The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1912-06-25

out. Luke xiii, %.
Bible students in the past, resting
under a terrible fear of an eternity of
torture after death. were inclined to
twist the statements of Scripture into
supports for their misconceptions. We
are now breaking loose from some of
those horrible nightmares of the Dark
Ages, finding that the Bible, rightly in
terpreted. does not substantiate them.
The hobgoblins and demons of torture,
cloven hoof. forked tail, malignant
glance, pitchforks and tongues Of fame
came down to US, not from the inspired
Word of God, but from the pens of
misanthropic poets and the brushes of
ambitious painters who revealed in the
portrayal of blood-curdling scenes and
endeavored to make them more awful
than the tortures of the Inquisition
chambers of their own day.
So far from describing Satan and his
demon hosts as torturers Of the dead.
the Bible tells us plainly that the dead
are asleep" and will know nothing of
Joy or sorrow until the awakening time
in the dawning of the Messianic King
dom, and that Satan and his demon
hosts of fallen angels are not far off
stocking fires. but near by US, powers
of the air" 1t tells us also that these
seek to oppose the Divine Program and
to ensnare our race by personating the
dead using as their channels deceiv-
ed spirit mediums as they used witches
wizards and necromancers in the past.
/ Satanic Influence Near.
St Peter so far from believing that
Satan is far off stocking fires, described
him as a roaring, angry lion, going
about amongst men seeking whom he
might devour-deceive. involve in sin.
st. Paul forewarns us that Satan and
his agents are crafty and are to be ex-
pected to present themselves as angels
of light-leaders in advanced truth.
We are assured that this dreadful, in
furious agency has been deceiving the
whole world for centuries. The Divine
promise is that Messiah's Kingdom
shall bind or restrain Satan for a thou
sand years that he may deceive the
people no more until Messiah shall de-
liver up the Kingdom to the Father.
The Scriptures specially forewarn us
of great activity on the part of the
evil spirits in the end of this Age, and
intimate that they will have much to
do with the great Time of world wide
Trouble which will precede the inaugu-
ration of Messiah's Kingdom. 1t is
time for us TO be on the lookout for
those wonderful manifestations of dia-
| ,i.b for xryfI
make many of our poor race madly in
sane. brutal. inhuman. diabolical. This
is the real danger from the demons-in
the present life. and not in the future.
They will deceive and torture hui
mainly to the limit Of their permission.
when they will be restrained by the
King Of Glory and the bright shining
of the Sun of Righteousness, which
will usher in the New Day of earth's
blessing and restitution
The words weeping and crashing
Of teeth represent, not new condi-
tons amongst men. but those which
may be witnessed every day-sorrow,
heartache, grievous disappointment;
and this is the use of this expression
in the Bible We should dismiss all
| thought that the experiences mention
ed will be after death and the result of
tortures inflicted by demons.
Jews Bitter Disappointment.
In our text the Lord graphically
pictures the disappointment of the
Jews when they shalt find out how
great was their mistake in the rejec-
ton of Jesus and His Message. They
will find that the glorious opportunity
| offered to them of becoming members
10 the Bride of Christ was the highest
| favor that Divine mercy could offer
| them as the children of Abraham
| They will become aware of their loss
Of the heavenly portion and also of
the earthly portion of the Divine
promise. They will then come to IN
| derstand that the promise to Abra ham
| dealt with two seeds. one heavenly.
the other earthly. and that the faithful
ones Of past Ages. Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob and all the holy Prophets
and other faithful ones Of their ma
| ton. will be rewarded with the high
| est positions of honor in the earthly
| phase of Messiah's Kingdom. while
they. who had the opportunity Of en-
| tering the still higher. the spiritual
| phase of that Kingdom. failed because
Of unreadiness of heart to receive the |
2edeemer. They will find that some |
whom they esteemed as publicans and |
sinners and Gentiles, by accepting |
Christ and becoming His disciples, be- |
a0 Y11N hot - h. ~ ,fns,I
made to Abraham-became Abrahams |
spiritual Seed-members Of the Mes
siah, of which Jesus is the Head and |
the Church His Body.
Alas, poor Jewsl Our hearts may
well go out to them in sympathy in
their chagrin and disappointment |
when they shall learn the truth on
the subject, when they shall learn
that they have lost not only the heav-
emily glory but also the honorable place
OF being Messiah's earthly representa-
tives. Most assuredly there will be
weeping and crashing of teeth, and
contrition of heart and penitence, we
trust, toward God. which will bring
them into the right condition to be
amongst the first of humanity to be
blessed under the New Order of
things. Very soon, we believe, the
blindness is to be turned from Israel
just as soon as the elect spiritual Seed
of Abraham shall be completed, St
Paul tells us tRomans XII 25-33)
Then favor will return to the nat
ural seed Of Abraham: ''They shall OBJ
tain mercy through your mercy" Their
eyes of understanding will open; men.
tally they will look upon Him whom
they have pierced" They will mourn
for Him, and the Divine promise is
that God will then pour upon them
the spirit Of prayer and supplication.
Other Similar Texts.
All Bible students will recall several
other passages of very similar Ian
guage to that of our text. But when
we get the right focus upon them we
perceive that they all belong to ex-
periences in the present life. that none
of them relate to incidents beyond the
tomb. A greater care in the study of
the Bible might have protected us
from the thought that any of these
references apply to the dead. because
the Scriptures not only tell that they
are sleeping and waiting for the morn.
ing. but they also particularly inform
us that ''the dead know not anything
their sons come to honor and they
know it not, to dishonor and they per.
ceive it not of them;' and that there
is neither work, nor device, nor knowl-
cd T..