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THE

Univerfalift's Miscellany

For AUGUST, 1798.

A Letter from a Gentleman in Scotland, in Defence of UNIVERSAL RESTORATION.

BY

(Concluded from page 214.)

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Y the term laft days, it will be readily allowed, is meant the last days of the Old Teftament difpenfation, and in this fenfe I have understood Matt. xxiv. 14. "And this gofpel of the kingdom fhall be preached in all the world for a witnefs unto all nations, and then fhall the end come. To this alfo may refer in fome measure Micah iv. 2. "The law fhall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerufalem." Alfo the waters fpoken of in Ezek. xlvii. 8. compared with Zech. xiv. 8. But there is another sense in which the term laft days may also be understood, not indeed to the exclufion of the former, but figured by it, I mean the last days of the world's duration; perhaps in the thousand years reign, which will precede the xonian Judgment, this promife of pouring out the fpirit upon all flesh may receive a ftill more extenfive accomplishment, and to this in a more especial manner may the above cited texts refer; the waters ftill flowing from the beloved city till the knowledge of the Lord fhall cover the earth as the waters cover the fea, while the enemy is fhut up from deceiving the nations till the thoufand years are fulfilled, Rev. xx. 3. But neither would I reftrict the full import of the term last days to this period, because the event will not then be fully accomplished which marks the ultimate fenfe of the term laft days, viz. the pouring out of the fpirit upon all flesh and because there will be days and nights fucceeding the general judgment, in which I believe this prophecy will receive its full and complete accomplishment, in the final reftitution of all things. That there will be a revolution of day and night in the ages fuc VOL. II.

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ceeding the general judgment is very plain, in my apprehenfion, from Rev. xx. 1o. I would here remark that darkness of every kind, whether fpiritual or material, seems to be in oppofition to God, whofe character is light, 1 John i. "That God is light," and in him is no darkness at all. Hence ftyled "the Father of light," James i. 17. And hence the first work of the Divine Spirit which we have recorded was to difpel darkness and restore light, Gen. i. 2, 3. And for the fame purpose does the Spirit of God still work in opening men's eyes, and turning them from darkness to light, fhining into their hearts to difpel their darkness, in oppofition to the god of this age, whose work is to blind their minds and involve them in ftill greater darkness: hence fays the Apostle to those who were partakers of this enlightening fpirit, "Ye were fometime darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord." Eph. 5. 8. In the present ftate, where neither abfolute good nor abfolute evil takes place without mixture, there is also a mixture of light and darkness in the revolu tion of day and night: but in the New Jerufalem, where the fervants of God are totally delivered from mental darkness, there will be continual light to the total exclufion of darknels. "There fhall be no night there," Rev. xxi. 25. But in the future ftates of punishment there will be the revolution of day and night to the ages of ages; perhaps to intimate that however severely vengeance will be inflicted, it will by no means be inconfiftent with mercy and love; but the Divine Spirit will continue to operate in reconciling finners unto God, calling them out of darkness into his marvellous light, until that darkness be expelled by his fhining into their hearts, giving them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jefus Chrift, who is the true light, that they may be fit to be prefented holy and unblameable, and unreproveable in his fight. And then when all these shall be filled with the effulgent glory of him who is the image of the invifible God and the brightness of his glory; then God himself, who is light, and in whom is no darkness at all, fhall be the all in all; then darknefs, both fpiritual and material, will be entirely deftroyed, and univerfal light and love will eternally prevail throughout the immenfe dominions of Jehovah. After what has already been noticed, very little needs be faid in answer to your third objection, which is, "That the doctrine of Univerfal Salvation is, in your opinion, abfolutely inconfiftent with the nature and end of the general Judgment, when the decisions of this awful

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day will confign the wicked to a state of perdition; this the fcriptures fay Thall be their fearful end: here it leaves them, and if we attempt to trace them beyond this state of perdition, and talk of a future day of grace, you are perfuaded we fhall act without Scripture, warrant, or authority." IanIwer, that it appears to me no way inconfiftent with the nature and end of the general judgment; it fully admits of æonion punishment, and is no way inconfiftent with æonion death in fine, it perfectly accords with and enforces the doctrine of æonion perdition: the only thing in which we feem to differ is the future day of grace. It has already been obferved why I think the word aon neither does nor can fignify eternity in the New Teftament, and therefore the purpose of God, in gathering, reconciling and faving, or reftoring all men, ftill ftands unfhaken, and gives fufficient warrant and authority to hope for the Reftitution of all Things. In your obfervations on the 5th Romans you fay, "In the 12th verfe the Apostle, in laying down the firft branch of the comparison refpecting fin, only fays that it entered into the world without taking notice of its extent or influence any farther than by it death alfo entered into the world; but having mentioned the entrance of death into the world, he immediately takes notice of its univerfal dominion, "fe death paffed upon all men." I would just remark, that if you had taken in the laft claufe of this fame verfe, "for that all have. finned," you would not have faid that the Apoftle took no notice of its extent or influence: I grant, indeed, that your propofition, "That neither Scripture nor fact will warrant us to fay that all men fhould be made righteous" would have been affected by this alteration; but will it be lefs affected by the text itself, upon which you make that observation ? May we not with equal propriety conclude, that all men were not made finners by one man's difobedience, as that all men hall not be made righteous by the obedience of one? I confefs I think the text gives no authority to conclude that the many who shall be made righteous by the obedience of one, is in any degree less extenfive than the many who were made finners by one man's difobedience; that the free gift coming upon all men to juftification of life, is of equal extent with the judgment coming upon all men to condemnation I think you have very well evinced, and that it relates to the refurrection from the dead you have fhewn is no less clear. But does it relate to that alone? is the abundance of grace to be measured by and restricted to the fame degree as the abunGg 2 0

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dance of fin? I think an attentive confideration of the context would lead us to answer these queries in the negative. Verse 15. "But not as the offence, fo alfo is the free gift: for if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jefus Chrift, bath abounded unto many." Verse 16. “ And not as it was by one that finned, fo is the gift: for the judgment was by one (offence) to condemnation; but the free gift is of many offences unto juftification. To me it appears very evident, that the many being contrafted with many denotes equal extent, as well as all being contrafted with all in ver. 18. But the grace of God is exprefsly faid to have abounded much more, and the free gift is of many offences unto juftification. That in many offences the difobedience of Adam may be included I fhall not difpute: but that no more than one offence is meant by the expreffion many offences I hope will not be contended. The Holy Spirit does not exprefs his meaning with fuch ambiguity. The Apostle adds, ver. 17. "For if by one man's offence Death reigned by one, much more they who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteoufnefs fhall reign in life by one Jefus Chrift. This, I think, by no means intimates that all receive this abundance of grace and gift of righteoufnefs, but that fuch as do receive it thall reign in life through Jefus Chrift; and what becomes of those who do not? The answer is fimple, "He that believeth not shall be "damned," and the reason is not more difficult, it is becaufe they received not the love of the truth that they might be faved: therefore they fhall not reign; this is not any defect in the Giver or the gift, but because they would not. Are they therefore given up as eternally loft? Far from it; it has already been noticed, that the very end of the others reigning in life is to fubdue thefe, that they might alfo live, though not reign; that, I think, will be a dignity peculiar to those who fuffer with him, they shall alfo reign with him; the defign of which is, that they may minifter doctrine, reproof, correction and inftruction in righteoufnefs; that as by one offence the judgment came upon all men to condemnation, fo by the righteoufnefs of one the free gift may come upon all men to justification of life; and hence I think the purpofe of God will not be fruftrated: For as by one man's difobedience (oi poloi)the many, or multitude, were made finners, fo by the obedience of one (ai pelloi) the many, or multitude, shall be made righteous: the conclufion of the Apoftle's reafoning upon the fubject makes it very clear, that however the abolishing of

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Adam's tranfgreffion is included in it, it is very far from being the utmost limit of the abounding of grace, for wherever fin abounds (and that must be confeffed to be in every individual) even there grace will much more abound; that as fin hath reigned unto death, even fo might grace reign through righteoufnefs unto onion life, through Jefus Chrift our Lord. While I allow with you that juftification of life relates to the refurrection from the firft death, let me ask you how you understand the juftification ver. 16. May we not also understand it to be juftification of life? It feems to stand in oppofition to the condemnation in the fame verfe, and is faid to be of many offences unto juftification: this, perhaps, you will fay is juftification from all things; I agree with you, it is fo, but I think juftification of life is not materially and effentially different from justification from all things, but that the former is included in the latter; that this is really the cafe with regard to the righteous I think is pretty plain, for the condemnation by Adam is one of the all things from which believers are juftified by Jefus Chrift our Lord; and when the difobedient fhall at length bow the knee, and confefs the name of Jefus, they also fhall be justified from all things, in which juftification from the one offence and its effects will then be found to have been included. I entirely agree with you, that 1 Cor. xv. 21, 22. is clearly applicable to the refurrection from the dead; but I do not fo well agree, as that in the fubfequent part of the chapter the Apofle confines himself to the firft refurrection and fubfequent glory of those who are Chrift's, for I think the 24th verfe to the 28th an evident exception to that obfervation; in these verses the Apoftle fhews the fubjection of all things under Jefus Chrift before the end come, when he shall deliver up the kingdom unto God, even the Father, for he muft reign till he hath put all enemics under his feet. In Heb. i. 2. the Apostle fays, "God hath appointed him heir of all things," and in chap. ii. 8. "Thou haft put all things in subjection under his feet;" for in that he put all in fubjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him, excepting only as in 1 Cor. xv. 27. him who did put all things under him :" I would observe here that there is one law for the election, and for the reft all must be put in fubjection under his feet: and that this appears to be the defign of that rule, authority and power wherewith he is invefted, and which shall be put down when this end is accomplished; and that this fubjection of all things under Chrift is fpoken

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