CHAPTER VIII.
Debate in Lafayette—Die in Adam—Alive in Christ—This World and World to Come—Battle Ground—In Monticello—A Reply—A Preacher Whipped—D. Vines—S. Oyler—I. M. Westfall—B. F. Foster in Indiana—Revival Poetry—Ladoga Camp-Meeting—Worship God—In Michigan City—An Episcopal Preacher—A Wet Ride—Debate in Dayton—Discussion in Jefferson—Everlasting Punishment—End of the World—Second Coming of Christ—Eternal Life—Meaning of Everlasting.
Debate in Lafayette—Die in Adam—Alive in Christ—This World and World to Come—Battle Ground—In Monticello—A Reply—A Preacher Whipped—D. Vines—S. Oyler—I. M. Westfall—B. F. Foster in Indiana—Revival Poetry—Ladoga Camp-Meeting—Worship God—In Michigan City—An Episcopal Preacher—A Wet Ride—Debate in Dayton—Discussion in Jefferson—Everlasting Punishment—End of the World—Second Coming of Christ—Eternal Life—Meaning of Everlasting.
Soon after this, I had an oral debate in Lafayette, with Mr. Jeffries, Protestant Methodist, of that place, which continued four days. One of my principal proof-texts was 1 Corinthians, 15th chapter. I spoke as follows: This is one of the longest chapters in the New Testament, and in it the apostle discourses on very important subjects—on life and death, mortality and immortality, the earthy nature and heavenly nature. There are two general statements in this chapter. 1st. We must all die in Adam. 2d. We shall all be made alive in Christ. I will notice these statements in the order I have named them.
1st. We must all die. “As in Adam all die.” This does not say we must die because a man by the name of Adam did so and so, six thousand years ago. Adam is a Hebrew word, and signifiesman. Job says, “Manthat is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.” In the original it reads,Adam, instead of man. That Adam simply means man, or mankind, is evident from the account of the creation of our race, in Genesis. “Let us makeman(Adam) in our image, after our likeness, and letthemhave dominion.” Here the plural verb shows that the word Adam is employed collectively, meaningmankind. “And God createdthe man(the Adam) in hisown image: in the image of God created he him; male and female created hethem.” Here both the application of “male and female” tothe Adam, and the plural pronoun at the end of the verse shows that the man is used generically, and that it is equivalent to the first ofmankind. The word Adam, then, was not a proper name, but an appellative noun for the human species; its application to the first man, as his proper name, was subsequent and secondary. Hence when the apostle says, “As in Adam all die,” he means, As in the Adamic nature, the earthy, corruptible, mortal nature, all die. Adam means mortal man, and all mankind die in that nature.
2d. The other statement is contained in the same verse—“Even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” “Made alive in Christ,” is contrasted with “die in Adam;” and as Adam means the earthy nature, so Christ means the heavenly nature. Here is universal death in the earthy nature, and universal life in heavenly nature. All die on earth and all shall live in heaven. But in the Adamic nature is thegermof the Christ-like nature, as in the corn is the germ of the future stock. In this chapter the apostle gives this beautiful analogy thus: “But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?” In answering these questions the apostle shows, that the germ of the heavenly man is in the earthy man. “Thou fool! that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die.” The seed corresponds to the mortal body; thegermcorresponds to the spirit in man; and as the sowing of the seed develops the germ into a beautiful and vigorous plant, to bask in the sunshine, inhale the air, and drink the dews of heaven, so the death of the mortal body quickens the indwelling spirit, and it enters with renewed vigor on its immortal and heavenly life. The seed then is an emblem of man; its resurrection an emblem of man’s resurrection. Who can deny aresurrection when the world is so full of emblems pointing man to that great fact in his own destiny. “So,” says the apostle, referring to this beautiful illustration, “is the resurrection ofthe dead”—all the dead, all who die in the earthy nature. In the words, “It is sown,” the writer seems to refer to the seed sown in the ground, still making it an emblem of man. Mankind sown in corruption, dishonor, are raised incorruptible, glorious. The second body is more glorious than the first, as the rose is more glorious than the seed. These citations show what the apostle means by the words, “made alive in Christ;” and remember, that all who die in the Adamic nature are thus to be made alive.
“Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father,” etc. (See verses 24-28). Here we learn what is to be destroyed. 1. “All rule.” 2. “All authority.” 3. “All power.” 4. “Death.” And mark you, that death is theLASTenemy. My friend asserts, that death isNOTthe last enemy, but that beyond death, andIN HELL, there are legions of enemies to be the everlasting tormentors of countless millions of mankind. If the gentleman is correct, death is not thelastenemy, but rather thefirst real enemy, and opens the door to the fires, furies, and demons of perdition, which will burn and lash their victims world without end. Let it also be noted, that the last enemy is to beDESTROYED. The apostle continues his statements concerning the subjugation of all things to God thus: “And when all things shall be subdued to God, then shall the Son himself be subject to him, that put all things under him that God may be all in all.” This is theENDto which mankind are tending, and this consummation will surely be realized. All sin, error, suffering and death, shall be abolished; all mankind subdued to God, and GodALL IN ALL. The sum of this chapter then is this—all mankind are mortal, corruptible,and must die; death is destruction to thebody, but life to thesoul; glory, honor and immortality, are the rich inheritance of mankind.
“The apostle,” replied Mr. J., “teaches the resurrection of thebody, not of thespirit, and I admit that he teaches the resurrection of all the dead, and when that shall be effected the absent spirits will claim their long lost bodies.”
I rejoined: The gentleman tells us, that the writer of this chapter teaches the resurrection of the bodies of all the dead. If he is correct, God will raise the bodies of saints and sinners, Jews and Gentiles, incorruptible, glorious, heavenly, and when that shall be done, he will unlock hell, and take the deformed, corrupt, wretched spirits, that have been imprisoned in that foul dungeon for thousands of years, and perhaps millions of ages, and put them into those beautiful, glorious, heavenly bodies. That would be a union of perfect purity with total depravity, a marriage of heaven and hell, and two bodies so totally unlike would fly asunder like fire and water. The truth is, the apostle speaks not of the resurrection of this mortal body, these bones and muscles, this flesh and blood, but ofthe man—the inner, spiritual, real man. This body is necessary, while we are denizens of earth. By means of it the spirit is connected with the outer world, but when we shall be dwellers of the spirit land, we shall have no further use of these mortal tabernacles.
In his first speech on the proposition relating to endless punishment, Mr. Jeffries boasted that he should make short work of me and of my faith. “I have,” said he, “one text to quote, and one question to ask. The text is Matthew xii. 31, 32. ‘Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against theSon of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.’ And this is the question: If the sin against the Holy Ghost was not to be forgiven in this world, or in the world to come,where will it be forgiven? I once had a debate with Jonathan Kidwell, and I cited this verse, and asked this question, and it brought the discussion to aclose, for Mr. Kidwell could neither answer the question nor explain the passage so as to save Universalism from total destruction. The debate was to continue four days, but it lasted twenty minutes.”
I responded as follows: The gentleman pretends that he once “used up” one man by one question, and one text, and he expects to demolish me in the same easy and summary manner; but the sequel may show that he is over sanguine. I will show that the passage on which he so confidently relies to sustain his monstrous proposition, affords it no aid whatever.
1. If the words, “this world and the world to come,” mean this life and the life to come, as my friend supposes, thenall sin, save theone sinagainst the Holy Ghost, may be forgiven in thefuture state. The passage reads, “Allmanner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men.” The parallel passage (Mark iii. 28) reads thus: “All sinsshall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and [all] blasphemies wherewithsoever they shall blaspheme.” It is as clear as daylight, from these passages, thatall sins, except theonespecified, can be forgiven “in this world or the world to come.” If the gentleman is right in his application of the passage,all sins but one, may be forgiven in the future state of being, and his creed is consequentlyfalse, for it asserts that God will not permit a sin to be forgiven on the other side of the river, but every sin the soul harbors when it shuffles off its mortal coil, becomes fossilized, immortalas God himself. He must either abandon his text or his unforgiving creed.
2. The gentleman relies on the word,shall—the sin against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven. That word occurs twice in the passage, and I wish to call his special attention to where it occurs the second time.All sins shall be forgiven.Ifshallis to be understood in the absolute sense in one place, it must in the other, and then the passage means, that all sin, except thatoneagainst the Holy Ghost,SHALLbe forgiven somewhere, either in this world or the world to come. The passage, then, instead of blasting our blissful hope and cherished faith, that all sin and wrong will ultimately end, strikes a death-blow at the gentleman’s creed concerning the immortality of wickedness of every name and grade.
3. It is by no means certain, that “this world and world to come,” means this life and life to come. The most learned men of all schools tell us, that the passage should be translated, thisageandageto come, meaning the Jewish age or dispensation, and Christian age or dispensation. Dr. Adam Clarke takes this view of the words: “Though I follow the common translation, yet I amFULLY SATISFIEDthe meaning of the words is, neither in thisdispensation, viz., the Jewish, nor in that which is to come, viz., theChristian.Olam ha-bo, the world to come, is a constant phrase for the times of the Messiah, in the Jewish writings.” Bishop Pearce says, “Rather, neither in thisage, nor in theageto come;” meaning the Jewish and Christian dispensations.
“Ah!” said he, in his next speech, “if the sin against the Holy Ghost was not to be forgiven in the Jewish age or Christian age, when was it to be forgiven? The Jewish age commenced in the days of Moses and ended when Christ was crucified; the Christian age commenced then, and will not end till death shall be swallowed up in victory.Whenandwherecan that sin be forgiven? Will Mr. Manford answer that question?”
Reply. The Jewish and Christian ages belong tothis stageof existence, and when the Jordan of death shall be passed, we shall not be living in the Jewish age or Christian age, but in thespirit age,spirit world, and the passage does not intimate that sin or any other sin cannot be forgiven there. The truth is, that the wisdom, the light, the glory of the spirit world will soon transform every soul into its image. When the sun crosses the equator, on the twentieth of March, how dead the vegetable kingdom lies, horror wide extends his desolate domain. But the sun soon begins to impart his renovating grace to root and seed, and the result is, ageneral resurrectionon hill, dale and plain. Nothing can resist his influence; all vegetation comes forth to newness of life. So the wisdom and love of heaven, corresponding to the light and heat of the sun of this world, illuminates and warms every soul, and quickens each and all into newness of life. Say not, then, that sin cannot be put away from the soul on the other side of the river. We should not cheat ourselves by delaying to live a Christian life till middle age, or till we enter the spirit land, but in the words of Dr. Watts,
“While the lamp holds out to burn,The vilest sinner may return.”
“While the lamp holds out to burn,The vilest sinner may return.”
“While the lamp holds out to burn,The vilest sinner may return.”
“While the lamp holds out to burn,
The vilest sinner may return.”
Thelamp of lifewill burn forever, and the time or place will never be known, where and when, the sinner cannot return to truth, to virtue—to God. Every tree and shrub is invigorated and developed by the sun’s life-giving beams, so the great spiritual Sun does not shine in vain; every soul will be blessed by his divine emanations. In the language of the Bible, “All nations whom thou hast made shall go and worship before thee O Lord, and glorify thy name.”
“You forget,” said my opponent, in his last speech on the above passage, “that those who committed the sin against the Holy Ghost, were in danger ofeternal damnation.”
No, sir, I have not forgotten that; neither have I forgotten, that if the sin named is absolutelyneverto be forgiven, the sinner who commits it is not indangerof suffering damnation, but issureof suffering it, just as sure as he has sinned. There is no remedy, his doom is sealed. These words, then, clearly imply, that the punishment named may be arrested. This is an important consideration. Again, the word,eternalis from the same Greek term thatworldis, and Dr. Clarke, as we have seen, says it meansage, and learned men of all denominations admit it signifies age, time, life-time. I have now noticed every point the gentleman made on this noted passage, and it is evident that it affords the dogma of immortal wretchedness no support.
I delivered several lectures at the Tippecanoe battle ground, and became acquainted with many persons, who have ever since been steadfast friends. This place is six miles north of Lafayette. There is a marsh on one side, and a small stream, with a narrow bottom, covered with thick woods, on the other. The distance from the swamp to the stream is about three hundred yards, and on this narrow belt of ground General Harrison’s army was encamped, and the battle fought. No military man, I suppose, would deem that a safe camping-ground in an enemy’s country. But Harrison did not expect the Indians would fight, but rather treat for peace; but he should have been more cautious. He repelled the attack, with heavy loss to his army, but if he had been defeated, his force would have suffered sorely, for the Wabash river was in his rear, only one mile distant, and that without bridge or boats.
I also preached in Monticello, and was replied toby a Methodist minister. My text was, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned.” The gospel, I said, comprises the theological and moral doctrines that Jesus taught. He told men, that God was the Father of the spirits of all flesh; that the high and the low, the rich and the poor, the wise and the ignorant, the black and the white, the slave and his master, were alike the children of God, and belong to and compose one family; that the physical, intellectual, and moral bounties of God’s store-house were accessible to all, and that the Master of the feast invites all to partake freely and live. He had doomed none, and never would doom any, to eternal starvation. “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and ye that have no money, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” If we are wise and partake of this feast of fat things, we live, are blessed with salvation, and the kingdom of God, which is righteousness, joy and peace in the holy spirit, reigns in the soul. But if we shun the rich provisions of the Father’s board, walk on the other side, choose darkness, error and sin, rather than light, truth and virtue, woe be to us. Every heavenly principle, every law of God condemns us, till we set our faces heavenward, and turn our steps upward.
“There was not,” said the preacher, “one particle of gospel in that sermon. Mankind were lost and ruined by the fall of Adam; the seal of eternal damnation wasburntdeep into the hearts of all, by Adam’s apostasy, and God became incarnate to make itpossiblefor man to be saved. Those who believe in the incarnate God are saved from hell, from the wrath of God, and the curse of the fall; but those who reject the crucified Jesus, are lost beyond redemption, and the seal of damnation will burn deeper and deeperinto their immortal souls; they will be abandoned by God, Christ, angels, and all the saints will say,amen.”
He was one of the most orthodox preachers I ever heard. When in the pulpit, he was always harping on the mysterious jargons of Orthodoxy, with his face elongated, and a countenance bordering on despair; but out of the pulpit he was a boy, and a foolish boy too. When preaching in Logansport, shortly after General Tipton died, a noted citizen of that place, he cried, “There, General Tipton, that old sinner, is dead and gone to hell.” A son of Mr. Tipton, soon after, met the preacher on a long bridge at Logansport, and with a whip gave him a pretty hard thrashing. He begged for mercy, and promised not to talk in that style any more.
During the first two years I resided in Lafayette, I seldom met a minister of my faith. There were only two others in Indiana at that time, and they were in remote parts of the state, and being aged men did not preach much, but after that time I had more ministerial associates. D. Vines, of Frankfort, spoke some in public, and received Letter of Fellowship. His intentions were good, but his qualifications meager. He subsequently became a Swedenborgian, or a Spiritualist, and I have lost sight of him. Samuel Oyler, of Jefferson, also entered the ministry. He preached three or four years in the south part of the state, and then came out a lawyer, and, I understand, he succeeds well in that profession. I. M. Westfall, of Thornton, left the Methodist church, of which he was a lay-member, and commenced preaching without any preparation, save strong faith and ardent zeal. He possessed a good mind, and soon became a popular speaker. He remained in Indiana about one year, and then moved to Iowa City, Iowa. He continued in the ministry till recently. At the present time he resides in Minnesota, and is practising medicine. AtPerrysville, where I had preached monthly for two years, a meeting-house was erected, and a society organized. Being in Oxford, Ohio, I met with B. F. Foster, a young man, who had just commenced preaching, and prevailed on him to move to Perrysville, and take charge of the society in that place. He, however, soon left P. and located in Terre Haute, where our friends were building a fine meeting-house. He has resided in Indiana ever since, and is a popular and useful minister. He has been for many years pastor of the society in Indianapolis, and at the present time he is State Librarian.
An Association, embracing the country from Terre Haute to Lafayette, called the Wabash Valley Association, was organized. The meeting that organized it was held in Perrysville, and it was an enthusiastic gathering. Seven or eight societies were represented, all recently formed. Many went on horseback, in wagons and carriages, thirty, forty, and fifty miles. Our friends were alive with zeal, and did not mind traveling fifty miles to a good meeting.
The United Brethren held a noisy meeting in Warren county, and the following lines were very popular with the Brethren, and they often sung them:
The devil is mad,And I am glad,Glory, O hallelujah.The devil may pout,But I will shout.Glory, O hallelujah.
The devil is mad,And I am glad,Glory, O hallelujah.The devil may pout,But I will shout.Glory, O hallelujah.
The devil is mad,And I am glad,Glory, O hallelujah.
The devil is mad,
And I am glad,
Glory, O hallelujah.
The devil may pout,But I will shout.Glory, O hallelujah.
The devil may pout,
But I will shout.
Glory, O hallelujah.
I noticed this meeting, and quoted their popular hymn in theTeacher, and the Brethren in that county were very indignant. At their next meeting one of their preachers took up the matter. “That little Universalist preacher,” said he, “that lives in Lafayette, and prints that Universalist paper, is mad because we sing about his daddy.”
I attended, on a dark and gloomy night, a fanatical camp-meeting of the Methodists, near Ladoga. It was held in a dense forest. When a mile from the camp, I heard the noise of the nocturnal worshipers. Arriving on the ground, the scene that opened to the vision, beggared description. The whole camp seemed to be in an uproar. Preachers were preaching, exhorters exhorting, singers singing, shouters shouting, and jumpers were jumping. Some seemed to be suffering intense agony, others as happy as clams at high water. Some kept their seats, while others were hopping, skipping and jumping like chickens with their heads cut off. One man ran past me without looking to the right or left. “Where are you going?” said I. “To glory.” A preacher screamed as loud as his lungs would allow, “The devil is in the camp, and must be driven out. Get the horn, form in line, march round the ground three times, blow the horn, the devil must be driven out, the walls of Jericho shall fall.” The procession was formed, the horn was blown, and the march was made. Whether Satan left the camp, and the said walls fell at this demonstration, the master of the ceremony did not see proper to inform us. I left the ground about midnight, when the excitement was under full headway, and my reflections while walking back to the village were as follows: Is this the proper way to worship God? Does he require us to make fools of ourselves, and act like bedlamites? Is religion fanaticism? Is regeneration an hallucination? I will not believe a word of it. Religion consists in love to God and man. Noise, uproar, fanaticism are not worship, are not religion, are not regeneration. God speaks to the soul with the still small voice of inspiration and intuition, and the truly pious make but little outward demonstration. Empty wagons make much noise, heavy laden ones pass our streets without hardly being heard. But then I do not wonder at thenoise, lamentation, agonizing, and every other extravagance, of these people. They think God is frowning on this world, that his wrath is kindled to its hottest pitch, that he has already banished most of the dead to the infernal regions, and that during every moment of time crowds are driven from earth to hell, and that we all stand on the very brink of a bottomless pit. No wonder the victims of this terrible belief are nearly insane. Strange they are not all raving mad. O God, enlighten their minds concerning thee, whom to know is life eternal.
I visited Michigan City by request, and delivered four discourses. The Episcopal clergyman of the place, took the trouble to go around town, and destroy all the notices of the meetings that were tacked up, and to tell the people not to go near me. But large congregations attended, and all seemed much interested. In one of my lectures I gave a history of the “rise and progress” of the Episcopal Church. Stated that it was conceived in sin and brought forth in iniquity; that Henry VIII., universally admitted to have been the most beastly monarch that ever reigned in England, was the first Episcopalian, and the father of the sect; that church from Henry’s day to this day has been a proud, arrogant, insolent, overbearing concern; in England it draws half of its support from unwilling pockets, from those who belong to other communions; that it cares not who starves provided its priests, bishops, and lords live in indolence, race horses, chase foxes, and drink brandy; it never took but one short step from the Catholic Church, the mother of harlots, and it was now creeping back into the arms of its old mamma; but there are some live men and women in the church, and they deplore the stupidity, coldness and old hunkerism of the lifeless body to which they are bound.
The distance from Lafayette to Michigan City, is about one hundred miles, and for fifteen miles oneach side of the Kankakee river, there was not, in those days, a house. It commenced raining on my way to Michigan City, when I had reached the south margin of that wilderness of prairie, and it poured down in torrents till I made the first house, thirty miles distant. It was a swamp nearly all the way, and the flood of that day made the road, such as it was, nearly impassable. I sometimes thought I should have to return; but about ten at night I reached a cabin, drenched with rain, covered with mud, and as hungry as a bear.
A Presbyterian elder, by the name of Smith, was eager for a debate, and he was gratified. We occupied the Presbyterian church in Dayton, and the poor elder did one pretty hard day’s work. He was frightened out of most of his wits; his nerves were unstrung, and his hand so trembled he could not hold his Bible to read his texts. I pitied him, but dealt as hard blows as I could strike. He was disgusted with himself, and proposed, a few weeks after, to try again, hoping to do better. We spent two days at Rossville, near his home, and he then willingly retired without further debating.
A few days after this affair, I spent four days in discussion with Mr. Coon, a Scotch Presbyterian, and Calvinistic “up to the hub.” He was a prominent man in his church, intelligent, and well educated. He subsequently published a book of three or four hundred pages, against the doctrine of the Restitution, and in defense of eternal punishment. The discussion was held in Jefferson; and though the weather was intensely cold, a large number attended. Mr. Coon was a strong man, and all were anxious to hear. He had thoroughly prepared himself for the work. It required two or three men to carry his books to and from the church. I had my Bible, and perhaps two or three other books. He talked English, and Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew. Mr. Taylor, a Presbyterianminister, who had just closed an eight days’ debate with John O’Kane, of the Campbellite Church, was one of the moderators, and he prayed for Mr. Coon, imploring the Lord to help him on that important occasion.
“These shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal,” (Matt. xxv. 46,) was one of his proof-texts. “It is evident,” said he, “that this passage teaches the endless punishment of the wicked, for the following reasons: 1. It relates to what would transpire at theend of the world. This, and the preceding chapter, is an answer to the questions, ‘What shall be the signs of thy coming, and of theend of the world?’ Matt. xxiv. 3. 2. ‘These’ were to go into everlasting punishment when Christ would come thesecond time, and that event was to take place at the end of the world. 3. Everlasting is from the same Greek word that is renderedeternal, and consequently the everlasting punishment is to continue as long as the eternal life. If one will end so will the other end. 4. The best scholars tell us, that the Greek word here rendered everlasting and eternal, signifiesendless duration.”
I replied: Mr. Coon tells us, that his text was to be fulfilled at the end of the world spoken of in Matthew xxiv. He is doubtless correct. Now, learned men of all denominations tell us, thatworldthere means the Jewish Dispensation, and theendof the world the end of that Dispensation. Most of them translate the passage, “end of theAGE.” It is so rendered by Doddridge, Macknight, Whitby, Pearce, Le Clerc, Hammond, Wakefield and Kenrick—all learned men, and save one or two, advocates of endless misery. The word,worldis often used in this sense in the New Testament. “Now once in the end of the world hath Christ appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” Heb. ix. 24. Christ did appear at the end of the Jewish Dispensation for thatpurpose. The Jews divided time intotwo ages—theage beforeChrist, and theage afterChrist. Thefirst ageended, as Paul says, “when Christ appeared.” The end ofthe world, then, took place eighteen hundred years ago, andthenthe gentleman’s text was fulfilled.
2. When Christ was to come the second time, some were to go away into everlasting punishment. When was he thus to come? In this same discourse Jesus speaks of that coming, and affirms, that it would take place inthat generation. “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man, ... and they shall see the Son of man coming.” He then states when he would come: “Thisgenerationshall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.” Matt. xxiv. 30, 34. On another occasion, addressing his disciples, he said, “But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another; for verily I say unto you, ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel till the Son of man be come.” Matt. x. 27. He would come so soon that the disciples would not be able to visit all of Israel’s cities. At another time he said, “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” Matt. xvi. 27, 28. He was to come the second time before some who heard these words would die. He intimated that the apostle John would live to witness this coming. “Peter seeing John, saith to Jesus, Lord, what shall this man do? Jesus saith to him, If I will that hetarry till I come, what is that to thee? Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that the disciple would not die; yet Jesus said not to him, He shall not die; but, If I will that hetarry till I come, what is that to thee.” John xxi. 21-23. It requires considerable effort to misunderstand these plain declarations.Jesus told his hearers, that he would come the second time, 1. In the generation in which he lived; 2. So soon the disciples would not have time to visit all Judah’s cities; 3. Before some he addressed would die; 4. That John, the beloved disciple, might live to see him come. In the face of all this testimony, Mr. Coon tells us, that coming isyet a future event! But the truth is, that coming took place at thebeginningof the Christian Dispensation, at theushering inof the Gospel Age, at thesetting upof the kingdom of God. The revelator, who was the disciple John, says, he “saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven.” Rev. xxi. 3. Judaism had passed away, Paganism was dead, and a new order of things had commenced—old things had passed away, all things had become new. The world had entered on anew era. This is what Christ meant by his coming inpowerandglory.
3. The gentleman truly says, that everlasting and eternal are from the same original word. He thenassumesthat “eternal life” in his text means endless blessedness, and theninfers, that “everlasting punishment” means endless wretchedness. His assumption and inference are alike fictions. According to the New Testament, the Christian, in this world, is in possession of eternal or everlasting life. “He that believeth on meHATH EVERLASTING LIFE.” “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me,HATH EVERLASTING LIFE, and shall not come into condemnation, butIS PASSEDfrom death unto life.” John v. 24. “This isLIFEeternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” John xvii. 3. Eternal life is gospel life—spiritual life, and every Christian man and woman is now in possession of this life. When a person isaliveto every thing holy and good, possesses the spirit of Christ, and lives the life of Christ, it may be truly said ofhim, he “HATHeverlasting life.” So, when a man’s character is the reverse of this, when he is a son of error and sin, it may be truly said of him, heHATHeverlasting punishment. If everlasting life can be enjoyed here, cannot everlasting punishment be suffered here? Again, a person may be a Christian to-day, and consequently in possession of everlasting life; but his love may wax cold, he may become a sinner, an unbeliever, an infidel; he will then be no longer in possession of everlasting life. So, an infidel and a sinner of to-day may become a saint, like St. Paul; he then passes from death to life, from suffering everlasting punishment to the possession of everlasting life. But, by everlasting punishment, Jesus had direct reference to the temporal desolation that was soon to befall his countrymen at the end of the Jewish Dispensation. The kingdom was to be taken from them, and they were to be cast out into outer darkness, till the fullness of the Gentiles should come in.
4. Mr. Coon informs us, that the Greek terms,aion,aionios, mean endless duration. These are two forms of one word.Aionis a noun, andiosadded to it, forms the adjective. This word occurs in these two forms three times in the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth chapters of Matthew. In the twenty-fourth chapter, the disciples inquired of Jesus, “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of theend of the world?” These two chapters answer these two questions. Now,worldis fromaion, the same word rendered everlasting, and eternal, in the text. There was then to be anendtoaion. Mr. Coon tells us, that this word meansduration without end, and in the same speech cites the same word to prove that it (aion) is toend! One passage explains the other. In one place Jesus speaks ofaioniospunishment, without stating whether he means endless or limited time; in the other place the apostles inquire concerningtheendof theaion, and Jesus in answering their question, tells them, that itshall end, “but,” he adds, “theendis not yet.” Many things would transpire before that event would occur. “He that endureth to theendshall be saved.... And the gospel of this kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations; and then shall theendcome.... Verily, verily, I say unto you,this generationshall not pass,till all these things be fulfilled.” Matt. xxiv. 6, 13, 14, 34. We have, then, the word of Jesus for it, thataion, and consequently,aionios, everlasting punishment, may end. I will give the true definition ofaion, according to learned men—all believers in endless woe:
Schleusner.—“Any space of time, whether longer or shorter, past, present, or future, to be determined by the persons or things spoken of, and the scope of the subject—the life or age of man; any space in which we measure human life, from birth to death.”
Donnegan.—“Aion, time; a space of time; lifetime and life; the ordinary period of man’s life; the age of man; man’s estate; a long period of time; eternity.Aionios, of long duration; eternal, lasting, permanent.”
Schrevelius.—“Aion, an age, a long period of time; indefinite duration; time, whether longer or shorter, past, present or future; life, the life of man.Aionios, of long duration, lasting, sometimes everlasting, sometimes lasting through life.”
This is the definition learned men give the word. I will now show that the Bible attaches the same meaning to it.
1st.Everlasting.“And I will give unto thee and thy seed, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession.” Gen. xvii. 8.
“And I will make of thee a multitude of people, and will give this land (Canaan) to thy seed afterthee, for an everlasting possession.” Gen. xlviii. 4.
Now, was this possession to be endless? No, for it ceased long ago! But let me read still more: “Unto the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills”—“The everlasting mountains were scattered.” Hab. iii. 6. The gentleman believes that the everlasting hills and mountains will all be destroyed when the world comes to an end!
“For their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood.” Exod. xl. 15. “And he (Phinehas) shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant, for an everlasting priesthood.” Num. xxv. 13. “And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel once every year.” Lev. xvi. 34. Was the priesthood to be of endless duration? or has it not long since been abolished by the priesthood of Christ? Such, my friends, is a sample of the Bible use of this word.
2d.Forever.“He (Solomon) shall build me an house, and I will establish it forever.” 1 Chron. xvii. 12. This house although established forever, was long since torn down and destroyed! “For the land which thou seest, to thee (Abram) will I give it, and to thy seed forever.” Gen. xiii. 15. “You will keep it (the passover) a feast by an ordinance forever.” Exod. xii. 14. Was the observance of the passover to be of endless duration? “They shall be your bondsmen forever.” Lev. xxv. 46. Were they to be bondsmen throughout duration? “I went to the bottom of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me forever”—that is, three days! Jonah ii. 6. “The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever.” Ps. xxxvii. 29. Are the righteous to dwell in a land endlessly? “And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him forever,”—that is, as long as he live. Exod. xxi. 6. “And they shall dwell in the land that I have given my servant Jacob, wherein your fathershave dwelt, and they shall dwell therein, forever; and my servant David shall be their prince forever.” Ezek. xxvii. 25. This needs no comment. “But Judah shall dwell forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation,”—fromgeneatogenea. “For I have told him that I will judge his house forever, for the iniquity which he knoweth.” Will the Almighty be endlessly judging the house of Eli? And if to judge forever does not mean endless judgment, why should to punish forever mean endless punishment? Can any one tell? Paul, writing to Philemon, says of Onesimus,—“For perhaps he departed for a season, that thou shouldst receive him forever”—not endlessly, surely!
This noted passage, then, affords no evidence that punishment will be inflicted duration without end. Dr. Samuel Johnson, the great moralist and writer of the last century, speaking of this passage, and others of like character, says: “They may admit of a mitigated interpretation.”
The discussion continued four days—closed Saturday evening. I delivered apracticaldiscourse on Sunday morning, made no reference to the debate, and at the close organized a society. Mr. Coon preached in the afternoon, and the discussion was histext. He misrepresented me, the good faith, and poured out volleys of abuse on all who did not subscribe to his fire and brimstone creed. I replied in the evening, and handled Calvinism without gloves, but he kept out of the way.