The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1912-11-01


eyes of our under
standing open to the true beauties ot
Gods Word. we find that the gross
errors of the past have. indeed, some
foundation in the truth. Yet the two
are SO different that they might pass
each other without recognition.
As Bible students are allowing the
Word of God to interpret itself they
are being blessed: their faith is being
strengthened as they find that the real
teachings OF the Bible are beautiful
and harmonious and God honoring and
acceptable to sanctitied common sense
As so much Of our confusion has been
connected with the subject Of future
punishment, it is only reasonable that
much Of our blessing and enlighten-
ment should come from better I'M
Outstanding of the Scriptures bearing
upon this subject. Our first lesson to
learn was, the difference between the
Bible He'll and the hobgoblin torture
chambers Of our bewildered fore
fathers. who had not the Bible in their
possession and who. if they had pos
ton necessary to read it.
When we found that the Hebrew
word Sheol Is the only word translated
hell during the Old Testament period
of four thousand years. we were not
surprised. But when we found that
that word signifies the tomb. the death
state, and that it is translated craze in
81
than it is translated hell. we were sur
prised And when further close in
vestigation showed that the good. as
we'll as the bad go TO Sheol. and that
the Bible declares that all who 60 to
Sheol wee redeemed by Christs death,
and that eventually He will destroy
Sheol and deliver all the prisoners Of
death from Sheol-then we began to
see what serious blunder had been
made in the translation =,
But when about to blame the trans
lators for deceiving us. we found that
the trouble lay rather with a change
in the use of language. All know that
all living languages are gradually
changing. And investigation shows
that in old English the word hell was
used as synonym for hole or pit. or
something covered over. as the grave.
Thus an English farmer in olden times
might say. I'VE helled five hundred
bushels Of potatoes this fall" or. I'VE
helled Cthatched) our cottage"
The fault was not so much with the
translators as with the wrong idea al
ready firmly imbedded in the human
mind-not the teaching Of the Bible
that God intends to punish in purga-
tory or eternal torture all except the
sanity few. From the first Satan
seems to have endeavored to deceive
humanity respecting the true charac-
ter of the Creator: and his success is
shown by the warped and twisted in
terpretations that we all gave to our
Heavenly Fathers Word. -.
Sheol Sometimes Used Fisuratively.
In probably three or four texts out
of seventy the Hebrew word Sheol
and its Greek equivalent Hades are
used figuratively. as. for instance. ST.
Paul refers to Hades. the tomb. under
the figure of a monster which has
been engorging itself with humanity
He represents it figuratively as yield
ing to the glorifed Messiah at His
Second Advent and disgorging its prey
in the resurrection. Looking forward
to the completion Of the resurrection
at the close of the Millennium. he ex-
claims. 20 Death. where is thy sting
o Hades. where Is thy victory?'
Similarly the Prophet David likened
the tomb to great monster about to
devour him, and likened the pains OF
his sickness to the teeth of the mons
ter, saying. THE sorrows of death
comprised me, and the pains Of Sheol
gat hold upon me-. . e. Then called
upon the name of the Lord and
He helped me" psalm cxvi. 3-G-the
king was raised up from Illness.
Again. the Lord through the
Prophet, speaking of the great giant
systems Of this present time. declares
that they will go down into Sheol. into
death, and hguratively represents their
meeting in death with the great op
pressive systems of the past. Qsaiat
xiv, Gill But there is no suggestion
of eternal torment connected with the
word Sbeol anywhere. And the fact
that the Lord redeems our souls from
Sheoi, and will destroy Sheol eventual.
Iy. by raising mankind from the state
of. death. proves posi0 rely fhe gross
error under which We laborsd in Fe