Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1913-06-07

asssE3sz1& 49, he'll of the Dark
lLRAsl0R RU5SHLlj Ages. which, he
said, still casts
gloom over the masses and binders a
proper appreciation of the Divine char.
acter re Love aud Justice. He took
combination text: o Sheoi Ihenl.
will be thy destructionr CHosea 1910
20 Hades Ihelll. where is thy victory?"
Il Corinthians 1885.
Ny text said the Pastor. teaches that
Jesus will destroy the hell of the BIZ
ble-the state Of death. He will do this
by delivering all mankind from death
by the resurrection. Thus ultimately
He will gain His great victory over
sin and death. and deliver humanity
from their power. No one but Jesus
can do this, Henceiwe must wait for
the appointed time--the establishment
of the Messianie Kingdom. Meantime.
it is ours TO batter down the hell of
torment which for centuries has trou-
bled Gods saints, and turned the
hearts of many from their Creator.
The Pastor dealt some vigorous blows
at the doctrine he condemned They
Were not blows Of anger nor of send
ment, but of logic and of Scripture.
His opponents are comparatively few,
he said, and of two classes: Some are
good and honest, but ignorant Others,
thoroughly Informed. no more believe
in a hell of torture than does the Pas
tor. but dodge the question and give
the impression that they believe 1t, so
as to hoodwiuk the people, and keep
them in darkness on a subject Of most
vital Importance to human happiness
now and throughout eternity.
The masses of Christian ministers are
educated. Preachers in general know
wen that the Bible does not teach a
hell OF torture that the words SheoI,
Hides, Gehenna and Tartarus do not
signify Il place of torture, where all
except the sanity will eternally suffer.
These ministers do not come forth into
the open with me to battle the error,
presumably because they do not real
ize, with us. that this terrible bias
phemy against the Divine character
lies at the bottom of nearly all the god
lessness and the growing unbelef in
the Divine Word now prevalent. To
me it is evident said the Pastor, that
reverence toward God ana faith in the
Bible cannot be restored until this
great Moloch Of false teaching be de-
molished. This explains my zeal in
exposing the errors of the past, and
for the reyealment of the truth on the
subject of future punishment.
The Pastor did not on this occasion
attempt explanations OF the three or
four parallels, which, by mistransla-
tons. misunderstanding and interpola-
tons, have been made to support the
God-dishonoifng doctrine that eternal
torture is the wages Of sin, in contra
diction of the Bible statement. 'Thc
wages Of sin Is death" He contented
himself with reminding his hearers
that he had already preached on the
parable of The Rich Man and Laza-
rus" Of THE Sheep and the Goats"
and the Lords statement, Where their
worm dieth not and their fire is not
quenehed; and from the Revelation,
about the devil, the beast and the false
prophet being east into torment. To
those who have neither heard nor read
his sermons on these subjects, he offer
ed to send bis views in printed form,
free upon postcard application.
The God of All Grace.
The God of the Bible, said the Pas
tor, is such one as every human
heart needs and Graves. He is God
of sympathy and love. respecting
whom 1t is declared that He looked
down from His holy habltation and be
held. and heard the grooming of the
prisoners. psalm 102:19. 20J Then
His own Arm brought salvation" Qsa-
iah 63:5l The groaning of the pris-
oners was not IN some far-away fur
mace. bnt here on earth-in every
home Our race groans because we
are slaves Of sin, and sin is paying us
the prescribed penalty death.
Jesus work at the First Advent was
only preparatory. His death was nee
essary as the corresponding price for
the sin of Adam. Only by paying that
penalty could He obtain the right TO
destroy the prison-house Of death and
deliver the prisoners by a resurrection
from the dead His work was salts
factory. lie assembled 70 the right
hand Of God. where He awaits the
hour when He shall take His great
power and reign
Then the light Of the knowledge of
God shall Gil the earth. All will have
fullest opportunity for return TO God.
and only the Willingly disobedient will
die the Second peath
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