Section V.

An Argument From Those Scriptures Which in Various Ways, Represent the Punishment of Sinners as Consisting in Actual Suffering, and Not in Annihilation or Loss of Conscious Existence.

The texts of Scripture to be introduced in this argument are numerous and various, and for the sake of greater clearness and brevity, we will classify them, and introduce only a few of each class.

1. The Scriptures employ terms to describe the punishment of sinners, which express the idea of suffering, pain and anguish. Mark ix. 43, 44: "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." This text clearly implies positive suffering. By the worm that dieth not, may be meant the gnawing of a guilty conscience, that painful, perpetual remorse, which sinners will experience, when they see and feel the full enormity of their sin and guilt, in their alienation from God and their exclusion from the society of the good and happy. The expression "enter into life," confirms he idea of positive suffering, for this denotes more than continued existence. They are already in possession of life, in the sense of mere existence, and hence, if mere continued existence be meant, they do not "enter into life," but remain in life, or life remains in them. It is clear then that by entering into life, must be meant, being admitted to the joys of heaven; and, hence, to "go to hell," must mean entering upon the sufferings of hell. The expression "go into hell," implies a place, and an actual going into that place, which does not express annihilation but continued existence. A being, on ceasing to exist, goes nowhere, he is nowhere. But the strong point in the text, is the expression, "the worm that dieth not." If this means remorse of conscience, as it undoubtedly does, it proves that consciousness will never become extinct, and annihilation cannot take place, for that would be the death of the worm that dieth not.

Luke xvi. 19, 31: "There was a certain rich man:' &e. This whole subject proceeds upon the principle, that conscious suffering and not annihilation, is the portion of sinners in the future world. The rich man was in "torment, "which implies conscious suffering. He saw Abraham and Lazarus, and was told they could not pass from one place to the other, but there is not the slightest intimation that the rich man was in the process of annihilation, or likely even to be annihilated.

Rev. xxii. 14, 15: "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. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie." Here the punishment of the wicked is made to consist of exclusion from heaven, and of the miseries of the terrible association of evil doers which the excluded will constitute. There is not the slightest allusion to annihilation.

Rev. xiv. 11: "The smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever." We need not inquire whether or not this text strictly relates to the final destiny of sinners; it is not important to the argument; for if it does not, the representation is so clearly borrowed from it, it indicates what it will be. The point is, that the most terrible feature of the punishment is the duration of torment, which necessarily implies conscious suffering, and not annihilation.

Rev. xx. 10: "Shall be tormented day and night forever and ever." This clearly teaches the doctrine of conscious suffering. If it be supposed that it is the devils, and not men, that are the subjects of this torment, it will be observed that it is in the same place where the beasts and the false prophets are, and these are men. By the beasts we understand, certain kings and rulers.

2. The Scriptures lay great stress upon the duration of the suffering, which constitutes the punishment of sinners. This point has been involved in several other positions, but it is proper to make it distinct and prominent in this place. Matt. xviii. 8: "To be cast into everlasting fire." Chap. xxv. 46: "These shall go away into everlasting punishment." Verse 41: "Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire." 2 Thes. i. 9: "Who shall he punished with everlasting destruction." Rev. xiv. 11: "The smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever." Chap. xx. 10: "Tormented forever and ever." In this argument we rely wholly upon the duration of the suffering, and not on the fact that conscious pain is expressed, as in the argument above. If annihilation were the punishment, its terror would depend upon its being an utter extinction of being, but it is made here to depend upon its duration, to express which, the strongest terms are employed which language furnishes. These terms are applied directly to the suffering. It is everlasting fire into which they are to go. But it may be said that the fire can be everlasting, and the sinner who is cast into it be very soon burned up. True, this may be the case, but is there anything more alarming in being burned up in everlasting fire, than in fire that will burn only long enough to consume us Everlasting fire was doubtless designed to express the terribleness of the punishment, and yet it adds nothing to it, if it only burns up in the sense of terminating conscious existence, and Christ has failed to express what he obviously intended to. No matter how long the fire burns after the sinner ceases to exist, it adds nothing that need alarm him, or that can make his punishment worse. The punishment is everlasting, consisting in one case of everlasting destruction. We know that this word, destruction, is relied upon to prove annihilation, but this shall be met in another place, and fully considered. It is sufficient to say in this place that it cannot mean annihilation, from the simple fact that everlasting could not be applied as a qualification to annihilation with any good sense. Moreover the destruction is a punishment, and this punishment is everlasting; whereas annihilation is a nonentity, and has no existence, or it is the act of reducing to the state of non-existence, and that cannot be everlasting, hence the punishment, which is called destruction, must have a positive existence, and cannot be annihilation.

3. The Scriptures describe the terrible nature of the punishment which the wicked will endure, in a manner which clearly proves it to be conscious suffering, and not merely ceasing to think and feel. Romans i. 18: "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men." Rom. ii. 8, 9: "Indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil. Heb. x. 28-32: "He that despised Moses' law died without mercy, under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be worthy of, 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 who hath said, vengeance belongeth unto me, I will repay it, saith the Lord. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." This whole exhibition of the impending wrath of God, impresses the mind with an idea of punishment more awful than death; more terrible than "to be slain by the sword, or to be consumed in the fire; more apalling than ceasing to think and feel." But it is said that those who reject Christ are worthy of a sorer punishment than those who died without mercy under the law of Moses. The expression "how much sorer punishment," denotes a punishment vastly more severe. But that amounted to all the terrors of annihilation, according to the theory we oppose, hence this must be more terrible than annihilation, and that which is worse than annihilation cannot he annihilation.

4. The Scriptures associate the punishment of sinners with the existence and punishment of devils, in a manner which proves punishment to be a suffering and not annihilation. That devils are disembodied spirits and inhabitants of the invisible world, we will not undertake to prove in this place; it is so clearly taught in the Scriptures, that probably none with whom we have to deal on this subject will deny it. They are believed to be fallen angels, and to have fallen before this world had an existence, and still to exist bound to the judgment of the great day. 2 Peter, ii. 4: "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them in the chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment." Jude 6: "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." These texts prove the fact of fallen angels. How many of them there are we know not, but there is a chief as a leader, who is often called the devil, is certain. Matt. ix. 34: "The prince of the devils." Chap. xii. 24: "Beelzebub the prince of the devils. Chap. xxv. 41: "The devil and his angels."

That the devils are in misery and await with fear a judgment to come and greater punishment, is also plain. Matt. viii. 29: "They [the devils] cried out saying, what have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God, art thou come to torment us before the time" Mark v. 7: "I adjure thee that thou torment me not." Luke viii. 28: "I beseech thee torment me not." These texts prove that the devils are subjects of punishment, and are looking forward to a time of punishment, being" reserved unto judgment." The time referred to is the judgment day, when all will stand at the bar-

"Nor man alone; the foe of God and man

From his dark den, blaspheming, drags his chain,

And rears his brazen front with thunder scarr'd;

Receives his sentence and begins his hell.

All vengeance past now seems abundant grace ;

Like meteors in a stormy sky, how roll

His baneful eyes! He curses whom he fears;

And deems it the first moment of his fall."

That the punishment of sinners is associated with the punishment of devils, is also very clearly taught in the Scriptures. Matt. xxv.41: "Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels." 1 Tim. iii. 6: "Lest being lifted up, he fall into the condemnation of the devil," Rev. xx. 10, 15: "The devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire, where the beasts and the false prophets are, and shall be tormented day and night, forever and ever. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

The above texts prove, as clearly as anything can be proved in the use of words, that sinners and devils will receive their punishment together. They are clearly associated in point of time, place, and the kind of' punishment they will endure; in degree there will be variations. Will it then be pretended that the devils are to be annihilated Unless it be so contended, the doctrine of the annihilation of sinners falls to the ground. But where is the proof The devils have survived, we cannot tell how many thousand years, since they sinned and were cast into hell, and there is no proof that they will ever cease to exist. This strongly indicates that it is no part of the economy of God to annihilate the moral agencies he has created, but only to punish them according to the magnitude of the offences they commit.

There is one text which may be quoted to prove that the devils will be annihilated, and it is proper to notice it in this place. Heb. ii. 14, 15: "That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death; that is the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their life-time subject to bondage." The stress must be laid upon the word, destroy, to prove from this text, that the devils will be annihilated. We design to examine this word more thoroughly in another place, but will remark here, that whatever its meaning may be elsewhere, it cannot mean annihilation in this text. The process of proving this is very simple. The destruction of the devil, in the sense of this text, is represented as necessary in order to the deliverance of those who through the fear of death were subject to bondage; and hence, the destruction must take place before the deliverance can be effected. But Christ has already delivered thousands from this bondage through fear of death. Rom. viii. 15: "For ye have not received, the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry Abba Father." Verses 38, 39: "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." See also, Gal. iv. 3-7.

Christ has then already delivered his people from bondage through fear of death, and of course he has already destroyed the devil, in the sense of the text, for that was the means leading to the end. But it will not be pretended that the devil has been annihilated, and hence

it is certain that destruction, in this instance, at least, does not mean annihilation. Dr. Macknight translates the text thus: "That through death he might render ineffectual him who had the power of death, that is, the devil." The meaning undoubtedly is, that he might so counteract the influence of the devil, or take away his power, as to deliver those who were subject to bondage. The same idea is expressed in Acts xxvi. 18: "To turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God." When any sinner is turned" from the power of Satan unto God, he is delivered from bondage through fear of death.

We will conclude this argument by remarking that the punishment of sinners, is associated with the punishment of devils, in point of time, place, nature and duration; and that there is no proof that the devil will ever cease to exist, that the whole weight of proof is on the other side of the question; they having survived ages on ages, as inhabitants of the spirit-world, where death, in the sense of dissolution, has never been known to invade, and the conclusion is very certain that sinners are not to be annihilated.