Theology of Universalism By Thomas B.

Thayer, 1862
Chapter 12 The Scriptural Doctrine Concerning Section !! a"es ## !ts Scriptural !mport an" usage. $The %ich &an an" 'a(arus.$ Hades is found eleven times only in the New Testament, and is rendered by the word Hell ten times, and once by the word Grave. 1 Cor. 15:55. It is universally allowed by critics that Hades corresponds in meaning with Sheol and this is confirmed by the fact that the Septuagint, !note 1" which is the #ree$ translation of the %ebrew &criptrues, made in part about three hundred years before Christ, has rendered Sheol by the word Hades si'ty times out of si'ty(four instances where it occurs. %owever, with regard to the meaning of the word, in the New Testament, it may be well to have independent testimony. !note 1: The Septuagint, or &eventy, sometimes written the )**., is so called from the fact or tradition of its being the +oint labor of seventy learned ,ews in the time of -tolemy -hiladelphus. It was in use in our &avior.s time" Meaning and usage of Hades. / theologian, e0ually learned as a scholar, +udicious as a critic, and impartial as a commentator, says of Hades, (( 1In my +udgment, it ought never in Scripture to be rendered Hell , at least in the sense wherein that word is universally understood by Christians. It is very plain that neither in the &eptuagint version of the 2ld Testament, nor in the New, does the word Hades convey the meaning which the present 3nglish word Hell, in the Christian usage, always conveys to our minds. The attempt to illustrate this would be unnecessary, as it is hardly now pretended by any critic that this is the acceptation of the term in the 2ld Testament.1 !note 4" !note 4: 56. C/7-83)), 1-reliminary 5issertations,1 5iss. 9i. -art ii. )3 C)36C affirms that 1neither Hades nor Sheol ever signify in the &acred &cripture the abode of evil spirits, but only the sepulchre, or the state of the dead.1 /nd this is also the testimony of #62TI:& and other learned men. (( De Elingenda, inter Dissentientes Christianos, Sententia Liber. par. vii. &ee also -22)3.s 1Continuators on )i$e,1 'vi. 1;(<=. These testimonies, which might be added to indefinitely, are enough to show that Hades in the New Testament is simply the #ree$ form of what Sheol is in the 2ld and therefore that 1%ell1 does not convey to the people of this day the same idea which Hades conveyed to the people in the time of Christ. It is plain, too, that at the time our translation was made, 1%ell1 in 3nglish did not bear the e'clusive meaning it has now. The /postle.s Creed, so called, is proof of this, when it says, that Christ after his crucifi'ion 1descended into hell>1 &urely the -rotestant 3nglish Church did not mean to say that Christ went into a place of endless woe. Therefore, as -rof. &T:/6T says, 1%ell, in this document, means the underworld, the world of the dead, and so it has ben construed by the most intelligent critics of the 3nglish Church.1 It has been very correctly said that 1%ell, in its primitive signification, corresponded perfectly in meaning with Hades. It comes from the /nglo(&a'on, helan, to cover or hide hence the tiling or slating of a house is called, in Cornwall, helling to this day and the covers of boo$s in )ancashire by the same name (( so the literal import of the original word Hades was formerly well e'pressed by it.1 C/7-83)), 52556I5#3, C)/6?3, -/6?%:6&T, and others. I saw lately in an 3nglish newspaper, an account of an accident which happened to a &later, who 1fell from the roof while engaged in helling it.1" /nd now let us turn to the New Testament, and we shall find that Hades, in its literal usage, is the e0uivalent of Sheol, signifying, I. The grave, the underworld, or place of the dead. The first pasage to be noted is 1 Cor. 15:55. 12 death where is thy sting@ 2 grave A hadesB where is thy victory.1 %ere hades is properly translated, the resurrection being very appropriately celebrated as victory over the grave. /nd the true meaning of hades is seen by the law of parallelism, before noticed, which often runs into the New Testament for though the language is #ree$, the structure and idiomatic forms are largely %ebrew. Thus: 12 5eath where is thy sting: 2 grave where is thy victory.1 ell

The thought is simply repeated 1grave,1 or hades, answering to 1death,1 the 1victory1 being ta$en from one, and the 1sting1 from the other. /nd the thought is substantially that of %osea 1<:1C: 12 5eath I will be thy plagues: 2 grave ASheolB I will be thy destruction.1 The same connection or association of 5eath and %ades appears in every passage in the boo$ of 6evelations in which the word occurs, as follows (( 1:1D E:D, 4=:1<(1C: 1 I am he that liveth, and was dead and, behold, I am alive forevermore, /men and have the $eys of hell A hadesB and of death.1 1/nd I loo$ed, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was 5eath, and %ell A hadesB followed with him.1 1/nd the sea gave up the dead which were in it and death and hell A hadesB delivered up the dead which were in them:1 1/nd death and hell AhadesB were cast into the la$e of fire. This is the second death.1 Fith regard to these passages, it is plain enough that the 6evelator employed the word hades to signify the region of the dead, or the ingdo! of death. 5eath and %ades are both personified, or represented as persons and in chapter C:D, 5eath is a $ing or leader, followed by his hosts, the inhabitants of Hades, or the 5ead. /nd an eminent critic says that the 1Hades of the /pocalypse, is the genuine Sheol of the %ebrews with the e'ception, perhaps, that the %ebrew sacred boo$s have nowhere represented hades as having a $ing over it.1 This poetical representation, however, is in perfect $eeping with the strongly metaphorical style of the boo$. /cts 4:4G, <1. 1 8ecause thou wilt not leave my soul in hell A hadesB, neither wilt thou suffer thine %oly 2ne to see corruption.1 2f this 0uotation from 5avid, -salm 1E:1=, -eter says, 1 %e seeing this before spa$e of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell AhadesB, neither his flesh did see corruption.1 2f course, the meaning of hades or hell, in these te'ts, is grave, or realm of death, as in the preceding passages. It is the same, also, in the following: 1 Thou art -eter, and upon this roc$ I will build my church and the gates of hell A hadesB shall not prevail against it.1 7att. 1E:1D. )e Clerc translates 1gates of hell1 portae sepulchri, or 1the gates of the sepulchre,1 or the grave and says the meaning of the passage is, that the church shall never die, or become e'tinct. &tuart, and others, ta$e a similar view.!note <" !note <: The same figure is found in Isa. <D:1=. 1I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go the gates of the grave1 ASheolB -salm ;:1<, 1Thou liftest me up from the gates of death.1 1=G:1D, 1They draw near to the gates of death.1 Sheol or Hades is represented as the "nderworld, the entrance to which is shut up by gates and in 6ev. 1:1D, Christ is said to have the 1$eys of hell1 AhadesB, the gates of which he opened by his 6esurrection." II. Hades is used also as a figure to represent a condition of e#tre!e suffering, or utter destruction. 1 /nd thou, Capernaum, which art e'alted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell A hadesB:1 7att. 11:4<. The meaning of this is too obvious to re0uire e'planation. The only remaining passage is )u$e 1E:1;(<1. 1 /nd in hell AhadesB he lift up his eyes, being in torment.1 In order to understand this, we must note the following particulars: 1. It is not a history but a parable. Not a literal relation of facts respecting individuals, but a figurative representation of events touching the ,ews Athe 6ich 7an,B on one hand, and the #entiles A)aHarus,B on the other as in the parables of the unfaithful %usbandmen, the 7arriage Ieast, the 7aster of the %ouse, etc. 5r. 8loomfield, in his #ree$ Testament, says, 1The best commentators, both ancient and modern, with reason consider it as a parable since all the circumstances seem parabolical, and a story very similar to it, is found in the 8abylonian #emara.1 &o Fhitby. 4. If a parable, it must be interpreted as a parable. Fe must not e'pect to find a meaning for every particular, but loo$ only to the main scope and design of the parable. The 1five brethren,1 the 1drop of water,1 1cooling the

tongue,1 etc., have no more special meaning, than 1the fatted calf,1 1the ring,1 1the shoes,1 in the parable of the -rodigal &on. 1Comparison is not to be e'tended,1 says -rofessor &tuart, 1to all the circumstances of the allegory. Thus, in the parable of the #ood &amaritan, the point to be illustrated, is the e#tent of the dut$ of beneficence. 7ost of the circumstances go to ma$e up merely the veri(similitude of the narration, so tht it may give pleasure to him who hears or reads it.1 <. 1The point to be illustrated1 in the parable of the 6ich man and )aHarus, is the re%ection and punish!ent of the &ews, and the calling of the Gentiles into the privileges and blessings of the Gospel . This is the main scope and design of the parable, and the leading particulars have significance as follows: AaB The 'ich Man, clothed in purple and fine linen, and faring sumptuously every day, represents the ,ews, their wealth of spiritual privileges and blessings, 1because that unto them were committed the oracles of #od1 A6om. <:4B, and they were favored with the ministry of prophets and holy men. AbB La(arus, the beggar, feeding on crumbs, and full of sores, represents the #entiles, their spiritual poverty and ignorance. AcB Their Death, represents respectively the change in their conditions, which too$ place on the setting up of the #ospel $ingdom in the earth. The 'ich Man dead, is the ,ewish nation dead to, or deprived of, all its former privileges and gifts of divine $nowledge. La(arus dead, is the #entiles dead to their former life as death is always the opposite of life. AdB La(arus in )braha!*s boso!, represents the #entiles translated into the new life of #ospel faith, and $nowledge, and salvation. AeB The 'ich Man in tor!ent represents the ,ews suffering the punishment of their sins, in the destruction of their city and temple, and the sore calamities which have fallen on them ever since. AfB The great gulf represents the antagonism of unbelief between ,ews and Christians A#entiles,B and the utter want of religious sympathy and fellowship which separates the two people. AgB The re0uest of the 6ich 7an respecting his five brethren, and the reply of /braham, are only put in to show the obstinacy of the ,ews in their refusal to believe in Christ as the 7essiah since, if their own scriptures A7oses and the -rophets,B could not convince them, neither would they be persuaded 1if one went unto them from the dead.1 /nd this was literally and singularly verified for when a real )aHarus was raised from the dead by ,esus, the chief priests and pharisees not only refused to believe, but were so enraged that they sought to $ill both ,esus and )aHarus. ,ohn 11:14. The same thing e'pressed in the metaphors of this parable, is stated in direct terms in other passages: 1The $ingdom of #od shall be ta$en from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.1 7att. 41:C<. 1It was necessary that the word of #od should first have been spo$en to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and +udge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the #entiles. Ior so hath the )ord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the #entiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.1 /cts 1<:CE(CG. 1There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see /braham, and Isaac, and ,acob, and all the prophets, in the $ingdom of #od, and you yourselves thrust out. /nd they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the $ingdom of #od.1 or, as 7atthew has it, 1 the children of the $ingdom shall be cast out 1 )u$e 1<:4D(4; 7att. D:11:14. 2f course, 1the $ingdom of #od1 cannot refer to the immortal state, for those in that heaven, the children of that $ingdom, are not to be cast out. The $ingdom here is the #ospel $ingdom on earth, 1the children of the $ingdom1 the ,ews, so(called because of the special favors and privileges bestowed on them (( and they are cast out, and the #entiles received in their place +ust s the 6ich 7an and )aHarus change conditions, the one deprived of his 1good things,1 and 1tormented,1 and the other delivered from his 1evil things,1 and 1comforted.1 !note C" !note C: &ome of the most eminent modern orthodo' commentators allow of this application. 5r. #I)), the learned 8aptist critic, ma$es a two(fold application, and says of the latter, 1it may also be understood of the political and ecclesiastical death of the ,ewish people, which lay in the destruction of ,erusalem and the temple, and in the abolition of the temple worship and the whole ceremonial law, and a death of afflictions by captivity and calamities of every $ind, attending them ever since.1 +n hell in tor!ents. 1This,1 he says, 1may regard the vengeance of #od

on the ,ews at the destruction of ,erusalem,1 etc. )I#%TI22T, of the Festminster /ssembly, says, 1the main scope and desigh of the parable seems this, (( to hint the destruction of the unbelieving ,ews who though they had 7oses and the prophets, did not believe them.1 8/T3, of the 3nglish Church, ta$es the same view, ma$iing the death of )aHarus the introduction of the #entiles into the Church of #od, and the death of the rich man the re+ection of the ,ews. &ee the citations at large in -/I#3.s 1&elections from 3minent Commentators.1 This view of the parable is to be found also among the Iathers. /:#:&TIN3 A/.5. C==,B says, 1In 5ivite intelliganture superbi ,udaeorum, ignorantes 5ei +ustitiam, Jc. (( ,uaest. Evang., lib. iii. 0. <D. #63#26K the #reat, /.5. 55=, says, 15ives iste ,udaicum populum designat, Jc. Ho!. C= in Evang and in Moral., lib. ''v. c.1<. T%32-%K)/CT, /.5., 1=5=, elaborates this as a probable interpretation. (( Trench on the -arable." Thus we see that while 1/braham.s bosom,1 which is a ,ewish idiom or phrase for the blessed life of paradise, represents the e'altation of the #entile world to the privileges of #od.s chosen people Hades, or the state of death, represents the national death of the ,ews, or their utter desolation and ruin as a people. 8ut we discover from this parable, that in the time of Christ, the ,ews had partially adopted the pagan ideas respecting Hades, or the "nderworld, viH: that it contains separate apartments for the good and bad and that in Tartarus, the portion assigned to the wic$ed, there were torments, flames, etc., in punishment of their sins. This, and 4 -et. 4:C, are the only passages in the 8ible which allude to this fact. ,osephus, however, confirms it. %e spea$s of suicides being 1received into the dar$est part of Hades and says the -harisees held that under the earth A%ades,B there are rewards and punishments accordingly as they have been virtuous or vicious in this life. .&ewish /ar, 8oo$ iii. Chapter D, sec. 5. &ee also the &ewish )nti0uities, 8oo$ 'viii, chapter i, sec. 4(E.B The ,ews had no such notions at the close of the 2ld Testament, as we have seen and during the four hundred years which intervened between 7alachi and Christ, there was no prophet, no revelation whatever. They could not, therefore, have obtained them from any divine source. Fhence, then, did they obtain them@ There is only one answer possible (( they borrowed them from the heathen, with whom they were current they adopted them from the #ree$ and 6oman mythology, from which they had ta$en many other doctrines and opinions not found in the )aw or the -rophets. %ence the words of the &avior, 1In vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the co!!and!ents of !en.1 7att. 15:E(;. !note 5" !note 5: The truth is, that in the four hundred years of their intercourse with the heathen, during which they wre without any divine teacher or message, -agan philosophy and superstition had, so far as regarded the future state, completely pushed aside the )aw of 7oses and the &criptures of the 2ld Testament, and set up in place of them the most e'travagant inventions and fables respecting the invisible world. &ee this abundantly proved in the author.s 12rigin and %istory of the 5octrine of 3ndless -unishment.1 cap. iv." Now, can any Christian believe that our &avior adopted these superstitions which the ,ews had borrowed from the heathen@ It will not do to day that he revealed the doctrine of torments in a hell after death, because both ,ews and %eathen believed it before he came. If, therefore, he teaches the doctrine in the parable of the 6ich 7an and )aHarus, he teaches a heathen doctrine for it is certain he did not ta$e it from the 2ld Testament, because it is not there and he was not sent to reveal it, because if it be true, it was already revealed to the heathen, or they had found it out, without a revelation, ages before his coming> It is plain, therefore, that the &avior simply employs this heathenish notion of the ,ews, in parable, as an illustration, +ust as he spea$s of 8eelHebub, the -hilistine god of flies A7att. 1=:45 14:4C,B or 7ammon, the god of riches A7att. E:4C B without recogniHing the e'istence of either, or sanctioning belief in such falsehoods and absurdities. Fe do the same thing now, when we spea$ of 1&t. 9itus. 5ance,1 1?ing.s 3vil,1 1&t. /nthony.s Iire,1 without the least faith in the superstition which gives these names to the particular diseases they designate. /nd :niversalists and others use the popular terms 12rthodo',1 and 13vangelical,1 merely for the sa$e of convenience, without admitting that those designated are 2rthodo' or 3vangelical. To argue that Christ taught or sanctioned the doctrine of this ,ewish parable respecting the future state, instead of simply using it for illustration, is to argue that he believed it as there set forth. 8ut does any one suppose that Christ believed that heaven and hell are separated by a great gulf, across which the inhabitants can see each other, and tal$ together@ That the damned are tormented in literal fire and flame@ That they have tongues whose pain could be

eased by a drop, or an ocean, of water@ That they petition /braham, or any one, to send messengers from heaven to their friends on earth, to warn them against the torments of hell@ 2f course, he believed nothing of the $ind nor is he at all responsible for the truth of such pagan dogmas, because he alludes to them in this parable, for the purpose of enforcing a warning or lesson. !note E" !note E: 5r. 8)227II3)5, of the 3nglish Church, says, 11o responsibilit$ on our Lord*s part is involved in this case for our best Commentators and Theologians are agreed that in parabolic narrations, provided the doctrines inculcated be strictly true, the terms in which they are e'pressed, may be adapted to the prevailing notions of those to whom they are addressed.1 (( Gree Test., in loco. 5r. 7/C?NI#%T, &cotch -resbyterian, confesses 1that our )ord.s descriptions Ain this parableB are not drawn from the writings of the 2ld Testament, but have a remar$able affinity to the descriptions which the #recian poets have given. If from these resemblances it is thought the parable is formed on the #recian mythology, it will not at all follow that our )ord approved of what the common people thought or spa$e concerning those matters, agreeably to the notions of the #ree$s.1" Thus closes the e'amination of the &criptural usage of Hades, which as we have seen, is in its literal sense the e0uivalent of Sheol in every te't, save the last, in which appear the heathen notions respecting its being a place of rewards and punishments, or the region in which are located both hell and heaven. The following facts are worthy of note: 1. If Hades is 1hell1 in the ordinary definition of the word, then the soul of Christ was in hell after his crucifi'ion. 18ecause thou wilt not leave my soul in hell. %e spa$e of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell.1 /cts 4:4G, <1. 4. It is e0ually true of all in hell, that they will not be left there for the 6evelator says, 15eath and %ell delivered up the dead which were in them and they were +udged every man according to his wor$s.1 6ev. 4=:1<. If it be said that, after they are +udged they will be sent bac$ again, we demand the proof. 8ut even it be so, we still have to note (( <. That hell is to be utterly destroyed. To say nothing of 1 Cor. 15:55, 1 2 death, where is thy sting@ 2 hell A hadesB, where is thy victory@1 we have the direct testimony (( 1/nd death and hell were cast into the la$e of fore. This is the second death.1 6ev. 4=:1C. /nd these two passages are the e'act e0uivalent of %osea 1C:1C. 1 I will ransom them from the power of the grave Ahell, Sheol 22 HadesB I will redeem them from death: 2 death, I will be thy plagues 2 grave Ahell, Sheol 22 HadesB, I will be thy destruction:1 5r. Campbell says, on 6ev. 4=:1C, 1if we interpret Hades, .hell,. in the Christian sense of the word, the whole passage is rendered nonsense. Hell is represented as being cast into hell for so the la$e of fire, which is in this place denominated the second death, is universally interpreted.1 The phrase 1cast into the la$e of fire1 is a figure of utter destruction. It is simply saying 1death and hell were destroyed.1 C. 2f course, then, Hades, 1hell,1 is not a place of endless torment, otherwise it could not be destroyed. Fhatever, therefore, the interpretation given to the narration of 5ives and )aHarus, whether regarded as a parable, or literal history, it is plain that the 6ich 7an was not in a place of endless torment. 2r, in the more general phrase of -rof. &tuart: 1Fhatever the state of either the righteous or the woc$ed may be, whilst in Hades, that state will certainly cease, and be e'changed for another at the general resurrection.1 !note G" !note G: Those who would see an argument for Hades as an inter!ediate state, a view which seems to be growing among the sects, may read an article in the 8aptist 1Christian 6eview1 for /pril, 1DE4, 1 The 'ighteous Dead, between Death and the 'esurrection 1 and on the other side, see 13ibliotheca Sacra1 for ,anuary, 1DE4, 1The Spirits in -rison.1 The last writer thin$s the idea of future opportunities for repentance and salvation is 1gaining new adherents at the present time 1 and refers to 6ev. 8. %. FI)&2N.s essay on the 1National Church,1 in the 16ecent In0uiries in Theology by eminent 3nglish Churchmen.1 In this essay, the author, alluding to the Li!bus +nfantu! of the Catholic Church, says there may be mansions hereafter for those who are 1infants in spiritual development (( nurseries, or seed grounds, where the undeveloped may grow up under new conditions, the stunted become strong, and the perverted restored,1 and that finally when 1Christ shall have surrendered his $ingdom to the #reat Iather, all, both s!all and great, shall find a refuge in the boso! of the universal parent , to repose, or be 0uic$ened into higher life, in the ages to come, according to his will.1 p. 4<4, /merican edition. 5r. F/TT&, even, thought that 1the perfections of #od will contrive a way of escape for the repentant sinner hereafter,1 though he has not revealed this. (( /orld to Co!e, For$s, i. G<D."