WE stated in the SENTINEL of March 14 that we did not believe the church dogma of “an eternal burning hell in which sinners writhe in indescribable agony throughout the endless ages of eternity.” With this statement in mind a correspondent asks us to explain Matthew 25:46, which reads as follows: “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”
Our correspondent will notice that there is a difference between “everlasting punishment” and everlasting “agony,” misery, or torment. When the wicked are finally destroyed, it will be everlasting punishment, but not everlasting “agony.” Christ promises the righteous “life eternal.” Should they afterwards die, they would not enjoy “life eternal.” The fate of the wicked is “everlasting punishment” in opposition to “life eternal.” Death, the final punishment of the wicked, will be everlasting. Should they be resurrected at the end of a million years their punishment would not be everlasting; but if their death is everlasting, then their punishment is “everlasting punishment.” [112]