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    On Future Punishment o 80/

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  • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

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    I Have Always Been Strongly Inclined To ...

    held out to os in a future state as the sanction of the divine laws in the present state ,, For tliey proceed in every instance upon the strict application of the principle that we shall be tried according to our works . The more sinful our conduct has been here , the more degraded , sensual , and selfish our desires and pursuits ,, the more inconsistent our habits and prevailing tastes with a state of pure and spiritual blessedness , off course the lower must be the

    condition assigned to us hereafter ; not as a satisfaction to vindictive justice , but as the necessary consequence ^ arising inevitably from the very nature of thingSo For it is the nature of sin to produce rmiseiy ; it is the nature of lows carnal , and sordid pursuits , of violent and bad passions , to produce a habit of mind which is incapable of tasting the refined joys prepared for the faithful in the mansions of their Father ' s house . In this lower and more

    degraded state , the sufferings of such as are reduced to it will of course be more severe ; the evil habits "more inveterate and deeply rooted ; the difficulty of introducing the salutary influence of moral discipline , of serious reflection upon the causes of their present miserable condition , will be so much the greater , while the series of transitions before spoken of which is to be successfully performed by these unhappy beings , before they can be at length made fit for entering even upon the lowest ranks of the celestial hosts , into

    the humblest mansions of their Father ' s house , is in the same proportion more extensive ,, What length of time will be required for effecting these transformations is known only to Him who seeth and knowelh all things ; but who hath reserved this among the secret things which he has not thought it necessary , or perhaps conducive to our moral and spiritual welfare , that we should he informed of . It is not unreasonable to presume that it will be different in different cases ; nevertheless we humbly hope that it is permitted us , when mourning over the vice and folly which deform our world , to

    console ourselves with the belief that to all the means of making progress will be afforded . Doubtless at all periods through the endless ages of eternity there will be various degrees of advancement towards the unattainable perfections of the Divine nature , as one star differeth from another star in glory ; but we rejoice to persuade ourselves that nothing forbids the cheering hope that a period is appointed in the inscrutable counsels of Providence , when the last enemy shall indeed be destroyed ; when all the intelligent creatures of God shall become true disciples of Christ , and shall see the face of the Sora of man ; when as in Adam all die , so in Christ shall all be made alive *

    We are aware that the apostle adds , but every man in his own order ; ' * from which we think it may be fairly inferred that there will be various periods at which those who have made different degrees of progress here ia their preparation for heaven will be admitted to the enjoyment of its privileges . Christ is the first-fruits ; afterwards those that are Christ's , those who have shewn themselves here in the character of true and faithful

    disciples , will be admitted with him at his coming to judge the world ; then , after that ( eira . ) coxmeth the end , when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to the Father . The coming of Christ , therefore , it appears , is not the end ; for what is to happen first ? Why all things are to be subdued unto him ; the last enemy is to be destroyed , even death . But can it be said that the

    last enemy is destroyed , so long as there contioue to be those who remain subject to his power ; or , what is so much worse , exposed to all the unspeakable miseries of hell ? If , therefore , we are to receive the authority of the Apostle Paul on this subject , it would seem that She kingdom of Christ cannot be finally merged in the kingdom of God his Father , until all shall be finally collected into one sheep-fold umder one Shepherd . Thai

    On Future Punishment O 80/

    On Future Punishment o 80 /

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Dec. 2, 1830, page 807, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/mrp_02121830/page/7/