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Is Death A Penalty Or A Consequence?
VOL. XV.
AUGUST 1, 1894. NO. 15.
WE are requested to harmonize the statement of 1 Cor. 15:56, "The sting of death is sin,
and the strength of sin is the law," with the statement of Heb.
2:14, "Him that hath the power of death, that is the devil."
And the further question is asked,--"Are we to consider death a penalty for the infraction of the divine law, or as a natural result of disease
contracted by disobedience to the divine commands?"
We will answer the question first, and then
consider the harmony of the Scriptures cited.
We may properly consider death from both
of these standpoints: it does not come now as an individual sentence
from God, a penalty for personal disobedience; for not only do criminals and
malicious persons die, but also saints and prattling babes: it is now a
result of disease inherited and transmitted from one generation to another,
under generally prevailing conditions. But, looking back to Eden, we can see
that matters were different there: disease was unknown until, as an element of
death, it was incurred, not from the eating of some poisonous substance in the
fruit of the forbidden tree (for all the trees of the garden were trees of
life), but as the curse or penalty for transgressing the divine law. That the
penalty did not come as the result of a poison from the tree is evident, and
that God specially forced Adam and Eve into conditions productive of disease
and death is also evident from the record,--that God drove them out of the
garden and away from the trees (literally, grove or orchard) of
life into the unfit wilderness, outside the prepared garden, where, lacking
suitable sustenance, gradually dying, they died.
The proper view of the question then is this.
Adam, created in God's moral likeness and surrounded by his favors,
transgressed his Creator's law knowingly, and without any just
provocation, and suffered the penalty of his transgression --death. But, as he
died slowly, he begat children who, although not put on trial as he had been,
and hence not sentenced by God as Adam was, died nevertheless, because they had
inherited from Adam a diseased or dying organism. And thus it has been ever
since, and is now. As the Apostle declares, it was "by one man's
disobedience [that] sin entered the world, and death as a result of sin. As all
inherit sinful weaknesses and tendencies through Adam, so they also inherit
death, the penalty of sin, through him. A father can bequeath to his children
no rights, privileges or conditions that he does not possess at the time of
their conception.
Coming now to the Scriptures cited, we remark
that, so far from being in conflict, these passages corroborate and expound
each other. Sin is the poisonous sting which has blighted and killed our race.
Not that the sin committed (the fruit eaten) would of itself have had this
effect: the strength or power to kill lay not in the fruit,--"the strength
[or power] of sin was the law," whose vengeance or penalty the sin
brought upon the sinner. And Satan, the tempter, by starting sin amongst men,
brought all under the sentence of divine law,-- under the power of death. And
since he is the [R1683 : page 244] father of
sin, and thus of sinners, the power or strength or weight of sin may be said to
be his power or influence. And Satan's power of death continues steadily; for,
by reason of man's weakness, through the fall, Satan can the more easily delude
and beguile into deeper degradation; and thus by the increase of the disease of
sin the power of death increases, swallowing up the human family more and more
rapidly.
But in a still more particular way Satan has the
power of death. When God had created man in his own image, with the divine law
interwoven as a part of his being and nature, he made him ruler or king over
earth, as his representative, and left matters in that way to take their
course: as the Scriptures express it, God "rested from all his
work." He did not interfere, even when man by reason of sin, disease and
death became incapable of properly ruling the empire committed to his care. God
had foreseen that man, in the abuse of his liberty, would become a servant of
sin and Satan, and that in consequence not only man himself, and the lower
animals, would suffer from lack of proper discipline and direction, but that
the entire course of nature would become deranged; --and God arranged his plans
accordingly;-- to let men and angels see to the full the result of
disobedience, and then, in due time, still "resting" so far as
personal influence is concerned, to raise up Christ, who, first as Redeemer of "that which was lost," and during the Millennial reign as
Restorer of all the willingly obedient, should bring order out of the chaos of
sin and death which Satan's power would effect.
What powers of mind and body the first man
enjoyed, at the time God created him in his own image and pronounced him
"very good," we cannot well judge by looking at the generally
degraded race,--whose fall to such depths of ignorance, misery and depravity
St. Paul explains in Rom. 1:18,21-29. Even the
most intelligent of the human species give but a slight conception of what
human perfection would be, --in the image and likeness of God and "very
good" in his estimation;--for we know that even the best at present are
accounted of God acceptable only through the atonement made by the death
of his Son as our ransom-price.
Even the prodigies of manhood sometimes
encountered,--musical prodigies, poetic prodigies, mathematical prodigies,
oratorical prodigies, memorizing prodigies, mind-reading and mesmeric
prodigies, who can exercise a mental power over the brute creation as well as
amongst men;--none of these, nor even all of these brilliant powers if imagined
as belonging to one person, can give us a correct concept of the perfect man, as he was before sin marred the likeness of God in him, and as he will be
after all the traces of sin have been blotted out by the Great Physician, who,
during the "times of restitution" (Acts
3:19-21), will restore all that "was lost" (Luke 19:10), to all who will receive it upon
God's terms,--the New Covenant.
We think it reasonable to conclude that as the
length of human life was greatly shortened, evidently by the changed physical
conditions of the earth, after the Deluge, so his mentality suffered
correspondingly at the same time, and from the same causes. And all that we
know of man, aside from the meager records of Genesis, belongs to this period
of his degradation [R1684 : page 244] since
that flood. The great down-pour of waters from the North pole, with its
glaciers which cut great valleys, which can still be traced in the hills,
evidently swept into the ocean, and into oblivion, all that would have been to
us evidences of the wisdom and skill of our race as exercised before the flood
of Noah's day--not only noted in Genesis, but confirmed by our Lord and the
apostles, as well as by the most ancient histories of various ancient peoples.
Yet even the ruins of Syria and Egypt impress us with the ability and knowledge
and skill of the race, a thousand years after the deluge. We fain would know
the secret of some of their "lost arts," even in this boasted
nineteenth century.
SATAN'S
USURPATION OF MAN'S EMPIRE.
----------
But what has all this to do with Satan and his
power of death? Very much. It is the period since the deluge that in Scripture
is termed, "this present evil world [--or the present epoch of
disaster and trouble]." (See Gal. 1:4;
compare 2 Pet. 3:6,7.) And it is of "this
present evil world," or this disastrous epoch and condition, that Satan is
declared to [R1684 : page 245] be the prince
or ruler. He is the ruler or "prince of this world," as Christ is to
be the ruler and prince of peace and blessings in "the world to
come."
As Christ, the Prince of Peace, will bring in
everlasting righteousness and blessing, by restoring all things to proper
order, and subjection to the divine will and arrangement, it is but reasonable
to suppose that Satan has had much to do with bringing about the disorder,
evils and calamities of "this present evil world;" --by the misuse of
knowledge and powers, in a spirit of devilishness.
Satan, the prince of this present evil world, or
epoch of trouble, is also "the prince of the power of the air" (Eph. 2:2), both the literal and the symbolic air. He is the prince of earth's religious systems, sometimes in symbol
represented by the "heavens" or the "air" powers. They all,
from fetish and devil worship, up through the various heathen philosophies or
religions, show signs of his supervision in their formation. He recognizes
man's native religious tendencies, and by partially satisfying them prevents,
as far as possible, escape from his slavery into the liberty of sons of God,
wherewith the gospel of Christ would make all free from his bondage under
ignorance, superstition, sin and death. The Apostle refers to this policy on
Satan's part, saying,--"The God of this world hath blinded the
minds of them that believe not [by supplying them with false religions], lest
the light of the glorious gospel of Christ ...should shine unto them."--2 Cor. 4:4.
Not only does Satan rule thus in false, heathen
religions, but amongst Christian believers also he is a prince or ruler to a
far greater extent than is supposed; for in proportion as the minds of men
become enlightened, by glimpses of the divine character and plan revealed in
the gospel of Christ, Satan is on the alert to mislead them with vain
philosophies and sciences falsely so called; and equally ready to give visions
of heaven and hell and mixed interpretations of Scripture, to a Swedenborg, or
to lead the new school of thought in the theory of evolution, to the discarding
of the Bible as a relic of barbarism and ignorance --or to speak through Spiritualist
mediums, and personate the dead and mislead the living,-- or to lead the
Mormons to a peculiar interpretation of Scripture to their own blinding,--or to
open schools of Christian Science and Theosophy, and do wonderful works in the
name of a Christ of their own theory, but not in the name of Jesus, the
Christ of God and the Redeemer of men,--or to mislead others, who have gotten
their eyes wide open, into the belief that all men will be saved
everlastingly, and that they did not fall, and therefore needed no ransom, and that Christ was merely a good example, and that men are blest and brought
nigh to God not "by the blood of the cross," but by the
figurative blood of the sinner's sins, killed or destroyed by himself.
Thus, as an "angel of light," clothed
in light, Satan shows himself to those who have caught glimpses of the great
Light, the true Light, the Light of Life, that yet shall enlighten "every
man that cometh into the world." What wonder that many are fearful of the
light, and love rather the fancied security of the dark past, and of unreason.
But to thus frighten some away from the light of present truth serves Satan's
purposes just as well as to ensnare and mislead by his glaring, false lights.
Truly, the only safe condition for any who would be true "sheep" is
to be intimately acquainted with the true Shepherd--his spirit and his word.
"My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me. A stranger they will not
follow, for they know not the voice of strangers."
Thus seen, Satan is indeed the prince of the
air, the present heavens--ecclesiasticism, both heathen and nominal
Christian--and only the Lord's "little flock" are kept, so that the
"wicked one toucheth them not."--1 John 5:18.
But in another sense Satan is prince of the air
power,--literally. When Job was given into his hand to be tried, he manifested
his power of death. He caused fire to fall from heaven (probably a bolt of
lightning), and destroyed several of Job's servants and his sheep. He caused a
great wind (a cyclone or tornado) to come upon Job's house, and thus killed
Job's sons and daughters.
Satan's object evidently was, to make Job
suppose that God caused those calamities, and to thus cause Job to feel bitter
and resentful [R1684 : page 246] against
God, and to "curse God and die;" or to shake his faith in there being
any God. Indeed, that such was Satan's object is implied in the narrative; and
Job's friends, although God-fearing men, were deceived into this view, and
tried for days to convince Job that his afflictions were the work of the Lord.
But of Job it is written, "In all this Job sinned not, nor charged
God foolishly [with being the author of his calamities.]"--Job 1:22.
Again, notice that when our Lord and his
disciples were in the little boat on the Sea of Galilee, and our Lord asleep, a
storm suddenly arose, which palled the hearts of those old and expert fishermen
accustomed to storms, until they awakened the Master, saying, Lord, save us; we
perish! We cannot presume that, if the Heavenly Father had willed or caused
that storm, our Lord Jesus would have commanded it to subside, or that it would
have obeyed him. On the contrary, rather, we may suppose that the same Satan
who used his power against Job's household sought to destroy the Lord and the
infant Church. But that Satan had no power over the life of Christ, until "his hour was come," is evident from our Lord's words upon this
occasion --"O ye of little faith, why are ye fearful?"
We would not be understood to question God's ability to cause storms, cyclones, etc.; but from our Lord's teachings we know that
such would not be his spirit: for when the disciples were incensed against the
Samaritans who did not welcome the Redeemer and asked, "Lord, wilt thou
that we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" our
Lord's answer was, "Ye know not what spirit ye are of [--your spirit is
not mine, nor the Father's]."
Remembering the Deluge and the destruction of Sodom,
we can only understand, in the light of the account in Job, that God may at
times use storms and fires as his servants to execute his decrees against the
wicked; or that Satan is ever ready as an executioner, taking pleasure in evil,
to destroy life whenever permitted to do so.
In thinking of how Satan has the power of death,
let us not forget that in healing the diseases of the people, at his first
advent, our Lord expressly stated that they were "afflicted of [or by] the
devil." If God had directly caused the diseases, our Redeemer in healing
the sick would have been opposing the Father, and not doing his will. Since
disease is death at work, devouring the sick, to have the power of disease is
to have the power of death.
Satan is permitted to have such a power of
disease and death because of sin;--because men are under the divine and just
sentence of death, as culprits. The Scriptures represent that mankind has sold
itself under Sin and death, and to him that has this power, Satan. The Church--
all truly consecrated and faithful believers--are reckoned as having escaped from the condemnation of the world and from the power and dominion of its
prince, so that he toucheth them not, or has no power over them,--so long as
they abide in Christ. Such, the Redeemer makes free from the law of sin and
death and from the power of Satan. And although they die, their death is in no
sense under Satan's power;--as Job's was not and as our Lord's was not. Their
death is separate from that of the world, and is not even counted as being a
share in the Adamic death, but, as though having been lifted out of that
condemnation, and out of that death, over which Satan has power, theirs is
reckoned to be a sacrificial death;--a part and share of Christ's death; "dead
with him," and not with Adam.
But "the whole world lieth under [control of] the Wicked One," Satan (1
John 5:19), and over them he has "the power of
death"--including disease--subject no doubt to some divine regulations;
but just what his limitations are we may not clearly distinguish. But he can
have no power over God's people, except by special divine permission; and in
such cases the Lord stands pledged to his own, that all things which he permits will work for their ultimate advantage, if they abide faithful
to their covenant with him in Christ.
These can, therefore, rejoice always, and in
every thing give thanks; for the Lord is their Shepherd.
"Our
times are in thy hand;
Our God we wish them there;
[R1685
: page 246]
Our life,
our friends, our soul, we leave
Entirely to thy care.
"Our
times are in thy hand,
Whatever they may be;
[R1685
: page 247]
Pleasing or
painful, dark or bright,
As best may seem to thee.
"Our
times are in thy hand;
Why have we doubts or fears?
Our Father's hand will never cause
His children needless tears."
SATAN'S
KNOWLEDGE AND POWER
INCREASING.
----------
The foregoing being true, it seems more than
possible, yes, probable, that Satan's power for evil and death finds exercise
in the development of new diseases which for a time successfully baffle the
skill of all except Satan's own physicians, --Christian Scientists, etc.
Medical science has within recent years reached the conclusion that the
majority of infectious diseases are the result of poisoning communicated
sometimes through the air, and sometimes through the food, in the form of
animal life, so small as to be indistinguishable except with powerful microscopes;--long-shaped,
it would require nine thousand laid lengthwise to equal an inch. These
disease-producing little animals breed by the millions in a few hours, carrying
disease wherever they go, and are known as Bacteria.
The same principles apply to the numerous
insects, worms and beetles which plague the farmers: new ones are continually
appearing.
Knowing that God is resting from his
creative work, since the creation of man, we are bound to attribute these new
creations to some other source. Satan is wise, and no doubt merely takes
advantage of natural laws in the propagation of the evils mentioned; and no
doubt if mankind possessed the powers with which his Creator endowed him, when
he gave him dominion over every creature, he would have equal knowledge
of the laws governing the start and propagation of bacteria, and could
use his knowledge and powers to prevent such formations or to destroy them. But
man is fallen, and has "lost" (Luke 19:10)
much that he once possessed: Satan is now his master and prince; he "now
worketh in the children of disobedience;" under his misrule "the
whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together." Eph.
2:2; Rom. 8:19-23; 1
John 5:19, Diaglott.
Illustrations of this power to create, or rather
to take advantage of laws of nature to cause rapid propagation amongst, lower
forms of life, are found in the course of Moses and Aaron, and Jannes and
Jambres their opponents, before the court of Egypt. Under divine direction
God's servants produced myriads of frogs, lice, flies, etc., turned the river
of Egypt to corruption, caused disease amongst the cattle and a severe hail and
lightning storm, which did great damage. These we are told were judgments; but
the point we now make is that these were evidently brought about under some
natural laws, because God has been resting from creative work and will
continue so to do until the close of the Millennium;--leaving all the
restitution work for Christ to do. "The Father worketh hitherto, and [now]
I work."--Compare John 5:17; Heb. 4:4,5,10.
Not only so, but Jannes and Jambres, as Satan's
representatives, were able to duplicate many of the plagues; certainly not by
special divine power,--evidently under Satan's knowledge of natural laws.--Exod. 7:11,12,22; 8:7.
We may safely assume that Satan's object in
using his "power of death" over his subjects is not merely to gratify
a fiendish delight in their sufferings; quite probably his special object is to
oppose the true light, which is now more and more breaking over the world as
the Sun of Righteousness rises into place and influence. He is still striving
to prevent the light of the knowledge of the goodness of God from shining into
men's hearts and chasing away the dark shadows of doubt and fear which he has
deeply engraved thereon for centuries by "doctrines of devils,"--by
which he has made God to appear as mercilessly cruel, unjust and unkind, and
the author of evil,--calamities, diseases, plagues, storms, etc.
Satan may think that he is unrestrainable, but
we know that "all power in heaven and in earth" was given unto
Christ, when, having finished his course, he was raised from death by the
Father's power, and highly exalted.
God's foreknowledge saw that if opportunity were
granted to the dead and dying members of Adam's sinful race, to return to
righteousness and to harmony with God as his children, some would accept
it; and for this foreseen class the great work of atonement was undertaken; [R1685 : page 248] --in order to deliver these
prophetically seen "children" from the power of sin and Satan
and death. But willing to prove to his creatures that he is no respecter of
persons, and that his dealings are equitable, God adopted a plan of atonement
which would open the door to his favor, not to his foreseen
"children" only, but to all who died in Adam--"to every creature
under heaven." Hence, the sacrifice of Christ, while it will benefit only
those who become "children" of God, was not for our sins only, but
also for the whole world. Accordingly we read,
"Forasmuch as the children are
partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same;
that through death [as their substitute or ransom-price before God's law] he
might [legally] destroy him that has the power of death, that is, the devil;
and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to
bondage."--Heb. 2:14,15.
By that ransom which he gave, by which God's
sentence against the sinner-race was legally met and paid, once for all, our
Lord became the owner of the race which had by sin sold itself to Satan and
came under his control, --but without any divine sanction of the transaction.
Christ, the legal purchaser, now holds the destinies of all men. His
purpose, as he explains it, is the very reverse of Satan's policy. He will set
men free to act for themselves, by increasing their knowledge,--opening
the sin-blinded eyes of all, to see the goodness and love and justice of God.
Those who then choose righteousness he will bless and help and heal,--restoring
them to the perfection lost through Adam. Those who will not hear, obey, after
the knowledge of the Lord fills the whole earth, will he cut off from among the
people-- in the second death. Then Satan, too, he that for six thousand years
has had the power of death and exercised it so relentlessly, shall be
destroyed.--Acts 3:22,23.
The permission of Satan's policy and power as
"prince of this world," since the ransom-price was paid, and since
all power over men passed legally into the hands of Christ, is not from lack of
power to destroy Satan and release his blinded slaves, nor from lack of loving
sympathy and interest in them, but because God's due time for this world (age)
to end, and for the world (age) to come to begin, has not arrived; and all of
God's dealings are upon lines of strictest order. God's plan provided a work
for Christ to do before the setting up of his Kingdom, and the taking to
himself of his great power and beginning his reign. (Rev.
11:17.) That work was the selection of a faithful "little
flock" of joint-heirs--"the bride, the Lamb's wife." (Acts 15:14-17.) The Gospel age was needful for
the call, selection and discipline of this class; and its work will very
shortly be completed.
At the close of this Gospel age, and the
introduction of the Millennial age, our Lord in wisdom has purposed a great
time of trouble, which shall not only be a just recompense upon the world for
sins against light and opportunity, but also a time of breaking up present
imperfect institutions preparatory to the better ones of Christ's Kingdom; and
the breaking of the hard hearts of the ungodly--plowing and harrowing them, and
getting ready many (we trust) for the good seed of righteousness, which the
glorified Church will sow unsparingly during the Millennium.
As a part of that coming trouble, "such as
was not since there was a nation," in addition to its financial and social
and political and religious features, we believe that Satan's "power of
death" will be permitted to a remarkable degree--increasingly and along
the lines already indicated--storms, hail, drouths, pests, disease-germs and
diseases. Building upon the false doctrines he has already inculcated, he will
be zealous in the exercise of his power of death, that thus to some he may
represent God as a being of devilish disposition, while to others the effect
may be to destroy all faith in a divine power. For none, except as instructed
out of the Scriptures respecting the cause and object of the
permission of evil,--calamities, etc.,-- could suppose any reason why God
should either inflict such calamities or permit them to come upon men from
other causes.
And Satan's power of death makes quite possible
his relief from sickness, etc., through agencies of his choice,--for the
purpose of enforcing their false teachings. This deception will, we believe, be
employed by him more and [R1685 : page 249] more
in the future, and constitute part of the "strong delusion" which
would, "if it were possible, deceive the very elect." But their
deception will not be possible; because the true "sheep" know their
Shepherd's voice, and flee from other teachers. This is another sign of Satan's
desperation, and indicates the near approach of the dissolution of his kingdom
and power of death. So says our Lord, in Matt.
12:25,26.
Satan, no doubt is permitted to gain increasing
knowledge since 1799 just as with men: and no doubt like them he takes the
credit to himself, and supposes that he is daily growing wiser; and that
through his wisdom he has a greater "power of death." Christ, the new
King, according [R1686 : page 249] to the
Scriptures will permit Satan to use his knowledge and powers increasingly, and
thus cause the wrath of Satan to praise him, and to work out features of his
plan; as he so often has done with the wrath of man.
All who have "escaped" from under this
prince of evil should be earnest in helping others out of his bondage--fully,
completely-- and into the service of the prince of life and peace and joy
everlasting. Oh! what a comfort to know that, although we wrestle not with
flesh and blood, but with wicked spirits of exalted influence and power (Eph. 6:12), yet one is on our side, the Prince of
Light, against whom the Prince of Darkness cannot prevail. How restful to
realize that all things are ours, because we are Christ's, and Christ is
God's; and that all things shall work together for good to us,
because we love God and are called and have responded, according to his
promise.
W.T. R-1683a : page 243 - 1894r