It is being taught that until Christ had ascended to heaven departed saints were not in heaven; and that paradise to which the Lord went when He died, and to which the saved thief went, was a lower compartment, or abode-a place where the saints awaited to be taken to heaven. Then, it is said that, at the Lord's ascension, paradise and its inhabitants were transferred to heaven.* *"Two Roads," etc., C. J. B., Delaware St., Kansas City, Mo.*

But where does Scripture say this ? and what does Scripture teach us upon the subject ? As to the Lord having at death descended into a lower abode, it may be supposed that Scripture implies this by the quotation in Peter's address at Pentecost (Acts 2:27), from the sixteenth psalm-"Thou wilt not leave My soul in hades, neither wilt Thou suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption." But the Old Testament does not reveal the eternal conditions of things. The veil was not withdrawn.

The sixteenth psalm refers to the Lord's death; and the interpretation of the passage in the second chapter of Acts tells us that it means that Christ was not to be left in death; that is, His soul was not to be left in separation from the body, and His body would not see corruption. But this in itself does not decide whither He went-only that He died-that for a time He was in that condition.

Now what is a fair method of interpretation in such a case ? Is it not, plainly, to allow the New Testament to explain to us what the Old Testament does not ? The Old Testament keeps us waiting for the revelation of the New Testament as to eternal things in general, as is well known.

Now what does the New Testament say to us as to where the Lord went at death ? It tells us that He went to paradise. " This day shalt thou be with Me in paradise " was His word to the saved thief. Now we know that the Bible is a kind of dictionary to explain its own terms, thus inciting us to search the Scriptures; and turning to 2 Cor. 12:, we find that when Paul tells us that he had been caught up to the third heaven, he adds that he had been caught up to paradise, in words that show us plainly that in the two utterances he was speaking of the same place, and that paradise is heaven.

Is it not therefore the plain teaching of the New Testament that paradise is heaven, and therefore that when the Lord's soul was in hades, it meant that His soul-that is, He Himself-was separate from His body, but that while His body was in the tomb He Himself was in paradise – that is, in heaven?

There is surely no warrant in Scripture for the strange theory that paradise was a lower abode, and that it and its inhabitants were taken to heaven when the Lord ascended.

If Scripture does not use Scripture terms with uniform significance, and paradise means heaven in one ' place and something else in another, what basis of interpretation is left us, what confidence can we have in searching the Scriptures? But Scripture tells us that paradise is heaven, and says nothing about a transfer:what necessity, then, for a thought that is both grotesque and unscriptural, except the necessity of a second error to consist with a first!

Shall we decide what Scripture should tell us? or shall we wait to find what Scripture does tell us? That we all need to be upon our guard here is freely acknowledged. But if Scripture takes us beyond the dark shadows of our own thoughts into the light of divine and heavenly revelations, let us not linger in the shadow, but rejoice for the consolation and the grace.

As to the Lord having '' descended into the lower parts of the earth" (Eph. 4:9), men live on the earth's surface; He went beneath it; He died, and was buried. And as to the marginal rendering, that
when He ascended He "led a multitude of captives" (Eph. 4:8), the translation in the body of the text, in our common version, is, "He led captivity captive; "with which agree the translations of J. N. D., F. W. G., and the Revised Version-without any notes. If it is meant by "He led a multitude of captives " that the saints were captives till then, this would be an unworthy thought. Abraham, David and the prophets were not captives to the enemy. They were worshipers of God, and rejoiced in Him, and were certainly not less than they were here when they had gone from this scene.

But let us now consider briefly the general tenor of Scripture on the subject.

Moses and Elias appeared in glory with Christ upon the mount, and a voice came from the cloud. Peter tells us (i Peter 1:) that this voice "came from heaven :" and if Moses and Elias were in heaven, so were all the departed saints of old. And the fact that they were so presented, these two, without explanation, shows that we need none. There could be no other place for departed children of God but where God dwells; that is, heaven. Is it not a striking proof of how self-evidently plain a doctrine is supposed to be, when a passage not primarily set forth to prove it, yet in reality declares it ? as the Lord showed the Sadducees (who denied the existence of the spirit) their ignorance of "Scripture and the power of God " by quoting from it, " Moses called the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; -for He is not a God of the dead, but of the living:for all live unto Him " (Luke 20:37).

Why should we desire to think that God's children, when released from this life in the olden time,
were debarred from His presence ? Would it be to His glory ? Why prefer to have the mind groping in some lower abode, when Scripture occupies us with the brightness and blessedness of His presence ?

Shall we say the Lord could not enter heaven when the Cross was accomplished ? We need to be careful here. " By His own blood " He entered in (Heb. 9:12). It is true that this entrance, officially, was at the end of forty days, as High Priest; but it was by His blood. The work was finished on the cross, on the basis of which He entered at the end of forty days. There was nothing therefore to hinder His entering personally at once, which, as we have seen, He did. He was in paradise-in heaven ; His body in the tomb, for the appointed time.

We do not look in the Old Testament to find a revelation about the condition of the departed. It is not to be found there.* *See "Facts and Theories,'' etc., F. W. Grant, page 144; "Sheol, Hades, and Paradise," Loizeaux Bros., New York.* But the New Testament tells us that Abraham "looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God," and that he and others desired "a better country, that is a heavenly:wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He hath prepared for them a city" (Heb. 11:10-16). And what was taught the disciples confirms this, for they were taught to pray, "Our Father which art in heaven:" and, again, they were told, " Great is your reward in heaven " (Matt., 6:9 and 5:12). And again, "Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven " (Matt. 8:ii).

It would be vain to say that this only implies that heaven would be theirs in due time-at last :for plainly, if they were taught to look for heaven as their reward, it was because it was their portion, and belonged to them of right by grace, to be entered upon on leaving the wilderness-journey and its trials. This hope sustained the pilgrims through the wilderness of this world in every age. Nothing less than this is implied by the passage in Heb. 11:Shall we allow the thought that after overcoming the trials of the way here, and bearing the reproach of Christ to the end, they would in any measure be debarred from His presence? If so, Abraham had a happier lot here, for he entertained the Lord when the three visited him at his tent door (Gen. 18:).

But let us be thankful that Scripture allows no such unworthy and dishonoring thought. It makes plain that heaven was the expected portion for the saints of old at the end of life's journey and sorrow, as it is the hope of the saint now-" the hope that is laid up for you in heaven" (Col. 1:5). As already suggested, the very fact that this heavenly hope of the Old Testament saint is only referred to incidentally rather than in the way of needed proof, is the strongest proof that it should never be doubted. No argument should be needed to establish what is so plainly precious and scriptural and for the glory of God.

It is also said that the sins of Old Testament saints were not "put away," but only "covered" before the Cross, and that the word "atone" means "to cover." But as to this, is it not true that the sacrifices of the Old Testament did not "cover sins really? On the contrary, they were rather "a remembrance again made of sins every year," as on the great day of atonement (Heb. 10:3 and Lev. 16:). But they prefigured, as we know, the work of the Cross, in view of which Old Testament believers were under the forbearance of God-even while under the law (Rom. 3:25). And so David could speak of the blessedness of one whose "transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered," and to whom "the Lord imputeth not iniquity" (Psa. 32:). Therefore, when sin is "covered," it is covered by the blood of Christ, and is thus " put away " from before the eye of God.* *As to "covering" and " atonement," see foot-note, page 217, Vol. I., " Numerical Bible," Loizeaux Bros., New York.* But we must distinguish between the condition of Israel after the flesh as a nation, under the law, and those among them who were children of God, and who knew the grace of Christ in their souls. Thus David could partake of the show-bread, which was only for the priests, because he realized that all was a ruin on the ground of law, and had taken his stand upon the ground of grace (Matt. 12:i and i Sam. 21:6).

So, also, he could take the ephod and approach God in priestly intercession (i Sam. 30:7), and again he could shout aloud for joy (Psa. 32:ii). But, before the period of law, Abraham was plainly declared to be "justified" when he believed the testimony of God about the son of his old age-a type that foretold him of Christ; and he foresaw Christ's "day," and "was glad" (John 8:56).

But the proclamation of the gospel could not be until the trial by law was completed; for to have proclaimed life and free grace to those who were, under law, to try to get life by works, would have
been clearly inconsistent. Still those who believed were subjects of grace, and possessors of life in Christ, by faith in Christ as the Saviour who was promised.

If it is said the Old Testament saint was debarred from heaven when he died, because the Cross was not accomplished, may we not as well say that he was not a possessor of life-that he was not born again ? But; that they were born again is certain from the necessity of the case, and we are plainly assured of it in Rom. 9:7, 8 :"Neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children; but in Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted for the seed."' And if it is said, " Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3), it is certain that if he is born again, he is ready for the kingdom of God, and so, ready for heaven, when he leaves this scene, in any age.

We speak of the Old Testament saints, and rightly. They were saints-as redeemed-as born of God. Shall we say then that "saints" were not ready for heaven ?

In how many ways, therefore, does Scripture refute the error we are considering!

That departed saints in every age had gone to heaven, has been commonly accepted by Christians who have an open Bible. It may well be called an orthodox doctrine, and when such a truth is attacked it is a serious matter. The heart that is true to the Lord is pained, and driven to the throne of grace.

The error, as we have seen, dishonors God, in declaring that His own children, His saints, were not
fit to go to heaven-not fit for His presence. It casts a shadow upon the person and upon the work of Christ, in alleging that when He died He was for a time limited to an abode that was not heaven.

We need to have the loins girt about with truth a-gainst "the wiles of the devil;" and that we may. not be "carried about with every wind of doctrine," (Eph. 6:14 and iv 14). May we "grow in grace," and not have narrow thoughts as to His grace and power; and may we grow in the "knowledge of the Lord," that we may be able to discern what would dishonor Him, and refuse it.

The enemy is pressing hard in these days to bring all into confusion. May we do as Hezekiah, when the enemy threatened, he "spread it before the Lord;" and both he and Isaiah "prayed and cried to heaven" (2 Chron. 32:20). It was then a matter between God and the enemy, and the victory is assured. We must not be " at ease," but " be vigilant." And "that good thing which was committed'.' to us, we are " to keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us" (2 Tim. 1:14). Paul could say at the end of his course-and what a joy must have welled up in his soul as he said it-" I have kept the faith." But there was an utterance that preceded this one, that we must not forget. It was this:"I have fought the good fight." This was not sloth and self-indulgence. Inwardly he "kept the body under" (i Cor. 9:27). Outwardly, he "fought the good fight" (2 Tim. 4:7).

May it be so with us, and we shall be kept from every snare of Satan, and the soul will be preserved by the truth, which alone can sanctify. E. S. Lyman.