The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1911-04-25

Nil text was from
Corinthians Nv, 12-
@A5leRf sSIs6Ell1 49,
How say some
among you that there is no resurrec-
ton of the dead? . : II Christ be not
risen, then is our preaching vain and
your faith is also vain. Then they
also which are fallen asleep in Christ
are persisted" He said
For years Gods people have had ex-
cellent Bibles, and thus have been
blessed far in advance Of our brethren
who lived during the Dark Ages. But
we have read our Bibles too carelessly
and often have most Of us wondered
at the great stress st. Paul laid upon
the resurrection Rarely is the subject
preached upon now and rarely is 1t
ever thought of except as an absurdity.
The reason for this Is not far to seek.
From childhood we have been taught
that nobody is dead-that in dying ev-
erybody, good and bad, becomes more
alice than ever before; that this alive
ness, to the sanity few, means spir-
itual powers and an immediate en-
trance into heaven, death being swal-
lowed up in life. The insanity masses
also, we are told, have quickened sensi-
bilities after dying-they become more
alive, more able to appreciate and suf-
fer pain.
Our Catholic neighbors tell us that
the majority Immediately go to Pur-
gatory, there to be tried by various
sufferings and tortures, and later, en-
ter heaven. Our Protestant teachings
have been to the effect that the I'm
sanity masses, unfit for the presence
Of God and the holy. will be consigned
to an eternity of awful torture and
made very much more alive to suffer
ing than before. Thus we have been
taught to believe that death is portal
or door into an intenser life-thdt no
body Is dead. Many of us perplexed
ourselves, and were perplexed by 9th,
ers, with questions respecting how
there could be resurrection of the
dead IL nobody is dead. We avoided
the question. or gave the answer. "Mys-
terry; go run and play"
Some. indeed. attempted patchwork
of the matter and told us that those
in heaven were happy. but not SO hap
Ply as though they had bodies and that
after thousands of years of craving for
body (Which they had used for only
few years.. they would get it back
again for all eternity Others said.
mo. our bodies have been only a clog
and hindrance and from the moment
of death We will be better off without
them; aud we do not know why the
Bible should teach resurrection of
the dead. to get back bodies that we
would be glad to be rid Of" Respect
ing the wicked. we said that after
roasting for centuries without body,
then, to intensity their pain. the body
would be re. directed and they would
have double suffering What bosh.
What foolishness! Is II any wonder
that many OF the bright minds Of the
world learned to doubt everything con-
nected with religion and the Bible?
Rather the wonder is that, seeing
things so obscurely. we did not all re-
pudiate everything.
Now What Do We Find7
With the clearing Of the mists Of ig-
norance and superstition. with a better
light reflected from one page to an
other of the Bible, the resurrection sub
ject clarifies and the statements of
Jesus and the Apostles and Prophets,
which we thought so strange. become
luminous and soul-satisfying.
When once we see that "the wages
Of sin is death" and not eternal tor
ment; and that the Bible hell is the
tomb and not fiery furnace; and that
all mankind go to sheoI, to hades, just
as did our Savior; then we begin to
see that what we all need is to be
saved from she0l, from. hddes. as was
the Savior. A resurrection-salvation
is thus the salvation hope of the
Church and of the world
What a relief this gives us as re-
spects parents, children. neighbors.
friends and the heather, who have
died out of Christ, insanity! What
comfort it brings to know that they
are sleeping In the great prison house
OF deAth, unconscious Of the lapse of
time, waiting for the Redeemer. Who
will as King set up His Kingdom In
glory, ASSOCIATE ting His Bride with Him
self for the blessing Of all the families
of the earth. The bringing forth of
the prisoners out of the prison-hous,-
of death will be to set before Their
under the glorious provisions of th,
New Dispensation an opportunity for
life everlasting, by obedience to the
laws Of the Kingdom under the as
sistance OF the Heavenly One-the al.
tentative being, not eternal torment,
but death-Second Death.
All Souls Go to sheol.
Some one may say, Pastor Russell.
what about the soul? II the body goes
to sheol, h0des, the tomb, where goes
the soulT' l reply that it is the
soal that goes to sheol, to hades, the
grace, the tomb, the state of death.
Although the words sheoI and hGdes
are translated grave more times than
translated hell, nevertheless they re-
fer, not to the mound of earth. which
Is in the nature of a monument, but
to the secret, hidden condition, prefer
ably styled the tomb, the abyss.
The Prophet David wrote, Thou
wilt not leave my soul in sheol (the
tomb, the state of DEATH, nor suffer
Thine Holy One to see corruption"
psalm xvi. 10Y. st. Peter quoted
this on the day OF Pentecost and ex-
planned that it is prophecy in re-
spect to Christ Jesus. David's soul
was not delivered from sheet, and he
did see corruption. and his sepulchre
the Apostle could refer to. But he,
being Prophet, spoke those words
respecting Jesus, that His soul would
not be left In she0l;; that His soul
would not see corruption. st. Peter
says that this prophecy was fulfilled
In our Lord-in that He was raised
from the dead on the third day. He
tells us that Jesus was put to death
in the flesh, but quickened in spirit-a
spirit Being far above angels and prin-
cipalities and powers and every name
that is named. Our Common Version
Bible declares that our Lords soul
was saved from hell-h0des (Acts II,
27-3D.
David, in the Old Testament. used
the word sheol St. Peter, In the New
Testament, used the word h0des. There
Is no dispute amongst scholars as to
what is signified. The words sheol and
hddes are well known to refer, not to a
place Of suffering or torture or ANNA
ton of any kind. but to the uncon-
seriousness Of the death state. Jesus
arose from the dead, from Addes, the
grave, and not from place Of torment
The so-called Apostles Greed declares
that Jesus descended into hell, but
arose from the dead on the third day
All scholars know that nothing in the
words sheoI and hddes has any relation