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corner. That neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved."-(Acts iv. 11, 12.) They will also believe, and accept Jesus as the "only wise God our Saviour.”

"For Christ hath also, once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God! being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit, by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, &c.” (1 Peter, iii. 18, 20.)" For, for this cause, was the Gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." (iv. 6.)

"And behold! the vail of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent, and the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept, arose and came out of the graves, after his resurrection, and went into the Holy City, and were seen of many. (Matt. xxvii. 51, 53.)

There are persons, who to bring objections against the Universal Doctrine, will twist the Sacred Scriptures to their own purposes; and we have been told by Ministers of the Gospel, that the foregoing passage of St. Peter, means the preaching of Noah in the spirit of Christ to the antediluvian world, who were dead in trespasses and sins! forgetting, however, that Christ was not put to death in the flesh until upwards of two thousand years after the deluge! and losing sight of what the Apostle said in his fourth chapter and sixth verse. We hope, however, that St. Matthew's testimony, above quoted, will convince such weak disputants of their error, and put this controverted point at rest for ever.

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XVIII. JOHN, the Evangelist. "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only; but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John ii. 2.)

"And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life: and this life is in his Son, (1 John, v. 2.) "And

we have seen and do testify, that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world." (ibid. iv. 14.-John iii. 16, 17.)

We come lastly, to examine the declarations of that great Practical Universalist, whose miraculous conversion, whose eminent learning, and whose steady devotion to this great and glorious cause, bespoke him to be not only happily elected or chosen for this purpose, by the wisdom of God, but also as most eminently qualified to illustrate and explain it to the world.

XIX. PAUL. "Therefore, as by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so, by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men, unto justification of life." (Rom. v. 18.) "Now we know, that whatsoever the law saith; it saith to them who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped and all the world become guilty before God." (iii. 19.) "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. (v. 6.) "For to this end, Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be the Lord both of the dead and the living." (xiv. 9.) "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept, for since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Cor. XV. 20, 21.)

The reader is cautioned against another evasion of the Partialists. They are obliged to acknowledge, that all mankind, will "be made alive;" but they insist upon it, that all who die in their sins, will be made alive, "to endure eternal punishment!" But remember kind reader, the Apostle of the Lord, says, that all shall be made alive in Christ, the same all that die in Adam; and if they are made alive in Christ, which they certainly will be, in due time; we think there need be no farther fear for them after that blessed accomplishment.

"For other foundation can no man lay, than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now, if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay,

stubble; every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide, which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire." (1 Corinth. iii. 2, 15.)

"And all things are of God! who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation, to wit: that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, and not imputing their trespasses unto them, &c." (2 Corinth. v. 18, 19.)

"And the Scripture foreseeing that God would justify the Heathen through faith, preached before, the Gospel unto Abraham, saying, in thee, shall all nations be blessed." (Galat. iii. 8.) "But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ, might be given to them that believe." (verse 22.) "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us." (verse 13.)

The 3d chapter of Ephesians treats of the eternal purpose of God, which he purposed in Christ, to wit: the salvation of the Gentiles, which the Apostle says, was made known unto him by revelation.

"I exhort therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men: for kings and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, in all godliness and honesty, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of truth: For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." (1 Tim. ii. 1.)

"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation: For, therefore we both labour and suffer reproach; because, we trust in the living God! who is the Saviour of all men, SPECIALLY, of those that believe: These things command and teach." (1 Tim. iv. 9, 11.) If this is not Universal Salvation, it is nothing else.

"Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God even the Father, when he shall have put down all rule, and all authority, and all power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death: For he hath put all things under his feet." (1 Cor. xv. 20, &c. The Epistles of this eminent Apostle of the Gentiles, every where abound with passages corroborative of the doctrine of Universal Redemption. Their number preclude the possibility of our giving them all a place in this limited introduction, which has already exceeded our original design in this publication. And we have thus proved by the Sacred Scriptures; from the concurrent testimony of the Prophets of the Old, and the Apostles of the New Testament, that this is a Scripture doctrine, promised first of God unto Adam, preached unto Abraham by the Angel of the Lord, perpetuated by the Prophets, renewed and confirmed by the life, sufferings and death of the Son of God; and is now every where proclaimed, by the faithful and true witnesses of God! in all the world.

We therefore conclude this section with the following appropriate inquiry.-With such indisputable declarations as the foregoing; with such facts as are indelibly recorded in the legitimate canons of the Scriptures, and that are held sacred by Christians of every sect or denomination; will any sincere person deny, that the foregoing cited passages of Prophecy and the declarations of Christ himself, together with the explanations given to this doctrine by his Apostles, do not, literally, plainly, and in pointed terms, support the doctrine of the reconciliation, and final salvation of all men, as contended for, by the advocates of this faith?-or, that it is a Scripture doctrine, and hence the doctrine of the primitive Apostolic Church of Christ?

And that all men may be apprised of their duty when praying the Apostle adds, "I will, therefore, that men pray every where"-for the salvation of all men, but they

must remember to pray "lifting up holy hands without wrath or doubting." (1 Tim. ii. 8.) Alas! many pray for the salvation of all men, but at the same time, doubt the unalterable promises of God.

SECTION II.

Testimony of the Apostolic Fathers, and other early writers, in support of this doctrine.

In introducing to the notice of our readers, the opinions and testimonies of the Apostolic Fathers, in support of the doctrine of the final restoration of all men to holiness and happiness, it is necessary that the mind of the reader should be fixed upon the great truth, that this doctrine has been proved, in the preceding section, to be a Scripture Doctrine, and does not depend upon the opinion of any man, or sects of men, for its confirmation; that it is plainly and unequivocally expressed in those Scriptures, and is therefore a Truth, whether we believe it or not; and that our denying it to be a truth, does not alter the nature of it; nor does our believing it make it so, since it is a truth, whether we believe it or not.

Our object, therefore, in referring to the Apostolic Fathers, is to show, that for the first six or seven centuries after Christ, this doctrine was almost universally prevalent, particularly among the Bishops and Rulers of the Eastern Churches, and that are recognized by all the Primitive and Apostolic Churches of Christ.

We take leave, however, to advise the reader, that we are aware of the numerous weighty and rational objections that are sustained by high and respectable writers, both ancient and modern, against the superstition and credulity of the early fathers. We would, therefore, at once disarm our opponents of their most weighty argument, by rejecting on the threshhold of our inquiry those inconsistencies, errors, and superstitions of these fathers, that have been the subjects of the just criticisms of later writers; determining to accept, as matters of Faith only,

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