“What did he say about the gospel?”
“That it is good news from God to man—that all sin, suffering and death will be ultimately abolished, and that God will be all in all. He said, that the meaning of the word gospel is good news, and that the whole system corresponds with the signification of the word.”
“Did he say anything about hell? Of course he did not, as there is no hell in his faith.”
“He did not say much on that subject, but gave notice that this evening he would give the Bible doctrine of hell, and you had better go and hear what he has to say. The Orthodox view of religion never satisfied me, and I am bound to look into this new faith.”
A society was organized at the close of one of the meetings, and this man united himself with it.
Spent two days in Weston, Mo., and preached twice. Agreeably to request, I delivered a discourse on the destruction of the enemies to God and man, and took for my text, “The last enemy, death, shall be destroyed.” 1 Cor. xv. I remarked, 1. Sin is an enemy to man, but that is to be destroyed. “Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.” “For this purpose was the Son of God manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil.” Sin, then, is to be destroyed. 2. The devil is to be destroyed. “Forasmuch as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that hath the power of death, that is, the devil.” Thus, the devil, and all his works, are to be destroyed. 3. Pain is an enemy to man, and that is to be destroyed. “There shall be no more pain, neither shall there be sorrow nor crying, for the former things are passed away.” How false is the doctrine of endless suffering, endless sorrowing, endless weeping. 4. Hell is an enemy; but the Scriptures teach, that it is to be destroyed. “O, hell, I will be thy destruction.” And an apostle asks the triumphant question, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, (hades or hell) where is thy victory?” 5. Death is also an enemy, and it is to be destroyed. We read, “He will swallow up death in victory, and the Lord God will wipe tears from all faces.” “There shall be no more death;” and the text asserts that, “The last enemy, death, shall be destroyed.” But how can death be destroyed if millions of mankind are to be eternally the victims of death? In the language of Dr. Adam Clarke, “Death is conquered, hell disappointed, the devil confounded, and sin totally destroyed. Amen! Hallelujah! The Lord God, omnipotent reigneth! He shall reign forever and ever!”
Notwithstanding this distinct and emphatic testimony, it is contended by many people, with the Bible in their hands, that sin, pain, death, hell, and the devil, will eternally prey on countless multitudes of our race; and if you intimate to them that those enemies to our peace and hope will be destroyed, they cry, delusion, imposture, infidelity. But I trust in God, and believe in the divine promise of the end of all evil, and the bringing in of “everlasting righteousness.”
I also lectured in St. Joseph three evenings. At the close of one of my meetings, a preacher remarked, “You have been talking about the mercy of God, but will not God’s wrath last as long as his mercy?” I replied, without stopping to inquire what is meant by the wrath or anger of God, the Bible emphatically declares that “His anger endureth for a moment, but his mercy from everlasting to everlasting.” Again, “He retaineth not his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy.” “I will not contend forever, neither will I be always wroth.” Why not? “Because the spirit would fail before me, and the souls which I have made.” Can you give as good a reason why he will be always wroth, why he will contend forever, as he has why he will not? Pain tends to destroy the sufferer. Let a person endure intense agony, and if medical aid does not relieve him, death will soon step in and deliver the sufferer. This is a merciful provision of our heavenly Father, to prevent very protracted suffering. The passage just cited teaches, that God will not permit any one to suffer long because that suffering would end his existence. “The spirit would fail before me, and the souls I have made.” The soul could not endure endless wrath; it would fail, or cease to be. Jeremiah asks the question, “Will he reserve his anger forever? Will he keep it to the end?” Now observe the answer, “I am merciful saith the Lord, and will not keep anger forever.” Again it is said, “For his anger endureth for a moment, weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” The prophet Isaiah records, “In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord.” Again it is said, “The Lord will not cast off forever, but though he cause grief, yet he will have compassion according to the multitude of his tender mercies.” We read the following, “My mercy will keep forevermore.” “For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting.” In one Psalm it is twenty-six times asserted that “The mercy of the Lord endureth forever.” Hence it is said, “God is rich in mercy.” “Plenteous in mercy.” We also read of his mercy in the plural form. They are said to be “great,” “manifold,” and “over all his works.” The apostle Paul believed in God’s mercy, for he says, “For he hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have MERCY ON ALL!”
From all this precious testimony, I conclude that the “wrath of God,” let it mean what it may, will continue but a moment, while his mercy is as endless as his own existence. The mother may forget the son of her love, but God will never forget the souls he has made. God is merciful to us to-day, he will be to-morrow, and forever. No circumstance or place can turn his love into hatred, his goodness into cruelty. His mercy blesses us in this world, and it will bless us in the world to come. Death cannot change the great love God has for the soul.
Delivered a series of discourses in Kingston, on the following subjects:—“The Character of God”—“Man as he Is and is to Be”—“Rewards and Punishments”—“The Future Life”—“The Restitution.” Our faith was new to the people, as a discourse in its defense had not been before delivered in the county. A Baptist minister replied to one of the sermons; he had traveled ten miles to attend the meeting. He dwelt on the Rich Man and Lazarus. Denied it being a parable, and said it was a literal account of two men in this world, and world to come—one in heaven and the other in hell—and that their fate in eternity would be the fate of all mankind—part would ascend to heaven, and the balance would sink into the regions of eternal fire.