River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1910-04-07
The Kingdom Of Heaven is at Hand
MATTHEW 10: 1-15.-April 10.
"eeIy ye haze recrved freely giyen-1lattAe7V 1913

less but few of them were Israel
ties indeed''-at heart fully conse-
Grated to God; fully in accord with
the principles of holiness. AS a
consequence, instead of the whole
nation being ready for Gods work,
only small remnant of them were
sanity and received the message.
At the close of Jesus ministry only
about five hundred worthy ones had
been found, and the multi ude cried,
Cruelty him!" while the goddess
PLATE inquired. "Why, what evil
hath he done?" Most evidently,
therefore, Israel was not ready to
be used of God in the blessing of
the other nations.
God foreknew this, however, and
through the prophets declared that
a remnant only would be found
worthy. To the nation as a whole
our Lord declared, The Kingdom
of God shall be taken from you, and
given to a nation bringing forth
the traits thereof" (Matt. 21:43.)
Accordingly five days before his
crucifxion our Lord said to them,
your house is left unto you DESC
late. Ye shall see me no more un-
til that day when We shall say,
Blessed is he that cometh in the
name of the Lord. Matt. 1888 ,39.
The Kingdom privileges or op-
portunities which were first offered
to natural Israel were transferred
to Spiritual Israel, whose existence
began at Pentecost. All "Israelites
indeed" of the feshy house were
privileged to become members of
the spiritual house-to receive the
begetting of the holy Spirit and
adoption into the Body of Christ,
which is the Church. OF this
Church St. Peter says, "Ye are a
Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation, a
peculiar people. u Pet. 2:9,
After selecting as many Jews as
were worthy place in Spiritual
Israel, nominal Israel was cast off
from Divine favor until the compile
ton of Spiritual Israel, when God
promises that his favor shall return
to them. (Rom. 11:25, 26.) Mean
time the invitation has gone through
the Lords faithful members to
every nation, seeking such as have
the spirit of loyalty to God, the
spirit of "Israelites indeed" All
such are accepted with the Jews as
members of the same Kingdom,
Around these Spiritual Israelites
have gathered all sorts, so that
there is an outward or nominal body
or Church numbering millions, as
we'll as a real body or Church scat
tered amongst them.
AS at the end of the Jewish Age
Jesus came to inspect them and to
set up his Kingdom if enough
worthy ones were to be found, so
he will do in the end of this Gospel
Age; he will come to Spiritual Isra-
Ell TO find the sanity. The Scrip
lures assure us that from first to
last, from Pentecost until the end of
this age, a sufficient number of
saints will be found to constitute the
elect Church of Christ, designed of
God to be his Queen and Joint-Heir
in the Millennial Kingdom, which
will then be set up and begin the
work of blessing the world. After
the spiritual Kingdom of God shall
have been exalted, the Bible assures
us in Romans 1852, that Gods
favor will return to natural Israel
and they will be the first nation
to be blessed under the new order
of things that will then prevail and
through those of that people in
harmony with God the blessing will
extend TO every nation.
The Sodomites were wicked1y
immoral, yet, in the Masters esti-
nation. less wicked than those who,
after hearing the Gospel, rejected
it. This principle applies to many
people and many cities of our day,
as we'll as to Capernaum. The
Master assures US that when the
great Millennial Age, otherwise
called the day of Judgment, shall
furnish opportunity for the whole
world to be on trial for everlasting
life or everlasting death, it will be
more tolerable for the Sodomites
than for many others. In proper
ton as anyone has come to knowl-
edge of Christ he has become re-
sponsible. The death of Christ Sc
cures for Adam and all of his race
one full opportunity for salvation
and no more. The majority have
died in heathenish darkness with
out any opportunity; and many in
Christian lands have disregarded
their opportunity, as did the people
c he