Edgefield advertiser. (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, December 01, 1920, Page FIVE, Image 6
Heavenly Recognition From
Bible Assertion and the
Silence of Christ.
Text: "If it were not so I would
have told you."
(Sermon hy Dr. R.' G. Lee.)
This morning we tried to speak on
Heavenly Recognition from what re
jection of that doctrine implies. To
night we wish to speak or the same
subject, taking thought for what the
Bible asserts and interpreting in a
-measure, as far as we can,' what the
silence of Christ on this subject says
on the subject Since there is an as
sertion that satisfieth so there is a
silence that speaketh.
1. Why Did Christ Not Tell Us?
That is, why did He not speak out in
. so many words and tell us? I do not
know that anyone can answer sat
isfactorily such questions. But the
following considerations suggest
themselves to us when we try to ac
count for our Lord's reticence and
restraint in this matter.'First: Jesus
saw the danger of detracting from
the critical importance of the life in
which we accomplish, if we accom
plish at all, the work which the Fa
ther hath given us to do. THIS is the
life when we must hear His word and
do it. THIS is the life when we must
obey the command which says "This [
is my commandment that ye believe
on Him whom I have sent. If Christ
had placed the emphasis on the :
HEREAFTER and minutely describ- ;
ed its glories for us we might be so '
consumed for a desire to lay our ar
mor down and enter, the saints' ever
lasting rest as to neglect and almost
despise the present hour.
Paul said: "I have a desire to de
part and be with Christ, which is far
better." The life beyond pulled at his
very heart strings, the crystal river
that flows by the throne murmured
from afar into his ears-and it took
nothing less than a struggle, nothing
less than all his moral resoluteness .
to go on patiently with his appointed
ministry. . .
. Samuel Rutherford, the seraphic .
Covenanting preacher cried: "Oh!
How* sweet and glorious shall our !
case be, when that fairest among
the sons of men will lay His fair ,
face to our sinful faces and wipe all
tears from our eyes! O Time, run
run swiftly and hasten that day." .
He longed to be away. The fires of
earth were getting cold, the bread of ,
earth stale, the rest of the. earth
weariness. ,
John Bunyan in that glorious vis
ion of heaven which he had, spoke
. these significant words which but ^
show the homesickness of his soul:
"I*looked in and beheld the city; it
shone like and the streets also were J
paved with gold. WHICH WHEN I '
HAD SEEN I WISHED MYSELF 1
AMONG THEM. And to his soul the
earth light was being filled with shad- j
ow, the chill was creeping into the j
air,-he wanted to be away and be '
with Christ, which was better. {
An eskimo who had journeyed to j
the tropics where frost never came J
and ice was never seen took sick of
fever. He begged to be sent home. 1
While the fever fires raged like a \
conflagration in his body on the voy
age home he would ask ever and anon .
the question: "Do you see any ice?" j
Then daily and with repeated insis- J
? tence and earnestness he kept ask- x
ing any and all who drew near his j
couch "Do you see any ice?" He was 1
homesick for ice. His house had been
ice, his bed had been ice, his blan- 1
kets had often been snow, the very ?
water he drank was but melted snow, 1
th? fish he caught were caught j
through a hole in the ice. He was ?
homesick, and heart sick, and soul .
sick for the home he knew. Now, J
Heaven is the home of the soul. And J
oft I think that if the glories of that j
great world over yonder had been j
revealed to us in detail the glories of
it would so enrapture our souls-that I
we should have no heart for the com- s
monplace tasks and routine work and ?
drab duties and the deadly monotony 1
of the unspectacular of this earthly '<?
life. So did our Lord not keep them
veiled lest the homesickness of the \
soul prevent us from Accomplishing ?
here and now the work which God <
has given us to do? * c 1
Secondly, our Lord's reticence and j
reserve are part of His demand for ?
faith. "We walk by faith, not by 1
sight." All things are not made clear f
and plain. We have to take many s
things "on trust"-trust in Christ! f
Our Lord consistenly refused to give (
naen what they would consider to be 1
convincing and overwhelming demon- *
it stration. The Pharisees asked: "What (
sign showest thou?" But Jesus re- 1
fused to give them the sign from 1
heaven for which they were annoy- (
ingly and continually clamoring. J
Philip said: "Lord, show us the fa- '
th er and that will satisfy us." But J
Jesus refused to give any greater J
sign than that which Philip had al- '
ready beheld, and he answered Phil- {
ip by saying "that he that hath seen 1
me hath seen the Father." Herod, 1
when he was at Jerusalem saw Je- 1
sus. "And he was exceedingly glad."
Why? Because for a long season he i
had hoped to see some miracle done j
by Jesus-some sign! But Jesus did <
not satisfy this hunger of Herod's '
eyes for" some sign. With the Phari- j
sees and Herod a sign from heaven ]
would have left no loophole for ?
doubt. In the presence of a sign from (
heaven no one could help believing. <
A 3ign from heaven would -have CO- 1
ERCED their faith. But a coerced <
faith is not faith at all; and it is still ]
true that blessed are they who have
not seen and yet have believed. We {
cannot help believing that 2x2 makes {
four; that 3 plus 3 is six; that the j
sum of the squares on the hypote- |
nuse of a right triangle is. equal to ,
the sum of the squares on the other }
two sides. But that belief has no j
moral quality about it. It is n? index <
ts the bias of the soul. Real faith on- 1
ly reveals itself when we cannot see. i
Faith is casting one's self, on God in
the dark voluntarily, not coercedly. j
Purposely, I believe, did Jesus
leave some, things in the shadow
not clearcut and defined but outline
and suggested. His own divinity E
left us. And for what purpose? Th?
faith in Him might stand always fe
a real venture and vote of the sou
Accordingly, too, the nature of tl
life beyond. Why? That we* migl
walk by faith, nothing doubting
that we might venture everything jo
our trust in Him. I can trust Him fe
what He has promised and for wh*
He has promised through suggestioi
2. Bible Assertion Concernin
Heavenly Recognition. 'Tis still tru
that as Christ said we "err becaus
we know not the Scriptures." Let v
get now a "Thus saith the Serif
ture." And now would we enter rev
erently and with prayer, as into th
holy of holies, into the mind of Coe
Into this deep mind of God Mose
went, and brought forth law and re
ligion; Isaiah went-and foun
prophecy and song; David went
and gave us music.and empire; Arno
went, and found social ethics; Pau
went and brought us spiritual libel
ty; Emerson and Tennyson went an<
found awakening truth; Galilee
Newton and Bacon went-and founi
scienc?.
And so would we at this hour g<
reverently, as into the very Holy o:
Holies; worshipfully, as into the ver;
presence of the King himself, an<
enter into the mind of God and fin?
there prompting for all our perplex
ity, calm for all our conflicts, as
surance for all our doubt, answer fo:
all our questioning!
"?sk not of me, Love, what is Love
Ask what is good of God above;
Ask of the great sun what is light
Ask what is darkness of the night
Ask of sin what may be forgiven;
Ask what is happiness of heaven;
Ask what is folly of the crowd,
Ask what is fashion of the shroud
Ask what is sweetness of thy love
Ask of ' thyself what beauty is
Ask of God what TRUTH is."
So now we would ask of the Bible
what about Heavenly Recognition^
There is no real reason for doubt
ing the fact of recognition unless
ihe Bible should distinctly state the
contrary. But the Bible NEVER con
?radiets the fact.
1. Notice the curiously persistent
formula of the Old Testament. We
read in the first book of the Bible:
"Abraham died and was gathered
;o his people;"
"Isaac died and was gathered to
lis people;"
"Jacob died and was gathered to
lis people;"
"He died in a good old age arid
vas gathered to his people and they
juried him."
What people? Why, their friends,
;heir comrades, their old companions.
)f course it means that. It' can not
nean anything else.
"Gathered unto his people" can
?ardly mean burial with -his people,
for the burial is mentioned after it.
t comes between the dying and the
)urial. And we note that even at
doses' burial on the lone mountain
;op this phrase -is solemnly used:
'The Lord said unto him 'Get thee
ip into the mountain and die in the
nount AND BE GATHERED TO
THY PEOPLE.' " y
Now, already Miriam was buried
n the distant desert. Aaron's body
ay on the slopes of Mt. Her; the lit
;le mother who made the ark of bul
rushes long ago found a grave in the
wick fields of Egypt.
Do the words teach that he came
>ack to his people in this life all un
teen when he was "gathered to his
jeople?" Did the expression mean
md does it mean that he came back
;o Miriam's body in the desert, to
baron's body asleep on Mt. Hor; to
ie down again by the side of the
ittle mother in the brick fields of
Sgypt? No-never. Since he was to
DIE and THEN, after dying, be
'gathered to his people," it meant
;hat into the glory whence the little
nother had gone, whence Aaron had
rone, he was to see them and be with
;hem once again, and seeing them
md being with them KNOW them.
2. Notice David. There is a sick
mild in the house of David the King.
Tears water David's face night and
lay. He sits with the shadows deep
iround him. He goes not to the table
:or he is not hungry; his hunger has
>een swallowed up in grief too deep
:or words. He cannot sleep* Nature's
jreat balm that "knits up the raveled
sleeve of care" has fled from his
?yes as rest from a worker tilling
>ver time. David lies prostrate on
lis face, weeping and wailing until
;he palace seems a house of many
Urges, a house of gloom, a house on
vhich the sun never rose and light
lever entered. What are all these
:ourtly attendants when none of
;hem can cool the fever fires in the
jody of the child. What are victori
es armies when all the soldiers in
lis kingdom cannot make one little
luttering h?art grow stronger? What
ire conquered provinces when all the
revenue cannot buy away the grim
igure of death from the bedside of
;he babe that is sick unto death.
A whole week passes by, dragging
ts weary length along. Then there is
i great silence in the house. The
mutters are closed. People talk in
whispers and walk* on tip toe. Then
ji that great house two little eye
ids, cool and beautiful like rose pet
ils in the morning dew, are gently
:losed; two little hands by hands
clumsily gentle are folded over a lit
tle bosom that heaves not with a
sigh; two little feet are at rest; one
ittle heart is still, forever still.
Then the servants, hushed and
?wed and hesitant, come to speak the
?ad tidings to David, the king.
But they cannot make up their minds
;o tell him-and at the door they
stand, whispering, whispering about
;he matter.; David hears them and,
looking up, asks: "Is the child dead?"
'Yes, he is dead!" David rises from
me floor where he has prostrate been
for days and nights, washes himself,
puts on new apparel, and sits down
to eat.
What power hushed that tempest?
What strength was it that lifted up
that king whom grief had dethroned^
What lifted him from the ashes and
gave him the oil of joy for mourn
ing? It was the thought .that he
would come again into the -possess
> ion of that darling child. No grave
diggers could hide him. The wintry
blasts of death could not put out
that bright light. There would-be a
workman somewhere- who, with sil
ver hammer; would weld the broken
links. In that city fair where the
hoofs of the pale horse never strike
the pavement, he would clasp his
lost treasure. So David wipes the
tears away* from his eyes, chokes
back the grief in his throat and ex
claims: "I shall go to him." What
let us ask, would it mean for David
to go to his child if he did not know
him? What would the blind get out
of going to behold the sunset? What
would the deaf get out of going to
hear music?
3. Think of the Transfiguration.
Peter, James and John follow Jesus
into the mountain. A light from
heaven falls on the mountain and
lifts it into the light oftthe-celestial.
Christ's garments glow like snow in
sunlight and his face shines like the
sun in yonder heavens. The door of
heaven swings open. Two spirits
come down and light on the moun
tain. The disciples look at them,'g?ze
on them ( are awed by their presence,
and recognize them as Moses and
Elijah. And Peter, ere the transfigu
ration glory had died away, wanted
to build three tabernacles, one for
the Master, one for Moses and one
for Elijah.
Now if these three disciples stand
ing on the earth with their earthly
limitations and bearing the image of
the earthly could recognize the TWO
from heaven bearing the image of
the heaven in their glorified bodies
these two spirits who had been in
heaven for hundreds of years, do
you tell me that we with our heaven
ly eyesight, will not be able to recog
nize those who have gone from
among us only five ,ten, thirty or
fifty years before? If the three, dis
ciples could recognize the two proph
ets and the two prophets not their
relations shall we not be able to rec
ognize our friends and relatives who
have been gone only a short space of
time? Surely! Undoubtedly!!
4. Remember Dives. Miserable
Dives in hell and tormented by the
flames of hell looked up and recog
nized Abraham and Lazarus who
was in hiS bosom. He had seen Laz
arus before-when Lazarus full of
sores lay at his door step begging for
the crumbs which fell from his .ta
ble. And he remembered, too, his five
brothers who were not living right
eous lives. If Dives in hell and tor
mented in hell with the destruction
of hell strong about him could look
up and recognize the two spirits,
Abraham ?nd Lazarus, will not those
in heaven have as good eyesight and
as good faculties of perception) and
recognition. If the destroyed recog
nize shall not the enthroned?
5. Jesus to Unbelieving Jews. Je
sus said to the unbelieving Jews that
they would in the future world -see
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob while.they
themselves would be thrust out. Thus,
to my mind, does the Bible speak .of
heaven as a great family circle.
Some day they shall come from the
North and th eSouth and the East
and the West and take their places at
the marriage supper of Moses and the
Lamb. Well, now that would be a
queer home circle where the mem
bers did not know each other. The
Bible describes death as a sleep. If
we know each other before we go to
sleep shall we not know each other
when we awake? Robert Browning
put a flower into the cold hand of
his dead sweetheart and said: "Some
time she'll wake and understand."
And I believe she will and I know
others will and waking understand
and know. John Fiske said "I believe
in the immortality of the soul as a
sublime act of faith in the reason
ableness of God's work." I believe in
the recognition of loved ones on the
other side as a mere simple act of
faith in the reasonableness of God's
love. And while those unbelieving
Jews would, themselves thrust out,
the door shut never more to open,
in the world of the lost recognize
Abraham and Isaac and Jacob before
the throne, shall not we, standing in
glory, not know our best friend, our
dearest loved one, from the man who
died in a Mexican bar room last
night? The idea is unthinkable.
6. The two Significant Sayings of
Paul. Paul said: "I shall know even
as I am known. Notice the two tenses.
That means that even as others know
and recognize me here even so' and
in like certain manner shall I recog
nize them as well and as easliy be
yond the pearly portals as I do here
and now in the tenements of clay.
Paul said: "Jesus the first fruits'
of them t*at slept." Well, now, if
He" was the first fruits that means
that He was the illustration of all
those who shall come back from that
world. And if He be the first, fruits,
then we, too, the after fruits of'-'that
great illustration, shall recognize
each other, for certainly that is what
it means. This experience of Christ
was no unique and solitary experi
ence. It was a representative expe
rience. Christ was in a profound
sense the normal man. And what
happened to Him in iX%a resurrection
is typical of what shall happen fo us
all.
Along with these two sayings of
Paul we might mention one saying
of Jesus found in Luke 20: 35-36.
"They are equal to angels." The an
gels know each .other. If the angels
know Michael, who disputed with the
devil about Moses, and Gabriel who
went on messenger service for God,
and the arch angels and the seraphim
and cherubim-if these together
know each other apart shall not be
lievers in Christ who are saved from
their sins through His blood and
WHO ARE EQUAL TO THE AN
GELS know each other? Yes..
7. "Rejoice." Jesus said: "Rejoiee
(Continued oh Seventh' Page)
PiBB6B8BBPB006^
?43
GREAT REDUCTION j
SALE CONTINUES j
We want the people to know that the great stock gi
reduction sale is still on at our store. We ar? deter- 1
mined, if cutting prices will do the work, not to carry jg
over any winter goods. Now is your chance to buy ?\
what your family needs.
We have marked many things below factory cost
for this sale. Our entire stock is brand new. No
shop worn goods of any kind on hand.
VERY LOW PRICES
Now is the time to do your Christmas shopping.
There are hundreds of things in our stock that will
make suitable Christmas gifts. Come in and let us
show you. You need not wait prices will not be
lower this winter. After the present stock is sold
no more can be had at these prices. Come while the
supply in every department is large and you can get
what you want.
Abrom Daitch
EDGEFIELD, SOUTH CAROLINA UNDER THE OPERA HOUSE
%<Z .'??:?. JZ >:< r>:( I >:c ?'?:<.? Z >< I >:< Z n ?r>:t * >:< Z >:< ZW Z'n ZM Z'?:< Di*
Per Cent
Discount
In order to close out all winter goods we have de
cided to make a sweeping reduction TWENTY Per
Cent on all
CLOTHING, SHOES and HATS
This is good, clean merchandise bought direct from
the leading manufacturers of the country. Nothing
cheap or shoddy in stock.
All goods marked in plain figures and same price to
everybody. .Now is the time to buy what you
need. It will even pay you to anticipate your needs.
Come in before the stock is broken-while you can
get any size you want.
DORN & MIMS