ou deserve the fate of the worst criminals; you are worthy
of the polluted fires of Gehenna; your vices will surely be
followed by condign punishment: how can such depravity escape the
severest retributions?"

These five are all the distinct instances in which Jesus uses the
word Gehenna. It is plain that he always uses the word
metaphorically. We therefore conclude that Christianity, correctly
understood, never implies that eternal fire awaits sinners in the
future world, but that moral retributions, according to their
deeds, are the portion of all men here and hereafter. There is no
more reason to suppose that essential Christianity contains the
doctrine of a fiery infernal world than there is to suppose that
it really means to declare that God is a glowing mass of flame,
when it says, "Our God is a consuming fire." We must remember the
metaphorical character of much scriptural language. Wickedness is
a fire, in that it preys upon men and draws down the displeasure
of the Almighty, and consumes them.

As Isaiah writes, "Wickedness burneth as the fire, the anger of
Jehovah darkens the land, and the people shall be the food of the
fire." And James declares to proud extortioners, "The rust of your
cankered gold and silver shall eat your flesh as it were fire."

When Jesus says, "It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and
Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city" which will not
listen to the preaching of my kingdom, but drives my disciples
away, he uses a familiar figure to signify that Sodom and Gomorrah
would at such a call have repented in sackcloth and ashes. The
guilt of Chorazin and Bethsaida was, therefore, more hardened than
theirs, and should receive a severer punishment; or, making
allowance for the natural exaggeration of this kind of language,
he means, That city whose iniquities and scornful unbelief lead it
to reject my kingdom when it is proffered shall be brought to
judgment and be overwhelmed with avenging calamities. Two parallel
illustrations of this image are given us by the old prophets.
Isaiah says, "Babylon shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and
Gomorrah." And Jeremiah complains, "The punishment of Jerusalem is
greater than the punishment of Sodom." It is certainly remarkable
that such passages should ever have been thought to teach the
doctrine of a final, universal judgment day breaking on the world
in fire.

The subject of our Lord's teachings in regard to the punishment of
the w