VOL. VI
JULY, 1915
No. 7
ONE D O L L A R A YEAR
EI tl 2umùi 1« b tess MOTTO : “I the Lord do keep it, I will water it every moment lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.**—Isa. 27:3. R. A. TORREY, Editor T. C. H orton , J. H. H unter and J. H. SÀ mmis , Associate Editors A. M. ROW, Manager Organ of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Inc. Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. Entered as Second-Class Matter November 17, 1910, at the postoffice at Los Angeles, California, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Copyright by R. A. Torrey, D.D., and Bible Institute pf Los Angeles, 1915
DIRECTORS
Rev. A. B. Prichard, Vice-President. Leon V. Shaw, Treasurer. R. A. Torrey. Giles Kellogg. H. A. Getz.
Lyman Stewart, President. William Thorn, Secretary. T. C. Horton, Superintendent. E. A. K. Hackett. J. M. Irvine.
DOCTRINAL STATEMENT We hold to the Historic Faith of the Church as expressed in the Common Creed of Evangelical Christendom and including: The Trinity of the Godhead. The Deity of the Christ.
The Maintenance of Good Works. The Second Coming of Christ. The Immortality of the Spirit. The Resurrection of the Body. The Life Everlasting of Believers. The Endless Punishment of the Im penitent. The Reality and Personality of Satan, House-to-house visitation and neighborhood classes. (8) Oil Fields. A mission to men on the oil fields. (9) Books and Tracts. Sale and dis tribution of selected books and tracts. (10) Harbor Work. For seamen in Los Angeles harbor. (11) Yoke Fellows Hall. Thoroughly manned. Our Mission for men with Boot Black and Newsboys Class and Street Meetings. (12) Print Shop. For printing Testa ments, books, tracts, etc. A complete establishment, profits going to free dis tribution of tracts. (7) Bible Women.
The Personality of the Holy Ghost. The Supernatural and Plenary au thority of the Holy Scriptures. The Unity in Diversity of the Church, which is the Body and Bride of Christ. The Substitutionary Atonement. The Necessity of the New Birth. P u r p o s e ^he Institute trains, free of ^ cost, accredited men and women, in the knowledge and use of the Bible. Departments: (J) The_ • Classes held daily exceptSaturdays and Sundays. (2) Extension work. Classes and con ferences held in neighboring cities and towns. (3) Evangelistic. Meetings conducted by our evangelists. (4) Spanish Mission. Meetings every night. (5) Shop Work. Regular services in shops and factories. (6) Jewish Evangelism. Personal work among the Hebrews.
OUR WORK
THE KING’S BUSINESS
JULY, 1915
Vol. VI.
No. 7
TABLE OF CONTENTS Editorial: Dark Days Ahead— Ruthless Greed of Liquor Traffic— England Throttled— “Failure of Culture”— The Minister and His Message — “Our Hope,” a P e r io d ic a l_L_...._..........___,_________§*§&___________ 555 Future Punishment. By Rev. W. H. Griffith Thomas, D.D.... 563 The Ulster Revival of ’59. By John H. Hunter..—--- -------.,.... 575 Saving the Day in South China. By Alden A. Pratt..—______ 579 The CityGenter. By Dr. W. B. Riley____________ ......------- ... 583 In Memory of “Our Hugh”______ ______ ___....—-------589 Bible Institute Activities. By the Superintendents....... ....... . 59 1 Light on Puzzling Passages and Problems________________ 598 Why a Premillennialist. By Dr. Nathaniel West__________ 599 Hints and Helps.____ ...................._____ _1....: ...... ____ ....______ 601 The Saviour’s Regard for Scripture. By Rev. Jas. H. Brookes, D.D1.......—......_____________________ 605 At Home and Abroad.— ...... ...—____________ —— 609 The Red Marks of Redemption. By William Luff_______— 61 3 International Sunday School Lessons. By R. A. Torrey and T. C. Horton..,___ __.,— ______.-._____ ___....,—.,—... 61 7 Daily Devotional Studies in the New Testament for Indi vidual Meditation and Family Worship. By R. A. Torrey ..........—............—... ...... ............... ........................ 631
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0 = THE KING'S BUSINESS
No. 7
JULY, 1915
Vol 6
E D I T O R I A L
It gives us special pleasure to announce that the splendid chime of eleven bells, which will grace one of the towers of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, is now here and the work of mounting the bells will be well under way before
Chimes for Bible In«rihite
this information reaches the readers of T he K ing ' s B usiness . The following paragraph appeared in one of the New York City newspapers a few days ago: “Eleven big bells were shipped by the Meneely Bell Company of this city, yesterday, to the new million dollar Bible Institute at Los Angeles, Cali fornia. Shipment was made via the all-water route, and this chime is the first set of bells to pass through the Panama Canal and the largest in any building on the Pacific Coast. A new chiming system, similar to the one used in connection with the famous chimes of Trinity Church, New York, will be employed for playing the Los Angeles bells.”
History is making very rapidly in these days, and one cannot tell what may occur before these words appear in print. Things no one would have believed less than a year ago, are matters of history today. It is to be
“Dark Days Ahead”
hoped that war between America and Germany will not result from the Lusi tania outrage, and other outrages, but if war does not result from these, one cannot tell what other thing may come within a short time, that will make war inevitable. We have been hoping that America might be kept out of this most awful war of history, and we h,ave not altogether given up hope even yet. We have a calm and righteous President, and, one who loves peace, and he’ may succeed in steering safely, and avoiding the rocks that surround us on every hand. And yet, one cannot look out upon the proba bilities of the immediate future without realizing that “perilous times” are upon us. But the heart of the man who believes in God, and in the Bible, need not faint for one single moment. Instead, as the days grow darker his heart may become calmer and more expectant, for it is just “when men’s hearts are failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth,” that we should look up and lift up our heads, for our redemption draweth nigh (Luke 21:26-28). We are glad in these days that we are not Post-Millennialists, who dream that the Millennium is coming in by the operation of the forces now at work.
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THE KING’S. BUSINESS If we were Post-Millennialists, we could hot help being hopeless; pessimists, but being Pre-Millennialists, and entertaining the Bible ,hope that the Lord may come any time, and that the darkest hour precedes the dawn, we are optimists under, any and all circumstances. But as. the night grows darker, our cry grows louder, “Even so come, Lord Jesus.” The Liquor Traffic knows neither humanity nor patriot- Ruthless Greed of ism ; it recognizes no sentiment, but the love of gold. Liquor Traffic England at the present time affords a most striking proof of this fact. England’s most prominent statesman at the present time, Lloyd George, has declared that England’s most danger ous enemy is neither Germany nor Austria, nor Turkey, but strong drink. Everyone knows that Lloyd George was right in this. Lord Kitchener has made a similar statement. In consequence steps were taken toward the pro hibition of the manufacture and sale of strong drink during the war. At once, the liquor interests which had fattened on the misfortunes of their fellow- countrymen, arose in protest, and, even a very moderate attempt to limit the sale of liquor, divided even the party in power. The liquor interests demand that the use of liquor should be limited by people -voluntarily renouncing the use of it during the war, as the King has, and not by law. They 'know pér- fectly well that this would be utterly ineffective. If .they had thought it would be effective, they would have opposed it as bitterly^ as they did pro hibition by law. It means nothing to them that the war was being pro longed by the liquor traffic, in incapacitating the soldiers for effective service on the one hand, and incapacitating the working men for the rapid produc tion of arms and ammunition, on the other hand. The war might be pro longed, thousands upon thousands of lives might be sacrificed, hundreds of thousands' of women might suffer, but what cared they as long, as they con tinued to get big dividends on their brewing and distilling stock. What a monster-remorseless, cruel, conscienceless, the liquor traffic is ! It would seem as if every owner of brewing or distilling stocks must feel as if his fingers were dripping blood, and he must shudder when any one even hints the word, patriotism. uttered his memorable statement regarding the most dangerous of England’s enemies ; when he was backed up in his utterance by General Kitchener and by the King and many of the leading statesmen of England, only those who were familiar with the power of the liquor traffic in English government, doubted for one moment that the liquor traffic would be prohibited as long as the war continued. But those who had watched and studied for past years, "the power of this iniquitous business in English legislation, knew that things would come out just as they have. Even they were surprised when a great Church expressed its grave apprehension regarding thé wisdom of prohibition. For years England has been held in utter helplessness by the liquor traffic in every attempt made toward saner, and more wholesome One of the strangest and most amazing sights in con- nection with the present awful war, is the utter helpless- ness of England because of the strangle-hold that the liquor traffic has secured upon her. When Lloyd George England Throttled
THE KING’S BUSINESS 559 legislation in the limitation of this destructive ebusiness. This great nation has been piteously helpless in the encircling and strangling arms of this octopus, but a day of reckoning must surely come. If England and her allies are defeated, and there seems at the present time more likelihood of such defeat than was dreamed possible a few months agb> her defeat in the ultimate analysis will be due to the baneful influence of strong drink upon her workingmeh and soldiers; England, if defeated, will be defeated more by English cupidity (the cupidity of those engaged in the liquor traffic) than by German valor. If England and her allies are successful, their success will be greatly retarded by the same baneful influence of strong drink upon her workingmen and soldiers. Many thousands of lives will be lost that ¡night otherwise have been saved. Indeed many thousands of lives have already been lost. Some day all England will awaken to the appalling vastness of the losses and injuries inflicted upon her by this infernal liquor business and will arise in her wrath and crush it. And the names of the men that have forced the liquor traffic upon her, no matter how many nor how great titles they may bear, will be handed down to England’s perpetual coritempt and loathing. school system has been regarded by many as the most nearly perfect of any school system in the world. Education has been practically universal. The last word on any subject of scientific, literary, or philosophical discussion, has been what the German specialist has ;said. But Germany stands out today in the general judgment of mankind, as haying surrendered itself to the most [ awful barbarism, inhumanity and cruelty, known in modern times. The sinking of the Lusitania, involving the slaughter of mapy more than a thousand people, one hundred and .fifty of whom were babies, and hundreds of whom were women, has appalled the .world. This deed was .absolutely without warrant, and contrary to all the recognized laws of war. The cruelty and cowardice and inhumanity of the act is absolutely without par allel -in the modern history of civilized nations, and it is an illustration of the absolute impotency of a culture that leaves out God and Christianity to civil ize or humanize her people. For years we have been saying that all that was needed to lift a nation up, was education and culture. Germany has had both education and culture, as perhaps no other nation in the world, and, instead of being lifted up by the education and culture, they have sunken to the level of the savage American Indian in his worst days. Will the world take the lesson to heart ? Coming almost immediately after the undisputed story of the ruthless slaughter o l defenseless men, and weak and helpless women and children on the Lusitania, we have the report of the commission, on German atrocities in Belgium and France. The things therein recorded are so awful tljat they seem incredible, but the chairman of the committee making the report was Viscount Bryce, one of the most careful, judicial and fair-minded of modern historians. Yet, even so, one would'hesitate to believe this awful story,' were it not that the inhumanity displayed in the sinking of the Lusitania by Ger- Germany, in the minds of many best calculated to judge, has been regarded as the foremost nation in the world' in culture. Her men of science and philosophy have been in the very forefront of modern scholarship. Her “Failure of Culture”
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THE KING’S BUSINESS man officers and men, evidently under Governmental orders, makes it easy to believe any cruelty attributed to German soldiers. We cannot find the heart to record here, the awful brutalities committed upon young children, and the horrible mutilations of children and women, and the more awful things done to women. There is a God in Heaven and He will judge, but one must cry, “Oh! God, how long, how long.” But let us be fair to the German* people as a whole. Doubtless very many, quite likely the majority, disapprove of these things as strongly as we do. Why, then, some one may ask, do they not say so? They can not. The liberty of the press and freedom of speech are unknown at the present time in Germany. The suppression of any word of criticism of the powers that be is ruthless. We sometimes think the people most of all to be pitied are the Germans themselves, who entertain really Christian sentiments. trust with the Word.” The minister is significantly called “the minister of the Gospel.” The Gospel in its broad sense is the Bible. It is to the honor of the missionary that, among the heathen, he has been called “the man with the Book.” And it is to be deplored that in so-called Christian lands the same absolute reliance on the Bible has not been deemed essential, and that the minister has become known more as a man of books, than of the Book. It is not as a conventional echo that we utter a profound conviction, namely, that Jehovah’s charge to Joshua is his charge to us, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night,” and that our true success is conditioned on the devout observance of that _charge. The Word is the water wherewith the Spirit baptizes us unto service, as well bs that with which He baptizes us unto regeneration. It is the instrument whereby all the effects of that baptism are to be and must be accomplished. With the Book, the minister is “thoroughly furnished unto every good word and work.” As he is a preacher, a herald, it is his procla mation ; as an ambassador, his commission of conciliation; as a soldier, it is his sword; a workman, his hammer; a sower, his seminary; as he is a steward, it is the treasury whence he derives the true donative, his storehouse whence he brings and breaks the children’s bread; as he is a shepherd, it is the well from which he draws for the flock; or is he a teacher,- it is his universe and cycle of the knowable. Without it he can do nothing, with it he can do all things incumbent upon him. The minister should, therefore, be salted, satu rated and submerged in the Bible; its facts, doctrines, phraseology, types, figures, metaphors, prophecy, spirit and life, should be webbed, woven, wrought, into the texture of his mind and thought; The Word should, thus, be nigh him, even in his heart and in his mouth. As truth is the mould of character and the inspiration of service, its use is essential. The minister needs no book but the Bible to attain the highest ends of his calling, namely, the evangelization of the world, and the saving and edifying of souls. His study is fully equipped in all essentials, with a bench, a table, pen, ink, paper and an open Bihle in his own vernacular, and that of the people to whom he The minister’s commission is comprised in two words, “preach the Word.” The true successor of the apostles is the man who, leaving lesser service to others, “gives himself to the ministry of the Word.” We “are put in The Minister and His Message
THE KING’S BUSINESS 561 ministers. With reference to some, it may be said that it would be a bless ing to their people, salvation to their souls, and glory to God if all else were pitched out of the window and they compelled to resort to the Word of God, and to rely on that alone. There is wisdom as well as folly in Omar’s philos ophy, at whose command the treasures of the Alexandrian library vanished in smoke, “If its books contain anything contrary to the Koran they ought to be destroyed, and if they contain what is in the Koran, there is no need to spare them.” What we would emphasize, however, is that the normal service of the minister is to apply the Word of God immediately to the conscience, heart and conduct of the people, and that he should not permit himself to be turned aside from this his work by any specious exhortations to the attain ment of literary culture, scholarship, scientific or critical expertness, though the eschewing of these useful, and very desirable accomplishments, may be like the cutting off of a hand, or the plucking out of an eye. Let him rather remember that he has a specialty which requires all his energies, the- mastery of thè Bible of the people, for the people. With the Bible in the mother tongue the “man of God is thoroughly furnished” for his work. What the late Dr. Stuckenberg said of social science is equally true of every branch of learning, and with every beneficent end the minister is bound to attain, namely, “social science, ethical questions, and the like are good as playthings for philosophers, but for a thorough renovation of -the social classes . . . the open Bible, sanctioned of God, alone is sufficient. That, and that alone constituted the furnishing of the Apostles. With it they went forth conquering and to conquer ; wrought righteousness, waxed valiant in fight, turned the edge of the sword, put to flight the armies of the aliens, and were mighty to the pulling down of strongholds.—5V and inspiring teaching. We take pleasure in commending it to the refin ers of T he K ing ’ s B usiness , knowing that they will prove a sympathetic constituency^ . Few men are so competent to conduct such a periodical as our brother, A. C. Gaebelein, its editor, steeped as he is in the letter and spirit of the Word. He scarce needs an introduction to Bible students and lovers of the “blessed hope” in the United States or Canada, and he is well known and read on the other side of the Atlantic. _ He inaugurated our current series of Bible conferences in the month of April, the whole of which he spent among us in Los Angeles, speaking twice daily from the platform of Immanuel Presbyterian Church. Great interest was shown in his addresses and they will be long remembered by a multitude of those who know the truth. “Our Hope” is now in its twenty-first year. Its brief editorials are always welcome. They are full of comfort, of evangelistic suggestion, of terse critical comment on current events relating to prophecy and the progress of the Kingdom, and give sharp, telling blows to “them that oppose themselves.”—S. ' [“Our Hope” may be secured through the Biola Book Room.] This happy phrase is the appropriate title of a valued monthly which we have read with interest, profit and spiritual comfort for the last twenty years. B u r own hope has been clarified and quickened by its sound “Our Hope,” ,a Periodical
Future Punishment
By Dr. W. H. Griffith Thomas Member of the Faculty of Wycliffe College, Toronto, Canada
N ote . —Rev. W. H. Griffith Thomas, D. D., of Toronto, is one of the vital scholars, preachers and writers of the present day, and is no stranger ta the readers of' T h e K ing ' s B usiness .— E ditor ,
HERE is no subject more i m p o r t a n t and more pressing than that of human destiny. It af-
to the exact words and meaning of Holy Scripture, without attempting to draw inferences beyond which strict exegesis allows/' The Bible as the Word of God must be the sole and supreme Court of Appeal, for noth ing else must enter. This is no ques tion for mere human reason, still less for human desire or imagination, it follows, therefore, that those who re ject Scripture as the divine arbiter are necessarily set aside in this con sideration. Our. one aim must be to discover what the Word of God teaches, overlooking-, nothing, giving everything due weight and endeavor ing to elicit the true meaning. Wheth er passages are bright or dark, indica tive of hope, br fear, tending towards one side or the other, everything must be taken into consideration. It is essen tial, therefore, to proceed carefully in the examination, first, of the lan guage, and then of the teaching of Scripture, in order that we may draw the conclusions which arise out of the Word of Truth.
I l 5 ^ = s ^ 1 fects millions and mil lions of people, past, present and future. The, Subject is perhaps the most-solemn of all conceivable ques tions. What is to be the future of so large a proportion of the human race? What are we to say of God’s power and love in connection with the future "of the wicked? What are we to understand about the rela tion of the Atonement of Christ to the destiny of the human race? The very mention of future punishment arouses opposition in the minds of many. And even when it is accepted as a Scriptural truth, it is often re ceived with perplexity and either with some faint hope of restoration or else with the thought and desire of annihilation. All these considerations show that there is perhaps no subject on which it is more necessary to keep strictly
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MANY TERMS. It is important in the first place to study with all possible care the various words and phrases connected with future punishment. On the basis of the widest induction all the terms must be examined. (1) In the Old Testament “Shed” occurs sixty-five times and is ren- dred in the Authorized Version by “Hell” thirty-one times; by “grave” thirty-one times, and by “pit” three times. In the Revised Version the rendering “the grave” or “the pit” is given in the Historical Books, and in the Poetical Books “Shed” is usually found in the text and “the grave” in the margin. It is quite clear from a careful study of the passages that “Shed” is to be dis tinguished from “the grave.” (Gen. 37:35; Psalm 15:10.) (2) In the N ew T e s t ajn e n t “Hades” occurs eleven times, in ten of which it is rendered “Hell” and once “grave.” The Revised Version has “Hades” for these ten cases. The word (which exactly reproduces the Greek, “not. seen”) means in general “the unseen place,” and is equivalent to the Old Testament “Shed” as a term expressive of the place of departed spirits, in the next world, both good and bad. It is in teresting to observe that there is no instance of reference to a believer as being in “Hades” after the death of Christ. (3) The word “Tartarus” occurs in a verbal form once (2 Pet. 2:4) and is rendered in the Authorized and Revised Versions by “Hell.” (4) The word “Gehenna” is a New Testament expression, always rendered “Hell” in the Authorized Version, and it occurs twelve times. All these except one (James 3 :6) are associated with our Lord (Matt. 5: 22, 29, 30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke 12:5). The Revised Version adds a marginal
note where “Gehenna” occurs, indi cating the Greek word. In the Old Testament the phrase merely signi fies the name of a place, the valley of Hinnom, near Jerusalem. (Ge henna—land of Hinnom.) In the New Testament wherever “Gehenna” occurs it is always used to imply the place of final punishment of the wicked after the judgment. There is no indication of this Use in the New Testament, as applied to the polluted valley of Hinnom. But if that valley was used as a place of refuse, always burning, we can read ily see how appropriate was the symbolical application of the term by our Lord. The offal and carcases constantly alight would indicate and express utter and hopeless destruc tion. So far as can be seen, “Ge henna” refers solely to the future after the judgment, and is, therefore, not yet tenanted; while “Hades” is used to indicate the present place of the wicked until the time of the Judgment. It is also perhaps sig nificant that the word “ascend” is never used in connection with “Hades,” but always. the opposite idea of “going down.” (5) The word “abyss,” rendered sometimes “deep” and sometimes “pit,” occurs nine times, once in the Gospels (Luke 8:31), once in the Epistles (Rom. 10:7), and seven times in the Revelation (9:1, 2, 11; 11:7; 17:8; 20:1, 3). In the Gospel it is used by the demons as a place to which they deprecated a return (cf. Matt. 8:29). In the Epistle it is used generally by the Apostle in his argument about bringing Christ up. In the Revelation in the Author ized Version the phrase “bottomless pit” is literally “pit of ' the abyss.” It would seem to be a term strictly limited to the fallen angels and wick ed spirits until the Judgment; at any rate it is never used of human beings.
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(6) The word “eternal” is ren dered indiscriminately in the Revised Version by “eternal” and “everlast ing,” so that there does not seem to have been any intention to indicate a fundamental difference between the two words. The prevailing view of the derivation is “always" existing,” though some think it may come from the Greek, “to breathe,” expressive of vital force which is regarded as endless' L The Latin eternus is con nected with the Latin detas, aevum, “age,” which answers exactly to the Greek. The Greek word “age” oc curs 108 times in the New Testa ment, and there is no real doubt that its usual meaning is “eternity.” It is used five times in connection with fu ture punishment (2 Pet. 2:17; Jude 13; Rev. 14:11; 19:3; 20:10). The adjective in many passages must mean “endless,” though usage rather than derivation decides its meaning. It is found in the Greek Version of the Old Testament as the equivalent of the Hebrew olam, with the meaning of “unbounded time” or “eternity” (Gen. 21:33; Psalm 90:2). In the New Testament it occurs seventy-one times, including forty-four of “life” (e. g. John 3:36); three times of God ( e. g. Rom. 16:26); three times of the blessings of the Gospel and our future glory; and seven times of judgment and punishment. (Matt. 18:8; 25 :41, 46; Mark 3 :29; 2 Thess. 1:9; Heb. 6:2; Jude 7.) When the word is applied to the future it is uniformly ^employed to indicate that which has no termination. A careful consideration of all the passages leads to the following conclusion : When the inspired writers sought to ex press the mighty conception of eternity, the things of which constituted the principal theme of their utterance, they used for this purpose the same two Greek terms 141 times, while other Greek words, more or less implying this conception, they scarcely use at all. Thus “immortality,” -is only used three times; ' “perpetual,” twice; “un
fading,” twice; “boundless,” once; “indis soluble,” once; and “incorruptibility,” eight times. That is, all other synonymous terms together are found not twenty times,, while it is noticeable* that such emphatic time- words (negative) as “unceasing,” “endless;” and “perpetual,” do not appear at all.— Remensnyder, Doom Eternal, p. 100. (7). Other terms to be observed are: “Immortality,” found three times in the New Testament, once of God alone (1 Tim. 6:16), and twice of that which the believer will put on at the Coming ;of Christ (1 Cor. 15:53, 54). “Incorruption” found three times (Rom. 2:7; 1 Cor, 15: 42; 2 Tim. 6:1, 10). These words clearly show that the supreme ques tion is concerned with the meaning 6f “life.” What are we to understand by this? Life in the New Testament is something far more than existence. There are two words expressive re spectively of the essential inward life and the circumstantially outward life. In the same way death never simply means non-existence, since death is never said to be the end, but judg ment. It is, therefore, important to distinguish, between ‘‘immortality,”, “eternal life,” and “eternal existence,” just as the opposites, “mortality,” “death” and “non-existence” are not synonymous terms. Everyone born into the world has an eternal exist ence, even though he is said to be spiritually'dead (Eph. 2:1). Eternal life is received by the believer as a gift from God at the time of regen eration (John 5:24). Immortality is received at- the resurrection of the just by those who are born again (1 Cor. 15:54). And' yet, though the wicked are spiritually dead, they have eternal existence, for there is no ^such thing as non-existence or ceasing *to be, if we keep strictly to the mean ing of the terms “life” and “death” in the New Testament. SCRIPTURE TEACHINGS. The truth of the New Testament in regard to future punishment may be
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argue that the revelation of Divine love may be regarded in favour of the salvation of all. But in spite of everything, the only fair and proper way is to examine with the greatest possible care all the passages of Scrip ture bearing on the subject. If they teach Universalism beyond all ques tion, then the matter is settled, but if they do not, the question is still open, and whatever we may feel or wish, we must abide by the word of God. Now it is only right to say that no passage properly understood really warrants this view. We can set aside all passages referring to the universal love of God, because obviously such a view is not incompatible with the ex istence of sin. So also, all passages referring to the reign of righteousness in the future and the’ triumph of re demptive grace may be disregarded because these can be considered as compatible with future punishment. The first and perhaps most important passage is that which contains the phrase on “restitution of all things” (Acts 3:21-24). But when the con text is carefully considered the refer ence will be seen to apply strictly and solely to the Old Testament and to the various promises of the things spoken therein (v. 21). It is obvious, there fore, that no proper idea of Univer salism attaches to this passage. An other passage sometimes alleged is Rom. 5 :13-17, because of the appar ently universal reference to Adam and Christ. But the whole section of which this forms a part only really teaches as necessary and adequate to the Apostle’s argument, that Christ has obtained for man pqrfecl; immun ity from judgment for Adam’s sin. Another passage frequently employed in this connection is 1 Cor. 15:22; “asm Adam all die even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” But this can hardly be said to teach Univer salism .on any proper interpretation. Either it refers to the universality pf
summed up briefly along the follow ing lines: (1) There will be a day of judg ment (Matt. 16:27; 25:31; 2 Cor. 5:10). (2) Every man will be rewarded according to his works (Rom. 2:16; Rev. 20:12). (3) The punishment of the wicked is certain (Matt. 13:36-45; 25:30; Mark 9:43-48). (4) There will be degrees of pun ishment (Matt. 16:27; Cuke 12:47, 48; Rom. 2:5; Rev. 20:13). (5) The punishment of the wicked will be everlasting (Matt. 25:46; Mark 9 :48; Rev. 14:11). (6) There will be a resurrection of the unjust as well as of the just (John 5 :29). It is submitted that these state ments are clearly taught in the New Testament and are based-upon facts and principles found in Scripture and also in daily experience. As there is a contrast in moral condition here, so there will be hereafter, and death is not the end of existence. THE THEORIES. There are three usual lines of in terpretation of the New Testament teaching: I. Universalism. Some hold dog matically, and others only in hope, that there will be a universal restitu tion, involving the salvation of all men. But there does not seem to be any real basis for this in a fair exe gesis : of the New Testament. The general drift is not in favour of this view. Any true theory must include and harmonize two obvious principles ; (a) God’s sovereignty and (b) mart’s freedom. But Universalism does not and cannot meet the latter. The distinction between good and evil is never removed in Scripture and never glossed over. It may be frankly ad mitted that on purely natural grounds we might all wish such a theory to be true, and it is of course possible iu
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istence, 1 but separation (Eph. 2:1; 1 Tim. 5:6), just as the basic idea of life is not mere existence, but union (John 15:4; 17:3). The fol lowing considerations seem to indi cate without a doubt that this theory is not' supported by Scripture. (1) There are ten words in the original which express in one way or another the idea of “destruction,” but they do not in the least necessarily mean extinction. One of these is found in 1 Cor. 15:26; 2 Thess. 2:8; 2 Tim. 1:10; Heb. 2:14, and the meaning is to render powerless or in operative, not to annihilate. Another word translated “destruction” means “ruin,” as in 1 Cor. 5:5; 2 Cor. 2:6; 1 Thess. 5:3; 2 Thess. 1:9; 1 Tim. 6:9, in none of which is the thought of cessation of existence possible. Then there is a still more frequently used term which, counting both sub stantive and verb, occurs over 100 times. But even here the meaning is frequently “lost,” referring to condi tion and not to annihilation. The words to Adam and Eve “in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die,” cannot possibly refer to anni hilation or dissolution or extinction of being, but only to a change of con dition. We know that Adam lived for hundreds of years after the “day” in which he was to “die.” When this thought of death is therefore under stood to mean “separation,” every thing is quite clear. Then, too, if death is the penalty of sin by extinc tion, Christ Himself must have suf fered it, and yet the burden of the Apostle’s teaching in 1 Cor. 15 is the resurrection based upon Christ’s res urrection as man. (2.) As the squids to survive death (John 5 :28) it may surely be assumed to be able to survive anything. If sin brings death, meaning extinction, and men are not immortal, where do sinners get life after death ? It can only be in and through Christ, and
death and resurrection, teaching that the resurrection of the unjust as well as of the just is somehow or other an effect of the work of Christ; or else it refers simply and solely to all those who belong respectively to Ad am and to Christ. It is also some times urged that the prospect of God being “all in all” indicates Universal- ism (1 Cor. 15:28). But this over looks the immediate context referring to the subjugation and putting of all things under Christ, statements which do, not in any way harmonize with the freedom of the will. Then, too, on this view it is impossible to ex plain what is meant by judgment, for it should never be forgotten that the real question at issue is not whether human destiny is fixed at death, but whether there is a judgment which will be irreversible. The penal ele ment must never be overlooked, and such terms as “wrath” and “ven geance” are not at all expressive of corrective discipline. We therefore conclude that “there is not a single text of Scripture which unequivocally teaches that all men shall in fact be saved; there are many which declare in the plainest terms that the judg ment-doom of the lost is final.” (An derson, Human Destiny, p. 61.) The same writer adds that it is folly to set aside the doctrine of eternal pun ishment because of difficulties “and then |o take refuge in a belief which is beset with difficulties far more hopeless.” (Human Destiny ," p. 61 .) TO BE REJECTED. II. Annihilation. This teaches that the wicked will be destroyed, and that only those who are in Christ will have eternal life. This interpretation is based on the thought of death as destruction, though it is important to remember that the Greek word ren dered, ^‘destroy,” does not always de note annihilation. (Matt. 27:20; Luke 19:47.) The root idea of death as already seenAs not cessation of ex
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this means that they have it in order to be punished. The fact, is that the difference between saved and unsaved is not .duration but quality. Eternal life includes eternal existence, but it is far more. It is only possible to accept this interpretation of death as meaning dissolution, by a narrow lit eralism, especially in the face of such a text as “I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God” (Rev. 20: 12 ). (3) Immortality is taken for grant ed in the New Testament as the basis and presupposition of everything, and if 1 Tim. 1 :17 and 6:16 are pressed they make God alone immortal ana no one else in the universe. (4) It hardly seems likely that the wicked will be raised only to be de stroyed. On this view creatures are kept in existence and- recalled only for judgment. If death ended all it would be at least possible to accept this view, but their survival for judg ment implies torture, when they might be annihilated at once, for annihila tion would be mercy to end their suf ferings. “Not even the coarse hell of mediaeval ignorance is more revolting, more incredible than this; and yet these views are held and taught on the plea that God is a God of Love” (Anderson, p. 100). (5) It is surely not just to deal with every degree of sin exactly in the same way, by annihilation. Ex tinction of being raises more diffi culties than -it j solves, and the only difference between the Hell of anni hilation and that of orthodox theology is one of duration. (6) To expel sin by destroying the sinner would almost appear like. a confession of failure on the part of God. It would argue that God can not do anything but extinguish the being of the noblest of His creatures. Such a method, would really imply that evil was the victor, since God would be compelled to put an end to
His THE KING’S BUSINESS 569 does not end all, as the resurrection clearly proves. God meant what He said to Adam that in the very “day” of his sin he should “die.” Further we know that Christ’s death was not His annihilation, for He rose not merely as God but as man. Then too if death means cessation of existence, it is clear that the second death is absolutely impossible. NO ESCAPE. III. Everlasting Punishment. This view is certainly closest to the obvious, fair and full exegesis of Scripture and the following considerations are strongly confirmatory of it. (1) It connects sin with its pen alty, showing that the doom of the sinner is self-chosen, a'nd that punish ment comes from within, not arbitra rily from without. (2) It supports the well-known truth of the fixity and persistence of character. Evil tends to become in- .veterate, and it is impossible to esti mate the effects of persistence in evil. Character tends more and more to permanence. (3) While Judgment is God’s strange work in which He has no pleasure (Isaiah 28:21; Matt. 25:41), everything we know goes to show that the principle of punishment is a fact in the universe and is not exhausted in the idea of reformation. Even hu man justice demands righteous retri bution quite apart from reformation. (4) The words of Christ and His- disciples clearly indicate a feeling of horror at the fate of the wicked. The direct statements are very terrible. Thus we read of the “wrath of God,” “the worm that dieth not,” and “where the fire is not quenched.” The wicked are said to be raised to “shame and everlasting contempt,” and to suffer the “vengeance of an eternal fire.” These and similar statements are never mitigated, still less reversed or explained away. (5) The power of the will shows that anyone can resist God’s grace and continue in sin in spite of every- thang God may do. (6) Modern science with its em phasis on law tends to support the principle of permanent punishment. For these reasons the view that Scripture teaches everlasting punish ment is certainly truer to all that we know than either of the other views. DUE TO WILFUL SIN. But it is sometimes said that finite sin should not have infinite punish ment, and that it is impossible for wrong-doing committed during our short earthly life to have such conse quences as will last forever. The argument is at least precarious, be cause we know so little of what is in volved in the terms “finite” and “in finite.” But this at least may be said, that everything depends upon the person against whom sin is commit ted, for guilt is proportioned to the position of that person. Thus, a man might do wrong against his fellow- man, and his sin or crime would not be so black as it would be if the wrong had been committed against his parents. Rising higher still, it is well-known that wrong done against an earthly monarch is regarded by law as still more serious. But what are we to say about wrong done against Christ, the Son of God ? The real sin of man is the rejection of the Lord Jesus as the Divine Redeemer, and the crowning sin is the refusal to accept Him in whom Divine grace is proclaimed (John 3:18). It is be cause the provision of redemption in Christ is final that this refusal is so profoundly serious. If a man reaches Heaven it will not be because of any thing he has done, but simply because he is in Christ, and those who reach hell will not be there because of any thing in general that they have done, but specifically because of their re- 570 THE KING’S BUSINESS jection of Christ. As it has been well put, they will be where they are be cause of what they are; their position will involve condition. Then, too, it must never be forgotten that the con flict of good and evil is not arbitrary, and we are not for a moment to sup pose that because God does not at once end sin that He is in any way responsible for it. Man’s ruin is due to his own wilful sin. All this tends to show that there is far too much difference in the moral state of mankind to allow of any easy doctrine of universal salvation or of annihilation. Experience shows again and again not only the fact of sur rendered wills of believers becoming more and more harmonious with the purpose of God, but also the sad truth of the wills of sinners yielded to a slavery of sin which tends to an ever- increasing degradation of life. There are far too many moral tragedies in life today to permit us to indulge the confident assertion that there will be no final tragedy of destiny, no person unwilling to turn to God. DIVINE STANDPOINT. But at this point it is important to bear in. mind the considerations found in Scripture associated with *this sol emn doctrine of everlasting punish ment. These truths do not mitigate it in the sense of shortening this re sult of sin, but they enable us to look at it from the Divine standpoint and enter more fully into its absolute righteousness. (1) We are rrot to suppose that “the lake of fire” is to be equivalent to the devil’s kingdom and reign. On the contrary, it will be “his prison, not his palace” (Anderson, “Human D e s t i n y p. 141). The final judg ment is not revealed as the time of Satan’s power, but of his overthrow, and there is no hint of lost souls tor menting one another. Christ came to “destroy the works of the devil” and the fire is said to be “prepared for the devil and his angels.” Therefore, we are assured that “every knee shall bow” to Christ (Phil. 2:10), and that “God will be all in all” (1 Cor. 15: 28), There, is no trace of Satan’s reign after “the lake of fire,” for he is not to be the monarch, but the chief criminal. This does- not mean any abbreviation of time, or any alle viation of judgment, except so far as it may“be the recognition of God’s perfect justice. “There is no spot in all the King’s dominions in which the reign of order is so suprenie as in a prison. So shall it be in hell” (An derson, p. 142). We have, therefore, no right to assume such a continu ance of active evil power as to imply that God’s dominion is to be shared with sin. Hell is not to be the scene of triumphant malice. So that while the punishment is to be everlasting, it will not be ever-increasing.. (2) Since God is to be “all in all,’ there is a clear implication that sin is not to be everlasting in the uni verse. It had a beginning and it will have an end, for it does not seem possible that it can go on forever or be compatible with God as “all in all.” Christ will not lay down His work while one rebel remains. Of course the problem of evil both in regard to its origin and its cessation is very great and it is not easy to harmonize it with the character of God. But whatever may be the full meaning of “God is love,” it is clear that this is compatible with the permission of sin. And as there was some moral neces sity for it to commence, there is also some necessity for it to continue. The character of God is only known from the Bible, and it must never be for gotten that love includes justice, and justice requires the punishment _of sin, since government of any kind demands this. While, therefore, it is 571 THE KING’S BUSINESS ing torment, but death, so that while in general death, or separation from God, is the penalty for sin, yet there will be a special degree of penalty in individual cases according to guilt. Death means banishment from God, and yet the penalty will vary exactly according to the sin. It is import ant, therefore, to bear in mind that side by side with the solemn symbol of “the lake of fire” we have the equally solemn and definite teaching of punishment proportioned to wrong doing. (4) Another truth of profound sig nificance and yet of profound mys tery is the Scriptural teaching that in some way the good will acquiesce in the punishment of the lost. This is clearly the meaning of the refer ence to torments “in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb” (Rev. 14:10). “Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her” (Rev. 18:20). “And again they said, Alleluia.' And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.” (Rev 19:3.) It would seem from these as though there will be no igno rance on the part of the good, but knowledge, not separation but sight, and that there will be both compla cency and adoration in the face of these Divine judgments on sin. This appears to indicate that in ways of which we know nothing there will be the recognition by the saved of Di vine mercy, even in the sentence to “the lake of fire.” With this agrees the significant words of the Psalm ist where the act of judgment is defi nitely associated with the Divine mer cy as its expression and outcome. “Unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy ; for thou renderest to every man ac cording to his work.” (Psalm 62: 12 ) . said that “the Lord is good to all: His tender mercies are over all His works,” (Psalm 145:9), it is clear that there is nothing inconsistent be tween this revelation of His charac ter and the everlasting punishment of wilful sin. It has not yet been re vealed how sin is to be finally dis possessed, but assuming that it is in compatible with the Divine purpose of God being “all in all,” there may be found a solution by which those who have sinned will remain forever as they are, permanently suffering the results of their former sin. They will realize their loss and will always rec ollect what might have been, and yet will never be able to remove the in capacities of their former evil, even though they are no longer to go on sinning forever. Just as with the spendthrift his poverty is his pun ishment, and with the mutilated his physical disability, so those who have deliberately and wilfully re jected the final offer of Christ will remain forever with all their incapa cities which they know and recognize never can' or will be otherwise. Only ,of one thing we are certain, that death as “the last enemy” is to be abolished by Christ, for the reign of death would imply the dominion of a rival to God. As Sir Robert Anderson well says: “To speculate how it will be brought about is idle. It may be that the recognition of the perfect justice and goodness of God will lead the lost to accept their doom” (p. 147). (3) Another important point to re member is that although the final pun ishment is associated with the “lake of fire” this does not mean that every punishment will be exactly equal. On the contrary we are told again and again that judgment will be “accord ing to works” (Rev. 20:13). The penalty of sin is not everlast
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