The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-07-30

, terpretatfons Of Gods Word and In
finding it's true meaning. in when Is
refreshment, strength and new lie.
ssThe Wages of Sin Is Death"
However we read our Bibles in the
past we read into them from the
creeds of a darker time the mis-
chievous error that when the BlDi st
declares a death penalty for SIN IL
really means the reverse of this-nre
eternal life in etrenal torture VINO
had the right to twist the inspired
words in such a devilish fashion?
who had the right to add to the
Word of God and to make void Its
true teaching in this manner? Hear
the words of the apostle. THE wages
| eternal life through Jesus Christ
I our Lord" (Romans vi, 23).. What
/ statement could be more simple? The
wickedw i'll not be granted life at
all. either in pleasure or in pain. They
are under sentence of death-destruc-
ton. Eternal life is a gift. And 1t
| will be given only to those to whom
it will be blessing-to those who viii
accept it through Jesus Christ our
Lord.
Let us turn to Genesis and note the
statements made to our first parents
respecting sin and its penalty. Let US
note that without the twist1ngs or
theology, we should have no difficulty
in understanding the Divine sentence,
as our, first parents evidently had no
difficulty. The sentence upon Father
Adam for disobedience was, Dying
thou shalt die; "dust thou art, and
unto dust shalt thou return; Cursed
is the ground for thy sake; 'Thorns
and thistles shall it bring forth unto
thee until thou return unto the ground
. | from which thou vast taken (Genesls
lii, 2,S, 1919, 24).
Thus we see that the penalty for sin
upon Adam and his race was that they
should return to the dust. AS we read
again, Thou turnest man to destruc-
~ 100 nd
: Is sufficiently awful when we think OF
: what it means to die, to lose mental
( moral and physical perfection and
g gradually go into the tomb-into the
Bible hell (sheol, throughout the OLD
e Testament). And this sheol, the grave
D the tomb, to which the Bible says al
S go, good and bad, rich and poor, holy
n and unholy, was the only hell known
t amongst any of the people OF GOD 1ol
Y the more than four thousand years
f represented by the teachings of the
y Old Testament. Then came the New
= Testament times and the teachings O.
: Jesus and the apostles to the SAM
e effect In the New Testament tn
# Greek word hades, representing tn
S tomb, the death state, takes the plac
: of the Old Testament sheol in ever.
: passage translated from the Ola les
J. lament into the New Testament.
e It was nearly three hundred year
l, after Jesus and the apostles, after tn
n writing of the New Testament, befor
g the doctrine of Purgatory was invent
( ed. And for this reason neither tn
4, word Purgatory nor the Purgator
lie thought is expressed in the scriptures
lie But Bibles were few, and the peopl
ID could not have read them even II the
l. had possessed them; hence for lon
lg| centuries the teachings of the clerg
Of ! were accepted without Bible PROOF:
y, and the doctrine of Purgatory sprea
rs all over Christendom- All OF our Tore
IS fathers believed in it. 1t became Tn
teaching of Christians everywhere tina
e. the mere handful of saints instead c
:" to heaven and that the great mass
~ humanity, instead of dying when the
s. seemed to die, went in some myster
er Gus manner to mysterious piae
re called Purgatory, of which nopoo
er knew anything except that they WEI
We taught The teaching is that pract
rs, cally all of humanity go to Purgatol
p, there to be roasted and otherwise to-
or tured for centuries-ultimately to ga
y release from the torture, Wnen mite
OF for heaven. Upon this doctrlne IN. IN .ul
~ sprung the doctrine of saying mass
is for the dead" who were believed n
IT. to be dead but intensely alive IT
IL fear of Purgatory drew the people Vel
ng close to the priests as the suppose
OF counselors of the Almign.y ana ,, q
Ter close to the people. They were.
til honestly intentioned, but all deceive
La-il by the great deceiver-Satan.
A Bad Matter Made Worse.
NIL BY and by priest, Catnouc the
Ito logan and teacher in one OF their &C
ell ieges. by name Martin Luther, acc
al dentally ran across a copy of the Ne
ne Testament in the Latin language. B
ost ing an educated man he was able
My read it; for there was not one copy
The 1 the German language anywhere.
in ther tells US of his perplexity in M