Last Day Tokens

STORRS’S SIX SERMONS, NATURE OF MAN

About this time George Storrs published his six sermons on the “Nature of Man, and Final Punishment of the Wicked,” showing from the Scriptures that there is no immortality out of Christ, and that future eternal life is the reward promised alone to the righteous. With this view he claimed that future punishment of the wicked could not be eternal conscious misery, but must be destruction, as the Bible plainly says. LDT 163.2

While this doctrine was largely accepted by the Adventist believers, and to them gave greater force to the event of Christ’s second coming than they had before seen,-all future life of His people depending on His coming again to raise them from the dead and give them their final reward,-it, on the other hand, increased the opposition of the churches, so that, as previously quoted from Brother Himes, the Adventists “arose in the majesty of their strength, shook off the yoke, and raised the cry, ‘Come out of her, My people.’” LDT 163.3

As the result of the second angel’s message thus proclaimed in America, over fifty thousand, in the northern portion of the United States, separated themselves from the different churches and came out an independent people, who, untrammeled by church creeds, could now carefully and prayerfully search the word of God for truth and duty. The cry of separation spread to foreign countries, and thousands were separated from the “established” church. LDT 164.1

While the Adventists were thus oppressed and excluded from the churches, they consoled themselves by often quoting the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at His word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for My name’s sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified: but He shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.” ²⁰ LDT 164.2