10

1

10

download/literature/watchtower/1911-7.pdf

../literature/watchtower/1911/7/1911-7-1.html

MARCH I, Igit ‘‘Mediator between God and men,’’ between God and the world of mankind. In harmony with the divine plan, during this age, before his work of uplifting mankind is due to begin, he is doing another work that the Father has ordained; namely, the selection of brethren over whom he is placed as the ‘‘Captain of their salvation.’’ These are counted in as members of the body of the Messiah, he being Head over them—‘‘the church which is his body.’’ So, then, the Man Christ Jesus is the Redeemer of the world. But in the interim—as noted above—before the application of his merit shall be made for the world, the testimony is given to a few—as many as have ears to hear and are joint-sacrificers with him. ‘These will be associated with him as Prophet, Priest, Mediator, King and Judge between God and men during the Millennial kingdom. Question—After Adam sinned, could God have made with him such a Law Covenant as he made with the Jews—a Covenant offering him life upon condition of fulfilment of the law? Vou. XXXII THE WATCH TOWER BROOKLYN, N. Y., MARCH 15, 1911 (79-83) Answer.—We think it would not be reasonable to suppose that it would be consistent with the divine principles, after Adam had had a full and complete trial, and after he had failed in that trial, and after he had been sentenced to death, that God should belittle his Government and his decision by making another proposition to him, after he had gotten into a more or less fallen condition. It would seem that even the suggestion of a trial would have been inconsistent with divine principles, unless full satisfaction had first been made for the transgression already committed. We see quite a difference between Adam and the children of Adam, who were born in imperfection and who have never willingly and wilfully and intelligently sinned against God and who have never been given an offer or opportunity to see whether they would be able to keep that divine law. God gave Israel certain surroundings of typical justification and typical sanctification, ete., for the purpose of imparting general instruction foreshadowing the great blessing which he ultimately will bestow upon all mankind—giving them the opportunity of coming back into divine favor and eternal life. No. 6 A SNARE—A TRAP—A STUMBLING - BLOCK ‘‘And David saith, Let their table become a snare and a trap, and a stumbling-block, and a recompense unto them; let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see.’’—Rom. 11:9, 10. At one time these words seemed irreconcilable with either justice or love. Supposing that the poor Jews who were blinded, stumbled into eternal torment, God’s conduct seemed inserutable—no matter if, through the Apostle, he did promise (vss. 25, 26) that, generations after, the blindness should be turned away—after the fullness of the elect church, the Gentiles, had been brought into divine favor. We reasoned that the recovery of a man’s great-greatgreat-grand-children could never compensate for his own loss, if he went to eternal misery. And although trained in Presbyterian thought, it seemed terrible to read the calm, cold assertion, ‘‘What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the elect hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded’’—‘‘stumbled,’’ ‘‘snared,’’ ‘¢trapped.’’ KNOWLEDGE OF THE DIVINE PLAN ENABLES US TO UNDERSTAND THE SCRIPTURES PROPERLY But, thank God, our own blindness was removed and the breaking of the Millennial dawn, revealing the divine plan, set our ideas right, enabled us to rightly divide and apply the Scriptures and brought the grandest order out of our confusion. We found that the hell to which Israel went was the grave—hades; that there is no consciousness in hell (Heb., sheol; Greek, hades—Ezek, 37:12; Psa. 6:5); that blinded, stumbled Israel is still there, and that not merely their grand-children, centuries after, will have their blindness removed and their sins forgiven, but all of them will individually enjoy these favors. They all were included in the unbelief and blindness and stumbling, that God might have mercy upon all and recover every one of them from that blindness and bring every one of them to that full, clear knowledge which will render every man without excuse and fully responsible for his choice of life through obedience to Christ, or of the ‘‘second death’’ through disobedience. See verses 27-32; John 5:28; Ezek. 37:12, 13; John 1:9. To see the matter thus clearly was a great relief; but still our heart cried out to God for an explanation and a just reason for the blinding, stumbling and entrapping of all but an elect few of a nation to which, as a whole, he had made many gracious promises and for whom he had already done so much, for eighteen centuries—a nation which alone of all the nations of earth recognized him as its Ruler and were under covenant relatiors to him and his law. ISRAEL’S PROMISES EARTHLY—-NOT HEAVENLY The answer of God’s Word is that, while he had called Israel by his promises to a great and noble part in his plan of salvation, he did not call them to the place of chief favor and honor. His promises to them were earthly, not heavenly. And although all of the sons of Jacob were called or invited, it was a conditional call which the nation as a whole never complied with. Only the few ever kept his laws (or were reckoned to have kept them by proper intention) and hence, all along, it was true that agme children of Jacob, professedly children of God, were VI—4 really of their father the devil (John 8:44), because they were not all Israelites that were of the nation of Israel.— Rom. 9:6. When God’s due time came for the great atonement for sin to be made by our Redeemer’s sacrifice of himself (Heb. 7:27), that also was his due time for beginning the selection of his spiritual Israel, to whom he extends heavenly promises and for whom he has reserved the very high est place in his great plan—next to himsclf. EARTHLY ISRAEL SET ASIDE UNTIL THE COMPLETION OF THE SPIRITUAL ISRAEL Christ himself became the Head and Chief of this spiritual or heavenly Israel, of which fleshly Israel with its precious but earthly promises had so long been a type or shadow. And as soon as Christ’s sacrifice was completed the work of selecting the spiritual Israel as his ‘‘bride’’ or ‘‘body’’ or ‘‘brethren’’ and ‘‘joint-heirs’’? was due to begin. It was not God’s purpose that the two Israels should continue side by side; henee, as soon as the spiritual was begun the earthly was set aside; not set aside forever, but merely until the spiritual Israel had been selected. But although the fleshly house of Israel was set aside at the time of Christ’s crucifixion (Matt. 23:38), yet the first opportunity for membership in spiritual Israel was given to that people. It is not surprising that only a handful, a ‘‘remnant,’’ of fleshly Israel] was able to stand the tests of faith and sacrifice exacted of the spiritual Israelites. Those ‘‘hypocrites’’ to whom it was said, ‘‘Ye are of your father the devil,’’ would surely not be in condition to be attracted by the truth and its spirit into fellowship in the new spiritual Israel. And even of those w)o were Israelites indeed, who trusted in the promises of God, we cannot suppose that many would be without guile, pure in heart, and just ready for faith and obedience under the Gospel age call. By the divine arrangement, therefore, the preaching of the Gospel of the Cross skimmed off, as it were, into the Gospel church the cream class of that people—‘‘and the rest were blinded’’; and God was agreeable to their being blinded. THE GREAT GULF BETWEEN THE EARTHLY AND THE HEAVENLY ISRAEL TO BE DESTROYED God would allow ‘‘a great guif’’ to be fixed by their prejudices between them and the spiritual Israel; he would make of them a spectacle before the world, and although outeasts from his favor for a time, they should, as a dead nation, be witnesses to his Word throughout the world; and, finally, when he shall have selected and polished and glorified his spiritual Israel, he will destroy the ‘‘great gulf,’’ turn away their blindness as a people, and receive back to favor all of them who then will come—showing merey upon them through the ylorified spiritual Israel— vss, 31, 32. “‘Oh, the depth of the riches, hoth of the wisdom and knowledge of God!’’ How grandly systematic and rea [4781]