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On the Resurrection of the Flesh

Tertullian

Chapter 58

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter LVIII.—From This Perfection of Our Restored Bodies Will Flow the Consciousness of Undisturbed Joy and Peace.

“Everlasting joy,” says Isaiah, “shall

‹ Chapter 57 Chapter 59 ›

be

upon

their

heads

.

”

Well

,

there

is

nothing

eternal

until

after

the

resurrection

.

“

And

sorrow

and

sighing

,

”

continues

he

,

“

shall

flee

away

.

”

The

angel

echoes

the

same

to

John

:

“

And

God

shall

wipe

away

all

tears

from

their

eyes

;

”

from

the

same

eyes

indeed

which

had

formerly

wept

,

and

which

might

weep

again

,

if

the

loving

-

kindness

of

God

did

not

dry

up

every

fountain

of

tears

.

And

again

:

“

God

shall

wipe

away

all

tears

from

their

eyes

;

and

there

shall

be

no

more

death

,

”

and

therefore

no

more

corruption

,

it

being

chased

away

by

incorruption

,

even

as

death

is

by

immortality

.

If

sorrow

,

and

mourning

,

and

sighing

,

and

death

itself

,

assail

us

from

the

afflictions

both

of

soul

and

body

,

how

shall

they

be

removed

,

except

by

the

cessation

of

their

causes

,

that

is

to

say

,

the

afflictions

of

flesh

and

soul

?

where

will

you

find

adversities

in

the

presence

of

God

?

where

,

incursions

of

an

enemy

in

the

bosom

of

Christ

?

where

,

attacks

of

the

devil

in

the

face

of

the

Holy

Spirit

?

—

now

that

the

devil

himself

and

his

angels

are

“

cast

into

the

lake

of

fire

.

”

Where

now

is

necessity

,

and

what

they

call

fortune

or

fate

?

What

plague

awaits

the

redeemed

from

death

,

after

their

eternal

pardon

?

What

wrath

is

there

for

the

reconciled

,

after

grace

?

What

weakness

,

after

their

renewed

strength

?

What

risk

and

danger

,

after

their

salvation

?

That

the

raiment

and

shoes

of

the

children

of

Israel

remained

unworn

and

fresh

for

the

space

of

forty

years

;

that

in

their

very

persons

the

exact

point

of

convenience

and

propriety

checked

the

rank

growth

of

their

nails

and

hair

,

so

that

any

excess

herein

might

not

be

attributed

to

indecency

;

that

the

fires

of

Babylon

injured

not

either

the

mitres

or

the

trousers

of

the

three

brethren

,

however

foreign

such

dress

might

be

to

the

Jews

;

that

Jonah

was

swallowed

by

the

monster

of

the

deep

,

in

whose

belly

whole

ships

were

devoured

,

and

after

three

days

was

vomited

out

again

safe

and

sound

;

that

Enoch

and

Elias

,

who

even

now

,

without

experiencing

a

resurrection

(

because

they

have

not

even

encountered

death

)

,

are

learning

to

the

full

what

it

is

for

the

flesh

to

be

exempted

from

all

humiliation

,

and

all

loss

,

and

all

injury

,

and

all

disgrace

—

translated

as

they

have

been

from

this

world

,

and

from

this

very

cause

already

candidates

for

everlasting

life

;

—

to

what

faith

do

these

notable

facts

bear

witness

,

if

not

to

that

which

ought

to

inspire

in

us

the

belief

that

they

are

proofs

and

documents

of

our

own

future

integrity

and

perfect

resurrection

?

For

,

to

borrow

the

apostle’s

phrase

,

these

were

“

figures

of

ourselves

;

”

and

they

are

written

that

we

may

believe

both

that

the

Lord

is

more

powerful

than

all

natural

laws

about

the

body

,

and

that

He

shows

Himself

the

preserver

of

the

flesh

the

more

emphatically

,

in

that

He

has

preserved

for

it

its

very

clothes

and

shoes

.

Notes

1
Isa. xxxv. 10.
2
Ver. 10.
3
Rev. vii. 17.
4
Rev. xxi. 4.
5
Rev. xx. 10, 13–15.
6
Deut. xxix. 5.
7
Justitia.
8
Dan. iii. 27.
9
Jonah i. 17; ii. 10.
10
Gen. v. 24; 2 Kings ii. 11.
11
1 Cor. x. 6.