Millennial thought of Tertullian (1)

Text
Tertullian, De Anima 55.2-4:
You must suppose Hades to be a subterranean region, and keep at arm’s length those who are too proud to believe that the souls of the faithful deserve a place in the lower regions. These persons, who are “servants above their lord, and disciples above their Master,” would no doubt spurn to receive the comfort of the resurrection, if they must expect it in Abraham’s bosom. “But it was for this purpose,” say they, “that Christ descended into Hades, that we might not ourselves have to descend thither. Otherwise, what difference is there between heathens and Christians, if the same prison awaits them all when dead?” How, indeed, shall the soul mount up to heaven, where Christ is already sitting at the Father’s right hand, when yet the archangel’s trumpet has not been heard by the command of God. … To no one is heaven opened … When the world, indeed, shall pass away, then the kingdom of heaven shall be opened.

Source (list of abbreviations) (source links will open in a new browser window)
Tertullian, De Anima 55.2-4

Bibliography

Amar Annus

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