God's Redemption of Man
FROM IGNORANCE, FEAR, AND TORTURING DOUBT
, 0 @@ The History of the Origin of All Things
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THE ORIGIN OF ALL THINGS
GIVEN BY THE LORD OUR GOD Through Levi M. Arnold 1852 REVISED BY HIM Through Anna A. MacDonald 1936 Edited by Robert T. Newcomb
The History of the Origin of all Things
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Volume One
Title Page: 1936 Edition:
Title Page: 1883
Preface: 2nd Edition
Preface: Book Third
Preface: Revised Edition
A Sketch: L. M. Arnold
PART I. The Origin Of All Things
CHAPTER
I. God's plan for man and how He has influenced him since.
II. Creation and man's idea of it.
III. The origin of man.
IV. The duties men owe to each other.
V. What is man?
VI. The soul of man in its relation to God.
VII. The design of man's creation.
VIII. The future of man.
IX. The preparation for death.
X. Where shall the ungodly be found?
XI. The soul of man in the future state
XII. The soul of man here on earth.
XIII. The soul of man considered in its eventual relation to God.
XIV. The means by which God's mercy is exercised.
XV. The corrected view of creation.
XVI. The history of Jesus of Nazareth.
XVII. The life of Jesus Christ on earth.
PART II. The Chronological, Geological, Geographical, Social History of the World, with the Story of Divine Influence.
XVIII. Chronology: the chronology of mankind conformed to the real chronology, as ascertained by spirits after their ascension.
XIX. The Word: the history of the Word, continued and carried to the present time.
XX. Decline of knowledge. The cause of the decline of man's knowledge of God, as first possessed of Him in this world.
XXI. Causes which required the crucifixion of Christ.
XXII. The World: when were its foundations laid?
XXIII. Revelation: the reason and truth of revelation asserted and maintained; spheres and circles.
XXIV. History taken chronologically, upon which theology has been based; spheres and circles: Noah.
XXV. Jesus Christ: continuation of history taken chronologically, upon which theology has been based.
XXVI. Explanation of writings of Hebrew prophets.
XXVII. Salvation: the surety of the salvation of all men.
XXVIII. Revelation: holy mediums, explanations of many Bible passages or portions.
XXIX. The deluge: the relations of the crust or surface of the earth.
XXX. Early history: history of the earth and its inhabitants after the deluge.
XXXI. Later history: origin and history of commercial nations.
XXXII. Impending change: change of the earth's surface, past and future.
XXXIII. Antediluvian history: history of antediluvian life upon the earth.
XXXIV. Development of man: his formation and improvement, from the beginning to the present time.
XXXV. Spiritual development: rewards to spirituality-minded men of their progress.
XXXVI. The moon: changes of the moon's surface.
XXXVII. The sun: nature of heat, conditions and climate of the sun and other bodies.
XXXVIII. Physical progression, continued.
XXXIX. The time of the end: present history of Anglo-Saxon Dom and the New Jerusalem; present call on all men.
PART III. The Spiritual State of Man, from Death of the Body to Knowledge of God by which All Men are Saved.
XL. The manifestations of God's interference with men in the present day explained and elucidated; the call to men to obey and serve God in this life without delay; the effect the present life must have on the life to come.
XLI. The object to be accomplished by spiritual manifestations now being made; prophecy and its manifestations; prophecy and its future.
XLII. Reasons for believing this holy medium truthful.
XLIII. The effect upon society of a general belief in the doctrines now promulgated.
XLIV. What did Jesus of Nazareth, through the aid of God's spirit, teach?.
XLV. The life and preaching of Paul.
XLVI. The origin of the Christian hierarchy.
(Note: A copy of the title page of the First Book issued in 1852 could not be found. But it is assumed the title page of the 1883 edition is an exact copy, so it is used. The first books were printed as received and issued in paper covers. Editor.)
THE
HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN OF ALL THINGS,
INCLUDING
THE HISTORY OF MAN,
FROM HIS CREATION TO HIS FINALITY, BUT NOT TO HIS END.
Written by God's Holy Spirit, through an Earthly Medium,
L. M. ARNOLD, OF POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y.
PUBLISHED BY DIRECTION OF THE SPIRITS, AND, IN GOD'S WILL, SUBMITTED TO A HOLY AND SEARCHING CRITICISM FROM EVERY EARNEST SEEKER AFTER TRUTH.
FOR SALE BY ALL BOOKSELLERS, WHO DESIRE TO FORWARD THE WORK OF
God's Redemption of Man
FROM IGNORANCE, FEAR, AND TORTURING DOUBT
A M E N.
WRITTEN IN 1852.
__________
BOSTON:
COLBY AND RICH, PUBLISHERS
1883
Engaging God
All we need to do to engage God productively in our lives is to purposely invite God and/or Christ into our lives.
Knowing that the living, loving God expresses to us or touches us Spirit to spirit and empowers us by the touch of His Being through the Christ Spirit is the basis of Christian faith.
Seeing Jesus as the Christ Spirit, born among the people of earth to demonstrate the Christ attributes available to whosoever, shapes our lives in the Holy Spirit in a transcendent way. Thus, we may look beyond our bodily reality and earthly circumstance to our spiritual being, and believe that we are really in spiritual being right now. Acting out of our spirit center, with Spiritual motivation to express by creative, life-enhancing, productive effort, is all that it takes to establish ourselves in God-life. "God is Spirit, and we must worship Him in spirit and in truth." We are spirit; and, worship is actively engaging God at the spiritual level of our being.
As Christians, we are taught that one-seventh of our time (one day a week) and life energy and attention are to be devoted to God. That resting from natural activities in reverential stillness and attention keeps us in attunement. Yea -- keeps the lines of communication open that we may receive our direction and feed our developing souls on and in the substance of spiritual life that streams forth out of the Creator. God is the ultimate magnetic attraction, and our journey toward Him is eternal.
In our present time, 1994, we have externalized our being more than is possible, and still live in the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual balance that is imperative in life. We are a spirit, born of God; we have a soul that is perfectible unto eternity; we live in a body which was created for us as the perfect means of articulating in the earth realm of substance where we presently make our place, as part of our infinite and eternal life. Can we not, as educated beings, see that letting God reign supreme in our lives, letting truth and love from the living, eternally active Father of Life, flow through our spirits, souls and bodies is the perfect way to realize health, harmony, happiness and joyful productivity?
Life is essentially creative; and here, we create both in our being and beyond it. The most important product is what we create in the spirit/soul being of ourselves and others. The process is perfect to the accomplishment of God's purpose of developing beings to share in the eternal expression of the infinite potential of life as it streams out of the God-center of the universe, into created things unto infinity and eternity.
Our free-will is the gift that lets us act in the dynamic Life of God and Creation. We are created to be ever established in the source, but can will it otherwise. Essential in the use of will, acting with and in volition, is the decision that our souls, by and in our spirit, stay engaged in the God Spirit by Christ, His Spiritual Son, and the Holy Spirit, carrier of all infinite knowledge.
This book, the History of the Origin of All Things, stands as a perfect guide. It reflects on all the essentials of life, elucidating life, scriptures and purpose -- extending major keys to every searcher. It describes the continued progression beyond earth experience and the importance of making the most of this life in the binding and loosing of the elements of soul that will carry over. The truths are easy to believe and inculcate, for, by and through engagements for the purpose of essential and successful use of one's life and free-will.
I searched for such all my life. Now, my purpose is to be involved in the distribution and the practice of its truths.
In Jesus Name.
AMEN.
Donald O. Haughey
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
In presenting this volume of Truth the second time to mankind, I do it hoping and trusting they may find it of priceless value, as it has been to me.
To the hungry and thirsty soul starving for knowledge, asking for light, it will be as a diamond set in pearls of inestimable value.
This book came to me providently. I read, and thanked God for its sublime truths. It has been to me like a cloud, to guide my wandering feet by day, and a pillar of light in the dark hours of sadness and the night of adversity.
Of late very many calls have been made for this book, and none to be found. I therefore got the right to republish it at my own expense, and with a sincere prayer I send it forth on its mission of Truth to every dark and benighted soul of earth who needs its light.
This book was written by a man of common education, simple, honest, a Quaker in principle. Having fulfilled his mission, twelve years ago he passed on to his home among the angels.
Yours for the truth,
ANNIE GETCHELL, M. D.
1 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass.
PREFACE TO BOOK THIRD, 1ST SERIES
This book is the third of the first series of the History of the Origin of All Things, and is presented as the revelation of many things on which mankind have long desired information. Its truth is unshakable by reason or argument, by other manifestations, or by the production of any other theory. Be wise and understand, for the time of the end is near in which all shall see God as He is, and know Him to be Wise, Happy, Good, and Benevolent, ever acting, eternally existing, and universally present.
Poughkeepsie, Sept. 30, 1852.
This book will be in two parts and three books will be found in one, forming the second series and published, like the preceding series, without desire for profit or any remuneration whatever to the medium for his labor, time, or attention. Freely he receives, freely he gives. He does not rely even upon the proceeds of one book for the publication of the next but he avails himself of the facilities I afford him of advancing the necessary funds for their publication without any risk to the publisher, who has no other interest or control over them than to sell such as are placed for that purpose in his hands.
PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION
The time has come when man needs to have this Book, and its followers, brought to his attention afresh. The old form and type make it necessary to republish it in a new dress, so to speak. But truths never change, neither do their Creator nor their application to the life of man. It is man who does the changing, and not The Father, His laws nor His plan; which includes His plan for man's progress as well as for man's redemption.
This is the plan for man's progress, and it must include the necessary experiences in what he considers to be evil, which are necessary for his perceiving and recognizing evil, and how to avoid the things which pull him away from The Father's plan for his final salvation. This means very little man now because so many years have gone by since it was enunciated and so many men have interpreted it since it was formulated, each one giving it more of his interpretation until it is hard to recognize many of the principles laid down by The Father and reiterated and taught by His Son, Jesus Christ.
The time has come when man must face this truth as he has to face what man calls evil; but The Father calls it lessons which man must learn through experience.
In truth, what man calls "the Devil" is the desire of the soul, for the sake of its own growth, to have these experiences of "evil", for the soul recognizes the fact that it must have them. Man must know evil in order to be able to recognize it, and to be sure, he must know it so well that he will not be overcome by it again.
This means experiencing until the soul is so filled with horror which each "evil" thing which pulls man down that he turns from it in disgust. Thus each single individual soul has to go through each phase of evil, until he be proof against any form which it may assume.
This is an explanation of why the idea of a personal "devil" grew up. In truth that "devil" lies in man's own soul, through his free-will. This free-will was given him so he might learn to choose for himself, because he knows from his own experience--and not from the experience of any other person--what the evil was, and why he did not deserve it for himself.
Is it not the way a parent trains his child? Does not the parent tell the child what he should do and what he should avoid? What does the child do after he grows old enough to begin to want to do as he wishes to do? Does that child not experiment for himself, and choose which line he will follow?
So it is with mankind from the minute he leaves Paradise, or the Garden of Paradise is called in the Bible, to begin his practice in using his free-will, which is his knowledge of good and evil. He tries this way and that way, until of himself and through his own efforts, he finds God's way for him to go, the way established for man from the beginning but which he had to hunt for and find, through his desire to find it because he had found any other way was wrong, and would lead him away from God's plan instead of toward it.
Now this is "evil" as man sees it, and it is personified in a being man has named "the Devil", while in truth it is only the efforts of man to try many ways before he finds and is willing to follow the ONE WAY -- which is the WAY The Father planned for him at first.
This is given as an example of the way God's truths and plan for man, which He has never changed, have been unintentionally changed by man's own comprehension which in turn has been influenced by his desires.
Does this explain why The Father at certain periods, ever since man was given his free-will, has given man a new interpretation, a new leader, a new vision of the truth as man was ready to receive it? Even now there will be few who will be able to accept the truths given through this Book, though it has been given by Him who taught man in person almost 2000 years ago, to His chosen mediums--those whom in this Book we shall call holy mediums to distinguish them from those who do not work for or under Him, though they may be able to interpret the spirit-world to man, from a lower level and from a less high motive. This change in the Book is made thus to distinguish Our Lord's agents from others, and to save the one thus chosen from the implied meaning the word medium now carries to man's mind--again, an example of how man has degraded the true conception by substituting one which suits his own understanding.
So a new printing of this Book will be made, and many there be who will profit by it; profit in joy and gratitude for a truer and a more satisfying interpretation. Still, there will be many who will reject all efforts to give them new light; a new meaning which, by its simplicity, would clear up much for them in their understanding and in their joy in their efforts to find and follow the leadership of Our Lord, who, also, may lead man into The Father's way and help him to keep to that way.
Again, Jesus Christ is personally supervising a slight revision of the Book so it may be more easily read and understood by those who are ready to absorb and accept its statements of truths. He is doing this revision through Anna A. MacDonald, and wishes to thank, through her, all those who have helped by preserving the Book, making it known, and now those who are helping in this work of revision, for He is not ignorant of the effort and time needed in the work, slight as the revision is. But He does wish to say that all who are working upon the Book are of His Own, and have already accepted the truths it portrays.
Given in the shadow of His holy retreat upon earth, near Asheville, N.C., July 25, 1936, by Himself, Jesus Christ.
L. M. ARNOLD: A SKETCH
L. M. Arnold was born in 1813. At the time the books were received he resided in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Henry Carpenter, whose father was of the same society of Friends in which Arnold worshipped, was interested in the revelations when they were first published, and as a truthseeker became more intimately acquainted with Arnold. Because of that acquaintanceship Arnold was led to employ B. F. Carpenter as a confidential clerk, to learn his business and become interested as a silent partner, and it is to him that we are indebted for information regarding the life and character of the man who received these books.
Arnold's business was the "Poughkeepsie Foundry", an old establishment to which he succeeded. There were about thirty employees producing various castings, chiefly for New York customers. Arnold attended to all correspondence in addition to keeping all accounts. He was a very active, public-spirit citizen, and in 1864 was the chief promoter of the incorporation of the First National Bank.
Descriptions of how he received and recorded the words of his writings are given in very precise detail in the published books, but the reader will have to search through several books to find all the details. In like manner the only way to comprehend fully all that is given on any subject is to search through all the writings. The spiritual jewels are scattered like diamonds in sand.
The preparatory revelations commenced April 5, 1851, in the form of movements of the pencil, answers to questions, and words internally heard. Such writings were continued for a year and a few days, when the first book of The History of the Origin of All things was commenced, in a small bound blank book, written with lead pencil throughout.
When there were calls for the published book, Carpenter assisted in filling orders, and naturally was inclined to seek for further information regarding statements made in them, especially such as were prophetic, and was surprised to learn that he had not read his works since publication. He had attempted to do so, but each time was informed he better not peruse them.
He was looking forward to the second coming of Jesus of Nazareth, but expected it to be an event that mankind would not recognize at the time it should occur, but later should realize it fully.
He usually attended Sabbath day services at the Hicksight Society of Friends, but he did not converse on religious subjects or take any active part in religious proceedings. As related to his employees he was a very gentle man, frugal and soft-spoken.
He died of typhoid fever, September 24, 1864.
History Of The Origin of All Things
PART I
The Origin
Of
All Things
What man is, was, and will be, has always occupied his thought and engaged his deep research. But heretofore he has had few materials for his study, and thus has made small progress in solving the problems upon which his curiosity impelled him to work. Recently the minds of many have experienced the dawn of brighter anticipation, through the communications of spirits. Hitherto, the self-will of the mediums has not been deeply impressed with the opening of the door to let in God's spirit--the Divine Influence, the Holy Spirit--all synonymous terms. This medium has been through a course of discipline which afflicted, grieved, and surprised him, and has experienced the hand of God in many ways to fit him for this work. It is the will of God that he should now proceed more clearly and understandingly, but the way will not be strewn with flowers only. Thorns are the usual accompaniments of roses, and this is a life of probation. And how can men be proved without trial or condemned without sin? He will receive pardon, though, when he is qualified for it. So will all men.
The life of man here is short, hereafter it is eternal. Everlasting to everlasting is his generation. But the last shall be first in glory and first with God. The first shall be last with men. But the glory of the last is eternal, and the glory of the first vanishes as dew before the beams of God's love. All shall be, forever, the children of God and all shall, in the future, see God. But the last shall be first and the first, last. Be then consoled, ye afflicted; be comforted, ye mourners, be joyful, ye who weep; for God rules and reigns beyond the powers of Kings or Popes. Priests, laymen, widowed churches, and joyful fools shall all be cast down, but God shall reign undisturbed in the crash of matter and the fall of universes. His calmness is imperturbable; His will is perfect in wisdom and power; His justice and His mercy go hand in hand; and His love unites all, sustains all, blesses all, and will cause all to glorify, to praise, to honor, and to love Him, who is beyond, above, every finite comprehension, but bows down the majesty of His nature to hear the prayer of an humble and contrite spirit.
GOD'S PLAN FOR MAN AND HOW HE HAS INFLUENCED HIM SINCE
In the beginning God created heaven and earth and all things that are therein. He made man to govern the animal creation, to secure the welfare of himself by the exercise of his mental faculties and his spiritual aspirations.
Having placed him in a happy position, God left him to cultivate the earth and to supply his bodily wants by his animal observation. The love of God protected him from fear and from doubt. But the evil of sin entered because man would not be satisfied with the good God had bestowed upon him. So evil came in the shape of desire of change; of love or desire for unknown things. Having so allowed evil to enter into the soul, which till then had been the sanctuary of God, man fell into despondency. Man feared God would repay him evil for evil and place him in a state of unhappiness, because he had not been satisfied and happy when in a superior position. But God never placed man in such an inferior position, but caused His holy love to persuade man to advance, to trust to His (God's) mercy, and to lean on Him for support in every affliction. As man rested on God for support, he was strengthened; as he loved God, he was purified, for the love of God is a consuming fire which eradicates every evil desire, which conquers and turns to dust and ashes every unholy aspiration, every free thought of fallen man. His wishes, when brought into subjection to God's will, will be the emanation of God's spirit.
There is now proceeding from God's spirit, and influence which acts on man, through the spirits of his departed friends; friends who have left the body to exist in spirit-form only. This state-of-the-spirit is a blissful one, compared with that of bodily existence, because man is thereby relieved from the temptations which the bodily nature impels; and having no thought for self only, or no need to have such thought, he delights in doing good to others with himself. Being relieved from bodily temptations, he ceases to sin, and becomes purified by the fire of God's love from the consequences of the sins he has committed in the body. Being purified gradually from these, he ascends to a higher condition in which he possesses a greater measure of God's presence in him. And being so fitted for higher duties he becomes set apart to usefulness of various kinds, such as God in his wisdom imposes as his duties; and these duties are performed as pleasures. They are pleasures and confer upon him the highest happiness of which he is capable.
These duties consist in loving those who are then assigned to his care; in watching over and influencing them under the direction and the desire of good works. This position can not be occupied by one in the body. But those in the body can be placed in an analogous one, that of serving God by promoting the good of fellow men. These are, however, subordinate to and under the direction of the higher spiritual existences, as the love of God operates through a chain of existence; the higher part being more filled with God's glory, with His love and with His power; the lower receiving the influence of the higher, as iron receives the properties of the magnet without becoming the magnet. While so influenced the lower seems sometimes to be equal to the higher; but some change of circumstances, which breaks the connection of the helice, or chain, dispels the illusion. the unaided man then falls back by unholy or inharmonious desires into helplessness; again to be strengthened and revivified by the holy encircling influences of the higher and purer existences.
It is by passiveness, by submission of will, by desire of God's love, that the mind of man while in the body is prepared to receive this evidence of God's love and this manifestation of His power. It is by a faithful observance of the impulses of man's own higher nature that he can attain this state of passiveness, submission, and desire, when imbued with it, he progresses. His position becomes eventually more and more elevated. He becomes stronger and stronger in faith, which impels him more and more to serve God by obeying the highest impulses he feels. He so comes to have a high and holy calling, and being so called, he is a willing servant. He has sacrificed his will as an acceptable offering on the holy altar of God's love. He treads forward in his work, rejoicing as he advances. When the summons to leave the body arrives, he is ready and willing. He is always resigned to the dispensations of God's will, because he feels and knows that God loves him; that God does not afflict him from hate or revenge; but that pity and compassion are the nearest approach to wrath of which God is capable.
God is omnipotent; and He is omniscient. If, then, He knows all, even foreknows all, and His power executes His will even as His will exists, how then could He have wrath, how could He hate, how could He revenge? The moment His will shall have exercised itself, the effect would be accomplished. No struggle would avail, no pity could move, no submission would have time to operate. In an instant of time, and whole creation might be resolved into its original elements, or into nothing--the nothing from which the will of God formed it. He spake, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood fast. The inspired penman has well expressed the instantaneous operation of God's will. He can as easily destroy as create. Man can more easily destroy than create, because both are laborious to him, though one involves more labor than the other. To God, and with God, both are equal.
CHAPTER II
CREATION AND MAN'S IDEA OF IT
We will now return to the first topic; to our real subject: The Origin of All Things. God, having resolved that a creation should be established, willed it. Not instantly in all its parts but by laws of progress. The laws being established, the effects followed inevitably. It is beyond the powers of the finite mind to conceive of the operations of the Infinite. Therefore, the manner of the conception of the idea is to man inexplainable, though the effects can be related.
When matter was chaos, a state to which it had progressed from nothing, it continued to progress into order. Order established the foundations of the astronomical systems, and in order they continued to progress or develop. From one confused chaos, pervading infinite space, there resulted heavenly systems of universes, systems of suns, systems of planets, primary and secondary. These various, these innumerable bodies, pervading infinite space, all experience the Divine care and partake of the Divine love. The love of God is unfolded by degrees to the knowledge of every creature.
These worlds or globes of matter are all habitable, and all inhabited--some by beings higher than man, some by lower orders only, some have things only like men. Does God, then reserve man, or that family of men placed on this earth, as the only order of beings worthy of His care? Is it for man that all the starry globes, twinkling from afar, exist? Does man require that God should Himself descend from the seat of His power and the home of His love; from pervading the whole universe of universes, illimitable, unimaginable by man, to dwell in one body, to concentrate Himself to one soul and that the soul of a man? What, must we suppose, would be the presumption of being like man to require this? And yet man believes that only so has God been able to save the beings that have existed on this globe. And how, then, have they been saved on other globes? Not by having other Sons, because then the glory of Him who saved men would be diminished. Not by sending that same son to other worlds, because that would be condemning that only Son to infinite, if not unending, suffering. For who can conceive of the end of a time that would be necessary to pass through an existence in each of the innumerable worlds that comprise a universe? And that universe is only an atom of the great whole of God's creation.
Oh, man, what pride is thine. What can He not deem worthy of Himself, if no sacrifice but the Son of God, an equal with God, is sufficient to satisfy His honor, to exalt His glory, to secure His happiness? Alas, that an idea conceived in ignorance, when the wonders of creation had not been opened to the astonished gaze and admiring mind of men, when the earth was thought to be all the habitable creation, when it was easy to suppose that heaven was above and hell below its great plane, alas, I say that an idea originating in such dark ignorance of nature and of nature's God should still be maintained by intelligent, educated, and even greatly learned men. This is indeed folly. God loves all His creatures. God has power to save them all. Can He fail to desire to have them saved? Can He fail to have His desire fulfilled? If He can fail, He is not God. God will not be mocked. Such a doctrine is now the doctrine of pride, as it was once the doctrine of ignorance. Let man be humble. Let him be willing to be saved by God's mercy, which has no end. Let him be passive to the holy influences God will throw around him and act in humble reverence of a being as merciful as He is powerful, and as loving as He is great and good.
The end of the matter is--God has placed man here, as He has placed other beings elsewhere, to manifest His glory, to make known His power, to establish His mercy, to exercise His love. He wills them to encounter temptations, to bear afflictions, to sustain labors, to sink under evil, to be raised by His love, to be established by His power, all as the work of His hands; being the part which pertains to the great whole of His universal creation. Man was before this earth was. Man was not created for himself nor for the earth. He was made for God's glory and to enjoy the benevolence of a merciful and all-wise creator. It is God's pleasure that man shall be happy. He wills that man shall be able to enjoy and to appreciate the happiness He wills to confer upon him. It is only by contrast that we can know happiness. It is only by cold we can know heat. It is only by pain we can know pleasure. This life in the body, pleasurable though it is to us on the whole as we experience it, will be the foundation for the superstructure of unutterable bliss that will be enjoyed by every man at some period, when he will look back to this bodily state as one of misery; misery mitigated only by the knowledge that it was dictated by true benevolence, that it was only a preparation for higher states, in which its memory should be present as a contrast. Even as every picture must have shade to contrast its light so must every mind have unhappiness wherewith to measure its happiness.
This is the true explanation of the usefulness of evil. All are but parts of one stupendous whole, says the poet. All that can ennoble and elevate man is often obscured by the darkness of ignorance and the love of self. But when the body is forsaken, the soul, freed from further temptations, is operated upon by the efforts of others under God's laws, until, little by little, it is freed from the depths of the darkest ignorance. And recognizing its brighter and holier nature, it gladly strives to serve God, which is to serve others. Strictly speaking we can not serve God. He needs no service. An Omnipotent being can not need help. He is happy. We can not make Him more so. We can promote our own good and elevate our happiness, by serving others under His influence; by coming into harmony with His Divine nature. The pure in heart shall see God. As we advance we reach nearer and nearer to His nature, we are more and more purified and refined in our nature and manifestations, until at least we shall be one with God, because we shall have no other will than His, not other desire than to be in harmony with Him. We shall then be Sons of God, reconciled to Him, one with Him--one in power, one in glory, one in honor--because we shall be no other than a part of God Himself; an emanation of Himself united to Himself after a long series of adventures, in which we have experienced and continue to enjoy an individual existence, yet harmonized mysteriously with, and into, the Divine Nature.
THE ORIGIN OF MAN
Having now opened our subject, I will proceed to state the Origin of Man.
Man is a being of various existences, connected with each other by ties of various natures. His origin is God, from whom proceedeth all things. All things are of God, and, in one sense, all things are in God. But, yet, some are more separated from God than others; and though God fills all space and exists at one and the same time in every part of the universe of His creation--pervading every creature, maintaining every life--He still gives His creatures an independence of Him, greater or less, never absolute. It will perhaps be better understood to say, every creature is more or less dependent on Him, though all had originally, when created, points or angles of separation. The course of their existences never is parallel with God, but all are diverging from or approaching Him. Man's course is first divergent from God. Man's spirit, which is the man while the body is merely its clothing, is an emanation from the Deity, a part of the Divine spirit.
It is first placed in a state of quiet happiness, removed from pain, subject to no trials, having no knowledge of affliction or of temptation. Here it is male and female. Not that one being is of both sexes, but that two beings unite to form one harmonious existence in each other. This state exists for a long period; to man's comprehension it would be an eternity. But it is an existence of sameness without emotion. No events mark its progress, or recall and measure its period. The existence is pleasurable. They are as Gods: each as God, so far as being without affliction or unfulfilled desire. But they have not eaten of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They can not taste that without passing from their harmonious existence. They are pure, and see God. They are innocent, and love Him. They are as children and, being thus passive in the hands of God, they are in heaven. It is the state of Paradise. They are not yet clothed with earthly bodies. They have not even the spiritual body which men possess after the death of the natural body. They exist with constant pleasurable sensations and associations. Each pair is independent of the others. No government is required; there are no crimes to punish, no rights to maintain. God sustains all, is in all, and in Him they move and have their being. But where are they? is asked. They are in God. They are where He is, sensible that they are into God but that they have an individual and partial existence. This is the first state of man; and is also the first state of all beings similar to him that inhabit other globes, as well as of every superior order of beings that exists. These superior orders of beings differ from man by having afterward more wonderful bodies, endowed with higher and more extensive powers. But they assume such bodies as their nature requires--to every seed God giveth its own body. There are various orders of these beings, as all God's creation is composed of varieties; as men differ from each other in race, features, manners and intellect. Yet before God all are equal. They are each and all such as He willed to have them.
In the beginning, God created the worlds that fill or are scattered through infinite space. The lapse of time since the beginning is too remote for man's comprehension. Astronomers tell how long the most distant stars of which they know must have existed, in order that their light should have reached the earth. But how much longer they have existed, or how much further creation extends, none can compute.
After the worlds, or globes of matter, were formed from the chaos of the first creation, man was separated from the perfect oneness he, before that, had had with God. Placed then in Paradise, a long period of tranquil happiness prevailed, undisturbed by aspirations or desires. This may be known as a sabbath of rest; as a time when the morning stars sang together and all the Sons of God shouted for joy. Such was Paradise, and such it is yet to the created, but unborn, spirits of men.
Yet every part of God's creation had impressed upon it, by unerring wisdom, the laws of progress. And though man's path at times diverged from God's own course, it none the less led to higher glory and it ends in the greatest happiness.
The law of progress having aroused in man, while in his quiet state of separate and bipartite existence, a desire for greater knowledge--a desire to experience, to act, instead of merely existing and enjoying--the being passes into a body, prepared under the operation of God's immutable but progressive laws for its reception. It is expelled from Paradise, because Paradise ceases to be all it desires, ceases to render the man happy.
And how did the first spirit or soul of man that left Paradise find a body? In the order of God's creation, a body was prepared. In the fullness of His knowledge, every want was foreseen and the very period in which it should occur known. God formed the body from the dust of the earth. The spirit that had long before emanated from God, entered into the body and conferred upon the insensate mass, life. Man became a living soul. Multitudinous desires sprang into existence; multitudinous difficulties prevented their realization. Disappointment is affliction. Deprivation of present happiness is the inevitable consequence of affliction. Selfish desires are unholy, because they are indulged in at the expense of benevolence. Benevolence consists in doing good to others. Selfishness desires to benefit self only. Its indulgence at the expense of others is often a crime by the laws of man. By God's law it is a sin. It may be pardoned; its legitimate consequences may be overruled. But in general it makes an indelible print on the character, on the spirit or soul, of the actor. Indelible print except by the mercy of God. Yet His mercy is ever ready to exercise itself upon the sinner; and so long as sin exists God's spirit will strive with man.
But God's spirit will not always strive with man. Therefore, the day will come when sin will no longer exist. Then God will have reconciled all to Himself. Sin and death will no longer live, or occur. All will be one with God, through Christ--Christ, or the Messiah, or the Sent of God, for all these terms are synonymous. There is then one God, the Saviour of all men, and Jesus, whom He sent, preached this. Every true prophet has preached it, and will preach it so long as men require preaching. But the time cometh when all shall know God, from the least to the greatest. That is, the time is coming to every individual separately, not to all at once. He will be known of all men. He will write His law in their hearts, and put it in their inmost parts; though not always while they are in the body but certainly at some time. The time will come when men will be willing and desirous to be led and guided by Him; to receive the fulfillment of His gracious promises. For the free will of man is never infringed. He must work out his own salvation. He must be purified like gold in the refiner's fire, like silver in the pot. This is the sure and steadfast promise of God, which is Yea and Amen forever. Blessed be God who confers such happiness on His creatures who bestows such good gifts on His children--Yeah, even the boon of eternal life, eternal happiness, eternal progression in the beams of His all-beneficent power and love. Glory to God in the highest. Peace on earth and good-will to men.
THE DUTIES MEN OWE TO EACH OTHER
There is now a long course of instruction required upon the duties men owe to each other. But I shall not undertake to preach it, for the time has not come when men are willing to receive it. Selfishness prevails too generally; is too strong entrenched in the hearts of men. Its outworks are found in the laws and customs of traffic, in the arts and professions, in the habits of workmen. Its strongholds can be reached only by demolishing the defenses it has raised in society, in politics, even in law and in theology. The social system is too much based on self. But yet it contains within itself the laws of progress and will purify itself from error by the aid of good men acting under the inspiration of God, through spirits devoted to this work. Fear not, for I am with you to the end of the world, is still the language of the Sent of God to all who desire to believe in His power and do His work. For already the harvest is ripe. The laborers are now few; but there is the more occasion for their activity. At the eleventh hour the laborers will be many; and each man who works to the end shall receive equally the reward of a faithful laborer. That reward is eternal life. For the last shall be first and the first last. But to him who endureth to the end is laid up a crown of glory; and not to one only, but to all of them that love God, that love His Messiah.
And can any one refrain from loving a Being whose nature is love and who confers only benefits on all? God is love and none can resist the operation of His eternally acting love, that as a consuming fire will overcome and consume every evil thought, every evil desire, every evil imagination, wherever it may exist. Even selfishness, if it could possibly retain its nature while seeing fully the love of God, would, from love of self, desire the love of God, seeing the ineffable happiness and the triumphant glory of the spirits that live and love to serve others. To them, indeed, all else is added. So will it be to all those who seek first the kingdom of God. But the moment that selfishness begins to desire the love of God, it begins to progress to be like God--to be benevolent, as He is benevolent; to be loving, as He is loving; to be kind, as He is kind; to be faithful, as He is faithful; to be willing to help, as He is willing to help; to be in every possible way, more and more divine, more and more in harmony with God, until at last the demon of self abandons the happy man and God is with him, all in all.
But how will the ungodly appear, if the righteous scarcely be saved? Remember the parable of those who worked different hours but all received the same reward. Are any wholly good? No; not one. All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God. Are any wholly bad, or ungodly? No; not one. The divine essence, which is the germ of man, is never extinguished. It is immortal and incorruptible. It may be concealed for a time, yet its aspirations must at last have vent. They will reach the great fountain of itself and of all good. There is a Messiah to every soul, a redeemer to every spirit. Were it not so, I would have been lost to God. All would have wandered without a guide and who could have been saved? God is not partial. His ways are not as man's ways. He is just. All men are equal before Him. If it were not so, His justice would not be manifest, and without justice, He would not be the Deity. For deity is perfection and a being can not be perfect without justice.
God is just. Will He not, then, punish by eternal tortures those rebels against His laws who, living only for self, have delighted in crime and walked in wickedness; who have in truth acted in an ungodly way as if there were no God? Alas, for humanity! It would persuade itself that it is superior to God in mercy and compassion. The most daring rebels are pardoned by human governments and the governors are commended for their humanity. They have acted upon the preaching of the Messiah. They have heaped coals of fire upon the heads of their enemies. They have overcome evil with good. But is God less merciful? Is vengeance more necessary to Him? Is the fear of terrible punishment necessarily ever to be held before the imagination of His enemies to enable Him to overcome their evil with good?
Is man, only, to act upon the heavenly teachings of Jesus the Messiah? Is he, only, to forgive insults and injuries? No, these teachings are heavenly because they inculcate God's order, God's laws, God's rules of justice and mercy. When Jesus taught these doctrines their novelty was startling. He taught as no man had ever taught. Now we commend the teaching, we glorify those whose actions accord with it. But do men believe themselves generally capable of acting in accordance with them? Or do they not rather put them off as beyond their nature; as being too God-like, as pertaining too much to heaven to be practiced on earth? And yet, they have been practiced by man, and men have been commended by their fellow men for it.
How then will you not permit God's justice to be reconciled with mercy? Has God need to protect His station by punishing rebels with eternal torture? Is He so affected by the crimes, or sins of men, that He can never forgive without endangering His reputation for justice? Not so. The actions of men can impair their own present happiness, but God, who sees to the end, does not feel annoyed by the evil, or the sin. Thou fool! Cease to do evil, learn to do good. Cease to impute to God action you, yourself, would be ashamed of; punishment that you, yourself, feel incapable of inflicting upon your own erring children. You seem even to desire that God should be unforgiving in His nature if only you, selfish creatures, can be saved by the sacrifice of an innocent victim!
It is no doubt true, very often, that the just suffer for the unjust, but never by God's interference. It is only the work of men. Are these assertions arbitrary and mere assertions? I ask you to go down into the innermost part of your being. There ask the Divinity, that never wholly forsakes man, if they are not true; if they are not in accordance with eternal justice, universal benevolence, all-pervading love and inexhaustible mercy? Look to the example of every good and see if they are not in accordance with His precepts and His practice practical virtue. He healed the sick, forgave sins, and prayed for His enemies. He resisted not those who took His life, but forgave them. He calls on you to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. He calls on you to be one with Him, even as He was one with the Father. Would you do this? Then act as He did. Sacrifice self. Live for others.
WHAT IS MAN?
What is man, O Lord, that Thou art mindful of him, and the Son of man, that Thou regardest him? exclaimed the Psalmist in olden time. Thou hast created him a little lower than the angels, Thou hast raised him to power and placed him in glory. O God, Thou knowest all things and all things tend to increase Thy glory! Where with shall I come before the Lord? Shall I offer my firstborn? or will He be content with thousands of rams and tens of thousands of lambs? Alas! that man should fancy his sacrifices could please God, except as they are the evidence of a willingness to do His will. And what is His will? Be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. Is this a hard saying? Take My yoke upon you, My burden is light. Is this easier? What will you have? Will you have salvation by mercy? or by merit? My friends, be not dismayed. You may be saved by both. Be willing to be saved in God's own way. This is the first requisite. This willingness, I assure you, is far from common. Easy as you think it at first sight, easy as it is in reality, there is a time when it seems hard. It seems hard to yield all our prejudices, to believe that all may be saved as easily as we can be, to believe that none can say, stand back, I am holier than thou. To believe that we may go where others can not, is not believing all men are equal before the eternally just God.
Man is a two-fold being, as he now appears on the earth. He has an animal and a spiritual body; albeit, that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. Now, this text requires explanation for its true interpretation. The first state of man is spiritual, purely so. But, then, in this present state, the animal is first formed and receives its life and intelligence by influx of the spiritual. What, then, shall we say? Was Paul wrong? Was he without knowledge of this fact of pre-existence? No, but he was endeavoring to show the Corinthians that they should live beyond the grave. That those brethren whom they mourned as being dead without having lived to see Christ at His second coming, were not dead really, but were living, sentient, spiritual beings, capable of joy and beyond sorrow, living to praise God, and living to love Christ, whom God had sent to teach them all things the Father had given Him to deliver. Could the Corinthians have borne the full revelation of the past, as well as the glimpse of the future, Paul would have told them of it. But they were, as yet, scarcely delivered from the errors of pagan idolatry and Paul was too well disciplined a soldier of the cross, he was too passive in God's hands to declare what they were unprepared, in that age of the world, to receive with faith. They could hardly believe in the resurrection! How, then, might he declare the more wonderful doctrine of pre-existence? They were edified by what he wrote. They would have been torn by dissension, had he declared too much. Whey, then, did he not word this passage differently, so that we, at least, might find an evidence in it that he knew of pre-existence? Thou, who thus parleys with Me, know that Paul was only a man; inspired, if you please, by God, to deliver the truth to mankind. He had his mission. He fulfilled it.
He who declared that one came after him whose shoe latched he was unworthy to unloose, was greater than Paul, as a prophet. And yet, how little is recorded of John the Baptizer. Paul was not required to unfold doctrines hard to receive. There were already too many speculations upon abstractions. The church was already full of dissensions. He desired to preach Christ crucified and Him only. That is, to declare that Christ, the Messiah so long promised had come; that He had called men to repent and to seek the living God; that He had been crucified and raised, by the power of God, from the dead so as to appear again to many of His followers; that He still lived, able to aid and comfort His followers, and help them on their way to join Him in the everlasting courts of heaven, where the praises of God continually ascend and where the incense of good works is ever acceptable.
Whence we come and where we go, has been declared by inspired writers long ago. Look for the evidence and you will find it. yet, it has been overlooked by all the wise and great in the churches thus far. Look at Solomon's declarations. There is one way for all to go, both man and beast. Man dieth like grass, etc. Does not this require elucidation? But I shall not take up every hard saying or puzzling text and explain why it was written. Let it suffice, that when it was written, it was well. It had a purpose and the purpose was accomplished. Let the dead bury their dead. Do you press forward in the way of life eternal; which is, to love God and be His servant. His servants are only required to work for their fellowmen. He needs not their labor for Himself. But He desires to see them happy, and to be happy they must be useful.
Where is the man whose life is pleasurable in idleness? The idle man's body stagnates, his life corrupts. Usefulness is required of every man, in every condition. The more God distributes to one, the more has that one to account for. And will not God be found a hard master in the sense that He will require a strict account? Yea, of every idle word you must give an account. Be wise, then, ye rich in this world's goods. See that nothing is wasted, either of your fellow-men. Relieve suffering, find employment, render others useful. Be wise in time, for ye know not when ye shall be called on to account for the deeds done in the body and for the deeds you neglected to do. When you are told, You did it not unto these, therefore, you did it not unto Me, what will be your regrets over your misspent time? In some respects it is far easier to progress here than in spirit form. But do not regard the nice points of doctrine or belief. Take no heed what ye shall put on, but be useful to mankind. View all as your brethren, whom it is a duty to assist. Press onward in this path of progress and you will find peace--peace on earth and good-will to men.
Be not over-careful of the future. Sufficient unto tomorrow will be its own cares and duties. Be faithful now to your present duties. Put not off the time when you will be useful to your fellowmen, to your brethren. Be wise today, for you know not what a day may bring forth. Be careful to know your duties, be diligent to perform them. Let each day have all its duties performed within itself, leaving the morrow free of debt. So shall you progress rapidly in good works. You will never need to repeat the saying of the Roman Emperor, I have lost a day, because each day will be saved. God will have been served by you with diligence, love, and reverence. All men have their duties; if riches make them manifold, poverty makes the few arduous.
Progress, then, every one--rich and poor, wise and simple. Be not fearful that you will faint by the way, for you shall have meat you know not of. You shall find it meat and drink to your soul to serve God, and your soul will enlarge and strengthen itself and your body, under this regime. How, then, will you delay to take the cross of Christ, the Messiah, the Son and Sent of God, who called you to this work by precept and example? How will you refuse the help God offers you now through His willing spirits? The help of their counsel, advice, and works--The Father has worked, the Son has worked, the brethren now work. The brethren of Christ, each of whom is Christ because each is one with Him who preached at Jerusalem. All are children of one Heavenly Father, who delights in their joy and beholds with pleasure their efforts to serve Him with a pure heart and willing mind. Would you, too, be a son of God, begotten by His power and saved by His mercy? Then follow Him, who called you affectionately, Come unto Me all ye that labor, and I will give you rest. Come unto Me all ye that thirst, and I will give you drink. Come unto Me all that have no homes, and I, who had not where to lay My head, temporally, will give you a place in heavenly mansions. For in heaven there are many mansions. And, however strong may be a man's expectations, he shall not come short of his reward, for the praises of God are bestowed on good servants, and they are made rulers over many.
THE SOUL OF MAN IN ITS RELATION TO GOD
What is there in the earth, then, that can enchain the soul of man when it properly appreciates its destiny? Is the honor and fame of the greatest, or the glory of the wisest man, commensurate with his aspirations? Does not the soul still ask for more? More! more! more! is ever the prayer of man. Can anything short of perfection satisfy this longing? Can any soul be eternally satisfied with the highest bliss it can now imagine? Not at all; for beyond that happy state lies another glorious mansion--higher, purer, more spiritual and more real. But the greatest pleasure that heaven's residents enjoy is the satisfaction of having performed their duties, of having thereby served mankind and thereby pleased God. Let us think, for a moment, of the state of a man condemned to an eternal sojourn in the body. Even could the body retain its youth, how must he tire of every amusement, how must he long for novelties to explore, for worlds to conquer. Why, then, O man, why dread the hour of separation from the dust of the earth!
Alas! ages of ignorance and dark error have obscured the light within every man's soul; the light of God's love. When man really believes God loves him, he can not but desire to be with God as earnestly as Paul or Jesus ever did. And can you not believe God loves you? Do you fear your sins have turned His love into hate? Or, do you believe there is no God to love or hate? No one to rule the universe that chance has made and which chance preserves? Even then, would not a leap into chance be desirable? Would you not choose to put your hopes in chance that might be for the better; a chance that, at least, would have novelty to recommend it? Annihilation is feared; but what can annihilate a thought, an idea? And can a producer of an immortal be mortal? The idea is not scientific. It is not reasonable. Reason is the gift of God, and, well exercised, it will lead you to its Giver. Ponder upon this. Ponder upon all you see of creation's glories; ponder upon all you ask to make you completely happy, and see if any thing but an Infinite can gratify your wants, or display the glories you daily behold.
So common are wonders that you cease to admire. But, now, new wonders are presented to you. It has pleased God, in these latter days, to send us His messengers--angels, spirits, or whatever you please to call us but, certainly, His servants. It has pleased Him to direct us to call you by new methods, by outward signs by wonders that philosophy can not explain and credulity only can question. Yes, it is only questionable by credulity. Men have, credulously, admitted the assertions of fallible creatures like themselves to be infallible truths but now they refuse to listen because they are told it is dangerous; because it may overthrow their authority, so cherished; their idol, so worshipped. Their pastor, perhaps, threatens, warns, entreats, cries out, wolf! wolf! When, in reality, it is only to a still, small voice that we ask you to listen. We startle you with violent or forcible demonstrations, only to awaken your attention; to break the slumber that enchains the hearts given up to faith in a brother, equally enchained by ages of tradition and invention. Why? then, do we not speak to you in the still voice? Because you are not willing to receive it. Behold, we stand at the door of your heart knocking and asking for admittance. You will not open, or open only a crack, as it were. You stand before us in fear.
But do we preach frightful doctrines? Behold! we preach one God, the Father of All, the Maker of Heaven and Earth and all that is therein, and Jesus Christ, the Messiah, His Son, who was born of a virgin mother, who was crucified, was dead, was buried; who descended into the place of departed spirits; the third day He arose again, He ascended into heaven from whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I, or we (for, though many, we are one), believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints, the Life Everlasting. Do you believe in this? Scarcely. You repeat the form of words, handed down from the beginning, but you pervert the substance, you misconstrue the spirit of them. What do you believe of the Communion of Saints? Will you listen to the Saints when they desire to communicate with you? I only ask you to do that. I only ask you to open the door wide, and wider, to let the King of Glory enter in. What do you believe of the Holy Ghost? The Holy Spirit, as it ought to read, and does read in other languages. Do you believe it can communicate with you? Do you believe it would be desirable that it should do so? Then be willing to open the door of your heart, at which I am standing till My head is wet with dew and my locks with the drops of the night. Open the door, and let the King of Glory enter in. He is ready and waiting for you to be willing, for man shall be left free to choose the good and refuse the evil; or, to choose the evil and leave the good.
What do you believe of the Holy Catholic* Church? Do you believe all churches belong to it, or all men, or all your own church members, or only a few selected from your own church? Or, are they not all men who serve God, who are neighbors to those that fall among thieves? O wicked and corrupt generation of vipers! You will neither enter in nor let others pass the open door. You would, if you could, shut the gate of God's mercy and condemn your brethren to eternal tortures. But God is too strong for you. The foundation of His goodness and mercy are laid in His strength, and who shall fight against that? The superstructure is built by Love upon this sure foundation, the rock of faith, and who shall declare Him unrighteous? Who shall deny Him the right to love His children? His children ask Him for bread; will He give them a stone? What will you have--mercy, or justice? Will you choose mercy for yourselves and declare that justice requires others to suffer? What will you require of God--heartless cruelty, or glorious mercy, ineffable love? Alas! that man should be so wise in his own conceit as to make God powerless, desiring to save sinners, yet unable to accomplish it. A God desiring to save mankind and reconcile the world to Himself, yet, after sacrificing His only Son, to be foiled by man's perverseness or the arts of an enemy--an enemy that was neither created by Himself, or else has ever existed independent of Him!
*Catholic meaning Universal
CHAPTER VII
THE DESIGN OF MAN'S CREATION
Man was created for the pleasure of the Deity. This truth will be evident to a reflecting mind, because the Creator could have had no other inducement. He had no need of man to insure His empire or happiness, but He could please Himself by occupying His mind with the struggles and pains, the pleasures and raptures, of a free-willed being. He made man and pronounced him good. He formed him for enjoyment and placed him in Paradise. Foreseeing, foreknowing, that the desire of change would come upon the tablet of man's mind, and that with such a desire would come a struggle for its gratification, He provided the means for man to gratify this, his first desire. He knew it would be a blind one; that man would not first ask to know what he would get by the change. But the life of enjoyment, which is aimless, ceases soon to be a life of enjoyment. Then change of some kind is demanded and even a change for the worse would be welcomed. What, then, could God do to make man happier, since he was in Paradise, which is tranquil happiness, but give him a change? He resolved, in infinite wisdom, that it should be to taste the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. So He placed before him only that way to escape from Paradise; sure that he would, sooner or later, embrace the opportunity afforded him to pass out of the lovely and beautiful garden, where perennial bloom and fruit ever adorned the trees; where the animals were submissive to man, their master; where no violence ever disturbed, no horrors ever appalled the peaceful mind of the primitive man.
This state still exists to many individuals of the human race. They have not yet resolved to taste the fruit of the tree; the tree that will relieve them from confinement, as many have regarded it. They still linger with pleasure by the cool fountains, the beauteous groves, the sparkling lights of the ever fresh and ever new land of Beulah. Happy denizens of a blissful Paradise, alas! All happiness that is not founded on benevolence, is transitory. However long the time man may enjoy Paradise, it can never be an eternity. That world must, at last, be left solitary and uninhabited, unless God shall take pleasure in a new creation. This He may, or may not do. He knows: but the angels in heaven know not, neither doth any man.
There is now a period of repose prepared by the Almighty Ruler and Creator for Himself. Not that He needs repose but that He pleases to have it. Having labored, or acted, as you may choose to phrase it, He is pleased to rest. His rest will be comparatively short. His laws and foundations might stand eternally if He chose. But He prefers to change, or modify, them. He might continue in a new foundations, to have new creations. Amid all the wrecks of matter, the chaos of destroyed or finished or incomplete works, He is ever able to make new worlds or universes start into being. No variety is too infinite for Him to accomplish. No monstrosity is too great, no sameness, or similarity, too trifling for His powers. He is Almighty. You admit Him to be Almighty, but you do not, and can not, realize the meaning and force of the appellation. But you could better realize this than you do. Try to do this. You can conceive that no other is so powerful, no other is so good, no other one has so much love, and no other one deserves so much praise as the Deity. But you can not conceive how much of them He has, because He has an infinite quantity, and you are finite.
Then, be not caviling against the order of God's creation and desiring to help Him reform the world! What? you say, not try to reform the world? When so much wickedness exists in it! Not at all, I say. But, remember, I do not tell you to be idle or wasteful of your time or means of doing good. By no means. It is to the full exercise of these that I urge you. Do all the good you can, but don't wait for the time when you can do it on a large scale. Be faithful in small things and you shall have an opportunity to attend to great ones. When you see a brother in distress relieve him. Is he hungry, give him food; is he thirsty, give him drink; is he in prison, visit him; is he sick, perform his duties for him. Inasmuch as ye do these things, even so shall ye have praise from those whose praise is in the love of God. Inasmuch as ye do these things, ye shall have favor with God and be raised to a Sonship; be placed on His right hand, separated unto eternal glory and made a joint heir with Jesus of Nazareth, the Man of Sorrows, the Acquainted with Grief, but the Beloved Son of God, in whom the Father was well pleased, and for whom He bowed down the heavens to declare, in a voice of thunder, Behold My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased! O wicked and perverse generation! Ye seek after a sign. But were the wonderful works wrought in your midst that were done by Him in Judea and Galilee, eighteen hundred and more years ago, ye, too, would blasphemously declare, He casts out devils by the prince of devils. Ye, too, would cry out, Away with Him, crucify Him; crucify Him! We will not have Him to rule over us, we are Caesar's subjects.
CHAPTER VIII
THE FUTURE OF MAN
There is no subject on which more speculation has been exercised, more ingenuity wasted, more labor lost, than the Future of Man. Placed as he was between two states, of which he was entirely ignorant, it was not strange that at first he should have supposed the condition in which he found himself was the only one he ever did, or ever would enjoy. But it soon pleased God to inform him of the future, so far as to make known to him:--first, its existence; second, its nature; and third, its design. But yet, this was given darkly; and man only saw it through a glass, darkly. Passing along, the vicissitudes of his journey often caused man to sigh for repose. The glory of the future was reduced to a state of rest, and the activity of God's servants was supposed to consist in praising Him, who alone is beyond praise; in glorifying Him, whose glory can not be exalted. But God was pleased to let him corrupt the light He had thrown into their hearts and understandings, by false lights, by perversions of His revealments and misconstructions of His motives.
Having at sundry times clearly shadowed forth the nature of the future, it now pleases Him to declare it plainly, through an humble seeker of happiness who is willing to be taught and who only desires to receive the truth; who will receive his reward by having his patience exercised, his motives traduced, his efforts to enlighten his fellow-men made abortive. Yet, the truth will prevail. God will save mankind. And the time will come when the knowledge and love of God will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea, His will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven, and His servants shall have their daily bread, that cometh down from heaven, placed before them to be received with joy and thankfulness. This will be a joyful time for all who see it; and verily, I say, that there be those standing now in the body who, in the body, shall see it. Blessed be God, that He has chosen the poor of this world and the humble among men for the accomplishment of His ends. He will not appear as men have expected Him. He never has appeared as they expected Him; and never will He be the mere follower, or fulfiller, of the imaginations of men. Alas! that such blindness persists; that such ignorance defeats and such folly derides the poor in spirit, and the humble followers and seekers of truth.
Then will be an overturning, an overturning, an overturning! The sun will be darkened and the moon will cease to give her light. The stars of heaven will fall to the ground and the heavenly host will disappear, in the day of God's appearing. Then will the mountains be called on to hide men from the face of Almighty God; then will men get down into the depths of ignorance and abase themselves before idols of flesh, who can no more save than idols of wood or stone. Then will the sea give up its dead, the graves be opened and the long since departed from the sons of men will reappear to their astonished vision. But when will these things be? Not in this state of existence! Oh, no. The fowls of the air, the beasts of the field, the fish of the sea, must all be raised when the bodies of men are raised for they are all one flesh. What, then, do I mean to say, and what shall be understood from My dark sayings? I mean, that when the soul shall have left the body to the dust from which it came and to which it must ever, and forever, return, that then men will see the great day of the Lord. Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great glory. Then will the trump sound, and the dead in sin will come forth from their lives of ignorance and darkness.
Then will appear the New Jerusalem, that cometh down from Heaven, arrayed as a bride for her husband. Her gates shall be praise and her streets paved with good works. Her glory shall exceed that of the sun and there shall be no night there. Do you desire to be a resident of this beautiful city? to be the husband of this lovely bride? You may be. You will be. But it is of you to say when. Verily, I say, there be some standing now in the body, who shall not taste of death ere they enjoy its embrace and taste its happiness. Verily, I say there be some standing in the body now, that shall, when suns and moons and the earth itself shall have passed away, be yet so far from it, that the power of God only shall suffice to bring them to the home He designs for all men. Choose ye now, whether ye will serve God or Baal. Choose ye now, whether ye will be meek and lowly and acquainted with grief; whether ye will walk in His ways and follow His precepts; follow the ways and precepts of Him who suffered at Jerusalem that you might be instructed; who died that you might be saved from the death of sinners, who preached and prayed and worked and suffered that He might teach mankind how to arrive at the New Jerusalem more speedily, and so be saved from punishment for their errors, from suffering for their sins, from death and the grave. This is the reward He hoped for, and you can see how far men have profited by His example. Waste not your time in regret for the past. Behold, the door is open. Press forward now, while it is a day, for the night is approaching in which no man can work. All he can do will be to suffer and to let the angels, who have worked, work upon him.
What, then, shall man give to forward his salvation? Give your heart. Let nothing earthly come between you and your God. Commune with Him in spirit. Let your spirit have communion with the saints. Let there be no man to tell you when to pray, or when to work; when to listen, or when to sing. Work when you find work, pray without ceasing, sing when you can, and be content with every dispensation of God's pleasure. Hear Him whenever He speaks to you in your heart, in that still, small voice that is not easily heard. Turmoil and strife will deaden your sensations, and the ears that have been well accustomed to it may easily be dead to the voice of God in the heart. But do not be proud, O ye followers of Jesus! Do not require that God should, Himself, come to you or manifest His own presence plainly to you.
No man can see God and live; and yet men have seen God! How is this? Men see God when they have experienced the elevation of heart that God's spirits can give. They can see Him by the eyes of others and the mirror that reflects His image does it truly. It is, then, a glorious privilege which few, of all that have been born on the earth, have had in the body--of seeing God Himself pictured on the soul of a fellow man who was in the spirit-world. It is such visions which have made the apparent contradiction. It is this saying which has caused so many to stumble that I now explain, when I ask you to be willing to be instructed by God's Son and Sent, by the Holy One of Israel. He was superior to all pride of heart. He was a man who delighted in virtue, who walked in humility, who ever was ready to help the needy or feed the hungry. But God was in Him through the departed spirits of other men, who, before Him, had sacrificed their lives, their fortunes, and their reputations in His service. They had then been found worthy to loose the seals of the Book of Life and wait on God in celestial courts, where every soul is subservient to the higher powers; where principalities, dominions, powers, thrones, and every kind and graduation of them, and of other station, stand before God, willing to serve Him in whatever capacity and in whatever rank He may desire.
Their will must be submissive, or they cannot be His servants. They cannot serve two masters. If God rules, well. If not, they die to His presence and glory; they fall into ignorance, doubt, and perplexity. They can recover only by faith and hope of mercy and help of God's servants, as God wills that His servants shall help one another. By this shall all men know that ye are the servants of God and of His servants. For God's servants have servants under them. But the servants do God's will and work, because His upper servants are harmonious, and united with Him. Let no man, then, despise God's servants. Receive them as angels. They are angels. They are continually praising God, but they praise Him by works. They know when the sinner tires of sin; when he seeks refuge in God. They are ready, then, to meet with him, to sup with him, to be his waiter, to bring him messages from God, and to lead him on his way to the Heavenly City.
But, behold, how men have lately rejected all these servants of God. They have refused to believe them good, even. They have feared they would ask them to cast off the pride of the age, the lust of the flesh, the hope of their fellow-men being doomed to eternal punishment. All these have been urged against them, not openly always, but down in the depths of men's hearts; so deep, sometimes, that the man himself scarcely could perceive them if he looked, which he seldom did. And now what shall we do? We have piped unto you, and ye would not dance; we have played unto you, and ye would not sing; we have urged by affection, we have pleaded by pity, we have wept with those who wept and mourned with mourners. But all, except a few, have rejected us. What will the Master of the feast do, when He finds His tables are not filled? Go out, He will say to us, go out, and compel them to come in! Not by over-bearing their will but by over-mastering their reason. This we must do, and this we shall at once begin to do. Prepare, then, to meet your God.
CHAPTER IX
THE PREPARATION FOR DEATH
What shall be the preparation for Death is an important question. It is much dwelt upon by many who do not know why they should rejoice at the change, and feared by many who want knowledge of the future. There is among mankind a great want of knowledge of this preparation, and of the want itself. True, men are seen to die and disappear; to vanish, as it were, forever from their accustomed haunts and lay themselves upon the shelf of forgetfulness. Some die willingly, some unwillingly; but nearly all ignorantly or recklessly or defiantly. True, many feel a hope and trust in God's mercy, but it is a hope founded on false conceptions of His justice and mercy. Having had some knowledge experimentally of God's goodness and mercy; having experienced His loving kindness and been pardoned manifold sins; having led many astray in the body and preached falsities to fellow fools, we are now prepared, well-prepared, to declare to men what they want, and what God wants them to have. First, men should have new hearts; second, they should have less pride; third, they should cultivate the knowledge of the wants of their fellow men; fourth, they should have patience to wait for death, and activity to secure the love that God has for them.
To be known as a servant of God, implies that you obey His directions, follow His rules and attend to every intimation He may please to give. This is only what you require of your servants. Why, then, do you complain that God is a hard master, reaping where He has not sown and gathering what He strewed not? Why do you complain that God is not kind, or He would have laid all obstacles away from you, and given you a seat upon His right hand to judge one of the tribes of the earth! My friend, you want a new heart in which the love of God shall be the first principle of action; in which that action shall be exerted in relieving your fellow men from affliction, from every kind of want, bodily or spiritual. It is these works that Jesus did. It is these that He preached. He healed the sick; He restored the lame, the blind, the halt in every way. He walked in humility, and He died condemned by His generation.
So it may be with you. Do you want to be like Him, to be led to a life of suffering and die a death of agony? No, I hear you say, I can not bear that! How, then can you follow Him? You call yourself a follower of Christ, do you not? And how do you follow Him? My people have not known Me, they are all gone astray, there is none good, no, not one. Such would be His exclamation now, were you willing to hear Him. Such He will say, whether no better than church members were two thousand years ago. Your fathers killed the prophets, and you would now offer up the new philosophers on the same altar of ignorance, folly and the love of self, if you had the power. Is it to you, then, that I must address Myself? Yes, it is even you whom I now call upon. I ask you to throw off all dependence on man whose breath is in his nostrils; but not to be afraid of man whose life is a breath everlasting, who till now, has watched and prayed and desired, with a great desire, the day of the Lord that now approaches. The day so long expected by the Christian church has already dawned and its sun will not go backward.
Come unto Me, then, all ye heavy laden and I will give you rest. You will no longer be required to give tithes of mint and cumin while you devour widows' houses; no more be sent to hell for a want of belief or placed in heaven for a profession of it. No, I only ask works of you, sure that you will not do the works unless you have faith. What, I hear you say, shall it be thought of no consequence what man believes? Shall infidels be saved by morality? Oh, no, my friends; I do not say any such things. I say, again, you can not do the works to which I call you without faith. And then, I say, most firmly and decidedly, that you can not be saved by works. I say nothing can save you but God's mercy. Not that I mean that you would deserve eternal punishment for a few years of venial sins, but that God has chosen to show mercy and He will save you from the consequences of sin. These consequences would extend beyond the grave, and would be felt in other generations were it not for God's infinite mercy, which, being continually exercised, saves you from continuing to commit sin to all eternity.
Is not that a new idea, that you would thus deserve eternal punishment for continual, unending sin? But, blessed be God for His infinite mercy! Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as wool. Though your sins be legion, your Father's power and goodness can overthrow them and their consequences. But, does He ask nothing in return from man? Yes, He asks man to be grateful; to love Him; to fear His anger which is His hate, or wr