THE APOCALYPSE AND THE FOUR EPISTLES.
While all Infidels, from Celsus before the year 180 to Waite, in 1881,
have agreed that “either Jesus was not really dead, or he did not
really rise again,” some[1] of them have assumed the one, and some the
other alternative. Strauss, with Celsus, doubts the reality of the
resurrection, rather than the death. Schleiermacher, on the other hand,
held that Jesus returned again to life from a state of lethargy; and this
view, although not the position generally taken by skeptics, is still
held by a very few.
There have been two institutions in the Christian church, the Lord’s
Supper and the Lord’s day, that have testified from the beginning that
Jesus was really dead, and did really rise again from the dead. They
displaced the Jewish Passover and the Jewish Sabbath, both strongly
entrenched in the law of Moses and long established custom. Such
substitution can be accounted for, only upon the hypothesis of the
fullest conviction of the death and resurrection of our Lord. The Lord’s
day is referred to by Paul in First Corinthians (c. xvi.) under the
designation of “the first day of the week,” and is mentioned by John
in Revelation (c. i. 10), where he says, “I was in the Spirit on the
Lord’s Day.” The Lord’s Supper has great prominence given to it by Paul
in the eleventh chapter of First Corinthians. Those to whom he writes
are admonished not to eat “of that bread,” or drink “of that cup,” in
an unworthy manner, “For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this
cup, ye proclaim the Lord’s death till he come.” As to the origin of
this sacrament, he says, “I have received of the Lord that which I also
delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was
betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he brake and said,
Take, eat; this is my body broken for you; this do in remembrance of
me: and after the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped,
saying, This cup is the New Testament in my blood; this do ye as oft as
ye drink it, in remembrance of me.” This Epistle was written as early as
the year[2] 57, or within 27 years after the Crucifixion. It is not to be
doubted that such a command would be observed from the first formation
of any church. Both the death and resurrection of Christ appear in the
book of Revelation. He is called “The first begotten of the dead” (c.
i. 5), “He that liveth and was dead” (c. i. 88), “The Lamb as it had
been slain,” before whom the four living creatures and the elders (as
representing the whole Church) fall down, saying, “Thou art worthy to
take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain, and
hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue,
and people, and nation” (c. v. 6 to 10). And John says that he was in
exile, “for the Word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ”
(c. i. 9). What was this “testimony,” other than that which Luke says
in Acts (c. iv. 2) was given by Peter and John when the Sadducees were
“grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus Christ
the resurrection from the dead;” or other than that, given by Peter in
the presence of John, (c. iii. 15) that the Jews had “killed the Prince
of Life, whom God hath raised from the dead; _whereof we are witnesses_.”
Even from the book of Revelation[3] alone, were there no other proof,
should we conclude that _John_ testified that Jesus died and rose again.
This was the burden of _Paul’s_ preaching and the inspiration of his life.
Nor do we stop with Paul. From his writings we know that all the Apostles
and the whole Church from the beginning, maintained the same grand theme
with all the strength of conviction of which men are capable. He had been
preaching three years prior to the first visit to Jerusalem referred
to in Galatians (c. i. 18). At this visit he had “returned again,” to
Damascus. His leaving Damascus was probably the time when he was let
down from the wall in a basket, as stated in Second Corinthians (c. xi.
33), and the city was then held “under Aretus the King.” Fourteen years
after his conversion or his escape (it is uncertain which), he went up
to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus also with him. The precise date
of his conversion is unknown, but was approximately[4] in the year 36.
He writes of the last visit mentioned in Galatians, “that when James,
Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was
given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship;
that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.”
From that time, then, if not before, with the full recognition of all
the Apostles, he became distinctively the Apostle to the Gentiles. And
at the first visit mentioned, he saw James, the Lord’s brother, and also
Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. Afterwards, he went into the
regions of Syria and Cilicia, and was unknown by face unto the churches
of Judea, but they had heard, “That he which persecuted us in times past
now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed;” and he says, “they
glorified God in me” (c. i. 18-24). He says in the thirteenth verse, “Ye
have heard of my conversation in time past, in the Jews’ religion, how
that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God and wasted it.”
As there is no doubt what “the faith” was, which he preached after his
conversion, so there is no doubt what “the faith” was “which once he
destroyed.” Within three years after the commencement of his ministry, he
saw James the Lord’s brother, and abode with Peter fifteen days; and at
the expiration of the fourteen years, _all_ the Apostles were ready to
give him the right hand of fellowship. As there is no doubt what “faith”
_he_ preached (which was the same which he had destroyed), so there is
none as to what faith the _others_ preached, and _had_ preached from the
beginning. _His conversion was within six years of the Crucifixion._
As he from that time preached Jesus and the Resurrection, there is no
doubt but that Jesus and the Resurrection were preached during the six
years before his conversion. Hence, from Paul’s four Epistles (whose
genuineness is beyond controversy), we are inevitably carried back to
the first ministry of _any_ of the Apostles, for the time when the
doctrine of the Resurrection was _first_ proclaimed. This conclusion is
reached without recourse to the testimony of either of the Evangelists;
and believers may say with Renan, though in a different spirit, “Thanks
to the Epistle to the Galatians!” If from this Epistle the _precise_
commencement of the ministry of Peter and John cannot be determined, it
must be inferred that it was before, and apparently some time before,
Paul’s conversion, which, as has been seen, was _within six years_ of the
Crucifixion. For this reason, as well as many others, the importance of
Paul’s testimony can hardly be overestimated.
But in order that its full force may be better apprehended, it may be
useful to present it more in detail, as: In Romans “God commendeth his
love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”
(Rom. v. 8); “Christ being raised from the dead, dieth no more” (Rom.
vi. 9); “Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even
at the right hand of God” (Rom. viii. 34); “Declared to be the Son of
God, with power according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection
from the dead” (Rom. i. 4); “The word is nigh thee, in thy mouth and in
thy heart, that is the word of faith which we preach, that if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart
_that God hath raised him from the dead_, thou shalt be saved” (Rom. x.
8, 9); And to the Galatians—“Paul, an Apostle, not of men, neither by
man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father who _raised him from the
dead_” (Gal. i. 1); And to the Corinthians—“Now if Christ be preached
that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no
resurrection of the dead!” “But if there be no resurrection of the dead,
then is _Christ_ not risen;” “And if Christ be not risen, then is our
preaching vain, and your faith is also vain;” “Yea, and we are found
false witnesses of God because we have _testified_ of God that he raised
up Christ, whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not” (1
Cor. xv. 12 to 16); “For I delivered unto you FIRST OF ALL that which
I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day
according to the Scriptures; and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the
twelve; after that he was seen of about five hundred brethren at once,
of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen
asleep; after that he was seen of James; then of all the Apostles; and
last of all he was seen of me also, as one born out of due time; for I am
the least of the Apostles and am not meet to be called an Apostle because
I persecuted the Church of God” (1 Cor. xv. 3-10).
We know not with what body Jesus appeared to Paul six years after his
ascension; nor with what body or just when his saints shall rise. But
when Paul says that Christ, having died for our sins, was _buried_ and
rose again the _third day_, and was seen by those enumerated, it would
be a most violent perversion of language to infer that it was not a
_material_ resurrection. His flesh had not then seen corruption, and he
had not yet ascended. The state of things had changed at the time he was
seen by Paul, and hence the mode of his appearance was different. Paul
could not have been ignorant that the Apostles were persuaded that they
beheld and handled the corporeal body of their risen Lord, and if he
had entertained a different idea of the character of the appearances to
them, he could not have written as we have quoted. As will be shown in
subsequent chapters, he had “received,” a corporeal resurrection, and so
he “delivered.”
These four Epistles of Paul were written about A.D. 58, or within
less than thirty years from the Crucifixion. By them, two things are
established beyond dispute. _First_, the doctrine of the Resurrection,
whether true or false, is not a _myth or legend_, in any sense in which
those words are commonly understood, or in any sense in which they
should ever be used. Nor are the appearances or _supposed_ appearances
of our risen Lord, mentioned by Paul (whether they be regarded as real
or not), _myths or legends_. The _doctrine_ of the Resurrection was not
the product of a subsequent age; it was received from the beginning. Nor
were the _appearances_ of our risen Lord, which were the basis of that
doctrine, the product of a subsequent age. A skeptic, if he will or must,
may say that the doctrine is not true, and that the appearances which
were accepted as evidence of it were not real; but he cannot without an
abuse of language say that the one, or the others, are _myths or legends_.
_Second_, the Apostles and early disciples most intensely believed the
doctrine to be true, and the appearances to be real. Even Strauss is
compelled to admit their sincerity. He concedes that the Epistle to the
Corinthians is undoubtedly genuine. And he says that on its authority,
“One must believe that many members of the primitive church who were
yet living at the time when this Epistle was written, especially the
Apostles, were convinced that they had witnessed appearances of the risen
Christ.” (Strauss’ Life, etc., p. 832.) And this is generally conceded by
all skeptics at the present day who have any claim to be even tolerably
informed upon the subject of the Resurrection, and any disposition to
deal with it in any spirit of fairness. This narrows our inquiry very
much. Thus far we rest on solid ground. We start with the fact fully
established, that we are not dealing with myths, or legends, concerning
a remote transaction. We know precisely what convictions in respect to
the Resurrection were entertained at the very time of the transaction,
by those best qualified to judge; and we also know many of the facts,
upon which these convictions were based. We may say, if we choose, that
the supposed appearances were not real; but we cannot say they are an
_afterthought_. They must have been entertained from the very beginning,
certainly as early as the day of Pentecost. The Apostles believed with
most intense earnestness, that they had seen their _Risen Lord_, and had
received from him their Commission to disciple all nations, baptizing
them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Their honesty being conceded, the only question remaining is, _were
they deceived_? Mistake on their part could only have been in one or
two things; either that he did not die upon the cross, or else that
he was not alive afterward. And here it is important to observe, that
the Evangelists do little more than give to some extent the times and
circumstances of transactions already declared, in the Epistles, to have
occurred. Of course those transactions as they were understood when the
Epistles were written, _had_ their times and circumstances. Paul declared
what he had “received,”—that Jesus _died_ and was _buried_. The Gospels
state the time and the attending circumstances. Paul declared, as he had
“received,”—that Christ _rose again the third day_. The Gospels state
the circumstances. Paul declared, as he had “received,”—that Jesus after
he rose on the third day, was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve, after
that by about five hundred brethren, after that by James, and then again
by all the Apostles. The Gospels and the first chapter of Acts state the
circumstances of some, though not of all, of these several appearances.
From what we know already from Paul’s Epistles, further information
from some source should be expected; and the Evangelists afford that
information. We must believe that they state the _circumstances_, as they
were understood when Paul wrote his Epistles, and as they were understood
when the Resurrection was first proclaimed on the day of Pentecost. As
the principal facts, _i. e._ the Resurrection and subsequent visible
appearances till the Ascension, were not an afterthought, neither are
the _circumstances_ attending them as recorded by the Evangelists, an
afterthought. In respect to these circumstances, we can see and know
what the Apostles _supposed_ they saw, and heard, and knew.
The Evangelists, therefore, by stating circumstances not specified by
Paul, enable us to determine more certainly, whether the Apostles were
deceived. And what they state of Christ’s predictions of his death and
his resurrection, may also help us to determine whether the Apostles were
deceived.
[1] Strauss’ Life of Jesus, Vol. II., pp. 843-4; Godet’s Com. on St.
Luke, A.D. 1881, p. 511.
[2] Conybeare and Howson’s Life, etc., of Paul, p. 962.
[3] Judge Waite will not admit John’s authorship, and he cites Eusebius
cc. 3-39, as having attributed the Apocalypse to John the Presbyter.
This may indicate a present “tendency” by skeptical writers to shift
their ground. Eusebius, however, only states that there were two, John
the Apostle, and John the Presbyter, and that “it is probable that the
second, if it be not allowed that it was the first, saw the Revelation
ascribed to John.” Justin Martyr had long before (Dial., c. 81) in
express terms given John the Apostle as the author; and such is the
general verdict of scholars.
[4] Conybeare and Howson, pp. 438, 961, 964.