excluded from the final state of the blessed; but being thrust out of the kingdom of Jesus in this world. To understand the text, then, we have only to look into history, and we shall there find it explained. It is prophetically explained in the 24th and 25th chapters of St. Matthew, where Jesus foretells the judgments that would fall upon his enemies at the destruction of Jerusalem, and the reward that would then be conferred upon his disciples. And according to Josephus, we find that all these things took place agreeably to our Lord's prediction; so that the Jews, when their temple was destroyed, and they were dispersed and scattered abroad, saw themselves thrust out of the kingdom, and those who had been converted to the Gospel from all quarters of the world, sitting down in the kingdom with Abraham, &c., or in the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Matt. viii. 11. Hence the phrase, "weeping and gnashing of teeth,"—it is expressive of their wretched condition when thrust out, and suffering the woes which then came upon them, woes unparalleled in history. See on phrase "weeping and gnashing of teeth," Sect. XXIII. of this chapter. Josephus informs us, that not a single Christian suffered in the awful siege of Jerusalem. By observing the signs which Christ said would foretell that great event, they all fled from the city when the calamity was approaching; and thus they rested securely in the kingdom of God, under the broad wing of the divine protection, while the Jews were literally thrust out. Hence, the Saviour said to the man who asked whether few would be saved, "Strive to enter in at the strait gate; for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the Master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are then shall ye begin to say, we have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are ; 'depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity." (6 Strive to enter in," - that is, do not. wait, but seek now to become my disciples; for the time when you will have the opportunity of seeking is short; many will seek to enter my kingdom, when it is too late, and, therefore, will not be able; they will seek when they see the calamities that are coming upon them; but then* I shall have risen up and shut the door, and their time for gaining admittance will be passed. Now all this is literally true, for when Jerusalem was destroyed, the Jews ceased to.enjoy Gospel privileges, and thus the. .door of the kingdom was closed against them. And while they saw themselves thrust out, and were suffering the righteous judgment of God, they beheld those they had persecuted, safe and happy in the kingdom. .XLIX. Luke xiii. 34, 35. See the remarks in Sect. XXV., of this chapter, on Matt. xxiii..37: L. Luke xiv. 12-14: This passage is sometimes thought to establish the doctrine of a future retribution; but is not generally used as direct proof of endless misery. Those who would become acquainted with my opinion of it, are referred to my Illustrations of the Parables," "pp. 164-171... LI. The parable of the RICH MAN and Laza- RUS. The portion of Scripture usually denominated. the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, has long been regarded as one of. the strong pillars of the doctrine of endless. misery. Very few people are aware how much has been written on this subject by Universalists. The arguments, the illustrations, the definitions, have been repeated again and again. All those persons who have had the opportunity to examine, and the disposition to weigh candidly, what Universalists have said in regard to this matter, are fully persuaded that this parable, when understood according to its original design, fur nishe's no proof of the heathen doctrine of endless punishment. We maintain, in regard to this portion of Scripture, 1st. Supposing it to be a literal account, and not a parable, it fails to support. the two principal theories of endless misery, viz. either as resulting from the decree of God, or inflicted as a punishment for sin. There is nothing said of election, or reprobation in this account. We are not informed, that the beggar was elected from all eternity to everlasting life, or that the rich man was reprobated to eternal death. There is not a word from which such an inference could be drawn. Neither does it prove, that the rich man was punished after his death for his sins. Not a word is uttered against his character; not a word in favor of the character of Lazarus. Lazarus is not said to have been good; neither is the rich man said to have been evil. All these things have been taken for granted; but there is no proof of them. For aught the parable states to the contrary, we do not know that Dives was not the better man of the two. 2d. We maintain, that the literal sense of this passage disagrees utterly with the .religious views of those who put such a sense upon it. If this portion of Scripture bé a literal account, then the common doctrine that the inhabitants of the fiery pit are filled with wickedness and spend their time in blaspheming God, is false. The rich man prayed to Father Abraham. He breathed forth a holy desire. Warn my five brethren, he said, that they may not come into this place. Surely this was a benevolent prayer. Again, Abraham, intimates, that there were some persons in the place of happiness who desired to go to the place of misery. "Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that they who would. pass from hence to you cannot." Now all this is directly opposed to the common views of partialists in regard to heaven and hell; and, therefore, we say, that the literal sense of the passage we are considering, disagrees utterly with the religious opinions of those who put such a sense upon it. 3d. It is evident, that the passage is a PARABLE, and not a literal account: Dr. Whitby affirms, that this. parable was not original with our Lord, but was quoted by him from certain Jewish writings, in which it was confessedly used as a parable; and Archbishop Tillotson remarks, that in some ancient manuscripts, the pas'sage commences as follows; And he spake a, parable unto them, saying, there was a certain rich man," &c. The beggar is said to have been carried by angels into Abraham's bosom: Is this to be understood in the literal sense? Look once more. All the parties in the parable are supposed to be in possession of their bodies and all their senses.. They see, they feel, they hear, they speak, they have tongues, and fingers, and eyes, How is this to be explained, on the presumption, that the account is not a parable.? We do not read, that there had been any resurrection from the.dead. Nothing is said, that Abraham, or Lazarus, or the rich man had been raised from the dead.. We are told, that the rich man died and was buried, and. there, the account leaves him in the grave. The whole scene is laid in hades, the grave, or state of the dead; and the Christian doctrine of the resurrection, is not introduced into the account at all. But yet in the grave, in the buried state; without any resurrection, the parties' have. their, living. bodies, eyes, ears, fingers; they converse, they reason, they see each other.. Is not this clearly a parable? a parable founded on the heathen' views of hades.? and utterly opposed, in its literal features, to the Christian doctrine of the resurrection to life and immortality? Nothing is said in the parable of a previous judgment, any more than of a resurrection. The clergy preach much about a future judgment; but not a hint is given of it in this parable. The rich man was sent to hell without having been judged. How does it happen, that he was sent to hell before the great judgment day, about which so much has been said? Was he doomed to punish *See his note on Luke xvi. 29. ment before he was adjudged guilty? We wish to have some light on these matters. 4th. We are confident, that in this parable Jesus referred, not to scriptural views concerning hades, but to the views entertained by the heathen concerning Tartarus and Elysium. These heathen views had been, in part at least, imbibed by the Jews. Jesus referred to them, not to acknowledge the heathen notions to be well founded, but, by making them the base of a parable, to set forth a train of interesting facts. There can be no question, that the passage is a parable; of .course, the truth to be taught is to be sought for under the imagery. Hades, or hell, and all the personages mentioned in the parable, are to be viewed as parts of the metaphor. Hades; in the Bible, is the state of the dead, to which all men go, good and bad; a state of unconsciousness, of silence, of darkness. But among the heathen, hades, or the under world, was a place of activity, peopled with its millions of heroes, sages, and others. Hades, as. it is represented in the parable before us, is highly different from the "hades in which the sacred writers believed. The former is of heathen origin; and is employed by the Saviour, not to recognise the heathen notions as true, but parabolically,.to -set forth, a train of interesting facts; It is sometimes said, that Universalists apply a different principle to the interpretation of this parable, from what they apply to any other. But this is a great mistake.. The interpretation, in this case is by no means singular. There are several instanees in the Scriptures; wherein the notions of the heathen concerning hades are adopted for the purposes of figure, and without any intention of recognising them as literally true. We find a passage in. Ezekiel xxxi. 15-18, where the temporal destruction of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is thus thes scribed ; "Thus saith the Lord God, in the day whenhe went down to the grave, I caused a mourning; I covered. the deep for him, and T restrained. the floods |