xt70rx937t9n_450 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt70rx937t9n/data/mets.xml https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt70rx937t9n/data/46m4.dao.xml unknown 13.63 Cubic Feet 34 boxes, 2 folders, 3 items In safe - drawer 3 archival material 46m4 English University of Kentucky The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center. Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Laura Clay papers Temperance. Women -- Political activity -- Kentucky. Women's rights -- Kentucky. Women's rights -- United States -- History. Women -- Suffrage -- Kentucky. Women -- Suffrage -- United States. Old Theology Quarterly text Old Theology Quarterly 2020 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt70rx937t9n/data/46m4/Box_16/Folder_16/Multipage19631.pdf 1897-1908 1908 1897-1908 section false xt70rx937t9n_450 xt70rx937t9n (714 D TIIEOI. 0G?" 52 Ux’l 197 Elf]. 7”
No. 52.—-j.-»IN(’.AIR l". 1901.
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RESTITUTION 0}: Huh THINGS SPOKEN

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52';ch My war/(1’ /u;qmz.”—z1cfx3:20, 21.

HAT our Lord intended his disciples to under-stainl
that for some purpose, in some manner, and at some
time, he would come again, is, we presume, admitted and
believed by all familiar with the Scriptures, for, when he
said, “If I go, 1 will come again” (John 14:3), he cer—
tainly referred to a 5/02/1117/7(‘/’5(7II(I/ fuming.

Quite a number think that when sinners are converted
that forms a part of the coming of Christ. and that so he
will continue comingr until all the world is converted.
Then, say they, he will have fully come.

These evidently forget the testimony ot‘ the Scriptures
on the subject which declare the reverse of their expecta—
tion: that at the time of our Lord’s second coming the
world will be far from converted to God; that “In the last
days perilous times shall come, for men shall be lovers of
pleasure more than lovers of God” ('2 'l‘im. 3:1—4); that
“Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiv—
ing, and being deceived.” (Verse 13.) They forget the
Master’s special warning to his little flock: “'l‘ake heed
to yourselves lest that day come upon full unawares, for as
a mare shall it come on all them [not taking heed] that
dwell on the face of the whole earth.” (Luke 21 34,35.)
Again, we may rest assured that when it is said, “All Lin—
dreds of the earth shall wail because of him,” when they

2 . ()m’ [an/ix [Camry—ll: (Wat/.-

sce him coming (Rev. 1 :7), no reference is made to the
conversion of sinners. Do all men wail because of the
conversion of sinners? On the contrary, if this passage
refers, as almost all admit, to Christ’s presence on earth, it
teaches that all on earth will not love his appearing, as
they certainly would do if all were converted.

Some expect an actual coming and presence of the Lord,
but Sci 1716 time of the event a long way off, claiming that
through the efforts of the Church in its present condition
the world must be converted, and thus the Millennial age
be introduced. They Claim that when the world has been
converted, and Satan bound, and the knowledge of the
Lord caused to fill the whole earth, and when the nations
learn war no more, then the work of the Church in her
present condition will be ended; and that when she has
accomplished this great and difﬁcult task the Lord will
come to wind up earthly affairs, reward believers and con—
dernn sinners.

Some scriptures, taken disconneétedly, seem to favor this
view; but when God’s Word and plan are viewed as a whole
these will all be found to favor the opposite View; viz.,
that Christ comes before the conversion of the world, and
reigns for the purpose of converting the world; that the
Church is now being tried, and that the reward promised
the overcomers is that’after being gloriﬁed they shall share
with the Lord Jesus in that reign, which is God’s appointed
means of blessing the world and causing the knowledge of
the Lord to come to every creature. Such are the Lord’s
special promisesz—“To him that overcometh will I grant
to sit with me in my throne. . . And they lived and reigned
with Christ a thousand years.”-—Rev. 3 :21; 20:4. .

The Apostle (Aéts I 5 :14) tells us that the main oly’eﬂ of
the gospel in the present age is “to take out a people” for
Christ’s name—the overcoming Church, which, at his sec-
ond advent, will be united to him and receive his name. The
witnessing to the world during this age is a secondary object.

“MY PLANS ARE NOT AS YOUR PLANS."—lSA. 55:8—11.

A further examination of God’s revealed plans will give
a broader view of the objeél: of both the ﬁrst and second

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advents; and we should remember that both events stand
related as parts of one plan. The speciﬁc work of the ﬁrst
advent was to redone men; and that of the second is to
restore, and bless, and liberate the redeemed. Having
given his life a ransom for all, our Savior ascended to
present that sacriﬁce to the Father, thus making reconcilia-
tion for man's iniquity. He tarries and permits “the
prince of this world” to continue the rule of evil, until
after the seleCtion of “the Bride, the Lamb’s wife,” who,
to be accounted wort/1} of such honor, must overcome the
inﬂuence of the present evil world. Then the work of
giving to the world of mankind the great blessings secured
to them by his sacriﬁce will be due to commence. and he
will come forth to bless all the families of the earth—Heb.
9:24, 28; Acts 15 :14; Rev. 3 :21.

True, the restoring and blessing could have commenced
at once, when the ranson price was paid by the Redeemer,
and then the coming of Messiah would have been but one
event, the reign and blessing beginning at once, as the
apostle at ﬁrst expec‘ted. (Acts I :6.) ' But God had pro-
vided “some better thing for us”—tbe Christian (ihurch
(Heb. II :40); hence it is in our interest that the reign of
Christ is separated from the sufferings of the Head by these
eighteen centuries.

This period between the ﬁrst and second advents, be-
tween the ransom of all and the blessing of all, is for the
trial and selection of the Church, which is the body of
Christ; otherwise there would have been only the one ad-
vent, and the work which will be done during the period
of his second presence, in the Millennium, would have fol—
lowed the resurreétion of Jesus. Or, instead of saying
that the work of the second advent would have followed at
once the work of the ﬁrst, let us say, rather, that had Jehovah
not proposed the selection of the “little ﬂock,” “the body
of Christ,” the ﬁrst advent would not have taken place
when it did, but would have occurred at the time of the
second advent, and there would have been but one. For
God has evidently designed the permission of evil for six
thousand years, as well as that the cleansing and restitution
of all shall be accomplished during the seventh thousand.
Thus seen, the coming of Jesus, as the sacriﬁce and ran.

4 Our Lord's Refmvz—l/s 0/1/22?-

som for sinners, was just long enough in advance of the
blessing and restoring time to allow for the selection of his
“little flock” of “joint-heirs.” This will account to some
for the apparent delay on God’s part in giving the blessings
promised, and provided for, in the ransom. The blessings
will come in due time, as at ﬁrst planned, though, for a
glorious purpose, the price was paid longer beforehand
than men would have expected. ’

The Apostle informs us that Jesus has been absent from
earth—in the heaven—during all the intervening time from
his ascension to the beginning of the times of restitution,
or the Millennial age—“whom the heaven must retain an!!!
the times of restitution of all things,” etc. (Acts 3:21.)
Since the Scriptures thus teach that the object of our Lord’s
second advent is the restitution of all things spoken, and
that at the time of his appearing the nations are so far from
being converted as to be angry (Rev. I I :18) and in opposi-
tion, it must be admitted either that the Church will fail to
accomplish her mission, and that the plan of God will be
thus far frustrated, or else, as we claim and have shown,
that the conversion of the world in the present age was not
expected of the Church, but that her mission has been to
preach the Gospel in all the world for a witness, and to
prepare herself under divine direction for her great future
work. God has not yet by any means exhausted his power
for the world’s conversion. Nay, more; he has not yet
cam a/z‘cmpz‘m’ the World’s conversion. -

Those who claim that Jehovah has been trying for six
thousand years to convert the world, and failing all the
time, must ﬁnd it difﬁcult to reconcile such views with the
Bible assurance that all God’s purposes shall be accom-
plished, and that his Word shall not return unto him void,
but shallprosper in t/ze ﬂung w/zereto 22‘ was sent. (Isa.
55:11.) The fact that the world has not yet been con-
verted, and that the knowledge of the Lord has not yet
ﬁlled the earth, is a proof that it has not yet been sent on
that mission.

Glancing backward, we notice the selection or election
of Abraham and certain of his offspring as the channels
through which the promised Seed, the blesser of all the
families of the earth, shall come. (Gal. 3 :16, 29.) We

T 1m A’z’rﬁ/{Iﬂbﬂ (2/ All Things S/mfcm. 5

note also the sele€tion of lsrael from among all nations. as
the one in whom, typically, God illustrated how the great
work for the world should be accomplished—their (le—
liverance from Egypt, their Canaan, their covenants, their
laws, their sacriﬁces for sins, for the blotting out of guilt
and for the sprinkling of the people, and their priesthood
for the accomplishment of all this, being a miniature and
typical representation of the real priesthood and sacrifices
for the purifying of the world of mankind. God, speaking
for the people, said, “You only have I known of all the
families of the earth.” (Amos 3:2.) This people’ alone
was recognized until Christ came; yes, and afterwards, for
his ministry was conﬁned to them, and he would not permit
his disciples to go to others—saying, as he sent them out,
“Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of
the Samaritans enter ye not.” Why so, Lord? .lecause,
he explains, “I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel.” (Matt. 10:5, 6; 15:24.) All his time
was devoted to them until his death, and there was done
his ﬁrst work for the world, the ﬁrst display of his free and
all-abounding grace, which in “due time” shall indeed he
a blessing to all. When the called-out company (called to
be sons of God, heirs of God, and joint»heirs with jesus
Christ our Lord—who have made their calling and election
sure) is complete, then the plan of God for the war/a”:
salvation will be only beginning.

Not until it is selected, developed, and exalted to power,
will file Sea! bruise the serpent’s head. “The God of peace
shall bruise Satan under your feet alloy-fly.” (Rom. 16:20;
Gen. 3 :15.) The Gospel age makes ready the chaste virgin,
the faithful Church, for the coming Bridegroom. And in
the end of the age, when she is made “ready” (Rev. 19: 7),
the Bridegroom comes, and they that are ready go in with
him to the marriage—the second Adam and the second
Eve become one, and then the glorious work of restitution
begins. In the next dispensation, the new heaven and the
new earth, the Church will be no longer the espoused
virgin, but the Bride; and then shall “The Spirit and the
Bride say, Come! And let him that heareth say, (Some!
And'let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will,
let him take the water of life freely.”——Rev. 22:17.

6 0111' [W’Rj’x .A’r/l/rlz—fo 0/1/1773

The Gospel age, so far from (losing the (‘hurch’s mis—
sion, is only a necessary preparation for the great future
work. For this promised and coming blessing the whole
creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until
now, waiting for the manifesz‘uﬂou of the sons of God.
(Rom. 8 :22, 19.) And it is a blessed {act that free grace
in fullest measure, not merely for the living but for those
who have died as well, is provided in our Father’s plan as
the blessed opportunity of the coming age.

WHERE PRE-MILLENNARIANS USUALLY COME SHORT.

Some who can see something of the blessings due at the
second advent, and who appreciate in some measure the
faét that the Lord comes to bestow the grand blessing pur-
chased by his death, fail to see this last proposition; viz.,
that those in their graves have as much interest in that
glorious reign of Messiah as those who at that time will be
less completely under the bondage of corruption—death.
But as surely as Jesus died for (1/4 they all must have the
blessings and opportunities which he purchased with his
own precious blood. Hence we shall expeél: blessings in
the Millennial age upon all those in their graves as well as
upon those not in them; and of this we will ﬁnd abundant
proof, as we look further into the Lord’s testimony on the
subjeét. It is because of God’s plan for their release that
those in the tomb are called ‘wmzmm of lwpe.” What
is, and is to be, their condition? Did God make no pro-
vision for these, whose condition and circumstances he
must have foreseen? Or did he, from the foundation of
the world, make a wretched and merciless provision for
their hopeless, eternal torment as many of his children
claim? Or has he yet in store in the heights and depths,
and lengths and breadths of his plan, an opportunity for all
to come to the knowledge of that only name, and, by be-
coming obedient to the conditions, to enjoy everlasting
life? We read that “God is love,” and “God so loved
the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoso-
ever believeth in him should not perish.” (I John 4:8;
John 3:16.) Would it not seem that if God loved the
world so much he might have made provision, not only

Tmm—s _

T/ze Err/{tulle}: 0‘ All T/zz'lzgs Spoke/z. 7

that believers might be saved, but also that all might hear
in order to believe?

Again, when we read, “That was the true light that
lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John
1 :9), our observation says, Not so; every man has not been
enlightened; we cannot See that our Lord has lighted more
than a few of earth’s billions. Even in this comparatively
enlightened day, millions of heathen give no evidence of
such enlightenment; neither did the Sodomites, nor multi-
tudes of others in past ages. Jesus Christ, by the grace of
God, tasted death “ or away 7mm.” (Heb. 2 :9.) But if
he tasted death for the one hundred and forty-three billions,
and from any cause that sacriﬁce becomes efﬁcacious to
only one billion, was not the redemption comparatively a
failure? And in that case, is not the Apostle’s statement
too broad? When again we read, “Behold I bringr you
good tidings of great joy, which shall be to ALL PEOPLE”
(Luke 2:10), and looking about us, see that it is only to a
“little ﬂock” that it has been good tidings, and not to all
people, we would be compelled to wonder whether the
angels had not overstated the goodness and breadth of their
message, and overrated the importance of the work to be
accomplished by the Messiah whom they announced.

Another statement is, “There is one God, and one
Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
who gave himself a ransom for all.” (I Tim. 2 :5, 6.) A
ransom for all? Then why should not all the ransomed
have some beneﬁt from Christ’s death? Why should not
all come to a knowledge of the truth, that they may
beheve?

THE PLAN OF THE AGES—THE GOD-GIVEN KEY.

Without the key, how dark, how inconsistent, these
statements appear; but when we ﬁnd the key to God‘s
plan, these texts all declare with one voice, “God is love.”
This key is found in the latter part of the text last quoted——
“Who gave himselfa ransom for all, To BE ’I‘ES’l‘IFIED 1N
DUE TIME.” God has a due time for everything. He
could have testiﬁed it to these in their past life time; but
since ht: did not it proves that their due. time must be

8 Our L017 ’5 Return—[2‘s 05/217.-

future. For those who will be of the Church, the bride of
Christ, and share the Kingdom honors, the present is the
“due time” to hear; and whosoever now has an ear to hear,
let him hear and heed, and he will be blessed accordingly.
Though Jesus paid our ransom before we were born, it was
not our “due time” to hear of it for long years afterward,
and only the appreciation of it brought responsibility; and
this, only to the extent of our ability and appreciation. The
same principle applies to all; in God’s due time it will be
testiﬁed to all, and all will then have opportunity to believe
and to be blessed by it.

The prevailing opinion is that death ends all probation;
but there is no Scripture which so teaches. Since God does
not propose to save men on account of ignorance, but “will
have all mm to come unto the knowledge of the truth”
(I Tim. 2 :4); and since the masses of mankind have died
in ignorance; and since “there is no work, nor device, nor
knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave” (Ecol. 9 :10); there—
fore God has prepared for the awakening of the dead, in
order to knowledge, faith and salvation. Hence his plan
is, that “as all in Adam (lie, even so all in Christ shall be
made alive, but each one in his own order”——the Gospel
Church, the Bride, the body of Christ, ﬁrst; afterward,
during the Millennial age, all Who shall become his during
that thousand years of his [)7’656’726‘6’ (mistranslated mmz’ﬂg),
the Lord’s due time for all to know him, from the least to
the greatest—1 Cor. 15:22.

We see, then, that the general salvation, which will come
to every individual, consists of light from the true light,
and an opportunity to choose life; and, as the great majority
of the race is in the tomb, it will be necessary to bring
them forth from the grave in order to testify to them the
good tidings of a Savior; also that the special salvation
which believers now enjoy in hope (Rom. 8:24), and the
reality of which will, in the Millennial age, be revealed
also to those who “believe in that day,” is a full release
from the thraldom of sin, and the corruption of death, into
the glorious liberty of children of God. But attainment to
all these blessings will depend upon hearty compliance with
the laws of Christ’s Kingdom—the rapidity of the attain-
ment to perfection indicating the degree of love for the

T/Ic Res/indie” of A // 7711';ng S/mkm. 9

King and for his law of love. If any, enlightened by the
Truth, and brought to a knowledge of the love of God, and
restored (either aétually or reckonedly) to human perfec-
tion, become “fearful,” and “draw-back” (Heb. 10:38, 39),
they, with the unbelievers (Rev. 21 :8), will be destroyed
from among the people. (Acts 3:23.) This is the Second
Death.

Thus we see that all these hitherto difﬁcult texts are ex-
plained by the statement—“to be testiﬁed in due time."
[72 due time, that true light shall lighten every man that has
come into the world. [/3 due time, it shall be “good tidings
of great joy to all people.” And in no other way can
these Scriptures be used without wresting. Paul carries out
this line of argument with emphasis in Rom. 5 :18, 19. He
reasons that, as all men were condemned to death because
of Adam’s transgression, so, also, Christ’s righteousness,
and obedience even unto death, have become a ground of
justiﬁcation; and that, as all lost life in the ﬁrst Adam, so
all, aside from personal demerit, may receive life by accept-
ing the second Adam.

Peter tells us that this restitution is spoken of by the
mouth of all the holy prophets.~ (Aéts 3:19—21.) They
do all teach it. Ezekiel says of the valley of dry bones,
“These bones are the whole house of Israel.” And God
says to Israel, “Behold, O my people, I will open your
graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and
bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that
I am the Lord, when I . . . shall put my spirit in you,
and I shall place you in your own land; then shall ye know
that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the
Lord.”—Ezek. 37:11—r4.

To this Paul’s words agree (Rom. 1 1:25, 26)—“lr’;lindness
in part is happened to [srael until the fulness ot‘the Gentiles
[the elect company, the bride of Christ] be come in; and
so all Israel shall be savec ,” or brought back from their
cast-off condition; for “God hath not cast away his people
which he foreknew.” (Verse 2.) They were cast off from
his favor while the bride of Christ was being seleéted, but
will be reinstated when the work is accomplished. (Verses
28—33.) The prophecies are full of statements of how God
will plant them again, and they shall be no more plucked

10 i Our Lord’s Return—[f5 0/3/2519

up. “Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, . . . I will
set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them
again to this land; and I will build them and not pull them
down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. And
I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord;
and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, for
they shall return unto me with their whole heart.” (Jer.
24:5—7; 31 :28; 32 :40—42; 33:6-16.) These cannot merely
refer to restorations from former captivities in Babylon,
Syria, etc., for they have since been plucked up.

Though many of the prophecies and promises of future
blessing seem to apply to Israel only, it must be remembered
that they were a typical people, and hence the promises
made to them, while sometimes having a special application
to themselves, generally have also a wider application to
the whole world of mankind which that nation typiﬁed.
thile Israel as a nation was typical of the whole world, its
priesthood was typical of the elect “little ﬂock,” the head
and body of Christ, the “Royal Priesthood”; and the sacri—
ﬁces, cleansings and atonement made for Israel typiﬁed the
“better sacriﬁces,” fuller cleansings and real atonement
“for the sins of the whole world,” of which they area part.

A CRUCIAL TEST—THE SODOMITES.

And not only so, but God mentions by name other nations
and promises their restoration. As a forcible illustration we
mention the Sodomites. Surely, if we shall ﬁnd the restitu—
tion of the Sodomites clearly taught, we may feel satisﬁed
of the truth of this glorious doctrine of Restitution for all
mankind, spoken by the mouth of all the holy prOphets.
And why should not the Sodomites have an opportunity
to reach perfection and everlasting life as well as Israel, or
as any of us? True, they were not righteous, but neither
was Israel, nor were we who now hear the gospel. “There
is none righteous; no, not one,” aside from the imputed
righteousness of Christ, who died for all. Our Lord’s own
words tell us that although God rained down ﬁre from
heaven and destroyed them all because of their wickedness,
yet the Sodomites were not so great sinners in his sight as
were the Jews, who had more knowledge. (Gen. 19 :24;

A __ "Ma‘s“ a,

77m /\’(‘.c/1'//.//fmz (3/ .4// .77/1'I/thr Sﬁn/Jrﬂ. If

Luke 17:29.) [Into the lens of (‘apernaum he said, “If
the mighty works which have been done in thee had been
done in Sodom, it would have remained until this (lay.”——
Matt. II :23.

Thus our Lord teaches that the Sodomites did not have
a full opportunity; and he guarantees them such oppor—
tunity when he adds (verse 24), “But I say unto you, that
it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom. in the day
of judgment, than for thee.” The character of the Day
of judgment and its work is shown elsewhere”: Here we
merely call attention to the fact that it will be a lo/cm/M'
time for Capernaum, and yet more tU/L’rdﬁ/é' for Sodom;
because, though neither had yet had f/z/anowledge. nor
all the blessings designed to come through the “Seed,” yet
(Lapernaum had sinned against more light.

And if Capernaum and all Israel are to be remembered
and blessed under the “New Covenant,” sealed by the
blood of Jesus, why should not the Sodomites also be
blessed among “cl/l the families of the earth”? 'l‘hey
assuredly will be. And let it be remembered that since
God “rained down fire from heaven and (/cxrfrqwrzr’ i/wm a/X"
many centuries before Jesus’ day, when their restoration is
spoken of, it implies their awakening, their coming from
the tomb.

In “due time” they will be awakened from death and
brought to a knowledge of the truth, and thus blessed
together with all the families of the earth, by the promised
"Seed.” They will then be on trial for everlasting life.

With this thought, and with no other, can we understand
the dealings of the God of love with those Amalekites and
other nations whom he not only permitted but commanded
Israel to destroy, saying, “Go smite Amalek and utterly
destroy all they have, and spare them not; but slay both
man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel
and ass.” (1 Sam. 15:3.) 'l‘his apparently reckless cle—
struétion of life seems irreconcilable with the charac‘ter of
love attributed to God, and with the teaching of Jesus,
“Love your enemies,” etc., until we come to recognize the
systematic order of God’s plan, the “due time” for the ac
complishment of every feature of it, and the fa& that
TSEE'VOI.’ 1. ,AIlIVII-‘IE‘NIVV‘IICI: Dawi,” T/ZE 1%}be {lie gigs-5T 7 _-, “A

'12 0112' [.021th Return—its 0/7662.-

every member of the human race has a place in it.

We can now see that those Amalekites, Sodomites and
others were Set forth as examples of God’s just indignation,
and of his determination to destroy ﬁnally and utterly evil—
doers : examples which will be of service not only to others,
but also to themselves, when their day of judgment or trial
comes. .

Some, who are willing enough to accept of God’s mercy
through Christ in the forgiveness of their own trespasses and
weaknesses under greater light and knowledge, cannot con—
ceive of the same favor being applicable under the New
Covenant to others; though they seem to admit the Apos—
tle’s statement that Jesus Christ, by the favor of God, tasted
death for every man. Some of these suggest that the Lord
must, in this prophecy, be speaking ironically to the Jews,
implying that he would just as willingly bring back the Sod-
omites as them, but had no intention of restoring either.
But let us see how the succeeding verses agree with this idea.
(Ezek. 16:49—63.) The Lord says, “Nevertheless I will
remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth,
and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.
771m, 1/1011, s/za/z‘ 7‘6lllc’I/l/M’7’ thy ways and be ashamed, when
thou shalt receive thy sisters. . . . And I 7027/ establish
my covenant with thee, and thou shalt know that I am the
Lord; that thou mayest remember and be confounded, and
never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when ‘
I am paciﬁed toward thee for all that thou hast done, SAITH
THE LORD GOD.” When a promise is thus signed by the
Great Jehovah, all who have set their seal that God is true
may rejoice in its certainty with conﬁdence; especially those
who realize that these New Covenant blessings have been
conﬁrmed of God in Christ, who hath sealed the covenant
with his own precious blood.

To this Paul adds his testimony, saying, “And so all
Israel [living and dead] shall be saved [recovered from
blindness], as it is written, ‘There shall come out of Zion
the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.
For this is my covenant unto them when I shall take away
their sins.’ . . . They are beloved for the fathers’ sakes;
because the gracious gifts and callings of God are not things
to be repented of.”——Rom. II :26—29.

T/It’ [Bus/271M171” (3/ .-'I// f/I/ngv .Ryvnl‘r'n. 1.;

We need not wonder that Jews, Sodomites, Samaritans,
and all mankind, will be ashamed and confounded when in
his own “due time” God shows forth the riches ofhis favor.
Yea, many of those who are now God’s children will be
confounded and amazed when they see how God m Amw’
THE WORLD, and how much his thoughts and plans were
above their own.

How different is this glorious plan of God for the selec—
tion of a few now, in order to the blessing of the many
hereafter, from the distortions ofthese truths, as represented
by the two opposing views—Calvinism and Arminianism!
The former both denies the Bible doctrine of Free Grace,
and miserably distorts the glorious doctrine of Election;
the latter denies the doctrine of Election, and fails to com-
prehend the blessed fulness of God’s Free Grace.

The clay of trouble will end in due time, when he who
spake to the raging Sea of Galilee will likewise, with author-
ity, command the raging sea of human passion, saying,
“l’eace ! Be still!” When the Prince of Peace shall
“stand up” in authority, a great calm will be the result.
Then the raging and clashing elements shall recognize the
authority of “Jehovah’s Anointed,” “the glory of the Lord
shall be revealed, and-all flesh shall see it together,” and in
the reign of the Christ thus begun “shall all the families
of the earth be blessed.”

Then men will see that what they attribute to evolution
or natural developrent and the smartness of the “Brain
Age” was, instead, the ﬂashings of Jehovah’s lightnings
(Psa. 77:I8) in “the day of his preparation" for the bless-
ing of mankind.

The Bible account of man’s creation is that God created
him perfect and upright, an earthly image of himself; that
man sought out various inventions and defiled himself
(Gen. I :27; Rom. 5:12; Eccl. 7:29); that, all being sin-
ners, the race was unable to help itself, and none could by
any means redeem his brother, or give to God a ransom for
him (Psa. 49:7, 15); that God in compassion and love had
made provision for this; that, accordingly, the Son of God

[became a man, and paid man’s ransom-price; that, as a re-
ward for this sacrifice, and in order to the completion of
the great work of atonement, he was highly exalted, even

I4 Our Lord’s Kenna—[ts Oly'c’ct:

to the divine nature; and that in due time he will bring to
pass a restitution of the race to the original perfection, and
to every blessing then possessed. These things are clearly
taught in the Scriptures, from beginning to end, and are in
direct opposition to the Evolution theory; or, rather, such
“babblings of science, falsely so called,” are in violent and
irreconcilable conﬂict with the Word of God.

“THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN COMETH NOTIWITH
OBSERVATION.”—LUKE 17 :20.

The Pharisees at the ﬁrst advent made the mistake of
supposing that the Kingdom, which Christ proclaimed,
would be a visible kingdom, composed of himself and his
followers in the ﬂesh; and seeing no army or other evi—
dences of temporal power for the establishment of an
earthly kingdom, they thought to expose the hollowness of
our’Lord’s claims before his followers, by asking him the
question,—When will your Kingdom of God appear——
when will we see it? Mark well our Lord’s reply, which,
if the Pharisees had understood it, might have been a great
revelation to them. He answered, “The Kingdom of God
cometh not with observation." How strange they must
have thought this answer! The Kingdom of God, then,
would be a Kingdom which could not be observed or
seem—an invisible kingdom. But our Lord continued
the explanation and increased their perplexity by adding,
“Neither shall ye say, Lo here! or, L0 there!” Then our
Lord gave the key to the matter by adding, “Because the
Kingdom of Heaven is [to be] in the midst of you.” That
is to say, when the Kingdom of Heaven shall come it will
be (ti/tangy! mankind, everywhere present but whollytin-
visible; so that they cannot observe it with the natural eye,
nor can they point it out or locate it, altho it will be every-
where present amongst men, an omnipresent and omnip-
otent rule or reign of righteousness. In our Common Ver-
sion the true thought is obscured by the words, “within
you,” which would better be “among you.” Anyone,
however, can see, that it could not have been our Lord’s
intention to say that the Kingdom of God was then or-ever
would be within the hearts of the class addressed. and which

771x ﬁrr/z'fu/fmz of 11/7 772/‘2/3‘: Syn/cm. I