bible standard march 1878

8/8/2019 Bible Standard March 1878

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t I t ~t a n •Issued monthly by "The Bible Standard Publication Society," 24, Mint La ne, Lincoln .ED IT ED BY

Geo. A. BROWN, Pastor of Mint Lane Baptist Church, Lincoln.

THE BIBLE ST AN DA RDs devo ted t o th e expos itio n o f Bi b lic a l Truth, es pe c ia lly th e doct rin e of Co ndi tio n a l I mmorta lity, the li te ra l Res u rrec tion of

the D ea d , th e Final D estruction of the Wicked, the Sign s of th e Tim es, th e S eco nc l Co min g o f Chr is t, a nd Hi s P e rsona l Re ign on e arth .

" The Wages of Sin is Dea th; but t he gift of God is Et ernal Life thr ouq h. Jesus C hr ist our Lord ."

No. 6. MARCH, 1878. Price Id .

GOD 'S PEN ALT Y FO R S IN.

(continued. )IN our l as t a rt ic le we p ro ve d co nc lu s ive ly , as we think, that I

the lang uag e "Ma n sha ll sur e ly di e ," ex pr e ssi ng, as it does,

th e pe n a lt y of tran sg ressio n, cann ot , with ou t vi o latin g the

law s of lan g ua ge, b e und ers too d a s m ea n in g a n y thi ng b ut

th e lit e ra l · deat h o f th e w ho le man . The lang u ag e u se d i n

pr on oun c ing sen tence u pon A dam, afte r th e fa ll , not on ly

abund antl y ev id enc es thi s, it re nde rs a n y po sit ion base d o n

a diff e rent int e rpretati o n of the word s, wh o ll y unten abl e .

A s th e re fo re t h e pen a lt y of th e law, " th e wa ges of si n " is

lit e ra l d eath, d ea th of a ll th at go es to m ake up the respo n sib le

b e ing , it f o llo ws in ev itab ly t h at n a tu ra l im mo rt a lit y ca nnot

be tru e, a nd a lso that all co n scio u s life fo r eve r ceases a t

d ea th , unl ess th e re is a re sur re c tion from th e d ead , wh ich we

be li eve th e B ibl e ful ly v in d icates and pr edic ts .

B efo re w e pro ce ed to th e qu est ion, l e t u s see how stran ge ly

our so -call ed orthodo x Divin es hav e int e rpr e ted Go d 's pena lt y

for s in. M r. B enson , a n abl e w ri te r o f th e Met hodi s t sc hoo l,

takin g fo r g ran te d , of co ur se , th a t a ll m en , irre spec tive o f

chara c te r, a re im mort a l, pi c tur es th e s ta te o f t h e w icke d

und erg oin g th e ir pe na lt y for s in , w ho ar e sa id b y th e L o rd o f

lif e an d g lo ry to "pe r is h ," but by M r. Be n son 's d escr ipti on

we should thin k t hat h e n ever a nti c ipa ted su ch an eve nt

taking place . He s ays :-" God is p rese nt in h e ll in Hi s inf init e ju s ti ce a nd a lmi ght y

wr a th , a s an u n fathoma bl e sea of li qu id f ire, wh ere th ewi ck ed m us t d r ink in eVe!'Zasti ng tortur e. The presence o f Godin Hi s v enge an ce, scat te rs da rk n es s an d wo e thr ou gh t hedr e ary r eg ions of mi se ~' Y ' A ~ h eav en w ould b e no heav en ifGod did n ot th e re m anife s t Hi s love, so he ll wo uld b e no h e llif G od d id n o t th e re di spl ay Hi s wr at h ; i t i s t h e presence ofG od w hi ch giv es eve ryth ing vir tu e and effica cy , w ith o utwhi ch ~ here ca n b e n o lif e , no sens ib il it y , no pow er; God isther e fcs e Him se lf pr e~e nt in h e ll to see ~h e p uni shm ent oftho se reb e ls a g am st H ISgo vernm ent , th a t It ma y b e ade qu a teto th e in fin itu d e o f th ei r g u il t. H is fie ry ind ig n at ion ki nd les ,and His inc en se d fur y feeds th e fl am es of th e ir t o rm ent s ,while Hi s powerful pr e sence and oper a tion maintains their

I· .

pow e rs mo st ac ut e ly se ns ibl e , thus se ttin g th e keenest ed geupon t he ir pa in, a n d m aki ng it cut mos t into le rab ly deep; H ewill e xe rt a ll Hi s d iv in e a ttri bu tes to m ake th em as w re tch edas th e c ap ac it y of th e ir b e ing w ill admit ."

Such i s th e con ception of Go d's p ena lty for s in , ent e rt a in ed

by m en who wo ul d make u s be li e ve t h ey a re preaching and

tea chin g Go d' s revea led will i n th e su bj ec t. We ca ll it aw ful

b lasp hemy ! and it is emin entl y c a lcu la ted to m ak e m en

abh o r th e v ery n am e of God and re lig ion . Th e do c trin e of

inh eren t immortality is res ponsib le fo r thi s b lasph emy .

And thi s is th a t which man y lov e so we ll , a s t o d ecla re th a t

if it we re not tru e, th ey "w o lu c l c e ase to love God ," th ey

wou ld s e rve se lf and en jo y th e p leas ure s of s in !! If in th e ir

qu est io nab le se rvice t h ey a re imp e ll e d b y . such motive s, th en

the y are jus t s imp ly serv in g se lf, and noth in g more. T h ey

do w hat th ey do fo r th e p u rpos e, a nd onl!J for th e pmpo se of

ke eping o u t o f th e f ire; s uch m igh t as well th row o ff th e

ma sk , a n d serve se lf ope nl y, for G od w ill no t acc ep t th e ir

holl ow off e rings .

"G ive M e thi ne h eart, thi ne a ff ection s ," is th e requi s ition.

It w ill avai l n othing in att emptin g to see k r e lie f f rom th e

aw ful r es p on sibili ty of t eac hin g s uch it doct rin e to say " I do

no t b e li eve in th e d oc tr in e of tort ur e, bu t o f u nh app iness. "

Et e rn a l unhappin es s i s e te rn a l to rtur e , an d the th eo ry i n any

fo rm , repr ese n ts God a s c ru e l and vi nd ic ti ve .

It ma y b e s ta ted b y s om e that w e never h ea ri t

pr ea ch edfr om our p u lpi ts no w . B ret hr en in th e mini s tr y, w ho ho ld

to the to rme n t theo ry, if yo u be li ev e th e doc trin e, you ought

to preach. it, if yo u do n o t b e li ev e it, you o u ght t o renoun ce

it; you cannot r e fu se to do either w ith out in currin g c1ivi ne

di sp leas ur e; a s br e thr en we ex hort y ou to fa ithf uln ess in thi s

matt e r; what so rt o f w a tchm en are y ou on th e wa ll s of Z ion ?

How ca n yo u stand b e for e yo u r p eop le , an d , be li ev ing th em

expo se d to such a futur e, fail to ur ge it upon th e ir cons id e ra-

tion m o re ea rn est ly a nd pers is tent ly th an a ll thi ngs e lse

combin ed ? If, o n th e ot he r ha n c1 , you do n o t b e li ev e it, y ou

sur e ly mu st reg a rd it a g ros s mi s repr ese nt a tion of th e



42 T H E BIBLE STANDARD.

character of God, in whi ch case how ca n you, in th e name ofHim, who in bouncU ess love was given , invoke Divin e favour,while, before the world, you count enance a nd support th elibel? In either case y our error is not simpl e error , it is adeep, dark sin. Th erefore look well to your dut y in this ..

The fact is, as a restrainer from ev il, the doctrin e is anignominiou s failure, and though it has for centuri es beenpreached in variou s form s and d egrees, much of th e time in i tsmost horrib le form, th e world i s to-day w orse than ever . Beingso terrib le, the torment th eory h as over-reached its mark;Prof . Hud son ha s well said; "Th at which is too f earful isunf eared.' ,

Bishop Newton remark s ;-Nothing can be more contraryto th e divine nat ure and attribut es, than for a God, a ll-wise,all-powerful, all-good, all-perfect, to b estow existence on anybeings who se destiny he for esees a nd for eknow s must termin-ate in wr etchedness and misery, without r ecove ry 01' remedy,without r espite 01 ' end . God i s love! and he wou ld ratherhave not given life, than render that life a torment and acurse to all eternity ; ima gine creatur es delivered over to th etorments of endless ages with out th e leas t hope or possibilityof redempt ion; imagine it you m ay, but you c an neve rseriou sly believe it, nor r econcile it with G od, and goodn ess,and ju stice."

Dr. Ed ward Beecher h as trul~ sa id of th e orthodo x theoryof puni shment ;-

"It in volves G od, Hi s whole, administration, and Hi seternal kin gdom , in th e deepe st dishonour th at the mind ofman 0 1' angel can con ceive; the human mind cannot b e heldback from . abhorrin g such a theory, ex cept by th e mostunnatural viol ence to it s divinely inspired conv ictions ofright and honour. "

And wh ere is to be found r elief from thi s gloom y theory?'I Ne shall clearly show that r evelation aff ords it. " Th e soulthat 's inneth , it shall die." "All the wicked will God"destroy." A writer h as aptly said; "Th e destruction ofthe wick ed is not an impos sible process , or offensive to ourideas of equity . Is it not infi nitely preferable, if w e decideby 0UI ' moral instinct s, that th e wicked should expir e all theirmiserable breath into th e night, when the sunset of h opearrives, than that th ey s hould b e kept in bitt er and ever-lasting woe and sin? "

That the fin al and t otal extinction of th e wicked aft er thecomin g of Chri st, is the unanimou s voic e of Scriptur e, wewill now pro ceed to show.

To th e question , then , concerning the final condition ofthe wicked.

"TH EY PER ISH"

. The term "pe ri sh" means-to be destroyed; to go todestruction ; to come t o nothin g; to be blotted from e xist-ence; to lose life; to d ecay; it therefore means the oppo siteof pr esexvation, wh ether applied to animat e 0 1' inanimate.objecta. e will give a f ew quot ations under thi s head ; -

Job xx. 4 7." K nowe st thou not this of old, s ince man w asplaced upon the earth, th at the tr iump hing of t he wicked isshort, and the joy of th e hypocrite but for a moment?

Thou gh hi s excellency mount up to th e heavens, and hi s heac1reach unto the cloud s; ye t he shall perish. foreve r, like hisown dun g."

We cannot but f eel that no person, unl ess he be thor oughlyfortified wi th pr ejudi ce, can read thi s passage, and not beimpressed with th e fact that peri sh is here emp loyed to e xpress

the idea of ab solute, literal destruction .Psa lm xxxvii. 20 . "But the wicked shall perish, and th e

enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lamb s; they shallconsume; into smoke shall they consume away. "

Psalm xlix. 12. "Nevertheless, man b eing in honourabid eth not; he is like th e beasts that perish. "

P ro v, xix. 9 . "A fal se witn ess s hall not be u npuni shed,and he that speak eth lies shall peris h."

There can be no mistak e in th is language. God co uld notuse any stronger words to t each th e doct rine we are nowadvocating. We wi ll now call your attentio n to a pa ssage,which goes to show wh at Chri st came into the wo rld to

save us from ; -John iii. 14 -16. "And as Moses lifted up th e se rpent in

the wilderness, even so mu st the Son of man b e lifted up ;that who soever b elieve th in Him should not peri sh, but h aveeternal life. For God so loved the world, that H e gave Hisonly begotten Son , that who soever believet h in Him shou ldnot per ish, but ha ve e temallife."

Can l anguage b e plainer? can truth be mad e simpler!When we take th e words peri sh and everlasting life in th eirplain, lit eral, obvious sense, we a t onc e arriv e at theconclusion that God in tends to bestow upon th e righteous theboon of ever lasting life, but the wicked h e will con sign backto the dust, and the y will be "as though th ey never had been."

The wicked w ill be PUN IS HED, as Pau l says, with " ever-lasting de struct ion, " not pr eserved, and this de struction w illbe broug ht abo ut by the fir es of the last judgme nt, for i t iswritt en ;-

Mal . iv. 1 . "For, b ehold, the day comet h, that sha ll bumas an ov en; and a ll the proud, yea, and al l that do wick edly,shall be stubb le; and th e day that com eth shall burn them up,saith th e Lord of ho sts, that it sha ll leave them neitlier rootnor br anch. "

Dr. Adam Clarke admit s that the expression shall leace themneither r oot nor bra nch, was a "prov erbia l" one "for tota ldestruction .' ,

Again, John says of Chri st, "Who se fan i s in H is hand,and H e will thoroughl y purge His floor , and gather Hi s whe atinto Hi s gamer; but He wil l b um u p the chaff w ithunqu enchable fire."

Chaff here represents the wicked; it is sa id th ey wil l besepa rated from the wh eat, (the righteous,) and b e burn ed up

with unque nchable fire. Is their anyt hing about t heexpression " unquenchable fire" which ind icate s that th e fireis never to go o ut? Ce rtain ly not. It is unq uenchablebecause it cannot be qu enched, but co ntinues to burn unti lit co nsumes t hat which it burns. A house takes fire, a nd,despi te all effort s to sav e it, is consumed; they who did all in



THE BIBLE STANDARD . 4 3

th ei r p owe r to save th e pr ope rty are as ked if th ey co ul d not

h ave s ubdu ed th e fl ames , th e ir repl y is, " No , th e fir e was

unqu en chabl e. " Thi s wa s tru e: t he fir e wa s unqu enchabl e ,

ye t i t w ent o ut of itse lf w hen it h ad co n sum ed th e hou se .

And you mu st b ear in m ind, dea l' r ea d e r, th a t th e f ire i s to

"cons um e," "d estr o y ," "b u rn up th e w icked, " for God i s

pur posing to have a c lea nsed univ e rse, fr ee d f rom sin , andlik e th e fa rm er w ho goes to work , ga the rin g up all th e c h a ff

and s tubbl e, to w hi ch h e p ut s th e fi re, in o rder to burn and

des tr oy it . So God will se nd H is an ge ls to b ind t he wi cked

as c h a ff i nt o bundl es to be burn ed, d e s tro ye d, &c . W ill yo u ,

d ea l' reader, be ga th e re d i n t h e bundl e of t h e w ick ed ?

May God, in Hi s mercy, ch ang e yo ur h eart, and fit yo u fo r

th at day, w hen th e ri g ht eo u s w ill b e ga th e red as wh ea t into

th e g arn e r of th e Lord , to b e pr ese rved un to ete rn a l li fe for

H is ow n u se and g lo ry.

T h e Rev . S amu e l Mi nton, M. A. , fo rm e rly o f W orce ste r

O o ll ege , 'O x fo rd, sa y s , " E ver y ex pr essio n th a t hu ma n

languag e ca n supp ly , an d eve ry me tapho r th a t th e m a te ri a l

worl d can y ie ld , to im p ress u po n ns th a t t h e wi ck ed wi ll

wholl y cease to exis t, ( a ft er th e jud g rn en t.) a re pi led one upon

ano the r, a lm os t co ntinu ou s ly, f rom G enes is t o R eve la tion.

Th ey ar e s a id to p erish -to p as s a wa y-to f ad e- to with e r-

to b e des tro ye c1-co ns um ed- dr ow ned -bu rnt up- gr o und t o

powd er-cut down -pluck ed up b y th e ro o ts- br ok en to

shi ve rs -put away lik e dr oss -b e side s ot he r s imi lar expr es -

sion s. Wh a t d ep end enc e can b e pl aced up on th e teac hin gs of

Scriptur e, if a ll thi s m ea ns th a t th ey w il l liv e fo r eve r, w ith

a ll th e ir po w ers and fac ult ie s o f b ody ' and m ind in fu ll

exe rc ise, t hou gh a t enm it y w ith G od , a nd co n sequ en tly in a

s tat e of u nm it iga ted s uff e rin g? "

In o u r next is su e w e in tend to giv e an exp o s it io n of th e

p ass age so oft en q uo ted , n am e ly "Th ese s ha ll go away into

ever las tin g pu n ishm en t. " 'Ve s hall al so , in du e ti m e , b rin g

b efo re our read e rs t h e p a rab le of th e R ic h M an and Lazaru s,

a lso th e fi g u rativ e lan gu ag e in R ev e la tion , " th e s mok e of

th e ir ~m ent ." , -

'Vj a~ 'e fu lly . p e rsu aded th at t h e pa ss ages w hi ch our

op~one nt s d ep end upon, t o s u s ta in th e ir v iew s o f et e rna l

to (- ,me nt , can no t b e leg itim ate ly us ed fo r any s uch purp o se .

¥ay the writ e r and r eade r see k a c lo se r intim ac y w ith Hi m

Who alon e ca n gui de u s int o a ll tru th . Am en .

SHE OL AN D H AD ES .

IT see m s uni ve rsa ll y a dm itted th at th e H eb rew w or d Sheol,and th e G ree k wo rd Had es, whi ch w e tr ans la te He ll , b y nom ea n s in fe r a plac e o f tor me n t, bu t m e re ly a cov e re d , 01'

enc lo sed , 0 1' sec ret p lac e . H. B . in "Mo rnin g W atch, " Mr .B u llin ge r, in hi s "G ree k and E ng lis h C onco rdance andL exi con, " tran s la tes Hade s into th e w ord qra cedom, Th epopu la r id ea o f H ades is, th a t it i s a va s t r ece ptac le fordi se mbodi ed spirit s , but t he B ibl e is n ot au th o ri ty fo r anysuch ima g in a tion.

A TERR IBL E SURP RI SE .

W E hav e a profound conviction that the world i s h as ten ing

to t he gre a t c ris is wh ic h is to c lo se fo r eve r th e pr e sen t

dis pen sa tion , a n d w itn ess the b eg inni ng of th e ne w age. Its

sp ee d i s won de rfully acc el e ra ted. Th e re i s a race, a ru sh of

rul ed a nd rul ers, pe oples , p res idents , and pri nces , t ow ards

some u nk no w n goa l which , w hate v er may b e it s p rec isen a ture, i s in s tin c tiv e ly fe lt t o be entir e ly n ew i n th e h ist o ry

of hum an it y, Empe rors, k ings, states m en , revo lut io n ists,

anarc h is ts , a ll see it as an inev itab le somethinq whi ch ,

w het h er fe ar ed or w elcomed , mu st be m e t som e day not f ar

di sta n t. Wha t i t w ill d o or und o, ho w it will a ffec t

dynas ti es, ki n gdoms , r epu b lics, a n d the innum erabl e i n -

s ti tu tion s of th e worl d ,- ecc les ias tic a l, p o liti ca l, m ili ta ry,

so c ia l, an d sc ien tif ic,- n e ither pri nces nor peo pl e kn ow ;

bu t a ll agree in th in k ing th a t, witho u t leave as k ed, it w ill

d ea l w ith th e na ti on s , wh et her for w ea l o r wo e , in a m ood

whi ch br ook s no oppo s ition and admit s n o d e lay. In this

th ey are rig h t, "beca u se a s hor t r ecko n in g will t he L ord

m ake up on the eart h. " Hom, ix . 28. "An d th e lo fti ness

of m an shall be bowed down , and th e h aughtin e ss of m en

sha ll b e mad e low; a nd th e L o rd a lo ne s h a ll b e exa lt ed in

th a t da y. An d th e idol s he sha ll u tt e rl y abo li sh. An d t h ey

shall go into the holes of the rock s , a nd into the cave s of the '

e arth , for fear of th e Lord, and for the g lory of Hi s m ajes ty ,

whe n H e a ri se th to sh ake terribl y th e ea rth." Isaia h. ii . 17 , 19 .

M ea ntime, a d e sper a te s tru gg le for pre-eminenc e h a s

be gun, a s if eac h party w as de te rmin ed to s e ize a nd hold

th e ri ght s of th e co min g Lord. Th e pro ph ecy of th e sec ond

Psa lm. is ful f illing befor e our e ye s. Th e n ation s ra ge , and

th e p eopl e im agine a v a in thing . The kin gs of th e ea rth

set th emse lv es , and the rul e rs take coun se l t oge th e r

ag a in s t the L o rd, and , aga ins t Hi s A no int ed . A l onge r

le a se of pow er is dem ande d b y th e world' s pot entat es .

Th ey will not ge t it ! A bu sed s tewar d shi p m u st b e c lo sed

wit h di sg race. S up rem acy is s ou gh t b y t h e revo lut ioni s ts.

They will not ge t it! Men who r ef u se to se rv e a re utt er ly

unf it to com m and . A uthor ity is c la im ed by the ath e is ti ca l

ana rchi sts . T he y w ill not ge t i t! God is not about to

hand ov e r the chi e f wo rl d of Hi s do m inions to m en who

deny Hi s ex istenc e. And S cienc e , cu ltur ed , le a rn ed, polite,

asks the ma nagem en t of th e ' ea rth on t he g ro un d o f h ersup e rior w isdom. S he w ill not ge t it! T o de ify l aw, and

ignore th e divine L aw- g iver , is pr o of po sitive of inc apacity

to rul e .

Y e t, n o twi th sta nd in g th e p re-determi n ed fa ct th a t non e

of t he w o rld -faction s sh a ll r ea ch th e co v e ted s uprem ac y over

a ll th e res t, th e s tru ggl e w ill i nt en s ify u n ti l, un de r i ts whi te

hea t, t he ha rvest an d the vine of t h e ea rth s h a ll rip en f o r

the sh a rp si ckl e . "And I loo ked, and behold a white

cloud, and upon th e c loud On e sat li ke unto th e Son of Ma n ,

h aving o n Hi s h ead a g old en cro w n, an d in Hi s hand a



4 4 THE BIBLE S TANDARD .•

sharp sickle. And another angel cam e out of the t emple'crying with a l oud v oice to H im that sat on the clou d,Thrust in Thy s ickle and reap, for the harv est of the ea rthis ripe . And He that sa t on the cloud thr ust in His sick leon the earth; and the ear th was reaped. And anoth erangel came out of the temple which w as in he aven, he also

having a sharp sickl e. And anoth er angel came out f romthe altar, he t hat had pow er over the fire, 'and cried w ith aloud voice to him that had the sha rp sick le, thr ust in thysharp sick le, and gather the clust ers of the vine of theearth, f or her grapes are fully rip e. And th e angel thru st inhis sickle into th e ear th, and gathered the vine o f the ea rth,and cast it int o the great wine-press of the wrath of God.And the win e-pre ss was trodd en out side the city, and bl oodcame out o f the winep ress, e ven unto the bi ts of the hor ses;

to the di stance of a thou sand a nd six hun dred furlongs ."Thi s is what is coming! A ,lake of blood so deep as to

reach th e bridles o f the horses, and so great as to cover aspace of twenty - five square m iles! What a terrib le surpriseit will be to Antichrist and the enormou s armi es that w illserve him in Christ-defying blasphemy when the Son ofMan is revealed from heaven in flaming fire to ~{evengeance on Hi s enemies! As a "snare" shall it comeupon th em all, and" th ey shall not e scape." In the direconstern ation, and horror , and panic that w ill seize them,they w ill say to the mountains and r ocks, "Fall on u s, andhide us from th e face of Him that sitteth upon th e thron e,and fr om th e wrath of the Lamb; for th e great day of Hi swrath 'is come, and who is able to st and?" Hi s regal

claims scorn ed, His coming laughed at as t he dream ofpersons b eneath contempt, the enemies of th e Lord will findin that d ay o f indescrib able terror that they made a n awful

mistake in suppo sing tha t the gove rnment of th e wo rld W[LS

to b e left for ever in such f eeble and blundering h ands astheirs. One can easily understand how distasteful manypass ges of Scr iptu re are to ru lers, and wo uld-be rulers,

o seem to think that God h ad no hi gher end in vi ew inthe creation of thi s fair wo rld than to make it a prize forambiti on, a place s imply fo r the acquisition of w ealth andpower, and a theat re fo r the exhibition of a sp lendo ur andglory whi ch all spirit ual-minded men know to be hollowimposture. We shall qu ote only th ree of these di stastefulpassages ~ ., Th e Lord brin geth the coun sel of t he heathento nou ght; He m aketh th e devices of th e people of noneeffect." Psalm xxxii. 10. " He b ringeth th e pr inces tonothin g; He maketh the judges of the earth a s vanity.Yea, they shall not b e plant ed; yea, they shall not be sown ;yea, their stock shall not take root in th e earth; and hesha ll also b low upon th em, and they s hall with er, and thewhirlwind shall take them away as stubb le." Isa iah xl.23, 24. "The rulers of this worl d are coming to nought .1 Cor. ii. 6.

But, it m ay be asked, why d oes not the Christianmini stry, paid for the purpos e, deal faithfully with th etruths of Revelatio n, and tell the great men of the ea rth,-its governments, rulers, and p otentates, -that it is theDivine p urpose to set th em all aside, and to pl ace thesupreme sceptre in Hands that will wield it so as to bring

peace on earth, goodw ill to m en, and glory to God in thehighest? The answer is not far to seek. A mini stry th ateats at Csesar's table, and c lothes itself in scarlet and finelinen at C sesar's cost, is not likely to ri sk Csesa r's displeasureby t elling him that his days ar e numb ered, th at he h as beenweighed in th e balances and f ound wanting, and th at hemust resign hi s thron e to One infinit ely better th an he.This uncourt eous language would grate upon r oyal ears, anddisturb the h armon y betwee n Csesar and his priests. -Besides, theology i s accommodating and co uld easi ly ada ptitself to th e altered state of thin gs consequent upon imp eria lfavour. When the Chu rch was lifted out of p ersecution andpov erty, and plac ed among p rince s, it was discovered thatthe true interpretat ion of all those Scriptures that seem tospea k of the S on of M an as retu rnin g from heaven to ruleall na tio n s must be reached by a spiritualising process .

This met the c ase ad mirably. C hri st is a King beyonddoubt. Th e fact cann ot be d enied, and far b e it from anytheologian to di spute a truth so bl esse d; but then H e reignsin heaven, and i n the hearts of me n on earth; and whenHis coming is sp oken of, th e meaning is th at He com es forthe soul s of beli evers at death, to take them to imm ediateglory. The worl d-powers were mor e than satisfied with this

expla nation, and th e theologians were held in esteem.Jesus w as quite welcome to r eign in heaven for ever, andOse sar, thoroughly approving the arrangement, evinced hisgratitude by s howering favour s on th e Church . There is ahistory whi ch tells us that certain o ccupiers of a vin eyardkilled the h eir, and seized on his inh eritance. Theoccupiers TWW rejoice that He is alive again, but mostsince rely hope th at He · will remain wh e re He i s, and not.!lome back to take possess ion of Hi s prop erty. What is thediffe rence between the two se ts of h usbandmen ?

We shall b e remind ed, howev er, that there are largeport ions of the Church n ow that do not eat bread at Cessa r'stable, and are, therefore, under no temptation to put a glosson any part of Revelation. True ; and we a re not lik ely toforget a fact whi ch bring s with i t the painful r eflection that,if unfaithfulness is found, in the absence of t empt ation thesin is prop ortion ately greater. The theology of C eesar'sbishop s supersed ed the doctrine of Apostl es; but, al as!those po rtions of t he Chu rch that have see n it ri ght torefuse the pat ronage of the purple, have a lso see n it rightto /'retain and perpetuat e the mischievous theolo gy. Al-though it is at the expense of truth, to the injury o f men ,and u nwo rthy of those wh o bear the preciou s name of



THE BIBLE STA N DARD . 45

Chri s t. No! It is v a in to pl ea d th e com p ara ti ve me rit o f

o ne f o rm o f e c c lesias ti c ism ove r anot h e r, if God's d e c la red

purpo se conc e rnin g th e k in gd om of Hi s S on b e al toge th e r

k ept out of s ight, or pr es ent e d in suc h di s to r ted f o rm as to

re v eal no thi ng bu t th e ig n o ran ce of th e sp ea ke r. It i s ,

moreo ve r, a r em ar k ab le fac t th at, a t th e p rese n t d ay, y o u

will find a g re a t,e r numb er o f mi ni s ters of th e Es tab lish edC hur ch lo yal to t h e doct rin e of the Seco nd Adv en t tha n in

a ll t he oth e r larg e eccle~ iast ~ l b .od ie s t~ke n t oge th e r ; ~ nd

if you w ant to h ear foQli 3 lf an d bitt e r thin gs u tt e re d aga in st

that doctrin e, s om e avow ed en emy of th e E stabli shm en t will

gratify y ou ! Th e se un den iab le f a cts, h owe ver, do not

requ ire t h e a lteratio n of a w or d in wha t we have sa id b e fo re .

If , th en, th e m aniI estat io n o f th e D ivin e Kin g in l igh tnin g

g lo ry will b e a terr ibl e s urpri se to th e p ow e rs a nd pr inc es,

the mig h ty m en a nd chi e f capt a in s , w h a t w ill i t be to

min ist e rs of the Go spe l w h o sha ll pave d isqu a lifi ed them -

se lv es a nd th e ir h e a re rs fr om be in g ta k en up to t h e pr ese n ce

oUhe Lo rd b y fal se teaching r es pecting H is com ing? Oh !inconce iv ab le te rror, sham e , cons te rn a tio n , di sg race!

Chri s tian mini s ter s , n ot hon our ed w ith the g lo rious ra ptu re ,

no t ta ke n a way be fo re th e s torm , n o t k ep t out of th e fiery

tribul a tion ! Th e subj ect i s too pai n fu l f o r pr o lon ged

though t. -Di·. Leask, " R a inb o w. "

•

DEP A RT U R E OF : TH E SO U L.

To prov e th e di se mbodi e d s ta te of m en aft e r d ea th, or th eex is tence of spi rit-me n ind epende nt of th e b o dy, we a re oft en

re fe rr e d to the followin g s ta temen ts : " As h er s oul w as in

d eparting" (Gen. xxxv. 18), an d " L e t thi s c hild 's soul com e

into him again" (1 Kings x vii. 21) _ We f ull y b e li eve th a t

the li fe, s omet imes ca ll ed so ul , leaves ma n at dea th , bu t t ha t

is not a p e rs o na lit y . T he o rig ina l t e rm nephesh, re nd er e d

soul in these t ex ts, i s also transl a te d ' lif e and lives b y th e s am e

tr a nsl at o rs no l ess th an on e hundre d and twe nt y tim es in th e

Old T es ta m ent sc ri pt ur es ; and th e same t e rm is a s re a ll y

applied to b eas ts as to m en, as in t h e fo ll ow ing text s: "In

whose h and is)he soul [nephesh-li fe] of ev e ry living thing,"-Job xii. 10. " A ri ght e ou s ma n r ega rd e th t he lif e [ l,ephesh-soul ] o f h is beas t."-P rov. x ii . 1 0.

If nephesh do es not s ig nify a pe rson a lity within when

applied to b e as ts, why claim th a t it do es wh en appli ed to

man ? W e d en y th a t the t e rm ever sig ni fie s a p e rsona lity

within man o r b ea s t. " A s her li fe w as in d epart in g " ; " L e t

thi s child 's l f fe c om e in to him aga in, " is the ob v io u s import

o f the se text s , thou g h th e pr ese n t tr an slat io n i s not o b jec -

tionable when we r em emb er th a t l ife is o n e of th e m ea n ings

of the t e rm soul .

IS THE IMMORTAL IT Y OF THE SO U L A SSUM ED

IN THE BI B LE?

W HA Ti s th e" eve rl a s tin g lif e " rev ea led t o m ankind in th e

Go spe l? An c l wh a t is th e" d eath " from w h ich that life is

an e te rn a l sa lv ation? H e re , a t th e thr esh o ld o f thi s di s-

cu ssio n , w e a re to ld th a t th e so ul 's immorta lit y is a ss umed

in the Bi bl e, an d th a t a ll th e lang u ag e of Sc ri p tur e m us t b eu nde rs tood acco rding ly . T h e" immort a lity O f th e s oul ,"

'sa ys A rc hbi shop Ti llot son, "i s ra th e r su pp ose d o r take n f o r

g ra nt ed , than ex p ress ly rev ea le d i n t h e Bibl e ."

Th e silen c e of the S c rip tu res res p ec ting man's na tur a l

imm o rta li ty is c omm on ly a dmitt e d . It i s a n a cknowl edge d

fac t th a t su ch imm ort a lit y is nowh ere in th e Bibl e s ta ted,

.mention ed, spoken o f, or a ll ud ed to, i n pr op e r t e rm s . It

n eve r a ppears as a pla s tic e lem ent , in th e lan g uag e o f t h e

~ riptur e s . N e it he r su ch ex p res s ion s as " to live fo r eve r, "

" t o ex is t f o r e v e r, " " n e \-. ? r t o di e ," "to b e immort a l, " n o r

any eq u iva lent expr es s io n s , a re ev e r app li ed . to th e na tu re of

th e so u l, o r to th e des tiny of t h e los t. Th ey ar e onl yapp lie d t o th e de st in y of t he r ig hteou s. Our bu s in ess is with

th e comm on v iew, th a t t h e imm o rt a li ty in q u es ti o n i s s il e nt ly

\ ass ume d and t ak en f o r gra nt ed i n th e vo lu m e o f R eve la ti o n.

Fo r a rgum en t's sa k e w e wi ll a dmit t h is; and w e w ill

compare t h e Sc ri pt ur a l tr ea tme n t o f th is s u ppo se d imr li c it

d oc trin e, with th e Sc riptur a l tr ea tm ent o f anot h e r doct rin e -

th a t of th e di v ine e x is tenc e -which i s und o ubt e dl y tak en for

g ra n ted in th e Bi bl e, a n d w ith whic h t he doc tri ne i n qu es tio n

is oft en a s -so c ia te d as o n e o f th e main p ill a rs of re ligious

tru th .

I f, n ow , th ese tw o ar e the ca rdin a l truth s of r e ligi on, w e

should expect th em t o re ce iv e s imil a r tr ea tme nt , in th e

reve lation o { d ivine ch a rac te r and o f human de stiny. If on e

o f th es e do c trin es is s ta ted exp lic itly a nd ca tegorica ll y, w e

should ex pec t th e sa m e o f t he oth e r . I f on e is a ss um ed

im p li c itly a n d si lent ly, -ta k en f o r g ra nt ed as a d oct r ine

c lea r pa s t a ll doub t an d a ll n eed of m entio n , w e s hou ld

expec t th e sam e of t h e ot h e r .

Wh a t a re the fac ts? Th e d ivine ex is tence is na m ed and

a ll u c1e c lto , and involv ed in va rio u s form s o f sp e ec h , con-

ti n u a ll y . It s tand s out in b o ld re lie f on almo s t e ve ry page

o f th e Bi bl e . I t m eet s the rea d e r a t e v e ry t u rn. T he

do ctr in e o f Go d' s e x iste nc e is th e appl e of go ld in th e pi c tur e

o f s il ve r . It i s th e Mo unt a in o f Li ght t hat illu mines th e

vo lume . I t is th e cen tra l tr u th , th a t makes the Bibl e a

Di sco u rse o f G o d -the Wo rd of God . I t is th e She ki n ah

th a t im par ts sac redn ess t o th e B ook, so t h a t even s cep ti cs

hav e approach ed it w ith awe, as s tanding on ho ly g rou nd.

And les t th is one gr eat truth shou ld w eary the devo ut r eade r

with mon oton y, it app ears in end less ly-vary ing fo rm s , in

m anif o ld n ames of the D iv in e B e ing an d o f Hi s glo rio u s

att ri but e s . An d to ar res t t h e att en tion and i nvit e th e study

of r e lu c tan t m en, th e B ibl e y ie lc ls a t hou sa nd ex p ress ion s o f



46 THE BIBLE STAND A RD.

the power, wisdom, and good ness of God. If we strike out.from th e record all those passages whi ch tell of His beingand Hi s works, we reduc e the dimensions of th e volumealmost by half, we make it a book with out sense or meanin g,we exchange its radia nt light f or midni ght darkn ess .But if w e expun ge from t he same book all those passag es

in whi ch th e immo rtality of the soul is mentioned or ex-press ly assumed, we leave th e volume uncha nged; it remain sas it was. It mig ht have been writt en just as we have it,and th e Reve lation wo uld h ave been just as comp lete as it is,if the sacred writ ers had conspired, with uniform cons ent, toavoi d all reference or allu sion t o that form o f doctrine whichis som etime s calle~l one of th e two ca rdinal truths of all

religion.Whence this contr ast in the S criptural treatment of th ese

ideas? Will it b e sa id th at the ifumortality of the soul i ssufficien tly clear to man's unaided reason?, But that im-

por tam t trut h: oug ht to be sU 17Jassi ngly clear to human r eason,

uldclc need not b e named in a R evelati on. And if we s upposethe mo re obvious trut h to be named less fre quently becausemore obvious, then the soul's immort ality sho uld be athousandfold c learer than the ex istence of Q -od, nay, c learerbeyond all compa rison, as a ny large numb er is incompa rably

greater than zero.That the so ul's immor tality is so clear past all shadow

or d ream o f doubt, will hardly be claimed. But gra nting, fo rargument's sake, that it i s too clear to need explicit mentionin the Bible, we only encoun ter a new diffi culty. Th eReve lation whi ch Goel s hould make to man i s of n ecessity

given in man's language ,-not only in the single words ofhuman language, but also in th e current phrases and f ormsof hum an spee ch, so far as these a re not false, or such asshould b e co rrected or modi fied by the Reve lation. But ifthe soul's immortalit y were so marvellously clear a postulat eof human reaso n, it mu st be a most c herished sentiment ,and must give rise to m any common e xpress ions-hou seholdwords of natural theology. In fact, whenever a nd wh erev erthis doctr ine has obtained, i t has c reated va riou s modes ofexp ress ion that reveal the sentiment. Why, then, are these ex-pressions altogeth er avoided or ignored in the Bibl e? W hyshould the Ho ly Spirit -so ready to catch the language of the

mortals who were to be taught th e wfl:yof life-have failed toconform to their style of thou ght in this mos t imp orta ntitem of thei r own immor tal nature? W hy, if God has toldmen tha t they m ust enjoy or suffer for eve r, has He neve rurged His invitation or Hi s warning in the name of theimmort ality He has given them? S uch a gift, surely, wouldbe pre-emin ently worthy of mention, to those who thi nk andsay so much of th eir supposed pos sessio n of the boon. D idHe no t desire them to b e gra teful for that whi ch would soliken them to Him self?

Such are our difficulties, on th e suppo sition that the soul 's

immortality is too clear to n eed mention in a Reve lation .We meet only a new diffi culty when we t urn to f acts, andconsider the anxious doubts of men for thousands o f yea rson t his very subject . Becau se man was made for immor-tality, we fi nd in the ruin s of his fa llen n atur e , through allhistory, som e sentiment of t he birthright he had lost. He

find s himself subject to death; but h e also find s, or thinkshe finds, some remnant w ithi.n him of that w hich is too goo dto di e. Hence that Question of Ag es, "If a man di e, shallhe live agai n?" But when this question came to beanswered, and l ife and immortality we re brought to li ght byOne Who did ga in a signal victory ove r death, th ere was nota wo rd uttered of th at immortal nature respectin g whi chthere had been so mu ch talk. He W ho had the" word s ofeterna l Iife " never s aid th at all ~en were to liv e, or to exist,for eve r. H e never spoke of the life which H e cam e to give,as an attribut e or qu ality of some o ther esse ntial life which

I

they a lready possesse d.It becomes, then, at leas t a fair qu estion, wh ether the

"taking for granted" of m an's immortality is not extra-Scrip tural, -an assumpt ion out of the Bibl e, and foreign tojt.-C. F . Hudson, " Doctr ine of a Futu re Life."

•

THE FEARFUL OUTLOOK.

WHATmeans this uncertainty, an xiety, perplexity, fearful-ness , among the reading, thinking, ob serving one s of the

nation, a s they see stran ge event s, and h ear th e cry allabroad, "Pr 'epare war, wake up the mi ghty men?"

Whl],t means this stag gerin g under the startling oc·curr ences of these days; this "confusion of tongues,"" dimness of vision," and muffled voices ; this unrest anduncert ainty among many in the Christian Church at thistime? Do the "golden pictur es" of fancy, the delusivecharms of philosophers and phil anthropiats , the dreams ofscientists and sociali sts, begin to f ade and disapp ear as theclosing d ays of pr obation, of mercy and long- suffering,deve lop th e events long since foretold by the holy prophets;and the d ark clouds of th e rising tempe st, char ged with the

terribl e judgments of an in sulted, rej ect ed, ha ted, long-forbearing Sov ereign and S aviour, b egin to ob scure thefalse illumin ation s? Do they begin to hear the mutterin gthun ders of th at dreadful storm of wr ath which shall bring"swift destruction" to t he nations for their rej ection ofChrist, their pride, h aughtiness , and sinfulnes s? Do th erejectors of Chri st begin to experience calamiti es and al arminstead of "p eace and safety?" Do th ey begin to fearthat th e events of the se times may betok en the appro ach of" the day of wrath?" Do they experience that" certainfearful looking for of judgment and fi ery indignation, which



THE BIBLE STANDARD . 4 7

shall devour th e adversaries?" If so, there is ye t a way ofescape, by turning to Christ, ack nowledging Him their Lord,and accepting His terms of pard on and sa lvatio n. He yetoffers to save sinners. Do those bel ievers in Chri st whohave, in part, mi sunderstood th e object of Hi s mis sion andthe clo sing events of the gospel dispensation , and, by m is-applic ation s of Scripture,' expected the conversion of thenations to Christ, the doing aw ay of war s' to give place touniv ersal peace and br otherhood, b egin to see that it was" a vain vision," an illusion, that led them to hop e for whatthe Lord h ad not promi sed in thi s dispensation ? Theiramazement and unr est indic ates disappointm ent and mi s-app rehension.

The" confu sion of tongu es" which is h eard from certainreligious teach ers seems to indi cate that th ey had mi staken

•the gos pel work , and "the old paths," and been engagedin constructin g a new wa y to rid th e worl d of sin and th e

curse with which to supersede the necessity of Christ'spersonal return and pr esenc e, to exec ute judgment, di spenserewards to the race , and in augurate his reign of righteous -ness, with all Hi s saint s, on the r enewed and glorifi ed earth.Lon g have w e heard th e cry, "p eace , peace ," when Godhath no t spoken pea ce. Long have the" itchin g ears" ofthe vain and disob edient be en gratified, in their prid e, pomp'and worldlin ess, with the t eachings that assured them th atall was going well in the general pro gress of religion,science, and education, and th at all nations would soonbecome Chri stians, and l earn war no mor e, whil e a un iversalbroth erhood would establish and constitute the mil lennium.

All thi s, and much mor e of th e same, has been de alt out tothe" hou sehold of f aith ," and to th e masses, until m anyhave been put to .sleep by these lull aby songs and" va invisions."

But t he Lord has not suffered these delusive hop es tocorrupt and destroy t he faith of the gos pel, nor to nulli fy orsilence His mess ages of the soon - com ing judgment. Manyof the f aithful watchmen have fo llow ed "th e old path s,"and k ept in view the object and end of the gospe l dispensa-tion; they have" wat ched the way," s tudi ed the propheticword, m arked th e progress of th e event s announced, and"given th e trump et a ce rtain sound " (as they saw theharvest of th e earth rip ening), not ifying the Chu rch th at herlong-absent Lord was about to r eturn, th at the prophetictimes of D aniel and Joh n, limitin g the "rule of theGentil es," were about clo sing, that the sig ns in he aven,earth, and sea , phy sical, political, mor al, and r eligious,portend th e closing up xof prob ationary tim e. 'l'hey havefaithfull y warned the masses by setting before them insermon s, book s, papers, and tr acts, by the million, thegraphic announc ements of the proph ets, Christ and Hisapostles, conc ernin g the calamities, d esolating war s, distressand perpl exitie s, fraud s and distrust, peril s, apostacy, and

abounding of in iquity, w hich the Scriptures declare wouldsoon ov erspread and ru in the nation s, corrupt and under -mine the best institutions of soc iety , poi soning and su b-verting soc ial relat ions. Pl eas e read the ir boo ks.

But th eir faithfulness in proclaimin g the p lain word of theLord has g reatly annoyed and d isturbed those at ease inZion, and trou bled those who we re pu ffed up with pride,worldly ambition , and bi gotry, who se hearts were notsteadfas t with God . Thi s has brou ght upon them re-proac hes, contumely, ridicule, detract ion, and a ll manner ofabuse, by th e world-loving, pleasure-taking, hor ror- seeking,unbelieving, self -exa lted, unsancti fied teachers, and otherswith whom they have struck ha nds, in and ou t of th eChurch. Durin g all thi s war aga inst the proph ecies of theBible, the Lord h as been vind icating the dec larat ions of Hisword as declared by His faithful proph ets and min iste rs.Jeremiah had declared" Goers controversy w ith th e nation s"

that" evi l should go fo rth fr om nation to nation." J oe lhad said, "Proc laim ye this am ong the Gentiles, preparewar, wa ke up t he mighty m en, let a ll the men of war drawnear; let them come up. Beat your plowshares intoswords, and y our p runing-hook s into spears; let the weaksay, I am strong." Joe l iii. 9, 12.Daniel had shown th e decay and w asting of th e Pap al and

Mahomm edan po wers by ex tensive a nd terrible wars, a ndtheir fin al destruction, with all other kingdoms, at Christ'sreturn. Chri st had predicted that J erusalem should beoccupied by th e heathen unti l His ret urn, and added, con-cern ing the closing scenes of this disp ensation: " There

shall be sig ns in the sun, and in th e moon , and in th e sta rs(which have been fulfill ed), and u pon th e earth d istress ofnations, with perplex ity; the sea and the waves roaring;men's hearts f ailing them for f ear, a nd fo r lookin g afterthose things whi ch are comi ng on the earth, for the powersof heaven sha ll be shaken . And th en shall they see th eSon of Man coming in a cloud with powe r and. grea t glory."Luke xxi, 25, 27.

The eve nts o f the last thirt y yea rs have f ully demo nstratedthat the above prediction s were true, and th at the ex tensiveproclamation s of the imm ediat e coming of Christ is alsotrue. The spirit of war~ the mi srule, insubordination ,revoluti ons , and demoralizat ion amon g all nations, clearlyindic ate the prep aration for" the b attle of the great day ofGod Almight y." Rev. xvi. 14. The teachers w ho yet re-main ignorant of the nature of these p rophecies, and of theirrelation to the events of th ese times, are so, it appears to us,simply because they choo se to be ignorant, or are blinded bysinfu l unb elief; and n ow in stead of realizing "peace an dsafety" which th ey predicted would come (1 Tlies , 1, 2),wars, and oth er severe cal amiti es a re rapidly incre asing, totheir d ismay and astonishm ent, and are to multiply untilour Lord r eturns .i-=D. T. T aylDl'.

bible standard march 1878

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