The Scripture Doctrine of a Future Life

CERTAIN wicked men had murdered them, and by thus doing closed their weary pilgrimage on earth and sent them right into the glories of Heaven. It would seem that these happy souls really ought to have been thankful for such a deliverance by the hands of their slayers. At least it does not look quite right that they should feel so vindicative that they should pray to God to hasten their enemies into hell. Put this with the parable of the rich man and Lazarus as interpreted by our opponents and see what you have. Hell is so near to Heaven that the righteous can look right down into it and see those who are there and talk with them as Abraham talked with the rich man. They can hear their moans and cries and see the fire burning. Then these martyrs in Heaven must have known very well that in a few years, according to nature itself, their persecutors must die and come into that very hell which was before their eyes. But they are so anxious to see those souls roasting in fire before their eyes that they cannot wait. They pray God to hasten the day when these enemies should be put into hell. Who can believe that the saints in glory would indulge such a spirit? Upon this text Adam Clarke makes this sensible comment: "A symbolical vision was exhibited in which he saw an altar. . .The altar is upon the earth, not in Heaven. They cried, that is, their blood, like that of Abel, cried for vengeance; for we are not to suppose that there was anything like a vindicative spirit in those happy and holy souls."—Note on Rev. 6:9, 10.

We agree with Dr. Clarke. These souls are not in Heaven. The scene was not there. They did not cry literally. The whole thing is symbolical as an examination of the chapter will show. Looking back through the chapter we find a whole line of symbols. First a white horse is seen going forth; next a red horse, and following these a black horse. Then comes a pale horse and "his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell [hades, the grave] followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth."

This is a most terrific symbol to represent the persecuting power of the Romish church against the disciples of Jesus. A pale horse with death sitting thereon, and the grave followed after. All agree that this represents the Papal persecutions. Immediately following this is our text. John says he saw under the altar the souls of those that had been slain by this persecuting power. The altar is symbolical just as the horse and everything in the chapter. They had been slain for the Lord's sake, hence they are represented as being offered upon the altar. But this altar was upon the earth. Next, they are seen under that altar in the grave just where John says they went. But it says they cried; yes, and it says that the blood of Abel cried unto God from the ground but does that prove that the blood of Abel is conscious? By no means.

The blood of these martyrs cried to God for vengeance the same as James says, "Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth." James 5:4. So the blood of these martyrs appeals to God for vengeance upon them that dwell upon the earth. The Lord says to them, "Rest yet a little while until your brethren have been slain." This shows that these souls were in a state of rest and quietude.

Thirteenth Objection —The angel that John worshiped. Rev. 22:9. "Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God." This is the last passage which is claimed as proving the conscious state of the dead. It is asserted that this angel was one of the old prophets who thus appeared to John. Well, grant that it was, and then it does not prove the conscious state of the dead, because some of these prophets had already been taken to Heaven. Enoch was a prophet and he never died. Elijah was a prophet, and he had been translated. Moses was a prophet and he had been resurrected as we have shown. It might have been him. Again, at the resurrection of Christ many of saints which slept were raised up; and in Eph. 4, Paul intimates that they ascended with Christ. It might have been one of these. So that granting that it was a prophet, it does not prove the conscious state of the dead.

But the truth is, this was an angel and not a man nor the soul of a man. John says, When I heard I fell down to worship before the angel that showed me these things. A man is not an angel; but this was an angel. Does it not say that he was one of the prophets? No, a careless reading might give that idea, but a close examination shows that this is not what is declared. It is simply declared that this angel was a fellow servant of John and a fellow servant of his brethren the prophets. That is, this angel was not to be worshiped because he was simply a servant of God, and had only been sent to serve the prophets, John's brethren. Read it carefully. "I am thy fellow servant and of thy brethren the prophets." Let us read a few other translations which will give the idea better. The American Bible Union translation reads: "I am a fellow servant of thee, and of thy brethren the prophets." The Emphatic Diaglott says, "I am the fellow servant with thee and with thy brethren the prophets." Tragelles translates it; "I am the fellow servant of thee and of thy brethren the prophets." This gives the idea better and more correctly. He was only a fellow servant of these prophets, not one of the prophets themselves. Furthermore, this interpretation of our opponents contradicts the Bible by teaching that the dead come back to this earth and converse with men: while the Scriptures plainly declare that the dead know not anything that is going on under the sun. Thus Job says speaking of a man's death: "His sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, and he perceived it not of them." Job. 14:21. Then after a man dies, he knows nothing of what is transpiring on the earth. Again it is said "For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything. . . . also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in anything that is done under the sun." Eccl. 9:5, 6. How can this be harmonized with the idea that the departed spirits of the dead do come back to earth and minister to their brethren? And then in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, of which our opponents are very fond, the very point made there is, that the dead cannot come back to earth and communicate with the living. Will they now contradict all this to make out a case from this passage? This reminds us that our orthodox brethren have joined hands with the spiritualists in this point. If their theory of this passage is correct, then the spirits of the dead do return to earth and do communicate with men as the spiritualists say. The latter only carry it a little further and thus establish their blasphemous doctrine of spirit communications. Thus, we have gone through the Bible and taken up all the prominent passages which are relied upon to prove the question at issue. We now leave it to the readers whether we have not fairly answered these objections, and shown that these very passages teach the sleep of the dead, rather than what our opponents claim of them.

THE END OF THE WICKED.

In harmony with what we have already learned touching the nature of man, we find the holy Scriptures very plainly teaching the utter extinction of the wicked by the second death. Why should not this be so? Why should God preserve alive millions of human beings in eternal woe? Certainly, it can do them no good as they are lost forever. Will the angels or the saints take pleasure in such an awful spectacle? Would it not be a foul blot on God's fair universe? Would it not be an eternal horror to all holy beings?

We are happy to know that the inspired volume teaches no such God dishonoring doctrine. To make this matter plain, we will state five propositions as follows:—

I. That there will be a great day of judgment at the end of the world.

II. That the wicked do not receive their punishment till the day of judgment.

III. That the wicked shall receive their punishment on this earth.

IV. That the wicked shall be entirely burned up by the fire which purifies the earth.

V. That after the wicked are burned up, the earth will be purified and restored to the righteous.

If these simple propositions are maintained, it will explode the popular idea of hell and end the controversy as to the fate of the wicked.

I. That there will be a great day of judgment at the end of the world. Paul says, God hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world. Acts 17:31. Of men's words Jesus says, "They shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment." Matt. 12:36. That this judgment comes in the last days is plainly taught. Thus, the Saviour said, "The word that I have spoken the same shall judge him in the last day." John 12:48. Peter locates it at the end of the world thus: "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. 3:7.

The revelator also places the day of judgment under the sounding of the seventh trumpet, See Rev. 11:15-18. Farther on he says, "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of these things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead, etc." Rev. 20:11-13.

Thus, unequivocally is it stated that there will be a day of judgment which will transpire at the end of the world.

II. That the wicked do not receive their punishment till the day of judgment. Peter declares this when he says, "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished." 2 Peter 2:9. This is plain and to the point. It leaves no place for a quibble. The wicked are reserved to the day of judgment to be punished. Then they are not receiving their punishment in hell now. Again, he states the same fact in Chap. 3:7. After saying that the old world perished by a flood, he says: "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." Here we learn again that at "the day of judgment" will be "the perdition of ungodly men." Job bears a similar testimony. He says: "Have ye not asked them that go by the way? and do ye not know their tokens, that the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction?"

Peter and Job both agree that the wicked are "reserved," to the day of judgment or destruction. But where are they kept in reserve? The Catholic would answer, "In purgatory," a sort of ante-chamber to hell. The Protestant, ridiculing the idea of purgatory, is compelled to contradict the Scriptures just as far, and say that the wicked are not reserved at all, but go directly into hell when they die. But we see that they are reserved; and now the question is, Where are they kept? Job continues: "They shall be brought forth to the day of wrath. . . . Yet shall he be brought to the grave and shall remain in the tomb. The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, and every man shall draw after him, as they are innumerable before him." Job 21:30-33.

Thus, we see that the wicked are reserved in the tomb, to be brought forth at the day of judgment. This agrees with the testimony of Jesus: "Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth." John 5:28, 29. In Rev. 20:12, we have a description of the judgment; and verse 13 says: "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it: and death and hell [grave, margin] delivered up the dead which were in them; and they were judged every man according to their works." Thus the fact is taught throughout that the dead are in their graves till the day of judgment. So Dan. 12:2: "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt."

Every reference to the punishment of the wicked always places it at the judgment, never before. Jesus says, Many will say in that day, "Lord, Lord," etc, confidently expecting to go right into Heaven; but he will shut them out. Matt. 7:21-23. They find out at the judgment for the first time that they are lost. Have they been in hell for ages and never discovered that they were damned? Again, it shall be more tolerable for Sodom in the day of judgment than for those who reject the gospel. Matt. 10:14, 15. Here, as every where, their punishment, is located at the judgment, never before. So we read in Rev. 11:18: "Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth." Here the time of reward is placed at the judgment.

Thus I think that we have proved conclusively that "the unjust are reserved unto the day of judgment to be punished." 2 Peter 2:9. Where is it said to the contrary? Where is the text that says sinners are punished before the judgment? Where is it said that the wicked go to hell at death? If it is true, it ought to be plainly stated. But not an intimation of that kind is anywhere given. Indeed, it would be unreasonable to punish men thousands of years before they were judged. Hence this part of the fence is firmly built. But if any should deem it not strong enough yet, it can be strengthened to any required degree, from Matt. 13; 2 Thess. 1 and 2; Mal. 4; etc., etc.

III. That the wicked shall receive their punishment on this earth.

Those who hold the doctrine of an eternal hell are never able to give its location. The idea of it is, however, that it is a vast, bottomless lake of fire, somewhere on the outskirts of all creation, where the damned writhe in torment and misery to all eternity, gnashing their teeth, cursing God, and sending up groans and wailings, amid the shouts and horrid yells of devils and demons. But does the Bible leave us in all this uncertainty on so important a point as this? We think not. Thus we read in Prov. 11:31: "Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth; much more the wicked and the sinner."

Universalists grasp at this text, and say to the orthodox, "If the wicked receive their punishment on the earth, they will certainly be on an equal footing with the righteous when they leave this earth." With the theory that the wicked receive no punishment on the earth, except what they receive in this life, I know not how this conclusion can be avoided; for there is no evidence that they ever receive any punishment anywhere else.