THE IMPENITENT'S DESTINY.
THE DOCTRINE OF ANNIHILATION BY A REFORMED EPISCOPAL MINISTER.
MUCH interest has been excited among the attendants of St. John's Reformed Episcopal church in this city by a series of sermons by the rector, the Rev. J. D. Wilson, taking bold ground against the doctrine of eternal punishment. Mr. Wilson is recognized as one of the ablest thinkers in the Chicago pulpit, and his expressions on this subject have made some stir among his brother clergymen, some of whom look upon them as heterodox and dangerous, while others admit that they have long privately held similar views. A reporter of the Tribune has obtained from Mr. Wilson the following brief abstract of his argument, which in his sermons was fortified by numerous proofs from Scripture as well as from reason. He was very reluctant to express his views for publication, having a strong dislike to anything like notoriety or sensationalism, but had no hesitation in affirming his convictions. He said:— I hold the view commonly called "conditional immortality,"—i. e., eternal life exists only in union with Jesus Christ. The argument will be from reason and Scripture. 1. Reason—First—There is a difference between right and wrong; believers and sin. They ought to be viewed differently by God and treated accordingly. Second—It is evident that in the present state of things vice is not always punished nor virtue always rewarded. Hence a rectification is to be looked for,—a time of retribution. Third—In what will that retribution consist? I answer: in such punishment as shall be just and right, ending with extinction. Eternal torment is not just. It is excessive, and a just God cannot inflict it. Moreover, eternal torment implies eternal sinning, and eternal sinning involves a defeat of God. It would make the devil as powerful as God, and virtually says there are two Gods, one of evil and one of good. Fourth—All existing life in plants and animals shows that all such life has possibilities, but the attainments of those possibilities does not always follow. All blossoms are possible fruits, but only some come to fruition. All eggs are possible animals, but only some attain their destiny. So all men are possible immortals, but some fail to reach immortality. Fifth—We cannot by reason prove man immortal; the best we can do is to prove that he is capable of immortality. II. Revelation—But reason cannot prove much one way or other. God knows what is before us, and has told us all we need to know. Hence we are to look to the Bible for satisfactory information. First—The Bible uniformly promises life only to the righteous. "This is life eternal to know the only true God and Jesus." "He that hath the Son hath life." "He that believeth on the Son hath life." "Wages of sin is death; gift of God is eternal life," etc., etc. Second—The doom of the wicked is "destruction," "perdition," "everlasting death," "second death," "to be burned up," "made as though they had not been," "to vanish," etc. No deviation from these distinctions can be found anywhere in the Bible. Some texts however need attention. Matt. 25, last verse: "These . . . to everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal." Here "punishment" is shown to be just as long as "life,"—i. e., eternal. But the punishment is destruction, which is complete, entire, final, and without remedy. If it be objected that destruction cannot be properly called everlasting, I answer the Bible called it so. "They shall be punished with everlasting destruction," etc. Mark 9:42: "Unquenchable fire." This means fire which cannot be put out till it does its work,—vide Isaiah, 24:10; Jer. 17:27; Ezek. 20:47; Rev. 14:10. "Smoke going up forever." This refers to some punishment upon the Beast before the Judgment Day, and means total destruction. Rev. 20:10: "Tormented for ever and ever." This is the devil, not men. Revelation 20:12, and following verses, portray judgment. All who are not admitted to life are burned up, ended, destroyed. No sin is left anywhere in God's universe. God becomes all in all. If it be objected that the soul cannot be destroyed, I answer: "Fear him which can destroy both soul and body in hell." This is a very brief and very bold statement, but to a diligent student of the Bible, who compares text with text, it will show that from the day that death was threatened to the sinning Adam, the Bible is uniform in presenting the truth. John 3:36: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life." I think the notion of the necessary immortality of souls came into the church from Paganism through Neo-Platonism in the third century.—Chicago Tribune.