| 792 THE LAKE OF SODOM, OR DEAD SEA.
This mysterious water was anciently called the "Sea of the Plain," from its being situated in the great plain of Jordan; and the Salt Sea, from the extreme saltness [saltiness] of its waters; the East Sea, because it lay eastward of Judea, and in contradistinction from the West, or Mediterranean Sea. It is designated by Josephus and the Greek and Roman writers, Lacus Asphaltites, that is, the bituminous lake, on account of the vast quantity of bitumen with which its waters are impregnated. Its more frequent modern appellation is, the Dead Sea, from a tradition that nothing can live in the vicinity of its saline and sulphurous waters.-This has been disproved by the testimony of several modern travelers, particularly Maundrell, Chateaubriand, and Stephens. This lake, which is about seventy miles long, and from ten to twenty broad, occupies the southern extremity of the Valley of Jordan, and covers what was once the Valley of Siddim, a rich and fertile valley, in which stood five cities, commonly called the cities of the plain, namely: Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim, and Zoar; the first four of which were destroyed by fire, while the latter was preserved at the intercession of Lot. This mysterious lake is described as a sea of molten lead, bounded on either side by a range of lofty and barren mountains. A perpetual silence hangs over it; not a wave or ripple disturbs its surface; its shores are seldom traversed by any footsteps of the wild Arab, not a boat or vessel of any description has ever been known to cross it from the time it engulphed [engulfed] the guilty cities of the plain to the present day; not a bird builds its nest or pours forth its strains of melody within the precincts of this doleful region, and a few dry and stunted shrubs are the only vestiges of vegetation to be seen in its vicinity.-Bannister's Survey of the Holy Land
(->) Who can read the foregoing without thinking that hell is in the midst of the earth? But, says the learned clergy, hell, like heaven, is "beyond the bounds of time and space." In reply let us observe, that is an opinion without proof, whereas Moses says:
"For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains."
Sure enough "hell" is in the midst of the earth, and when Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed they sunk down to hell, and the water covered up the unhallowed spot. Jude knew this when he wrote:
"Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example suffering the vengeance of eternal fire."
Nor is it less apparent that Ezekiel was ignorant of the location of hell, when he was relating the great return of Jacob from his captivity; and Sodom and other rebellious cities, or churches, from their captivity in hell, when he left such marvellous [marvelous] prophesying as this:
"When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them:
"That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.
"When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate."
Restoration! What will the sectarian world do when "hell delivers up her dead?" and the sea delivers up her dead, and all are judged according to their works? Somebody will see the cross of Christ, and Carthage jail, as well as some other notorious places.
No wonder we have earthquakes, hot springs and convulsions in the earth, if the damned spirits of six thousand years, ante-deluvians, Sodomites, Egyptians apostates of Israel, and mobbers of Babylon, which have gone down into the pit quickly, act like their fellow servants of this generation! No wonder the earth groans and is in pain to be delivered as saith the prophet. But we will stop, for the wisdom of God is past finding out. "Inhabitants in the sea," in the earth, and under the earth; prisons for disobedient spirits in the regions of space, and "outer darkness" prepared for hypocrites, where they can weep, and wail and gnash their teeth, after they receive the ungodly's resurrection!
The mystery of God!-Towns covered up with lakes; and cities hid with seas; and death a person, and hell a person, and both now reigning in the midst of their dark abodes! and finally will ride upon the earth on pale horses! with power, and kill and starve the wicked to recruit their dominions; and then after all yield to a just judgment and go into the lake which burns with fire and brimstone!
DENOMINATIONAL STATISTICS.
"The American Almanac for 1845, contains statistics of the various denominations in the United States. It seems that the Methodists, including their various organizations are the
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