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