Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1911-10-03

the Bible lays down as conditions lof
membership ia the one true Church
Heretofore, with the false thougnl
in mind that all except the Churcn
would be eternally tormented, we
have all shrunk from making any rea-
sonable application of the Serlptural
texts regarding saintship, disclpieshlp'
the becoming members OF the Churcn
of the First-born. This was partly De
cause of fear for ourselves, lest we
might not come up to the standard Oh
saintship, but especially was It De
cause of our realization that the great
mass of humanity in Christendom, as
well as in heather lands, came Tar
short OF the terms of discipieship lald
down in Gods Word. Today the mat
| ter comes close home to us all, for we
realize that many who were very near
and dear to US have died outside OF
| the nominal church, and far outside
the special line of conditions which
marked the Church of the First-born.
Amongst other texts cited by the
Pastor as showing the exclusive and
high standard of the elect Church, we
note the following: eff any man will
be My disciple, let him take up his
cross and follow me; and where am
there shall My disciple be also;" TO
him that overcometh will / grant to
| sit with Me in My Throne" Strait
Is the gate and narrow Is the way
that leadeth unto life, and few there
| be that find it, luke TX, %; Matthew
vii, IA; '.Let us lay aside every weight
and the sin which doth so easily beset
us, and let us run with patience the
race set before US" (Hebrews xii, y;
eff these things be in you and abound
1.-THE graces of the Holy Spirit they
! will make you that we shall neither
be barren nor unfruitful In the knowl-
edge of our Lord, = for so an en-
| trance shall be ministered unto you
abundantly into the everlasting King
dom of our Lord and Savior Jesus
! Christ."-II Peter |, s, II.
Looking Through the Type
st. Paul informs us that all the vari
GUS features of the Jewish Law were
| types of still higher, still better
things. In our text the expression
| "Church of the First-born," has ref
erence to type instituted in the very
beginning Of Israels history, when
| God brought that people, by the hand
of Moses, the Mediator of the Law
| Covenant, out of the land of Egypt
To this type the Apostle refers in his
expression, 'The Church of the First
| born" The entire nation of Israel
| twelve tribes, God had separated from
| the other nations to represent those
who would be a blessing to. all other
nations, under the Abrahamic Cove
nant. Gods oath to Abraham was
"In thy Seed shall all the families OF
/ the earth be blessed"
Pharaoh, King of Egypt, was hold
| ing back the nation from going into
Palestine, the Land of Promise. One
chastisement after another failed tC
move him to submission until finally
an intense calamity availed The
tenth plague was the shifting of the
| first-born Of Egypt, while the Israel
| ties were protected, thus showing Di
vine interest In and care over Israel
| Their first-born were miraculously pre-
served-to represent in type the Church
of the First-born. The true Church
of Christ are not all that will be saved
! in the Divine Program, but merely, as
| st. James says, "These are a kind OF
first-fruits unto God of His creatures
| Games /, IS; Revelation xiv, ~. The
| after-frufts will come in due time
under the further development of the
Divine Plan of the Ages-as the result
of Messiah's reign of a thousand
years.
Some time after their deliverance
from Egypt, by Divine direction, the
first-borns of all the families and tribes
of Israel were exchanged, person by
person, for the one tribe of Levi. The
Levites thereafter represented the
First-born of the Church-they alone
| represented the frst-borns of Israel
| passed over in that night. Subsequent.
ly the tribe of Levi became the in.
| structors of the nation In religious mat
| ters and from them was chosen one
family for the Priesthood-Aaron and
| his sons.
The Scriptural picture is plain. In
the antitype we are still In the night OF
| passing over. Soon the Morning of the
New Dispensation, under Messiah's
reign, will begin, and all DESTROYS OF
serving God and having His blessings
will be delivered from the depressing
power of Satan and his hosts, typified
by Pharaoh and his army. God in
| tends to deliver the whole world from
Satan's power. Satan shall be bound
for thousand years, during Messiah's
reign, and Is ultimately to be destroy.
ed, and the people of God-all who de
sire to worship the Lord and to enter
into the glorious Land of Promise
will be led forth. The frst-born OF
these is the Church of this Gospel Age
which will be associated with Chris
in His heavenly Kingdom-"the Church
of the First-borns, whose names are
written in heaven"
Priests and Levites AntitypicaI
The entire tribe of Levi was specially
consecrated to the Lord, and specially
separate from the other tribes and wa:
given no Inheritance In the land Thu.
the entire Church of Christ are begot
ten of the Holy Spirit to a superior
heavenly nature; they will have no in
herltance with mankind in general Ii
the earthly blessings-restitution to hu
man perfection and participation in The
blessings of the worldwide Eden t.
be. The promise under which they arr
now being developed is heavenly
spiritual one. Their change will be {
glorious one from earthly nature to
heavenly nature-they will all be like
Christ They will neither marry mo-
be given in marriage. but will lin this
be ike unto the angels; neither car
they die any more"