February, 1936
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the very opposite to either annihilation or universal sal vation, and it takes sophistical reasoning and a determina tion not to accept His statements at face value to come to any other viewpoint. A n I nadequate S ense of S in The great difficulty is that our minds are so blinded by sin, our hearts so hardened by the spirit of the world, that we do not readily grasp the enormity o f human wickedness, as God has declared it in His Book. It is safe to say that no truly awakened man ever questioned the righteousness o f God in banishing sinners from His holy presence. He who sees himself in the light o f this divine holiness knows he is deserving o f eternal wrath. And this realization in itself enhances the sense of the blessedness of saving grace. “ I deserved to be lost. I deserved to be in hell. But God interfered!” exclaimed John Allen, the converted navvy of the Salvation Army. Robert Murray MacCheyne, one o f Scotia’s choicest saints, wrote, after seeing himself in the light o f the cross: W e may be assured it is not the Holy Spirit, but Satan the archdeceiver, who would have men think lightly of sin, and hence minimize the judgment that it deserves. The awful agony of our Lord in the garden and on the cross when He took our place should give us to realize how terrible it will be for a guilty Christ-rejector to fall into the hands o f the living God. To be without Christ means eternal loss. To trust Him means eternal life. Let every minister of Christ, and every individual believer, be faithful in warning sinners to flee from the wrath to come, and thus, like Paul, be “ pure from the blood of all men.” “ Knowing . . . the terror of the Lord,” he said, “ We persuade men.” Be it ours to follow his example. President Rood’s Conference Engagements The President of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Paul W. Rood, is being eagerly sought as a conference speaker in many parts of the country. Following is a partial list of his appointments for the next few months. Friends of the Insti tute are urged to pray for these meetings, and to invite others to attend. Jan. 12 to 26— Campaign in the Melrose Baptist Church,. Oakland, Calif.; C. L. Kirk, pastor. Afternoon meetings in Swed ish Mission Church; Edwin S. Johnson, pastor. Jan. 26 to Feb. 2— Annual Bible Conference, Bible Institute of Los An geles. Feb. 9 to 22— Union Campaign, Seattle, Wash., under auspices of the Christian Business Men's Committee. Noon meetings in down-town theater, broadcast. Evening meetings in Seattle churches. March I to 15— Campaign in Glide Memorial Church, San Francisco, Calif.; J. C. McPheeters, pastor. March 17 to 29— Campaign in Swedish Baptist Church, Los Angeles; Edwin J. Omark, pastor. May 3 to 10— Annual Convention of the World's Christian Funda mentals Association, People's Church, Toronto, Canada; Oswald J. Smith, pastor. Simultaneous meetings in other churches. May 15 to 17— Middle East Young People's Union, Mission Covenant Church, Cleveland, Ohio. “When I hear the wicked call On the rocks and hills to fall, When I see them start and shrink On the fiery deluge brink, Then, Lord, shall I fully know, Not till then how much I owe.” .
“ Everlasting habitations” (Lk. 16:9). “ Everlasting covenant” (Heb. 13:20). “ Eternal redemption” (Heb. 9 :12 ). “ Eternal salvation” (Heb. 5 :9 ). “ Eternal judgment” (Heb. 6 :2 ). “ Eternal Spirit” (Heb. 9 :14 ). “ Eternal inheritance” (Heb. 9 :15 ). “ Everlasting kingdom” (2 Pet. 1:11). “ Eternal glory” (1 Pet. 5 :10). “ Eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4 :17 ).
Here we have twelve distinct expressions linked with the Greek word translated “ eternal” or “ everlasting.” O f ten of them, there can be no question but that they refer to what shall never have an end. Concerning two of them only do men quibble, endeavoring to show that the very same adjective that is employed in all the other instances may mean less than eternity. But surely punishment and judgment are as truly eternal or everlasting as are all the others! It would seem that only a willful determination to reject the plain testimony o f Scripture in favor of a mere sentimental theory could suggest any other interpretation. But, further, if we turn to 2 Corinthians 4:18 we have added proof that the word aionious is the equivalent of our words “ eternal” or “ everlasting.” Here we are distinctly told: “ The things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” Now here aionious is put in plain and definite contrast with a word indicating that which has an end. It is as though the Holy Spirit said: “ The things which are seen are of limited duration; but the things which are unseen are of unlimited duration.” This passage, then, indicates unerringly the exact force o f the word in question. The judgment of the sinner is endless. The punishment o f the wicked is as eternal as are the life and glory o f the redeemed. T he I ntention of the B ible W riters Furthermore, may I suggest that if the doctrine of the eternal woe of the finally impenitent is not true, the writers of Scripture are themselves responsible for the conception of so many through all the Christian centuries that it i s ! This is a bold statement to make, but I make it unhesi tatingly. No one can read the Bible, particularly the New Testa ment, without getting from it the distinct impression that it does teach the endlessness of punishment for those who spurn God’s salvation and persist in their willfulness. The language used by our Lord when here on earth implies this. Likewise the definite teaching of His apostles carries this implication. Hence come the stupendous efforts o f men to twist and explain away the solemn warnings and denun ciations of the Word. If our Lord did not intend us to understand that the punishment of the wicked was eternal, He could and would have said s o ! . He never misled any one by mis using words or in any other way. There were plenty of other terms He might have used, phrases that would have left no doubt and would have raised no question in the minds of His hearers or o f those who were to read His words afterwards. Men tell us punishment is just for a limited time. If so, He could have said so. Men insist that all punishment is remedial. He could have said so. Men declare that all the wicked will be annihilated. He could have said so. Others insist that all shall eventually be saved. He could have said s o ! But the solemn fact to be faced is that He did not so say. The language He chose to use has ever been understood to mean that eternal conscious punishment will be the judgment of the impeni tent sinner. He spoke of an undying worm, o f fire un quenchable, of everlasting punishment, and o f being salted with fire. Such expressions convey to every mind an idea
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