; No annihi lation, 282 ; No sleep of the soul after death, 291. Hippolytus, 16 ; God eternal, 23 ; Life eternal, 31 ; Punishment eternal, 50 ; Eternal and im mortal, 60 ; Resurrection, 67 ; Judgment, 76 ; Heathen guilty, 114 ; Unevangelized heathen may be saved, 126 ; Free-will, 157 ; Hades, gehenna, "Abra ham's bosom," 168; Hades a "prison," 185; Christ preached to the righteous dead, 192 ; No annihilation, 285 ; No sleep of the soul after death, 293 ; Script ure inspiration, 300. Ignatius, 12 ; God eternal, 22 ; Life eternal, 27 ; Punishment eternal, 40 ; Eternal and im mortal, 57 ; No after-death pro bation, 86 ; Hades, 165 ; Christ with the dead, 188; No anni hilation, 282 ; No sleep of the soul after death, 291 ; Scripture inspiration, 297. Irenseus, 16 ; God eternal, 22 ; Life eternal, 29 ; Punishment eter nal, 46 ; Eternal and immortal, 59 ; Resurrection, 65 ; Judg ment, 73; No after-death pro bation, 93; Heathen guilty, 112 ; Unevangelized heathen may be saved, 123, 135 ; Free will, 154 ; Hades, 166 ; Hades a " prison," 183 ; Christ preached to the righteous dead, 189 ; Righteous dead B. C, 198 ; No annihilation, 284 ; No sleep of the soul after death, 292 ; Script ure inspiration, 298. Jerome, On Rufinus, 202 ; Nature future punishment, 206. Josephus, 10 ; Life eternal, 26 ; Punishment eternal, 38 ; Eter nal and immortal, 56 ; Resurrec tion, 63 ; Judgment, 70 ; No after-death probation, 83 ; Hea then guilty, 108 ; Heathen may be saved, 121 ; Free-will, 151 ; Hades, 163 ; Abraham's bosom, 164 ; No annihilation, 281 ; No sleep of the soul after death, 290 ; Scripture inspiration, 296. Justin Martyr, 13 ; God eternal, 22 ; Life eternal, 28 ; Punish ment eternal, 42 ; Eternal and immortal, 57 ; Resurrection, 64 ; Judgment, 71 ; No after-death probation, 89 ; Heathen guilty, 111 ; Unevangelized heathen may be saved, 122, 135 ; Free will, 142; Hades, 166; Christ preached to righteous dead, 188 ; Righteous dead B. C, 197 ; No annihilation, 282 ; No sleep of the soul after death, 291 ; Script ure inspiration, 297. Kostlin, Dr. J., On Clement, 232. Lactantius, 19 ; God eternal, 24 ; Life eternal, 33 ; Punishment eternal, 53 ; Eternal and im mortal, 61 ; Resurrection, 68 ; Judgment, 77 ; No aiter-death probation, 99 ; Heathen guilty, 117 ; Unevangelized heathen may be saved, 131; Free-will, 159 ; Hades, 171 ; No annihila tion, 286 ; No sleep of the soul after death, 293; Scripture in spiration, 302. Language, Controlled by usage, 4. Marcion, His heresies, 200 ; Christ preached to the wicked dead, 200. Mather, Dr. Cotton, Heathen may be saved, 138. McClintock and Strong, On Clem ent, 231, 234. Methodius, 18 ; Life eternal, 32 ; Resurrection, 67 ; Judgment, 77; Heathen guilty, 115; Un- INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 321 evangelized heathen may be saved, 129; Free-will, 158; Some antediluvians repented under Noah's preaching, 267 ; No an nihilation, 285 ; Scripture in spiration, 301. Minucius Felix, 18; Punishment eternal, 50 ; Resurrection, 67 ; Judgment, 77 ; Unevangelized heathen may be saved, 128 ; Free-will, 158. Neander, On Clement, 231 ; On Origen, 239. Novatian, 17 ; Free-will, 157. Origen, 18 ; God eternal, 23 ; Life eternal, 32 ; Punishment eter nal, 51 ; Eternal and immortal, 60 ; Resurrection, 67 ; Judg ment, 77 ; No after-death pro bation, 97 ; Heathen guilty, 114 ; Unevangelized heathen may be saved, 129, 135 ; Free will, 158; Gehenna, 170; His speculations, 201 ; His regret, 202; Nature of future punish ment, 205 ; After-death proba tion one of his speculations, 252 ; Some antediluvians re pented, 267 ; No annihilation, 285; No sleep of soul after death, 293 ; Scripture inspira tion, 300. Papias, 13 ; Resurrection, 64 ; No after-death probation, 89 ; Lower paradise, 165 ; Scripture inspi ration, 297. Park, Prof. E. A., Future punish ment through conscience, 240. Patton^res. F. L., On Clement, 232. Philo, 11 ; God eternal, 21 ; Life eternal, 26 ; Punishment eter nal, 38 ; Eternal and immortal, 56 ; No after-death probation, 83; Heathen guilty, 109; Un evangelized heathen may be saved, 121 ; Free-will, 151 ; Hell, 164; No annihilation, 281 ; No sleep of soul after death, 291. Polycarp, 12 ; God eternal, 21 ; Life eternal, 27 ; Punishment eternal, 39 ; Resurrection, 63 ; Judgment, 71 ; No after-death probation, 85 ; Heathen guilty, 110; Nature future punishment, 203 ; No annihilation, 281 ; No sleep of soul after death, 291. Punishment, Figurative language applied to, 208. Pusey, Dr., Purgatory, 241 ; Far rar's " Eternal Hope," 241. Redepenning, On Clement, 217, 230, 232, 239. Rufinus, Translation of Origen's works, 202. Saurin, Rev. James, Nature of pun ishment, 308 ; The Heathen, 308. Schaff, Dr. Philip, Heathen may be saved, 140. Schaff-Herzog, On Clement, 232. Schoolmen, Unevangelized hea then may be saved, 137. Scriptures, The, God eternal, 24 ; Life eternal, 33 ; Punishment eternal, 54 ; Eternal and im mortal, 61 ; Resurrection, 68 ; Judgment, 78 ; No after-death probation, 99 ; Heathen guilty, 118; Unevangelized heathen may be saved, 131 ; Free-will, 159; Sheol, 171; Hades, 172; Abraham's bosom, paradise, 172 ; Christ in hades, 173, 194 ; No annihilation, 287 ; No sleep of soul after death, 294 ; Script ure inspiration, 302. Shedd, Rev. Dr. W. G. T., On Clement, 214, 217. Sheldon, Prof. H. C, On Clem ent's view, 237. Sheol, In Old Testament, 176, 262. South, Dr. Robert, Unevangelized heathen may be paved, 137. Syriac Documents, Christ in hades, 193. Targums, 10 ; God eternal, 20 ; Life eternal, 26 ; Punishment 322 INDEX OF SUBJECTS. eternal, 36 ; Heathen guilty, 107 ; Unevangelized heathen may be saved, 120, 135 ; Ge henna, 161 ; Scripture inspira tion, .295. Tatian, 14 ; Life eternal, 28 ; Eter nal and immortal, 58 ; Resurrec tion, 64 ; Judgment, 72 ; Free will, 153 ; No annihilation, 283. tertullian, 16 ; God eternal, 23 ; Life eternal, 30; Punishment eternal, 48 ; Eternal and im mortal, 59 ; Resurrection, 65 ; Judgment, 75; No after-death probation, 95 ; Heathen guilty, 114 ; Unevangelized heathen may be saved, 125 ; Free-will, 156 ; Hades, gehenna, Abra ham's bosom, heaven, 167; Hades a "prison," 184 ; Christ preached to the dead, 192, 198 ; Nature of future punishment, 204 ; Some antediluvians repented, 268 ; Prayer for the dead, 277; In fant salvation, 279 ; No annihi lation, 284 ; No sleep of soul after death, 292 ; Scripture in spiration, 299. Theophilus, 15 ; Life eternal, 28 ; Punishment eternal, 44 ; Eter nal and immortal, 58 ; Resurrec tion, 64 ; Judgment, 72 ; No after-death probation, 91 ; Un evangelized heathen may be saved, 123 ; Free-will, 153 ; No annihilation, 283 ; Scripture in- -spiration, 298. Theophylact, Nature of future punishment, 207. Upham, Prof. T. C, Unevangel ized heathen may be saved, 140. Usage, Gives law to language, 4. Victor of Antioch, Nature of fut ure punishment, 207. Words, Usage determines their law of meaning, 3. INDEX CF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES. Of the many Scripture passages adduced as proof texts in this volume, only a few, and those such as are in some way commented upon, are referred to in this index. Page PAGE Gen. 37 : 35 . . . Rom. 1 : 21, 23, 25 . ! A:, Psalms 16 : 9, 10 . 194 2:1,4,5 . . 144 40 : 15 . . . 194 2 : 3, 5, 6, 12 145 Eccl. 9 : 10 . . 103 2 : 12 . . 142 Mat. 10 :T5 . . 102 2 : 14, 15 . 146 11 : 22, 24 . 102 2:27 . . 147 12 : 31, 32 258 3:1,2 . . 143 25: . . 'lC 1,261 3:1,2 . . 147 Mark 3 : 28, 29 258 3 : 9, 12, 17 145 8 : 36, 38 103 4 : 9, 10 . . 148 Luke 12 : 10 259 14:9 . . 260 23:43 . 195 1 Cor. 15 : 59 . 259 John 20 : 17 . 195 2 Cor. 5 : 10 . 100, 101 Acts 2 : 23, 33 • 194 Eph. 4 : 9, 10 . 181, 195 10 : 34, 35 . 148 1 Thess. 4 : 13-17 . 199 10:35 . . 141 Heb. 9 : 27 . . 102 13 : 33, 37 . 195 1 Pet. 3 : 19, 20 174 17 : 27, 28 . 140 4:6 . . . 174 17:31 . . 100 2 Pet. 2:9 104 Rom. 1 : 20 . . 254 Jude 1 : 15 . . 100 CHRIST HBAGHBHJ TO SPIRITS IB PEISffl. BY WM. DE LOSS LOVE, PASTOR AT SOUTH HASLET, MASS. This hook shows that the world of the dead, previous to Christ's death, was sometimes regarded by Scripture teachers and writers, and by the early Christian Fathers, as in some sense a prison, which was Hades, having its Gehenna and its Paradisaic side. To the righteous it was only a prison of detention, from which they were translated to the Celestial paradise after Christ's ascension. The work examines the two noted passages, 1 Peter 3 : 19, 20, and i : 6. It also discusses Presidents Bartlett's and Patton's views of these passages as given in the " New Englander" and " Bibliotheca Sacra," and reviews Canon Farrar's and also Dr. Dorner's writings on the question of probation after death. "The Rev. William De Loss Love has published a fair-minded little volume on Christ's Preaching to Spirits in Prison. He denies the evidence that Christ preached to the lost on the Gehenna side, but believes that he did preach to those in the inferior Paradise. He takes issue with President Bartlett in his theory of a predicative rather than an attributive meaning to the participle, UTreiBiioaaiv, and holds that President Patton is right in asserting that Christ's preaching occurred in Hades after his death, though he cannot believe that it was addressed to spirits who were disobedient at the time ; and on this point sides with President Bartlett in the opinion that the disobedience most have been in Noah's day, though the preaching was not in that age of the world." — Independent, New York. "I have no hesitation in saying that he has discussed the subject patiently and thoroughly, with much learning and ability, and the essay is a valuable contribution to the right understanding of some of those questions in eschatology which are now agitating the public mind. His argument to prove that, if Christ did preach to departed spirits in Hades, it was probably to the penitent and pious dead, while it is a return to an opinion which was widely prevalent in the early church, is particularly fresh and vigorous, and demands the especial consideration of those who, while they argue strenuously that Oiuist did preach to departed spirits in Hades, have taken for granted that he preached to those who, at the time, were still im penitent and unbelieving. " Prof. W. S. Tyler, Amherst College. "Dr. Love's argument is drawn out with great care, and with attention to all subsidiary points We recommend the book as coui/^ining a satisfactory and complete answer to all attempts to draw out of this celebrated passage the doctrine of future probation." — Bibliotheca Sacra. Christ Preaching to Spirits in Prison. BY REV. WILLIAM DE LOSS LOVE. Postpaid, 90 cents. "We heartily commend the volume as an able, somewhat original, and thoroughly candid discussion. The author's treat ment of the former passage is especially skilful, and the ability with which he has presented his views will be recognized by all who have given the subject close attention. The book is brief, but comprehensive. It is one of the most useful which the recent discussions of its subject have called out, and it deserves careful study." — Vongregationalist. " The essay is valuable for its scope in gathering the litera ture of the subject, as well as for its special theory of inter preting this somewhat difficult Scripture." — Zion's Herald. " The work has the indorsement of Professor Tyler, of Am herst, for strength of material and originality of method — an opinion in which the public will fully concur." — Advance. " His argument is written with his characteristic fidelity and painstaking study, making it worthy of a most careful perusal." — Sunday-school World. " We recommend this book to any who are in doubt on this important subject. Not only has the author demonstrated that it is not necessary to write a folio volume in order to show broad scholarship, but, far more important, he has proved that the oracles of God yield their true meaning to patient and devout study." — Northampton Gazette and Courier. _ " It is an able discussion of the knotty and long-debated ques tion, with fresh views upon collateral points in eschatology." — Illustrated Christian Weekly. " The argument is supported with much learning, and shows great research and study. It is altogether the mostrational and scripturally truthful presentation of the subject yet made." — Holyoke Transcript. " We have found it to be learned, ingenious, and interesting." — Christian Advocate. "It displays careful research and comparison among the authorities." — Springfield Republican. CONGREGATIONAL SUNDAY-SCHOOL AND PUBLISHING SOCIETY. 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