"Every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." Rev.

5:13.

Some Opinions Briefly Considered

The doctrine of the immortality, the indestructibility, of the soul is responsible for the traditional view that the wicked are kept alive in unending misery through all eternity. How different this picture from that which Holy Scripture gives of the second death! Terrible and awful it is, but it results in the utter destruction of sin and sinners, leaving a clean universe. The doctrine of the immortality of the soul came in from pagan philosophy. Herodotus, "the father of history," said:

"The Egyptians ... were also the first to broach the opinion, that the soul of man is immortal."--_Book 2, par. 123._

Evidently, they pa.s.sed the doctrine on to the Greeks. Its origin was in the words of Satan in Eden, "Ye shall not surely die." The pagans had their nether world of spirits, or their transmigration of souls with its ceaseless round from body to body, and the Roman Catholics their purgatory with its purifying fires. From these sources and not from the Word of G.o.d, the traditional view has come into modern Christendom, representing the Lord as unable or unwilling to end sin, but keeping the sinner alive throughout eternity, to suffer torture that can bring no remedy. The Scripture teaching is far otherwise. However, there are certain Scripture phrases that emphasize the severity of the punishment of sin, which are often taken as supporting the doctrine of never-ending conscious torment.

_1. "Forever and Ever."_--In Rev. 20:10 it is said that the devil and his chief agencies "shall be tormented day and night forever and ever."

The phrase emphasizes the surety of their utter destruction.

"Forever" means age-lasting, or life-lasting--so long as a thing exists by its nature. Thus in Ex. 21:6 the servant who loved his master and did not wish to leave his service was to have his ear pierced, "and he shall serve him forever," that is, without release as long as he lives. So the fiery judgment of that last day holds the wicked until life ends; there is no release until life is consumed.

_2. "Everlasting Punishment."_--"These shall go away into everlasting punishment." Matt. 25:46. It is everlasting punishment, not everlasting punishing. The punishment is everlasting death--"who shall be punished with everlasting destruction." 2 Thess. 1:9.

The truth of the utter destruction of sinners is awful enough, but it commends itself to every thought of justice and mercy; for sin must be cleansed from a perfect universe. But the unscriptural view of everlasting conscious torment that never reaches the point of full punishment, is unthinkable. Yet it is urged as a doctrine, and contended for as vital to Christianity.

The following description is taken from a book written for children, ent.i.tled "The Sight of h.e.l.l." It is printed in Dublin--for children.

"Little child, if you go to h.e.l.l, there will be a devil at your side to strike you. He will go on striking you every day, forever and ever, without ever stopping. The first stroke will make your body as bad as Job's, covered from head to foot with sores and ulcers. The second stroke will make your body twice as bad as the body of Job.... How then will your body be after the devil has been striking it every moment for a hundred million years without stopping?"--_Quoted in the London Present Truth, April 30, 1914._

What a relief to turn from this to the Bible doctrine of the "everlasting destruction" of the second death, terrible though it be!

_3. "Everlasting Fire," "Eternal Fire," "Unquenchable Fire."_--All these expressions are used in describing the fiery judgment upon sin and sinners. The effect of the fire is everlasting and eternal, and by a common usage in language the adjective that describes the effect is applied to the agent by which the effect is wrought.

A specific example of everlasting fire in the punishment of evil is given in Scripture. Sodom and Gomorrah, those wicked "cities of the plain," were destroyed by a rain of fire from heaven. These cities, Inspiration says, "are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." Jude 7. The fire was everlasting, eternal, in its effects. The cities of the plain were everlastingly consumed. But the fire went out when the destruction was complete. Unquenchable fire is fire that cannot be quenched. It consumes utterly, until nothing is left; then it goes out of its own accord.

_4. "Where Their Worm Dieth Not."_--Jesus warned of the certain destruction of sin and sinners in the fire of Gehenna; for this is the word translated "h.e.l.l" in Mark 9:43.

Hades, which is often translated "h.e.l.l," is the grave, not the place of punishment. Gehenna, here used of the place of punishment, was the name of the valley where the refuse of Jerusalem was cast for burning. The map of Jerusalem, in any ordinary Bible with maps, shows just outside the southern wall a gorge marked "Valley of Hinnom" (Gehenna). It was here that the people, in the olden times, had sacrificed their children to Moloch.

"In order to put an end to these abominations, Josiah polluted it with human bones and other corruptions. 2 Kings 23:10, 13, 14."--_Hastings's "Dictionary of the Bible."_

Here the fires consumed the refuse, and the fire and worms utterly destroyed the carca.s.ses of beasts flung into the place of destruction.

It was regarded as a place accursed, and the smoldering fires became symbolical of the fires of the judgment.

The use of this ill.u.s.tration, instead of arguing that the wicked are never destroyed but always live, conveys the opposite idea. What went into the fires of Gehenna was utterly consumed, nothing being left. This was used by Christ as a figure ill.u.s.trative of the utter destruction of the unrepentant sinner in the day of visitation.

This must suffice. The positive teaching of Holy Scripture is that sin and sinners will be blotted out of existence. There will be a clean universe again when the great controversy between Christ and Satan is ended.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PETER DELIVERED FROM PRISON

"The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them." Ps. 34:7.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: DANIEL IN THE DEN OF LIONS

"My G.o.d hath sent His angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me." Dan. 6:22.]

ANGELS: THEIR MINISTRY

The one verse of Scripture which, perhaps, most comprehensively sums up the ministry of the angels of G.o.d, is this:

"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" Heb. 1:14.

This scripture shows us how truly all heaven is engaged in working for the salvation of this poor world, which has wandered from the fold of G.o.d. It will surely be a time of rejoicing among all the angelic host when Christ, the Good Shepherd, brings back this lost world, cleansed from sin, once more to the fold of G.o.d's perfect creation.

The angels rejoiced when this world was created. The Lord said to Job:

"Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?... when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of G.o.d shouted for joy?"

Job 38:4-7.

Before ever this world was created, or man upon it, the angels had been created by the eternal Son, in whom all things consist. For angels are not redeemed men, neither will the redeemed in the world to come ever become angels. Angels are a different order of beings from men, a higher order in creation. We read:

"What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that Thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; Thou crownedst him with glory and honor." Heb. 2:6, 7.

In the life to come, by the wondrous power of Christ's transforming grace, redeemed men are to be made equal to the angels, as Christ stated:

"Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of G.o.d, being the children of the resurrection." Luke 20:36.

This lifting of sinful man to an equality with the angels, at least in the possession of life and immortality, is an ill.u.s.tration of the gospel principle, "Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." Rom. 5:20.

But the declaration of equality with angels is a denial of ident.i.ty with angels. Angels existed before man, and redeemed man will still be man, distinct from the angelic order, though the a.s.sociate of angels in the service of G.o.d.

Attendants at the Throne of G.o.d

When the prophet Isaiah was given a view of the heavenly temple, he saw different orders of angels attending the throne of G.o.d:

"I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts." Isa. 6:1-3.

Ezekiel beheld them in glory, attending the moving throne of the Almighty. "The living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning." Eze. 1:14.

Daniel beheld the angelic host gathered in the most holy place of the temple above, as the time came for the opening of the work of the investigative judgment, the cleansing of the sanctuary. Seeing the throne of G.o.d set for this final work of Christ's ministry, the prophet says:

"Thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened." Dan. 7:10.

G.o.d's Messengers

The word "angel" means messenger. To and fro these angelic messengers have gone in the service of their Creator. A view of their ever-watchful service is given in the words of the psalmist:

"Bless the Lord, ye His angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word." Ps. 103:20.