The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1916-04-26
LAKE Of. FIRE
IS DESTINY Of
ALL |NF|DELS
Declares Evangelist in Sermon
Preached in the Central
Christian Church.

DR.. Sam r. Hawkins, the evan
gelist AT the Central Christian
church was greeted by another large
audience last night, Dr.. Hawkins
discussed the common questions OF
theology and based his answer fatty
on the Scriptures. He said in part:
Our problem tonight is to answer
several questions which are common
ly supposed to DO among the more
difficult questions OF theology; such
as what is the destiny OF the unbe-
lievtng and disobedient7 What is
meant by the baptism OF tire?' What
Is meant by the second death?' rs
the lake Of fire and birthstone to be
taken as literal or as hgurative
language?' etc.
There is but one satisfactory
source Of Information upon these
several topics. which are OF such a
nature, that to answer one OF these
questions Scripturally ia to answer
them all, and the one safe source OF
information is the Holy Scriptures.
II you are interested, listen to the
reading Of the following fifteen pas
sages Of Scripture. and you will have
practically all that any man can
safely say concerning these questions.
These fifteen Scriptures estab-
fish the following seven facts: Any
man who is free from skepticlsm, who
accepts the Bible as the inspired
Word Of God, must accept these sew
en- conclusions:
1.-THE wicked will be punished.
1.-THE wicked include all who
know God, and who obey not the
Gospel Of the Lord Jesus Christ.
"11I-The punishment will be
eternal-as everlasting as the saliva
ton OF the righteous, fer the same
identical word in the original Ian
guage is used to describe the limit
OF both the one and the other.
"IV-Christ will be the Judge. In
His first coming the world was the
judge. 1t sat in Judgment on Christ
and condemned Him to death, and to
a grave In the bowels of the earth.
In His second coming He will be the
Judge and will Judge and condemn
the world-the unbelieving and dis
obedient world-to death and con-
sign 1t (the people) to an everlasting
abode in a frey graye-in the lake
Of fire and birthstone.
"v-The time when all this is to
take place is at the end Of the world.
"VI-Fire Is represented in every
one Of these fifteen Scriptures as the
element of destruction.
"yII-The condemned after being
ad1udged will be cast Into the lake OF
fire and birthstone, That will be a
baptism Of fire. and unquesuonably
the fulfllment OF Johns prophecy
concerning that matter.
Now, as to whether or not the
fire. is literal or flgurat1ve Is not Of
much consequence. If literal fire is
meant 1t will Of course be such as
will burn and punish the resur-
rected bodies of the damned, and
that will not be a serious problem
for an infinitely wise and all power
full God.
"IR the language Is meant to be
hgurative, which Is probably the case
for the punishment is certain and It's
LerrOrS VIII pc as terrible and I'M
spcakable to say the least as II 1t
We're literal fire. Otherwise God and
his Spirit has misrepresented this
matter to the world. and no man who
believes.-no man but an infdel could
believe for a moment that God would
mislead or seek to mislead US for a
single moment.
God means that every man sane
enough to be responsible shall own
Christ and DO baptized into him in
this present life or be disowned OF
Christ and baptized in lake Of fire
and birthstone In the world to come.
Sinners and Infidels may scott at
this, hut 1t is Scripture and no living
can successfully galnsay It."