The Norfolk weekly news-journal. (Norfolk, Neb.) 1900-19??, 1910-04-08
PULPIT.
CHRIST'S
ASCENSION FROM
HADES
He led forth a multitude Of
capGves and gave gifts unto men
Gphesians iv, 81.


(Epheslans ", 81.
ooO.-.-.-.-.-.--.-.-.-.-s
eat from All the ieurs mat were taught
us by the musty traditions Of men,
from the dark ages" And thus we
see the force of the Apostles words
that If there be no resurrection of the
dead our hope is vain, our faith is
vain Il Corinthians XIV, 1I-19).
"But Now Is Christ Risen"
The Apostle argues, IF the dead rise
not" If that is an impossibility SO far
as the world in general is concerned,
then 1t is an impossibility so far as
Christ Is concerned. And III Christ
be not risen," then all hope, all faith.
Is vain. And all preaching is not only
foolish, but worse. (Sce | Corinthians
XIV, III But now Is Christ risen from
the dead and become the first fruits
Of them that slept" The mere awak-
ening from sleep, as in the case of
Lazarus, DorCas and others, is here
left out of the question. Nothing Is
counted as resurrection except the
full, complete raising up out 'of death.
rise from the dead" (Acts NXvi. 23), in
this full sense. And he was Il first
fruits, or proof, that others still sleep
ing will come forth by Divine Power
to be exercised by him in the resur-
rection morning-the Millennial morn
inc Tho fburph will hn m
order-She is TO be the Bride -ConsOrt
Of the Great King and to participate
with him in his glorious work OF up
lifting the race which fell from the
Divine image into sin and death
through father Adam. The redemp-
tlon-price has been provided in the
death of Jesus; and the time for be-
ginning the great work of restitution
Of all things merely waits until the
completion of the election of the saint
ly Church (Acts ill., 19-2D.
Christ Arose From Hades.
Preaching on the Day of Pentecost
st. Peter declares that God raised
Christ from the dead. Then in proof
that this was the Divine intention
from the beginning, he quotes from
the prophetic Psalm OF David, "Thou
shalt not leave my soul in hell" The
Apostles quotation (ACts ii, % is in
the Greek, in which the word hell is
hddcs. His quotation is from the He
brew, in which the word he'll is ShcOI-
the only word rendered hell through
out the entire Old Testament
am not stating this as something
new although | am confident that it
is new to many of my l'arers and tC
many of the eighteen millions who will
read my discourse in tomorrow morn
ingS papers For the sake of such,
note the fact that in the morning OF
our Lords resurrection, he said tC
Mary, "TOuCh me not; for | am not
yet assembled to my Father and your
Father; to my God, and your Cod
JOhn Xxx, 10. | remind them further
of the language of the sO-called ApOS
ties Greed, which is coming more and
more into vogue with all denOmina
tons and which declares, He de
sCended into hell and rose again the
third day" in Il version of this creed
published by the Presbyterian BoarC
of Publication of Philadelphia, a foot
note very properly explains that the
word neil here used is, in the Greek
hddeS, which signifies the state or con
dition of death.
| consider this very important mat
4
known, because of the false conception
of hell handed down to us through ouI
creedS formulated in the dark ages,
and since miSinterpretation of SheO
and hddcS has been given to the pub
lie mind-the impression that thes,
words signify Il place of torture. AL
this is wholly false, as every Greek
and Hebrew scholar knows. and, il
cross-questioned, will admit. 1t is AZ
important question to the public be
cause this miScOnceptiOn of the mean
ing of the word nell is driving hun
dreds, yea, thousands, away from Coo
and away from the Bible. They cor
reCtly reason that the teaching tina
our Creator fOreknew and intended J.
he'll of torture for his creatures is be
yond conception, beyond belief, anC
mantfcStly untrue, as no holy beins
could be So unjust, unkind, unlOviug
1t is time that all such should see tina
the fault lies with the crecdS and no
with the Bible-that the Bible teaches
hcli, ShcOi macs, into which all go
both good and bad, and from which al
will be called forth in the resurrection
morning by the great Redecmer.
Leading Captivity Captive"
A better translation reads, "Our Lore
assembled on high leading a multitude o
CaptiVcS." These words are Il pen pic
ture representing a great King as
Conqueror returning from a victor,
over an opponent. The victor rode il
a chariot at the head Of the process
sion, surrounded by trumpets and aC
chalmers, and behind him followed tn
evidences, the proofs of his victory
either those whom he had captures
and enslaved or as in this case thos
who had been captured and cnslave,