On reading the article regarding the eternal punishment of the wicked, it struck me that as the soul of man is undying, how is it that death will be the punishment of the wicked, since although dead, the soul was yet alive and conscious? Please explain in your next issue, as it seems perplexing.
Truly it does seem perplexing; but the difficulty will speedily disappear if we go about it in the right way. There is no difficulty whatever in the Scriptures; the difficulty comes in the attempt to reconcile the truth of the Bible with an impossible theory of human invention.
This question affords us an excellent opportunity to contrast the right and the wrong way of dealing with the Bible. The wrong way is to assume a certain thing, and then to become perplexed because the Bible does not agree with our assumption.
Thus, the disciples had settled it in their minds that Christ would immediately overthrow the Roman dominion, and establish His own everlasting kingdom on this earth, and therefore when He spoke about His resurrection from the dead, they wondered what that expression could mean. They were perplexed, and were overwhelmed by the event; but they would have had no difficulty, and would not have been taken by surprise, if they had said: "He says that He is to die, and rise again the third day; therefore it is evident that we have not understood the Scriptures, and are mistaken in our ideas."
So in the question before us, the Bible says that "The wages of sin is death," (Romans 6:23) and that the wicked "shall be punished with everlasting destruction." (2 Thessalonians 1:9)
But you say, "How can this be, since the soul of man cannot die?"
That is the wrong way. The right way would be to say: "Since the punishment of the wicked is death, and is to be eternal, even 'everlasting destruction,' it is evident that I have been mistaken in supposing that man is an undying creature, and that there is really no such thing as death."
You say that "the soul of man is undying." God says: "The soul that sins, it shall die." (Ezekiel 18:4) "What man is he that lives and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave?" (Psalm 89:48)
The answer comes: "They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, or give to God a ransom for him: For the redemption of their soul is precious [costly], and it ceases [must be let alone] for ever. ... But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for He shall receive me." (Psalm 49:6-8,15)
Here we have your question completely answered. The difficulty is solved, and the perplexity ought now to cease. The only trouble was, that you assumed something that is contrary to the truth.
How is it possible for anybody to say that there is no death? Surely one's own observation ought to convince him, even without the testimony of the Scriptures. That man is mortal, that death has come into the world by sin, is declared throughout the Bible; and we see it everywhere on earth.
To say that there is no death, is to deny the necessity for Christ's sacrifice; for we are told that He partook of man's nature, "that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them, who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." (Hebrews 2:14-15)
He tasted death for every man (Hebrews 2:9); and "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." (1 Corinthians 15:26)
He says, "The Bread of God is He which comes down from heaven, and gives life unto the world." (John 6:33)
And again: "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10)
To the unbelieving Jews He uttered this sorrowful reproach: "You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have the eternal life; and these are they which bear witness of me; And you will not come to me that you might have life." (John 5:39-40,RV)
Christ did not come into this world for nothing. It was terrible need that called for so wondrous a sacrifice. "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
Without Christ, all men would perish. The fact that He came for the sole purpose of giving life, shows that without Him there is nothing but death for man.
Death is not the same thing as life. To say that the dead are alive and conscious is as absurd as to say that the blind see, that the dumb speak, or that the deaf hear. It is even worse than absurd; it is wicked; for it is not only a direct contradiction of the Bible, but it virtually teaches that there is no such thing as death, and that what is called sin is really righteousness.
For it is declared that sin brought death. (Romans 5:12) Being sinners we were dead, (Ephesians 2:1) since death had passed upon all men: but if it were true that death is the same thing as life, it would be evident that what the Bible calls sin is really the same as righteousness. Thus we see that it is not a light thing to say that there is no death, since it really denies the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. "These shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal." (Matthew 25:46)
The punishment we have already seen to be death-everlasting destruction. Now see how the statement that there is no death makes nonsense of the Scriptures: it would have Christ say that the wicked shall go away into everlasting life; but the righteous into everlasting life. It would make Romans 6:23 say that the wages of sin is life, but the gift of God is eternal life. Of course professed Christians never think of the consequences of the false ideas that they have imbibed concerning death; for they could have no respect for the Scriptures, if they really thought that they contain such absurdities.
What does the Bible say about death, and the condition of the dead? Let us read a few statements. "The living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything. ... Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave wither you go." (Ecclesiastes 9:5,10) "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) "In death there is no remembrance of You; in the grave who shallgive you thanks." (Psalm 6:5) "You have in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for You have cast all my sins behind your back. For the grave cannot praise You, death cannot celebrate You: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for your truth. The living, the living, he shall praise You, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known your truth." (Isaiah 38:17-19)
The case is very simple. "Christ ... is our life." (Colossians 3:4) "In [God] we live, and move, and have our being." (Acts 17:28) "[Christ is] the way, the truth, and the life." (John 14:6) "In Him all things consist." (Colossians 1:17)
In the beginning, "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)
So we read, "The Spirit of God has made me; and the breath of the Almighty has given me life." (Job 33:4)
In Christ we live; without Him there is no existence. All mankind live by the same means by which the first man lived--by the breath of God. God is constantly doing for each one of us what He did for Adam in the beginning--breathing into our nostrils the breath of life; thus only is it that we are living souls.
In the things that God has made, and which are for our use, the everlasting power and Divinity of God are clearly seen; (Romans 1:20) and: "His Divine power has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that has called us to glory and virtue." (2 Peter 1:3)
God gives himself to us in His gifts. "God has given to us eternal life; and this life is in His Son. He that has the Son has life; and He that has not the Son of God has not life." (1 John 5:11-12)
Now all men have the Son, the Word life, whether they know Him and accept Him, or not; for: "The free gift has come upon all men unto justification of life," (Romans 5:18) and the Word of life is in the mouth and heart of all men, in order that they may do it. (Deuteronomy 30:11-14; Romans 10:6-9) Thus all are without excuse; for they have not to go in search of eternal life, but only to lay hold of and keep that which has been committed to them. But not all will accept Christ, and yield to His control, even when they know Him. They say, "We will not have this Man to rule over us." (Luke 19:14)
Nevertheless He is longsuffering, not willing that any should perish, (2 Peter 3:9) and therefore He does not immediately take them at their word, and leave them to themselves. Patiently and long He suffers their manners, drawing them to himself by the cords of His everlasting love. (Hosea 11:4)
Still many are obdurate, and will resist the Holy Ghost unto the end. Then at the last, when all God's ways have been made plain to all mankind, and it still appears that men choose their own ways, instead of His, God gives them over wholly to their own choice. They choose to live apart from the Lord; but Christ "ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things;" (Ephesians 4:10) and when that is accomplished there will be no place in the universe for those who have fully and finally rejected Him. They will not have God to dwell in them, nor are they willing to abide in Him; therefore they will be left to themselves, and the result will be that they will cease to be, and will "be as though they had not been." (Obadiah 16)
The breath that, joined to the body, made man a living soul, will depart, and then the soul will no longer live.
Can you not see that the Scriptural view shows the supremacy of God, while the idea that even the wicked who reject Him can have life independently of Him, makes them gods, self-existent beings the same as He is?
But there is but one God,--the living God,--He alone is our dwelling place in all generations. (Psalm 90:1) We must either live in Him, or else not live at all. Just as apart from Christ we can do nothing, (John 15:5) even so apart from Christ we cannot live. Righteousness is life, (Galatians 3:21) and both come from God in Jesus Christ our Lord.--Present Truth, April 3, 1902.