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