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About The Plattsmouth journal. (Plattsmouth, Nebraska) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 15, 1912)
JESUS A SPIRIT NO LONGER FLESH Pastor Russell Explains an scriptural Error. FHE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST fCASIOfcgUSSUL) Bible Clear and Harmonious on This Subject, Paitor Ruatell Points Out. Theory of Body Resurrection Unrea sonable and Suggests Ghastliness. "Flesh and Blood Cannot Inherit the Kingdom of God" Natural Men Can not Appreciate Spiritual Things. Baltimore, Md., April U. -Pastor Russell addressed large audiences liero today. We re port one of tils din courses from the text, "With what body do they come?" I Cor, xv, 35. On last Lord's day we discussed the fact of the res urrection and show- ed from St. Paul's words that without Ood's purpose of a resurrection those who have fallen asleep In death would have perished as brutes. We followed with the Apostle the assurances that Christ did rise from the dead and be come the First-fruits of all those who have gone Into the sleep of death. Oth ers, Indeed, were awakened temporarl-ly-as, for Instance, Jalrus' daughter, Ijiznrus the friend of Jesus, and the son of the widow of Nuln. Yet none of those Instances Is count ed as a resurrection, for It Is said that Christ Is the First-fruits of those who slept Their awakening was merely of a temporary nature, and they soon re lapsed Into tbo sleep of death. They did not have a full resurrection an astasia a raising up to perfection of life, such as the redemptive work of Jesus guarantees to Adam and to all Ms race willing to accept the same un der the terms of the New Covenant You will recall that on last Lord's day we demonstrated from the Scrip tures tliHt It Is not the body, but the toul, that 1 promised a resurrection that It was our Lord's toul that went to thcol, to hadn. to the death state, and that God r a Ned Him up from .'death on the third day. We noted a difficulty Into which all Christendom was plunged by the nnscrlptural theory that It Is the body that Is to bo resurrected. Weuow continue to search and note well fur ther dltllcultlcs Into which this error plunged us as believers In tho words of Christ, particularly In connection with our Redeemer's resurrection. f What Went to Heaven f The iTdlunry thought In Christian mlnd.4 In reaped to Jesus' death and resurrection Is that when lie seemed to die He did not die; that He, the being, the soul, could not die; that. Instead, He went to Heaven, and then, on the third d.i.v, came back to get the body which bad been crucified ; and that Ho took It to Itenveu forty days later; that He bns had that body ever since; and that He will have It to all eternity, marred with the print of the nails In Ills hands and feet, the thorns upou Ills brow, and tho spear mark In His (tide. What a ghastly thought! How strange that we should ever have been misled Into so unscrlptural and unrea sonable a theory 1 Bomo endeavor to gloss the matter by suggesting that our Lord's flesh Is glorified that It shines the shining presumably making the wounds all the more conspicuous. Our Methodist friends have not yet changed their statement of the matter, uumely, "He ascended up on high, tak Ing Ills fleshly body with Him, and all that appertained thereto, and sat down on the right hand of God." This tue dlcval statement correctly admits that tho fleshly body was not tho Lord's but that He, tho soul, took It with HIiu as luggage. The statement, "and all that appertained thereto," presumably would refer to our Lord's sandals, walking stick and such clothing as the soldiers did not divide amongst them at the time of Ills crucifixion If In deed He bad auy others I Put our dear Methodist friends want to be sure that nothing was loft behind. All this Is of a piece with tho theory that the lainti when they die go to heaven, and then, later, come back and get their bodies, "and all things apper taining thereto" the inconveniences that they hove been rid of for cen turicsl How many trunkloada of "things appertaining thereto" may be taken by somjr, and how mixed an as sortment by others is not stated. Net tber are particulars given respecting those whoso clothing, etc., have moan time worn out But we have bad enough of this, if it has helped us to see the absurdity of our theories re ceived from the "Dark Age"-if It ha awakened us to thought and to Bible investigation on thts Important and in terestlng subject What Say the SorlpturesT The Dlble presentation of this sub Jett Is every way reasonable, consist cnt and harmonious. 8t. Tsui point out that "there is a natural body and thero is a spirit body." He does not mean and he does not say that the spirit body Is n human body glorified. Quito to tho contrary. He declares that "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God" no matter how glorified It might be. A, human being would be ao totally different from a spirit being that, as St. Paul says, "It doth not yet appear what we shall be, In our resurrection change; n.:d the Scriptures do not eveu attempt to give us an explanation. The Bible merely declares that as we now bear the tmnge of the earthy, Adum, we shall, by the glorious resur rection change, be given a share In the nature and likeness of the Second Adam, our glorious Lord. We shall be like Hltn and see Illm as He is; and. lie It noted, we must change from flesh and blood conditions to spirit condi tion? by resurrection power, in order thnt .wo may see Mm as -He Is. Surely this' proves 'that our Lord Jesus Is no longer flesh, as He once wns "In the dnys of Ills flesh."-Hebrews v, 7. Difference Between Heavenly and Earthly Bodies. Our text calls nttontion to tho differ ence between celestial bodies and ter restrial, or earthly bodies, and declares thnt they have different glories. It tells us thnt the first Adam was made a living soul, n human being, but thnt our Redeemer, who humbled Himself and took the earthly nature, "for tho suffering of death," thereby became the Second Adam tho neavenly Lord. Tho wide distinction between the Sec ond Adam and the first Adam Is clear? ly set forth. Ouo was earthy and tho other heavenly. As we now bear the Imago of tho earthy, wo shall, If faith ful, bear the heavenly Imago of our Lord, the second Adam, after our res urrection change. St. Paul Illustrates by saying that we know of many kinds of organisms on tho earthy or fleshly plane one flesh of man, another of beasts, an other of birds and another of fish. But however different the organisms they are all earthy. So, on the heavenly plane, the spirit plane, thero aro vari eties of organisms, but all are spirit. Our heavenly Father Is the nead or Chlcf-"dod Is a Spirit." Cherubim, seraphim, and the still lower order of angels are all spirit beings; and Christ Jesus, our Redeemer, after finishing tho work of sacrificing appointed to nim, was resurrected to the spirit plane far abovo angels, principalities and powers next to tbo Father; and thus wo read, "Now tho Lord Is that Spirit." And again that "He was put to death In the flesh, but quickened (or mado alive) In the splrlf'-l ret ill, 18. The more we examine the subject the more foolish and unscrlptural the views handed to us from the Dark Ages appear. For Instance, the Scrip tures clearly set forth that our Re deemer, prior to becoming a Man, was a spirit being "the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Ilia leaving the spirit plane to become a Man Is Scrlpturally described as a great stoop or humiliation. Is it rea sonable to suppose that the heavenly Father would perpetuate to all eterni ty that humiliation, after it had serv ed Its Intended purpose? Surely not. The Bible tells us why Jesus hum bled Himself to the human nature "a little lower than the angels." It was because a man had sinned, and the Re deemer must under the Law, be on the same plane of being as the one whom He would redeem. Thus Jeho vah particularly specified, "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life." Hence the death of an nngel, or of our Lord In nis pre-human condi tion, could not have affected the pay ment of man's penalty and tho conse quent release of the condemned race. Thus again we read, "A body hast Thou prepared Me," "for the suffering of death."-Hebrews x, B; 11, 0. No one questions that this applies exclusively to our Lord's experiences during the years in which "He who was rich for our sakes became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich." Surely It Is unBUpposable that tho Father would arrange a Plan by which our Redeemer's faithfulness in accomplishing - man's redemption would cost Mm an eternity of poverty, humiliation, degradation to a plane "a little lower than the angels," while the Church would be made rich, and would attain n spirit state "far above angels" be mado "partakers of the divine na ture" II Peter 1. 1. Qod Highly Exalted Him. On tho contrary, the very same Apos tle who tells us of our Lord'B humilia tion carries the matter to tho ollmux. telling us of His faithfulness, as the Mau Christ Jesus, unto death, even the death of the cross; and then be adds an assurance of the heavenly Father's faithfulness In not leaving His Son on a lower plauo; "Where fore," says the Apostle, "God also high ly exalted Illm, and hath given Illm a name above every name." This, too, is in harmony with our Lord's words In Ills prayer to the Father. A joy had been set before nim by the Fa thera joy of pleasing the Father, of bringing a blessing to mankind, and the Joy also of exaltation, as a special reward for obedience. But the Redeemer, Ignoring all the promises of a higher glory as a reward for His faithfulness, merely prayed to the Father In thoso words, "Father, glorify Thou Mo with tho glory which I had with Thee before the world was." In humility He asked uo re ward. He did not pray, Remember that you promised a still greater exal tation In glory! No, Ho would bo quite couteut to have served the Father's purpose and plans and then to return to the glorious state in which He was before He left the glory, and for our sakes became poor and took upon Him self the human nature. And what said the heavenly Father in response to that prayer t Oh, we remember the words of Jehovah were, "I have glorified Thee, and 1 will glorify Thee again," or further the Implication Is that of a atlll higher glory than the one which Re enjoyed before He was made flesh. He Appeared and Disappeared. IVo lines of difficulties present them- elves, one of which can be answered sud tho other cannot. - The unanswer able difficulty Is where a natural-mind-cd man undertakes to reason the sub ject out. He finds It Impossible of comprehension as he 3uds other Items of Divine revelation. St. Taul explains this, saying, "The natural :non receiv ed not the things of the Spirit of God. neither can he know them, because they' are spiritually discerned." The Apostle proceeds to tell us thnt a" men are natural men. except such as have been begotteU by the Holy Spirit. All uutural men will, In their resurrection, receive earthly, or human bodies, while all spiritual ones. New Creatures in Christ, will receive spirit bodies, as St. i'uul explains in our context, verses 3'i-r.o. Those of my hearers, therefore, who have never accepted Christ, and ronde a full consecration of their all to be Ills disciples, following In His footsteps, may know that they have not been bo gotten of tho Holy Spirit (because only upon theso terms aro any begotten of tho Spirit). These, therefore, I will ask to consider what I say, and hold it. If they please, tentatively, until such time as, In God's providence, they may bo begotten of the Iloly Spirit and thus be enabled to understand spiritual matters such as this. Another class who have difficulty on this subject are tho spirit-begotten ones who have been entangled In their rea soning by, tho declaration of the creeds respecting the resurrection of the body. It is difficult to unlearn error. When visiting various' lands and learning of the hold of superstition upon the hea thens, I said to myself, I believe that we Christians experience Just as much difficulty in unlearning our errors as these heathens do In getting free from theirs. The Unconsecrated Cannot Understand Spiritual Problems. Coming to the point of what Is to be' resurrected, we note the fact that our Lord appeared in a body of flesh, and showed the disciples the print of the nails and tho bole made by the spear. But we, perhaps, failed to note that only twice did He thus appear, and but for a few moments each time. His other six or seven appearances during that forty days were also very brief, and In various bodies once as a gar dener, another time as a traveler Ills third time as a stranger on the shore, and to Saul of Tarsus, as a spirit be ing, of more than angelic brightness, "shining above the brightness of the sun at noonday." We overlooked the fact that these appearances, If all put together, would probably not have ex ceeded four hours out of the entire for ty days in which our Lord tarried with His disciples after Ills resurrection and before His ascension. We were not critical students when we over looked those things, and forgot to ask ourselves why these things were so. Now we see more distinctly why our Lord did as He did. Ills disciples were natural men and therefore could not appreciate spiritual things. Further more, they could not receive the guld Ing of the Holy Spirit until the Lord's ascension and appearance in the pres ence of tho Father on behalf of Ills Church, to make satisfaction for their sins, and to make them acceptable Joint-sacrlflcers with Him. Meantime, had Jesus not tarried those forty days had He ascended Immediately after His resurrection the disciples, stunned and bewildered, would have had no assurance of His resurrection. They would have found it impossible to go out and tell tbo people that He had risen from the dead when they had no proof to this effect And even if Jesus had appeared to them as He did to Saul of Tarsus, above the bright shining of tbo, sun, this would not have been convincing and satisfactory. They might have said, Here Is a phenomenon, but how can we positively associate it with the life and death of Jesus? Matters were different with Saul of Tarsus. He needed something to thoroughly arouse him and to teach him for all time. and others through him, that tho Lord Is not a Man, but "that Spirit" Be sides, some of the disciples who al ready believed were oblo to give Saul of Tarsus assurances of what they knew respecting the resurrection of Jesus and Ills ascension. No Foolish Suggestions In Bible About tho Resurreotlon. The Lord adopted tho only reason' able way of helping nis disciples to understand that He was no longer dcod-that no had risen from the dead -and that He was no longer human, but bad been glorified, and had become a spirit being. The two things wore necessary and they were dono at the same time. Even on the occasions when our Lord appeared in a body like to the on era clfled, He took care that the manifes tation should be under such conditions as would positively prove that He bad become a spirit being. He came Into the room where they were while the door was shut, and after a few words with them He vanished from their sight, au no human being could have done and as He never did during Ills earthly career. That the Apostles caught tho thought Is well evldcuced by St Paul's argument on the sub ject In our text. There Is no foolish suggestion in the Bible about Jesus having a fleshly body in heaven that Is all in our creeds and hymn books, prepared for us by our well-meaning but mistaken forefathers, who used to burn one another at the stake If they failed to promptly agree together on such propositions. We mourn the dead, but thfy shall wakv) The lost, but they shall be restored! Ot well our human hearts might break Without that sacred word I Dim eree, look upt sad hearts, rejoloot Beelnf Ood's bow ot promise througtw At sound of thst prophetlo voice; "X wtll make all thlnn new." COLONEL WIIIS 111 KEYSTONE STATE Pennsylvania Primary Results In Landslide lor Roosevelt. HISS CUM BURTON. Famous Red Cross Nurse, Known All Over the World. Who Is Dead at Ripe Age. COM and FEE HE SECURES 65 DELEGATES. Republican State Convention Will Be Controlled by Roosevelt Forces. Vilson Will Have Solid Delegation With One or Two Exceptions. Philadelphia, April 15. Colonel The odore Roosevelt's sweeping victory In Pennsylvania at Saturday's primary election kept growing as the returns continued to come in. Incomplete returns from every dis trict gave the former president sixty five of the state's seventy-six delegates In the Republican convention. The Roosevelt supporters were claiming sixty-seven and later returns may car ry the figures to that total. Colonel Roosevelt won fifty-three of the sixty four district national delegates and his followers elected enough delegates to the state convention to give them control of that body. The state con vention will name twelve delegates at large. The Republican organization leaders are stunned by the overwhelming de feat of the Taft candidates and have nothing to say regarding the result. United States Senator Penrose, the recognized leader of the Republican organisation and the leading Taft Loonier in this state, left the city and boarded his yacht at Atlantic City, where he is safe from Interviewers. Whole State for Wilson. With the exception of one or two districts In tho state Woodrow Wilson will havo a solid delegation from Pennsylvania to the Democratic na tilnal convention. In this city Taft got seven of the twelve national delegates. Reubsn A. Mocn, who has been a leader on the Republican side of con gress for wvoral sessions,, was de f.lFlvelv de.fejted for renomination Hit successful opponent Is George W. Ed monds. Republican Keystone candidate. Congressman Michael Donahoc. Uemocrat, accomplished the remark able feat of winning the Republican as well as the Democratic and Key stone nomination In the Fifth Philadcl pliia district. This district is largely peopled by wcrklngmen. Returns Indicate that the Roos volt deleeates in Allegheny county, in eluding P!ttlnirch, to the Chicago con ventlon bnd ncn e'ected with the pos sible exrnnt'on of one. Statu Hichway Commissioner P.igelow leading his op ponent. The lntorrt In the primary nearly equaled that ordinarily manifested in a general election ( 15: 1 , ' 'V. We are now handling a complete line of coal. Call and let us quote you prices for your fall and winter coal. We also handle wheat, oats, corn and chop of all kinds. Ind. Telephone 297 Nelson Jean & Go. DEMOCRATS FEASTIN GOTHAM All Speakers Demand Changes In Form of Government. New York, April 15. Democrats leaders from all sections of the coun try attended the annual Jefferson day d'nner given by the National Demo cratic club at the Waldorf-Astoria. Thomas Donnelly, Judge of the city court and president of the club, pre sided. Seated at the guest table with him were William J. Bryan, Norman R. Mack, chairman of the Democratic national committee; Governors Dix and Wilson, Mayor Gaynor, Senator O'Gorman and other Democratic lead crs In the United States house and senate. More than 1,000 covers were laid. Practically all the speakers com pared conditions during Jefferson t life with conditions today, and de manded changes In the form of gov ernment applied by Republicans. , DEPOTY CITY CLERK 'CONFESSES THEFT Roy Flsk Tells How He Robbed City of Newton. Newton, la., April 15. How a col lege education can be used to recoup losses from gambling and high living at the expense of the city's finances was demonstrated In a most startling manner when Roy Flsk, college grad uate and deputy city clerk for several years, sobbed out his confession of embezzlement of the city's finances and the mutilation of the records of the city before County Attorney Mowry. Peculations which had been carried on for two years without the knowledge of the city authorities until last month and which are said to have aggregated $2,480.31, were admitted by Flsk In a signed statement A gunny sack containing a bushel measure of mutilated and torn city records, taken from the city clerk's office on the night of March 15, follow ing a meeting of the city council, was fished out of the water stand pipe near the city hall. The hiding place of the records was confessed by Flsk and they are being pieced together and made legible so that the correct amount of the money embezzled by Flsk may be obtained. Young Flsk turned over to a real estate dealer a quarter section of Tex as land, which will be sold to make good the amount of money taken from the city. Mrs. Cornelia Flsk, the sixty-year-old mother of Flsk, appeared In Jus tice Allfree's court and signed a bond for $10,000 for his release for his ap pearance before the grand Jury In September, and went with him to his home to break the news to his wife of a little more than a year. FREE HOMESEEKERS' EXCURSION. I have arranged , to get a rate of $30.C0 round trip to Dcrmott, Arkansas, on the second day of May, where we have 15,000 acres of fine farm lands for sale. Those buying land while there will have their railroad fare returned. For further particulars apply to or write, , T. L. Amick, Mynard, Neb. See the exhibit at J. L. Russell's Riley Hotel Bar. Meet at McDaniel Home. The Hand of Mercy met Satur day afternoon with Ellen Belle McDaniel. After the business session came the program, at which time the children told very interesting stories about dogs. At the next meeting they are to tell stories about cattle. There were 23 members present. Delicious refreshments were served. The next meeting will be held at the home of Miss Marion Mauzy on April 27 at 2:30. Paints Dwelling In Omaha. J. R. Rummerfleld, the expert painter, has just closed a contract with Mrs. M. A. Dickson to paint her fine Omaha residence prop erty. Mr. Rummerfleld does the job just as soon as he can get at it. He is among the best work men in that line in the city, and did the work on the government building last fall. Seed Corn for Sale. I have again tested my seed corn and And that it is of the very finest quality, and tests a very high per cent, and have about 150 bushels for sale at $1.50 per bushel. 'Ben Beckman. For Representative. We are requested to announce the name of George W. Olson as a candidate for state representative, subject to the choice of tho democratic voters at the pri maries on Friday, April 19th. Saints Ratify Names of -Women. ' Independence, Mo., April 15. Presi dent Frederick M. Smith presided ovei the business meeting at the Saints conference. The names of three wom en, offered by the woman's auxiliary as members of the board of trustees of the children's home located at La r.ionl, were ratified by the conference. They are as follows: Minnie B. Nlch olson, for one-year term; Lucy L. Res seglne, for two-year term, and Callie B. Stebblns, for three-year term. All live In Laraonl. Delaware for Taft. Wilmington. Del., April 15. Repub lican primaries were held In the three counties to elect delegates to the state convention, which will select six dele gates to the Chicago convention. Taft leaders claim that while the national delegates will be unlnstructed they will favor the nomination of President Taft Pasture for Rent. Good pasture for about 30 head of horses and cattle. Three miles east of Cedar Creek. T E. Bowers. ' Cashier Robbed of Big Sum. Chicago, April 15. Albert Kohoe. twenty years old, cashier for the M. J. Ncahr company, paper bag manu facturers, was robbed on Armour ave nue of a satchel containing $1,970, be- HE LOVED HIRED GIRLS Thla If Charge of Mason City Woman Against Husband. Mason City, la., April 15. Alleging that her husband made life miserable for her by becoming Infatuated with successive domestics, Mrs. Marry Southward filed a petition for a dl vorce from Bert A. Southward, form erly a well known business man of Forest City. Mrs. Southward Is now a resident of this city. Three other wives are seeking di vorce, each on the ground of cruel and Inhuman treatment. Emma Bowers seeks separation from her husband, II. J. Bowers. Bowers has been spend ing several weeks In Jail for shooting Emerson Cannon. Mrs. Myrtle Phillips asks a divorce from her husband, Will lam Phillips. They were married in Brltt in 1902. Mrs. Blanche M. Sauter seeks separation from Joseph Sauter. Farm Lands Threatened. Glenwood, la., April 15. The Mis souri river at Folsom, on the western border of Mills county, Is within two Inches of overflowing Tor a distance of a quarter of a mile. All available nnrth.fliVri sucks are in use and a body of men all that tan work are nn diitv dav and night. Valuable corn, alfaUa and wheat land is in danger. Interstate Laws Control In State. Ottumwa, la., April 15. A person who orders a case of boor delivered to his home or to his office from outside tho state Is Immune from the attacks of the civic leagues, If the decision of Ittgl Bate, 8 Miles South of Plattsmouth (the Old Martin Farm) . has installed a Saw Mill on his place, and is prepared to furnish hard lum ber of all kinds, posts and chunk wood. WTAU orders promptly filled, and also soiicited. DR Herman Groodor, Graduate Vetineary Surgeon (Formerly with U. S. Department Agriculture) Licensed by Nebraska State Board Calls Arswered Promptly Phone 378 White, Plattsmouth longing to his employers, by a well, f Qf the Wapcl,0 dressed man, who pointed a revolver court g afflrmed by th 8U. at him , preme court. rh.m. rlrk' llnel Killed. ...... w v i ,c .mJ Thrown Under Wheels. W'tiHanhiirs Kv. Anrll IS. While 1 felllag a tree on his farm near here,' Dubuque, April 15.-Henry Smith, a Morgan Clark, ninety years of age, an bookbinder, died at Mercy hospital as uncle of Speaker Champ Clark, was the result of an accident at Dyersvllle Instantly killed. The tree fell unex- He was leaning against a cai when H pecledly and burled the old man under started, precipitating him under the , . wheels. U died eight houra later. Do You want an AUCTIONEER? If you do, get one who has Experience, Ability, Judgement. Telegraph or write ROBERT WIKINSOli, Dunbar, Ilcb. Dates made at this office or the Murray State Bank. . Rates Reasonable