History of the Second Advent message and mission, doctrine and people / by Isaac C. Wellcome.

  • Wellcome, I. C. (Isaac Cummings), 1818-1895
Date:
1874
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: History of the Second Advent message and mission, doctrine and people / by Isaac C. Wellcome. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    guage in which the original Scriptures were written could not fur- nish terms to express the ideas of happiness and misery, then there might he some plausibility for the appropriation of these terms in this arbitrary sense : but the rudest language has its signs for these ideas; and, therefore, there could have been no need, and we should think, too, no reason to set aside the appropriate words, and to em- ploy others in a sense so different from their peculiar signification. Thus employed, the words life and death part with their proper and distinctive signification ; and one term especially—the term death— is employed in a sense the very opposite of its original and conven- tional meaning: deaths according to the popular theory, is made to signify a life in misery ! “jSTow, there are grave objections to this figurative use of the words life and death. In the first place, we have seen they have a very arbitrary and unnatural meaning forced upon them. And in the second place, the conversion of these words from their proper to a very violent and arbitrary meaning has no authority from nor is it demanded by the written word. “ The Bible professing to be the teacher of mankind in religion, the most interesting and important subjects, would, of course, not construct a terminology of its own; but make use of the language which the people understood, and employ the terms of such language in their current and conventional meaning; and whenever it was necessary to employ a word different from its customary usage, either the context would make this apparent or there would be some cautionary observation to prevent the possibility of mistake. “ All language is, more or less, figurative; and of all imaginations, the Oriental is the most imaginative; and, therefore, it was to be expected that words would not invariably be used in their strict primary signification : but whenever it should be necessary to employ a word in an unusual sense, there would be ample evidence of its new aj^propriation. Should there be any danger of misunderstand- ing the sense in which a word is used, especially if upon that word depended important doctrine, then we might expect such a caution- ary notice of its new meaning, as is furnished, for example, in the book of Revelation (chapter xi. 8), where the great city is called Sodom and Egypt, and we are carefully informed that it is so called ^spiritually.’ [See another example in John vii. 38, 39; also, Gal. iii. 23-25.]
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