Page:The House of the Lord.djvu/107

Rh heresy which proclaims the condemnation of innocent babes who have not been sprinkled by man's assumed authority. In the justice of God no soul shall be finally condemned under a law of which he has had no chance to learn. True, eternal punishment has been decreed as the lot of the wicked; but the real meaning of the punishment so decreed has been made known by the Lord Himself. Eternal punishment is God's punishment; endless punishment is His; for "Endless" and "Eternal" are among His names, and the words are descriptive of His attributes. No soul will be punished for sin beyond the time requisite to work the needed reformation and to vindicate justice, for which ends alone punishment is imposed. And no one will be eligible to enter any kingdom of glory in the abode of the blessed to which he is not entitled through obedience to law.

It follows as a plain necessity that the Gospel must be proclaimed in the spirit world; and that such ministry is provided for, the scriptures abundantly prove. Peter, defining the mission of the Redeemer, thus declares this solemn truth: "For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." As already shown, the inauguration of this work among the dead was wrought by Christ in the interval between His death and resurrection.

In his first epistle to the Saints in Corinth, Paul presents a brief yet comprehensive treatment of the doctrine of the resurrection,—a subject which at that time and among those to whom he wrote, had given rise to much