The Signs of the Times, vol. 8

November 9, 1882

“Death or Translation?” The Signs of the Times, 8, 42.

E. J. Waggoner

One of Oakland’s most prominent D.D.’s., when announcing the death of the Rev. Thomas Guard, spoke highly of his many good qualities, and said, “Death to such a man is translation.” The thought at once arose, “According to your theory of the condition of man after death, is it any special favor to a man to be translated?” Let us see. The Doctor holds, of course, in common with all so-called orthodox believers, that all men are essentially immortal, and that none cease to exist even when they are said to die; that the wicked go at once to their punishment, and that the good at once enter into a state of never-ending bliss. Now if this were really true, of what benefit would it be to any man to be translated? What better off would one be who was translated, than one would be who had died, except that he might have escaped some of the suffering incident to dissolution? It does not appear that he would gain anything. SITI November 9, 1882, page 499.1

But in the case under consideration the man had actually died, yet the preacher said that his death was equal to translation. The idea conveyed to the mind of the hearer was that since the man had been an unusually good man, he was, according to the preacher’s idea, granted a favor not allowed to ordinary people. If the preacher had been a Catholic, the thing would have been plain enough. Then we would have said, “He means that the man was so pure that he was permitted to enter Heaven at once, without stopping in purgatory to expiate some unconfessed sin. But he was not a Catholic, and so we set the expression down as an instance of the impossibility of accurately describing an erroneous doctrine with the language of Scripture. SITI November 9, 1882, page 499.2

One thing was plain, however, and that was that even to the darkened spiritual understanding of the speaker, the word “translation” expresses something different from what most people finally pass through; something better than death. The Bible alone shows us how it is better and more to be desired. SITI November 9, 1882, page 499.3

The fifth chapter of Genesis contains nearly all that we know of the patriarchs who lived before the flood. The sacred writer has simply given the number of years that they lived, and closes the record of each with the sentence, “And he died.” Only once exception is made; of Enoch it is said that “he was not; for God took him.” Paul says of him, “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death.” Now we see that there is a great deal of difference between death and translation, and that translation is to be preferred to death. It was a great favor that was conferred upon holy Enoch. And how was he favored above the other patriarchs? The answer is found in these words: “For God took him.” The others all died, but God took Enoch. Noah walked with God, but he died; faithful Abraham was called the friend of God, but he also died. And so the record runs. Only one besides Enoch is said to have been translated. SITI November 9, 1882, page 499.4

Now does the Bible mean to convey the idea that Enoch received a special favor in being translated? No one can doubt it. We then ask, “Can the believers in natural immortality tell in what that favor consisted?” If when Enoch arrived in Heaven he found that Adam was already there, by how much was he the gainer? It is clear that in such a case Adam would have been the gainer by fifty-seven years, for he died that long before Enoch was translated. SITI November 9, 1882, page 499.5

But there need be no questioning about the matter. If language means anything at all, the record is clear that God did not “take” those of whom it is said that they died. Paul settles the matter when he closes the long list of tried and faithful ones, with the words: “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” Hebrews 11:29, 30. With a few exceptions, none of the good of past ages have yet entered upon their reward. There is no precedence in point of time. They do not enter Heaven till we do. And how is it finally to be accomplished? There are but two ways, as we may say, of entering Heaven, and death is not one of them. Both are given by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord SITI November 9, 1882, page 499.6

Resurrection or translation are the alternatives. Those who have died cannot be translated, and those who are to be translated cannot have died. And all are to be glorified together: Noah, Daniel, Job, Paul, or the beloved disciple, will be on a level, so far as the time of reward is concerned, with the weakest saint that lived. But when the last great day shall come-that day to which Paul looked with such anxious longing-when the dead are raised incorruptible, and the living are changed to immortality, all can join in the triumphant shout, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” E. J. W. SITI November 9, 1882, page 499.7