During the last week of January, we witnessed the obstinate refusal of President de Gaulle to allow Britain to enter the common market of Europe. He dreams of a united Europe under the leadership of France as in his nation's heyday, but this in nowise changes God's plans or purposes—they will stand, and He will do all His pleasure. Men's and nations' fortunes change quickly. We still see in the present European trends the shadows of things to come. We just watch from the side lines, not as participants but as spectators, having the final results foretold and in our hands.
At this point we depart from our usual editorial practice and turn to a most unpleasant subject, but hope, the Lord willing, to return to our usual mode next month.
Since unwarranted use is being made of a partial list of Christian Truth subscribers to circulate misleading statements and so create doubts in the minds of our readers as to the soundness of doctrine we are putting forth, we feel that a word of warning is in order. The individual who is doing this alleges that this publication and its editor are unfaithful in presenting the present portion of those who die without Christ, so as to leave the impression that we may condone the blasphemous teaching of soul sleeping. In order that the reader may judge for himself, we herewith reproduce photographically three pages from the February, 1960 issue. This was printed the month following the completion of the article in question. It was inserted at that time so that there could be no such misunderstanding as is now being propagated. This explanation in 1960 was for the purpose of clarifying the meanings of certain Greek and Hebrew words which refer to the eternal punishment of the lost, the present state of bliss for the spirits and souls of departed saints, and a state of unutterable woe and despair now for those who have died in their sins.
Editor's Column
This is the second part of our review of the false religion propagated widely today under such names as "The World Tomorrow," "The Plain Truth," "Ambassador College," and under the name of its promoter, Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong.
We wish to further call attention to certain remarks which we deem derogatory to the glory of the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here is one: "No one, outside of our Savior, has yet attained to immortal life?' This may sound innocent enough, but is it? That blessed One was the author, or originator, of life; He had life in Himself; yes, He was the life. As a man, He could lay clown His life and take it again. No mere man could "lay down" his life Even as a man, no one could take His life To say that He attained to immortal life at His resurrection is to degrade Him. Really, it is a part and parcel of that false doctrine found in Seventh-day Adventism (which Mr. Armstrong seems to have taken from them intact) called "conditional immortality." Its reasoning is that man does not possess an immortal soul that lives on and on after death, either in weal or woe. It is a flat denial of the Word of God which tells of those who die in faith as being "absent from the body, and present with the = Lord." The soul and spirit do not die at the death of the body, nor do they sleep. Luke 16 takes us behind the scenes and lets us see the misery of the soul of a man in hades, whose body, was buried on earth. "Conditional immortality" is false in every way. In the working out of that scheme, the Lord Himself is supposed not to have existed when He lay in the tomb; whereas, He sustained the universe at that very time. Therefore, to say that He had to await resurrection to get immortal life is a denial of the glory and truth of His Person. "Conditional immortality" also denies that the converted thief went to Paradise that day to be with Christ, as promised.
We are sorry indeed that anything we have printed should have been the cause of uneasiness on the part of any dear Christians, but cannot in the light of what we have written and always maintained see how it could have happened. We stand where we have always stood—for the truth of God-and must leave the criticisms of those who "watch for iniquity" and "make a man an offender for a word," with the Lord, "the righteous Judge."
The articles from old issues of Christian Truth, from which these excerpts have been taken, are still available from the publishers in their entirety in pamphlet form. The first is entitled Arminianism Versus Calvinism, and the second, The Armstrong Heresy.