to govern. Christ is considered as the King of the New Testament state, or gospel kingdom; and as such he is represented as exercising the judicial functions of government. His judgment shall last while his reign lasts, and he shall only "reign until he hath put all enemies under his feet;" "then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that hath put all things under him, that God may be all in all." Now it is most strange, on the part of our opponents, that they make the exercise of his judicial authority to begin just where the scriptures make his regal authority to end! And notwithstanding the plain and repeated declarations of the bible, that he "shall execute judgment and justice in the earth," they will have it that he judges men for their good and evil actions, not in time, but in eternity.

MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED

OBJECTION I

There are two texts of scripture which speak expressly of punishment after death-yea, more, after the resurrection! How will universalism stand before these? The one is Daniel xii. 2. "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." The other is St. John v. 28, 29: "Marvel not at this : for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." These passages are parallel in their reference and signification. Universalists, I know, attempt to give them a figurative application. But we ought ever to reject figurative expositions of scripture, except expressly warranted by the context, or except a passage be such in its nature as to expressly require a departure from the rules of literal interpretation

ANSWER.

It is granted that the above texts are parallel, but this very admission is fatal to the objection; for Christ has fixed the time of

the event to which they refer, at the period of the overthrow of the Jewish state, and so indeed has the prophet likewise; the entire 12th chapter of Daniel is occupied with predictions relative to this subject. I allege this upon the highest possible authority, viz. that of Jesus Christ. See for proof, Matt. xxiv. 15-21. The resurrection spoken of by Daniel was to take place when there should be "a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time," when God shonld "have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people”—when "the daily sacrifice should be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up." But when were these events to happen? They were to happen when the Jewish dispensation was to be brought to a close, and the gospel institution to be set up on its ruins. The Savior's exposition of the prophet, in Matt. xxiv. leaves us no ground for doubt on this head. Thus much as regards the time of this resurrection, which, instead of being at the end of the world, as our opponents think, is past, by nearly eighteen centuries.

Now as to its nature, it were the height of absurdity to suppose it literal, for several reasons. 1st. We have no account in history, sacred or civil, of a literal rising of all men from their graves, at the time of Jerusalem's overthrow, or at any other period. 2d. To understand it literally would involve consequences absurd and contradictory. It would lead to the result that all mankind will at the same time rise to life and to damnation! "They that have done good to the resurrection of life." Is there a single human being who has not done good? "And they that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation." Is there a human being who has not done evil? Take this passage in a strict sense, then, and you have the monstrous conclusion that all shall arise to lifeand all shall arise to damnation! 3d. A literal rendering of these texts would establish a doctrine at variance with that exhibited by Paul in a set treatise on the resurrection. If men are to arise from their graves in a morally corrupt and dishonored condition, what meant he by saying of our body, "it is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption—it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory-it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power?" Say you that he spake this of a part of mankind only? No such thing, sir; on the contrary, he says, "IN CHRIST shall ALL be made

alive." (I Cor. xv.) If Paul believed that mankind would consist, in the resurrection, of two classes, moral opposites to each other, here is the place where he would have said so; but he establishes the contrary, for it is utterly impossible to reconcile the popular doctrine concerning the resurrection with the glorious portraiture of that great event which the apostle has here giventhe last enemy vanquished-hades overthrown-all things subdued unto the Father-and God all in all.

But another reason, and sufficient of itself for understanding the texts under consideration in a spiritual sense, is, that the immediate connexion of the one in St. John imperiously calls for such an acceptation. Christ, in a verse or two preceding, describes the resurrection referred to as then beginning to take place. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live." And through the chapter he speaks of life and condemnation, as a then present consequence of embracing, and of rejecting the gospel. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." See also the following verse to the same effect:

For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will." It is any thing but reasonable to suppose that he should so rapidly pass from the figurative to the literal on the same subject, without apprising his hearers of his change of style. I may remark further, that language quite as strong as either of our texts can be produced, the figurative meaning of which, nevertheless, is too obvious to be denied; see the following: "Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost; we are cut off for our parts. Therefore, prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Isreal. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your grayes, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, and shall put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live; and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD." (Ezekiel

xxxvii. 11-14.) In this place, the civil and moral degradation of the Jews are set forth under the figure of their death, and the perishing of the flesh from off their bones. Their moral and civil restoration are exhibited under the figure of opening their graves and raising them to life. On the whole, then, it must, 1think, be manifest to the enlightened reader, that the import of the passages before us is, that Christ, by the word of his gospel, and the ministry of his apostles, was about to call men forth from the graves of superstition and ignorance, in which they had long been buried that as they came forth to the light of the truth, they should experience justification, or condemnation, according as their past actions had or had not been in accordance with its dictates, or according as their disposition was to receive or reject this gospel. This important work had already begun in Christ's day, but it was destined soon to take effect upon a much wider scale, and, eventually, it shall be universal in its extent. This gospel would affect the vicious subject of its awakening power, in like manner as Paul had been affected by the law. It brought home his sins to his conscience, and thereby slew him, or overthrew his fancied security. (Rom. vii.) But the gospel condemns the sin that it may save the sinner.

Observe, now, what phraseology the apostles were accustomed to employ::" Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dust, and Christ shall give thee light.” (Ephes. v. 14.) “You hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sin." (Ephes. ii. 1.)

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If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above." (Col. iii. 1.) Indeed, the world was considered as dead, and buried in sin and superstitious ignorance. Hence, the necessity of being regenerated, or made alive again, in order to admission into the kingdom, or church of Christ. The word was considered as having a regenerating,. a revitalising influence; hence, Paul tells the Corinthians, "For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel." (I Cor. iv. 15.) It were needless, I tbink, to attempt making the subject plainer; it were quite sufficient to insist, that Christ could not have meant to teach the doctrine of a final doom upon the spirits of men after the resurrection, for the reason that a calamity so terrible would infinitely exceed in magnitude all the calamities together which have transpired since time began; whereas, as I have elsewhere shown, the

Savior has himself declared, that as great a tribulation as that attending Jerusalem's destruction had never before transpired since the beginning of the creation, "NO, NOR EVER SHALL BE."

OBJECTION II.

"Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come." (St. John viii. 21.) It is to be considered in this objection, 1st. That the party addressed should seek Christ, but nevertheless die in their sins; which implies that they should not find the Savior. 2nd. They were to fail of ever getting to heaven, for thither Christ went, and "whither I go," said he, "ye cannot come.' Each of these considerations, separately considered, seems sufficient to exclude them from hope; but together they present a barrier to their salvation which appears insuperable.

ANSWER.

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It is admitted that thousands, yea, millions, fail of finding the Savior in this life; but this is conceived to be no reason why they should to all eternity fail of salvation. The scriptures acquaint us with but one way of access to the Father, and that is by Jesus Christ. The Savior positively declares there is no other. We have every reason for believing that ninety-nine hundredths of mankind, including infants and the heathen, die without a saving acquaintance with Christ; if on this ground, therefore, we exclude any from hope forever, all must be so excluded for the same reason; consequently, this part of the objection, if it prove any thing, proves too much. It does so for another reason. I have shown, in a previous part of this work, that every intelligent being is ultimately to be made acquainted with Christ, and to acknowledge him also, "to the glory of God the Father;" (Phil. ii. 9—11.) which sufficiently proves that the opportunity for becoming acquainted with the gospel is not limited to the term of this life; and also, that if it were so limited, a very, very small moiety of our race would be saved; and the realms of hell would be peopled by ninety-nine hundredths of mankind! The main strength of the objection, therefore, must depend on the clause, "whither I go ye cannot come." But before this can be admitted

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