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Chosen no: R-1042 a, from: 1888 Year. |
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The Gulf And Torment.
A
Brother who read the exposition of the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus in
Jan'y. TOWER, would like to have an explanation of the statement, "In hell
he lifted up his eyes being in torment:" also of the meaning of the gulf
between them.
We
thought the explanation full enough to cover these points, but perhaps it was
not sufficient. We therefore answer this
query publicly.
Please
read the explanation given in January
TOWER again very
carefully. Then note that the gulf is the wide difference between the
Gospel church and the Jew; the former enjoying free grace, joy, comfort and
peace, as true sons of God,-- and the latter holding to the Law, which condemns
and torments him. Prejudice, pride and error, from the Jewish side form the
bulwarks of this gulf which hinders the Jew from coming into the condition of
true sons of God by accepting of Christ and the gospel of his grace. The
bulwark of this gulf which hinders true sons of God from going into the bondage
with the Jew--the Law--is their knowledge, that by the deeds of the Law none
can be justified before God, and that if any man keep the law (put
himself under it to try to commend himself to God by reason of obedience to the
Law) Christ shall profit him nothing. (Gal. 5:2-4.)
So then we who are of the Lazarus class will not attempt to mix law and gospel,
knowing they cannot be mixed and that we can do no good to those who still cling
to the Law and reject the sacrifice for sins given by our Lord. And
they, not seeing the change of dispensation which took place, argue, that to
deny the Law as the power to save, would be to deny all the past history of
their race, and to deny all of God's special dealings with the
"fathers" (promises and dealings which through pride and selfishness
they failed to rightly apprehend and use), hence they cannot come over to the
bosom of Abraham into the true rest and peace--the portion of all the true children
of faith.--John 8:39; Rom.
4:16 and Gal. 3:29.
True, a
few Jews probably came into the Christian faith all the way down the Gospel
age, but so few as to be ignored in a parable which represented the Jewish
people as a whole. With the end of the Gospel age, comes the end of this
parable. It is now ending, and the Jew therefore is getting out of the TORMENT
in which he has been for eighteen-hundred years. The torment has not only been
as above described,--the torment of a law which none of them ever did, or ever
could keep perfectly (except the one perfect man), but they are getting out of
another kind of torment, viz., persecution. The Jew has been bitterly
persecuted by Pagans, Mohammedans and professed Christians for centuries, but
is now--rising to political freedom and influence gradually. And as a people
they will be very prominent among the nations in the beginning of the
Millennium. The vail of prejudice is being taken away as the [R1043 : page 5] light of the Millennial morning
gradually dawns, and we hear of great awakenings among the Jews, and many
coming to acknowledge Christ. They are thus leaving their hadean state of
torment and coming, the first of the nations, to be blessed by the true seed of
Abraham which is Christ. Their bulwark of race-prejudice and pride is falling
in some places and the humble, the poor in spirit are beginning already to look
unto him whom they pierced, and to inquire, Is this not the Christ? And as they
look the Lord pours upon them the spirit of favor and supplication.-- Zech. 12:10.
We are
thus enabled to look beyond the limits of this parable and to read the future as foretold by the prophets, the apostles and by our Lord himself. Therefore,
"Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem
and cry unto her that her appointed time is accomplished."--Isa. 40:1,2, marginal reading.
W.T.
R-1042a : page 5 - 1888r