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On the Resurrection of the Flesh

Tertullian

Chapter 32

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter XXXII.—Even Unburied Bodies Will Be Raised Again. Whatever Befalls Them God Will Restore Them Again. Jonah’s Case Quoted in Illustration of God’s Power.

But, that you may not suppose that it is

‹ Chapter 31 Chapter 33 ›

merely

those

bodies

which

are

consigned

to

tombs

whose

resurrection

is

foretold

,

you

have

it

declared

in

Scripture

:

“

And

I

will

command

the

fishes

of

the

sea

,

and

they

shall

cast

up

the

bones

which

they

have

devoured

;

and

I

will

bring

joint

to

joint

,

and

bone

to

bone

.

”

You

will

ask

,

Will

then

the

fishes

and

other

animals

and

carnivorous

birds

be

raised

again

,

in

order

that

they

may

vomit

up

what

they

have

consumed

,

on

the

ground

of

your

reading

in

the

law

of

Moses

,

that

blood

is

required

of

even

all

the

beasts

?

Certainly

not

.

But

the

beasts

and

the

fishes

are

mentioned

in

relation

to

the

restoration

of

flesh

and

blood

,

in

order

the

more

emphatically

to

express

the

resurrection

of

such

bodies

as

have

even

been

devoured

,

when

redress

is

said

to

be

demanded

of

their

very

devourers

.

Now

I

apprehend

that

in

the

case

of

Jonah

we

have

a

fair

proof

of

this

divine

power

,

when

he

comes

forth

from

the

fish’s

belly

uninjured

in

both

his

natures

—

his

flesh

and

his

soul

.

No

doubt

the

bowels

of

the

whale

would

have

had

abundant

time

during

three

days

for

consuming

and

digesting

Jonah’s

flesh

,

quite

as

effectually

as

a

coffin

,

or

a

tomb

,

or

the

gradual

decay

of

some

quiet

and

concealed

grave

;

only

that

he

wanted

to

prefigure

even

those

beasts

(

which

symbolize

)

especially

the

men

who

are

wildly

opposed

to

the

Christian

name

,

or

the

angels

of

iniquity

,

of

whom

blood

will

be

required

by

the

full

exaction

of

an

avenging

judgment

.

Where

,

then

,

is

the

man

who

,

being

more

disposed

to

learn

than

to

assume

,

more

careful

to

believe

than

to

dispute

,

and

more

scrupulous

of

the

wisdom

of

God

than

wantonly

bent

on

his

own

,

when

he

hears

of

a

divine

purpose

respecting

sinews

and

skin

,

and

nerves

and

bones

,

will

forthwith

devise

some

different

application

of

these

words

,

as

if

all

that

is

said

of

the

substances

in

question

were

not

naturally

intended

for

man

?

For

either

there

is

here

no

reference

to

the

destiny

of

man

—

in

the

gracious

provision

of

the

kingdom

(

of

heaven

)

,

in

the

severity

of

the

judgment

-

day

,

in

all

the

incidents

of

the

resurrection

;

or

else

,

if

there

is

any

reference

to

his

destiny

,

the

destination

must

necessarily

be

made

in

reference

to

those

substances

of

which

the

man

is

composed

,

for

whom

the

destiny

is

reserved

.

Another

question

I

have

also

to

ask

of

these

very

adroit

transformers

of

bones

and

sinews

,

and

nerves

and

sepulchres

:

Why

,

when

anything

is

declared

of

the

soul

,

do

they

not

interpret

the

soul

to

be

something

else

,

and

transfer

it

to

another

signification

?

—

since

,

whenever

any

distinct

statement

is

made

of

a

bodily

substance

,

they

will

obstinately

prefer

taking

any

other

sense

whatever

,

rather

than

that

which

the

name

indicates

.

If

things

which

pertain

to

the

body

are

figurative

,

why

are

not

those

which

pertain

to

the

soul

figurative

also

?

Since

,

however

,

things

which

belong

to

the

soul

have

nothing

allegorical

in

them

,

neither

therefore

have

those

which

belong

to

the

body

.

For

man

is

as

much

body

as

he

is

soul

;

so

that

it

is

impossible

for

one

of

these

natures

to

admit

a

figurative

sense

,

and

the

other

to

exclude

it

.