ology, "there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." The reader is respectfully referred to what is there said, in order to save a repetition. XXIX. "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal." Matt. xxv. 46. This is one of the standard proof-texts of endless misery; but we are confident, that the passage has no just reference to that subject. It must be inquired, When did the parable, to which these words belong, have its fulfilment ? At the very commencement of the parable, the Saviour informs us, when those things of which he spake were to take place. (See ver. 31.) "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory," &c. Let the reader now be careful to observe, that all which is predicted in this parable was fulfilled at the coming of the Son of man in his glory. The only inquiry, therefore, which it is necessary to make, in order to ascertain when the events of this parable took place, is this, —When did the Son of man come in his glory? : In the first place, see Matt. xvi. 27, 28: "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.' This must be the same coming of the Son of man, mentioned in the text. In both instances, it is a glorious coming; in both, the Son of man is accompanied with angels; and in both, he comes to reward men according to their works. There is no room for doubt, that it is the same event which is spoken of in both these passages. Now notice particularly, that the Saviour says, "There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." To taste of death," is a Hebraism, signifying to die; and hence the meaning of this passage is, there be some standing here which shall not die, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. Here it is evident, beyond possibility of mistake, that the coming of the Son of man was to take place during the natural lives of some of those who stood near him, at the time he uttered these words. Whenever the evangelists give an account of this conversation of our Lord with his disciples, as to the subject under consideration, they give it precisely in the same manner. See Mark viii. 38; ix. 1, "Whosoever, therefore, shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels. And he said unto them, Verily, I say unto you, that there be some of them that stand here which shall not taste of death till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power." See also Luke ix. 26, 27, "For whosoever shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels. But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the kingdom of God." Here, in each instance, the evangelists have recorded the explicit assurance of Jesus, that his coming to judge and recompense men, according to their works, would take place while some of those people lived, who stood near him when he spake. What can be more plain ? On other occasions Jesus embraced opportunities to impress upon the minds of his disciples the same fact with respect to the coming of the Son of man. And, in one particular instance, he pointed out John, his beloved disciple, as a person who should live until his coming took place. See John xxi. 21–23. "Peter seeing him, saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me. : Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die yet Jesus said not unto him, he shall not die; but If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" Agreeably to this account, John lived until after the destruction of Jerusalem. Again, in Matt. x. 23, we have the following words. But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another for verily I say unto you, ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel till the Son of man be come. "" Here is an unconditional assurance from the lips of the Saviour, that, pursued by their angry persecutors, the disciples would not traverse all the cities of Israel, before the coming of the Son of man took place. Now, as every thing predicted in the parable was to be fulfilled at the time of the coming of the Son of man, why should any part of the parable of the sheep and goats be applied to a day of judgment in the future state? Was not the fulfilment confined by the words of the Great Teacher, to time long ago passed by? As it is thus seen most clearly, that the passage at the head of this section, had sole reference to the punishment of the unbelieving Jews, and the reward of the faithful Christians, at the time of the destruction of the Jewish polity and state, the reader may be prompted to inquire, why that punishment was said to be everlasting ? Orthodox writers have very freely allowed, that the words everlasting and eternal are frequently used in a limited sense. Professor Stuart says, the word translated everlasting "is sometimes applied, (as in common life,) to things which endure for a long time, for an indefinite period. So it is applied to the Jewish priesthood; to the Mosaic ordinances; to the possession of the land of Canaan; to the hills and mountains; to the earth; to the time of service to be rendered by a slave; and to some other things of a like nature." "Exeget. Essays," p. 50. Professor Robinson, of the Andover Institution, says, in his edition of "Calmet,"-" Eternal, Eternity. These words often signify a very long time; and, therefore, must not always be understood literally; so we find eternal mountains,' to denote their antiquity, Gen. xlix. 26; Deut. xxxiii. 15. God promises to David an eternal kingdom and posterity; that is, and his son's empire will be of long duration." his Cruden, whose orthodoxy was never doubted, says, in his "Concordance," on the word eternal; "The words eternal, everlasting, forever, are sometimes taker. for a long time, and are not always to be understood strictly for example, it is said, Gen. xvii. 8. 'I will give to thee and to thy seed, the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession.' And in chap. xiii. 15, I will give it to thee and to thy seed forever;' that is, for a long space of time. And in Gen. xlix. 36, we find everlasting hills, so called, to denote their antiquity, stability, and duration; and this expression is used to show the long continuance and durableness of Joseph's blessing. God promises a throne to David, an eternal kingdom, a posterity that will never be extinguished; that is, that his and his son's empire, will be of very long duration, 2 Sam. vii. 16. 1 Chron. xvii. 14. Thus, thou shalt be our guide, from this time forth, even forever; that is, during our whole life. And in many other places of Scripture, and in particular where the word forever is applied to the Jewish rites and privileges, it commonly signifies no more than during the standing of that commonwealth, or until the coming of the Messiah." Hear Whitby, also, on this point. "Nor is there any thing more common and familiar in Scripture, than to represent a thorough and irreparable destruction, whose effects and signs shall be still remaining, by the word aluvios, which we render eternal ; * * * * * and this specially is threatened where the destruction of a nation or people is likened to the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah." Com. on Jude 7. The Greek word aiários, rendered everlasting, is de rived from air, and must receive its signification from it. Now that air does not signify eternity, is evident, because it is used in the plural number. It would be manifestly improper to speak of eternities; but we fall into the same impropriety when we make air or aluvios, signify, of themselves, endless duration. And not only is air used in the plural number, but words are added to extend its signification, even when numberless aives are spoken of. Thus, Exod. xv. 10, literally rendered, is, "The Lord shall reign from aiov to αἰών AND FARTHER.” "And they that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars through the aloves, or ages, AND FARTHER." Dan. xii. 3. And we will walk in the name of Jehovah our God, through the air, and beyond it." Micah iv. 5. As the word everlasting is then used in the sacred Scriptures, in a large variety of instances, to signify limited duration, we say that, when applied to punishment, it ought, above every other case, to bear that sense. Jehovah hath said, that he "will not cast off forever; that though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion, according to the multitude of his mercies; for he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men." Lam. iii. 31-33. This sentiment is utterly repugnant to the doctrine of interminable punishment; and requires that the word everlasting, in the very few instances, in which it is applied to punishment, should be understood in a limited sense, as it must be understood in most of the instances where it occurs. Speaking to the Jews of the divine chastisements, the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews says, "No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." Heb. xii. 11. If this chastisement were strictly endless, how could it afterward yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness? Is there any afterward to eternity? Moreover, that the fire, Matt. xxv. 41, and punishment, ver. 46, are not to be understood |