The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1910-08-05
PEOPLES
Sermon by
CHARLES T.
RUSSELL.
Pastor Brooklyn
Tabernacle.


this place Pastor Russell of Brooklyn
Tabernacle addressed the Information
al Bible Students Association-abOu
1900 He said
The great Messiah. liking of Glory
has long been waited for by the civil
ICED nations. For thirty-fve centuries
the Jews have waited for him as the
great Prophet foreshadowed by Moses
and foretold by him tActs iii. 90; and
as the Great King foreshadowed by
their Kings David and Solomon: and
as their glorious Priest typffied by
Aaron. but specially in the formers
majesty as king and priest foreshown
by Melchisedek-a priest upon his
Throne psalm cx, A..
Free masons have waited twenty-five
hundred years for the same glorious
parsonage. as Hiram Abiff, the great
Master Mason whose death. glorifica.
zion and future appearing are contin
ually set before them by the letters
upon their keystones. He died vic.
lent death. they claim. because of his
loyalty 10 the Divine secrets typed in
Solomon's Temple. He must reappear.
they claim. in order that the great
antitypical Temple may be completed
and IT'S grand service for Israel and for
all peoples may be accomplished. They
claim that his presence is to be ex-
pected speedily.
Christians of every shade. in proper
ton as they are conversant with the
Bible tOld Testament and New be-
lieve, also, in great Temple builder
who died because of his faithfulness
TO the Divine plans, re the spiritual
Temple. the elect Church q Peter ii.
4. 81. Him they expect TO come Sec
ond time ''in power and great glory"
to complete the Temple which is his
Body, and in and through that spirit
ual and glorious Temple to bless Is
rael and all the families of the earth
His second presence in glory and pow
er, but invisible to men. is believed to
be imminent.
The Mohammedans. also worship
ping the God of Abraham. Isaac and
Jacob and David and Solomon. are
also expecting a great Heavenly Mes
senger to bless them and all peoples
by the establishment of a heavenly
Kingdom. They have awaited his COM
ing for centuries. They believe his
Kingdom to be near at hand.
Who Is This King of Glory?
The same glorious parsonage will full
fill all these desires-these hopes. Is
it not time that all of these peoples.
fearing God and hoping in his prom
Uses. should come together in one hope.
in one expectation? 1t must be so. for
do we not read prophetically, The de-
sire of all nations shall come"
We are well aware that great bar
riers lie between these multitudes; but
we hold that they are chiefly barriers
OF superstition ana ignorance. In the
past they have pulled apart. and have
slandered and prosecuted one another
If now they will alphabetically draw
near to each other. surely they will
find much to appreciate in each 9TH
ers hopes and aims.
Tho Basic of Sympathy.
The fact that the Jews and Moham-
medans, Catholics and Protestants and
Free Masons. all base their faith on
the Old Testament of the Holy Scrip
lures. is ground for the better under
standing pleaded for.
All Christians must accept the au-
thority Of the Hebrew Scriptures be-
cause the founder of Christianity.
Jesus. and his special mouthpieces. the
Apostles. taught nothing contrary to
the Law and the Prophets. Indeed.
they quoted from the Old Testament
in proof of every doctrine advanced.
They claimed that they neither de-
stroyed nor ignored the Old Testament.
but merely noted its fulfllment.
The error in the past has been the
general disposition to appeal to super
stition and prejudice and bigotry. rath-
err than to facts and Scripture. We
must reverse the lever in order to at.
tain the good resultS-in order TO see
eye to eye.
What All Can Agree To.
All agree that the world needs the
Divine blessing! All agree that we
have been laboring under a mistake in
supposing that education and civiliza-
ton are alone necessary TO secure hu-
man happiness. We perceive that the
greater the civilization the greater is
the unrest: and the broader the edu-
cation the greater are the suggestions
and opportunities for taking selfish ad-
vantage of others.
All are agreed that only the later in
ventions. telephones, etc.. and our
modern and costly police precautions
make it possible to live in civilized
lands and that. despite all these. muir
ders are hundredfold what they
were fifty years ago. In those days a
murder would be detailed and discuss
ed for year. Now we give little heed
TO several reported ID each days news
japers. Thousands are executed. other
thousands are imprisoned for life and
we pay little heed-so gradually have
we become accustomed to these hor
rors Of our civilization and education
We oppose these with Church and
mission influences. with Sunday
Schools. Y Nj. c. AS. with courts, Ju-
venile and Superior. and yet they in