you believe not that I am he. To believe in Christ, who is himself the word of eternal life, is to have our names written in the book of life. Consequently, all the believing Jews escaped the second death, to which they, as a nation, were doomed. They fled, according to the directions of Christ, to the mountains of Judea for safety, till the dreadful siege was over. Not a solitary Christian perished in that destruction.

"The bearer will bear in mind, that the second death and the lake of fire are used synonymous in our text. We will here show, that God's judgments are not unfrequently represented by the figure of fire. Ezek. xxii. 19-22.Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem, as they gather silver and brass and iron and lead and tin into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you; yea I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof. As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the Lord have poured out my fury upon you.' Here you perceive, that Jerusalem is represented to be a fiery furnace, in which they were to be melted as metal. But by reading the chapter you may learn, that it has reference to their overthrow, as a nation, and their dispersion among the heathen. We will produce one more instance, where the Scriptures represent a nation in their destruction as having their land turned into a lake of fire. Isaiah xxxiv. 8-10. For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance and the year of the recompense for the controversy of Zion. And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up forever and ever: from gen

eration to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it forever and ever.' Here we perceive, that the dust of the land is represented as turned into brimstone, and all its streams as rolling forth floods of boiling pitch, and yet it means nothing more than the temporal judgment of God upon that people.

"Our text is plain, we presume, to every hearer, and we now dismiss the subject. In conclusion, we simply inquire, are the Jews to remain in this second death? Let Paul answer. Romans chapter xi. For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead.' *** **For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, (lest ye should be wise in your own conceits,) that blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in, so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, there shall come out of Zion a Deliverer and turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is my covenant with them when I shall take away their sins.'

"Here we have evidence, that these dead are again to be brought to life. They are to come forth from their graves, the dark veil shall be rent from their eyes, and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion, with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."

"From this lamentable catastrophe of their overthrow and dispersion, and their present unhappy fate, as a people, let us take warning, and not abuse the choice blessings God has bestowed upon us as a nation. Let us rightly value our civil and religious liberty, and remember, if we become corrupt, as a people, and unmindful of that Being, who holds the destinies of nations in his hand, we too, shall be hurled from our high station of honor to degradation and ruin. Ever bear in mind, that moral death is a sad prelude to national death."

XCII. "If any man worship the beast and his image, and re ceive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God,' which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name." Rev. xiv. 9-11. See also, xix. 20, 21. xx. 10; 2 Peter ii. 17; Jude, verse 13.

The only question we shall consider in regard to this passage is, does it furnish any proof that mankind will be punished in the immortal state of existence ?

The beast spoken of in the above passage, is evidently a figure of some false object of worship. If the reader will examine Rev. xix. 20, 21, he will perceive, we think, that this highly figurative language cannot be applied to the future state. "And THE BEAST was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast ALIVE into a lake of fire burning with brimstone." Can this be applied to the future state? Certainly it cannot; for the succeeding words are, "And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth; and all the fowls. were filled with their flesh." Such language cannot be applied to the future state with any show of propriety.

Again, let it be observed, that the punishment de scribed in the passage before us, is to take place during the continuance of day and night. "They have no rest day nor night who worship the beast and his image." This language seems to make it certain, that the punishment described was endured upon the earth.

It ought to be observed, that the punishment is evidently suffered while the beast and his image are worshipped. "The smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night,

who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name." Now as no one believes that this beast will exist in the immortal world, so the punishment cannot be applied to that world.

The figures employed in the above passage, are such as are customarily applied by the sacred writers to punishment in this life, such as the "wine of God's wrath," and the "cup of his indignation." The judgments of God are here represented as a bitter draught that wicked men and false worshippers must drink; and it requires but a slight examination of the Scriptures to see, that the sacred writers constantly insist, that God pours out his indignation upon wicked men in this world.

But it may perhaps be inquired, whether the wicked are ever tormented with "fire and brimstone" in this world? We answer in the affirmative. Were not Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed by fire and brimstone from the Lord out of heaven? Have we not shown repeatedly, in these pages, that fire is one of the most common figures which the sacred writers employ to represent the judgments of God in this life? Nothing is susceptible of clearer proof than this. See Numbers xxi. 8; compare Jer. xlviii. 45; Psalms lxvi. 12; lxxxiii. 14; xcvii. 3; Isa. ix. 19; xlvii. 14; lxvi. 15, 16; Jer. iv. 4; xxi. 12; Lam. ii. 3, 4 ; Ezek. xxi. 31 ; xxii. 18-22, and a host of others, that we have not room to quote.

But it is supposed by many, that fire and brimstone must surely belong to the future state. Their visions of hell in the immortal state, are always associated with "fire and brimstone." But let such examine the following passages, and they will see, that "fire and brimstone" ere terms frequently employed to describe the judgments of God in the present life. Gen. xix. 24; Deut. xxix. 23; Job xviii. 15; Psalm xi. 6· Isaiah xxx. 33; xxxiv. 9, 10; Ezek. xxxviii. 22; Luke xvii. 29.

But it may be said, the punishment spoken of in the

passages at the head of this section, must be in the immortal state, because it is said to endure forever, and forever and ever. We reply, that these words, of themselves, furnish no proof of strictly endless duration ; they are, in the Scriptures, applied again and again to temporal punishments. We will adduce a few passages. "Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book; that it may be for the time to come, forever and ever." Isaiah xxx. 8. The destruction of Idumea is thus described: "It is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion. And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up forever; from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it forever and ever.” Isaiah xxxiv. 8-10. There can be no doubt, that the punishments here described were temporal punishments; and yet they are described in almost the precise terms that occur, Rev. xiv. 10, 11. Let the reader also consult Jer. vii. 1-7. The 7th verse is, "Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, forever and ever." See also Jer. xxv. 5. "Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord hath given unto you, and to your fathers forever and ever."

XCIII. "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God: and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Rev. xx. 12-15.

Although we have quoted at the head of this section, but four verses of this chapter, we think it will not be