CHAPTER VI. THE WORM NOT DYING" AND THE "FIRE NOT BEING QUENCH- Restorationist. Having found that "everlasting" is insufficient to prove anything to be endless, we will examine to see if the “fire not being quenched," and the "worm not dying" can prove punishment to be endless. Threatening. And if thy hand offend thee cut it off; it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched: where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.— Mark 9: 43, 44. Limited. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and it shall not be quenched. — Jer. 7: 20. Threatening. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched ;— where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched Mark, 9: 45, 46. Limited. But if you will not hearken unto me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched. Jer. 17: 27. Threatening. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. — Mark, 9 : 47, 48. Limited. And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the Lord Thus saith the Lord God, Behold I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree; the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein. And all flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it; it shall not be quenched. Ezek. 20: 47, 48. Threatening. Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thor oughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. Limited. The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar it shall never go out. Lev. 6: 13. But it went out, and never meant any more than that they should keep a continual fire as long as they offered sacrifices. The "fire not being quenched" is not sufficient to prove hell to be endless; for unquenchable fire went out after Jerusalem was burnt; and hell-fire can al so go out without being quenched. We will now show that the "worm not dying" has been us ed in a limited sense. Limited. And they shall bring all your brethren for an of fering unto the Lord, out of all nations, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me saith the Lord. And they shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed a gainst me; for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. Isa. 66: 20, 23, 24. The "worm that shall not die," according to the connection, must mean those that unavoidably will be in the carcasses of those who will be slain in the great battle preceding the millennium. : And God will rain fire and brimstone on them.- Ezek. 23: 22. And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles and they shall know that I am the Lord. And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, and the bows and the arrows, and the hand-staves and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years. But although this fire is not to be quenched it will go out when it has burnt all that the Lord, by his proph et, has predicted. The number of slain will be so many, that seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them. After the end of seven months shall they search. And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it till the buriers have bu ried it. Ezek. 39: 6, 15. Read Chaps. 38 and 39. When going to Jerusalem to worship, they will go forth and look upon these carcases, and worms will be the unavoidablə consequence of their lying above ground. The "fire not being quenched, signifies that no one will quench it and prevent it burning their weapons of war seven years. The worm shall not die," means that there will be worms that will live and eat them so that when all go up to Jerusalem to worship, they can go forth and see the worm and the fire. If the worm and fire were to be in eternity, the times of their going up to worship would not have been mentioned by moons and sabbaths, for eternity is not measured thus; neither would any particu. lar times have been mentioned; for eternity will be one unin terupted scene of worship. And they would not have been called flesh-For flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, 2. Cor. 15: 15. When it is said of the wicked, their worm shall not die, it does not prove that their conscience will always gnaw them; for the expression has been used in a limited sense, and cannot be depended upon to prove "endless." CHAPTER VII. THE ENDLESS FIRE OF THE RIGHTEOUS PROVED INDEPENDENTLY OF THE WORDS THAT THREATEN PUNISHMENT. Restorationist. It has become needful to mention some proof of the endless life of the righteous. No doubt there will be limited words to connect the sentences. 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. Mat. 22 32. Neither can they die any more for they are equal to the Angels, and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. Their life being compared to An gels, who never die, proves their life to be endless. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me : because I live ye shall live also. - John, 14: 19. Christ's comparing the life of the righteous with his own proves their life to be of endless duration, because he was made after the pow er of an endless life. Heb. 7: 16. The spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God; and if children then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. Rom. 8: 17 Christ to all eternity, will be an heir of God and those who are joint heirs with him, will be : heirs of God as long as he is. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.-1. Pet. 1: 3. For 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 be brought to pass the saying that is written; Death is swallowed up in victory. Oh death where is thy sting? Oh grave where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1. Cor. 15: 53, 58. We read nothing about the immortality of punishment, nor the endless duration of hell. Therefore the life of the righteous is proved to be endless, independently of any terms that are used to express the future punishment of the wicked. 6* |