But not only is the eternity of punishment clearly laid down in Scripture--as clearly as the eternity of God Himself, or of any thing pertaining to Him; we believe it also flows as a necessary truth from other truths which are generally received without a single question. Take, for instance, the immortality of the soul. Did the fall of man touch this question? We believe not. Man was made the possessor of an immortal spirit, by the breath of the Almighty; and we have no authority whatsoever to say that his fall made any difference as to this. Immortal he was, as to his soul, immortal he is, and immortal he must be. Yes, he must live forever somewhere. Tremendous thought! Many do not like it. They would fain be able to say, "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." They would like to pass away as the beasts that perish; and this very desire, we doubt not, has been, in many cases, the parent of the notion that punishment is non-eternal. "The wish is father to the thought." But, ah! man must face that dreadful reality, _ETERNITY_. Saved or unsaved, there is no escaping that. He must either deny the immortality of the soul, or admit the eternity of punishment.
Again, take the doctrine of the atonement. If any thing less than eternal punishment be due to sin, what need was there of an infinite sacrifice to give deliverance from that punishment? Could nothing less than the peerless, priceless, divine sacrifice of the Son of God deliver any one from hell fire, and that fire not be eternal? Did Jesus shed His precious blood to deliver us from the consequences of our guilt, and those consequences be only temporary? We can never admit any such proposition. Grant us the truth of an infinite sacrifice, and we argue from thence the truth of eternal punishment.
We attach no weight whatever to the argument drawn from the lack of proportion between a few years of sin and an eternity of woe. We do not believe that this is the true way to measure the matter. The cross is the only measure by which to reach a true result; and we believe the deniers of eternal punishment offer dishonor to the cross by lowering it into a means of deliverance from a doom which is not eternal in its duration.
And now, one word as to the idea of its being incompatible with the character of God to allow such a thing as eternal punishment. Many seem to attach great weight to this. They appear to think that eternal misery could never comport with divine mercy and goodness. But those who urge this plea seem to forget that there is another side of the question, which must be looked at if we would reach a sound conclusion on the point. What about divine justice, holiness, and truth? Are these things not to be taken into account? Can we base an argument on some of the divine attributes and leave others out? Surely not. We must look at them all. The cross of Christ has harmonized them all, in the view of all created intelligences. In that cross, God has set forth His perfect love to the sinner; but He also has set forth His perfect hatred of sin. Now, if a man deliberately rejects that only way of escape--that perfect remedy--that divine provision, what is to be done? God cannot let sin into His presence. He is of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity. Will the deniers of eternal punishment tell us what is to be done? How is this question to be settled? They say, by annihilation,--that is, by man's perishing like a beast. Ah, this will never do! "The Lord God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul." (Gen. ii. 7.) Was this ever revoked? Is there a shadow of foundation in the entire book of God for the theory of annihilation? If there is, let it be produced. We look upon it as a most miserable subterfuge--a pitiable attempt to get rid of the awful thought of eternity. But it will not do. Let man but cast his eye on the page of inspiration, and there he sees that tremendous word, "ETERNITY"! "ETERNITY"! "ETERNITY"! Let him but lend his ear to the voice that issues from the depth of his moral being, and he will hear the same soul-subduing word, "Eternity"! "Eternity"! "Eternity"! He cannot get rid of it; he cannot shake it off. He is shut up to the stern fact that he must live forever.
Well, then, what about his sin? That cannot get into God's presence. God and sin can never be together. This is a fixed principle. God is good, no doubt, and the proof of His goodness is the gift of His Son. But then He is holy; and between holiness and sin there must be an eternal separation; so that we are forced to the same solemn conclusion, namely, that all who die in their sins--all who die in the rejection of God's infinite provision for the forgiveness of sins, will have to endure the consequences of those sins in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone throughout the countless ages of eternity.[23]