Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-10-17

In commenting upon the text, BY
which also he went and preached unto
the spirits in prlson."--I Peter 8: 10.
Pastor Russell of the Brooklyn taber-
nacle, says 1t is all wrong to suppose
that It signifies how Christ, after His
death on the cross and before His res-
direction, went to some place where
human spirits are ''Imprlsoned in
some kind Of purEatory' and there
preached to them
Those preached to by Christ on this
occasion, he says. were not human be-
ings. but spirit beings--not men. but
angels, and that this Is clearly stated In
verse 20, which tells us when these an
gels were Imprisoned and why. They;
were Imprisoned in the days of Noah
at the time of the food. They were im-
prIsoned for dlsobedience. So we read
w. 19). .Hc preached unto spirits IN
prison which sometimes were disobe-A
dent, when once tho lonG-suferlng OF
God waited in the days of Noah, While.
the ark was a preparing" Turning
back to the Genesis account of that
time. Pastor Russell finds quite a COM
plete record or history Of these dis
obed;ent spirits in the sixth chapter,
verses 1-5.
This preacher gives, as his reasons
for his conclusion, the belief that some
time after Father Admits disobedlence
ana expulsion from Eden, the angels
were permitted to visit humanity with
III . . 4, - AN.a
a view to assisting them back to tho
presence Of Cod Originally. he thinks.
all spirit beings had the power OF ma
terialization, and that we learn from
Cen vi. how this power was finally
abused by some Of the angels, as is
implied in the words, And God saw
that the wickedncss Of man was great
in the earth, and that every imagina-
ton of the thoughts of his heart was
only evil continually. The Pastor
thinks that God was not astonished,
for he had foreknown everything.
Hence he had II great canopy OF water
In the sky which temporarily gave the
earth an equabe. temperate climate.
but which he Intended should fall upon
the earth and cause the great flood in
Noah's day.
Pastor Russell quotes st. Peters
words respecting those angels VINO
sinned. He says I'll. Pet. IL. 40, GOD
spared not the angels that sinned,{ put
cast them down to hell, and deliver
cd them into chains of darkness, to be
reserved unto Judgment" The word
tartarus, here rendered "helF IN
our Common Version, is found mo-
where else In the Bible. 1t refers. the
preacher says. to our carths atmos-
pherc, and to tho fact that these fall
len angels. called demons or devils,
are ,the power OF the air" And Satan,
who, we are told, was originally an
angel of much higher rank and nature,
is their Prince. THE Prince of the
power of tho ART the Prince of de-
mons. They are east down" In the
sense of being treated ignominiously..
They are sin chains of darkenss," not
in chains of iron. They can still go,
and come and BIO sources OF tempta-
tion or humanity who are in sinful at
.titude of mind. They are restrained
in chains Of darkness In the sensesthat
whatever they do must be done IN the.
tark-until their Judgment time at
the Great Day--at tho beginning Of
Messiah's thousand year day of the
reign of righteousness"
Turning to Jude's Epistle, the Pas
tor reads. " 81 THE angels which
.kcpt not their first estate. but left
their own habitntion. He hath re-
served in age-lasting chains, under
darkness, unto the judgment OF the
great day" Their first estate IN
which they We're created was the
spirit or angelic condition. They left
their own proper condition OF iiVins
ana nature In violation of tho Divine
will, that they might live on lower
3plane-llvc in sin; for the angels nc
assures us. {" are sexlcss, though al
ways referred to as masculin."
AS for men who die, the Pastor says
they know nothing and are as non
existent until the time of their resi'r-
rection. Then comes the difficulty as
TO how Jesus. II he died "and In:
death knew not anything" could SO
and preach to the spirits in prison.
the fallen angels, OH the preachers
view. The answer to this difficulty Is n
curious one. Tho Pastor argues that
since actions speak louder than
words. tho great actions or facts con
ncctcd with our Lords death and
resurrection constituted most
wonderful sermon to Satan and the
fallen angels; and that as they be-
held the Redeemer's faithfulness to
God, even unto death, even the death
OF the cross, and MS they then beheld
Gods falthfulness to Him in raising
Him from the dead to the highest
nature--the divine nature-"far
above angels md principalities and
powers and every name that Is nam
ed'--all this constituted most Won
derful sermon of love and loyalty.
faith and obedience.
We have fully given the preachers
argument; and admit that 1t Is an In
xenious. far In advance of the usual
level of scctarian thought on this
subject Yet it is not conclusive. In
some particulars 1t is confused and
confusing
For If angels exist snefore. they
H .