USA > Ohio > Twenty-five years in the West > Part 13
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M. "God is no respecter of persons. He has sent other nations prophets, and Jesus Christ is the wisest and best ever given the world. He taught that God is a spirit, and that we should worship him in spirit and in truth ; that we are his children ; that he loves us, is good to us, and ever will be our Father and Friend. Do you object to that ?"
I. " All good, but the missionaries no talk so. They say Jesus is God, and that he was killed to save man from his own wrath."
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M. We perfectly agree. By examining the New Testament, you will find it teaches that Jesus Christ was a prophet of the Great Spirit, and that he was sent to tell us how to live, not to save us from the wrath of God, or the fires of hell. His is a glorious work, and we are assured it will be well done. Your nations has likely had prophets, but, acquaint yourself with this one ere you reject him.
I. " You tell me new things. I will read the New Tes- tament."
The country south of Fort Wayne is flat, wet, and in those days was covered with a dense forest, and the settlers' cabins, were far apart-in some places, miles apart. I remember, when on this journey, of traveling a whole day without passing more than half a dozen houses. It was a gloomy, rainy, autumnal day, the roads were in a wretched condition, in many places nearly im- passable, the mud and water being so deep. When near- ly dark, I met an ugly looking fellow with a gun on his shoulder ; and while inquiring about the road, I heard a distant noise, which seemed to proceed from some one in distress. I called his attention to it, and proposed we ascertain what was the matter. He made no answer but walked off in the opposite direction. I told him he was a strange mortal, and I should try to learn who was making that noise, for somebody was surely in trouble ; and immediately plunged into the thick woods, in the direction whence the mournful sound proceeded. About a quarter of a mile from the road, I came to a small opening in the forest, where was a cabin, and in front of the cabin was a fire, and at the side of the fire was a young woman ironing clothes and singing a mournful air
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as loud as she could scream. This was the noise I took to be cries of distress. I learned from her, that the fel- low I had just seen was her husband, and that they had been married about tivo weeks, after three weeks acquain- tance. I told her about meeting him in the road; that I believed he was not there for a good purpose; more- over, was fearful she had married a scamp. Learning from her it was ten miles to the nearest house, I bid her good-by, for I did not care about stopping long in that locality. While leading my horse back to the road, for the underbrush was so thick I could not ride, I heard several times a slight noise in the woods near me, but paid no particular attention to it. After much difficul- ty, and many scratches, I regained the road. But had proceeded only a short distance when I became satisfied that the fellow I had just seen was following me, for I could distinctly hear footsteps in the woods, a few rods at the left. The night being very dark, I could not see him, could hardly see my horse; and the mud being deep, and the horse tired, could travel only at a slow gait. Stopped the horse, and peered into the dark, but nothing could be seen. The rascal came to a halt when I stopped. I dismounted on the right side of the horse, having him between me and the villain. Stood there, perhaps, fifteen minutes, without either party making the least noise, expected every moment to hear the crack of his gun. He finally made tracks from me as fast as he could run, and I remounting, proceeded on my journey. He doubtless intended to rob me, steal my horse, perhaps do worse ; but presuming I was armed -but was not-and seeing I was pretty resolute, he dare not attack me without being sure of decided advan- tage Being on that road again soon after, I learned he
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had fled to parts unknown, to escape being arrested for some crime.
The next day reached Anderson ; while there, delivered five discourses. At the close of one of them, a Metho- dist minister replied. He dwelt long on the words of the apostle Paul, " As it is appointed unto men once to die and after that the judgment." Heb. ix. 28. I an- swered :
If the gentleman is correct in his understanding of this passage, it demolishes one tenet of Orthodoxy. The passage asserts, that " it is appointed unto men once to die." Now, the creeds assert that temporal death is not of divine appointment, but rather contrary to the divine purpose and plan. Man was created immortal, and it was the will of God he should not die ; it was the divine appointment he should live forever. But in an evil hour, Adam, the first man, sinned, and brought tem- poral death on himself and on all his posterity, contrary to the divine appointment. This is the Orthodox view of the cause of death. If it is correct the passage does not refer to temporal death, hence, the judgment spoken of in the text, is not subsequent to temporal death, as Orthodoxy asserts, which is doubtless correct.
To what " men " does the text refer ? for it does not say all men are appointed to die. Read the second verse following : "For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which THEY offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect." The pronoun "they " in this verse, as any one can see, refers to the " men " spoken of in the text. The apostle says, "they," that is, the "men," "offered sacrifices." Now, all men do not offer sacrifices, neither are they re-
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quired to. But under the Jewish law, a certain class of men were appointed to offer sacrifices for the sins of the people. They were the priests, and it is to them, and to them only, the text refers. According to the grammati- cal structure of the text and context, the " men " were a class whose business it was to offer sacrifices. It is cer- tain, then, the apostle does not speak of all men, but of a certain class of his countrymen. And this is confirmed by the fact, that in the Greek, the article tois is before the word men, and that article means the or those. In the same book, chapter seven, verse twenty-seven, this article is rendered those -"who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer sacrifice, first for his own people's ; for this he did once, when he offered up himself." Retain- ing the article, as in this place, the passage reads, " And as it is appointed unto those men once to die." What men? Why, the men appointed by the Jewish law to offer sacrifices .- the high priests.
But did those men " die " in their sacrifices? Yes, in the sense here intended. In the sixteenth and seven- teenth verses, speaking of the first testament, the apostle says, " For where a testament is, there must of necessity be the death of the testator, for a testament is of force when men are dead; otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth." It is so now. No will or testa. ment is in force till the testator is dead. Well, Moses was the testator of the Jewish covenant, and we know that was in full force before Moses died temporally. What kind of a death, then, does the apostle mean? Read, on : "For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people, " that is, given them the whole covenant, " according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool, and myrrh, and
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sprinkled both the books, " that contained the covenant " and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the testa- ment which God hath enjoined unto you." This sacrifice which Moses then offered in the presence of the people, is what the apostle calls the death of the testator. He did not, of course, die temporally, but he shed blood, offered sacrifice, and thereby sealed the covenant, and that is called the death of the testator. Well, we know the Jewish priests were set apart, " appointed " to " die " for the people in the same sense Moses died to seal the cov- enant. The language with reference to Moses dying in his sacrifice, explains what is meant by the words, "it is appointed unto men once to die, " they died as Moses died.
There is allusion here to the Annual Atonement of the Jews. On that great occasion, the priest, who was the most conspicuous personage, appeared before the assem- bled congregation-that appearing was typical of Christ's first coming. The priest then offered sacrifice for the sins of the Jewish nation-that was typical of the death of Christ for the world. The priest, then disappeared, and entered into the " Holiest of all, "-that was typical of Christ entering into paradise. In due time the priest reappeared to the people - that was typical of Christ's resurrection, his " second appearing." The priest at his second appearing before the people, passed judgment on them, which was, that their sins were forgiven-that was typical of the judgment passed on all who trust in the risen Savior. They behold him the second time-the risen, the glorified Savior, without sin unto salvation. His first appearing, was when he came in the flesh; his second appearing, when he showed himself to the world in his spiritual and glorified condition, and all who con-
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fide in the risen Redeemer, as the way, the truth, and the life, are blessed with life and salvation. To them he "appears the second time without sin unto salvation."
I also delivered several discourses in Franklin. A Millerite, at the close of one of them, attempted to show the New Testament teaches, that this earth will be de- stroyed. His chief reliance was on Matt. xiii. "That passage," said he, " speaks of the end of the world, the harvest, and the furnace of fire. It is not figurative lan- guage. This world is to be burned up, and then the wicked will be cast into a lake of fire. I do not know when all this will take place. It may occur to-day, to- morrow, this year, next year ; I know not the hour, day or year, but I do know that dreadful day of destruction will come, sooner, or later."
I replied : " The passage in Matt. xiii. affords the gen- tleman's destructive theory no aid whatever. It is the judgment of learned men that the " end of the world, " in that passage, is the end of the Jewish world, or age-that Christ has no reference to the destruction of this mate- rial earth. Bishop Pearce renders the original, " End of the age, viz : that is, of the Jewish dispensation." Dr. Hammond translates it thus : " Conclusion of the age." Dr. Cappe says, the words mean, "The accomplishment of the age, which in scripture language, uniformly re- lates to the Mosaic economy." This interpretation is fully sustained by the New Testament. Speaking of Jesus, an apostle says : "For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world : but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." Heb. ix. 26. At the end of what world was Christ sacrificed ? Not the end of thi ; earth, surely, for it has survived his death most two thou-
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sand years. In another place the same apostle represents the end of the world as having taken place in his day . "And they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." I Cor. x. II. If the apostle Paul was right, my friend here is miserably de- luded. The Mosaic world, or era, did end in the apos- tolic age, and to that the New Testament always refers when speaking of the end of the world.
" The harvest, " says Jesus, "is the end of the world." In the Bible, the end of an era, a city, or nation, is called its harvest. Of the destruction of the city of Babylon, it is said, " For thus saith the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, the daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor, it is time to thresh her; yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come . .. And Babylon shall be- come heaps, a dwelling place for dragons; an astonish- ment, and a hissing, without an inhabitant." Jer. li. 33, 37. The end of that city is called its harvest; so the end of the Jewish dispensation is called its harvest.
The ending of the Jewish world involved the ruin of that nation. Jesus often warned his countrymen of the coming calamity ; told them plainly unless they reformed they would all perish in the approaching storm. That national desolation is called "wrath to come, " " damna- tion," "everlasting punishment," "furnace of fire." " Whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace is in Jerusalem." Isa. xxxi. 9. "Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross : all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace ; they are even the dross of silver. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin into the midst of
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the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you. Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof. As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the Lord have poured out my fury upon you." Ezek. xxii. 18-22. These pas- sages illustrate the meaning of " furnace of fire; " tell where it is- in Jerusalem, not in eternity, as the gentle- man imagines. In the text, the wicked Jews are called " tares ; " in the above quotations are termed "dross," " dross of silver,". "lead," "iron," "tin." At the end of the Jewish state, the righteous, - the gold and wheat of the nation, - were saved, but the " tares, " the "dross " were destroyed by famine, pestilence, and the sword. This passage, then, has no reference to the destruction of this earth, nor to any calamity beyond the grave.
Although I find no evidence in the New Testament of the destruction of this.earth, I conclude from analo- gy, it is destined to be destroyed. Everything living on the earth has its birth, maturity, and death. This is true of every plant, animal and man. And is it not so of the earth? The matter composing it may be eternal, but there was doubtless a time in the distant past when this globe had no existence. It is supposed the sun once occupied the space in which the planets are now revolving, and that those planets, with their satellites, were then parts of the sun ; but by the opera- tion of laws governing that immense mass of matter, portions become detached from time to time, and com- menced revolving on their axis, and around the mother globe. Those detached portions are now the
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planets belonging to the solar system. If this hypothe- sis be correct, the earth had a beginning. It has passed through wonderful changes since the day of its birth - has condensed, cooled, and become fit for the growth of vegetation, and for the habitation of ani- mals and man. And will it not in time lose its vital- ity like a decrepit old man, and finally die, and return to the sun whence it came? Is not this to be the fate of all the planets? And will not the sun him- self lose his life, luster and glory, and fall into the vortex whence he came? And will not this decom- posed matter again be vitalized, and form other globes ? And is not birth, growth, death and decomposition going on, not only among plants, animals, and men, but in all departments of the material universe ? And has not this process been everlastingly going on ? and will it not continue to go on forever and ever?
Lectured at Columbus several times; and in going there, got rather a cold bath. Came to a stream ; being informed by a man living on its bank, it was shallow, plunged into its foaming water without hesitation, but soon found that it was deep and rapid. Reaching the opposite shore wet through, and the weather being very cold, my clothes were soon frozen from head to foot. Rode several miles in that condition, and when I reached Columbus, which was in the night, was about as cold as a living man can be. A preacher replied to one of the discourses in a very bitter spirit, and I took occasion to exhibit some of the contradictions of his brethren, thus :
It is believed, Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, but that nine-tenths of the world will be forever lost. It is believed, Jesus tasted death for every man, but
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that millions will receive no benefit therefrom. It is believed, Jesus will reign till he subdues all things to God, but that a majority of mankind will be eternally unsubdued. It is believed, all war is unchristian, but that God will keep up a war in hell forever. It is be- lieved, capital punishment is wrong, but that God will inflict capital punishment on all who leave this world unregenerated. It is believed, we ought to overcome evil with good, but that God will overcome it by in- flicting an infinite evil. It is believed to be the duty of man to labor in season and out of season to re- generate his fellow man, but that God will defeat his labors by placing multitudes where salvation never can be attained. It is believed, mankind are brethren, but that a devil will sever that brotherhood, and drag most of our race into the infernal regions. It is believed, we should love our fellow men, but that God hates nearly all of them with infinite hatred. It is believed, we should imitate God, but if we did so, provided the creeds are true, we should be incarnate fiends. It is believed, there is only one God, but that in reality there are three Gods. It is believed, man by nature is re- ligious, but that by nature he is totally depraved. These, and many others, are the contradictions of what is called Orthodoxy. Can that theory be all divine which so abounds with absurdities and contradictions ?
I subsequently had a discussion in this place with J. Wright, a Disciple minister. Salvation, said I, in one of my speeches, is the theme of the Bible - of Moses, the prophets, Jesus and the apostles. But what is salvation? Mr. Wright says, it is from an endless hell, from the wrath of God, from the power of satan. He described in burning words the horrors of the in-
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fernal pit of his creed. He described them beautifully, and I noticed some of his brethren seemed delighted with the charming picture. They, doubtless, feel sure of a comfortable seat in the heavenly mansion, having had their sins washed away in yonder stream, and ex- pect to have the supreme satisfaction of seeing us, the unbaptized, writhing in the flames of hell, the victims. of devils, and the cursed of God. They laugh now in anticipation of this great joy to come. 'I envy them not their spirit nor their hopes. But according to the Bible, salvation is deliverance from sin, error, condem- nation, moral death. "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee." Titus ii. 11-15. This is a clear statement of sal- vation. It is deliverance from "all iniquity " - soul- purification -and is effected by the grace or truth of God, teaching us to " deny ungodliness and wordly lusts, and live soberly, righteously and godly " amid the evils of this world. " These things speak and exhort," adds the apostle. Let this be remembered by those who assert that a present salvation is nothing, is not worth striving for, if there are not eternal fires beyond the grave. "Let no man despise you." Remember this, ye who despise the message of him, who urges a present
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salvation, but know nothing of salvation from the wrath of God, nor the torments of perdition.
The first time salvation is referred to in the Bible, it relates to deliverance from iniquity . "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Gen. iii. 15. Here we have the cheering assurance, that sin, symbolized by the serpent, shall be crushed, ruined, destroyed, and Adam's race, conse- quently, delivered from its blasting, deadly effects, but not a word about salvation from the future, everlasting hell Mr. W. talks so eloquently about. In Mal. iii. 2, 3, the mission of Jesus is clearly stated : "But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth ? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like ful- ler's soap : and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver : and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.", Jesus is the refiner ; truth is the fire; man, created in the image of God, is the gold; the dross is man's falsities. As the refiner with his fire separates the gold from the dross, saves the one and destroys the other, so Jesus, by the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation, purifies our souls, separates the earthly from the heavenly, saves the one and destroys the other. Not a word here about deliver- ance f om the flames of hell, or the wrath of God. The earthly father of this soul-refiner was instructed to call his name Jesus, because he would " save his people from their sins ;" and during his ministry on earth, Jesus labored to that end. " Repent !" cried he, "for the king- dom of heaven is at hand,"- not the kingdom of hell, mark you. We should repent, reform, live purely and
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righteously, from heavenly considerations-not from motives of an infernal nature. Nineteen-twentieths of the sermons of this age would not be uttered if all the preachers understood that text.
At last, the great Reformer died, and the apostle tells why he died. "He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him who died for them and rose again." 2 Cor. v. 15. Jesus lived, labored, died, and rose again, that we might "live unto him." But we are told by the popular creed, it was the end and aim of Jesus, whether living or dying, to placate the wrath of God, and save us from a burning hell. After the Master's death, the apostles continued the work, and it is well known they labored faithfully for the present salvation of their fellow men. The chief of them said, " Jesus, whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man, in all wisdom, that we may pre- sent every man perfect in Christ Jesus." Col. i. 28. He preached to make men perfect in gospel virtues- not to redeem them from a fabled world of woe. The apostle's words to his pupil, Timothy, are very comprehensive: " All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for in- struction in righteousness : that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 2 Tim. ii. 16, 17. The object of all heavenly influences is summed up in these brief words. To perfect our char- acter, and make us rich in good works is the ultimate of revelation. And how much more rational is this than the popular notion, that it is a device to satisfy justice, ap- pease heaven's wrath, and rescue us from hell's flames.
The discussion was to have continued four days, but Mr. Wright's friends closed it on the evening of the sec-
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ond day. He remarked to an acquaintance of mine soon after this, he had " rather debate with a ten-acre field full of sectarians, than with one Universalist."
From Columbus I journeyed to Nashville, and deliv- ered three discourses. "It is too good to be true," said a preacher, at the close of one of the sermons. I re- marked, "That is the strongest objection I know of to this soul-cheering faith. That ourselves, relatives, friends, all mankind, are the children of God; that he loves us with a love many floods cannot quench ; that we have all commenced a life never to end, and are des- tined to grow wiser, and better, and happier, forever and ever; that we shall again meet the loved and lost of earth, and hand in hand, soul linked to soul, forever tread the courts of the New Jerusalem-that we are born to so rich and glorious an inheritance is hard, I admit, to believe. But there are many other blessings, we might think the same of under certain circumstances. Had it been our sad lot to be confined to this date in a dungeon, never to have known father, mother, brother, sis- ter, never to have seen the face of a friend or heard the voice of love,never to have seen the green earth, the bright sun, or blue sky, and told to-day for the first time, that the beau- tiful earth and star-spangled sky exist as we now behold them, full of beauty for the eye, music for the ear, and love for the heart, and that in a short time we should exchange our dark, damp, cold cell, for this glorious world, where we should meet father, mother, brother and sister, would we not exclaim in the language of the brother, 'It is too good to be true !'
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