Here is the teaching of Ecclesiastes written by the Psalmist:

"LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how

frail (short-lived) I am. Behold, Thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as

nothing before Thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah. Surely every man

walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who

shall gather them" (Psa. 39:4-6).

Shall we say of this as Mr. Pollock does of Ecclesiastes 1:2:

"We repeat, it is not divine revelation, but the divinely INSPIRED record of human doubt and

"The marvellously clever wail of a disappointed man"?

Take another quotation from the Psalms:

"For in death there is no remembrance of Thee: in the grave who shall give Thee thanks?" (Psa. 6:5).

This same truth, when expressed by Ecclesiastes, is but the "clever wail of a disappointed man".

"For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth

to others ... man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish ... Like sheep they are

laid in the grave (sheol); death shall feed on them" (Psa. 49:10-14).

Ecclesiastes has said the same, but of course Ecclesiastes is but the wail, even though a clever one, of a

disappointed man! It would never do to admit this evidence, for the whole orthodox position would

collapse. Mr. Pollock, who dares to talk about deliberate deceit, has said that sheol is never connected

with the body, and if his readers will only confine their search to "this evidence" that he has so carefully

selected, they will be convinced that it is so. But how, in spite of the Psalm saying, "Like sheep they are

laid in the grave, death shall feed on them", Mr. Pollock can assert such a thing we know not.

David said:

"Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, AS WHEN ONE CUTTETH AND CLEAVETH WOOD UPON THE

EARTH" (Psa. 141:7),

so that "disembodied souls" have bones that can be likened to chopped wood. Either David is totally

astray, or Mr. Pollock is wrong. We have no hesitation in deciding that Mr. Pollock is grievously at fault,

that his evidence is most partial; that while he affirms on one page his belief in the inspiration of

Scripture, he denies its value and authority on another, and we submit that he is the last to bring charges

of deception against those who want every reference that is found in all Scripture as the sole basis of their

We ask the reader to use the concordance given at the end of this booklet, and to frame his theology in

such a way that he will be under no necessity to repudiate any teaching God has given. We are not

concerned with Mr. Pollock personally, but we have cited his so-called "evidence" as typical of the nature

of the foundation upon which the doctrine of the traditional hell has been erected.

In the majority of cases the Hebrew word olam and the Greek word aion are translated in the A.V. in

terms of eternity. What we said earlier regarding the old English word "hell" is in measure true of the

original meaning of the word "eternal". The word is from the Latin -turnus, "lasting for an age", from -

num, "an age", which in its turn is derived from the Greek word aion. Strictly speaking, therefore, we

have been travelling in a circle, eternal and aion being identical, and still awaiting an English equivalent.

18