Delaware Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1843-1874, 1873-12-25

pattern, is the special guarantee Of the re-lving |
Il all who may sleep In Jesus, and mono 9TH |
Ars. Now, let us suppose that Adam the first |
man, had preserved his state of innocency or
peri, C ion had never listened or yielded to temp
tation; and while In this state or condition of
obedience, the devil had killed him flor, be II
remembered, this important Individual has pow
er to infict death-Heb. II. IA, would not JUS
tice have rendered it necessary on the part of
God, to raise him up to life again and place him
beyo nd the reach and power Of the devil? We
think il would. Now, who was Jesus Christ?
We aHswer.lh second Adam,of whom the first
was only the ''shadow." What are the facts In
his case? Did he not render perfect obedience
to the law? and did not his obedience entitle
h i'm to perpetulty of life? and yet the devil kill
ed him, no matter what the agency employed;
the devil has ..the power of DEATH" aud we
must attribute this deed Of death to him. Did
his Father leave him dead? or did he exercise
"hls mighty power which he Wi oight in Christ,
when he raised him from the dead.''
Did he not take him beyond the power of the
devil, and invest him with the same kind of life
that he himself p assessed? (John v, 26.) ID id
not his Father seat him at his own right hand,
with instructions to remain there until he made
his "foes his footslool?" All these are clearly
revealed facts. Tie foes of Christ are to be
| made his fUotstool. Who aIe his foes We
| answer, all these who Nv i'll OF have this man
/ to reign over item" They shall be ashes
und the soles of your feet, not reslirrected,
conscious, tortured beings disappearing God
| and cursug Christ, and belching forth their
| horrid oaths and imprecatons e;ernally in
i the face Of heaven. No, God has no such foot
stool as this in reserve for Christ il will be
clean and pure As when the morning stars
sang together and all the sons of God shouted
for Joy"
God, then, has illustrated this doctrine of the
resurrection in the person of Christ and as
"by the first man came death, by the second
man came also the resurrection OF the dead y
| and the resurrection can never be applied to
man, unless man Is in the state of DEATH
Jesus was in the state of death, but he was mol
there as a sinner il was for his obedience. fol
she became obedient unto death" and Ibis Sou
must not be left In hell, nor his flesh see cor.
ruption." The same Jesus lived and was bur.
led, and was raised up again from the dead
and so It will be with all his people, while liv.
ing they are not dead when dead they are no,
alive their future life depends upon their re-
surrection. II the wages Of sin be death, and
the wicked are left eternally dead, then DO they
not receive their full amount Of "wages?" MeI
do not seem to think il a matter Of much im-
portance Tor them to change Gods Word. They
sometmes tell us that the wages of sin Is dealt
but that means eternally dying, and yet never
dead" But then. ii they do not reach death
they are never I'm Ter its penalty, for the pen
atty is not dying, but DEATH Was Jesus thre,
days dying, and yet hot dead? How, then
did he pay the penalty, the full ransom price
And il he did not pay the penalty i'll full. al
that justice demands, where is your hope o
redemption The fact is, Jesus went into til,
death state--was dead liz went there 10 ''le
stroy him that had the power Of death, that il
the devil, and liver them who, through fea
OF death, were all their lifetime subject TO bond
} age" They knew men died, went into tn,
lf upat 1, hiil hn u hpr A .,
be broken had mol been revealed to them ant
were II not for the fact that the New Tesla
ment reveals TO us how Jesus "Jrought {, ant
Immortality to light, /" our ignorance of the fac
would still he equal 10 theirs. God, then
} stands pledged To redeem his people from death
and to ransom them fn'ln the power of til,
: grave and in order that we might have Cur
! rect views on this imp rant subject, 81,
brought again from th4 dead hat great SLep
herd OF the sheep" thus giving assurance 10 al
his people thai in due time the sheep will fol
, low the Shepherd CAT of the state OF death
while the goats. having no ri>en representative
~ living re'l-emer, TO rIOnis" u life. are lei
ia the unbroken silence of death. Aud becaus,
T Panl had embraced the doctrine of the iesr
rection, as the only way ont Of the death stat,
for those who sleep in Jesus, what folly to sup
pose that he endorsed the popular notions thei
prevalent among the Jews.
We might illustrate this by heresy preva
lent al this time. Suppose Brothers A. and B.
being members of the same church, should NEE
and engage in religious conversation, and the
subject becomes one of Christian experience
! and Bro. A. says, BRO B., have often though
with what intense interest the spirits of on
departed loved ones looked on and witnessed
orr struggles 10 overcome temptation and sin
and in my meItations ! have often thought
oh, If it were only possible for them 10 commu
nicate with MS, and give us some assurance O
thAin .I.Fist fNt
! their influence over US, what great satisfac
ton ii wOnld he; but then il must not be SO
and we can only submit to him who hath or
: dered il otherw lse.' To which, after som,
slight hesitation, Bro. b. replies, We'll, Bro
+ A, too have often Thought of these things;
have thought of our loved ones as hoyerins
around lis, and of the deep interest with which
: they must follow us, and too nave often fel
: the desire TO know how it is with them and a.
we are speaking of experience, Bro. A., mus
i tell you what happened a lew evenings since -
| Went in company with dear friend 10 spend
, an evening at the house OF Mr.. W.; after som,
time was spent in ordinary conversation TN
;, subject took rather religious turn; soon atte
l Tins II was proposed to form a circle, which wa
5 done, and after some hesitatious and misgiy
: lDgs, too joined the circle aud ia short tim
' Il medium was possessed of spirit, and woul,
= You believe Il? that was the spif. of my owl
= dear mother. She told me things that no othe
! person could have known. At first | wa
frightened, but as she spoke so kindly affection
ateiy, felt drawn towards her; and listene,
II with deepest interest while she dwelt on the
= pleasures enjoyed In the spirit land and eve
i since then, Bro. A., have iet that the spiri
q OF my dear mother Is with me and can com
e nnnicate with me through proper medium
At this jincture the conversation is Interim
e ted, and the two brethren separate. 1t soel
l. becomes nOsed abroad that Bro b. has beer
| tamnnrpu u Ia ha mi oil
% ed with their doctrines and some jealous one
propose to bring him 10 church trial. He ap
II pears; the charge and specification ls read, tina
q Bro b. has been visiting and embracing TIN
e doctrines of the Spritualists ii is signed b
a Bro w. Bro. A. is called upon 10 give his les
r timuny az he received it from Bro. b., ATE
- which Bro. B. Is permitted to speak fD him
Ia self and in his defense he states his belief /
" the creed and articles of faith, and in the exis
IS tence OF spirits as conscious, Intelligent being,
,r having a deep and abi,.ing interest in u.s. while
II they themselves tmine accusrrs) also allow,
e Vow, can not any one see, that tile position Z
IS Bro H. is perfect parallel 10 that Of Paul be
= lore the jew lSh Sanhedrim" Aud as Bro L
/, had stated the whole Of his belief to Bro. A., S
d fanl had before stated his hope 10 be that {
n the promise made of God unto our fathers
le anu that promise necessarily involved their re
). sIhrection from the dead, and if the Jews be
r, lleved in the r'surrectios, they were compel
d ed To allow Paul his hope. Besides, the jus
Is and unjust" comprised only the two classes {
- Jews, and had no reference whatever 10 a resu
II rection Of Genties. With the Jews God wa
e The God Of the Jews only; and so deep seate
l, was the prejudice, even la the mind OF an i n
II splred apostle, That 1t became NECESSARY 70
- God by special recitation 10 convince Pete
l. that the Gentllrs were TO he The recipients {
It gospel privileges and this, too, after liz la
1t been preaching the gospel i0 i number ,
y Yeas. And il an inspired apostle held such *
= elusive views, how then could We expect III
/ jewish mlnd,nnrn ehlnrd hV the Divine Spiri
. to rI1Grlc' within II rs hop. any orhrt- Ina
Il The seed II Amahlmt
Pull, then, Wls spatkulg OF hes hOp,, All,