16 And now behold, I
say unto you then cometh a death, even a second death, which is a spiritual
death; then is a time that whosoever dieth in his sins, as to a temporal death,
shall also die a spiritual death; yea, he shall die as to things pertaining unto
righteousness.
17 Then is the time
when their torments shall be as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame
ascendeth up forever and ever; and then is the time that they shall be chained
down to an everlasting destruction, according to the power and captivity of
Satan, he having subjected them according to his will.
18 Then, I say unto
you, they shall be as though there had been no redemption made; for they cannot
be redeemed according to God's justice; and they cannot die, seeing there is no
more corruption.
19 Now it came to pass
that when Alma had made an end of speaking these words, the people began to be
more astonished;
20 But there was one Antionah, who was a chief
ruler among them, came forth and said unto him: What is this that thou hast said,
that man should rise from the dead and be changed from this mortal to an immortal
state that the soul can never die?
21 What does the
scripture mean, which saith that God placed cherubim and a flaming sword on the
east of the garden of Eden, lest our first parents should enter and partake of
the fruit of the tree of life, and live forever? And thus we see that there was no possible
chance that they should live forever.
Alma 12:16-21
Alma continues explaining the
gospel to Zeezrom.
Having stood before God and
having been judged, if a person does not repent, they will suffer a second
death, a spiritual death.
“And many of them that sleep in the dust of
the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and
everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2).
“And I say unto you my friends, Be not
afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can
do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath
killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him” (Luke
12:4-5).
“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand
before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is
the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were
written in the books, according to their works.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell
delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man
according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of
fire. This is the second death. And
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of
fire” (Revelation 20:12-15).
So, the wicked suffer two deaths,
one physical and one spiritual. The
spiritual death they experience means they have died “as to things of righteousness.”
“Wherefore, if they should die in their
wickedness they must be cast off also, as to the things which are spiritual,
which are pertaining to righteousness; wherefore, they must be brought to stand
before God, to be judged of their works; and if their works have been
filthiness they must needs be filthy; and if they be filthy it must needs be
that they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God; if so, the kingdom of God must be
filthy also” (1 Nephi 15:33).
“But behold, an awful death cometh upon the
wicked; for they die as to things pertaining to things of righteousness; for
they are unclean, and no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of God; but they
are cast out, and consigned to partake of the fruits of their labors or their
works, which have been evil; and they drink the dregs of a bitter cup”
(Alma 40:26).
[T]he Book of
Mormon again offers significant insight regarding a central gospel doctrine.
Information unique to the Book of Mormon includes what the souls of men will
confess at the judgment bar (Mosiah 16:1; 27:31); the fact that we will be
judged not only according to our works but also according to the desires of our
hearts (Alma 41:3, 5); that mankind will be judged from scriptural records (2
Nephi 29:11); a definitive statement concerning the second death (Alma
12:16—18); and that bell is as a lake of fire and brimstone, in that the unjust
are "consigned to an awful view of their own guilt, which doth cause them
to shrink into a state of misery and endless torment, from whence they can no
more return" (Mosiah 3:24, 27).[1]
The torment suffered by those who
experience spiritual death will be like a lake of fire and brimstone.
“And the beast was taken, and with him the
false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them
that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his
image. These both were cast alive into a
lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Revelation 19:20).
“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the
abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and
all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and
brimstone: which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8).
They will be chained and suffer
according to the power and captivity of Satan, having subjected themselves to
his will. Alma then explains it will be as if there had been no redemption for
the wicked,[2] with
the exception of being resurrected. They
will be judge according to their works during their lives.
Alma finished his message and the
people were astonished at his words.
One of the chief rulers,
Antionah, confronted Alma. He asked what
he meant when he said man shall be raised form the dead into an immortal
state. What did he mean when he said the
soul cannot die? Scriptures had made
this clear. For example:
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ
shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).
“So 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 Corinthians 15:54).
“O how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand, the paradise of God
must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the body
of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is restored to itself again, and all
men become incorruptible, and immortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect
knowledge like unto us in the flesh, save it be that our knowledge shall be
perfect” (2 Nephi 9:13).
The Nehorite
confusion concerning the consequences of sin, the resurrection, and the
judgment were evidently widespread in Ammonihah. When Antionah stepped forward
to question Alma, he seems to have been baffled by some of these same concerns.
His questions suggest that he, and perhaps others of his order, confounded
immortality with eternal life. On the other hand, Antionah may simply have been
attempting to trap Alma into making a contradiction.[3]
Not giving Alma an opportunity to
answer his first question, he asked a second question and answered it
himself. What, he asked, is meant by God
placing a cherubim[4] and
a flaming sword so they could not partake of the fruit of the tree of live and
live forever? Antionah immediately responds there was no way they could eat the
fruit and live forever.
[1] The
Book of Mormon, an Interpretive Guide to the New Testament, Dennis Largey,
Maxwell Institute, accessed April 14, 2015.
[2]
Amulek made a similar point to Zeezrom: “Therefore
the wicked remain as though there had been no redemption made, except it be the
loosing of the bands of death; for behold, the day cometh that all shall rise
from the dead and stand before God, and be judged according to their works”
(Alma 11:41).
[3] The
Temple in Time and Eternity – Conflicting Orders: Alma and Amulek in Ammonihah,
Thomas R. Valletta, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 15, 2015.
[4] Cherubim. Figures representing heavenly
creatures, the exact form being unknown.
They are found in the Holy of Holies, on the Mercy Seat of the Ark (Ex.
25:18, 22; 1 Kgs. 6:23–28; Heb. 9:5), and in the visions of Ezekiel (Ezek. 10;
11:22). In the account of the Fall,
cherubim are represented as keeping "the way of the tree of life"
(Gen. 3:24). (Bible Dictionary|C Cherubim: Entry)
No comments:
Post a Comment