Jesus and his Apostles spoke of aionion punishment, and aionion fire, they must hive known they would have been understool by the Jews, as using these terms to express a state of misery that would be endless; and that under such circumstances, if Christ did not design to teach that doctrine, he would have expressly disavowed it. This would appear plausible at first sight, but an understanding of the facts of the case, will show the position has no strength. If any of the Jews in the days of the Savior, believed in endless woe, they expressed it by words entirely different from any that Christ ever applied to punishment. Philo, an Egyptian Jew, of the time of Christ, was said to be a believer in Endless Punishment. But in expressing that doctrine he used the words, aidios, athanatos, ateleutetos, and not aionios, which Christ applied to punishment. Josepheus, the Jewish historian, who lived in the days of the Apostles, in describing the doctrine of the Pharisees, says they believel "the souls of the bad are allotted to an eternal prison, (aidos ergmos,) and punished with eternal retribution, (aidios limoria.) In describing the doctrines of the "Esse.es," Josephens says that the souls of the bad are sent to a dark and tempestuous cavern, full of incessent punishment, (adialeiptos timoria.) From these quotations it will be seen that the Savior and the Apostles did not use the same phraseology, when they described the punishment of the wicked, as the Jews did. When Jesus spoke of punishment, he called it aionion kolasin, aionion pur or puoros, aionoin kriscos. But when the Jews alluded to the punishment of the wicked, they called it, "aidios timoria, adialeíptos timoria." Hence it is very certain Jesus did not adopt doctrines in regard to punishment, which prevailed among the Jews in his day; nor could they have understood him as approbating or favoring their ideas on that subject. If they taught the doctrine of Endless Misery, and Jesus desired them to understand him as inculcating the same, why did he not use the same words? The fact that he chose different phraseology, shows that he wished them to know he taught a different doctrine.

We have seen that when Jesus spoke of the time that punishment should endure, he used the words aionios. That this word was generally understood among the Jews as signifying limited duration, is evident from the manner in which Josepheus uses it. He usually applies it to the affairs of the present life. Thus he speaks of the aionios name which the Patriarchs left behind them -of the aionios glory of the Jewish nation and heroes-of the aionios reputation of Herod-of the aionios memorial which he erected of the aionios worship in the Temple of Jerusalem-of the aionios imprisonment to which John the Tyrant, was condemned by the Romans, etc. In all these cases aionios is used by Josephus, in a limited or indefinite sense-showing that such was its usual signification in the days of the Savior. Hence the simple fact that Christ applied aionion to punishment, was no evidence to

the Jews, that he gave the least countenance to the idea that it would in any case be endless. Philo, the Egyptian Jew, who was a believer in endless punishment, to express its endlessness, as we have seen, used the words athanatos and ateleutetos. At the same time, he used aionios in a limited sense. In describing an injury with which an offended neighbor will pursue us, if we incur his hatred, he denominates that injury, which can be but temporal, as aionios kolasis.

USAGE OF AIONION AND AIONIOS AMONG THE CHRISTIAN FATBERS. -It will afford no little light on the meaning we should give these words, as used in the Scriptures, to ascertain the manner in which the early Christian Fathers, who succeeded the Apostles, understood them. We have seen that Jesus and the Apostles themselves, frequently used aionion and aionios, to express a limited period a time that came to an end. Jesus often spoke of the end of the aionios, or world.-(Matt. xiii. 39.) St. Paul declared that the end of the aionion, [world,]—(Heb. ix. 26,) and the ends of the aionion [world,]-(1 Cor. x. 11,) had come, in his day. It is evident the Christians, in the earliest ages after Christ, believed aionion punishment, was a limited punishment. In the SybilIne Oracles," which were extant 150 years after Christ, the doctrine of Universal Salvation was distinctly taught. Yet they inculcated the belief in aionion punishment--showing plainly that they understood aionion as signifying limited duration. Clemens Alexandrinus, Origen, and other celebrated fathers, inthe early ages of the church, who were well-known and open believers and defenders of the final salvation of all mankind, were in the frequent habit of applying aionion and aionios to punishment. They spoke of aionion (everlasting) punishment, aionion fire, aionion death, in precisely the same terms that the Savior used: yet they simply meant a long punishment, and not an endless one. Considering the early age in which they lived, this is strong evidence that the same phrases were used by the Savior and the Apostles, to denote limited punishment. This is confirmed by the authority of one of the oldest Greek Lexicons, written after the days of the Apostles. I call the attention of my friend to this fact, and ask an explanation in agreement with his theory. Mr. Goodwin says, "Hesychius, a Lexicographer of either the fourth or sixth century, is the oldest to which I have had access. His definition of aion is very short, and makes no allusion whatever, to any sense of eternity in this word."

In view of the critical examination I have given of the Origin and scripture usage of aion and its derivatives, it must be manifest to all candid minds, that their general meaning, is not endless time. Their primitive signification is "continuous," uninterupted;" and as to duration their meaning is "indefinite" "unrevealed." From this primal signification sometimes extends, on the one hand to a meaning of strictly and literally endless time,

as when applied to God, or any of his attributes. On the other hand, they are frequently used in a sense more or less limited-as an age, or man's life time, and even three days.—(Jonah ii. 6.) Because these words are used in a limited sense in some instances, it does not follow that they limit the existence of God when applied to him. Nor because they signify strictly endless when indicating the being of Jehovah. is it an evidence they have the same meaning of endlesness when connected with man or the punishments inflicted on him. Aionios and aionion are used as adjectives when applied to punishment. It is well known that the same adjective has very different meanings, when qualifying different nouns. We speak of a great nut and a great mountain. Does the fact that "great" is applied to both these nouns, prove that a nut is as large as a mountain!! This is the reasoning of many astute philologists of the evangelical school. The simple fact that aionios when applied to God, who is eternal in his own nature, signifies endless duration, they gravely urge as cvidence that it means endless duration, when used to qualify punishment, which has nothing necessarily endless in its nature. The substantives mountain and nut, qualify the adjective great, quite as much as the latter does the former. On the same principle, the adjectives aionios and aionion, are qualified in respect to the amount of duration they express, by the nature of the being, object, or subject, they describe. An understanding of these plain facts, opens the way for the adoption of the following

RULE.-When aionios or aionion is applied that which contains within itself eternal existence, then it necessarily singifies literally time without end. As when applied to God in Rev. iv. 10

Worship him that liveth forever and ever," (tous aionas ton aionon.) Or when applied to God's attributes-" His mercy endureth forever." (aionos.) But when applied to that which does not in itself possess endless duration then aionion or aionios does not import that quality of time to it, but signifies simply duration, longer or shorter as the nature of the subject requires. In relation to the duration of the Jewish Priesthood, aionion signified some thousands of years. In reference to Jewish slaves it signified a life time. In relation to Jonah it signified but three days!!

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ADMISSIONS OF ORTHODOX COMMENTATORS.-McKnight says of [aionion, aioninos]-"These words being ambiguous, are always to be understood according to the nature and circumstances of the things to which they are applied * I must be so candid as to acknowledge, that the use of these terms forever, eternal, and everlasting, in other passages of scripture, shows that they who understand these words in a limited sense when applied to punishmnet put NO FORCED interpretation upon them." This is the voluntary testimony of one of the most learned of the English commentators. Alexander Campbell says of aion-" Its radical idea is indefinite duration."

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Profesor Stuart, says that "aion in the New Testament, most usually means an indefinite, unlimited period of time. The different shades by which the word is rendered, depend on the object with which aion is associated, or to which it has relation, rather than to any difference in the real meaning of the word. * * * *The question where the words are to have the meaning of absolute eternity, and where the sense of ancient or very old, is always to be determined by the nature of the case, i. e. by the context!!"

Rev. John Foster, the most eminent Baptist minister in the world, says "I hope it is not presumptuous to take advantage of the fact, that the terms everlasting, eternal, forever, whether original or translated, are often employed in the Bible, as well as other writings, under great and various limitations of import, and are thus withdrawn from the predicament of necessarily and abso. lutely meaning a strictly endless duration! The limitation is often, indeed, plainly marked by the nature of the subject.. In other instances the words are used with a figurative indefiniteness, which leaves the limitation to be made by some general rule of reason and proportion I therefore conclude that A LIMITED interpretation is authorized!!"-[Foster's Letter to a Young Minister.]

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In this critical investigation, I have been actuated solely by a desire to obtain a correct understanding of the words under consideration. We have seen that these words possess a variety of meanings, as used in the Bible, and express different periods of time, from an age down to three days. I think I can consistently claim that words so indefinite in their meaning, cannot yield any support to the doctrine of Endless Punishment. Merely to introduce passages of scripture where ainoion, or aionios(forever, eternal, everlasting)--occur in connection with punishment, fire, damnation, (condemnation,) or other words in reference to chastisement, cannot be of avail to my opponent. Occuring as they very frequently do, throughout the Bible, in a limited sense, he cannot be allowed to assume that they mean endless, when applied to punishments inflicted on the wicked. I insist that by all rules of just interpretation, he must show in instances where he quotes such passages that there is a necessity of giving these words a meaning of endless time, from the nature of the case in which they are found. In other words, he must show that there is something in the nature of punishment, which makes it necessarily and unavoidably endless, before he can claim that aionion (forever,) applied to it, has the signification of time without end.[Time expired.

[MR. HOLMES TENTH SPEECH.]

Before proceeding with my main argument, I will devote a short time to a few points of limited importance in my friend's last speech. He says, "the judgment of God is in this world." That Gol performs a work of judgment in this world, is a fact I have not only admitted, but argued for. As the present is a state of retribution, it must in the same sense, and to the same extent, be a state of judgment. Retribution and judgment always go together. I have also established, by arguments which Mr. Austin cannot disprove, that this world is not a state of perfect retribution: that is, that the retributions of God run over into eternity, and find their perfection and completion there. Hence, though we see the incipient and preliminary stages of God's work of judgment in this world, the final completion, perfection, decision and vindication of the whole, is to be looked for in another world. With direct reference to this fact, the scriptures speak of "the judgment"-"the day of judgment" -the "judgment to come""the day in which God will judge the secrets of men"—"the judgment seat of Christ"-and also, that God hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world." Moreover, I have understood Mr. Austin virtually to admit, that sinners will be punished in the future state.

MR. AUSTIN.-When have I said so?

MR. HOLMES.-Perhaps the gentleman has not said so, in so many words, but I have understood him to use language in some of his speeches which implies as much. If I am wrong in this, I am quite willing to be corrected. I am pleased to get Mr. Austin to define his position on this point in any way, negatively or positively, directly or indirectly. I have pressed him to this point, as you all know, repeatedly; and why he has not seen fit to respond in a satisfactory manner before this late stage in the discussion, you can understand without difficulty. From this time I shall understand Mr. Austin as denying all future punishment, unless he shall distinctly notify me to the contrary. It will, therefore, devolve on him to reconcile this denial with the seeming admissions he has made, from time to time, of future punishment, and also to refute the arguments I have adduced, and shall still bring forward to sustain this fact. He must do this in order to remove the doctrine of a future judgment. Besides the direct and positive proof of a future and general judgment, all the evidence in support of future punishment, also, sustains the same scriptural truth. If there be future punishment, there must be future judgment; otherwise, we have punishment without law, and retribution without justice.

Mr. Austin says I build my argument for the doctrine of future judgment on the book of Revelation-quotes Clarke, who