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Chapter 33
The First Great Deception
WITH the earliest history of man, Satan began his efforts to deceive our race. He who had
incited rebellion in heaven desired to bring the inhabitants of the earth to unite with
him in his warfare against the government of God. Adam and Eve had been perfectly happy in
obedience to the law of God, and this fact was a constant testimony against the claim
which Satan had urged in heaven, that God's law was oppressive and opposed to the good of
His creatures. And furthermore, Satan's envy was excited as he looked upon the beautiful
home prepared for the sinless pair. He determined to cause their fall, that, having
separated them from God and brought them under his own power, he might gain possession of
the earth and here establish his kingdom in opposition to the Most High.
Had Satan revealed himself in his real character, he would have been repulsed at once, for
Adam and Eve had been warned against this dangerous foe; but he worked in the dark,
concealing his purpose, that he might more effectually accomplish his object. Employing as
his medium the serpent, then a creature of fascinating appearance, he addressed himself to
Eve: "Hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" Genesis 3:1.
Had Eve refrained from entering into argument with the tempter, she would have been safe;
but she ventured to parley with him and fell a victim to his
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wiles. It is thus that many are still overcome. They doubt and argue concerning the
requirements of God; and instead of obeying the divine commands, they accept human
theories, which but disguise the devices of Satan.
"The woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall
not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the
woman, Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then
your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." Verses
2-5. He declared that they would become like God, possessing greater wisdom than before
and being capable of a higher state of existence. Eve yielded to temptation; and through
her influence, Adam was led into sin. They accepted the words of the serpent, that God did
not mean what He said; they distrusted their Creator and imagined that He was restricting
their liberty and that they might obtain great wisdom and exaltation by transgressing His
law.
But what did Adam, after his sin, find to be the meaning of the words, "In the day
that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die"? Did he find them to mean, as Satan
had led him to believe, that he was to be ushered into a more exalted state of existence?
Then indeed there was great good to be gained by transgression, and Satan was proved to be
a benefactor of the race. But Adam did not find this to be the meaning of the divine
sentence. God declared that as a penalty for his sin, man should return to the ground
whence he was taken: "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." Verse 19.
The words of Satan, "Your eyes shall be opened," proved to be true in this sense
only: After Adam and Eve had disobeyed God, their eyes were opened to discern their folly;
they did know evil, and they tasted the bitter fruit of transgression.
In the midst of Eden grew the tree of life, whose fruit had the power of perpetuating
life. Had Adam remained
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obedient to God, he would have continued to enjoy free access to this tree and would have
lived forever. But when he sinned he was cut off from partaking of the tree of life, and
he became subject to death. The divine sentence, "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt
thou return," points to the utter extinction of life.
Immortality, promised to man on condition of obedience, had been forfeited by
transgression. Adam could not transmit to his posterity that which he did not possess; and
there could have been no hope for the fallen race had not God, by the sacrifice of His
Son, brought immortality within their reach. While "death passed upon all men, for
that all have sinned," Christ "hath brought life and immortality to light
through the gospel." Romans 5:12; 2 Timothy 1:10. And only through Christ can
immortality be obtained. Said Jesus: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting
life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life." John 3:36. Every man may
come into possession of this priceless blessing if he will comply with the conditions. All
"who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honor and
immortality," will receive "eternal life." Romans 2:7.
The only one who promised Adam life in disobedience was the great deceiver. And the
declaration of the serpent to Eve in Eden--"Ye shall not surely die"--was the
first sermon ever preached upon the immortality of the soul. Yet this declaration, resting
solely upon the authority of Satan, is echoed from the pulpits of Christendom and is
received by the majority of mankind as readily as it was received by our first parents.
The divine sentence, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezekiel 18:20), is
made to mean: The soul that sinneth, it shall not die, but live eternally. We cannot but
wonder at the strange infatuation which renders men so credulous concerning the words of
Satan and so unbelieving in regard to the words of God.
Had man after his fall been allowed free access to the tree
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of life, he would have lived forever, and thus sin would have been immortalized. But
cherubim and a flaming sword kept "the way of the tree of life" (Genesis 3:24),
and not one of the family of Adam has been permitted to pass that barrier and partake of
the life-giving fruit. Therefore there is not an immortal sinner.
But after the Fall, Satan bade his angels make a special effort to inculcate the belief in
man's natural immortality; and having induced the people to receive this error, they were
to lead them on to conclude that the sinner would live in eternal misery. Now the prince
of darkness, working through his agents, represents God as a revengeful tyrant, declaring
that He plunges into hell all those who do not please Him, and causes them ever to feel
His wrath; and that while they suffer unutterable anguish and writhe in the eternal
flames, their Creator looks down upon them with satisfaction.
Thus the archfiend clothes with his own attributes the Creator and Benefactor of mankind.
Cruelty is satanic. God is love; and all that He created was pure, holy, and lovely, until
sin was brought in by the first great rebel. Satan himself is the enemy who tempts man to
sin, and then destroys him if he can; and when he has made sure of his victim, then he
exults in the ruin he has wrought. If permitted, he would sweep the entire race into his
net. Were it not for the interposition of divine power, not one son or daughter of Adam
would escape.
Satan is seeking to overcome men today, as he overcame our first parents, by shaking their
confidence in their Creator and leading them to doubt the wisdom of His government and the
justice of His laws. Satan and his emissaries represent God as even worse than themselves,
in order to justify their own malignity and rebellion. The great deceiver endeavors to
shift his own horrible cruelty of character upon our heavenly Father, that he may cause
himself to appear as one greatly wronged by his expulsion from heaven because he would not
submit to so unjust a governor. He presents before
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the world the liberty which they may enjoy under his mild sway, in contrast with the
bondage imposed by the stern decrees of Jehovah. Thus he succeeds in luring souls away
from their allegiance to God.
How repugnant to every emotion of love and mercy, and even to our sense of justice, is the
doctrine that the wicked dead are tormented with fire and brimstone in an eternally
burning hell; that for the sins of a brief earthly life they are to suffer torture as long
as God shall live. Yet this doctrine has been widely taught and is still embodied in many
of the creeds of Christendom. Said a learned doctor of divinity: "The sight of hell
torments will exalt the happiness of the saints forever. When they see others who are of
the same nature and born under the same circumstances, plunged in such misery, and they so
distinguished, it will make them sensible of how happy they are." Another used these
words: "While the decree of reprobation is eternally executing on the vessels of
wrath, the smoke of their torment will be eternally ascending in view of the vessels of
mercy, who, instead of taking the part of these miserable objects, will say, Amen,
Alleluia! praise ye the Lord!"
Where, in the pages of God's word, is such teaching to be found? Will the redeemed in
heaven be lost to all emotions of pity and compassion, and even to feelings of common
humanity? Are these to be exchanged for the indifference of the stoic or the cruelty of
the savage? No, no; such is not the teaching of the Book of God. Those who present the
views expressed in the quotations given above may be learned and even honest men, but they
are deluded by the sophistry of Satan. He leads them to misconstrue strong expressions of
Scripture, giving to the language the coloring of bitterness and malignity which pertains
to himself, but not to our Creator. "As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no
pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn
ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?" Ezekiel 33:11.
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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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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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`The soul of King David longed to go forth unto Absalom: for he was comforted concerning
Amnon, seeing he was dead.' Verse 39.
"And what is the inference to be deduced from this language? Is it not that endless
suffering formed no part of his religious belief? So we conceive; and here we discover a
triumphant argument in support of the more pleasing, more enlightened, more benevolent
hypothesis of ultimate universal purity and peace. He was comforted, seeing his son was
dead. And why so? Because by the eye of prophecy he could look forward into the glorious
future and see that son far removed from all temptations, released from the bondage and
purified from the corruptions of sin, and after being made sufficiently holy and
enlightened, admitted to the assembly of ascended and rejoicing spirits. His only comfort
was that, in being removed from the present state of sin and suffering, his beloved son
had gone where the loftiest breathings of the Holy Spirit would be shed upon his darkened
soul, where his mind would be unfolded to the wisdom of heaven and the sweet raptures of
immortal love, and thus prepared with a sanctified nature to enjoy the rest and society of
the heavenly inheritance.
"In these thoughts we would be understood to believe that the salvation of heaven
depends upon nothing which we can do in this life; neither upon a present change of heart,
nor upon present belief, or a present profession of religion."
Thus does the professed minister of Christ reiterate the falsehood uttered by the serpent
in Eden: "Ye shall not surely die." "In the day ye eat thereof, then your
eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods." He declares that the vilest of
sinners--the murderer, the thief, and the adulterer--will after death be prepared to enter
into immortal bliss.
And from what does this perverter of the Scriptures draw his conclusions? From a single
sentence expressing David's submission to the dispensation of Providence. His
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soul "longed to go forth unto Absalom; for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing
he was dead." The poignancy of his grief having been softened by time, his thoughts
turned from the dead to the living son, self-banished through fear of the just punishment
of his crime. And this is the evidence that the incestuous, drunken Amnon was at death
immediately transported to the abodes of bliss, there to be purified and prepared for the
companionship of sinless angels! A pleasing fable indeed, well suited to gratify the
carnal heart! This is Satan's own doctrine, and it does his work effectually. Should we be
surprised that, with such instruction, wickedness abounds?
The course pursued by this one false teacher illustrates that of many others. A few words
of Scripture are separated from the context, which would in many cases show their meaning
to be exactly opposite to the interpretation put upon them; and such disjointed passages
are perverted and used in proof of doctrines that have no foundation in the word of God.
The testimony cited as evidence that the drunken Amnon is in heaven is a mere inference
directly contradicted by the plain and positive statement of the Scriptures that no
drunkard shall inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:10. It is thus that doubters,
unbelievers, and skeptics turn the truth into a lie. And multitudes have been deceived by
their sophistry and rocked to sleep in the cradle of carnal security.
If it were true that the souls of all men passed directly to heaven at the hour of
dissolution, then we might well covet death rather than life. Many have been led by this
belief to put an end to their existence. When overwhelmed with trouble, perplexity, and
disappointment, it seems an easy thing to break the brittle thread of life and soar away
into the bliss of the eternal world.
God has given in His word decisive evidence that He will punish the transgressors of His
law. Those who flatter
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themselves that He is too merciful to execute justice upon the sinner, have only to look
to the cross of Calvary. The death of the spotless Son of God testifies that "the
wages of sin is death," that every violation of God's law must receive its just
retribution. Christ the sinless became sin for man. He bore the guilt of transgression,
and the hiding of His Father's face, until His heart was broken and His life crushed out.
All this sacrifice was made that sinners might be redeemed. In no other way could man be
freed from the penalty of sin. And every soul that refuses to become a partaker of the
atonement provided at such a cost must bear in his own person the guilt and punishment of
transgression.
Let us consider what the Bible teaches further concerning the ungodly and unrepentant,
whom the Universalist places in heaven as holy, happy angels.
"I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life
freely." Revelation 21:6. This promise is only to those that thirst. None but those
who feel their need of the water of life, and seek it at the loss of all things else, will
be supplied. "He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and
he shall be My son." Verse 7. Here, also, conditions are specified. In order to
inherit all things, we must resist and overcome sin.
The Lord declares by the prophet Isaiah: "Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be
well with him." "Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward
of his hands shall be given him." Isaiah 3:10, 11. "Though a sinner do evil an
hundred times," says the wise man, "and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know
that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before Him: but it shall not be
well with the wicked." Ecclesiastes 8:12, 13. And Paul testifies that the sinner is
treasuring up unto himself "wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the
righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his deeds;"
"tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil." Romans 2:5,
6,9.
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"No fornicator, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any
inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God." Ephesians 5:5, A.R.V. "Follow
peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." Hebrews
12:14. "Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the
tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and
sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh
a lie." Revelation 22:14, 15.
God has given to men a declaration of His character and of His method of dealing with sin.
"The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and
truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that
will by no means clear the guilty." Exodus 34:6, 7. "All the wicked will He
destroy." "The transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked
shall be cut off." Psalms 145:20; 37:38. The power and authority of the divine
government will be employed to put down rebellion; yet all the manifestations of
retributive justice will be perfectly consistent with the character of God as a merciful,
long-suffering, benevolent being.
God does not force the will or judgment of any. He takes no pleasure in a slavish
obedience. He desires that the creatures of His hands shall love Him because He is worthy
of love. He would have them obey Him because they have an intelligent appreciation of His
wisdom, justice, and benevolence. And all who have a just conception of these qualities
will love Him because they are drawn toward Him in admiration of His attributes.
The principles of kindness, mercy, and love, taught and exemplified by our Saviour, are a
transcript of the will and character of God. Christ declared that He taught nothing except
that which He had received from His Father. The principles of the divine government are in
perfect harmony with the Saviour's precept, "Love your enemies." God
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executes justice upon the wicked, for the good of the universe, and even for the good of
those upon whom His judgments are visited. He would make them happy if He could do so in
accordance with the laws of His government and the justice of His character. He surrounds
them with the tokens of His love, He grants them a knowledge of His law, and follows them
with the offers of His mercy; but they despise His love, make void His law, and reject His
mercy. While constantly receiving His gifts, they dishonor the Giver; they hate God
because they know that He abhors their sins. The Lord bears long with their perversity;
but the decisive hour will come at last, when their destiny is to be decided. Will He then
chain these rebels to His side? Will He force them to do His will?
Those who have chosen Satan as their leader and have been controlled by his power are not
prepared to enter the presence of God. Pride, deception, licentiousness, cruelty, have
become fixed in their characters. Can they enter heaven to dwell forever with those whom
they despised and hated on earth? Truth will never be agreeable to a liar; meekness will
not satisfy self-esteem and pride; purity is not acceptable to the corrupt; disinterested
love does not appear attractive to the selfish. What source of enjoyment could heaven
offer to those who are wholly absorbed in earthly and selfish interests?
Could those whose lives have been spent in rebellion against God be suddenly transported
to heaven and witness the high, the holy state of perfection that ever exists there,--
every soul filled with love, every countenance beaming with joy, enrapturing music in
melodious strains rising in honor of God and the Lamb, and ceaseless streams of light
flowing upon the redeemed from the face of Him who sitteth upon the throne,--could those
whose hearts are filled with hatred of God, of truth and holiness, mingle with the
heavenly throng and join their songs of praise? Could they endure the glory of God and the
Lamb? No, no; years of probation
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were granted them, that they might form characters for heaven; but they have never trained
the mind to love purity; they have never learned the language of heaven, and now it is too
late. A life of rebellion against God has unfitted them for heaven. Its purity, holiness,
and peace would be torture to them; the glory of God would be a consuming fire. They would
long to flee from that holy place. They would welcome destruction, that they might be
hidden from the face of Him who died to redeem them. The destiny of the wicked is fixed by
their own choice. Their exclusion from heaven is voluntary with themselves, and just and
merciful on the part of God.
Like the waters of the Flood the fires of the great day declare God's verdict that the
wicked are incurable. They have no disposition to submit to divine authority. Their will
has been exercised in revolt; and when life is ended, it is too late to turn the current
of their thoughts in the opposite direction, too late to turn from transgression to
obedience, from hatred to love.
In sparing the life of Cain the murderer, God gave the world an example of what would be
the result of permitting the sinner to live to continue a course of unbridled iniquity.
Through the influence of Cain's teaching and example, multitudes of his descendants were
led into sin, until "the wickedness of man was great in the earth" and
"every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."
"The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence."
Genesis 6:5, 11.
In mercy to the world, God blotted out its wicked inhabitants in Noah's time. In mercy He
destroyed the corrupt dwellers in Sodom. Through the deceptive power of Satan the workers
of iniquity obtain sympathy and admiration, and are thus constantly leading others to
rebellion. It was so in Cain's and in Noah's day, and in the time of Abraham and Lot; it
is so in our time. It is in mercy to the universe that God will finally destroy the
rejecters of His grace.
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"The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ
our Lord." Romans 6:23. While life is the inheritance of the righteous, death is the
portion of the wicked. Moses declared to Israel: "I have set before thee this day
life and good, and death and evil." Deuteronomy 30:15. The death referred to in these
scriptures is not that pronounced upon Adam, for all mankind suffer the penalty of his
transgression. It is "the second death" that is placed in contrast with
everlasting life.
In consequence of Adam's sin, death passed upon the whole human race. All alike go down
into the grave. And through the provisions of the plan of salvation, all are to be brought
forth from their graves. "There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just
and unjust;" "for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made
alive." Acts 24:15; I Corinthians 15:22. But a distinction is made between the two
classes that are brought forth. "All that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and
shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that
have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." John 5:28, 29. They who have
been "accounted worthy" of the resurrection of life are "blessed and
holy." "On such the second death hath no power." Revelation 20:6. But those
who have not, through repentance and faith, secured pardon, must receive the penalty of
transgression--"the wages of sin." They suffer punishment varying in duration
and intensity, "according to their works," but finally ending in the second
death. Since it is impossible for God, consistently with His justice and mercy, to save
the sinner in his sins, He deprives him of the existence which his transgressions have
forfeited and of which he has proved himself unworthy. Says an inspired writer: "Yet
a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his
place, and it shall not be." And another declares: "They shall be as though
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they had not been." Psalm 37:10; Obadiah 16. Covered with infamy, they sink into
hopeless, eternal oblivion.
Thus will be made an end of sin, with all the woe and ruin which have resulted from it.
Says the psalmist: "Thou hast destroyed the wicked, Thou hast put out their name
forever and ever. O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end." Psalm 9:5,
6. John, in the Revelation, looking forward to the eternal state, hears a universal anthem
of praise undisturbed by one note of discord. Every creature in heaven and earth was heard
ascribing glory to God. Revelation 5:13. There will then be no lost souls to blaspheme God
as they writhe in never-ending torment; no wretched beings in hell will mingle their
shrieks with the songs of the saved.
Upon the fundamental error of natural immortality rests the doctrine of consciousness in
death--a doctrine, like eternal torment, opposed to the teachings of the Scriptures,to the
dictates of reason, and to our feelings of humanity. According to the popular belief, the
redeemed in heaven are acquainted with all that takes place on the earth and especially
with the lives of the friends whom they have left behind. But how could it be a source of
happiness to the dead to know the troubles of the living, to witness the sins committed by
their own loved ones, and to see them enduring all the sorrows, disappointments, and
anguish of life? How much of heaven's bliss would be enjoyed by those who were hovering
over their friends on earth? And how utterly revolting is the belief that as soon as the
breath leaves the body the soul of the impenitent is consigned to the flames of hell! To
what depths of anguish must those be plunged who see their friends passing to the grave
unprepared, to enter upon an eternity of woe and sin! Many have been driven to insanity by
this harrowing thought.
What say the Scriptures concerning these things? David declares that man is not conscious
in death. "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his
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thoughts perish." Psalm 146:4. Solomon bears the same testimony: "The living
know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything." "Their love, and
their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion
forever in anything that is done under the sun." "There is no work, nor device,
nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6,
10.
When, in answer to his prayer, Hezekiah's life was prolonged fifteen years, the grateful
king rendered to God a tribute of praise for His great mercy. In this song he tells the
reason why he thus rejoices: "The grave cannot praise Thee, death cannot celebrate
Thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for Thy truth. The living, the living, he
shall praise Thee, as I do this day." Isaiah 38:18, 19. Popular theology represents
the righteous dead as in heaven, entered into bliss and praising God with an immortal
tongue; but Hezekiah could see no such glorious prospect in death. With his words agrees
the testimony of the psalmist: "In death there is no remembrance of Thee: in the
grave who shall give Thee thanks?" "The dead praise not the Lord, neither any
that go down into silence." Psalms 6:5; 115:17.
Peter on the Day of Pentecost declared that the patriarch David "is both dead and
buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day." "For David is not ascended
into the heavens." Acts 2:29, 34. The fact that David remains in the grave until the
resurrection proves that the righteous do not go to heaven at death. It is only through
the resurrection, and by virtue of the fact that Christ has risen, that David can at last
sit at the right hand of God.
And said Paul: "If the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: and if Christ be not
raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen
asleep in Christ are perished." I Corinthians 15:16-18. If for four thousand years
the righteous had gone directly to heaven at death, how could Paul have said that if there
is no resurrection,
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"they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished"? No resurrection
would be necessary.
The martyr Tyndale, referring to the state of the dead, declared: "I confess openly,
that I am not persuaded that they be already in the full glory that Christ is in, or the
elect angels of God are in. Neither is it any article of my faith; for if it were so, I
see not but then the preaching of the resurrection of the flesh were a thing in
vain."--William Tyndale, Preface to New Testament (ed. 1534). Reprinted in British
Reformers--Tindal, Frith, Barnes, page 349.
It is an undeniable fact that the hope of immortal blessedness at death has led to a
widespread neglect of the Bible doctrine of the resurrection. This tendency was remarked
by Dr. Adam Clarke, who said: "The doctrine of the resurrection appears to have been
thought of much more consequence among the primitive Christians than it is now! How is
this? The apostles were continually insisting on it, and exciting the followers of God to
diligence, obedience, and cheerfulness through it. And their successors in the present day
seldom mention it! So apostles preached, and so primitive Christians believed; so we
preach, and so our hearers believe. There is not a doctrine in the gospel on which more
stress is laid; and there is not a doctrine in the present system of preaching which is
treated with more neglect!"-- Commentary, remarks on I Corinthians 15, paragraph 3.
This has continued until the glorious truth of the resurrection has been almost wholly
obscured and lost sight of by the Christian world. Thus a leading religious writer,
commenting on the words of Paul in I Thessalonians 4:13-18, says: "For all practical
purposes of comfort the doctrine of the blessed immortality of the righteous takes the
place for us of any doubtful doctrine of the Lord's second coming. At our death the Lord
comes for us. That is what we are to wait and watch for. The dead are already passed into
glory. They do not wait for the trump for their judgment and blessedness."
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But when about to leave His disciples, Jesus did not tell them that they would soon come
to Him. "I go to prepare a place for you," He said. "And if I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself." John 14:2,
3. And Paul tells us, further, that "the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with
a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in
Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the
Lord." And he adds: "Comfort one another with these words." I Thessalonians
4:16-18. How wide the contrast between these words of comfort and those of the
Universalist minister previously quoted! The latter consoled the bereaved friends with the
assurance that, however sinful the dead might have been, when he breathed out his life
here he was to be received among the angels. Paul points his brethren to the future coming
of the Lord, when the fetters of the tomb shall be broken, and the "dead in
Christ" shall be raised to eternal life.
Before any can enter the mansions of the blessed, their cases must be investigated, and
their characters and their deeds must pass in review before God. All are to be judged
according to the things written in the books and to be rewarded as their works have been.
This judgment does not take place at death. Mark the words of Paul: "He hath
appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He
hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him
from the dead." Acts 17:31. Here the apostle plainly stated that a specified time,
then future, had been fixed upon for the judgment of the world.
Jude refers to the same period: "The angels which kept not their first estate, but
left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the
judgment of the great day." And, again, he quotes the words of Enoch: "Behold,
the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His
Page 549
saints, to execute judgment upon all." Jude 6, 14, 15. John declares that he
"saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: . . .
and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books."
Revelation 20:12.
But if the dead are already enjoying the bliss of heaven or writhing in the flames of
hell, what need of a future judgment? The teachings of God's word on these important
points are neither obscure nor contradictory; they may be understood by common minds. But
what candid mind can see either wisdom or justice in the current theory? Will the
righteous, after the investigation of their cases at the judgment, receive the
commendation, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: . . . enter thou into the
joy of thy Lord," when they have been dwelling in His presence, perhaps for long
ages? Are the wicked summoned from the place of torment to receive sentence from the Judge
of all the earth: "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire"? Matthew
25:21, 41. Oh, solemn mockery! shameful impeachment of the wisdom and justice of God!
The theory of the immortality of the soul was one of those false doctrines that Rome,
borrowing from paganism, incorporated into the religion of Christendom. Martin Luther
classed it with the "monstrous fables that form part of the Roman dunghill of
decretals."--E. Petavel, The Problem of Immortality, page 255. Commenting on the
words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes, that the dead know not anything, the Reformer says:
"Another place proving that the dead have no . . . feeling. There is, saith he, no
duty, no science, no knowledge, no wisdom there. Solomon judgeth that the dead are asleep,
and feel nothing at all. For the dead lie there, accounting neither days nor years, but
when they are awaked, they shall seem to have slept scarce one minute."-- Martin
Luther, Exposition of Solomon's Booke Called Ecclesiastes, page 152.
Nowhere in the Sacred Scriptures is found the statement
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that the righteous go to their reward or the wicked to their punishment at death. The
patriarchs and prophets have left no such assurance. Christ and His apostles have given no
hint of it. The Bible clearly teaches that the dead do not go immediately to heaven. They
are represented as sleeping until the resurrection. I Thessalonians 4:14; Job 14:10-12. In
the very day when the silver cord is loosed and the golden bowl broken (Ecclesiastes
12:6), man's thoughts perish. They that go down to the grave are in silence. They know no
more of anything that is done under the sun. Job 14:21. Blessed rest for the weary
righteous! Time, be it long or short, is but a moment to them. They sleep; they are
awakened by the trump of God to a glorious immortality. "For the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. . . . So when this corruptible shall have put
on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to
pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory." I Corinthians
15:52-54. As they are called forth from their deep slumber they begin to think just where
they ceased. The last sensation was the pang of death; the last thought, that they were
falling beneath the power of the grave. When they arise from the tomb, their first glad
thought will be echoed in the triumphal shout: "O death, where is thy sting? O grave,
where is thy victory?" Verse 55.
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