AN EXTRACT OUT OF JOSEPHUS'S DISCOURSE TO THE GREEKS CONCERNING HADES

By Flavius Josephus

Translated by William Whiston

1. Now as to Hades, wherein the souls of the of the good things theysee, and rejoice in the righteous and unrighteous are detained, it isnecessary to speak of it. Hades is a place in the world not regularlyfinished; a subterraneous region, wherein the light of this world doesnot shine; from which circumstance, that in this region the light doesnot shine, it cannot be but there must be in it perpetual darkness. Thisregion is allotted as a place of custody for souls, ill which angelsare appointed as guardians to them, who distribute to them temporarypunishments, agreeable to every one's behavior and manners. 

2. In this region there is a certain place set apart, as a lake ofunquenchable fire, whereinto we suppose no one hath hitherto been cast;but it is prepared for a day afore-determined by God, in which onerighteous sentence shall deservedly be passed upon all men; when theunjust, and those that have been disobedient to God, and have givenhonor to such idols as have been the vain operations of the hands of menas to God himself, shall be adjudged to this everlasting punishment, as having been the causes of defilement; while the just shall obtain anincorruptible and never-fading kingdom. These are now indeed confined inHades, but not in the same place wherein the unjust are confined. 

3. For there is one descent into this region, at whose gate we believethere stands an archangel with an host; which gate when those passthrough that are conducted down by the angels appointed over souls, theydo not go the same way; but the just are guided to the right hand, andare led with hymns, sung by the angels appointed over that place, unto aregion of light, in which the just have dwelt from the beginning of theworld; not constrained by necessity, but ever enjoying the prospect ofthe good things they see, and rejoice in the expectation of those newenjoyments which will be peculiar to every one of them, and esteemingthose things beyond what we have here; with whom there is no place oftoil, no burning heat, no piercing cold, nor are any briers there; butthe countenance of the and of the just, which they see, always smilesthem, while they wait for that rest and eternal new life in heaven, which is to succeed this region. This place we call The Bosom ofAbraham. 

4. But as to the unjust, they are dragged by force to the left hand bythe angels allotted for punishment, no longer going with a good-will, but as prisoners driven by violence; to whom are sent the angelsappointed over them to reproach them and threaten them with theirterrible looks, and to thrust them still downwards. Now those angelsthat are set over these souls drag them into the neighborhood of hellitself; who, when they are hard by it, continually hear the noise ofit, and do not stand clear of the hot vapor itself; but when they havea near view of this spectacle, as of a terrible and exceeding greatprospect of fire, they are struck with a fearful expectation of a futurejudgment, and in effect punished thereby: and not only so, but wherethey see the place [or choir] of the fathers and of the just, evenhereby are they punished; for a chaos deep and large is fixed betweenthem; insomuch that a just man that hath compassion upon them cannot beadmitted, nor can one that is unjust, if he were bold enough to attemptit, pass over it. 

5. This is the discourse concerning Hades, wherein the souls of all menare confined until a proper season, which God hath determined, whenhe will make a resurrection of all men from the dead, not procuringa transmigration of souls from one body to another, but raising againthose very bodies, which you Greeks, seeing to be dissolved, do notbelieve [their resurrection]. But learn not to disbelieve it; for whileyou believe that the soul is created, and yet is made immortal byGod, according to the doctrine of Plato, and this in time, be notincredulous; but believe that God is able, when he hath raised to lifethat body which was made as a compound of the same elements, to make itimmortal; for it must never be said of God, that he is able to do somethings, and unable to do others. We have therefore believed that thebody will be raised again; for although it be dissolved, it is notperished; for the earth receives its remains, and preserves them; andwhile they are like seed, and are mixed among the more fruitful soil, they flourish, and what is sown is indeed sown bare grain, but at themighty sound of God the Creator, it will sprout up, and be raised in aclothed and glorious condition, though not before it has been dissolved, and mixed [with the earth]. So that we have not rashly believed theresurrection of the body; for although it be dissolved for a time onaccount of the original transgression, it exists still, and is cast intothe earth as into a potter's furnace, in order to be formed again, notin order to rise again such as it was before, but in a state of purity, and so as never to be destroyed any more. And to every body shall itsown soul be restored. And when it hath clothed itself with that body, itwill not be subject to misery, but, being itself pure, it will continuewith its pure body, and rejoice with it, with which it having walkedrighteously now in this world, and never having had it as a snare, itwill receive it again with great gladness. But as for the unjust, they will receive their bodies not changed, not freed from diseases ordistempers, nor made glorious, but with the same diseases wherein theydied; and such as they were in their unbelief, the same shall they bewhen they shall be faithfully judged. 

6. For all men, the just as well as the unjust, shall be brought beforeGod the word: for to him hath the Father committed all judgment: and he, in order to fulfill the will of his Father, shall come as Judge, whomwe call Christ. For Minos and Rhadamanthus are not the judges, asyou Greeks do suppose, but he whom God and the Father hath glorified:Concerning Whom We Have Elsewhere Given A More Particular Account, ForThe Sake Of Those Who Seek After Truth. This person, exercising therighteous judgment of the Father towards all men, hath prepared a justsentence for every one, according to his works; at whose judgment-seatwhen all men, and angels, and demons shall stand, they will send forthone voice, and say, Just Is Thy Judgment; the rejoinder to which willbring a just sentence upon both parties, by giving justly to those thathave done well an everlasting fruition; but allotting to the lovers ofwicked works eternal punishment. To these belong the unquenchable fire, and that without end, and a certain fiery worm, never dying, and notdestroying the body, but continuing its eruption out of the body withnever-ceasing grief: neither will sleep give ease to these men, norwill the night afford them comfort; death will not free them from theirpunishment, nor will the interceding prayers of their kindred profitthem; for the just are no longer seen by them, nor are they thoughtworthy of remembrance. But the just shall remember only their righteousactions, whereby they have attained the heavenly kingdom, in whichthere is no sleep, no sorrow, no corruption, no care, no night, no daymeasured by time, no sun driven in his course along the circle ofheaven by necessity, and measuring out the bounds and conversions ofthe seasons, for the better illumination of the life of men; no moondecreasing and increasing, or introducing a variety of seasons, nor willshe then moisten the earth; no burning sun, no Bear turning round [thepole], no Orion to rise, no wandering of innumerable stars. The earthwill not then be difficult to be passed over, nor will it be hard tofind out the court of paradise, nor will there be any fearful roaring ofthe sea, forbidding the passengers to walk on it; even that will be madeeasily passable to the just, though it will not be void of moisture. Heaven will not then be uninhabitable by men, and it will not beimpossible to discover the way of ascending thither. The earth will notbe uncultivated, nor require too much labor of men, but will bring forthits fruits of its own accord, and will be well adorned with them. Therewill be no more generations of wild beasts, nor will the substance ofthe rest of the animals shoot out any more; for it will not produce men, but the number of the righteous will continue, and never fail, togetherwith righteous angels, and spirits [of God], and with his word, as achoir of righteous men and women that never grow old, and continue inan incorruptible state, singing hymns to God, who hath advanced them tothat happiness, by the means of a regular institution of life; with whomthe whole creation also will lift up a perpetual hymn from corruption, to incorruption, as glorified by a splendid and pure spirit. It willnot then be restrained by a bond of necessity, but with a lively freedomshall offer up a voluntary hymn, and shall praise him that made them, together with the angels, and spirits, and men now freed from allbondage. 

7. And now, if you Gentiles will be persuaded by these motives, andleave your vain imaginations about your pedigrees, and gaining ofriches, and philosophy, and will not spend your time about subtletiesof words, and thereby lead your minds into error, and if you will applyyour ears to the hearing of the inspired prophets, the interpretersboth of God and of his word, and will believe in God, you shall both bepartakers of these things, and obtain the good things that are to come;you shall see the ascent unto the immense heaven plainly, and thatkingdom which is there. For what God hath now concealed in silence [willbe then made manifest, ] what neither eye hath seen, nor ear hath heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man, the things that God hathprepared for them that love him. 

8. In whatsoever ways I shall find you, in them shall I judge youentirely: so cries the End of all things. And he who hath at firstlived a virtuous lift, but towards the latter end falls into vice, theselabors by him before endured shall be altogether vain and unprofitable, even as in a play, brought to an ill catastrophe. Whosoever shall havelived wickedly and luxuriously may repent; however, there will be needof much time to conquer an evil habit, and even after repentance hiswhole life must be guarded with great care and diligence, after themanner of a body, which, after it hath been a long time afflicted with adistemper, requires a stricter diet and method of living; for thoughit may be possible, perhaps, to break off the chain of our irregularaffections at once, yet our amendment cannot be secured without thegrace of God, the prayers of good men, the help of the brethren, and ourown sincere repentance and constant care. It is a good thing not to sinat all; it is also good, having sinned, to repent; as it is best to havehealth always, but it is a good thing to recover from a distemper. ToGod be glory and dominion for ever and ever Amen.