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permitted, he would sweep the entire race into his net. Were it not
for the interposition of divine power, not one son or daughter of
Adam would escape.
He is seeking to overcome men today, as he overcame our first
parents, by shaking their confidence in their Creator, and leading
them to doubt the wisdom of his government and the justice of his
laws. Satan and his emissaries represent God as even worse than
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themselves, in order to excuse their own malignity and rebellion.
The great deceiver endeavors to shift his own horrible cruelty of
character upon our heavenly Father, that he may cause himself to
appear as one greatly wronged because he will not submit to so
unjust a governor. He presents before the world the liberty which
they may enjoy under his mild sway, in contrast with the bondage
imposed by the stern decrees of Jehovah. Thus he succeeds in luring
souls away from their allegiance to God.
How repugnant to every emotion of love and mercy, and even
to our sense of justice, is the doctrine that the wicked dead are
tormented with fire and brimstone in an eternally burning hell, that
for the sins of a brief earthly life they are to suffer torture as long as
God shall live. Yet this doctrine has been generally embodied in the
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creeds of Christendom. Says a learned doctor of divinity: “The sight
of hell-torments will exalt the happiness of the saints forever. When
they see others who are of the same nature and born under the same
circumstances, plunged in such misery, and they so distinguished,
it will make them sensible of how happy they are.” Another uses
these words: “While the decree of reprobation is eternally executing
on the vessels of wrath, the smoke of their torment will be eternally
ascending in view of the vessels of mercy, who, instead of taking
the part of these miserable objects, will say, Amen, Alleluia! praise
ye the Lord!”
Where in the pages of God’s word are such sentiments ex-
pressed? Those who present them may be learned and even honest
men; but they are deluded by the sophistry of Satan. He leads them
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to misconstrue strong expressions of Scripture, giving to the lan-
guage the coloring of bitterness and malignity which pertains to
himself, but not to our Creator.
What would be gained to God should we admit that he delights
in witnessing unceasing tortures; that he is regaled with the groans
and shrieks and imprecations of the suffering creatures whom he
holds in the flames of hell? Can these horrid sounds be music in
the ear of Infinite Love? It is urged that the infliction of endless
misery upon the wicked would show God’s hatred of sin as an
evil which is ruinous to the peace and order of the universe. Oh,
dreadful blasphemy! As if God’s hatred of sin is the reason why he
perpetuates sin. For, according to the received theology, continued
torture without hope of mercy maddens its wretched victims, and as
they pour out their rage in curses and blasphemy, they are forever
augmenting their load of guilt. God’s glory is not enhanced by thus
perpetuating continually increasing sin through ceaseless ages.
It is beyond the power of the human mind to estimate the evil
which has been wrought by the heresy of eternal torment. The re-
ligion of the Bible, full of love and goodness, and abounding in
compassion, is darkened by superstition and clothed with terror.
When we consider in what false colors Satan has painted the char-
acter of God, can we wonder that our merciful Creator is feared,
dreaded, and even hated? The appalling views of God which have
spread over the world from the teachings of the pulpit have made
thousands, yea, millions, of skeptics and infidels.
First Great Deception
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The theory of eternal torment is one of the false doctrines that
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constitute the wine of the abominations of Babylon, of which she
makes all nations drink. That ministers of Christ should have ac-
cepted this heresy and proclaimed it from the sacred desk, is indeed
a mystery. They received it from Rome, as they received the false
Sabbath. True, it has been taught by great and good men; but the
light on this subject had not come to them as it has come to us. They
were responsible only for the light which shone in their time; we
are accountable for that which shines in our day. If we turn from
the testimony of God’s word, and accept false doctrines because our
fathers taught them, we fall under the condemnation pronounced
upon Babylon; we are drinking of the wine of her abominations.
A large class to whom the doctrine of eternal torment is revolting
are driven to the opposite error. They see that the Scriptures represent
God as a being of love and compassion, and they ca
that he will consign his creatures to the fires of an eternally burning
hell. But, holding that the soul is naturally immortal, they see no
alternative but to conclude that all mankind will finally be saved.
Many regard the threatenings of the Bible as designed merely to
frighten men into obedience, and not to be literally fulfilled. Thus
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of God, and yet expect to be finally received into his favor. Such
a doctrine, presuming upon God’s mercy, but ignoring his justice,
pleases the carnal heart, and emboldens the wicked in their iniquity.
To show how believers in universal salvation wrest the Scriptures
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to sustain their soul-destroying dogmas, it is needful only to cite their
own utterances. At the funeral of an irreligious young man, who was
killed instantly by an accident, a Universalist minister selected as his
text the Scripture statement concerning David, “He was comforted
concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.” [2 Samuel 13:39.]
“I am frequently asked,” said the speaker, “what will be the
fate of those who leave the world in sin, die, perhaps, in a state
of inebriation, die with the scarlet stains of crime unwashed from
their robes, or die as this young man died, having never made a
profession or enjoyed an experience of religion. We are content with
the Scriptures; their answer shall solve the awful problem. Amnon
was exceedingly sinful; he was unrepentant, he was made drunk,
and while drunk was killed. David was a prophet of God; he must
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have known whether it would be ill or well for Amnon in the world
to come. What were the expressions of his heart?—‘The soul of
King David longed to go forth unto Absalom; for he was comforted
concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.’
“And what is the inference to be deduced from this language? Is