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Objection 1: It would seem that the time of the resurrection ought
not to be delayed till the end of the world, so that all may rise
together. For there is more conformity between head and members than
between one member and another, as there is more between cause and
effect than between one effect and another. Now Christ, Who is our
Head, did not delay His resurrection until the end of the world, so
as to rise again together with all men. Therefore there is no need for
the resurrection of the early saints to be deferred until the end of the
world, so that they may rise again together with the others.
Objection 2: Further, the resurrection of the Head is the cause of
the resurrection of the members. But the resurrection of certain
members that desire nobility from their being closely connected with the
Head was not delayed till the end of the world, but followed
immediately after Christ's resurrection, as is piously believed
concerning the Blessed Virgin and John the Evangelist [Ep. de
Assump. B.V., cap. ii, among St. Jerome's works].
Therefore the resurrection of others will be so much nearer Christ's
resurrection, according as they have been more conformed to Him by
grace and merit.
Objection 3: Further, the state of the New Testament is more
perfect, and bears a closer resemblance to Christ, than the state of
the Old Testament. Yet some of the fathers of the Old Testament
rose again when Christ rose, according to Mt. 27:52: "Many
of the bodies of the saints, that had slept, arose." Therefore it
would seem that the resurrection of the Old Testament saints should
not be delayed till the end of the world, so that all may rise
together.
Objection 4: Further, there will be no numbering of years after the
end of the world. Yet after the resurrection of the dead, the years
are still reckoned until the resurrection of others, as appears from
Apoc. 20:4,5. For it is stated there that "I saw . . .
the souls of them that were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and
for the word of God," and further on: "And they lived and reigned
with Christ a thousand years." And "the rest of the dead lived not
till the thousand years were finished." Therefore the resurrection of
all is not delayed until the end of the world, that all may rise
together.
On the contrary, It is written (Job 14:12): "Man when he
is fallen asleep shall not rise again till the heavens be broken, he
shall not wake, nor rise out of his sleep," and it is a question of
the sleep of death. Therefore the resurrection of men will be delayed
until the end of the world when the heavens shall be broken.
Further, it is written (Heb. 11:39): "All these being
approved by the testimony of faith received not the promise," i.e.
full beatitude of soul and body, since "God has provided something
better for us, lest they should be consummated," i.e. perfected,
"without us---in order that," as a gloss observes, "through all
rejoicing each one might rejoice the more." But the resurrection will
not precede the glorification of bodies, because "He will reform the
body of our lowness made like to the body of His glory" (Phil.
3:21), and the children of the resurrection will be "as the
angels . . . in heaven" (Mt. 22:30). Therefore the
resurrection will be delayed till the end of the world, when all shall
rise together.
I answer that, As Augustine states (De Trin. iii, 4)
"Divine providence decreed that the grosser and lower bodies should be
ruled in a certain order by the more subtle and powerful bodies":
wherefore the entire matter of the lower bodies is subject to variation
according to the movement of the heavenly bodies. Hence it would be
contrary to the order established in things by Divine providence if the
matter of lower bodies were brought to the state of incorruption, so
long as there remains movement in the higher bodies. And since,
according to the teaching of faith, the resurrection will bring men to
immortal life conformably to Christ Who "rising again from the dead
dieth now no more" (Rm. 6:9), the resurrection of human bodies
will be delayed until the end of the world when the heavenly movement
will cease. For this reason, too, certain philosophers, who held
that the movement of the heavens will never cease, maintained that
human souls will return to mortal bodies such as we have
now---whether, as Empedocles, they stated that the soul would
return to the same body at the end of the great year, or that it would
return to another body; thus Pythagoras asserted that "any soul will
enter any body," as stated in De Anima i, 3.
Reply to Objection 1: Although the head is more conformed to the
members by conformity of proportion (which is requisite in order that
it have influence over the members) than one member is to another, yet
the head has a certain causality over the members which the members have
not; and in this the members differ from the head and agree with one
another. Hence Christ's resurrection is an exemplar of ours, and
through our faith therein there arises in us the hope of our own
resurrection. But the resurrection of one of Christ's members is not
the cause of the resurrection of other members, and consequently
Christ's resurrection had to precede the resurrection of others who
have all to rise again at the consummation of the world.
Reply to Objection 2: Although among the members some rank higher
than others and are more conformed to the Head, they do not attain to
the character of headship so as to be the cause of others.
Consequently greater conformity to Christ does not give them a right
to rise again before others as though they were exemplar and the others
exemplate, as we have said in reference to Christ's resurrection:
and if it has been granted to others that their resurrection should not
be delayed until the general resurrection, this has been by special
privilege of grace, and not as due on account of conformity to
Christ.
Reply to Objection 3: Jerome, in a sermon on the Assumption
[Ep. x ad Paul. et Eustoch.], seems to be doubtful of this
resurrection of the saints with Christ, namely as to whether, having
been witnesses to the resurrection, they died again, so that theirs
was a resuscitation (as in the case of Lazarus who died again) rather
than a resurrection such as will be at the end of the world---or
really rose again to immortal life, to live for ever in the body, and
to ascend bodily into heaven with Christ, as a gloss says on Mt.
27:52. The latter seems more probable, because, as Jerome
says, in order that they might bear true witness to Christ's true
resurrection, it was fitting that they should truly rise again. Nor
was their resurrection hastened for their sake, but for the sake of
bearing witness to Christ's resurrection: and that by bearing witness
thereto they might lay the foundation of the faith of the New
Testament: wherefore it was more fitting that it should be borne by
the fathers of the Old Testament, than by those who died after the
foundation of the New. It must, however, be observed that,
although the Gospel mentions their resurrection before Christ's, we
must take this statement as made in anticipation, as is often the case
with writers of history. For none rose again with a true resurrection
before Christ, since He is the "first-fruits of them that sleep"
(1 Cor. 15:20), although some were resuscitated before
Christ's resurrection, as in the case of Lazarus.
Reply to Objection 4: On account of these words, as Augustine
relates (De Civ. Dei xx, 7), certain heretics asserted that
there will be a first resurrection of the dead that they may reign with
Christ on earth for a thousand years; whence they were called
"chiliasts" or "millenarians." Hence Augustine says (De Civ.
Dei xx, 7) that these words are to be understood otherwise, namely
of the spiritual resurrection, whereby men shall rise again from their
sins to the gift of grace: while the second resurrection is of bodies.
The reign of Christ denotes the Church wherein not only martyrs but
also the other elect reign, the part denoting the whole; or they reign
with Christ in glory as regards all, special mention being made of the
martyrs, because they especially reign after death who fought for the
truth, even unto death. The number of a thousand years denotes not a
fixed number, but the whole of the present time wherein the saints now
reign with Christ, because the number 1,000 designates
universality more than the number 100, since 100 is the square of
10, whereas 1,000 is a cube resulting from the multiplication of
ten by its square, for 10 X 10 = 100, and 100 X 10 =
1,000. Again in Ps. 104:8, "The word which He
commanded to a thousand," i.e. all, "generations."
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