The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1914-03-24

Eden, the abode of bliss. 1t was lost
through the sin of our first parents,
but the gracious promise of our great
Creator is that this condition of earth
ly bliss shall be re-established-no
merely in a little corner of the earth,
but that the whole earth shall become
the Paradise of God. Heaven is Gods
Throne and the earth is His footstool,
and He assures us. 81 will make the
place Of My feet glorious"-"in due
time" How this will be done is the
Gospel Message.
The Divine Promise to Father Abra-
ham. that all the families of the earth
shall be blessed through his Seed, In
cludes the thought of mans full res
toration to Divine favor-as before he
sinned and fell, before Paradise was
lost, before man came under the curse,
or sentence, of death. The Jews hoped
that Messiah would come and consti-
tute their nation the earthly Kingdom
Of God and re-establish Paradise with
Palestine as its center. They expected
that under His wise ministration, u.s.
ing their nation as His instruments,
the Divine Law would extend to all
and. by bringing all people into har-
mony with God. would gradually bring
all back to the Paradise state.
The Garden of the Lord.
1t was in full harmony with this
that the dying thief asked the Lord to
remember him when He should come
into His Kingdom = the Kingdom
whose dominion would establish right
eousness in the earth, and thus con-
vert the world, under Divine favor,
into the Paradise of God Our Lords
answer was that verify, truly. his re-
quest should be granted-the thief
would yet be with Him in Paradise.
Paradise has not yet been established;
for Gods Kingdom has not yet come
to earth; it delays until a certain work
for the Church shall be accomplished.
1t is not the Divine purpose to make
of the nation of Israel Gods King
dom in the highest sense of the word,
though it will be actively identified
with the Heavenly Kingdom as its
earthly representative. God is select
ing during this Gospel Age a new ma
ton. Spiritual Israel, from every ma
ton, people, kindred, tongue. At our
Lords First Advent and subsequently,
He gathered from Israel such as were
sanity and ready for the Kingdom
since then He has been taking out
from other nations enough to complete
the f0reordained number Of the elect
Church. These will constitute the
Kingdom per sc, and it cannot be set
up or established in power until this
election, or selection. shall have been
completed and the Elect changed" or
glorified on the spiritual plane, by the
power of the First Resurrection.
Paradise, or the Garden of the Lord. |
not only represents that earthly condi-
ton which will be restored for the !
benefit and blessing of the natural man |
-as the reward for his obedience to |
the rules of lmmanuefs Kingdom dur |
ing the Millennial Age-but it also
applies to the glorious and Heavenly |
position which God has in reservation
for the Church. Thus we read in the
Book of Revelation that God has prom
ised to the oyercomers of the Church. !
"To him that oyercometh will ] give
to eat of the Tree of Life, which is In
the midst of the Paradise of God"
The Worlds Regeneration.
This is a grandly beautiful and sym
bolic message and promise. assuring Us
of the happiness and Heavenly bliss in
eternal-life conditions of all who are
faithful followers of Christ IN the pres
ent Age-walking in His footsteps in
the Narrow Way The Book of Rev
elation pictures the history of this Cos
pei Age down into the Milennial Age
and shows us Paradise re-estabIished,
with the Heavenly City, the glorified
Church. as its center or capital The
River of Life is pictured as flowing
from under the Throne On either bank
of its crystal waters of Truth and
Grace grow the Trees of Life. after
the manner of Eden of old
The future state will all be Paradise
The completeness of blessedness will
first be manifested in the Church on
the spiritual plane; and secondly, 1t
will be manifested in the Ancient
Worthless on the earthly plane-Abra-