Milton had, when he penned that glorious commentary on Hebrews i. 6, we then shall know : "Hear all ye angels, progeny of light, Thrones, dominations, princedoms, virtues, powers, Hear My decree, which unrevoked shall stand: Him have anointed, whom ye now behold For ever happy him who disobeys, Satan; so call him now; his former name Through pride, that sight, and thought himself impaired, Paradise Lost. Book v. Then shall it be shown who was chief sinner and who next and next. And if the least responsible shall be the first to die, it will follow that the first that sinned shall be the longest sufferer and the last to die. For now the lake of fire, "the everlasting fire. prepared for the devil and his angels," must receive its first consignment. Strong and mighty angels, those terrible ministers of vengeance, must now fulfil their dread mission, for at length "the time" (Matt. viii. 29) so long delayed has come. No longer a prison, a bottomless pit; but a lake of fire, a pit of destruction, an everlasting destruction in the sense that it will be irretrievable, resulting in extinction, that God may be all in all. When thus man's tempter has been judged and received his sentence-the execution of which may last for an age or ages-man the tempted must stand in the judgment to receive his sentence too. And then must appear the scene depicted first by our Lord in Matt. xxv., and then by the Seer in Patmos, Rev. xx. 12. And because great difference of opinion exists as to the identity of these two scenes, we will fortify our position by quoting one who will be an authority with some if not with all. Dean Alford, in his com 66 mentary on Matt. xxv. 31-46, says, We now come to the great and universal judgment at the end of this period—the millennial kingdom-also prophesied of distinctly in order in Rev. xx. 11-15, in which all the dead both small and great stand before God. Notice the precision of the words in verse 31, 'But when,' literally whenever,' this setting forth the indefiniteness of the time, the 'but' showing the distinction from the two parables foregoing, and then' to mark a precise time when all this shall take place a day of judgment." Then must be seen standing in the judgment the parents of our race (unless indeed already manifested at the pre-millenial assize), when we shall learn the measure of their responsibility, and their interest in that atonement about which they can have known so little intelligently. Whether the sin of Eve, who was the first in the transgression, was equal to that of Adam, seeing that he was alone when the prohibition was given, and she was assailed by the tempter as the weaker of the two. Then must stand in the judgment the first man-slayer, who only in the blow that proved fatal to his brother could become aware of the meaning of death, and what would cause it, and could only measure his guilt when God said, "What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground." (Gen. iv. 10.) That he was of that wicked one is more evident in his hate of his brother's righteous works than in slaying his brother, which was but the sad fruit of an evil root. Then must stand in the judgment those ancient sinners to whom the seventh from Adam prophesied, saying, "Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against them." Thus early in the world's history were men warned of judgment to come upon all ungodliness. But if it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah, for Tyre and Sidon in that day than for sinners of later date, what may not be said for these to whom judgment became first proclaimed. And this we take to be an important feature in the judgment now under consideration, the relative responsibility of the judged, the principle contained in the words, "That servant which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more " (Luke xii. 47, 48). And hence it is manifest that Omniscience alone could be the judge of quick and dead. For then shall the righteous of all ages, countries, climes and times, who have in that sense which God will approve obeyed the law written in their conscience, be invited with Milton had, when he penned that glorious commentary on Hebrew i. 6, we then shall know : "Hear all ye angels, progeny of light, Thrones, dominations, princedoms, virtues, powers, Him have anointed, whom ye now behold For ever happy him who disobeys, Satan; so call him now; his former name Through pride, that sight, and thought himself impaired, Paradise Lost. Bc Then shall it be shown who was chief sinner and who ne next. And if the least responsible shall be the first to die, follow that the first that sinned shall be the longest suffe the last to die. For now the lake of fire, "the everlast prepared for the devil and his angels," must receive its fi signment. Strong and mighty angels, those terrible mini vengeance, must now fulfil their dread mission, for at lengt time" (Matt. viii. 29) so long delayed has come. No prison, a bottomless pit; but a lake of fire, a pit of des an everlasting destruction in the sense that it will be irret resulting in extinction, that God may be all in all. When thus man's tempter has been judged and rec sentence the execution of which may last for an age or as. the nted must stand in the judgment to receive his then must appear the scene depicted first by and then by the Seer in Patmos, Rev. xx. difference of opinion exists as to the identit ve will fortify our position by quoting one w with some if not with all. Dean Alford, is 66 a "Come ye blessed of my Father," much to their astonishment as it would seem, from their response, When saw we thee," &c., having had, it may be, no Scripture revelation, but only the law of kindness written in their hearts; while others who have had gospel light and teaching shall be found on the left hand, learning but too late that faith without works is dead, being alone, as they shall hear from the lips of the Judge their sentence, "Depart ye cursed." Whether all that have ever lived and breathed the breath of life will re-appear to stand in judgment there, may admit of question in the light of some portions of Scripture testimony. If "the King whose name is the Lord of hosts hath said concerning Babylon, her princes, and her wise men, her captains, her rulers, and her mighty men, they shall sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake" (Jer. li. 57), and "As many as have sinned without law shall perish without law" (Rom. ii. 12), for "Where no law is there is no transgression " (Rom. iv. 15), it may be, that the heathen to whom the word of God has not been sent, comprising the myriads of India, China, and the aborigines of Africa, America, and Australia in the ages long past and gone, who, so far as we know have had no revelation, will not be raised to judgment, but in their present death have already utterly perished. And when we consider the infinitude of the human race, that during its seven thousand years' history shall have been born to live a few brief years, and then to pass away like a forgotten dream, a vast proportion of which have had no more moral training or acquaintance with a Creator than the brute creation around them, we feel driven to one or other of two conclusions, either they will be raised and without judgment become subjects of a revelation in some future age, or, in their present death continue dead, and prove to have been "put away like dross," to be taken into account no more. We are not unmindful that "the wrath of God is to be revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men," but it is to such as hold the truth in unrighteousness, and, therefore, to such as have had a revelation of what truth is. Nor would we tamper with the words already quoted, "All that are in the graves shall hear his voice," &c., and, "I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God," &c. But finding the word "all" admits of considerable qualification in some Scriptures, we incline to think that it may also here. And when we consider the necessity of the chaff to the wheat, and that both grow upon one stem from one root, and that the wheat he will gather into his garner, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire; we feel urged to inquire in more senses than one, What is the chaff to the wheat? The extent of revelation to the antediluvian world is to us almost entirely unknown. Whether Enoch was a preacher of righteousness as well as a prophet of judgment we are not told; we may |