p. 116 | TO CORRESPONDENTS

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Apr 10, 1879

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

6. THE 2300 DAYS.

C. R. Voorheis: Our views of the 2300 days, and the events to transpire at their close, are fully set forth in the work entitled, The Sanctuary and its Cleansing.

7. THE ABOLISHED LAW.

What law was it to which reference is had when it is said that Jesus took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross? F. STEWART.

ANS. The law of types and shadows. The apostle qualifies all his statements on this point by saying, “Which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ.” Col. 2:17. For an answer to your other queries, and for a full exposition of the distinction between the two laws, moral and ceremonial, we refer you to the pamphlet, “The Two Laws.”

8. THE COVENANTS.

1. Is the word covenant applicable to a law, when that law is not related to, or has no connection with, a contract? 2. What is the sense of the word covenant in Ex. 19:5? 3. Could “written and engraven in stones,” 2 Cor. 3:7, have reference to Deut. 27:2, 3; Josh. 8:32? H. A. S.

ANS. 1. No; but is not a contract implied in all law; namely, that by obeying we are to receive, and by disobeying we forfeit, certain benefits? 2. We understand that by the word “covenant,” in Ex. 19:5, God refers to his moral law, called his covenant, because it is the condition of that original and universal contract which God entered into with the human race, through Adam. 3. We do not think that 2 Cor. 3:7 can refer to the scriptures named in this question; for the time to which Paul evidently points us is the time when Moses came down from the mount with the tables of stone in his hand, and was obliged to veil his face on account of the glory of his countenance.

9. WAS ADAM IMMORTAL?

Did Adam and Eve possess immortality before their fall? W. C.

ANS. In one sense, yes; in another, no. Mortal means “subject to death;” but to this they were not subject so long as they refrained from sin, and thus perpetuated their access to the tree of life. In this sense they were not mortal; and as immortal means not mortal, in this sense they were immortal. But immortal is also defined to mean, “exempt from liability to die;” and this exemption they did not possess; for they were liable to sin, and did sin, and thereby incurred death; in this sense they were mortal. The reader may, perhaps, more readily comprehend their condition, if he will consider what his own would be, should he, in his present state, be granted access to the tree of life, and be told that as long as he, through obedience, maintained that relation and partook of that tree, he would live; but if he sinned, which it was possible for him to do, he would be denied longer access to the tree, and death would follow. Under these circumstances, reader, which would you be, mortal or immortal?