Works of John Bunyan — Complete. John Bunyan

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СКАЧАТЬ to conviction of those that came not to him, and will say, "I was a stranger, and ye took me not in," or did not come unto me. Their excuse of themselves he will slight as dirt, and proceed to their final judgment.

      2. Now when these wretched rejecters of Christ shall thus be set before him in their sins, and convicted, this is the preparatory work upon which follows the manner of executing the act which will be done.

      (1.) In the presence of all the holy angels.

      (2.) In the presence of all them that in their lifetime came to him, by saying unto them, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels": with the reason annexed to it. For you were cruel to me and mine, particularly discovered in these words, "For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not" (Matt 25:41–43).

      Second, Now it remains that we speak of the place into which these shall be cast, which, in the general, you have heard already, to wit, the first prepared for the devil and his angels. But, in particular, it is thus described:—

      1. It is called Tophet: "For Tophet is ordained of old, yea, for the king," the Lucifer, "it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large; the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it" (Isa 30:32).

      2. It is called hell. "It is better for thee to enter halt" or lame "into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell" (Mark 9:45).

      3. It is called the wine-press of the wrath of God. "And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth," that is, them that did not come to Christ, "and cast it into the great wine-press of the wrath of God" (Rev 14:19).

      4. It is called a lake of fire. "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev 20:15).

      5. It is called a pit. "Thou hast said in thy heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit" (Isa 14:13–15).

      6. It is called a bottomless pit, out of which the smoke and the locust came, and into which the great dragon was cast; and it is called bottomless, to show the endlessness of the fall that they will have into it, that come not, in the acceptable time, to Jesus Christ (Rev 9:1,2; 20:3). . 7. It is called outer darkness. "Bind him hand and foot—and cast him into outer darkness," "and cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness," "there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matt 22:13; 25:30).

      8. It is called a furnace of fire. "As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." And again, "So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth" (Matt 13:40–51).

      9. Lastly, It may not be amiss, if, in the conclusion of this, I show in few words to what the things that torment them in this state are compared. Indeed, some of them have been occasionally mentioned already; as that they are compared,

      (1.) To wood that burneth.

      (2.) To fire.

      (3.) To fire and brimstone: But,

      (4.) It is compared to a worm, a gnawing worm, a never-dying gnawing worm; They are cast into hell, "where their worm dieth not" (Mark 9:44).

      (5.) It is called unquenchable fire; "He will gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire" (Matt 3:12; Luke 3:17).

      (6.) It is called everlasting destruction; "The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power" (2 Thess 1:7–9).

      (7.) It is called wrath without mixture, and is given them in the cup of his indignation. "If any man worship the beast, and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture, into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb" (Rev 14:9,10).

      (8.) It is called the second death. "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power" (Rev 20:6,14).

      (9.) It is called eternal damnation. "But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation." Oh! these three words! Everlasting punishment! Eternal damnation! And For ever and ever! How will they gnaw and eat up all the expectation of the end of the misery of the cast-away sinners. "And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night," &c., (Rev 14:11).

      Their behaviour in hell is set forth by four things as I know of;—(a.) By calling for help and relief in vain; (b.) By weeping; (c.) By wailing; (d.) By gnashing of teeth.

      [THE POWER OF CHRIST TO SAVE, OR TO CAST OUT.]

      SECOND. And now we come to the second thing that is to be inquired into, namely, How it appears that Christ hath power to save, or to cast out. For by these words, "I will in no wise cast out," he declareth that he hath power to do both. Now this inquiry admits us to search into the things: First, How it appears that he hath power to save; Second, How it appears that he hath power to cast out.

      First, That he hath power to save, appears by that which follows:—

      1. To speak only of him as he is mediator: he was authorized to this blessed work by his Father, before the world began. Hence the apostle saith, "He hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world" (Eph 1:4). With all those things that effectually will produce our salvation. Read the same chapter, with 2 Timothy 1:9.

      2. He was promised to our first parents, that he should, in the fullness of time, bruise the serpent's head; and, as Paul expounds it, redeem them that were under the law. Hence, since that time, he hath been reckoned as slain for our sins. By which means all the fathers under the first testament were secured from the wrath to come; hence he is called, "The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev 13:8; Gen 3:15; Gal 4:4,5).

      3. Moses gave testimony of him by the types and shadows, and bloody sacrifices, that he commanded from the mouth of God to be in use for the support of his people's faith, until the time of reformation; which was the time of this Jesus his death (Heb 9, 10).

      4. At the time of his birth it was testified of him by the angel, "That he should save his people from their sins" (Matt 1:21).

      5. It is testified of him in the days of his flesh, that he had power on earth to forgive sins (Mark 2:5–12).

      6. It is testified also of him by the apostle Peter, that "God hath exalted him with his own right hand, to be a prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins" СКАЧАТЬ