Ripley County democrat., 1910-12-30

said. his following during this age Is
to be little aock."
Perplexed and confused maay may
ask. What, then. Il the hope Of the full
nllment Of our text. Peace on earth,
good win toward menr We answer
that our Master. who declared that be
was not the Prince Of this age, de-
clared also that his Kingdom Of the
next age wiz be introduced with pow
er and great glory and that. although
Its initial manifestation will be with
clouds and darkness and a time Of
trouble such as never before has been,
nevertheless his reign viii be glorious.
triumphant and eternal HE shall
take unto himself his great power and
reign" until ''he shall have put all
enemies under his feet" ''the last
enemy that shall be destroyed In
DEATH" "UBto him every knee shall
bow and every tongue confess"
The victory Of Emanuel means the
overthrow Of sin-the crushing of the
serpent's head. At the very beginning
Of bis glorious reign Satan shall be
bound and following its close be shall
be destroyed in the Second Death. to-
gether with all those who love un-
righteousness, after they shall have
had full knowledge and full opportu-
n.ty for recovery from the snares Of
sin snd death. Then, indeed, the
whole world viii proclaim the glory
Of God. There will no longer be dis
cordant sounds. AS the Scriptures de-
clare, There shall be no more crying,
no more signing, no more dying-all
the former things Of sin and death
shall have passed away Rev. xxi. ~.
The Great Restorer Of All.
The great King who. eighteen CEN
turies ago, died. the Just for the un-
Just, that he might, judicially. bring
mankind back into harmony with God.
Is to be the Great King Of earth, the
great Restorer Of all that was lost in
Adam, and he will make all things
new" Revelation xxi, 81.
Everything appertaining to this
great Plan of Salvation outlined in the
Word Of God Is reasonable. The cru
cial testing Of the elect Church is nee
essary in order that. as faithful and
merciful priests Of God and of Christ,
associated with him In his kingly
glory, they may be Gods instrument
tality in succoring mankind from the
fallen conditions which have resulted
from six thousand years Of sin. and
from the malignant influence of the
Prince Of darkness. during the thou
sand years which the Bible stipulates
as the period of Messiah's reign Rev-
elation Xxx, Ga period neither too long
nor too short in which to accomplish
the great work of the worlds salvation.
True. some one might say, II it has
required eighteen centuries for the
development of the Church. how much
more time will be necessary for the
uplifting Of the world? But we an.
swer that 1t Is not the Divine Purpose
to uplift the world to the station Of
spirit nature and glory, but rather to
restitution blessings and conditions.
1t Is because Of the high exaltation
offered to the Church that such crucial
testings Of sacrificial obedience even
unto death is required. With the
Prince of darkness bound and the Sun
Of Righteousness arising with healing
In its beams the darkness of sin and
crime and sorrow will soon flee away.
One century Of such blessed influence
upon the world will surely work Won
ders, bringing In also inventions and
comforts and blessings, as yet un-
dreamed Of. Next will come the grad
ual awakening Of all who have fallen
asleep IN death. They will come forth
from the prison-house Of death. as the
Scriptures declare; will come forth
that they may be made acquainted
with the true God and with his glo-
rious Son, the Redeemer. and with
the principles Of righteousness in con-
trast with the principles Of sin.
We cannot suppose that 1t viii re-
quire the majority Of men, under
those conditions, to sit long counting
the value Of the blessings Of eternal
life and restitution profered them.
The upward move, resurrection, upllft-
ing, regeneration, will 60 rapidly on.
while meantime, generation after gen.
Grafton shall come forth from the
tomb and enjoy similar experiences.
Finally all shall have come forth, be-
cause the love Of God made this pro
vision through the death of our Re
deemer, who delighted to do the Fa-
theirs will and who has already been
rewarded gloriously with high exalta.
ton to the divine plane of glory, honor
and Immortality.
Good VIII Amongst Men.
The attainment Of the condition Of
good will amongst men will mean the
attainment of human perfection. God
is Love. And when our first parents
were created an earthly image of God,
love must have been the predominant
quality Of their characters. What we
see Of selfshness Is largely a matter
Of heredity, and all of life's customs
are In line with II and continually In
creasing its weight and its hold upon
US. But with the new King and the new
reign Of Righteousness will come the
glorious uplifting and transformation.
Gradually, during the thousand years