Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-08-24

since the sacrifice Of Himselfl The Scrip
t snswsr us !, tn1t another feature ri e
Lord is gathering the elect church from
Israel and all the nations to be Messiahs
sistants in His kingdom and the gracious work
OF uplift-resurrection-r This elect
church class first selected is in the Scriptures
called. "A first fruits OF God unto his Great
ures." James. lis The world Of restored hu-
manity will be the after fruits. The Scrip
lures exhort such as in the present tine are
blessed with the hearing ear to give heed to
the special invitation Of the elect They exhort
such have the eye Of faith to aspire TO the
crown Of glory and joint-heirship that is now be-
hath an ear let him hear He that hath an
eye let him see. So many OF as have been
blessed Of the Lord with the ear OF faith the
eye Of faith. let us rejoice therein with the
blessed opportunity. Let us seek indeed 10 make
our calling and election sure to this heavenly
estate Of glory, honor and Immortality and join.
heirship with our Lord, the King Of kings and
Lord Of lords
Both the thieves crucified with our Lord lost
their right to the original Eden or Paradise Of
God through Father Adams dlsobedience. as did
we all Both of these thieves were born in sin
and shapen in iniquity. in sin did their mothers
thieves were redeemed by the precious blood OF
Christ. were we all; for Christ Jesus by the
grace Of God. tasted death for every man;
ehurch's sins) and not for ours only, but also
for the sins Of the whole world" Thus. we
have seen. the Redeemer has made provision for
both of these thieves, well as for all Of US
all OF Adams race-to be recovered from the
sin and death conditions Of the fall and to be
restored to paradise The church now called
during this gospel age may reach the spiritual
paradise or highest condition OF holiness and
happiness The two thieves and the remainder
OF mankind will have their opportunity during
the millennium. That opportunity win be for q
return to earthly life and perfection and happl-
ness and an earthly Eden-wOrld wide. How
much grander a work viii thus result from our
Lords death than we had previously supposed!
Let none suppose. however, that those two
| thieves will enter Paradise on the same foot
| ing. While boIn guilty of robbery, they
evidently were dissimilar in the condition OF
| their hearts. The hardened, evil
denced by the fact that he could speak thus
| rudely to the Redeemer. whose face bespoke
| gentleness. purity and innocence Of crime. such
| cruelty implied a deep degradation OF mind
implied that he was sin-hardened. And yet we
must remember that others Of the multitude
| standing by used similarly cruel Language. And
We must remember that there are many thieves
who are not caught and many, perhaps, az
morally wrong, as evilly intentioned. who tor
| feSr OF the consequences, never committed tne
wrongs. We can even suppose that some OF
the Scribes and Pharisees and doctors Of divint-
| ~ OF those days were in Gods sight much
| heart and in deed. Yet OF the latter st. Peter
declares, 81 wOt, brethren, that In Ignorance
We did II. as did also your rulers" when you
crucified the Lord Of GLORY.
Ignorance and superstition and inherited ie-
pravity all bore down upon the impenitent thief
| TO degree which we are not capable Of proper
" estimating. The Lord will judge him--both
thieves-all mankind. The penitent thief VIII
unquestionably have a twOfold blessing. First,
titude Of mind; secondly, because Of his faith
fulness In expressing that penitence and mercy
to our Lord in bis distress. Our Lord declared
that even a cup of cold water given TO the least
OF His disciples will have its reward. Surely
II will be IN harmony then that the peniteDt
thief will have a reward for his defense Of the
Master That reward will consist, first o. all.
In the blessing to his own heart through the
action therein of the merciful sentiment A
reward VIII come TO him in proportion TO the
exigencies of the occasion and the greatness
OF the One whom he loved. If the one who
favors a righteous man will receive righteous
mans reward and the one who favors a prophet
will receive a prophets reward surely the ono
who favored the Redeemer would receive
special reward, such the Redeemer might 90
expected to grant.
IN Denftent thief manifested not only SYM
patty but honesty; and 1t Is entirely In keep
ing with the general teachings Of our Lords
Word that the honest-hearted and the merciful
have special blessings. Those blessings cannot
reach them in the grave. and Ii Is not always
that such reach them In the present life. Virtue
is not always us own reward. Our Lord de-
clares the truth on the subject, assuring rs
rection Of the just" That is to say, when the
just, the justified, the church, shall be raised
In the first resurrection and when then the
heavenly kingdom shall be established amongst
men and the general awakening OF the world
from the sleep of death shall gradually follow
then every good and every evil word, every
good and every evil act, Will be recompensed-
the Divine arrangement is an earthly Paradise,
possible to every member OF the race, and
heavenly Paradise, possible TO every member OK
the spirit-begOtten church, and that the alterna.
tive of Paradise is not eternal torment, but
everlasting destruction-the second death.