The Conditionalist Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 1

II. Clement of Rome—Neither Innate Immortality Nor Eternal Torment

The earliest allegedly authentic writings of the subapostolic church period that has come down to us is an epistle by CLEMENT OF ROME. Though his life is shrouded in obscurity, he was an early presiding presbyter or overseer, afterward called bishop, of Rome. He is identified by such third-century writers as Tertullian and Origen as Paul’s companion at Philippi (Philippians 4:3), and therefore a contemporary of John the apostle. According to Eusebius, Clement died in the third year of Trajan, ¹ i.e., about A.D. 100. CFF1 762.2

In this transitional period the church at Rome held an important but not yet overshadowing place, such as it later came to occupy. Two epistles are extant under Clement’s name. The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians, written to a sister church in the name of the church at Rome, is very generally accredited as genuine—the “‘one acknowledged epistle,’” according to church historian Eusebius. He states that it was held in high esteem and “‘was publicly used in a great many churches.’” ² It was probably penned about A.D. 95, says Westcott, ³ soon after the persecution under Domitian. The epistle comprises fifty-nine short chapters, and may be said to reflect the subapostolic age. ⁴ On the contrary, the Second Epistle is universally recognized as apocryphal, and will therefore not concern us. CFF1 762.3

1. CLEMENT ON THE NATURE AND DESTINY OF MAN

Because of the unique early position of Clement—apparently the initial writer available after the passing of the apostles—we must survey his presentation in some detail. First of all, we must ascertain his eschatological positions, for they will automatically reveal his views concerning the nature and destiny of man. (See Tabular Chart—Three Concepts of Life and Death Among Early Church Writers—on page 758, for Clement’s place in the triple categories into which the Apostolic, Ante-, and Post-Nicene Fathers group themselves.) CFF1 763.1

2. SECOND ADVENT AND RESURRECTION HOPE DOMINANT

The Second Advent expectancy marks this treatise. Here is a characteristic reference, showing the Advent hope to be in the very forefront of Clement’s thinking: CFF1 763.2

“Of a truth, soon and suddenly shall His [Christ’s] will be accomplished, as the Scripture also bears witness, saying, ‘Speedily will He come, and will not tarry;’ and, ‘The Lord shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Holy One, for whom ye look.’” ⁵ CFF1 763.3

And connected inseparably with the Advent is the resurrection, to which Clement attaches great importance. Thus he discloses his understanding of the eschatological order of events. This assurance of the resurrection he seeks to buttress from nature: CFF1 763.4

“Let us consider, beloved, how the Lord continually proves to us that there shall be a future resurrection, of which He has rendered the Lord Jesus Christ the first-fruits by raising Him from the dead. Let us contemplate, beloved, the resurrection which is at all times taking place. ⁶ Day and night declare to us a resurrection. The night sinks to sleep, and the day arises; the day [again] departs, and the night comes on. Let us behold the fruits [of the earth, how the sowing of grain takes place. The sower goes forth, and casts it into the ground; and the seed being thus scattered, though dry and naked when it fell upon the earth, is gradually dissolved. Then out of its dissolution the mighty power of the providence of the Lord raises it up again, and from one seed many arise and bring forth fruit.” ⁷ CFF1 763.5

Again, our Maker will “raise up again those that have piously served Him,” and “‘Thou shalt raise up this flesh of mine,’” according to promise. ⁸ CFF1 764.1

3. THEME PERSISTS THROUGHOUT GENUINE EPISTLE

In chapter twenty-five of the epistle the fable of the curious and fanciful bird the phoenix ⁹ is introduced, taken from Herodotus and Pliny. It is given as symbolizing the resurrection, and thus indicates the weird pagan imaginings that were even then beginning to appear in Christian Church thinking. ¹⁰ But in chapter twenty-seven the Biblical resurrection is further stressed by Clement, and the Second Advent is referred to in chapter thirty-four. “Life in immortality” is presented as the gift of God in chapter thirty-five. Punishment “with death” is mentioned in chapter forty-one, and in chapter fifty we read this promise: CFF1 764.2

“For it is written, ‘Enter in thy secret chambers for a little time, until my wrath and fury pass away; and I will remember a propitious day, ¹¹ and will raise you up out of your graves.” ¹² CFF1 764.3

Those are the high points. CFF1 764.4

4. ADVENT NOTE EVEN IN SPURIOUS SECOND EPISTLE

Even in the so-called Second Epistle, or Homily, with its unknown author, the Advent note still echoes, though the epistle is without authority: “Let us then wait for the kingdom of God, from hour to hour, in love and righteousness, seeing that we know not the day of the appearing of God.” ¹³ CFF1 764.5

We will now trace what Clement of Rome teaches in the authentic First Epistle in regard to immortality and punishment—with perishing, destruction, and death for the wicked, and salvation and life and immortality for the redeemed as the gift of God, for which reward we must wait. CFF1 765.1

5. SIGNIFICANT SILENCES IN CLEMENT’S WITNESS

Scholarly Anglican Prebendary Henry Constable rightly calls attention to Clement’s “silence on certain points.” Clement “never speaks of the immortality of the soul,” ¹⁴ either in thought or in phrasing, nor of eternal punishing, both of which concepts abound in later church writers, such as Tertullian (d. c. 240) and Augustine (d. 430). Clement says that man is a “mortal creature, consisting only of dust and ashes—his life as but the life of one day.” ¹⁵ This is significant. But he is far more than negative. CFF1 765.2

6. IMMORTALITY A “GIFT” OF GOD, TO BE SOUGHT FOR

Clement sets forth immortality as one of God’s glorious gifts to the redeemed. “Life in immortality,” as he phrases it, is a gift of God to the righteous. And it is “prepared for such as wait for Him.” To gain it we must “earnestly strive” for it, “in order that we may share in His promised gifts.” ¹⁶ Clement did not believe that the wicked either possessed Immortality by nature or should ever obtain it. CFF1 765.3

As to zoe (“life,” or “existence”), Clement likewise uses it only in the sense of existence. He speaks of the “‘life of man which may last but for a day.’” It is not mere “happiness,” or “well-being,” as contended by a later school of writers. With Clement, “righteousness is not life, but the way to life.” ¹⁷ And it is God’s will that we should “taste of immortal knowledge,” “the knowledge of immortality.” ¹⁸ CFF1 765.4

7. DEATH IS CESSATION OF ALL LIFE

Clement presents “death” (thanatos) as the lot of all mankind. He sets it forth as the deprivation of life, the cessation of the faculties, the ending of all activities. All men are subject to its claims, except such as Enoch, who was exempted by translation, for, as Clement says, “death was never known to happen to him.” ¹⁹ But from Abel on to Christ and the martyrs, all suffered death. ²⁰ Christ, as our Saviour and substitute, was “brought down to death.” Again, “His soul was delivered to death, and He was reckoned among the transgressors, and He bare the sins of many.” ²¹ CFF1 766.1

And when Clement discusses that death which is the ultimate fate of the wicked, he clearly states that they will ultimately be deprived of all existence, and become nonexistent. He does not refer to a merely spiritual death in sin, or of endless life in everlasting misery, as was later projected by Tertullian and Augustine. CFF1 766.2

8. WICKED TO PERISH, BE DESTROYED, CEASE TO EXIST

As to the future punishment of the wicked, Clement uses such terms as teleutao (to “finish,” “accomplish,” “end”), and thus “to die,” as the end or loss of human existence. He goes on to state that death was visited upon the people of Jericho, and death came to the army of Pharaoh in the Red Sea. That is the death that comes upon all men through sin. CFF1 766.3

Again and again Clement uses the terms “perish” and “destruction” ²² as the equivalent of “punished with death” ²³ for the fate of the wicked. He frequently quotes from the Old Testament—the New Testament was not yet assembled—citing how “transgressors” are to be “destroyed from off the face of the earth”; how the prophet looked for the wicked and “behold, he was not” (chap. 14); how evildoers are to be “cut off,” along with “the remembrance of them from the earth” (chap. 22); how God will “destroy them,” literally they are to “be wiped out,” and God will “blot out” even “their name from under heaven” (chap. 53). That was Clement’s belief. It is sketchy, and not amplified, as with other writers soon to follow. But his witness is consistent and conclusive, and is significant because of its timing. CFF1 766.4

9. CONSTABLE’S SUMMARY OF CLEMENT’S VIEWS

We can do no better than to quote Anglican Prebendary Constable’s conclusions, back in 1886, after completing his painstaking examination of this epistle of Clement: CFF1 767.1

“There can be no doubt then of Clement of Rome’s view of future punishment. By his silence and by his words he tells us what it was. With him there was no immortality for any but the redeemed of Christ. Endless life was, with him, only for those who would use it to the glory of the Giver. For all others there was, after resurrection and judgment, the sentence to a second death, the loss of existence for ever, from which they were never to be recalled to another life, another probation, another opportunity of salvation.” ²⁴ CFF1 767.2

Clement clearly believed that immortality was conditional—to be bestowed on the righteous only. CFF1 767.3

It will be essential for us to watch the sequence and relationships of the last events, or eschatology, held by each of these Apostolic Fathers, for therein lies the clue to their views of the nature and destiny of man. In this way the concepts of Clement of Rome, though fragmentary, become unmistakable. The others will unfold in similar but clearer pattern. CFF1 767.4