A PLACE FOR THE WICKED.

That there are two separate places and conditions—one for the righteous and the other for the wicked—we cannot doubt. In regard to no other fact are the revelations of God and declarations of the Scriptures more clear and explicit. This of itself should startle every inhabitant of Earth; cause due and solemn reflection; and incline every one to search for light, and truth, and for the way of salvation.

In stating the facts contained in this volume, it has not been our design to indulge in a tirade against those who seem careless and indifferent in regard to their own souls' eternal interest. If our picture makes the final doom of the wicked a fearful one, we have only presented the declarations of God through his prophets, and of the Saviour and his apostles. These declarations are startling, when properly considered, and should awaken every mind to the consideration of what must be their final destiny, if they continue to neglect the overtures of mercy. The law of God is fearful in its denunciations against the wicked, and its sentence will be sternly executed. Therefore we would "persuade all to be Christians."

If all the inhabitants of this Earth—all who have lived during the past, or may live and die on it through long ages to come—were saved and should go to dwell in that heavenly world, there would still be room there for more. Yea, even then, untold millions of chambers, ready and beautifully furnished by the Saviour in that vast and glittering "City of God," would still be unoccupied. And to the wicked, who will not turn from their evil ways, is lost forever the privilege of occupying those mansions; of walking the gold paved streets; of "drinking the waters from the fountains of life;" of wandering amidst the "shady groves," and along the banks of the beautiful rivers; of traversing valleys, and ascending the "hills and mountains of the Lord," and of plucking and eating the "ambrosial fruits" that grow on "the trees of life;" of having wealth and honor, and a safe and permanent home with the angels; the Prophets and Apostles of old; with Moses, and David, and Elijah; with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and with all the great and good of every age and clime—even with all "the redeemed of the Lord" "who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb"—with kindred friends from Earth; with angels and spirits of just ones made perfect, yea, "with all the ransomed hosts," and above all, with Christ, the Son of God, who is, and will there be King and ruler forever.

And for what are all these exchanged? Let us see. The Bible is the sure Word of God. It tells us that "the wicked shall be driven away in their wickedness;" that they "shall be cast into outer darkness, where shall be weeping and wailing, and gnashing of teeth."

They "shall be turned into hell with all the nations that forget God:" "They shall be cast into the lake of fire, and the smoke of their torment shall ascend up forever and ever." "These shall go away into everlasting punishment," "But the righteous into life eternal." The blessed Saviour, who died that they might have eternal life, "shall say unto those on his left hand (the wicked), depart into everlasting fire;" while to those on his right hand (the righteous), "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you before the foundation of the world;" "enter thou into the joys of thy Lord."

Yes, reader, God has prepared the two places, and it rests with you—as a free moral agent—to make your choice, and act accordingly. He will never drag you into heaven by force. You are the rightful inheritor of a precious immortal soul. He has prepared a place of perpetual happiness, and invites you to come to it. There you may find a home, with peace, love and joy. There is for you honor and wealth, and a "crown of glory." There the fountains, and "rivers of life," and an abundance of spiritual food. There neither decrepitude nor old age, nor sickness, sorrow, pain, nor death; but the bloom of eternal youth and beauty may rest on thy brow forever. Make your choice, and make it now, for delays are dangerous, and death and the judgment may be near unto you. The spirit-fire of God's love is now kindling in your heart, and I hear you say, "yes, I would like to be there." We implore you, quench not that spirit-fire of love, or it will change to a consuming SPIRIT-FIRE OF WRATH, and when your soul is released from the body, that spirit-fire will become an intense burning flame, and will be your torment forever and ever.

The very thought of enduring forever—after this short life has past—should startle the mind of every intelligent being, and cause the most serious reflections. None can save but God, and this salvation is through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. All must go to Him. Our ministers can only advise and instruct, and to do this properly, they must themselves be holy men of God. Christ Himself assumed the office of the Priesthood. He made the atonement. He is now our only High Priest, and all must go to Him. The wealth of the universe, given to an earthly Pope, Bishop, or Priest, could not save one single soul, nor purchase it from perdition. And yet salvation is freely offered to all who will forsake their wicked ways, and come to God through love, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

All are convinced of the immortality of the soul, and of a future state of existence. The Word of God has set this matter at rest, while it is fully evidenced by the inherent desire in every heart and mind that it should be so; even this "longing after immortality." So, also, does enlightened reason convince all that there will be a separation of the righteous from the wicked in their future conditions. There is no true harmony of mind and spirit between them even in this world; much less could there be when the righteous are made pure and clean by the "blood of the Lamb."

There has always been antagonism between the "spirit of light" and the "spirit of darkness." The first gives "light, life, and liberty." The second, darkness, death, and bondage. The word and revelations of God teach this fact, while the experience and heart admonitions of all confirm it. Even the ungodly condemn wickedness, and yet, strange to say, continue on in sin. There has, from the beginning, been spiritual antagonism between the good and the bad, and a consciousness upon the part of the wicked of their own wrong-doing. This has been the case ever since wicked Cain slew his brother Abel; God then pronounced His curse upon the perpetrator of that wicked deed, and His curse has stood against all wicked doers from that time to the present, and will through all time to come. Bible history is replete with evidences of His judgments against them, and plainly tells us that there are two separate places, one wherein the righteous shall enjoy happiness and eternal life; the other wherein the wicked shall be punished, and endure a living death that never dies, showing us plainly that,

"It is not all of life to live; nor yet of death to die."

Now, the location of that place of torment will claim a few moments of our attention. Of this we think we are not left to conjecture alone. We believe our hypothesis of the location of heaven is correct, and that we have one equally certain of the location of Hell, and that each hypothesis strongly corroborates the other.

First, let us take direct testimony; that given by the Son of God himself, who is to be the judge of all—even the "quick" and the "dead." The first are those quickened into life by the spirit, the last are "those who are dead in trespasses and in sin."

You will find this evidence in the 16th chapter of the "Gospel according to Saint Luke." Christ, the Son God, said,

"There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, who laid at they rich man's gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table; moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom; The rich man also died, and was buried, and in hell he lifted up his eyes. Being in torments, and seeing Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom, he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my parched tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus his evil things, but now he is comforted and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulph fixed; so that they who would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us that would come from thence."

"Then he said, I pray thee, therefore, father, that thou wouldst send him to my father's house, for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham said unto him, they have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, nay, father Abraham; but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. Abraham answered and said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead."

Thus, we see plainly that there are two separate places; one for the righteous, who are saved through obedience and faith, and the other for the wicked who are lost through disobedience and unbelief. Nothing could be more plain, pointed, or conclusive.

Now let us recall to your mind that which we have related in preceding pages; wherein we have told you that most Astronomers have agreed upon the fact, or hypothesis, of two atmospheres around the vast globe we have denominated heaven. The one next to it appears to be non-luminous; while the outer one—around this—is luminous, which they denominate photosphere, to which we have added ethereal, or "spirit-fire." This is what we see in looking at the Sun, and is the vast volume of fire, or ethereal flame, that sends out heat and light to this and other surrounding worlds. This light and heat extend over a region of the illimitable space, not less than six thousand millions of miles in extent. We have endeavored to approximate to the mind the intense heat of the Sun at its source, but it far exceeds finite comprehension.

We have also given you the views and suppositions of able investigators that the extent of that photosphere, or volume of flame, is vast indeed. It is said that 'flame-like masses—some computed to be one hundred and fifty thousand miles in length—are piled upon and overlap each other, and sweep onward in constant agitation like mountain billows of living fire.' This, as we have told you, is the source of all fire, or heat known to us on this Earth, and to all the other planets of our solar system.

The precise nature and elements of fire, we have said, we cannot fully comprehend; neither its original source, save that it emanated from the Great First Cause. The Sun is its direct source to us, and we realize it always the same; never augmenting nor diminishing. We know that it is the source of light to a vast region around, and, from the offices it performs, we cannot think less than that it is—as we have before said—an attribute of the Great Jehovah; and especially this when we consider God's own revelations as found recorded in the Bible.

In describing the dimensions of the Sun, we have said it is 2,655,000 miles round it, or to bring this vast extent nearer our comprehension, we may state that it would require 321 Earths, the size of this, set side by side to reach around it, and vast numbers more to cover its surface, and when thus covered with worlds like this, the stratum would only be about 8,000 miles deep, while it is reasonable to estimate that photospheric flame to be 100,000 miles in depth.

We have mentioned the "inner globe," estimated to be more than a million times the size of this Earth, and we have denominated it heaven, and this outside surrounding volume of ethereal fire we shall denominate hell, as we believe no other true hypothesis can be advanced. And, in assuming this, we believe ourselves sustained by the revelations of God, as well as by all we can comprehend of Nature.

In order to incite our minds to know and comprehend more of Him, and become obedient to His requirements, God has shown us, by manifestations, His instrument of destruction and punishment. His prophets have also announced His threatenings against the wicked, and have told us that fire—the element of heat—is the instrument with which He will fulfil His threatened vengeance, and we have seen this manifested by the destruction of the "cities of the plains"—even "Sodom and Gomorrah," as also the destruction of those who offered incense upon strange altars.

Now as this volume of flame, denominated the Sun, is the only source of fire; and as fire seems to us one of the controlling elements of nature, and pervades all things, and God rained down fire and destroyed those cities, and also sent down fire and destroyed those who offered incense on a strange altar, we plainly see where the fire is that is to be the punishment of the wicked. That it is said "fire came down from heaven," or "out of heaven," does not vitiate, but rather confirms our hypothesis. For God is omnipresent, and dwells in all heavens, and, from that region, that permanent source of fire, He commanded—doubtless—the concentration of the rays of the Sun, and it thus came at His command from heaven, and fell as flame of fire. But to prove that our hypothesis as to the location of hell is correct, we direct your mind again to the narrative of the Saviour, of the rich man in hell, and Lazarus in Abraham's bosom. That Abraham was in heaven no one can doubt, while we are plainly told that the rich man was "in hell," and, although "afar off," yet within speaking distance.

How far distant the voice of spirit can be heard, no one in mortality can know. We know that on this earth sound is limited because of the density of the atmosphere, and we realize even here that when the atmosphere is the more rarified, the greater the distance of sound. It is computed that the condensed, or earth-atmosphere, extends outward from the earth about forty miles. When we have passed this stratum, and have gained space in the ethereal atmosphere, it may be possible that the same volume of voice we are accustomed to here, might be heard thousands, or even millions of miles distant from us. Heat rarifies atmosphere as we here realize by the influence of the sun. If the addition of a few rays of the sun will dissipate the dense clouds, and so materially rarify our atmosphere at the distance of ninety-five millions of miles, what may we suppose the condition of the atmosphere ninety millions of miles nearer its source? Therefore, we may readily believe that although Dives, and Abraham, were far apart—possibly thousands of miles—yet they could see and converse with each other.

You will remember that astronomers inform us that there seems a volume of non-luminous atmosphere, or void, between the outer phostosphere of fire and the body of that inner globe (which globe we believe is heaven). Now remember the words of Father Abraham, "Beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulph fixed; so that they who would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us that would come from thence." Is not here conclusive evidence that the two places—heaven and hell—are not in far distant regions from each other?

Remember. It is said of the wicked "These shall go away into outer darkness, there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth." When death and hell shall give up their dead (for the souls of the wicked—who are dead in trespasses and in sin—are still enduring that death that never dies), and all appear before the Judgment seat of Christ, where "every one shall receive according to the deeds done in the body," and the wicked are "driven from God, and from the glory of His power," to reach again their eternal destiny, they will doubtless pass through that dark void, even that "great gulph fixed between," and there will be weeping and wailing, and gnashing of teeth.

Although we believe the evidence furnished is conclusive beyond cavil or doubt to every intelligent mind, yet we will still add more affirmative arguments which we desire that all should consider.

First, Let us refer again to the declarations—we have several times repeated—of the Prophets and Apostles. That heaven, and the Holy City in it, hath no need of the light of the Sun. That the "glory of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." That there is no night there, but one eternal day.

Now let us call to your mind the extent of that empire wherein the Sun does not shine. From astronomical measurement, we may form in our minds an approximation of its dimensions. To fix for it a low estimate, we may safely conclude that the domain proper, is at least five hundred thousand miles in diameter, and one million five hundred thousand miles around it. The empire is vast indeed, so great that, by comparison, we can form no correct idea of it. We can only approximate by saying that it would require about one million of earths, the size of this, to make a globe of equal magnitude.

In order to bring all home to your own reason and comprehension, let us ask, Where else is it feasible for so large a place to be whereon, or into which the Sun, or suns, do not or cannot shine? We have shown you that suns (the surrounding volumes of photospheric ethereal fire) are—so far as we can comprehend—the natural sources of light throughout the Universe of Jehovah's empire. They seem as God's own eternal lamps, scattered and placed at His will in different regions of illimitable space, to illumine the universe without, and give light everywhere, as also life and animation to all their surrounding worlds. Each perhaps to its own, even as our Sun does to its own planet-worlds. Now when we consider that the fact is well established by all leading Astronomers that this outside flame or volume of fire is far out from that INNER GLOBE, or world, and that between them there is a void, possibly thousands of miles in depth; that the fires and light of the Sun have no perceptible effect upon this non-luminous void—and, indeed, the void shields the globe within from the light and heat of the Sun—we can readily imagine the wise arrangement of the Great Architect, and also comprehend the truth of His own declarations, that heaven is a place where neither the Sun nor its heat shall light upon its inhabitants.

Now the nature of the element of this intervening void or space, whether it is ethereal or not, we cannot now comprehend. That it is a safe covering or shield to the world within, we can readily suppose. For Sir John Herschel says that it seems as "an awning or screen, protecting the body," or world within, from the Sun's heat.

But we are not left to conjecture alone, without philosophical reason in this matter. We know the laws of gravitation and attraction are fixed and sure, and upon these universal laws we can base correct conclusions.

The tendency of fire or heat is outward and upward. The sense in which we use the term "upward" is that of space far out from the earth, or like solid bodies. We have shown, in our explanation of the law of gravitation, that upward is simply away from the earth. Thus, we ignite material with fire and produce combustion here, and we see the flame rise, and feel and know the heat ascends upward. So also may the Chinaman do the same, at the same moment, on the opposite side of the globe—while his position is directly under us, as we construe downward—and yet the flame and heat of his fire ascends upward from the earth where he stands, which is in a directly opposite direction from the course ours pursues. Thus, to us, outward from the earth is upward, no matter where our position on it.

This tendency of heat upward, or away from the base of the fire, is plainly evident by the fact that heat will not penetrate to any considerable depth downward, neither when on the earth, or on a solid non-combustible foundation; nor yet when on an elevated platform, for its tendency, as we have shown, is always outward or upward. So also with the fires of the Sun; whatever the base of its fires may be, we see by the fixed laws of Nature that the tendency of its heat is outward, no matter from what portion of that base it may emanate. We cannot now comprehend the nature of the base of the Sun's fires, but we know that the great Jehovah has provided it, and that it is founded in His wisdom, and is fixed and sure, and we have reasoned conclusively that it cannot be of combustible material. Hence, the only rational conclusion we can arrive at—from a thorough investigation of Divine revelations; from all the lights afforded by the science of astronomy; from the true philosophy of Nature, as well as from all that is visible and perceptible—is, that far within the circling photosphere of ethereal fire which we see and realize as the Sun, there is a solid body, a globe, a VAST WORLD, and that world is the heaven for all the righteous from this earth; that it is the Saviour's allotted empire, and that He is there the ruler of His people.