Man a Mere Mortal, June 17

The Interlude of Silence

Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker? Job 4:17.FLB 174.1

Man is only mortal, and while he feels himself too wise to accept Jesus, he will remain only mortal.^{37The Signs of the Times, February 13, 1912.}FLB 174.2

Physical life is ... not eternal or immortal; for God, the Life-giver, takes it again. Man has no control over his life.^{38SDA Bible Commentary 5:1130.}FLB 174.3

The Word of God nowhere teaches that the soul of man is immortal. Immortality is an attribute of God only.^{39Testimonies for the Church 1:344.}FLB 174.4

Upon the fundamental error of natural immortality rests the doctrine of consciousness in death—a doctrine, like eternal torment, opposed to the teachings of the Scriptures, to the dictates of reason, and to our feelings of humanity.... What say the Scriptures concerning these things? David declares that man is not conscious in death. “His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” Psalm 146:4....FLB 174.5

When, in answer to his prayer, Hezekiah's life was prolonged fifteen years, the grateful king rendered to God a tribute of praise for His great mercy. In this song he tells the reason why he thus rejoices: “The grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day.” Isaiah 38:18, 19. Popular theology represents the righteous dead as in heaven, entered into bliss, and praising God with an immortal tongue; but Hezekiah could see no such glorious prospect in death....FLB 174.6

Peter, on the day of Pentecost, declared that the patriarch David “is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.” “For David is not ascended into the heavens.” Acts 2:29, 34. The fact that David remains in the grave until the resurrection, proves that the righteous do not go to heaven at death. It is only through the resurrection, and by virtue of the fact that Christ has risen, that David can at last sit at the right hand of God.^{40The Great Controversy, 545, 546.}FLB 174.7