every intelligent mind, and thus, properly comprehended, removes _all
mystery_, and implies the necessary faith and plan of salvation.
FORESHADOWINGS.
The "signs of the times" are pregnant with coming and wonderful
events. The rapid progress of mind, the developments through the
sciences--which are now throwing flood-lights upon Divine revelations,
and giving to the enlightened world a more comprehensive knowledge of
the Great Jehovah, and of His wonderful works--are all potent with
argument of the necessity that the effort for a UNITED CHURCH should
speedily be made. A partial comprehension of these wonderful
developments, without further aids, may tend to throw doubt and
suspicion upon the minds of many, as to whether or not any of the
Christian organizations have comprehended the true plan of salvation.
Whilst a divided church, a divided ministry, and their opposite
teachings can but tend to strengthen such doubts, bewilder the mind,
and lead to _Infidelity_.
Now it rests with leading spirits and teachers of _every_ Christian
denomination--whether _Protestant_ or _Catholic_--to say whether this
advance shall be made in behalf of _true religion_: the Church of God,
and the salvation of souls, or in the interest of Satan, the opposing
enemy; whether this advance shall be true _Christianity_, or
_Infidelity_; whether the upbuilding of the Kingdom of Christ, and
hastening the time when He shall reign in the hearts of all; or, by
indifference and default, permitting the upbuilding of _Babylon_, and
the reseating of the "SCARLET WOMAN," _and_ thus tenfold intensifying
the great and _final struggle_.
There is a _true philosophy_ in religion, and by instructing the mind
to comprehend this, the final happy results will ensue.
We often hear ministers praying for the time to come "when the world
shall be converted to God; when all shall know Him from the least unto
the greatest." They claim the promise that such a time _will come_,
and yet can but see that wickedness is gaining ground, and that within
their church organizations they do not number _one third of the
population_--even in what are denominated Christian countries, nor do
they keep pace with the increase of population, and yet they seem
contented with their "little flocks."
Ye ministers of the "LIVING GOD," if ye have come to "Mount Zion" by
faith and prayer, and "holy living," we call upon you to unite your
efforts in the spirit of _brotherly love_ and CHRISTIAN UNITY, and
show to a "perishing world" that you are in _earnest_ in your Master's
cause, and that you desire the salvation of the _whole human family_,
else He may say to you, "_I will come quickly, and will remove thy
candlestick out of his place._"
* * * * *
In regard to the theory we have advanced as to the location of Heaven,
we leave you, and all, to examine the revelations of God through the
lights of science; Nature around you, and with _reason_ bearing upon
the fact that God, the Great Jehovah, the Creator of all, though a
_Spirit_, is not a _myth_; and that reality, law, order, and system
universally prevail throughout all His works, and with these He
governs His Universe.
God's own revelations, the lights afforded through the sciences,
Nature around us, true philosophy and reason, all confirm our
hypothesis. Cut loose now from this, and we can anchor nowhere, save
in a blind incomprehensible faith, ever floating and drifting as in a
_sea of ether_, and surrounded by impenetrable _mystery_ and _gloom_.
All hold and teach that the spirit, when it leaves the body, flies
away from _mortality_ and Earth, and goes to the place prepared for it
by its Creator. The celerity with which spirit moves we do not now
know, but the reality and law of its flight does exist, and this by
God's own arrangement and established agency in Nature. That such
agency is continually with us, and ready at all times for the use of
disembodied spirit, we cannot doubt--nay, possibly its principle or
element is _in_ and _of_ us, from the first moment of our existence,
through all subsequent time, and will continue to all eternity to
come.
The _blood_ is the life of man, its element or stimulæ of life is
_electricity_, let this but escape from the blood, and with it the
soul or spirit has fled, and the body is left to moulder back to dust.
We find electricity to be a principle of _immateriality_; an element
of _fire_, which pervades all things, in a greater or less degree, not
only solids and fluids, but also atmosphere or air.
Now let us consider this element which God has permitted man to
comprehend as existing in nature, and yet veils it from our sight,
and, although he permits us to use it for beneficial purposes, yet we
can never see or comprehend more than its _effects_, for, in itself,
it is _ethereal_ and no mortal eye can behold it. Man has not only
been permitted to comprehend that the principle of electricity does
exist in Nature, but also to measure, by time, its rapid flight. Thus,
with proper appliances, this Earth can be belted with it in about _one
tenth_ part of a second of time. It would seem to almost annihilate
time, and space, as its flight is nearly 300,000 miles a second--being
more than one third swifter than _light_.
In preceding pages, we have dwelt upon the distance of our Earth from
the Sun, and also distances to various planets, and to some of the
fixed stars, and _nebulæ_, far away in sidereal regions. We have given
you the conclusions of the most scientific Astronomers throughout the
world. Their measurement of distances by light have been shown to
approximate correctness, and the truth of their deductions we cannot
doubt. They have explored regions so far remote, that it is rendered
certain that it has required _light several hundred thousand years_
from the time it left its native Sun, to reach our Earth, and that
these rays travelling from thence, are now successively arriving and
beaming upon the eye when it is placed to the telescope. Indeed, from
one cluster of suns, or nebulæ, beyond the "milky way," it is computed
that the light derived from thence has been 700,000 years in transit,
although travelling at the rate of 192,000 miles a second.
Now all these facts are astounding, and must impress every reflecting
mind with force. All can see that Astronomers, by the aid of that
wonderful gift of God to man--the telescope--have looked abroad, and
have penetrated and surveyed with the eye space far remote in sidereal
regions, to the extent of which it would require 300,000 years for
_electricity_ to reach at a flight of 300,000 miles a second, and yet
they have not discovered any thing greatly different from our own
planetary system, nor any object or seeming phenomenon they could
denominate _heaven_. Without a solution of these facts, is not the
mind bewildered and _lost_ in the hazy contemplation? If heaven is
still _far out beyond_, what period or measure of Eternity may it
requite for the spirit, or soul to reach it after leaving the body?
Knowing that there is stern reality, regulated law, order, and motion
in all pertaining to Jehovah, His creations and government; even the
_mind of faith_ staggers, and must founder in the contemplation of
conceptions so mighty and so mysterious.
You have taught us to believe that heaven is a "fixed place," and has
a "permanent locality," but while accepting this through faith, you
have failed to give us a _permanent thought_. Therefore,
notwithstanding all our hopes and desires, _mystery_ and _gloom, dark
and impenetrable_, have shrouded the mind's eye of faith; leaving no
light but an excited and restless _imagination_, and we call upon you
to give _faith_ and _hope_ a _resting-place_ somewhere else than
floating in _ethereal regions_, and wandering about with _blind chance
through illimitable space_.
Our hypothesis locates heaven just where _we believe it is_, and _to
it_ the spirit can ascend, on _angel-wings of electricity_, in a
fraction of eternity equal to only _five minutes of time_. And,
although discoveries through the lights of science directed our mind
thither, and assisted its comprehension, yet we believe _Divine
Revelations alone sustain our views_, and thus afford the mind a
resting place where _faith_ and _hope_ can anchor, and be founded in
reality, in _immutable and_ ETERNAL TRUTH. The laws of Nature, the
controlling influence of that world, our perceptive faculties and
_reason_, all proclaim that it must be so. Its protecting fires shield
it from mortal sight, yet proclaim to us through ten thousand
blessings showered upon our earth, _'tis there!_ 'TIS THERE!!
* * * * *
Are any ready to ask why the "_glory-light_" of that heavenly world,
represented as "far above the brightness of the Sun" cannot be seen?
Such inquiry must exhibit a lack of knowledge respecting the nature of
God, the GREAT SPIRIT; as also of any proper conception of the
immortal spirit of man. That light is _for spirit alone_, and cannot
be seen by mortal eyes, and that which is darkness to us while our
sight is veiled with mortality, so far as relates to that heavenly
world and our future, becomes--after the death of the body--transcendent
brilliancy, and the light of the "glory of God."
We have abundant evidence of this fact. Remember that when the Great
Jehovah made His presence manifest on Mount Sinai, although the
mountain burned with fire, yet--to mortal vision--all the surroundings
were filled with "thick clouds and darkness." Yea, "clouds and
darkness were made His pavilion," and, to mortal eyes, "_are the
habitations of His throne_."
The light of the "_glory of God_" is for spirit alone, and _its_
radiance will make even the light of the _Sun_ darkness to the
_spirit-eye_. It is possible that should He unveil Himself, and throw
a flash of His _glory-light_ upon this world, it would in an instant
of time destroy the whole race of man, and every living thing, for He
hath said, "_No one shall see me and live._"
We have on record evidences sustaining our views in regard to such
effects, should the light and brightness of His face or glory be
revealed. See the effects of the light of His glory, even in a veiled
form, when the Son of God made himself manifest from heaven (that
bright world we have been contemplating, wherein he is enthroned, and
where all the righteous shall dwell) to Saul of Tarsus; although He
did not unveil himself, yet "_a light above the brightness of the Sun
at mid-day shone around, and Saul fell to the earth smitten with
blindness_." Yes, this glory-light _is darkness_ to mortal eyes; and
when beheld by spirit, the light of the _Sun_ may even be darkness.
See again its effects upon St. John, the revelator, when, catching but
a glimpse of the Son of man in the midst of the golden candlesticks,
he "_fell at his feet as dead_." Ah, it is possible that all seeming
_natural light_ to us, while in mortality, may become as _darkness_ to
our spirit vision; and we are assured by the word of God, that none
shall see the light of His glory save those who seek regeneration
through LOVE and FAITH, for the wicked shall go into _outer darkness_,
and dwell forever in death, while the righteous shall enter into and
enjoy eternal life.
Our hypothesis is a pleasing one for the contemplation of every
Christian, and yet cannot interfere in the least with the doctrines of
any who believe there is a heaven. And he who believeth not in either
God or heaven, has lost the intellectual dignity of man in proper
conceptions, and knoweth not even now "what manner of man he is."
We have given something tangible upon which to fix the mind, and which
will inspire hope; something of _reality_ that all may contemplate.
Remember that we are not forbidden to investigate, nor yet form
conclusions founded on reason; neither is it declared that we shall
not _know_ the location of our future home.
From all that man can comprehend of nature, _reason_ teaches him to
look for and find--if not in life, _after death_--his future home
somewhere in connection with our own planetary system. This system is
large and grand enough to justify all our aspirations, and satisfy all
our hopes and desires. The extent, grandeur, and glory of the heaven
we have contemplated, will fully satisfy the immortal mind of man,
even as it does the "angels of God," and its King and Ruler, and we
may all consider ourselves fortunate to get there.
* * * * *
We have written our book, and thrown out these suggestions with purest
of motives. From the first conception of the idea of heaven being
where, in mind, we locate it, we have felt impressed with the
correctness of our views; so much so, that it impelled us to make the
effort to give them to the world, believing that in doing so we should
advance the true theory which would sustain Christianity, and cause it
to spread and triumph over all opposition; give "to faith that _hope_
which is an anchor to the soul," and draw the hearts and minds of all
to _love_ God, and yet in that love _fear_ to offend Him.
We have refrained from consulting the clergy or ministers of _any_ and
every denomination in this matter, desiring simply to give our own
views. We now ask of you all a prayerful and thorough examination by
the evidences of Divine Revelations and all other lights afforded you;
and if you discard our views as to the location of heaven, be
_careful_ and _explicit_ in giving us _your hypothesis_ as to the one
you are inviting us to, and _locate it_ where the _mind of reason_ can
contemplate it, and where _hope_ may span the voyage _the soul must
make_ to reach it after the death of the body.
APPEAL TO ALL:
WHETHER JEWS OR GENTILES, PROTESTANTS, CATHOLICS, INFIDELS, OR
INDIFFERENT BELIEVERS.
We desire the salvation of the entire human family. We believe that
God has provided a way and plan of salvation by which all should gain
a true and saving knowledge of Him; and we have _appealed_ to
Christian ministers to unite their efforts in prayerful investigation
of His revelations through all new lights afforded them, and to point
out to all, the plain path of _duty_ and _safety_--but not in any wise
labor under the false or mistaken belief that they can stand as _sole
mediator_, or umpire, between God and the souls of men, and, at their
own will or pleasure, mete out to them eternal happiness or misery.
Such as do this "are blind leaders of the blind," and their doctrine
a _fatal delusion_.
We believe in a living, teaching ministry; and, where heart and life
is fully consecrated to God and His cause, all such may feel that they
are divinely called and commissioned. We hold that such a ministry
should be sustained, and that all should give liberally out of their
abundance, to secure them against want or contingencies which might
retard or prevent their usefulness.
But our appeal is now to you, in regard to your own _individual
responsibility_. Each has an immortal soul, which must be saved or
lost. No one, save Christ Jesus our Lord, can stand as mediator in
behalf of any to insure salvation or heaven. Popes, bishops,
ministers, and priests _are but men_, and are mortal like ourselves.
They may, by application to study and investigation, gain light and
knowledge--nay, should do it, so as to instruct us in the way of life
and salvation, but further than this they cannot go. We have no
evidence, neither in the Old or New Testament Scriptures, where, by
intercession of _man alone_, salvation or heaven was ever obtained by
an unbelieving heart.
We see that, under the earlier dispensation, Moses was the chosen
servant of God, and divinely commissioned as _High-Priest_ to the
children of Israel. Yet when they sinned, and Jehovah's wrath was
kindled against them, Moses made _direct intercession_ in their
behalf, and even plead, saying: "_If thou wilt not forgive them, blot
me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written._" Hear the
answer of the Lord: "_Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I
blot out of my book; * * * * mine angel shall go before thee;
nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sins upon
them._" Thus, although His judgments were stayed for a season, because
of His covenant, yet their final execution was certain.
We are assured by the Scriptures that there is "_One God_" and "_One
Mediator_," and we may go to God through faith in this _One Mediator_,
and that all who go thus shall obtain eternal life. We have record of
the efficacy of this faith in the application of the dying thief. When
he had signified his belief, hear the answer of the Saviour: "_To-day
shalt thou be with me in Paradise._" Oh, how plain the plan of
salvation!
All nature proclaims there is a God. His revelations proclaim an
eternal existence of the soul. We all know that we _must die_. However
disappointed we may be in our earthly hopes or fears, yet as to the
certainty of death none will be disappointed--_it is sure to come_.
When the angel of death is commissioned to summon us, soon "_the pale
horse and his rider_" will be at the door; then there can be no delay.
"_Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return._" "_And the soul
shall return to God who gave it._" "_It is appointed unto men once to
die, but after this the judgment._"
What can you _lose_ by giving your heart to God? What may you not lose
by neglecting to do it? It is _all gain_ and _no loss_. May you all
yield to the gentle drawings of the spirit, which now whispers to your
heart in loving tones with accents of _mercy_, and your spirits
finally be gathered in the fold of angels' wings, and by them borne to
the Paradise of God, where His glory is the light of eternal day.
End of Project Gutenberg's The Spirit of God As Fire, by D. Mortimore