disgraceful and cruel punishment introduced into Judaea by the Romans
and inflicted only on slaves and the worst of criminals. Constantine
the Great abolished it. The Jews often hanged those who had been stoned
to death, but the corpse must be buried the same day, so as not to
pollute the land (Deut. 21:22, 23). The Romans permitted the crucified
to die slowly; and the sufferings sometimes continued for three days.
Their flesh was given to the birds or other wild animals. As, according
to Jewish custom, the bodies must at once be taken down and buried,
death was hastened by the crucifragium, the breaking of the legs, to
which was sometimes added a mercy-stroke, that is, the piercing of the
body. If they were already dead, the latter alone was given, to make
the matter sure. The physical sufferings of the victims were fearfully
great Dr. Richter, a physician, thus describes them: 1. On account
of the unnatural and immovable position of the body and the violent
extension of the arms, the least motion produced the most painful
sensation all over the body, but especially on the lacerated back and
the pierced members. 2. The nails caused constantly increasing pain on
the most sensitive parts of the hands and feet. 3. Inflammation set in
at the pierced members and wherever the circulation of the blood was
obstructed by the violent tension of the body, and increased the agony
and an intolerable thirst. 4. The blood rushed to the head and produced
the most violent headache. 5. The blood in the lungs accumulated,
pressing the heart, swelling all the veins, and caused nameless
anguish. Loss of blood through the open wounds would have shortened the
pain, but the blood clotted and ceased flowing. Death generally set in
slowly, the muscles, veins, and nerves gradually growing stiff, and the
vital powers sinking from exhaustion. (From Lange on Matt. pp. 522 sq.)
By the crucifixion of our Lord the cross of the bitterest sufferings
and cruel death has been changed into a tree of life, that bears the
richest fruits of penitence and gratitude. From the moment He was
lifted on the cross He began to draw all men unto Him (Comp. John 12:
32)." (Commentary, Matthew, pp. 389-90).
_3. Death of the Christ Voluntary:_ Unbelievers delight to
represent God, the great Law Giver, as unspeakably cruel in demanding
such an atonement as Christ made for the salvation of the children of
men. But let it be born in mind that he who made the atonement did so
voluntarily. Testifying to his disciples respecting the matter, he
says: "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life
that I may take it up again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it
down of myself. I have the power to lay it down, and I have power
to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father."
When his enemies gathered about him,--a former friend betraying him
with a kiss,--and Peter prepared to defend him with the sword, he
chided him for his rashness, commanding him to put up his sword, and
added: "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he
shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how
then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?" Thus
down to the very last moment, it appears that Jesus could have been
delivered from the sacrifice had he so willed it. But the principle
which was the guiding star of his life--"Father, not my will, but thy
will be done"--influenced him in this instance, and he drank of the
cup given him of his Father, and wrung out the dregs in agony; but he
did it voluntarily, and that, too, out of his great love for mankind.
(Outlines, Eccl. Hist. Roberts, pp. 93-4.)
"It is manifest, from the history of the death of Christ, that he spake
most truly when he said, No man taketh my life from me, but I lay it
down of myself. John x. 18. For how easy would it have been for him,
even without a miracle, to have avoided falling into the hands of his
enemies? The insidious designs of the Jewish pontiff and chief priests
were well known to him; and it is plain that he was no stranger to
the treacherous intentions of his perfidious disciple Judas, since
he expressly alludes to them on more than one occasion. On the other
hand, it appears that he had several great and powerful friends, on
whom he could have depended for support. Would he but have quitted
Jerusalem, and returned into Galilee, every scheme that had been
formed against him must have fallen to the ground. Indeed, even this
was not requisite: for his safety would have been completely secured
had he merely changed the place of his nightly resort, and, lest Judas
should have discovered it, dismissed that wicked and deceitful man
from his society. Besides these obvious means, there were others to
which he might have had recourse, and which would have proved equally
efficient in defeating and bringing to naught the evil councils and
designs of the Jewish priests and elders. But it should seem that
he disdained, or at least voluntarily neglected to avail himself
of any of those precautions, which a very moderate share of human
prudence would have suggested to any man under similar circumstances.
He remained in Jerusalem; he permitted Judas to continue about his
person, in the character of an intimate friend; he continued to pass
his nights in the usual and accustomed place. All these circumstances
being considered, who is there but must readily perceive that Christ
voluntarily subjected himself to the punishment of death, and offered
up his life to God as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind?" (History of
Christianity, Mosheim. p. 98.)
_4. The Vicarious Work of the Christ:_ "Therefore. I command you
to repent--repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by
my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore--how sore you
know not! How exquisite you know not! Yes, how hard to bear you know
not! For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they
might not suffer if they would repent. But if they would not repent,
they must suffer even as I, which suffering caused myself, even God,
the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every
pore, and to suffer both body and spirit; and would that I might not
drink the bitter cup and shrink. Nevertheless, glory be to the Father,
I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men;
wherefore, I command you again to repent, lest I humble you with my
almighty power, and that you confess your sins, lest you suffer these
punishments of which I have spoken, of which in the smallest, yea, even
in the least degree you have tasted at the time I withdrew my spirit."
(Doc. & Cov. Sec. xix:15-20.)
_5. The Appearance of Jesus After His Resurrection:_ "There are
some slight discrepancies in the writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke and
John in respect to the order of the appearance of Messiah after his
resurrection, as indeed there is in respect to the order of the events
connected with his trial, condemnation and death; but the following,
because of the fragmentary character of the four gospels, may be
regarded as being as nearly correct as may be ascertained. First, to
Mary Magdalene, in the garden where the tomb in which he was laid was
located; second, lo the women returning from the sepulchre on their
way to deliver the angel's message to the disciples; third, to two
disciples going to Emmaus; fourth, to Peter; fifth, to ten apostles
in an upper room; sixth, to the eleven apostles, also in the upper
room; seventh, to seven apostles at the sea of Tiberias; eighth, to
eleven apostles in a mountain in Galilee; ninth; to above five hundred
brethren at once; tenth, to James; and finally to Paul while on his way
to Damascus." (Outlines of Ecclesiastical History, p. 65.)
_6. The Christ's Post-Resurrection Ministry in Judea:_ "In all
Jesus was with his disciples on the eastern hemisphere for forty days
after his resurrection, during which time he taught them all things
pertaining to the kingdom of heaven, and authorized them to go into all
the world and preach the gospel to every creature, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever he had commanded them; and
promised that he would be with them even unto the end of the world.
* * * Having thus taught the gospel to the people of the eastern
hemisphere, organized his church and commissioned his apostles to teach
the gospel to all nations, he prepared to depart from them. It was most
probably at Bethany that this solemn parting occurred. His forerunner,
John the Baptist, had promised that he who should come after him, Jesus
Christ, would baptize them with the Holy Ghost, and just previous to
Messiah leaving the apostles he told them that the promise was about
to be fulfilled. He therefore commanded them to tarry in Jerusalem
until they were endowed with that power from on high. Then he lifted up
his hands and blessed them, after which he was parted from them, and
a cloud received him out of their sight. As they were still looking
steadfastly toward heaven, two men.--angels--in white apparel, stood
by them, and declared that this same Jesus whom they had seen go into
heaven, should come in like manner, that is, in the clouds of heaven,
and in great glory." (Outlines of History, Roberts, pp. 66, 67.)
_7. Advent of Messiah on Western Hemisphere:_ I now turn to a
passage I shall read to you from III Nephi, describing the appearance
of Jesus on this land (America.) After fearful cataclysms had taken
place, a company of men, women and children in the land Bountiful,
numbering some 2,500 souls, were assembled together near a temple that
had escaped destruction, and they were speaking of the great events of
the recent past and the change that was apparent in the whole face of
the land. As they were speaking of these signs that had been given of
Messiah's birth and death, and conversing concerning Messiah himself,
they heard a voice. What was said they could not at first determine,
and whence the voice came they could not tell. It grew, however, more
and still more distinct, until at last they heard the voice say:
"Behold my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have
glorified my name; hear ye him."
And it came to pass as they understood, they cast their eyes up again
towards heaven and behold, they saw a man descending out of heaven: and
he was clothed in a white robe, and he came down and stood in the midst
of them, and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and
they durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not
what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto
them.
And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto
them people, saying:
Behold, I am Jesus, whom the prophets testified shall come into the
world;
And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; I have drunk out
of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified
the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in which I have
suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.
And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, the whole
multitude fell to the earth, for they remembered that it had been
prophesied among them that Christ should show himself unto them after
his ascension into heaven." (Defense of the Faith and the Saints, pp.
382-3.)
_8. Subject of Messiah Teaching in the Western Hemisphere:_
"Complaint is made that in his ministry among the Nephites Messiah
merely repeated the ideas, and for that matter the words of his sermon
on the mount; so wanting in originality, claim those who object to
the Book of Mormon, were the authors of the book that they could not
trust themselves to give Jesus the opportunity of preaching an original
discourse to the inhabitants of this western part of the world. I ask
these Christian objectors to consider this: Suppose the Book of Mormon
were not in existence at all; suppose that we begin to reflect on the
empires and nations which beyond all question did occupy this land of
America in ancient times, and were civilized, intelligent people--God's
children; suppose that it began to occur to some of our Christian
friends that it would have been a grand idea if the Son of God had come
and made proclamation of the Gospel to a people who were destined to
be for so many centuries separated from the eastern hemisphere, where
the gospel had been planted. Now, then, suppose these conditions, and
suppose further that Jesus came here, what would be the nature of his
mission? What should he first do? What truth do these Christian critics
hold to be the most important truth to mankind? Would it not be the
fact that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, the one who
is to bring life and immortality to light through the Gospel? Would
not that be the most important thing to have declared? I believe all
Christians must necessarily say yes. Well, that is just what happened.
The voice of God broke the stillness of this western world, and said
to a company of people, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased; hear ye him." Then Jesus stands forth and declares himself
and his mission, the most important truth that the Christian mind,
at least, can conceive. The Fifth Gospel starts with that sublime,
important truth. Then alter that, what would be the next most important
thing? Would it not be to teach man his moral duty? His relationship to
God and to the Savior having been fixed by the first revelation, what
next? Why, the ethics of the gospel of Christ, the moral law, which is
to take the place of the old Mosaic law--confessedly inferior to the
Gospel law, being but the "schoolmaster" to bring Israel to the Christ.
Christian principles, then, for light living was what Messiah imparted
to the Nephites after his relationship to them was settled. And so
Messiah starts out with the same doctrine that he taught upon the
mount There are not wanting respectable Christian authorities for the
assertion that that discourse called the sermon on the mount was not a
single discourse, but that into it was crowded from the recollection
of the apostles all the great ethical truths that Jesus had taught
from time to time, and that here they are grouped together and appear
as one discourse. Moreover, the Savior declared to the Nephites while
he was yet with them that these truths which he had been teaching them
were the same that he had taught in Judea. "Behold," said he, in the
course of his explanations, "ye have heard the things which I have
taught before I ascended unto my Father." (Defense of the Faith and the
Saints, pp. 384-5.)
[Note: _To the Teacher:_ It is suggested that you make the
appointment at this lesson for Lesson XXX--a discourse on "The
Greatness and Influence of the Meridian Dispensation." One or more
speakers may be appointed, and an effort should be made to give the
subject a masterly treatment. It could also be made the occasion of
a review of the eight lessons devoted to the theme, which may be
conducted by questions after the speakers have concluded.
On such occasions as these a very fitting thing to do would be to
invite brethren of other quorums, Elders and High Priests, as also the
local authorities of the Ward or Stake to witness such exercises. Make
it a special occasion and put those who are to treat the theme on their
mettle and get the best out of them that it is possible for them to
give.]
LESSON XXVII.
(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL.
ANALYSIS.
I. Among the Jews--Pentecost--the Church at Jerusalem.
1. Among the Gentiles:
(a) Opening the Door of the Gospel to the Gentiles by Peter.
(b) Paul's Labors among the Gentiles.
II. The Apostolic Age.
REFERENCES.
Matt, xxviii:16-20; Mark xvi; 16: Acts i:1-9. Acts ii: ix, note 1 and
2.
Acts x, xi. Notes 3, 4 and 5. Also New Testament History, (Smith) pp.
426-29, 633-643.
Acts xxii-xxviii. Note 6.
Note 7 and 8; also Smith's New Testament History and Dictionaries
heretofore quoted.
NOTES.
_1. The Acts of the Apostles: _The student should regard the whole
book, "Acts of the Apostles," as the book of first importance in the
history of the propagation of the Gospel in the Meridian Dispensation.
It gives an account of the conflicts and conquests of the Gospel from
the ascension of Messiah to the imprisonment of Paul in the city of
Rome (33-63 A. D.), a period of sixty years. "It is the earliest manual
of Church History, and the only one treating of the age of the apostles
which has come down to us from the first century." (See note Seventy's
Year Book, No. I, p. 85, notes 6, 7.) "True," as remarked by Dr.
William Smith, "New Testament History," "the Book of Acts contains no
full account of the acts of the apostles;" for "most of them are never
mentioned even by name after the list given in the first chapter;" and
the history of Paul which fills so large a space in the book is not
brought down to his death." Still, it is the most important book of the
Apostolic age treating of the Christian origins.
_2. Characteristics of the Acts:_ "The Acts makes prominent the
agency of the Holy Spirit. He is referred to by name fifty times, or
more frequently than in all the four Gospels together. The promise of
the Spirit was emphasized by Christ just before his ascension. (1:5,
8.) He descended in tongues of fire on the day of Pentecost (2:1-13).
Early believers (4:31) and preachers, like Stephen (6:5) and Barnabas,
were 'filled with the Holy Spirit,' and the Apostles were sent forth
to their work (13:4), or the elders appointed by Him (20: 28). It is
a book of beginnings. The Holy Spirit begins his new and promised
activity; the Apostles inaugurate their labors; churches are founded
in many cities. * * * * * * * The Acts is eminently a hopeful book. It
is the book of Joshua among the books of the New Testament, fresh as
with the life of Spring. Old terms acquire a new significance, like
'believer,' 'brother' (9:17), 'the Way' (19:9), etc. There is no cant.
Christianity goes forth conquering and to conquer, and the world is the
heritage of Christ. It dwells much upon the resurrection, and looks
forward with expectancy to the Second Coming. It is animate with the
spirit of joy. In this respect, the Acts is set in the same major key
as the Gospel of Luke. Confident of the presence of the Master and
conscious of the power of salvation, the Apostles even rejoice that
they were counted worthy to suffer for him (5:41). The tidings which
they preach, like those the angels brought, are 'good tidings' (13:
32). Paul and Silas sang in prison (16:25), and the acceptance of the
Gospel is everywhere attended with great joy (8:39; 13:52; 15:3; 16:
34, etc.). It is a book of missionary activity. Intensity of purpose
and effort pulsates through it. It has no morbid tone. Much stress
is laid upon the efficacy of Christ's death, but only the deaths of
Stephen and James are mentioned, and the deaths of Paul and Peter are
entirely passed over. This silence * * * * indicates that it matters
everything how a Christian lives; little how he dies. Christianity
advances with a steady and rapid progress from Jerusalem to Antioch,
Antioch to Corinth, and Corinth to Rome. There are references to the
numbers of the believers (2:40; 4:4), and constant statements that they
were increasing rapidly (2:47; 5:14; 6:7; 12:24; 16:5). Besides the
more formal notices, there are incidental allusions to the churches
in Samaria and Phoenicia (15:3), Syria and Cilicia (15:23), Troas
(20:6, 7), Tyre and Ptolemais (21:1-7), and other cities. The book is
the missionary's best companion on the frontier and in foreign lands.
The Acts is animated with the universal aims of the Gospel. It has a
Gentile ring. Palestine was only the birthplace of Christianity, not
its exhaustive theatre. Peter catches this tone in his speech on the
day of Pentecost (2:39), whose various tongues were themselves a type,
and witnesses a figurative representation of it in the vision on the
housetop of Joppa. Stephen's eye takes in this larger horizon, and
Paul, who uttered the significant words in Antioch of Pisidia, 'Lo,
we turn to the Gentiles' (13:46), looks out to Rome itself when he
insists, 'I must also see Rome' (19:31; 20:22). The motto of the Acts
is the command of the ascending Saviour, 'to the uttermost part of the
earth' (1:8), and continues to be the motto of the Church. The Acts
of the Apostles is not yet a closed book." (The Acts of the Apostles,
by J. S. Howson and H. D. M. Spence, p. xix and xx. International
Commentary, Introduction.)
_3. The Gospel Taken to the Gentiles:_ The Apostles, being Jews
themselves, appear to have shared the common prejudices of their race
against the Gentiles; and treated them for a time as if they had no
lot nor part in the gospel of Christ. It was not the design of the
Lord, however, to thus restrict the application of the gospel. Jesus,
himself, while he had said that he was "sent but to the lost sheep of
the house of Israel," had also said: "And I, if I be lifted up from
the earth, will draw all men unto me;" and the commission of the risen
Christ to the Apostles sent them to "all nations." (Matt. xxviii:19;
Acts i:8.) Hence, when Cornelius of Caesarea, a devout man, one that
feared God, though a Gentile, sought the Lord by prayer and good works,
he found him; for an angel was sent to Cornelius, who told him his
prayers and alms were accepted of God, and that he had come to direct
him to send men to Joppa for Simon Peter, who would be able to tell
him what he ought to do. The devout Gentile immediately started the
messengers to find the Apostle. Meantime Peter himself was prepared
by a vision to go with the gospel unto one whom both he and all his
race regarded as unclean. In vision he thought he beheld a great net
let down from heaven, filled with all manner of four-footed beasts,
fowls of the air, and creeping things. And a voice said to him, "Rise,
Peter, kill and eat." "Not so. Lord," was his reply, "for I have never
eaten anything that was common or unclean." "What God hath cleansed,"
said the voice, "that call not thou common or unclean." This was done
thrice, and as he was yet pondering what the vision could mean, the
messengers of Cornelius were at the gate enquiring for him; and he
was commanded by the Spirit to go with them, doubting nothing, for
God had sent them. Peter was obedient to the inspired commandment,
and went to the house of Cornelius, where he found many of the devout
Gentile's friends and kinsmen gathered together in anticipation of his
coming. Cornelius having informed the apostle how he came to send for
him, Peter exclaimed: "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter
of persons; but in every nation he that feareth him and worketh
righteousness is accepted with him." He then proceeded to preach the
gospel to Cornelius and all present. As he did so the Holy Ghost fell
upon them, to the astonishment of all the Jews who had accompanied
Peter; for they heard them speak in new tongues and magnify God.
Cornelius and his friends were baptized and thus the door of the gospel
was opened to the Gentiles. (Outlines Ecclesiastical History, pp. 81,
2.)
_4. Peter's Mission to the Gentiles:_ "This event was the crown
and consummation of Peter's ministry. He, who had first preached the
resurrection to the Jews, baptized the first converts, and confirmed
the Samaritans, now, without the advice or co-operation of any of his
colleagues, under direct communication from heaven, first threw down
the barrier which separated proselytes of the gate from Israelites;
first established principles which issued in the complete fusion of
the Hebrew and Gentile elements in the Church. The narrative of this
event, which stands alone in minute circumstantiality of incidents and
accumulation of supernatural agency, is twice recorded by St. Luke.
The chief points to be recorded are, first, the peculiar fitness of
Cornelius, both as a representative of Roman force and nationality, and
a devout and liberal worshiper, to be a recipient of such privileges;
and, secondly, the state of the apostle's own mind. Whatever may have
been his hopes or fears touching the heathen, the idea had certainly
not yet crossed him that they could become Christians without
first becoming Jews. As a loyal and believing Hebrew, he could not
contemplate the removal of Gentile disqualifications without a distinct
assurance that those enactments of the Law which concerned them were
abrogated by a divine legislator. The vision could not, therefore,
have been the product of a subjective impression; it was strictly
objective, presented to his mind by an external influence. Yet the
will of the Apostle was not controlled; it was simply enlightened.
The intimation in the state of trance did not at once overcome his
reluctance. It was not until his consciousness was fully restored and
he had well considered the meaning of the vision, that he learned that
the distinction of cleanness and uncleanness in outward things belonged
to a temporary dispensation. It was no mere acquiescence in a positive
command, but the development of a spirit full of generous impulses,
which found utterance in the words spoken by Peter on that occasion,
both in presence of Cornelius and afterward at Jerusalem." (Dr. Smith's
New Testament History, pp. 428-9.)
_5. Rapid Growth of the Work:_ The knowledge once established in
the minds of the Apostles that God granted to the Gentiles repentance
unto life, seemed to unshackle those who were to preach the gospel, and
gave a broader meaning in their minds to their commission to "Go unto
all the world and preach the gospel unto every creature." Evidently
before this they did not comprehend it in its fullest sense. The
Apostles appear to have remained in Jerusalem a number of years--twelve
years, tradition says--presiding over the Church and directing the
labors of those preaching the gospel. Churches, or, more correctly
speaking, branches of the Church were built up in Antioch, Damascus and
other cities of Syria. The work also spread into Asia Minor, Greece
and Rome; and everywhere great success attended the preaching of the
elders, until the gospel was firmly established in various parts of
the Gentile world. So extensive was the preaching of the ambassadors
of Christ in those early days of the Church that we have Paul saying
(about thirty years after the ascension of Messiah) that it had been
"preached to every creature under heaven." (Outlines Ecclesiastical
History, p. 83.)
_6. Personal Appearance and Character of Paul:_ "We have no very
trustworthy source of information as to the personal appearance of St.
Paul. Those which we have are referred to and quoted in Conybeare and
Howson. (Vol. i, ch. vii. end.) They are the early pictures and mosaics
described by Mrs. Jameson, and passages from Malalas, Nicephorus, and
the apocryphal Acta Pauli et Theclae. They all agree in ascribing
to the Apostle a short stature, a long face with high forehead, an
aquiline nose, close and prominent eyebrows. Other characteristics
mentioned are baldness, grey eyes, a clear complexion, and a winning
expression. Of his temperament and character, St. Paul is himself the
best painter. His speeches and letters convey to us, as we read them,
the truest impressions of those qualities which helped to make him
The Great Apostle. We perceive the warmth and ardor of his nature,
his deeply affectionate disposition, the tenderness of his sense of
honor, the courtesy and personal dignity of his bearing, his perfect
fearlessness, his heroic endurance; we perceive the rare combination
of subtlety, tenacity and versatility in his intellect; we perceive
also a practical wisdom which we should have associated with a cooler
temperament, and a tolerance which is seldom united with such impetuous
convictions. And the principle which harmonized all these endowments
and directed them to a practical end was, beyond dispute, a knowledge
of Jesus Christ in the Divine Spirit. Personal allegiance to Christ
as to a living Master, with a growing insight into the relation of
Christ to each man and to the world, carried the Apostle forward on
a straight course through every vicissitude of personal fortunes and
amid the various habits of thought which he had to encounter. The
conviction that he had been entrusted with a Gospel concerning a Lord
and Deliverer of men was what sustained him and purified his love for
his own people, while it created in him such a love for mankind that
he only knew himself as a servant of others for Christ's sake." (Dr.
Smith's New Testament History, p. 633.)
_7. The Apostolic Age:_ "The Apostolic Age naturally falls into
three periods: (1) The time when the labors of the Apostles were
confined to Jerusalem; (2) the time during which their ministrations
were performed in all of Palestine, and (3) the time when they "went
into all the world" (the Roman Empire) in obedience to the Saviour's
behest (Matt, xxviii:16-20; Mark 16:15). * * * * * * * There is
scarcely a movement, religious or otherwise, in the history of the
world which can be compared, in quickness of development, with the
first thirty years of the spread of Christianity. Up to the year 33 A.
D. the name of Christ had scarcely been heard outside of a region no
greater than one of the larger counties of Utah; over all the civilized
world beside, paganism and Judaism held undisputed sway. Yet, by the
year 63 A. D., through the active zeal of our Lord's followers, His
name and the doctrines He came to establish had spread over Syria, Asia
Minor, Arabia, Greece, Italy, and, we doubt not, some regions farther
west. The Christians, as the followers of Jesus were called in derision
first in Antioch (Acts 11:26), were everywhere known, and everywhere
spoken evil against. Opposed by the combined forces of the two widely
accepted religions above mentioned, the Gospel of Christ had spread
"to the ends of the earth," and had been accepted by Jews and pagans
everywhere." (Y. M. M. I. Manual, 1898-9.)
_8. State of the Church at Close of Apostolic Age:_ "A. the close
of the first century, the Church was in a sadly demoralized condition.
According to our best authorities, all the Apostles but John were
dead, no attempt (for any great length of time, apparently) having
been made to maintain the quorum. If so important a body was allowed
to become extinct, there is no reasonable doubt that other quorums
fell into decay and that the Church organization lost its original
identity. With the disorganization of the quorums of Priesthood there
was an opportunity for the predicted rise of false teachers, under
whom occurred changes in the ordinances of the Gospel. These changes
afterward increased materially, until, in connection with the loss of
true and the usurpation of false authority, they produced a complete
change both in the organization and the ordinances of the Church.
Persecution and internal corruption and dissension had also done their
work, until at the close of the century, when John wrote his Epistles
and the Revelation, but few of the branches of the Church retained
enough of their identity and faithfulness to be recognized by him.
The deplorable condition of the Church can well be gathered from the
warnings and threats given to the saints at Ephesus in the second
chapter of Revelation. A full discussion of this subject will be found
in Roberts' New Witnesses for God, chapters 2-7. From the evidences
there presented, it cannot be doubted that at the close of the first
century the high authority of the Church had fallen into decay, and the
Apostolic Age was at an end."
LESSON XXVIII.
(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
CONFLICTING THEORIES.
ANALYSIS.
I. Questions Respecting the Meridian Dispensation and the Dispensation
of the Fullness of Times Considered.
1. The Largeness and Glory of the Meridian Dispensation.
2. Identity of the Meridian Dispensation and the Dispensation of the
Fullness of Times Considered.
(a) Joel's Prophecy of the Dispensation of the Last Days Considered.
REFERENCES.
The Authorities quoted in the notes are all the References the Editor
and Compiler has to offer in this Lesson.
NOTES.
_1. The Greatness of the Dispensation of the Meridian of Time:_
With the period between Moses and John the Baptist spanned, we come
to the Dispensation of the Meridian of Time. This dispensation begins
with the preaching of John the Baptist in the wilderness. It was made
glorious by the personal ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of
God; by His suffering and death, for the redemption of mankind; by
His glorious resurrection from the dead; by His subsequent ministry
among His followers, and His final ascension into heaven to the throne
of His Father; by the faithful ministry of His Apostles, by whom the
good tidings of man's salvation were published to the world; by the
establishment of the Church as an agency through which the Gospel
was to be more widely proclaimed, and those who accepted the Gospel
more thoroughly instructed in its doctrines, guarded from error,
and finally perfected in the Christian life. An inspired volume of
Scripture, the New Testament, was also brought into existence, from
the teachings of the inspired Apostles, in which the great fundamental
truths of the Gospel were embodied and cast in a form that would be
enduring, and to which men could appeal through all the ages to come,
as an authoritative statement, not only of what Jesus said and what
He did, but also a statement of what doctrines are to be believed;
what precepts to be practiced; what ordinances to be observed. By thus
embodying the chief doctrines of Christ in a volume of Scripture that
should live forever, and be published in all the languages of the
world, provision was made for such a dissemination of the knowledge of
God, that the world would never again be wholly without that knowledge;
and though the Church might become corrupted, as it afterwards did;
though men ambitious of distinction and power might usurp authority and
establish churches in which they taught for doctrines the commandments
of men, as they certainly did; still in this volume of Scripture men
henceforth would have at hand a standard of truth by which to test
the utterances of would-be teachers, while at the same time it would
keep above the horizon of a world's knowledge the great truths of
the Gospel--the existence and character of God; the manifestation
of Him through the person and character of Jesus of Nazareth; the
relationship existing between God and man; the fall of man, and the
redemption provided for him in the atonement of Jesus Christ. All this
was achieved in the Dispensation of the Meridian of Time; a mighty
work accomplished by the Son of God and His associates; a work sealed
not only by the blood of Jesus Christ, but by the blood also of many
faithful witnesses, which shall make their testimony of force in the
world.
_2. The Identity of the Dispensation of the Meridian of Time and
the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times Considered:_ Owing to
the phraseology of certain passages of Scripture, making reference
to the coming of Messiah in the flesh, and to the work of God in
those days, the Dispensation of the Meridian of Time is mistaken for
the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times. In Mark's Gospel, for
instance, John the Baptist is represented as saying, "_The time
is fulfilled_, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and
believe the Gospel."[A] The words in black type are usually understood
to make reference to the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times. Again
it is written: "_But when the fullness of the time was come_, God
sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them
that were under the law." [B] The words, "when the fullness of the time
was come," are supposed to refer to the Dispensation of the Fullness of
Times. Other passages of Scripture referring to the days of Messiah's
personal ministry among men in the flesh, speak of them as the "last
days." Paul, in the opening sentence of his letter to the Hebrews,
does this: "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in
time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath _in these last
days_ spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all
things."[C]; So St. John, in addressing the Saints in his day: "Little
children, it is the lost time: and as ye have heard that anti-Christ
shall come, even now are there many anti-Christs; whereby we know that
it is the last time."[D] These, with two other special passages of
Scripture, to be separately considered, constitute the authority upon
which the Meridian Dispensation is confounded with the Dispensation
of the Fullness of Times. And yet all these passages are susceptible
of quite a different and more natural rendering. Without controversy
it will be conceded that the Lord had an appointed time for His Son
Jesus to come to earth in the flesh and perform the mission that had
been assigned Him; to suffer; to die; to arise again from the dead.
And when the fullness of this time was come, God indeed sent forth His
Son into the world. As for those inspired writers who speak of the
"last days," and the "last times"--they speak relatively; that is, with
reference to former days and times; and, of course, the days and times
in which they lived to them were the last days, and the last times; but
they were not the last days of the earth's temporal existence; they
were not the last days in any general sense at all, as there have been
now some two thousand years of days since then. They were not the "last
days" that are understood as immediately preceding the glorious coming
of the Son of God.
[Footnote A: Mark i:15.]
[Footnote B: Gal. iv:4.]
[Footnote C: Heb. i:1, 2.]
[Footnote D: John ii:18.]
_3. Joel's Great Prophecy of the Dispensation of the Last Days:_
Of the special passages before referred to, and which I said would
receive separate consideration, the first is Peter's quotation from
the Prophet Joel, concerning the outpouring of the Spirit of God upon
"all flesh in the last days." This quotation from Joel is regarded as
identifying the days in which the Apostle was speaking, as "the last
days;" and the dispensation in which he was living as the Dispensation
of the Last Days and of the Fullness of Times. The conditions existing
when Peter was speaking, and the prophecy of Joel, however, admit of no
such interpretation. The circumstances were as follows: The Holy Ghost
in an extraordinary manner rested upon the Apostles and gave them the
power of speaking in other languages than those they had learned. Some
in the listening multitude attributed this singular manifestation to
drunkenness, whereupon the Apostle Peter arose and refuted the slander,
saying: "These are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the
third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the Prophet
Joel; and it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will
pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters
shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men
shall dream dreams: and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will
pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy; and I
will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath;
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: the sun shall be turned into
darkness and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of
the Lord come: and it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on
the name of the Lord shall be saved."[A] "For," to finish the passage
as it stands in Joel, but which is not in Peter's quotation, "for in
Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath
said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call."[B]
[Footnote A: Acts ii:15, 21.]
[Footnote B: Joel ii:28-32.]
Because Peter, referring to the Spirit that was then resting upon the
Twelve Apostles, said, "this is that which was spoken by the Prophet
Joel," etc., the very general opinion prevails that Joel's prophecy was
then fulfilled; and hence the last days were come. This is an entire
misapprehension of the purpose of Peter in making the quotation; as
also of the quoted passage itself. Beyond all controversy, Peter meant
only: This Spirit which you now see resting upon these Apostles of
Jesus of Nazareth is that same Spirit which your Prophet Joel says
will, in the last days, be poured out upon all flesh. Obviously he
did not mean that this occasion of the Apostles receiving the Holy
Ghost was a complete fulfillment of Joel's prediction. To insist upon
such an exegesis would be to charge the chief of the Apostles with
palpable ignorance of the meaning of Joel's prophecy. On the occasion
in question the Holy Ghost was poured out upon the Twelve Apostles,
who were given the power to speak in various tongues; Joel's prophecy
for its complete fulfillment requires that the Spirit of the Lord, the
Holy Ghost, shall be poured out upon all flesh; and undoubtedly refers
to that time which shall come in the blessed millennium, when the
enmity shall not only cease between man and man, but even between the
beasts of the forests and of the fields; and between man and beast, as
described by Isaiah in the following language:
"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie
down with the kid; and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling
together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the
bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the
lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the suckling child shall play
on the hole of the asp; and the weaned child shall put his hand on
the cockatrices' den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy
mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as
the waters cover the sea."[A]
[Footnote A: Isaiah xi:6-9.]
Compare these conditions so vividly described with what Joel himself
says of the period when the Spirit of the Lord shall be poured out
upon all flesh, and it will at once be clear that the two Prophets
are dealing with the same period, and not only dealing with the same
period, but that the period itself is certainly far beyond in time the
days of Peter; in fact, is still in the future; for the sum has not
yet been turned into blackness; nor the moon into blood; nor have the
stars withdrawn their shining. It is obvious that the events upon the
day of Pentecost did not fulfill the terms of this prophecy, except in
those particulars already pointed out. The mention in this prophecy,
however, of those special signs which Jesus refers to as immediately
preceding His own second and glorious coming, clearly demonstrates that
Joel was speaking of the last days indeed, and not of a circumstance
that occurred in connection with a period more properly designated
as the Dispensation of the Meridian of Time. Immediately following
his prediction of the outpouring of God's Spirit upon all flesh, Joel
represents the Lord as saying: "And I will show wonders in the heavens
and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall
be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and
the terrible day of the Lord come." And later: "The sun and the moon
shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord
also shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and
the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of
His people, and the strength of the children of Israel."
Compare this with the Saviour's description of conditions in the earth
that will precede His own second coming:
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall
fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and
then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall
all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall
send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather
together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the
other."[A]
[Footnote A: Matt. xxiv:29-31.]
The same wonders in heaven and earth; the same changes in sun, and
moon, and stars; the same promises of the gathering of God's people as
are found in the prophecy of Joel. There can be no question, then, but
that the prophecy of Joel refers to the same "last days" that Jesus
here alludes to--the days of the coming of the Son of Man--and not to
the days of Peter and the other Apostles in the meridian of time.
The sum of the matter then is, that Peter was not living in the "last
days;" that the prophecy of Joel was not in its entirety fulfilled
in the outpouring of God's Spirit upon the Apostles on the day of
Pentecost; that at no time subsequent to the days of the Apostles has
there existed such conditions in the earth as amount to a complete
fulfillment of Joel's prophecy; therefore in some time future from the
days of the Apostles we may look forward to a universal outpouring
of God's Holy Spirit upon all flesh, resulting in a universal peace
and wide-spread knowledge of God, brought about, unquestionably,
by a subsequent dispensation from that in which Peter wrought--the
Dispensation of the Fullness of Times, in which God promises to "gather
together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and
which are on earth; even in Him."[A]
[Footnote A: Eph. i:10.]
LESSON XXIX.
(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
CONFLICTING THEORIES--(Continued.)
ANALYSIS.
I. Questions Respecting the Meridian Dispensation and the Dispensation
of the Fullness of Times Considered.
II. Daniel's Prophecy of the Rise of the Kingdom of God in the Last
Days.
REFERENCES.
The Authorities quoted in the notes are all the references the Editor
and Compiler has to offer in this Lesson.
NOTES.
_1. Daniel's Prophecy of the Rise of the Kingdom of God in the
Last Days:_ The second special Scripture to which I have promised
a separate consideration is the prophecy of Daniel relative to the
succession of the great earth empires; and the final establishment
of the Kingdom of God, which in "the last days" shall fill the whole
earth and remain forever. By an error on the part of Christian writers,
Daniel's prophecy concerning the Kingdom of God to be set up in "the
last days" is supposed to have been fulfilled by the founding of "The
spiritual kingdom of Christ" in the days of Messiah's earthly ministry;
and therefore the conclusion is drawn that those days were "the last
days," and the dispensation then ushered in, the final dispensation of
the Gospel. It is my purpose here to refute that error.
The prophecy in question is familiar, and comes from Daniel's
interpretation of the king of Babylon's dream of the great image, whose
"brightness was excellent, whose form' was terrible." The head of the
image was-of gold; his breast and arms were of silver; the body and
thighs of brass; the legs of iron; and the feet and the toes part of
iron and part of clay. The king in his dream also saw a little stone
cut out of the mountain without hands, that smote the image upon the
feet of mixed clay and iron, and broke it to pieces--until it became
like the chaff of the summer thrashing floor, and the wind of heaven
carried it away, that no place was found for it; but the little stone
cut from the mountain without hands, which smote the image on the
feet and ground it to dust, became a great mountain and filled the
whole earth. This is the dream; and this the prophet's interpretation,
addressed to the king of Babylon:
"Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given
thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the
children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the
heaven, hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over
them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall rise another
kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which
shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be
strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all
things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces
and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters'
clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall
be in it of the strength of iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron
mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron,
and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly
broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall
mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one
to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of
these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never
be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but
it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall
stand forever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of
the mountain without hands., and that it brake in pieces the iron, the
brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God hath made
known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is
certain, and the interpretation thereof sure."[A]
[Footnote A: Dan. ii:37-45.]
As understood by the learned, Daniel's interpretation stands thus:
"(1) The _Golden Head_--The Assyrio-Babylonish monarchy (the 6th
and 5th century B. C.);
"(2) The _Silver Breast and Arms_--The Medo-Persian empire (from
538 B. C. to about 330 B. C.);
"(3) The _Brazen Belly and Thighs_--The Greco-Macedonian kingdom,
especially after Alexander, those of Egypt and Syria (from about 330 B.
C. to 160 B. C.);
"(4) The _Legs of Iron_, the power of Rome, bestriding the east
and west, but broken into a number of states, the ten toes, which
retained some of its warlike strength (the iron), mingled with elements
of weakness (the soft potters' clay), which rendered the whole imperial
structure unstable.
"(5) The _Stone_ cut without hands out of the _Living Rock_,
dashing down the image, becoming a great mountain, and filling all the
earth--_The Spiritual Kingdom of Christ_."
The last phrase--"The Spiritual Kingdom of Christ"--meaning, of course,
the "Christian churches" which have existed from the time of Christ,
and that now exist, and which, taken together, form Christ's spiritual
kingdom.
On the foregoing exegesis, which is the one commonly accepted by
orthodox Christians, I make the following several observations:
_First:_ The phrase with reference to the little Stone, "cut out
of the Living Rock," is one introduced by Dr. Smith, from whose "Old
Testament History"[A] the above analysis of Daniel's interpretation is
taken. The language of the Bible is, "cut out of the mountain without
hands." Why it is changed by the Doctor one may not conjecture, unless
it is to lay the foundation of an argument not warranted by the text of
Daniel's interpretation. It is enough here to note that the change in
phraseology is wholly gratuitous and unwarranted.
[Footnote A: Edition of 1878, page 622.]
_Second:_ The claim that the "little Stone cut from the mountain
without hands," is the "_Spiritual Kingdom of Christ_"--if by that
"spiritual kingdom" is meant not a real kingdom, actually existing,
visible and tangible--is an assumption of the Doctor's. It is not the
language of the Bible, nor is there any evidence in Scripture for
believing that "the kingdom," represented by "the stone cut out of
the mountain without hands," is any less a _material_ kingdom
than those which preceded it. The differences between this kingdom of
God and the other kingdoms of the vision are not in the kingdom being
"spiritual," but in these: (1) That the kingdom which God shall set up
will never be destroyed; (2) never left to another people; (3) will
break in pieces and consume all other kingdoms; (4) it shall fill the
whole earth; (5) and stand forever. We are warranted in the belief,
however, that it will be a tangible, bona fide government of God on
earth, consisting of a king; subordinate officers; laws; subjects; and
the whole earth for its territory--for its dominion. The coming forth
of such a government, the founding of such a kingdom, is in harmony
with all the hopes of all the saints, and the predictions of all the
prophets who have touched upon the subject. It is the actual reign of
Christ on earth with His Saints, in fulfillment of the hopes held out
to them in every dispensation of the Gospel. It is to be the burden
of the song of the redeemed out of every kindred, and tongue, and
people, and nation, that Christ has made them unto their God kings and
priests--"and we shall reign on the earth."[A] It is to be the chorus
in heaven--"the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our
Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever."[B] And
the elders in heaven shall say:
[Footnote A: Rev. v:10.]
[Footnote B: Rev. xi:15.]
"We give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and
art to come; because thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and hast
reigned. And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the
time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldst
give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them
that fear Thy name, small and great; and shouldst destroy them which
destroy the earth."[A]
[Footnote A: Ibid. xi:17, 18.]
And still again:
"Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on
such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God
and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years."[A]
[Footnote A: Ibid. xx:6.]
It should be observed respecting the last passage and the one preceding
it, that "the reign on earth" of the kingdom of God is connected with
the resurrection of the righteous saints; so that it will be in the
"last days" indeed--not in the days of the Roman empire. And this
reign of the saints on earth, this kingdom of God which they shall
constitute, shall be a reign of righteousness, but a veritable kingdom
nevertheless.
_Third:_ The orthodox exegesis under consideration omits one
important matter of fact, viz., that instead of four great dominant
political powers symbolized in the image which Nebuchadnezzar saw,
and which Daniel interpreted, there are five, viz.: (1) The Head
of Gold--Babylonish kingdom; (2) the Chest and Arms of Silver--the
Medo-Persian monarchy; (3) the Brazen Belly and Thighs--the
Greco-Macedonian empire; (4) the Legs of Iron--Rome; (5) the _Feet
and Toes_ mixed of _iron and clay_--the modern kingdoms and
states of the world.
This failure to recognize the fifth political power represented by the
feet and toes of Daniel's image leads to serious errors with respect
to this prophecy. It has led the theologians to assign the setting up
of God's kingdom spoken of in the prophecy to the wrong period of the
world's history. They say the kingdom represented by the stone cut
from the mountain without hands is "the spiritual kingdom of Christ;"
and that the said kingdom was set up in the days of Messiah's earthly
ministry in the meridian of time. This, however, cannot be correct;
for the Church which Jesus established by His personal ministry and
which, it is granted, is sometimes spoken of as the Kingdom of God,
was founded in the days of the Roman empire, the fourth world power
of Daniel's prophecy; and at a time, too, when imperial Rome was at
the very zenith of her glory and power. Whereas the terms of Daniel's
prophecy require that the kingdom which God shall establish, and which
was represented by the stone cut from the mountain without hands, shall
be set up in the days of the fifth political world power--in the days
of the kingdoms represented by the pieces of iron and clay in the feet
and toes of the image. The language of the prophecy on this point is:
"And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and
part of iron, the kingdom (i. e., the political power so represented,
and that succeeds the fourth power or Roman empire) shall be divided;
but there shall be in it the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou
sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were
part of iron, and part of clay, * * * * they (i. e., the kingdoms
represented by the pieces of iron and clay) shall mingle themselves
with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as
iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of _these kings_ (not
in the days of the Roman empire)--_in the days of these kings_
shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be
destroyed."
_Fourth:_ One of the peculiarities of the kingdom of God of
Daniel's prophecy is, that when it is established among men it will
not only never be destroyed, but "_the kingdom shall not be left to
other people_." By which saying we can only conclude that when the
kingdom of God shall be set up by the Lord in the last days, it will
not be taken from the people to whom it shall come, and be given to,
or left, to another people. But how stands it with the institution
which arose from the preaching of the Gospel in the days of Messiah's
earthly ministry, the church, sometimes called the kingdom of God,
and the kingdom of heaven? Was it not "left to other people?" Messiah
Himself said of the Jews, "Therefore say I unto you, _the kingdom
of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth
the fruits thereof_."[A] This passage comes, too, as a conclusion
to the parable of the householder who let both his house and his
vineyard to unworthy husbandmen, who successively beat, stoned, and
slew the servants, and even the son and heir whom the master sent to
collect his portion of the fruit of the vineyard. "When the Lord of
the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?" asked
Jesus of His hearers. "He will miserably destroy these wicked men,"
they replied, "and will let out his vineyard to other husbandmen, which
shall render him the fruits in their season." They had pronounced
judgment upon themselves. The parable presented the case of the Jews
to whom Jesus was speaking, exactly, and Jesus quickly made the
application of the judgment--"Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of
God shall be taken from you, and given unto a nation bringing forth
the fruits thereof." There can be no mistaking the meaning of the
parable or its application; and some years later we have Paul saying
to the contradicting and blaspheming Jews of Antioch in Pisidia: "It
was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to
you; but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourself unworthy of
everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. _For so hath the Lord
commanded us_."[B] And so it came to pass that as Israel in those
days rejected the Gospel of the kingdom which was first offered to
them, so God also rejected them; and they have stood rejected to this
day; smitten and trodden under foot of the Gentile races, a scoff, a
hiss, and a byword in every land that they have inhabited; while the
kingdom of God first offered to them was left to other people, to the
Gentiles, who, for a season, brought forth the fruits thereof. But the
fact that the kingdom then preached to the Jews was taken from them and
given to another people, is proof positive that it was not the kingdom
which was to fulfill the terms of Daniel's great prophecy.
[Footnote A: Matt. xxi:43.]
[Footnote B: Acts xiii:46, 47.]
_Fifth:_ Another characteristic of the kingdom of God of Daniel's
prophecy is, that it will never be destroyed, but will break in pieces
and consume all other kingdoms, and stand for ever. This is not true of
that institution brought into existence by the preaching of Messiah and
the Apostles, sometimes called the kingdom of God, but more properly
the Church of Christ. Saddening as the thought may seem, the Church
founded by the labors of Jesus and His Apostles was destroyed from
the earth; the Gospel was perverted; its ordinances were changed; its
laws were transgressed; its covenant was, on the part of man, broken;
and the world was left to flounder in the darkness of a long period of
apostasy from God. For the reason, then, that the institution founded
by the preaching of the Apostles was destroyed in the earth, as well
as for the other reasons considered, the conclusion is forced upon the
mind that the Church founded by Jesus and the Apostles was not the
fulfillment of Daniel's great prophecy respecting the kingdom which God
promised to set up in the last days: and hence we may look for another
dispensation beyond the times of the Apostles, which will culminate in
subduing the kingdoms of this world and making them the kingdoms of our
God and His Christ, followed by that reign of righteousness and peace
of which all the prophets have spoken.
LESSON XXX.
(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
THE GREATNESS AND INFLUENCE OF THE MERIDIAN DISPENSATION.
(A Discourse.)
NOTES.
_1. Suggestion to the Teacher:_ See foot note in Lesson XXII, Note
1.
_2. Suggestion to the Speakers:_ Here is a great theme, and one
little dwelt upon in the Church, because the ministry and members have
been absorbed in the later dispensation with which they are immediately
connected. It affords excellent opportunity for truth-grouping, and
infinite variety in treatment. (See notes in Lesson XVI and XXII). Many
features of this great dispensation are untouched by the foregoing
lessons, because of an enforced brevity necessary from our plan of
treatment. The speaker, as far as possible, should develop these
omitted features, that more knowledge may be imparted to the classes
than that given in the lessons. No speaker should be content merely to
repeat the subject matter of the lessons when there is so much left
untouched outside of them. The lesson affords a scope for large and
deep thinking; for wide research and masterful expression. Do your very
best upon the subject; it will be worthy of all the effort you bring to
bear upon it.
_3. Of Completing a Plan for a Discourse:_ The student should
review what is said on the importance of a plan for a discourse in
Lesson XXII. On the work of finishing a plan, Mr. Pittinger remarks:
"When we have accumulated our materials, stricken out all that is
unfitted or superfluous, and determined the general character of our
discourse, the remainder of the work of finishing the plan must be left
to individual taste and judgment. No rules can be given that will meet
every case. We might direct to put first those statements or arguments
which are most easily comprehended, and those which are necessary for
understanding other portions of the discourse, and also whatever is
least likely to be disputed. Something strong and impressive should
be held well in reserve. It will not be according to the principles
of that highest art which is the best mirror of nature if we exhaust
interest in the opening and then close tamely. Beyond these obvious
considerations little help can be given to the speaker in this part
of his work. He must form his own ideal and then work up to it. We
do not advise any one to borrow other men's outlines for the purpose
of filling them up and then speaking from them as if the work was
original. [That would be execrable!] This is a most profitless kind
of plagiarism. Such sketches may be useful to the very young speaker,
merely as indications of the kind of excellence in plans or sketches
at which he should aim. And when he hears good discourses he may look
beneath the burning words and criticise the merits of the framework
upon which they rest. This may render him less satisfied with his
own plans, but such dissatisfaction ever affords the best hope for
future success. The true mode of improving your plans is to bestow a
great deal of time and thought upon them, and to make no disposition
of any part for which you cannot give a satisfactory reason. This
direction relates only to the beginner. In time the formation of plans
will become so natural that any variation from the most effective
arrangement will be felt as keenly as a discord in music is felt by
a master in that art. From such carefully constructed plans, firm,
coherent, and logical discourses will result." (Extempore Speech,
Pittinger, pp. 170, 171.)
_Essential Elements of a Plan:_ "There are certain general
characteristics that each plan should possess. It must fully indicate
the nature of the proposed discourse and mark out each of its
successive steps with accuracy. Any want of definiteness in the outline
is a fatal defect. You must feel that you can rely absolutely on it
for guidance to the end of your discourse, or be always in danger of
embarassment and confusion. Each clause should express a distinct idea,
and but one. This should be repeated in no other part of the discourse;
otherwise we fall into wearisome repetitions, the great vice, as it is
often claimed, of extempore speakers. A brief plan is better, other
things being equal, than a long one. Often a single word will recall
an idea as perfectly as many sentences, and it will burden the memory
less. We do not expect the draft of a house to equal the house in size,
but only to preserve a proportionate relation to it throughout. The
plan cannot supply the thought, but, indicating what is in the mind,
it shows how to bring it forth in regular succession. It is a pathway
leading to a definite end, and, like all pathways, its crowning merits
are directness and smoothness. Without these qualities it will perplex
and hinder rather than aid. Each word in the plan should suggest an
idea, and be so firmly bound to that idea that the two cannot become
separated in any exigency of speech. You will find it sorely perplexing
if, in the heat of discourse, some important note should lose the
thought for which it previously stood and become an empty word. But
with clear conceptions condensed into fitting words, this cannot easily
happen. A familiar idea can be expressed very briefly, while a strange
or new conception may require more expansion. But all thoughts advanced
by the speaker ought to be familiar to himself as the result of long
meditation and thorough mastery, no matter how strange or startling
they are to his hearers. Most skeletons may be brought within the
compass of a hundred words, and every part be clearly indicated to the
mind that conceived it, though perhaps not to any other." (Extempore
Speech, Pittinger, pp. 171-2-3.)
* * * * * *
_Clearness in Speech:_ We turn again to the consideration of the
quality of clearness in speech. In Lesson XXII the fault of ambiguity
was dealt with to some extent, and here consideration of the same fault
is renewed.
_"Ambiguity from the Use of Too Many Pronouns:_ Ambiguity may be
produced by a too free use of pronouns. A student who wishes to tell
how Dr. Livesey, of Treasure Island fame, threatened the pirate, Billy
Bones, writes:
"The Doctor told him he was a dirty old scamp, and that he was a doctor
and a magistrate, so that if he ever caught him doing anything like
that again, he would run him out of the district."
It lakes time to discover to which man the various pronouns refer. To
remove the obscurity we shall have to make part of the passage a direct
quotation:
Dr. Livesey told Bones that he was a dirty scamp, and warned him if
he did anything like that again, he would be run out of the district.
"For," said the Doctor, "I am not only a physician, but a magistrate,
too."
Often when the report of a speech in the third person is ambiguous,
we must resort to this device of direct quotation. Usually, however,
the question is merely one of finding nouns to take the place of
pronouns. By decreasing the number of pronouns, the confused sentence,
"Walters and Foster didn't agree with them, but thought as we did, and
so they were forced to give up their intention," becomes the clear
one, "Walters and Foster didn't agree with their old-time adversaries,
but agreed with us, and so the latter were forced to give up their
intention." In getting rid of ambiguous pronouns it may be necessary to
repeat a word. When clearness demands it, the best writers are never
afraid to use a word twice. The repetition may, by serving as a sort of
echo of the previous thought, even increase the coherence. So Mr. Bryce
writes:
"Yet, after all, it (the influence of the Speaker of the House of
Representatives) is power, power which in the hands of a capable and
ambitious man becomes so far-reaching that it is no exaggeration to
call him the second, if not the first political figure in the United
States."--(Bryce: American Commonwealth.)
This device of repetition is used in transforming the incoherent
sentence below into a coherent one.
_Incoherent:_ This policy is not the best one; it is false, and we
know it, and shun it accordingly, even if it is not to our interest.
_Coherent:_ This policy is not the best policy; it is false, we
know it to be false, and though shunning it is not to our interest,
shun it we do. (Composition and Rhetoric for Schools. Herrick and
Damon, p. 304-5.)