A DEVICE OF THE ADVERSARY.
The judgment alone will reveal how much infidelity has been caused by the unscriptural doctrine of the immortality of the soul, and its monstrous concomitant, the everlasting torment of those who do not believe in Christ. The learned Herbert Spencer, while not giving this as a cause of infidelity, does refer to it as a confirmatory element. The strange thing is that learned men, who insist on delving into scientific, or commercial, or political subjects to find truth for themselves, will take so much for granted in matters of religion. In a matter that concerns their eternal welfare, they will not question that some current doctrine is scriptural, while on mere temporal subjects they insist upon satisfying themselves through personal research. In order to see even a hint of inherent immortality in the Scriptures, one must have imbibed the idea from some other source before reading the Bible at all. With that doctrine inculcated in the mind, and taking it for granted that the Scriptures teach it, some certain Scripture expressions may be construed to support it. But when plain Scripture declarations, rather than pre-conceived opinion, are taken as the basis of study, and the more obscure texts interpreted by these, the student need not be led astray. The Scriptures speak of man as naturally mortal (Job 4:17; 14:7-12; 17:13; Acts 2:29-35; Rom. 6:12; 8:11; 2 Cor. 4:11; 5:4); but never as immortal, excepting as a result of faith in Christ, and that as a gift bestowed through a resurrection or translation at the coming of the Lord. Job 14:13-15; 19:25-27; 1 Cor. 15:50-54; 2 Tim. 4:7, 8. The Scriptures plainly teach us that the King of kings and Lord of lords “only hath immortality.” 1 Tim. 6:16. That “the wages of sin is death,” as stated by Paul in Rom. 6:23, is emphasized by the psalmist in Ps. 37:9-11, 20. The apostle John had a view of conditions when the plan of salvation shall have been finished, and he testifies: “Every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.” Rev. 5:13. God created all things for His pleasure (Ch. 4:11); and He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Eze. 18:23, 32; 33:11). Therefore He would not be likely to keep before Him eternally that in which He has no pleasure, and which could only be a source of horror to all His creatures. Our God is a God of love, and “His mercy endureth forever.” There is nothing vindictive in His character. The death of the wicked is the result of their wickedness and unbelief, and it is a mercy to them, and to all the universe that they are blotted out of existence. Their extinction will be as complete as the burning of stubble or chaff, and no power will be able to put out the destroying fire until it has utterly consumed them. Mal. 4:1, 2; Matt. 3:12; Luke 3:17. The eternal torment doctrine is a libel on God’s Word, and an unwarranted slur upon His character. It is a device of the adversary to turn men away from the truth.