and building up ("edification") of spirit, the human _will_ is
concerned, and that, according to a man's choice of action, his spirit
may be educated for being good or for being wicked, may be sanctified
or defiled. There is, in short, no act or experience in human life
which in this respect is indifferent. But what the spirit is thus made
during its passage through this life, such it is when it is taken into
the hands of its Creator, and such, as we may conclude from the
teaching of Scripture and from its having in the mean time existed
apart from body, it will be, with all its imperfections, on the day of
its resurrection. It has already been maintained that, because of
imperfection, it is necessary that even the elect should be judged, to
the end that by this means their spirits may be made perfect. But our
concern now is with the effect of judgment on those who are not of the
number of the elect. For the purpose of illustrating what I am about
to say on this head, I shall begin with making an application of the
argument in a particular instance.
{52}
I have recently seen it stated, among the news of the day, that it is
the practice of a barbarous African king to cut off the heads of twelve
or more of his subjects, merely to pay a compliment to a distinguished
visitor. Are we to think that this transaction both begins and ends
here? Although we have no ground for asserting that the victims in
this case are to be counted among God's elect, inasmuch as they must be
supposed to be devoid of the faith and righteousness which are
necessary to constitute a title to that high privilege, we may yet
believe that the bodily suffering they endured was contributory to the
formation of their spirits for their future destiny. If even those who
have "understanding"--elect saints--have undergone sufferings and been
"beheaded" in order that thus they might be "purified and made white,"
(compare Dan. xi. 33-35, and xii. 10, with Rev. xx. 4), why should we
not believe that the sufferings of those poor Africans, who are equally
children of God, had like effect? That suffering is in this manner
efficacious is proved by the sacrifice of the Son of God on the cross,
who, after having proved by his miracles that he had all human ills
under control, _voluntarily_ submitted to be made perfect by enduring
shame and pain, that thus he might both exemplify and justify the ways
of God in the creation of immortal spirits. This sacrifice is a full
and sufficient explanation of all the evil in the world. When,
therefore, in the time of the {53} resurrection of the unjust the
slayer and the slain, in this instance, appear before the judgment-seat
of God, and are condemned, as not being among those who are saved in
the first resurrection, to undergo the second death, is it not
reasonable to conclude that the tribulation and pain of that event will
fall much more heavily on the murderer than on those he slew, and that
the punishment and sufferings that have still to be endured in order
that the final purpose of the judgment may be accomplished, will be
inflicted with far greater severity on him than on them? (See on this
point what is said concerning the future judgment in the Wisdom of
Solomon vi. 3-6.)
On this principle many apparent anomalies in the present age of the
world admit of explanation. Why, for instance, is so large a
proportion of mankind condemned, irrespective of their deserts, to be
poor, and to labour with their hands in anxiety for the maintenance of
themselves and their families? We have reason from Scripture to say
that such conditions of life, if united with the _faith_ that looks for
better things to come, may be counted among means ordained by God for
preparing the spirits of His elect for their destined inheritance
("Hate not laborious work, neither husbandry, which the Most High hath
ordained" [Ecclesiasticus vii. 15]). And where such faith is absent,
may we not still say that conditions of the present life to which the
great mass of mankind are {54} subject must be contributory to forming
their spirits for their future existence? Leaving out of consideration
who are the elect, and who not, which God only knows, can we think that
the patience of the labourer and artisan, the endurance of the
seafaring man, and the devotedness of the soldier, who at the call of
duty, and in spite of the promptings of self-preservation, exposes
himself to almost certain death on the field of battle, have no
relation to their future destiny? As regards, especially, the spirit
of self-sacrifice of the soldier, so opposed to all the calculations of
personal interest, it seems to me that the desire of glory, or the
expectation of reward, will not wholly account for it, but rather that
it is indicative of there being in the warrior's breast an undefined
conviction that he better fulfils the purpose of life by braving a
painful death than by living at home in ease. It is worthy of remark
that although in Scripture war is spoken of as a calamity, the
occupation of a soldier is nowhere condemned, but is rather commended
on account of its disciplinary effect and abstractedness from the
affairs of life (see 2 Tim. ii. 3, 4). It should be observed that the
different kinds of human experience adverted to above are all supposed
to stand apart from personal acts done in violation of the dictates of
_conscience_. Such acts will doubtless be tried by the course of the
general judgment, and will have effect in the condemnation of the
offenders, and {55} in punishment awarded according to the guiltiness
of their deeds.
The calamities of human life may be put generally under the two heads
of "tribulation" and "slaughter"--different kinds of sorrow and
trouble, and different kinds of death. These constitute the groaning
and travailing of the whole creation unto the time being (_a chri tou
nun_), spoken of by St. Paul in Rom. viii. 22 and called in St. Mark
xiii. 8, the beginnings of sorrows (_ôdinôn_). But in the time of the
world to come, the same forms of suffering have their consummation and
ending. In Rev. vii. 14, mention is made of "_the_ great tribulation,"
and at the same time of "a countless multitude who come out of it."
This can be no other than that "great tribulation" respecting which our
Lord said, according to St. Matt. xxiv. 21, that it will be "such as
was not since the beginning of the world to this time, _nor ever shall
be_," and according to St. Mark xiii. 19, that "those days shall be
affliction such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God
created unto this time, _neither shall be_." The identity of the
events spoken of in the Gospels and in the Apocalypse may also be
inferred from the words _cheimônos_ (tempest-time) and _sabbatô_ (on
the sabbath) contained in Matt. xxiv. 20, the former referring to the
storm of indignation and wrath which proceeds from "the Lamb" when he
comes to execute Judgment, and the latter to the time in which the {56}
judgment takes place, which is designated the sabbath, or seventh day,
as following upon the termination of the present age of the world, and
also as being that sabbath of which, as said in Luke vi. 5, "the Son of
man is Lord."
Again, in proof of the doctrine that the process, or effect, of the
general judgment is characterized in Scripture as "slaughter," Isa.
xxxiv. 1-6 may be cited, it being said in that passage that "the
indignation of the Lord is upon all nations," that "he hath delivered
them to the slaughter," and in connection therewith that "all the host
of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heaven shall be rolled together
as a scroll" (compare Rev. vi. 18-14). Of the same import is the
prophecy in Rev. xiv. 14-20, at the end of which the treading of "the
great winepress of the wrath of God" is described in terms closely
agreeing with those in Isa. lxiii. 1-4. We have, besides, the
remarkable passage, Rev. xix. 17-21, which represents the fowls of
heaven as being called together to feast on the flesh of the slain,
after great slaughter had been wrought by "the sharp sword" which
proceeds out of the mouth of him who is called "The Word of God." This
sword represents the cutting and destructive effect of the words of
judgment and condemnation which the Son of God will pronounce on
sinners when he comes to judge the whole world. It is not necessary
for my purpose to interpret particularly the symbolism {57} contained
in the passages just quoted; it suffices to draw from them the general
inference that, as regards _all_ men, trouble and pain and death in the
present age of the world are the beginnings of an [oe]conomy for
forming spirits for immortality, which is destined to be consummated in
the age to come.
To complete the argument from Scripture it only remains now to take
into consideration those passages which expressly reveal the effect of
the general judgment, and to ascertain what relation the revelations
have to the question of immortality. These passages are of two kinds,
some being composed entirely of symbolic language requiring
interpretation, while others are expressed in terms that may be readily
understood. The former must be supposed to admit of being interpreted
consistently with the plain meaning of the other kind. Accordingly,
for the purpose above mentioned, I proceed now to offer an
interpretation of Rev. xx. 11-15, this passage evidently giving a
synoptical account, in symbolic terms, of the process and the effect of
the general judgment.
I have already adverted (p. 48) to the contents of _vv._ 11 and 12, so
far as they refer to the Person of the Judge, and to His judging the
dead, according to their works, "out of the things written in the
_books_." "The great _white_ throne" (_v._ 11) is evidently the seat
of righteous judgment. The inspired writer, in order {58} to account
for his seeing in vision the dead, "small and great, standing before
the throne," reveals, besides, that "the sea gave up the dead that were
in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them" (_v._
13). Now, the context hardly allows of taking "the sea" here in its
literal objective sense, requiring rather the interpretation that the
natural sea symbolizes by its invisible depths the incognizable state
of the dead before resurrection. In the "new heaven and earth," which
is the end of all creation, "sea exists no longer" (Rev. xxi. 1).
Hades, as apparently might be inferred from the proper sense of the
word, signifies that invisible state of departed spirits which, as just
said, is symbolized as being concealed in the depths of "the sea," and
also, as I have already pointed out, has to death a necessary relation
of sequence ("Hades followed with him" [Rev. vi. 8]). This explains
why Death and Hades are represented as a conjoint power having
possession of the dead. In Rev. i. 18, as well as in Rev. vi. 8, they
are mentioned in close connection, and in the latter passage power is
said to be given to them in common.
I take occasion to make some remarks here on 1 Peter iii. 19, as the
sense of this passage might be thought to be contradictory to the
meaning assigned above to Hades. It affirms that "in spirit Christ
went and preached to the spirits in custody {59} (_en phylakê_)." Now,
the literal meaning of the concrete terms, "went and preached"
(_poreutheis ekêruxen_), is _excluded_ by "in spirit" going before, and
they consequently require an abstract interpretation. It has already
been argued (p. 50) that the word "custody" applies to departed spirits
in the sense of their being in the _keeping_ of the Creator of spirits;
whence it follows that "spirits in custody" and "spirits in Hades" have
the same meaning. But neither of these expressions signifies anything
as to _locality_, for the simple reason that locality cannot be
predicated of spirit apart from body. The abstract interpretation of
the passage of St. Peter may, I think, be reached by the following
argument. The word _ekêruxen_ above cited is not that ordinarily used
with respect to preaching the Gospel, and therefore it is the more to
be noticed that where Noah is called "a preacher of righteousness" (2
Peter ii. 5), the Greek word is _kêruka_. May we not hence infer that
Noah, by "the spirit of Christ" which was in him (compare 1 Peter i.
11), preached to the unbelieving and "disobedient" of his day, and that
their spirits, although the world in which they lived was so long since
destroyed by the Flood, are, together with all other departed spirits,
still in God's custody, to be hereafter raised up and judged? We are
farther informed respecting Noah's preaching, which consisted
apparently of deeds rather than of words, that "by preparing an ark for
the {60} saving of his house, he condemned the world, and became heir
of the righteousness which is according to faith" (Heb. xi. 7).
We have now to inquire what interpretation may be given to the symbolic
language (in Rev. xx. 14) which affirms that "Death and Hades were cast
into the lake of fire," and that "this is the second death, the lake of
fire." The first mention of the lake of fire occurs in Rev. xix. 20,
where it is described as "burning with brimstone," and both "the
beast," and "the false prophet" associated with him (_ho met autou_),
are said to be "cast alive" into this lake. But the rest (_oi
loipoi_), namely, "the kings of the earth and their armies, gathered
together to make war against him who sat on the horse and against his
army," were slain by the sword that proceeds out of his mouth, that is,
by the sharp and searching words of righteousness and truth, whereby
he, "The Word of God," judges and pronounces condemnation in the last
day (compare John xii. 48). In Rev. xx. 7-10, we are farther told that
Satan, after being let loose from prison at the end of the thousand
years when "the rest of the dead" live again (v. 5), and after
collecting together all the _risen_ nations of the earth, "the number
of whom is as the sand of the sea" (v. 8), leads them to their
destruction in battle against the God of heaven, and is himself "cast
into the lake of fire and brimstone, where are the beast {61} and the
false prophet" (v. 10). Consequently, "Satan," who is opposed to God
the Father, the God of heaven, "the beast," which, as signifying the
spirit of the world, is opposed to the Holy Spirit, and "the false
prophet," who is the symbolic representative of all _anti-Christian_
power objectively opposed to the Son of God, are all three cast into a
lake of fire "_burning with brimstone_." But of Death and Hades it is
only said that they were cast into a lake of fire. Their being cast
into the depths of "a lake" signifies that they become incognizable
entities, and "lake of fire" indicates that they remain such by an
irreversible law, fire being the symbol of force of law (see Deut.
xxxiii. 2). For this reason "the lake of fire" is put in apposition
(in _v._ 14) with "the second death," which is the extinction of death.
Now, Satan, the beast, and the false prophet, being regarded as
_personal_ existences motived by _will_, and in that respect unlike
Death and Hades, are cast not simply into a lake of fire, but into a
lake burning with brimstone, which apparently signifies that from the
time these "adversaries" cease to have cognizable existence, their
antecedent power and influence will be regarded by those who were once
subject to them with antipathy and abhorrence, so that any return to
the same subjection will (as we say) be morally impossible. When in
the end God has become "all in all," no antagonism remains; all {62}
enemies have been subdued. Any one who is unwilling to accept the
foregoing interpretation might reasonably be asked in what other way he
can explain why, of all created things, _brimstone_ is specially
mentioned with reference to this "mystery" (see Rev. xvii. 5, 16).
In the last verse of the passage under consideration we have, "And if
any one (_ei tis_) was not found written in the book of life, he was
cast into the lake of fire" (v. 15). It is to be observed that the
lake of fire is not here said to be burning with brimstone. This
sentence must accordingly receive an interpretation analogous to that
given above with respect to Death and Hades. When the final judgment
has had complete effect, there will no longer be objective existence of
any whose names are not in the book of life, because all will have been
made meet for the inheritance of life. For this reason "the book of
life" is mentioned (in _v._ 12) in immediate connection with the books
containing the records according to which the judgment is transacted.
I am well aware that the preceding interpretations do not accord with
views entertained by many in the present day. I remember to have heard
a sermon on the text, "This is the second death," in the course of
which the preacher did not once advert to the word "This," but gave a
description, the most terrible his imagination could supply, of what he
judged to be the second {63} death. We find revealed in Scripture
respecting "the terrors of the Lord"--the anguish and tribulation, the
slaughter and destruction, proceeding from His wrath in the day of
judgment--quite enough to deter sinners from going on in sin, without
gratuitously adding the doctrine of the perpetuity of evil, the
preaching of which seems to have the effect of hindering the belief and
expectation of the impending realities of that great day. Besides, it
may well be asked how such preaching can be reconciled with the Gospel
revelations, stated in language devoid of symbol, which are contained
in Rev. xxi.; to which I shall afterwards have occasion to call
attention. But, first, it will be necessary to inquire what is the
doctrine of Scripture respecting future "punishment" and "torment."
On proceeding to this part of the argument it will be proper to revert
to a principle which has already been admitted as self-evident (p. 9),
namely, that a state of perfect righteousness and a happy immortality
are so essentially and necessarily related that one cannot subsist
without the other. It is, however, to be said that this doctrine is
nowhere expressed in such words in Scripture. In fact, the abstract
terms, "essentially and necessarily related," are altogether unlike any
Scriptural mode of expression. Yet it may be that the truth which we
think we understand when we express it in such terms may admit of being
{64} _extracted_ in a more definite form from the concrete language of
Scripture; and, in order that our argument for immortality may be shown
to rest entirely on a Scriptural foundation, I shall now endeavour to
show that this is the case with respect to the above-stated doctrine,
by citing and discussing various passages of the Old and New Testament.
In the first place, I remark that righteousness and salvation,
righteousness and peace, are so often and in such manner mentioned
together in the word of God, that we may thence infer that, according
to a law of the Divine (Economy, personal righteousness is a condition
necessarily antecedent to salvation (safety) and peace (see Ps. xxiv.
5, and lxxxv. 7-18; Isa. xlv. 7, 8, xlvi. 18, li. 5, lxii. 1, and many
like passages). For, on the other hand, it is twice expressly declared
that God has said, "There is no peace to the wicked" (Isa. xlviii. 22,
and lvii. 21). So in Rev. xiv. it is affirmed respecting sinners (who
are comprehensively described as those who worship the beast and his
image, and receive the mark of his name on the forehead or the hand--in
their beliefs or their deeds) that "they have no rest day nor night"
(_vv._ 9 and 11). Of the same sinners it is also declared that "they
shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out
without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and shall be tormented
with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in {65}
the presence of the Lamb" (v. 10). The fire of the torment is the
operation of the holy law of righteousness which they have broken, and
the brimstone by the offensiveness of its smoke represents the
self-condemnation and reproach of conscience with which they are
tormented when their sins are laid bare in the presence of the holy
angels and of the _Lamb_, who by reason of their sins was slain.
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 passage 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 passage
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 assigned to the just, and their being prepared to receive it when
the whole assembly, 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 title of "King of kings and Lord of lords" (see Rev.
xix. 11, 16).