the everlasting kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, receive everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, 2 Thess. ii. 16. Or, as Macknight says— "that is, the means of never failing consolation." To be so highly honored is thus expressed by Peter, 1st Epistle v. 10, "The God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus." Let it be observed, that eternal glory is not said to be a future thing, but that to which Peter says they were already called. They receive the promise of eternal inheritance, Heb. ix. 15. If the land of Canaan was given to Israel, and called an everlasting inheritance, as it often is in the Old Testament, how much more might the inheritance in the kingdom of Jesus Christ bestowed on Christians, be called an eternal inheritance? It should be recollected that the apostle was writing to Hebrews, to whom such language was familiar. Besides, this, we shall afterwards see, is the same that our Lord calls enjoying eternal life in the world to come. And is it not the same that Paul calls inheriting the kingdom of God and of Christ, 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10; Gal. v. 21?

The new covenant, like the covenants under the Mosaic age, is called the everlasting covenant. And surely it may be called so, for it is not to vanish away, and give place to a new and better covenant, like that of the old. Christ's blood was that by which this new covenant was confirmed, and is called the blood of the everlasting covenant, Heb. xiii. 20. Having purged his people, not as under the law with the blood of goats and calves, "but by his own blood, he entered in once unto the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption," Heb. ix. 12. "And being made perfect through suffering, became the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him," Heb. v. 9. Christ's salvation

is called a great salvation, Heb. ii. 3, probably in reference to other salvations which God wrought for ancient Israel. And here it is called eternal in the same comparative sense, for God wrought many salvations for them. This salvation was abiding. Comp. Luke i. 74, 75. Is it asked-Salvation from what? I answer, not from hell and endless misery, for this is no where said in Scripture, but from sin and death, which Christ shall finally accomplish. See 1 Cor. 15.

In 2 Peter iii. 18, we have the following ascription of praise. "To whom be glory both now and forever." The Greek here is eis hemeran aionios. Macknight says this is "unto the day of eternity." But how can this be, for what has eternity to do with days?Besides, how does this agree to some quotations made from him respecting aion, which he says means an age. We should say the text simply says" to him be glory both now and unto the day of the age." Some copies have it, "unto the age of ages," similar to passages noticed above. We should think the duration expressed is "during the age of the Messiah." Luke xvi. 9. "That when ye fail they may receive you into ever

lasting habitations." Dr. Campbell says, "the epithet unrighteous, here applied to mammon or riches, does not imply acquired by injustice or any undue means; but, in this application, it denotes false riches, that is, deceitful, not to be relied on." Well, does not the epithet everlasting, applied to habitations, mean stable and satisfactory? See on Psalm xlix. 11, and on 2 Thess. ii. 16, and other texts above. But as it is applied, not to punishment, but to happiness, it requires no further attention.

2 Cor. iv. 17, 18, and v. 1, I shall quote together. "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight

of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are enternal. For we know, that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." In these verses, glory is contrasted with affliction, weight of glory with light affliction, and a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, with affliction which is but for a moment.Besides, things which are not seen, are contrasted with things which are seen, and the eternal duration of things not seen, with the temporary duration of things which are seen; and an house not made with hands, is contrasted with the house of this tabernacle, and the house not made with hands eternal in the heavens, with the earthly house of this tabernacle. But notice, the duration of these things is said to be in the heavens, and we think could be shown from the context, to refer to that state of things after the resurrection, when mortality is swallowed up of life, verse 4. See the whole context, and a paper in volume vii. of the Universalist Magazine on verse 10. The idea conveyed by the word eternal in all these verses, seems to be the stability of the things of that state compared to those of the present. Though the idea of their endless duration is included, yet the apostle's object seems to be more their stability than their endless duration. But as these passages have no relation to punishment, it is unnecessary to enter into further remarks. except to say, that the same or similar things are not said in regard to the punishment of any after the dissolution of their earthly tabernacle. This we shall see in Section vii., where all the passages are considered where eternal is applied to punishment.

SECTION VI.

ALL THE PLACES WHERE AION AND AIONIOS ARE RENDERED WORLD, CONSidered.

'I FIND the Greek phrase, eis ton aiona, rendered world, 1 Cor. viii. 13. "If meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no meat while the world standeth." Here the same Greek phrase is rendered world, which we have seen, is rendered never, forever, and for evermore. And why is it so rendered here? Because, it would not do to say "I will eat no flesh while the never, forever, or everlasting standeth." It is plain that this phrase did not express endless duration by the sacred writers.

In Heb. i. 2, and xi. 3, we have the phrase tous aionas, and is rendered worlds. "By whom also he made the worlds. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God." On the first of these texts Pierce says. "If we render the words by whom also he appointed the ages, the sense will fall in with Eph. iii. 11. See Mr. Locke upon that verse." See on this passage in the last Section. On the second, Macknight says it is literally-" sæcula, the ages." Ewing renders it, "By faith we understand the ages were framed by the word of God.". Those ages, he says, were reckoned three-" that before the law, that under the law, and that under the Messiah."

Eph. iii. 21. "Unto him be glory in the church, by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without

end." The Greek here is eis pasas tas geneas tou aionos ton aionon. Macknight says, this phrase literally is" throughout all the generations of the age of ages." Is a proper eternity measured by generations? Surely not. By the age of ages seems to be meant the duration of Messiah's reign, or until he delivers up the kingdom to God the father, 1 Cor. xv. 24— 28. Until then, God is to be glorified in the church by Christ Jesus. I would suggest it for consideration-Is not the age of the Messiah called the age of ages, in a similar sense as he is called "king of kings and Lord of Lords?" The age of the Messiah was that for which all the others were constituted, shall continue throughout all the generations of this world, and is to be superseded by no other, like the ages which have preceded it.

The word aion is not only rendered world, but we read both of the beginning and end of the world or age; the one class precisely answering to the other.Let us first notice the texts which speak of the beginning of the age or world. Eph. iii. 9. "And to

make all men see, what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ." Wakefield renders it thus, "was hidden from the ages in God." Macknight in his note on this text says, "Hid from the ages. So the original phrase apo ton aionon ought to be translated, as is plain from Col. i. 26, where generations are also mentioned." To render aion here by any word implying endless duration, would make the apostle speak of the beginning of the everlasting or eternal duration, which would be a contradiction in terms. Tit. i. 2. "In hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie, promised before the world began." Wakefield renders it "promised before