In proclaiming the truths of the everlasting gospel
to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, God's
church on earth today is fulfilling the ancient prophecy,
"Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world
with fruit." Isaiah 27:6. The followers of Jesus, in co-operation
with heavenly intelligences, are rapidly occupying the
waste places of the earth; and, as the result of their labors,
an abundant fruitage of precious souls is developing. Today,
as never before, the dissemination of Bible truth by means
of a consecrated church is bringing to the sons of men the
benefits foreshadowed centuries ago in the promise to Abraham
and to all Israel,--to God's church on earth in every
age,--"I will bless thee, . . . and thou shalt be a blessing."
Genesis 12:2.
This promise of blessing should have met fulfillment
in large measure during the centuries following the return
of the Israelites from the lands of their captivity. It was God's
design that the whole earth be prepared for the first advent
of Christ, even as today the way is preparing for His second
coming. At the end of the years of humiliating exile, God
graciously gave to His people Israel, through Zechariah, the
assurance: "I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the
midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city
of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy
mountain." And of His people He said, "Behold, . . . I
will be their God, in truth and in righteousness." Zechariah
8:3, 7, 8.
These promises were conditional on obedience. The sins
that had characterized the Israelites prior to the captivity,
were not to be repeated. "Execute true judgment," the
Lord exhorted those who were engaged in rebuilding; "and
show mercy and compassions every man to his brother:
and oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger,
nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his
brother." "Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbor;
execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates."
Zechariah 7:9, 10; 8:16.
Rich were the rewards, both temporal and spiritual,
promised those who should put into practice these principles
of righteousness. "The seed shall be prosperous," the Lord
declared; "the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground
shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their
dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess
all these things. And it shall come to pass, that as ye were
a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house
of Israel; so I will save you, and ye shall be a blessing."
Zechariah 8:12, 13.
By the Babylonish captivity the Israelites were effectually
cured of the worship of graven images. After their return,
they gave much attention to religious instruction and to
the study of that which had been written in the book of the
law and in the prophets concerning the worship of the
true God. The restoration of the temple enabled them to
carry out fully the ritual services of the sanctuary. Under
the leadership of Zerubbabel, of Ezra, and of Nehemiah
they repeatedly covenanted to keep all the commandments
and ordinances of Jehovah. The seasons of prosperity that
followed gave ample evidence of God's willingness to accept
and forgive, and yet with fatal shortsightedness they turned
again and again from their glorious destiny and selfishly
appropriated to themselves that which would have brought
healing and spiritual life to countless multitudes.
This failure to fulfill the divine purpose was very apparent
in Malachi's day. Sternly the Lord's messenger dealt with
the evils that were robbing Israel of temporal prosperity
and spiritual power. In his rebuke against transgressors the
prophet spared neither priests nor people. "The burden of
the word of the Lord to Israel" through Malachi was that
the lessons of the past be not forgotten and that the covenant
made by Jehovah with the house of Israel be kept
with fidelity. Only by heartfelt repentance could the blessing
of God be realized. "I pray you," the prophet pleaded,
"beseech God that He will be gracious unto us." Malachi
1:1, 9.
Not by any temporary failure of Israel, however, was
the plan of the ages for the redemption of mankind to be
frustrated. Those to whom the prophet was speaking might
not heed the message given, but the purposes of Jehovah
were nevertheless to move steadily forward to their complete
fulfillment. "From the rising of the sun even unto the
going down of the same," the Lord declared through His
messenger, "My name shall be great among the Gentiles;
and in every place incense shall be offered unto My name,
and a pure offering: for My name shall be great among the
heathen." Malachi 1:11.
The covenant of "life and peace" God had made with
the sons of Levi--the covenant which, if kept, would have
brought untold blessing--the Lord now offered to renew
with those who once had been spiritual leaders, but who
through transgression had become "contemptible and base
before all the people." Malachi 2:5, 9.
Solemnly evildoers were warned of the day of judgment
to come and of Jehovah's purpose to visit with swift destruction
every transgressor. Yet none were left without hope;
Malachi's prophecies of judgment were accompanied by
invitations to the impenitent to make their peace with God.
"Return unto Me," the Lord urged; "and I will return
unto you." Malachi 3:7.
It seems as if every heart must respond to such an invitation.
The God of heaven is pleading with His erring
children to return to Him, that they may again co-operate
with Him in carrying forward His work in the earth. The
Lord holds out His hand to take the hand of Israel and
to help them to the narrow path of self-denial and
self-sacrifice, to share with Him the heirship as sons of God.
Will they be entreated? Will they discern their only hope?
How sad the record, that in Malachi's day the Israelites
hesitated to yield their proud hearts in prompt and loving
obedience and hearty co-operation! Self-vindication is apparent
in their response, "Wherein shall we return?"
The Lord reveals to His people one of their special sins.
"Will a man rob God?" He asks. "Yet ye have robbed Me."
Still unconvicted of sin, the disobedient inquire, "Wherein
have we robbed Thee?"
Definite indeed is the Lord's answer: "In tithes and offerings.
Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed Me,
even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house,
that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove
Me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not
open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing,
that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And
I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not
destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine
cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord
of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall
be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts." Verses 7-12.
God blesses the work of men's hands, that they may
return to Him His portion. He gives them the sunshine
and the rain; He causes vegetation to flourish; He gives
health and ability to acquire means. Every blessing comes
from His bountiful hand, and He desires men and women
to show their gratitude by returning Him a portion in tithes
and offerings--in thank offerings, in freewill offerings, in
trespass offerings. They are to devote their means to His
service, that His vineyard may not remain a barren waste.
They are to study what the Lord would do were He in
their place. They are to take all difficult matters to Him
in prayer. They are to reveal an unselfish interest in the
building up of His work in all parts of the world.
Through messages such as those borne by Malachi, the
last of the Old Testament prophets, as well as through
oppression from heathen foes, the Israelites finally learned
the lesson that true prosperity depends upon obedience to
the law of God. But with many of the people, obedience
was not the outflow of faith and love. Their motives were
selfish. Outward service was rendered as a means of attaining
to national greatness. The chosen people did not become
the light of the world, but shut themselves away from the
world as a safeguard against being seduced into idolatry.
The restrictions which God had given, forbidding intermarriage
between His people and the heathen, and prohibiting
Israel from joining in the idolatrous practices of surrounding
nations, were so perverted as to build up a wall of
partition between the Israelites and all other peoples, thus
shutting from others the very blessings which God had
commissioned Israel to give to the world.
At the same time the Jews were, by their sins, separating
themselves from God. They were unable to discern the
deep spiritual significance of their symbolic service. In their
self-righteousness they trusted to their own works, to the
sacrifices and ordinances themselves, instead of relying upon
the merits of Him to whom all these things pointed. Thus
"going about to establish their own righteousness" (Romans
10:3), they built themselves up in a self-sufficient formalism.
Wanting the Spirit and grace of God, they tried to make
up for the lack by a rigorous observance of religious ceremonies
and rites. Not content with the ordinances which
God Himself had appointed, they encumbered the divine
commands with countless exactions of their own devising.
The greater their distance from God, the more rigorous
they were in the observance of these forms.
With all these minute and burdensome exactions it was
a practical impossibility for the people to keep the law. The
great principles of righteousness set forth in the Decalogue,
and the glorious truths shadowed in the symbolic service,
were alike obscured, buried under a mass of human tradition
and enactment. Those who were really desirous of
serving God, and who tried to observe the whole law as
enjoined by the priests and rulers, groaned under a heavy
burden.
As a nation, the people of Israel, while desiring the
advent of the Messiah, were so far separated from God in
heart and life that they could have no true conception of
the character or mission of the promised Redeemer. Instead
of desiring redemption from sin, and the glory and peace
of holiness, their hearts were fixed upon deliverance from
their national foes, and restoration to worldly power. They
looked for Messiah to come as a conqueror, to break every
yoke, and exalt Israel to dominion over all nations. Thus
Satan had succeeded in preparing the hearts of the people to
reject the Saviour when He should appear. Their own pride
of heart, and their false conceptions of His character and
mission, would prevent them from honestly weighing the
evidences of His Messiahship.
For more than a thousand years the Jewish people had
waited the coming of the promised Saviour. Their brightest
hopes had rested upon this event. For a thousand years,
in song and prophecy, in temple rite and household prayer,
His name had been enshrined; and yet when He came, they
did not recognize Him as the Messiah for whom they had
so long waited. "He came unto His own, and His own
received Him not." John 1:11. To their world-loving hearts
the Beloved of heaven was "as a root out of a dry ground."
In their eyes He had "no form nor comeliness;" they discerned
in Him no beauty that they should desire Him.
Isaiah 53:2.
The whole life of Jesus of Nazareth among the Jewish
people was a reproof to their selfishness, as revealed in their
unwillingness to recognize the just claims of the Owner of
the vineyard over which they had been placed as husbandmen.
They hated His example of truthfulness and piety;
and when the final test came, the test which meant obedience
unto eternal life or disobedience unto eternal death, they
rejected the Holy One of Israel and became responsible
for His crucifixion on Calvary's cross.
In the parable of the vineyard, Christ near the close of
His earthly ministry called the attention of the Jewish teachers
to the rich blessings bestowed upon Israel, and in these
showed God's claim to their obedience. Plainly He set
before them the glory of God's purpose, which through
obedience they might have fulfilled. Withdrawing the veil
from the future, He showed how, by failure to fulfill His
purpose, the whole nation was forfeiting His blessing and
bringing ruin upon itself.
"There was a certain householder," Christ said, "which
planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged
a wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen,
and went into a far country." Matthew 21:33.
Thus the Saviour referred to "the vineyard of the Lord
of hosts," which the prophet Isaiah centuries before had
declared to be "the house of Israel." Isaiah 5:7.
"And when the time of the fruit drew near," Christ
continued, the owner of the vineyard "sent his servants to
the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it.
And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and
killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other
servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise.
But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They
will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the
son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let
us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they
caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him."
Having portrayed before the priests their crowning act
of wickedness, Christ now put to them the question, "When
the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he
do unto those husbandmen?" The priests had been following
the narrative with deep interest; and without considering
the relation of the subject to themselves, they joined
with the people in answering, "He will miserably destroy
those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other
husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their
seasons."
Unwittingly they had pronounced their own doom. Jesus
looked upon them, and under His searching gaze they
knew that He read the secrets of their hearts. His divinity
flashed out before them with unmistakable power. They
saw in the husbandmen a picture of themselves, and they
involuntarily exclaimed, "God forbid!"
Solemnly and regretfully Christ asked: "Did ye never
read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected,
the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's
doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? Therefore say I
unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you,
and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And
whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on
whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder."
Matthew 21:34-44.
Christ would have averted the doom of the Jewish nation
if the people had received Him. But envy and jealousy
made them implacable. They determined that they would
not receive Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah. They rejected
the Light of the world, and henceforth their lives were
surrounded with darkness as the darkness of midnight. The
doom foretold came upon the Jewish nation. Their own
fierce passions, uncontrolled, wrought their ruin. In their
blind rage they destroyed one another. Their rebellious,
stubborn pride brought upon them the wrath of their Roman
conquerors. Jerusalem was destroyed, the temple laid in
ruins, and its site plowed like a field. The children of Judah
perished by the most horrible forms of death. Millions were
sold to serve as bondmen in heathen lands.
That which God purposed to do for the world through
Israel, the chosen nation, He will finally accomplish through
His church on earth today. He has "let out His vineyard
unto other husbandmen," even to His covenant-keeping
people, who faithfully "render Him the fruits in their
seasons." Never has the Lord been without true representatives
on this earth who have made His interests their own.
These witnesses for God are numbered among the spiritual
Israel, and to them will be fulfilled all the covenant promises
made by Jehovah to His ancient people.
Today the church of God is free to carry forward to
completion the divine plan for the salvation of a lost race.
For many centuries God's people suffered a restriction of
their liberties. The preaching of the gospel in its purity
was prohibited, and the severest of penalties were visited
upon those who dared disobey the mandates of men. As a
consequence, the Lord's great moral vineyard was almost
wholly unoccupied. The people were deprived of the light
of God's word. The darkness of error and superstition
threatened to blot out a knowledge of true religion. God's
church on earth was a verily in captivity during this long
period of relentless persecution as were the children of
Israel held captive in Babylon during the period of the exile.
But, thank God, His church is no longer in bondage. To
spiritual Israel have been restored the privileges accorded
the people of God at the time of their deliverance from
Babylon. In every part of the earth, men and women are
responding to the Heaven-sent message which John the
revelator prophesied would be proclaimed prior to the
second coming of Christ: "Fear God, and give glory to Him;
for the hour of His judgment is come." Revelation 14:7.
No longer have the hosts of evil power to keep the
church captive; for "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great
city," which hath "made all nations drink of the wine of
the wrath of her fornication;" and to spiritual Israel is given
the message, "Come out of her, My people, that ye be not
partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."
Verse 8; 18:4. As the captive exiles heeded the message,
"Flee out of the midst of Babylon" (Jeremiah 51:6), and
were restored to the Land of Promise, so those who fear
God today are heeding the message to withdraw from
spiritual Babylon, and soon they are to stand as trophies of
divine grace in the earth made new, the heavenly Canaan.
In Malachi's day the mocking inquiry of the impenitent,
"Where is the God of judgment?" met with the solemn
response: "The Lord . . . shall suddenly come to His temple,
even the Messenger of the covenant. . . . But who may
abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when
He appeareth? for He is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers'
soap: and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver:
and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as
gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering
in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and
Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old,
and as in former years." Malachi 2:17; 3:1-4.
When the promised Messiah was about to appear, the
message of the forerunner of Christ was: Repent, publicans
and sinners; repent, Pharisees and Sadducees; "for the kingdom
of heaven is at hand." Matthew 3:2.
Today, in the spirit and power of Elias and of John the
Baptist, messengers of God's appointment are calling the
attention of a judgment-bound world to the solemn events
soon to take place in connection with the closing hours of
probation and the appearance of Christ Jesus as King of
kings and Lord of lords. Soon every man is to be judged for
the deeds done in the body. The hour of God's judgment
has come, and upon the members of His church on earth
rests the solemn responsibility of giving warning to those
who are standing as it were on the very brink of eternal
ruin. To every human being in the wide world who will
give heed must be made plain the principles at stake in
the great controversy being waged, principles upon which
hang the destinies of all mankind.
In these final hours of probation for the sons of men,
when the fate of every soul is so soon to be decided forever,
the Lord of heaven and earth expects His church to arouse
to action as never before. Those who have been made free
in Christ through a knowledge of precious truth, are regarded
by the Lord Jesus as His chosen ones, favored above all
other people on the face of the earth; and He is counting
on them to show forth the praises of Him who hath called
them out of darkness into marvelous light. The blessings
which are so liberally bestowed are to be communicated
to others. The good news of salvation is to go to every
nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
In the visions of the prophets of old the Lord of glory
was represented as bestowing special light upon His church
in the days of darkness and unbelief preceding His second
coming. As the Sun of Righteousness, He was to arise upon
His church, "with healing in His wings." Malachi 4:2. And
from every true disciple was to be diffused an influence for
life, courage, helpfulness, and true healing.
The coming of Christ will take place in the darkest period
of this earth's history. The days of Noah and of Lot picture
the condition of the world just before the coming of the
Son of man. The Scriptures, pointing forward to this time,
declare that Satan will work with all power and "with all
deceivableness of unrighteousness." 2 Thessalonians 2:9, 10.
His working is plainly revealed by the rapidly increasing
darkness, the multitudinous errors, heresies, and delusions
of these last days. Not only is Satan leading the world
captive, but his deceptions are leavening the professed churches
of our Lord Jesus Christ. The great apostasy will develop
into darkness deep as midnight. To God's people it will be
a night of trial, a night of weeping, a night of persecution
for the truth's sake. But out of that night of darkness God's
light will shine.
He causes "the light to shine out of darkness." 2
Corinthians 4:6. When "the earth was without form, and void;
and darkness was upon the face of the deep," "the Spirit of
God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said,
Let there be light: and there was light." Genesis 1:2, 3.
So in the night of spiritual darkness, God's word goes forth,
"Let there be light." To His people He says, "Arise, shine;
for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen
upon thee." Isaiah 60:1.
"Behold," says the Scripture, "the darkness shall cover
the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall
arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee."
Verse 2. Christ, the outshining of the Father's glory, came
to the world as its light. He came to represent God to men,
and of Him it is written that He was anointed "with the
Holy Ghost and with power," and "went about doing good."
Acts 10:38. In the synagogue at Nazareth He said, "The
Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed
Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to
heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the
captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty
them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the
Lord." Luke 4:18, 19. This was the work He commissioned
His disciples to do. "Ye are the light of the world," He
said. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see
your good works, and glorify your Father which is in
heaven." Matthew 5:14, 16.
This is the work which the prophet Isaiah describes
when he says: "Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry,
and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house?
when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that
thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall
thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall
spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before
thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward." Isaiah
58:7, 8.
Thus in the night of spiritual darkness God's glory is
to shine forth through His church in lifting up the bowed
down and comforting those that mourn.
All around us are heard the wails of a world's sorrow.
On every hand are the needy and distressed. It is ours to
aid in relieving and softening life's hardships and misery.
The wants of the soul only the love of Christ can satisfy.
If Christ is abiding in us, our hearts will be full of divine
sympathy. The sealed fountains of earnest, Christlike love
will be unsealed.
There are many from whom hope has departed. Bring
back the sunshine to them. Many have lost their courage.
Speak to them words of cheer. Pray for them. There are
those who need the bread of life. Read to them from the
word of God. Upon many is a soul sickness which no
earthly balm can reach nor physician heal. Pray for these
souls. Bring them to Jesus. Tell them that there is a balm
in Gilead and a Physician there.
Light is a blessing, a universal blessing, pouring forth its
treasures on a world unthankful, unholy, demoralized. So
it is with the light of the Sun of Righteousness. The whole
earth, wrapped as it is in the darkness of sin and sorrow
and pain, is to be lighted with the knowledge of God's love.
From no sect, rank, or class of people is the light shining
from heaven's throne to be excluded.
The message of hope and mercy is to be carried to the
ends of the earth. Whosoever will, may reach forth and
take hold of God's strength and make peace with Him,
and he shall make peace. No longer are the heathen to be
wrapped in midnight darkness. The gloom is to disappear
before the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness.
Christ has made every provision that His church shall
be a transformed body, illumined with the Light of the
world, possessing the glory of Immanuel. It is His purpose
that every Christian shall be surrounded with a spiritual
atmosphere of light and peace. He desires that we shall
reveal His own joy in our lives.
"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of
the Lord is risen upon thee." Isaiah 60:1. Christ is coming
with power and great glory. He is coming with His own
glory and with the glory of the Father. And the holy
angels will attend Him on His way. While all the world
is plunged in darkness, there will be light in every dwelling
of the saints. They will catch the first light of His second
appearing. The unsullied light will shine from His splendor,
and Christ the Redeemer will be admired by all who have
served Him. While the wicked flee, Christ's followers will
rejoice in His presence.
Then it is that the redeemed from among men will
receive their promised inheritance. Thus God's purpose for
Israel will meet with literal fulfillment. That which God
purposes, man is powerless to disannul. Even amid the
working of evil, God's purposes have been moving steadily
forward to their accomplishment. It was thus with the
house of Israel throughout the history of the divided
monarchy; it is thus with spiritual Israel today.
The seer of Patmos, looking down through the ages to
the time of this restoration of Israel in the earth made new,
testified:
"I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man
could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and
tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb,
clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and
cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which
sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
"And all the angels stood round about the throne, and
about the elders and the four beasts ["living creatures,"
R.V.], and fell before the throne on their faces, and
worshiped God, saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and
wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might,
be unto our God forever and ever."
"And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude,
and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty
thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent
reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor
to Him." "He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and
they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful."
Revelation 7:9-12; 19:6, 7; 17:14.