The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1911-02-23
PEOPLES
Sermon by
CHARLES T.
RUSSELL
Pastor Brooklyn
I abernacIe.

Brooklyn Tabernacle. New York,
preached today from the above text.
He said i'm part
In order to use q telescope to ad-
vantage we need first to obtain a
proper focus on the object to be ex-
amined And % it is with the Divine
Plan and Purpose. Looking at it with
The eye of faith through the Telescope
of Gods Word, adjustment of the TO
Gus is necessary. This focusing of the
Word, Christian people in the past
have very generally overlooked. AS
result the Divine Plan has blurred
and indistinct appearance to our sight.
The various word pictures, symbols.
types, allegories and plain statements
of the Scriptures without this focusing
together make a very unsatisfactory
and nondcscript matt { of the Gospel
of Christ, one that is unsatisfactory to
everybody. one that the learned of our
day have repudiated entirely-an am
biguous collation. that is a source Of
veXation to millions of Gods conse-
Grated people. The difficulty is that
the Telescope was tempered with dur
ing the dark ages and the proper 70
Gus was lost. Since then Christian
people have feared to rcadjust it. They
have glorigd il the fact that they never
changed the focus. However, they
have overlooked the fact that some one
else did change it for them long ago
and that the unsatisfactory view we
have gotten is the result Of this and
is entirely out of accord with the clear
and beautiful vision Of Gods Grace
and Truth ana Mercy and Love and
Wisdom and Power as seen by the
Apostles in the early Church.
international Bible Students Associa-
ton.
Some Of us, dear friends, instead of
throwing away the Telescope of the
Word of God, are taking pleasure in
cleaning the lenses Of the dust of
the dark ages and adjusting the focus
by careful endeavor to speak where
the Word of God speaks and to be
silent where it is silent, and to bring.
as the Apostle suggests, our every
thought into captivity to the viii Of
God in Christ as outlined in the Bible.
The result, we all can testify. is not
only comforting, but happifying; not
only enlightening, but refreshing.
Truly, as the Apostle suggests, we
have come to Times of Refreshing
from the presence of the Lord" And
all this, we perceive, is exactly what
the Scriptures foretoId, namely, that a
falling away and darkening of the IN
Outstanding would follow the death of
the Apostles, but that in the end of
the age the darkness would begin to
scatter before the oncoming light of
the Sun of righteousness, in the morn
ing of the New Dispensation of Mes
siaL's reign.
In accord with all this, note the fact
that for centuries we have been over
looking certain Scriptures while ac-
ccpting others. We accepted the Apps
ties statement in our text respecting
the reconciliation of the Church, but
We overlooked entirely other Scriptures
which speak Of a still different recon
cifadon-"God through Christ recon
cling the world unto himself Oh Co
Iilthians Y, 49, We should have noted
the difference between the Church and
the world in this and many other pas
sages Of Scripture. We should have
remembered the Lords words. Eye are
,Pt of
the world" We should have seen that
the salvation and reconciling Of the
Church is one thing and the salvation
and reconciling of the world is quite
another thing; that these are two diff
ferent salvations-the first to heaven
ly, spiritual conditions and joint-hei
ship with Christ in his Kingdom; the
other to an earthly inheritance, to
earthly perfection and life everlasting
and an Eden that is to be worldwide
Paradise restored, Gods footstool
made glorious.
Gods Purposes to Be Accomplished.
Nevertheless nothing has been lost.
No feature of the Divine Plan has
been thwarted, for these two saliva
tons do not progress at the same time.
During this Gospel Age none are
saved, nor DESTROYS to be saved, except
Sfose drawn of the Father" "called
of God" These have been privileged
to approach God through the Son,
whose name is 1.-The only name given
under heaven or amongst men whereby
we must be saved" (Acts iv, 12). Only
those who take up their cross and fol
low the Lamb through evil report and
good report, faithful unto death, can
now be spirit-begotten; in the resur-
rection, these will be spiritborn, mem
bers of the Bride of Christ, the Lambs
Wife and joint-heir with him in his
Kingdom. 1t does not matter to the
remainder of mankind that they have
been allowed to remain in ignorance
of the great fact that God is about to
pour out upon humanity a great bless
ing; about to pour out his holy Spirit
upon all classes; about to establish the
Kingdom of his dear Son for which we
pray, "Thy Kingdom come" about to
cause the knowledge of the Lord to fill
the whole earth; about to give to every
son and douphtar IF Adam, ono f,,U