Publication date
4/15/11
Volume
32
Number
8
The WatchTower
Views from The Watch Tower
The Watchtower Magazines
/../literature/watchtower/1911/8/1911-8-1.html
 
 
 
VOL. 
XXXII 
BROOKLYN. 
KY., 
APRIL 
1, 
1911 
No.7 
DO 
YOU 
BELIEVE 
IN 
THE 
RESURRECTION 
OF 
THE 
DEAD, 
"He 
preached 
unto 
them 
Jesus 
and 
the 
resurrection." 
(Acts 
17:18.) 
"And 
when 
they 
heard 
of 
the 
resurrection 
of 
the 
dead, 
some 
mocked." 
(Acts 
17:32.) 
"If 
there 
be 
no 
resurrection 
of 
the 
dead, 
. 
. 
. 
then 
is 
our 
preaching 
vain, 
and 
your 
faith 
is 
also 
vain; 
. 
. 
. 
then 
is 
not 
Christ 
raised, 
and 
. 
. 
. 
ye 
are 
yet 
in 
your 
sins. 
Then 
they 
also 
which 
are 
fallen 
asleep 
in 
Christ 
are 
perished. 
"-1 
Cor. 
15 
:13-18. 
When 
we 
remember 
that 
the 
word 
"resurrection" 
is 
teaching, 
let 
us 
examine 
the 
proposition 
of 
these 
ministers 
use,l 
no 
less 
than 
thirty-seven 
times 
in 
the 
New 
Testament, 
in 
the 
light 
of 
its 
own 
inconsistency. 
besides 
various 
other 
words 
of 
similar 
import; 
and 
when 
(1) 
They 
tell 
us 
that 
the 
deceased 
is 
"far 
better 
off," 
we 
remember 
that 
all 
the 
prominent 
creeds 
of 
Christendom 
in 
that 
he 
has 
gotten 
free 
from 
the" 
fetters 
of 
the 
flesh," 
declare 
faith 
in 
a 
resurrection 
as 
an 
integral 
and 
essential 
and 
that 
now 
"his 
free 
spirit 
wings 
its 
flight 
to 
Gad, 
no 
part 
of 
Scriptural 
doctrine 
and 
of 
the 
hope 
of 
eternal 
life- 
longer 
hampered 
and 
hin,lered 
by 
the 
mortal 
dust." 
The,'- 
in 
view 
of 
these 
facts, 
and 
of 
the 
strong 
language 
of 
the 
go 
into 
ecstasies 
in 
describing 
the 
grandeur 
and 
liberty 
and 
texts 
above 
quoted, 
whose 
inspiration 
is 
conceded 
by 
all 
ble,~sedness 
of 
the 
one 
who 
has 
died, 
and 
who, 
by 
reason 
of 
Christians, 
it 
may 
seem 
strange 
that 
we 
should 
ask 
any 
getting 
rid 
of 
the 
body, 
has 
attained 
to 
life 
more 
abundant, 
Christian 
the 
question, 
Do 
you 
believe 
in 
the 
resurrection 
of 
knowledge 
a 
hundredfold, 
and 
blessings 
indescribable. 
the 
deadf 
(2) 
In 
the 
same 
breath 
they 
quote 
the 
Scriptures 
re- 
Nevertheless, 
we 
have 
serious 
reasan 
to 
doubt 
that 
a 
ferring 
to 
the 
resurrection 
and 
(wholly 
misconstruing 
tllOSd 
belief 
in 
the 
resurrection 
of 
the 
dead 
prevails 
amongst 
Chris- 
Scriptures) 
tell 
us 
that 
by 
and 
by, 
at 
the 
secoll,l 
coming 
tians 
to 
any 
considerable 
extent; 
and 
it 
is 
because 
we 
be- 
of 
the 
Lord 
Jesus 
Christ, 
the 
same 
bodies 
of 
flesh 
that 
were 
lieve 
the 
resurrection 
to 
be 
a 
very 
important 
doctrine 
in 
its 
buried 
will 
be 
reorganized 
(Dr. 
Talmage, 
in 
his 
famous 
resur- 
connection 
with 
other 
doctrines 
of 
Scripture 
(throwing 
light 
rection 
sermon 
pictured 
the 
resurrection 
morning, 
and 
the 
upon 
other 
doctrines), 
that 
we 
desire 
to 
call 
general 
atten- 
entire 
sky 
darkened 
with 
the 
fragments 
of 
human 
bodies 
tiOll 
to 
this 
subject 
and 
to 
invite 
an 
examination 
of 
our 
coming 
together 
from 
various 
parts 
of 
the 
earth, 
where 
a 
question 
in 
the 
light 
of 
facts 
ani! 
of 
Scripture; 
our 
hope 
tinger, 
a 
foot, 
or 
a 
hand 
had 
been 
lost 
by 
accident, 
disease 
being 
that 
after 
a 
careful 
examination 
of 
the 
subject 
many 
or 
amputation); 
they 
tell 
us 
that 
then 
the 
.spirit 
beings 
more 
of 
God's 
people 
will 
come 
to 
believe-consistently, 
which, 
they 
say, 
left 
those 
bodies 
at 
death, 
will 
then 
return 
logically, 
Scripturally-in 
a 
resurrection. 
to 
them, 
as 
their 
everlasting 
habitations. 
Then, 
inasmuch 
RESURRECTION 
RARELY 
CHOSEN 
NOW 
AS 
A 
SUBJECT 
FOR 
as 
the 
resurrection 
is 
Scripturally 
set 
forth 
to 
be 
thr 
grand 
SERMONS 
and 
glorious 
result 
and 
consummation 
of 
our 
salvation, 
they 
"Like 
priest, 
like 
people," 
is 
an 
old 
adage, 
'which 
im- 
feel 
compelled 
to 
go 
into 
ecstasies 
over 
their 
erroneous 
plies 
that 
the 
views 
of 
the 
teaching 
or 
clerical 
class 
on 
presentation 
of 
the 
resurrection, 
and 
to 
tell 
how 
glorious 
any 
subject 
may 
,~afely 
be 
considered 
an 
index 
to 
the 
and 
grand 
will 
be 
the 
result. 
yipws 
of 
their 
parishioners. 
It 
is 
not 
difficult 
to 
ascertain 
They 
seem 
to 
overlook 
entirely 
the 
inconsistency 
of 
the 
views 
of 
the 
clergy 
of 
all 
denominations 
on 
the 
subject 
these 
two 
propositions; 
and 
they 
exppet 
that 
their 
hear- 
of 
the 
resurrection 
of 
the 
dead; 
for, 
although 
that 
topic 
ers 
will 
be 
similarly 
inconsistent 
and 
illogical 
(ano 
ap- 
is 
rarely 
chosen 
for 
discourse, 
except 
upon 
Easter 
Sunday, 
parently 
their 
exprctations 
are 
fully 
justifie,l, 
for 
the 
ma- 
it 
is, 
nrvcrtheles,s, 
indissolubly 
attached 
to 
every 
funeral 
jority 
of 
their 
hearers 
swallow 
the 
inconsistency 
without 
sprvice; 
an,l 
thesp 
numerous 
occasions, 
we 
believe, 
amply 
difficulty); 
yea, 
many 
of 
them 
seem 
to 
think 
that 
the 
more 
justify 
us 
in 
the 
statement 
that 
hoth 
the 
clergy 
af 
all 
de- 
inconsistent 
and 
unreasonable 
theu 
belief 
may 
be, 
the 
more 
nominations 
ana 
their 
people 
have 
little 
or 
no 
faith 
in 
a 
reason 
they 
have 
to 
congI'atulate 
themselves 
that 
they 
have 
rrsurrection 
of 
the 
dead. 
a 
very 
strong 
faith. 
However, 
the 
real 
fact 
is 
that 
they 
True, 
it 
is 
customary 
on 
e,"ery 
funeral 
occasion 
to 
reaa 
have 
a 
very 
,strong 
creuulity. 
But 
they 
will 
have 
no 
reward 
the 
wor,1s 
of 
the 
Apostle 
Paul, 
in 
which 
he 
.sets 
forth 
the 
for 
believing 
unreasonable 
things 
which 
Go<l's 
'VOl'll 
has 
l'rsurrpction 
as 
the 
Christia.n's 
hope 
(1 
Car. 
15), 
but 
this 
not 
taught, 
but 
has 
contradicteu. 
seems 
to 
he 
a 
mere 
concession 
on 
the 
part 
of 
the 
officiating 
,Vho 
cannot 
see, 
if 
he 
will, 
that 
the 
man 
who 
oil'S 
fifty 
ministpr. 
He 
f,oels 
it 
to 
be 
his 
duty 
to 
read 
something 
on 
year.s 
old, 
if 
in 
dying 
he 
obtains 
life 
more 
abunoant 
an,l 
the 
su 
bjL>ct, 
but 
his 
remarks 
following 
the 
reaoing 
prove 
knowle<lge 
a 
hundredfold, 
ana 
a 
freeuam 
to 
"wing 
his 
most 
conclusivrly 
that, 
so 
far 
from 
believing 
that 
the 
person 
flight," 
etc., 
woula 
be 
sadly 
,lisappointed 
by 
a 
resurrection 
whose 
corpse 
is 
about 
to 
be 
buried 
is 
oead, 
he 
believes, 
and 
-if 
it 
should 
mean 
to 
him 
re-impris<,nment 
in 
a 
tenement 
of 
instructs 
his 
hearers 
that 
they 
should 
believe, 
that 
their 
clay, 
with 
physical 
restriction's 
ana 
human 
limitations 
~ 
Ana 
frirn,! 
and 
neighbor 
is 
"more 
alive 
than 
he 
ever 
was." 
then, 
if 
he 
had 
thus 
for 
eenturies 
he 
en 
a 
"free 
spirit," 
Frequently, 
indeed, 
he 
plays 
directly 
into 
the 
hands 
of 
the 
roaming 
at 
liberty 
throughout 
the 
universe, 
untrammele(l 
by 
"Spiritualists" 
and 
"Christian 
Scientists," 
by 
telling 
the 
a 
body 
and 
bodily 
limitations, 
where 
would 
be 
the 
con- 
audience 
that 
the 
spirit 
of 
their 
dead 
friend 
is 
with 
them 
sistency 
on 
God's 
part 
of 
re-imprisoning 
such 
an 
one 
in 
a 
in 
the 
room, 
hovcring 
over 
them; 
ana 
that 
if 
permitted 
to 
human 
body, 
whose 
powers 
ano 
uses 
woulo 
be 
entirely 
for- 
speak 
he 
would 
say 
to 
them, 
"Dry 
your 
tears; 
weep 
not 
gotten 
during 
those 
centuries 
of 
liberty 
~ 
And 
jf 
to 
he 
with- 
for 
me; 
I 
am 
far 
better 
off 
in 
glory." 
out 
a 
body 
is 
"perfect 
hliss," 
as 
the 
funeral 
orators 
tell, 
TO 
MANY 
DEATH 
HAS 
BECOME 
A 
DELUSION 
AND 
NOT 
A 
how 
could 
there 
be 
anything 
addecl 
to 
perfect 
bliss 
by 
a 
REALITY 
resurrection 
of 
the 
body, 
and 
a 
re-in('arceration 
therein 
f 
~n~eed, 
it 
has 
come 
to. 
be 
the 
,general 
belief 
am~mg 
THE 
SCRIPTURES 
HOLD 
OUT 
THE 
ONLY 
HOPE, 
THE 
BLESSED 
f'hnsban 
people 
that 
(leath 
IS 
a 
deluslOn, 
/lnd 
not 
a 
realIty; 
HOPE 
THE 
CONSISTENT 
HOPE 
that 
people 
n:erely 
seem 
to 
die, 
and 
.00 
not 
die; 
that 
~hey 
From 
the 
foregoing 
consi,leration.s, 
we 
feel 
tha.t 
we 
are 
merely 
e.xpene,~c~ 
~ 
:han~e. 
to, 
a 
f/ 
gher 
fo,rm 
of. 
be1l1~; 
j?stified 
in 
our 
assumpt~on 
th.at 
the 
vast 
m~jority 
.of 
Chris- 
that 
so-c,111eu 
Chnstlan 
SCIentIsts 
are 
qmte 
coneet 
111 
t1au 
people 
do 
nat 
belIeve 
111 
a. 
resurrectIon-neIther 
the 
s:lyin,g, 
"There 
is 
no 
deat~." 
. 
f-;eriptural 
kind 
(" 
a 
resurreetion 
of 
the 
clea,l' 
'), 
nor 
in 
the 
\\ 
haeyrr 
hol,ls 
such 
VIews 
do('~ 
uot, 
canuot 
conSIstently 
kin,l 
thev 
themsrlves 
teach 
uamelv 
a 
resurrection 
of 
the 
beli"."e 
in 
"the 
resurrprtion 
of 
the 
oea,l':; 
bpcause 
if 
no 
bo,ly. 
With 
this 
preface 
to 
'our 
sUh~i~'et, 
we 
go 
to 
the 
Scrip- 
one 
IS. 
,lead, 
how 
can 
there 
b~ 
a 
l'esu:rectIon 
of 
the 
de~d 
f 
tures 
to 
learn 
from 
them 
what 
is 
meant 
by 
"the 
resurrec- 
Wherem 
would 
~e 
th.p 
sense 
m 
speakmg 
o~ 
a 
resurrectlOn 
tion 
of 
the 
drad," 
and 
in 
what 
mauner 
and 
why 
the 
Scrip- 
of 
the 
oea,l 
to 
lIfe, 
If 
th~'y 
alrpady 
have 
hf~ 
more 
,abun<l- 
tures 
speak 
of 
the 
resurrection 
as 
the 
hope, 
the 
only 
hopr, 
antly 
than 
they 
possess(',~ 
1.t 
hefore 
they 
seenungly 
(hed 
f, 
the 
blesseo 
hope, 
not 
only 
of 
th8 
Lor(l's 
people, 
who 
are 
to 
But 
thousanas 
of 
mllllsters 
woul,l 
answer 
us, 
saymg, 
have 
part 
in 
the" 
first 
resurn'ction 
" 
but 
of 
the 
worl,l 
in 
"'Vhen 
.speaking 
of 
the 
resurrect~an, 
w~ 
merely 
mean 
a 
general, 
who 
are 
to 
have 
an 
oppo;tunity 
to 
share 
in 
the 
resurrectlOn 
of 
the 
bo~ly-the 
hodies 
wInch 
we 
bury, 
3: 
re 
rpsurrectian 
of 
jn<lgment, 
improperly 
translate<l, 
"the 
resur" 
all 
to 
comr 
forth 
agalll 
from 
the 
grave, 
anu 
the 
.spUItS 
red 
ion 
of 
damnation. 
"-,J 
ohn 
5: 
~g, 
which 
pa~te<l. 
from 
them 
i.n 
~eath 
ar~ 
t? 
be 
rehabilitated 
in 
'Vhoever 
woul,! 
helieve 
the 
Scriptnral 
,lodrinp 
of 
the 
those 
bo,hes 
III 
the 
resnl'rectlOn. 
ThIS 
IS 
what 
we 
mean 
hy 
rpsnrrection, 
must 
also 
belirve 
the 
f-;criptnral 
,lortrinp 
rp- 
resurrection," 
~ppcting 
death-that 
,lpath 
is 
,lpath, 
the 
cp~sa.tion 
of 
lifp. 
"CONSISTENCY, 
THOU 
ART 
A 
JEWEL" 
Tltpn, 
an,l 
not 
until 
then, 
will 
he 
he 
able 
to 
ull,lprstan,l 
the 
\Vpll, 
w"l1! 
Who 
wonld 
ha,'p 
suppose,! 
such 
in 
consist- 
.'J 
postle's 
worus 
in 
our 
trxt, 
"If 
there 
be 
no 
rpsu]'J'pction 
of 
pncy 
on 
the 
part 
of 
so 
many 
learneo 
an<l 
well-meaning 
men! 
the 
<leaa, 
... 
then 
they 
which 
are 
fallen 
aslpep 
in 
Christ 
Bpfore 
taking 
up 
the 
SCI'iptural 
sioe 
of 
the 
question, 
to 
show 
are 
peI':ishe<1." 
Nor 
is 
this 
statement 
by 
the 
Apostle 
an 
ex- 
that 
such 
expectations 
are 
at 
variance 
with 
the 
Scripture 
ception 
to 
or 
different 
from 
the 
teaching 
of 
the 
Scriptures 
[4791] 
(99- 
1 
00) 
Vou. XXXIT BROOKLYN. N. Y., APRIL 1, 1911 No. 7 DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD? (Acts 17:18.) ‘‘And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, ‘“‘Tf there be no resurrection of the dead, then is not Christ raised, and . also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.’’—1 Cor. 15:13-18. “‘He preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection.’?’ some mocked.’’ (Acts 17:32.) your faith is also vain; When we remember that the word ‘‘resurrection’’ is used no less than thirty-seven times in the New Testament, besides various other words of similar import; and when we remember that all the prominent creeds of Christendom declare faith in a resurrection as an integral and essential part of Scriptural doctrine and of the hope of eternal life— in view of these facts, and of the strong language of the texts above quoted, whose inspiration is conceded by all Christians, it may seem strange that we should ask any Christian the question, Do you believe in the resurrection of the dead? Nevertheless, we have serious reason to doubt that a belief in the resurrection of the dead prevails amongst Christians to any considerable extent; and it is because we helieve the resurrection to be a very important doctrine in its connection with other doctrines of Seripture (throwing light upon other doctrines), that we desire to call general attention to this subject and to invite an examination of our question in the light of facts and of Scripture; our hope being that after a careful examination of the subject many more of God’s people will come to believe—consistently, logically, Seripturally—in a resurrection. RESURRECTION RARELY CHOSEN NOW AS A SUBJECT FOR SERMONS ‘Like priest, like people,’’ is an old adage, which implies that the views of the teaching or elerical class on any subject may safely be considered an index to the views of their parishioners. It is not difficult to ascertain the views of the clergy of all denominations on the subject of the resurrection of the dead; for, although that topic is rarely chosen for discourse, except upon Easter Sunday, it is, nevertheless, indissolubly attached to every funeral service; and these numerous occasions, we believe, amply justify us in the statement that both the clergy of all denominations and their people have little or no faith in a resurrection of the dead. True, it is customary on every funeral occasion to read the words of the Apostle Paul, in which he sets forth the resurrection as the Christian’s hope (1 Cor. 15), but this seems to he a mere concession on the part of the officiating minister. He fecls it to be his duty to read something on the subject, but his remarks following the reading prove most conclusively that, so far from believing that the person whose eorpse is about to be buried is dead, he believes, and instructs his hearers that they should believe, that their friend and neighbor is ‘‘more alive than he ever was.’’ Frequently, indeed, he plays directly into the hands of the ‘*Spiritualists’’? and ‘‘Christian Scientists,’’ by telling the audience that the spirit of their dead friend is with them in the room, hovering over them; and that if permitted to speak he would say to them, ‘‘Dry your tears; weep not for me; I am far better off in glory.’’ TO MANY DEATH HAS BECOME A DELUSION AND NOT A REALITY Indeed, it has come to be the general belief among Christian people that death is a delusion, and uot a reality; that people merely seem to die, and do not die; that they merely experience a change to a higher form of being; that so-called ‘‘Christian Seientists’’ are quite correct in saying, ‘There is no death.’’ Whoever holds such views does not, cannot consistently believe in ‘‘the resurrection of the dead’’; because if no one is dead, how can there be a resurrection of the dead? Wherein would be the sense in speaking of a resurrection of the dead to life, if they already have life more abundantly than they possessed it before they seemingly died? But thousands of ministers would answer us, saying, ‘‘When speaking of the resurrection, we merely mean a resurrection of the body—the bodies which we bury are all to eome forth again from the grave, and the spirits which parted from them in death are to be rehabilitated in those bodies in the resurrection. This is what we mean by resurrection. ’? “CONSISTENCY, THOU ART A JEWEL’’ Well, welll Who would have supposed sueh inecunsisteney on the part of so many learned and well-meaning men! Before taking up the Scriptural side of the question, to show that such expectations are at variance with the Scripture [4791} then is our preaching vain, and ye are yet in your sins. Then they teaching, let us examine the proposition of these ministers in the light of its own inconsistency. (1) They tell us that the deceased is ‘‘far better off,’’ in that he has gotten free from the ‘‘fetters of the flesh,’’ and that now ‘‘his free spirit wings its flight to God, no longer hampered and hindered by the mortal dust.’’ They go into eestasies in describing the grandeur and liberty and blessedness of the one who has died, and who, by reason of getting rid of the body, has attained to life more abundant, knowledge a hundredfold, and blessings indescribable. (2) In the same breath they quote the Scriptures referring to the resurrection and (wholly misconstruing those Seriptures) tell us that by and by, at the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the same bodies of flesh that were buried will be reorganized (Dr. Talmage, in his famous resurrection sermon pictured the resurrection morning, and the entire sky darkened with the fragments of human bodies coming together from various parts of the earth, where a finger, a foot, or a hand had been lost by accident, discase or amputation); they tell us that then the spirit beings which, they say, left those bodies at death, will then return to them, as their everlasting habitations. Then, inasmuch as the resurrection is Seripturally sect forth to be the grand and glorious result and consummation of our salvation, they feel compelled to go into ecstasies over their erroneous presentation of the resurrection, and to tell how glorious and grand will be the result. They scem to overlook entirely the inconsistency of these two propositions; and they expect that their hearers will be similarly inconsistent and illogical (and apparently their expectations are fully justified, for the majority of their hearers swallow the inconsisteney without difficulty); yea, many of them seem to think that the more inconsistent and unreasonable their belief may be, the more reason they have to congratulate themselves that they have a very strong faith. However, the real fact is that they have a very strong credulity. But they will have no reward for believing unreasonable things which God’s Word has not taught, but has contradicted. Who cannot see, if he will, that the man who dics fifty years old, if in dying he obtains life more abundant and knowledge a hundredfold, and a freedom to ‘‘wing his flight,’’ etc., would be sadly disappointed by a resurrection —if it should mean to him re-imprisenment in a tenement of clay, with physical restrictions and human limitations? And then, if he had thus for centuries been a ‘‘free spirit,’’ roaming at liberty throughout the universe, untrammeled by a body and bodily limitations, where would be the consistency on God’s part of re-imprisoning such an one in a human body, whose powers and uses would be entirely forgotten during those centuries of liberty? And if to he without a body is ‘‘perfect bliss,’’ as the funeral orators tell, how could there be anything added to perfect bliss by a resurrection of the body, and a re-incarceration therein? THE SCRIPTURES HOLD OUT THE ONLY HOPE, THE BLESSED HOPE, THE CONSISTENT HOPE From the foregoing considerations, we feel that we are justified in our assumption that the vast majority of Christian people do not believe in a resurrection—uneither the Seriptural kind (‘‘a resurrection of the dead’’), nor in the kind they themselves teach, namely, a resurrection of the body. With this preface to our subject, we go to the Scriptures to learn from them what is meant by ‘‘the resurrceetion of the dead,’’ and in what manner and why the Seriptures speak of the resurrection as the hope, the only hope, the blessed hope, not only of the Lord’s people, who are to have part in the ‘‘first resurrection,’’ but of the world in general, who are to have an opportunity to share in the resurrection of judgment, improperly translated, ‘‘the resurrection of damnation.’’—John 5:29. Whoever would believe the Seriptural doctrine of the resurrection, must also believe the Scriptural doctrine respecting death—that death is death, the cessation of life. Then, and not until then, will he be able to understand the Apostle’s words in our text, ‘‘If there be no resurrection of the dead, ... then they which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.’’ Nor is this statement by the Apostle an exception to or different from the teaching of the Seriptures (99-100)

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