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OBJ. You say that when the word Everlasting is set to qualify punishment, as " Everlasting" punishment, &c. it does not mean eternal; and if that is the case, how can you prove that the happiness of the righteous is eternal? or the duration of God or of Christ? For Everlasting is often used in Scripture to express the duration of all these.

Ans. If there was no other word besides ever-lasting to prove the duration of God, or Christ, or the happiness of Saints; then it could not be proved by Scripture that they will be eternal, for it is certain that the original words from which everlasting is rendered, in both testaments do not mean eternal; and as everlasting is from original words which generally, if not universally, signify the duration of the ages of time, and in some instances, only a certain portion of the ages of time; therefore when everlasting is applied to the character of God, it signifies that God lives through all the ages of time, and when it is said that the Kingdom of Christ is everlasting, &c. it means the time that Christ shall reign, which, of course, will end when he shall give up the Kingdom to God, even the father. And when everlasting is applied to the life of the believer, as, "he that believeth, &c. hath everlasting life." It means only the divine life which the believer enjoys in time, which is everlasting, because Believers in every age of the everlasting reign of Christ enter into the same life in time. But now let it be observed, that there are certain words and phrases used in Holy Scripture, which necessarily imply endless duration, which are the following, viz.:"Endless," Heb. VII, 16. "No end,” Psalm Cii, 27, and Isaiah Ix, 7, and LUKE 1, 33. "World without end," Isaiah Xlv, 17. "Inhabitelk eternity," Isaiah Lvii, 15. "immutable," and " immutability," Heb. Vi, 17, 18. "Immortal," and "immortality," I. Cor. Xv, 43, 44, and 1. Tim. Vi, 16. "Incorruption," "incorruptibility," and incorrupti ble," Rom. r, 23, 1. Cor Ix, 25, and 1. Con. xv, 42~

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52, 53, 54, and 1. Peter I, 4. "Cannot be moved," "or" removed," Psalm Cxxv, 1, Heb. Xii, 28. "Fadeth not away," I, Peter i, 4, 1. Peter V, 4. "Faileth not," or "never faileth," LUKE XH, 33, and 1. Cor. Xiii, 8, "Cannot be shaken," Heb. XH, 27.

Now, these words, and phrases necessarily imply endless duration unless qualified to mean less and if any reader will turn and read them, he will find by the context of every passage I have here quoted, that these words and phrases are applied to the life of God, of Christ, and the Saints, whereas here are more than twenty passages, and probably there are others which I have not found that imply the same, yet there is not one passage in the Bible, that I have ever found, in which any one of these words or phrases is applied to the duration of sin or misery.

'Therefore as holy men of God have in so many instances applied words and phrases to the life of God, of Christ, and of the Saints which imply endless duration, and have never applied such words. to the duration of sin and misery, but have declared in numerous passages that sin and death, and pain, and tears shall cease, and that death, and the devil, who has the power of death, shall be destroyed: is it not obvious that they did not believe that sin and misery would be eternal ?

The next objection is founded on Heb. X, 26, 27, &c., "For if we sin wilfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of Judgment, and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries," &c.

In answer to this, observe, that the Apostle had shown from chap, vi, and on to this chapter, that there was no perfection for the conscience of man by the law ©f Moses, nor by all its ceremonies, or offerings, although they were offered for sin. He had also shown in the same discourse, and even is this tenth chapter, that all men were sanctified

by the will of God, through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all, verse 10. And then shows how all men are made perfect, verse 14, "For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified."

So that we must consider that the person who sins wilfully after he has received the knowledge of the truth, is still one of those sanctified, and Eerfected sinners, not sanctified, nor perfected by his own works, but by the one offering, so he is not sanctified, nor perfected actually, but he is so in the counsel of God.

Well, he must be sanctified actually, and this is the very work to be done by the "certain fearful looking for of Judgment, and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries." The "adversaries," or works of iniquity in him is the very things that must be devoured, in order that he may be "saved, yet so as by fire," 1. Cob. III, 15. If any person will read the law of Moses, he may find it was ordained that when the people sinned ignorantly, sacrifice should be offered for them, and they should be forgiven without being punished, but if they sinned wilfully, there re mained no more sacrifice for sin, but they must be punished according to their crimes.

Now, as all men are under the law of God as long as they live, (and cannot be acquitted from its demands any other way than through faith to receive Christ as the end of the law for righteousness, in which state the man walks in the fruits of the spirit, against which there is no law.) No doubt the Apostle had the law in view, as it is the case with us, as much as it was with the Israelites, that if we sin ignorantly, that is, if we speak or act amiss, when we meant to do well, we are not punished, but if we sin against what we know to be right, there remains no sacrifice for sins, that is, there is no way for us to escape punishment, and we may expect "a fearful looking for of

Judgment, and fiery indignation," that is, God will so enter into Judgment with us, as to fill us with indignation that will seem to us like the burning of devouring fire, and we must endure enough of it to "devour the adversaries." That this was the meaning of St. Paul, is plain from verse 30, "For we know him that hath said, vengeance is mine, I will recompense, saith the Lord, and again, the Lord shall judge his people." God will doubtless recompense justly, and of course, will not render eternal misery to any man.

The next objection which I shall answer is the following:

If all men will finally be saved, why do the Scriptures of the New Testament, as well as of the Old say so much about every man receiving according to his works? and why do they place the turning point of salvation on man's faith as well as works, as for instance, Roм 1, 6, 8, 9, 10, "Who will render to every man according to his works," &c. "Unto them that are contentious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil," &c. "But glory, honor and peace, to every man that worketh good," &c. And Mark Xvi, 16, "He that believeth, &c. shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned?"

I think it must be acknowledged that this objection is fairly stated, and I will endeavor that it shall be as fairly answered.

This objection stands in the forms of two questions: The first with regard to the rewards of good or evil works: The second with regard to faith. That with regard to works, I shall answer first.

I think I perceive that we have heretofore been much mistaken, in considering the rewards of man's works to be eternal, on account of our education, whenever we have read in the Bible that God would punish man for sin, we have, without

hésitation, understood it to mean that God would punish him in the future world, and that eternally. And when we have read in the Bible that God would reward men for doing well, we have likewise thought it must be a reward of eternal happiness. But if the reader can only be candid, he may presently see that this idea is certainly erroneous, for, in the first place it is obvious from plain Scripture testimony that man's works cannot secure him eternal life: see Rom. Xi, 6, "And if by grace, then is it no more of works." Eph. Ii, 9, "Not of works, lest any man should boast." Titus iii, 5, " Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his

mercy he saved us." 2. Tim. I, 9, "Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." Isaiah Lxiv, 6, "All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.' think it is quite obvious from these Scriptures, and numerous others, that the works of man have not the least account in his eternal salvation.

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And I have shown before, that God has said that he will not punish man eternally for his bad works, as in ISAIAH LVII, 16, "For I will not contend forever, neither will be always wroth." (And offers the following reason why he will not contend forever.) "For the spirit should fail before me, and the souls I have made." Can there possibly be any better reason offered, why he will not contend with his poor creatures forever, and be always wroth with them, than this, that if he should, their spirits and souls would fail, that is, would be annihilated. Now, my friends, you remember this, that when you declare that man's. reward for wicked works will be, to bear the wrath of God eternally, you directly contradict the word of God, as expressed in this, as well as in many other Scriptures.

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