The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-08-27

for the sins of the whole world"
Thus. as we have seen. the Redeemer
has made provision for both Of those
thieves, rs we'll 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 VI holiness and
happiness. The two thieves and the
remainder of mankind will have their
opportunity during the Millennium.
Their opportunity will be for a return
to earthly life and perfection and hap
piness and an earthly Eden-world
wide. How much grander work will
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 footing. While both were guilty
of robbery. they evidently were dis
similar in the condition of their hearts.
The one was hardened. rs evidenced
by the fact that ne could speak thus
rudely to the Redeemer, whose face be-
spoke gentleness, purity and innocence
of crime. Such cruelty implied 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 Ian
guage. And we must remember that
there are many thieves who are not
caught and many. perhaps, as morally
wrong as evilly intentioned, who, for
fear of the consequences, never com
mitted the wrongs. We can even sup.
pose that some of the scribeS and Phar-
isees and Doctors of Divinity of those
days were in Gods sight much worse
than the impenitent thief-murderers
at heart and in deed. Yet of the latter
st. Peter declares. 81 wot. brethren,
that in ignorance We did it, as did also
your rulers" when you crucified the
Lord of glory.
An Earthly Paradise.
Ignorance and superstition and In
herited depravity all bore down upon
the impenitent thief to degree which
we are not capable of properly esti
mating. The Lord will judge him
both thieves-all mankind. The peni
tent thief will unquestionably have a
two-fold blessing. First he will be
blessed because Of his penitent attitude
of mind; secondly. because of his faith
fulness in expressing that penitence
and mercy to our Lord in his distress
Our Lord declared that even a cup OF
cold water given to the least of his
disciples will have it's reward. Surely
it will be in harmony. then. that the
pentent thief will have reward fol
his defence of the Master.
That reward will consist. first of all
in the blessing to his own heart
through the action therein of the mer-
ciful sentiment. A reward will 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 righteous man will re-
ceive righteous mans reward and
the one who favors a prophet will re-
ceive prophets reward. surely the
one who favored the Redeemer would
receive special reward, such as the
Redeemer might be expected to grant
The penitent thief manifested not
only sympathy but honesty and it is
entirely in keeping with the general
teachings of our Lords Word that the
honest-hearted and the merciful have
special blessings. Those blessings can.
not reach them in the grave and it is
not always that they reach them in the
present life. Virtue is not always its
own reward. Our Lord declares the
Truth on the. subject. assuring us that
such shall be "recompensed in the res
direction of the just" That is to say,
when the just the justified. the Church,
shall be resurrected in the First Resur-
rectiOn 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-in Para
disc. Let us be glad and rejoice that
the Divine arrangement is an earthly
Paradise, possible to every member of
the race, and heavenly Paradise, pos
slble to every member of the spirit
begotten Church, and that the alterna.
tive of Paradise is not eternal torment.
but everlasting destruction-the Second
Death