The “Translation” of Brother A, or Doctor B, or Reverend C
By F. M. W.
Frequently in our exchanges we see a notice of the death of some leading member of the church under such a heading as the one above, and we suppose it expresses the faith of the editor and of his co-religionists. This faith we have no desire to deride. Many devout Christians of different religious affiliations have come to death in the belief that their spirits would immediately wing their way to the courts of glory. But notwithstanding the fact that this belief has been held by so many of the good and great of past ages, we must admit that it has no foundation in the Scriptures of truth. Nowhere does the Bible represent that man passes immediately at death from the terrestrial to the celestial sphere. On the contrary, it is plainly taught that the righteous do not receive their reward until the resurrection at the last day. At that time mortality will put on immortality, and death will be swallowed up in life. Then the redeemed of the Lord of all ages, who have rested quietly in their graves waiting for the fulfilment of the promise made unto the fathers, will receive their reward. 1 Cor. 15: 51-55; 1 Thess. 4: 16-18. If death ushered man into his eternal reward, it could well be counted a friend; but the Scriptures of truth declare that it is an enemy. “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” 1 Cor. 15: 26. “Death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.” Rev. 20: 14. Heaven draws near to the deathbed of the saints of God. Who has not stood by the bed of some dying saint and seen on his face the light of the glory of heaven? Some have claimed that they saw heavenly visions. We doubt it not. Such a vision was given to Stephen, the first martyr of Jesus, just before he closed his eyes in death. Acts 7: 55, 56. It will seem to these devoted friends of the Master that the scene of glory is continuous. They close their eyes in death. They are wrapped in unconsciousness for long centuries. They know no lapse of time or weight of years. The Master comes and calls them from their dusty beds. They now behold the King in his beauty. They look upon the face they have learned to love through all their earthly pilgrimage. It will be to them as if the glory scenes attending the coming of the Master are but the continuation of the sweet manifestation of his presence when their eyes closed in sleep. How this thought robs death of its terrors! The weary saint closes his eyes in death, the next moment, so far as his consciousness is concerned, he opens them in glory. But them in glory. His companions are left to live and labor on, to endure privation, to meet trial, to battle with temptation. It is like the anxious vigil of the loving mother over her sick child. The mother keeps weary watch through the long hours of the night. To her the time seems long; but the child, falling perchance into restful slumber, awakens in the morning with no consciousness of the long, weary hours of darkness. Hope bridges the gloom of death’s dark valley. The Master has gone the way before, the disciple follows in his footsteps. Christ holds the keys of the grave. Into his hands his children may securely commit their life. He will never forget them. Desiring their presence, he will bring them forth to dwell with him eternally.