be subdued to God, and the life of the creature shall be the holiness of the spirit, and there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, nor worketh abomination, nor maketh a lie; every thing shall be held in the power of the holiness of life, so that neither spirits of wicked men, nor devils can enter any living body; and not being able to take up bodies by the holiness of life, they must remain unclothed in empty space, in the bottomless pit forever.

The place for devils is invisible space. Devils which had experienced the sense of habitation in bodies, though of poor maniacs, when commanded to come out of them, besought Jesus to suffer them to go into a herd of hogs, rather than return to their own home in the great void. But they who have known the joys of life in bodies, to find that their selfishness has shut them out from the physical forever without hope, disappointment, despair, angry at God and every thing else; a torment of fire and brimstone, where the spirit dieth not and the fire is not quenched. Selfishness which is the great fire of sorrow to men, is ever growing stronger in their spirits, and by the great eternal law of truth, he who is the great person of truth is represented as saying, 22Depart from me ye that work iniquity, 28into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 24 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. He spent his time serving himself, when he should have given his life to soften the sorrows of sin, and to destroy its dominion over men.

25What will a man give in exchange for his soul? Who

soever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for Christ and the gospel's sake shall save it. What will it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? 26 Fear not them which kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell; yea I say unto you, Fear him.

"Math. 10:28; Luke 12:4-5.

CHAPTER XXI

THE WORLD TO COME

HIS world is evidently not God's finished creation. Everything on the face of the earth has evil in it, and everything that come out of the

ground has the power of death. There are earthquakes, famines, pestilences, diseases, gnats, flys, mosquitoes, bacculi, lizards and worms which have very little pleasure in themselves and are a pest to men and beasts. Every tree and every herb was made for meat, but there are only a few of them that bear fruit good for food, and those which do are delicate, so that they have to be kept alive by the watchful care of men; while barren thorns, thistles and weeds grow unbidden, and come to maturity without cultivation.

The instincts of natural life are in self-protection. Natural life has no moral sentiments, no pity for the unfortunate, no respect for the righteous, nor hatred for the wicked. The lightning burns the churches of the humble poor, the same as it strikes down the houses where thieves and murderers hid themselves. The cross which bore the body of Jesus was as indifferent to his sufferings, as was the cross to the pains of the scoffing thief at his side. The tigers and the lions in the jungles of Africa, in their chase for food, know no difference between the kind missionary on his errand of love, and the heartless slave hunter.

History repeats itself, because our civilizations have been by the carnal life of men, and natural life has no power of progression. The bees make their honey-combs the same as they did in the carcass of the lion which Samson found; and

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the swallows build their nests today, as they did in the rafters of Noah's ark. As birds fly in flocks, as fish swim in shoals, as cattle go in herds impelled by instincts, similar to the law by which water runs down hill, directed in its course by the banks of the stream, so round and round each generation runs in the same circle, in the footsteps of their fathers.

As the divinity in men is quickened by a knowledge of God their Jehovah, the love of justice, sympathy in sorrow and in suffering, the love of humanity, and the powers of invention manifest themselves. The prehistoric civilizations had their rise in the land of the patriarchs; evidently from the knowledge of the light of god in their lives, and the lives of their inspired, unhistoric contemporaries. The Greeks and the Romans without doubt felt the influence of the Hebrew civilization, and had some knowledge of the divine revelations in the Scriptures; though from their national pride and prejudice, they studiously refused to give it honor, as our public schools are reticent in ascribing credit, to that which has made them all they are of virtue. This civilization rose as the light of revelation shone upon the people. The light from our printed Bibles distributed in multitude as never before, has gone before our civilization of abundance.

Our civilization is great in opportunities and in inventions. We have discovered the archives of nature, and apprehended the design of the kind Providence in creating them. We have wakened lifeless matter and harnessed it in activities that our forefathers would have declared impossible. We have taken this continent where the Creator by the natural powers left it, and made it a hundred fold more productive, in places many times more beautiful, and fitted it for the dwelling places of men. Men in ordinary walks of life have the comforts of princes and kings a century ago; notwithstanding that the

productive forces have been taxed beyond measure, to amass fortunes which make the wealth of Croesus a common thing, and the Jewish money lenders at the time of Christ as ordinary men. All this we have done, as seeing through a glass darkly, but what shall be when we know as we are known?

Paralleling our proud prosperity, as wealth has increased the deceitfulness of riches choke the word received among thorns, so that it is unfruitful, and there is a most ungodly scramble for the amenities of life, so that self-denial seems to be well nigh supplanted by greed for gain, pride, ambition, lust for office, the love of the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and the emphasized work of the church is money getting. Our efforts are by the natural powers, and we depend upon the selfish instincts of our wits to get our portion, with the same powers of life that the lion by his muscles is king of the jungle. The spirit of Satan tempted David to number Israel, that he might know his strength in case of war; but when it was done his heart smote him, because, as he said, he had acted as an atheist, by trusting to the strength of men, instead of trusting to God. The quickened divinity in David had been a wonderful strength and protection to his people, but when he fell from it, the evil powers threatened to come on Israel.

Is it any wonder that our civilization resting on wealth, and great organizations, measured by our skyscrapers, our railroads, our telegraphs, our telephones, our steamships and our numerous other inventions, should not produce men greater than the ancient civilizations, and no men who can compare with the patriarchs and the prophets of ancient Israel. Our men are not growing in grace with years. Our children are kinder, more obliging, can be trusted farther, and are stronger witnesses at court than their parents. The leavening