Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-06-06
(By William T. Ellis.)

Wa ~ ''~-'
are foreshadowings of the era of fun.
damental peace which is coming.
They are heralds of the dawn of so.
caal Justice, brotherhood and neighbor.
liness. The really significant phenom-
onA OF our generation are but the out
workings and conQuests of that king
dom which Jesus inaugurated and
whose ultimate triumph he declared.
The Kingdom Idea.
Ideas about Why Jesus came and
what he said are commonly very
vague. There are current almost as
many misconceptions on this subject
a. In the days of his flesh. Then ev-
eg1body who cherished the Meesianic
hope expected q temporal kingdom.
Their idea OF the glorious reign was
pattarned upon Rome, the Maccabean
kingdom and the glories Of David; for
the1 could not think of kingdom
apalt from offices and emoluments and
pomp Of state. Even intimate disciples
Of Jesus held this conception until the
zesuuectaon.
Certainly Jesus proclaimed king
dom a. coming. That was the mes
saso o<tensst on his lips. The basic
laws OF the kingdom were laid down
in he Sermon on the Mount. His king
dom was spiritual. In this lesson he
makes clear that it Is kingdom of
character, of ideals, Of spirituality.
Whether the broad phrase in this les
son. sThe kingdom of God is within
you means that 1t ls lin your midst"
or in your hearts," the truth Is clear
that Jesus proclaims the sovereignty
Of soul. In tho old lines of Milton:
The mind is In its own place, and
In itself
Can make q heaven of hell, a hell
OF heaven"
One commentator puts 1t tersely,
'Evermore the kingdom of God must
be within-within, for within Is the
moral evil; within. for within Is the
power of love; within. for within is the
will and hope which must reach forth
to the higher ideal of character"
The eiindness Of Critics.
Sneering, spying, suspicious, the
Pharisees watched Jesus with a cen
serious attitude They thought to con-
found him in his favorite message of
the kingdom by saying, when is it
coming?" Disbelief was implied in the
question. They could not see any
kingdom coming. Theirs was the IA
miliar type of mind which seeks only
to ind fault With the snobbishness
Of arrogance 1t assumes that hostile
criticism is q token of mental superb
ority. We all know the type. 1t Is
incapable of enthusiasm. It talks
about the spots on the sun, rather than
the glory Of the sun itself.
The retort Of Jesus was. "The king
dom of God cometh not with observa-
ton" That Is to say, espionage does
not reveal this wonder. Heresy hunt
ers do not find truth. Criticism is cur
iously blind These learned doctors of
the law, who should best have been
able to appreciate the significance Of
Jesus and his kingdom-message were
most ignorant of that which was d.
roctly before them.
The Dowles and Russell.
So fond are men of predicting the
hour Of the Kingdoms coming that
in every generation for centuries past
there seem to have been one or more
self-deluded leaders to rise and cry
himself the prophet Of the last days.
Poor, misguided Dowie was one such.
Elijah Sanford" Of Maine, now in the
clutches of the law, is another. PAS
tor Russell, who predicts the end of
things next October, is still another.
The Millers of generation ago were
notable examples of this ability Of men
to distort the scriptures to find fol-
lowing among the credulous. Some
Of them have been sincere and pious
and self-sacrifcing; others have SIM
ply exploited their followers for their
own benefit.
II there is one thing clear about
Jesus teaching of the contamination
OF his kingdom, 1t Is that "Of that day
and hour knoweth no man." In this
lesson he expressly warns against the
cry, 10, here, or, there" The king
dom that is within Is the first and
fundamental concern of all who care
for the kingdom that is conquering the
world by its dominion over individual
lives.
The King Of the Kingdom.
OF course, it is easy to see now, as
we read of the hostile and incredible
blindness OF the religious teachers OF
his own day, that in their very midst
stood the King whose rule makes the
Kingdom.
Inc sway Oh CuI1SI duu VI las AuCaAo
means the triumph of the kingdom.
The only sort of observation of the
Kingdoms coming that is permitted
to us is to discern the growth of the
Christ life and the Christ love in our
own times. Let us not make the mis-
take of the Pharisees, who were blind
to present spiritual forces.
AS he spoke this present lesson.
Jesus was on his way to his supreme
act of sovereignty, the hour of which
was drawing near. His throne was to
be q pagan cross and yet to the last
he talked royalty of his Kingdoms tri-
umph. His palace was to be a tomb,
but there he was to WELD world SOY.
ereignty Thus he was to practice and
teach the law of redemption, of unset
fishness, of sacrifice, which is the law
Of the conquering kingdom.
Never for an instant was Jesus