STUDY I
EARTH'S NIGHT OF SIN TO TERMINATE
IN A MORNING OF JOY
A Night of Weeping and a Morning of Joy--Two Methods
of Seeking Truth--The Method Herein Pursued--Scope of the Work--A Difference
Between the Reverent Study of the Scriptures and the Dangerous Habit of Speculation--The
Object of Prophecy--The Present Religious Condition of the World Viewed from
Two Standpoints --Egyptian Darkness--A Bow of Promise--The Path of the Just
Progressive--Cause of the Great Apostasy--The Reformation--The Same Cause
Again Hinders Real Progress--Perfection of Knowledge Not a Thing of the Past,
but of the Future.
THE
TITLE of this series of Studies--"The Divine Plan of the Ages,"
suggests a progression in the Divine arrangement, foreknown to our God and
orderly. We believe the teachings of Divine revelation can be seen to be both
beautiful and harmonious from this standpoint and from no other. The period
in which sin is permitted has been a dark night to humanity, never to be forgotten;
but the glorious day of righteousness and divine favor, to be ushered in by
Messiah, who, as the Sun of Righteousness, shall arise and shine fully and
clearly into and upon all, bringing healing and blessing, will more than counterbalance
the dreadful night of weeping, sighing, pain, sickness and death, in which
the groaning creation has been so long. "Weeping
may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the MORNING." Psa. 30:5
As
though by instinct, the whole creation, while it groans and travails in pain,
waits for, longs for and hopes for the DAY, calling it the Golden Age; yet
men grope blindly, because not aware of the great Jehovah's gracious purposes.
But their highest conceptions of such an age fall far short of what the reality
will be. The great Creator is preparing a "feast of fat things,"
which will astound his creatures, and be exceedingly, abundantly beyond what
they could reasonably ask or expect. And to his wondering creatures, looking
at the length and breadth, the height and depth of the love of God, surpassing
all expectation, he explains: "My thoughts are
not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord; for as the
heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and
my thoughts than your thoughts." Isa. 55:8,9
Though
in this work we shall endeavor, and we trust with success, to set before the
interested and unbiased reader the plan of God as it relates to and explains
the past, the present and the future of his dealings, in a way more harmonious,
beautiful and reasonable than is generally understood, yet that this is the
result of extraordinary wisdom or ability on the part of the writer is positively
disclaimed. It is the light from the Sun of Righteousness in this dawning
of the Millennial Day that reveals these things as "present truth,"
now due to be appreciated by the sincere--the pure in heart.
Since
skepticism is rife, the very foundation of true religion, and the foundation
of truth, is questioned often, even by the sincere. We have endeavored to
uncover enough of the foundation upon which all faith should be built--the
Word of God--to give confidence and assurance in its testimony, even to the
unbeliever. And we have endeavored to do this in a manner that will appeal
to and can be accepted by reason as a foundation. Then we have endeavored
to build upon that foundation the teachings of Scripture, in
such
a manner that, so far as possible, purely human judgment may try its squares
and angles by the most exacting rules of justice which it can command.
Believing that the Scriptures reveal a consistent and harmonious plan,
which, when seen, must commend itself to every sanctified conscience, this
work is published in the hope of assisting students of the Word of God, by
suggesting lines of thought which harmonize with each other and with the inspired
Word. Those who recognize the Bible as the revelation of God's plan--and such
we specially address --will doubtless agree that, if inspired of God, its
teachings must, when taken as a whole, reveal a plan harmonious and consistent
with itself, and with the character of its Divine Author. Our object as truth-seekers
should be to obtain the complete, harmonious whole of God's revealed plan;
and this, as God's children, we have reason to expect, since it is promised
that the spirit of truth shall guide us into all truth. John 16:13
As inquirers, we have two methods open to us. One is to seek among all
the views suggested by the various sects of the church, and to take from each
that element which we might consider truth--an endless task. A difficulty
which we should meet by this method would be, that if our judgment were warped
and twisted, or our prejudices bent in any direction --and whose are not?--these
difficulties would prevent our correct selection, and we might choose the
error and reject the truth. Again, if we should adopt this as our method we
should lose much, because the truth is progressive, shining more and more
unto the perfect day, to those who search for it and walk in the light of
it, while the various creeds of the various sects are fixed and stationary,
and were made so centuries ago. And each of them must contain a large proportion
of error, since each in some important respects contradicts the others. This
method would lead
into
a labyrinth of bewilderment and confusion. The other method is to divest our
minds of all prejudice, and to remember that none can know more about the
plans of God than he has revealed in his Word, and that it was given to the
meek and lowly of heart; and, as such, earnestly and sincerely seeking its
guidance and instruction only, we shall by its great Author be guided to an
understanding of it, as it becomes due to be understood, by making use of
the various helps divinely provided. See Eph. 4:11-16.
As an aid to this class of students, this work is specially designed.
It will be noticed that its references are to Scripture only, except where
secular history may be called in to prove the fulfilment of Scripture statements.
The testimony of modern theologians has been given no weight, and that of
the so-called Early Fathers has been omitted. Many of them have testified
in harmony with thoughts herein expressed, but we believe it to be a common
failing of the present and all times for men to believe certain doctrines
because others did so, in whom they had confidence. This is manifestly a fruitful
cause of error, for many good people have believed and taught error in all
good conscience. (Acts 26:9) Truth-seekers should empty their vessels of the
muddy waters of tradition and fill them at the fountain of truth--God's Word.
And no religious teaching should have weight except as it guides the truth-seeker
to that fountain.
For
even a general and hasty examination of the whole Bible and its teaching,
this work is too small; but, recognizing the haste of our day, we have endeavored
to be as brief as the importance of the subjects seemed to permit.
To
the interested student we would suggest that it will be useless for him merely
to skim over this work, and hope to obtain the force and harmony of the plan
suggested, and the Scripture evidences herein presented. We have endeavored
throughout to present the various fragments of truth, <PAGE 13> not only in such language, but also in such order,
as would best enable all classes of readers to grasp the subject and general
plan clearly. While thorough and orderly study is necessary to the appreciation
of any of the sciences, it is specially so in the science of Divine revelation.
And in this work it is doubly necessary, from the fact that in addition to
its being a treatise on divinely revealed truths, it is an examination of
the subject from, so far as we know, an altogether different standpoint from
that of any other work. We have no apology to offer for treating many subjects
usually neglected by Christians--among others, the coming of our Lord, and
the prophecies and symbolism of the Old and New Testaments. No system of theology
should be presented, or accepted, which overlooks or omits the most prominent
features of Scripture teaching. We trust, however, that a wide distinction
will be recognized between the earnest, sober and reverent study of prophecy
and other scriptures, in the light of accomplished historic facts, to obtain
conclusions which sanctified common sense can approve, and a too common practice
of general speculation, which, when applied to divine prophecy, is too apt
to give loose rein to wild theory and vague fancy. Those who fall into this
dangerous habit generally develop into prophets (?) instead of prophetic students.
No work is more noble and ennobling than the reverent study of the revealed
purposes of God--"which things the angels desire to look into."
(1 Pet. 1:12) The fact that God's wisdom provided prophecies of the future,
as well as statements regarding the present and the past, is of itself a reproof
by Jehovah of the foolishness of some of his children, who have excused their
ignorance and neglect of the study of His Word by saying: "There is enough
in the fifth chapter of Matthew to save any man." Nor should we suppose
that prophecy was given merely to satisfy curiosity concerning <PAGE
14> the future. Its object evidently
is to make the consecrated child of God acquainted with his Father's plans,
thus to enlist his interest and sympathy in the same plans, and to enable
him to regard both the present and the future from God's standpoint. When
thus interested in the Lord's work, he may serve with the spirit and with
the understanding also; not as a servant merely, but as a child and heir.
Revealing to such what shall be, counteracts the influence of what now is.
The effect of careful study cannot be otherwise than strengthening to faith
and stimulating to holiness.
In
ignorance of God's plan for the recovery of the world from sin and its consequences,
and under the false idea that the nominal church, in its present condition,
is the sole agency for its accomplishment, the condition of the world today,
after the Gospel has been preached for nearly nineteen centuries, is such
as to awaken serious doubts in every thoughtful mind so misinformed. And such
doubts are not easily surmounted with anything short of the truth. In fact,
to every thoughtful observer, one of two things must be apparent: either the
church has made a great mistake in supposing that in the present age, and
in her present condition, her office has been to convert the world, or else
God's plan has been a miserable failure. Which horn of the dilemma shall we
accept? Many have accepted, and many more doubtless will accept, the latter,
and swell the ranks of infidelity, either covertly or openly. To assist such
as are honestly falling thus, is one of the objects of this volume.
On
page sixteen we present a diagram,
published by the "London Missionary Society," and afterward in the
United States by the "Women's Presbyterian Board of Missions." It
is termed "A Mute Appeal on Behalf of Foreign Missions." It tells
a sad tale of darkness and ignorance of the only name given under heaven,
or among men, whereby we must be saved.
The
Watchman--the "Y.M.C.A."
journal of Chicago-- published this same diagram, and commenting on it said:
"The
ideas of some are very misty and indefinite in regard to the world's spiritual
condition. We hear of glorious revival work at home and abroad, of fresh missionary
efforts in various directions, of one country after another opening to the
gospel, and of large sums being devoted to its spread: and we get the idea
that adequate efforts are being made for the evangelization of the nations
of the earth. It is estimated today that the world's population is 1,424,000,000,
and by studying the diagram we will see that considerably more than one-half--nearly
two-thirds-- are still totally heathen, and the remainder are mostly
either followers of Mohammed or members of those great apostate churches whose
religion is practically a Christianized idolatry, and who can scarcely be
said to hold or teach the gospel of Christ. Even as to the 116 millions of
nominal Protestants, we must remember how large a proportion in Germany, England
and this country have lapsed into infidelity --a darkness deeper, if possible,
than even that of heathenism--and how many are blinded by superstition, or
buried in extreme ignorance; so that while eight millions of Jews still reject
Jesus of Nazareth, and while more than 300 millions who bear his name have
apostatized from his faith, 170 millions more bow before Mohammed, and the
vast remainder of mankind are to this day worshipers of stocks and stones,
of their own ancestors, of dead heroes or of the devil himself; all in one
way or other worshiping and serving the creature instead of the Creator, who
is God over all, blessed forever. Is there not enough here to sadden the heart
of thoughtful Christians?"
Truly
this is a sad picture. And though the diagram represents shades of difference
between Heathens, Mohammedans and Jews, all are alike in total ignorance of
Christ. Some might at first suppose that this view with reference to the proportion
of Christians is too dark and rather overdrawn, but we think the reverse of
this. It shows nominal Christianity in the brightest colors possible. For
instance,
Exhibiting the Actual and Relative Numbers of
Mankind Classified According to Religion
| Mankind Classified According
to Religion |
|||||
| Heathen |
Mohammedans |
Jews |
Roman Catholics |
Greek Catholics |
Protestants |
| 856 millions |
170 millions |
8 millions |
190 millions |
84 millions |
116 millions |
the
116,000,000 put down as Protestant is far in excess of the true number. Sixteen
millions would, we believe, more nearly express the number of professing church
members of adult years, and one million would, we fear, be far too
liberal an estimate of the "little flock," the "sanctified
in Christ Jesus," who "walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
It should be borne in mind that a large proportion of church members, always
numbered in the reckoning, are young children and infants. Specially is this
the case in the countries of Europe. In many of these, children are reckoned
church members from earliest infancy.
But
dark as this picture appears, it is not the darkest picture that fallen humanity
presents. The above cut represents only the present living generations. When
we consider the fact that century after century of the six thousand years
past has swept away other vast multitudes, nearly all of whom were enveloped
in the same ignorance and sin, how dark is the scene! Viewed from the popular
standpoint, it is truly an awful picture.
The
various creeds of today teach that all of these billions of humanity, ignorant
of the only name under heaven by which we must be saved, are on the straight
road to everlasting torment; and not only so, but that all of those 116,000,000
Protestants, except the very few saints, are sure of the same fate. No wonder,
then, that those who believe such awful things of Jehovah's plans and purposes
should be zealous in forwarding missionary enterprises-- the wonder is that
they are not frenzied by it. Really to believe thus, and to appreciate such
conclusions, would rob life of every pleasure, and shroud in gloom every bright
prospect of nature.
To
show that we have not misstated "Orthodoxy" on the subject of the
fate of the heathen, we quote from the pamphlet--"A Mute Appeal on Behalf
of Foreign Missions" <PAGE 18> --in which the diagram was published. Its concluding sentence is: "Evangelize
the mighty generations abroad-- the one thousand million souls who are dying
in Christless despair at the rate of 100,000 a day."
But
though this is the gloomy outlook from the standpoint of human creeds, the
Scriptures present a brighter view, which it is the purpose of these pages
to point out. Instructed by the Word, we cannot believe that God's great plan
of salvation was ever intended to be, or ever will be, such a failure. It
will be a relief to the perplexed child of God to notice that the Prophet
Isaiah foretells this very condition of things, and its remedy, saying: "Behold,
the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the
Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles [heathen] shall come to thy light."
(Isa. 60:2,3) In this prophecy, the gross darkness is lighted by the bow of
promise: "The Gentiles [the nations of earth in general] shall come to
thy light."
Not
only have the continued misery and darkness of the world, and the slow progress
of truth, been a mystery to the Church, but the world itself has known and
felt its condition. Like that which enveloped Egypt, it has been a darkness
that could be felt. In evidence of this, note the spirit of the following
lines, clipped from a Philadelphia journal. The doubt and gloom, intensified
by the clashing creeds of the various schools, had not yet been dispelled
from the writer's mind by the rays of divine truth direct from the Word of
God:
"Life! great mystery! Who shall say
What need hath God of this poor clay?
Formed by his hand with potent skill--
Mind, matter, soul and stubborn will;
Born but to die: sure destiny--death.
Then where, oh! where this fleeting breath?
Not one of all the countless throng, <PAGE 19>
Who lived and died and suffered long,
Returns to tell the great design--
That future, which is yours and mine.
We plead, O God! for some new ray
Of light for guidance on our way;
Based not on faith, but clearer sight,
Dispelling these dark clouds of night;
This doubt, this dread, this trembling fear;
This thought that mars our blessings here.
This restless mind, with bolder sway,
Rejects the dogmas of the day
Taught by jarring sects and schools,
To fetter reason with their rules.
We seek to know Thee as thou art--
Our place with Thee--and then the part
We play in this stupendous plan,
Creator Infinite, and man.
Lift up this veil obscuring sight;
Command again: 'Let there be light!'
Reveal this secret of Thy throne;
We search in darkness the unknown."
To
this we reply:
Life's unsealed mystery soon shall say
What joy hath God in this poor clay,
Formed by his hand with potent skill,
Stamped with his image--mind and will;
Born not to die--no, a second birth
Succeeds the sentence--"earth to earth."
For One of all the mighty host,
Who lived and died and suffered most,
Arose, and proved God's great design--
That future, therefore, yours and mine.
His Word discloses this new ray
Of light, for guidance on our way;
Based now on faith, but sure as sight,
Dispelling these dark clouds of night:
The doubt, the dread, the trembling fear,
The thoughts that marred our blessings here. <PAGE 20>
Now, Lord, these minds, whose bolder sway
Rejects the dogmas of today,
Taught by jarring sects and schools,
Fettering reason with their rules,
May seek, and know Thee as Thou art,
Our place with Thee, and then the part
We play in this stupendous plan,
Creator Infinite, and man.
Uplifts the veil, revealing quite
To those who walk in heaven's light
The glorious mystery of His throne
Hidden from ages, now made known.
Such
a blessing is now coming to the world through the unfolding of the divine
purpose and the opening of the divine Word, of which blessing and revealing
this volume we trust is a part.
Those who will turn away from the
mere speculations of men, and devote time to searching the Scriptures, not
excluding reason, which God invites us to use (Isa. 1:18), will find that
a blessed bow of promise spans the heavens. It is a mistake to suppose that
those without faith, and consequent justification, should be able to apprehend
clearly the truth: it is not for such. The Psalmist says, "Light [truth] is sown for the righteous."
(Psa. 97:11) For the child of God a lamp is provided
whose light dispels from his pathway much of the darkness. "Thy word
is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." (Psa. 119:105) But
it is only "the path of the just" that "is as the shining light,
that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." (Prov. 4:18) Actually,
there is none just, "none righteous, no, not one" (Rom. 3:10); the
class referred to is "justified by faith." It is the privilege only
of this class to walk in the pathway that shines more and more--to see not
only the present unfoldings of God's plan, but also things to come. While
it is true that the path of each individual believer is a shining one, <PAGE 21> yet
the special application of this statement is to the just (justified) as a
class. Patriarchs, prophets, apostles and saints of the past and present have
walked in its increasing light; and the light will continue to increase beyond
the present--"unto the perfect day." It is one continuous path,
and the one continuous and increasing light is the Divine Record, illuminating
as it becomes due.
Therefore,
"Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous," expecting the fulfilment of
this promise. Many have so little faith that they do not look for more light,
and, because of their unfaithfulness and unconcern, they are permitted to
sit in darkness, when they might have been walking in the increasing light.
The
Spirit of God, given to guide the Church into truth, will take of the things
written and show them unto us; but beyond what is written we need nothing,
for the Holy Scriptures are able to make wise unto salvation, through faith
which is in Christ Jesus. 2 Tim. 3:15
While
it is still true that "darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the
people," the world is not always to remain in this condition. We are assured that "the morning cometh." (Isa.
21:12) As now God causes the natural sun to shine upon the just and the unjust,
so the Sun of Righteousness will, in the Millennial day, shine for the benefit
of all the world, and "bring to light the hidden things of darkness."
(1 Cor. 4:5) It will dispel the noxious vapors of evil, and bring life, health,
peace and joy.
Looking
into the past we find that then the light shone but feebly. Dim and obscure
were the promises of past ages. The promises made to Abraham and others, and
typically represented in the law and ceremonies of fleshly Israel, were only
shadows and gave but a vague idea of God's wonderful and gracious designs.
As we reach the days of Jesus the light increases. The height of expectancy,
until then, had <PAGE
22> been that God would bring a
deliverer to save Israel from their enemies, and to exalt them as the chief
nation of the earth, in which position of power and influence God would use
them as his agency for blessing all the families of the earth. The offer given
them of heirship in the kingdom of God was so different, in the conditions
demanded, from what they had expected, and the prospects of the class being
selected ever attaining the greatness promised were, outwardly and humanly
considered, so improbable, that all but the few were thereby blinded to the
message. And their blindness and hostility to it were naturally increased
when, in the process of God's plan, the due time came for extending the message,
and making the invitation to share in the promised Kingdom applicable to every
creature under heaven who should by the exercise of faith be reckoned a child
of faithful Abraham and an heir of the promise made to him.
But
when the gospel which Jesus taught came to be understood after Pentecost,
it was seen by the Church that the blessings for the world were to be of an
enduring character, and that for the accomplishment of this purpose the Kingdom
would be spiritual, and composed of Israelites indeed, a "little flock"
selected from among both Jews and Gentiles to be exalted to spiritual nature
and power. Hence we read that Jesus brought life and immortality to light
through the gospel. (2 Tim. 1:10) And since Jesus' day yet more light shines,
as he foretold it would, saying, "I have many things to say unto you,
but ye cannot bear them now: howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come,
he will guide you into all truth...and he will show you things to come."
John 16:12,13
There
came a time, however, after the apostles fell asleep, when the majority of
the Church began to neglect the lamp, and to look to human teachers for leading:
and the <PAGE
23> teachers, puffed up with pride,
assumed titles and offices, and began to lord it over God's heritage. Then
by degrees there came into existence a special class called "the clergy,"
who regarded themselves, and were regarded by others, as the proper guides
to faith and practice, aside from the Word of God. Thus in time the great
system of Papacy was developed by an undue respect for the teachings of fallible
men and a neglect of the Word of the infallible God.
Serious
indeed have been the evil results brought about by this neglect of truth.
As all know, both the church and the civilized world were almost wholly enslaved
by that system, and led to worship the traditions and creeds of men. From
this slavery a bold and blessed strike for liberty and the Bible was made,
in what is known as The Reformation. God raised up bold champions for his
Word, among whom were Luther, Zwingli, Melanchthon, Wycliffe, Knox and others.
These called attention to the fact that Papacy had laid aside the Bible and
substituted the decrees and dogmas of the church, and pointed out a few of
its erroneous teachings and practices, showing that they were built upon tradition,
contrary to truth, and opposed to God's Word. These reformers and their adherents
were called Protestants, because they protested against Papacy, and claimed
the Word of God as the only correct rule of faith and practice. Many faithful
souls in the days of the Reformation walked in the light, so far as it was
then shining. But since their day Protestants have made little progress, because,
instead of walking in the light, they have halted around their favorite leaders,
willing to see as much as they saw but nothing more. They set boundaries to
their progress in the way of truth, hedging in, with the little truth they
had, a great deal of error brought along from the "mother" church.
For the creeds thus formulated many years ago, the majority of Christians
have a superstitious reverence, supposing that <PAGE 24> no more can be known of God's plans now than was known
by the Reformers.
This
mistake has been an expensive one; for, aside from the fact that but few great
principles of truth were then recovered from the rubbish of error, there are
special features of truth constantly becoming due, and of these Christians
have been deprived by their creed fences. To illustrate: It was a truth in
Noah's day, and one which required the faith of all who would walk in the
light then, that a flood was coming, while Adam and others had known nothing
of it. It would not be preaching truth now to preach a coming flood, but there
are other dispensational truths constantly becoming due, of which, if walking
in the light of the lamp, we shall know; so, if we have all the light which
was due several hundred years ago, and that only, we are measurably in darkness.
God's Word is a great storehouse of food for hungry pilgrims on the shining
pathway. There is milk for babes, and strong meat for those more developed
(1 Pet. 2:2; Heb. 5:14); and not only so, but it contains food adapted to
the different seasons and conditions; and Jesus said the faithful servant
should bring forth meat in due season for the household of faith--"things
new and old," from the storehouse. (Luke 12:42; Matt. 13:52) It would
be impossible to bring forth such things from any sectarian creed or storehouse.
We might bring forth some things old and good from each, but nothing new.
The truth contained in the creeds of the various sects is so covered and mixed
with error that its inherent beauty and real value are not discernible. The
various creeds continually conflict and clash; and as each claims a Bible
basis, the confusion of thought, and evident discord, are charged to God's
Word. This has given rise to the common proverb: "The Bible is an old
fiddle, upon which any tune can be played."
How
expressive is this of the infidelity of our times, occasioned by misrepresentations
of God's Word and character by human traditions, together with the growth
of intelligence which will no longer bow in blind and superstitious reverence
to the opinions of fellowmen, but demands a reason for the hope that is in
us. The faithful student of the Word should be able always to give a reason
for his hope. The Word of God alone is able to make wise, and is profitable
for doctrine, instruction, etc., "that the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished." (1 Pet. 3:15; 2 Tim. 3:15-17) Only this
one storehouse contains an exhaustless supply of things both new and old--meat
in due season for the household. Surely no one who believes the Scripture
statement that "the path of the just shineth more and more unto the perfect
day" will claim that the perfect day came in Luther's time; and if not,
we do well that we take heed to our lamp as unto "a light that shineth
in a dark place UNTIL THE DAY DAWN." 2 Pet. 1:19
Nor
is it sufficient that we find ourselves now in the path of light; we must
"walk in the light," continue to make progress, else the
light, which does not stop, will pass on and leave us in darkness. The difficulty
with many is that they sit down, and do not follow on in the path of light.
Take a concordance and examine the texts under the words
sit and stand, then compare these with those found under the
words walk and run, and you will find a great contrast: Men "sit in darkness," and with "the
scornful," and stand among the ungodly, but "walk
in the light," and "run for the prize." Isa. 42:7; Psa.
1:1; Heb. 12:1
Perfection
of knowledge is not a thing of the past, but of the future--the very near
future, we trust; and until we recognize this fact we are unprepared to appreciate
and expect fresh unfoldings of our Father's plan. True, we still go back to
the words of the prophets and apostles for all knowledge <PAGE
26> of the present and the future;
not, however, because they always understood God's plans and purposes better
than we, but because God used them as his mouthpieces to communicate to
us, and to all the Church throughout the Christian Age, truth relative
to his plans, as fast as it becomes due. This fact is abundantly proven by
the apostles. Paul tells us that God has made known to the Christian Church
the mystery (secret) of his will which he had purposed in himself, and had
never before revealed, though he had it recorded in dark sayings which could
not be understood until due, in order that the eyes of our understanding should
be opened to appreciate the "high calling" designed exclusively
for believers of the Christian Age. (Eph. 1:9,10,17,18; 3:4-6) This shows
us clearly that neither the prophets nor the angels understood the meaning
of the prophecies uttered. Peter says that when they inquired anxiously to
know their meaning, God told them that the truths covered up in their prophecies
were not for themselves, but for us of the Christian Age. And he exhorts the
Church to hope for still further grace (favor, blessing) in this direction
--yet more knowledge of God's plans. 1 Pet. 1:10-13
It
is evident that though Jesus promised that the Church should be guided into
all truth, it was to be a gradual unfolding. While the Church, in the days
of the apostles, was free from many of the errors which sprang up under and
in Papacy, yet we cannot suppose that the early church saw as deeply or as
clearly into God's plan as it is possible to see today. It is evident, too,
that the different apostles had different degrees of insight into God's plan,
though all their writings were guided and inspired of God, as truly
as were the words of the prophets. To illustrate differences of knowledge,
we have but to remember the wavering course, for a time, of Peter and the
other apostles, except Paul, when the gospel was beginning to go to the Gentiles.
(Acts 10:28; 11:1-3; <PAGE 27> Gal.
2:11-14) Peter's uncertainty was in marked contrast with Paul's assurance,
inspired by the words of the prophets, God's past dealings, and the direct
revelations made to himself.
Paul
evidently had more abundant revelations than any other apostle. These revelations
he was not allowed to make known to the Church, nor fully and plainly even
to the other apostles (2 Cor. 12:4; Gal. 2:2), yet we can see a value to the
entire church in those visions and revelations given to Paul; for though he
was not permitted to tell what he saw, nor to particularize all he knew of
the mysteries of God relating to the "ages to come," yet what he
saw gave a force, shading and depth of meaning to his words which, in the
light of subsequent facts, prophetic fulfilments and the Spirit's guidance,
we are able to appreciate more fully than could the early church.
As
corroborative of the foregoing statement, we call to mind the last book of
the Bible--Revelation, written about A.D. 96. The introductory words announce
it as a special revelation of things not previously understood. This proves
conclusively that up to that time, at least, God's plan had not been fully
revealed. Nor has that book ever been, until now, all that its name implies--an
unfolding, a REVELATION. So far as the early church was concerned, probably
none understood any part of the book. Even John, who saw the visions, was
probably ignorant of the significance of what he saw. He was both a prophet
and an apostle; and while as an apostle he understood and taught what was
then "meat in due season," as a prophet he uttered things which
would supply "meat" in seasons future for the household.
During
the Christian Age, some of the saints sought to understand the Church's future
by examining this symbolic book, and doubtless all who read and understood
even a part of its teachings were blessed as promised. (Rev. 1:3) <PAGE 28> The
book kept opening up to such, and in the days of the Reformation was an important
aid to Luther in deciding that the Papacy, of which he was a conscientious
minister, was indeed the "Antichrist" mentioned by the Apostle,
the history of which we now see fills so large a part of that prophecy.
Thus
gradually God opens up his truth and reveals the exceeding riches of his grace;
and consequently much more light is due now than at any previous time in the
Church's history.
"And still new beauties shall we see,
And still increasing light."
