The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-09-03

nal life found that they had hindranees
OF appetite or pleasure or what not
as dear to them as an eye, foot. hand,
/ these precious, but disqualifyine sins
| or wrong doings, should be put away
no matter how precious they we're
! no matter how highly esteemed By
way OF contrast. the Master suggested
! InaI II the retaining of these things
would hinder them from entering into
life they could not afford to retain
| them-that even if they were to carry
the figure further and suppose that in
the future life they would be deprived
i to the extent of being manned to all
eternity 1T still would be preferable to
them to practice the self-denial now
] and to enter into life.
: Be it noted that the reward here in
dicated is in the entering into life, and
the 1ntimation is that those who fail
will not have life at all-that they will
fail to attain life; that they will have
no eternal life, either in pain or in
pleasure. Let us examine our text
further and see this.
Gehenna Typed the Second Death.
The word hell in our text is from the
Greek word gehenna. which, in turn,
was corruption of the Hebrew word
geh-hinnon, which signifies valley of
death. There are two other words in
the New Testament Greek translated
hell In our common version. One of
these, tartarus, has no reference to
humanity whatever, but merely signi-
fes our earth,s atmosphere-the place
where Satan and the fallen angels are
| restrained in chains of darkness (II
Peter ii, ~. The other Greek word
RENDERED hell in the New Testament is
hades, which corresponds exactly to
/ the word rendered hell in the Old Tes-
lament, namely sheol. And all schol-
nifty the same thing. They are used in
terchangeably in the Scriptures to des-
ignate the state or condition of death
the tomb. No person, of even slight
/ Ad1 70 ct
| tempt to claim that eternal torment is
| taught by sheol hades or tartarus. The
great stress of all who teach eternal
torment falls, therefore, upon the word
| hell found in our text-in the original
Greek. gehenna.
| What we have to say respecting it
| will undoubtedly be news to but few
| of this congregation. But since this
| seven hundred newspapers of the land,
our explanation will probably eventu-
| ally reach ten million people, to whom
the truth on the subject will be new.
| What we have to say Is not new to ed
ucated ministers, however, and why,
as pastors, they have kept the sheep
of their flock in the dark on the sub
ject is for them to explain. They GER
tainly cannot plead ignorance. At very
most they can apologize that they
! hoped that the misunderstanding
would do more good than the truth.
They seem to forget entirely that this
terrible misunderstanding is not only
| wrecking the faith of thousands, but
dishonoring our Creator-blasphemi
his holy name. his holy character. by
| misunderstanding it and the Divine
plan.
A Valley Outside Jerusalem.
I wish that those of you who have
modern Bibles with maps at the back
would turn to the map of the city OF
Jerusalem and there notice on the
southwest side of the city, Just out
| side the wall, the Valley of H1nnom.
That is the valley that in brief was
is gehenna. All Of our Lords uses of
the word gehenna stand related to
| that valley. For the sake of my lar
ger congregation it will be worth while
the history of that valley during many
centuries before Jesus day.
! The first mention of this valley In
the Bible is found in Joshua XIV, g.
/ DIARIES of the tribe of Judah, accord
! ing to the lot cast by Joshua In the
/ division of the land that had come IN
to possession of the Israeiites. 1t is
xviii, 16. The next reference to this
valley is found in II Kings xiii. 10:
There we read of how Josiah, the good
| King of Judah, instituted a great re-
form in the nation and abohsheo looi-
airy. one of the most heinous forms
the idolatry having been practiced IN
this valley of Hinnom, which had got
ten a new name, namely Topheth. HIS.
tory tells US that the Israelites built
| in this Topheth, the valley of Hinnon,
| a great brass image to the heather god
| Moloch. In various places they mao
groves in which a licentious form of
| worship was enacted and then they re-
| sorted to this valley of Hinnom to con-
fer sacrifice of a most revolving kind
to the heather deity. Sometimes II
was a boy and sometimes 1t was a
girl that was placed naked in the arms
of the great image after II nao peen
fred to a red heat with fuel piled I'M
derneath the image and passing
| through it as a f1ue. The cries of these
| infants so horribly sacrificed were
drowned by the cheers OF the worship
| ers and various musical instruments.
All of this, indeed everything akin
TO suffering was strictly forbidden
by the Divine law given to israel ana
they had been specially warned against
this very form of idolatry Leviticus
xviii. 81: Deuteronomy xviii. 10). 1t
| is gross mistake and SANDER of the
/ Divine character and law to suppose
that it ever sanctioned torture. And
| II is still worse SANDER upon God to
suppose that he would himself do. and
that for all eternity, what he con-
demned in his fallen creatures;
The Lord declares all this through
1.-The Prophet jeremiah (vii, $3.50.
Here God particularly forewarned the
eIsraelites that their wrong course
would eventuate in the terrible time
! of trouble which came upon Jerusa-
lem in the year A. D. 70, when 1t was
estimated that over a million died at
the siege of Jerusalem In fulhllment
of this prophecy the Jews cast the
dead bodies over the wall or Jerusalem
! into this very valley. Thus we read,
ssBehoId the day is come. saith the
| Lord. that it shall no more be called
Topheth. nor The Valley OF the son
Ter. for they shall bury in Topheth till
there is no place. And the carcasses
of this people shall be meat for the
fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts
of the EARTH
After the reformation made by King
4 Josiah the Valley of Hinnom was desc
Grated to the intent that it might never
afterward be considered fit for any
kind of religious worship, sacrlf1ce or
| cerernnnv. IT became the valley of