The Personality of God by Stephen Nelson Haskell

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D.C. · Oct 8, 1903

The Personality of God

By Stephen Nelson Haskell

S. N. HASKELL

Of late the question has repeatedly come to me, Does it make any real difference whether we believe in the personality of God, as long as we believe in God? My answer invariably is, It depends altogether upon the standpoint from which we view it. If from the Spiritualist’s, the Christian Scientist’s, the Universalist’s, or if from the standpoint of any other “ist” or “ism,” it makes but little or no difference. But from the standpoint of Seventh-day Adventists it makes all the difference in the world.

No man who is a Seventh-day Adventist can understandingly take that position; neither can a Seventh-day Adventist hold that position for a moment. In it is involved a denial of the “Father and the Son,” the law of Moses, the prophets, the psalms, the holy angels, the personality of the devil, and all that is according to sound doctrine.

First: Seventh-day Adventists believe that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim. 3:16, 17); and that “man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord.” Deut. 8:3. Every word which is a thought expressed, every passage, and every book in the Bible, is the unfolding of the wondrous theme of redemption’s plan, the restoring of the image of God in the soul. It contains all the creative energy that called the worlds into existence, and therefore contains victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. The view that God has no personality is a denial of many plain declarations of the Word of God.

While the face of God no man can see and live, because of sin, yet Moses positively declares that the nobles “saw God,” which could not be true if God had no personality. Micaiah, the prophet, said: “I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.” 1 Kings 22:19. The prophet Isaiah bears the following positive testimony: “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.” Isa. 6:1. He also saw seraphim, which are a high order of angels.

David said, “The Lord is in his holy temple.” Ps. 11:4. “He sitteth between the cherubim.” Ps. 99:1. It is surprising how many such testimonies are found in the Old Testament Scriptures, from the law of Moses to the prophet Malachi. The same strain is taken up in the New Testament. Christ said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.” John 1:51. Stephen, “full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” Acts 7:55, 56. The doctrine of the personality of God is the fundamental doctrine of the Scriptures.

Man Created in God’s Image

Second: At the creation God said to Christ, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. . . . So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Gen. 1:26, 27. Man bore the image of God both morally and physically; for after man sinned, we read that Adam “begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth.” Gen. 5:3. Here is an explanation of the words “image” and “likeness.” As Seth bore both the physical and the moral nature of Adam, so Adam bore the physical and the moral likeness of God.

Neither was this image of God which man bore a mere concept; for the Bible declares that the Lord has parts, the same as the human body. For instance, the prophet says his “garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool.” Dan. 7:9. The psalmist declares, “His eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.” Ps. 11:4; 2 Chron. 16:9. When telling the Israelites of their murmuring toward God, Moses said, “Ye have wept in the ears of the Lord.” Num. 11:18. James, in speaking of the last days, says that the cries of the poor have entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. James 5:4. David says, “Bow down thine ear, O Lord, hear me.” Ps. 86:1. Isaiah, in speaking for God concerning the wicked, says, “These are a smoke in my nose” (Isa. 65:5); but of Noah’s offering we read, “And the Lord smelled a sweet savor.” Gen. 8:21; Phil. 4:18. And we read of other parts of God,—face (Ex. 33:20; Isa. 59:2), mouth (Num. 12:8), back parts (Ex. 33:23), hands (Ex. 33:22), arms (Deut. 5:15), body (Ex. 24:10), etc.

As surely as fallen humanity has borne the physical image of the first pair which God created, so surely do God and Christ have a form, hence a personality. When Christ came to this earth, and took sinful nature upon him, although sinless himself, he bore the physical image of all mankind; and of him God said, “In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” Col. 2:9. And again we read, “God . . . hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, . . . who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person.” Heb. 1:1-3. I do not know what language could make this thought more plain. See also 1 Cor. 15:45-49; Luke 24:13-40. Are these scriptures meaningless? Are they intended to deceive? Daniel taught Nebuchadnezzar that Christ had a form before he came to this earth, or how could the king have said, “Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? . . . Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the

fourth is like the Son of God”? Dan. 3:24, 25. He recognized him as having a form like men.

Daniel also taught the ministration of angels, or how could the king have said, “Who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him”? Dan. 3:25-28. Are the wise philosophers of the twentieth century filled with greater wisdom than were those pious men who taught the personality of God, Christ, and angels? Angels ate and drank with Abraham, and in the person of travelers they have appeared to mankind many times since. For a further description of the personality of Christ, see Daniel 10 and Revelation 1.

God’s Habitation, or Dwelling Place

Third: God said to Moses, “Let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” Ex. 25:8. He could not dwell among Israel unless they built him a sanctuary. They had been in Egypt, where, in common with the Hindus, the belief was entertained that God was in cats and dogs, in cattle, in the Nile that flowed, and in everything that had life. It was the old mystic and pantheistic notion. They reasoned that as God was the author of life, and as his life was in all these things, so all the God there was pervaded all nature, both animate and inanimate; that there was no personal God in the heavens, but that God was everywhere, and nowhere in particular. Now to impress the minds of his people that he was a person, and had a dwelling place, and that this dwelling place was in heaven, and that their salvation depended upon their believing this, God said, “Let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” So about one year was occupied in building the sanctuary in the wilderness, with special instruction that it should be made according to the pattern shown in the mount. By this they learned that God has a sanctuary in the heavens, and in it there is a personal being. The sanctuary on the earth was the pattern, or figure, of the heavenly. Every ceremony in the law of Moses contained salvation, or prefigured some essential truth fulfilled in the gospel.

Hear the apostle’s comment on this: “Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have something also to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount.” Heb. 8:1-5. See also Heb. 9:8, 9, 24. The entire ninth chapter can be interpreted in no other way, save that there is a real sanctuary in heaven, and a personal God dwelling therein.

Fourth: The sanctuary built by Moses was the recognized dwelling place of Jehovah. It contained two apartments; in the inner apartment was the ark, in which was the law of God, and its covering was the mercy seat, and two cherubim stretching their wings over the law of God, between which was the glorious shekinah, showing the dwelling place of God in the heavenly sanctuary. Ex. 25:8; 26:33, 34; Rev. 4:1-3. This was the belief of every true prophet who lived on this earth, for God always gave the seer a view of his dwelling place while he was seated upon the throne in the sanctuary. The throne was not of gold or silver or ivory or diamonds, but a living throne, which moved wherever God saw fit, to go. Angels are God’s throne. Ezekiel 1. The earthly sanctuary had two apartments, as does the heavenly. In the worldly sanctuary the glory of God moved to the outer apartment, and from the outer apartment to the inner apartment. There was the place of God’s throne between the cherubim. Ex. 29:42, 43; 25:22; Lev. 16:2. So in 1844, at the sitting of the judgment the thrones were placed, and the “Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.”

Prophets Taught the Personality of God

Daniel also says, “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.” Dan. 7:9-13. God rode in his heavenly chariot when he came upon Sinai’s mount, where he and Christ stood side by side when Christ spoke the Father’s law. Deut. 33:2. David, inspired by the Lord, said, “He hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the Lord behold the earth; to hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death; to declare the name of the Lord in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem; when the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.” Ps. 102:19-22.

Again: “The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.” Ps. 103:19. Jeremiah says, “A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.” Jer. 17:12. If God has no personality, there is no sanctuary in heaven, for God dwells in it; there are no angels, for they compose his throne; there is no Satan, for he is a fallen angel, and was cast out of heaven (John 12:31; Luke 10:18); the Bible is a myth, and bears false testimony, because it declares all this.

Fifth: Our existence as a people is founded on a belief in the truths stated above. Seventh-day Adventists have their denominational existence this side of 1844. It was their belief in the prophecies that made them Adventists in the beginning. They believe the 2300 days, or years, of Dan. 8:14 pointed to the cleansing of the sanctuary. The date for the beginning of this period was 457-456 B. C., at the going forth of the commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. Ezra 7. This date is established by more than twenty eclipses; consequently the prophetic period ended in 1844. This separated the Adventists from other denominations. The proclamation of Revelation 10, that time was no longer, which the angel proclaimed from a little book, the book of Daniel, which was sealed until the time of the end, was a fulfilment of this prophecy. It was the first angel’s message of Revelation 14. It went to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

The investigative judgment of the righteous dead then and there began. 1 Peter 4:17. The seventh angel then sounded. Rev. 11:15. The temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament. Rev. 11:19. Soon the test came on the Sabbath question, for the law of God was seen in the light of the sanctuary. It was the great antitypical day of atonement, the beginning of the investigative judgment, when the thrones of judgment were placed. It was the beginning of the finishing of the mystery, the closing work of the gospel. About fifty years ago the great religious awakening all over the world upon the subject of the second coming of Christ bore testimony to this great fact.

Danger in Rejecting Truth

Many who had been Christians and were accepted in God’s sight neglected to study the Bible to see if these things were so, and were indifferent to the work in the heavenly sanctuary. So God sent a second message, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen.” Then came the most awfully solemn message that can be found in Holy Writ: “The third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveeth the mark of his name.” Rev. 14:9-11.

Therefore we repeat what we previously said, To deny the personality of God, is to deny the existence of the sanctuary in the heavens; for there God dwells. It is to deny the existence of the angels; for they are his throne. It is to deny the law of God; for it is the foundation of his throne. It is to deny the existence of Satan; for he is a fallen angel. It makes the light

and life which God created, and which proceeds from him, whether it be in the grass or in cats or dogs or in mankind, to be the god. Since man, however, is the highest form of light and life, he necessarily becomes the supreme deity. It leads men to worship the creature more than the Creator. We lift a warning voice against any such doctrine, from whatever source it comes. We say the Bible, and the Bible only, shall be our creed. In it is salvation.

Years ago while in Tasmania there was a woman lecturer who spoke against God and the Bible. A large number of young men in the city of Hobart became infatuated with her teaching. Some bemoaned that they had not such men as Hastings or Talmage of America to meet such blasphemy. At the close of one of the lectures the shrill voice of a woman, possibly at the age of seventy-five, attracted the audience before they dispersed. She pressed her way to the platform, and pointing her bony finger at the speaker, spoke, substantially, as follows: “I have lived threescore and ten years. God has removed my husband, and one child after another, until I am alone in this dark world. But God has sustained me! the hope of the future world has cheered me. Now you have taken away my God, and my hope, and what do you give me in his place?” Several times she repeated, “What do you give me in his place?” Here was an argument the blasphemer could not meet. Sinking into her chair, she said: “If you have a Christian’s hope, you had better keep it.” So we would say to those whose hair has whitened in the third angel’s message, as well as others who have more recently embraced the truth, those whom death has robbed of wives, of husbands, of children, of fathers and mothers, who have fallen asleep in the hope of the soon-coming King, as revealed in the Word of God. We point you to the heavenly sanctuary, to a faithful and merciful High Priest standing before the ark of God, who dwelleth between the cherubim. “We have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We were never of better courage; never did the light shine more clear and bright as we find ourselves amid the shoals and rocks in the harbor, just as the old ship is entering into port. God has never failed his people, and he will not do it now. Have courage, my brethren, have courage in the Lord. Hold fast to the main pillars of truth, and we shall soon meet around the throne of God, where we shall all see him face to face.