| PREVIOUS PART |
GOG
AND MAGOG, OR, THE FINAL CONFLICT.
The present war against the false
religions of earth is incurring the united opposition of the sectarian world.
Multitudes of its deceived professors are rising in opposition to the truth.
All counterfeit religions are uniting in confederation. "And I saw three
unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of
the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For
they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the
kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of
that great day of God Almighty.'' Revelation 16:13, 14. While the Lord is
mustering his host upon the high plains of Armageddon (Revelation 16:16) in
this beautiful evening light, the spirits of devils are gathering together
the hosts of Babylon in confederation and opposition to the burning truth of
God, and the true saints of God who stand by it. This is the last great
spiritual conflict. First, Christ's kingdom conquered the dragon—paganism.
Next, after a long, dark night of 1,260 years of papal supremacy, Christ's
church again triumphed, and the beast power was broken. Then arose a second
form of apostasy—Protestantism. This is the false prophet in the above text.
"And the beast was taken, and
with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he
deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that
worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning
with brimstone.'' Revelation 19: 20. Notice that the very power which wrought
miracles before the beast, and deceived the people, is called the false
prophet. By turning back to Revelation 13:11-15, it will be seen that this
was the second beast—Protestantism. So that second beast and the false
prophet are identical.
But we have seen that God is
gathering his people out of all the maze of false religions; out of all
Protestant sects as well as the Catholic. The church thus gathered out, now
stands in square opposition to all sect religion, and, thank God, has victory
over it. My brethren, we have reached an awful era in the onward sweep of
time. The greatest conflict of all is now breaking upon us. Instead of
one of the antichrist religions to combat, the next is a confederation of
them all. The dragon (heathenism), the beast (popery), and the false prophet (Protestantism) led by spirits of devils which possess
them, influence the ''kings of the earth, and of the whole world" to
assist them, and "gather together to the battle of that great day of God
Almighty." This signifies a union of all false religions, Heathen,
Catholic, and Protestant. The object the devil has in effecting this union,
is to make war upon the camp of the saints, the true church. The rulers of
the nations will be also gathered together in the same opposition.
"And the beast was taken, and
with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he
deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that
worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning
with brimstone.'' Revelation 19: 20. It seems this great conflict will end in
"the great day of God Almighty." This refers to
Christ's coming and judgment. In close connection, he testifies,'' Behold, I
come as a thief.'' Revelation 16:15.
In Revelation 20, it is stated
that at the expiration of the thousand years the old dragon would be
"loosed a little season." Verse 3. "And shall go out to
deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and
Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand
of the sea." Verse 8. This dragon power was bound by the gospel of
Christ, and hurled from its lofty position to the great abyss from which it
emanated, Verse 1-3. This, as before proved, was accomplished in the morning
of the Christian era. At that time hundreds of thousands were saved through
the blood of Christ, and raised to spiritual life. That great host
constituted the first great spiritual resurrection. They reigned in life, and
Christ's kingdom triumphed upon earth.
Next came the reign of the beast
and his image, Verse 4. During this time the kingdom of God upon earth was
crushed under human rule and power, and the reign upon earth largely ceased.
But during the time when the reign of grace upon earth ceased, that host who
had taken part in the first great resurrection, together with those who lived
true to God during the reign of the beast and his image, many of whom were
beheaded for the witness of Jesus, as fast as their souls ascended to
paradise, continued to reign with Christ in a disembodied state, Verse 4, 6.
The reign went on up yonder, while darkness, superstition, and deception
covered the earth. Salvation work almost ceased upon earth, and the rest of the
dead of Adam's fallen race lived not again till the thousand years were
finished. This is simply a figure of speech, to convey the fact that during
that awful night of apostasy, but few men were raised to spiritual life.
"What are termed the middle
ages commenced with the fifth, and terminated with the fifteenth century. Of
these, the first six are termed the dark ages; but throughout the whole
period, Christianity suffered a long eclipse of a thousand
years."—Goodrich's Church History, page 478.
This thousand years covers a
period of time when holiness was lost sight of in the earth, when salvation
work largely ceased. But the great reformation brought the resurrecting grace
of God into action again, and since that time thousands of the rest of the dead
have been made alive. This will continue till Jesus comes.
We have also reached the time when
the kingdom of God triumphs upon earth again. A blessed reign of
righteousness is again enjoyed by the people of God. The saints possess the
kingdom. All hell is now stirred. The devil knows his time is short. He is
preparing for his last great struggle. While in command in person, he
works through all his antichrist religions. He revives the persecuting power
of paganism. The old heathen spirit is reviving. It is the same spirit which
put to death millions of Christians in the early days of Christianity. This
is what is meant by the loosing of the dragon. The spirit and religion of
heathenism is gathering together Gog and Magog to battle.
This is fulfilled in the
devil-worship called spiritualism, and in several other forms at the present
time. Ever since the Congress of Religions held at the World's Fair in
Chicago in 1893, teachers of the religions of India and the Orient have been
at work in this country and many converts have been made. Free Masonry is but
a form of paganism. We here give proofs from the pens and publications of
this vast body, who are founded on what they call the "Ancient
Mysteries." The following was compiled by Fred Husted.
"Warburton says: 'Each of the
pagan gods had (beside the public and open) a secret worship paid unto him,
to which none were admitted but those who had been selected by preparatory
ceremonies called initiation. This secret worship was called The Mysteries.'
"Mackey, another member of
this order, says: 'These mysteries existed in every country of heathendom, in
each under a different name, and to some extent under a different form, but
always and everywhere with the same design of inculcating (teaching) by allegorical
and symbolical teachings the great Masonic doctrines of the unity of God and
the immortality of the soul. This is one important proposition and the fact
which it enumerates (states) must never be lost sight of, in any inquiry into
the origin of Free Masonry; for the pagan mysteries were to the spurious Free
Masonry of antiquity precisely what the Masters' lodges are to the Free
Masonry of the present day.'
"This is certainly a frank
statement, coming as it does from a man who is an acknowledged and highly
esteemed authority in matters pertaining to the craft. Daniel Sickles says,
'In Egypt, Greece, and among other ancient nations Free Masonry, that is, the
Mysteries, was one of the earliest agencies employed to effect the
improvement and enlightenment of man.' Pierson says, 'The identity of the
Masonic institutions with the ancient mysteries is obvious,' which means,
clearly to be seen, manifest to any and all.
"Masons say that the order is
founded on the Bible— that is, unlearned Masons say so. George Wingate Chase,
in the 'Digest of Masonic Law,' says, 'The Jews, the Turks, each reject
either the New Testament or the Old, or both, and yet we see no good reasons
why they should not be made Masons. In fact, Blue Lodge [first three degrees]
Masonry has nothing whatever to do with the Bible. It is not founded on the
Bible. If it were, it would not be Masonry; it would be something else.'
Sickles says, in speaking of the third, or Master Mason's degree, 'There are
characters impressed upon it which can not be mistaken. It is thoroughly
Egyptian.' He further says that the tradition is older by a thousand
years than Solomon. 'That our [Masonic] rites embrace all the possible
circumstances of man, moral, social, and spiritual, and have a meaning high as the heavens, broad
as the universe, and profound as eternity.'— Sickles in 'Gen. Chiman Rezon.'
The writer was informed when the charges were given him 'that our ancient
brethren worshiped in high hills or in low vales and that guards were placed
to keep off cowans and eavesdroppers.'
''By referring to scriptures we at
once find the character of those who worshiped on high hills and in low
vales, and why they needed a guard to keep off eavesdroppers.' Thou saidst, I
will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green
tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.' Jeremiah 2: 20; 3: 6. 'Ye shall'
utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess
served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under
every green tree.' Deuteronomy 12: 2. ' Enflaming yourselves with idols under
every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the
rocks. ... Even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.' Isaiah 57: 5-7.
They were not afraid of Ahab and Jezebel (2nd Kings 7:10; 1st Kings 14: 23),
and they grew and multiplied in their reigns, and in the reigns of all those
of whom it is recorded that 'they did that which was evil in the sight of the
Lord.' Some of the kings of Israel and Judah destroyed their high places for
them and were highly favored of God for so doing.
"Again, 'The precepts of
Jesus could not have been made obligatory upon a Jew. A Christian would have
denied the sanction of the Koran. A Mohammedan must have rejected the law of
Moses, and a disciple of Zoroaster would have turned from all, to the
teaching of his Zend Avesta. The universal law of nature, which the authors
of the old charges have properly called the moral, is therefore the only
law suited in every respect to be adopted as the Masonic code.'—Mackey's
Text-book, 'Masonic Jurisprudence.' If the statements just quoted do not
place the secret society of Masonry on a footing decidedly pagan, it is
difficult to say just where it does stand. Masons in opening and closing
their lodges still look to the east, where the sun rises. Ezekiel 8:16—'And
he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house, and, behold, at the
door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar were about
five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and
their faces toward the east; and they worshiped the sun toward the east.'
"Tammuz or Osiris of Egypt,
who is declared to be the original of Hiram Abiff, the temple-builder, is
still mourned for. Ezekiel 8:14. See Young's Analytical Concordance or any
standard Greek Mythology. Now see Pierson's 'Traditions of Free Masonry.'
'The Masonic legend stands by itself, unsupported by history, or other than
its own traditions. Yet we readily recognize in Hiram Abiff the Osiris of the
Egyptians, the Mithras of the Persians, the Bacchus of the Greeks [god of
drunkenness, or feasts and the like], the Dionysis of the fraternity of
artificers, and the Atys of the Phrygians, whose passions, deaths, and
resurrections were celebrated by these people respectively.' Thus is it
clearly shown that each one of these ancient nations had its counterfeit
savior and redeemer, and it is here proved by the words of Masonic Grand
Masters, authors, and authorities, that Masonry is of pagan origin.''
At the present time there are
several millions of devotees of this form of paganism in this western or New
World, and also many in the Old World. The spirit of old heathen Rome is
reviving everywhere, and to-day it is uniting Gog and Magog against the
saints "and the beloved city [pure church]." Verse 9. A careful
study of Ezekiel 38 and 39 will convince you that by the terms "Gog and
Magog" are meant the two forms of the great apostasy—popery and
Protestantism. It is an undeniable fact that the feelings between Catholics
and Protestants are becoming more friendly. It is no uncommon thing to-day
for a Catholic to approach Protestant people for means to erect houses of
worship, and receive the same. The present pope and bishops of Rome have frequently
expressed themselves in favor of a union of all Christians(?). Cardinal
Gibbons in several public addresses has expressed himself decidedly in favor
of such a union. This desire has not only been ex pressed by the bishops of
Rome, but by many Protestant divines. An article some time ago in The
Christian Advocate, a leading Methodist journal, strongly advocated a
union with the Roman Catholic sect. There is to-day an almost universal
cessation among the Protestants to protest against Catholicism. Hear the
words of Bishop R. S. Poster of the M. E. sect before the New York
conference, Nov. 9,1886: '' The popular idea is that the church of Rome is
antichrist. I do not agree with the popular belief. I regard that wonderful
institution as a grand Christian camp." Thus we could multiply proofs of
a union of all false religions, which is now well under headway, and must be
apparent to all.
The world's Parliament of
Religions at Chicago in 1893 marked an important epoch in this latest shift
infernal. The dragon, beast, and false prophet met in '' mutual confidence
and respect"; a "brotherhood" of religions. Theism, Judaism,
Mohammedanism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shintoism,
Zoroastrianism, Catholicism, the Greek church, and Protestantism in many
forms, were all represented; and the chief devotees of all these religions
met, as they said, "to unite all religions against all irreligion; to
make the golden rule the basis of this union; and to present to the
world substantial unity of many religions." We here insert a
few extracts from addresses made before the Parliament.
President Charles Carroll Bonney
in the opening address said: "Worshipers of God and lovers of men: Let
us rejoice that we have lived to see this glorious day; . . . that we are
permitted to take part in this solemn and majestic event of a World's
Congress of Religions. The importance of this event can not be overestimated.
Its influence on the future relations of the various races of men? can
not be too highly esteemed. If this congress shall faithfully execute its
duties with which it has been charged, it shall become the joy of the whole
earth, and stand in human history like a new mount Zion, crowned
with glory, and marking the actual beginning of a new epoch of
brotherhood and peace. For when the religious faiths of the world
recognize each other as brothers, children of one Father, whom all
profess to love and serve, then, and not till then, will the nations of the
earth yield to the spirit of concord and learn war no more. . . . We meet on
the mountain height of absolute respect for the religious convictions of each
other. . . . This day the sun of a new era of religious peace and progress rises
over the world, dispelling the dark cloud of sectarian strife. It is the
brotherhood of religions."
Chairman John Henry Barrows in his
address said: "We are here not as Baptists and Buddhists, Catholics and
Confucians, Parsees and Presbyterians, Methodists and Moslems ; we are here
as members of a Parliament of Religions, over which flies no sectarian flag,
... but where for the first time in a large council is lifted up the banner
of love, fellowship, brotherhood. ... Welcome, one and all, thrice welcome to
the world's first Parliament of Religions! Welcome to the men and women of
Israel, the standing miracle of nations and religions! Welcome to the
disciples of Prince Siddartha, the many millions who cherish their Lord
Buddha as the light of Asia! Welcome to the high priests of the national
religion of Japan! This city has every reason to be grateful to the
enlightened ruler of 'the Sunrise Kingdom.' Welcome to the men of India, and
all faiths! Welcome to all the disciples of Christ. ... It seems to me that
the spirits of just and good men hover over this assembly. I believe the
spirit of Paul is here. I believe the spirit of the wise and humane Buddha is
here, and of Socrates the searcher after truth. . . . When a few days
ago I met for the first time the delegates who have come to us from Japan,
and shortly after the delegates who have come to us from India, I felt that
the arms of human brotherhood had reached almost around the
globe."—"World's Parliament of Religions," Chapter III.
Since the World's Parliament of
Religions at Chicago in 1893 there have been a number of such gatherings. All
false religions are coming closer in union. I have observed that no matter
how much the sects were quarreling among themselves, whenever we went into
their midst with the whole gospel, and God's people were gathered out, they
all at once became friendly toward each other, and began to hold union
meetings in opposition to the truth. If they never can agree on anything
else, they are agreeing to oppose the present great reform. This great
conflict is now on. The devil is mustering his hosts—Pagan, Catholic, and all
Protestant sects, in one "grand brotherhood of
religions"—Gog and Magog. A careful reading of the texts bearing
upon this point, makes it clear that this confederation of antichrist
religions will become tyrannical, and wage a bitter persecution against the
true saints of God.
"And they went up on the
breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the
beloved city." Revelation 20:9. The camp of the saints, the beloved
city, is none other than the pure church of God, gathered out of all false
religions, in these last days. They are the very host which John saw on the
sea of glass mingled with fire; and they had victory over all false
religions. Revelation 15: 2, 3.
The hosts of hell, in order to
compass the camp of the saints, "went up on the breadth of the
earth." This signifies that God's saints will be scattered all over the
world, and this great opposition and persecution will be
universal. Brethren, be sure your consecrations are deep enough to
endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. I am certain there are
tests before us many have never dreamed of. But they that endure unto the end
shall be saved. He who went forth "conquering and to conquer" has
never lost a battle. He will lead us through this last great conflict more
than conquerors.' The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty
through God. Halleluiah! This great conflict with antichrist religions,
assisted by the kings of this earth, the rulers of governments, will wax
hotter and hotter, until finally as they prepare to destroy the church with
one bloody stroke of martyrdom, fire shall come down from heaven and devour
them. Revelation 20: 9.
This ushers in "the great day
of God Almighty"; namely, "And to you who are troubled rest with
us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not
the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting
destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all
them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that
day." 2nd Thessalonians 1: 7-10.
This will be a mighty and glorious
triumph for the church of God, which will then be caught up to meet the Lord
in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1st Thessalonians 4:17.
Then shall the dragon, beast, and false prophet be cast into the lake of fire
and brimstone, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Revelation 20:10; 19: 20.
 |
The
Abomination of Desolation.
In the first chapter of this work,
we showed how Antiochus Ephiphanes, the little horn of Daniel 8, set up the
abomination of desolation in Jerusalem. He cast down God's sanctuary,
took away the daily sacrifice, and placed the abomination that maketh
desolate. Daniel 11: 31; 8: 8-13. This "abomination of desolation"
which Antiochus set up, was the supplanting of the true worship of Jehovah by
heathen worship. They threw down God's altars, and erected idol altars
throughout all the cities of Juda. They compelled the Jews to sacrifice unto these idol gods. All who would not were put to death.
Even in the temple, they offered swine's flesh in sacrifice to their gods.
This was truly an abomination unto God and his people.
This great work accomplished under
the reign of this heathen king was a striking figure of the great work of the
apostasy. In the light of God, we identify the antitype with sect
organization and authority. It directly applies to Romanism, but as well
includes the babel of Protestantism, for both are substitutional of the
church that Christ purchased and built; are an insult to the divine founder,
an abomination to God.
Just as Antiochus supplanted the
worship of God by pagan worship, so all sects, from the mother—Rome—to the
latest Protestant harlot daughter, have more or less supplanted the true
worship of God, as celebrated by the primitive church, with a false worship,
a beast worship. They worship their sects, more than God. This is proved by
the fact that rather than obey God, and forsake the fallen structure, they
cling to their sects, close their ears to the voice of the Lord, and oppose
his truth. Surely, sectism is an abomination. This abomination was
to "make desolate.” We will here quote from Maccabees to show that
with the abomination of desolation set up in Jerusalem, stood associated the
defiled, desolate, and down-trodden condition of the sanctuary.
"Now the fifteenth day of the
month Casleu, in the hundred and forty and fifth year, they set up the
abomination of desolation upon the altar, and builded idol altars throughout
the cities of Juda on every side.'' 1st Maccabees 1:54.
''Her sanctuary was laid
waste like a wilderness. Yea, many also of the Israelites consented to his
[Antiochus'] religion, and sacrificed unto idols.'' 1st Maccabees 1: 39, 43.
"And pollute
the sanctuary and holy people: set up altars, and groves, and
chapels of idols, and sacrifice swine's flesh, and unclean beasts."
Verse 46, 47.
Maccabees further tells us that
they polluted the temple in Jerusalem, and called it the temple of Jupiter
Olympus. "For the temple was filled with riot and reveling by the
Gentiles, who dallied with harlots.'' 2nd Maccabees 6: 2-4.
What a striking figure of the
reign of antichrist.
"The people of thy holiness
have possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down
thy sanctuary.'' Isaiah 63:18. "Woe to her that is filthy and
polluted, to the oppressing city! She obeyed not the voice; she received not
correction; she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near to her God. Her
princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they
gnaw not the bones till the morrow. Her prophets are light and treacherous
persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done
violence to the law." Ephesians 3:1-4.
The little while here
referred to when God's people possessed holiness, was the early morning of
the Christian era. The adversaries came and trod down
the sanctuary of the Lord. These were the very false teachers that
Jesus said would come; light and treacherous priests (preachers) who polluted
the sanctuary. The result was, a "filthy and polluted city." How
was this all effected?
Turning to 2nd Peter 2:1-3, we
have the desolating institutions pointed out in clear New Testament prophecy
as follows: "But there were false prophets also among the people, even
as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in
damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon
themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by
reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through
covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose
judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth
not." 2nd Peter 2:1-3.
The words ''damnable heresies,''
are rendered in the German version vederbliche sekten—"destructive
sects." The word heresies is not a translated, but a transferred word.
The pure Greek is hairesis. It occurs ten times in the New
Testament, translated sect five times, heresy four times, and once (in Titus
3:10) heretic. The word sect in the New Testament is derived from no other
word. 2nd Peter 2:1 is translated by H. T. Anderson "ruinous
sects." "Parties of destruction."—Rotherham. Surely that which
destroys and ruins is properly denominated "the abomination that maketh
desolate."
Setting up these human
abominations and leading men into them, mixing the clean with the unclean,
making no distinction, has defiled and polluted the sanctuary—the
church. Having shown by the New Testament prediction that the desolating and
destroying element is sectism, let us appeal to history to see just what was
set up.
In D'Aubigne's History of the
Reformation, page 9, we read: ''The semblance of an identical exterior
organization was gradually substituted for that interior and spiritual
communion, which is the essence of the religion of God." "The
living church retiring gradually within the lonely sanctuary of a
few solitary hearts, an exterior church was substituted in its place."
God made his church "a praise
in the earth," or, as the apostle says, "To the praise of the glory
of his grace." But by the apostasy this daily sacrifice of praise was
taken away, and a dead, exterior, counterfeit church was substituted.
Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, treating on the third century, speaks of
"the formation of a religious hierarchy,'' and thus describes its
corrupt fruits: ''Many were sunk in luxury and voluptuousness, puffed up with
vanity, arrogance and ambition, possessed with a spirit of contention and
discord." Yea, "The effects of a corrupt ambition were spread through
every rank of the sacred order.''
All historians record this
corrupting innovation of a man organized substitute of God's church. But the
above citations we deem sufficient to identify the abomination that maketh
desolate. Satan infused a lust for power into the hearts of the bishops,
which led to human lordism and headism, the characteristics of all sectism.
Becoming apostate in spirit, they set up the apostate hierarchy, and so
constituted themselves an organic abomination which, in its multiplicity of
disorders, has cursed the cause of true religion down through the ages.
"And after threescore and two
weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the
prince that shall come shall destroy the city and
the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto
the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the
covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause
the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of
abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that
determined shall be poured upon the desolate.'' Daniel 9: 26, 27.
These mysteries are fully
explained in a former chapter. Here was foretold the awful destruction of Jerusalem
and the temple, by the Roman armies, which came to pass in A. D. 70. In
connection with that awful
destruction,'' abominations" and "desolations" were
predicted. Jesus applies this prophecy as follows:
"When ye therefore shall see
the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the
holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand) then let them which be in
Judea flee into the mountains: let him which is on the housetop not come down
to take anything out of his house: neither let him which is in the field
return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and
to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in
the winter, neither on the sabbath day: for then shall be great tribulation,
such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever
shall be." Matthew 24:15-21.
''And when ye shall see Jerusalem
compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then
let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in
the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter
there into. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are
written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them
that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land,
and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and
shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be
trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be
fulfilled." Luke 21: 20-24.
Jesus clearly associates the
abomination of desolation with the destruction of Jerusalem. He refers to
Daniel's prophecy. Daniel 9:26, 27. This we will fully explain as we proceed.
But we here want to draw some analogies.
"The temple and church of God
sustain the close relation of type and antitype. The former was once the
awful dwelling place of God. The latter is his chosen and everlasting
habitation. His presence and law ruled the former, and he 'worketh all things
in all' in the members of the latter. But the Roman army came and set up
their ensigns on the sacred ground of the temple, and that was the sign of a
foreign power which took command of the holy city, where only God should
reign. This standard, and the foreign power it represented, resembles, in
several features, the institution of sect government, a foreign and human
rule set up in the spiritual house of God, and, in fact, constitutes a type
of the same. As the Romans invaded the holy city and demanded subjection to
their scepter, so sect power usurps sway over the spiritual city and temple
of God, and demands loyalty to their creeds, even at the expense of loyalty
to God. So be it understood that man-created churchism is the real
abomination that maketh desolate, and the Roman standards were the same thing
in figure. The detestable thing was present in type at the destruction of
Jerusalem in A. D. 70, and was brought in, and set up in reality, in the
'greater and more perfect tabernacle which the Lord pitched,' in the form of
Romanism and Protestantism.
"Not only was the Roman
ensign that abomination, because a figure of usurped sect rule, but because
it bore images which were actually worshiped by the Romans. Accordingly we
read in Josephus, Book VI, of the Jewish wars, beginning with Chapter VI:
'And now the Romans, upon the flight of the seditious into the city, and upon
the burning of the holy house itself, and of all the buildings roundabout it,
brought the ensigns to the temple, and set them over against the east gate;
and there did they offer sacrifice to them, and there did they make Titus
imperator with the greatest acclamations of joy.' Thus also says Tertullian,
one of the early church Fathers: 'Almost the entire religion of the Roman
camp consisted in worshiping the ensigns, swearing by the ensigns, and
preferring the ensigns before all other gods.'—Tertullian's Apology, Chapter
XVI, page 162.
"Surely that idolatry was a
shocking abomination to the worshipers of the true God, who commands that we
should worship him only. And it being the banner of the very army that did
desolate the city and the holy temple, was indeed an abomination of
desolation, and a remarkable figure of the sect abomination that has brought
confusion and desolation into the spiritual temple of God. Sir Isaac Newton
in his commentary also says, 'The overspreading of abominations' was the
Roman ensign (eagle) brought to the east gate of the temple, and there
sacrificed to by the soldiers.
"This fatal siege of
Jerusalem was strikingly predicted in Deuteronomy 28: 49-53: ' The Lord shall
bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as
the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; a nation
of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew
favor to the young: and he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit
of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either
corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep,
until he have destroyed thee. And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates,
until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout
all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy
land, which the Lord thy God hath given thee. And thou shalt eat the fruit of
thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the Lord
thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straightness, wherewith
thine enemies shall distress thee.' 'As swift as the eagle,' refers to their
ensign.
''Let us now call attention to the
several points of analogy between those ensigns and the institution of
sectism.
"1. Jerusalem, and the
temple, where the abomination appeared in figure, were types of the church,
where the antitype appeared.
"2. When seen compassing
Jerusalem (compare Luke 21: 20, 21 with Matthew 24:15, 16, and Mark 13:14),
then, it was said by the Lord, 'know that the desolation thereof is nigh.'
And it truly did come. And just so where sectism has been set up among
spiritual disciples of Christ; strife and desolation have soon followed as a
result.
"3. The Romans worshiped
their ensigns, just so the sectarian world is 'mad on their idols.' They
worship their sect names and institutions more than they do God. This is a
present fact, seen by all whose eyes are open to behold things in the light
of God. And it is a fact that has been predicted in prophecy. One passage
(Habakkuk 1:13-16) we will cite:' The wicked devoureth the man that is more
righteous than he;' namely, formal zealots receive into their folds innocent
unwary converts. 14—'And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping
things, that have no ruler over them.' That is, they teach people that there
is no rule, order, or organization, without a sect, and without joining
one of these earth-born societies 'you have no one to watch over you, and
rule you,' which is virtually ' denying the Lord that bought them' as Head,
Leader, and Commander. 15—'They take up all of them with the angle, they
catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they
rejoice and are glad'—lure them into their own net, called by them 'Our
church.' 16—'Therefore [as the Romans did to their ensign] they sacrifice
unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag [i. e., worship their sect,
and sacrifice immortal souls for it]; because by them their portion is fat,
and their meat plenteous.' How true! By the sect machinery large salaries are
ground out of its people to support clerical prodigality and sloth, empty
preachers, who are a curse to their supporters.
"4. When the abomination was
seen about Jerusalem, that was the signal for the disciples of Christ to
depart out of the doomed city. So in these last days, the sin and confusion
of sectism being now manifest as a filthy and oppressing city, whose prophets
are light and treacherous persons, and whose priests have polluted
the sanctuary (Ephesians 3:14), and the Lord having already gone
out of her, we hear 'another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my
people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her
plagues; for her sins have reached to heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquity.' Revelation 18: 4,5.
"5. The desolating army was
brought upon the Jews as a judgment of God, because they crucified Christ,
the second person in the divine trinity. The Gentile sects have also filled
the cup of their iniquity by crucifying the Holy Spirit, in rejecting his
sanctifying power, and the plagues of the Almighty are upon them.
"6. As the Jews were cut off
from being the people of God, and scattered abroad, and reduced to
slavery, so the mass of sectarians are cut off, and dispersed from God, and
are oppressed under bondage to their arrogant lords, and to pride and the
lust of the flesh.
"So it is clearly seen that
there is a remarkable correspondence between the abomination that was hoisted
upon the holy ground of ancient Jerusalem, and that which was placed by men
as substitutes of the living God in the new Jerusalem; namely, the sect
system.
'' 'For the children of Judah have
done evil in my sight, saith the Lord: they have set their abominations in
the house which is called by my name, to pollute it. And they have built the
high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn
their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not,
neither came it into my heart.' Jeremiah 7: 30, 31. 'But they set their
abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it. And they
built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom,
to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech;
which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do
this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.' Jeremiah 32:34, 35.
''Molech was an ancient fire-god,
that had been worshiped by the heathen that dwelt in the land of Canaan, and
should have been exterminated out of the land. But Israel became guilty of
sacrificing to the same abominable idol. As the heathen had caused their
children to pass through the fire to Molech, so did the Jews. Of king Ahas it
is said, 'Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and
burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom
the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.' 2nd Chronicles 28:3.
''Thus saith God of that corrupted
people,' Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou
hast borne unto me, and these thou hast sacrificed unto them to be devoured.
Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter, that thou hast slain my children,
and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them?' Ezekiel
16:20,21. 'That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands,
and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also
caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire,
to devour them.' Ezekiel 23:37.
''This is a shocking picture. They
compelled their children to pass through the fire, and thus even 'slew' them
and 'devoured.' 'Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto
devils, and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their
daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was
polluted with blood.' Psalms 106:37, 38.
''This, we say, is a shocking
picture. But, believe me, dear reader, there is a spiritual counterpart to
that wickedness that is far more cruel and appalling in the sight of God.
Molech signifies 'rule' or 'dominion,' and the heathen Molech will only bear
a faint comparison with the soul-devouring Molech of sect rule and dominion,
through which the souls of the great mass of sect idolaters are destroyed and
sacrificed to the flames of everlasting perdition. Oh, what an innumerable
army of innocent children are being spiritually slaughtered and sacrificed to
the flames of hell, for the sake of the sect Molech, which these poor
helpless creatures are taught to love, rather than to love God, and to fear
and obey its lords, rather than to fear and obey God. When but a few days old
upon them is imposed the popish rite of sprinkling for baptism, and before
their young minds are capable of discriminating between truth and error, they
are forestalled with the poisonous contents of creeds which have come down
from the dark ages of ignorance and superstition, and which bar their souls
from God and salvation, and lead to idolatry and destruction. How awfully
true in a spiritual sense these words, 'Thou hast taken thy sons and thy
daughters whom thou hast borne unto me [labored to get them converted in
their revivals] and those hast thou sacrificed,' even sacrificed to devils,
and 'devoured.'
"When a party spirit, or
devotion to 'our church,' is infused into innocent children's hearts, what on
earth will more surely bind them with Satan's chain? The casting of infants
to crocodiles by Hindu parents; the burning of them by ancient heathen, and
corrupted Jews, or even the eating of them by cannibals, shocking as these
are, they are small things compared with the sacrifice of their innocent
souls by bringing them up in some iron-bound creed that worships a form, and
rejects God and Bible holiness. Alluding, indirectly, if not, indeed, directly,
to this soul-devouring Molech of the apostasy the prophet says: 'They set
their [their own institutions] abominations in the house [in place of the
church], which is called by my name, to defile it.' Jeremiah 32:34."
''And upon her forehead was a name
written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS
OF THE EARTH." Revelation 17: 5.
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The Cleansing of
the Sanctuary.
The work
of cleansing the literal sanctuary, which Antiochus had
denied, which was accomplished by Judas Maccabeus at the completion of the
2,300 days of Daniel 8: 14, was a perfect figure of the great work
of cleansing the spiritual sanctuary, or church, which is
now going on. Judas Maccabeus burned the heathen altars, set up the altars of
the Lord, and reinstated the true worship of Jehovah according to the ancient
custom. See 1st Maccabees 4: 36-55. So today with the fire of holiness and
truth; we burn the false religions of earth, and restore the true worship of
God as in days of yore—as it existed in apostolic times.
May God raise up many thousand
witnesses to go forth with the righteous indignation of Josiah, and the
thunderbolts of Heaven's truth, and take away the high places of pride and
idolatry, and abolish the abomination of sectism out of the hearts of the
people. Amen.
Having seen the manner in which
the sanctuary became defiled, we will now view its cleansing as
portrayed by the pen of inspiration.
"Husbands, love your wives,
even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might
sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that he might
present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any
such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." Ephesians
5:25-27.
Christ is to-day gathering his
church out of all the sect abominations back to Zion. They return on the
highway of holiness; viz., he sanctifies and cleanses them from all sin and
traditions, and thus prepares his church, so she may be presented to himself
"a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such
thing.'' A holy church without blemish. True holiness adorned the church in
primitive days. Her chief characteristics were purity and unity. These are
inseparable. The one can not exist independently of the other. Unity is the
natural result and fruit of heart purity. Had the church but retained this
glorious truth and experience, this globe to-day would be girdled with a belt
of light and salvation. But instead, an apostasy came. The light of truth was
soon extinguished by dark clouds of superstition and false doctrines which
arose. Holiness is really the mainspring of all gospel truth. It is a golden
thread which runs through the entire New Testament. To retrograde from it
would be to throw open the doors to every species of false doctrine and
error.
It was in this manner that the way
was paved for the great apostasy. At a very early date true holiness was lost
sight of, and was hid from the general masses of the people. Had it ever been
retained by the church, there would never have been an apostasy. Mark you! By
retrograding from true holiness the church went into apostasy, and was
defiled. By returning to the true standard of holiness the church is brought
out of the apostasy, and cleansed. The fire of holiness and truth cleanses
the sanctuary, and restores a pure church. The result is, "The
sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who
among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with
everlasting burnings? He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he
that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding
of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his
eyes from seeing evil; he shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be
the munitions of rocks; bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.''
Isaiah 33:14-16.
As the judgments of truth are
executed, and the fire of holiness accompanies the same, sinners and
hypocrites are surprised and made afraid to profess among us. None can dwell
in this devouring fire, these burnings, only those who walk righteously and
measure to the standard mentioned.
''Therefore the ungodly shall not
stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the
righteous." Psalms 1: 5. "But who may abide the day of his coming?
and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and
like fuller's soap: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and
he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that
they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the
offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of
old, and as in former years. And I will come near to you to judgment; and I
will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers,
and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in
his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from
his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts. For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons
of Jacob are not consumed." Malachi 3: 2-6. "And they shall be
mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I
will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye
return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that
serveth God and him that serveth him not." Verse 17, 18.
While Malachi 3:2, 3 was fulfilled
when Christ came in his personal advent to this world, yet the same work he
then effected, he is now effecting in this evening time; viz., purifying unto
himself a holy church. These scriptures beautifully portray the present
holiness work. Christ sits, a refining fire. He sits upon "the throne of
his holiness." His throne is "like a fiery
flame, and his wheels as burning fire." This throne of grace and
holiness is "within us." Thus he suddenly comes to his temple, i.
e., "Ye are the temple of the living God: as God hath said, I will dwell
in them.'' He purges and purifies his sanctuary, church; even as gold
and silver our hearts are purified by faith. The result of
this cleansing is realized by the people of God offering unto the Lord
"an offering in righteousness." Such offerings are "pleasant
unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years [apostolic
times]."
Glory to God! we have reached its
fulfillment. The glorious Lord, the King of heaven, whom the universe can not
contain, whose glory fills all heaven, has condescended to dwell in this
heart of mine. He has become the lily of the valley, the rose of Sharon, the
fairest among ten thousand. Blessed be his name forever! Since he is dwelling
in his sanctuary, thus cleansed, he executes judgment against all sin
and corrupt religions, and is a swift witness against men who would dare to
profess among us and be guilty of the things enumerated in verse 5. Thus
sinners can not stand in the congregation of the righteous. As we return to
the apostolic plane, we are enabled to ''discern between the righteous and
the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not."
Thus "the righteous are taken from among the vile"—a pure church is
gathered and cleansed; and of them he says: ''They shall be mine, when I make
up my jewels."
We cooperate with Christ in this
great work. What his Word accepts we accept; what it rejects we reject. Thus
the rebels are purged out from among us.
"And it shall come to pass,
that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and
die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part
through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try
them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I
will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God."
Zechariah 13: 8, 9.
That which cuts off two parts in
all the land is the judgments written. God's ministers lay "judgment to
the line, and righteousness to the plummet." The whole truth which they
preach is "sharper than a two-edged sword," and cuts off all who
will not obey. The third part left is the remnant who walk in the light and
obey the whole truth. These are refined by the fire.
We will now turn to Daniel 12. In
verse 6 the question is asked, "How long shall it be to the end of these
wonders?" From what follows we conclude that the wonders spoken of refer
to the great apostasy already considered.
"And I heard the man clothed
in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right
hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth forever that
it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have
accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall
be finished. And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what
shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the
words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be
purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and
none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand."
Verse 7-10. The ''time, times, and a half,'' equal 1,260 years, and cover the
time of the reign of popery. It is also seen that the apostasy did not end
with the conclusion of the papal age; for following the "time, times,
and a half" comes a scattering of the holy people, an age of dispersion.
This has been fulfilled during the reign of Protestantism.
Now comes the question, ''What
shall be the end of these things ?"(Verse 8); viz., the end of the
entire reign of the apostasy, the end of the dispersion, or scattering? Hear
the answer: "Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried."
"Many must be tested, [chosen out—Greek] and thoroughly whitened, and
tried with fire, and sanctified."— Septuagint, Verse 10. Here we see
that at the end of the apostasy there was to be a great holiness reformation.
This is the very work that is now cleansing and purifying
the sanctuary, or church. This same cleansing and
redeeming of the church is seen in the first chapter of Isaiah. We will give
it as rendered in the LXX.
"How has the faithful city
Sion, once full of judgment, become a harlot! wherein righteousness lodged,
but now murderers. Your silver is worthless, thy wine-merchants mix the wine
with water. Thy princes are rebellious, companions of thieves, loving bribes,
seeking after rewards; not pleading for orphans, and not heeding the cause of
widows. Therefore thus saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts, Woe to the mighty
men of Israel; for my wrath shall not cease against mine adversaries, and I
will execute judgment on mine enemies. And I will bring my hand upon thee,
and purge thee completely, and I will destroy the rebellious, and will take
away from thee all transgressors. And I will establish thy judges as before,
and thy counsellors as at the beginning: and afterward thou shalt be called
the city of righteousness, the faithful mother-city Sion. For her captives shall be
saved with judgment, and with mercy." Isaiah 1: 21-27.
The faithful city Sion, once full
of judgment, wherein righteousness lodged, refers to the pure church of God
in her pristine glory. ''She became a harlot.'' This refers to her
apostatized condition. "Her merchants" refers to her ministers. It
is said that "they mix the wine with water"; that is, they weaken
it and do not deal it out in its full strength. "The wine"
signifies the gospel truth.
Oh, how truly is this fulfilled in
Babylon! The pure unadulterated truth is not heard there. Their ministers
fear to preach it. They weaken it to suit their own theories, and the crooked
lives of their members. They "seek after rewards"—preach for the
people's money, rather than their souls—a hireling ministry. But, thank God,
this was not always to continue. God declares that he will execute judgment
upon all such. ''And I will bring my hand upon thee [viz., his people, his
church] and purge thee completely, and I will destroy the rebellious, and
will take away from thee all transgressors."
Here is the cleansing of
the sanctuary, now going on, which restores a pure church.
"And I will establish thy judges as before;" viz., establish his
people and ministry in holiness (1st Thessalonians 3:13), where they shall be
full of judgment by 'the Spirit of the Lord, to declare unto Jacob his
transgressions, and unto Israel his sin. Micah 3:8. "And thy counsellors
as at the beginning [apostolic days]." "Zion shall be redeemed with
judgment and her converts with righteousness." "And afterwards thou
shalt be called the city of righteousness, the faithful mother-city
Sion." This represents the glory of the church after being purified and
cleansed in this evening time.
This same truth is brought out in
other texts. We will here give Isaiah 4:3-5: "And it shall come to pass,
that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be
called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:
when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall
have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit
of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. And the Lord will create upon
every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming
fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defense."
Zion and Jerusalem are metaphors,
which signify the church. Here it is seen that after she is purged by the
spirit of judgment and burning, the Word and Spirit, all that remain shall be
called holy, and "upon all the glory shall be a defense"; viz.,
"The glory that thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be one
as we are." Thank God for a redeemed church. This line of truth could be
much drawn out, but we deem the foregoing sufficient.
The house of God in this
dispensation "is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of
the truth." 1st Timothy 3:15. It is his temple. But the apostasy crushed
it down under human authority and rule, and a great pile of sectarian rubbish
covered it over for centuries from the clear view of the people; but in these
last days, with the flaming torch of truth, this great pile of human rubbish
is being consumed, and the house of God, which was so crushed and scattered
during the apostasy, is being built up and cleansed by the burning Spirit of
God with the blood of Christ, and thus restored to its primitive glory and
power. The glorious truth of the whole gospel of Christ is again shining
forth in all its brilliancy and beauty. The clouds and mists of confusion are
passing away, and the clear rays of the Sun of righteousness are again being
shed forth in these last days.
This was prophesied in Zechariah
14: 6, 7. We will give it as rendered in the LXX: "And it shall come to
pass in that day [gospel day] that there shall be no light [the dark day of
Romanism], and there shall be for one day cold and frost, and that day
shall be known to the Lord, and it shall not be day nor night [the cloudy day
of Protestantism, Ezekiel 34:12, a time of mixture of truth and error, light
and darkness], but towards evening it shall be light."
Thank God! we have reached that
time. The sun of time is fast sinking in the western horizon, and the last
gleams of the light of God are now shining forth. We are in the evening time.
The sanctuary, or church, is now being cleansed. The elect are
being gathered. Thus the bride is being prepared for the bridegroom.
"And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean
and white, for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.''
This is the special sign of
Christ's coming. "When ye shall see these things come to pass, know that
it is near, even at the door."
"Violence shall no more be
heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt
call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. The sun shall be no more thy
light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but
the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy
sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the
Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mournings shall be
ended. Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land
forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be
glorified. A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong
nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his time." Isaiah 60:18-22.
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The
Daily Sacrifice.
Identical with the setting up of
the abomination of desolation, the polluting of
the sanctuary stands associated with the taking "away of the
daily sacrifice." Daniel 8:11-13; 11: 31; 12:11. This daily sacrifice
was a "continual burnt offering," offered "day by day
continually."
"Now this is that which thou
shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day
continually. The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb
thou shalt offer at even: and with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled
with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin
of wine for a drink offering. And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even,
and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and
according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savor, an offering made
by fire unto the Lord. This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout
your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the
Lord: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee. And there I will meet with
the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my
glory." Exodus 29:38-43.
"And thou shalt say unto
them, This is the offering made by fire which ye shall offer unto the Lord;
two lambs of the first year without spot day by day, for a continual burnt
offering. The one lamb shalt thou offer in the morning, and the other lamb
shalt thou offer at even; and a tenth part of an ephah of flour for a meat
offering, mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil. It
is a continual burnt offering, which was ordained in mount Sinai for a sweet
savor, a sacrifice made by fire unto the Lord. And the drink offering
thereof shall be the fourth part of an hin for the one lamb: in the holy
place shalt thou cause the strong wine to be poured unto the Lord for a drink
offering. And the other lamb shalt thou offer at even: as the meat offering
of the morning, and as the drink offering thereof, thou shalt offer it, a
sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord." Numbers 28: 3-8.
This sets forth the daily
sacrifice. As before observed, when king Antiochus went to Jerusalem and set
up the abomination there, and polluted the sanctuary, he took away
this daily sacrifice, and placed a sin offering instead. All this was typical.
The daily sacrifice of the legal dispensation was typical of something in the
gospel. That was a continual sacrifice. Where will we find its
antitype? The apostle answers: "By him therefore let us offer
the sacrifices of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of
our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget
not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." Hebrews 13:15,16.
In this dispensation salvation
saves people from all sin and they are enabled to render to the Lord "an
offering in righteousness." Instead of the "first-fruits of their
increase," they now render "the fruit of their lips, giving thanks
to his name." The legal daily sacrifice was "made by fire unto the
Lord"; and now by the fire of the Holy Spirit we offer up a continual
sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. "Every sacrifice shall be salted
with fire," said Jesus. Those legal sacrifices were in their time a
sweet savor unto the Lord. And now, by a daily holy walk and righteous life,
by doing good, by offering up continual praise and thanksgiving from pure
hearts, we render acceptable service,'' well-pleasing unto the Lord.''
The legal sacrifices were offered
by the priests. By washing us in his blood, Christ "hath made us
kings and priests unto God.'' Revelation 1: 5, 6. Thus the
whole church of God is built up "a spiritual house, an holy
priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus
Christ." 1st Peter 2:5.
"But ye are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye
should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness
into his marvelous light.'' 1st Peter 2:9. "Take with you words, and
turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously:
so will we render the calves of our lips." Hosea 14:2. For from the
rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great
among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name,
and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts." Malachi 1:11. "I
beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your
reasonable service." Romans 12:1. "But I have all, and abound: I am
full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an
odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God."
Philippians 4:18.
All these texts set forth the
daily sacrifices to be offered unto the Lord in this dispensation. Sprinkled
all through the Psalms are to be found prophecies which sparkle with present
truth. "O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy
praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou
delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.
. . . Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness."
Psalms 51:15-19. David here prophesied of the grace that has come to us. A time
when burnt offerings are no more acceptable; but instead, we offer sacrifices
of righteousness; we show forth his praise.
"And my tongue shall speak of
thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long." Psalms 35: 28.
"I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in
my mouth." Psalms 34:1. "Giving thanks always for
all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ." Ephesians 5:20. "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing.
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus
concerning you.'' 1st Thessalonians 5:16-18.
The early church offered unto God
a daily sacrifice of praise. "And they worshiped him, and returned to
Jerusalem with great joy: and were continually in the temple, praising and
blessing God. Amen." Luke 24: 52, 53. "And they continuing daily
with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did
eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart. Praising God, and
having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such
as should be saved." Acts 2: 46, 47.
This daily sacrifice of praise by
the fire of the Holy Spirit was taken away by the apostasy and supplanted by
a sin offering: and as a result "righteousness was cast down."
People have been educated that they can not be delivered from sin—that they
must sin more or less all the days of their life; and the result is they have
been living far below the standard of righteousness; sinning and repenting
day after day with no sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to offer unto the
Lord. Thank God! this daily sacrifice is restored to us with the
cleansed sanctuary in the evening light. Halleluiah!
|
The
Book Sealed with Seven Seals.
"And I saw in the right hand
of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside,
sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud
voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no
man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the
book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found
worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon."
Revelation 5:1-4.
This book in the hand of God
Almighty was one of the symbols which John saw. It represented something that
was a mystery. It was written within and without. That is, it contained
solemn contents within: and on the backside was a superscription, indicating
its contents. It was a labeled book, or one written on each side, which was
unusual. But it was sealed; viz., the matter of the book was so obscure, and
the work it enjoined, and the facts it predicted, were so difficult and
stupendous, that they could neither be known nor performed by human wisdom or
power. This book contained such a deep mystery that "no man in heaven
[the angels of God], nor in earth [no human being], neither under the earth
[no disembodied spirit, or demon], could open it, or even look upon it."
It was something in God's hand, a mystery hid with him.
''And one of the elders saith unto
me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath
prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I
beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in
the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God
sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right
hand of him that sat upon the throne." Verse 5-7.
Christ, the Root of David, the
Lion of Juda, the Lamb of God, took this book, this mystery, out of the
Father's hand, and unlocked it to the world; he opened the book and loosed
the seals thereof.
Now since he has opened the book,
unlocked the mystery, we will look upon it, and read its contents. Jesus
said, "Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of
God." This mystery was hid in the mind of God from the foundation of the
world; hid from the people for ages. It was a great mystery.
"And without controversy
great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified
in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the
world, received up into glory.'' 1st Timothy 3:16. "Whereof I am made a
minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you,
to fulfill the word of God; even the mystery which hath been hid from ages
and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: to whom God
would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the
Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians
1:25-27. "Who hath saved us, and called us with an 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, but is now made manifest by
the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath
brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.'' 2nd Tim. 1: 9,10.
"Now to him that is of power
to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the
world began, but now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets,
according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all
nations for the obedience of faith." Romans 16: 25, 26. "Unto me,
who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should
preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all
men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of
the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to
the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places
might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the
eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: in whom we have
boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.'' Ephesians 3:8-12.
"Whereby, when ye read, ye
may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, which in other ages was
not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy
apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow
heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the
gospel." Ephesians 3: 4-6. "Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in
heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him
in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise
of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of his grace; wherein he hath abounded toward
us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery of
his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in
one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth;
even in him." Ephesians 1: 3-10.
We have here quoted at some length
to show to the reader what this book of mystery represented. It represented
the plan of salvation and redemption. Away back at the foundation of the
world, just as soon as man fell into sin, God schemed a way of escape, a way
of salvation, a plan to redeem the world back to himself. This was a hidden
mystery in his own mind, "kept secret since the world
began"—"hid in God." It was his "eternal purpose which he
purposed in Christ Jesus."
Ages before that hidden mystery
was made known to us by Jesus Christ, it cast its love-betoken shadow upon
earth. The law, its tabernacle, sacrifices, and services, were but shadows of
good things to come, then hid in the infinite wisdom and counsel of God,
"which things the angels desired to look into.'' 1st Peter 1:12. No man
in heaven could look upon that sealed book. No man in the earth could look
upon it. They grasped its shadow, and "enquired and searched
diligently." The Spirit of Christ which was in them prophesied of the
grace that should come (1st Peter 1: 10, 11); but in those "ages it was
not made known unto the sons of men"; but "was hid from generations
and ages," yea, "kept secret since the world began."
After long ages had passed away,
"when the fullness of time had come,'' the Lion of the tribe of Juda,
Jesus Christ, opened the book, unloosed the seals, and revealed the mystery.
"It is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior."
"Having made known unto us the mystery.'' Halleluiah! What is this mystery?
"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this
mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."
Colossians 1:27. "Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons
of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the
Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and
partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel.'' Ephesians 3: 5, 6. "
Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good
pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: that in the dispensation of the
fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both
which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him." Ephesians 1:
9,10.
The blood of animals, being
inferior to the blood of finite man was too weak to redeem him. Man himself
could not redeem himself: angels in heaven could not effect this. God gave
his only Son. Being both God and man—the Son of God and the Son of man—he
could make an atonement that would meet the demands of justice, and
redeem the human family. There are some things connected with this great work
that our finite minds will never be able to fathom until we see him face to
face. But in fulfillment of his eternal purpose "the Lamb of God"
prevailed to open the book, or plan of salvation to mankind. He was a Lamb
slain. By the means of his death, the penalty was paid. He tasted death for
every man. His blood was shed for all. Not only for the Jews, but also for
the Gentiles. All nations now have access to God by means of his death.
Immediately after the plan of
redemption was opened to mankind, we hear the blood-washed throng celebrating the
praises of God with "a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the
book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast
redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people,
and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests:
and we shall reign on the earth.'' Revelation 5: 9,10.
Next are brought to view the
multitudes who were redeemed to God through the blood of Christ. "And
the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of
thousands." Verse 11. "Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb
that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and
honor, and glory, and blessing.'' Verse 12.
The book represents the plan of
redemption, while the seven seals cover the time of its accomplishment, from
the incarnation of Christ, to the end of his redemption reign. Each seal
brings us to a new epoch through which the church was to pass.
"And I saw when the Lamb
opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of
the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse:
and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went
forth conquering, and to conquer.'' Revelation 6:1, 2. This represents the
triumphs of the kingdom of God in the early days of Christianity. "White
horse" denotes its purity. The rider represents Christ, the king of
heaven, riding forth through his pure ministry and people, conquering the
nations of the earth, ''leading captivity captive.'' A bow in his hand
represents him as a warrior; and such he is declared to be. ''In righteousness
he doth judge and make war." Revelation 19:11. A crown was given unto
him. This proves that he is now king. Yes, "King of kings, and Lord of
lords."
"And when he had opened the
second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out
another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to
take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there
was given unto him a great sword.'' Revelation 6: 3, 4. This represents the
pagan persecutions. The first great conflict was between the white horse and
his rider, and the red horse and his rider—between Christianity and paganism.
The color red denotes the blood-thirstiness of heathen Rome. "A great
sword" denotes the awful slaughter of Christians at the hands of the
pagans.
"And when he had opened the
third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a
black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I
heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a
penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the
oil and the wine.'' Revelation 6:5,6. This represents the great
apostasy—popery, "Black horse" signifies sin darkness,
superstition, false doctrine, etc. What a contrast between this and the white
horse under the first seal, which represented primitive Christianity. "A
pair of balances," "a measure of wheat for a
penny," etc., signifies famine. Such a famine existed during the
apostasy. Thus saith the prophet, "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord
God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a
thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: and they shall wander
from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and
fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it. In that day shall
the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst." Amos 8: 11-13.
"And when he had opened the
fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I
looked, and behold a pale horse; and his name that sat on him was Death,
and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth
part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and
with the beasts of the earth.'' Revelation 6:7, 8. This refers to the papal
persecutions. Death and hell (Hades) followed in its trail. Hades
(the world of spirits) was well fed during the dark reign of popery. The
above description was fulfilled to the letter. The papists slaughtered the
Christians "with the sword, and with hunger, and with death [pestilence]
and with the beasts of the earth." Some historians placed the figures at
about fifty millions.
''And when he had opened the fifth
seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of
God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a loud voice,
saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our
blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every
one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a
little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that
should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled." Revelation 6:9-11.
Under the fifth seal we reach the
sixteenth century reformation. New light breaks forth in the earth. Under
this seal the souls of all those who had been slain under the second and
fourth seals are brought to view. John saw them ''under the altar.'' Upon the
altar would signify active service and labor: but under the altar signifies
that their labor was done. They were disembodied spirits, whose bodies had
been slain upon earth. They were not upon earth, for they cried out how long
until their blood would be avenged on them that dwell upon the earth. Their
prayer and patience upon earth had been that the same power that had
slain them with the sword, would some day be slain with the sword, Revelation
13:10. And it seems they were anxious to know when this would be fulfilled. The
answer was that they should rest yet "for a little season, until their
fellow servants and brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be
fulfilled." And sure enough it came.
Immediately after the reformation,
there came a second period of awful martyrdom. There were thirty years of
bloody war in Germany, during which time Protestant blood was freely shed. In
Magdeburg, Germany, history tells us that Protestant blood ran along the
streets like, water after a dashing rain storm. But finally the Protestants
conquered. The sword was turned against the papal beast, and his power
broken. The great slaughter of Christians following the reformation, was the
''rest of the brethren that were killed.'' Their blood was avenged when the
temporal powers which had supported popery turned Protestant and sheared the
beast of its dominion and power.
It is said concerning those souls
who had been martyred during the dark ages that'' white robes were given to
every one of them." Beloved, here is the solution of the matter. During
the dark ages, the thousands who were slain were looked upon and regarded as
rank heretics. But the reformation brought to light the fact that those who
had been martyred as heretics were the true people of God. Thus, white robes
(righteousness) were ascribed to those, who had been for centuries looked
upon as the darkest heretics of their time.
"And I beheld when he had
opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun
became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the
stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely
figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a
scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out
of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich
men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every
freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and
said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him
that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day
of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" Revelation
6:12-17.
That which is here described has
been thought by some to refer to the final judgment. But it should be
remembered that this seal which ushered in these events is not the last, but
the sixth seal. Reader, we are now living under the sixth seal. The next will
usher in the judgment. The symbols above described have a present
fulfillment. This seal ushers in the last great reformation, the present
holiness work. At the opening of this seal "there was a great
earthquake." This signifies a shaking time, a great commotion and
upheaval in the spiritual world. Just such a state of things has been going
on for over twenty years.
(Editor’s Note)
Brother Riggle did not have
present (2010) light on the 7th seal because it was not time to be revealed.
We are now in the 7th seal. JW
But identical with this great
earthquake, the sun became black, and the moon became as blood: and the stars
of heaven fell unto the earth, etc. Adventists try to apply this in literal
fulfillment. But what John saw was only symbols of something that would reach
a fulfillment upon earth. This darkening of the sun, no doubt, refers to
awful darkness which should come upon the people. While the present revival
of the whole truth is a blessed "evening light" to the church; and
dispels all the fogs and mists of superstitious night, yet, to millions who
reject the truth, it is bringing upon them an awful state of darkness and
death. Such is the present state of the world. Light rates the sinfulness
of sin. The brighter the light shines the greater will be the people's
sin. Since the light is now shining in all its brilliancy and purity, and the
masses of this Gentile world are rejecting it, they are plunged in the
blackness of night. The true light shines, but they comprehend it not. Dark
clouds hide it from their view. Oh, the darkness that is now settling down
over this Gentile world! It is appalling to behold it. Just as blindness
happened to Israel, because they rejected the light, so it is now falling
upon the Gentiles for the same reason. While the Sun of righteousness is
being hid from the masses, and awful night is settling upon them, a gleaned
remnant from the great harvest field, God's people who walk in the light, are
enabled to rise above the darkness, and as the clouds roll along at their
feet, they bask in everlasting light.
"The moon into blood"
may possibly signify bloody persecutions before the end. It may also signify
war among the nations. "The stars falling," is fulfilled in the
thousands who were bright lights when the present truth was ushered in upon
them: but rather than get saved from all sin and sectism, and abide in Christ
alone, they reject the truth and fall into darkness. God's people are
compared in Scripture to ''stars," " lights that shine,'' etc. Daniel 12: 3; Philippians 2:15. This work which separates
a pure church from fallen Babylon, found thousands who seemingly were living
to all the light received. They were lights in the world. But they were not
willing to separate from sectism and stand in the body of Christ alone. The
result was, God had to "sacrifice" them, in order to get
a holy church to himself in the world. They fell from the heavenly plane, and
darkness came upon them.
Joel prophesied of this same work
as follows: "Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get
you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is
great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the
Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be
darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord also shall
roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the
earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the
strength of the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am the Lord your
God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and
there shall no strangers pass through her any more." Joel 3:13-17.
The harvest is ripe to judgment.
The wickedness of the people is great in the earth. The sickle of truth is
now being thrust in to gather out the pure wheat. The tares of Babylon are
being bound in bundles to burn. As the mighty judgments of truth are being
executed against all sin and false religion, and the Lord is roaring out of
Zion, his church, "the heavens [ecclesiastical] and earth are made to
shake." This is the great earthquake. A mighty commotion is going on.
Jesus says that right before the coming of the Son of man "the powers of
the heavens shall be shaken." Matthew 24: 29, 30. Heavens in these texts denote the spiritual ecclesiastical world.
Such a shaking is now realized. The result is "multitudes are being
brought into the valley of decision." They must decide either for or
against "present truth." A holy church is separated, "and
there shall no strangers [sinners] pass through her any more." The Lord
is their "hope" and "strength."
But right in connection with all
this the prophet adds, "The sun and moon shall be darkened, and the
stars shall withdraw their shining." This refers to those who in the valley
of decision take sides against the truth. Blackness and darkness comes
upon them. Hear the solemn warning: '' The day of the Lord is near.''
"Oh,
what myriad souls are sleeping,
Soon
to wake 'mid judgment fires.
Help,
O God, thy remnant gleaning,
Until
time indeed expires."
The heavens departing as a scroll,
and the mountains being moved, is the result of the earthquake. It signifies
a mighty upheaval in the spiritual world. Christ again sits upon the throne
of his holiness, and reigns in the hearts of his people. His fury and wrath
are being poured upon the nations. His awful judgments are being executed.
The same work as described under the sixth seal is referred to in Isaiah 34,
and almost the same words are employed.
"For the indignation of the
Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly
destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also
shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcasses, and
the mountains shall be melted with their blood. And all the host of heaven
shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and
all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as
a falling fig from the fig-tree. For my sword shall be bathed in heaven:
behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to
judgment. The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is made fat with
fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of
rams: for the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the
land of Idumea. And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks
with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood and their dust made
fat with fatness. For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of
recompenses for the controversy of Zion." Isaiah 34:2-8.
It is a time when the Lord is
redeeming Zion, and is easing himself of his adversaries, and avenging
himself upon his enemies. This prophecy was fully considered in a former
chapter. It has a present fulfillment. The result of the "great
wrath" of God against all sin and false religion is, that the people try
to hide themselves "in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains."
And they cry to the rocks and mountains to fall (more correctly rendered,
"cover us") upon them, and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb.
While there will be a similar scene at the final day of judgment, yet this
expresses the effects of the present wrath and judgment of God upon the
nations.
In Scripture the church of God is
termed a mountain, "the mountain of the Lord's house"
(Isaiah 2:2, 3); "mount Zion.'' Hebrews 12: 22, 23. So the apostate
churches are frequently referred to as mountains and hills. We will
give a few examples. "Son of man prophesy against the shepherds of
Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the
shepherds: Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should
not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the
wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have
ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have
ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was
driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and
with cruelty have ye ruled them. And they were scattered, because there is no
shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were
scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high
hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none
did search or seek after them." Ezekiel 34:2-6. "My people hath
been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they
have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill,
they have forgotten their resting place." Jeremiah 50:6. "Truly in
vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of
mountains: truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel."
Genesis 3: 23.
These texts were fulfilled in the
scattered condition of God's people in sectism during the greater part of the
Christian era. Mountains and hills refer to the many sectarian institutions
in which they were scattered.
''Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and
ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the
Holy One of Israel. Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument
having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt
make the hills as chaff. Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them
away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the
Lord, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel." Isaiah 41: 14-16. God
is making a sharp threshing instrument out of Jacob or Israel—the church—and
they are threshing the mountains and hills of Babylon. The object of this
threshing is to get the wheat out. Thus Zion is being filled with "the
finest of the wheat." Psalms 147:12-14, While this work is going on the
great men, the chief men, yea, all defenders of sect religion are trying to
hide themselves in the "dens" of deception found in the mountains
of Babylon. They call upon their fallen institutions to "cover them"
from the wrath of the Lamb.
"And the loftiness of man
shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the
Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols he shall utterly
abolish. And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of
the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he
ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that day a man shall
cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for
himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; to go into the clefts of
the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and
for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.''
Isaiah 2:17-21.
"Behold, I will send for many
fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for
many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every
hill, and out of the holes of the rocks." Jeremiah 16:16. The fishers
and hunters are God's holy ministers.
"The
fury of God has come up in his face,
He
riseth with power to deliver his saints;
His
angels are flying to gather them home,
A
positive sign that the Lord's near to come."
The foregoing is the spiritual
application of that which is now transpiring under the sixth seal. But as
already observed, a similar scene will take place at the judgment. To do
justice to the reader, I will dwell a moment upon that. "Immediately
after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon
shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the
powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the
Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and
they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and
great glory." Matthew 24: 29, 30. "And there shall be signs in the
sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of
nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing
them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the
earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the
Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these
things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your
redemption draweth nigh." Luke 21: 25-28.
The next great event after
"that great tribulation"— the destruction of Jerusalem—would be the
coming of the Son of man. And the dissolution of the heavenly bodies— sun,
moon, and stars—stands identical with his coming. For when the sun is
darkened, and the moon no more gives her light, and all the stars
fall, "then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds
of heaven with power and great glory." Luke quotes Christ's language,
and applies it directly to the heavenly planets, in contradistinction to this
earth. He speaks of the same recorded by Matthew. When Christ comes, what
need will there be for the sun, moon, and stars? This earth will be burned
up, and the above texts, with many others, prove, that the sun, moon, and
stars will also pass away when Jesus comes.
"And, thou, Lord, in the
beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the
works of thine hands: they shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all
shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up,
and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not
fail.'' Hebrews 1:10-12.
This brings us to consider the
seventh seal. "And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was
silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.'' Revelation 8:1. This
seal is the last. With the opening of this seal we reach the end of the
redemption reign of Christ. It ushers in the judgment. Christ now sits upon a
mediatorial throne at the right hand of God, interceding for this lost world.
''Account that the long-suffering of God is salvation."
From his throne in heaven he
executes through the Holy Spirit the perfect salvation which he
purchased upon the cross. But the time is drawing near when he will leave
that throne of grace for the judgment-seat. He will then descend to earth
seated upon his throne of glory. The world will be left without an advocate,
without a Savior, or further opportunity of salvation. God himself will come
down in awful wrath. All the dead will be raised, the judgment will sit, and
the wicked will be sentenced to everlasting punishment, while the righteous
will be caught up to meet the Lord and be ever with him.
|
The
Eternal Home of the Church.
The church of God is from above.
It is the holy Jerusalem which ''came down from God out of heaven.'' Ages
before it appeared upon earth, it was prepared in the plan of God, and hid in
his infinite wisdom and knowledge. It cast its shadow upon earth in the form
of the Jewish sanctuary. As there must be a substance to produce a
shadow, the church already existed. But when the fullness of time came, it
came down to earth. Its builder, head, door, foundation, and governor came
from heaven. Its law, the truth, ''came by Jesus Christ.'' Its garments
of salvation are from God. Its members are all born "from above."
It is animated with "the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven." The conversation of all its
members "is in heaven.'' Their names "are written in heaven."
Their affections are "fixed on things above, not on things on the
earth." This is the heavenly Jerusalem. Being a spiritual,
divine, and heavenly church, denominated the kingdom of heaven, its
affinities and attractions are all heavenward. "Set your affections on
things above, not on things on the earth.''
The mind and heart of the
Christian is naturally reaching out into the eternal world. Earth loses its
attraction. Its jewels and diamonds, its silver and gold, lose their luster
and brilliancy, as the Christian, with an eye of faith sees his riches in
heaven. He beholds the sparkling diamonds, the unsearchable riches of Christ
that await him over there. As he presses forward toward the joy set before
him, earth's attractions fade away. None but the earthly minded desire to
remain here. None but those who are void of spiritual life, desire to make
this their eternal home. Man is born for a higher destiny than that of earth.
There is a realm where the rainbow never fades; where the stars will be
spread out before us like islands that slumber upon the ocean; and where the
beautiful beings which here pass before us like visions, will stay in our
presence forever.
The patriarchs and saints of old
"confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.'' Hebrews
11:13. They understood that this was not their final destiny, their final
abode. David, who reigned over Israel, who inherited the promised land, says,
"I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were."
Psalms 39:12. A stranger in the earth, in the land which they received for an
inheritance; only pilgrims sojourning here for a time. Paul says they
were seeking a country, "a better country, that is, a
heavenly." Hebrews 11:14, 10.
This was not only true of the Old
Testament saints, but Peter denominates the New Testament church "as
strangers and pilgrims," who are "sojourning here." 1st Peter
2:11; 1: 17. "For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to
come." Hebrews 13:14. "For he hath prepared for them a city."
Hebrews 11: 16. All these scriptures point us away from this earth to
"another country"—yes, to a "better country," "an
heavenly." We are only sojourners here for a time. We are traveling to
another clime, another sphere of existence, a brighter realm. Our short
pilgrimage upon earth is compared to a handbreadth, an eagle hastening to his prey, a swift post,
a dream, a shadow, a vapor. Time with gigantic footsteps is bearing us to the
future. Life is soon cut down, "and we fly away." "Because man
goeth to his long home.'' Ecclesiastes 12: 5. "To his eternal
home."—LXX.
That "eternal home" is
not this earth as the worldly minded vainly hope, but is "a house not
made with hands, eternal in the heavens." 2nd Corinthians 5:1. Yes, in
heaven, the place of God's throne and home of the angels. There is an eternal
heaven above, which Paul terms the "third heaven." 2nd Corinthians
12: 2-4.
First, the church is now raised up
on the plane of Heaven's purity, and all its members are made to "sit together
in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Then again, the atmosphere which
surrounds this earth is frequently in Scripture called ''the heavens.'' These
will pass away with this earth. But there is a third heaven, a place where God now dwells.'' The Lord he is God in heaven
above.'' Deuteronomy 4:39. "The Lord is in his holy temple,
the Lord's throne is in heaven." Psalms 11:4.
Heaven is also the home of the
angels. ''For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in
marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.'' Matthew 22: 30. "So
then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and
sat on the right hand of God." Mark 16:19. "Who is gone into
heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers
being made subject unto him." 1st Peter 3: 22. "For Christ is not
entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the
true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for
us." Hebrews 9: 24.
All these texts, with many others,
clearly teach that there is a place called heaven. There can be no appeal
from this fact. When Stephen was dying, it is said that he "looked up
steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on
the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens
opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God." Then
he cried, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Acts 7:55-60. We read
that "Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." 2nd
Kings 2:11. We shall now prove that the same will be the eternal home of the
church.
"While we look not at the
things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things
which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.''
2nd Corinthians 4:18. Paul here speaks of things which are
"temporal" (proskaros), for a season or time only; and
then he speaks of things "eternal" (aionios), without
end, as the eternal Spirit. Hebrews 9:14. Those things we see with our
natural eyes are only temporal. They are things which have a short duration,
and must have an end. ''The things which are seen are
temporal"—temporary, for a time only. That includes this earth and all
that pertains to it. All nature teaches this fact.
The green grass covers this earth
with a beautiful and verdant carpet, but the time comes when it withereth and
the lovely flowers fade away. The leaves which come forth and cheer our
hearts in springtime turn to a golden hue when the autumn winds blow, and
fall to mother earth, and decay away. The sturdy oak, in whose branches the
fowls of the air lodge, soon decays and is no more. The lofty pyramids, and
the monuments, in time crumble to dust.
The same lesson is taught in the
animal kingdom. Our mortal bodies return to dust, to mother earth. All
nature, and everything around us teaches us "the end of all things"
pertaining to earth. The earth itself is one of the things which we see, and
Paul positively declares that all we see is temporal, must have an end. This
earth will pass away. Both the Old and New Testaments teach this fact.
"Of old thou hast laid the
foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They
shall perish, but thou shalt endure." Psalms 102:25, 26. "Lift up
your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens
shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a
garment." Isaiah 51:6. "The earth is utterly broken down, the earth
is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to
and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; ... it shall
fall, and not rise again." Isaiah 24:19, 20. In these texts is foretold
the "end of this world." This planet called the earth shall
"wax old" and "shall perish." It shall be "clean
dissolved," "and shall be removed like a cottage;" "it
shall fall and not rise again." So positively teaches the Word of God.
When we come over into the New
Testament we have this same fact taught, if anything, more clearly than in
the Old. Jesus said, "Till heaven and earth pass." Matthew 5:18.
In the very commencement of his ministry, Jesus Christ teaches the
instability of all visible things. The heavens which you see, and which are
so glorious, and the earth which you inhabit shall pass away; "for
the things which are seen are temporal." From the lips of
Jesus we hear the solemn words, "Heaven and earth shall pass away."
Matthew 24:35. "The end of all things is at hand." 1st Peter 4: 7.
From the beginning God has meted
out this world's career. One long age has succeeded another, until we now
have reached the ''last days'' of its history. A small step before us is the
end of "all things" pertaining to earth.
But when will all this take place?
Answer.—"And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from
whose face, the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place
for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the
books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life:
and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books,
according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and
death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged
every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the
lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written
in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.'' Revelation 20:11-15.
This is very clear. The coming of
Christ upon the great white throne (the throne of his glory. Matthew 24: 31),
the coming forth of all the dead from land and sea, the same being judged,
and the wicked cast into the lake of fire, will be the time when this earth
will pass away and "no place be found for it.'' Let all our readers
prepare for such a catastrophe; for as truly as God has spoken, it will come.
The "heavens" in these texts refer to aerial heavens. We will next
consider the manner of its passing away.
"But the heavens and the
earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire
against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be
not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand
years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his
promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not
willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But
the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the
heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned
up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of
persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for
and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on
fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?"
2nd Peter 3:7-12,
How clear this testimony! Not only
will the works in this earth be consumed, but the earth itself "shall be
burned up," "dissolved," and "melted with
fervent heat." That day of fire which shall consume this earth,
"the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men," will be the day
of the Lord's second advent. Verse 4, 10.
"Instead of conveying an idea
that this last destruction will only be similar to that of the flood, a
contrast is drawn between the two. The first was only by water; the next
shall be by fire, and surely God knew that we understood the difference between
the action of these two elements. Floods of water may carry away buildings,
and wreck them, and wash the earth over cities, etc.; but they have no power
to take out of existence a single stone or piece of timber. Whereas fire
actually consumes, and changes things from a visible existence into a
small bit of ashes and vapor, and reduces even earth and stone back to a
melted mass of chaos, as it was before the days of creation began; and we are
plainly told that this very destruction will come to pass. Again, observe the contrasted extent of the two
destructions. ' The world that then was, being overflowed with water
perished.' But the next time both the heavens and the earth shall be
dissolved. So we see clearly that the 'end of all things' does not mean a
renovation of this earth; but an utter consuming, and melting of the same
into the same chaotic state in which its matter existed before the six days
of creation.
"Again, right in the seventh
verse we have a positive overthrow of the whole millennial theory. They tell
us that this destruction by fire will only renovate the earth, and then there
will be a millennial reign of one thousand years, after which will come the
resurrection and judgment of the wicked. But the fire which they locate
before the thousand years, the Word identifies with the 'judgment and
perdition of the ungodly,' an event which they say will take place after the
thousand years. Do you see the point? The very thing which they think will
prepare the earth for their fancied millennium, God associates with that
which they say will come after the millennium. So they are mistaken, or the
Word of God is wrong. But the Word of the Lord is right, and every contrary
doctrine is false. Behold the harmony of divine truth!
"The Scriptures very clearly
teach that Christ will come in the end of the world, in the last day of this
last age of time. They also inform us that the same will be the day of
judgment. And here Peter tells us plainly that on that very day of his coming
and the judgment, the heavens and the earth will be consumed, melted and
destroyed. So it will indeed be the end of the world, the close of all
time allotted to this earth. On the eighth verse theological speculators have
taken the authority to say that the earth will stand in its present condition
just six thousand years, and the seventh thousand will be a millennial rest.
But no such thought is found in the text or context. 'One day is with the
Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.' The expression is
used simply to assure us that the promises of God do not become doubtful
because of long delay; that the word of God that is deferred two thousand
years is just as sure as that which is fulfilled in the same week or month it
was spoken.
"Just so the apostle Peter
applies his words in the next verse, saying, 'The Lord is not slack
concerning his promises, as some men count slackness.' How do men count
slackness? When men make promises, leaving the time indefinite, it is natural
for us to lose confidence in proportion to the delay. Men actually count
others slack in their word if long deferred. But God is not slack in his
promises, as men count their fellow men slack; nay, in this respect, a
thousand years is with the Lord as one day. In other words, his promise is
just as sure to come to pass though deferred ten thousand years, as if it
were fulfilled in ten days. For two reasons this is so: he says, 'I am the
Lord, I change not,' and ' his covenant will he remember.' He never changes
his mind, nor forgets the words he has spoken. In this chapter the coming of
Christ, the day of judgment, and the utter destruction of the earth and its
works are all pointed forward to as the events of one great and last 'day of
God, wherein the heavens [the atmosphere] being on fire shall be dissolved,
and the elements [that compose the earth] shall melt with fervent heat.'
Verse 12. "Now let us see if any offers of salvation to our race will
extend beyond that awful day. Owing to the long pending of Christ's second
advent, it was foreseen that 'there shall come in the last days scoffers,
walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his
coming?' Wherefore the Lord, by this inspired writer, explains the reason of
his delay. ' The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to repentance.' Verse 9. 'And account that
the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation.' Verse 15. Surely this is all
very plain. The long pending of Christ's second advent, we are told, is not
because of any slackness on the part of the Lord to fulfill his promise, but
because he is not willing that poor sinners should be cut off from all hope,
and eternally perish. We are, therefore, taught to count that the
long-suffering, the prolonged delay of the Lord and the day of judgment, 'is
salvation'—that men may have extended time for repentance, and salvation.
"So let all men take warning
that 'salvation' is now, and only now; is all on this side the coming of the
Lord. Whereas his second coming will be the 'day of judgment and perdition of
ungodly men,' the point at which all salvation work will be forever cut off.
Is it not one of the most astonishing things that devils ever invented on
earth that men—such for instance as C. T. Russell, the age-to-come
heretic—can be so subverted as to teach that now is not the time of
salvation, but that glorious work is 'deferred until after Christ's second
advent, in the millennial age?' How dare men teach such shocking falsehoods
in the face of God's Word? Truth declares that now is the day of salvation,
and that the present day of grace is drawn out by the mercy of God, to enable
more lost sinners to be saved; and that when Christ comes salvation will
forever cease, the judgment and perdition of all the wicked take place, and
this earth perish. 'But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the
night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the
elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are
therein shall be burned up.' Verse 10. This is so plain that comment is
scarcely needed.
"Christ told his church that
he would come at a time when not looked for. Peter's words here convey the
same idea. And in that day of the Lord's coming 'the heavens [the aerial
heavens] will pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt; the
earth and the works therein shall be burned up.' The atmosphere, earth, and
all in it, even all the elements that compose this globe shall be melted and
burned up. In verse 11 it is again repeated that 'all these things shall be
dissolved,' and we are solemnly charged in view of this coming crisis to live
'in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the
coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be
dissolved, and the elements [of this earth] shall melt with fervent heat.'
These scriptures, it would seem, can not be misconstrued. They emphatically
teach us that the earth and all pertaining to it, at the coming of Christ and
the day of judgment, will be reduced back to a melted and chaotic state,
without form and void, as its matter existed before the six days of creation.
'Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye
may be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless.'
"Oh, that vain speculators
upon the solemn subjects of prophecy, and all their deceived readers, would
stop and consider the loud warnings from the Almighty everywhere associated
with the second advent of Christ! Instead of ushering in an age of
restitution of souls from sin, and millennial glory, it will consign to
eternal despair all who will not be found in peace, 'without spot and
blameless.' Reader, is that your happy condition just now? If not, rest not
until the blood of Christ is applied, which 'cleanseth from all sin.' All
these scriptures teach that we are living in the last
dispensation of time; that 'now is the day of salvation,' that at the second
advent of Christ he will not set up a kingdom, but will deliver up the
kingdom to the Father, and close his personal reign (1st Corinthians 10: 23,
24); that at his coming all the dead will be raised, all men judged, the
righteous crowned in heaven and the wicked sentenced to 'everlasting
punishment,' this earth, and all the works that are in it burned up, and pass
away, and time and probation end. "Christ's second advent is urged upon
the church in the present age as a strong inducement to watch and pray, to
live holy, and be ready for the same, with the solemn warning that our eternal destiny, of either reward or punishment, will
depend upon the condition we shall be found in at that instant. Therefore the
coming described is not one that will be pending in a future age, but the
crisis that shall close the present age. Otherwise it would not have been charged upon this age to keep it in view. He that is
unjust, filthy, or righteous and holy, let him be so still, is directly
connected with, 'Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me to give to
every man [both saint and sinner] according as his work shall be.' The
coincidence of the coming of Christ and the general judgment is
utterly fatal to the millennial theory. And now we have proved that at the
time of his revelation from heaven with power and great glory, the earth will
be burned up, and pass away, leaving no possible place for the millennial
dream to be enacted. Are you ready for that great day? If not, 'to-day, if ye
will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.' 'Behold, now is the day of
salvation,' 'and after this the judgment.' Amen."
Since man will have an eternal
existence, and as we see, this earth shall pass away and be no more, it can
not be his eternal home. ''The things which are not seen are
eternal." Our eternal home is something we can not now see. Where
then is it located? The Word plainly answers: "For we know that if our
earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God,
an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." 2nd Corinthians
5:1.
When time has run its course, when
the sun and moon no longer shine, when all things pertaining to earth, and
the earth itself is no more, and is forgotten in the dim past, when our
earthly, mortal house shall be dissolved, and we are clothed with an immortal
and glorified body, we shall dwell in a building of God, a house not made
with hands "eternal in the heavens."
O my soul, press forward!
Pleasures forevermore await thee, an eternal weight of glory. O world to
come, in exchange for the present! O eternity, for a moment! A blessed
eternal communion in the holy, blessed eternal life of God, in exchange for
the sacrifices and sufferings of a few short years of earth. For the joy set
before me I willingly endure hardness as a good soldier for Christ
Jesus. Yes, gladly will I forsake home and loved ones to preach thy gospel,
and in exchange receive a home eternal in the heavens.
Since this earth will have an end,
what a consoling thought to know in yourselves that ye have in
heaven a better and an enduring substance. Hebrews 10: 34.
"Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and
election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an
entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting
kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 2nd Peter 1:10, 11.
We here enter the kingdom of
grace, which prepares us for an abundant entrance into the future everlasting
kingdom of glory. This is not a literal something upon earth as many blind
zealots imagine, but it is "an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled,
and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the
power of God." 1st Peter 1: 4, 5. "And the Lord shall deliver me
from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom
be glory forever and ever. Amen." 2nd Timothy 4:18.
Oh, blessed hope, "which hope
we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast." My soul
rests upon the promises of his Word, awaiting "the hope which is laid up
for you in heaven." Colossians 1: 5.
"But lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where
thieves do not break through nor steal." Matthew 6: 20. "Sell that
ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure
in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth
corrupteth." Luke 12:33. "Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be
perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt
have treasure in heaven : and come and follow me." Matthew 19: 21.
If this earth were our eternal
portion, then our treasure should be laid up here. But since it is temporal,
we are commanded to lay up our treasures in heaven. Though we may be poor in
this world's goods, yet if we serve God we "shall have treasure in
heaven.'' Instead of getting our reward in this earth as some teach, Jesus
said we shall be rewarded in heaven. "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad:
for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which
were before you." Matthew 5: 12. "Rejoice ye in that day, and leap
for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner
did their fathers unto the prophets.'' Luke 6: 23.
Surely these multiplied texts are
sufficient to establish the fact that heaven will be the future and eternal
home of the church. Jesus, speaking of that future state, said, "In my
Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I
go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may
be also." John 14: 2, 3. In the Scriptures we have ''Christ's house''
and ''the Father's house.'' Christ's kingdom of grace here, and the Father's
kingdom of glory above. The one applies to the earth, the other to heaven. In
the above Christ speaks of our future hope. By the "Father's house"
he means heaven, for that is the Father's dwelling place. Christ's house is
the church here upon earth. By entering the latter we have access to the
former. By "mansions" he desired them to know that heaven, the
Father's domain, was large and spacious. He did not wish, as sectarians believe,
to convey the idea that everybody would have a separate house up there; but
he resorted to language that they could understand. He spoke from the
standpoint of a literal building so they could comprehend his meaning. Since
the Father's house is so spacious, contains many mansions, "I go to
prepare a place for you." Christ went into heaven. Luke 24:51. So in
heaven he is preparing our eternal home.
It may be objected that it has
been prepared from the foundation of the world. Matthew 25:34. Yes, the
kingdom of heaven, or heaven itself, was prepared from the foundation of the
world; but in that kingdom, Christ went to prepare a place for us. Again,
Christ was a Lamb "slain from the foundation of the world." Yet in
reality it was fulfilled when he came. So with the place prepared for us.
Christ in reality went to prepare it for us; and the promise is that he will
come again, not to remain here upon earth with us, but to receive us to
himself, that where he is there we may be also. That is, he will come back
and take his church home to glory, to the world he went to prepare.
When will all this be fulfilled?
'' For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in
Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught
up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so
shall we ever be with the Lord." 1st Thessalonians 4:16, 17.
Oh, the beauty of heavenly truth!
The church came out of heaven, and at last will all be caught up to heaven,
and be ever with the Lord. But did not Jesus teach that the meek ''shall
inherit the earth''? Matthew 5: 5. The Psalmist adds: "But the meek
shall inherit the earth." Psalms 37:11. How harmonize these scriptures?
Peter fully explains them. He first shows that in the day of judgment this
terrestrial globe, this earth, will pass away by being burned up. He
foretells its utter destruction: "But the day of the Lord will come as a
thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great
noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the
works that are therein shall be burned up." 2nd Peter 3:10.
What then about the promise of
Jesus, that the meek shall inherit the earth? The apostle answers, "We,
according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new
earth." Verse 13. Ah, how clear! We, according to his promise look
for new heavens and a new earth, after the heavens and earth which
compose this globe are "burned up" and "pass away." 2nd
Peter 3:7-13. Peter is speaking of that land of light and bliss Jesus went to
prepare.
Also, the Revelator, after
describing the judgment scene, when this earth and heavens fled away,
"and there was found no place for them" (Revelation 20:11-15),
says: "I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the
first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea." Revelation
21:1. Mark you! He saw the new heaven and the new earth after "the first
heaven and the first earth were passed away."
When did they pass away?
Answer.—"And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from
whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place
for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the
books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life:
and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books,
according to their works." Revelation 20:11, 12.
How did they pass away?
Answer.—"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in
the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements
shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein
shall be burned up." 2nd Peter 3:10.
So then after this earth has
passed away we look for new heavens and a new earth, Verse 13. The new earth
is the "heavenly country," the "better country." Hebrews 11:16. The new heaven is the "heavenly city,"
the one "to come." Hebrews 11:16; 13:14. "Blessed are they that
do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may
enter in through the gates into the city." Revelation 22; 14.
"There is a land where
everlasting suns shed everlasting brightness;
Where the soul drinks from the
living streams which roll by God's high throne.
Myriads of glorious ones bring
their accepted offerings.
Oh, how blest to look from this
dark prison to that shrine,
To inhale one breath of paradise
divine,
And enter into the eternal home of
rest, which awaits the sons of God."
The apostle Paul informs us that
if "in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most
miserable." 1st Corinthians 15:19. This language implies that our
present enjoyment is based on our future prospects and hope. This was true in
the life of Christ; "who for the joy that was set before him endured the
cross, despising the shame." Amidst the trials, temptations,
difficulties, disappointments, and adversities of life, the bright prospects
the Christian has in the future, is what encourages him to cleave unto the
Lord with a purpose of heart. It enables him to outride the raging storms,
and surmount life's billows. When the heavens gather blackness, and the
tempests sweep the sky, his hope is anchored in that within the vail. It puts
new courage in him, so he is enabled to run and not be weary, to walk and
never faint.
Paul, though called to pass
through many hardships, testified: "I press forward toward the
mark." "By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be
called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction
with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt:
for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward." Hebrews 11:
24-26. The reward at the end was kept in view.
As to the glories of heaven, we
can have but a foretaste. The apostle informs us that to "dwell with
Christ" is "far better" than to abide in the flesh.
Therefore he adds, "To die is gain." The inspired testimony is that
in his presence "there is fullness of joy; and at his right hand,
pleasures forevermore.''
"There the wicked cease from
troubling; and there the weary be at rest. There the prisoners rest together;
they hear not the voice of the oppressor. The small and great are there; and
the servant is free from his master." Job 3: 17-19. "And they that
be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn
many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.'' Daniel 12: 3.
These scriptures give us a faint
idea of the glory that shall follow. When all the ungodly, and all sin and
evil is forever banished out of his domain—kingdom—"Then shall the
righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father."
"And the kingdom and
dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be
given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an
everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him." Daniel
7: 27. This simply means that after the ungodly are cast into outer darkness
the whole universe of God shall be given to the saints. God's whole dominion
shall be at their disposal. "And of the increase of his government and
peace there shall be no end," but they "shall reign forever and
ever." With immortal and glorified bodies they shall roam through
Elysian fields of glory with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the saints of
ages.
"And one of the elders
answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes?
and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to
me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have 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. They shall hunger no more,
neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall
lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes.'' Revelation 7:13-17.
|
The
Final and Eternal Doom of the Beast
In the previous chapter we have
seen that the church of God, which came out of heaven, will in the last day
be caught up, and enter heaven, the future and eternal home of the redeemed.
But what of the beast—the apostate church? What, we ask, will be the eternal
doom of all false worshipers, and wicked men who close this probationary
state in rebellion against God's throne? We will let the Bible answer.
"The beast that thou sawest
was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into
perdition." Revelation 17: 8. "I beheld even till the beast was
slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame." Daniel
7:11. "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that
wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received
the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were
cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone." Revelation 19:
20. "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and
brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented
day and night forever and ever." Revelation 20:10. "If any man worship the beast
and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same
shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without
mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented, with fire
and brimstone. . . . And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and
ever." Revelation 14:9-11. "And after these things I heard a great
voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; salvation, and glory, and
honor, and power, unto the Lord our God: for true and righteous are his
judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth
with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up forever and ever.''
Revelation 19:1-3.
These texts clearly teach the
eternal destiny of all beast worshipers. The apostate church, with all its
worshipers, will be cast into "perdition," "the burning
flame," "the lake of fire and brimstone;" and in that
awful place of punishment they will be "tormented forever and
ever." So positively teach the six clear texts of Scripture at the
head of this chapter, and the Word of God can not be broken. This includes all
who worship the beast—popery— and his image— Protestantism. The entire host
of apostates and false worshipers, with all wicked men and devils, will in
the day of judgment be cast into the lake of fire. The doctrine of future
punishment is well grounded in the holy Scriptures. In the Old Testament
frequent reference is made to it. In the New Testament Christ himself boldly
taught it, and warned men to "flee the wrath to come." Sprinkled
throughout the epistles are solemn and awful warnings to mankind of the doom
of the ungodly. The same truth we find in Revelation, the book of symbols. I
am aware, that in this fast age of deception, the doctrine of hell-fire
is quite unpopular, and the people are apt to cry, "It's an old
fable." But, beloved reader, the scoffings, jeers, and unbelief of the
people, will never change the truth. Truth will stand when the earth crumbles
to chaos. The Word of God must be fulfilled, and the decrees of Jehovah will
be executed. "Who art thou that repliest against God?" Modern theories
will never change the Bible. What saith the Lord?
"Then said Jesus to those
Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my
disciples indeed.'' John 8: 31. Jesus himself plainly and emphatically
declares that all who die in their sins can not go where he is. Christ
ascended into heaven; and in Stephen's dying hour he saw heaven opened, and Jesus
standing at the right hand of God. So the only true conclusion we can draw
from Jesus' own words, is that every man who lives and dies in sin will never
enter heaven. What then will be their destiny? Thus saith the
Word: "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that
forget God." Psalms 9:17.
Modern preachers who cry
"peace and safety," paint in very nice language the Fatherly love,
goodness, and mercy of God. They only give you one side of the picture. The
same Bible which teaches that God is love, also declares him to be "a
consuming fire.'' Hebrews 12: 29. On one side we have the love of God, the mercy
of God, the goodness of God: but when we turn the picture, on the other side
we have "the wrath of God," "the vengeance of God,"
"the anger of the Lord."
"Behold therefore the
goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee,
goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut
off." Romans 11: 22. "But a certain fearful looking for of
judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that
despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: of how
much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath
trodden under foot, the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the
covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite
unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth
unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge
his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living
God." Hebrews 10: 27-31.
To those who continue in
well-doing, and faithfully serve God upon earth, God will pour out of his
goodness. At his right hand there will be pleasures forevermore. But the
positive testimony is that a "sore punishment" awaits the
guilty wretch who will dare to trample the mercy of God beneath his feet, and
reject that love which gave his life's blood that we might live. Such can
expect a ''fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation,"
"vengeance," a ''sore punishment.'' To all such it will be a "
fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." O friend,
behold the goodness and severity of God. If you will not continue in his
goodness, you will be cut off, and cut off eternally. God's dealings with
mankind in past ages prove him to be severe as well as merciful. For example,
we refer to the flood.
"And God saw that the
wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord
that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the
Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth;
both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air;
for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord." Genesis (5: 5-8.
Only Noah and his family found
grace in the eyes of the Lord in that awful day of wrath. Why? Because his
works were found righteous in God's sight. No doubt the people of that age
argued like men do to-day, viz., God is too good, too merciful to ever
destroy us. But when Noah entered the ark and closed the door, it was then
too late to pray. Mercy's door was closed, the Spirit of God ceased to
strive, and the degenerate world was in the hands of the living God. The
result was, its despairing myriads were engulfed in one common grave. It was
a fearful thing for those antediluvians to fall into the hands of God after
their day of mercy was over. God had warned them, but they would not heed,
hence they paid the awful penalty. Just so will it he with the world of the
ungodly at Christ's coming. For, says Jesus:
"And as it was in the days of
Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they
drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that
Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all."
Luke 17:25, 27. "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the
angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall
also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the
flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until
the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and
took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."
Matthew 24:36-39.
Again I refer you to God's
dealings with the Sodomites:
"And the Lord said, Because
the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very
grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether
according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will
know." Genesis 18: 20, 21. "And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou
here any besides? son-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever
thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: for we will destroy this
place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord;
and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it. And Lot went out, and spake unto his
sons-in-law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this
place; for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked
unto his sons-in-law. And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened
Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest
thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men
laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of
his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him: and they brought him
forth, and set him without the city. And it came to pass, that when they had brought them forth
abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay
thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. Then
the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord
out of heaven; and he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the
inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. And Abraham
gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord: and
he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain,
and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a
furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain,
that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the
overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.''
Genesis 19:12-17, 24, 25, 27-29.
Oh, what an awful day of wrath
upon that people! God delivered just Lot, because he was righteous. 2nd Peter
2: 7, 8. When that faithful man warned the people it seemed like one who
mocked. They never thought a merciful God would do such a thing. They, like
modern Sodomites, scoffed God's servant to scorn. When Lot escaped, they were
in the hands of the living God. Mercy's day with them was forever past. The
day of wrath had come. They had now fallen into the hands of an angry God,
and it was a fearful thing to them. "Likewise also as it was in the days
of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they
builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and
brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the
day when the Son of man is revealed." Luke 17: 28-30.
O reader, take warning. The
"great day of his wrath" is coming. The day when the Son of man is
revealed. Just like it was in Sodom, it will be in that day. ''Then the Lord
rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of
heaven." Genesis 19:24. "When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from
heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that
know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who
shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord,
and from the glory of his power." 2nd Thessalonians 1:7-9.
Thus we see that awful punishment
awaits the ungodly at the time when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from
heaven. The apostle Peter in referring back to the flood and the utter
destruction of Sodom gives us this solemn warning:'' For if God spared
not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them
into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; and spared not the old
world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness,
bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities
of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making
them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly. The Lord knoweth
how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto
the day of judgment to be punished." 2nd Peter 2: 4-6, 9. ''But these,
as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the
things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own
corruption." 2nd Peter 2:12. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities
about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going
after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of
eternal fire." Jude 7.
These awful visitations of God's
wrath and vengeance upon man, the apostle informs us, are an "ensample
unto those that after should live ungodly.'' They are '' set forth for an
example.'' In the name of Jesus, we affirm that language could not be framed
to more clearly teach that an awful and final doom awaits the ungodly. And
the apostle points to the judgment day, as the very time when this
punishment will be inflicted. So whether men believe it or not, it will come
to pass as sure as God has spoken it. God smote the first-born of Egypt with
death. He led the Israelites through the Red Sea, and then destroyed
Pharaoh's hosts. He sent plagues among the Israelites and destroyed them by
the thousands, because of their disobedience. He opened the earth, and
destroyed Korah, Dathan and Abiram and their hosts. He sent Nebuchadnezzar to
Jerusalem, who destroyed the city and sanctuary, slaughtered the Jews,
and left Jerusalem a heap of ruins, all because the Jews corrupted themselves
in idolatry. Finally his own chosen people rejected the Messiah, and
condemned him to be crucified. They cried, "His blood be upon us."
For this cause came "days of vengeance," "great distress in
the land, and wrath upon this people." They fell into the hands of the
living God. Such a time of trouble never before was known, or ever shall be.
God wreaked out vengeance until one million one hundred thousand perished in
the siege and destruction of Jerusalem. Thus we could take you through all
God's dealings with man in the past, and prove beyond question, the awful
severity as well as the mercy of God.
But the day of judgment will
exceed them all; for it is the day when time has run its course, when
universal retribution shall be awarded, when God himself shall come down to
take vengeance on them that know him not. Paul gives us all a fair warning:
"But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were
overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the
intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be
ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to
eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as
some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.
Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed
of serpents.
Neither murmur ye, as some of them
also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things
happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition,
upon whom the ends of the world are come." 1st Corinthians 10: 5-11.
How solemn this declaration of
Heaven's truth. God has from the beginning meted out this planet's end.
One long age has succeeded another until to-day we have entered the
"last days" of this world's career. All the dealings of God to men
in past ages are written for our learning, a solemn "admonition" to
us, who live in the end of the ages. Upon us has fallen the "ends of the
world." A small step before us is "the day of judgment and
perdition of ungodly men." 2nd Peter 3:7.
Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye
look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace,
without spot, and blameless.'' 2nd Peter 3:14. "But the day of the Lord
will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away
with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth
also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all
these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all
holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of
the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the
elements shall melt with fervent heat?'' 2nd Peter 3:10-12. "But after
thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against
the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will
render to every man according to his deeds." Romans 2:5, 6. "But
when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said
unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath
to come?'' Matthew 3:7. "For we must all appear before the judgment-seat
of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according
to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of
the Lord, we persuade men." 2nd Corinthians 5:10, 11.
That an awful day of wrath is
future, these texts clearly teach. The same is ushered in upon the ungodly by
Christ's appearing to judgment. In this age of mercy and salvation, the
wicked and ungodly are heaping up wrath against the day of wrath. Oh, the
wrath that will come upon all false religionists, deceived zealots, and
wicked men in that last great day! '' Knowing therefore the terror of the
Lord, we persuade men.''
''Because I have called, and ye
refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set
at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at
your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as
desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and
anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer;
they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: for that they hated
knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord: they would none of my
counsel : they despised all my reproof.'' Proverbs 1: 24-30.
''Enter ye in at the strait gate:
for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and
many there be which go in thereat." Matthew 7:13. "For the time is
come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at
us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the
righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner
appear?" 1st Peter 4: 17,18. ''He that believeth on the Son hath
everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but
the wrath of God abideth on him." John 3: 36. "And whosoever was
not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
Revelation 20:15.
But why multiply texts? One clear
scripture is as good as a thousand. Truth never crosses itself; it never
contradicts. All these scriptures with many more clearly teach a future
and eternal punishment which awaits the ungodly beyond the final judgment. We
shall now investigate the nature, place, and duration of that punishment.
With respect to the future and
eternal destiny of mankind, the Bible teaches but two places. These are
termed heavens and hell; the former to be the abode of
the righteous, the latter of the wicked. The word hell in our language is
derived from the Hebrew Sheol, and the Greek Hades,
Tartaroo, and Gehenna. Hades and its
counterpart Sheol, with the possible exception of Psalms 9:17,
always refer to the state of man between death and the judgment. There are
three states of human spirits. First, in union with an animal body. That is
the present state, which ends in death. Second, the state in which human
spirits are separated from their animal bodies. 2nd Corinthians 5:8; Luke
16:19-31; Luke 23:43; Acts 7:59. This state begins at death and ends with the
resurrection. This state of human spirits is precisely what is called Hades.
Hades also properly applies, not only to the state of spirits separated from
their bodies, but to the world of departed spirits as well. Hades not only
signifies a state, but a place: for in Hades the rich man lifted up his eyes,
after death. Third, the third state of human spirits is in union with their
immortal bodies beyond the resurrection. It is the state of man beyond the
resurrection we are now treating. Hades does not apply beyond that day. When
Christ comes, Hades will be destroyed. Revelation 20:11-15.
Tartaroo—"Tartarus" in
2nd Peter 2:4 refers exclusively to that part of Hades where wicked spirits
and fallen demons are now reserved and kept for punishment beyond the
judgment. When the word hell is translated from Gehenna it always
refers to the state of the ungodly beyond the judgment. Therefore when we use
the word hell, we shall confine ourselves to the state of the wicked beyond
the resurrection. I shall prove the nature, place, and duration of future
punishment under several propositions.
First. The eternal destiny of
the ungodly and sinner will be in hell, which is termed
"hell-fire," "a lake of fire," and in that fire they will
suffer an everlasting punishment."
"The wicked shall be turned
into hell, and all the "nations that forget God." Psalms 9:17.
"And I say unto you, my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the
body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you
whom ye shall fear: fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast
into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.'' Luke 12:4,5. These two texts
clearly establish the fact that hell will be the destiny of the wicked. They
also teach that hell is a place. The wicked "shall be turned into
hell," shall be "cast into hell." Hell then is not simply a
condition, a state, but an actual place into which all the ungodly will be
cast.
Jesus, knowing the awful doom that
awaits the guilty, warned us to fear God. A man has but one life to lose, and
one soul to save; and it is madness to sacrifice the salvation of the soul to
the preservation of the life. "And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck
it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy
members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it
is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that
thy whole body should be cast into hell." Matthew 5: 29, 30. ''And fear
not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather
fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew
10:28. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour
widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayer: therefore ye shall
receive the greater damnation. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can
ye escape the damnation of hell?" Matthew 23:14,33. This, dear reader,
will be the ultimate state and condition of the wicked—in hell. Both soul and
body will suffer there. How weighty should these awful words fall upon the
hearts of all the unsaved.
'How shall you escape the
damnation of hell?' There will be no escape. ''For yourselves know
perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For
when they shall say peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon
them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape."
1st Thessalonians 5: 2, 3.
Hell will be a place of fire.
''And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is
better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes
to be cast into hell-fire. Matthew 18:9. "And whosoever was not found
written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Revelation
20:15. "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that
wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received
the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were
cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone." Revelation 19:
20. "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and
murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the
lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death,'' Revelation
21:8.
"And shall cast them into a
furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.'' Matthew 13:
42. "So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come
forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the
furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." Matthew
13: 49, 50. "Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them
off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or
two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. "Matthew 18:8.
"And if thy hand offend thee,
cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two
hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: where
their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend
thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having
two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye
offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of
God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell-fire: where their
worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.'' Mark 9:43-48.
''Then the Lord rained upon Sodom
and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven."
Genesis 19: 24. ''But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire
and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in
the day when the Son of man is revealed." Luke 17: 29, 30. "Upon
the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest:
this shall be the portion of their cup." Psalms 11: 6. "And I will
plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him,
and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an
overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone." Ezekiel
38:22. "And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the
camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God
out of heaven, and devoured them." Revelation 20:9.
"And to you who are troubled
rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his
mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God,
and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.'' 2nd Thessalonians
1:7,8. "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from
me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.
And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into
life eternal." Matthew 25: 41, 46. "And the devil that deceived
them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the
false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.''
Revelation 20:10. Surely these sixteen texts of Scripture are conclusive on
this subject. Six of them declare that when Christ will be revealed from
heaven, he will come in flaming fire, and will rain upon the wicked fire and
brimstone from heaven. Ten positive texts declare that the wicked will then
be cast into "hell-fire," which is termed "a furnace of
fire," "lake of fire and brimstone," and this hell-fire will
be an "everlasting fire" "that never shall be quenched.'' In
this fire the wicked will ''wail and gnash their teeth," and suffer an
"everlasting punishment." So positively teaches the word of truth
which can not be broken. Would to God that men would believe the Bible and
flee "the wrath to come." The "devils believe and tremble.''
In plain unmistakable language the
awful doom of the guilty is here foretold. Whether men believe it or not,
some day they will awaken to its awful realization. Some day they will fully
comprehend the eternal loss of their priceless souls. If grammar teaches
grammar, then the multiplied scriptures I have cited, teach that the wicked
will be cast into an everlasting hell, and there they shall suffer an
everlasting punishment. If they suffer an everlasting punishment, there will
be no end to that punishment. In Mark 9: 43-48, three times over Jesus
Christ declares that the wicked shall go in hell, into the fire that never
shall be quenched. If hell-fire will never be quenched, it will burn forever;
and so positively teaches the Bible—'' Cast into everlasting fire.'' Matthew
18:8.
''Then shall he say also unto them
on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared
for the devil and his angels." Matthew 25: 41. What an awful
sentence—"Depart!" This means the punishment of loss or privation.
Ye can not, ye shall not be united to me—Depart! Oh, terrible word! and yet a worse
is to come—"Into everlasting fire." This is the punishment of
sense. Ye shall not only be separated from me, but ye shall be tormented,
awfully, everlastingly tormented in that place of separation. "There
shall be wailing, and gnashing of teeth;" "where their worm [guilty
conscience] dieth not." Mark you, every one has his own
worm, "their worm." Man's conscience will live forever,
and torment the wicked while eternity's cycles roll. "These shall go
away into everlasting punishment." No appeal, no remedy, to all
eternity! No end to the punishment of those, whose final impenitence
manifests in them an eternal will and desire to sin. By dying in opposition
to God, they cast themselves into a necessity of continuing an eternal
aversion from him.
I quote the following from Dr.
Adam Clark: "But some are of the opinion that this punishment shall have
an end; this is as likely as that the glory of the righteous shall have an
end: for the same word is used to express the duration of the
punishment (aionios) as is used to express the duration of the
state of glory. I have seen the best things that have been written in favor
of the final redemption of damned spirits; but I never saw an answer to the
argument against that doctrine, drawn from this verse, but what sound
learning and criticism should be ashamed to acknowledge. The original word is
certainly to be taken here in its proper grammatical sense—continued
being—never ending. Some have gone a middle way, and think that the wicked
shall be annihilated. This, I think, is contrary to the text: if they go into
punishment, they continue to exist; for that which ceases to be, ceases to
suffer.''
To this we say, Amen. It is said
that hell "was prepared for the devil and his angels." When the
devil and his angels sinned, this awful place of torment was then prepared
for them.
''It never was designed for human
souls: but as the wicked are partakers with the devil and his angels in their
iniquities, in their rebellion against God; so it is right that they should
be sharers with them in their punishment. We see plainly why sinners will be
so punished. Not because there was no salvation for them, but because they
neglected to receive good and do good. As they received not the Christ who
was offered to them, they could not do the work of righteousness which was
required of them. They are cursed, because they refused to be blessed; they
are damned, because they refused to be saved."
I shall not argue whether this
fire is literal or spiritual. It will be fire in either case. Some say that
these expressions are only figures of the sinner's doom. This we can not
admit without doing violence to the plain testimony of Scripture. But were we
to admit such a thing, there would be no room to ease the guilty conscience.
If such expressions as "hell-fire," "furnace of fire,"
"lake of fire and brimstone," "unquenchable fire,"
"everlasting fire," "wailing and gnashing of teeth,'' are only
figures of future punishment, I ask in Jesus' name, What must the reality be?
All must admit that the reality is greater than the figure.
The Jewish sanctuary was a figure of the New Testament church.
How much "greater and more perfect tabernacle" is the church than
the Jewish figure. So with future punishment. If the above expressions are
but figures, then, dear reader, the reality will be much greater. Oh, ''
prepare to meet thy God."
The
word everlasting measures the fire of hell and the punishment of
the wicked therein. I will cite a few texts to give you its use in the Old
Testament: The everlasting God (Genesis 21:33), everlasting kingdom (Psalms
145:13), the everlasting Father (Isaiah 9:6), everlasting joy (Isaiah 35:
10), everlasting salvation (Isaiah 45:17), God is "an everlasting
King" (Jeremiah 10:10), God's love is "an everlasting love"
(Jeremiah 31:3), God will have "everlasting dominion" (Daniel
7:14), "everlasting righteousness" (Daniel 9:24), and the wicked
shall suffer "shame and everlasting contempt." Daniel 12:2.
Therefore as long as God himself
will exist, and as long as God will have dominion, the wicked will suffer
shame and everlasting contempt. The same word that measures the endless
existence of God himself, his kingdom, dominion, salvation, love, joy, and
righteousness, measures the shame and contempt of the wicked. In the face of
this solemn and awful truth, I ask, How dare men teach that it will come to
an end? Annihilationists try to explain away the word everlasting by
referring to the promise in the Abrahamic covenant, where God said he would
give to the seed of Abraham the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession.
We would refer all such to the fact that "they that are Christ's, are
Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." The literal land of
Canaan possessed by the Jews, was only a type of that spiritual
Canaan—holiness— which we have received for an everlasting possession.
So everlasting in this text means to all eternity. In three other Old
Testament texts the word everlasting is applied to statutes in Israel. But
let me remind you of the fact, that all the literal sacrifices and ceremonies
of Moses' law have their spiritual counterpart in the gospel; and these
latter shall continue forever.
In this sense again the word
everlasting means to all eternity. I will next come to the New Testament use
of the word everlasting. Everlasting life (Romans 6:22), everlasting gospel
(Revelation 14:6), everlasting kingdom (2nd Peter 1: 11), everlasting God
(Romans 16:26), everlasting punishment. Matthew 25:46—"And these shall
go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life
eternal." Everlasting fire. Matthew 25: 41—"Then shall he say also
unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,
prepared for the devil and his angels.'' Everlasting destruction. 2nd
Thessalonians 1:9—"Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction
from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power."
Mark you! the same word which
measures the life of the righteous, which measures the existence of the gospel,
which measures the duration of God's kingdom, and the endless existence of
God himself, measures the everlasting punishment of the wicked in everlasting
hell-fire. If the everlasting God will continue to exist throughout endless
ages, then the wicked will suffer throughout endless ages. To deny this is to
make the truth a lie, and every honest soul cries out, Nay, let God be true
though every man a liar.
In many places it is said that
Christ will come "with power and great glory,'' the ''glory of the
Father.'' 2nd Thessalonians 1: 9 proves that this awful glory is what will
drive the wicked in everlasting destruction from his presence to the flames
of eternal hell. None can enjoy the fellowship and companionship of the
Creator but those who in life live upon the plane of his nature, and possess
his holiness. How, then, can any soul with the smallest spot of sin hope to
stand before God in the awful day of his coming and judgment? Oh, how many
plain and solemn warnings God has given to all men of that day when all must
either stand or fall in the presence of his majesty and glory.
Second. The place and state
of future punishment is termed "outer darkness," and in that
darkness the wicked will wail and gnash their teeth forever.
"And I say unto you, That
many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and
Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom
shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth.'' Matthew 8:11,12.
"And cast ye the unprofitable
servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth." Matthew 25: 30. "Then said the king to the servants, Bind
him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 22:13. "And shall
cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall
be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'' Matthew 24: 51.
"Another parable put he forth
unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed
good seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares
among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and
brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the
householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy
field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done
this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them
up?" Matthew 13:24-28.
How solemn and awful these truths.
Now is the day of salvation, the accepted time to seek God. But the time is
coming when mercy's door will forever close. Christ now sits upon a
mediatorial throne, the world's Redeemer and Savior. But soon he will leave
that throne for the judgment seat. Then the world will be without an
advocate, without a Savior, or further opportunity of salvation. When once
Christ takes the judgment-throne of glory, the wrath of God will be poured
out upon his enemies. The unprofitable servant, the false prophets, the
deceived millions who accepted false religions, with all the host of
apostates and blasphemers who have despised his name and trampled on his
blood will then be ''cast out,'' into ''outer darkness.'' There they will
have their portion with the hypocrites, where there shall be "weeping
and gnashing of teeth."
But how long will their punishment
continue in that awful darkness? "These are wells without water, clouds
that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved
forever." 2nd Peter 2:17. "Raging waves of the sea, foaming out
their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of
darkness forever.'' Jude 13. The mist of darkness, the blackness of darkness,
outer darkness, will be the portion of the ungodly forever. The
word "forever" measures the length of time that the wicked will
wail in the blackness of eternal night. Forever—"To eternity;
through endless ages.'' —Webster. ''Unlimited duration;
eternity."—Greenfield. These definitions express the New Testament use
of this word. In every New Testament text where it is found it measures
eternity.
For the benefit of the reader we
will here give the use of this word "forever" in the New Testament.
"And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom
there shall be no end.'' Luke 1:33. Here it is plainly taught that forever is
without end.
"And the servant abideth not
in the house forever: but the Son abideth ever." John 8: 35. "And
lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: for thine is the
kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen." Matthew 6:13.
"Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the
creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.'' Romans 1: 25.
"For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be
glory forever. Amen." Romans 11:36. "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever."
Hebrews 13:8. "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of
incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. For all
flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass
withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: but the word of the Lord
endureth forever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto
you.'' 1st Peter 1: 23-25.''These are wells without water, clouds that are
carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved forever.'
2nd Peter 2:17. "Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame;
wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.''
Jude 13.
What a solid wreath of heavenly
truth these texts present. The same word which measures the endless reign of
Christ, the glory and dominion of the Father, the unchangeableness of Christ,
the endurance of the word of truth, and the existence of the Son of God,
measures the torment of the wicked in ''the blackness of darkness forever.''
If outer darkness will cease to be the everlasting portion of the wicked,
then Christ, his reign, glory, dominion, and truth will forever cease to be:
for as long as the latter continues the former will continue.
Forever. In outer darkness,
lost in eternity's night. Rocking on the billows of dark despair. Drifting
away from heaven, home, loved ones, from Jesus, and all that is lovely and
pure. Lost, eternally lost amid howling demons and the piercing shrieks of
damned souls. Lost in the mist of darkness forever. Night—so dark that no ray
of light from heaven can ever penetrate. Awful doom! There shall be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.
Third. The future punishment
of the guilty will consist in damnation, and that damnation will be Eternal. ,
"And he said unto them, Go ye
into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that
believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be
damned." Mark 16:15, 16. In John 3:18 we read that such as will not believe
are condemned already. Also all who now believe are already saved from their
sins. Thus, accepting the gospel brings a present salvation, and rejecting it
brings men under condemnation. But there will be a future salvation from the
wrath of God to all who obtain a present deliverance from sin. And the above text also teaches a future
damnation of the wicked. Not only are they now condemned, but they
"shall be damned," in the future tense. Where will this damnation
be fully realized? Answer.—"Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how
can ye escape the damnation of hell?" Matthew 23: 33. Hell is the place
where the wicked will suffer future damnation.
Their punishment is termed
"the damnation of hell." But when will they suffer this punishment?
"Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are
in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done
good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the
resurrection of damnation." John 5:28, 29. The damnation of the wicked in hell lies beyond the final resurrection. Their
resurrection is termed "the resurrection of damnation."
"Woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make
long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation." Matthew
23:14. "And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes,
which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the market-places,
and the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost
rooms at feasts: which devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long
prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.'' Mark 12: 38-40. "And
not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,)
Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just." Romans
3:8. "And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make
merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and
their damnation slumbereth not.'' 2nd Peter 2:3. "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 the Son 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.'' Matthew 12:31, 32.
"But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never
forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation." Mark 3:29.
The damnation of the wicked in
hell will be "eternal damnation.'' God help all men to take warning.
Never allow the devil's servants to smooth you over and hide the truth from
your eyes. God's Word declares that the damnation of the ungodly will be eternal.
Men who blaspheme against the Holy Ghost will never have forgiveness, neither
in this world, nor in the world to come, but are in danger of eternal
damnation. The duration of the damnation of the wicked in the flames of hell
is measured by the word "eternal."
I will here give the Bible use of
this word: life eternal Matthew 25: 46), eternal salvation (Hebrews 5:9),
eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:12), eternal Spirit (Hebrews 9:14),eternal
inheritance (Hebrews 9:15), eternal heavens (2nd Corinthians 5:1), eternal
glory (2nd Timothy 2:10), King eternal (1st Timothy 1:17), eternal God
(Deuteronomy 33:27), eternal damnation. Mark 3:29—"But he that shall
blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is 'in danger of
eternal damnation.'' Eternal fire. Jude 7—"Even as Sodom and Gomorrah,
and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to
fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example,
suffering the vengeance of eternal fire."
What a solid bulwark of eternal
truth these texts present. No earthly wisdom can overthrow them. The same
word which measures the life, salvation, redemption, and inheritance of the
righteous in heaven, and the existence of the eternal Spirit, yea, the
endless existence of the eternal God himself, and his eternal glory, measures
the eternal damnation of the wicked in hell, where they will suffer "the
vengeance of eternal fire.'' As long as the heavens will stand, as long as
the righteous will enjoy eternal life, as long as eternal glory will last, as
long as God will exist, so long will the punishment of the wicked last. There
is no way under heaven to evade the plain testimony of the Bible on this
point. Eternal truth positively so teaches. O sinner, repent and believe the
gospel.
But we are not yet through with
evidences. I will yet bring one more text to bear upon this point.
"While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which
are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things
which are not seen are eternal." 2nd Corinthians 4:18. Those things
which we see with our natural eyes— this earth, the moving creatures around
us, etc., are temporal—for a time only. But the great future, that which is
not seen, is eternal. That which lies beyond the short span of this life and
time's mortal day, the future world— whether the state of the righteous or
the wicked—these things, the apostle informs us, are eternal. The righteous
will enjoy "a house not made with hands," "eternal in
the heavens;" while the wicked will "suffer the vengeance of
eternal fire."
Fourth. The future punishment
of the wicked will consist in torment, and that torment will last forever and
ever.
"And when he was come to the
other side into the country of the Gergesenes there met him two possessed
with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might
pass by that way. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do
with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before
the time?" Matthew 8:28, 29. Here the devils admitted the punishment
that awaits them. They know the torment that lies beyond the judgment; they
know the doom that awaits them beyond that awful day: therefore they said to
Jesus, "Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?" That
is why the devils believe and tremble.
"And cried with a loud voice,
and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most High God?
I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not." Mark 5: 7. "The
same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without
mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire
and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth
up forever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the
beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name."
Revelation 14:10, 11. "And the devil that deceived them was cast
into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet
are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.'' Revelation
20:10. Comments can not add weight to these scriptures. They simply teach in
so many words that the wicked will be tormented in hell with demons forever
and ever.
I will give the Bible use of the
term "forever and ever." ''The Lord shall reign forever
and ever.'' Exodus 15:18. "But the saints of the Most High shall take
the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.'' Daniel
7: 18. "And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the
firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and
ever.'' Daniel 12:3. "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is
forever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom.''
Hebrews 1: 8. "And when those beasts give glory and honor and thanks to him that sat on
the throne, who liveth forever and ever.'' Revelation 4:9. "And there
shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun;
for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign forever and
ever." Revelation 22:5. "And the devil that deceived them
was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false
prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.''
Revelation 20:10. "The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God,
which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he
shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy
angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment
ascendeth up forever and ever." Revelation 14:10,11.
On the strength of the four
foregoing propositions, which we have sustained by multiplied scriptures, I
affirm in the name of the God of the Bible, that the Scripture nowhere
employs any stronger words to assert the endless existence of God
himself and all that pertains to his eternal life, kingdom, and glory, than
it employs in declaring both the never-ending felicities of the righteous in
heaven, and the never-ending punishment of the wicked in hell who reject the
infinite love and mercy of God, and close this probationary state in
rebellion against his throne. All teachers who advocate an ending hell are
Satan's preachers and antichrists.
I shall add two more reasons
why the doctrine of annihilation is unscriptural and antichrist.
First. There will be degrees
in future punishment. This is clearly sustained by the Scriptures.
"But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself
wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of
God; who will render to every man according to his deeds.'' Romans 2: 5, 6.
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who
can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every
man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings."
Jeremiah 17: 9, 10. These texts apply directly to the future state, and it is
plainly declared that every man's punishment shall be "according to his
deeds." But will some really have greater damnation than others?
"Woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make
long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation." Matthew
23:14. Light rates the sinfulness of sin. According to the degree of light a
man has, sin will become sinful to him. Paul says that "sin by the
commandment might become exceeding sinful." The knowledge of the
commandment is what made sin exceeding sinful. The greater the light the
deeper the sin.
"Jesus answered, Thou
couldest Have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from
above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin."
John 19:11. Pilate, by consenting to the wish, of the Jews, and condemning
Christ to be crucified, committed an awful sin. But Jesus said that the one
who delivered him into Pilate's hands had the greater sin. That was
Judas Iscariot. Why was the sin greater to Judas? Because he had more light.
He was with Jesus continually, and took part in the ministry of the gospel,
and afterwards fell. Having much more light than Pilate his sin was greater.
Two individuals may do the same act; but if one has greater light than the
other, that act will be more sinful to him.
"And Jesus said, For judgment
I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they
which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him
heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto
them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see;
therefore your sin remaineth." John 9:39-41. "If I had not come and
spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their
sin. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they
had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my
Father." John 15:22, 24. "And the times of this ignorance God
winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.'' Acts 17: 30. We
could add much testimony on this point, but deem the foregoing sufficient.
Not only does light rate the
sinfulness of crime here, but light will rate the punishment of the damned in
hell forever. "And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and
prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with
many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes,
shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him
shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will
ask the more." Luke 12: 47, 48. When has this reference to? "Be ye
therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.
The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and
at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint
him his portion with the unbelievers." Luke 12: 40, 46.
This clearly teaches degrees of
future punishment. Those who in life knew—had a divine revelation—had
much light respecting the Lord's will concerning them; yet rebelled against
that light, and did not his will, these shall receive "many
stripes." But the millions who knew not, had no divine
revelation, did not have the full light of the gospel, yet did things worthy
of punishment, these shall receive "few stripes." Not only the
wicked will be turned into hell, but "all the nations that forget
God." Psalms 9:17. But in eternity it will be more tolerable for those
nations than for the wicked wretch who willfully and knowingly went against
light and truth. While all will be cast into the same hell, conscience will
be a principal part of eternal torment, and the punishment
of sense, and separation will be much greater to some than
others.
"And whosoever shall not
receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city,
shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more
tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for
that city." Matthew 10:14, 15. "Then began he to upbraid the cities
wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe
unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which
were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have
repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be
more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And
thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to
hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in
Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That
it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than
for thee." Matthew 11: 20-24.
Jesus upbraided these cities, and
declared that if he had done the same works in Sodom that they beheld him do,
those ancient people would have repented, and would not have been destroyed;
but at the day of judgment Sodom will have it more tolerable than they. The punishment
of Sodom will not be as great. If that punishment was simply annihilation,
such language would be meaningless.
"For when they speak great
swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through
much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of
corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in
bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with
them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known
the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the
holy commandment delivered unto them." 2nd Peter 2:18-21. "For if
we sin willfully 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. He
that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: of
how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath
trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the
covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite
unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth
unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge
his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living
God." Hebrews 10:26-31.
How solemn these truths. Of all
the millions in the dark regions of despair, the man and woman who were once
saved and then fell from that state, and are lost forever, will have the
greatest punishment. Their punishment will be a much sorer
punishment than that of those who were never saved. Through all eternity
they will remember a time when they were saved, when the sweet peace of heaven
filled their souls. They will remember those seasons of grace and glory, the
sweet hymns of Zion, the fellowship of their Creator. They will look back to
the time when their hearts were pure, and they were ready to enter heaven and
immortal glory to spend eternity. Oh, what a remembrance for a lost soul! But
they sold out their souls for a feather. They bartered away the priceless
treasure of salvation for some trifle, some of earth's vanities. Now they are
lost—eternally lost; forever cut off from Christ and all that is pure and
lovely; sinking away farther and farther from home, heaven, and loved ones,
eternally separated. Oh, what a punishment! Yet, once they were saved. It
were better for them never to have known the way of righteousness.
From the foregoing texts we
clearly see that men's punishment will be "according to their
deeds"; that some will have "greater damnation, "a
"much sorer punishment" than others. Some will have ''few
stripes,'' others ''many,'' according to the degree of light received. That
it will be "more tolerable" for some than others. This stands in
square contradiction to the doctrine of annihilation. If the ungodly will be
simply burned into ashes as blind guides vainly hope, such scriptures would
have no meaning. The annihilation theory stands in square contradiction to
every plain text cited under this proposition.
Second. Annihilation is no
punishment. To blot the wicked out of existence is the very opposite of
everlasting punishment, eternal damnation, torment forever and ever, which
the Scriptures so plainly declare will be the eternal future of the ungodly.
When the wicked are brought before the judgment-seat of Christ in shame and
everlasting contempt, and their guilty consciences lash them as they writhe
beneath his piercing gaze, to then suddenly blot them out of existence, would
be a blessing, a glorious relief from their awful punishment. Instead of
annihilation being a punishment, it would be a relief, and an eternal relief
from punishment; because, if unconscious, they cease to suffer. If they are
eternally unconscious, are no more, they do not suffer an everlasting punishment or torment,
which the Bible so plainly declares they will. To accept the annihilation
theory is to make the truth a lie. But the truth is no lie, and will stand
when men's reasonings and theories fall eternally.
I repeat, that to blot the wicked
out of existence, would be a grand blessing and favor to them instead of
punishment. Thousands in this life, who were suffering the pangs of a guilty
conscience, have committed suicide, thus expecting to get out of misery. To
get out of punishment they took their own lives. You can scarcely pick up a
newspaper without reading an account of some one taking his life to get
out of punishment and misery. To blot the wicked out of existence eternally,
where they never would realize conscious suffering, would be one of the
grandest blessings God could bestow upon them. Instead of being tormented
forever and ever in the damnation of hell as the Bible so plainly teaches,
they would be relieved from such punishment by going into an unconscious
state, yea, by no longer having any existence. This is the very opposite of
what the Bible teaches, viz., everlasting punishment.
I shall now reply to some of the
main arguments produced by materialists in support of the annihilation of the
wicked.
First. The doctrine of future
everlasting punishment detracts from, and casts reflection upon the glory,
wisdom, eternal justice and fatherly care, and nature of God. It casts reflection
upon the atonement of Christ, who tasted death for every man.
To the unenlightened, the above
might look quite plausible, but to those who are taught of the Lord its
fallacy is clearly seen. To sustain the above proposition, materialists will
have to prove two things. First, that man is not responsible to God, and has
no free moral agency. Second, that God has failed to make ample provisions
for the salvation of all mankind.
1. God does not will that any man
be lost. He wills that all be saved. "The Lord is not slack concerning
his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward,
not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance." 2nd Peter 3:9. "And the times of this ignorance God
winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: because he hath
appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by
that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men,
in that he hath raised him from the dead." Acts 17: 30, 31. Then if the
wicked make their eternal destiny in hell, it will not be because God willed
it so. They rejected his infinite mercy and love, and contrary to his will
made their bed in hell. Upon whom can such cast reflection? Reason answers,
upon themselves.
2. Through the death of Jesus
Christ provisions are made for the salvation of all mankind. "For God so
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoso ever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.'' John 3:16.
"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the
ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet
peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth
his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for
us." Romans 5:6-8. "In this was manifested the love of God toward
us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might
live through him.'' 1st John 4:9. "But we see Jesus, who was made a
little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory
and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.''
Hebrews 2: 9.
God so loved the world that he
gave the dearest treasure he had, his only Son. Man had transgressed his law,
and was guilty. Justice demanded that the guilty suffer the punishment and
pay the penalty. But God's love and mercy for lost humanity provided a way of
escape. He gave his own Son, who met the demands of justice, and suffered for
us; yea, tasted death for ''every man.'' Behold, what love the Father hath
bestowed upon us. Such love our finite minds are unable to fathom. But if men
reject the love and mercy of God, and refuse to accept deliverance through
Jesus Christ, and close their life in rebellion against God's throne, they
will suffer the penalty; and not for a moment does it cast reflection upon
the character and love of God.
Suppose, in the penitentiary at
Moundsville, West Virginia, there are twenty men, who are guilty of murder,
and under sentence of death. Each one is guilty, and the hour of execution is
drawing near. But the governor of that state makes a proclamation that on a
certain day a pardon will be granted each one, and the prison-doors will be opened for them to go out into the world, free
men. When the time comes, the prison-gates open, and all are invited to step
out and enjoy liberty. Ten step out, but the other ten refuse. They will not
accept the invitation. They say we will stay here and pay the penalty of our
crime. On the day of execution, I ask, in all candor and reason, Can they
reflect upon the governor? You say, No. No more can the ungodly reflect upon God.
The state of sin is represented in
the Scripture as a prison house. The mission of Christ is prophesied as
follows: "I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold
thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people,
for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the
prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the
prison-house.'' Isaiah 42: 6, 7. ''The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me;
because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he
hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the
captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to appoint
unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of
joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that
they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that
he might be glorified." Isaiah 61:1, 3.
Christ came and tasted death for
every man. He then proclaimed liberty to the captives, and opened the prison
doors, and now invites all to come out and be free. But millions will
not heed the glorious invitation. They will not accept pardon. They choose to
remain in the prison of sin, and as a result must pay the penalty of their
crime. Does that cast reflection upon Christ's atonement, and the character
of God? Never! But says one, If God wills that all are saved, who can resist
his will? All will then be saved. Not so. For God wills the salvation of all
now, but men resist his will, and all are not now saved.
3. Perfect provisions have been
made in the atonement of Christ, to fully save all men from all sin, and
preserve them blameless in this world even unto the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ. The highest inducements of heaven are held out to lost men in this
world to accept salvation and be saved. A crucified Savior, his dying love,
the goodness and mercy of God are all extended to lost men and women. The
Holy Spirit has come into the world to convict of sin, righteousness and
judgment to come: to save, sanctify, and keep from evil, and thus execute the
perfect salvation Jesus purchased upon the cross. A perpetual ministry is
commissioned to preach the gospel to "every creature" in "all
nations,'' and the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one
that believes'. The invitations of the gospel are extended to all. ''God Now commandeth all men
everywhere to repent." Now then, if men will reject all this, and
trample the blood of Christ beneath their feet, rebel against the love and
mercy of God, can reflection be cast upon God if they make hell their eternal
portion? Never! If you are starving for food, and a friend invites you to a
table richly spread with good things, but you will not accept his invitation,
and starve to death, who is to blame, you or the friend?
4. Life and death are set before
every man, heaven and hell. The Bible gives the most solemn warnings to all
men to choose life, and heaven, and be happy forever. It clearly warns
them of their eternal doom, providing they choose the way of death. If in the
face of these warnings men will choose hell for their everlasting portion,
who is to blame?—THEMSELVES.
5. Hell was never prepared for
man. Everlasting fire and torment was prepared "for the devil and his
angels." Matthew 25:41. But if man will join Satan, in his rebellion
against God, and serve the devil here, he will spend his eternity with him.
And while ages roll, he will never reflect upon God. He is there because he
would not have Christ to rule over him.
Second. Everlasting fire will
not burn forever, because eternal fire converted the cities of Sodom and
Gomorrah into ashes, and now the saline waters of the Dead Sea roll over the
very spot. Proof—Jude 7 and 2nd Peter 2:6.
The above is one of the strongest
arguments used by materialists against an everlasting hell. But we shall show
that their deductions are only a "refuge of lies," gotten up by the
devil to ease the guilty conscience, and soothe the sinner on the road to
eternal damnation. Before they can sustain the above proposition, they will
have to prove that the terms Sodom and Gomorrah always
refer to the houses or buildings which made up those cities. When we refer to
New York or London as wicked cities, we do not refer to the houses and
buildings, but to the people. "When the prophet said, "Behold, this
was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance
of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the
hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination
before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good." Ezekiel 16:49,50.
He spoke of the people. When the Lord said that it would be more
tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for
Capernaum, he did not have reference to the buildings of those cities, for
long since have they passed out of existence, but he referred to the people
of those cities.
When God rained fire and brimstone
from heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah it reduced those cities to ashes. As far
as the cities, buildings, land, vegetation, etc., was concerned, they were
turned into ashes. 2nd Peter 2 : 6. But the people of those cities who
committed fornication going after strange flesh, etc., shall "suffer the
vengeance of eternal fire." Jude 7. While the literal cities were turned into ashes, the people will be brought to
judgment, and then cast into hell, where they will suffer the vengeance
of eternal fire.
Third. The wicked and ungodly
shall be destroyed. Proof —"But the transgressors shall be
destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off." Psalms
37:38. "For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you
even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is
destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who
mind earthly things." Philippians 3:18,19. "Who shall be punished
with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the
glory of his power.'' 2nd Thessalonians 1 : 9.
That these texts prove that the
ultimate state and condition of the ungodly is expressed by the term
destruction, we readily admit. But before they can be wrested in favor
of the annihilation theory, it must be proved that "destroy" always
means to obliterate or blot out of existence. This I emphatically deny.
Webster gives us two definitions: ''To demolish; to ruin." Destruction—
ruin; demolition. He defines ruin, "That change of anything which
destroys it, or entirely defeats its object, or unfits it for use. To
subvert; to destroy; as, to ruin a state or government. To destroy in any
manner; as to ruin health or happiness, to ruin reputation. To counteract, to
defeat; as, to ruin a plan or project. To deprive of felicity or fortune. To
bring to everlasting misery; as, to ruin the soul."
This expresses clearly the Bible
application of the word destroy to the future of the wicked. Man was
originally created to enjoy God and live upon the plane of his nature. But
when he is eternally disqualified by sin for that lofty end, he is eternally
destroyed—ruined. He will never meet the object for which he was created. He
is eternally separated from God, cut off from communion with him, which is
the normal sphere of the soul's happiness. Thus he is ruined forever.
Sin separates the soul from God.
"Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it can not save; neither
his ear heavy, that it can not hear: but your iniquities have separated
between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he
will not hear.'' Isaiah 59:1, 2. Sin in this life separates between man and
his God. A great chasm divides between the sinner and the favor and approval
of his Maker. The longer a man lives in sin and travels the downward road,
the wider that chasm becomes. In this life, on this side of eternity, it is
possible to bridge over that great chasm. Through repentance we can here
cross over to the other side and receive the favor of God. Also, those who
enjoy the favor of God can lose salvation and pass over to the other side
again. But when we once pass from time into eternity, there will be no more bridging that awful chasm.
No more passing to and fro.
"There was a certain rich
man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every
day: and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his
gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell
from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And
it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into
Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell he lift
up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in
his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send
Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue;
for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou
in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things:
but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between
us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you can
not; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.'' Luke
16:19-26.
We learn from this that after men
pass from time into eternity, and between death and the judgment, there is no
such a thing as man passing from the side of the lost to the saved. That gulf
is then fixed and settled eternally, and they can not pass back and forward.
But let us pass beyond the
judgment, beyond the awful day of his coming, and what is the testimony of
divine truth? "And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord
Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire
taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of
our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction
from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall
come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that
believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day." 2nd
Thessalonians 1: 7-10,
The ungodly will be eternally
separated from God, eternally cut off from him. This is not a blotting out of
existence as the heathen vainly hope, but a banishment from the presence of
the Lord and the glory of his power. An exclusion from his approbation
forever; so that the light of his countenance can no more be enjoyed, as
there will be an eternal impossibility of ever being reconciled to him. It is
not annihilation, for their being continues, and as the destruction is
everlasting, it is an eternal continuance and presence of evil, and absence
of all good. Thus the wicked will be eternally ruined—destroyed—from the
lofty end for which they were created.
For the benefit of the reader, I
will quote a few of the many texts which prove that to destroy a thing, does
not always mean to blot it out of existence. "And Pharaoh's servants
said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go,
that they may serve the Lord their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is
destroyed?" Exodus 10: 7. Pharaoh's servants said that Egypt was
destroyed. The awful plagues that the Almighty sent into that land destroyed
it. Egypt was not blotted out of existence—annihilated, but it was ruined.
''For the turning away of the
simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.''
Proverbs 1:32. The prosperity of fools could not blot them out of existence.
"An hypocrite with his mouth
destroyeth his neighbor: but through knowledge shall the just be
delivered." Proverbs 11:9. Surely no one believes that a hypocrite with
his mouth can annihilate his neighbor. But he can ruin his character, and say
things that will cast reflection upon him, and thus destroy him.
"A fool's mouth is his
destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul." Proverbs 18:7.
"Be not righteous overmuch; neither make thyself over wise: why
shouldest thou destroy thyself?" Ecclesiastes 7:16. "My people are
destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will
also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast
forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.'' Hosea 4: 6.
For lack of knowledge the people of God ruined themselves, and rendered themselves
unfit for service.
"O Israel, thou hast
destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.'' Hosea 13:9. I ask in all candor
and reason, Did Israel blot herself out of existence? Was Israel as a nation
annihilated? Not so. After she had destroyed herself, God said, "In me
is thine help."
Paul preached the very faith he
once had destroyed. Galatians 1: 23. If destroy means only to annihilate how
could Paul preach a thing that was blotted out of existence, a thing that was
no more? Ah! the very faith Paul once destroyed was still a living faith, and
he preached it to others. Thus we could multiply Scripture texts on this
point but deem the above sufficient. A storm may destroy your crops, but not
annihilate them; a cyclone may overturn your buildings and destroy them, yea,
leave a path of destruction for hundreds of miles, and yet not annihilate a
single thing. So will sin destroy your soul, and in the day of judgment, you
will be punished with everlasting destruction in the flames of a fire that
''never shall be quenched,'' where you will be "tormented forever and
ever."
Fourth. The sinner shall
perish. Proof—"But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken
and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall
utterly perish in their own corruption." 2nd Peter 2:12. "There
were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans whose blood
Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices, And Jesus answering said unto
them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans,
because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye
shall all likewise perish.'' Luke 13:1-3.
That the word perish is
here used to teach the hopeless and lost condition of the guilty we admit;
but that it teaches the doctrine of annihilation we deny. While Webster
defines the word, "To be destroyed; to come to nothing," he also
defines it Scripturally, "To be lost eternally; to be sentenced to
endless misery." The latter conveys the Scriptural use of the word when
applied to the future of the wicked. If perish only means to come to nothing
and be no more forever, then the righteous will also be blotted out of
existence eternally—"For the righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it
to heart.'' Isaiah 57:1. In Jeremiah 9:12 the word signifies, to be wasted or
rendered useless. It signifies the hopeless and lost condition of the ungodly
in hell. No hope of ever being recovered from their awful state of torment.
Their hope and opportunities are forever cut off. In this sense they perish.
Fifth. The sinner shall die.
Death will be his end. Death is the opposite of everlasting conscious
suffering. Proof— "Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the
father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die." Ezekiel 18:4. "But now being made
free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness,
and the end everlasting life." Romans 6: 22.
Before these texts can be wrested
in defense of the annihilation theory, three things will have to be proven.
(1) That they apply exclusively to the state of the guilty
beyond the judgment. (2) That the term death in these texts
signifies a cessation of the soul's conscious being. (3) That the
death of a thing blots it out of existence. Materialists can not
sustain either of these propositions. With their failure to do so, their
doctrine falls. I shall clearly prove that each of the above is a false and
unscriptural premise.
1. The death of the sinner is not
applied exclusively to his future state, but is a present condition and
realization. "And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden
of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man,
saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day
that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.'' Genesis 2:15-17.
God warned our fore-parents, Adam
and Eve, that in the day they would disobey him, "thou shalt
surely die." The penalty of death was to fall upon them, not beyond the
judgment, or thousands of years in the future, but in the very day of their
sin. The devil said, ''Ye shall not surely die;'' and Adventists and all
materialists have taken up the same falsehood, and now deny that Adam did
die. But the divine testimony stands unbroken, that on the very day Adam
transgressed the law of the Lord, he died. Not a physical death, for he lived
many years after he was driven from Eden. True, physical death also came upon
Adam as a result of his fall. See Genesis 3:17-19; 1st Corinthians 15: 21,
22. But he died a spiritual death. He became dead in sin. Not only did his
body die, but "the soul that sinneth it shall die."
His soul was cut off from union
with God.
Sin separates the soul from God.
"Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it can not save; neither
his ear heavy, that it can not hear: but your iniquities have separated
between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he
will not hear." Isaiah 59:1, 2. Thus man is cut off from the grace of
divine life. His soul is alienated from God, brought under the dominion of
sin.
That state of man in sin is
called "death": and this death of the soul is realized in
the very day sin is committed. "Will the Lord be pleased with thousands
of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first-born
for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?"
Micah 6: 7. The soul is the volitional part of man's being. It is that part
of him that is responsible to God. It sins, and must be converted. "The
law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." It is that part of man
that receives spiritual life from God in regeneration. "Hear and your
soul shall live."
Not only did Adam's transgression
bring him under the dominion of sin, and into a state of spiritual death, but
it affected the whole human family. "Wherefore, as by one man sin
entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for
that all have sinned.'' Romans 5:12. Death by sin came upon all men. In this
chapter sin and death, and life, and salvation, are used interchangeably,
which shows that the spiritual phase of death is referred to. "Death
reigned from Adam to Moses." Verse 14. That is, they were all under sin
and in spiritual death. Moses gave the law, but the law could not give life.
Galatians 3: 21. Therefore death reigned over all the world till Christ. He
came "that they might have life." John 10:10. In this dispensation,
when men get saved they pass from death unto life. 1st John 3:14. So
death—the state of the sinner, the wages of sin, is a present realization, the present state of the soul.
"But every man is tempted,
when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath
conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth
forth death.'' James 1:14,15. When an individual allows lust to conceive in
his heart, it will bring forth sin. And sin, when it is finished (committed)
brings forth death, Just as soon as man yields to hellish lust, sin is
committed (finished) and death is the immediate result.
Hear Paul's testimony: "For I
was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin
revived, and I died.'' Romans 7:9. When Paul was an infant, and
had no knowledge of the law, he was alive. He was saved, passive
through the atonement. But when the commandment came, when he arrived at the
years of accountability, sin revived, and he testified, "I
died." The very first sin Paul committed produced death to his
soul, and he was dead. "Dead in trespasses and sins."
Ephesians 2:1. "Even when we were dead in sins." Verse 5.
"And you being dead in your sins." Colossians 2:13. "He
that loveth not his brother abideth in death." 1st John
3:14. "To be carnally minded is death.'' Romans 8:6. "She that
liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth." 1st Timothy 5:6.
"Thou hast a name that thou livest and art dead." Revelation
3:1. Jude speaks of some people "twice dead, plucked up by the roots."
Jude 12. "Arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." Ephesians 5:14.
These scriptures with many more
clearly overthrow the doctrine that the death of the soul incurred by
sin, is exclusively applied to the state of the sinner beyond the judgment.
The whole un regenerated world are in this life dead, abiding in
death. The present dead state of the sinner is the result of sin,
its wages. If he fails to repent and obtain spiritual life in this world
through Jesus Christ, he will continue in the same state of death in the
eternal world that now is his sad condition.
2. The death of the soul incurred
by sin is not a cessation of its conscious existence or being. That this
death is the opposite of conscious suffering, I shall prove to be
utterly false. In giving the Scriptural meaning of the term
death as applied to the sinner both in this world and that which is to
come, Webster defines it thus: (1) "Separation or alienation of the soul
from God; a being under the dominion of sin, and destitute of grace and
divine life; called spiritual death." (2) "Perpetual separation
from God, and eternal torments; called the second death.'' The death of the
soul incurred by sin, is not a cessation of its conscious being, but an
alienation from God, from his approving smile and favor, which is the normal
sphere of the soul's happiness. A state where the soul is cut off from union
with God, where it no longer partakes of his divine life. This is the wages
of sin.
We have clearly proved that the
death of the soul—the wages of sin—is a present condition. Every sinner is
declared in the Bible to be dead. Not less than one hundred clear texts prove
this fact. The same state of death he is now in will be his eternal state.
But is the dead sinner unconscious? Is he blotted out of existence? Is he
annihilated? No; he lives among us. He has an existence. His soul is also
conscious. It is the volitional part of his being. It sins, and condemnation
rests upon it. It is sensitive toward God. "Dead while she liveth."
1st Timothy 5:6.
While the Bible declares that the
sinner is now dead (some of them, religious professors "who have a name
to live and are dead," "twice dead," yet he passes
through conscious suffering, suffers remorse of conscience, suffers the guilt
of his crime. This is the present experience of tens of thousands. Just so in
the eternal world. As soon as a man sins, he, like Paul, dies. Romans 7:9. As long as he continues in sin he
"abideth in death." If such refuse to come to Christ, "that they
might have life," they will die and go into the eternal world dead, dead
in sin. In this world they have a chance of life. But once they pass
into eternity, all chance is forever cut off, and they are doomed to
suffer an eternal separation from God. Doomed to abide in the same state of
death they now are in. But as they have a conscious existence now, and suffer
under the guilt of a defiled conscience, so will they in the future suffer
the torments of a guilty conscience forever, while they eternally are
separated from God—dead.
But can a dead man still exist and
suffer? Yes, all sinners are now dead men. Genesis 2:15-17; Isaiah 59:1, 2;
Romans 5:12; James 1:14, 15; Romans 7:9; Ephesians 2:1; Ephesians 2:5.
Colossians 2: 13; 1st John 3:14; Romans 8: 6; 1st Timothy 5: 6; Revelation
3:1; Jude 12; Ephesians 5:14; John 5: 24, 25. And they have a conscious
existence. They also suffer the torments of a guilty conscience. See Genesis
4: 8-13; 1st Samuel 28:15; Matthew 27: 3-5; John 8: 9. This will be true of them
in the eternal world, as well as here; and adds not a feather's weight of
evidence against the Bible doctrine of everlasting punishment. The torments
of the guilty in the lake of fire is termed ''the second death," and
that torment will last forever and ever. Revelation 21:8; Revelation 20:10.
Sixth. The following
scriptures prove that the ungodly will be blotted out of
existence: "Fret not thyself because of evil doers, neither be thou
envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like
the grass, and wither as the green herb. For yet a little while, and the
wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it
shall not be. I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself
like a green bay-tree. Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought
him, but he could not be found.'' Psalms 37:1, 2,10, 35, 36. ''For as ye have
drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea,
they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though
they had not been." Obadiah 16.
That these scriptures prove the
above proposition, is false. No such a thing is even hinted at. The above
statement is as baseless as the shadow of a dream. Before these texts could
be wrested in defense of the annihilation theory, materialists will have to
prove that they apply to the state of man beyond the resurrection. This they
can not do. Let us briefly consider each one. In the first we are commanded
not to fret because of evil doers, nor be envious at them; for the Psalmist
assures us that they will soon be cut down like the grass. Does he refer to
their state beyond the resurrection at the last day? Never. He is speaking of
death.
''For he knoweth our frame; he
remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of
the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone;
and the place thereof shall know it no more." Psalms 103:14-16. ''Man
that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth
like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and
continueth not.'' Job 14:1, 2. Man that is born of a woman ''is dust,'' he is
"of few days," his days are "like grass"; namely,
"soon cut down." This speaks of the shortness of life. Evil doers
and workers of iniquity may prosper, but their prosperity lasts but a few
short years. They are soon cut down by death and go hence. Does that
overthrow the doctrine of eternal punishment? It has no bearing on the subject.
''Yet a little while, and the
wicked shall not be." "I have seen the wicked in great power, and
spreading himself like a green bay-tree," says the Psalmist, "yet
he passed away, and, lo, he was not.'' And the prophet adds that he is "as
though he had not been." David says, after the wicked man passed away,
he sought him, "but he could not be found." When he diligently
considered his place, it was not. What weight have these poetical sayings of
the Psalmist against the everlasting torment of the wicked in hell? None
whatever. They have no bearing on the subject. David was speaking of the
folly of wickedness. He testified how he had seen wicked men make a great
display in the earth and spread themselves like a green bay-tree, but they
soon passed away, and were not. Death cut them down in the midst of their
great honor and prosperity, and they were no more seen upon earth. They soon
passed out of people's memory, and were as though they had not been. Their
place in earth's circles and societies, in the hearts and minds of the
people, could not be found.
We all have seen the same thing,
men who for a time swept to the height of worldly honor, and drank to the
full of worldly applause— they were very popular in the people's minds, and
had a place in their hearts and affections. Thus, like a green bay-tree, they
spread themselves. But in a few years, death cut them off, and they passed
away. They were no more. Soon the memory of them is almost forgotten. They
lose their place in the affections of the people. They are as though they had
not been. Take, for example, Napoleon, or Alexander the Great. These are but
two examples in thousands. Their place in worldly honor is no more.
This is precisely what the
Psalmist and prophet teaches in the texts above quoted. To apply them to
eternity beyond the judgment, as expressing the state of the ungodly, is
ignorance and folly. It is wresting Scripture out of its true meaning, and
applying it elsewhere. Such are the absurd wrestings of Scripture to sustain
false doctrine, resorted to by Adventists and all no-soulists. May God awaken
their sleeping souls, ere they awaken in hell, to find their punishment
just what the Bible declares—eternal damnation.
Similar texts as the above quoted
refer directly to death and the grave.
As the cloud is consumed and
vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. He
shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any
more.'' Job 7: 9,10.
Seventh. The wicked shall be
burned up root and branch. Proof—"For, behold, the day cometh, that
shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly,
shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord
of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.'' Malachi 4:1.
Before this text can be made to
prove the future annihilation of the wicked, two positions will have to be
sustained. First, that this text applies to the state of the ungodly beyond
the judgment. Second, that it is not metaphorical language. Neither of these
positions can be sustained. This I shall clearly prove.
1. It does not apply to the state
of the wicked in the eternal world. This great day that was to burn up the
proud and them that do wickedly, was to be ushered in by the coming of Elijah
the prophet. "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the
coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart
of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their
fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.'' Verse 5, 6.
When did this reach a fulfillment?
"But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is
heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his
name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at
his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink
neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy
Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall
he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and
power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the
disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for
the Lord." Luke 1:13-17.
''For all the prophets and the law
prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was
for to come." Matthew 11:13, 14. "And his disciples asked him,
saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come, and Jesus answered
and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But
I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have
done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man
suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John
the Baptist." Matthew 17:10-13.
John the Baptist was the Elias who
was the harbinger of that great and dreadful day of the Lord, that day of
fire. But what day did John usher in? The gospel day, the present day of fire
and grace. John's twilight gave way to the "Sun of righteousness,"
who arose "with healing in his wings." Malachi 4: 2. The whole of
the fourth chapter of Malachi is a clear prediction of the coming of Christ in his first advent, and the work of his redeeming
grace. While it was a glorious day thus ushered in, yet it was a dreadful day
for the ungodly. Take for example the awful calamity which befell the Jews
because they rejected the Messiah.
But do other prophecies point
forward to Christ's first coming as ushering in a day of fire, a day to burn
as an oven? Thus saith the Lord: "Behold, I will send my messenger, and
he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall
suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye
delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide
the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like
a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: and he shall sit as a refiner and
purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as
gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in
righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant
unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years. And I will come
near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers,
and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those
that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and
that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord
of hosts. For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not
consumed.'' Malachi 3:1-6. "For every battle of the warrior is with
confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning
and fuel of fire. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and
the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of
Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end,
upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish
it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the
Lord of hosts will perform this." Isaiah 9: 5-7.
Both of these texts show that the
first coming of Christ was with burning and fuel of fire. Let us turn to the
fulfillment. "And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees:
therefore every tree" which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down,
and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but
he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to
bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire." Matthew
3:10, 11. "I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it
be already kindled." Luke 12:49. This is not a day of literal fire,
which literally burns up the wicked, but a day of Holy Spirit fire, a day
when the naming truth consumes the sinners, and burns up all the proud and wicked that would attempt to profess
among God's people. Under the law, Moses' church was full of sinners. But
under the gospel, Christ established and keeps a pure church by the fire of
holiness and truth.
The following scriptures shed
light upon Malachi 4:1, 3, and show in what sense the wicked are burned into
ashes. ''The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the
hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us
shall dwell with everlasting burnings?" Isaiah 33:14. "And the
prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be
done unto them. Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Because ye speak
this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people
wood, and it shall devour them." Jeremiah 5:13, 14. "And I will
turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all
thy tin: and I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counselors as
at the beginning; afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city. Zion shall be
redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness. And the
destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and
they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed." Isaiah 1:25-28. "And
it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in
Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among
the living in Jerusalem: when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of
the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the
midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. And
the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her
assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by
night: for upon all the glory shall be a defense.'' Isaiah 4:3-5.
Thank God for this day of fire.
All the wicked are devoured—consumed, from among the people of God, and the
church is kept pure. Instead of this text applying beyond the judgment, where
the righteous will be caught up to heaven and the wicked will be cast into
hell, it sets forth the present work of the Holy Spirit and Word, in
redeeming unto the Lord a pure and holy church or bride.
2. The text is a metaphorical
expression—figurative language—"All the proud, yea, and all that do
wickedly, shall be stubble." This can not be taken literally, for surely
no one believes that the wicked will be turned into literal stubble. The
language is highly figurative. This fact completely overthrows the doctrine
of annihilation founded upon this text. No more will the people be turned
into literal stubble and be literally burned up than they will be turned into
literal wood, and literally devoured by God's Word (see Jeremiah 5:14); or
the prophets turned into wind literally. See Jeremiah 5:13. So with all the
twisting that men can do, the Bible still teaches that the wicked shall
"depart into everlasting fire,'' and suffer an ''everlasting
punishment.'' All false religionists will have their part in the lake of fire
and brimstone. The beast ascended out of the bottomless pit, is of hellish
origin, and at last will be cast into perdition.
''After these things I saw another
angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was
lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice,
saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation
of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and
hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her
fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her,
and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her
delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her,
my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of
her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered
her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her
double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her
double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much
torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and
am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one
day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with
fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her." Revelation 18:1-8.
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Friday, March 2, 2012
THE CLEANSING OF THE SANCTUARY PT4
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