Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 February 1914 — DIVINE JUDGMENTS ARE ALL BLESSINGS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

DIVINE JUDGMENTS ARE ALL BLESSINGS

God’s Gracious Provisions For tiie World of Mankind.

Eternal • Torment Wholly Foreign to the Divine Character—God’s Judgments Are “Righteous Altogether Death the Divine Judgment Against the Race of Adam—God’s Special Judgments—The World’s Judgment During the Millennium —Healing and Uplifting From Sin and Death—Destruction to Wilfully Rebellious.

Feb. 22.—Pastor Russell’s text for today was: “When Thy judgments are abroad in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn- righteousness.”—lsaiah 2C:9. In beginning, the Pastor stated that only those who reach an addegree of

knowledge of God’s Word can realize that Divine judgments are all good. Under the influence of superstition, not understanding the Scriptures ariglu. supposing that they teach eternal torment ’for the majority of the race, we feared God rather than loved Him. We dared not say that such a judgment on God’s part was wrong, malicious. devilish: yet we were unable to see it in any other light. Many intelligent minds dislike to think about God and His supposedly terrible purposes respecting humanity—all the result of a misunderstanding of the Bible. ,

The Pastor demonstrated that the tormfent doctrines of the Dark Ages arsuwholly out Of accord with the Dicharacter, which is distinctly marked by Wisdom, Justice. Mercy and Love toward all. He showed that instead of a judgment of eternal torment against the race, the penalty for sin is death; that the verdict, or judgment, is righteous; that God had a perfect right to destroy in death the creature who refused to render the obedience which he was able to give, being perfect Another part of the Divine Judgment against humanity is that the death process is gradual. Thus the race is the better enabled to learn the lesson of the “exceeding sinfulness of sin,’’ to the intent that, when granted the new trial secured by the merit of Christ’s sacrifice, mankind may profit by it the more. 1 - The Pastor further explained that all the race will have opportunity of coming to a full knowledge of the Truth during the Millennial Reign of Christ, which is God’s provision for the world in general. What Gods did for Natural Israel during the Jewish Age and for Spiritual Israel during this Gospel Age are matters apart from His dealings with mankind. From these two Israels overcomes have been chosen, or elected. The overcomers; of Spiritual Israel will constitute the Kingdom class in the highest sense. The overcomers of Natural Israel will constitute the Kingdom’s earthly phase. Mankind will see these, but not the glorified ChristHead and Body, the King of Glory. God Will Judge Hie People. The world, the Pastor declared, has been under one general sentence of Divine Justice, “Dying, thou Shalt die." But Natural and Spiritual Israel have been dealt with as freed from the original sentence and on trial afresh for life or death under God’s judgments, or disciplines. Not all under these have understood them—not ail were in condition of heart to receive them. During,the Jewish Age. Israel often lapsed into more or less darkness and idolatry, and failed to see their special privileges and relationship to God under their Covenant. A few, however, * discerned with the'eye of faith the righteousness of God’s dealings. Among these were the. Prophets, who declared that the Divine judgments were merciful in the extreme. Similarly during this Gospel Age Christendom as a whole has not been able to appreciate Divine judgments. But some have been “Israelites indeed, ’’ who have been able to rejoice in His judgments, and by faith to realize God’s love for them. Then the Paßtor quoted numerous Scriptures showing that during the next Age God’s judgments will be abroad in the earth, and will include every member of Adam’s race. These will be administered by The Christ, of which our glorified Lord is the Head, and the Church the Body, when glorified also. These judgments will not/mean havoc and dismay, but relief and assistance to all who come into line with the righteous arrangements of the Kingdom. The judgments of that thousand-year Day will be severe. The wilfully wicked will be destroyed, but not until they shall have been brought to a clear appreciation (pf good and evil and their rewards, life and death. Pastor declared that there will be no failure respecting God's Oathbound Covenant made with Abraham—“ln thy Seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” The bgsis of blessing will be Christ's redemptive work, finished at Calvary. The outworking of that blessing will come through the glorified Lord and {he Church. The first work will be the establishment of a righteous Government, in which Justice will be Inid to the line and righteousness to the plan* ■met.