by repeated Objections; (see No. XIV.) yet I shall not only hope for Pardon, but also for a little more Indulgence, while I attend Mr. W. a moment or two longer.

The Moderns, he complains,1 have weakly understood a single aiwv, or Age, to be of equal Duration with αἰῶνες, or even αἰῶνες τῶν αἰώνων, with Ages, or even Ages of Ages themselves: Whereas, he would

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These phrases seem to me to be used promiscuously, as any equivalent Phrases may be. Doxologies, (which Mr. W. mentions, p. 61.) generally run in a full and lofty Style, as it is natural to expect they should do. But there is no invariable Rule for them; as will appear by what follows.

N. B. Some of these Doxologies are to God, some to Christ, and some jointly to both. Besides these, there are others which differ in Words from each of the Forms above. Eph. iii. 21. εἰς πάσας τὰς γενεὰς τοῦ αἰῶνος τῶν αἰώνων. I Tim. vi. 16. τιμὴ καὶ κράτος αἰώνιον. 2 Pet. iii. 18. εἰς ἡμέρον αἰῶνος. Jude 25. εἰς távтas toûs alŵvas. So again, with regard to the Kingdom of God, and the Kingdom of Christ, these Phrases are used

have alwv, render'd an Age; and aiŵves, Ages; and αἰῶνες τῶν αἰώνων, Ages of Ages; as they properly signify, he says, in Scripture. This too would give English Readers a juster Notion of the proper Duration of such Periods, than the common English Versions convey to them. Let us give then a few Specimens of Translations in this way, in order to try how this Rule will hold. Matt. xxi. 19. and Mark xi. 14. Christ says to the barren Fig-tree, Let no Fruit grow on the henceforward εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, for an Age. John iv. 14. Whosoever drinketh of the Water that I shall give him, shall not thirst eis Tòv aiova, for an Age; but the Water that I shall give, shall be in him a Well of Water springing up into Life

promiscuously; or rather the stronger Expressions denote what Mr. W. thinks will be of the shorter Duration; as appears from the Texts following.

N. B. As some of these appear to include the Kingdom of God, and the Kingdom of Christ too; so others plainly include the Kingdom of Christ and his Saints; and declare that this Kingdom shall endure εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων ; Dan. vii. 18. Rev. xxii. 5. The same Phrase is applied by St. John to the Duration of the Punishments of the Wicked; Rev. xiv. 11. xix. 3. xx. 10. The other New Testament Writers generally, I think, use the Word αἰώνιος, or εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ; which denotes the same Duration that the other does in St. John, and the same, as far as appears, in both Cases, as applied either to Rewards, or Punishments.

E

for an Age, or lasting Life. Compare Chap. v. 24. vi. 35, 40, 47, 51, 54, 58, 68. x. 28. xi. 26. And many other Passages in St. John's Gospel: Which, according to the Rule above, should be translated lasting Life, or Life for an Age; and where our Saviour says in some of the Texts referred to, that his Sheep shall not perish, or they that believe in him shall not die, eis Tòv alŵva, it should be render'd, for an Age. Now this, according to the common Faith of all Christians, would be so far from giving them a juster Notion of the Duration here intended, that it would give them a Notion utterly false in itself, and extremely derogatory to that great and eternal Salvation, of which the Son of God is become the Author unto all them that obey him. And according to Mr. W's own Scheme, this Absurdity would attend it; that alov, which with him denotes the shortest Period, (68, or 575, or according to his Sybilline Oracles, 400 or 500 Years,) is used of the Duration of the Life and Reward of the Righteous, as much, or more than of the Duration of the Punishment of the Wicked; while yet he supposes the Duration of the Punishment of the Wicked will be no greater, as compared with the Duration of the Happiness of the Good, than two or three are to a thousand.1 So that alúv must denote a much longer Period than any of his Calculations of an Age amount to, even upon his own Hypothesis. Nay, as far as I can judge, it must denote a longer Duration than αἰῶνες, or αἰῶνες τῶν αἰώνων itself, sometimes does; since these are used to denote his shorter Periods of Punishment; 2 and the other by itself, the long Duration of Happiness. In short, all his Criticism upon this Head is arbitrary and groundless. 2 Rev. xiv. II. xix. 3. xx. 10.

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It

Alov, in numberless places, denotes Eternity; and all its Plurals, and Reduplications, heap'd one upon another, can denote no more. They may add some Beauty or Strength to the Expression, but nothing at all, in this Case, to the Sense. Nor do I see any great occasion for Mr. W's Amendments of our modern Versions, (viz. lasting instead of everlasting) even with regard to the Ordinances of the Law of Moses. English Readers, if they have English Understandings, will be led into no Mistakes. is such Language in effect as they use every day; when they give and take in common Conversation, the Words everlasting and for ever, in a lax and improper Sense; knowing, at the same time, that the Words are capable of denoting, and do in other Cases denote, a real and proper Eternity. It must be left to good Sense to distinguish the different Value of the Words, upon different Occasions; and that will be a sufficient Security against Imposition. After all, Mr. W. himself seems sensible that it may be objected to his Doctrine,1 that this Consumption of the Bodies of the Damned may be over in no very long time; and therefore seems not to come up to the terrible Descriptions and Representations of what is certainly αἰώνια κόλασις, or a long and lasting Punishment. In return to which, he would have us consider the doleful Condition the Wicked are in, during the intire intermediate State in Hades; reaching from Death, to the Day of Judgment; in general of many hundreds, or several thousands of Years. But if these Years were ten thousand times ten thousand, what is that to the purpose? This doleful Condition in Hades before the Day of Judgment, is no Part of the alavia kólaois into which they go after it; and

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therefore, with regard to the terrible Descriptions and Representations of that everlasting Punishment, is not to be taken into Consideration at all.

No. XXIII.

Matt. xxvi. 24. Wo unto that Man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed: it had been good for that Man, if he had not been born.

1

Mr. Whiston says, "It appears by this Assertion of "our Saviour's, that some Men's Wickedness may be "so great, that their Punishment in the other World "will exceed all the Happiness they had enjoy'd in "this Life." Very tender! The Punishment of such Wretches as Judas, will be so great, that their Existence will be worse than Non-existence; it will be a Curse to them, and they will have reason to wish that they had never been born. But he proceeds ;-"Which implies thus much also, that such Men's "Sins shall never be forgiven, even in the World, "or Age to come: As we have been already assured "by our Saviour some Sins may be." May be what? Forgiven in the World to come? We firmly believe, upon the Authority of our Saviour, and his Apostles, that not only some Sins, but all Sins. sincerely repented of in this World, will be forgiven in the World to come. But our Saviour no where assures us, that some Sins not repented of, and consequently not forgiven, in this World, will be forgiven in the World to come. This is only a precarious Inference, drawn from an Expression of our Saviour's, which probably means no such thing;

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