It has been believed that dead folks stayed boxed up under ground
waiting--ages perhaps--for the last trumpet to sound to call up the
sleeping billions to the surface of the earth to the final "day of
judgment," when they should all swarm up out of their graves to be let
to know by the great Judge of all to which class they belong, the
"sheep" or the "goats"--there was to be only those two kinds--sheep to
go straight to heaven, all the others to be cast into hell fire to burn
forever. The air would be full of toes and fingers and legs and heads
coming from all directions to join themselves to the bodies from which
they had been detached in their physical life; it was understood that
in every case there would be no mistakes made, no white person, minus a
member of his body in life, would find himself persistently chased up
by arms or legs--especially by heads--of a different color, and form,
from what he would know were his own; but, by some unaccountable magic,
some divine law of attraction each dissevered member would instantly
recognize its true belonging and fly to its former familiar location.
Where this great final "round up" is to be held has not yet been made
known to the "true believers." "Chautauqua" has been suggested, and
also the lot back of the "White House" in Washington, D. C. There are
objections, however, to these and some other places because of the
limited area, but as "with God all things are possible" either spot
might be made to answer. The great open-air university at Chautauqua
is known everywhere on earth--and possibly beyond--and certainly would
be a good point for the saints to hail from, in their upward journey,
and the "White Lot" in Washington would shorten the journey for those
who are booked for the trip in the other direction.
Out of this belief has grown quite a little sect which takes it upon
itself to decide upon the fate of all the world outside of its very
limited number. It is hard upon the Methodists and Presbyterians and
all the other cults and sects scattered about over the whole earth that
they should all be doomed to everlasting hell fires because of a little
difference of opinion with these self-elected judges! The more insane
of them have ignored all the claims of citizenship, have burned their
fences and their barns, and given away all their earthly belongings,
and refusing to be taught by the repeated failures of the many times
set for the final ending of the planet, have donned their unbleached
cotton "ascension robes," and have sat around on the hill-tops and
waited long for the end of all things earthly, and the fun of seeing
all the people who did not agree with them switched off into hell.
The real beginning of this came from two sayings purported to have been
the words of Christ. While hanging upon the cross a man nailed to
another cross, begged Jesus to save him. Jesus was an adept, highly
clairvoyant. He saw that the man was good--probably better than the
people who had hung him there to die--and that if he was a thief, as
they said, he had stolen things for the benefit of his people for food
and for sandals and things for the family. So he said: "This day you
shall be with me in the spirit world." Some clever person caught on to
this and said to himself: "That settles it, if one man can go straight
through without being laid up in the ground after death, all can."
This view furnished an altogether different outlook and gave people a
new idea of the law. Jesus assured his disciples that the kingdom of
heaven would come on earth very soon, in fact, while they were yet
alive. Well, he knew a lot about the soul, and immortality and all
that, but nothing at all about evolution, or electricity, or what
wonderful unfoldment of brain and magnificent works man should achieve.
The Nazarene, like all seers and prophets, was simply mistaken in point
of time. He did not give the Creator time enough to bring all things
to pass, and if the people who think this world is actually coming to
an end pretty soon would just think once that the Creator does not set
things agoing solely for the purpose of destroying his work, and let
him have his own way and time, they would save themselves much trouble.