The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-09-10


physique, and that 1t Is the Divine in
tention to make the entire earth
Garden of Eden-Paradise- from this
standpoint, the permission of evil may
be clearly understood and appreciated
as a master-stroke of Divine Wisdom.
AS one illustration of this, suppose
that Sin had not entered into the world
and the birth of humanity had been as
slow as in the case of Adams I'M
mediate children (whose birth-rate was
probably about one a century,, how
long would it have required to people
the earth? But in Adams fallen condi-
ton, as part of the result of the fall,
the sorrows and conception of mother
hood were greatly multiplied Genesis
Iii, 49,, so that during the period
of Seven Thousand Years sufIiciency
of the human family will have been
born to properly fill it. Moreover, the
subduing Of the earth has under Di-
vine encouragement been accomplish
! ed by conrict labor; for are not all
mankind convicts serving out death
sentences And is not our Greater per-
hitting man, for his own good, to bat
tie strenuously with the unfavorable
conditions prevailing in the earth? And
does not this battling serve to quicken
man in his mental qualities, even
though this quickening be chiefly along
selfish lines?
Furthermore, as we have heretofore
seen, the reign of Sin and Death
amongst mankind made it possible for
God. on the one hand, to show the Sc
verify of his Justice in permitting us
to die thus, as grooming creation,
Travelling in pain" and it made possi-
BILE the exhibition of his love in
the providing of the Redeemer, who
bought us with his precious blood.
Further be it remembered 1t served as
the occasion for the testing of Lucifer,
the proving of his dislOyalty, when he
became Satan, the Adversary Of God.
Additionally it furnished the oppor-
tune test of the loyalty or disloyalty
of all the angels of heaven as recorded
in Genesis vi, Jude vi and II Peter ii,
4, as we have previously seen.
"The Mystery of God"
And now we come, dear friends, to
that feature of the great Divine Plan
which is so peculiarly interesting to us
to us who are Bible Students; to us
who are disciples Of Jesus; to us who
have given our all to him; to us who
are trusting that he has accepted us as
members of the Body of Christ" as
members of the Bride, the Lambs Wife,
and his Joint-Heir in the Kingdom
Without the permission Of sin there
would have been no such opportunity
as we now enjoy Of experiencing a
change" Of nature from earthly to
heavenly-human to Divine AS our
Lord could not have left the heavenly
glory to become a man and to suffer
and to die, the Just for the unjust, I'M
less there had been sin in the world;
unless sinners had needed redemption;
so likewise we would have had no op-
portunity or privilege Of joining with
our Lord in his sacrifice of himself!
We would have had no opportunity of
jOint-heirShip with him in his King
dom!
Indeed, had there been no sin to con-
quer to down, to overthrow, there
would have been no need for Christ's
Mediatorial Kingdom = for Christ's
reign Of righteousness. Had there
been no fallen condition of humanity
in sin, in degradation, there would
have been no work for the Royal
Priesthood to accomplish during the
times Of restitution" during the ex-
istence of the Millennial Kingdom. So,
then, while approaching the terrible
devastation of sin in the world, its ter
rible consequences upon the human
family, we see behind the glorious Adj
vent Of our Lord in Kingdom power
a full recovery of the race from All
that was Lost in Adam and Redeemed
on Calvary. From this standpoint we
have glimpse of the length and
breadth and height and depth Of the
Love and Justice, the Wisdom and the
point we worship and adore our AL
mighty Creator and our precious Re-
deemer! From this standpoint we may
have full confidence in the outcome
that ultimately all shall have the full
lest opportunity of eternal life and that
all wilful evil-doers shall be ultimately
destroyed in the Second Death, from
which there shall be no redemption, no
resurrection.
From this standpoint we may re-
joice to suffer with our Redeemer,
that we may be glorified with him
in his Kingdom and participate with
him in its glorious work of uplift-
ing the poor, fallen race to Para
disc, and to all the projections Of
Adam. Yea, we may rejoice even in
the Second Death OF the unwilling and
disobedient, realizing that true and
righteous is the Divine edict under
which they Will perish Oh Peter ii, 12).
PE0NAGE IN MINNESOTA