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On the Resurrection of the Flesh

Tertullian

Chapter 25

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter XXV.—St. John, in the Apocalypse, Equally Explicit in Asserting the Same Great Doctrine.

In the Revelation of John, again, the order

‹ Chapter 24 Chapter 26 ›

of

these

times

is

spread

out

to

view

,

which

“

the

souls

of

the

martyrs

”

are

taught

to

wait

for

beneath

the

altar

,

whilst

they

earnestly

pray

to

be

avenged

and

judged

:

(

taught

,

I

say

,

to

wait

)

,

in

order

that

the

world

may

first

drink

to

the

dregs

the

plagues

that

await

it

out

of

the

vials

of

the

angels

,

and

that

the

city

of

fornication

may

receive

from

the

ten

kings

its

deserved

doom

,

and

that

the

beast

Antichrist

with

his

false

prophet

may

wage

war

on

the

Church

of

God

;

and

that

,

after

the

casting

of

the

devil

into

the

bottomless

pit

for

a

while

,

the

blessed

prerogative

of

the

first

resurrection

may

be

ordained

from

the

thrones

;

and

then

again

,

after

the

consignment

of

him

to

the

fire

,

that

the

judgment

of

the

final

and

universal

resurrection

may

be

determined

out

of

the

books

.

Since

,

then

,

the

Scriptures

both

indicate

the

stages

of

the

last

times

,

and

concentrate

the

harvest

of

the

Christian

hope

in

the

very

end

of

the

world

,

it

is

evident

,

either

that

all

which

God

promises

to

us

receives

its

accomplishment

then

,

and

thus

what

the

heretics

pretend

about

a

resurrection

here

falls

to

the

ground

;

or

else

,

even

allowing

that

a

confession

of

the

mystery

(

of

divine

truth

)

is

a

resurrection

,

that

there

is

,

without

any

detriment

to

this

view

,

room

for

believing

in

that

which

is

announced

for

the

end

.

It

moreover

follows

,

that

the

very

maintenance

of

this

spiritual

resurrection

amounts

to

a

presumption

in

favour

of

the

other

bodily

resurrection

;

for

if

none

were

announced

for

that

time

,

there

would

be

fair

ground

for

asserting

only

this

purely

spiritual

resurrection

.

Inasmuch

,

however

,

as

(

a

resurrection

)

is

proclaimed

for

the

last

time

,

it

is

proved

to

be

a

bodily

one

,

because

there

is

no

spiritual

one

also

then

announced

.

For

why

make

a

second

announcement

of

a

resurrection

of

only

one

character

,

that

is

,

the

spiritual

one

,

since

this

ought

to

be

undergoing

accomplishment

either

now

,

without

any

regard

to

different

times

,

or

else

then

,

at

the

very

conclusion

of

all

the

periods

?

It

is

therefore

more

competent

for

us

even

to

maintain

a

spiritual

resurrection

at

the

commencement

of

a

life

of

faith

,

who

acknowledge

the

full

completion

thereof

at

the

end

of

the

world

.

Notes

1
Rev. vi. 9, 10.
2
Rev. xvi.
3
Rev. xviii.
4
Rev. xx. 2.
5
Vers. 4–6.
6
Vers. 12–14.