The Sabbath-School by Ellet Joseph Waggoner

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Oct 23, 1884

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 10, No. 40.

The Sabbath-School.

By Ellet Joseph Waggoner

LESSON FOR THE PACIFIC COAST—NOV. 9.

Of what substance did God create man? Quote proof, and give reference.
What was given him to make him live?
In what part of man is this breath of life located?
When man's breath is taken away, what takes place? Job 34:14, 15.
What then becomes of the breath which caused him to live? Eccl. 12:7.
Is man the only creature that has this breath or spirit of life? Gen. 7:14, 15.
In what part of the beast is this breath placed? Gen. 7:21, 22.
When God takes away their breath, what becomes of them? Ps. 104:29.
Is the breath of the man any different from that of the beast? Eccl. 3:19.
Of what are both beasts and men composed? Verse 20.
To what do both classes alike return at death?
Is there any difference between the wise man and the fool in the matter of death? Ps. 49:10.
Does David agree with Solomon in saying that the death of men is the same as that of beasts? Verse 14.
If this is the case, what hope can a man have in life? Isa. 25:8; Job 19:25-27.
If there were to be no resurrection, would man be justified in living as the beast does? 1 Cor. 15:32.
Then in what does man have the pre-eminence above the beast?
Where do we find a graphic description of the resurrection? Eze. 37:1-12.
What did the prophet see? Verse 1.
Were the bones living? Verses 2, 3.
By what means did the Lord say he would cause them to live? Verses 5, 6.
When the prophet prophesied, what took place? Verses 7, 8.
When the bones, sinews, flesh, and skin were all in their proper place, what was still lacking? Verse 8.
What was the prophet next directed to say? Verse 9.
How were the bodies made to live? Verse 10.
Then for what purpose does God receive a man's breath or spirit of life when he dies?

In Gen. 2:7 we are told that "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." It does not say that a soul was put into man, whereby he might live, but that man himself became a living soul. We are sometimes told that man is a dual being, composed of body and soul, and that the first was formed of the dust, but that the latter is pure spirit. Without entering into a discussion of the subject of the soul, what it is, we are warranted, by the text just quoted, in saying that whatever different elements combine to form "man," were made of the dust of the ground. When the catechisms tell us that man is composed of body, soul, and spirit, then they must also claim that all these were formed of the dust, for "man" was formed of the dust. But the fact is, that which was formed of the dust was "man" before the breath or spirit of life was bestowed. He was a lifeless soul; but when breath was given, man became a living soul.

This conclusion is verified by Job 34:14, 15. The patriarch, speaking of God, says: "If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath; all flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust." After the breath is taken away, then man turns again to dust. That this breath may be called the spirit is shown by Job 27:3, 4, quoted in last week's lesson: "All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; my lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit." Here the spirit (called the spirit of God, because it came from God) is said to be in the nostrils, and that, it will be remembered, is where God placed the breath of life, which is the same thing.

In the light of the above texts, we can readily understand Eccl. 12:7, where, after having spoken of death, the wise man says: "Then shall the dust return to the earth, as it was; and the spirit shall return to God who gave it." This is no more than a repetition of Job 34:14, 15: "If he [God] gather to himself his [man's] spirit and his breath; all flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again to dust." Both texts teach simply this: that at death man returns to his original elements; that which was formed of the dust—the whole man—returns to the dust, and the spirit or breath, having come directly from God, returns to his keeping. There is no more reason for supposing that the spirit, as it returns to God, is conscious, than there is in supposing that the dust is conscious, or that the spirit was conscious before God bestowed it upon man, or that the breath, while in man's nostrils, was conscious. The dust of which man was formed was inanimate; man, after he was formed by the Creator, was inanimate, unconscious; and the spirit while yet in the hands of God was likewise without consciousness; but when the man and the spirit were brought together, conscious existence was the result. How this result was obtained is a secret known only to the Author of life.

This breath of life is something that man shares in common with the beasts. In the description of the flood we learn that every beast and creeping thing—"all in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died." Gen. 7:21, 22. It is not the possession of the breath or spirit of life that distinguishes man from the beast. In Ps. 104:28-30 we learn that their creation is effected by God sending forth his spirit, and that, as we learned concerning man, when he takes away their breath they die, and return to their dust. More than this, we are expressly told that there is no difference between the formation of man and the lower animals, nor in the elements composing them. We read: "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 have all one breath; so that a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast; for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, all turn to dust again." Eccl. 3:19, 20. This language is plain, and no apology is needed for it, because it is the language of inspiration. Let it be remembered that when the wise man says that a man has no pre-eminence above a beast, he is speaking of death. In that event all are alike. Here the parallel ends, for to man a resurrection is promised. In this life man has pre-eminence above the beast, because he is gifted with a moral nature, the faculty of distinguishing between right and wrong, and the power of loving the right because it is right. This the beast does not have. To all men a resurrection is promised, but not to beasts. If, however, it shall then appear that a part of mankind have lived as do the beasts, without regard to the future, they will die the second death, and then they will indeed be like the beasts that perish, for with that death their existence will forever end. Man's hope is in the resurrection; but he cannot have a well-grounded hope even in that, unless he seeks those things which are above.

Ezekiel 37:1-14 brings to view the literal resurrection of the dead. First the bones, sinews, muscles, and skin are arranged in proper order. At death these returned to the earth, but now they are re-formed. There are the complete bodies; but there is no breath in them. They are just as Adam was before God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. But at the command of the Lord the breath comes into the inanimate bodies, and they stand upon their feet, an exceeding great army. Some choose to apply all this to the bringing of literal Israel from the Babylonian captivity, but such an interpretation is of their own choosing, and not by divine authority. God himself (verse 12) says that it is the bringing of his people out of their graves, and this takes place when the Lord comes. 1 Thess. 4:15-17; John 5:28, 29. And thus we learn that when the spirit—that which causes man to live—returns to God at the death of the man, it is that he may bestow it again at the resurrection, when man shall live again.