THE GREATEST OF INAUGURATIONS

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 24 May 1913, Page 3

THE GREATEST OF INAUGURATIONS

THE INAUGURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM WILL ECLIPSK ALL OIItKRS.

A MAURI*(IE FKAST AND AN TNA VG VRA L CEREMONY COMHINED.

Pastor Russell, of th« Loudon Tabernacle, addressed the Washington Temple congregation last Sunday. Ho took for his text Jesus' words, '•When the San of Man shall com© in his glory, aaid ail th,? holy angils with him, then shall he sit iipon the Throne of his GJory" (Matt. xxr. 31). Ho said:

When six thousand .years ago man transgressed the .Divine command and came under fie sentence, "Dying, thou shalt die," he was cast out of Edi.ffii, that m the unprepared earth he might'pay the death penalty. Even then, in' one declaration that the "seed" of the woman would eventually bruise the serpent's head, God implied an ultimate victory for human. ity over Satan, s;n, and dea -*. Later, God's Covenant with jraham intimated that the victory would come through his posterity, but still did not explaim how. Centuries later, Abraham's favoured posterity, the Jewish nation, came into covenant relationship with God through Moses, the Mediator of the Law Covenant, Their hopes was t-b?.t they could so thoroughly keep God's Law* as to merit everlasting life; that they would he competent to teach al' nations and deliver mankind from sin amd death. However, centuries of effort proved that none were abb to keep the Divine l>aw satisfactorily, for all continued to die. The next lesson was one of faith in God. Israel could not keep the Law Covenant satisfactorily—could not, th before, have everlasting life, and hence could not teach others to do what they themselves could not do. This lesson of faith was that they should look forward to a coming Messiah, "A Prince and a Saviour." For centuries they waited for him, and sought to apply ,'Moses' words: "A Prophet'shall the Lord your God raise ,up unto you from ••Miiongst your brethren like unto me [the antitype of Moses]; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you; and . . . the soul that will not hear that Prophet shall be destroyed from amongst the people" (Acts iiL '22, 2£N. Through th.:* prophets God foretold vnrioris things of Messiah. He was to be the antitype of David and Solo-; mon. Aaron and Melchizedek'—very great! He was to reign from sea to sea (Psalm lxxii. 8). Ultimately, so successful would he his reign that the knowledge of th :> should fill the whole earth as the waters cover the deep (Rah. ii. 14). Not only Israel would be blessed by him, but all nations. ' Unto him every knee would bow and everv tongue confess, to the glory of God'. (Phil ii.,10, H). ISRAEL'S STAR OF HOPE.

Israel looked forward with pride to that day when Messiah wou.d exalt them very highly m the earth, and associate them with -himself in tin.' ruling and blessing of all people. These were tne good, hopes which held together the "chosen* people," as no othar nation or people in the world have ever oeen. held together. They ara waiting s—i, though disconcerted at the length of time and by the various evidences that outers are in some -respect* more favoured than -aie missives. At,last Israel's star of hope is rising!' At last the prophesies tell that her morning of joy is about to dawn. .Not merely Jews are claiming that Messiah's day is nigh, and that the Divine blessing is about to oome upon Jerusalem and all -& peopb of God; but Christian -ikMe 1 students see the same. The iMohammedans are claiming the same; Freemasons a.r.e claiming the same. ••■■- men are in: ©xpecftation\ of. something wonderful juse as the door. The blessings multiplied upon us in the inventions of last halfcentury all bespeak the New Dispensation, the reign of the King of Kings, and if the "preparations" are on so grand a sane, what will be the grandeur of the "inauguration aad of the reign itself! Leading in the grand proc?ssion picture is the Son of Man, and following himi will be all tire holy messengers; but with him upon his glorious Throne will bo his Bride class—a saintly few. Thus it is written. "When Christ . . . shall ap-

poar, wo aJso shall appear with him in glory" (Col. iii. 4); again, "To him that overcome win I grant to sit with mo in my --rone" (Rev. iii. 21). Messiah, Jehovah's representative, will for a thousand years rule the world. Messiah is une seed of David, who should inherit the throne (Luke i. 31-33. As the tirrqne upon which David sat wad the th-rono of Jehovah, so 'tlie throne of Messiah will he Jehovah's throne also, His "tahernacle" shall bo amongst men, and God will dwell with them through the Messiah, for their blessing and rescue from sin and'death (Rev. xxi. 3). Then gratifiude will go up to the Lord in a shout from faithful hearts, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hiosamma. in the highest!" Messiah, God's' representative, His Honly One, comes to rule the earth, to lift up th» poor and needy and to dispense the. blessings which God promised in the Abrahamie Covenant, and Which He has reiterated "by th* mouth of all His holy Prohpets since the world began.." HOPE SOON TO BE IRIEALISEDJ The Jews did not fail. All the pro-

mises of God raado to them ao-a still theirs. Ho nerer offered them spiritual favours. Ha never suggested tha-t. ha would take them to Heaven. The strangest promise mad«, «v®n to Abraham, was that all th« "land" which could be seen would be givea to him and to his'seed. All the blessr ings of Israel were to oome through Messiah, whose Kingdom is about to be inaugurated. What God did for the Jew* at, the first advent of Josus was something more than Ho ever promised to do for thorn. Th 0 Jews merely fulfilled a part of the lJivine programme. Had Messiah gone to another nation, doubtless there would have been similar results. i\o other nation, indeed, was so weJj prepared as the Jews by Divine instruction through the I/aw and the prophets. God gave them an opportunity of becoming more than men—more than the natural seed of Abraham. He gave them the opportunity of becoming spirit beings—members of Spiritual Israel. So many as received Jesus, were received of the Father, begotten of the Holy Spirit, received into the .family ■of God as children, as the Spiritual of Abrahanx. But these were few. Then Divine favour turned to the .Gentiles, and gav© them Si similat opportunity of coming into membership with the Spiritual Seed of Abraham. This work has required nearly nineteen centuries. The Messiah " da-ss is about complete—Jesus the Head), tli? faithful Jews next, thfffii I the faithful from amongst tne Geiii tiles. Jenus the Head long ago entered, | into his glory. Some of his members i havo already entered . in, and soon I the last members .will pass beyond the veil. Immediately on the inang- ■ uration of the Kingdom, the work of ruling and blessing will begin. At that point, according to th« Serlptws, Israel will return to God's favour, and be granted the chief bjessing under cue new administration. Then through the Kingdom of Israel, as the oaruily representative of Messiah's invisible, spiritual Kingdom, the blessing of Jehovah will reach to all the families \of the earth.