The Great Controversy The Great Controversy | Page 537

What would be gained to God should we admit that He delights in
witnessing unceasing tortures; that He is regaled with the groans and
shrieks and imprecations of the suffering creatures whom He holds in
the flames of hell? Can these horrid sounds be music in the ear of
Infinite Love? It is urged that the infliction of endless misery upon the
wicked would show God’s hatred of sin as an evil which is ruinous to
the peace and order of the universe. Oh, dreadful blasphemy! As if
God’s hatred of sin is the reason why it is perpetuated. For, according
to the teachings of these theologians, continued torture without hope of
mercy maddens its wretched victims, and as they pour out their rage in
curses and blasphemy, they are forever augmenting their load of guilt.
God’s glory is not enhanced by thus perpetuating continually increasing
sin through ceaseless ages.
It is beyond the power of the human mind to estimate the evil which
has been wrought by the heresy of eternal torment. The religion of
the Bible, full of love and goodness, and abounding in compassion, is
darkened by superstition and clothed with terror. When we consider
in what false colors Satan has painted the character of God, can we
wonder that our merciful Creator is feared, dreaded, and even hated?
The appalling views of God which have spread over the world from the
teachings of the pulpit have made thousands, yes, millions, of skeptics
and infidels.
The theory of eternal torment is one of the false doctrines that
constitute the wine of the abomination of Babylon, of which she makes
all nations drink. Revelation 14:8; 17:2. That ministers of Christ should
have accepted this heresy and proclaimed it from the sacred desk is
indeed a mystery. They received it from Rome, as they received the
false sabbath. True, it has been taught by great and good men; but
the light on this subject had not come to them as it has come to us.
They were responsible only for the light which shone in their time; we
are accountable for that which shines in our day. If we turn from the
testimony of God’s word, and accept

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