Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-02-15


ilege of becoming members OF the
spiritual Israel-"but the election hatn
obtained it and the rest were blinded
(Rom. XII, ~ The blindness is not 10
be forever, but mSrely until the COM
pletion of the "elect," spiritual class
then the blindness is to pass away ana
Israel is to be saved or recovered 10
the divine favor lost eighteen CEN
turtles ago. (See Romans xi, 25-33J
AS Jesus declared, "My Kingdom IS
not of this world (age),' and as he ala
not establish his kingdom at his 1lrst
advent, but merely began the work OF
calling the "elect," so the work or
John the Baptist was merely to the
Jew and proportionately only was ne
the antitype Of Elijah. A larger anu
TYNE of Jesus, and of Elijah and john
as forerunners, we may now see. Jesus
in the flesh and all his faithful mem
hers in the flesh for eighteen cen
turtles have constituted the antitype or
John the Baptist. The king whose king
dom they announce is composed of the
glorified 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 all
the families of the earth. -.
The church has cried Gin the wilder
ness" in the sense that she has been
alienated and separated from the
world. She has called upon all who
would hear to prepare for Mess1ahs
kingdom, She has told more fully than
did John the Baptist of the effect or
Messiah's kingdom, the leveling 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,
experience the salvation OF COD. both
John and the church declare that THIS
salvation is to be brought through
Jesus and his glorified bride in king
dom power The point we are making
is that while John the Baptist was an
antique of Elijah and was forerunner
or herald of Jesus, so, only more par
ticularly, the church In the flesh Is a
higher antitype of Elijah. and still
more particularly herald of the Mes
sianic kingdom. .
cart Thou the NMessiah?"
In Johns day multitudes desired to
be Of the kingdom class, but While stlll
holding on to their gross sins. And SO
It has been throughout this age. The
only ones who can truly claim to be-
long to Abraham's spiritual seed are
such as show their repentance from
sin and their loyalty to God by full
conservation to oppose sin and to walk
in the footsteps Of the master, even
unto death = even an 1gnomlnlous
death. if need be. .
The spirit of expectation was in the
air and some of the people, wondering
at Johns teaching, asked IT he were
the Messiah. He promptly replied, NO;
nv baptism is merely that Of water.
Messiah's baptism will be that of the
holy spirit and of fire" His fan is in
his hand and he will thoroughly purge
his thresning floor; he will gather the
wheat into his garner, and VIII purn
up the chaff with fire unquenchabl Die.
These things which John prophesled
of Jesus were partially fulfilled more
than eighteen centuries ago, but IN an
other sense they are yet to be fulfilled.
They were fulfilled as far as The
Jewish nation was concerned. Jesus
did baptize some of them with the
holy spirit at Pentecost and subse.
ouentlv-all the faithful "1sraelites in
deed" and he did, later on, baptize The
unfaithful with fire-a time OF trouble.
Writing of that trouble st. Paul
saws, Wrath is come upon this peo'
lie to the uttermost. that all things
written in the law and the prophets
concerning them might be fulfilled
Jesus did a harvesting work there for