The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-11-05

cry reason to believe that he expected
precisely what has occurred in history
since His day This, the later writers
of the New Testament, came to realize.
Paups later eDstles reflect 1t, ana
cease to look for His personal return
to the earth. He was spiritually pres
ent, as He still is. Johns gospel has
none of the panoramic portrayals OF
the synoptics. Christ is with them in
spiritual presence. What other IAN
guage there Is in the earlier gospels
and in the Revelation we may wisely
allow to pass as part of an expectation
which did not accurately represent the
facts. They served their purpose IN
holding man up In faith in martyr
days. and nerving them to be true to
Him when faithfulness was bitter lot.
when we pass to consider Chrlsts
view Of things to come in the next
world, the same general features FOL
low. He treated death as merely an
Incident Of the one immortal life. as OF
no serious consequence to anyone He
seldom speaks of 1t. He even ignores
n He himself passed It, returned. and
went away again. Nor does he UNDER
take to point out the final end of things
for the righteous or the wicked. Inc
word we translate, eternal means
duration not fnality. The men OF OLD
time literally tine eternal men, are
not those who have have lived from
the beginning, but merely the old
timers. Those who go away into ever
lasting blessedness, or more, are mere
Iy seen to be on the road to these sew
eral conditions But they will reach
them If they keep on.
Christ bases the future condition OF
men on their nature os spirit, and on
their choices of good or evil; that is,
so they may use the viii OF Coo
revealed to them. We need to say thar
man is a body and has spirit. Now
we say man is a spirit and has body
It is on the worth Of man as spirit
ual being that Christ treats them as
immoral. not on the face that any
one. being dead, has returned to hTe'
as even that he himself rose from the
dead. He arose because being what ne
was as related to God, II was not pos
sibIe that death could hold him SO or
every one in the image of COD. lhat
life Of the spirit fixes the fact OF I'M
mortality. and not any incident OF Ire.
"In the same way. the future con-
dition of each one Is determined Dy ms
choices of the win Of God as His law
love end service, or his opposluon 20
the Will That characted becomes 10
the will The character becomes hxeu
and permanent when the choice be
comes so. Human life has three great
vital periods infancy, childhood. the
period Of habits. memory and natural
directions. followed by youth, the first
period Of personal decisions OF vital
Questions. They the life feast becomes
conscious deeply OF responsibility for
its own choices. The soul hears God
its allegiance, once, twice,
sometimes thrice, If the loyal answer
be hit given. God wants His viii
chosen and followed. As we so chose
we are and tend % continue Then
eternal destiny begins 10 form We say
thoughtIessIy: while there's life
there's hope" 1t is no such thing.
Death is an incident. not a ------
While We can make the chaice Of God
adm good there is hope. and no longer,
sven though we be not yet wenty years
Did Probation is a mater Of the char
8cter. not of times or seasons-He who
his chosen opposition TO God so firmly
that he cannot or vii mot change.
IS lost whatever his time Of life.
He who can change from sin to the
love and service Of God is not. Reverse
ly. he who has chosen Gods viii so
FIRMLY that he cannot deny Him OF