Page 33. for a part. Our Saviour's parables the words of wisdom. As such, must have every propriety. To be estimated differently from the words of men, because He knew all things. Parable 34. of the sower. Seed caught away; having no root, withereth; choaked with thorns. Those who bear no fruit lose the kingdom; but are not steeped in misery ten thousand fathoms deep. Wheat and tares. Wheat preserved, tares destroyed. 35. Existence continued to the wicked, because mingled with the good: "Let them grow together until the harvest, lest ye root up the wheat also." Weeping and gnashing of teeth. Shall the misfortunes of this life cause that, and shall not the very 36. presence of God, as an avenging and consuming fire? Net cast into the sea. Gather the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. Labourers in the vineyard. Those called in the eleventh hour obtain salvation; but will the Lord of the Vineyard feed and clothe, for all eternity, those who will not work? 37. The merciless servant forgiven two millions sterling; but not the want of love. "If ye love not your brother whom ye have seen, how can ye love God whom ye have not seen?" 38. The love of God is life, the want of it extinction. The wicked husbandmen destroyed, and their portion of existence given to others. Marriage of the king's son. Even he who came without a wedding garment is cast out. Can a desire of coming to God be punished with Eternal Misery? Surely not; but it will be unfruitful if His conditions are not complied with. The wise and foolish virgins. Admission and exclusion. 39. The talents blessed or cursed, increased, or withdrawn " ever that which he seemeth to have." All scripture must be harmonious, but especially parts of the same discourse. Sower in St. Mark's gospel. Seed time and harvest-word of God 40. and immortality. The fruitless fig-tree cumbereth the earth. Dives and Lazarus, a real difference between them. The day of judgment accounts for all this parable contains; which the doctrine of Eternal Misery does not. Not a narrative, be41. cause it assumes that which our Saviour declares shall be at 42. His second coming. Various other parables, alluded to as 43. excluding this doctrine, and a review of the whole. In page 44, is offered an explanation of the expression, Matt. iii. 11," Shall baptize you with fire." From page 43 to 77 are contained extracts from the words of St. John the Baptist and of our blessed Saviour, and from Page the prophets, which are hard to be understood, when other parts of the scripture are " wrested" to make them denounce Eternal Misery. In the first six chapters of St. John's gospel, eternal life is declared, twenty-six times, to be given only to believers in Christ; which, to those who were turned out of Paradise lest they should "live for ever," and at the hands of a good God, whose gifts are always blessings, must imply the mortality of those who fail to come up to the condition on which immortality is offered. 77. This seen especially in the answer to the Sadducees concern78. ing the resurrection. Future state of existence, the object of the Sadducees' enquiry. If there be one of Eternal Misery, that must be theirs, because of their unbelief. Impossible our Saviour, who was kind to the unthankful and to the evil, could mock men on the brink of Eternal Misery, by concealing from them the precipice they overhung. This answer being irreconcileable to the doctrine of Eternal Misery, prepares for the 79. consideration of the passages thought to contain it. Enquiry how the great points of faith are affected by the one doctrine and the other. The death of Christ as a sacrifice for the sins 80. of mankind. Christ suffered the punishment due to our offences-death, departure of God's spirit, agony in the garden, weeping, and gnashing of teeth. Christ himself said "It is finished," when He gave up the ghost; having pointed out to us whom, and what we ought to fear, when he cried "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" Whatever the curse on Adam was, Christ endured it for mankind-for as many as shall believe in His name. To the curse the natural man is still subject; for as are the earthy, so are they that are earthy; and it is a plain consequence that flesh and blood, the dust of the earth, can no more endure for ever than it can enter into the kingdom of heaven. Hatred of God essential to hell torments: this Christ could not chuse nor God ap prove. Absurd to say an immortal being can again begin to live. How Christ was made a curse for us; not by changing His humiliation for a state of glory, but by the departure of God's spirit from Him, as it will from all who are not in Christ new creatures, and at the final departure of which we 81. too may say "it is finished." How Christ could be made sin how He could endure misery-how God could be pleased with His sufferings-how His righteousness can be imputed b xviii. Page ABSTRACT OF CONTENTS. unto us-how, though death was to be a state of suffering, it could be consummated when God's spirit departed. All these 82. cleared by the removal of this doctrine. The writings of the 83. Apostles confirm all that has been said. St. Paul and St. Peter. Presumptions against their meaning to preach Eternal Misery. From page 84 to 181 are extracts from the Epistles, with notes thereon, which are seen to be uniformly harmonious on the removal of this most pregnant error. 181. The doctrine can only be maintained by assuming the natural immortality of man. From whence can that be derived? Not from Christ. Is it from Adam? Scripture account of 182. the creation and fall. "Lest he eat and live for ever, God drove man out of Paradise." A cherubim guards the way of the tree of life, which Christ re-opens to him that overcometh: The nature Adam brought from Paradise we inherit. 183. Extracts from Patrick and Balguy. Extract from Whitby. 184. Extract from Patrick; quotation from Athanasius. Extracts 185. from Ireneus, Epiphanius, and Methodius. The mortality of 186. the soul, as meaning the spirit that animates us, is not the doctrine contended for; but of the man as created in Adam. A word used in scripture in various senses must have one meaning common to all. The word soul is applied to all living ani187.mals; then it only implies that which is common to all. What is that? God's spirit united to material organs. This proved by comparing Gen. ii. 7, with 1 Cor. xv. 45. Living soul and quickening spirit, as commonly understood, synonimous; used 188: by St. Paul in the strongest opposition. Instances of the use of the word soul exclusive of immortality. Note from Paley. 189. Extract from a Sermon by the Rev. W. Jones, of Nayland. All men shall rise with their bodies to be judged. Scripture shews the necessity of a body for consciousness; then the wicked having only a corrupt mortal body, must cease at its final destruction. Both the righteous and wicked are sown in weakness, but the former only raised in power; and their mortal having put on immortality, all the rest return to their native dust. 190. Sentence upon Adam, death; not Eternal Torments. If Eternal Torments are caused by Christ's coming, that has occasioned 191. more misery than happiness. We dare not imitate what we ascribe to God. We make Him do ill that good may come of it. Though in Him we live, yet, when banished from Him, 192. this doctrine ascribes life. The Apostle's words, "No scrip Page ture is of self-interpretation." The consideration of the particular passages whereon the doctrine is founded, St. Matt. 193.xxv. 45. Explained by St. Paul, 2 Thess. i. 7. God's power always glorious where exerted. Is so in hell, as far as the destruction of sinners goes. The scriptures, when rightly understood, must be harmonious. All God's judgments are privative. If they deprive men of an eternal good, are ever194. lasting punishments. (Note.) Attempt to shew that all punish195.ment is privation.* Eternal cannot be applied to any infliction in this life; because, whatever it be that punishment deprives us of, the course of nature would; therefore the punishment 196.can only last for our natural life. The Revelation of St. John cannot originate the doctrine. Must be interpreted so as to accord with the rest of the scripture. Does so, when it is considered as representing the consummation of the day of 197.judgment as the end of time. The beast that was, is not, and 198. yet is. An explanation offered. Passages that might imply 199.a proper eternity, limited by the context. Spiritual death, Matt. v. 29, xviii. 7. St. Mark, ix, 42. Salted with fire. Explanation offered. Proof of the sense in which our Saviour 200. used the word" perish." (Note.) Application of the metaphor 201." salt" explained. The only part implying Eternal Misery is 66 worm that dieth not." Eternal fire cannot confer immortality. Conjecture why the fire never shall be quenched. Remarkable distinction," prepared for you,"-" prepared for 202, the devil and his angels." The words on which the doctrine depends omitted by St. Matthew, although he twice relates the 203. rest of the discourse. Grammatical difficulty. That, and all others, removed by a paraphrase from our Saviour's own 204. words. Words in question used by Isaiah. Proof that he meant by them an instrument of destruction, not of torment. 205. First, because applied to the carcases of the wicked; - Second, 206, because the fire is said to consume; Third, because a distinction in duration is pointed out by the prophet. 208. Eternal Misery of fallen angels, a difficulty; may be said to be beyond our comprehension; but if the scripture has revealed any thing concerning them, that will increase our knowledge of 209. God. Essential difference between those who have seen God, and those who cannot see Him and live. The organs, in one See Appendix, No. V. Page case, spiritual and incorruptible; in the other, earthy and // perishing. Man would have lived for ever, (i.e. to the general judgment,) had he eaten of the tree of life after having sinned. That the angels do: therefore our Saviour says that "their worm dieth not." Evil spirits deprecate being destroyed be210.fore the time. To destroy and to torment, used as synonimous. Are not so, except on this construction. St. Jude calls that everlasting which is unto the day of judgment; and St. Peter says the angels are cast into hell, and reserved until 211. then. Something else must be the consequence of that great day. It will be the destruction of all that offend. The final punishment of the angels is made contingent on completing the number of the elect. Then man is clothed with immortality when the angels are deprived of it. By this paraphrase, all difficulties attending the final state of men and angels are re212. moved. A general judgment vindicated, as calculated to influence all rational beings through their whole existence. Can only be impugned on the assumption that the punishment will be inadequate to man's offences. That must be left to 213. God. The passages thought to denounce Eternal Misery, now concur to exhibit God as the object of love. We call evil good, when we say God has willed Eternal Misery, and we make annihilation a blessing. We call good evil, when we say eternal existence is a curse (alas! how bitter a one!) to a majority 214. of mankind. We erect an altar to Moloch, and so far forget the true God. The God of Christianity is the merciful Creator, who offers spiritual and eternal existence conditionally to mortal man. A prize how glorious! a good how unutterably perfect! 215. Several difficulties that attend Christianity, as well as natural religion, enumerated, and solved on the scheme now offered. Butler, in his Analogy, only proves that natural religion is 216. liable to the same objections. Mankind in all ages chargeable with selfishness, sensuality, and ferocity. Why permitted, if to issue in Eternal Misery? Is it part of a more extensive scheme? This affords no solution, because to every man existence is every thing: if that is an evil, its cause must be 217. the author of evil. But if this mortal life be the means of immortality to as many as rightly use it, and ceases when it ceases to be a blessing, it is then a gift worthy of our God. 218. The narrow limits of Christianity are no objection, when it is |