5. Eternity can have no beginning. Yet we find frequent instances of the words aion and aionios having such an idea attached thereto. In Ephesians iii. 9, Paul speaks of the fellowship of the mystery being hid in God "from the be. ginning of the world," literally, from the beginning of the eternities! So Peter in Acts iii. 21, "since the world began," since eternity began! So Titus i. 2, "promised be. fore the world began." In these places the Greek word Kos. mos, used to express the material globe, is not found, bnt the words translated everlasting and eternal. In this way it can be proved that eternity had a beginning as well as an end!

6. The words aion and aionios are used in the plural number, or to express the plurality of idea in many instances -siguifying that there are more eternities than one, if these words are, with propriety, rendered eternity-thus: Math. xii. 32, "Neither in this world nor in the world to come,"neither in this eternity nor in the one to come! Math. xiii. 22, "the cares of this world (eternity) choke the word;"Gal. i. 5, "To whom be glory forever and ever," literally, for eternity of eternities! Rev. i. 6, "To him be glory and dominion forever and ever." Rev. x. 6, "And sware by him that liveth forever." xv. 7, "who liveth forever and ever." xx. 10, "day and night forever and ever," literally, for the ever of the evers-for the eternity of eternities and for the eternities of the eternities. If the singular should be rendered ever, of course, where there is a reduplication of the word, it must signify more than one, and be rendered by the plural number.

Hebrew word

translation of proof positive

7. The addition sometimes made to the gnolam or olem, and to the Greek aion in the the Old Testament by the 70 into Greek, is that, in their opinion, neither of these words, of themselves, denote unlimited duration. To give greater emphasis to the latter, the Greek particles ETI, ( yet, still, further,) and EPE KEI NA, (further, beyond,) are added, to correspond with the Hebrew le gnolam vegnad, the phrase translated forever and ever, or, for the age and beyond it. In Exodus xv. 18, Daniel xii 3, and Micah iv 5, we have instances of this addi

tion of particles, which literally read thus: "The Lord shal reign forever KAI ETI, and farther." "They shall shine as the stars forever, KAI ETI, and farther." "We will walk in the name of the Lord our God, forever, KAI EPEKEINA, and beyond it." Now if the words aion and gnolem, of themselves, mean a strictly unlimited duration, or an eternity, then are the inspired writers made to speak of a time farther than, or beyond eternity!

8. The Romans borrowed their adverb OLIM from the Hebrew olam, and every Latin scholar knows that OLIM means formerly, or, in times past. In the Latin language, more.. over, the word forever is a translation from IN SECULUM, to or for the age; for ever and ever, IN SECULUM SECULORUM, to the age of ages.

9. If the word EVER, in the English language had origi nally been supposed to teach a proper eternity, how came it to pass, that the compound words formed from it have no such signification? For instance, we have whoever, whosoever whencesoever, wherever, whenever, wheresoever, &c. In which the idea of endless duration is not once conceived. This will shed some light on the primary meaning of the words forever and ever, at the time the scriptures were translated.

10. Taking the common translation for our guide, we will find the words everlasting and eternal applied to things that have already passed away! For example: the land of Canaan was promised as an everlasting possession to the Israelites. The statutes of Israel, the priesthood of Aaron, and the covenant of circumcision were each called everlasting; If, therefore, the word everlasting is always to be understood in an unlimited sense, the gospel of Christ is thereby proven to be a fable, and the Jewish religion the only true system of Theology in the world; because, all Christians believe that Christianity is established on the ruins of the Legal dispensation. In the New Testament, also, we find frequent instances of the application of the phrases everlasting and eternal to things present. "He that believeth hath everlasting life,"

says Christ in John's Gospel, and "this is life eternal that they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent” John v. 24 ; vi. 47; xvii. 3. The word being limited when applied to life-the life of faith in the Gospel-it must likewise be limited in the few cases in which it is connected with the consequences of sin.

11. The word everlasting is applied to life over 40 times. in the New Testament, while it is found once only in connexion with each of the words punishment, destruction, condemnation and judgment.

12. The application of the phrase to Deity or his atributes does not prove any thing in relation to the duration of God, for when we admit the Being of Jehovah, his ETERNITY follows as a matter of course, nor will the use of any word' add to this attribute of his nature. Unless, therefore, it can be made to appear that endless duration follows as necessarily from the existence of misery as from the existence of God, the application of the word everlasting to the perfections of the Almighty can afford no support to the idea of endless

torment.

The conclusion of the whole matter is, that an ETERNITY of DURATION is no where expressed by the word aion and aionios, translated everlasting, eternal, &c. in the Scriptures, The life immortal, indissoluble and incorruptible is expressed by totally different words in the original languages-words too, that are of strictly endless signification, but which are never found in connexion with death, punishment, hell, or any other term expressive of the penalty due to sin!

SECTION IV.-DESTRUCTION, DESTROY. These words have a variety of significations in the Scriptures. In some places they seem to be used synonymously with death, or the grave, as in Psalm xc. 3, "thou turnest man to destruction," and xci. 6, "destruction that wasteth at noon day." Other instances of their occurrence seem to teach the annihilation of the person or thing to which they are applied, as in Math. v. 17, "I am not come to destroy

but to fulfil;" 1 John iii. 8, "might destroy the works of the devil;" Hosea xiii. 14, "O grave, I will be thy destruction." Again, The signification of desolation or tribulation is found connected therewith, as in Hosea iv. 6, "My people are de stroyed for lack of knowledge," and xii. 9, "Oh Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself, but in me is thy help." This destruc. tion was therefore not eternal, as there was help therefrom to be found in the Lord. In one place, 1 Cor. v. . 5, the word destruction appears to convey the idea of subjugation or con. trol; "Deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction o the flesh that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus," that is, the mortification or subjection of the fleshly propensities, &c.

In no instance but one, (2 Thes. i. 9,) is the word used in any connection, which is supposed to teach or imply the doctrine of endless misery. In this case, the word everlasting (aionion) is appended, and if understood in its utmost extent will not prove the doctrine of interminable woe, but the annihilation or blotting out of existence of those thus punished, because, if a soul is ETERNALLY destroyed it cannot at the same time live forever, a monument of ceaseless suffering!

SECTION V. PERISH, PERDITION.

Perish. This word is usually applied in a sense expressive of desolation or temporal death. For example: in Gen. xli. 36, the food gathered in Egypt, by order of Joseph, was that "the land might not perish through famine," or, the people of the land. Again, in Lev. xxvi. 38, Jehovah threatens the people of Israel that they should "perish among the heathen," as one of the many sore temporal judgments he would inflict upon them, if they did not hearken and obey his voice. In Esther iv. 16, the resolution of the queen to go in unto the king in behalf of her kindred, which was "not according to law," was couched in the same phraseology. "If I perish, I perish," said she, which, of course, could not convey the idea of any thing else than temporal death, as the hazard she incurred, in thus intruding upon the presence of King Ahasue

rus.

And where the word perish is found as the opposite of eter mal life, in John iii. 15, &c. it has one and the same signifi. cation with spiritual death, for this is frequently contrasted with life by the apostle Paul. Says Christ, "He that be. lieveth shall not perish but have everlasting life." He also says, "He that believeth hath everlasting life," that is, ever. lasting or eternal life is the present possession of the believ er. This life is therefore limited-being an enjoyment here upon the earth-the present consequence of faith in the gospel of the Son of God. It follows as a matter of certainty, that the opposite of this eternal life-to perish-is likewise limited in its nature. As the apostle Paul remarks, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord," and "to be carnally mind. ed is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Perdition. This is a translation, in some instances, of the Greek apoleia, rendered destruction. The Latin perdido, from which perdition is derived, has the signification of the English word lose. For example: a "son of perdition," is one that is lost in sin and wickedness; but that is no reason why such characters will not finally be saved, inasmuch as Christ came to "seek and save that which was lost." Math. xviii. 11. He came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." x. 6. The "prodigal son" was lost; so also the piece of silver, and so likewise the hundredth sheep, but all these were found. Their being lost was the very best reason why they should be looked after and saved from their perilous condition. So in relation to the human family. We have “all gone astray like lost sheep," but the lost shall be found and gathered into the fold of Christ, and "there shall be one fold and one shepherd."

SECTION VI.-FIRE, HELL-FIRE.

In days gone by, there was a great deal of alarm excited, in the minds of the fearful and unbelieving, by the use of these terms. THEN the place of torment, in a future world, was a bona fide lake of fire and brimstone-a material and substantial flame-an unquenchable burning, and at the same