THE THREE WORLDS. THE THREE AGES OF THE SECOND WORLD. THE AGES OF THE THIRD WORLD. THE PLANES OF BEING. 

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THE Chart of the Ages was made a frontispiece to the first volume of Studies in the Scriptures, and it is described in Chapter 12 of said volume; but when, later on, it was published separately, as a map mounted upon a spring roller (2 feet, 6 in. x 5 feet), requests came in from every quarter for such amplified explanations as would enable friends of the Truth to give comprehensive talks from their wall charts. It was to fill this requirement, and to enable many to tell the good tidings of great joy connectedly and systematically, that our Pastor published outlines for three chart lectures in a booklet entitled, "Three Discourses on The Divine Plan." In this chapter we republish these three, to which we have added a fourth. Many other discourses will profitably follow, and suggestions for some of them will be found in Chapters 10, 11 and 12 of Studies, Vol. 1, Chapter 5 of Vol. 2 and Chapter 8 of this book. After interesting your audience by the discourses on the chart, either sell or lend to them one or more of the Studies or other literature and get them to reading, and follow this up by assistance on points which may seem obscure. Next we advise a weekly gathering of such, as a "Berean Circle for Bible Study." Methods for conducting these very profitable meetings are suggested in Z 1866; 1900; 4886; P '37, p. 143. 

DISCOURSE I 

Dear friends, we are met together as a company, all interested, I trust, in God's great plan of salvation-The Plan of the Ages. From the fact of your presence here I assume that you are all believers in God, and that you accept the Bible as His Word. We will consider now 

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such portions of that Word as outline the PLAN OF THE AGES. Our talk on the plan of God will be illustrated by this Chart. This Chart is merely designed as an aid to the mind through the eye in grasping the subject. 

We believe in the old theology of the Lord and the apostles and prophets. We have no new thing to present to you—no plan or theory of our own; and I do not want you to receive anything that I say simply because I have said it, but because I have shown it to you in the Word of the Lord. Much that I have to say I trust you will recognize as old and familiar truths, while some things will be recognized as truths forgotten or overlooked or never noticed heretofore; but I trust that you will all be ready to accept without equivocation whatever I shall show from the Scriptures to be the Word of the Lord, whatever has been "written for our learning," as the Apostle suggests (Rom. 15:4). It is in order that we may be "thoroughly furnished" that we are told to "search the Scriptures" (John 5:39); and if we want to be wise toward God, we want to come as learners and to receive the instruction which God gives us in His Word, which is "able to make us wise unto salvation," with the "wisdom that cometh down from above" (2 Tim. 3:15; James 3:17, 18). We want to put on the "whole armor of God" (Eph. 6:11). 

(Point to Chart.) We will now consider some of the features of God's plan as illustrated by this Chart. I want you to dismiss from your minds for the present this lower part of the Chart—all below this upper horizontal line. (Point.) That part of it will be considered at future meetings. Now we want to give our attention to these upper arches and the small ones in them. 

We do not approach the subject of the Divine plan from a scientific standpoint. The boasted philosophies of this world are often "falsely so-called," and tend more to confuse the mind than to help it. The plan of God is not abstruse, but plain and simple; and yet it is really a science; it is knowledge from the highest source. The word "science" simply means truth. And

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therefore when our Lord said, "Thy Word is truth," it was equivalent to saying, "Thy Word is the science." He also prayed, "Sanctify them through thy truth"—through this science. We therefore invite you to the study of this, the true science—the Plan of the Ages revealed in the Scriptures. 

But some may object that they see nothing scientific in the Bible. It is a common saying that "The Bible is an old fiddle upon which any tune can be played"—a Methodist tune, or a Baptist tune, or a Presbyterian tune, or any tune the player may desire. I am sorry to have to say it, dear friends, but it is nevertheless a fact that the Bible, the greatest of all sciences, the testimony of the greatest of all scientists, has suffered more at the hands of its friends than at the hands of any other class of people. They forgot to "search the Scriptures" and to "rightly divide the word of truth," and went to creed-making, each according to his own liking. From the standpoint of infidelity, it is true that the Bible appears contradictory; but it is so only because of the varied human misrepresentations, and not because it is so in fact. By observing order (Heaven's first law) the whole Word now opens up to God's people who are hungering and thirsting for it; because God's time for unsealing it has come. Having been thus blessed of God through observing His order in the study of His Word, I come to you as God's servant and yours, bringing you this grace. Prove all things by God's Word, and hold fast that which is good—that which you find to be in accord with the Bible, and that only. 

We call attention first to these three upper arches (Pointing to Chart), leaving out these lower ones. These represent dispensations. By dispensation we signify the order or general character of these periods of time—God's course in reference to mankind during a certain time. The manner of His dealing in each of these dispensations is attested by the facts of history. The first dispensation (Point) extends from the creation of Adam to the flood; the second dispensation

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(Point) from the flood to the second coming of Christ; and the third dispensation (Point) from the second coming of Christ onward. 

But I fancy some one saying, "I thought there was some Second Adventism in this," and therefore I will stop right here to disabuse the mind of any of you of that thought. I am not an Adventist—neither a "Second Adventist" nor a "Seventh Day Adventist." I know there is prejudice on this point. Let me say, however, that I do believe in the second coming of Christ. ALL Christians do! I know that the Roman Catholics believe in it, and the Methodists, and the Presbyterians, and many others. I may not believe in it exactly as they do, or as the Adventists do. Some are what are called Pre-Millennialists, and others Post-Millennialists, the former believing that the Lord will come before the Millennium, and the latter that He will come after the Millennium. In my presentation of the Scriptures, you will see that I take a Pre-Millennialist view, and, as I proceed, I will give you my reasons therefore. But do not class me as an "Adventist," with all the peculiarities of Adventism. You will have an opportunity to hear and can then decide for yourselves as to whether or not I present the truth on the subject. 

(Returning to the Chart.) This first dispensation is called in the Scriptures "the world that was"; the second dispensation is called "the world that now is" or the "present evil world"; and the third dispensation is called "the world to come." All these "worlds" have reference to the particular order of things that existed within the period designated; i.e., each dispensation or order of things is called a "world." Such use of the word "world" is not common at the present time, but what we want anyway is the thought of the original, whatever the word. Order or dispensation is the thought; "world" is the name used in Scripture. 

That first world, the Apostle Peter says, "being overflowed with water, perished." What world?—That order of things or "world" which existed from creation

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to the flood, and which was terminated by the great deluge, which destroyed not only the whole social order of that time but also the whole world of mankind excepting Noah and his family. What was the then existing order of things? From the Scriptures we find that previous to the flood God permitted the angels to have general supervision of mankind—permitted them, I say. Doubtless the angels, when they saw the condition of sin into which man had fallen, desired to reform him, to help him out of the sin; but the results were the reverse of good; for we read that immediately preceding the flood the thoughts of men were evil, and "only evil continually"; and God took them away as He saw good. We must not, however, suppose that God's plan was a failure during the first dispensation. God was not trying an experiment. It was an experiment for the angels, and one by which they also were to be tried as to their loyalty and faithfulness to God; but God knew all the time that it would be a failure so far as accomplishing the reformation of man was concerned. God's plan was formed "before the foundation of the world"; and so we read that in His plan Christ was the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8); and in the course of these discourses it will be our purpose to show how the plan of redemption has been, and is being accomplished through the slain Lamb of God. The experiment of the angels was a lesson to them, as well as to mankind, who have observed the results of their efforts and who have accordingly been caused to look more carefully for the remedy for sin which God has provided. 

That dispensation having come to an end in the destruction of that "world" (or order of things), God carried over in the ark Noah and his family, who had not become corrupt as the rest of the world, and with them began the second dispensation or "world that now is." (Point.) 

This second dispensation is not under the control of angels; for it is written that Satan is "the prince of this 

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world." This second dispensation or "world" has been left to man. God is not dealing directly with man, nor interfering directly with his affairs. When I say that it has been left to man to govern himself, I should add that man, having by reason of the fall become very weak, has become peculiarly susceptible to the influence and deceptions of Satan. The Lord said that Satan was a liar from the beginning (John 8:44); and, being the arch-deceiver, he has deceived all men, who, believing themselves free, have really been his slaves; the only exceptions being those who have been influenced by the Gospel and who have thus come to recognize Satan's power, and to put themselves into the hands of God. Yet even in this, our own favored land, he is "going about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour"; and in Asia and Africa, and other uncivilized lands we see him ruling with a high hand, the people being so blinded by superstition that fetish worship and sorcery and other devilments are openly practiced; so much so, that Satan is properly styled, as the Scriptures name him, "the god of this world"—not the god of that "world" (Point to the first "world"), nor of that "world" (Point to third world), but of THIS "world" (Point to second "world"). 

This is what is meant by "rightly dividing the word of truth." It would not do to apply to "this world" (Point to second "world") the Scriptures which belong to that "world" (Point to first "world"), nor to that "world" (Point to third "world") Scriptures which belong to this "world" (Point to second "world") or to the first "world" (Point); for instance, it would not be proper to say that Satan is the god or prince of the third "world." (Point.) Christ will be "King over all the earth in THAT day," though he is not King over all the earth in this "world." (Point.) 

What? Is not Christ the King of this world, the Ruler of this world? How is Satan the god of this world? I reply: The word "god" means "mighty one." Who is the mighty one of this world? Surely not 

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Christ. I venture to say that if Christ were the God or Prince of this world, it would be a far better world than it is. But no, my friends. He Himself said, "My kingdom is NOT OF THIS WORLD"—this world (Point); and on another occasion He said, "The prince of THIS world [Satan] cometh, and hath nothing in me" (John 18:36; 14:30). 

But some might suppose that Satan is "the prince of this world" by divine right—that God has given him the power which he possesses; but not so. While God has allowed man to take his own course, and has permitted Satan to become his deceiver, as is written, "The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not" (2 Cor. 4:4), it has only been by reason of the depraved condition of men, and their willingness to be deceived, that Satan has succeeded in overpowering them. Satan is a usurper. By reason of man's submission to him he rules as a tyrant; but not by God's authority. When Christ comes He will not have to buy out Satan's Kingdom. Satan never had a right to rule. Why God permitted Satan to exercise such great power over men is a very interesting question, and one which the Scriptures answer very satisfactorily, but we do not go into it at present. We are not now studying the WHY, but the FACT. But when we do come to the study of that question, we will find that although Satan's dominion has been permitted, all the while God's own plan, purposed from the beginning, has been achieving that for which it was sent (Is. 55:11). 

This second dispensation or "world that now is" (Point) is also called by the Apostle Paul "this present evil world," manifestly evil for the above reason—the character of the "world" being determined by the character of the ruler; and Satan being "the prince of this world," and working continually in the hearts of "the children of disobedience" (Eph. 2:2), the logical result is an evil "world"—an evil order of things. The new dispensation, however (the "world to come"), will not be under the "prince of this world" (Point), nor

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under the angels (Point to first "world"), but under Christ. Christ is not now the "governor among the nations," as He will be then (Psa. 22:28). In THAT day (Point to third world), the prophet Daniel says, "the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom" (Dan. 2:44). It is for this kingdom that we have long prayed, saying, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven." 

Notice, further, that while that dispensation (Point) ended with a flood, this dispensation (Point) will end with a "fire." Such is the Apostle Peter's statement—"The heavens and earth which are now (Point) by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto FIRE against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men," in which "the ELEMENTS shall melt with fervent heat, … wherein the heavens being on FIRE shall be dissolved, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." Our Adventist friends say that this is a literal fire; but there is nothing in Peter's statement to show whether this fire is literal or symbolic. In order to learn what the Scriptures say on the subject we must "compare scripture with scripture"; and by so doing we will see that it is NOT a literal fire, but a symbolic "fire." 

Just to illustrate: you have perhaps heard someone say, "It is getting hotter and hotter betwixt capital and labor!" Yes, the friction is increasing, and soon it will burst into a flame. So we should understand the Apostle Peter's statement, "The ELEMENTS shall melt with fervent heat"—the elements comprising this present "world" or order of things, the present arrangement of society. What are the "elements" that compose society? The rich element and the poor element, the capital and labor elements, political, financial and religious elements. These all shall MELT in this "day of the Lord," as it is elsewhere called. 

But some say that such things have always been; that there have always been financial, religious and social troubles, and that those coming will be no different 

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from those that are past. The prophet Daniel, however, did not so express it. He said that the time of trouble which is coming will be such as "never was since there was a nation, even to that same time," and our Lord adds, "No, nor ever shall be" (Dan. 12:1; Matt. 24:21). The trouble that is coming will not be an ordinary trouble. When the Word of the Lord says that it will be a trouble such as never was BEFORE and never will be afterward, we may know that it WILL be so. Is there not all about us every indication that this trouble is truly operating now, in which the elements of society shall melt with fervent heat? We are reaching new and peculiar conditions. These peculiar conditions are not found merely in one nation nor in a small corner of a nation. They are world-wide, and are becoming more and more frequent in their recurrence; and the Word of the Lord assures us that before the end all the kingdoms of the world shall be thrown down (Hag. 2:22; Dan. 2:44); for the Lord "will judge among the nations" (Ps. 110:6). This is the day of the Lord's reckoning. It is the day in which it will be said of some, "Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days" (James 5:3). From the expression one would think that this was written by one living in the present time, and familiar with the trend of events as we see them. But who wrote it? The Apostle James, eighteen hundred years ago. And he goes on to say, "Behold the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth; and the cries of them which have reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth"; and the prophet says, "They shall cast their silver in the streets and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord" (Ezek. 7:19). This (Point to the "harvest" or end of "this world") is the day of the Lord's anger, the "day of vengeance," the day in which He will make manifest His principles of righteousness—in which He will lay judgment "to the line and righteousness to the 

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plummet" (Is. 28:17). This is the day for which those who have suffered for righteousness' sake have been told to wait. 

In the same connection in which He speaks of this trouble, the Apostle says to the brethren, "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord" (James 5:7); because this is the day in which the Lord will fulfill His promise to His people, saying, "Vengeance is mine; I will REPAY, saith the Lord" (Rom. 12:19). So also says the prophet Zephaniah (3:8, 9)—"Wait ye upon me, saith the LORD ["Be patient therefore, brethren"], until THE DAY that I rise up to the prey; for my determination is to gather the nations [It was to be an international matter—a worldwide trouble], that I may assemble the kingdoms [bring them nearer together; this has been accomplished by alliances for mutual protection, such as The Triple Alliance, The Triple Entente, The League of Nations, United Nations, etc., and additionally in the field of communication and travel by telegraph, telephone, radio, television, railroad, steamship, airplane, etc.], to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger [This began in 1914 with the World War, foretold in Jer. 25:15-38; Joel 3:9-13, etc.]: for all the earth shall be devoured with the FIRE of my JEALOUSY." 

THIS is a peculiar kind of a "fire" which is to devour the earth, and melt the "elements" with fervent heat—the fire of God's jealousy, the fire of God's anger, the fire of His justice. "For THEN," the prophet continues (and this gives us assurance that the fire is not literal, but figurative), "THEN will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve Him with one consent." THEN will be ushered in the "new heavens and earth" which Peter said would follow the dissolving of the present order of things—"the present evil world"; then will have peculiar significance the expression of the Revelator, "and there was no more SEA"; for the present heaven and earth will have passed away (Rev. 21:1).

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What does he mean when he says there shall be no more SEA? Does he refer to the literal sea? No! We must remember that the entire Book of Revelation is a book of symbols, and that many of the Prophets and Psalms employ the same symbolic language. In this figurative language, "heavens" represents the ecclesiastical powers or ruling religious systems. The angels constituted the heavens or spiritual ruling power of the first dispensation (Point); Satan and the systems controlled by Satan, which rule the present evil world, are the present heavens; and Christ and His Bride, the true Church, will constitute the heavens of the future. Concerning this we will have more to say later. 

"Earth" signifies organized society; "mountains" signify the governments which are the backbones of society—its exalted representatives; the "sea" represents the restless elements of society, which beat up against it and against the governments or "mountains," and which will finally envelop them in anarchy (Ps. 46:2). Hence we may understand the Apostle John to mean that when the new heavens and earth are established there will be no more anarchy; or, as the Apostle Peter says, it will be a heavens and earth (or order of things) "wherein dwelleth righteousness." "The Lord will be King over all the earth in that day" (Zech. 14:9). 

Thus while it is shown that the symbolic heavens and earth of this present time shall pass away with a great noise—confusion and trouble—it is also indicated that the literal earth and its literal atmospheric heavens will continue to abide; "for thus saith the Lord that created the heavens, God himself that formed the earth and made it: He hath established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited; I am the Lord, and there is none else" (Is. 45:18). 

Our next discourse will bring out some interesting details respecting the "ages" which have gone to make up this "present evil world," represented by these under arches. (Point.) I trust that already some are helped for all their lives in the matter of "rightly 

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dividing the word of truth" as it relates to the larger dispensations or "worlds"; and in my next discourse I will apply the same Scriptural rule to the ages, with even grander results. All are cordially invited to be present at the appointed hour. 

"Blind unbelief is sure to err, 

And scan His work in vain; 

God is His own interpreter, 

And He will make it plain." 

DISCOURSE II 

[Introduce by brief recapitulation of Discourse I, for new hearers, as well as for the refreshment of those who heard it before.] 

Now notice these semi-circles. (Point to the ages.) They represent ages. In what we have been saying with reference to the dispensations we have not considered what God is doing, but merely what He has permitted Satan and the angels and mankind in general to do of their own pleasure. But now we will talk of what GOD has been doing, during the same periods, though the world knew it not and does not yet know His purpose. During all this time God has not recognized the world of mankind nor dealt with them, but merely with a little handful of His own people. God lets the world and the devil alone, unless they attempt to thwart or cross His purposes. Then He says, "Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further" (Job 38:11). But while the world and the devil have been busy, WHAT has God been doing? Has He been like a man of whom our Lord spoke, who began to build a house but had failed to count the cost, and whose neighbors consequently derided him, saying, "This man began to build, and was not able to finish" (Luke 14:30)? It would be very peculiar indeed if the Lord did not follow out the wisdom which He suggests to men. We find, however, that God did pursue the course of wisdom, and that not only will He be able to finish His work as He purposed it, but that known unto the Lord are all His works from the beginning of the world. And He declares, "My word shall not return unto me void, but it 

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shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereunto I sent it" (Is. 55:11). 

Now let us inquire what God's purpose was. Has He been trying to convert the world? If so, He has not succeeded. The first dispensation was evil and only evil continually. The second dispensation has not witnessed the conversion of the world, and by inspiration it is called "the present evil world." Shall we say then that God has been trying to convert the world and has not succeeded? No, for had He made the effort, had that been His plan, He would have succeeded. "The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand."… "I am God, and there is none else: I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. … Yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it" (Is. 14:24; 46:9-11). 

We conclude, therefore, that God has not been trying to convert the world! This assertion may be new to some of you, but you must admit that if God has been trying He has failed; whereas He says, "All my purposes shall be accomplished." This proves that God has not been attempting to convert the world; but, on the contrary, that if He has been accomplishing what He intended, He must have intended something else. 

This first age (Point) is called the "Patriarchal Age," because in it God dealt with certain individuals or patriarchs, ignoring entirely the rest of the world. First He dealt with Abraham. "Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee; and I will make of thee a great nation; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 12:1-3). He did not select Abraham's father or his uncles or his cousins or his aunts, but Abraham; and although Lot, his nephew, went along, he had no share 

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in the covenant. Abraham waited until his father was dead (for that was the arrangement) before he moved into the land of promise. Well, some may say, that is election. Well, if it is, I cannot help it. That is what the Bible says, and we want to believe it just as the Bible says it. 

Then God called Isaac—not his brothers. "In Isaac shall thy seed be called" (Gen. 21:12). Then Isaac had two sons, Jacob and Esau, and God selected Jacob. "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I loved less" (Rom. 9:13). We will not here go into the reason for God's preference for Jacob. That may come in further along. 

With the death of Jacob that age came to an end, and single individuals no longer were chosen. How do we know? The facts show it; for at the death of Jacob his twelve sons and all their children were chosen as those to whom the Lord's favor would be shown. His sons were prophetically blessed by Him; and, being recognized as a NATION elected of God, were called "the TWELVE TRIBES of Israel." While Jacob lived God dealt only with him, and did not recognize his children and their families as a nation; but upon his decease His favor passed to the Twelve Tribes of Israel as a nation, and a new age began. You will remember that Jacob's name was changed to Israel, the meaning of the word being "a prince with God." And so began what on this chart we call the "Jewish Age." (Point.) It might have been called the Israelitish Age, but you will see as we proceed a reason for not giving it that title, since the Gospel Church are "Israelites indeed"; and to have called this the Israelitish Age (Point to Jewish Age) would have led to some confusion. 

That during this age (Point to Jewish Age) God dealt only with the Jews is clearly taught in the Scriptures; for He said to them on one occasion, "You ONLY have I known (recognized or owned) of all the families of the earth" (Amos 3:2). The Apostle tells us that all others outside of Israel were "aliens and strangers, having no hope and without God in the world" (Eph. 2:12).

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"What advantage then hath the Jew?" the Apostle Paul inquired; and then he answered his own question—"Much every way: CHIEFLY because that unto them were committed the oracles of God" (Rom. 3:2). God had a reason for confining His favor to Israel for that long period of over 1,800 years; and at a subsequent meeting we may inquire into these reasons and see how God's purposes were being accomplished. Now we merely note the facts. 

In the end of the Jewish Age Jesus "came unto his own, and his own received him not" (John 1:11). You see, therefore, that He called the Jews "his own." Their rejection of the Lord was, however, no surprise to God. He had foretold it by the prophets: "He is despised and rejected of men." "We hid as it were our faces from him"; He had "no beauty that we should desire him" (Is. 53:3, 2). Only a "remnant" received Him, as we read in the eleventh chapter of Romans; and it was to this "remnant" that He gave "liberty" to become "sons of God." SONS of God? Were not those of previous times "sons"? No, only "friends" and "servants." "Moses verily was faithful in all his house as a SERVANT [a house or nation of servants] … but Christ as a SON over his own house; whose house are we [the Gospel Church], if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end" (Heb. 3:5, 6). You remember that Moses was the head or ruler of the house of servants, the Law at Mt. Sinai being given at his hands to the people. He was the mediator of the Law Covenant made with that people, whereas Christ is to be the Mediator of the New and better Covenant; and His glorified Church as His joint-heir will share in that mediation and in bringing its benefits to the world. It was after the time of the crucifixion (Point) that God's favor began to extend beyond Israel to all men. 

Did God change His plan? Had he become tired of dealing with the Jews only, and, on finding that they rejected Christ, did He conclude to experiment with the

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remainder of mankind? No; as we said before, God knew before what the outcome of the Jewish Age would be, and He at this time merely turned over a new leaf or took up another feature of His plan. To illustrate this we may suppose that we are looking through a book containing the architect's drawings for a fine building. On one page we see the plans for the cellar, on the next the plans for the first floor, on the next for the second floor, etc. Now it would be very foolish for us to say on looking through the book, "Oh, the architect has changed his plans! Here he has concluded to build a cellar, and then he changed his mind and concluded to build a house, and then he was not satisfied with this plan and drew another one here on the next page." In the same way we may say that God had His plans drawn before any part of His work was begun, though men, not appreciating what they have seen in the plan-book, the Bible, have been in ignorance of the progress of His work, and even of the fact that He has been working at all. 

At the first coming of Christ, therefore, we may say that a new leaf was turned in the plan of God, a new order of dealing was begun. For a while Christ confined His ministry to the Jewish people, and for a particular purpose, which we shall see later on. And here again came in the special favor to Israel which had been manifested throughout the Jewish Age. Not only did the Lord confine His ministry to them, saying, "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt. 15:24), but He would not permit His disciples to go outside of that nation. He said, "Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not" (Matt. 10:5). This special favor continued to Israel until a few days before the Lord's crucifixion, when He wept over their city, saying, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, 

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and ye would not. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate" (Matt. 23:37, 38; 24:1; 26:1, 2; Luke 19:41; 13:34, 35). 

Yes, indeed, their house has been left unto them desolate. To this day they are all witnesses to its desolation; and some of them are beginning to see that all their national troubles date from the time of their crucifixion of their Messiah; and some of them are now beginning to see this and to turn longing eyes toward Him, their long-rejected Messiah. 

Following our Lord's death and resurrection a NEW WORK began. When He died, He did not die for Israel only, but, thank God! also for you and me—Gentiles. Jesus Christ was manifested "that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man" (Heb. 2:9). And from Pentecost the special work of the Gospel Age dates; for the Lord's last words to His disciples were, "Go ye, therefore, and teach ALL nations" (Matt. 28:19). The Gospel to be taught was indeed "good tidings of great joy to all people"—Jew and Gentile, bond and free, rich and poor, male and female—all people. 

But how many have received the gospel message? Has God been attempting to convert the world in this age? If not, what work has He been doing? The Apostle Peter tells us that "God did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for His name" (Acts 15:14). He did not take all of them, but has been taking out or selecting from among them (selection again, you see) a people to bear HIS NAME. 

[Illustration of a gentleman selecting a wife to bear his name—not any woman, nor every woman, but his choice.] 

[Comparison of the Bride of Christ, said by the Apostle to be "espoused as a chaste virgin."] 

Another figure used by the apostles to signify the intimate relationship existing between Christ and those whom He selects to bear His name is that of the "head" and the "body." Christ is "the HEAD over all things to

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the Church which is His body" (Eph. 1:22, 23). But not all who name the name of Christ will bear His name and share His glory as "heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ." Only the faithful overcomers will be so favored. "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne" (Rom. 8:17; Rev. 3:21). 

[Refer to the type of Isaac and Rebecca, the latter as the bride becoming the joint-heir with Isaac of all his father's riches. So the Church is to be joint-heir with Christ.] 

This (Christ and His Bride bearing His name) is the "SEED of Abraham" to whom pertains the promise made away back here (Point) to Abraham—"In blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply THY SEED as the stars of the heaven and as the sand upon the seashore, and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 22:17, 18). 

The Apostle tells us, in referring to the type of Isaac and Rebecca, that those things were an "allegory"—not that such persons as Isaac and Rebecca did not exist, but that, while those circumstances really transpired, they were typical or representative of the union between Christ and the Church; and that as Isaac was the "seed of promise" through whom a blessing would come, and through whose natural seed part of the promise will be fulfilled, so Christ, as the real seed of Abraham and heir of the promise, becomes the agent through whom all the families of the earth will be blessed. This the Apostle shows in the third chapter of Galatians, verse 16—"and to thy seed, which is Christ"; and if we read down to the 29th verse we will see that all who are Christ's (all who are of the people taken out for His name) become joint-heirs with Him in the Abrahamic promise. It reads, "If ye be Christ's, then are YE ABRAHAM'S SEED, AND HEIRS according to the promise." 

The object of the selection of this seed is the blessing of all the families of the earth; and this will be the work of the incoming Millennial age. (Point.) We have had enough of the devil's kingdom, and we are glad that the 

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time will soon be here when Christ's Kingdom will be fully set up and established in the earth—when He will take unto Himself His great power and reign. 

Another figure, used by the Apostle Peter in referring to the Church selected in this age and her close relationship to Christ, is that of "living stones" in God's temple—Christ being the chief corner-stone. The various members of the Church are now being tried and purified, chiseled and polished for a place in that glorious temple. [Compare with Solomon's temple, the preparation of the material beforehand, and its putting together noiselessly, without the sound of a hammer, axe or any tool of iron (1 Peter 2:4-8; 1 Kings 6:7).] 

The members of the Church, the "living stones" in the temple, are not joined to Christ one by one throughout the age, but each is prepared and awaits the final putting together, when all the stones are ready, and when Christ receives them to Himself. So the Apostle Paul looked forward to the future for his reward, saying, "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me AT THAT DAY" (Point to Millennial Age)—the first age of the new dispensation, at the beginning of which Christ commences His Millennial reign. 

Then will come the blessing upon all the families of the earth. "He must reign till He hath put all enemies under His feet" (1 Cor. 15:25). Hence His coming MUST BE PRE-Millennial. Were He to wait until all things were put under His feet, and come at the close of the Millennium, this statement would not be true, for there would be nothing left for Him to subdue. One of the first Acts of His reign will be to bind Satan—which is plainly stated in the 20th chapter of Revelation—"I saw a strong angel come down from heaven, having a great chain in his hand; and he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, that he should deceive the nations no more." Then Christ's reign begins; and all who gain the victory over the beast and his image and the number 

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of his name, all the overcomers will "live and reign with Christ a thousand years" (Rev. 20:4). 

[Here call attention again to the necessity of "rightly dividing the word of truth," to the meaning of the word Millennium, and to the impropriety of applying passages relating to the Millennial Age or the Jewish Age to the Gospel Age or vice versa.] 

The "god" or "prince" of this world having been bound, Christ will turn unto the people the "pure language" mentioned by the prophet. Satan will no more be able to "blind their eyes"; but, on the contrary, "the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped"; and "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea"; and it will no more be necessary for any man to say to his neighbor, "Know the Lord; for they all shall know me from the least of them to the greatest of them, saith the Lord" (Is. 35:5; 11:9; Jer. 31:34). 

The prophet Isaiah overflows with enthusiasm when speaking of that glorious time (Point to Millennial Age), when "the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose," etc., etc. (Is. 35). 

Beyond the Millennium we know that surely there are several other ages not only one eternal age. The Word of God reveals little beyond the Millennium which is one of the "ages to come," of which the Apostle Paul spoke. Nor will we inquire concerning that time, because "Secret things belong to God; but things which are revealed belong to us and to our children" (Deut. 29:29). 

And now, dear friends, having looked into a part of the plan of God, we would say that doubtless these things will not be appreciated by every one. We cannot expect the worldly-minded to understand or appreciate them, since they are not in the condition of heart which the Lord approves and to which He would reveal Himself. He Himself declares through the Apostle that not many great, not many wise, not many rich, after the course of this world, hath He chosen; but the poor, rich 

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in faith, hath He chosen to be heirs of the Kingdom. And our Lord thanked the Father because He has "hid these things from the [worldly] wise and prudent, and has revealed them unto babes"—the meek, the humble, those willing to be taught of God through His Word (1 Cor. 1:26-29; Matt. 11:25). 

In our next discourse we hope to look further into the things which the Lord is revealing to those of His people who have hearing ears and receptive hearts, and which were written by holy men of old, as they were moved by the spirit, expressly for our learning. 

The text of our next discourse will be a passage from which I suppose few if any of you have ever heard a discourse; viz., Acts 3:19-21; and it also will be illustrated by the Chart. 

DISCOURSE III 

Before entering upon the subject of our discourse at this time, we will briefly recapitulate what we found in the two preceding discourses. We have been looking at the teachings of God's Word, endeavoring to dismiss from our minds all preconceived opinions and prejudices, natural or acquired. We have been endeavoring to find what the Word of God teaches, because we know that God is true and His Word interprets itself. 

We found that the world's history is divided into three epochs or dispensations. (Point.) The first dispensation is entirely in the past. It reached from the creation to the flood, and is called by Peter "the world that was." The next, the second dispensation, we found to be mainly in the past, and now nearing its close, and called "the world that now is." We called attention to the significance of the word "world," its common use causing considerable confusion of thought, so that when we speak of the end of the world, the ordinary thought is that the earth upon which we are living will be destroyed. But we found that one world had already passed away, and yet we are on the same earth. I will not go into details on this subject; I merely touch upon it here to refresh your minds. This dispensation, 

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in the close or harvest of which we are now living, is called "the present evil world"—not because it is entirely evil, nor because it has no good in it, but because evil has predominated. We know there have been many good people, though they were few in comparison with the multitudes of evil-disposed persons. 

We also found that the Bible tells us (Point) that there is to be a "world to come," "world without end." 

We found that that world (Point) ended with a flood, that this world (Point) is to end with a fire, a time of trouble which we certainly entered in 1914, hence which we have already entered, and which is to be a time of trouble such as "never was since there was a nation." This time of trouble is to have a purging, a purifying effect, consuming the dross—fire fitly representing destruction. Hear the Apostle Peter—"The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. … Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness" (2 Pet. 3:10-13). 

We saw that the first dispensation was left in the hands of angels, and that their administration proved a failure. We saw that during the second dispensation God has permitted the world to take its own course, to do the best it could for itself, to see how good government it could devise, what arrangements it could make for its comfort, etc., assured in His own mind that their experiments would all end in calamity. We saw that the effect of light and liberty is good if the heart is right. The difficulty is that the hearts of people are not right. The only class of people that can safely be allowed to do as they please are those who are in full accord with God and His principles of love, truth and righteousness. Men are not in this attitude toward God, however. Men are selfish. The "prince of this world" is in command, and therefore all the blessings and light and liberty will work out the wreck of the present institutions. Thus 

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man will learn the futility of his efforts, just as angels learned the futility of theirs; and then comes God's remedy, "the world to come." The prince of that world (Point) we found will not be Satan, but Christ. Christ will be "King over all the earth in that day" (Point), not this day, though He has the power. Evil prevails now, because God permits it, until it shall accomplish its lessons, and then He will usher in "that day" (Point), the reign of righteousness, the Kingdom. For that Kingdom He has taught us to pray—"Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven." God's people have been waiting and praying for His Kingdom for over eighteen hundred years. 

We also considered some things with reference to God's dealings during this second dispensation. We inquired, "Has God been doing anything?" and we found the answer, Yes. During the Patriarchal Age God selected and dealt with Abraham, and made a covenant with him, that in his seed all the families of the earth should be blessed. Then he called Isaac; and at Isaac's death the covenant was confirmed to Jacob. Then when Jacob died a new age was opened, called the Jewish Age, because all the children of Jacob were called as heirs to the promise made to Abraham and confirmed to Isaac and to Jacob. God called them His "peculiar people"; and said, "You only have I known of all the families of the earth"; while others were "without God and having no hope in the world." 

At the conclusion of His dealing with the people of Israel another age began. Christ came to His own people (the Jews), and they received Him not. That (Point) was the servant age; but this (Point) is the age of sons. "Moses verily was faithful over all his house [a house of servants], but Christ as a son over His own house, whose house are we [the Church]." Moses was the head over that house. Christ is the Head over all things to the Church which is His body. That house had typical sacrifices, this house has the real sacrifices. Christ came to Fleshly Israel, and only a remnant 

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received Him; but "as many as received Him, to them gave He liberty to become the sons of God." Christ first offered this privilege of sonship to the Jews, but because of unbelief only a remnant of Israel was gathered into the gospel house of sons, and the remainder of the house of sons is being made up of selections from among all nations—gathered out from all nations. 

We called attention to the fact that the election of the Jews was not an election to go to heaven, but to be God's holy nation, His "peculiar people," under the special conditions of the Law Covenant. That was the election of a typical nation, while the election of this age is an individual election, which collectively is the antitypical holy nation and peculiar people. The gospel has been preached among all nations in order to select from them "a people for His name." Altogether they are only a "little flock." Evidently the Lord does not mean all who name the name of Christ; for that would mean at least a hundred million. This "little flock" is not named "Roman Catholic" or "Greek Catholic" or "Episcopalian" or "Methodist" or "Methodist Protestant" or "United Presbyterian"—none of these names were adopted by the Lord. They are all names given by men; none of them are recognized by the Word of God. The members of the "little flock" recognized by God are all the true followers of Christ—Christians. "The Lord knoweth them that are His"—those who in truth and sincerity belong to Christ. They are the "Church of the first born," whose names are "written in heaven." That is the important place to have them written—"written in heaven." Only the truly consecrated are written there, and the names of those who continue faithful will never be blotted out of the book of life (Rev. 3:5). 

Then we considered God's object in making this selection. We saw that He had not changed His plan. It had not been a failure with the Patriarchs, so that He needed to make another plan for the Jews, and again another experiment with the gospel Church. God was 

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not thus subject to the frailties of men or the machinations of the devil. "Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world." "All His purposes shall be accomplished." He has had the same purpose all through the ages, and that purpose will be completed in the Millennial Age. 

But what was that purpose? We found that God had made a promise to Abraham, saying, "In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." Abraham supposed that this seed through whom all the families of the earth would be blessed was Isaac; but no; it was not Isaac. Then Isaac supposed that it was Jacob; but it was not Jacob. And then when Jacob had twelve sons no doubt he began to think that it was through his sons that the blessing would come. There were one hundred and twenty-eight in all of his descendants still living at the time of his death, and out of this number he supposed that God would take his seed. Jacob prophesied concerning the characteristics of each of the twelve families or tribes; but after eighteen hundred years of experience, they did not bless the world, and they were not even ready to be blessed themselves; for though Christ came to them to bless them "His own received Him not." 

But God had all this in mind at the beginning; in fact, the Apostle says that these are an allegory. Sarah was representative of the covenant made with Abraham; and when Isaac was promised, God was speaking of a greater seed than Isaac—"which seed is Christ." God meant Christ. Isaac was a type of Christ. 

But did God mean that when Christ should come ALL the families of the earth should be blessed? We look about us and ask, Have ALL nations been blessed? And we are obliged to answer, No. It is eighteen hundred years since Christ came, and yet millions have not even heard of Him. Look over into Africa. Have they been blessed? Look over into China. Many of the Chinese in the interior of the country do not even know there has been a war with Japan. Have they ever heard of Christ? 

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Have they ever been blessed? No! Where then is the mistake? What did the promise mean? 

When God said "Christ," He meant not only the Lord Jesus, but the Christ complete, the Lord Jesus as Head, and the Church as His body. So the Apostle says, "He is the Head over all things to the Church, which is His body." He says, "which seed is Christ"; and after reading down a little further to verse 29 of the same chapter (Gal. 3), we find the matter plainly stated, "If ye be Christ's, then are YE Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." So then we see that "Christ" means the entire Church, the Lord Jesus as the Head and the true Church as the body. This is the reason the blessing has not yet reached the world. Until the selection and perfecting of the CHRIST is accomplished, the blessing cannot come. All the "overcomers" will constitute the true Israel of God, the Christ, the seed of Abraham, the "little flock" to whom it is said, "Fear not, little flock, it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom"—the kingdom for which we have been praying, "the kingdom of God's dear Son." The opportunity to bless all the families of the earth will be given to these and their associates. Let us endeavor so to run the race set before us as to make our calling and election sure. "If we suffer [with Him], we shall also reign with Him. If we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him" (2 Tim. 2:11, 12). "He that hath an ear [for spiritual things], let him hear" (Rev. 3:22). 

Concerning the work of the Gospel Age, the manner in which the election has been made, I may have more to say later. Let us see wherein the doctrines of election and free grace can be fully harmonized. The first one elected was the Lord; second, the Apostles; until now (Point to the end of the Gospel Age) the work of election has progressed down to the very "feet" of Christ, His last members, and their helpers. Moses said, "A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in

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all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people" (Deut. 18:15-19; Acts 3:22, 23). During the Gospel Age God has been raising up this great Prophet and Lawgiver like unto Moses; and during its Harvest the deliverance of the last members of His body is accomplished; they are made ready to take their places with those previously selected and approved. 

The selection of the Church has not been conducted in an arbitrary way, but each member has been chastened, disciplined and tested in faith and character, in order to prepare him for the great work of the future as a member of the Royal Priesthood. Christ is the High Priest, just as Aaron was the head or high priest of the typical priesthood. While on earth, after His anointing at His baptism in Jordan, He was the antitype of Aaron, but now He is the Head of the new order—"the order of Melchisedec." In the Millennium He will be not only Priest, but King; and the Church will be not only priests, but kings. "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection … they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years" (Rev. 20:6; 5:10). 

Has this promise ever been fulfilled? Have the saints ever reigned as kings and priests on the earth? No! The only thing approximating this reign was the reign of the counterfeit, Papacy; that great system which points to its Millennium of a thousand years, during the Dark Ages, and which has more or less deceived the whole world. 

Now we come down to the Millennial Age. (Point.) We have seen that the world has not been blessed in the past. What blessing will come to the world during the Millennial Age—after the promised seed is fully manifested? ALL THE BLESSINGS THAT WERE PROMISED TO ABRAHAM. "IN THY SEED SHALL ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH BE BLESSED." 

What do the people need in order to be blessed? They 

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need education, they need enlightenment, they need good government, they need peace, they need many things that they are seeking now but are unable to obtain because of the present unfavorable conditions. Now "the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together, waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God"—for the glad Millennial reign when they shall all be blessed. What a glorious promise! What a blessing it will be to all that are living at that time! That will be the "golden age" of which the poets have sung, the "good time coming" that socialists and others have been longing for and talking about. That will be the time which the Women's Christian Temperance Union has been trying to bring about by destroying the liquor traffic, and which the female suffragists and reformers of various kinds hope to bring about in their way. But though all these human efforts may prosper for a time, yet in the end all these plans will fail, and for a time anarchy will prevail. And what then? 

"God is His own interpreter, 

And He will make it plain." 

God knew the end from the beginning, and all along He has been working out His original purpose, meantime permitting various human panaceas to be tried, to let man see that his own efforts to bring about righteousness cannot succeed. Ah! human foresight cannot discern what will be the next step. But God knows the future of His plan as well as the past, and in His Word He offers wisdom from above to all His humble followers. And when men have seen all their plans and experiments end in failure, then they will be willing to look to God, and they will say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain [kingdom] of the Lord; He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths." And so it is written: "The desire of all nations shall come." 

But this is not yet the desire of all nations: first must come the failure of their own panaceas. THEN they will be ready to accept the cure which the Lord has provided. 

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Ah! someone may say, that will be a blessed time for the fortunate ones who are living then, but what about the unfortunate ones who have died? There are twenty hundred millions of people living today, but few of whom ever heard the name of Jesus; the great mass of the dead never heard of Jesus; they have been dying in ignorance and fear, without God and without hope. A rough estimate is that not less than twenty billions of people have lived on the earth, and every one knows that among them there have been very few saints. During the first dispensation how many righteous people were there? At the time of the flood there were only eight, Noah and his family. Of the rest it is said, "God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." During the Patriarchal Age there were only a few righteous persons, only a few with whom God held communion; such as Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. During the Jewish Age there were not many; for while God called the entire Jewish nation, there were only a few of them, the prophets and a few others such as are mentioned in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, who were approved of God; and notwithstanding all the instructions of their Law and the special messages of the prophets and the severe discipline through which they as a nation were caused to pass in punishment for their idolatry and other sins, when Christ came only a "remnant" received Him. All the rest were still a "stiff-necked and perverse" generation. And how has it been during the Gospel Age? (Point.) There have not been many saints—only a "little flock." The vast majority have not known God nor desired to know Him. 

The question then is, What is to become of the others? What is to become of all who have not been the "friends" or "servants" or "sons" of God by faith in His promises and obedience to Him? What plan has God for the blessing of the others? For we must remember that the promise was, not that a few should be 

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blessed, but that "ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED." But how? How can the blessing be accomplished? This brings us to our text: [Read impressively.] "TIMES OF REFRESHING SHALL COME FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD; AND HE SHALL SEND JESUS CHRIST, WHICH BEFORE WAS PREACHED UNTO YOU, WHOM THE HEAVEN MUST RETAIN UNTIL THE times of restitution of all things, WHICH GOD HATH SPOKEN BY THE MOUTH OF ALL HIS HOLY PROPHETS SINCE THE WORLD BEGAN." 

"He shall send Jesus Christ." Peter was not here talking about the first coming of Christ. He spoke these words on the day of Pentecost, after the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the waiting disciples, and ten days after he with others had seen Christ ascend to heaven. He was speaking of His second coming. "God will send Jesus Christ." 

Our Lord Himself had promised that He would come a second time, saying, "If I go away, I will come again." 

I will not take the time to prove that the Lord is coming a second time. I take it for granted that all here present believe that He will come again. Perhaps only one other doctrine, the doctrine of the ransom, is made as prominent in the Scriptures as this doctrine of the Lord's return. It is also made very prominent in all the creeds of the various denominations. Even Catholics believe in the second coming of Christ. They do not indeed confess that He is coming to bless the world, but rather that He is coming to damn the world. The wonder is that, with such a conception of things, any are willing to pray, "Even so come, Lord Jesus!" The beloved disciple who uttered these words as they are recorded in the Scriptures had no such anticipation. He knew of the time of blessing, and it was for this that he longed, and he knew that it could not come until Christ should come. The coming of Christ has been the hope of the world (though unknown to themselves). It has been the end of the prayers of all the saints. Until the King came, the Kingdom could not come. We have 

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been "looking for the blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13), "whom the heaven must retain until the times of restitution of all things." 

But what does that mean—"the times of restitution of all things"? What does the word "restitution" mean? It means restoring, restoration. What is it that needs restoration? "Adventists" think it means the hills, rocks, trees, etc. But that is not what it means! It is true they bring forward some Scriptures in support of their belief. You will remember that there is one (Is. 40:4) which says, "Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low." But this is not to be understood literally. These mountains and valleys and hills are symbolic. In symbolic language, "mountains" represent kingdoms; "valleys" mean the lowly or depressed or oppressed classes and conditions of society. Every kingdom and every exalted thing is to be brought low, and every lowly thing is to be exalted. This means the leveling of the social earth; and this leveling is already in progress. The saints have nothing to do with that work. God Himself is so overruling the affairs of men as to bring it about. The present is the lapping time of the two ages (Point), when certain influences of this character are already being felt. The Lord is the Supervisor of the time of trouble; but His consecrated people are not to use "carnal weapons" nor to engage in worldly strife; they are to be separate from the world and its spirit, and to do only the work which God has given them to do, and which we will consider further along in this course. They are to utilize all their talents in preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom. 

But, looking all about us, we see that it is not the literal earth that needs restoring. The mountains and hills and valleys are very beautiful, and for those who desire a low country there is plenty of room in the valleys and vast prairies. It is mankind that needs restoring. If we could only make mankind right, we would have a very desirable world. If men's hearts were

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right, and if we had perfect men and perfect women, "times of restitution" would not be needed. 

But we have not. "By one man's disobedience sin entered into the world, and death by sin." What mankind needs is to be restored to Edenic perfection; and this it is promised will be done. "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain," saith the Lord, when He is "governor among the nations." Christ's ruling among the nations will mean not only the subduing of mankind, but the conquering of Satan and the controlling of all the elements of nature. "In that day" there will be no storms or violent climatic changes. The climate is not at present all that perfect beings might wish; but the One who stilled the storm on Galilee still has power over the elements, and all will be brought into subjection before it can be true that nothing shall hurt or destroy in all God's holy kingdom. 

As I said before, the thing most needed is the promised "times of restitution"; but these restitution blessings are not for the Church. Their portion is not with the world. Special promises were made to them (2 Pet. 1:4). They were to walk in Jesus' footsteps faithfully to the end of their course, if they would become "partakers of the divine nature." The world is to be blessed, not only by Jesus, but also by the Church, who will reign with Him as His joint-heir. The Lord said, "In my Father's house are many mansions." The Church is promised one of these conditions of blessing—to inhabit one of these mansions. The world under other conditions is to inhabit another of these mansions. Millions, yes, billions, are to have the blessings of restitution—to that which was lost, to that which Adam originally possessed, but the Church was to be like Him (Christ) after making their "calling and election sure." They were promised the spirit nature, like their Lord and Head. So please keep the Church and the world distinct and separate—the blessing of restitution for the world, but for the Church the likeness and nature of Christ.

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The Body of Christ being completed, there will never be another member added. The Gospel Age is the last and only time to become a member of Christ's "body." This thought, of a definite number in the Body of Christ, was illustrated in the person of the High Priest. No one could serve in that capacity who was deformed, who had any deficiency or superfluity of members; for instance, he who was lacking a finger, or who had a finger too many (Lev. 21:18). So with the completed Christ, there is not one member lacking or one superfluous—only the elect number; for "Known unto the Lord are all His works from the beginning." 

But, says one, I don't see that restitution would be such a great blessing. But perhaps you have not thought what a perfect man would be. What is a perfect man? There has never been a perfect man, except our Lord when He was a man, and Adam before the fall. We are all so imperfect that we cannot even understand all the perfection which was in Adam. It is true that Adam did not understand all about electricity, radio, telephone and telegraph and other wonderful inventions of which we have knowledge today; but that was not because he did not have the capacity to understand them. Adam's perfect mental, moral and physical powers were never exercised to the extent of the combined effort of all his multitudinous posterity during six thousand years of effort as seen in the present time. But his individual capacity was greater than that of any of his posterity, who from the effects of the fall have degenerated in other respects as well as in longevity. When Adam comes back to life it will not take him long to understand all about the machinery of our day, and I doubt not that in a short time he could make improvements upon much of it. And the same might be said of every other element of learning and skill. 

You all have heard of "lightning calculators," who can add up long columns of figures without effort, or solve in a moment difficult problems which would take ordinary mathematicians an hour. Some of these prodigies 

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are mere children; and none of them can tell how they do it. Yet all these powers must belong to the perfect man. 

In music it is the same. Music is a natural gift. Take "Blind Tom," for instance; on every other subject he was an idiot, but he had a keen appreciation of music and was able to repeat any composition which he heard once, even repeating the mistakes of the performer, if any were made. How he did it we cannot tell. No one knows. He was not, however, in the true sense of the word a musician. The great composers and performers of the past three hundred years are illustrious examples of what is possible in musical genius. The perfect man will be no less a musician than were these imperfect men. 

Then there have been men noted for oratory, others for logical acumen, others for their gift of poetry. Whatever we find in any branch of human intelligence or learning we may be sure is only a suggestion of what the powers of a perfect man would be, with all those qualities and gifts perfected and combined. 

As an orator I might refer to the late Henry Ward Beecher. Not only was he a wonderful speaker, but he had a magnetic power, by which he carried his audience with him, often even against their will. It is related that prior to the Civil War, when secession was running high, he visited Richmond against the wishes of his friends, who feared that if he attempted to speak against slavery he would be mobbed. When he began, his voice could hardly be heard above the tumult; but as he proceeded the audience grew quiet, until finally it broke into applause. Such was his power, and yet his ability in this direction was nothing compared to what the ability of a perfect man would be. 

Another power of the human mind which you and I do not possess, in fact, which is very rare, is the control of the lower animals. A gentleman passed through the principal cities of our land some years ago possessed of wonderful powers in this direction. All the

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vicious horses of the vicinity were brought to him, and they quailed before him. It was simply a power of mind; and yet we may suppose that Adam was still more gifted, when all the animals passed quietly before him and received their names (Gen. 2:19). 

Some people are gifted with remarkable memory. If they read an article, prose or poem, once, they can repeat it word for word. We know of a gentleman who can repeat any text of the Bible that you call for; or, if you repeat the text, he can tell you the chapter and verse. And yet this is not a miraculous gift; it is simply a human power. And so of all the powers of the human mind. They are only a suggestion as to what they might be when perfected. 

The Apostle Peter further answers our query as to what is to be restored. He says it is to be a restoration "of all things SPOKEN by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began." Restitution must be quite an important subject if it was foretold by all the holy prophets. Let us see how some of them spoke of it. 

Moses was a prophet; did he speak of it? Yes! He not only foretold that Israel would fail to keep their covenant and would be scattered among the nations of the earth and be severely punished for their sins, but he also prophesied that God would gather them again out of all nations and restore them to their own land; that they would again be accepted as God's people; and that they, with all the other families of the earth, would be blessed "in the last times." (Point.) Moses also spoke of restitution and of restitution times, in the institution of the "Jubilee" system. In the year of jubilee all the debts of the people were forgiven. If a man had lost his property and was compelled by reason of additional debts to become the servant of another, his term of service could not extend beyond the year of jubilee; and if any man sold a house it could not be for a longer period than until the next jubilee year. Every fiftieth year was a Jubilee or "restitution" year. Thus the Lord 

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symbolized His purpose that all the earth shall return to its former estate, lost in Eden. 

Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel also spoke of the return of Israel, that they would never more be "plucked up" or "thrown down." David and Isaiah speak of the "wilderness that shall blossom as a rose," of the blind eyes that shall be opened (not merely physical but mental blind eyes), and how all the "solitary places" shall be "glad" because of the Lord's blessing upon the earth, instead of the curse. Then the lame man shall leap as a hart—all the lame, not only the physically lame, but those with any kind of a weakness, physical, mental or moral. It is in the latter sense that the Apostle uses the word "lame" when he says, "Make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way." So all the weaknesses that are the result of inheritance will be healed in that day, for all who will submit themselves obediently to the Great Physician. 

All the holy prophets spoke of these "times of restitution," though I have quoted only a few. The Apostle's intimation is that if any spoke not of these times, he was not a prophet—not a holy prophet. 

During the past ages, Patriarchal and Jewish, and during this Gospel Age, everything has been getting ready; and in the next age (Point) the "seed of Abraham" will bless all the families of the earth with an opportunity for restitution to all that was lost in Adam. 

This restitution will not come to mankind UNCONDITIONALLY! There are conditions-the conditions of the New Covenant. "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." We will not now consider these conditions. They may prove interesting at a future time. 

One of the principal things lost in Adam was life. As a consequence of sin came death. If there were no death, there would be no pain, no sickness, no dying. Every ache and pain which we experience is so much of death working in us—"Dying thou shalt die"; "and so death passed upon all men." Billions of people have 

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lived a few years; and these few, as Job says, were "full of trouble." Man that is born of woman is of few days and "full of trouble." And then they die. Nine hundred and ninety-nine out of every thousand is not too great an estimate of the number who never even heard of Christ. And now the question is, How is the blessing to come to them? It is to come by the resurrection. When Paul spoke to the Athenians about resurrection, many of them mocked and said, We will hear you again on this matter. The idea of a resurrection seems absurd to many; and it is absurd, positively ridiculous, as viewed by some. But nevertheless there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. "The hour is coming when all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God and come forth." An illustration of this fact was given in the case of Lazarus, excepting that because the due time had not yet come he could not be raised up fully, to perfection. We will not now take time to go into the subject; will merely say that when rightly understood, as the Scriptures present it, the doctrine of resurrection is reasonable and worthy of all acceptation. But some may doubtingly say, It cannot be that God has such a good plan as that! It has seemed as though we, His children, were putting forth more effort than He on behalf of the world; and now you tell us that He has all the while been working out such a glorious plan on behalf of the dead as well as the living. If this be true, we can see why God has been allowing things to run on with such apparent indifference. You say that all the dead are to come forth; is there any Scripture which so declares? Yes, there are Scriptures on the subject. Our Lord said—"All that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God and come forth"; and on one occasion, when He went into the synagogue, and a copy of the book of Isaiah was handed to Him upon which to comment, He turned to chapter 61 and read, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the 

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broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound" (Luke 4:18; Is. 61:1). You will notice that He does not say that He is going to bind up all hearts, but only the "broken" hearts. There is no balm except for "broken" hearts. And what is meant by the "prison doors"? Did he mean the doors of the jails of Palestine? Did He mean that He would come and set all the convicts free? He certainly could not have meant that. He could not have referred to anything else than the great prison house of death, and the "prisoners of hope" which the great enemy Satan has bound therein. They are "prisoners of hope" because Christ has purchased them. Under Satan the world has been going down into death; but Christ was manifested in order that He might "destroy death and him that hath the power of death, that is, the devil." These prisoners in the tomb, prisoners of hope, will all come forth to the privileges and opportunities of the Millennial Age and of coming to perfection and securing eternal life, which will be afforded under the Millennial reign of Christ. (Point.) 

In another discourse we may explain Satan's connection with sin and death. But now we merely draw upon the fact that when the Lord says to Satan's captives. "Show yourselves," they will come forth; and they will come forth in order that they may be blessed by Him during His thousand years' reign, during their judgment day. (Point to Millennial Age.) That judgment day will not be a twenty-four hour day, but a thousand years, and during it "all the families of the earth shall be blessed" with full knowledge, and judged according to the use they will make of it. 

But now I seem to hear some one say, Isn't that too good to believe? No, it is not; but people have so long been mistaught, that to preach the love and justice and wisdom and power of God is almost to preach an unknown God. The "god of this world" has blinded all; even Christians have had a veil upon their hearts; lo, these many years, the burden of feeling their God 

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unjust because they could not understand His plan. Many have been driven into infidelity by false teachings, and the spiritual life of many others has been blighted. But now God is lifting the curtain and letting in the light. Now is the time of which it is written, "The wise shall understand"; "The meek will He teach His way"; "It is high time to awake out of sleep"; "Joy cometh in the morning [the resurrection morning; the Millennial morning]"; "The Sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in his beams"—healing implies restoration. 

One point more. I wonder if we can find an illustration in the Scriptures proving that people who lived back here (Point to beginning of Jewish and Gospel Ages), or rather that lived further back, here (Point to beginning of Patriarchal Age), are to be restored. I wonder if we can find something about "real wicked people," as some would say. Right here, lest I should be misunderstood, I will explain that we are not preaching a SECOND chance, but we want to find a class of people that has not had an opportunity, that has been in ignorance, without God; a class that has never known God, and hence that could not reject Him; for we believe that those who have known God and then disobeyed wilfully will be punished with everlasting destruction without additional opportunity. 

Let us look back until we find a record of a particularly wicked nation; a nation that was all wicked, and that is now entirely extinct. We will select the Sodomites. They lived at about the time Abraham was called. When Lot, Abraham's nephew, found that his herdsmen could not agree with Abraham's, he moved among the people of the plain, who were called "Sodomites." These people were so wicked that it is said that Lot's righteous soul was vexed from day to day with their unlawful deeds and filthy conversation (2 Pet. 2:6-8), until finally God delivered Lot and entirely destroyed the city. What evidence have we that they were all destroyed? May not one or two have escaped and become 

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the founders of a new city and people by that name? We have the Lord's own statement on this point. He says (Luke 17:29), "The same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them ALL." There was not one Sodomite left. And yet these Sodomites, wicked as they were, were not as wicked as some who have lived since, and who have sinned against more light; for our Lord, when pronouncing "woe" unto Capernaum and Chorazin and Bethsaida, said, "It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for thee." Why? The Lord continues, "For if the mighty works which have been done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day" (Matt. 11:23, 24). 

The Lord says it will be more tolerable for Sodom in the day of judgment (the Millennium) than for Israel! That means that it will be tolerable for Israel in the day of judgment, but still more tolerable for Sodom. If Sodom would have repented, if it had had the light which Israel had, there is no doubt that many of its people will repent under the light of the judgment day. Remember that the judgment day is the Millennial Age, during which (we have seen) Christ will reign and "all the families of the earth shall be blessed" not only Israel and Sodom, but all the other nations. 

Do the Scriptures say anything more with reference to the future of Sodom? Yes, the Lord says very positively that Sodom is to be restored. I will read the statement of the prophet, so there will be no mistake. In the 16th chapter of Ezekiel, the Lord prophesied His blessing upon Israel, and says that Israel was really worse than the surrounding idolatrous nations. 

[Read verses 48, 49, 50, in recital of the sins of Sodom, and comment.] 

[Read verses 53, 54, and comment the Lord says the Jews will be confounded when they see Sodom and Samaria in the day of judgment. Point to Millennial Age on chart.] 

[Read verses 55, 56, and comment—the pride of 

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Israel in saying, "We have Abraham to our father," and in considering the surrounding nations beneath their notice; the return of all "to their former estate"; etc.] 

[Read verses 60-63, and comment—the special covenant with Israel made in the days of their youth, their breaking of it, and the blessing which is to come to them under the "everlasting covenant" which He will establish with them in the future; they with all the other nations will be blessed under the "New Covenant"; then all will be ashamed and confounded, when all Sodom with its captives, and all Israel with its captives, have been brought forth from the prison house of death and God is "pacified toward them" for all that they have done.] 

Truly our God is a great God, and His plan is a great plan. We do not need to feel afraid that God's plan is not good. It is good and just and wise, and He is able to finish it well. I rejoice that God is a just God, and that in His wisdom and love He has arranged that the millions who have perished are not to be everlastingly tormented in flames, as so many suppose. Few appreciate that God's mercy endureth forever and that He is "mighty to save" all who come unto Him in His appointed way—through Christ. Thousands have been driven to insanity by thinking of eternal torment, not only for the heathen but for their unconverted friends; and yet there is not a word in the Scriptures to that effect. The Word of God, when it is properly understood, is all that is lovely, beautiful, grand and harmonious, and it speaks in no uncertain tones, as we have just seen, concerning "the restitution of all things." We have God's own Word for it; and hence IT MUST BE TRUE. 

In our next discourse we will consider how the curse of God upon all can justly give place to a blessing upon all, by what arrangement it is that God can be "just and [yet be] the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus." We will see how love and justice harmonize in the Divine dealings. 

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"Deep in unfathomable mines 

Of never-failing skill, 

He treasures up His bright designs, 

And works His sovereign will." 

DISCOURSE IV 

THE THREE discourses on the upper part of the chart treated the generalities of the top part of the chart, i.e., its Worlds and Ages. Let us now consider generalities on the lower part of the chart. Please notice on the chart the line marked N. (Point to it on the chart.) It stretches across the entire bottom of the chart. That line represents human perfection, either actual or reckoned. In the case of Adam and Jesus, who in the chart are represented on this line, their justification was actual as they came into existence on the human plane; but for the others on this chart resting on line N their justification previous to the Millennial Age is reckoned. So this line N represents both actual and reckoned justification. We might add that for the Millennial World (Point), resting upon that line actual justification (Point) is implied for the end of the Millennium, for the chart represents the world of mankind as a finished work at the end of the Millennium. 

It will be noticed that there are a number of pyramids on our chart. (Point to them.) Pyramids in the chart represent perfect beings either actual or reckoned when on the line N. (Point.) It will be noticed that in the beginning of this line under what is called the First Dispensation there is a pyramid; and this pyramid represents Adam in his perfect condition as he came from God—perfect in his physical, mental, moral, religious and artistic faculties. But, alas! Adam remained not long on that plane of human perfection, for shortly after his creation he fell into sin and involved his family by heredity in his fall; and thus the human race is represented in his imperfect human condition by the plane R and the imperfect pyramid marked b. (Point to the plane and to the imperfect pyramid.) In this imperfect pyramid Adam and the imperfect race before the flood are represented in their imperfect condition. 

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(Point again to the imperfect pyramid.) On that plane of imperfection Adam and his race (Point again to the imperfect pyramid) lived under an experience with evil. We need not go into the details of this experience of evil and why it is permitted, because it is discussed in detail in Chapter III of our book, "The Bible," where also are described twenty-one evil effects of the curse, all of which are represented in the imperfect pyramid marked b. (Point.) It will be noticed that between the first dispensation and the first Age of the second World are two vertical lines marked 1. (Point.) These two lines represent the flood through which the First Dispensation or "world that then was … perished" (2 Pet. 3:6). Please notice under D, (Point) indicative of the Patriarchal Age there is a perfect pyramid marked c. (Point.) This perfect pyramid represents father Abraham, not actually perfect, for he was like the rest of the race fallen, but reckonedly perfect, justified by faith in God and thus reckonedly lifted up from the plane R (Point), which is the plane of sin and death, to justification, which in Abraham's case was that of faith. (Point to this pyramid.) With Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were likewise by their faith on that same plane, and may be included in Abraham under the pyramid c, in the Patriarchal Age. (Point to pyramid c.) The Patriarchal Age ended at the death of Jacob, represented by line number 2 (Point), which separates the Jewish Age from the Patriarchal Age. During the Patriarchal Age God dealt with patriarchs, with one at a time, on the basis of justification by faith, but with nobody else at that time. (Point to Patriarchal Age.) First at the death of Jacob his descendants became a nation, for in connection with Jacob's death they are spoken of as the twelve tribes of Israel. Throughout the Jewish Age all that were justified by faith reckonedly stood on the plane N, i.e., of justification. It will be noticed that immediately under this plane in the Jewish Age is an imperfect pyramid marked e, (Point) resting on the

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plane P (Point), and below it is a larger imperfect pyramid marked d (Point), called, The World On The Depraved Plane, unjustified. The general world is more particularly represented in the pyramid d (Point), without God, without hope in the world, condemned to death and dying, each generation proceeding on under the curse into the death state. This imperfect pyramid d (Point), as well as the imperfect pyramid b (Point), represents the race in its depraved, dying condition, as well as in the death state. (Point to both imperfect pyramids b, d.) What is represented, one might ask, by the small pyramid marked e? (Point.) The answer to that question is: This imperfect pyramid represents the Jewish people as a nation typically justified; for it will be noticed that at the end of the plane P (Point.) on which e rests is a cross in a shadow. (Point.) This cross (Point) represents the sacrifices typical of the sacrifice of The Christ. It was in the faith of these sacrifices that Jews obtained typical justification; not an actual one, not even a reckoned one, though those who were on the plane N had that reckoned justification, but the people as a whole are represented by the imperfect pyramid e. (Point.) They were typically justified through their faith in the typical sacrifices as making atonement for them before God in a typical way; for we read that the "blood of bulls and goats" could actually make nothing perfect; so what the Jews as a whole had was not an actual or a reckoned justification, which is indicated by the plane N (Point), but a typical justification, indicated by plane P (Point), below plane N (Point), the shadowy feature marked f, on plane P, representing the time of trouble at the close of the Jewish Age. 

We now come to the end of the Jewish Age. It will be noted that at the top of the chart it is called a Harvest (Point), in connection with which are found the figures 3, 4, 5, 6. The Jewish Age ended with a harvest, as Jesus indicated, saying, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the

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Lord of the harvest that he would send forth laborers" (Luke 10:2). This harvest is indicated between the numbers 3 and 6. It was divided into several parts. 3 represents the time of Jesus' baptism, which began the Jewish Harvest, and 4 the time of His death. (Point in each case to these figures.) 5 represents the beginning of the call of the Gentiles, in the Fall of 36 A. D. And 6 represents the end of the Jewish Harvest, in 69 A. D. Coming back to plane N we notice first there is a perfect pyramid called g. (Point.) This represents our Lord as a perfect human being before His baptism and Spirit-begettal, while the cross within the period between the figures 3 and 5 represents our Lord's death three and a half years after His baptism and Spirit-begettal. 

We notice a plane higher up on the chart marked M, and on that is resting a perfect pyramid marked h. (Point.) This represents our Lord as a new creature during the three and a half years of His ministry from Jordan to Calvary. A little higher up in the chart on the plane marked L we see another pyramid marked i. (Point.) This represents our Lord resurrected from the dead on the Spirit Plane, the exact image of the Father's substance (Heb. 1:3, R. V.). Still higher up on the chart is a plane marked K and a pyramid that has glory light flowing out of it. This pyramid is marked k. (Point.) It represents our Lord's glorification in office, honor and work, to whom the ministry of the Gospel Age was committed at that time. It will be noted that there is a perfect pyramid with glory light shining from it on plane K marked l. (Point.) This represents our Lord in glory throughout the Gospel Age. Just below the planes K and L we see an imperfect pyramid divided into four sections, the top marked n. (Point.) Just below it is a part marked m (Point), resting on plane M. Below this part of the imperfect pyramid resting on plane M is a part marked p. (Point to it.) And below plane N is the lowest part of the imperfect pyramid marked q. (Point.) These

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four sections of this imperfect pyramid picture the four kinds of hearers of the Lord's Word referred to by Jesus in the parable of the sower that sowed on four different kinds of soil. The part marked n represents the Little Flock, who from a good and honest heart bring forth fruit unto perfection. The part of this imperfect pyramid below the part marked n (Point) represents the class that has not proved thoroughly faithful, who allowed the pursuit of wealth and popularity and the cares of life and its pleasures to divert them from full fidelity to their consecration vows, and this class we call (pointing to it) the Great Company, who as a class rest on the plane of Spirit-begetting M (Point) in this imperfect pyramid. The part of this pyramid marked p (Point) represents those who receive the Word with joy, but in time of persecution fall away. These are the faith-justified who believe for a while and are justified, hence are on plane N (Point); but by and by they fail to maintain their justification because they fail to proceed to consecration, indicated by the line M. (Point.) Below the plane N, indicated by the part of the imperfect pyramid marked q are those whose hearts are like those indicated by the hard road, from whose hearts the Devil takes away the seed of Truth, which they outwardly profess to accept. Individuals of these four classes (Point to each one of the four as indicated in the imperfect pyramid) have lived throughout the Gospel Age. 

We have already noted that the Jewish Age ended with a harvest of forty years, the various steps of which are marked by the figures 3, 4, 5 and 6. The 3 indicates the Fall of 29 A. D., when our Lord was Spirit-begotten and the Jewish-Age Harvest began. The 4 represents the time at which He died and was resurrected. The 5 represents the beginning of the call of the Gentiles; while the 6 indicates the time A. D. 69, when the Jewish Harvest ended. (Point in each case to these and the following figures.) 

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Corresponding with these days we have the Fall of 1874, indicated by the figure 7, when the Harvest of the Gospel Age began. By 8 is indicated the Spring of 1878. 9 represents the Fall of 1881, when the General call ceased. And 10 represents the period of the end of the reaping in 1914. We notice the letter s which represents the Little Flock in the Harvest, being separated from the Great Company, represented by t, and its gaining its resurrection is indicated by the pyramid r. The pyramid w represents the Christ, Head and Body, glorified. We notice in the shadowy part, under the pyramid w, an imperfect pyramid marked t. (Point in each case.) This represents the Great Company as separate and distinct from the Little Flock, a work that occurs in the Epiphany of the Harvest in the wider sense of that term. For it is in the Epiphany, the extreme end of the Age, that the Great Company is separated from the Little Flock, and is dealt with as such. The Epiphany is the same length as the reaping. 

Under the imperfect pyramid t we notice an imperfect pyramid u. (Point.) This imperfect pyramid represents the justified who in the Harvest period, in the wide sense of the word, lose their justification and fall from the plane of justification, as tares, manifested as mere worldlings; while under this pyramid is another imperfect pyramid marked v (Point), separated from the imperfect pyramid u by a break. This bottom part represents the hypocrites, mere professors of Christianity. The shadowy feature at the bottom of the Harvest period represents the Time of Trouble, which is mainly in the Epiphany. It is in this time that the Great Company is separate and distinct from those members of the Little Flock still in the flesh. And it will be in the trouble, the great time of wrath, beginning with World War, phase I, proceeding through World War, phase II, World revolution and World anarchy, when the present order of affairs will be entirely destroyed. This trouble period is represented in the shadowy part of the Harvest section of the chart 

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and below it. The reaping period and the manifestation period of the Harvest together lasts eighty years; and with it the present order of affairs as represented in present governments, religions and plundering aristocracy will go into utter ruin and never rise again as such; for the trouble is to burn all the symbolic tares represented by the imperfect pyramids u and v (Point) in the shaded part of the Harvest, by their burning as tares. Not a literal burning is meant of literal tares, but a reducing of these classes to what they actually are—worldlings, having no standing as symbolic wheat and being false professors of Christianity. 

At the end of the shaded part of the Harvest period, at the end of the great time of trouble, the Millennial Age begins; and in the Millennial Age we find a perfect pyramid, the bottom of which rests upon plane N. The top of the pyramid, represented by x (Point), pictures forth Jesus and the Church His Body in glory, administering to the Millennial Kingdom for the salvation of the non-elect, whom they will lift up to perfection as they obey them. Immediately under the pyramid x (Point) is an imperfect pyramid marked y (Point). This represents the Great Company, described in Rev. 7:9, 13-17, who will be servants of Christ and the Church, standing before the throne, from the standpoint of the Kingdom as nobles, ministering to Christ and the Church; from the standpoint of the temple, in which the Great Company will be spiritual, as Levites. Immediately under the imperfect pyramid y (Point) is the pyramid z (Point), representing Israel restored. The Millennial Israel will consist of the Ancient Worthies, who will be princes at that time; secondly, the Youthful Worthies, who will also be princes at that time, these two classes being in the earthly phase of the Kingdom. The Israel of that time will also include believing fleshly Israel. Thus by Israel restored we understand three classes to be meant: the Ancient Worthies, the Youthful Worthies and those fleshly Israelites who believe the Abrahamic

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promise and remain loyal to God. The unconsecrated faith-justified of the Gospel Age are also shown by z. Under the imperfect pyramid marked by the letter z is an imperfect pyramid marked W. (Point.) This part of the pyramid represents the World of Mankind in general, i.e., those who in this world were the unregenerate and also the reprobate Israelites who were unfaithful to the Covenant and therefore in the Millennial Age will be treated like Gentiles. It will be noted that the imperfect pyramid marked W rests upon the plane N (Point) and this represents the restored world of mankind brought to perfection through obeying Christ and the Church in the "highway of holiness." The whole non-elect world thus awaits a time of blessing with opportunities of being restored to human perfection, given by Christ and the Church. These are the ones whom Adam plunged into the ruin and who by Christ's sacrifice will be given opportunity on condition of obedience to attain perfect humanity, which was lost to them by father Adam. Thus the first Adam and first Eve generated the race in sin and death; and the second Adam and second Eve will regenerate the race in righteousness and life. 

At the end of the Millennium we have a shadow called the Second Death. (Point.) At the end of the Millennium just before that shadow we read the words: Incorrigible Destroyed; for those who will not obey Christ and the Church as They offer them life on condition of obedience will go into the Second Death. Some of these will be destroyed in the Second Death at the end of 100 years trial, and they being incorrigible will perish forever, as we read in Is. 65:20; while those who will not obey in the final trial, when Satan is loosed at the end of the Age (Rev. 20:1-3), will be destroyed in the Second Death, at the end of the Millennium. These are the "goat class" that go into everlasting destruction. Following the Millennial Age will be "Ages to Come," marked on our chart by H (Point). How many of those Ages there will be 

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is not revealed to us; but this much we know of them, that sinlessness will then prevail, and that Christ and His agents will bring new orders of beings into existence and will by their help enable them to conform to God's law of love, which will insure a clean universe forever; for we are to remember that the whole universe is the property of God, to which He has made Jesus His heir and the Church Jesus' joint-heir. And the Ages to come, following the Millennium, will by Christ and the Church be used to develop their inheritance to perfection, filled with perfect beings, forever rendering praise and glory to God and Christ. Thus God will emerge as complete Victor, having won His battle with evil, having created beings for various planes of being of the elect and non-elect and having introduced them into Ages to come as perfect beings. In those Ages to come Christ and the Church will continue to develop Their inheritance and bring perfect beings into existence in their everlasting harmony with the law of God; for the last expression of sin will occur in the Little Season, at the end of the Millennium. From then on there will be no more sin. 

It will be noticed that at the end of our chart the Tabernacle is presented in our picture (Point). The Court represents the condition of the justified believer, resting as it does upon the plane N of human perfection. The brazen altar u (Point) represents Christ and the Church in Their sacrificing Their humanity as viewed by the justified sacrificers. v, the laver, represents the Bible, particularly in its cleansing office. The Holy is noticed to be even with the plane of Spirit-begettal, i.e., plane M (Point) and here we find three articles in the Holy of the Tabernacle. x stands by the candlestick (Point), which represents the Church in its office of enlightening the brethren. y stands by the table of shewbread (Point), which represents the Church in feeding the brethren with the bread of life for their journey to the Kingdom. z by the Golden Altar (Point) represents Christ and the Church as 

Its Generalities. 

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viewed from God's standpoint, comforting and encouraging God's servants, reproving them and supporting them as They hold up Bible passages to them on the golden altar; while the incense, whose burning coals represent the fiery trials of the Christ class, represents the graces that ascend unto God from the sacrificial sufferers of the Christ class, as prayers to God. Even with the plane L (Point) is the entrance to the Most Holy. Its second vail represents the death of the humanity of the Christ class and this Most Holy represents Their condition as Divine beings in glory, ministering before God. The chest part of the ark represents in its lower part (Point) Christ and the Church. Its containing heavenly Manna represents immortality; the rod that budded represents the Divine fruitfulness of the elect Priesthood, and the tables of the law represent their harmony with the law in all particulars. The golden slab that covered the chest part of the ark, i.e., its lid, the mercy seat, represents God in His attribute of justice. The two cherubim represent God in His attributes of love and power; while the glory light shining out from above the ark represents God as the light of the universe shining out in wisdom. The Tabernacle teaches the same as the chart.