"The Truth for the Hour" Presented by Christopher Hudson

 

Immortality and Death

 September 7, 1903

"Immortality and Death" 

Australasian Signs of the Times 18, 36 p. 432.

A. T. JONES

The doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul makes the body only worthless clay, formed into a prison that binds, and fetters, and clogs the free action of the soul; while death is the friendly messenger that bursts the prison bars, and sets free the aspiring soul to seek its native sphere. One of the most influential of American preachers said lately, of one who had died, that that person was living, and more thoroughly living, to-day than any of us who are clogged and hampered and chained down by earthly impediment." This is simply the expression of the common belief of those who hold to the idea that the soul is immortal. Embodied in metre so that it can be sung, it runs on this wise:  

               "Why should we start and fear to die? 

                 What timorous worms we mortals are!

Death is the gate to endless joy;

And yet we dread to enter there."

Now we read in the word of God, as follows: "O death, I will be thy plagues." Hosea 13:14. And again we read that "death" "shall be destroyed." 1 Cor. 15:26. Can it be that God is going to visit with plagues, and destroy, the gate to endless joy? Is He so displeased to have His creatures entering into endless joy that He is determined to destroy the very means by which they enter that blissful state? If the words of this preacher and the language of this hymn, and the doctrine upon which these are founded, be the truth, then the Lord is going to do just the thing that is here pointed out, that is, he is going to visit with plagues, and destroy, the gate to endless joy.

But this is not all. We read further of Christ: "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy Him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." Heb. 2:14. Granting the claim that death is the gate to endless joy, then from this scripture it follows just as absolutely as logic can demonstrate, that the devil, having the power of death, is the gate-keeper. And so the Lord is not only going to destroy this "gate to endless joy," but He is going to destroy him that keeps it.

Nor yet is this all. Granting not only the claim, based upon the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, that death is the gate to endless joy, but also that the soul is clogged, and hampered, and imprisoned by its confinement in the body, and that it is released by death, it follows that if there had never been any death in the world no soul could have ever been set free, and there never would have been any gate to endless joy. And as it was the devil who brought death into the world, therefore, under that doctrine, to him must be accorded the honour of setting men free from this world, and of creating and opening to men the gate of endless joy. But this is the very thing that Christ says that He Himself came to do. He says: "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me." John 14:6. "I am the door; by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved." John 10:9. Therefore when the doctrine of the immortality of the soul makes death the gate to endless joy, and the friendly messenger that releases men from this world, it supplants the Saviour of the world, and bestows upon Satan the honor that is due to Christ.

And by all this, we lay against the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul the legitimate and logical charge that it frustrates the purpose of God, that it nullifies the mission of Christ, and that it supplants the Saviour of the world. There is a difference wide as eternity between that doctrine and the truth of God. 

Next week we will try to show from what source we obtain the life.

Immortality and the Mission of Christ

 

August 31, 1903

"Immortality and the Mission of Christ" 
Australasian Signs of the Times 18, 35 pp. 419, 420.
 A. T. JONES

To put away sin and plant righteousness in its stead, is the mission of Christ to this world. That He might accomplish this, He had to make the awful sacrifice of Himself, the Creator of the universe. "Now once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." Heb. 9:26. By the greatness of the sacrifice we may judge of the enormity of sin, and how abhorrent it is in the sight of God, and also how widely contrary it is to every principle of the government of the King of eternity. To deliver man from its thralldom He spared not His own Son. Rather than to see the blight and stain of sin upon the fair face of his universe, God gave up the "Son of His love" to die the cruel [420] death of the accursed tree. John says: "He that committed sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." 1 John 3:8. The work of the devil is sin; for He says, "He that committeth sin is of the devil." Therefore when it is said that the Son of God was manifested to destroy the works of the devil, it is simply expressing, in other words, that which we quoted from Paul, that Christ appeared to put away sin.
As therefore Christ's mission is to destroy the works of the devil - to put away sin - it follows that as long as there is a vestige of sin remaining, his mission is not accomplished. Whatever therefore tends to perpetuate sin, tends just so far to delay the accomplishment of the mission of Christ. And if by any means sin were made eternal, the inevitable result would be to nullify and subvert the mission of Christ.
Now that is exactly what is done by the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul. The very meaning of the word immortal being "not subject to death," it follows that if the soul be immortal, it must live eternally, whatever its condition may be; and from this again it follows that when the awful sentence is pronounced, "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still," whatsoever soul it be that shall then be unjust must live so to all eternity; which is simply to make sin eternal, and so to subvert the mission of Christ.
That sin is to be eternal is strenuously maintained by those who believe that the soul is immortal. This is shown positively in the doctrine of the eternal torment of the wicked. In fact, the belief in the eternal torment of the wicked is simply the necessary consequence of the belief in the immortality of the soul. We know, for the word of God says it, that the wicked will be punished. We know likewise, by the same authority, that they will be punished as long as they live. Now if they live eternally, it is evident that they will be in pain eternally. But the word of God says just as plainly that the wicked shall die, as it says anything at all about them. "The wages of sin is death." Rom. 6:23. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Eze. 18:4.
That word tells us of a time when, "Every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them," shall be heard saying, "Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." Rev. 5:13. This scripture can never be fulfilled if the doctrine of eternal suffering be true, or, in other words, if the doctrine of immortality of the soul be true. Again, we read of a time when "There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away." Rev. 21:4. If the doctrine of eternal suffering be the truth, it is literally impossible that there can ever come a time when there shall be "no more pain."
But there stands that faithful word, that there is coming a time when there shall be no more pain; there is coming a time when every voice in the universe will ascribe "Honour, and glory, and power," "unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." This is the truth of God; he has given his only begotten Son that it might be accomplished; and we have seen that the mission of the Son is declared to be "to put away sin," to "destroy the works of the devil." And the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, in making sin eternal, and in immortalising the works of the devil, frustrates the purpose of God and subverts the mission of Christ.
Next week we will consider the relation of death of immortality.

Are Men Judged at Death?

 

August 24, 1903
"Are Men Judged at Death?" 
Australasian Signs of the Times 18, 34 pp. 407, 408.
A. T. JONES

If at death men enter immediately into their reward or punishment, as the case may be, then it follows, if there by any Judgment at all, that instead of there being a time "appointed" (Acts 17:31) for judgment, constantly going on in the life of each individual, and that that judgment closes at his death, and that he in consequence of judgment passed, enters then upon his destiny, whether for good or for ill.

It can be seen at a glance that such a view is utterly subversive of the Bible doctrine of the judgment. If such be the truth, then there can be no such thing as a day of judgment when the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints to execute judgment upon all, because all are judged as fast as they die; there can be no such thing as Christ judging the living and the dead at His appearing and his kingdom, because all the dead have been judged when they died; there can be no such thing as the "time of the dead that they should be judged" when the seventh angel sounds, and the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ, for all the dead will have been judged before the seventh angel shall have [408] sounded; and there can be no such thing as reserving "the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished," because by this theory they are sent to punishment as soon as they die. In short, if the doctrine of the immortality of the soul be the truth, the Bible doctrine of the judgment cannot be the truth.

That we do not misrepresent the popular doctrine of the immortality of the soul when we say that it puts men into Heaven or hell at death, can be proved by any one who will consult the hymn books, or the papers of the religious denominations who believe that doctrine, or listen to the average funeral discourse or revival sermon.

But that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul is subversive of the Bible doctrine of the judgment is not all. By virtue of that doctrine, men have usurped the seat of the Judge of all, and have arrogated to themselves the prerogative of reading into heaven whomsoever they see fit. How often we read that such and such a person is in heaven! But what right has any man to say who is worthy of a place in that bright world? Who knows the heart? None but God alone. He alone it is who pronounces upon the worthiness of men "to obtain that world and the resurrection from the dead," and when men take upon themselves to read into heaven this man or that man, they are simply usurping the awful prerogative of the Most High. And only for belief in the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul, no man would ever think of it.

We repeat: It is God alone to whom belongs the right to pronounce that decision. He will pronounce it in every case, but it will be in the judgment; not at death, but at the resurrection of the dead, and before the assembled universe, and by the voice of the glorious Son of God, who hath loved us and hath washed us from our sins in His own blood; for He "hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man." John 5:27-29. Any doctrine that will lead men to thus usurp the prerogative of the Judge of all the earth cannot be the truth. This is exactly what the doctrine of the immortality of the soul does, therefore it cannot be the truth; and as it is subversive of the Bible doctrine of the judgment, it is not only not the truth, but it is subversive of the truth.

Next week we will consider the relation of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul to the mission of Christ.

Immortality and the Judgment

 August 17, 1903

"Immortality and the Judgment"

Australasian Signs of the Times 18, 33 pp. 395, 396.

A. T. Jones

The judgment is one of the certainties of Bible doctrine. Time and again Jesus sets before us the awful scenes and the all-important decisions of the judgment. "I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." Matt. 12:36. "The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them; for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here." Luke 11:31, 32. In the parable of the wheat and tares, in the parable of the marriage of the marriage of the king's son (Matt. 22:1-14), in the parable of the talents (Matt. 25:14-30), in fact, in all his teaching, the judgment was made prominent. In Matt. 25:41-46, he sets before us a view of the very judgment itself.

The Old Testament as well as the New tells of the judgment. Solomon says: "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." Eccl. 12:13, 14. Daniel says: "I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool; His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him; [396] thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him; the judgment was set, and the books were opened." Dan. 7:9,10. Isaiah, David, Job, and other prophets speak of this as well as Solomon and Daniel. Even "Enoch, the seventh from Adam," prophesied of this, saying, "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all." Jude 14, 15.

JUDGMENT FUTURE

This is not a judgment that is constantly going on during men's lives and completed at their death, so that then their reward is given whether for good or ill. "It is appointed unto me once to die, but after this the judgment." Heb. 9:27. Paul "reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come" (Acts 24:25), not judgment already come, nor constantly going on. There is a time appointed for the judgment. "Because 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. "For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law; and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;" "in that day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to My gospel." Rom. 2:12, 16. And again: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." 2 Cor. 5:10. It is not that alone that he has done in his direct personal acts for which he must account; he must answer for the fruit of his doings. "I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." Jer. 17:10.

TIME OF JUDGMENT

The time when men shall receive for that which they have done, whether it be good or bad, is at the coming of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the end of the world. "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever." "And the nations were angry, and 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." Rev. 11:15, 18.

Again we quote the words of Jude: "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." Jude 14, 15.

With this agree exactly the words of Christ: "Behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Rev. 22:12. And Paul in his charge to Timothy, and to all ministers of Christ, says: "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick [living] and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word." 2 Tim. 4:1, 2. Peter also says: "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished." 2 Peter 2:9.

More texts might be given on these points, but these are sufficient. From these it is plain,

1. That there is a time "appointed" for the judgment.

2. That this is after death.

3. That it is the time of reward to all, for good or evil.

4. That this is called the "day of judgment."

5. That it is at the appearing and kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.

6. That then, and not till then, it is that the righteous receive their reward.

7. That the "unjust" are "reserved" until that time to be punished, that they are not punished before that great day of judgment.

Yet however plain all this may be, it is equally plain that there is not a single principle of it that the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul does not tend to subvert. For if, at death, righteous men enter immediately into their reward, and the unrighteous go immediately to the place of punishment, then where is there any possible room for the judgment? (unless perhaps the absurd idea be adopted, that men should spend hundreds of thousands of years in happiness or misery, and then be brought to the judgment to see whether they be worthy of that which they have enjoyed or suffered!!)?

This phase of the subject will be considered further next week.

Immortality at the Second Coming of Christ

 

August 3, 1903
"Immortality at the Second Coming of Christ" Australasian Signs of the Times 18, 31 pp. 371, 372 .

A. T. JONES

There is another doctrine of the Bible which holds just as important a place in the divine scheme as does that of the resurrection: and that is, the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. This likewise is subverted by a belief in the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul. The subversion of this truth is, in a measure, involved in that of the resurrection, because without the second coming of Christ there would be no resurrection, and anything that destroys belief in the resurrection of the dead, by that means destroys faith and hope in the second coming of the Lord.
That the event of the resurrection of the dead depends wholly upon the second coming of Christ, is easily shown by the Scripture, which, of course, in these things is the only authority. We have before shown that the righteous are rewarded only at the resurrection; and to show plainly the connection, we will repeat a verse before quoted: "When thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just." Luke 14:13, 14. And of His own coming, Jesus says: "Behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Rev. 22:12.

WHEN DOES THE RESURRECTION TAKE PLACE
The coming of the Lord and the resurrection of the righteous dead are directly connected by Paul thus: "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." 1 Thess. 4:16, 17. And again: "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 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. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" 1 Cor. 15:51-55.
"Then shall be brought to pass the saying." When? "At the last trump," certainly; "for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised." When is it that the trump shall sound? "This we say unto you by the word of the Lord. . . . The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with the trump of God; and the
dead in Christ shall rise." "Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory." Then it is, and not till then, that men shout, "O death, where is thy [372] sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" But through belief in the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul, it is now sought to be made to appear that this "saying" is "brought to pass" when men die! There can be no more direct perversion of the word of God than to represent this saying as being brought to pass when men die. The first time that that doctrine was ever uttered, it was in direct contradiction of the express word of the Lord Himself. The Lord said, in the event of man's disobedience, "Thou shalt surely die" (Gen. 2:17); and the devil said, "Ye shall NOT surely die." Gen. 3:4; Rev. 20:2.
It is not alone a perversion of Scripture to so apply the "saying" in question: it is alike a perversion of the plainest principles of reason and experience. For instance, here are death and a saint of God struggling for the mastery. Presently death obtains the mastery. The saint lies lifeless; death has the victory. When he is dead, is that a time to claim victory over death? When he is being lowered into the grave, is that a time to shout the victory over the grave? Nay, verily. But it is not to be always so. There is One who exclaims, "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell [the grave] and of death." Rev. 1:18. And when that glorious one "shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God," and with power that bursts the bars of the cruel grave and destroys the strength of death; then the saint arises triumphant over death, and "THEN shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory." Then the saint can shout exultingly, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" And, "Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." And thrice thanks, yea, "blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." 1 Peter 1:3.
Next week we will try to show when the righteous receive their reward.

Relation of Immortality to the Resurrection

 

July 13, 1903
"Relation of Immortality to the Resurrection" Australasian Signs of the Times 18, 28 pp. 331, 332 .

 A. T. JONES

 The second point that the apostle Paul makes in this connection is in 1 Cor.15 is in verse 32: "If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we die." On this nothing can be better than to present Dr. Adam Clarke's comment upon this same passage. He says, and the italics are his:
"I believe the common method of pointing this verse is erroneous; I propose to read it thus; 'If, after the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what doth it advantage me? If the dead rise not, let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we die.' What the apostle says here is a regular and legitimate conclusion from the doctrine that there is no resurrection; for if there be no resurrection, then there can be no judgment - no future state of rewards and punishments; why, therefore, should we bear crosses, and keep ourselves under continual discipline? Let us eat and drink, take all the pleasure we can; for to-morrow we die, and there is an end of us forever."
That is sound exegesis, and a just comment upon the words of the apostle. As we have shown, that is the point of Paul's argument throughout, and it is the thought of the whole Bible upon this subject. But if the soul be immortal, neither Dr. Clarke's comment nor Paul's argument is sound. For if the soul be immortal, whensoever it may be that we die that is not the "end of us forever," resurrection or no resurrection. By this it is plain that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul nullifies the plainest propositions of Scripture, and is therefore false. This view fully explains the query which Dr. Clarke propounds in his remarks at the close of his comments on 1 Corinthians 15. He says:
One remark I cannot help making; 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! . . . 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! From the doctor's insertion of exclamation points and his query, [332] "How is this?" It would appear that he was surprised that it should be so. It is indeed surprising that it should be so. But it is easily enough explained. The fact is that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul has become so all-pervading "in the present system of preaching," that there is no room for the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. If the doctrine of the immortality of the soul be true, then the doctrine of the resurrection is indeed of no consequence. If that doctrine be true, then all need of laying stress upon the gospel doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. And although "the apostles were continually insisting on" the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, and although there is indeed "not a doctrine of the gospel upon which more stress is laid," yet through the insidious, deceptive influence of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul it is that the preachers of the present day "seldom mention it," and that in the present system of preaching there is indeed "not a doctrine that is treated with more neglect." And nothing is needed to show more plainly than does this, the irreconcilable antagonism between the truth of God and the mischievous doctrine of the immortality of the soul.

THE RESURRECTION A BIBLE DOCTRINE
Paul continues his argument in verse 36: "That which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die." To quicken is "to make alive." What Paul says, therefore, is, "That which thou sowest is not made alive, except it die." That this is spoken directly of man and his resurrection, is plain by verses 42-44. "It is sown a natural body," etc. Now the doctrine of the immortality of the soul is, that
the body properly has no life, living, sentient man; that it is that about man which alone possesses real life. In other words, the body is only the house in which the real man lives; i.e., the real "I" dwells within the "me;" and death is simply the separation of the soul from the body. Death breaks down the house, and lets the real occupant free.
According to this doctrine, there is no such thing as real death; because the body properly has no life, consequently it does not die; and the soul - the real man - is immortal, and it cannot die; therefore there is in reality no such thing as death. If this be true, there is not only no such thing as death, but there is, likewise, no such thing as a resurrection of the dead. For, upon the apostle's premise that "That which thou sowest is not quickened [made alive] except it die," it follows that, as the body, having no life, does not die, it cannot be quickened (raised from the dead); and as the soul does not die, it cannot be raised from the dead; consequently there is no such thing as a resurrection of the dead.
Therefore it stands proved to a demonstration that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul is utterly subversive of the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. But the resurrection of the dead is a Bible doctrine; it is the very truth of God. So then it is plain that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul is subversive of the truth of God; and is therefore false, deceptive, and destructive.
In a future article we will show the relation of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul to the second coming of Christ.

The Immortality of the Soul

 July 6, 1903

"The Immortality of the Soul" Australasian Signs of the Times 18, 27 pp. 319, 320.

 A. T. JONES

The doctrine of the natural immorality of the soul is one of the oldest and one of the most widespread doctrines that have ever been in this world. It was preached in the world before ever faith in Christ the Saviour was preached. "The serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not sure die:" and from that day to this that doctrine has been believed more generally by the children of men than has the truth of God. Indeed, in our day the doctrine of the immorality of the soul has gained such favour among even those who profess the word of God as their standard of belief, that to deny it is considered by the majority of them as equivalent to a denial of the Bible itself. But, instead of such denial being in any way a denial of the truth of revelation, the fact is that the truth of revelation can be logically and consistently held only by the total and unequivocal denial of the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul. This, the Scriptures plainly show.

THE RESURRECTION

There is no truth more plainly taught nor more diligently insisted upon in the Bible than this: That the future existence of men depends absolutely upon either a resurrection of the dead or a translation without seeing death at all. Paul's hope for future existence was in the resurrection of the dead. In speaking of his efforts to "win Christ," he says: "That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death: if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead." Phil.3:10, 11. It was of "the hope and resurrection of the dead" that he was called in question by the council (Acts 23:6); and when he had afterward to make his defence before Felix, he declared that the resurrection of the dead was the end of his hope, saying: "And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead both of the just and unjust." Acts 24:15. Time and again Paul thus expresses his hope of future life.

BIBLE TESTIMONY

Nor is Paul the only one of the writers of the Bible who teaches the same thing. The resurrection of the dead is that to which Job looked for the consummation of his hope. Job 14:14, 15; 17:13-15; 19:23-27. David says: "Thou which hast showed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken [give life to] me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth." Ps. 71:20. And, "As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake with Thy likeness." Ps. 17:15. And what shall we more say? For the time would fail us to tell of Isaiah and Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and Daniel, and Hosea, and Micah, and all the prophets and apostles, and of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; for Jesus [320]

Himself declared that it was the resurrection of the dead of which God spake when He said, "I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." More than this, Jesus pointed His disciples always to the resurrection of the dead, through which alone they could obtain the reward which He promised. In John 6:39-54 we find that no less than four times the Saviour, in giving promise to those who believe in Him, sets it forth as the consummation of that belief that "I will raise him up at the last day." And in Luke 14:13, 14 we read: "When thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind; and . . . thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."

A LOGICAL ARGUMENT

Paul, however, gives us, upon this subject, a straightforward, logical argument, which leaves the doctrine of the immortality of the soul not a particle of ground to rest upon. The fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians is devoted entirely to an argument in proof of the resurrection of the dead. The apostle first proves, by hundreds of living witnesses who had seen Him after He was risen, that Christ arose from the dead. Still there were some who said, "There is no resurrection of the dead," and in refutation of that idea, he introduces three points of argument, any one of which utterly excludes the doctrine of the immortality of the soul from any place whatever in Christian doctrine.

In verse 16, his premise is, "If the dead rise not." The first conclusion from that is, "Then is not Christ raised;" then upon this conclusion follows the logical sequence. "Your faith in vain," and upon that another, "Ye are yet in your sins." From his premise, - "If the dead rise not", - the second conclusion is, verse 18. "Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished." Nothing can be plainer than that this statement and the doctrine of the immortality of the soul cannot both be true. For if the soul be immortal, as is held, it cannot perish, and, therefore, so far as its existence is concerned, it is utterly independent of the resurrection of the dead. Is it not supposed by all those who believe the soul to be immortal that all who have passed from this world in the faith of Christ, have gone to heaven, and are now enjoying its bliss? - Assuredly it is. Then, if that be the truth, upon what imaginable principle can it be conceived that they "are perished," if there be no resurrection? What need have they of a resurrection? Have they not, without a resurrection, all that heaven can afford? - Upon that theory they certainly have. Then it just as certainly appears that not one of them has perished, even though there never be a resurrection.

Over against this theory stands the word of God, that "if the dead rise not, then they which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished." That word is the truth. Therefore it follows that if there be no resurrection of the dead, there is no hereafter for any who have ever died, or who shall ever die.

But God has given assurance to all men that there shall be a hereafter, and that assurance lies in the fact "that He hath raised Him [Christ] from the dead." Heb. 9:27; Acts 17:31. The resurrection of Christ is the God-given pledge that there shall be a resurrection of all the dead: "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive," and, "There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust." Therefore it is by virtue of the resurrection of the dead, and not by the immortality of the soul, that there will be any hereafter for the dead, whether just or unjust.

(To be continued.)