by Rev. Donald Campbell, M.A., Edinburgh
The succession of the generations of men has been likened to the leaves of the forest. The foliage of one summer disappears to make room for the following summer’s blossom. Nature produces and destroys with perfect rhythm and certainty. There are points, however, in which the analogy does not hold. In the succession of human generations, the processes of production and destruction are simultaneous. A child is born and an adult dies at the same moment. The Author of this process is no respecter of persons. The most prominent and the most obscure have the same end. “Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.” (Exodus 1, 6.) Autumn ends the life of the leaf, but death does not mark the end of man.
On the subject of death and eternity great controversy centres. The atheist, the agnostic and the Christian all die; but they view death in a widely different way. The atheist confidently asserts that death is the end of man. For him there is no God, no eternity and no judgment. “The fool has said in his heart, There is no God” (Ps. 14, 1). The agnostic, not accepting what the Bible tells about the eternal world, and left without any other access to the facts, hides his head in the sand of his own conceit and says that nobody knows what happens after death. The attitudes of both the atheist and the agnostic is described in 1 Cor. 2, 14 — “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” The Christian’s view of eternity, however, is wholly different from that of the atheist and the agnostic. The Christian, receiving the Bible as the inspired Word of God, regards death, not as the end of man’s existence, but the way into his eternal state.
This outlook, that life, begun in this world, is continued after death raises many serious questions. Christ’s Divine mission, confirmed with signs and miracles, has the answer; yet the fact still remains that some believe and some believe not. The Bible, which contains a Divinely authoritative account of eternity, shows that there is a heaven for those who are saved by grace, and perdition for all who do not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. “The word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word, which by the gospel is preached unto you.” (1 Pet. 1, 25.) From this it should appear to all that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are superior to all other writings: and these, His own infallible word, God has given us as the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him. Moreover, we are solemnly warned against any form of interference with the Holy Scriptures. “If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life and out of the holy city and from the things which are written in this book.” (Rev. 22, 18-19.)
Instead of wresting the Scriptures to their own destruction, the enemies of the Bible should acknowledge that it is the word of God. The example of the Jews, who maintain that the Old Testament alone is inspired, is a stern warning to all who reject the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Since they do not believe the record which God gives concerning His Son in the New Testament, the Jews, in their blindness, are still waiting for the coming of their Messiah. “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” (1 Cor. 4, 3-4.) The true Christian is the one who believes in the plenary inspiration of both Testaments and, consequently, knows these doctrines which make a man wise for eternity. Christ came forth from the Father and revealed Him to the world. “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” The Holy Spirit opens man’s understanding to receive the truth regarding eternal realities. In this way we are enabled to “look not on the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Cor. 4, 18.)
No atheistical theory should be regarded as an answer to the questions which the concept of life after death raises. Darwin’s Theory of Evolution has failed to explain the origin of the universe — a universe in which the eternal power and Godhead of its Creator are clearly seen. (Rom. 1, 19-20.) As this theory, like the rest of Satan’s inventions, is intended to deceive the guileless for eternity, the teaching of it in our schools is to be deplored. “And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Is. 8, 19-20.) In this materialistic age, when the general tendency is to neglect the salvation of our immortal souls, our duty is to receive the word of God and pray for all those who are yet without God and without hope in the world. “Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.” (Mic. 4, 12.)