Wesley Corpus

Extremely dangerous therefore is this other gospel, which leads quite wide of the gospel of Christ. And what must the consequence be, if we thus “break,” yea, “and teach men so,” not “one” only, neither “the least,” of “his commandments?” Even that we “shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.” God grant this may not fall on you or me ! 7. However, whether we have a place in heaven or not, you are very sure we shall have none in hell. For there is no hell in rerum naturá, “no such place in the universe.” You declare this over and over again, in great variety of expres sions. It may suffice to mention two or three: “Hell is no penalty prepared or inflicted by God.” (Spirit of Prayer, Part II, p. 33.) “Damnation is only that which springs up within you.” (Spirit of Love, Part II., p. 47.) “Hell and damnation are nothing but the various operations of self.” (Spirit of Prayer, Part I., p. 79.) I rather incline to the account published a few years ago, by a wise and pious man, (the late Bishop of Cork) where he is speaking of theimprovement of human knowledge by revelation. Some of his words are: “Concerning future punishments, we learn from revelation only, (1.) That they are both for soul and body, which are distinguished in Scripture by “the worm that dieth not,’ and ‘the fire which never shall be quenched:” And accordingly we are bid to “fear him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell. Upon which I shall only remark, that whereas we find by experience, the body and soul in this life are not capable of suffering the extremity of pain and anguish at the same time, insomuch that the greatest anguish of mind is lost and diverted by acute and pungent pain of body; yet we learn from Scripture, that in hell the wicked will be subject to extreme torments of both together.” (Procedure, &c., of Human Understanding, p. 350.) “(2.) That the chief cause of their eternal misery will be an eternal exclusion from the beatific vision of God. This exclusion seems to be the only punishment to which we can now conceive a pure spirit liable.