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OBEDIENCE AND KINGSHIP
--
SEPTEMBER 26. -- PSALM 21. --
THE
GLORY OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM -- THE REWARD OF HIS OBEDIENCE TO JEHOVAH
-- THE DESTRUCTION OF HIS FOES A NECESSITY -- ARE WE FORTY YEARS
INTO THE MILLENNIUM?
"The
King shall joy in Thy strength, O Jehovah, and in Thy salvation how
greatly shall He rejoice!" -- V. 1.
THE
Jews took a practical view of the promised Kingdom of Messiah, in
which they were to have a glorious place, and in which all nations
were to be blessed. Two things they failed to realize: first, that a
Redemption-price for the sin of Adam must be provided before Adam and
his race could be returned to Divine favor and everlasting life in
Eden; second, that Messiah Himself, before having so great an
exaltation as Jehovah purposed, must demonstrate His worthiness to it
by humility, obedience, loyalty, even unto death. St. Paul points out
that Jesus the Redeemer did all this-- that He left the glory which
He had with the Father, humbled Himself to become a man (though not a
sinner), and then as a man further humbled Himself unto death, even
the death of the Cross; that on this account God highly exalted Him
far above angels, making Him partaker of the Divine nature and
Inheritor of all the promises of glory, honor,
immortality.--Philippians 2:8-11.
Many
who see this much fail to get the Scriptural declaration that God's
purpose equally included a Church class as a Bride to Messiah--as
sharer of His sufferings and trials, and sharer of His exaltation and
glory. Only when this is seen can we properly understand the delay in
the establishment of the Kingdom. It has delayed in order that the
entire Church, foreordained of God, might be completed, tested,
proved, glorified in the First Resurrection, and then inaugurated
with Messiah as the Heavenly Kingdom.
Many
peculiar ideas prevail because of a failure to take the Scriptural
proposition and because of a false theory that the Kingdom has
already been set up in glory. Ridding our minds of these
difficulties, Bible students are now discerning Messiah's Kingdom
near at hand--even at the door. They are more and more realizing that
the present terrible war is the beginning of a series of troubles
which will wind up the present order of things and inaugurate the New
Dispensation of Messiah's Kingdom, for which we have so long prayed,
"Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth, even as it is done
in Heaven."
Although it will be a
spiritual Kingdom, no less so [R5762 : page 268] than Satan's
kingdom of the present time, and the Father's Kingdom--invisible to
men--nevertheless it will be a real Kingdom, exercising power and
authority more completely than any earthly kingdom could, because not
handicapped by human limitations and conditions. Moreover, the Bible
indicates to us that the Ancient Worthies of the Jewish line will be
resurrected to perfection and in an earthly glory will become visible
representatives to men of the glorified spiritual Christ, Head and
Body. Jesus emphasized this thought to the Jews saying, "Ye
shall see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets in the
Kingdom." (Luke 13:28.) But respecting Himself He
declared, "Yet a little while, and the world seeth Me no more."
(John 14:19.) All will see Him, however, in the sense
that eventually all the eyes of understanding will be opened, that
all may see the light of the knowledge of the glory of God fill the
whole earth.-- Revelation 1:7; Habakkuk 2:14.
MESSIAH'S
KINGDOM BEGUN
Many
Bible students are claiming that, according to the prophecies,
Messiah's Kingdom began in 1878. They claim that while its chief
activities have been in respect to the Church--the harvesting of the
wheat, the separating of the tares, etc.--nevertheless it has had a
worldwide influence also, in that during this time of the dawning of
the New Dispensation God has been lifting the veil of ignorance and
showing mankind mechanical and chemical secrets which have proved
invaluable thus far, and which undoubtedly will increase in the near
future, when the Messianic Kingdom shall have been fully inaugurated,
at the close of the great Time of Trouble, already beginning in
Europe and in Mexico.
Amongst
the other indications of the operation of the Kingdom influence in
the world, Bible students point to the wonderful progress made as
respects reform along the lines of intemperance. The wonderful wave
of prohibition which has spread voluntarily over many of the States
of the American Union has been supplemented by the necessities of the
war in foreign countries. We must not expect too much along these
lines. We must expect more or less of reaction, especially in the
case of so sudden a turn as the war brought upon Europeans.
Indeed,
evidence is not wanting that the first fervor of prohibition in
Europe is reacting. We had similar experiences in America, but we
perceive that as a whole the world is moving onward in this respect
in a right direction. The movement against opium and other narcotics
also tends in the right direction, as do the many exposures of vice
and the lessons being given as respects the terrible penalty of vice,
as witnessed in the now well-recognized fact that syphilis stops
brain development and generally in a few years leads to insanity.
While
continuing to pray, "Thy Kingdom come," let us as God's
consecrated people continue to labor in character-preparation, that
we may be found worthy of a place in that Kingdom, making our calling
and election sure. And let us continue to note evidences on every
hand that we are in the dawning of the Kingdom, even though its Sun
of Righteousness cannot fully arise until the Church shall have
passed beyond the veil. In this connection we call attention to an
interesting report in respect to one of our States, which, having
passed prohibition laws, is said by its Governor to be enjoying grand
blessings of prosperity--Kansas. The following extract is from the
"North American."
RESTITUTION
BLESSINGS IN KANSAS
Recently
the Governor of Kansas issued a public statement, saying that he
hoped no one would waste pity upon the people of his State. We
quote:--
"'With
more than $200,000,000 on deposit in our State and National Banks, we
could weather a worse storm than this without hardship.' This money,
equally divided among the men, women, children and babies of Kansas,
would give each of them $118 in cash, not to mention the tidy sum of
$1,684 each is credited with as his or her share of the State's
assessed wealth. Kansas last year produced $325,000,000 worth of farm
products.
"In
eighty-seven of her one hundred and five counties there are no
insane. In fifty-four of this number are no feeble-minded. Ninety-six
counties have no inebriates, and in the other nine they are as scarce
as hens' teeth. Thirty-eight county poorhouses are as empty as a last
year's locust-shell, and most of these have been so for the best part
of a decade.
"The
pauper population of the State falls a little [R5762 : page 269] short of 600. That is one pauper for each 3,000 of the kind
making a living, and a good one--the kind that now own $255,000,000
worth of live stock and in the last twelve months have added more
than $45,000,000 to their taxable personal property. Her own people
this year hold more than $67,000,000 in this form of wealth, an
increase of over 500 per cent. in five years.
"At
one time not long ago the jails in fifty-three counties were empty
and sixty-five counties were on the roll as having no prisoners
serving sentence in the penitentiary. Instead of being hampered by a
large mass of illiterates--thirty years ago 49 per cent. of her
population came under this head--her present ratio of two per cent.
is next to the lowest in the land and two-thirds lower than
Massachusetts, including Boston.
"It
is the combination of sense and solid muscle that has kept her
growing stronger and richer through extremes of climate which soon
would decimate a less fit lot. These people have made good in a zone
once declared to be unquestionably unproductive. In the last twenty
years they have made this 'unproductive' soil yield corn and wheat
worth $2,517,902,640.
"SO
SOMETHING WOULD SEEM TO BE THE MATTER WITH KANSAS. "SOMETHING IS
THE MATTER WITH HER.
That
something, we believe, can be boiled down into these first fourteen
words constituting an amendment made to her constitution in 1881:
"'THE
MANUFACTURE AND SALE OF INTOXICATING LIQUOR SHALL BE FOREVER
PROHIBITED IN THIS STATE.'
"It
is this fundamental provision, fought and evaded in some localities
as it was for a quarter-century, and strictly enforced in all parts
of the State only within the last five years, that has helped Kansas
to flaunt a two-hundred million bank-account in the face of a partial
crop failure; that relieves her of spending much time, strength and
money on paupers, criminals, insane and feeble-minded; that gives her
people the best of chances for living and the fewest excuses for
dying."
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