Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1912-10-28

As Christians we
have long lament
ed our differences
2SSzS@ M@l and wondered at
llfASl0R RUSSElL)J their number, AS
we have been get
ting rid one after another Of the doctri-
nal errors Of the past, and see their fool
ishness, and learn that they are not
supported by Bible testimony, we won.
der how they originally got foothold in
Christian faith But a glance backward
is sufficient to explain the situation.
During the ministry Of our Lord and
the Apostles the faith Of the Church
was kept pure, but as Jesus prophesied
I'm the parable Of The Wheat and Tares
all this changed as soon as the ApOs
ties fell asleep. lie says, "Whlle men
slept, the enemy came and SOVIET
tares" amongst the wheat, The tares
of error sown by Satan shortly aftel
the death Of the Apostles have yielded
an abundant crop and well-nigh
chokcd out the good seed Of the King.
dom-ChrlsCs sanity followers, The
nominal whe0t.Geld might almost be
called a tare.0eld, so greatly do the
tarcs predominant.
But in the Harvest, the end Of this
Age, the dawning Of the New Age Of
Messiuhs Kingdom, the Lord will fa-
vOr such conditions as will effect thor.
ough separation between the "wheat"
and the "tares." He will gather His
wheat into the garner. All imitation
Christians will, by the fiery troubles
of that day. be reduced to the ranks
of the world in general.
Judas Place Improperly Filled,
Whilst the eleven Apostles were
waiting as directed for the Pentecostal
blessing, they, contrary to direction,
busted themselves by appointing n sue
cessor to Judas They chose two men,
and of the two selected one by lot,
and then supposed that they had made
an apostle, without reproying them
God ignored their choice thenceforth
we hear no more Of Matthias. In His
own time God brought forth the sue
ccssor Of Judas, and we all recognize
at once st. Paul, Of whom It Is written
that he was mot one whit behind the
chicfost Of the Apostles and that he
had visions and revelations more than
they ALL
st. paups writings constitute the
major portion Of the New Testament
and are invaluable gifts Of God to His
people. There never were to be more
apostles than these Twelve. Jesus de
.clares that He chose The Twelve
Again He declares that God gave then
to Him and that He lost none Of then
save Judas, whose disloyalty had al
ready been forctold.
when Jesus prayed for these He diff
ferentlated them from His other fol
lowers, saying, Neither pray ! fol
these alone, hut for all those also who
shall believe ON Me through thel
word" Their words are His words
They have been His mouthpleces to the
Church. OF these Twelve, and Of none
others, He declares, "Wh0tsoevel
things ye shall bind on earth shall be
bound in Heaven" ana whatsoever
things We shall declare loosed all shall
know are looscd and not binding In
the sight Of Heaven. So carefully did
the Lord Intend to supervise these In
their utterances, that their words
would be mfanible; and He wished all
OF His followers to know this.
Furthermore, after our Lord had as
,ccnded to glory, He sent a message tc
the Church through st. John the Reye
aat0r In that message He pictured
the Twelve Apostles as a crown OF
twelve stars, upon the head Of the
Woman, the Church Again, In the
symbolicol picture of the New Jerusa
lem. which represents the Church In
glory beyond the veil, He pictures the
Twelve Apostles as the twelve foundo
tlnn stones. There never were to hC
any more, nor any less From this
standpoint we see that we are not tC
expect an additional revelation Of any
kind. Gods people are not to trust ei
ther IN their own speculations anC
mental gymnastics, or In visions anC
dreams; for, as ST. Paul declares, "l'
any man preach any other Gospel than
that which we have preached, let hin
be accursed.' Galatians t. s, o. So
too he declares "The Word Of Hi
grace Is able to build you up and t
make you wise unto salvation,
Again he said, "The Word Of God Il
sufficient, that the man Of God ma!
be thoroughly furnished (Acts Xxx
81; II Timothy III, 1910 We see
then, that the Church needed no NOR
than the Twelve Apostles, nor an!
further revelation Of any kind THAI
those given to her through this In
splred apostleship. But that Their