Man an eternal probationer

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Prefatory Note

Of course all questions referring to the future years of time or relating to the coming ages of eternity are obliged to be more or less speculative and uncertain. And for this reason they must be in a large measure merely conjectures put forth by us concerning certain things, as we have conceived them in our minds, which may or may not come to pass as we have anticipated. Now these suppositions, or guesses, are generally, as we think, based safely and discreetly upon the admitted facts and recognized disclosures of divine revelation, or upon the clear discoveries and established developments in the natural sciences, as we understand and accept them.

And in view of these simple statements, we can never reasonably claim to be justifiable, under any circumstances, in presenting or maintaining our notions in regard to these matters, however dear they may be to us, in a dogmatic spirit or with an arrogant bearing toward others who may happen to differ from us, as the chances for mistake and failure are always too many and too great. The most that we can afford, at the present, with anything like becoming grace, is to hold them in abeyance, and with modesty and unpretentious confidence frankly submit them to the candid and sober judgment of others for their approval or rejection; and then await with patience, quietness, and resignation the swift flight of the fleet-

6 Prefatory Note.

ing years of time and the slow lapse of the long lagging epochs of eternal ages either to vindicate the peculiar views which we have so fully loved and fondly espoused in this life, or else expose their fallacy. And so it must become evident to all who favor freedom of speech, and do not fear an investigation in matters of faith and practice, that the widest liberty of expression ought to be allowed to men along these dim lines of unsettled thought which are found to be very fascinating to some minds and perfectly harmless to all. For it is a plain proposition that if we ever make anything like important and profitable advances in the unfolding of illimitable truth, as contained in the Holy Scriptures, we will be compelled sometimes to come into sharp collision with, and occasionally forced, whether with cheerfulness or regret to ourselves, to depart entirely from tenderly fostered and decidedly popular opinions which were once most heartily embraced by our pious, patriotic, and noble fathers ; and which were bravely, honestly, and persistently defended by them, and faithfully handed down to us in the sacred annals of the hallowed past.

And just now, at this particular period in the thrilling history of the ever-adventurous human race, the whole world appears to be in the midst of a radical and revolutionary change which most clearly indicates a transition state in all things. Old creeds in the Churches, venerable with age, and old platforms in political parties, hoary with years, are unmistakably slipping rapidly away from us. And as much as we love and admire them, we are perfectly willing to let them go ; for in parting with them, we come at once into possession

Prefatory Note. 7 of others which are as wiselj^ framed and far better adapted to us and this wonderful age in which we are living.

And in view of these stirring and suggestive events, may we not reasonably and justly claim and expect to receive the tender sympathy and tolerant indulgence of an advancing, enterprising, and generous reading public with us in the unusual positions and candid utterances set forth in this little book, which is itself the result of the gradual growth of a divine impression made upon the warm affections of the heart, as well as the production of the most thoughtful years of mature life. And now we send it forth upon its anxious mission with an earnest, devout, and continuous prayer that it may prove to be a fruitful source of hope, help, and happiness to men everywhere.

And may the kind and courteous reader and the humble, grateful writer so live here below that they shall meet each other above, to spend an eternity of bliss upon the bright, sunny plains of immortality and the clear, cloudless summits of the beautiful mountains of everlasting life.

Green P. Jackson.

Nashville, TEPm., August 31, 1902.

** One question more than others all Of thoughtful minds implores reply: It is, as breathed from star and pall, What fate awaits us when we die?"

Man An Eternal Probationer.

PART I. A Plain, Simple Presentation of the Subject

is on trial. The term of his probation never ends in an absolute sense. He controls will not continue to do so throughout the roll of the eternal ages of the future. Vice and virtue, so far as he is concerned, originate with him. They are but the overt expressions of his will power, put forth by him in the choice of actions. And so he places himself, by his own voluntary option, in a state of happiness or unhappiness. And heaven must forever be his reasonable reward for righteousness, and hell his just retribution for wickedness. Thus he necessarily stands before us in his strange connection, both with this present world and the one which is to come.

Future punishment, however, is here proposed for special consideration. As generally held, it is confessedly a horrible theme for contemplation or discussion; but may not the ordinary notion concerning it, which is so prevalent, prove on closer examination to be incorrect, at least in some particulars? And if so, ought it not to be modified ?

But we certainly should be slow in making up our minds on this question of supreme importance. And that we may reach a safe and satisfactory conclusion the run of his life during the transient years of time, and there is no intimation that he lo Man An Eternal Probationer.

in regard to it, we must not only be cautious and deliberate, but we must also avoid everything like haste or heedlessness in connection with it. And then if, as we have been assiduously taught to believe from our early childhood, it is true, it will be found, under the closest scrutiny and severest tests, to comport perfectly with the voice of revelation and reason. Then let us try to look critically, but at the same time candidly, into the matter.

AN is a free agent. This is frankly admitted. And at the same time it is readily accepted that he is placed under the restraints of moral law, which he is competent of meeting with becoming obedience, or rejecting with defiant violation, as he may see fit to decide for himself. Hence he is reasonably and justly held responsible for all his actions, whether they be good or bad. And being perfectly free now, he must remain free forever. This is essential to him — indispensably so, in order that his responsibility may continue with him always. But freedom of will necessarily implies choice between good and evil things. So that doing righteous deeds or performing wicked works must, in the very nature of things, invariably result in building up a character in harmony with them. And it is a conceded fact, fully sustained by the experience and observation of men, that character never fails to fix destiny for weal or woe. Now everybody knows well enough that any man can change his course of conduct as long as he lives in this world. And if his manner of living and acting is completely at his command while he remains

Man An Eternal Probationer. ii here, who can say that such ceases to be the case with him in any place or at any time hereafter ?

But does it not naturally follow that if there should ever come a period in the history of any man in v/hich he is deprived of the power and precious privilege of independent choice, he can no longer be held responsible for anything that he may think, say, or do ? Neither does it matter materially when or where this fatal misfortune might come upon him, as the ruinous result would be the same. For with tl-e end of the freedom of will all responsibility must stop. It stands out plainly to reason and common sense that if he cannot do that which he ought to do, or refrain from doing that which he is doing, he can by no means be held accountable in any way for what he does or does not accomplish.

No government on the face of the earth is so unreasonable and cruelly unjust in the requirements and demands which it makes of its citizens and subjects as to inflict sore punishment upon them for things which they could not, by their untrammeled choice and power, bring about or prevent from coming into existence. And "shall not the Judge of all the earth do right" ? We surely ought to strive to be reverential and pious enough to believe that he will. We need a better knowledge of the true character of his administration, and want a closer acquaintance with his merciful management of its affairs. However, we may safely accept it as a reliable principle in the divine economy that no man will be compensated or punished for any event or occurrence that may happen to take place over v/hich he did not have a controlling influence. Even the civil courts and political powers of this world grant this much to men in their deahngs with them. And to hold otherwise must prove destructive to all the grand and vital principles of justice and equity as recognized and enforced by all wise and prudent governments, whether existing among Christian nations or heathen peoples. If such a thing were feasible — if it could be done at all — God could as rationally punish a beam of timber, block of stone, or rod of iron, for breaking, splitting, or bending, as to pour out eternal wrath upon a poor, wretched, lost, and undone sinner in the dreary regions of the damned, if there is no possibility, not the sHglitest chance, of thereby improving his desperate condition, reclaiming him from his unfortunate ahenation, and restoring him to the forfeited favor of Heaven.

But if, as we have been confidently assured, he will grow constantly worse and worse under this treatment, while the mournful ages come and go, and his tortures are to become severer and yet still more severe in the dark and dreadful domains of an endless perdition, v\^ould it not be far better for all concerned to blot out the ruined one? And would not stern justice join tender mercy in an urgent request that this be done? It could be done. God who made him certainly could annihilate him. And it is readily seen that complete obliteration is infinitely preferable to an eternal and ever-increasing agony. Common sense clearly lies on that side of this gloomy and hideous question. It needs no argument to set it up. Vastly more scriptural proof can be furnished in its favor than can be arrayed against it. Surely if there is a man anywhere in the whole earth whom God can never save, we may fondly hope that he will expunge such a one entirely from existence. Why should he perpetuate his miserable being simply to keep him confined in the hot fires and raging flames of an endless hell? What manner of good can ever come out of such an utterly horrible procedure? Why, it would fill the world with the shades of sadness, and overwhelm all sympathetic natures with painful but unavailing sensations of heartfelt commiseration. It would appall the entire universe. However, is it not strictly true that freedom of will is an indispensable element in the very constitution of human nature? Then, if this be so, to take it away from man would forever wreck his accountability. Therefore such a thing can never be done. Just as long as a man remains a man he must be allowed to do right or wrong according to his own unhampered choice, that he may be held personally responsible for his character and condition. So that, whether they be good or bad, he is self-conscious that they are the immediate and legitimate results of his own choosing and doing.

And it is an unalterable law of the very being of m.an that he is always made happy or miserable by the exercise and final determination of his ;will power. According to his volition, he does that which is right and fills his pure heart with the untold joys of heaven, or else he does that which is wrong and floods his evil soul with the indescribable agonies of hell. And thus he makes his own happiness or wretchedness. God has mercifully and wisely so arranged and adjusted the principles of his great moral system of law and order to us that we can build up for ourselves a beautiful Paradise and revel in its pleasures and delights, or we may form our own perdition and writhe in its pains and tortures. Then we must not attribute our lack of transporting bliss or charge our distressing compunctions of guilt to any other person than ourselves. And this strange and singular capability of passing at will from one of these diverse states to the other one must be preserved to us perpetually. We can never, under any circumstances, surrender it ourselves, or be deprived of it by any one else. It must remain incontestably in our possession forever. And we cannot fail to recognize and realize that this is just and right. Then may we not reasonably suppose that death itself will not be able to end this established order of things with us, or even to change it materially? Rather, are we not obUged to conclude that it cannot do it? As we leave the receding shores of time, so we shall plunge into the boundless ocean of eternity. That is to say, we must carry all of our marvelous powers with us, and keep them, world without end. They belong to us exclusively and everlastingly. We may dishonor and degrade, but we can never lose or destroy, these sublime and lofty qualities which God has seen fit to bestow upon us for his glory and our good. And we may have the same or similar powers and opportunities for being righteous and practicing righteousness, or for being wicked and doing wickedness, in that mysterious world all along through the eternal ages which have been so abundantly afforded us in this life. We may also retain in undiminished measure and strength all the possibilities, privileges, and responsibilities for changing our character and condition over there which we have here. But some of us have shamefully neglected and signally failed to properly appreciate and wisely improve them here; so we may continue to do in the future life. Now all this implies and suggests that the destinies of men are not unchangeably fixed at death. They can never be immutably settled. This cannot be without doing destructive violence to the nature of man. And therefore it cannot be done at all.

And, as we have already intimated, it may be that sinners will repent, believe, and be saved in the next world as in this life. Or they may persist in impenitency there, and abide in condemnation as in the days of their flesh.

li has been said that though crowned in heaven we may still prove recreant and unfaithful to God, abandon our places in glory, forfeit salvation, and descend to the doleful regions of deep despair. Even that great and good man, Bishop Enoch M. Marvin, in his wonderful little book entitled "The Work of Christ," says : "Now and then volition may assert itself capriciously, and a spirit give itself up recklessly to ruin against the full attractions of Godhead."

This startling statement may be true. We have no good and sufficient reason to contradict it, but we find much to commend it to our favorable attention and serious consideration. Then we most respectfully submit the very natural inquiry : If the saint can slip down from heaven into hell, why may not the sinner struggle up out of hell into heaven? Who can furnish a satisfactory answer to this question, and show us why this should not be the case ?

In the discussion of this important matter, let us try to disabuse our minds of all prejudice, predilection, and especially let us endeavor to get clear of the i6 Man An Eternal Probationer.

blinding influence of passion, that we may look quietly, calmly, and! discreetly into the difficult and perplexing problem, so that we may reach a sure and safe conclusion in regard to it. And in this way we shall retain our reason and judgment in clearness and soundness ; and when we come to render our final decision in the case, we will be able to do it with fairness and impartiality.

If the sanctified and saved in glory may become disaft'ected, discontented, disobedient, and rebelHous toward God, and, as the sinning angels are said to have done, renounce their shining stations above and sink down to the nethermost abysm of woe, it does seem but reasonable, just, and right that the lost in the black realm of rayless and starless night should be allowed to repent, believe, be forgiven, and pass up from the sorrowful shades of sin and death to the rapturous joys of heaven. And the plausibility of the one assumption certainly must suggest and set up the plausibiHty of the other one. And it would seem that all orderly minds must come at last to see it in that light.

Why should it be made such an easy matter for men to break into the murky dungeons of perdition, and so very difficult for them to find their way out of them? Can it possibly be true that the Lord takes greater pleasure in the destruction than in the salvation of men ? Surely this cannot be the case. Such a thing must be profoundly and permanently repugnant to him in thought and feeling. It can only be regarded as antagonistic to his holy nature and immaculate character. Then we could commit no higher offense than to bring such an accusation against him;

for his goodness and purity cannot be impugned or impeached.

He is the Father of men — of all men, everywhere and in every condition and station of life. Then what tender and sacred relations must exist between the Almighty and his helpless children! And will not his fatherhood secure for us a milder course of treatm.ent at his hands ? It certainly ought to do it. What earthly parent — ^if such a thing were possible — would think of inflicting insupportable, unmitigated, endless torture upon his poor, unfortunate, and erring child, without the least hope or chance of improving or in any way benefiting the defenseless sufiferer by it? Now Jesus would answer this question by saying :

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

That is, to say the least of it, comforting.

Parental chastisement, under all circumstances, must have full in view as its chief object and dearest aim the reformation, amendment, and improvement of the refractory child. And when it fails in this superlative intention, it ceases to be corrective, loses its advantages in the management of the family, and degenerates into downright cruelty. The penalty for violated law should always be executed as tenderly as possible. Even inexorable justice yields this much to the doomed culprit.

But some one may be tempted to say that we are pressing into service an old hackneyed and worn-out illustration. Well, if so, we readily grant it. But still, it must in all fairness be admitted that this, as a i8 Man An Eternal Probationer.

simple fact in itself, cannot in the least degree or remotest sense weaken its force or strip it of its fitness in this argument. Here its great age and much usage do not damage it. In this particular instance it fills its place well ; and the effect of its application must be felt and appreciated by all.

It should be borne in mind and cherished in heart that our heavenly Father is infinitely better and wiser in his treatment and controlment of us than our earthly parents can be. His compassion, affection, and concern for us can know no limitation or abatement. We are his children ; and for this reason he will love us forever. And as long as he loves us, he must seek to make us happy and not miserable.

This much we might naturally expect to receive from our fathers according to the flesh; then how much more from him who is '^the Father of our spirits"? His grace and pity can never fail or forsake us. Such a thing is impossible, both in thought and fact.

If we only wish to become good and be happy, no difference when or where the heaven-born disposition and soul-inspiring desire may come to us, the Lord will not only permit us to do so, but he will himself most gladly assist us in obtaining the coveted blessing. And to accomplish this end he would tax the richest resources of his omniscience.

And this is just what he is doing. Is it intimating too much to say that if such a thing could be he would willingly bankrupt infinite mercy to save lost souls, yea, one lost soul? Surely it could not, since he has already given "his only begotten Son" for sinners.

E are painfully aware of the fact that the peculiar vicvv^s which we are setting forth and advocating in this little book will hardly meet with a warm welcome and cordial indorsement from all who may chance to examine them. And we are not entirely ignorant of, or indifferent to, the evident danger which still lurks in the words of the wise man, and speaks to us in lingering tones of threatened danger, saying, "And whoso breaketh a hedge, a serpent shall bite him."

Nevertheless, however true this may be, hedgebreaking must and will go on ; and no manner of proscription from any quarter can stop it. But he who ventures to break the hedge should weigh well the gravity of the act before he undertakes it, lest he should afterwards regret it.

I^^^IT will greatly relieve matters in the discus- ^^^^ sion of this difficult question to have clear ^^^^ and correct conceptions of what really constitutes Heaven and Hell, which are ever present in our hopes and fears. On thorough examination, we may find that they are more properly regarded as states than places, though it has not been our custom to think or speak of them after this fashion. We have been in the habit of looking upon the locality itself as being in some way productive of weal or woe to us. And yet, in our more thoughtful moods, we know full well that it is not the outward circumstances that make a man happy or unhappy ; but it is the inward condition of the man himself. Joy or sorrow is each one .of them a condition of the mind which can be affected but slightly at last by extraneous surroundings.

And hence the old theory, which once prevailed almost universally among men, that hell is a shoreless and bottomless lake of fire and brimstone, into the immeasurable, turbulent, boihng depths of which incorrigible sinners are plunged with great force and swiftness, and upon whose fiery, burning billows, tipped with flickering flames of damnation, lost souls are forever tossed and dashed about, and violently driven against the rough, jagged rocks and black, storm-beaten reefs of hopeless despair, has been almost entirely relegated to the deadness of the past as suitably belonging to the crude notions of an immature age. And even now, as we look upon these curious reHcs of strange thought, we feel, with something akin to awe, their misleading influences still lurking and lingering about us. There seems to be a sort of self-induced superstitious behef, which has obtained much favor among some good, pious people, that there is a derelict world of wickedness and woe, and all who come into contact with that accursed orb are made thereby wretched forever. There is also an enchanting impression abroad that there is likewise a bright, beautiful world of purity and bliss called Heaven, which contains all the elements and principles of perfect peace and happiness within its celestial sphere, and all who are so fortunate as to once gain a footing upon its bewitching surface are immediately filled with endless joy.

Now these things are merely the unsubstantial but dazzling fancies of an overindulged imagination, "and nothing more." They are entirely v/ithout anything like a solid foundation either in reason or the word of the Lord. And, therefore, they must be more or less deleterious. If we follow them, we are obHged to lose sight of the genuine properties and qualities which constitute happiness or misery.

Perhaps the truth of the matter will be found in some such proposition as the following: Heaven or hell is simply the conscious condition of blessedness or wretchedness which personal character must always produce within us. For example, a good man is happy just simply because he is good ; and for this very reason it could not be otherwise with him. What he is and what he does furnish him abundantly with unwasting stores of imperishable comfort. He feels satisfied that God approves his ways, and knows that his fellow-men love and respect him.

And, on the other hand, a bad man is necessarily unhappy. An abiding sense of guilt fills him with keen remorse. He is ever reaping the bitter fruits of his evil doings. His wicked works haunt him still; and they open up in his aching heart and blasted life sweeping torrents of self-inflicted ruin. He needs no deeper or hotter hell than this. Nothing worse can ever come unto him ; no, nothing at all.

So it appears that every man creates for himself his heaven or hell, and carries it around daily in his own bosom. And he may continue to do this forever. Just as he decides to be, so he is. Upon his determination he soars direct to heaven or sinks straight to hell.

Then we may confidently assure ourselves that while on earth, tabernacling in bodies of flesh and blood and associated with each other in the different walks and various pursuits of life, we are at the same time testing by way of actual and adequate realization in our experience the pleasures of the crowned saints in glory or the pains of the suffering sinners in perdition. And they are as real, though not as full, now as they will be when we pass the judgment bar of God. And in view of these important facts, we are told that the righteous have "tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come." That is to say, they have as truly antedated the happiness of heaven amid the trials and troubles of this world as that they have been able to verify that "the word of God is good." And it is also affirmed of the wicked :

He that believeth not hath been judged already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God.

According to this, it is even now with the sinful man as if he had stood up in judgment and received his dooming sentence. Then a man does not have to die to suffer the tortures of perdition, as v/e have been accustomed to think. They come to him here, for if he beheves not on Jesus Christ, he is already damned — condemmd.

And as we know that men can change these conditions as long as they live, we naturally infer that they will continue to be able to do so after death. Probation is the necessary and normal estate of man, and therefore it must be secured to him as long as he is allowed to remain in existence. And it would seem that this is obHgea to be equally true of all intelligent, responsible, moral beings of every name and order.

Death can make no change or disturbance so far as the inherent rights of man to perfect freedom of choice and action are concerned. Nor can it in any material sense interfere with his established relations with God or his fellow-man.

The Bible does not teach clearly, by implication or otherwise, that final doom follows immediately upon the dissolution of the body. But on the contrary, its uniform utterances distinctly lead us to the opposite opinion, as Vv^e shall plainly see when we come to consult its sacred pages more directly in connection with this puzzling question.

^^^S|UT if it be true that men can obtain remis- ^^^H sion of sins in the future world, is it not like- ^^^m ly that they will all finally repent, believe in Jesus, and be saved? That is certainly the oiily legitimate conclusion to be reached in regard to the matter. And that is just what we pray and hope for, and confidently expect to see.

The brightest and most entrancing dream of our life can be fully realized alone in the consummated happiness of the whole world. And the possibility of this is based upon the great, consoling truth that all men are redeemed by the most precious blood of the divine Son of God.