A friend of mine, David Waltz, brought the work of a certain F. D. Nichol to my attention in connection to my post
I'm Naked! - NSFW, specifically his
Answers to Objections: An Examination of the Major Objections Raised Against the Teachings of Seventh-day Adventists (1932). And, since his argument deserves to be heard by itself, apart from any commentary or response, I've typed up the relevant passage thereof, namely, pp. 100-107 here. We'll respond next week, but let's let our friend Mr. Nichol speak for himself[1]:
Did not Paul declare that when he died he would go immediately to be with Christ? (See Phil. 1:21-23.)
The passage reads thus: 'For to me to life is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better.' Phil. 1:21-23
If there were no other text in the Bible that dealt with the question of the final reward of the righteous, the reader might be pardoned for concluding that Paul expected, immediately at death, to enter heaven. This much we freely grant. But we would add at once that if a lone phrase in some one text of Scripture is to be viewed by itself, the Bible would seem to teach salvation by works, prayers for the dead, and other doctrines that Protestants consider unscriptural.
We cannot agree with the interpretation of Paul's words as given in the objection before us. Why? Because it would make the apostle contradict himself. Paul wrote much on the subject of being with Christ. Let us examine at least a part of his writings before drawing a conclusion concerning this passage.
In another of his letters, Paul goes into details as to when the righteous will go to 'be with the Lord:' 'The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.' 1 Thess. 4:16-18
This states very plainly that the righteous dead and the righteous living will go 'to meet the Lord' at the same time, for they are to be 'caught up together.' The time is when 'the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven,' that is, at the second advent. 'And so [in this way, or by this means] shall we ever be with the Lord.' Why should Paul teach here most emphatically that it was to be by means of the second advent that all the righteous, including himself, would go to be with the Lord, if he really believed that he would go at death?
The apostle made this statement to the Thessalonians because, said he, 'I would not have you be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not.' Verse 13. He assured them in the next verse that if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then we may be confident that the God who 'brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus' (Heb. 13:20) will also bring from the dead those who sleep in Jesus.
It is impossible to think that Paul believed that the righteous go to be with the Lord at death, since he specifically told the Thessalonians that the righteous, both living and dead, go 'together' to 'be with the Lord' at the second advent. He declared that he was writing them so that they would not be 'ignorant.' It is incredible that he would leave them in ignorance as to begin with Christ at death, if he thus believed. In fact, he told them the very opposite, - that the righteous dead do not go to be with the Lord at death, but await the resurrection morn. If he believe that he we go to be with the Lord at death, why did he fail to mention this fact when he was writing specifically to 'comfort' them? He exhorted them to find their 'comfort' in a future event - the resurrection.
Those ministers today who believe in immortal souls, 'comfort' the bereaved with the assurance that the love done has already gone to be with the Lord, and they declare that we who hold a contrary view deprive a sorrowing one of the greatest comfort possible. Do they therefore indict Paul also?
Again, if Paul believe that the righteous go to God at death, why did he tell the Corinthian church that the change from mortality to immortality will not take place until the 'last trump'? (See 1 Cor. 15:51-54.)
Or why did he tell the Colossians that when Christ appears, 'then shall ye also appear with Him in glory'? Col. 3:4.
Or why should he have said, as the time of his own 'departure,' by the executioner's sword, was at hand, 'Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them that love His appearing'? 2 Tim. 4:8
Yes, and why should Christ Himself tell His disciples that they would once more be with Him when He fulfilled His promise: 'I will come again, and receive you unto Myself'?
Yes, why should Christ have focused the attention of the troubled disciples wholly on His second advent if it were really true all of them would go to be with their Lord immediately at death?
These, and other passages we could quote, are in hopeless contradiction to the interpretation placed on the words of Paul in the objection before us. Are we to conclude, therefore, that Scripture contradicts itself? No. Paul in his statement to the Philippians does not say when he expects to be with Christ. He states briefly his weariness of life's struggle, his desire to rest from the conflict, if that would Christ to be 'magnified.' But to this veteran apostle, who had so constantly preached the glorious return of Christ as the one great event beyond the grave, the falling asleep in death was immediately connected with what would occur at the awakening of the resurrection, - the being 'caught up' 'to meet the Lord.'
It is not an unusual thing for a Bible writer to couple events that are separated by a long span of time. The Bible does not generally go into details, but concerns itself with the setting forth the really important points of God's dealing with man along the course of centuries. For example, Isaiah 61:1,2 contains a prophecy of the work that Christ would do at His first advent. In Luke 4:17-19 is the account of Christ's reading this prophecy to the people, informing them: 'This day is the scripture fulfilled in your ears.' Verse 21. But a close examination will reveal that Christ did not read all the prophecy from Isaiah, though apparently it is one connected statement. He ended with the phrase: 'To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.' But the very next phrase in the sentence is: 'And the day of vengeance of our God.' He did not read this, because it was not yet fulfilled. The whole span of Christian era was to pass before the day of God's vengeance was to come. This long period of time is not even suggested in the prophecy, but other Bible passages indicate this fact clearly, and it is by examining all these other passages that we learn how to understand a brief, compressed prophecy like that of Isaiah 61.
Or take the prophecy of the second advent as given in 2 Peter 3:3-13. If no other Bible passage was compared with this one, the conclusion might easily be reached that the second advent of Christ results immediately in the destruction of this earth by fire. Yet when we compare 2 Peter 3 with Revelation 20, we learn that a thousand years intervene between the second advent and the fiery destruction of this earth. Peter was giving only a brief summary of the outstanding events impending. He passed immediately from the great fact of the second advent over to the next great act in the drama of God's dealing with this earth, its destruction by fire. But with Peter's prophecy, as with that of Isaiah, there is no need for confusion if we follow the Bible plan of comparing scripture with scripture to fill in the details.
Now if Peter could place in one sentence (2 Peter 3:10) two great events separated by a thousand years, and Isaiah could couple in another sentence (Isa. 61:2) two mighty events separated by more than nineteen hundred years, why should it be thought strange if Paul followed this plan, and coupled together in one sentence (Phil. 1:23) the sad event of his dying with the glorious event of being 'with Christ' at the second advent? In the other passages we have quoted from Paul, the death of the Christian is directly connected with the resurrection at Christ's advent, events we know are separated by a long span of time. Therefore the mere fact of the coupling together of the event of dying with the event of being with the Lord, does not necessarily mean that these two events are immediately related. And when we follow the Bible rule of comparing scripture with scripture, we discover that the two events are widely separated. (pp. 100-104)
Objection VI
Paul said that he was "willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." 2 Cor. 5:8.
If the reader will open his Bible to this fifth chapter of Second Corinthians, he will discover that Paul is dealing with three possible states. Let us classify his statements regarding them:
1. 'Our earthly house.' 'At home in the body.' 'Absent from the Lord.' This house can be 'dissolved.' 'In this we groan.'
2. 'Unclothed.' 'Naked.'
3. 'A building of God.' 'House not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.' 'Our house which is from heaven.' 'Clothed upon.' 'Present with the Lord.' 'Absent from the body.'
If the 'earthly house' means our present, mortal body, as all agree, then unless there is clear proof to the contrary, it would logically follow that our heavenly house is the immortal body. And thus be a process of elimination the 'unclothed,' 'naked' state can mean none other than that state of dissolution known as death.
We are assured of the desired third state because we have 'the earnest [pledge] of the Spirit.' Verse 5. But how will God's Spirit finally insure our reaching this desired state? Paul answers: 'If the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.' Rom. 8:11.
The learned Dr. H. C. G. Moule well says: 'The same Spirit, who, by uniting us to Christ, made actual our redemption, shall surely, in ways to us unknown, carry the process to its glorious crown, and be somehow the efficient cause of 'the redemption of our Body.' ' - The Expositor's Bible, comment on Romans 8:11
Now, if the fulfilling to us of that pledge of the Spirit is the change that takes place in our mortal bodies at the resurrection, then we must conclude that the change to the third state, that of being 'clohted upon' with the heavenly house, comes at the resurrection, and consists of the change in our bodies from mortal to immortal.
Paul declares further: 'We know that the whole creation groaneth and travaleth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.' Rom. 8:22,23. The he is here dealing with the same problem as in 2 Corinthians 5, is evident:
Romans 8;22,23
2 Corinthians 5:1-8
'Groan within ourselves.'
'We groan.'
'First fruits of the Spirit.'
'Earnest of the Spirit.'
'Waiting for.'
'Earnestly desiring.'
'Redemption of our body.'
'Clothed upon' with heavenly house.
Thus we conclude again that the change from the 'earthly house' to the 'house which is from heaven' is an event that involves the 'redemption of our body,' which 'redemption,' all agree, occurs at the resurrection day. (See also Phil. 3:20,21.)
The apostle states that he longs to be 'clothed upon' with the heavenly house, 'that mortality might be swallowed up of life,' or, as the American Revised Version states, 'that what is mortal may be swallowed up of life.' Verse 4. In other words, 'what is mortal' loses its mortality by this change.
According to the immortal-soul doctrine, 'what is mortal' is the body only, which at death dissolves in the grave; while the soul simply continues on in its immortal state, freed from the mortal body. But Paul longs to be 'clothed' with the heavenly house, 'that what is mortal bay be swallowed up of life.' Thus by their own tenets, the immortal-soul advocates must agree that Paul in this passage is not dealing with an experience that takes place at death. We might therefore close the discussion.
In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul declared: 'We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.' When? 'At the last trump.' And what will take place? 'The dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.' And what will result from this? 'When this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.' 1 Cor. 15:51-54. This last phrase parallels the language in 2 Corinthians 5: 'What is mortal [or subject to death] may be swallowed up of life.' The swallowing up of death, or mortality, is still a future event.
That Paul expected to be 'clothed upon' with the heavenly house at the resurrection day, is the certain conclusion from all his statements. Being 'present with the Lord' is contingent upon being 'clothed' with the heavenly house. Therefore the being 'present with the Lord' awaits the resurrection day. How beautifully this agrees with the apostle's statement to the Thessalonians, that at the resurrection we are caught up 'to meet the Lord,' and 'so shall we ever be with the Lord.' 1 Thess. 4:16,17
If it seems strange to some that Paul should speak of putting off one 'house' and putting on another when he meant simply the change in our bodies from mortal to immortal, we would remind them that he uses a similar figure of speech when describing the change that takes place in the heart at conversion. He declares that we should 'put off . . . the old man,' and 'put on the new man.' Eph. 4:22-24.
The fact that Paul coupled together the being freedom from the earthly house and the being clothed upon with the heavenly, does not prove that he expected an immediate transfer from one to the other. He makes specific reference to an 'unclothed,' a 'naked' state. On the question of immediate transfer, the reader is referred to the discussion of Philippians 1:21-23 in the preceding chapter.
With propriety might Paul 'groan' for the day when he could put off this mortal body, with all the evils suggests by it, and could put on, be 'clothed upon,' with the promised immortal body, in which body he would be ready 'to meet' and to 'ever be with the Lord.'
[1] As it happens, this book can be found
here, as can a revision (1952, evidently):
here. Also, I expect to revisit his work, and those like it from time to time.