The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-18

church, developed from the original little seed of the true gospel. From that little seed we have a great institution today with many denominational branches. But alas! it's thrifty development has invited into it's branches the fowls of the air, which the Lord elsewhere describes as representing the wicked one and his an sels-Satan and his representatives-w of course should have no place in the church; and they would have no place in 1t if the church were loyal and zealous enough to proclaim only the true gospel and the narrow way of self denial.
 Indeed, 1t is the neglect to preach this gospel of the marrow way" that has brought such prosperity to nominal Christianity and made it desirable place for the fowls of the air-Satan and his deluded ones-to lodge in its branches, to be the real life of ecclesiasticism This seems to be the same picture which the same Great Teacher gives us in Rev. elation xviii:2. There we read that the nominal systems are represented sym bolically as Babylon; and there we read 'She hath become the hold of every foul spirit and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird.''
 The word cage" seems to imply that these unclean birds" are considered very desirable ,and are held on to by nominal Christianity-probably because regarded as being amongst their best paying mem- bers and because of having the most at fractions.
 Parables of the Leaven
 Throughout the Scriptures eaven is used as the symbol of sin Thus when Jesus in His purity was to be symbol ized as the "bread from heaven," the Jews were directed to use unleavened bread. Again, at their annual Passover Tawc diraofad to rla ia their houses of leaven, to burn 1t up. Here again leaven was symbol of sin, corruption. St. Paul, commenting on this writes to the church. Purge out, there fore. the old leaven (sin, malice hatred strife. etc.), that you may be new lump"-that you may be- with Christ the one unleavened loaf. It is of this loaf that he declares, For we, being many, are one loaf ard one body; for we are all partal<ers of that one loaf.'-I Corin- thian x:17.
 It is true that in one of the official sacrifices bread was to be baked with leaven; but this. we believe was for the very purpose of symbolizing or represent ing us, the church, and the fact that we were by nature sinners, children of wrath, even as others, and that the baking would arrest the corrupting influences of the leaven: and this baking represented syn- holically the experiences through which the church must pass in order that sin ful and cOrrupting tendencies might be completely destroyed In us.
 In this parable our Lord represents woman mixing leaven with a family balx ing of meal. with the result that the whole mass was leavened Consequently if any of the family desired pure, unleav- ened bread, 1t would be unobtainahle. because the leaven peryaded the entire baking What does this represent? We reply that in Scriptural symbolism a woman represents an ecclesiastical sys- tenn. The woman in the parable repre- sents a system organized and in power at an early date, and possessed of tho pure meal-the pure food provided by the Lord for the household of faith
 The woman mixed leaven, error, false doctrine. with all the meal. with all the food supplied Not a particle of 1t was left uncontamnated The result has been indigestion. The word of God originals pure, is no longer accepted The leaven or fermentation has spread so that today the entire mass of theological doctrine is offensive to all Christian people of all denominations.
 The parable was a prophecy of what has occurred. It is time all true Chris tians were hearkening back from the creeds of the dark ages to the words of Jesus. the apostles and the prophets.