[NS115]

Lynn, Mass., Jan. 8 – Pastor C. T. Russell of Allegheny addressed a large audience here today on "To Hell and Back – Who Are There."

He prefaced his discourse with the remark that the topic might seem sensational, but it would be found to be otherwise – that many might think he intended to speculate beyond what is written in the Scriptures, but they would find themselves mistaken, as he would confine himself strictly to the Word of God. His discourse follows: "The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple." Psa. 19:7

Let us give heed to our text, dear friends, and realize that of ourselves we know nothing about the future, and that no other human beings know any more about the subject than we do. From God alone can come the information which we seek respecting the dead. Let us realize this fact and give the more earnest heed to the testimony of the Scriptures, which, as our text declares, are able to make wise the simple – the honest, the sincere, the unprejudiced, the unsophisticated. Heathendom has its own peculiar hells and purgatories, but none of them more revolting, more horrible, than those presented to our attention by the various denominations of Christendom. Quite evidently all these various conceptions came from one common origin, and our view of the matter, dear friends, is that Satan himself was the author of this terrible doctrine, which has made millions unhappy, and sent thousands to insane asylums. "Yes, but," perhaps you will say, "if loyal to the Bible we must believe in hell!" In which theory of hell must we believe, dear friends? Which is the scriptural theory respecting hell?

Our Catholic friends, Greek and Roman, outnumber Protestants more than two to one. These divide Inferno into two parts, the easier and milder of which is called purgatory. Catholic doctors of divinity have given us detailed accounts of the terrors of purgatory too awful for me to attempt to describe. Many of you are familiar with Dante's Inferno, illustrated by that great artist, Dore. It represents poor humanity in the future enduring various torments for hundreds and sometimes thousands of years, and the mercy that it holds forth is that, by virtue of masses and prayers and fastings of many friends, the period of this torture may be somewhat lessened. The Pope, you know, on his jubilee year is accustomed to release many from purgatory, presumably in part to make room for others hastening hither from all parts of the world at the rate of 85 per minute. Our Catholic friends assure us that all go to purgatory except a few, called saints – who go direct to heaven and after several centuries are canonized and afterward prayed to by Catholics – and heretics, for whom there is something worse than purgatory prepared. They tell us that even Popes and Archbishops and Bishops go to purgatory, and need to remain there for a while at least to be prepared for the heavenly conditions. Perhaps you noticed recently an account of the death of Archbishop Elder of Cincinnati, 0., and his recorded last words, which I quote: "Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now at the hour of death! Amen!" The Archbishop had no thought that he was freed from sins and no longer a sinner, but a saint; and his co-religionists evidently had no doubt of the king either, for you notice from the papers also that masses were said on his behalf – for the peace of his troubled soul, supposed at the time to be in anguish in purgatory in preparation for heaven. Doubtless many of you noticed also on the occasion of the death of Pope Leo XIII, similarly prayers were said for the peace and rest and comfort and ultimate liberation of his soul from purgatory. There would be no object in saying masses for those believed to be in heaven – such would be beyond the need of masses. Masses are said for sinners, for their release from sins and the penalty of sins, according to the doctrines of the Catholic Church.

The Protestant view of the subject we hold to be less reasonable than that of Catholics. Theoretically they take the same position respecting the unfitness of mankind for heaven and admit that the heavenly promises belong only to those who walk in the narrow way – not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. They admit that the great mass of Protestants are not saints, either, but to their shame be it said they have a theory respecting hell which not only makes it as awful as the human mind can imagine, but it affirms that there is no hope of recovery for any who enter it. We ask ourselves, "Do Protestants mean this? Do they believe it?" Admitting that few are in that condition of holiness and purity of heart which would fit them for the divine presence and favor, do they believe that all the remainder, their neighbors, friends, brethren, sisters, parents, [NS116] children, are passing rapidly into an eternity of torture beyond the power of tongue to describe? We answer that they do not believe it; that their actions speak louder than their words. Protestants assume great liberty in dealing with the subject, of which they admit they have no personal knowledge. One will tell us that he does not believe in the literal flames and literal roasting by literal devils with literal pitchforks in literal ovens, but believes that it will be a gnawing of conscience, some place, somewhere, he knows not where; somehow, he knows not how; but he is as sure as he lives that it is all going to take place just as he has pictured it in his imagination. He feels himself infallible on this subject. Another tells us that he thinks there will be some fire and some gnawing of conscience, but he does not know where or how. Another tells us that he believes there will be no fire, that the punishment of the wicked will be their compulsory association with each other, and that they will get so satiated with their own company and sinful course that they will loathe their existence, but must continue it under these conditions to all eternity. Where? How? He knows not. He believes himself infallible on this particular point, though not so in his earthly affairs, his financial ventures, matrimonial engagements, etc – just on this one point he is infallible.

We ask these various infallible wise men why any such horrible conditions should be continued everlastingly? In what sense would God be glorified by the perpetuation of such conditions? In what way would He take pleasure in the pain or suffering of His creatures, however wicked? The answer of Jonathan Edwards to this question was that God's people would be so changed after death that they could look over the battlements of heaven and see their own parents, or children, or brothers, or neighbors in the most awful torture and turn around and praise God the louder. But few in our day would give this answer to the question. They prefer to avoid it; they realize that they have no reasonable answer. We ask them another question – If mankind, under present conditions tend to die without such awful torture as you describe for the future, would they not die much more quickly under those tortures? Is it not the tendency of all suffering to destroy? Would it not then be more reasonable to expect that at sometime in the future these tortures which they describe would terminate in some natural way – lead to the destruction of the individual, of the mind, of the body, of every power? "Oh, but," they answer, "God will preserve them in being; He will supply them life. Only by His power can they be made to endure such suffering at all, and He will see to the perpetuation of the life so they may suffer on and on and on eternally.

If that be true, dear friends, if these teachers be infallible, the race might well be sorry that the Almighty has so much power, or that, having the power, He did not use it in some better cause. We return to the questions and ask, what evil could any human being commit in the brief span of an hour, or a day, or a month, or a year, or a century that would justly merit an eternity of torture such as this you describe? The reply is that our entire race was born under the curse, under condemnation, and that now God has provided a Savior, and only those who will accept Him can be saved – saved from hell, saved from eternal torment.

They tell us that this sentence or curse of our race to hell came upon us as a penalty for Father Adam's disobedience in Eden in the eating of the forbidden fruit, and that only those who accept of Christ can be saved from this terrible doom. But we reply that surely such a penalty would be unjust. To suppose that God would pronounce a curse of eternal torment upon 20,000,000,000 of Adam's race because of his disobedience in eating an apple is to accuse the Almighty of the grossest injustice, not to say lovelessness. Dear friends, surely these teachings are not from the word of God. Surely God is not the author of these terrible hallucinations which have been upon our race for now centuries. They have come down to us from the Dark Ages; practically all the creeds of Christendom were formulated in the Dark Ages or immediately after them. None of them will stand the light of present-day enlightenment and reason – none of them will stand the light of scriptural investigation. If the Scriptures tell of these various things, why do not these Doctors of Divinity point us to the chapter and verse and give us the particulars in detail? and why are they not of one mind? Why have they such diversity of views on a subject, which, from their statement is the most awful and most important possible to be thought of? It is all a huge mistake, dear friends, as we hope to show you when investigating.

In the Old Testament Scriptures of our common English version the word hell occurs 31 times, but the original Hebrew word of which hell is the translation occurs many more times – 66 times in all. Why did not the translators give us the full benefit of all these occurrences of the word sheol in the Hebrew text? Were they anxious to cover up this question of hell so that they might translate the word otherwise as often as possible? No, there was another reason; and when we point out that other reason it will make clear to every one of us, I trust, that the 31 times that the word hell occurs in the Old Testament are all erroneous: that the word hell [NS117] should not have been in the Old Testament at all – at least it should not be there with the meaning which is ordinarily attached to the word. Sheol in our common version Bibles is 31 times translated hell, 31 times translated grave, and three times translated pit, and it should have been translated tomb or hidden state in every instance. I would not be understood as charging the translators with a deliberate attempt to blindfold people, and hence will mention an extenuating fact, namely, that since the translation the English language has experienced considerable change in respect to this word hell as well as in other respects.

In old English literature we find the word hell used in speaking of thatching a house or pitting potatoes for winter use. To hell a house means to cover it, to hell potatoes means to cover or hide them from the light, frost, etc. If the word hell were still used in this sense there would be no need of this discourse, but the gradual change of the word signifying to cover, to secrete, to bury, to entomb, to mean a place for torturing humanity, makes necessary that we expose the error and thereby free our minds from the bondage of superstition which for centuries has beclouded the divine character and hindered us from having the proper appreciation of our Creator. The word sheol, as every Hebrew scholar knows and will admit, signifies the dark, the hidden, the state of death. It has not in it the remotest suggestion of fire, or flames, or pitchforks, or devils, or torture, or anguish. Let us see this from the Scriptures themselves. The first occurrence of sheol in the Scriptures is in Gen. 37:25, where it has been translated grave. Here Jacob is represented as mourning for his son, Joseph, supposed to have been killed by the wild beasts.

He is represented as saying, I will go down into sheol mourning for my son. He meant that nothing would comfort him as long as he should live, that he would mourn for his son until his last breath. The second occurrence of the word sheol is in Gen. 42:38.

Jacob again is the speaker. He refers to his favorite son, Benjamin, and tells his other sons if they return from their journey and bring not Benjamin with them they will surely bring his gray hairs down in sorrow to sheol – to the grave, to the tomb, to death. Has anyone any doubt as to the propriety of this translation, grave? Does any sane person think that the translators should have rendered the word sheol here by our common word, hell? Surely not! Jacob had no desire, we may be sure, to go to a place of eternal torment, and made no suggestion of the kind, nor was there any such thought ever before his mind. The devil had not yet formulated this terrible God-dishonoring doctrine.

We have all heard of the troubles of Job, and in the Scripture narrative respecting him we are told of Job's prayer to the Lord in these words, "Oh, that Thou wouldst hide me in sheol until Thy wrath be overpast! Then shalt Thou call and I will answer Thee."

Who thinks for moment that Job was praying to go to eternal torment? No sane person so thinks. The translators were evidently correct again in rendering sheol by our English word grave. Job realized that himself and all the world of mankind at the present time are living under the divine curse or wrath justly imposed upon our race – not a wrath of the future, which will torment the masses of mankind, but a wrath which is on the world now, which is permitting us to go down under the sentence of death through various troubles, pain, sorrow, sicknesses, weaknesses, into sheol. Job felt that if it were the Lord's will he would be glad to die speedily, as the burdens of the present life were more than he felt himself equal to bear. However, he had no desire to remain forever in the grave. On the contrary, he had information respecting the divine plan which gave him the understanding that in due time the Lord would deliver the world from this curse, the sentence of death, from the tomb and from all the weaknesses which have come upon our race through the original death sentence. It is to this resurrection hope that Job referred, saying, "Thou wilt call and I will answer thee."

His words remind us of the teachings of the Lord Jesus, who said, "Marvel not, the hour is coming when all that are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of man and shall come forth."

This was Job's hope, this was the meaning of his prayer, "Oh, that thou wouldst hide me in the grave until thy wrath be overpast. Then thou wilt call and I will answer thee."

He will share in the general blessings of the Millennial age, when, in harmony with the divine plan, Christ our Lord, who has redeemed the whole world with His precious blood, with the sacrifice of Himself, shall be King over all the earth, to lift up and to assist every creature back from the weaknesses and imperfections of this dying condition to the perfections and glories of Eden, lost and redeemed and to be restored to so many as will come back into harmony with God, in God's due time. King David under the smiting hand of the Lord was sore distressed and fearful that his death was near. Mark his prayer: "0 save me for Thy mercies' sake. For in death there is no remembrance of Thee; in the grave (sheol) who shall give Thee thanks?" Evidently David was expecting to go to the grave, but desired that his life might be prolonged for a time and promised that the result would be to the Lord's praise. His argument [NS118] is plain – that if he went to the grave he could neither praise God nor serve Him. There is no suggestion in his words of an eternity of torture or that he thought of going there. The wise man gave advice, a portion of which is frequently quoted, the remainder being neglected because its wisdom has not been discerned, having been beclouded by the smoke of the Dark Ages. He says: "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is neither work nor device nor wisdom in the grave (sheol) where thou goest." (Eccl. 9:10)

Solomon refers to the death state into which all have gone, both good and bad.

The godly King of Judah, Hezekiah, was sick unto death and expected to die, but he prayed to the Lord for a prolongation of his life and his prayer was answered, his life being miraculously extended for 15 years. In his account of the matter he says: "I said in the cutting off of my days I shall go down to the gates of the grave (sheol). I am deprived of the residue of my years... But Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption, for Thou has cast all my sins behind Thy back. For the grave (sheol) cannot praise Thee, death cannot celebrate Thee." Isa. 38:10-17-18

Note Hosea's use of the word sheol in the familiar text, "I will ransom them from the power of the grave (sheol) – I will redeem them from death. O death, I will be thy plague (subduing); O grave (sheol), I will be thy destruction." Hos. 13:14 From this last testimony, dear friends, we have the assurance that whatever is meant by the word sheol – whether it means, as we claim, the death state, or whether it means, as others claim, a place of eternal torment – it is to be destroyed, "0 sheol, I will be thy destruction."

Let us follow this quotation from the Old Testament to the New Testament, where the Apostle Paul quotes it in 1 Cor. 15:54, 55. He is discussing the resurrection of the dead, and declares, "As all in Adam die even so all in Christ shall be made alive, every man in his own order."

He describes the first resurrection as being that of the church, blessed and holy, and shows that all others shall have opportunity for coming completely out of present imperfections, up, up, up, to full release from sin and death if they will, "every man in his own order."

But he proceeds to show that this general release of the world from death will be during the Millennial age – after the close of this gospel age, after the resurrection of the church, the first resurrection the chief resurrection. His words are:

"When this corruption shall have put on in-corruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality (when the entire church of the first-born shall be completed) then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" The word grave in this last quotation is hades, the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word sheol. The Apostle here translated the world sheol into Greek in which the New Testament is written. Can we have any clearer evidence, dear friends, that sheol of the Old Testament and hades of the New Testament alike signify the death condition? and God's proposition is that He will destroy sheol, destroy hades, liberating mankind therefrom as prisoners from a pit or prison house. Note another use of the word sheol in the Old Testament, quoted in the New: King David, speaking prophetically of Christ says, "Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (sheol, the death state), neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption." (Psa. 16:10)

The Apostle Peter quotes this (Acts 2:27), translating the Hebrew word sheol into the Greek word hades. He explains the meaning of both words as referring to the resurrection of our Lord Jesus from the state of death on the third day.

We see that Justice condemned our race to death – to the tomb – to destruction. We see that our Lord Jesus died for the deliverance of mankind from destruction. In view of this redemption death is not spoken of in the Scriptures as annihilation, but is frequently called a sleep, and the thought is given that a general awakening shall take place in the morning of the next age, the Millennium. Under another figure this death state, the tomb, sheol, hades, is described as a great prison-house, in which all who die are figuratively represented as prisoners, bound hand and foot, unable to release themselves. Our Lord Jesus, by His death, is declared in the Scriptures to have secured the key of this prison-house – the authority, the control of all the prisoners, to do with them as He may please. Our Lord referred to this prison when He quoted the words of the Prophet Isaiah and applied them to Himself, declaring that He would open the prison doors and set at liberty the captives. (Isa. 61:11; Luke 4:18)

Our Lord made no attempt to open earthly prisons. At the very time he used these words John the Baptist was languishing in prison, and our Lord made no effort to deliver him. His work is a greater one – the deliverance of all that are in the grave. This work He declares He [NS119] will accomplish at His second coming. His words are, "The hour is coming when all that are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of man and shall come forth." (John 5:28,29, R.V.) The saints, the holy, will come forth to glorious perfection in what is known as the first or chief resurrection; the remainder of mankind will come forth to enjoy the blessed privileges and opportunities of the Millennial age, in which the judgments of the Lord will be abroad in the earth, causing the inhabitants to learn righteousness. After our Lord's resurrection and ascension He sent a message to His people in which He declared: "I am He that was dead, and, behold, I am alive forevermore and have the keys of death and hades (grave)."

This is in keeping with the entire scriptural proposition that the dead are not in bliss, neither in torment, but dead, and needing an awakening by resurrection promised by the Redeemer. Thus seen, your friends and relatives and neighbors, as well as mine – the world in general – have been going down to hell, into death, into the tomb, for the past 6,000 years. If we follow the guidance of the inspired word we know just where they are, and hear the divine message saying, "The dead know not anything."

More than this, we hear the same word declaring that all in the grave shall come forth – as Job expressed it: "Thou shalt call and I will answer thee; thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands." Job 14:15 Thus the Lord's word assures us of the deliverance of all from the Adamic death penalty, because Jesus Christ by the grace of God tasted death for every man – to be testified in due time.

While we do find in the Scriptures a universal redemption from the universal curse or death sentence, we also find that those released from the Adamic sentence will all be required to stand trial, each on his own account. No longer will the race lie under Adamic condemnation. The individual trial which will come to each will be decisive. Those who will obey the voice of that great Teacher shall live – everlastingly – under blessed conditions. Those who will neglect or refuse to avail themselves of the great privileges thus secured to them through Christ will die the second death – be annihilated, be utterly destroyed without hope, for Christ dieth no more. One redemption and one full opportunity based upon it is all that God's word proposes. It is sufficient. Any who will not choose righteousness and hate iniquity under the favorable conditions which the Lord proposes for their trial will surely be unworthy of the gift of God, eternal life. Those who have the ears and eyes of faith, and are blessed with ability to grasp the evidences of Divine favor in Christ at the present time, are specially blessed. He that hath an ear let him hear; let him not wait for the blessings of the future. We who now hear and obey may make our calling and election sure to a part in the heavenly kingdom to glory, honor and immortality as spirit beings, joint-heirs with our Redeemer. The blessing for the world is to reach it during the millennial age, through the agency of the "little flock," the "saints," whom God is selecting during this gospel age.

The general blessings of the world will be very great, indeed, but not comparable to those provided for the "elect." I urge that so many of us as have the ear and eye of faith lay aside every weight and run with patience in the race, that we may make our calling and election sure to the great blessings placed within our reach.

Pastor C. T. Russell addressed his home congregation yesterday in Bible House Chapel, Allegheny, at 3 p. m., on "Soul Hunger, and How to Satisfy It."

His text was Matt. 5:6, "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled."

He said: The human heart has its hungers and appetites as well as the human body; and as the latter's cravings are various, so are the cravings of the former. These appetites or cravings, mental or physical, are either natural or depraved, and should be dealt with accordingly. If we imagine the perfect man we must picture in him such physical cravings or appetites as would be reasonable and proper – such as would require neither undue cultivation nor undue restraint. But, alas, we are aware that the race is so fallen from perfection that, as the Scriptures declare, the whole course of nature is deranged so that with the majority health can only be [NS120] preserved by giving careful attention to diet, using the experiences of others as a guide and assistance to judgment, whose decree must be enforced by the will power. So also the various appetites of the heart, the mind, the soul, in our fallen condition, require regulation through knowledge applied and enforced by the will; otherwise our soul hunger is sure to lead to distress rather than to the pleasure we anticipate and desire. This soul hunger is not confined to any particular class; it is common to the entire human family. Some of its appetites are,

(1) craving for sympathy and fellowship;

(2) craving for ease and comfort;

(3) craving for name and fame, for "honor amongst men," whether on a high or a low plane;

(4) craving for pleasure. Each individual has his special preference, choice or appetite, his special craving, but more or less all have a measure of all these cravings, just as our physical appetites call for meats, vegetables, etc., some having special preference for one kind of diet more than for another.

We may assume that, as usual, the holiday season witnessed considerable transgression by many of the dietary proprieties. As a result some have had unfavorable experiences physically – loss of appetite and sickness. They have lost their appreciation of some of the appetizing temptations of the season, temporarily, at least; a revulsion of feeling followed the temptation and gratification of depraved cravings. Similarly, crises are sometimes brought about in respect to our soul hungerings, because we have fed them improperly, producing discomfort and disappointment instead of the hoped-for pleasure. For instance, the man or woman whose heart has specially yearned for pleasure and who has sought to satisfy it through the ordinary channels of the world, finds but disappointment, finds that the only pleasure enjoyed was in the pursuit of pleasure, and that in proportion as anything was grasped the pleasure died.

Another, whose special craving had been for honor amongst men, or for name and fame, finds that in proportion as he attains his object he grasps a bubble. He who hungered for ease and for comfort found that, in proportion as he attained these, they were not what he really sought – that physical ease and comfort are not usually accompanied by mental ease and heart rest. He or she who craves sympathy and fellowship, after sacrificing much to attain these, has usually found disappointment, vexation of spirit, loneliness. The general condition of all is expressed in the words of the poet: "All that my soul has tried left but an aching void; Jesus has satisfied, Jesus is mine!" But, alas, how few can appreciate the latter half of this poetic statement! How few have found Jesus; how few have found satisfaction of soul hunger, the peace, the rest, the joy, the fellowship, the satisfaction of ambition, the loving companionship and pleasure of soul attainable in this direction and not elsewhere. It is to such that our text is specially addressed. It admonishes us all that soul hunger can find no true or lasting satisfaction aside from the Lord and the blessings and joys of his arrangement.

Righteousness is the condition of being right – not wrong, not in error. That which is right is that which is true; hence to love righteousness is to love truth, honesty, uprightness. Everything that is right in God's sight, right according to the perfect standard, is embraced in this word righteousness. The majority of mankind have little or no appreciation of righteousness. Born in sin, shapen in iniquity, our appetites for righteousness must be cultivated. All that the natural man has in this direction is the realization that selfish and unrighteous appetites cannot be satisfied; he is very apt, indeed, to think that all men are like himself, dissatisfied. Only from the one quarter, the Word of God, do we get radical, positive teaching on this subject of righteousness; only from that quarter do we obtain information respecting the satisfactory food for our souls. The Scriptures point out that the only reasonable and proper course for all to pursue is that the Lord be recognized by each heart; that His way, His plan, be accepted and adopted as the rule of our hearts and lives; that his blessing and our fellowship with him shall be pre-eminently the satisfaction of our heart-longings for sympathy; that the ambitions set before us in the divine plan shall be accepted as above and beyond all others; and that the blessings associated with righteousness and with fellowship with the Lord are the only satisfying ones.

No one can come to the Lord truly hungering and thirsting after righteousness and at the same time love sin. He may, indeed, realize a weakness toward sin, a craving of the fallen flesh in that direction, but his will, which the Lord regards, must be set firmly, positively, toward righteousness. This implies that to some extent he has had acquaintance with sin and has found it unsatisfactory; that the craving of his soul, his heart, for the things that are right, pure and good have been so directed of the Lord that he has learned to despise sin and desire righteousness, not only outwardly but inwardly. It means also, usually, that the person has tried, has grasped after righteousness, has sought to appropriate [NS121] it and has been unable to do so – has realized himself a fallen being, depraved in his appetites, both mental and physical. The Lord's providential care is over such to bring to their attention the great Saviour from sin – Jesus – who not only delivers us from the penalty of sin, death, but also assists us in overcoming sin and will, eventually, if we abide in Him, under His care and instruction, bring us off conquerors, victors, through the resurrection "change" promised. The hungering and thirsting thus began while we were yet sinners, before we had found Jesus – the bread from heaven which alone can satisfy. He who never hungered or thirsted for righteousness is wholly unprepared to come to Jesus; hence, amongst the most unlikely ones to receive the Lord's favors in this present age are those who are morally of a superior class and who feel less, therefore, their need of divine aid. They are not satisfied, but they are less dissatisfied than some who have tasted and tried the various selfish condiments proffered them for the satisfaction of their soul hunger. For this reason those who are the least impaired mentally and morally are found to have the least heart hunger for righteousness and to constitute but a small majority of those who come to the Lord to be fed, to be soul satisfied with the bread from heaven – the Lord and His gracious messages and promises.

The primary condition necessary to approach to the heavenly table and its soul-satisfying viands is a regard for righteousness, for truth, and a recognition of personal unworthiness. Hence the first step toward the table is the acceptance of Christ as a personal Savior, and an acceptance of His work "finished" at Calvary as the basis for an approach to God. The forsaking of sin and acceptance of Christ as our sin-bearer and justifier before the Father brings us to the condition which the Scriptures term "justified by faith."

There, as the Apostle declares, we find peace with God – rest of heart in the realization that while we are still imperfect, God, henceforth, is willing to accept us and our best endeavors as perfect. We must differentiate between actual perfection and this reckoned perfection, for, although the Lord and all who are His and who sit at His table recognize such believers as "holy and acceptable" (Rom. 12:1), nevertheless they also realize that this is but a reckoned standing, the one thus admitted to the Father's family and table having still the weaknesses of the flesh as formerly, which must now be battled against. Those who have taken this step toward God and the table, spread with the heavenly bounties that satisfy soul hunger, are figuratively spoken of as covered with a white robe of righteousness – covered with the merit of the Redeemer's purity, imputed to all who believe in His redemptive sacrifice and who seek to walk in His ways. A beautiful figure of this justified standing was an ancient custom of the Jews, that all the guests at a marriage supper should put on an outer robe provided by their hosts. Thus clothed, the rich and the poor were, for a time, on a common level as guests. So it is with all who come unto God through Christ, accepting the terms of the Gospel call; they are on a common level – all sinners covered, justified, with the merit of Christ, the "wedding garment."

While the first step of justification is all important, it does not admit to the Lord's table except in the sense that it prepares us for it, makes us acceptable to the Lord. The second step is that of full consecration to the Lord – a full renunciation of our own wills, recognized as imperfect, warped, twisted by inherited weaknesses and surrounding temptations. With a full consecration to the Lord and full acceptance of His will as instead of our own, we are inducted into all the privileges of sons of God – "heirs of God, joint-heirs with Jesus Christ our Lord, if so be that we suffer with Him." Rom. 8:17. This position as sons was reached through the Lord's providence as a result of our hungering for righteousness, and our coming in the divinely appointed way to the Giver of every good and perfect gift. We may now partake to full satisfaction. We hear our text, the Master's words, addressed to all such: "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled."

But as it is necessary to have the appetite, necessary to hunger and thirst, before we approach the Lord and His supplies, so we find that it is only in proportion as we have a deep hunger and thirst that we will partake liberally of the blessed provisions. Quite evidently many of the Lord's people reach His table without having a very keen appetite – such are easily satisfied. Our appetites for the spiritual good things of the Lord's table are largely in proportion to our experience in seeking satisfaction in other quarters. The foregoing explains why it is that religious revivals frequently follow financial panics. When the mind and heart are pursuing earthly things, and then hope's brilliant coloring is cast over all of life's affairs in anticipation of various successes, the Lord and His proffered peace and blessing and satisfaction are overlooked or not appreciated. It is often, as the poet declares: "When all around my soul gave way Christ then became my hope and stay."

Many, indeed, of the Lord's people can look back and rejoicingly say that their trials and difficulties have [NS122] thus indirectly worked out for them their greatest blessings, by leading them to look away from themselves and the world to Him who is the mighty to save, and whose voice, speaking peace, can alone give satisfaction, and whose fellowship can alone give comfort and rest and the confidence sought. Similarly, the beginning of each new year is a favorable time for heart reformations, not only because of the suggestions of new things and new revelations at the beginning of each year, but largely, also, because of heart disappointments, heartaches, etc., incidental to the holiday season. With nearly everyone there is more pleasure in hope, in anticipation, than in realization, and the reaction occasioned by disappointment of selfish hopes and ambitions has the tendency to turn the mind to the Lord. And this is not only true of those who are first coming to the Lord, but also true of those who have come to the Lord's table, especially if their attention has been turned from the heavenly promises and hopes to earthly things, which are sure to be all more or less disappointing. The present, then, dear brethren and sisters, is a specially favorable time for us to consider afresh the privileges we enjoy of being fed, refreshed and strengthened with the good things of the divine word – the right things, the true things, the things of righteousness.

The Lord's people who have had experience will know that their appetite for spiritual things can be cultivated, encouraged, developed. We recognize this principle in our animal appetites – that they need guidance, cultivation, and the same applies with still greater force to our spiritual appetite. He whose appetite for spiritual things is deficient should tempt himself to eat even as he would do with his physical appetite. Nothing is more conducive to a spiritual hunger than approach to the throne of grace. As the hunger is thus awakened we should go freely to the Scriptures, the storehouse of divine, gracious promises, and should select from amongst the exceeding great and precious promises therein those most tempting to our appetites. If faint and discouraged from opposition we should partake of such promises as assure us in the Lord's own words, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee."

If discouraged by reason of failure to do as well as we might have done in any case we should partake of the promises, which assure us that "He knoweth our frame, He remembereth that we are dust;" "He was tempted in all points like unto us, yet without sin;" that He is our competent high priest, sympathizer, mediator on our behalf. 1 Cor. 10:13 Should we feel discouraged, downcast, overwhelmed by the opposition of the world and the adversary let us partake of the promises which assure us that "All things are working together for good to them that love God," and that "Greater is He who is for us than all they that be against us."

If tempted to think of God as no longer interested in us, no longer mindful of us, no longer sympathetic with our endeavors to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, let us remember the apostle's suggestion that "If God so loved the world while we were yet sinners as to give His son for our redemption, much more does he love us now that we have hungered and thirsted after righteousness and have approached His table, coming by the way of the all-prevailing name of Jesus Christ, our Lord."

The Lord's people who follow the above course outlined in the Scriptures get filled in this present time – get repeatedly filled as full as the present poor earthen vessels will contain. But still there is more to follow, and with the filling comes the enlargement of our hearts, our capacities, our appreciations, and still further filling and a further enlargement and so on. The course of the proper child of God, therefore, is one of progress from start to finish. But the finish in perfection will not be in the present life – will not be until our change in the first resurrection. Then we shall be like our Lord and Redeemer, and see Him as He is and share His glory. We leave our subject here, merely reminding you all afresh that there is nothing in unrighteousness to fill any man; that there is a filling power in righteousness, and that there is but one way to come to this fountain of life eternal and present and everlasting blessings. Let us not deceive ourselves and trudge along tediously day after day, year after year, looking for satisfaction, comfort, rest, peace of heart, joy, in earthly things. Let us realize that these are to be found only by those who find the Lord, and that to these, because of the new joy which comes into their hearts, there are new experiences. To these the beauty of every flower, bird and every noble song is enhanced in value, to these the only things lost are the things that are not worth having, the things which belong to sin and selfishness, which they desire to be rid of and with which they are glad to part. We have already intimated that hungering and thirsting for righteousness includes the thought of hungering and thirsting for the truth. Alas, how many of those professing to be the Lord's consecrated people seem not to have learned a love of righteousness in the sense of loving the truth, hating untruth. Nowhere is this more manifest than in the various religious creeds. We hear continually from men and women that they are careless of the truth, that they are day by day acting [NS123] a falsehood before God and man in that they profess certain creeds, doctrines, which they are free to say privately they do not believe, have not believed for years. If all true Christian people could be gotten to the point of so loving righteousness, truth, that they would renounce and denounce their bondage and would stand forth for the truth and alone, it would make a revolution amongst the Lord's people that would be a blessing indeed to every one of them. It would not, indeed, affect the masses of the nominal churches, for the masses make no profession of love of righteousness, love for truth – the masses are children of this world, who hunger and thirst for the prides and ambitions of the present life, for the honors of men, for the peace and comfort which money can secure; they are comparatively ignorant of the meaning of our text, a hunger and thirst after righteousness.

Righteousness is so interwoven with its various parts and elements, justice and injustice, truth and error, holiness and sin, that whoever is careless in one element is deficient in all; whoever hungers and thirsts after righteousness in one of its phases, is sure to hunger and thirst for it in all; whoever loves justice and righteousness will surely love the truth; whoever loves the truth will surely love righteousness and justice. Let us, then, dear brethren and sisters, more and more cultivate our appetites for righteousness in every sense of the word, with the Master's assurance that our satisfaction shall be complete. Already it satisfies our longings as nothing else can do, and by and by we shall be fully satisfied when we awake in His likeness. One of our Lord's miracles illustrates a lesson on "Soul Hunger."

He was surrounded by hungry thousands, the supply of food seemed inadequate – two barley loaves and five small fishes. The disciples were about to send the people away unfed, but our Lord said to them, "Give ye them to eat."

As the disciples divided the portion it increased and was more than sufficient for all. Similarly the whole world has a soul hunger and only the Lord's disciples, "His brethren," know of the food which will really satisfy. His message to such is, Give ye the multitude food that they may eat to genuine satisfaction. Those who attempt so to do, now are richly blessed, but find the world so blinded with selfishness that but "few," a "little flock," hunger and thirst after righteousness at its present cost – the renunciation of glittering bubbles of earthly hopes. Thank God for the divine promise, that soon the Lord's presence and His millennial kingdom will bind Satan and every evil influence, and open the blinded eyes of all humanity to an appreciation of the truth, showing them clearly the only table of the Lord at which soul-hunger can be satisfied. "The knowledge of the glory of the Lord shall fill the whole earth."

Who can doubt that then the many will hunger and thirst for righteousness and be filled and that comparatively few will then starve willfully to death – the "Second Death."

BUFFALO, N. Y., Jan. 22 – Pastor Russell of Allegheny, Pa., delivered two addresses here today to intelligent audiences. His afternoon topic was "God's Oath-Bound Covenant to Abraham and His Seed."

His evening discourse on "Christendom in Great Danger, but the Very Elect Protected," we transmit in full. The text was: "God shall send them strong delusions that they should believe a lie; that they all might be condemned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." 2 Thess. 2:11, 12 The statement of the Apostle James, that God tempteth no man, is not to be understood as a contradiction to the language of our text. God tempteth no man to sin, to do wrong, but He has at various times sent or permitted siftings and testings among those who are nominally His people – to separate the true from the false. Sometimes a great truth becomes the sifting or separating cause, as at our Lord's first advent. There our Lord's presentation of Himself in the flesh to the covenanted nation, Israel, as the long-promised Savior, Deliverer and King, became to that people as a whole – A test, separating the Israelites indeed from the mass of the nation – separating the wheat from the chaff. Our text tells of the end or harvest time of this gospel age, and of how the Lord will now permit or 'send" strong delusions for the purpose of sifting and [NS124] separating the true from the false among those who have named the name of Christ. We hold that, according to the Scriptures, we are living in this harvest period, and that the sifting of the wheat from the tares has begun, and that the strong delusions mentioned in our text are coming upon Christendom.

The Scriptures bring to our attention a class of spirit beings which fell from divine favor before the flood. These, we are told, have from that time until the present day been confined in chains of darkness in Tartarus – the circumambient air of this planet. The story of these fallen angels is briefly stated four times – in Gen. 6:2; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6.

The Old and New Testament records are thus in agreement. Additionally, however, we have a multitude of scriptures, both of the Old and New Testaments, which refer to these fallen angels as "demons" – unfortunately mistranslated "devils" in our common version. Without exception these demons are represented as cunning, deceitful, treacherous, devilish and as having a special malignant attitude toward mankind, and as taking special delight in misleading and deceiving humanity, particularly along irreligious lines and immoralities. We call to your remembrance the Apostle's statement regarding this matter, to the effect that God's people have their struggle or contention, not with flesh and blood, but with wicked spirits in influential positions. Again the same Apostle points out to us that Satan is the chief leader of these spirits or demons and declares that we are not ignorant of his devices, his intrigues, his deceptions; again he styles him as wily, adroit, cunning. He informs us that the heathen world, while thinking they are worshiping God, are really deceived by these demons; their religious theories and practices are really demonology instead of theology. Eph. 6:12; 2 Cor. 2:11

Looking back into the Old Testament we find that the evil spirits were intent upon misleading the Israelites as they did mislead other nations. We see that God came to the relief of his covenant people by instructing them that all those holding communion with these demons who personated the dead should be banished from the nation or be destroyed. These "mediums" in those days were called necromancers, wizards, witches, etc. The demons affected to represent their deceased relatives and friends, and personating these, sought to mislead the hearts of the people from the true teachings of the Lord and His word through Moses and the prophets. We see the same work in progress today, with similar tendencies and similar results to those who heed them. The necromancers of today are called spirit mediums, the soothsayers are called clairvoyants or clairaudients. Through these the fallen angels, the demons, seek in various ways to delude and ensnare humanity, and with growing success. They still personate the dead; they still perpetuate the first lie told by Satan in Eden, when he assured our first parents that disobedience to God did not bring death as its penalty. God pronounced the penalty, "Dying thou shalt die;" Satan contradicted the Lord, saying, "Thou shalt not surely die." Gen. 3:4

The human family is in great distress through the fall; mental, moral and physical imperfections are manifest everywhere; "there is none righteous, no, not one."

As a consequence, all arc agreed to the Apostle's broad statement, "The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together waiting." (Rom. 8:22).

Naturally enough the groaning ones seek for the cause of their trouble as well as for a remedy. The Bible sets forth as the cause of all earth's woes and sorrows the brief statement, "By one man sin entered the world and death by sin, and thus death passed upon all men, for all are sinners."

It sets forth the remedy also, namely, "Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures," and at His second advent he will introduce "times of restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began." (Acts 3:21; Rom. 5:12; 1 Cor. 15:3)

This, in brief, is the gospel of Christ. The gospel of the demons contradicts this from the first to last. It denies that man ever was created in God's image and likeness; denies that he ever fell from it into sin and death; denies that Christ ever redeemed us, and holds that we need no Redeemer; that a process of evolution is at work which is lifting mankind from a mean and low brute beginning upward, to ultimately make of the race gods, and that all that is necessary for this grand result is time. As for death, demonology denies that there is deaths and claims that what seems to be death is really a change from a low form of life to a higher form. This demon teaching is to be found among all the heathen peoples and in all their religious writings, but is not at all sanctioned in the Scriptures. They teach to the contrary, as we have shown, that death is the penalty for sin; that it is a real penalty, a real death; that the dead are really dead, and that there is neither wisdom nor device nor knowledge in the grave (sheol), whither all go, and that the hope of the race lies in a resurrection, and that the hope of a resurrection lies in the redemptive work of our Lord's first advent and in the glorious power and authority which He will exercise at His second advent. A pertinent question for each of us, dear friends, at [NS125] this moment is this: To which of these teachings do we give adherence? Are we holding fast "the faithful Word of God," or are we giving heed to these seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, against which the Lord and Apostle gave so many warnings? Is our theological faith an anchor of hope holding us firmly to the truth as set forth by the Lord, or are we to any extent following in the original falsehood told by Satan and perpetuated by the lying spirits – the falsehood that death is not death, that our dead friends are more alive than ever before, etc.? If this be the case let us at once begin a thorough examination of the divine Word, assured that error never sanctifies, but is always injurious, and that our Lord was right when He prayed for His disciples, "Sanctify them through Thy Truth, Thy Word is Truth."

How consistent is the Word and plan of God, which, so far from speaking of death as the angel God has sent, assures us that death is our enemy, which already has taken from us many of our loved ones, blighted our lives, and will ultimately destroy us except as we become united to the great Life-giver, Jesus. Those who do not see that the dead are dead, do not catch the full weighty import of the blessed assurance that Christ is the Life-giver, and that He came into the world and died for our sins that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. Nor do they see the real beauty that lies in the promise of a resurrection from the dead, for if none are dead how could there be a resurrection of the dead? Only those who clearly and distinctly see the Scriptural teaching on this subject are fortified against the delusions of these demons, built upon this erroneous feature of theology, which not only has permeated all heathendom, but similarly has permeated all the creeds of Christendom, and to a large extent has made of no effect the Word of God respecting our redemption from the grave and the hope of the resurrection from the dead at the second coming of Christ. 1 Cor. 15:12, 13

The erroneous belief that the dead are alive has been to some extent for centuries offset by another error, namely, that the majority of them are confined to a place of torment – purgatory or otherwise – and a small minority were far off enjoying the bliss of heaven, all of which hindered the thought that they might be communed with through mediums. Besides there has been a kind of horse sense prevailing which has restrained many from having great confidence in spirit communications. While faith was expressed a doubting fear was associated with it, and this doubting fear was increased by finding that some of the spirits seeking communion were "lying spirits," and although others made different presentations they were all more or less held in doubt and fear. Now, however, we are coming to a time when all intelligent people question the fables of the Dark Ages respecting hell and purgatory, fire, devils, pitchforks, etc. Consequently it daily becomes easier for spiritists to find sympathy for their claims that the spirits of the dead are hovering around the living, that our atmosphere is full of them, that they are not confined in heaven nor in hell.

This thought has been aided by many sermons on funeral occasions, depicting the dead as hovering over the friends gathered at the funeral, the assurance being given that if the dead could only speak he would say to the weeping ones, "Weep not," etc. All of this unscriptural guess-work, presented in the name of the Bible, and in the name of the truth and in the name of intelligence, has had its effect upon the masses, who are now thoroughly perplexed as respects the place and condition of their dead friends. A growing intelligence forbids the thought that a God of love and justice has consigned them to the care of devils in eternal flames of fire or other torture. Inquiries of the clergy respecting the place and condition of the departed bring no satisfaction; the few who still tell of tortures in infernal regions are less and less believed, and the others of increasing number who deny that the dead are in tortures are unable to give any answer respecting their whereabouts. No wonder the confiding sheep are perplexed. Oh, that they would look to the Word of the Lord, that they would remember "the Lord is my Shepherd," that they would seek from the inspired source the knowledge which their souls crave! Oh, that they might learn that the hope set before us in the gospel of Christ is the hope of the resurrection of the dead! Mark the clearness of the Apostle's statement on this subject – If there be no resurrection of the dead, then they that are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 1 Cor. 15:17,18

At the present juncture spiritism alone offers proofs along the lines on which both Catholics and Protestants have so long been teaching the people. At the moment when the recognized shepherds are silenced by the questioning of their flocks, the evil spirits, the demons, the fallen angels, operating through spirit medium, clairvoyance, etc., offer not only answers to the people, but so-called proofs. They produce messages from their loved ones, and even intimate that the credulity which accepts such messages is a praiseworthy faith, and that the deluded ones are really ranking high from the spiritual standpoint because of their intercourse with spirits – that the majority of mankind are not thus honored by the spirits because of lack of faith. Is it any wonder that attention is being drawn more and more to these spirit manifestations? [NS126] Have not the entire teachings of all the world on this subject of death prepared the hearts of the people for this very deception that is now repeatedly coming forward and will soon engulf the great majority? As the teachings of the higher critics and evolutionists gradually destroy the faith of the people in the Bible as the Word of God, they proportionately set them free to look in any and every direction for the solution of the questions which at some time comes to every reasoning being – questions respecting the origin of life, the meaning of death, the hope for a life eternal beyond the grave. Following these general preparations for the strong delusion, we now see its first manifestations – that is laying hold of prominent pillars of the social, religious and scientific world. It approaches the people from different standpoints:

First – Through hypnotism these evil spirits are misguiding the medical profession as well as the curious, and in the claimed interest of health and morals hypnotism is rapidly breaking down the will power of the people and making the masses more and more ready for the seductive approach of the spirits through what is known as clairaudience, or the power of hearing and communing with the spirits inaudibly to others. Instead of stamping out this dreadful scourge, with its demoralizing influence so wide reaching and calculated to give the fallen spirits access to so many of the lowest members of the race, the physicians have been deceived into supposing that hypnotism is merely the exercise of some human quality or power hitherto unknown, and calculated to prove a great blessing in the cure of disease, etc. As a consequence hypnotism is being brought into great favor and being taught in the great medical colleges of Christendom, and doctors are being turned out who to a large extent use hypnotism in their practice.

Journals devoted to hypnosis freely tell that it aids them in their practice, and that it is frequently used without the knowledge or consent of the patient. Second – The second line of attack which is becoming more and more prevalent is through clairaudience. The evil spirits, after first enticing the victim through curiosity, and sometimes through pretended ignorance of some things on the part of the spirits, lead on from one deception to another until finally they have the mastery, and their subject is practically helpless as well as hopeless under their control. Unquestionably many being treated as insane – and their number is increasing alarmingly throughout Christendom – are such possessed or obsessed persons. Their brains are not really unsound; their possession or control by evil spirits produces the confusion of ideas and language and the unreasonableness of conduct which closely corresponds to mental derangement.

Third – The third line of attack by the evil spirits upon the people is coming through the influence of the world's notables. We have all heard from time to time of how spirit mediums and clairvoyants have been called in for counsel by many of the crowned heads of Europe. It is even hinted that the Russian policy which led to the present war was more or less influenced from this quarter. The newspapers of the world have been publishing broadcast reports of investigations of spiritism and occultism made by Mr. William T. Stead, editor of the Review of Reviews, who announces faith in the phenomena of spiritism. He evidently labors under the common deception that the manifestations are from people who are dead (more alive than ever). In America we have as an investigator along these lines, Rev. I. K. Funk, D.D., a noted Methodist, whose opinions, carrying great weight, have been spread broadcast through the Associated Press. He also has made investigations, and is satisfied that the phenomena of spirit manifestations is in many cases genuine, and, of course, he credits the manifestations to the dead, of whom the Scriptures declare, "The dead know not anything."

Additionally we have Professor J. H. Hyslop, formerly teacher of logic and ethics in Columbia University, New York, now a leading light in the American Society for Psychical Research, whose testimony also carries weight. His investigations of spiritism have convinced him that there is something beyond human power connected with the phenomena. He has had for a medium Mrs. Piper, a lady of education and wealth, who associates herself in this manner in the interest of science, truth. The latest tests have been along the lines of telepathy. I quote the professor from the New York American thus: "Telepathy is not a matter of thought waves. The solution is so simple as to be astounding. Messages are carried from mind to mind by spirits. Mediumistic qualities are necessary, but possessed of these and able to get into touch with the spirit world, telepathy should become as easy of accomplishment as the telegraphing of a message by wire.

"In these experiments we use Mrs. Piper, who was sent to England in care of the British society. She was allowed to come into contact with no one not in league with the persons making the experiment. We began our experiments with long distance telepathy in the hope of eventually getting a message across the Atlantic, but failed time after time. Finally we scored a success. The experiment was conducted in a manner to eliminate any trace of fraud or deception; it was sent in English and transferred in Latin."

Can anyone question that a message sent in one language and delivered in another was more than mere thought transference? Professor Hyslop reasons correctly when he declares that such matters are the work of spirits. But, alas, he is still ignorant of the fact, which is explained in the Bible only, that these spirits are not the spirits of the dead, but the fallen spirits, the angels which kept not their first estate – demons. Thus we see that demonism is gradually getting a hold upon the masses of the people through the educated and scientific, and who can doubt that these cunning demons will gain the mastery to the extent the Lord will permit them to do so? Well did our Lord teach us to pray "Abandon us not in temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."

The evil one and his helpers are more than a match for humanity. The Lord's people knowing this, and being not ignorant of his devices, resist the adversary, flee his snares, and trust only to the guidance of the Lord's Word and Spirit.

Professor J. H. Hyslop, already referred to, has recently written an article for the World Today, in which he says: "That there would be great difficulties in communicating, if spirits actually existed, would naturally be taken for granted by intelligent people. The silence of so many discarnate spirits throughout the ages, if they exist, would be sufficient proof of that fact as well as what we know of the difficulties of communications between living people when they have no common language as a means of it. But there happen to be additional reasons for this difficulty and they should be mentioned, in order that the layman (I ought not to mention it to the Scientists) may see and appreciate the reason why our communications take the form which they do. The first of these is the abnormal mental and physical condition of the medium, specifically to illustrate, as in the case of Mrs. Piper. But this is not the chief reason that the communications are adverse or confused or lacking in the kind of information wanted. The reason for these characteristics is deeper still. It is that the communicator is himself in an abnormal mental condition while communicating. It may be compared to a delirious dream, or to certain types of secondary personality in the living, or even to the trance of Mrs. Piper, in some of its aspects."

Here we see that the Professor is entirely hoodwinked. He does not see that the spirits are leading him on, feigning at times inability to communicate, to spur him and others on to greater efforts to secure the communications. Mark how the spirits were able not only to understand in English, but also to transmit the message in Latin, as we have just seen according to the Professor's latest experiment. New York dispatches published in the daily press under the date of January 5 say: "Discussing Psychical Science in an address tonight before the American Institute for Scientific Research, in the home of C. Griswold Bourne, Rev. R. Heber Newton, D. D., made the assertion that the spirits of the dead communicate with the living; that telepathy is a power possessed by many men and women, and that clairvoyance is an established scientific fact. He said in part:

"'Clairvoyance was nothing but a Will o' the Wisp, but it is now a confessed power of certain organizations. Molly Fancher, over in Brooklyn, has proved stronger than the credulity of our savants. The belief in the existence of unseen spirits and of their power of communication with us in the flesh is one of the oldest, most widespread and most insistent beliefs of man, and it is REVIVED STRANGELY IN OUR DAY."'

For the first time in the history of man these powers have been scientifically investigated in our day. Already the result is that a considerable number of eminent men of science have had the courage to avow that, after allowing for delusion, fraud and every possible hypothesis of interpretation, they have been driven to the ultimate solution of the problem – the belief in the actual communication of the spirits of those whom we call dead with the living. 'Anyone who walks with his eyes open, ready to hear what men have to tell, will find stories pouring in upon him from men whom he cannot mistrust as liars, and whom he knows to be sane and sensible, which will stagger him. These experiences are not at all confined to the seance and the medium. Their most impressive forms occur in the privacy of the home without a professional medium present.'"

"Stagger him" expresses the matter well. The very fact that people have been taught that witches, wizards, necromancers and mediums were all frauds, and that the casting out of devils by our Lord and the Apostles was false and based upon erroneous conceptions of those days – all these misstatements of facts make people all the more curious now to investigate spirit phenomena – now, in the very time that our text tells us God will send or permit it as a strong delusion to ensnare and deceive a large class in Christendom. The staggering has only begun, too; the great world-wide deception is only taking start. What will be the catastrophe at its climax! Dr. Heber Newton is a man of world-wide reputation as a minister of the Protestant Episcopal Church. He is undoubtedly honest and truthful in his statements to the extent of his knowledge. [NS128] But should not a man who has consecrated his life to the ministry of the divine Word be better informed on a subject which is made so clear and plain in that Word? What excuses can he offer to the Lord for thus becoming a tool of the demons to help extend their influence? True, the Lord could have overruled the matter, could have exposed the deceptions to Dr. Newton; but, in harmony with our text, it is our Lord's purpose not to hinder, but to help on with this deception. Mark the explicitness of the Apostle, "God will send them strong delusions (a demonstrating error) that they may believe a lie; that they all may be condemned that believe not the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness – in untruth."

The reason for the sending of the strong delusion mentioned in our text is plainly stated in the context, but before it can be appreciated it is necessary to have some grasp of the divine plan of the ages; it is necessary to see that the Lord's work throughout this Gospel age has not been, as many suppose, an attempt to convert the world, but, as the Scriptures declare, He has been merely electing or selecting out from the world a people for His name – to be the Bride of Christ. (Acts 15:14)

We must see, too, that this elect people does not include all who become nominal members of Christian churches, but merely those who through full faith and consecration become followers of the Lord Jesus in very truth, and receive the spirit of adoption from the Father. These, through the trials and difficulties of this life, shall be proved overcomers of the world and its spirit, and accepted as joint-heirs with Christ, as His Bride, in His kingdom. This class, the Scriptures distinctly tell us, is but a little flock. Our Lord's words are, "Fear not, little flock; it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."

The apostle declares also, "Not many wise, not many mighty, not many noble hath God chosen" – "Hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, heirs of the kingdom?" 1 Cor. 1:26; Jas. 2:5 After we once see that only the overcomers or kingdom class are being selected during this Gospel age, we are ready to see that God's great time for dealing with the majority of our race is in the future – after the second coming of Christ – during His millennial kingdom – whose reign of righteousness will bless and give opportunity of eternal life to all the families of the earth.

We are not of those who expect this world to be burned up. Quite the contrary, we expect its rejuvenation, its perfecting as the Garden of Eden, the paradise of God, the everlasting home of the majority of the human family – of all except the truly consecrated Church of this Gospel age and those who shall ultimately die the second death. We have no sympathy of thought, therefore, with those who are looking for the destruction of the earth; but we nevertheless believe, as the Scriptures teach, that the present age or aion will cease and a new age or aion begin. In error the translators have rendered the word aion "world" and given a misimpression. More than this, we believe that the Scriptures clearly indicate that the present age is now ending and the new age, lapping with it, is beginning. It is at this particular juncture that all the New Testament writings, as well as our Lord's great prophecy of Matthew 24, center, indicating a time of confusion, a trouble such as the world has never known before, and pointing out that these are judgments of the Lord designed to prepare the world for the next dispensation and the reign of the kingdom of righteousness. Furthermore, the Apostle distinctly points out that these judgments will begin at the House of God – the nominal church. Our Lord also points out the same thing, calling it a separation of wheat from tares in the harvest or close of this age. Matt. 13:20

It is because Christendom as a whole, though nominally a wheat field, is practically a tare field with a scattering of wheat intermingled that there is to be such a commotion in connection with the separation of the wheat and the tares. True, the Lord, who knoweth the heart, who knoweth them that are his, could easily separate them from the others, but he has chosen to make a separation publicly to demonstrate his own justice in the matter. Hence in this harvest time – at the proper time to separate the wheat from the tares – the Lord not only sends the sickle of truth to gather the wheat but he also sends the strong delusion to gather the tares.

The context tells us that the strong delusion will have its effect on those who "receive not the truth in the love of it"(v. 10).

The Scriptures, which the Lord gave to His church for her guidance throughout the age, are now more than ever in the hands of all the people, with facilities for its study, and those who love the truth have every opportunity for ascertaining what it is. Here, however, comes a test of their real heart appreciation of the truth: Do they prefer truth to error? Do they prefer the divine word to the traditions of men? All who do so have the opportunity of getting what they desire; those who do not receive the truth, we may infer, did not sincerely desire it, but preferred or were satisfied with error. This is the thought of the text, [NS129] namely, that many have become associated with Christendom not from love of the truth, but from fear, from policy or for worldly betterment or influence. While the Lord has no place in His plan for the tormenting of such they are not the esteemed ones whom He calls the "very elect," whom He intends to give joint-heirship in the kingdom with their Lord, the Redeemer. Such as will be of the very elect must love the truth and prove all things, must be sincere every way. Note the application of this love of the truth as we have just examined the matter. How few want the truth respecting the nature of man; how few investigate to see whether or not the Scriptures teach that when a man dies he is dead and has hope only in a resurrection of the dead. On the contrary, many tell us freely, "I do not want to believe that way; I like to believe that the dead are not dead."

Such have not the love of the truth, but the love of error, and if now the Lord permits the strong delusions of spiritism to sweep away all their faith and hopes from them it will be a just reward.

Thank God, this text in our common version is a poor translation! Thank God that all the great hosts of Christendom that will be deceived by the strong delusion now close upon us will not be delivered over to the demons for an eternity of torture. Their worst experiences with these evil spirits will be in the delusions and disappointments and troubles that will come in days not far distant now – 'A time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation," is the Lord's picture of it. All these, however, will be condemned – disapproved, and the fact of their disapproval will be shown in that they will pass through this great delusion and its consequent troubles and temporary anguish. We doubt not that the lessons learned in that trouble will be valuable to many to all eternity – that they will learn once and for all to place the highest estimate upon truth, learn that self-deception is self-injury directly or indirectly, learn to prize truth as from the divine standpoint. When, by and by, they shall find what was the real difficulty, why they missed that great prize of this Gospel age and why they fell into this snare, they will surely be ready to acknowledge divine justice, as the Scriptures indicate, saying, "Just and true are thy ways, Lord God Almighty."

Our Lord in His prophecy respecting this time declares that the deceptions will be so great that they would, if it were possible, deceive the very elect. (Matt. 24:24)

But it will not be possible, because this is the divine promise, that those who are the Lord's in very truth, trusting in His redemptive work, and fully consecrated to His service, He esteems as His jewels, who are to be gathered at His second coming and at the establishment of His kingdom, that they may have part therein – gathered by the change of the first resurrection, changed from earthly to spiritual conditions, forever with the Lord, sharers of His glory. A picture of this time of general falling is given us in the ninety-first psalm, but there also the stability of the very elect is carefully noted. We read, "A thousand shall fall at thy side and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee" – the Christ, the members of the Body, the Elect Church. Let us, then, dear brethren and sisters, be of good courage, and while doing all in our power to stand, and doing all in our power to influence others favorably, let us have full assurance of faith in the Lord's gracious promises, knowing, that He is able to make all things work together for good to those who love Him – knowing that the faithful in Christ Jesus, are the very elect, the jewels of the Lord, and that, as the Apostle Peter says, they shall never fall, but an entrance shall be administered unto them abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

DONORA, Pa., Jan. 29 – Pastor Russell of Allegheny, Pa., gave two addresses here today. In the afternoon he spoke on "God's Oath-Bound Covenant to Abraham and His Seed."

His evening discourse was on "The Right and Wrong Views of War."

His text was: "Blessed be the Lord, my strength, which teacheth my hands to war and my fingers to fight," Psa. 144:1. We report the discourse in full, as follows: To what extent war is either excusable or justifiable is a question which has long perplexed many of the ablest [NS130] minds. The thought that war is never justifiable under any circumstances finds few supporters; yet, as we should expect, the best and bravest of mankind deplore war and advocate peace on any reasonable and proper terms. How comes it, then, that we find the pages of history covered with war records, and find also among the warriors the names of many on the wisest and greatest of men and of nations? We reply that the difficulty lies not so much in the fact that the fall has depraved and brutalized our race, but in the fact that it has so impaired human judgment that the course of wisdom and justice is more or less obscured to all, causing the wrong to appear right. One of the chief results of the fall has been the maintenance of selfishness, while other qualities of the kind, have decreased or shrunk. Thus selfishness, having come to be a prominent factor in the reasoning of the natural mind, wasps and twists the judgment of men and nations and leads to courses of action which otherwise would be disapproved. As an illustration of this principle note how every man's ways are apt to seem right in his own eyes, and, as the poet Burns suggests, he fails to see himself as others see him. He can reason more soundly in respect to the affairs of others than in regard to his own because of the twist, the bias, set up in his own mind by his own selfishness. We all recognize that the same thing is true of nations. Thus in the recent Boer war our British friends felt sure that they were wholly in the right; others, even their friends, thought them selfishly blinded to the rights of the Boers. Similarly today the Russians and Japanese are warring because of difference of opinion – both urged on largely by selfish motives – both deploring war while prosecuting it and suffering by it.

As is well known, the Japanese, in justification of their instigation of the war, claim that Russia in grasping Chinese territory was menacing Japanese interests; that Japan, willing to live in peace, is more or less dependent upon her neighbors of the mainland for food supplies, and could not therefore endure the establishment there of powerful Russia, her recognized enemy. Whether or not this reasoning is sound depends upon the cast of mind which examines it. From the standpoint of worldly wisdom, Japan was wise in striking her mighty foe before he had become too thoroughly entrenched in China. In this view the tremendous sacrifice of human life and money by the Japanese is considered wisdom, and by such minds the course of Russia is generally condemned. However, these very same reasoners, using the very same mental powers and reasoning along similar lines, if they were Russians, would have approved the course of the Czar's Government in gradually establishing itself in the Far East and gradually entrenching itself in the military and financial control of the Chinese Empire, thus appropriating to itself the vast resources and energy of a people numbering nearly one-fourth the population of the whole world. The reasoning of the Russians on this subject no doubt was that they were carrying civilization and business methods and strong government to a heathen people, and that they had a right thus to exploit the heathen to their own advantage. In justification of their course they doubtless thought of the similar procedure of Great Britain in India.

Doubtless, also, pride told the Russians that their selfish desire to grasp the control of their Chinese neighbor was in part benevolence, which desired to give the Chinese good government. Indeed, we find that the excuse of all the conquerors of the world has been that they were capable of giving the conquered better laws and regulations than they were able to provide for themselves. Thus the spirit of pride, which is an element of selfishness in the fallen nature, has combined and cooperated with general selfishness in the prosecution of nearly all the wars of conquest, and been the excuse of a very large proportion indeed of man's inhumanity to man.

How does God view the matter? Why does not He interfere to establish and prosper the right and to overthrow the wrong? Why is it that the meek do not inherit the earth, but rather the rapacious, the combative, the grasping? Why is it that for now 6,000 years sin and selfishness have reigned among men, resulting in wars and rumors of wars? Why is it that even during the nearly 19 centuries since the angels sang at our Lord's birth, "Peace on earth, good will toward men," there has been no peace? Why is it that the spirit of strife is increasing rather than decreasing? Why is it that, notwithstanding the introduction of peace conferences among the mighty nations of the world, beginning with that of Geneva on September 14, 1872, and its successor at The Hague, and the fact that another is proposed, still the world witnesses today its greatest armies, most impregnable fortresses and most powerful navies and most wonderful munitions? Why is it that the dove of peace seems more alarmed than ever, and that the whole world, while crying peace, peace, realizes that warfare is more than ever its spirit, not only among kingdoms and armies but between financiers and between capital and labor and in the home and family – war, contention, strife? What about the Prince of Peace, and when will he inaugurate his reign? Many conjectural replies to these questions might be [NS131] obtained from "many men of many minds," and they would be discordant – no two exactly alike. We would best, therefore, appeal the questions to the Lord Himself, asking His explanation and then hearkening to the message of His Word. We can hear but one answer, and it is a satisfactory one, which meets all the requirements and conditions of the case.

The Bible not only explains the fallen conditions of humanity as slaves of Sin and Death, but it tells us, too, that the Lord has, in a general sense, given over the earth to the control of the children of men, and that, while holding a general supervision of the affairs of nations to hinder them from interfering with his fixed plans for eventually blessing the world through the Kingdom of Christ, he permits them within these limits to take their course and to exercise their ingenuity in various methods of self-government, etc. They are thus demonstrating two things:

(1) Their lack of wisdom and justice and love.

(2) The hopelessness of the world as respects ever reaching perfection under such conditions, and hence the necessity in the world's interest for the establishing of the Kingdom of God's dear Son, for which we have been taught to pray, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven."

Many do not yet realize the hopelessness of trusting in the arm of flesh, but are hoping that the increase in education will surely lift the whole world of mankind to that plane of intelligence where all will concede the wisdom of righteousness, and the unwisdom of iniquity. Then, they say, we will have the millennium. Not so, we reply. The millennium could never come, never be established on those lines: but, as the Scriptures teach, it will be introduced by force – "The Lord shall fight in that day."

The wonderful education of the past century has lifted mankind intellectually, but has not increased the world's peace and joy. Rather, ours is pre-eminently the day of discontent, and the greater the education the more the discontent as a rule, the general exception being the comparatively few true Christians whose lives have been consecrated to the Lord, and who find satisfying peace and joy in the gracious promises of the divine word. The vast majority of mankind are still "in the wicked one," and it is still true, as the Lord declared, "There is no peace for the wicked," saith my God. (Isa. 57:21)

"The wicked" are like "a troubled sea," their selfish ambitions keeping them in continual unrest. Scriptural prophecy fully concurs with what we see about us in the unrest brought about by our higher civilization and more general education of the head. The unregenerated heart is sure to be able to make more trouble in proportion to its degree of education. The prime movers regional and national, are educated men; the leaders in every species of wrong doing, in almost every violation of the Golden Rule, are men of education. We do not say that they are at heart worse than if they had not had the education. Our claim merely is that their education has increased their power, and that the heart being unregenerate, their power is necessarily associated with selfishness, which in its diversified forms is at the bottom of the warfare and strife of which we have knowledge. The Scriptures indicate what is apparent on every hand, that very soon our highstrung civilization, instead of bringing the millennium of peace, will wreck itself in anarchy – the outcome of conflicting endeavors and strife of mastery; social, financial and political.

On the basis of lessons learned in present conflicts between truth and error, right and wrong, love and selfishness, the millennial kingdom of our Lord will instruct the people, laying justice to the line and righteousness to the plummet – sweeping away the ignorance and superstition, the throttling selfishness, with the divine right hand of power, guided by the divine heart of love. For six thousand years the plowshare of selfishness and trouble has been doing its work in breaking the fallow ground of the natural heart and preparing it for the glorious spring time, the seed time of grace and truth, under our Lord's millennial reign. As the harvest of this present time is unto sin and sorrow and death, the harvest of the future will assuredly be unto righteousness and life and peace, and joy to all who will avail themselves of it, and all others are to be destroyed in the Second Death. Thus the Lord declares that He shall cause wars to cease unto the ends of the earth – by first permitting mankind to prove its own helplessness and by then supplying the needed relief for its instruction and uplift.

We have been considering the views of the worldly-wise respecting the necessities of war, but now let us take the Christian's viewpoint as set forth by our Lord and the apostles to be the guide of all the soldiers of the cross. We cannot concede all the wisdom to the world's captains of industry and finance and sociology and armies. We must hearken to the Captain of our Salvation, the Lord Jesus. What does He counsel us? must be our inquiry. A difficulty which stumbles many is the fact that they do not recognize the difference between the Church and the world under our present civilized conditions. Indeed, the Church, nominal includes the whole world, though the Church genuine, composed only of [NS132] the fully consecrated followers of the Lord is still, as the Scriptures declare, a "little flock," comprising not many great, not many wise, not many learned, not many noble, but chiefly the poor of this world, rich in faith, heirs of the kingdom. These are so few and so insignificant, numerically, politically, socially and financially, that their peculiar views respecting war effect little or nothing. They may safely pursue the counsel of their Master, assured that the world's course will not be particularly influenced by them except along general lines. Begotten again of the holy spirit they have too much of the spirit of love for their friends and neighbors, yea, for their enemies also, to take pleasure in injuring others either in life or limb. Rather they would bind up the broken-hearted, heal the sick and comfort the troubled. This was the Master's course, it was His spirit, and it must be the spirit of all who are His in proportion to their consecration to Him. From the standpoint of the true Christian, therefore, war is reprehensible, particularly aggressive warfare. Love for the neighbor and for the enemy will surely lead to the application of the Golden Rule to both, and the Golden Rule will surely stop all aggressive warfare because it would eliminate the land hunger and thirst for power that induces such warfare.

The Christian view of Russia's course would have been that she should not have coveted China; should not have attempted that extension of her territory and power. Such a course would have averted the present war with Japan. On the other hand, the Christian in Japan's position should have followed the divine injunction to follow peace with all men and should have relied upon the results being overruled by the Lord for good. In other words, the Christian's standard for deciding as to Japan's course would have been in accord with our text for the present year – "The wisdom that cometh from above is first pure, then peaceable, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits."

We appreciate the worldly wise view of matters, however, when they say: If all the people were of your mind our enemies would override us; we would lose our liberties and our lives. Yes, we answer: we do not suppose that the rules and regulations which the Lord laid down for his disciples would fit the world in the present time. He did not give his instructions to the world, but to the "little flock" seeking to walk in his footsteps. As already suggested, this little flock is so small that its course in such affairs will not in any degree affect the general course of the world's affairs. A part of the Church's testing is along this very line – to walk with the Lord and comply with his arrangements and be filled with his spirit notwithstanding the contrary plans and arrangements and views and theories of the world, the flesh and the devil. Those who prove their faithfulness to the divine arrangement now are said in the Scriptures to be "overcomers."

It is their faith in the promises of God's Word that enables them to live thus separate from the world and its ideas and schemes. Thus the Scriptures declare, "This is the victory which overcometh the world, even your faith."

These overcomers are the ones who, following their Lord's example and the hopes and promises of the Scriptures are separate from the world now, will be the politicians of the future – of the millennial age. We use the term politician in its true sense, as referring to those well versed in the principles of civil government and the conduct of State affairs, in the administration of public business, in the interest of the peace, prosperity and safety of the public. From the scriptural standpoint the whole world is mentally as well as morally and physically deranged, and this accounts for many of the idiosyncrasies manifested everywhere among men. One has abnormal selfishness for money, another an equally abnormal hunger for influence or power, another is carried away to unreasonable lengths in pursuit of pleasure. All these extravagances indicate lack of soundness of mind, and thus viewed the whole world is mentally unsound, some affected with one hobby and some with another. The Lord's Word presents this view and exhorts the little flock, the "soldiers of the cross," "Let your moderation be known unto all men," and declares that those who have the wisdom from above have a spirit of a sound mind, placing estimation upon the really valuable things rather than rainbow chasing for earthly name and fame, joys and wealth, whose beauty and pleasure vanish as they are neared. We commend the heavenly riches and beauties and joys, and additionally the heavenly glory and power promised to the faithful "overcomers" in the life to come, to all who have ears to hear and hearts to appreciate them. Those who pass the present period of testing, developing characters in harmony with the divine, are presently to have of honor and glory and power and dominion such grand measures as "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath in reservation for those who love Him" – love Him more than they love houses or lands, name or fame, self or others.

What we have been saying is in full harmony with the spirit of our text, for although David lived before the time of the begetting of the Spirit, he was a prophet, and his language was guided of the Lord accordingly, so that his words are adapted to the spirit-begotten [NS133] followers of Jesus during this gospel age, as describing the Scriptural warfare and battles of the Lord's followers. The spirit of warfare is not wholly bad; its evil consists in its misdirection. Combativeness lies at the foundation of all warfare, and, however much harm it has done in the world, without it mankind would be in a pitiable condition today. The grandest endeavors and enterprises would fail of execution were it not for the assistance of combativeness in helping us to overcome the difficulties in the way. Without combativeness the world would be without power to overcome the obstacles and perils in life's pathway, and would therefore be without character. In view of this self-evident truth we are not surprised that the Scriptures represent our heavenly Father and Our Lord Jesus as mighty overcomers, conquerors, as victorious in conflicts, etc. Respecting Our Lord Jesus we are distinctly told that in due time He shall take His great power and reign, and that then the nations of the earth shall be dashed to shivers, as potters' vessels would be wrecked with an iron rod. We are assured that He will exercise power over the nations to subdue them to Himself – yea, to bring all nations under subjection. We are assured again that "He must reign until He hath put all enemies under His feet – the last enemy to be destroyed is death."

Comparing the human likeness with the divine original we find the quality of combativeness, the spirit of warfare and overcoming in both, but in the Almighty this is in full accord with the other elements of His character, namely, those of justice, love and wisdom, hence the power of the divine arm is never used injuriously, selfishly, and likewise the kingdom which He will ultimately establish in the hands of the overcomers of this present time will have in it the force, the conquering power of combativeness, but this will be exercised for the interest and welfare of all who desire to be in accord with the Lord and His righteous arrangements.

The Lord's people are exhorted to fight a good fight and lay hold on eternal life, and this implies the sifting of the present time rather than the conquering warfare of the future. It implies, too, that such a fighting is necessary in order to the attainment of the life eternal. Whoever is so supine, so careless of the Lord and the interests of righteousness that he will not seek to overcome the world, that he will not fight a good fight, will be considered unworthy of the life eternal. Thus, again, we are told that all who will have a share in the First Resurrection will be "overcomers."

What is it that we now fight with and overcome? We answer that we are, as new creatures, begotten of the holy spirit, out of accord with our former selves and with the whole course of the world as we see it all about us, and our good fight consists in our resistance of the world, the flesh and the Adversary, and our vanquishing of them from bearing rule in our hearts and lives and bringing forth evil fruit. More than this, it means such a battle with self as implies the putting down of every high imagination of an earthly kind, every ambition and fond desire, and the bringing of our hearts wholly and completely into subjection to the will of God. It is a daily, yea, an hourly battle, and as one of old has stated the matter, "There is no discharge in this war."

As the apostle expresses it, the flesh and the spirit are contrary to each other. Our victory means the survival of the spirit, the new nature, and this means the overcoming of the human nature with its affections and desires, so that we allow them not to entrap us into consent to sin, allow them not to hinder us from endeavoring to do whatsoever our hands find to do in the service of Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. The Lord has need of the combative ones, dear friends. They are the very ones He is seeking in the present time – "overcomers."

Let us not waste our time and energies in doing evil, in putting down and destroying or injuring our neighbors or friends, or our enemies; let us not engage in the world's warfares for wealth, for name or fame or land-grabbing; but, on the contrary, let us fight the good fight; and we will have plenty of opportunity to engage every atom of our combativeness thoroughly – in fighting against the spirit of the Adversary and the world as well as against our own weaknesses of heredity. Blessed be God who teacheth His people how to war against sin and weakness and every foe of righteousness, and to fight against all the allurements and ensnarements of the world and the Adversary! JESUS, my Lord, Thou art my life, My rest in labor, strength in strife; Thy love begets my love of Thee; Thy fulness that which filleth me.