The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-02-17
PREPARE We FOR THE KINGDOM
Luke iii, 1-17-Feb. 10.
Repent ye. for the Kingdom of HeGven Is at
hand. "-AGtthe1c iii. g


John the Baptist was the last of the
prophets and Jesus declared that none
of them was his superior There has
not arisen a greater Prophet than
John the Baptist-and yet 1 say unto
you that the least in the Kingdom of
Heaven is greater than he" (Mat-
thew XII, III Every member of the
Kingdom of Heaven class must be
higher than John because begotten of
the Holy Spirit. They are reckoned
as members of the House of Sons,
while the Prophets belong to the pre-
ceding House of Servants.-Hebrew
iii, 5, 6.
God proposed before the foundation
of the world that He would redeem
man and would esta b1ish His Kingdom
for their restoration. The Redeemer
of the world was to be the King by
whose reign of a thousand years the
head of the Serpent would be crushed
and humanity would be uplifted out of
sin and death and be brought back
to the condition in which Adam was
at first.
Necessarily to the jew First
Although God had not mentioned
this elect class which He purposed
should be members of the Messiah,
His Bride, nevertheless God determin-
ed that the opportunity to become
members of this elect, special class
should first Of all go to Abraham's
natural seed. For the three and
j V,
further three and a half years after
His death, the privilege of becoming
His Bride and jofnt-heir was limited
to Israel after the flesh.
Later it was sent on equal terms
also to the Gentiles. Saint Paul tells
us that 1t was necessary that the
Gospel Message should go first to the
Jews because this was the Divine ar
rangement. But he adds, Israel hath
not obtained that which he seeketh
for''-the best of Gods gifts, the priv
iege of becoming members of the
spiritual Israel-''but the election
blinded" (Romans XII, - The blind
ness is not to be forever, but merely
until the completion of the elect,
spiritual class-then the blindness is
or recovered to the Divine favor lost
eighteen centuries ago (See Romans
XII, $3.50
AS Jesus declared. ''My Kingdom is
did not establish His Kingdom at His
first advent, but merely began the
work of calling the "elect," so the
work Of John the Baptist was merely
to the Jew and proportionately only
was he the antitype of Elijah. A
larger antitype of Jesus. and of Elijah.
and John as forerunners, we may now
see. Jesus in the flesh, and all His
faithful members in the flesh for eigh-
teen centuries, have constituted the
antitype of John the Baptist. The
King whose Kingdom they announce
will be composed of Jesus and His
glorified Bride, beyond the veil. These
soon shall take the Kingdom and reign
gloriously as Abraham's Seed for the
blessing of ali the families of the
earth.
The church has cried .'in the wild
erneSS'' in the sense that she has been
alfenated and separated from the
world. She has called upon all who
would hear to prepare for Messiah's
Kingdom. She has told more fully
than did John the Baptist of the eff
feet of Messiah's ngdom-the level
ing up of the valleys, the lifting up of
the poor, the Strengthening out of the
crooked things, that thus all flesh
might see, appreciate, understand, ex-
perience the salvation of God. Both
John and the church declare that this
salvation is to be brought through Je-
sus and His glorified Bride in King
dom power. The point we are MAX
ing is that while John the Baptist was
an antitype of Elijah and was fore
runner or herald of Jesus, so, only
more particularly, the church in the
flesh is a higher antftype of Elijah, |
and still more particularly a herald of |
the Messianic kingdom.
Jesus did a harvesting work for the !
Jewish nation only. He gathered their
wheat into the garner of the gospel !
age by begetting them of the Holy /
Spirit at Pentecost and onward; and .
He burned up" the nation in time
Of trouble with which their age ended, I
in A. D. 70. But now for the larger
fulfilme d-wide- In the end +
of this age, all the wheat class are +
to be gathered into the heavenly gar /
ner by the change of the First Resur- /
rection, and in the time of trouble |
coming all others will be cut off from