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THE KING’S BUSINESS
ing His own second advent in power and glory, and the setting up of “the throne of « His glory” when the kingdom of the prophets will have its fulfillment. These predictions are accompanied by exhortations to diligence during the interval between the two advents, and to constant watchfulness for His return. It should be noted that, since He has al ready (Matt, xiii and parallels) foretold the mixed condition which is the mystery form of the kingdom, these exhortations and pre dictions concerning the second advent in glory have constantly in mind not- only the real 'children of the kingdom, but also the hypocrites and deceived professors who assume the place of “servants;” e.g., the foolish virgins, and the wicked and slothful servant of Matt. xxv. Matt. xvii:l-8; xx:l-16; xxii:l-14; xxiii : 37-39; xxiv:l-51; xxv:l-46; Luke xix: 11-27, etc. III. The church appears in Matthew, one of the synoptists, as a prophecy. Matt, xvi: 13-18; xviii:15-17. It will be observed that our Lord here speaks clearly of the church as yet future, “I will build.” The place of this prophecy and its extreme brevity are also most sig nificant. Our Lord has already announced the mysteries of the kingdom, and now in Matt, xvi :13-18, He utters this supplement ary prophecy. But this is all. What the church is to be, when He will begin to build it, of whom it will be composed, and what its relationships —to Himself, to the king dom, whether in mystery or glory, none of these things are told out. To Paul was given the revelation of the mystery of the church. Eph: iii:1-10; i:19-23; v:25-32; Col. i:18, 24; 1 Cor. xii:12, 13. It is therefore simple folly to look to the Gospels for church truth. Just as the dis pensation of law was introduced and fol lowed by the revelation of a great body of truth suited to define the position of a people under law, and to instruct them in duty, so the introduction of the dispensation of grace was.,accompanied by an unprecedented effusion of the Holy Spirit who began the
to bear rule over all nations. All this was amply in the prophets and in the Psalms, and every Jew knew it. 2 Sam. vii:14-17; xxiii :5 ; Psalm lxxxix :3, 4, 20-27, 34-36; cxxxii:ll; Isaiah vii:13, 14; ix:6, 7; xi:l, 10; Ezek. xxxvii:21-25; Hosea iii:4, 5; Matt, ii:l-6; Luke i:31-33; Matt, iii:2; iv:17; x:5-7; Luke x:l-9. 2. In its mysteries. It soon became evident that the Jews would not receive their king “meek and lowly” (Zech. ix:9; Matt. xxi:l-5), and the careful reader of the synoptic Gospels per ceives. that, foreseeing the final and official rejection, our Lord began to prepare His disciples for the postponement of the king dom in its glorious form as predicted by the prophets, and then to instruct them as to certain “mysteries”—phases of the kingdom not previously revealed (Matt, xiii :17)— which should fill the interval between the rejection of the kingdom when preached as “at hand,” and its final setting up according to the predictions of the prophets. Matt. xi:16-24; xii:l4, 38-45; Luke xix:ll-13; Matt, xiii :l-50, and parallel passages in Mark and Luke. These “mysteries of the kingdom” reveal the fact that the interval between the sow ing of Matt, xiii :37, and the harvest of xiii :39 (read “the harvest is the end of the age” —not “world”), is filled with the kind of kingdom of which the prophets give no hint—a mingled mass of men, some of whom are true children of the kingdom, but others, though nominally such, in reality children of the wicked one. “Christendom,” in other words, made up of many millions of adher ents of the Greek'church, many more mil lions of adherents of the Roman church, other millions in other state churches, and a few millions of nominal, and still fewer of real, evangelical Christians—among all these, tfie real children of the kingdom. This, be it remembered, is not at all a picture of the church, but of the kingdom in mystery form. 3. In (prophetically) its future glory. . •Toward the close of our synoptic Gospels our Lord utters many"prophecies concern
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