The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1911-07-21

ic death and uplift all of Adams race
| who will accept His favor back to all
that was lost In Adam. and redeemed
q friend to God and to all who love
| righteousness, since 1t will utterly and
forever destroy such as have love or
sympathy for sin and refuse to be
obedient to the Divine will after full
enlightenment.
| The Antitypical "Gehenna."
AS the earthly Jerusalem was fig
ure of the Jerusalem from above, the
heavenly Jerusalem, the Kingdom Of
God that is TO be established in all
the earth. so 0eheana and its fire and
| worms prefignred the destruction Of
| the Second Death upon every wilful
sinner. during or shortly after the ter
mination of Christ's Mediatorial King
dom and reign and the delivery of the
Kingdom back to God. with righteous
| ness fully established
As the New Jerusalem will not be a
| literal city. with literal streets Of gold
| and gates Of pearls and walls Of jew
, els. neither the valley of Hinnom nor
, the lake Of fire outside the city Of
! Jerusalem win he literal-both are
symbolical. The one represents har-
| mony with God. the Divine blessing and
| everlasting life: the other represents
separation from God, everla sting de-
strnction. the Second Death.
| Fire is never used as a symbol of
preservation. far from it. 1t is always
a symbol of destruction. The addi-
ton of birthstone intensifies the figure
because burning birthstone is one OF
the most deadly influences known in
the world. 1t is not only deadly to
humanity and the larger animals but
also to insects and microbes and every
thing that has life.
An Old Testament Reference.
This same lesson of the destruction
Of wilful trans9ressOrs, as represented
in the destructiveness of the valley Of
HinnOm (Gehenad). is furnished by the
. Prophet Isaiah tlxvi, 22-2p A famil-
| lar sight i'm Isaiah's day was the lit
eral valley Of HinnOm, used as figure
by the Holy Spirit speaking through
! him. pointing to the antitype and tell
ing OF the New Heavens and New
Earth-the new religious and secular
organizations Of mankind which will
be accomplished by Messiah's reign
and that then evil doors shall not es-
cape but shall be completely. utterly
destroyed ''They shall go forth and
look upon the carcasses Of the men
who have transgressed against Me, for
their worm shall not die. neither shall
their fire be quenched; and they shall
be an adherence unto ali flesh" Moth
ing is said about looking at living be-
ings suffering torture, nor is this the
thought. God never approved Of tor
ture, but always condemned it. A car
cass is dead body.
How glad we should be to realize
that Gods great Plan will not include
great torture chamber containing
countless myliads of His creatures but,
as the Scriptures declare, Every crea-
ture in heaven and in earth and under
the earth will be heard saying, Praise
and glory and honor and dominion and
might be unto Him that stitch upon
the throne and unto the Lamb forever"
Let Honesty and Truth Prevail.
Having demonstrated that neither
the Bible nor reason offers the slight
est support to the doctrine that eter-
nal torment is the penalty for sin, we
note the fact that the various church
creeds, and confessions, and hymn
books, and theological treatises, are its
only supports: and that under the in
creasing light Of our day, and the con-
sequent emancipation Of reason, belief
in this horrible, fiendish doctrine Of the
Dark Ages is fast dying out. But alas!
this is not because Christian people
generally are Jealous for the truth of
Gods Word and for His character, and
willing to destroy their grim creed
idols All no. they still bow before
their admitted falsities; they still
pledge themselves to their defense. and
spend time and money for their sup
port, though at heart ashamed of them,
and privately denying them.
The general influence of all this is
to cause the honest hearted of the
world to despise Christianity and the
Bible; and to make hypocrites and
semi-infidels of nominal Christians.
Because the nominal church clings to
this old blasphemy. and falsely pre-
sents it's own error as the teaching Of
the Bible. the Word Of God, though
still nOminally reverenced. is being
practically repudiated Thus the Bible.
the great anchor Of truth and liberty,
is being cut loose from by the very
ones who. If not deceived regarding
fits teachings. would be held and bless
ed by it.
The general effect, not far distant,
will be. first open infidelity. then an
archy. For much. very much of this,
!ukewarm Christians, both in pulpits
and pews. who know better, are re-
spOnsible. Many such are willing to
compromise the truth, to SANDER Gods
character, and to stultify and deceive
themselves. for the sake of peace. or