May 15, 1901 promised blessings and kingdom. In addition to this, it was the custom for many of the must religious to permanently remove to Jerusalem in their old age, that they might die there; and thus we see that the Lord’s arrangements, and the human arrangements which his providence had favored, all cooperated at this time for the favorable presentation of the good tidings that Messiah had come, and that he had redeemed Israel and the world, according to the prophets and the types; that he had aseended to the Father as the great High Priest for his people; and that this Pentecostal blessing represented the divine favor bestowed through him, and open to as many as would really receive him and become his followers— disciples. When we consider the class of hearers, and the miraculous power resting upon the speakers, it need not surprise us that so many were converted in so short a time— three thousand.—Acts 2:41. We are given but a meagre account of the preaching; viz., an extract from Peter’s discourse; but from the number of converts it is evident that all of the apostles engaged in the service. A summary of their preaching is given in vs. 11, where the hearers are represented as saying, “We do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.” These wonderful works we have already referred to as relating to our Lord’s death and resurrection, and his commission to his apostles, which they were now carrying out. ‘True, it is said that the apostles used other words, amongst them, “Save yourselves from this untoward generation”—thus intimating the condemnation of the Jewish church and polity, and the fire of divine wrath, the trouble, shortly to come upon them. But the main part of their discourses was not a tirade against the Jews, but rather a showing forth of the wonderful features of the divine plan: and even in the charge against the rulers and the people for the great crime they had committed in erucifving Jesus, the Apostle puts the matter as kindly as possible, saying, “I wot that in ignorance ve did it, as did also your rulers.” Herein we have a valuable lesson for all the followers of Christ who preach in his name and who would win souls from the darkness of error to harmony with God. The proper, the effective preaching, today and then, is that which tells of the wonderful works of God in man’s redemption, and not that which tirades against the nominal church—even though it be necessary occasionally to point out ZION’S WATCH TOWER (176 -179) the errors of Babylon, as the apostles pointed out the errors of Judaism. Our course, like theirs, should be one of great moderation and kindness, as well as plainness of speech, “speaking the truth in love.” The harvest work of the present time reminds us much of this gathering of the harvest in Israel. Now, as then, those who are addressed by the holy Spirit are the Israelites indeed— “devout men out of every nation under heaven.” And s0 prominently is this the direction in which the holy Spirit is guiding in this harvest work that one of the charges against the work is, that we are not going after the drunkards and harlots and gamblers and thieves and vagabonds, but are seeking to feed the Lord’s sheep and lambs,—seeking to present present truth, meat in due season to the devout of every nation. And such, we believe, is the will of God concerning us; and so we advise that all of the Lord’s people, as they seek to proclaim the grace of God, remember the words of the Lord, that we are to feed his sheep and his lambs, and not spend unnecessary time with the goats and the wolves, as soon as we recognize their kind, except it be to drive them off or to expose their true character to the sheep. Our commission is to “preach the Gospel to the meek,” not to the froward and the vile; to bind up the broken-hearted, not to seek to break the hard hearts. The Lord has his own plan for dealing with the stony hearts in the time of trouble which is near, and during the Millennial age, in which the necessary force will be used to restrain the evil and to open their eyes and ears of understanding. Now our commission is to go to those who have-an ear. “He that hath an ear let him hear.” Those who have hot the ears to hear the message, and who have not the hearts to appreciate its beauty, should not be argued with or wrangled with, but wisely left as quietly as possible in their ignorance and blindness until the Lord’s due time for scattering the pall of darkness, the gross darkness which Satan has brought upon the people. We had rather leave in ignorance and under the bonds of superstition those who manifest no appreciation of the grace of God; for doubtless, if their superstitions were loosed in the present time, it would be nothing to their advantage; perhaps to the disadvantage of others. Let us remember that the Gospel message is to gather out the Lord’s peculiar people, a little flock, and that so far as the world is concerned the Gospel is only a “witness” now. Vou. XXTI ALLEGHENY, PA., JUNE J, 1901 A HIGH PRIEST OF COMING GOOD THINGS HEB. 9:11-14; 24-28—June 2. GOLDEN TEXT:—“He ever liveth to make intercession.’—Heb. 7:25. No signature is attached to the Book of Hebrews, nor does the writer of it in any way identify himself, except as we see in its style, close reasoning, deep penetration and wide knowledge of the divine plan, strong evidence that it was written by the Apostle Paul. Who but he could have written it? It is not addressed to Jews, as if with the intention of converting those who did not believe in Christ—but to the Hebrews— to those who were the children of Abraham according to the flesh, but who had accepted Christ.* The Apostle would strengthen and establish the faith of these (and indirectly of all others who would come to a similar knowledge of God’s dealings with Israel). In this epistle he seeks to show that, so far from the new dispensation repudiating the old one, it was merely an advance step which was being taken because its due time had come. The Jewish system was not being repudiated as a divine institution, but was being established as such, everything in the new dispensation having an analogy to the things in the old one, but on a higher plane. Thus all the Mosaic arrangements were honored, and shown to be of divine institution, good for the time, and serving a noble purpose as types and lessons of instruction and preparations for the Gospel. The time had now come for the establishment of the antitype—the antitypical Covenant through the antitypical Mediator, sealed with the antitypical blood of the Covenant, and to be followed by the antitypical * Nevertheless, we believe the Book of Hebrews to be a presentation of the Gospel specially suitable as a message to unbelieving Jews— superior in its influence to anything which we or others could present. Accordingly, we are preparing a booklet giving this Epistle in the Hebrew-Jargon, familiar to Jews of all nationalities, for use among them,—-hoping that through the assistance of our readers in all lands it may be the means under diviné providence of blessing and enlightening some, and preparing them for the mercy future, mentioned by the Apostle in Romans 11:31. We will send a copy of this brochure when issued to each WatcH Tower subscriber, and trust that few if any will be wasted,—the stewardship then will be yours. Day of Atonement, preceding the antitypical blessing of the people and their full and permanent release from sin and condemnation. In line with the foregoing, the Apostle, in the lesson before us, is pointing to Jesus, ascended and in the heavens, as the antitype of the earthly high priests when they went into the “most holy” on the day of atonement to sprinkle the blood of the atonement upon the mercy seat. It will be remembered* that on the day of atonement the high priest put on his linen garments (not his glorious garments) and with the blood of the sacrifice went into the most holy to present it as the ransom price—the atonement. While he was within the people had no evidence of divine favor resulting from his sacrifice, but waited on their faces in the dust, representing the prostrate and helpless condition of mankind in degradation, needing and waiting for the divine blessing. So now, our great High Priest comes forth with the promised blessings the blessings of restitution until all the work of atonement be accomplished, and until all the members of his body shall, with their Head, have put on the garments of glory and heauty, typifying honor, majesty and authority. Then the blessing will quickly follow. from the uplifted hands (manifested power), of our great High Priest; then, indeed, restitution blessings will prevail toward the whole creation now groaning and travailing in pain together.—Rom. 8-22. It is in respect to this coming blessing that the Apostle declares our Lord to he a High Priest of coming good things —coming blessings—obtained of God in a higher tabernacle or temple than the Jewish earthly one—a tabernacle, the Holy of Holies of which is heaven itself, from which in due time our great High Priest comes forth with the promised blessings of restitution, etc. * See Tabernacle Shadows of Better Sacrifices—this office. [2821]
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