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ever,' Dan. xii, 3. So likewise our Lord tells us, Matt. xiii, 43, 'Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun, in the kingdom of their Father.' And, to name no more passages, in this discourse to the Thessalonians, the apostle speaks of none but of the dead in Christ,' ver. 14, 16, and of them who are to be 'for ever with the Lord,' ver. 17. See 1 Cor. xv, 18, note. But if the Scripture hath nowhere said, or insinuated, that the wicked are to be raised with spiritual, immortal, and incorruptible bodies, what reason has any man to think that they shall obtain bodies of that kind? In a matter of fact of this magnitude, and which depends entirely on revelation, to go one step farther than the Scriptures either by direct affirmation or by necessary inferencewarrant us to go, is certainly presumption.

"2. There are in Scripture sentiments and expressions, which, by just construction, imply that the wicked shall not, at the coming of Christ, obtain glorious, immortal, and incorruptible bodies. For example, our Lord's words, Luke xx, 36, ‘And are the children of God, being children of the resurrection,' plainly imply, that they who are not the children of God are not the children of the resurrection in the same manner that the children of God are. So also, the glory to be revealed in us,' being termed, Rom. viii, 19, the manifestation of the sons of God,' the expression certainly implies, that that glory is not to be revealed in them who are not the sons of God. And to teach us what that glory is, by which the sons of God are to be distinguished from the wicked, deliverance from the bondage of corrup tion is called, Rom. viii, 21, 'the freedom of the glory of the children of God;' and the redemption of the body from the bondage of corruption is styled, ver. 23, the adoption,' or method by which sonship to God is constituted. Allowing, then, that the manifestation of the sons of God, at the resurrection, will be accomplished by the redemption of their body from corruption, and by the glory that is then to be revealed on them, it implies, that while the righteous on that occasion shall be showed to be the sons of God, by obtaining glorious, incorruptible, and immortal bodies, the wicked, at the resurrection, by appearing in fleshly, corruptible, mortal bodies, like those in which they died, shall be showed not to be the sons of God. The truth is, to suppose that the wicked shall arise with the same kind of body as the righteous, is to suppose that they are the children of the resurrection,' equally with the sons of God, contrary to our Lord's assertion. Nay, it is to suppose, that there shall be no manifestation or discrimination of the sons of God at the resurrection, contrary to the doctrine of the apostle Paul.

"Here a thought of great importance occurs. May not the manifestation of the sons of God, by the glory to be revealed in their body, imply, that the discrimination of the righteous from the wicked, at the general judgment, is to be made, not by any formal inquiry into the character and actions of each individual, which would render the day of judgment much longer than the whole duration of the world many times repeated; but by the kind of body in which they shall appear. So that the true character of every man being thus clearly manifested by the power of the Judge, under the direction of his omniscience, the whole process of the judgment will be completed at once, by the sentences which he will pronounce on men, according to their true characters thus manifested.

"3. To prove that the righteous, whom he calls, 1 Cor. xv, 48, "heavenly men,' shall obtain heavenly, that is, incorruptible and immortal bodies, St. Paul says, ver. 50, 'This I affirm, brethren,' namely, that we shall bear the image of the heavenly man, 'because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.' But if the righteous are to obtain incorruptible bodies, that they may be capable of inheriting the kingdom of God, as I think is plainly intimated in this passage, we may conclude that the wicked, none of whom shall ever inherit the kingdom of God, are not to obtain such bodies. For why should they be fitted for enjoying a happiness which they are never to possess? Besides, the glorious and immortal body of the righteous, being itself a part of their inheritance as the sons of God, we cannot suppose that the wicked shall obtain that, or any share whatever of the portion which belongs to them.

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"4. After the judgment, the righteous are to be caught up in clouds, to join the Lord in the air, in order to their going with him into heaven, 1 Thess. iv, 17. But the wicked, not being caught up, will in all probability remain on the earth. Wherefore, as the earth is to be burned with fire, the wicked left thereon must, after the judgment, perish in the general conflagration. Accordingly, our apostle, speaking of the punishment of the wicked, says expressly, 2 Thess. i, 7, 'The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with the angels of his power,' ver. 8, inflicting punishment with flaming fire on them who know not God, and who obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,' ver. 9, They shall suffer punishment, even everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.' In like manner the apostle John, speaking of the wicked after the judgment, says, Rev. xxi, 8, They shall have their portion in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.' But if the wicked are to die a second time, by the destruction of their body, in the burning of the earth, which is to take place immediately after the judgment, why should the power of God be exerted in raising them with spiritual, immortal, incorruptible bodies, like those of the sons of God, or in changing such of them as are alive at the coming of Christ, seeing they are so soon to lose their bodies in the general conflagration?

"5. There appears a great propriety in Christ's raising the wicked with fleshly, mortal bodies, like those in which they died. For, as in the present life the wicked make the body the sole object of their care, and place their whole happiness in bodily pleasures, fit it is that they be exposed to shame and contempt, by being brought before the judgment seat of Christ, in that fleshly, corruptible, mortal body, which they so much idolized: fit also, that they be tormented with envy, by beholding the righteous in their immortal bodies, shining as the bright. ness of the firmament, and ready to go away into the kingdom of their Father. More than this, seeing the wicked, while on earth, placed their affections and cares wholly on their body, and on earthly things; and for the sake of enjoying earthly things, despised heaven and its felicities; what more proper than to punish them, by destroying their body along with the earth, and the things thereon, to which they so closely attached themselves?

"6. The doctrine I am endeavoring to establish is favored by the VOL. XI.-Jan., 1840.

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Vulgate version of 1 Cor. xv, 51, Omnes quidem resurgemus, sed non omnes immutatimur-we shall all indeed arise; but we shall not all be changed;' namely, by receiving immortal and incorruptible bodies. I own this is not the genuine reading of the Greek text; but I produce it here, only to show what opinion some of the ancients enter. tained of the resurrection body of the wicked."

We have thus given the doctor's views and arguments at large, that the reader may have them before him in one connected view: and certainly they are expressed in a manner so frank, full, and pointed, as to exclude the possibility of being misunderstood. He denies that the finally impenitent will be raised with incorruptible, immortal, spiritual bodies; but on the contrary maintains that their bodies will be "fleshly, mortal, corruptible bodies," in perfect contrast with those of the righteous; and that those who shall be found alive will undergo no change." These are the questions at issue. We shall review the several considerations urged by the doctor in favor of his doctrine separately, and in the order in which they are given.

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In consideration No. 1 the doctor draws an argument in favor of his doctrine from the silence of Scripture in support of the contrary. That is, there is no explicit declaration establishing the fact that the future bodies of the wicked will be spiritual, and not material; mortal, and not immortal; fleshly, and not incorruptible. But suppose the same want of explicit testimony exists with regard to the contrary doctrine, what is gained by this argument? The mere silence of Scripture never proved any thing. To say the least, that doctrine must be very dubious which rests upon this foundation. One positive declaration in support of the mortal, fleshly, corruptible bodies of the wicked in the resurrection would infinitely outweigh all the arguments drawn from this source. Nor will it be denied on the contrary that "all the passages in which incorruptible and immortal bodies are promised, or spoken of, evidently relate," in a proper and qualified sense, "to the righteous alone." For, allowing the bodies of all in the resurrection to be alike incorruptible, spiritual, and immortal, it by no means necessarily follows that they must all be alike glorious; or bear the same resemblance to Christ's glorious body which is ascribed to the righteous. Why may not this refulgent splendor result from the radiations of their moral character? Why may not the purity and loveliness of their renovated moral natures, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, throw an immortal and indescribable lustre, and resplendent glory over all the features of their spiritual, immortal, and incorruptible bodies? If the moral character and state of the soul are often so manifestly indicated and so distinctly marked as to be instinctively known and read, in spite of all the specious drapery of hypocrisy thrown over the external features, even in this life, is it unreasonable to suppose that the features will be as distinctly marked, if not infinitely more so, in the bodies of all in the resurrection? More especially as with regard to the righteous it must be believed that their present moral attainments are vastly lower than they can for a moment be supposed to be at or subsequent to the resurrection; and that our present mortal bodies are infinitely more gross and eclipsing to the amiable, moral affections, and qualities of the soul, the external features answering as a much less faithful index to the mind and moral

state of the heart, than in the improved state of future being where all moral and physical imperfections will be for ever done away. And as far as moral character is involved, may not the reverse be true with regard to the wicked? Why, then, may not the cerulean beauty and the dazzling splendor attributed to the righteous by both the prophet Daniel and our Saviour be accounted for on this principle; arising rather from the contrast in their moral characters than the nature or qualities of their future bodies?

To prosecute this inquiry a little farther, with regard to the wicked, who, according to the same authorities, "shall rise to shame and everlasting contempt," and "come forth to the resurrection of condemna. tion;" why may not they appear in this perfect contrast with the righteous, in consequence of the guilt, remorse, and moral deformity of their characters, and the incorrigible and unrestrained malignity of their depraved hearts? Do not these principles and attributes of moral character portray themselves in their features with marked distinctness of expression in this life; giving as true a portrait and as faithful an index of the internal original, as when all the attributes of the moral character are the most amiable and lovely? To us there is no reason to question it. Therefore, by how much we are led to believe that with the glorified purity, love, joy, and all the fully developed and embodied graces of the Spirit, will be indelibly depicted in every feature, so that every shape and every face shall be "heavenly and divine;" by just so much are we led to believe despair, guilt, rage, &c., will be indelibly engraven on the features of the finally lost. Thus shame and confusion of face will cover them.

However others may view this matter, for ourselves we acknow. ledge, this accords far better with the whole analogy of the subject, than to suppose the wicked will be raised with "fleshly, mortal, corruptible" bodies, having the same organization as they had before the resurrection. Because, if the bodies of the wicked be fleshly and corruptible, they can hardly be said to be associated with the soul in retributive punishment. They will be consumed, most inevitably, with the material universe, being subject to the laws of matter; consequently, not the whole man, but his soul, again disembodied, will be the sole recipient of retributive, and eternal punishment. Now, we again ask, Is this more to be believed, more in accordance with the genius of Christianity as a system, than that the body, which had been associated with the soul in probationary crime, and its instru ment in committing sin, will be associated with it in retributive punishment?

Unable to furnish explicit testimony in support of his own doctrine, and assured that the same sort of evidence is wanting in favor of the contrary doctrine, the doctor asks, "What reason has any man to think that the wicked shall obtain bodies of that kind?" Were we to answer that "it is nowhere insinuated in Scripture" that the bodies of the wicked will be "fleshly, mortal," &c., as good an argument would be offered as that by which it is attempted to sustain the opposite doctrine. But we think other and better "reasons" may be produced. And while we are happy to endorse the sentiment which closes this paragraph, that "in a matter of fact of this magnitude, and which depends entirely on revelation, to go one step farther than the

Scriptures, either by direct affirmation or by necessary inference, warrant us to go, is certainly presumption;" it is matter of satisfaction that we can assign a reason for believing the wicked, will "be raised with spiritual, immortal, incorruptible bodies," without subjecting ourselves to the charge of "presumption," on the doctor's own ground. Matt. x, 28, appears to us to be exactly in point; it reads thus:"Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Now, the only thing necessary to determine the meaning and application of this text, is, to ascertain whether reference is made to future and eternal punishment, or not. This may be done by an examination of the original word rendered hell in this text. It is not adns, which occurs eleven times in the New Testament, and is rendered hell in every instance except one, in which it is rendered grave. According to Dr. George Campbell its proper meaning is the place of departed spirits-the unseen place. But yeevva is the original word rendered hell in the text. This word, according to Dr. C., occurs just twelve times in the New Testament, in ten of which there can be no doubt of its literal reference to future punishment; and in the other two instances the reference is figurative, but includes the same idea. Not only is the reference of the text to future, eternal punishment, established by the original word, which conveys no other meaning literally or figuratively, but by the fact that the soul and body can be the united object of "destruction" in no other sense. For if we make the text refer to the grave, the soul is not confined there with the body; or if to the intermediate state, the body is not there associated with the soul. We are therefore driven to the conclusion that reference is made to that "destruction" which awaits the wicked subsequent to the resurrection. Nor could even this include both soul and body, should the bodies of the wicked retain their present "fleshly, mortal, corruptible" texture, and be consumed in the general conflagration of the universe. Because, according to this doctrine, the mortal, corrupt. ible body is never associated with the soul at all in retributive suf fering, unless it be in the mere act of the world's destruction or conflagration; which from every indication in Scripture will be limited both as to the duration of the whole time employed in the transaction, and that period comparatively short. And moreover, if we make the text in question refer to this event, it is difficult for us to see how we are to avoid the annihilation of the soul and body with the renovation or consumption of the material fabric of the universe, as the necessary result; because the "destruction" in the text is predicated equally of both. But from its nature, being a simple, immaterial, indecomposable substance, this can never be predicated of the soul: nor indeed of the body, on any known strictly philosophical principles; because, combustion and consumption consist rather in the dissolution and recombination of the elements in the given object, than in their destruction. Hence, for the reason just given, of this the soul is incapable: but the text predicating destruction alike of both body and soul, obviously indicates that to both it has an equal application. Therefore it must be something more than can be limited to the destruction of the material universe. But though annihilation of the soul and body—if such a thing as annihilation can take

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