Part 45

However, we meet with several expressions in Rabbinical writers, which seem to speak of it as a peculiar privilege belonging to some, but not to all; and therefore they have a proverbial expression, that though the rain descends on the just and on the unjust, yet the resurrection of the dead belongs only to the just:[180] and this they infer from the words of the prophet Daniel, in chap. xii. 2. _Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake_; which words contain a difficulty which most have found it an hard matter to account for, agreeably to the sense of the prophet, who speaks, in the words immediately following, of the consequence hereof, as, _some_ shall awake _to everlasting life, and some to everlasting shame and contempt_; whereby he divides the world into two parts, and considers one as happy, the other as miserable; therefore he must, doubtless, speak of an universal resurrection. But the great difficulty lies in these words; _Many of them that sleep in the dust shall arise_; from whence, some conclude that this expression contains an exception of others who shall not arise: thus some Jewish writers seem to have understood it; but I rather think, that the word _many_, there, imports nothing else but the _multitude_, _q. d._ the whole number of those that sleep shall awake.[181]

It is somewhat hard to determine what the Rabbinical writers intend when they seem to confine the resurrection to the Israelites; and some of them to exclude, not only the wicked from it, but those that had not addicted themselves to the study of the law, whom they call the Gnam Haaretz: thus they are represented in scripture as giving them but a very indifferent character, _The people that knoweth not the law are accursed_, John vii. 49. by this means they bring the number of those that shall be raised from the dead into a very narrow compass: nevertheless they speak of future rewards and punishments in another world; therefore some have thought, when they exclude all but the Israelites, and, of them, all but those who were in the greatest reputation amongst them, that they understand nothing else by the resurrection, but that which they fancied would happen in the days of the Messiah; in which, they suppose, that some of the Jews shall be raised from the dead before the general resurrection at the last day; and in this sense we may easily understand their exclusive account, when they speak of many that shall not be partakers of this privilege; and if it be extended to the resurrection at the last day, then I am apt to think, that they intend hereby a resurrection to eternal life, and so some understand that common proverb but now mentioned, concerning the rain’s descending upon all; but the resurrection’s belonging only to the just, in this sense; that though the rain descends upon the wilderness, and barren ground; yet it is only some places which are made fruitful thereby: accordingly, though the resurrection be universal, both of the righteous and wicked; yet the resurrection to eternal life belongs only to the just.[182]

All that I shall observe at present is, that this is not altogether disagreeable to the scripture-mode of speaking; which, though in some places it asserts the resurrection of the whole world, in others, by the resurrection, we are to understand nothing else, but a resurrection to eternal life: thus the apostle Paul, when he speaks of his _attaining unto the resurrection of the dead_, Phil. iii. 11. intends hereby his obtaining a glorious resurrection. And our Saviour, when speaking concerning the happiness of the saints in another world, expresses it on this wise; that they shall be _counted worthy_, or meet, _to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead_, Luke xx. 35. so that whatever is said by Jewish writers, tending to limit the resurrection of the dead to eternal life, to some particular persons, it does not appear but that even they held, in other respects, a general resurrection, both of the just and unjust; which is as demonstrable as is the resurrection in general.

2. They who are found alive at Christ’s second coming, shall undergo a change; which, though it cannot be called a resurrection, will be equivalent to it. The apostle Paul gives an account of this, as what was before unknown to the church; _Behold I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump_, 1 Cor. xv. 51, 52. And elsewhere he speaks of them when thus changed, as _caught up in the clouds together with_ other saints, that are raised from the dead, _to meet the Lord in the air_, 1 Thess. iv. 17. This is no less an effect of almighty power than a resurrection; for hereby their bodies, though never separated from their souls, are brought into the same state as the bodies of others shall be, when re-united to them, and thereby be rendered incorruptible and immortal, as the bodies of all other saints shall be, and made partakers of the same glory with which they are said to be raised. We have an emblem of this in Christ’s transfiguration, when there was such a change made, for the present, on his body, that his face shined as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And there was not only a resemblance, but a kind of specimen hereof, in the translation of Enoch and Elijah, whose bodies were before this, liable to corruption, and all other infirmities that attend this present life, but were made, in a moment, celestial and glorious. And the body of our Saviour, though it was raised from the dead incorruptible and immortal, yet, during the space of forty days, while he continued on earth, it was not made so glorious as it was immediately after the cloud received him into heaven, when it underwent such a change as was agreeable to the place and state into which he then entered; even so the bodies of the saints, at last, shall, by this change, be made meet for heaven, and received, with other saints into it.

VII. We shall now consider the condition in which the body shall be raised. And,

1. Those circumstances of honour and glory which respect more especially the resurrection of the just: this the apostle mentions, and describes them as _raised in glory_, 1, Cor. xv. 43. It is the same body indeed, that is raised, which he illustrates by _a grain of wheat_ springing up, and changed into a full-grown ear; which, though it be greatly improved, and very much altered from what it was, when cast into the ground, yet _every seed_, as he observes, has _its own body_, ver. 38. From whence we may infer, that the same body shall be raised from the dead, though with very different qualities. There are several things mentioned by the apostle, in the account he gives of the bodies of the saints after the resurrection; which some have attempted to explain in such a way, as is hardly consistent with a resurrection of the same body. The Socinians generally maintain that the body shall be altogether new, as to its substance, as well as its qualities: and others speak of it as an aerial body; as supposing that the gross and heavy matter, of which it formerly consisted, is not adapted to an heavenly state, and would render it not altogether free from a liableness to corruption. This opinion a late writer mentions, as what was espoused by some of the Fathers, which he speaks very favourably of; and inasmuch as the apostle calls it _a spiritual body_, 1 Cor. xv. 45. and seems to distinguish it from _flesh and blood_, which _cannot inherit the kingdom of God_, ver. 50. he thinks that though the same flesh and blood may rise from the grave, it will then or afterwards, receive such a change, as will render it spiritual and incorruptible; and so, perhaps, when it comes to heaven, will not be flesh and blood; or, that it will clothed with such an heavenly body as will keep it from a possibility of corruption; and accordingly he supposes that the apostle is to be understood in this sense, that flesh and blood unchanged and unclothed with its heavenly body, cannot inherit the kingdom of God; and that this body with which it shall be invested, will be thin, aerial, spiritual, bright, and shining; and, in that respect, may be called celestial.[183] The reason he assigns why _flesh and blood_, namely, such as is subject to corruption here, _cannot inherit the kingdom of God_, is, because the flesh may be cut and divided, and the blood let out, which would subject it to corruption; therefore it must be changed, and _put on incorruption_.

This account of the bodies of the just after the resurrection, seems, indeed, to be a medium between the two extremes, either of those who suppose that the body shall differ but little from what it was whilst here on earth, or of others, who conclude it to be nothing else but an aerial body; yet it contains several things taken for granted, without sufficient proof, which I cannot readily give into: nevertheless what he farther adds on this subject is undeniably true, _viz._ that the body, which before was subject to filth and deformity, is raised in glory and splendor, _shining like the sun_, Matt. xxiii. 43. That which was once _vile_, is _fashioned like Christ’s glorious body_, Phil. iii. 21. and is freed from all defect or deformity in its members, and from any dishonourable parts. Not subject to weakness by labour, decays of age, to impotency and wasting by diseases; but nimble, strong, active, and that without reluctancy or molestation, grief, pain, or lassitude; it is raised a spiritual body, possessed and acted by the Holy Spirit; and advanced so far to the perfection of spirits, as to be free from grossness, ponderosity, from needing rest, sleep, or sustenance, and is fitted for a spiritual and celestial state in which our bodies shall wholly serve our spirits, and depend upon them, and therefore may be styled spiritual. If we stop here, without giving too much scope to our wit and fancy, in advancing things too high for us, and confess that we know not, or, at least, but a little of the affairs of an unseen world; or, as the apostle says, _what we shall be_, Phil. iii. 21. we say enough to give us an occasion to conclude that it is a glorious and desirable state, and the change wrought therein, such as fully answers our most raised expectations, and is agreeable to a state of perfect blessedness. Thus concerning the condition and circumstances in which the saints shall be raised.

There is one thing which must not wholly be past over, which is farther observed in this answer, namely, that the bodies of the just shall be raised by the Spirit of Christ: This is what the apostle expressly says, _If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead, dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead, shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you_, Rom. viii. 11. The bodies of believers, which were, in this world, the temple of the Holy Ghost, and were under his divine influence whilst living, shall not cease to be the objects of his care when dead; and as an instance of his regard to them, as well as denoting the subserviency hereof, to their attaining that complete redemption which Christ has purchased for them, the Spirit, in a peculiar manner, demonstrates his personal glory in raising them from the dead: Whereas, others are said to be raised only by the power of Christ.

2. We shall now consider the circumstances in which the wicked shall be raised, namely, in dishonour; or, as the prophet Daniel expresses it, _to shame and everlasting contempt_. Some marks of dishonour shall, doubtless, be impressed on their bodies, in that they shall be raised with all those natural blemishes and deformities, which rendered them the object of contempt. That part which the body bore in tempting the soul to sin, shall tend to its everlasting reproach; and when reunited to it, those habits of sin which were contracted, shall incurably remain, as well as the tormenting sense of guilt consequent hereupon, which exposes them to the wrath of God for ever; so that their resurrection, which renders them immortal, brings upon them endless misery. And it is said to be brought about by Christ, as an offended Judge, as the consequence whereof, they are summoned to his tribunal, who will render to every one according to his works. Which leads us to consider Christ as coming to judge the world; which is that solemn transaction that will immediately follow after the resurrection.

Footnote 153:

“By affirming, that the grain produced from the seed sown, is not the very body which is sown, the apostle I think insinuates, that the body to be raised is not numerically the same with the body deposited at death, but something of the same kind formed by the energy of God. Having such an example of the divine power before our eyes, we cannot think the reproduction of the body impossible, though its parts be utterly dissipated. Farther, although the very numerical body is not raised, yet the body is truly raised, because what is raised, being united to the soul, there will arise in the man thus completed, a consciousness of his identity, by which he will be sensible of the justice of the retribution which is made to him for his deeds. Besides, this new body, will more than supply the place of the old, by serving every purpose necessary to the perfection and happiness of the man in his new state. According to this view of the subject, the objection taken from the scattering of the particles of the body that dies, has no place; because it does not seem necessary, that the body to be raised, should be composed of them. For the scripture no where affirms, that the same numerical body is to be raised. What it teaches is; that the dead shall be raised.”

DR. MACKNIGHT.

Footnote 154:

_This is reported in a very fabulous manner, and is reckoned no more than an idle tale by Pliny, who mentions it among other stories of the like nature. Vid. Plin. Nat. Hist. Lib._ vii. _Cap._ lii. _Animam Aristæi etiam visam evolentem ex ore, in Proconneso, corvi effigie, magna quæ sequitur fabulositate. This is also mentioned as a fable by Origen._ _Vid. Origin. Lib._ iii. _Contr. Cels._

Footnote 155:

_Vid. Plin. Nat. Hist. Cap._ lii. _Reperimus inter exempla Hermotimi Clazomenii animam relicto corpore, errare solitam, vagamq; e loginquo multa annunciare, quæ nisi a præsenti nosci non possent; but by the following words he speaks of him as not dead, but in a kind of deliquium; corpore interim semianimi; but yet it was given out by many, that he died and rose again very often. This Lucian himself laughs at as a foolish tale. Vid. Lucian. Enc. Musc._

Footnote 156:

_Vid. Plat. de Repub. Lib._ x.

Footnote 157:

_Vid. Euseb. Præparat. Evang. Lib._ xi. _Cap._ xxxv. _It is mentioned by Plutarch, Symp. Lib._ ix. _Cap._ v.

Footnote 158:

_Macrobius speaking concerning it, in Somn. Scip. Lib. 1. Cap. 1. represents Cicero as being under a great concern, that this story of Er was ridiculed, by many who did not stick to say, Visum fuisse Erem, vitam effundere, animamq; recipere, quam revera non amiserat. See more to this purpose in Hust. Demonst. Evang. Prop._ ix. _Cap._ cxlii.

Footnote 159:

_See a late learned writer, Hody on the resurrection of the same body; who refers to several places in Heathen writers, of whom some believed it; others exposed it as fabulous, Pag. 13-16._

Footnote 160:

_Thus Pliny, who a little before related several stories of persons raised from the dead, notwithstanding calls the doctrine of the resurrection_, puerile deliramentum. _Vid. Ejusd. Nat. Hist. Lib._ vii. _Cap._ lv. _and elsewhere he speaks of it as a thing in its own nature impossible; and therefore concludes it to be one of those things which God cannot do. Lib._ ii. _Cap._ vii. _Ne Deum quidem posse omnia, nec mortales æternitate donare, aut revocare defunctos. And Minutius Felix. Vid. Ejusd. Octav. Cap._ xi. _brings in an Heathen, who was his friend, railing at it, without any decency, as though it was no better than an old wives fable; and the principal argument he produces, is, because he supposes it impossible for a body that was burnt to ashes, to spring up into life again. And Celsus, speaking concerning the impossibility of God’s doing any thing contrary to nature, reckons this among those things. Vid. Orig. Contr. Cels. Lib._ v. _Page 240. and says, the hope hereof is more worthy of worms than men and styles it an abominable, as well as an impossible thing, which God neither can nor will do._

Footnote 161:

Αναστασις.

Footnote 162:

_Vid. Volkel. de vera relig. Lib._ iii. _Cap._ xi. _Apparet promissionem vitæ sempiternæ in prisco illo foedere factam minime fuisse. And in a following part of this chapter, wherein he professedly treats on this subject, he adds; Quæ apertis luculentissimisq; verbis ut in nova scriptura fieri videamus, hoc Dei beneficium nobis polliceantur. Ex quorum munere, hoc de quo agimus, nequaquam esse hinc patet, quod antequam Christus illud explicaret, nemo unquam extitit, qui vel suspicari auderet, tale quid illo comprehendi._

Footnote 163:

_Vid. Joseph. de Bell. Jud. Lib._ ii. _Cap._ vii. Και γαρ ερρωτσαι παρ αυτοις ηδε διξα φθαρτα μεν εναι τα σωματα, και τήν υλὴγ ου μονιμον αυτοις, &c.

Footnote 164:

_See Dr. Hody on the resurrection, &c. Page 56-59._

Footnote 165:

_See Bishop Pearson on the Creed, Artic. 11. who observes, from their writings, that because, in the formation of man, mentioned in_ Gen. ii. 7. _Moses uses the word_ וייצר, _and in the formation of beasts, verse 19. the word_ ויצר, _the former having two_ jods, _the latter but one: Therefore the beasts are made but once, but man twice; to wit, once in his generation, and the second time in his resurrection. And they strangely apprehend a proof of the resurrection to be contained in the malediction_, Gen. iii. 19. Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return, _q. d. thou art now dust while thou livest; and, after death, thou shalt return unto this dust, that is, thou shalt live again, as thou, dost now: And those words in_ Exod. xv. 1. then sang Moses and the children of Israel; _they render_ he shall sing, _viz. after the resurrection in the life to come, and from thence infer this doctrine, which could afford but very small satisfaction to the Sadducees, while they omitted to insist on other pregnant proofs thereof_.

Footnote 166:

_See Vol. II. Heb. and Talmud. Exercit. on_ John iv. 25. _wherein he says, that they pretend to prove it from_ Deut. xxxi. 16. _where God says to Moses_, Thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, and rise again; _which is an addition to, as well as a perversion of the text; which says_, the people shall rise up and go a whoring, _&c. and Page 541, and 787. he represents them as proving it from_ Josh. viii 30. _where it is said, that Joshua_ built an altar unto the Lord; _which they translate_, he shall build an altar; _supposing this to be after the resurrection: And from_ Psal. lxxxiv. 4. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, they will be still praising thee, _they suppose is meant of their praising God after the resurrection. See many other absurd methods of reasoning to the same purpose, referred to by him in the same place._

Footnote 167:

_Macab._ vii. 9, 11, 14, 23, 29.

Footnote 168:

_Thus Josephus Jacchiades, referred to by Witsius in Symb. Exercit._ xxvi. § 41. _in explaining that famous text in Daniel_ xii. 2. _says, Et tunc fiet miraculum resurrectionis mortuorum: Nam multi dormientium in terra pulverulenta expergiscentur, hi ad vitam æternam, qui sunt sancti; illi vero ad opprobria & detestationem æternam; qui sunt impii. Quorum resurrectionis causa est, ut impii fateantur palam, suam fidem esse falsam, & eos qui ipsis fidem habuerint, prosecutos fuisse vanitatem atque evanuisse, ipsique agnoscant suos majores falsitatem possedisse. And Menasseh Ben Israel, de Resurr. mort. Lib._ ii. _Cap._ viii. _proves it from the same scripture. More to the same purpose may be seen in Dr. Hody on the resurrection, Page 72. &_ seq. _who quotes several of the Talmudical writers, as signifying their belief of this doctrine; and especially Pocock in Maimon. Port. Mos. Cap._ vi. _who produces a multitude of quotations to the same purpose; in which some assert this doctrine without proof, others establish it by solid arguments, and some mix a great many absurd notions with it, which we shall, at present, pass over_.

Footnote 169:

_Vid. Tertull. de Resurrect. Carn. Cap._ xxx. _Non posset de ossibus figura componi, si non id ipsum, & ossibus eventurum esset._

Footnote 170:

_Vid. Hieron. in Ezek._ xxxvii. _Nunquam poneretur similitudo resurrectionis, ad restitutionem Israelitici populi significandam, nisi staret ipsa resurrectitio, & futura crederetur; quia nemo de rebus non extantibus incerta confirmat._

Footnote 171:

_Vid. Menasseh Ben Isr. Lib. 1. de Resurrect. Cap._ ii. § 4. _Hic textus expressus est. & infallibilis quo sine omni dubio resurrectio probatur._

Footnote 172:

_Vid. Hieron. Epist. 61. ad Pammach. de error. Joh. Hieros. Quid hac prophetia manifestius? Nullus tam aperte post Christum, quam iste ante Christum de resurrectione loquitur._

Footnote 173:

_The words are put in the form of an interrogation, which sometimes argues a strong negation, but not always, since here it seems to imply a concession that he should live again._

Footnote 174:

_Vid Minut. Fel. in Octav. § 33. Vide adeo quam in solatium nostri resurrectionem futuram omnis natura meditatur Sol demergit, & nascitur; astra labuntur, & redeunt; fiores occidunt, & reviviscunt; post senium arbusta frondescunt semina non nisi corrupta revirescunt; ita corpus in sepulchro ut arbores in hyberno occultant virorem, ariditate mentita. Expectandum nobis etiam corporis ver est_, &c.

Footnote 175: