The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1911-03-07

WDen, years ago, 1 DelleNSu tndl an
of torture awaited all who do
not accept Gods "call' of the present
time. | had great difficulty with this
text. | asked. Is 1t possible that our
was selectively unjust in his
dealings with our race? Can 1t be
true that the Heavenly Father merely
calls and draws a predestinated few
to himself and to everlasting bliss?
Can it be true. as our catechisms re-
cite. that God and Jesus passed by
the great mass OF mankind without
drawing them. without calling them,
without giving them the hearing ear,
without opening the eyes Of their un.
derstanding? Can it be that all these
blind and deaf, ~unsought, undrawn,
uncalled and unprayed for by the
Savior are going down TO eternal tor
ment? My heart answered, No! But
my brain was confused by the errors,
the neutrality-suspicious. of the Bible,
which l had received.
John WesIey's "Free Grace"
Trained in the Doctrine of Election
and Predestlnation 1, like hosts of 9TH
ers, felt somehow that Brother Wes-
ley's teaching of Free Grace vas more
noble, more God-like, than Brother
Calvin's teaching respecting Election
and Predestination.
Nevertheless, when l reasoned on
the subject | said, Can think of the
omniscient God preparing a great place
of sufficient size to hold the entire hui
man family and QUILTED with every
devilish appliance for their torture,
and yet being ignorant of the condi-
lions under which they would be born?
Can l think that he did not know that
we would be born in sin and shapen
in iniquity? Can ! think that he did
not know of the present reign of Sa-
tan, Sin and Death and that it would
last for six thousand years and inju-
riously affect our entire race?
Brother Wesley's theory of Gods
Love and good intentions-of his en-
deavor to save everybody-seems in
consistent when contrasted with his
teaching that only a sanity few reach
eternal bliss and that the thousands
of millions must spend eternity in tor
ture. Thus l was once confused. as
millions are still confused today. in
respect to the Divine Character as ex-
emplif1ed In the Divine plan of the
ages. So far as | a see, Brother
Calvin had a wise and powerful God
such as | could admire and reverence.
II he had only been kind and loving
instead Of diabolical. And Brother
Wesley had a kind and loving God
such as l could admire and worship,
If he had only had the wisdom and
power of Calvin's theory.
So long as we have such confusion
in our minds faith and hope and love
and trust shake upon the foundations
of our reason. We recognize that we
know nothing Of the future Of our
selves; that we are wholly dependent
upon Divine Revelation. But we can
not expect that our Creator would
| give us a Revelation which to sancti-
| fed minds would appear Satanic In
stead of Divine. We must remember
| that our Creator invites us to reason,
saying, Come, let us reason together;
| though your sins be as scarlet, they
shall be white as snow" Surely a
| right understanding of the Divine Rev
! elation, the Bible, should be a reason
| able one to a ~sanctiied mind.
Hearken to the Word Of the Lord
| Their fear toward me is not Of me
but is taught by the precepts of men
isaiah xxx. 49,
Hearken again. "As the heavens are
higher than the earth. so are my meth
| DDS higher than your methods and my
plans higher than your plans Qsaiaf
", 81. And SO we find. my deal
friends Gods Word is true. His
Character is glorious. Only the mis-
and smoke of the dark ages" havt
confused things for US and mystiiet
matters and darkened the eyes Of oul
understanding.
Predestination Of the Bible.
Now as the six thousand years have
passed and we have entered upon th'
Sabbatic Seventh Thousand we arr
beginning to realize that 1t marks {
New Dispensation-that the night Il
passed; that the dawn is upon US. Thu
wonderful inventions Of our day along
earthly lines are in full harmony will
the clear light now shining upon Cod
Word, making It's dark places brigh
and It's rough places smooth and ena
bling us to remove the stumblin;
stones from the pathway Of the just
which shineth more and more unto tn
perfect day"
Now we can see why Jesus did no
pray for the world. 1t was becaus
the world was not in any danger of
fiery he'll. More than that, 1t was be
cause Gods time for dealing with tn
world had not yet come. The world
however. is to be dealt with by tn
great Redeemer. After He shall hay
set up His Kingdom in power an,
great glory; after He shall have boun,
Satan for a thousand years that b
might deceive the people no more, tn
glorious Savior, Messiah, will cause
general enlightenment Of mankind an,
a full opportunity for all, rich an,
poor, great and small, to rise up fron
dust and ashes and the grave to tn
full perfection of human nature
The Sun Of Righteousness will arts
with healing in his beams, blessinl
mankind, healing their diseases, men
tai, moral and physical, and causing
the knowledge of the Lord to fill tn
whole earth. No longer will any nee.
to say to his neighbor or his broth
er, Know thou the Lord, for a
shall know Him, from the least to tn
greatest" And only the wilfully wici
ed and disobedient viii be cut o.
from life In the Second Death-no
torture; but, as st. Paul declares
"They shall be punished with everlast
ing destruction"
We see, then, that our Lords reaso
for not praying for the world was tina
He knew the Fathers Plan that tn
world was not to be dealt with durin
this Age, but during the next, tn
Kingdom Age. The Master prayed 70
His own, for the class which He ha
been selecting during the past nine
teen hundred years. These are var
ously called ''the elect" the ''dis
ctples," His followers" member
Of His Body" a Royal Priesthood,
the Bride" ''the Lambs Wife" tn
'1ittle iock," to whom it is the Fla
theirs good pleasure to give the King
dom.
Elect to Bless Non-elect.
Seeing, then. that there is a differ
ence between Gods provision for tn
world, to be dispensed in the next Age
and his provision for the Church to b
given now, we ask, What is the dit
ference hatweon thoao7 Tha aosuyo