Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1877-03-22

believers in Jesus Christ will be saved, and
all who do not believe, will be lost. With re-
gard to the revelation which has been given
US concerning the eternal joys of believers,
and the endless torments of unbelievers, we
may say, I'VE know not what they shall be-"
In all our inquiries concerning this class Of
subjects itbecomes "a to be- modest, and in
stead of attempting to display learning and
mental power, to stick close to Gods revealed
word. Whenever we 60 beyond this we com
mence foundering. r~.'.-,s -.. s..'. .o...s.
Keeping this principle constantly in mind,
it may be remarked that the human family
are susceptible, in moral aspect, of but one
division. This made, and We find all Adams
descendants included in two GLASSES. Tho one,
God calls the righteous, because they have
believed in Jesus Christ. The other he calls
the wicked, because they have violated his
law. The questions to be answered are, "what
becomes of the souls of the righteous when
they die and what becomes of the souls Of
the wicked after death :" Reason gives no re-
plycto this inquiry, farther than thatgsome
distinction will be made. In this world, that
is, during the union of soul and body, we see
that all mankind are, in some respects, treated
alike but in other respects. God, in his prov
idence, treats some ss bedoes not treat Others.
At last, we can only answer this momentous
question by inquiring what the Bible teaches
on this subject. It.is admitted that God has
been pleased not to reveal much about the
subject but that little is plain, and it is all
that we know or can know.
1t is admitted by all who take the Bible
for their guide, that the final home Of the
righteous will be heaven, and the ultimate
abode Of the wicked will be hell. The ques.
ton then, to be answered, is, "When do the
souls of the righteous 60 to heaven, and when
do the souls of the wicked 60 to hellp' As
intimated before, it is vain-it is wicked-to
speculate on this subject. If we can find no
answer to the question in the Bible, it is our
duty to put stop to our inquiries. Such q
course may be humiliating, but it is safe. The
Bible, however, is not silent on this subject.
, At death, the souls of the believers 60 i'm
mediately to heaven, and the souls of the
wicked 60 Immediately to hell. This state
meut, unless it can be proven by the express
declarations of the scriptures, is not worth
anything. What then do the scriptures say
No attempt will be made to gather up all the
passages of scripture which have direct, or
indirect, bearing on the subject The first
quotation will be found in the twenty.third
chapter of the gospel, as recorded by Luke,
at the forty. third verse. The penitent thief
asked the dying Saviour to remember him
when he came into bis kingdom. To this
request the Saviour replied, "Verily, l say
unto thee, to-day shalt thou be with me in
paradise" The only thing in this passage
about which there can be any contention, is
concerning the import Of the word paradise"
Literally, the word so translated means q
garden, park or enclosure filled with beau
tiful and valuable products of the earth. In
the New Testament, it is found besides, in the
passage quoted only in End Corinthians, 1874,
and in Revelations, 2:7 In End Corinthians,
it seems to be in opposition with "thrd heav.
en-" in the second verse of the same chapter.
Christ tells the dying thief that he would
be with him in paradise. After Christ's suf'
fsrings ended, he entered into glory. This
seems to be plain from Luke, "a: 26-"Ought
not Christ to suffer these things and enter in
to glory" The moment the penitent thief
died, he entered into glory. In End Corinth-
ians, 5:2, Paul says: 1--WE know, that if our
earthly house Of this tabernacle were dissolv-
ed, we have building of God, an house not
made with hands, eternal in the heavens"
PHILIPPIANS, / %: II am in strait betwixt
two, having desire to depart and be with
Christ" &c. In Ephesians, 4: 10. We are
told that Christ "has ascended up far above
all heavens" Several other passages of
Scripture might be quoted, but the above will
suffice, especially as there are no passages
that seem to teach different doctrine.
With regard to the souls of the wicked af'
ter death, the Scripture doctrine is that they
60 Immediately to hell. In the parable of
the rich man and Lazarus, Luke 16: 1881,
we find these words "The rich man died and
was buried and in hell he lifted up his eyes,
being in torments." 1t may be said that the
word hell sometimes means the state of the
dead. Admit it, and still the position taken
is not weakened, for it is added, "being in tor.
ments" He began to suffer as soon as he
died, it makes no matter where it was. Far
ther, the rich man said, ~ am tormented in
this fame" He'll, in the Scriptures, is des-
cribed as q lake that burneth with fire and
birthstone. This was the fame by which the
rich man was tormented. Other proof texts,
as Acts, / 25; Jude 6 and Z; 1st Peter
3: 19, might be examined, but it is deemed
unnecessary.
Some teach that from death to the final
Judgment, the souls of both the righteous and
the wicked remain in an unconscious state.
This is nothing but speculation. There is not
a sentence in the Bible that favors such no.
ton, and, besides, it is opposed to all our no.
tions of the soul. Others advocate what
they call an intermediate state; while others
claim that tstween death and the general
judgment, there is purgatorial state. All
these are theories as wicked as they are foolish
and absurd. If the soul is unconscious from
death to the final judgment no man knows it,
for God, in his word, has not uttered one syl'
liable that favors such theory. In the Bible
we find nothing said about purgatory and an
intermediate state. In this world the condi-