The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1915-04-20

Those who wrote
the Bible did their duty well. The Old
Testament, covering the history of over
four thousand years. tells us that all
mankind at death go to Sheol-the
tomb. The New Testament, written in
Greek, tells the same story, using the
word Hades as the translation of the
Hebrew Sheol. 1t is in modern trans
iations Of the Bible that difficulty is en-
countered particularly in the English.
Nearly all these TRANSACTIONS have been
made within the last five hundred
years. For 1900 years before the BIZ
BILE had been little known, because net
translated into the languages Of the
people, and because few could have
read 1t If 1t had been translated.
In the second century the theory pre-
vailed that the bishops were as much
inspired as the Apostles and Jesus; for
they were called Apostolic bishops.
Bible study was considered unneces-
sary because these Apostolic bishops
were on the spot to give up-to-date in
formation and communications from
God. Then followed thirteen centuries
OF no Bible study, during which time,
as the Apostles had 'forewarned, griev
Gus wolves came into the flock, MAX
ing merchandise Of the sheep for their
own profit. (Aets 20:26-31.) Gradually
the doctrines became so mingled with
errors that the false teachers enslavei
the people with fear, and then extorted
money for the relief Of the fears.
When Bible study revived in the Fiji
teenth Century, the errors were so In
trenched in mems minds that their
thoughts were colored respecting every
feature of faith. Those who translated
the Bible doubtless did their best to set
forth its meaning, but unconsciously
gave little twists, In their endeavor to
have the Bible say what they thought
1t meant. As an illustration, note John
5:29. There the translators have given
us the expression, resurrection of
damnation." when nothing In the Greek
Revised Version renders 1t properly.
resurrection Of jndgment'-trial.
When the Hebrew word Sheol was
being translated, He'll was the nearest
word to fit their IDEAS Hence they
translated 1t Hell as many times as
possible; and only when this was i'm
possible did they give something ap
preaching the proper translation-tha
grave. There is another word for
grave-qeJer, sepulchre, a mound,
monument But do their best TO make
Hell out Of Sheol, they could only SO
translate 1t less than one-half the whole
number Of occurrences. The Revised
translation retains the Hebrew Sheol
and the Greek Hades, saying, Let the
reader find out what 1t means, doubt
less he will think that Sheol is the ''hot
place.; and SO the common people will
not know what an egregious blunder
was made by the theologians.
Good men, who know better, permit
their congregations to think that they
believe In a burning He'll of torture
when privately they confess to the
contrary. But they say, Let us not do
good. lest evil follow-let us not tell
the people. lest fewer would then
come to church, and the power of su-
perstition, which holds so many, 5e
broken. Poor menl They seem blind
to the fact that these devilish doc
trines are driving intelligent people
away from God, from the Bible, and
from the churches.
Two Escape From He'll.
The Bible tells Of several who were
released from Sheol, but of two the
very word Is used. The Prophet Jonah,
swallowed by the great fish, was in its
belly parts of three days. He calls it
his tomb-belly, a sheol-belly. While
there entombed, he cried unto the Lord
In prayer, and the Lord delivered him
Jesus tells us that Jonah's experiences
typiied Hfs own-that as Jonah was
buried in the sheol-belly of the fish,
Jesus would be buried In the Sheol of
earth. AS Jonah came forth on the
third day, so Jesus came forth. st.
Peter points out that this was prophe-
sled of Jesus, saying, "Thou wilt not
leave My soul in ESheol, orl Hades"--
the tomb. He says that God fulfilled
this by raising Jesus from the dead
Acts 2:27.
Whoever gets the proper focus will
see that all, good and bad, go down to
the tomb--to Sheol, Hades, called in
our Bibles He'll. The Scriptures very
distinctly tell us that "the dead know
not anything; that their sons come
to honor. and they know it not; and to
dishonor, and they perceive it not Of
them" Why? Because, as again the
Scriptures say. There is neither wis
dom, nor knowledge. nor device, in She
oil, whittier thou goest"-whither all go.
This exactly aecords with the Divine
statement, THE wages of sin is
death '"The soul that sinneth, 1t shall
die" There is not a word in the Bible
for the commonly accepted thought
that those VINO die go TO Heaven or
Purgatory or eternal torment. All
these teachings are found in the vari-
GUS creeds; the Bible alone tells the
simple story, reasonable, harmonious.
Gehenna Fire-Second Death.
1t is true that Jesus used the word
Gehenna ire, and that our translators
mixed up the English reader by trans
lating this word Hell, the same as
Hades. But as all scholars will admit,
Jesus used the word fire here SYM
Dolically, just as We use it, to represent
destruction. Thus our newspapers tell
about the great conhagration In Europe
mot literal fire. but war, causing great
destruction.
So Jesus pointed out that. although
He had come to save men from death.
and eventually by resurrection to lift
up all who had gone down to Hades.
nevertheless the relief would be only
temporary, except to those who would
conform to Divine Law. All others
under that Second Trial would be con
demned as unworthy of everlasting
life and would die again This Second
Death would be everlasting. because
Christ would not die again for those
who would sin wilfully after being re-
leased from the first sentence
Pointing to the valley outside of
Jerusalem. used as a garbage furnace
and called In the Greek Gehenna, and
In Hebrew Valley of Hinnom and also
Tophet. Jesus declared that it illustrat
ed the fate of all wilful sinners. Dead
cats and dogs, etc, were thrown into
the Valley of Hinnom, Gehenna, where
nres We're kept burning, and where
primstone was burned to kill the germs.
1t Is said that criminals of the worst
type. after execution. were thrown into
that valley, as intimating that they
would not share In the resurrection.