TWO OBJECTS OF SATANIC MALICE.
By G.
THERE are two points of doctrine against which Satanic energy is especially directed, namely, the Sabbath and the resurrection. But these are made very conspicuous by the Scripture reference to the final triumph of God’s people over the delusions of the last days. In connection with the last messages of mercy to the world, and the warning that the wrath of God will be poured out without mixture upon those who reject these final overtures of divine grace, there appears upon the scene “they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14:12. Here are the crowning evidences of the nature of the conflict thru which the true disciples of Christ must pass, and the character of the victory which they are to win. Their distinctive triumph is attained after long patience. Their introduction to the reader is prefixed by the declaration, “Here is the patience of the saints.” They will have been “patient in tribulation” (Rom. 12:12), having come “out of great tribulation,” and “washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Rev. 7:14. In that victorious moment “the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” will loom up together as invulnerable, as co-triumphant. The long-continued onslaughts of the enemy will have signally failed. The triumph of the Gospel is the triumph of the law of God—the triumph of His government in the universe. As to the two specific doctrines, or objects, of Satanic malice, we will note, first, the one in the law,—the Sabbath. The fourth commandment of the Decalog contains the seal of the law, and that which is a “sign” between God and His people forever. If that be broken, the whole law is vitiated. The purpose of Satan is to break down the authority of God, hence the attack upon His law. The Sabbath is specifically a memorial of the true God and His wonderful works. Faithfully to “remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy” would be a perpetual barrier to idolatry. Continued neglect of the Sabbath obligation always resulted in open idolatry in Israel. To such an extent did their apostasy go that the Lord finally turned them over to captivity under idolatrous nations, with the decree that the kingdom should have no more existence until “He come whose right it is” (Eze. 21:25–27); whose throne is forever and ever, and the scepter of whose kingdom is a right scepter. Ps. 45:6. The captivity in Babylon put an end to formal idolatry among the Jews. After that they were very strenuous in their observance of the Sabbath day. But in time the enemy, taking advantage of their zeal and their proneness to mere formality in worship, led them to add works of their own to the legitimate services of the day. These were multiplied until the Sabbath was made an almost intolerable burden. From one extreme they were unwittingly led to another by the same influence that had misguided them in the first instance. At length the “traditions of the elders” became the basis of their religious doctrine. This was carried to such an extent that when Christ was on earth He said that they had rejected the law of God that they might keep their own traditions. Mark 7:7–9. This was notably true of their Sabbath traditions, and it was because Christ would not indorse their traditions regarding this particular commandment that they the more eagerly sought to put Him to death. See Matt. 12:10–14; John 5:10–16. As Sabbath-breaking led directly to pagan idolatry, so paganism in turn instituted the Sunday holiday as a leading feature of sun-worship, and a rival of the Sabbath of the Lord. And eventually apostate Christianity so far compromised with paganism as to adopt its “solar holiday” and reject the true Sabbath. Like the Jews, only in another way, they were led to make the commandments of God of none effect by their traditions. Matt. 15:1–9. And this tradition is being made even more prominent in these days as a lever by which the adversary of Christ would overturn the Sabbath of which He is Lord. Mark 2:28. Thus would the enemy strike a vital blow at the observance of the law of God, which is “the whole duty of man.” Eccl. 12:13. Full well this adversary knows that to “offend in one point” is to be “guilty of all.” James 2:10. Concerning the faith of Jesus, the one prominent point of attack on the part of the destroyer of souls is the resurrection. He knows that “if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen; and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.” 1 Cor. 15:13, 14. So the resurrection of the dead is a vital feature of “the faith of Jesus.” Before Christ came to earth, Satan had succeeded in poisoning the minds of even the people of God on this subject. The world was full of confusing theories concerning the pre-existence of the living, and a future existence after death. All of these would preclude the necessity of a resurrection of the body in order to attain to an immortal state. Many of the Jews were believers in the immortality of the soul, which would make the resurrection of the body a matter of secondary importance at most; but the Sadducees denied any possibility of a future existence at all. Acts 23:8. Not even the disciples of Christ believed that Jesus would be raised from the dead on the third day after His crucifixion. But He had said that He would rise, and Satan, while anxious that He should not be raised, was determined, if possible, to break the influence of such an event in case it should occur. So the priests and rulers were reminded that Christ had said He would rise on the third day, and, ostensibly to avoid imposition upon the people, they asked that a guard be kept at the tomb, lest His disciples should steal the body and declare that He was risen. And so determined were they to squelch all faith in Christ, that when they heard that He was actually risen, they hired the watchmen to say that while they slept the disciples stole the body and carried it away. Notwithstanding the absurdity of the story, it was extensively circulated and believed. But this was not the end of the strife against the doctrine of the resurrection. It found its way into the Christian church. Paul had to contend against it in at least two forms. In the church at Corinth there were those who said there was “no resurrection of the dead.” 1 Cor. 15:12. And Paul writes to Timothy of two men named Hymenaeus and Philetus, “who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.” 2 Tim. 2:17, 18. Even unto this day the deceptions and efforts to break down this fundamental doctrine have not abated, but rather increased. The doctrine of man’s inherent immortality is prolific of more variations than any other rival of the resurrection truth that has yet been conceived by Satanic cunning. That is the main fountain from which all the others flow, as indeed from which flow all forms of unbelief. The natural-immortality doctrine would overturn the whole Gospel theory. It says the soul of man never dies; it lives on forever, whether saved or lost. But God’s Word replies, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Eze. 18:4, 20. “Sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4. “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life thru Jesus Christ our Lord.” Rom. 6:23. The Sabbath commandment stands out prominently as a representative of the immutable law of God, and the resurrection of the dead is an essential feature of “the faith of Jesus.” For this reason we see all the shafts of Satanic malice, and all the arts of Satanic deception, brought to bear to annul the influence of these vital doctrines. “But the Word of the Lord endureth forever.” 1 Peter 1:25. G.