Earlier text: Triumph of the ReformationSin and Its Penalty.
By Editor
BUT still another difficulty is presented to us by giving an extraordinary definition to death; it is said to mean eternal misery. But on examination of this, the difficulty is found entirely on the side of those who present it. If, however, the definition is correct, there is an insurmountable difficulty, involving the whole doctrine of the atonement, and making it utterly impossible for God to be just, and also the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. First, then, if the signification of death is "eternal misery," Christ never died at all; and then all the scriptures that say he died are untrue; and thus the atonement would be proved impossible, and further consideration of it would be useless. But admitting the Scripture testimony, that the wages of sin is death, and that Christ died for sin, and we have the scriptural view of the term death, utterly forbidding such an unnatural and forced construction of a plain declaration. Secondly. If the correct definition of death is eternal misery, the relative terms, first and second, as applied to death before and after the resurrection, are used absurdly. For how can there be a first and second eternal misery? Sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and death passed upon all men. But the very fact that man may be resurrected, released from death, as the Scriptures teach, clearly proves that the Scripture use of the term death is entirely different from the "theological use," as given above. And, thirdly, If death means eternal misery, then that is the penalty of the law; but Christ did not suffer it, and the redeemed will not suffer it, so it follows that justice is never vindicated by the infliction of the penalty, either upon them or a substitute; and thus justice is suspended, not satisfied; and Christ's death (if it could with any reason be called so) is not truly vicarious. As before considered, justice demands the infliction of the penalty of a just law; and as God is unchangeable and infinitely just, the penalty will surely be inflicted upon the transgressor or his substitute. But the above view makes it impossible. According to that, mercy does not harmonize with justice, but supersedes it, and God's justice is not manifest in justifying the believer. The sum of the matter is this: that if the penalty be eternal misery, then all that have sinned must suffer it, and be eternally miserable, or else the demands of the law are never honored. But the first would result in universal damnation, and the other would degrade the Government of God, and contradict both reason and the Scriptures. This definition of death has been adopted of necessity to conform to the popular idea of the inherent immortality of man; yet it involves a contradiction in those who hold it. For it is claimed that the wicked are immortal and cannot cease to exist, and therefore the death threatened in the Scriptures is something besides cessation of existence; namely, misery. But immortality signifies exemption from death; and if the Scriptural meaning of death is misery, and the wicked are immortal, or exempt from death, they are, of course, exempt from misery! The advocates of this theory do not mean to be Universalists, but their position necessarily leads to that result. It was well said by that great Christian philosopher, John Locke, that "it seems a strange way of understanding law, which requires the plainest and most direct terms, that by death should be meant eternal life in misery." Life and death are opposites; the first is promised to the justified, the second is threatened and inflicted upon the unjust. But life and misery are not opposites; misery is a condition of life. In everything but "theology" such a perversion of language would not be tolerated, as to make eternal misery and death, or even misery and death, synonymous. Were I to report that a man was dead because I knew him to be suffering in much misery, it would be looked upon as trifling—solemn mockery. With a cessation of life every condition of life must cease. Before leaving the subject of the penalty for transgression we will compare with the announcement of the penalty to Adam, the explanation of it by the Lawgiver himself. When man was created and placed on probation, the Lord said to him that if he disobeyed the divine requirement or prohibition he should "surely die." To this all future declarations conformed. Indeed, if there is unity of design in the Scriptures they all must conform to this. Accordingly they say, as already quoted: "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." "The wages of sin is death." Said the Lord to Israel: "I have set before you life and death." The penalty for violation of the divine law is nothing less than "the death penalty." God is the author of life, and man is his creature. "All souls are mine," said the Creator; "as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine; the soul that sinneth, it shall die." Eze. 18:4. The right both to order and to dispose of life rests with him alone. There is no surer method of settling the meaning of a penalty than to notice how the proper authority pronounces or executes the sentence upon a transgressor. Adam sinned; he was arraigned, and confessed his guilt. He could not hide it from his Maker. The Judge in this case was the author and giver of the law; it was he who first announced the penalty of death. The sentence or the punishment must be conformable to the penalty. Therefore the sentence will be an authoritative comment on, or explanation of, the penalty. The sentence was pronounced in these words: "Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." According to this sentence, when the Lord told the man he should surely die, he meant that he should be returned to his original element, the dust of the ground, out of which he was taken when he was made a man, a living soul. That is what we call literal, personal, or physical death. Nothing else could be implied, for the record speaks of nothing else as pertaining either to the penalty or the sentence. And who shall amend the word of the Lord, or question his decision, in a matter of his own law and of the life and death of his creatures? On the subject of punishment we will examine but one text, as our limits do not admit of any extended argument on the point. This text is Matt. 25:46; and we notice this because it is supposed to conflict in direct terms with the view of the penalty given above. And this being one of the strongest, if not the very strongest, in which an objection is based, an exposition of this will show that the objection itself has no force. The text reads: "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into the eternal." The Revised Version says eternal punishment and eternal life. This is strictly according to the original, and no one will object to the rendering. The whole objection is based upon a misapprehension of the term punishment. Many seem to think they have fully sustained the objection when once they have proved that the punishment of the wicked is as eternal as the life of the righteous. Thus Moses Stuart said: "If the Scriptures have not asserted the endless punishment of the wicked, neither have they asserted the endless happiness of the righteous, nor the endless glory and existence of the Godhead." We admit this, and then our argument has lost nothing, and the objection has gained nothing. The question is not one of the duration of punishment, but of the nature of it. Of this we say— 1. The word punishment is not a specific term. Men may be punished by fire, by imprisonment, or by death. The term includes all these, and it may refer to many other things, but it specifies neither of them. 2. This being so, there is only an implied, not a direct, antithesis between the words punishment and life. When we say a man will be punished, we do not thereby declare what shall be done with or to him. But if we say of two men that one shall be punished and the other shall be suffered to live, the unavoidable conclusion would be that the first would be punished with death, or not suffered to live. 3. If death be punishment, then eternal death, from which there will be no resurrection, is eternal punishment. And this is the destiny of the wicked. "The wages of sin is death." As there will be a resurrection of the unjust, and their punishment is after that, they will suffer a second death, after which there is no more resurrection. The second death is therefore an eternal death. 4. Eternal life and eternal death are complete contrasts. There would be no strong contrast between eternal death and a brief life, or between eternal life and a brief state of death. And there would be no contrast at all between eternal life and eternal imprisonment. The penalty or punishment being death, there is this complete contrast between eternal life and the eternal punishment. But it would not exist if the punishment were anything but death. 5. Paul, in 2 Thess. 1:9, has given a decisive comment on this text. He uses both the terms used by the Saviour, with another term which is specific and therefore explanatory. Of the disobedient he says: "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." The Revised Version reads thus: "Who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might." Death and destruction are equivalents. Many times the Scriptures say of the wicked that they shall be destroyed. That destruction will be forever. They shall die, and never again awake. What a doom! And it may be averted by obedience to God through faith in his Son. But he who dies that death receives the just due of his own works. "The wages of sin is death." It is not the Lord's pleasure that any should be destroyed. "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." "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, O house of Israel?" The force of the apostle's words in 2 Thess. 1:9 is sometimes lost by assuming that it means banished from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. But that could not be, for in the whole universe no one can get beyond his presence and power. See Ps. 129:7-12. The destruction of the wicked is by fire; and in Rev. 20:9, we learn that when the hosts of Satan compass the camp of the saints and the beloved city, "fire came down from God out of Heaven and devoured them." And thus will the word be literally fulfilled; from the presence of the Lord, from the glory of his power, even from Heaven shall the fire of destruction fall upon the ungodly. "This is the second death." It is their dying a second time. Truly an "everlasting punishment." Much as we deplore the utter loss of so many of our race, as lovers of order and Government we acquiesce in the decisions of infinite justice. And we rejoice that justice has decreed the utter destruction of the incorrigibly rebellious, rather than that the universe of God should be the scene of eternal blasphemies and misery. Let creation be cleansed from sin, and all be love and peace. We repeat a declaration before made, that circumstances make the death of the sinner an eternal death. The term die, or the penalty death, as stated to Adam, does not necessarily carry with it any idea of time or duration. To die is to lose life; death is the absence of life. We know of no one thing which more clearly shows the nature of the penalty of the law than the revealed truth that "Christ died for our sins." Prayer must be not only with submission, but with discretion. It may be said, with some degree of confidence, that the most believing petitioners are at the same time the most discreet regarding the things for which they ask. Said Miss Adele M. Fielde, at the woman's meeting in Chicago recently, concerning a wonderfully blessed prayer-circle in China: "We got so that we considered a long while, and very carefully, before we decided to permit certain things to be prayed for." As Christians grow more devout and trustful, they doubtless begin to show more and more judgment in the objects of their prayers. They ask less for those things which they ought not to have. Fresh Thought in Prayer Meetings
The laymen in their prayer-meeting utterances lose much when they do not make vigorous effort to say something fresh, that shows their thought has been upon the subject and its needs prior to the hour of meeting.—Golden Rule. The Sabbath-School.
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
Lesson for Pacific Coast.—November 10.
THE Bible, unlike most books, is adapted to all times and all classes of people. Much of it was written for a special purpose, for the reproof or encouragement of those then living, yet it is as applicable to us as it was to persons who lived hundreds of years ago. The parables of Christ were all given for the purpose of meeting some pressing want, yet they are as fresh to-day as when uttered. All of the epistles were addressed to persons who lived in the days of the apostles, yet Christians in all intervening time have felt that they were for them as much as for those who are named in them. In the case of the epistles to the Thessalonians, we readily see that the apostle had in mind not only the Thessalonian brethren, but those especially who would live in the days immediately preceding the coming of the Lord. If we remember this fact, it will add new force to many passages. IN the fifth chapter of 1 Thessalonians, the apostle gives several short precepts that are worthy of our careful consideration. First we notice the exhortation to the brethren to "know" those who labored among them, "and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake." And what is the work for which the brethren are to esteem those who labor among them? It is to admonish, or, as Paul says to Timothy, to "reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine." Ministers are not to be esteemed because they succeed in pleasing their hearers, or in expressing the sentiment of the congregation, but because they are faithful in exhortation and reproof. The true Christian will always love the one who faithfully admonishes him, no matter how severe the rebuke may be. David said, "Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness; and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head." THE apostle writes: "Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly." He does not seem to have had any faith in the idea that no one has any right to interfere to set matters right in the church; that church difficulties are to be left alone to work themselves clear. He knew that under such circumstances they usually work themselves clear through the church. As much reproach is brought on the cause of God by lax discipline as by any other thing. The church relation is of divine origin, and unless each member does his duty faithfully, and all work in harmony, its object will be defeated. On this point we can do no better than quote the words of another:— "The word here used is one which properly means not keeping the ranks; and then irregular, confused, neglectful of duty, disorderly. The reference here is to the members of the church who were irregular in their Christian walk. It is not difficult, in an army, when soldiers get out of the line, or leave their places in the ranks, or are thrown into confusion, to see that little can be accomplished in such a state of irregularity and confusion. As little difficult is it, when the members of a church are out of their places, to see that little can be accomplished in such a state. Many a church is like an army where half the soldiers are out of the line; where there is entire insubordination in the ranks, and where not half of them could be depended on for efficient service in a campaign. Indeed, an army would accomplish little, if as large a proportion of it were irregular, idle, remiss, or pursuing their own aims, to the neglect of the public interest, as there are members of the church, who can never be depended on in accomplishing the great purpose for which it was designed." "SEE that none render evil for evil unto any man, but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men." The easiest way to see that this injunction is carried out would be for each one to hold his own evil tendencies in check. But if there are those who do not practice that charity which is described in 1 Cor. 13: 4, 5, then the church has a duty in the matter. It is the duty of the body to see that the members are in harmony. This should not be done in a harsh, censorious manner, but in accordance with the command in Lev. 19: 17, 18: "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart; thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." "DESPISE not prophesyings." It must be remembered that there is a difference between prophecies and prophesyings. The command does not have reference especially to the prophecies of the Old Testament, or of the New, although it is a sad fact that they are quite generally despised at the present day. But it has to do with something in the present tense. It needs no argument to show that this chapter is addressed through the Thessalonians to those who would be living in the very last days. Then it must be that there will be some in the last days who will prophesy, and not only so, but their prophesying is to be esteemed. There will be false prophets, but this only makes it the more certain that there will be true ones. Joel says, "And it shall come to pass afterward ["in the last days," Acts 2:17], that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions." But if there are to be both true and false prophets, how can we tell which to believe? The same rule applies now as of old: "To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." IT is not optional with us whether or not we will try the spirits. The command is, "Prove all things." We are in duty bound to test every doctrine or professed truth that is presented to us. To turn away from a new truth, simply because it is new to us, and then to imagine that we cannot be condemned, on account of our ignorance, is a fatal mistake. We do not know but that the new thought may be truth; therefore we are to turn upon it the blazing light of God's word, to try it. If it proves to be good, then we must hold it fast, at whatever sacrifice. This necessarily implies the utter rejection of everything that is bad, for good and evil cannot dwell long together. Not only must we reject the wrong; but we must "abstain from all appearance of evil." "AND the very God of peace sanctify you wholly." Entire sanctification is most clearly brought out in the Scriptures, as necessary for all, but like every good and necessary thing, it has been sadly abused. The prevalent idea at the present time is that sanctification is a state of mind or feeling; a state in which the individual feels very good, in short, perfectly satisfied with himself. It arises from the idea that the sole object of religion is to make man happy. This is a mistake. Man's first great duty is to please God, whether the duty be pleasant or disagreeable. And we can please God only by keeping his commandments. With this agree the words of Christ, "Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth." We can test every man's professed sanctification by the law of God. If his life is wholly devoted to carrying out its requirements, his sanctification is genuine; but if he ignores or tramples upon God's law, or any portion of it, his sanctification is spurious. And true sanctification does not loudly proclaim its own excellence. "Charity [love] vaunteth not itself." The man who loudly "professes entire sanctification," may well be suspected of insincerity. Much of the so-called sanctification is a manifestation not only of selfishness but of obstinacy. A religion of feeling must necessarily be a selfish religion. The great object of the person is to get in a state of mind where nothing will trouble him. Duty may be acknowledged in theory, but if it is contrary to the feelings, it is rejected. We have known persons who confessed that the fourth commandment is as binding now as it ever was, and that there is not the slightest warrant in the Bible for Sunday-keeping, yet they deliberately decided not to obey, because they did not feel as though they ought to. They had such "perfect love" for God that they were excused from obeying him! We think we are warranted in calling such a course a manifestation of "perfect obstinacy" and self-will. Purity of heart and soul comes only through obeying the truth. 1 Peter 1: 22. "AND I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." "There," says one, "you materialistic Adventists do not believe that man is a compound body, composed of soul, body, and spirit; and what do you do with this text?" We accept every word as true. Our friends are sometimes too hasty in telling what we do and do not believe. We believe most heartily that man is a soul, body, and spirit, because Paul speaks of those different parts; but we utterly reject the idea that any or all of these parts are essentially immortal, because the Bible gives positive evidence to the contrary. If these elements compose the man, what reason have we to suppose that the man can maintain a conscious existence without any one of them? Such a supposition is contrary both to reason and Scripture. See Ps. 146: 3, 4, etc. 2 THESS. 1: 9 says that the wicked "shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." This is commonly supposed to mean that the wicked will be banished from the presence of the Lord, and that this alone will constitute their punishment. But, in the first place, to be out of God's immediate presence is what the wicked desire; no greater punishment could be devised for them, than to be obliged to be in the sacred presence of God. Wicked men do not now seek the place where God manifests himself, and we cannot suppose that they ever will, unless they become converted. Indeed, the prophet tells us that at the last day, the wicked will say to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb." Rev. 6: 16. And secondly, there is no place in the universe where the wicked could flee from the presence of God. See Ps. 139: 7-12. The wages of the sinner will be death, destruction that comes from the presence of the Lord. And when their destruction shall have been accomplished, no place will be found for them. Dan. 2: 35. The wails and blasphemies of the damned will not forever rise to mar the harmony of a portion of God's universe, for there will come a time when "every creature which is in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them," will unite in saying, "Blessing and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." THE YOUTH'S INSTRUCTOR.
By Editor
AN ILLUSTRATED WEEKLY PAPER FOR YOUTH AND CHILDREN, DEVOTED TO MORAL, MENTAL, AND RELIGIOUS CULTURE. This paper is not devoted to insipid stories and religious fiction, but is filled with a great variety of that kind of reading which tends to the healthful development of the youthful mind. Its pages are made bright by the choicest illustrative pictures, and its columns are always full of useful information. As a Sabbath-school and Lesson paper, it is suited to the wants of scholars and teachers, and is calculated to increase the interest of all who read it, in thorough Bible study. The Sabbath-school Department contains two series of lessons, one for children and one for youth. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE, 75 CENTS A YEAR.
All new subscribers paying the above price will receive the "Child's Poems" as a premium without extra charge. TERMS TO CLUBS, PAID IN ADVANCE.
Price per Copy, Post-paid.
5 to 10 copies..............................60 cents a year.
10 copies and upward ...........................50 cents a year. Subscription for 5 to 10 copies will be taken for six months. Larger clubs may be paid for quarterly. Address YOUTH'S INSTRUCTOR, Battle Creek, Mich. This is a pamphlet of only 84 pages, but its value is not to be judged by its size. It is just what its title indicates: a faithful presentation of Bible truth on this important subject, and an exposure of the false theories prevailing in regard to it. Every believer in Bible truth should read it. Buy it, read it, and lend it to your neighbor. Price 10 cts. Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal. EARLY WRITINGS OF MRS. WHITE.
By Editor
Comprising “Experience and Views” and “Spiritual Gifts Volume One,” bound in one volume. This makes a neat and attractive book of nearly 200 pages, and should be read by old and young. The matter and the style in which it is presented are so interesting that no one who has read one chapter will forego the pleasure and profit of reading the remainder. Price, 75 cents. Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal. Spiritualism a Religion.
By Editor
SEVERAL years ago we published a pamphlet entitled "The Nature and Tendency of Modern Spiritualism," the third edition of which was printed in 1877. In that we took the position that Spiritualism as a religion would take an important part in the fulfillment of certain prophecies. In our article recently published in the SIGNS on the "Compromise" of certain interests for the accomplishment of a certain object, we called attention to this point, and to the objection raised by certain writers in Iowa against our views of the prophecy in Rev. 13. They objected that we made Spiritualism a prominent actor in the formation of an "image to the beast," which must be a professedly religious movement, whereas Spiritualism was pre-eminently irreligious, opposed to the Bible, to Christ, and to the Father. We felt sure that we had read the prophecy aright, and held to our faith, which, as in the case of Sunday as a question in politics, is fast proving to be correct. In the article on the Compromise we also gave the evidence of a case in San Francisco, showing that the Spiritualists in that city are organized as a "religious corporation," and that the mediums and clairvoyants claim exemption from taxation, as ministers of this religion. We now have some further evidence on the subject. Judge Carter, of Cincinnati, has long been a prominent Spiritualist. In a letter to the Banner of Light, over date of Sept. 21, 1883, the Judge says:— "The famous Russell License Law has not been attempted to be enforced against any of our mediums, and we do not expect it will be. Our approved mediums487 in the city all have certificates from the legally incorporated society of the 'Union Spiritualists of Cincinnati,' by which they are made and designated in hoc verba, Ministers of the New Spiritual Dispensation,' and this, as I long ago legally advised the society would be the case, has served as their ægis of protection and safety." After speaking of the influence of the political contest to hold in abeyance all questions of this kind, he says:— "Of course, independent of all this, the officials are afraid that when the infamous law is brought to a test before the courts, it will be decided to be unconstitutional, and against the rights of citizens and the religious freedom of the people." Thus are the parties taking their positions preparatory to fulfilling the prophecy of Rev. 13. That this would take place we have long felt assured; how it would be brought about no one could foresee. Some years ago, in our book on Spiritualism, we wrote as follows:— "Spiritualism has been treated as a religion; this may be correct, considering the term religion in its most comprehensive form. But the most prominent Spiritualists consider it but a form of Christianity, and denominate themselves Christian Spiritualists. This is a misnomer. The religion of Spiritualism is not Christian religion, but directly opposed to it. We are not astonished that it professes to be the Christian religion; indeed, it would not fulfill the prophecy if it did not. For there could not be false christs and false prophets without a counterfeit of Christianity." We also copied the following from the Banner of Light, being an extract from a lecture by a well-known Spiritualist, which shows that the present movement has long been foreshadowed in their teachings, and also shows what their religious aspirations are:— "If we are to have a New Theology, we must have a New State, the New Church (ere long to rise), to be the mother of it. Church and State ought to be, as in essential reality everywhere they always have been, one. This ostensible separateness never struck deep. Every thinker knows what mutual and interactive help and play there practically is between them. Give us a pure, a divine, a rationally justified and a continuously inspired Church—and it must keep pure and Heaven-helped the State." This is the illusion at which the American people are grasping to-day. And it will come. If we look beneath the surface we shall find that Spiritualism is the most popular and the most wide-spread religion on the earth, as it permeates almost every religion known. Of course when our Constitution is amended, when Church and State comes, Spiritualism will have the controlling voice. An interesting item we find in the Banner of Light since the Ohio election. A statement comes from Washington, in the Evening Star, as follows:— "First Controller Lawrence said to-day, in conversing upon the Ohio election, that in his opinion the Republicans lost nearly 20,000 votes of Spiritualists who voted against the Republicans on account of the law passed by the Legislature imposing a tax on clairvoyants and spiritualistic exhibitions." With this lesson before them, politicians will look twice before they take any step which may prove offensive to Spiritualists. "And this," says the paper from which we quote, "will teach a lesson of religious toleration in certain quarters, and that the Spiritualists are a power in the land."