Dispensational Truth

Chapter 10 - The Gentiles
The Scriptures speak of three classes of people on the earth, the Jews, the Gentile, and the Church. The Church is made up of both Jew and Gentile. Outside of the Church all who are not Jews are Gentiles. Up to the call of Abraham all the people of the earth were Gentiles. Abraham was the first Hebrew. His grandson Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel (Gen. 32:24-26), had twelve sons. They became the heads of twelve tribes, known as the "Twelve Tribes of Israel." After the death of King Solomon these "Tribes" were divided. Ten of them became known as Israel, and two (Judah and Benjamin) as Judah. In B.C. 721 Israel was carried captive to Assyria, and in B. C, 606 Judah was carried captive to Babylon. When Judah, after seventy years, returned from captivity, a fair representation of the whole Twelve Tribes returned with them. From that time they have been known as the Jews.

The Jews were God's chosen people, but when they fell into idolatry and were carried into captivity, they were supplanted by the Gentiles. The nations of Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon were anxious to conquer and supplant Israel (The Jews), but God held them in an unseen leash until the iniquity of Israel was full, and then He permitted the world power to pass into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. Jer. 27:5-7. This happened in B.C. 606 and marked the beginning of the "Times Of The Gentiles" spoken of by Christ in Luke 21:24, and which is a period that in the mind of God has certain chronological limits. It is not to be confounded with the "Fulness of the Gentiles" spoken of by Paul in Rom. 11:25. The "Fulness of the Gentiles" refers to the Gentiles that are "gathered out" to make up the Church, and "blindness in part" will continue among the Jews until the "Fulness' (the whole number of the elect) of the Gentiles be come in, then the Church is "caught out, " and the Jews restored to their own land. The "Fulness of the Gentiles" began at Pentecost, and ends at least seven years before the "Times of the Gentiles"end.

The "Times of the Gentiles" are fully outlined in the Book of Daniel.

The Book of Daniel (see chart) contains one "Dream" by Nebuchadnezzar, and four "Visions" by Daniel all relating to the "Times of the Gentiles."

1. Nebuchadnezzar's Dream.

In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign he had a dream, but when he awoke it had gone from him. He demanded of his magicians and astrologers that they should not only reproduce the dream, but that they should interpret it. This they were unable to do and their destruction was ordered, but was stayed by Daniel's petition for a little time. Then Daniel and his companions betook themselves to prayer, and in a night vision the "Dream" and its meaning was made known to Daniel. The interpretation is certainly one that human ingenuity could not have hit upon. The wise men and flatterers of the Chaldean court would never have dared to announce the End of Gentile Supremacy.

The "Colossus" (Image) symbolized the "World Kingdoms" in their Unity and Historical Succession. Gentile dominion is represented by a huge "Metallic" Man. 'The degeneration of the "World Kingdoms" is seen in the diminishing value of the metals used. Silver is worth less than gold, brass than silver, iron than brass, and clay than iron. The weight of the image also declines, the specific gravity of gold is 19. 5, of silver 10. 47, of brass 8, of cast-iron 5, and of clay 1. 93. The "Colossus" is Top-Heavy.

The four metals of which the "Colossus" was composed represent Four Worldwide Empires which were to arise in succession. Dan. 2:37-39. Four great Empires, and only four, are to succeed each other in the government of the world, from Nebuchadnezzar to the "Second Coming" of Christ-the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Grecian, and Roman. These Kingdoms are not only made known as to number, but their names, in the order of their succession, are given. The First Kingdom "Babylon" is indicated by Daniel while interpreting the vision to Nebuchadnezzar. "THOU art this Head of Gold." Dan. 2:38. The Second-the "MedoPersian, " he points out in his account of Belshazzar's Feast, by the emphatic words-"In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain, and Darius the Median took the Kingdom." Dan. 5:30, Dan. 5:31. The Third-the "Grecian, " is mentioned in Dan. 8:20-21, "the ram which thou sawest having two horns are The kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the King of Grecia." The Fourth-the "Roman" is referred to in Dan. 9:26, as-"the People of the Prince that should destroy the city (Jerusalem) and the Sanctuary"; and we know that it was the Romans under Titus, that destroyed Jerusalem in A. D. 70.

We have seen that the deterioration of the "Colossus" is shown in the character of the metals composing it. This was prophetic of the character of the governments as they were to succeed one another. The power of Nebuchadnezzar was Absolute, of him Daniel said-

"All people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared him; whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down." Dan. 5:19.

The second Kingdom was inferior to the first. It was a Monarchy dependent upon the support of an Hereditary Aristocracy. The king could by no means do as he willed. This is seen in the case of Darius, who desired to save Daniel from the "Lions' Den, " and could not, Dan. 6:12-14; and in the case of Ahasuerus who could only save the Jews from slaughter by a counter-decree. Est. 8:3-5. The metal of the third Kingdom was brass, and the government of Alexander the Great was a Monarchy supported by a Military Aristocracy, that was as weak as the ambitions of its leaders.

The iron power of the fourth Kingdom shows a still further depreciation. The Caesars were nominally elected by the people; they were merely called First Magistrates of the State or Generals; and for a long time they wore no diadem, but only the laurel crown of a successful commander. They had also a Senate which was supposed to counsel and control them. The people were neither allowed to legislate for them, nor to interfere with them, and if a Senator became too independent he was banished. Thus the Empire remained metallic and coherent. Iron is more perishable, more easily corroded or rusted than brass, or silver, or gold; but in the form of STEEL it is harder than any of them, and cuts through every other metal. Such has been Rome with her iron rule.

But the "Colossus" grows weaker and weaker until the feet and toes become a mixture of Iron and Clay. In other words the government degenerates from an Absolute Monarchy to an Autocratic Democracy, a form of government in which the people largely have the say.

Book Of Daniel

In short the "Colossus" shows that Gentile dominion passes gradually from the Head, the organ which ought to direct the members, to the Feet, which are only made to carry the body whither the head directs. We see then that the first of these Kingdoms was a Unit, the second Dual, the third became Quadruple (Dan. 7:6, Dan. 8:8), and the fourth, in its final form, becomes Ten-Toed.

The "Colossus" comes to an end by being smitten on the Feet by a "Stone Cut Out of a Mountain." The "Stone" does not fill the earth by degrees, and thus crowd the "Colossus" out, it at One Blow DEMOLISHES IT. The action of the "Stone" is JUDGMENT, not grace. It therefore cannot mean Christianity, for it is a "process" whereas the action of the "Stone" is SUDDEN and CALAMITOUS.

Again the Time of the destruction is not until after the formation of the toes, and we know that the "Two Limbs" of the "Colossus" did not appear until A. D. 364, and the "Ten Toes" have not yet developed. The Time when the "Stone" falls on the "Colossus" is distinctly stated in the interpretation as "in the days of those kings, " that is, in the days of the kings represented by the "Ten Toes."

The "Stone" which smites the "Colossus" must be interpreted as Christ who is called a "Stone" in Scripture. "Whosoever shall fall on this stone (Christ) shall be broken (softened by repentance), but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder." Matt. 21:44. This is exactly what the prophet foretells of the smiting of the "Colossus."

"Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them; and the Stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." Dan. 2:35.

As the four Kingdoms typified by the "Colossus" are literal Kingdoms, it follows that the "Stone Kingdom" must be a literal Kingdom, for it takes the place of the Kingdoms that are destroyed, and conquers the whole earth. The "Stone Kingdom" then is the "Millennial Kingdom of Christ" and the "Colossus, " or the "Times of the Gentiles" typified by it, cannot come to an end until the "revelation of Christ" at His Second Coming.

2. The Vision of the "FOUR BEASTS."

This was a vision of Daniel's 48 years after Nebuchadnezzar had his dream, and occurred in the first year of Belshazzar, B.C. 555. In vision Daniel stood on the shore of the "Great Sea" (the Mediterranean), from which region the four Kingdoms arose. Out of the sea four "Great Beasts" came up in succession. We have no difficulty in identifying these "Four Beasts" with the "Four Kingdoms" represented by the "Colossus." "The first was like a Lion and had Eagle's Wings, " and as the Prophet watched it, he saw it "lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon its feet as a Man, and a Man's Heart was given to it. Dan. 7:4. We have only to visit the British Museum, London, and examine the colossal stone lions with the "wings of an eagle" and the "head of a man, " disinterred from the ruins of Babylon and Assyria by Sir Henry Layard between the years 1840 and 1850 A. D., to see that the "First Beast" of Daniel's vision represented the First World Kingdom-Babylon, and its King Nebuchadnezzar.

The peculiarity of the "First Beast" was that it had "Eagle's Wings." This combination of the lion, the "King of Beasts, " and the eagle, the "King of Birds, " corresponded to the Royalty of the "Head of Gold" of the Colossus, and typified the "Eagle-like" swiftness of the armies of Nebuchadnezzar. The "Plucking of the Wings" doubtless referred to the "Beastly Insanity" of Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4:20-22), and the "lifting up, " and causing to stand upon its feet "as a man" to his restoration to sanity.

The Second Beast was "like to a Bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had Three Ribs in the mouth of it, between the teeth of it; and they said thus unto it, Arise, Devour Much Flesh." Dan. 7:5. The bear is the strongest beast after the lion and is distinguished for its voracity, but it has none of the agility and majesty of the lion, is awkward in its movements, and effects its purpose with comparative slowness, and by brute force and sheer strength. These were the characteristics of the Medo-Persian Empire. It was ponderous in its movements. It did not gain its victories by bravery or skill, but overwhelmed its enemies by hurling vast masses of troops upon them. Xerxes' expedition against Greece was undertaken with 2, 500, 000 fighting men, who with the camp followers made up an army of 5, 000, 000. Other Persian generals had armies running up into the 100, 000's of men. It is easy to be seen that the movements of such enormous bodies of men would "devour much flesh, " not only in the destruction of their enemies, but thousands would die of disease and exposure and the countries through which they passed would become famine stricken by the loss of food seized to feed such armies. The side of the Bear which raised up to attack typified Persia, in which lay the greatest military strength, and corresponded to the right shoulder and arm of the "Colossus." The "Three-Ribs" stood for the three Kingdoms of Lydia, Babylon and Egypt, which formed a "Triple Alliance" to check the Medo-Persian power, but were all destroyed by it.

The Third Beast was "like a Leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the Beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it." Dan. 7:6. The leopard is the most agile and graceful of creatures; but its speed is here still further assisted by "wings." Slight in its frame, but strong, swift and fierce, its characteristics render it a fitting symbol of the rapid conquests of the Greeks under Alexander the Great, who, followed by small but well-equipped and splendidly brave armies, moved with great celerity and in about 10 years overthrew the unwieldy forces of Persia, and subdued the whole civilized world. The "four wings of a Fowl" indicate, that, as a "fowl" does not fly high, the armies of Alexander were fitted mainly for lowland fighting. There is an incongruity between the number of "wings" and the number of "heads" of the Leopard. "Four heads" call for "four pair of wings." Why only "four" wings we do not know, unless they denote the four quarters of the earth into which Alexander sought to extend his Kingdom.

The "Four Heads" of the Leopard represent the "Four Kingdoms" into which the Empire of Alexander was divided by his generals, namely Egypt, Syria, Thrace and Macedonia. From B.C. 323 to B.C. 30 there was no world-wide Kingdom, there being this break or parenthesis between the Medo-Persian and Roman Empires, showing that while there was to be "four" and "only four" world-wide Empires it did not necessarily follow that there should be no break between them. The Third Beast, the Leopard, corresponds to the abdomen and hips of the Colossus.

The Fourth Beast was unlike any beast that Daniel had ever seen or heard about, it was "dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly, and it had great IRON TEETH. It devoured and brake in pieces, and tamped the residue (the other Beasts) with the feet of it; and it was diverse from all the Beasts that were before it and it had "Ten Horns."

The fact that the Fourth Beast had "Iron Teeth, " and that there ere "Ten Horns" on its head, the "iron" corresponding to the "Iron Limbs" and the "ten horns" to the "Ten Toes" of the Colossus, would cause Daniel to see that the Fourth Beast represented the Fourth World Kingdom.

But as Daniel "considered" the "Ten Horns, " he was amazed to see another Horn, a "LITTLE" one, come up among them, and before whom there were "three" of the "First Horns" plucked up by the roots, that is destroyed; and as he examined the "Little Horn" more closely he noticed that it had Eyes like the eyes of a Man, and the Mouth of a Man speaking great things. Dan. 7:7, Dan. 7:8. This mystified and troubled Daniel. He had seen nothing corresponding to it on the "Ten Toes" of the Colossus. It must mean some new and additional revelation that God did not see fit to impart to the Gentile King Nebuchadnezzar, and that was reserved for Daniel and his people (the Jews), for we must not forget that Daniel's own visions, in the last six chapters of the Book, have to do with God's dealings with the Jewish People in the "Latter Days." Dan. 10:14.

Before Daniel could ask for an explanation of the meaning of the "Little Horn, " he had another vision, a vision of a Judgment. Dan. 7: 9-11. Daniel's vision of the destruction of the Beast (vs. 11) locates this judgment as just before the Millennium. Daniel at the same time saw the "Son of Man" (Christ) receive His Kingdom (the Stone Kingdom). Vs. 13, 14. These visions added to Daniel's perplexity, and he was "grieved in his spirit, " and the visions of his head "troubled him" (vs. 15), so he approached one of the "Heavenly Messengers" that stood by and asked him the. meaning. He was told that the "Four Beasts" stood for Four Kings, or Kingdoms (vs. 23), that should arise out of the earth. Then Daniel wanted to know the "truth" about the "Fourth Beast, " which was so diverse from the other three. The "Little Horn" of the Fourth Beast was what troubled him the most because it was to make war against the "Saints of the Most High," and they were Daniel's own people, the God-fearing Jews of the "End Time, " who were to pass through the "Great Tribulation" and to be prevailed against, until the time came that the people (the Jews) of the "Saints of the Most High" should possess the Kingdom.

In explanation Daniel was told that the "Ten Horns" on the Fourth Beast represented "Ten Kings" that shall arise, and that the "Little Horn" was a king that should rise among them and subdue three of them, and that he would be a "person" of remarkable intelligence and great oratorical powers, having a mouth speaking great things (vs. 8, 20). That he would be audacious, arrogant, imperious and persecuting and change "times and laws, " and that the "Saints of the Most High" would be given into his hands for a "Time, and Times, and the Dividing of Time, " or 33 � years. For a further description of the "Little Horn" see the Chapter on "The Antichrist."

In this vision of the Four Beasts we see "Degeneration" just as we saw it in the metals of the Colossus. The descent is from the Lion, the "King of Beasts, " to a nondescript monster that defies description. The reason why these Four Kingdoms are represented first as a "Golden Headed Metallic Image, " and then as a succession of "Wild Beasts, " is to show the difference between man's view and God's view of the World Kingdoms. Man sees in them the concentration of wealth, majesty and power; God sees them as a succession of rapacious wild beasts devouring one another.

3. The Vision of the "RAM" and the "HE-GOAT."

The explanation as to the meaning of the "Little Horn" perplexed Daniel, and he voiced it "My 'cogitations' much troubled me, and my countenance the matter in 'my heart."' Dan. 7:28. To

comfort His servant God, two years later, transported Daniel in vision to Shushan the capital of Persia, and as he stood on the bank of Ulai, he saw a Ram which had "Two Horns, " one higher than the other, and the higher came. He saw the Ram push "Westward" and "Northward" and "Southward" and nothing could stand before it, and it did according to its will. Dan. 8:4. While Daniel was "considering" what the vision of the Ram meant, he saw a He-Goat come from the West unmolested, and he noticed it had a "Notable Horn" between its eyes, and when it reached the Ram it was moved with "choler" or anger against it, and smote it with "fury, " and broke its "Two Horns, " and knocked it down and stamped upon it.

Then the He-Goat waxed great, but when it became strong its "Great Horn" was broken off, and "Four Notable Horns" came up in its place, and out of one of them sprang a "Little Horn" which waxed exceeding great toward the "South" and toward the "East, " and toward the "Pleasant Land" (Palestine). Dan. 8:5-7.

When Daniel sought for the meaning of the vision he heard a voice say "Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision." Then Gabriel said to Daniel: The vision belongs to the 'Time of the End, ' and is to make thee know what shall come to pass in the "Last End of the Indignation." Dan. 8:15-17. Gabriel then informed Daniel that the "Ram" stood for the Medo-Persian Kingdom, with its two Kings, Darius and his nephew Cyrus; that the He-Goat stood for the Grecian Kingdom, the "Great Horn" between its eyes for its first King (Alexander the Great), and that the "Four Horns" that took the place of the "Great Horn" stood for Four Kingdoms into which the Grecian Kingdom should be divided.

This explanation cleared up things considerably for Daniel. It revealed to him that the "Two Horns" of the Ram, one higher than the other, and the "Two Shoulders" of the Bear, one higher than the other, of his vision of the "Four Wild Beasts; " and the "Two Arms" of the Colossus of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, must stand for the same thing, and that the double Kingdom of Medo-Persia. He also saw that the "Four Horns" that came up in the place of the "Great Horn" corresponded to the "Four Heads" of the Third Wild Beast (the Leopard) and that therefore the He-Coat and the Third Wild Beast and the "Abdomen and Hips" of the Colossus stood for the Grecian Kingdom, and its fourfold division among the generals of Alexander the Great.

We have already anticipated this in our explanation of the "Colossus" and of the "Four Wild Beasts, " but we must not forget that Daniel's information was progressive, and that each new vision threw light on his previous visions. For instance the Ram's pushing "Westward" and "Northward" and "Southward, " identifies it with the Bear crunching "Three Ribs" in its mouth which we saw was prophetic of the subjugation of Lydia to the "West, " Babylon to the "North, " and Egypt to the "South."

If the He-Goat had not been pointed out as the "King of Grecia" it would not be difficult for us to identify him, for the "Goat" was the national emblem of Macedonia, and is found on the coins of that country, the ancient capital of which was called "Aegae" or the "Goat City."

The same may be said as to the identification of the Ram with the Medo-Persian Kingdom.

Persian coins have been found which display a "Ram's Head" on one side, and a "Ram" incumbent on the other. We also read of a Persian kin riding in front of his army wearing a golden figure of a "Ram's Head" set with gems, instead of a diadem. In the Zena- vesta, Ized Behram, the guardian spirit of Persia, appears as a "Ram, " with clean feet and sharp-pointed horns.

The fury and violence of the He-Goat well depicts the vigor of Alexander the Great's attacks which carried everything before them. Rushing from the West, Alexander, in three great battles, made himself master of the world. But the "Great Horn" was suddenly broken off, for Alexander, with plans inconceivably vast, succumbed to marsh fever and intemperance at Babylon, in the thirty-third year of his life, and, in fulfillment of the prophecy "Four Horns" sprang up in the place of the "Great Horn."

These "Four Horns" stood for the four Generals of Alexander's army who divided his Kingdom among themselves. Cassander took possession of Macedonia. Lysimachus seized upon Thrace, Western Bithynia, Lower Phrygia, Mysia and Lydia. Seleucus took the remainder of Asia Minor and the East, including Syria and Assyria. Ptolemy took possession of Egypt. These Four Kingdoms were in time all absorbed into the Fourth World Kingdom, the Roman Empire. The last to lose its identity being Egypt, which succumbed in B.C. 30.

Soon after the appearance of these "Four Horns" on the head of the He-Goat Daniel saw a "Little Horn" come up on one of them. Gabriel explained the significance of this "Little Horn" to Daniel.

He told him that it stood for a King of "Fierce Countenance" who should stand up in the "Latter Time" of the Kingdom, and who should stand up against the "Prince of Princes" (Christ). Dan. 8:23-25. The description of this "Little Horn" so clearly corresponds with the description of the "Little Horn" that rose among the "Ten Horns" on the head of the Fourth Wild Beast that it was not difficult for Daniel to see that they described and stood for the same Person-THE ANTICHRIST. The revelation so overcame Daniel that he "fainted" and was sick certain days. Dan. 8:27.

4. The Vision of the "KINGS OF THE NORTH AND SOUTH."

While Daniel foresaw that the Kingdom of Alexander the Great would be divided into Four Kingdoms and that out of one of them would come the "Antichrist, " he was not told at that time which one it would be, but 20 years later, in B.C. 533, he had another vision in which he saw two kings warring against each other. One was called the "King of the North, " the other the "King of the South." This chapter (Dan. 11:1-3) is one of the most wonderfully minute as to prophetic details of any chapter in the Bible. It corresponds exactly with the profane history of the kings of Egypt and Syria for over 350 years. From verse 5 to verse 31 we have an account of what is called the "wars" of the "Kings of the North" (Syria) and of the "Kings of the South" (Egypt). These end with the close of the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes, B.C. 164. Verses 32-34 cover the whole period from, B.C. 164 down to the "Time of the End." At verse 36 "The Wilful King" (Antichrist) appears, and from that verse down to the end of the Book, we have an account of what is to befall Daniel's People in the "Latter Days." This vision of the "King of the North" (Syria), and of the "King of the South" (Egypt), in which the "King of the North" prevailed, revealed to Daniel that Antichrist would arise in the "Syrian" division of Alexander's Kingdom, for the description of the "King of the North" corresponded with the description of the "Little Horn" that came up on one of the "Four Horns" of the He-Goat, and also with the "Little Horn" that came up among the "Ten Horns" on the head of the Fourth Beast.

Thus to Daniel was revealed the whole course of the "Times of the Gentiles."

5. The Vision of the "SEVENTY WEEKS."

In chapter nine Daniel had a Vision of "Seventy Weeks" that were determined on his "People" (the Jews) and the Holy City (Jerusalem) to finish "their transgressions, " and make an "end of their sins, " and bring in "everlasting righteousness." Dan. 9:24. This Vision of the "Seventy Weeks" is the most important revelation in many respects made in the Scriptures. It set the date of the First Coming of Christ, and gives the length of the reign of Antichrist. The date of the "Vision" is important. The first verse of the chapter locates it in the "First Year" of Darius the Median, or the same year as the "Fall of Babylon, " B.C. 538. Daniel had been studying the Prophecy of Jeremiah, and learned from it that the 70 years of "Captivity" of his people were drawing to a close, for the "Captivity" began in B.C. 606, and 68 years had elapsed since then. Jer. 25:11. This discovery thrilled Daniel and he set his face toward God and poured out his soul in one of the most wonderful prayers recorded in the Scriptures. Verses 3-5. It is a model of confession, supplication and intercession. His prayer was interrupted by the appearance of the angel Gabriel, who had been sent at its commencement to give him "understanding in the matter." Vs. 20-22. Daniel was concerned about the end of the "seventy years" of the "Captivity, " and doubtless Gabriel relieved his mind as to that, but Gabriel had something more important to reveal to Daniel and that was the period of "Seventy Weeks."

The purpose of Gabriel's visit was to show Daniel that while his people would be restored to their own land at the end of the "Seventy Years, " that did not mean the restoration of their National Life, but was only the commencement of a longer period, which the angel called the "Seventy Weeks, " that must elapse before they should again be in control of their own land. This period was "determined" upon Daniel's people, and upon the Holy City. This is very important. It discloses the fact that the "Seventy Weeks" have nothing to do with the Gentiles or the Church. It also discloses another fact that the "Seventy Weeks, " or 490 years, only cover the period when the Jews are, by God's permission, dwelling as a people in their own land. It does not cover the present period of their Dispersion.

THE SEVENTY WEEKS

The expression "Seventy Weeks" should read "Seventy Sevens." Whether those "sevens" are days, weeks or years is to be determined by the context. The "Period" of the "Seventy Weeks" is divided into three periods of "Seven Weeks, " "Threescore and Two Weeks" and "One Week, " and it was to be 7+62--69 weeks from the going forth of the "commandment" to Restore and Build Jerusalem Unto "MESSIAH THE PRINCE."

The date of the "commandment" is given in Neh. 2:1 as the month "Nisan" in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, which was the 14th day of March, B.C. 445. The day when Jesus rode in Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem as "Messiah the Prince, " was Palm Sunday, April 2, A. D. 30. Luke 19:37-39. But the time between March 14, B.C. 445, and April 2, A. D. 30, is more than 69 literal "weeks." It is . 445+30=475 years. What explanation can we give for this? It is clear to every careful student of the Word of God that there is a "Time Element" in the Scriptures. We come across such divisions of time as "hours; " "days; "-"weeks, ;" "months; " "years; " "times; " "time and the dividing of time." To be intelligible and avoid confusion they must all be interpreted on the same scale. What is that scale? It is given in Num. 14:34. "After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days-Each Day FOR A YEAR, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years" See also Eze. 4:6

The "Lord's Scale" then is - "A Day Stands for a Year."

Let us apply this scale to the "Seventy Weeks." We found that the time between the "commandment" to restore and build Jerusalem, and "Messiah the Prince, " was to be 69 weeks, or 69 X 7 = 483 days, or if a "day" stands for a year, 483 years. But we found that from B.C. 445 to A. D. 30 was 475 years, a difference of 8 years. How can we account for the difference?

We must not forget that there are years of different lengths. The Lunar year has 354 days. The Calendar year has 360 days. The Solar year has 365 days.- The Julian, or Astronomical year, has 365 1/4 days, and it is necessary to add one day every 4 years to the calendar.

Now which of these years shall we use in our calculation? We find the "Key" in the Word of God. In Gen. 7:11-13; Gen. 8:3, Gen. 8:4, in the account of the Flood, we find that the 5 months from the 17th day of the 2nd month, until the 17th day of the 7th month, are reckoned as 150 days, or 30 days to a month, or 360 days to a year. So we see that we are to use in "Prophetical Chronology" a "Calendar" year of 360 days.

According to ordinary chronology, the 475 years from B.C. 445 to A. D. 30 are 64 "Solar" years of 365 days each. Now counting the years from B.C. 445 to A..D. 30, inclusively, we have 476 solar years. Multiplying these 476 years by 365 (the number of days in a Solar year), we ave 173, 740 days, to which add 119 days for leap years, and we have 173, 859 days. Add to these 20 days inclusive from March 14 to April 2, and we have 173, 879 days. Divide 173, 879 by 360 (the number of days in a "Prophetical Year"), and we have 483 years all to one day, the exact number of days (483) in 69 weeks, each day standing for a year. Could there be anything more conclusive to prove that Daniel's 69 weeks ran out on April 2, A. D. 30, the day that Jesus rode in triumph into the City of Jerusalem.

We must carefully notice that nothing is mentioned as occurring between the "Seven Weeks" and the "Threescore and Two Weeks, " is and that Daniel was to understand that the latter followed the former without a break. The words that follow, "the street shall be built, and the wall, even in troublous times, " doubtless refers to the "first period" or 49 years, occupied by Ezra and Nehemiah in the work of restoring and rebuilding the City o Jerusalem.

We see from this that if the "students of Prophecy" of Christ's day had been on the alert, and had understood Daniel's prophecy of the "Seventy Weeks, " they would have been looking for Him, and would have known to a certainty whether He was the Messiah or not.

While there was no break between the "Seven Weeks" and the "Threescore and Two Weeks, " there is a break between the "Sixty-ninth" and "Seventieth Week, " in which several things were to happen.

First we read that "Messiah Was to Be Cut Off, But Not for Himself." This refers to Christ's rejection and crucifixion. He died for others. Then we read that the people of the "Prince That Shall Come' shall destroy the City and the Sanctuary. Note that it does not say that the "Prince" will destroy the City and Sanctuary, but the People of the Prince. The people who destroyed the City of Jerusalem and the Temple in A. D. 70 were the Romans, therefore the "Prince (Antichrist) must be a Roman Citizen. This does not mean that he cannot be a Syrian Jew, for Syria will then be a part of the revived Roman Empire, and Saul of Tarsus was a Roman citizen as well as Jew.

We are then told that the desolation of the land of Palestine shall continue until the "End of the War" (probably Armageddon). As this "desolation" still continues we see that the "GAP" between the "Sixty ninth" and "Seventieth Week" takes in the whole of this PRESENT DISPENSATION.

The next verse (vs. 27) introduces the "Seventieth Week."

"And He (the "Prince"-Antichrist) shall confirm the Covenant with many for ONE WEEK (the Seventieth Week); and in the MIDST (middle) of the Week He (the Antichrist), shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease, " etc. For a description of the "Seventieth Week" see the chapter on "The Tribulation."

THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES

In Luke 21:24 Jesus says that Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the "Times of the Gentiles" be fulfilled.

We have seen that the "Times of the Gentiles" began in B. C 606; is there any way of telling when they will end?

There are those who claim that Jesus meant by the word "Times, " "Prophetical Times, " and that a Prophetical "Time" is a year of 360 days, each day standing for a year, thus making a "Time" equal to 360 years. They also claim that Moses in the Book of Leviticus (Lev. 26:18-20, Lev. 26:24-26), foretold, and four times repeated it, that if the Children of Israel disobeyed God, He would punish them "Seven Times" for their sins and that Jesus referred to these "Seven Times" when He spoke of the "TIMES" of the Gentiles. Therefore if a "Time" is 360 years, "Seven Times" would be 7 X 360 = 2520 years; and as the "Times of the Gentiles" began in B.C. 606, they should end in A. D. 1914.

Can this claim be substantiated? In the Book of Revelation the last "half" of the "Seventieth Week" of Daniel is described by three statements of time. First by 42 months (Rev. 11:2; Rev. 13:5) ; second by 1260 days (Rev. 11:3; Rev. 12:6); third by "Time, and Times, and Half a time" (Rev. 12:14); this last corresponding with Daniel's "Time and times and the dividing of time." Dan. 7:25; Dan. 12:7. Now as all these statements of time apply to the same period it is clear that the things that are equal to the same thing are equal to each other; and as a "thousand, two hundred and threescore days" equal 1260 days, and 1260 days equal 42 months of 30 days each, and 42 months equal 3 1/2 years, then "Time, Times and Half a Time" (or the dividing of time), must equal 3 1/2 years. That is, a "Time" must equal one year; and "Times, " two years; and a "Half a Time, " half a year. So we see that in "Prophetical Chronology" a "Time" is equal to a year of 360 days, and not a year of 360 years. There is therefore no scriptural authority for calling a "Time" 360 ordinary years.

If a "Time" was 360 ordinary years, then the "times, and times, and half a time" of Rev. 12:14 would be equal to 360+720+180 or 1260 years, making the "Last Week" of Daniel's "Seventy Weeks" 2520 years long; the absurdity of which is seen when we remember that the last week of the "Seventy Weeks" must be on the same scale as the "Weeks" of the 69 Week Period, which we proved from history were only 7 years long.

If the claim that the "Times of the Gentiles" is 2520 years long is correct, then we must not forget that those years are years of 360 days each. Now 2520 years of 360 days each, make 907, 200 days. But exactly 2523 Julian or "Astronomical Years" of 365 1/4 days each, or 921, 516 days, have elapsed since B.C. 606 up to the present time (A.D. 1917), a difference of 14, 316 days. If we reduce these 2523 years of 365 1/4 days to years of 360 days, then we must divide 921, 516 by 360, which gives us 2559, 3/4 years, which is 39 3/4 years more than 2520 years, so that the 2520 years of the "Times of the Gentiles" ran out 393/4 years ago, or in A. D. 1877.

As further proof that the "Seven Times" of Leviticus are not Prophetic "Times, " we have the fact (shown on the chart on "Prophetical Chronology"), that the Children of Israel have been punished, or given over to "Servitude" and "Captivity" exactly SEVEN times. Their present "Dispersion" is neither a "servitude" or "Captivity, " and does not count.

If the "Seven Times" of Leviticus are Prophetic "Times" and a "Time" is one year, then "Seven Times" would be seven years, the length of the "Last Week" of Daniel's "Seventy Weeks, " and would make the statement of Leviticus a Prophetic reference to the length of the "Tribulation Period" through which the Jews must go as a punishment for their sins. The 1000 years of Rev. 20:2-4 are ordinary years, just as the 70 years of the Babylonian Captivity were. The context will show whether ordinary or prophetical years are meant. It is this confusion in interpreting "Prophetical Chronology" that has led to the "time setting" that has brought discredit upon the whole. system of Preinillennial Truth.

The "Times of the Gentiles" will end with the end of Daniel's "Seventieth Week." When that will begin and end no one knows, for the Scriptures teach that it is not for us to know the "Times and Seasons."

Dispensational Truth

Chapter 12 - The King
If it is the purpose of God to set up a Kingdom on this earth, the question naturally arises who is to be the King. Is there any intimation in the Scriptures as to who he shall be? In the Old Testament we have a "Prophetic Portrait" of the King, and in the New Testament the "Historic Portrait." These correspond as the die to the matrix. As the cartoonist first outlines his picture and then fills in the details, so it is the Divine method of revelation to begin with an outline, and then gradually fill in its details until we have the complete picture.

The first outline of the "Prophetic Portrait" of the King we find in the book of Genesis. The Lord God said unto the Serpent"I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Gen. 3:15.

Here we have a reference to some future "descendant" of the woman who should be victorious over the Serpent. How luminous this becomes in the light of the New Testament's statements as to Christ's final victory over Satan.

We have to wait for 1700 years, until after the Flood, for our second outline of the "Prophetic Portrait, " when God tells us in Gen. 9:26-27, that the promised seed of the woman shall come through the line of Shem.

The third outline is given 400 years later, when God singles out Abraham to be the father of the race from whom the King shall come. Gen. 12:1-3. At that time Abraham had no heir, and humanly speaking there was no likelihood of his having one, so Abraham besought the Lord that his steward Eliezer, who had been born in his house, should be his heir, but God said "he shall not be thine heir, but he that shall come forth out of 'thine own bowels' shall be thine heir." Gen. 15, 1-3. Now Sarah, Abraham's wife was "past age, " and the only solution of the problem to her was that Abraham should take her handmaid, Hagar, an Egyptian, as his wife, to which Abraham consented, and in due time Ishmael was born to Abraham of Hagar. Gen. 16:1-3. This pleased Abraham and he said unto God: "O that Ishmael might live before Thee! " And God said-

"Sarah, thy wife, shall bear thee a son indeed, and thou shalt call his name Isaac; and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee. Behold I have blessed him and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my Covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year." Gen. 17 - 18-20.

Here again we see the principle of selection, or limitation. If in the days of Christ an Ishmaelite had claimed to be the Messiah because he was a "lineal descendant of Abraham, " his claim would have been rejected because the Messiah was to come from Abraham through Isaac.

In course of time Isaac was married and unto him and Rebekah twin sons were born, Esau and Jacob. Then another choice had to be made, and at Bethel God revealed to Jacob that he was the one chosen. Gen. 28:10-12. Here we see that the Abrahamic Covenant passes over Esau, the "first-born, " and falls on Jacob. No descendant of Esau therefore may claim the Messianic title.

To Jacob twelve sons were born, to which one shall the promise descend? To Reuben, the first-born, or to Joseph, the favorite? To our surprise God chooses neither, but selects Judah, the fourth son of Leah.

"Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise; thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. . . . The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet UNTIL SHILOH COME; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be." Gen. 49:8-10.

Here the promise gains in definiteness. The Messiah must come through Judah, not through Levi, the progenitor of the Priestly order. The word "sceptre" indicates Kingly power, and the word "Shiloh" is a name for the Messiah.

The promise now skips 475 years to the time of David, who was of the tribe of Judah. God said to David, through Nathan the prophet-

"Thine House and thy Kingdom shall be established forever before thee; thy throne shall be established forever." 2Sam. 7:-16.

This promise God afterward confirmed with an oath, saying-

"I have made a Covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, thy seed will I establish forever, and build up thy throne to all generations. . . . Once have I sworn by My Holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before ME. It shall be established forever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven." Psa. 89 :3, 4, 35-37.

This Covenant was unconditional and was reaffirmed to Israel through Jeremiah the prophet, many years after David's death when Israel had lapsed into idolatry (Jer. 33:17-19), in which God promised that David should never want a man (son) to sit upon his throne forever.

That these promises did not mean, as we now see, that there should be an "unbroken" line of successors on David's throne, is clear from the fact that, after Solomon, the kingdom was divided. and in B.C. 587 the last king of Judah was carried captive to Babylon. Jeremiah refers to a "future" king that God would raise up to sit on the "Throne of David."

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and ' justice in the earth. In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely, and this is his name whereby he shall be called-THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." er. 23:5, er. 23:6.

When we compare this prophecy with Isa. 11:1, 2-

"There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots; and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord, "and note the word "Branch" that is common to both, and then note the last words of Isaiah's prophecy-"The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, etc, " and recall Luke's description of the Child Jesus"And the Child grew, and waxed strong in Spirit, filled with wisdom; and the Grace of God was upon Him"-Luke 2:40, we have no difficulty in identifying who the Prophet meant.

But the Messiah was not only to come from the line so clearly marked out in the Old Testament Scriptures. He was also to be of Divine Parentage.

How this could be was a riddle until the Prophet Isaiah solved it by saying-

"Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" Isa. 7:14.

An obscure passage in Jer. 31:22 may refer to the same event"A woman shall encompass a man."' That is, a woman shall enclose in her womb a "man-child" without human parentage.

Later Isaiah says-

" For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the Throne of David, and upon his Kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth, even forever." Isa. 9:6, Isa. 9:7.

Where is the key that will unlock this passage? Listen.

"In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. . . . And the angel said unto her-Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His name Jesus. 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 (Israel) FOREVER; and of His Kingdom There Shall Be NO END." Luke 1:26-28.

That this was not to be a natural birth after marriage with Joseph, is clear from the fact that when Joseph learned of Mary's condition he was minded to put her away privately, but was told not to do so by the angel Gabriel, for that which was conceived in her was of the Holy Ghost. Matt. 1:18-20. This is confirmed by the words cf Gabriel to Mary herself.

"The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of THE HIGHEST shall overshadow thee; therefore also that Holy Thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the SON OF GOD." Luke 1:35.

Some have maintained that the Prophet Isaiah in his prophecy, "Behold a 'virgin' shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel; " referred to some maiden of his own time, but this is refuted by Matthew, who says "Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying-

"Behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God With Us." Matt. 1:23.

The "Virgin Birth" of Jesus is still further confirmed by the statement of Matthew that Joseph "knew her not" until she had brought forth her firstborn son. Matt. 1:24, Matt. 1:25.

The promise in Gen. 3:15 was to be fulfilled through the "seed of the woman." The word "seed" is always in the Scriptures, with this exception, applied to the "male" of man and beast, and the promise could only be fulfilled, as Luke tells us it was fulfilled, by Mary being with child by the Holy Ghost.

That we may have no difficulty in tracing the ancestry of Jesus, two genealogical tables are given us. The first, in Matthew, is of Joseph, and traces Jesus' ancestry back to Abraham. The second, in Luke, is of Mary, and traces Jesus' ancestry back to Adam. See the Chart on "The King." A careful examination of these genealogies shows what a safeguard God threw about the birth of Jesus and how careful He was to see that the Scriptures were literally fulfilled in Him. Matthew traces the genealogy of Jesus back to David, through Solomon; Luke traces it back to David through Nathan. That there are similar names in the two tables presents no difficulty as such a thing is common in tracing any long line of descent. Again the statement in Matthew that "Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, " and the statement in Luke that Joseph was (as supposed) the son of Heli is easily reconciled, for Joseph could not be the son of both Jacob and Heli. The fact that the translators of the King James version use the word "supposed" and that the word "son" is in italics (which indicates that it is not in the original but is placed there to make sense), shows that some other word could be inserted that would make sense, and that word is "son-in-law, " and so it should read, "Joseph which was the 'son-in-law' of Heli." This makes the genealogy of Luke that of Mary, for two genealogies so clearly unalike could not both be the genealogy of Joseph.

Matthew

But why two lines of descent, one through Nathan and the other through Solomon? Why was not Mary's genealogy sufficient? During King David's residence at Hebron, while he was as yet only the king of Judah, six sons were born to him. Of these, three appear to have died in infancy. Of the other three, Amnon was murdered, Absalom perished while in rebellion against his father, and Adonijah, having attempted to usurp the throne, was subsequently put to death by Solomon. The right of succession to the crown was thus secured to the sons of David born "after" he was enthroned king over all Israel.

The children that were born to David after he was crowned king over all Israel are also enumerated. 1Chron. 3:1-3. Of these two only need be mentioned, Nathan and Solomon. Solomon, as we know, succeeded his father as king, but Nathan was older than Solomon, and on that ground might have contested Solomon's right of succession, though we are not told that he did. Nevertheless Solomon's title had the shadow of Nathan's claim upon it, and that there should be no cloud upon Jesus' title to- the "Throne of David, " God ordained that Mary, the mother of Jesus, should be a direct descendant of David through Nathan, the "legal heir" to the throne. But Jesus had no right to David's Throne through Mary, for she was not in the "Kingly Line" of descent through Solomon. How then was Jesus' right to David's Throne to be brought about? Only by marriage.

Here we see the wonderful way in which God safeguarded the "Virgin Birth" of Jesus. He saw to it that Mary married (after conception) a man who could not be the natural father of Jesus, because of a taint or defect in his ancestry.

Joseph was a lineal descendant of David through the "Kingly Line" of Solomon, but in that line there was one Jechonias (Matt. 1:11, Matt. 1:12), called in Jer. 22:24-26, Coniah, of whom God had said,

"No man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the 'Throne of David' and ruling any more in Judah."

So we see that Joseph could not be the "natural" father of Jesus, for no descendant of his could sit on the Throne of David and "prosper." This forever sets at rest the claim that Joseph was the "natural" father of Jesus, and establishes the fact of His "Virgin Birth."

The marriage of Joseph and Mary made Jesus the adopted son and "legal heir" of Joseph. The title, unaffected by the curse pronounced upon Coniah, was thus conveyed to Jesus, in whom there centres, through both Nathan and Solomon, exclusive right to the "Throne of David."

That there might be no question as to Joseph's and Mary's ancestors, God, when the time came for Jesus to be born, put it into the heart of the Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, to call for an enrollment, and this required that every Jewish citizen should be enrolled in the city where his family had lived, and as Joseph was of the "House and Lineage of David" (Luke 2:1-3), this required him to go to Bethlehem to be enrolled. And as Mary was of the same family, Joseph took her with him. They could not have been enrolled unless their names were on the Register, and that they were enrolled proves that they could at that time trace their ancestry back to King David. It was doubtless from this register that Matthew and Luke got their genealogy.

If the claim of Jesus to the "Throne of David" had not been known in Jerusalem to be absolutely without a flaw, the Jews would have denounced Him as an imposter and pretender on the day He entered Jerusalem and was received with royal acclamation as the Son of David. Matt. 21:9-11. Up to the time of Jesus' rejection as King, all genealogical records were preserved in the Temple, and easily accessible to all the people, but when Titus in A. D. 70 destroyed the city and the Temple those records were all destroyed, and since that day the genealogical tables of Matthew and Luke alone remain to give us the lineal descent of Jesus from King David.

Therefore the only living man who today can establish an unbroken genealogy directly and incontrovertibly from King David, is the MAN Christ Jesus, (1Tim. 2:5), born "King of the Jews, " (Matt. 2:2), crucified "King of the Jews, " (John 19:19), and to come again "King of the Jews."

It has been said that Jesus never claimed to be the "Messiah, " but this is not true. He made the claim to the "Woman at the Well" (John 4:26), and to Pilate (John 18:33-35).

But the Old Testament Scriptures not only give the Messiah's ancestry, but the time and place of His birth. If we can locate the "time" of His birth, we shall have strong evidence of His identification. If, according to the Scriptures, He was to appear at the time Jesus "did appear, " and Jesus fulfilled the other scriptures relating to Him, then our identification of Jesus as the Messiah is beyond question.

In Dan. 9:24, Dan. 9:25, we read that it was to be 69 Weeks from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the "Messiah the Prince." Now here is a definite period of time mentioned-"69 Weeks, " and these weeks were to date from a certain edict-"The commandment to Restore and Rebuild Jerusalem." The date of this "commandment" is given in Neh. 2:1, as the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, which was the 14th day of March, B.C. 445. Now we found in the Chapter on "The Gentiles, " under the head of "Prophetical Chronology, " using the "Year Day Scale, " that those "69 Weeks" expired within one day of April 2nd, A. D. 30, the day on which Jesus rode in triumph into Jerusalem as "Messiah the Prince."

If the students of prophecy of Jesus' day had been on the watch they would have known for a certainty whether Jesus was the Messiah or not; for in all probability they had among their archives a copy of the famous edict of Artaxerxes Longimanus, dated March 14, 'B. C. 445, and they could have computed from the prophecy of Daniel the year, if not the day, when "Messiah the Prince" would come. What a rebuke is this to the teachers and preachers of today who make light of the prophetical statements of God's word. The Second Coming of Jesus will find them just as much unprepared to receive Him, as the Jews were to receive Him at His First Coming.

But not only was the time of the Messiah's appearing given, but the place of His birth.

"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be 'Ruler in Israel' whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." Micah 5:2.

This prophecy we know was literally fulfilled. There are four prophecies in reference to the origin of the Messiah that seemed irreconcilable previous to their fulfilment. They were, that he was to be born at Bethlehem, born of a Virgin, was to come out of Egypt, and that he should be called a Nazarene, and yet, as we know, every one of them was literally fulfilled in Jesus.

But the very passage from Daniel which gives us the "time" of the coming of "Messiah the Prince, " also tells us that almost immediately "He Shall Be Cut Off But Not for Himself." Dan. 9:26. How then could be fulfilled the prophecy that declared that He was to be given the "Throne of David, " and that He should reign over the "House of Jacob forever, and of His Kingdom there shall be NO END? There is but one answer. His coming was to be in Two Stages. He was to come first as a "Suffering Saviour, " and then as a "King." Here is where the Jews of Jesus' day misread the Scriptures, They did not distinguish between the Sufferings of the Messiah and His Glory. 1Pet. 1:11. They could not understand how the Messiah was to be a mighty King and also be "cut off" for the sins and iniquities of His people. There was but one possible answer and that. was by Resurrection. They accepted Psa. 16, as Messianic, and yet did not see that it prophesied the "Resurrection of Jesus" in the words-

"Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (Hades); neither wilt thou suffer thine 'Holy One' to see corruption." Psa. 16:10.

This passage Peter in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost, quoted saying that David, being a prophet, here speaks of the Resurrection Of Christ, " and added--'This JESUS hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses." Acts 2:25-27

There can be no question but what "Jesus of Nazareth" was the promised "Son of David, " who is to reign upon the "Throne of David." But being rejected and crucified, and risen from the dead, He now sits on His Father's Throne until the time comes for Him to take the Kingdom.

The "Throne of David" was on the earth, and can never be anywhere else. To say that Christ now reigns on the "Throne of David, " and that His Kingdom is "spiritual, " is to subvert the meaning of the Old Testament prophecies. The "Throne of David" is now vacant, and has been for 2500 years, but when the "Times of the Gentiles" have run their course, and the time has come to set up again the "Tabernacle (House) of David" which has fallen down (Acts 15:13-15), the "Throne of David" will be reestablished and given to Christ.

Dispensational Truth

Chapter 13 - The Kingdom
It is clear from the Scriptures that God has been trying to set up a "visible" Kingdom on this earth ever since the creation of man, to whom He gave dominion. Gen. 1 :26-28. But that dominion was lost by the "Fall, " and Satan set himself up as the "Prince of this world." Matt. 4:8-10. johnl 4:30.

In the "Call" of Abraham God took the first step toward the setting up of a "visible" Kingdom on this earth, which assumed an outward form in, the "Jewish Commonwealth, " under Moses, and during the administration of Moses, Joshua, the Elders that outlived Joshua, the Judges, David, Solomon, the kings of Israel and Judah down to the Babylonish Captivity, God reigned through these men under the form of a "Theocracy."

Under the Judgeship of Samuel there was a revolt against the "Theocracy, " and Saul was chosen by the people as King. 1Sam. 8:6, 1Sam. 8:7. This was followed by God's selection of David. But the misrule of his successors, and the idolatry of the people, caused the cessation of the Theocratic reign in B.C. 606, and the "Times of the Gentiles" began.

1. The Kingdom at Hand.

But when 600 years of the "Times of the Gentiles" had run their course, God again made the attempt to set up His Kingdom on the earth, and the angel Gabriel announced to Mary the birth of the King. Luke 1:26-28.

Thirty years later the Kings forerunner, John the Baptist, announced that the Kingdom was "at hand, " (Matt. 3:1, Matt. 3:2) ; and when the King manifested Himself to Israel He Himself made the same announcement, (Matt. 4:17-19), and later He sent out the"Twelve, " (Matt. 10:7), and the "Seventy" to proclaim the same thing. Luke 10:1-3.

But the King was rejected and crucified, and the setting up of the Kingdom postponed, and the Kingdom took on its "Mystery Form" under the name of the "Kingdom of Heaven."

Here we must distinguish between the "Kingdom of God" and the "Kingdom of Heaven." The "Kingdom of God" is the "Reign of God" in the Universe over all His created creatures, and includes time and eternity, heaven and earth. It is spiritual and "cometh not with observation." Luke l 7:20, l 7:21. It is entered by the"New Birth, " (John 3:5) ; and is not "meat" and "drink, " but "Righteousness and Peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." Rom. 14:17.

The "Kingdom of Heaven" is a New Testament term, and is found, in Matthew's Gospel only, where it is mentioned 32 times. Its character is described in the 12 "Kingdom of Heaven Parables" given in Matt. 13:1-3; Matt. 18:23-25; Matt. 20:1-3; Matt. 22:1-3; Matt. 25:1-3. From these Parables we see that the "Kingdom of Heaven" is limited as to its Time and its Sphere. Its Time is from the First to the Second Coming of Christ, and its Sphere is over that part of the world that we call Christendom. In the "Kingdom of Heaven" there is a mixture of good and evil, of "Wheat" and "Tares, " of "Good Fish" and "Bad Fish, " of "Wise Virgins" and "Foolish Virgins.

THE POSTPONEMENT THEORY

There. are some who object to what they call the "Postponement Theory, " and claim that the Kingdom which was "At Hand" was not an outward visible Kingdom, but a spiritual Kingdom, and that it was not withdrawn but is seen today in "New Born" believers. They base their claim on the fact that the earthly visible Kingdom of Christ could not be set up until after He had suffered and died on the Cross as the Saviour of men, and had risen from the dead, and ascended to the Father and received the Kingdom, and that therefore the offer of an outward visible and earthly Kingdom at that time was not a "bona fide" offer, and that John the Baptist and Jesus must have meant by the "Kingdom of Heaven" something else than an outward visible and earthly Kingdom. What are the facts? First that the Old Testament scriptures teach that there is to be an earthly and visible Kingdom over which the Son of Man is to rule (Dan. 7:13-14, Dan. 2:34-35, Dan. 2:44-45; Jer. 23:5; Zech. 14:9), and we know that at the time of Jesus' birth there was a widespread expectation of the coming of the Messiah, and that Simeon and Anna waited in the Temple for the "Consolation of Israel." Luke 2:25-27. We are also told that "Wise Men" came from the East to Jerusalem inquiring "Where is He that is born KING OF THE JEWS? " and when they had found Jesus they worshipped Him as KING. Matt. 2:1-3. There can be no question but what Jesus was born to be a KING. It was not until Jesus was 30 years old that John the Baptist appeared at the Jordan preaching-"Repent ye: for the Kingdom of Heaven is AT HAND." Matt. 3:2. And we are told that his mission was to "Prepare the Way of the Lord." Matt. 3:3. Isa. 40:3. Prepare the way of the Lord for what? Not for the "Cross" but the "Kingdom." john's message had no meaning to those who heard him and were looking for the setting up of the "Messianic Kingdom, " if he did not mean by the "Kingdom of Heaven" an outward and visible earthly Kingdom. That John himself so believed is evident from the question he sent his disciples while in prison to ask Jesus-"Art Thou He that should come or do we look for another? " Matt. 11:3. The fact that Jesus answered John's question by a number of miracles of healing, which are the "Signs" of the Messianic Kingdom (Isa. 35:1-3), and were proofs of Christ's Messiahship, and told John's disciples to so report, is proof that both John and Jesus had in mind the earthly Messianic Kingdom when they proclaimed that the "Kingdom of heaven was AT HAND." It was the "Kingdom of Heaven, " not because it was a Heavenly or Spiritual Kingdom, but because it was not received from men, but was given from Heaven by God the Father.

While it is true that John the Baptist pointed out to two of his own disciples Jesus as the "Lamb of God" ( ' John 1 29), this was after Jesus' return from the "Wilderness Temptation, and had been revealed to John at the Baptism of Jesus, and does not nullify or alter the character of his previous proclamation that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. We must not forget that as soon as Jesus was baptized He was "immediately" driven into the Wilderness to be tempted of the Devil (Matt. 4:1-3, Mark 1:11-13), and it was not until 40 days after His Baptism that John pointed out to his disciples Jesus as "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." The words "next day" (John 1:29) refer not to the day after Jesus' Baptism, but the next day after the Priests and Levites had inquired of John whether he was the Christ or Elias. John 1:19-21. In John 1:32-34, John the Baptist testifies that he knew not Jesus as the "Lamb of God" until His Baptism. Then he knew by the descent of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove upon Christ that He was the "SON OF GOD." Therefore John the Baptist knew nothing about Christ's sacrificial work at the beginning of his ministry, and his proclamation that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand could have had no reference to a Spiritual Kingdom.

When Nathanael exclaimed-"Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God; Thou art the KING OF ISRAEL" (John 1:49), Jesus did not disclaim the title. When Jesus entered on His own ministry His message was the same as John the Baptist's-"Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is AT HAND." Matt. 4:17. The repentance called for was a "NATIONAL REPENTANCE." The Old Testament scriptures clearly teach that the Messianic Kingdom cannot be set up until Israel as a nation REPENTS. In Matt. 4:23 we read-"And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the 'Gospel of The Kingdom'." While this was attended with "signs of bodily healing" we are nowhere told that the "Gospel of the Kingdom" had anything to do with the salvation of the soul, and as it is to be preached again after the Rapture of the Church, for a "witness" unto all nations, that the time has come for the setting up of the Kingdom (Matt. 24:14), the inference is that the "Gospel of the Kingdom" has nothing to do with "salvation, " but is simply an announcement that the "Messianic Kingdom" is AT HAND.

When Jesus sent forth the Twelve Disciples He commanded them, saying, "Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not; but go rather to the 'lost sheep' of the HOUSE OF ISRAEL, and as ye go, preach, saying-'The kingdom of Heaven is AT HAND.' Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils (demons)." Matt. 10:5-7. Note again that the works they were to perform were "Kingdom SIGNS, " and had no reference to the salvation of the soul. They did not preach the "Gospel of Salvation." but the "Gospel of the Kingdom." And further the "Gospel of Salvation" is for the whole world, but the Disciples were forbidden to go to any but the "House of Israel, " thus showing that what they preached was exclusively for Israel. That the Disciples were expecting the setting up of a visible earthly Kingdom is evidenced by the request of James and John that they might sit, one on the right hand, and the other on the left hand of Jesus in His Kingdom. Mark 10:35-37. If there was to be no earthly Kingdom Jesus would have disabused their minds of that idea, but He confirmed it by saying that the place of honor was not for Him to give, but would be bestowed by His Father. Matt. 20:23.

The fact that after the miracle of the "Loaves and Fishes" the multitude was desirous to take Jesus by force and make Him a KING (John 6:15), reveals what they understood by the preaching of the Kingdom of Heaven being AT HAND. That Jesus prevented their doing so by escaping to a mountain is no evidence that He repudiated the idea of Kingship over a visible earthly Kingdom, but that to have received the Kingdom from them would have been wrong, for He is to receive the Kingdom from the FATHER, and not from men. Dan. 7:13-14. That Jesus did not deny His Kingship of an outward and visible earthly Kingdom is clear from the fact that He accepted the "Hosannahs"of the multitude when He rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday in fulfilment of the Messianic prophecy of Zech. 9:9. John 12:12-14. And it was as "KING OF THE JEWS" He was crucified. Matt. 27:37. When Pilate asked Jesus-"Art Thou the king of the JEWS? " He evaded the question, but admitted that He was a KING, and to that end had been born, but that His Kingdom was "not of this world, " that is, it would be given to Him by God the Father, and therefore would be from Heaven. John 18:33-35.

But some one may ask, "What would have happened if the Jews, as a nation, had repented, and accepted Jesus as King, would the earthly Messianic Kingdom have been set up? " Certainly, but not necessarily immediately, for certain Old Testament prophecies as to Jesus' death and resurrection had to be fulfilled, for He had to die for the redemption of the race, before He could assume His office as King. But this could and would have been fulfilled by the Roman Government seizing Jesus and crucifying Him as a usurper, and with Jesus' Resurrection and Ascension, Daniel's 69th week would have terminated, and the 70th week begun without a break, and at its close Jesus would have descended and set up His earthly Kingdom.

But you ask, "What about the Church? If it was God's Eternal Purpose to form the Church (Eph. 1:4), how could it have been formed if there was no break or gap between Daniel's 69th and 70th week, and how therefore could there have been a 'bona fide' offer of an earthly Kingdom to Israel? " The question is hypothetical and based on the supposition that something might have happened that God foresaw would not happen. God's foreknowledge that the Jewish nation would not at that time heed the announcement that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand and repent, does not militate against the sincerity of the announcement any more than the offer of spiritual salvation by a preacher of the Gospel to an audience of sinners who he has every reason to believe will refuse his offer, is not a sincere and "bona fide" offer.

God's Plan and Purpose in the Ages is based upon His FOREKNOWLEDGE. If God had not foreseen that the Jews would reject the King and therefore the Kingdom. He would have planned for the formation of the Church at some other time than this present Dispensation. As the Church was to be purchased by the precious blood of Christ (Acts 20:28, 1Pet. 1:18-20), it was necessary that Jesus should be rejected and crucified, and that by His own nation, for the Prophet Zechariah (Zech. 12:10) foretold that the Jews should look upon Him whom they had PIERCED. But God's foreknowledge did not require or compel the Jewish nation to reject Jesus, any more than Jesus' foreknowledge that Judas would betray Him compelled Judas to so do. The possibility of the Church being crowded out by the repentance of the Jewish nation did not enter into the "Plan of God, " who foresaw the refusal of Israel to accept Jesus as King, and that Israel would not nationally repent until after the Church had been formed and taken out of the world.

In expounding the Scriptures we are not to take something that belongs to a "PAST" and a "FUTURE" Dispensation and put it in the "PRESENT" Dispensation. For instance, "THE KINGDOM." The "PAST" and "COMING" Dispensations have to do with "THE KINGDOM." but the "Present" has to do with the CHURCH. The "Kingdom" is an outward, visible and earthly "POLITICAL ORGANIZATION, " and is to be "set up" on the earth (Dan. 2:44) ; while the "Church" is an invisible and heavenly "SPIRITUAL ORGANISM" that is to be "caught out." 1Thes. 4:16-17. The "Kingdom" was prepared FROM the "Foundation of the World." Matt. 25:34.The "Church" was chosen in Him "BEFORE the Foundation of the World." Eph. 1:4. The "Church" then is not the "Kingdom."

THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT

A good illustration of the confusion that results when we take things that belong to a FUTURE Dispensation and put them in this PRESENT Dispensation is seen in the "Sermon on the Mount." It is found in Matt. 5:1-3:29. Matthew's Gospel is Jewish and must so be interpreted, though there are teachings in it that have eternal application and may be applied to any Dispensation, as "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the Law, till all be fulfilled (Matt. 5:18) ; or "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Matt. 6:21. But the instructions as to "fasting" (6:16-18) ; the "danger of the Council" (5:22) ; the "Judge, " the "Officer, " and the "Altar" (5:24-25), and the profession "I never knew you, " and such like, have no application to the Christian, but only to those who are under the Law, and therefore must apply to another Dispensation than this.

The absurdity of the application is seen when we note that many professing Christians instead of "loving their enemies, " do not even "love their brethren." Instead of agreeing with their "adversary quickly, " they are unwilling to agree with their "brethren slowly." Instead of not judging others it is the one thing to which they are most addicted. If any sue them and would take away their coat, instead of letting them have their cloak also, they let them have the law. Take the command "Give to him that asketh of thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away." Try that upon the average church member and see what you would get. How many if they were smitten on one cheek would turn the other?

Take the "Lord's Prayer, " (Matt. 6:9-11), which is a part of the "Sermon on the Mount." It asks that-"The Kingdom" may come, not that the "Church" may increase and prosper. There is no petition for "Salvation from sin" in it. It asks that "God's will may be done in earth, as it is done in heaven." It is a prayer for those who shall be living in the "Tribulation Period" who in their persecutions will long for the return of the King, that the Kingdom may be set up, and God's will be done, as it will be done then, on earth as it is done in Heaven. At that time the "Beast" (Antichrist) will be in power and no one shall be able to "buy" or "sell" except he that hath the "Mark of the Beast, " and this explains the petition-"Give us this day our DAILY BREAD, "for unless food is supplied miraculously they will perish. And it will be a time when they shall particularly need to be delivered, not from evil, but the EVIL ONE-Satan, who will tempt them to recant and worship the Beast.

The "Sermon on the Mount" was spoken by Christ before His rejection, and was the Constitution of the then offered Kingdom; now that the Kingdom has been withdrawn it is not in force, but will be in the Millennial Kingdom. So we see that we must discriminate between the Dispensations and not dislocate scripture.

THE DISCIPLES, QUESTION

After the Resurrection of Jesus the hope of a visible Kingdom was revived, and just before His Ascension the Disciples asked Him-

"Lord wilt Thou at this time restore the Kingdom of Israel? " His reply was- "It is not for you to know 'The Times' or 'The Seasons' which the Father hath put in His own power." Acts 1:6, Acts 1:7.

It is clear from this that the Disciples were looking for an Earthly and Visible Kingdom, and not a spiritual one. If Jesus came simply to set up a "Spiritual Kingdom" in this Dispensation, as many claim, then common honesty demanded that He at that solemn moment when He was about to leave His Disciples and go back to the Father, should have disabused His Disciples' minds of their false hope, and told them plainly that the Kingdom he came to set up was "spiritual" and not earthly. But He did no such thing. He confirmed their hope and told them that there was to be an "Earthly Kingdom, " but the time and season for setting it up had not yet come.

In Luke 19:11, Luke 19:12, we read-

"Because He was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the Kingdom of God Should 'IMMEDIATELY' Appear; He spake this parable. A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a Kingdom, and to return."

From this we see that Jesus is the "Certain Nobleman" who has gone into a "Far Country" (Heaven), to receive the Kingdom and that, when He has received it, He will return.

There is nothing in the Scriptures to prove that Jesus is a King now. David was anointed King over. Israel long before King Saul died in anticipation of that event, but he did not become King, and take the throne, until after Saul's death. So while Jesus was born "King of the Jews, " He does not become King until He actually takes the Throne. At present He is engaged in His High Priestly functions, and is seated on His Father's Throne and not on His own Throne.

II. The Kingdom in Mystery.

The King having been rejected it was impossible then to set up the Kingdom, so the Kingdom took on another aspect known as The Kingdom in Mystery.

This "Mystery Form" of the Kingdom is described in the "Kingdom of Heaven Parables" found in Matthew's Gospel alone. If we want to know the character of this Period, which covers the time between the Ascension of Christ, and the Rapture of the Church, we must study these Parables. They are 12 in number.

After Jesus had spoken the Parable of "The Sower, " the Disciples came to Him and said, "Why speakest Thou unto them in Parables? " He answered-"Because it is given unto you to know THE MYSTERIES Of the Kingdom of Heaven."

In verse 35 He gives as His reason for speaking to them in Parables, that it might be fulfilled as spoken by the prophet-

"I will open my mouth in Parables; I will utter things which have been kept SECRET from the foundation of the world."

The "Kingdom of Heaven Parables" therefore cannot describe the "Messianic" or "Millennial Kingdom, " for it was no "secret" to the old Testament Prophets. Neither do they describe a "Spiritual Kingdom, " for the figures they use are all of an "earthly" nature. They must then describe the character of the Present Dispensation, in its earthly aspect, during the absence of The King.

Our Lord's Parables are not "Allegories." A vein of falsehood characterizes all allegories. Things are represented "fictitiously." The Parables of our Lord present things truthfully. He used Parables so that those who were not disposed to believe might not understand, and that the word of God might be fulfilled as spoken by the Prophet Isaiah. Isa. 6:9-11. Matt. 13:13-15. Also because "blindness in part"had fallen upon Israel, (Rom. 11:25), and a clear revelation would only discourage them or drive them further into unbelief.

Seven of the "Kingdom of Heaven" Parables are found in Matthew 13. All of the twelve, except the Parable of "The Sower, " begin with "The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto."

1. The Sower.

The purpose of the "Parable of the Sower" seems to be, not so much to show the "character" of the "Kingdom of Heaven, " that is, the "proportion" of those who hear the Gospel and fail to profit by it though that is clearly revealed, as it is to show the causes that hinder the growth of the Seed. The Parable mentions four classes of "Hearers."

(1) The "Wayside" Hearer.

Here the seed does not have a chance to "take root." The"Devil's Birds, " (vs. 19), "Criticism, " "Doubt Unbelief, " "Prejudice, " "Preoccupation, " etc., snatch up the seed before it can be worked into the soil.

(2) The "Stony Ground" Hearer.

Here the seed takes "root" but dies before it can grow up because of the "shallowness" of the soil. Emotional souls caught by some sudden fear of hell, or moved by some strong appeal, profess conversion, but not counting the cost they soon fall away. Jesus mentioned "two stones" that underlie the soil of the heart of the "Stony-Ground Hearer Tribulation" and "Persecution."

(3) The "Thorny-Ground" Hearer.

Here the seed takes "root, " "grows up, " but does not bear fruit. The soil of the heart of the "Thorny-Ground Hearer" contains the seeds or roots of "thorns" and these spring up, and outgrow, and overshadow the wheat, and absorb from the soil the nutriment needed by it. Matthew mentions two of these "thorns"' the "Cares of the World" and the "Deceitfulness of riches." Mark (4:19) mentions another, the "Lust of other things, " and Luke (8:14) a fourth, the "Pleasures of this life."

(4) The "Good-Ground" Hearer.

Here the seed takes "root, " "grows up bears fruit, " but the amount varies. Some brings forth a 100 fold, some 60, some only 30. Why is this? It was not the fault of the soil. That was equally good all over the field, even on the "Wayside, " and in the "Stony" and parts. Why then? It was the lack of cultivation. If the soil had been properly cleared, tilled, and cultivated, and the proper atmospheric conditions prevailed, it would have brought forth a uniform crop of 100 fold.

This Parable teaches us that Christianity is a New Thing, that it s not like weeds that grow up spontaneously of themselves, but it must be sown and cultivated like wheat. The figure is a lowly agricultural one, that of a farmer sowing seed, and not of a King Setting Up a Kingdom. In other words this Dispensation is an "Agricultural One" the purpose of getting the "WHEAT OF THE CHURCH."

The apparent fruitlessness of the soil, only one-quarter bringing forth any fruit, and that in unequal proportions, seems to indicate the comparative failure of the Gospel in this Dispensation. Surely this rable does not teach that the World is to be converted in this Dispensation by the preaching of the Gospel.

2. The Wheat and Tares.

The Parable of the "Wheat and Tares" (Matt. 13:24-26), Christ Himself interprets (vs. 37-39), and this forbids any fanciful or unscriptural interpretation. He tells us that the "Man" who sowed the good seed is the "Son of Man" (vs. 37), that He sowed it in His "own field" (vs. 24), and that the "Field" is not the Church, but the "world." This at one stroke demolishes the argument of those who claim that the "Field" is the Church, and that the "Wheat" and the "Tares" represent "true" and "false" professors.

The Son-of Man, the "Sower, " in the first Parable sowed the seed of "The Word." In this Parable He sows "Men" (the Children of the Kingdom). This is beautifully illustrated in the persecution that followed the martyrdom -of Stephen. Acts 8:1-3. It was the Son of Man Himself, through the agency of Saul of Tarsus, and not Satan, who scattered the Church broadcast throughout Judea and Samaria. This is where the Parable begins. This scattering has been going on down the centuries.

But the "Field" was not left to the "Wheat." The Devil came and sowed Tares." The "Tares, " or "Darnel, " so closely resembles Wheat that its true nature cannot be seen until it has matured. This sowing of the "Tares" was done, not while the Sower slept, for He never slumbers or sleeps, but while the "men" He left to look after the Field slept. Vs. 25. This sowing is still going on.

The "Tares" are called the "Children of the Wicked One." They are men of the character of those Jews to whom Jesus said-"Ye are of your father the Devil." John 8:44.

It is important to note that the Devil cannot "change" the "Wheat; " he can only sow "Tares; " but he can sow in such large quantities as to completely change the "aspect" of the whole field. When the servants saw what was done they said, "Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? " The master said "Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares ye root up also the wheat with them." This is no argument for "laxness" in Church Discipline. This Parable has no reference to the Church, as a church. Men and women in these days are trying to root out all manner of obnoxious evils, it is an idle dream. It does more harm than good. There is to be a Twofold Development of "Good" and "Evil" DOWN TO THE END OF THE AGE, the "Good" growing better and the "Evil" worse. The Parable teaches that as the time for the "Harvest" approaches the difference between the "Wheat" and the "Tares" will become more strikingly and clearly manifest.

How long is this conflict between "Good" and "Evil" to last? "Until the Harvest." Vs. 30. When is the Harvest. At the "End of This Age, " and the "reapers" are the Angels (vs. 39). As soon as the "Wheat of the Church Is Ripe" Jesus will come back.

Some are perplexed by the words-

"Gather ye together first the 'Tares, ' and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the 'Wheat' into my barn" (vs. 30), and claim that the Church is to remain on the earth until the "Tares" are burned, and that this necessitates the Church's going through the Tribulation.

The fact is that the "Tares" are gathered together in "bundles, " not to burn them "before" the "Wheat" is harvested, but to have them "separated" and in readiness to burn "after" the "Wheat" has been garnered in the "Heavenly Barn." This gathering together of the "Tares" into bundles is going on now in the formation of false religious systems such as "Christian Science, " "New Thought, " "Millennial Dawnism...... Spiritualism, " "Mormonism, " "Theosophy, " etc. This Parable teaches that the "Wheat" and the "Tares" are inseparable until the End of This Dispensation, and therefore there can be no Millennium until Christ returns.

3. The Mustard Tree.

The Parable of the "Mustard Tree, " and the one that follows it, the "Leaven, " both begin with the phrase "The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto, " and therefore their teaching should not contradict the teaching of the Parable of the "Wheat and Tares." The same is true of all the "Kingdom of Heaven" parables. Yet these two parables have both been used to teach the "expansion of the Church" until it shall be universal in its supremacy. We repeat again that the "Kingdom of Heaven" is not the Church, but Christendom. Yet for clearness sake we will let the "Mustard Tree" represent the "visible" Church, composed of all churches called Christian. Of these two Parables the "Mustard Tree" represents the "external" growth and condition of the visible Church and the "Leaven" the "internal" development.

The "Mustard Plant" is a "garden herb, " and is cultivated for its seed, used as a condiment. It grows wild, often to the height of seven or eight feet. To obtain the best results it should be cultivated in a garden. In the Parable we find the seed sown in a "Field, " (the World), not in a garden, and it grows "wild" until it is no longer called an "herb" but a "tree." The seed does not produce, after its kind, " an humble "herb, " but becomes a vain-glorious Tree, a "Monstrosity, " in which the "Birds of the Air" Lodge. Who are these "birds? " They are the "fowls" of the Parable of the Sower, for the same word is used, and are therefore the agents of the "Wicked One, " the Devil. Matt. 13:4, Matt. 13:19. It is clear then that the "birds" in this parable do not represent persons converted by the preaching of the Gospel, but the emissaries of Satan, and they do not lodge in the branches of the "Tree" so much for shelter as for worldly advantage, and they "befoul" it by their presence.

The "Mustard Tree" began with the 120 believers who received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost and continued to enlarge until its branches spread all over the Roman world. But the "Birds of the Air, " the Ananias and Sapphiras, the Simon Maguses, the Hymenaeus and Philetus and other emissaries of Satan, began to lodge in its branches and "befoul" its purity, and when in A. D. 324 the Emperor Constantine united Church and State, thousands, and tens of thousands, crowded into the Church as a matter of policy, interest and fashion, and crouched beneath its shadow, lodged in its branches, fattened on its fruit, and have continued to do so until this day.

According to this Parable the "Kingdom of Heaven" is a Vast Worldly System, rooted in the earth, bearing the name of Christ, possessed of wealth, standing, and power but sheltering the agents of the "Ruler of the Darkness of This Age." Such we know is the condition of the visible Church today. Where is the picture of "pure" Christianity spreading through the world until the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the deep, thus ushering in a Millennium, in this Parable? In fact, it teaches the contrary and is proof of Jesus' own declaration that when He shall come back He shall Not Find 'THE FAITH' on the Earth. Luke 18:8.

4. The Leaven.

The common interpretation of the Parable of the "Leaven" (Matt. 13:33), is, that the Woman" represents the Church, the "Leaven, " the Gospel, and the "Three Measures of Meal, " Humanity; and that the "Leaven of the Gospel" is to be so introduced by the Church into the"Meal of Humanity" that the whole world will be converted to Christ. But the "Leaven" cannot mean the "Gospel, " Leaven in the Scriptures is the Symbol of Evil.

It is a species of corruption produced by fermentation, and tends to putrefaction, and will "corrupt" everything with which it comes in contact. The Children of Israel were commanded to put it out of their houses at the time of the "Passover" on penalty of "excommunication." Ex. 12:15. It must not come in contact with any sacrifice. Ex. 34:25; Lev. 2:11; Lev. 10:12. Three times Christ uses the word "Leaven" beside here in this Parable. He speaks of the "Leaven of the Pharisees, " the "Leaven of the Sadducees" and the "Leaven of Herod." Matt. 16:6-8; Mark 8:15. He calls the "Leaven" of the Pharisees and Sadducees "false doctrine." The "False Doctrine" of the Pharisees was "Legalism, " the "form of godliness without the power." The "False Doctrine" of the Sadducces was "Scepticism, " the denial of the resurrection of the body, saying there was neither angel or spirit. The "False Doctrine" of Herod was "Materialism, " a mixture of religion and worldliness.

Christ never used the word "Leaven" except in an "evil" sense. It is used in the same way by the Apostle Paul. Writing to the Corinthians he said-"Purge out therefore the 'old leaven' that ye may be a 'new lump."' 1Cor. 5:6-8. In the same passage he calls Leaven "malice and wickedness, " as contrasted with "sincerity and truth." Writing to the Corinthians and Galatians about "evil practices, " he warns them that "a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." 1Cor. 5:6; Gal. 5:9.

There are but two exceptions to this universal rule. In Lev. 23:6-8 we read that the "Wave Sheaf" of "First Fruits" was to contain no Leaven because it represented Christ, the "First Fruits" of the, Resurrection, who was "without sin." But the new "Meat Offering, " of "two wave loaves, " offered 50 days later, at the Feast of Pentecost (Lev. 23:15-17), was to contain Leaven, because the Feast of Pentecost was typical of the bestowal of the Holy Spirit on the Disciples on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-3), and those who received it were not free from sin.

The other exception is in Amos 4:4, Amos 4:5, where the Lord is "rebuking transgression, " and "sarcastically" refers to the use of Leaven as a "multiplying of transgression." We see then that even where the use of Leaven is commanded, or permitted, it is a symbol of evil. It is clear then that what is meant by "Leaven" in this Parable is false or corrupting doctrine.

If by "Leaven" is meant the Gospel we have a queer contradiction, for the Gospel does not work like leaven. Leaven when put in meal works by "itself, " and if left "alone" will leaven the whole batch of dough. But this is not the way the Gospel works; if it were, every village, town, city and country where the Gospel has once been implanted, should by this time be so thoroughly "Leavened" as to be now completely Christian, but this we know is not true. The Gospel as far as converting the world is concerned is a failure.

We are not left in the dark as to the "character" of the Leaven. Paul writing to Timothy said-

"The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having 'itching ears; ' and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." 2Tim. 4:3, 2Tim. 4:4.

The Apostle Peter also sounds a warning.

"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily (like hiding the Leaven in the meal) shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their 'Pernicious Ways, ' by reason of whom the 'Way of Truth' SHALL BE EVIL SPOKEN OF." 2Pet. 2:1, 2Pet. 2:2.

So much for the "Leaven." Now what is meant by the "three measures of meal? " Where do we get meal? Not from Tares. They would not yield fine wholesome flour. Meal comes from corn. Hence the "Meal" cannot represent the "unregenerate mass of humanity, " but the pure seed of the Word of God. It is a striking coincidence that the professing Church is divided today into three great parts, the Roman Catholic, the Greek, and the Protestant churches, which may represent the "three measures" into the "Meal" of which has been placed the false and corrupting doctrines of "Baptismal Regeneration, " "Prayers for the Dead, " "Image Worship, " the "Sacrifice of the Mass" and other false doctrines.

The "Woman" who hides the "Leaven" corresponds to the woman Jezebel of the Church of Thyatira (Rev. 2:20), and foreshadows the "System" (Papal) referred to in Rev. 17:5, as the "Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth." As further proof that the "Leaven" is "bad" and "corrupting" is the fact that the Woman "hides" it in the "Meal." If the Leaven is the Gospel there was no reason why she should hide it.

The purpose of these four Parables is to warn us of what to expect as the result of the preaching of the Gospel in this Age, so that we shall not be discouraged and disheartened by what we see to be the apparent failure of the Gospel. They teach that at no time during Christ's absence will there be a universal reception of the Gospel; that it will be opposed by the World, the Flesh and the Devil until the End of the Age, that the Church will grow unwatchful and fall asleep, that the Devil will take advantage of such unwatchfulness to put his own children into the professing Church to introduce corrupting doctrine, and that all this shall continue in an increasing measure until the Lord shall come with "fiery" judgments, for fire alone can arrest the work of leaven. This then is to be the outcome of all the "religionism" of the Age. Where is there a place in these Parables for a Millennium before Christ comes back?

5. The Hid Treasure.

The Parables of the "Hid Treasure, " and the "Pearl" have been interpreted to mean that Christ is the "Hid Treasure" and also the "Pearl, " and that we are to sell all, that is, give up everything for Him. But such an interpretation is contrary to the Gospel plan of salvation and breaks down in every particular.

The "Field" in this, Parable is the "World, " the same as in the Parable of the "Wheat and Tares, " and the sinner is not to "purchase" the "World" but to "give it up." Furthermore, the sinner has "nothing to sell, " nor is Christ "for sale, " nor is He "hidden in a field, " nor having found Christ does the sinner "hide him again." Salvation is not something that can be "bought." it is a "free gift." Rom. 6:23. The sinner does not buy Christ, Christ buys him. 1Cor. 6:20. Salvation is "free, " and is something to be "received" (John 1:12), and that "without money" and "without price." Isa. 55:1.

As in the preceding Parables the "Field" is the World, and the "Man" is the Son of Man, or Christ. Christ is the "purchaser" of ' the "Field." But why should He purchase the "Field? " Does not the World belong to His Father? And if He found the "Treasure" in the :, Field" why should He "hide" it until He was able to purchase the 'Field? " Would it be considered honest to discover that, under the surface of a man's farm there were hidden treasures of coal, iron, oil or copper, and, without letting him know, try to secure the farm at a small cost, thus deceiving him until the property was secured? The answer is that a "usurper, " the Devil, had taken possession of the "Field." The Hid Treasure was not in the field when he took possession. It was placed their afterward. It did not belong to the Devil, it belonged to God who had hid in it the "Field" from the Devil. Christ found it, and as the only way to get the "Treasure" was to buy the "Field, " Christ hid it again, and then purchased the "Field." The price He paid was all He possessed. 2Cor. 8:9.

The Hid Treasure is Israel. God said to Israel at Sinai-

"Ye shall be a Peculiar Treasure unto me above all people; for all the earth (world) is mine." Ex. 19:5.

"For the Lord hath chosen ' Jacob for Himself and Israel for His Peculiar Treasure." Psa. 135:4.

The "Treasure" still remains "hid" in the "Field." Christ purchased the "Field" on the Cross, but He has not taken possession as yet, and will not until the time comes for the "Redemption of the PURCHASED POSSESSION." Eph. 1:14.

Until that time Israel must remain hid among the Nations. This is one of the "Mysteries" of the "Kingdom of Heaven."

"For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this 'Mystery, ' lest ye should be wise in your own conceits, that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the Fulness of the Gentiles Be Come in." Rom. 11:25.

Israel must remain hid in the "Field"' until the "Fulness of the Gentiles" be come in. Then Christ will come back and claim His "Hid Treasure, " and Israel will be resurrected from the "Graveyard of the Nations" where she is buried and restored to her own land.

6. The Pearl.

In the Parable of the "Pearl" the "Merchant Man" is Christ. The "Pearl" is the Church. In the Parable of the "Hid Treasure, " the Treasure was not purchased but the Field. In this Parable it is the "Pearl" that is purchased. Once Christ comes into full possession of the "Pearl" it will never be on the market again. It will be His forever. We see from this Parable that the purpose of this Dispensation is not the conversion of the World, but the securing (formation) of the Church.

7. The Drag Net.

The Parable of the "Drag Net, " like all the preceding, covers the present Dispensation. The "net" here mentioned is the "Gospel Net." The Parable is descriptive of the work the Disciples were to do when Jesus said unto them-"I will make you 'Fishers of Men."' While men in this "Gospel Age" are mostly caught one by one, yet in times of revival they are caught as in a net in large quantities. The Parable is descriptive of the method used in this Gospel Dispensation of gathering people into our churches by the "Drag-net of Solicitation."

The result is that there are "Good" and "Bad" fish in the net. But while fishermen can separate the "bad" fish from the "good, " that is the eatable and marketable from those that are not, the officers of a church are not always omniscient enough to do this. The ending of this Parable corresponds with the ending of the Parable of the "Wheat and Tares." As there the separation does not come until the "Harvest, " and the "Harvest" is the "End of the Age, " and the separation will be made by the "Angel Reapers, " so in this Parable the separation between the "Good" and "Bad" fish will not be until the "end of this Age, " and angels will do the separating.

We should notice also that as the "Tares" were gathered together "first, " but not burned until the "Wheat" had been garnered in the "Heavenly Barn, " so here, the "Good" fish are separated from the "Bad" and the "Good" gathered into "vessels" (Heaven), before the "Bad" are cast away.

When a net is cast into the sea, even though the net is filled to the point of breaking, the great bulk of the fish in the sea remain uncaught, and where there is a separation of those caught, as in the Parable, comparatively few are saved. If this is true of this Gospel Dispensation, as the Parable seems to teach, then the world is not to be converted before the "Angel Fishermen" separate the "Righteous" and the "Wicked" at the coming of the Lord.

Of the five remaining "Kingdom of Heaven" Parables we have only space to speak briefly. The Parable of the "Unmerciful Servant" (Matt. 18:23-25), has to do with the "conduct" of the members of the "Kingdom of Heaven" towards each other during this Dispensation.

The Parable of the "Vineyard Laborers" (Matt. 20:1-3) does not teach that the "penny" that the laborers received for their labor represents "Salvation, " for "Salvation" is a Gift, and cannot be "earned" as wages, or "merited" as a reward. Neither does the Parable teach, as some claim, that those who were hired early in the morning, and at the third, sixth, ninth and eleventh hours, represent the different ages at which sinners may come to Christ. Neither does the Parable teach that because each one received a "penny" that men shall be "equally" rewarded in the next world. What then does the Parable teach? The context shows (Matt. 19:27-29), that the Parable was spoken to rebuke the "hireling spirit" of Peter, and is to teach that men will be judged for the "motive" of their service, and not for the "amount." The Parable teaches that the "Hireling Spirit" will be a characteristic of the "Kingdom of Heaven, " and therefore of this Dispensation, and that it will be revealed at the "Judgment of Reward" by the consumption of the "wood, " "hay" and "stubble" works of all "Hireling Laborers." 1Cor. 3:9-11.

The Parable of the "Marriage Feast" (Matt. 22:1-3) must not be confounded with the Parable of the "Great Supper" recorded in Luke 14:16-18. That Parable was spoken in the house of a chief Pharisee in Perea, three months before Christ's death, and refers to the "Gospel Feast." This Parable was spoken in the Temple at Jerusalem on the morning of the Tuesday preceding His Crucifixion, and was spoken to the multitude. In the scope of its teaching and outlook this Parable of the "Marriage Feast" is the broadest of all the parables of Jesus. In its perspective it extends from the giving of the "Mosaic Law" to the "Marriage of the Lamb." The "certain king" is God, the "son" is Christ. Those first bidden were the Jewish Nation. Moses and the Prophets announced the "Feast." John the Baptist, the Twelve, and the Seventy, notified the Jewish Nation that it was about ready. When Jesus the "Lamb" was offered on Calvary the Feast was ready, and Peter, John and others were the "other servants" sent forth. This was the "second" call. Acts 3:19-21. But the Jewish Nation made "light of it." Then the "remnant" took Stephen, James and others, and "entreated them spitefully" and "slew them." This made the King angry and He sent His armies and "burned their city." This is a prophetic announcement of the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in A. D. 70. Then Philip, Barnabas, Paul and others, were sent out into the Highways of the "Gentile World" to gather in those who were willing to accept the invitation to the "Marriage Feast." This is still going on. The Parable looks forward to the "Marriage of the Lamb, " and reveals that there is to be a "separation" among the guests, and that all those who have not on a "Wedding Garment" will be excluded from the "Feast." The ending of the Parable synchronizes with the separation of the "Wise" and "Foolish" Virgins, and reveals the fact that many professing Christians will be found without a "Wedding Garment, " and "speechless, " when they are called upon to face God.

The Parable of the "Ten Virgins" (Matt. 25:1-3), is a picture of what will happen to the professing Church when Christ comes to gather out His Saints. It teaches that we cannot distinguish the "True" from the "False" professors in the Church until the time for separation, comes, and that the possession of the Holy Spirit represented by the "oil" in the Parable) will be the supreme test. If possibly half the "Professing Church" is shut out from the "Wedding, " and all of the great multitude outside the Church, who show by their lives that they are unsaved, where is the Conversion of the World in this Dispensation to be seen in this Parable?

The Parable of the "Talents" (Matt. 25:14-16) must not be confounded with the Parable of the "Pounds" in Luke 19:11-13. The "Man" is Christ. The "far country, " Heaven. The "departure, " Christ's Ascension. The "return, " His Second Coming.

The Parable of the "Pounds" is Jewish and pictures what will happen when Christ, "having received the Kingdom, " returns to the earth and rewards His Servants (the Jews), by giving them authority over different cities. The "One Pound" man loses his Pound and the right to rule, but is not "cast out." In this Parable of the "Talents" the "One Talent" man is "cast out." The theme of the Parable is "Christian Stewardship" and the fact that the "One Talent" man complains of the strict accountability required of him shows that the "One Talent" man is a mere professor, and his character is revealed by his commission of the "Napkin Sin." The time of the accounting synchronizes with that of the separation of the "Wheat" and "Tares, " the "Good" and "Bad" Fish, and the "Wise" and "Foolish" Virgins, and reveals the fact that unfaithfulness in "Christian Stewardship" will be punished.

III. The Kingdom in Manifestation.

That there is to be a period of a 1000 years during which Satan shall be bound and Christ shall reign on this earth, is plainly stated in the New Testament. This period is mentioned 6 times in Rev. 20:1-3, and is generally called "The Millennium," from the Latin words "Mille" (1000) and "Annum" (year). It is to be regretted, however, that the word "Millennium" ever supplanted the Biblical word "Kingdom, " for it is this period that Christ taught His Disciples to pray for in the petition "Thy Kingdom Come."

Let us drop then for the present the word "Millennium" and look at the word "Kingdom." In the chapter on "The Gentiles" we saw that there were to be "Four World-wide Kingdoms" that were to succeed each other on the earth and that they were to be destroyed in turn by a Kingdom called the "Stone Kingdom."

As those "Four Kingdoms" were "literal" Kingdoms it follows that the "Stone Kingdom" must be a "literal" Kingdom, for it takes the peace of those Kingdoms and "fills the whole earth." This "Stone Kingdom" is the "Millennial Kingdom of Christ."

The time when this "Stone Kingdom" shall be set up is at the "Revelation of Christ, " when He shall come with the "armies of Heaven" and destroy Antichrist (Rev. 19:11-13) and judge the Nations.

"When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the 'Throne of His Glory;' and before Him shall be gathered all nations; and He shall separate them one from another as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats, and He shall set the Sheep (Sheep Nations) on His right hand, but the Goats (Goat Nations) on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom Prepared for You From the Foundation of the World." Matt. 25:31-33.

This Kingdom is an earthly, visible Kingdom, and is the "Millennial Kingdom" of the Lord Jesus Christ.

1. The Form of Government.

It will be a "Theocracy." God will rule in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. "And the angel said unto Mary, thou shalt bring forth a son and shalt call His name Jesus. 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 FOREVER, and of His Kingdom There Shall Be NO END." Luke 1:30-32.

There are 7 of God's "shalls" in this passage. Four of them have been fulfilled, for Mary did bring forth a "son, " He was called "Jesus, " He was "great, " and was called the "Son of the Highest; " the other three must and will be fulfilled.

Daniel the Prophet describes the event.

"I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the 'Son of Man' came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the 'Ancient of Days' (God), and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him Dominion, and Glory and a KINGDOM that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him; His Dominion is an Everlasting Dominion, Which Shall Not Pass Away, and His KINGDOM that which Shall Not Be Destroyed." Dan. 7:13, Dan. 7:14.

Whether Christ shall sit in person on the Throne at Jerusalem, or whether He shall rule through another is not so clear. There are several passages of Scripture that seem to teach that King David will be raised and placed on the throne again, and that the Children of Israel will seek him, or it may mean that the new King shall be named David.

"Afterward shall the Children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David Their King; and shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the Latter Days." Hosea 3:5.

"They shall serve the Lord their God, and David Their King, whom I will Raise Up Unto Them." Jer. 30:9.

"And David, my servant, shall be King Over Them." Eze. 37:24.

"I Jehovah will be their God, and my servant David a Prince in Their Midst." Eze. 34:24.

"My servant David shall be their Prince Forever." Eze. 37:25.

As the "Lord of Hosts" shall reign in Mt. Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients "gloriously" (Isa. 24:23), the inference is that King David will reign simply as "Regent, " and will be called "King" or "Prince" as circumstances may require. It is very clear from Ezekiel that the "Prince, " whoever he may be, is not perfect, and has to offer sacrifices for himself. Eze. 45:22.

We have a hint of the manner of government in the Parable of the Pounds. That Parable was spoken to show what Jesus will do to His servants (the Jews) when He shall have "received the Kingdom and returned." The man whose Pound shall have gained "Ten Pounds" will be rewarded by being placed in authority over "ten cities." The man whose Pound shall have gained "Five Pounds" will have authority over "five cities." The man who failed to use his Pound is simply deprived of it and loses all opportunity of authority. Luke 19- 11-13.

The promise that Jesus made to His Disciples that "In the Regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit on the Throne of His Glory, ye also shall sit upon Twelve Thrones, judging the Twelve Tribes of Israel." Matt. 19:28, in all probability does not refer to the "Millennial Age, " but to the .'Perfect Age, " the "Age" that is to follow the renovation of the Earth by fire. The use of the word "regeneration" suggests this, as it refers to the time when the present earth is to be "re-created" and made "new." It has occurred to the writer that we have not as yet the proper perspective as to all the Old Testament prophecies, and that we are putting in the "Millennial Age" some things that belong to the "Perfect Age." The one just mentioned, for example.

Some object to the "visible reign" of King, David, or the Disciples on the earth during the Millennium because it involves the anomaly of intercourse between men in the flesh and those who are clad in resurrected and glorified bodies. But why should this be an objection? Did not Jesus appear "eleven" times "after His resurrection, " during a period of "forty days, " to His disciples Did He not "eat" and "drink" with them during that period? Did they not "walk" with Him to the Mount of Olives and see Him go up in that Same Resurrection Body? Did not angels appear in human form and "eat" and "drink" with men in Old Testament times? Gen. 18:1-3.

We must not forget that they who shall be accounted worthy to obtain "That Age, " and the "Resurrection From Among the Dead, " shall be "Angel Like" (Luke 20:35, Luke 20:36), and like the angels can mingle with earth's inhabitants, having visible bodily forms, can eat and drink, and there is probably more truth than poetry in the Prophet's utterance that in those days, "They that wait upon the Lord (as messengers) shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles (Angels) ; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint." Isa. 40:31.

This can be said of only those who have been "Raised in Power." 1Cor. 15:42) 1Cor. 15:43.

2. The Seat of Government.

The Seat of Government will be at Jerusalem. Jerusalem is to be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the "Times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." Luke 21:24. Then it will be rebuilt. The Prophet Ezekiel gives us a detailed description of the restored Land and City in Eze. 48:1-3. See Chart of the Millennial Land.

The "Royal Grant" of land that God gave to Abraham and his descendants extended from the "River of Egypt" unto the "Great River, " the river Euphrates. Gen. 15:18. Ezekiel fixes the Northern boundary at Hamath, about 100 miles north of Damascus (Eze. 48:1), and the Southern boundary at Kadesh, about 100 miles south of Jerusalem. Eze. 48:28. This "Royal Grant" was not conditional and was never revoked. It is 8 times as large as that formerly occupied by the Twelve Tribes.

This "Royal Grant" is to be divided among the restored Twelve Tribes in parallel horizontal sections, beginning at Hamath on the North with a section for Dan, next comes Asher, then Naphtali, Manassah, Ephraim, Reuben, Judah. Then comes the The Millennial Land "Holy Oblation," a square tract on the west of Jordan, 25, 000 reeds, or 50 miles on a side. A "Reed, " according to Eze. 40:5, is 6 cubits long, the cubit being an ordinary cubit 18 inches long plus a hand-breadth, 3 inches, making the "reed cubit" 21 inches. Six of such cubits make the "reed" 10 1/2 feet long. South of the "Holy Oblation" will be the Tribes of Benjamin, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulon and Gad.

The "Holy Oblation" is divided into three horizontal sections. The Northern section is 25, 000 reeds long, from East to West, and 10, 000 reeds wide. It is called the "Levites' Portion." South of it is the "Priests' Portion" of equal size. South of the "Priests' Portion" is the section for the "City" with its suburbs and farming sections. This section is 25, 000 reeds long, from East to West, and 5000 reeds wide. Eze. 48:15-17.

In the centre of this section the City (Jerusalem) is located. This helps us to map out the whole of the "Holy Oblation, " as the "New City-" is to be located on the site of the Old. The "New City, " however, is to be much larger than the Old. It is to be 9 miles square, and with its suburbs, 1/2 a mile on a side, 10 miles square. It will have a wall around it with 3 gates on each side like the New Jerusalem (Eze. 48:15-17, Eze. 48:30-32), these gates being named after the 12 sons of Jacob.

The "Temple, " or "Sanctuary, " will not be rebuilt in the "New City, " but in the "midst" or middle of the "Holy Oblation." Eze. 48:10, Eze. 48:20, Eze. 48:21. This will locate it at or near Shiloh, where the Tabernacle rested after the Children of Israel conquered the Land, and where it remained until the Temple of Solomon was finished. A "Highway" shall lead from the "Sanctuary" to the "New City." Isa. 35:8. It will be a magnificent boulevard, 12 miles long, lined with beautiful shade trees.

The "New Temple" or "Sanctuary" will occupy a space of 500 reeds on a side, or nearly a mile- square. Eze. 42:15-17. The old Temple was not a mile in circuit.

The Prophet Zechariah tells us (Zech. 14:8), that in "That Day" (the Millennial Day)-

"Living Waters Shall Go Out From Jerusalem, " half of them toward the Former Sea (Red Sea) and half of them toward the Hinder Sea (Mediterranean) ; in summer and in winter shall it be."

But those "Living Waters" will not have their "source" in Jerusalem. The life-giving spring from which they flow will be located under the "Sanctuary." Ezekiel tells us how he saw in vision the "New Temple" or "Sanctuary" and how the Lord took him to the eastern door of the "House" or Sanctuary, " where he saw the waters come forth from under the Threshold of the door, and flow past the "Altar of Burnt Offering" on the south side eastward until the stream was deep enough to swim in.

"Then said he unto me, These waters..... go down into the desert (by way of Jerusalem) and go into the sea (Dead Sea), which being brought forth into the sea, the waters (of the Dead Sea) shall be healed (lose their saltness).....And everything shall live whither the river cometh. And it shall come to pass that the fishers shall stand upon it (Dead Sea), from Engedi (on the west shore) even unto Eneglaim (on the east shore) ; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the Great Sea (Mediterranean) exceeding many. . . . And by the River upon the banks thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed; it shall bring forth new fruit according to its months, because the waters they issued out of the "Sanctuary; " and the "Fruit" thereof shall be for meat and the "Leaf" thereof for medicine." Eze. 47:8-10. Compare Rev. 22:1, Rev. 22:2.

The size of the "New City, " the location of the "New Sanctuary" and the elevation of the Dead Sea- which is now 1200 feet below the level of the Mediterranean Sea, call for great physical changes in the land surface of Palestine. How are these changes to come about?

When Christ comes back it will be to the Mount of Olives from whence He went up. Acts 1:9-11. The Prophet Zechariah describes what will then happen.

"His (Christ's) feet shall stand in That Day (the day of His return) upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east and the Mount of Olives shall Cleave in the midst Thereof Toward the East and Toward the West, and There Shall Be a Very Great Valley; and Half of the Mountain Shall Remove Toward the North and Half of It Toward the South. . . .

"All the Land Shall Be Turned as a Plain From Geba to Rimmon South of Jerusalem; and it shall be LIFTED UP AND INHABITED." Zech. 14:4, Zech. 14:10, Zech. 14:11.

These great changes will probably be brought about by earthquakes or volcanic action.

"Behold, the Lord cometh forth out of His place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth. And the mountains shall be Molten Under Him, and the valleys shall be Cleft as Wax Before the Fire, and as the Waters That Are Poured Down a Steep Place." Micah 1:3, Micah 1:4.

These great physical changes will level the land surface of Palestine, and make room for the "New City, " and raise the Dead Sea, so its waters can flow into both the Red and Mediterranean Seas. Ezekiel tells us that the name of Jerusalem in that day shall be "Jehovah Shamniah, " the Lord Is There. Eze. 48:35.

3. The Temple and Its Worship.

As we have seen the Temple or Sanctuary will be located in the centre of the "Holy Oblation." A full description of the Temple and its courts is given in Eze. 40:1-3:31. No such building as Ezekiel so minutely describes has ever yet been built, and so the prophecy cannot refer to either Zerubbabel's or Herod's Temple, and as there is to be no Temple in the New Jerusalem, it must be a description of the Temple that is to be on the earth during the Millennium. That it does not belong to the New Earth is also clear, for the land in which it is located is bounded by the Sea, and the waters that flow from it, flow "into the Sea, " but in the New Earth there is "no more sea." Rev. 21:1. This is still further confirmed by the Prophet's mention of the "desert, " the "River Jordan, " the "Mediterranean Sea, " and other localities that will not be found on the New Earth after its renovation by fire.

The "Aaronic Priesthood" will be re-established, and the sons of Zadok shall officiate and offer sacrifices. Eze. 44:15-17. The New Temple, however, will lack many things that were the features of the old Temple. There will be no "Ark of the Covenant, " no "Pot of Manna, " no "Aaron's Rod" to bud, no "Tables of the Law, " no "Cherubim, no "Mercy Seat, " no "Golden Candlestick, " no "Shew Bread, " no "Altar of Incense, " no "Veil, " no unapproachable "Holy of Holies" where the High Priest alone might enter, nor is there any "High Priest" to offer atonement for sin, or to make intercession for the people, unless a rather obscure passage in Zech. 6:12, 13 means that Christ (The Branch, Jer. 23:5, Jer. 23:6) shall be a "King-Priest, " and perform the duties of High Priest conjointly with His Kingly office.

While the Levites as a class shall perform Temple service they shall be barred from Priestly duties for their past sins. Eze. 44:10-12. There shall be a daily "morning" sacrifice, but no evening sacrifice. Eze. 46:13-15. The offerings will be the "Burnt, " the "Meal, " the "Drink, " the "Sin, " the "Peace" (Eze. 45:17), and the "Trespass" offering. Eze. 42:13. Two Feasts are to be observed, "The Passover, " but no Passover Lamb will be offered as Jesus fulfilled that Type (Eze. 45:21-23), and the "Feast of Tabernacles, " Zech. 14:16, Zech. 14:19. This Feast is to be observed by all the nations under penalty of "Drought" or "Plague."

The "Feast of Pentecost" will be done away with on account of its fulfillment. The "Day of Pentecost, " recorded in Acts 2:1-3, was only a partial fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel 2:28-30. No such wonders in the heavens and the earth as "blood, " and "fire" and "Pillars of smoke" the "Sun turned to darkness, " and the "Moon into blood, " occurred at Pentecost. But all those things will happen before "The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord."

The conversion of the Jewish Nation will be sealed with a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Whether this shall be universal, or only upon Israel is not clear. The original prophecy in Joel was given to Israel, and its partial fulfillment at Pentecost seems to have been limited to them. The knowledge of the Lord, however, will be world-wide, and "it shall come to pass that ten men of all languages and nations shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you; for we have heard that God is with you." Zech. 8:22, Zech. 8:23. There will be one "universal religion' in that day. Alalachl 1:11. The "Shekinah Glory" that departed from the Temple at the time of the Babylonian Captivity (Eze. 10:18-20; Eze. 11:22, Eze. 11:23), will again take up its residence in the "New Temple." Ezek. 43. I-. 5.

4. The Character of the Millennium.

(1.) Satan Bound. Rev. 20:1-3.

That man may be "without excuse" God is going to subject him to a final test under the most favorable circumstances. Man has charged his fall and continuance in sin to Satan. "Take him away, " he cries, "paralyze his power; cripple his malignant activity; bind and imprison him and deliver us from his dominating influence, and then you will see that man is radically good and virtuous and is simply the victim of an unfavorable environment."

God answers it shall be done. Satan shall be bound and imprisoned so that he can no longer deceive men, and lest man shall say that sinful habits are too deeply rooted to be soon eradicated the test shall last for a Thousand Years, and man shall have during that period of probation all the blessed influences of the Holy Spirit and the presence of Christ Himself.

Man has never known and therefore cannot conceive what this world would be like free from Satanic influence. It would certainly be a marvelously different world. There would be no one to stir up hate and passion, and engender strife and turmoil. True, man would still have an evil heart of unbelief to contend against, but it would be like a magazine of gunpowder without a spark to ignite it. That the evil heart of man has not been eradicated will be evident when at the close of the Millennium Satan is loosed and finds no difficulty in deceiving the nations. Rev. 20:-8.

During the Millennium the "Prince of the Powers of the Air" will be "dethroned" and the "Prince of Peace" "enthroned." When the "Great Red Dragon" (Satan) is cast out of the Heavenlies there will be cast out with him all the "Principalities and Powers" and "Age Rulers of Darkness" (Eph. 6:12), and the Heavens which now are "not clean" in His sight (job 15:15), will be "cleansed" of all Evil Powers.

There will be no universal peace until the Lord comes back. Then the nations will beat their swords into "plow-shares" and their spears into "pruning-hooks" (Micah 4:3, Micah 4:4), and shall be no longer impoverished by the enormous tax on their revenues for the support of armies and navies and the building of "Dreadnoughts." Then ships of war and armorclad vessels will rust and rot in the navy yards and guns and cannon will be recast into implements of agriculture. The great armies of earth will be disbanded, and in the pursuits of peace and the tilling of the soil, the depleted treasuries of the world will be replenished. There will be little if any political graft. Corporations and combines will not be run in restraint of trade, and there will be no entailed estates if the law of the "Year of jubilee" is re-established. Lev. 25:8-10. Num. 36:4.

(2) The Revival of the Land of Palestine.

The Land of Palestine when it was first occupied by the Children of Israel under Joshua, was a land of "milk" and "honey" and of "all manner of fruits, " and its soil brought forth "abundantly, " and this continued as long as the Children of Israel kept its Sabbaths. But God had warned them that if they did not obey Him and turned aside to worship other Gods He would shut up the heavens and the harvests would fail. Deut. 11:13-15. Palestine today has the same fertile soil it had in Joshua's time, but it lacks rain and irrigation. God has withheld the "early" and "latter" rain, but they are now becoming more frequent and copious. The "early" rain falls in October and November, and prepares the land for ploughing and sowing; the "latter" rain falls in April and May and insures a good crop.

In the Millennium the Land of Palestine will be restored to its former fertility. This will be aided not only by the rains, but by numerous rivers and streams that shall flow from the "New River" that ii shall have its source in the Sanctuary.

"It shall come to pass in That Day (Millennium) that the mountains shall drop new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the Rivers of Judah (where the New River will be) shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the House of the Lord, and shall water the Valley of Shittim, " the country about the Dead Sea. Joel 3:18.

The "mountains dropping new wine, " and the "hills flowing with milk, " are figures of speech declaring that the mountain sides will be covered with vineyards from which an abundance of wine shall be obtained, and that the pasture lands will be so productive that they will sustain vast herds of milk cattle.

The harvests will be so great and abundant that the ploughman will "overtake the reaper, " and the treader of grapes him that "soweth seed." Amos 9:13.

"The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose." Isa. 35:1.

"Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off." Isa. 55:13.

"Then shall the earth yield her increase." Psa. 67:6.

"And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God that hath dealt wondrously with you; and My People (the Jews) shall never be ashamed." Joel 2:24-26.

(3) There Will Be Changes in the Animal Kingdom.

"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain (Jerusalem), for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Isa. 11:6-8.

We cannot spiritualize these words. This was the character of these animals in Eden before the Fall, and in the Ark. The ferocity of the brute creation is the outcome of the "Fall of Man." While the context seems to imply that this change in the brute creation has reference to the "Millennial Earth, " where it may be partially true, yet the fact that the Edenic condition of the earth is not to be restored until the appearance of the New Earth may postpone the fulfillment of this prophecy until then.

The Apostle Paul says-

"We know that the Whole Creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. . . Waiting for the adoption, to wit, the Redemption of Our Body." Rom. 8:23.

That is, until the human race is redeemed from the results of the "Fall, and fitted to occupy the New Earth, Creation must wait for its restoration to "Edenic conditions."

(4.) Human Life Will Be Prolonged.

"There shall be no more thence an infant of days, ..... for the child shall die a hundred years old." Isa. 65:20.

That is, a person dying 100 years old shall be considered only a child. Therefore a man, to be called a man, must live for several hundred years.

"For as the days of a Tree (oak tree) are the days of my people." Isa. 65:22.

"Thus saith the Lord of Hosts: There shall yet Old Men and Old Women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand For Very Age." Zech. 8:4.

Patriarchal Years will be restored, and men shall live as long as they did before the Flood. This may be due to some climatic or atmospheric change, or to the healing or life-giving qualities of the water of the "New River" that shall flow from the "Sanctuary, " and the leaves of the trees that line the banks of the River, which shall be for "Medicine." Eze. 47:12.

(5) There Will Be a Sevenfold Increase of Light.

"Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be -SEVENFOLD as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of His people, and healeth the stroke of their wound." Isa. 30:26.

The "atmosphere" of the Millennial Earth will be of such a character as to make moonlight nights as bright as day, and the days seven times as bright.

"The sun shall be no more thy light by day: neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee; but the Lord Shall Be Unto Thee An Everlasting Light, and Thy God Thy Glory." Isa. 60:19-20.

This may refer to that part of the Holy Land that shall be illuminated by the "Shekirah Glory, " where it will make no difference whether the sun shines or not. It will have its complete fulfillment when the nations of the New Earth shall walk in the Light of the New Jerusalem. Rev. 21:23-24.

Israel's Mission during the "Millennial Age" will be that of "blessing" to the Gentile nations. Of the nation of Israel, that has never as yet been a leading nation, God says-

"I will make thee the Head, and not the Tail." Deut. 28:13.

The nations today are a "Headless" body. There is no "Chief Nation" today. In that day Israel shall be the "Chief Nation, " and the nation that will not serve her shall perish. Isa. 60:12.

But those nations will only be kept in subjection by the "Iron Rule" of Christ. This is brought out in the "Messianic Psalm, " Psa. 2:6-8. It is very clear that during the "Millennial Age" the "will of God" will not be done on earth as it is done in heaven. The peace among the nations will be more superficial than real. It will only be feigned obedience, more the result of fear than of love. As the "afternoon" of that long "Millennial Day" draws to a close the shadows deepen. As soon as Satan is loosed from his prison in the "Bottomless Pit, " he will find a vast multitude ready to believe his lie, and to serve and obey him. He will gather them from the "Four Quarters of the Earth" to battle. They will be in number as the "sand of the sea." Rev. 20:8-9. The revolt will be Worldwide, and will mean the Mobilizing of Vast Armies. Satan will conduct them across the "Breadth of the Earth" until they compass the "Camp of the Saints" (the Holy Land), and lay siege once more to the "Beloved City." This time the armies of heaven are not sent to destroy the rebels, but "Fire from Heaven" devours the rebellious host, and Satan, who deceives them, is cast into the "Lake of Fire" to be tormented day and night for the "Ages of Ages."

From this we see that the "Millennial Dispensation, " like all the six Dispensations before it, will end in failure. God will have tested man in "Innocence, " under "Conscience, " under "Self-Government, " under the "Headship of the Family, " under "Law, " under "Grace, " and finally under the influence of the "Holy Spirit, " free from Satanic influences, and under them all he will prove himself to be hopelessly, incurably and incorrigibly bad.

If after a 1000 years of the Presence of the King, and of universal peace and blessing, man still persists in rebelling against his Maker, what will there be left for God to do? Humanly speaking, there will seem to he nothing for God to do but destroy the human race. To send another Flood and wipe out mankind. But this He cannot do. for He promised Noah that He would never again destroy the earth with a flood of waters. Gen. 9:11. But do something He must, so He is going to purge the earth with Fire. 2Pet. 3:7.