The Plattsmouth journal. (Plattsmouth, Nebraska) 1901-current, August 25, 1913, Page PAGE 2, Image 2

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    !AQE 2
PLATTSMOUTH SEMI-WEEKLY JOURNAL.
MONDAY, AUaUST 2b, 1913.
The Plattsmouth Journal
Published Semi-Weekly
W. A. HV'ri5t
Entered at the Postoftice at Plattsmouth, Nebraska as second-class matter
' ' ' ' r tl.SQ PEfl YEAR IN ADVANCE
J. THOUGHT FOR TODAY.
4- i
T -
J Me neither I"" arly lit
faslii..n. inr t long v
Jo.otit .r it: r al any t i t i - in -Jr
J extremes f it. I. aval-
er.
-:o:-
Th- .Mily tiling tlial human
ling lack i bri-tl'.
:o:
IT ym are anxiu l tia good
ii i ii Ii Lor.-. be on yniirself.
:o:
S.-iuil.T Hitchcock thinks ron
grr will adjourn ahuil Ill' first
of ( irlolter.
:n.
s.-nntor Owen lias balked u llu
t iirn'iii'y lull, which looks bad for
il- pa-say'.
:o:
Hut very few people acquire
nervous prostration liin to
iiiak- III'!- people happy.
:o:
Tli" 'ilsn- la-s cuircncv
hill -'llls to he tlooini-d ly lilt'
a liou of democrat ic senators.
:o:
l-lil' in aii aiiri' indices
lh' lir-I'-s conker, vv- note I hi
nio-l of lh' dealers ar' -till h
in business at lllf old -land.
:o:
Another nir' tiling aiioiit the
ll vvalting is (hat oik n-
run (ml. of material durinu
lh' ultiy summer enoii.
:o :
Harry Thaw was captured in
Canada, hut il would haw been
jul as w'll to ha- him re
main tiler'. The penple are yet
ling awful I ire I i.f this Thaw
husjip'ss.
;n;-
I're-idenl W'il-ou's program
fur fr' ugar in it'lii carried lh
lay in I he --nate Tu.lay. when
I In- democrat- rallied I the sups
port l .- tarill hill ami defeat
ed all ;i 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 i i i t to lh- ugar
-eh'dllh'.
-:o:-
Th' t'.a-s County Teacher In-
1 1 1 1 i I meets in Plat t sin., ut Ii next
Monday. ..- everyone '.my' Hi
voiing !adi" a ioal weleium.
Tin- ma!'- teacher- in I his V..inily
ar' !) few in iiiimher. Hut
what few I her- are should receive
a Welcome to the cil.
:o:
II i- -1 1 1 1 1 :i t .-. i that in Hi;
ui-e of twn r three ears mil
lions i.f ton- .f freight will he
lakeii ...un lh.. Mj.miri and Mis.
i-ippi t the Gulf of Mexico. As
water I tan-portal i . 1 1 i- tlie chenp--I
of all. the husiiu'-s world is
glad I h-ar that lh eiit eipri.-e is
- ii i.. .f in working -hap.
:o:
A farm paper in Omaha pro-p.,-e,
i. allow miii'iiiic. uixh'r a
liclii'ioii- nam-, to expo-e some
of the doings of the -laic fair as
ciuli.in. Well. I here may be
'Something r..lteii iii Denmark."
but it would l.u.k better for Ihe
author I sign hi- ,,vi, name lo
lh- coiitribut ion.
:o:-
II is very kind .r the governor
r Wisfun-in t. . tl".-1- paslurage
fur all the Nebraska -lock in
drouth districts. Governor M. re
heat! has received a ni,.ag to
Ihis eltecl. S.'cr. lary W . It. Mel
r oT Ihe -tat.' biard f agri
culture suggests the following
answer: "Would be pleased lo
hip uil J.oUIUmim head .r ealth'.
l.UUO.UOM liur.-.'s and :;.oui,mjM
liogs. Shall we sen.l ;.,iig 100,
UOO.OOO bushel;, or Mo c.jrn. (30.
UljU;O00 busliel? of wheal. O0.00.
OoO busln-'l? of oats, -..oot'.ooo
ton of alfalfa and .uimi.mimi tons
of hay to help feed the tofk?M
at Plattsmouth, Neb.
- t Pi.bllstier
liiggs. Hie California whit
slar, has been ciuixicled. and
in pumsiimi'iit is live vt-ars m
the federal penitent iary. Willi a
few more punishments of this
kind the while slave business may
be abated to ;. gr'al ex I en I.
:o:
Woman suffrage may help I he
people of Illinois to remember
thai years ago I hey voted by a
large majority to spent sjo.nim.
nun for a hip canal ex I elision,
ami that nothing has been ou.
Such politics demands a vigorous
shak-up.
:o:
The town of llalletlsville, Tex.,
continues (o mainlain its repula
liou for ihe largest wiumber of
newspapers f any small I own.
There are ten new. -papers pub
lished there now. and an applica
tion has been made to Hie post
oflice there for a mailing permit
for another. The name of the
new paper is the Hudilel. It will
! published in Itohemiaii ami
Ail! be devoted o lite Melllodi-I
nuse. The town has l..'bo pop
ulation. :o:
GOV. SULZER AND TAMMANY.
Sp-aking of cannibals, we
might mention also the mam-al-ing
(loliticiau who oes to make
a feast of his rial. and lo kill
off every man who refu-.es o hew
wood and carry water as he is bid.
Tin political cannibal is one ..!
the most avaricious and inhuman
in the whole category m" man
eaters, ami his tribe is o iiuine.'-
ois that there i one r two more
of litem in lh icinil of every
public ollice. There are mighty
few public ollicials who have not
s,
In-ard the growl of the ravenous
brutes, ami it is not an infre-
1 1 1 1 1 1 happening that iublic
ollicials an- actually devoured by
them, politieallv speaking. ho
of the penalties attached to oll'ice
holding is t. necessity of mak
ing: peace wiih Hi' political can
nibal and of satiating his political
paunch. Ami oftimes it is a
penally that holiest men refuse lo
assume, and in colisetjuelice 111'
cannibal him-clf gels Ho- oll'irc.
Otiice holding is fraught with
more danger Hic-e days than the
innocent public ever dreams of.
It i- seldom thai a man goes out
of ollice without earning a bad
taste in his mouth ami spjotehes
f iilud smeared over his good
name.
High! now, ;.v. Sul.cr of New
York i- in a life am dalh strug
gle with the political cannibals of
New York tlily. Ami the struggle
has progressed so far that there
seems but little hope for Suler.
One man cannot stand up long in
a combat, wjlh Tammany Hull.
Taking a ong-iisiaiice guess at
t he oulcoiii', we predict that Sul.
er rou Id as success fully sweep
back the waves of Ihe sea as he
roiild overcome (he tremendous
power of Tammany. And in order
lo win. Tammany must b defeat
ed. As l whether or not there
ar any merits in Hie charges pre
ferred against SuI.-r, we have no
knowledge. If he has been guilty
of crimes that would justify his
impeachment ami removal from
ollice I hen we say, put him tint.
Hul o far as Hi' published evi
dence shows. Sulzer's crime, if he
has committed a crime, has con-
tcd in his refusal to place his
ck in a Tammany noose. It has
m
consisted in his rebellion against
Tammany tvrauuy. ami in his de
termination to give the stale of
New York a Sul.er, instead of a
Tammany administration. Ami
according to the Tammauv code,
ihis js an act of treason. We do
not doubt that New York needs a
thorough political cleaning;.
Optimism is a great institution
but don't bet your money on it.
:o :
Cass countv farmers should
build more silos. They are the
thing-.
:o:-
The cow is
lifter and the
Hour bin.
still the
silo is
mortgage
the cow's
-:o:
New York yet has two gover
nors, and "merry h I'' still
reigns around Albany.
:o:
The sun's rays set lire ! a
Kansas w heal liehl. The .hot sun
has set everybody on lire around
I'lattsinouth.
:o :
Post master Oeueral IJurleson
is a man after our own heart. He
gets up al live a. m. and retires
al nine p. in. All w ise men should
pract ice this.
:o:
Speaker Clark says the currency
bill will be passed. Champ is
pretty close to Hie powers mat
be and generallv knows what he
is talking about.
Marvland has expended
ooo on road improvement ami
IHUUhhl mole is to be provided.
Most of Ihe slates have recognized
te fact Dial the betterment of
public highwavs calls for work
and money.
:o:
We gra'.i il from Ihe deparf-
in. -ii! hi commerce. vv niie i lie
rabbing is good, that beef is
scarce in tins country. l tie
butcher's bili also u (lords a heart
breaking' hint of the ame condi
tion. Pass Hie liver, please!
:o:
The president has made sure,
says a Washington dispatch, that
"for a lime at leas!, no ill-considered
speeches o .Mexico v j ! I
be delivered in the senate." This
sense of personal responsibility
for what is said in congress has
never before been strongly de
veloped ill file While house.
: i :
"President Wilson will go the
extreme limit in his attempt to
mainlain friendly relations with
Mexico, bill whe.l he does con
clude thai further friendly over
tures are of no u-e then look out
for tilings u happen." said Dr.
P. I.. Hall, democratic national
committeeman on his 'return from
Washington.
The widespread reports that
Nebraska has suffered a "drouth"
ar unfair and misleading-. There
has been a shortage of moisture
in the height of the growing' sea
son, but no drouth has stricken
Ihe stale. Nebraska will have
plenty of cereals of all kinds and
can spare some to our neighbor
ing state on the south, which has
suffered a real drouth. Stand up
for Nebraska!
:o:
Arch Itishop Ireland, in an ad
dress al the recent Milwaukee
convention, paid an eloquent trib
ute li the ; 1 1 1 - i 1 1 -1 1 1 of American
Catholics and condemned those
who accuse the Catholics of lack
of patriotism. As a mailer of
fact the patriotism of Alnerican
Catholics has never been pies
Honed except for political elfecl,
ami happily there are no or
ganizations al the present lime
Irving' to gel ollice by generating
creed hatred.
:o:
Three vears ago a firm in Kan
sas shipped In cases oT frozen
eggs to Troilon. N. .1. The gov
ernment seied lllelll on Ihe
ground that they were had. Now
expert evidence bas been adduced
lo show that I hrce-ycnr-ohl eggs
ar perfectly wholesome. Prof.
Scdvvick Stevens of the Institute
of Technology declares that lo
fed Iheiii li his family, w il h no
ill ed'ecls.
eggs for
when l.i
America,
eggs o id
ealise the
were too
settle it.
Tlle Chinese preserve
imb'liuil' periods, and
Hung Chang' visited
he brought with him
hundred vears old. be
eggs in this count rv
fresh. This oughL to I
John. 1). Rockefeller declares
thai he feels like a hoy. John
must have a scheme for putting
another independent oil company
out of business.
:o:
When a man passes ofl he be
gins to think of a lions'. When
a woman reaches l tie .same age
she begins to olau on how to
break into one.
:o:-
Ceorge W. Yallery. chairman of
the general committee of the ter
minal conclave of Knight temp
lars at Denver, is being congralu
laled on I he success of that hi;
event from all parts of the conn
trv. Mr. Yalledv is president of
the Colorado .Midland railroad,
and was reared to manhood in
Plallsmouth where he has numer
ous relatives and friends residing,
who are atwav's ready to con
gratulate him upon his achieve
ments in public life.
:o:
THE EFFECTS OF GOOD ROADS.
Tin- direr! elfecl that changing
bad roads into good roads has up
on land value and Ihe general
economic wetlare oi a com
munity is shown in several co'r-
crele illustrations gathered by
the I'nitid Stall's department of
agriculture. 1 he depart incut nas
just issued a si at etneiil op Hi'
subject based upon a mass of in
formation gathered by til' ollice
of public road-, which is making'
a special .study of economic effect
of road improvement in the coun
try. According to data gathered,
where good mads replace bad
ones, the values of farm lands
bord-'ring on the roads increase
to such an extent thai the cost of
road improvement is eualizei. if
llol exceeded. The general land
values, as well as farm values,
showed marked advances, follow
ing the improvement of roads. Ac
cording to illustrations cited by
Ihe department are the following:
In l.ee county. Yirginia. a farmer
owner I no aires between Men Ilur
and .lonesv ill'. which he offered
to sell for si. smi. In itms Ibis
road was improved, and. although
the farmer fought the improve
ment, he has sjnee refused s.j. mm
for his farm. Along this same
road a tract of lss acres was sup
posed In have been sold for .
noo. The purchaser refused the
contracl, however, and the Avvner
threatened to -u' him. After the
mad improvement, and without
any improvement upon the land,
the same farm was sold to the
original purchaser for Sl'.ouu. In
Jackson county. Alabama. lite
people video a bond issue of ;.'.",
noo for road improvement and
improved - i per cent of the roads.
The census of l'.Hio gives Ihe
value oi all larm lands in -lack-son
county at Sl.'.'o per acre. The
selling value at that lime was s;
to sio per acre. The census of
I'.'ln places lb,, value of all farm
lands in Jackson county at s'J.T'J
per acre, and Ihe selling is now
from sJO to S-0 per acre. Actual
figures of increased value follow
ing road improvement are shown.
"As Hie roads in no way elfecl soil
fertility or ijualily of the farm,
advances are due essentially to
the decrease in the cost 'of haul
ing produce to market or ship
ping point. Farms are now re
garded as plants for the business
of farming', and any reduction in
their profits through unneces
sarily heavy cosls for hauling on
had roads naturally reduces their
capitalization in values. With re
duced costs for hauling, profits
are increased; with I he result that
the farm plant shows satisfactory
earnings on a higher capital
value. The auloinobile also has
begun to be an important fat lor
in increasing rural values where
good roads are introduced. Im
migration is particularly marked
where mad conditions are favor
abb'; in fail. Ihe figures of Ihe
h'paiTmcnt .-eeui to indicate thai
good roads indirectly increase
Hi' demand for rural properly;
and Hie price of "farm land, like
thai of any commodity, is ruled
by
Ihe r'Iat i mis between demand
and supply.
FEELING AFTER
THE GOD OF LOVE
Divina Character Misrepre
sented by the Greeds.
DARKNESS COVERS EARTH.
Pastor Russell Thrills Believers and
Skeptics by His Picture of the True
God The Pastor's Early Teaching of
Hell He Became a Skeptic His Re-
i covery of More Than He Lo3t God's
Wisdom, Justice, Love and Power.
Soul Satisfaction In None Other.
Clasgovv, Scot
l.'ind. A u jr. '-4
P:istr Kussell
prom-lied t o il n y
from the text.
(iid so loved the
world lliat He
gave His Only Be
gotten Sim. that
whosoever believ-c-tli
oa Him might
not perish, but
h u v e t'veiki sting
life." John 3:10.
The Pastor de
clared that the doctrine of lotal de
pravity Is totally wroiisr. The like
ness of ;d. yvhich "was perfect in
Father Adam, still persists in some
decree In all of Adam's children,
sadly fallen though they he. Indeed,
no one is so fallen as not to have a
reasonable conception of ids own do
basement, a feeling that lie is justly
out of touch, wiih liis Creator, and
worthy of some Kind of punishment.
Ill every human breast there is also a
sentiment of pity, ami a feelinpr of the
need of Iivine pity, lint just there se
rious errors, received from our fore
fathers in the Dark Ajes, bar the way
and discourage those a ho desire to re
turn to fellowship with their Croat or.
Many Christians are benevolent,
sympathetic, ready to lend a helping
hand and to give a word of eneourage
meiit. Many are ready to help the un
fortunates, to sing them sonjrs of (iod's
love and sympathy and pity, ltut these
helps are discounted by the great cen
tral thought supported by all the va
rious creeds called orthodox: namely,
that, Ood is indeed very an cry with
humanity, and busily engaged in send
ing nearly every member of our race to
an eternity of tort lire ninety thousand
every twenty-tour hours oeing the
present schedule.
Cresds Drive Away From God.
AVhilo the Christian forgets the atro
cious misrepresentations of the Divine
character given by t lie creeds, and re
members chiefly the loving words of
encouragement given in the I'ible, it
Is not so with the sinner, who has not
yet tasted that the Lord is gracious.
His thoughts revert to the fact that
he is n sinner, and to the teaching that
eternal torment is his doom. If he
can live for awhile a detent life, he
begins to hope that he may escape
Ihe threatened torture: but when lie
falls again Into trespasses and sins, he
strives to forget everything, aud es
pecially Ood and the future torture
of which he has been told. He escapes
bet from nil religious thought in the
bar-room, at the gaming table, and in
general surrender to sin. He has a
fear of CJod which he seldom con
fesses, and which he belies with his
profanity. He is miserable in the pres
ence of the pure, the holy, and fears
the Bible.
Well did Satan know how to turn
the hearts and minds of huuiaiuty
awav from fiod nnd from the I'.ible!
"With -what cunning did he introduce
these wicked misrepresentations of
(Sod's character into the creeds of
Christian people during the Dark
Ages! St. I'aul gauges the matter
properly In the words, "The god of
this world hath blinded the m:nds of
those "who believe not, lest the light of
the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is
the Image of God, should shine unto
them." - Corinthians 4:i.
Kveu in the blessed twilight of the
Apostolic times, when the Church was
guarded from Satan's delusions, St.
I'aul realized that comparatively few
of the brethren had a clear insight
into the love of God. Hence his pray
er: "I pray God for you, that the eyes
of your understanding being cpened,
l-.w-.TT- ii lnt ia tlif linrio f.f vniir
;..illinJ. that ve mav be able to com-
prehend with all saints the brendtli
and length and depth and height, and
to know the I.ove of (lod. which pa?-s-eth
all understanding." If this knowl
edge of the Love of God is the great
need of Christians, if their eyes of un
derstanding can only partially appre
ciate, oh. what is the need of the poor
world, thoroughly blinded by Satan
i ....ni.u i fi-t lit rcr ?
l Ull lilliiuit ?v;
How Can We Be Otherwise Than In
dignant? And let us not forget that Satan
Las used Christian tongues and Chris
tian pens to do this blinding of the
world. Th Message of God's Love
In the Bible is clear, plain, beautiful.
The misrepresentations and contradic
tions of that Love by our forefathers,
as represented in the creeds, evidently
was the inspiration or Satan, as the
Vpostle declares. Xt only so. but out
Adversary was assisted by his corps
of fallen angels, as St. Paul again
leclares that some give heed to seduc
ing spirits and doctrines of demons.
1 Timothy 1:1-
We owe it to oiif-elres. to our fam
ilies and to the world in general to
utterly destroy these blasphemous uiis-
represehtatlous of God's Character and
rian. Since our eyes are gradually
opening to see the real situation, how
?an we be otherwise than Indignant
nnd jealous for the honor of our God
end for the influence, of His Truth
amongst our fellowmen.
The Pastor's Personal Experience.
I speak from experience. Not that
I have had the experience of being an
alien, a stranger from God, but I have
had the experience, of losing my God.
The child of believing parents, and in
doctrinated along Calvlnistic lines to
believe that only the Klect, a handful,
would ever reach gloryi and that all
the remaining non-elect would reach
n perdition of torment, I was accus
tomed to thinking of myself as one
of the Elect, and appreciating the Love
of God, which had provided for the
salvation of the Llect.
As a boy of seventeen, a member of
be Y. M. C. A., I engaged, as did other
members at that time, in what we call
ed Gospel preaching not realizing the
meaning of the word Gospel that it
signifies "good tidings of great Joy,
which shall be to all people." Like the
others. I exhorted and threatened, pic
tured Hell, and shook my hearers over
it. Then came sober thought. Rea
son began br assert itself over super
stition. I inquired of myself, "Where
is this IJeil which you preach? And
what do you really know about it?
Confessing my own ignorance on the
subject, I went to my teachers and
elders, and was amazed to find that
they knew no more about it than my-
! self. I stopped preaching, nnd began
to think and to examine the creeds. I
found that the differences between
them were trivial; they nil had the
one foundation of Heavenly salvation
for the saintly few, and eternal torture
for the thousands of millions in heath
en and in Christian lands. The more
I investigated, t ho more I felt sure a
great mistake had been made; that a
real God could not have such -a plan;
such an arrangement as our creeds
declared. 1 threw them nil away; and
thinking the I'.ible the basis for them
all, I threw it after the creeds.
Soul-Hunger For God.
Having once known God as my
Heavenly rather, I could find no soul
ro; without II im. My soul hungered
for His love -u.d care. I still held to
the great fact that our Universe has
an intelligent, persoual Creator. His
Wisdom and Power were before me on
every starry night. My studies in
anatomy convinced me that I myself,
all humanity, yea. every creature, is
fearfully and wonderfully made. The
more I studied, the more I became con
vinced that the eye could never have
come by chance, could not have been
evolved by a nature god; and so with
every other function of my body the
muscles, the nerves, anil the power to
move in response to the mere thinking,
willing. I worshipped the God of "Wis
dom and I'ower, and sought to know
more of Him. confident that I would
find Him good.
Left to the resources of my own
brain, I asked, Could others and my
self possess, as gifts of our Creator,
the qualities of Justice and Love,
which we esteem the very highest,
and yet that Creator Himself be des
ti.ute of these? The answer of my
mind was. Surely, as He that formed
the eye can see. He that gave hu
manity the qualities of Justice and
Love, must possess these qualities in
infinite measure.
Thus I beheld with the eyes of my
understanding the great God of the
Universe, infinite in His AYIsdoni, in
His Power, in His Justice, in His
Love. I worshiped again, rejoiced that
I could have confidence in my God,
and realize that He had made neither
the world nor our race in vain that
He had some wise, just, loving purpose
in connection with our creation.
Intelligent Peoples Most Thoroughly
Seduced.
My next thought wns, "Would not a
just and loving God be pleased to make
known His purposes to His creatures
who desired to know and do His will?
The answer of my mind was, that I
micht confidently seek God's Message.
Thinking that I had already sufficient
ly examined the Dible, I turned my at
tention to heathen religions, only to
find them less rational in some respects
than my own. Evidently the most in
telligent peoples of the world have
been the most thoroughly seduced by
Satan and his "doctrines of demons,"
into believing the most horrible things
respecting the Creator and Ills purpose
toward His human creatures.
Finally. I resolved on a fresh study
of the Hible, assuring myself first that
my colored spectacles and those of my
friends were thoroughly broken, ana
my mind entirely untrammeled. Not
without stumblings nnd difficulties did
the Lord gradually lead me to clearer
and yet clearer light upon His word,
until ! found that the basis of all dif
ficulty lay in our following Satan's lie,
"Ye shall not surely die."
From that time the entire Uible
gradually became illuminated, beauti
ful, grand, harmonious! Now, beloved
hearers, it stands pre-eminent before
my mind ns the Word of God. Kealiz
ing this, I use niy reason freely within
the limits of its declarations, but never
outside of its authority.
Mankind Need to Be Encouraged Not
Browbeaten.
No pen can tell the peace and joy
and blessing that a clear knowledge
of the true God has brought Into my
own heart and life. "It satisfies my
longings as nothing else can do." I
am seeking no further. There is noth
ing more to be desired except to get
this wonderful Story more clearly be
fore my mind and to appreciate more
aud more the Divine Character, as il
lustrated by the Divine Plan, which
God is gradually working out for the
blessing, first of the Chinch, and aft
erwards for the world. Can you won
der that. I have sympathy for honest
skeptics," who like myself have lost
their way, and sympathy, too. for the
great mass of mankind, who have
never known God!
Terhnps 1 can appreciate better than
some others of the Lord's people what
it menus to be "without God and with
out hope in the world" how lonesome,
how solitary the way, how aimless the
H-anderlng, how bitter the dippoint
ments that find no solace in u.pu of a
better day! 1 am persuaded that man
kind need more to be instructed and
encouraged than to bo brow-beafcen,
threatened, alarmed. At nuy rate, the
decreasing church attendance, in spite
of operatic music nnd sensational
topics, proves that the masses of the
people refuse longer to be scared into
the Heavenward road by threats of
eternal torment.
And do not all Christian ministers to
tome extent discern this? Is not this
the reason some of them give for dis
continuing to preach the creeds of a
darker time? Is not this the reason
that, in defiance of the creeds, and tn
contradiction thereof, every funeral
service Is a white-washing affair to
make out that the deceased is a saint
and gone lo Heaven, even if his life
has been discreditable, nnd he has
never made even a profession of Chris
tianity? Such hypocrisies holding one
standard and preaching another are
bringing Christianity Into reproach.
Fraud is the word which in the con
ceptiou of many fits their own for
malism and that of others. They recog
nize the Apostolic picture of our times,
"Having a form of godliness, but de
nying its power." 2 Timothy 3;o.
The Love of Our Text.
The entire liible tells us of God's
Love and Sympathy. Only a few texts
twisted, mistranslated, or interpolated
during the Dark Agees, even seemingly
contradict the great statement that
God is Love the very essence and cm- '
boditnent of this grandest of all ele
ments of character. Our text is one of
these loving tributes to the Heavenly
Father's mercy and grace. It is one,
therefore, which especially appeals to
the worldly, the unmindful Christian
and the repentant sinner "God so lov
ed the world that He gave His Only
ISegotten Son, that whosoever belicveth
in Him should not perish, but havq
everlasting life."
Yet see how we have twisted this
good Word of God to make out of it
something evil. We seized upon tho
word perish, knowing well that it signi
fies to destroy, to annihilate, to render
lifeless. Satan persuaded us that such
a penalty would not sufficiently terrify,
and not rapidly enough fill the rolls
of church membership. He induced
our forefathers, through the "doc
trines of demons," to say that pnhh
here means the reverse of what It
means in ordiuary conversation that it
means to go to endless woe, to be met
by fire-proof devils, and be confined
to all eternity in horrible sufferings.
Well did Satan succeed in deceiving
us until we did not even think of ques
tioning his lies and absurdities.
If any one suggested that pmh
means to destroy, the Adversary would
stir up persecution, and brand such u
one a heretic. If the heretic asked
how any one could be tortured forever
in fire and not be consumed, he was
denounced as both a fool and n knave
for not appreciating the fact that God
could inject life into the poor sufferer
for the millions upon millions of years
of eternity.
How foolish we were! How stupid
not to see the origin of such i:onsene
not to perceive the simplicity of
God's Word that the penalty upon sin
ners was to perish not to jee that
God sent His Son to redeem man from
his perishing condition, and to open uj
for Adam and nil his race a way to life
everlasting life!
Quite true, this life can come only
through the Life-giver, the Uedoemor.
Quite true, none can receive it in igno
rance, and comparatively few see with
the eyes of their understanding or hear
with the ears of their understanding
the Message of grace in the present
time. But Gods provision through
Christ is a resurrection for the dead
not only the just, who now by faith
are justified, but also the unjust, who
are still aliens, foreigners, strangers
from God.
"The Gospel of the Kingdom."
Thus it is that by Divine arrange
ment none can now understand the
Divine Plan for human salvation from
perishing, except as they come to un
derstand respecting the Kingdom that
God has promised that the Hedeomer,
who purchased the world by His sacri
fice, shall become the world's Great
High Priest, Prophet, and King, and for
a thousand years grant to Adam and
his family the blessed opportunity of
knowing and accepting the Divine
terms whereby they may be saved
from perishing, from death whereby
they may be fully resurrected, rnis!
up, out of present sin and death condi
tions to the fulness of life attainable
It the end of Messiah's Reign.
It is only incidental to this great
Plan of the world's salvation flint I !
Church is now called in advance to
walk by faith in the footsteps of th
Iledeemer and to become His Hrldo
and Joint heir in the Heavenly King
dom. The great work of Christ is for
the world. Ihe blessing of all the fam
ilies of the earth, by the resurrection
work of the thousand years of His
Messianic Kingdom.
This Is the great hope the world
needs, which thrills tho hearts of all
who hear it. And although their eye3
and ears of understanding be still hiti-
dered by Satan, the Divine promise is.
that in the coming Messianic Day.
when the shadows cf the dark night of
sin are past, all the blind eyes shall
be opened, nil the deaf cars shall be
unstopped, and the knowledge of tli'.'
glory of God shall till the whole world,
and be a Message of Hope to every
creature.