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Loraqua la document aat trop grand pour Atra raproduit un un aaul clich*. il est film* a partir da I'angia supAriaur gauche, de gauche A droite, at da haut an baa. en pranant la nombre d'imagaa nAcaaaaira. Laa diagrammes suivants illustrant la mAthoda. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 22X [With the Author's Compliments.] THE GOSPEL OF THE RINODOM OF GOD : A KINGDOAt^ NOT OF THIS WOBLD, NOff IN THIS WOKLD; BUT IN THE HABITABLE WORLD TO COME, WITH JESUS AND THE RESURRECTION. The views presented in this Tract are expanded, with new, important, and deeply interesting relations, in a volume entitled " The Gospel of the Kingdom," pubhshed by me, under the signature of " Senior Harvard," in January of tins year at Philadelphia. •»■♦■«■■ GUELPH : 1874. INTEODUCTION. With profound respect to all Students of the Boly Scriptures, into whose hands, either on this or that side of the Atlantic, it may come, this Tract is presented in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with earnest prayers that its teachings may by grace prove a blessing to each of yon, as it has proved to your brother in Christ, Hekry Dana Ward, of Philadelphia, In the Dioctie of Pitrntylvmi^, U.a.A. 19 Montague Street, Eussell Square, London, Dec. 8, 1870. THE GOSPEL OF THE EIN6D0M OF QOD. "Let vs Peophesy according to the Proportion of Faith." whose , this »rn«st on, as Iphia, A mighty stream of holy teaching runs in a flood over Christendom more or less contrary " to the porportion of faith " in Clirist, and to the ever- lasting Gospel. The largest tributary comes from the many nation* and people who believe and teach that the visible Catholic Churoh now has the promised kingdom of God, transferable chiefly through Purgatory to the remote heaven, till Christ come again and desh-oys both Antichrist and the earth together. Another great tributary comes Irom the people who claim that the Church Catholic aud invisible has the promised kingdom of God here in its inctpicncj/, transferable after the end of the world to the heavenly places remote from tlie earth, at our Lord's second coming. A third tributary is from among them that hold the perfectibility of hu- man nature, and the incoming of a heavenly state of endless happiness on earth, through the preached Gospel, and the discoveries of science, and the improvements of art, in an infinite and increasingly rapid progression, by which this baby world is fast growing and becoming a heavenly creature. Another tributary brings promise of peace on earth for a thousand years, by the conversion of the world to the obedience of the Gospel ; in the end of which years rebellion will break out anew, to be finally destroyed with the earth itself, at the coming of the Lord to judgment ; and to take away His people from the earth up into heaven. " And so shall we ever be with the Lord/' Another branch comes in the name of many earnest and faithful men who are looking for the Advent of the Lord, to meet His raptured saints iu the air, and the Jaws in the flesh at Jerusalem in Syria, there to reign a thousand years or more over the regeuerat« earth, in which there shall be no moi'O curse, neither death perhaps, nor sorrow, nor crying — to be succeeded by the everlasting kingdom of Christ and his saints. This mighty flood of the water of life bears on its besom both truth and error. Without" attempting to separate the discoloring elements from the living waters, we hope to be pardoned for an honest attempt, however im- perfect, to furnish a study, by which the reader may be safely assisted to do the work of separation satisfactorily for himself. The Gospel Plan of Salvation now by Faith, to be Hereafter Realized IN Jesus and the Resurrection. /. The Everlastvig Gospel. The Bible U one ^continuous prophecy of holy truth at unity with itself, teaching, preaching, and foretelling " the things pertaining to the kinedom of God," horn Genesis to Revelation. Acts i. 3. and xxviii. 81. It is the living voice of God to all ages and nations, crying in the wilderness, " Pre- pare ye the way of the Lord ; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. It. xl 8. " For He eometh to judge the earth "—"And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together " This gospel IS proohiuned by all the holy prophets since the world began, in aU tune, and nnto all people, who, in the faith of God's elect, have "hope o^ ^ernal bfe, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began." //. 2'he Covenant to Abrahayn. The everhwtmg Covenant, made and given of God to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and to their " seed which is Christ," Gal iii 16 "m whom all the families of the earth shaU be blest"— is freely driven to the seed of faith of all a^es and of aU nations, without distinction of race or colour— ' that wk might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us, which hope we have," and which things hoped for we have not, neither can have, till all thev who have obtained a good report through faith, and have died in the faithf shall come toyether mto possession of the great inheritance through Jesus and the resurrection. This is " the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers ; this is «• the hope of Israel ;" this is our hope. Heb. vi. 19. and XI. 40. Act9 xiu. 88, xvii. 38, ixvi. 6 to 9, and xxviii. 20. ///. The Mosaic Covenant. The covenant made with Israel in Horek is ours also. Its substance 18 the same with that given to the fathers:— obedience on our part: and on the Lord s part, the free gift of the heavenly country for an ever- lasting possession. In baptism we set onr seal to this covenant bv taith ; and we wnte it on our church waUs, and on our hearts, dailv plede- ing obedience to it m our Liturgy. Our heavenly father, on His part, pledges and warrants possession of the holy land, which the fathers dili- gently sought while pUgnms and strangers in the earth. Joshua, our Jesus, }! «S*i'"^^*'^^.?'*' ^P^d' over Jordan, through the resurrection from the dead, mto the promised land of milk and honey ; " Even Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews." " Is He the God of the Jews only ? Is He not also of the Gentiles ? Yes, of the GentUes also." Jiom. iii. 29 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek. For the same Lord over all is nch unto all that call upon Him." Bom x 12 " God is no respecter of persons." AcU x. 84. AVhy seek a difference where God declares there " none? Why build again the middle waU of partition which Christ hath broken down. Eph. ii. 14. IV. The Covenant to David. The everlasting covenant of a son to David, to build God's house, and to ttZ^Z^fTA-'T\'^''^^ understand of Christ Jesus, who builds the temple of God m the heavens, and who shall sit in " the thrown of His fother David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of His kingdom 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 for ever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts wiU perform tins." Luke i, 88 ;h. ix, 7. " The house of Jacob " are not a carnal race. For they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the ohUdren of God, neither can they inherit the kingdom of God. " But the cauoren Oi wo proitpsa we Qouoteaior theseed.' fiom. ix. 8. "They which are of/atth, the same are the children of Abraham," and heiri, •/< cordmg to the promise ^(,'^7. iii. 7); heirs of the heavenly^oSnfry and^f the city prepared bj them by Christ JesuR ; not this Jerusalem wfich not fr;n;f,^fh""^'ff ""''} her chUdren. but '• JerVsalenwrwhL 1? tree, and 18 the mother of us al' " /'«/i7 ij; a o^j .■„ oe\ """»ot wiucn is reign and prosper, and Suex/eure-jSi^i^S? .Sd jLt,™ ttf 'X' V. The New Covenant. The New Testament proclaims this promised IdnBdom of heaven ath»nrl and calls on all people in every land of every ton|ie to bSievrthe ^oi news and to make ready for the appearing of theTng promLed i^ Eden foretold by Enoch, and by Moses, and the PsabJ^,. an" '^all^rholr prophets since tlie world began " Jasns C.hri^i n«^ ct-» 1 • • 1 , ^^ the coming of flm >^nn /f at .1 ^""st and His disciples preached wie coming ot tlie bon of Man with power and great clorv • the annsfinq each ns to look for it; the primitive church, in Lny peSecuti^ns ^^^^^^^^^ constantly expecting it from century to century; and Ccaraal Jews o this day, in all lands, are waiting for the Son of okrid to manSst hZJu with power and great glorj-. and to establish the Sne ofTs WdZ t worr^'^Vhu' Sttr^P*^^ of His dominion over\'lHh?lS:f"h^S vr„r!r;„i, 1 ^^"stendom ceases to expect the coming of the Lord' Many churches and ministers of Christ turn away theij ears from tH^ ;r"^ IT^rVf'^^^ '"^^"« •• " W^ ^1 «°* have tWB ml to rSgn ov^r find faftKtfl^aJlir?^^"*^^^ = "'^^^^" *^^ ^^ °^ ^^- --*h' ^Ca^ '" to thi'ilJf'f 'Tr'^*'"''^^ ^5'P°^ '" ^^^ '* «»« f»i*li once for all deUvered to the saints. These everlasting covenants are every one addrossed to our fa th, and were given to tho carnal Israel, not for tSir obXncTand con solation especiaUy and alone, but tor all believer, among aUnatLnsdurLff all t.me-wero given to tho carnal seed inbehalf of the |romS seed e^n of Chnst and His followers through the Cross and thnravo iSs IvU world, to the crown m tlie habitable world to como (ffeb ii K\ wh J,i •' there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is Lither bond nor £0 ^'thTr« is oSm! 28.'" "'' ^' Abraham's seed, and heirs according to tho prl -J^ Here some ask; " Is there any teaching current among us different from Thifwnf;^^'''*''*^'' *ho Spiritualist, the Historic, and the FutuSt SinTfV T!' "'^ •contrary, and the two latter are also conW Their distinctive features need no notice horp • hnt it ,0 iZZ^^ZT T^^ v that these all interpret thr^r^Xc^siy m)11]\2T^^^ pS' accora^ng io the Geography of this world ;^theI^^StZ^ecom^^^^ and r«toredJews; the Spirituahst, for the church of the SSes and Jews ^m'® m,"^*^h ^^^ b^ood cannot inherit the kingdom of God" il Cnr XV 50). The promised kingdom of Christ neitheTif, nm- wiU ever be Tn S I°?„T -""'•^' f!^* "^'^'"^^ '"^ '^' '''''' saints 'of thelabiSeworlS *v V " , ';"'.T "" "^° regenerate eariii— saints which are ohili^rBn nf Abraham by faith, and •< children of God being the chMxoToU^^rTm! rection." They are hoirs of tlio covenant promises througli Jckus Christ, the resurrection and the life, in whom all the •' holy promiscB arc Yea, and in Him Amen, to the ylory of God." Christ is tho appointed lieir of all things, and they are joint heirs with Christ ; not of this Jerusalem, but of the heavenly city which Abraham sought with Isaac and Jacob, and wliich ''God hath prepared for them" "a city which hath foundations, whoso builder and maker is God." " For hero wo have no continumg city (whether we bo Jews or Gentiles), but we seek one to como," "descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God." " Tho throne of God and the Lamb sLall be in it, and Hia servants shall servo him. And they shall reign forever and ever" (liev. xxii. 3, 5). Tho Millennial may not hide the eternal kingdom. Thiis tho doctrine of Jesus and the resurrection fulfils tho promises, ex- plains the prophecies, and exposes tho error of Purgatory, and of tho Papal throne, and tlie hope of a spiritual kingdom transferable from earth to dis- tant heavens. It puts aside tho doctrine of tho porfectibiHty of poor human fallen nature, and of the reign of peace on earth before tho coming of Jesus Christ, " the second time without sin unto salvakion," — " whom the heavens must receive (retain) until tho times of tho restitution of all tilings which God hath spoken by the moutli of all His holy prophets, which have been since the world began," Of tho restitution oi" Israel, Jerusalam and tho Jews, the prophets have spoken more than of all things else. Therefore, tha doctrine of Jesus and the resurrection scatters tho mists now involving the Literalists and Spuritualists, the Historic and the Futurist Schools for the in- terpretation of prophecy ; while it feeds Ihe believer's hope of being "deUvered from the bondage of corruption, iuto tho glorious liberty of the children of God," "in the earnest expectatien " of which, "we know, tliat the whole creation groaneth and travailetli in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for tlio adoption, to wit, the re- demption of our body," which is its resun-ection from the dead. Thus the restoration of Israel, and of Jerusalem, and of this ransomed creation, which is our hope, awaits the coming again of our Lord in the resurrection, from the right hand of the Father, " to judge botli the quick and the dead, whose kingdom Bhall have no end." Objections. "This study offers no return of Israel from captivity to the land given to their fathers, which all the prophets delight to promise." ^ ^rw.— For two thousand five hundred years and more has this promise been pledged to all believers. To them it can be fulfilled only by their re- surrection from the dead. Therefore tho resurrection from the dead offers "the whole house of Israel," both Jews and Gentiles, the only possible mode of commg into possession of then- promised land. Tho promises belong to this world, the everlasting possessions to the habitable world to come. " This study finds no place in this world for tho Millennium." Ana.— The one thousand years belong to the period of the first resurrec- tion after the end of this world. So the end of tho mortal race in Rev 19 IS followed by the Millennium in the 20th chapter of Revelation. In the end of tho one thousand years comes a further resurrection. Satan "ithorg Gog and Magog to make war against the saints of the first resurrection' He leadB them up on the breadth of tlie earth, "to encompass the camp of the Tlie resuri-ection of J' tho whole houso of Israel," in Ezek. xxxvii., accords with the first resiirrection in tho Millonnium of lievelation, andie foUowed in chapters xxxviu. and xxxix. with tho same war of Gog the prinMof Magog, against the mountains of Israel. In Ezekicl xxxyli. the £ord pro mises to open the graves of Hit people, to cause them to come out of their graves, and to bring them into their own land, where David shall be theS pnnce for ever And ,n the two chapters following, the prophet foreteUs n"^ ^ w ""^ ot Gog in the land of Magog, '. as a cloud to cover ?he earth" and they go up to take tho spoil of the mountains of Israel, when they are destroyed by the judgments of God. Gog and Magog, in Ezekiel and'n flie Apocalypse, have the same remarkable name, the same hostiUty to the IioIt people of the samts, and the same fearful end. Their time is afterS ro^ o?ir.e? '• tn?l * '^'' ''''' , "^^^'J Apocalyp.se, and of " the whole house of Israel, God s chosen people, both Jews and Gentiles, in Bzeliel xxxvii which resun-ection belongs to tho earth, tho planet, and not to theS' the face or dross of the earth, as may be seen in the Lexicons. The wS d kosmot, passeth away : ♦' the earth, go;, abideth for ever." Eccleg. I Q Therefore, the Millennium mystery, as It is, belongs not to this visible and natural world, but the invisible and spiritual world to come with thi ^n,; J ?F'*""f/''^.S'"^'^°'"- It belongs to the planet, earth, after the end of this world, in the resurrection from the dead. Conclusion. ,,f^JJ'''f^!^St}iQixi^hnentoiiheLorA's part of Hia holy covenantB in w«^^? fr"^^' *^? ?°'"^.°^ obscurity now involving the Schoda of proph.t^ feiffiflnT 7**^''^!? ""^ °°°^- . ^^'^ "'^"'^ par*' «»• holy covenants Jre by wm\l SifJ'^"! *"°? ""^ this side of Jordan; for the Lord's part the J wJl be fumUed m eternal possessions beyond Jordan. The covenant pro- ZlfEl^^'rl A^'^'^.ha^. \o Isaac, and to Jacob, are through faith in our Sii ^?^'f* ft""^^^^^" *° "'' ^^""^ covenants are on the Lord's part fulfilled neither to the fathers nor to us, nor will they be to any mortal " bi this present evil world;" but they Mdll be fulfilled Lthaf ^hefvenly country," which the fathers sought d-ri^g their pUgrimage, and wWch Se chUdien of faith are continually seek ::; while this world stands. By this scriptural change of scene for the ir.heritance of the convenant promises given of God to the fathers and to the twelve tribes, to Aaron, to Uavid the King, and to our Lord Jesus Christ ; a change from this world Hf« ' «,?? i°°f*,?^1^i ^^*"' ^""^ corruption, to the land of everiastmg life, "the land of the hvmg, and not of the dead,"-from this worid lyine in wickedness to the " new heavens and new earth, wherein dwefieth righteousness,"-the Bible student looks through faith out of •< the bondage of corruption mto the glorious Uberty of the chUdren of God." For himself every true beUever transfers aU hope of inheriting the coven- ant promises » from this sinfij kingdom." to the coming kinglom of God. fin wi ? Matters; so did our Lord Jesus Christ; and so must his foUowera do, both Jews and Gentiles, to the end of time. r^^A^ ^1 ^^' 'J®r®/".^x?' ^''^°, "^^ *° * s«6^ of ih6 ileslt coYenant promisea waao to the seed of fwth ; who bina promises of evwiMtiug vomma to Jew«, from wliioh poBsassion doomsday must sever them. Tlie error is of a clMB which would bind to Solomon the promise to David of a son, to sit on hia ihxon^ forever f would convert the Gospel of the coming kincdom of God into a political hierarchy,— or the Gospel of "the kingdom of heaven at hand " into a kingdom in distant heavens remote from earth ; or the Gospel of Clinst's everlasting kingdom over the earth, world without end. mto a Millenmal kmgdom of Christ for a season. An essential diflfereuce lies in taking Israel of the flesh for the seed of tJie covenant promise made of God to the fathers, and Jerusalem that now is tor their capital, and the nations of the round world for their wide domain under the sceptre of the Lord our Righteousness ; and in taking the seed of faith from Abel to the end of time for the Israel of promise, and for the heira of the everlasting covenant, and of the coming kingdom of our Lord and hiB Chnst, whose capital is New Jerusalem, the city of the Great Kiuf? whose "people are all righteous," whose "sceptre is a right sceptre ;" and '« Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever." . Then " let the nations bo chid, and sing for joy ; for Thou sAafi judge the people righteously, and govoru the nations upon earth. Then the meek shall inherit the earth." " God thall bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear him." Pt. 67, 'M *1I?, H /