lUNE 1, 1929
Cfhe
WATCH TOWER
the city of Jerusalem. It was a deep valley with a high and precipitous cliff on the Jerusalem side. Not only was all waste and rubbish burned here, but also the carcasses of dead animals, such as cats, dogs, horses, etc., were thrown into this valley, to be destroyed. The city ordinance was that nothing that had life should be cast into the valley. Thus we can see that it could not possibly represent eternal torment, because nothing that had life was ever cast into it. History also tells us that the dead bodies of thl' worst criminals were denied a proper burial and were likewise thrown into this valley and there completely destroyed. To destroy this rubbish and these carcasses, a fire was always kept burning there. Jlany cities in the United States have just such places for the destruction of the rubbish of the city at the present time. The speaker has seen seyeral of them, and each one has ahvays been a valley or some depression. The dead carcasses and other waste matter thrown into these Yalleys would breed pestilence, and so it was customary to sprinkle brimstone over these, which not only served as a disinfectant but also ha<.;tened the complete dl'struction of the careasses, sinee hrimstone will burn more destruetiYely than an:" otlllr known substance. This fire was not permitted to be qU<:,ll(·h('(l. To quench a fire means to forcibly pnt it 01lt. VItcn It fire burns up eVl'rything and goes out for the rea SOil that there is nothing more to burn, that fire is 110t :t quenehl'd fire. Let it be noted, tlwn, that wltf'n ,Tpslls spoke of 'the fire that is never qUl'lH'hed', he did llOt mean that the fire would ne,'er go out, but he did mean that nobody would be permitted to put it out, to quench it. Thus, we can see that this fire pictures the complete destruction of that which was pnt into the fire, and thus becomes the best possible picture of the "everlasting destruction" of all those wilful sillners who are to be destroyed in the second death. This fire that iN llev<:,r quenched is identically the same thing as the lake of fire and brimstone mentiollPd several times in Rewlation. And in most positive language the lake of fire and brimstone is declared to be' ·the second death ".-Hev. 20: 1-1; 21: 8. Now note the faet that sheal, of the Old Testament, and hades, of the New Testament, both eorrectly translated" hell" and" grave ", refer to the :damic death, while uellenna, of the New Testament, is a picture or illustration of the seeond death, whirh mean" everlasting destruction or annihilation. Vhat is the particular difference between .unmic and serond death? The answer is that Adamic dl'atil is temporary destruction, likened to sll'ep, because a sleeping person generally awakens. llany texts speak of the Adamic death as sleep. Thc seeond death is never raUed sleep, for the reason that therE' is no awakening from the second death, and not even a
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promise or any hope of a resurrection for those who go into it. They are rompletely and for ever destroyed, and the apostle speaks of this as everlasting destruction. On the other hand, all who die the Adamic death, and go into sheol or hades, will be awakened. I want to prove this last statement. In Psalm 49: 15 we read that "God will ransom my soul from the power of the grave". The word translated "grave" is sheol, and the margin translates it "hell". Here, then, is a plain statement that people in hell are to be ransomed from hell. When Jesus died he was for three days in hell, and Peter tells us that God left not his soul in hell, but raised him from the dead. (Arts 2 : 31, 32) Again, in Revelation 20: 13 we read: ,. Death and hell delivered up the dead whirh were in them. 0' In all these cases the word" hell" is sh eol or hades, and not fjehcnna. ~ow lE't us see ,vhat is meant by the words of our text. "If thine e~'e offend thee, pluck it out: for it is hetter for thee to ellter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having' two e:n's, to be cast into hdl fire. 0' In 1 J aIm 2: 16 we read: "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pridr of life, is not of the Father, but is of t he world." As here used, the word "world" means the Devil's organization; and hence the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life originate with the Devil and are not pleasing to the Father. The lust of the eyes refl'rs to those things that we sec with our eyrs and lust for, or desire, whieh, if obtained, would not be pleasing to God and would hinder us from obtaining the kingdom. Let us examine some of the uses of this word "lust" as given to us in God's Yord. The children of INrarl fell a lusting for flesh while wandering in the wilderness, and God gave thl'm quails to eat. (~um. 11: 4) Jesus warned his followers against looking 011 a woman to lust after her. (1lat1. 5: 28) .g·ain, in ,Tames -1 : 5 we read: "The spirit that dwelleth ill us lusteth to em'~'." Thus we see that envy is lust. .:Iso in 1 Timoth:,' 6: 9 arc these words: "They that will be rirh fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, ... for tlw love of money is the root of all [forms of] evi I." And still again, in 2 Timothy 4: 3 we read: "The time will come when the:,' will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themseln's teaehers, having itf'hing cars." Now what does this mean? It means that the time will rome wlwn men will stubborn]:,' resist the truth, will not listen to it, and will lust after or desire teachl'rs who will preach just what they ,vant to hear, teachers whose ears arc itching to know just what their audiences want them to preach, and who will not preach otherwise for fear of losing their salaries. Xow we have an excellent idea of what the word
