that heavenly world, and were, doubtless, God's messengers; oft sent
to different regions of His empire to do His pleasure. Yet viewing the
grandeur and glory of God, it appears that the great Dragon--who had
the control of many angels--enlisted them to sustain him in some
unlawful usurpation. This was resisted by Michael and his angels, "and
there was war in heaven." Michael and his angels prevailed, and the
great Dragon, "that old serpent called the devil, and satan, was cast
out, and his angels were cast out with him;" "neither was their place
found any more in heaven." These, we learn, are the wicked spirits,
which go to and fro, up and down, through the earth, tempting man to
sin, and to do wickedly. Satan is the prince of the powers of
darkness, and he and his minions are ever arrayed against the prince
of life and salvation. And man as a free moral agent--having life and
death set before him--is left the free choice as to whom he will
serve. If your choice be the God who created all things by the word of
His power, and whose glory is the light of eternal day, serve Him. But
if Baal, the prince of darkness, whose reign is terror and death, then
serve him. "Ye cannot serve two masters at once."
Remember! When death shall come and claim you for its victim, with the
cessation of mortal life, there is cessation of all the sensations and
faculties of your _human nature_. You will not be moved upon to the
enjoyment of pleasure by human passions or desires. These, as realized
here, will forever cease, and the spirit can no more be controlled by
flesh and blood, nor by human desires. Yet that immortal
principle--the soul--will be susceptible of ineffable happiness, or of
intense misery. Will it be any comfort or pleasure to you to know that
others are, like yourself, doomed to suffer eternal torments? to
witness their agonies, and hear their wailings in that pandemonium of
the lost? Think for a moment, of the rich man--Dives--who realized
those torments. No hope for him in the future; his day of probation
had passed; his eternal state was fixed; yet he prayed Father Abraham
to send Lazarus back to this world, to warn his five brethren, lest
they also should come to that place of torment. Remember, that as
death leaves the body, so judgment finds the soul, for the prophet has
warned you that,
"There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in
the grave whither thou goest."
_THE FINAL JUDGMENT._
"_The Lord shall endure forever, he hath prepared his throne for
judgment." "We shall all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ."
"Then every one of us shall give an account of himself to God."_
_"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books
were opened, * * * and the dead were judged out of those things which
were written in the books, according to their works."_
_"Then shall the king say unto them on his right hand: Come, ye
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world;" * * * "an entrance shall be administered
unto you abundantly;" * * * "enter ye in through the gates into the
city;" * * * "enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."_
_"Then shall he say also unto them on his left hand: Depart from me,
ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his
angels." "These shall go into everlasting punishment, but the
righteous into life eternal."_
_A HOME IN HEAVEN._
Our pilgrimage on earth is one of unrest, is one of toil, sorrow, and
affliction. Here we have no abiding place, "no continuing city." Our
"days on earth are few, and are full of trouble." There is no
permanency here. From the time of the first infant breath and short
unconscious slumber on a mother's bosom to the latest hour and moment
of life, we are ever restless and moving onward, and endure all the
disquietude and sufferings of mind and body incident to our mortal
existence. The original sin of our first parents, blighted all hope of
permanence or enduring happiness on this earth. At the time of their
fall, God pronounced as to our existence here, saying: "Cursed is the
ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of
thy life; thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee. In the
sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return to the ground;
for out of it wast thou taken: dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou
return." "And the spirit shall return to God who gave it."
Yet to the true and faithful followers of the blessed Redeemer--who
ransomed the world by the pouring out of His own blood, and opened up
a way whereby we may escape the further penalties of a violated
law--rest will come by-and-by. "There is rest for the weary," and
mansions prepared for them in the "City of God," in that better world.
Remember, the Saviour said:
"I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am there ye
may also be. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of
the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of
God. The same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will
not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will
confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He
that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his
God, and he shall be my son." "WHOSOEVER WILL, LET HIM
COME." "I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain
of the _water of life_ freely." "THEY SHALL LIVE FOR EVER
AND EVER."
There the redeemed of the Lord shall, with their blessed Saviour,
"inherit the kingdom," where the glory of God illumines the "city,"
and throws its radiance over all the vast realm. O what a delightful
place for a permanent "_Home!_" How singularly different it contrasts
with our residence on earth. Here we have to endure toil, pain, and
death; there, rest, happiness, and eternal life. See here the
care-worn, weary husband, toiling and striving against contending
billows and waves of misfortune, to earn a support for a helpless,
dependent family; perhaps his strivings are the more difficult because
of pain of body or anguish of mind. Disease in some form may be
preying upon his vitality, even through long years of existence, and
he knows that it will eventually conquer, and consign him to his
grave. Or, if bodily health prevails, the mind may be tortured and
distracted at witnessing the sufferings of a beloved wife, or
children, as one by one they are smitten down or snatched away by
death; or still more poignant the grief and anguish he endures because
of the alienation of affections, or family tumults, of strifes and
contentions. See that wife and mother lingering by the bedside of a
devoted, yet now dying husband, or clasping to her tortured and
heaving bosom the lifeless form of a beloved child, and yet powerless
to save the one or call back the other. These are the heart-struggling
in the tempest of life. Soon they will be over. A few years more, at
most, and then all will be still; this mortality will be silent in the
grave.
But of that "home in heaven." "Glorious things are spoken of thee, O
City of God." There love, peace, and joy forever reigns. There is the
"full fruition" and realization of "the hope of the glory of God."
There "their lines have fallen to them in pleasant places." There they
realize "fulness of joy," and their heritage "pleasures for evermore."
There they find "that inheritance which is incorruptible, undefiled,
and that fadeth not away." There they have a home in an enduring city,
whose foundations are eternal. There the palms of victory; and crowns
of glory. There they walk the gold-paved streets of the city, or
wander at pleasure in the 'Garden of the Lord,' or amidst forests
green, or pleasant groves. There the crystal fountains play their
sparkling waters in the light of eternal day, and the "river of life"
flows "from beneath the throne of God," onward and onward, meandering
through, and encircling the vast realm of that heavenly empire. There
perennial spring, and never-fading flowers. There old age and
decrepitude are never known, but all clothed upon with "garments of
righteousness," will live and dwell in perpetual immortal youth,
through the ever-recurring cycles of endless eternity. Angels of God
are there. The Prophets, Apostles, and Martyrs are there; ministers of
God are there; some of our kindred friends are there; others of them
will _soon_ be there. The redeemed of earth, who were accepted of the
Lord are there, and the remainder of the "ransomed hosts," are now
pressing on, or coming after, and _will all be there_, and form an
innumerable company which no one can number, each can form pleasant
associations there, never to be broken up, "For nothing shall disturb
in all the holy mountains." Reader, are you striving for that HAPPY
HOME?
_CONCLUSIVE AND CONCLUDING ARGUMENT._
The Sun is held by all Philosophers and Astronomers to be the central
pivot of the solar system, and the _loadstone power of attraction_,
which governs, steadies, and controls all its surrounding
planet-worlds in their orbits. So great is its power of attraction,
that a counter-balancing force was necessary to keep the machinery of
Nature in order. This force is produced by the attracting power of the
various planet-worlds, placed in proper positions in surrounding
space, and thus furnishing the _centrifugal_, to counterbalance the
_centripetal_ force _ascribed_ to the Sun, by which means our earth,
and the other planets, are kept whirling in their elliptical orbits,
and thus each prevented from being drawn by the superior centripetal
or attracting power of that globe into certain destruction by the
fires of the _Sun_.
This is the hypothesis, we believe, of every Philosopher and
Astronomer of the present day.
Now let us examine this hypothesis, and see if it does not foreshadow
and sustain our own.
In the first place, it is _true_ that the _"loadstone power of
attraction" is there_: but it is _within_ what all denominate the SUN,
and by _this_ the surrounding planets are controlled. But this power
_is not the Sun_. For what all denominate the Sun, is that which gives
out light and heat. The Sun is _fire_, _heat_, and _brightness_ or
light. Fire, or heat, is _ethereal_; has no such power of attraction:
but on the contrary, is repelling and dissipating. There is no solid
substance in fire; it is an invisible agency--save when it is
concentrated. It would be an unreasonable hypothesis to conclude that
the fires of the Sun were fed on combustible material. The Sun may
have been just the same as it is now, for untold _billions of
years_--possibly from all eternity--and God, by His Word has revealed
the fact that it will continue forever--even as long as His throne.
Hence, if produced by combustion, its material would be constantly
wasting away, and, as Prof. Olmsted says, "the products of combustion
would obscure its light." Therefore, as there is no tangible source,
and all agree that God Himself was, and still is its source, we hold that
our hypothesis, that it is a fixed volume of _Photospheric-ethereal_, or
_spirit-fire_, is correct. That it is one of Jehovah's attributes; ever
existing and performing its offices in creative and enduring Nature;
never increasing nor diminishing.
Now, this being the only reasonable, and--as we believe--correct
hypothesis, of the origin, nature, and element of the _Sun_--the Sun
being the brightness we see in looking at it--_where_ and _what is the
loadstone power of attraction_, which reaches out millions of miles
into space, and controls vast worlds, steadying each in its own
orbital path, while they are flying round at the rate of from fifty
thousand, to one hundred thousand miles an hour? We think the answer
plain, and that all can comprehend it. This Earth is a solid body, and
_all such_ possess, within themselves, the power of attraction.
Therefore, the laws of Nature reveal the fact to us, that _the great
central and controlling power of attraction_ attributed to the _Sun_,
is the vast INNER GLOBE we have been contemplating; a globe, or world,
more than a million times the size of this Earth. Leading Astronomers
have agreed on the existence of such a body within; and far
separated--by a non-luminous atmosphere or void--from the outer
_photosphere of ethereal fire_. That globe we hold is--_beyond a
doubt_--the "HEAVENLY WORLD" spoken of throughout the Holy Scriptures,
and is the final and eternal home of the righteous.
We see wisdom displayed, and find law and order in every thing we
comprehend which pertains to God and Nature. Phenomena, which for long
ages were mysteries, are now, through the lights of science, being
fully comprehended and made plain to all. And, by reasoning from
analogy, new arts and sciences are comprehended, while each additional
light gained flashes upon some other hidden mystery, and reveals in it
nothing but _law_ and _order_, in all its arrangements.
The progress made of late in the arts and sciences is wonderful
indeed; yet this is only the progress of the mind of man, and the
enlightenment of his intellect. And we believe that the next decade of
years will develop _facts_ which might startle the minds of the wisest
of to-day to contemplate.
That vast world--surrounded by the Sun--controls this Earth and its
other surrounding planets. From that world, and Sun--in its
offices--we derive every blessing while on Earth, and we cannot doubt
but that when we find our future, IT WILL BE THERE. The righteous to
dwell _within_ where, we have shown you, the Sun does not or cannot
shine; but where the _glory of God_ is the light of the holy place,
and yet we have the evidence that one of the offices of the _Sun_ will
be the punishment of the wicked who cannot enter that HEAVENLY WORLD.
"_Whoso is wise will observe these things._" Psalms, cvii.
_WILL ALL TAKE HEED?_
* * * * * *
Gentle reader, we are about to take our leave
of you. We have penned the lines which compose this volume at short
intervals obtained recently from a laborious professional life. Our
mind has been duly impressed with the correctness of the views we have
advanced. Indeed, to disbelieve them, would seem to disbelieve Divine
revelations, and let the mind become again shrouded with impenetrable
mystery in regard to the place of our future habitation, and of the
manner and mode of the spirit's transit thither after the death of the
body. All should remember that they will be held accountable for the
light and knowledge they receive.
We feel fully assured that our hypothesis as to the location of
Heaven--as also that of Hell--is well founded and fully sustained by
God's own revelations, both as recorded in the Bible, and as seen in
visible nature. As to the "Spirit of God as fire," we have presented
such evidence as Divine revelations have furnished us, and only added
to these such as _reason_, as the perceptive faculties of all, do or
may comprehend, and we do not see wherein the _Christian World_ can
found any objections to our conclusions.
That there might be culled from the Bible a few passages which may
seem not to reflect our views is natural, when we consider how it is
interspersed with the views and versions of various historical writers
in the chronicling of events. But we believe Divine revelations
furnish sufficient _positive evidence_ to sustain us; such evidence as
the _reason_ of every enlightened and reflecting mind will comprehend
and approve. We believe this knowledge should--nay, doubtless,
_will_--have a salutary and beneficial effect upon the minds and
hearts of all. We now leave all as a _personal matter with you_. That
you _will have a future_ you cannot doubt. We therefore beseech you to
remember "that God will not be mocked" with impunity; neither can he
be deceived.
"_For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. He that
soweth to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that
soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting._"
Hear the Preacher of God (Eccl. xii. 13, 14):
"_Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep
His commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall
bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be
good, or whether it be evil._"
* * * * *
APPEAL
TO
CHRISTIAN MINISTERS.
It might reasonably be expected that as we have advanced a new
hypothesis as to the location of _Heaven_, and also of _Hell_, that we
should also give our views as to what we deem the correct faith and
principles of the _true Christian Religion_. You will see in our
"_Preface_" that we have not designed to make our book sectarian in
behalf of any one of the different Protestant organizations. And, not
being a minister of the Gospel, we leave the great and important work
of thus directing the mind to those whose rightful mission it is to
instruct. True, our views upon this subject are foreshadowed in these
pages, but we believe the time has now come when there should be a
_general review_ by all leading Divines. That they should take under
consideration all new lights afforded by the sciences--especially the
science of Astronomy--and bring these to bear with philosophical
reason upon Divine Revelations and Bible truths; and thereby
comprehend more fully the nature of God, and his requirements of man
in order to salvation. We think that by such action on their part,
that most, even if not all of the minor sectarian differences of
opinion can be removed, and that all can unite as one great Family of
the Church of God on Earth; and that mysteries which have hitherto
shrouded the minds of the masses--as to the necessary faith and
practice in a true religion--may thereby be removed, and all the world
of mankind be brought to a saving knowledge of the truth, and "know
the Lord, whom to know aright is Eternal Life."
We know that, at first thought, this may seem to be a great
undertaking; and, however desirable, some may entertain doubts as to
its accomplishment, and therefore hesitate to move in the matter; yet
we believe that it can, and, sooner or later, will be accomplished,
and that the final results will prove worthy the life efforts of every
Christian minister on this Earth.
Neither ministers, their flocks, nor the entire human family now on
the Earth, have long to live, nor time to delay in this great matter.
One decade of _ten_ short years, and about _one third of all now
living_ will have passed away, while _thirty years_ will close the
drama of life with _one thousand millions_, or most of the present
inhabitants of this globe, and all must find their future state of
existence. Many of us can look back over thirty years past, and
realize that the time has been _short_. So, also, will be the few
remaining years allotted to any of us. Therefore, it becomes all to
heed well the warning voice of Him who hath said:
"_Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there
is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave,
whither thou goest._"
All the different church organizations _cannot be right_ in their
present faith and practice, however lenient they may profess to be
toward each other, or even _hope_ that such is the case. This were
impossible. God has designed to establish _one true universal Church_
on this Earth, and HE WILL DO IT, though it should sweep away every
such organization now in existence, and even obliterate their every
land-mark. We do not say that there is not now in each, more or less,
of the germ of _truth_, nor that from these scattered fragments may
not yet be gathered that which shall constitute the body and life of
the whole. There may be a struggle first with the powers of darkness,
yet this GREAT CHURCH WILL BE ESTABLISHED AND PREVAIL.
The lights of true science, which are revealing more fully God's own
revelations, we believe, will _force_ a change to a more _universal
system of religion_. The mind will comprehend more of the Great
Jehovah, and of His will and plan of salvation. Therefore, we believe
it to be the duty of all Christian ministers to move in this matter.
They should investigate and comprehend all the new lights afforded
them, and thereby be enabled to make plain the revelations of God;
remove all mystery; establish His Eternal Truth, and teach all minds
and hearts to "look up through Nature to Nature's God."
This will not be the work of only a day, or a week, nor yet of any one
individual; but the work of _time_, with the _united efforts_ of
leading minds of the age, and we hope that its commencement will not
long be delayed.
It must be acknowledged that the _plans_ of salvation, as now taught
by the many different Protestant Church organizations, are all, more
or less, mystery to the outside world. Hence, _Infidelity_ has in this
highly colored reasons--at least to sustain their assertions against
the _truth_ of the _Christian religion_, and so also have the JEWS.
This fact no one can reasonably deny. The mind of man--his thinking,
_reasoning_ faculty--must be convinced by evidence before he can be
brought to believe, and in this great and important matter he _must
believe_ before he will act.
The _Mind_ must be left free and _untrammelled_, and governed only by
_enlightened reason_. This should be the course pursued by all
teaching ministers. LIGHT, LIBERTY, and ETERNAL LIFE should be the
watchwords of those who stand upon the "Walls of Zion!" The mind must
be taught to _love_ God in all His Immaculate perfections, and to
serve Him through that love which "_casteth out all fear_." St. Paul
says, "_God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and
of_ LOVE _and of a sound mind._" John tells us, "_There is no fear in
love; but perfect love casteth out all fear; because fear hath
torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love._" And yet in
PERFECT LOVE, we shall _always_ have the "fear of God before our
eyes;" we shall ever fear to offend Him, and thereby fulfil every
commandment given us _to_ fear Him. But "HE THAT DWELLETH IN GOD,
DWELLETH IN LOVE."
We believe that if the Christian ministry throughout would properly
present the claims of God to the _love_ of the human heart, there
would soon be a turning of the masses to Him, such as has never been
witnessed since the beginning of the world.
That by the teachings of so many different creeds, their widely
different faith and doctrines, the mind of man in general has become
bewildered; and that mystery, deep, dark, almost impenetrable,
hangs--more or less--over all, we cannot deny. See the numerous
different Church organizations, founded and presided over by men of
intellect and learning; each claiming to be established by _Scriptural
authority!_ and yet in their faith and teachings, all conflicting,
more or less, with each other. We cannot doubt the honesty and
sincerity of these ministers, nor of their church members; yet may
not many of them be "blind leaders of the blind?" To each of these,
all other organizations, faith, and doctrine seem a mystery; and if a
mystery to those who are striving after light and truth in the way of
life and salvation, is it not far more of mystery to those outside,
who have not been educated into any system of religious belief? The
truth is, _enlightened reason_ condemns this exhibition as the "Church
of God," for it has become "a stumbling block" in the road to truth
and the way of salvation. When we go to the founders and leaders of
these different organizations, and ask, why all these conflicting
elements? the majority of them will answer, remember that Christ hath
said, "I am the vine, ye are the branches," and add a garbled
quotation from the writings of St. Paul, "_Great is the mystery of
godliness_."
Now there is but one _true vine_, and all its branches will bring
forth the same "good fruits of righteousness" by which all shall be
known. And as to _mystery_, let us see what the great apostle of the
Gentiles did say.
"_And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness; God was
manifested in the flesh, justified in the_ _Spirit, seen of angels;
preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up
into glory._"