Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-06-22
AWAKE, o sLEEPER!"
Awake thou that sleepest, and
arise from the dead, and Christ
shall give thee light "--Eph. 5:14.

arise from the dead, and Christ
shall give thee light "--Eph. 5:14.
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. June 2O.--Pastoz
Russell, Of Brooklyn Tabernacle. addrt ssed lars"
aus a.wbcrs Are tho Dead q we renort rue
other one from the text given. He said:
The figures Of Scripture are iorcefui as we'll
us true. Our Creator speaks of the whole word
being dead-bccause under sentence OF death
More than this. through the fall our reasoning
faculties are more or less unbalanced some III
one particular, others In another. some nav
hope Extraordinarily large. and are continual
ly overestimatinc their possibilities Others
lave the quality of hope proportiOnately small
and are continually discouraged and hinder'd
from making the best use Of their faculties
And thus fl is with all Ga our talents. None
OF them could really be too large II De
others were proportiOnately large. 1t Is the
mental balance, pOlse that constitutes
sound mind and Judgment. thus, George WASH
layton was great first in war, first IN peace
and first in the hearts of his cOuntrymen, not
because Of special freak qualities, but be-
cause be had a remarkably well balanced brain.
Similarly the great French statesman, Gam
betti, was influential, Notwithstanding the fact
that he had phenomenally small brain-what
be possessed well balanced, giving MIN
soununess Of judgment
Viewed from the Creators standpoint, our
is sadly un6aanced-greatly changed
through the six thousand years OF the fall.
Originally In the divine likeness, many OF us
gracious QualI.4es and much OF its balance have
departed. and hence the scriptural assumption
that the world is nine-tenths dead as respects
its best qualities Of mind and heart. And since
death is a condition without consciousness, well
illustrated by sleep, the Scriptures frequently
refer TO the world being asleep. The gospel
of Christ is a message for the awakening OF
some who are not TOO profoundly asleep anu
those awakened by the gospel message
are intmatcd 10 H. In danger Of becoming over
charged-dTowsy with the SWIFT of this world
AWAKE o ST. ER!
In one sense of the word, the world is very
much awake-very full of activity-today as
Dev'r before. When one looks at the wonderful
architecture Of day, and considers the ra-
padity of its construction, and the wonderful
conveniences of elevators, electric lighting etc.'
when one travels on an express train ana notes
The convenences, comfort and speed attalhed'
th1 highways cast up throughout the length
and breadth CT the land for these arteries OF
life; when one travels, either by the subways
or elevated fractions. hfther and thither; when
: sends or receives a telegram or caDle-
gram; when one crosses the Atlantic or the
Pacific on ocean line-all OF these convince
him that the world has wonderfully awakened
within the last century. Looking back Il cVn-
fury, IL is evident that the world was mnch
more asleep then than now. And yet TINS
weakening has affected chiefly what might be
termed the middle brain. The lower organs OF
the mind have never been idle. The higher Or
gaus of the brain are still dormant with the
ma iority Indeed II would appear as tnough
the activities in the middle brain and In the
animal passions of The Tower brain have rather
detracted from the upper or higher qualities or
mind Hence TO all Appearances mankdind ar"
stupidity asleep today in respect to spiritual
things than ever in the past. We are seeking
10 sound forth the message OF the Lord, Awake
thou that sleepest," ecially desiring to awake
spiritual consciousness and responsibility ana
activity. Nevertheless, the Scriptures and ex-
perience forbid 10 hope that majority or
even a very large minority, VIII be awakened
by anything that utter.
1t is not for us 10 alarm, or theaten, or shake
the world with fear of eternal torment. 1t is
not for to do evil that good may follow. IL
is not for us to awaken by such false alarms
those who can not be awakened by the truth
by a truthful presentation Of the divine char
acter and the divine plan, and the duties ana
privileges proclaimed through the gospel 1t is
for us to speak the message Of the Lord, know
ing that none will receive IL except such as
have the hearing ear OF faith 1T none VIII VII
cept those who have the eye of faith. As our
Lord said to some. blessed your ears for
. they hear. an your eyes for they see
ARISE FROM THE DEAD"
! Our Lord defines the second step to be that
those who awakened should arise from the
deadIshouid separate themselves IRON 6 Sne
awakening signifies our coming to conscious
ness of the actualities of our condition as indi-
viduels and as race. As consciousness comes
to us look about and see the peu nell rush
of humanity and ask ourselves, Why What
Whittier? We soon discover that the majority
Of those about are practically unconscious
respects n future lite-conscious only OF their
present existence, and worried and fretted be-
which are practically limited to the few years
OF TIE present life. AS we become awake to the
Lords message We say with the poet
Life Is real, life Is earnest,
And the grave is not its goal"
| We begin to look beyond the grave, to realize
that our Creator had great purpose In our
creation as a race, and that the present life
consequently can he no hing more than vesti-
bule to the future possibility OF life eternal.
We note the tendency OF our day 10 devote at
least the first fifteen years of childhood to edu-
ca ion I'm order to fit and prepare for the rev
remaining years of the present life. we con
clude that If this be reasonable then surely ali
I of the present life can be none too long for a
course of schooling, and training and prepara-
tiOn, for the life eternal. As our minds become
g nf situation from
/ this standpoint, determine to follow the IN
/ junction of text-to arise from the dead
to follow no longer with those who live merely
/ for the present life and who ignore the future
as not really believing in IL.
/ This exhortation, Arise from the dead, evil
IDENTIFY does not relate TO actual resurrection
from the dead, from which we would have no
power to raise ourselves. The power OF that
resurrection we are assured is In the hands OF
! God and all we can have to do with II Is TO
make such a preparation OF heart as would, ac'
cording to the divine terms, fit and prepare
us for a share In the better resurrection Ill
! the First resurrection"
The real resurrection Of the future is our only
hope of life beyond the tomb according to the
scriptures, but the thought Of that resurrection
is carried forward and the word resurrected
used in a fgurative sense In respect TO the
phenomenal change which may come 70 those
and are awakened thereby. These may through
the operation of their Wills undergo such
sented figuratively by the expressions arise
! from the dead" resurrection" etc.
RISEN WITH CHRIST.
Thus the apostle suggests, IF then We De
risen with Christ seek those things which are
| above" (Col. 2:1.) Again he says, But X
! the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the
| dead dwell in you, he that raised up Chrlst
! from the dead shall also quicken your mortar
| bodies by his spirit that dwelleh In you.
! (Rcm. SILL In this last text the aposue
! likens the great transformation of the present
! life to a resurrection from the deao, ana eA-
| plains that none OF us could have such trans
! formation of character except as we should re-
ceive the begetting Of the Holy Spirit, the spirit
| Of Christ. That spirit-that holy MIND or AIS
| positiOn-accepted by our wills snoulo rule
in our mortal bodies, however Imperfect now
ever fallen, however dead they may De 10 the
PROJECTIONS and righteousness In which we were
, Grated race. 49, -.
, Because Christ died for human sins-'for the
, sins OF the whole world''-therefore, eventually
an awakening from the dead will come to eli
mankind. Thus Il is written, The dead snau
hear the voice Of the Son Of God; and they
thaS hear (obey) shall 4ive." John 5:25.) The
masses of mankind do not hear the voice OF the
/ Lord at all in the present life; many OF tnem
! die in infancy and the majority are in heathen-
ism. The time when all such shall hear VIII
| be during the millennial age, when all that are
/ in their graves shall hear the command Of the
Son of man and come forth-just as Jesus at
the door Of Lazarus tomb commanded, 'Laza-
rus come forth. And he that was dead came
| forth" As the world is now counted dead
from Gods standpoint, so those In the mill"n.
nial age which come forth from the tomb will
still be dead in the sense that they VIII not
! have the perfection Of life. and not be thor
oughly awake intellectually. They VIII come
forth from the tomb In order that they may