The New York herald., 1878-01-14
A LEADING QUESTION.
Glimpses of He'll Through Denomi-
national Spectacles.
LAKE, LAW OR MYTH p
'Tt Is Burning Now" Says the
Rev. Dewitt Talmage.

subject OF "HelL" His text "rhus saith the
Lord" which he quoted from Exodus v., %; Ex-
odus ix., II; !. Samuel, IL, 27; Joshua. vil l3;
Joshua, XIV, 2; Judges vi, s; l. Chronicles, xviL
Z, and Jerc miah VI, o.
Eight texts and all OF them the same, said Mr.. Tai
mage. Tho strangest thing the is,ory Of modern
and European journalism Is that for the past few
months has been discussing the question OF eternal
punishment. II makes but very little difference what
Dc Witt Tamage thinks about this, Tor II Is only lit
tic while ago he began to BREATHE and in little while
he Will stop breathing II makes but little difference
what Dean Stanley Canon Farrar or Mr.. Frothing-
ham think, Tor tnoy have never been in the
eternal world and give personal
pcrience. This morning cast aside all
human authority. There Is only one being who
tell whether there is nell and that being God.
reject every opinion except tnat III which Is written,
''Thus saith the Lord. Z"
Ny friends, star, on tic assumption that The Bible
10 true. As common sense men you know that
there must bc some common ground where shall
stand together II would be as silly Tor to try
prove 10 you who reject the truth OF the Bible that
there place OF luture rcributon Us u would be for
me TO discuss fraud aud crime and penalties with u
who denied Blackstone and the Laws OF tho Stale
oil New YORK. have to ask you who reject the Bible
Two questions, "is there Gods" lis He good ?"
thnt good God should give US u revelation
ot some kind-somc guide. some dircctoryY You
sSy' h o onsmlsn or " ,Le snis;
Ii you show revelation better than the Bible
Iwili take II and preach rom IT, Is there man IN
this house who denies evorythngY IL Is easy 10 deny
Eternal spirit oi Almighty God tall upon US now,
While With fingers OF dust we turn the sacred leaves
aud with bps vi ashes rccite the most stupcndous
truths that ever sbo,k the human soul l have no
sympathy with tho nippant discdsson oi this truth,
| which say, "You impeniteut people viii Do
LOST ana good for You" think am sinner, aud
because OF tho million OF my lie and neart must
perish unless some one can show me out OF tho way
| Of condemnation
Is THERE FIRE?
In the first place, group together all those passages
which represent TIE suferin2s Of the lost as lire.
paiuing away tho hre when God says there is one?
criminal might US we'll attempt 10 explain away sting
mau6 the mistake. Tho last book OF the New Testa-
closes win dark Scroll In Inc SKY. WHAT is itY
Smoke. Whore there IL no ire there is no smoke II
the smoke OF the furnace That nscendeth forever and
ever. II may be hgurative, but know very well that
HIT is not fire It ls something as severe MS ire
know that It is u torment unmtgatcd IL there is
mental state as sharp and severe as bro II might
well De hre. But lake any Qgure OF your own.
and human comparisons may be wrong Besides that
II may be literal You say. IL don't believe II
WON'T beI,cvo ~ rhen consistent and throw your
| Bible into the East River Keeping both your Bible
and your unbelier you stuiliiy yourself beyond all
| possibility OF other stultihcalion.
The next thing / have TO 40 Is to group all those
passages which snow the Indignation OF God against
SIN and The sinner, and hence the possibility CT such
nlnoty Eight on the love and mercy OF God ana
only two on the Indignation of God. Tho Bible
than o. His love, ana yet 90
| preaching oue-sideI God with character which We
u
can 70 on deiyng God and striking Hun In the face
and He Wi. smile them through all eternity. Arc
ord's b%irnas,oas II not then sh" have to leave
| you to be persuaded by your own experience, amid
tho torments oil the damned, when the truths Of
| Gods punishment shar bo burned ur0n you. nave
nothing TO do with objections to-day. simply state
tnnt God hty-six times IN the paiucst, most unlnis
| taxable, stupcndous urd overwhelming way declares
tnut there hell. 1t Is burning now, 1t has boon
burning very long. 1t IS become hereer by the VIC
| TINS that are being dropped into IT. There Is u
|
who will spend eternity In that lost world Nothing
but the hand OF an outraged, dehed, insufed, long
suffering, indignant and ipotent God keeps TINS
whole audience this moment from stiing like IN
avalanche INTO IT, But want TO tell you that there is
no more need that you 70 world than that you
leap tho geysers OF California. Tell the people,
gentlemen OF the press, that there Is no reason thai
| any should 90 there, and II no does he is the
sulcidc OF his immortal SOUL turn 10 the same Old
book and hud That the Lord has made possible tor
was hell, but He descended into II, and coming
forth cried out to all the. ages, II have paid
| the price lor all those VINO Will make mo
their substitute and will trust IN me-" When man
has between heaven aud hell, TO escape tho
Does 10 be lostf 1t is not my trends,
O controversy between you aud me, but between you
and God You may shuttle this subject of your atom
tion that not change the fact that your i'm
pentcnt certainly leading you to that lost
world as that Fulton street leads TO Fulton ferry.
You tho road 70 he'll turn around and start on
tho road 70 heaven.
EVERY MAN HIS OWN HELMsMAN-REv. r. H.
MACARTHUR.
Rev. r. II. Macarthur, pastor of the Twenty third
Street Baptist Church, preached from the text, 'And
these shall 70 away into everlasting punishment but
the righteous into LIE eternal" This is and
painful subject, said the preacher. Attention has
been Gu led recently In u variety Of ways.
generation has up since there has been thor
ough discussion OF the subject Truth has nothing to
fear IRON discussion. Much, however, depends upon
the spirit which discussions take place. II it
be shown that punishment eternal there must be u
place or condition OF such punishment The first
ana punishments IN tho future lie fail upon
! persons. To say that punishment comes upon
Are surerings endless IN duralonP 1t IS clear that
tnat question eau be decided only by the Word oil God
The Jews In Chrisps day believed II, and lie never
contradicted corrected them. Would Christ sanI-
| ton an error? Who will dare so affirm Is ahniha-
ton true? We hesitate not 10 say the Bible nowhere
teaches annihiiaon. IS the VAIN hope OF men cor
sclously sinful and icurul IT is weak and cowardly
oil TWO evils It is let TO DO the least The immortal
cordng 10 the present laws by which He 10 yoverned
| annihIlate u human soul
| SCRIPTURE QUOTATIONS.
| Isaiah says, ''Wno among shall dwell with ever.
lasting Ournngs?'- Daniel says, s'rhe wicked shall
awake TO everlasting contempt" Christ more fully
| revealed this sad doctrine he says Hc will burn ,he
chan with fire unquenchaDle. Ho speaks OF the worm
that dicth not and the nrc that Is not quenched 1t
| from His lips the terrible words fell, "Depart
from me ye cursed into everlasting nre" Paul says
that the wicked shall DO punished with everlasting
|
| OF their torment ascendetn forever and ever"
Christ SAID oi Judus that 1t were better he
had meyer =. Saen BORN eyos there u,srs %rs
1t could not be true that had been better Tor Judas
10 have boon born. II is claimed, however, that
the word everlasting" 10 sometimes used limited
duration This Is true, but IL Is duration whose term
inaton is unknown. The Greek language possesses
emphatic words express idea ol erdless
duration than Christ used. II Christ ever meant to
teach this doctrine lie In tho tho very word
to express it, He knew perfectly well when He used
this word that the great majority Of men would so
understand IT, and II He did not mean 10 teach II lie
has knowingly leo US into error The word mere usea
of punishment Is precisely tho In the original
as that which expresses the happiness oil the rght.
eous; II tue one Is limited In duration so must tho
olber be- The proof that the righteous will DO forever
happy rests upon the same ground that thc wicked
VIII be forever miserable. But let remember God
sends no man to pordition. Mr.. Beechor put up
man o straw, he battered II down and trampled upon
it-but " was only man OF straw Men choose death