The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1912-07-31

!\lfA2IQE kQ29Glgj l so and prepare a
place for you.
will come again and receive you unto
Myself. that where l am there We may
be so."-JOhn xiv. 1G
The error of supposing that men are
alive when they are dead lies close to
the foundation Of every theological err
ror the world over We have all erred
in taking the guess of Plato instead of
of our difficulties and theological en-
:tanglements only by retracing our
steps.
The Bible alone, Of all religious
books. teaches that dead man is dead,
and knows nothing. and that his only
hope is in the Divine arrangement
through Christ. by resurrection of tie
dead-"both Of the just and of the un-
just."-Acts xiv. Is.
mo Man Hath Assembled to Heaven"
Here note our text. In it the Master
says not word about our going to
> Him at death, but quite to the contrary
that He would come again and re-
ceive us unto Himself And are we not
told that this will be an instantaneous
change? Is it not styled an awakening
from the sleep of death?
But. says one, does not the second
coming of Christ take place whenever
His holy ones die? Does He not i'm.
mediately come to receive them unto
Himself?
Surely only very lame theory could
seek to bolster itself up by such per
version of the Scriptures If Christ
were to come every time one Of His
sanity ones die. would it not mean
many comings instead of merely second
coming? And even if His faithful were
very few indeed. would it not seem
that this would keep the Redeemer
busy coming and departing every few
minutes?
Hearken again to Jesus words, mo
man hath assembled up to heaven
John iii, 49, Only the Son of Man
had ever been in heaven. He has as
cended up where He was before. with
additional glory and honor.
The Case Of the Dying Thief.
But. says some one. did not the dying
thief 80 with Jesus to Paradise the
very day in which they both died:
No. we have made stupid blunder
and misnterpretation of our Redeem
er's dying words to the thief. The
wrong thought being in our minds we
misinterpreted in harmony Herewith,
And our Interpretation has done an
immense amount of harm. Thousands
of people have been encouraged to
continue a life Of sin, trusting that
with their dying breath they may have
the opportunity Of saying. God BE-
merciful to me-" and then be immedi
ately ushercd into glory, honor and i'm
mortality.
Let us see what Jesus really said.
Note the circumstances. Jesus hung
between two thieves: one of better
heart than the other honestly admitted
his own guilt and that of his comrade.
We paraphrase His words. Lord.
have defended you against an unjust
attack. Remember this poor thief if
you ever have an opportunity to do
kindness to me in return. heard you
before Plate say that you have
Kingdom. but not of this Age; some
heavenly Kingdom therefore pre-
sumo. My request is, Remember me
when Thou CONTEST into Thy King
DOM"
To this Jesus replied. Verify, verify
TOR. so be it. so be it. as you have asked)
Verify l say unto thee this day"-this
dark day. in which it would appear
that have not friend in Heaven or
on earth-this dark day in which ] am
crucified as malefactOr, a falsifier
and blasphemer-"I say unto thee
this day. Thou shalt be with Me in
Paradise"
Paradise has not yet come. Messi-
abs Kingdom has not yet been estab-
fShed: and it must come first before
Paradise Lost can be restored and the
whole earth be made Gods glorious
footstool. as He has promised But
when the time shall come. when the
Kingdom shall be established, when
Paradise conditions shall be introduced.
the resurrection Of that thief will be
in order. "for all that are in their
graves shall hear the voice of the Son
Of Man and come forth."-John V. %.
%. r. v.
But Jesus arose from sheol. from
kades. from the tomb, from the state
of death, on the third day. He had not
been to Paradise. for Paradise was not
yet in existence. He had not been to
heaven. for He had been dead. Let
us hear His own words to Mary on the
morning of His resurrection:, II have
not yet assembled to My Father.
and your Father. to My God. and your
God" Nohn k. ~ Could anything
be palmer, simpler, more harmonious?