On this principle many apparent anomalies in the present age of the world admit of explanation. Why, for instance, is so large a proportion of mankind condemned, irrespective of their deserts, to be poor, and to labour with their hands in anxiety for the maintenance of themselves and their families? We have reason from Scripture to say that such conditions of life, if united with thefaiththat looks for better things to come, may be counted among means ordained by God for preparing the spirits of His elect for their destined inheritance ("Hate not laborious work, neither husbandry, which the Most High hath ordained" [Ecclesiasticus vii. 15]). And where such faith is absent, may we not still say that conditions of the present life to which the great mass of mankind are {54} subject must be contributory to forming their spirits for their future existence? Leaving out of consideration who are the elect, and who not, which God only knows, can we think that the patience of the labourer and artisan, the endurance of the seafaring man, and the devotedness of the soldier, who at the call of duty, and in spite of the promptings of self-preservation, exposes himself to almost certain death on the field of battle, have no relation to their future destiny? As regards, especially, the spirit of self-sacrifice of the soldier, so opposed to all the calculations of personal interest, it seems to me that the desire of glory, or the expectation of reward, will not wholly account for it, but rather that it is indicative of there being in the warrior's breast an undefined conviction that he better fulfils the purpose of life by braving a painful death than by living at home in ease. It is worthy of remark that although in Scripture war is spoken of as a calamity, the occupation of a soldier is nowhere condemned, but is rather commended on account of its disciplinary effect and abstractedness from the affairs of life (see 2 Tim. ii. 3, 4). It should be observed that the different kinds of human experience adverted to above are all supposed to stand apart from personal acts done in violation of the dictates ofconscience. Such acts will doubtless be tried by the course of the general judgment, and will have effect in the condemnation of the offenders, and {55} in punishment awarded according to the guiltiness of their deeds.
The calamities of human life may be put generally under the two heads of "tribulation" and "slaughter"—different kinds of sorrow and trouble, and different kinds of death. These constitute the groaning and travailing of the whole creation unto the time being (a chri tou nun), spoken of by St. Paul in Rom. viii. 22 and called in St. Mark xiii. 8, the beginnings of sorrows (ôdinôn). But in the time of the world to come, the same forms of suffering have their consummation and ending. In Rev. vii. 14, mention is made of "thegreat tribulation," and at the same time of "a countless multitude who come out of it." This can be no other than that "great tribulation" respecting which our Lord said, according to St. Matt. xxiv. 21, that it will be "such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time,nor ever shall be," and according to St. Mark xiii. 19, that "those days shall be affliction such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time,neither shall be." The identity of the events spoken of in the Gospels and in the Apocalypse may also be inferred from the wordscheimônos(tempest-time) andsabbatô(on the sabbath) contained in Matt. xxiv. 20, the former referring to the storm of indignation and wrath which proceeds from "the Lamb" when he comes to execute Judgment, and the latter to the time in which the {56} judgment takes place, which is designated the sabbath, or seventh day, as following upon the termination of the present age of the world, and also as being that sabbath of which, as said in Luke vi. 5, "the Son of man is Lord."
Again, in proof of the doctrine that the process, or effect, of the general judgment is characterized in Scripture as "slaughter," Isa. xxxiv. 1-6 may be cited, it being said in that passage that "the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations," that "he hath delivered them to the slaughter," and in connection therewith that "all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heaven shall be rolled together as a scroll" (compare Rev. vi. 18-14). Of the same import is the prophecy in Rev. xiv. 14-20, at the end of which the treading of "the great winepress of the wrath of God" is described in terms closely agreeing with those in Isa. lxiii. 1-4. We have, besides, the remarkable passage, Rev. xix. 17-21, which represents the fowls of heaven as being called together to feast on the flesh of the slain, after great slaughter had been wrought by "the sharp sword" which proceeds out of the mouth of him who is called "The Word of God." This sword represents the cutting and destructive effect of the words of judgment and condemnation which the Son of God will pronounce on sinners when he comes to judge the whole world. It is not necessary for my purpose to interpret particularly the symbolism {57} contained in the passages just quoted; it suffices to draw from them the general inference that, as regardsallmen, trouble and pain and death in the present age of the world are the beginnings of an [oe]conomy for forming spirits for immortality, which is destined to be consummated in the age to come.
To complete the argument from Scripture it only remains now to take into consideration those passages which expressly reveal the effect of the general judgment, and to ascertain what relation the revelations have to the question of immortality. These passages are of two kinds, some being composed entirely of symbolic language requiring interpretation, while others are expressed in terms that may be readily understood. The former must be supposed to admit of being interpreted consistently with the plain meaning of the other kind. Accordingly, for the purpose above mentioned, I proceed now to offer an interpretation of Rev. xx. 11-15, this passage evidently giving a synoptical account, in symbolic terms, of the process and the effect of the general judgment.
I have already adverted (p. 48) to the contents ofvv.11 and 12, so far as they refer to the Person of the Judge, and to His judging the dead, according to their works, "out of the things written in thebooks." "The greatwhitethrone" (v.11) is evidently the seat of righteous judgment. The inspired writer, in order {58} to account for his seeing in vision the dead, "small and great, standing before the throne," reveals, besides, that "the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them" (v.13). Now, the context hardly allows of taking "the sea" here in its literal objective sense, requiring rather the interpretation that the natural sea symbolizes by its invisible depths the incognizable state of the dead before resurrection. In the "new heaven and earth," which is the end of all creation, "sea exists no longer" (Rev. xxi. 1). Hades, as apparently might be inferred from the proper sense of the word, signifies that invisible state of departed spirits which, as just said, is symbolized as being concealed in the depths of "the sea," and also, as I have already pointed out, has to death a necessary relation of sequence ("Hades followed with him" [Rev. vi. 8]). This explains why Death and Hades are represented as a conjoint power having possession of the dead. In Rev. i. 18, as well as in Rev. vi. 8, they are mentioned in close connection, and in the latter passage power is said to be given to them in common.
I take occasion to make some remarks here on 1 Peter iii. 19, as the sense of this passage might be thought to be contradictory to the meaning assigned above to Hades. It affirms that "in spirit Christ went and preached to the spirits in custody {59} (en phylakê)." Now, the literal meaning of the concrete terms, "went and preached" (poreutheis ekêruxen), isexcludedby "in spirit" going before, and they consequently require an abstract interpretation. It has already been argued (p. 50) that the word "custody" applies to departed spirits in the sense of their being in thekeepingof the Creator of spirits; whence it follows that "spirits in custody" and "spirits in Hades" have the same meaning. But neither of these expressions signifies anything as tolocality, for the simple reason that locality cannot be predicated of spirit apart from body. The abstract interpretation of the passage of St. Peter may, I think, be reached by the following argument. The wordekêruxenabove cited is not that ordinarily used with respect to preaching the Gospel, and therefore it is the more to be noticed that where Noah is called "a preacher of righteousness" (2 Peter ii. 5), the Greek word iskêruka. May we not hence infer that Noah, by "the spirit of Christ" which was in him (compare 1 Peter i. 11), preached to the unbelieving and "disobedient" of his day, and that their spirits, although the world in which they lived was so long since destroyed by the Flood, are, together with all other departed spirits, still in God's custody, to be hereafter raised up and judged? We are farther informed respecting Noah's preaching, which consisted apparently of deeds rather than of words, that "by preparing an ark for the {60} saving of his house, he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith" (Heb. xi. 7).
We have now to inquire what interpretation may be given to the symbolic language (in Rev. xx. 14) which affirms that "Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire," and that "this is the second death, the lake of fire." The first mention of the lake of fire occurs in Rev. xix. 20, where it is described as "burning with brimstone," and both "the beast," and "the false prophet" associated with him (ho met autou), are said to be "cast alive" into this lake. But the rest (oi loipoi), namely, "the kings of the earth and their armies, gathered together to make war against him who sat on the horse and against his army," were slain by the sword that proceeds out of his mouth, that is, by the sharp and searching words of righteousness and truth, whereby he, "The Word of God," judges and pronounces condemnation in the last day (compare John xii. 48). In Rev. xx. 7-10, we are farther told that Satan, after being let loose from prison at the end of the thousand years when "the rest of the dead" live again (v. 5), and after collecting together all therisennations of the earth, "the number of whom is as the sand of the sea" (v. 8), leads them to their destruction in battle against the God of heaven, and is himself "cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where are the beast {61} and the false prophet" (v. 10). Consequently, "Satan," who is opposed to God the Father, the God of heaven, "the beast," which, as signifying the spirit of the world, is opposed to the Holy Spirit, and "the false prophet," who is the symbolic representative of allanti-Christianpower objectively opposed to the Son of God, are all three cast into a lake of fire "burning with brimstone." But of Death and Hades it is only said that they were cast into a lake of fire. Their being cast into the depths of "a lake" signifies that they become incognizable entities, and "lake of fire" indicates that they remain such by an irreversible law, fire being the symbol of force of law (see Deut. xxxiii. 2). For this reason "the lake of fire" is put in apposition (inv.14) with "the second death," which is the extinction of death. Now, Satan, the beast, and the false prophet, being regarded aspersonalexistences motived bywill, and in that respect unlike Death and Hades, are cast not simply into a lake of fire, but into a lake burning with brimstone, which apparently signifies that from the time these "adversaries" cease to have cognizable existence, their antecedent power and influence will be regarded by those who were once subject to them with antipathy and abhorrence, so that any return to the same subjection will (as we say) be morally impossible. When in the end God has become "all in all," no antagonism remains; all {62} enemies have been subdued. Any one who is unwilling to accept the foregoing interpretation might reasonably be asked in what other way he can explain why, of all created things,brimstoneis specially mentioned with reference to this "mystery" (see Rev. xvii. 5, 16).
In the last verse of the passage under consideration we have, "And if any one (ei tis) was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire" (v. 15). It is to be observed that the lake of fire is not here said to be burning with brimstone. This sentence must accordingly receive an interpretation analogous to that given above with respect to Death and Hades. When the final judgment has had complete effect, there will no longer be objective existence of any whose names are not in the book of life, because all will have been made meet for the inheritance of life. For this reason "the book of life" is mentioned (inv.12) in immediate connection with the books containing the records according to which the judgment is transacted. I am well aware that the preceding interpretations do not accord with views entertained by many in the present day. I remember to have heard a sermon on the text, "This is the second death," in the course of which the preacher did not once advert to the word "This," but gave a description, the most terrible his imagination could supply, of what he judged to be the second {63} death. We find revealed in Scripture respecting "the terrors of the Lord"—the anguish and tribulation, the slaughter and destruction, proceeding from His wrath in the day of judgment—quite enough to deter sinners from going on in sin, without gratuitously adding the doctrine of the perpetuity of evil, the preaching of which seems to have the effect of hindering the belief and expectation of the impending realities of that great day. Besides, it may well be asked how such preaching can be reconciled with the Gospel revelations, stated in language devoid of symbol, which are contained in Rev. xxi.; to which I shall afterwards have occasion to call attention. But, first, it will be necessary to inquire what is the doctrine of Scripture respecting future "punishment" and "torment."
On proceeding to this part of the argument it will be proper to revert to a principle which has already been admitted as self-evident (p. 9), namely, that a state of perfect righteousness and a happy immortality are so essentially and necessarily related that one cannot subsist without the other. It is, however, to be said that this doctrine is nowhere expressed in such words in Scripture. In fact, the abstract terms, "essentially and necessarily related," are altogether unlike any Scriptural mode of expression. Yet it may be that the truth which we think we understand when we express it in such terms may admit of being {64}extractedin a more definite form from the concrete language of Scripture; and, in order that our argument for immortality may be shown to rest entirely on a Scriptural foundation, I shall now endeavour to show that this is the case with respect to the above-stated doctrine, by citing and discussing various passages of the Old and New Testament.
In the first place, I remark that righteousness and salvation, righteousness and peace, are so often and in such manner mentioned together in the word of God, that we may thence infer that, according to a law of the Divine (Economy, personal righteousness is a condition necessarily antecedent to salvation (safety) and peace (see Ps. xxiv. 5, and lxxxv. 7-18; Isa. xlv. 7, 8, xlvi. 18, li. 5, lxii. 1, and many like passages). For, on the other hand, it is twice expressly declared that God has said, "There is no peace to the wicked" (Isa. xlviii. 22, and lvii. 21). So in Rev. xiv. it is affirmed respecting sinners (who are comprehensively described as those who worship the beast and his image, and receive the mark of his name on the forehead or the hand—in their beliefs or their deeds) that "they have no rest day nor night" (vv.9 and 11). Of the same sinners it is also declared that "they shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in {65} the presence of the Lamb" (v. 10). The fire of the torment is the operation of the holy law of righteousness which they have broken, and the brimstone by the offensiveness of its smoke represents the self-condemnation and reproach of conscience with which they are tormented when their sins are laid bare in the presence of the holy angels and of theLamb, who by reason of their sins was slain. Lastly, we are told that "the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever." The general signification of "smoke," regarded as a symbol, appears to be, effect or consequence. Thus, in the remarkable symbol of "a smoking furnace" seen in vision by Abraham (Gen. xv. 17), the fire of the furnace may represent the operation of the law, and the smoke may symbolize "the abounding" of the sins of mankind consequent upon that operation (see Rom. v. 20; also compare 2 Esdras iv. 48). But in the passage before us we have "smoke of torment," of which smoke it is said that it "ascends up for ever and ever," signifying, it would seem, the perpetuity of theeffectof the torment. This interpretation accordingly agrees with that previously given (p. 61) relative to "the lake of fire burning with brimstone." There is, however, this difference to be noted, that whereas the present passage relates especially to the effect of thepain and tormentattendant upon theprocessof being judged, the other speaks of the effect of the seconddeathto {66} which the wicked, after being tried by the judgment, are condemned.
The portion of Scripture contained in Matt. xxv. 31-46, gives, concerning the awards to be respectively adjudged to the righteous and unrighteous, and the final consequences of the judgment, certain revelations, symbolically expressed, which are made by the Lord himself, the future Judge. In order to complete the argument from Scripture respecting the effect of judgment, we must endeavour to interpret these revelations. "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, he will sit on the throne of his glory: and all nations will be gathered before him: and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and he will place the sheep on his right hand, and the goats on his left" (vv.31-33). We are thus told that all of all nations will come into the presence of the Judge, and that he will separate them into two portions, as distinct the one from the other as sheep are from goats. From what is said farther on we gather that one portion are "the just" (oi dikaioi,v.37), and the other the unjust; but no mention is made of a particular process of separation. Consequently there is nothing here which contradicts the conclusion before arrived at (p. 38), that the just are separated from the unjust by partaking of the first resurrection; rather, that conclusion is in {67} accordance with this revelation respecting the place of honour "on the right hand" being assigned to the just, and their being prepared to receive it when the whole assembly, just and unjust, are gathered together before the Judge. Inv.34, as also inv.40, the Judge is called "the King" (ho Basileus), forasmuch as he is "the faithful and true" One, who "in righteousness judges and makes war," and to whom belongs in a special manner the title of "King of kings and Lord of lords" (see Rev. xix. 11, 16).
We have next to consider the statements of the grounds on which the awards are made, which are very remarkable. "Then shall the King say to them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came to me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say to them, Verily I say to you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" {68} (vv.84-40). What is chiefly noteworthy in these words is, that the Judge identifies himself with suffering humanity, and accounts as "brethren" even "the least" of those that suffer, having, when he "dwelt among us," participated in the toils and afflictions to which sinful man is subject (although "in him was no sin)," and submitted in the end to the shame and pain of dying on the cross, although he had shown by his miracles that he had power over death and all the ills of humanity. As is written in Isaiah liii. 4, "He hath borneourgriefs and carriedoursorrows." This the Son of God voluntarily took upon himself out of love and compassion towards us, knowing that, by ordinance of his Father, the Creator of spirits, "we must through many tribulations enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts xiv. 22), and be made heirs of immortality, and that consequently we had need of such assurance of obtaining the appointed inheritance as that which is given by his partaking with us of life, death, and resurrection (see what is said on this part of the subject in p. 29). Besides this, the sympathy of Jesus Christ with human suffering, which was also shown by his miracles of healing, is specially a reason for givingpracticalproof, by acts of benevolence and mercy towards our fellow men, that we partake of the same spirit. It is with reference to suchoutwardevidence of faith and righteousness, that the decision of the Judge, given {69} in the passage above quoted, is pronounced. It seems, too, from the questions put to the Judge by the company of the righteous, and the answer they received, that their acts of kindness and mercy, done in humility and faith, were accepted by the Judge, out of his sympathy and community with the sufferers, as done to himself, although the doers had not had previous knowledge or expectation that their good deeds would be so accepted.
The sentence pronounced on the unrighteous, and the reasons for it, are thus stated invv.41-45: "Then shall he say also to them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the [oe]onian fire (to pur to aiônion, i.e. the fire of judgment in the futureaiôn) prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry, and ye gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily, I say to you, inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me." It should be noticed that the terms of this award are the exact contraries of those of the award to the righteous. On the one hand, the King says, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit {70} the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;" on the other, he says, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into the [oe]onian fire prepared for the devil and his angels;" and the account of what the Judge further says to the unrighteous, and of what they say to him, although somewhat briefer than that relating to the righteous, is made up of exactly opposite particulars. On this principle, since the decision respecting the righteous is pronounced on the grounds of positive works of righteousness done in humility and faith, that respecting the unrighteous has regard only to theomissionto do such works through presumption and unbelief. The same exhibition of opposite circumstances and qualities, and the same principle of condemnation for sins of omission exclusively of those of commission, are observable in the two other symbolic representations contained in the same chapter—the parable of the ten virgins, and the parable of the talents. In short, the general purport of the chapter is to indicate, that in the sight of the righteous Judge sins of omission, not less than sins of commission, demand condemnation and punishment; the reasons for which appear to be that both kinds are equally violations of the royal law, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (James ii. 8), and perfect obedience to this law is the necessary foundation of acommonimmortality.
It only remains now to speak of the final issue of {71} the judgment stated thus inv.46: "And these shall go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into external life." It must be admitted that the first clause of this sentence, taken as it is usually taken, expresses the perpetuity of evil, inasmuch as "punishment" is an evil. But after this has been conceded, there is still something more to be said on this doctrine. It is evident from the context that by "these" is meant the ungodly just before spoken of, who, having shown, by their neglecting to give proof of love towards their neighbours, that the love of God is not in them (see 1 John iv. 20), are counted as enemies, and as such must be punished. For there is no neutral position: all who do not obey the commands of Christ are opposed to him, and all that is opposed to him is destined to be brought under subjection. Further, it is to be noticed that although the final decision is expressed generally in accordance with the before-mentioned principle of employing exactly opposite terms relatively to the righteous and the wicked, here the opposite of "eternal life" is "eternal punishment," and not "eternal death," the latter expression being nowhere found in Scripture. May it not hence be argued that, as among men the punishment of the guilty has not for its purpose the infliction of pain and penalty, but rather is the means employed to the end that laws may be obeyed, so the end of divine punishment is for correction, and for {72} giving effect to and establishing the law of universal righteousness. If it should hence be inferred that the word "eternal" is applied to future punishment with reference to that permanence ofeffectwhich, as has already been indicated (p. 65), is symbolically represented by the perpetual ascent of "the smoke of torment," against this inference it might reasonably be urged that "eternal" ought to be taken in the same sense relatively to the "punishment" of the wicked, as relatively to the "life" of the righteous, and eternity is here predicated of the one just as of the other. Now, although this reasoning appears to be irrefragable, the additional arguments from Scripture which I am about to adduce will, I think, show that there must be some other way of regarding the doctrine of future punishment, which, although not inconsistent with that to which the foregoing interpretation of Matt. xxv. 46 has conducted, differs from it either as to point of view or comprehensiveness.
In the first place, it is to be observed that in our Lord's discourses doctrine was very generally taught by parables and symbolic language, which required to be interpreted in order that the abstract and spiritual truths thereby conveyed might be understood. (This remark applies to the whole of the passage, Matt. xxv. 31-46, brought under review in the foregoing discussion.) In Mark iv. 34, it is said that "without a parable he spake not to them," that is, {73} to the multitude, and that "in private he explained all things to his disciples." Being asked by the disciples, when he was preaching to a great multitude assembled together on the sea-shore to hear him, why he spake to them in parables, he answered, "Because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him it shall be given, and he shall have more abundance; but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables, because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand" (Matt. xiii. 10-13). It is here affirmed that although parables from their very character are expressed in terms which the use of the senses renders intelligible, there are those who do not or will not understand them, who for this reason, on the principle of not giving to those who have not, are spoken to only in parables, so that they continue in ignorance. As every effect or consequence implies the antecedence of thepurposeof an agent, with respect to this consequence we find it stated in Luke viii. 10, that our Lord expressly addressed the disciples in these words: "Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest in parables,that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand." To a selected few is granted the favour of being able to discern,through the objective senseof {74} parables, the interior signification whereby mysteries of the kingdom of God are revealed, whilst from the rest—the multitude—although the objective sense is the same to them as to the others, the knowledge of the mysteries is withheld. This is evidently a dispensation analogous to that according to which, as Christ declared, "Many are called, but few are chosen" (Matt. xxii. 14). It is also in accordance with views expressed in a previous part of this Essay respecting the distinction between "the elect" and the rest of mankind.
It is further to be considered that the Lord promised the apostles that after his departure from them, "the Holy Spirit would teach them all things, and bring all things to their remembrance which he had said to them" (John xiv. 26), and it may be assumed that after the Day of Pentecost this promise was fulfilled, and that they were then enlightened to discern the spiritual meaning of his doctrine. In this way it may be accounted for that while Christian doctrine rests fundamentally on the words and deeds of Christ as recorded in the Gospels, it is taught in the Acts of the Apostles and the apostolical Epistles in terms of a more abstract character, which, in fact, may be regarded as unfolding the spiritual import of the teaching, the life, and the death of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul, although he was not one of the originally selected apostles, had special grace and {75} power given him for understanding fully and teaching the doctrine of Christ. Now, this apostle, so gifted with understanding and knowledge, writes in his Epistle to the Romans: "By the obedience of one shall the many be made righteous" (v. 19); the context evidently showing that the "one" is Jesus Christ, and that "the many" areallthe sinful sons of Adam. I have already adverted to this text (p. 19), and called attention to the significance of the future tense, "shall be made righteous." According to our argument, when they have been made righteous, they aresaved. Hence, quite consistently with this passage in the Epistle to the Romans, St. Paul has said in his first Epistle to Timothy (iv. 10), "We trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, especially of those that believe." If this sentence had not contained the last clause, there might have been some excuse for questioning whether St. Paul preached the doctrine of the eventual salvation of all men; but inasmuch as he adds, "especially of those that believe," it is as clear as words can make anything clear, that he taught that all are saved in the sense in which he taught that those who believe are saved. The reason for making the distinction expressed by the word "especially" is, I think, sufficiently apparent from the doctrine, previously maintained in this Essay (pp. 88-40), that the elect righteous are raised up first, and partake already of salvation, honour, {76} and glory, during a certain interval preceding the resurrection of the rest of mankind.
Now, since all that are saved, as being at rest and in felicity, are free from sin and evil, this teaching of St. Paul is directly opposed to the doctrine of the perpetuity of evil which is usually inferred (see p. 71) from the saying of our Lord in Matt. xxv. 46. Thus apparently there is irreconcilable contradiction between the teaching of Christ and the teaching of St. Paul on a most momentous subject. Since, however, the same spirit of wisdom was in the apostle as in his Lord, it is not possible that there can really be such contradiction; and because, consequently, the seeming contradiction must be attributable to our defect of knowledge, or inability, to interpret rightly the allegorical teaching of Christ, we might do well, although no solution of the difficulty should be at hand, to accept this gospel of salvation, in the confidence that, as being declared by St. Paul in plain terms, it must be true Christian doctrine.
I am not, however, prepared to grant that the solution of the above-mentioned difficulty is not discoverable; and accordingly I make bold to indicate a line of argument by which, as it seems to me, a solution is attainable. The first step in this argument is to admit the reality of that analogy between God's natural creation and His spiritual creation which has already been taken into consideration (see p. 14), {77} and to infer therefrom that the spiritual creation is actually in progress towards a foreordained perfect consummation. For the purpose of illustrating this view by way of contrast, I may mention that I once heard a sermon in which the preacher, who was regarded in his day as a leader of religious thought, advanced the theory that the word "remedy" expressed the central idea of the divine scheme of salvation. According to this theology, which looks backwards rather than forwards, the prevalence of sin and mortality, and the need of a remedy for the many ills and errors that beset humanity, were contingent on Adam's transgression. It may be granted that this is so far true, that sin and death entered into the world because Adam was not made incapable of sinning. But this theory overlooks the possibility of there being afinalcause for the actual facts of humanity, and seems to be a substitution ofpropter hocforpost hoc. The analogy of the natural creation points to a different, and apparently a juster, view of the divine [oe]conomy, according to which the reign of sin and death in Adam and all his posterity is a necessary part of a prearranged scheme, now actually in progress, which is destined, by its completion hereafter, to make, not one man only, but a countless multitude, incapable of sinning and meet for immortality. On this point, however, after what has been already said (see p. 57), there is no occasion to say {78} more here. I proceed, therefore, to the next step, which is to indicate certain inferences that may be drawn from the character of progressiveness which pertains at present to the spiritual creation.
It may, in the first place, be asserted that "the law of opposites," referred to in pp. 69 and 70, is a necessary accompaniment of that general law of progression. The author of the Book of Ecclesiasticus, who certainly put on record many wise sayings, has thus stated the law of opposites: "Good is set against evil, and life against death: so is the sinner against the godly. So look upon all the works of the Most High, and there are two and two, one against another" (xxxiii. 14, 15). Now, evidently this duality will cease, and unity be universally established, when, as argued in the preceding paragraph, the predestined consummation is reached, and the purpose of the whole creation, external and spiritual, is fulfilled. This doctrine of the termination of evil appears to have been understood and proclaimed by the writer of the fourth Book of Esdras, in which we meet with the following emphatic declaration: "Take heaven and earth to witness; for I have broken the evil in pieces, and created the good: for I live, saith the Lord" (ii. 14). In the mean while, as being subject to conditions of earth, and time, and space, we are also subject to this law of duality and antagonism, so that we have no knowledge or perception of anything of {79} which we do not also know theopposite. For this reason it is not possible to make known the conditions under which men are saved without at the same time stating the conditions under which they arenotsaved. This will account for theoppositenessandparallelismof the statements in Matt. xxv. 46, concerning the consequences to the wicked and the righteous of their respective deeds, as well as for many statements of like character in other parts of Scripture. But this does not explain why the punishment of the wicked is said to be "eternal." Relatively to this question I submit the following considerations.
Recurring once more to the position, that the existing order of things is part of a progressive scheme, the purpose of which is to create immortal souls, it may, I think, be reasonably assumed that there is nothing in human cognizance or experience, whether it be thought or feeling, word or deed, which is not contributory in some manner to this end. If a mechanist, after planning a machine for a certain purpose, introduced in the execution of it parts which contributed nothing towards effecting that purpose, would not this be considered to be an imperfection? Such imperfection is wholly inadmissible in the workmanship of an omniscient and omnipotent Creator. Accordingly, since, as being conditioned bytime, we are capable of entertaining the thought that the punishment of the wicked in the world to come may {80} be eternal, many, in fact, having professed their belief that so it will be, we must conclude, on the above principle, that even this thought is contributory towards the eventual bringing in of immortality. But it will be asked, in what way? To this question we may give the general answer, that as such thought is operative on human action, and implies the existence oftime, it must be reckoned as part of the total of human thought and experience conditioned by time, which was ordained from the beginning to be the means, whether in this age or in the age to come (aiôn ho mellôn), of forming spirits for immortality. Then, again, we have reason from Scripture to infer that the immortal spirit is in effect "spiritualbody" (1 Cor. xv. 44), composed of functional parts or qualities constituting it such a whole that it is adapted for communion with other spirit; in which case thetemporalprocesses of creation above mentioned might be supposed to be designed to give to immortal spirit a character appropriate to its destiny. And we may, at least, be certain that Jesus Christ knew what was required for accomplishing his Father's purpose of creating spirits which, while retainingindividualityandwill, would be incapable of sinning, and that in his wisdom he employed such manner of teaching as would either now or hereafter conduct to that end.
I take occasion to observe here, parenthetically, that whereas, according to the above argument, the {81} word "eternal" (from[oe]etas) is applicable to punishment because we can think of eternal punishment by thinking of time, the word "endless" is not in the same manner applicable, simply because it does not explicitly indicate relation totime. The Greek equivalent of the English word "everlasting," and of the Latin word "sempiternus," namelyaidiosfromaei, is used in Rom. i. 20, and in Jude 6, in the sense ofaiônios, and, as involving like the latter the conception of time, is similarly applicable to future punishment. But besides "eternallife," we have in Scripture "indissolublelife" (xôn akatalytos, Heb. vii. 16), the remarkable epithetakatalytosnot being etymologically expressive of time, and therefore not wrongly, although not strictly, translated by "endless" in the Authorized Version. No such epithet is applied in Scripture to "punishment" or "torment." (See more on this question in an Appendix to the Essay.)
Reasoning analogous to that employed above relative to the assertion in Matt. xxv. 46, that the wicked "go away into eternal punishment," is applicable to other declarations of like tenor in various portions of Scripture. One of these, recorded in Matt. xxvi. 24 as having been spoken by the Lord to the "twelve," demands special notice. Translated literally according to the tenses of the Greek, this passage is, "Woe to that man through whom the Son of man has been betrayed! good was it for him, if that man was not {82} born." The translation in the Authorized Version, "it had been good for that man if he had not been born," may be taken to convey, regard being had to difference of idiom, the true sense of the original. Exactly the same passage occurs in Mark xiv. 21, where our translators have given, "good were it for that man if he had never been born." Although this translation, as containing the word "never," deviates still more than the other from the literal rendering, it may be justified on the principle that the declaration, in whatever form it be made, is one in whichtimeenters as a necessary element, whereby alone it is within the reach of thought. Accordingly, this saying of our Lord, regarded as having relation to experience in the world to come, is in the same category as his assertion of the eternity of future punishment, and would appear, by applying the argument already expounded (p. 80) with respect to that doctrine, to be in like manner contributory towards generating in the spirit of man an incapability of sinning. It is farther to be taken into account that these words were addressed by the Lord to hisapostles—to the elect of the elect—with particular reference to the sin ofbetrayingthe Son of man, which was exemplified by the outward act of Judas, who also by his self-destruction exhibited the damnatory power of the inward consciousness of such guilt. The exceeding sinfulness of such apostasy as that which Judas, chosen to be {83} an apostle, was guilty of, may be assigned as the reason that it was denounced by our Lord in terms which do not appear to have been applied to any other kind of "transgression" (compare Acts i. 17, 25).
In Heb. x. 26, 27, we are taught that "if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." This is apostasy not of the same degree and character as that of a chosen apostle, but still is such that "the called" are not exempt from falling into it, as is clearly implied by the tenor of this passage. To those who thus fall and do not repent, is reserved "the fiery indignation" (pyros zylos), which is destined hereafter to devour the adversaries. It may be presumed that the adversaries thus specially referred to are those of whom it is said in Rev. xx. 9, that having been deceived by Satan, after their resurrection at the end of the thousand years, and gathered together in warfare against the beloved city, they weredevoured by firefrom God out of heaven. Accordingly their destruction is identical with the second death.
2 Peter ii. 20, 21, is a passage of like import to that just considered. It is therein asserted of those who are overcome by the pollutions of the world after having escaped them through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, that "it had been {84} better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them." This may be taken to signify that the punishment in the day of judgment consequent upon sin and error arising out of ignorance, will be "more tolerable" than that which will be inflicted on those who have knowingly apostatized from the way of truth.
What is said in Matt. xviii. 6, "Whoso shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea," may be accounted for on the principle that any form of death of which the body is susceptible in this world is rather to be endured, and less to be feared, than the punishment which, through the judgment in the world to come, awaits the enemies of Christ who put a stumbling-block in the way of them that humble themselves as little children and believe on him.
Analogous principles may be applied to account for the declarations made in Scripture respecting blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. In St. Matt. xii. 31, 82, it is recorded that our Lord said, "All sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven to men, but the blasphemy of the Spirit shall not be forgiven to men. And whoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaketh against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, {85} neither in this world, nor in the world to come." The same doctrine is thus expressed in St. Mark iii. 28, 29: "Verily I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven to the sons of men, and all blasphemies whatever wherewith they may blaspheme. But whoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness," but is subject to the judgment in the futureaiôn(enochos estin aiôniou kriseôs). From the latter evangelist we also learn that our Lord spoke these words because the scribes from Jerusalem had said, "He hath an unclean spirit." It is particularly to be noticed that both passages declare in the fullest manner that all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven to men, at the same time that they pronounce that blasphemy (not sin,amartia) against the Holy Ghost is not forgiven. To account for this apparent contradiction, it must be remembered that the forgiveness, orremission(aphesis) of sin, necessarily implies antecedence of law and transgression of the law; and whereas St. Paul teaches that "the law entered that transgression might abound" (Rom. v. 20), it is quite consistent with this doctrine to find that in the gospel of Christ provision is made for the remission of all sin and blasphemy. Now, such remission consists in "repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts xx. 21); and therefore, when the gift of righteousness (i.e. the grace of Christ) is received, the believer begins to partake {86} of a spirit such as that which was "without measure" in Christ. This is essentially aholyspirit, the antecedent of which in Jesus Christ was perfect righteousness. Therefore the scribes blasphemed when they said of Christ, "He hath an unclean spirit," it not being possible that a perfectly righteous body can be the vessel of an unclean spirit.
But it is possible that the faithful, after receiving the grace of Christ and fellowship of the Spirit, may by unrighteous conduct "grieve the Holy Spirit" (Eph. iv. 80), and even by persistence in sin defile the gift of the Spirit which had been imparted to them. In the foregoing passage from St. Matthew xii., it is said that there is forgiveness for one who "speaketh against the Son of man," which expression may signify, generally, wilful and overt opposition to "the law of Christ" (Gal. vi. 2); but that there is no forgiveness for one whospeaksagainst the Holy Spirit, i.e. one who by wilful andovertconduct does violence to the sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit which he has already partaken of. Of such an one it is written in Heb. x. 29, "he hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite to the Spirit of grace." But not every sin committed after faith and the baptism of repentance has this effect. The apostle John tells us that although all unrighteousness {87} (adikia, transgression of the strict law of Christ) is sin, there is sin of a believing brother which is not unto death, and may be repented of in this world; and there is sin unto death, respecting which prayer for repentance would be unavailing (1 Epist. v. 16, 17). This is "the blasphemy of the Spirit," which is not forgiven in this world, because forgiveness implies repentance; neither is it forgiven in the world to come, because beyond the grave there is no repentance. What remains for such sinners is the "[oe]onian judgment" (see p. 69) mentioned in St. Mark iii. 29, and "the sorer punishment" spoken of in Heb. x. 29, which is the same as the condemnation to the second death consequent upon that judgment. (I take occasion to remark that in Mark iii. 29, instead ofkriseôs, some early manuscripts haveamaritêmatos, which, as far as I can see, does not admit of being interpreted consistently with the context and the usage ofenochos.)
There is still another passage—Mark ix. 42-50—which, on account of its peculiar significance, it is necessary to discuss with reference to the Scriptural argument for immortality. It will suffice for conducting the discussion to citevv.43 and 44, the literal translation of which is as follows:—"If thy hand cause thee to offend, cut it off: it is well for thee to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands to go into geenna, into the unquenchable fire, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not {88} quenched." The concluding part of this text is evidently derived from Isaiah lxvi. 24, where the prophet reveals that the Lord has said respecting the worshippers, consisting of "all flesh," that shall come before him when "the new heavens and the new earth" are established, that "they shall go forth and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched: and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh." This passage has so important a bearing on the sense of that quoted above from St. Mark, that we must by all means endeavour to find out its interpretation. Respecting Biblical Interpretation, Burnet in one of his treatises has enunciated two principles, which cannot but be assented to: first, that besides the portions of Scripture which have a literal or historical meaning, there are others which must be taken allegorically; and, secondly, that an allegorical meaning, is to be admitted when the literal sense involves an absurdity, or contradiction to the nature of things.[2] The right application of these principles may be said to constitute a large portion of the science of Scripture. But in applying them it is often difficult to decide, respecting a particular passage, whether it is to be {89} taken literally or allegorically; and again, after deciding that the passage must be allegorical, there is generally the still greater difficulty of discovering what the true sense is. In illustration of the second of the above principles Burnet cites, apart from the context,vermem nunquam moriturum, and admits that these words have an allegorical signification. This plainly follows from the single consideration that the worm (skôlêx) here spoken of is literally that which is seen to feed on dead bodies, and to say of it that it does not die is contradictory to experience. When, however, the same author goes on to give as the allegorical sense nothing more definite than "extremam miseriam," it may well be asked, By what kind of induction has this conclusion been reached? The feeble worm which feeds on mortal remains presents to our sight nothing capable of causing pain or misery. Rather it may, I think, be asserted that Scripture here adverts to this natural fact for the purpose of indicating by a distinct and visible emblem that there is a living principle which destroys mortality, and which for that reason alone is not itself subject to death. If we be guided solely by whatwe see with our eyes, this appears to be the only allegorical sense that can be attributed to the first clause of Mark ix. 44.[3] We have next to inquire as to the {90} interpretation of the other clause, and what is the mutual relation between the two clauses.
Although the worm which devours dead bodies is not emblematic of anything that causes pain, the case is quite otherwise with respect to the emblematic meaning offire. It is evident that fire which is "unquenchable" is not natural fire, and consequently may be taken to be, as has already been assumed, the devouring fire of judgment and of condemnation consequent upon violation of the law of righteousness (see p. 88). The destruction of the impenitent unrighteous by the operation of this law (which is their second death), is attended with pain and woe such as will not have been before, nor will be after. It was inferred (p. 84) from our Lord's teaching in Matt. xviii. 6, that any form ofdeathof which the body is susceptible in this world is rather to be endured than falling under condemnation in the world to come. In Mark ix. 42-48, we are taught that any form of bodilypain, as that of losing a hand, a foot, or an eye, is to be preferred to entering with the body whole into the "geennaof fire." This is, in fact, at once the greatest and thelastof human suffering and tribulation. For it should be noticed that at the end of this very passage (v. 49) it is said that "every one shall be salted [made 'good,'v.50] with fire," signifying the effect finally produced by the unquenchable fire. And with this agrees the emblem {91} of the worm that "dieth not," taken as indicating that the final effect of the torment of the judgment is to swallow up death, and to bring in, by establishing the reign of righteousness, life and immortality. The signification of one emblem must be taken in conjunction with that of the other.
Moreover, by giving particular attention to the context of Isa. lxvi. 24, it will be seen that what is there revealed is quite in accordance with the above interpretation. For, first, inv.16 we have, "By fire and by his sword [the sword of the Word of God spoken of in Rev. xix. 15] will the Lord plead with all flesh," that is, in the judgment which has been appointed for the trial and tribulation of all men. Then, by taking into account what is said invv.22 and 23, we may gather that "all flesh," having become denizens of "the new heavens and the new earth" in which, as St. Peter declares (2 Epist. iii. 13), righteousness dwells, "come to worship the Lord." Ofthese worshippers, consisting of "all flesh," it is affirmed that "they shall go forth and look upon the carcases of the transgressors," which, on account of the ill savour coming up from them, will be "an abhorring to all flesh" (compare Isa. xxxiv. 3). Thus there is here represented, but by a different figure, the same truth as that which has already been deduced from the ascending up for ever and ever of the brimstone smoke of torment (see pp. 61 and 65); namely, {92} that the subjecting of all the deeds and secrets of the present life to the scrutiny of judgment, and the consequent condemnation of all the unredeemed to the pains of a second death, will have the effect of making sin against a "faithful Creator" to be seen and felt to be so hateful and abominable a thing, that such sin will cease to be possible, notwithstanding that all men will retain individuality and volition. For all will thus at length be made new creatures incapable of sinning. This remark may serve to introduce the final stage of the general argument, which I now proceed to enter upon.
I have been endeavouring to show that the symbolic assertions in Rev. xx. respecting "the lake of fire" and its "burning with brimstone," the casting therein of the devil, the beast, and the false prophet, and their being tormented "day and night for ever and ever," the judgment of all the dead, small and great, according to their recorded deeds, "the second death," and the casting into the lake of fire of "any one not found written in the book of life," do not necessitate, as is commonly thought, the conclusion that evil, which had a beginning, fulfils no purpose and has no ending. As to this question the seer gives, in Rev. xxi. 1-4, the following explicit revelation: "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth passed away; and there is no more sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, {93} coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice from the throne, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be with them, their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the first things passed away." Now, it seems hardly possible that the announcement of the termination of evil could be made in terms more direct and more intelligible than these. Hence, according to acknowledged principles of Biblical interpretation, we must not attribute to the above-mentioned symbolic and less intelligible passages any meaning inconsistent with that announcement. The arguments I have adduced respecting the interpretation of the figurative statements contained in the latter half of chap. xx. are directed to showing that these figures do, in fact, admit of meanings consistent with the gospel revelations given in chap. xxi. 1-4. It is of so much importance, as regards the Scriptural doctrine of immortality, to establish this point, that I propose now to supplement the former arguments by additional considerations.
In the Book of Daniel (xii. 6, 7) we read of "a man clothed in linen, who was upon the water of a river, and held up his right hand and his left hand unto {94} heaven, and sware by Him that liveth for ever," that at the end of an appointed time a certain purpose would be accomplished, and "all these things be finished." This refers, as the context shows, to "the time of the end" of the present age (aiôn). The announcement made in this manner by the man clothed in linen indicates that he is the precursor of the angel of whom, invv.1, 2, 5, 6, 7 of Rev. x., the apostle John relates as follows: "I saw a mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow upon his head, and his face as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire; and, having in his hand a little book open, he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth…. and lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by Him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven and the things therein, and the earth and the things therein, and the sea and the things therein, that time shall be no more; but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, in the time when he is about to sound his trumpet, also [kai, merely indicating the apodosis] the mystery of God is finished (etelesthê, aor. ind.), according to the gospel He made known to His servants the prophets." The soundings of the seven trumpets are significant of progressive steps in the general judgment; the days pertaining to the voice of the seventh angel are those immediately preceding the actual sounding of his trumpet, which announces the {95} completion (as indicated by the number seven) of the mystery of God's creation in time, and marks the end of the age (ho aiôn ho mellôn) following upon the conclusion of the present age. When all that pertains to this final interval "is finished," there is no more succession of events whereby time is cognizable, and therefore time is no more. The might, and glorious investiture, and majestic attitude of the angel who proclaims this truth, conspire to point out its great significance. The little book in his hand is the word of prophecy by which we learn these mysteries.
It is, no doubt, beyond the limit of our thoughts, conditioned as we are by time, to conceive of a state of things in which time is no more. Apparently for this reason commentators have proposed to translate,chronos ouk estai eti, "the time shall not be yet," or "time shall no more intervene." The former of these translations is excluded by the usage ofouk etiin the analogous affirmations in Rev. xxi. 1, 4, and the other, which is an arbitrary comment rather than a translation, is for the same reason excluded. (I have preferredouk estai etitoouketi estai, because the words occur in the former order in each of the three instances in Rev. xxi.) There can be no question as to the philological correctness of the translation, "time shall be no more." The unwillingness to admit it appears to have arisen solely from a fixed persuasion, gratuitously and very generally entertained, that time {96} has anecessaryexistence, and therefore cannot come to an end. Some have affirmed that when time ends, eternity begins; which is a self-contradictory dogma, because eternity (from[oe]tas) is essentially time. The teaching of Scripture on this point is directly opposed to these views; for the apostle Peter tells those for whose sake he wrote his second Epistle, to bear in mind "this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2 Epist. iii. 8). This is equivalent to saying that time is not an independent entity, but that both its existence and its quality are determined by thewillof the Creator of all things. It is in virtue of our being made in His image, and partaking intellectually of the divine nature, that we are capablein thoughtof giving indefinite and arbitrary extension to time, whether it be past time or time to come. This faculty, as I have already argued in p. 80, is to be placed in the category of the different conditions, whether depending on experience of the course of time, or on affections of our bodily and mental constitutions, under which the spirit of man is formed for immortality. All such conditions are determined by the purpose for which they are imposed, and when that purpose is fulfilled in the perfection of humanity the conditions come to an end. It is thus that the being conditioned by time eventually ceases.
It will be proper here to meet an objection to the {97} doctrine that time will have an end which might be drawn from the expression,eis tous aiônas tôn aiônôn, which frequently occurs in Scripture, and seems to be indicative of an unlimited succession of ages. So far as time is under human cognizance, and has relation to human experience, Scripture speaks in express terms of onlytwoages—the present one, which lasts to the end of thegenerationsof men in the existing order of things; and the age to come, which embraces the course of the judgment of all who lived in the first age, and terminates with the second death of those who had no part in the first resurrection. When it is said of the Creator of heaven and earth, that He is "from everlasting to everlasting" (apo tou aiônos meôs tou aiônos su ei, Ps. xc. 2), and that "He liveth for ever and ever" (ho zôn eis tous aiônas tôn aiônôn, Rev. x. 6), the wordaiônis not used to signify, as in the instances of the two "ages" just mentioned, an interval having beginning and ending, but is to be taken in an abstract sense, derived from our ordinary perception of the existence and quality of time, and from the faculty which, as said before, we possess of thinking of time as indefinitely extended. The first of the cited passages affirms what in these days we should express by saying that God is necessarily and essentially self-existent, and the other, what we mean by saying that He is necessarily and essentially alivingGod. But {98} Scripture uses no such terms as these, because it is written on the principle of employing in an abstract sense only such terms as are rendered intelligible by personal sensation and observation, and by experience drawn under actual conditions from the outer world. It is thus that the word "age" acquired its primary meaning, before it was susceptible of the abstract application just mentioned.
There is also to be said, as a reason for accepting this doctrine respecting our relation to time, that Scripture teaches analogous doctrine respecting our relation tospace. When our Lord astonished his disciples by saying that the passage of a camel through the eye of a needle is not an impossibility, he explained that "this is impossible with men, but not with God; for with God all things are possible" (Mark x. 25-27). By this saying he asserted that space, and the mutual relations of body and space, are such as they are by the will and power of God, and by the same power might be changed. Considering, therefore, that "the new heavens and the new earth" constitute a "new creation," it is quite in accordance with the above inference from our Lord's words to find it said of "the new Jerusalem, the holy city," that "the length, and the breadth, and the height of it are equal" (Rev. xxi. 16). For a city to be such as to conform to this description, it is plain that material substance and space must {99} be related to each other in an entirely new manner, unrecognizable by present experience. The apostle Paul adverts to the eventual status of the spirit of man with respect to time and space where he says, "I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. viii. 38, 39). (In this sentence the recognized passage of time, the powers [dynameis] of nature, and the measurable qualities of space, seem all to be regarded as thingscreated.) Also corresponding to the change in the external creation it is revealed that there will be a change of the outward man, the natural body giving place to the "spiritual body." It would appear, therefore, from the whole of the foregoing argument that our spirits, after being bound by earthly and temporal conditions, undergo complete transformation, being conjoined with bodily essence related in a new manner tospace, and being also released from the condition oftime. But although this mode of existence may be a necessary condition of the immortal state, especially as such state embraces associated members, it is not the sole, nor the principal, condition of immortality, as the remainder of the argument will show.
It has already been noticed that St. Peter {100} characterizes "the new heavens and the new earth" by saying that "righteousness dwells therein." This is as much as to say that it is a perfectsocialstate, whose end is at once the glory of God and the happiness of man. The words of the apostle (2 Epist. iii. 13) signify that the new creation, by satisfying this condition, is the fulfilment of an antecedent promise. Now, the argument of this Essay is in entire agreement with this doctrine, inasmuch as it was from the first assumed (p. 9) that immortality cannot consist with any other than a state of righteousness, and then (pp. 19 and 20) it was argued that after Adam's transgression apromisewas made that himself and his race would eventually be exempt from the power of Satan and attain to immortality. The passage Rev. xxi. 1-4, quoted in p. 92, seems to certify the complete fulfilment of this promise and to indicate the manner of its fulfilment. But there are other passages in this concluding portion of the Apocalypse, which might be thought to bear a contrary signification, to which, therefore, our attention must now be directed.
In xxi. 8 we have, "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all lies, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." If we give to this symbolism, as consistency requires, {101} an interpretation analogous to that applied to Rev. xx. 10, we shall conclude that sinners of all classes will eventually have no cognizable existence, transgression being brought to an end by the effect of the general judgment and the pains of the second death. This may explain why it is added, "which is the second death." It is worthy of remark that "all lies" are said to have their part in "the lake" although the casting of lies into a lake is objectively an impossibility. But this variation of the designation ("lies" being put for "liars") may be intended to signify generally that all transgression disappears, because transgressors cease to be cognizableas transgressors.
There is another thing to be noticed respecting the same passage: it contains no such clause as, "They shall be tormented day and night to the ages of ages," which occurs at the end of Rev. xx. 10. This omission may be accounted for on the principle stated in p. 96, according to which expressions involving time are not applicable to the condition of things in the new creation, in which time exists no more.
I take the occasion to remark here that the above-cited clause appears to be the only passage in the Apocalypse which asserts the perpetuity ofpersonalexperience of torment, as distinct from the perpetuity of its effect; also that the personal subject of the verbbasanisthêsontia, according to grammatical rules, would be the devil, the beast, and the {102} false prophet, each of which is represented as personal, and endowed with volition and power. But these, as I have maintained in p. 61, are the powers which, according to the law of opposites, are antagonist to God the Father, the Holy Ghost, and the Son of God; and the assertion that they are tormented for ever and ever may be taken to mean, according to the principle of interpretation explained in p. 97, that they existnecessarily, but only as they exist, when subdued, in the contempt and hatred in which they are held by those who have felt their power and have overcome it, this spiritual effect being a condition of immortality. (See end of p. 61.)
It remains to speak of one other subject connected with the revelations made in the Apocalypse, which, understood as it respects our argument, is of very great moment, inasmuch as it has relation to the means by which the spirit of man is endowed with immortality. The Son of God is named in the Apocalypse "The Word of God" (xix. 18), "King of kings and Lord of lords" (xvii. 14, and xix. 16), "the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star" (xxii. 16), and by other titles expressive of honour and dignity; but no name occurs so frequently, and in such various applications, as "the Lamb." What, it may be asked, is the reason for this? In order to answer this question let us take into consideration some instances, specially {103} significant, in which this name occurs. From what is recorded in chap. v. 6-13 as having been seen in vision by the apostle, we are instructed as follows respecting the character and office of the Lamb: "In the midst of the throne [the seat of the Lord God Almighty] and of the four living beings, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns [emblematic of perfect power] and seven eyes [perfection of wisdom], which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth." And he came and took out of the right hand of Him who sat upon the throne a book "sealed with seven seals." "And when he had taken the book, the four living beings and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb…. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain." Then "an innumerable company of angels" (Heb. xii. 22) was heard to say with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every created thing which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all things in them, were heard to say, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever."
Then follows in chap. vi. the opening of the seven {104} seals, which, from the descriptions given at the successive openings, appear to symbolize the various kinds of human experience, both good and evil, which mark the course of events in the present world, all centering in the work of redemption by the sacrifice of the Son of God; on which account the Lambslaincan alone open the seven seals and disclose their meaning. At the end of what is said relative to the sixth seal mention is made of "the great day of the wrath of the Lamb," which, because by reason of the sins of men he was so unjustly slain, is ordained to be seen and felt by the whole world after the termination of the present age (see Rev. i. 7). The expectation of that wrath, although none can escape it, all but very few in the present day are unwilling, through terror or unbelief, to entertain. The state of terror of all classes at the signs of the approach of that day appears to be described at the end of the chapter. (See vi.vv.15-17.)
Next, in chap. vii., comes the sealing of all the elect, represented symbolically by the sealing of twelve thousand of each of the twelve tribes of Israel, the number twelve specially signifying election. Then invv.9-17 is recorded a most wonderful vision. The seer says, "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, whom no man could number, of all nations, and tribes, and peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white {105} robes, and palms in their hands: and they cry with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God who sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb." This multitude whom no man can number, the number of whom is elsewhere said to be as "the sand of the sea," must embrace all that are not of the number of the elected and sealed one hundred and forty-four thousand, and their ascription here of praise to God for salvation accords with the teaching of St. Paul, that "God is the Saviour of all men, especially of those that believe." This is made still plainer by what is said respecting this multitude clothed in white robes invv.14-17. The seer is told by one of the elders that "These are they who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. And they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will feed them, and will lead them to fountains of waters of life; and God will wipe away all tears from their eyes." It is evident that the revelation here made isproleptical, describing a state of things identical with that which in Rev. xxi. 3, 4 (before quoted in p. 93), is said to pertain to the new heavens and the {106} new earth. The explanation that may be given of this anticipation of the subsequent revelation is referable to a principle which governs much that is contained in Scripture, although it has been generally overlooked—the principle, namely, of following sometimes an order determined byrelativity, although it sets aside order as to time. This, however, is not done except for some purpose. In the present instance, the effect of declaring the salvation of all men in immediate sequence to the sealing of the elect for salvation, is to indicate that the general scheme whereby all eventually partake of salvation consists of related and progressive parts to be unfolded by course of time.
The name of "the Lamb" is also given to our Lord in various other passages, which, with the view of contributing to the general argument, I proceed now to cite and make some remarks upon. The accuser of the brethren (Satan) is overcome by those who loved not their lives unto death, "on account of thebloodof the Lamb" (xii. 10, 11). The beast will be worshipped by all dwellers upon earth "whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lambslainfrom the foundation of the world" (xiii. 8). "A Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written on their foreheads…. These are they who follow the Lamb wheresoever he goeth. {107} These were purchased from among men, the firstfruits to God and to the Lamb" (xiv. 1, 4). The worshippers of the beast "shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb" (xiv. 10). Those who have gotten the victory over the beast "sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of the nations. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee, because thy judgments are made manifest" (xv. 2-4). The law given by Moses, and the gospel of Jesus Christ, constitute together a great and wonderful [oe]conomy, redounding to the praise and glory of God, and to the salvation of man. Kings of the earth "shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and they that are with him are called, and elect, and faithful" (xvii. 14).