MISCONCEPTIONS
OF THE DARK AGES
"Gnashing ol Teeth" Merely
Bible Hyperbole.
SCRIPTURES MISINTERPRETED
Pastor Russell Says ths Biblo Does Not
Substantiate Horrible Teachings of
Dark Ages Classes the Spirit Me
diums of Today With the Witches
and Necromancers of the Past
rhllad elpbia.
Fa., June lO.-ras.
tor Iiusscll deliv
ered two dls
courses here to
day. In one he
chose this test:
"There shall be
weepl ng and
gnashing of teetli
when ye shall see
Abraham and
Isaac and Jacob
and all the Proph
ets In the King
dom of God. and you yourselves thrust
out' '-Luke xill, 28.
Bible students In the past, resting
under a terrible fear of an eternity of
torture after death, were Inclined to
twist the statements of Scripture into
supports for their misconceptions. We
are now breaking loose from some of
thoso horrible nightmares of the Dark
Ages, finding that the Dible, rightly in
terpreted, does not substantiate them.
Tho hobgoblins and demons of torture,
cloven hoof, forked tail, malignant
glance, pitchforks and tongues of flaino
came down to us. not from tue inspireu
.Word of God, but from the pens of
misanthropic poets and the brushes of
ambitious painters who revelled in tho
portrayal of blood curdling scenes and
endeavored to make them more awful
than the tortures of tho Inquisition
chambers of their own day.
So far from describing Satan and his
demon hosts as torturers of the dead
the Bible tells us plainly. that the dead
are "asleep" and will know nothing of
joy or sorrow until the awakening time
In tho dawning of tho Messianic King
dom. and that Satan and his demon
hosts of fallen angels are not far off
stoking fires, but near by us, "powers
of the air." It tells us also that these
seek to oppose the Divine Program and
to ensnare our race by personating the
dead, using as their channels docelv
ed spirit mediums as they used witches,
wizards and necromancers In the past.
Satanio Influence Near.
St Teter, so far from believing that j
Satan is far off stoking fires, described
him as a roaring, angry lion, going
about amongst men' seeking whom he
might devour deceive, involve in sin.
St Paul forewarns us that Satan and
his agents are crafty and are to be ex
pected to preseut themselves as angels
of light lenders in advanced truth.
We are assured that this drendful, in
jurious agency has been deceiving the
whole world for centuries. The Divine
promise Is that Messiah's Kingdom
shall bind or restrain Satan for a thou
sand years that he may deceive the
people no more until Messiah shall de
liver up the Kingdom to the Father.
Tho Scriptures specially forewarn us
of great activity on the part of the
evil spirits in the end of this Age, and
intimate that they will have much to
do with the great Time of world-wide
Trouble which will precede the inaugu
ration of Messiah's Kingdom, it is
time for us to be on tho lookout for
those wonderful manifestations of dia
bolism which for a time will seem to
make many of our poor race madly in
sane, brutal, inhuman, diabolical. This
Is the real danger from tho demons in
the present life, and not in the future.
They will deceive and torture hu
manity to the limit of their permission,
when they will be restrained by tho
King of Glory and tho bright shining
of the Sun of Righteousness, w vu
will usher in the New Day of earth s
blessing and restitution.
The words "weeping and gnashing
of teeth" represent not new condl
tlons amongst men, but those which
may be witnessed every day sorrow.
heartache, grievous disappointment;
and this Is the use of this expression
In the Bible. We should dismiss all
thought that the experiences mention
ed will be after death and the result of
tortures inflicted by demons.
Jews' Bitter Disappointment
In our text tho Lord graphically
pictures the disappointment of the
Jews when they shall find out how
great was their mistake In the rejec
)lon of Jesus and Ills Message. They
will find that the glorious opportunity
offered to them of becoming members
in the Bride of Christ was the highest
favor that Divine mercy could offer
them as the children of Abraham.
They will become aware of their loss
of the heavenly portion and also of
the earthly portion of the Divine
promise. They will then como to un
derstand that the promise to Abraham
dealt with two seeds, one heavenly,
the other earthly, and that the faithful
ones of past Ages, Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob and all the holy Prophets
and other faithful ones of their na
tlon, will be rewarded with the high
est positions of honor In the earthly
phase of Messiah's Kingdom, while
they, who had the opportunity of en
terlng the still higher, the spiritual
phase of that Kingdom, failed becauso
of unreadiness of heart to receive the
Redeemer. Ihey will find that some
whom they esteemed as publicans and
sinners and Geutlles. by accepting
Christ and becoming Ills disciples, be
came heirs of the highest promise
made to Abraham became Abraham's
spiritual Seed members of the Mes
siah, of which Jesus Is the Head and
the Church Ills Body.
Alas, poor Jews! Our hearts may
well go out to them In sympathy In
Uielr chagrin and disappointment
when they shall learn the truth on
the subject, when they shall learn
that they have lost not only the heav
enly glory but also the honorable place
of being Messiah's earthly representa
tives. Most assuredly there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth, and
contrition of heart and penitence, we
trust, toward God. which will bring
them Into the right condition to be
amongst the first of humanity to be
blessed undor the New Order of
things. Very soon, we believe, the
blindness is to be turned from Israel-
just as Boon as tho elect spiritual Seed
of Abraham shall bo completed, St.
Paul tells us (Romans xl, 23-33.)
Then favor will return to the nat
ural seed of Abraham: "They shall ob
tain mercy through your mercy." Their
eves of understanding will open; men
tally "they will look upon Ilim whom
they have pierced." They will mourn
for Dllm, and the Divine promise Is
that God will then pour upon them
the spirit of prayer nud supplication
Other Similar Texts.
All Bible students will recall several
other passages of very similar lan
guago to that of our text. But when
we get the right focus upon them we
perceive that they nil bcloug to ex
perlences in the present life, that none
of them relate to incidents beyond the
tomb. A greater care In tho study of
the Bible might have protected us
from the thought that any of these
references apply to the dead, becauso
the Scriptures not only tell that they
are sleeping and waiting for the morn
ing, but they also particularly inform
us that "tho dead know not anything;"
"their sons come to honor and they
know it not, to dishonor and they per
ceive It not of them;" and that "there
is neither work, nor device, nor knowl
edge, nor wisdom In the grave shcol"
whither all go.-Eccleslastcs ix, 0, 10
Job xiv. 21.
Thl3 expression, "weeping and gnash
ine of teeth." is found also in the
parable of the Wise and Foolish Vir
gins. The context tells us that this
parable applies in the cud of this Gos
pel Age, at about tho time for the
second coming of Jesus not ns a sin
bearing Sacrlflcer, but as tho King of
Glory. Ills consecrated, saintly peo
tells ns that after the completion ot
the Church, spiritual Israel, the 144,
000, a great multitude will "come up
through great tribulation and wash
their robes and make them white in
the blood of the Lamb." These will be
honored with a place before the
Throue, whilo the "elect," as the
Bride, will be honored with Immanuel
in Ills Throne.
This multitude will bo grant"' palm
branches, representing n fin'.. Ictory,
but they will never be gruuted the
crowns of victory, which will beloug
only to tho elect "wise virgin" class,
the Bride upon the Throue. The Bride
class will be tho Temple, composed of
living stones; but the Great Company,
the "foolish virgin" class, will not be
stones of that Temple, but will serve
God in the Temple. An honorablo
place will thus be granted the "foolish
virgins," who finally get the oil and
finally cleanse their robes In the time
of trouble, but never will they attain
the portion of the Bride.
In Psalm xlv wo have a description
of the Church in glory, tho Wlso Vir
gin class. She Is pictured as a Bride,
all glorious within and clothed in rai
ment of gold and fino needlework. The
Heavenly Bridegroom will present her
faultless before Ills Fnthcr, the Great
King; and then wo read, "Tho virgins,
her companions, shall follow her; they
shall be brought into tho presence of
the King." How glad wo are that In
Diviuo providence their weeping and
gnashing of teeth and sorrow and dls
appointment at losing a place In tho
Brido Class will eventually work out
for them n contrition of heart and a
demonstration of loyalty which God
can reward with a blessing upon the
Heavenly planel
Wailing In Outer Darkness.
Another text dealing with "walling
and gnashing of teeth" deserves con
sideration here. It occurs in connec
tion with tho parable of the Wedding
Garment. That parablo pictures tho
closing time of this Age, when uuder
Diviuo blessing God's most saintly peo
ple will bo given greater light on Ills
Word and be enabled thereby to more
fully appreciate the lengths, brendths,
heights and depths of Ills Lovo and
its wonderful providences.
Theso consecrated ones are repre
sented ns being gathered into a great
banquet hall, radiantly beautiful. In
it they tarrj-, waiting to be ushered
into tho banquet properdin an adjoin-
iue apartment. Tho light of these
apartments Is In the parable vividly
contrasted with the darkness that pre
vails outside, which darkness repre
sents tho condition of the world and all
of God's people who have not yet come
'iSMil
UUVI
Giving away Millinery Hand-Made Hats for
$2.50, $4.50, $6.50
Light Summer Coats Poplins and Silks. Also in blacks, fine embroidery, will
be sold tor- $5.00, $7.00, $9.00
Just received a lot of White Piquae Skirts in different Patterns worth $3.00
to $4.50, .ill be sold from- 9 U P tO $3.25
Jaunty New Styles of Tailored Suits will be sold at
ne-Third Off
from the regular selling prices!
pie are likened unto ten virgins-five lnt0 tue llgut 0j presCrjt truth."
wise and five foolish.
Tho parable does not relate to the
world at all. but merely to the saints,
They are all, .virgins, all pure, all justi
fied, all sanctified ones. The differ
enco between them Is in respect to
their wisdom or unwisdom. The wise
saints of God in the end of thi3 Ago.
guided by the Divine Word, will walk
very circumspectly, very iuiiujun.v.
searching tho Scriptures in respect to
all they believe and striving to con
form themselves to tho Divlno will in
all that they do and say
Becauso of their watchfulness, alert
ness, devoutness and loyalty they are
wise and will bo in a special position
of advantage and knowledge in respect
to tho things of tho Harvest time of
this Age. Tho Master, the Bridegroom.
will lead these; and gradually, ouo by
one, they shnll go through the door of
death Into the marriage, experiencing
tho glorious chango promised, "In a
moment, in tho twinkling of an eye.
They will complete tho Bride Class, to
which none can be added, because it Is
a foreordained and predestinated num
ber. With the end of our Age the door
to glory and immortality will close,
never to open again, becauso there Is to
be but one Bride and her membership
Is limited by foreordlnatlon.
The Foolish Virgins.
The "foolish virgins" will miss their
glorious opportunity by reason of un
wisdom. They will be so overcharged
with tho cares of this ltfo and the de-
celtfulness of riches and the attempt
to have the favor of tho world as well
as tho favor of tho Lord that It will
hinder them from proper Bible study
and from faithfulness iu walking in
the footsteps of Jesus. Because of this
thoy are styled foolish, unworthy of
God's highest favor-the divine nature.
Tho parable shows them as finally,
in tho very close of the Ago, obtaining
the light which they should have had
sooner had they not been overcharged
with earthly cares and ambitions. As
soon as they obtain the light they real
lze the situation and ask for admission
as members of the Bride of Christ, to
which they were called; but the an
swer is . that It is complete, that tho
Bridegroom can know only one Wife
and caunot recognize them thus. Then
to them will como weeping and gnash
tag of teeth, sorrow, disappointment.
chagrin, that they have failed to ob
tain through their own carelessness
this hlcbcst Prize, to which Divine
mercy and love had invited them,
At that time will bo great tribulation
In the world, such as never was slnco
there was a nation, and theso "foolish
virgins" will have their portion In It
with the hypocrites. Tbo "time of
troublo" will bo spoclally npon tho
hypocriUcal or "taro" class of Chris
teudom, which has pretended loyalty
to God as UIs Church when In reality
their hearts were far from Uliu. The
"foolish virgins" are not hypocrites,
but truo saints; nevertheless, on ac
count of not living fully np to their
privileges, they will fall to gain the
prize and be given a portion In the
great trouble time with the hypocrites.
This Is the Master's own description
of the matter. A little later on (Rev
elation vll) He tells us more on the
subject, that only Bible students msy
fully appreciate and understand, fit
The parable Is given specially to
show the necessity of the "wedding
garment" that nono may enter Into
the marriage feast except he acknowl
edges and uses tho "wedding gar
ment" On such festival occasions In
ancient times It was customary that
all guests should bo furnished by the
host with garments of white which
would cover their own garments, nud
for the tinio being, as his guests, this
placed them all on tho same footing,
whatever their ordinary station in life.
Thus we have pictured tho justification
which all God's pcoplo receive as n
gift through tho merit of their Re
deemer. Being justified by faith the
consecrated havo not only peace with
God, but they have access to this fig
uratlve "marriago supper."
The parablo Is laid iu tho end of this
Age and points out that at this time
an inspection of tho Church may be
expected. "When the king came In ho
beheld a man who had not on a wed
ding garment." Tho implication Is that
tbo man had put ou the wedding gar
ment, else he could not havo gone In
at all; and his appearing later on
without a "wedding garment" Implies
that he had rejected the robe provid
ed by his host.
Thus he represented a class of Chris
tians in this our day who, after be
lieving in the merit of Christ's sacri
fice, and accepting it as the passport
to favors and privileges, ultimately
reject it and count it common or un
important Tho parable shows what Is
to be expected now, namely, that the
Great King will command that such
as ignore tho merit of His sacrifice bo
cast into outer darkness.
Outer Darknete General.
But let us note carefully Uiat the
"outer darkness" is not something be
yond death, but that it prevails every
where, all around us. "Darkness cov.
ers tho earth and gross darkness the
heathen." The only ones who are In
tho light aro the ones whom the Lord
has specially received and specially en
llghteued and specially privileged be
causo they wear the "wedding gar
ment" of Christ's righteousness. The
casting out of the one without the
"wedding garment" into "outer dark
ness" therefore would mean merely
that such a one, despite his struggles
and dcslro to remain in the light, would
by Divlno providence bo forced Into
the darkness common to the whole
world and loso those special privileges
which ho had enjoyed as -ouo of tbo
ihildren of tho light and heirs of glory.
About the time that the faithful will
bo ushered into tbo marriago tbo great
"time of trouble" will break upon tho
world, cad all who are In darkness
will have "weeping and gnashing of
teeth" as they behold the collapse of
thoso things upou which they have set
their hearts and affections the things
of the present Order. Thank God, their
weeping and gnashing of teeth may
ultimately be turned luto Joy, because
there Is a silver lining to tho dark
cloud which Is about to envelop the
world! It will be the dark hour pre
ceding the dawning of the New Dls-
pensaUon and the blessing of all the
families of the earth by Messiah and
His Brldo, to a place in which, by the
grace of God, dear hearers, let as strive
to tnike our calling and election mm
II
Saturday morn
ing we received
a large line of
Js Gs Gi
CORSETS
of fa shionable
type. During
this week they
will be sold from
45 c
TO
$3.00
In Clothing Department!
Remarkable Reductions This Week
Kirsrhbaum Gothw,
Men's and Young Men's Suits
$6.95, $9.75, $13.50,
$15.00 and $18.00
Cloak and Suit Department!
In order not to carry over any of our Cloaks, Suits and
Dresses, we decided to offer them to the public at a very
big discount: '' '
Ladies' Dresses, from 98C Up
Children's Dresses from 48C Up
Ladies' Wool Dress Skirts, worth from $5 to $12, will be
soldfrom- $2.75 Up
Copyrighted lyll A. B. KIRSt IIUAUM & CO.
Saturday Only from 3 lo 4 p, m, fins grade Calico for 3' yd Gash!
EE
S DEPARTMENT STORE
V. ZUCKER, Manager
'THE HOME OF GUARANTEED VALUES'
a
TEACHERS
L
SHOULD BE WELL PI
If There Are Any Persons Who
Should Be Better Paid It Is
the School Teachers.
During the summer months,
while (he school teachers "of the
country are out of employment
and watching anxiously for an op
portunity to make sure of work
for the coming winter, a general
agitation seems starting for hol
ier wages for this class of woik
ers. The demand is meeting with
some opposition on the part of
those whose duty it is lo employ
teachers for the youth of tho
country. Looked at from an im
partial standpoint it seems that
this unwillingness to pay better
wages to the people who are de
voting their time lo teaching Is a
mistake. Tor it must he admitted
that the teachers of today are ono
of I he most poorly paid classes in
the entire country. Statistics
show thut the average wage paid
lo teacher is under 150') per
year, and that the increase in
wages in I he past few years Inu
by no means kept pace with I he
increase in cost of living. Further
it is shown that the annual cost
per capita in Ibis country for
education is less than if 5.
It is decidedly the proper thing
lo laud the teacher and preacher
as leaders nnd pioneers in the ad
vance or civilization. Possibly
the very acceptance of these two
classes as pioneers is what makes
everyone- willing lo see them
struggle along on scarcely a liv
ing wage, averaging less than
what is considered just for un
skilled day labor and only a frac
tional part of what a bartender
would receive. Hut at the present
stage of civilization does it not
seem reasonable to expect thai
these leaders be given more
recognition and more substantial
returns for their invaluable
services?
The Journal is a friend of the
teachers of Cass county, and were
wo a member of the next legis
lature we would introduce a boom
in that body that would result in
much better pay for the teachers
of Nebraska.
The Journal office carries
kinds of typewriter supplies.
II
Submit to Examination.
fn Hie case of Amelia Monroe
v s. C. Lawrence St nil, the defend
ant obtained an order from I ho
court Saturday reuuiring the
plaint i IT lo undergo a medical ex
amination at the hands of a board
of lliret) physicians, composed of
Dr. J. S. Livingston, Dr. II. D.
Cummins and one of two Omaha
physicians on questions of hear
ing, seeing and nervous condition.
The lest is lo be made Wednesday
or Thursday of this week at the
plaintiff's home, the expense of
the examination lo be defrayed by
the defendant.
Mrs. Wiley Improving.
Mrs. William Wiley of Murray,
who has been seriously ill since
the death of her husband, is re
ported as improving right along
and able to be about her home
part of the time, which her many
friends will be pleased to learn
Mrs. George Parks of this city,
who has been with her mother
during her illness, expects lo bo
able to return to her homo iu this
city in a short time.
Mrs. William Warga was a
passenger to Omaha on tho morn
ing train today. , . t .t
