And What About Death?-2

April 1  And What About Death?-2

 


For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom. 6:23.

Given the struggles that young Ellen had with the traditional teachings on hell, it is no wonder that in her mature years she would write that "it is beyond the power of the human mind to estimate the evil which has been wrought by the heresy of eternal torment. The religion of the Bible, full of love and goodness, and abounding in compassion, is darkedned by superstition and clothed with terror. . .The appalling views of God which have spread over the world from the teachings of the pulpit have made thousands, yes, millions, of skeptics and infidels." She went on to indicate that the traditional teaching was a part of the Babylonish or confused teachings of the church that mingled human theory with the truth of God (GC 536).

I have to admit that the same issues have troubled me. So much so that in 1997 I worte an article or the Signs of the Times entitled "The Infinite Hitler." The basic idea was that if the traditional teachings of the church was true it would make Hitler and Stalin look like pretty nice guys. After all, their vicitms eventually died, whereas God could roast His in conscious agony throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. Others must have seen the logic of the article, since it received the Award of Merit from the Associated Chruch Press in June 1998.

Of course, I knew that many others were in agreement, since I had cited such evangelical leaders as John R. W. Stott and Clark Pinnock and others as having rejected the traditional view for the biblical.

But what is the biblical view? And how did the Adventists arrive at it? We will begin to examine those questions tomorrow. But first it is important to recognize that the basic issue involves whether humans are born with immortality. Greek philosophy says yes, but the Bible, while admitting that God has it (1Tim. 6:16), declares that the only humans who will receive it are those who believe in Jesus, and that they will not get it until the second advent of Jesus(1Cor. 15:51-55).

Now, immortality means not subject to death. Thus if the wicked have it, they by definition will live in some form throughout eternity. But if they don't have it, they must, as Romans 6:23 says so plainly, die. No other options exist.

        

Lord, we are thankful that You make the gift of immortality available to those who believe in Jesus. And we are equally thankful that sin and sinners are not immortal.