The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1911-06-16
Jesus every knee shall bow and every
tongue confess, to the glory of God"
"Slept With His Eathers.'


"Slept With His Fathers"
All through the Scriptures natural
sleep is used as figure for death, as
the present time of the reign of sin is
represented us night time, and the
coming reign of Messiah is prophet
cally described as the morning of Il
New Day. New Epoch. Weeping
may endure for night but joy com
eth in the morning." wrote David. The
night has lasted for six thousand
years; the New Day is the seventh
thousand. the Sabbath of the great
week Ii will be the awakening time.
as the six thousand years Of the reign
of sin and sorrow are the time in
which our race has been going down
into death-into the deep sleep from
which none will come forth except by
the call of Messiah.
The penalty OF death upon our race
would have blOtted lis out of existence
like the brute beasts had not Gods
mercy from the beginning made pro-
vision for Il Redeemer and for His
Church and joint-heir; and for the
MeSsianic Kingdom; and for the reSur-
rection, the awakening of all mankind,
through this Kingdom. 1t was in view
of that hope OF resurrection of the
dead that believers spoke of their
deceased friends as failing asleep.
This expression is used frequently in
the New Testament. st. Stephen fell
asleep in death; st. Paul, having in
mind the great work of Christ on be-
half of the world and the eventual
awakening of all, declared that be-
levers need not sorrow as others over
the death of their friends and neigh
b0rS, but might realize that all sleep
in Jesus" and that eventually God,
through Him, will bring to pass the
general awakening of the dead, all of
whom are yet to be brought to
knowledge of the truth that they may
be saved from sin and death and OBJ
tain Restitution (Acts iii, 1929.
Pastor Russell quoted the Scripture,
Abraham slept with his fathers"
and declared that Abraham'S fathers
were heather men. He called atten-
ton to the fact that good and bad,
kings and princes and others, are, in
the Scriptures, declared to have fallen
asleep. So it was with David. These
all slept in the Bible HELM the tomb.
They are all unconscious; as the Scrip
lures declare, 1.-The dead know not
anything; their SONS come to honor
and they know 1t not; they come to
diShOnOr and they perceive it not of
them; There is neither wisdom nor
knowledge nor device In sheOl hell,
the gravel, whittier thou goest''-
whittier all go Job xiv, 81; Ecclesias-
ties tx, 10.
"Thou Wilt Not Leave My Soul In
Sheo."
The Prophet David declared his faith
in resurrection of the dead when he
wrote, ''Thou wilt not leave Ny Soul
in hell (sheol the grave, nor suffer
Thine Holy One to see corruption"
psalm xvi, 10). st. Peter (Acts ii,
25-3D calls our attention to the fact
that the Prophet David did see corrup-
ton, and hence that this statement
was not in regard to himself but Jesus
that the soul of Jesus was not left
in sheOl Greek, hades); and, additional
ly, the flesh of Jesus was not allowed
to corrupt.
st. Peter was pointing out the full
filment of this prophecy of the resur~
rection of Jesus from the dead on the
third day, when he made use of our
text. David is not ascended into the
heavens; his sepulchre is with
us unto this day" st. Peters argu
ment is that David was in his sep
ulchre and was still dead, but that
his words We're a prophetic reference
to Jesus resurrection.
Many Christian people repeat every
Sunday what is styled the Apostles
Greed. which declares the crucifiXiOn
and death of Jesus and His descent
into hell--into h0des-and that God
raised Him from the dead on the third
day" All intelligent Christians under
stand that the hell TO which Jesus went
was not Purgatory nor a place of eter-
nal suffering, but the grave, she0l, the
tomb, the state of death. This is
proved to be the Apostles thought by
the words, God raised Him from the
dead, for it was not possible that He
should be holden" of death.
David Will Not Go to Heaven.
King David will not go to heaven,
said Pastor Russell, and he will not
desire to go to heaven, for the same
reason that fish has no desire to
perch upon the limb of tree nor a
bird to make its home under the water.
AS these animals have natures distinct
and are adapted to the conditions which
God has provided, so the nature of
man, even when brought to human per-
lection, will enjoy and appreciate more
the earthly blessings which God has
provided for him than he would enjoy
the heavenly blessings which God has
provided for the Elect ''little flock
the Church of the First-Borns" Gle
brews xii, 23).
The reason for this is plain when we
remember the Apostles words He
declares, "The natural man receiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God,
neither can be know appreciated them,