Is the Doctrine of the Destruction of the Finally Impenitent Licentious in its Tendency?
By B. F. Snook
THE advocates of the doctrine of endless misery, in their great zeal to destroy the truth, in the absence of better argument, urge that the doctrine of the destruction of the wicked is licentious in its tendency; that it tends to make men indifferent about the future, and hence they sin without restraint. In reply to this we give the following: 1. Does the Bible teach that the wicked will be destroyed? It does, in language so clear and plain that no other meaning can be attached to it. "The Lord preserveth all them that love him; but all the wicked will he destroy." Ps. cxlv, 20. "Behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet, in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts." Mal. iv, 1-3. "But he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Matt. iii, 12. "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered, and men gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned." John xv, 6. "The Lord shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and the glory of his power, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe." 2 Thess. i, 7-9. These testimonies can never be made to teach anything but the final destruction of the wicked, though they be ever so much perverted and misconstrued. Therefore the objection falls upon the Bible, and hence, on this supposition, it is guilty of teaching a doctrine that encourages sin. 2. We will in the next place show that this is a false and slanderous charge, having its foundation in base and wicked hearts. If the objector can show that the believers of this doctrine are less faithful, less prayerful and generous, than those are who believe the endless misery doctrine, then he will make an important point. But this he never can do. Great and numerous facts are against him. The world, mostly, believe, or profess to believe, in the endless "miserable" theory. Then the world as such (if there is any virtue in the awful doctrine) should be all Christians, and very devoted and prayerful. While on the other hand, the few who disbelieve that view, and believe in the destruction of the wicked, should be the only class of wicked and profligate sinners in the land, and the only convicts in the State prisons. Is such the case? Facts show that just the reverse is truth. The believers of the Bible doctrine on this subject will compare well with any other people, for morality and uprightness. The theology of the State prisons is generally that of the popular theory. Hear the following truthful statements taken from the History of Windsor Prison, Vt. "It has been very often said that the convicts of State prisons, are either Atheists, Deists, or Universalists, than which however, nothing can be farther from the truth. I have known as many as five hundred while they were in confinement, and I have always made it a practice to learn the religious opinions of all with whom I have conversed, and what I am going to write may be depended upon as the actual result of my personal inquiries. Those whom I have known, have been educated in the doctrine of the endless punishment school, and in but few cases have departed from these doctrines. I have only two Atheists, not one Deist, and but one Universalist. The doctrine of endless punishment, is strongly and broadly speaking, the orthodoxy of State prisoners. I am confident of the truth of this statement, and I make it, not by way of slur, or insinuation against any sect of Christians, but as a fact which all denominations may use, as they may have occasion. Very many of the convicts, have been members of churches; and a few of them have been preachers." This testimony is very candid and should have due weight. The conclusion is, therefore, that the tendency to licentiousness is wholly on the side of the objector. The orthodox hell is indispensable to their theology. But on this part of the subject, they are far behind their brethren in China. Dr. Morrison a Missionary to China, says, "Among the Chinese the fear of death is distressing. Their imagination has invented no fewer than ten hells. One is stuck full of knives, another is an iron boiler full of scalding water; in another the punishment consists in pulling out the tongue; another is full of poisonous serpents; in another, the victim is drawn into pieces; another is a hell of blackness and darkness. You may hear them praying, 'May I not fall into the hell of swords, of serpents, of boiling water, &c.' We would recommend our orthodox friends to go to China, and get the rest of their theology, that they may have a perfect system, and be prepared to reform men at a rapid rate, for if there is reforming power in one hell, there certainly is much more power in ten hells." The history of China, and our own country, shows that no one is any better for believing the popular theory on this question. During the "Dark Ages," the endless misery theory reigned without opposition. Why was there then, so much blood shed? and why did not they have a fair heaven upon earth, if this is such a sanctifying doctrine? Those men who serve God through fear of such an end, are not capable of yielding an acceptable service to him, for it is his goodness, and not an endless hell that leads to repentance. B. F. SNOOK.