The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1912-11-05

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all of his posterity. To some extent
these have been judgments or punish
ments for sins; but on the whole we
cannot call the worlds experiences
during the past six thousand years
purgatorial. Purgatorial experiences
would be those administered under the
eye and care of great director. and
designed to purify
Hot Purgatoriai Fires Soon.
Numerous are the symbolical pictures
used in the Scriptures to explain and
yet to hide the character of the pur-
gatorial experiences of the world, as
they will begin in an awful time of
trouble as soon as the Church shall
all have passed beyond the veil by
the First Resurrection change These
terrible troubles coming upon the
world are designed of the Lord to
purge the world, to bring mankind
to due sense of responsibility and
to show the desirability of righteous
ness and the undesirability of sin.
'4Wait We upon Me, saith the Lord,
until the day that l rise up to the
prey; for My determination is to
gather the nations, that 1 may as
semble the Kingdoms, to pour upon
them Mine indignation, even all My
fierce anger; for all the earth shall
be devoured with the fire Of NV
jealousy" (Zephaniah iii, 81 Here we
have the purgatorial fire with which
the New Dispensation will be ushered
In 1t will be ON earth, and not in
some unknown place-neither in the
interior of the earth, nor beyond the
bounds Of time and space" 1t will
be purgatorial In the sense that it will
be under the supervision of the Lord,
with view to bringing a blessing to
mankind out Of that trouble.
That blessing will come out of it
is indicated by the sentence follow
ing, which tells that amid the severity
OF the trouble God will grant grace
and mercy and blessing. ''Then will
turn unto the people pure Message,
that they may all call upon the name
OF the Lord. to serve Him with one
consent" (Zephaniah lii, 81 Thus we
have another evidence that this is
purgatorial or symbolical fire or
trouble, and not literal fire, other
wise no people would be left to whom
the pure Message could be given. But
Gods intention is that all mankind,
living and dead, shall come to
knowledge of the Truth, for Christ
Jesus by the grace of God "tasted
death for every man."
The trouble which will follow the
gathering of the Church to the heav-
emily plane, by the First Resurrection.
is symbolically represented as the
melting of the earth Society with the
fervent heat (strife, contention, dis
cord of that time Already we see
the Capitalistic element and the
Socialistic element and the Labor ele-
ment preparing for the contest which
Is to constitute the great time OF
trouble such as never was before
Not only so, but the ''heavens" also
will take fire and pass away with a
great noise. These are ScripturaIly
shown to be the symbolical heavens,
the ecclesiastical heavens. Thus the
intimation of the prophecy Is that the
social strife will extend to and in
clude, not only social, political and
financial conditions, but also include
Ecclesiasticism. The fiery trouble Of
anarchy will consume everything of
the present, and make way for the
New Dispensation, of which ST. Peter
tells us. In the same symbolical lam
guage he calls the New Dispensation
new heavens and a new EARTH The
new heavens" will be the Church in
glory. The new earth win be the
new social order of things established
by that Heavenly Kingdom-a reign of
righteousness, justice, leading on to
reign of lowell Peter iii, 1913.
This great purgatorial experience at
the Inauguration Of the New Dispen-
sation is again Scripturally likened to
a fire. As we read: 1.-THE proud,
yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be
stubble; and the Day that cometh shall
burn them up. saith the Lord of Hosts.
that it shall leave them neither root
nor branch. Malachi iv, 1.
All the fires of that time will be
fires of righteousness, consuming the
things of pride, sin and iniquity. They
will burn as long as there is anything
sinful to consume. As quickly as pride
Is abandoned. as quickly as eviI-doing
is abandoned, so quickly will the fires
cease. But the Prophet declares that
those purgatorial fires will be thorough
going They will leave neither root
nor branch Of pride and wickedness.
The intimation in this is that the
fire soon to begin may in individual
cases burn on and on-perhaps in the
cases Of some individuals for cen