ETERNITY
When the wheel turns, those who are lowest rise, and the highest sink. Patience,
then, believer, eternity will right the wrongs of time. ME280
A deaf and dumb man in one of the institutions in Paris, was asked to write upon the
slate his idea of God’s eternity, and he wrote the following forcible lines: “It is
duration without beginning or end; existence without bounds or dimensions; present
without past or future. His eternity is youth without infancy or old age, life without
birth or death, to-day without yesterday or to-morrow.” “I am Alpha and Omega, the
beginning and the end, the first and the last.” 546.714
Certain men in these days declare that “everlasting” does not mean everlasting, but
indicates a period to which an end will come sooner or later; I have no sympathy with
them, and feel no inclination to renounce the everlastingness of heaven and other
divine blessings in order to gratify the tastes of wicked men by denying the eternity
of future punishments. 1186.438
A new way of reading the Bible has been invented in these highly enlightened days.
I used to get on exceedingly well with the book years ago, for it seemed clear and
plain enough, but modern interpreters would puzzle us out of our wits and out of our
souls, if they could, by their vile habit of giving new meanings to plain words. Thank
God, I keep to the old simple way; but I am informed that the inventors of the new
minimizing glasses manage to read the big words small, and they have even read
down the word “everlasting” into a little space of time. Everlasting may be six weeks
or six months according to them. I use no such glasses; my eyes remain the same,
and “everlasting” is “everlasting” to me whether I read of everlasting life or
everlasting punishment. If I clip the word in one place I must do so in another, and it
will never do to have a terminable heaven. I cannot afford to give it up here when its
meaning is joyous to the saint, and therefore not there when its sound is terrible to
the sinner. 1413.271
Time tries most things, but eternity tries all. 1736.465
What saith the Scripture? “Eternal destruction from the presence of the Lord”—not,
a moment, and then it is all over; but eternal destruction. The Scripture has put the
two side by side, “These shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous
into life eternal.” The same word applies to both. As long as heaven shall shine so
long hell shall burn. As long as the saints are happy, so long shall those whose
impenitence has made them castaways be wretched. 3324.497