Читать книгу The Harp of God: Proof Conclusive That Millions Now Living Will Never Die - J. F. Rutherford - Страница 15

[70]For a long time men have been taught that the punishment for the wicked, those who disobey God, is everlasting torment or torture in a hell burning with unquenchable fire and brimstone. Many have been frightened away from studying the Bible because of this terrible doctrine. Many have refused to believe in God and the Lord Jesus because of it. It is another doctrine of Satan, used to blind the people. The doctrine of eternal torment cannot be true for at least four separate and distinct reasons: (1) because it is unreasonable; (2) because it is repugnant to justice; (3) because it is contrary to the principle of love; and (4) because it is entirely unscriptural.

[71]It seems strange that men with reasoning faculties should ever reach the conclusion that the all-wise Creator would eternally torment any of his creatures. What could be the purpose of such torment? Could it accomplish any good? Would it result to the glory of God?

[72]There could be no eternal torment of any of God's creatures except by God's will. A reasonable, loving God could not torment any of his creatures. A Creator that would put in operation a system of endless torment would be a fiend and not a reasonable God. Man is not perfect, yet he has some love. God is perfect. He is love. A man or a child would not torture his horse, his dog, or his cat.

[73]Suppose we have a dog that becomes mad and tries to bite every one in the neighborhood. He must be killed; but we would not torment the poor brute by putting it into a slow fire. We would kill it in the easiest way, so that it would not suffer much pain. Why would a person do this? Because his sense of justice and love would deter him from doing anything else. Man has not as much love as God. Every thing that God does for man he does for man's good.

[74]The doctrine is unreasonable because no one could be eternally tormented unless that one were eternally conscious; and the Scriptures above cited show that the dead are not conscious. Furthermore, there could be no eternal torment of the soul unless that soul were immortal, indestructible; and the Scriptures above cited and all other Scriptures bearing upon the subject show that man is not immortal, that none are granted immortality except those who receive it as a reward for right-doing and who are made joint-heirs with Christ Jesus in his glorious kingdom. Then it is easy to be seen that this is a doctrine of Satan; and the two doctrines or teachings of inherent immortality and eternal torture must stand or fall together. And since they are both false, they must both fall.

[75]The doctrine of eternal torture is unjust, because God is just. Justice is the foundation of his throne. God plainly told man that if he sinned he would die. If thereafter he put him into eternal torment, then he increased the penalty after man had violated the law, and this is contrary to every principle of justice. All of Adam's children were born imperfect. "There is none that doeth good, no, not one," (Psalm 14:3) Every child is born imperfect. It would be very unjust for Jehovah to permit such a one to be born under conditions over which he had no control and then, because he could not obey perfectly, to put him into eternal torture. Man's sense of justice is shocked at the thought of torture of any creature. The justice that man possesses is a God-given quality. The more Godlike a man is the more just he is. We must know, then, that God deals justly with all of his creatures.

[76]The doctrine of eternal torment is devoid of the attribute of love. Every good father loves his children and children love their father. The mother loves the children and the children love the mother. When the children are disobedient, it becomes necessary for the father or the mother to discipline them; and sometimes by using the rod. But no loving parent would for a moment think of torturing his or her child. Just punishment is always for the purpose of doing ultimate good, and where the parents are compelled to punish or discipline their children they do it because they love them. The apostle Paul, discussing the discipline by earthly parents and by God said: "We have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness."—Hebrews 12:9,10.

[77]Only a wicked fiend would want to torment anybody, such a one as loves dark and wicked things.

[78]Our great God is love. (1 John 4:16) "God is light and in him is no darkness at all," (1 John 1:5) Everything that Jehovah does is good. God created the first man Adam and gave him the power to transmit life to his offspring. All the human race are the children of Adam. Only by God's permission could these children have come into existence. Adam was God's son and all the human race descend from Adam; and thus they bear relationship to Jehovah.

[79]None of Adam's children were born perfect. Some were born under very depraved conditions. God's love, then, for the human race is so great that he made provision for the redemption and ultimate blessing of all, and it would be wholly inconsistent with his attribute of love to arrange to torture any of them at any time. The doctrine of eternal torment is a libel upon the great and loving name of God, and Satan is responsible for it. But in God's due time he will make it clear to all that he is love; and that all of his dealings with the human race are for their good.

[80]The eternal torment teaching is not supported by any Scripture text in the Bible. There are some texts that are written in symbolic phrase, parables and dark sayings, which were written to illustrate another great truth, but with no reference to the eternal punishment of the human race. These Scriptures must be considered elsewhere. Our space does not permit us to consider them here. What we will examine are the direct Scriptural statements.

[81]All the Scriptures show that the wicked will be punished, but punishment does not mean torment. There is a wide distinction between everlasting punishment and everlasting torment. Everlasting punishment is a punishment that lasts. Everlasting torment would be a torment that never ends, but one would be consciously suffering all the time. The laws of the land punish the wicked who violate the law, and the duration of punishment is short or long in proportion to the enormity of the crime committed. One who steals a loaf of bread violates the law and he may be punished by confinement for a day or a month in prison. One who destroys his neighbor's house by fire is punished, and his punishment may be a number of years in prison. Another takes the life of his neighbor, and his punishment is death. No law of any nation on earth permits the violator of the law to be tormented. The stealer of bread is punished for a short period; the one who destroys the home is punished for a longer period; and the one who takes his neighbor's life deliberately is punished by the full penalty of the law, and his punishment is lasting. Death is the highest penalty inflicted by the law. It is also the greatest punishment inflicted by Jehovah. Life is the dearest thing to any creature, and to be deprived of life would be the greatest punishment that could be inflicted. Therefore eternal or everlasting death, with no hope of a resurrection, would be an everlasting punishment. But it would not be an everlasting conscious torture. God plainly declared: "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23), and not eternal torture.

[82]Having fixed this penalty, God could not change it afterward, because God could not be inconsistent; he cannot deny himself. (2 Timothy 2:13) It was by the disobedience of one man that sin came into the world and death as the result of sin; so death has been the penalty upon all mankind. (Romans 5:12) And this will continue until God's due time to awaken them out of death and give all an opportunity for life; and this we will discuss later. "The Lord preserveth them that love him, but all the wicked will he destroy." (Psalm 145:20) The Apostle plainly says that all the wicked shall be punished with an everlasting destruction.—2 Thessalonians 1:9.

[83]But do not the wicked go to hell?

[84]It is true that all who have died from Adam until now have gone to hell. But hell does not mean a place of conscious torture. Wherever the word hell occurs in the Bible it means the condition of death. Hell is not a place, but a condition. Those who go into the grave are not conscious there; but they have gone into the death condition. Their bodies decay and return to the dust. The word hell is translated from the Hebrew word sheol, as used in the Old Testament. This same word is a number of times translated grave and sometimes pit. In the New Testament the same word hell is translated from the Greek word hades and likewise means grave, the condition of death, the tomb.

[85]Some Scriptural illustrations of this prove that hell means a condition of death. Job was a good and godly man, who tried to obey Jehovah. He had suffered the loss of all his earthly possessions and then his neighbors taunted him because of his suffering; and while he was thus suffering, he prayed that God would permit him to go to hell, saying: "O that thou wouldest hide me in hell [sheol, the grave] until thy wrath be past". (Job 14:13) He desired to be hid in the grave until the time of the resurrection, hoping in God's promise that some day the dead would come again. Then Job says: "If I wait the grave is mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness". "Our rest together is in the dust." (Job 17:13,16) Thus he pictures the grave as a condition of darkness, where there is no knowledge, no wisdom or device. Again he said: "A man's sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them". (Job 14:21) Why? Because those who are in hell, in the tomb, in the grave, in the condition of death, have no knowledge of anything. They are out of existence, waiting for the resurrection.

[86]Jacob's beloved son Joseph was sold into Egypt by his brethren. Joseph's coat was dipped in the blood of an animal and brought to Jacob, and it was told Jacob the father that his son Joseph was dead. In his grief he exclaimed: "I will go down into hell [sheol, the grave] unto my son mourning". (Genesis 37:35) Jacob was a good man and approved of the Lord; for the Apostle says he was. (Hebrews 11:9,39) Jacob meant that he was going to the grave, to the death condition, mourning for his beloved son.

[87]Benjamin was Jacob's youngest son. After he lost Joseph his affections were centered upon Benjamin. His elder sons came to him and requested that their younger brother be permitted to go down with them to Egypt. Their father Jacob objected to their taking him, saying, "My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to hell [sheol, the grave]". (Genesis 42:38) We know, then, that the hell here described could not be a place of fire and brimstone, for the gray hairs of Jacob would not last long in the fire. What he really meant was that as an old, gray-headed man he would go down to the grave in sorrow if anything befell his beloved son.

[88]Jesus came to earth and lived and died and was buried; and it was written of him that he went to hell. "Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell." (Psalm 16:10) If hell is a place of endless torment and Jesus went there he could not have been released. The fact that he did not remain in hell is proof conclusive that hell is not a place of eternal torment.

[89]Jehovah established the true religion in the earth, which was and is to worship him and glorify his name. Satan established a false religion in his attempt to be like the Most High. God established his covenant with the nation of Israel and commanded that they should keep themselves separate and distinct from the heathen nations round about. Satan established a false religion amongst the heathen nations and caused them to worship images and other things aside from Jehovah. These heathen idolaters built an altar in the valley of Hinnom for the purpose of offering sacrifices to their gods. The Jews forsook their covenant with Jehovah and became worshipers of Baal, one of Satan's deified ones. In practising Baal worship they offered their children as sacrifices, and upon this has been based the doctrine of torture by fire, concerning which Jehovah says: "They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind". (Jeremiah 19:5) Again said the Lord: "They built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech, which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin". (Jeremiah 32:35) The things which the heathen sacrificed they sacrificed to devils and not to God. (1 Corinthians 10:20) This false or devil religion established amongst the deluded people of the world was another means employed by Satan to blind the minds of men to the true teachings of the divine plan.

[90]In exercising divine justice, Jehovah at no time employs torture; but he denounces such doctrine as an abomination in his sight. Divine justice exercised destroys the evil doers; therefore that which is destroyed eternally is everlastingly punished. Some Scriptures proving this are: "Evil doers shall be cut off; but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall not be; yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. … But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away. … For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off. … For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved forever; but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. … Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it. … The transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off."—Psalm 37:9,10,20,22,28,34,38.

[91]The doctrine of eternal torment is a defamation of Jehovah's character. It is a foul stain upon his lovable name. The chief purpose of man is to glorify God. It is therefore his privilege and duty to remove from the minds of others this misconception of Jehovah and enable others to understand that God is indeed love. An understanding of his plan shows that everything he does is prompted by love. No sooner had he sentenced man to death than he began to reveal his plan for his redemption and ultimate deliverance. The more clearly we see and understand these great truths, the more do we rejoice in the divine attribute of justice and the divine arrangement in making it manifest.

What divine attribute is mentioned as the habitation of God's throne? ¶ 39.

What divine attribute devised the plan of God? ¶ 39.

Is it necessary for the divine attributes to operate harmoniously? ¶ 39.

Is God's law unchangeable? ¶ 39.

What mental effect is produced upon God's creatures by the unchangeableness of his law? ¶ 39.

What must follow violation of the divine law? ¶ 39.

What is the prerogative of divine Justice? ¶ 39.

How does the manifestation of divine justice affect the name and dignity of Jehovah? ¶ 39.

Was it necessary for divine justice to be manifested in order for divine love to be fully exercised? and if so, why? ¶ 39.

What is essential to a proper appreciation of divine loving kindness? ¶ 39.

Why is Jehovah never unjust nor unkind? ¶ 39.

Does Jehovah make mistakes? ¶ 39.

To what end does he use his power? ¶ 39.

What is symbolized by the second string upon the harp of God? ¶ 40.

Define good and evil. ¶ 41.

When did evil become active? ¶ 41.

Did God compel Adam to do or not to do certain things? ¶ 41.

What punishment did God prescribe for a violation of his law? ¶ 41.

Why and by whom was Eve induced to violate the law? ¶ 41.

Why did Adam violate the law of God? ¶ 41.

To whom does all dominion rightfully belong? ¶ 42.

What dominion did God give to man? ¶ 42.

Why did Lucifer induce Eve to sin? ¶ 42.

What did Lucifer meditate in his heart? ¶ 42.

What was the cause of Lucifer's fall? ¶ 43.

How was divine justice manifested against Lucifer? ¶ 43.

By what names is Lucifer known since his fall? Give the meaning of each of the names. ¶ 43.

Describe how the devil induced Eve to violate God's law. ¶ 44.

What reply did Eve make to the devil's suggestion that she violate God's law? ¶ 44.

Who told the truth, God or Satan, relative to the result of Eve's act? ¶ 44.

The fact that Eve was deceived by Satan, could that in any wise change the penalty of the law? ¶ 45.

What did Adam and Eve do after they had violated the divine law? ¶ 46.

What action did Jehovah take toward them, and why? ¶ 46.

Give the details of the judgment or sentence pronounced by Jehovah against Adam and Eve. ¶ 46.

What was the result of the judgment pronounced against man? ¶ 47.

How long did Adam live after he was sentenced to die? ¶ 47.

How did God enforce the sentence against man? ¶ 47.

Would Adam have died if he had remained in Eden? ¶ 47.

Why does a parent punish his child? ¶ 48.

If the child always obeyed, would punishment he necessary? ¶ 48.

What is one of the chief reasons for God permitting man to suffer the effects of wrongdoing? ¶ 48.

Why did God enforce his judgment against man? What was his purpose? ¶ 49.

What motive prompts all the acts of Jehovah? ¶ 49.

The manifestation of divine justice may be likened to what chord in music? and why? ¶ 50.

What did the suffering of Job picture relative to the harp? ¶ 51.

How could Adam and Eve apply the sayings of Job to themselves? ¶ 51.

Has the world of mankind ever appreciated the manifestation of divine justice? and why not? ¶ 51.

Why can a Christian appreciate the manifestation of divine justice as one of the strings of God's harp? ¶ 51.

As a sacrificing priest, what did Aaron typify? ¶ 52.

How did the experiences of Aaron and his sons teach Christians not to mourn because of the exercise of divine justice? ¶ 52.

When a Christian appreciates the divine plan, what does he say? ¶ 52.

What did God sentence to death, the soul or the body? ¶ 53.

If the soul of man were immortal, how could it be put to death? ¶ 53.

Is it important for us to define terms before freely using them in the study of the Bible? ¶ 54.

Define immortality. ¶ 55.

Define the soul. ¶ 55.

State fully the Scriptural account of how the soul was created. ¶ 55.

Give some illustration of the soul. ¶ 56.

Does man possess a soul? ¶ 58.

What creatures beside man are souls? ¶ 58.

Is there a difference in the manner of the death of souls? ¶ 58.

Give some Scriptures to show that the soul is not immortal. ¶ 59.

With whom did the term "immortal soul" originate? ¶ 60.

When and by whom was the first lie told? ¶ 60.

How has Satan blinded the people? and what has been his purpose in so doing? ¶ 60.

What is the basis for all false doctrines? ¶ 60.

If all souls were immortal, could God destroy a willful sinner? ¶ 61.

Who possesses the quality of immortality? ¶ 61.

To whom has immortality been promised as a reward? ¶ 61.

Give some Scriptural reason why men are not inherently immortal. ¶ 61.

What other false doctrine has Satan employed in deceiving mankind? ¶ 62.

Are the dead conscious at any time after death? ¶ 62.

Do the dead remember anything? Do they praise the Lord? ¶ 63.

Can the dead breathe, think, or feel? ¶ 64.

Give an illustration showing that the dead do not feel. ¶ 64.

Do the dead have knowledge or wisdom? Can they love or hate? ¶ 65.

Give some Scriptural proof that death means to perish, and define perish. ¶¶ 66, 67.

Why is death sometimes spoken of as sleep? Give Scriptural proof. ¶¶ 68, 69.

How has the doctrine of eternal torment affected many? ¶ 70.

Who is responsible for the doctrine of eternal torment? ¶ 70.

Give four reasons why eternal torment cannot be true. ¶ 70.

Would eternal torment accomplish any good? Would it result to the glory of God? ¶ 71.

Could any creature be eternally tormented contrary to the will of God? ¶ 72.

Could a reasonable God torture any creature? ¶ 72.

Why would not a sane person torture his child or his dog? ¶ 73.

Since the Scriptures declare that God is love, could he torment a creature? ¶ 73.

Why is the doctrine of eternal torture unreasonable? ¶ 74.

Why is the doctrine of eternal torture unjust? ¶ 75.

Why is the doctrine of eternal torment devoid of love? ¶¶ 76–79.

What is the difference between everlasting torment and everlasting punishment? ¶ 81.

What is the severest punishment inflicted for the violation of human laws? ¶ 81.

What is the severest punishment God inflicts for the violation of his laws? ¶ 81.

Could God change the penalty for the violation of his law after the penalty has been once fixed and the law violated? and if not, why not? ¶ 82.

Do not the wicked go to hell? ¶ 84.

What is the meaning of the English word hell? and from what words has it been translated? ¶ 84.

What did Job say about going to hell? ¶ 85.

Is anyone conscious while in hell? ¶ 85.

What did Jacob say about going to hell? and whom did he expect to meet there? ¶ 86.

If hell means a place of fiery torment, how could Jacob preserve his gray hairs there? ¶ 87.

Jesus went to hell, as the Scriptures declare. If hell is a place of eternal torment, how could Jesus get out? ¶ 88.

What religion did God establish on earth? ¶ 89.

What religion did Satan establish on earth? ¶ 89.

What does Jehovah's Word say about burning children in fires as offerings to Baal? ¶ 89.

To whom did the heathen sacrifice their children? ¶ 89.

What has been Satan's purpose in teaching the false religion? ¶ 89.

What punishment has God fixed for the willfully wicked? Give Scriptural proof. ¶ 90.

What is man's duty toward God and toward his fellow men in regard to teaching the doctrine of eternal torment? ¶ 91.

How are we affected by a proper understanding of the manifestation of divine justice? ¶ 91.

WITHOUT THE GATES

Alas! how changed from bowers of Paradise

That desolate region, overgrown with thorn

And thistle rank—a trackless waste forlorn,

Unblessed by God, o'erarched by sullen skies,

There stand that guilty pair, now sadly wise,

Their hearts with grief, their feet with briers torn,

Vainly their faded innocence they mourn,

And toward the gates of Eden turn their eyes.

No more to see the beauty and the bloom

Of that blest garden was to sinners given;

To weep and labor wearily their doom,

Out of God's holy, blissful presence driven,

Till through life's sorrows, and death's dust and gloom,

By woman's promised seed they're blest of heaven.

—Pollok.