THE GENERATIONS GATHERED AND GATHERING; OR THE SCRIPTURE DOCTRINE CONCERNING MAN IN DEATH. BY J. PANTON HAM, MINISTER OF COOPERS' HALL CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, BRISTOL. 66 ALSO ALL THAT GENERATION WERE GATHERED TO THEIR "I WOULD NOT HAVE YOU TO BE IGNORANT, BRETHREN, CON- 1 THESSAL. iv. 13. London: LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, & Co. 1850. "To the Christian, indeed, all this doubt would be instantly removed, if he found that the immortality of the soul, as a disembodied spirit, were revealed in the Word of God................In fact, however, NO SUCH DOCTRINE IS REVEALED TO US; the Christian's hope as founded on the promises contained in the Gospel, is the resurrection of the body." Dr. WHATELY, Archbishop of Dublin, "Revelation of a Future State." ADVERTISEMENT. In the small volume recently issued by the writer, under the title of "Life and Death," the consideration of the subject of this treatise was designedly waived. Since, however, certain passages of Holy Writ, relating to the state of man in death, to which attention is invited in these pages, are popularly considered to be antagonistic to the doctrines there propounded; and since, moreover, no erroneous ideas, with respect to the doctrinal teaching of the Bible, can dwell in the mind without, to some extent, injuriously modifying its apprehension of the entire scheme and details of Biblical truth; and further, since the subject is one of most anxious solicitude to the heart of man; an attempt is made, in the form of popular exposition, to show what is the Scriptural testimony on this interesting topic, and which the writer believes will be found to harmonize with the exhibition of revealed truth contained in the volume above referred to. It is commended to the candid consideration of every student of the Bible, in the hope that it may contribute, in some humble measure, to the formation of correct opinions on what is confessedly an important part of Christian Theology. BRISTOL, March, 1850. ERRATUM. Page 7, line 6 of Note, for "sleeping faculty," read seeing faculty. CONTENTS. The inquiry interesting.-Inquisitiveness, with respect to the state of the dead, natural.-Conjecture, in the absence of revelation, er- roneous. Conjecture the origin of the popular belief.-The im- portance of a mutual understanding, with regard to the precise nature of the controversy.-Caution against mistaking tradition for Scripture.-Tradition the real basis of the modern faith.- What the present inquiry is not.-What it is.-Remark of Arch- bishop Whately.-Human personality not associated with one component, but with the union of the components of man's TERMS DENOTING THE LOCALITY OF THE DEAD. Futility of human speculation.-Locality of the dead imaginative, not real. The Hebrew, Greek and Saxon terms denoting locality.- Professor Stuart on the term Hades.-Modern opinions not de- rived from the Hebrew writings, but from the Greek Philosophy. -Prophetic description of the place or state of the dead, poetical, and derived from the mode and circumstances of sepulture.- Concessions of Bishop Lowth.-Unwarrantable inferences.-Dr. Barrow on Sheol, or Hades.-Deliverance from death, an act of divine mercy, exemplified in the cases of Hezekiah, Lazarus, Epaphroditus.-Opinions of the sacred writers, ascertainable by their language. Their descriptions of Sheol, or Hades, at ir- reconcilable variance with the modern popular belief.-Uninspired Jewish writers of no authority in determining this question.- Argument derived from the terms denoting locality pp. 11–20. |