1881 Watch Tower - A2Z.org
1881 Watch Tower - A2Z.org 1881 Watch Tower - A2Z.org
PITTSBURGH CHURCH MEETING.Services held in "Curry Institute Hall," corner Penn avenue andSixth street, Pittsburgh, at 2.30 o'clock, P.M. Every Wednesdayevening, at No. 80 Cedar avenue, Allegheny, at 7:30 o'clock,P.M. All are cordially invited.====================R175 : page 1"A STONE OF STUMBLING.""He (Jesus) shall be...for a stone of stumbling and for a rock ofoffence to both the houses of Israel." Isa. 8:14.The Bible speaks of the several tribes of Israel as houses--viz.:House of Judah, Levi, Benjamin, etc., but the expression, Houseof Israel, was used as belonging to the twelve tribes collectively.(Jacob, after his wrestle with the angel, was called Israel, whichsignifies "a Prince with God," and all of his descendants arecalled the children or House of Israel.) And the nominal Gospelchurch, entire, containing both wheat and tares (Matt. 13) isrecognized as the House of Christ who is the true Israel--aPrince with God.It is these two houses that we understand as referred to in thescripture above cited--the fleshly house of servants and thespiritual house of sons--as we read: "Moses verily was faithfulin all his house [of servants--fleshly Israel], but Christ as a Sonover his own house [of sons--spiritual Israel] whose house arewe [to be] if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of ourhope firm unto the end. [Heb. 3:5,6.] We see then that none areof the Gospel House of Sons, except those who "hold fast to theend." But during this age of trial and development, all professorsare reckoned as part of the nominal house of sons, and thedistinction between the true and false are not to be manifesteduntil the end of this age--"The harvest"--when wheat and taresare separated.This fact, that both of the nominal houses--fleshly and spiritualIsrael--stumble over Christ, may have escaped the notice ofmany, and the bare suggestion that the Gospel Church is tostumble will doubtless be repelled by many with alarm. But,beloved, be not alarmed; remember that "the Lord knoweth themthat are his," and not one grain of wheat will be mistaken for atare; nor will one tare be gathered into the barn of safety withthe wheat. Were we to do the separating, very many tares whohave been our neighbors and church members might be classedas wheat that will be known in their true character by the angelswho are the reapers.The Jewish church claimed that they were servants of God, andso they had been reckoned a house of servants for eighteen
hundred years, up to the time when Jesus came in the end oftheir age as the reaper, and the work of separating between truegrain and empty chaff commenced. The work of reaping wasdone by Jesus' personal preaching, and also through hisdisciples, as John had declared. "His" winnowing fan is in hishand, and he will thoroughly purge [cleanse] his floor, andgather his wheat into the garner [the gospel age,] but burn up thechaff with unquenchable fire," [Matt. 3:12] the fire of tribulationand national destruction on fleshly Israel, ending withJerusalem's destruction--A.D. 70.The work of Jesus in the end or harvest of the Jewish age, was,not to make Israelites of the Gentiles, but to prove who werereally servants of God. The results prove that few of the nominalfleshly Israel were "Israelites indeed, in whom was no guile.""He came to [nominally] His own, and as a people or house theyreceived him not." The nominal house stumbled over him, anddid not recognize him. "But to as many as received him, to themgave he power [liberty] to become sons of God"--but the restwere blinded.We have heretofore seen that the Jewish or servant house was inmany respects a pattern or shadow of the higher gospel house.Especially in the closing work of the two ages is this parallelismstriking. Their age ended with a harvest, in which Jesus in theflesh was the reaper and winnower and gatherer into the barn,the disciples being the assistant reapers, working under hisdirections. [Luke 10:1.] Our age is also to end with the harvestof the spiritual or gospel house --a separating of wheat and tares,in which again, Jesus a spiritual body ["We know him no moreafter the flesh"] is the reaper, [Rev. 14:14-16, Matt. 13:41] whilethe angels, also invisible spiritual bodies, are the assistants.We see too that not only are the harvests of Jewish and gospelages parallel in point of beginning, but also in length ofduration; theirs being in all 40 years from the time of Jesusanointing [at beginning of their harvest, A.D. 30,] to destructionof Jerusalem, A.D. 70. So, ours, beginning in 1874 closes withthe end of the "day of wrath" and end of the "times of theGentiles," 1914--a similar and parallel period of 40 years. Thefirst seven years of the Jewish harvest was especially devoted tothe gathering of ripe wheat from that church; three and one-halfof it was while he was present as the Bridegroom and three anda half of it after he had come to them as king and had enteredinto glory, but it was all under his supervision and direction.As John had said, he purged his floor, gathered his wheat andburned the chaff. So here the parallel is being fulfilled: We find,[as heretofore shown--see "Day Dawn"] the law and theprophets declaring him present at the culmination of the "Jubileecycles" in 1874. And the parallels show us that then the harvestbegan, and that the gathering of the Bride into the place ofsafety, will occupy a parallel seven years of time, ending in
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- Page 5 and 6: our Leader, saw the "crown of life,
- Page 7 and 8: We trust, then, that all readers ma
- Page 9 and 10: Gospel house go into captivity to "
- Page 11 and 12: general the opportunity of running
- Page 13 and 14: that in some passages, the term hol
- Page 15 and 16: which they that are unlearned (in t
- Page 17 and 18: were dissolved we have a (singular
- Page 19 and 20: other Scripture. We have been held
- Page 21 and 22: great stones, costly stones, and he
- Page 23 and 24: een looked forward to by many as a
- Page 25 and 26: nominal church before commencement
- Page 27 and 28: could bestow the spirit, the seal o
- Page 29 and 30: privilege to be. As God's children,
- Page 31 and 32: necessary to the Christian's growth
- Page 33 and 34: The blessing which comes to the wor
- Page 35 and 36: and shows the modesty of the "twig.
- Page 37 and 38: A GOOD man incarnates goodness. The
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- Page 41 and 42: Do I hear you say that the prize fo
- Page 43 and 44: and regulated my time so that none
- Page 45 and 46: condemns the servant who hid his mo
- Page 47 and 48: harmony with the commands of the Lo
- Page 49 and 50: Isa. 1:4. Let His hands now make th
- Page 51 and 52: Therefore, in mentioning grounds of
PITTSBURGH CHURCH MEETING.Services held in "Curry Institute Hall," corner Penn avenue andSixth street, Pittsburgh, at 2.30 o'clock, P.M. Every Wednesdayevening, at No. 80 Cedar avenue, Allegheny, at 7:30 o'clock,P.M. All are cordially invited.====================R175 : page 1"A STONE OF STUMBLING.""He (Jesus) shall be...for a stone of stumbling and for a rock ofoffence to both the houses of Israel." Isa. 8:14.The Bible speaks of the several tribes of Israel as houses--viz.:House of Judah, Levi, Benjamin, etc., but the expression, Houseof Israel, was used as belonging to the twelve tribes collectively.(Jacob, after his wrestle with the angel, was called Israel, whichsignifies "a Prince with God," and all of his descendants arecalled the children or House of Israel.) And the nominal Gospelchurch, entire, containing both wheat and tares (Matt. 13) isrecognized as the House of Christ who is the true Israel--aPrince with God.It is these two houses that we understand as referred to in thescripture above cited--the fleshly house of servants and thespiritual house of sons--as we read: "Moses verily was faithfulin all his house [of servants--fleshly Israel], but Christ as a Sonover his own house [of sons--spiritual Israel] whose house arewe [to be] if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of ourhope firm unto the end. [Heb. 3:5,6.] We see then that none areof the Gospel House of Sons, except those who "hold fast to theend." But during this age of trial and development, all professorsare reckoned as part of the nominal house of sons, and thedistinction between the true and false are not to be manifesteduntil the end of this age--"The harvest"--when wheat and taresare separated.This fact, that both of the nominal houses--fleshly and spiritualIsrael--stumble over Christ, may have escaped the notice ofmany, and the bare suggestion that the Gospel Church is tostumble will doubtless be repelled by many with alarm. But,beloved, be not alarmed; remember that "the Lord knoweth themthat are his," and not one grain of wheat will be mistaken for atare; nor will one tare be gathered into the barn of safety withthe wheat. Were we to do the separating, very many tares whohave been our neighbors and church members might be classedas wheat that will be known in their true character by the angelswho are the reapers.The Jewish church claimed that they were servants of God, andso they had been reckoned a house of servants for eighteen
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