Jasper County Democrat, Volume 14, Number 79, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 January 1912 — BROOKLYN TABERNACIE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

BROOKLYN TABERNACIE

THE VERY GREATEST PROPHET. Luke i, 57-80—Jan. 14. “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He hath visited ard redeemed His people.” r. ~ : OF THE BAPTIST Jesus declared. “Verily J, say unto you. Of those born of women there hath not .riseu a greater Prophet than John the Baptist; and yet I say unto you that the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than be.” (Luke vii. 283 . These words are valuable as showing us tha t-John was tlie. last of the Prophets aiinouiw ing the coming of Aiessi-ih .mi l the beginning of the' great w< rk of selecting from amongst mankind a loyal '-lass, to be associates' with the 'vqileerdor in His Alessianic Kingdom. John cguM not be of the Kingdom class. His g: and work terminated be

fore tlie Redctm'•r’s sacrifice was finished—b efo re I’ente.-ostai biess ; iuas came, acceptsqme'fts jdintheirs vyith Christ iii Hi. Kingdom. Jolm biins'. I f eemcd to understand this, for lie declared, "He that hath the Bride is the Bridegroom."

but I am the Bridegroom's friend and rejoice to hear His vqice.—John iii, 29. The Prophecy of Zacharias. St. Peter distihctly tells us respecting the Old Testament Prophets, that "Holy men of old spake and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit;” that frequently they uttered deeper and' broader truths than they themselves comprehended. This is true of the prophecy of Zacharias, in tills lesson. Verses GS-70 constitute the first division of this proph< - cy; praise to God. To Him all honbr aiigl praise are to be given for the fulfilment of Ilis gracious promises of old; “for H 0 hath visited and brought redemption to His people; He hath raised up’ a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David.” Here, after the usual manner of prophecies, the thing about to be accomplished is spoken of as though it had been done.

As John'the Baptist was born but six months before Jesus, it follows that the begetting of Jesus had already taken place at the time,of this prophecy. The Übly Spirit spoke of the things begun, but not yet accomplished, as though finished: “He hath visited and brought redemption for His people." This word redemption applies not only to the .redeeming work accomplished by Jesus in the consecration' of His life at baptism and down to the completion of Ilis sacrifice'at Calvary, but it is comprehensive enough to take in all the work of reblaiming humanity. Deliverance From Enemies. The second section or strophe of this prophetic poem 1 runs from verse 71 to 75. It relates to the deliverance of God’s people from the power of their enemies. One important thought here is that none but God’s people will ever bo delivered' from tlie enemies here referred to.

During Messiah’s reign of a thou sand years, when all the blind eyes will be opened and all the deaf ears will be unstopped, and when the knowledge of the glory of God’s char-, acter will be clearly revealed and the horribleness of sin be manifested—then many, now led captive by Satan at his will, will bo-w the knee and confess to the glory of God. In other words, as Jesus said, His consecrated followers are His “little flock” of the present time. But during His glorious reign He will gather another flock. As He saidj “Other sheep I have which are not of this fold—them also I must bring, that there may be one fold and one Shepherd.”— John x, 16.

The Preparatory Work. “One fold and one Shepherd” does not signify that all of the sheep will be of the same nature- On the con-

trary, the Apostle tells us that God’s Plan is ultimately to “gather' together under one Head (Shepherd) all things, both in heaven and in earth?” (Ephesians i, 10.) Of these “all thlng s' ’ the Church, the Bride, will be

chief, on the plane«of divine nature. The Great Company, cherubim and angels will follow in order, and redeemed and restored mankind in human perfection will be the lowest order in the Divine fold. The third section or strophe of this prophetic poem tells us of a work to be accomplished before the grand consummation of the destruction of all enemies and the lifting up of all accounted worthy to be sons of God. This is recorded in verses 76-79.. It tells how John the Baptist would, be the forerunner of the Lord's special Servant. Jesus, to pave the way for His great work. This great work would be to give the knowledge of salva'tion to thousands who were already God's people, to show them the “high calling” of this present Age.