Earlier text: Marriage and United LaborsThe Bride of Christ.
By James White
TEXT: "And there came unto me one of the seven angels, which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife." Rev. 21 : 9. In the description of the city the prophet continues :— "And the building of the wall of it was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass." Would God the professed church of Jesus Christ was pure gold; but we venture to say that in the popular church of our day there is not more than one per cent pure gold, and we very much question whether there is more than ten per cent pure gold in the best church under the heavens. We might continue this form of reasoning to almost any extent; but the foregoing is sufficient to show the unsoundness of the figurative interpretation and to establish the only safe rule of interpretation that every text of the sacred scriptures should be understood as meaning just what it says unless by the text and the context there is the clearest proof that a figure or parable is introduced. When we attach the mystical application to these texts, we find ourselves in the fields of fancy, where there are as great a variety of interpretations as there are fanciful interpreters. These will deny the personality of God and of Christ, although Paul in writing to the Hebrew Christians says :— "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." Heb. 1 : 1-3. Two things are here plainly stated. 1. That Christ is in the image of his Father, and that both of them are personal beings. Those who can deny the personality of the Father and Son with such language before them, will not find the least difficulty in turning the literal city of our God into mist and moonshine. They shut up the very heavens, and hide from the people the tangible glories of God, his Son, the holy city, the heavenly sanctuary and the ministration of our adorable Redeemer. When we once adopt a mystical and imaginary interpretation, there is no stopping place. God, we are told, is an invisible spirit diffused throughout the universe; Christ when he ascended up on high immediately ceased to be a being that could be seen; his return is a spiritual coming, making the blessed angels make a false statement at the mount of ascension when they said, "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." Acts 1:11. Go one step farther, and the literal resurrection of the dead is denied, and they too become immaterial spirits, and you can adopt the language of the old hymn, "Beyond the bounds of time and space,
Look forward to that heavenly place,
The saints secure abode."
Space is somewhere. Beyond space is nowhere. An immaterial spirit cannot be seen, cannot be weighed, cannot be measured; in act, it is simply nothing. Then, according to the theology expressed in the above lines, when God's dear saints go to heaven it is nothing—going nowhere. These interpreters can just as easily dispose of the new earth which is to be the saint's inheritance; but the reasoning of the apostle Peter is to the point. He speaks of three worlds. The world that drowned by the waters of the flood, the world that now is and is reserved unto fire, and the world that shall be when purified by fire and restored to its Eden glory. He says :— "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water; whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished. But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." 2 Peter 3:3-7. These three worlds are three conditions of our sphere and are not to be understood as figurative but literal. If we understand them as figurative we can as easily have a figurative Noah, a figurative flood, figurative men who were drowned figuratively by figurative water, as a figurative earth, but a view which involves so many absurdities should be abandoned. No sane man will question the existence of the patriarch Noah, or that he built a literal ark, or that the inhabitants of the Noatic world, were drowned, literally drowned. Being forced to admit these plain facts in sacred history, they are compelled to admit also that the world that now is, is reserved unto literal fire, and that the new heavens and the new earth will be this world when sin and sinners cease to exist, and when the throne of God and the Lamb shall be located upon it, and they reign as tangible beings throughout the ceaseless rounds of eternal ages. The prophet continues the description of the city and the beings that shall dwell in it. "And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." In that city will be the thrones of both God and the Lamb, and the water of life will flow out from them. "In the midst of the street of it, [or, as another translation reads, broad street of it, showing that there are many streets, but one grand thoroughfare], and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." We read of but one tree of life in all the Bible. Man in his purity had a right to the tree of life, but in the sad event of the fall, we find that when man was driven from Eden, the cherubim and a flaming sword which turned every way was set to keep the way of the tree of life, lest our first parents should continue to eat of that tree, become immortal sinners, and thus sin become immortalized. After this, we find statements in reference to that tree in descriptions of redemption. As the tree of life was in holy Eden, Adam's home, so it will be in the holy city, the home of the Redeemer, of the holy angels, and of the redeemed. Through the telescope of faith we look just yonder, and see the golden city with its twelve foundations, its golden gates, its broad street, and the tree of life, glittering with the light that proceeds from God and the Lamb. There will be the saints in immortal beauty and glory. Here they gather around the tree of life, partake of its fruits, and with the golden cup of God drink from the river of life. "And there shall be no night there [in the city], and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign forever and ever." The sun and moon will shine upon the earth as it now does, and for any thing we can find in the book of God, the earth will revolve upon its axis, giving days and nights, and years; and months will be marked by the phases of the moon to all eternity; but in the city the light that is poured forth from the throne of God and the Lamb will so overpower the light of the sun that they will appear as a dim taper to those who shall view them from the city. In the language of the prophet Isaiah, "Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously." Isa. 24:23. That the holy city is to be the very headquarters of the universe where the throne of God and the Lamb will be located is evident from the language of Rev. 22:3: "And there shall be no more curse; but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it." Mark well this one fact, that the throne of God and Lamb are in the very locality on which fell the curse by reason of sin. If it can be shown that the curse fell upon the moon, then the throne of God and the Lamb will be in the moon. If it can be shown that the curse fell upon some imaginary sphere in the center of the universe, which may be called the third heavens, then the throne of God and the Lamb will be there; but as the curse fell upon this sphere, the throne of God and the Lamb will be the metropolis of the new earth. Our world has a remarkable history. When God had formed it, he declared his work very good. It then had the impress of its Maker's hand. But man basely violated the reasonable command of God, and introduced sin and the curse. And when all was lost in Adam, the star of hope for a doomed world appeared in Christ. Here the typical offerings were made, pointing to Christ through which for the two former ages believing men and women looked, and saw Christ, and were saved. Here the blood of the prophets, and apostles, and millions of the holy martyrs of Jesus has been shed. Here the divine Son of God had a lowly birth, preached his own gospel, walked upon the earth a man among men, ate of its bread, drank of its waters, and here was condemned as a malefactor, and died the cruel death of the cross. But he is to return again. Blessed be his adorable name. And from this earth is to reanimate the numberless hosts of the redeemed. And why should not a sphere which has such a record be honored as the very head-quarters of the universe? "What," says one, "This little world be thus honored?" Was such a question asked by the holy beings of heaven when the proposition was made that Christ should visit it, and die, the just for the unjust? Its dimensions were not then taken into account. If large enough to call for the spilling of the precious blood of God's only Son, is it not of sufficient size to be honored as the locality of both the thrones of the Father and of the Son? We leave the question resting upon the validity of God's living word as meaning what it says. And as the prophet of God was borne to a high mountain, and viewed the golden city in its descent to this earth, may God lift up the church, and give them that spiritual sight by which they may also see that city in all its glory, resting upon the new earth, which will be the inheritance of the saints of God. And as Adam and Eve lost Eden by breaking the commandments of God, as their posterity have been wandering from the gates of paradise these six thousand years, subject to sin, to pain and to death, let us thank God that it is our privilege to take their back tracks, and by keeping the commandments of God be restored to that city and that inheritance with a right to the tree of life. We leave the reader with the benediction of the Son of God: "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." (Rev. 22:14.) Amen. A Remarkable Test.
By James White
The prophets of God have been shown events of the past, present and future. The best evidence of the truthfulness of those revelations is that they accorded with the facts in the case. Some fifteen years since one of our preachers, whose name we withhold because of apostasy, gave a course of lectures in the town of Ionia, Michigan. About thirty persons embraced the third angel's message, but, in consequence of a want of thoroughness and power on the part of the preacher, these souls were not very strong in the message. Brother King, local elder of the Orleans church, and Brother Maynard, local elder of the Greenville church, proposed to go with us and hold a grove meeting. We immediately wrote a notice of the prospective meeting without consulting the brethren in Bushnell, and sent it to the Review and Herald. The next Sabbath only seven of the Bushnell brethren met for worship, and, under this discouragement decided to give up their meeting. On leaving the house, however, they were met by a neighbor who had brought the Review from the postoffice which contained the appointment of the grove meeting the following week. On seeing this they determined to attend the meeting and also labor to have their brethren attend it, most of whom had given up the Sabbath. When the meeting was held, however, there were only twenty of the Bushnell brethren present on the Sabbath. But as there was a general turn-out from the Greenville and Orleans churches, our congregation was good and the meeting was an excellent one. On Sunday the attendance was large; all who had observed the Sabbath in that place were present, and also large representations from the Orleans and Greenville churches, besides a large number of outsiders. The meeting was such a decided success that the Bushnell brethren, who were all becoming deeply interested again requested that a two days' meeting be held there the following week. Accordingly the next Sabbath all in that place who had kept the Sabbath met with us in the morning. Mrs. White arose, Bible in hand, and began to speak from a text of Scripture. She suddenly stopped speaking, laid aside her Bible, and began to address those who had embraced the Sabbath in that place. She had never before seen one of them with the natural eye, and of course, could not call them by name. But she designated each brother and sister by his or her position, the one by that tree, or the one sitting by that brother or sister of the Greenville or Orleans church, with whom she was personally acquainted, and whom she called by name. She described each peculiar case, stating that the Lord had shown her their cases two years previous, and that, while she was just then speaking from the Bible, that view had flashed over her mind, like sudden lightning in a dark night distinctly revealing every object around. When she had spoken in this manner about one hour, the preacher who had been instrumental in bringing the Bushnell brethren to the light of the Sabbath, asked them if the things that had been spoken were true. He insisted that they should rise and testify to the facts in the case, urging that a strong test be made. Each person present knew whether or not the truth had been spoken in regard to his or her case. Either these things were true or they were not; if they were not true he, and all present, wished to know it; and if they were true they also wished to know it, and from that day have a settled faith in the testimonies. The persons thus addressed accordingly arose one by one, and testified that their cases had been described better than they could have done it themselves. It was not enough for that intelligent company to know that the testimony given that day was correct in the majority of cases present, but it was necessary that it be proven correct in every particular of the case of each person, in order that their faith should be fully established. Had the testimony failed in a single instance, it would have destroyed the faith of all present. As it was they had a settled faith from that hour, and all took their position on the third message. On Sunday morning we gave a discourse upon Christian Baptism. The preacher before referred to had been ordained by a tobacco-user in whom he now had no confidence; he therefore requested baptism and ordination at our hand. The congregation immediately repaired to a beautiful lake where we bowed down with Brethren King and Maynard upon the green grass, and according to the New Testament rule ordained the brother. We then baptized him, after which he then and there baptized his converts. A church was immediately organized, names enrolled, and proper officers chosen. From that day till this time the Bushnell church has been among the most decided of the good Michigan Conference. By their fruits ye shall know them. This is a Bible test. The testimony was in harmony with the facts in the case, and the fruit has been excellent. "An evil tree cannot bring forth good fruit, neither can a good tree bring forth evil fruit."
J. W. The Order of Events in the Judgment.
By John Nevins Andrews
At the ascension of our Lord, he entered the heavenly temple and sat down upon his Father's throne, a great High Priest after the order of Melchisedec. Ps. 110 : 1, 4; Heb. 8:1, 2. But when he returns in his infinite majesty as King of kings, he sits upon his own throne, and not upon that of his Father. He speaks thus of his descent from heaven :— Matt. 25:31 : "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory." It is evident, therefore, that there is a space of time at the conclusion of our Lord's work in the temple in heaven, in which his priestly office is exchanged for his kingly dignity; and this transition is marked by his relinquishing his place upon the throne of his Father, and assuming his own throne. The judgment session of Dan. 7 : 9–14 is the time and place of this transition. Our Lord plainly distinguishes these two thrones :— Rev. 3 : 21 : "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." The Saviour's reception of his own throne preparatory to his second advent, is described in Ps. 45. As Ps. 110 makes prominent his priestly office upon his Father's throne, so Ps. 45 describes his kingly office and work upon his own throne. Ps. 45:1–7 : "My heart is inditing a good matter; I speak of the things which I have made touching the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Thou art fairer than the children of men; grace is poured into thy lips; therefore God hath blessed thee forever. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most Mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. And in thy majesty ride prosperously, because of truth, and meekness, and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee. Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; the scepter of thy kingdom is a right scepter. Thou lovest righteousness and hatest wickedness; therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." This personage who is fairer than the sons of men, can be no other than the King in his beauty (Isa. 33:17), who is to be admired in the day of his advent by all them that believe. 2 Thess. 1:10. The time when he rides forth for the destruction of his enemies is presented in Rev. 19:11–21. The words of Paul establish the fact that this Psalm relates to Christ, some of its words being addressed to him by his Father when he invests him with his kingly office and throne. Thus Paul quotes and comments :— Heb. 1:8, 9 : "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." The relation of these two thrones to the work of our Lord is very important to be understood. As a priest after the order of Melchisedec, who was both priest and king (Gen. 14:18–20; Ps. 110:1, 4; Heb. 7:1–3), the Saviour has had a joint rule with his Father upon the throne of the universe. Zech. 6:12, 13. His office of priest-king continues till his Father makes his enemies his footstool. Then he delivers up the kingdom which he has shared with his Father to him alone, that God may be all in all. 1 Cor. 15:24–28. His reign upon the throne of his Father ends with all his enemies being given to him for destruction. The throne given him when his priesthood ends is that which he inherits as David's heir. On that throne he shall reign over the immortal saints for endless ages. Luke 1:32, 33; Isa. 9:6, 7. Upon the throne of the Father he had a joint rule as priest-king; upon his own throne his people have a joint rule with him. The first ends, that God may be all in all; the second is a reign that shall continue forever. The Saviour closes his priesthood with the acquittal of his people at his Father's bar. For the act of God, the Father, in sitting as judge, enables the Son to appear as the advocate of his people, and to obtain decision in their favor. That acquittal involves the virtual condemnation of all others. The last act of the Father in the work of the judgment in Dan. 7, is to crown his Son king, that he may execute its decision. It is at the close of this session, therefore, that our Lord terminates his office of priest-king upon his Father's throne, and takes his own throne to execute the decision of the Father. For it is the part of the Son to show from the record of the books who have overcome, and to confess the names of such before his Father. Rev. 3:5. It pertains to the Father to give decision that such persons shall have immortality. And the execution of the judgment will consist in making these persons immortal, and in destroying all the rest. The decision of the judgment does therefore rest wholly with the Father. But the execution of the judgment pertains alone to the Son, who is crowned king at his Father's tribunal for this very purpose. The distinctions between these two relations sustained by the Father and the Son to the work of the judgment, is made very plain by our Lord's words in John 5:22–30. This chapter takes up the judgment work just where the prophecy of Daniel leaves it. The Father having rendered decision, and having anointed his Son king, it pertains to the Son to execute judgment; a work which he distinctly acknowledges in John 5. In this chapter our Lord uses these remarkable words :— Verses 22, 23 : "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son; that all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father." Now it is certain that God, the Father, must sit in judgment to fulfill Dan. 7:9, 10. But if we read forward in these words of our Lord to verses 26, 27, we shall see what he means in verse 22. Verses 26, 27 : "For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man." It is therefore not the decision of the judgment, but its execution, that the Father had by promise even then given to his Son. And this execution will be effected by the accomplishment of the words which follow :— Verses 28, 29: "Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming in the which all that are in their graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." That our Lord is simply carrying out the judgment of his Father in the work which he thus performs, is distinctly taught in the next verse :— Verse 30: "I can of mine own self do nothing; as I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me." Christ's part of the judgment work is its execution. His work is just, because he first hears the Father's decision, and then carries it out, doing only the Father's will in all this work. We conclude this article with the following direct proof that the decision of the judgment, which is the Father's part of the work, is past when our Lord comes again in the clouds of heaven. The execution of the judgment must be preceded by the investigation and decision of the cases which are judged. Now it is distinctly stated that the coming of Christ is to execute the judgment; whence it follows that the decision of the judgment is made by the Father before he sends his Son in the clouds of heaven. Thus we read of his second advent :— Jude 14, 15 : "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." The term saints, or holy ones, is applied to angels, as well as to men. Dan. 8:13. These ten thousands of his saints are the host of heavenly angels that shall escort our Lord on his return to our earth. Matt. 25:31. Enoch does, therefore, distinctly state the object of his second advent. It is to execute the judgment. And this fact constitutes a convincing proof that the decision of the judgment precedes our Lord's return. That event is therefore "the revelation of the righteous judgment of God." Rom. 2:5. And the very act of giving immortality is one part of the work of rendering to every man according to his deeds. Rom. 2:6, 7. The judgment of God does, therefore, precede the advent of his Son from heaven. When the events of Christ's advent are mentioned in the Scriptures, it is not merely those which happen at the very point when he descends from heaven, but also those which happen in consequence of that event. The execution of the judgment must cover 1000 years. Rev. 20. But the advent of Christ lies at the foundation of this whole work. And when men find just retribution meted out to them for all their sins they will surely be convinced of their ungodly deeds and of their hard speeches. Debate on Immortality.
By B. A. Stephens
A SHORT debate was held on the evening of August 6, in the tent in Placerville, Cal., with Elder E. A. Hazen, the Methodist pastor, upon the immortality of the soul. He flourished the original Greek, but dared not deny Brother Smith's criticisms in Man's Nature and Destiny. He held up his Greek testament to show that in his edition the comma was before the word "to-day" in Luke 23:43; but said nothing more when reference was made to Quackenbos' Rhetoric (page 81) that "the ancients originally wrote their manuscripts without marks or divisions of any kind." We showed that the present punctuation made a contradiction between Luke 23:43 and John 20:17, and that this contradiction could only be removed by placing the comma after the word "to-day." "Some Greek manuscripts, according to Griesbach, place the comma after 'to-day' in this declaration [Luke 23:43]."—Man's Nature, page 179. He also said that in the 8th chapter of Ecclesiastes it declared that "the spirit went to God." He referred to Eccl. 12:7. But, lo, it says no such thing! It reads, "The spirit shall return unto God who gave it." If the spirit here is the mind, etc., why does not one remember ever being with God? There is quite a difference between returning and simply going to a place. If the term spirit here refers to the so-called immortal soul, then the pre-existence of the soul is proved. But Job 27:3 says, "The spirit of God is in my nostrils." Does any one believe, because the term spirit occurs in this passage, that, therefore, an immortal soul resides in the nose! The margin says, "The breath which God gave him, Gen. 2:7." Here, then, is the breath or spirit (Latin spiritus, from spirare, to breathe, to blow.—Webster) which "God gave man." The text simply affirms that it departs from him at death, but God will restore it in the resurrection of the dead. See Ezek. 37:1-14. He then turned to Phil. 1:23 to prove that Paul (as Elder H. said), had "a desire to die, and to be with Christ immediately in heaven." He did this to contradict a statement we had made from 2 Cor. 5:4 that Paul did not desire to be unclothed with his earthly house or die. But in saying this Elder H. contradicted John Wesley, the father of Methodism, as well as contradicting the divinely-inspired Paul. Mr. Wesley says (Ser. Vol. 2, Rich man) that "it is, indeed, very generally supposed that the souls of good men, as soon as they are discharged from the body, go directly to heaven; but this opinion has not the least foundation in the oracles of God." But Paul in 2 Cor. 5:4 does not contradict himself in Phil. 1:23. The following criticism was offered. The Emphatic Diaglott renders Phil. 1:23 as follows: "I have an earnest desire for the RETURNING and being with Christ." The word analusis, is rendered depart in Phil. 1:23, is translated return in Luke 12:36. "And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord, when he will RETURN from the wedding." "In twenty-two manuscripts of the Septuagint, including the Oxford, this word [analusis] is used in Joshua 22:8 for the Hebrew word which always means to return."—Grant vs. Clayton, page 61. Liddell and Scott's Greek Lexicon defines it thus: "Analusis, . . 4. . A RETURN." Robinson's Greek Lexicon says: "Analusis, . . . In New Testament, tropically [i. e. figuratively] departure from this life. 2 Tim. 4:6; compare Phil. 1:23." "Analuo, . . . a) in the proper and literal sense, Luke 12:36; here the idea of returning home is implied. So Macc. 9:1. . . b) Tropically, to depart from life, to die." The Lord's appearing was Paul's "blessed hope." Titus 2:13. He desired to be with Christ at his return, not at death. See 1 Thess. 4:13-17. Elder H. claimed we misquoted Eccl. 3:21. But if this passage proves that man has an immortal soul, it proves the same of horses, etc., for it mentions "the spirit of the beast." Peter Cartwright, a famous Methodist preacher, once said, in urging a weary horse, which he was riding to a camp-meeting, that horses had no souls, while at the camp-ground there were souls of men to be saved. The passage is not a positive declaration, but a question asked. The answer is found in the two preceding verses. "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 [Hebrew, ruach, spirit], 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, and all turn to dust again." Eccl. 3:19, 20. John 11:26 was next quoted to prove the soul never died. The passage does not contain the word soul, much less declares it to be immortal. The subject was the resurrection (as Lazarus was about to be raised), and the events to transpire at the last day. The context and the verse say: "He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die." Paul's language in 1 Cor. 15:51, 52 is an exact parallel: "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible." Two classes are presented. One class live until the Saviour returns and do not sleep in death; being translated at his second coming, they never die. The other class are now dead, yet shall they live in the first resurrection. Simply that and nothing more. The language of the martyr Stephen (Acts 7:59), "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit," was advanced. The context says that Stephen fell asleep, died, and was buried. See Acts 7:60; 8:1, 2. David uttered the same language, and yet he "is not ascended into the heavens," but wicked men had "devised to take away his life." Ps. 31:5, 13; Acts 2:34. As David, the Saviour, and Stephen each committed this life to the keeping of God; it may be interesting to know where this life is now. "Your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then [not at death, but when he appears, then] shall ye also appear with him in glory." Col. 3:3, 4. This Scripture does not well agree with modern theology, which teaches that we appear with Christ in the glories of heaven when we die, and long before his second appearing, while Paul says we shall not appear with Christ until his return. Which shall we believe? Elder H. grew quite eloquent in eulogizing death, calling it a welcome messenger. Now, turn and read in Isa. 38:1-19 the account of King Hezekiah. What a poor, foolish man he was! He might have died, and gone to heaven fifteen years before his death actually occurred but, instead of improving this opportunity, he "wept sore," and prayed the Lord to extend his life fifteen years, and thus keep him that length of time out of heaven. He was not a bad man, and afraid of having his immortal soul cast into a never-ending hell immediately at death, but had a "perfect heart," and did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and, according to latter-day theology, would go directly to heaven. But he was simple enough to wish to be shut out of such happiness for fifteen long years! Is that the truth? You know it is not. Said Hezekiah, "In the cutting off my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave [hades]." "Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption, . . . for the grave, [hades], cannot praise thee." Such was his song of gratitude. He well knew he would not go to paradise, or the third heaven, 2 Cor. 12:2, 4, but to hades, the grave, where "the dead know not anything," "for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, the grave, [hades], whither thou goest." Eccl. 9:5, 6, 10. An appeal was made to 2 Cor. 12:1-4 to prove that the phrase, "out of the body," etc., justified the idea of a distinct entity. But when is the immortal soul out of the body? Only at death. Well, does the record state that Paul's body died, and his deathless "spirit, released from its clay," soared up to heaven? If so, how many times did Paul die? Only once. Paul is not here talking of death, but of "visions and revelations." See verse 1. The scenes presented to his mind in vision seemed so real that he could not realize whether he was bodily present, or it was simply a supernatural picture to the mind. That passage teaches that man has an intellectual entity, that can live out of the body, is an absurd position, and far from the truth. Elder H. stated that the Bible many times said man had immortality. He quoted John 6:54: "Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood hath eternal life." Then only the good have immortal souls. But the sentence does not stop here; it goes right on: "And I will raise him up at the last day." Then will the righteous get the gift of eternal life. Rom. 6:23. The same apostle further says: "God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in [us? No; but in] his Son." 1 John 5:11. And this life that is in the Son of God will not be received until the resurrection. See John 5:26-29. One remark he made was, "The soul will die an eternal death." So will. See Ezek. 18:4, 20; Rev. 21:8. Perhaps the elder meant what Wesley said:—
"Nothing is worth a thought beneath,
But how I may escape the death
That never, never dies."
If he escapes that kind of death,
"He'll make his own election sure,
And when he gets to heaven secure
The life that never lives."
Is not one just as sensible as the other? Certainly. The "second death," Rev. 21:8, will be like the first one, except that its "blackness of darkness forever," Jude 13, will never be dispelled by a resurrection morn. The Lord helped with his Spirit to reply to all objections, and to present his truth clearly, and we believe that good was done.
B. A. STEPHENS.
Oakland, Cal., Aug. 23, 1878. He that seeks nothing but the will of God will always find what he seeks.