CHAPTER 19 (The Great Controversy)
Death, Not Eternal
Life in Misery
Satan commenced his deception in Eden. He said to Eve, Thou shalt not surely
die. This was Satan's first lesson upon
the immortality of the soul; and he has carried on this deception from that
time to the present, and will carry it on until the captivity of God's children
shall be turned. I was pointed to Adam
and Eve in Eden. They partook of the forbidden
tree, and then the flaming sword was placed around the tree of life, and they
were driven from the Garden, lest they should partake of the tree of life, and
be immortal sinners. The tree of life
was to perpetuate immortality. I heard
an angel ask, Who of the family of Adam have passed that flaming sword, and
have partaken of the tree of life? I
heard another angel answer, Not one of the family of Adam have passed that
flaming sword, and partaken of that tree; therefore there is not an immortal
sinner. The soul that sinneth it shall
die an everlasting death; a death that will last forever, where there will be
no hope of a resurrection; and then the wrath of God will be appeased. It was a
marvel to me that Satan could succeed so well in making men believe that the
words of God, The soul that sinneth it shall die, mean that the soul that
sinneth it shall not die, but live eternally in misery. Said the angel, Life is life, whether it is
in pain or happiness. Death is without
pain, without joy, without hatred.
Satan told his angels to make a special effort to
spread the deception and lie first repeated to Eve in Eden, Thou shalt not
surely die. And as the error was
received by the people, and they believed that man was immortal, Satan led them
still further to believe that the sinner would live in eternal misery. Then the way was prepared for Satan to work
through his representatives, and hold up God before the people as a revengeful
tyrant; that those who do not please him, he will plunge into hell, and cause
them ever to feel his wrath; and that they will suffer unutterable anguish,
while he will look down upon them with satisfaction, as they writhe in horrible
sufferings and eternal flames. Satan
knew that if this error should be received, God would be dreaded and hated by
very many, instead of being loved and admired; and that many would be led to
believe that the threatenings of God's word would not be literally fulfilled;
for it would be against his character of benevolence and love, to plunge beings
whom he had created into eternal torments.
Satan has led them to another extreme, to entirely overlook the justice
of God, and the threatenings in his Word, and represent him as being all mercy,
and that not one will perish, but all, both saint and sinner, will at last be
saved in his kingdom. In consequence of the
popular error of the immortality of the soul, and endless misery, Satan takes
advantage of another class, and leads them on to regard the Bible as an
uninspired book. They think it teaches
many good things; but they cannot rely upon it and love it; because they have
been taught that it declares the doctrine of eternal misery.
Satan takes advantage of still another class, and
leads them still further to deny the existence of God. They can see no consistency in the character
of the God of the Bible, if he will torment a portion of the human family to
all eternity in horrible tortures; and they deny the Bible and its Author, and
regard death as an eternal sleep.
Then Satan leads another class who are fearful
and timid to commit sin; and after they have sinned, he holds up before them
that the wages of sin is (not death, but) an eternal life in horrible torments,
to be endured through the endless ages of eternity. Satan improves the opportunity, and magnifies
before their feeble minds the horrors of an endless hell, and takes charge of
their minds, and they lose their reason.
Then Satan and his angels exult, and the infidel and atheist join in
casting reproach upon Christianity. They
regard these evil consequences of the reception of popular heresy, as the
natural results of believing in the Bible and its Author.
I saw that the heavenly host was filled with
indignation at this bold work of Satan.
I inquired why all these delusions should be suffered to take effect
upon the minds of men, when the angels of God were powerful, and if
commissioned, could easily break the enemy's power. Then I saw that God knew that Satan would try
every art to destroy man; therefore he had caused his Word to be written out,
and had made his designs to man so plain that the weakest need not err. Then, after he had given his Word to man, he
had carefully preserved it, so that Satan and his angels, through any agent or
representative, could not destroy it.
While other books might be destroyed, this holy Book was to be
immortal. And down near the close of
time, when the delusions of Satan should increase, the copies of this Book were
to be so multiplied, that all who desired it might have a copy of God's
revealed will to man, and, if they would, might arm themselves against the
deceptions and lying wonders of Satan.
I saw that God had especially guarded the Bible,
yet learned men, when the copies were few, had changed the words in some
instances, thinking that they were making it more plain, when they were
mystifying that which was plain, in causing it to lean to their established
views, governed by tradition. But I saw
that the word of God, as a whole, is a perfect chain, one portion of scripture
explaining another. True seekers for
truth need not err; for not only is the word of God plain and simple in
declaring the way to life, but the Holy Spirit is given to guide in
understanding the way of life revealed in his Word.
I saw that the angels of God were never to
control the will. God sets before man
life and death. He can have his
choice. Many desire life, but continue
to walk in the broad road, because they have not chosen life.
I saw the mercy and compassion of God in giving
his Son to die for guilty man. Those who
will not choose to accept salvation which has been so dearly purchased for
them, must be punished. Beings whom God
created have chosen to rebel against his government; but I saw that God did not
shut them up in hell to endure endless misery.
He could not take them to heaven; for to bring them into the company of
the pure and holy would make them perfectly miserable. God will not take them to heaven, neither
will he cause them to suffer eternally.
He will destroy them utterly, and cause them to be as though they had
not been, and then his justice will be satisfied. He formed man out of the dust of the earth,
and the disobedient and unholy will be consumed by fire, and return to dust
again. I saw that the benevolence and
compassion of God in this, should lead all to admire his character, and to
adore him; and after the wicked shall be destroyed from off the earth, all the
heavenly host will say, Amen!
Satan looked with great satisfaction upon those
who professed the name of Christ, and were closely adhering to these delusions
formed by himself. His work is to still
form new delusions. His power increases,
and he grows more artful. He led on his
representatives, the popes and the priests, to exalt themselves, and to stir up
the people to bitterly persecute those who loved God, and were not willing to
yield to his delusions, introduced through them. Satan moved upon his agents to destroy
Christ's devoted followers. O the
sufferings and agony, which they made the precious of God to endure! Angels have kept a faithful record of it
all. But Satan and his evil angels
exulted, and told the angels who administered to, and strengthened those
suffering saints, that they would kill them, so that there would not be left a
true Christian upon the earth. I saw
that the church of God was then pure.
There was no danger of men with corrupt hearts coming into the church of
God then; for the true Christian, who dared to declare his faith, was in danger
of the rack, the stake, and every torture which Satan and his evil angels could
invent, and put into the mind of man.
See Genesis chap.3; Ecclesiastes 9:5, 12:7;
Ezekiel 18:4; Luke 21:33; John 3:16; Romans 6:23; 2Timothy 3:16; Revelation
20:14-15, 21:1, 22:12-19
Gen 3:1 Now
the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had
made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every
tree of the garden?
Gen 3:2 And
the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the
garden:
Gen 3:3 But of
the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye
shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
Gen 3:4 And
the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Gen 3:5 For
God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened,
and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Gen 3:6 And
when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to
the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit
thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Gen 3:7 And
the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they
sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Gen 3:8 And
they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the
day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God
amongst the trees of the garden.
Gen 3:9 And
the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
Gen 3:10 And
he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was
naked; and I hid myself.
Gen 3:11 And
he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree,
whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
Gen 3:12 And
the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the
tree, and I did eat.
Gen 3:13 And
the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the
woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
Gen 3:14 And
the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art
cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly
shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
Gen 3:15 And I
will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed;
it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Gen 3:16 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.
Gen 3:17 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;
Gen 3:18
Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the
herb of the field;
Gen 3:19 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.
Gen 3:20 And
Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all
living.
Gen 3:21 Unto
Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed
them.
Gen 3:22 And
the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and
evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life,
and eat, and live for ever:
Gen 3:23
Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the
ground from whence he was taken.
Gen 3:24 So he
drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims,
and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of
life.
Ecc 9:5 For
the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither
have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
Ecc 12:7 Then
shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto
God who gave it.
Eze 18:4
Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the
son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
Luk 21:33
Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
Joh 3:16 For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Rom 6:23 For
the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord.
2Ti 3:16 All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness
Rev 20:14 And
death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of
fire
Rev 21:1 And I
saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were
passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 22:11 He
that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be
filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that
is holy, let him be holy still.
Rev 22:12 And,
behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according
as his work shall be.
Rev 22:13 I am
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
Rev 22:14
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree
of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Rev 22:15 For
without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and
idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
Rev 22:16 I
Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I
am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
Rev 22:17 And
the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let
him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life
freely.
Rev 22:18 For
I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book,
If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that
are written in this book:
Rev 22:19 And
if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God
shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and
from the things which are written in this book.
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