The Old Paths (1855)
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H35 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.
Chap. Copyright No.
Shelf . 1735
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
THE OLD PATHS;
OR,
The Primitive Doctrine of a Future Life,
EMBRACING COPIOUS EXTRACTS
FROM THE WRITINGS OF PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS,
WITH ARGUMENTS AND REMARKS,
H. L. HASTINGS.
"Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest to your souls." JER. vi : 16
THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
PEACE DALE, R. I.:
PUBLISHED BY H. L. HASTINGS.
1855.
NO.1.
SCRIPTURE SEARCHER.
The Destiny of the Wicked.
What shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel?
I. They shall not live forever. 1 John iii,15; John v,40; John vi,53; Matt.xix,17.
II. They shall die. Ezek. xviii, 4; 20; 24; 32; Rom. vi, 21; 23; Rom. vii, 5; James i, 15; James v, 20; Rev. xx, 14; Rev. xxi, 4.
III. They shall perish. John iii, 15; 16; 2 Cor. ii, 15; 2 Thess. ii, 10; 2 Pet. iii, 9; Ps. xxxvii, 20; Ps. lxxiii, 27; Ps. xcii, 9; Prov. xix, 9; Prov. xxi, 28; Rom. ii, 12; 2 Pet. ii, 12; Luke xiii, 3; 5; Job xx, 7.
IV. They shall be consumed. Ps., xxxvii, 20; Ps., lix., 13; Ps., lxxi, 13; Ps., lxxiii, 19; Ps., civ, 35; Is., i, 28; Heb., xii, 29.
V. They shall be devoured by fire. Heb. x,27; Rev., xx, 9.
VI. They shall be cut off. Ps. xxxvii, 9; 22; 28; 34; 38; Ps. liv, 5; Ps. xciv, 23; Prov. ii, 22.
VII. They shall be destroyed. Job xxi, 30; Job xxxi, 3; Ps. v, 6; Ps. lv, 23; Ps. xxxvii, 38; Ps. lxxiii, 18; Ps. xcii, 7; Ps. cxliv, 6; Ps. cxlv, 20; Prov. i, 27; Prov. xiii, 13; 20; Prov. xvi, 18; Is. i, 28; Matt. vii, 13; Acts iii, 23; Rom. iii, 16; Rom. ix, 22; Phil. iii, 19; 1 Thess. v, 3; 2 Thess. i, 9; 1 Tim., vi, 9; 2 Pet. ii, 12; 2 Pet. iii, 16; Rev. xi, 18.
VIII. They shall be burned up root and branch. Ps. xcvii, 3; Matt. iii, 12; Luke iii, 17; Is. i, 31; Matt. xiii, 30; 40; Mal. iv, 1; 2; 3; Matt. x, 28.
IX. They shall be as though they had not been. Oba-diah 16; Is. xli, 12; Job xviii, 18.
X. Endless life is only obtained through Christ. John xi, 25; John iii, 15; John x, 28; John xvii, 2.
A NEW AND IMPORTANT WORK!
THE VOICE OF THE CHURCH on the Coming and Kingdom of the Redeemer; or a History of the Doctrine of the Reign of Christ on Earth. By D. T. TAYLOR.
The present is an eventful hour in earth's history. All things verge towards an awful crisis. Nations are in distress—wise men are perplexed—rulers grasp the sword, and sit uneasily on their thrones—deep thunders mutter in the distance—and the red blaze of battle flashes along the eastern skies. The premonitory shocks that herald the earthquake's coming are felt, and war will soon roll its volcanic torrent along the earth. The crisis is at hand. What shall succeed it? Statesmen, sages, poets, philosophers and divines are boasting of to-morrow, and cherishing the expectation of a world's conversion, and ages of millennial peace. But is this taught in the "sure word of prophecy?" We answer, No! A time of predicted peace will come to earth, but the Prince of Peace must come to bring the day. But has not the church for many centuries expected to convert the world? We answer most emphatically, No!
The above work is composed mainly of extracts from all the writers of note in the Christian Church for SEVENTEEN HUNDRED YEARS, and shows that during all that period no trace of the common theory of the conversion of the world can be found.
The voice of the Church is against it, and their only hope of peace for the people of God was in the renewed world under the personal and glorious reign of Jesus Christ our Lord.
With immense labor the author has collected the testimony of the Church from the earliest periods to the present century. The statement of their faith is presented in their own words. Among the sources are ancient Jewish traditions, the writings of the immediate successors of the apostles, the early fathers, the later writers, the Waldenses, reformers, theologians, and divines. To which are added, the traditions of heathen nations and the opinions of modern Jews, making the most perfect history of the doctrine of the millennium ever published, and one which cannot fail to be interesting to every inquirer after truth.
Published in one volume, 12mo., about 400 pages. Price $1.00.
All orders should be addressed to the publisher,
H. L. HASTINGS,
PEACE DALE, RHODE ISLAND.
CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTORY SYNOPSIS.
Extracts exhibiting the character of the volume. Antiquity. New Heavens and Earth. Kingdom of God. The Judgment Day. The Age's Crisis Present Evil Times. It hasteth greatly. Signs of the times. Author's Excuse. Loving Christ's Appearing. Author's method. Pre-millennialists are missionaries. . . . . . page 1
CHAPTER I.
Definition of Terms. Millennium. Chiliasts. The great question of the age. Principles of interpretation. Critics. Taylor. Ernesti. Vitringa. Luther. Rosenmuller. Smith. 13
CHAPTER II.
TRADITIONARY TESTIMONY. Criticism on Dan. 12:2. Hebrew Church. Rabbins. Targums. Gamaliel. Talmuds. Zohar. Jonathan. Kimchi Maimonides. FIRST RESURRECTION. Book of Wisdom. Antiquity. SIX THOUSAND YEARS. Rabbi Elias. Other Jewish Doctors. The Gemarah. Heathen nations. Zoroaster. The general belief of all nations. Sibylline Oracles. Book of Enoch. Testament of the twelve patriarchs. Fourth Book of Ezra. Ascension of Isaiah. Second Book of Esdras. GENERAL CONFLAGRATION. Jews and Heathen. Greeks. Romans. Persians. Egyptians. Geologists. ADVENT AND RESTITUTION. Classic writers. Mohammedans. Ancient belief. Modern heathen nations. Karens. Aztecs. Jews. Arabs. Hindoos. Jewish view of the kingdom. Chalmers. Charnock. Watts.. 19
CHAPTER III.
The early church from Hermas to Origen. All Pre-millennialists. Hermas. Clement. Barnabas. Ignatius. Polycarp. Papias. Justin Martyr. Irenaeus. Epistle of the Churches of Viennie and Lyons. Three millions of Pre-millennialists. Hirpolytus. Meiilo. Tertullian. Montanists. The Alogi. Clement of Alexandria. Cyprian. Methodius. Nepos. Coracian. Other witnesses. Character of the opponents of the doctrine of the Lord's reign on earth. 47 CHAPTER VIII.
Voice of the church in the eighteenth century. History continued. A new millennial view but not a divine one. Fleming. Whitby. Rise of Post-millennialism. A new Hypothesis, with comments upon it by Henshaw, Woodhouse, Russell, and Duffield. Increase Mather. Whitby's view rejected. The early view maintained. Isaac Newton. Wells. Daubuz. Gill. Bengel. Doddridge. John Wesley. Newcome. Bishop Newton. Lancaster. Watts. Pirie. Hort. Cotton Mather. Whitefield. Benson. C. Wesley. Early Methodism. Hall. Fletcher. Perry. Toplady. Romaine. Cowper. Coke. Scott. Glas. Spalding. Lowth. Rudd. Hussey. Pope. Dow. Lambert. Heber. Prince. Gale. Dr. Clarke's admissions. Character of the times. 224
CHAPTER IX.
Doom of Antichrist. The grand argument. Principles of interpretation. What Paul meant. Barnabas' view. Justin. Irenaeus. Antichrist to come. Cyprian. Hippolytus. Origen. Tertullian. Lactantius. Cyril. Gregory. Ambrose. Chrysostom. Evagrius. Jerome. Hilarion. Theodoret. Augustine. Cassidorus. Andreas. Antichrist come. Pope Gregory. Time of the Papal rise. Serenus. Alcuin. Paulinus. Agobard. Claude. Arnulph. Gonthier. Tergand. Berenger. Bernard. Arnold. Peter De Bruys. Joachim. Peter Olive and others. Waldenses. Walter Brute and others. Huss. Jerome. Wickliff. Protestantism and what the Pope knows. "Epiphania" and "Parousia." Lexicographers. Fifty testimonies concerning Antichrist's doom. The Advent Pre-millennial. 293
CHAPTER X.
Our Warrant. Criticisms on Dan. 12:4. The nineteenth century. List of Millennarian authors. The doctrine preached everywhere. The Day near. Voice of the church, her creeds. Thirty church creeds. Adventism. No church creed inculcates a post-millennial advent. The first resurrection. Many churches endorse the doctrine. The Lord at hand. A solemn charge. 336
CHAPTER XI.
Extracts. The Startling Cry—He Cometh, by Krummacher. Signs of the Times, by Charlotte Elizabeth. First Resurrection, by Stuart. Advent Experience, by Charlotte Elizabeth. The New Earth, by Chalmers. The Vindication and Great Incentive, by Bonar. The Blessed Hope, by Andrews. The Solemn Warning, from the Journal of Prophecy. Home—The Final Farewell, by Dr. Cumming. Author's Adieu. Dying Words—"Tell the Church to hold on till Christ comes!" 368
APPENDIX.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.
Voice of the Church from Origen to Augustine. Origen. His erroneous principles of interpretation. His admissions. The first anti-millennarian of any note. Victorinus. Lactantius. Dionysius. Relatives of our Lord. Commodian. Gregory. Sulpicius. Paulinus. Apollinaris. Other witnesses. Some begin to reject the Apocalypse. The Nicene Fathers. The doctrine still prevalent. Eusebius; Cyril. Epiphanius. Apostacy. Ambrose. Chrysostome. Hilary. Jerome—an opposer. His character and admissions. Who crushed the truth? Augustine. A new millennial theory. Testimony of Dr. Lardner. Chillingworth. Russell. Bush. Moshiem. Burton. Neander Gibbcn. Encyclopedias. Newton. Mede. Maitland. Kitto. Milner. Taylor. Whitby. Stuart. Giesler. The Septuagint Chronology. 76
CHAPTER V.
From Augustine to Luther. Truth dying. An onward creeping Apostacy. Character of the times. Origenism. The Apocalypse rejected as not being canonical. Why? Chiliasm once orthodoxy—now heresy. Rome's opposition. The infant harlot extirpates an apostolic truth! Still it lives. The new view. Papal Divines. Andreas. Anti-millennarianism. Dark Ages. Romish Doctors—Joachim Abbas. Anselm. Almeric. Jean Pierre d'Olive. Jewish Rabbis of the middle ages. The Paulikians. Thomas Aquinas. Waldenses. The Noble Lesson. A line of witnesses. Wickliff. Day Breaking 110
CHAPTER VI.
Views of the great reformers. Era and century of the reformation. Miscellaneous testimony—Tyndale. Bradford. Piscator. Latimer. Ridley. Sandys. Chytræus. Augsburg Confession. Catechism of the time of Edward Sixth. Becon. Leo Juda. Bullinger. Knox. Perkins. Calvin. Osian der. Flacius. Luther's Expectation of the judgment near—yearnings for its coming. Melancthon. Bale. Foxe. Brightman. Pareus. 136
CHAPTER VII.
The seventeenth century. The illustrious Mede. Millennarianism rises to eminence. No creed opposed to it. Twisse. Usher. Maton. Adams. Goodwin. Reformers view the end approaching. Milton, the Christian Homer. Janeway. Baxter. Ambrose. Durant. Alleine. Taylor. Watson. Westminster Assembly Divines. Most of them believed in Christ's personal reign. Rutherford. Heart yearnings. Farmer. Sterry. Burroughs. Vincent. Hall. Anti-millennarian testimony. Bunyan. Baptists of 1660. Boughton. Hall. Beverly. Tillinghast. Prideaux. Jurieu. Charnock. Henry's Golden Thoughts. Burnet. Cressener. Ames. Howe. Mennonites. Cocceius. Davenant. Alstead. Napier. Many voices. Post-millennialism had no where an existence.
THE OLD PATHS;
OR,
EMBRACING COPIOUS EXTRACTS
FROM THE WRITINGS OF PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS,
WITH ARGUMENTS AND REMARKS,
H. L. HASTINGS.
"Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest to your souls." JER. vi : 16.
PEACE DALE, R. I.:
PUBLISHED BY H. L. HASTINGS.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by H.
L. HASTINGS,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York.
JOHN J. REED, STEREOTYPER AND PRINTER 16 Spruce Street, N.Y.
PREFACE.
Truth though progressive in its developments, is unchangeable in its character. Its principles are not affected by the lapse of fleeting years. Though its primary exhibition may be shadowy and obscure; and though its subsequent manifestations may be more lucid and explicit, yet these are but varied developments of the same great principles. The grand outlines are uniform and identical. The varied manifestations of truth, though different, are neither contradictory or discordant.
Again, the light of truth may be for a season in the obscurity and darkness of mistaken opinions; but when it emerges from the battle-field in the beauty of its victorious adorning, it is the same unchanging truth. Coming forth like the pure waters of some long buried and forgotten fountain, relieved of the accumulated rubbish of ages, it sends forth to sparkle in the sunlight the same silvery waters that gushed and glittered there in days gone by.
And yet when truths thus forgotten do at length appear, there are multitudes standing ready to drive them back to darkness, or to load them with obloquy if they will not quietly retire.
They are novelties. They are new things which of course cannot for a moment be considered. They are rejected at once with scarcely a pretence of obedience to that word which enjoins upon us to "prove all things."
The stigma of 'novelty' is not, however, as powerful as it once was. Thinking men will recollect that when our Saviour and his Apostles taught truths as old as the times of Moses, they were accused of promulgating novelties. So when Luther disinterred the long-hidden and forgotten doctrines of Christ and his Apostles, he was regarded as an innovator, and his doctrines were novelties. And why? Because the truth had been forgotten; and the old prophetic and apostolic doctrines were new to them, from the fact that they had never seen them or believed them. The truths of the reformation were older than Luther and older than the pope. They were discovered, not created then. Others have followed in the track, and as successive searchers for truth have been enabled to extend their comprehensions of christian doctrine, a voice has seemed to say to them continually, and especially as they wearied at the toil, "dig deeper and thou shalt find more." Oh, that more were willing to venture forth from beneath the overshadowing "traditions of the elders," and learn the gospel of Christ from Christ himself, and be guided, enlightened, and redeemed by him who is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life."
The truths taught by Luther are not the only ones that have been branded as heresies and rejected as novelties. Others have shared in the same maledictions, and for no better reasons. In fact it is impossible to disturb the moral inertia of sectarian bigotry by the promulgation of any unpopular truth, without raising the ire and receiving the contempt of a multitude whose ignorant conceit enables them to determine immediately, that as they are unacquainted with the hated doctrine it is new, and as they disbelieve it it cannot be true! Of course, investigation and candid examination might lead to juster conclusions, but will they investigate? Were not their fathers sound in the faith? Has not their own orthodoxy been guaranteed by competent judges? Why then should they busy themselves to trace the pedigree of a despised heresy, which were it found to be the doctrine of the apostles and their successors, could only prove a source of temporal disadvantage to them and their associates?
Especially is this true of the doctrine of Life and Immortality as revealed or brought to light in the Gospel of Christ, and the connected doctrines that present themselves to the mind when once this important truth is accepted and embraced, as delivered in the word of God. A doctrine so unwelcome to those heathen philosophers whose systems it ruined; so distasteful to those of their adherents whose wisdom it repudiated as foolishness; so unprofitable to the Romish church, the purgatorial fires of which are extinguished by it; so unpopular among the Protestant multitudes who have ceased to groan as did the apostles for the redemption of their body, while they exult with the heathen over the emancipation of their imprisoned souls, such a doctrine can have no claims on any save those who acknowledge the imperative nature of duty and the paramount importance of truth.
To this class of persons we appeal from the decisions of the prejudiced, and from the false accusations of those who are wiser in their own conceit than seven men who can render a reason. We ask that the question may be examined in the pure light of the word of God. We ask that it may be investigated by persons possessing the heads of men and the hearts of christians. But we would extend the influence of the Gospel of Christ still farther, and endeavor by manifestation of the truth to commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. And as most of the objections of unbelievers in revelation are made to use the words of Locke "against Christianity misunderstood," it will perhaps lead them to a more favorable opinion of the doctrine of Christ, when they learn that the strength of their objections lies against the traditions of men, rather than the truths of God.
It is a principle well understood and fully admitted that any doctrine not taught in, or held by the church in the times immediately succeeding the days of the Apostles, could not have been a prominent or important article of apostolic faith.
The doctrines of the Gospel as promulgated by the Lord Jesus were delivered to the apostles to be disseminated throughout the world. As they passed from the stage of action, their companions, their fellow-laborers, and their successors, received at their lips the faith which they so well had kept, and they have transmitted some portions of it to succeeding generations. It is to such writers as these that we appeal in confirmation of the truths we advocate. We do not claim to derive our faith from them, we do not yield implicitly to their authority, we trace the stream of truth higher up, even to the fountain head. We claim that the prophets, the apostles, and the Lord Jesus Christ taught most unqualifiedly the doctrine of the mortality of man, and that his sole and only future and eternal existence was conferred through Jesus Christ alone. We deduce this doctrine from the word of God, we prove it by that in opposition to human traditions, the decrees of papal councils, and the creeds of those who adhere to what we regard as a vain philosophy. We ask no other evidence to prove our doctrine true but the word of God. But when the truth is assailed as a novelty, when the declarations of God's word are rejected because our forefathers, emerging from papal darkness, had not discovered them, then we claim the privilege of going back of the present generation, back of the dark ages, and we are rejoiced to read in the records of the purer faith of the primitive church the same grand truths that we have learned from the word of God.
We peruse with satisfaction the writings of these favored men, who enjoyed apostolic companionship and instruction, and we are glad to learn that the same faith which we derive from the apostolic writings, they derived from apostolic teachings. And surely if those men who journied with and listened to the Apostles of Jesus, gathered from their lips certain doctrines, we may be well assured that we have not erred in deducing from the apostolic writings the same important and consoling truths.
The object of the present treatise is to present in a convenient form, the results of certain researches in the department of primitive faith. And by sketching the characters of these writers as given by impartial and well known historians, and also by presenting copious extracts from their own writings, we hope to shed light on this interesting and important subject. Thus would we enquire for the old paths; thus would we seek for the good way, and walk therein, that we may find rest to our souls—that rest that results from an intelligent and well-grounded faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, as revealed to us in the glorious Gospel of the blessed God.
We will commence with the earliest uninspired Christian writings extant, and proceeding downward, we shall be able to view the truth of God in its primitive purity,—then spoiled through vain philosophy, then lost in the apostacy of the dark ages, and obscured by heathen fables and papal traditions, then beaming forth occasionally in the Christian church, wherever untramelled thought and free investigation were permitted and practised, even down to the present time.
In doing this we hope to meet and refute the objection of novelty, and show that the doctrines of the earliest and most noted Christian writers in the primitive ages; which were held by such men as Luther, and Tyndale, and Milton, and others of the great and good of later times; are not so modern as to be rejected for their novelty, nor so unreasonable as to be despised for their absurdity, nor so unscriptural as to be rejected for their lack of inspired evidence—at least not till they have been investigated and scanned in the clear light of the word of inspiration, and calmly and candidly compared with the Law and the Testimony. And we expect also to show that doctrines which were not mentioned by the apostolical fathers, nor received by their immediate successors, which were esteemed as heresies in the earliest ages of the church, which were only decreed to be truth by a Romish council in the fifteenth century, have little in them to command the respect of the candid and impartial, even though they may have attained great currency among the religionists of the present day, whose faith is taught more by the catechism, the creed, and the volumes on divinity written by men, than by the plain simple words of God.
And we may also see how slight are the grounds upon which the exclusive arrogance of some modern Protestants is based, and how vain are their endeavors in these days of free enquiry to make revilings fill the place of reason, and heathen philosophy supersede the pure doctrines of Life and Immortality as brought to light in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
These are the objects of the present writing, and the work thus commenced and carried down through the period of the Apostolic Fathers is submitted to the candor of the reader. May the Spirit of him who is The Truth rest upon reader and writer; and may we all be led to seek for glory and honor and immortality by patient continuance in well doing. Sure we are that it shall be well with the righteous, and it shall be ill with the wicked. Sure we are that God's favor is life, and should the views herein deduced from the writings of some of the earliest teachers of Christianity, fail to receive the reader's approbation, he has of course the liberty of the Gospel to receive or reject them as conscience and judgment may decide.
That the Spirit of the Lord may guide both reader and writer in the paths of truth and duty, is the sincere prayer of
THE AUTHOR.
Peace Dale, R. I., June, 1855.
INTRODUCTION.
THE FUTURE LIFE REVEALED IN THE GOSPEL—DIVERSE OPINIONS—THE TEACHING OF PAUL APPEAL TO APOSTOLIC FATHERS FOR CONFIRMATORY TESTIMONY.
No doctrine is more explicitly revealed in the Gospel of Christ than the doctrine of a Future Life. And no doc-
trine is more variously taught in the theology of men, than this. That which the Scriptures declare to have been brought to light in the gospel, has been by its professed teachers so variously understood or misunderstood, and so differently inculcated by various classes, that the candid person who would learn the Christian doctrine of a future life, is driven to forsake the prejudices of early education, and the contradictory statements of the wise and great, and flee to the plain teaching of the inspired word.
To enumerate all the varieties of opinion existing upon
this subject among those who profess Christianity, would be alike tedious and unprofitable. A few leading opinions may be presented, which form the foundation of all those combinations which the plastic ingenuity of mortal fancy has produced, or which the potent influence of human superstition has evoked from the abysmal regions of ignorance and obscurity.
There is, FIRST, The doctrine that all future life depends upon Jesus Christ and is bestowed by God through him. That natural death is an interruption or temporary cessation of all conscious existence. That in the resurrection at the last day, the whole human family will arise to judgment. That the righteous will then put on immortality, and receive the gift of God, Eternal Life, while the wicked, destitute of the life that is in Christ, will die the second death—be punished with everlasting destruction, and utterly perish in their own corruption.
There is a SECOND system that agrees with the above in denying the natural immortality of man, but which regards the future life obtained through Christ, as actually commenced in the soul, or communicated by faith in him; so that while death is to the wicked a suspension of consciousness, the souls of the righteous continue to exist separately and consciously, until the judgment, when, reunited with their resurrected bodies, they receive everlasting life, while the wicked, not having obtained this immortality, are destroyed and that to eternity.
There is a Third opinion that all human beings possess immortal souls by nature. That their bodies are but prisons and clogs. That at death the body returns forever to the dust, and the spirit forever emancipated from its corporeal thraldom pursues in the spirit-land a course of eternal progression, enjoying the incomprehensible privileges of an immaterial existence.
There is a Fourth view of the subject which only varies from the last mentioned, in this: that it supposes the agency of Christ manifested in securing the future blessedness of the redeemed spirit in heaven, and regards him as finally accomplishing by such means as his own wisdom may suggest, the eternal redemption and salvation of them all.
There is a Fifth opinion that all souls are immortal, that at death they are separated from the body, and the righteous ascend to enjoy the felicities of God's presence, while the wicked are adjudged to the torments of hell. That at the last day, these souls are recalled from heaven and hell,—united with their bodies, which are raised and made immortal, and then the righteous return to eternal glory in heaven, and the wicked to eternal torment in hell.
There is a Sixth hypothesis which only varies from the last mentioned view in denying the absolute eternity of these torments, and supposing instead that the torments of the wicked, though greatly protracted, will finally eventuate in the reformation, and consequent restoration of all the offenders to happiness and divine favor.
There is a SEVENTH view of the subject which inculcates the natural immortality of the soul, and the eternity of the rewards of the righteous, and the torments of the wicked, in their resurrected state of corporeal immortality, but which rejects the doctrine of the existence of souls in heaven or hell between death and the resurrection, and locates them in an imperfect condition of happiness or misery amid the obscurity of Hades or the under-world.
There is an Eighth opinion that the souls of the pious who are purified ascend immediately to the presence of God, while others, who are so sinful as to be beyond the hope of pardon, are driven immediately to hell. That a middle and very numerous class of imperfect saints, and less heinous sinners are deposited in purgatory, where in the lapse of ages their moral characters become purged from every stain by the sanctifying influence of fire and brimstone.
That the process of purification is materially facilitated by the repetition of certain latin prayers, which those qualified are always ready to offer when paid for so doing. That after the judgment, the saints shall enjoy eternal blessedness in a bodily condition, and the wicked shall endure eternal torments.
There are numerous and various modifications of these several theories in consequence of various opinions upon other connected questions. To classify them all were unnecessary. The foregoing comprehend most that are held by those who lay claim to the title of Christians, and all of them, I presume, have the sanction of men of considerable eminence in the Christian church.
Now, these numerous opinions, so various and contradictory, cannot all be drawn from one plain common-sense, self-consistent Bible. Some of them must be spurious. Which is true? In a former treatise, the writer endeavored by an examination of all the epistles of the leading writer in the New Testament, to ascertain what was the Christian doctrine of future punishment. It was claimed that in the fourteen epistles of the apostle PAUL, who had not shunned to declare the whole counsel of God, we might look with confidence for a full statement of the doctrines under consideration. An examination of his fourteen epistles with reference to the question of human immortality disclosed the following facts:
"First, The Apostle Paul is the only writer in the whole Bible who makes use of the word immortal or immortality.
" Second, He never applies it to sinners.
" Third, He never applies it to either righteous or wicked in this world.
"Fourth, He never applies it to men's souls at all, either before or after death.
" Fifth, He speaks of it as an attribute of the King Eternal.—1 Tim. i: 17.
" Sixth, He declares that He is the only possessor of it.—1 Tim. vi: 16.
"Seventh, He speaks of it as revealed or brought to light (not in heathen philosophy, but) in the Gospel of the Son of God.—2 Tim. i: 10.
"Eighth, He presents it as an object which men are to seek for by patient continuance in well doing.—Rom. ii : 7.
"Ninth, He defines the period when it shall be 'put on' by the Saints of God, and fixes it at the resurrection, when Christ, who is our Life, shall appear.—1 Cor. xv: 52, 54.
" Tenth, Therefore, he never taught the immortality of the soul, as it is now taught."*
Further examination disclosed other facts in relation to the future state. These were summed up briefly as follows:
"First : Paul in his epistle speaks of, or alludes to, the destiny of the wicked at least twenty-five times. Certainly then he did not forget this subject. We could have asked no more of him than this. Twenty-five distinct statements with regard to the destiny of the impenitent, are certainly sufficient to give us a correct idea of the subject.
"Second: He does not in one place declare that any who remain impenitent through this life shall be eternally saved. True, he declared God to be the Saviour of all men, but it is evidently only from the consequences of Adam's sin, for as in Adam, all die—literally, so in Christ shall all be made alive, literally and bodily. For there shall be a resurrection of the dead—both of the just and the unjust.
This then is only a salvation from natural death, while he is specially the Saviour of them that believe; for "being made perfect, he became the author of ETERNAL SALVATION unto ALL THEM THAT OBEY HIM."—Heb. v: 9.
"If the modern doctrine of Universal Salvation, had been true, Paul would have preached it. He did not preach it; therefore it is not true.
"Third: He does not once speak of the restoration of men to God, after their having endured the torments of hell for a longer or shorter period. Not one word does he say of the final holiness and happiness of all mankind; not one word about purgatorial flames, or a limited punishment.
"If Restorationism had been true, Paul would have taught it : He did not teach it; therefore it is not true.
"Fourth: He does not in one place speak of men as 'dying and going to hell;' or of their being consigned to a place of torment, previous to the day of judgment. 'After death, the judgment.' Not 'after death, hell-fire for thousands of years; and then the judgment, and then torment again to all eternity.' Can it be true that Paul believed as some men preach; that sinners were dying in this world, and dropping into hell at the rate of about thirty-six hundred every hour, and yet he never gave one hint of the fact, in all his writings?
"If the doctrine of going to a hell of fire at death had been true, Paul would have taught it. He did not teach it; therefore it is not true.
" Fifth : He does not once speak of there being a hell of fire, in existence at the present time. If there was in existence then, a vast portion of the universe, filled with fire and brimstone, where men and devils were tormented, and suffered, and howled, and blasphemed, and calculated the slow rolling ages of eternity—where Cain was condemned to suffer six thousand years before others equally guilty commenced to suffer at all—where Satan was condemned to be tormented 'before his time,' instead of going about like a roaring lion—would not Paul have preached to us about it?
"If there had been in existence a place of unutterable torment, where sinners were, Paul would have warned us of it. He did not mention it; therefore it does not exist at present.
" Sixth : He does not mention or make use of the word torment at all in the whole of his epistles. The idea of devils mocking, and tormenting their victims in the pit of woe, does not appear once in all his writings.
"Suffering and anguish are implied in the fire which shall devour the ungodly, but torment as a distinct idea, as it is taught by modern religious teachers from Sabbath to Sabbath, does not appear in his epistles.
"If the idea that God would torment and torture wicked men in hell to all eternity had been true; Paul must have known it, and would have preached it. He did not preach it; therefore it is not true.
" Seventh : In the whole twenty-five places where he speaks of the punishment of the ungodly, he only uses the word αιδνιον : aionion (eternal or everlasting) once, 2 Thes. i: 9. This word occurs in the Apostle's writings twenty-eight times; and how strange, if the doctrine of ETERNAL torment be true, that in speaking of the destiny of the wicked at least twenty five times, he only uses the word everlasting once; and then, it is 'everlasting DESTRUCTION.'
How much do some men say of eternity and ETERNAL torment—and yet Paul omits such expressions altogether. We can easily understand why they use such expressions—they believe that doctrine. But why does Paul omit them? is it not because he did not believe it? He called the destruction eternal, as he does the Judgment in Heb. 6:2, not that either the one or the other would be eternally going on, and never consummated; for that would require two eternities: the first one for the judgment, and the second for the destruction; but because that Judgment is final, admitting of no appeal; and because that destruction is final, admitting of neither rescue or recovery, so they may both be denominated eternal.
"If the eternity of the punishment had been the main and important feature in the matter, as it must ever be while the popular doctrine of eternal torment is taught, certainly Paul would have spoken of eternal torment. He did not mention it; therefore it is not true.
"Eighth: Not one passage in his writings teaches or hints that wicked men shall live or exist for ever under any circumstances whatever. This idea that all men are to exist eternally, is not to be assumed, or taken for granted. The question is too important to be disposed of by a guess or opinion. It involves the destiny of the greater portion of our race. Can it be true that Paul believed that every wicked man carried within him an immortal element, which must go on expanding throughout the far-reaching ages of eternity, and linking man by a tie that can never be severed to endless joy or endless agony, and yet in all his epistles he gives us no hint of the fact? Does this look like the doings of one who kept back nothing that was profitable for his hearers? Does this sound like the teaching of modern preachers, who assure their hearers " that they have each of them an immortal soul, destined to exist so long as God exists?"
If every wicked man had been destined to eternal existence, Paul would have informed us of the fact. He does not once hint it; therefore it cannot be TRUE.
"Ninth: Paul could say of his preaching that he had not shunned to declare the whole counsel of God. His writings partake of the same fearless character which was impressed on his preaching, and, in fact, upon everything he did. He shunned not to declare the whole counsel of God. But he did shun to declare the first word concerning eternal torment; therefore, eternal torment is no part of the 'counsel of God.'"
"Tenth: Paul said, concerning his teaching, that he had 'kept back nothing that was profitable' for his brethren. But we find that he has entirely kept back the doctrine of the eternal torture of ungodly men. Now, if Paul believed this, he must have been strangely negligent, or else he must have believed it to be an unprofitable subject. If it is not true, of course it would not be profitable. The conclusion is, that it is not true, and in that case it should not be taught, or else, if it is true, it is unprofitable, and therefore, should be kept back.
"Eleventh: Every passage that relates to the destiny of the impenitent, imports their utter dissolution or extermination. An examination of the passages will put this assertion to the proof. Let others do it as I have done it, and they will find an argument for the final destruction of the ungodly, which honesty cannot evade. EIGHT TIMES he speaks of the wicked as destined to PERISH. DEATH is used to express their destiny SEVEN TIMES. NINE TIMES they are spoken of as being DESTROYED, once as DEVOURED by fire, and once as BURNED.
Not one of these words has in the original or the translation, the meaning of eternal torment. Not one of them means any such thing in common conversation, and it is only by a 'theological' or false definition, alike repugnant to the laws of language and common sense, that such an idea can be conveyed by such language. Paul does not tell us that he used these words in a peculiar or theological sense. No Greek would have supposed so, had they heard him; and we are led to conclude, that as Paul would not use words calculated to mislead, therefore we are to take these words in their most obvious and current signification.
Paul did teach the utter DESTRUCTION or PERISHING or DEATH or EXTERMINATION of ungodly men. He would not have taught it unless it were true; therefore it is the truth.
"Twelfth: No stronger expressions can be found in Greek or English, to denote the utter extirpation of the ungodly. If these words can be evaded or explained away, then, if the doctrine be ever so true, it would be impossible to teach it. If these words do not convey the idea, then no words can be made to do it.
"Thirteenth: If we had none but such as Paul to teach us, we should never have learned any other doctrine. If we had drawn our theology solely from his epistles, we should never have heard of an immortal soul, or an immortal sinner, of eternal torments, or of going to the lake of fire at death, of a heaven 'beyond the bounds of time and space,' where the righteous should dwell eternally, or of a hell in some distant portion of the universe, where an unceasing torrent of wailing and blasphemy should roll forth from the burning lips of the innumerable damned, so long as God exists!
Whence came this fearful doctrine? From the Apostle Paul? nay, rather 'from your vain conversation, received by tradition from your fathers.' ""*
Having deduced these statements from the writings of this great apostle, a question arises, have we understood him rightly? True, we take his words in their current signification in the times in which he lived, but were they understood thus by those to whom he spoke? We aver that they were, and in proof we refer to those writers who lived in apostolic times. We inquire what they taught. If we find them all with one voice proclaiming the immortality of the soul, the consciousness of the dead—their dwelling in heaven and hell between death and the judgment, and the eternal torment of the sinner in hell, we shall then be led to conclude that we have misunderstood the king's English, and the apostle's Greek, and shall yield to the force of the evidence. But if we find that the immortality of the soul and the eternal torment of the wicked was never mentioned until heathen philosophers became connected with the church, and was never believed until heathen philosophy had polluted the pure temple of truth—Then we shall conclude that we read and understood Paul correctly, and that if we would walk in the old paths we must reject the teachings of a vain and false philosophy with the adhering traditions of subsequent superstition, and return to the pure doctrines of life and immortality through Christ alone as brought to light by Jesus, and promulgated by his apostles.
The Primitive Doctrine of a Future Life.
PART I.
THE APOSTOLICAL FATHERS.
CHAPTER I.
CHARACTER AND OPPORTUNITIES OF THE APOSTOLICAL FATHERS—VALUE OF THEIR WRITINGS.
" And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also."—2 Tim. ii. 2.
When the apostles, wearied with the toils of their ministry, after a long and tedious warfare, laid aside their harness, and ungirding themselves lay down to rest in the calm assurance of Christian faith and hope, there were others raised up by God for the furtherance of the cause of truth, who caught the words of inspiration from their lips, and who unfolded to succeeding generations the same sublime and glorious doctrines of the Gospel, which had previously been declared by the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the ears of a ruined and perishing race. These were men of deep and ardent piety, of unshrinking faith, and of undoubted constancy.
They had possessed the greatest facilities for obtaining in its purity the Gospel of Christ. They had "fully known" the "doctrine" as well as the "manner of life" of the apostles; they had been their companions in Christian labor; had traveled with them, and listened to them, had battled with them the prevailing systems of false and delusive philosophy; and had with them determined fully, to glory only in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, which was to the Jews, fast bound by traditions, a stumbling-block; and to the Greeks, inflated with false wisdom, foolishness; but which was the wisdom of God and the power of God unto salvation to every one that believed.
Some of these men not only preached but wrote, and their writings were handed down in the Christian church. Though not esteemed canonical or authoritative, yet they were regarded as profitable, and hence were sometimes read in the Christian assemblies for the instruction of the hearers. These writings have, some of them, been transmitted to us, and are commonly termed the writings of the "Apostolical Fathers," which term comprehends those writers who flourished between A.D. 71 and A.D. 140, who immediately succeeded the apostles, and who wrote previously to the time of Justin Martyr. Their names were, BARNABAS, CLEMENT, HERMAS, IGNATIUS, and POLYCARP.
"These five writers," remarks the learned Dr. Adam Clarke, "constitute the whole of what are called the Apostolical Fathers, whose writings for their deep piety, simplicity, and divine unction, form a proper connecting link between those of the Evangelists and Apos- tles; and those of the Primitive Fathers."
"As all classes of Protestants have agreed to annex those ' writings called Apocryphal to the Old Testament, is it not strange that the Apostolical Fathers should not be annexed to the New?
They are certainly far more authentic, and of much more intrinsic worth."*
To an examination of their writings, and a sketch of their characters, in the order of their succession, we devote the ensuing pages.
We appeal to them for confirmatory evidence that we teach Apostolic doctrine. What say they? Christians delight to honor them for their steadfastness in that faith which caused them "to believe, to love and to suffer," but how many are aware that the faith held by these ancient martyrs would almost be regarded as heresy now, while the present faith of the professed church would, in some of its important features, have been condemned as vain philosophy then? How often these writings have been perused by the careless reader, and yet the fact that they have no terms to express the present popular doctrines of a future Life has been almost entirely overlooked. Shall we not confer a favor upon the candid by directing their attention to the facts in the case?
CHAPTER II.
BARNABAS, A. D. 71.
"He was a good man and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith." Acts xi. 24.
This name is familiar to the readers of the New Testament. Descended from the tribe of Levi, and a native of the island of Cyprus, he originally bore the name of Joses. Having sold his property soon after the day of Pentecost, he came and laid the money at the apostles' feet. From them, probably, in consequence of the consoling character of his ministrations, he received the surname Barnabas, or "Son of Consolation." By the church at Jerusalem he was sent to Antioch to carry forward the work of God, commenced under the labors of some who had fled from persecution at Jerusalem. After laboring there successfully for a season, he visited Tarsus, whence he returned to Antioch with Paul, who assisted him there in the ministry. Subsequently they were deputed as messengers to the church at Jerusalem to carry them alms in a time of dearth; and after their return, they went forth in obedience to the Holy Spirit's direction, to preach in various cities. They returned to Jerusalem again to make enquiries concerning the validity of the Jewish law, and coming back to Antioch, prepared for another mission. Here a misunderstanding arose about one of their companions in labor, which produced a separation. It is probable that they were subsequently reconciled, as Paul afterwards makes honorable mention of Mark, the person about whom the dispute originally occurred.
The future career of Barnabas is unwritten, save in the blessed "book of remembrance," where so many noble deeds forgotten on earth are chronicled in heaven.
Of his character, we learn that "he was a good man and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith"—that he with Paul was "beloved" by the church at Jerusalem, that they had "hazarded their lives" for the gospel's sake—that like Paul, he is called by the inspired writers an "apostle," Acts xiv. 14—that, like Paul, he did not "forbear working" with his hands—that his ministrations were abundantly successful, and that through them "much people were added to the Lord." These are the facts stated of him in the Acts of the Apostles, and in the Epistles of Paul, from which we have compiled this brief sketch.*
Leaving the New Testament, we find his name and writings mentioned by the early Christian fathers. Clement of Alexandria has often quoted him, and denominates him "the Apostle Barnabas. . . the apostolical Barnabas, one 'of the seventy, and fellow-worker with Paul,'" whence it appears he was one of the seventy disciples sent forth to labor by Christ himself. Origen, in his answer to Celsus, quotes his Epistle styling it "The Catholic Epistle of Barnabas," \ddagger and Eusebius mentions it as having been quoted and commented upon by Clement, and as being reckoned among the disputed or uncanonical writings of the early Christian church.* Jerome, in his Catalogue of Illustrious Men, says: "Barnabas, of Cyprus, called Joseph, a Levite, ordained an apostle of the Gentiles with Paul, wrote an Epistle for the edification of the church, which is read among the Apocryphal Scriptures."
†
These testimonies inform us of the value which was attached to the Epistle of Barnabas by the early church; "the passages cited by them being still found," says Dr. Lardner, "in that Epistle which we now have under the 'name of Barnabas. . . . Pearson, Cave, DuPin, Wake, and many other learned men, suppose it to be a genuine 'Epistle of Barnabas, the companion of Paul.' It is supposed to have been written before the Epistle of Jude, and also previous to the writings of John. Some learned authors, as Bp. Fell and others, have regarded it as of equal authority with the New Testament writings; most writers deny this, a few regard it as the production of another than Barnabas, but all agree in assigning to it the highest antiquity.
Now, in this epistle, written in all probability by the companion of Paul, written while John the revelator was yet living, written by one who is called in the Scriptures an apostle, written by one who was full of the Holy Ghost, read in the various churches planted by the Apostles, received by them as of great value: in such an epistle we may hope to find Apostolic doctrine. If the doctrine of the immortality of some hidden part of man be the doctrine of Christ, we shall find it here. If the doctrine of the consciousness of souls in the state of death, and of their reward or punishment in heaven, hell or purgatory be true, we shall find it here.
If the doctrine of the eternal torture and agony of wicked men be the doctrine of the apostles, certainly this writer will warn his hearers of the fact.
But what are the facts? He does not in all his writings so much as hint that man has a soul which is immortal by nature. He does not once intimate that men go to hell or to heaven, or any where else but to the grave at death. He expressly postpones their reward and their punishment till the day of Judgment; he does not once intimate that the wicked are to be tormented or tortured eternally in hell; on the contrary he teaches that they shall be destroyed and that their doom is eternal death. He gives no hint that he used the terms life, death, &c., in the conventional sense in which they are now used, and hence we must conclude that he meant just what he said. Let us glance at his epistle as translated by Archbishop Wake, aud divided in chapters and verses as in the Apocryphal New Testament.
THE EPISTLE OF BARNABAS, A. D. 71.
In the first chapter he says, "There are therefore three things ordained by the Lord; the hope of LIFE; the beginning and the completion of it."
In the fourth chapter he says, "A man will justly ' PERISH, if having the knowledge of the way of truth, he
' shall nevertheless not refrain himself from the way of
' darkness, and for this cause the Lord was content to
'suffer for our souls, although he be the Lord of the whole
' earth. . . . But he, that he might abolish DEATH, and make known the resurrection from the dead, was content, ' as it was necessary, to appear in the flesh, that he might make good the promise before given to our fathers, and preparing himself a new people, might demonstrate to them whilst he was upon earth, that AFTER the RESURRE TION he would judge the world."
In the sixth chapter he remarks, "If therefore the Son of God, who is the Lord of all, and shall come to judge both the quick and the dead, hath suffered, that by his stripes we might live; let us believe that the Son of God could not have suffered but for us."
In the seventh chapter he declares that " The kingdom of Jesus was founded upon the cross; and therefore they that put their trust in him shall live FOREVER."
In the eleventh chapter he says, " Moses makes a type of Jesus, to show that he was to die; and then that he, whom they thought to be dead, was to give LIFE to others, in the type of those that fell in Israel." After giving an account of the making of the brazen serpent, he says, " Then Moses spake unto them, saying, When any one among you shall be bitten, let him come unto the serpent that is set upon the pole; and let him assuredly trust in him, that, though he be dead, yet he is able to give life, and presently he shall be saved; and so they did. See, therefore, how here also you have in this the glory of Jesus: and that in him and to him are all things"
In the thirteenth chapter, he says again, while speaking of the Church of God being his temple and the habitation of his spirit, "The word of his faith, the calling of his promise, the wisdom of his righteous judgments, the commands of his doctrine; he himself prophecies within us, he himself dwelleth in us, and openeth to us who were in bondage of DEATH, the gate of our temple—that is, the ' mouth of wisdom,—having given repentance unto us; and ' by this means has brought us to be an incorruptible tem ple."
In the fourteenth chapter he continues, "There are two ways of doctrine and power—the one of light, the other of darkness. But there is a great deal of difference between these two ways; for over one are appointed the angels of God, the leaders of the way of light; over the other the angels of Satan: and the one is the Lord from everlasting to everlasting; the other is the prince of the time of unrighteousness. Now the way of light is this, if any one desires to attain to the place that is appointed for him, and will hasten thither by his works. And the knowledge that has been given to us for walking in it is to this effect: Thou shalt love him that made thee; thou shalt glorify him that redeemed thee from death. Thou shalt be simple in heart and rich in the spirit. Thou shalt not cleave to those that walk in the way of death. . . . Thou shalt not be double-tongued, for a double tongue is the snare of death. . . . Thou shalt not be forward to speak, for the mouth is the snare of death. Strive for thy soul (הצעה or ליא) with all thy might. . . Call to thy remembrance day and night the future judgment. Thou shalt seek out every day the persons of the righteous, and both consider and go about to exhort others by the Word, and meditate how thou shalt save a soul." Continuing thus to inculcate the duties of Christianity, alms-giving, peace-making and repentance, he remarks, "This is the way of light."
In the fifteenth chapter he continues, "But the way of 'darkness is crooked and full of cursing; for it is the way 'of ETERNAL DEATH, with punishment; in which they that 'walk meet those things that destroy their own souls.
Such are idolatry, confidence, pride of power, hypocrisy, &c. . . . It is therefore fitting that, learning the just commands of the Lord, which we have before mentioned, we should walk in them. For he who does such things shall be glorified in the kingdom of God. But he that chooses the other part shall be destroyed, together with his works. For this cause there shall be both a resurrection and a retribution. . . . For the day is at hand in which all things shall be destroyed, together with the wicked one. The Lord is near, and his reward is with him. . . . Be ye taught of God, seeking what it is the Lord requires of you, and doing it, that ye may be saved in the day of judgment."
Here, then, we have the testimony of Barnabas, what he says, and all that he says concerning the future destiny of man. We need not enter into an extensive review of it. The words are before the reader. But we cannot avoid remarking the difference between the preaching and writing of Barnabas, and the teaching of modern professed preachers of the Gospel. And his sentiments as delivered in his epistle coincide perfectly with fragments of one of his warnings, which inspiration has preserved. When preaching the Gospel at Antioch, after the Jews had rejected their message, "Then Paul and Barnabas waxed 'bold, and said it was necessary that the word of God 'should first have been spoken to you; but seeing ye put it 'from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of EVERLAST-ING LIFE, lo, we turn to the Gentiles."—Acts xiii. 46.
This was the character of apostolic preaching. Life and Death were set before the people. There was no blending of vain philosophy therewith, no phantom land or spirit world beyond the bounds of space, no dropping of the souls of the dying into hell torments, no rising of the blest spirits on angel pinions, while the clay sank in the embrace of death, no punishment before judgment, no reward till Jesus' appearing, no home but in the renewed and glorious world to come.
These are the old paths. This was the faith of the prophets and the apostles. We trace their faith first in their words, as written in the book of God, and then in the faith of their fellow laborers, the Apostolical Fathers. Can we be blamed for receiving such a faith as this?—a faith which was the comfort of all the sons of consolation in that dark and trying hour—a faith which then, as now, brought reproach to man but glory to Christ,—which awakens the displeasure of those who are bound by the traditions of the elders, but which comes to the believing Christian's heart as an unspeakable source of comfort, a blessed light, bringing life and immortality to view, as offered in the Gospel, to all who seek for it by patient continuance in well doing.
CLEMENT, A. D. 96.
"Clement also, and other my fellow laborers, whose names are in the Book of Life."—PHIL. iv. 3
Next after Barnabas in the succession of Christian writers we find Clement. He was Bishop of Rome; "whom," says Dr. Lardner, "ancient writers, without any doubt or 'scruple, relate to have been the same Clement, whom St. Paul mentions among his 'fellow laborers, whose names are in the book of Life.' Philip iv. 3."* Dr. A. Clarke also declares that: "He was generally believed by the ancients to have been the same with that Clement whom St. Paul mentions among his fellow laborers whose names are in the book of Life. Phil. iv. 3."†
Irenæus says, "When the blessed Apostles had founded and established the church, (at Rome) they delivered the office of the bishoprick in it to Linus. Of this Linus Paul makes mention in his epistles to Timothy, (2 Tim. iv. 21). To him succeeded Anencletus. After whom in the third place after the Apostles, Clement obtained that bishoprick, who had seen the blessed apostles, and conversed with them: who had the preaching of the apostles still sounding in his ears, and their traditions before his eyes.
Nor was he alone, for there were then still many alive, 'who had been taught by the apostles.
In the time therefore of this Clement, when there was no small dissention among the brethren at Corinth, the church at Rome sent a most excellent letter to the Corinthians, persuading them to peace among themselves."*
Thus Irenæus represents Clement as the third bishop who succeeded the apostles at Rome. Eusebius bears witness to the same fact when after giving the names of his predecessors he states that "after Anencletus had been 'Bishop of Rome twelve years he was succeeded by Cle- ment, who, the apostle, in his epistle to the Philippians, shows to have been his fellow laborer. Of this Clement there is one epistle extant, acknowledged as genuine, of considerable length and of great merit, which he wrote in the name of the church of Rome, to that at Corinth, at the time when there was a dissention in the latter. This we know to have been publicly read for common benefit, in most of the churches, both in former times and in our own; and that at the time mentioned a sedition did take place at Corinth, is abundantly attested by Hegesippus."† Eusebius also declares that at the beginning of Trajan's reign, "Clement still governed the church of Rome,"‡ and he is said to have died in the third year of Trajan, A. D. 100.§
Eusebius speaks again of "The epistle of Clement ac- knowledged by all, which he wrote to the Corinthians in the name of the church of Rome. . It ought to be observed that there is another epistle said to be Cle ment's; but this is not so generally received as the former; nor do we know the ancients to have quoted it.
There are also other writings reported to be his, verbose, and of great length . . . of which, however, not a syllable is recorded by the primitive church. For they do not preserve the impress of pure orthodoxy. The epistle therefore of Clement, that is acknowledged as genuine is evident."* Eusebius quotes from an epistle written by Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, to Soter, bishop of Rome, about A. D. 170, thus: "In this same letter, he (Dionysius) mentions that of Clement to the Corinthians, showing that it was the practice to read it in the churches, even from the earliest times. To-day' says he, 'we have passed the Lord's holy day, in which we have read your epistle, in reading which we shall always have our minds stored with admonition, as we shall, also, from that written to us before by Clement."†
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