In the Christian Science Bible Lesson May 7, 2012 Issue

'From glory to glory'

For the lesson titled "Mortals and Immortals" from May 7-13, 2012

Michael Hamilton

With clear-eyed spiritual realism, Mary Baker Eddy wrote: “Mortals are not like immortals, created in God’s own image; but infinite Spirit being all, mortal consciousness will at last yield to the scientific fact and disappear, and the real sense of being, perfect and forever intact, will appear” (Science and Health, p. 295, citation 5). This statement is the keystone for the Bible Lesson, titled “Mortals and Immortals.” The Golden Text from First Corinthians corroborates it: “When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. . . . For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face” (13:10, 12). Or, as the New International Version renders it: “When completeness comes, what is in part disappears. . . . For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.” 

In Section I, Isaiah proclaims, “All flesh is grass” (40:6, cit. 2). The Hebrew word chatsiyr means "grass, ... herbage" and points to "the quickly perishing." However, that is not Enoch’s destiny (see Genesis 5:23, 24, cit. 8). His lifespan of 365 years may seem long, but it is the shortest of those listed in the genealogy that fills that chapter. Enoch receives a singular commendation: He “walked with God.” Hebrews affirms that he was “translated” —metatithemi in Greek—a verb that also means “to transfer; to change; . . . to go or pass over.” He did “not see death” (11:5, cit. 9).

According to Jeremiah, some mortals are not as wise as they think they are; his “wise men” (Jeremiah 8:9, cit. 11) may refer to the scribes. These experts on the Jewish law, who are often mentioned in the New Testament, may also have been active as early as Jeremiah’s time. The scribes probably began as copyists of the Law, painstakingly inscribing it on scrolls; they developed into a widely consulted class of legal experts. Jeremiah did not hold these “wise men” in high regard; in fact, he charged them with rejecting “the word of the Lord.”