ROBERT GOVETT ON HADEES
Whither
do the souls of the saved go at death? To heaven!
is the universal reply. Sudden death to
such is sudden glory. What Scripture says so? To depart is to be with Christ, which is far better.
But that
passage does not speak of the place where the souls of the departed are; but
only of their far superior condition.
Nay
but it does. For Christ is in
heaven. If then any are with Christ,
they are in heaven too.
When then Christ says - Lo, I am with you always. Does it mean that He is on earth? I suppose not.
Let us then consider the subject
more fully, and under the following divisions:-
I. THE PLACE OF DEPARTED SPIRITS
[OR DISEMBODIED SOULS] GENERALLY
II. THE DIFFERENT REGIONS ASSIGNED TO
THE SAVED AND THE LOST
III. OBJECTIONS ANSWERED
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I
HADEES THE PLACE OF SOULS
What is life? It is humanly speaking, a state, which is the
effect of the presence of the soul (and [animating] spirit) in the body. For there are three parts into
which man is divided. I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: 1 Thess. 5: 23. At death the union between these parts is dissolved. And the soul (to which the spirit is very closely knit) goes
to a special region, to which a particular name is given in Scripture. In the Old Testament
it is called SHEOL; in the New
Testament it is called HADEES.
This truth is
obscured to readers of the Established Version. For the translators render Sheol and Hadees
sometimes Grave, and sometimes Hell. But they never mean either the one or the other. Quite
other words are used to signify the places in which the bodies of the dead are deposited.* These are often spoken of in the
plural: for there are many and diverse localities for the bodies of the
departed. But
there is but one Hadees which includes all the souls of the dead. Do not all go to one
place? Eccl. 3: 20; 6: 6.
* In
Hebrew Sheol. By the LXX rendered Hadees.
But
may not that mean only, that all are carried to
their graves?
No: for the
Scripture says, that Hadees is never full
while graves are soon filled up Prov.
27: 20; 30: 15. It speaks of this place of souls as being
in a peculiar sense - Before the Lord, or, In His presence.
Sheol [covered to mens eyes] is naked before Him: Job
26: 6; Prov. 15: 11.
It is
described as situated below in the great interior of the earth. I will go down into Hadees* to my son mourning: Gen. 37: 35; 42: 38; 1 Sam. 2: 6; 1 Kings 2: 6. Now
Jacob did not believe, that his son Joseph had been
carried to the tomb. He
was, as he supposed, devoured by a wild beast. The word then does not here mean the tomb, or
place of the body of the departed. Jacob
believed in the one place of souls, in which he was to meet the soul of his
son. The prophet Amos described SHEOL as the greatest depth of earth,
to be reached by digging, if men could carry the process far enough. Though they dig into
Sheol, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down: Amos 9: 2.
The conspirators against Moses
in the wilderness are punished by a new infliction
from God. They go down alive, body and soul
together, into the place of departed spirits: Num.
16: 30, 33. The
remarkable history of the interview between Saul and the spirit of Samuel gives
much confirmation to this. The king says
to the woman - Bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee. Then says the woman - Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said - Bring
me up Samuel: 1 Sam. 38: 8, 11. The
woman is frightened at what she beholds, and says to Saul - I beheld gods [angels] ascending
out of the earth. And he said unto
her - What form is he of? And she said - An old man cometh up, and he is covered with a mantle.
Here then we advance a
step. It is not merely the belief of the
king, that as the spirit [or disembodied soul] descends into earth
at death, so it would ascend at its return to the living: but the sorceress
sees spirits (probably angels**)
ascending out of earth; and then, following them,
the ghost of Samuel.
*Angels
convey the departing spirit [or disembodied
soul] of Lazarus to Hadees: Luke 16: 22. Why then may not angels bear back the spirit [or soul] of holy Samuel?
[* See Acts 2: 27: Because thou wilt not
leave my soul in Hades.
Compare with Psalm 16: 10 and verse 31,
R.V.]
But various fancies are entertained concerning
this interview. Some suppose, that
nothing was seen, either by the enchantress or the
king. To these we reply that the woman
describes the person coming up, and adds - And Saul knew that it was Samuel,*
and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself. Then the king saw some person, as his bowing
before him shows.
[* Because
the soul is the person, (as shown above),
and not
the animating spirit which imparts life to the
body. See Luke 23:
46, cf.
James 2: 26,
R.V.]
The prophet addresses the
monarch - Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? Here then we cannot
mistake. The departed spirit ascending to the presence of Saul says, he has been
brought up from below. He was happier while there, than when
compelled to ascend to earth.
But
might it not be merely a demon belonging to the witch who acted the part of
Samuel, and put on his appearance?
The Scripture answers not uncertainly, if we will trust it. It gives no hint of any evil spirit
appearing. It tells us five times over,
that it was Samuel himself.
Samuel said unto Saul: 15,
16, 20.
Saul desires Samuel as the
prophet to foretell to him the future.
Samuel does foretell it, and truly. The Lord will deliver
One locality contains the
spirits [i.e.,
disembodied souls] both of the saved and the lost. Thou and thy sons shall be with me.
II
DIFFERENT COMPARTMENTS
FOR THE SAVED AND THE LOST
When the souls of the departed
are classed together, they are said to be in Hadees
generally. But when
the distinction between the souls of the saved and the lost comes into view,
then distinctive names are given to the places of the saved, and of the lost,
respectively.
Hadees* is described as a place of detention with gates, needing a
strong arm to rescue them. I will ransom them from the hand of Sheol, I will
redeem them from Death [the place].
O Death, I will
be thy plagues: O Sheol, I will be thy destruction; repentance
shall be hid from mine eyes: Hos. 13: 14; Psa.
89: 48. Have the gates of Death been opened unto thee? (says God
to Job) or hast thon seen the doors of the Shadow of Death?
Job 38: 17. Consider, (says the Psalmist) my
trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou
that liftest me up from the gates of Death: Psa. 9: 13; 107: 18. I said (says
Hezekiah), in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of Hadees: Isa. 37:
10.
Of these places Jesus holds the keys. I am he that liveth,
and was dead; and behold,
I am alive for evermore, Amen, and have the keys of Hadees and of
Death: Rev. 1: 18.
* I use Sheol and Hadees
interchangeably, as being equivalent, just as Messiah
and Christ are.
The
souls of the saved are sometimes spoken of as being in
Several names are
given to the special place in which the souls of the wicked are
confined.
The sorrows of SHEOL
compassed me about,
the snares of DEATH
[the place] prevented me: Psa. 18:
5. The sorrows of DEATH
compassed me, and the pains of SHEOL got hold upon me: Psa. 116: 3.
DEATH then is one of the names of
the place in which the spirits of the lost are detained.
Another of its names is DESTRUCTION.
HADEES is
naked before Him, and DESTRUCTION hath no covering: Job
26: 6. SHEOL and
DESTRUCTION [Abaddon]
are before the Lord; how
much more then the hearts of the children of men: Prov. 16:
11. SHEOL and DESTRUCTION
are never full; so the eyes of man are never
satisfied: Prov.
27: 20.
The nearness and yet the
separation of the places of the saved and lost is evidently taught by our
Lords words concerning Dives and Lazarus.
The passage of the souls into Hadees is there set forth. The poor man
(not beggar) died,
and was carried by the angels into Abrahams bosom. The rich man also
died, and was buried. That is said of his
body, but what of his soul? In Hadees he lift up his eyes, being in torments.
He
seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in
his bosom. He entreats that Lazarus may be sent to him with a drop of water. Abraham. replies,
that it was not fitting that he should be sent, for Dives had sought his
portion only in the things of a life which was now past. And even if it were
proper, it was impossible; because God had set a great gulf between the saved
and lost in Hadees, rendering the passage from one to the other impracticable.
Thus it is shown, that departed
spirits (or ghosts) resemble greatly the forms they had while on earth; that
they can communicate one with another by voice, and can enjoy or suffer
greatly, before the body is put on for ever in [or at
the time of] resurrection. The place, it is evident, is not heaven: Luke 16: 19-31.
But
you dont take literally that parable!
Where is it stated, friend, to
be a parable? To me it appears a real
story. I have
five brethren. These
were still on earth, and ungodly. That
looks like fact. The time supposed is
that before the Saviours first appearing. Moses and the prophets were the sufficient
guides then.
Strange are the perversions of
this passage by Annihilationists. Some
call it a parable, and then proceed to
explain it away. The rich man is
And Dives would have had
another plea to present to father Abraham. - But father Abraham, it was
Moses and the prophets that brought me to this place of torment! It
was ignorance of both that took Lazarus to his place of refreshment! How then should Moses and the prophets save
my brethren?
Let us look at Peters
Confession of Christ: Matt. 16.
He owns Jesus as the Son of God,
possessed of life in Himself. Being in nature like His Father, He was
proved to be the Son of God with power by His [out]
resurrection: Rom. 1.
This confession of Christ is the
distinctive faith of the church. Christ
is the Rock, as the Risen [out] from the dead. On the Saviour as risen, the church is built. By the church is not meant all the saved, but a distinct
body of believers, beginning at the descent of the Holy Ghost at
Pentecost. For the Lord Jesus speaks of
it as yet future, - I will build My church.
But what
mean those words, - The gates of Hell shall not prevail against it? Most seem to think they mean,
that the devil, in his deceits and force shall not prevail against the true church.
This arises from the sad mistranslation of hell
instead of Hadees. Hadees means here, as in other Scriptures,
the place of departed spirits [or souls]. In
this passage it refers to the region where saved souls
are. There they are
kept in custody till the resurrection. The saved of the
We may illustrate the phrase
here used by the history of Samson. He
went into the hostile city of
The Gazites
trusted that the gates of their city would prevail to detain Samson within
their streets till they slew him. But Samson prevailed
against the gates to bear them away, and the gates prevailed not against
him. Thus Christ our Samson has already shown His
power against Hadees, and its gates. In [the out-] resurrection [He] Himself came forth from them, after going
down within them. And
one day He will rescue from the place of souls, and the power of corruption
those who are His. This is the force of 1
Cor. 15: 55. O Hadees, where is thy victory? Hadees prevails at present: but final victory
will rest with the redeemed of Christ.
Accordingly, the Saviours next words speak of the millennial kingdom of
heaven, into which the first resurrection
introduces. I
will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever
thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth
shall be loosed in heaven. That
is, to Peter, as afterwards to the rest of the apostles,
and to His churches generally,* the Saviour gives
authority for certain offences to exclude from fellowship with the
* John 21: 22, 23; Matt. 18: 18.
This is
the binding and loosing of which our Lord speaks. And as exclusion
from the church comes first, binding is named
both here and in Matthew before loosing. Paul with the church at
In the transfiguration of our
Lord (the account of which follows instantly on these words) we have given to
us the picture of the coming kingdom of glory.
It occurs on the seventh day, as the millennial kingdom will occur on
the seventh day of Gods redemption-work.
In that scene we find two talking with our Lord
in glory: Moses, type of the dead and buried saints; and Elijah, type of the
living, changed without seeing death.
OUR LORDS CASE
These views are
strongly confirmed by the second of Acts. There Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit,
traces for us the course of our Lord.
Jesus had been accredited to
What became of Him? God had loosed for Him the pains of death,
because it was not possible that He should be holden by it. His course was already
traced in the 16th Psalm.
My flesh shall rest in hope because Thou wilt not leave My
soul in SHEOL ([Gk.] Hadees), neither wilt Thou
suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption.
But to this
application of the passage many, the apostle knew, would not agree. David may be
speaking of himself. The apostle
then proceeds, to prove, that it cannot be the ancient king of
This passage then gives us the
ordinary case of the departed, side by side with the special and peculiar one
of our Lord.
1. Our Lord died. The two parts of man, body and soul, were severed. The
usual distribution of the parts ensued thereon.
2. He was
buried. And
while His body was laid in the tomb of Joseph, His soul entered into Hadees:
verse31. He was among
the dead: Psa.
89.
But, unlike the departed in
general -
1. His soul was not left in Hadees, but came up out of it: Psa. 18: 5, 7, 16, 18: 30: 3; 40: 2.
2. The proof of this deliverance was, that His body was not left in the tomb. His body and soul were reunited so soon after
death, that corruption had not assailed Him. And the 16th Psalm still further traces Him into heaven. Thou hast made known
to me the ways of life: Thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenanc: verse 28.
While then the body is left in the tomb to corruption, the soul is also left
in Hadees [until the time of Resurrection]. The
visible lot of the one part of the man is the proof of the invisible disposal
of the other. Mans final destination is
to come forth from [hadees and] the tomb [or grave, both] body
and soul reknit, at some instant not yet known.
But this
passage has a yet further bearing upon the subject. FOR DAVID IS NOT YET ASCENDED TO THE HEAVENS: verse 34.
Here then
is a negative set upon ordinary ideas.
Are all souls of the saved up in heaven?
No! For their bodies are
undergoing corruption; and that is the proof, that their souls are left in Hadees, and not yet rescued from it. For it is
not fitting, that one part of the man should be in glory, and the other
enslaved to corruption, and the worm; the curse of the
garden not being taken off. But this further asserts, that the souls of those whose
bodies are corrupting are not in heaven. If David is not ascended, who is?
Jesus Himself did not ascend, till after He had
come forth out of the tomb: John 20: 17. As the High Priest, fulfiller of the true atonement, there is to be
none with Him in the true tabernacle till He come out:
Lev. 26: 17.
This disposal of our Lord in the
interval between His death and His resurrection is confirmed
by other [scriptural] texts.
(1) When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and
gave gifts unto men. Now that He ascended what is it, but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the
earth? Eph.
4: 8, 9. Hadees therefore is in the lower parts of
earth.
(2) Who shall
descend into the bottomless pit? (apvaaov)* That is to
bring up Christ again
[out] from among the dead: (ek)
* The word used in Rev. 20: 1, 2, and Luke 8: 31.
(3) As Jonah was three days and three
nights in the whales belly, so shall the Son of
man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Matt. 12: 40.
But
does not that mean only, that Jesus body was laid in the tomb of rock? Nay! For Jonah did not tarry in a hollow of the
whales skin but in his belly.
Next, when the question arises,
which of the two parts of the Saviour is more properly called the Son of man? we must say
- His soul. Then that was in Hadees, as we
have seen.
(4) To the dying robber our Lord says - Luke
23: 43 - Verily
I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with Me in
III
NOW LET US FACE SOME OBJECTIONS.
[Question] 1. You speak of the
souls going downward; the Scripture asserts that it goes upward: as it is
written - Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth
upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? Eccles. 3: 21.
Answer. It should be, Who
knows whether the spirit of
man goeth upward? And so the Greek and the Latin give it.
[Question] 2. But Paul says - I knew such
a man
how that
he was caught up into paradise: 2 Cor. 12: 4.
Answer. A
mistranslation again; the word* means violent
carrying away; but it does not
specify the direction of the motion.
* And so in verse 2.
[Question] 3. To
me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ...
For I am in a strait betwixt two, having the desire to depart
and to be with Christ, for it is very far better: Phil. 1: 21, 23. Whilst we are
at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. (For we
walk by faith, not
by sight.) We
are confident I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and present
with the Lord: 2 Cor. 5: 6-8. It appears from these texts, that
departed saints are with Christ, in a
very especial sense. How can that be, if
they are not in heaven?
Answer. It is certain, from these passages, that the
departed are sensible of His presence in
a way far superior to the living. And many insist on these passages, refusing the others. For with man the question is - Not, What is true? But, What is pleasant? Now this is the usual character of Gods truth, that it is made up of two halves; seeming opposed one
to the other. Thus
God tries His saints, whether they will receive all His testimony or no. Both sides then of this truth are to be
accepted; both are
witnessed to by God.
1. The state of the departed righteous [now in the underworld of Hadees and awaiting their resurrection] is a great advance in peace and consolation
upon their condition while here. It arises out of the Saviours presence [see Psa. 139: 8b, R.V.] being
apprehended in a way here unknown [but known
by others, who would prefer to keep silent and content to avoid any persecution
that might arise from other disbelieving Christians!]
But neither
of these passages speaks of the place of departed spirits. No Scripture tells us, that the souls of the righteous [dead] are [now]* in heaven.
[* See John 3: 13; Luke 20: 35; Heb. 11: 35b. cf. Acts 2:
34; 7: 5; 2 Tim. 2: 18; Rev. 6: 9-11; 20: 4ff. R.V.]
2. The other passages testify, that
the souls both of the righteous and the wicked are in Hadees. And Hadees is below
in the earths interior, as has been proved.
[Question] 4. But how can the spirits of the righteous be in Christs
presence, if they are in the interior of the earth?
Answer. The solution
of that difficulty turns on the powers of the disembodied spirit, of which we
know nothing. On this point Paul is
remarkably silent. He was caught away to
[Question] 5. But all is altered,
since Christ rose and ascended.
Answer This
needs to be proved.
The gates of Hadees, I read, are still prevailing,
against the church, and will prevail till the resurrection-morn, and the
kingdom of heaven are come. Jesus
holds the keys of Hadees (where the
souls of the righteous are), and of Death (the place of the wicked
dead). The victory over
Hadees is not to be won, till this corruptible has put
on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality: 1 Cor. 15: 54, 55.
Until the body is put on anew by the departed righteous, the man is naked: 2 Cor. 5: 2-4. A part
of him is under the slavery of corruption.
As unclothed, he is not
presentable before God. Not till all the effects
of the curse are taken off, will Gods people be set before Him as His
sons. We
ourselves grow within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit,
the redemption of our body: Rom.
8: 23.
The Most High refused of old and
resented, even to the threat of death,
the want of [proper divinely appointed] clothing in His priests
who drew nigh Him in the outer chamber of His royal tent on earth: Ex. 20: 26; 28: 42.
How much more must the unclothing of the dead render them unfit for the
glorious presence of God in heaven? Joseph in his prison weeds was not fit for
the court of Pharaoh.
So then
Cowpers verse is quite unscriptural:-
Then in a nobler, sweeter strain,
Ill sing Thy power to
save,
When this poor lisping stammering tongue
Lies silent in the grave.
Shall the outer part of man be
under the disgrace of death and corruption, and the inner man be enjoying, as a
glorified spirit the splendours
of the heavenly scene? Moreover Scripture never speaks of glorified spirits. Glory, or intense
brightness, belongs to the bodies of the risen: 1 Cor. 15: 43.
[Question] 6. But you forget the
great multitude before the throne in heaven:
Rev. 7.
Answer. When is that great assembly
found there? Only
in [or after] resurrection. Only
after the [rapture
of the watchful and faithful (Lk. 21: 36; Rev. 6: 9ff. R.V.)] church has
been set aside from its place of witness, and the new throne of justice has
been set up in heaven.
The idea that the departed
spirit at once enters on heaven and glory makes void Gods counsel of
resurrection, and shuts up many passages of Scripture;
specially those relating to the Lords return, as the period of the Christians
hope for both the living and the dead in Christ.
If at
death I am at once in glory, why need I wait for resurrection? why return to a body and to the earth? Hence many quite leave resurrection
out of their theology, though it was the staple doctrine of Christianity in the
time of the apostles. And
many are falling into the idea of the Spiritists, that the only resurrection
takes place at death - when the spirit rises and, leaves the body to eternal
corruption. The spirit-state is with
many the final state of man.
But this
sets aside our Lords return, His raising the dead, and His millennial kingdom.
Put this idea beside the
inspired testimony of Paul, and see how contrary Scripture is to present
ordinary views. Thessalonian Christians
had turned to the true God from idols, and to wait for Gods Son from heaven. But while thus
waiting, they found, that some of their beloved ones died. Over such they mourned with especial grief,
as those who would have no part in the coming reign of Christ on the
earth. For how could He give a place in
His kingdom to those who were shut up in the tomb?
The inspired correction of this
error is very different in principle from that which most believers and
ministers of the gospel would have given.
We should have heard in reply some such strain as this: -
Why, the departed saints are better off by far
than you - the living! For they are in heaven where
Christ is, and will come out of it with
Him, when He leaves the heaven.*
* Ordinary views do not teach the waiting for Gods Son to come out
of heaven. Paul commends the Thessalonians for that waiting: 1 Thess. 1: 8-10.
This view then must assume -
That the departed spirits in heaven will come down with Christ into the air. There the Saviour tarries, and they go
downward to the earth to take up their bodies, then ascend and appear before
Him to be judged, after having
been already
accepted by Him, and enjoying the glories of heaven for ages!
Is that reasonable or
Scriptural?
Now what does the Spirit say
touching the matter?
But I
would not have you to be ignorant, brethren,
concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as
others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep thro Jesus will God bring with
Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the
Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep. 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 first rise: 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. Wherefore comfort one
another with these words.
1. He treats the dead in Christ,
not as peculiarly alive before Jesus in heaven, rejoicing in full chorus of
song before the throne; but as sleepers,
possessed not of glory, but of hope,
- the hope being Christs return
and their [select]* resurrection. The Saviour will raise them [out] from among the dead [in Hadees], and [united with their bodies] out of the tombs. They
are to be caught up; not to rush
down.
[* This is
a resurrection out of
dead ones (Lit. Gk.): they will have been previously judged
by the Lord (after the time of death, Heb.
9: 27)
and, b y Him, deemed accounted worthy to
obtain that world [age, R.V.]
(Luke 20: 35,
A.V.).]
2. The Thessalonian Christians were mistaken in supposing, that
the physical barrier of death was any obstacle to partaking the [millennial and messianic] kingdom of the Son of man.
If it proved no hindrance in Christs case, who is to be the Head and
Lord of the coming kingdom, neither would it prove any
obstacle in the case of the righteous* dead.
[* That is, for deceased disciples
whose personal standard of righteousness exceeded that
of the Scribes and Pharisees, (Matt.
5: 20. cf.
7: 21-23; 1 Cor. 6: 9-10ff; Gal. 5: 21ff; Eph. 5: 5ff
; 2 Thess. 1: 4, 5, R.V. etc.).]
3. Far from the righteous
dead being excluded by death from the kingdom, the
living would not even get the start of the sleepers in Christ. Our Lord shall descend out of heaven (not- and the saints with Him) - At that moment the dead in Christ shall first rise, then we the
living who are [left and] found on
earth up to the day of the Lords appearing, shall be caught away in clouds
into air, to meet the Lord; and, after
being thus assembled, we shall be always with the Lord.
This supposes then the souls of
the departed to come forth out of Hadees,
and in their ascent out of it to take up their bodies, then to appear before Christ
in resurrection; both the living and the departed being joined in one common
hope. After the Saviour has assigned to
each of His saints their place in His day, He will bring
them with Him to partake of His kingdom and glory, to which God is now inviting us: 1 Thess. 2: 12.
Thus Pauls
epistles in correction of Thessalonian errors bring in all the great features
of prophecy. The apostacy, the false
Christ, and his supernatural powers, the Saviours secret return for His
people, and His manifestation in the glory with them on high; the Jews present
place, the great and terrible day of the Lord,
so near at hand; and so on.
The hope which the Holy Spirit presents
them is a joint one, affecting at once both the living and the dead in
Christ. For its turning-point is the return of Christ, and
His divine power put forth to bring in the first resurrection, and the kingdom
of the thousand years. The usual
views [about resurrection] regard
only the departure of believers one by one from earth; they trace the separate
spirit to heaven and there leave the matter. But
Scripture, while saying little about the intermediate state, speaks much of the day when mortality
shall, for Christs people of this dispensation, come to an end in the
millennial kingdom of glory.
The contrast between Scripture
views and ordinary ideas will be seen by presenting a
verse from a favourite hymn, and comparing it with Scripture
One army of the living God
To His commands we bow;
Part of the Host have crossed the flood,
And part are crossing now.
1. Whence it is clear, that believers whose souls have passed
into Hadees, and whose bodies lie corrupting in the tomb, are supposed to have
crossed over the river into the heavenly Canaan, our land of promise and hope,
just as Joshua with his army crossed the Jordan to enter on their land of
promise.
2. Living believers are by units, at the time
of death, to cross into the same region; bound by the inactivity or the
sleep which death introduces. Sleep then
is our abiding state, and our hope.
3. The crossing over is supposed to be effected with no
discrimination in favour of the believer because of the work of Christ
accomplished. Death, the effect of the
sentence on our parents considered as guilty and unrighteous, taking effect as
it does on the saved and the lost alike ever since the days of Adam, is supposed to introduce us into our heritage.
4. Hence the
duration of the crossing is measured by thousands of years. Now this is in marked contrast to the counsel
of God.
(1.) The crossing into our heavenly land is to be
effected, not by death, or falling asleep, but by awaking. Jesus
came, not to send His saints to sleep, but to awake them after their sleep out
of the tomb, even as He Himself also arose : John
11: 11; Matt. 27: 52; Rom. 8: 11; 1 Cor. 6: 14; 2 Cor. 4: 4. If
we use the figure of the hymn, departed Christians have gone down into
(2.) The state of the departed, whose souls are in detention in Hadees,
and whose bodies lie fast held in the fetters of corruption, is not the
condition for which we are taught to hope. The region entered at death is not heaven or
the better country, that
is, the heavenly; but the intermediate state. The dead in Christ are prisoners of hope. But the fulfilment of our hope and of the
creatures is resurrection, as it is written: For
the creature was made subject to vanity, [restlessness, and death] not willingly [by its own fault and choice], but by reason of Him who hath subjected the same in hope. Because the creature itself also shall be
delivered from the bondage of corruption into
the liberty
of the glory of the sons of God. We, ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting
for adoption, (that is)
the redemption of our body: Rom. 8: 20, 21, 23.
(3.) The entry on our hope is effected by
the power of the second Adam, undoing the curse of death and corruption brought
by the first Adam. The critical point is
not the severing of the bond between body and soul; but the reuniting of those
former companions, by the Almighty power of God.
(4.) The time of it is not our
ascending to heaven at death; but the hour of Christs descending out of the heaven of heavens
into the air, and the consequent ascent of believers, both living and dead to
Christ, into the air.
(5.) The duration of the crossing is not ages of Gods ordinary arrangements; but in a
moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last
trump, both the living and the dead saints are to be clothed with
incorruptible bodies. Or, if the
raptures in order to the appearing before Christ be considered as a series of
acts, then the time of the entry is during the presence of Christ on high: 1 Cor. 15: 23. The true crossing is quicker far than Joshuas across
(6.) Scripture discriminates between the dead in Adam and the dead
in Christ. Believers and unbelievers are judged at
different times in different places, and in different manners.
(7.) The plan of God affects at once
both the dead and the living saints. His
scheme is to bring back the souls of the departed in Christ into their bodies
raised out of the tombs, to take together again part in the scene and state of
the living. Both the dead saints and the
living are set embodied, and with changed bodies before the Lord; resurrection being our final condition.
(8.) Our victory as believers is not the joyful passing away of the
soul into Hadees, and the body into corruption; but our exit out of the intermediate state (
(9.) The army of the living God is not marshalled by Death, nor in the state of the dead. The dead are partially
unclean, and not till they are clothed with their new
incorruptible bodies, are they fit to be set before the God of life as His
sons.
(10.) Departed believers do not enter on the ranks of the host by units,
but they shall awake from their sleeping in the field by masses, at the shout
of the great Captain of salvation: John 5: 28.
(11.) Gods host are not crossing now,
but awaiting the moment when the flood of death shall
be swallowed up in victory, and in resurrection. The greater part of the host is asleep, and
only the great Captain of salvation can waken it. For which coming and its kingdom of [manifested]* glory the Lord prepare His people!
[* See Isaiah
6: 3;
Habakkuk 2: 14; Ezekiel 34: 26-29; Psalm 67: 2-7. cf.
Romans 8: 18-21; 1 Peter 1: 11ff.
R.V.]
THE END