The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-08-18
ele Sermon by
CHARLES r..
q. RUSSELL ga
Pastor Brooklyn
Tabernacle.

diycourses from the above. He said In
part
Ny text Is one of the strongest of
those which once we enormously mis-
understood to teach the eternal tor
ment of the non-elcct. Coming to the
text with our minds flled with the
wrong impressions respecting the
character of the Almighty Creator and
respecting his purposes toward hui.
mainly 1t is easy for us to misunder.
stand the words of St Jude. So deep
~ were the erroneous thoughts i'm
pressed upon our minds from child.
hood that irrational though they were.
we considered them fundamental the
ology. In like manner we wrestedI to
our own confusion and injury many
Scriptures. reading into them what
they do not say and ignoring what
they do say. AS, for instance, the
messages of Holy Writ to the effect
that all the wicked will God destroy;
that "the wages of sin IS death; that
"the soul that sinneth. It shall die;
that there is no eternal life out of
Christ. All THESE and others we warp
eaand twisted away from their beau
tiful and simpleGteaching. and made
out Of them "doctrines of devils with
which we alarmed ourselves and those
committed to our Instruction.
~ we thank God tliatl' gradually the
eyes of our understanding are open
ing to discern the great Truth that the
testing Of the CHURCH in the present
Age and the testing Of the world at
large in the coming Age will be as to
worthiness for eternal life or WORTH
ness of eternl h-everlasting de
structionAthc Second J Death from
which there will be no redemption. no
resurrection. no recovery. AS st. Peter
declares. Those who enter, into it will
be. like brute. beasts. made to be taken
and destroyed-unnihilated
Sodom,s Guilt and Punishment.
Sodom and surrounding cities were
profigate and licentious to the extreme
and Divine Justice decreed that their
course must not continue" but that
they should be made an example Of
a lesson to others of the Divine dis
pleasure against all such licentious-
ness. Accordingly we read that fire
and. birthstone D we're rained from
heaven to the utter, destruction Of those
cities. the place Of WHICH is now mark
ed by the Dead Sea. The Sodomites
were obliterated and only thefr name
ana history have come down to us.
Their utter destruction by eternal fire
or heavenly tiresrained, upon them was
a complete destruction Their expert
ence pictures forth the utter destrue-
ton Of all whom God will finally re-
ject as unworthy of eternal life. Not
that fire and birthstone would be rain
ed upon all. but that utter destruction
will come upon all disapproved by the
Almighty. Who thinks that st. Jude
meant that the fire that destroyed the
Sodomites. was an eternal Onei?ii Who
ever thinks that 1T issstill burning as q
literal blaze should take a look at the
picture Of the Dead Sea and note that
there are no fires there. The thought
"a that the Are. which is d symbol Of
destruction. did its work thoroughly.
completely, leaving not a vestige Of
these condemned to destruction. 20 so.
Z The Sodomites ali went to heIl--to
the Bible lhell-.to the state OF death
But they did not go. to the hell which
was manufactured by our, forefathers
during the dark ages-a hell Of eternal
torture, We have Bible testimony on
the subject which we will produce
They are unconscious now like the re-
mainderrof thefdepd. waiting for the
resurrection. And the resurrection op-
portunity Will come to them. as well
as to all the, remainder of Adams
race: because they, as well as all 9th
ers. are REDEEMED by. the precious blood
of Christ-by the sacrifice which he
finished at Calgary. This Is not spec
-ulativesr We have. the words of lathe
Master himself ongthe subject, Het US
take our information, our wisdom from
the proper quarter Their our doubts
and fears will speedily dee away,
.ia4 rsOC Not a. SECOND Chance. unIaris
awe will produces he, Bibleltestimony
showing that the Sodemites will be re.
leased and come forth during the me
dIatorial reign of Messiah to enjoy a
share of the blessings then to be pour
ed out upon Israel and the world; and
to have an opportunity of coming into
harmony with God and gaining eternal
life But we know TINT stPaightway
somebody win say, No. Pastor Russell
that would be a second chance. and
God has nowhere promised a second
chance 70 any Furthermore it would
be be-IittIeing 20 the Divine Govern
ment to suppose that God, after giving
one fair trial TO u man and reaching a
decision would conclude to give him
another trial. as though Divine Justice
were unable to determine the WORTH
ness or ,unworthiness OF the individual
for eternal life in one trial or testing,
We fully agree with this sentiment.
but call attention TO the fact that the
Sodomites did not enjoy one trial for
life. They and all mankind We're
born in SIN. shapen in iniquity; in sin
did their mothers conceive then"
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