Charlevoix county herald., 1909-01-02

be with me in
Paradise" is flu
tile, whether it be to accommodate
those who believe that the spirit goes
to purgatory, or those who insist that
1t sleeps with the body in the grave.
Our Lord could not have said Il say
unto thee yesterday" or Il say unto
thee tomorrow" and to make him say
Il say unto thee to-day"is reflection
upon his intelligence.
Paul defined this earthly existence
as being at home in the body while we
are absent from the Lord and death as
being absent from the body while We
are present with the Lord q Cor,
5: 80. Paul was conscious of two oppos-
ing forces, one drawing him toward
death, the other drawing him toward
the duties and burdens of life. Il am
in a strait betwiXt two, having a desire
to depart and be with Christ" (Phil.
1:23). He was willing to die, for he
was anxious to see again the glorified
Christ whom he saw on the way to
Damascus, and he was willing to live
because he believed that the church
on earth had need of his services.
The Spirit Goes to Be with Christ in
Paradise.
Our Lord said to the man dying at
his side: Thou shalt be with me in
Paradise" Paradise is a word of Per-
sian origin which means a garden. We
! can see in it the bloom of flowers,
while we hear the song Of birds and
the flowing of fountains. The word
Eden" in the second chapter of Gene
sis is translated Paradise in the Sep
| tuagint. The garden Of delights which
the serpent entered has been restored
and no serpent will enter it again
| The word Paradise occurs in two other
places. In vision Paul was caught
up into Paradise and heard unspeaka-
| BILE words which it is not lawful for a
man to utter g Cor. 1850. 1t is clear
from this scripture that in Paradise
there is TO be larger revelation than
any we have had or could endure here.
It's language conveys truth too sacred
| to express to those who know only tho
coarse words of earth. A few hours Of
conversation with Moses, Paul and
John will doubtless teach us more than
we can learn here in a lifetime.
In Revelations 81 the word Para
disc" occurs again. "To him that over
cometh will give to eat of the tree Of
| life which is in the midst of the Para.
| disc of God" In other words, when
the soul enters Paradise, instead of
falling asleep, which means life at it's
lowest, it receives more abundant life.
All these symbols and facts exclude
the idea of purgatory. In the garden
of delights there is no fire to cleanse
or consume. blessed are the dead
who die in the Lord from henceforth."
Death continues the life Of blessed
ness. Paradise is doubtless not the
final abode of the saved, but the place
of waiting where the glorified spirits
will remain with Jesus until he shall
return to earth for their glorified
bodies. For them that sleep with
Jesus will God bring with him."
Death in introducing the Christian to
the Presence of Christ in Paradise
Enlarses His Sphere of Opportunity
and Activity.
ITO die is gain" There is certainly
no gain in losing consciousness in the
grave nor in going to purgatory. Paul
declared that to depart and be with
Christ is far better than remaining in
the body For the soul to fall asleep
and lie down in a bed of decaying
tinuing to live and serve God.
When Paul said, The time Of my
departure is at hand" he used a word
which carries with it the idea of lift
ing anchor, spreading sail and going
out of the land-locked harbor into the
open sea. To him death was not con-
traction but expansion. Not sailing
into harbor and casting anchor, as
many of our hymns declare, but sail
ing out of harbor into the ocean of
larger sphere and greater opportuni.
ties.
There is only one thing better than
dying and that is to be alive when the
Lord of life shall come in glory. We
do not desire death and try TO shun it,
for we want to do all the good we can,
and remain. if possible. to the day OF
his glorious appearing; but, when
death does come, we shall welcome it
as vanquished enemy. made to serve
its conqueror by setting at liberty the
spirit that is kept now within the
bounds of fleshly limitations.