Pioneer books
Dr Thomas of West Hoboken, Hudson Co. New Jersey, U. S., has undoubtedly been the great instrument in the hand of God in digging out, in the nineteenth century, the lost and hidden treasure of the gospel.
The scattered elements of "the truth" had here and there shown themselves occasionally before his day. The Kingdom of God in some of its aspects was believed in by a few, the worthlessness of human nature in respect to immortality was here and there recognised by a stray Bible student; baptism had long been practised as an essential religious rite, but it was left to the remarkable man of whom we are speaking to collate and systematise the truth and evolve it in the complete doctrinal development which is efficacious for the salvation of men.
In the accomplishment of this great work, he studied much, and brought out many long lost ideas. He also detected the fallacy of many a revered doctrine, and gave to the Book of God such an altered complexion that the Bible which before time was enshrined in mystery, and cut off from the sympathies of intelligent men, became transparent in its intelligibility, and highly interesting in the grandeur of its revelations, and the adaptation of its schemes to the wants of the world.
In attaining this magnificent achievement, Dr. Thomas but yielded to the pressure of circumstances. It was not a result upon which he had set his mind. He may be said to have drifted into it through the studies forced upon him. His theological career was emphatically a providential development...
He did not design it; he did not incline it; it grew as the result of circumstances acting upon his peculiarly constituted mind.
----Brother Roberts 1864
Elpis Israel
https://www.antipas.org/books/elpis_israel/ei_toc.html
Being An Exposition of the Kingdom of God
With Reference to The Time of the End, and The Age To Come.
BY JOHN THOMAS, M.D.
Written 1848'
Special Edition -- Revised -- 1904
The Book unsealed
The Book Unsealed
A Lecture On The Prophetic Periods of Daniel and John
Approaching Climax
in the
Perdition of All Human Government
and the
Establishment of the Kingdom of God
By John Thomas, M.D.
https://www.antipas.org/books/book_unsealed/unsealed.html
Chronikon Hebraikon
https://www.antipas.org/pdf_files/chronikon_hebraikon.pdf
Chronikon Hebraikon; Chronology of the Scriptures: AS CONTAINED IN THEIR historic numbers and dates,
SET FORTH WITH THE CLEARNESS AND SIMPLICITY WHICH BELONG TO THE TRUTH.
By JOHN THOMAS, M.D.
There is not a current brother that I know, or whose writings I have read, that has a tenth of the Scriptural knowledge that these pioneer brethren had, and I freely and happily include myself in this comparison. The comparison is so lop-sided it is pitiful. There is no comparison. If we did not have the brilliant, stable, providentially-provided light of the works of these brethren - if we had to depend for help on the poor little flickering candles in the earth today - what pitiful straits we would be in!
Bre. Thomas and Roberts knew the Scriptures as few men have ever known them, and they entered fully into their beautiful and transforming spirit - a thousand times better than those who now repudiate their teaching. Many years ago I came to the firm conviction, daily strengthened ever since, that bre. Thomas and Roberts were divinely and providentially raised up to revive the Truth of God and the Body of Christ in these last days, and that they laid a sound foundation of Truth - all the Truth - as regards fellowship and salvation.
They were not inspired. They were not perfect. They were not always right in everything. But when it comes to the basic beliefs involving fellowship and salvation, it is my ever increasing conviction that, in the providence of God, they gave us a complete and sound foundation.
- BROTHER GROWCOTT
Christendom Astray
https://www.antipas.org/books/chris_astray/ca_toc.html
Popular Christianity (both in Faith and Practice),
Shown to be Unscriptural ;
And the True Nature of the Ancient Apostolic Faith Exhibited.
Law of Moses
https://www.antipas.org/books/law_of_moses/tlm_toc.html
As A Rule of National and Individual Life
By Robert Roberts
Nazareth Revisited
https://www.antipas.org/books/nazareth_revisted/nrv_toc.html
or
The Life and Work of Jesus Christ EXHIBITED ANEW, in harmony with The Scriptures of Moses and the Prophets, to which Jesus appealed as THE WORD OF GOD."
BY ROBERT ROBERTS
The Blood of Christ
https://www.antipas.org/books/blood_of_christ/blood.html
The Blood of Christ
Its Place in
THE DIVINE SCHEME OF RECONCILIATION
or
ATONEMENT,
AS ORIGINALLY PROMULGATED BY THE APOSTLES IN THE FIRST CENTURY
To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
(2 Cor. 5:19).
And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. (Rom. 5:11).
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
(1 John 1:7).
By Robert Roberts
The Slain Lamb
https://www.antipas.org/books/slain_lamb/lamb_1.html
A Controversial and Expository
LECTURE
On the True Nature and Sacrifice of Christ
Delivered in the Temperance Hall, Birmingham [England]
on Friday, July 29th, 1873
ROBERT ROBERTS
The Visible Hand of God
https://www.antipas.org/books/visible_hand/vh_toc.html
OR
THE MIRACLES, SIGNS, AND WONDERS WHICH HAVE OCCURRED IN THE PAST DEALINGS OF GOD WITH THE NATION OF ISRAEL: THE NATURE AND DESIGN OF SUCH OPERATIONS, AND THEIR NECESSITY TO THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE WORK OF GOD IN THE EARTH.
BY ROBERT ROBERTS
The Ways of Providence
https://www.antipas.org/books/ways_of_prov/wop_toc.html
as
AUTHENTICALLY ILLUSTRATED
IN
Bible history
WITH THREE CHAPTERS ON THE MQST SANGUINARY PASSAGE IN HUMAN HISTORY,
VIZ :--:
THE OVERTHROW OF THE JEWISH COMMONWEALTH
BY THE ROMANS,
AND
THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM BY TITUS.
by Robert Robrets of Birmingham
ANASTASIS
A TREATISE
ON THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD AT
The APPEARING OF CHRIST
ANASTASIS
A TREATISE ON THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD
AT
T H E APPEARING OF CHRIST
With reference to the nature of the body when it first emerges from the grave
BY JOHN THOMAS, M.D.
There shall be a RESURRECTION OF DEA D ONES , both of just and unjust ones."-(PAUL.)
" And as Paul reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and the JUDGMENT TO COME, Felix
trembled."-(ACTS xxiv. 25.)
" Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that the Deity should raise the
dead ? "-(PAUL TO AGRIPPA.)
PREFACE.
THIS treatise on RESURRECTION and JUDGMENT owes its existence to the urgent request of friends in Detroit, who heard the substance of it orally delivered there at a private meeting. The exposition on that occasion was deemed highly satisfactory; and they determined that I should not rest until they obtained it in the present form.
I was the less disposed to refuse compliance when I considered the importance of the subject, the little information possessed upon it, the nearness of its development, and the " signs of the times" indicative thereof. In the present state of the public mind it is a subject very difficult to present in such a form, that he who runs may read it intelligibly. My aim has been to set it forth with all possible simplicity, that the reader might be instructed ; his faith, if he have any, enlarged and strengthened ; and his conduct purified by the conviction so sublime and terrible a wonder cannot fail to produce in a well balanced and judicious mind.
But some may be prompted to enquire, Is it necessary to understand all the details of the Resurrection and Judgment in order to possess the faith which justifies ? In reply, I would say, if it were necessary, there would scarcely be found, in this generation, a corporal's guard
of justified believers.
I apprehend that if a person heartily believe in " the resurrection of the just and the unjust," and that both these classes will appear in the presence of the Righteous Judge, " to give account of themselves to him," their understanding so far is sound
upon these two first principles ; but if on the contrary, he deny the resurrection of " the unjust," or saints of the Sardian type, and repudiate the citation of the righteous to judgment, saying that there is no other judgment for them than what they are subjected to in the present state ; and that they will not be called upon to give account : I can only say for myself, that I had rather never have been born than appear in the Divine Presence with such a tradition.
It would not be difficult to make out against such, a case of constructive treason to the truth. But this is neither my purpose nor desire. " Judge nothing," says Paul, " before the time until
the Lord come, Who will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the heart." My purpose is to enlighten, not to condemn. The more we understand of what we profess to believe, the stronger is our faith therein ; and the nearer
we approach its development, the more necessary is it, that a lively interest be kindled in us, that our lamps be well trimmed, and our lights be found brightly burning (Matt. xxv. 4, 7, 10).
https://www.remnantofchristsecclesia.com/PUBLICATIONS/Anastasis.pdf
Herald of the Kingdom and Age to come 1851 p122
LAZARUS AND THE RICH MAN - by Brother Thomas.
This is part of a discourse, contained in the fifteenth and sixteenth chapters of Luke, delivered by Jesus in the presence of "the publicans and sinners," "the Pharisees and Scribes," and his disciples. It contains the parables of the lost sheep, of the piece of silver, of the prodigal son, of the unjust steward, and of "a certain rich man," and "a certain beggar named Lazarus." These are parables illustrative of the things of the kingdom in relation to the joy there will be among the angels when they shall see repentant publicans, sinners, and prodigals in the kingdom; of the condemned state of the covetous pharisees; and of the "weeping and gnashing of teeth," or "torment," that awaits them when they shall see Abraham and the prophets in God's kingdom and themselves excluded. These were the matters of stirring interest propounded by the Lord Jesus to his contemporaries of the House of Judah in the course of his "preaching and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God" in all the towns and villages of Israel.
The letter before us directs our attention particularly to the case of the rich man and the beggar; we shall therefore give it all the consideration it deserves. It is a parable; consequently not a true history of two men, but a comparison or similitude illustrative of the truth. That it is a parable is unquestionable. It was addressed to the covetous pharisees who disregarded the Law and the Prophets, and in speaking to them and their disciples we are informed, that "without a parable Jesus spake not unto them." That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, "I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world."
The parables of Jesus were illustrations of the things of the kingdom of God spiritually discernible. Even the unsophisticated and simple-minded apostles were under the necessity of soliciting an explanation of them in private. Without this assistance they found it impossible to understand his doctrine; for before he had called them to be his apostles their minds had been darkened like the rest by the leaven of the scribes and pharisees. The interpretations of the Lord Jesus were the explanations of the Spirit through him. By the light of these spiritual interpretations they were able to discern, or understand, the meaning of the parables. If the parables were mere narratives of facts, their meaning would have been obvious to the popular mind; but seeing that they represented something different from the signification of the words and phrases spoken-that they had a hidden meaning-an interpretation of these dark sayings became absolutely necessary to the comprehension of them.
The apostles were greatly astonished at the Lord Jesus that he did not speak plainly to the people, and without enigma. "Why," said they, "speakest thou to them in parables?" As if they had said, "If thou desirest that they should understand, and be converted, and receive forgiveness of sins in recognizing thee as the king of Israel, why dost thou not teach them so as that a child might understand thy speech?" such a result as this, however, he was desirous to avoid. The generation of Judah and Benjamin, the forty-second generation from Abraham, was then in its youth. It was like the generations that had preceded it, both crooked and perverse; and as the narratives of the evangelists and apostles, and the history of Josephus, prove, more obdurately wicked than all that had gone before. It was determined therefore to judge the nation by the calamities to be visited upon the generation contemporary with Jesus and his apostles. Yahweh consequently did not purpose to give them light enough to lead them to a repentance by which his indignation and wrath against the guilty nation might be turned aside. The leaders of the people had caused them to err. They had made the word of God of none effect by their tradition. They had taken away "the key of knowledge," and had substituted the mythology of the Greeks, which had made the people's heart gross, their ears dull, and their eyes blind. The people were blind, and their leaders were blind, nevertheless they said "We see;" therefore their sin remained.
This was the moral condition of the nation in the days of Jesus. The minority acknowledged his claims to the throne of David, and recognized in him the Son and prophet of Yahweh; but the nation, the great and overwhelming majority of the nation, rejected him, and constituted itself the fit and proper instrument blindly to carry into effect the predetermination of God concerning his son. In answer therefore to the inquiry, "Why speakest to them in parables?" the Lord Jesus replied, "Because it is given unto you to understand the mysteries (secrets) of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath to him shall be given, and he shall have greater abundance; but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing (saying they see) see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: for this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see what ye see, and have not seen; and to hear what ye hear, and have not heard."
The parables then were illustrative of "the secrets of the kingdom of heaven," which the multitude could not understand, because the key of knowledge was lost. They had "the knowledge," for it was in "the Law and the Prophets;" but neither the learned nor the unlearned could interpret it aright. Thus were fulfilled the words of Isaiah, "they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For the Lord hath poured out upon them the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed their eyes: the prophets, and their rulers, the seers hath he covered. And the vision of all hath become to them as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: and the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned."-Isaiah 29: 9-12. "The Key" to the understanding of the knowledge of this book they had lost. They had lost sight of the true doctrine of the Kingdom; and had embraced the vain philosophy of their Greek and Roman masters, which taught immediate reward and punishment in Elysium and Tartarus at the instant of death. They expected Elijah to come and restore all things, and the kingdom to be re-established with observation, when the Messiah should appear and sit upon the throne of his father David; but they understood not that "he must first suffer many things and be rejected of their generation;" and by a resurrection from the dead be raised up to sit upon David's throne. -Acts 2: 30. Neither did they understand that they who were to possess the kingdom with him must first be righteous men, and then immortal by a resurrection from among the dead. They supposed when Messias came he would promote them to the honor and glory of his kingdom, little dreaming that "the first shall be last" then; and that certain poor peasants of Galilee, and dogs of Gentiles from afar, should be first in the kingdom and empire of Shiloh.
The kingdom of God rightly understood is "the key" to the parables, and indeed, not to the parables only, but to the whole Bible; for the Bible is in truth the Book of the Kingdom of God. It is nonsense for men to talk of understanding the Bible if they do not understand the true doctrine of the kingdom. As well might one say that he understood Turner's Elements of Chemistry though entirely ignorant of chemical science, or acquainted only with Alchemy. The leaders and people of Israel were mere alchemists in theology; they sought after the stone of Greek philosophy, and stumbled at the princely stone, and bruised themselves to death.
It is not to be wondered at that the moderns should find the interpretation of the parables beyond their skill. They are alchemists like their prototypes of the forty-second generation of Israel. The exposition of the parables relating to the kingdom is as impossible to them as the analysis of the alkalis and of water were to the alchemists of the age of Paracelsus. The fact is that the moderns generally understand less of the kingdom of God than the ancient scribes, pharisees, and lawyers. They have resolved it into a kingdom of grace and a kingdom of glory, with an intermediate state, or not, according to their taste. They tell us not to pray "Thy kingdom come," because it is already come. It came, they say, on the Day of Pentecost! It is the kingdom of grace, or the church; the very reign of favor itself! Where is the throne? In reply, they point to the throne of the invisible majesty, somewhere in the milky way, which they call the throne of David, and tell us that there is the Lord Jesus reigning over the House of Jacob forever! They teach also the Greek philosophy, or mythology rather, concerning souls. At the instant of death they translate them to heaven or hell-a theory by which the real kingdom of God is entirely superseded. Pledged to this leaven they can see nothing in the Bible pertaining to the future free from the fermentation of immortal-soulism, and its consequences, an intermediate state with its separate localities for the souls, or disembodied ghosts, of the righteous and wicked dead. As if conscious of the weakness of their theories, they seize with avidity upon every text (and they are but few) not to prove what they affirm, but out of which they think they can create difficulties for those who repudiate their dogmas. Among these texts are the two presented to us by our correspondent in Newark. The opposition there, as here, can explain nothing. They can only twist ropes of sand, and on the ghosts of seven pillars erect castles in the air. We repeat it, that these aerial-castle builders being ignorant of the real kingdom of God, and consequently of the gospel of the kingdom, cannot interpret the parables, much less able are they to interpret the rich man and the beggar, the most difficult of all. They have first adopted their theory on the plea of reconciling, or rather of harmonizing Christ and Plato, that the doctrine of Jesus might be less objectionable to "philosophy;" and have then put the scripture to the torture to compel it to speak according to their wishes. This is just the reverse of what they ought to have done. They should have put their philosophy on the scripture rack, and if it would not confess according to what is written, have condemned it to an auto da fe, because of its cancerous and destructive heresy. Having omitted to do this, they have committed an egregious blunder; and imposed the burden upon us of supplying their deficiency.
The rich man and Lazarus is a parable illustrating a mystery of the kingdom of God. Now the question is, what is that mystery, or hidden thing, which it illustrates? Our answer is, that it illustrates the saying contained in the thirteenth of Luke and thirtieth verse, and in the nineteenth of Matthew and thirtieth verse, also the twentieth chapter and sixteenth verse, namely, "Behold there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last." If it be enquired when and where? We reply, when the "first which shall be last" "shall see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and they themselves thrust out." If it be asked, what is meant by being "tormented in this flame?" We answer, to be the subject of "weeping and gnashing of teeth," because of being thrust out of the kingdom: the thrusting out being two-fold; first, by the Roman power when the Mosaic constitution of Israel's commonwealth was subverted; and second, by their exclusion from the kingdom subsequently to their resurrection to judgement. In short, what is testified in Luke 13: 24-30, without a figure, is parabolically represented in Luke 16: 19-31.
The rich man and the beggar in the similitude represent two classes of Israelites. The former represents the "workers of iniquity" whom Jesus was addressing; and who at that time were "first," being the rulers and leaders of the people, and wore purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. These were they who sought to enter into the kingdom, but should not be able. They would then, when the door was shut, cry Lord, Lord, open to us! We have eaten and drank in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets! But all this will avail them nothing. It was their malice that brought them to his presence; and their fears of the people that permitted him for a time to go at large in their streets. "Depart from me, I know not whence ye are, ye workers of iniquity"-"Depart from me, I say, ye cursed into the enduring fire prepared for the devil and his emissaries"-this is all the response the "upper ten thousand" of the nation will be able to elicit from the King when he promotes "the blessed of the Father to the possession of the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world."It is not to be wondered at that the moderns should find the interpretation of the parables beyond their skill. They are alchemists like their prototypes of the forty-second generation of Israel. The exposition of the parables relating to the kingdom is as impossible to them as the analysis of the alkalis and of water were to the alchemists of the age of Paracelsus. The fact is that the moderns generally understand less of the kingdom of God than the ancient scribes, pharisees, and lawyers. They have resolved it into a kingdom of grace and a kingdom of glory, with an intermediate state, or not, according to their taste. They tell us not to pray "Thy kingdom come," because it is already come. It came, they say, on the Day of Pentecost! It is the kingdom of grace, or the church; the very reign of favor itself! Where is the throne? In reply, they point to the throne of the invisible majesty, somewhere in the milky way, which they call the throne of David, and tell us that there is the Lord Jesus reigning over the House of Jacob forever! They teach also the Greek philosophy, or mythology rather, concerning souls. At the instant of death they translate them to heaven or hell-a theory by which the real kingdom of God is entirely superseded. Pledged to this leaven they can see nothing in the Bible pertaining to the future free from the fermentation of immortal-soulism, and its consequences, an intermediate state with its separate localities for the souls, or disembodied ghosts, of the righteous and wicked dead. As if conscious of the weakness of their theories, they seize with avidity upon every text (and they are but few) not to prove what they affirm, but out of which they think they can create difficulties for those who repudiate their dogmas. Among these texts are the two presented to us by our correspondent in Newark. The opposition there, as here, can explain nothing. They can only twist ropes of sand, and on the ghosts of seven pillars erect castles in the air. We repeat it, that these aerial-castle builders being ignorant of the real kingdom of God, and consequently of the gospel of the kingdom, cannot interpret the parables, much less able are they to interpret the rich man and the beggar, the most difficult of all. They have first adopted their theory on the plea of reconciling, or rather of harmonizing Christ and Plato, that the doctrine of Jesus might be less objectionable to "philosophy;" and have then put the scripture to the torture to compel it to speak according to their wishes. This is just the reverse of what they ought to have done. They should have put their philosophy on the scripture rack, and if it would not confess according to what is written, have condemned it to an auto da fe, because of its cancerous and destructive heresy. Having omitted to do this, they have committed an egregious blunder; and imposed the burden upon us of supplying their deficiency.
The rich man and Lazarus is a parable illustrating a mystery of the kingdom of God. Now the question is, what is that mystery, or hidden thing, which it illustrates? Our answer is, that it illustrates the saying contained in the thirteenth of Luke and thirtieth verse, and in the nineteenth of Matthew and thirtieth verse, also the twentieth chapter and sixteenth verse, namely, "Behold there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last." If it be enquired when and where? We reply, when the "first which shall be last" "shall see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and they themselves thrust out." If it be asked, what is meant by being "tormented in this flame?" We answer, to be the subject of "weeping and gnashing of teeth," because of being thrust out of the kingdom: the thrusting out being two-fold; first, by the Roman power when the Mosaic constitution of Israel's commonwealth was subverted; and second, by their exclusion from the kingdom subsequently to their resurrection to judgement. In short, what is testified in Luke 13: 24-30, without a figure, is parabolically represented in Luke 16: 19-31.
The rich man and the beggar in the similitude represent two classes of Israelites. The former represents the "workers of iniquity" whom Jesus was addressing; and who at that time were "first," being the rulers and leaders of the people, and wore purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. These were they who sought to enter into the kingdom, but should not be able. They would then, when the door was shut, cry Lord, Lord, open to us! We have eaten and drank in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets! But all this will avail them nothing. It was their malice that brought them to his presence; and their fears of the people that permitted him for a time to go at large in their streets. "Depart from me, I know not whence ye are, ye workers of iniquity"-"Depart from me, I say, ye cursed into the enduring fire prepared for the devil and his emissaries"-this is all the response the "upper ten thousand" of the nation will be able to elicit from the King when he promotes "the blessed of the Father to the possession of the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world.
The beggar in the parable represents "the blessed of the Father," who in the forty-second generation were "the last," the helpless among the people-the poor of the flock-and therefore "named Lazarus," or God's help, for he alone is their helper, pulling down the mighty from their thrones, and exalting them of low degree; filling the hungry with good things, while the rich he sends empty away.-Luke 1: 52. of this class were the least of the King's brethren. They were full of sores and desiring to be fed from the leavings of the rich and ruling class of the nation. They were hungry, but their princely superiors gave them no meat; they were thirsty, but gave them no drink; strangers at their gates, but they took them not in; naked, but they clothed them not; sick in prison but they visited them not. These were their sores which experienced no relief at the hands of the purple-clad and luxurious livers of their age.
Now the parable represents a perfect and entire change of fortune with respect to those two classes; for Abraham is represented as saying to the rich Israelite, "Son, remember that thou in thy life time receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented." Here it will be perceived that the classes change situations-the hungry are filled with good things, that is, "are comforted;" while the rich are sent empty away, that is, "are tormented" even worse than the poor whom in their previous lifetime they had despised. When, however, the poor brethren in Christ are comforted, the mean-spirited rich, their former oppressors, are represented as piteously supplicating the favour; but no mercy will be shown them; for "he shall have judgment without mercy that hath showed no mercy;" and "with what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again."
The parable then brings to view two states-a present, or lifetime-state; and a future, or state of comfort or torment, as the class may be. The "now," when the righteous shall be comforted, appears to be when the two classes, contemporary with the days of his flesh, shall both stand in his presence, when He as King, attended by all his holy angels, shall sit on the throne of his glory.-Matthew 25: 31; 2 Thessalonians 1: 7-8. This has not come to pass yet. There must therefore be a resurrection of these two classes of Israelites, according to the words of the prophet. -Daniel 12: 1-2. When this happens, the rich will see the poor in Abraham's bosom, and themselves, like Cain, driven out of the country where the kingdom will then be "into a place of torment," in the parable termed "this place of torment." But where will this be? "Far off" from where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets then are. Far off as to distance; and as the kingdom is to be established in the land of Israel, it will be far off in relation to that country; from which, having risen from the dead, they are expelled from the presence of the Lord. But this country of their exile is a place where an unquenchable, or an enduring, fire is prepared for the devil and his emissaries: "for, behold the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh, and the slain of the Lord shall be many."-Isaiah 66: 15-16.
The Devil and his emissaries are thus alluded to in the Apocalypse. "The great Dragon was cast out (of the heaven, chapter 12: 8,) that old Serpent, surnamed the Devil and Satan, who misleads the whole empire: he was cast out into the earth and his emissaries were cast out with him." This is a symbolic representation of what came to pass in that great revolution when the face of the Roman world was changed by Constantine. The Devil and his emissaries here represent "the Accusers of the brethren," or party hostile to the kingdom of God and the power of his Christ. This party reappears in the fourteenth of Revelation, and is referred to in these words, "If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation: and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth unto ages of ages," (eis aionas aionon.) This tormenting in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb, is the war waged between them and the Beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, or "the goats." The result of the war is thus expressed, "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet, &c. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword, &c"-Revelation 19: 19-20. That is, the territory on which the dominions exist, symbolized by the Beast and the False Prophet, shall become a lake of fire burning with the flame of artillery in war.
This territory is Germany, or "the land of Magogue," Italy, France, Belgium, Spain, Hungary, and Greece. "I will send," says God, "a fire upon Magogue, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles."-Ezekiel 39: 6. So that the lightnings of heaven will be added to the flames of war. This contest with the nations results in the prostration of all the thrones, or kingdoms of the world, and their transfer to Jesus and the Saints. This overthrow is described as the laying hold on the Dragon, that old Serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and the binding him for a thousand years. -Revelation 20: 2. But at the end of this period of peace and blessedness, the Devil, or sin-power, reappears on the arena. He invades the Land of Israel with his hosts, but is driven back, or cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, the territory where the Beast and False Prophet met their fate a thousand years before, and there he is tormented as they were day and night unto the ages of the ages-eis tous aionas ton aionon. During this war death and the grave, that is, the unrighteous dead surrendered by the grave, are thrust out and exiled to the seat of the war, and thus cast into the Lake of fire to encounter death by fire and sword. Their fall is to them their Second Death; "for whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire," which is the Second Death.
This territorial lake of fire is "the place of torment" "far off" from the territory of the kingdom, where Abraham and the Lazzaroni "are comforted." The premillennial and postmillennial judgments upon the nations are consummated in this place; and while these judgments are in progress, the unrighteous who have died under Times of Knowledge, having been raised from among the dead, are driven like Cain from the presence of the Lord to partake in the torment with which the nations are being judged. In the exegesis of the parable we confine ourselves to the rich and beggar classes of Israel; because it is concerning them alone that the Lord is speaking. The judgment of Gentiles must be considered under a different aspect. The unrighteous in Israel of the forty-second generation (for we are considering this more particularly) will be raised to enduring shame and contempt; will weep and gnash their teeth at the cruel destiny they have brought upon themselves by their own madness and folly; and will be "thrust out" of the Land of Promise, and exiled to the papal countries as the place of their enduring punishment; where they will be subject to all the evils of the premillennial wrath and fury of their offended and insulted King, for whose death they clamoured when Pilate would have let him go. Then they were zealous for the favor of Caesar; with Caesar then they will perish, when "God shall rain upon the wicked snares, fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest: for this is the portion of their cup."-Psalm 11: 6; Isaiah 30: 30, 33; Ezekiel 38: 22.
In the parable the postmillennial judgment of dead men is not brought into view. We shall therefore merely remark here in passing, that "the rest of the dead" not raised to everlasting or enduring shame and contempt at the premillennial coming of the Lord; and the unrighteous dead, who, having died under the millennial reign, are raised at the end thereof, -these, we say, will meet their doom in common with the rebel nations, "Gog and Magog," which will be exterminated at the end of the thousand years. If the reader study the twenty-fifth of Matthew, he will perceive a commingling of individual convicts with the nations of the left, styled the goats. Combined personal and national judgment at the premillennial and postmillennial epochs is the order of things in relation to wicked men and wicked nations whose iniquity is full. The wickedness of the goat-nations will be extreme and malignant, when this new element of hatred against God and his King is introduced among them by the resurrection and exile of the old enemies of the Lord. Serpents, and a generation of vipers were they in their former life-time; death and resurrection will not have changed them. When they awake from the dust they will be serpents still; and willing instruments of all evil they may be permitted to do. They must arise to judgment; for the earth's surface is at once the arena of the reward of the righteous, the punishment of sin, and the destruction of the devil and his works.
Having illustrated the principle of the first being last, and the last first by the changed condition of the rich man and the beggar, Jesus proceeds to extract a moral precept from the premises for the benefit of those rich men who had not then as yet become tenants of the tomb. Abraham was requested by the sufferer to send the beggar to his father's house to testify to his five brethren, lest they should be thrust out and exiled to the country of his wretched existence. Now this is the precept put into the mouth of Abraham, to which also we would do well to take heed, "They have Moses and the prophets: let them hear them." But knowing how little regard they had for Moses and the prophets, he concluded that if this was all the testimony to be granted them, their case was hopeless. Therefore he added, "Nay father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent." But Abraham is made to say, "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." This saying was verified in the fact, that though Jesus rose from the dead, and they were notified of its reality by the state-guard, and by the apostles, yet they were not, and would not be persuaded to acknowledge him, and accept repentance and life through his name.
The parable represents by anticipation the relations of things between the "first" and the "last" which will actually obtain when the kingdom is established in the Land of Israel. The things set forth are beyond the resurrection, not before it. At the time of the supposed conversation the parable represents the parties as dead. It is a fictitious conversation between suppositious dead men concerning what is in relation to the then living; and what will be hereafter in regard to themselves then dead. We have an example in Isaiah of the dead holding discourse in the parable against the king of Babylon. The dead kings of the nations are there made to address him in these words-"Art thou also become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us? Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations. For thou hast said in thy heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the Mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the manthat made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms! That made the world as a wilderness, that destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?" Here the dead kings are made to rejoice over their fallen adversary by anticipation; for at the time Isaiah penned this parable the kings were not even born, and Belshazzar had not fallen from the political heaven. It was written in the reign of Ahaz or Hezekiah, about 130 years before Nebuchadnezzar, "the destroyer of the Gentiles," began his conquests, and about 200 before Belshazzar was slain in the midst of his revels. The parable was therefore prophetic of what should be when the time of the fall of the Chaldean dynasty should arrive; and so also the parable of the rich man and the beggar is prophetic, not historical; but an anticipative fictitious narrative, prophetic of what shall obtain when the kingdom of God is established in the land.
In regard to certain expressions in this parable, we may remark that two things are affirmed of the beggar-"he died;" and "was carried." Query, was he carried into Abraham's bosom by the angels as soon as he died, or when? If as soon as he died, then he was laid in the cave of Machpelah; for there the dust once called Abraham was deposited. This, however, is not testified, therefore we cannot confirm it. To a man instructed in the kingdom there is but one other alternative, namely, Abraham is supposed to have been raised, and the beggar also, and the two brought together by the angels: but they were both really dead, an idea that is kept up in the conversation. The rich man also died, and was buried. He had a pompous funeral, which the beggar had not. Lazarus is not even said to have been put under ground, unless we take the words "was carried" to signify his being placed there. The rich man was buried "in hell," that is "in the unseen"-en to hado-in the grave or tomb. Before falling into dust, he is supposed to have a vision of the future. He lifts up his eyes, and sees. He exists bodily as it were. He suffers physically, for his tongue is hot, and being in flame he is scorched. Lazarus is also corporeal, and not a shade; for he has a finger. This the sufferer perceives, and desires that the tip of it may be moistened with water, and applied to his tongue. These incidents are enough to prove that the scene has nothing to do with "disembodied spirits," for all parties here are corporeal, and proximate to water in abundance.
HERALD
OF THE KINGDOM AND AGE TO COME.
"And in their days, even of those kings, the God of heaven shall set up A KINGDOM which shall never perish, and A DOMINION that shall not be left to another people. It shall grind to powder and bring to an end all these kingdoms, and itself shall stand for ever."-DANIEL.
JOHN THOMAS, Editor. NEW YORK, March, 1854-
Volume 4-No. 3
"THE HOUSE OF TOGARMAH OF THE NORTH PARTS, AND ALL HIS HOSTS."
Brother Thomas.
In the thirty-eighth chapter of Ezekiel is the celebrated prophecy of the Invisible One against the Great Power of the Latter Days, styled Gog, eretz ham-Mahgog, nesi Rosh Meshech, we-Thuvahl; that is, Gog of the land of the Magog, Prince of Russia, Muscovy and Siberia. Having designated the Power by this title, repeating it-Ezekiel 38: 3-with the omission of eretz ham-Mahgog to show that Gog is not the name of the land of the Magogians, or European Scythians, but indicative of the Agag * who shall be the Prince of all the Russias, particularised in the title contemporary with "the latter days"-the Spirit goes on to advertise the reader of the several races or peoples that shall compose his army and fight against Israel under his ensigns. They are ranged under certain principals, as "Persia, Khush, and Phut; Gomer and all his hosts; the House of Togarmah, parts of the north, and all his hosts." Persia, Khush, and Phut, belong to the gold and silver parts of Nebuchadnezzar's image; Gomer and his hosts to the iron and brass; and Magog, Rosh, Meshech, Thubal and Togarmah to the clay, and destined ere long to be commingled with Gomer and his hosts by a brittle union, soon to be preternaturally dissolved, after the illustration of iron not being permanently miscible with miry clay.
* AGAG I suspect is the ancient form of Gog, a word of the same class as Pharaoh, Shah, Czar, Emperor, Sultan, Autocrat, Khan, etc.; not the family name of a man, but the national title of him who is for the time being the enthroned chief of the state. Agag was the greatest of the powers of the time of Israel's exode from Egypt, and their most inveterate enemy. He was related to them much as Gog will be at the crisis of their future exodus from the "Spiritual Egypt," and their fate will be the same-utter obliteration from under heaven. Balaam's prediction will then be fulfilled, saying of Israel, "His king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted."-Numbers 24: 7.
Togarmah was son of Gomer, grandson of Japheth, and great grandson of Noah. There is but little said in the Scriptures about him or his descendants. The prophecy which was written in Babylon says, that his "house" occupies "parts of the north." In a northerly direction, then, from the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates, we must look for the territory occupied by Togarmah's house. This bearing points us to all that country lying between the Caspian, Persia, Afghanistan, and the Chinese Empire, with Russian Siberia on the north, as the dwelling-place of Togarmah's hosts. This region is called Tartaria, or Independent Tartary; a human hive, from which have issued immense swarms of cavalry in ages past, that have swept over Asia to the gates of Constantinople and Vienna, like tornadoes from the east. Togarmah's country has always been celebrated for its numerous herds of horses and for its horsemen. In the days of Tyre's commercial prosperity, they of the house of Togarmah traded in its fairs with horses, and horsemen, and mules. Bochara, Khiva, Samarcand, etc., are principal cities of this Mongolian and Kirgesian region, or "Scythia within the Imaus," as the ancients used to style it. These are the tribes of the buckler, of the shield, of the bow, of the arrow, of the javelin, of the spear, the horse and the sword, so that these Tartar auxiliaries, added to the forces of the west, would constitute an army such as that described by Ezekiel, being "equipped with all sorts of armour," whose overthrow on the mountains of Israel would leave the land strewed with "the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the javelins and the spears"-Ezekiel 38: 4; 39: 9.
Having enumerated the races that are to be confederated under Gog as the clay-element of the Latter-day Image dominion, Adoni Jehovah addresses the Prince of all the Scythians, saying: "Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou and all thy multitude assembled unto thee, and be thou to them for a mishmahr, or guardian." It is evident from this, that before the invasion of the land of Israel by this power, the Dynastic Chief will pursue such a policy as will, in its full manifestation, bring these races to submit to him as their shepherd or sovereign director. The period during which he is working out this policy is the period of preparation indicated in the prophecy-a period thus foretold by the prophet Joel, saying,"Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: beat your ploughshares into swords and your scythes into spears; let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves and come, all ye nations, and gather yourselves together round about." This is the war preparation preceding the actual invasion of Palestine and final investment of Jerusalem by the confederated hosts of the Autocrat, who is the waker-up of the nations to the war of the great day of God the Almighty.
The nations of the prophetic earth have evidently entered this period of preparation. As I have shown many years ago from the prophets, so it has come to pass, namely, that in the latter-day gathering of the hosts of the nations for their last struggle preceding the advent of Christ, Persia would side with Russia, British counsels losing all their influence there. Now, behold the verification of the interpretation, ye that say prophecy cannot be understood till after it be fulfilled. The news by the "Baltic," which sailed from England December 29, 1853, states that "accounts had been received from Vienna, that the Persians and Russians had opened a direct communication, and that the Russian General Yermiloff is to command the Persian forces. The overland Indian mail brings confirmation that the Shah of Persia had left Teheran with an army numbering 30,000 horsemen, with 1000 pieces of cannon, and 3000 camel-loads of ammunition, to cooperate with Russia. At latest accounts the army had passed Tabreez. The Shah had also sent an envoy to Dost Mahommed to point out the advantages of his siding with Persia and the Russians."
In relation to the tribes of Togarmah's house as confederates of the Czar, the same steamer brings the following information, which may be accepted as a sign of the times: "According to the Kolnische Zeitung, curious developments are coming to light which indicate that Russia has long been preparing for the present crisis. A large expedition has been secretly organising under pretence of a campaign against the Khan of Khiva. For fifteen years past, Russian agents have been busied in organising the Mongolian and Kirghesian hordes, supplying them with money and arms, and teaching them to act in concert. From this source it is asserted that Russia may obtain the aid of 200,000 irregulars, mostly horsemen, so that if war does break out in earnest between Russia and the Western Powers, the war will rage along the entire line of Europe and Asia."
The plot evidently thickens. The Autocrat is very successfully fulfilling his mission, and will ere long falsify all the vaticinations of that particular school of political prophets of which the London Peace Society and the Stock Exchange Moneycrats of all nations are the most far-seeing, "wise and prudent" examples! The Autocrat must fulfil the destiny marked out for him; and where he would seem unequal to an emergency, the blundering diplomacy of those who would keep him in check will be sure to help him. He is Gulliver in Lilliput, a perfect whale among the minnows. Habakkuk's description of him is to the life. "He is a proud man," says the prophet, "keeping not at home, who enlargeth his soul as the grave and as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all the nations, and heapeth unto him all the peoples: shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, 'Ho to him that increaseth that which is not his! How long? to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!'" The "nations" and "peoples" are the "thick clay" with which he loads himself; and now is the time that this proud Lucifer has left his own home, or proper dominion, to begin the work of "the End" in loading himself with the guardianship of many Asiatic and European races. He has left his own home, and broken into the Sultan's, like a robber. But this is only the beginning of his depredations; and the prophet says, "He cannot be satisfied." The powers that be have therefore fearful times before them. A gigantic burglar has appeared among them, who is taking measures to break into their houses, and to spoil them of the populations by the sweat of whose faces they have their wealth. As a whirlwind from the north, he is preparing to sweep over many countries of the Gomerian race, and to overthrow them. In these conquests he will mix up the iron and the clay, and mould them into the Feet and Toes of the Image-dominion of the Latter-days. The Assyrian Colossus being complete, and being within forty years of the terminus of its existence, which terminus will be the end of the seven times, or 2520 years, destined to pass over the Assyrian Tree, it will march its forces into "the Glorious Land," and plant its royal encampment between the seas before the holy mountain of glory. Behold it there, like Rabshakeh defying Israel at the wall of the Holy City, whose confidence will then be in the power possessed of Egypt, that is, the British. They may take up a parable and a taunting proverb against him, saying "How long?" etc.; but Anglo-Egypt cannot save them, for "the land of Egypt shall not escape" him. The Holy City with its shrines, which now stir up the fanaticism and covetousness of the Czar, will fall into his hands, and the vengeance of his fury will scatter death and violence in the land and city. Will not Israel then cry to heaven, saying, "How long, Lord? Wilt thou hide thyself for ever? Shall thy wrath burn like fire?" But Israel knoweth not the voices of their own prophets. They know not the oracle of the Lord addressed to their Assyrian spoiler of the latter days, indicating from whence his destruction and their deliverance shall proceed. Our "bones are dried and our hope is lost," say they, "and we are cut off from our parts"-Ezekiel 37: 11. But help comes to them from "the right hand of power," and from the dust of earth; for, says the prophet, addressing the Power laden with thick clay, or in other words, the thickly-laden clay power, "Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them? Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and the violence of the Land, of the City and of all that dwell therein." Christ from heaven and the resurrected saints shall be their deliverers.
THE GEHENNA OF FIRE-ENTERING MAIMED INTO LIFE-"SON OF HELL"-"TONGUE SET ON FIRE OF HELL"-THE WORM THAT DIES NOT-SHEOL-HELL-SORROWS OF HELL.
From Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come 1851
Brother Thomas
..."Woe to the world because of delusions (skandala;) for there is a necessity that delusions come: but woe to that man through whom the delusion cometh. Wherefore if thy hand, or thy foot ensnare thee cut them off and cast them from thee; it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands and two feet to be cast into the enduring fire (eis to pur to aionion)." In the next verse the place of the fire is mentioned in these words, "into the Gehenna of the fire (eis teen geenan tou puros." The parallel text in Mark 9: 42-49, is expressed somewhat differently. In two verses it reads "enter into life," and in a third "enter into the kingdom of God," expressions which are explanatory one of the other: for no man can enter into life eternal unless he enter the kingdom of God. Mark's phraseology concerning the fire also varies from Matthew's. He calls the Gehenna of enduring fire, an inextinguishable fire. His words are, "It is better to enter into (eiselthein) the life maimed than having two hands to go away into (apellt ein eis) the Gehenna, into the fire inextinguishable-eis teen Geenan, eis to pur to asbeston." In the common version asbeston is rendered "never to be quenched." This, however, is not correct. Asbeston is a neuter adjective and simply expresses a quality, not the time of the fire's continuance. It was a judicial fire Jesus was speaking of, and of that fiery judgment he affirmed that it was inextinguishable, that is, by any other power than God's. Mark also adds that the judgment occurs in Gehenna "where their worm does not end, and the fire is not put out." This our Lord repeated thrice to give it emphasis.
Luke in recording the same incident says nothing about Gehenna, worm, and fire; but stops short in his report at the end of Mark 9: 42, saying that it is better for the deceiver "that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea."
The Gehenna of the fire is styled by Jesus in Matthew 23: 33, the Judgment of the Gehenna-krisis tees geennees-tendered in the English version "the damnation of hell." The Gehenna-judgment of fire was denounced upon the "serpents and generation of vipers" in Israel. Malachi predicted it; John and Jesus proclaimed its approach; the apostles preached the "judgment to come," and some of them witnessed it in the dissolution of the order of things constituted by the Mosaic code. The judgment of Gehenna was the day of the Lord upon the forty-second generation of Abraham's descendants. "His furnace was in Jerusalem," and when it came the day burned as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that did wickedly, were stubble; and they were burned up, so that the day left them neither root nor branch. For that generation filled up the measure of their fathers; so that upon them came the national punishment due for all the righteous blood that had been shed upon the land from Abel to Zachariah son of Barachias whom they slew during the siege of their city by the Romans. -Malachi 4: 1; Matthew 23: 34-39.
The Judgment of Gehenna was the Baptism of Fire with which John the Baptist said the Messiah would overwhelm the Pharisees and Sadducees, and their factions in the state. "O generation of vipers," said he to them, "who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Think not to say within yourselves, 'We have Abraham to our father.' The axe is now laid to the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. There standeth one among you, whom ye know not, he shall baptise you with fire: whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat in his garner; but he will burn up the chaff with fire inextinguishable." The enemies of the Lord Jesus in Israel were the stubble, the trees bearing bad fruit, and the chaff of his land or floor. He came to bring fire, and division, and a sword upon the land that every offender might be eradicated from his kingdom's territory. "His fire was in Zion and his furnace in Jerusalem"-Isaiah 31: 9; Matthew 13: 34-39; and into this burning oven he cast the trees of unrighteousness by the Romans as his messengers of destruction, where their worm or anguish ceased not, and the fire of his indignation was unquenched.
Gehenna is the Hebrew name for a valley outside the wall of Jerusalem on the south-east. It is compounded of two words pronounced ge Hinnom, the valley of Hinnom, and is first mentioned in the scriptures in Joshua 15: 8. It should never be rendered by the word "hell," especially in the sectarian sense of the word. Dr. George Campbell says "that Gehenna is employed in the New Testament to denote the place of future punishment prepared for the devil and his angels, is indisputable. In the Old, however, we do not find this place in the same manner mentioned." But the Doctor did not understand the prophets; therefore his judgment cannot be received as "indisputable" in the case. The devil and his angels are no where said to be cast into Gehenna: but into an enduring fire far off from the land of Israel.
In the nineteenth chapter Jeremiah is commanded by the Lord to go forth into Gai-ben-Hinnom, the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the east gate, and prophecy there against the kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. He charges them with having burned incense in it to other gods; with having filled it with the blood of innocents; and with having burned their sons with fire as offerings unto Baal there. Because of these horrible crimes he tells them that the place should no more be called Tophet, nor Gehenna, but the Valley of Slaughter. And they shall bury them in Tophet till there be no place to bury. This was the judgment of Gehenna executed upon Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, and nearly 700 years afterwards by the Romans.
With the popular notions about the kingdom of God it is not possible to interpret the passages before us in Matthew and Mark. How can a man enter eternal life in a kingdom beyond the skies one-eyed, or maimed, as the result of losing an eye or a hand; does the loss of a member of the body extend to what is called "the immortal soul?" This question is unanswerable. The texts cannot be explained on any other grounds than of the doctrine we teach; but upon this all difficulty disappears. Thus, when Jesus spoke the words it was expected that the kingdom was about to be set up by the God of heaven in the land of Israel immediately. Had this been the case it would have been contemporary with the forty-second generation to which the words were addressed. Now if the eye, hand, or foot, or any thing equally dear, belonging to one or more of that generation, had caused them to offend, and they had acted literally upon that advice, they would have been halt, maimed, or one-eyed, contemporarily with two events-first, with the judgment of Gehenna, which was to precede the setting up of the kingdom; and secondly, with the establishment of the kingdom itself. Had they preferred to retain the cause of offence, they would have been cast whole into the Zion-fire, and Jerusalem-furnace by the Roman power; but casting it from them, and taking heed to the signs of the coming of the Son of Man, they would have escaped the descending wrath of heaven, and have been prepared for entrance into the kingdom, maimed or halt, should it have been set up in their life-time. Had this been the case, the maimed, the halt, and the one-eyed would have been operated upon by the Spirit of God, which would have changed them in the twinkling of an eye into whole, incorruptible, and angelic men. Their eyes, hands, and feet would have been restored to them, by the same power that will restore the mouldering dust of former beings to its rightful possessors. Thus they would have entered maimed into the life of the kingdom, but would not have continued so, being made whole by the Spirit of God.
Gehenna and Tophet have reference to the same valley. Hinnom's Valley was called Tophet from the beating of the Toph, or drum, to drown the cries of the burning infants by its noise. Gehenna occurs twelve times in the New Testament. In two of these the use of it is figurative but singularly expressive. The proselytes of the Pharisees to their traditions are said to be twofold more sons of Gehenna than themselves. The Pharisees were heirs of the judgment in Gehenna; any proselyte of their's would therefore be heir of it too as their disciple, and also by his own practice. The leaven of the heirs of the Gehenna-judgment set on fire the unruly tongues of those who set up for teachers in the Jewish congregations. They taught the concision of the believing Pharisees who sought to blend the gospel and the law that the offence of the cross might cease. Now these were some of the men through whom scandals came, and upon whom Jesus pronounced the woe of Gehenna-fire. Their doctrine was a deadly poison, a wisdom that was earthly, sensual, and devilish, producing envying and strife, confusion and every evil work. So that the tongue that worked out such results was said to be "set on fire of Gehenna."-James 3: 6. "Where their worm dieth not." This is affirmed in scripture of carcasses as the reader may see by turning to Isaiah 66: 24. The undying existence of the worm is bounded by the duration of the body. Antiochus, king of Syria, was eaten of worms while alive. His worm did not die. If it had, he might have recovered his health; but it died not, therefore he died a miserable death.
It is true that the Gentiles are not threatened with the fire of Gehenna in the Testaments, Old and New. The armies of the nations, however, are threatened with destruction in the Valley of Jehoshaphat which is continuous with the Valley of Gehenna; and the nations themselves with hailstones, fire and brimstone, and a burning tempest. As to the dead, those who are raised partake in the same torment in the regions whither they are commanded to "depart." In this way "the wicked will be turned into Sheol"-Psalm 9: 17, but not into Gehenna; sheol being the word used in that place, as well as in the other texts referred to by "E. D."
There has been a great deal of controversy aforetime about this word sheol; some contending that it means simply a grave, or sepulchre, in particular; others the grave in general; and others again "the place of departed spirits," and exactly rendered into Greek by hades. "Taken by itself," says Dr. George Campbell, "we have no word in our language that answers to sheol;" yet he says, "I freely acknowledge that by translating sheol the grave, the purport of the sentence is often expressed with sufficient clearness." It can, however, only be fully rendered by the sentiment. The Doctor adduces the text in Genesis as an evidence that grave will answer in many places; as, "Ye will bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to the grave." Here, he says, "it undoubtedly gives the meaning of the sentence in the original, notwithstanding that the English word grave does not give the meaning of the Hebrew word sheol." He argues that sheol means more than grave from the saying of God by Moses, "A fire is kindled in mine anger which shall burn to the lowest hell," or sheol. He admits, however, that it is here used hyperbolically; but contends that the hyperbole is based upon something deeper, more profound, or ample than the word grave implies.
The doctor is unquestionably right in saying that sheol means more than grave, but he is wrong in maintaining that it signifies the place of the living ghosts of dead men both good and bad. He admits that tsalmoth, shadow of death, rendered hades by the Seventy, is ordinarily synonymous with sheol, and is sometimes used metaphorically for a very dark place, or a state of great ignorance. This is true, and indicates the condition of the dead, both good and bad, in sheol and hades; and is in strict accordance with Solomon's doctrine, who was second only in wisdom and knowledge to the Lord Jesus. He says, "there is no knowledge nor wisdom in sheol," and that the dead there "know not any thing." It is testimony, and not speculation-the declaration of Holy Writ, and not rhetorical, philological, and mythological disquisitions, by which such words in scripture must be defined. The revelation itself shows, that sheol is the death-state subsequently to the corruption of the body in the grave. If it be asked, "how came the word sheol to be applied to this dissolved state of the body?" We answer because the body is then in question, and the noun sheol is derived from the verb shaal to ask, or to make inquisition. Thus, the body, or a dead man, in sheol, may be said to be in two states-first, entire and undecomposed; and secondly, resolved into dust. In the former he is simply in keber, the grave or sepulchre, and in bor the pit; but in the latter, his keber is barkthai bor in the sides of the pit; and they who deposited him in the keber or sepulchre, looking in some time afterwards and not seeing him,ask the question "Where is he?" The not seeing him is expressed by hades, which signifies his invisibility; and the inquisition after him, by sheol which imports that he was sought, or asked for, because of his disappearance. Abraham is not only in keber, but in sheol, in tzalmoth, and in barkthai bor. If a person were told he was in the cave of Machpelah, and were to look in to see, he would say "where is he, I see him not?" Because Abraham is thus in question he is said to be in sheol.
Our old English word Hell is a derivative from the Saxon hillan or helan to hide, or from holl a cavern, and anciently denoted the concealed or unseen place of the dead in general. Hell has lost its original meaning, and comes now to represent a place of torment such as is found only in the mythologies of Greece and Rome. The arena of punishment is above, and not underground, among the living, and not the dead. When the wicked are turned into sheol, they will be sought for, and found no more; for, having then gone down to "the sides of the pit," they will be but dust and ashes under the soles of the living's feet, even as Adam was before the Lord formed him from the ground.
To "go down quick into hell," sheol chayim, is to be seized with sudden and violent death. Judas, who is one of the persons referred to in the text, went into sheol living. Koran, Dathan, and Abiram, also "went down quick into the pit," chayim sheol, living into death. Thus "they died not the common death of all men, nor were they visited after the visitation of all men;" this uncommon death is the scriptural idea of going down "quick into hell."-Numbers 16: 29-33.
"The sorrows of hell." The cheblai maveth and the cheblai sheol are interpreted by the facts recorded of Jesus. When he was suspended on the cross, and surrounded by the multitudes, he was compassed by the cheblai maveth, or "sorrows of death;" but when he was laid in the keber of Joseph of Arimathea, he was compassed about by the cheblai sheol, or "sorrows of hell," and prevented by the mokshai maveth, or "snares of death," which held him as in a trap. Cheblai are pains in general; also bonds.
The strength of Universalism and of sectarian theology in general, not excluding Campbellism, is the ignorance of the people in regard to the things noted in the scriptures of the prophets. The New Testament doctrine of rewards and punishments is nothing more than an allusive reproduction of the Old Testament teaching on the subject. Being ignorant of the kingdom, they are of necessity in the dark concerning every thing else. They know nothing as they ought to know it. Before their sayings can be treated with any more respect than the sayings of children, they must go back to the a, b, c, and make themselves acquainted with the first principles and elements of things. The Universalist pleases those who hire him. This is his business, as it is the business of all other rival teachers. They are all Babel builders alike, hindering and interrupting one another in their work. Their tower will never become the Holy City. Universalists become Campbellites and Campbellites, Universalists, like Dr. Gatchel. It matters not. We are surprised at nothing. Men ignorant of the prophets are liable to turn anything that may suit the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. It would no ways astonish us if Master Aleck himself were to make a somerset in that direction, if such a change were found to be expedient!
There are not only Hebrew terms and expressions, but English ones also, in the Old Testament, indicating retribution in the world beyond death. Here is one place in Daniel 12: 1-2. Speaking of the time when the Little Horn of the Goat "shall come to his end, and none shall help him," that is, when the Stone strikes the Image, the Spirit says that Daniel's people, the Jews, shall be delivered; and that "many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt"-lacharaphoth lediron olam-to reproach and contempt unlimited, but not endless, save in the memory of the righteous, who will always hold the remembrance of them in abhorrence. Here is retribution beyond the first death to which certain attain by resurrection from among the dead in sheol. It will not do for Universalists to apply this text to the destruction of Jerusalem; for the Jews were not then "delivered," but destroyed; when the awakening in Daniel occurs, their enemies will be destroyed, and they delivered. All of which is respectfully submitted to his readers by their friend the-EDITOR
"In argument with "the common people," how do we substantiate the views we present on the great leading truths? Assuredly not by philological niceties, nor by laying the stress on mere words that look to teach a certain doctrine, but by masses of arguments from scripture that demonstrate the indispensableness of just such or such a view."-Dobney.