The Great Controversy The Great Controversy | Page 538

false doctrines because our fathers taught them, we fall under the
condemnation pronounced upon Babylon; we are drinking of the wine
of her abomination.
A large class to whom the doctrine of eternal torment is revolting
are driven to the opposite error. They see that the Scriptures represent
God as a being of love and compassion, and they cannot believe that
He will consign His creatures to the fires of an eternally burning hell.
But holding that the soul is naturally immortal, they see no alternative
but to conclude that all mankind will finally be saved. Many regard
the threatenings of the Bible as designed merely to frighten men into
obedience, and not to be literally fulfilled. Thus the sinner can live in
selfish pleasure, disregarding the requirements of God, and yet expect
to be finally received into His favor. Such a doctrine, presuming upon
God’s mercy, but ignoring His justice, pleases the carnal heart and
emboldens the wicked in their iniquity.
To show how believers in universal salvation wrest the Scriptures
to sustain their soul-destroying dogmas, it is needful only to cite their
own utterances. At the funeral of an irreligious young man, who had
been killed instantly by an accident, a Universalist minister selected as
his text the Scripture statement concerning David: “He was comforted
concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.” 2 Samuel 13:39.
“I am frequently asked,” said the speaker, “what will be the fate of
those who leave the world in sin, die, perhaps, in a state of inebriation,
die with the scarlet stains of crime unwashed from their robes, or die
as this young man died, having never made a profession or enjoyed an
experience of religion. We are content with the Scriptures; their answer
shall solve the awful problem. Amnon was exceedingly sinful; he was
unrepentant, he was made drunk, and while drunk was killed. David was
a prophet of God; he must have known whether it would be ill or well for
Amnon in the world to come. What were the expressions of his heart?

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