The Wicked Dead Will Be Raised.
By Wm. C. Gage
I NOTICED an article in Review No. 4 present volume, headed: "Will the wicked dead be raised?" Will Wm. C. Gage explain the following passages of scripture, so they will harmonize with his views on that subject, and oblige one who desires to know the truth. Job xxiv, 19, 20; Psa. xlix, 14, 19, 20; Prov. xxi, 16; Isa. xxvi, 14; Isa. xliii, 17; Jer. li, 39, 57; Amos viii, 14; Luke xx, 35, 36; John iii, 36; Philippians iii, 10, 11. JUDSON BARKER. REPLY. I have always held the opinion that the wicked dead will be raised, and this opinion has been strengthened and confirmed by a recent investigation of the subject, although I have not examined all the objections which may be urged against it; and should I be unable to satisfactorily explain all those objections, I shall simply fall back upon the position taken in the article in question; a position also claimed by, and granted to the other side of the question: "If a doctrine is founded on the immutable principles of God's word, then all scripture must and will harmonize with it; and if a literal construction of such scripture is not in unison with those fixed principles, then they must be understood in a figurative sense." I am requested to explain certain texts so that they will harmonize with my views on the subject. If those views are founded on scripture principles, of course these texts will harmonize with them and must be so explained; not but what objections may be raised against every truth; for there is always room for those who will doubt. Perhaps it might be proper to examine first the foundation or basis of our structure, and see if it can be shaken, but I shall take it for granted that my questioner has already done so and shall proceed at once to an examination of the texts in the order given. 1. JoB xxiv, 19, 20. "Drought and heat consume the snow water; so doth the grave those which have sinned. The womb shall forget him, the worm shall feed sweetly on him, he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree." The first point we wish to establish in this case is that the term "grave," here used, does not necessarily denote the state of temporal death, but that it refers to the future destruction of the wicked. The peculiarity of this "grave" is that it consumes those which have sinned. The Hebrew literally rendered reads thus; "Drought and heat violently take the snow waters; so doth the grave," &c. Now it is not true that temporal death violently takes the wicked and none other; for it is often the case that the easiest deaths are theirs, while violent deaths are the lot of all classes. Again, this takes place at a time when wickedness shall be broken as a tree, which cannot be at the death of any single wicked person, but must be when sin and sinners shall be swept off the face of the earth, and righteousness will75have supreme sway; then will the trunk, roots and all be "broken" and not a single branch alone as would be the case in the death of a single transgressor. The "worm" which feeds on them synchronizes with that of Isa. lxvi, 24, which we understand to be at the ushering in of the new earth state. 2. PSALM xlix, 14, 19, 20. "Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them, and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning, and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling. He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light. Man that is in honor, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish." We understand the Psalmist is here endeavoring to prove, not that because a man is in honor he is to perish, but that notwithstanding his honor he is no better than the beast in respect to life. That is, all his wealth and glory do not enable him to save his life. By reading the Psalm through carefully you will see that this is evidently the argument. Verses 7-9 state that no amount of wealth will enable a man to give God a ransom for his brother, so that he shall live forever and not see corruption; and verse 12 argues that although a man may be in honor yet he "abideth not," and is like the beasts that perish. This being the burden of the Psalm we may easily conclude that the word "never" may have a limited application, relating only to a temporal state, especially as the Hebrew word from which it is translated is sometimes rendered "neither," "not," "not for a long time," &c. But it may be objected that they are "like the beasts that perish," and therefore will have no resurrection. In Job vii, 9, we find language as strong as this, in reference to all the dead. "As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away; so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more." Eccl. iii, 17-21, shows us that man so far as relates to this mortal life, has no pre-eminence above the beast, for "as one dieth so dieth the other." Now compare these scriptures together and you will clearly see that the Psalmist's argument is this; man is destined to die, and to perish like the beast; those who are in honor and have an abundance of wealth are no better off in this respect than all others, for they too must perish like the beast. 3. PROVERBS xxi, 16. "The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead." As the context does not show when this text applies we shall endeavor to harmonize it with the scripture statement that "all that are in their graves shall come forth," and conclude that those who wander out of the way of understanding will remain in the congregation of the dead after having been consigned there by the second death. 4. ISA. xxvi, 14. "They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise, therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish." We claim that this entire chapter is prophetic, and relates to a time yet in the future, when "the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity." Verse 21. Many of the prophecies which are to have a future fulfillment are written in the present or past tense. Especially is this the case with the prophecies relating to the great day of the Lord. As the flame of inspiration fired up the hearts of God's ancient prophets, the awful scenes attending the coming of the King and the destruction of his enemies were vividly presented before them, and we find them describing those events as though they were then transpiring before them. Verse 1 of this chapter locates this prophecy in the land of Judah in that day, and we believe that in that day, the day of God's visitation, when other lords will have been destroyed, and he shall be King of kings and Lord of lords, then his people may exclaim, "they are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise; therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them and made all their memory to perish." 5. ISA. xliii, 17. "Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise, they are extinct, they are quenched as tow." We believe this text has no reference to a resurrection of any kind, but it simply teaches that when the Lord prostrates a powerful army he does it beyond the prospect of a recovery. Now what is there in this text to prove that the wicked dead will not have a resurrection? It says the chariot and horse will not rise, and along with them it reckons the army and the power, and we believe the army there referred to never did rise, and as an army never will rise, but this does not preclude the possibility of a resurrection of the wicked individuals composing that army. 6. JER. li, 39, 57. "In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the Lord." "And I will make drunk her princes and her wise men, her captains and her rulers and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake, saith the King whose name is the Lord of hosts." The objection found in these passages is probably contained in the word "perpetual." If it can be shown that the term signifies absolutely unlimited duration then the objection may be considered a weighty one, but if on the contrary, it may be limited and proved to have only a temporal application, then it becomes comparatively insignificant. This threat is uttered, we understand, against the men of Babylon. At the time of its destruction they were to be compelled to sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake. Shall we necessarily infer that they will not come up in the resurrection, when they that have done evil are to come forth? We frequently say of those who have died that they have slept the sleep which knows no waking, yet we confidently expect they will come up in the first resurrection. Thus we consider this language has a temporal application only, and signifies that those who were destroyed at that time were to sleep the sleep of death from which there is no waking until the resurrection. Lest some might cling to the word "perpetual" we will examine it further, and see what it signifies where it occurs in other places. The types and shadows of the ceremonial law were many of them called perpetual and yet we know they all ceased at the cross. They were perpetual so far as they related to that system of armament, but no farther. In Hab. iii, we find a prophecy evidently relating to the closing scenes of earth's history. Verse 6 tell us of a time when the everlasting mountains shall be scattered and the perpetual hills bow, which is undoubtedly the time when the hills will "remove from their places," "melt like wax," &c. When everlasting mountains and perpetual hills come to nought, then perhaps, at, or near, that time, the perpetual sleep of the Babylonians will be broken. 7. AMOS viii, 14. "They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy God O Dan, liveth; and the manner of Beer-sheba liveth; even they shall fall and never rise up again." We consider this text as similar to the preceding having its application in a temporal state. If this assertion is made in regard to a certain class, that is, wicked men, and contains a principle within itself, it is of course true of all wicked men, and the men of Nineveh will "never rise up again," notwithstanding our Saviour says they shall "rise up" in judgment against the wicked generation of his time. 8. LUKE xx, 35, 36. "But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage, neither can they die any more; for they are equal unto the angels, and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection." If you will examine the article which called forth these questions, you will see that we there take the position that the resurrection, when spoken of as the hope of the church, signifies the resurrection to eternal life, and does not necessarily include the resurrection of the wicked. We understand the term is so used in this case. "The resurrection from the dead" harmonizes completely, with our view of two resurrections, for the first of them will be from the dead, or as another translation reads, "out from among the dead," leaving the wicked to slumber on "until the thousand years are finished." It may be asked, why should the simple term, "the resurrection," be used if there are two resurrections? to which we reply, if there is only one resurrection why do we find the term "the resurrection of the just?" Luke xiv, 14. Such an expression would be entirely superfluous if there was not also to be a resurrection of the unjust. 9. JOHN iii, 36. "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." In explaining this text we shall first inquire, "What are we to understand by the expression wrath of God?" Does it necessarily mean death? By no means. In most cases where the term is used we understand it to mean the just displeasure of God in consequence of disobedience. By transgression man became mortal, and while the wrath of God abides on him he must remain so. Now notice the contrast presented in the text; those who believe on the Son have everlasting life, or become immortal (by promise only, of course), that is, the wrath of God no longer abides upon them, having been removed by belief on Christ; while those who believe not the Son remain mortal, or the wrath of God still abides upon them, and they shall not see life. What life? That which is attained by belief on the Son, namely, everlasting life. 10. PHIL. iii, 10, 11. "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead." In giving an explanation of this passage we wish to state our position clearly in regard to the resurrection of the wicked, that we may be fairly understood. Much breath, ink and paper, have been expended in the attempt to prove that natural life is restored to the wicked through Christ, which we believe is not a tenable position. The resurrection through Christ is a glorious one, in which the dead will be raised incorruptible, and this, we understand is the reason why Paul desired to "know him and the power of his resurrection." As we have previously shown by reference to John v, 21, a portion of the dead will be raised by the Father and another by the Son, and as the resurrection through the Son will be to eternal life, our earnest desire, like that of the apostle, should be to "know him and the power of his resurrection." We believe the resurrection of the wicked is no part of the plan of salvation, but simply a portion of God's great plan of justice and equality; and that the Scriptures plainly teach it, we cannot for a moment doubt. In answering these objections we have been as brief as the importance of the subject would permit, but have endeavored to deal fairly with them, having as our object the knowledge of the truth as taught in God's word. That all who read this article will be satisfied with the manner in which the texts are explained is too much to expect, yet we hope it has been shown that they do not teach that the wicked dead will never rise, although their true meaning may not be clearly understood.
WM. C. GAGE.