The Harp of God Part 4

[42]All dominion rightly belongs to Jehovah. He had given man dominion over the things of earth. Lucifer observed Adam and Eve, the perfect ones, in Eden; and knowing that they were endowed with authority from Jehovah to multiply and fill the earth, he conceived the thought in his own heart or mind that he should have a dominion of his own, and that he could have this by separating man from G.o.d and by inducing him to come under his (Satan's) dominion. The prophet Isaiah gives us some light upon this subject when he says: "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of G.o.d: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to h.e.l.l, to the sides of the pit"--Isaiah 14:12-15.

[43]Thus we see that Satan had an ambitious desire to be like the Most High. G.o.d manifested his justice toward Lucifer by expelling him from his presence and has decreed that he shall be ultimately destroyed.

(Ezekiel 28:14-18; Hebrews 2:14) When Lucifer was expelled from the presence of Jehovah because of his wickedness, he thereafter was and is known by the names of dragon, that old serpent, the devil, and Satan.

(Revelation 12:9) In Genesis 3 he is spoken of as the serpent. The name dragon means devourer; Satan means adversary; devil means slanderer; while serpent means deceiver; and all these names indicate the characteristics of Satan, the evil one.

[44]According to the Genesis account, the old serpent, the devil, deceived Eve in this manner: As we have heretofore observed, Jehovah had told Adam and Eve that they must not eat of a certain tree in Eden, known as the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Appearing to mother Eve in the capacity of a serpent, a deceiver, the devil said to her in effect: 'Hath G.o.d said that ye shall not eat of every tree in Eden?' To this question Eve responded: "We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, G.o.d hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die". The old serpent, the devil, replied: "Ye shall not surely die; for G.o.d doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as G.o.ds, knowing good and evil".

In other words, he told Eve that Jehovah was trying to keep her and her husband in ignorance and thus take advantage of them. Doubtless the devil himself ate of the fruit in the presence of Eve and then deliberately lied to her by saying: "Ye shall not surely die"--G.o.d knows that you will not die. And by this means he induced mother Eve to eat of the fruit--which was a violation of G.o.d's law. We know that Satan is a liar, because Jesus said of him: "He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.

When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."--John 8:44.

[45]The fact that Eve was deceived and thereby induced to violate the law of G.o.d in no wise changed the law or affected its enforcement. Adam deliberately ate of the fruit and he was also in the transgression.

--1 Timothy 2:14.

[46]After they had violated Jehovah's law, Adam and Eve hid amongst the trees in Eden. Jehovah spoke to Adam and asked: "Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?" Adam responded that Eve had given him the fruit to eat; and Eve said that the serpent had deceived her. They both stood before Jehovah and confessed their guilt. The majesty of the law of Jehovah must be upheld. His law being unchangeable (Hebrews 6:18), there remained nothing to do but to enforce that law. Then Jehovah p.r.o.nounced his judgment against them, the record of which reads: "Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return,"--Genesis 3:16-19.

[47]Thus the perfect man forfeited his life. He had been endowed with perfection of home, liberty, peace, happiness, and life everlasting on earth. Now he must die and return to the dust from whence he was taken.

G.o.d did not put him to death immediately, but permitted him to have 930 years of experience that he might learn the baneful effects of sin. Eden contained perfect food that would have sustained the perfect man and he would not have died had he remained in Eden, unless Jehovah had put him to death in some direct manner. But G.o.d drove him out of Eden, took him away from the perfect food, caused him to gather his food from among the thorns and thistles and from other imperfect elements of the earth that were found outside of Eden; and in this condition he continued to sicken and to die until at the end of the period of 930 years he was dead.

[48]A kind and loving parent sometimes inflicts punishment upon a child because the child has violated a rule. The parent punishes the child not because he loves to see the child suffer, but for the good of the child, in order that it might be disciplined and might learn the proper lessons. If the child always did good and never did evil it would not merit nor receive any punishment from a loving parent. One of the chief purposes of Jehovah in dealing with mankind in the manner he does deal with them is that humankind might be disciplined and learn the lessons of good and the effect of doing wrong, and thus learn to appreciate the love of the heavenly Father.

[49]When G.o.d sentenced our first parents to death and drove them out of Eden, he had in mind and had already planned for their future blessing, as we will see upon a further examination of his plan. Hence it was love that prompted his action in sentencing Adam to die. Every act of Jehovah is prompted by love; for G.o.d is love. He always acts that good may result. The manifestation of his strict justice was essential that the dignity and greatness of Jehovah might be maintained. At the same time, in so doing, love was the motive that prompted his action. It must have brought sorrow to the heart of Jehovah to be compelled thus to punish his creatures, because G.o.d takes no pleasure in evil things; yet having in mind the ultimate blessing and restoration of them, there would be pleasure in thus manifesting justice that ultimate good might result.

[50]We therefore might with propriety speak of the manifestation of justice as the minor chord in the music of the harp of G.o.d. The minor chord seems necessary in music to produce exact harmony.

[51]Job in his suffering seems to picture the world of mankind under condemnation; and when suffering he said: "My harp also is turned to mourning". (Job 30: 31) The perfect man and his helpmate, deprived now of their perfect home, toiling as they sought to gather their food from the unfinished earth, suffering in body and in mind because of their separation from G.o.d, truly would have said, and doubtless did say: 'Our harp is turned into mourning'. Since that time the whole world has been in a state of mourning; and mankind still suffers and groans in pain.

The world of mankind in general has not appreciated the manifestation of the justice of Jehovah. The Christian, however, who has come to a knowledge of Jehovah's plan, and sees and appreciates his purposes for the blessing of mankind, can rejoice and does rejoice at the manifestation of divine justice.

[52]During the gospel age G.o.d has been developing a church, the members of which are designated as the body of Christ. (Philippians 1:29; Colossians 1:18) These are also designated members of the royal priesthood. (1 Peter 2:9,10) During their earthly career they are counted as members of the sacrificing priesthood, of which Aaron was a type. Aaron and his sons were required to serve before the Lord in the ceremonies in connection with the tabernacle in the wilderness. Two of Aaron's sons were stricken dead because they offered strange fire before the Lord. Aaron and his two remaining sons were forbidden by the Lord to mourn the death of their kinsmen. Evidently this is a picture which shows that those who have come to a knowledge of the divine plan do not mourn because G.o.d sentenced our first parents to death, but rather that they will rejoice at this manifestation of justice when they understand that it was necessary in order that the great plan of redemption should be carried out as outlined by Jehovah from the beginning. And when we see and appreciate this divine plan we can truly exclaim: "Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord G.o.d Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints".--Revelation 15:3.

MEN'S SOULS

[53]Against what did G.o.d manifest his justice? Did he sentence the body or the soul of man to death? Is it true that the soul of man is immortal; and if so, how could G.o.d put it to death?

[54]It is profitable to define terms before attempting to discuss them.

The definition given should be supported by proof from the Bible. This we will attempt to do before answering the question here asked.

[55]Immortal means that which cannot die; something that cannot be destroyed in death. Soul means a moving, breathing, sentient creature, or being; a creature or being that possesses faculties and uses them. To understand whether or not a soul is immortal it is first essential that we determine from the Bible what const.i.tutes a soul. "The Lord G.o.d formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of lives; and man became a living soul." (Genesis 2:7) The word soul is synonymous with the words being, creature, and man. The dust out of which Jehovah formed the body was not conscious. It had no life in it. After G.o.d had used these elements to form the man, he breathed into his nostrils the breath of lives, which animated the body, caused the lungs to begin to work, sent the blood tingling through the arteries and returning through the veins; therefore there resulted a moving, breathing, sentient being, a man, which is a soul. The body aside from the breath does not const.i.tute the soul; but it requires the uniting of the breath with the body to const.i.tute the soul. And when we separate the breath from the body the soul no longer exists. The Scriptures do not say that G.o.d breathed into this body immortality, but merely that the soul resulted by animating the body after it had been created; and this resulted from the breath which he breathed into the nostrils.

[56]A locomotive may be used as an ill.u.s.tration. It stands upon the track with no fire in the box, no water in the boiler, hence no steam.

We speak of it as a dead engine. Then the steam is produced by heating the water; it is forced into the cylinders, the throttle being open and the machine moves. Withdraw the steam and it stops.

[57]Just so with man. When the body is formed it would be inanimate and inactive without breath. When the breath of life is breathed into the nostrils and his organs begin to functionate, it is said that man then is a breathing creature; hence a soul. When he ceases to breathe he is dead.

[58]Man is a soul. He does not possess a soul. Every creature that breathes is a soul. G.o.d applied the words living soul to the lower order of animals long before man's creation. (Genesis 1:20, _margin_) That all breathing creatures are designated as souls by Jehovah is proven by these words: "Levy a tribute unto the Lord of the men of war which went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the a.s.ses, and of the sheep". (Numbers 31:28) All souls die alike. "For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again,"--Ecclesiastes 3:19,20.

[59]In the manifestation of divine justice G.o.d said to Adam: "Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat; ... for in the day that thou eatest thereof, dying thou shalt die". (Genesis 2:17, _margin_) This sentence was p.r.o.nounced against man, the being, the soul.

If there could be any doubt about this, it is definitely settled by another statement in the Bible which reads: "The soul that sinneth it shall die". (Ezekiel 18:4) "What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave?"--Psalm 89:48.

[60]The thought of immortal souls originated with Satan the devil. He approached mother Eve and said: 'If you eat of this tree, you shall not surely die'. Jesus denounced this statement as the first lie ever told, and Satan as the father of lies. (John 8:44) Satan has been trying to blind the people to the truth concerning G.o.d's great plan in order to keep them away from G.o.d and from the blessings they would receive by obeying him. The Apostle says of him that he is "the G.o.d [mighty one] of this world", meaning the present evil social order; and that he has blinded the minds of men to the truth, lest the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ should s.h.i.+ne into their hearts. (2 Corinthians 4:4) From the day of Eden until now Satan has been blinding the minds of men to the truth by getting into their minds a false conception of Jehovah's arrangement; and the basis for this blindness is chiefly the lie first told: "Ye shall not surely die". All false doctrines are based upon this first lie.

[61]If man possessed an immortal soul it could not be put to death.

Hence we see that G.o.d would be unable to enforce his judgment against a sinner, and justice would fail. The Scriptures, however, plainly tell us that the quality of immortality belongs originally only to Jehovah, "who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see". (1 Timothy 6:16) Immortality will be given as a great reward to faithful Christians and to none other of the human race. Such Christians who live and continue faithful until death are promised the divine nature, immortality, the crown of life.

(2 Peter 1:4; 1 Peter 1:3,4; Romans 2:7; Revelation 2:10) We may be sure that a man does not seek that which he already possesses; and the apostle Paul plainly says: "Seek for ... immortality". And again he says to those who will be faithful Christians: "This mortal must put on immortality".

(1 Corinthians 15:53) If a soul, a man, were already immortal, he could not subsequently _put on_ immortality. No one of the human race will ever be made immortal except the faithful Christians. G.o.d has a different reward for others who are obedient to him.

DEAD UNCONSCIOUS

[62]Another of Satan's deceptions by which he has blinded the people is the teaching that the dead are still conscious after death. This is not supported by the Bible, however. Those who die are never again conscious unless they are resurrected by the Lord. The resurrection of the dead we will discuss later on. If the soul were immortal it would be conscious somewhere. Let us observe the Scriptures which show that the dead are not conscious.

[63]"In death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?" (Psalm 6:5) Thus is shown that they have no memory while dead. "The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence." (Psalm 115:17) Hence they could not speak while dead.

[64]The dead cannot breathe, think, or feel. "Thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust." (Psalm 104:29) "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish." (Psalm 146:4) A person when unconscious does not feel. This is ill.u.s.trated by the fact that when a person is taken to a hospital for an operation the surgeon puts the patient under an anesthetic, puts him to sleep so that he cannot feel during the operation.

[65]Again the Scriptures read: "The living know that they shall die, but the dead know not anything. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished." (Ecclesiastes 9:5,6) Being unconscious, they know not anything when dead. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest."--Ecclesiastes 9:10.

[66]Again speaking of man, G.o.d says of him: "Nevertheless man being in honor abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish". (Psalm 49:12) Anything that perishes cannot be conscious, cannot be in existence and of course cannot be immortal.

[67]It was Jesus who said: "G.o.d so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life". (John 3:16) Here the proof is conclusive that death means the peris.h.i.+ng of all unless redemption is received through Jesus Christ. This would absolutely disprove consciousness of the dead and would disprove also the immortality of the soul.

[68]Death is spoken of in the Bible as a sleep, for the reason that G.o.d intends in his due time to awaken all of the dead and give them an opportunity of life. The Bible abounds in the expressions referring to the dead as asleep. A few of these expressions are: "David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David". (1 Kings 2:10) "The fathers fell asleep." (2 Peter 3:4) '"The greater part remain until this day, but some are fallen asleep." (1 Corinthians 15:6) "I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them that are asleep; ... them also which sleep will G.o.d bring [forth] by Jesus [in the resurrection]."

--1 Thessalonians 4:13,14.

[69]We must conclude from these Scriptures that the dead are wholly unconscious from the moment of death until such future time as the Lord may be pleased to awaken them out of death and give them an opportunity of life, which he purposes to do, as set forth in his great plan. (John 5:28,29) Man was made of the dust. He was sentenced to return to the dust; that is, the condition of the dead. And the Lord said: 'They that sleep in the dust of the earth shall arise'.--Daniel 12:2.

DOES G.o.d TORMENT ANY ONE?

[70]For a long time men have been taught that the punishment for the wicked, those who disobey G.o.d, is everlasting torment or torture in a h.e.l.l burning with unquenchable fire and brimstone. Many have been frightened away from studying the Bible because of this terrible doctrine. Many have refused to believe in G.o.d and the Lord Jesus because of it. It is another doctrine of Satan, used to blind the people. The doctrine of eternal torment cannot be true for at least four separate and distinct reasons: (1) because it is unreasonable; (2) because it is repugnant to justice; (3) because it is contrary to the principle of love; and (4) because it is entirely unscriptural.

[71]It seems strange that men with reasoning faculties should ever reach the conclusion that the all-wise Creator would eternally torment any of his creatures. What could be the purpose of such torment? Could it accomplish any good? Would it result to the glory of G.o.d?

[72]There could be no eternal torment of any of G.o.d's creatures except by G.o.d's will. A reasonable, loving G.o.d could not torment any of his creatures. A Creator that would put in operation a system of endless torment would be a fiend and not a reasonable G.o.d. Man is not perfect, yet he has some love. G.o.d is perfect. He is love. A man or a child would not torture his horse, his dog, or his cat.

[73]Suppose we have a dog that becomes mad and tries to bite every one in the neighborhood. He must be killed; but we would not torment the poor brute by putting it into a slow fire. We would kill it in the easiest way, so that it would not suffer much pain. Why would a person do this? Because his sense of justice and love would deter him from doing anything else. Man has not as much love as G.o.d. Every thing that G.o.d does for man he does for man's good.

[74]The doctrine is unreasonable because no one could be eternally tormented unless that one were eternally conscious; and the Scriptures above cited show that the dead are not conscious. Furthermore, there could be no eternal torment of the soul unless that soul were immortal, indestructible; and the Scriptures above cited and all other Scriptures bearing upon the subject show that man is not immortal, that none are granted immortality except those who receive it as a reward for right-doing and who are made joint-heirs with Christ Jesus in his glorious kingdom. Then it is easy to be seen that this is a doctrine of Satan; and the two doctrines or teachings of inherent immortality and eternal torture must stand or fall together. And since they are both false, they must both fall.

[75]The doctrine of eternal torture is _un_just, because G.o.d is _just_.

Justice is the foundation of his throne. G.o.d plainly told man that if he sinned he would die. If thereafter he put him into eternal torment, then he increased the penalty after man had violated the law, and this is contrary to every principle of justice. All of Adam's children were born imperfect. "There is none that doeth good, no, not one," (Psalm 14:3) Every child is born imperfect. It would be very unjust for Jehovah to permit such a one to be born under conditions over which he had no control and then, because he could not obey perfectly, to put him into eternal torture. Man's sense of justice is shocked at the thought of torture of any creature. The justice that man possesses is a G.o.d-given quality. The more G.o.dlike a man is the more just he is. We must know, then, that G.o.d deals justly with all of his creatures.

[76]The doctrine of eternal torment is devoid of the attribute of love.

Every good father loves his children and children love their father. The mother loves the children and the children love the mother. When the children are disobedient, it becomes necessary for the father or the mother to discipline them; and sometimes by using the rod. But no loving parent would for a moment think of torturing his or her child. Just punishment is always for the purpose of doing ultimate good, and where the parents are compelled to punish or discipline their children they do it because they love them. The apostle Paul, discussing the discipline by earthly parents and by G.o.d said: "We have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness."--Hebrews 12:9,10.

[77]Only a wicked fiend would want to torment anybody, such a one as loves dark and wicked things.

[78]Our great G.o.d is love. (1 John 4:16) "G.o.d is light and in him is no darkness at all," (1 John 1:5) Everything that Jehovah does is good. G.o.d created the first man Adam and gave him the power to transmit life to his offspring. All the human race are the children of Adam. Only by G.o.d's permission could these children have come into existence. Adam was G.o.d's son and all the human race descend from Adam; and thus they bear relations.h.i.+p to Jehovah.

[79]None of Adam's children were born perfect. Some were born under very depraved conditions. G.o.d's love, then, for the human race is so great that he made provision for the redemption and ultimate blessing of all, and it would be wholly inconsistent with his attribute of love to arrange to torture any of them at any time. The doctrine of eternal torment is a libel upon the great and loving name of G.o.d, and Satan is responsible for it. But in G.o.d's due time he will make it clear to all that he is love; and that all of his dealings with the human race are for their good.