An Essay on the Scriptural Doctrine of Immortality Part 2

Lastly, we are told that "the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever." The general signification of "smoke," regarded as a symbol, appears to be, effect or consequence. Thus, in the remarkable symbol of "a smoking furnace" seen in vision by Abraham (Gen. xv. 17), the fire of the furnace may represent the operation of the law, and the smoke may symbolize "the abounding" of the sins of mankind consequent upon that operation (see Rom. v. 20; also compare 2 Esdras iv. 48).

But in the pa.s.sage before us we have "smoke of torment," of which smoke it is said that it "ascends up for ever and ever," signifying, it would seem, the perpetuity of the _effect_ of the torment. This interpretation accordingly agrees with that previously given (p. 61) relative to "the lake of fire burning with brimstone." There is, however, this difference to be noted, that whereas the present pa.s.sage relates especially to the effect of the _pain and torment_ attendant upon the _process_ of being judged, the other speaks of the effect of the second _death_ to {66} which the wicked, after being tried by the judgment, are condemned.

The portion of Scripture contained in Matt. xxv. 31-46, gives, concerning the awards to be respectively adjudged to the righteous and unrighteous, and the final consequences of the judgment, certain revelations, symbolically expressed, which are made by the Lord himself, the future Judge. In order to complete the argument from Scripture respecting the effect of judgment, we must endeavour to interpret these revelations. "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, he will sit on the throne of his glory: and all nations will be gathered before him: and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and he will place the sheep on his right hand, and the goats on his left" (_vv._ 31-33). We are thus told that all of all nations will come into the presence of the Judge, and that he will separate them into two portions, as distinct the one from the other as sheep are from goats. From what is said farther on we gather that one portion are "the just" (_oi dikaioi_, _v._ 37), and the other the unjust; but no mention is made of a particular process of separation. Consequently there is nothing here which contradicts the conclusion before arrived at (p. 38), that the just are separated from the unjust by partaking of the first resurrection; rather, that conclusion is in {67} accordance with this revelation respecting the place of honour "on the right hand"

being a.s.signed to the just, and their being prepared to receive it when the whole a.s.sembly, just and unjust, are gathered together before the Judge. In _v._ 34, as also in _v._ 40, the Judge is called "the King"

(_ho Basileus_), forasmuch as he is "the faithful and true" One, who "in righteousness judges and makes war," and to whom belongs in a special manner the t.i.tle of "King of kings and Lord of lords" (see Rev.

xix. 11, 16).

We have next to consider the statements of the grounds on which the awards are made, which are very remarkable. "Then shall the King say to them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came to me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say to them, Verily I say to you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" {68} (_vv._ 84-40). What is chiefly noteworthy in these words is, that the Judge identifies himself with suffering humanity, and accounts as "brethren"

even "the least" of those that suffer, having, when he "dwelt among us," partic.i.p.ated in the toils and afflictions to which sinful man is subject (although "in him was no sin)," and submitted in the end to the shame and pain of dying on the cross, although he had shown by his miracles that he had power over death and all the ills of humanity. As is written in Isaiah liii. 4, "He hath borne _our_ griefs and carried _our_ sorrows." This the Son of G.o.d voluntarily took upon himself out of love and compa.s.sion towards us, knowing that, by ordinance of his Father, the Creator of spirits, "we must through many tribulations enter into the kingdom of G.o.d" (Acts xiv. 22), and be made heirs of immortality, and that consequently we had need of such a.s.surance of obtaining the appointed inheritance as that which is given by his partaking with us of life, death, and resurrection (see what is said on this part of the subject in p. 29). Besides this, the sympathy of Jesus Christ with human suffering, which was also shown by his miracles of healing, is specially a reason for giving _practical_ proof, by acts of benevolence and mercy towards our fellow men, that we partake of the same spirit. It is with reference to such _outward_ evidence of faith and righteousness, that the decision of the Judge, given {69} in the pa.s.sage above quoted, is p.r.o.nounced. It seems, too, from the questions put to the Judge by the company of the righteous, and the answer they received, that their acts of kindness and mercy, done in humility and faith, were accepted by the Judge, out of his sympathy and community with the sufferers, as done to himself, although the doers had not had previous knowledge or expectation that their good deeds would be so accepted.

The sentence p.r.o.nounced on the unrighteous, and the reasons for it, are thus stated in _vv._ 41-45: "Then shall he say also to them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the [oe]onian fire (_to pur to aionion_, i.e. the fire of judgment in the future _aion_) prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry, and ye gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily, I say to you, inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me." It should be noticed that the terms of this award are the exact contraries of those of the award to the righteous. On the one hand, the King says, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit {70} the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;" on the other, he says, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into the [oe]onian fire prepared for the devil and his angels;" and the account of what the Judge further says to the unrighteous, and of what they say to him, although somewhat briefer than that relating to the righteous, is made up of exactly opposite particulars. On this principle, since the decision respecting the righteous is p.r.o.nounced on the grounds of positive works of righteousness done in humility and faith, that respecting the unrighteous has regard only to the _omission_ to do such works through presumption and unbelief. The same exhibition of opposite circ.u.mstances and qualities, and the same principle of condemnation for sins of omission exclusively of those of commission, are observable in the two other symbolic representations contained in the same chapter--the parable of the ten virgins, and the parable of the talents. In short, the general purport of the chapter is to indicate, that in the sight of the righteous Judge sins of omission, not less than sins of commission, demand condemnation and punishment; the reasons for which appear to be that both kinds are equally violations of the royal law, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (James ii. 8), and perfect obedience to this law is the necessary foundation of a _common_ immortality.

It only remains now to speak of the final issue of {71} the judgment stated thus in _v._ 46: "And these shall go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into external life." It must be admitted that the first clause of this sentence, taken as it is usually taken, expresses the perpetuity of evil, inasmuch as "punishment" is an evil.

But after this has been conceded, there is still something more to be said on this doctrine. It is evident from the context that by "these"

is meant the unG.o.dly just before spoken of, who, having shown, by their neglecting to give proof of love towards their neighbours, that the love of G.o.d is not in them (see 1 John iv. 20), are counted as enemies, and as such must be punished. For there is no neutral position: all who do not obey the commands of Christ are opposed to him, and all that is opposed to him is destined to be brought under subjection. Further, it is to be noticed that although the final decision is expressed generally in accordance with the before-mentioned principle of employing exactly opposite terms relatively to the righteous and the wicked, here the opposite of "eternal life" is "eternal punishment,"

and not "eternal death," the latter expression being nowhere found in Scripture. May it not hence be argued that, as among men the punishment of the guilty has not for its purpose the infliction of pain and penalty, but rather is the means employed to the end that laws may be obeyed, so the end of divine punishment is for correction, and for {72} giving effect to and establis.h.i.+ng the law of universal righteousness. If it should hence be inferred that the word "eternal"

is applied to future punishment with reference to that permanence of _effect_ which, as has already been indicated (p. 65), is symbolically represented by the perpetual ascent of "the smoke of torment," against this inference it might reasonably be urged that "eternal" ought to be taken in the same sense relatively to the "punishment" of the wicked, as relatively to the "life" of the righteous, and eternity is here predicated of the one just as of the other. Now, although this reasoning appears to be irrefragable, the additional arguments from Scripture which I am about to adduce will, I think, show that there must be some other way of regarding the doctrine of future punishment, which, although not inconsistent with that to which the foregoing interpretation of Matt. xxv. 46 has conducted, differs from it either as to point of view or comprehensiveness.

In the first place, it is to be observed that in our Lord's discourses doctrine was very generally taught by parables and symbolic language, which required to be interpreted in order that the abstract and spiritual truths thereby conveyed might be understood. (This remark applies to the whole of the pa.s.sage, Matt. xxv. 31-46, brought under review in the foregoing discussion.) In Mark iv. 34, it is said that "without a parable he spake not to them," that is, {73} to the mult.i.tude, and that "in private he explained all things to his disciples." Being asked by the disciples, when he was preaching to a great mult.i.tude a.s.sembled together on the sea-sh.o.r.e to hear him, why he spake to them in parables, he answered, "Because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him it shall be given, and he shall have more abundance; but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables, because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand" (Matt. xiii. 10-13). It is here affirmed that although parables from their very character are expressed in terms which the use of the senses renders intelligible, there are those who do not or will not understand them, who for this reason, on the principle of not giving to those who have not, are spoken to only in parables, so that they continue in ignorance. As every effect or consequence implies the antecedence of the _purpose_ of an agent, with respect to this consequence we find it stated in Luke viii. 10, that our Lord expressly addressed the disciples in these words: "Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of G.o.d, but to the rest in parables, _that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand_." To a selected few is granted the favour of being able to discern, _through the objective sense_ of {74} parables, the interior signification whereby mysteries of the kingdom of G.o.d are revealed, whilst from the rest--the mult.i.tude--although the objective sense is the same to them as to the others, the knowledge of the mysteries is withheld. This is evidently a dispensation a.n.a.logous to that according to which, as Christ declared, "Many are called, but few are chosen" (Matt. xxii.

14). It is also in accordance with views expressed in a previous part of this Essay respecting the distinction between "the elect" and the rest of mankind.

It is further to be considered that the Lord promised the apostles that after his departure from them, "the Holy Spirit would teach them all things, and bring all things to their remembrance which he had said to them" (John xiv. 26), and it may be a.s.sumed that after the Day of Pentecost this promise was fulfilled, and that they were then enlightened to discern the spiritual meaning of his doctrine. In this way it may be accounted for that while Christian doctrine rests fundamentally on the words and deeds of Christ as recorded in the Gospels, it is taught in the Acts of the Apostles and the apostolical Epistles in terms of a more abstract character, which, in fact, may be regarded as unfolding the spiritual import of the teaching, the life, and the death of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul, although he was not one of the originally selected apostles, had special grace and {75} power given him for understanding fully and teaching the doctrine of Christ. Now, this apostle, so gifted with understanding and knowledge, writes in his Epistle to the Romans: "By the obedience of one shall the many be made righteous" (v. 19); the context evidently showing that the "one" is Jesus Christ, and that "the many" are _all_ the sinful sons of Adam. I have already adverted to this text (p. 19), and called attention to the significance of the future tense, "shall be made righteous." According to our argument, when they have been made righteous, they are _saved_. Hence, quite consistently with this pa.s.sage in the Epistle to the Romans, St. Paul has said in his first Epistle to Timothy (iv. 10), "We trust in the living G.o.d, who is the Saviour of all men, especially of those that believe." If this sentence had not contained the last clause, there might have been some excuse for questioning whether St. Paul preached the doctrine of the eventual salvation of all men; but inasmuch as he adds, "especially of those that believe," it is as clear as words can make anything clear, that he taught that all are saved in the sense in which he taught that those who believe are saved. The reason for making the distinction expressed by the word "especially" is, I think, sufficiently apparent from the doctrine, previously maintained in this Essay (pp. 88-40), that the elect righteous are raised up first, and partake already of salvation, honour, {76} and glory, during a certain interval preceding the resurrection of the rest of mankind.

Now, since all that are saved, as being at rest and in felicity, are free from sin and evil, this teaching of St. Paul is directly opposed to the doctrine of the perpetuity of evil which is usually inferred (see p. 71) from the saying of our Lord in Matt. xxv. 46. Thus apparently there is irreconcilable contradiction between the teaching of Christ and the teaching of St. Paul on a most momentous subject.

Since, however, the same spirit of wisdom was in the apostle as in his Lord, it is not possible that there can really be such contradiction; and because, consequently, the seeming contradiction must be attributable to our defect of knowledge, or inability, to interpret rightly the allegorical teaching of Christ, we might do well, although no solution of the difficulty should be at hand, to accept this gospel of salvation, in the confidence that, as being declared by St. Paul in plain terms, it must be true Christian doctrine.

I am not, however, prepared to grant that the solution of the above-mentioned difficulty is not discoverable; and accordingly I make bold to indicate a line of argument by which, as it seems to me, a solution is attainable. The first step in this argument is to admit the reality of that a.n.a.logy between G.o.d's natural creation and His spiritual creation which has already been taken into consideration (see p. 14), {77} and to infer therefrom that the spiritual creation is actually in progress towards a foreordained perfect consummation. For the purpose of ill.u.s.trating this view by way of contrast, I may mention that I once heard a sermon in which the preacher, who was regarded in his day as a leader of religious thought, advanced the theory that the word "remedy" expressed the central idea of the divine scheme of salvation. According to this theology, which looks backwards rather than forwards, the prevalence of sin and mortality, and the need of a remedy for the many ills and errors that beset humanity, were contingent on Adam's transgression. It may be granted that this is so far true, that sin and death entered into the world because Adam was not made incapable of sinning. But this theory overlooks the possibility of there being a _final_ cause for the actual facts of humanity, and seems to be a subst.i.tution of _propter hoc_ for _post hoc_. The a.n.a.logy of the natural creation points to a different, and apparently a juster, view of the divine [oe]conomy, according to which the reign of sin and death in Adam and all his posterity is a necessary part of a prearranged scheme, now actually in progress, which is destined, by its completion hereafter, to make, not one man only, but a countless mult.i.tude, incapable of sinning and meet for immortality. On this point, however, after what has been already said (see p. 57), there is no occasion to say {78} more here. I proceed, therefore, to the next step, which is to indicate certain inferences that may be drawn from the character of progressiveness which pertains at present to the spiritual creation.

It may, in the first place, be a.s.serted that "the law of opposites,"

referred to in pp. 69 and 70, is a necessary accompaniment of that general law of progression. The author of the Book of Ecclesiasticus, who certainly put on record many wise sayings, has thus stated the law of opposites: "Good is set against evil, and life against death: so is the sinner against the G.o.dly. So look upon all the works of the Most High, and there are two and two, one against another" (x.x.xiii. 14, 15).

Now, evidently this duality will cease, and unity be universally established, when, as argued in the preceding paragraph, the predestined consummation is reached, and the purpose of the whole creation, external and spiritual, is fulfilled. This doctrine of the termination of evil appears to have been understood and proclaimed by the writer of the fourth Book of Esdras, in which we meet with the following emphatic declaration: "Take heaven and earth to witness; for I have broken the evil in pieces, and created the good: for I live, saith the Lord" (ii. 14). In the mean while, as being subject to conditions of earth, and time, and s.p.a.ce, we are also subject to this law of duality and antagonism, so that we have no knowledge or perception of anything of {79} which we do not also know the _opposite_. For this reason it is not possible to make known the conditions under which men are saved without at the same time stating the conditions under which they are _not_ saved. This will account for the _oppositeness_ and _parallelism_ of the statements in Matt. xxv.

46, concerning the consequences to the wicked and the righteous of their respective deeds, as well as for many statements of like character in other parts of Scripture. But this does not explain why the punishment of the wicked is said to be "eternal." Relatively to this question I submit the following considerations.

Recurring once more to the position, that the existing order of things is part of a progressive scheme, the purpose of which is to create immortal souls, it may, I think, be reasonably a.s.sumed that there is nothing in human cognizance or experience, whether it be thought or feeling, word or deed, which is not contributory in some manner to this end. If a mechanist, after planning a machine for a certain purpose, introduced in the execution of it parts which contributed nothing towards effecting that purpose, would not this be considered to be an imperfection? Such imperfection is wholly inadmissible in the workmans.h.i.+p of an omniscient and omnipotent Creator. Accordingly, since, as being conditioned by _time_, we are capable of entertaining the thought that the punishment of the wicked in the world to come may {80} be eternal, many, in fact, having professed their belief that so it will be, we must conclude, on the above principle, that even this thought is contributory towards the eventual bringing in of immortality. But it will be asked, in what way? To this question we may give the general answer, that as such thought is operative on human action, and implies the existence of _time_, it must be reckoned as part of the total of human thought and experience conditioned by time, which was ordained from the beginning to be the means, whether in this age or in the age to come (_aion ho mellon_), of forming spirits for immortality. Then, again, we have reason from Scripture to infer that the immortal spirit is in effect "spiritual _body_" (1 Cor. xv. 44), composed of functional parts or qualities const.i.tuting it such a whole that it is adapted for communion with other spirit; in which case the _temporal_ processes of creation above mentioned might be supposed to be designed to give to immortal spirit a character appropriate to its destiny. And we may, at least, be certain that Jesus Christ knew what was required for accomplis.h.i.+ng his Father's purpose of creating spirits which, while retaining _individuality_ and _will_, would be incapable of sinning, and that in his wisdom he employed such manner of teaching as would either now or hereafter conduct to that end.

I take occasion to observe here, parenthetically, that whereas, according to the above argument, the {81} word "eternal" (from _[oe]etas_) is applicable to punishment because we can think of eternal punishment by thinking of time, the word "endless" is not in the same manner applicable, simply because it does not explicitly indicate relation to _time_. The Greek equivalent of the English word "everlasting," and of the Latin word "_sempiternus_," namely _aidios_ from _aei_, is used in Rom. i. 20, and in Jude 6, in the sense of _aionios_, and, as involving like the latter the conception of time, is similarly applicable to future punishment. But besides "_eternal_ life," we have in Scripture "_indissoluble_ life" (_xon akatalytos_, Heb. vii. 16), the remarkable epithet _akatalytos_ not being etymologically expressive of time, and therefore not wrongly, although not strictly, translated by "endless" in the Authorized Version. No such epithet is applied in Scripture to "punishment" or "torment."

(See more on this question in an Appendix to the Essay.)

Reasoning a.n.a.logous to that employed above relative to the a.s.sertion in Matt. xxv. 46, that the wicked "go away into eternal punishment," is applicable to other declarations of like tenor in various portions of Scripture. One of these, recorded in Matt. xxvi. 24 as having been spoken by the Lord to the "_twelve_," demands special notice.

Translated literally according to the tenses of the Greek, this pa.s.sage is, "Woe to that man through whom the Son of man has been betrayed!

good was it for him, if that man was not {82} born." The translation in the Authorized Version, "it had been good for that man if he had not been born," may be taken to convey, regard being had to difference of idiom, the true sense of the original. Exactly the same pa.s.sage occurs in Mark xiv. 21, where our translators have given, "good were it for that man if he had never been born." Although this translation, as containing the word "never," deviates still more than the other from the literal rendering, it may be justified on the principle that the declaration, in whatever form it be made, is one in which _time_ enters as a necessary element, whereby alone it is within the reach of thought. Accordingly, this saying of our Lord, regarded as having relation to experience in the world to come, is in the same category as his a.s.sertion of the eternity of future punishment, and would appear, by applying the argument already expounded (p. 80) with respect to that doctrine, to be in like manner contributory towards generating in the spirit of man an incapability of sinning. It is farther to be taken into account that these words were addressed by the Lord to his _apostles_--to the elect of the elect--with particular reference to the sin of _betraying_ the Son of man, which was exemplified by the outward act of Judas, who also by his self-destruction exhibited the d.a.m.natory power of the inward consciousness of such guilt. The exceeding sinfulness of such apostasy as that which Judas, chosen to be {83} an apostle, was guilty of, may be a.s.signed as the reason that it was denounced by our Lord in terms which do not appear to have been applied to any other kind of "transgression" (compare Acts i. 17, 25).

In Heb. x. 26, 27, we are taught that "if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." This is apostasy not of the same degree and character as that of a chosen apostle, but still is such that "the called" are not exempt from falling into it, as is clearly implied by the tenor of this pa.s.sage. To those who thus fall and do not repent, is reserved "the fiery indignation" (_pyros zylos_), which is destined hereafter to devour the adversaries. It may be presumed that the adversaries thus specially referred to are those of whom it is said in Rev. xx. 9, that having been deceived by Satan, after their resurrection at the end of the thousand years, and gathered together in warfare against the beloved city, they were _devoured by fire_ from G.o.d out of heaven. Accordingly their destruction is identical with the second death.

2 Peter ii. 20, 21, is a pa.s.sage of like import to that just considered. It is therein a.s.serted of those who are overcome by the pollutions of the world after having escaped them through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, that "it had been {84} better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them." This may be taken to signify that the punishment in the day of judgment consequent upon sin and error arising out of ignorance, will be "more tolerable" than that which will be inflicted on those who have knowingly apostatized from the way of truth.

What is said in Matt. xviii. 6, "Whoso shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea," may be accounted for on the principle that any form of death of which the body is susceptible in this world is rather to be endured, and less to be feared, than the punishment which, through the judgment in the world to come, awaits the enemies of Christ who put a stumbling-block in the way of them that humble themselves as little children and believe on him.

a.n.a.logous principles may be applied to account for the declarations made in Scripture respecting blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. In St.

Matt. xii. 31, 82, it is recorded that our Lord said, "All sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven to men, but the blasphemy of the Spirit shall not be forgiven to men. And whoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaketh against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, {85} neither in this world, nor in the world to come." The same doctrine is thus expressed in St.

Mark iii. 28, 29: "Verily I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven to the sons of men, and all blasphemies whatever wherewith they may blaspheme. But whoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness," but is subject to the judgment in the future _aion_ (_enochos estin aioniou kriseos_). From the latter evangelist we also learn that our Lord spoke these words because the scribes from Jerusalem had said, "He hath an unclean spirit." It is particularly to be noticed that both pa.s.sages declare in the fullest manner that all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven to men, at the same time that they p.r.o.nounce that blasphemy (not sin, _amartia_) against the Holy Ghost is not forgiven. To account for this apparent contradiction, it must be remembered that the forgiveness, or _remission_ (_aphesis_) of sin, necessarily implies antecedence of law and transgression of the law; and whereas St. Paul teaches that "the law entered that transgression might abound" (Rom. v. 20), it is quite consistent with this doctrine to find that in the gospel of Christ provision is made for the remission of all sin and blasphemy. Now, such remission consists in "repentance towards G.o.d and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts xx. 21); and therefore, when the gift of righteousness (i.e. the grace of Christ) is received, the believer begins to partake {86} of a spirit such as that which was "without measure" in Christ. This is essentially a _holy_ spirit, the antecedent of which in Jesus Christ was perfect righteousness.

Therefore the scribes blasphemed when they said of Christ, "He hath an unclean spirit," it not being possible that a perfectly righteous body can be the vessel of an unclean spirit.

But it is possible that the faithful, after receiving the grace of Christ and fellows.h.i.+p of the Spirit, may by unrighteous conduct "grieve the Holy Spirit" (Eph. iv. 80), and even by persistence in sin defile the gift of the Spirit which had been imparted to them. In the foregoing pa.s.sage from St. Matthew xii., it is said that there is forgiveness for one who "speaketh against the Son of man," which expression may signify, generally, wilful and overt opposition to "the law of Christ" (Gal. vi. 2); but that there is no forgiveness for one who _speaks_ against the Holy Spirit, i.e. one who by wilful and _overt_ conduct does violence to the sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit which he has already partaken of. Of such an one it is written in Heb. x. 29, "he hath trodden underfoot the Son of G.o.d, and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite to the Spirit of grace." But not every sin committed after faith and the baptism of repentance has this effect. The apostle John tells us that although all unrighteousness {87} (_adikia_, transgression of the strict law of Christ) is sin, there is sin of a believing brother which is not unto death, and may be repented of in this world; and there is sin unto death, respecting which prayer for repentance would be unavailing (1 Epist. v. 16, 17).

This is "the blasphemy of the Spirit," which is not forgiven in this world, because forgiveness implies repentance; neither is it forgiven in the world to come, because beyond the grave there is no repentance.

What remains for such sinners is the "[oe]onian judgment" (see p. 69) mentioned in St. Mark iii. 29, and "the sorer punishment" spoken of in Heb. x. 29, which is the same as the condemnation to the second death consequent upon that judgment. (I take occasion to remark that in Mark iii. 29, instead of _kriseos_, some early ma.n.u.scripts have _amaritematos_, which, as far as I can see, does not admit of being interpreted consistently with the context and the usage of _enochos_.)

There is still another pa.s.sage--Mark ix. 42-50--which, on account of its peculiar significance, it is necessary to discuss with reference to the Scriptural argument for immortality. It will suffice for conducting the discussion to cite _vv._ 43 and 44, the literal translation of which is as follows:--"If thy hand cause thee to offend, cut it off: it is well for thee to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands to go into geenna, into the unquenchable fire, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not {88} quenched." The concluding part of this text is evidently derived from Isaiah lxvi. 24, where the prophet reveals that the Lord has said respecting the wors.h.i.+ppers, consisting of "all flesh," that shall come before him when "the new heavens and the new earth" are established, that "they shall go forth and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched: and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh." This pa.s.sage has so important a bearing on the sense of that quoted above from St.

Mark, that we must by all means endeavour to find out its interpretation. Respecting Biblical Interpretation, Burnet in one of his treatises has enunciated two principles, which cannot but be a.s.sented to: first, that besides the portions of Scripture which have a literal or historical meaning, there are others which must be taken allegorically; and, secondly, that an allegorical meaning, is to be admitted when the literal sense involves an absurdity, or contradiction to the nature of things.[2] The right application of these principles may be said to const.i.tute a large portion of the science of Scripture.

But in applying them it is often difficult to decide, respecting a particular pa.s.sage, whether it is to be {89} taken literally or allegorically; and again, after deciding that the pa.s.sage must be allegorical, there is generally the still greater difficulty of discovering what the true sense is. In ill.u.s.tration of the second of the above principles Burnet cites, apart from the context, _vermem nunquam moriturum_, and admits that these words have an allegorical signification. This plainly follows from the single consideration that the worm (_skolex_) here spoken of is literally that which is seen to feed on dead bodies, and to say of it that it does not die is contradictory to experience. When, however, the same author goes on to give as the allegorical sense nothing more definite than "_extremam miseriam_," it may well be asked, By what kind of induction has this conclusion been reached? The feeble worm which feeds on mortal remains presents to our sight nothing capable of causing pain or misery.

Rather it may, I think, be a.s.serted that Scripture here adverts to this natural fact for the purpose of indicating by a distinct and visible emblem that there is a living principle which destroys mortality, and which for that reason alone is not itself subject to death. If we be guided solely by what _we see with our eyes_, this appears to be the only allegorical sense that can be attributed to the first clause of Mark ix. 44.[3] We have next to inquire as to the {90} interpretation of the other clause, and what is the mutual relation between the two clauses.

Although the worm which devours dead bodies is not emblematic of anything that causes pain, the case is quite otherwise with respect to the emblematic meaning of _fire_. It is evident that fire which is "unquenchable" is not natural fire, and consequently may be taken to be, as has already been a.s.sumed, the devouring fire of judgment and of condemnation consequent upon violation of the law of righteousness (see p. 88). The destruction of the impenitent unrighteous by the operation of this law (which is their second death), is attended with pain and woe such as will not have been before, nor will be after. It was inferred (p. 84) from our Lord's teaching in Matt. xviii. 6, that any form of _death_ of which the body is susceptible in this world is rather to be endured than falling under condemnation in the world to come. In Mark ix. 42-48, we are taught that any form of bodily _pain_, as that of losing a hand, a foot, or an eye, is to be preferred to entering with the body whole into the "_geenna_ of fire." This is, in fact, at once the greatest and the _last_ of human suffering and tribulation. For it should be noticed that at the end of this very pa.s.sage (v. 49) it is said that "every one shall be salted [made 'good,' _v._ 50] with fire," signifying the effect finally produced by the unquenchable fire. And with this agrees the emblem {91} of the worm that "dieth not," taken as indicating that the final effect of the torment of the judgment is to swallow up death, and to bring in, by establis.h.i.+ng the reign of righteousness, life and immortality. The signification of one emblem must be taken in conjunction with that of the other.

Moreover, by giving particular attention to the context of Isa. lxvi.

24, it will be seen that what is there revealed is quite in accordance with the above interpretation. For, first, in _v._ 16 we have, "By fire and by his sword [the sword of the Word of G.o.d spoken of in Rev.

xix. 15] will the Lord plead with all flesh," that is, in the judgment which has been appointed for the trial and tribulation of all men.

Then, by taking into account what is said in _vv._ 22 and 23, we may gather that "all flesh," having become denizens of "the new heavens and the new earth" in which, as St. Peter declares (2 Epist. iii. 13), righteousness dwells, "come to wors.h.i.+p the Lord." Of _these wors.h.i.+ppers_, consisting of "all flesh," it is affirmed that "they shall go forth and look upon the carcases of the transgressors," which, on account of the ill savour coming up from them, will be "an abhorring to all flesh" (compare Isa. x.x.xiv. 3). Thus there is here represented, but by a different figure, the same truth as that which has already been deduced from the ascending up for ever and ever of the brimstone smoke of torment (see pp. 61 and 65); namely, {92} that the subjecting of all the deeds and secrets of the present life to the scrutiny of judgment, and the consequent condemnation of all the unredeemed to the pains of a second death, will have the effect of making sin against a "faithful Creator" to be seen and felt to be so hateful and abominable a thing, that such sin will cease to be possible, notwithstanding that all men will retain individuality and volition. For all will thus at length be made new creatures incapable of sinning. This remark may serve to introduce the final stage of the general argument, which I now proceed to enter upon.

I have been endeavouring to show that the symbolic a.s.sertions in Rev.

xx. respecting "the lake of fire" and its "burning with brimstone," the casting therein of the devil, the beast, and the false prophet, and their being tormented "day and night for ever and ever," the judgment of all the dead, small and great, according to their recorded deeds, "the second death," and the casting into the lake of fire of "any one not found written in the book of life," do not necessitate, as is commonly thought, the conclusion that evil, which had a beginning, fulfils no purpose and has no ending. As to this question the seer gives, in Rev. xxi. 1-4, the following explicit revelation: "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth pa.s.sed away; and there is no more sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, {93} coming down out of heaven from G.o.d, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice from the throne, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of G.o.d is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and G.o.d Himself will be with them, their G.o.d. And G.o.d will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the first things pa.s.sed away." Now, it seems hardly possible that the announcement of the termination of evil could be made in terms more direct and more intelligible than these.

Hence, according to acknowledged principles of Biblical interpretation, we must not attribute to the above-mentioned symbolic and less intelligible pa.s.sages any meaning inconsistent with that announcement.

The arguments I have adduced respecting the interpretation of the figurative statements contained in the latter half of chap. xx. are directed to showing that these figures do, in fact, admit of meanings consistent with the gospel revelations given in chap. xxi. 1-4. It is of so much importance, as regards the Scriptural doctrine of immortality, to establish this point, that I propose now to supplement the former arguments by additional considerations.

In the Book of Daniel (xii. 6, 7) we read of "a man clothed in linen, who was upon the water of a river, and held up his right hand and his left hand unto {94} heaven, and sware by Him that liveth for ever,"

that at the end of an appointed time a certain purpose would be accomplished, and "all these things be finished." This refers, as the context shows, to "the time of the end" of the present age (_aion_).

The announcement made in this manner by the man clothed in linen indicates that he is the precursor of the angel of whom, in _vv._ 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 of Rev. x., the apostle John relates as follows: "I saw a mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow upon his head, and his face as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire; and, having in his hand a little book open, he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth.... and lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by Him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven and the things therein, and the earth and the things therein, and the sea and the things therein, that time shall be no more; but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, in the time when he is about to sound his trumpet, also [_kai_, merely indicating the apodosis] the mystery of G.o.d is finished (_etelesthe_, aor. ind.), according to the gospel He made known to His servants the prophets."

The soundings of the seven trumpets are significant of progressive steps in the general judgment; the days pertaining to the voice of the seventh angel are those immediately preceding the actual sounding of his trumpet, which announces the {95} completion (as indicated by the number seven) of the mystery of G.o.d's creation in time, and marks the end of the age (_ho aion ho mellon_) following upon the conclusion of the present age. When all that pertains to this final interval "is finished," there is no more succession of events whereby time is cognizable, and therefore time is no more. The might, and glorious invest.i.ture, and majestic att.i.tude of the angel who proclaims this truth, conspire to point out its great significance. The little book in his hand is the word of prophecy by which we learn these mysteries.

It is, no doubt, beyond the limit of our thoughts, conditioned as we are by time, to conceive of a state of things in which time is no more.

Apparently for this reason commentators have proposed to translate, _chronos ouk estai eti_, "the time shall not be yet," or "time shall no more intervene." The former of these translations is excluded by the usage of _ouk eti_ in the a.n.a.logous affirmations in Rev. xxi. 1, 4, and the other, which is an arbitrary comment rather than a translation, is for the same reason excluded. (I have preferred _ouk estai eti_ to _ouketi estai_, because the words occur in the former order in each of the three instances in Rev. xxi.) There can be no question as to the philological correctness of the translation, "time shall be no more."

The unwillingness to admit it appears to have arisen solely from a fixed persuasion, gratuitously and very generally entertained, that time {96} has a _necessary_ existence, and therefore cannot come to an end. Some have affirmed that when time ends, eternity begins; which is a self-contradictory dogma, because eternity (from _[oe]tas_) is essentially time. The teaching of Scripture on this point is directly opposed to these views; for the apostle Peter tells those for whose sake he wrote his second Epistle, to bear in mind "this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2 Epist. iii. 8). This is equivalent to saying that time is not an independent ent.i.ty, but that both its existence and its quality are determined by the _will_ of the Creator of all things. It is in virtue of our being made in His image, and partaking intellectually of the divine nature, that we are capable _in thought_ of giving indefinite and arbitrary extension to time, whether it be past time or time to come. This faculty, as I have already argued in p. 80, is to be placed in the category of the different conditions, whether depending on experience of the course of time, or on affections of our bodily and mental const.i.tutions, under which the spirit of man is formed for immortality. All such conditions are determined by the purpose for which they are imposed, and when that purpose is fulfilled in the perfection of humanity the conditions come to an end. It is thus that the being conditioned by time eventually ceases.

It will be proper here to meet an objection to the {97} doctrine that time will have an end which might be drawn from the expression, _eis tous aionas ton aionon_, which frequently occurs in Scripture, and seems to be indicative of an unlimited succession of ages. So far as time is under human cognizance, and has relation to human experience, Scripture speaks in express terms of only _two_ ages--the present one, which lasts to the end of the _generations_ of men in the existing order of things; and the age to come, which embraces the course of the judgment of all who lived in the first age, and terminates with the second death of those who had no part in the first resurrection. When it is said of the Creator of heaven and earth, that He is "from everlasting to everlasting" (_apo tou aionos meos tou aionos su ei_, Ps. xc. 2), and that "He liveth for ever and ever" (_ho zon eis tous aionas ton aionon_, Rev. x. 6), the word _aion_ is not used to signify, as in the instances of the two "ages" just mentioned, an interval having beginning and ending, but is to be taken in an abstract sense, derived from our ordinary perception of the existence and quality of time, and from the faculty which, as said before, we possess of thinking of time as indefinitely extended. The first of the cited pa.s.sages affirms what in these days we should express by saying that G.o.d is necessarily and essentially self-existent, and the other, what we mean by saying that He is necessarily and essentially a _living_ G.o.d. But {98} Scripture uses no such terms as these, because it is written on the principle of employing in an abstract sense only such terms as are rendered intelligible by personal sensation and observation, and by experience drawn under actual conditions from the outer world. It is thus that the word "age" acquired its primary meaning, before it was susceptible of the abstract application just mentioned.

There is also to be said, as a reason for accepting this doctrine respecting our relation to time, that Scripture teaches a.n.a.logous doctrine respecting our relation to _s.p.a.ce_. When our Lord astonished his disciples by saying that the pa.s.sage of a camel through the eye of a needle is not an impossibility, he explained that "this is impossible with men, but not with G.o.d; for with G.o.d all things are possible" (Mark x. 25-27). By this saying he a.s.serted that s.p.a.ce, and the mutual relations of body and s.p.a.ce, are such as they are by the will and power of G.o.d, and by the same power might be changed. Considering, therefore, that "the new heavens and the new earth" const.i.tute a "new creation," it is quite in accordance with the above inference from our Lord's words to find it said of "the new Jerusalem, the holy city,"

that "the length, and the breadth, and the height of it are equal"

(Rev. xxi. 16). For a city to be such as to conform to this description, it is plain that material substance and s.p.a.ce must {99} be related to each other in an entirely new manner, unrecognizable by present experience. The apostle Paul adverts to the eventual status of the spirit of man with respect to time and s.p.a.ce where he says, "I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor princ.i.p.alities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creation, will be able to separate us from the love of G.o.d, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. viii. 38, 39).

(In this sentence the recognized pa.s.sage of time, the powers [_dynameis_] of nature, and the measurable qualities of s.p.a.ce, seem all to be regarded as things _created_.) Also corresponding to the change in the external creation it is revealed that there will be a change of the outward man, the natural body giving place to the "spiritual body."

It would appear, therefore, from the whole of the foregoing argument that our spirits, after being bound by earthly and temporal conditions, undergo complete transformation, being conjoined with bodily essence related in a new manner to _s.p.a.ce_, and being also released from the condition of _time_. But although this mode of existence may be a necessary condition of the immortal state, especially as such state embraces a.s.sociated members, it is not the sole, nor the princ.i.p.al, condition of immortality, as the remainder of the argument will show.

It has already been noticed that St. Peter {100} characterizes "the new heavens and the new earth" by saying that "righteousness dwells therein." This is as much as to say that it is a perfect _social_ state, whose end is at once the glory of G.o.d and the happiness of man.

The words of the apostle (2 Epist. iii. 13) signify that the new creation, by satisfying this condition, is the fulfilment of an antecedent promise. Now, the argument of this Essay is in entire agreement with this doctrine, inasmuch as it was from the first a.s.sumed (p. 9) that immortality cannot consist with any other than a state of righteousness, and then (pp. 19 and 20) it was argued that after Adam's transgression a _promise_ was made that himself and his race would eventually be exempt from the power of Satan and attain to immortality.

The pa.s.sage Rev. xxi. 1-4, quoted in p. 92, seems to certify the complete fulfilment of this promise and to indicate the manner of its fulfilment. But there are other pa.s.sages in this concluding portion of the Apocalypse, which might be thought to bear a contrary signification, to which, therefore, our attention must now be directed.

In xxi. 8 we have, "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all lies, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." If we give to this symbolism, as consistency requires, {101} an interpretation a.n.a.logous to that applied to Rev. xx. 10, we shall conclude that sinners of all cla.s.ses will eventually have no cognizable existence, transgression being brought to an end by the effect of the general judgment and the pains of the second death. This may explain why it is added, "which is the second death." It is worthy of remark that "all lies" are said to have their part in "the lake" although the casting of lies into a lake is objectively an impossibility. But this variation of the designation ("lies" being put for "liars") may be intended to signify generally that all transgression disappears, because transgressors cease to be cognizable _as transgressors_.

There is another thing to be noticed respecting the same pa.s.sage: it contains no such clause as, "They shall be tormented day and night to the ages of ages," which occurs at the end of Rev. xx. 10. This omission may be accounted for on the principle stated in p. 96, according to which expressions involving time are not applicable to the condition of things in the new creation, in which time exists no more.