143 



The importance that attaches itself to the fact 

 that human beings, have been and are devoted 

 to the doctrine of future punishment, as a recog- 

 nized principle and law of the moral universe,, 

 has varied with different writers upon eschat- 

 ology as they have had different ends to conserve. 

 We have thus presented a few points in the 

 rational historical and scriptural argument. 

 They prove that the doctrine of retribution is^ 

 founded in the very constitution of nature itself, 

 in Scripture, in the Jewish and in the Christian 

 Church. 



We have not pretended to be exhaustive nor 

 critical, but simply bring the subject before our 

 readers in the manner of the mild discussion of 

 the previous pages. 



We can close these remarks with no more 

 appropriate words than those from the pen of 

 Rev. Junius B. Reimensnyder. He says: :< It 

 (Future Eternal Retribution) must have a foot- 

 hold in the human reason, or it could not have 

 maintained itself against all the recoil and oppo- 

 sition which it elicits from the human heart. 

 Founded in ethics, in law, and in judicial reason, 

 as well as unquestionably taught by the author of 

 Christianity, it is no wonder that the doctrine of 

 Eternal Retribution, in spite of selfish prejudices, 

 and appeals to human sentiment, has always- 

 been a belief of Christendom. From theology 



