Here are more than fifty passages, where the word rendered for ever intends only age, or ages; to which many more might be added.

Now the rule for understanding words is this: ---What must be the meaning of the word, in many places, and what may be the meaning in all ; is the true sense of the same.

Friend. Although the single word forever, in these passages, seems evidently to intend certain unknown limited periods; yet what can you do with those texts that say, the misery of the wicked shall endure for ever and ever.

Minister. Indeed they are terrible threatnings; and no doubt will be fully executed.

Friend. But, do you imagine that such passages as the following can intend less than endless misery? Rev. xiv. 11. "And the smoke of

their torment ascendeth up, for ever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name." Rev. xix. 3. "And here smoke rose up for ever and ever. Rev. xx. 10. "And the devil, that deceiveth them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night, for ever and ever."

Minister. I confess you have proposed a difficulty that I should judge to be unanswerable, were it not for the following considerations :

1st. If forever and ever is a longer time than forever, which must be granted; then is there. some proportion between them: thus, if forever intends an age, period, or sometimes ages; forever and ever, may intend ages, an age of ages :

but any proportion at all between two periods supposes both to have an end, or there could be no proportion.

2dly. I find a time promised, when, "there shall be no more death; neither sorrow nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are (or shall then be) passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me (John) write; for these words are true and faithful." Rev. xxi. 4, 5.

3dly. I think there is sufficient reason, from the words of St. Peter, in his second epistle, 3d chapter, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12th verses, to conclude, that as the earth was once overflowed with water, and became truly a lake of water, wherein the world of ungodly men perished; so, by the general conflagration, the same shall become literally the lake of fire and brimstone, in which the wicked shall be punished after the day of judgment: but I also think, that the 13th verse of the same chapter, compared with Rev, xxi. 1. Isaiah lxv. 17. lxvi. 22, more than intimates, that the new heaven and earth shall be created out of the substance of the old, dissolved by the fire; that the new earth shall no more have a sea therein, seems to imply, that in its former state, it had a sea, or why this expression," and there was no more sea."--Now, if this hypothesis is right, the following will be the true state of the case, viz.

The lake of fire is expressly declared to be "the second death," Rev. xx. 14. The earth, in its burnt, melted and dissolved state, will be the general lake of fire and brimstone accord

ing to the verses above cited from St. Peter. There will be a new heaven and a new earth, created out of the substance of the old, in which there will be no more sea, either of water, or of liquid fire; consequently the lake of fire, or second death, (which are declared to be synonymous) must end; and, of course, the punishment of the second death must then cease.

4thly. The smoke of their torments is to ascend up for ever and ever, and they are to be tormented day and night. But, as the smoke of their burning earth must cease, when its substance is entirely dissolved or melted, and all combustible bodies are consumed; and as it is intimated in Job xxvi. 10, that day and night shall come to an end; and in Rev. xxi. 25, it is said of the New Jerusalem, "And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day, for there shall be no night there." For all these reasons, I cannot be altogether persuaded, that their being tormented day and night, forever and ever, during which time the smoke of their torment shall constantly ascend, is quite equal to endless misery, especially as there shall come a time when death shall be no more, pain shall be no more, sorrow shall be no more, smoke shall probably ascend no more, and peradventure, night shall be no more.

5thly. But the great reason of all, why I do not conceive that forever and ever, doth certainly intend endless duration, is because I find the words as often used for times and periods, that must have an end, as you find them used for the misery of the wicked.-You bring three passages, which are all that are to be found in the

whole Bible, where they are used in that sense; I shall now invalidate those evidences for endless damnation, by bringing an equal number of texts where you will allow the words are used in a limited sense.

Friend. Is it possible that you can find any such passages in the Bible?

me.

Minister. Isa. xxx. 8.

Pray shew them to

"Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come, forever and

ever.

See Jer. vii. 1, 7. The 7th verse is, 66 Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, forever and ev

er. "

Jer. xxv. 5. "Turn ye again, now, every one from his evil way, and every one from the evil of your doing, and dwell in the land that JEHOVAII hath given unto you, and to your fathers, for ever and ever."

These passages are as many, and as strongly expressed, as those which you brought to prove endless misery; and yet nothing can be more evident than that they cannot intend endless duration. Here, these periods must be limited by the great conflagration; and thus (for ought that appears as yet) the misery of the wicked may be limited, notwithstanding the use of those expressions, to set forth its dreadful continuance to unknown ages; at least, those words do not necessarily imply, that they shall never, as long as God lives, be delivered from their sins and consequent sufferings.

If we were always to read for ever and ever, endless, we should set the scriptures at variance; and no criticism could ever reconcile them. Try, for instance, to reconcile Psalm cii. 25, 26, with Psalm cxlviii. 6. "Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure; yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed. He hath also established them forever and ever; he hath made a decree which shall not pass."

Now, if the words forever and ever signify without end, then there is a contradiction that cannot be reconciled; but only understand them ages of ages, (as, indeed, they ought to be rendered) and the whole difficulty vanishes at once.

Suppose a person should read Rev. xx. 11. and xxi. 1. “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea:" and should then say, these visions cannot be true, because Solomon hath said, "One generation passeth away, and another cometh, but the earth abideth for ever." Eccl. i. 4. "And God laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed, for ever," Psalm civ. 4. "The world also is established that it cannot be moved." Psalm xciii. 1. See also Psalm lxxviii, 69. and xcvi. 10, What would you think of such reasoning? Just so weak,

must all the reasoning against the universal Res