d truth. Secondly, the moral doctrine is the
only one that is true, or that is in keeping with his penetrative
thought. The notion of a physical resurrection is an error
borrowed most likely from the Persians by the Pharisees, and not
belonging to the essential elements of Christianity. The notion
being prevalent at the time in Judea, and being usually expressed
in certain appropriated phrases, when Christ used those phrases in
a true spiritual sense the apostles would naturally apprehend from
them the carnal meaning which already filled their minds in common
with the minds of their countrymen.

The word Hades, translated in the English New Testament by the
word "hell," a word of nearly the same etymological force, but now
conveying a quite different meaning, occurs in the discourses of
Jesus only three several times. The other instances of its use are
repetitions or parallels. First, "And thou, Capernaum, which art
exalted to heaven, shalt be brought down to the under world;" that
is, the great and proud city shall become powerless, a heap of
ruins. Second, "Upon this rock I will found my Church, and the
gates of the under world shall not prevail against it;" that is,
the powers of darkness, the opposition of the wicked, the strength
of evil, shall not destroy my religion; in spite of them it shall
assert its organization and overcome all obstacles.

The remaining example of the Savior's use of this word is in the
parable of Dives and Lazarus. The rich man is described, after
death, as suffering in the under world. Seeing the beggar afar off
in Abraham's bosom, he cries, "Father Abraham, pity me, and send
Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool
my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame." Well known fancies
and opinions are here wrought up in scenic form to convey certain
moral impressions. It will be noticed that the implied division of
the under world into two parts, with a gulf between them,
corresponds to the common Gentile notion of an Elysian region of
delightful meadows for the good and a Tartarean region of
blackness and fire for the bad, both included in one subterranean
kingdom, but divided by an interval. 4

The dramatic details of the account Lazarus being borne into bliss
by angels, Dives asking to have a messenger sent from bale to warn
his surviving brothers rest on opinions afloat among the Jews of
that age, derived from the Persian theology. Zoroaster prays,
"When I shall