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About The Plattsmouth journal. (Plattsmouth, Nebraska) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (May 5, 1913)
CHRIST ASCENDED AS HE DESCENDED Ve Have Erred In Supposing His Flesh Ascended. PASTOR RUSSELL EXPLAINS. The Logyi Descended He Was Made Flash Humbled Even Unto Death, SHeol, Hades He Was Raised From the Dead a Spirit Being He Ascend- He Descended Jesus a Quick ening E pirit Atcended to Glory, Hon or and Immortality What Ho Loft and More Added Glory. Detroit, Mich., Miiy 4. Pastor Russell gave two addresses here to day. We report the one on Christ's Ascension. II 1m text was: "Thou hast ascended on High, Thou hast led captivity rnp tive: Thou hast received gifts for men: yen. for the rebellious u I s o, that, the Lord God might dwell among them."- l'sitlm CS;1S. Pastor Russell declared tlmt one of the serious errors engrafted into the Christian faith Is the supposition that Jesus 1:1 still a man in Heaven. He de clared that this thought has helped to turn away many from the faith In the preinillennlal coming of Christ, and the establishment of Ills Kingdom for blessing the world, as the P.ible de clares. Many Christians pi-n-olve that a localized relcn of Christ In the llch would be far Inferior to a spiritual reign, and hence tin; general reject Ion of all faith in the Second Coming of Christ nnd His Millennial Kingdom. He iHilnled out that all Christians firmly believe that. Jesus was a spirit being before He wan "made flesh, and dwelt among us." All believe also that a spirit being Is of n higher order than a human being, and that Jesus made n great stoop when lie laid aside the glory of His pre human condition to become "the Man Christ Jesus." St. Pu ill's reference to this was quoted: "Though He was rich, yet for our sokes He become poor, that wo through Ills poverty might become rich." He divested Himself of Ills glory and took upon Himself the Seed of Abraham, and was "found In fashion ns ft man." A. man Is "a little lower than the an gels" even In his perfection. The rnstor declared that no student of the- Bible could suppose that the Heavenly Father has permanently de graded Ills Son from a station higher than angels to one Imrrr than angels. Nobody brlicrrs this In his heart of hearts, and yet many 'ri this very thing. The ascension of Christ Is claimed to prove It. It Is absurd to mipposo that with our Iril Jesus, ac customed to the spirit condition, and made flesh for the short space of thirty-three nnd a half years, could be otherwise than discommoded and so riously dishonored by tho Father, If Ue now has a body of flesh. F Ascends Where He Wat Before. The Pastor declared that mistaken views respecting the word "ascend" helped to confuse Chr'stlan people. Tho Apostlo quoting and explaining Ills text, shows that Jesus' ascension Is to be considered In conjunction with Ills descent. Ho that nseemled Is the same who thirty-four years before de scended. Did the descending hove any reference to the kind of body? Surely not! Then the ascending has no refer ence to tho kind of body. The iksrrml ing signified the humiliation, the leav ing of spiritual glory, In order to be bom In the Jtrsli. The life of the Logos win transfer red from tho spirit body und became tho life germ of the bale, that H might become the Man Christ Jesus nnd give Himself sacrlticlally for tin ulns of the world. Similarly, the be getting of the Holy Spirit came to Jo huh at Ills baptism and during three nnd one half years It graduolly con stituted Illm a spiritual Priest, whose work It was to "offer up Himself." Thnt offering ended at Calvary, when lie cried, "It is finished!" nnd diod. When ou the third day, tho Father raised Him from the Goad, it was the rrieet thnt was raised to glory, honor and immortality, nnd not tho animal, or human, body which lie had sncrl flced. As It is written, "A body bast Thoa prepared Me" "for the Buf fering of doath." That fleshly body was never intended to be an. lncunv brance throughout eternity, upon the Only Begotten of the Father. "Ho dleth no more," and therefore has no further use for the bod of flesh. What liecamo of tho fleshly body, the Tnstor would not undertake to nay. It was not seen in the tomb. We know It was tho soul, not tho body, thnt was raised to life, "Thou wilt not leave My soul In Sliool" in nndes-the tomb. "Thou wilt not suf fer Thine Holy Ono to seo corruption." Why a Body of Flesh Was Used We must remember three things in connection wit this subject, snld tho Tnstor. The followers of Jesus wore required to hav- full faith (1) Thnt Jo bus was tho IiCos, who had descend cd from tho spirit piano to tho human (2) Thnt He had died sncrlflclally; (3) Thnt God raised 1 1 tin from tho dead Unless these points tfint God raised i - f if mm A Hiu, fiom the dead, a id that He as cended to Heaven. 'where He was be fore." were I '.ll.v established in the liiind-s of the A post. V they would not be In a fit imlitii o coutiuue to be the dU'lple of Je-us. Ou me other hand, they were unanie to receive spir itual tl.lngs until afi-r the spirit beget ting at Pentecost. Hence the instruc tion given them iniwt necessarily be ni ,ng earthly linen Let us suppose that Jcsu had not appeared In the flesh nfter His resur rection. Suppose that He had appear ed as He did to Saul of Tarsus as a great light shining from Heaven, above the brightness of the sun. and spoken to them. What proof would they have had that It was the same Jesus who had died? How would the message of Ills resurrection and ascension been conveyed to their minds? Evidently It was necessary that some ocular demon stration should be made to constitute the basis for their faith, and ours. Incidentally, there were given them various proofs that He was no longer a flesh being that He had experienced a complete change of nature. These proofs were Ills repeated manifesta tions to His disciples, during the folly days between His resurrection and Ills ascension. These appearances were so circumstanced as to leave no doubt that they were miracles, such as previ ously had been wrought when angels appeared In the llesh to mankind. During the three and one half years of Ills ministry, Jesus had never ap peared miraculously to Ills followers, had never vanished out of their sight. It Is not n quality of human nature to appear In a room while the doors are shut, or to appear In the garb of a gardener, then In that of a traveler, and at other times bearing the wounds of Ills crucifixion. All these things demonstrated the great change which had occurred. "I Ascend to My Father." After the forty days were ended. Je.stis ascended up where He was be fore. As Ills resurrection body was a spirit body, His ascending would not have In en visible, had He not for theli Hakes appeared In a body of flesh and blessed them, and ascended with that body until a cloud received Him. Then the llesh body, created for that special occasion, ceased to be. It was Just as when an angel appeared to Mauoah and his wife. After talking with them, the angel ascended in the flame of the nllnr, and the human body, ere ated for the very purpose of the mani festation, dissolved into pases. So it was with Jesus. Jesus' real ascension was His ns sumption of the Heavenly glory. The disciples saw very little of this, hut what they did see Died in their minds the great fact thnt their Redeemer would not manifest Himself in the flesh ngaln. Our Lord ascended where He was before, except that, as the Apostle declares, He was received to superior distinction. He was seated at the right hand of Divine Majesty, as stated In tho prophecy, "Sit Thou at My right hand until the time come when I wlllj uinko Thy foes Thy footstool'-Psulm 110:1. The Return of tho Logos. The Logos left His glory that He might deliver tho world from tho pow or of sin und death. Tho primary step necessary to this end wos His own death, the Just for tho unjust. The time was set when Satan, the prince of this world, should ho bound for a thou sand years, and his captives in sin and death released. The only thing re malnlng to be done was that the Church class should bo developed. The period for their development was so fixed that It should be accomplished by the time Satan's empire would be due to fall. Having this in mind, we grasp the poetic declaration of our text-that Je sus ascended on High, leading h multi tude of captives. First in the list of captives released were those disciples of Jesus who received Him nt 1he First Advent, nnd who were received of the Father. Others of the same class have followed all down the Gospel Age all conquerors of self, all victors through Christ. The picture bids us look away down Into the future, nnd for a thousand years see the thousands of millions of Adam's race returning from bonds of Kin and death. It bhU us realize that they will all have n full opportunity to recover the perfect human nature, the earthly image of tho Divine Father- except such as shall refuse the liberty of the sons of God, and perish with Satan, ns tho adversaries of God. "Ho Gave Gifts Unto Men." St. Paul specified tho gtfts secured for the Church by her Redeemer, say Ing. "He gave some. Apostles; nud some, prophets; nnd some, evangelists and some, pastors nud tenchers; foi the perfecting of the snlnts for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ: till we all conn In tho unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto perfect man, unto the measure of the staturo of the fulness of Christ."- Epheslnna 4:11-13. Theso aro the gifts of the Lord Jesus during the Gospol Age. After the Body of Christ hns been perfected Id tho First Resurrection, the Lord'B bless Ing will extend to the non-elect world is indicated by tho prophecy. "Yea, for tho rebellious also." Tho blessings yet to come to the world will bo wonderful. They will in sludo tho binding of Satan for n thou and years, tho restraining of nil evil Influences, and the inauguration of the Kingdom. Tho gifts of tho TiOrd to tho world will be, In pnrt, His own Kingdom for n thousand years the greatest boon, the greatest blessing, that could possibly be imagined. Another gift of Christ to tho world, will be the Church In glory. These Ihen associated with the great Re .V emer will be supervising earth's af fairs, overthrowing everything that U contrary to Divine Love and Justice, and Messing nil who come Into full accord with the I.ord. Another channel of blessing to the world will be the Ancient Worthies, who will be made princes in all the earth. These will constitute the earth ly phase of the Heavenly Kingdom. Under the rule of righteousness even evil deed will be promptly punished, and every good deed will be promptly blessed nnd rewarded. "When the Judgments of the Lord are abroad la the earth, the Inhabitants will learn lighteou.siie.ss," nod "Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess." Tho Gifts to the Church. Hut we are specially interested 'la (bills gifts to the Church, secured bj uiir Redeemer's victory over sin and ilea Hi. He made it possible for us to be ome His footstep followers, and by suffering with Him to become joint heirs in His Kingdom. Then He gave us he curious gifts for our develop ment. Not all appreciate the gifts of the remote past. Not nil realize that the writings of the Apostles constitute the Key to the P.ible. Jesus' words were not so Intended. They were therefore uttered in para bles and dark sayings. Jesus' teach ings are made luminous to us through the Holy Spirit given to the Apostles, ust as Jesus promised. (John 10:13.) This was accomplished, not by a mirac ulous operation upon each Individual. but through the gifts of the Spirit. Of the gifts specilied. some were gen eral: others were particular. Thus the Church btill has the gift of teaching given to the Apostles for our blessing. Thus we still have pastors and teach s, to assist the Church to an under- landing of the Divine Word and to the proving of all things by that Word. And this was to continue until nil the Church shall have been edified, built up, and the Body of Christ shall have been completed. Moreover, each mem ber of the P.ody lias need of this edi fying work, t Ii it t he may be qtmlllled for his place in the Itody. According to the Apostles explanation, nil these iritis of the Spirit are of the Lord, ex- nised throughout this Gospel Age un der the supervision of our glorious Head and Master Jesus. Other gifts of the Spirit were local and temporary; gilts of miracles, tongues. interpretations, etc. The early Church contained not many great, wise or learned. Few of them would have been callable of reading the Bible, if they had had one. Few, if any, of tho little classes, were possessors of the Old Testament Scriptures. These could be heard read every Sabbath in the synagogues, but not otherwise, ihey were kept very sacredly guarded, nnd especially were they refused to heretics, as the Jews thought the Christians to be. The New Testament Scriptures, we must remember, were not written until considerable time nfter Pentecost. nnd it was not until the close of the first century that they began to be col lated, nnd two or three centuries before the question wns finally decided which Books should constitute the canon of tho New Testament. We may suppose that even then these were reverenced more ns neiriooms than as the only existing Divinely In spired authority. The doctrine of Apos folic succession came In about that time. Not having Scripture, and realiz ing that the power to work miracles hail descended as u kind of legacy from our Lord to the Apostles, many were led to believe this doctrine almost In stinctlvcly, nnd to rank the living bish ops ns equnl to the Twelve Apostles. Moreover, to receive Instruction from a living teacher Is always easier than to receive It from the study of a book, Therefore the writings of tho Apostles -and indeed of all the Bible-fell Into disuse, to the Injury of the Household of Faith. A greater appreciation of tho gift which the Lord had poured out upon His followers the Holy Spirit und the fruits which that Spirit de veloped, Joy, peace, faith, love, etc would have kept them from such error. They would have been more appreci ative of the inspired Record, nnd corre spondingly less appreciative of tho un inspired words of nil other men. We see, however, thnt under exist ing conditions nt thnt time the ab sence of Scriptural writings the gifts bestowed nt Pentecost (visible nmiil festntlons of supernatural power) were very essential to the early Church. Well would It have been for them nnd their successors if, nfter hav ing made use of these miraculous ninn lfestatlons nt the beginning of the Age, and being prepared by them for tho written Word, they had further appreciated tho Importance of the Word of tho Lord through the Inspired Apostles. This would have guarded them from grievous errors which nre tlll troubling tho Lord's followers. Tho Fruits of tho Spirit. Quite a distinction Is to be observed between tho gifts of the Spirit and the fruits of tho Spirit. The gifts were those miraculous powers already ex plained, and tho special gifts of Apos tollc qualification. Dut these gtfts gradually passed away, as God had foreknown. Instead, the Lord looked for tho fruits of the Spirit, which the loyal and obedient are to cultivate. All who have received the imparta tlon of the Lord's Spirit are expected to manifest tho fruits of nis Spirit, even ns thoso who first received tho gifts were expected to nso them. The fruits most evidently nro higher gifts in God's estimation, and should he In ours. Earnestly, let us deslro tho fruits of the Spirit. Theso are the re stilt nlso of tho great gift bestowed after Jesus bad nseemled. They nre Indirect gifts, however. In giving ns a knowledge of tho Truth, through the merit of Jesus, the Father prepared the wny by which we might develop these fruits, and thus bn'ome copies of Ills Son. HOUSE TARIFF BILL TO STAND Wilson and Leaders Want il lo Go to Senate Complete, LIKELY TO PASS WEDNESDAY. Determined Ef'ort on Democratic Side to Place Cattle. Sheep and Hogs on Free List Want Bill Revised in House Washington, May 5. The Under wood tariff revision bill is expected to pass this week from its scene of rushed consideration in the house to be weighed in the steady balance of senate deliberations. It probably will bo passed in the house not later than Wednesday night, just ns it came from the ways and means committee, with free raw wool, free sugar in three years, its Income tax, free meat, free flour and slashing reductions in live stock and manufactured articles. If President Wilson proposes to ask congress for currency legislation at the extra session he has not yet made any definite suggestion relating to It, but the house leaders will learn be fore many days his plans in that re gard. It is an open secret that thejiresi dent, the finance committee of the sen nte and the ways and means commit lee of the house have had an under standing that the bill should bo re vised in all essential particulars in the house, if there are to be any changes, but whether this agreement can he maintained remains to be seen The sugar schedule with its immerli ate 25 per cent reduction and free sugar in throe years Is almost certain to remain as it Is. Wool might come out eventually with a slight duty. There is a determined minority on the Democratic side demanding that caltlo. sheep nnd hogs should be put mi the fro? list along with food prod nets. SHE FOUGHT THRQUGH WAR Served Three Years in Union Army in Disguise of a Man. Quiney, 111, May 5 The identity o) the sex of Albert D. Cashier, civil war veteran and an Inmate; of the soldiers and sailors' homo here, was revealed by Colonel J. O. Anderson, siiperin tendent of the home, to be feminine That the woman, whose real name probably never will be known, because recently she became demented, served three years in the 'union army during tho civil war, Is shown by records She was mustered out of the service in 180.") and u few years later was placed on the government pension roll The revelation or the identity of her sex was mado two years ago In Liv Ingston county, Illinois, where she was employed as a chauffeur. One day the chauffeur crawled under the car, which started puddenly, and tho wheels ol the car passed over, breaking her right leg. When she was taken to a hospital it was discovered she was a woman. T TEXAS GIRL'S FACE t WILL BE POPULAR.! New York, May 5. Miss Evelina James of San Antonio. Tex., an mi t student here, Is receiving the! congratulations of her friends, as J she is the girl whose portrait is likely to become more popular J than any other. It is safe to flay . her picture will be in every Amor-4 J b an home. It will appear exciu j sively on Uncle Sam's paper money.? PRIEST TO LEAD SOLDIERS Chihuahua Pastor Offers to Command Force Against the Rebels. El I'aso, Tex., May 5. Futher Felix Barranda, parish priest of Guerrero, Chihuahua, Is to loud a group of fed' era! troops In the campaign against the constitutionalists of northern Mex ico. Like Hidalgo, the Mexican priest patriot of a century ago, this modern day militant, minister will give up the spiritual battle for actual warfare. "I am exchanging tho cassock for the sword," he wrote Qeneral Rabago, military governor of Chihuahua. "Hav ing been marked for death by tho rev rlutlonlsts, I offer my service, prom ising to raise a force of 200 men loyal to the government." Qeneral Rabago accepted the offer, commissioning the priest to raise a rolunteer corps., Norsemen to Celibrate Centennial. Minneapolis, May 6. Initial stepi for a national celebration by Norwe gian Americans of the 100th anniver sary of the Independence ot Norway, to take place at the Minnesota state fair grounds for three days of the week of May 17. 1914, were taken at a meeting of fifty representative Norwe gian business and professional mon here. United States Gunboat to Haiti. Washington. May 5. To bo on hand for any possible contingencies In con nection with the nccesslon of n new president of Haiti, tho gunboat Nash ville, one of the naval watchdogs of the West Indies, sailed from S;in Do mingo City for Port nu Prince. The gunboat wus ordered to tho llaitlen capital upon the announcement of President Angusics' death. BRYAN AND JOHNSON. Secretary of State and California's' Governor In Contrasting Moods. fr-r ... ' i 1913, by Amorlcan Press Association. Both the dUtliiKiilslieil Kentlfincn felt In better spirits before I hey conferred about the proposed antl-nllen land owners' In California thiin they did afterward, as will bo noted In their viiiyln.; expressions FIGHTJN LONDON Wild Disorder Follows Attempt to Prevent Speeches. Ixndon, May 5. Wild scenes of dis order oceui red at the demonstration in Trafalgar square under the auspices ot the Free Speech Defense commit tee. The police tried to prevent speeches from the Whitehall side of tho Nelson column and only the inter vention of James Kier Hardie, Social ist and Independent Labor member of the house of commons, who was chair man of the meeting, prevented a seri ous riot. As it was, the disorders, many limes culminating in fisticuffs be twoen the police nnd the crowd, con tinued for almost two hours. LYMAN ABB0TTJS REMOVED Peace Society Objects to His Favoring Large Naval Budget. St. Louis, May 5. Dr. Lyman Ab bott of New York was removed from the list of vice presidents of the American Peace society because he signed the appeal of the Navy league for large naval appropriations. Objection to the name of Dr. Abbott among the list of vice presidents was made by Charles E. Deals of Chicago, secretary of the Chicago Peace societv. Mr. Deals also objected to tho report of the nominating committee, express ing the opinion that the committee seemed to think the western boundary of the United States was at Buffalo. antisTelittle PARADH Declare Suffragists Exaggerate the Number of Marchers. New York, May 5. While suffrag ists announced that more than 20,0 0 persons had marched in the womat s suffrage parade on Fif'h avenue, and some independent estimates exceeded the 20,000 mark, representatives of the national association opposed to woman suffrage gave out a statement dcclar Ing that by actual count 9.C13 persons, including children, policemen and members of bands in the procession, constituted the marching force. Important French Naval Secret Out. Toulon, France, May 5. There is consternation in naval circles here over the publication of a foreign re view of the full technical details of an invention to which the greatest Importance attaches. A prominent naval officer had been engaged In per fectlng the Invention here in secret It la said that the leaking out of the secret coincides with the stay of a for elgn officer In Toulon. The maritime perfect has ordered a strict investigu tlon. Attacks Grand Duke With Knife. Mannheim, Germany, May 5 A workman armed with a knife attacked Grand Duke Frederick of Baden as he was leaving the railroad station with his consort. The grand duke thr" off bis assailant and was not harmed. A crowd gathered and attacked th? man, Intending to lynch him, hut the police arrested him. He gave name ns Anton Jung and said lw is an anarchist nnd had been commissioned by a society to attack the crnii'l dul.c. Public School Damaged by Suffragcttis Aberdeen, May 3 One of the pub lic schools of thl- city was partly burned by militmt suffragettes. The iliimnge amounted m jLViim. A la rue It 1 1 : 1 1 1 1 1 1 y of suffrage lift ralure was H ? I: , r. ; iL j I emd scnttcied :il ;t tin- building. EXPERT HODGSON LEAVESFOR EAST Spends Day at Lincoln With Re gents Coopland and Allen. EXUNSiGN PLANS GONE OVER George W. Klir.5 Gets Appointment of State- Publicity Agent Burglar En ters Home of Former Governor Aid ricr Falls City Withdraws Request. Lincoln, May 5. Progress of the committee which is to make apraisala ttf the cost of moving the state uni versity to the state farm and of con tinuing its development of the present campus in the city has been exceed ingly slow thus far. C. T. Hodgson, a prominent member of a country-wide known university architectural firm, spent the day here with Regents Coupland and Allen, and ' after a perfunctory examination of the farm and the city campus left for the east. He will likely return for a stay of some length later on. At that time it is expected that he will have defi nite figures and sketches to submit it li on lively developments that might he secured at either the farm or at the present campus. Kline Chosen Publicity Agent. George W. Kline, former city ed itor of the Daily Star of this city and ct present secretary of the university alumni association, lias been chosen state publicity expert. Jie will work under the direction of the governor and the secretary of the state board of agriculture and In accordance with the provisions of a lately enacted law giving to that board the collection of agricultural and industrial statistics of tho state. A designing burglar entered ex-Gov ernor Chester H. Aldrich s residotice here and in a somewhat thorough search of the downstairs portion man aged to find only $1.30, which Mrs. Aldrich had left In a purse after an afternoon's shopping tour. New Hotel Law. Friends of the movement to sup press the social evil in this city and Omaha are looking to the new hotel law, which goes Into effect July 16, as a most potent aid to the enforcement of the Albert law, passed by the 1911 legislature. They base their belief that it will prove so on the fact that all hotels, rooming houses and apart ment houses, where live or more rooms are kept for hire, must submit to registration and Inspection at the hands of the hotel commission. Withdraws Request for Depot. At the request of the people of Falla City, who appeared before the railway commission some time ago and filed a oomplaint and request asking that a union depot be constructed at that town, the application has been with drawn. It is presumed that the people must have come to some satisfactory adjustment of the depot trouble with the railway companies and dismissed the suit. State Aid Bridge Completed at Baisett The largest slate aid bridge in the state has just been completed across the Niobrara river, fourteen miles from Bassett. It 'Is five fifty-foot spans and Is built of reinforced con crete. The bridge cost $15,559.85, one balf pa'd by the state, and one-fourth by Keya Paha and Rock counties each. Fire Commissioner Calls for Cleanup. State Fire Commissioner Rldgell has Issued his first proclamation, which calls upon the people of the state te get busy nnd clean up. INSURANCE MEN AT FREMONT Large Attendance Is Promised at Meeting to Be Held In June. Fremont, Neb.. May 5. The annual convention of local fire Insurance agents of Nebraska has been called for June 17-18 nnd Is to be held nt Fre mont. Indications promise nn attend ance that will run Into the hundreds Already Invitations have been sent to nil of the fire Insurance agents in the larger towns of the state and gen erally they have signified their Inten tion of dropping business and attend ing the Fremont meeting, one day and probably both. Raise Funds for Church. Omaha, May 5. Congregational churches in the city, In Nebraska and In many other states appropriated por tlona of the offerings made by their congregations for the rebuilding of Plymouth church, destroyed by the tor nado. Members also were given op portunity to make specific contribu tions for that purpose. Veteran Found Dead In Room. Seward, Neb., May 5. Charles Ken slstan, a laborer, about sixty-five years old, was found dead in his room here. He had lived here about twenty years and has no known relatives. He was on old soldier and is said to have been a member of an Iowa regiment. Commits Suicide by Drowning In River Crawford, Neb., May 5 P. C. Brim Bklll, aged forty years, committed sul clde here by drowning himself In the White river. He first attempted sul ride by opening the veins In his wrists but failed. Trooper Thrown From Horse Dies. Crawford. Neb., May 5. Sergenn WiUlam J. He.itheiiy. troop G. TweKtl cn.iliv. was thrown from his horsi -r ' his nerk wns broken. i)