The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1913-07-18
TEXT-Rom. 2:S-9.


that unless they
repent and turn to God this awful
doom awaits them. Others believe
that it Is because the thought of fu-
ture punishment strikes terror to peo-
pies hearts, and therefore this doc
trine is repulsive to them. To others.
the thought of future anguish seems
utterly incompatible with the father
ly love of God. Yet it is acknowledged
to be a remarkable fact that both
Jesus and John, who more than any
one else in the New Testament rep
resent the element of love in their
lives and teaching, speak most Of the
future anguish of the wicked.
l. The wicked are said to die in
their sins"
John 8:21-'Then said Jesus again
unto them, go my way. and ye shall
seek me, and shall die in your sins"
The death" spoken of here does not
mean cessation of existence any more
than eternal life means the beginning
Of existence. Eternal life does not
mean merely to live forever, but to
live in a state of blessedness forever.
Eternal life deals not so much with
quantity as with quality of existence.
Even in this life death can co-exlst
with life: But she that liveth in
pleasure is dead while she liveth" Il
Tim. $50; Eph. 81 What men call
life God calls death. Rev. 21:S de-
scribes what death" means: But
the fearful, and the unbelieving :.
shall have their part in the lake which
burneth with fire and birthstone:
which is the second death.
2. The wicked are not annihilated.
The texts most strongly urged as
teaching the humiliation theory. if
rightly interpreted. will be seen to re-
fer to removal from off the earth. and
not to future retribution. Here are
the principal passages:
Pisa. 37:20-"But the wicked shall
perish, and the enemies of the Lord
shall be as the fat of lambs: they
shall consume; into smoke they shall
consume away" This psalm is writ
ten for the encouragement of Israel,
and against her enemies and their
power on the earth. This earthly
power shall be utterly broken. and be
of no more account than the smoke
of a burnt sacrifice. The great truth
taught here is that the earth Is the
inheritance of the saints, and that the
wicked shall have no part in 1t.
In speaking of the "everla ting pun
ishment" with which the wicked will
be visited, as recorded in 2 Thess. l:s.
the annihilationist would say that ref
erence Is made to the results or con-
sequences" of that punishment and
not to the punishment itself. But the
Scriptures state that it is the punish
ment" itself. and not the conse-
quences, that Is everlasting.
What need is there of a resurrec-
ton if the wicked are to be anniht-
lated at death, or why should they be
once extinguished forever? Again.
there is no such thing as "uncon-
scious" punishment You cannot pun
ish anything that is uncol scious. Can
you punish stone or house? Pun
ishment can take place only where
there is consciousness on the part OF
the one suffering.
3. The wicked are to be punished.
This punishment is eternal. We read
of eternal or "everlasting" punish
ment, Everlasting" fire. 1t is object
ed that the word "etermT or ever.
lasting" does not mean forever"
This may be true. But we are all
willing to admit that wh'.n this word
Qualities the condition of The righteous
1t means forever, without end, e. g.,
the righteous shall go into life eter-
nal" The same word, however. quail
fies the punishment of the wicked. 9.
e.. these shall go away into eyerlast-
ing punishment" Fairness demands
that we make the joy of the righteous
and the punishment of the wicked
both qualified rs they are by the same
word-of the same duration. IL there
is any end to the reward of the
righteous, there is also to the penalty
of the wicked The one lasts as long
as the other. If destruction means
humiliation, then there is no need OF
the word eternal" to gu alify it.. Fur.
Their the Scriptures present the pun
ishment of the wicked not only as
eternal Tor age-long), but as en-
during for ever and ever, or unto
the ages of the ages" REV 1898:
2O:10; 14:11. R. W. Here is a pic
ture of ages tumbling upon ages in
eternal succession.
2. Fire"
This is one of the most constant
images under which the torment and
misery of the wicked Is represented.
Fire Is a symbol of the divine judg-
ment O, wrath Matt SGD, In Mat
thew $40 the goddess are represented
as a tree hewn down and cast into the
fire; In 3:12 the chaff (godless) is
burned with unquenchable fire; in
1912 the wicked are said to be cast
into furnace of fire.
Is the fire" spoken of here literal
fire? 1t is an accepted law of lam
guage that figure of speech is less
intense than the reality. If fire Is
merely f1gurative expression, it must
stand for some great reality. and II
the reality is more intense than the
figure, what an awful thing the pun
ishment symbolized by fire must be-