“Conditional Immortality Throughout History”, “The History and Development of Conditional Immortality” or “The Champions of Conditional Immortality” as opposed to Universal Immortality Throughout History
Proof-Texts and Cross-Reference
Gen. 3v22-24; Mt. 19v17 [148|152]; Jn. 3v16; Rom. 2v1-9, 6v23; 1 Tim. 6v15-16; 2 Tim. 1v8-11; 1 Jn. 5v11
Introduction
The following documentary should serve as conclusive proof, that the Doctrine of Conditional Immortality is both, historically and authentically, Christian.
You will discover the doctrine of Conditional Immortality confirmed, promoted and defended by both, the Apostolic- and Church Fathers; by Anglicans, Congregationalists, Evangelicals, General Baptists, Independents, Lutherans, Methodists, Particular Baptists, Presbyterians, Puritans, Roman Catholics and Unitarians; by Apologists, Archbishops, Bible Translators, Bishops, Chaplains, Doctors, Evangelists, Greek Scholars, Hebraisists, Legal Theorists, Mathematicians, Missionaries, Pamphletiers, Pastors, Philosophers, Polemicists, Prime Ministers, Professors, Protestant Reformers, Rhetoricians, Scientists, Soldiers and Martyrs, alike.
It is my hope and prayer that the following will serve to vindicate each and every ‘Champion of Conditional Immortality’, who ever paid the price of truth.
➢ The Italian Philosopher, Prof. Pietro Pomponatius (1462–1525), who “was haled before the Inquisition, and his book publicly burned in Venice” [121].
➢ The German Protestant Reformer, Prof. Dr. Martin Luther (1483-1546), who was therefore excommunicated by the Pope.
➢ The Scottish Protestant Reformer, George Wishart (1513-1546), who was investigated for heresy by the Bishop of Brechin in 1538.
➢ The General Baptist, Prof. Dr. William Whiston (1667-1752), who was banished from Cambridge University.
➢ The Congregational minister, Dr. Edward White (1819-1887), whom much of “England gave a notable place as a heretic” [120].
And finally, all those who will in the future, likewise, suffer the same reproach.
The Prophets
Moses – Prophet, Lawgiver, and Author of the Torah.
In Genesis Chapter 3 Verses 22 to 24, Moses says that, following The Fall, God banished Adam and Eve from The Garden of Eden, preventing them access to The Tree of Life, lest they should ‘eat and live for ever’.
“And Jehovah God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, LEST HE PUT FORTH HIS HAND, AND TAKE ALSO OF THE TREE OF LIFE, AND EAT, AND LIVE FOR EVER — therefore Jehovah God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden the Cherubim, and the flame of a sword which turned every way, TO KEEP THE WAY OF THE TREE OF LIFE.” (Gen. 3v22-24, KJV)
The Apostles
Matthew – former Tax Collector and Apostle of the Early Church.
In Matthew Chapter 19 Verse 17, he writes:
“And He said unto him, Why callest thou Me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but IF THOU WILT ENTER INTO LIFE, KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS.” (Mt. 19v17, KJV)
Saint Paul of Tarsus (5-67 AD) – former Pharisee, Student of Gamaliel, Apostle of the Early Church, and Martyr.
In Romans Chapter 2 Verses 1 to 9, Paul tells the Church of Rome, that incorruption and eternal life is to be sought.
“Wherefore thou art without excuse, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judges another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest dost practise the same things. And we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against them that practise such things. And reckonest thou this, O man, who judgest them that practise such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? but after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up for thyself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his works: to them that by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life: but unto them that are factious, and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, shall be wrath and indignation, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that worketh evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek: …” (Rom. 2v1-9, ASV)
In Romans Chapter 6 Verse 23, Paul tells the Church of Rome, that sin brings death, while eternal life can only be found in Jesus.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 6v23, NIV)
In First Timothy Chapter 6 Verses 15 to 16, Paul tells Timothy that God alone has immortality in Himself.
“… which in its own times He shall show, Who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in light unapproachable; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power eternal.” (1 Tim. 6v15-16, KJV)
In Second Timothy Chapter 1 Verses 8 to 11, Paul tells Timothy that Jesus abolished death and brought eternal life and immortality to light through the Gospel.
“Be not ashamed therefore of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner: but suffer hardship with the gospel according to the power of God; Who saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before times eternal, but hath now been manifested by the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus, Who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, whereunto I was appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher.” (2 Tim. 1v8-11, ASV)
John (6-100 AD) – Apostle of the Early Church, Son of Zebedee and Salome, and Brother of the Apostle James.
In John Chapter 3 Verse 16, John tells us that those who believe in Jesus will not perish, but ‘have everlasting life’ (KJV).
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (Jn. 3v16, KJV)
The Apostolic Fathers (-102 AD)
Clement of Rome (1-99/101 AD) – Apostolic Father, Student of Peter, and Author.
See, “The Doctrine of Immortality in the Early Church”, by Dr. John H Roller.
Ignatius of Antioch (35/50-98/117) – Apostolic Father, Student of the Apostle John [34], Third Bishop and Patriarch of Antioch in Syria, and a Martyr.
Ignatius wrote a series of seven letters, which has been preserved as an example of early Christian Theology.
In his ‘Letter to the Ephesians’ [35], he writes:
“For this end did the Lord allow the ointment to be poured upon His head, John 12:7 that He might breathe immortality into His Church. Be not anointed with the bad odour of the doctrine of the prince of this world; let him not lead you away captive from the life which is set before you… Let my spirit be counted as nothing for the sake of the cross, which is a stumbling-block 1 Corinthians 1:18 to those that do not believe, but to us salvation and life eternal… God Himself being manifested in human form for the renewal of eternal life… Henceforth all things were in a state of tumult, because He meditated the abolition of death… Especially [will I do this ] if the Lord make known to me that you come together man by man in common through grace, individually, in one faith, and in Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David according to the flesh, being both the Son of man and the Son of God, so that you obey the bishop and the presbytery with an undivided mind, breaking one and the same bread, which is the medicine of immortality, and the antidote to prevent us from dying, but [which causes] that we should live for ever in Jesus Christ…” [35]
In his ‘Letter to the Magnesians’ [36], he writes:
“Seeing, then, all things have an end, these two things are simultaneously set before us — death and life; and every one shall go unto his own place. For as there are two kinds of coins, the one of God, the other of the world, and each of these has its special character stamped upon it, [so is it also here.] The unbelieving are of this world; but the believing have, in love, the character of God the Father by Jesus Christ, by whom, if we are not in readiness to die into His passion, His life is not in us… Let nothing exist among you that may divide you; but be united with your bishop, and those that preside over you, as a type and evidence of your immortality…” [36]
In his ‘Letter to the Trallians’ [37|38], he writes:
“For, since you are subject to the bishop as to Jesus Christ, you appear to me to live not after the manner of men, but according to Jesus Christ, who died for us, in order, by believing in His death, you may escape from death… He was also truly raised from the dead, His Father quickening Him, even as after the same manner His Father will so raise up us who believe in Him by Christ Jesus, apart from whom we do not possess the true life…” [38]
In his ‘Letter to the Romans’ [39], he writes:
“Rather entice the wild beasts, that they may become my tomb, and may leave nothing of my body; so that when I have fallen asleep [in death], I may be no trouble to any one… I desire the bread of God, the heavenly bread, the bread of life, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who became afterwards of the seed of David and Abraham; and I desire the drink of God, namely His blood, which is incorruptible love and eternal life.” [39]
In his ‘Letter to the Philadelphians’ [40], he writes:
“But the Gospel possesses something transcendent [above the former dispensation], viz., the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, His passion and resurrection. For the beloved prophets announced Him, but the Gospel is the perfection of immortality.” [40]
In his ‘Letter to the Smyrnaeans’ [41], he writes:
“But he who does not acknowledge this, has in fact altogether denied Him, being enveloped in death… Those, therefore, who speak against this gift of God, incur death in the midst of their disputes. But it were better for them to treat it with respect, that they also might rise again. It is fitting, therefore, that you should keep aloof from such persons, and not to speak of them either in private or in public, but to give heed to the prophets, and above all, to the Gospel, in which the passion [of Christ] has been revealed to us, and the resurrection has been fully proved.” [41]
In his ‘Letter to St. Polycarp’ [42], he writes:
“Be sober as an athlete of God: the prize set before you is immortality and eternal life, of which you are also persuaded.” [42]
The Apostolic Father, Student of the Apostle John, Friend of Ignatius of Antioch (35/50-98/117) [42], Tutor to Irenaeus of Lyons (115-202 AD), Bishop of Smyrna, and Martyr, Polycarp (69–155 AD), confirmed the Doctrine of Conditional Immortality, while rejecting the Doctrine of Universal Immortality.
Polycarp “taught against the [innate] immortality of the soul” [46].
In his ‘Letter to the Philippians’, Polycarp says of the Resurrection of the Dead:
“But He who raised Him up from the dead will raise up us also, if we do His will, and walk in His commandments, and love what He loved, keeping ourselves from all unrighteousness, covetousness, love of money, evil speaking, false witness; ‘not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing,’ or blow for blow, or cursing for cursing” [45]
According to his final words, before being burned at the stake and finally stabbed to death, Polycarp expected the resurrection of both, body and soul, meaning he not only confirmed both, Conditional Immortality [Conditionalism] and Intermediate Unconsciousness [Psychopannychism], but also denied both, Universal Immortality and Particular Judgment.
“I bless you for because you have considered me worthy of this day and hour, that I might receive a place among the number of martyrs in the cup of your Christ, to the resurrection to eternal life, both of soul and of body, in the incorruptibility of the Holy Spirit“ [44|46]
The Sub-Apostolic Fathers (102-142 AD)
Justin Martyr (100-165 A.D.) – Sub-Apostolic Father, Apologist, Author and Martyr.
In his “First Apology”, Chapter 21, “Analogies to the History of Christ”, he writes:
“We have been taught that only they may aim at immortality who have lived a holy and virtuous life near to God. We believe that they who live wickedly and do not repent will be punished in everlasting fire.” [143]
In his “First Apology”, Chapter 52, he writes:
“(Jesus) shall come from the heavens in glory with His angelic host, when He shall raise the bodies of all the men who ever lived. Then He will clothe the worthy in immortality; but the wicked, clothed in eternal sensibility, He will commit to the eternal fire, along with the evil demons.” [2]
In his “Dialogue With Trypho”, Chapter 1, “Introduction”, he writes:
“Trypho, I am called; and I am a Hebrew of the circumcision. They affirm that the same things shall always happen; and, further, that I and you shall again live in like manner, having become neither better men nor worse. But there are some others, who, having supposed the soul to be immortal and immaterial, believe that though they have committed evil they will not suffer punishment (for that which is immaterial is insensible), and that the soul, in consequence of its immortality, needs nothing from God.” [2]
In his “On the Resurrection”, Chapter 10, he writes:
“Considering, therefore, even such arguments as are suited to this world, and finding that, even according to them, it is not impossible that the flesh be regenerated; and seeing that, besides all these proofs, the Saviour in the whole Gospel shows that there is salvation for the flesh, why do we any longer endure those unbelieving and dangerous arguments, and fail to see that we are retrograding when we listen to such an argument as this: that the soul is immortal, but the body mortal, and incapable of being revived? For this we used to hear from Pythagoras and Plato, even before we learned the truth. If then the Saviour said this, and proclaimed salvation to the soul alone, what new thing, beyond what we heard from Pythagoras and Plato and all their band, did He bring us? But now He has come proclaiming the glad tidings of a new and strange hope to men. For indeed it was a strange and new thing for God to promise that He would not keep incorruption in incorruption, but would make corruption incorruption.” [142]
Tatian the Assyrian (120-180 A.D.) – Sub-Apostolic Father, Author and Student of Justin Martyr (100-165 A.D.).
“The soul is not in itself immortal, O Greeks*, but mortal. Yet it is possible for it not to die. If, indeed, it knows not the truth, it dies, and is dissolved with the body, but rises again at last at the end of the world with the body, receiving death by punishment in immortality. But, again, if it acquires the knowledge of God, it dies not, although for a time it be dissolved.” [6|7]
Theophilus of Antioch (died ±183-185 A.D.) – Sub-Apostolic Father and Apologist – exhibited a tendency towards conditionalism. [3|6]
“For man had been made a middle nature, neither wholly mortal, nor altogether immortal, but capable of either; so also the place, Paradise, was made in respect of beauty intermediate between earth and heaven. And by the expression, ’till it,’ no other kind of labour is implied than the observance of God’s command, lest, disobeying, he should destroy himself, as indeed he did destroy himself, by sin.” [6|8]
Irenaeus of Lyons (115-202 AD) – Sub-Apostolic Father, Student of Polycarp (69–155 AD), and Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul.
In “Against Heresies”, Book 3, Chapter 19, Paragraph 1, he writes:
“But again, those who assert that He was simply a mere man, begotten by Joseph, remaining in the bondage of the old disobedience, are in a state of death having been not as yet joined to the Word of God the Father, nor receiving liberty through the Son, as He does Himself declare: “If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” But, being ignorant of Him who from the Virgin is Emmanuel, they are deprived of His gift, which is eternal life; and not receiving the incorruptible Word, they remain in mortal flesh, and are debtors to death, not obtaining the antidote of life. To whom the Word says, mentioning His own gift of grace: ‘I said, Ye are all the sons of the Highest, and gods; but ye shall die like men.’ He speaks undoubtedly these words to those who have not received the gift of adoption, but who despise the incarnation of the pure generation of the Word of God, defraud human nature of promotion into God, and prove themselves ungrateful to the Word of God, who became flesh for them. For it was for this end that the Word of God was made man, and He who was the Son of God became the Son of man, that man, having been taken into the Word, and receiving the adoption, might become the son of God. For by no other means could we have attained to incorruptibility and immortality, unless we had been united to incorruptibility and immortality. But how could we be joined to incorruptibility and immortality, unless, first, incorruptibility and immortality had become that which we also are, so that the corruptible might be swallowed up by incorruptibility and the mortal by immortality, that we might receive the adoption of sons?” [61|62|144]
The Ante-Nicene Fathers (142-399 AD)
Cyprian of Carthage (200–258 AD) – Ante-Nicene Father, Bishop of Carthage, and Martyr.
In “The Treatises of Cyprian”, Treatise 1, Chapter 2, “On the Unity of the Church”, he writes:
“From which an example is given us to avoid the way of the old man, to stand in the footsteps of a conquering Christ, that we may not again be incautiously turned back into the nets of death, but, foreseeing our danger, may POSSESS THE IMMORTALITY THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED. But HOW CAN WE POSSESS IMMORTALITY, UNLESS WE KEEP THOSE COMMANDS OF CHRIST WHEREBY DEATH IS DRIVEN OUT AND OVERCOME, when He Himself warns us, and says, ‘IF YOU WILL ENTER INTO LIFE, KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS?’ Matthew 19:17″ [148|152]
In “The Treatises of Cyprian”, Treatise 1, Chapter 6, “On the Unity of the Church”, he writes:
“He who does not hold this unity does not hold God’s law, does not hold the faith of the Father and the Son, DOES NOT HOLD LIFE and salvation.” [156]
In “The Treatises of Cyprian”, Treatise 2, Chapter 21, “On the Dress of Virgins”, he writes:
“As with the martyrs there is no thought of the flesh and of the world, no small, and trifling, and delicate encounter; so also in you, whose reward is second in grace, let there be the strength in endurance next to theirs. The ascent to great things is not easy. What toil we suffer, what labour, when we endeavour to ascend the hills and the tops of mountains! What, then, that we may ascend to heaven? If you look to the reward of the promise, your labour is less. IMMORTALITY IS GIVEN TO THE PERSEVERING, ETERNAL LIFE IS SET BEFORE THEM; the Lord promises a kingdom.” [153]
In “The Treatises of Cyprian”, Treatise 3, Chapter 30, “On the Lapsed”, he writes:
“If you had lost any dear one of your friends BY THE DEATH INCIDENT TO MORTALITY, you would groan grievously, and weep with disordered countenance, with changed dress, with neglected hair, with clouded face, with dejected appearance, you would show the signs of grief. Miserable creature, YOU HAVE LOST YOUR SOUL; spiritually dead here, you are continuing to live to yourself, and although yourself walking about, you have begun to carry your own death with you.” [154]
In “The Treatises of Cyprian”, Treatise 4, Chapter 18, “On the Lord’s Prayer”, he writes:
“As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, ‘Give us this day our daily bread’. And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, ‘Our Father’, because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it ‘our bread’, because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. And we ask that this bread should be given to us daily, that we who are in Christ, and daily receive the Eucharist for the food of salvation, may not, by the interposition of some heinous sin, by being prevented, as withheld and not communicating, from partaking of the heavenly bread, be separated from Christ’s body, as He Himself predicts, and warns, ‘I am the bread of life which came down from heaven. If any man eat of my bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread which I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world’. John 6:58 When, therefore, He says, that whoever shall eat of His bread shall live for ever; as it is manifest that those who partake of His body and receive the Eucharist by the right of communion are living, so, on the other hand, we must fear and pray lest any one who, being withheld from communion, is separate from Christ’s body should remain at a distance from salvation; as He Himself threatens, and says, ‘Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you shall have no life in you’. John 6:53“ [157]
In “The Treatises of Cyprian”, Treatise 5, Chapter 16, “An Address to Demetrianus”, he writes:
“What, then, is that sluggishness of mind; yea, what blind and stupid madness of fools, to be unwilling to come out of darkness into light, and to be unwilling, when bound in the toils of ETERNAL DEATH, to receive THE HOPE OF IMMORTALITY, and not to fear God when He threatens and says, He that sacrifices unto any gods, but unto the Lord only, shall be rooted out?'” [148|149]
In “The Treatises of Cyprian”, Treatise 5, Chapter 19, “An Address to Demetrianus”, he writes:
“Nor is it given to any of the human race to be separated one from another, except by withdrawal from this present life. In the meantime, we are all, good and evil, contained in one household. Whatever happens within the house, we suffer with equal fate, until, when the end of the temporal life shall be attained, we shall be distributed among the homes either of ETERNAL DEATH OR IMMORTALITY.” [148|150]
In “The Treatises of Cyprian”, Treatise 5, Chapter 25, “An Address to Demetrianus”, he writes:
“Do you entreat for your sins, although it be in the very end of life, and at the setting of the sun of time; and implore God, who is the one and true God, in confession and faith of acknowledgment of Him, and pardon is granted to the man who confesses, and saving mercy is given from the divine goodness to the believer, and a passage is opened to immortality even in death itself. This grace Christ bestows; this gift of His mercy He confers upon us, by overcoming death in the trophy of the cross, by redeeming the believer with the price of His blood, by reconciling man to God the Father, by quickening our mortal nature with a heavenly regeneration. If it be possible, let us all follow Him; let us be registered in His sacrament and sign. He opens to us the way of life; He brings us back to paradise; He leads us on to the kingdom of heaven. Made by Him the children of God, with Him we shall ever live; with Him we shall always rejoice, restored by His own blood. We Christians shall be glorious together with Christ, blessed of God the Father, always rejoicing with perpetual pleasures in the sight of God, and ever giving thanks to God. For none can be other than always glad and grateful, who, having been once subject to death, has been made secure in THE POSSESSION OF IMMORTALITY.” [148|151]
In “The Treatises of Cyprian”, Treatise 6, Chapter 12, “On the Vanity of Idols”, he writes:
“But that the people of the Jews could not understand this, was the desert of their sins. They were so punished by their blindness of wisdom and intelligence, that they who were UNWORTHY OF LIFE, had life before their eyes, and saw it not.” [158]
In “The Treatises of Cyprian”, Treatise 7, Chapter 6, he writes:
“GOD PROMISES TO YOU, on your departure from this world, IMMORTALITY and eternity; and do you doubt?” [159]
In “The Treatises of Cyprian”, Treatise 7, Chapter 8, he writes:
“It disturbs some that THIS MORTALITY is common to us with others; and yet what is there in this world which is not common to us with others, so long as this flesh of ours still remains, according to the law of our first birth, common to us with them? So long as we are here in the world, we are associated with the human race in fleshly equality, but are separated in spirit. Therefore until THIS CORRUPTIBLE SHALL PUT ON INCORRUPTION, and THIS MORTAL RECEIVE IMMORTALITY, and the Spirit lead us to God the Father, whatsoever are the disadvantages of the flesh are common to us with the human race.” [160]
In “The Treatises of Cyprian”, Treatise 7, Chapter 21, he writes:
“But we who live in hope, and believe in God, and trust that Christ suffered for us and rose again, abiding in Christ, and through Him and in Him rising again, why either are we ourselves unwilling to depart hence from this life, or do we bewail and grieve for our friends when they depart as if they were lost, when Christ Himself, our Lord and God, encourages us and says, ‘I am the resurrection and the life: HE THAT BELIEVES IN ME, THOUGH HE DIE, YET SHALL LIVE; and whosoever lives and believes in me shall NOT DIE ETERNALLY?’ John 11:25 If we believe in Christ, let us have faith in His words and promises; and since WE SHALL NOT DIE ETERNALLY, let us come with a glad security unto Christ, with whom we are both to conquer and to reign for ever.” [161]
In “The Treatises of Cyprian”, Treatise 8, Chapter 1, “On Works and Alms”, he writes:
“Many and great, beloved brethren, are the divine benefits wherewith the large and abundant mercy of God the Father and Christ both has laboured and is always labouring for our salvation: that the Father sent the Son to preserve us and GIVE US LIFE, in order that He might restore us; and that the Son was willing to be sent and to become the Son of man, that He might make us sons of God; humbled Himself, that He might raise up the people who before were prostrate; was wounded that He might heal our wounds; served, that He might draw out to liberty those who were in bondage; underwent death, THAT HE MIGHT SET FORTH IMMORTALITY TO MORTALS.” [162]
In “The Treatises of Cyprian”, Treatise 8, Chapter 22, “On Works and Alms”, he says of the wicked:
“And that the indolent and the barren, and those, who by their covetousness for money do nothing in respect of the fruit of their salvation, may be the more ashamed, and that the blush of dishonour and disgrace may the more strike upon their sordid conscience, let each one place before his eyes the devil with his servants, that is, with the people of perdition and death, springing forth into the midst, and provoking the people of Christ with the trial of comparison – Christ Himself being present, and judging – in these words: I, for those whom you see with me, neither received buffets, nor bore scourgings, nor endured the cross, nor shed my blood, nor redeemed my family at the price of my suffering and blood; but neither do I promise them a celestial kingdom, nor do I recall them to paradise, HAVING AGAIN RESTORED TO THEM IMMORTALITY.” [163]
In “The Treatises of Cyprian”, Treatise 8, Chapter 26, “On Works and Alms”, he writes:
“What, dearest brethren, will be that glory of those who labour charitably – how great and high the joy when the Lord begins to number His people, and, distributing to our merits and good works the promised rewards, to give heavenly things for earthly, eternal things for temporal, great things for small; to present us to the Father, to whom He has restored us by His sanctification; to BESTOW UPON US IMMORTALITY AND ETERNITY, to which He has renewed us by the quickening of His blood; to bring us anew to paradise, to open the kingdom of heaven, in the faith and truth of His promise!” [164]
In “The Treatises of Cyprian”, Treatise 9, Chapter 7, he says of Christ’s death:
“He was despoiled of His earthly garment, who CLOTHES OTHERS IN THE VESTURE OF IMMORTALITY.” [165]
In “The Treatises of Cyprian”, Treatise 10, Chapter 4, he says of the Devil:
“While, at the instigation of jealousy, he robs man of THE GRACE OF IMMORTALITY CONFERRED, he himself has lost that which he had previously been. How great an evil is that, beloved brethren, whereby an angel fell, whereby that lofty and illustrious grandeur could be defrauded and overthrown, whereby he who deceived was himself deceived! Thenceforth envy rages on the earth, in that he who is about to perish by jealousy obeys the author of his ruin, imitating the devil in his jealousy; as it is written, ‘But through envy of the devil death entered into the world’. Therefore they who are on his side imitate him.” [166]
Arnobius of Sicca (253-327 AD) – Ante-Nicene Father, Apologist and Rhetorician – rejected the notion of Universal Immortality, saying of the soul that it “is NOT immortal by nature, but capable of putting on immortality as a grace.” [4]
In ‘Against The Heathen’, Book 1, Chapter 64, he says of Jesus.
“Is it because He declared that He was sent by the only true King to be your soul’s guardian, and TO BRING TO YOU THE IMMORTALITY WHICH YOU BELIEVE THAT YOU ALREADY POSSESS, relying on the assertions of a few men?” [138]
In ‘Against The Heathen’, Book 1, Chapter 65, he writes:
“To declare implacable hostility towards one who has done nothing to deserve it at your hands; to wish, if it were allowed you, to tear Him limb from limb, who not only did no man any harm, but with uniform kindness told His enemies what salvation was being brought to them from God Supreme, what must be done that they might ESCAPE DESTRUCTION AND OBTAIN AN IMMORTALITY which they knew not of?” [138]
In ‘Against The Heathen’, Book 2, Chapter 1, he writes:
“And He was not worthy that you should listen to and believe Him, yet He should not have been despised by you even on this account, that He showed to you things concerning your salvation, that He prepared for you a path to heaven, and THE IMMORTALITY FOR WHICH YOU LONG; although He neither extended the light of life to all, nor delivered all from the danger which threatens them through their ignorance.” [139]
In ‘Against The Heathen’, Book 2, Chapter 15, he writes:
“Wherefore there is no reason that that should mislead us, should hold out vain hopes to us, which is said by some men till now unheard of, and CARRIED AWAY BY AN EXTRAVAGANT OPINION OF THEMSELVES, THAT SOULS ARE IMMORTAL, next in point of rank to the God and ruler of the world, descended from that parent and sire, divine, wise, learned, and not within reach of the body by contact.” [139]
In ‘Against The Heathen’, Book 2, Chapter 16, he writes:
“Will you lay aside your habitual arrogance, O men, who claim God as your Father, and MAINTAIN THAT YOU ARE IMMORTAL, just as He is?” [139]
In ‘Against The Heathen’, Book 2, Chapter 19, he writes:
“But if men either knew themselves thoroughly, or had the slightest knowledge of God, THEY WOULD NEVER CLAIM AS THEIR OWN A DIVINE AND IMMORTAL NATURE; nor would they think themselves something great because they have made for themselves gridirons, basins, and bowls, because they have made under-shirts, outer-shirts, cloaks, plaids, robes of state, knives, cuirasses and swords, mattocks, hatchets, ploughs. Never, I say, carried away by pride and arrogance, would they believe themselves to be deities of the first rank, and fellows of the highest in his exaltation, because they had devised the arts of grammar, music, oratory, and geometry. For we do not see what is so wonderful in these arts, that because of their discovery the soul should be believed to be above the sun as well as all the stars, to surpass both in grandeur and essence the whole universe, of which these are parts.” [139]
In ‘Against The Heathen’, Book 2, Chapter 29, he writes:
“For what man is there, although of a disposition which ever shuns what is of bad repute and shameful, who, when he hears it said by very wise men THAT THE SOUL IS IMMORTAL, and not subject to the decrees of the fates, would not throw himself headlong into all kinds of vice, and fearlessly engage in and set about unlawful things? who would not, in short, gratify his desires in all things demanded by his unbridled lust, strengthened even further by its security and freedom from punishment? For what will hinder him from doing so? The fear of a power above and divine judgment? And how shall he be overcome by any fear or dread who has been persuaded THAT HE IS IMMORTAL, just as the supreme God Himself, and that no sentence can be pronounced upon him by God, seeing that there is the same immortality in both, and that the one immortal being cannot be troubled by the other, which is only its equal?” [139]
In ‘Against The Heathen’, Book 2, Chapter 35, he writes:
“For if we all agree that there is one Father of all, WHO ALONE IS IMMORTAL AND UNBEGOTTEN, and if nothing at all is found before Him which could be named, it follows as a consequence that all these whom the imagination of men believes to be gods, have been either begotten by Him or produced at His bidding. Are they produced and begotten? They are also later in order and time: if later in order and time, they must have an origin, and beginning of birth and life; but that which has an entrance into and beginning of life in its first stages, it of necessity follows, SHOULD HAVE AN END ALSO.” [139]
In ‘Against The Heathen’, Book 2, Chapter 36, he writes:
“But the gods are said to be immortal. NOT BY NATURE, THEN, BUT BY THE GOOD-WILL AND FAVOUR OF GOD THEIR FATHER. In the same way, then, in which THE BOON OF IMMORTALITY IS GOD’S GIFT to these who were assuredly produced, WILL HE DEIGN TO CONFER ETERNAL LIFE UPON SOULS also, although fell DEATH SEEMS ABLE TO CUT THEM OFF AND BLOT THEM OUT OF EXISTENCE IN UTTER ANNIHILATION.” [139]
In ‘Against The Heathen’, Book 2, Chapter 53, he writes:
“Since this, then, is the case, we do nothing out of place or foolish in believing that the souls of men are of a neutral character, inasmuch as they have been produced by secondary beings, MADE SUBJECT TO THE LAW OF DEATH, and are of little strength, and THAT PERISHABLE; and that they are GIFTED WITH IMMORTALITY, IF THEY REST THEIR HOPE OF SO GREAT A GIFT ON GOD SUPREME, WHO ALONE HAS POWER TO GRANT SUCH BLESSINGS, BY PUTTING AWAY CORRUPTION.” [139]
In ‘Against The Heathen’, Book 2, Chapter 62, he writes:
“NONE BUT THE ALMIGHTY GOD CAN PRESERVE SOULS; nor is there any one besides who can give them length of days, and GRANT TO THEM ALSO A SPIRIT WHICH SHALL NEVER DIE, except HE WHO ALONE IS IMMORTAL AND EVERLASTING, and restricted by no limit of time. For since all the gods, whether those who are real, or those who are merely said to be from hearsay and conjecture, are IMMORTAL AND EVERLASTING BY HIS GOOD-WILL AND FREE GIFT, how can it be that others are able to give that which they themselves have, while they have it as the gift of another, bestowed by a greater power? Let Etruria sacrifice what victims it may, let the wise deny themselves all the pleasures of life, let the Magi soften and soothe all lesser powers, yet, unless SOULS have received from the Lord of all things that which reason demands, and does so by His command, it will hereafter deeply repent having made itself a laughing-stock, when IT BEGINS TO FEEL THE APPROACH OF DEATH.” [139]
In ‘Against The Heathen’, Book 2, Chapter 66, he writes:
“So, then, even if you are pure, and have been cleansed from every stain of vice, have won over and charmed those powers not to shut the ways against you and bar your passage when returning to heaven, by no efforts WILL YOU BE ABLE TO REACH THE PRIZE OF IMMORTALITY, UNLESS BY CHRIST’S GIFT YOU HAVE PERCEIVED WHAT CONSTITUTES THIS VERY IMMORTALITY, and HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO ENTER ON THE TRUE LIFE.” [139]
Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius (240-320 AD) – Ante-Nicene Father, Student of Arnobius of Sicca (253-327 AD), Author, and Advisor to Constantine I.
In “The Divine Institutes”, Book 3, Chapter 12, “Of the Twofold Conflict of Body and Soul; And of Desiring Virtue on Account of Eternal Life”, he writes:
“Therefore, as the body obtains by victory its preservation from destruction, SO THE SOUL OBTAINS A CONTINUATION OF ITS EXISTENCE; and as the body, when overcome by its enemies, suffers death, SO THE SOUL, WHEN OVERPOWERED BY VICES, MUST DIE. What difference, therefore, will there be between the contest carried on by the soul and that carried on by the body, except that the body seeks for temporal, BUT THE SOUL ETERNAL LIFE? If, therefore, virtue is not happy by itself, since its whole force consists, as I have said, in the enduring of evils; if it neglects all things which are desired as goods; if in its highest condition it is exposed to death, inasmuch as it often refuses life, which is desired by others, and bravely undergoes death, which others fear; if it must necessarily produce some great good from itself, because labours, endured and overcome even until death, cannot fail of obtaining a reward; if no reward, such as it deserves, is found on earth, inasmuch as it despises all things which are frail and transitory, what else remains but that it may effect some heavenly reward, since it treats with contempt all earthly things, and may aim at higher things, since it despises things that are humble? And THIS REWARD CAN BE NOTHING ELSE BUT IMMORTALITY… Seneca also unconsciously happened to confess that THERE IS NO OTHER REWARD OF VIRTUE THAN IMMORTALITY… The chief good, therefore, is found to be IMMORTALITY ALONE, which pertains to no other animal or body; NOR CAN IT HAPPEN TO ANY ONE WITHOUT THE VIRTUE OF KNOWLEDGE, THAT IS, WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD AND JUSTICE… In short, there never would have been any one who would despise this life, however short it is, or undergo death, UNLESS THROUGH THE HOPE OF A LONGER LIFE. For those who voluntarily offered themselves to death for the safety of their countrymen, as Menœceus did at Thebes, Codrus at Athens, Curtius and the two Mures at Rome, would never have preferred death to the advantages of life, unless they had thought THAT THEY SHOULD ATTAIN TO IMMORTALITY through the estimation of their countrymen; and although they were ignorant of the life of immortality, yet the reality itself did not escape their notice. For if virtue despises opulence and riches because they are frail, and pleasures because they are of brief continuance, it therefore despises a life which is frail and brief, THAT IT MAY OBTAIN ONE WHICH IS SUBSTANTIAL AND LASTING… And if this was not the part of those who extinguish the heavenly souls together with the body, yet THOSE WHO DISCUSS THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL OUGHT TO HAVE UNDERSTOOD that virtue is set before us on this account, that, lusts having been subdued, and the desire of earthly things overcome, our souls, pure and victorious, may return to God, that is, to their original source. For it is on this account that we alone of living creatures are raised to the sight of the heaven, that we may believe that our chief good is in the highest place. Therefore we alone receive religion, that we may know from this source that the spirit of man is not mortal, since it longs for and acknowledges God, who is immortal… Therefore a happy life, which philosophers have always sought, and still do seek, has no existence either in the worship of the gods or in philosophy; and on this account they were unable to find it, because they did not seek the highest good in the highest place, but in the lowest. For what is the highest but heaven, and God, from whom the soul has its origin?… The chief good therefore which makes men happy CANNOT EXIST, UNLESS IT BE IN THAT RELIGION AND DOCTRINE TO WHICH IS ANNEXED THE HOPE OF IMMORTALITY.” [9]
The Church Fathers
Prof. Pietro Pomponazzi (1462-1525) – Italian Philosopher, Professor at Ferrara, and Leader amongst the Averrorists [10].
On the 19th of December 1513, in connection with the eighth session of The Fifth Lateran Council, Pope Leo X issued a Bull (Apostolici Regimis) declaring, “Damnamus et reprobamus omnes assertentes animam intellectivam mortalem esse” [121], meaning “We do condemn and reprobate all who assert that the intelligent soul is mortal” [121].
In reply to the Papal Bull of Pope Leo X, Pomponazzi issued a book entitled, ‘Treatise on the Immortality of the Soul’ in 1516. The book was widely read, especially in Italian Universities. [11|12]
“As a result, he was haled before the Inquisition, and his book publicly burned in Venice.” [121]
William Tyndale (1494-1536) – a British Scholar, Protestant Reformer, Bible Translator and Martyr – rejected Universal Immortality as ‘heathen doctrine’*.
This, as well as other teachings brought him in direct conflict with the papal champion, Thomas More, who strongly objected against both, Tyndale and Luther, who, in the words of More, said “all souls lie and sleep till doomsday”. In 1530 Tyndale responded vigorously, saying:
“And ye, in putting them (the departed souls) in heaven, hell, and purgatory, destroy the arguments wherewith Christ and Paul prove the resurrection … And again, if the souls be in heaven, tell me why they be not in as good case as the angels be? And then what cause is there of the resurrection?” [11|13|60]
Tyndale pressed his contention even further by showing that the papal teaching on the subject is in conflict with that of the apostle Paul:
“Nay, Paul, thou art unlearned; go to Master More, and learn a new way. We be not most miserable, though we rise not again; for our souls go to heaven as soon as we be dead, and are there in a great joy as Christ that is risen again. And I marvel that Paul had not comforted the Thessalonians with that doctrine, if he had wist it, that the souls of their dead should rise again. If the souls be in heaven, in as great glory as the angels, after your doctrine, shew me what cause should be of the resurrection.” [11|13]
John Frith (1503-1533) – English Protestant minister, Associate of William Tyndale, Author, and Martyr.
When he was sentenced to death by fire he was offered a pardon if he answered positively to two questions: Do you believe in purgatory, and do you believe in transubstantiation? He replied that neither purgatory nor transubstantiation could be proven by Holy Scriptures, and thus was condemned as a heretic and was transferred to the secular arm for his execution on the 23rd of June 1533.
“Notwithstanding, let me grant it him that some are already in hell and some in heaven, which thing he shall never be able to prove by the Scriptures, yea, and which plainly destroy the resurrection, and taketh away the arguments wherewith Christ and Paul do prove that we shall rise; … and as touching this point where they rest, I dare be bold to say that they are in the hand of God.” [11|15]
Prof. Dr. Martin Luther (1483-1546) – German Theologian, Protestant Reformer, Bible Translator, and Professor of Theology – rejected Universal Immortality by posting his 95 Thesis on October 31, 1517 in Wittenberg. In his 1520 published defense of 41 of his propositions, Proposition 27 cited the pope’s immortality declaration, as among “those monstrous opinions to be found in the Roman dunghill of decretals” [11|14|60]:
“However, I permit the Pope establish articles of faith for himself and for his own faithful – such are: a) That the bread and wine are transubstantiated in the sacrament; b) that the essence of God neither generates nor is generated; c) that the soul is the substantial form of the human body; d) that he (the pope) is emperor of the world and king of heaven, and earthly god; e) that the soul is immortal; and all these endless monstrosities in the Roman dunghill of decretals – in order that such as his faith is, such may be his gospel, such also his faithful, and such his church, and that the lips may have suitable lettuce and the lid may be worthy of the dish.” [11|14|60|121]
According to Archbishop Francis Blackburne (1705-1787), “Luther espoused the doctrine of the sleep of the soul, upon a Scripture foundation, and then he made use of it as a confutation of purgatory, and saint worship, and continued in that belief to the last moment of his life.” [11|58|59|60|121]
George Wishart (1513-1546) – Scottish Theologian, Protestant Reformer, Greek scholar, Friend to Hugh Latimer, Tutor to John Knox, Author, and Martyr.
Wishart was charged with attacking Auricular Confession, Transubstantiation, Extreme Unction, Holy Water, the Invocation of Saints (who couldn’t hear their supplications anyway), and Purgatory. Charge XVI reads:
“Thou false heretic has preached openly saying, that the soul of man sleep to the latter day of judgment and shall not obtain life immortal until that day.” [11|16]
George Wither (1588-1667) – English Theologian, Puritan, Poet and Satirist – “contended for Conditional Immortality in which the soul is asleep in death” [11|17].
John Canne (1590-1667) – an English Independent minister, Pastor to Broadmead Baptist Church in Bristol and Printer of Robert Overton’s works – confirmed The Doctrine of Conditional Immortality, while rejecting The Doctrine of Universal Immortality.
Canne held essentially the same view as Overton. [11|18]
John Milton (1608-1674) – an English Polemicist, Poet and Civil Servant – confirmed The Doctrine of Conditional Immortality, while rejecting The Doctrine of Universal Immortality.
In ‘Paradise Lost’ Milton illustrated mortalism, the belief that the soul dies with the body. [19|20]
Major-General Robert Overton (1609-1678) – Soldier, Scholar and Pamphletier – confirmed The Doctrine of Conditional Immortality, while rejecting The Heresy of Universal Immortality as ‘mere fiction’.
In 1643 Overton published ‘Man’s Mortality’, in which the title page reads:
“A treatise wherein ‘T is proved, both theological and philosophically. That as whole man sinned, so whole man died; contrary to the common distinction of Soul and Body: And that the present going of the Soul into heaven or hell, is a mere Fiction. And that at the Resurrection is the beginning of our Immortality; and then actual Condemnation and Salvation, and not before.” [11|21]
Samuel Richardson (1633-1658) – Author and Pastor of the First Particular Baptist Church of London – published ‘A Discourse on the Torments of Hell’ [22].
In his book, ‘The Doctrine of Eternal Hell Torments Overthrown’, he refers to immortality as ‘attainable’.
“Basil saith, if God had given Adam an immortal and unchangeable nature, He had created a god, and not a man. Augustine in his Book of Confessions, saith, because the Lord created man of nothing, therefore He left in man a possibility to return to nothing, if he obeyed not the will of his Maker… Death is according to nature; but to attain immortality is above nature… The Scripture declares that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, the just and the unjust, Acts xxiv. 15. The unjust would enter into life, but shall not, John v. 29… The soul that sinneth shall die, Ezek. xviii. 20; that is, all that sin doth bring forth.” [23]
Prof. Dr. Isaac Barrow (1630-1677) – Professor of Greek at Cambridge University – confirmed The Doctrine of Conditional Immortality, while rejecting The Doctrine of Universal Immortality.
Barrow maintained that eternal life is conditional and believed in the final destruction of the wicked. [11|24]
Archbishop John Tillotson (1630-1694) – Archbishop of Canterbury – confirmed The Doctrine of Conditional Immortality, while rejecting <a href="http://www.hillside.co/?p=138" target="