p. 7 | HE IS MISTAKEN

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jul 26, 1899

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 25, No. 30.

HE IS MISTAKEN.

Mortal or Immortal?

A WRITER, in what claims to be a "Gospel" paper, takes nearly four long columns to point out "errors of Adventism." The first error is, "Our Adventist friends do not claim to be saved now, but teach that no one will be saved till Christ comes." There may be Adventists who do not believe themselves saved, but Adventists generally do not teach this. They know and teach that the only time to be truly saved is now. If we are not saved now, what will we do when the coming of Jesus is now? If He is not our Saviour now, will He be when the then becomes now? Praise God, He is a present Saviour from sin. Our friend is mistaken. He does not understand Adventist teaching.

The "second error" is that Adventists believe and teach that the soul is mortal. Says one: "Show me one text in the Bible containing the phrase 'immortal soul.'" I can not do that, but I can show several texts that clearly teach the immortality of the soul. Before I do this I desire to call upon the "mortal-soulists" to cite me to a text in the Bible where the phrase "mortal soul" is used. Since neither phrase, "immortal soul" or "mortal soul," appears in the Bible, we can only appeal to scriptures bearing on the subject for a decision. The word mortal as applied to the soul by soul-sleepers and others, signifies subject to death. The word immortal signifies never-dying. To make this a little plainer, people who talk about souls being mortal, refer to their subjection to physical death. If we prove by the Bible that the soul is not subject to physical death, it will be clearly demonstrated to the honest-hearted that it is immortal. "To the law and to the testimony."

This is simple and good. Let the Word decide it. The word "soul" in the Old Testament comes from the Hebrew word "nephesh." The Bible does not say in these words, "the nephesh is mortal;" but it says it in a way that is equally clear and positive.

1. In Gen. 1:24 we read, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature [nephesh] after his kind." But in Gen. 7:22 we learn that these living creatures (souls) died.

2. The soul of sinful man was so clearly mortal, subject to death, that in the scriptures inclosed in marks of parentheses (Lev. 21:11; Num. 6:6; 9:6, 7; Hag. 2:13) and others it is translated "dead body." In Lev. 19:28; Num. 5:2, and five other places, nephesh is rendered "dead." And in Deut. 19:11 the same word is translated "mortally."

3. Moreover we read twice, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Eze. 18:4, 20. "Will ye pollute Me," the Lord says to the wicked, "to save the souls alive that should not live?" Eze. 13:19. Why deceive the wicked by "promising him life," by telling him that he has an immortal soul, when he has it not? See Eze. 13:22.

There is much more testimony in the same line. Again our friend is mistaken. He does not understand the Scriptures.

God "only hath immortality" (1 Tim. 6:16), and He will bestow it when Christ comes, upon all those whose character is perfect in Him (1 Cor. 15:51-54).