The Mankato free press., 1909-03-19
"rhe harvest is the end CT the as..r

"the harvest is the end cf the aae.'
- Matt. Is 80.
Christian people have forgotten an6
worldly people never knew the sig
nificance of our text We are all IA
miliar with the beautiful hymn which
inquiries. What will the harvest be!
and which gives the suggestion that III
each life-eXperiCncc there is sowing
and rcaping. This is true and We
will examine this phase of the sub
jcct by and by; but first We call your
attention to the fact that our Lord In
the parable of which our text is part
had no such thought in mind. The
parable deals. not with the Church in
Gividually, but collectively. 1t points
out that our Lord. the Son of Man,
was "A seed-sower and that the field in
which he sowed the seed was the
world. His personal seed-Sowing oil
the Gospel message was accomplished
more than eighteen centuries ago, but
since then from his glorious presence
at the Fathers right hand on the
throne of glory he has been represent
ed by his followers, who, imbued With
his spirit, have gladly laid down their
lives in the same work of scattering
the good tidings of the Kingdom.
1t is true also that our Lord did a
reaping work and associated his dis
ciples with himself, saying, Il sent
you to reap that whereon We be-
slowed no labor [other men plowed,
narrowed, sowedl. and we are entered
into their labors,' as reapers of the
fruitage of other toll. The truthful
ness of this is manifest and is cor
rOborated by the statement of John the
Baptist, who declared of our Lord
that he was the REAPER of the Jewish
Age whose fan was in his hand, and
who did purge the threshing floor,
and did gather the wheat into the barn
and burned up the chaff with un-
quenchable fire. Matt. 3:12.) Look
ing back over Jewish history we see
that the harvesting of the Jewish Age
began with our Lords first advent and
ended forty years later at the destruC-
tion of Jerusalem In that time he
gathered all the wheat of that nation,
all who were ready for the Kingdom.
tJohn l:12.D These were cOmpara-
lively little flock" They were ali
"lsraclites indeed in whom was no
guile" These were gathered to the
garner or barn of Divine favor or pro-
lection by the baptism of the holy
Spirit, which came upon the leaders
at Peptecost and subsequently extend
ed to every one Of us. to every Israel.
ite indeed. amounting these with the
holy Spirit.
The threshing. the winnowiug and
gathering into tho barn continued dur
ing the entire harvest period and end
ed in the year A. d. 70, when the Ro-
man army completely destroyed Jerrl.
salem and every yestige of Jewish pol
ity. Thus was fulfilled Johns prediC
ton. "He shall baptize you with the
holy Spirit Ilsraelites indeed begin
ming at Pentecostl and 1.-THE remain
derl with fire" All not baptised with
the holy Spirit, all not adopted thus
into the family of God, received their
share in the baptism of fire. trouble,
which came upon that nation. and 10 it
the Apostle refers saying, Wrath to
the uttcrmost is come upon this peo-
pie, that all things written in the La "
and prophets concerning them should
be fulfilled Il Thess. ZIG; Matt
5:11. 18.
A DOUBLE WORK PROGRESSING.
From the foregoing it will be per-
ceiyed that during the harvest period
of the Jewish Age a two-fold work
progressed-th harvest of the Jewish
Age and q preparatory work for the
Gospel Age. a reaping work and set.
Ting time as respecting the Jews and
their covenant relationship to God and
simultaneously the opening of the new
dispensation, in which the middle
wall of partition between Jews and
Gcntiles was in due course broken
down and all who received Christ
whether Jew or Gentle, bond or free
were accepted of the Lord as members
of the New House of sons, which took
the place of the Old House of serv
ants-"Moses verify was faithful as a
servant over all his house [Of sery
antsl, but Christ as son over his own
house LOf sonsl, whose house are we
if we hold fast. Heb. 3:5, 6.
The parable of the wheat and the
tarcs, TO which our text belongs, was
a brief statement by our Lord of his
work in the world during this Gospel
age. IHe lOuuudJlOu Vi IL LIE ldlu III
his redemptive work, the work itself
properly began with the bestowment
of the holy Spirit of PentecOst. Our
Lord declares that he sowed the good
seed of the Kingdom. In harmony with
this we find that he continually taught
his disciples that the Jews were right
in their expectation of the establish
ment of Gods Kingdom amongst men
for the overthrow of sin and Satan
and for the deliveraDce and uplift ol
Adam and his race. But he instructed
them that hiSKipgdom was not of this
world, not an earthly kingdom, and
that his servants we're not to fight
with weapons of carnal warfare for the
establishment Of his Kingdom. II
would hc established at his second