other, then are Universalists entirely out of the balance; for the circumstance cannot be used to give assurance of both events, the destruction of the Jews and the resurrection of mankind. But the truth is, neither of these events are alluded to by St. Paul in that verse; because he says, that at a given day, the world, the whole world, is to be judged; and as Judea was not the whole world, and as the dead were not then raised, it follows of necessity that the destruction of the Jews, by the Romans, was not the event spoken of in the text, but the end of the world, yet to come. This opinion is still further corroborated by St. Matthew, by St. Peter, and by St. Paul. See Matth. xii. 36, where the speaker is the Son of God himself, who there says in relation to the day of judgment: "But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof at the day of judgment." Was this done at the siege of Jerusalem? did any man there give an account of every idle word which he may have spoken, or even of one word, in his whole life before? No, the idea is too simple to be mentioned. That this text embraces all mankind, who are thus to account for every idle word, is shown from the terms men shall speak; as the word men stands for the whole race, in all ages of the world, even till the last day. In allusion to this day, St. Peter has written-1st Peter, iv. 5respecting the finally impenitent, who he says, "shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead." Also, Romans, xiv. 12, "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God."

We know that much stress is laid on the fact of the afflictions of the wretched Jews, when their city, their government, and their religion, was brought to an end by the Romans; and that Universalists seem to think their sufferings to have been bad enough to bear all the dreadful figures and prophecies of their troubles, without refering such figures and such prophesyings to the burning of the world for their fulfilment. But to this we demur, and ask the question, Was the condition of the Christians (though at the exact juncture when Jerusalem was overthrown, they were permitted by the Divine Providence to flee from that doomed metropolis, to a place called Pella, where they were safe.) any better upon the whole than the Jews? we think not; for who does not know, that they, in a very little time, became the objects of universal hatred and persecution; which continued till the age of Constantine, with but little intermission, a period of nearly three hundred years; during which time, no less than ten general persecutions took place, by which hundreds of thousands were destroyed from the earth, in all the ways that bigotry, malice and cruelty could invent, as exerted upon them by these very Roman powers, who had the Jews in captivity; and since that time as many more by the Roman Catholics, according to the history of the church. On which account we do not per

ceive, that what is called by Universalists the hell of the Jews, in a state of slavery and national ruin, was any worse, if as bad as the hell of the Christians in a state of persecution. Wherefore it is clear that the plan of the Universalits, in interpreting Scripture, makes out no difference, even in this life, between the good and the bad, on a large scale; no difference between the tares and the wheat, as to their temporal or eternal condition; making 'revealed religion a complete nulity in the affairs of men; which is Deism. We should think that religion, if Universalism is true, and the faith of the gospel, would produce temporal happiness, above that of irreligion; as it is a system altogether earthly, according to Universalists, having nothing to do with eternity. But do the Scriptures say thus? see Pslams, chap. xxxiv. 19, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous." The same fact is attested by several of the New Testament writers, see John, xvi. 33, "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." Do you think he meant Judea by the word world, which he had overcome? or did he mean that he was about to make atonement for the sin of the world, the whole human race? Also, Acts, xiv. 22, it is said, "that we must, through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom of God." Rev. i. 9, the Revelator told the Christian churches that he was their "companion and brother in tribulation, in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ;" and in chap. ii. 9, he has said again, that the spirit knew their "works, and tribulation and poverty." He tells them to fear none of the things which they should suffer; for even the devil, by the means of wicked men, should cast some of them into prison, that they might be tried; but that they must be faithful until death, when, or immediately after, they should have a crown of life. Again, Rev. vii. 14, St. John speaks of what an angel said to him, relative to the souls of the righteous in eternity; and states that they had come out of great tribulation, and had washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb; but in heaven there should be an end of their sorrows. It is said of God, that he scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. But as it respects the wicked, they are spoken of as being wiser and more happy in their temporal condition, than the righteous in this life; see Luke, xvi. 8, "for the children of this world, (do you think he here meant the people of the Jews only, by the word world,) are, in their generation, wiser than the children of light;" that is, are more cunning, more wise and crafty, not having the unsophisticated manners and spirit of the children of light, or of true religion, till converted. By these Scriptures, it is ascertained that the righteous are much worse off in this life than the wicked; except in the item of conscience; yet after all, even this exception amounts to a mere nothing, as the wicked are to have as bright a heaven, as if they had been good all their life

time; and a little brighter, on account of their having suffered so awfully in their poor consciences, for their wickedness in this world; not only in the Judea world, but in this great world which goes every year around the sun.

But we have strong doubts, whether such persons as do indeed and in fact, most unboundedly and confidingly, believe (which, however, we think hardly credible,) Universalist sentiments, in respect to punishment for sin, not of sin, but for sin in another life, know anything about a good or a bad conscience toward God; as indeed we see no need of any, as it can answer no possible purpose; because such persons know, or think they know, that however wicked they may be, this can make no difference in their relation to God, or retard a happy state after death, as God loves the bad equally with the good. Were the writer of this work a Universalist, we do not see why we should not make haste to become so wicked as to destroy all the susceptibility of conscience out of our bosom, as in this way we should escape, what Universalists call the hell of conscience, in this life. But can this be done? we answer, upon the authority of Scripture, the inspiration of which is certainly to be relied on, that it has and can be done; see 1st Timothy, iv. 2, "Now the spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times, some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron." That such a thing is possible, we further prove, from Ephesians, iv. 18, 19: "Having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their hearts: who being past feeling, have given themselves over to lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness." By these two witnesses, we prove the doctrine, which cannot be contradicted from the Scriptures: that a man may so harden his heart, and abuse this most delicate of all the powers of the soul, the conscience, as to kill or destroy its feeling, and reduce the mind to a seared and insensible condition, as to moral susceptibility and life. Now, if it is possible, why is it not best, as thereby all the hell there is in being, according to Universalists, will be effectually avoided. For the sake of a good conscience, millions have suffered all manner of tortures, rather than violate this power of the soul; and have done themselves no good after all, as heaven and a happy state after death, was made none the surer on that account; and even those who tortured them, went thither as swiftly and as surely, as soon as dead. With this view, would it not be better that men should remain in their natural condition, which is that of moral death, than to be made to feel sorrow and pain for sin; as it can do no possible good, in relation to another world, and is sure to secure affliction in this. Wherefore, the harder and more unfeeling a man's conscience is, toward either

God or man, the better it is for him; as by that means he absolutely escapes all the hell there is, except barely the process of hardening a little while at first. With this view, we do not wonder that Universalists ridicule, what is called in the Scriptures, and by the orthodox sects, conviction for sin, conversion to God, pardon, regeneration, and the new birth, by the spirit from above; disclaiming loudly and boldly, even from the desk, all mysterious operations of the kind, on the heart of man; imagining a mere change of conduct and belief sufficient, without inquiring into the cause of that change, caring nothing about the moral condition of the heart or mind, if so be the conduct is but relatively fair. No wonder these men tell us there is no hell in another world, as indeed there cannot be, for man, at any rate, if such is the condition of the heart; and no more is required than that he should be outwardly circumspect in relation to human society. This is precisely the ground all Deists take, and is called natural religion; which denies the fall, reprobates a sacrificial atonement, pours contempt on a change of heart, and any hopes of a future happy condition, on any such ground as being founded in Jesus Christ, but nature only. We repeat it, they hold that heaven is the unalienable right or inheritance of all the human race, by virtue of the immutability of the Creator; and it is impossible by anything that man can do, to put this certainty in jeopardy; and has, therefore, never been lost to them; on which account, a sacrificial atonement, the just for the unjust, for its recovery, has never been needed, or taken place; and yet claim to have Jesus Christ as their teacher and foundation.

But even one's belief, or faith, is not by Universalists considered important to salvation-if so be the moral conduct is not greatly reprehensible. We come to this conclusion, from the fact that this people will not even allow that sin, be it ever so heinous or horrible, even self-murder, staining the soul on its entrance into eternity, and the presence of God, can possibly bar it from admission into the kingdom of heaven, and eternal felicity. We prove this from some remarks made by a Mr. Lefevre, a very popular man among Universalists, (See a paper published by that people, entitled- Universalist Union, for July 2, 1836, vol. 1st, No. 34, page 270-where the remarks alluded to are printed,) in which such a case is argued, and decided that though a man might go into eternity, having his soul stained with the sin of the murder of his neighbor, and then of himself by the same dagger, that in the general resurrection, that man, soul and body, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, on the same footing that the triumphant St. Paul will, or any other person, who departs this life as a Christian.

This, their opinion, is bottomed on the words of St. Paul-1st Cor. xv. 52, and on Phil. iii. 21—where it is written of the saints

our.

only, that in the resurrection, they shall be changed, and their vile bodies fashioned after the likeness of Christ's glorious body. But Universalists claim this glorious change for all mankind, however bad, merely because St. Paul has used the words we and This reminds us of the fable, in which an apple and a nameless article were afloat together in a stream, when the nameless article said to the apple, how we apples do swim. This doctrine of the salvation of such as die in their sins, is certainly opposed to the express word of Jesus Christ, on this very subject: (St. John, viii. 21, 24,) "Then said Jesus again unto them, (the Jews) I go my way and ye shall seek me, and die in your sins: whither I go ye cannot come: Fsaid therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins; for if ye believe not that I am he ye shall die in your sins."

Now that the Saviour has here stated a case-in which a person dying a sinner, could not, and shall not go where • Christ is; inasmuch as he says "whither I go ye cannot come." That the Saviour was speaking of his own death, then soon to take place, is shown from their own words- -as seen in the 22d verse of the same chapter-as follows: "Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go ye cannot come." That this was a right view of his meaning, we have only to look at the 28th verse of the same chapter, which reads: "Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he "that is, the Christ, the thing they disbelieved, and for which, they were to die in their sins, if they continued in their unbelief; and after which they could not go to the place where Christ was--which is heavfor when he ascended-it is said in the book of Acts-that he went into heaven.

en;

St. John the Revelator, (we suppose we may quote this book, notwithstanding Universalists have their doubts of its authenticity for we find they often quote it, especially if they fancy they have found some text there which makes against an antagonist,) we repeat it, St. John says, Rev. xiv. 13, "Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord from henceforth: yea saith the spirit, that they may rest from their labors: and their works do follow them." But is it anywhere written, blessed are the dead who die in their sins? No it is not; while it is written as above noticed, that a man dying in his sins, as in the case of self-murder, by a shot through the heart, cannot go to heaven, or to the place where Christ has gone. If such persons go to heaven, it must of necessity be a heaven where there is no Lord Jesus Christ; on which account we are of the opinion that it will be very much like hell, If such as die in the Lord are to have their good works follow them, as a justification and evidence of their righteousness, before all heaven's hosts, is it not to be infered, that such as die in their sins shall also have their works of wickedness follow them, as evidence of their evil characters, before