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36 chapters
PREFACE.
PREFACE.
Questions of such absorbing interest to the human race as “The State of the Dead,” and “The Destiny of the Wicked,” should command the candid attention of all serious and thoughtful men. The Bible alone can answer the inquiries of the human mind on these important subjects; and if the Bible is the full and complete revelation which it claims to be, we must believe that it has answered them. What that answer is, the following pages undertake to show. On the questions here discussed there is at th
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CHAPTER I. PRIMARY QUESTIONS.
CHAPTER I. PRIMARY QUESTIONS.
Gradually the mind awakes to the mystery of life. Excepting only the first pair, every adult member of the human race has come up through the helplessness of infancy and the limited acquirements of childhood. All have reached their full capacity to think and do, only by the slow development of their mental and physical powers. Without either counsel or co-operation of our own, we find ourselves on the plane of human existence, subject to all the conditions of the race, and hastening forward to i
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CHAPTER II. IMMORTAL AND IMMORTALITY.
CHAPTER II. IMMORTAL AND IMMORTALITY.
In turning to the Bible, our only source of information on this question, to learn whether or not man is immortal, the first and most natural step in the inquiry is to ascertain what use the Bible makes of the terms “immortal” and “immortality.” How frequently does it use them? To whom does it apply them? Of whom does it make immortality an attribute? Does it affirm it of man or any part of him? Should we, without opening the Bible, endeavor to form an opinion of its teachings from the current p
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CHAPTER III. THE IMAGE OF GOD.
CHAPTER III. THE IMAGE OF GOD.
If man is immortal, we should naturally suppose that the Bible would make known so weighty a truth in some of the instances where it has had occasion to use the words immortal and immortality. Where else could it more properly be revealed? And the fact that its use of those terms affords no proof that man is in possession of this great attribute, but rather that it belongs to God alone, should cause a person to receive with great allowance the positive assertions of popular theology on this ques
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CHAPTER IV. THE BREATH OF LIFE.
CHAPTER IV. THE BREATH OF LIFE.
Gen. 1:27, states, in general terms, the form in which man was created, as contrasted with other orders of animal life. In Gen. 2:7, the process is described by which this creation was accomplished. Finding no proof in the former passage that man was put in possession of immortality (see preceding chapter) we turn to the latter text to examine the claims based upon that. The verse reads: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life: an
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CHAPTER V. THE LIVING SOUL.
CHAPTER V. THE LIVING SOUL.
Finding no immortality for man in the breath of life which God breathed into man’s nostrils at the commencement of his mysterious existence, it remains to inquire if it resides in the “living soul,” which man, as the result of that action, immediately became. “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.” Gen. 2:7. On this point also it is proper to let the representatives of the popular view define their
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CHAPTER VI. WHAT IS SOUL? WHAT IS SPIRIT?
CHAPTER VI. WHAT IS SOUL? WHAT IS SPIRIT?
The discussion of Gen. 2:7 (as in the preceding chapter), brings directly before us for solution the question, What is meant by the terms soul and spirit, as applied to man? Some believers in unconditional immortality point triumphantly to the fact that the terms soul and spirit are used in reference to the human race, as though that settled the question, and placed an insuperable embargo upon all further discussion. This arises simply from their not looking into this matter with sufficient thor
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CHAPTER VII. THE SPIRIT RETURNS TO GOD.
CHAPTER VII. THE SPIRIT RETURNS TO GOD.
Ecclesiastes 12:7: “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return to God who gave it.” It is natural for men to appeal first and most directly to those sources from which they expect the most efficient help. So the advocates of man’s natural immortality, when put to the task of showing what scriptures they regard as containing proof of their position, almost invariably make their first appeal to the text here quoted. In the examination of this text, and all other
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CHAPTER VIII. THE FORMATION OF THE SPIRIT.
CHAPTER VIII. THE FORMATION OF THE SPIRIT.
In a search for testimony relative to the nature of man, with the purpose of ascertaining whether or not he is immortal, those texts first demand attention which are claimed as proof that he is above and beyond the power of death. Zech. 12:1, is introduced as positive testimony on this side of the question: “The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens and layeth the foundations of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.” With an
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CHAPTER IX. WHO KNOWETH?
CHAPTER IX. WHO KNOWETH?
With these words Solomon introduces, in Eccl. 3:21, a very important question respecting the spirit of man. He says: “Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?” Deeming this a good foundation, the advocates of natural immortality proceed to build thereon. They take it to be, first, a positive declaration that the spirit of man does go up, and the spirit of the beast downward to the earth. Then the superstructure is easily erect
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CHAPTER X. THE SPIRITS OF JUST MEN MADE PERFECT.
CHAPTER X. THE SPIRITS OF JUST MEN MADE PERFECT.
“But ye are come,” says Paul, “unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the Heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn which are written in Heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” Heb. 12:22-24. With a great show of confidence, either pretended or
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CHAPTER XI. THE SPIRITS IN PRISON.
CHAPTER XI. THE SPIRITS IN PRISON.
“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit; by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water.” 1 Pet. 3:18-20. The advocates of natural immortality are not long in finding their way to
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CHAPTER XII. DEPARTURE AND RETURN OF THE SOUL.
CHAPTER XII. DEPARTURE AND RETURN OF THE SOUL.
We have now examined all those passages in which the word spirit is used in such a manner as to furnish what is claimed to be evidence of its uninterrupted consciousness after the death of the body. We have found them all easily explainable in harmony with other positive and literal declarations of the Scriptures that the dead know not any thing, that when a man’s breath goeth forth and he returneth to his earth, his very thoughts perish, and that there is no wisdom nor knowledge nor device in t
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CHAPTER XIII. CAN THE SOUL BE KILLED?
CHAPTER XIII. CAN THE SOUL BE KILLED?
Matt. 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Luke records the same sentiment in these words:-- “And I say unto you, my friends. Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which, after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.” Luke 12:4, 5. The estimate wh
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CHAPTER XIV. THE SOULS UNDER THE ALTAR.
CHAPTER XIV. THE SOULS UNDER THE ALTAR.
In Rev. 6:9-11, is another instance where the word, soul, is used in a manner which many take to be proof that there is in man a separate entity, conscious in death, and capable in a disembodied state of performing all the acts, and exercising all the emotions, which pertain to this life. The verses referred to read:-- “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a l
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CHAPTER XV. GATHERED TO HIS PEOPLE.
CHAPTER XV. GATHERED TO HIS PEOPLE.
The pleasing doctrine that man can never die, though unfortunate in its parentage, is very tenacious of its life. In treating this subject in previous chapters, we have found that the record of man’s creation brings to view no immortal element as entering into his being; that the Bible, in its use of the terms immortal and immortality, never employs them to express an attribute inherent in man’s nature; that no description of soul and spirit, and no signification of the original words, will sust
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CHAPTER XVI. SAMUEL AND THE WOMAN OF ENDOR.
CHAPTER XVI. SAMUEL AND THE WOMAN OF ENDOR.
In all arguments for the continued life and consciousness of the dead, 1 Sam. 28:3-20, usually holds a conspicuous place. In examining this scripture, we will look at (1) the narrative, (2) the claim that is based upon it, (3) the character of the actors in the incident, (4) the facts to be considered, and (5) the conclusions to be drawn. 1. The narrative. Samuel was a prophet of God in Israel from 1112 to 1058 before Christ. Saul was king of Israel from 1096 to 1056 before Christ. Samuel anoint
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CHAPTER XVII. THE TRANSFIGURATION. MATT. 17:1-9.
CHAPTER XVII. THE TRANSFIGURATION. MATT. 17:1-9.
When our Lord was transfigured, on a high mountain of Galilee, before Peter and James and John, there appeared with him two other glorified personages, talking with him. These, the inspired narrator says, were Moses and Elias, as the disciples understood them to be. Luke 9:30-33. With what pleasure does the immaterialist meet with an account of any manifestation or action on the part of those who have long been dead; it has so specious an appearance of sustaining his views, or at least of furnis
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CHAPTER XVIII. DID CHRIST TEACH THAT THE DEAD ARE ALIVE?
CHAPTER XVIII. DID CHRIST TEACH THAT THE DEAD ARE ALIVE?
Yes, says the immaterialist, for he taught that God, who declares himself to be the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is not the God of the dead, but of the living; therefore, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, are living; but they are living as immaterial, disembodied immortal spirits; for their bodies are in the grave. The occasion on which these words were spoken is described in Matt. 22:23-32. To understand the words of Christ, we must understand fully the point at issue, and what his words were des
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CHAPTER XIX. MOSES AND THE PROPHETS ON THE PLACE AND CONDITION OF THE DEAD.
CHAPTER XIX. MOSES AND THE PROPHETS ON THE PLACE AND CONDITION OF THE DEAD.
The hoary fable that every man has in his own nature an immaterial, ever-conscious, never-dying principle, vaulting from the gloomy regions of heathen mythology over into the precincts of Christianity, and claiming the positive authority of Christ and his apostles, instead of the uncertain speculations of Socrates and Plato, conceives that it finds a secure intrenchment in Luke 16:19-31, or the record concerning the rich man and Lazarus. Into this record, as into the strongest of strongholds, it
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CHAPTER XX. THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS.
CHAPTER XX. THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS.
The previous chapter left us with the problem on our hands whether it were better to try to overthrow all that Moses and the prophets have written respecting sheol and the condition of those who enter therein, for the purpose of sustaining the common view of the rich man and Lazarus, or to try to account for the use of the language used in that narrative, in harmony with what Moses and the prophets have said respecting that place. In the first place, we cannot set aside what Moses and the prophe
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CHAPTER XXI. WITH ME IN PARADISE.
CHAPTER XXI. WITH ME IN PARADISE.
According to Luke’s account of the crucifixion of our Saviour, Luke 23:27-46, one of the two malefactors who were crucified with him, said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily, I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise.” Verses 42, 43. This, says the immaterialist, “must ever stand as a clear announcement of the uninterrupted immortality of the soul.” ( Landis , p. 211.) The “clear announcement” is made out in this manner
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CHAPTER XXII. ABSENT FROM THE BODY.
CHAPTER XXII. ABSENT FROM THE BODY.
Another passage, supposed to teach the separate conscious existence of the soul, is found in 2 Cor. 5:8: “We are confident, I say, and willing rather, to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” On the acknowledged principle that it is illogical to endeavor to build any great doctrine upon an isolated passage, without taking into consideration the general tenor of the context, if not also other writings from the same author, let us look at some of the statements which Paul has
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CHAPTER XXIII. IN THE BODY AND OUT.
CHAPTER XXIII. IN THE BODY AND OUT.
It is confidently asserted that Paul believed a man could exist independently of the body from certain expressions which he uses in 2 Cor. 12: 2-4:-- “I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third Heaven. And I knew such a man, whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) how that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words,
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CHAPTER XXIV. DEPARTING AND BEING WITH CHRIST.
CHAPTER XXIV. DEPARTING AND BEING WITH CHRIST.
When will all men come to agree respecting the state of the dead? When will the question whether the dead are alive, conscious, active, and intelligent, or whether they rest in the grave in unconsciousness and inactivity, cease to be a vexed question? When shall it be decided whether the shout of triumph which the ransomed are to raise, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” is the celebration of a real victory, or only an unnecessary and useless transaction, as it must be
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CHAPTER XXV. THE DEATH OF ADAM.
CHAPTER XXV. THE DEATH OF ADAM.
The inquirer into the nature of man, and his condition in death, must ever turn with the deepest interest to the record left us concerning the father of our race. In Adam we have an account of the origin of the human family, at once so simple and consistent that the jeers of skepticism fall harmless at its feet, and science, in comparison, only makes itself ridiculous, in trying to account for it in any other manner. And in the sentence pronounced upon him when he fell under the fearful guilt of
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CHAPTER XXVI. THE RESURRECTION.
CHAPTER XXVI. THE RESURRECTION.
As clearly as the human race have been taught by the experience of six thousand years that death is their common lot, so clearly are we taught by the word of God, and by some notable exhibitions of divine power, that all who have gone into their graves shall come forth again to life. The words in the New Testament which express this fact are anastasis , egersis , and exanastasis . The two latter occur but once each, the first in reference to the resurrection of Christ, in Matt. 27:53, the last i
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CHAPTER XXVII. THE JUDGMENT.
CHAPTER XXVII. THE JUDGMENT.
We have seen how the grand doctrine of the future resurrection of the dead, demolishes with its ponderous weight the gossamer fabric of the immortality of the soul. There is another doctrine as scriptural and as prominent as the resurrection which opposes its impregnable battlements to the same anti-scriptural fable--a fable, weak, though encased in the coat of mail with which heathendom furnishes it, and not very imposing in appearance, though adorned with the gorgeous trappings of the mother o
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CHAPTER XXVIII. THE WAGES OF SIN.
CHAPTER XXVIII. THE WAGES OF SIN.
We have now examined the teaching of the Bible relative to man, in his creation, in his life, in his death, and in the intermediate state to his resurrection; and we have found its uniform and explicit testimony to be that he has no inherent, inalienable principle in his nature which is exempt from death; but that the only avenue to life beyond the grave is through the resurrection. We have found also that such a resurrection to a second life is decreed for all the race; and now the more momento
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CHAPTER XXIX. EVERLASTING PUNISHMENT.
CHAPTER XXIX. EVERLASTING PUNISHMENT.
Matt. 25:46: “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.” This text is very commonly urged as an objection against the view that the destiny of the reprobate is an utter and eternal extinction of being; and it is one which has great apparent force. But the secret of this apparent strength lies in the fact that the term punishment is almost invariably supposed to be confined to conscious suffering, and that when any affliction is no longer taken cogn
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CHAPTER XXX. THE UNDYING WORM AND QUENCHLESS FIRE.
CHAPTER XXX. THE UNDYING WORM AND QUENCHLESS FIRE.
Mark 9:43, 44: “And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” Twice our Lord repeats this solemn sentence against the wicked, “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” Verses 46, 48. These passages are relied on with as much assurance, perhaps, as any, to prove the eternal misery of the reprobat
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CHAPTER XXXI. TORMENTED FOREVER AND EVER.
CHAPTER XXXI. TORMENTED FOREVER AND EVER.
The only remaining texts to be urged in favor of the eternal torment of the wicked, are two passages which are found in the book of Revelation. The first is Rev. 14:11: “And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” It is proper first to inquire of whom this is spoken. The question before us relates to the destiny of all the wicked. No text is therefore conclusi
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CHAPTER XXXII. THE END OF THEM THAT OBEY NOT THE GOSPEL.
CHAPTER XXXII. THE END OF THEM THAT OBEY NOT THE GOSPEL.
“What shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” 1 Pet. 4:17. By this direct interrogation inspiration calls us face to face to the great question of the final destiny of the lost, not to leave us at last in perplexity and doubt, but to give us full information in reference thereto. By the foregoing examination of themes which have a bearing upon this question, we have been brought to a place where the way is all clear to listen unbiased to the direct testimony of the Bible on th
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CHAPTER XXXIII. GOD’S DEALINGS WITH HIS CREATURES.
CHAPTER XXXIII. GOD’S DEALINGS WITH HIS CREATURES.
“Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” asked an eminent servant of God in the opening pages of revelation, Gen. 18:25; and when all is finished, the redeemed, looking over all God’s dealings with man, exclaim with fervent lips, “Just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.” Rev. 15:3. It is objected that we should raise no question regarding the justness of the doom to which God may devote any portion of our race; because we are not able to judge of his ways. Of things with which w
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CHAPTER XXXIV. THE CLAIMS OF PHILOSOPHY.
CHAPTER XXXIV. THE CLAIMS OF PHILOSOPHY.
After the Bible, what? When once the word of God pronounces upon a question, what further evidence is needed to sustain the position, or what evidence is strong enough to break its decision? What can human reason, science, and philosophy, do for a theory upon which the Scriptures have written “Ichabod”? We have, in previous chapters, examined the teaching of the Bible on the whole subject of man’s creation, nature, death, intermediate state, and final doom. We have found that man was not created
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APPENDIX. MORALITY OF THE DOCTRINE OF A FUTURE LIFE.
APPENDIX. MORALITY OF THE DOCTRINE OF A FUTURE LIFE.
The following is from “The Doctrine of a Future Life,” by W. R. Alger. He here discusses the “morality of the doctrine of a future life” on the strong hypothesis that there is to be no existence hereafter, and utterly disproves the conclusions which some would make the inevitable consequence of such a doctrine. The same objections are urged against the view we entertain that after the Judgment the sinner is to endure a punishment which reaches its climax in the loss of existence. With a hundred-
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