Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes, Chapter 38 summary

What happens

1. The speaker argues that religious promises and threats can undermine sovereignty unless their scriptural meanings receive careful examination.
2. Adam’s loss of earthly immortality and Christ’s recovery of it support an earthly kingdom after resurrection.
3. The speaker submits religious doctrine to sovereign authority and interprets descriptions of Hell as metaphors rather than precise locations.
4. He treats Satan and related names as descriptions of hostile roles, and argues that condemned individuals suffer a second death.
5. Salvation means release from sin, misery, and death; scriptural promises place its center in Jerusalem.
6. The speaker distinguishes three worlds and explains redemption as Christ’s offering accepted through God’s mercy.

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