Are we dead or alive, asleep or awake, when the breath leaves the body? That is the question, and Christian theologians have been sharply divided on this issue for fifteen hundred years. Because Seventh-day Adventists teach that man is not immortal by nature, that he has life only in Christ, we are charged with holding a belief that is not supported by Scripture. This charge we shall examine in the light of God's Word. But first, let us view the problem in its historic setting. Long before the rise of Christianity, ancient religions taught that the soul was immortal. This is one of the basic tenets of Hinduism. It is also written in Egypt's ancient Book of the Dead and carved on statuary in that land.
When God called His people Israel out of Egypt and separated them from the corruption of the religions around them, it was His purpose to make of them "a special people" through whom the knowledge of salvation would be given to the world. This purpose was first made known to Abraham when God called him and said that in him all the nations (goyim—"Gentiles") of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 18:18). Through Isaiah, God particularly emphasized this missionary program. "Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen" (Isa. 43:10). "This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise" (verse 21). In chapter 49, verse 6, God said, "I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth." Then in chapter 43, verses 11 and 12, after declaring that He alone was their Saviour, He said, "There was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God."
Surrounded as they were by nations who worshiped strange gods and held false philosophies, it was imperative that they be separated from all such evil environment in order to be fitted for their high calling. Among the many delusive ideas was the belief in survival after death, for this was the very foundation of the spiritist cults of that day—the necromancy, wizardry, witchcraft, black magic, and all the other soul-destroying teachings of heathenism. So concerned was God to uproot these ideas from Israel that He commanded that any among them found practicing these things was to be put to death.
Those teachings, however, persisted. The origin of it all was the devil's statement to Eve. The Lord had said, "In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." But the devil said, "Ye shall not surely die." That little word "not" was added willfully and deliberately. It was a lie, and the first lie ever told in this world. It was told by him whom Jesus called the father of lies, who "abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him" (John 8: 44). His lie in various forms was handed on from one nation to another, and from one civilization to another. While the meaning of the word "die" is involved and will be discussed later, yet theologians generally agree that it was Satan who deceived the woman and brought sin and death into the world.
Greek Philosophy Influences World
The Greeks who later succeeded to world empire built a whole philosophy upon the age-old belief that the soul does not die but lives on independently of the body. Among the great teachers of Greece, Plato was perhaps their leading philosophic writer, and basic in both his and Socrates' teachings was this belief that the soul of man could never die. They claimed that it was "immortal" and "indestructible." "Beyond question the soul is immortal and imperishable and our souls will truly exist in another world." "When death attacks a man, the mortal portion of him may be supposed to die, but the immortal retires at the approach of death and is preserved safe and sound."—Phaedo, Dialogues of Plato, p. 246.
After the Babylonian captivity and the re-establishment of the Jews in their homeland, Greece soon began her conquest of the world. Her false philosophy was a challenge to the truth of God, and to meet it God would make His people a spiritual arsenal in the warfare against sin. Listen to His charge as expressed through Zecha-riah: "For I have bent Judah as my bow; I have made Ephraim its arrow. I will brandish your sons, O Zion, over your sons, O Greece, and wield you like a warrior's sword" (chap. 9:13, R.S.V.). Yes, God's people, His church of the ages, was to wage a war against the corrupting beliefs of paganism.
Truth Corrupted by Pagan Philosophy
While the Jews in those immediate pre-Christian centuries prided themselves in preserving the truths committed to them, yet certain heathen ideas crept into their teachings, one of which was the age-old belief in the immortality of the soul, as we learn from Philo and Josephus. But with the rise of the Christian church, truth was again freed from the contamination of heathen concepts and went forth in power "conquering, and to conquer."
So subtle, however, was the influence of mystical philosophy that the church itself soon began to lose the purity of the gospel and became contaminated with worldly ideologies. Instead of holding to the emphatic message of her Founder and the apostles, that everlasting life is a gift from God to be received through Christ alone, and that only those raised from the dead or changed into His likeness at His second coming will have the gift of immortality bestowed upon them, certain teachers arose within the church who early introduced heathen ideas into their doctrines, one of the most prominent being that man by nature is immortal.
The apostle Paul speaks of some who endeavored to mix truth with unrighteousness. He says, They "changed the truth of God into a lie" (Rom. 1:25). The word translated "changed" is metallasso and really means "exchanged." Men cannot actually change God's truth, but they can exchange it. Other translations emphasize this important point. The Twentieth Century Translation reads, "They had substituted a lie for the truth." Phillips renders it, "These men deliberately forfeited the Truth of God and accepted a lie." * The foundational "lie" that gave rise to all heathen practices and beliefs is the devil's statement made to Eve in Eden, i.e., that man does not need God, but has life in himself, and that by disobeying his Creator man does not die but enters into a more wonderful life on a higher plane. And that same lie is the basis of modern spiritism.
Not until we see the issue in this light can we understand the confusion found not only in the world but also in the church. The great apostle urged believers to be alert lest, "through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men" (Col. 2:8), we lose sight of the truth. He also warned against "science [gnosis, "knowledge"] falsely so called" (1 Tim. 6:20). Gnosticism, which was beginning even in Paul's day, was a combination of Greek and Oriental philosophy with certain Christian beliefs. It came to its peak near the end of the second century. Shortly after, a new school of thought arose in Alexandria known as Neoplatonism, of which Origen was one of the most influential figures. Under his teaching, which was largely allegory and mysticism, such doctrines as the second advent of Christ and the literal resurrection were submerged. Thus the light of the "blessed hope" was well-nigh extinguished.
In his recent book, The Truth About Seventh-day Adventism, Walter Martin reviews our position on this important doctrine, and in so doing declares that his purpose is twofold: (1) "to review the historic position of the Christian church from the days of the apostles to the present," and (2) "to examine the teaching of the Scriptures" (page 117). And in our reply we would say that that is precisely what we seek to do. We appreciate the author's friendly attitude and his clear statement that although Adventists differ on this and some other doctrines, yet as believers in Christ our fellow Christians should recognize us as blood-bought souls, constituting part of the church of Jesus Christ, which is His body. Concerning the doctrine of conditional immortality, Martin plainly declares that our differences of interpretation "should cause no serious division between Christians since it does not affect the foundational doctrines of the Christian faith, or the salvation of the soul. . . . The ground of fellowship is not the condition of man in death but faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love He commanded us to have one for another" (page 130). To this we would reply that the only reason we hold this doctrine, which makes us differ from so many of our fellow Christians, is that we find no other position in the clear Word of God.
The Case in the Light of Scripture
Life only in Christ is, we believe, more than a theological divergence, for it affects one's whole concept of God and salvation. The Word of God declares plainly that "God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life" (1 John 5:11, 12). Only as we have Him do we have life. Apart from "Christ, who is our life" we have no life. It is as simple as that. Our Lord's statements need no clarification. He says: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3). And again, "Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). The "unbelieving . . . shall have their part in the . . . second death" (Rev. 21:8). And John plainly declares that "no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him" (1 John 3:15).
It may be claimed that the term "eternal life" specifies a quality of life rather than the duration of life. But even so, eternal life is nevertheless that which will endure throughout eternity, and this life is the possession of those only who have accepted Christ. The wicked will not have life, either of eternal quality or of eternal duration. By their refusal to accept salvation they cut themselves off from enduring life. Their "end is destruction" (Phil. 3:19). They "shall utterly perish" (2 Peter 2:12). "They shall be as though they had not been" (Obadiah 16). "Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more" (Ps. 104:35). And forecasting the doom of the devil, God says, "Never shalt thou be any more" (Eze. 28:19).
The Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, teaches that death is the antithesis of life. Through Moses, God said to Israel, "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live" (Deut. 30:19). He does not say, "I have set before you life in a state of bliss and life in a state of misery." No! the contrast is clear—life and death—because death is the cessation, the antithesis, of life. Death is not life prolonged in agony. Death is not existence under torture. Death is not life at all. Death is death, simply a cessation of life. The apostle James declares that "sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." Why? Because death is its wages—the payment or punishment for sin.
The Sovereignty of God
Sin is followed by death. Nowhere is there any variation from this sequence. God laid down this sequence from the very beginning. This is an eternal principle. This follows from the very nature of the sovereignty of God Himself. Sin is egoism. It is a life that seeks to live apart from God, to be like God and independent of God. Hence sin is a spiritual thing, a religious fact. The consequence of sin is separation from God. Death is a spiritual experience, as well as a physical event. The entire being is cut off from God, from life. To be cut off from God means death to the entire being. And if this sequence does not take place, if death does not follow sin, then it means that God is actually making place for sin and sinners in a universe where God claims sovereignty, and where God promises that there will be no more sin or death. And Jesus, speaking of the destiny of both the saved and the unsaved, the righteous and the wicked, declares plainly that the wicked "shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal" (Matt. 25:46).
As we live our lives from day to day we can know that we have passed from spiritual death to spiritual life. Then when this mortal life, which is transitory and subject to death, goes to the grave, the spirit of life (that is, the power by which we live) returns to God. The power to live is not ours but God's. Mankind is not built on the principle of a battery, possessing the power of life within itself, but rather on the principle of the trolley car, which depends on a power outside itself. When the electric connection is broken, the trolley car remains with all the possibilities of activity, but it is useless because it is severed from the source of its power. An inadequate illustration to be sure, but it emphasizes an important truth. Only as we have a living connection with the Source of all power can we live at all. That connection is broken at death and will not be renewed until the resurrection.
When Jesus taught the truth concerning the rewards of the righteous and the wicked, it was always related to His second coming, and never to the time of a person's death. For example: "Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be" (Rev. 22:12). And again: "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats" (Matt. 25:31, 32). "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal" (verse 46). The righteous and the wicked both receive their rewards when our Saviour returns, and not before. The Scripture declares it is then, and not till then, that we are "changed"—mortal bodies are then given immortality and corruptible bodies incorruptibility. Only thus will the righteous be able to experience the realities of that life eternal which in this mortal life they received by faith. The righteous, having "put on immortality," are no longer subject to death; "they are equal unto the angels" (Luke 20:36).
Martin is right when he says that "life has been bestowed upon the believer at the moment of regeneration bv faith in Jesus Christ" (page 122). The' "life" he refers to is a quality of life—eternal life, but "this life is in his Son" (I John 5:11). "And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life" (1 John 2:25). Paul says we have the "promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come"
(1 Tim. 4:8). Like all men, believers can die, and do die; they fall "asleep in Christ." The Scripture says, "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Cor. 15:22). They are not alive when dead, but they "shall all be made alive." When?—"afterward they that are Christ's at his coming" (verse 23). "If the dead rise not, then is Christ not raised. . . . Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished" (verses 16-18). They are not living in heaven now; they are perished unless they are raised from the dead. The Christian hope centers in Paul's teaching on the resurrection, not in Plato's teaching of innate immortality. But the day is coming when they "that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake" (Dan. 12:2). Summoned by the Life-giver, they will be raised incorruptible and never "can they die any more . . . , being the children of the resurrection" (Luke 20:36).
The Wicked Not Immortal
The righteous are raised immortal and incorruptible beings; the wicked are not changed into immortal beings. They were never immortal, and they never will be. While they too will be raised to life, it will not be to everlasting life; they are raised to meet their judgment (Rev. 20:13). For once all that have ever lived on this earth meet face to face; the righteous having "put on immortality" will be inside the Holy City, while the wicked, in the company of the devil and his angels, are outside the city. It is then that fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours them; this is the "second death." In this great conflagration God's "judgments are made manifest" (Rev. 15:4). Concerning both the first and second resurrections, Jesus said, "The hour is coming" when "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" or judgment (John 5: 28, 29). The word here is krisis, which is translated "judgment" forty-one times in the King James Version. This harmonizes exactly with the prophetic picture in Matthew 25:31-45. The rewards are either "life eternal" or "everlasting punishment."
Persistent Sin Reaps Its Reward
"Everlasting punishment" is the reward of the unrepentant sinner, because he has despised the grace of God and refused salvation. His sin has therefore met its reward —death, everlasting death, from which there will be no resurrection. Not only will the wicked reap their reward—everlasting death—but the righteous also will reap their reward—everlasting life.
Christ's words could not be plainer. At that time one group goes "into life eternal," and the other "into everlasting punishment." And this "punishment" is equated with the "everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" (verse 41). But note particularly: this fire was not prepared for men, but "for the devil and his angels." If human beings choose to join their rebellion and refuse salvation, they will have to perish with them.
How Long Will Hell-fire Last?
The nature and effect of that punishment is illustrated in the destruction of "Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them." They "are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire" (Jude 7). Those wicked cities of the plain came to their end under the direct judgment of God. So will these evil angels come to their end in "the judgment of the great day" (verse 6), which is still future. Those wicked cities and their inhabitants were destroyed by fire—"eternal fire." But are they still burning? We know where they once stood, but today their ashes lie under the salty waters of the Dead Sea. Even the sea that covers the spot cannot be drained, for it is 1,300 feet below sea level. The fire that destroyed them was "eternal fire," unquenchable fire; no one could put it out, for this was the judgment of God. But that fire finally ceased burning when the destruction was complete. Those cities will not be, and cannot be, rebuilt.
So it will be with those who have despised the grace of Christ. Having set themselves against the living God, they will be utterly destroyed, consumed like a field of stubble. "They shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away" (Ps. 37: 20). But more, "They shall be as though they had not been" (Obadiah 16). Paul, speaking of those "that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ," says they "shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord" (2 Thess. 1:9).
Everlasting Destruction
Christ speaks of "everlasting punishment"; Paul speaks of "everlasting destruction." Now what is the nature of this destruction that makes it everlasting? Before noting what the Scripture says about it, let us note just what it does not say. Certainly, it does not say, nor does it even infer, that the unregenerate are everlastingly being destroyed, that the process is a continuing experience. It simply says that the destruction, or as Martin calls it, the "ruination," is everlasting, and this ruination will endure throughout eternity. It is the effect that is everlasting. We emphasize it is not a continuing process but a continuing result —everlasting, we repeat, in its effect.
Martin's attempt to refute the plain teaching of Scripture by referring to the Greek word basanizo is another evidence of poor contextual analysis. While basanizo definitely means "to torment" or "test," Martin certainly cannot get "never-ceasing" out of the word. His reference to the centurion's servant in Matthew 8:6, who was "grievously tormented," is of no help to his thesis. In fact, it destroys his argument, for in verse 13 we read the "servant was healed in the self-same hour"! And his contention is groundless that the Greek word aionion ("everlasting"), used in connection with the punishment of the wicked, means punishment without cessation. For aionion to carry such a connotation as "unending," it must be related to an eternal object, such as to God; otherwise it simply means "age-lasting." Both Koine and classical Greek bear this out. When Paul wrote about Onesimus, asking his friend to "receive him for ever," aionion (Philemon 15), that certainly did not mean "unending."
"No murderer hath eternal life abiding in him" says John (1 John 3:15). In fact, no willful sinner of any kind has eternal life in him, and that reveals both the mere}' and the justice of God. Sin will be brought to an end, and it is self-evident that if the wicked do not have eternal life in themselves, such life would have to be conferred on them. Now let us reverently ask, Where do the Scriptures reveal that our God, the God of love, confers eternal life on wicked beings in order that He might torture them through the endless days of eternity?
The Bible writers of both the Old and New Testaments not only teach the very opposite of this but they seem to vie with one another in picturing the utter destruction (not annihilation) of the wicked. We are sometimes charged with being "anni-hilationists." This expression we never use. We teach the "destruction" of the wicked, for that is scriptural.
A number of texts have already been referred to, but many others could be cited. In Revelation 20:9 we read that "fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them." The Greek is from the verb hatesthid, "to eat down." The same word is found in Luke 8:5, "the fowls of the air devoured it." When birds eat seed, would anyone contend that the seed still exists as seed? Then how could it be argued that rebellious angels and wicked men, having been "devoured" (most translations read "consumed") by the fires of God still remain as conscious, individual beings?
Scripture Declares Wicked Will Be No More
God's Word is explicit. "The wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it" (Prov. 2:22). "The seed of the wicked shall be cut off" (Ps. 37:28). "Cut off," karath in Hebrew, is translated "cut down," "destroyed," "chewed," et cetera. It is an intensive word. The Septuagint uses the Greek exolothreuo, which means "to destroy utterly." This word is used only once in the New Testament (Acts 3:23). In the King James Version it is translated "destroyed."The Amplified New Testament reads "utterly exterminated." ** Again we read: "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root [Satan] nor branch [his followers]" (Mai. 4:1). "For evildoers shall be cut off: . . . the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be" (Ps. 37:9, 10). When God declares that "the wicked shall not be," then why not believe Him?
We do not reject the teaching of the Bible on hell-fire and eternal punishment, but we do reject the pagan concepts so often woven into the Scriptures that deal with the subject. For example, when Martin speaks of Gehenna, he claims it "symbolizes eternal separation and conscious punishment for the spiritual nature of the un-regenerate man" (page 135). We simply ask again, Where can such a definition be found? Geenna is one of three Greek words translated "hell" in the King James Version. The other two are hades and the verb relating to tartaros. The fact that three different words, each with a different meaning, are translated with the one word "hell" in English has caused a great deal of confusion.Hades occurs ten times,geenna twelve times, and the verb form tartaroo once.
Authorities agree on the definition of these words. Hades means "the grave"; geenna signifies "a place of destruction"; and tartaros, "a place of outer darkness." Peter used the word hades in his Pentecost sermon when he spoke of the resurrection of Christ, saying "that his soul was not left in hell [hades]" (Acts 2:31). Christ used the word geenna in His statement, "Fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell [geenna]" (Matt. 10:28). Peter afterward wrote of the wicked angels being cast "down to hell [tartaros]" (2 Peter 2:4). Geenna, Greek for the Valley of Hinnom (Jer. 19:2), was, as Martin says, "a garbage dump which smoldered perpetually outside Jerusalem" (page 135). Refuse deposited there was destroyed either by fire or decomposition. What the fire did not destroy, worms or decay did. It therefore became an impressive illustration of the final end of sin and sinners. Gehenna was certainly not a place of preservation, but a place of destruction. The fires burned just as long as there was anything to burn. Then, having done their work, they at last went out. Now Martin reads into this word the gruesome imagery of an Oriental hell and then concludes his argument by quoting Isaiah 66:24 about the worm never dying and the fire not being quenched. This statement of the poet-prophet Isaiah must of necessity be a metaphor, for how could there be a living worm in the midst of unquenchable fire?
Recently we passed through the Valley of Hinnom near Mount Zion. It is no longer a city dump, but a fertile valley covered with homes and well-kept gardens. Nineteen centuries ago it was a pertinent illustration of the final end of sin and rebellion, but times have changed. The fires have long since ceased. Today it might provide a limited illustration of God's ultimate plan for this world. When the devil and all his hosts are destroyed in the hot fires of hell, as fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours them (Rev. 20:9), the place of destruction will be this earth. God says of the devil, "Therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth" (Eze. 28:18). And again: "The elements shall melt with fervent heat [possibly atomic power], the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up" (2 Peter 3:10). That is total destruction. Then we read: "Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness" (2 Peter 3:13). That new earth will be the eternal home of the saved, and Christ will be our everlasting King.
Gehenna was once a place of horror and death; today it is a place of beauty and life. No trace of burning is left. With nothing left to burn, the fire went out. So it will be when the wicked come to their end in the fires of God in the last great judgment. To claim that hell-fire will never go out reveals a lack of understanding of both the power and purpose of God, "for our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29). The Bible teaches that hell-fire will be so hot and destructive that it will leave "neither root nor branch." Just how long it will burn we are not told, but the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha is the Biblical illustration of this final conflagration.
It is also important to notice that this destruction will take place not somewhere out on the periphery of the universe, but "in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb" (Rev. 14:10). The Scripture says that "death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death" (Rev. 20:14). The first death is the common lot of all men by nature. We die because the breath of life leaves the body. "Thou takest away their breath [ruach], they die, and return to their dust. Thou sendest forth thy spirit [ruach], they are created" (Ps. 104:29, 30). But the Scriptures declare that all who die will be resurrected. Jesus said, "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 [judgment]" (John 5:28, 29). When man dies the first death, or the natural death, it is occasioned by the power of life being withdrawn from the body. The second death is not a natural death, but a judgment death, caused by fire coming "down from God out of heaven," which devours them. That judgment death will be the second death, the eternal death from which there will be no resurrection. All sinners will suffer punishment, some with few stripes and others with many (Luke 12:47, 48); the instigator of sin, the devil, will suffer the most.
This second death is really the only everlasting punishment that could be inflicted on mortal man. To illustrate: If a judge punishes a man by giving him a ten-year sentence, his imprisonment means that his loss of freedom lasts for ten years. If that same man could be put to death for ten years and then be brought to life again, that too would be ten years' punishment, for as long as he is deprived of freedom and the privilege of life, he is enduring punishment. But God is not going to deprive the wicked of their life and freedom for ten years, nor a hundred years, nor even a million years, but for eternity, for they are to suffer the vengeance of "eternal fire." This will indeed be "everlasting punishment," for it ends in "everlasting destruction."
The souls of men, not being immortal, can and will be destroyed. The word soul is mentioned 859 times in the Bible, but never once is it spoken of as "an immortal soul." God "only hath immortality" (1 Tim. 6:16), and this He gives to all who will turn from their sins and receive His grace, but we are not changed from mortality to immortality until our Lord's return in glory.
Eternal life is a gift from God that we receive by faith now. We read, "God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." His gift of eternal life is ours now, but it is still "in his Son." Only as He lives in us, that is, in our mortal flesh, do we have that gift of life. When our mortal flesh dies, or falls asleep, that spiritual life is "hid with Christ in God" and remains with Him until He returns for His people. Paul says, "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear [that is, His second coming], then shall ye also appear with him in glory" (Col. 3:4). In that glad day the righteous dead will be raised from the tomb, and the righteous who are alive to see Him come will be translated. But whether we are living or dead when He appears, "we shall all be changed." Paul's clear message was largely an amplification of our Lord's statement to Martha concerning "the resurrection at the last day" (John 11:24). It was in that setting that Jesus said, "He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live [be resurrected]: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me [that is, will be alive to see me come] shall never die [will be translated]" (verses 25 and 26).
On page 130 Martin says that " 'immortality' refers only to the resurrection body of the saints and to the nature of God Himself" and that the saints "do not now possess 'immortality.'" True! But we could wish that the author were more consistent. If immortality refers only to, and is "a future gift to be bestowed upon the believer's body at the second advent of our Lord," as he says, page 122, then why quote Dr. Charles Hodge? In so doing, our brother completely reverses himself, for Dr. Hodge claims "the human soul" has "unending existence" and is "immortal" (page 132). Martin certainly has not helped his case by appealing to this theologian of a past generation. But having quoted this scholar, we would simply ask both Hodge and Martin "When did the human soul become 'immortal'? Was it created immortal, or does it put on immortality when the body dies? or is it some separate entity floating around waiting for a body in which to make its home as the pagans teach?"
Having stated that the human soul is immortal, Hodge then seeks to substantiate his claim by this argument:
If the Bible says that the sufferings of the lost are to be everlasting, they are to endure forever unless it can be shown either that the soul is not immortal or that Scriptures elsewhere teach that those sufferings will come to an end. (Italics supplied.)
Now let us face the Scripture squarely, for on those two important points the Bible is clear and emphatic—first, the soul is not immortal; and second, the sufferings of the wicked will come to an end. Jesus said, "Fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matt. 10:28). If it can be destroyed, then the soul is certainly not eternal, as our friend declares. For him to state that the "Bible emphatically teaches that it is," page 132, must mean that he either has not discerned or is not willing to accept the clear implications of our Lord's statement. God says: "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Eze. 18:20), and again "The wages of sin is death." And because "all have sinned" (Rom. 3:23), therefore all should die, and die eternally. But while "the wages of sin is death . . . the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom. 6:23). Our blessed Lord "poured out his soul unto death" in order to save our souls from eternal death.
We have searched in vain for a single Biblical text in Martin's critique that says the soul is either immortal or eternal. He has tried to build up a case by reference to a few Greek and Hebrew words, but even these have failed to support his claims. We wonder why he, as well as many others of our fellow Christians, seem unable to accept the clear statement of Jesus who shows conclusively that it is when He "shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory." It is at that time, and not before, that the righteous "enter into life eternal." During our mortal existence it is ours by faith only, but at His coming we enter into the full experience of "life eternal." The wicked, on the other hand, go into "everlasting punishment," or destruction. Now, these are not our words; neither is it merely Adventist doctrine. These are the words of our Lord, and it is His doctrine.
Eternal Fire
Someone may ask what is the meaning of "eternal" in such expressions as "eternal fire"? Let the Bible speak for itself. We read of Christ being "the author of eternal salvation," and also of His "having obtained eternal redemption for us" (Heb. 5:9; 9:12). We do not need to ask how and when was our "eternal salvation" obtained, or secured (R.S.V.). It was when He died on the cross. We were redeemed "with the precious blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:18, 19). And although every true Christian rejoices in that truth, yet none would contend that this "eternal redemption" that Christ obtained for us on the cross is something still in process, something continually being worked out but never completed. No! a thousand times no! That shout from the cross, "It is finished!" told the universe that a man's redemption was accomplished for all eternity. He died unto sin once (Rom. 6:10). But the redemption is eternal in its result.
While obtaining that redemption for us our Redeemer was "stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded ["tormented," margin] for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities" (Isa. 53:4, 5). It was for us that He died. He "suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18), but now, thank God, He has entered into His glory. He "poured out his soul unto death" once; He is not dying now. "Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many" (Heb. 9:28), and "we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Heb. 10:10). Our Saviour met the penalty of sin by dying once, not by continually dying, as the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstan-tiation teaches, but by dying "once for all." The authentic trumpet note of the New Testament is that our redemption is settled. It was accomplished by our Lord's death and resurrection. The victory at Calvary was decisive. The devil was defeated by Christ's death on the cross and completely outmaneuvered by His resurrection. All we await now is V-Day, and that will be when our Lord returns in power to raise the dead, to destroy His foes, and to reisrn forever as Lord of all.
(To be continued)
* The New Testament in Modern English, by J. B. Phillips (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1958). Used by permission.
** Used by permission of the Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California.
