1881 Watch Tower - A2Z.org

shrink from the death of the human will, etc.; but God still lovesthem and therefore will bring them by the way of trouble andadversity--(ultimately resulting in the destruction of the humanwill)--to plane L--the perfect, spiritual plane. But they have lostthe right to plane K--the throne of glory--because they were notovercomers. Notice that in the case of both ofR275 : page 118these companies, the earthly nature must be destroyed; but in thecase of the "great company," m, it is taken from them, while inthe case of the "little flock" it is, as it was, with Jesus, theexample--a willing sacrifice. Oh, if we prize our Father'sapproval, if we desire our Lord's smile, if we desire to bemembers of his body--his Bride--and to sit on his throne, wemust fulfill our covenant of sacrifice! I beseech you, brethren,by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a livingsacrifice-- holy, acceptable unto God, your reasonable service.p represents the majority of the nominal church. You will noticethat they are not on plane M, but on plane N; they are justified,but not sanctified (not entirely consecrated to God,) notbegotten, therefore, as spiritual beings at all. They are higherthan the world, because they accept of Jesus as their ransomfrom sin, but they have not come high enough to be a part of thereal church--the spiritual family, and unless they progress andsacrifice the human, they will never be anything but human, andin the resurrection they will be in the likeness of the earthlyman, Adam, whereas those who sacrifice the human, will be inthe likeness of the Lord--like unto Christ's glorious body. qrepresents a class connected with the nominal church who neverdid believe in Jesus as the sacrifice for their sins and whoconsequently are not justified--not on plane N. They are "wolvesin sheep's clothing"--they are in no sense a part of the church--they belong to plane R, are part of the world and are out of placein, and a great injury to, the church.Thus, in a mixed condition, the church has existed throughoutthe Gospel age: as our Lord had foretold--the kingdom ofheaven (church) is like unto wheat and tares in a field (theworld) --"Let both grow together until the harvest. In the time ofharvest I will say unto the reapers (the angels,) gather togetherthe tares and bind them in bundles to burn (destroy) them, butgather the wheat into my barn.--Matt. 13:38,41,49.These words of our Lord show us that while he purposed thatboth should grow together during the age, he also purposedR275 : page 119that there should come a time of separating between thesedifferent elements. This division comes in the end of the age, for"the harvest is the end of the age."--Vs. 39.