and Design of Christ's Kingdom. In this, it seems, there will be made, some time or other, a total and final Separation between the Good and the Evil; and the Texts both suppose, that there will be Men, whose moral State will answer to the Tree which bringeth not forth good Fruit, and to the Chaff, who, like them, therefore, are to be rejected, and whose End is to be burned. Upon the Evidence arising from these Texts, there is no more Hope of the Restoration of this kind of Men, than of the Restoration of the Tree, which is hewn down, and cast into the Fire; or of the Conversion of Chaff into Wheat. They conclude therefore plainly against the System of a Restoration. But then, as to Annihilation, they are so far from opposing that, that, if we will believe Mr. Whiston, they are strongly forit. The Words in the latter Text "compare the Wicked to Chaff, which "is not laid up in Garners, as Wheat is for its "Preservation, but intirely burnt up for its Destruction: "Which is strong against those, that suppose the "Wicked to have their Lives preserved, on purpose "that they may be subject to never-ending Pains; and "plainly implies, that their Punishment shall end “much sooner, by an utter Destruction, or what we "should call Annihilation."1 If, in Answer to this, any Stress should be laid upon the Word unquenchable, Mr. Whiston perhaps would reply, that that only means this Fire shall never be quenched till the Wicked are utterly destroyed:2 Or, the Fire itself may continue longer than the Torments of particular Offenders, and be the common Place of Torment for Sinners in different Ages and Periods of the World, one after another.s

As to the first Supposition, that by unquenchable Fire is only meant, that no one shall quench this Fire before the Wicked are utterly consumed; it does not come up to the first, most obvious, and natural Idea of the Word: For, as far as the Force of the Word is concerned, I can make neither more nor less of unquenchable Fire, than Fire that never can (or never shall) be quenched. Besides, it takes for granted the chief Thing to be proved, that the Wicked will be utterly destroyed, or annihilated. The same may be said of his other Supposition, which is only a private, and (as far as appears) a groundless Conjecture. There is no Intimation in Scripture, that this unquenchable Fire shall be the common Place of Torments for Sinners successively, or last longer than they do. In short, both these are only Expedients which prove nothing, but, supposing Mr. Whiston's Hypothesis to be true, would reconcile this Expression with it. But then, he may still insist upon the Comparison of the Wicked to Chaff, which is intirely burnt up. It would perhaps be too great a Nicety to observe, that neither Wood nor Chaff are so consumed in the Fire as to be annihilated; nor are there any Instances or Examples of Annihilation in Nature, which, bythe-by, should make a Philosopher less fond of it than Mr. Whiston seems to be, whose horrid Doctrine1 would annihilate, not only the Wicked, but God's whole Creation. However, whatever becomes of the Wood and the Chaff, Comparisons and Allusions of this kind are not to be interpreted with Rigour, nor extended farther than they were designed to hold. Upon the Principles of all true Philosophy, the Souls of Men are (under God) naturally immortal. They are not therefore, as Mr. Whiston supposes, preserved on 1 See pages 23, 64, 75, 89, 134.

purpose that they may be subject to never-ending Pains ; but their very Nature, different from that of Wood or Chaff, subjects them to the Pains, which their Wickedness deserved, for ever. 'Tis true indeed, Mr. W. has quite another Notion of the Immortality of the Soul, which, according to him, signifies no more than its surviving the Body at Death.1 But this Point must not be debated with him here, and may be safely trusted to the Proof, which has been given of it in the unanswerable Writings of Dr. Clarke, Mr. Norris, &c. and, since them, by the excellent Author of the Inquiry into the Nature of the Human Soul.

To return to my Texts above: What I directly infer from them, is only this, and it appears to me too plain to be denied, that there will be some time, when Christ has thoroughly purged his Floor, a total and final Separation made between the Good and the Evil. What will become of this rejected Part of Mankind, after this Separation, we need not determine yet. As we travel on, our Light perhaps will grow clearer. See Dr. Clarke's Sermon on this Text, Vol. VIII., P. III.

No. III.

Matt. v. 22. Whosoever shall say, (to his Brother) Thou Fool, shall be in Danger of Hell-fire.

This Text, as Mr. Whiston observes, no-way concerns the Duration of Hell-Torments; but is set down by him, in order to acquaint us with a Distinction in antient Language between Hades and Gehenna.? We thank him for his Information; but had heard of some such thing before: Nor is any one now so ignorant as Page 34.

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to believe, that, by the Article of Christ's Descent into Hell, or Hades, is meant his descending into Hell-fire itself. I am sure the best Expositors of the Creed teach us quite other Doctrine. But then, Mr. Whiston would make a sort of Purgatory of this Hades: “ Ac"cordingly, says he, I have all along added a few Passages relating to the castigatory and temporary "Punishments of Hades." And so indeed he has; to obviate which, I refer, at present, (for this Point will be more largely considered hereafter) to Bishop Bull's Discourse concerning the middle State of Happiness or Misery between Death and the Resurrection. Now, I do affirm, says that learned Writer, the consentient and constant Doctrine of the Primitive Church to be this, That the Souls of all the Faithful, immediately after Death, enter into a Place and State of Bliss, far exceeding all the Felicities of this World, tho' short of that most consummate perfect Beatitude of the Kingdom of Heaven, with which they are to be crowned and rewarded in the Resurrection: And so, on the contrary, that the Souls of all the Wicked are, presently after Death, in a State of very great Misery, and yet dreading a far greater Misery at the Day of Judgment. Mr. Whiston, not content with these two Sorts of Men, has three or four Sorts, whom he disposes of accordingly. There are, on the one hand, the few Elect, or Chosen of God, p. 114. the same, I suppose, with the more perfectly and completely good, p. 112. On the other hand are the hardened and incorrigibly wicked. These are not at all admitted to Repentance and Pardon in Hades, and therefore are not exercised with any of those castigatory Punishments, which would avail nothing in their remediless Condition. With regard to the first Sort of Men, these Punishments 2 Vol. I. Serm. 3, English Works.

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are not needful; and on the latter they would do no good. But then between these are the smaller Offenders, and the imperfectly good Christians;1 and these, believe me, are to smart for it. For the Fire or Flame of Gehenna extends into such Parts of Hades as wicked Men, who are not incurably so, are forced into, long before the Day of Fudgment. And this preliminary Eruption of that Fire or Flame is only intended as a Punishment necessary for the Repentance and Recovery of lesser Offenders, that they may never be actually cast into Gehenna. Upon this account it is said in the Text, that the Man who calls his Brother Fool, shall (not now be cast into Gehenna, but only shall) be liable to some Part of its Torments. This, as I apprehend, is Mr. Whiston's Scheme; and either he, or his Authors, Esdras, Hermas, &c. may have the Honour of inventing it; for I cannot find it in the genuine Scriptures.

The Scripture supposes but two Sorts of Men, viz. those who die with Faith and Repentance, and those who do not. The former, according to the Terms of the Gospel, are intitled to the Pardon of God: And there is no Intimation, that God designs to punish his Creatures after he has pardoned them. His Pardon is free Pardon. They are not to satisfy for their own Sins; they are not to merit their own Salvation. All this is done to their Hands. And if they die with Repentance towards God, and Faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, they are as certainly saved as the Gospel is true. What Improvements they may be capable of in Hades, or this intermediate State; and to what Degrees of Perfection they may there arrive, above what they could attain in this World; is a Point Page 112. 2 Page 115.

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