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The Spirit of Prophecy Volume 4
suffer this. It is the second death, the opposite of everlasting life.
God cannot save the sinner in his sins; but he declares that the
wicked, having suffered the punishment of their guilt, shall be as
though they had not been. Says an inspired writer, “Thou shalt
diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.” [
Psalm 37:10
.] In
consequence of Adam’s sin, death passed upon all mankind. All
alike go down into the grave. But through the provisions of the
plan of salvation, all are to be brought forth from their graves. Then
those who have not secured the pardon of their sins must receive
the penalty of transgression. They suffer punishment varying in
duration and intensity according to their works, but finally ending
in the second death. Covered with infamy, they sink into hopeless,
eternal oblivion.
Upon the fundamental error of natural immortality rests the
doctrine of consciousness in death, a doctrine, like eternal torment,
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opposed to the teachings of the Scriptures, to the dictates of reason,
and to our feelings of humanity. According to the popular belief, the
redeemed in Heaven are acquainted with all that takes place on the
earth, and especially with the lives of the friends whom they have
left behind. But how could it be a source of happiness to the dead
to know the troubles of the living, to witness the sins committed
by their own loved ones, and to see them enduring all the sorrows,
disappointments, and anguish of life? How much of Heaven’s bliss
would be enjoyed by those who were hovering over their friends on
earth? And how utterly revolting is the belief that as soon as the
breath leaves the body, the soul of the impenitent is consigned to the
flames of hell! To what depths of anguish must those be plunged
who see their friends passing to the grave unprepared, to enter upon
an eternity of woe and sin! Many have been driven to insanity by
this harrowing thought.
What say the Scriptures concerning these things? David declares
that man is not conscious in death. “His breath goeth forth, he
returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” [
Psalm
146:4
.] Solomon bears the same testimony: “The living know that
they shall die; but the dead know not anything.” “Their love, and their
hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a
portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.” “There is no