hell, God designed it, and designed to have it peopled, and ten thousand Saviours like Jesus cannot change the result. Every system of theology which teaches endless misery, ascribes, in some way, the infinitely sad result directly to God, either to his original purpose, or an undue power given to man, or conditions involving infinite consequences, or penalties which place the sinner beyond the reach of help, or the structure of a prison whose gates no power can open. How different the theology of the Bible! According to that, God is supreme, and man finite; and there is a perfect agreement between the end of God's government and its means; between the agency of the creature and the control of the Creator; between the conditions and penalties of the plan of salvation and the results it is designed to accomplish. With this reasoning in mind, we will proceed to speak of Christ's mission. First, he came to save men. "The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19: 10. Secondly, he came to save men from sin. "Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins." Matt. 1: 22.

Thirdly, he came to save all men. "He gave himself a ransom

propositions accord, first, with "The seed of the woman shall

for all." 1 Tim. 2: 6. These God's first promise to the world. bruise the serpent's head." Secondly, with his promise to Abraham. In Christ shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Thirdly, with the divine purpose. "For this purpose was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." Such was the object of his mission.

2. His fitness and ability for his work are a necessary inference from the wisdom of the Being by whom he was sent; for we cannot suppose that God would send him on a mission unless fully qualified for its performance. Hence we read, first, that he has all wisdom, Col. 2: 3. Secondly, that he has all power in heaven and in earth, Matt. 28: 18; 11: 27; Eph. 1: 17; power over all flesh, John 17: 2; power over death, John 11: 24; 1 Cor. 15: 21; 2 Tim. 1: 10; Rev. 1; 18; power over sin, Titus 2: 11, 14; 1 John 1: 7, 22; Heb. 2: 710; and that he is superior to every influence that can be exerted against him, Rom. 8: 35, 39. Thirdly, that in him are all the riches of the grace essential to universal salvation, Eph. 2·

7-24; 3: 1-19; Col. 1: 13-20. Fourthly, that he has that loyalty to God, that fidelity to him, and that interest in the world, which will make him pursue his work till it is accomplished, John 10: 7-18; 17: 1—4; Phil. 2 : 5—11; Heb. 2: 14—18. These views agree with the titles which are given him. Among the more prominent of these are the following: "Brightness of the Father's glory," "Captain of Salvation," "Corner Stone," "Deliverer," "Friend of Sinners," " Head," "Heir," "Leader," "Light of the World," "Saviour of the World,” “Lord,” "Master.""Resurrection and the Life."

3. That one possessing such qualifications will succeed in his work. is a proposition which needs no proof. But God has given us numerous assurances on this point. First, he has declared that Christ shall enlighten all. "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people and they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." Heb. 8: 10-12. Secondly, that Christ shall save all. "Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him." Eph. 1: 9, 10. Thirdly, that Christ shall conquer all. "For he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all." 1 Cor. 15: 25-28. Fourthly, that all shall be made alive in Christ. "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection

The last enemy

of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." 1 Cor. 15: 20-22. How fully is his final success taught!

4. That we do not misunderstand the foregoing testimonies is evident from the opposition encountered by Christ and the Apostles. First. We find him charged with being the friend of publicans and sinners. His reply is given in three parables, the lost sheep, the lost piece of silver, and the prodigal son, in which he shows the worth of the sinner, his own unwearying fidelity, God's readiness to extend pardon to the worst offender, and the wide difference between the narrow, selfish, vindictive spirit of the partial theology of the Pharisees, and the noble, generous, forgiving spirit of his religion of love and grace. Luke 15. Secondly. Paul says, "We both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, especially of those that believe." 1 Tim. 4: 10. The Jews trusted in God; they trusted in him as the living God; they trusted in him as a Saviour; but they did not trust in him as the Saviour of all men ; and because Paul and the other Apostles trusted in him thus, they were persecuted and doomed to reproach. The impartiality of the Gospel, its unrestricted benevolence, was its most obnoxious feature to the narrow-hearted Jew, who seemed to contemplate with pleasure the endless misery of those he called unjust. Thirdly. Peter encountered the same opposition. Before he had his vision of the sheet, he supposed salvation limited; and he resisted stoutly the instruction given in the vision. He saw "heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter, kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed that call not thou common. This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven." Acts 10: 11-16. Here we see how he stood out and clung to his partial notions; but after having been directed three times to eat, he was obliged to yield. Before him was a representation of all men; not only so, all

came from heaven, and all returned to heaven. Besides, the sheet was knit at the four corners; it was perfect, holding securely all its contents; and he was commanded not to call that unclean which God had cleansed. In this way he is converted, his faith is enlarged, his eye is opened to behold the boundless extent of grace, and now in every man he sees a brother. His brethren reproved him for his broad views, his expanded spirit, his universal love. But he defended himself by relating his vision, and concluded by saying, "What was I that I could withstand God?"

Thus, in the days of Christ and the Apostles, there was the same contest that there is now; a narrow theology was arrayed against a liberal theology; the advocates of endless misery opposed and denounced the teachers of impartial grace and salvation, so that it is certain that Christ and the Apostles taught a doctrine directly opposed to that of their times. Hence, the objection with which we commenced is fully answered. Christ and the Apostles did not use the common terms of their times, employed by those who believed in endless misery; they directly opposed the doctrine, and they so clearly taught the salvation of all, as to incur, on that account, the especial displeasure of the believers in endless suffering.

O. A. S.

DESTRUCTION OF SOUL AND BODY IN HELL.

PERHAPS there is no text where the word Gehenna occurs, on which so much reliance is placed by believers in endless misery as the following:

"And 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." Matt. 10: 28.

We propose to give two views, which have been advanced by different writers, on these words. In a work entitled "Thirty Sermons," I find the following:

"Admitting, then, that this passage appertains to a punishment in the future world, it may be asked, what are the difficulties which such a disposition of the passage involves? A few of these I will now state in detail.

“First. The language was addressed to his own disciples in private, on a particular occasion, namely, when they were first chosen, and commissioned to go and proclaim the kingdom of heaven is at hand,' and to work miracles. It was never repeated to them again; nor was this language ever breathed by our Saviour, nor by any of his apostles, in preaching to others. How is this conduct of theirs to be reconciled with the principles of common honesty, if the text involves the doctrine of endless misery in hell? If such were the case, would not Jesus have plainly stated this same threatening to the common people, and warned them of such a fearful doom? He certainly would, for he was faithful.

"Second. Are the bodies of men to be killed or literally destroyed in a future hell? They are not. Flesh and blood cannot inherit a future state of being. What, then, are we to understand by destroying both soul and body in hell? All must perceive that there is the same certainty that this mortal body shall be destroyed there, that there is that the soul shall. Both were