Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1877-12-26
Correspondence.
Letters to Rev. Alien Damon.
(No. 2.)


DEAR SIR-In my last letter
, proved if anything can be proved b.
scripture ,estimony-,that Jesu
"came in his kingdom" at the conclu
sion OF the Jewish age or state, anc
then began judging the world and
of course I'd Thess l Go was full
filled at that time-that the Jewisl
people and nation were then "punish
ed with everlasting destruction ant
have not existed as 4 nation or poity
OF the earth since that time to tho
present | do not say that the de
; struction of Jerusalem was the I'd
coming of Christ. The important
thing was his Coming in his king
dom," or his spiritual, mediatorea
reign and the destruction Of the
Jews took place near the beginning Of
his reign. l understand that, at that
time, the enemies of Christ went
away into the punishment of ,the age
! (holaSis, correction), and the righteous
into the life OF the age, meaning the
gospel age. Matt. % : 46. But this
was not after the resurrection into the
future world and hence. nothing is
SAID in Matt. oath and 25th chapters
about after death, another world, or
about any resurrection at all. If this
parable of the "sheep and goats, as it
is called, is to be fulfilled after the res
direction and in the future world, it
seems to passing strange, that not one
word is SAID there about SO important
a matter as the simultaneous resurrec-
tion of all mankind
In the parable Of the good seed and
the tares, we read ''the field is the
world. kosmOs, in the Greek but we
never read in the Bible of the end Of
the k0smOS. "The harvest" was not
the end OF the field or world but the
end of the (aio1e) age. Bishop Pearce
of the Church of England says, cage
Ia tho moot proper meaning ~ ~''"-' y
i. The Kingdom Of heaven in this
parable means the visible outward
kingdom. whicl was his church at
that time.
2. The good seed or wheat were
the good Christians OF that age.
8. The tares were talse-hearted
professors, who said "Lord, Lord,
but did not his will" They were
'.lhe bad fish. Matthew 13: A.
50.
4. AT the end OF the Jewish age,
these tares, the protessed, but false
hearted Christians who were in the
Church those who "offended and did
iniquity," were gathered out of the
Church and destroyed with the wicked
Jews.
5. "The furnace of fire." means
their temporal destruction from the
earth. As it is written in lsa. 81 9,
'.Salth the Lord, whose fire is in Zion,
and his furnace in jerusalem In
Eek. %: l7-22, it is written,
"And the word OF the Lord came un.
to me saying, the house OF Israel is to
me become dross all they are brass,
and tin and iron, and lead, in the
midst OF the furnace they are even
the dross of silver. Therefore, thus
said the Lord God, because ye are all
become dross, behold | will gather
YOU in the midst of Jerusalem. AS
they gather silver, and brass, and
iron, and lead, and tin into the midst
OF the furnace, to blow the fire upon
it to melt it, so will | gather you in
mine anger and in my fury, and | will
leave you there and melt YOU There
seems to be no evidence that this
furnace is in the future world.
knew before how Heb. 9: 2S
reade, but l do not find the phrases,
"Second Advent of Christ Or "Sec-
ond Coming of Christ" there, nor any
where. l, too, believe IN the ressur-
rection of those who are comparative
ly just, and of those who are compar-
atively unjust in this life, but l do
not find that any are said to be unjust
after their resurrection. All are un-
lust sinners here more or less as long
as they live.
If Christ's "kingdom is not of this
world" or worldly kingdom, still 1t
is set up in this world. 1t is a spirit
ual reign over the minds and hearts of
men.
You refer me to Dan. 70: 2 and
10, and John 5: 2S aud 20 to prove
that some sinners will be destroyed
or perish after the resurrection in the
future world-after "All who die in
Adam shall have been made alive in