Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-04-20

{ S gH W (s 2 " TX % N s s rERBURY EVENING ] sengers Is to have the crowning klory oK an immortal body, fot Benjamin is the last of the messengers" and 1t has been determined that he shall see the rnillen- nial age and Christ, it's only ruler" and that after 1000 years on earth he shall ascend into Heaven with the entire host of the 144,0oo to be numbered among the elect.
 It is the teaching of Benjamin that with the exception of Christ. Elias, Enoch and a few more of the celebrated Scriptural personages. the 144,00O con- stituting the elect, with Benjamin him. self at their head, shall be the only hu- man beings whose physical bodies will ever be found in Heaven. The souls and spirits" of all the other inhabitants of earth, from the beginning to the end of time, may ascend into Heaven, but their bodies will stay forever in their graves or somewhere in the universe, or in chaos, as physical, material sub stance. When the Bible extends the promise of resurrection of the body at doomsday 1t is not the real body but the Spirit" which will rise, the Israelites say, from the graves of mother earth. "The spirit, not the body. is what is sleeping in the grave" they say, land only the spirit will resurrect, as the body has returned to dust it's elements and must so remain. excepting "the one hundred and forty and four thousand" of the elect.
 Mission of the Sect.
 It is the mission of the "Israelites" to prepare the world for Christ's second coming and to keep holy vigil until the reappearance of the Redeemer upon earth once more. They assert that "the second coming is due now and may be expected to be made manifest at any mo- ment to all the world"
 This is more decidedly startling than anything that the "Israelites," the whilom Flying Rollers" had an nounced at any time before. It was un- derstood in Benton Harbor that the "sec- ond coming" an event which is to pre- cede the beginning of the millennium. was just 13 years away-that it had been scheduled to arrive in 1916. But this appears to have been a sad mistake. It is the lend of the world." or, more ac7 curately speaking, the end of the pres ent order of things" that is timed to ar rive in 1916. The change from the pres ent order to the holy reign of Christ during the millennium may require some time for inauguration, say Benjamin and Mary.
 They are emphatic in declaring that the lend of the present order" will take place in 1916; that in that year the Christ will have successfully launched the millennium, and that thereafter He will reign and govern for 1000 years as the acknowledged sovereign and ruler of all the earth.
 They assert that the presence of the person. of Christ may not at first be recognized by any but the few, and that He may be some years on earth before He will make manifest His identity with the stupendous miracles foretold in the Scriptural Book d the Revela- tions. Here is where the tsraelites have the advantage of the rest of us-they ex- pect that Christ will make Himself known to them first, as they say that He will know they have thoroughly fitted themselves to receive Him and accept His Divine leadership on earth. "7.rp
 Strict Celibates.
 In reference to their system of celibacy, Benjamin and Mary have this to say: .. ....
 "Our institution of celibacy is not the race suicide the American president con- demns. The teaching as we'll as the practice is this: When person discov- CTS that he or she is one of the number chosen to await the second coming of Christine visitation appointed for 1916 or soon before that time-that per- son is expected forthwith to adopt the mode of life of celibate, so as to be of that noble purity of mind and body that can alone be deemed fitting and worthy in all who are preparing to greet the Redeemer on His second advent upon this earth. If the persons who accept this call to the holy life have been mar ried and have had children there is no harm done. All that is required of them is that they become celibates when they join our movement and that they remain true celibates thereafter to the end.
 ''It is easy to see how different is this from the race suicide condemned by your great president. In the first place, we hold that after the end of the pres ent order, which event is to take place in 1916. it will be found that it would not have made much difference whether the present inhabitants of the world had race suicide or not, provided the race suicide had been accomplished by the lawful abstinence known as 'celibacy.' For with the inauguration of the mill lennium. under the glorious rule of Christ. there will be transformation of the human body that will render it im- mortal. By the exercise of His Divine power at His second coming the Christ will cause the blood in our bodies to be- come transformed into spirit. This re- placing of the blood with spirit will rem der the body immortal Only in this way