A COMMON ERROR CORRECTED

At this point many good people laboring under a degree of blindness, the “smoke of the dark ages,” feel disposed to object and to insist that there can be no future probation.

Ask them why, their reply is that, the entire Scriptural teaching contradicts the thought of a future hope beyond the tomb.

We reply that this is an error that the very reverse is true, as we shall show.

We ask them for a single Scripture on their side of this subject.

To their amazement they find none, but as a last resort quote from Ecclesiastes (11:3) the words: “Where the tree falls, there it shall be.”

There is another which is often quoted Heb 9:27 “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment”, but it too has been used erroneously and taken out of context.  

But as to the text taken from Ecclesiastes is not this a very slim text, indeed, to raise up as a barrier against the entire voice of the Scriptures, and against all the demands of reason and logic as well?

And this very Scripture is in full accord with what we claim, namely, that as a tree when it has fallen is lifeless and powerless and cannot raise itself up, so is man in death under the sentence and wage of original sin. The Scriptural argument is that the whole race of Adam was thus dead without life, without power to raise itself out of its fallen condition, without any claim upon eternal life or divine favor in any sense, but our text declares that our Lord Jesus “gave himself a ransom for all” for Adam the transgressor in particular and for all of his race who shared in his penalty, in order to rescue us from that dead condition by resurrection.

It is because man is in this helpless condition, dead, powerless to revivify himself, that God has gone to his relief through Christ, and not only caused the great ransom sacrifice to be made and paid to justice over 19 centuries ago, but in our text assures us that that ransom sacrifice finished at Calvary was on behalf of ALL MANKIND and is consequently to bring a blessing to ALL MANKIND—” in due time.”

We are not arguing that all who have died have gone to heaven; quite the contrary. We stick to the book, the Bible, in its declaration that the “dead know not anything.” (Eccles. 9:5) that a resurrection is necessary to any future living.

We hold with the Scriptures that at the end of this age, the first resurrection will take place the resurrection of the “blessed and holy”, (the “elect”), those who have pleased God both by faith and obedience. These, the Scriptures declare, will be “kings and priests unto God and shall reign on the earth.”

The object of this reign will be to bring blessings of knowledge and opportunity “to every creature.” These participants in the first resurrection are the “seed of Abraham,” our Lord Jesus the Head, and His church the members of His body, as the apostle declares: “If you are Christ’s then are you Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise”— (Gal. 3:29).

The promise to which Christ and His church are heirs is that they shall be God’s instrumentality for the blessing, instruction and uplifting of the world of mankind, and when will they do this unless there be a future millennial age?

To be heirs of this promise made to Abraham, that in his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed, would be a meaningless farce and jest on the Almighty’s part had He not purchased us, and provided a time and means by which this blessing could accrue to the world. We perceive that He has arranged a time for granting the world a trial for life a trial respecting their willingness to abandon the ways of sin and death and to walk in the ways of righteousness under the enlightenment of the truth, which we are assured shall shine forth as the sun, whose beams shall heal humanity—(Mal.4:2).

Continued with next post.