Page:The New View of Hell.djvu/96

 Any one may reject the revelation, or refuse to believe it if he chooses; but in that case he either denies that any divinely authorized revelation has been made on the subject, or he sets his reason above that revelation; he assumes "to be wise above what is written," yea, wiser than the Lord himself. He plants himself outside of or above revelation, on precisely the ground occupied by the Deistic and rationalistic schools. I cheerfully concede every one's right to do this; but doing it, he has no right to complain of the logical consequence. He has no right to find fault with others for casting him into the ranks of those whose fundamental idea he deliberately accepts.

Have we, then, a divinely authorized revelation on this subject? And is that revelation clear and unmistakable? This is the question for those to consider who believe in revelation; and my argument is addressed exclusively to such. And it is a question which should be approached with judicial calmness, and with as much freedom as possible from the biasing or blinding influence of our own private judgments, feelings, or wishes in the case. The question is: Has the Lord spoken on this subject? And if so, what has He said?

Nowhere but in its literal sense, does the Scripture tell us anything about the duration of hell; for in the higher or spiritual sense of the Word, no idea is anywhere conveyed of time or duration in the sense commonly understood by these words. And it cannot be