The daily democrat. [volume] (Anadarko, Okla.) 191?-1915, 1914-02-24

lWialas.asssslsA aAAs1< I ul lhe le 2
llPaSL0R RUSSELDl Thus shall also
the coming IPa-
rousia-presencel Of the Son of Man
be. they shall be eating, drinking,
planting and marrying, and know not
Matthew 2i:3T. IS.
The Pastor was prompted to select
his text 10y reading an extract from a
recent sermon of Canadian minister,
who declared that 1914 would witness
the Second Coming of Christ. The
statement permitted the Inference that
the minister holds the view common
to nearly all crecds-that the earth is
10 be burned up and the human race
blottcd out, ana that Christ will come,
to see that none Of the Church are
destroyed All such expectations, the
Pastor claimed. are wholly unscrip-
tural untrue and misleading.
Then the Pastor explained in full the
various Scriptures commonly supposed
to support such views. The wrong in
terpretauous so prevalent he claimed,
belong TO the Dark Ages, when public
teachers seemed to lose all apprecia'
tion of figurutive language; and when
Christ's references 20 Gehenna Fire,
which burned outside the wall of Je-
rusalem, were understood to refer 10
an eternity Of torture for all except
the sanity few He showed that st.
Peters words, "the heavens shall he
on fire." and 1.-THE earth and the things
therein shall be burned up" refer to
the very period which St Peter else
where calls Times of Restitution and
blessing mot burning to follow
Jesus Second Coming.
Both the Master and His Apostles,
the Pastor asserted, frequently used
the word fire as symbolical of tribula-
ton. Among the many Scriptures
quoted 20 substantiate his assertion
was st. Peters eXhortation, "Think it
not strange concerning the fiery trial
which shall try YOU
The Pastor quoted many Scriptures
TO prove that the earth is not to be de-
stroyed, that the earth abideth for
ever: that God created it not in vain,
but formed 1t to be inhabited This
y
been fulfilled; for immense tracts of
land are still unoccuped.
The speaker then discussed popular
misconceptions respecting the end of
the world and showed that these are
based upon a misunderstanding, due
to the fact that our Common Version
Bible uses the word world where the
word age. epoch, order of things, would
better express the thought of the origi-
nal According to Scripture, the pres
ent order, of which Satan is ruler, is
to give place TO a new order of things,
under control OF the Prince of Light.
christ's Second Coming.
Next the Pastor demonstrated con
clusively from Scripture that our Lord
is no longer human being. Nearly
nineteen centuries ago. the Logos left
Heavenly glory and was made flesh.
God had pronounced death sentence
upon man, from which the race could
not bc released unless some one would
become their redeemer and meet the
penalty for them. This penalty was
death. not eternal torment, of which
the Scriptures know nothing. Our
Lord carried out the Divine Program,
and as a reward has been highly eX-
altcd-"far above angels"
The speaker then showed that the
word coming Is used % translate sew
cral very different Greek words. One
Of these is Parousia. meaning pres
encc. ANA used i'm reference to the FIRST
stage OF our Lords Second Advent.
He will be invisibly present For a
while none will realize His Parousia
except the Church. All earthly things
will continue as they have-buying
selling marrying. etc.-for a while.
Later on will come the Epiphania-
| the revelation, or manifestatiOn-no in
the flesh, but in great Time of Trou-
BILE. symbolically represented as fire.
We read "He shall be revealed In fam
ing fire, taking vengeance"
The Pastor understands the Bible 10
| teach that Jesus has thus been pres
ent since 1874 The Second Advent be-
! gan then The wonderful progress in
! the world since then Bible students
! thus explain. They understand the
Bible 70 teach that this Parousia will
continue for a thousand years; bat
that the Epiphania will be due forty
| years af,er the Presence began For
this reason t'ev are looking very in
! tently TO see what the year may bring
Everywhere we see signs Of unrest. a
time OF trouble brewing. Ii looks as
though this year would ms TX the be-
ginning of the tanning fire OF judg-
ments which win characterize the in
: au~rrHticn { AesS.ah's glorious Reign
[ - r.gl .ao,sn,ss and lifa etprnal