Here we shall analyze the eleventh sip of Babylon's wine, which we shall call "Invocation of Saints." The assumptious claim that the dead can be invoked for help in the hour of need, and for efficacious intercession in behalf of those who claim recourse to them, is unwarranted as far as the Written Word of God is concerned.
It is true that the Roman Catholic Church makes a distinction in the three degrees of worship, namely: latria, the form of worship due to God alone. Hyperdulia, the form of worship rendered to Mary, the mother of Jesus; and dulia, the form of worship which is given to the ecclesiastical saints and to angels. The worship of saints forms a very important part in the early religious life of a devout Roman Catholic. The special days set apart in honor of the saints are recognized. A deep regard is held for what the papal church teaches concerning certain saints who are supposed to preside over special blessings. St. Anthony's special mission is said to be to answer the prayers of the suppliant who has had the misfortune to lose some of his cherished possessions; St. Christopher's specialty is alleged to be to protect those who drive motor vehicles. A medal has been struck in his honor, and the bearer of one is thereby assured of the interposition of St. Christopher in time of danger.
A child is tempted to covet the honor conferred upon the saints by the Roman pope, and the veneration which they receive by the multitudes of Roman Catholics. I felt, when I was small, that no greater privilege could be accorded to a person than to be canonized as one of the Roman Catholic saints. Before canonization comes the stage of beatification. This is a solemn act by which the pope, after carefully scrutinizing the life, character and services of the deceased person, declares him to be one of the blessed, and to have attained the degree of sanctity entitling him to certain public honors. This permits the dead saint to be venerated in a specified part of the church, and may lead to the final step of canonization which entitles him to what is termed "the general veneration" of the church universal. It was not until the Middle Ages, however, that beatification was first introduced.
The act of canonization in the Roman Church is the culmination of a lengthy process. This ceremony is never performed until a period of at least fifty years has passed after the subject's death. The Congregation of Sacred Rites puts the prospective saint through various tests. Among the several alleged miracles credited to him, at least two must be proved to have taken place since his beatification. An exceedingly tedious inquiry is conducted with the most elaborate legal formalities; and after the testimony is given and the "evidence" of the miraculous power of the beatified saint has been proved, a favorable decision is pronounced by the pope. This ceremony is conducted with great pomp in St. Peter's Church at Rome. The first papal canonization that is recorded is that of Ulrich, bishop of Augsburg, by John XV in A. D. 993.
The beatifying and canonizing take on the form of litigation; and aside from the marriage annulment, in the Sacred Rota, there is none so lucrative in revenue. In order to have a person beatified, the rich relatives or friends of the deceased are obliged to employ a priest residing in Rome as their attorney, and he assumes the role of a postulator. Then, as the process takes on the form of a trial, somebody must be called to oppose the suit. This office is filled by a clerical lawyer known as the promotor fidei, who is otherwise called the "devil's advocate," because of the very nature of his official duties in connection with the canonization process.
Anyone familiar with the tribunals of Rome knows that it takes wealth coupled with influence to secure a favorable verdict in favor of canonization. It was about three centuries ago that the act of beatification became separate from that of canonization; and this, of course, serves to protract the litigation and thereby multiply the fees and costs which flow into the coffers of the Vatican.[1] Many legends have been written attesting to the diversities of miracles which have been wrought by these pope-made saints, and these tales are generally accepted as true by the laity without remonstrance. The reading of these stories fills the Roman Catholic with such veneration for these saints that one of his greatest delights is to repeat the litany of the saints.
Some of the papal saints receive more recognition than do others. Among the most distinguished ones is St. Joseph, who has been slowly ascending the mount of highly venerated human beings until today he is virtually accepted as the patron saint of the church universal. Says a Roman Catholic writer:
"St. Joseph occupies a place of his own in the devotion of modern [Roman] Catholics, such as is given to no other saint. This and the fact that the history of the devotion is peculiarly instructive on the one hand, specially liable to misunderstanding on the other, are the reasons for inserting this article in a work which does not profess to give lives of the saints. The devotion to St. Joseph is a striking instance of [Roman] Catholic usage, modern in itself and yet based on most ancient and scriptural principles."[2]
It was as late as 1871 that the pope claimed to receive from heaven the authority to confer upon Joseph the rank of patron saint of the universal church. Thus we read:
"In 1871 Pius IX, confirming a decree of the Congregation of Rites, put the whole church under the patronage of St. Joseph, chose him as the church's protector, and made his feast a double of the first class. It was fitting that Christians should appeal to him who once protected the human life of our Savior, and ask his intercession in behalf of Christ's mystical body. The same pope had in September, 1847, extended the feast and office of St. Joseph's patronage to the whole church."[3]
The whole month of March has been set aside and dedicated to the worship of Joseph, and numerous altars have been erected in his honor. For example:
"In other ways the church has marked her approval of the growing devotion to St. Joseph. The Creed is now said in the mass of both his feasts. His name is inserted after that of the blessed virgin in the prayer 'A cunctis;' he is commemorated after her in the suffrages of the saints; and his name comes before that of any other patron except the angels and St. John Baptist."[3]
The following statement taken from an authoritative Roman Catholic work clearly shows the position and the teaching of the papal church concerning the elevation of Joseph:
"What angel or saint, says Saint Basil, ever merited to be called the father of the Son of God? Joseph alone was thus called. Hence we can well apply to Saint Joseph the words of Saint Paul, being made so, much better than the angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they. Saint Joseph was more honored by God, in this name of father, than all the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and pontiffs; for all these have the name of servants, Joseph alone that of father."[4]
Has that church not gone beyond all bounds when she has taken the sacred words which God the Father addressed to His Son concerning His inherited name, and applied them to Joseph?
Another quotation sheds a little more light on how the Roman Church regards this patron saint:
"We should have a great confidence in the protection of Saint Joseph, because, on account of his sanctity, he was very dear to God."[5]
"Saint Bernardine of Sienna adds, that 'we cannot doubt that Christ not only does not refuse to Saint Joseph in heaven that familiarity and reverence which, as a Son toward His father, He accorded him when He lived on earth, but rather, that it is now perfected.' Remark the words, familiarity and reverence; that Lord, who, on earth, revered Saint Joseph as His father, will certainly deny him nothing that he asks in heaven."[5]
"Let us now listen to what Saint Bernard writes of the power of Saint Joseph to dispense graces to his devout servants: 'To some of the saints power is granted to succor in particular necessities. But to Saint Joseph power is granted to succor in all necessities, and to defend all who, with devotion, have recourse to him.' . . . It would seem that to other saints our Lord has granted power to succor in some particular necessity; but experience proves that Saint Joseph succors in all. Of this we are certain; for, as on earth Jesus Christ was pleased to be subject to Saint Joseph so in heaven He does all that the saint asks. Let us therefore imagine that we hear our Lord, when He sees us afflicted in the midst of our miseries, address us all in the words in which Pharaoh addressed his people at the time of the famine in Egypt: 'Go to Joseph, if you desire consolation.' By our Lord's grace, there is not at present a Christian in the world who is not devout to Saint Joseph; but, amongst them all, those receive the most abundant graces who recommend themselves to him the most frequently and with the greatest confidence. Let us therefore never pass a day without many times recommending ourselves to Saint Joseph who, after the most blessed virgin Mary, is the most powerful of all the saints with God. Let us never allow a day to pass without offering him some particular prayer; but especially during the novena for his feast, let us redouble our prayers, and fast on the vigil; and let us seek from him the graces which are useful for our souls. For he will always obtain them for us. In particular, I exhort you to ask for three special graces: for the forgiveness of your sins, the love of Jesus Christ, and a good death. As to the forgiveness of sins, I thus argue; when Jesus Christ lived in this world in the house of Saint Joseph, could a sinner who desired to obtain the forgiveness. of his sins from our Lord, have found a more efficacious means to obtain this consolation than through Saint Joseph? If, then, we desire to be pardoned by God, let us have recourse to Saint Joseph, who, now that he is in heaven is more loved by Jesus Christ than he was loved by Him on earth. ...
"In the history of the discalced [barefooted] Carmelite it is also related that when the venerable Sister Anne of Saint Augustine, a Carmelite nun, was dying, some of her sisters saw Saint Joseph and Saint Teresa, who attended upon her, and that the servant of God was filled with joy. A nun in another convent saw her ascend to heaven between Saint Joseph and Saint Teresa. Father John de Allosa, in his book on Saint Joseph, relates, that a religious of the order of Saint Augustine appeared to a companion, and said, 'that God had delivered him from hell on account of the particular devotion which he had had for Saint Joseph.' He then declared that the saint, as the adopted father of Jesus Christ, had great power with Him."[6]
One can imagine what a person's wind is like after being under the tutorship of such teaching from infancy. But how contrary this teaching is to God and to His blessed word! That there is one pleader, or mediator, with God, the man Christ Jesus, is the emphatic declaration of the Inspired Book. (1 Timothy 2:5)
If Joseph were alive and could witness the homage which poor mortals are paying to him, he would assume, without a doubt, the same attitude the highest angel in heaven did when John fell at his feet to worship him. "And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. (Revelation 19:10)
The angel not only forbade all worship to himself, but declared that worship is due only to God. This one text alone forever debars the invocation of saints. Anything that tends to usurp the worship due to Christ and to detract from His mediatorial work is not prompted from above but from beneath; for it is written: " There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." (1 Timothy 2:5)
The Holy Bible is significantly silent concerning the worship of the Virgin Mary and the veneration of Peter, Paul, and other great men of the Christian faith. The Ten Commandments warn us against having other gods or bowing down to worship them. Is it not, therefore, a species of idolatry and a violation of the first and second commandments when worshipful veneration is given to men?
The Lord has given in the New Testament an example of a man who accepted the obeisance rendered him by his admirers. God's dealings with Herod, as recorded in the Book of Acts, are a reminder to us that He, the unchangeable One, will not allow idolatry to go unpunished. Pride and self-glory, the natural tendencies of the heart, soon develop when adulation is heaped upon a human being. When Herod appeared before the people to deliver his eloquent address, his wonderful oratory and majestic appearance charmed the assembly. As their gaze was transfixed on that mortal, they imagined they saw in him more than a human being, and exclaimed: "It is the voice of a god, and not of a man." (Acts 12:22) Herod's heart pulsated with pride as he heard these words. The God of heaven, looking down upon the idolatry committed by the people, and seeing the acceptance by Herod of the divine honors rendered him, was moved to immediate action by meting out divine retribution: "And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory. And he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost." (Acts 12:23) Thus ends the tragic episode of one who aspired to receive worshipful veneration.
The beatified and canonized saints are themselves unable to protest against the position to which the Roman Church has elevated them in her system of worship. If Mary, Joseph, Peter, and Paul were permitted to return from their graves to give their opinions concerning the Roman Catholic Church's teaching on the invocation of saints, would they not cry out in clarion tones against it? Peter, who while alive refused the worship which Cornelius respectfully offered him, would denounce most emphatically such doctrine, and would consummate his protests by having his name expunged from the papal list of canonized saints.
One species of idolatry leads to another, and this is certainly true when it comes to the worshiping of saints. The second commandment, as far as the Roman Catechism, is concerned, practically does not exist. In my early life my attention was never called to the second commandment as given in the Holy Bible. If it had been, naturally the question would have arisen, Why all the images that meet the gaze of the worshipers as they enter the church? The omission of the second commandment of the Decalogue- from most of the catechisms by which the Roman Catholic youth are taught tends to keep them in ignorance in regard to the prohibition that God makes against the forming and adoring of images. Here is the plain command of God: "Thou shall not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that Is In the water under the earth. Thou shall not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them. For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me. And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me and keep MY commandments." (Exodus 20:4-6)
Among the many statements in Holy Writ relative to image worship, there are none that stand out more forcibly than those found in the Book of Isaiah, where the Lord depicts the process which an image must go through in its manufacture. The Lord asks: - "Is there a God beside Me? Yea, there is no God." (Isaiah 44:8)
Time spent on making images and worshiping them is more than wasted, as the ancient prophet reveals: "They that make a graven image are all of them vanity. And their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed. Who hath formed a god, or molten an image that is profitable for nothing?" (Isaiah 44:9,10)
In the case of idols made from metallic substances, the manufacturer necessarily must put the metal through a series of treatments before it is finished. This process is described in the Sacred Writings: "The smith with the tongs both works in the coals, and fashions it with hammers, and works it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength fails: he drinks no water, and is faint." (Isaiah 44:12)
The carpenter employs his skill in the making of objects of worship. The trees of the forest are cut down, and images of human form are made from them: "The carpenter stretches out his rule; he marks it out with a line. He fits it with planes, and he marks it out with the compass, and makes it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man. That it may remain in the house. He hews him down cedars, and takes the cypress and the oak, which he strengthens for himself among the trees of the forest: he plants an ash, and the rain does nourish it. Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindles it, and bakes bread; yea, he makes a god, and worships it; he makes it a graven image, and falls down thereto." (Isaiah 44:13-15)
The same tree which furnished material for the graven images which are to be worshiped, also supplies the maker with fuel to cook his food. "He burns part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eats flesh; he roasts roast, and is satisfied. Yea, he warms himself, and says, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire: and the residue thereof he makes a god, even his graven image: he falls down unto it, and worships it, and prays unto it, and says, Deliver me; for thou art my god." (Isaiah 44:16,17)
What can be more debasing to man than for him to adore and worship the object which his own hands have created? "What profits the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusts therein, to make dumb idols? Woe unto him that says to the wood, Awake to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is, no breath at all in-the midst of it." (Habakkuk 2:18,19) "Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: they have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: they have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusts in them." (Psalm 115:4-8)
The God of heaven, looking down upon the ignorant who invoke images of their own creation, is moved with tender compassion and sympathy. He longs to bring enlightenment to such benighted souls. The following words so full of pathos ought to bring a response from every heart. "O Israel, trust thou in the Lord: He is their help and their shield." (Psalm 115:9)
If God's word had been strictly obeyed, image worship never would have been known. Note the instructions God gave to Israel: "Take you therefore good heed unto yourselves; for you saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spoke unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire. Lest you corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flies in the air, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth. And lest thou lift up your eyes unto heaven, and when thou sees the sun, and the moon, and the stars even all the host of heaven, should be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations." (Deuteronomy 4:15-19)
The prayers, candles, and money offered in honor of the papal saints avail nothing, as the following apostolic statement indicates: "As concerning therefore the eating of those things that axe offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. ... But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him." (1 Corinthians 8:4,6) Thus the apostle Paul was an enemy of idols. Were he alive today, he would give the Lord His rightful place and would denounce any infringement on the part of the human to usurp the prerogatives of God. Should we not stand with this illustrious soldier of Christ on this question?
The Son of God does not need the assistance of the Roman canonized saints to save and protect His creatures on earth, for "He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them." (Hebrews 7:25) How can anyone, after reading this statement from the word of God, refuse to give Christ His rightful position as our only intercessor with the Father?
From what source did the Roman Catholic Church receive the doctrine of the invocation of- saints? Why has this teaching been accepted with so much credulity? The answer is found in the assumption that the Roman Church and her teachings are infallible. Therefore, her dogmas are accepted by the masses without remonstrance. This doctrine, as well as many others of the papacy, was built upon tradition. This teaching of the invocation of saints was introduced first by Satan himself in the Garden of Eden, when he said: " You shall not surely die: ... you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:4-5) This was in direct contradiction to the command of God: "You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die. " (Genesis 3:3; 2:17) In Satan's statement, "You shall be as gods," we have the first step toward the beatification of saints, in which certain human beings were to be elevated to a position calling for veneration on the part of their fellow creatures.
Jesus Christ has gone through the portals of the tomb and has come forth a conqueror over death. Consequently. He can enlighten us on the question of where are the dead. In the words of Holy Writ this vital question is asked: "Man dies, and wastes away: yea, man gives up the ghost, and where is he?" (Job 14:10)
Ask the Roman Catholic what his belief is in regard to one's condition and reward after death, and he will give the following answer based on tradition: "An receive their reward at death, as my church teaches that there is a heaven, a hell, a purgatory, and a limbo." Few Roman Catholics expect to go to heaven at death. Therefore the place of purification after death is the star of hope in the life of the conscientious Roman Catholic. Why do I call this a "star of hope"? Because the papal church offers means which not only is supposed to temper the fires of purgatory but also lessen the period of suffering for those who are confined in that place. This means was endorsed by the Council of Trent, and is still advocated tenaciously by the priesthood, who affirm "that there is a purgatory and that the souls detained there are benefited by the prayers of the faithful and especially by the acceptable sacrifice of the altar."[7]
In another Roman Catholic work we have the following questions and answers:
"Q. Where do those go who die with venial sins on their soul? A. Those who die with venial sins on their soul go to purgatory. Q. Who else go to purgatory? A. Those also who have not done enough penance for their sins go to purgatory. Q. Are those who go to purgatory saved? A. Those who go to purgatory are saved. ... Q. Can we help the souls in purgatory? A. We can help the souls in purgatory by praying for them, by having masses said for them, and by gaining certain indulgences for them."[8]
The Roman Catholic Church also emphasizes the importance of having recourse to the Virgin Mary. It is alleged that her continual intercession, merits, special protection, and occasional visits to those suffering ones add hope and consolation to the living who- petition Mary in behalf of their deceased loved ones. It is said, for example:
"The divine mother once addressed these words to Saint Bridget: 'I am the mother of all souls in purgatory; for all the pains that they have deserved for their sins are every hour, as long as they remain there, in some way mitigated by my prayers.' The compassionate mother even condescends to go herself occasionally into that holy prison, to visit and comfort her suffering children. Saint Bonaventure, applying to Mary the words of Ecclesiasticus, 'I have penetrated into the bottom of the deep,' says, 'the deep, that is, purgatory, to relieve by my presence the holy souls detained there.' 'O, how courteous and benign is the most blessed virgin,' says Saint Vincent Ferrer, 'to those who suffer in purgatory! Through her they constantly receive comfort and refreshment.' ... The mere name of Mary, that name of hope and salvation, and which is frequently invoked by her beloved children in their prison, is a great source of comfort to them; 'for,' says Novarinus, 'that loving mother no sooner hears them call upon her than she offers her prayers to God, and these prayers, as a heavenly dew, immediately refresh them in their burning pains."[9]
What consolation is held out to the living by the many legends told of Mary's untiring intercessory work in behalf of those who are her clients, the following narrative reveals:
"In the year 1604, in a city of Flanders, there were two young men, students, but who, instead of attending to their studies, gave themselves up to a life of debauchery. One night they were both in a house with an evil companion, when one of them, named Richard, returned home, leaving his companion there. After he got home, and had begun to undress, he remembered he had not that day said some 'Hail Marys' that he was in the habit of reciting. Feeling very sleepy he was loth to say them; he did himself violence, and repeated them, though without devotion, and half asleep. He then lay down, and had fallen into a sound slumber, when he was suddenly roused by a violent knocking at the door, and without its opening he saw his companion, deformed and hideous, standing before him. 'Who art thou?' he cried out. 'What! does thou not know me?' 'Ah, yes! but how thou art changed; thou seems to me a devil.' 'Truly,' he exclaimed, 'poor unfortunate creature that I am, I am damned; and how? When I was leaving that wicked house a devil came and strangled me: my body is in the street, and my soul in hell. And thou must know,' added he, 'that the same fate awaited thee, had not the blessed virgin preserved thee in consideration of that little act of homage of the "Hail Mary." Fortunate art thou if only thou knew how to take advantage of this warning sent thee by the mother of God.' With these words he opened his mantle, and, showing the flames and serpents by which he was tormented, he disappeared. Richard immediately burst into sobs and tears, and, casting himself prostrate on the ground, he returned thanks to Mary, his protectress; and, whilst thinking how to change his life, he heard the bell of the Franciscan monastery ringing for matins. 'Ah! it is there,' says he, 'that God calls me to do, penance.' He went straight off to the convent, and implored the fathers to admit him. But they were hardly willing to do so, knowing his wicked life; but he, sobbing bitterly, told all that had taken place; and two fathers being sent to the street, and having found the strangled body, which was as black as a coal, they admitted him. From that time forward Richard led a most exemplary life, and at length went to preach the gospel in the Indies, and thence to Japan, where he had the happiness of giving his life for Jesus Christ, being burnt alive for the faith."[10]
Another excerpt taken from the same author reveals the supposed plenitude of Mary's power to release all souls found in purgatory at the time of her assumption:
"Mary not only consoles and relieves her clients in purgatory, but she delivers them by her prayers. Gerson says, 'that on the day of her assumption into heaven purgatory was entirely emptied.' Novarinus confirms this, saying, 'that it is maintained by many grave authors, that when Mary was going to heaven, she asked, as a favor from her Son, to take all the souls then in purgatory with her.' 'And from that time forward,' says Gerson, 'Mary had the privilege of delivering her servants.' Saint Bemardine of Sienna also positively asserts, 'that the blessed virgin has the power of delivering souls from purgatory, but particularly those of her clients, by her prayers, and by applying her merits for them.' Novarinus says, 'that by the merits of Mary, not only are the pains of those souls lessened, but the time of their sufferings is shortened through her intercession.' She has only to ask, and all is done."[11]
"Fortunate, indeed, are the clients of this most compassionate mother; for not only does she succor them in this world, but even in purgatory they are helped and comforted by her protection. And as in that prison poor souls are in the greatest need of assistance, since in their torments they cannot help themselves, our mother of mercy does proportionately more to relieve them. Saint Bernardine of Sienna says, 'that in that prison, where souls which are spouses of Jesus Christ are detained, Mary has a certain dominion and plenitude of power, not only to relieve them, but even to deliver them from their pains."[12]
We ask the Protestant, who claims to have the written word of God for the foundation of all his religious belief, "What is your belief as to where a man goes after death?" His answer often is: "I believe that at the time of death a man goes either to heaven or to hell."
Let us lay aside all preconceived ideas and prejudices in regard to the great question of where are the dead, and with an unbiased mind listen to what God has to say on this vital subject. The Holy Scriptures declare that at death a man goes into the grave and will remain there until his resurrection comes. "If I wait, the grave is mine house. I have made my bed in the darkness," (Job 17:13) said Job. And he says also: "So man lies down, and rises not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. O that Thou would hide me in the grave, that Thou would keep me secret, until Thy wrath be past, that Thou would appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shall call, and I, will answer Thee: Thou wilt have a desire to the work of Your hands." (Job 14:12-15)
The voice of the Son of God, at His Second Coming, will awaken the sleeping saints and bring them forth from the grave. "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which 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)
It is at the resurrection of the righteous that immortality is to be conferred. "Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." (1 Corinthians 15:51,52)
The trump of God, which shall awaken the dead, has not yet sounded, because the second coming of Christ is a future event. Job looked forward to the day when he would see God in his flesh, thus showing that he believed in the resurrection of the body. "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me." (Job 19:25-27)
God's word refutes the theory that when a man dies he is still alive, and that the dead know more than when they were alive. "For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten." (Ecclesiastes 9:5) A person who is dead is incapable of either loving or hating. "Also 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." (Ecclesiastes 9:6)
One could never dwell in the atmosphere of heaven and not give praise to the Lord. Hence we are told that " the dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence." (Psalm 115:17) Could anyone be in heaven and forget God? Never! Those who go down in death do not remember their Lord. "For in death there is no remembrance of Thee: in the grave who shall give Thee thanks?" (Psalm 6:5) Death is called a "land of forgetfulness." "Wilt thou show wonders to the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise Thee? Selah. Shall Thy loving kindness be declared in the grave? Or Thy faithfulness in destruction? Shall Thy wonders be known in the dark? And Thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?" (Psalm 88:10-12)
When the breath leaves the human body, all the physical machinery ceases to function, rendering the brain incapable of producing thoughts. "Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goes forth, he returns to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish." (Psalm 146:3,4)
The prayers offered to Mary and all the other deceased saints fall upon dead ears. The enemy of our souls knew what he was doing when he accosted Eve in the Garden of Eden and told her this lie, "You shall not surely die." (Genesis 3:4) Who would have thought that these few contradictory words by Satan could produce such a monument of fabrication that almost the whole world-not only heathen and Roman Catholics, but even Protestants-would accept them!
Clergymen have officiated at funerals and read portions from the Holy Scriptures concerning the resurrection of the dead. On closing the Inspired Book, they would proceed to bring comfort to the bereaved family by eulogizing the dead and speaking of them as being in heaven, thus contradicting all they had read from the Sacred Tome. David, of whom God said, "I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after Mine own heart, which shall fulfill all My will," (Acts 13:22) did not go to heaven when he died. About 1,000 years after David's death, the apostle Peter himself made this statement: " Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he 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) Just as David is sleeping in his grave, so all those who have died down through the ages and have not been raised from the dead are likewise reposing in earth's bosom.
The term "soul" is a much distorted word in the circles of theology, and around it have risen numerous and conflicting ideas. The generality of people believe that they have souls. Hence we may properly ask, "What is the soul?" We read that at creation "The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." (Genesis 2:7) This does not say that man has a soul, but that he is one.
This word "soul" in the Hebrew tongue is nephesh, which is translated "creature" in the following passage: "And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature [nephesh.] after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind." (Genesis 1:24) It is also translated as "creature " in Genesis 1:20, where the term is applied to the fish and the fowl. In the New Testament we have the word "soul" applied to creatures of the sea. "And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea." (Revelation 16:3)
One may ask about the spirit that God placed within man in the beginning, and wish to know what becomes of it at death. First, let the Lord tell us what this spirit is, how it was given, and in what part of the body it was placed. God "formed man of the dust of the ground." Although his body was perfect, it was lifeless. Every organ was motionless until God breathed life into the body. God "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." (Genesis 2:7)
In the Book of Job the Lord defines the breath of life as "the spirit." Note these words: "All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils." (Job 27:3) The margin reads: "The breath which God gave him." When the breath, or spirit, leaves the body, a man dies. Thus it is with the beast, for the same kind of breath that gives life to man also gives life to the beast. "For that which befalls the sons of men befalls beasts; even one thing befalls them: as the one dies, so dies the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knows the spirit of man that goes upward, and the spirit of the beast that goes downward to the earth?" (Ecclesiastes 3:19-21)
While the breath of the beast goes down and perishes, that of man is preserved by the Creator. "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." (Ecclesiastes 12:7)
In the great resurrection of the dead the breath of life will be restored to the body. The prophet Ezekiel gives a graphic description of the reality of the resurrection of the dead from the grave. He records his vision thus:
"The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst. of the valley which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them, round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And He said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, Thou knows. Again He said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O you dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and be-hold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. Then said He unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus says the Lord God'. Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. 'Then He said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, O My people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up out of your graves, and shall put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall place you in your own land. Then shall you know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, says the Lord." (Ezekiel 37:1-14)
This prophecy portrays very vividly the scene of the resurrection. Note that the breath coining in contact with the body will give it life.
Surely the erroneous doctrine of life after death has paved the way for many false doctrines, such as the beatification and invocation of Mary and the saints, the sacrifice of the mass in behalf of the dead, purgatory, the limbus infantium, and infant baptism. These doctrines have been used by the Roman Church to delude poor souls and to enrich her treasury.
It is not by relying upon the interposition of the human that divine merits are secured. It is through Christ alone that infinite love and mercy are obtained. It is because fallen men can do nothing for themselves that Jesus died, and it is His sacrifice alone that restores the human family to God. Instead of trusting in the supposed merits and favors of canonized saints, let us trust in the merits of our crucified and risen Savior. "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)
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