1881 Watch Tower - A2Z.org
1881 Watch Tower - A2Z.org 1881 Watch Tower - A2Z.org
Spirit.") The wind bloweth where it listeth and thou hearest thesound thereof but can'st not tell whence it cometh nor whither itgoeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8).It was clear too that while desiring the disciples to realize that hewas risen, Jesus wished them also to realize the change that hadtaken place and that he was no longer bound by humanconditions, etc., therefore, he appeared to them undersupernatural circumstances and in various forms, or bodies,none of which bodies were his spiritual person, but merely agarb by which he made himself known to their human senses.When it was understood that "this same Jesus" was a spiritualbody, unseenR189 : page 4except by the performance of a miracle, the saying of the angelswas perfectly clear. Then, one after another, various scripturesgradually took their places and all began to see how "TheKingdom of God cometh not with observation" (margin,outward show neither shall men say, lo here, or lo there, for thekingdom of God will be among them (an invisible power.)(Luke 17:20.)When it was discovered that "As the lightning which shineth...soshall the Son of Man be in his day;" meant, not that he would belike the shining but "as the lightning" (the invisible electricfluid) which produces the shining, it was manifest why thewarning was given: If any man say unto you, lo here is Christ, orlo there! believe it not. Go not after them nor follow them, for Iwill not be visible to the natural eye, but as the lightning isdiscernable only by its shining and power, so will I be in my dayrecognizable to my waiting bride by the light of truth, andafterward to the world, in the light of events and "the flamingfire" of the day of trouble.Many other little points were noticed, too numerous to relate, allin full accord with this; such as, that the literal rendering ofverses 46 and 50 of Matt. 24 teach that when the Lord has comesome of his servants will be giving to the household of faith"meat in due season" [which of course would be the declaring ofHis presence] while other servants would say, "My Lorddelayeth His coming" [has not come] and smite their fellowservants who present the "meat in due season."Meantime the grandest "time argument" we have, viz: The twodispensation parallels began to take its place supported by boththe law and the prophets, it showed the Jewish age to be theexact pattern or picture on the fleshly plane of the Gospel Ageon the higher, spiritual plane, and that the two ages were to be ofthe same length. The parallels in the close of the two ages wereseen to be especially beautiful and striking, the closing work oftheir age being called a "harvest" lasted forty years from A.D.
30 to A.D. 70, from the beginning of Jesus' ministry to thedestruction of their city and nation. We saw that the work of thatharvest, reaping, separating of wheat and chaff, the gathering ofthe wheat into the Gospel garner and burning the chaff of thatage, while done on the natural plane, was not apprehended byany but the wheat: As a people, "they knew not the time of theirvisitation" --"it was hid from their eyes" because they sought itnot by faith." We saw too, that Jesus taught that there would besuch a harvest in the end of this age. Matt. 13:39. "So shall it bein the end of this world (age). The character of the work to bedone in this harvest, viz: separating wheat from tares, before thewheat should "shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of theirFather or the tares go into the fire of trouble, when coupled withthe fact that the wheat, when gathered, would be taken from theordinary duties of life--the field, bed and mill, showed clearlythat the harvest work would be one, invisible to the natural eye,for the separating spiritually must take place before the wheat isgathered. The next point was to notice that in the separating, orharvesting of the Jewish ageTRUTH WAS THE SICKLEand Jesus in the flesh, the chief reaper or Lord of the harvest, theApostles and "the seventy" under-reapers. The message of eachof them and of Jesus himself was the sickle which did thedividing work, viz: that Jesus was "the Christ, the Son of theliving God," and that, as represented in him "the Kingdom ofGod was come nigh unto (them)--repent and believe the goodnews."Thus "He came to his own, but his own received him not"excepting the few. The parallels of these two ages showed thatthe time of harvest had come for this Gospel Age, that it wasdue to begin in 1874, just the place the Prophets and the Lawhad already shown Jesus as due to be present. And when it wasremembered that this age is higher than the fleshly Jewish Age,it seemed perfectly proper that the harvesting in the end of thisage, should be an unseen work. And so we are taught that it is aninvisible work, by invisible, because spiritual beings--Jesus, thechief reaper (Rev. 14:14-15) and angels, the under-reapers(Matt. 13:39) quietly, and invisible, separating wheat from tares,etc.As then the sickle was the truth that Jesus, the Son of God waspresent, so now the same truth seems to be used as a separater--the presence of Jesus, the Bridegroom, Reaper and King. Asthen only the few who "had ears to hear" recognized the truth, sonow, only the wheat are expected to know, "the wise (withheavenly wisdom) shall understand." "Ye brethren are not indarkness, that that day (the day of the Lord's presence) shouldovertake you as a thief." So one point after another addedharmonious light and evidence that we were not following
- Page 3 and 4: hundred years, up to the time when
- 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
- Page 39 and 40: R185 : page 1VOL. II.PITTSBURGH, FE
- 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
- Page 53: would be the close of the Gospel ag
- Page 57 and 58: "Babylon" church. As Peter called t
- Page 59 and 60: laid down as a ransom, so the two g
- Page 61 and 62: shall be also in the likeness of Hi
- Page 63 and 64: (38). "But my just one by faith sha
- Page 65 and 66: ecoming an immortal ally of the dec
- Page 67 and 68: We have seen some stumble at sight
- Page 69 and 70: us." He does not know us after the
- Page 71 and 72: promise of the spiritual nature, an
- Page 73 and 74: the spirit." Rom. 8:1. It seems to
- Page 75 and 76: ought life and immortality to light
- Page 77 and 78: ANS. We understand that the resurre
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- Page 81 and 82: 3:2) or they can and have appeared
- Page 83 and 84: of communication which He had prohi
- Page 85 and 86: Satan, whom Jesus designates "The p
- Page 87 and 88: The pestilence walking about,When d
- Page 89 and 90: R196 : page 3GOD'S LOVE TO ME.I lov
- Page 91 and 92: Due and full allowance is made for
- Page 93 and 94: is the wife (1 Cor. 11:7) and toget
- Page 95 and 96: But why is man thus crowned with gl
- Page 97 and 98: Explanation and illustration are ot
- Page 99 and 100: was low enough for that, for from t
- Page 101 and 102: We would now call attention toTHE T
- Page 103 and 104: oth human and Divine, and thus beca
Spirit.") The wind bloweth where it listeth and thou hearest thesound thereof but can'st not tell whence it cometh nor whither itgoeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8).It was clear too that while desiring the disciples to realize that hewas risen, Jesus wished them also to realize the change that hadtaken place and that he was no longer bound by humanconditions, etc., therefore, he appeared to them undersupernatural circumstances and in various forms, or bodies,none of which bodies were his spiritual person, but merely agarb by which he made himself known to their human senses.When it was understood that "this same Jesus" was a spiritualbody, unseenR189 : page 4except by the performance of a miracle, the saying of the angelswas perfectly clear. Then, one after another, various scripturesgradually took their places and all began to see how "TheKingdom of God cometh not with observation" (margin,outward show neither shall men say, lo here, or lo there, for thekingdom of God will be among them (an invisible power.)(Luke 17:20.)When it was discovered that "As the lightning which shineth...soshall the Son of Man be in his day;" meant, not that he would belike the shining but "as the lightning" (the invisible electricfluid) which produces the shining, it was manifest why thewarning was given: If any man say unto you, lo here is Christ, orlo there! believe it not. Go not after them nor follow them, for Iwill not be visible to the natural eye, but as the lightning isdiscernable only by its shining and power, so will I be in my dayrecognizable to my waiting bride by the light of truth, andafterward to the world, in the light of events and "the flamingfire" of the day of trouble.Many other little points were noticed, too numerous to relate, allin full accord with this; such as, that the literal rendering ofverses 46 and 50 of Matt. 24 teach that when the Lord has comesome of his servants will be giving to the household of faith"meat in due season" [which of course would be the declaring ofHis presence] while other servants would say, "My Lorddelayeth His coming" [has not come] and smite their fellowservants who present the "meat in due season."Meantime the grandest "time argument" we have, viz: The twodispensation parallels began to take its place supported by boththe law and the prophets, it showed the Jewish age to be theexact pattern or picture on the fleshly plane of the Gospel Ageon the higher, spiritual plane, and that the two ages were to be ofthe same length. The parallels in the close of the two ages wereseen to be especially beautiful and striking, the closing work oftheir age being called a "harvest" lasted forty years from A.D.
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