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Wh i l e the Limi ted Supp l y Lasts One of the greatest plans ever conceived for studying the Bible was worked out by Dr. E. S. Young, gained from his years of experience as a Bible teacher. As a result of his life’s work, Dr. Young left several masterpieces of Bible training, seven of which are illustrated in the photograph below. An eighth book, “ Bible Geography,” recently has been reprinted by the Bible Institute of Los Angeles as a correspondence course, and is now offered at $2.50. Dr. Young’s three introductory books, “The Bible Outline,” “ The Old Testament History,” and “ The New Testament History,” form an unsur passed preliminary to any system of Bible study. They supply a back ground for Sunday-school classes using the International Lessons or other compilations not easily procurable elsewhere. Said D. W. Kurtz, President of McPherson College, McPherson, Kans., of these preliminary books: “ I do not know of any method of Bible study that is better adapted to lead one easily, quickly, and properly to the under standing of the Scriptures. One can use them without a teacher with fascination and profit.” Course in Church Epi st les Following the introductory books, Dr. Young prepared intensive studies of great church Epistles: Romans (two volumes), Ephesians, and Thessa- lonians. Of this series he wrote:
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“ W e now in a humble way present to our students these textbooks: Romans as the first book, showing that all men have sinned and only by faith in Jesus Christ can they be justified; Ephesians, the second book, which admits the student into an advanced class of the School of Grace, so that through faith in ^Christ he becomes sanctified, dwelling with Christ in the Heavenlies, and realizes what it is to be a member of the Body of Christ; Thessalonians, the third book, written to the members of a model church who found Christ through the teaching of Romans, dwelt in a state of sanctification through the teaching of Ephesians, and were to receive instruction for glorification through faith in Jesus Christ.” Thus it will be seen that the whole series is especially well adapted for Bible classes, students, and churches that teach the fundamental and premillennial doctrines, including of course practically all readers of The King’s Business.
“ THE BIBLE OUTLINE” 5 parts, 23 chapters. Ar ranged for class and home study. 118 pages, c l o t h bound. Includes many charts, maps and illustrations.
“ ROMANS” VOL. 1 Justification by F a i t h in Christ. 2 parts, 6 chapters. 179 pages, cloth bound. Im portant detailed notes on Romans. Arranged for class and home use. “ ROMANS” VOL. 2 Justification by Faith in Christ. 6 parts, 18 chapters, 166 pages, cloth bound. Ar ranged for class or home study. “ EPHESIANS”— 2 PARTS S a n c t i f i c a t i o n by Faith in C h rist. 10 ch a p te rs, 181 pages, cloth bound. Arranged for class or home study. “THESSALONIANS”— TWO EPISTLES 8 chapters, 161 pages, cloth bound. Arranged for class or home study.
“ THE OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY”
6 parts, 17 chapters. Many illustrations. 122 p a g e s , cloth bound. Arranged for class and home study.
“ THE NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY”
4 parts, 17 chapters. Many illustrations and maps. 128 pages, c l o t h bound. Ar ranged for class study.
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April, 1933
“I Must Help the Jews!”
S h e S i t u e T a m î ï y T i a g ^ i n e
“Everything I have seems going or gone— yet I Must Help the Jews.” Thus wrote a child of God whose soul had been stirred to its depths because of the tragic con dition of the Jews throughout the world. ” 1 Must Help the Jews!” Dear child of God, they are still God’s people, beloved for the fathers* sakes; and because you have been born again, you love what He loves; and you know that He still loves Israel with an everlasting love. “ I Must Help the Jews!” Driven like cattle through the fields and forests of Europe; tortured, har assed, brutally beaten, Jewish girls mutilated by hordes of savage Arabs, the borderlands of Germany teeming with thousands of Jewish refugees who have stumbled their way through the bloody attacks of Nazi hate, to the emergency shel ters of Switzerland, Poland, Hol land, France——what a Christianity for the Jews to gaze upon! “ I Must Help the Jews!” In the face of such a crisis, may God help His true Church to awake! May we who are truly His fill to the full our measure of duty in behalf of a people now facing the spectacle of a world civilization organizing in solid mass for the greatest outburst of Jew-hate the world has ever known! Dear Reader, will you say “ I, Too, Must Help the Jews” ? Help us to tell them “ These things you have suffered are not things which Christians do !** This is an S.O.S. It is Israel’s eleventh hour. So swiftly does the world cataclysm move, this may be the last call before the trumpet blows, and you will be face to face with a Christ who may look into your eyes and ask, “What have you done for these, my brethren?” Matt. 25:40. AMERICAN BOARD OP MISSIONS TO THE JEWS, INC. 31 Throop Avenue Brooklyn, N . Y . I do want to help the Jews. Here is $ ................................ Use it as God directs, to make known the saving: power of the Lord Jesus Christ to Israel.
M otto: “ Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood." —R ev . 1 :5.
Volume X X IX
April, 1938
Number 4
TABLE OF CONTENTS ♦ Around the King’s Table— Paul W . R o o d ..................................... 138 What Is the Resurrection?— William Olney . ..............................139 The Appeal of the Cross — Captain Reginald Wallis . . . . 140 The Resurrection of Israel— Louis S. Bauman . . . . . 142 Glory Today for Conquest Tomorrow (Part 2 )— Robert G. Lee 144 World’s Christian Fundamentals Association .............................................146 At “ Spreading Light Mountain”— Frank A. Keller . . . . 147 Song at Twilight— Paul Hu tchens ........................................................... 148 Junior King’s Business— Martha S. H o o k e r .............................................149 International Lesson Commentary........................................................... 151 Biola Students Earn $82,747 of Their Expenses Yearly . . . 159 Christian Endeavor Notes— Mary G. Goodner . . . . . 166 Daily Devotional Readings . . ............................................. . 172 Girls’ Query Corner— Myrtle E. S c o t t ....................................................180 Evangelistic N o t i c e s ................................................................... . 1 8 0 The Bible Institute Family Circle . . ......................................182 Our Literature T a b l e ..................................................................................183
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A round the King's Tab le
By PAUL W. ROOD
The Resurrection Ministry of Christ
kingdom as this ultimately would be set up, as some men tell us they were, why did not the Lord Jesus correct their misapprehen sion? The very fact that He did not tell them they were wrong in their expectancy is an argument for the correctness of their conception of a literal kingdom with Christ as the world ruler. Moreover, we are not shut up to this argument for our belief in the coming kingdom, for there are numer ous other statements from Holy W rit that could be presented as corroborative proof. Christ also taught the disciples that their work in this world was the ministry of witnessing. He declared plainly: “ Ye shall be witnesses unto me” (v. 8). A witness is one who tells what he has seen and heard. A Christian is one who has had a vision of Christ as the “ Lamb of God” and as the “ author and finisher of our faith,” and who has heard the voice of the Lord saying, “ Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” Consequently, having heard and responded and partaken of salvation personally, he is competent to serve as a witness, and is able to tell others of this wonderful Saviour who can save and satisfy. Every Christian is called to be a witness, and we are to witness in every place. The world would be evangelized quickly, if all Christians would recognize their responsi bility to represent Christ, and would tell others about Him. He who is a witness must have a vision of the field, and must recognize that he is a world missionary. His body may be in “Jerusalem,” and he must witness there by word of mouth, but through his pen, purse, and prayer, he must go unto “ the uttermost part of the earth” (v. 8). In order that he may be an effective wit ness, the Christian must be empowered by the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus said: “ Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.” These words were among the last words spoken by Christ before He left this world, and that fact should indicate their great im portance. The resurrected Christ wanted empowered witnesses— and He still seeks for them. The spiritual conflict is diffi cult, the opposition is powerful, and the resistance and inertia of men are impos sible to overcome with human strength. Therefore, we need and must have the power of the Holy Ghost. The living Christ is ready to equip us to be soul-win ners if we will recognize His Lordship and surrender our lives to His control. Thereby the resurrection ministry of Christ will continue through our yielded per sonalities.
Jenny Lind’s Conversion . While conducting a union campaign in Brooklyn, N. Y., recently, the writer was reminded of the conversion of the world- renowned Swedish opera singer of the last century, Jenny Lind. The recalling of the facts surrounding the conversion of this sweet singer brought spiritual refreshing to him and to others, and are set forth here in order to extend the range of their use fulness. The witness who was used of the Lord to win Jenny Lind for Christ was the founder of Swedish Methodism in Amer ica, Pastor Olaf Hedstrom. He carried on an active soul-winning campaign among the Scandinavians in New York. His work was centered in a boat called “ Bethel,” where services were conducted and where personal work was done every day. No visitor ever came to Pastor Hedstrom’s office without being questioned about his personal relationship to the Lord. This Bible- taught servant of Christ believed that the natural man was lost and on his way to hell. He believed that every human be ing needed salvation and must come to Christ and accept Him as a personal Saviour in order to get to heaven. The atoning death of Christ was to him the only hope of lost man. Hedstrom had been profoundly stirred by his vision of Christ on the cross and by his God-given vision of the lost condition of the human race. Therefore he dealt conscientiously and earnestly with every one that crossed his path. Jenny Lind came to New York in 1851, at the height of her fame and influence in the musical world. During this .visit she attended a service on the ship “Bethel” and heard Pastor Hedstrom preach. At the conclusion of the service, she went into the pastor’s study where this man of God talked with her faithfully about her need of sal-i vation. Soon they were kneeling, and Jenny Lind wept and called on the name of the Lord and was gloriously saved. It is recorded that Hedstrom in his prayer had called on the Lord to save her from the wrath to come. Clearly, he did not mince matters in dealing with her, but pro claimed the very truth of God without wavering. Pastor Hedstrom received several letters from Jenny Lind in which she expressed her appreciation for the spiritual help he had given her, and assured him that she would never appear in the theater again. Jenny Lind’s decision to leave the operatic stage created a sensation, and much bitter ness was expressed against religion and
“ T o whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speak ing of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). • The ministry of Christ during the forty days between His resurrection and ascen sion is a theme that has not received the attention it deserves on the part of Bible students. In this body of truth there is a field for some one who wishes to write his doctor’s thesis on a subject that has not been adequately treated as yet. If this suggestion will stimulate some one to un dertake this inspiring task, this editorial would not have been written in vain. But of even greater importance, so far as the individual reader is concerned, is the deep ening of his own spiritual life, following a study of this neglected field. Christ rosç from the dead and revealed Himself to His disciples. Those who saw Him were so greatly impressed that their lives were revolutionized by this fellow ship with the risen Lord. Men who had been cowardly and afraid became bold, even to the point of being willing to suffer martyrdom for Christ. The resurrection was the dominant theme in their preaching. So stirring was their ministry that their enemies accused them of turning the world “ upside .down.” “ The kingdom of God” was the theme of Christ’s ministry during the forty days of post-resurrection teaching. During that period, undoubtedly He expounded the Old Testament, as He did to the Emmaus dis ciples of whose walk with Him we read: “ And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning him self” (Lk. 24:27). “The kingdom of God” is an inclusive term. It embraces all that God rules. It is mentioned in the Bible in various aspects. One aspect will be in view in the millennium, the period of one thou sand years in which Christ shall reign in righteousness on the earth. This glorious time is prophesied and described in the Old Testament. The disciples were looking forward to this earthly reign of Christ. Therefore they asked the question: “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). It is significant that our Lord did not seek to change their con ception of this kingdom. They looked for an earthly kingdom, and Christ allowed them to retain that expectancy. If they were mistaken in believing that such a
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it may become a solemn duty to inform the church, but we now are talking about only the criticism which has its basis in jealousy. God help us to be Christian in our liv ing as well as in our doctrine I Funda mentalists must appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Our motives, words, and deeds are going to be judged. Charles G. Trumbull, who is an ardent fundamental ist and premillenarian, has noted the correspondence between fundamentalism and faith, between premillenarianism and hope, and has paraphrased 1 Corinthians 13:13 as follows: “ And now abideth Fundamentalism, Premillenarianism, Love, these three; but the greatest of these is Love.” Selah: “think of that” ! Let us be ethical in all of our relationships. The resurrection is a fundamental fact of the gospel. Its value was seen by the early church and manifested in their elec tion of Matthias to be “ a witness with us of his resurrection” that the company of twelve witnesses might be complete. The Acts of the Apostles teems with references to Christ’s resurrection. Again and again the fact of Christ’s rising from the tomb is linked with His redeeming and atoning work. Romans 1:4 sums up all previous references: “ Declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holi ness, by the resurrection from the dead.” The resurrection is the basis of Christian hope. Paul puts the truth plainly in 1 Corinthians 15:14: “ If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.” It is the pledge of victory for the believer: “ If we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more . . . Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God” (Rom. 6:8-11). Again, since the Head is risen, His body — the church—will rise also. A t that day, in the body of each believer, what a change will have been wrought! “ Sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption: . . . It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body . . . And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly” (1 Cor. 15:42-49). The realization of all this glorious truth robs death of its sting. No wonder our grandfathers sang, as they carried their believing dead to their sepulchres: Why should we tremble to convey Their bodies to the tomb? There the dear flesh of Jesus lay And left a rich perfume. The graves of all His saints He blest And sweetened every bed: Where should the dying members rest But with their dying Head? What Is the Resurrection? By W ILL IAM OLNEY
Pastor Hedstrom. She kept her promise to the Lord, and from the day of her con version she never appeared in opera and only sang at concerts for philanthropic pur poses. Some years later, a visitor found Jenny Lind reading her Bible. “Why did you leave the stage?” asked the visitor. Looking toward a beautiful sunset, the singer said simply, “ Because it blinded my eyes to that.” And looking down at her open Bible, she added, “ And because it blinded my eyes to this.” She was comprehending more fully a statement she had made at the time of her conversion: “ There is no peace in created things. They cannot give happiness but only increase my anxiety. There is no peace, O God, until my soul finds peace in Thee.” Soul out of Christ, there is no peace and no true joy apart from Christ. Honor and wealth cannot satisfy the thirst of the soul. “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.” Only Christ can satisfy and bestow peace that passeth understanding and give joy unspeakable and full of glory. Come to Christ just as Jenny Lind did. Accept Him as your personal Saviour, and He will forgive your sins, cleanse your heart, save your soul, and give you eternal life. Hear His wonderful assurance: “ Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24). Doctrine and Ethics There are many teachers in our day who proclaim the ethics of Christianity without presenting its dynamic. They tell us many things that are true and many things that need to be emphasized, and yet their mes sage is powerless to change lives. They forget, ignore, or deny that man is a fallen being with a depraved nature that hinders him from doing the good things he should do, a sinful nature that impels him to do the evil things that he should not do. Be cause he is in this condition, man must be regenerated and be made a partaker of the divine nature and thereby become a new creation. When the Word of God is preached in power, the Holy Spirit convicts man of his lost and undone state and creates a long ing in his heart for deliverance from the guilt and power of sin. When the thus awakened sinner turns in repentance and faith to Christ, who shed His blood for our sins, the Holy Spirit through the Word re generates the sinner—gives him a new birth. That soul thereby passes from death to life and receives eternal life. The Holy Spirit now indwells the be liever and enables him to have victory over sinful inclinations. However, the saved soul finds that there is still a downward pull in his nature, and he learns that he can have victory only as he surrenders his whole being to the Lord, exercising faith in the omnipotent Christ moment by moment. Through the initial act of surrender, the Holy Spirit takes control of the life, and
By Ransom D. Marvin
"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world" (Gal. 6:14). then in response to faith He enables and empowers the Christian for holy living. As the believer feeds upon the Word and en gages in prayer, the Holy Spirit works within, causing him both “to will and to do” that which is well-pleasing to God. T o present an ethic without the dynamic is to lure with an ideal impossible of at tainment. The preacher who is truly a gosfel preacher reveals the provision of God’s grace for forgiveness, restoration, impartation, and victory. Consequently, all gospel preaching has a doctrinal basis, and it is obvious that we cannot divorce doc trine from life. Without the atoning death of Christ—His death for sinners— there could be no spiritual life for men. The atonement would not be efficacious unless Christ rose from the dead; and therefore, in order to be saved, the sinner must be lieve that Christ died and rose again (cf. Rom. 10:9, 10). Every evangelical Christian will recog nize the truth of the foregoing statements as to the necessity for doctrine and for the acceptance of the basic facts of Christ’s death and resurrection and their meaning. W e find, however, that there are men who hold the fundamentals of the faith and are ready to fight for them, but who are not ethical in their relationships. They will slander their brethren who cannot see eye to eye with them in every detail. Some times this slander has its basis not in dis agreement over doctrinal details but in jealousy. For example, a preacher is about to be called to a church. Another preacher de sires this pastorate and determines to hin der his brother from being called. He may dea-T in innuendos or may only raise his eyebrows or shrug his shoulders. He raises question marks in the minds of those in volved. Of course, if the brother in ques tion is disqualified doctrinally or otherwise,
Hence He arose, ascending high, And showed our feet the way; Up to the Lord our steps shall fly At the great advent' day.
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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
T h e Appeal o f the C ro ss
By CAPTA IN REG INALD W ALL IS * Weymouth, England
I T IS said that during the Great War an announcement came through on one o f the news dispatches that the British armies operating in Palestine had captured Jerusalem at last. A Christian man com ments on the news account that before the Turks evacuated the holy city, they hastened to the famous tomb of Jesus and “ robbed it of all its treasures.” “When I read this remarkable dispatch,” he remarks, “ I smiled out loud, for I knew better. The real treasures of that broken tomb are secure. They can never be carried off or lost.” It is the unique fact of Calvary which elevates Christianity above all religions. The evangel of the Lord Jesus Christ is not a religion. T o speak of the “ Christian religion” is a paradox. Christianity is as high above “ religion” as the heavens are high above the earth. The doctrine of the cross is a revela tion. It is the central fact in the message and counsels of God. Some one remarked to Talleyrand on on; occasion that he had come to found a new religion. “ Then there is one thing that you must do,” the states man replied. “What is that?” “ You must allow yourself to be crucified, and you must rise again.” The cross is the dynamic of the gospel. Wherever this message of life penetrates, whether in lands of civilization or in darkest heathendom, its mighty appeal is unchang ing. Above the din of human voices, amid the legion of those human appeals which present themselves to men today in the name of “ Christianity,” there may ever be heard the “ still small voice” of the Son of God. When this voice is heard, the dead awaken to life. The gospel message constrains men of all nations and climes and peoples and tongues to visit that “ green hill far away.” Around this sacred spot outside the city wall, multitudes have clustered with bowed heads and unshod feet, thereafter to dis cover for themselves a wondrous appeal and a transforming power which are unique. A Life Unlike All Others What is the explanation of this phe nomenon? One day a star appeared in the * Formerly General Secretary, City of Dublin Y.M.C.A., Ireland.
“The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” (John 18:11). His spirit is torn. “ If it be possible, let this cup pass from me” (Matt. 26:39); then there is the triumphal emerging—“ Nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done” (Lk. 22:42). He is betrayed by a friend. He is wrongly arrested. He faces accusers for whom He has nothing in his heart but love. He is un justly condemned. False accusers are bribed to give evidence against Him because He “made himself the Son of God.” A Death Unlike All Others He is cruelly nailed to a Roman gibbet. He suffers untold agonies of spirit, soul, and body. He descends to the awful depths of Calvary. He cries, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (M att- 27:46). Martyrs could call upon their God in the day of their deepest need, but to this Man, the sky is dark, and the heavens are as brass. He suffers the indignities of the taunting crowd. They spit in His face. He becomes the victim of the relentless fury of a maddened mob of bullies. In due time He cries “ with a loud voice,” bows His head, and gives up the ghost. Refusing the aid of a legion of heavenly angels who eagerly would have come to His help, He deliberately and voluntarily lays dovm His life. A t that moment, something so terrific transpires that Calvary henceforth becomes the pivot of human history. It is so dynamic that it sways a universe. It gives rise to a riotous commotion in the unseen world. The religious world also feels the impact. “ The veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.” The earth is shaken to its very foundations. Physical routine is disorganized. The very sun in the heavens withdraws its glory and hides away in shame. Midday is turned into midnight. The forces of hell are up in arms. For the hierarchy of evil, this has been a fatal blow. Something so vital has happened that a universe is captured, and a whole world turns to see the amazing spectacle. A lonely Man is crucified upon the central of three crosses. Down through the rolling ages of two millenniums, multitudes of all classes have listened to the appeal of the cross. “ Ten
world’s dark night. It was the herald of a tremendous miracle. In humble surround ings, with a manger for His bed, a Babe had been born of a Virgin in Bethlehem. No sooner was the fact announced than occasion was given for intense antagonism on the part of an earthly king. W e read that Herod “ was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” His hatred found practical ex pression in a cruel and uninquiring massacre of innocent children with a view to dispos ing of the heavenly Child. The purpose for which this Holy One came into the world must be realized, however, and the Babe is therefore miraculously preserved from death. In His boyhood He is found in the temple engaged in ecclesiastical discussions with the religious leaders of the day. He confounds their wisdom. From boyhood He passes into young man hood, never failing to give convincing expressions of His sinless nature and of the fact that He has come forth from God. The details of His life until the age of thirty are meager. A t this point, however, He emerges from His seclusion and enters upon a public ministry for three and one-half years. In His Jordan baptism Christ gives a public consent to the great purpose for which He came into the world. This was not to live, but to die. But He must live in a human body in order to be crucified. Dur ing His ministry He makes the most staggering claims. He utters stupendous pro nouncements. He performs amazing miracles. In addition to many marks of omnipotence, He demonstrates His omniscience with equal conviction by penetrating into the hearts of men. He looks through the superficial and exposes their inner thoughts and motives. With unsparing scorn, He withers the un reality and hypocrisy of the Pharisees. He is at once the most devoutly loved and the most bitterly hated of all the sons of men. Such a One as this had never before trodden the soil of earth. “ Never man spake like this man.” He constantly refers to His coming decease. He “must be lifted up.” Then follows the story of the lonely Sufferer of Gethsemane. He sweats “ as it were great drops of blood” as He contemplates the implications of the sin question. Single- handed He encounters the powers of hell.
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teachers, leaders of classes, personal workers, distributors of tracts, radio messengers, hear this appeal afresh! Preach the cross. Exalt the blood. Their appeal is powerfully unique. This is true preaching. Real suc cess, whether you see the results or not, will follow. The appeal of the cross is never in vain. In the city of Glasgow, Scotland, a police man heard somebody weeping. He stopped, and discovered a four-year-old child sitting weary and tear-stained, on a doorstep. The boy was lost. When asked, he could not remember the name of the street where he lived. The kindly policeman named a number of well-known streets and hotels with no success. He was almost in despair when he suddenly remembered that in the heart of the city is what is known as “ The Cross.” “Well, my boy,” he said, “ do you know where ‘the Cross’ is?” Instantly the child’s face brightened. “ Yes, sir,” he said. “Take me to ‘the Cross,’ and I will find my way home.” Yes, that is the cry, unexpressed in words though it may be, but ever the deepest ex pression of human need emanating from souls who grope their way through the inky gloom in the hope of finding satisfaction of heart. Witnessing in the World That Crucified Him Thirdly, it is an appeal to the saved sinner. The Apostle Paul expressed this [ Continued on Page 178]
The story is told of three needy people who went to a church to find spiritual help. The first was a business man who had failed and was contemplating suicide. The second was a young man of wild habits and extravagant tastes who found his wages in sufficient and had planned to steal money from his employer. The third was a young woman of gay life who had been tempted from the pathway of virtue. The service began. The choir arose and sang a beautiful anthem about the building of the walls of Zion. The minister, after leading eloquently in prayer, delivered a well-thought-out sermon on the subject, “ Is Mars Inhabited?” Are we surprised that the hungry got no bread, and the needy found no help? How they probably would have leaped in response to the appeal of the cross! Instead, they all went their way with their deepest needs unmet. It is said that the man committed suicide, the boy finished up in a penitentiary, and the young woman went back to a life of sin and shame. Thank God the old message of the cross is not yet worn-out or threadbare! It is the only panacea for a world’s ills. It is an appeal that ever wends its way, by the power of the Holy Spirit, into hearts that are burdened with sin and crushed by the tempter. The Moravians sent some missionaries to Greenland. Finding the natives totally ignorant of the meaning of sin, guilt, right eousness, and justification, etc., they thought it well to begin by giving them some educa tion. The effort was so futile, however, and the result so discouraging, that they deter mined to quit. While waiting for a vessel, one of the missionaries thought he would test the accuracy of his translation of a portion of the gospel by reading to the natives. The words presented the appeal of the cross. After he had read of the suffer ings and death of the Lord Jesus, there was a strange silence. At length, the chief rose and said, “Read it again.” When the missionary had finished the second reading, the chief said, “What you read, is it true? You say it is true; then why did you not tell us at first? Now we know. You must not go. W e will listen to the words of the Man who suffered so much for us.” Yes, that is it. The message of the cross had again triumphed. Little wonder that Paul said: “ I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). Preachers,
thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,” hearing its message and re sponding to its call, have come to that blood- drenched, tear-soaked spot. With penitence of heart, and conscious of a need which has never been met elsewhere, they take one look at that cross. They gaze at the God-Man dying in shame and ignominy. But they look again, and lo, the cross is empty! The Holy Spirit works a miracle in their hearts, and a revolutionary trans action is effected in human lives. They con tinue their way along life’s pathway with faces aglow, hearts captured, lives trans formed ! They can never, never be the same again 1 The Incomparable Appeal of the Cross — Its Basis What is the explanation of this fact? T o those who refuse to believe, the whole thing is “ foolishness.” But to faith, this message is “the power of God unto salvation.” It is this appeal of the cross which makes the Christian message incomparable with all else. The cross is an eternal fact. Calvary must ever be central in God’s purposes with men. While “ religion” may make its appeal to the mind and to the emotions, and may result in pretty theofies or fanatical ex travagances, the appeal of the cross gets under the skin and reaches the inner shrine of the spirit. Here is an evangel which is so penetrating that it solves heart problems. It leads men to the place where they discover the , true significance of life, and find a solution for every problem which concerns their present lives and their eternal destiny. The appeal of the cross is threefold. First, it is an appeal to the justice of God. “ Upon what are you depending for your soul’s salvation?” an old Christian woman once was asked. “ Upon the justice of God,” she replied. That was good theology. The appeal of the cross finds its fundamental significance in the glorious eternal fact of propitiation for sin. All the claims of a righteous God have been fully satisfied through the aton ing blood of Calvary. There are two places, and two only, where sin must be dealt with finally and fully. The first is Calvary. The second is the Great White Throne. The first is the place of salvation. The second is the place of condemnation for all who reject the Christ of Calvary. Simple faith in Christ crucified and risen, and an honest acknowl edgment of His Lordship in the heart, en ables the believing sinner to sing: “ Payment God will not twice demand— First at my bleeding Surety’s hand, And then again at mine.” Meeting Universal Human Need Secondly, it is an appeal to the deepest need of the human heart. It is the gospel preacher’s great joy and confidence to real ize that he has been intrusted with a miracle- working message. Men may “ depart from the faith” ; “ seducing spirits, and doctrines of demons” may attack Christendom; the pulpit may be captured for anything and everything but its real message; yet it was never truer that where the appeal of the cross is presented in the power of the Holy Ghost, there may be found hungry hearts and eager spirits.
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of Israel By LOU IS S. B A UM A N * Long Beach, California
• Increased unity appears in Palestine as tens of thou sands of refugees from Germany and other Central and Eastern European lands throw their energies into the de velopment of "the land" as the great Jewish National Home. Guiding the machine above is a young German Jewish refugee, who with other youths between the ages of fifteen and seventeen has been receiving agricultural training to fit him to share in the work of Palestine's farms. The marching band of sailors pictured are students in a Jewish Nautical School where they have been learn ing to become expert seamen in preparation1for a Jewish merchant marine that will come from Palestine in the near future. Photographs on these two pages are used through the courtesy of the United Palestine Appeal, and are copyrighted.
and made immortal. And, as Easter approaches, believers will stand once again beside that empty tomb and rejoice greatly in the hope that it brings. “ For
of them be, but life from the dead?" (v. 15). “Life from the dead”— that is resurrec tion! So, when “ the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (v. 25), the resurrection of “the house of Jacob” will take place; “ and so all Israel shall be saved” (v. 26). Ezekiel's Vision of the Resurrection of Jacob's "Hou se " But this revelation to Paul was no new revelation. A marvelous vision of this event was afforded the prophet Ezekiel (chapter 37). The prophet was led by the Holy Spirit into “ the midst of the valley which was full of bones” (v. 1). The bones were “very dry” (v. 2), that is, utterly lifeless— long dead. Let him now tell the story: “ So I prophesied as I was com manded : and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord G od ; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army” (Ezek. 37:7-10). What was the meaning of this strange vision? Let the Lord God of heaven, who alone doeth wondrous things, give ahswer: “Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of
T WO “ resurrections” set forth in the Scriptures have an intimate connec tion that is sometimes overlooked. W e refer to the “ house” of God that was builded in the womb of Mary, and the “ house of God” that was builded in the wombs of Leah, Rachel, Bilhah and Zilpah. W e use the word “ house” in the sense in which the Spirit of God used it as He moved holy men o f old. The body which was formed in, and came forth from the womb of the virgin, housed “ Immanuel”— “W on derful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isa. 7:14; 9:6). The Lord Himself referred to that body as a “ temple” (John 2:19-21), and in Jesus Christ “ dwelleth all the fulness o f the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9). In many places in the revelation of God, the body is set forth as a “ temple,” a “tabernacle,” a “ building,” a “ house.” Within the compass of a single verse, we find three of these expressions: “For we know that, if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dis solved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Cor. 5:1). Now, it was while “tabernacled” in this “ earthly house” that our Lord Jesus Christ suffered and died for our sins; and, it was in this “ house” that He was buried, and on the third day was raised up, glorified,
if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him” (1 Thess. 4:14). The resurrection and glorification of Jesus Christ is the assurance of the resurrection and glorification of all who have fallen asleep in Jesus. Blessed hope! The Resurrection of the "Hou se " Which Jacob Builded But there is another “tabernacle,” another “ house” of God, wherein God once dwelt, and will dwell again. For centuries, God has not dwelt within this body, and the body without its Occupant is dead. But res urrection and glorification await this “ house” also. W e speak of the body that is referred to hundreds of times by the Holy Spirit as the “ house of Israel,” the “ house of Jacob,” the “ house of Judah,” and the “ house of David.” Reference in Scripture is made many times to this “house” as the “ house of the Lord" (Micah 4:1), and as “ the house of the God of Jacob” (Isa. 2:3). In the greatest bit of revelation dealing with the Jew that was ever vouchsafed to the Apostle Paul—-Romans 11— Israel is set forth as “the natural branches” (v. 24) of an “olive tree” (Christ), branches that have been broken off and cast aside— and are therefore dead. But the apostle beheld a day when God would “ graff them in again” (v. 23). And of this ingraftment Paul signifi cantly remarks: “What shall the receiving
*Pastor, First Brethren Church.
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twelve thousand from the tribe of Judah; and twelve thousand from the tribe of Reu ben; and from Gad, and from Aser, and from Nephthalim, and from Mannasses, and from ' Simeon, - and from Levi, and from Issachar, and from Zabulon, and from Joseph, and from Benjamin (Rev. 7:4-8). When the hour arrives for that last great Pentecost, even as foretold by Joel (2:28- 32), they will be found. Verily, "What shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? . . . And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the De liverer, and shall turn away ungodli ness from Jacob: for this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins” (Rom. 11:15, 26, 27). The Vision of the "Two Sticks" Furthermore, the fulfillment of the sign of the two sticks (Ezek. 37:15-28) absolutely demands the resurrection of “ the whole house of Israel.” “ The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying . . . son of man, take thee one stick and write upon it, For Judah . . . then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim . . . and join them one to an- . other into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, W ilt thou not show us what thou meanest by these? . . . Say , unto them, Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will take the children of Israel [Continued on Page 177]
(Lk.
kingdom there shall be no end” 1:30-33). I
Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord G o d ; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, and shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord” (Ezek. 37:11-14). Now, unless words are without meaning, and the Bible itself a fabrication, there must come to “ the whole house of Israel” a day of resurrection: and, once again, “ the shekinah o f Yahweh” shall indwell that resurrected “house” as in the ancient days. Then, in Abraham and his seed “shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 12:3). Indeed, it is when “ the house of Israel” beholds the first streaks of resurrec tion dawn that the church herself shall have completed her mission on earth, and shall fold her robes and steal away from the earth while it is yet dark, into her “ house not made with hands.” The fullness o f the one resurrection will bring on the fullness o f the other. When “ the first resurrection” comes to its fullness, then the reign of the Messiah for a thousand years on earth begins (cf. Rev. 20:4-6). That reign, of course, cannot begin until “the house of Jacob” is raised from its “ graves.” The promise of God made through the angel Gabriel to Mary cannot fail: “ And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt con ceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name J esus . He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his The Close Relation Between Two Resurrections
The Vision of Ezekiel Involves "The W H O L E House of Israel" But let us return to the vision of the prophet and its interpretation: “These bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts” (Ezek. 37:11). This voice of hopeless despair from the soul of Israel resounds throughout the Gen tile world today. A national resurrection of all Israel is an idle dream, they say. Ten and a half “ parts”-^-“the ten tribes”— are lost. Jews out of “the house of Judah” there are who may return to the homeland— but never “the whole house of Israel.” The reply of the eternal God rings clear: “ Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. . . . and shall put my ‘ Spirit in you, and ye shall live, . . . Then shall ye know that I thé Lord have spoken it, and performed it” (vs. 12, 14). Asleep in the bosom of “Mother Earth” are the bodies of countless millions of men and women. The modern world builds its houses and plows its fields above them, and knows them not. But the God who does not permit a single sparrow in all the earth to fall without His notice, knows where each and every human being in all the world “fell on sleep,” and where the burying place
for the body is. He loses, no, not one ! Even so, the infinite God knows just where the lost “ parts” of “ the whole house of Israel” are buried in the persons of living descendants of Jacob scattered through the nations— “ dead” as far as any national life is concerned. Ancestral lines are never lost to the omniscience of God. In His own good time, the mighty God shall call, “ Israel, come forth!” And at His command a nation will appear. And there will be enough to provide for a “Pentecost” of
• Today's amazing ingathering of a nation, a movement whose prophetic significance Dr. Bauman discusses on these pages, is accompanied by striking developments in mod ern architecture and commerce. Workmen shown below are blasting rock at the entrance channel to the port of Tel Aviv in Palestine, the first Jewish harbor since the days of the ancient Phoenicians. The new port, located on the beach outside the all-Jewish city of Tel Aviv, was created during the 1936 disturbances as an expression of Jewish faith in the future of Palestine.
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G lo ry Tod ay for Conquest T om o rrow
By ROBERT G. LEE* Memphis, Tennessee
I
md*
tabernacles on the mountain which he later called “the holy mount” (2 Pet. 1:18). Foolish was Peter yonder in the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, when, as Jesus began to describe His future sufferings, Peter “took him, and began to rebuke him” (Matt. 16:21, 22). Jesus showed how foolish Peter was when He said: “ Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offense unto me.” Foolish was Peter when Christ’s enemies, a great multitude, came “ with lanterns and torches and weapons” to arrest Jesus (John 18:3, 10, 11). And please let me ask you never to think that Peter meant to cut the poor man’s ear off. Do not ever accuse him of meaning to do that. He just meant to split his head wide open. And the only reason he did not was that his aim was bad. Foolish was Peter the night of the betrayal when he denied Jesus and “ began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak” (Mk. 14:71). Foolish was Peter, too, when, concerning John, he asked of Jesus, “Lord, and what shall this man do?” (John 21:21). But Peter never spoke more foolishly, in my judgment, than he did amidst the glory of the transfiguration hour when he sug gested the building of three tabernacles— one for Christ, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. Furnishing us an example of a piety that has not “ been burdened in his death,” not yet has “ risen with Christ,” he spoke “not knowing what he said.” Peter’s talk was trivial twitter and twaddle. Not because what he said was impractical. Not because he desired to stay in that elect heavenly company. Though I do not walk with the presumptuous. step of a know-it- all, I do not believe Peter was thinking so much about how much better it was to be there on the mount than to descend into the plain and to wrestle with sin, unbelief, and disease. Selfishness, I believe, was not the sin of Peter and his thoughtless suggestion on the mountain. But I believe it was this: In the panic of his soul, he laid hold mentally on Moses and Elijah, those two great men vouchsafed from the unseen, as means of estimating Christ, “ instead of clinging to Jesus as the one personal Fact which then and there flooded the whole past with such a radiance that all its steps must seem a .divine path.” He was foolishly guilty of putting Jesus on a level with the greatest of men— finding no infinite difference when the leader and lawgiver of Israel and God’s prophet of fire were compared with Jesus, the Saviour of men. And Peter was guilty of what many who dwell on some Hermon- height of culture -are guilty of today—pos sessing a soul whose spiritual life knows no difference between the touch of the in finite Christ and the influence of the mighty
spirits who cleared the way for Him. Peter was guilty of the terrible foolishness and sin' of Pharaoh of Egypt, who said to Moses, “ Sacrifice . . . in the land,” when God was saying, “ Go three days’ journey into the wilderness.” Just as Pharaoh was guilty of putting the religion of Jehovah on a par with the religion of Egypt— put ting God on a level with the gods o f Egypt land— so Peter was guilty of the terrible sin and foolishness of putting Jesus on a level with the greatest of men. Peter was putting Jesus on a level with the prophets — and no man can do that with impunity. No man can speak a word that puts Jesus on a level with the greatest that ever lived among men without speaking in sin. No man can preach a sermon that puts Jesus on a level with earth’s greatest without preach ing a sermon that approaches blasphemy. No man can write a line that puts Jesus on a level with the greatest figures of history without writing sinful words. No man can publish a book that puts Jesus in the same scales of earth’s noblest characters without having in that book that which is foul to the holy nostrils of God. Jesus is forever the Great Unlike. When we mention Jesus, there is no one to stand beside Him. He stands alone, august, unique, supreme. His name is above every name, and with him no mortal can compare among the sons of man. Charles Lamb was right who said: “ If all the illus trious men were gathered together and Shakespeare should enter their shining com pany, they would all rise to do him honor. But, if Jesus Christ should come, we would all kneel to worship Him.” And Napoleon was right when he confessed: “ I know men, and I tell you Jesus is not a man. Compari son is impossible between Him and any other being in the world. He is truly a being by Himself.” It is only as the Son of God that Christ in His wonderful life and character and person can be comprehended in the least. That is the reason that Paul, by the Holy Ghost, wrote: “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with G od: But made himself of no reputa tion, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and be came obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth: And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:6-11).
P a r t I I . \ln the March issue of T he K ing ’ s B usi ness , there was pub lished. the first sec tion of Dr. Lee’s dis cussion of the trans figuration account as recorded by Matt hew, Mark, and Luke. Part 1 dealt with the high privilege of the three disciples who were invited to wit-
Dr. Lee
ness the transfiguration; the meaning of the^ transfiguration as a revelation of the deity and sinless humanity of Jesus; the significance of the presence of Moses and Elijah as representing the law and the prophets, and the subject of the conversa tion on the mount—the coming death, resur rection, and ascension of Christ. This sec ond and concluding portion carries forward the story and its application to men’s lives today .—E ditor .] I F PEOPLE can go to mountain lands and cross mountain heights and come back without bringing the mountains with them, they have gone there and have been there in vain. But when people can bring the mountain with its cooling snows and spiritual experiences back with them, the mountain will be the root and source of sustenance during the whole period of suffering and of divers ministries. On a “ high mountain apart,” the mount of the transfiguration, our Lord gave to Peter, James, and John a vision of glory that was to illumine all their later testi mony concerning Him. Having covered the themes of “ The Taking,” “The Transfigu ration,” and “ The Talking,” let us turn to a consideration of a further phase— the pro posed tabernacles and their significance. IV. The Tabernacles “ Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three taber nacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias” (Matt. 17:4). Luke tells us that Peter said this “not knowing what he said” (Lk. 9:33). Peter knew the words he was speaking, but he did not know the significance thereof. Now Peter had said and had done some foolish things in his life. But never said he, never did he a more foolish thing, than when he suggested the building of three
* Pastor, Bellevue Baptist Church.
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