The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1911-06-16

AzS=zs5521==z:::::::S5S5S=-=S-- and we'll ca!cu-
S..@.A9 !2Es.2 zsz22s:.=s=3 lated TO make the
hearers sit up and take notice. We
report one of these discourses from
a text we never before heard treated
and did not even know was i'll the BIZ
bic (Acts ii, 81: For David is not
assembled into the heavens
The Old Testament Scriptures we &C.
Cept as Of equal authority with the
New Testament. said Pastor Russell,
because Jesus and the Apostles SO ac-
cepted them, and indeed based all of
their teachings upon them. The false
impression which has gone abroad
amongst Christian people, that the Old
Testament Scriptures are obsolete,
that their predictions have al: been
fulfilled, is very erroneous. This has
greatly hindered Bible study, and has
paved the way to grieyouS errors. 1t
should be remembered that the Old
Testament represents the only Divine
revelation made to man during the
415S years from the creation to the
time when Jesus at His baptism was
proclaimed the Lamb of God which
taketh away the sin OF the world"
In all the Old Testament, from Gen
esis to Malachi, not single suggestion
is offered of Il change of nature from
human TO spiritual, nor of any other
heaven than that which God had orig
No ya
of Eden. The hopes inspired in Israel
10y the Divine promises pointed them
forward to the time when Gods bless
ing would obliterate the curse of sin
and death and uplift mankind from
present degradation, back to the orig
inal perfection. The Seed of the wo-
man, it was promised, should ulti-
mately "crush the Serpent's head de-
stroying the evil that is in the world
and establishing reign OF righteous
ness instead of the reign of sin and
death. Messiah, as Emmanuel would
bring these great blessings to Israel;
and, through Israel, they would be
spread amongst all nations by Divine
power. Paradise, lost through disobe
dience, will be restored through Mes
siah
Instead of expecting Il change of ma
ture from human to spiritual, the
teachings of the Old Testament led
the lSraeliteS to expect that God
would make no change from His orig
inal purpose. He made not the earth
to be destroyed by fire nor to be per-
petually under the cloud of sin and
death (Ecclesiastes /, 3. He formed
it to be inhabited by human race, in
His own image and likeness. Adam in
his original purity being a sample.
David's Soul In He'll.
AS the Old Testament tells nothing
about Il heavenly condition. likewise it
tells nothing about Il hell of fire or
torment. Such devilish theories were
invented by the heather. from whom
many Christians have since absorbed
more or less of the false doctrines.
The Law and the Prophets do refer to
hell some siXtysiX times, but the he'll
which they teach is the grave. the
tomb, the state of death. From first
to last all mankind, both good and
bad, go to hell, sheOl, the tomb. Abra-
ham. Isaac and Jacob and all the
Prophets died without giving the
slightest intimatiOn of Purgatoral
suffering for anybody, or he'll of
eternal torture.
The writer's of the New Testament
We're also Jews. and it might here be
noted that nowhere did they describe
the He'll and Purgatory which we
Protestants and Catholics conjured up
during the Dark Ages. The New Tes-
lament, written in Greek, is in full ac-
cord with the Old Testament, written
in Hebrew-the SheOl of the latter is
the hddes of the former. Unfortunately
our translators have, in the English
Bible, mixed things up in terrible
fashion, giving US hell and pit and
grave as synonymous interpretations
of sheol and hades Orthodoxy made
he'll fiery and thus our eyes of under
standing have been darkened through
the Vaccinations of our great Adj
versary, 'the Prince of darkness
But all this demoniacal misrepresen~
tation of the Divine character and
Plan is soon to be scattered The
morning is at hand; the Prince of light,
the Savior. Messiah and His glorious
Church. will soon shine forth as the
Sun in the Kingdom of the Father.
while Satan will be bound for that
thousand years that he may deceive
the people no more. Then all the
blind eyes shall be opened and all the
deaf ears shall be unstopped;" and the
knowledge of the glory of the Lord
shall fill the whole earth;" and Ito