The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1910-07-29

Jesus-surely therefore. tney cannot
be Of his spiritual flock. Concluding
that these could not be taken to heay-
en-, they said. We must take them out
of Purgatory anyway, wherever we put
them. because we have found out that
there is no such place as Purgatory
After Conferences. seriously dislik-
ing to make out Gods character worse
than they formerly supposed. they
said under their breaths. We must
| take them out of Purgatory and quick
| " put them into hell of eternal tor
ture and say as little about the mat
ter as possible. They were greatly
relieved when long-headed Brother
John Calvin explained to them about
the mere handful going to heaven and
the great mass going to eternal tor
ture He explained that God had fore
ordained and predestinated these aw-
ful results-that he might show his
wisdom and his power. AS to
Love divine, all love excelling,"
Brother Calvin seems never TO have
thought of that. Brother Wesley and
others since. though less logical and
theological, did stand up for and de-
clare the Love of God, even though
rather absurdly they claimed that he
was neither wise enough nor powerful
enough to do more than rescue mere
handful Of Adams race from the eter-
nal torture to which they thought God
damned them all because of the DISC
bedience in Eden.
"AlI In Adam-All In Christ"
In the light of our better Bibles and
Bible Study Helps and minds freed
from the ignorance and SuperstitiOnS
of the past we may understand the
Apostles words and find in them, not
only justice and love, but harmony and
beauty Instead of all mankind going
go into the Bible hell. the grave, on
account of his sin-and all of the men
tai. moral and physical blemishes of
our race are part Of this heredity.
There would have been no hope of a
future life. good or bad, had not God
in his mercy provided the Savior-the
Life Giver,'' as the Syriac renders the
word. In Gods due time he set before
his Son the opportunity of becoming
mans Redeemer. The Logos was made
flesh John i, 14) and obediently gave
himself in death-"tasted death for
every man." AS by one mans diSobedi-
ence the sentence of death passed upon
all Of the race. even SO by the obedience
of the man Christ Jesus unto death
justification to life passed for all Of
that race. Now we see the wise rea-
son for permitting the sentence to pass
through one mans disobedience to
all of his posterity. 1t was in or
der that one sacrifice for sin might
make possible the reconciliation of the
entire race.
Now read our text and drink in its
depths and beauty and force. The
resurrection of mankind from the sin
and death and tomb condition TO the
full perfection and image Of God from
which the race fell is the salvation
which God has provided for ALL Who
cry from sin and death conditions will
have himself to blame because of re-
| lection of the glorious arrangements
which God made in and through Christ.
1.-THE First Resurrection"
God divides the salvation Of man
kind into two parts-the Church TO
| spirit nature and the world to perfect
ed human nature. The first he is ac-
complishing during this Gospel Age:
the second he will accomplish through
Christ and the Church during Mes
siah's reign of a thousand years.
The Church. the little flock of
saints, called. tried, tested. in the mar
row way during this Age. are to con-
stitute the First Resurrection" class
and to become the Bride of Christ"
1.-The Church Of the FirSt-BOrns."
/ These are to be associated with the
| great Redeemer in his future work.
These shall be like him, changed from
earthly to heavenly nature and made
sharers Of his glory. honor and i'm
mortality. The Kingdom Of God I'M
der the whole heavens will be inaugu-
rated after the glorifcation of the
Church and then will begin the bless
| ing. the salvation. the uplifting. the
resurrecting, Of mankind in general
! from sin and death conditions-not to
spiritual conditions, but to perfect
earthly conditions.
| All the willing and obedient shall be
blessed by the great LifeGiver who
eighteen centuries ago died, the Just
| for the unjust, and who. during the
! period since has been selecting the
| Bride class. With his Bride he will
reign to bless the world. to make the
! whole earth beautiful. AS it is writ
ten. Il will make the place of my feet
glorious" The whole earth will then
be as the Garden Of Eden and the re-
| stored race like our perfect first par
ents. But as for the intelligently
wicked, we read. ''All the wicked will
! he destroy" psalm cxlv. 20) He will
not preserve them in torture or other
wise. They will die the Second Death.
But none will die the Second Death
| for Adams transgressiOn Christ died
for that transgression and will release
Adam and all his race therefrom. even
while he will hold them responsible for
every wilful transgressiOn and give
stripes or punishments therefor TO
teach them to love Righteousness and