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On the Resurrection of the Flesh

Tertullian

Chapter 19

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter XIX.—The Sophistical Sense Put by Heretics on the Phrase “Resurrection of the Dead,” As If It Meant the Moral Change of a New Life.

Now this consideration of the phrase in question, and

‹ Chapter 18 Chapter 20 ›

its

signification

—

besides

maintaining

,

of

course

,

the

true

meaning

of

the

important

words

—

must

needs

contribute

to

this

further

result

,

that

whatever

obscurity

our

adversaries

throw

over

the

subject

under

the

pretence

of

figurative

and

allegorical

language

,

the

truth

will

stand

out

in

clearer

light

,

and

out

of

uncertainties

certain

and

definite

rules

will

be

prescribed

.

For

some

,

when

they

have

alighted

on

a

very

usual

form

of

prophetic

statement

,

generally

expressed

in

figure

and

allegory

,

though

not

always

,

distort

into

some

imaginary

sense

even

the

most

clearly

described

doctrine

of

the

resurrection

of

the

dead

,

alleging

that

even

death

itself

must

be

understood

in

a

spiritual

sense

.

They

say

that

which

is

commonly

supposed

to

be

death

is

not

really

so

,

—

namely

,

the

separation

of

body

and

soul

:

it

is

rather

the

ignorance

of

God

,

by

reason

of

which

man

is

dead

to

God

,

and

is

not

less

buried

in

error

than

he

would

be

in

the

grave

.

Wherefore

that

also

must

be

held

to

be

the

resurrection

,

when

a

man

is

reanimated

by

access

to

the

truth

,

and

having

dispersed

the

death

of

ignorance

,

and

being

endowed

with

new

life

by

God

,

has

burst

forth

from

the

sepulchre

of

the

old

man

,

even

as

the

Lord

likened

the

scribes

and

Pharisees

to

“

whited

sepulchres

.

”

Whence

it

follows

that

they

who

have

by

faith

attained

to

the

resurrection

,

are

with

the

Lord

after

they

have

once

put

Him

on

in

their

baptism

.

By

such

subtlety

,

then

,

even

in

conversation

have

they

often

been

in

the

habit

of

misleading

our

brethren

,

as

if

they

held

a

resurrection

of

the

dead

as

well

as

we

.

Woe

,

say

they

,

to

him

who

has

not

risen

in

the

present

body

;

for

they

fear

that

they

might

alarm

their

hearers

if

they

at

once

denied

the

resurrection

.

Secretly

,

however

,

in

their

minds

they

think

this

:

Woe

betide

the

simpleton

who

during

his

present

life

fails

to

discover

the

mysteries

of

heresy

;

since

this

,

in

their

view

,

is

the

resurrection

.

There

are

however

,

a

great

many

also

,

who

,

claiming

to

hold

a

resurrection

after

the

soul’s

departure

,

maintain

that

going

out

of

the

sepulchre

means

escaping

out

of

the

world

,

since

in

their

view

the

world

is

the

habitation

of

the

dead

—

that

is

,

of

those

who

know

not

God

;

or

they

will

go

so

far

as

to

say

that

it

actually

means

escaping

out

of

the

body

itself

,

since

they

imagine

that

the

body

detains

the

soul

,

when

it

is

shut

up

in

the

death

of

a

worldly

life

,

as

in

a

grave

.

Notes

1
Matt. xxiii. 27.