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XI.
Life Only In Christ
Chapter 114
:
Fate of the Transgressor
1. WHAT question does
Peter ask regarding the wicked?
"For the time is come that judgment
must begin at the
house of God: and if it first begin at us,
what shall the end be of them that obey not the
gospel of God?" 1 Peter 4:17.
2. What does the Bible
say is the wages of sin?
"For the wages of sin is death."
Rom. 6:23. "The soul that sinneth, it shall
die." Eze. 18:4.
Die: "To pass from physical life; to suffer
a total and irreparable loss of action of the
vital functions; to become dead; to expire;
perish."- Webster.
3. What will be the
character of this death?
"Who shall be punished with
everlasting destruction from the presence of
the Lord, and from the glory of His power." 2
Thess. 1:9.
Destroy: "To unbuild; to break up the
structure and organic existence of; to demolish;
to spoil utterly; to bring to naught; to put an
end to; to annihilate."- Webster.
4. How complete will be
the destruction of the wicked?
"Fear Him which is able to destroy
both soul and body in hell." Matt. 10:28.
5. What does Christ say
will befall those who do not repent?
"Except ye repent, ye shall all
likewise perish." Luke 13:3.
Perish: "To be destroyed; to pass away: to
become nothing; to be lost; to waste away; to
die."- Webster.
6. How does the apostle
Peter say they shall perish?
"But these, as natural brute beasts,
made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of
the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in, their own, corruption."
2 Peter 2:12.
7. To what are the
wicked in their punishment compared?
"But the wicked shall perish, and the
enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of
lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they
consume away." Ps. 37:20.
Consume: "To destroy; as by decomposition,
dissipation, waste, or fire."- Webster.
8. How does John the
Baptist describe the destruction of the wicked?
"He that cometh after me is mightier
than I, . . . whose fan is in His hand, and He
will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His
wheat into the garner; but He will burn up
the chaff with unquenchable fire." Matt.
3:11,12.
9. For whom does Christ
say the fire which will finally destroy the
wicked was originally prepared?
"Then shall He say also unto them on
the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and
his angels." Matt. 25:41.
NOTE.-This fire is called "everlasting"
because of the character of the work it
does; just as it is called "unquenchable"
because it cannot be put out, and not
because it will not go out when it has done
its work.
10. What will be the
result of this punishment?
"As the whirlwind passeth, so is
the wicked no more: but the righteous is an
everlasting foundation." Prov. 10:25.
11. Will any part of
the wicked be left?
"For, behold, the day cometh, that
shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea,
and all that do wickedly, shall be
stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn
them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it
shall leave them neither root nor branch."
Mal. 4:1.
12. What will then be
their condition?
"For as ye have drunk upon My holy
mountain, so shall all the heathen drink
continually, yea, they shall drink, and they
shall swallow down, and they shall be as
though they had not been." Obadiah 16.
13. Where will the
place of the wicked then be?
"For yet a little while, and the
wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt
diligently consider his place, and it shall not
be." Ps. 37:10.
NOTE.-It would be difficult to keep the
wicked in eternal torment without any place
for them, even, in which to exist.
14. Where are both the
righteous and the wicked to be recompensed?
"Behold, the righteous shall be
recompensed in the earth: much more the
wicked and the sinner." Prov. 11:31.
15. Do the wicked go
directly to their punishment at death, or wait
till the day of judgment?
"The Lord knoweth how to deliver the
godly out of temptations, and to reserve the
unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished."
2 Peter 2:9.
16. To what are the
present heavens and earth reserved?
"But the heavens and the earth, which
are now, by the same word are kept in store,
reserved unto fire against the day of judgment
and perdition of ungodly men." 2 Peter 3:7.
NOTE.-Both the present heavens and earth and
sinners await the fires of the last day.
17. What will be the
result of the fires of the last day?
"Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the
day of
God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall
be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat." "The earth also, and the works
that are therein shall be burned up." Verses
12, 10.
18. By what means does
Christ say His kingdom is to be cleansed from
sin and sinners?
"The; Son of man shall send forth His
angels, and they shall gather out of His
kingdom all things that offend, and them which
do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace
of fire." Matt. 13:41,42.
NOTE.-Satan and the wicked now have this
world as their "place." In due time Christ
will have it. He will cleanse it from sin
and sinners, and restore it, that He may
give it to the saints of the Most High for
an everlasting possession. See Dan.
7:18,22,27.
19. When are the wicked
dead to be raised to receive their final
punishment?
"But the rest of the dead lived not
again until the thousand years were
finished." Rev. 20:5.
20. Whence will come
the fire that will destroy them?
"And they went up on the breadth of
the earth. and compassed the camp of the saints
about, and the beloved city: and fire came
down from God out of heaven, and devoured them."
Verse 9.
NOTE.-This is called God's "strange act" and
His "strange work,"- the work of
destruction. Isa. 28:21. But by this means
God will once and forever cleanse the
universe of sin and all its sad results.
Death itself will then be at an end- cast
into the lake of fire. Rev. 20:14.
21. To what will this
fire reduce the wicked?
"And ye shall tread down the wicked;
for they shall be ashes under the soles of
your feet in the day that I shall do this,
saith the Lord of hosts." Mal. 4:3.
NOTE.-The wicked are to be utterly
destroyed- consumed away into smoke, brought
to ashes. Having inseparably allied
themselves with sin, they have forfeited the
right to life and an immortal existence, and
chosen the way of death and destruction. By
their choice they have proved themselves
worthless. For this reason they are compared
to chaff, briers, thorns, etc. Their
destruction will consequently be no real
loss. "They will themselves have lost their
opportunity to obtain eternal life; but by
the way in which they used their
probationary time they proved themselves
unworthy of it. Their destruction will, in
fact, be an act of love and mercy on the
part of God; for to perpetuate their lives
would only be to perpetuate sin, sorrow,
suffering, and misery. Terrible, therefore,
as this judgment will be, there will, in
consequence of it, be nothing of value
lost,- nothing lost worth saving. The
experiment of sin will be over, and God's
original plan of peopling the earth with a
race of holy, happy beings will be carried
out. 2 Peter 3:13.
22. What is this final
destruction of the wicked called?
"This is the second death." Rev. 20:14.
23. After the burning
day, what will appear?
"Nevertheless we, according to His
promise, look for
new heavens and a new earth, wherein
dwelleth righteousness." 2 Peter 3:13.
24. Where will the
righteous then be found?
"Then shall the righteous shine forth
as the sun in the kingdom of their Father."
Matt. 13:43.
25. What promise of the
Saviour will then be fulfilled?
"Blessed are the meek: for they
shall inherit the earth." Matt. 5:5. See
also Ps. 37:11,29; Isa. 65:17-25; Dan. 7:18.
26. What universal song
of praise will then be sung?
"And every creature which is in
heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth,
and such as are in the sea, and all that are in
them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor,
and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth
upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and
ever." Rev. 5:13. |
