Footnote 154:
_This is reported in a very fabulous manner, and is reckoned no more
than an idle tale by Pliny, who mentions it among other stories of the
like nature. Vid. Plin. Nat. Hist. Lib._ vii. _Cap._ lii. _Animam
Aristæi etiam visam evolentem ex ore, in Proconneso, corvi effigie,
magna quæ sequitur fabulositate. This is also mentioned as a fable by
Origen._ _Vid. Origin. Lib._ iii. _Contr. Cels._
Footnote 155:
_Vid. Plin. Nat. Hist. Cap._ lii. _Reperimus inter exempla Hermotimi
Clazomenii animam relicto corpore, errare solitam, vagamq; e loginquo
multa annunciare, quæ nisi a præsenti nosci non possent; but by the
following words he speaks of him as not dead, but in a kind of
deliquium; corpore interim semianimi; but yet it was given out by
many, that he died and rose again very often. This Lucian himself
laughs at as a foolish tale. Vid. Lucian. Enc. Musc._
Footnote 156:
_Vid. Plat. de Repub. Lib._ x.
Footnote 157:
_Vid. Euseb. Præparat. Evang. Lib._ xi. _Cap._ xxxv. _It is mentioned
by Plutarch, Symp. Lib._ ix. _Cap._ v.
Footnote 158:
_Macrobius speaking concerning it, in Somn. Scip. Lib. 1. Cap. 1.
represents Cicero as being under a great concern, that this story of
Er was ridiculed, by many who did not stick to say, Visum fuisse Erem,
vitam effundere, animamq; recipere, quam revera non amiserat. See more
to this purpose in Hust. Demonst. Evang. Prop._ ix. _Cap._ cxlii.
Footnote 159:
_See a late learned writer, Hody on the resurrection of the same body;
who refers to several places in Heathen writers, of whom some believed
it; others exposed it as fabulous, Pag. 13-16._
Footnote 160:
_Thus Pliny, who a little before related several stories of persons
raised from the dead, notwithstanding calls the doctrine of the
resurrection_, puerile deliramentum. _Vid. Ejusd. Nat. Hist. Lib._
vii. _Cap._ lv. _and elsewhere he speaks of it as a thing in its own
nature impossible; and therefore concludes it to be one of those
things which God cannot do. Lib._ ii. _Cap._ vii. _Ne Deum quidem
posse omnia, nec mortales æternitate donare, aut revocare defunctos.
And Minutius Felix. Vid. Ejusd. Octav. Cap._ xi. _brings in an
Heathen, who was his friend, railing at it, without any decency, as
though it was no better than an old wives fable; and the principal
argument he produces, is, because he supposes it impossible for a body
that was burnt to ashes, to spring up into life again. And Celsus,
speaking concerning the impossibility of God’s doing any thing
contrary to nature, reckons this among those things. Vid. Orig. Contr.
Cels. Lib._ v. _Page 240. and says, the hope hereof is more worthy of
worms than men and styles it an abominable, as well as an impossible
thing, which God neither can nor will do._
Footnote 161:
Αναστασις.
Footnote 162:
_Vid. Volkel. de vera relig. Lib._ iii. _Cap._ xi. _Apparet
promissionem vitæ sempiternæ in prisco illo foedere factam minime
fuisse. And in a following part of this chapter, wherein he
professedly treats on this subject, he adds; Quæ apertis
luculentissimisq; verbis ut in nova scriptura fieri videamus, hoc Dei
beneficium nobis polliceantur. Ex quorum munere, hoc de quo agimus,
nequaquam esse hinc patet, quod antequam Christus illud explicaret,
nemo unquam extitit, qui vel suspicari auderet, tale quid illo
comprehendi._
Footnote 163:
_Vid. Joseph. de Bell. Jud. Lib._ ii. _Cap._ vii. Και γαρ ερρωτσαι παρ
αυτοις ηδε διξα φθαρτα μεν εναι τα σωματα, και τήν υλὴγ ου μονιμον
αυτοις, &c.
Footnote 164:
_See Dr. Hody on the resurrection, &c. Page 56-59._
Footnote 165:
_See Bishop Pearson on the Creed, Artic. 11. who observes, from their
writings, that because, in the formation of man, mentioned in_ Gen.
ii. 7. _Moses uses the word_ וייצר, _and in the formation of beasts,
verse 19. the word_ ויצר, _the former having two_ jods, _the latter
but one: Therefore the beasts are made but once, but man twice; to
wit, once in his generation, and the second time in his resurrection.
And they strangely apprehend a proof of the resurrection to be
contained in the malediction_, Gen. iii. 19. Dust thou art, and unto
dust thou shalt return, _q. d. thou art now dust while thou livest;
and, after death, thou shalt return unto this dust, that is, thou
shalt live again, as thou, dost now: And those words in_ Exod. xv. 1.
then sang Moses and the children of Israel; _they render_ he shall
sing, _viz. after the resurrection in the life to come, and from
thence infer this doctrine, which could afford but very small
satisfaction to the Sadducees, while they omitted to insist on other
pregnant proofs thereof_.
Footnote 166:
_See Vol. II. Heb. and Talmud. Exercit. on_ John iv. 25. _wherein he
says, that they pretend to prove it from_ Deut. xxxi. 16. _where God
says to Moses_, Thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, and rise again;
_which is an addition to, as well as a perversion of the text; which
says_, the people shall rise up and go a whoring, _&c. and Page 541,
and 787. he represents them as proving it from_ Josh. viii 30. _where
it is said, that Joshua_ built an altar unto the Lord; _which they
translate_, he shall build an altar; _supposing this to be after the
resurrection: And from_ Psal. lxxxiv. 4. Blessed are they that dwell
in thy house, they will be still praising thee, _they suppose is meant
of their praising God after the resurrection. See many other absurd
methods of reasoning to the same purpose, referred to by him in the
same place._
Footnote 167:
_Macab._ vii. 9, 11, 14, 23, 29.
Footnote 168:
_Thus Josephus Jacchiades, referred to by Witsius in Symb. Exercit._
xxvi. § 41. _in explaining that famous text in Daniel_ xii. 2. _says,
Et tunc fiet miraculum resurrectionis mortuorum: Nam multi dormientium
in terra pulverulenta expergiscentur, hi ad vitam æternam, qui sunt
sancti; illi vero ad opprobria & detestationem æternam; qui sunt
impii. Quorum resurrectionis causa est, ut impii fateantur palam, suam
fidem esse falsam, & eos qui ipsis fidem habuerint, prosecutos fuisse
vanitatem atque evanuisse, ipsique agnoscant suos majores falsitatem
possedisse. And Menasseh Ben Israel, de Resurr. mort. Lib._ ii. _Cap._
viii. _proves it from the same scripture. More to the same purpose may
be seen in Dr. Hody on the resurrection, Page 72. &_ seq. _who quotes
several of the Talmudical writers, as signifying their belief of this
doctrine; and especially Pocock in Maimon. Port. Mos. Cap._ vi. _who
produces a multitude of quotations to the same purpose; in which some
assert this doctrine without proof, others establish it by solid
arguments, and some mix a great many absurd notions with it, which we
shall, at present, pass over_.
Footnote 169:
_Vid. Tertull. de Resurrect. Carn. Cap._ xxx. _Non posset de ossibus
figura componi, si non id ipsum, & ossibus eventurum esset._
Footnote 170:
_Vid. Hieron. in Ezek._ xxxvii. _Nunquam poneretur similitudo
resurrectionis, ad restitutionem Israelitici populi significandam,
nisi staret ipsa resurrectitio, & futura crederetur; quia nemo de
rebus non extantibus incerta confirmat._
Footnote 171:
_Vid. Menasseh Ben Isr. Lib. 1. de Resurrect. Cap._ ii. § 4. _Hic
textus expressus est. & infallibilis quo sine omni dubio resurrectio
probatur._
Footnote 172:
_Vid. Hieron. Epist. 61. ad Pammach. de error. Joh. Hieros. Quid hac
prophetia manifestius? Nullus tam aperte post Christum, quam iste ante
Christum de resurrectione loquitur._
Footnote 173:
_The words are put in the form of an interrogation, which sometimes
argues a strong negation, but not always, since here it seems to imply
a concession that he should live again._
Footnote 174:
_Vid Minut. Fel. in Octav. § 33. Vide adeo quam in solatium nostri
resurrectionem futuram omnis natura meditatur Sol demergit, &
nascitur; astra labuntur, & redeunt; fiores occidunt, & reviviscunt;
post senium arbusta frondescunt semina non nisi corrupta revirescunt;
ita corpus in sepulchro ut arbores in hyberno occultant virorem,
ariditate mentita. Expectandum nobis etiam corporis ver est_, &c.
Footnote 175:
_See his Exposition on the Creed, Artic._ xi. _and Tertull. de resur.
Carn. cap._ xii. _Aspice nunc ad ipsa qunq; exempla divinæ potestatis:
dies moritur in noctem, & tenebris usquequaq spelitur. Funestatum
mundi honor, omnis substantia deusgratur. Sordent, silent, stupent
cuncta; ubiq; justitium est, quies rerum. Ita lux amissa lugetur; &
tamen rursus cum suo cultu, cum dote, cum sole, eadem & integra & tota
universo orbi reviviscit, interficiens mortem suam noctem, rescindens
sepulturam suam tenebras, hæres sibimet existens, donec & nox
reviviscat, cum suo & illa suggestu. Redaccenduntur enim & stellarum
radii, quos matutina successio extinxerat. Reducuntur & siderum
absentiæ, quas temporalis distinctio exemerat. Redornantur & specula
lunæ quæ menstruus numerus adtriverat. Revolvuntur hyemes & æstates, &
verna, & autumna, cum suis viribus, moribus, fructibus. Quippe etiam
terræ de cœlo disciplina est, arbores vestire post spolia, flores
denuo colorare, herbas rursus imponere, exhibere eadem quæ absumpta
sunt semina; nec prius exhibere quam absumpta: mira ratio: de
fraudatrice servatrix: ut reddat, intercipit: ut custodiat, perdit: ut
integret, vitiat e ut etiam ampliet, prius decoquit. Siquidem uberiora
& cultiora restituit quam exterminavit. Revera foenore interitu, &
injuria usura, & lucro damno: semel dixerim universa conditio recidiva
est. Quodcunq; conveneris, fuit: quodcunq; amiseris, nihil non iterum
est. Omnia in statum redeunt, quum abscesserint. Omnia incipiunt, quum
desierint. Ideo finiuntur, ut fiant. Nihil deperit, nisi in salutum.
Totus igitur hic ordo revolubilis rerum, testatio est resurrectionis
mortuorum. Operibus eam præscripsit Deus ante, quam literis: viribus
predicavit ante, quam vocibus. Præmissit tibi naturam magistram,
submissurus & prophetiam, quo facilius credas prophetiæ, discipulus
natura: quo statim admittas, quum audieris, quod ubiq; jam videris;
nec dubites Deum carnis etiam resuscitatorem, quem omnium noris
restituorem. Et utiq; si omnia homini resurgunt, cui procurata sunt
porro non homini, nisi & carni, quale est ut ipsa depereat ut totum,
propter quam & cui nihil deperit? Et Vid. ejud. apologet cap._ xlviii.
_in which he proves the resurrection of the body from the possibility
of that being restored to a former being, with the same ease that it
was made out of nothing; and shews how God has impressed upon this
world many testimonies of the resurrection; and then he adds, Lux
quotidie intersecta resplendet, & tenebræ, pari vice decedendo
succedunt, sidera defuncta vivescunt, tempora, ubi finiuntur,
incipiunt, fructus consummantur, et redeunt. Certe semina non nisi
corrupta et dissoluta foecundius surgunt, omnia percundo servantur,
omnia de interitu reformantur. Tu homo tantum nomen, si intelligas te,
vel de titulo Pythix discens, dominus omnium momentum et resurgentium,
ad hoc morieris, ut pereas?_
Footnote 176:
_This is what they generally intend by that aphorism, a privatione ad
habitum non datur regressus._
Footnote 177:
_See Hody on the resurrection_, &c. _Pag. 205-208._
Footnote 178:
_Vid. Plat. in Cratyl, who brings in Socrates as gravely punning on
the word_ σωμα, _q. d._ σημα, sepulchrum; _and supposing that this
name, was given to denote that the soul suffers punishment for its
faults, by being detained or shut up in prison. And Seneca speaks to
the same purpose: corpus hoc, animi pondus, & poena est, permanente
illo urgetur, in vinculis est. Vid. Sen. Epist. 65._
Footnote 179:
_Vid. Orig. in Loc. supra citat._
Footnote 180:
_Beneficium pluviæ ad omnes spectare, resurrectionem mortuorum ad
justos tantum._
Footnote 181:
_The words are_, רב’ם מישני, _multi ex dormientibus. Now it is certain
that_ רבים, _is often translated_ a multitude, _or_ multitudes, _and
signifies the same with_ רוב, _or the Greek word_ το πληθος, _as in
Gen._ xvii. 5. _Psal._ cix. 30. _and in several other places. But the
principal difficulty lies in the sense of the particle_ Mem, _which is
prefixed to the following word; and is generally supposed to be taken
distributively; and accordingly the sense must be_, Many, _that is, a
great number, or part, taken out of them_ that sleep, shall awake;
_though, I am apt to think, that the prefix_ Mem _here, is not taken
distributively; but denotes the following word to be in the Genitive
case, as Lamed and Beth often do; and if so, the words may be
rendered_, The multitude of them that sleep, shall awake; _that is,
the whole number of them that sleep shall awake; and so it is the same
with what is mentioned by our Saviour in the text but now referred
to_; all that are in their graves shall come forth, _and be disposed
of in a different way, as he particularly expresses it; which contains
the sense of the prophet’s prediction in this place. There is a
scripture, in which the word_ many _plainly signifies_ το πληθος,
_the_ multitude, _or all mankind: thus the apostle speaks, Rom._ v.
15. _of_ many, _as_ being dead by the offence of one, _and_ by one
man’s disobedience, many _being_ made sinners; _which none, who allow
all the world to have fallen in Adam, will suppose to be taken in any
other sense. See other instances of the like nature in Glas. Phil.
Sacr. Lib._ v. _Tract. 1. Cap._ xv.
Footnote 182:
_Vid. Poc. Not. Misc. in Maimon. Port. Mos. Cap._ vi. _who treats
largely on this subject, and gives an account of the opinions of
several Rabbinical writers concerning this matter; which renders it
needless for me to refer to particular places_.
Footnote 183:
_Vid. Whitby in 1 Cor._ xv. 44, 50. _If by the bright and shining
body, which this author speaks of, he intends that it shall be
invested with some rays of glory in the heavenly state, as many others
suppose: this, I think, none will deny since it agrees well with what
the apostle says concerning the body’s being made like to Christ’s
glorious body, and also what the prophet Daniel says, chap._ xii. 2.
_concerning their_ shining as the brightness of the firmament, and as
the stars; _or, as our Saviour says_, Matt. xiii. 43. They shall shine
as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
Quest. LXXXVIII.
QUEST. LXXXVIII. _What shall immediately follow after the
resurrection?_
ANSW. Immediately after the resurrection shall follow the general
and final judgment of angels and men; the day and hour whereof no
man knoweth, that all may watch and pray, and be ever ready for the
coming of the Lord.
Our Lord Jesus Christ having finished the work which he undertook to
perform, in gathering in his elect, and bringing that grace which he
wrought in them to perfection; the only thing then remaining to be done,
will be his receiving them into his immediate presence, to behold his
glory; and banishing others, for ever, from him, with marks of infamy
and detestation. And, in order hereunto, he will raise the dead, and
give a summons to the whole world of angels and men, to appear before
his tribunal in that day in which he is appointed, by the Father, to
judge the world in righteousness; which is the subject insisted on in
this answer. In speaking to which, we shall