The Great Controversy
by Ellen G. White
Chapter 33: The First Great Deception
With the earliest history of man, Satan began his efforts to
deceive our race. He who had incited rebellion in heaven desired to bring the
inhabitants of the earth to unite with him in his warfare against the
government of God. Adam and Eve had been perfectly happy in obedience to the
law of God, and this fact was a constant testimony against the claim which
Satan had urged in heaven, that God's law was oppressive and opposed to the
good of His creatures. And furthermore, Satan's envy was excited as he looked
upon the beautiful home prepared for the sinless pair. He determined to cause
their fall, that, having separated them from God and brought them under his own
power, he might gain possession of the earth and here establish his kingdom in
opposition to the Most High. {GC
531.1}
Had Satan revealed himself in his real character, he would
have been repulsed at once, for Adam and Eve had been warned against this
dangerous foe; but he worked in the dark, concealing his purpose, that he might
more effectually accomplish his object. Employing as his medium the serpent,
then a creature of fascinating appearance, he addressed himself to Eve:
"Hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?"
Genesis 3:1. Had Eve refrained from entering into argument with the tempter,
she would have been safe; but she ventured to parley with him and fell a victim
to his [532]
wiles. It is thus that many are still overcome. They doubt and argue concerning
the requirements of God; and instead of obeying the divine commands, they
accept human theories, which but disguise the devices of Satan. {GC 531.2}
"The woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the
fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the
midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye
touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely
die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be
opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." Verses 2-5. He
declared that they would become like God, possessing greater wisdom than before
and being capable of a higher state of existence. Eve yielded to temptation;
and through her influence, Adam was led into sin. They accepted the words of
the serpent, that God did not mean what He said; they distrusted their Creator
and imagined that He was restricting their liberty and that they might obtain
great wisdom and exaltation by transgressing His law. {GC 532.1}
But what did Adam, after his sin, find to be the meaning of
the words, "In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely
die"? Did he find them to mean, as Satan had led him to believe, that he
was to be ushered into a more exalted state of existence? Then indeed there was
great good to be gained by transgression, and Satan was proved to be a
benefactor of the race. But Adam did not find this to be the meaning of the
divine sentence. God declared that as a penalty for his sin, man should return
to the ground whence he was taken: "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt
thou return." Verse 19. The words of Satan, "Your eyes shall be
opened," proved to be true in this sense only: After Adam and Eve had
disobeyed God, their eyes were opened to discern their folly; they did know
evil, and they tasted the bitter fruit of transgression. {GC 532.2}
In the midst of Eden grew the tree of life, whose fruit had
the power of perpetuating life. Had Adam remained [533]
obedient to God, he would have continued to enjoy free access to this tree and
would have lived forever. But when he sinned he was cut off from partaking of
the tree of life, and he became subject to death. The divine sentence,
"Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return," points to the utter
extinction of life. {GC
532.3}
Immortality, promised to man on condition of obedience, had
been forfeited by transgression. Adam could not transmit to his posterity that
which he did not possess; and there could have been no hope for the fallen race
had not God, by the sacrifice of His Son, brought immortality within their
reach. While "death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned,"
Christ "hath brought life and immortality to light through the
gospel." Romans 5:12; 2 Timothy 1:10. And only through Christ can
immortality be obtained. Said Jesus: "He that believeth on the Son hath
everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life."
John 3:36. Every man may come into possession of this priceless blessing if he
will comply with the conditions. All "who by patient continuance in
well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality," will receive
"eternal life." Romans 2:7. {GC 533.1}
The only one who promised Adam life in disobedience was the
great deceiver. And the declaration of the serpent to Eve in Eden—"Ye
shall not surely die"—was the first sermon ever preached upon
the immortality of the soul. Yet this declaration, resting solely upon the
authority of Satan, is echoed from the pulpits of Christendom and is received
by the majority of mankind as readily as it was received by our first parents.
The divine sentence, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezekiel
18:20), is made to mean: The soul that sinneth, it shall not die, but live
eternally. We cannot but wonder at the strange infatuation which renders men so
credulous concerning the words of Satan and so unbelieving in regard to the
words of God. {GC 533.2}
Had man after his fall been allowed free access to the tree [534]
of life, he would have lived forever, and thus sin would have been
immortalized. But cherubim and a flaming sword kept "the way of the tree
of life" (Genesis 3:24), and not one of the family of Adam has been
permitted to pass that barrier and partake of the life-giving fruit. Therefore
there is not an immortal sinner. {GC 533.3}
But after the Fall, Satan bade his angels make a special
effort to inculcate the belief in man's natural immortality; and having induced
the people to receive this error, they were to lead them on to conclude that
the sinner would live in eternal misery. Now the prince of darkness, working
through his agents, represents God as a revengeful tyrant, declaring that He
plunges into hell all those who do not please Him, and causes them ever to feel
His wrath; and that while they suffer unutterable anguish and writhe in the
eternal flames, their Creator looks down upon them with satisfaction. {GC 534.1}
Thus the archfiend clothes with his own attributes the
Creator and Benefactor of mankind. Cruelty is satanic. God is love; and all
that He created was pure, holy, and lovely, until sin was brought in by the
first great rebel. Satan himself is the enemy who tempts man to sin, and then
destroys him if he can; and when he has made sure of his victim, then he exults
in the ruin he has wrought. If permitted, he would sweep the entire race into his
net. Were it not for the interposition of divine power, not one son or daughter
of Adam would escape. {GC
534.2}
Satan is seeking to overcome men today, as he overcame our
first parents, by shaking their confidence in their Creator and leading them to
doubt the wisdom of His government and the justice of His laws. Satan and his
emissaries represent God as even worse than themselves, in order to justify
their own malignity and rebellion. The great deceiver endeavors to shift his
own horrible cruelty of character upon our heavenly Father, that he may cause
himself to appear as one greatly wronged by his expulsion from heaven because
he would not submit to so unjust a governor. He presents before [535]
the world the liberty which they may enjoy under his mild sway, in contrast
with the bondage imposed by the stern decrees of Jehovah. Thus he succeeds in
luring souls away from their allegiance to God. {GC 534.3}
How repugnant to every emotion of love and mercy, and even
to our sense of justice, is the doctrine that the wicked dead are tormented
with fire and brimstone in an eternally burning hell; that for the sins of a
brief earthly life they are to suffer torture as long as God shall live. Yet
this doctrine has been widely taught and is still embodied in many of the
creeds of Christendom. Said a learned doctor of divinity: "The sight of
hell torments will exalt the happiness of the saints forever. When they see
others who are of the same nature and born under the same circumstances,
plunged in such misery, and they so distinguished, it will make them sensible
of how happy they are." Another used these words: "While the decree
of reprobation is eternally executing on the vessels of wrath, the smoke of
their torment will be eternally ascending in view of the vessels of mercy, who,
instead of taking the part of these miserable objects, will say, Amen,
Alleluia! praise ye the Lord!" {GC 535.1}
Where, in the pages of God's word, is such teaching to be
found? Will the redeemed in heaven be lost to all emotions of pity and
compassion, and even to feelings of common humanity? Are these to be exchanged
for the indifference of the stoic or the cruelty of the savage? No, no; such is
not the teaching of the Book of God. Those who present the views expressed in
the quotations given above may be learned and even honest men, but they are
deluded by the sophistry of Satan. He leads them to misconstrue strong
expressions of Scripture, giving to the language the coloring of bitterness and
malignity which pertains to himself, but not to our Creator. "As I live,
saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the
wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for
why will ye die?" Ezekiel 33:11. [536] {GC 535.2}
What would be gained to God should we admit that He delights
in witnessing unceasing tortures; that He is regaled with the groans and
shrieks and imprecations of the suffering creatures whom He holds in the flames
of hell? Can these horrid sounds be music in the ear of Infinite Love? It is
urged that the infliction of endless misery upon the wicked would show God's
hatred of sin as an evil which is ruinous to the peace and order of the
universe. Oh, dreadful blasphemy! As if God's hatred of sin is the reason why
it is perpetuated. For, according to the teachings of these theologians,
continued torture without hope of mercy maddens its wretched victims, and as
they pour out their rage in curses and blasphemy, they are forever augmenting
their load of guilt. God's glory is not enhanced by thus perpetuating
continually increasing sin through ceaseless ages. {GC 536.1}
It is beyond the power of the human mind to estimate the
evil which has been wrought by the heresy of eternal torment. The religion of
the Bible, full of love and goodness, and abounding in compassion, is darkened
by superstition and clothed with terror. When we consider in what false colors
Satan has painted the character of God, can we wonder that our merciful Creator
is feared, dreaded, and even hated? The appalling views of God which have
spread over the world from the teachings of the pulpit have made thousands,
yes, millions, of skeptics and infidels. {GC 536.2}
The theory of eternal torment is one of the false doctrines
that constitute the wine of the abomination of Babylon, of which she makes all
nations drink. Revelation 14:8; 17:2. That ministers of Christ should have
accepted this heresy and proclaimed it from the sacred desk is indeed a
mystery. They received it from Rome, as they received the false sabbath. True,
it has been taught by great and good men; but the light on this subject had not
come to them as it has come to us. They were responsible only for the light
which shone in their time; we are accountable for that which shines in our day.
If we turn from the testimony of God's word, and accept [537] false
doctrines because our fathers taught them, we fall under the condemnation
pronounced upon Babylon; we are drinking of the wine of her abomination. {GC 536.3}
A large class to whom the doctrine of eternal torment is
revolting are driven to the opposite error. They see that the Scriptures
represent God as a being of love and compassion, and they cannot believe that
He will consign His creatures to the fires of an eternally burning hell. But
holding that the soul is naturally immortal, they see no alternative but to
conclude that all mankind will finally be saved. Many regard the threatenings
of the Bible as designed merely to frighten men into obedience, and not to be
literally fulfilled. Thus the sinner can live in selfish pleasure, disregarding
the requirements of God, and yet expect to be finally received into His favor.
Such a doctrine, presuming upon God's mercy, but ignoring His justice, pleases
the carnal heart and emboldens the wicked in their iniquity. {GC 537.1}
To show how believers in universal salvation wrest the
Scriptures to sustain their soul-destroying dogmas, it is needful only to cite
their own utterances. At the funeral of an irreligious young man, who had been
killed instantly by an accident, a Universalist minister selected as his text
the Scripture statement concerning David: "He was comforted concerning
Amnon, seeing he was dead." 2 Samuel 13:39. {GC 537.2}
"I am frequently asked," said the speaker,
"what will be the fate of those who leave the world in sin, die, perhaps,
in a state of inebriation, die with the scarlet stains of crime unwashed from
their robes, or die as this young man died, having never made a profession or
enjoyed an experience of religion. We are content with the Scriptures; their
answer shall solve the awful problem. Amnon was exceedingly sinful; he was
unrepentant, he was made drunk, and while drunk was killed. David was a prophet
of God; he must have known whether it would be ill or well for Amnon in the
world to come. What were the expressions of his heart? [538] `The
soul of King David longed to go forth unto Absalom: for he was comforted
concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.' Verse 39. {GC 537.3}
"And what is the inference to be deduced from this language?
Is it not that endless suffering formed no part of his religious belief? So we
conceive; and here we discover a triumphant argument in support of the more
pleasing, more enlightened, more benevolent hypothesis of ultimate universal
purity and peace. He was comforted, seeing his son was dead. And why so?
Because by the eye of prophecy he could look forward into the glorious future
and see that son far removed from all temptations, released from the bondage
and purified from the corruptions of sin, and after being made sufficiently
holy and enlightened, admitted to the assembly of ascended and rejoicing
spirits. His only comfort was that, in being removed from the present state of
sin and suffering, his beloved son had gone where the loftiest breathings of
the Holy Spirit would be shed upon his darkened soul, where his mind would be
unfolded to the wisdom of heaven and the sweet raptures of immortal love, and
thus prepared with a sanctified nature to enjoy the rest and society of the
heavenly inheritance. {GC
538.1}
"In these thoughts we would be understood to believe
that the salvation of heaven depends upon nothing which we can do in this life;
neither upon a present change of heart, nor upon present belief, or a present
profession of religion." {GC 538.2}
Thus does the professed minister of Christ reiterate the
falsehood uttered by the serpent in Eden: "Ye shall not surely die."
"In the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall
be as gods." He declares that the vilest of sinners—the
murderer, the thief, and the adulterer—will after death be prepared
to enter into immortal bliss. {GC 538.3}
And from what does this perverter of the Scriptures draw his
conclusions? From a single sentence expressing David's submission to the
dispensation of Providence. His [539] soul "longed to go forth
unto Absalom; for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead."
The poignancy of his grief having been softened by time, his thoughts turned
from the dead to the living son, self-banished through fear of the just
punishment of his crime. And this is the evidence that the incestuous, drunken
Amnon was at death immediately transported to the abodes of bliss, there to be
purified and prepared for the companionship of sinless angels! A pleasing fable
indeed, well suited to gratify the carnal heart! This is Satan's own doctrine,
and it does his work effectually. Should we be surprised that, with such
instruction, wickedness abounds? {GC 538.4}
The course pursued by this one false teacher illustrates
that of many others. A few words of Scripture are separated from the context,
which would in many cases show their meaning to be exactly opposite to the
interpretation put upon them; and such disjointed passages are perverted and
used in proof of doctrines that have no foundation in the word of God. The
testimony cited as evidence that the drunken Amnon is in heaven is a mere
inference directly contradicted by the plain and positive statement of the
Scriptures that no drunkard shall inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians
6:10. It is thus that doubters, unbelievers, and skeptics turn the truth into a
lie. And multitudes have been deceived by their sophistry and rocked to sleep
in the cradle of carnal security. {GC 539.1}
If it were true that the souls of all men passed directly to
heaven at the hour of dissolution, then we might well covet death rather than
life. Many have been led by this belief to put an end to their existence. When
overwhelmed with trouble, perplexity, and disappointment, it seems an easy
thing to break the brittle thread of life and soar away into the bliss of the
eternal world. {GC 539.2}
God has given in His word decisive evidence that He will
punish the transgressors of His law. Those who flatter [540]
themselves that He is too merciful to execute justice upon the sinner, have
only to look to the cross of Calvary. The death of the spotless Son of God
testifies that "the wages of sin is death," that every violation of
God's law must receive its just retribution. Christ the sinless became sin for
man. He bore the guilt of transgression, and the hiding of His Father's face,
until His heart was broken and His life crushed out. All this sacrifice was
made that sinners might be redeemed. In no other way could man be freed from the
penalty of sin. And every soul that refuses to become a partaker of the
atonement provided at such a cost must bear in his own person the guilt and
punishment of transgression. {GC
539.3}
Let us consider what the Bible teaches further concerning
the ungodly and unrepentant, whom the Universalist places in heaven as holy,
happy angels. {GC 540.1}
"I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain
of the water of life freely." Revelation 21:6. This promise is only to
those that thirst. None but those who feel their need of the water of life, and
seek it at the loss of all things else, will be supplied. "He that
overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My
son." Verse 7. Here, also, conditions are specified. In order to inherit
all things, we must resist and overcome sin. {GC 540.2}
The Lord declares by the prophet Isaiah: "Say ye to the
righteous, that it shall be well with him." "Woe unto the wicked! it
shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him."
Isaiah 3:10, 11. "Though a sinner do evil an hundred times," says the
wise man, "and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be
well with them that fear God, which fear before Him: but it shall not be well
with the wicked." Ecclesiastes 8:12, 13. And Paul testifies that the
sinner is treasuring up unto himself "wrath against the day of wrath and
revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man
according to his deeds;" "tribulation and anguish upon every soul of
man that doeth evil." Romans 2:5, 6,9. [541] {GC 540.3}
"No fornicator, nor unclean person, nor covetous man,
who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and
God." Ephesians 5:5, A.R.V. "Follow peace with all men, and holiness,
without which no man shall see the Lord." Hebrews 12:14. "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. For without are dogs, and
sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth
and maketh a lie." Revelation 22:14, 15. {GC 541.1}
God has given to men a declaration of His character and of
His method of dealing with sin. "The Lord God, merciful and gracious,
long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands,
forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear
the guilty." Exodus 34:6, 7. "All the wicked will He destroy."
"The transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall
be cut off." Psalm 145:20; 37:38. The power and authority of the divine
government will be employed to put down rebellion; yet all the manifestations
of retributive justice will be perfectly consistent with the character of God
as a merciful, long-suffering, benevolent being. {GC 541.2}
God does not force the will or judgment of any. He takes no
pleasure in a slavish obedience. He desires that the creatures of His hands
shall love Him because He is worthy of love. He would have them obey Him
because they have an intelligent appreciation of His wisdom, justice, and
benevolence. And all who have a just conception of these qualities will love
Him because they are drawn toward Him in admiration of His attributes. {GC 541.3}
The principles of kindness, mercy, and love, taught and
exemplified by our Saviour, are a transcript of the will and character of God.
Christ declared that He taught nothing except that which He had received from
His Father. The principles of the divine government are in perfect harmony with
the Saviour's precept, "Love your enemies." God [542]
executes justice upon the wicked, for the good of the universe, and even for
the good of those upon whom His judgments are visited. He would make them happy
if He could do so in accordance with the laws of His government and the justice
of His character. He surrounds them with the tokens of His love, He grants them
a knowledge of His law, and follows them with the offers of His mercy; but they
despise His love, make void His law, and reject His mercy. While constantly
receiving His gifts, they dishonor the Giver; they hate God because they know
that He abhors their sins. The Lord bears long with their perversity; but the
decisive hour will come at last, when their destiny is to be decided. Will He
then chain these rebels to His side? Will He force them to do His will? {GC 541.4}
Those who have chosen Satan as their leader and have been
controlled by his power are not prepared to enter the presence of God. Pride,
deception, licentiousness, cruelty, have become fixed in their characters. Can
they enter heaven to dwell forever with those whom they despised and hated on
earth? Truth will never be agreeable to a liar; meekness will not satisfy
self-esteem and pride; purity is not acceptable to the corrupt; disinterested
love does not appear attractive to the selfish. What source of enjoyment could
heaven offer to those who are wholly absorbed in earthly and selfish interests?
{GC 542.1}
Could those whose lives have been spent in rebellion against
God be suddenly transported to heaven and witness the high, the holy state of
perfection that ever exists there,— every soul filled with love,
every countenance beaming with joy, enrapturing music in melodious strains
rising in honor of God and the Lamb, and ceaseless streams of light flowing
upon the redeemed from the face of Him who sitteth upon the throne,—could
those whose hearts are filled with hatred of God, of truth and holiness, mingle
with the heavenly throng and join their songs of praise? Could they endure the
glory of God and the Lamb? No, no; years of probation [543] were
granted them, that they might form characters for heaven; but they have never
trained the mind to love purity; they have never learned the language of
heaven, and now it is too late. A life of rebellion against God has unfitted
them for heaven. Its purity, holiness, and peace would be torture to them; the
glory of God would be a consuming fire. They would long to flee from that holy
place. They would welcome destruction, that they might be hidden from the face
of Him who died to redeem them. The destiny of the wicked is fixed by their own
choice. Their exclusion from heaven is voluntary with themselves, and just and
merciful on the part of God. {GC
542.2}
Like the waters of the Flood the fires of the great day
declare God's verdict that the wicked are incurable. They have no disposition
to submit to divine authority. Their will has been exercised in revolt; and
when life is ended, it is too late to turn the current of their thoughts in the
opposite direction, too late to turn from transgression to obedience, from
hatred to love. {GC 543.1}
In sparing the life of Cain the murderer, God gave the world
an example of what would be the result of permitting the sinner to live to
continue a course of unbridled iniquity. Through the influence of Cain's
teaching and example, multitudes of his descendants were led into sin, until
"the wickedness of man was great in the earth" and "every
imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."
"The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with
violence." Genesis 6:5, 11. {GC 543.2}
In mercy to the world, God blotted out its wicked
inhabitants in Noah's time. In mercy He destroyed the corrupt dwellers in
Sodom. Through the deceptive power of Satan the workers of iniquity obtain
sympathy and admiration, and are thus constantly leading others to rebellion.
It was so in Cain's and in Noah's day, and in the time of Abraham and Lot; it
is so in our time. It is in mercy to the universe that God will finally destroy
the rejecters of His grace. [544] {GC 543.3}
"The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23. While life is
the inheritance of the righteous, death is the portion of the wicked. Moses
declared to Israel: "I have set before thee this day life and good, and
death and evil." Deuteronomy 30:15. The death referred to in these
scriptures is not that pronounced upon Adam, for all mankind suffer the penalty
of his transgression. It is "the second death" that is placed in
contrast with everlasting life. {GC 544.1}
In consequence of Adam's sin, death passed upon the whole
human race. All alike go down into the grave. And through the provisions of the
plan of salvation, all are to be brought forth from their graves. "There
shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust;"
"for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."
Acts 24:15; 1 Corinthians 15:22. But a distinction is made between the two
classes that are brought forth. "All that are in the 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." John
5:28, 29. They who have been "accounted worthy" of the resurrection
of life are "blessed and holy." "On such the second death hath
no power." Revelation 20:6. But those who have not, through repentance and
faith, secured pardon, must receive the penalty of transgression—"the
wages of sin." They suffer punishment varying in duration and intensity,
"according to their works," but finally ending in the second death.
Since it is impossible for God, consistently with His justice and mercy, to
save the sinner in his sins, He deprives him of the existence which his
transgressions have forfeited and of which he has proved himself unworthy. Says
an inspired writer: "Yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea,
thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be." And
another declares: "They shall be as though [545] they
had not been." Psalm 37:10; Obadiah 16. Covered with infamy, they sink
into hopeless, eternal oblivion. {GC 544.2}
Thus will be made an end of sin, with all the woe and ruin
which have resulted from it. Says the psalmist: "Thou hast destroyed the
wicked, Thou hast put out their name forever and ever. O thou enemy,
destructions are come to a perpetual end." Psalm 9:5, 6. John, in the
Revelation, looking forward to the eternal state, hears a universal anthem of
praise undisturbed by one note of discord. Every creature in heaven and earth
was heard ascribing glory to God. Revelation 5:13. There will then be no lost
souls to blaspheme God as they writhe in never-ending torment; no wretched
beings in hell will mingle their shrieks with the songs of the saved. {GC 545.1}
Upon the fundamental error of natural immortality rests the
doctrine of consciousness in death—a doctrine, like eternal torment,
opposed to the teachings of the Scriptures, to the dictates of reason, and to
our feelings of humanity. According to the popular belief, the redeemed in
heaven are acquainted with all that takes place on the earth and especially
with the lives of the friends whom they have left behind. But how could it be a
source of happiness to the dead to know the troubles of the living, to witness
the sins committed by their own loved ones, and to see them enduring all the
sorrows, disappointments, and anguish of life? How much of heaven's bliss would
be enjoyed by those who were hovering over their friends on earth? And how
utterly revolting is the belief that as soon as the breath leaves the body the
soul of the impenitent is consigned to the flames of hell! To what depths of
anguish must those be plunged who see their friends passing to the grave
unprepared, to enter upon an eternity of woe and sin! Many have been driven to
insanity by this harrowing thought. {GC 545.2}
What say the Scriptures concerning these things? David
declares that man is not conscious in death. "His breath goeth forth, he
returneth to his earth; in that very day his [546]
thoughts perish." Psalm 146:4. Solomon bears the same testimony: "The
living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything."
"Their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither
have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the
sun." "There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in
the grave, whither thou goest." Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6, 10. {GC 545.3}
When, in answer to his prayer, Hezekiah's life was prolonged
fifteen years, the grateful king rendered to God a tribute of praise for His
great mercy. In this song he tells the reason why he thus rejoices: "The
grave cannot praise Thee, death cannot celebrate Thee: they that go down into
the pit cannot hope for Thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise
Thee, as I do this day." Isaiah 38:18, 19. Popular theology represents the
righteous dead as in heaven, entered into bliss and praising God with an
immortal tongue; but Hezekiah could see no such glorious prospect in death.
With his words agrees the testimony of the psalmist: "In death there is no
remembrance of Thee: in the grave who shall give Thee thanks?" "The
dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence." Psalm
6:5; 115:17. {GC 546.1}
Peter on the Day of Pentecost declared that the patriarch
David "is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this
day." "For David is not ascended into the heavens." Acts 2:29, 34.
The fact that David remains in the grave until the resurrection proves that the
righteous do not go to heaven at death. It is only through the resurrection,
and by virtue of the fact that Christ has risen, that David can at last sit at
the right hand of God. {GC
546.2}
And said Paul: "If the dead rise not, then is not
Christ raised: and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in
your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished."
1 Corinthians 15:16-18. If for four thousand years the righteous had gone
directly to heaven at death, how could Paul have said that if there is no
resurrection, [547] "they also which are fallen
asleep in Christ are perished"? No resurrection would be necessary. {GC 546.3}
The martyr Tyndale, referring to the state of the dead,
declared: "I confess openly, that I am not persuaded that they be already
in the full glory that Christ is in, or the elect angels of God are in. Neither
is it any article of my faith; for if it were so, I see not but then the
preaching of the resurrection of the flesh were a thing in vain."—William
Tyndale, Preface to New Testament (ed. 1534). Reprinted in British Reformers—Tindal,
Frith, Barnes, page 349. {GC
547.1}
It is an undeniable fact that the hope of immortal
blessedness at death has led to a widespread neglect of the Bible doctrine of
the resurrection. This tendency was remarked by Dr. Adam Clarke, who said:
"The doctrine of the resurrection appears to have been thought of much
more consequence among the primitive Christians than it is now! How is
this? The apostles were continually insisting on it, and exciting the followers
of God to diligence, obedience, and cheerfulness through it. And their
successors in the present day seldom mention it! So apostles preached, and so
primitive Christians believed; so we preach, and so our hearers believe. There
is not a doctrine in the gospel on which more stress is laid; and there is not
a doctrine in the present system of preaching which is treated with more neglect!"—Commentary,
remarks on 1 Corinthians 15, paragraph 3. {GC 547.2}
This has continued until the glorious truth of the
resurrection has been almost wholly obscured and lost sight of by the Christian
world. Thus a leading religious writer, commenting on the words of Paul in 1
Thessalonians 4:13-18, says: "For all practical purposes of comfort the
doctrine of the blessed immortality of the righteous takes the place for us of
any doubtful doctrine of the Lord's second coming. At our death the Lord comes
for us. That is what we are to wait and watch for. The dead are already passed
into glory. They do not wait for the trump for their judgment and
blessedness." [548] {GC 547.3}
But when about to leave His disciples, Jesus did not tell
them that they would soon come to Him. "I go to prepare a place for
you," He said. "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come
again, and receive you unto Myself." John 14:2, 3. And Paul tells us,
further, that "the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in
Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we
ever be with the Lord." And he adds: "Comfort one another with these
words." 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18. How wide the contrast between these words
of comfort and those of the Universalist minister previously quoted! The latter
consoled the bereaved friends with the assurance that, however sinful the dead
might have been, when he breathed out his life here he was to be received among
the angels. Paul points his brethren to the future coming of the Lord, when the
fetters of the tomb shall be broken, and the "dead in Christ" shall
be raised to eternal life. {GC
548.1}
Before any can enter the mansions of the blessed, their
cases must be investigated, and their characters and their deeds must pass in
review before God. All are to be judged according to the things written in the
books and to be rewarded as their works have been. This judgment does not take
place at death. Mark the words of Paul: "He hath appointed a day, in the
which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath
ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised
Him from the dead." Acts 17:31. Here the apostle plainly stated that a
specified time, then future, had been fixed upon for the judgment of the world.
{GC 548.2}
Jude refers to the same period: "The angels which kept
not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in
everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day."
And, again, he quotes the words of Enoch: "Behold, the Lord cometh with
ten thousands of His [549] saints, to execute judgment upon
all." Jude 6, 14, 15. John declares that he "saw the dead, small and
great, stand before God; and the books were opened: . . . and the
dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books."
Revelation 20:12. {GC
548.3}
But if the dead are already enjoying the bliss of heaven or
writhing in the flames of hell, what need of a future judgment? The teachings
of God's word on these important points are neither obscure nor contradictory;
they may be understood by common minds. But what candid mind can see either
wisdom or justice in the current theory? Will the righteous, after the
investigation of their cases at the judgment, receive the commendation,
"Well done, thou good and faithful servant: . . . enter thou
into the joy of thy Lord," when they have been dwelling in His presence,
perhaps for long ages? Are the wicked summoned from the place of torment to
receive sentence from the Judge of all the earth: "Depart from Me, ye
cursed, into everlasting fire"? Matthew 25:21, 41. Oh, solemn mockery!
shameful impeachment of the wisdom and justice of God! {GC 549.1}
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The theory of the immortality of the soul was one of those
false doctrines that Rome, borrowing from paganism, incorporated into the
religion of Christendom. Martin Luther classed it with the "monstrous
fables that form part of the Roman dunghill of decretals."—E.
Petavel, The Problem of Immortality, page 255. Commenting on the words
of Solomon in Ecclesiastes, that the dead know not anything, the Reformer says:
"Another place proving that the dead have no . . . feeling.
There is, saith he, no duty, no science, no knowledge, no wisdom there. Solomon
judgeth that the dead are asleep, and feel nothing at all. For the dead lie
there, accounting neither days nor years, but when they are awaked, they shall
seem to have slept scarce one minute."— Martin Luther, Exposition
of Solomon's Booke Called Ecclesiastes, page 152. {GC 549.2}
Nowhere in the Sacred Scriptures is found the statement [550]
that the righteous go to their reward or the wicked to their punishment at
death. The patriarchs and prophets have left no such assurance. Christ and His
apostles have given no hint of it. The Bible clearly teaches that the dead do
not go immediately to heaven. They are represented as sleeping until the
resurrection. 1 Thessalonians 4:14; Job 14:10-12. In the very day when the
silver cord is loosed and the golden bowl broken (Ecclesiastes 12:6), man's
thoughts perish. They that go down to the grave are in silence. They know no
more of anything that is done under the sun. Job 14:21. Blessed rest for the
weary righteous! Time, be it long or short, is but a moment to them. They
sleep; they are awakened by the trump of God to a glorious immortality.
"For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible.
. . . So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and
this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the
saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory." 1 Corinthians
15:52-54. As they are called forth from their deep slumber they begin to think
just where they ceased. The last sensation was the pang of death; the last
thought, that they were falling beneath the power of the grave. When they arise
from the tomb, their first glad thought will be echoed in the triumphal shout:
"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" Verse
55. {GC 549.3}
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"Can Our Dead Speak to Us?"
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