The First Great
Deception
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“And what is the
inference to be deduced from this
language? Is it not that endless
suffering formed no part of his
religious belief? So we conceive; and
here we discover a triumphant
argument in support of the more
pleasing, more enlightened, more
benevolent hypothesis of ultimate
universal purity and peace. He was
comforted, seeing his son was dead.
And why so? Because by the eye of
prophecy he could look forward into
the glorious future and see that son
far removed from all temptations,
released from the bondage and
purified from the corruptions of sin,
and after being made sufficiently
holy and enlightened, admitted to the
assembly of the ascended and
rejoicing spirits. His only comfort
was that, in being removed from the
present state of sin and suffering,
his beloved son had gone where the
loftiest breathings of the Holy
Spirit would shed upon his darkened
soul, where his mind would be
unfolded to the wisdom of heaven and
the sweet raptures of immortal love,
and thus prepared with a sanctified
nature to enjoy the rest and society
of the heavenly inheritance.
“In these
thoughts we would be understood to
believe that salvation of heaven
depends upon nothing which we can do
in this life; neither upon a present
change of heart, nor upon present
belief, or a present profession of
religion.”
Thus does the
professed minister of Christ
reiterate the falsehood uttered by
the serpent in Eden: “Ye shall
not surely die.” “In the
day ye eat thereof, then your eyes
shall be opened, and ye shall be as
gods.” He declares that the
vilest of sinners – the
murderer, the thief, and the
adulterer – will after death be
prepared to enter into immortal
bliss.
And from what does
this perverter of the Scriptures draw
his conclusions? From a single
sentence expressing David’s
submission to the dispensation of
Providence. His soul “longed to
go forth unto Absalom; for he was
comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he
was dead.” The poignancy of his
grief having been softened by time,
his thoughts turned from the dead to
the living son, self-banished through
fear of the just punishment of his
crime. And this is the evidence that
the incestuous, drunken Amnon was at
death immediately transported to the
abodes of bliss, there to be purified
and prepared for the companionship of
the sinless angels! A pleasing
fable indeed, well suited to gratify
the carnal heart! This is
Satan’s own doctrine, and it
does work effectually. Should we be
surprised that, with such
instruction, wickedness abounds?
The course pursued by
this one false teacher illustrates
that of many others. A few words of
Scripture are separated from the
context, which would in many cases
show their meaning to be exactly
opposite to the interpretation put
upon them; and such disjointed
passages are perverted and used in
proof of doctrines that have no
foundation in the word of God. The
testimony cited, as evidence that the
drunken Amnon is in heaven is a mere
inference directly contradicted by
the plain and positive statement of
the Scriptures that no drunkard shall
inherit the kingdom of God. 1
Corinthians 6:10. It is thus
doubters, unbelievers, and skeptics
turn truth into a lie. Moreover,
multitudes have been deceived by
their sophistry and rocked to sleep
in the cradle of carnal security. If
it were true that the souls of all
men passed directly to heaven at the
hour of dissolution, then we might
well covet death rather than life.
Many have been led by this belief to
put an end to their existence. When
overwhelmed with trouble, perplexity,
and disappointment, it seems an easy
thing to break the brittle thread of
life and soar away into bliss of the
eternal world.
God has given in His
word decisive evidence that he will
punish the transgressors of His law.
Those who flatter themselves that He
is too merciful to execute justice
upon the sinner, have only to look to
the cross of Calvary. The death of
the spotless Son of God testifies
that “the wages of sin is
death,” that every violation of
God’s law must receive its just
retribution. Christ the sinless
became sin for man. He bore the guilt
of transgression, and the hiding of
His Father’s face, until His
heart was broken and His life crushed
out. All this sacrifice was made that
sinners might be redeemed. In no
other way could man be4 freed from
the penalty of sin. And every soul
that refuses to become a partaker of
the atonement provided at such a cost
must bear in his own person the guilt
and punishment of transgression.
Let us consider what
the Bible teaches further concerning
the ungodly and unrepentant, whom the
Universalist places in heaven as
holy, happy angels.
“I will give unto
him that is athirst of the fountain
of the water of life freely.”
Revelation 21:6. This promise is only
to those that thirst. None but those
who feel their need of the water of
life, and seek it at the loss of all
things else, will be supplied.
“He that overcometh shall
inherit all things; and I will be his
god, and He shall be My son.”
Verse 7. Here, also, conditions are
specified. In order to inherit all
things, we must resist and overcome
sin.
The Lord declares by
the prophet Isaiah: “Say ye to
the righteous, that it shall be well
with him.” “Woe unto the
wicked! It shall be ill with him: for
the reward of his hands shall be
given unto him.” Isaiah 3: 10,
11. “Though a sinner do evil an
hundred times,” says the wise
man, “and his days be prolonged,
yet surely I know that it shall be
well with them that fear God, which
fear before Him: but it shall not be
well with the wicked.”
Ecclesiastes 8: 12, 13. And Paul
testifies that the sinner is
treasuring up unto himself
“wrath against the day of wrath
and revelation of the righteous
judgment of God; who will render to
every man according to his deeds;
“tribulation and anguish upon
every soul of man that doeth
evil.” Romans 2: 5,6,9.
“No fornicator,
nor unclean person, nor covetous man,
who is an idolater, hath any
inheritance in the kingdom Christ and
God.” Ephesians 5;5, A.R.V.
“Follow peace with all men, and
holiness, without which no man shall
see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14.
“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. For without are dogs, and
sorcerers, and whoremongers, and
murderers, and idolaters, and
whosoever loveth and maketh a
lie.” Revelation 22: 14, 15.
God has given to men a
declaration of His character and His
method of dealing with sin. “The
Lord God, merciful and gracious,
longsuffering and abundant in
goodness and truth, keeping mercy for
thousands, forgiving iniquity and
transgression and sin, and that will
by no means clear the guilty.”
Exodus 34: 6,7. “All the wicked
will He destroy.” “The
transgressors shall be destroyed
together: the end of the wicked shall
be cut off.” Psalms 145:20;
37:38. The power and authority of the
divine government will be employed to
put down rebellion; yet all the
manifestations of retributive justice
will be perfectly consistent with the
character of God as a merciful,
longsuffering, benevolent being.
God does not force the
will or judgment of any. He takes no
pleasure in a slavish obedience.
He desires that the creatures of His
hands shall love Him because He is
worthy of love. He would have them
obey Him because they have an
intelligent appreciation of His
wisdom, justice, and benevolence. All
who have a just conception of these
qualities will love Him because they
are drawn toward Him in admiration of
His attributes.
The principles of
kindness, mercy, and love, taught and
exemplified by our Savior, are a
transcript of the will and character
of God. Christ declared that He
taught nothing except that which He
had received from His Father. The
principles of the divine government
are in perfect harmony with the
Savior’s precept, “Love
your enemies.” God executes
justice upon the wicked, for the good
of the universe, and even for the
good of those upon whom His judgments
are visited. He would make them happy
if He could do in accordance with the
laws of His government and the
justice of His character. He
surrounds them with the tokens of His
love, He grants them a knowledge of
His law, and follows them with the
offers of His mercy; but they despise
His love, make void His law, and
reject His mercy. While constantly
receiving His gifts, they dishonor
the Giver; they hate God because they
know that He abhors their sins. The
Lord bears long with their
perversity; but the decisive hour
will come at last, when their destiny
is to be decided. Will He then chain
these rebels to His side? Will He
force them to do His will?
Those who have chosen
Satan as their leader and have been
controlled by his powers are not
prepared to enter the presence of
God. Pride, deception,
licentiousness, cruelty, have become
fixed in their characters. Can they
enter heaven to dwell forever with
those whom they despised and hated on
earth? Truth will never be agreeable
to a liar; meekness will not satisfy
self-esteem and pride; purity is not
acceptable to the corrupt;
disinterested love does not appear
attractive to the selfish. What
source of enjoyment could heaven
offer to those who are wholly
absorbed in earthly and selfish
interests?
Could those whose
lives have been spent in rebellion
against God be suddenly transported
to heaven to witness the high, the
holy state of perfection that ever
exists there, - every soul filled
with love, every countenance beaming
with joy, enrapturing music in
melodious strains rising in honor of
God and the Lamb, and ceaseless
streams of light flowing upon the
redeemed from the face of Him who
sitteth upon the throne, - could
those whose hearts are filled with
hatred of God, of truth and holiness,
mingle with the heavenly throng and
join their songs of praise? Could
they endure the glory of God and the
Lamb? No, no; years of probation were
granted to them, that they might form
characters for heaven; but they have
never trained the mind to love
purity; and they never learned the
language of heaven, and now it is too
late. A life of rebellion against God
has unfitted them for heaven. Its
purity, holiness, and peace would be
torture to them; the glory of God
would be a consuming fire. They would
long to flee from that holy place.
They would welcome destruction, that
they might be hidden from the face of
Him who died to redeem them. The
destiny of the wicked is fixed by
their own choice. Their exclusion
from heaven is voluntary with
themselves, and just and merciful on
the part of God.
Like the waters of the
Flood the fires of the great day
declares God’s verdict that the
wicked are incurable. They have no
disposition to submit to divine
authority. Their will has been
exercised in revolt; and when life is
ended, it is too late to turn the
current of their thoughts in the
opposite direction, too late to turn
from transgression to obedience, from
hatred to love.
In sparing the life of
Cain the murderer, God gave the world
an example of what would be the
result of permitting the sinner to
live to continue a course of
unbridled iniquity. Through the
influence of Cain’s teachings
and example, multitudes of his
descendants were led into sin, until
“the wickedness of man was great
in the earth” and “every
imagination of the thoughts of his
heart was only evil
continually.” “The earth
also was corrupt before God, and the
earth was filled with violence.”
Genesis 6: 5, 11.
In mercy to the world,
God blotted out its wicked
inhabitants in Noah’s time. In
mercy, He destroyed the corrupt
dwellers in Sodom. Through the
deceptive power of Satan, the workers
of iniquity obtain sympathy and
admiration, and are thus constantly
leading others to rebellion. It was
so in Cain’s and in Noah’s
day, and in the time of Abraham and
Lot; it is so in our time. It is in
mercy to the universe that God will
finally destroy the rejecters of His
grace.
“The wages of sin
is death; but the gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord.” Romans 6:23. While life
is the inheritance of the righteous,
death is the portion of the wicked.
Moses declared to Israel: “I
have set before thee this day life
and good, and death and evil.”
Deuteronomy 30:15. The death referred
to in these Scriptures is not that
pronounced upon Adam, for all mankind
suffer the penalty of his
transgression. It is “the second
death” that is placed in
contrast with everlasting life.
In consequence of
Adam’s sin, death passed upon
the whole human race. All alike, go
down into the grave. And through the
provisions of the plan of salvation,
all are to be brought forth from
their graves. “There shall be a
resurrection of the dead, both of the
just and unjust;” for as in Adam
all die, even so in Christ shall all
men be made alive.” Acts 24:15;
1 Corinthians 15:22. However, a
distinction is made between the two
classes that are brought forth.
“ All that are in the graves
shall hear His voice, and shall come
forth; they that have done good, unto
the resurrection of life; and they
that have done evil, unto the
resurrection of damnation.” John
5: 28,29. They who have been
“accounted worthy” of the
resurrection of life are
‘blessed and holy.”
“On such the second death hath
no power.” Revelation 20:6.
However, those who have not, through
repentance and faith, secured pardon,
must receive the penalty of
transgression – “the wages
of sin.”
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