THE Resurrection OF The same Body ASSERTED FROM The Traditions of the Heathens the Ancient Jews and the Primitive Church WITH An ANSWER to the OBJECTIONS brought against it By HUMPHRY HODY D. D. Fellow of Wadham College in Oxford and Chaplain to His Grace JOHN Lord Arch-Bishop of Canterbury Non enim levia sunt illa de quibus contendimus sed ejusmodi ut illa scire praestantius sit ignorare turpissimum St. Methodius de Resurrectione LONDON Printed for Awnsham and John Churchill at the Black-Swan in Pater-Noster-Row 1694. REVERENDO ADMODUM IN CHRISTO PATRI AC PRAESULI Edvardo Stillingfleet Grandi Nomini HISTORIAM HANC Resurrectionis Corporis Sacellanus nuper semper Cultor Ejus Devotissimus HUMFREDUS HODY D. D. C. TO THE READER THis Treatise contains a History of the Resurrection of the Body The Grand Design of it is to prove the Doctrine of the Resurrection of the same Humane Body to be the Doctrine of the Gospel If that be prov'd the Truth of it is sufficiently demonstrated and that is all the Author desires should be granted him What he lays down concerning the Heathens and Jews and that which he advances concerning the Resurrection its being once a General Doctrine deriv'd down from Noah and the Ante-diluvian Patriarchs all that is ex abundanti and design'd only for the more Curious There is one thing more which he bad me say and that is this That he treads not in any Man's Steps but the Entertainment which he has here prepared for thee is wholly and in all its Parts new at least his own May â—…6 1694. THE CONTENTS PART I. Concerning the Opinions of the Heathens That they held many Opinions which were grounded on a Tradition concerning the Resurrection and that some of them hold the Resurrection in the true Christian Sense THeir gross Notions concerning the Soul in its state of separation that it has all the same Parts that the Body has p. 3. A Mistake of St. Justin Martyr p. 4. Their Opinion concerning the Transmigration of Souls p. 6. Their Opinion concerning the duration of the Soul as long as the Body lasted and its adherence to the Body after Death p. 11. They believe thâ—… some Men have aâ—…cended up into Heaven in their Bodies there to live for ever p. 13. That others have done so even after Death upon a Re union of their Souls and Bodies p. 15. The Opinion of the Pythagoreans and Platonists c. concerning the Restitution of our Bodies and of all other things in the World to their former state after the revolution of maâ—…y Ages by a new Birth or production p. 16. The Opinion of some of the Genethliacal Writers that the Soul returns and is united to the same Body in the space of 440 Years p. 20. The Opinion of the Stoicks concerning the reproduction of all the same Men c. after the general Conflagration p. 20. That Democritus asserted the Resurrection Epicurus's Opinion concerning the restauration of the very same Bodies after a great space of time p. 26. Merick Casaubon's Mistake concerning the Opinion of the Emperor M. Antoninus p. 23. The Resurrection asserted in the same sense as we understand it by the ancient Magi and by the present Heathen Gaurs of Persia the Relicts of the ancient Magi p. 29. By some of the ancient Arabians p. 31. By some of the Banians of India p. 33. By the present Inhabitants of the Island of Ceylon p. 36. Of Java p. 37. Of Pegu p. 37. Of Transiana p. 37. By some amongst the Chinese p. 37. By the Arderians in Guinnee p. 45. And by the ancient Prussians p. 45. These Traditions concerning the Resurrection not receiv'd from the Jews but transmitted down from Noah and the Ante-diluvian Patriarohs p. 49. PART II. Concerning the Opinions of the ancient Jews p. 53. to 107. THE Doctrine of the Resurrection no Article of Faith or Term of Communion among them 'till about 100 Years after Christ p. 53. c. Not own'd by the Essens p. 54. nor by Philo p. 56. yet the common and general Doctrine long before that time p. 64. Their not making it a Term of Communion no Argument against the certainty of it The Soul's Immortality it self no Term of the Jewish Communion in those times The Sadduces own'd as true Jews p. 89. The Opinion of Josephus p. 66. Of the Sapientes Mecar p. 60. the Hemero-Baptists p. 61. and the Samaritans p. 62. They that held the Resurrection understood it to be of the same Humane Body The Opinion of some of the Jews concerning the passing of their Bodies under-ground to the Holy Land and their Custom of carrying the Bones of their Dead thither p. 70. The Transmigration of Souls held by many of the Jews p. 78. and by some of the Pharisees in the time of Josephus p. 81. Whether held by any in our Saviour's time p. 82. They that own the Transmigration acknowledge withal a Resurrection p. 87. Testimonies for the Resurrection out of the Old Testament p. 96. PART III. Concerning the Doctrine of the Primitive Church THE Resurrection of the same Humane Body demonstrated from the New Testament p. 107 c. and from the Doctrine of the Primitive Writers which flourish'd before the time of Origen such as St. Clement of Rome p. 133. Justin M. p. 141. Irenaeus p. 142. Athenagoras p. 143. Theophilus of Antioch p. 144. The Churches of Lions and Vienna p. 144. Clemens Alex. p. 145. Tertullian p. 145. and others And from the Creeds of the Primitive Church and others in several Ages p. 171. The Inconsistences and Contradictions of Origen p. 108 109 152 to 168. That he himself in some places of his Works own'd the Resurrâ—…ction of the same Humane Body p. 152. That the Primitive Fathers would never have embraced the Doctrine of the Resurrection of the same humane Body if it had not been evidently Apostolical 180. PART IV. Objections answer'd The Qualities of the Body in the Resurrection The Reason why it is to rise p. 184 c. The principal Errata are these PAge 9. Line 17. for their Souls read the Soul p. 23. l. 22. r. Merick p. 30. l. 12. r. Years which Ibid l. 9. r. Guebres p. 53. l. 8. r. of the number p. 58. l. 25. r. will free p. 59. l. 9. r. dissolution p. 93. l. 12. for Rights 〈◊〉 Rites p. 100. l. 9. r. unwilling Ibid l. 15. r. do not conâ—…in p. 109. l. 1. r. represent p. 171. l. 24. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from St. Austin The Resurrection of the same Body asserted THE Resurrection is defin'd by Maimonides to be The return of the Soul into the same Body from which it had been separated and agreeable to this Definition the Catholick Faith spread throughout the whole Christian World is this That the same Body which died consisting of the same Particles shall rise again out of its Grave in the Day of Judgment and be re-united to the Soul But
the Body to propose it as a thing to be wonder'd at why the Bodies of good Men are not to be rais'd again And the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 on which Casaubon lays a great Stress and which seems to be the Foundation of his Error signifies not only again as he renders it but amplius or in posterum So in Philo Judaeus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the time to come in Isocrates 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies Posterity In the same Sense it is used by Plato and others I might here observe that the Philosopher Heraclitus more ancient than the Stoicks speaks not only of the general Conflagration but says that they that have lived ill in this Life shall be purged by that Fire I might likewise observe that both he and Anaximenes and Diogenes Apolloniates believ'd That after the destruction of this World there will be another Created and so on to all Eternity But I rather chuse to entertain you with some thing that I think will be more surprizing and more to our Purpose Should I tell you that those two great Atomical Philosophers Democritus and Epicurus believ'd that our Bodies will hereafter be restor'd again and be made up of the very same Particles should I tell you thus much you would take me perhaps to be rather pleasant than serious But how strange soever you may think it it is nevertheless true at least if my Authors were not mistaken They believ'd that this will happen after a vast distance of time and aâ—…ter innumerable changes by a Second fortuitous concourse of the very same Particles Democritus as I suppose form'd this Notion from what he had learnt concerning the Instauration of all Things by conversing with the Egyptians among whom we know he lived many Years to be instructed in their Philosophy And from him it is likely Epicurus receiv'd it But how does it appear that those two great Corporealists who believ'd that the Soul and Body diâ—… both together asserted this kind of Resurrection For Democritus Pliny is my Author for Epicurus St. Jerom. Pliny in his Nat. Hist. opposes and derides this Opinion of Democritus so he does also the Immortality of the Soul Similis est de asservandis corporibus hominum ac reviviscendi promissa Democrito vanitas qui non revixit ipse Quae malum ista dementia est iterari vitani morte S. Jerom's Words concerning Epicuruâ—… aâ—…e these Vide hoc novum est jam faâ—…um est in seculo quod fuit ante nos Cum superioribus autem congruit quod niâ—…il novum in mundo fiat nec sit aliquis qui possit existere dicere ecce hoc novum est siquidem omne quod se putaverit novum ostendere jam in prioribus seculis fuit Nec putemus signa atque prodigia multa quae arbitrio Dei nova in Mundo fiunt in prioribus seculis esse jam facta locum invenire Epicurum qui asserit per innumerabiles periodos EADEM eisdem in locis per â—…osdem fieri There is no reason we should change the Reading and for Epicurus read Chrysippus as a learned Man suspects we ought since as has been shewn Democritus himself whose Philosophy Epicurus follow'd and from whom the Ancients tell us he borrow'd a great many of his Notions maintain'd either the same or a like Opinion I shall conclude these Opinions with those receiv'd among some of the Ancient Arabians The Harbanists an ancient Sect among the Heathen Arabians held That after the space of 36425 Years all the Species of Living Creatures that are in the World shall be destroy'd and the Nature of the Universe shall again produce Two Pair of every Species for every Climate of the Earth And after this manner the World is to continue by several Revolutions to Eternity There were others among the Arabians that agreed with the Pythagoreans and Platonists or rather came up more home to the Christian Doctrine than they did They believ'd that after certain Circulations of the Heavenly Bodies the Soul will return and will constitute the same Individual Man and that the Man thus constituted anew will remember what had past in the former Life Abrahamus Ecchellensis mentions this as the Opinion of some Ancient Hereticks amongst the Mahometans in Egypt and elsewhere And you know the Mahometans of Egypt were originally Arabians We have made I think by this time a pretty tolerable Progress and from the View we have already taken I believe you begin to be convinced that the Doctrine of the Resurrection of the Body was known and generally embrac'd in the first Ages of the World We will now extend our View and look a little farther abroad into the World and shew that the Heathens had not only some Opinions amongst 'em which were built on a Tradition concerning the Resurrection and that carry with 'em a very great resemblance of our Doctrine but that many of 'em in several parts of the World have held the same Doctrine with us and do to this day believe it in the same sense as we understand it I mean that they hold That the Particles of the Body which died will be rais'd again and without a new Birth be united to the Soul and constitute the very same Man I shall not here take any notice of those Greek Verses which are extant under the Name of Phocylides that they plainly assert the Resurrection in regard those Verses are by all learned Men attributed not to the Ancient Phocylides but to some Jewish or Christian Author The First Instance which I shall present you with is that of the Persian Magi. I need not tell you that the Magi were the Priests and Philosophers of the Ancient Persians Theopompus and Eudemus Rhodius two very Ancient Authors in D. Laertius tell us that the Magi taught That Men shall revive and be Immortal 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And Plutarch assures us out of the Books of Zoroastres that according to their Doctrine there will be a time when the Earth shall be made plain and level and all Mankind shall live blessedly together on Earth in one common Society and shall speak but one Language This is almost expresly the Millennarian Doctrine of the Resurrection They add according to Theopompus that this shall happen after the term of 6000 Years Which is the same number of Years that the Ancient Jews and most of the Christian Fathers allow for the duration of the World before the Resurrection And that the Bodies of Men in that State will not have need of Food but will be pure and pellucid or as he expresses it will cast no Shadow Thus Aeneas Gazaeus affirms that Zoroastres foretold that there will come a time when there shall be a Resurrection of all the Dead And this says he Theopompus attests To this I shall add what is also very remarkable
in an Ethereal Body 11. In other places he proceeds so far as to deny that the Soul will after Death be united to any Body whatever and to asfirm that at the end of the World all Corporeal Substance will be perfectly annihilated Photius tells us that He and his Followers Evagrius and Didymus asserted that our Bodies are not to rise but our naked Souls alone without Bodies So also says Constantinus Harmenopulus And Anastasiâ—…s Sinaita intimates the same We are told by Leontius that he own'd a Resurrection of the Body but held withal that the Soul being punish'd in the Body is purg'd by degrees and at last freed wholly from it and restored to its primitive state and condition Theophilus Alexandrinus assures us that he made the rising Bodies corruptible and mortal and asserted that after many Ages they will be annihilated That all Corporeal Substance will be at the end of the World annihilated he affirms in several places of his Books 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 translated by St. Jerom in his Epistle to Avitus So St. Maximus observes that tho in some of his Books he taught a Resurrection of an Ethereal Body yet in others he denied it affirming that all corporeal Substance will be annihilated 12. In one place of his Work 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he tells us that at the time of the Dissolution of the World all Matter will be chang'd into the same Substance of which God himself consists In the same he asserts 13. That as soon as the World is dissolv'd and all Matter annihilated there will be new Matter and a new World created just like this and after that another and so on to Eternity and that before this World was created there had been innumerable others 14. That in the next World he that is now a Man may be an Angel and that which is now an Angel may be a Man by being for it's offences thrust down into a Humane Body If after it is sent down into a Body it does not behave it-self so as to deserve to be restor'd to its former State it will then says he become a Devil and according to its Merits be employ'd in divers Offices in the other Worlds if after this it desires to amend and become better it is sent again into a Humane Body and being there punish'd and purified it at last becomes an Angel as it was at first These were the Opinions of Origen relating to the Resurrection these his strange Contradictions and Inconsistences How dangerous a thing it is in matters of Religion to forsake the Traditions of the Church and to build upon ones own private Fancy we may learn from his Example If once you begin to indulge your own Fancy in Matters of Religion without a due Regard to the Traditions of the Primitive Church you know not where it will end 'T is odds but the head-strong Thing will at last after many Turns and Wanderings bring you to a Precipice No sooner were these Opinions advanc'd and publish'd but the Church began to be alarm'd Liberatus Diaconus affirms that Origen was condemn'd for 'em in his life-time His Apologist Pamphilus who flourish'd and wrote about the latter end of the same Century tells us that that which made the greatest Noise and was chiefly oppos'd was his Opinion concerning the Resurrection The same Author tells us that several had written against him on that Subject One of them was St. Methodius he whom I have several times quoted Bishop of Tyre who was martyr'd about the Year CCCIII. He wrote a Book with this Title Against Origen Concerning the Resurrection of which a great part is preserv'd in Epiphanius and Photius The Opinion which he opposes and confutes is First That the Rising Body will not consist of the same substance that was buried Secondly That it will be not a Body of Flesh but an Ethereal one Another that wrote against Origen Concerning the Resurrection was Antipater Bishop of Bostra in Arabia who flourish'd long after about the Year 460. A Third was Ammon Hadrianopolites whose Age I know not To these I might add Theophilus Bishop of Alexandria who writes against him in his Paschal Epistles Epiphanius St. Jerom the Emperor Justinian and others In the Year 399 He and his Opinions were condemn'd and anathematiz'd by a Synod of Alexandria under the Patriarch Theophilus who at the same time expell'd all those that profest 'em out of Egypt In the Year 400 he was condemn'd by a Synod call'd at Rome by P. Anastasius after that by a Synod of Antioch under the Patriarch Ephraemius a little after by a Synod of Constantinople under the Patriarch Mennas and at last by a General Council the Fifth which was held in the Year 553. I could easily fill you a Volume with the Testimonies and Authorities of the Doctors of the Fourth and the following Ages and could shew you with how great a Zeal the Doctrine of the Resurrection of the same Humane Body has been always maintain'd by the Church But I remember I am to send you not a Folio but a Manual and I think the History of the Resurrection which I have brought down through the Two first and purest Ages of the Church to the time of Origen may suffice to clear the truth of this Article of our Faith by shewing that the Fathers of those Primitive times were Seconds to the Apostles and abett the same Doctrine which we deduced from Scripture The later Doctors of the Church we will call all together to a General Council by their Creeds and so seal our Doctrine with the great and Venerable Seal of the whole Catholick Church We have shewn already from the Testimony of Irenaeus and Tertullian that in the Creed of the Catholick Church in their time the Resurrection of the flesh was one Article It is so in that which is extant in the Apostolical Constitutions It is so likewise in that which we commonly call the Apostles Creed which was generally believ'd even before the time of Ruffinus to have been written by the Apostles themselves In our English Translation we read The Resurrection of the Body but in the Originals the Greek and the Latin it is The Resurrection of the flesh So 't was read as Russinus affirms in all Churches That the Latin Churches read Carnis Resurrectio appears not only from Rufsinus but likewise from St. Jerom St. Austin Chrysologus and Maximus Taurinensis whose Expositions on the Creed are now extant and from divers others That it was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Resurrection of the flesh in the Creed of the ancient Church of Jerusalem is apparent from St. Cyril Bishop of that Church It is so in the Greek Creed which is extant at the end of K. Ethelstan's Psalter in Sir John Cotton's Library and in that of the Bodleian Library which is written in
Origen heretofore as you rightly observe my dear Philalethes and some other late Opinionists have been pleased to advance another Notion That the Body to which the Soul shall be united in the next Life shall not be a Human Body but a thin and Etherial one and that too consisting of new Particles In asserting the truth of the Catholick Doctrine the Task you are pleased to impose on me I shall use all possible Plainness and observe this Method I. I shall shew it to be probable from the Traditions even of the Heathens themselves convey'd down to 'em from Noah and his Posterity II. I shall prove it from the Authority of the Old Testament and the Traditions of the Ancient Jews and shew it from thence to be if not certain yet more than probable III. I shall demonstrate it from the Authority of the New Testament and the Unanimous consent of the Primitive Church before the time of Origen and prove it from thence tobe certain IV. I shall answer the Objections rais'd against it To pretend to make out the Probability of the Doctrine of the Resurrection from the Opinions and Traditions of the Heathens may seem perhaps a very vain Attempt But it is no more than what many of the Ancients have endeavour'd to do and Photius mentions an Author who published a large Work in Fifteen Books to prove That the Doctrine of the Resurrection with other Christian Doctrines was own'd by many of the Gentiles The several â—…tions whose Opinions that Author produced were as Photius tells us the Greeks Persians Thracians Egyptians Babylonians Chaldaeans and Italians What success either He or any other Author that attempted the same might meet with I am not concern'd to enquire but I think I shall be able to shew that many of the Notions and Opinions of the Heathens were grounded on a Tradition concerning the Resurrection nay that many of the Heathens in Ancient Times acknowledged it and that many of 'em do so to this Day I shall first lay before you some Opinions embraced by the Heathens which I think carry with them no small resemblance of the Doctrine of the Resurrection And in the Second place shall present you with others which plainly express it The first Opinion which I shall take notice of is concerning the Human Shape and Actions attributed to the Soul in its State of Separation It was anciently the common and receiv'd Opinion of the Gentiles and so it is at this time throughout the whole Heathen World That the Soul or Manes which remain after Death has a perfect Human Shape and all the same Parts both External and Internal that the Body has and that when it leaves the Body it Eats and Drinks and does all the same things that a living Man does Now from whence can we imagine this odd Opinion should arise and be so generally propagated all over the World I shall leave it to be considered by you whether it were not grounded on an Ancient Tradition That the Soul after Death shall be united to a Human Body Justin Martyr to prove that the Doctrine of the Resurrection was known to Homer produces his description of Tityus's Punishment after Death and what he says of the Punishments of Sisyphus and Tantalus Their Punishments says he suppose not a Soul only but also a Body The same sort of Argument he makes use of to prove that Plato held the same Doctrine He observes that Plato in the Story which he relates concerning Eris speaks of those that were punished in Hell as of Men compounded of Body and Soul with the same Parts and Countenances which they had when living here on Earth that he makes Aridaeus and other Tyrants to be bound Neck and Heels and to be Flea'd and then to be drag'd through Thorns and Briars Now says he for Plato to say that the Soul is judged with the Body can signify nothing else but that he believ'd the Doctrine of the Resurrection For how could Aridaeus and the rest be punished after that manner in Hell if they had left their Bodies their Heads Hands and Feet on Earth Sure they will not say that the Soul has a Head a Skin and Hands and Feet But this is a Mistake of that excellent Person The Reason why the Heathens described the Punishments of the Damn'd after this manner was not because they thought that their Bodies were not left here on Earth but partly because it was the vulgar Opinion that the Soul had all the same Parts that the Body has and partly because such Descriptions do more easily move and affect us and it is not easy to describe the Torments of the Soul after any other manner Our Lord in the Parable of Dives and Lazarus speaks of them in the same manner as if they had Bodies tho' what is related of 'em is supposed to be before the Resurrection and their Bodies are suppos'd to be yet in their Graves I might mention others of the Ancient Christians that have made use of Arguments of the like nature but it is not my Business to confute those who have written for the Resurrection I shall therefore pass them by From what has been said concerning our Saviour's speaking of the Soul of Lazarus as if it had a Body tho' he did not believe it had you may possibly imagine that the Heathens did not really believe that the Soul has all the Parts of a Human Body though they are wont to speak of it as if they believ'd it But it evidently and undeniably appears that that was and is at this time their real Opinion Hence the Custom so general in the World of leaving Meat and Drink on the Graves of the Dead and of burying together with the dead Bodies all sorts of Utensils Houshold-Stuff and Weapons which they think the Soul will make use of in the next Life Hence also the Custom in so many Countries of putting to Death the Wives and Slaves of the deceased that they may wait upon 'em and serve in the same Capacities in the other World For Brevity sake I am content to seem a little Immodest and to take it for granted that you believe I can prove what I have asserted The Second Opinion that deserves to be consider'd is that of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Transmigration of Souls out of one Body into another 'T was you know the Opinion not only of the Pythagoreans and Platonists and some of the Stoicks amongst the Greeks but of many whole Nations of the ancient Gentiles and 't is still the received Opinion of the greatest part of the Eastern Heathens and of many other Countries in divers parts of the World that when a Man dies his Soul passes into another Body either the Body of a Man or of some other Creature Now on what could this Opinion be grounded but on some broken and imperfect Tradition concerning the Resurrection of our Bodies How came so strange an Opinion to obtain in so
Romulus amongst the Romans were translated like Enoch and Elias into Heaven in their proper Bodies we read in divers of our Ancient Authors The Emperor Julian mentions the Assumption of Hercules He went up says he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tho' he will not acknowledge that his Body with which he ascended was a Body of Flesh but intimates according to the Notion of the Chaldaick Philosophers that the gross parts of his Body were consumed by Heavenly Fire or Lightening That the Romans when Romulus was murder'd were made believe that he had been taken up in his Body into Heaven I need only mention not endeavour to prove It is what you know very well and many of the Writers of the Roman History speak of it The Emperor Julian believ'd it tho he says as he does of Hercules that the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the mortal part of his Body was consum'd or lick'd up 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the Heavenly fire or Lightning That Helena being like to be murdered was taken up publickly into Heaven Isaacus Porphyrogennetus relates from the Traditions of the Ancient Greeks Plutarch tells us that it was the common Opinion of the Greeks that Cleomedes Astypalensis was translated in his Body into Heaven and that many others had been so translated Thus Philostratus doubts whether his greatly admir'd Apollonius Tyaneus ever died and tells us of a Report that going into a Temple in Lindus he was never seen afterwards He mentions moreover a Tradition of the Cretans that he was taken up into Heaven out of a Temple in Crete a Voice being heard in the Temple as of Virgins singing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Come from the Earth come into Heaven come Fifthly They did not only believe that many had been translated like Enoch and Elias into Heaven but they also believ'd that the Souls of some others had been after Death re-united to their Bodies and that so by a Resurrection they had been taken up into Heaven That this was generally believed of Aristaeus the Proconnesian is asserted by many Heathen Writers And Plutarch assures us that it was commonly believ'd that the Body of Alcmena the Mother of Hercules was taken up into Heaven after her Death It happened as they say when it was carried out to be interr'd Thus says he they exalt those things which are by nature Mortal among the Gods He does not believe these Reports himself on the contrary he calls it a Foolish thing to place Earth in Heaven The Soul says he only is from the Gods from them it came and to them it returns not with the Body but separated wholly from it perfectly pure clean and freed from Flesh. The Soul as Heraclitus says flies from the Body as Lightening does from a Cloud While it is in the Body like a heavy and cloudy Vapour it is difficultly kindled and with great difficulty it ascends to the things above Therefore the Bodies of Good Men ought not by any means to be placed in Heaven contrary to their Nature but we ought to believe that the Soul alone ascends up thither He disputes against this Belief and these Traditions of the Heathens in the very same manner as he would have disputed against Christians The Sixth Opinion of the Heathens which I shall present you with is concerning a Resurrection of the very same Human Body after its dissolution In this only it differs from our Christian Doctrine that it makes the Soul return not immediately to those Particles from which it was separated by Death and which were laid in the Grave so as that those who died Men should rise of the same Stature but first to those Particles which were unîted to it in the Mothers Womb And afterwards those Particles that constituted the Body in its several Ages are according to this Opinion to rise again and be united all in their due time to the same Soul 'till at last the same Particles that were buried shall be all re-united together and constitute the Body in the very same manner as formerly They tell us that after the expiration of many Thousands of Years when all the same Stars and Planets shall return to the same Configuration and Respect that they formerly had to one another there shall be a Resurrection of all things to their former State not only of Men but all other things in the World Socrates for Example shall be born again of the same Mother and grow up in the same manner with all the same Circumstances teach Philosophy at Athens to the self-same Scholars eat the self-same Diet and wear the self-same Cloths be accused by the same Accusers condemn'd by the same Judges and die by the same Poison You and I my Friend are according to them to live here again in all the same Circumstances Our Friendship the same and the same Correspondence between us You are to send again to me to know what I have to say for the Doctrine of the Resurrection I am to send you this very same Treatise written on the same Paper and with the same Pen and Ink and the Hair that now makes this Blot must make the same again Thus all things must go on in a continual Round and Revolution and by a continual successive Resurrection But who are they that tell us these things Who were they that taught this Opinion The Pythagoreans and the Platonists amongst the Greeks and many of the Priests or Philosophers of Egypt from whom the Greeks learnt it Would you have me quote my Author It is Origen and not he only tho' he alone were enow but I have likewise several others The Followers of Pythagoras and Plato says Origen say that after a certain Revolution of the Stars when they shall return to the same Configuration and Respèct to one another which they formerly had there will necessarily be the very same Face of Things here on Earth which there had been before when the Stars were in the same Position And according to this Notion when the Stars shall return to the same Order which they were in in Socrates 's time Socrates must be born again and suffer the same things which he did before the same Anytus and Melitus accusing him and the same Areopagites passing Sentence upon him And the same is the Dctrine of the Egyptians For Pythagoras Porphyry likewise is my Witness It is well known to all says he first that he asserted the Immortality of the Soul and that he asserted that the Soul passes into several kinds of Creatures and moreover that he taught that after certain Revolutions of the Stars those things which once had been shall be again and that there is nothing properly new For Plato I might produce his own Words and the Testimonies of others such as Proclus c. But who has not heard of Plato's great Year I need not put you in mind that this can be nothing else
but an old Tradition concerning our future Resurrection a little alter'd by the dropping of a part of it as it passed in a long series of time through the Mouths of several Persons It appears from the Testimony of R. Abraham Bar Chaia cited by Abarbinel that this same Opinion concerning the Restitution of all things to their former State after the return of the Planets to their former Configuration was likewise received by many of the Philosophers of India Some of 'em held that this should happen after the Term of 4320000 Years other assign'd 360000 Years others 49000 others 36000 others 12000 others 7000 And Bar Châ—…ia declares that he thinks they form'd this Notion from the Tradition which they had received from their Ancestors concerning the Resurrection M. Varro the great Roman Writer in the Books which he publish'd De Gente Populi Romani speaks of certain Authors whom he calls Genethliaci whose Opinion it was that the Soul returns and is united to the very same Body to which it had been formerly conjoyn'd by a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the space of 440 years His Words are these Genethliaci quidam scripserunt esse in renascendis hominibus quam appellant 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Graeci hanc scripserunt confici in annis numero quadringentis quadraginta ut idem Corpus cadem anima quae fuerant conjuncta in homine aliquando eadem rursus redeant in conjunctionem Amongst others even of the Greek Philosophers we find this Tradition preserv'd more entire The Stoicks though they look'd upon the Doctrine of the Resurrection as preach'd by St. Paul at Athens to be nothing but Babble yet they themselves as least some of 'em tell us all the same things that the Egyptians but now mention'd and the Pythagoreans and the Platonists taught But in this they come up nearer to us that they do not make the World Eternal but say as we do that the World shall be destroy'd by Fire and that this Resurrection or Restitution of all things shall be after the general Conflagration My Author for this is first of all Origen and he a very good one in these Matters who observes not without good Reason that tho they did not call it by the Name of a Resurrection yet the Thing was the same The Stoicks says he hold that after a certain revolution of Time the Universe will be destroy'd by a Conflagration and that immediately upon it all things will be restored to what they were before without any manner of Change But there are some amongst 'em that do not come up altogether to this Opinion and They hold that there will be some small Alteration and for some short Time These Men tell us that after the Conflagration Socrates for Example shall be born again an Athenian the Son of Sophroniscus and Phenarete And therefore tho' they do not call it by the Name of a Resurrection yet they mean the same Thing He shall be bred up say they at Athens and shall teach Philosophy there as before So that Philosophy it self is as it were to rise again and be in the same State as formerly Anytus and Melitus shall rise again and be Socrates 's Accusers and the Council of the Areopagites shall condemn him And what is more ridiculous than all this Socrates is to wear the same Cloths that he did before live in the same Poverty and with all the same Circumstances So Phalaris shall again play the Tyrant and torment the same Persons in his Brazen Bull. And Alexander the Pherean shall exercise his Cruelty on the same Persons that he did heretofore Tatianus mentions the same Opinion of Zeno that the World shall be renewed by a Conflagration that the same Men shall rise and do the very same Things Anytus and Melitus shall accuse Socrates again Busiris murder his Guests Hercules undergoe the same Labours c. Lactantius produces these Words of Chrysippus whom Cicero stiles the Prop of the Porch of the Stoicks out of his Book of Providence This being so it is manifâ—…st that it is not at all impossible but that after a certain revolution of Time even We may be restored from Death to what we now are The Philosopher Numenius calls it in express Terms a Resurrection 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. That Resurrection which makes that which is call'd the greatest Year This Opinion of the Stoicks concerning the Renovation of things after the Conflagation is mention'd by many others as by Tully Philo Judeus Justin Martyr Athenagoras Clemens Alexandrinus c. The Emperor M. Antoninus who was chiefly addicted to the Sect of the Stoicks writes doubtingly concerning the Life to come to this purpose How comes it to pass says he That the Gods who have order'd all things well and with singular love towards Mankind have neglected this one thing to take care that Men especially the Good and those who maintain'd as it were a frequent Correspondence with 'em and by their pious Works and holy Offices contracted a kind of familiarity with 'em that those Men when once they are dead do no longer exist but are extinct for ever 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If it be so the reason you must know is because it ought not to be otherwise This Place the learned Merich Casaubon understands so as if it had respect to the Resurrection of the Body in the true Christian Sense and the Words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he renders thus should never be restored to Life That Antoninus says he intends it of the Body for the Soul if not immortal yet that it remain'd a long time after Death they believ'd not of the Body alone but of the Body and Soul to be join'd again into one and the same Person may appear because he saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as soon as ever dead 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not to be restored to Life again to wit the Man consisting though not a precise Stoick in that of Body and Soul for ever That the Emperor intended such a Resurrection he further confirms by another Passage in his Book where he says 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 You will easily be persuaded that I am not at all prejudiced against this Opinion of that learned Man But let Truth prevail above all things It must be confess'd that he did not understand Antoninus's meaning and that he was mistaken in two Respects 1. If Antoninus had intended a Resurrection he ought to have been understood only of such a Resurrection as I have shewn the Stoicks generally believ'd 2. It is not true that he intended a Resurrection in any Sense In this last place he only alludes to that Opinion which the Stoicks commonly taught not asserts it And in the other Place he only speaks of the duration of the Soul after Death of which he himself doubted It must be acknowledged that that Philosopher had too mean an Opinion of
These I had says he from Heaven and for his Laws I despise 'em and from him I hope to receive 'em again This happen'd about 165 Years before Christ. 'T is true I am not fully perswaded that these Words were really spoken by that Martyr Since there were not any Jews then present who might think it worth their while to commit the Words of those several Martyrs to Memory it may be reasonably suppos'd that the Speeches ascrib'd to 'em were made by the Author of the History as is usual with other Historians Thus Josephus in his History of those Martyrs makes 'em speak quite different Speeches so likewise the Arabick History which is extant in the Polyglot Bible and if I well remember the Hebrew Ben Gorion all differing both from the Book of Maccabees and from one another Yet this at least is to be concluded from these Words that when the Second of Maccabees was written this Doctrine was generally receiv'd and 't was also then taken for granted that at that time when those Martyrs suffer'd it was the general and receiv'd Doctrine How ancient that Book is we do not certainly know but we know from Clemens Alexandrinus who cites it that it was extant within 150 Years after our Saviour's Pasâ—…ion and from the First and Second Chapters it may easily be gather'd that it was written long before his Nativity before the Jews were conquer'd by the Romans 2. We read in the same Book that Razis the Jew when he pluck'd out his own Bowels and cast 'em with his Hands upon the Throng call'd upon the Lord of Life and Spirit to restore him those again 3. I know that he shall rise again in the Resurrection at the last day Thus Martha concerning her Brother Lazarus when our Saviour had told her that tho' he then lay dead and buried yet he should rise again She knows it she says and does not at all doubt of it 4. That it was the common and receiv'd Opinion of the Jews at that time that the Body in the Resurrection would be truly a Humane Body is farther evident from that Question of the Sadduces concerning the Woman that had been married to Seven Brethren Whose Wife she should be in the Resurrection 5. It 's evident likewise from that Saying of one of the Jews at the Feast where Christ was present in the House of one of the chief Pharisees When Christ had told the Pharisee that if he invited the Poor c. he should be recompens'd at the Resurrection of the Just one of those that sate at Meat with him made him this Answer Blessed is he that shall eat Bâ—…ead in the Kingdom of God Their Opinion was that they should Eat and Drink in the next Life as well as in this 6. Josephus the learned Jew who was born in the Thirty Seventh Year after Christ professes himself a Follower of the Pharisees and in another place he tells us the place I shall produce hereafter that the Pharisees own'd a Transmigration of the Soul out of one Body into another It should therefore seem that he himself also held it But it is not necessary that because he chose rather to adhere to the Sect of the Pharisees than to that of the Essens or Sadduces he should therefore be in all things a Pharisee In his Third Book of the War he seems to intimate that the Souls of the Wicked shall not after Death be re-conjoin'd to a Body but he plainly asserts that those of the Good shall And from this consideration he endeavours to disswade his Companions from laying violent Hands upon themselves Such Souls says he as are pure and obedient obtain the most Holy place of Heaven whence after the great Revolution of the World or after the circumvolution of many Ages they shall return and again inhabit Chast Bodies But they who lay violent Hands upon themselves their Souls are cast into Hell and God punishes their Sin in their Posterity Whether he held the Resurrection or only the Transmigration of the Soul we cannot from this place certainly conclude But from another place of his Works if he were the true Author of the Book call'd Maccabaica it appears very evidently that he own'd the Resurrection For he cites there that place of the Prophet Ezechiel where he speaks of the raising up of the dry Bones He tells us that the Maccabees were encouraged by their Mother with the hopes and assurance of a future Life She propos'd says he to her Sons the Saying of Solomon That God is the Wood of Life to them that do his Will And that of Ezechiel Can these dry Bones live Neither did she omit that Saying of Moses in his Song I will kill and I will make alive And from hence it likewise appears that Josephus believ'd that at that time when those Martyrs suffer'd the Doctrine of the Resurrectiâ—…n of the same Humane Body was the common and establish'd Doctrine And that this was the common Opinion in his time may be further gather'd from what he says concerning the Opinion of the Sect of the Essens That they had a most certain Opinion amongst 'em that their Bodies indeed were corruptible and that their Matter should not be perpetual This had been a very idle Observation if some others had not asserted the Perpetuity of the Body as well as of the Soul He therefore takes notice of that Opinion of theirs because it was contrary to the receiv'd and general Opinion 7. In the Targum or Chaldee Paraphrase of Jonathan who is placed by some in the same Age with the Apostles there is mention made of the Second Death in Hell and that too of the Body For thus he paraphrases the Sixth Verse of the Sixty Fifth Chapter of Isaiah Their Vengeance shall be in Hell where the Fire continually burns Behold it is written before me I will not give 'em an end in this Life but will be revenged on 'em for their Sins and deliver their Bodies to the Second Death And here I shall observe by the bye That tho' Josephus seems to intimate that the Wicked are not to rise and many of the Rabbins affirm the same thing Yet from hence it is manifest that among the Ancient Jews there were others of the contrary Perswasion And that in the time of the Apostles this was the general and receiv'd Opinion of the Jews is apparent from those Words of St. Paul in his Apology to Felix But this I confess unto thee that I have Hope towards God which they themselves the Jews also allow that there shall be a Resurrection of the Dead both of the Just and Unjust 8. The Chaldee Paraphrase of the Canticles has these Words C. 8. V. 5. The Prophet Salomon said When the Dead shall revive it shall come to pass that the Mount of Olives shall be cleft and all the Dead of Israel shall come out from thence And the Just too that died in
Resurrection shall not be the same Humane Body as you imagine but a new one and of a quite different kind 4. It manifestly appears from this obstinate unbelief of some in that Church that they did not understand St. Paul of a new Ethereal Body That the Soul after Death is invested with an Ethereal Body was the common and receiv'd Opinion of the Greeks themselves the Pythagoreans and the Platonists And though they commonly believ'd that the Soul has an Ethereal Body or Vehicle in its state of Prae-existence and that it retains the same even whilst it is united to the Humane Body and also after Death yet they did not think it necessary that it should always be invested with the same which it had before its separation from the Humane Body Plato asserts that The Soul will always have a Body but sometimes of one Kind and sometimes of another And Porphyry affirms that according as the Soul is affected so it assumes a Body suitable to its present Condition that being thoroughly purged it assumes a Body of the purest Sort the next in degree to Immateriality And with that according to his Philosophy it lives for ever in Heaven The Conclusion is that if the Apostles had intended not the same Body that died but another Ethereal One 't is impossible that their Doctrine should meet with so great Opposition as it did Was this the Doctrine that the Corinthians could not believe Could that which their own Philosophers had taught 'em seem so strange and incredible a Thing when preach'd by the Apostles It is plain from St. Paul that the Corinthians to whom he wrote thought the Resurrection a strange and incredible Thing and after they had receiv'd St. Paul's Epistle they still continued to think it so They still thought it as is evident from what St. Clement answers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 strange and wonderful Thing Was the Union of the Soul to an Ethereal Body after Death so strange and wonderful a Thing to the Corinthians that they could not believe St. Paul but forced St. Clement to write again and again to 'em to convince ' em Was it for this that St. Clement to convince 'em was forc'd to insist so much on the Almighty Power of God If the Epistle ad Tarsenâ—…es were genuine to St. Clement we might add St. Ignatius who was constituted Bishop of Antioch by the Apostles themselves In that Epistle they who assert that this flesh is not to rise are reckon'd amongst the Ministers of Satan But since that Epistle is spurioâ—…s we must pass by Him unless you will grant that those Words of his concerning his being condemn'd to be devour'd by wild Beasts had some respect to the Resurrection of the Body I am the Wheat says he of God and am ground small by the teeth of Beasts that I may be â—…ound pure Bread II. At the same time flourish'd St. Polyâ—… who was Disciple to St. John the Evâ—…ngelist When he was bound to the Sâ—…ake to be burn'd he thanked God that he was now to suffer Martyrdom and to partake of the Cap of Christ in order to the Resurrection of everlasting Life both of Soul and Body You may read his Prayer in the Epistle of the Church of 〈◊〉 which is Extant in Eusebius III. At the same time also lived Papiaâ—… Bishop of â—…rapolis St. Irenâ—…s tells us that he was Disciple to St. John the Evangelist and a familiar Acquaintance of St. Polyâ—…p's This is certain that he liv'd in the time of those who had been conversant with the Apostles and had made it his Business to collect the Doctrines of the several Apostles from the Mouths of such as had convers'd with ' em Now that He asserted the Resurrection of the same Humane Body Eusebius plainly intimates when he tells us that according to his Opinion Christ is to reign here corporally upon Earth after the Resurrection from the Dead a Thousand Years St. Maximus affirms that he held that after the Resurrection we shall eat and drink as before Such an Opinion as this could never be built on meer Air. Whether true or false it plainly shews that the Apostles did not preach the Resurrection of an Airy or Ethereal Body IV. The Sibylline Oracles publish'd by some Christian not long after these times within about Thirty Years after St. John the Apostle's Death say That God after he has destroy'd the World and all mankind by Fire will restore their Ashes and Bones and form 'em again as they were before And the Verses which tell us thus much are extant not only in the Volume which now we have but also in the ancient Apostolical Constitutions where they are cited V. St. Justin Martyr who flourish'd in the Year 140 and was first instructed in the Christian Faith by one that was not only of Man's Estate but of a considerable Age when St. John was yet living not only speaks in several places of his Works of the Rising Body as of the very same and truly Humane but in his Dialogue with Trypho the Jew he gives him this Caution that if he met with any that had the Name of Christians but denied the Resurrection of the Dead he should not esteem them Christians For I says he and all those Christians who in all respects hold the true Opinions do know that there will be a Resurrection of the flesh He says expresly The Resurrection of the flesh And the same Word he used in the Title of a Book which he wrote professedly on this Subject Concerning the Resurrection of the flesh They did not call it in those Days The Resurrection of the Body because some of the Hereticks who denied the Resurrection of the Flesh pretended however to believe the Resurrection of the Body but that all might know that they intended the Verâ—… same Humane Body they call'd it in downright Terms The Resurrection of the flesh VI. Tatianus Syrus who was Disciple to Justin M. in his Oration against the Gentiles We shall be restored says he to what we are and be judg'd by God the Creator This we believe tho' you look upon us as silly triflers and bablers for it For as once I had no being and then was begotten so being born and again reduced by Death to what I was I I shall be restored to my being again Tho' all my Flesh shall be consum'd by Fire yet the World contains the evaporated Matter Though I should be drown'd and dissolv'd in a River or the Sea or be devoun'd by wild Beasts yet I am laid â—…p in the Repositories of God The Ignoranâ—… indeed and the Atheist know not where my Substance is reposited but God who reigns and who alone sees it will restore it in his due Time to its former State VII St. Irenâ—…us who was born before the Death of St. John and was Scholar to St. Polycâ—…rp one of his Disciples affrms
has now no real Deformity no Wrincle or Blemish but all is turn'd to Comeliness and Beauty At least we shall then have a truer Notion of Beauty and Deformity and that which now passes for Ugliness will then appear to be no such thing Hoec est vera resurrectionis Confessio quoe sic gloriam carni tribuit ut non auferat veritatem So †St. Jerom. And that Confession we must stand to Now how far these Bodies of ours are capable of being exalted and glorified so as still to continue truly Humane I shall not presume to determine I am not fond of walking in the Dark especially when it is to little or no purpose But because you desire to know what my Sentiments are concerning our future State and are pleas'd to ask me that Question How are the Dead rais'd up And with what Body do they come I must own my-self inclin'd to believe that our Bodies in the Resurrection will be as to their Purity Constitution and Liveliness the same with that of Adam when first it came from the Hands of its Maker with the Stamps and Characters of the Divine Goodness and Wisdom fresh upon it That was the true Exemplar and Original and Perfection of Humane Nature All the Difference I think will be this That Adam's Body after some little Time stood in need of Meat and Drink to supply its Evacuations and was fitted to make him the Father of Mankind Ours in the Resurrection will continue always the same without Perspiration or any other Evacuation The Springs will always have the same Bent the Motions will all be equally Regular the same continual Round of the same pure vigorous Spirits and the same Blood moving forever in a brisk but even Circulation The Apostles Epithets ' of Powerful and Spiritual and Celestial and Glorious and all that the Scripture says of our Transformation into the Divine likeness I take to signifie no more than this even and pure and dispassionate and incorruptible State of the Body with a perfect Refinement of all our Faculties This perhaps is much less than what some others are willing to allow to a glorified Body But I see no Reason why we should expect any higher Exaltation And if such be the State and Condition of it I know no Reason why we should desire any higher This Heavenly Frame is enough to make us truly Happy and Blessed no less than if our Bodies were Ethereal and our Souls were carried in those fine Celestial Chariots which the Heathen Philosophers talk of If Adam had not sinn'd these very same Bodies had then been Immortal and wholly exempted from Death Why then should we think it strange that the Immortal Bodies which God will bestow on us in the Resurrection should be truly Humane The Immortality of these Bodies was then intended as a Blessing and shall we not think it a Blessing worthy of the Donor to have the same Body restored to a better State than that from which it was fallen Yes This is enough and This is all I desire and This I hope to obtain Let this my Body this very same Body be made pure my Pollutions wash'd away my Passions subdu'd my Wants remov'd my Understanding clear'd my sense of true Pleasure enliven'd let this be but done and my Soul will desire no more Her old Acquaintance when blessed with these happy Transmutations will be truely welcome to her Neither She nor the Angels will ever be asham'd of his Company Let this be but done and I shall not think the grossness of it to be any Diminution of my Happiness I shall not envy the Glory of Incorporeal Beings but shall heartily thank God that I am what I am A Fourth Objection is concerning the unfitness of a Humane Body to be plac'd in Heaven on account of its Gravity How can a Humane Body that is naturally heavy be sustain'd in a pure Ethereal Heaven I answer 1. If those Regions of Heaven where the Saints are hereafter to have their Habitation be all fluid and Ethereal or even void Space yet our Bodies may without the least difficulty and without any Miracle or particular Care of Omnipotence be there supported and sustain'd There is no such thing as Gravity in Regions purely Ethereal which are above the Reach and Activity of particular Orbs. There is no High and Low in such Places Our Bodies will be there sustain'd as the Globe of the Earth and the several celestial Orbs are now sustain'd in the Air and Ether Which is not done by a Miracle for they are Naturally sustain'd there and there is not any Low to which they may encline There is nothing indeed properly speaking Heavy in its own Nature as there is not any thing Light in its own Nature And our Bodies even here in this World do not of their own Natures tend towards the Center of the Earth but they are violently haled of push'd down Had there been no external Causes of what we call Gravity contriv'd by the Creator there would have been no such Thing no High and Low in the Universe This no one can deny that considers the System of the World 2. That the place in which we are to have our Abode in the next Life is all pure Ether or Immaterial is perhaps not so true as generally suppos'd Perhaps after all our Heaven will be nothing but a Heaven upon Earth or some glorious solid Orb created on purpose for us in those immense Regions which we call Heaven It seems more natural to suppose that since we have solid and material Bodies we shall be placed as we are in this Life on some solid and material Orb. Neither is this a new Opinion but embrac'd by many of the Ancients That after the Resurrection we are to live for ever on a new Earth was as Maximus tells us the Opinion of many in his time And the same was asserted in the Third Century by St. Methodius Bishop of Tyre in his Treatise Concerning the Resurrection St. Peter himself tells us that after this World is dissolv'd there will be new Heavens and a new Earth wherein dwelleth Righteousness He adds that this the Saints look for with a plain Intimation that there they are hereafter to Inhabit St. John also in his Revelations makes mention of a new Earth where the Blessed are to have their happy abode after this World is destroy'd These places the Chiliasts produce to confirm their Opinion but they ought to be understood of the everlasting Habitation of the Blessed Our Saviour tells his Disciples In my Fathers House are many Mansions I go to prepare a place for you And If I go to prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you unto my-self that where I am there ye may be also In the Regions of Heaven tho' before our Saviour's Ascension there were many Mansions of Angels or Immaterial Beings yet those it seems were not thought fit for the