THIS WEEK'S BIBLE LESSON, titled "Probation After Death," begins with this resounding proclamation: "The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up" (Matt. 4:16, Golden Text). The gospel writer, quoting Isaiah (9:2, citation 1), is particularly interested in showing that Christ Jesus, as the light of the world, fulfills the prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Section I begins with those words of Isaiah, and continues with prayers contained in three psalms. The Psalmist trusts in God as "my buckler" and "the horn of my salvation" (Ps. 18:2, cit. 2). A buckler is a shield, and the horn symbolizes strength. "The right hand of the Lord" (Ps. 118:16, cit. 3) personifies His power. This imagery points to God not as the cause of death but as showing "the path of life" (Ps. 16:11, cit. 4), and defending it! Science and Health affirms that "God, divine good, does not kill a man in order to give him eternal Life, for God alone is man's life" (p. 203, cit. 3).

To "lay hold on eternal life" (I Tim. 6:12, cit. 5) requires a heartfelt commitment to living. The Message renders the whole verse this way: "Seize the eternal life, the life you were called to, the life you so fervently embraced in the presence of so many witnesses."

God's statutes, or commandments, are guideposts that rejoice the Psalmist's heart and enlighten his eyes (Sect. III, cit. 6). "Secret faults" (Ps. 19:12) and "presumptuous sins" (verse 13) must go, through deep cleansing. The Amplified Bible expands on verse 12: "Clear me from hidden [and unconscious] faults." Overcoming sin, here and hereafter, energizes the words of Ezekiel (cit. 7). Repentance, iniquity, transgression, and related concepts are all important in this passage, as in this verse: "Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin" (Ezek. 18:30). The Hebrew verb translated here as repent simply means "to turn back, return."

The Bible citations in Section III conclude with Proverbs, and Section IV begins with words from the same book. Proverbs is part of Hebrew wisdom literature, with short, pithy sayings that guide the young in the right path. Jesus would have known this book. Perhaps it is not surprising, then, that he sometimes used brief gems of wisdom to instruct his students. The Beatitudes (cit. 11) epitomize the life of blessedness, and Vine's Dictionary of New Testament Words explains, "the nature of that which is the highest good." This education is indispensable: "Earth's preparatory school must be improved to the utmost" (Science and Health, p. 486, cit. 13).

Jesus sometimes taught the people in the Temple at Jerusalem, using its loggias and courtyards as his classroom. He assured them, "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12, cit. 13). In I Corinthians (cit. 15), Paul reaffirms what he, in turn, taught the Christian converts at Corinth. In fact, it's the very same gospel he was taught. This passage is one of the earliest records of the Christian kerygma—the preaching by Jesus' followers after his ascension. It outlines the vital truth as Paul knows it, all "according to the scriptures" (I Cor. 15:3, 4), that is, in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Most wondrously, Paul sees Jesus' progressive, probationary experience as linked to his own, and to all "them that slept"—that had passed on. The Christ is "the firstfruits," whose ripening and maturation is the predictor of their own achievement, and they shall "also appear with him in glory" (Col. 3:4, cit. 16).

Science and Health makes it clear that "Life is the origin and ultimate of man, never attainable through death, but gained by walking in the pathway of Truth both before and after that which is called death" (p. 487, cit. 25). Following this, we find the Bible to be like trail notes of veteran mountaineers, guiding us up steep trials, over mountain passes, into magnificent meadows. We read excerpts from the logs of prophets and apostles, like this one, written for us: "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" (II Tim. 1:7–10, New International Version, cit. 18). css