the loss of their children or any one of them. What a meeting! What screaming salutation, What cursing greetings, What firey, raving embraces, O, what a meeting that will be in hell! Satanic Taunting Torture. And then, in addition to this, filling the cup to overflowing, the mocking, taunting, insulting torment by satan and his angels. For the degredation and torment of human beings is their enjoyment. Shame, shame, you miserable culprits, created in the image of God, and ransomed by the heart blood of the Son of the living God, having room prepared for you in the glorious heaven, and there to associate with patriarchs, saints and angels; But you rebelled against the Father that loved you, You despised His tenderness, loving kindness, His boundless mercy, You slighted and scorned the Son of God who shed His blood and gave His life to save you, You are the most unworthy and the most contemptible among living beings, and deserve no sympathy or consideration, but the extreme agony and torture are now and will forever be your welldeserved portion. Shame, shame, shame! Heavenly Opposites. Whatever we find in heaven, we find the opposite in hell. Happiness and joy in heaven-anguish and torment in hell. Playing of harps and singing in heaven-gnashing of teeth and weeping in hell. Salvation and rejoicing eternally in heaven. The scorching fire is not quenched and the gnawing worm dieth not in hell. "Him that overcometh, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out thence no more; and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and my own new name." Rev. 3:12. And the smoke of their torment goeth up forever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoso receiveth the mark of his name." Rev. 14:11. Christians, being instrumental in winning souls for Christ, will be rewarded by God and blessed by the souls they have saved-sinners having been instrumental in leading souls astray or in any way causing the loss of salvation, will be subjected to harsher, severer punishment, and increasing torture by the presence of the lost souls. The larger the number of souls you bring to Jesus, the greater your reward, the more jewels in your crown, and the greater your happiness and rejoicing in heaven-but the larger the number of souls you are instrumental in bringing with you to hell, the greater your shame, the more numerous the fire balls and exploding shells of accusation, cursing, and taunting will be thrown at you, and the more piercing, tearing, excruciating will be your agony, your remorse, your never ceasing torment in hell. CHAPTER XXXV. AT THE PARTING OF THE ROAD. Make Your Choice. My dearly beloved friend, don't deceive yourself and don't let anyone else deceive you. You are now at the parting of the road, and you should stop and consider whither you are going. A Christian life with God and His benignant people on the one hand, and a life in sin and shame, and fellowship with satan and his adherents on the other hand. Heaven with all its blessings, honors, happiness, enjoyments, and celestial associations, on the one hand, and hell with all that that world implies on the other hand. The choice is yours, the preferential selection is yours. And the consequences following, as inevitable results, will be yours to enjoy or to suffer, depending on your choice. I have made my choice, says someone. Jesus Christ, my blessed Savior, who died for me, is my choice, and I have been cleansed from all my sins in the atoning covenant blood of the Lamb of God; and I have selected heaven for my home to be, and the Church of God for my home just now, preparatory to the coming of the kingdom of Christ, and the coming of Christ to establish His throne in Zion, in the promised land. God bless you, my brother! Here is my hand of Christian fellowship. How to Do It. How is this thing, choosing and selecting, to come about? asks another. A vital question this is and will be answered. (1) Read the Bible, especially the New Testament, God's message to you, and pray for light to know yourself, your actual condition. (2) Confess your sins. (3) Recognize and accept Jesus as your personal Savior, persuaded that He died for you to save you, and that He now—just now, this very moment-stands ready to receive you and to forgive all your sins. (4) Attend divine service and open your heart for the minister er a prominent Christian. This will help you very much, and you will have a circle of Christian friends to pray for you, to sustain and to lead you, to sympathize, encourage and to help you, becoming a barricade around you against temptations and backsliding. Begin right now; this may be the very moment selected by your Savior to touch you and to save you. Now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation. It is providential that this book has been written, and that it has now been placed in your hands. It is providential that you are now reading this chapter of the book. Right now make the following prayer your own; say it down on your knees, and repeat it with deep heart-supplicating sighs frequently in your work. Change or add thereto as your awakening conscience and your feelings under prevailing conditions and cir cumstances suggest, for words and expressions formulated in the heart by spiritual impulses are always the most effective and the most acceptable. When Peter was about to drown, he cried: "Lord, save me! I perish." The publican smote himself on the breast and exclaimed: "Lord have mercy upon me, a sinner." The Prodigal Son. The prodigal son is a most striking example of a penitent sinner, and being told by Jesus himself, we know that it is genuine. And we also know how sinners in that condition and in his mind, and doing and confessing as he did, will be accepted. For it matters not how we are able to express ourselves; but it all depends upon the broken-hearted and the contrite-spirited condition. The prodigal, having wasted everything which he brought with him from his father's house, suffered from famine and was in danger of perishing. Then he came to himself. Then he was able to compare his own condition and his surroundings with what he knew were the conditions and the surroundings of his father's house. Good for him, that he came to himself. That's the very first thing for all sinners to do-to come to themselves, to find out what they are at, what they are up against. Then he also had something to say about it, and he said: (1) What his present condition was-"I perish here with hunger, though many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare.' (2) What he would do-"I will arise and go to my father." (3) What he would say to his father, his confession-"Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight. I am no more. worthy to be called thy son. Make me as one of thy hired servants." The Important Thing. The prodigal did as he said he would-he arose and he came to his father. This is the important thing. So many make promises and make resolves, but procrastinate, delay from day to day until too late. If one could interview the lost souls in hades, we would find that the majority of them lost by procrastination. Not just now is the most alluring and the most powerful snare the devil has to decoy poor sinners to hell. Dear reader, what are you going to do about it? Come, come now! I Have Sinned Against Heaven. Jesus, knowing conditions and effects in heaven and on earth, lets the prodigal confess that he has sinned against heaven too, not alone against his father. Christ, also, had to reconcile things in heaven (Col. 1:20) which has reference to the angels; for the fall of Adam and Eve, and the consequent sinfulness of the human family, disturbed the harmony all through the universe. In the three parables in Luk. 15, Jesus refers to the effect the finding of the lost shep, the lost money and the prodigal son's home-coming, saying: "Even so, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." Notice the far-reaching effects of sin. Heaven and earth are affected both by the sinner and his sinning, and also by his repent ance. The Reception. The prodigal started-he started homeward. And his father saw him yet far, far away, and had compassion, and ran, yes, indeed, he ran, and he ran with such speed that he fell, yes, he actually fell on his neck and at once started kissing him. What? Wait! Didn't he have a switch along to give the boy a good thrashing? No! The loving father full of joy at his son's return, forgot all about that. Didn't the father give the boy a right smart scolding for the sorrow and shame he had brought the father and family-didn't he, before kissing him? Why, no! No time for that now. The father's heart was so overflowing with parental joy, that his son, his own beloved son, had returned, that he just fell on his neck and started kissing right away. Hold on a moment! The prodigal had been herding swine, his clothes were all ragged and dirty and filthy; didn't the prodigal have to change his clothes, and have a good scouring bath with plenty of soap and the use of both brush and sponge to get him clean? No, no, no! The tenderly loving father met him while yet far, íar off, his heart leaped for joy, he couldn't wait-how could he? He just fell on his neck and kissed him. O lovely, loving, merciful father in heaven, how can any prodigal, how can any poor sinner, remain in his sins away when such reception awaits him if he only will return! What a surprise for the prodigal. Burdened with his sins and ashamed to return home in such a condition, his gait is slow, his steps tottering. Ashamed to look up toward heaven, his head bent, his eyes almost on his feet and swimming in tears, which dropped but were gathered by invisible servants or guides, and counted, the fatherly embrace stunned him at first. But regaining poise, he must make his confession and submit his supplication. So he said: "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son * * *", What? Isn't he going to finish his humble confession with the supplication: "Make me as one of thy hired servants." |