THEIR THEORY OF THE TWO RESURRECTIONS

The fact that there are two “orders” of theVDRU 17.7

2 resurrection, or two resurrections in point of time, seems to stand out so prominently in the Scriptures that they are constrained to admit it; but they will not admit that the last, or second, is of “the unjust;” of them “that have done evil;” of the “rest” in distinction from the “blessed and holy.” But admitting the fact of a second resurrection, they have had to contradict themselves and deny their own invulnerable principles to maintain their denial that this resurrection is of the wicked.VDRU 17.8

See the following statements. Says Mr. Storrs:VDRU 18.1

“Apart from Christ, when a man dies, he dies in his sins, and has lost his life never to find it again.” Life from the Dead, p. 33.VDRU 18.2

“Thus the resurrection of the dead to life belongs to Christ and his body, the church-all true believers, under whatever dispensation they may have lived; and from this revival into life all others, it seems to us, are absolutely excluded.” Id., p. 35.VDRU 18.3

“Life from the dead is a peculiarity of the gospel-a gospel benefit-and believers only live again.” Id., p. 27.VDRU 18.4

But in commenting on Revelation 20:5, he says:VDRU 18.5

“If the text were a genuine one, it would be easy to show that it may not embrace the unholy at all. It might refer to the living again of the virtuous heathen, who had never heard of Christ, and therefore had not suffered for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God; hence, were not embraced in the ‘first resurrection,’ but are to have life afterwards; for surely, ‘in every nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousness’—according to the light he has—‘is accepted with him,’ and will have life through Jesus, though he had never heard of him.” Id., pp. 70, 71.VDRU 18.6

Dropping the paradoxical idea of the heathen who fear God and work righteousness! we notice that, according to Eld. Storrs, (1) A resurrection is a peculiarity of the gospel, and of course is inadmissible outside the gospel. (2) It belongs to the church-to believers in Christ, only, and all others are absolutely excluded. But (3), The second resurrection “may embrace” a class who were not believers in Christ, who never heard of him. Peter’s testimony in Acts 10, clearly proves that the faithfully obedient in all nations-Jews and Gentiles-are accepted with God; but Cornelius had the gospel message sent to him to teach him what he ought to do. To refer to these facts and circumstances to prove the salvation of those who have no faith, is a manifest perversion of the Scriptures. That any one of Mr. Storrs’ ability and power of discrimination should put forth sentiments so unscriptural and self-contradictory, is strong evidence of the weakness of the theory he advocates.VDRU 19.1

And Mr. Curry, who seemed to closely follow Mr. Storrs, is equally unfortunate in his expressions on this subject. He laid down the following as an “unanswerable principle:”VDRU 19.2

“There is no future life without justification, and justification comes by faith alone.” Debate, p. 106.VDRU 19.3

And again he said:VDRU 20.1

“That is the true, Christian, orthodox, Protestant doctrine-justification by faith; and I contend that there is no other justification in the Bible, and without justification there can be no future life.” Id., p. 77.VDRU 20.2

After thus emphatically confining a future life to those who are justified by faith in Christ, he says:VDRU 20.3

“May it not be that he will save a great many righteous heathen, though they are not saved at his coming? That there will be a second resurrection of the righteous? Is it not possible? It has no difficulty with me. And I believe the resurrection will be one of the virtuous heathen, but not of the wicked dead. And so I preach it.” Id., p. 75.VDRU 20.4

But of the heathen he says, in another place:VDRU 20.5

“The gospel does not address itself to the heathen. They come under a law peculiar to themselves.” Id., p. 89.VDRU 20.6

Here again we notice that, (1) There is no justification in the Bible, except by faith. (2) There is no future life without justification. But (3), There is a future life to those who have no faith. And it is no relief from the contradiction to say the gospel does not address itself to them; for then I inquire, Where does he get his knowledge of a resurrection unto life outside the gospel? His declaration admits that it is not “in the Bible.” Then by what authority does he “preach it?” It is certainly no recommendation to the non-resurrection theory that its advocates have to invent “another gospel” to accommodate it!VDRU 20.7

I read that “all the world” stand condemned—“guilty before God;” and that God “now commandeth all men everywhere to repent;” and that “without faith it is impossible to please God.” Jesus also said, “No man cometh to the Father but by me.” But in the above quotations there is a system of salvation taught which ignores these truths; and, this being the case, it is comparatively a small matter that they have contradicted their much-cherished “principles” to sustain it.VDRU 21.1

The same facts which led them to make the above statements, we have also discovered in the Scriptures. We see that the conclusion is unavoidable that there is more than one “order,” or class, in the resurrection. But we never thought necessary to refer a righteous resurrection, or resurrection to eternal life, to “them that know not God,” nor to devise a justification or system of salvation not taught in the Bible. We find a more easy, because a more scriptural, solution in referring it to the “resurrection of the unjust”-of “them that have done evil.” We learn that all now die in Adam without regard to character; but they are on probation, the result of which is life or death. And as they do not now die in view of that probation, as is proved by the fact that they die without any regard to the character formed under that probation, they must be raised to die “the second death,” which is the only death to which their probation relates. This only meets the demands of justice. And this is the teaching of the Bible.VDRU 21.2