Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 February 1914 — “BEHOLD. I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW" [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

“BEHOLD. I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW"

Fallen Race illdP to Bn Mate-Haw Dy QMg. Man's Original Perfection—The Reign of Sin and Death—A Sad Spectacle. Thousands of Millions Dead —Hundreds of Millions Dying Weak In Body, Weak Mentally, Morally, Physically—Human Power Has Failed to Arrest the Malady—Man’s Only Hope Is In God—Messish God’s Appointed Agent—To Redeem, to Regenerate, to Make New—Soon He Wilt Deliver the Whole Creation—Nothing Bhall Hinder —Blessings Will Be OutpgurgtL

Washington, D. C., Feb. I.—Pastor Russell preached today in the Temple. His text was, “Behol^, ( l make all things new.”— Revelation 21:5. The Pastor showed that the Bible Intimates that the seven days of the week are typical of seven great Days,

each a thousand years long. At the beginning of man’s Week he was perfect, as represented in Adam; but disobedience to his Creator brought upon him the curse, “Dying, thou shait die.” Under that curse our race has gone down steadily to the tomb—the Bible Hell Sfieol, Hades.

Next tlie Pastor showed how Ineffectually man has struggled against this curse of death. Today, he said, our race Is assailed by more ailments, mental, moral aud physical, than ever before known. Onr jails, penitentiaries, asylums, hospitals, ail bear testimony to this fact, be claimed. Even toe morals of the world be believes to be apparently at as low a state as coulfi well be Imagined, after all our preaching. and manufacture of hobgoblins, devils and bells, to frighten humanity Into church, religion and morality. Then the Pastor asked whether it is not time to acknowledge onr failure and to cry to God for help ere we perish as a race. Not only have we not converted the heathen world, but' we find the civilized world retrograding. Statistics show that crimes Increase amongst the heathen despite the preaching of eternal torture.

Man’s Extremity Is God’s Opportunity. The Pastor next outlined God’s great Plan of Salvation through the Redeemer, who died, “the Just for the unjust,’’ to open the way for man’s return to God’s favor. Daring the Gospel Age the Savior has been gathering out an elect Church to be His associates in a coming Kingdom, In which He with His Church will reign for a thousand years. Daring that period Satan will be bound, to deceive the people no more; and the Redeemer will put down sin in Its every form. The Savior’s work at the First Ad-vent-healing the sick and the blind, casting out demons and awakening the sleeping dead—the Pastor showed was a foreshadow merely of the greater work which Jesus and His glorified Church will accomplish during the great-antitypical Sabbath. These. As the antitypical Seed of Abraham, will fulfil God’s Promise to Abraham. Christendom’s Great Mistake, The Pastor believes that the creeds of the Dark Ages are gross misrepresentations of God’s character. Many

have takeu these misrepresentations too literally As a result, some have gone to insane a*y|i»i|s; others have turned to pleasure and,sin JQ their endeavor to forget Cod; and still others have been made unhappy as they thought of kind, good neighbors and friends who; made no profession of Christianity

The speaker then showed that Christendom’s great mistake was that of disregarding. Cod’s Word aud believiug .Satan’s lie. as the heathen do Cod declared that the wages of sin wonld be death- absence of life. Satan contradicted this and falsified to Mother Eve, assuring her that there would be no death penalty. When death came, Satan and bis fallen angels perpetuated the lie by telling us that when onr friends appear to die they really become more alive than ever. In accepting their testimony we have done what St Paol cautioned against Evil spirits, be claimed, have seduced Christendom by giving feigned com municatipns between the dead and the living. As Satan and his demon host have full knowledge of human affairs, they can easily personate the dead, and through mediums, witches, plancbettes.. visions and dreams, represent the dead as still alive. The Pastor then drew a picture of the coming Messianic Kingdom. He declared that as the gross darkness flees before the dawning light of the New Dispensation we see more clearly where our mistake was. Bible students the world over are studying afresh the Word of God in its own light. Now they perceive that the resurrection hope Is based npoD the fact that Christ died for all Bible students* now see that the world’s blessing will be a resurrection to human perfection—a lifting up. not only from the sleep of the tomb, but also from all the weaknesses and imperfections of the flesh, back to ths full image of perfection lost in Eden, redeemed at Calvary. Tbns onr great Redeemer will make all things new.