Angels: Their Nature and Ministry

§8. MAN IN PRISON

It is written in the Scriptures that “we must needs die.” 2 Samuel 14:14. But this necessity was not according to God’s original purpose or arrangement. God is the God of life. He has no pleasure in the death of any of His creatures. Ezekiel 18:23, 31, 32. He pronounced the sentence of death on Adam, but He had warned him against incurring the guilt that would certainly bring it; He peremptorily forbade his pursuing a course that would result in death. Genesis 2:16, 17. That the Lord loved man, and had a strong desire that he should live and not die, is shown in the wonderful provision He made to recover man from death. ATNM 89.2

“Sin entered into the world, and death by sin.” Romans 5:12. And “he that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning.” 1 John 3:8. By his deception and falsehood he led our first parents to sin; but as death inevitably follows sin, he who introduced sin introduced death. Therefore also it is said that he that had power of death is the devil. Hebrews 2:14. ATNM 89.3

Concerning the children of Rachel, the Lord promised that they should come again from the land of the enemy. Jeremiah 31:16. These children were cruelly put to death. See Matthew 2:16-18. Paul says that death is the last enemy. 1 Corinthians 15:26. It is the last enemy, for when death overtakes us, no other enemy can reach us. Life is the first and the greatest of all blessings; so death is the greatest and last of all evils. They were under the power of death, under the dominion of Satan, for Satan, in introducing sin and death, opened the gates of the grave, that great prison house of mankind. ATNM 90.1

Sheol, the place of all the dead, is always spoken of as a realm of darkness, gloominess, and terrors; its inhabitants have neither light nor knowledge; all their hopes, their fears, their joys, their sorrows, their thoughts have perished. Let us hear the word of the Lord on this subject:- ATNM 90.2

“For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished.” Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6. “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” Verse 10. Job, speaking of the condition of those who fall under the power of death, says: “Thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away. His sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.” Job 14:20, 21. ATNM 90.3

The Psalmist gives a striking illustration of the realms of death, as follows: “Wilt Thou show wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise Thee? shall Thy loving-kindness be declared in the grave? or Thy faithfulness in destruction? shall Thy wonders be known in the dark? and Thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? “Psalm 88:10-12. And again; “His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish” Psalm 146:4. ATNM 91.1

And it is not merely their knowledge and thoughts of, and interest in, temporal things that have perished; they have lost their knowledge of God and their power to praise Him. “For in death there is no remembrance of Thee; in the grave who shall give Thee thanks?” Psalm 6:5. This does not refer to the grave as we consider that term; it speaks of sheol, the place of the dead in general; as Lange says, it refers to that place in which the soul of Christ was not left. Compare Psalm 16:10 and Acts 2:27, 31. We read again; “The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.” Psalm 115:17. And yet again, where the contrast between the condition and the power of the dead and the living is shown in the most emphatic terms: “For the grave cannot praise Thee, death cannot celebrate Thee; they that go down into the pit cannot hope for Thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise Thee, as I do this day.” Isaiah 38:18, 19. ATNM 91.2

It was not in the order of God that man should come to such a condition as that described by these texts, or descend to such a state of darkness, gloom, and forgetfulness. It was all the work of the enemy, whose object it was to mar the perfect work of the Creator. ATNM 92.1

Man in the grave is represented as being shut up in its darkness and gloom, as prisoners are shut up in a prison or dungeon. “There the prisoners rest together.” Job 3:18. Speaking of punishing the kings and high ones of the earth, the Lord says: ATNM 92.2

“And they shall be gathered together as prisoners are gathered in the pit [or dungeon], and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.” Isaiah 24:22. ATNM 92.3

Such is the condition of all who go into the grave. But many, in all sincerity, believe that only a part of man dies; that a part of him returns to dust, and another part evades the penalty, and continues to live somewhere else, or in some other condition. Of this we find no intimation in the law, nor in the penalty, nor in the sentence pronounced upon the sin. “The wages of sin is death.” “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Romans 6:23; Ezekiel 18:4. This being so, the whole question turns on this point, as to how much of man, or what part of man, committed the sin. All that sinned must die. Recognizing the fact that man is constituted of parts, we cannot say that a part of him sinned, and a part did not sin. While it is true that the wages of sin is death, it cannot be true that the real man, the truly responsible part of man, does not die. If any part escapes the penalty, it ought to be that part which is the least responsible. ATNM 92.4

But the Scriptures do not countenance such a theory. They, indeed, teach that man is constituted of different parts, but it takes the different parts to constitute the man. The man-the whole man-was involved in the sin, in the fall, and the whole man must suffer the penalty. No other doctrine than this is consistent with the scriptures we have quoted. In death there is no remembrance of God, no thanksgiving to Him. Death is the land of darkness and forgetfulness. In sheol there is no device, no knowledge, no affections. When man dies, his thoughts perish. All this we have read in plain terms in the Bible, and we must either believe it or deny it. Which will we do? ATNM 93.1

It is this fact which makes the doctrine of the resurrection of such immense importance. Says Paul: “But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen; and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain; ... for if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised; and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” 1 Corinthians 15:13-19. ATNM 93.2

Here it is plainly shown that without a resurrection we have no hope beyond this life; and, with out a resurrection, they who are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. This is not according to the most popular view, that the dead are already in glory, which makes their salvation and happiness independent of the resurrection. And again the apostle says, in verse 32:- ATNM 94.1

“If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what doth it profit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die.” ATNM 94.2

On this text Dr. Clarke makes a very appropriate and truthful comment, as follows:- ATNM 94.3

“What the apostle says here is a regular and legitimate conclusion from the doctrine that there is no resurrection; for if there be no resurrection, then there can be no judgment-no future state or rewards and punishments; why, therefore, should we bear crosses, and keep ourselves under continual discipline? Let us eat and drink, take all the pleasure we can, for tomorrow we die; and that is the end of us forever.” ATNM 94.4

In this Dr. Clarke is quite correct. It is, indeed, the legitimate conclusion from the doctrine that there is no resurrection, but it is not the legitimate conclusion from that doctrine according to the more popular view that the dead are already saved in heaven, and glorified without the resurrection. According to the Scriptures man is truly in prison. ATNM 94.5