"And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed, as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bond man, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath to come; and who shall be able to stand?" (Revelation 6: 12-17.)

THE FIRST LAST AND THE LAST FIRST

"Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall

not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. And, behold, there are last which shall be first; and there are first which shall be last." (Luke 13: 23-30.)

"Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: for which

things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience." (Colossians 3:

5, 6.)

"Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul." (Hebrews 10:38, 39.)

The sharp contrast of the faithful Roman Centurion and the doubting Jews shows clearly that "over there" there shall be many surprises.

"When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven: but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 8: 10-12.)

"When John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of the stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees; therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire." (Matthew 3:7-12.)

CHAPTER IV

ETERNAL LIFE

THE word eternal, as applied to God, means having neither beginning nor end. As applied to all else, it means having a beginning but no end-everlasting. Thus eternal life, God's gift to man, has a beginning, but it shall continue forever. It shall never cease. In His presence there shall be fullness of joy forevermore.

In this life we scarcely go through a day in which we are not, in some way, forcefully reminded that "here we have no abiding dwelling-place." We pick up the daily paper and behold how numerous are the death notices. The morning mail brings a message of sickness or death, or the messenger boy delivers a telegram stating that a loved one has passed away. We look from our window and view the solemn funeral procession as it passes by on its way to the