Page images
PDF
EPUB

sense of the word, nor the grave, but "the state of the dead." This word was used to denote in the days of Christ, the state of the dead anterior to the resurrection, a state of consciousness, in which the wicked were miserable (as they must ever be in any part of the moral universe) and the righteous were happy.-The true import of this word as then used and understood may be learned from Josephus. He was contemporary with the Apostles. He has written an essay upon hades, in which he has given us the sense which the Jews attached to this word when our Savior was on earth. Hear him. I appeal to his writings merely to ascertain the sense of this word.

[ocr errors]

"Now as to Hades, wherein the souls of the righteous and unrighteous are detained; it is necessary to speak of it. Hades is a place in the world not regularly finished; a subterraneous region, wherein the light of this world does not shine; from which circumstance, that in this region the light does not shine, it cannot be but there must be in it perpetual darkness. This region is allotted as a place of custody for souls, in which angels are appointed as guardians to them who distribute to them temporary punishments agreeable to every one's behavior and manners.

In this region there is a certain place set apart, as a lake of unquenchable fire whereinto we suppose no one hath hitherto been cast, but it is prepared for a day aforedetermined by God, to which one righteous sentence shall deservedly be passed upon all men; when the unjust, and those that have been disobedient to God, and have given honor to such idols as have been the vain operations of the hands of men, as to God himself, shall be adjudged to this everlasting punishment, as having been the causes of defilement; while the just shall obtain an incorruptible and never-fading kingdom. These are now indeed confined in Hades, but not in the same place wherein the unjust are confined.

For there is one descent in this region, at whose gate we believe there stands an archangel with a host; which gate, when those pass through that are conducted down by

the angels appointed over souls, they do not go the same way, but the just are guided to the right hand, and are led with hymns, sung by the angels appointed over that place, unto a region of light, in which the just have dwelt from the beginning of the world; not constrained by necessity, but ever enjoying the prospect of the good things they see, and rejoicing in the expectation of those new enjoyments which will be peculiar to every one of them, and esteeming those things beyond what we have here; with whom there is no place of toil; no burning heat, no piercing cold; nor are any briars there; but the countenance of the fathers and of the just which they see always, smiles upon them while they wait for the rest and eternal new life in heaven, which is to succeed this region. This place we call the bosom of Abraham.

But as to the unjust, they are dragged by force to the left hand by the angels allotted for punishment, no longer going with a good will, but as prisoners driven by violence; to whom are sent the angels appointed over them to reproach them, and threaten them with their terrible looks, and to thrust them still downwards. Now these angels that are set over these souls drag them into the neighborhood of hell itself; who when they are hard by it continually hear the noise of it, and do not stand clear of the hot vapor itself; but when they have a near view of this spectacle, as of a terrible and exceeding great prospect of fire, they are struck with a fearful expectation of a future judgment, and in effect punished thereby; not only so, but where they see the place (or ehoir) of the fathers and of the just, even hereby are they punished; for a chaos deep and large is fixed between them, insomuch that a just man that hath compassion upon them cannot be admitted, nor can one that is unjust, if he were bold enough to attempt it, pass over it.

This is the discourse concerning Hades wherein the souls of all men are confined until a proper season which God hath determined, when he will make a resurrection of all men from the dead, not procuring a transmigration of

souls from one body to another, but raising again those very bodies, which you Greeks seeing to be dissolved, do not believe (their resurrection.)

For all men, the just as well as the unjust, shall be brought before God the Word; for to him hath the Father committed all judgment, and he, in order to fulfil the will of his Father shall come as judge whom we call Christ. For Minos and Rhadamanthus are not the judges as you Greeks do suppose, but he whom God and the Father hath glorified, cONCERNING WHOM WE HAVE ELSEWHERE

GIVEN A MORE PARTICULAR ACCOUNT, FOR THE SAKE OF

THOSE WHO SEEK AFTER TRUTH. This person, exercising the righteous judgment of the Father towards all men, hath prepared a just sentence for every one, according to his works; at whose judgment-seat, when all men, and angels, and demons shall stand, they will send forth one voice, and say just is thy judgment; the rejoinder to which will bring a just sentence upon both parties, by giving justly to those who have done well, an everlasting fruition, but allotting to the lovers of wicked works eternal punishishment. To these belong the unquenchable fire, and a certain fiery worm never dying, and not destroying the body, but continuing its eruption out of the body with never-ceasing grief: neither will sleep give ease to these men, nor will the night afford them comfort; death will not free them from their punishment, nor the interceding prayers of their kindred profit them; for the just are no longer seen by them, nor are they thought worthy of remembrance.

Here we learn from the best authority,

[ocr errors]

1. That hades among the Jews, in the days of Christ, denoted the state of the dead, in which the souls of the righteous were happy and the wicked miserable. 2. That "Abraham's bosom "" was a phrase by which the Jews designated the happiness of the righteous in hades. 3. That "unquenchable fire," and "undying worm," were expressions used by the Jews in the days of Christ to represent the "eternal punishment" of the wicked in the

world to come. Now, if Christ was an honest speaker and meant to be understood by his hearers, he must have used words in their ordinary acceptation. He must have used the word hades then to represent the state of the dead, the good and the bad, the happy and the miserable, anterior to the resurrection. So his hearers must have understood him. If he did not mean this, he must have wilfully deceived his hearers. Can you deny this?

[ocr errors]

4. Once more. I cannot adopt your views of this parable, because they are supported by the most weak and wretched sophistry, such as men of sound judgment ought to be ashamed of. For example; we are told that the word "hades," denotes the state of the dead-not a place of punishment; ergo, there is no punishment in the future world. This is about as sound reasoning as it would be. to say, the word Vermont means Green Mountain, not punishment; ergo, there is no punishment for criminals in Vermont. The word Salem denotes peace, not war and murder; ergo, Capt. White could not have been murdered, nor the Knapps hung, in Salem. The word Charlestown means the town of Charles; not a place of punishment; ergo, there can be no state prison in Charlestown. The word Fall River denotes a falling stream of water, not a manufacturing village; ergo, there can be no calico-mills or iron-works in Fall River. This is a specimen of Universalists' mode of reasoning, and by adopting it, you can reason heaven and hell, God and angels, your Bible and yourself, out of existence, as well as you can the future punishment of the wicked. Again. Mr. Whittemore reasons against applying the parable to the sufferings of the wicked in the spiritual world, because the Rich Man is represented as having eyes, hands, tongue, &c. To this I remark, that Universalists in this objection, place themselves with the Atheists. Infidels ridicule the Bible because God, a pure spirit, is spoken of as having hands, feet, eyes, ears, etc. Do Universalists understand how a pure spirit can be spoken of as having a body and parts? if so, they need have no difficulty in understanding how

[ocr errors]

the disembodied spirits of the Rich Man and Lazarus can be spoken of in the same way. Spiritual and eternal things are represented by sensible and material objects. Again. We are told that "it is not said that the Rich Man was very wicked, nor that the beggar was pious. Very well; if the rich and worldly, who are not cruel, ., oppressive and unjust, are left to agonize in torments" in the state of the dead," because found destitute of the requisite qualifications for the society and employment of the heavenly world, what must be the inevitable doom of those who are not only proud and rich, but who have amassed their wealth by defrauding the widow, and oppressing and robbing the fatherless? As to the character of the Rich Man, the picture our Savior has drawn of him is true to the life; it is a fac simile of those very men whom we may find, any day, in the mansions of the rich. They are worldly proud, haughty, selfish, live at ease, and despise the poor.-Not the worst of men, but totally unlike Jesus, and wholly unfit for the heavenly world. As to Lazarus, true, it is not said that he is pious, but this is clearly implied throughout, and he is represented as one of those humble, afflicted, unfortunate children of God, of whom the world is not worthy, whose treasure is in heaven and not on earth. In fine, after examining the most plausible attempt of which your system is capable, to explain' away this most solemn and important parable of Christ, I confess myself surprised that any man can be found willing to risk his reputation for good sense, to say nothing of his eternal salvation, upon such thread-bare sophistry. Yours

as ever.

My Dear Sir:·

LETTER XXI.

I find John 5: 28,29, a serious difficulty in the way of believing in Universalism.

« PreviousContinue »