Discourse to the Greeks Concerning Hades
Hades
Discourse
Hades
Discourse, Podcast/Download
Now
as to Hades, wherein the souls of the of the good things they see, and rejoice
in the righteous and unrighteous are detained, it is necessary to speak of it.
Hades is a place in the world not regularly finished; a subterraneous region,
wherein the light of this world does not shine; from which circumstance, that in
this region the light does not shine, it cannot be but there must be in it
perpetual darkness. This region is allotted as a place of custody for souls, ill
which angels are appointed as guardians to them, who distribute to them
temporary punishments, agreeable to every one's behavior and manners.
In this region there is a certain place set apart, as a lake of unquenchable
fire, whereinto we suppose no one hath hitherto been cast; but it is prepared
for a day afore-determined by God, in which one righteous sentence shall
deservedly be passed upon all men; when the unjust, and those that have been
disobedient to God, and have given honor to such idols as have been the vain
operations of the hands of men as to God himself, shall be adjudged to this
everlasting punishment, as having been the causes of defilement; while the just
shall obtain an incorruptible and never-fading kingdom. These are now indeed
confined in Hades, but not in the same place wherein the unjust are confined.
For there is one descent into this region, at whose gate we believe there stands
an archangel with an host; which gate when those pass through that are conducted
down by the angels appointed over souls, they do not go the same way; but the
just are guided to the right hand, and are led with hymns, sung by the angels
appointed over that place, unto a region of light, in which the just have dwelt
from the beginning of the world; not constrained by necessity, but ever enjoying
the prospect of the good things they see, and rejoic in the expectation of those
new enjoyments which will be peculiar to every one of them, and esteeming those
things beyond what we have here; with whom there is no place of toil, no burning
heat, no piercing cold, nor are any briers there; but the countenance of the and
of the just, which they see, always smiles them, while they wait for that rest
and eternal new life in heaven, which is to succeed this region. This place we
call The Bosom of Abraham.
But as to the unjust, they are dragged by force to the left hand by the angels
allotted for punishment, no longer going with a good-will, but as prisoners
driven by violence; to whom are sent the angels appointed over them to reproach
them and threaten them with their terrible looks, and to thrust them still
downwards. Now those angels that are set over these souls drag them into the
neighborhood of hell itself; who, when they are hard by it, continually hear the
noise of it, and do not stand clear of the hot vapor itself; but when they have
a near view of this spectacle, as of a terrible and exceeding great prospect of
fire, they are struck with a fearful expectation of a future judgment, and in
effect punished thereby: and not only so, but where they see the place [or
choir] of the fathers and of the just, even hereby are they punished; for a
chaos deep and large is fixed between them; insomuch that a just man that hath
compassion upon them cannot be admitted, nor can one that is unjust, if he were
bold enough to attempt it, pass over it.
This is the discourse concerning Hades, wherein the souls of all men are
confined until a proper season, which God hath determined, when he will make a
resurrection of all men from the dead, not procuring a transmigration of souls
from one body to another, but raising again those very bodies, which you Greeks,
seeing to be dissolved, do not believe [their resurrection]. But learn not to
disbelieve it; for while you believe that the soul is created, and yet is made
immortal by God, according to the doctrine of Plato, and this in time, be not
incredulous; but believe that God is able, when he hath raised to life that body
which was made as a compound of the same elements, to make it immortal; for it
must never be said of God, that he is able to do some things, and unable to do
others. We have therefore believed that the body will be raised again; for
although it be dissolved, it is not perished; for the earth receives its
remains, and preserves them; and while they are like seed, and are mixed among
the more fruitful soil, they flourish, and what is sown is indeed sown bare
grain, but at the mighty sound of God the Creator, it will sprout up, and be
raised in a clothed and glorious condition, though not before it has been
dissolved, and mixed [with the earth]. So that we have not rashly believed the
resurrection of the body; for although it be dissolved for a time on account of
the original transgression, it exists still, and is cast into the earth as into
a potter's furnace, in order to be formed again, not in order to rise again such
as it was before, but in a state of purity, and so as never to he destroyed any
more. And to every body shall its own soul be restored. And when it hath clothed
itself with that body, it will not be subject to misery, but, being itself pure,
it will continue with its pure body, and rejoice with it, with which it having
walked righteously now in this world, and never having had it as a snare, it
will receive it again with great gladness. But as for the unjust, they will
receive their bodies not changed, not freed from diseases or distempers, nor
made glorious, but with the same diseases wherein they died; and such as they
were in their unbelief, the same shall they be when they shall be faithfully
judged.
For all men, the just as well as the unjust, shall be brought before God the
word: for to him hath the Father committed all judgment : and he, in order to
fulfill the will of his Father, shall come as Judge, whom we call Christ. For
Minos and Rhadamanthus are not the judges, as you Greeks do suppose, but he whom
God and the Father hath glorified: CONCERNING WHOM WE HAVE ELSEWHERE GIVEN A
MORE PARTICULAR ACCOUNT, FOR THE SAKE OF THOSE WHO SEEK AFTER TRUTH. This
person, exercising the righteous judgment of the Father towards all men, hath
prepared a just sentence for every one, according to his works; at whose
judgment-seat when all men, and angels, and demons shall stand, they will send
forth one voice, and say, JUST IS THY JUDGMENT; the rejoinder to which will
bring a just sentence upon both parties, by giving justly to those that have
done well an everlasting fruition; but allotting to the lovers of wicked works
eternal punishment. To these belong the unquenchable fire, and that without end,
and a certain fiery worm, never dying, and not destroying the body, but
continuing its eruption out of the body with never-ceasing grief: neither will
sleep give ease to these men, nor will the night afford them comfort; death will
not free them from their punishment, nor will the interceding prayers of their
kindred profit them; for the just are no longer seen by them, nor are they
thought worthy of remembrance. But the just shall remember only their righteous
actions, whereby they have attained the heavenly kingdom, in which there is no
sleep, no sorrow, no corruption, no care, no night, no day measured by time, no
sun driven in his course along the circle of heaven by necessity, and measuring
out the bounds and conversions of the seasons, for the better illumination of
the life of men; no moon decreasing and increasing, or introducing a variety of
seasons, nor will she then moisten the earth; no burning sun, no Bear turning
round [the pole], no Orion to rise, no wandering of innumerable stars. The earth
will not then be difficult to be passed over, nor will it he hard to find out
the court of paradise, nor will there be any fearful roaring of the sea,
forbidding the passengers to walk on it; even that will be made easily passable
to the just, though it will not be void of moisture. Heaven will not then be
uninhabitable by men, and it will not be impossible to discover the way of
ascending thither. The earth will not be uncultivated, nor require too much
labor of men, but will bring forth its fruits of its own accord, and will be
well adorned with them. There will be no more generations of wild beasts, nor
will the substance of the rest of the animals shoot out any more; for it will
not produce men, but the number of the righteous will continue, and never fail,
together with righteous angels, and spirits [of God], and with his word, as a
choir of righteous men and women that never grow old, and continue in an
incorruptible state, singing hymns to God, who hath advanced them to that
happiness, by the means of a regular institution of life; with whom the whole
creation also will lift up a perpetual hymn from corruption, to incorruption, as
glorified by a splendid and pure spirit. It will not then be restrained by a
bond of necessity, but with a lively freedom shall offer up a voluntary hymn,
and shall praise him that made them, together with the angels, and spirits, and
men now freed from all bondage.
And now, if you Gentiles will be persuaded by these motives, and leave your vain
imaginations about your pedigrees, and gaining of riches, and philosophy, and
will not spend your time about subtleties of words, and thereby lead your minds
into error, and if you will apply your ears to the hearing of the inspired
prophets, the interpreters both of God and of his word, and will believe in God,
you shall both be partakers of these things, and obtain the good things that are
to come; you shall see the ascent unto the immense heaven plainly, and that
kingdom which is there. For what God hath now concealed in silence [will be then
made manifest,] what neither eye hath seen, nor ear hath heard, nor hath it
entered into the heart of man, the things that God hath prepared for them that
love him.
In whatsoever ways I shall find you, in them shall I judge you entirely: so
cries the END of all things. And he who hath at first lived a virtuous lift, but
towards the latter end falls into vice, these labors by him before endured shall
be altogether vain and unprofitable, even as in a play, brought to an ill
catastrophe. Whosoever shall have lived wickedly and luxuriously may repent;
however, there will be need of much time to conquer an evil habit, and even
after repentance his whole life must be guarded with great care and diligence,
after the manner of a body, which, after it hath been a long time afflicted with
a distemper, requires a stricter diet and method of living; for though it may be
possible, perhaps, to break off the chain of our irregular affections at once,
yet our amendment cannot be secured without the grace of God, the prayers of
good men, the help of the brethren, and our own sincere repentance and constant
care. It is a good thing not to sin at all; it is also good, having sinned, to
repent; as it is best to have health always, but it is a good thing to recover
from a distemper. To God be glory and dominion for ever and ever Amen.
mp3 Josephus