River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1915-04-15

/ was moral or immoral, but merely tnat
| he was poor, ate crumbs at the rich
| mans gate, and was full of sores.
which dogs licked. Is it reasonable to
| suppose that sores and restitution.
without character. would be quallf1ca-
| tions for Heaven? Surely not! II all
rich people 90 to eternal torment, If
all people who wear fine linen and
| purple clothing and have plenty to eat
must suffer to all eternity, what an
lristocratic place He'll would be, and
how full it would be! On the other
/ hand, if only those who have sores and
| dogs to lick them, who lie at a rich
mans gate and eat crumbs from his
table. 90 to Heaven, how few of us
will get there. Moreover. if it is a
| literal statement, then Abraham here
is literal person. as we'll as Lazarus;
Gnd when Lazarus would get into his
bosom. how many more could Abraham
hold without letting some drop!
Surely this is not literal statement.
but a parable. Let US treat it from
this viewpoint. remembering that
parable never means what it says. For
| instance. in the parable of the Wheat
and Tares, the wheat does not mean
wheat. but children of the King
DOM; the tares. children Of the Wick
ed One" Accordingly, the Rich Man
does not mean a rich man. but stands
for some class; and Lazarus does not
mean d poor man, but stands for some
class Let us thus apply the matter.
Interpretation of the Parable.
We suggest that the Rich Man of
the parable represented the Jewish
nation, rich in Gods favor Their
spiritual table was bountifully sup
piled with gracious promises from God.
They Jared sumptuously," as no 9th
er people did. To them belonged the
promise of the Kingdom, represented
by the purple raiment OF royalty. AS
q people they had the purging of their
sins, typical Justification, accomplished
on their annual Atonement Day. This
was their fine linen," representing
that righteousness was thus imputed
to them as a people.
In A. D. 20, the Rich Man, the Jew
ish nation. died. when the last vestige
of the government was destroyed by
Titus. the Roman general. The nation
has been asleep in Hades ever since.
though the Jews have been very much
alive and have suffered many things.
especially amongst professed Chris
tians Of the tare class. Zionism, which
has sprung up within the past thirty
years. is the revival of hope that the
Rich Man will be resurrected from
Hades; and present indications point
to this as Il matter of speedy accom-
plishment-as soon as the fulnesS of
the Gentiles shall have come into Spir
itual Israel.-ROmans II: 25-32.
Lazarus represented Outcasts who
desired favor with God. but were
"aliens and strangers from the com
monWeath Of Israel'-Gentiles. They
had no table with Divine promises
from which to fare sumptuously every
day. no share in the promises of roy
atty represented by the purple robes.
no fine linen representing justifica-
ton from sin. Those things belonged
to the Jew exclusively, until his ma
tional rejection and the subsequent
opening of the door to Gentiles, that
they might become fellow-heirs with
the sanity Jews. and followers of
Jesus in the glorious things Of Gods
arrangement.
AS the Jew died to his favors. SO the
Gentle died to his disfavor. AS angels
carried Lazarus to Abraham's bosom.
so the early Jewish Church. messengers
l>oIs
Gentiles into full fellowship as breth-
rem of the Seed of Abraham. This.
figuratively, is described as Lazarus
in Abraham's bosom-treated as his
child.
The Rich Man represented especially
two tribes-Judah and Benjamin. Pro
portionately. the five brethren would
represent the ten tribes. The parable
represents the Rich Man as saying. l
have five brethren. May not something
be done for them? The answer shows
that only Israelites could be meant
''They have Moses and the Prophets;
let them hear them" Only the twelve
tribes of Israel had Moses and the
Prophets. The Gentiles had them not.
ain He'll He Lifted Up His Eyes"
The dogs licking the Sores in the par
able, represent that the Lazarus class
were companions of dOgs-indeed,
dog was a name which Jews COM
monty gave Gentiles. Jesus Himself
used it. and gives an illustration of
how believing Gentiles occasionally ate
crumbs from the Rich Mans table.
The Syrophenician woman requested
healing for her daughter; but Jesus de-
clined saying. 1T would not be proper
to take the food from the children's
table 1.-THE Jews] and give it to dogs
/ [Gentilesl." She answered. Truth,
Lord: yet the dogs eat Of the crumbs
which fall from the masters table,"
Then Jesus said 20 woman. great is
thy faithw and he gave her the crumb
of relief which was not hers by right: