p. 10 | Which Is the Gloomy Doctrine? by F. M. W.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jun 15, 1911

Which Is the Gloomy Doctrine?

By F. M. W.

THE great majority of the Christian world believe that with the righteous, death is the gate to endless joy. Some of these believers tell us that the view held by Seventh-day Adventists, that man is unconscious between death and the resurrection, is a gloomy doctrine, devoid of hope and comfort. Aside from all question of sentiment, the point to be determined, of course, is the teaching of the Scriptures. The Bible forms the only true basis of religious belief. What does the Bible teach regarding this question? Is there in man an inherent, immortal element, which after death lives on, independently of the body? The teaching of the Scriptures with reference to this matter is plain and unequivocal. It declares that God “only hath immortality” (1 Tim. 6: 16); that

in the experience of the human family Christ “hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Tim. 1: 10); and that in obtaining this immortal existence it is necessary for the human family “by patient continuance in well-doing [to] seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life.” Rom. 2: 7.

If God only possesses immortality, and if that immortality is revealed through the gospel, and is bestowed only upon those who seek for it, then the conclusion is inevitable that man does not by nature possess it. The question arises, When will the seeking for it be rewarded? When will those who “by patient continuance in well-doing” strive to conform their lives to the divine requirements, have bestowed upon them the priceless boon of immortal existence? To this question, also, the Scriptures of truth afford a clear solution. Immortality is bestowed at the close of earth's history, at the second coming of Christ. Many scriptures might be cited as proof of this statement. The plain declaration of the apostle Paul, however, will suffice. He says:—

“Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” 1 Cor. 15: 51-55.

It is of this occasion and of this time in the history of the human family that the Lord himself declares:—

“For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.” Matt. 16: 27.

It is most reasonable that the last great day should be a day of awards. The judgment of the human family comes in connection with the close of earth's history. God does not assign man at death to heaven or to hell, and then at the end of the world determine the merits of his award; but the determination of man's eternal destiny is first settled in the judgment of the last great day, and by the findings of this heavenly tribunal every case is fixed. Proof of this may be found in Dan. 7: 9, 10, Rev. 20: 12, 13, and other scriptures.

We come now to a consideration of the condition of the dead between the close of earthly life and the resurrection, or day of final awards. The patriarch Job declares that the dead are in a sleep:—

“So man lieth down, and riseth not:

till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!” Job. 14: 12, 13.

Of man's condition during this sleep, the patriarch states in the same chapter, verse 21:—

“His sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.”

Similar testimony as to the condition of the dead is borne by the psalmist:—

“Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” Ps. 146: 3, 4.

One more scripture will suffice for our inquiry regarding man's condition in death:—

“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.” Eccl. 9: 5, 6.

Those who teach that the righteous enter heaven at death must also concede the passing of the wicked at death to some place of torment. If, indeed, it be pleasant to contemplate that the righteous who have died are enjoying the pleasures of heaven, it is equally unpleasant to contemplate the wicked, who constitute the vast majority of the human family, as enduring the torments of hell fire. If the first view be true, we are inevitably driven to the acceptance of the second position. This, therefore, reverses the gloomy aspect of the two opposing doctrines referred to at the opening of this article.

But there is still another consideration which materially affects the Bible teaching. In view of the fact that the dead can not realize the passage of time, it might be said that so far as the knowledge and consciousness of the righteous are concerned, they are ushered at death into the glories of the eternal world. On the occasion when the martyr Stephen closed his earthly account, the glories of heaven were opened to his vision. He said: “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” Acts 7: 56. With this scene before him he fell asleep in Jesus. The first object he will behold on awakening in the resurrection will be the same tender, sympathizing face of the Saviour in whose cause he suffered death. It will seem to Stephen that the scene was continuous; and that on the day of his martyrdom, Christ received him unto himself.

Two thousand years have dragged their weary length along. Kingdoms have arisen and fallen. Under the burden of sin the human family has lived and labored on, oftentimes in darkness and despair. To the living the road has seemed long, and the days weary; but to the one quietly sleeping in the Lord, it has seemed as but a moment of time, a flash of light. The scene is immediately changed from that of earth to that of heaven. This is the blessedness of the provision of God's grace. The toiler on life's battle-field becomes weary. The Father with tender hands lays him aside to rest for a little season; but at the end of the harvest-day, when the rewards of toil are gathered in, he who has fallen by the way shares equally with him who has labored on; together they rejoice in the glad harvest-home.

Whether we live until the coming of the Lord, or whether we die, and sleep in him until the resurrection morn, may we have a part in this glad rejoicing!

F. M. W.