Chapter 33 : The First Great Deception


With the earliest history of man, Satan began his efforts to deceive
our race. He who had incited rebellion in Heaven desired to
bring the inhabitants of the earth to unite with him in his warfare
against the government of God. Adam and Eve had been perfectly
happy in obedience to the law of God, and this fact was a constant
testimony against the claim which Satan had urged in Heaven, that
God’s law was oppressive, and opposed to the good of his creatures.
And, furthermore, Satan’s envy was excited as he looked upon the
beautiful home prepared for the sinless pair. He determined to cause
their fall, that, having separated them from God, and brought them
under his own power, he might gain possession of the earth, and
here establish his kingdom, in opposition to the Most High.
Had Satan revealed himself in his real character, he would have
been repulsed at once, for Adam and Eve had been warned against
this dangerous foe; but he worked in the dark, concealing his purpose,
that he might more effectually accomplish his object. Employing
as his medium the serpent, then a creature of fascinating
appearance, he addressed himself to Eve, “Hath God said, Ye shall
not eat of every tree of the garden?” [Genesis 3:1.] Had Eve refrained
from entering into argument with the tempter, she would have been
safe; but she ventured to parley with him, and fell a victim to his
wiles. It is thus that many are still overcome. They doubt and argue
[532] concerning the requirements of God, and instead of obeying the
divine commands, they accept human theories, which but disguise
the devices of Satan.
“The woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the
trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst
of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye
touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall
not surely die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then
your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good
and evil.” [Genesis 3:2-5.] He declared that they would become like
God, possessing greater wisdom than before, and being capable of a
higher state of existence. Eve yielded to temptation; and through her
influence, Adam was led into sin. They accepted the words of the
serpent, that God did not mean what he said; they distrusted their
Creator, and imagined that he was restricting their liberty, and that
they might obtain great wisdom and exaltation by transgressing his
law.
But what did Adam, after his sin, find to be the meaning of the
words, “In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die”?
Did he find them to mean, as Satan had led him to believe, that
he was to be ushered into a more exalted state of existence? Then
indeed there was great good to be gained by transgression, and Satan
was proved to be a benefactor of the race. But Adam did not find
this to be the meaning of the divine sentence. God declared that as
a penalty for his sin, man should return to the ground whence he
was taken: “Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” [Genesis
3:19.] The words of Satan, “Your eyes shall be opened,” proved to
be true in this sense only: After Adam and Eve had disobeyed God,
their eyes were opened to discern their folly; they did know evil, and
they tasted the bitter fruit of transgression.
In the midst of Eden grew the tree of life, whose fruit had the
power of perpetuating life. Had Adam remained obedient to God,
he would have continued to enjoy free access to this tree, and would [533]
have lived forever. But when he sinned, he was cut off from partaking
of the tree of life, and he became subject to death. The divine
sentence, “Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return,” points to
the utter extinction of life.
Immortality, promised to man on condition of obedience, had
been forfeited by transgression. Adam could not transmit to his
posterity that which he did not possess; and there could have been
no hope for the fallen race, had not God, by the sacrifice of his
Son, brought immortality within their reach. While “death passed
upon all men, for that all have sinned,” Christ “hath brought life and
immortality to light through the gospel.” [Romans 5:12; 2 Timothy
1:10.] And only through Christ can immortality be obtained. Said
Jesus, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he
that believeth not the Son shall not see life.” [John 3:36.] Every man
may come in possession of this priceless blessing if he will comply

with the conditions. All “who by patient continuance in well-doing
seek for glory and honor and immortality,” will receive eternal life.
[Romans 2:7.]
The only one who promised Adam life in disobedience was the
great deceiver. And the declaration of the serpent to Eve in Eden,—
“Ye shall not surely die,“—was the first sermon ever preached upon
the immortality of the soul. Yet this declaration, resting solely upon
the authority of Satan, is echoed from the pulpits of Christendom,
and is received by the majority of mankind as readily as it was
received by our first parents. The divine sentence, “The soul that
sinneth, it shall die,” [Ezekiel 18:20.] is made to mean, The soul that
sinneth, it shall not die, but live eternally. We cannot but wonder at
the strange infatuation which renders men so credulous concerning
the words of Satan, and so unbelieving in regard to the words of
God.
[534] Had man, after his fall, been allowed free access to the tree of
life, he would have lived forever, and thus sin would have been
immortalized. But cherubim and a flaming sword kept “the way of
the tree of life,” [Genesis 3:24.] and not one of the family of Adam
has been permitted to pass that barrier and partake of the life-giving
fruit. Therefore there is not an immortal sinner.
But after the fall, Satan bade his angels make a special effort
to inculcate the belief in man’s natural immortality; and having
induced the people to receive this error, they were to lead them
on to conclude that the sinner would live in eternal misery. Now
the prince of darkness, working through his agents, represents God
as a revengeful tyrant, declaring that he plunges into hell all those
who do not please him, and causes them ever to feel his wrath; and
that while they suffer unutterable anguish, and writhe in the eternal
flames, their Creator looks down upon them with satisfaction.
Thus the arch-fiend clothes with his own attributes the Creator
and Benefactor of mankind. Cruelty is Satanic. God is love; and
all that he created was pure, holy, and lovely, until sin was brought
in by the first great rebel. Satan himself is the enemy who tempts
man to sin, and then destroys him if he can; and when he has made
sure of his victim, then he exults in the ruin he has wrought. If
permitted, he would sweep the entire race into his net. Were it not

for the interposition of divine power, not one son or daughter of
Adam would escape.
He is seeking to overcome men today, as he overcame our first
parents, by shaking their confidence in their Creator, and leading
them to doubt the wisdom of his government and the justice of his
laws. Satan and his emissaries represent God as even worse than
themselves, in order to justify their own malignity and rebellion. The
great deceiver endeavors to shift his own horrible cruelty of character
upon our heavenly Father, that he may cause himself to appear as one [535]
greatly wronged by his expulsion from Heaven because he would
not submit to so unjust a governor. He presents before the world
the liberty which they may enjoy under his mild sway, in contrast
with the bondage imposed by the stern decrees of Jehovah. Thus he
succeeds in luring souls away from their allegiance to God.
How repugnant to every emotion of love and mercy, and even
to our sense of justice, is the doctrine that the wicked dead are
tormented with fire and brimstone in an eternally burning hell; that
for the sins of a brief, earthly life they are to suffer torture as long
as God shall live. Yet this doctrine has been widely taught, and
is still embodied in many of the creeds of Christendom. Said a
learned doctor of divinity: “The sight of hell-torments will exalt the
happiness of the saints forever. When they see others who are of
the same nature and born under the same circumstances, plunged in
such misery, and they so distinguished, it will make them sensible of
how happy they are.” Another used these words: “While the decree
of reprobation is eternally executing on the vessels of wrath, the
smoke of their torment will be eternally ascending in view of the
vessels of mercy, who, instead of taking the part of these miserable
objects, will say, Amen, Alleluia! praise ye the Lord!”
Where, in the pages of God’s Word, is such teaching to be
found? Will the redeemed in Heaven be lost to all emotions of pity
and compassion, and even to feelings of common humanity? Are
these to be exchanged for the indifference of the stoic, or the cruelty
of the savage?—No, no; such is not the teaching of the Book of God.
Those who present the views expressed in the quotations given above
may be learned and even honest men; but they are deluded by the
sophistry of Satan. He leads them to misconstrue strong expressions
of Scripture, giving to the language the coloring of bitterness and

malignity which pertains to himself, but not to our Creator. “As
I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the
[536] wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn ye, turn
ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?” [Ezekiel 33:11.]
What would be gained to God should we admit that he delights
in witnessing unceasing tortures; that he is regaled with the groans
and shrieks and imprecations of the suffering creatures whom he
holds in the flames of hell? Can these horrid sounds be music in the
ear of Infinite Love? It is urged that the infliction of endless misery
upon the wicked would show God’s hatred of sin as an evil which is
ruinous to the peace and order of the universe. Oh, dreadful blasphemy!
As if God’s hatred of sin is the reason why he perpetuates
sin. For, according to the teachings of these theologians, continued
torture without hope of mercy maddens its wretched victims, and as
they pour out their rage in curses and blasphemy, they are forever
augmenting their load of guilt. God’s glory is not enhanced by thus
perpetuating continually increasing sin through ceaseless ages.
It is beyond the power of the human mind to estimate the evil
which has been wrought by the heresy of eternal torment. The religion
of the Bible, full of love and goodness, and abounding in
compassion, is darkened by superstition and clothed with terror.
When we consider in what false colors Satan has painted the character
of God, can we wonder that our merciful Creator is feared,
dreaded, and even hated? The appalling views of God which have
spread over the world from the teachings of the pulpit have made
thousands, yes, millions, of skeptics and infidels.
The theory of eternal torment is one of the false doctrines that
constitute the wine of the abominations of Babylon, of which she
makes all nations drink. [Revelation 14:8; 17:2.] That ministers of
Christ should have accepted this heresy and proclaimed it from the
sacred desk, is indeed a mystery. They received it from Rome, as
they received the false sabbath. True, it has been taught by great
and good men; but the light on this subject had not come to them as
[537] it has come to us. They were responsible only for the light which
shone in their time; we are accountable for that which shines in
our day. If we turn from the testimony of God’s Word, and accept
false doctrines because our fathers taught them, we fall under the
condemnation pronounced upon Babylon; we are drinking of the
wine of her abominations.

A large class to whom the doctrine of eternal torment is revolting,
are driven to the opposite error. They see that the Scriptures represent
God as a being of love and compassion, and they cannot believe
that he will consign his creatures to the fires of an eternally burning
hell. But, holding that the soul is naturally immortal, they see no
alternative but to conclude that all mankind will finally be saved.
Many regard the threatenings of the Bible as designed merely to
frighten men into obedience, and not to be literally fulfilled. Thus
the sinner can live in selfish pleasure, disregarding the requirements

of God, and yet expect to be finally received into his favor. Such
a doctrine, presuming upon God’s mercy, but ignoring his justice,
pleases the carnal heart, and emboldens the wicked in their iniquity.
To show how believers in universal salvation wrest the Scriptures
to sustain their soul-destroying dogmas, it is needful only to cite
their own utterances. At the funeral of an irreligious young man,
who had been killed instantly by an accident, a Universalist minister
selected as his text the Scripture statement concerning David, “He
was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.” [2 Samuel
13:39.]

“I am frequently asked,” said the speaker, “what will be the
fate of those who leave the world in sin, die, perhaps, in a state
of inebriation, die with the scarlet stains of crime unwashed from
their robes, or die as this young man died, having never made a
profession or enjoyed an experience of religion. We are content with
the Scriptures; their answer shall solve the awful problem. Amnon
was exceedingly sinful; he was unrepentant, he was made drunk, [538]
and while drunk was killed. David was a prophet of God; he must
have known whether it would be ill or well for Amnon in the world
to come. What were the expressions of his heart?—‘The soul of
King David longed to go forth unto Absalom; for he was comforted
concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.’

“And what is the inference to be deduced from this language? Is
it not that endless suffering formed no part of his religious belief?—
So we conceive; and here we discover a triumphant argument in
support of the more pleasing, more enlightened, more benevolent
hypothesis of ultimate universal purity and peace. He was comforted,

seeing his son was dead. And why so?—Because by the eye of
prophecy he could look forward into the glorious future, and see that
son far removed from all temptations, released from the bondage and
purified from the corruptions of sin, and after being made sufficiently
holy and enlightened, admitted to the assembly of ascended and
rejoicing spirits. His only comfort was, that in being removed from
the present state of sin and suffering, his beloved son had gone where
the loftiest breathings of the Holy Spirit would be shed upon his
darkened soul; where his mind would be unfolded to the wisdom of
Heaven and the sweet raptures of immortal love, and thus prepared
with a sanctified nature to enjoy the rest and society of the heavenly
inheritance.

“In these thoughts we would be understood to believe that the
salvation of Heaven depends upon nothing which we can do in this
life; neither upon a present change of heart, nor upon present belief,
or a present profession of religion.”
Thus does the professed minister of Christ reiterate the falsehood
uttered by the serpent in Eden,—“Ye shall not surely die.” “In the
day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be
as gods.” He declares that the vilest of sinners,—the murderer, the
[539] thief, and the adulterer,—will after death be prepared to enter into
immortal bliss.

And from what does this perverter of the Scriptures draw his
conclusions?—From a single sentence expressing David’s submission
to the dispensation of Providence. His soul “longed to go forth
unto Absalom; for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he
was dead.” The poignancy of his grief having been softened by time,

his thoughts turned from the dead to the living son, self-banished
through fear of the just punishment of his crime. And this is the evidence
that the incestuous, drunken Amnon was at death immediately
transported to the abodes of bliss, there to be purified and prepared
for the companionship of sinless angels! A pleasing fable indeed,
well suited to gratify the carnal heart! This is Satan’s own doctrine,
and it does his work effectually. Should we be surprised that, with
such instruction, wickedness abounds?
The course pursued by this one false teacher illustrates that of
many others. A few words of Scripture are separated from the context,
which would, in many cases, show their meaning to be exactly

opposite to the interpretation put upon them; and such disjointed
passages are perverted and used in proof of doctrines that have no
foundation in the Word of God. The testimony cited as evidence
that the drunken Amnon is in Heaven, is a mere inference, directly
contradicted by the plain and positive statement of the Scriptures,
that no drunkard shall inherit the kingdom of God. [1 Corinthians
6:10.] It is thus that doubters, unbelievers, and skeptics turn the truth
into a lie. And multitudes have been deceived by their sophistry, and
rocked to sleep in the cradle of carnal security.
If it were true that the souls of all men passed directly to Heaven
at the hour of dissolution, then we might well covet death rather than
life. Many have been led by this belief to put an end to their existence.
When overwhelmed with trouble, perplexity, and disappointment, it
seems an easy thing to break the brittle thread of life, and soar away [540]
into the bliss of the eternal world.
God has given in his Word decisive evidence that he will punish
the transgressors of his law. Those who flatter themselves that he is
too merciful to execute justice upon the sinner, have only to look to
the cross of Calvary. The death of the spotless Son of God testifies
that “the wages of sin is death,” that every violation of God’s law
must receive its just retribution. Christ the sinless became sin for
man. He bore the guilt of transgression, and the hiding of his Father’s
face, until his heart was broken and his life crushed out. All this
sacrifice was made that sinners might be redeemed. In no other
way could man be freed from the penalty of sin. And every soul
that refuses to become a partaker of the atonement provided at such
a cost, must bear, in his own person, the guilt and punishment of
transgression.
Let us consider what the Bible teaches further concerning the
ungodly and unrepentant, whom the Universalist places in Heaven
as holy, happy angels.
“I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water
of life freely.” [Revelation 21:6, 7.] This promise is only to those
that thirst. None but those who feel their need of the water of life,
and seek it at the loss of all things else, will be supplied. “He that
overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he
shall be my son.” [Revelation 21:6, 7.] Here, also, conditions are
specified. In order to inherit all things, we must resist and overcome
sin.
The Lord declares by the prophet Isaiah, “Say ye to the righteous,
that it shall be well with him.” “Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill
with him; for the reward of his hands shall be given him.” [Isaiah
3:10, 11.] “Though a sinner do evil a hundred times,” says the wise
man, “and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be
well with them that fear God, which fear before him; but it shall
[541] not be well with the wicked.” [Ecclesiastes 8:12, 13.] And Paul
testifies that the sinner is treasuring up unto himself “wrath against
the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
who will render to every man according to his deeds;” “tribulation
and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil.” [Romans 2:5,
6, 9.]
“No fornicator, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, which
is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and
God.” [Ephesians 5:5, Revised Version.] “Follow peace with all men,
and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” [Hebrews
12:14.] “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may
have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into
the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers,
and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a
lie.” [Revelation 22:14, 15.]
God has given to men a declaration of his character, and of his
method of dealing with sin. “The Lord God, merciful and gracious,
long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy
for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that
will by no means clear the guilty.” [Exodus 34:6, 7.] “All the wicked
will he destroy.” “The transgressors shall be destroyed together; the
end of the wicked shall be cut off.” [Psalm 145:20; 37:38.] The
power and authority of the divine government will be employed to
put down rebellion; yet all the manifestations of retributive justice
will be perfectly consistent with the character of God as a merciful,
long-suffering, benevolent being.
God does not force the will or judgment of any. He takes no
pleasure in a slavish obedience. He desires that the creatures of
his hands shall love him because he is worthy of love. He would
have them obey him because they have an intelligent appreciation

of his wisdom, justice, and benevolence. And all who have a just
conception of these qualities will love him because they are drawn
toward him in admiration of his attributes.

The principles of kindness, mercy, and love, taught and exempli- [542]
fied by our Saviour, are a transcript of the will and character of God.
Christ declared that he taught nothing except that which he had received
from his Father. The principles of the divine government are
in perfect harmony with the Saviour’s precept, “Love your enemies.”
God executes justice upon the wicked, for the good of the universe,
and even for the good of those upon whom his judgments are visited.
He would make them happy if he could do so in accordance with the
laws of his government and the justice of his character. He surrounds
them with the tokens of his love, he grants them a knowledge of his
law, and follows them with the offers of his mercy; but they despise
his love, make void his law, and reject his mercy. While constantly
receiving his gifts, they dishonor the Giver; they hate God because
they know that he abhors their sins. The Lord bears long with their
perversity; but the decisive hour will come at last, when their destiny
is to be decided. Will he then chain these rebels to his side? Will he
force them to do his will?
Those who have chosen Satan as their leader, and have been
controlled by his power, are not prepared to enter the presence of
God. Pride, deception, licentiousness, cruelty, have become fixed
in their characters. Can they enter Heaven, to dwell forever with
those whom they despised and hated on earth? Truth will never be
agreeable to a liar; meekness will not satisfy self-esteem and pride;
purity is not acceptable to the corrupt; disinterested love does not
appear attractive to the selfish. What source of enjoyment could
Heaven offer to those who are wholly absorbed in earthly and selfish
interests?
Could those whose lives have been spent in rebellion against
God be suddenly transported to Heaven, and witness the high, the
holy state of perfection that ever exists there,—every soul filled with
love; every countenance beaming with joy; enrapturing music in
melodious strains rising in honor of God and the Lamb; and ceaseless [543]
streams of light flowing upon the redeemed from the face of Him
who sitteth upon the throne,—could those whose hearts are filled
with hatred of God, of truth and holiness, mingle with the heavenly

throng and join their songs of praise? Could they endure the glory
of God and the Lamb?—No, no; years of probation were granted
them, that they might form characters for Heaven; but they have
never trained the mind to love purity; they have never learned the
language of Heaven, and now it is too late. A life of rebellion against
God has unfitted them for Heaven. Its purity, holiness, and peace
would be torture to them; the glory of God would be a consuming
fire. They would long to flee from that holy place. They would
welcome destruction, that they might be hidden from the face of
Him who died to redeem them. The destiny of the wicked is fixed
by their own choice. Their exclusion from Heaven is voluntary with
themselves, and just and merciful on the part of God.
Like the waters of the flood, the fires of the great day declare
God’s verdict that the wicked are incurable. They have no disposition
to submit to divine authority. Their will has been exercised
in revolt; and when life is ended, it is too late to turn the current
of their thoughts in the opposite direction,—too late to turn from
transgression to obedience, from hatred to love.
In sparing the life of Cain the murderer, God gave the world an
example of what would be the result of permitting the sinner to live,
to continue a course of unbridled iniquity. Through the influence of
Cain’s teaching and example, multitudes of his descendants were
led into sin, until “the wickedness of man was great in the earth,
and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually.” “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth
was filled with violence.” [Genesis 6:5, 11.]
In mercy to the world, God blotted out its wicked inhabitants in
[544] Noah’s time. In mercy he destroyed the corrupt dwellers in Sodom.
Through the deceptive power of Satan, the workers of iniquity obtain
sympathy and admiration, and are thus constantly leading others to
rebellion. It was so in Cain’s and in Noah’s day, and in the time of
Abraham and Lot; it is so in our time. It is in mercy to the universe
that God will finally destroy the rejecters of his grace.
“The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.” [Romans 6:23.] While life is the
inheritance of the righteous, death is the portion of the wicked.
Moses declared to Israel, “I have set before thee this day life and
good, and death and evil.” [Deuteronomy 30:15.] The death referred

to in these scriptures is not that pronounced upon Adam, for all
mankind suffer the penalty of his transgression. It is the “second
death” that is placed in contrast with everlasting life.
In consequence of Adam’s sin, death passed upon the whole
human race. All alike go down into the grave. And through the
provisions of the plan of salvation, all are to be brought forth from
their graves. “There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of
the just and unjust;” [Acts 24:15.] “for as in Adam all die, even
so in Christ shall all be made alive.” [1 Corinthians 15:22.] But a
distinction is made between the two classes that are brought forth.
“All that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth;
they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that
have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” [John 5:28, 29.]
They who have been “accounted worthy” of the resurrection of life
are “blessed and holy.” “On such the second death hath no power.”
[Revelation 20:6.] But those who have not, through repentance and
faith, secured pardon, must receive the penalty of transgression,—
“the wages of sin.” They suffer punishment varying in duration and
intensity, “according to their works,” but finally ending in the second
death. Since it is impossible for God, consistently with his justice [545]
and mercy, to save the sinner in his sins, he deprives him of the
existence which his transgressions have forfeited, and of which he
has proved himself unworthy. Says an inspired writer, “Yet a little
while, and the wicked shall not be; yea, thou shalt diligently consider
his place, and it shall not be.” And another declares, “They shall be
as though they had not been.” [Psalm 37:10; Obadiah 16.] Covered
with infamy, they sink into hopeless, eternal oblivion.

Thus will be made an end of sin, with all the woe and ruin which
have resulted from it. Says the psalmist: “Thou hast destroyed the
wicked, thou hast put out their name forever and ever. O thou enemy,
destructions are come to a perpetual end.” [Psalm 9:5, 6.] John, in
the Revelation, looking forward to the eternal state, hears a universal
anthem of praise, undisturbed by one note of discord. Every creature
in Heaven and earth was heard ascribing glory to God. [Revelation
5:13.] There will then be no lost souls to blaspheme God, as they
writhe in never-ending torment; no wretched beings in hell will
mingle their shrieks with the songs of the saved.

Upon the fundamental error of natural immortality rests the
doctrine of consciousness in death, a doctrine, like eternal torment,
opposed to the teachings of the Scriptures, to the dictates of reason,    

and to our feelings of humanity. According to the popular belief, the
redeemed in Heaven are acquainted with all that takes place on the
earth, and especially with the lives of the friends whom they have
left behind. But how could it be a source of happiness to the dead
to know the troubles of the living, to witness the sins committed
by their own loved ones, and to see them enduring all the sorrows,
disappointments, and anguish of life? How much of Heaven’s bliss
would be enjoyed by those who were hovering over their friends on
earth? And how utterly revolting is the belief that as soon as the
[546] breath leaves the body, the soul of the impenitent is consigned to the
flames of hell! To what depths of anguish must those be plunged
who see their friends passing to the grave unprepared, to enter upon
an eternity of woe and sin! Many have been driven to insanity by
this harrowing thought.

What say the Scriptures concerning these things? David declares
that man is not conscious in death. “His breath goeth forth, he
returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” [Psalm
146:4.] Solomon bears the same testimony: “The living know that
they shall die; but the dead know not anything.” “Their love, and their
hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a
portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.” “There is no
work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither
thou goest.” [Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6, 10.]

When, in answer to his prayer, Hezekiah’s life was prolonged
fifteen years, the grateful king rendered to God a tribute of praise
for his great mercy. In this song he tells the reason why he thus
rejoices: “The grave cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee;
they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living,
the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day.” [Isaiah 38:18, 19.]
Popular theology represents the righteous dead as in Heaven, entered
into bliss, and praising God with an immortal tongue; but Hezekiah
could see no such glorious prospect in death. With his words agrees
the testimony of the psalmist: “In death there is no remembrance
of thee; in the grave who shall give thee thanks?” “The dead praise
First Great Deception 463
not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.” [Psalm 6:5;
115:17.]

Peter, on the day of Pentecost, declared that the patriarch David
“is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day.”
“For David is not ascended into the heavens.” [Acts 2:29, 34.] The
fact that David remains in the grave until the resurrection, proves
that the righteous do not go to Heaven at death. It is only through
the resurrection, and by virtue of the fact that Christ has risen, that [547]
David can at last sit at the right hand of God.

And said Paul: “If the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised.
And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.” [1
Corinthians 15:16-18.] If for four thousand years the righteous had
gone directly to Heaven at death, how could Paul have said that if
there is no resurrection, “they which are fallen asleep in Christ are
perished”? No resurrection would be necessary.

The martyr Tyndale, defending the doctrine that the dead sleep,
declared to his papist opponent: “Ye, in putting them [departed souls]
in Heaven, hell, and purgatory, destroy the argument wherewith
Christ and Paul prove the resurrection.” “If the souls be in Heaven,
tell me why they be not in as good case as the angels be? And then
what cause is there of the resurrection?”

It is an undeniable fact that the hope of immortal blessedness
at death has led to widespread neglect of the Bible doctrine of the
resurrection. This tendency was remarked by Dr. Adam Clarke,
who, early in the present century, said: “The doctrine of the resurrection
appears to have been thought of much more consequence

among the primitive Christians than it is now! How is this? The
apostles were continually insisting on it, and exciting the followers
of God to diligence, obedience, and cheerfulness through it. And
their successors in the present day seldom mention it! So apostles
preached, and so primitive Christians believed; so we preach, and so
our hearers believe. There is not a doctrine in the gospel on which
more stress is laid; and there is not a doctrine in the present system
of preaching which is treated with more neglect!”
This has continued until the glorious truth of the resurrection
has been almost wholly obscured, and lost sight of by the Christian
world. Thus a leading religious writer, commenting on the words of [548]

Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, says: “For all practical purposes
of comfort the doctrine of the blessed immortality of the righteous
takes the place for us of any doubtful doctrine of the Lord’s second
coming. At our death the Lord comes for us. That is what we are to
wait and watch for. The dead are already passed into glory. They do
not wait for the trump for their judgment and blessedness.”
But when about to leave his disciples, Jesus did not tell them that
they would soon come to him. “I go to prepare a place for you,” he
said. “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and
receive you unto myself.” [John 14:2, 3.] And Paul tells us, further,

that “the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with
the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead
in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall
be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord
in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” And he adds,
“Comfort one another with these words.” [1 Thessalonians 4:16-18.]
How wide the contrast between these words of comfort and those of
the Universalist minister previously quoted. The latter consoled the
bereaved friends with the assurance, that, however sinful the dead
might have been, when he breathed out his life here he was to be
received among the angels. Paul points his brethren to the future
coming of the Lord, when the fetters of the tomb shall be broken,
and the “dead in Christ” shall be raised to eternal life.

Before any can enter the mansions of the blest, their cases must
be investigated, and their characters and their deeds must pass in
review before God. All are to be judged according to the things
written in the books, and to be rewarded as their works have been.
This Judgment does not take place at death. Mark the words of Paul:

“He hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in
[549] righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained: whereof he hath
given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the
dead.” [Acts 17:31.] Here the apostle plainly stated that a specified
time, then future, had been fixed upon for the Judgment of the world.
Jude refers to the same period: “The angels which kept not
their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in
everlasting chains under darkness unto the Judgment of the great
day.” And again he quotes the words of Enoch: “Behold, the Lord
cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon

all.” [Jude 6, 14, 15.] John declares that he “saw the dead, small and
great, stand before God; and the books were opened;” “and the dead
were judged out of those things which were written in the books.”
[Revelation 20:12.]
But if the dead are already enjoying the bliss of Heaven or
writhing in the flames of hell, what need of a future Judgment?
The teachings of God’s Word on these important points are neither
obscure nor contradictory; they may be understood by common
minds. But what candid mind can see either wisdom or justice in
the current theory? Will the righteous, after the investigation of
their cases at the Judgment, receive the commendation, “Well done,
good and faithful servant,” “enter thou into the joy of thy Lord,”
[Matthew 25:21, 41.] when they have been dwelling in his presence,
perhaps for long ages? Are the wicked summoned from the place
of torment to receive the sentence from the Judge of all the earth,
“Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire?” [Matthew 25:21,
41.] Oh, solemn mockery! shameful impeachment of the wisdom
and justice of God!
The theory of the immortality of the soul was one of those false
doctrines that Rome, borrowing from paganism, incorporated into
the religion of Christendom. Martin Luther classed it with “the
numberless prodigies of the Romish dunghill of decretals.” Commenting
on the words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes, that the dead
know not anything, the reformer says: “Another proof that the dead
are insensible. Solomon thinks therefore, that the dead are altogether [550]
asleep, and think of nothing. They lie, not reckoning days or years,
but when awakened, will seem to themselves to have slept scarcely
a moment.”
Nowhere in the Sacred Scriptures is found the statement that
the righteous go to their reward or the wicked to their punishment
at death. The patriarchs and prophets have left no such assurance.
Christ and his apostles have given no hint of it. The Bible clearly
teaches that the dead do not go immediately to Heaven. They are
represented as sleeping until the resurrection. [1 Thessalonians 4:14;
Job 14:10-12.] In the very day when the silver cord is loosed and
the golden bowl broken, [Ecclesiastes 12:6.] man’s thoughts perish.
They that go down to the grave are in silence. They know no more of
anything that is done under the sun. [Job 14:21.] Blessed rest for the

weary righteous! Time, be it long or short, is but a moment to them.
They sleep, they are awakened by the trump of God to a glorious
immortality. “For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be
raised incorruptible.... So when this corruptible shall have put on
incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall
be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up
in victory.” [1 Corinthians 15:52-55.] As they are called forth from
their deep slumber, they begin to think just where they ceased. The
last sensation was the pang of death, the last thought that they were
falling beneath the power of the grave. When they arise from the
tomb, their first glad thought will be echoed in the triumphal shout,
“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” [1
Corinthians 15:52-55.]
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