The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-07-28

ing Of Bible teachings respecting the
wages of sin, Brother Luther and his
noble companions battled bravely for
many truths, but made one great blun-
der. When they concluded that Pur-
gatory was contrary to the Scriptures
and threw 1t away, not seeing the
Bible hell. the tomb, they adopted an
other hell and thereby went from bad
to worse on this subject They said,
The heather and the masses of the
civilized are surely not enthusiastically
they do not follow in the footsteps of
Jesus-surely, therefore, they cannot
be of his spiritual flock. Concluding
that these could not be taken to heav-
en-, they said, We must take them out
Of Purgatory anyway, wherever we put
them, because we have found out that
there is no such place as PurgatOry.
After Conferences, seriously dislik-
ing to make out Gods character worse
than they formerly supposed, they
said under their breaths, We must
take them out of Purgatory and quick
~ put them into a hell of eternal tor
ture and say as little about the mat
ter as possible. They were greatly
relieved when long-headed Brother
John Calvin explained to them about
the mere handful going to heaven and
the great mass going to eternal tor
ture. He explained that God had fore
ordained and predestinated these aw-
full results-that he might show his
wisdom and his power AS to
Love divine. all love excelling,"
Brother Calvin seems never to have
thought of that. Brother Wesley and
others since, though less logical and
theological. did stand up for and de-
clare the Love Of God, even though
rather absurdly they claimed that he
was neither wise enough nor powerful
enough to do more than rescue a mere
| handful of Adams race from the eter-
nal torture to which they thought God
! damned them all because Of the DISC
bedience In Eden.
"All In Adam-AlI In Christ"
In the light of our better Bibles and
Bible Study Helps and minds freed
| from the ignorance and supershtions
of the past we may understand the
Apostles words and find In them. not
only justice and love, but harmony and
beauty. Instead Of all mankind going
to eternal torment for Adams sin, all
60 into the Bible hell, the grave, on
account of his sin-and all Of the men,
tai, moral and physical blemishes Of
our race are part of this heredity.
There would have been no hope of a
future life, good or bad. had not God
in his mercy provided the Savior-the
Life Giver," as the Syriac renders the
word. In Gods due time he set before
his Son the opportunity of becoming
mans Redeemer. The Logos was made
flesh John j, 14) and obediently gave
himself in death-"tasted death for
every man." AS by one mans diS0bedi-
ence the sentence Of death passed upon
all of the race. even so by the obedience
of the man Christ Jesus unto death
justification to life passed for all Of
that race. Now we see the wise rea-
son for permitting the sentence to pass
through one mans disobedience to
der that one sacrifice for sin might
make possible the reconciliation Of the
entire race.
Now read our text and drink in its
depths and beauty and force. The
resurrection Of mankind from the sin
and death and tomb condition to the
full perfection and image of God from
| III. en- h. ,,lx 81
which God has provided for all Who
ever will fail to attain the full recov-
cry from sin and death conditions will
have himself to blame because Of re-
lection of the glorious arrangements
which God made in and through Christ.
1.-THE First Resurrection"
God divides the salvation of man
kind into two parasitic Church to
spirit nature and the world to perfect
ed human nature. The first he Is ac-
complishing during this Gospel Age;
the second he will accomplish through
Christ and the Church during Mes
siah's reign of Il thousand years.
The Church, the little flock of
saints. called. tried, tested in the mar
row way during this Age, are to con-
stitute the First Resurrection" class
and to become the Bride of Christ"
THE Church of the First Borns."
These are to be associated with the
great Redeemer in his future work.
These shall be like him, changed from
earthly to heavenly nature and made
sharers of his glory. honor and i'm
mortality. The Kingdom of God I'M
der the whole heavens will be inaugu-
rated after the gloriticatiOn of the
Church and then will begin the bless
ing, the salvation, the uplifting. the
resurrecting, of mankind in general
from sin and death conditions-not to
spiritual conditions, but to perfect
earthly conditions
All the willing and obediept shall be
blessed by the great LifeGiver who
eighteen centuries ago died, the Just
for the unjust, and who. during the
period since, has been selecting the
Bride class. With his Bride he will
reign to bless the world. TO make the
whole earth beautiful. AS it is writ
ten, Il will make the place of my feet
glorious" The whole earth will then
be as the Garden of Eden ana the re-
stored race like our perfect first par
ents. But MS for the lnteIiGently
7 N