Conditional immortality is taught by both classes of Annihilationists. That is to say, they deny the continuous existence of the soul, teaching that life beyond the grave is conditional on accepting Christ in this life, and thus procuring life in Him. They assert there is no life after death save in Christ. None, they say, will have continuous existence but believers on the Lord Jesus.
The doctrine of this latter class lands its adherents into obvious absurdities. If there is no life beyond the grave but in Christ, then it follows the wicked dead when raised must have life in Christ. How could they be judged if they stood before the great white throne alive in Christ? How could that life be annihilated in the lake of fire? Impossible!
Further, they say life in Christ is immortality. How then could the wicked dead be raised in life in Christ, in other words in immortality, and yet be annihilated? Surely words have no meaning if immortality can be so treated.
A mistake common to all conditional immortality teachers is that of confounding eternal life with immortality. They teach that they are convertible terms. Scripture says:- "The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom. 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)).
A leading Conditional Immortality writer says:- "Immortality is the gift of God in Christ our Lord, but is not a universal possession of man " (Report of Ilford Conference, 1913, page 56).
But the believer in Christ has got eternal life NOW. If eternal life and immortality are convertible terms, as many teachers of Conditional Immortality say, then it follows that believers in Christ, who have got eternal life NOW, have immortality NOW, and therefore cannot die. But they do die. For it is to be remarked that immortality [athanasia ] is only mentioned three times in the New Testament. One passage is constantly used triumphantly by those who deny immortality as pertaining to man. Speaking of God, it says:- "Who only hath immortality" (1 Tim. 6:1616Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen. (1 Timothy 6:16)).
But this proves too much for their case. They urge God ONLY has immortality. But the angels have it in the sense of endless. existence. For mortal means more than capable of death, it means dying. That is to say, a mortal being is one in whom the process of death is being carried out, it may be slowly and imperceptibly but none the less surely, till the process ends in actual death. The seeds of death are at work till the end is reached. Luke 20:3636Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. (Luke 20:36) is clear as to the eternal existence of the angels.
Our Lord, speaking of those who shall be judged worthy of resurrection from among the dead, that is, true believers, says:- "Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels, and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection"; (Luke 20:3636Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. (Luke 20:36)) that is to say, the angels cannot die.
And further, what is still more serious, in using this verse the way the Annihilationists do, is that they cut away the ground absolutely from under their own feet. For if God alone hath immortality, it follows then that not only no one has it now, as for instance the angels, but also, to be logical, no one can have it in the future. Scripture tells us plainly that believers will put on immortality at the coming of Christ, so that the Word of God contradicts such a use of the verse.
But it clearly tells us God only hath immortality. How then is this true? The answer is plain and conclusive. God only has it inherently. God only has it in Himself. All else, who have it, have it as conferred and sustained by Him.
The two other places where immortality [athanasia] is mentioned are as follows:- "This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall he brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory" (1 Cor. 15:53, 5453For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. (1 Corinthians 15:53‑54)).
Here the sense is plain. Corruption and mortality both have reference to the body, not to the soul. Corruption applies to a DEAD body—mortality to a DYING body.
There is no dispute that corruption in this Scripture refers to the dead body of a believer, and incorruption to the body of the believer in resurrection. There is no need to labor the point.
On the other hand, the term mortal is never used in connection with the soul. Why? Because it is NOT subject to death. The soul is immortal, not inherently as God is, but conferred and sustained by God.
We read, as to man, " And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul " (Gen. 2:77And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7)).
Mr. F. W. Grant, in " Facts and Theories as to a Future State," writes, as to this passage:- " Man and beast are alike possessed of living souls. We do not disguise the truth as to this, but contend for it " (page 56). "Now, upon the most cursory glance at this, it is evident that something more took place in man's creation than in the creation of the brute. It is plain that God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life, and that He did not into the brute's... For although what is communicated may not be yet fully shown-and it is quite the character of an initial revelation, that it should not be-it is plain that man has a link here with God Himself which the beast has not... It is by this way he receives life " (pages 57, 58).
But the reader may urge, " If the word mortal is never applied in the Scripture to the soul, neither is the word immortal. Can the soul, then, be said to be immortal?" We reply that it is perfectly true that the actual word immortal is never used in Scripture in connection with the soul, but nevertheless the truth of the unending existence of the soul is woven into the very web and woof of Scripture. If the soul were not immortal, but mortal, surely this would be affirmed in the Scriptures. There is not a line to say that the soul is mortal.
God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life, and he became in this special way, in contradistinction to the beasts, a living soul.
All through Scripture it is taken for granted that the soul is unending in existence. But seeing that " life and incorruptibility " are brought " to light through the gospel," it is obvious that we must look to the New Testament for the fullest light on the subject.
Yet even in the Old Testament we find abundant indications of what we are seeking for. We need not repeat all the passages we quoted as to Sheol, proving that the soul at death goes into a condition of conscious existence in the other world, in other words, that continuous existence belongs to the soul. The evidence on this score is overwhelming. And when we come to the New Testament, its testimony as to Hades, the equivalent of Sheol, confirms this statement fully.
A very strong proof of what we have asserted in the opening pages of this pamphlet as to Sheol and Hades, comes out when the Sadducees, who, disbelieving in resurrection, urged the hypothetical case of the woman with seven husbands, and received the answer from the Lord's lips:- "As touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living" (Matt. 22:31, 3231But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 32I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. (Matthew 22:31‑32)).
And, as if to enforce the great importance of this incident, both Mark and Luke record it. They refer particularly, as also does Stephen in his address to the Sanhedrim, to the time when the Lord spoke to Moses out of the burning bush (see Ex. 3:66Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. (Exodus 3:6)). The patriarchs referred to had then been dead for many long years. If their souls had ceased to exist, God could not have announced Himself as their God, for it distinctly and emphatically says, "God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." And further, He said, " I AM the God of Abraham," etc. Their bodies were clearly in their graves. Then obviously their souls were living -in the condition of hades, as we have seen.
Enoch and Elijah were translated to heaven without dying at all, no hint of soul-sleep or non-existence being given. The dying thief heard the words, "To-day shalt thou be with Me in paradise" (Luke 23:4343And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:43)). I know an effort has been made to prove that "to-day " refers to the Lord uttering the words, " I say unto thee to-day," but the structure of the sentence forbids such a translation. It is evidently a gracious reply to the thief's request, "Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom" (a time still future). How emphatic is the Lord's reply, " I say unto thee, to-day shalt thou be with Me in paradise."
The apostle Paul said, " I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better " (Phil. 1:2323For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: (Philippians 1:23)). He did not say he had a desire to depart and enter into soul-sleep or unconsciousness. Surely that would not be "far better" than enjoying the Lord's love here on earth, and being used in His happy service. He says distinctly, "To depart and to be WITH Christ."
And as if to make it abundantly plain, we read, "are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord " (2 Cor. 5:88We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8)). Here it is a question of the soul being parted from the body, but present WITH the Lord. No hint of soul-sleep, but a distinctly happy intermediate state described.
Further, we have the Lord's own words:- " And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell [hades] he lift up his eyes being in torments " (Luke 16: 22-23).
The Lord presents the truth here in unmistakable language. The beggar's body lay in the grave, whilst his spirit passed into happiness. Abraham's bosom is symbolic of the happy portion of the departed saints of God in old times.
The rich man's body was in the grave. "Lifting up his eyes," is, as we have already seen, simply symbolic language describing that his soul was conscious. The simple, graphic language appeals far more to both learned and unlearned than an attempt at describing soul-consciousness in scientific terms, which would be unsuitable to the Lord's hearers. The fact is, there is not the slightest difficulty in the narrative, if taken as it is meant. In our everyday language we are constantly using figures of speech which all understand. Nine-tenths of anti-Bible criticism is dishonest, and has a distinct intention to put the Bible in the wrong, and still the Book lives, as vital and vigorous as ever.
In the few incidents and passages referred to we have both the believer and non-believer referred to as conscious after death as to their souls.
Further, as to believers, eternal life is theirs and they shall live forever; as to unbelievers, " the wrath of God abideth upon them," proving in both cases on another line their eternal existence. With such evidence before us, which could be multiplied, if space allowed, we have clear, overwhelming evidence of the never-ending existence of the soul.
Let not eternal life and immortality be confounded.
Eternal life is the present and everlasting portion of every believer in Christ.
Immortality as presented in Scripture in connection with the believer, is that which he will receive in connection with his body at the Lord's second coming.
Nor will it do to say that the expression "second death" means annihilation in face of the expression, "the wrath of God abideth on him;" there must be living persons to have wrath abiding on them. Again, "the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever;" there must be living persons capable of enduring torment. Again, "their worm dieth not," etc; an annihilation cannot be said to have anything. Here it is "their worm dieth not."
The word death is used in three ways. It expresses:-
1st, Separation morally from God through sin.
2nd, Separation of the body from the soul and spirit.
3rd, Eternal separation from God.
In no case does it mean annihilation.
As to the first, we read of those "dead in trespasses and sins" when body and soul were both alive together on this earth. Death in the sense of the second needs no comment, save to say it does not mean ceasing to exist, as we have abundantly proved. The third way in which the term is used is plain. "And death and hell [hades] were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death" (Rev. 20:1414And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (Revelation 20:14)). The second death is an abiding, eternal existence of misery. We speak of "a living death," and the meaning is plain. Here the meaning is equally plain: "second death" means everlasting, conscious existence under the wrath of God—eternal separation from God, which must mean misery and torment, for all true blessing and joy consist in our right relation to God.
Now let us come more directly to the question, Is the punishment of the lost everlasting? If the wrath of God abides on the unbeliever, as Scripture states, there must be the unbeliever for it to abide on. There can be no getting out of the plain meaning of these words. If the unbeliever is annihilated the wrath of God cannot abide on what does not exist.
We remember years ago two Seventh Day Adventists in Jamaica informing the writer that they believed in everlasting punishment. If the sinner were annihilated, the punishment, they argued, would be eternal because irrevocable. And then they added triumphantly, "Eternal punishment does not mean eternal punishing."
I replied, "Does three months' punishment mean three months' punishing?" They admitted that it did. "Then," I replied, "eternal punishment means eternal punishing." A leading writer of the Conditional Immortality School uses the same illogical fallacy: "We believe in eternal punishment, not eternal punishing—the latter a great delusion, the former a great truth" (Report of Ilford Conference, 1913, page 56).
But, says the Annihilationist, does not the Bible say that we are to fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body? Does not destroy mean annihilate? By no means.
Destroy means to render a person or thing useless in respect of the purpose for which he or it is made. We drop a cup. It breaks into fragments. We say, and say rightly, it is destroyed. That this is the meaning of the word is plain. The word for destroy in the Greek is apollumi.
For instance we read, " The chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy [Gk. apollumi] Jesus " (Matt. 27:2020But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. (Matthew 27:20)).
Could the Jews annihilate the Lord? Assuredly not. But they could (being allowed of God) put Him to death, and that is what is meant here.
Again we read, " No man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred [Gk. apollumi] " (Mark 2:2222And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles. (Mark 2:22)). Evidently destruction here meant bottles burst and rendered useless, and not bottles annihilated.
Again, " Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost [Gk. apollumi] " (Luke 15:66And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. (Luke 15:6)). Could the Good Shepherd have found something that was annihilated—something that was not something? No, it was a lost or destroyed sheep He found, and He saved it from its lost estate, and recovered it from destruction.
Again, " If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost [Gk. apollumi] " (2 Cor. 4:33But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: (2 Corinthians 4:3)). Most evidently the lost or destroyed here are sinners in this world. It would be useless talking of the Gospel being hid from those who did not exist.
Very many more passages to the same effect could be cited, but enough has been given to show that the word destroy does not mean annihilate.
And yet a speaker at the " Conditional Immortality Mission " Conference, held in 1913, had the audacity to say:- "The natural and Scriptural meaning of destroy ' is quite clear. Its dictionary meaning (as given in Nuttall's Standard Dictionary) is: to ruin or annihilate by demolishing or burning; to overthrow and put an end to; to lay waste; to slay; to extirpate, etc. Contrary and inconsistent meanings are merely refuges of theologians who seek to alter the proper and true meaning to suit some erroneous interpretation of Scripture.. Gehenna is a place of destruction."
The inquiry has to be made, Is the word rendered from the original Greek destroy rightly translated? From its plain usage it cannot mean annihilation, and the above speaker might as well accurately consult his dictionary for the meanings of " lost " or " marred " to get the meaning of " destroy." Such tactics betray either ignorance a school boy should be ashamed of, or dishonesty of the worst type.
" But," urge the non-eternity teachers, " aionios, the Greek word translated eternal and everlasting, means age-lasting. And if it means age-lasting it cannot mean eternal."
Let us remember that language is brought into existence by man to express his ideas. The word is coined to meet the need. The word follows the need. Seeing man is bounded by time and sense, and all beyond is outside his natural ken, and that he is dependent on revelation for all true knowledge of what is beyond death, one would not expect to find in human language words expressing divine and eternal ideas.
Missionaries translating the Bible into heathen languages all testify to the difficulty they have in expressing divine thoughts in language coined to meet man's needs, and limited by his experience and environment.
But as divine ideas are revealed, a fuller meaning is often stamped upon a word. This we shall see plainly, and be able to prove to all honest readers is the case with the Greek word aionios.
Before giving the Scriptural use of the word, I would quote from a well-known authority on such subjects:- " The etymology given as early as the time of Aristotle, and by him, is αἱεν ῶν, always existing. The earliest use of the word is in the sense of a man's life. It is so used by Homer of the death of his heroes and in other ways. Very much later it came to mean one whole dispensational period or state of things: but when used by itself in its own meaning, it had very clearly the sense of eternity. It is thus used by Philo in a passage which can leave no doubt: In eternity [ἑν αἰῶνί], nothing is either past or to come but only subsists ' " (J. N. Darby).
Philo's definition leaves nothing to be desired as to clearness. No past, no future, a continuous present. Could anything be more striking as a definition of eternity? Moreover, Philo has special weight as a witness. He was a Hellenistic Jew, and was contemporary with the apostles. When it is a question of the force of Greek words as used in the New Testament, we could not adduce weightier authority.
Mosheim, whose learning none can dispute, says aion properly signifies indefinite or eternal duration, as opposite to that which is finite or temporal.
Arrian—the Greek philosopher—says: "I am not an aion, but a man, a part of all things, as an hour of a day. I must subsist as an hour, and pass away as an hour." Arrian here contrasts the ephemeral existence of himself as a man, with eternal existence and for this he employs the word, aion.
Such authors clearly give the thought of eternity as the meaning of the word.
Aionon means, by force of the context in these passages, ages which were bounded by time.
In all other cases the word clearly means eternal. It is used once in relation to God; once in relation to God's power; twice in relation to the Lord; once in relation to the Holy Spirit; forty-two times in relation to eternal life; fourteen times to express the duration of eternal bliss; seven times to express the duration of everlasting punishment.
None of us, who profess in the smallest degree to be Christians, question the eternal existence of God, or of the Lord Jesus Christ, or of the Holy Spirit. All must allow that aionios means eternal in this connection. One passage very clearly, even in our English Bibles, presents the thought of eternity. "The things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal [aionios] " (2 Cor. 4:1818While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18)). Surely that which is literally age-lasting is temporal. What is eternal is here contrasted with what is temporal, or age-lasting. Apart from Greek, the force of this important verse is very plain.
Then see the long list of forty-two texts affirming that the believer has eternal life; the long list of fourteen texts affirming the eternal duration of the believer's blessings—fifty-six texts in all. Now we do not find books written fiercely contending that aionios in this connection is only age-lasting. On the contrary, we find writers who teach non-eternity of punishment, affirming sauvely that everlasting life is eternal. Verily the legs of the lame are not equal. What a pitiable sight! Men receiving the Word of God when it suits' them, and refusing the same when it does not suit them.
But of the fifty-six passages referring to eternal life and its blessings, and seven passages referring to everlasting punishment, let us look at one, which conveys both thoughts. Surely it is not for nothing that it is so put. "These shall go away into everlasting [aionios] punishment; but the righteous into life eternal [aionios]" (Matt. 25:4646And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (Matthew 25:46)). Surely if the punishment is not eternal, the life is not. Both Universalists and Annihilationists are impaled upon the horns of a dilemma here. The SAME word is used to characterize the duration of the punishment of the one class, and the life of the other. There is no running away from this argument.
Professor Salmond, in "Christian Doctrine of Immortality," writes:- "To say that the adjective aionios has one sense in the first half of the sentence, and another in the second, is the counsel of despair." This must be faced. For no one can be honest in suggesting that God employs the same word in one short verse to express two different meanings.
And seeing the word is used to characterize the duration of the existence of God, of the Lord Jesus, of the Holy Ghost, we can have no doubt as to the meaning of the word. God has stamped the meaning of eternity on this word. Take another passage where the thought of eternal punishment is put two ways:—"He that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal [aionios] damnation" (Mark 3:2929But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: (Mark 3:29)).
Then again, take the solemn statement three times repeated by the Lord Himself, "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:44,46,4844Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. (Mark 9:44)
46Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. (Mark 9:46)
48Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. (Mark 9:48)). Is this not in contrast to the Gehenna outside of Jerusalem, where millions of worms perished, and thousands of flames were quenched? Here "their" worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched. And as if to make the meaning doubly plain, a still stronger expression is used in relation to the being of God and eternal punishment. "God who liveth forever and ever" (literally to the ages of the ages) (Rev. 15:77And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. (Revelation 15:7)). "And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever [literally to the ages of the ages]: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image" (Rev. 14:1111And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. (Revelation 14:11)).
How forcible is this! The same writer within the compass of a few verses affirms that God exists to the ages of the ages, and that the torment of the lost continues to the ages of the ages, that is, as long as He exists the torment of the lost continues.
Torment signifies a condition, which requires a living entity. You cannot torment what is annihilated; that which does not exist cannot be so spoken about. Therefore, if the torment of these lost souls continues forever—to the ages of the ages—it is necessary that these lost ones should be, not annihilated, but in conscious existence.
But it is often argued that God is too kind to torture any. This is true. God tortures none. The Bible never affirms that He does. "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
Does anyone accuse the Queen of torturing her subjects, who are by their misdeeds the inmates of H.M. prisons? Go into the prisons. See the tormented mind, the accusing conscience; the bitter remorse that often fills with exquisite torture the minds, the consciences of the prisoners. Would any one in his senses accuse the Queen of deliberately torturing her prisoners? Assuredly not! It is the remembrance of their own evil deeds, and the hourly consequence of them, that torment them. They torment themselves.
Or to go a step further. Is it necessary, as a punishment, for the magistrate to order a wicked youth to be birched? Or does the judge condemn a criminal to hard labor? Will any right-minded citizen accuse the magistrate or judge of torturing those so condemned to punishment for their misdeeds? In connection with the affairs of this world one does not hear of such sickly sentimentality, but this is a common argument, if such a term it can be dignified by, often urged in connection with this solemn subject. It recoils on the heads of those who use it.
There is one very clear Scripture which makes abundantly plain that to be cast into the lake of fire does not mean annihilation.
In Rev. 19:2020And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. (Revelation 19:20), we read:- " These [the beast and false prophet] both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone." Then in Chapter 20 we learn that the devil is found in the bottomless pit for one thousand years, during the course of the millennium, and at the end of that time is let loose, and after a brief rebellion we read:- " And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and false prophet are, and shall he tormented day and night forever and ever " (Rev. 20:1010And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Revelation 20:10)). Here we learn two things. For over one thousand years two individuals, the beast and the false prophet, will have been in the lake of fire, when they will be joined by Satan himself, and their portion is to "be tormented day and night forever and ever [literally to the ages of the ages]."
In the face of this, shall it be said that punishment is not eternal? I know there is an attempt to whittle away the solemn truth of this passage, because of the expression "day and night." But this is idle opposition to the truth, and worse. Moreover, if this is urged, there is still the expression to face, "To the ages of the ages." The fact is, the expression, "day and night" only emphasizes the continuous unremitting character of the punishment.
But, says an objector, How can an individual be in a lake of fire, and not be instantly consumed? We believe untold harm has been done by preachers enlarging in a lurid and graphic and unscriptural way as to the language of Scripture concerning "gehenna," "the lake of fire and brimstone," "their worm," "the outer darkness." We believe the very language of Scripture should be used by the preacher, and if he does not use it he is lacking in faithfulness to his hearers. Let him warn his hearers of the danger of hell fire and of eternal punishment. But let it be strictly in the language the Holy Ghost teacheth.
One thing is perfectly plain. If it is urged that these terms are symbolic, it in no way lessens the awful truths we are considering. Let us never forget that.
The Lord Jesus in infinite wisdom and in boundless compassion for the lost has seen fit to use plain, warning language, and we do well to adhere to it, not taking from it nor adding to it. The late Sir Robert Anderson wrote, "So awful is the teaching of the Lord Jesus respecting the doom of the impenitent, that every statement on the subject ought to adhere strictly to the very words of Scripture." With this we are in hearty accord, but let us use the very language of Scripture. We shall find it to be the sword of the Spirit.
There are, however, two striking incidents given in Scripture, which may well silence any objector.
When Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law at Horeb, he saw a wonderful sight. "And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed " (Ex. 3:22And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. (Exodus 3:2)). The caviler may say, How could the bush be on fire and yet not be consumed? Yet here we have the plain statement that it was so.
Again, you remember how the three Hebrew children were flung into a burning fiery furnace, heated seven times so that the fierce flame slew the mightiest men of Nebuchadnezzar's army, who threw them in, and yet the three Hebrew children were not burned, nor their hair singed, nor the smell of fire on their clothes, only their bonds were consumed. Can you explain this?
Rather let us bow to God's Word without question, and believe just what it states.
We must ever bear in mind that we cannot apply the conditions that obtain in this life in connection with mortal bodies to the bodies of unbelievers which will be raised for judgment. To do so is to betray our ignorance.
There is one very expressive passage, affording much room for thought. It comes in at the end of the Scripture, in which the Son of God gives solemn warning as to gehenna. " For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another " (Mark 9:49, 5049For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. 50Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another. (Mark 9:49‑50)).
We all know the preservative quality of salt. Decay is indefinitely arrested in meat, when it is salted. This is a world where moral decay has set in, and the Lord would have His people kept by the preserving salt of His grace. The sacrifice salted with salt is emblematical of the fact that God would preserve His people for Himself from the impurity and corruption of what is around. As a well-known author says:- "Salt... is that energy of God within us which connects everything in us with God, and dedicates the heart to Him, binding it to Him in the sense of obligation and of desire, rejecting all in oneself that is contrary to Him " (J. N. Darby).
Failing this, how terrible is the language, " Salted WITH FIRE." The fire, instead of consuming and destroying, does the very opposite. It is preservative for itself, hence, " the fire is not quenched."
Keble says truly:-
" Salted with fire they seem to show
How spirit lost in endless woe
May undecaying live ... "
I have invariably found in personal conversation that those who affirm non-eternity of punishment make little or no appeal to Scripture, but to sentiment and carnal reason. They tell us God cannot do this and will not do that. Scripture may teach the exact opposite. That with them I have generally found matters little. They sit on the judgment seat, and affirm what God should or should not do.
We beg the reader to pay no attention to sentiment or carnal reason in this matter, for Scripture plainly tells us, " The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him" (1 Cor. 2: 14). And again, " The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be " (Rom. 8:77Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. (Romans 8:7)).
Let it be only and altogether, "What saith the Scripture?" There only are we on firm ground. There only are we safe.
In connection with this subject we lately read through a book affirming Universalism, written by the Rev. Arthur Chambers. Over one hundred editions have been called for, so that the book is well known.
The author boldly denies the thought of eternity in any sense to the word aionios. He ought to know the way even heathen writers have used the word in that sense, as we have pointed out, but he makes no allusion to them. He takes upon himself to teach us on the subject, and we might, therefore, expect him to be fully conversant with it.
Further, he boldly denies eternal punishment, saying it is age-lasting and to be consistent affirms that everlasting life is only age-lasting. Alas! the sophistry of his plea is threadbare in the extreme. Fifty-six times is eternal life spoken of in the New Testament. This author has the effrontery to tell us that fifty-six times does God tell us in His Word that the divine life He gives is only age-lasting. Yet he at once affirms that life is not age-lasting at all, but is forever and ever, going to other Scriptures for proof.
Does God then juggle with words like that in His Holy Book? Is divine life affirmed again and again to be age-lasting when all the while it is eternal and nothing else? Such arguments are unworthy of any honest man, not to say of God Himself.
But this clergyman probably finds it convenient to forget that aionios is used once in regard to God Himself. Is He only age-lasting? Once in relation to His power? Is that only age-lasting? Twice in relation to the Lord Jesus, in whom all the believing sinner's hopes are founded? Is He only an age-lasting Savior? Twice in relation to the Holy Spirit. Is the Godhead only age-lasting? To ask these questions is to answer them.
Why did this clergyman not mention one of these passages in which the word aionios is thus used? Why? He knew of them. That is certain. Why did he not refer to these texts? The fact is he could not face them, and so he ignored them. Was this consistent? Is a cause helped by such conduct?
He does not stand alone in the condemnation that Scripture metes out to those who handle the Word deceitfully. All the anti-Christian apostate religions, such as Millennial Dawnism, Christian Science, Christadelphianism, Mormonism, Seventh Day Adventism, New Theology, Jehovah's Witnesses, unite in openly denying eternal punishment, and do so by handling the Word of God deceitfully. Along with this go blasphemous doctrines as to the deity of the Lord Jesus and His atoning work.
We heard the late "Pastor" Russell telling nearly one thousand hearers that God passed the sentence of death on the disobedient sinner, and that when Adam sinned the judgment was:- "In the day that thou eatest, thereof thou shalt surely die" (Gen. 2:1717But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Genesis 2:17)); that is, that man became mortal, and in due time died, that he perished, body died, soul died, spirit died, and that that was THE judgment. That after death there was no consciousness. He kept pressing that death was the entire judgment—that God said it, that we must believe it.
Such deceitful handling of the Scriptures moved us to righteous indignation, so we said loudly, clearly, solemnly, so that all could hear. Scripture says, "It is appointed unto men once to die, but AFTER THIS [that is death] the judgment" (Heb. 9:2727And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)). "If after death is the judgment, how can death be the judgment?"
The speaker seemed quite staggered for a moment or two under the assault, behind which we are assured was the power of God's Word and Spirit. Recovering himself, this deceiver said words to this effect, "I cannot explain every verse in the Bible at once; I am dealing with Gen. 2:1717But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Genesis 2:17) just now." Evasion was the only course open to him. It was not a brave or manly course, but it affords a sample of the way in which multitudes are deceived.
Is the theory of non-eternity of punishment held by spiritual Christians, by those deeply taught in the Scriptures, or characterized by sanctity of life, earnestness of purpose, success in reaching the unconverted?
Our experience is that it is not. On the contrary, the truth of eternal punishment is found among those one can look up to with reverence as living exponents of Christianity, those characterized as true students of Scripture, those who are prominently used by God in helping His people or reaching the unconverted.
All this, whilst not exactly an argument, now that we have clearly established the truth from Scripture comes in as a confirmation, and is as we should expect it to be.
Any simple believer reading the Scriptures for the first time, untampered by twentieth century religious unbelief, would certainly rise from his task believing that God has warned the unbelieving sinner of the awful risks he runs, even of everlasting punishment, that is, of conscious existence for all eternity under the wrath of God.
And when it becomes necessary carefully to inquire into this question, taking nothing for granted, one can only conclude without the shadow of a doubt that the teaching of the Word of God is that the punishment of the unbeliever is eternal, that it is conscious, never-ending torment in the lake of fire. We bow to its teaching, and can only pray that writer and readers may be stirred up to more diligent whole-hearted zeal in the Gospel, " for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth " (Rom. 1:1616For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16)).
If this meets the eye of an unbeliever, may he without a moment's delay turn to the Lord and trust Him as the Savior, who died on that cross of shame, that the way of life and salvation might be gloriously made plain to "whosoever will." What a glorious gospel!
But remember it is the Savior who warned His hearers solemnly about hell.
Is He your Savior on the mercy seat, or will He be your Judge at the great white throne? Will everlasting life or eternal punishment be your portion? I beseech you to answer these questions in God's holy presence. You may be saved, and saved now.
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