The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1886-12-11
THE FAT OF THE FATHERS Ill.
Its Doctrine Of the Future Life.
BY REV. HOLMES SLADE.
whitewater, Wis.,

The greatest change wrought by the
Fathers, in breaking away from the
old theology, was in regard to the fu-
ture life; that, 'In the resurrection we
are equ al to the angels, and the chill
dren of God, being the children of the
resurrection" The Bible was their
supreme authority, and without being
wise above what was written, in phil
osophizing upon the subject, they SIM
ply declared in the language of Scrip
ture, that GAS in Adam all die, even
so in Christ shall all be made alive;"
and that GAS we have borne the image
of the earthly, we shall also," and with
the same certainty, "bear the image of
the heavenly" They reckoned with the
Apostle, that 1.-THE sufferings of this
present time were not to be compared
with the glory that shall be revealed in
u.s."
More usually the thought had been
of no moral, or spiritual change, in
passing from the earthly to the heaven
ly existence, and however it might be
thought by some, that life was to open
out into an interminable series of
crowding and Frightening prospects,
that would give to the soul free scope
for its development, yet it was not
after all so very different from the life
we are living here. 1t was this life
continued, with all its laws, its bear
ings and results, carried over to that
world, and re-enacted there; not the
exact, literal counterpart of this per-
haps; but still, reasoning from analogy,
or similarity, it would be world of
pain and suffering, the same as here
and now.
The comparison has been that Of pass
ing from one room to another; and in
many minds scarcely allowing of a
change as great as that of the apostle
Paul, in experiencing conversion from
Judaism to Christianity. 1t is true,
that in degree of spiritual attainment,
the soul enters the future world as it
leaves this. We go into another world
as we go into another room; but a
room all lighted up with an effulgence
Of glory, before which, as has been
said, all the PHILOSOPHERS of the world
will pale, as do the most brilliant stars
before the rising sun. 1.-THE glory of
God is to tighten it, and the Lamb is to
be the light thereof" ''Now we see
through glass darkly, but then face
to face. Now we know in part, but
then shall we know, even also as we
are known" The mystery of God will
be finished, and the soul will be open
ed to all spiritual vision, and "behold-
ing as in glass, the glory of the Lord,
we will be like him, seeing him as he
is, and be changed into the same i'm
age, from glory to glory-as by the
spirit of God" With powers refined
and clarified we will be able to recog-
nize all spiritual revealments as we
have never done before. The light of
eternity will break upon us in that
memorable morning of the resurrection;
and who shall dare to fix limit to the
grandeur of the immortal mindl How
are we to restrain ourselves, or set
bounds to our conceptions in the con-
temptation of the marvellous scenes
that will open to US at the moment OF
our entrance upon that higher life, and
our rising into the arcanum of its
spiritualityl
1t need not take long time for us
to leave off doing wrong and to set
forth in the pursuit of other endeavors
when we shall have been introduced
into these new scenes, encompassed by
new light and opportunities. The mighty
changes with which we will then be
surrounded, at the very opening of our
career; and the influences and associa-
tions that will meet us at our coming,
will be such as to produce new motives
and aspirations, and with them the
most thrilling developments. We will
be in the midst of purity, in perpetual
love and blessedness, with nothing to
faint the atmosphere of our surround
ings.
| mo sin to cloud no lure to stay
My soul, as home she springs;
| Thy sunshine on her joyful way,
Thy freedom on her WINGS"
And what then is to prevent our
leaping forward, without hindrance, on
our upward career of eternal progress;
rising higher and higher towards the
infinite and absolute, which we can
never reach, because it is infinite and
absolute. This was Paul's earnest ex-
pectation of the sons of God" which
they waited for" and which he tells
us 'eye hath not seen, ear heard, nor
hath it entered into the heart of man
to conceive' of the glory of it.
The view which 1 am obliged to
take of this subject is one involving an
instantaneous mode of communica-
ton, bestowed in a direct manner by
the Creator himself, as much as in our
creation, and then our advancing on
ward in that world of bliss, charging
our conceptions of divine truth indefi-
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