Lord Jefus fhall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gofpel of our Lord Jefus Chrift; who fhall be punished with everlasting deftruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power." There are a number more fcriptures of the like nature of the above quoted, to which I fhould be glad to attend, were it not for fwelling this work too large. I will, however, after I have anfwered these in their order, take into confideration fome others of a different kind. Those which I have quoted, moftly refpect that difpenfation which is represented by fire, which to illuftrate more eafily to the reader's understanding, I will firft produce a paffage from St. Paul's ift Epiftle to the Corinthians iii. 15, which I will call my key text. "If any man's works fhall be burnt, he fhall fuffer lofs, but he himself shall be faved, yet fo as by fire." By my key, I learn, that the fire which caufes the wicked to fuffer, has the power of Salvation even for the fufferers. So in all the paffages recited, where fire is mentioned, it is evident the fame fire is intended. "For behold, the day cometh that fhall burn as an oven." In this fame chapter, this day is called the great and dread. ful day of the Lord, who promised to send Elijah the prophet before that day come, whofe bufinefs fhould be to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, left the Lord fhould fmite the earth with a curfe.

I inquire, firft, concerning the coming of this prophet, in order to fix on a time for the commencement of this day of the Lord. That Elijah and Elias are the fame, in fcripture, no doubt will be

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fo on.

entertained. Then turn to Mat. xvii. 12, 13. "But I fay unto you, that Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatfoever they lifted; likewise, fhall also the Son of man fuffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the baptift." By this fcripture, it appears, that the promise of the coming of Elijah the prophet, was fulfilled by the coming of John the baptift, who came in the fpirit and power of Elias; which fhows very clearly, that the gofpel day, or coming of Meffiah, was the day that should burn as an oven. The burning of an oven, is ufed here as a metaphor to reprefen the power of gofpel light and love in the moral fyftem. In the chapter preceding our text, Chrift is prophecied of, as follows; fee verfe 1, and Obferve the fore runner is first spoken of, and then Chrift himself. " Behold I will fend my meffenger, and he fhall prepare the way before me;" thus far, John the baptift is intended. "And the Lord whom ye feek fhall fuddenly come to his temple, even the meffenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in, behold he fhall come, faith the Lord of hofts. But who may abide the day of his coming, and who fhall ftand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire and like a fuller's foap. And he fhall fit as a refiner and purifier of filver; and he shall purify the fons of Levi and purge them as gold and filver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteoufnefs." The purpose intended by the fire of this day of the Lord is made very evident, by the above quotation, which, with my key, will much affift us in understanding the metaphor before us. First, how does an oven burn? Answer, so as to confume the combuftibles which are in it, by

which the oven is prepared for the mafter's use, being perfectly cleanfed, and of a right temperature to receive whatever the baker pleases to put into it. By this fire, the fons of Levi were to be cleanfed, fo as to offer an offering in righteousness, and by this fire, the hay, wood and ftubble, are burned; but the poffeffor of them, though he fuffer lofs, yet is faved by it. Here we fee, in room of the finner's endless mifery, his purification as a prerequifition for endless blifs and happiness. My opponent may urge, that the text fays, the proud, and all that do wickedly, fhall be ftubble, and the day that cometh fhall burn them up, faith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root for branch; which hath refpect to the finner, and not to his fins. Be it fo: But will the paffage afford my opponent's inference, which is the endless duration of the finner's mifery? By no means; for that which is burnt up, root and branch, does no longer abide. To fay, of a tree, that it was burnt up, root and branch, would forbid the idea of its enduring the fire always. The total annihilation of the wicked, is a thousand times more literally proved, than his endless mifery: and I may add, with propriety, that, the very words which my opponent urges in fupport of endless mifery, are fufficient proof against it. I argue, that this particular part of the text alludes to the total deftruction of the finner, in respect to the nature of the earthly Adam; of which, neither root nor branch will be left. This I conceive to be in reality what the text means; and I am perfectly willing to reft the correctnefs of my ideas on the experience of any vital lover of the religion of Chrift. Call to mind, what a crackling of thorns, what a breaking up of the nether parts of thy foul, what a confump

tion feized every part, and what a finking to nothing, when the word of God, the fpirit of the law, which is fharper than any two edged fword, pierced to the dividing of thy foul and Spirit, joints and marrow, and plainly difcerned the thoughts and intents of thy heart, until thou found thyfelf on the rock of ages. By this method of understanding the scriptures, we understand them experimentally.

Further, obferve what is faid to those who fear the Lord, in the chapter where our text lies, "But unto you who fear my name fhall the Sun of righteoufnefs arife, with healing in his wings, and ye fhall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall, and ye fhall tread down the wicked, for they fhall be afhes under the foles of your feet." Who are they, who truly fear the name of the Lord? Thofe, and thofe only, who have paffed the fire, as above described; they receive healing from the Sun of righteousness, even from his wings, which are the types and allegories of the law, by which, the word, or logos, is brought to our understandings. Such grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord Jefus Chrift. But who are the wicked, which they are to tread down as afhes under their feet? Their neighbors? Yes, according to the conduct of apoftatized chriftians who defpife and perfecute all who differ from their fuperftitions: But, according to truth, the wicked are their bodily, or creaturely natures and appetites However hard it may feen to the reader, I fay, the real chrif tain lives above himfelf, and views his carnal appetites contemptible as afhes.

We pafs to Matthew iii. 10. "And now alfo, the ax is laid unto the root of the trees; therefore, every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit, is hewn down and caft into the fire."

In

order to fee that the fire into which the trees are caft, when hewn down, is the fame as that of which we have already spoken, obferve verfe 11. "I, indeed, baptize you with water unto repentance, but he that cometh after me, is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not able to bear, he fhall baptize you with the Holy Ghoft and with fire." By this, we understand, that the fire, in our text, is that which accompanies the operation of the Holy Ghoft, and is that fire with which Chrift baptizes. Verse 12. Verse 12." Whofe fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into his garner, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Fire is mentioned, in each of the three verfes quoted, and its use is plainly fhown, which is to burn the trees which bring not forth good fruit, to accompany the Holy Ghost in baptifm, and to confume the chaff when the wheat is gathered into the garner.

Now let us look for the doctrine of endless mif. ery, and fee if it can be proved by the text under confideration. I will agree, that the trees, which do not bring forth good fruit, are wicked men ; and my oppofers must acknowledge, that they, and all the reft of mankind, are of that defcription, as it is written, "there is none that doeth good, no not one. And who will pretend the pharifees, to whom John fpake, whom he calls a generation of vipers, were not wicked? And if cafting the trees into the fire, mean cafting finners into reme, dilefs woe, I afk, if the baptism of the Holy Ghost and of fire mean the fame thing? None will allow it; but all believe it to be falutary to all those who experience it. The reader will then obferve, John told this generation of vipers, that he, who should come after him should baptize them with the Holy