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The Great Controversy 1888
“In these thoughts we would be understood to believe that the
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.
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And from what does this perverter of the Scriptures draw his
conclusions?—From a single sentence expressing David’s submis-
sion 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 evi-
dence 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 sinless angels! A pleasing fable indeed, well
suited to gratify the carnal heart! This is Satan’s own doctrine, and
it does his 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 that doubters,
unbelievers, and skeptics turn the truth into a lie. And 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