1930
Evangelist Deals With Universal Longing At Baptist Church
"It is our purpose at this hour to deal with a universal longing," declared the Rev. John W. Ham, evangelist, in opening his talk on "The City Foursquare" at the First Baptist Church, Monday evening. "The leaf in immortality antedates the Christian revelation of Heaven. The hope of Heaven is humanity wide. No race has been found that does not possess a basic idea of life beyond the grave. This hope often expressed in crude form is present in all dialects."
"The Old Testament conception of man and its revelation of God sets up in a pagan world the doctrine for immortality and Heaven. Man is set forth as made in the image of God. Sin marred that image.
"An unprejudiced study of the hopes and aspirations of the New Testament saints will convince that they held firmly to the hope of Heaven. They desired a better country. They were in search of perfection. Their lives were modeled according to that hope.
"The New Testament saint is seen wishing to go but willing to stay for the benefit of others. This marks a decided advance in the knowledge and hope of the one who stands in the full glare of a revelation, final and authoritative on the question of Heaven.
"There are three Heavens set forth in the Bible. We all live in the first Heaven. It extends up for fifty miles. The second Heaven is the area in which the constellations have their position. The vastness of space in this second sphere staggers the mind. The third Heaven is positioned beyond the second. Paul was caught up to this position. Stephen looked up and saw Jesus in the third Heaven, standing at the right hand of God. Jesus went up into the third Heaven while his disciples stood gazing.
"Materialistic science and philosophy has steadily denied the literal aspect of Heaven. Strange to say the majority of this group accept as literal a city called Babylon, described in the seventeenth chapter of Revelation, but reject the literal aspect of the new Jerusalem.
"It is interesting to study the characteristics of the City Foursquare. The external views of the city beautiful are set forth in language that is in thorough keeping with the spiritual ideals and hopes of the race.
"The streets of gold are transparent like the most perfect glass. The illumination staggers the imagination. The light will be of an uncertain character. It will need no material power to sustain it.
"The architectural harmony and beauty of the city will surpass the most exalted imagination of the artistic mind. There is neither symmetry, harmony or beauty in the lines of long rows of buildings. The perfect city will not assault the artistic sense of such a conglomeration of structures. Beauty and harmony will be written in every line of its streets.
"God loves the beautiful. He is the author of beauty. Nature witnesses to that fact. At certain seasons of the year, the earth is crammed with the beautiful that feeds the artistic sense lavishly.
"Sin marred the beauty of the first paradise. It was lost. The redemption on Calvary made possible its regaining. Heaven is a place of intellectual activity. Its internal characteristics are in keeping with its external beauty. We live in the prep school of eternity at the present.
"Social activity will characterize the citizens of the City Foursquare. Jesus in good-bye conference, pointed out that he was going away for the purpose of preparing mansions. That word suggests social activity.
The City Foursquare will be free from all trouble and sorrow; pain and crying will have passed away. Nerve wracking, fatiguing toil will be unknown. It will be a place of rest.
"John saw a city with twelve gates, three of these opened on the north, three on the east, three on the south, three on the west. These gates symbolize the various groups of earth, temperamentally and religiously.
"The New Testament closes with a call. The spirit and the bride utter the word 'Come.' The redeemed join in this invitation. Any who have tasted the water of life are in turn to issue the invitation to those that are thirsty. Six hundred and forty-two times the word 'come' is iterated and reiterated between Genesis and Revelation."
—Olean Times, Olean, NY, April 1, 1930, p. 3.
Showing posts with label heaven. Show all posts
Showing posts with label heaven. Show all posts
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 9, 2008
"I Will Give Thee a Crown"
1902
At St. Mark Methodist Episcopal church, south, the pastor, Dr. Alonzo Monk, preached at the afternoon hour from the text, "Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of eternal life," Revelations 2:10.
He said in substance:
"One has a narrow view of human nature who would shut up human life in the fleeting moments of but three score years and ten. Man is not born to die, and by dying to end the soul's full existence. We cannot die, man is essentially immortal. Our Savior was gentler with us, gentler than the gentlest mother. He took care to tell us, 'Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon earth, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, for where the treasure is there will the heart be also.' His plain meaning was we are to go to heaven to get our treasure. Death is but the removal of the tenant from this tenement of clay. The change that has occurred that we call death is not properly so called. This animal life we hold so dear is naught, the ox and the ass have it. This life is but one period of our existence, brief it may be, but in it we have opportunity to be placed in harmony with God, and to be saved from a death that never dies. The life to be is to be beautified by the presence of the King. Men need not necessarily die to be in heaven; some saints live today almost in the outskirts of heaven. Heaven will have surprises for us. We shall see many whom we do not expect and we shall miss some faces we confidently expected to find among the blood washed throng. Some may barely squeeze through the gates beneath the wings of some kindly angel; others may sweep through with an abundant entrance. Heaven is too much etherealized; it is but the home of redeemed humanity. We may not be altogether happy there; there may be regrets lingering in our souls that we did not win more stars for our crown.
"Jesus Christ did not live, suffer and die simply to keep us out of hell. Were this all it would be about equal to say that should your child be lost in a wilderness you would seek him merely to keep some wild beast from destroying him, but you seek to restore the child to his place in your heart and your life that you have so fondly hoped he would take. God seeks to restore man to his own proper position and real sphere where he should dwell. Man's place in heaven is but a step beyond this life and the gradations there will compare with the real differences existing here between men. St. Paul fought for Christ; he finished his course and went to take a crown of glory laid up for him. The crown jewels of heaven outshine all the royal possessions of earth's greatest monarchs. The faithful of earth will alone wear crowns in glory. A crown in heaven gives the wearer a throne in the heavens, and it will carry with it a scepter of authority over those unknown and unnamed worlds peopled by pure spirits, subjects of our God. The inhabitants of those worlds are not heirs to the throne nor are they redeemed by the blood and the kinship of Jesus Christ, our elder brother, Savior and King."
Dr. Monk's flight into the field of speculation as to the future state of man's redeemed spirit were bold and well sustained, however unwarranted by the literal reading of the Bible by a layman.
—The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, GA, Jan. 6, 1902, p. 9.
At St. Mark Methodist Episcopal church, south, the pastor, Dr. Alonzo Monk, preached at the afternoon hour from the text, "Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of eternal life," Revelations 2:10.
He said in substance:
"One has a narrow view of human nature who would shut up human life in the fleeting moments of but three score years and ten. Man is not born to die, and by dying to end the soul's full existence. We cannot die, man is essentially immortal. Our Savior was gentler with us, gentler than the gentlest mother. He took care to tell us, 'Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon earth, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, for where the treasure is there will the heart be also.' His plain meaning was we are to go to heaven to get our treasure. Death is but the removal of the tenant from this tenement of clay. The change that has occurred that we call death is not properly so called. This animal life we hold so dear is naught, the ox and the ass have it. This life is but one period of our existence, brief it may be, but in it we have opportunity to be placed in harmony with God, and to be saved from a death that never dies. The life to be is to be beautified by the presence of the King. Men need not necessarily die to be in heaven; some saints live today almost in the outskirts of heaven. Heaven will have surprises for us. We shall see many whom we do not expect and we shall miss some faces we confidently expected to find among the blood washed throng. Some may barely squeeze through the gates beneath the wings of some kindly angel; others may sweep through with an abundant entrance. Heaven is too much etherealized; it is but the home of redeemed humanity. We may not be altogether happy there; there may be regrets lingering in our souls that we did not win more stars for our crown.
"Jesus Christ did not live, suffer and die simply to keep us out of hell. Were this all it would be about equal to say that should your child be lost in a wilderness you would seek him merely to keep some wild beast from destroying him, but you seek to restore the child to his place in your heart and your life that you have so fondly hoped he would take. God seeks to restore man to his own proper position and real sphere where he should dwell. Man's place in heaven is but a step beyond this life and the gradations there will compare with the real differences existing here between men. St. Paul fought for Christ; he finished his course and went to take a crown of glory laid up for him. The crown jewels of heaven outshine all the royal possessions of earth's greatest monarchs. The faithful of earth will alone wear crowns in glory. A crown in heaven gives the wearer a throne in the heavens, and it will carry with it a scepter of authority over those unknown and unnamed worlds peopled by pure spirits, subjects of our God. The inhabitants of those worlds are not heirs to the throne nor are they redeemed by the blood and the kinship of Jesus Christ, our elder brother, Savior and King."
Dr. Monk's flight into the field of speculation as to the future state of man's redeemed spirit were bold and well sustained, however unwarranted by the literal reading of the Bible by a layman.
—The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, GA, Jan. 6, 1902, p. 9.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Sabbath Day, Sermon Topic
Utah, 1932
Willmonte D. Frazee delivered his third address, on "The Temple of God," last night at the America Legion chateau before a large, attentive audience. The fact that God is the creator of all things through His Son, was presented as a reason why the angel of Revelation 14:6,7 should be heeded. It says, "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment is come, and worship Him that made heaven and earth . . ."
The memorial of creation was studied quite thoroughly and its relation to "God's eternal law," as Frazee calls it. The statement in the heart of the law declared the seventh day Sabbath to be the memorial of creation. The commandment says, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy; six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work . . . For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."
Mr. Frazee reminded his audience that since time eternal the seventh day had been God's holy day, and that Saturday is the seventh day according to any calendar, dictionary, or encyclopedia. He referred again to the ark in the temple in heaven that contains the law of God as the standard of judgment.
The institution of the Sabbath in Eden was read from the record in Genesis 2:1-3, and in Mark 2:27-28 was found as follows: "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath; wherefore the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day."
The speaker invited his listeners to join him today to getting the blessing out of the day that God has put in it for man. He announced the services to be held in the chateau this morning, Sabbath school at nine-thirty and preaching service at eleven.
For tomorrow night was announced, "The United States in Prophecy." In the preliminary, the nurses will again demonstrate another simple home treatment, and Mr. Frazee will give a short talk on the prohibition issue, "Wet or Dry."
—The Ogden Standard-Examiner, Ogden City, UT, June 11, 1932, p. 2.
Willmonte D. Frazee delivered his third address, on "The Temple of God," last night at the America Legion chateau before a large, attentive audience. The fact that God is the creator of all things through His Son, was presented as a reason why the angel of Revelation 14:6,7 should be heeded. It says, "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment is come, and worship Him that made heaven and earth . . ."
The memorial of creation was studied quite thoroughly and its relation to "God's eternal law," as Frazee calls it. The statement in the heart of the law declared the seventh day Sabbath to be the memorial of creation. The commandment says, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy; six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work . . . For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."
Mr. Frazee reminded his audience that since time eternal the seventh day had been God's holy day, and that Saturday is the seventh day according to any calendar, dictionary, or encyclopedia. He referred again to the ark in the temple in heaven that contains the law of God as the standard of judgment.
The institution of the Sabbath in Eden was read from the record in Genesis 2:1-3, and in Mark 2:27-28 was found as follows: "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath; wherefore the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day."
The speaker invited his listeners to join him today to getting the blessing out of the day that God has put in it for man. He announced the services to be held in the chateau this morning, Sabbath school at nine-thirty and preaching service at eleven.
For tomorrow night was announced, "The United States in Prophecy." In the preliminary, the nurses will again demonstrate another simple home treatment, and Mr. Frazee will give a short talk on the prohibition issue, "Wet or Dry."
—The Ogden Standard-Examiner, Ogden City, UT, June 11, 1932, p. 2.
Entering That City
1902
"And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of children of Israel." Revelation 21:12.
It comes to me like an inspiration that one day I shall enter that city. Can you say it? Your children are going in, your parents are going in, your husband is going it, your wife is going in; are you going in? It is a great joy to know that the things that bring us the representations of heaven are so substantial. Some people tell us that heaven is a state, not a place. What then did Christ mean when He said, "I go to prepare a place for you," and what again when He said, "In My Father's house there are many mansions?" What is the doctrine of the resurrection? Is that only the spirits of men are raised? This is not our teaching. There must be some place for the resurrected body. When Christ went out with His apostles to Bethany and a cloud received Him out of their sight, He arose bodily from their presence. It is certain, absolutely certain, that heaven is a place.
What Is Heaven?
It is a place of overpowering brightness. Everything that ever came from thence tells us so. Chariots so bright that the only thing to which they could be likened was fire. Angels with faces shining so that men must veil their eyes before them. Moses and Elias so surrounded with glory that the three disciples were overcome with the vision on the mount of transfiguration. The walls are like a great jewel, the streets of pure gold and every single gate a pearl. You know the brightness of one little gem as it sparkles on your finger, but O! the wonderful thought that every gate is a pearl, and the day will come when we may go sweeping through the gates if we will. God has done everything that He could do, and our entering in now rests upon ourselves. But the brightness of heaven, aside from the presence of Christ, is not due to the gates, nor to the walls, nor to the streets, but to the presence of those who have been redeemed. — Rev. Dr. J. W. Chapman.
"And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of children of Israel." Revelation 21:12.
It comes to me like an inspiration that one day I shall enter that city. Can you say it? Your children are going in, your parents are going in, your husband is going it, your wife is going in; are you going in? It is a great joy to know that the things that bring us the representations of heaven are so substantial. Some people tell us that heaven is a state, not a place. What then did Christ mean when He said, "I go to prepare a place for you," and what again when He said, "In My Father's house there are many mansions?" What is the doctrine of the resurrection? Is that only the spirits of men are raised? This is not our teaching. There must be some place for the resurrected body. When Christ went out with His apostles to Bethany and a cloud received Him out of their sight, He arose bodily from their presence. It is certain, absolutely certain, that heaven is a place.
What Is Heaven?
It is a place of overpowering brightness. Everything that ever came from thence tells us so. Chariots so bright that the only thing to which they could be likened was fire. Angels with faces shining so that men must veil their eyes before them. Moses and Elias so surrounded with glory that the three disciples were overcome with the vision on the mount of transfiguration. The walls are like a great jewel, the streets of pure gold and every single gate a pearl. You know the brightness of one little gem as it sparkles on your finger, but O! the wonderful thought that every gate is a pearl, and the day will come when we may go sweeping through the gates if we will. God has done everything that He could do, and our entering in now rests upon ourselves. But the brightness of heaven, aside from the presence of Christ, is not due to the gates, nor to the walls, nor to the streets, but to the presence of those who have been redeemed. — Rev. Dr. J. W. Chapman.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
A Disillusioned World Needs Support of True Faith
By WILLIAM T. ELLIS and EARL L. DOUGLASS
Nothing reveals the audacity of the Bible better than its picture of heaven. Jasper columns and streets of gold! How far removed these concepts are from the ordinary thoughts of men. But we must always bear in mind that the apostle John was in these latter verses of Revelation trying to describe infinite reality in finite terms. The best he could do was to describe his vision in terms of a brilliant and shining glory far surpassing anything man had ever before looked upon.
New Lesson From Old Book
There are a thousand beautiful reflections to be drawn incidentally from the study of Revelation: the possibility of making a Patmos of every prison experience of the soul; the visions that come to one who is "in the spirit on the Lord's day;" the fellowship of suffering which all Christians may share with the saints, living and dead, and with the Saviour Himself. "Lessons," however, must wait on the facts. Unless we get a grasp upon the main purposes of the book and the conditions attendant upon its writing, we shall miss the real significance of the teaching. So the first truth to be borne in mind is that this Christian leader, the apostle John, the beloved, was in prison on the Isle of Patmos for his faith in Jesus. His churches were suffering worse than he. The fires of persecution were raging fiercely. Nero had bared his cruel sword to the Christians, and now Domitian, in turn, had interdicted the new faith. All the horrors of Roman martyrdom were being undergone by the friends of Christ. It seemed as if heathen hate might really wipe out the Church of Christ.
John was giving them comfort in their darkest hour. In the Book of Revelation he wrote to buoy their sinking hearts. For the encouragement of their faith, John drew aside the veil that shut off the near and distant future. He invited men to look upon the vision he hid beheld — Christ triumphant, the Church victorious, her enemies cast down.
Heaven A Reality
This is a significant passage of Scripture to study on the last Sunday of the year. The modern Christian thinks all too little of heaven. Often the Biblical promises have been caricatured and John's celestial vision spoken of in such jocular terms that many believers know but little of what the Bible teaches about heaven and care less. Many of them shrug their shoulders and say, "Heaven is not a place but a state." But Jesus declared, "I go to prepare a place for you." This glorious description by John of what he saw on the Isle of Patmos is not the description of a state of mind but of supernatural realities, so far above human experience that human language cannot adequately describe it nor the human mind comprehend it. But we can realize what it means utterly to be free of pain, to have our tears dried forever, our wounds healed.
The hope of an eternal life with Christ inspired the early Christian believer and strengthened him to endure persecution fantastic in its horrors. The hope of a heaven which will give full development of all our latent powers and eternal rescue from life's ravages is meant to be our support today.
As the world shakes about us; as Communism with its atheistic teachings and its cruel tyranny so like Nero's pushes itself impudently into the foreground; as high wages, full employment, and lush dividends send our population tripping gaily along the pathways of pleasure with small regard for moral standards, let us ponder the Biblical assurance that there will someday be an end of all these things. Spiritual values are destined to triumph. The joy and security of heaven will be the precious possession of those who have been faithful.
As if delighting to set at naught all common conceptions, the Revelation's final portrayal of the triumph and bliss of the kingdom of Christ is a city, and a city without a church. To our way of thinking, the Church is the saving salt of the city, the best thing about a bad case. Nevertheless, in heaven there will be no Church as we know the Church. But all that the Church typifies and seeks will be there. The spiritual values which here are sporadic and local will there be continuous and general.
The purpose of the Book of Revelation is to portray the final triumph of the Gospel of Christ. All the wealth of oriental imagery is here employed to depict the surpassing excellence of the glory that is in store for the friends of Christ. The Book of Revelation is an illustration of the truth that "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him."
—Logansport Press, Logansport, IN, Dec. 27, 1947, p. 4.
Nothing reveals the audacity of the Bible better than its picture of heaven. Jasper columns and streets of gold! How far removed these concepts are from the ordinary thoughts of men. But we must always bear in mind that the apostle John was in these latter verses of Revelation trying to describe infinite reality in finite terms. The best he could do was to describe his vision in terms of a brilliant and shining glory far surpassing anything man had ever before looked upon.
New Lesson From Old Book
There are a thousand beautiful reflections to be drawn incidentally from the study of Revelation: the possibility of making a Patmos of every prison experience of the soul; the visions that come to one who is "in the spirit on the Lord's day;" the fellowship of suffering which all Christians may share with the saints, living and dead, and with the Saviour Himself. "Lessons," however, must wait on the facts. Unless we get a grasp upon the main purposes of the book and the conditions attendant upon its writing, we shall miss the real significance of the teaching. So the first truth to be borne in mind is that this Christian leader, the apostle John, the beloved, was in prison on the Isle of Patmos for his faith in Jesus. His churches were suffering worse than he. The fires of persecution were raging fiercely. Nero had bared his cruel sword to the Christians, and now Domitian, in turn, had interdicted the new faith. All the horrors of Roman martyrdom were being undergone by the friends of Christ. It seemed as if heathen hate might really wipe out the Church of Christ.
John was giving them comfort in their darkest hour. In the Book of Revelation he wrote to buoy their sinking hearts. For the encouragement of their faith, John drew aside the veil that shut off the near and distant future. He invited men to look upon the vision he hid beheld — Christ triumphant, the Church victorious, her enemies cast down.
Heaven A Reality
This is a significant passage of Scripture to study on the last Sunday of the year. The modern Christian thinks all too little of heaven. Often the Biblical promises have been caricatured and John's celestial vision spoken of in such jocular terms that many believers know but little of what the Bible teaches about heaven and care less. Many of them shrug their shoulders and say, "Heaven is not a place but a state." But Jesus declared, "I go to prepare a place for you." This glorious description by John of what he saw on the Isle of Patmos is not the description of a state of mind but of supernatural realities, so far above human experience that human language cannot adequately describe it nor the human mind comprehend it. But we can realize what it means utterly to be free of pain, to have our tears dried forever, our wounds healed.
The hope of an eternal life with Christ inspired the early Christian believer and strengthened him to endure persecution fantastic in its horrors. The hope of a heaven which will give full development of all our latent powers and eternal rescue from life's ravages is meant to be our support today.
As the world shakes about us; as Communism with its atheistic teachings and its cruel tyranny so like Nero's pushes itself impudently into the foreground; as high wages, full employment, and lush dividends send our population tripping gaily along the pathways of pleasure with small regard for moral standards, let us ponder the Biblical assurance that there will someday be an end of all these things. Spiritual values are destined to triumph. The joy and security of heaven will be the precious possession of those who have been faithful.
As if delighting to set at naught all common conceptions, the Revelation's final portrayal of the triumph and bliss of the kingdom of Christ is a city, and a city without a church. To our way of thinking, the Church is the saving salt of the city, the best thing about a bad case. Nevertheless, in heaven there will be no Church as we know the Church. But all that the Church typifies and seeks will be there. The spiritual values which here are sporadic and local will there be continuous and general.
The purpose of the Book of Revelation is to portray the final triumph of the Gospel of Christ. All the wealth of oriental imagery is here employed to depict the surpassing excellence of the glory that is in store for the friends of Christ. The Book of Revelation is an illustration of the truth that "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him."
—Logansport Press, Logansport, IN, Dec. 27, 1947, p. 4.
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