should be thought to mean punishment of endless duration?

But perhaps it may be objected, that in all these texts, nothing is said about an "everlasting fire." I do not affirm that there is; but it has been observed above, and the correctness of the remark will not be disputed, that "everlasting fire," and "the fire that never shall be quenched," mean precisely the same thing. But I am desirous that every objection should be removed, and shall now introduce the following passages. In Isai. xxxiii. 14. it is said; "the sinners in Zion are afraid, fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?" I am aware, that this passage is often quoted to prove the everlasting duration of future punishment, but in opposition to the scope of the context. All who candidly examine it, I think must see, that the everlasting burnings mentioned, refer not to punishment in a future state, but to temporal punishment. As such a different view has been taken of this text by some, it will be necessary for me to point out the meaning of the prophet, and show, that it refers to the temporal punishment of the Jews, or the damnation of Gehenna. This I shall do as briefly as possible.

1st, By considering the scope of the preceding chapter, in connexion with the one in which these words are found, the gospel dispensation, or the days of the Messiah are referred to. See the context.

2d, In the passage it is sufficiently manifest, that the Jews and the hypocritical, wicked Jews are the persons spoken of in it. They are termed sinners, and sinners in Zion, and hypocrites. This forcibly calls to mind the expressions so often used by our Lord Matth. xxiii."wo unto you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites." Let it be noticed, that what is called

sinners in Zion in the first part of the sentence, according to the Jewish parallelism, is termed hypocrites in the second; and their being afraid, in the first, answers to fearfulness seizing them, in the last. No doubt can be entertained that of the Jews the prophet was speaking.

3d, Let us consider what kind of punishment the prophet, in this passage, is speaking about? It is not doubted that he does speak of punishment, for it is here alleged that he is speaking of future eternal punishment. But from what in the passage is this learned? It is learned, we presume, by those who take this view of the text, 1st, From the words fire and burnings being used. But we have shown above, that the word fire, is only a figure used in Scripture to describe temporal punishment, and is used to describe the temporal vengeance which came on the Jews, at the destruction of their city and temple. This we think is placed beyond all fair debate. 2d, We presume eternal misery is supposed to be taught in this pas sage also, from the word everlasting being applied to the word burnings. But that the word everlasting is applied to temporal punishment, and to this very temporal punishment of the Jews, is also beyond a doubt.. This has been partly seen already, and we shall see it plainly stated in the next passage. When in the passage before us it is said, "who among us shall dwell with devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?" It is just expressing, un der another figure, what is expressed in the following texts: "how can ye escape the damnation of hell?" "who hath warned you to flee from the impending vengeance or wrath to come?" That both referred to the same period we think may be seen from the context. See verses 11, 12, 18, 19. Something, then, must be discovered in this text more than the words fire, burnings, and everlasting, to prove that eternal

misery in a future state is taught in it. Indeed we think had attention been paid to the figurative use of the word fire in the Old Testament, and the way in which the word everlasting is often used there, much perversion of the oracles of God might have been avoided. In confirmation of the view I have given of this passage, I may add the following. As in the passage, the condition of the unbelieving part of the Jewish nation is referred to at the destruction of their city and temple, so in the context the condition of our Lord's disciples is described. See verses 15—17. From verse 20. to the end of the chapter, the peace and prosperity of the Christian church is described. We have said enough to show that this passage does not teach the doctrine of endless punishment in a future state. We have also given what we conceive to be the general meaning of the prophet. Should we be mistaken as to its true sense, yet we think the other never can be proved from it. But as we do not wish to depend on any text of doubtful meaning in support of our views, we shall introduce the following, about which there can be no dispute.

The passage I refer to, is Jer. xxiii. 39, 40. "Therefore behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence. And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten." This passage affords no room for debate. The Jews are the persons spoken about: the punishment threatened, all will allow, is of a temporal nature: that it refers to the punishment which came on the Jews at the destruction of their city and temple, will not be doubted: and that it is said to be perpetual and everlasting, is in as many words declared. I may just notice, that the word perpetual, in this last passage, is the same in the original as the word everlasting, and

is the same word which is translated everlasting, per petual, and forever, in other passages. After attending to these texts we think it will no longer be doubted, that the temporal vengeance which came on the Jews at the destruction of their city at temple, is called everlasting, and also is described under the figure of fire. But did the Jews understand the words everlasting or perpetual to mean, in these texts, endless duration? We presume this will not be affirmed. It may be asked, and it is a very proper question to ask,-How comes it to pass, that this punishment of the Jews, of a temporal nature, is described as everlasting, perpetual, as everlasting fire, and a fire that never shall be quenched? To this I answer, that any one who has examined the Scriptures on the subject, knows, that olm, of the Hebrew, aion, and aionion, of the Greek, are often used to express limited duration. They are often used to express a shorter or longer period of time, as the subjects to which they are applied require. I might illustrate this by many examples, if it were necessary. But having fully considered this in the separate Inquiry, referred to above, 1 forbear introducing the evidence of it here. The recollections of every man who has read the Old Testament, are sufficient, in the present case, to exonerate me from the charge of saying any thing but the truth. But further, in answer to the above question, I would say, that the above punishment of the Jews, may be called perpetual, or everlasting, in the Jewish sense of those words; for it is the longest punishment they ever endured as a people. It began at the destruction of their city and temple, and has already continued for nearly eighteen hundred years. How long it is yet to continue, no man, I presume, can, with any certainty say. But it is to end. It is not to be everlasting in the common sense we attach to this word. The Jews as a nation often suffered punishment at the

hand of God for their sins. The longest punishment they ever endured before this, was their seventy years' captivity in Babylon. But neither it, nor any other, is ever called everlasting, or perpetual, as the one they are now enduring. That it is called everlasting in the Old Testament, is indisputable. That this everlasting is not endless duration, we presume all will allow. We would then beg leave to ask why the word everlasting, used by our Lord in the New, must mean endless duration, when he applies it to the same people and the same temporal punishment of that people? I appeal to every candid man if this is not a very arbitrary mode of interpreting the lan-guage of the Bible?

I have one thing more to observe, and I trust it will be seriously considered. It is this. We find ever-lasting applied to punishment, and to temporal punishment, when no one will contend that endless duration can be meant by the sacred writers. Now, admitting that we should be able to find in Scripture the word everlasting applied to punishment in a future state of existence, still it would be a question if in this case it was not also used in a limited sense, as when applied to punishment in this world. But I demand of those who hold to the doctrine of eternal punishment, to produce a single text in which the word everlasting is applied to punishment in a future state of existence. I seriously request all who hold to this doctrine, candidly to examine this subject. If there be a single text in the Bible in which such a doctrine is taught, I shall feel somewhat ashamed if I have been so careless as to overlook it. I am aware that there are some texts in which such a thing is said to be taught, and the one we have been considering is of that number. We think we have shown that this is not its meaning. All the others in which the word everlast