Part 24 (1/2)

[Footnote 15: For further consideration of this subject read the book ”Modern Spiritualism Exposed,” by the publishers of this work.]

Millions of church-members and thousands of preachers are numbered among these antichristian organizations of Freemasonry, Christian Science, Spiritualism, etc., etc., gathered together under the influence of the spirits of devils working miracles, mighty signs, and wonders. On the other hand, the churches are filled with persons who in spirit are nothing but skeptics and infidels. Said T. De Witt Talmage on one occasion, ”There is a mighty host in the Christian church, positively professing Christianity, who _do not believe the Bible_, out and out, in and in, from the first word of the first verse of the first chapter of the Book of Genesis, down to the last word of the last verse of the last chapter of the Book of Revelation.” Is it any wonder that such is the case when a large number of the preachers themselves are in reality skeptics? A newspaper clipping before me contains the following, uttered on March 28, 1905, by the Rev. B.A. Green, pastor of the First Baptist Church, of Evanstown, Ill., before about a hundred of his fellow ministers: ”All the truth in the world is not contained in one book, nor in books of theology, G.o.d was too big for one temple and he is also too big for one book. G.o.d is everywhere. His truth is found in all good books. The pastor of to-day should read the modern psychology and modern literature, _especially the works of fiction_ which deal with religious or social phases of modern life.” A large portion of the sectarian ministry reject entirely the Mosaic account of the creation, and accept instead the modern theory of evolution.

The following quotation is from the Rev. Minton J. Savage, pastor of the Church of the Messiah, New York, N.Y., who is an acknowledged leader in the ”higher criticism.” This was in answer to an attack made on the higher critics by a convention of the American Bible League. ”The men who are leading in the higher criticism of the Bible and who are now being a.s.sailed so bitterly by the American Bible League, are representative scholars of the world, scientific thinkers, leaders, teachers, who have given us a new universe, a new conception of G.o.d, a new idea concerning the origin and nature of man. They are not seeking to support or to undermine anything. They are seeking for the truth as the only sacred thing on earth.

”I would like to consider what this book is about over which all this controversy is raging. It is really not one book, but sixty-six small volumes. They were written during a period of nearly a thousand years, in different countries, by different people. The first book was written about eight hundred years before Christ. The first five books of the Bible were written between five and six hundred years before Christ. The historical books tell us about the day of Judges, then of Kings, the wars of Israel, until the time of captivity. Then the book of Job, purely anonymous, and no one knows who wrote it. Then the book of the Psalms, the hymn-book of the people of Israel, and the books of the prophets. It would be more proper to call them preachers, for they make no effort to foretell anything, but merely told the people that if they followed certain lines of conduct certain things would happen.

”No book was placed in the Bible by anything that claimed to be divine authority. No law concerning the Biblical canon was ever issued by the church earlier than the sixteenth century and that changed nothing; it simply recognized what had come to be a fact. These books drifted together and came to be bound as one, by force of gravity, by common consent, and there are one or two books in the New Testament which scholars could miss without feeling any the poorer.

”n.o.body, then, is a.s.saulting the Bible, for the simple reason that the Bible as such has never made any claim. The Bible does not claim to be inspired; it does not claim to be infallible. No writer of one book is authorized to speak for the author of any other book. One verse is sometimes referred to as meaning something. The writer of the last book in the Bible utters a curse against anybody who should presume to add to or take from the words of that book. He does not say that the book is infallible; he simple curses anybody that interferes with it, as Shakespeare uttered a curse against anybody who interfered with his bones. I suppose that G.o.d might have given us an infallible book, if he had chosen, and if he had given us such a book he would have made us sure that it was infallible.”

”If I were compelled to believe that G.o.d holds me responsible for Adam's sin and that the immense majority of the world is doomed to everlasting torment, and that only a selected few here and there are to enter eternal felicity, I might bow my head and accept it, but I could not rejoice in it. It is barbarous. Men who try to make us accept such dogmas are the real infidels of the world, and it is infidelity which they are creating--infidelity a hundred times worse than that which they call by the name. If you would blot out every Bible in the world to-day you would not even endanger its life, nor would you destroy religion.”

From _The Toledo News-Bee_, May 14, 1904.

All these allied powers of wickedness in conflict with the few of G.o.d's saints who serve him acceptably, const.i.tute the battle of Armageddon--that battle of the last great day. It is not a literal collecting of armies nor a literal conflict, but a fierce battle between truth and error. The outward indications are that the enemies of G.o.d will triumph; but let us remember that it is destined to ”end in the victory of Him unto whom triumph belongs.” Fire will come down from G.o.d out of heaven and devour them. This symbol is doubtless taken from the circ.u.mstance of Elijah where he commanded fire to come down and destroy his enemies; and it will be as with such an overthrow that the powers of wickedness shall meet their doom in that last great day of G.o.d Almighty.

11. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

12. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before G.o.d; and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

13. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and h.e.l.l delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

14. And death and h.e.l.l were cast, into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

This series of events, as far as it pertains to the doom of evil men, ends properly with verse 10, where the combined powers of wickedness are represented as being cast into the lake of fire. This last event, however, is in the present scene more fully described. It is fitting that the judgment scene should be more fully described; for with this chapter we have the last special history of the powers of evil given.

Many times we have been led up to the time of the final overthrow of all the powers of wickedness, but the manner in which that great event occurs has not been perfectly detailed.

Here we have another ill.u.s.tration of that principle of symbolic language laid down in the beginning--that objects and events whose nature forbids their symbolization appear under their own names or t.i.tles and their description must of necessity be literal. The appearance of the great G.o.d must be considered an actual event; for, as clearly shown, he can not be symbolized, neither can he appear as the symbol of some other object, from the fact that there is no other object of a.n.a.lagous nature of which he could stand as the representative. The resurrection of itself is an event of such a peculiar nature as to forbid its symbolization. What is there a.n.a.lagous to it which could here be employed? There are, perhaps, a.n.a.lagous changes in the vegetable and animal kingdoms; but symbols drawn from that quarter would indicate some political change instead. Paul may, indeed, speak of the decay and the growth of seeds to _ill.u.s.trate_ the resurrection; but the decay of a seed does not _symbolize_ the death of a saint, neither does its germination _symbolize_ his resurrection. Nor is there any change that can do it. There is the same necessity of speaking of the resurrection in its literal meaning as there was of representing the spirits of the martyrs under their own appropriate t.i.tles.

The earth and the heaven fleeing away from before G.o.d's presence so that no place is found for them, must be understood as describing the literal dissolution of this world when Christ comes; for it is clear from the Scriptures that such an event will occur at that time. Peter says that ”the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which _the heavens shall pa.s.s away_ with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, _the earth also_ and the works that are therein _shall be burned up_.” 2 Pet. 3:10. Nothing can be found to symbolize perfectly such a mighty event; hence it appears as a literal description of the final catastrophe of this old world.

It is evident that there are symbols connected with this appearance of G.o.d, as truly as there were symbols connected with Christ in his appearance in chap. 19. The _throne_ is a symbol of judgment and of supreme sovereignty, its dazzling whiteness indicating the impartiality and justice of the proceedings. The _books_, likewise, are symbols. We are not to suppose that there are literal books in heaven, in which Christ or some angelic secretary notes down all the affairs of earth.

The language and the symbols of Scripture are accommodated to the human understanding, hence books are used as a symbol to denote that the character and the actions of men are all as perfectly known and remembered as if they had been recorded in the archives of heaven. The _book of life_, in which the names of the faithful are often said to be inscribed, denotes that G.o.d knows all his chosen people. In the following chapter it is called the Lamb's book of life.

This scene, then, as a whole, is a sublime description of the resurrection and the final judgment of all men and the dissolution of the earth on which we now live. That the righteous will be judged at this time is shown by the fact that the book of life, in which the names of the righteous only are recorded (Chap. 21:27; Exod. 32:33), will also be opened; and verse fifteen implies that the names of some during this judgment scene were found recorded in that book. The wicked receive their eternal portion by being cast into the lake of fire; while the reward of the righteous is described in the remaining part of this series, contained in the two following chapters.

CHAPTER XXI.

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were pa.s.sed away; and there was no more sea.

2. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from G.o.d out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of G.o.d is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and G.o.d himself shall be with them, and be their G.o.d.

4. And G.o.d shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are pa.s.sed away.