'And this
is proof that the reign of the saints over the whole earth—under the whole
heaven—is not in this present state. “In the world ye shall have tribulation.”
John 16:33.
Joh
16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have
peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have
overcome the world.
The wheat
and the tares will grow together until the harvest, which is the end of the
world, or of this age. Matt. 13:36-42.
Mat
13:36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and
his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares
of the field.
Mat
13:37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the
Son of man;
Mat
13:38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the
kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
Mat
13:39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of
the world; and the reapers are the angels.
Mat
13:40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so
shall it be in the end of this world.
Mat
13:41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather
out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
Mat
13:42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing
and gnashing of teeth.
The
“little horn” will practice and prosper and prevail until judgment is given to
the saints of the Most High. Dan. 7:21, 22.
Dan
7:21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed
against them;
Dan
7:22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints
of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
“That man
of sin,” the wicked one, will exalt himself until he is destroyed by the
brightness of Christ’s coming. 2 Thess. 2:1-8.
2Th
2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and by our gathering together unto him,
2Th
2:2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by
spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at
hand.
2Th
2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come,
except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the
son of perdition;
2Th
2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or
that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing
himself that he is God.
2Th
2:5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these
things?
2Th
2:6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his
time.
2Th
2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now
letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th
2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume
with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his
coming:
These, and
many other scriptures to the same intent which might be quoted, prove
conclusively that in this world—in this present state—the wicked will enjoy
their triumph; and the saints must still remain in expectation of theirs; they
are but “heirs of the kingdom which God hath promised to them that love him.
”James 2:5.
Jas
2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this
world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them
that love him?
There can be no “abundance of peace” for the
meek, while the tares grow with the wheat, which will be until the harvest, or
the end of the world; while that man of sin opposes and exalts himself
against God, which will be until Christ’s coming. Not in this world, but in the world to come, will the saints
reign, and the will of God be done on earth as it is done in Heaven. Well has
the poet said:— “There is a land, a better land than this; There’s my home,
there’s my home.”
There is
not the shade of a contradiction between the two statements, that the saints
shall have tribulation in this world, and, the meek shall inherit the earth. If
the earth were always to be in its present state and condition, where the
wicked prosper and the righteous are oppressed, then it would not be possible
that the meek should inherit the earth and delight themselves in the abundance
of peace. But the earth is not always to remain under the curse. The
The
Atonement - 186
thorn and
the thistle shall not always mar the face of the dominion which was given to
man at first, and which man shall eventually inherit forever. God’s original
purpose will be accomplished; his counsel shall stand. The work of the Captain
of our salvation was not ended when he died upon the cross; when his soul was
made an offering for sin. Isa. 53:10.
Isa
53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief:
when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he
shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his
hand.
His work
will not yet be finished when he has cleansed the sanctuary by the sprinkling
of his blood upon the mercy-seat. The Atonement has in view the fullness of the
glory of redemption. It is necessary to understand what is included in the work
of redemption, in order to understand what the blood of Christ has purchased
for us; what his Atonement accomplishes for man; and what are the riches of the
glory of his kingdom. This glory is greatly obscured by reason of limited views
of the design of the Atonement, and of the work of redemption. “The greatness
of the kingdom under the whole heaven,” which “shall be given to the people of
the saints of the Most High,” will not be realized until the work of redemption
is fully completed, or until the “restitution of all things, which God hath
spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” Acts 3:21.
And especially do they limit the Saviour’s work, and rob him of his glory who
claim—and many do—that the work of redemption is already completed. It is
necessary that we give this subject our careful attention.
(To be
continued)
(Excerpt
from-) THE ATONEMENT PART SECOND:
THE
ATONEMENT AS REVEALED IN THE BIBLE
(1884)
BY ELDER J. H. WAGGONER
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