The Mankato free press., 1909-03-19
the END OF THE AGE, It's HARVEST Time
PASTOR RussELL's SERMON
PASTOR RUssELL's SERMON

coming I'm power and great glory. II
would have all power and to il every
knee would bow, every tongue con-
feSs. 1t would not oppress. but would
bless its subjects and fully restrain it's
enemies and ultimately destroy the inn
penitcnt.
AN ENEMY DID THO.
Our parable shows that the Lord
and his faithful disciples sowed the
good seed of Kingdom promises, DIT
that subsequently our enemy, Satan
uver-sow cd the field with treacherous
and false doctrines. As the true doc'
trines bring forth the true wheat
class suitable for the Kingdom. and
false doctrines produce wrong charac'
tiers. "tarcs.' which today all over
Christendom are so that the true
wheat arc being chOked ont. indeed
so accustomed is the world TO the hlSh
look of the "tarc" class that the hum
BILE wheat are thought peculiar and
a strange party of uEdesirables. 81
closely intertwincd are the roots OF
the two classes that the great Reaper
decided that there would be no sepa
ration between them until the harvest
or end of this age; because to disturb
such close relationship in life would
create great commotion, such
time of trouble as would wreck pres
ent institutions: hence the Lords de
eIcu,arly at night, Which VIII be shorn
of all its beauty and leli.nfful ef'
cision 80 e -, .C.a grow iogeLnci
until the harvest; the harvest is the
end of the age" At what time the
great commotion incidental to the com
plete separation of the small harvest
OF wheat from the great harvest ol
tares would be due and the great time
of trouble incidental to the separation
would find it's proper place in connec
tion with the proper judgments with
which this age will end and the prop
er plowing experiences OF trouble with
which the new dispensation Will DC
inaugurated.
WE ARE NOW IN TIE HARVEST
TIME.
Dear friends, in two OF the volumes
of the Scripture Studies" which many
of you possess and | trust are study
ing. we have presented from the Scrip
this Gospel Age is forty years In
length and that already considerable
more than one half of it is In the
past. we have pointed out that this
is the meaning and the true interpre
tation of the peculiar conditions, Ia
vorable and unfayorable, which now
surround the pathway of all of the
Lords people This is the explanation
of the federation movement among the
churches, of the trust movement
among the wealthy and of the union
movement amongst the masses. The
awful time of trouble which shortly
as a plowshare will prepare mankind
for the new dispensation, the Millen
nial Kingdom of Christ and his Church
is even now casting its shadow before
Already our Lords prediction of il
is being realized, mems hearts are
failing them for fear and for looking
after those things which. are coming
upon the earth" Luke 21:260 The
courageous arc saying. Peace and
safety" but the Scriptures declare that
the consummation of the age is upon
us and that nothing can avert it;
that the destruction will come with
suddennesS, ''as pangs upon moth
er." with brief respites between. but
gradually increasing in intensity un
til the new dispensation, the Kingdom
of Gods dear Son. shall be born in
the morning of the new day-"The
Sun of Righteousness shall rise with
healing in his beams
If we arc right, the present is the
time for Gods people to draw very
near to the Lord, to come under the
shadow of the Almighty, to put their
trust more and more in him and to
purge themselves from all filthiness OF
the flesh and of the spirit. perfectine
holiness in the reverence of the Lord
e Cor. 7:1.) AS the harvest of the
Jewish Age brought fresh tests to
nominal Israel, so the present har-
vest period will surely bring fresh
tests to nominal Spiritual Israel, tests
which only the faithful, the sanity
will be able to stand. The fiery trials
of this day will try every mans faith
and works of what sort they are. Only
the gold. silver and precious stones
of Divine truth and faith and charac.
ter will survive these tests. The wood
hay and stubble character. like the
tares of our text-parable, will succumb
to the fiery trials of this great and
notable day of the Lord toward which
the eyes of the prophets of God and oil
our Lord and of his APOSTLES all looked
the day of which they all made men
ton.
Now is the time for the fulfil
ment of Malachi 3:16, when They that
feared the Lord THAT revcrencsd him
spake often one to another Icon
ferred respecting his promises and
sought to be helpful to each otherJ
and book of remembrance was writ
ten for these and to them was given
the assurance they shall be mine
saith the Lord In the day when
come to. make up my. jewels. 1t is