The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-07-01
THE PARALLELS OF THE KING.
DOM.
international Bible Lesson for July 8,
'1o-(Matt. t3: 31-33, 4A52).


cere and serious seekers to search
earnestly the truth when disco5ered.
Hence the parallels are like the kernel
in the nut; the pearl in the shell; the
gold in the rock; the diamonds in the
soil to be mined and extracted by dill.
gent and faithful and loving labor.
The 18th chapter of the gospel by
Matthew gives us seven-fold series,
containing a complete and beautiful
picture of the unfolding OF His king.
dom in the future history of the
church and the world. There are sew
en- parallels grouped together. Seven
pearls on a single thread. Four of
them were spoken to the people at
large; three of them only to the dis
cip'es. Notice the unity, natural "
der, and completeness of these seven
parallels. The series might be termed,
The Rise and Progress of the King
dom of Heaven"
We have in the parable of the Sow
er; its beginnings.
In the Tares; its counterfeits.
In the mustard seed; it's vast out
ward growth.
In the leaven; its universal trans
forming power.
In the hid treasure and Pearl; its
supreme value.
In the draw net, its ultimate com.
plete separation from all evil.
Its Rise and Progress.
Standing at this point in time and
reading history we can see how per-
fectly accurate was the prophesy o.
the rise and progress of the Kingdom
in these parabolic teachings of Christ.
He was the sower who went forth to
SOW the seed of christianity. The
seed was faithfully sown but it fell
on hard soil, on stony ground, on pre-
occupied territory and much of it was
utterly lost; nevertheless, enough OF
It took root to produce harvest that
has been carried over the earth multi
plying year after year, thirty, sixty
and a hundred fold.
Its Counterfeits.
History also bears witness to the
crop Of tares, counterfeit wheat, min
gled with the wheat, the heresies nd
corruptions, and counterfeit religicIs,
that have appeared all through the
ages, often bearing so much resem-
blance to the true as to be indistin-
guishable by men, deceiving the very
elect: Satan's substitute for the
truth.
Its Outward Growth.
The mustard seed with it's rapid and
luxuriant growth, springing up from
most unpromising beginnings to pro
duce an overshadowing tree, is an in
teresting figure of the rapidity with
which christianity developed in the
first christian centuries until it has
indeed become vast ecclesiastical
system overspreading the earth, Civ
ing shade and shelter to millions of
its inhabitants.
Its Internal Development.
The leaven gives MS the interior
view of things. Just as the mustard
seed shows the outward development
Of christianity, the leaven revealed
how that spirit works inwardly among
men. Quietly, without observation or
noise, the transforming power of
truth is steadily working its way
through all the mass of mankind and
will not cease its efforts till the whole
is leavened. AS it, operates in the
the individual so 1t operates in the
mass.
Its Hidden Values.
The treasure and the pearl teach
the same lesson. This is the picture
of the Saviour of men discovering, the
hidden and holy ones in the field of
the world, purchasing them with a
price that cost Him all He possessed, ,
and buying for Himself, not only the
treasures for His crown, bat the field
itself in which they were located
"And they shall be, mine, saith the
Lord of Hosts, in that day when l
make up my jewels"
Its Final Separation.
The draw net, as would be sup
posed, represents the final separation
between the two contrasted elements
in the Kingdom of Heaven. The end
Oh lue age, luS ClOst VI lllt utHptiAd-
ton, is prefgured when the division
shall be clearly established between
him that serveth God and him that
serveth Him not Men have nothing
to do with that, the final separation
is on the line OF character and is only
done under divine supervision.
Such are the apparent teachings of
the parallels Of the kingdom. They
are pictures in which, 1t is absolutely
necessary TO get the correct view
point. Let US be careful that we do
not try to put into the canvas what
the great artist never intended. The
one truth set forth in each scene
stands out clear as MONDAY; let us
beware that we do not seek TO elevate
the shadowy outlines of the painting
into the foreground, and make whst is
merely incidental the evermasterins
| idea.