[203:3] Quoted in Knight: Ancient Art and Mythology, p. xxii. note.
[203:4] Dunlap: Spirit Hist., p. 185.
[203:5] See chapter xvii. and vol. ii. Hist. Hindostan.
[203:6] See Jameson's Hist. of Our Lord in Art, vol. ii. p. 142.
[204:1] "It would be difficult to prove that the cross of Constantine was of the simple construction as now understood. . . . As regards the Labarum, the coins of the time, in which it is especially set forth, prove that the so-called cross upon it was nothing else than the same ever-recurring monogram of Christ" (that is, the XP). (History of Our Lord in Art, vol. ii. p. 310. See also, Smith's Bible Dictionary, art. "Labarum.")
[205:1] Deut. xxiv. 16.
[205:2] Num. xxv. 31-34.
[205:3] Matt. v. 17, 18.
The Luke narrator informs us that at the time of the death of Christ Jesus, the sun was darkened, and there was darkness over the earth from the sixth until the ninth hour; also the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.[206:1]
The Matthew narrator, in addition to this, tells us that:
"The earth did quake, and the rocks were rent, and the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of their graves . . . and went into the holy city and appeared unto many."[206:2]
"His star" having shone at the time of his birth, and his having been born in a miraculous manner, it was necessary that at the death of Christ Jesus, something miraculous should happen. Something of an unusual nature had happened at the time of the death of other supernatural beings, therefore something must happen at his death; the myth would not have been complete without it. In the words of Viscount Amberly: "The darkness from the sixth to the ninth hour, the rending of the temple veil, the earthquake, the rending of the rocks, are altogether like the prodigies attending the decease of other great men."[206:3]
The Rev. Dr. Geikie, one of the most orthodox writers, says:[206:4]
"It is impossible to explain the origin of this darkness. The passover moon was then at the full, so that it could not have been an eclipse. The early Fathers, relying on a notice of an eclipse that seemed to coincide in time, though it really did not, fancied that the darkness was caused by it, but incorrectly."
Perhaps "the origin of this darkness" may be explained from what we shall now see.
At the time of the death of the Hindoo Saviour Crishna, there came calamities and bad omens of every kind. A black circle surrounded the moon, and the sun was darkened at noon-day; the sky rained fire and ashes; flames burned dusky and livid; demons committed depredations on earth; at sunrise and sunset, thousands of figures were seen skirmishing in the air; spirits were to be seen on all sides.[207:1]
When the conflict began between Buddha, the Saviour of the World, and the Prince of Evil, a thousand appalling meteors fell; clouds and darkness prevailed. Even this earth, with the oceans and mountains it contains, though it is unconscious, quaked like a conscious being—like a fond bride when forcibly torn from her bridegroom—like the festoons of a vine shaken under the blast of a whirlwind. The ocean rose under the vibration of this earthquake; rivers flowed back toward their sources; peaks of lofty mountains, where countless trees had grown for ages, rolled crumbling to the earth; a fierce storm howled all around; the roar of the concussion became terrific; the very sun enveloped itself in awful darkness, and a host of headless spirits filled the air.[207:2]
When Prometheus was crucified on Mount Caucasus, the whole frame of nature became convulsed. The earth did quake, thunder roared, lightning flashed, the wild winds rent the vexed air, the boisterous billows rose, and the dissolution of the universe seemed to be threatened.[207:3]
The ancient Greeks and Romans, says Canon Farrar,[207:4] had always considered that the births and deaths of great men were announced by celestial signs. We therefore find that at the death of Romulus, the founder of Rome, the sun was darkened, and there was darkness over the face of the earth for the space of six hours.[207:5]
When Julius Cæsar, who was the son of a god, was murdered, there was a darkness over the earth, the sun being eclipsed for the space of six hours.[207:6]
This is spoken of by Virgil, where he says:
It is also referred to by Tibullus, Ovid, and Lucian (poets), Pliny, Appian, Dion Cassius, and Julius Obsequenes (historians.)[207:8]
When Æsculapius the Saviour was put to death, the sun shone dimly from the heavens; the birds were silent in the darkened groves; the trees bowed down their heads in sorrow; and the hearts of all the sons of men fainted within them, because the healer of their pains and sickness lived no more upon the earth.[208:1]
When Hercules was dying, he said to the faithful female (Iole) who followed him to the last spot on earth on which he trod, "Weep not, my toil is done, and now is the time for rest. I shall see thee again in the bright land which is never trodden by the feet of night." Then, as the dying god expired, darkness was on the face of the earth; from the high heaven came down the thick cloud, and the din of its thunder crashed through the air. In this manner, Zeus, the god of gods, carried his son home, and the halls of Olympus were opened to welcome the bright hero who rested from his mighty toil. There he now sits, clothed in a white robe, with a crown upon his head.[208:2]
When Œdipus was about to leave this world of pain and sorrow, he bade Antigone farewell, and said, "Weep not, my child, I am going to my home, and I rejoice to lay down the burden of my woe." Then there were signs in the heaven above and on the earth beneath, that the end was nigh at hand, for the earth did quake, and the thunder roared and echoed again and again through the sky.[208:3]
"The Romans had a god called Quirinius. His soul emanated from the sun, and was restored to it. He was begotten by the god of armies upon a virgin of the royal blood, and exposed by order of the jealous tyrant Amulius, and was preserved and educated among shepherds. He was torn to pieces at his death, when he ascended into heaven; upon which the sun was eclipsed or darkened."[208:4]
When Alexander the Great died, similar prodigies are said to have happened; again, when foul murders were committed, it is said that the sun seemed to hide its face. This is illustrated in the story of Atreus, King of Mycenae, who foully murdered the children of his brother Thyestes. At that time, the sun, unable to endure a sight so horrible, "turned his course backward and withdrew his light."[208:5]
At the time of the death of the virgin-born Quetzalcoatle, the Mexican crucified Saviour, the sun was darkened, and withheld its light.[209:1]
Lord Kingsborough, speaking of this event, considers it very strange that the Mexicans should have preserved an account of it among their records, when "the great eclipse which sacred history records" is not recorded in profane history.
Gibbon, the historian, speaking of this phenomenon, says:
"Under the reign of Tiberius, the whole earth,[209:2] or at least a celebrated province of the Roman empire,[209:3] was involved in a perpetual darkness of three hours. Even this miraculous event, which ought to have excited the wonder, the curiosity, and the devotion of mankind, passed without notice in an age of science and history. It happened during the life-time of Seneca[209:4] and the elder Pliny,[209:5] who must have experienced the immediate effects, or received the earliest intelligence, of the prodigy. Each of these philosophers, in a laborious work, has recorded all the great phenomena of nature, earthquakes, meteors, comets and eclipses, which his indefatigable curiosity could collect.[209:6] But the one and the other have omitted to mention the greatest phenomenon to which the mortal eye has been witness since the creation of the globe."[209:7]
This account of the darkness at the time of the death of Jesus of Nazareth, is one of the prodigies related in the New Testament which no Christian commentator has been able to make appear reasonable. The favorite theory is that it was a natural eclipse of the sun, which happened to take place at that particular time, but, if this was the case, there was nothing supernatural in the event, and it had nothing whatever to do with the death of Jesus. Again, it would be necessary to prove from other sources that such an event happened at that time, but this cannot be done. The argument from the duration of the darkness—three hours—is also of great force against such an occurrence having happened, for an eclipse seldom lasts in great intensity more than six minutes.
Even if it could be proved that an eclipse really happened at the time assigned for the crucifixion of Jesus, how about the earthquake, when the rocks were rent and the graves opened? and how about the "saints which slept" rising bodily and walking in the streets of the Holy City and appearing to many? Surely, the faith that would remove mountains,[209:8] is required here.
Shakespeare has embalmed some traditions of the kind exactly analogous to the present case:
Belief in the influence of the stars over life and death, and in special portents at the death of great men, survived, indeed, to recent times. Chaucer abounds in allusions to it, and still later Shakespeare tells us:
It would seem that this superstition survives even to the present day, for it is well known that the dark and yellow atmosphere which settled over so much of the country, on the day of the removal of President Garfield from Washington to Long Branch, was sincerely held by hundreds of persons to be a death-warning sent from heaven, and there were numerous predictions that dissolution would take place before the train arrived at its destination.
As Mr. Greg remarks, there can, we think, remain little doubt in unprepossessed minds, that the whole legend in question was one of those intended to magnify Christ Jesus, which were current in great numbers at the time the Matthew narrator wrote, and which he, with the usual want of discrimination and somewhat omnivorous tendency, which distinguished him as a compiler, admitted into his Gospel.
[206:1] Luke, xxiii. 44, 45.
[206:2] Matthew, xxvii. 51-53.
[206:3] Amberly: Analysis of Religious Belief, p. 268.
[206:4] Life of Christ, vol. ii. p. 643.
[207:1] See Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 71.
[207:2] Rhys David's Buddhism, pp. 36, 37.
[207:3] See Potter's Æschylus, "Prometheus Chained," last stanza.
[207:4] Farrar's Life of Christ, p. 52.
[207:5] See Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. i. pp. 616, 617.
[207:6] See Ibid. and Gibbon's Rome, vol. i. pp. 159 and 590, also Josephus: Jewish Antiquities, book xiv. ch. xii. and note.
[207:8] See Gibbon's Rome, vol. i. pp. 159 and 590.
[208:1] Tales of Ancient Greece, p. 46.
[208:2] Ibid. pp. 61, 62.
[208:3] Ibid. p. 270.
[208:4] Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 822.
[208:5] See Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. p. 106.
[209:1] See Kingsborough's Mexican Antiquities, vol. vi. p. 5.
[209:2] The Fathers of the Church seem to cover the whole earth with darkness, in which they are followed by most of the moderns. (Gibbon. Luke, xxiii. 44, says "over all the earth.")
[209:3] Origen (a Father of the third century) and a few modern critics, are desirous of confining it to the land of Judea. (Gibbon.)
[209:4] Seneca, a celebrated philosopher and historian, born in Spain a few years B. C., but educated in Rome, and became a "Roman."
[209:5] Pliny the elder, a celebrated Roman philosopher and historian, born about 23 A. D.
[209:6] Seneca: Quaest. Natur. l. i. 15, vi. l. vii. 17. Pliny: Hist. Natur. l. ii.
[209:7] Gibbon's Rome, i. 589, 590.
[209:8] Matt. xvi. 20.
[210:1] Hamlet, act 1, s. 1.
The doctrine of Christ Jesus' descent into hell is emphatically part of the Christian belief, although not alluded to by Christian divines excepting when unavoidable.
In the first place, it is taught in the Creed of the Christians, wherein it says:
"He descended into hell, and on the third day he rose again from the dead."
The doctrine was also taught by the Fathers of the Church. St. Chrysostom (born 347 A. D.) asks:
"Who but an infidel would deny that Christ was in hell?"[211:1]
And St. Clement of Alexandria, who flourished at the beginning of the third century, is equally clear and emphatic as to Jesus' descent into hell. He says:
"The Lord preached the gospel to those in Hades, as well as to all in earth, in order that all might believe and be saved, wherever they were. If, then, the Lord descended to Hades for no other end but to preach the gospel, as He did descend, it was either to preach the gospel to all, or to the Hebrews only. If accordingly to all, then all who believe shall be saved, although they may be of the Gentiles, on making their profession there."[211:2]
Origen, who flourished during the latter part of the second, and beginning of the third centuries, also emphatically declares that Christ Jesus descended into hell.[211:3]
Ancient Christian works of art represent his descent into hell.[211:4]
The apocryphal gospels teach the doctrine of Christ Jesus' descent into hell, the object of which was to preach to those in bondage there, and to liberate the saints who had died before his advent on earth.
On account of the sin committed by Adam in the Garden of Eden, all mankind were doomed, all had gone to hell—excepting those who had been translated to heaven—even those persons who were "after God's own heart," and who had belonged to his "chosen people." The coming of Christ Jesus into the world, however, made a change in the affairs of man. The saints were then liberated from their prison, and all those who believe in the efficacy of his name, shall escape hereafter the tortures of hell. This is the doctrine to be found in the apocryphal gospels, and was taught by the Fathers of the Church.[212:1]
In the "Gospel of Nicodemus" (apoc.) is to be found the whole story of Christ Jesus' descent into hell, and of his liberating the saints.
Satan, and the Prince of Hell, having heard that Jesus of Nazareth was about to descend to their domain, began to talk the matter over, as to what they should do, &c. While thus engaged, on a sudden, there was a voice as of thunder and the rushing of winds, saying: "Lift up your gates, O ye Princes, and be ye lifted up, O ye everlasting gates, and the King of Glory shall come in."
When the Prince of Hell heard this, he said to his impious officers: "Shut the brass gates . . . and make them fast with iron bars, and fight courageously."
The saints having heard what had been said on both sides, immediately spoke with a loud voice, saying: "Open thy gates, that the King of Glory may come in." The divine prophets, David and Isaiah, were particularly conspicuous in this protest against the intentions of the Prince of Hell.
Again the voice of Jesus was heard saying: "Lift up your gates, O Prince; and be ye lifted up, ye gates of hell, and the King of Glory will enter in." The Prince of Hell then cried out: "Who is the King of Glory?" upon which the prophet David commenced to reply to him, but while he was speaking, the mighty Lord Jesus appeared in the form of a man, and broke asunder the fetters which before could not be broken, and crying aloud, said: "Come to me, all ye saints, who were created in my image, who were condemned by the tree of the forbidden fruit . . . live now by the word of my cross."
Then presently all the saints were joined together, hand in hand, and the Lord Jesus laid hold on Adam's hand, and ascended from hell, and all the saints of God followed him.[212:2]
When the saints arrived in paradise, two "very ancient men" met them, and were asked by the saints: "Who are ye, who have not been with us in hell, and have had your bodies placed in paradise?" One of these "very ancient men" answered and said: "I am Enoch, who was translated by the word of God, and this man who is with me is Elijah the Tishbite, who was translated in a fiery chariot."[213:1]
The doctrine of the descent into hell may be found alluded to in the canonical books; thus, for instance, in I. Peter:
"It is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. For Christ also hath suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the spirit: by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison."[213:2]
Again, in "Acts," where the writer is speaking of David as a prophet, he says:
"He, seeing this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption."[213:3]
The reason why Christ Jesus has been made to descend into hell, is because it is a part of the universal mythos, even the three days' duration. The Saviours of mankind had all done so, he must therefore do likewise.
Crishna, the Hindoo Saviour, descended into hell, for the purpose of raising the dead (the doomed),[213:4] before he returned to his heavenly seat.
Zoroaster, of the Persians, descended into hell.[213:5]
Osiris, the Egyptian Saviour, descended into hell.[213:6]
Horus, the virgin-born Saviour, descended into hell.[213:7]
Adonis, the virgin-born Saviour, descended into hell.[213:8]
Bacchus, the virgin-born Saviour, descended into hell.[213:9]
Hercules, the virgin-born Saviour, descended into hell.[213:10]
Mercury, the Word and Messenger of God, descended into hell.[213:11]
Baldur, the Scandinavian god, after being killed, descended into hell.[214:1]
Quetzalcoatle, the Mexican crucified Saviour, descended into hell.[214:2]
All these gods, and many others that might be mentioned, remained in hell for the space of three days and three nights. "They descended into hell, and on the third day rose again."[214:3]
[211:1] Quoted by Bonwick: Egyptian Belief, p. 46.
[211:2] Strom, vi. c. 6.
[211:3] Contra Celsus, bk. ii. c. 43.
[211:4] See Jameson's Hist. of Our Lord in Art, vol. ii. pp. 354, 355.
[212:1] See Jameson's Hist. of Our Lord in Art, vol. ii. pp. 250, 251.
[212:2] Nicodemus: Apoc. ch. xvi. and xix.
[213:1] Nicodemus: Apoc. ch. xx.
[213:2] I. Peter, iii. 17-19.
[213:3] Acts, ii. 31.
[213:4] See Asiatic Researches, vol. i. p. 237. Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 168, and Maurice: Indian Antiquities, vol. ii. p. 85.
[213:5] See Monumental Christianity, p. 286.
[213:6] See Dupuis: Origin of Religious Belief, p. 256, Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, and Dunlap's Mysteries of Adoni, pp. 125, 152.
[213:7] See Chap. XXXIX.
[213:8] See Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. p. 12.
[213:9] See Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 322. Dupuis: Origin of Religious Belief, p. 257, and Dunlap's Mysteries of Adoni, p. 33.
[213:10] See Taylor's Mysteries, p. 40, and Mysteries of Adoni, pp. 94-96.
[213:11] See Bell's Pantheon, vol. ii. p. 72. Our Christian writers discover considerable apprehension, and a jealous caution in their language, when the resemblance between Paganism and Christianity might be apt to strike the mind too cogently. In quoting Horace's account of Mercury's descent into hell, and his causing a cessation of the sufferings there, Mr. Spence, in "Bell's Pantheon," says: "As this, perhaps, may be a mythical part of his character, we had better let it alone."
[214:1] See Bonwick: Egyptian Belief, p. 169, and Mallet, p. 448.
[214:2] See Mexican Antiquities, vol. vi. p. 166.
[214:3] See the chapter on Explanation.
The story of the resurrection of Christ Jesus is related by the four Gospel narrators, and is to the effect that, after being crucified, his body was wrapped in a linen cloth, laid in a tomb, and a "great stone" rolled to the door. The sepulchre was then made sure by "sealing the stone" and "setting a watch."
On the first day of the week some of Jesus' followers came to see the sepulchre, when they found that, in spite of the "sealing" and the "watch," the angel of the Lord had descended from heaven, had rolled back the stone from the door, and that "Jesus had risen from the dead."[215:1]
The story of his ascension is told by the Mark[215:2] narrator, who says "he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God;" by Luke,[215:3] who says "he was carried up into heaven;" and by the writer of the Acts,[215:4] who says "he was taken up (to heaven) and a cloud received him out of sight."
We will find, in stripping Christianity of its robes of Paganism, that these miraculous events must be put on the same level with those we have already examined.
Crishna, the crucified Hindoo Saviour, rose from the dead,[215:5] and ascended bodily into heaven.[215:6] At that time a great light enveloped the earth and illuminated the whole expanse of heaven. Attended by celestial spirits, and luminous as on that night when he was born in the house of Vasudeva, Crishna pursued, by his own light, the journey between earth and heaven, to the bright paradise from whence he had descended. All men saw him, and exclaimed, "Lo, Crishna's soul ascends its native skies!"[215:7]
Samuel Johnson, in his "Oriental Religions," tells us that Râma—an incarnation of Vishnu—after his manifestations on earth, "at last ascended to heaven," "resuming his divine essence."
"By the blessings of Râma's name, and through previous faith in him, all sins are remitted, and every one who shall at death pronounce his name with sincere worship shall be forgiven."[216:1]
The mythological account of Buddha, the son of the Virgin Maya, who, as the God of Love, is named Cam-deo, Cam, and Cama, is of the same character as that of other virgin-born gods. When he died there were tears and lamentations. Heaven and earth are said equally to have lamented the loss of "Divine Love," insomuch that Maha-deo (the supreme god) was moved to pity, and exclaimed, "Rise, holy love!" on which Cama was restored and the lamentations changed into the most enthusiastic joy. The heavens are said to have echoed back the exulting sound; then the deity, supposed to be lost (dead), was restored, "hell's great dread and heaven's eternal admiration."[216:2]
The coverings of the body unrolled themselves, and the lid of his coffin was opened by supernatural powers.[216:3]
Buddha also ascended bodily to the celestial regions when his mission on earth was fulfilled, and marks on the rocks of a high mountain are shown, and believed to be the last impression of his footsteps on this earth. By prayers in his name his followers expect to receive the rewards of paradise, and finally to become one with him, as he became one with the Source of Life.[216:4]
Lao-Kiun, the virgin-born, he who had existed from all eternity, when his mission of benevolence was completed on earth, ascended bodily into the paradise above. Since this time he has been worshiped as a god, and splendid temples erected to his memory.[216:5]
Zoroaster, the founder of the religion of the ancient Persians, who was considered "a divine messenger sent to redeem men from their evil ways," ascended to heaven at the end of his earthly career. To this day his followers mention him with the greatest reverence, calling him "The Immortal Zoroaster," "The Blessed Zoroaster," "The Living Star," &c.[216:6]
Æsculapius, the Son of God, the Saviour, after being put to death, rose from the dead. His history is portrayed in the following lines of Ovid's, which are prophecies foretelling his life and actions: