Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1914-06-03
SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Lesson x.-Second Quarter, Fer
June 7, 1914.
THE INTERNATIONAL SERIES.
Text of the Lesson, Luke xvii, 2o-37.
Memory Verse, a3-Golden Text, Luke
xvii, 21--commentary Prepared by
Rev. D. M. Stearns.

rev. u NJ. SteafHss
Every instance of healing or making
the blind to see, the deaf TO bear. the
lame to walk. was a sample of the
kingdom which will be set up on earth
when the Lord shall take vengeance
upon His enemies and recompense His
people. when Israel shall obtain joy
and gladness and sorrow and signing
shall fee away. when the inhabitant
shall not say / am sick and the people
shall be forgiven their iniquity lisa.
xxxv. 4-6. 10; xxxiii pa.
When the twelve and the seventy
were. sent forth they were to heal the
sick 4nd preach that the kingdom had
come nigh. Our Lord Himself also as
He preached the gospel of the king
dom healed all manner of sickness and
disease Matt iv, %; K, Z. 8; Luke Z,
9. III. When the Pharisees asked about
the coming of the kingdom we must
remember that they thought of the
kingdom as described by the prophets,
and in this they were not wrong. for
such kingdom was even then at hand
and will surely come at our Lords
return. according to Luke xix. II. II;
Acts iii. 81.
Perhaps there is no saying in the
Scriptures more misquoted. misinter-
preted and misapplied than the words
of our Golden Text as they stand. BE
hold the Kingdom of God is within
you" From these words 1t Is general
ly taught that our Lord will never
have a kingdom on this earth. when
the nations will learn war no more
and all kings and nations shall serve
Him Qsa. ii. 4; Ps. xxi, III, but that
His kingdom is wholly spiritual in the
hearts of His people, that the church
Is His kingdom. that it began to come
at Pentecost and has been coming ever
since, and that we are here to extend
1t, and that some day the church will
convert the whole world. Then he
will burn up the world and take all
His people to heaven. Those who so
teach have no use for literal Israel,
or for the coming OF Christ to reign,
or for prophecy generally, or Daniel
or Revelation in particular. The New
Testament is quite sufficient. and much
of that may be omitted.
In reading our Bibles we must al
ways notice If God is speaking either
directly or through His servants or
If the devil is the speaker. Otherwise
we might make the same mistake as
the judge who said. I'VE have the
highest authority for saying all that
man hath will he give for his life."
the judge not having noticed that these
words were from the devil Job II. ~.
We must also notice to whom words
are spoken. whether to sinners or
saints, to Pharisees or disciples. The
words of the Golden Text were spoken
to Pharisees, whom He elsewhere
called "whited sepulchers, full of by
pocrisy and inlquity. children of hell"
(Matt. xiii. is. 81. 2S,. Our Lord
would no more say to such that the
kingdom of God was within them
than you or would say IT to drunk
en- man who was full of cursing. What
our Lord did say is more correctly rem
dered in the margin among you" or
In the r. V. margin. ''in the midst of
than Solomon, represented the king
dom. but although in their midst and
ready to set up His kingdom they
would not have Him. but said. I'VE
have no king but Caesar" Not this
man, but Barabbas." Then He turned
to His disciples Verse %, and
spoke to them of His future coming as
Son of Man in His glory verses "a.
&c, 3o), telling them that He was about
to be rejected by the Jews and suffer
at their hands verse 25l. and that
when He came again 1t would be as
suddenly as the lightning shining from
one part of heaven to the other. and
that He would find at His coming
again condition of affairs on earth
similar to that in the days of Noah
and as it was in Sodom in the days of
Lot. This does not look like q con-
verted world to welcome Him. but
rather as 1t is described in Rev. 1, I;
ri, IS, all kindreds of the earth wall
ing because of Him. and the nations
ohSlg' DONduSc II VIII Dt Tue udy OF
His wrath, when He will Judge the
nations and dash them to pieces like
a potter's vessel FPS. II. s.: lisa. xxxiv.
/. 2; Xvi. Is. 10; Zeph. ILL. 8; Matt
XIV, 81, 32,.
This coming Of the Son of Man to
judge and reign is not His coming to
the air for His church. but His COM
ing in glory with His saints. when
they, too. shall share this honor with
Him as it is written in Ps. cxlix,
90; Rev. ii. 26. 81; Col iii. 4. See how
our Lord indorses the truth of the
record of the deluge. the destruction
of the cities of the plain by fire and
birthstone from heaven. the judgment
upon Lots wife. and because Of the
judgments which will surely come
urges His people to think more of the
life that is life indeed than of this
present life. except as 1t can be used
for Him.