OR THE TRUE DOCTRINES OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH PLAINLY STATED AND DEFENDED;
BY S. C. CHANDLER, INDEPENDENT MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL.
NEW-YORK:
PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR.
1853
WHOEVER reads this volume will be convinced that the author has not followed a beaten path, and that our shelves, now burdened with religious and theological books, are entirely vacant of any such work as this.
The design of this treatise is to aid in the great work of Reform, in what passes for the Orthodox Theology of our age, and restore to the Church and the world the apostolic faith and doctrines; showing their harmony and consistency with themselves, with reason, and the principles of the Divine government, and the plan of man's redemption.
We have avoided the use of all those ambiguous, metaphysical, and theological terms and technicalities, " taking heed to the form of sound words"—words used by Moses and the Prophets, Christ and the Apostles. We have been careful, also, to let the Bible speak for itself, on every subject treated in this work, in the plainest language, and the most familiar style.
In its production, the author lays no claim to literary merit, but has aimed simply to be understood, and make an impression upon the mind of the reader, of the validity and importance of the great truths presented. The literature of the Bible is a plain common sense literature, and it should never be dressed up in the highly rhetorical language, figures, and unmeaning technicalities of ingenious divines, or neological and transcendental metaphysicians.
The poor have the gospel preached to them. " The common people heard Christ gladly"—because they could understand Him. His language was pure and elevated, yet simple and unadorned with human philosophy, and easily comprehended.
It was written within the compass of four months, in the midst of a pressure of pastoral labors, and not a page of it has he had time to revise or rewrite. He has, however, endeavored to have it as free from typographical and other errors, as his limited time would permit.
Not to extend the pages beyond their present limits, many passages of Scripture are put in small type. As he treats directly upon the theology of the Bible, in using its language the quotation marks are omitted.
Imperfect as it is, and criticized as it may be, the author hopes that this volume will be acceptable to his numerous friends, who urged its publication, and prove a blessing to the Church and the world. He expects not to be spared from the " critics' dagger"—but if his labor herein accomplishes his design in bringing glory to God, he fears not its point.
AFTER a number of years spent in close labored study of the Holy Scriptures, in which the truths of divine origin have been contemplated regardless of the opinions of men, the Author is too deeply impressed with their sublimity and importance, and a sense of his obligations to God, and duty to his fellow-beings, to withhold from the world the result of his investigations.
That the Scriptures are attractive to the unvitiated heart, is evident from the indelible impressions made by our first lessons on the creation of the world, and the existence of a Supreme Being who made all things, together with the increasing interest and reverence manifest while listening to those lessons, and a desire to know more of their wonderful revealing. As our minds expanded, could we have been instructed with that tender solicitude for our spiritual good which the early Christians exercised to imbue the susceptible minds of their youth with the knowledge and faith of the Gospel, when divine truth was the first subject of instruction and entwined with their purest associations, forming a basis on which to erect a system of pure and undefiled religion: then we might have secured a taste for knowledge, and the beauties of sacred learning, created by that Book, in which no achievements are described, nor characters lauded, but such as are adorned with the fruits of righteousness.
The pious care of the primitive Christians intermingled religion with all the pursuits and recreation of the young, not permitting them to engage in the study of science, or plunge into the business of the world, until they had been first taught in the morals of the Gospel, and the principles of the Holy Law. The Bible would hold a supremacy over the mind of a person thus educated, transcending all other works, and commanding infinitely more reverence and love. Such a person would possess an intelligent faith, and experience a degree of happiness, and joyful independence, as in more mature years, he opened the sacred volume and read for himself, and became familiar with its glorious truths, and the existence of the great King and Ruler of the universe, and with the principles of His divine administration. But if our first teachings and impressions are incorrect, and we grow up in error, we have a more difficult task to unlearn and overcome our prejudices, than to learn anything we find in the Scriptures, and are thus deprived of the richest blessing which it is our privilege to enjoy.
No person can commence with the first teachings, and learn the story of the creation, the formation of man out of the dust, and his settlement in the Eden of bliss, surrounded with every comfort which he had a capacity to enjoy; his subsequent fall, and the curse he brought upon himself and the world, and the wonderful plan God now introduces to restore him and his inheritance, without being instinctively led to pursue his investigations, with all that ardor and zeal it so richly deserves, till he has searched out the whole history of man, and understands the design of God from the foundation of the world.
When we behold our first parents voluntarily fallen from their high and happy state, and plunged into a gulph of despair under the curse of the law, we deeply lament their servility and weakness, and reflectingly groan beneath the oppressive burden of sin consequent upon all men. And from this eclipse of darkness and gloom, we turn again and contemplate the rich provisions which the tender compassion and matchless love of a God has made for a rebellious world, in the gift of His only begotten Son, that through him pardon can be offered, and a restitution made, and man placed again in an Eden of happiness and glory. And in this contemplation we are overwhelmed with admiration and sublime wonder, at the exhibition of the divine character in the exercise of His attributes of wisdom, love, and benevolence, and our hearth swell with gratitude and reverence, and pious submission to his holy commands.
From the Scriptures we learn our entire duty, the design of God in bringing man into existence, and giving him a state of probation, and all that pertains to the glorious plan of redemption; and it is all important that this should be our first business and principal study, to learn the path of sacred truth and light, that we may walk therein, and by this means escape the merited doom passed upon all the finally impenitent, by a justly offended God. If it be admitted that the Scriptures are the most important and desirable to man, as well as interesting and attractive to the child, (in whom we have the elements of the perfect man,) and if its impressions are of so firm and lasting a character, the question arises, Why the people do not read them more and understand them better? We answer, For the reason that the god of this world bath so blinded their minds, that ere they come to a knowledge of the truth, they are beguiled and deceitfully led astray, and their moral sensibilities blunted, so that the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ is not comprehended by them. They see not that beauty and excellence in them, which actually exists, and which would captivate their minds, could the veil once be removed. And if the doctrines of the Bible were presented in their true light by all its professed teachers, divested of every shade of coloring by which the art of man has dimmed its sacred pages, this veil would soon be removed, and the people would be brought out of their moral darkness, and relieved of their doubts, fears, and distress, that have long enslaved them.
That the teachings of the ministry, from the falling away spoken of by the Apostle Paul, down to the present time, have been clothed in a network of mystery artfully devised and woven by man, permitting the veil of Romanism to continue over the minds of the great mass to a lamentable extent, is evident to every enlightened thinking person. The Apostles foresaw this state of things, but evinced by their untiring efforts, faith, and zeal, that the truth would finally prevail. And I ask, Has not that time come? Has not the church too long been struggling for the blessed rays of eternal truth to dawn unobstructedly upon and direct them, through this dark valley into the port of divine light and life? The experience of your humble servant, who was led by a desire for truth only, to lay aside all commentaries, traditions, and inferences of erring man, and make that Book alone, which was designed by the Author of all good, his constant study, counsel, and guide, prompts him to assert and defend this fact: and caused him to seek by close application, a means of overcoming this evil, and severing the bonds by which the minds of our ministry and church are fettered.
The obscurities and contradictions contained in the popular Theology, and the mistaking and misapplying of the Scriptures by its Professor, (which have sprung either from the perversion or neglect of the Bible,) and taught in our Seminaries, have caused years of unprofitable study, thereby wasting the time and talents of those who might have been efficient teachers of the Gospel.
Shall these things continue longer? Is there no remedy? Is it safe for us to fold our arms in repose on the lap of borrowed intelligence, and suffer ourselves to be wafted by the winds of doctrines invented by mortal man, to the very brink of our final destiny? Reader, pause and consider! For I assure you that those traditions and theories will not suffice for us, since the true light of the Gospel is pouring forth its effulgent rays, illumining the path of truth, in which we may walk in all the " beauty of holiness," and that we should no longer be guided by the opinions of uninspired writers, but that henceforth our temple of truth shall be erected on that firm and enduring foundation laid by the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief Corner Stone.
If we would obey the commands given to " search out all things, both old and new," and to " work out our own salvation with fear and trembling," we must rise above the dictations of priests or fear of man, and with a clear head, like the cloud-piercing Alps, catch and reflect the sunlight of truth, beaming from the infinite Source of righteousness, and thus elaborate and advocate the glorious plan which God devised for the salvation of the human race.
Laboring for the spread of the truth, and for the reform so necessary, and which has already commenced in the Christian world, I wish to impress upon the public mind the necessity of removing those works which subject the Bible student to so much needless labor and doubt, leading him through a labyrinth of mysticism to respect an irrational theory, contrary to correct reasoning, and of providing such only as shall enlighten and strengthen him—works, which having been compared and examined by that light of life, given as a lamp to our path, shine forth, bearing the impress of sacred knowledge, and reflecting the true Oracles of God.
We believe this reform will continue until all those who have ears to hear shall hear and understand, and until truth shall penetrate the dark veil which is so closely drawn over the eyes of the church by its mystic teachers, and until every plant which our heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up.
To those who will read this work unprejudiced, we pledge our aid in removing irrevocably the veil which hides from their view the plain doctrines taught in the Scriptures, and to present them in all their purity, unclothed with theological technicalities and vain philosophy, or any superficial garb of human ingenuity. If the Scriptures are allowed to speak for themselves, they will speak intelligibly to every mind possessed of common intellect, on all subjects upon which they treat. God understands human frailty and the limitation of human knowledge, and he has not undertaken to reveal himself to man, and be his sovereign teacher, without adapting his instructions to the capacity of common minds. This is demonstrated by the persons God chose as the special recipients of his revelation, and mediums of communication to the world. The prophets and apostles were not men distinguished for their intellect, genius, and learning, above their fellows, that entitled them to this distinction, but on the contrary, they were private, unknown, and illiterate men, from the most common families, and had everything to learn to qualify them for the high post of honor and responsibility in the church of God to which they were called. Says the Apostle: " For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God hath chosen the foolish things (or persons,) of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty." It is said that the common people heard Christ gladly, and it was the common people that understood him and became disciples. And it is to the same class that we are to look still, to hear and understand the truths of the Bible, " the poor have the Gospel preached to them."
It is only truth that we are to learn out of the Bible; and truth is only plain common sense—that which is consistent with itself, with reason, and the nature of things—and hence it is adapted to the common mind. There is nothing revealed concerning the personality, character, and attributes of God, that we are to learn, but what is consistent and easy to be understood. All that is said of man's moral condition, and the plan of redemption, and his future destiny, can be understood by the common people, and it is their privilege to walk in the light of divine truth, and become men and women in understanding—and in Christ Jesus. The Bible must be allowed to be its own expositor, and we must compare spiritual things with spiritual—scripture with scripture—doctrine with doctrine—and interpret the language and meaning as we do that of any other book, or it is of no use and intelligence to us. If we are denied the right of private judgment in the study of the Bible, and must depend upon the decision of priests and ecclesiastical councils, then we might well despair of ever coming to a knowledge of the truth, and lay down in darkness and death. But Christ invites all to come and learn of him—take his yoke which is easy and his burden which is light. His requirements are just, and equal, and easy to be understood and obeyed.
In matters of faith and doctrine we are to call no man master, neither are we to seek to be called Rabbi, for one only is our master and teacher, and he is from above. All authority in religion is invested in Jesus Christ, and he has not delegated his authority to any of his disciples. They are all alike subject to him, and are to reverence and obey him as the head and master of the church. The privileges Christ has granted to his disciples are not to lord it over one another, but to serve and be helps to each other in the discharge of their duty, and in their temporal and spiritual good. The Bible is the great Statute Book of the divine government. It contains all the moral laws of God, and consequently all that we are to observe and obey. And it is the imperative duty of every person to consult these statutes for himself, and be able to prove all things, that he may not be imposed upon by the cunning, crafty devices of men. There is no safety for the true disciples of Christ, in these times of divisions and creed making, only to take the Bible alone, as a rule and guide to their faith and practice.
It is not necessary to consult " the Fathers" to know what is truth, as they are not the foundation and authority of Christ's church, and were certainly in no better circumstances, or possessed any greater advantages to understand the doctrines of the Christian faith and plan of salvation, than is now enjoyed and available to the theological student. In the defense of any religious tenet it is very popular to quote passages from the Fathers, and if they are made to speak in favor of any particular view or doctrine, it is considered authority enough by many of our religious teachers, and the point is urged with great boldness and zeal, however at variance it may be with the plain, positive teachings of divine inspiration. It should be known and considered that the questions of faith and Christian practice that agitate and divide the Christian world at the present day, distracted the church then, and there was no way in those days for the pious Christian to settle what was truth, only by a direct appeal to the Scriptures. Passages from different authors—men of genius and learning in the church, in the second and third centuries—might be quoted to sustain almost every error and false doctrine that was then, and is now propagated in the Christian world. Would it be considered good authority and wise, in future centuries, for the Christian teachers to quote from the different authors and councils of this age, to sustain their views? Their quotations would be partial—they would only quote such authors as favored their peculiar views. So it is in quoting from the Fathers. Truth and error can both be quoted from their teachings and writings; and truth and error, in any subsequent period, might be quoted from the teachings of this age. So that the Bible, after all, is now, and ever should be, the Book of reference, and our only guide in all matters of faith and Christian doctrine. It is the only true lamp to our feet and light to our path, that we have, and if any man speak, let him speak as the Oracles of God.
RESURRECTION
CHRIST'S PERSONAL APPEARING
IMMORTALITY ETERNAL LIFE
OBJECTIONS
RICH MAN AND LAZARUS
CHRIST AND THE THIEF
SAINTS INHERIT THE EARTH
DESTRUCTION OF THE WICKED
LIFE IN CHRIST
As we have noticed, the penalty of the law was death, consequently Adam lost his life, by his sin or transgression. Rom. 5: 12. Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned. 1 Cor. 15: 22. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive. Acts 17: 18. Because he (Paul) preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection. 24: 15. And have hope towards God, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. As Adam lost his life, and entailed death upon all his posterity, we see at once the necessity of his life and body being redeemed.
It will he perceived also from the passages already quoted, that the resurrection—the resuscitation or reproduction of Adam and the human race—is founded on the fact that the dead are actually dead; that they are not in conscious being, and already in a state of happiness or misery. If a man die shall he live again? Job. 14: 14. That is, if a man die—if he ceases to be, to live—shall he live?—shall he come into existence again? There is no such thing as a resurrection of life, and to life, if there is not a cessation or extinction of life. When God said to Adam, In the day thou eats thereof thou shalt surely die; He meant thou shalt surely cease to be, thou shalt become extinct. This is plain from the way God made man, and from the explanation he gave him of his death. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it was thou taken: for dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return. Dust thou art. The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. How did he become a living soul? By God's breathing into his nostrils the breath of life. At this moment, and not till this moment, did Adam begin to live and have conscious existence.
Of what does it appear man is composed? Of a body, and spirit of life. These united make a living soul—not an immortal soul as some would have it. If man had become an immortal soul, he could not have died, let his moral acts have been what they would. Man's body, then, came from the dust, and his breath and spirit from God who gave it. In their original elements, neither part was a living soul, their union only made one living soul. What, then, is death? A separation of the spirit from the body. The body returns to the dust as it was, and the spirit as it was, to God. They both go back to their original state or elements, and man ceases to be a living soul.
If the component parts of man dissolve their union at death, and each goes to their original, how perfectly absurd and contrary to reason and fact, is the idea that man has a soul that is alive and conscious after death, or this dissolution. Man is not pronounced a living nephesh or soul, till the rush, or spirit, is united with the organism of the dust. In their separate and original state, neither of the parts can with any truth or propriety be called a living soul. There is no such thing, then, as a living soul, only when the spirit and body are united. To have a man die, to cease to be a living soul—is only to have that go forth, or out of him, that God breathed into him. Then he will be dead and unconscious, or in the same state he was before he had life.
Job 32: 8. But there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration (breath) of the Almighty giveth them understanding. Man's understanding came when God breathed this spirit of life into him, and of course goes from him when this breath or spirit leaves the body. 33: 4. The Spirit of God bath made me, and the breath of the Almighty bath given me life. The same sentiment again. Man only has life and understanding when the two parts are united. 34: 14.
If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath; All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.
Here the fact is plainly stated, and there need be no misunderstanding. If God gather unto himself again man's spirit and breath, all turn to dust and perish. 3: 13.
Why did the knees prevent me 1 or why the breasts that I should suck 1 For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept; then had I been at rest, With kings and counsellors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves; Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver: Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been: as infants which never saw light.
There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary be at rest.
There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor.
The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.
Here Job also declares the state of the dead to be as though they had not been, and settles the question that the dead know not anything, that all is over of suffering and oppression, and all like prisoners, rest together in the dust, waiting, as they are, for their trial, to be brought forth, resurrected, at the Judgment. Ps. 49: 12:
Nevertheless, man being in honor abideth not; he is like the beasts that perish.
This their way is their folly, yet their posterity approve their sayings.
Like sheep they are laid in the grave, death will feed on them, and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning, and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.
But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, for he shall receive me.
The body is properly the soul, and hence it is called a living soul, when the spirit and breath is in it. If the translators had observed this distinction as the truth requires, they never would have called the spirit and breath the soul, as they now have in many texts. In these verses it is asserted that man perishes, or dies like the beast, and their bodies, or souls, are like sheep laid in the grave. But David is a believer in the resurrection. God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave. No intimation here, that man has a soul that is conscious in a state of death, and hence there is no hope but in the resurrection that man shall live again. Ps. 88; 4, 5: I am counted with them that go down into the pit, I am as a man that bath no strength, free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou remembers no more, and they are out off from thy hand. In this state they are neither in happiness, or misery, or consciousness.
10th v. Wilt thou show wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Shall thy loving-kindness be declared in the grave 7 or thy faithfulness in destruction? Shal! thy wonders be known in the dark, and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? No! The answer is plain. Nothing can be shown to the dead; it is a state of forgetfulness, their mind and thoughts are perished. Ps. 115: 17:
The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence. Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
146: 3, 4. His breath goes forth, he returned to the earth, in that very day his thoughts perish.
Now, let the reader notice that the assertion, that the dead know not anything, that in the day their spirit leaves them, their thoughts perish—that they cannot praise the Lord—that it is a state of forgetfulness, and where there is no exercise of the mind; is not my assertion, but the Scriptures'. If the Scriptures give us a correct account of the formation of man, and how he became a living soul, and how death is effected, viz.: by the separation of the two component parts of man, then the fact will remain an eternal truth, that the dead know not anything, the opinions of men to the contrary notwithstanding. The reader will probably say that there are passages that contradict such a sentiment. Then I would say, the Bible contradicts itself, and consequently is not entitled to credit as the word of God. But your passages do not contradict such a sentiment; there is not a passage in all the Scriptures that asserts that the dead do know anything—that there is an immortal soul that flies away from the body at death, and is conscious somewhere, either happy or miserable. It is only your inference drawn from certain passages. And you should know one thing: that when you draw an inference from one passage that flatly contradicts a plain and positive assertion in another passage, your inference is wrong and must be given up. If we allow men to draw inferences to contradict positive assertions, we allow men to sustain every false doctrine and system of error from the Bible under heaven. We destroy at once every sound principle of true interpretation, and common-sense under-standing of the Scriptures.
But to proceed. Ps. 6: 4, 5: Return, O Lord, deliver my soul: Oh save me for thy mercies' sake. For in death there is no remembrance of thee; in the grave who shall give thee thanks? David understood well where he was going—he was going into the land of forgetfulness, where there would be no remembrance of God, and he cries earnestly to the Lord that he might not be left there, that the Lord would return and deliver his soul. Ps. 17: 15: As for me I will behold thy face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness. No beholding his face in death, no satisfaction when in the sleep of death, but be was confident that he should awake again, that the Lord would return and awake him, i.e., resurrect him.
Job has the same faith. 19: 23:
Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were written in a book!
That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock forever!
For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.
And though, after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another, though my reins be consumed within me.
How plain the truth is brought out in these passages, that the dead enjoy not the knowledge and presence of God, that their hope was in a resurrection, and that with- out this they would indeed perish. 10 18:
Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had ever seen me!
I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.
Are not my days few'! cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little, Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death; A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death without any order, and where the light is as darkness.
To believe in the doctrine of the resurrection, we must see its necessity; and to see its necessity we must know the state of the dead. And their state and condition cannot be more definitely and plainly set forth than in the Scriptures we are noticing.
Oh, that be had died as soon as he was born, then he would have been carried from the womb to the grave, and been as though he had not been; but as it is, my days are few, therefore I shall go to that dark land—dark as darkness itself, where there is no order—no law, physical or moral—or intelligence, but all is still and unconscious. 14; 10:
But man dies and wastes away, yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he I As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayed and dried up, So man lieth down and rises not, till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake nor be raised out of their sleep.
O that thou wouldst hide me in the grave, that thou wouldst keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldst appoint me a set time, and remember me!
If a man die, shall he live again 7 all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.
Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee, thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.
In a natural sleep—sound and healthy—the person is not capable of knowing and doing business, he cannot in this state praise the Lord, or take any part in the common concerns of life, how much less when he goes into a dead sleep—when spirit and body are disunited? Hence this truth: As the flood decayed and dried up, so that there is nothing to be seen of it—the earth having drunk it in—so man lieth down—goes into the earth until-the heavens be no more, he shall not awake or be raised out of his sleep. So Job, like the Psalmist, wanted to be remembered. He wanted God to appoint the time--a set time—and all this appointed time would he wait with patience and resignation, till his change should come. Then said he, Thou shalt call, and I will answer. Yes, Job and all the servants of Christ will hear his voice, and answer to the call, and come forth at the appointed time—at the resurrection of the great day.
The reason why Job and David were so anxious to be remembered, and seemed to express some fears as though they might be forgotten, was their limited knowledge, from necessity, of the doctrine of the resurrection. Life and immortality was not brought to light fully till the gospel, and the doctrine of the resurrection was not so definitely preached and understood, till Christ appeared. He showed that he was the resurrection and the life, and would certainly raise up all his followers at the last day.
Again, Eccl. 3: 18, 19, 20, 21.
I said in my heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
For that which befalls the sons of men befalls beasts; even one thing befalls them: as the one dies, so dies the other; yea, they have all one breath: so that a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
All go unto one place: all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
Who knows the spirit of man that goes upward, and the spirit of the beast that goes downward to the earth? Let it be noticed in this quotation, that only in one thins are men and beasts alike, viz., they die alike, and go to one place: all are of the dust, and all go to dust again. In this one particular, man has no preeminence above a beast. Now then, to the doctrine of the spirit. Who knows the one that goes up, or the other that goes down? If we say that the spirit of life that God breathed into man, was a rational mind and soul, we say that beasts have rational souls, for the same thing that God breathed into man, he gave to beasts. See Gen. 1: 30. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that crept upon the earth, wherein is [a living spirit. Heb.] life. 6: 17.
And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and everything that is in the earth shall die.
7: 15, 21, 22, And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.
And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that crept upon the earth, and every man.
All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, dies.
It is a truth then, from which we cannot escape—we are chained to the point, that the spirit of life in a beast is the same as the spirit of life in a man. All that God did was to put this spirit in man's organism, and he became a living soul. The difference between man and beast does not consist in the spirit or breath of life, which each possesses, but in the organism. The beasts were made after their kind but man after the image, of God and angels. Beasts have animal life enough to think, and reason, but they have no rational mind, because they have no organism adapted to reasoning. Mind is the result of spirit, or the power and principle of life acting upon the brain. Man can see when he has a perfect organ of sight, or eye, upon which this spirit of life can act. And sight is the result of the action of this power within us upon the organ of the eye. If this organ is defective, sight is defective; and if he is born blind and without the proper construction of this organ of the eyes, he is never conscious of sight. And so with the ear—with tasting—smelling, and all the organs and sensations of the body. You may have this spirit in you, but it cannot see without the eye, or hear without the ear, or feel without the nervous system, or think and reason, and carry on mental operations, without the organ of tbe brain. And when this organ is defective, the mind is defective. Consequently at death, when the spirit of life separates from the organism, there is no conscious existence, for there is no more exercise of these organs to produce conscious existence. Hence, the organism is the man proper.
And the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into man's nostrils this spirit or breath of life, and man became a living soul. His soul or body was not alive before. Organism then, is necessary to have a living soul. If there could be a living soul without organism, then the Lord's form out of the dust, with its beautiful organs, was a vain and unnecessary work; as the doctrine is believed, that man has more mind, knows more, and is better capable of mental acts out of the body than in it. The absurdity of such a doctrine is too apparent, and too ridiculous to be retained in the creed of any man. There is not the shadow of a foundation, or any semblance to reason and common sense, and much less Scripture, in the idea that the dead are conscious, or that the spirit, or soul, if you please to call it, can see, hear, speak, and perform mental operations out of the body.
The spirit is the moving power in man, or the power that works all his organs and faculties.—To illustrate.—We enter a factory, and view a machine adapted to manufacture cloth; we see all its parts; but there it stands, nothing moves—the power is let on, either water or steam—this machine is operated by this power, and now we see cloth is manufactured. So God made man out of the dust—perfect in all his parts and organs—but he could not move—matter is inert—God breathed into his nostrils this power of life—this spirit to operate the organs of man, and produce all the phenomenon of physical and mental life we see exhibited. Shut off the power that moves the machine, and all stops. Let God take back to himself this power and breath of life, and all ceases; he cannot move a muscle or think one thought.—To say that this spirit—this breath of life—can think, feel, taste, smell, see, hear, and reason, is as contrary to fact as it would be to say that light, heat, electricity, or any other imponderable agent in nature could do it.
What God breathed into man was nothing more than an emanation of the life principle of himself, and that we see witnessed in the vegetable and animal kingdom. Well, then, cloth the Scriptures say, that in one thing men and beast are alike. As one dies, so dies the other; they have all one breath, and all go to one place. Who knows—who can tell of the one that goes up and the other down? I tell you, says he, They all go to one place. The Bible says: Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. Eccl. 12: 7. It does not say the spirit goes up or down; but simply goes to God who gave it. Eccl. 7: 3.
This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart, while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
Modern divines would say: After that they went to hell torments. But the Scriptures being our guide, we must confine ourselves to the faith, that after we have accomplished our day here, we go to the dead, and our accounts are sealed up to the judgment of the great day. 9: 4.
For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward for the memory of them is forgotten.
Also 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.
Here is another positive assertion that the dead know not anything, and that the exercises of mind, such as memory, love, hatred, and envy, are perished. Who is the man or woman that reads these evidences, so allied to their traditions that they will allow them to make the word of God of none effect? Let God be true though it prove every man a liar, or in error. V. 10.
Whatsoever thy hand finds to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goes.
Now, reader, be candid: Do you believe the Bible?—What is the state of the dead, the Bible being the witness? No work, knowledge, wisdom, or device, in the grave, whither thou goes. All that the Bible calls man came from the dust, and all that the Bible calls man goes down into the grave. The Bible nowhere conveys the idea that man is still alive, that he is gone to inhabit some other part of God's universe, when it is said he is dead.—Ps. 90: 3. Thou turns man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men. O, let us buy the truth, and sell it not:
Hear the testimony of Hezekiah. Isa. 38: 11. I said I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world. These were king Hezekiah's reflections and sentiments, as he was contemplating death. It would cut him off from seeing and praising God in the land of the living, and mixing any more with the inhabitants of the world. He could not console himself with any promise or idea that he should go right to heaven, and there see the Lord and praise him among the angels. No! Death would cut him off from all enjoyment of God and man.— He would not be among the living, but among the dead, therefore he could not behold the Lord, or man, any more. 17, 18, 19 vs.
Behold, for peace I had great bitterness; but thou hast in love to my soul deli Bred it from the pit of corruption; for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
For 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, be shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.
In these verses he lays it down as a positive fact, that the living only can praise the Lord. That none that go down into the pit, or grave, can celebrate his praise or hope for his truth.
The state of the dead is determined also, from the fact that death is called a sleep. They That are dead, the Bible does not intimate, are in a state of conscious activity, but asleep. Ps. 13: 3. Consider and hear me, O Lord my God, lighten my eyes: lest I sleep the sleep of death.—Lest I sleep the sleep of death. All that David called himself, was to sleep. But our tradition would lead us to say, that David, the man proper, would still be awake more than ever, and ascend to God's throne and be still praising him. 1 Kings 2:10. So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. 15: 24. And Asa slept with his fathers. Then their fathers are asleep. Yes. 2 Peter 3:4. Since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were, etc. Jer. 51: 39. In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the Lord. Dan. 12: 2. Many of them which sleep in the dust of the earth, shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Matt. 27. And the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose. John 11: 11. Our friend Lazarus slept, but I go that I may awake him out of sleep. Acts 7:60. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. 1 Cor. 15:20. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. 1 These. 4: 13, 14, 15.
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died, and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep.
Nothing can be clearer than the truth that these verses declare concerning the dead, that they know not anything, that this sleep of death is an entire cessation of all the functions of life: and that a resurrection is necessary to awake them to consciousness again.
Again, the state of the dead is proved to be an unconscious state from the fact that there is no reward either of happiness or misery, till the resurrection and judgment.—If it can be shown that God does not recognize the dead as alive, and bestows upon them no reward from the time they die till his appointed time of judgment, then this is another evidence that the dead know not anything. We will now notice a sufficient number of texts to prove conclusively that there is no reward to the righteous or wick- ed, from death till the judgment. Matt. 16: 27. For the. Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then shall He reward every man according to his works. When? When he shall come with his angels, in the glory of his Father. This is at the end of this world, when he shall come the second time. Matt. 13 40. As therefore, the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this world r the Son of Man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. There is then, no separation between the righteous and the wicked, till the end of the world and judgment. Both grow together; live and mingle in society associate and do business together, and lay dawn alike in the dust, and are in the same state in death, till the harvest, the end of the world; then Christ comes in judgment, and sends forth His angels to separate the tares from the wheat for the first time, gathering the one into bundles to be burned, and the other into the kingdom of Christ.
According to this parable, and the explanation given by our Savior, there is no possible chance for any reward, or conscious existence from death, till the judgment. V. 47. Again the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net that was east into the sea, and gathered of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to the shore, and sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be in the end of this world, the angels, shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the just. If this is true, then they are not separated before the end of the world, and consequently there is no future reward till that time, for either saint or sinner. Matt. 12: 41, 42.
The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it; because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, beheld, a greater than Solomon is here.
Rise up in the judgment: Rise up from where? Have both or all these generations been living together in a conscious state in hell torments, or some other place? Or do they all rise up together out of their graves, where they have slept together, till they are resurrected and summoned to the judgment? Which is the most rational, and which view is the most in harmony with revelation? If death is a conscious state, and these wicked generations have been living together, the one has passed its judgment on the other long before they rise up in judgment together, and consequently our Savior’s declaration amounts to nothing. Are we satisfied thus to maintain a tradition against God's word, and make it of none effect? Matt. 7: 21, 22, 23.
Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never know you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Many will say unto me in that day: What day? Why, the day of judgment—the day of rewards—when they expect to be received by the Lord into his kingdom. Have they not found out their mistake before? Is this the first time the fact is made known to them that they are not accepted. and cannot enter into the joy of their Lord? So it seems. Well, then, death is an unconscious state; and those that die do not know anything; they do not know their future destiny, till resurrected and brought to the judgment.—This is clear and cannot be rationally disputed. Again, Matt. 25: 31, 32, 33, 34.
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
And before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divided his sheep from the goats:
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
This is in harmony with the parable of the wheat and tares. No separation till Christ shall come in his glory with his angels. Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom. prepared for you from [or at] the foundation of the world. Is this the first time the righteous ever entered the kingdom? Have not their immortal souls been there enjoying the presence and blessing of their Father, and some of them a long time? No intimation of any such thing. The Scriptures recognize no such thing, as man's possessing an immortal soul, and the dead praising the Lord, or being in a conscious existence. Besides, the kingdom which the saints are to possess, is the one prepared for them at the foundation of the world, viz., the dominion of this earth, which Adam lost by the fall, and which is now redeemed and given back to the saints by Jesus Christ. There can be no reward to the saints then, no restoration of that which was prepared for them at the beginning, till Christ has gathered out of it, or the earth, all things that offend, and thorn that do iniquity, and regenerated, or recreated it again, and made it as the garden of Eden.
There is no kingdom for the saints to receive, or place promised them to inhabit, in all God's plan, but the earth restored, and consequently there can be no future reward or conscious existence till the time appointed for this to be done. This then is the first time the salts enter the kingdom restored, and the first reward they receive after death. V. 41.
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.
Again I ask, is this the first time the wicked have ever been in the fire, or received future punishment? Can the sinners of the old antediluvian world, and those of the Jewish age say, Lord, it is no new place for us, we have been there a long time before? How perfectly absurd! No, my dear reader, this is the first time since they closed their eyes in death, that they have been conscious of their doom, and experienced the torments of fire. V. 46. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the · righteous into life eternal. It is only at the resurrection and judgment that the righteous go into life eternal; they have never shared in this life before; neither the wicked their everlasting punishment. The same sentiment is taught in Malachi 3: 16, 17, 18; 4: 1.
Then they that feared the Lord spoke often one to another; and the Lord hearkened, and heard it: and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.
And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spared his own son that serves him.
Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked; between him that served God, and him that served him not.
For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
The Lord has an appointed time when he will make up his jewels, i.e., when he will collect together his saints.—Till that time they are only in the book of remembrance, and are in a state where no discernment or difference between the righteous and the wicked can be made. All are sleeping in death together; but in that day—in the day when for the first time Christ makes up in a glorious resurrection his jewels, then and not till then, will the separation and rewards take place. Then will the day come that will burn as an oven. The fire that is designed for the future punishment of the wicked is not yet kindled.—The doctrine of a present hell-fire, and immediate punishment of the wicked at death, before the judgment, is unsupported either by Scripture or reason. It is totally in-consistent with the plan of redemption, and the doctrine of a resurrection and judgment.
I now invite attention to the following texts: Rom. 2: 5. But after thy hardness and impenitent heart, treasure up unto thy self wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his deeds. Will the sinner meet this day of wrath before it comes? Will God punish him in hell-fire from death till the judgment? No. It is too plain to be contradicted. 2 Pet. 2: 9. The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment, to be punished. Then it is certain they are not punished before. They are reserved in death—in the grave—as prisoners, they are gathered together in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited. Isa. 24: 22. Job 21: 30. The wicked is reserved to the day of destruction, they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath. What a reservation that would be, to say they were reserved in hell-fire, already suffering punishment, and that God would bring them forth out of hell fire, to judge or try their case; condemn them, and put them back again. O shame on such orthodoxy! Let those that advocate such sentiments, and undertake to defend them by the Bible, blush, and hide their head, for they sink Christianity far below the foolish dogmas of the heathen. The fallen angels, (Adam and Eve,) the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, the old world, and all the wicked are said to be reserved alike in chains of darkness, in hell—the grave—Tartarus—dark darkness—till the Judgment. So also, there is no reward to the righteous, they art reserved under the same chains of darkness, in the same state and place—the grave. 1 Peter 1: 7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise, and honor, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ.
When is it found unto praise and glory? At the appearing of Christ, not before. But if we had an immortal soul that was conscious in death, and that ascended to heaven, our faith would be found unto praise and honor at death. 5: 4: And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fades not away. No crown at death; all the saints must wait till the return of the Master, then he shall reward every man according to their works. 2 Tim. 4: 6:
For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them that love his appearing.
If Paul, who on another occasion had expressed his desire to depart and be with Christ, wished us to understand that this would be at death, he would not now, when he is about to die, have expressed the sentiment he has in these verses. So far from intimating that he will be with Christ and rewarded in heaven, ho declares directly to the contrary: Henceforth—from this time—there is laid up in reserve for me, a crown to be given me, and all that love the appearing of Christ, at that day. 1 John 3: 2: Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see hint as he is. Why put it off till Christ shall appear, if we may be like Him, and behold Him, and have a conscious enjoyment of Him at death, long before he shall appear? Some might say His appearing is at death. But let us see. Rev. 1: 7: Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him; arid they also that pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Will any one pretend that this takes place when a saint dies? And this is at the appearing of Christ, when he shall come to reward every man according to his deeds. Death is nowhere in the Scriptures said to be the appearing of Christ, or that Christ makes his appearance then, in any sense. Rev. 11: 18:
And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou should give reward unto thy servants the prophets and saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great, and should destroy them that destroy the earth.
This is under the seventh and last trumpet, which raises the dead, closes probation, and is here positively declared to be the time when the dead should be judged, and reward given to the prophets and saints, and all that fear his name. This again settles the point, that there is no reward or conscious existence of future happiness till the appearing of Christ, and the dead are raised out of their sleep. 22: 12: Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give to every man according as his work shall be. 1 Thes. 2: 19: For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing; are not you in the presence of Christ at his coming? Col. 3: 4: When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall ye appear with him in glory. Phil. 2: 16: Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain. 3: 20, 21:
For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
Thus I might continue to quote passage after passage, showing that the dead know not anything; that there is no reward or conscious existence between death and the resurrection. It does not help the matter any to say they have a partial reward. If they are conscious at all they are in happiness or misery, and receiving all they have-a capacity to receive, besides there is no doctrine of partial rewards taught in the Bible. We see, then, the necessity of a resurrection, and that the doctrine is founded on this great fact, viz.: that men are dead, and that the dead have no conscious existence. Again, I would say, let us buy the truth and sell it not.
From this view of the subject, it will be perceived that the doctrine of the resurrection is one of the cardinal doctrines of the Gospel, and is essential to the plan of redemption. Without a resurrection there is no future existence or reward, and death would be an eternal sleep. Hence the Apostle Paul, in the 15th of Corinthians, after stating the fact that Christ actually died according to the Scriptures, plainly asserts, that if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. Consequently we have no living Christ. He died, and is still dead, and will forever be, if there is no resurrection of the dead. This being the case, our preaching is vain—no more use of preaching Christ and him crucified, if He is still dead, which He certainly is, if there is no resurrection; and more than all that, we are found false witnesses of God, for we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He raised not up, if so be the dead rise not. And further, if Christ be not raised, and there is no resurrection of the dead, then your faith is vain, and ye are yet in your sins, and they also which are fallen asleep in Christ—died—are perished.
Now, no person can reconcile this teaching with the popular doctrine that the dead are still alive and in heaven, or in a conscious state of happiness. If man has an immortal soul, not dependent on organism, capable of enjoying and praising God, it matters not whether there is a resurrection, their preaching, faith, service, and witnessing for God, would not be in vain. And our modern divines understand this; consequently they preach and pray their church members into heaven, and say nothing of a resurrection or judgment, as prerequisite to their existence and reward in such a state. But how different the theology of the Apostle. If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage me if the dead rise not? What have I gained of future good and reward, by all these trials, and fighting, and persecutions, if the dead rise not? Surely nothing! Then let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die. That is the end of us—we perish. But thanks be to God, this is not the case. There is a resurrection of the dead. Hear him again: But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection from the dead. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive? All that die, all that have ceased to live, shall be made alive again.
Death, then, is a total extinction of life, just as we have proved; and if a man die he cannot live again without a resuscitation—a reconstruction and organization. Hence Christ is not only the resurrection, the re-creator, and reformation of the body, but the life also. For as the Father bath life in himself; so hath He given to the Son to have life in himself; and bath given him authority to execute judgment also. John 5: 26. And as the Father raised up the dead and quickened (resurrected) them; so the Son quickened (resurrected) whom he will. v. 21. This spirit and principle of life in us—that goes from us at death—Christ has the power to restore, and thus make all Adam's posterity living souls again. But is the real, identical body and person raised again? Yes, or there is no resurrection at all. It is the body that goes to dust—that goes down into the grave—and hence there is nothing else to be raised, but the identical bodies of persons. So also is the resurrection of the dead. How? Why, on this wise. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. It was sown: the same it, or body that was sown, is the same it, or body that was raised. Because it is raised a spiritual body, and raised in glory and in power, we are not to infer that it is not raised at all. No. It is the same body raised and changed from corruption to incorruption, from dishonor to glory, from weakness to power, from a natural to a spiritual body. Let no one be mistaken here. It is this corruptible body that is to be raised, and that is to put on incorruption, and this mortal that is to put on immortality. Then that which is natural will become spiritual, and that which is of the earth, earthy, become heavenly. So that this vile body shall be changed and fashioned like unto His most glorious body.
If we do not believe in the resurrection of the body, we do not believe in the scriptural resurrection at all, for there is no other taught in relation to the literal dead. Matt. 27: 52. And the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of their graves after his resurrection. Now, there is no evading this fact, of the literality of the identical bodies of the saints which slept, that were resurrected; and as Christ and this company were the first fruits of the harvest of them that sleep, so afterwards, at the coming of Christ, they that are his will be as literally raised. 8o far as the identity and literality of the body is concerned, the resurrection of saints and sinners will be alike; but will differ in every other respect. It is the saints only, that will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, from corruption to incorruption, and from mortal to immortality, and from a natural body to a spiritual body. Gal. 6: 7, 8. Be not deceived: God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap; for he that soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption, but he that soweth to the spirit, shall of the spirit reap life everlasting.
Sinners are not Christ's children; they have never been begotten by Him if they die in their sins, consequently they cannot be born in his image at the resurrection. They will come forth in the image of their father, the first Adam; while the saints that once bore this image when in their mortal state, will come forth in the image of their new adopted Father, the second Adam, the Lord from heaven, and, from this time, forever bear his image. So that they will be the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. Hence says Christ: John 5: 28.
Marvel not at this for the hour is coining, in the which 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.
The good, to life and immortality; the bad, to the second death and eternal damnation. John, 11: 25.
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; And whosoever lives and believeth in me shall never die. Believes thou this Ho that believeth in me, though he were dead yet shall he live. When? At the resurrection: and then be that lives, and is a believer in me, shall never die. But the unbelievers shall have their part in the lake of fire, which is the second death. Consequently they die again. The wicked will be raised, but they will come forth in all their naked deformity, clothed only with shame and everlasting contempt. O reader, flee from the wrath to come!
The literal resurrection is taught in the following text of Isaiah 26: 19.
Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise; Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.
There is nothing to arise, and nothing for the earth to cast out, as the prophet says here, but his and their dead bodies. Hosea 13:14. I will ransom them from the power of the grave, I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plague; O grave, I will be thy destruction. When will this literal resurrection take place? After. wards they that are Christ's at his coming. It is then at His second coming, at the end of the world, when He shall come to reward every man according to his works. John 6: 39, 40.
And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he bath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone which sees the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
The saints are not resurrected, and consequently do not receive their spiritual change and body, till the last day and the last trump—and till Christ shall come, and send forth his angels to gather them. This is direct proof, again, that the dead sleep till the resurrection, and that there is no spiritual conscious existence till that event takes place.
The first thing, then, in the plan of redemption, to be done by Christ our Redeemer, after his children are fallen asleep in death, is to rescue them again from the great and last enemy, and give them life and immortality. Hence how important the doctrine of the Resurrection, to the faith and salvation of the Christian. The Apostles preached Jesus and the resurrection. Acts 23: 6. Says Paul, Of the hope and resurrection I am called in question; 24: 15: And have hope towards God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust; 26: 8. Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you (King Agrippa) that God should raise the dead? Phil. 3: 10. That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable to his death. If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead, i.e. righteous dead; which will give the saints to taste the power of his resurrection.
We might quote more scripture, and extend our remarks, but the reader can follow out this subject at his leisure, we now having brought to your notice the true doctrine of the resurrection, and shown its necessity from the state of the dead, and that there is no reward till this is accomplished.
We have already spoken of Christ's second advent into our world, in connection with the doctrine of the resurrection, but shall now make it a distinct subject of remark, as it is an essential doctrine in the system of redemption.
There is a sentiment now prevailing to some extent in the religious world, that Christ is never to make another literal and personal advent to this earth; but his second manifestation, so much talked of in the scriptures, is to be understood only as a spiritual and hidden manifestation. But a theory built upon such an hypothesis is defective in every particular, being unsound in reason, and unscriptural. The Jews had as much ground and reason to interpret and predict the first advent to be spiritual, as any Christian can possibly have the second advent. The character, circumstances, and object of his mission forbid such an interpretation of his first advent, it is argued. So I would say, the nature, circumstances, and object of his second mission more than ever forbid that we should understand it to be spiritual. He is to come in the clouds of heaven: He is to come with his angels: He is to come in all the splendor of his glory: He is to come in like manner as he went up: He is to descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: He is to raise the dead at his coming—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: He is to come to judge the quick and dead; to gather out of his kingdom—the earth—all things that offend and them that do iniquity, and burn them in the fire that burns the world: He is to come to give immortality to his saints, and create or restore the earth, purified by fire, to its original beauty, and himself and saints take everlasting possession. All this, and nothing short of this, is the nature, circumstances, and object of His second coming. How palpably absurd, then, to interpret his second coming to be a spiritual manifestation!
We shall now quote a number of passages that go-directly to prove the literal and personal coming of Christ. Matt. 16: 27. For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels, and then shall He reward every man according to his works. How can this be shown to be a spiritual manifestation in the hearts of the people? For the Son of man shall come His actual person, and the angels, and the glory of his Father, and his reward with him, to give to every man according as his work shall be. The principle of interpretation that would destroy the literality of this text, would, if carried out, destroy every literal event predicted in the Bible. Matt. 17: 1-5.
And after six days, Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them; and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.
Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, one for Moses, and one for Elias.
While he yet spoke, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold, a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
This transfiguration is to give his disciples a correct idea of his second coming, that they might not mistake it, and interpret his coming to be anything but his personal presence. Hence the apostle Peter refers to it in his second epistle, 1: 16. For we have not followed cunningly devised fable when we made known unto you the power and coining of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye witnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father, honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. Christ appeared in his glorified state, as He will when He comes the second time; and Moses and Elias appeared there as the representatives of the living and the dead. Elias [Elijah] represents the saints that will be alive, and caught up to meet him at his coming, with the righteous dead, who are represented by Moses in this vision. Those, therefore, that believe and follow the doctrine of Christ's personal coming again, are not following cunningly devised fables, as those are who deny his literal appearing, and are following the doctrine of his spiritual manifestation in the human heart. Matt. 25: 31. When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory, and before him shall be gathered all nations. Is this the case when we feel only his spiritual presence in our hearts? No; God forbid. Such a perversion of this glorious doctrine is too monstrous to receive the sanction of a true believer in the gospel and plan of Christ.
Our conversation is in heaven, from whence we look for the Savior, who shall change our vile body, and fashion it like unto his most glorious body. So Christ was once offered Co bear the sins of many, and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time, without sin unto salvation. Heb. 9, 2-8. Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Titus 2: 14. I charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and kingdom. 2d Tim. 4: 1. Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled, by spirit, word, or letter, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Now, give this and the above passages a spiritual interpretation, and what violence you have done to the true doctrine of Christ's coming, to say nothing of the abuse of common sense. The Thessalonian brethren were troubled and alarmed, because they understood the apostle to teach that Christ was coming to be spiritually manifested in their hearts! What an occasion of trouble and alarm this! And again, to you that look for him to come spiritually the second time, he shall conic without sin, appearing spiritually. O, from such a wind of doctrine, good Lord deliver us I 1 Thess. 1: 10. And to wait for His son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, Which delivered us from the wrath to come; 2: 19. For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing; are not even ye in the presence of Christ at his coming? 3: 13. To the end he may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, with all his saints.
We have quoted out of the multitude of texts, a sufficient number to establish the doctrine of Christ's literal and personal coming, at the end of the world, and the last day, and no person that is acquainted with the plan of redemption, and has not a false theory to maintain, will venture a contradiction. Christ has never been absent spiritually, and consequently in this sense cannot make his second appearing. The nature, circumstances, and object of this second corning, as I have shown, forbids the idea of a spiritual coming. If we are to understand his coming to be spiritual, we are to understand that he is not corning at all; for a spiritual manifestation is not Christ coming. There is not one single event predicted to take place at the coming of Christ, that has or can be accomplished by a spiritual advent, be that what it may. None but a personal and literal descent of the Lord Jesus Christ in the clouds of heaven, can fulfil the scriptures concerning this event; and none but His actual appearing and presence can accomplish the redemption of his people. Yes, dear reader, be not deceived. God is not mocked: the Lord himself shall descend from heaven: this same Jesus that you have seen go up into heaven, shall so come in like manner. Amen; even so come, Lord Jesus.
Immortality and Eternal Life is a doctrine of the Christian faith next in order, following the coming of Christ and the resurrection. As we have noticed, man has no immortality in his present state. He is never addressed in scripture as an immortal being, or as possessing an immortal soul. When the body and spirit of life are united, man is pronounced a living soul, but nowhere said to be immortal. Adam was a candidate for immortality; or, i? other words, he would have possessed the elements of immortality had he obeyed God. The tree of life would have furnished these elements; and had he continued obedient, he could have had access to this tree, and all his posterity, and so had eternal life, or lived forever. But after he transgressed, God said, Lest he put forth his hand and eat also of the tree of life, and live forever, we will send him out of the garden, and guard the tree of life, to keep it from him. Consequently God could execute the penalty of his law. Adam not possessing in himself the element of immortality, must now die, and all his posterity. To say that man would not surely die, that he possessed an immortal soul that could not die, would be to deny God and believe the serpent.
Let all persons understand, that when they believe and advocate the doctrine of a "never-dying soul," they believe a lie, and advocate the doctrine of the old serpent. If God had given Adam immortality or an immortal soul, he could never have executed the penalty of his law; for Adam could never have died. The meaning of immortal, or immortality [athonatos] is deathlessness. It is a quality rendering the possessor, not subject to disease, pain, or death. Though the soul may sin, yet it cannot die if it is immortal. Neither can it suffer pain, in this or the future state. All therefore that believe and advocate the immortality of the soul, believe and advocate the universal salvation of all men. Hence when this mortal shall put on immortality, and this corruptible incorruption, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Now having put on immortality, they can defy disease, pain, and death, and exultingly sing the song of victory and triumph.
Grant that all men possess inherent immortality, or that all will put on immortality at the resurrection, and you admit that all men will be saved, and that all can sing this song. But this is not true. Man is destitute of this divine quality and attribute. By his transgression he lost all the means God had given him to perpetuate his existence and obtain eternal life. Christ therefore is to be the Redeemer—the restorer of this quality—this life and immortality. He is now the tree of life to the world, and is accessible to all that seek to partake of Him. And just as certain as Adam died when deprived of the tree of life in the garden, just so certain will all die eternally—and perish forever, that do not come to Christ, and eat of Him.—Therefore, Christ says, This is the will of him that sent me, that everyone which sees the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will arise him up at the last day. John 6: 40. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. John 3: 14, 15, 16.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
That whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
How clear and positive the doctrine that man has no immortality in himself, and that he is to seek it through Christ; and that Christ is the tree of life, and we must all come to Him, and eat of Him, or die eternally—perish.—When God took away the tree of life from Adam and his posterity, he saw all must die eternally, unless some other provision was made, and life again restored. And he so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son as a Redeemer, and substitute for this tree of life. So that now men need not perish, but if they will they may have immortality and eternal life. O, reader, stop! stop, I entreat of you, and reflect upon this amazing exhibition of the divine goodness, in the outstretching of His arm to save the human race! What love, what compassion, and mercy to a rebellious world! O that the goodness of God might lead you to repentance. The provision is ample, Christ is an all sufficient Savior. It is now only to look, believe, obey, and live. Why then will you die? O turn ye, turn ye, believe and live. He that believeth on the Son bath life everlasting: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, hut the wrath of God abideth on him. John 3: 36. But how shell we believe on the Son? John 5: 24. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hear. eth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation.—When?—at the judgment—but will then be passed from death unto life. Repent and believe the gospel. You are now hearing the gospel while I am speaking to you; do you believe it? And will you practice it? John 10: 27, 28.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them. and they follow me; And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand.
It is plain then, that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life; and as He is the tree of life, we must come to Him; take His yoke and learn of Him, or perish forever. Rom. 6: 23. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ. 5: 17. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness [Christ] shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. This glorious doctrine of life and immortality is too important to be misunderstood, and hence Christ and the apostles have brought it clearly to light in the gospel, and all may understand it if they will. If we say we shall live for ever, and now have immortality inherent in us, so that we cannot perish, or become extinct, we give God the lie, and declare we have no need of his Son to give us eternal life.
The soul that sinned it shall die.—God. The soul that sinned it shall not die; it shall live forever, or have eternal life in misery.—Man. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ.—Paul. The wages of sin is not death, but eternal life in misery without Jesus Christ.—Man. He that bath the Son bath life, he that bath not the Son bath not life. —Christ. He that bath net the Son bath life inherent in himself, and will live forever without Jesus Christ.—Man. And this is the record, that God bath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.—John. We have no need 'of any such record or information, for we have this life in us of ourselves, and it is not in his Son.—Man. But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who bath abolished death and bath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.—Paul. Christ hath not brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for a man knows that he hath life and immortality abiding in him without Christ or his gospel.—Man.
O the wickedness of human tradition. Who art thou O vain man, that replies against God? Know this, therefore, that God only bath immortality. 1 Tim. 6: 15, 16.
Which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only bath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man bath seen, nor can see; to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen.
What contradiction, yea what blasphemy, to address poor mortal, dying man, as having immortality or as possessing an immortal soul If man had an immortal soul, he could see and approach into the light and presence of this blessed and only Potentate. But he has no such immortality, therefore Christ gives it to all the saints—that have sought it by faith and obedience—at the resurrection, that they may behold and enter his glory and presence, and dwell with him forever. 1 Tim. 1: 17. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. How will this language sound to apply it to man? Now unto the eternal, immortal man; or to his eternal and immortal soul. Does it not sound like words of blasphemy, and like a lie?—,Verily, it does. When you and I find inspiration addressing man as possessing immortality, then, and not till then, can we be justified in addressing man as an immortal being or soul.
Rom. 2: 7. To them who by patient continuance in-well doing seek for glory, honor, immortality, [aphtharsian] eternal life. How do we obtain immortality, eternal life? By patient continuance in well-doing, seeking for it. But this is only for the body, we are not to seek immortality for the soul. Hold! All that God and the apostles calls man, is destitute of it, and must seek it, or all that is called man perishes. To them. Who? Let us not add to God's word. We, our identical selves, must seek by patient continuance in well-doing for immortality, because we are destitute of it, and must perish forever without it. Christ offers it to us. He says, ye will not come unto me that ye might have life. It is a matter of hope and promise to the Christian. Titus 1: 2. In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began. 3: 7. That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs, according to the hope of eternal life. The saints hereafter then will partake of this divine quality and attribute of God. Then will they shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, crying, sorrow, or pain. Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
We will now notice those passages that are generally urged as objections to the doctrine of the unconscious state of the dead, and no reward till the judgment. Let it, however, be kept in mind, as we have heretofore remarked, that unless we can find the Scriptures to positively assert to the contrary, the doctrine we have advanced must stand. In its defense we have brought forward numerous texts that positively assert the doctrine, and it is not in accordance with any just rule of interpretation or scriptural exegesis, to draw an inference from certain other texts to contradict positive inspired assertions. Inferential testimony will therefore not be admitted.
The first passage we shall notice is found in Matthew 10: 28: Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. The word that is translated soul in this passage is not psuche, the proper word for soul, but psuken, which should be rendered life. To read the passage correctly, we should read, not able to kill the life, but rather fear him that is able to destroy both life and body in hell. Again, to take the passage as it is, how many of you are taught or believe that you must fear God lest he would destroy your bodies and souls in hell. You say that the soul is immortal, and do not believe God will destroy it. Then you cannot fear God on that account, But to take the true rendering and meaning of the text, it is true God will destroy both body and life in Gehenna, or hell. 2 Thess. 1: 9: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. Rev. 20: 14: And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life, was cast into the lake of fire. Their names were in the book of death, and they were destroyed both body and life in the lake of fire, or Gehenna—hell. Matt. 16: 25:
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
For what is a man profited if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul 7 or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul 7 The word translated soul in the 26th verse, is psuken, and is translated soul in the previous verse, and is the same word also that is translated soul in the tenth chapter under our notice. With what propriety or authority the translators have called this word life at one time and soul at another, the reader can judge as well as myself. They were believers in the immortal soul theory, and have shown their faith by their works. The text should read, lose his own lift, or what will a man give in exchange for his life. Therefore, this passage in the tenth chapter is not an objection to the unconscious state of the dead and the final destruction of the wicked, but a supporter of those doctrines. The sod, as we have seen, is the body—the organism. And a living soul is the union of the spirit of life with the body. Man can kill the body—can mangle and obstruct the operations of this principle of life, so as to produce death—a separation—but be cannot destroy or kill this spirit or power of life, or soul if you wish to call it so: this is not subject to man's power, but to God, and goes to God. Now, in all this, the reader can see that there is not a particle of proof of consciousness in death. The spirit of life is no more a rational mind and conscious after it goes out of a man, than it was before it came into him. Luke 16: 19. The
Some deny that this is a parable, and declare it to be a historical fact, because it says there was a certain rich man, and there was a certain beggar. There was a sower also that went forth to sow—the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net that was cast into the sea—a certain man had two sons, etc., etc. This is no proof; because it says there was a certain rich man, that it is not a parable; and no well-disciplined mind and Bible scholar, unless greatly warped by prejudice, and a theory, will dispute this.
A parable is a fable, or an allegorical illustration of some point, or moral, in a discourse. The parable, therefore, should never be taken instead of the subject or moral for which it is introduced to illustrate. The first thing, then, to understand the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, is, to find out who our Savior was addressing, and what was the subject of that address, and the point or moral in the subject to be illustrated by this parable.
14th v: And the Pharisees, also, who were covetous, beard all these things, and they derided him. And he said unto them, Ye are they that justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. They justified themselves by claiming to be the children' and seed of Abraham, and consequently claimed to heir hie promises. The object of our Savior’s discourse is, to convict them of hypocrisy, and get a present judgment right from Abraham against them. If he could show that Abraham rejected them, and that they would come short of an inheritance with him, their entire foundation would be swept away. And to say that our Savior would discourse to these Pharisees other than by parable, is to contradict his own words: for without a parable, He says, spoke he not unto them.
Our Savior, therefore, puts forth this parable. The rich man represents these Pharisees, who it is said died. Lazarus represents Christ's Church, who inherit the promises of Abraham. He died and was conveyed by angels to be honored with Abraham. The Pharisees are rejected by their father Abraham, and in hell lift up their eyes in torment. Abraham and his true seed or children, are happy, and are now receiving their good things. Lazarus being full of sores, and desiring to be fed at the rich man's table, represents the moral corruption and destitution of the world, whom these Pharisees, if they were what they professed to be, ought to pity and relieve, instead of keeping them in this starving condition, and refusing even the crumbs that fell from their religious table.
Our Savior took the ground of these Pharisees to test the woman that desired a favor of him. Says He: It is not lawful to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs. She replied: But the dogs may eat of the crumbs that fall from their Master's table. It was just such poor creatures as this Lazarus represents, that Jesus came to save. He came not to call the righteous—like these Pharisees—but sinners to repentance. The poor have the Gospel preached unto them.
The rich man lifts up his eyes in hell, being in torment, and seeing afar off, Abraham, and Lazarus in his bosom. These very persons that the Pharisees refused even the crumbs here, are hereafter received and fed sumptuously by Abraham, at his table. What a keen reproof this! And further: These Pharisees, or the rich man, are now in evil circumstances, and brought to beg of Abraham and this poor Lazarus. Send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this place. But it is too late, this cannot be done. There is an impassable gulph between such persons as Abraham and his children in the future, and the rich man, or the Pharisees. What a cutting and despairing reproof again, this is to them! He then desires that Abraham might send Lazarus to his brethren, the other sects of the Jews. But, says Abraham, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. No, but send one from the dead, and then they will repent. They have Moses and the prophets, if they will not hear them, neither would they if one rose from the dead.
Now we have the full object and force of this allegory or parable. A present judgment and sentence is obtained direct from Abraham, their father and head, against them, and that without any hope of recovery or mitigation of their torment that is sure to come upon them. With what tremendous weight and power of conviction and condemnation did this parable come down upon the heads of these Pharisees, who were deriding Christ and despising his disciples as unworthy of their notice and confidence Christ and his disciples were doing that which Abraham would approve, viz.: giving them Moses and the prophets, which they were now rejecting and treating with scorn. And if this sect, (the Pharisees,) or their brethren, the other sects of the Jews, rejected Him of whom Moses and the prophets did write, and whose predictions were now fulfilled before their eyes, nothing more could be done for them; they would not be persuaded though one rose from the dead. With this view of the subject the parable has great force, and beautifully illustrates the point our Savior wished to make bear on the consciences of these proud, haughty, self righteous Pharisees.
We will now take the other view of this parable, and present it as a literal fact, and see if this will harmonize with the plain teachings of Scripture, and with common sense. First, let me introduce a correct and infallible rule by which we must be governed in the interpretation of parables that Christ has not plainly interpreted himself. We must interpret them so as not to contradict the truth and doctrine in those parables that Christ has explained, and the plain testimony of Scriptural doctrine spoken without parables. Pause here, and read this rule over, till you get it fixed definitely in your mind.
We will now commence. The beggar died, and his immortal soul was carried by angels immediately to Abraham's bosom. Now, if we interpret, or understand this as a fact that then took place, and that is true of all the saints as soon as they die, we contradict the plain and positive assertion of the Scriptures, that the dead know not anything, and that there is no consciousness or reward till the judgment. We have already noticed that Christ does not come at death, or send his angels to gather together his elect till the harvest—the end of the world. Then the angels will escort all the saints to Christ and to their in-heritance with Abraham. Christ did not, neither could He, ascend to heaven to his God and our God, until after He was raised from the dead. Hence He says to Mary, Touch me not, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. When he died, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and when he said this, he gave up the ghost. Luke 23: 46. He died like other men, and the ghost, or spirit, went to God who gave it, and the body to the tomb.
Now if Christ does not rise, he is gone forever, and our preaching and faith is vain, saith the Apostle. If Christ and all the saints have immortal souls, and in death they do not lose their identity, and self-possession, and consciousness, but go to enjoy as created beings, the presence of God and angels in heaven, where is the propriety of their giving up or commending their spirit into the hands of God, as though they could no longer retain it and control it? There certainly could be no reason or propriety in it. We cannot give our spirit up into the hands of another, so long as we can retain it to ourselves. But there is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death. Eccl. 8: 8. Therefore the true doctrine is this: Christ must have a resurrection in order to be himself again, and in order to his ascension to the right hand of God. So must all the saints be resurrected before they can appear with Christ in glory, or be themselves again, and angels sent to gather them.
The rich man died, and in hell he lifted up his eyes being in torment. Now, if this is a literal fact, then there is a literal hell of fire where the wicked are sent at once, as soon as they die. Will this harmonize with Scripture and the plain teaching of Christ? Behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as a? oven, and all the proud, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble, and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord, and shall leave them neither root nor branch. But they shall be ashes under the soles of saints' feet. In the end of the world, when the angels are sent to gather the beggar and all the saints to Abraham's bosom, or inheritance, then, at the same time, will the tares be gathered and east for the first time into the fire. The wicked are reserved unto the day of judgment to be punished. I have previously dwelt upon this point, and it is not necessary to recapitulate.
To interpret this parable, then, as a literal fact, and to say that the righteous and wicked have immortal souls that go immediately to heaven or hell, and are living in conscious happiness on the one hand, and misery on the other, is to make it speak a lie, and to contradict every truth revealed in the Scriptures, concerning the moral condition of man, the state of the dead, resurrection, judgment, and rewards. Such an interpretation is out of joint in every limb, with God's great and glorious plan of redemption, and with sound reason itself. Besides, the rich man had eyes, and a tongue, and Lazarus fingers, which cannot be applied to the spirit in us that goes to God who gave it. We are not then, let it be remembered, to fix our attention on this fable or allegory, and take it in all its parts as a literal fact, but we are to fix our attention on the moral, and truth it is designed to illustrate and enforce.
Luke 23: 42. Lord, remember me when thou comes into thy kingdom. Jesus said unto him, Verily, I say unto thee To-day, thou shalt be with me in paradise. When will he come into his kingdom? and where is paradise?—His kingdom is this world, and he will come into his kingdom, when he comes in his glory—when he comes to judge the world, and gather out of his kingdom here all things that offend, and them that do iniquity—when he comes to redeem this earth and restore it to its primeval beauty, and give it into the hands of the saints. Then, and not till, then, will Christ come in his kingdom. We shall speak of this under a separate head hereafter. Then also, paradise will be restored, and the thief and all the saints will be gathered into paradise, and so ever be with the Lord.
Paul says, 2 Cor. 12: 1, 2, 3, 4.
I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord!
I knew a man in Christ about fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell; God knows;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knows:)
How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
Please notice, that this was not a reality, it was only a vision or revelation of the third heaven and of paradise.—There are three worlds spoken of in the Bible—three heavens and earth. 2 Peter 3: 6. Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished. But the heavens and the earth which are now, by the same word, are kept in store, reserved unto fire, against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. Nevertheless we according to his promise look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. We have then, the world that was, the world that now is, and the new one to come. This new one, or the third heavens which Paul saw in vision, and that Peter speaks of, is paradise. Rev. 2: 7. To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Chap. 21: And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first earth and heaven were past away. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, etc. 22: 2. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river was there the tree of life, which bare twelve seasons of fruit, [as it should be rendered] and yielded her fruit every season or month. Now then we have found where paradise is. It is on the new earth—in Christ's kingdom—restored and given to the saints. The thief understood what he asked. He did not expect or ask to be received or remembered that day, but WHEN THOU COMEST into thy kingdom. To-day we are both to die, and go down together into death and the grave, but you, Lord, are soon to be resurrected, ascend to your Father, and to come again in the glory and majesty of your kingdom, to gather into it all thine elect, then remember me, when thou comes into thy kingdom. The answer is as we have quoted it: Verily, I say unto thee to-day, Thou shalt be with me in paradise. He said to him that day—he gave him the pledge and promise that day, that he should be with him. When? When he asked—viz., when he came into his kingdom, or paradise—the same thing. There is nothing here then to support the immortal soul theory, or from which we can draw an inference in its favor. We must therefore push on to some other passage. Phil. 1: 21, 22, 23, 24.
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor: yet what I shall choose I wot not.
For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
Nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
Notice: Because he says he had a desire to depart and be with Christ, which would be far better, are we justified in drawing the conclusion or inference, that the apostle meant we should understand him now to contradict the doctrine which he had taught on this subject on all other occasions? It cannot be admitted. The apostle has never intimated that he or any of the saints would meet Christ till the resurrection and last day. In this same chapter he says, 6th verse, Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Christ. The day of Christ is his appearing, then, and not till then, will he perfect his work on the saints so that they can come into his presence. V. 10. That ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ. Why did he not say in these passages, till death, instead of day of Christ, if they were to be with Christ at death? 2: 16. Holding forth the word of life that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run and labored in vain. He would rejoice at death, if death would introduce him right into heaven, and to Christ. Col. 3: 4. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then, shall we appear with him in glory. 2 Thess. 2: 1. Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jo-sus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him: no gathering or being with Christ till then. 1 Thess. 2: 19. For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing; are not even ye in the presence of Christ at his coming?
And so we might go on, quoting passage after passage from his teachings, showing that when he departed to be with Christ, he would not meet Christ and be with him till his second coming. We will now come to where he did die and depart this life, and notice how he talks on this occasion. We will see if in death he expects to be conscious and with Christ. 2 Tim. 4: 6. I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but to all them that love his appearing.—No crown, no rejoicing, no gathering, or being in his presence, conscious and happy, till he comes in his kingdom.
How then shall we understand the apostle? Why, plainly on this wise. To die would be gain. He would gain an end of all his toils, persecutions, responsibilities, temptations, and sufferings. To depart and be with Christ, as he will be, the next event after death, is far better.—The dead sleep, as Paul has declared, and when he and all the saints close their eyes in the sleep of death, they wake up the next instant to them, in the arms and presence of Christ. Their time of sleep and unconsciousness is but a moment, and twinkling of an eye to them, so that death and being with Christ, is at the same instant with Paul and all the saints. As there is in reality to the dead no consciousness or distinction of time from death till the judgment, so the apostle and the Scriptures make none in many expressions which they use.
I will notice a few examples. Heb. 9: 27. It is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment. The judgment is the next event, and we might with equal propriety draw the conclusion that the dead immediately enter into judgment at death, as to draw an inference that the apostle would be with Christ as soon as he died. But we know that the Scriptures saith, God bath appointed a day in which he will judge the world, and that that day is called the last day—the end of the world—so that such an inference would be incorrect. The Scriptures assert the time when the saints shall be with Christ; and to draw an inference from any passage that they will be with Him be- fore the appointed time, and without the exercise of his resurrective power, and the sending of his angels to bring them into his presence, is to draw an unwarrantable inference. Rev. 2: 10. Be thou faithful till death, and I will give thee a crown of life. There is no time mentioned here between death and the crown, and in reality to the saint there is none; yet the crown, as we have seen, is not obtained till the resurrection and the coming of Christ. 1 Pet. 5: 4. When the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fades not away. Let us understand then, the rule by which to interpret all such passages as speak of the scenes of the future consequent upon death. Death being an unconscious state, the next events are the resurrection, coming of Christ, judgment, and rewards. 2 Cor. 5: 1-10.
For we know, that, if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
If so be that being clothed, we shall not be found naked.
For we that are i? this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
Now lie that hath wrought us for the self-same thing is God, who also bath given unto ns the earnest of the Spirit.
Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and be present with the Lord.
Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
For we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he bath done, whether it be good or bad.
We now tabernacle in the flesh, or live with this mortal body, and in this state we groan, being burdened, not that we would be unclothed—as we should be if the immortal soul theory was correct—but clothed upon with our house which is from heaven; that mortality might be swallowed up of life. This is the key to the whole matter. How long shall we groan, and be present or confined to this fleshly tabernacle, and so be absent from the Lord? Answer—Till mortality is swallowed up of life. Same sentiment in Rom. 8: 22, 23.
For we know that the whole creation groaned and travailed in pain together until now:
And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit; even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
We groan, waiting for the adoption and redemption of the body, for there is no reprieve from mortality and death till that time. We are of the earth, earthy, our present house is of the dust, but our second Adam is the Lord from heaven, hence our house or body will be made over new, and become a spiritual house or body, and then this mortal house will be swallowed up of life or immortality. To live at all, we must have a house or organism; destroy it, or let it be dissolved, and we cannot live in conscious being till another is provided, or we are put together again. Hence, saith the apostle, we know that if this is dissolved, we have another house—the immortal body—which will exist eternal in the new heavens; as this is the destiny of the righteous. It is not made with hands, it is framed and put together by the resurrective power of Jesus Christ.—Then will be brought to pass the saying, death is swallowed up in victory; or as i? this chapter, mortality will be swallowed up of life. While we are at home, then, in this body, we are absent from the Lord, for flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom, neither can corruption inherit incorruption—the state which our Lord is now in. Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or ab- sent, we may be accepted by Him. When? For we must all appear at the judgment-seat of Christ. Then, and not till then, are we accepted and admitted into his pre-Bence, or banished forever from it. So we find nothing here in the fifth chapter to sustain the immortal soul theory, but directly to the contrary.
We shall notice but one more passage, which is found in 1 Thess. 5: 23. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your 'whole spirit, and soul, and body, be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. A whole soul is a living soul, or where the two component parts are together. Therefore read, I pray God to sanctify your whole soul, body and spirit—as the whole soul is composed of these two parts.
We speak of head, hands, and feet, but we do not wish to have any one think that when we speak of what the head does, or the hands, or the feet, that these can act independent of themselves: that the head can contrive, the hands execute, and the feet walk when severed from the ' body! Just so inconsistent is the inference drawn from the above text. Because the apostle speaks of the whole spirit, of whole soul, and body, therefore it must follow that one of these parts is an immortal man, or soul, and can go off thinking and acting independent of itself! O, I blush and am ashamed, when I look such inferences in the face, and know that I must acknowledge that they come from sane minds, and from persons that profess to believe the Scriptures.
I have now noticed a sufficient number of passages that are supposed to be objections, to show you the rule, and correct rule of interpreting all such passages; and to make good my assertion: That all objections to the doctrine I have presented on the state of the dead, and no rewards till the judgment, are founded upon unwarrantable inferences drawn from certain passages, that when truly examined, are found to sustain rather than contradict them.
This doctrine has been more than intimated in what I have already said on the plan of redemption, and the re• ward of the saints. As redemption implies a restoration of what man lost by the fall, so after man is resurrected, and life is restored, and he has put on immortality, he will need to receive back his former possessions, and the redemption will not be complete without the earth is restored to him. Hence, as this is in the plan, the Bible speaks of no other place for the redeemed saints to possess and inhabit, but this earth. There is not one passage in the Scriptures that gives us a promise or warrant that the saints will ever go to, or inhabit heaven, where God and Christ now are. And I further assert, that the doctrine of going to heaven as our final resting-place, is founded wholly upon unwarrantable inferences drawn from certain passages, and that these inferences plainly contradict positive inspired assertions, and consequently should be given up.
That God gave the earth to man will not be denied, and that He intends him still to have it, is equally true. Num. 14: 21: But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord. This was the Lord's purpose at the first, and it is his purpose still. Because Adam transgressed, and the curse has devoured the earth, it is no reason why God should change his purpose, and not accomplish that which he had pronounced very good. But He will do it! He will, through his Son, redeem a sufficient number to fill the earth and destroy all the works of the devil. He has decreed it, and his word has gone forth, and it will not return unto him void, but will accomplish the thing whereunto it is sent. Isa. 55: 11: For thus saith the Lord, that created the heavens: God himself; that formed the earth and made it, he hath established it, he created it not in vain: he formed it to be inhabited. To be inhabited by whom? Not the wicked, but by the righteous. Therefore it is declared the meek shall inherit the earth. Ps. 37: 9:
For evil-doers shall be cut off; but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.
For yet a little while and the wicked shall not be; yea. thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves In the abundance of peace.
God never gave this earth to the wicked, or made any provisions for their continuance in being after the judgment; and after the time has come for it to be restored to the saints. Therefore evil-doers shall be cut off—they shall not be—no place shall be found for them. Christ shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend and them that do iniquity, and cast them into a furnace of fire; then shall the meek inherit the earth, and delight themselves in the abundance of peace. 22d v.: For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth, and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off. 29th v.: The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell therein forever. 34th v.: Wait on the Lord and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it. It cannot be claimed that the righteous inherit the earth as it now is, and as they are; in their mortal state. The earth is now under the curse, and everything is fading, changing, and dying. It is also in the hands of the wicked, and therefore the saints cannot possess it till the curse is removed, and the wicked rooted out of it. The saints are to inherit it forever, consequently they must have immortality in order that they may live forever. Peter says, 1: 3:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, according to his abundant mercy, bath begotten us again unto a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fades not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God, through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.
Christ, the second Adam, has the deed, it is given to him and his heirs to possess it forever and ever. Therefore it is with him in reserve for us, and will be revealed and given to us at the last clay, when he will come to take absolute possession and slay his enemies. Prov. 2: 21: For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.
10: 30: The righteous shall never be removed, but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.
These are plain, Scriptural, inspired assertions, and no inference should be allowed to contradict them. They need no comment, they speak for themselves. A righteous seed shall yet possess and replenish the earth, and the wickedness of the wicked shall come to an end. So God has decreed and planned, and who can disannul it? Again, 11: 31: Behold the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth, much more the wicked and the sinner. The wicked, then, as well as the righteous, are not sent off to some other part of the universe of God to be punished, or receive their reward, but more especially are they recompensed to the full in this earth. The saints will inherit or be recompensed in the earth, after sin and sinners are destroyed and the curse removed and it is re-created. All the judgments that God ever has or will pour out upon the wicked, are upon this earth. Here they have lived and sinned, and here Christ will meet them and reward them according to their deeds. Isa. 24:
The earth morns and fades away, the world languishes and fades away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.
The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof, because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.
Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
And it shall come to pass, that he who flees from the noise of the fear, shall fall into the pit, and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare; for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it, and it shall fall and not rise again.
And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
And they shall be gathered together as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients, gloriously.
I have made this long quotation because these passages express clearly the doctrine of the destruction of the wicked, and the change this earth will undergo preparatory to its being possessed by the righteous. The kings of the earth that are now gathered as prisoners in the pit, or grave, are to be visited again; they are to be brought forth in the day of judgment when the heavens and the earth shall shake, and shall be punished upon the earth with an utter extermination. Then will the glory of God fill the whole earth, and the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Heb. 12: 26:
Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
And this word, Yet once more, signifies the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken, may remain.
Wherefore, we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear:
For our God is a consuming fire.
There is something that remains, then, after the shaking. Yes. The kingdom that the saints possess, and the eternal reign of Christ as the Head of the new creation, will then be established and remain forever. The Apostle is in harmony with Isaiah, and as the subject is continued in the next chapter, we make another quotation. Isa. 25: 6:
And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things, full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.
And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up death in victory, and the Lord will wipe away tears from off all faces, and the rebuke of his people shall be taken away from off all the earth, for the Lord bath spoken it.
And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him, and he will save us; this is the Lord, we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
For in this mountain shall the hand of the Lord rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.
Mountain in prophesy, denotes a government or kingdom, and this mountain or kingdom, is Christ's everlasting kingdom that is to succeed all other kingdoms in this earth. Therefore this earth is the territory of Christ's kingdom, and will be the inheritance of the saints; consequently here will be prepared the Lord's feast of fat things for his people. The veil of mortality and death cast over all the inhabitants of the earth will then be destroyed, and death shall be swallowed up in victory. Moab, that stands in this prediction as a representative of the wicked, shall be trodden down under the Lord's feet, as straw is trodden down for the dunghill. 26: 1, 2: In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah—which is now the whole earth—We have a strong city: salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which kept the truth may enter in. O, what a joyful day to the righteous when the gates of salvation shall be opened wide and free, and they shall be invited to enter in and possess again their long-lost inheritance! Their foes will oppress them no more—the wicked trodden down and crushed beneath the Conqueror's rod, will rise to sin, blaspheme, and oppose no more. Then the wilderness and solitary place shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water in the habitation of dragons, where each lay shall be grass with reeds and rushes, and there shall be nothing to hurt or destroy in all God's holy mountain. Isa. 3: 5.
The quotations I have made are a key to understand many parts of Isaiah's and Jeremiah's predictions concerning the kingdom of Christ, the inheritance of the saints, and their glorious reign on earth. All these prophesies will have their fulfillment on the new earth, wherein dwells righteousness. Daniel 7: 13:
I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
And there was given unto him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, and nations, and languages, should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
27th v. And the kingdom, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
The locality of Christ's kingdom, and the inheritance of the saints, cannot be misunderstood if we consult the oracles of God. It is on this earth, after the judgment and destruction of the wicked, and nowhere else. Hence our Savior said, Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will he done on earth as it is done in heaven. When this kingdom comes, there will be in it all that purity, holiness, and harmony, that there is in heaven above. Rev. 5: 10: And hath made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth.
Enough has been here quoted, and said, to establish the doctrine that this earth is to be restored to the saints, and to become their final resting-place. And it must be regarded as another essential doctrine of the Christian faith, and object to be secured in the plan of redemption. The Bible begins with a paradise—with a new heavens and earth—and ends with the same. Between the two ends we have the fall of man, and its consequences, and the plan fully developed of his redemption, or restoration, and that of the earth.
From what the Scriptures teach of the plan of redemption, and the inheritance of the saints, as we have now examined these subjects—it must be plain to the reader that the wicked will be destroyed, eternally. But as this doctrine is disputed, I propose to examine it more particularly under a distinct head.
The penalty of the law is the first thing to be settled, in coming to an understanding of this doctrine. Wherever there is a law, there is a penalty to that law. If God gave to man a law, he gave a penalty to that law, and made man subject to that penalty, whenever he violated that law. Let us notice the law and its penalty. Gen. 2: 16. And the Lord God commanded [here is law] the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it: [penalty] for in the day thou eats thereof thou SHALT SURELY DIE. There need be no misunderstanding as to the nature of this penalty, or death. It is literal death, nothing more, nothing less.
Some would have it a spiritual death only, i.e., dead in sin-----dead to holiness and righteousness. If this was the penalty, then man would never have died literally. But we are not left to conjecture, or to form our own opinions; God has settled the question and declared what death the penalty is. We have noticed this once, but we will go over it again in this place.
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground, for out of it was thou taken: for dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return. All speculation, and spiritualism is at an end; God is his own interpreter. It is nothing short of the literal dissolution of the man, and his return to his original elements. This is what we mean by destruction. Death is destruction.—The penalty of the law is death, or destruction of the man. Ps. 90: 3. Thou turns man to destruction, i.e., death—and sagest, Return, ye children of men. Return where? Where God said, to dust or the ground. But is this the penalty passed upon all transgressors—upon the world of sinners? Rom. 5: 12. Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.
Now let us turn and read the penalty of God's law that says the soul that sinned it shall live forever in hell torments. But where shall we find it? Reader, where is that chapter and verse? Ah, stop and ponder 1 Is it possible there is no such place? Can we not find such a penalty? No 1 Such a penalty cannot be found attached to any law God ever gave to man. The penalty of eternal life in torment was added to God's penalty by the demon anti-Christ, that usurped the authority in the church in the days of Constantine, and has driven the car of error, persecution, and blood, from that time to this. God, then, in the beginning has no other penalty but death. Let us see how it was in the days of the prophets. Ezek. 18: 4. Behold all souls are mine, as the soul of the father so also the soul of the son is mine. The soul that sinned it shall die. The same penalty still. How in the days of Christ and his apostles? Matt. 7: 13. Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction—or death—and many there be which go in thereat. Because strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. What is the opposite of life? Death. Death and destruction is the same thing. Matt. 25: 46. These shall go away into everlasting punishment, [aion or aionion ko-lassin, everlasting excision, cut off,] but the righteous into life eternal. Everlasting punishment is everlasting death or destruction, the opposite of life. The reward of the righteous, the reward of keeping the law is eternal life—eternal existence—the opposite, the reward of the wicked, is eternal death, or destruction.
That we are correct, let the reader notice that the penalty of the law is here declared and executed by Christ, when he has come in his glory, and sits upon the throne of his glory and judgment. The apostle Paul, who received the gospel he taught by a direct revelation from Jesus Christ, declares positively, that Christ, at his revelation and judgment will punish those who know not God, and have obeyed not the gospel, with everlasting destruction, from his presence, and the glory of his power: When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe. That judgment and punishment is everlasting, that is, everlasting in its consequences. Rom. 6: 21. What fruit had ye then, in those things whereof ye are now ashamed, for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing can be plainer than that the penalty of the law was still death, in the days of Christ and the apostles. Yea, in the beginning, in mid-way, and at the end, the penalty is death. Now let us put error and truth side by side, or in juxtaposition, and see if there is not a difference.—Truth: In the day thou eats thereof, thou shalt surely die. Error: Thou shalt live eternally in bell torment.—Truth: The soul that sinned it shall die. Error: It shall live forever in torment. Truth: The wages of sin is death. Error: The wages of sin is not death, but life in eternal torment. Truth: Broad is the road that leads to destruction. Error: It does not lead to destruction or death, but to eternal life in hell torments.
Again, I would say, Who art thou, O man, that replies against God, or added to his word? The penalty of God's law is death, and no provision made to perpetuate his life, only through Jesus Christ, according to the Scriptures, as we have previously shown. This is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. 1 John 2: 25. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 5: 11, 12. He that loath the Son hath life, he that hath not the Son bath not life. O, sinner, you. see by the Scriptures what death is; it is destruction—a total extinction of your being—this is the penalty of God's law that you have violated, and Christ is your only hope. Without him you must perish, you must die eternally. And he cannot save you only as you comply with the conditions of the gospel. Believe, reform, and obey the gospel, and you shall live. Say unto them, 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, O house of Israel? Ezek. 33: 11.
The judgment, therefore, that is to come upon the wicked, is a destructive judgment, and not one that is to perpetuate their existence. This is in accordance with the penalty of the law, and is conclusive evidence that the wicked are destroyed. 2 Pet. 3: 5. For this they are willingly ignorant of, that by the word of God, the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water, whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water perished. Was not this a destructive judgment? Had God any other object, only to kill with death the inhabitants of the old world? Did he design to perpetuate their existence in misery by this destructive flood? No one can assert this.
Peter says they perished—they were destroyed. If, then, the flood was a destructive judgment, and God brought it upon the world for no other purpose only to destroy the wicked, let us understand •that by the same word, and for the same object, God has decreed another general destruction of the wicked by fire. V. 7. But the heavens and the earth which are now by the same word, are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment, and perdition of ungodly men. The flood was only the means by which God executed his decree against the wicked. And the fire is only kindled in the great day of judgment as a means to execute the penalty of his law. The penalty being death—destruction—perdition, which is the same thing as destruction—God has no other object only to destroy them. Therefore, the judgment that is in reserve for the wicked, is only a destructive judgment, and that destruction will be by fire. The flood was a literal flood, and resulted in a literal destruction of the antediluvians; so the fire that now is in reserve for the wicked is a literal fire, and will result in an everlasting punishment of a literal destruction of the wicked. There is no spiritualizing or evading the point, or construing the penalty, or the means of executing the penalty, so as to perpetuate eternally the existence of the wicked. We are obliged to believe in the entire and final destruction of the wicked, or impeach the divine testimony.
Suppose in one of our Supreme Courts, after a clear verdict had been rendered of guilty of murder—the penalty of the law being death by hanging—the criminal's counsel should arise and say, May it please your Honors, the judges, the penalty of the law to be sure reads death for murder in the first degree, but it is not to be taken in its literal sense, it only means death to liberty, happiness, and enjoyment in society, and a confinement and punishment in the State Prison during the rest of his days. Would the Court accept of such a construction of the penalty?—No I Such a counsellor would be at once ejected from the bar as incompetent to read and judge of law. How must it appear in the sight of high heaven, and the Supreme Judge of all the earth, to have men that pretended to be counsellors of his law, construe his death penalty, to be a death to all liberty, happiness, and enjoyment with the good in life, and a confinement in misery in hell-fire to all eternity, in a living conscious state? I leave the reader to judge, adding only this remark, that all those that add or take from God's word, will find it in the end to be a fearful thing. The wicked, then, must, according to the penalty, and according to the means God makes use of to execute his penalty, be literally destroyed—burnt up.—Hence, we say, that the examples given and the figures used are calculated and intended to convey no other idea than a destructive judgment upon the wicked.
In the second chapter, Peter says the destruction of the old world, and the turning of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes is an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly. Jude says they are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Now, was the old world and these cities literally destroyed? Just as certain as these were literally destroyed, the wicked hereafter will be. They are set forth for an example! They are all reserved in chains of darkness—or death, which is the same thing—suffering the vengeance of eternal fire; which will be executed at the final judgment. An eternal fire is a fire that is eternal in its consequences—that eternally burns up and destroys that upon which it feeds. It is the same as the unquenchable fire spoken of in Scripture. I will give some examples. Num. 11: 1, 2.
And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord: and the Lord heard it; and his anger was kindled: and the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.
And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the Lord, the fire was quenched.
What would have been the result if the fire had not been quenched? Why, they would have been destroyed, all of them. An eternal or unquenchable fire is one then that will entirely destroy the wicked, for it is declared positively it shall not be quenched. Matt. 3: 12. Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor—the earth —and gather the wheat into the garner: but will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Can anything be plainer than this? The wicked are the chaff; notice the figure. The chaff is not to be preserved; it is BURNT UP with unquenchable fire. 2 Kings 22: 16.
Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read; Because they have forsaken me, and have burnt incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched.
This the Lord declared and executed upon Jerusalem, and so it was destroyed by an unquenchable fire of his wrath. Jer. 17: 27. But if ye will not harken unto me to hallow the Sabbath-day and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath-day, then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof; and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched. They did not harken, and God did subsequently kindle that fire, and Jerusalem was destroyed by that unquenchable fire never to be rebuilt again. The prophet Isaiah predicts the destruction of ancient Babylon, and the people of Idumea. 34: 9.
And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.
It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever:
But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness.
Here again is an eternal or unquenchable fire, such as destroyed the cities of the plain. The smoke was to ascend up for ever, and the fire not to be quenched night nor day. A complete destruction is meant, nothing more.—If a house takes fire, and is put out after it has burnt a little, the fire is quenched, but if left to itself it will reduce it to smoke and ashes. The smoke ascends up for ever; not that it continues going up; but goes up once, and is gone up for ever. The ashes remain on the earth—they do not go up. The wicked in the judgment will be burnt up with unquenchable fire: consumed into ashes and smoke, the smoke will ascend up for ever, and the ashes remain on the earth. See Mal. 4: 1, 2, 3.
For behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud and all that do wickedly shall be stubble, and the day that comes shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go' forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.
This, if there be no other, would settle the point that the destruction is a literal destruction by fire, and that the wicked were reduced to smoke and ashes. The only object is to execute upon them the penalty of the law, and destroy them, not to perpetuate their existence. The heavens and earth which are now, are reserved to a destructive judgment by literal fire, the same as the old were to a destructive judgment by a literal flood. Therefore the Scriptures never speak of the future judgment of the wicked, only as a destructive judgment by a literal fire.—The perpetuity of their existence, as I have remarked, is impossible, from the language and figures used to describe their judgment, and from the penalty of the law. The Scriptures, we shall find, are uniform on this subject, and we shall now present a sufficient number of passages to bring out this uniformity, and to exhibit the abundance of scriptural evidence of the literal destruction of the wicked.
Ps. 7: 9. O let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish thou the just. To have the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, they must come to an end; and this is plainly what the Psalmist meant, for he says establish—perpetuate—the existence of the just. 11: 6. Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest, this shall be the portion of his cup. This is the way he destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—in like manner then he will destroy all the wicked. 21: 9. Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee. Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the Lord shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them. Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men. No language or figures can convey to the mind a total and literal destruction of the wicked more plainly than is here used. Make them as a fiery oven—swallow them up, devour them, and destroy them. Surely 'this is not the way to express their perpetuity in misery. 37:10. For yet a little while and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place and it shall not lee. What has become of them? Why they are destroyed forever. They are gone, never more to be. V. 20. But the wicked shall perish and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away. This is what becomes of them, and why they shall not be. They consume away into smoke and ashes. V. 35. I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree, yet he passed away, and, lo he was not, yea, I sought him but he COULD NOT BE FOUND. He was gone, for ever gone —destroyed—or as Job says, Had gone to nothing and perished. 6: 18. Ps. 58: 8. As a snail which melted, let every one of them pass away like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun. 59: 13. Consume them in wrath, consume them that they may not be.
83: 14-17.
As the fire burned a wood, and as the flame sets the mountains on fire, So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm.
Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O Lord. Let them be confounded and troubled forever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish.
The word perish, cannot be tortured into a meaning of perpetual existence. 92: 7. When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish, it is that they shall be DESTROYED FOR EVER. 104: 35. Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. 112: 10. The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish. 145: 20. The Lord preserves all them that love him: But all the wicked will be destroyed. 149: 5-9.
Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.
Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand; To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron.
To execute upon them the judgment written; this honor have all his saints. Praise ye the Lord.
What is the judgment written against the wicked?—Why, destruction—death, the penalty of the law. This, the righteous, when in glory with Christ, and seated with him upon the throne of judgment, can execute; but if it was eternal life in hell torment, the righteous, or Christ, the Chief Judge, could not execute such a written judgment. But are the righteous to have power and authority with Christ to execute judgment upon the wicked?—So it seems. Christ taught this doctrine. Matt. 19: 28. Verily, I say unto you, that ye which have followed me in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit upon the throne of his glory, ye shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Rev. 2: 26. He that overcomes and kept my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers; even as I have received of my Father. This is the judgment written. Like a potter's vessel they shall be destroyed—broken to pieces—perish. No construction can consistently be put upon this, and all the texts we have cited in the Psalms, to convey any other meaning than a literal destruction of the wicked.
Prov. 2: 22. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it. 1: 26. I will laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh, when your fear cometh as a desolation, and your destruction as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you. 10: 25. As the whirl wind passes so is the wicked no more, but the righteous is an everlasting foundation. They abide forever; but the wicked do not abide, they pass away and are no more—they go to nothing and perish.— Prov. 20: 27. The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord searching all the inward parts of the belly. The spirit of man is the light of the body—the lamp of life that is in him, and by means of this spirit or lamp he can see, smell, taste, feel, hear, think, act, will, reason, and exhibit all the phenomenon of physical and mental life. The apostle asks, 1 Cor. 2: 11: For what man knows the things of a man, save the spirit of man that is in him? Surely nothing! Adam knew nothing till God breathed into him this spirit of life—this lamp and light of the body—and hence we knew nothing when it goes out of us—all the phenomenon of life then ceases, and man goes into darkness; his candle or light is removed, and he ceases to be illumined with life and consciousness. Now if the wicked are destroyed, this spirit or candle in them must be put out, or forever removed—extinguished. Prov. 24: 20. For there shall be no reward to the evil man: the candle of the wicked shall be put out. Here you have the fact stated in positive terms. There is no reward for him of good, or eternal misery; his name is blotted out of the book of life, consequently his lamp of life will be put out, and he will cease to be any more. O that men were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider upon their latter end.
We shall now only notice a passage or two as we pass along through the Scriptures, just to show the united testimony of the inspired writers. Isa. 1: 27. Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness. And the destruction of the transgressors, and of the sinners, shall be together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed. And the strong shall be as tow, and his work as a spark, [margin] and they shall both [the strong and their works] burn together, and none shall quench them. Isa. 11: 4. But with righteousness shall he judge the poor and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth, and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall ho slay the wicked. Error says, with the breath of his lips He will cast them into an eternal life of hell torments. Luke 19: 27. Christ says, But those mine enemies, that would not have me to reign over them, bring them hither and slay them before me. Is this the same as keeping them alive for ever and ever in misery? Isaiah 26: 14, speaking of the wicked after God had made an end of them, says, They are dead, they shall not live, they are deceased, they shall not rise, therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish. If this is not an utter end and destruction of the wicked, it cannot be expressed in language. 66: 24. And they shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me, for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched, and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. A carcass is a dead body, and these carcasses can m no way be construed to mean living persons. Jeremiah, speaking of the same event, says, 25: 32, 33, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.
And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.
This is at the time when Christ shall come in the glory of his kingdom, and to reward every man according to his works. Their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched. The worm and the fire are the two agents made use of to destroy them, consequently if the worm should die and the fire be quenched they would not effect the work of entire destruction for which they were employed. Worms always feed upon a dead carcass. So the Bibie speaks of worms as one agent that shall destroy the carcasses, or dead bodies of the wicked, in that great destructive judgment, that shall come upon them in the last day. We will notice a few passages that will make this point clear. Job 17: 14. I have said to corruption thou art my father, to the worm thou art my mother and sister. 19: 26. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. 21: 26. They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them. Isa. 14: 11. Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy vials, the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. This is a destructive judgment that was to come upon the proud monarch of Babylon. We may now understand what their worm is, that shall not die, and their fire that shall not be quenched. They are two destroying agents that will not be interfered with, or cease their work night nor day, till every vestige of the wicked is destroyed, root and branch.
An allusion to the destruction of the wicked by these two agents, is had in Mark 9: 43, 48. The Greek word for hell is Gehenna, in these verses, and is synonymous with Tophet in the Old Testament. It is compounded of two Hebrew words, Gehinnom, and has reference to the valley of Hinnom, where children and criminals were anciently sacrificed by the Ammonites to their god Moloch. Jer. 17: 18: Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let me not be confounded; let them be dismayed, but let me not be dismayed. Bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with a double destruction. Why did he not say, give them eternal life in torment? Because he understood the penalty of the law, and that demanded death—destruction—and nothing else. Dan. 2: 35: Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floor, and the wind carried them away, and no place was found for them. An utter consumption and destruction of all the kingdoms of this world when Christ sets up his kingdom. And the stone that smote the image became a great mountain—a government—and filled the whole earth. The wicked are displaced to give room for Christ and the saints, and are no more forever. No place in the universe of God can be found for them. It will not do to say that God has taken them from this earth to some other place, to torment them, for as we have seen, the righteous and the wicked shall both be recompensed in the earth. The one with life, the other with death.
The prophet Obediah speaks of the general destruction of the wicked, by Christ and his saints at the last day.
For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen; as thou hast done it shall be done unto thee; thy reward shall return upon thine own head.
For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually; yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.
But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance and there shall be holiness, and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them: and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau, for the Lord hath spoken it.
The fire that is kindled in that day, will utterly devour them—burn them up root and branch, so that they shall be as though they had never existed. Christ and the saints will then possess their possessions, or the earth, forever, even forever and ever. Dan 7: 18. The event of this general destruction of the wicked by Christ at the head of his saints, and of their subsequent possession of the earth, is prefigured by Joshua and the Israelites, taking possession of the land of Canaan. They took possession by a war of extermination, utterly destroying their enemies. So when Christ comes to take possession of the earth, and give it to the saints as their inheritance, according to promise and the plan of redemption, as we have before noticed, He with his saints will carry on a war of destruction—of utter extermination. To perpetuate the sinner's torment, never entered the mind and plan of God. (And all those ministers who do not see this to be true, have yet to learn the will and plan of God as revealed in the Scriptures, however high their standing may be in society, or learned in the schools of human wisdom.) Consequently not a single passage can be found in all the Bible from which an inference can consistently be drawn, to support the monstrous dogma of an endless life in torment. The doctrine of endless misery I fearlessly pronounce a damnable heresy. Not that everyone that has or does believe it, will be damned. But that is a damnable heresy, that is damnable in its influence and consequences. And there are multitudes to be found in every community that have rejected the gospel, and gone off into Universalism, or Infidelity, because they could not believe in a God possessed of such a horrid disposition, or a gospel that proclaimed such an irreconcilable doctrine, with every display of the divine goodness, and law of our being. Every sane mind that is not warped by human tradition, and blinded by a false theory, sees at once that such a doctrine is dishonoring to God, and derogatory to the Christian system, and they turn from it with disgust. Oh, that the Rabbles of our times would pause, and let sober reflection picture to themselves the inconceivable mischief they have done, and are still doing, in the promulgation of the absurd doctrine of the immortality of the soul, the conscious state of the dead, and the eternal misery of the wicked.
I hail with joy the dawning of a better day, and that God is raising up men who are destined to free the Christian system from this moral incubus, and give it that life, health, and vigor that it possessed in the apostolic times, and that is necessary to commend itself to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
I will notice a few texts in the New Testament, and close this article. Matt. 13: 40: As the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire, there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. No preserving the tares. They were cast into the fire purposely kindled to destroy them. So the net, which when it was full they drew to the shore, and set clown and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. They did not preserve them! So the wicked will be separated and disposed of in the end of this world, when the great destructive judgment shall come. Rom. 1: 32: Who knowing the judgment of God that they which commit such things are worthy of death. Very different from eternal torment. 8: 13: If ye live after the flesh ye shall DIE; but if ye through the spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall LIVE. 1 Cor. 3: 17: If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. No eternal misery taught by the apostle thus far. 2 Cor. 2: 45: For we are unto God a sweet savor of Christ in them that are saved, and in them that perish: to the one we are a savor of death unto death, and to the other the savor of life unto life. Here is perish, and the second death to all those who are not saved by the gospel. Phil. 3: 19: Whose end is destruction. 1 Thess. 5: 3: For when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, and they shall not escape. 2 Thess. 1: 7: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction, from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, etc. Heb. 6: 8: For that which bears thorns and briars is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. 10: 27: But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries. James 4: 12: There is one lawgiver who is able to save and to destroy. 5: 20: Let him know that he which converted the sinner from the error of his way, shall save a soul from death. 2 Peter 2: 12: But these as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of things that they understand not; shall utterly perish in their own corruption.
The reader will pardon me for dwelling so long and multiplying so many texts on a doctrine plainly stated by the Almighty at the beginning. But as the penalty of the law and its execution has been enlarged upon, and is still most grossly misrepresented—and even denied to be death and destruction—I have thought best to furnish the reader with a full quantum of divine testimony, to stop the mouths if possible of these gainsayers, and silence forever their batteries thundering forth the eternal torment in hell fire of the wicked.
No mind capable of receiving truth can read this article, and still plead the immortality of the soul, and endless misery. I have let God speak for himself, through his own chosen messengers, and there is no mistaking His voice or the truth He utters, He positively and clearly declares the penalty of his law to be DEATH, and the final judgment that shall come upon all the world of the wicked, to be a destructive judgment by fire. That day, is the great day of His wrath—a day set apart, not to preserve His enemies, but to destroy them—to burn them up, to leave them neither root nor branch. Therefore, They shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passes away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as smoke out of the chimney. Hosea 13: 3. When He comes to execute this destructive judgment, the mountains shall quake at Him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at His presence, yea, the world and all that dwell therein. Oh, reader! Think, think, who can stand before His indignation, and who can abide in the fierceness of His anger; His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by Him. But the Lord will be the hope of his people in that day—he will be their pavilion, their rock, their high tower and abiding place. He is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knows them that trust in him. But with an over running flood be will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies. What do ye imagine against the Lord? He will make an UTTER, END, affliction shall not rise up a second time. Nahum 1: 5, 9. The people in that day shall be as the burnings of lime, as thorns cut up shall they burn in the fire. Sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell, or remain with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell, or remain with everlasting burnings? Not in the devouring fire. But who will be left in the day of judgment and remain with the devouring fire, and with the everlasting burnings? Answer: He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despises the gain of oppression, that shakes his hands from holding of bribes, that stopped his ears from hearing of blood, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil: he shall dwell on high, his place of defense [against the devouring fire] shall be the munitions of rocks. Such and such only will escape. All others will be left, and their dwelling and place will be with the everlasting burnings. Isa. 33: 12, 16.
In the last century, the learned Dr. Dodwell collected an important mass of evidence to prove, and successfully defended against many vehement adversaries, the idea that the native immortality of all men, was not sanctioned by the primitive church. It will be a difficult task to overthrow, or undermine some of the arguments which were adduced in that controversy, either by the allegation of false quotation, or by endeavoring to underrate the value of the witnesses. Tremens, for instance, the disciple of Polycarp, who was the scholar of the Apostle John, thus writes: ' Life is not from ourselves, nor from our nature, but it is given or bestowed according to the grace of God; and therefore he who preserves this gift of life and returns thanks to Him who bestows it, he shall receive length of days for ever and ever. But he who rejects it, and proves unthankful to his Maker for creating him, and will not know him who bestows it, he deprives himself of the gift of duration to all eternity. And therefore the Lord speaks thus of such unthankful persons: If you have not been faithful in that which is least, who will commit much to you? intimating thereby unto us, they who are unthankful to Him with respect to this short transitory life, which is His gift, the effect of His bounty, shall be most justly deprived of length of clays in the world to come.'
Mr. Foster, a distinguished writer, remarks: ' A number of ministers, not large but of great piety and intelligence, within his acquaintance, had been disbelievers in the doctrine in question, [the eternal existence of the wicked in misery] at the same time, not feeling themselves imperatively called upon to make a public disavowal: content with employing in their ministrations strong general terms, in denouncing the doom of impenitent sinners. For one thing, a consideration of the unreasonable imputations, and unmeasured suspicions, apt to be cast on any publicly declared partial defection from rigid orthodoxy, has made them think they should better consult their usefulness by not giving a prominence to this dissentient point; while /yet they made no concealment of it in private communications, or in answer to serious inquiries.'
In self-defense, I may add to this instructive and remarkable testimony, my own, that I also am acquainted with several very excellent and accomplished ministers of the gospel and editors of religious periodicals, similarly situated. The antiquity of the theological views here defended, together with their partial suppression by ' pious' and ' intelligent' men offer, therefore, an impressive illustration of the truth of Lord Bacon's memorable reflection: ' Another error is a conceit, that of former opinions or sects after examination, the best hath still prevailed and suppressed the rest; so as; if a man should begin the labor of a new search, he were but like to light upon some formerly rejected, and by rejection brought into oblivion; as if the multitude or the wisest for the multitude's sake were not ready to give passage rather to that which is popular and superficial, than to that which is substantial and profound. For the truth is, that Time seemed to be of the nature of a river or stream which carried, down to us that which is light and blown up, and sinks and drowned that which is weighty and solid.'
Having noticed Lord Bacon's reflection, Mr. White proceeds and says: " We feel bound to admit that unassisted nature, as is proved by the remains of the pagan philosophers, and by the clashing opinions of modern metaphysicians, can attain no certainty whatever on this subject of eternal immortality of the soul; and a clever materialist can bring forward many appearances which oppose, at the outset, at least a formidable barrier to so grand a conclusion. The wiser advocates of the theory, therefore, have in recent years generally depended upon what they consider to be the declaration of Scripture supporting the view which they take of man's constitution.
Gen. 2: 7. So God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.' From this passage it is alleged that the breath of the Eternal must be everlasting; and that the expression soul,' signifies an ever-living intelligence. It is undeniable that these words indicate some special dignity in human nature, distinguishing it from those animal races which the earth brought forth' at the command of the Almighty. But it is not so clear that this special dignity consisted in immortality of the soul; at least, it is not clear from the phrase, God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;' for the fact that his breath was in his nostrils' is subsequently adduced by the Divine Spirit [Isaiah 2: 22.] as an argument of man's fragility; and in the original language the beasts which perished in the deluge, are declared to have possessed equally with mankind ' the breath of lives.' Gen. 7: 22.
We venture to conclude, therefore, that although the life of Adam was the breath of God, and although he was formed in the Divine image, and specially molded by the Divine hands, that yet this by no means proves human immortality. And in the second place, the allegation of the phrase living soul,' in vindication of the doctrine, is peculiarly unhappy, inasmuch as it may be demonstrated to be the phrase appropriated in Scripture to denote an animal nature, in the strongest contrast to one which is properly spiritual, and eternal. For example, we read in Gen. 9: 10, that God established his covenant with every living creature [Heb. nephesh hayah, living soul] that accompanied Noah into the ark, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of the beast of the earth.' It is translated in the Septuagint, both here and Gen. 2: 7, psuche zosa, which also are the words employed by St. John (Rev. 16: 3.) to denote the fishes that died in the sea at the occurrence of some destructive prophetical calamity. Accordingly, the Apostle Paul adduces the text in question, for the express purpose of drawing the most marked contrast between the first and the second Adam.
1st Cor. 15: 44, He says, ' There is a natural, or an animal body, [psuchikon, an adjective derived from the translated soul, in Gen. 2: 7.] and there is a spiritual body: and so it is written: The first man Adam was made a living soul [psuche zosa] the last Adam was made a quickening or life-giving spirit. The first man was of the earth, earthy, [choikos] a man of dust; the second Adam is the Lord from heaven.' Hence we perceive that, instead of applying the term soul to the mind of man, the Apostle refers it to his whole nature, but with a special reference to the body, while he points out the fact, that the first Adam was only a living soul, possessing no principal of essential vitality; and that the second Adam is a life-giving spirit, having' Life in himself' as God.
On the whole, then, we must decide, that so far from intending to teach the immortality of the soul in the text before us, Moses was speaking of the compound nature of Adam, with an eye chiefly to his animal part, and with a pointed intimation of its mortality, or possible decay. The next passage of Scripture usually alleged in support of the common doctrine is Eccl. 3: 21, Who knows the spirit of a man which goes upwards, and the spirit of a beast which goes downwards to the earth?' It is presumed that the expression goes upwards' denotes not merely survivance, which may be readily granted, but eternal immortality. A slight reference to the context, however, will show that Solomon, the wisest man, not an epicurean infidel, as some persons assert, is engaged in speculating upon the great similarity discoverable between mankind and the animal races, and he expresses the wish that God would undeceive them in the matter of their boasted essential immortality, and bring them to a humble sense of their true rank in the scale of creation. And he remarks, in conclusion, that the extreme uncertainty hanging over the state of the spirit when separated from the body, under the dispensation then present, leads him to place but little dependence upon the grand meditations of philosophers and others on the exalted blessedness of disembodied souls, and to conclude that the most fitting course was to make the best use of our brief vain life in the body; not denying, as afterwards appears, the hope of a resurrection.
' I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, O that God might manifest them, that they might see that they themselves are beasts, For that which befall-eth the sons of men befalls beasts; even one thing befalls them; as the one dies, so dies the other; yea, they have all one breath: so that man hath no preeminence above a beast; for all is vanity. All go to one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knows the spirit of a man that goes upward, and the spirit of a beast that goes downwards to the earth? Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his portion, for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?' It is evident that the words in the 12th chapter of Eccl., The spirit shall return to God who gave it,' so far from deciding in favor of an eternal duration, do not even explicitly teach its separate existence at all; since returning unto God' would either signify in oriental language, a lapse of the individual mind into the divine infinity, or, more probably, would refer to the Spirit of life from God, as in Job 34: 14. The words of Paul in 2 Tim. 1: 10, are sometimes adduced in proof of human immortality, ' Who kWh, abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.' It is affirmed that the apostle here teachers us, that Christ brought to light the fact that all men are by nature immortal. But is not the more natural interpretation, that the Savior brought life and immortality, that is, immortal life, to a world which had lost it? especially since he prefaces the statement by declaring that Christ hath abolished death. In every other instance, however, the terms life and immortality are understood by these writers to signify, not eternal existence, but sim-ply eternal happiness, and it remains for them to exhibit the rule by which they forsake their usual interpretation in this case, and affix to the words of the apostle a literal signification. The figurative exposition of the Scriptures should at least be consistently carried out; even though it is evident that the result would in the present text be [if as it is also asserted, the proposition is universal] to declare and pronounce the eternal salvation of the whole race of mankind. Besides these, we have not met with any passages of Scripture advanced as abstract declarations of human immortality. We shall hope to make it appear hereafter that wherever the Bible speaks of the future existence of the righteous and the wicked, that existence, of whatever duration, is not to be attributed to man's inherent perpetuity of being.
We are constrained therefore to adopt the conclusion, humbly but firmly, that the Divine Revelation does not teach the doctrine commonly entertained upon the nature of the human soul; but that it is a splendid fiction of philosophy, suggested by the tempter who at first beguiled Eve with the declaration ' Ye shall not surely die.' For, in the first place, the doctrine of the immortality of the soul is never once explicitly declared throughout the entire range of the canon of Scriptures, a very remarkable silence, which may well suggest some misgivings in point of implicit belief in those Christian theologians, whose works are filled with descriptions of the intrinsic dignity of man's immortal soul.' If the doctrine in question be true, that the spirit of man is an undying intelligence, an everlasting and indestructible power, we surely might expect to discover at least some few traces of a general recognition of this grand fundamental, in the ages which were illustrated by perpetual communications with heaven.
In ancient times, neither men nor language were so differently framed from those of a more recent era, as to avoid through a long course of centuries every apparent reference to an idea which is alleged to lie at the basis of the scheme of redemption through all its dispensations.—In every other instance we obtain from the prophets and apostles clear and frequent enunciations of the doctrines which they were commissioned to deliver; even of those which unaided reason was able to discover, as the existence of God, and the difference between virtue and vice. But in this instance they have, by some astonishing fatality, omitted with one consent, all reference to the immortality of the soul; no single verse of the Bible containing that brief declaration which would have set the controversy forever at rest. In our own times, scarcely a religious work issues from the press addressed to thoughtless mankind, scarcely is a public exhortation directed to them without a full and forcible exhibition of the doctrine of natural or actual immortality, of deathless existence, as the basis of the whole theological superstructure. Now, how shall we explain the remarkable fact, that neither prophets nor apostles have ever once -employed this argument in dealing with the wicked? an argument so opposite and irresistible if it be true? How, otherwise than by determining that this was not their philosophy; that this doctrine formed no part of the 'wisdom' of Him, whose thoughts are not as our thoughts, nor his ways as our ways.' It will not be further contended, that the doctrine is everywhere taken for granted, as universally understood and acknowledged; for that was not clearer in antiquity, which is so dark in more civilized ages; and it is impossible to believe that those writers who are copious to an almost painful minuteness in the details of a ceremonial economy, or of ecclesiastical arrangements, and in refutations of the cavils of every variety of heretical apostasy, should yet not have expanded a line in defense of a truth which is liable to such deadly attacks, and which is notwithstanding asserted to be the very foundation of religion.
In the second place, we may notice, as strongly opposed to the notion of the soul's immortality, the style and tone adopted in the Scripture when speaking discussive of man's natural estate; a style infinitely unsuitable when adverting to a being endowed with the sublime, the magnificent attribute of eternal existence. For example, we find in addition to the extraordinary silence already noted, such language as the following, from the lips of Job and his friends, which may be taken as a fair estimate of the patriarchal orthodoxy on the subject before us. Chap. 7.
O remember that my life is wind, mine eye shall no more see good. Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou sets a watch over me? I would not live always; let me alone; for my days are vanity. What is man that thou should magnify him, and that thou should set thine heart upon him? and that thou should visit him every morning, and try him every moment?' Chap. 10, ' Are thy days as the days of man, are thy years as man's days, that thou inquires after mine iniquity and searches after my sin?—Remember, I beseech thee, that thou bast made me as the clay: and wilt thou turn me unto dust again?' Chapters 11 and 14. He knows vain man,' adds the patriarch, ' He sees their wickedness also. For vain man would be wise, though man be born like the wild ass's colt. Man that is born of a woman is of a few days, and full of trouble; he cometh forth as a flower and is cut down; he flees also as a shadow, and continued not.—And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one,' continues Job, ' and brings me in judgment with thee?—Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro, and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble? Behold, even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight. How much less man that is a worm, and the son of man that is a worm.' Chap. If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath; all flesh shall perish together and man shall turn again to dust. Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? once have I spoken, but I will not answer; yea, twice, but i will proceed no further.' Again, David and Isaiah reecho the same humble strain: 'What is man that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that thou visits him?' All nations before Him are as nothing: yea, less than nothing, and vanity.' Language of this strongly depreciatory character is constantly employed by those ancient philosophers in describing the estate of the sons of men; not merely when animadverting upon their moral character, but when measuring the dignity of their nature. But if man be by constitution an immortal in his soul, the mortality of his body is an inconsiderable circumstance; rather a blessing than a curse; and we might inquire, with a recent author, contending in a very different tone for the common theory, 'How much less is it than to be divine, to be immortal?' Certain it is, however, that the style adopted by the inspired writers upon the emptiness and worthlessness of man is extremely unsuitable to a being whose soul is more noble and enduring than the whole material universe; for, in fact, they never by any chance rise into the employment of these exalted encomiums upon human dignity, adhering with astonishing pertinacity to the most degrading images and mortifying representations.
It has already been observed, that if the scripture doctrine on the human constitution be that God created man with an imperishable spirit, it is probable, all things considered, that so grand a fundamental truth would present itself throughout the Bible in perpetual allusions, and frequently in open declarations, just as the primitive rocks of the world are widely protruded through the over-lying strata. And if it were reasonable to anticipate such allusions and declarations in one part of Holy Scripture rather than in another, it surely would be in that earlier series of revelations, which were evidently sent into the world to prepare it for the reception of Christianity. For, as we find a complicated and elaborate machinery set on foot in order to accustom the minds of men to the idea of priesthood and sacrifice, so we might expect to discover an equally labored attempt to bring forth into strong relief that preliminary doctrine of Immortality, on which it is asserted the whole revelation is founded.
A candid reader, however, must assuredly admit that the Old Testament scriptures are strikingly destitute of any such abstract doctrine of human immortality—so much so, indeed, as to have led some persons to assert that it was the gospel revelation which first brought the fact of man's eternity into public notice; and some others, such as Warburton, and the ancient Sadducees, to doubt the existence therein of any hope of a resurrection or life, even for the pious. This remarkable silence in the Old Testament, we have already assumed to be a solid argument against the truth of the common doctrines, and of the consequences which necessarily flow from them. But let us now further inquire whether the statements of the Old Testament writings do not rather agree with the theory which has been propounded for examination; whether they do not studiously hold forth final and eternal destruction of the wicked, in opposition to the notion of their everlasting existence. The circumstance that we have found these writings so explicit in the matter of everlasting rewards, should prepare us to expect an equal clearness in their representations upon retribution.
Dr. Honberry, one of the most strenuous advocates of the doctrine of the immortality of the souls of all men, admits that the Old Testament has nothing so clear and express upon this subject as the New,' intending, doubtless, nothing so clear as he imagined he could discover in the New. But as less critical writers are not equally frank upon this important point, it is necessary to examine two or three texts, which are alleged to vindicate the eternal life and suffering of the wicked.
The words of Isaiah, 33: 14, are presumed to refer to the everlasting existence of the wicked in the fires of hell. The sinners in Zion are afraid: fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?' With a view to ascertain the true meaning of the words of the prophet, we may mention that Dr. Boothroyd trans-laths the passage thus: The sinners in Zion are filled with dread: terror bath seized the profligate. Who among us cad abide consuming fire? Who among us can abide perpetual burnings?' A careful attention to the context will show, that the chapter whence these words are taken, refers to the desolating invasion of Sennacherib, in the age of Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah, sent as a punishment for the sins of the people. On this point, the commentators are agreed. Viewed in this connection, the words of the text appear to have not even the most remote reference to future punishment in the other world, but were intended to represent the exclamation of the sinners of Zion, who rightly feared that the continual conflagrations' of war, the devastations of fire and sword which the invader caused, would terminate in their destruction; for who, said they, can dwell in these perpetual burnings? In the 13th verse the Lord thus addresses them: ' New will I arise, now will I lift up myself, now will I be exalted. Ye conceive chaff, and bring forth stubble, and my spirit like fire shall consume you. And the people shall be burned as lime: as thorns cut up they shall be consumed in the fire.' Then follows the text, Who among us shall abide consuming fire'? Who among us shall abide perpetual burnings?' And it is quite obvious, that these perpetual burnings are the same with those mentioned above; but they were the flames of war kindled at God's command by Sennacherib, the effect of which was to consume the people utterly, as thorns are burnt up in a lime-kiln.
The other passage sometimes adduced with a similar view is found in Daniel, 12: 2. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.' From this last expression it is argued that the wicked will awake to an everlasting sense and consciousness of the everlasting contempt. That this, however, is an unreasonable inference, will appear from the reflection that since the other class, the blessed, arise to everlasting life, these may be considered as arising to undergo the infliction of eternal death. A still more formidable obstacle to the conclusion proposed is, however, presented by the circumstance that the prophet Isaiah, two hundred years previously, had employed the same term (deraion, contempt, 66: 24, there translated abhorring), when speaking of the fate of the wicked, but most pointedly had referred to them as reduced to carcasses (phagarum, translated dead corpses in 2 Kings 19: 37), their worm dying not,' and their funeral fires still smoldering on. If, therefore, Isaiah uses the word ' contempt' or abhorring' in reference to lifeless carcasses, it may be that Daniel, also, intended to signify that many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, and come forth to the resurrection of a literal destruction, becoming thereafter the putrescent objects of disgust to the universe.
With the exception of the two passages just examined, (of which, one does not really refer to future punishment; and the other, when properly understood, is found to harmonize with the interpretation proposed), it is admitted that the entire mass of Old Testament phraseology has nothing very clear and express in favor of the doctrine of the immortality of the wicked, but is of a character which might exceedingly well denote the idea of their literal destruction.
It is nevertheless to be observed, that from the most ancient times, it seems to have been understood that there would be a day of judgment for transgressors; a prospect which must necessarily have been associated with the idea of the resurrection of the unjust. The prophesy of Enoch, the seventh from Adam, recorded by the Apostle Jude, contains clear intimation that God left not himself without witness in relation to this awful subject, in the earliest ages Two passages likewise already noticed, (not to mention any other,) plainly declare that the wicked shall come forth to endure the divine vengeance, from their graves. Isaiah tells us, that the earth shall cast out Rephaim,' the wicked; and Daniel, in the passage just commented upon, says that they ' shall awake from the dust of the earth to shame and everlasting contempt.' The doctrine of the resurrection of the wicked, however, as in the New Testament, so in the Old, is almost lost amid those thick and blackening clouds of divine anger, which menace them with destruction, excision, and death. The language of every writer in succession, points to the same conclusion.
We have the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ for understanding the promise of life made to the obedient servants of God, by the great Legislator, as pointing to life eternal: for when the young ruler inquired what good thing he should do to have eternal life, the Savior referred him to the law, with its promise of life to the genuine Israelite. But this decision obliges us to conclude that the threatening of the law are to be understood likewise, with a reference to the greater penalties of the future world. Among these threatening, that which most frequently occurs is—that the offender shall be cut off. It is this threatening, moreover, which is appended, as a sanction of obedience, to the promise of a Prophet like unto Moses,' a promise quoted by Peter as having received its fulfillment in Jesus. Acts 3: 23: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me: Him shall ye hear in all things, whatsoever He shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that every soul which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from amongst the people.' Now, if the threatening is to be understood in the sense of everlasting torments in this place, it must assuredly signify the same thing wherever it is used, (otherwise a most arbitrary principle of interpretation will supervene,) and then the consequence will follow, that eating leaven is threatened with the infliction of inter-Minable agonies in hell, for the same menace occurs appended to the injunction against that offence. (Exod. 12: 15.) But if it be felt that, in this instance, such a sense cannot warrantably be affixed to the words, but that they must be understood of literal death by lapidation, or by burning, we are obliged to suppose that such likewise must be the signification of the threatening of karat, or excision, wherever it appears. The ordinary menaces of the Mosaic law, are couched in these terms: death, destruction, cutting off, loss of life; and there is an uniform and remarkable abstinence from any expression which would seem to promise a ' lengthening of days' to the enemies of God. This is so much the case, that less careful readers of these earliest writings have even determined (contrary to the declarations of the Lord Jesus,) that they contained no intimations even of an eternal reward for the servant of the Most High.
Now, we must be permitted to express the conviction, that it is unspeakably strange and mysterious, if men of all ages, and therefore the Jews, to whom Moses wrote, have possessed immortal souls, and have been on a probation for the alternative of existence forever, either in blessedness or in agony, that no single intimation should appear in the Pentateuch, which contains the Gospel preached unto Abraham, of such a constitution of things. Especially is it mysterious, if the law of Moses was, as the Apostle declares, a repetition, or re-entrance, of God's eternal law in its immutable principles, and if the curse of that eternal law was, as asserted by most, everlasting misery in hell, that not one individual term can be found in the long, and varied, and awfully eloquent catalogue of Mosaic denunciations, capable of bearing any other signification than a literal destruction of humanity in the case of the wicked.
An equally striking silence upon the endless duration of the lives of the ungodly, characterizes the book of Job. This most ancient poem contains frequent and animated references to the punishment of the wicked, and being composed in the lofty style of the Orientals, we might anticipate amplification in the detail, and a copious vocabulary of language, pervading those portions which describe the doom of transgressors. For it is not the genius of Oriental speech to compress infinite ideas into tame and inadequate expressions with a Spartan sententiousness, but rather to exalt and to magnify inferior thoughts by an expressive and unrestrained employment of exaggeration and metaphor. And surely, if such a conception as that of everlasting existence in misery, were intended to be conveyed in the style of Eastern poetry, it word find its natural and appropriate vehicle in the tremendous inflations of the Koran, and not in the brief declarations of this most ancient composition. He who could speak so eloquently of the woes of a mortal, would certainly have risen even above the gloomy sublimity of the style of 2Eschylus, when contemplating the sufferings of an immortal. The following, however, are examples of the threatening held out in the book of Job, to the enemies of God:
Chap. 18. The light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine. His strength shall be hunger-bitten, and destruction shall be ready at his side. It shall devour the strength of his skin; even the first-born of death shall devour his strength. His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, and it shall bring him to the king of terrors. It shall dwell in his tabernacle, because it is none of his: brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation. His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut off. His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street. He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world.
Chap. 20. Knows thou not this of old, since man was placed upon the earth, that the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment? Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds: yet shall he perish forever like his own dung; they which have seen him shall say, Where is he? He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night. The eye also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his place any more behold him.
Chap. xxi. How oft is the candle of the wicked put out 1 and how oft cometh their destruction upon them 1 His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
The book of Psalms may be supposed to represent the popular belief during the best instructed ages of the Jewish commonwealth. The menaces of vengeance to the ungodly found in this collection of sacred songs, are as follows:
Ps. 1. The ungodly are not so: they are like the chaff which the wind driven' away. The Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Ps. 2. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way.
Ps. 9. Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked; thou hast put out their name forever and ever. The wicked shall be turned into sheol, (the state of death,) and all the nations that forget God.
Ps. 25. Let destruction come upon them unawares; and let his net that he bath hid catch himself; into that very destruction let him fall.
Ps. 49. Man that is in honor, and understand not, is like the beasts that perish.
Ps. 92. Oh Lord, how great are thy works, and thy thoughts are very deep. A brutish man knows not, neither doth a fool understand this. When the wicked spring as the grass, and all the workers of iniquity do flourish, it is that they may be destroyed forever. (Lehis-haniadam, the word used in Gen. 34: 30; Lev. 25: 30; Num. 33: 52; Deut. 1: 27.) For, lo, thy enemies, O Lord, for lo, thy enemies shall perish, all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.
Ps. 112. The horn of the righteous shall be exalted with honor. The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth and melt away. (See Matthew 13: 50. There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.)
The wisdom of Solomon dictated expressions on this subject, in exact conformity with the declarations of David.
Prov. 10: 24. The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him, but the desire of the righteous shall be granted. As the whirlwind passed, so is the wicked no more, but the righteous hath an everlasting foundation. The fear of the Lord prolonged days, but the years of the wicked shall be shortened. The hope of the righteous shall be gladness, but the expectation of the wicked shall perish. The way of the Lord is strength to the upright, but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity. The righteous shall never be removed, but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.
Prov. 13: 13. Whose despised the word shall be destroyed, but he that feared the commandment shall be rewarded. The law of the wise is a fountain of life to depart from the snares of death.
Prov. 14: 12. There is a way which seemed right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Prov. 16: '24. The way of life is above (an upward road) to the wise to depart from 'shed (the state of death) beneath.
Prov. 22: 16. The man that wandered out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead. Rephaint--Heb.
After the above copious citations, it is unnecessary to do more than refer to the general style in which the holy prophets denounce God's judgments to the ungodly. Their words are uniformly to the effect, that the sinner shall be destroyed, shall be consumed, shall die, perish, or be slain.
The last threatening in the Old Testament, (Malachi 4.) may likewise be adduced as an average representation of the whole current of phraseology in the Prophets, and may serve to indicate the degree to which God's ancient messengers encouraged the wicked to reckon upon an everlasting existence. For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven, and the proud, and all that do wickedly, shall be as stubble, and the day that cometh shall burn them up, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch."