The Spirit of God As Fire Part 9

First, let us take direct testimony; that given by the Son of G.o.d himself, who is to be the judge of all--even the "quick" and the "dead." The first are those quickened into life by the spirit, the last are "those who are dead in trespa.s.ses and in sin."

You will find this evidence in the 16th chapter of the "Gospel according to Saint Luke." Christ, the Son G.o.d, said,

"There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, who laid at they rich man's gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table; moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pa.s.s that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom; The rich man also died, and was buried, and in h.e.l.l he lifted up his eyes. Being in torments, and seeing Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom, he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my parched tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus his evil things, but now he is comforted and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulph fixed; so that they who would pa.s.s from hence to you cannot; neither can they pa.s.s to us that would come from thence."

"Then he said, I pray thee, therefore, father, that thou wouldst send him to my father's house, for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham said unto him, they have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, nay, father Abraham; but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. Abraham answered and said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead."

Thus, we see plainly that there are two separate places; one for the righteous, who are saved through obedience and faith, and the other for the wicked who are lost through disobedience and unbelief. Nothing could be more plain, pointed, or conclusive.

Now let us recall to your mind that which we have related in preceding pages; wherein we have told you that most Astronomers have agreed upon the fact, or hypothesis, of two atmospheres around the vast globe we have denominated heaven. The one next to it appears to be _non-luminous_; while the outer one--around this--is _luminous_, which they denominate _photosphere_, to which we have added _ethereal_, or "_spirit-fire_." This is what we see in looking at the Sun, and is the vast volume of fire, or _ethereal flame_, that sends out heat and light to this and other surrounding worlds. This light and heat extend over a region of the illimitable s.p.a.ce, not less than _six thousand millions of miles in extent_. We have endeavored to approximate to the mind the intense heat of the Sun at its source, but it far exceeds finite comprehension.

We have also given you the views and suppositions of able investigators that the extent of that photosphere, or volume of flame, is vast indeed. It is said that 'flame-like ma.s.ses--some computed to be one hundred and fifty thousand miles in length--are piled upon and overlap each other, and sweep onward in constant agitation like mountain billows of living fire.' This, as we have told you, is the source of all fire, or heat known to us on this Earth, and to all the other planets of our solar system.

The precise nature and elements of fire, we have said, we cannot fully comprehend; neither its original source, save that it emanated from the Great First Cause. The Sun is its direct source to us, and we realize it always the same; never augmenting nor diminishing. We know that it is the source of light to a vast region around, and, from the offices it performs, we cannot think less than that it is--as we have before said--an attribute of the Great Jehovah; and especially this when we consider G.o.d's own revelations as found recorded in the Bible.

In describing the dimensions of the _Sun_, we have said it is 2,655,000 miles round it, or to bring this vast extent nearer our comprehension, we may state that it would require 321 Earths, the size of this, set side by side to reach around it, and vast numbers more to cover its surface, and when thus covered with worlds like this, the stratum would only be about 8,000 miles deep, while it is reasonable to estimate that _photospheric flame to be 100,000 miles in depth_.

We have mentioned the "_inner globe_," estimated to be more than a million times the size of this Earth, and we have denominated it _heaven_, and this outside surrounding volume of ethereal fire we shall denominate _h.e.l.l_, as we believe no other true hypothesis can be advanced. And, in a.s.suming this, we believe ourselves sustained by the revelations of G.o.d, as well as by all we can comprehend of Nature.

In order to incite our minds to know and comprehend more of Him, and become obedient to His requirements, G.o.d has shown us, by manifestations, His instrument of destruction and punishment. His prophets have also announced His threatenings against the wicked, and have told us that _fire_--the element of heat--is the instrument with which He will fulfil His threatened vengeance, and we have seen this manifested by the destruction of the "cities of the plains"--even "Sodom and Gomorrah," as also the destruction of those who offered incense upon strange altars.

Now as this volume of flame, denominated the _Sun_, is the _only_ source of fire; and as fire seems to us one of the controlling elements of nature, and pervades all things, and G.o.d rained down fire and destroyed those cities, and also sent down fire and destroyed those who offered incense on a strange altar, we plainly see where the fire is that is to be the punishment of the wicked. That it is said "fire came down from heaven," or "out of heaven," does not vitiate, but rather confirms our hypothesis. For G.o.d is omnipresent, and dwells in _all_ heavens, and, from that region, _that permanent source of fire_, He commanded--doubtless--the concentration of the rays of the Sun, and it thus came at His command from heaven, and fell as flame of fire. But to prove that our hypothesis as to the location of h.e.l.l is correct, we direct your mind again to the narrative of the Saviour, of the rich man in _h.e.l.l_, and Lazarus in Abraham's bosom. That Abraham was in heaven no one can doubt, while we are plainly told that the rich man was "_in h.e.l.l_," and, although "afar off," yet within speaking distance.

How far distant the voice of _spirit_ can be heard, no one in mortality can know. We know that on this earth sound is limited because of the density of the atmosphere, and we realize even here that when the atmosphere is the more rarified, the greater the distance of sound. It is computed that the condensed, or earth-atmosphere, extends outward from the earth about forty miles.

When we have pa.s.sed this stratum, and have gained s.p.a.ce in the _ethereal atmosphere_, it may be possible that the same volume of voice we are accustomed to here, might be heard thousands, or even millions of miles distant from us. Heat rarifies atmosphere as we here realize by the influence of the sun. If the addition of a few rays of the sun will dissipate the dense clouds, and so materially rarify our atmosphere at the distance of ninety-five millions of miles, what may we suppose the condition of the atmosphere ninety millions of miles nearer its source? Therefore, we may readily believe that although Dives, and Abraham, were far apart--possibly thousands of miles--yet they could see and converse with each other.

You will remember that astronomers inform us that there seems a volume of non-luminous atmosphere, or void, between the outer phostosphere of fire and the body of that _inner globe_ (which globe we believe is heaven). Now remember the words of Father Abraham, "Beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulph fixed; so that they who would pa.s.s from hence to you cannot; neither can they pa.s.s to us that would come from thence." Is not here conclusive evidence that the two places--heaven and h.e.l.l--are not in far distant regions from each other?

_Remember._ It is said of the wicked "These shall go away into outer darkness, there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth."

When death and h.e.l.l shall give up their dead (for the souls of the wicked--who are dead in trespa.s.ses and in sin--are still enduring that death that never dies), and all appear before the Judgment seat of Christ, where "every one shall receive according to the deeds done in the body," and the wicked are "driven from G.o.d, and from the glory of His power," to reach again their eternal destiny, they will doubtless pa.s.s through that dark void, even that "great gulph fixed between,"

and there _will_ be weeping and wailing, and gnashing of teeth.

Although we believe the evidence furnished is conclusive beyond cavil or doubt to every intelligent mind, yet we will still add more affirmative arguments which we desire that all should consider.

First, Let us refer again to the declarations--we have several times repeated--of the Prophets and Apostles. That heaven, and the Holy City in it, hath no need of the light of the _Sun_. That the "glory of G.o.d doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." That there is no night there, but one eternal day.

Now let us call to your mind the _extent_ of that empire wherein _the Sun does not shine_. From astronomical measurement, we may form in our minds an approximation of its dimensions. To fix for it a low estimate, we may safely conclude that the domain proper, is at least _five hundred thousand miles_ in diameter, and _one million five hundred thousand miles around it_. The empire is vast indeed, so great that, by comparison, we can form no correct idea of it. We can only approximate by saying that it would require about _one million of earths_, the size of this, to make a globe of equal magnitude.

In order to bring all home to your own reason and comprehension, let us ask, Where else is it feasible for so large a place to _be_ whereon, or into which the _Sun_, or _suns_, do not or _cannot shine_?

We have shown you that suns (the surrounding volumes of photospheric ethereal fire) are--so far as we can comprehend--the natural sources of light throughout the Universe of Jehovah's empire. They seem as G.o.d's own _eternal lamps_, scattered and placed at His will in different regions of illimitable s.p.a.ce, to illumine the universe without, and give _light everywhere_, as also life and animation to all their surrounding worlds. Each perhaps to its own, even as our Sun does to its own planet-worlds. Now when we consider that the fact is well established by all leading Astronomers that this outside flame or volume of fire is _far out_ from that INNER GLOBE, or world, and that between them _there is a void_, possibly thousands of miles in depth; that the fires and light of the _Sun_ have no perceptible effect upon this non-luminous void--and, indeed, the void shields the globe within from the light and heat of the Sun--we can readily imagine the wise arrangement of the Great Architect, and also comprehend the truth of His own declarations, that heaven is a place where neither the Sun nor its heat shall light upon its inhabitants.

Now the nature of the _element_ of this intervening void or s.p.a.ce, whether _it_ is _ethereal_ or not, we cannot now comprehend. That it is a safe covering or shield to the world within, we can readily suppose. For Sir John Herschel says that it seems as "an awning or screen, protecting the body," or world within, from the Sun's heat.

But we are not left to conjecture alone, without philosophical reason in this matter. We know the laws of gravitation and attraction are fixed and sure, and upon these universal laws we can base correct conclusions.

The tendency of fire or heat is _outward_ and _upward_. The sense in which we use the term "upward" is that of s.p.a.ce far out from the earth, or like solid bodies. We have shown, in our explanation of the law of gravitation, that _upward_ is simply away from the earth. Thus, we ignite material with fire and produce combustion here, and we see the flame _rise_, and feel and know the heat ascends _upward_. So also may the Chinaman do the same, at the same moment, on the opposite side of the globe--while his position is directly under us, as we construe downward--and yet the flame and heat of his fire ascends _upward_ from the earth where he stands, which is in a directly opposite direction from the course ours pursues. Thus, to us, outward from the earth is _upward_, no matter where our position on it.

This tendency of heat upward, or away from the base of the fire, is plainly evident by the fact that heat will not penetrate to any considerable depth _downward_, neither when on the earth, or on a solid non-combustible foundation; nor yet when on an elevated platform, for its tendency, as we have shown, is always outward or upward. So also with the fires of the _Sun_; whatever the base of its fires may be, we see by the fixed laws of Nature that the tendency of its heat is _outward_, no matter from what portion of that base it may emanate. We cannot now comprehend the _nature_ of the base of the Sun's fires, but we know that the great Jehovah has provided it, and that it is founded in His wisdom, and is fixed and sure, and we have reasoned conclusively that it cannot be of combustible material.

Hence, the only rational conclusion we can arrive at--from a thorough investigation of Divine revelations; from all the lights afforded by the science of astronomy; from the true philosophy of Nature, as well as from all that is visible and perceptible--is, that far within the circling photosphere of ethereal fire which we see and realize as the _Sun_, there is a solid body, a globe, a VAST WORLD, and that world is the heaven for all the righteous from this earth; that it is the Saviour's allotted empire, and that He is there the ruler of His people.

_THE NATURE OF THE LIGHT OF THE HEAVENLY WORLD._

"_The glory of G.o.d doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof._"

We have given the above Scripture quotation repeatedly in these pages, in order to forcibly impress the minds of all with the fact that the light of the heavenly world is _different_ from the light of the Sun; that it far transcends it in _brightness_. For we are told that it "is far above the brightness of the Sun shining in its strength," even "_seven-fold brighter than the Sun_."

Let us contemplate what has been revealed of this "glory light."

First. No _mortal_ ever has beheld the full radiance of the face, or glory of G.o.d. For He hath said that no one should see His face and live. In evidence of this, when Moses, who was so near Him, and desired so much to behold His face unveiled, prayed to Him saying: "I _beseech thee_, show me thy glory." There came an answer unto him.

"_Thou canst not see my face, for there shall no man see me and live._" And in order to preserve the life of Moses, G.o.d placed him in the "cleft of a rock" and covered him with His hand while His glory was pa.s.sing by.

Others have desired to see G.o.d, and the brightness of His glory, yet such desire, while in mortality, is wrong, for none could behold it and live.

It is recorded of Trajan, the Emperor of Rome, that he accosted Rabbi Joshua, saying: "You teach that your G.o.d is everywhere, now I should like to see Him." Joshua replied, "He cannot be seen, no mortal eye can behold His glory." The Emperor, however, persisted, contending that if He was everywhere, He could surely be seen, and thus derided the doctrine taught by Joshua. "Well," said the Rabbi, "let us try first to look at one of His amba.s.sadors." To this Trajan consented.

Joshua then led him forth into the open air at noon-day, and bade him "look at the _Sun_." The Emperor replied: "I cannot, for its light dazzles, and will _blind me_." Then replied Joshua, "If thou art unable to endure the light of one of His creatures, how canst thou expect to be able to behold the resplendent glory of the Creator? _The sight would annihilate thee._"

Thus we find that in every representation of the "glory of G.o.d," its light is beyond our comprehension, and so overpowering that no mortal could behold it and live.

We have, however, a feeble representation of this glory manifested by His Son. When Saul, of Tarsus, was on his way to Damascus, to persecute the disciples and followers of Christ, behold, at mid-day, a light, _above the brightness of the Sun_, shone around him and his band, and they all fell to the earth, and their leader was smitten with blindness, which continued for three days, and was only then relieved by the agencies which the Saviour appointed. When first smitten, hearing a voice that was not of Earth, he exclaimed, "Lord, who art thou?" The answer was, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest."

When the beloved disciple John beheld the Son of Man, walking in the midst of the golden candlesticks, the light and influence was so overpowering, that he "_fell at His feet as dead_." Thus we have a faint prelude of the light of the glory of G.o.d. Yet no one in mortality can behold it, even in a veiled form. But the strength of the _spirit-eye_ will enable us to behold the King in all His glory, "for we shall see Him as He is."

_THAT HEAVENLY WORLD._

We need not stand on Pisgah's height, nor climb to the summit of the Andes, to catch a glimpse of that "HEAVENLY WORLD." But, grasping the telescope of _Faith_, and looking through _Revelations_, the humblest Christian, "low down in the valley," may see through the storm-clouds and tempests of life--yea, even through the "shadow of death"--and gaze with rapture upon the enchanting scene. The light of the _Sun_ pales without, as the flood-light of that _inner world_ breaks upon the eye. There is the resplendent "glory of G.o.d," shining with unequalled radiance and beauty. To the spirit-eye it is not blinding, neither will it even dim the sight. Fear not, ye feeble followers of the blessed Redeemer, to approach--even now--by faith and contemplation, the confines of that bright world; even though it is within that encircling photosphere of _ethereal fire_. There is no danger, for by-and-by that bright world will be your place of habitation. When the winged messenger comes and escorts you away from your earthly "prison-house," he will conduct you to that bright world, where "an abundant entrance shall be administered unto you" by your blessed Saviour. Remember it is written in the "Sacred Volume": "_The voice of G.o.d divideth the flame;_" and He hath said: "_I will be as a wall of fire._" "_When thou goest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flames kindle upon thee._" "_Enter thou into the joys of thy Lord._" No such flames within. "_The Sun shall not light on thee; nor any heat;_" and yet there is a resplendent light, even the "glory of G.o.d," which illumines the Great City and all the vast realm. "_There is no night there_," but one eternal day; and when thou hast entered, "_The days of thy mourning shall be ended._"

But hold heavenward the telescope of _faith_; let us, through the lights of revelation, endeavor to get a slight panoramic view. The inspired poet caught a glimpse before us. Hear him exclaim:

"There, on those wide extended plains, Shines one eternal day; There G.o.d the Son forever reigns, And scatters night away."

Behold! Spread out before us is the wide expanse of a glorious universe. See in the distance those hills and towering mountains; those beautiful valleys and wide-extending plains. See the innumerable "set thrones," and, in the midst of all, "THE GREAT WHITE THRONE!"

and He who sits thereon is the SON OF G.o.d, who reigns, and is the ruler of this vast empire. See "before the throne a sea of gla.s.s like unto crystal," and around about the throne "four-and-twenty elders in raiment of white, with crowns of gold," while all around is "a rainbow, in sight like unto an emerald," or grand _empyrean_ covering resplendent with the light of the "glory of G.o.d." See that fountain of the "river of life" gushing from beneath the throne, and flowing on and on, meandering amidst mountains and hills, and through vast plains and beautiful valleys. See the crystal fountains playing on every hand, and whose waters are forever sparkling in the light of eternal day. See the towering forest trees and shady "groves of heaven,"

placed there by the "Word" of the Creator, during past cycles of eternity, and long before time commenced, their rich foliage presenting every variegated hue, their boughs laden with all manner of precious fruit suited for spiritual food, and their seasons for bearing are now and forever. But see yonder, near the base of that towering mountain,--whose summit seems to mount up a thousand miles high, and whose towering forests are waving in the gentle breezes of heaven, and, with all things else, seem but to reflect the light of the "glory of G.o.d;"--that vast plain spreading out from its base is the "GARDEN OF THE LORD." Its extent is even greater than that of our whole Earth. It is filled with trees bearing fruits; with shrubbery, and ten thousand times ten thousand various and variegated flowers perennially blooming. See the vast mult.i.tude of saints, attended by angels, as they meander through its labyrinths, culling choicest flowers, or lingering under "native bowers" or amid shady groves. No old age or decrepitude; no gray hairs to distinguish ages. The old seers and prophets; neither are Adam nor Methuselah, who dwelt on the earth nearly a thousand years, known here by age; neither do our own aged fathers and mothers show here any signs of decrepitude or advanced years, but, even as their own children--our brothers, our sisters, our husbands, our wives, and _our own children_, who have found an inheritance here--all are as in the bloom of youth and maturity, and will thus remain forever through succeeding cycles of eternity. Ah! methinks, amid that vast mult.i.tude you espy a father, a mother, a sister, a brother, companion or child, or some dear, loved friends from earth, who are now _radiant with beauty_ in that "Paradise of G.o.d," and that you would fain drop mortality, and, on _spirit-wings_ of love, go and join them and be forever at rest. Wait, _not now_; but if you have sought and found the "pearl of price," and are abiding in the "_love of G.o.d_," you, too, will get there by-and-by. Remember afflicted Job, who "knew his record was in heaven," yet with all this perceptive knowledge, hear him meekly say: "_All my appointed time will I wait, until my change cometh_," and "_though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him_."

But while we have in hand the "telescope of faith" and the revelations of G.o.d as our light, let us change its direction a little, and add a new grasping power.

See! Behold the "City of G.o.d" of which "glorious things were spoken,"--even the city of which John had a panoramic view while "in the spirit" on the Isle of Patmos. See its glittering "_jasper_ walls"

as they loom up in the glory-light _fifteen hundred miles high_; and whose foundations are _fifteen hundred miles square_, covering a superficial extent of _two millions two hundred and fifty thousand square miles_. See! "Its foundations are garnished with all manner of precious stones," and there are "twelve vast gates of entrance, and the twelve gates are twelve pearls: every several gate is one pearl."