The state of the dead

Chapter I

The primitive and present state of man — Creation of inanimate and animate things — Order and beauty — Creation of man — "What man is in his lapsed state evidence of greatness in a state of innocence — He was placed in Eden under moral government — Had he not sinned, would have lived and been happy for ever — Sinning, he was driven out of the garden and doomed to die — He was the representative of his race — Involved his posterity in sin and death — They, through grace, under a new covenant and on trial for another state... 11

Chapter II

The body — Its value ,and dignity — Must return to dust — Unconscious in the grave — All without distinction there — Awaiting the resurrection — The resurrection — It was taught and believed by the antediluvians, by the patriarchs, and by the prophets — Is the doctrine of the gospel dispensation — Taught by Jesus — Proven by the resurrection of Christ — Preached by the apostles — Is not contrary to the laws of nature — At the end of time the dead shall be raised and death destroyed 19

Chapter III

The soul — Its existence doubted and denied — The doubt — The sleep of the soul — The philosophy and texts of Scripture appealed to in proof of its sleep considered, and the doctrine refuted — Death not nonentity — The different characters of the godlj and the wicked 2'-.

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IV CONTENTS.

Chapter IV

Of the soul dwelling about the grave — This doctrine gives rise to ghost-stories, and the belief in specters and astrology — Witchcraft — Condemned by the writings of Moses — History of — Samuel appearing to Saul — The ungodly go to hell — The godly go to heaven — Metempsychosis — Believed by the Jews, by the Hindoos — Ignorance of the nature of the soul, and of God's method of saving it, the fruitful source of superstitions and false theories 44

Chapter V

Purgatory — The doctrine of the papists — Protestants accused of misrepresenting Catholicism — Quotations from "Wiseman, Challoner, Gother — These quotations reviewed 60

Chapter VI

Purgatory — Man guilty — How sin can be pardoned and man saved — Various doctrines connected with purgatory — Penance and vicegerency of priests — In what penance consists — Confession to a priest — Quotations from Wiseman, Challoner, and Gother — What these authors teach — Proof-tests for confession examined — Absolution — Statement of this doctrine by Wiseman, Milner, and Gother given and examined — Their proof-texts on this subj ect investigated — The practice of the apostles- 80

Chapter VII

Purgatory — Satisfaction the third part of penance — Presentation of the doctrine — Detracts from the expiation of Christ — The satisfaction made by Jesus sufficient and the only satisfaction required — Obedience not satisfaction — Punishment does not expiate sin — God does not punish sin after it is pardoned to cancel remaining indebtedness — The cases adduced to prove that he does investigated — It is disproved by the nature of pardon 115

CONTENTS. V

Chapter VIII

Purgatory — The passages of Scripture relied on to prove the existence of a purgatory, and the power and authority of Romish priests to forgive sins, examined and explained 146

Chapter IX

The intermediate state — The doctrine presented — The position of McTyeire and Wesley given — An objection entered against their doctrine — Statement of the position maintained by the author in this work — Souls go immediately at death to heaven or hell — Paragraphs from the Confession of Faith and from the Larger Catechism of the Presbyterian Church — The descent of Christ into hell — The opinions of Bishop Pearson given and conclusions drawn 191

Chapter X

The intermediate state — Particular words, sheol, hades, and gehenna — Dr. Campbell and Mr. Watson on these words — A thorough examination and presentation of the use and meaning of these words — Abraham's bosom, paradise, and heaven — The promise of Christ to the penitent thief. 203

Chapter XI

The intermediate state — The judgment-day — Solemnity, justice, and rewards of — Translation of Enoch and Elijah — Christ as the first-fruits — Comparison of theories — The devils in hell, and to be judged at the last day — The results and accumulations of human actions and teachings after their authors are dead 214

Chapter XII

The intermediate state — Heb. xi. 39, 40, examined — Positive proofs of immediate entrance at death into heaven or hell — Luke xvi. 22, 23 — Hammond, Milner, Wesley, Bloomfield,

VI CONTENTS.

and Clarke on this text — Luke xxiii. 43 — Christ's ascension to heaven and session there — The soul on leaving the body present with the Lord— 1 Cor. v. 6, 8 ; Phil. i. 23, 24 ; 2 Cor. v. 1 230

Chapter XIII

Termination of the state of the dead — "Will take place at the expiration of time — The dead body preserved by God and raised — The judgment immediately succeeds the termination of the state of the dead — The wicked sent to hell to exist in misery for ever — What the godly shall be after the termination of the present state of the dead — Pure in spirit — Perfect in body — No infants in heaven — Physical perfection — Every one born to a certain stature — Eeached by growth — The gospel removes physical deformities — Identity — Eecognition — Heaven — A place — Its descriptions — Jesus invites and receives his saints into it 242

Preface

" Of making many books there is no end ; and much reading is a weariness of the flesh." So taught the wisest of men. But so bold an advocate of literature, and one so friendly to the pursuit of knowledge as was he, could not object to making books, or to reading them when made. It is evident that he only intended to teach, in the above language, that the whole of man's duty is given in a shorter space than that devoted to numerous volumes, and that it is unnecessary to read so extensively to find out all that man should do, which is to " Fear God, and keep his commandments."

It is supposed by us that every author who gives the productions of his pen to the public, attaches some importance to what he has written, and presumes the same to be worthy the attention of his fellow -men, and calculated in some way to benefit them. This is true of the author of these pages. He has written them at his own instance, gives them to the press and sends them forth of his own accord, and upon his own responsibility, yet with real, unaffected diffidence. It is proper to say, in this connection, that this volume has been written under very unfavorable circumstances. With quite a meager library at our command, and with the duties of a District, and other imperative engagements upon us, we have found no little embarrassment in writing and preparing it for the press.

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VI ll PREFACE.

The State of the Dead is a subject of intense interest to our race — one that engages the thoughts, quickens the attention, and excites the curiosity of all grades, conditions, and nations of men. The points embraced in this subject, which are discussed in the following pages, are of paramount importance to the Christian world, and are points upon which the Church has been agitated and divided.

In the positions and doctrines which we have assumed, and endeavored to maintain, we have followed our own convictions of truth. With the Bible as our text-book and authority for doctrines, and correction and guidance in practice, we have deferred to no one, either of present or past ages. We have not troubled ourselves to know or tell what "the injudicious, inconsistent, over-doing Fathers," as Mr. John Fletcher calls them, have said on the topics which we have discussed. In this we have ignored the example set us by almost all polemic writers. The Fathers have been appealed to in support of the various positions held concerning the state of the dead. If we are to believe those who have given us a history of the controversies on this subject, the Fathers have been brought forward as authority for the doctrine that the souls of the dead are shut up in certain prison-houses where they are neither doing, suffering, nor enjoying any thing, but are, nevertheless, expecting the resurrection. They have also been adduced in proof that the souls of patriarchs, prophets, and all good men, are somewhere under the earth, waiting with eager expectation the advent of Christ. The Fathers are adduced as authority for the position that paradise means heaven, and also the position that paradise means hades. Again, they have been quoted as teaching that no souls ever entered paradise until Christ, by his death, opened its door, and went into it in company with the penitent thief, and that then all the faithful dead

PREFACE. IX

entered in. In fine, every theory entertained upon the subject, many of which are conflicting, has claimed the Fathers for its support. Neither have we in this work, as is customary with authors, arrayed the teachings, and appealed to the authority, of Councils. In former ages, whatever Councils decreed was accepted — whatever they approved, it was criminal to oppose — whatever they condemned, it was heresy to maintain. But Fathers, Councils, Creeds, and Decrees are of no account and of no authority in establishing the doctrines of divine truth.

But while we have ignored these, and have deferred to no one, in some parts of this volume will be found a number of quotations made from various authors. We fear that, in some instances, the reader will be wearied with the number and length of these quotations. Considering them necessary to an understanding of the subject where they occur, we could not dispense with them. Where we take notice of witchcraft, there are a number of quotations which we could not curtail, and give the most imperfect view of the subject. In fact, that part of the chapter devoted to the consideration of the soul dwelling about the grave, and the superstitions growing out of it, is too meager, and should have been extended. In presenting the doctrine of Purgatory, which is perhaps more thoroughly discussed than in any w T ork now extant, we have made, from different authors, quotations upon the same points and containing the same things. Some may think this superfluous. But we have been induced to give these quotations in order that the teachings of the papists may be fully, honestly, and correctly stated and understood, and that we may be free from the charge of misrepresenting the Holy Mother, as she styles herself. Treating of the descent of Christ into hell, as taught in what is called the Apostles' Creed, we quote somewhat

X PREFACE.

extensively from Pearson. Attacking, as we do, the doctrine of this Article, and believing Pearson, its own friend who is set for its defense, the best witness against it, we could not refrain from giving what we have from his Exposition.

The arrangement of the subjects in this work is our own; also, the style. We have followed no one, imitated no one. To speak here of the merits of this work, if any it has, will not increase them, any more* than to array and recount its defects would remove or diminish them. So we shall I ^ave the reader to discover and admire its merits, and to find and correct, or condemn, its defects, as best he may be able.

Believing that this volume contains truth, and hoping that it will accomplish good, it is sent forth upon its mission by

THE AUTHOR.

Camden, Ala., Nov. 3, 1868.

Preface To The Second Edition

In sending forth this, the second edition of the State of the Dead, we take occasion to say we are more and more persuaded of the importance of the work and the interest of the subject. What we shall be, and where we shall be, when numbered with the dead, are points of no small concern to each and every thinking mind. A future state of awards is a doctrine which no one can deny, who is not prepared to deny the truth of the Bible and the existence of God. The mode of existence and the place of the abode of the dead between death and the general deliverance are points of great weight, and inseparably connected with the subject of man's present and future. Divine revelation brings the subject to view in a manner prominent and satisfactory. It is not one of mere speculation, and we have indulged no flight of imagination. In searching out and presenting every point of doctrine which we have maintained, the Bible has been our guide, and we have not attempted to walk beyond the range of its light.

The criticisms of many upon this book have been commendatory and flattering, while those of others have been adverse and by no means complimentary. The commenda-

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Xll PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

tory notices have gratified us. The detractive and denunciatory notices have in no way dismayed us, and by no means distressed us. Any and every way we rejoice in what we deem truth. The work, such as it is, and as it is, has gone forth. We cannot recall it, and we would not if we could. What we have written, we have written.

In sending out this new edition, we have not revised a single line. We have not changed or suppressed a single word, except one typographical error. We add nothing but this simple preface.

AXSON WEST.

Huntsville, Ala., March 29, 1871.

THE STATE OE THE DEAD.

Chapter I. The Primitive State Of Man — Present State

We propose a book on the State of the Dead, but let us pause a moment at the threshold to consider man in this life, the point from which he enters that state.

Amidst the evolutions and revolutions of eternity, time began and nonentity gave place to the elements which God then made. Order succeeded chaos, and the darkness profound divided its dominion with light. The dry land and the sea appeared, and the firmament, and forthwith sprang up shrubs, plants, and trees, clothing, ornamenting, and perfuming the earth; immediately beasts, fowls, and fishes thronged their elements; and, in close succession, the sun, moon, and stars, which revolve and flame in the far-off heavens, were created. Order and 2 (11)

equilibrium sat enthroned. No restless billow agitated the ocean's bosom; no angry wave lashed the beach; no furious torrents inundated the valleys; no hurricane swept the plains; no electric bolt flashed, rent, and tore; no volcanic fires blasted and consumed the mountains — there was nothing to hurt or molest.

Here was a world teeming with life, glowing with beauty, manifesting the Divine Hand, and declaring that for a purpose it was formed. Here was an abode fit for a high order of being, and soon a suitable creature was forthcoming. Of the dust God organized a body erect in form, symmetrical in proportion, and wonderful in combination; by one breath, he finished man, a living soul, in his own image, after his own likeness. This man he placed in this abode to multiply, replenish, and subdue the earth, and have dominion over it, and to live for ever, loving and obeying his Maker. Such was the origin, nature, and destiny of man.

In a description of man's primitive state, we need draw no dark lines, delineate no gloomy picture, but dipping the pencil in the brightest colors, we may finish a portrait beaming with smiles, radiant with peace and gladness, and bearing the impress of Divinity. If we consider him, even in his fallen estate, an inhabitant of a world where confusion, anarchy, hellish hate,

i and diabolic strife prevail, he gives evidence of intellectual and moral greatness. He has fathomed the depths unknown, and searched out and revealed mysteries hitherto concealed. By him sciences have been developed and organized. The sciences of language, mathematics, geology, astronomy, navigation, and others, as well as the mechanic arts, have been, by his invention, skill, and industry, carried to a state of great perfection. He has weighed the sun as in scales, numbered the stars of heaven, found out the paths of the planets, traversed all the seas and revealed the secrets of the deep; has measured the earth as with a line, and, penetrating its very bowels, has examined its strata, tested its rocks and minerals, and analyzed and classified the properties of its component parts. By the invention and construction of engines and implements, he makes even the wild and furious elements serve him. The lightnings and the winds are at his command and in his employ. Upon the wings of imagination he has passed from world to world and raised himself up to the conception of boundless space and endless duration. Notwithstanding the perversion of his moral nature, with all the selfishness and wrath apparent in his heart, he is capable of sympathy, benevolence, and love, and has been known to rise to great and noble deeds, and exhibit moral heroism. If such are the attainments of man in his lapsed condition, what must he have been in that upright state in which his Maker pronounced him "very good"?

For it is certain that he was then far superior to what he is now. While in some sense he was made "a little lower than the angels," there is no evidence that before his intellectual and moral powers were deranged and enervated, he was inferior to them in knowledge and wisdom. Though he was not equal to God, yet, being complete in his own perfections, his knowledge was perfect in its kind. We have some indication of the excellence of his knowledge in the facility with which he gave names to the beasts, expressive of their species and natures. He also discovered his own superiority over them, seeing that none of them were qualified for his association and companionship. He had a correct understanding, a perfect judgment, a faithful memory, a good conscience, well-regulated affections, and an untrammeled will.

Emanating from God, and being in direct communication with him, he was holy, without spot or blemish. Whatever was lovely, whatever was pure, whatever was of good report, was in him n\\i\ possessed by him: innocence sat enthroned upon his brow, and he was clothed with the dignity of an immortal mind.

God planted a garden eastward in Eden, in which grew every tree that was pleasant to the sight, and good for food. Here grew also the tree of life, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In this garden God placed Adam and Eve to dress it and to keep it. Nothing was wanting to contribute to their happiness.

" For Nature here Wantoned as in her prime, and played at will Her virgin fancies, pouring forth more sweet, Wild above rule or art, enormous bliss."

The material and animal kingdoms are governed by natural laws. Nothing in these kingdoms is liable to censure or entitled to praise. But Adam, being endowed with a moral nature, was placed under moral government. He was under a law, the summary of which was, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself." This law was reasonable, just, and good, being, as it has been termed, "a copy of the eternal mind, a transcript of the Divine nature." As applied to Adam in his primeval state, there was connected with it a precept, positive or moral, whichever you please to call it, in the command, " Of the tree of the knowledge

2* of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it," which was a test of his obedience to the moral law. Free from coercion, and yet mutable, in the very nature of the case, he was able to stand and liable to fall, according to his own choice and action.

In this state and under this law, it was intended that man should be free from death in every sense, and happy and immortal while he obeyed. It has been supposed by some that man was naturally mortal, and that he would have died even if he had continued innocent. But he would certainly hare lived for ever, no matter through what agency his life was perpetuated, whether by the tree of life or in some other way. Walking with his God, loving him, and abstaining from the tree of knowledge, he would never have known death. This is evident from the warning, "In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." There would have been no penalty in this, and it could have had no influence upon him if death had been his natural doom. The language of Eve to the serpent indicates that death was not to come upon them while they observed the precept, but that a violation of it would be visited with death as a penalty. It is evident, therefore, that the eating of the forbidden fruit

"Brought death into the world, and all our woe."

For the serpent, the most subtle beast of the field, instigated by the devil, tempted man; the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was eaten, and

" Earth felt the wound ; and Nature, from her seat, Sighing through all her works, gave signs of woe, That all was lost."

Innocence, holiness, peace, happiness, and life, were all lost.

God now sent them forth from the Garden of Paradise. They were nevermore to promenade its delightful walks ; nevermore to eat of its delicious fruits ; nevermore to quench their thirst at its gushing fountains ; nevermore to inhale the fragrance of its flowers ; nevermore to rest in its shady bowers ; nevermore to commune with their Maker in its innocent retirement. The gate was closed upon them, and cherubim and a flaming sword were placed to keep the way of the tree of life. And God said to Adam, " In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return unto the ground ; for out of it wast thou taken : for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."

In closing this chapter, it is necessary to remark that death, the penalty of the original sin, includes death temporal, death spiritual, and death eternal ; and that Adam being the federal head and legal representative of his posterity, they are involved with him in the same sin and penalty. " Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."

Through grace abounding in Christ, the second Adam, man is under a new covenant, and on trial for another state. On certain conditions, the penalty of sin may, eventually, be removed altogether. There is, however, no possibility of escaping temporal death, which is the separation of the soul from the body. The flat has gone forth, "Dying, thou shalt die." The first pulsations of life are but the throes of death ; generation crowds generation to the tomb — the whole race is but a funeral train, and our earth is but a wide burial-ground.

Chapter II. The State Of The Dead Body

Let us speak a little of the body in the land of darkness and the shadow of death. Though this body is the house in which the soul tabernacles during the threescore years and ten allotted to man on earth, and though it is, as our Saviour tells us, "more than raiment," there is a deep gloom hanging over its destiny — there is a dark chapter in its history. Though it is curiously wrought, though there- is grace in its steps and dignity in its motions, though there are the glow of health and the light of beauty upon its cheeks, though there are fire and eloquence in its eyes, though there are music and melody in its voice, though intelligence and honor sit upon its brow, yet, "Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return," is the declaration made concerning it and the sentence written against it. Man goes forth to his work, and in the very midst of his labors he bows himself, the silver cord is loosed, the golcleu bowl is broken, the pitcher is broken at the fountain, the wheel broken at the cistern, and the soul returns to God who gave it, and the body to the dust from whence it was taken. Now the gold has become dim; the health and beauty are gone from the cheeks ; the fire and eloquence are departed from the eyes ; the melodious voice is hushed ; the brow is cold and hard as marble; the limbs are rigid — there is nothing presented but a hideous form and a putrid mass. Whether Egyptian art embalm it, or the pride of wealth give it to the flames, or the casualties of navigation commit it to the ocean's deep, or affection and friendship confine it in marble, or deposit it in a spacious vault, or poverty or war leave it to the fowls of heaven and the beasts of prey, it returns to the earth as it was.

The body in the grave is in an unconscious state. They that go down to the tomb, "go down into silence " — there are darkness and stillness ; there is no more light, life, or thought than there is in the stones of the valley. Neither wealth, rank, nor dominion is in that land of shades. "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither." "We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out." " There the prisoners rest together ; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. The small and the great are there ; and the servant is free from his master." The king and the subject, the rich and the poor, the prince and the beggar meet together — all equally low.

There is one other feature in connection with the dead body, of no little importance to the sorrowing sons of men. It shall not always remain in a decomposed state. While it is a prisoner in this dark abode, it is a prisoner awaiting release. The bow of promise spans the tomb, and the star of hope gleams upon its dark vault. The body no less than the soul is immortal. The grave may detain the body, but can never destroy its immortality, identity, and individuality. " If a man die, shall he live again ?" Yes ; his flesh may be decomposed by the flames; it may be food for worms ; it may be seen in the vegetation which springs out of the soil it enriches, or in the meat upon the bones of the vulture it has fattened; it may be scattered in thousands of atoms to the various points of the compass, but its individuality shall be preserved and its immortality remain to it.

The resurrection of the dead has been taught and believed in every dispensation of the world. The antedil ivians who walked with God, believed in and were cheered by the prospect of deliverance from the grave, for they looked for a city which hath foundations, and declared plainly that they sought a country. Tn the translation of Enoch, God gave to the antediluvians a clear manifestation and an unfailing pledge of a future life for both soul and body. All along down from the days of the flood to the bringing in of the gospel dispensation, the resurrection of the dead was the theme and hope of the worshipers of the Most High God. Abraham offered his son Isaac, " accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead." While Job, in mournful tones, exclaims, " My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves are ready for me," he says, in most triumphant strains, " I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God : whom I jshall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another." As David sang the praise of God, with gladness of heart, he uttered these words, " My flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell." Isaiah, seeing the coming of the Messiah and the day of the resurrection, calls upon those who dwell in the dust to "awake and sing," declaring to them, " Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise." Standing upon the mount of vision, illumined by the light of inspiration, and guided by the spirit of prophecy, portraying the doom of future kingdoms, and foretelling the rise, progress, and duration of

Messiah's reign, Daniel announced the doctrine of the resurrection and the destiny "of the race, saying, "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt."

The resurrection is preeminently the doctrine of the present, or gospel, dispensation. At the time of Christ's ministry, a sect called Sadducees denied the resurrection of the dead and the existence of angels and spirits. In the following Scripture we have a most masterly refutation of their doctrine : " The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were with us seven brethren; and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother : likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. And last of all the woman died also. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto yon by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." Here the Sadducees were silenced by their own Scriptures, which show the power of God to give life to his servants.