Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1909-08-12

pearances and representations, not re-
alities. Let us be careful here. 1t
matters nothing whether this Scrip
ture be taken as parable or history,
40 far as its meaning is concerned, bat
whatever view we take, 1t must be
conceded that Christ represented these
men as continuing to exist. Now that
representation was either true or false.
Men exist after death or they do not,
Christ represented them as existing.
The people to whom the representation
was made believed it true and the Saw
ionr knew they believed it t-ne. and
that il He did not correct their i'm
pressions they would be confirmed in
this belief. Yet He did not attempt
to controvert their prevailing thought,
but made this representation of the
state Of the dead in good faith, and
with the most impressive silence re-
specting any misapprehension likely to
arise in the minds of any who believed
in the separate existance of the soul.
What if this representation is para
bleP Christs' parallels are not fables.
He did not deal in fiction. Every par
able He uttered was founded on facts.
This point is worthy of particular
note, especially as sometimes reference
is made to parallels Of onr Lord to
Justify the rise of fiction, as suitable
medium through which to commune
cate religious truth. Whether it be
right or wrong to use fiction, or
whether it be possible to employ it to
advantage or not, it cannot be shown
that Christ resorted to it. We must
therefore conclude that when He rep
resented the souls of men as in exist
ence after death, He meant that we
should believe that they do exist. He
spoke of the existence of spirits "with.
out flesh and bones.' Think on this
and read His (Christs) own words.
And He also speaks of the continued
life of patriarchs and prophets in such
a way as to confirm the Pharasees,
who believed in these things, al
against the Sadducees who disbelieved
them.
We are unable to see any other way
of interpreting our Lords response tC
the appeal of the dying penitent, "To
day shalt thou be with me in para
dise, thereby teaching an immediate
entrance of the soul into conscious
rest. Paul was caught up into Para
disc, and he spoke Of it as "the thirt
heaven" but he betrays no conscious
ness of the presence of his body, or o.
its participation in rapture of the soul
Indeed he could not tell but that h'
was ''out of the body in that wond
erful experience, which shows that HI
did not doubt the possibility of disem
bodied existence. Christ entered para
disc the day He was crucitied and tn,
soul of the penitent entered "witt
Him. without awaiting the coming
of the Son of Man in the clouds o.
heaven.
In harmony with this view there i
another fact of special significance. /
is that when the Saviour comes in tn
clouds with the angels, with the sount
of the trumpet to raise the dead, tn
saints are to come with Him. 'Whel
Christ who is our life shall appear
then shall ye also appear with him il
glory. Now, if we believe tina
Christ died and rose again, even ST
them also which sleep in Jesus will
God bring with Him" During th
intervening period they are "absen
from the body and present with tn
Lord" and when he comes it will b
with all His saints, as we'll as wit
the angels. 1t cannot be that the
will then appear with Him in fu.
possession of their resurrected bodies
for in this respect they are then to b
caught up in company with thos
who are alive and remain" to NEE
the Lord in the air. They come wit
Him, resume their rising bodies, an
with the living translated saints al
caught up to be forever with the Lore
This brings up to passage bearin
on the subject, and requiring carefr
study. 1t extends from End Corir
thians 4:15 to the ninth verse of tn
chapter following-too long to
transcribed here. Notwithstanding tt
! division of chapters this is a sing
! paragraph, and the keynote is struc
in the opposite tendencies of ''the ou
ward man, and the inward man.
, Much has been said about the peculia
, language here employed but the resu
of the most critical scrutiny is thu
the most obvious sense of the words
the true sense. The outward man
is the body; the onward man" Il
soul. The body is ''perishing, gradl
ally going down to earth, but the sol
is not perishing. The inward ms
, differs from the outward man in n
: ture, substance and quality; it is n
subject to the same laws of life, nor
able to the same fate in death. So o.
posite are these two natures, manifes
= ing a veritable duality in each ind
) vidual. that as one yields to the inev
! table law of dissolution, the other b
comes more and more vigorous al