Death and the Resurrection.
By Charles W. Stone
[The following article was written by my youngest son, who embraced religion at our Vermont Camp-meeting, held one year ago last August. When he wrote, he had no expectation of its passing through the press; but as several persons have expressed a wish to have it published in the REVIEW, I send it for that purpose if you think best to so use it. Mr. Wheelock, to whom the letter was sent, is pastor of the Congregational church of Cambridge, Vermont. Yours for the truth,
ALBERT STONE.] NEWPORT, Vt., Oct. 19, 1872. REV. MR. WHEELOCK—Dear Sir: You will please excuse me for taking the liberty to address you with reference to some ideas advanced by you in preaching the funeral sermon of my late brother-in-law. Be assured, kind sir, it is with the purest motives, the kindliest feelings, and a sincere desire that the truth may supplant error, wherever it may dwell, that I write. There are some points which you suggested that do not seem to me to be consistent with the teachings of the Bible. I will mention some of them, and endeavor to show you why I believe differently. If I am wrong, I sincerely desire to be enlightened. If, however, you should see new light upon these points, I shall be glad to have been instrumental in advancing the truth. The points which I desire to notice are these: The nature and time of the resurrection; and the condition of man after death. If I understand you correctly, you assert that the resurrection is simply the act of stepping into the “sphere of the higher life,” the change of habitation which the soul makes when it leaves the body and joins the heavenly host in the spirit world; and that it takes place at death. Now if this change is what the inspired writers refer to when they use the word resurrection; they must have made a wrong use of the word. Webster’s definition of the word is: “1. A rising again; the resumption of vigor. 2. Especially the rising again from the dead; the resumption of life.” Now it is self-evident that nothing can “rise again” that has not fallen, nothing can resume its vigor that has not lost its vigor; and nothing can resume its life that has not been dead. The soul, as you claim, cannot die; therefore it is absurd to talk of its resurrection. The body dies, we all admit; and no one claims that it is resurrected at death, indeed, that would be a useless claim; for we see the body put into the ground, and it is found there, years afterward. Resurrection can not, therefore, take place at death; nor can it mean simply a change from one condition of life to another; for, as we have seen, that which has never ceased can not be resumed. But what is the difficulty? The word is used in many places, and doubtless the Inspirer used a word, the meaning of which is relevant to the event referred to. As the word cannot apply to anything that takes place at death, we are led to look to some other time for the resurrection. And now let us go to the word of God for light upon the question, When does the resurrection take place? We read in 2 Tim. 2:18 (speaking of Hymenæus and Philetus), “who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already.” By this we see that the resurrection was not past at that time; also, it is spoken of as an event occurring at some definite time, not as death, every day. Furthermore, on this point notice that the word resurrection is nearly always preceded by the definite article the, which would not be the case were it a daily occurring event like death, which is generally used without the article. But hear the words of our Saviour: “Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life,” &c. That hour had not come in the days of the apostles, for Peter said, David “is both dead and buried; and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.” Acts 2:29. All, with a few exceptions, who have ever gone into their graves, are there to-day. We must therefore look for the resurrection in the future; and positive evidence on this point is abundant. But before considering this part of the question, it is proper that we consider the condition of man after death, or in death. Does the soul continue to live independent of the body? or does it require both soul and body to constitute a man, and when a man dies does soul as well as body die? Let us look at the creation of man, and see if we can find out of what he is composed. If the body is merely the house in which the man, the soul, lives, we shall doubtless find the record of man’s creation at least to imply the following: And God formed a body for man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the man, or the immortal soul, and the man was the living soul. But Gen. 2:7 reads as follows: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” What was it that God formed out of the dust of the ground? Man. There we have man all made; the bones, the muscles, the nerves, the brain, all perfect; and all that was wanting to set this man in motion was vitality. “And God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” As the electric, life-giving power of God was exercised upon the man by inflating his lungs with air, man’s heart began to beat, his blood to circulate, and as a result of this natural working of the organs of life, his brain, the organ of thought, began to work, he realized, he thought, he became a living soul. Before God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, man was evidently a lifeless soul. That which God formed, out of the dust was man. It was real, visible and tangible. After God breathed into it the breath of life, it (this same real, visible, and tangible man which God had formed) became a living soul, a real, visible, and tangible living soul. From this it is evident that it takes the whole man to constitute the soul spoken of in Gen. 2:7; that the man became, and is now, the living soul; and hence the soul is the man. If this point is well established by the word of God—and in my mind it very clearly is—what follows when man dies? It follows that the man, the whole man, the soul, dies. God said to the man, the living soul, “In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die,” or, “dying, thou shalt die.” Gen. 2:17, and margin. What did God mean? Did he mean to say to Adam, In the day that thou eatest thereof thy body shall begin to die, and when thy body dies thou shalt arise to a “higher life?” There would be little terror in such a threat as that; but “the wages of sin is death.” Rom. 6:23. But God said to the man, “Thou shalt surely die.” Satan said, “Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Here the serpent contradicted God, and said they should not die though they should disobey. But the sequel proves the serpent a deceiver. The Bible says, The serpent beguiled Eve; they ate of the forbidden fruit; Adam died; Eve died. On every hand hundreds are to-day falling under the sentence of the Almighty, “Thou shalt surely die.” But philosophers tell us we are possessed of bodies, corruptible in their nature, and that they would die if man had never sinned; but the soul is immortal, and can never die though man did sin. Now if this were so it would be more proper to say that the Lord beguiled man by making him believe that death was the consequence of sin, and not of his nature. But no such impious conclusion follows the truth. Christ says, Matt. 8:44, The devil “was a murderer from the beginning, . . . he is a liar, and the father of it.” He is a murderer in that he beguiled our first parents to do that which he knew would entail death upon the whole human race. It is very evident that when God said, Thou shalt surely die, he said it to the man, the soul; and if we believe the word of God, we can hardly ask, “Does the soul die?” God has said that it shall, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Eze. 18:4. “And every living soul died in the sea.” Rev. 16:3. But, says one, you would make out that men die like beasts. A Methodist preacher, the Rev. Mr. Bushnell of Richford, Vt., said in my hearing, “Some people think that men die like beasts.” David was one of that class. “Nevertheless, man being in honor abideth not; he is like the beasts that perish.” “Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed upon them.” Ps. 49:12, 14. Solomon was another who believed the same thing. “For that which befalleth the sons of men, befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they all have one breath; so that a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast.” “All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.” Eccl. 3:19, 20. Here are several very important statements. Let us examine them. The wise man is comparing the sons of men with beasts. He says, “As the one dieth, so dieth the other.” He also says, “They have all one breath.” What breath have the sons of men? The breath of life. Gen. 2:7. Then the beasts have the breath of life too; and if that makes them immortal, it also makes beasts immortal. If this breath of life (and that is all that was added after God formed man) is itself an immortal soul, then beasts have immortal souls. But until we have some evidence that men have such an attribute, or such a soul, let us not believe that beasts are so endowed. In the 21st verse of the same chapter, Solomon says, “Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?” Who knoweth? The plain inference, and the necessary one, when we consider that he had just said, “All go to the same place;” is that NO one knoweth any such thing. The soul goes into the grave. “But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave.” Ps. 49:15. The soul of Christ was made an offering for sin. Isa. 53:10. His soul died and was laid in the grave. “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell [the grave]; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” Ps. 16:10; Acts 2:31. In accordance with this, Christ said to Mary after his resurrection, “I am not yet ascended to my Father.” John 20:17. While the popular view would take him to Heaven at death, he positively says he had not been there. He was in the grave till his Father called him. Job says: “If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee.” Job 14:14, 15. Job has asked a very important question, and answered affirmatively. “Thou shalt call, and I will answer.” But before this, he speaks of waiting. Well, where is Job going to wait? If we can find out where faithful Job is going to wait, that will settle the whole controversy as to the condition of man after death. Let Job himself tell us. “If I wait, the grave is mine house.” Chap. 17:13. Having found that Job went into the grave at death, and is waiting there, one would hardly ask, Is he conscious? But, lest any one should, Job has said, chap. 14:21, “His sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not,” &c. Solomon says, “The living know that they shall die,” and that is the simplest kind of knowledge; “but the dead know not anything.” Now let us see what we find established in the word of God. 1. The resurrection has not yet taken place. 2. When a man dies, a soul dies, and goes into the grave and waits there all the days of its appointed time. 3. While there, the dead soul does not know anything. Right here let me respectfully call your attention to a statement you made when speaking of the deceased: “This father can watch over his children, and love them with perhaps a stronger love than ever before.” These may not be the same words, but the idea is the same. In the light of what we have seen in pursuing the subject thus far, you must be wrong in that statement. Can we find anything in the Bible that intimates that the spirits of the departed watch over the living, or have anything to do with anything that is done under the sun? It may be said that Moses and Elias, in a certain sense, watched over Christ while upon earth, and did at one time actually appear and talk with him, thus proving the existence of the intelligent, immortal soul after death. Moses and Elias did certainly appear; but this proves no general rule for the condition of man after death. They did not appear as immaterial spirits, either, but as material bodies. Elias never died, but was taken to Heaven bodily. 2 Kings 2:11. It is altogether likely then that when he appeared upon the mount, he appeared with the same body that “went up by a whirlwind into Heaven.” Moses died; and God buried him. Deut. 34:5, 6. It is now very proper to ask the question, How, if “the dead know not anything,” could Moses appear and talk with Jesus? We answer, only in one way: God must have raised him from the dead. In proof of this read Jude 9, where we learn that Michael, the archangel, had a dispute, a contention with the devil about the body of Moses. From all these facts in regard to Moses, the necessary inference drawn from Jude 9 is, that the mighty archangel, Michael, was dispatched to the grave of Moses to raise him from the dead; that the devil claimed him as his lawful prisoner, that Michael prevailed in the contention and raised the body of Moses. Therefore34we see how it is that Moses could appear upon the mount bodily with Elias. The resurrection of Moses is an exception to the general rule; for way down this side of the transfiguration, Peter says of David, who died “full of days, riches, and honor,” that he is dead now, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day. Acts 2:29. The appearance of Moses and Elias, then, is very far from proving the existence of an immaterial, immortal soul, or, in fact, anything general that has taken place. Jesus had promised his disciples that some of them should not taste of death till they saw the kingdom of God. Luke 9:27. This was verified a few days after upon the mount where the kingdom of God was represented. Christ, as the king, was arrayed in glory. Moses was there to represent those subjects of that kingdom who shall be raised from the dead; Elias, to represent those who will be living at the coming of Christ, and changed and caught up without seeing death. No; the dead do not watch over the living, neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun. Eccl. 9:6. Do they love us? “Their love, their hatred, and their envy, is now perished.” Eccl. 9:6. How clear is the truth upon this point! Yes, when a man dies, a soul ceases to love, goes into the grave, does not think, does not live, but waits there till the Lifegiver calls. Whatever tradition may have taught us, let us believe God’s word. Let us briefly now consider the time of the resurrection and we will then close this somewhat lengthy article. Job says that a man shall live again. When? Job. “All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come.” “Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee.” Job 14:14. Job is going to live again when the Lord calls him. And not only Job, but all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth. John 5:28. When shall that voice which awakes the dead be heard? “When the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thess. 4:16, 17. Has the Lord descended from Heaven with a shout? or have the dead in Christ been raised and the living caught up with them in the clouds? No one will presume to assert it. Then we look into the future for the resurrection. When did Martha expect that the resurrection would take place? Speaking of Lazarus, she said, “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” John 11:24. What is meant by the “last day?” Does it mean the last day of a man’s life, and thus the passage above prove that the resurrection takes place at death? By no means, for Lazarus had been dead four days, verse 39, and Martha was looking forward to the resurrection; “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” In John 6:40, also, we find that the resurrection takes place at the last day. “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one that seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” We found in Thessalonians that the dead will be raised when Christ comes in the clouds of heaven with the voice of the archangel, &c. We find here that the dead are to be raised at the last day; therefore the last day is at the coming of Christ. Let us settle this point with one more quotation: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order; Christ the first-fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.” 1 Cor. 15:22, 23. But some will ask, With what kind of a body will they be raised? Will it be an invisible, immaterial body? or a visible, material body, for the body is raised. “It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.” 1 Cor. 15:44. Yes; the body is to be raised; raised a spiritual body. What kind of a body is a spiritual body? Oh! says one, it is an immaterial, ethereal body. That is almost a contradiction of terms. Now it seems to me that although our natural bodies are not spiritual bodies, yet, a spiritual body may be a very natural one. But we are not left to conjecture on this point. Phil. 3:21 says that Christ “shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body.” What kind of a body did Christ have after his resurrection? Ans. “It is raised a spiritual body.” Then he had a spiritual body. It was a perfectly natural body too. It was not an ethereal, immaterial body; for he said to Thomas, “Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand and thrust it into my side.” He showed Thomas the same marks that were made upon his natural body, still existing upon his spiritual body. He told his disciples to handle him, and assured them that he had flesh and bones; and we are told that our bodies will be like his. They will be made spiritual, incorruptible. We learn the same fact in other places. “We know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him.” 1 John 3:2. We ask, In what manner will Christ appear? and with what body? for we are to be like him. In Acts 1:9, 10, 11, we read: “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” Shall so come in like manner. Christ went into Heaven with a spiritual, tangible, material, glorious body. When he comes, then, he will come in the clouds of heaven. Matt. 24:30; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27; 1 Thess. 4:16; Rev. 1:7: “And every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him.” And the prints of the nails in his hands and feet, and the scar which the spear made in his side, will be visible as glorious proofs of his having fulfilled the law by suffering the penalty, that whosoever should believe on him need not perish, but have everlasting life. They will be visible; for he is coming with the same material body with which he ascended—“shall so come in like manner.” And we shall be made like him. Does that agree with what Job says? Chap. 19:25, 26. “For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.” Yes; when Job lives again he will have flesh and bones as Christ did. How consistent is the Bible! What a chain of truth from beginning to end! Let us go to the Bible for our belief, and build our faith upon the rock of God’s word. From that word I have learned that, 1. Man does not possess an immortal soul. “The King of kings and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality.” 1 Tim. 6:16. Immortality is to be sought after. Rom. 2:7. Therefore we do not possess it. It is the gift of God through Jesus Christ. Rom. 6:23. Therefore it is something that we do not inherit by nature. 2. When a man dies, the whole man, or soul, dies and goes into the grave. 3. It waits there unconscious till the voice of the archangel shall sound, when the dead in Christ will arise, the living be changed and caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. This is the first resurrection. “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection, on such the second death hath no power.” The wicked dead will not be raised till a thousand years after. See Rev. 20. I leave the subject here, praying that God will enable you to see the beauty of this blessed truth as it is in his word. The subject is not exhausted, the proof not half used, but one “thus saith the Lord” is sufficient. I believe the end is near; that soon the voice of the archangel will be heard, soon will he who has the keys of death and the grave unlock the prison doors and bid his jewels awake. May we so live that whether we sleep or whether we remain, we can exclaim when we hear his voice, Lo! this is our God, we have waited for him, and he will come and save us. Sincerely yours with respect,
CHARLES W. STONE.