! PEOPLE'S AT", 2 Sermon by CHAR1 3 T. RUSSELL Paotor Brooklyn Tabernace. oco Ooo PULPIT... OUT OF THE BELLY OF HELL CRIED I 'I cried Ly reason ol mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried 1" (Jonah ii,2.) ooO ' Od the Mediterranean Sea. April 17 We are not far from the place where Ioor Jonah long ago had his sad es lierience In his attempt to ruu away from the Divine commission to the Ninevites. We are uenrlng Jaffa, the port from which be sailed, then called Joppa. Some. Intent on disprovlug us much as possible of the Bible, have attempted to make light of Jonah's ex periences. claiming that there was no fish In the world of such capacity as onld swallow a man entirely. We are to remember, however, that the Scriptures do not say that It was on ordinary whale that swallowed Jonah, but rather they specifically declare that God "specially prepared" a great fish for the occasion. Nor la this alL , We have our Lord's own testimony to the truthfulness of the matter, and whoever denies either bis truthfulness or his Intelligence Is thereby denying also his Messlahshlp and repudiating him as a Savior, because neither a falsifier nor-a dope could possibly be recognized as the great Redeemer and :Savlor. the Sent of God, the Messiah. Additionally our Lord Informs us that the Jonah Incident was In the nature of .a type, especially designed of God to foreshadow the fact that Jesus himself would be dead for parts of three days and arise from the dead on the third day, eveB as Jonah was burled alive for parts ol three days and on the third day the great fish vomited him tupon dry land. There is nothing dim -cult about the narrative to one who has proper faith in God. To those who tiave not faith, nothing connected with Divine revelation is reasonable, com oiendable or satisfactory. Let us incintaln our stand with those who uold fast to. and hold forth for others. the Word of Life. Th Bally of Hell Described. But what have "the belly of hell' and the poor soul crying from it to do with the story of Jonnh? And how does the story associnte itself with our journey today over the Mediterranean Deep? Jonah wa3 the man who was ;in the belly of hell and whose cry unto the Lord from there constitutes our cext When a boy I heard this text, and my imagination conjured up what toell would be like, and especially what the belly of beh. or what 1 supposed -the middle part of It. would be like. I had the opportunity of looking luto fclast furnaces through what Is called the glory-hole or peep-hole. There 1 .noted that the center of the fire was at white heat. 1 tried to imagine peo ple in such a condition In the very middle or belly of hell. I could not imagine how they could survive such an experience a single moment, let alone for all eternity. I sought theo Jogical expositions of the matter and learned that some theologians of the lioary past, admitting the destructive effect of fire, claimed that God would specially vitalize all the poor creatures consigned to this torment, so that they would never die, but would keep on suffering forever and forever and for ever, untenable tortures. 1 found that other theologians explained that those consigned to such a fiery ordeal would gradually become adapted to it and assume an usbestos-llke shell which would measurably protect tm in from Ihe fire. But these theologians went on to explain that, wishing them, to suffer horrible tortures, God would scale off the asbestos shell, causing them to suffer still more excruciatingly very time the operation was perform As u child 1 tried to Imagine that this was the just desert of sinners, und that the lleaveuly Father was really kind and loving that he did not give them worse, though 1 could not think of anything worse that they ould suffer. "When 1 was a child, I spake as a child; but when I becume a man, I lut away childish things" (I Corln thiaus xlil. Hi. I asked for the proof that anybody could endure such suf ferings und yet live. I asked for the proof that our God Is as unsympathetic as any devil could be. My mind rejected us irratloual the whole proposition. said: The Gou whom I shall worship must be a greater being than niyself- greuter tlinu any human being, uotonly iu power to execute his will, but ulso In wisdom to make a wise arrangement for his creatures, and also perfect In Justice to do to them as he would have them do to him, If he were the crea- turo und they the God. He must also lie perfect in kive, the noblest feature of any character. 1 said to myself Such must be the God who was the Yen tor of our race, for he has pro dured In humanity certain degrees of these various qualities and ho could not give to man what he does not h!:r self possess, nor can we suppose thit he would create man with more Jus tleo, wisdom, love und power than b himself possesses. To that great God 1 bowed my heart and mind nml every power that I possess. To him I still how, and give thanks that by his grace 1 have come to see his character, bis Plan und his Word more clearly than iu the past. 1 thank him that now I can see lu what way ultimately Jesus will be the "Light of the world"-not merely the Light of the Church (John vlil, 12). In abandoning the doctrine of eter nal torment my disposition was to abandon the Bible also, because 1 be lieved that the Bible was the founda tion of the irrational theory which had pictured God to my mind as a demon of the worst imaginable type. But, thank God. dear friends, the Lord heard my prayer for light, for knowl edge respecting himself. After I bad made a search of heathen creeds, as well as those of Christendom, and had found them all Illogical, unreasonable. unsatisfactory, I turned to the Bible again, saying. Perhaps I have not done the Bible justice; perhaps I have uu consciously attributed to the Bible the teachings of the creeds. Perhaps have read it through colored specta cles. Praying to God for guidance I took up Bible study In a very differ ent way from previously. 1 began to study the Bible as I should have done at first without reference to any of the creeds. I began to let God teach me. I censed to say. It reads, "Thiu," but It must mean otherwise. It says. "So and so." but cannot mean that but the reverse. In other words I ceased to try to teach God and en deavored to be taught of God through his Word, guided by bis holy Spirit International Bible. Studies. That was thirty-eight years ago. Un der the Lord's blessing I found the Key to the interpretation of the Scrip tures not because of ability, but. I believe, because it Is now due time for the Bible to be understood in the closing of this Gospel Age and the dawning of the Millennial Day. Hav ing found the Key and used it myself I have spent my best endeavors since to put the Key luto the hands of God's consecrated people the world over. 1 have nothing to boast of. dear friends, but have much to be glad for. - First. 1 am glad on my own account with a Joy unspeakable, tlrnt now I know my Heavenly Father nud can have con fidence In him and can have love for him, as never before. I um thankful thnt, to some extent. I have been en abled to convey similar joys, similar blessings, to others of his dear people of all denominations In all parts of the world. The Lord has gradually en larged my opHirtuulties year by year. I am not building a sect not making new denomination not founding a Church! We have had too much of that sort of thing already. Not only have we Wesley's Church and Calvin's Church, etc.. etc., but It has become the custom for ench minister to be spoken of as the proprietor of the Church; as, for Instance. The "Rever end Dr. A.'s Church. It has become a custom, too. for the preachers to speak of the people as "My people." "My Church." This Is all wrong. I wish to have neither part nor lot in It. I have no Church, and wish for noue There Is but the one Church the Church of Christ "the Church of the Living God"-"the Church of the First- Borns, whose names are written In heaveu." That Church Includes lu Its membership every true saint of God who trusts In the merit of Christ and seeks to walk In his footsteps. What ever earthly systems such may be Iden tified with are without Divine author ization. Their standing In God's sight Is merely becnuse of their Identifica tion with Christ as "members of his Body.' In God's providence I was led to pub lish six volumes of "Studies In the Scriptures." or Bible Keys. These were taken up by the Bible and Tract Society, and published at cost price, to enable all of God's people everywhere to procure them. They are now pub lished In ten of the most prominent languages. The first Volume, "The Plan of the Ages," has passed the three million mark. I have received not one cent of royalty. My life is a verv simple one. Mr expenses are small. I accept no salary and take up no collections. Voluntary donations from those who' have been blessed by my labors supply my needs and the surplus goes to the Bible and Tract So clety for the general forwarding of Its work "The Promulgation of Christian Knowledge." Each earnest Christian who obtains the assistance of these Bible Keys and enters Into the ' treasures of God's Word und becomes rich himself In spiritual knowledge nml In Joy und peace of heart Is glad to cull the at tent Ion of others to these Bible Keys Thus the International classes of Bible Students of all denominations In all parts of the world are springing up and a blessed light., we believe, U go ing forth from these, nsslstful to all who love righteousness and hate in iquity. Although 1 am the regular Pas tor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle congre gation, there nre several assistants and ! rrr privileged to h pert Is to thinking C'lirl tlnns 'of various parts of the world, especially In the t'niied States, en!- the Lord l.nows how I thank hlra for this privilege of service, am. the still larger opportunity aU'ordc through the columus of some of principal newspapers of the United! States. My sermons are hapdleu by a Syndi cate, and I am uuvisou mat now iney appear In nearly rive hiiidred news papers, aggregating a circulation of six million copies, or. accord in g to newspaper count, thirty million read ers. All or I.iese dear people iu e cry dt'iiouiinatlon who do any thinking "I all, I am sine have had similar ditli cultles to those which 1 experleiK'ed- ditlicultios in appreciating how our Heavenly Father could be a good Fa ther, a good God. a loving Creator and yet provide for bis human crea tures such terrible destinies as all the creeds 'of the "dark ages" set forth. There is not a thinking Christian lu the world who does not need the cor rect understanding of the Bible in order to be able to stand in the evil day that Is upou us. All need to give heed to St. Paul's words, "Take unto you the whole armour of God. that ye may be able to withstand In the evil day. and. having done all, to stand" (Epheslans vl. 13i. Our day Is a blessed oue in respect to Its won derful opportunities and privileges. but it is au evil one In the sense of being a time of great trial and testing of faith to Christendom. Thinking minds are rejecting the doctrine of eternal torment and gener ally at the same time rejecting tbe Bible and denying that K is tbe in snlred Word of God. These dear friends are stumbling into Infidelity and think that Higher Criticism and Darwin's Evolution theory are new light What they need la to see that the true light is in the Bible and that, wearing our grandfathers' spectacles, we Inherited the Word of God and wrested it to our own Injury and to the loss of our peace of mind and fel lowshlp with tbe Father and with tbe Son and with the holy Spirit. , The Key to the Scriptures. Whoever gets the proper understand lng of our text has in his possession the Key to tbe Bible. If he will use It,' passage after passage will open for him and the whole Word of God be comes a new and glorious revelation of Justice. Wisdom, Love and Power Divine. Jouab was in tbe fish's belly -he was burled alive. It Is this that is referred to in our text. The words hell-belly sigulfy grave-belly or belly- grave. The context shows all this, telling us additionally thnt sea-weeds were wrapped about tho Prophet's bead and that God heard his prayer and delivered him from the hell-belly, or belly-grave, on the third day by causing the fish to vomit hlni up. If you have a reference Bible note that in the margin there Is a reference to the words of our text, saying. "He brew, the grave." Ah! says one. The translators merely made a mistake and translated It hell when they should have translated it grave. Ves, I an swer, and they made the same mis take In every case In which they used the same word sltenl throughout the Old Testament As It Is, nlirol Is trans lated grave more times than it is trans lated hell In our Common Version: but it should be translated grave every time. There we have the Key to the Bible. The hell of the Bible, the penalty for sin. Is death, the grave, the tomb. It ?S;1HE GOOD Another Alfalfa Mill Meeting This Afternoon , About a score of farmers, together with several members of the Platts mouth Commercial club, met in the office of J. P. Falter in the Coates" building this afternoon at 2:30 o'clock for tho purpose of discussing the benefits of the new alfalfa meal mill to be erected here shortly. Some stock was subscribed for, but the sup port from the outlaying districts will be greatly increased in the next week, as many of those present prom ised to take firm hold of the mat ter and aid the project more mater ially by buying stock. None of the farmers promised to buy more than one share but this will be enough if about seventy of them can be Induced to do so. At torney A. I Tldd, one of the solici tors who has been covering the city tor the past several days and solicit ing subscriptions from the people of the city, addressed the assemblage and said that more than $6,000 had already been subscribed from the citizens of Plattsmouth and that promises of more had been given him. He was optimistic that 11,500 more will be given toward the erec tion of the mill by Monday or Tues day. By that time also it is expected that the solicitors who are helping Attorney Tidd, Henry Schneider and Frank Schlater, will accompany him to the rural districts where the farm era will pledge their subscriptions more readily than they can in the city. The benefits of the new alfalfa mill were little known until statistics were looked into, and it was learned much to the surprise of many of those present at the meeting, that the average is $10 a ton. At this rate $32 an acre without much care and attention, would be tbe reward of t'.ie farmers putting their ground to t'.:e raising of alfalfa. Such re turns are rare with any other line of pioduce that a farmer raises. Ti e promoters of the new mill are sanguine that when the farmers throughout this Bectlon are thorough ly apprised of all the benefits of the mill, that subscriptions will come i even faster than was at first expect ed. By the end of next week it is thought that all the stock necessary to begin building operations will be sold and the work of letting the con tract will begin. i Booming Cities and Towns. The "city on the,blue" is boosting for a better town a better town means more money In it for every body. Under the auspices of a com- ls not nn everlasting hell, for special j merclal organiaztion, Beatrice Is go Scriptures declare that theol (hell) shall be destroyed. "1 will ransom tbeui from tin power of the grave teheol)', 1 will redeem iliem from death: O death. I will be thy plagues; ( grave iahenl. helU I will be thy destruction" (Hdsea xiil. 14. St. Paul quotes this prophecy In conjunction with his great discourse on the resurrection. "O death, where is thy Hting? O grave ihad where Is thy victory" (I Corinthians xv. Jmi. We see. denr friends, what our dear Redeemer suffered on our behalf to re lease us from the pennlty for sin. He did uot go to eternal torment for our sins. He did go into nhcnl, into hade. Into the graved "Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures" (I Corinthians xv. Si. Tbus God has pro vided for the resurrection of the dead all mankind, "both of the and of the unjunt." The are the Church, the saints. The unjuitt include all oth ers. Tho blood of Jesus will avail for the release of every member of tho race from the great penulty of death. Now It operates under a Rpeclal call to the snlutly few who are invited to become Joint-heirs with the Redeemer in bis great Kingdom which shortly is to bless all the families of the earth not only those then living, but also all who have gone down to the tomb. The general resurrection will not be an In stantaneous one. ns In the case of the saints. It wtll be a gradual one lu two senses. ' (li All will not come forth at once, but, as the Apostle declares, "Every man In his own order." company or band (I Corlnthlnns xv, 23). (2) It will be gradual lu tbe sense that the awakening from the tomb will be but the beginning of the resurrec tion of the world. During the thou sand years of Christ's reign nil who will give heed to his Instructions and assistance may rise gradually up, up, up and by the close of the Millennium they will reach the full perfection and Image of God lost by Father Adam through disobedience. The unwilling, those rebellious after the light has ful ly come upon them, will be destroyed lu the Second Death, from which there will be no recovery. They will perish os the brute beasts. So, then, let us learn n lesson from Jonah's words, not forgetting the oth er lesson mentioned by our Lord when he declares thnt Jonah's experiences In the grave the belly of the fish, and his release therefrom foreshadowed his own experiences In the tomli and Ills resurrection In power and great plory on the tlilid day. ing to have George B. Irving, a mu nicipal specialist, come there and tell the people how certain towns and cities are doing remarkable work to increase their prosperity. Mr. Irving has been at Plattsmouth, Madison, Nebraska City and other towns in the state, and we have not observed any criticism in the newspapers of his methods of arousing the people to their duty to themselves. There Is not a town In the land hut what needs a "punching up" of Its citizens to a realization of the opportunities presented, and he reminded of what they are passing by In the way of good things. There are few of us who know it all. and a man who makes a special study of municipal advantages and who travels and ob serves what other cities are doing, ought to put up a mighty Interesting talk on what Fremont lacks and what Fremont needs. Mr. Irving made a proposition to come here some, time ago. He got a cold deal. It Is never too late to change one's mind. Irving might do a whole lot for us If he were Invited to come to Fremont. Fremont Herald. You get out of clothes exactly what is put into them by the manufac turer! If the manufacturer puts in cheap materials and cheap work, that's what you will get out of them, and no more. Such clothes do not cost as much as our QUALITY CLOTHES and wh should they? There hasn't been as much put into them. It costs as much to SHRINK the material in our Quality Clothes as it does to MAKE some clothes. The un seen inside part of our Quality Clothes, costs more to put in than the yardage of two ord nary suits. We put hand work in our Quality Clothes. You GET OUT of these clothes all the benefit of the good materi als and good work we put INTO them. They cost you more but you get more. Quality Line $20 to $?5. Others not so good $5 to $18. OoytkKl 1910 The Hou of KunpenheuMC Chicaea C. E. Wescott'G Sono Tho Home of Satisfaction PLATTSMOUTH L TEAM COVERS ITSELF WITH GLORY Judges are Unanimous in Their Decision in Favor of the Local School Over the Blair High School. For Sale. Fine S. C. and R. C. R. I. Red Cockrels at $1 each, also eggs 75 cents per setting. Mrs, C. E. Schwab, Murray, Neb., Both Phones. mTici:. The state of Nebraska, In county court, for the county of Cass. IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OP JOHN GEORGE HANSEN, DE CEASED. TO AIAj PERSONS INTERESTED: You and each of you are hereby notified that a petition has been filed praying the administration of the estate of John George Hansen, de ceased, and for the appointment of John G. Wunderllch administrator thereof; that a hearing will he had upon said petition at the office of the county Judge for said county on the 9th day of May. A. D., 11)10, at 9 o'clock a. m. All objections thereto must bo filed before said hour of hearing. Witness my hand and official seal this Hth day of April, A. 1)., 1!(10. Allen J. Itetson, County Judge, William C. Ramsey and Hasll S Ramsey, Attorneys for Estate. Those of the faithful who turned out last evening to witness the de bate between the team from the Plattsmouth Hlgti school and the team from Blair are unanimous In their opinions today that this was one of the beBt debates ever witnes sed iu this city and one of the most sltlsfactory. That there never was a doubt in the minds of the impartial as to who had won Is evidenced by the decision of the Judges, they being unanimous ly in favor of the local team, From tho very first the debate was most Interesting and the speakers on both sides held the attention of the audience without any difficulty. The question, "Resolved, That labor un ions are on the whole beneficial,'' was one that the people of this city are especially Interested in at this time when the men at Havelock, rnany of whom 'are personally known to the people of this community, are out on a strike. The cause of labor in its relation to capital and to gen eral industry of every kind, is one of the largest questions that this country has to face, and the interest that these young people take in thlB vital problem shows well for the future of this section at least. In last evening's contest the local team had the affirmative side of tbe question and the argument was open ed by Miss Luclle Gass, of this city, the speaker being introduced to the audience and Judges by Principal Harrison of the local high school, acting iu the capacity of chairman. Miss Gass opened the debate in a masterful Btyle, displaying a knowl edge of the subject, and a keenness of logic in reasoning that went far toward convincing the Judges and showed that a great deal of thought and preparation had been exhausted upon the study of labor conditions In this country and elsewhere. When the young lady had completed her argument for the affirmative and the applause bad subsided, Mr. Carl Hathaway, opening speaker for the negativo side of the question, was Introduced and niado a very forceful and logical talk on his side of the question, lie discussed tho condi tions existing In our own day in regard to the relations of capital to labor, and cited numerous specific in stances bearing upon tho question at band. He was roundly applauded at tho closo and tho audience appenred to ho well plcnsod with his' speech. Following Mr. Hathaway for the negative, Mr. John Falter on the af firmative arose and made his usual Incisive and forceful argument, cit ing numerous examples, and defend ing his case with remarkable acumen and skill. Mr. Falter was well re ceived and received many encomiums for his work. The other speakers for the nega tive were Mr. Waldo and Mr. Han nou and both of these gentlemen made good talks and were the recl pents of much applause. Miss Maria Douglass of this city made the clos ing argument and rebuttal for the affirmative and it was generally con ceded that she made the best speech, of the evening. Miss Douglas is one of the most brilliant speakers that this city has ever produced, and it is quite freely prophesied that this young lady has a great future before her In her chosen art of elocution. Although it would seem like unfair discrimination to say that any one speech was the best on this occasion, It must be said that as a consistent and dependable winner for the local team this young lady done remark ably good work and deserves special commendation. When the Judges re tired for the purpose of considering; ' their decision, there was little doubt In the minds of those present as to what would be the outcome of their deliberations, and when they return ed with a unanimous verdict in favor of Plattsmouth, the audience voiced Its approval by rounds of deafening applause. The Judges of this occasion were Professors Conant and Robblns, of the law school of the university of Nebraska, and Professor Sheldon, of the department of history. These gentlemen were united in declaring that Plattsmouth had the decision. Ily defeating IUalr the local team, put a second competor behind them In the State High School debating, league, and brought themselves one- round nearer the coveted goal of the state championship. The date and place of the next debate have not yet bonn delllnltely decided, but as the team from Wahoo has defeated their David City contingent, our next con test will be with Wahoo for the championship of our district. The contest with Wahoo will decide which of theso two teams will have tho honor or competing with tho teams of the ten other districts for the championship of the state.