Chapter IX: Part IV: The Meridian Dispensation. (Note 1) (2)

_Comment:_ Of the above prayer I may say what Arch Deacon Paley has so well said of the Lord's Prayer: "For a succession of solemn thoughts, for fixing the attention upon a few great points, for suitableness, for sufficiency, for conciseness without obscurity, for the weight and real importance of its petitions"--this prayer so far as I am aware is without an equal excepting, perhaps, the Lord's prayer.

_8. Eucharist in the Second Century._ "When the Christians celebrated the Lord's supper, which they were accustomed to do chiefly on Sundays, they consecrated a part of the bread and wine of the oblations, by certain prayers pronounced by the president, the bishop of the congregation. The wine was mixed with water, and the bread was divided into small pieces. Portions of the consecrated bread and wine were commonly sent to the absent and the sick, in testimony of fraternal affection towards them. There is much evidence that this most holy rite was regarded as very necessary to the attainment of salvation." (Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, p. 137.)

LESSON XXV.

(Scripture Reading Exercise.)

THE CHRISTIAN INSTITUTIONS,--(Continued.)

ANALYSIS.

II. Organizations:

1. The Church.

(a) Preliminary Steps, Gathering and instructing Disciples.

(b) Call of the Twelve.

(c) Appointment of the Seventy.

(d) The Completed Organization.

2. The Mission of the Church.

REFERENCES.

Matt. iv:12-25. Matt. v-vii, and note 1.

Matt. iv:17-25. Mark i:14-22. Luke v:13-16. Luke x:1-11, 17-20. cf. Seventy's Year Book I, pp. 3, 4. I Cor. xii:27-30. Seventy's Year Book, No. I, pp. 2, 3. Notes 2, 3.

I Cor. xiii:27-30. Eph. iv:1-6., and note.

Seventy's Year Book No. I, pp. 13-4, notes 2, 3, 4, 5. See also note 4 Lesson xxiv.

NOTES.

_2. The Church:_ I. order to propagate the gospel, and teach, encourage, instruct, preserve, and finally perfect those who accepted it, Messiah organized his Church. He bestowed upon its members certain great and precious spiritual gifts and graces, such as the power to speak in new tongues and interpret them; to receive revelation, to prophesy, to see visions, receive the visitation of angels, to possess the gift of wisdom, knowledge, faith, discernment of spirits, and healing the sick. The description of the Church organization in the New Testament is extremely imperfect, owing, no doubt, to the fragmentary character of the Christian annals. While the distinctions between the respective offices in the Priesthood, and the definition of the duties of each officer are even less satisfactory; still there is enough written to enable us to get an outline of the wonderful organization. Messiah, during his personal ministry, organized a quorum of Twelve Apostles, to whom he gave very great powers and authority, even to be witnesses of him among the people, to build up his Church by the proclamation of the gospel, to heal the sick, open the eyes of the blind, raise the dead, and cast out devils. He likewise organized quorums of seventies, unto whom he gave similar powers to those bestowed upon the apostles (c. f. Matt, x, with Luke x). After his resurrection, Messiah was with his apostles and disciples forty days, during which time he was teaching them all things concerning the kingdom of God. Hence we have these men after his ascension organizing branches of the church wherever they found people who received their testimony. In some instances they ordained elders to preside over these branches; and in other instances bishops were appointed. Paul, in giving a description of the organization of the church, says: "And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers; after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, governments, diversities of tongues." Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? The implied answer is that all are not apostles, nor prophets, nor teachers, etc., in the church of Christ, but that the whole body is fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth. Undoubtedly the whole organization grew out of the instruction Jesus imparted to the Apostles, but it required time for its foil development.

_3. The Church as Described in the New Testament:_ "The derivation of the word 'church' is uncertain. * * * The word occurs twice, each time in St. Matthew (Matt. xvi. 18, "On this rock will I build my Church;" xviii. 17, "Tell it unto the Church.") In every other case it is spoken of as the kingdom of heaven by St. Matthew, and as the kingdom of God by St. Mark and St. Luke. St. Mark, St. Luke, and St. John never use the expression kingdom of heaven. St. John once uses the phrase kingdom of God (iii. 3). St. Matthew occasionally speaks of the kingdom of God (vi. 33, xxi. 31, 43), and sometimes simply of the kingdom (iv. 23, xiii. 19, xxiv. 14). In xiii. 41 and xvi. 28, it is the Son of Man's kingdom. In xx 21, thy kingdom, i. e., Christ's. In the one Gospel of St. Matthew the Church is spoken of no less than thirty-six times as the Kingdom. Other descriptions or titles are hardly found in the Evangelists. It is Christ's household (Matt. x. 25). the salt and light of the world (v. 13, 15), Christ's flock (Matt. xxvi. 31; John x. 1), its members are the branches growing on Christ the Vine (John xv); but the general description of it, not metaphorically, but directly, is that it is a kingdom. * * * The means of entrance into it is Baptism (Matt, xxviii. 19). The conditions of belonging to it are faith (Mark xvi. 16) and obedience (Matt, xxviii. 20). Participation in the Holy Supper is its perpetual token of membership, and the means of supporting the life of its members (Matt. xxvi. 26; John vi. 51; Cor. xi. 26). Its members are given to Christ by the Father out of the world, and sent by Christ into the world; they are sanctified by the truth (John xvii. 19); and they are to live in love and unity, cognizable by the eternal world (John xiii. 34. xvii. 23)." Smith Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. 1., p. 453.

_4. Definitions of the Church:_ The Greek Church gives the following: "The Church is a divinely instituted community of men, united by the orthodox faith, the law of God, the hierarchy, and the Sacraments" (Full Catechism of the Orthodox. Catholic, Eastern Church, Moscow, 1839). The Latin Church defines it as, "The company of Christians knit together by the profession of the same faith and the communion of the same sacraments, under the government of lawful pastors, and especially of the Roman bishop as the only Vicar of Christ upon earth." (Bellarm. De Eccl. Mil. iii. 2; see also Devoti Inst. Canon. 1, iv. Romae, 1818.) The Church of England, "A congregation of faithful men in which the pure word of God is preached, and the Sacraments he duly ministered according to Christ's ordinance in all those things that of necessity are requisite of the same." (Art. xix.) The Lutheran Church: "A congregation of saints in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the sacraments rightly administered." (Confessio Augustina, 1631, Art. vii.) The Confessio Helvetica: "A congregation of faithful men called, or collected out of the world, the communion of all saints." (Art. xvii.) The Confessio Saxonica: "A congregation of men embracing the Gospel of Christ, and rightly using the Sacraments." (Art. xii.) The Confessio Belgica: "A true congregation, or assembly of all faithful Christians who look for the whole of their salvation from Jesus Christ alone, as being washed by his blood, and sanctiled and sealed by his Spirit." (Art. xvii.) (Smith's Dictionary of the Bible Art Church.) (For our definition of "The Church," see Seventy's Year Book, No. 1, p. 13.)

_4. Inadequacy of Foregoing Definitions:_ "These definitions show the difficulty in which the different sections of the divided Church find themselves in framing a definition which will at once accord with the statements of Holy Scripture, and be applicable to the present state of the Christian world. We have seen that according to the Scriptural view the Church is a holy kingdom, established by God on earth, of which Christ is the invisible King; it is a divinely organized body, the members of which are knit together amongst themselves, and joined to Christ, their Head, by the Holy Spirit, who dwells in and animates it; it is a spiritual but visible society of men united by constant succession to those who were personally united to the Apostles, holding the same faith that the Apostles held, administering the same sacraments, and, like them, forming separate, but only locally separate, assemblies, for the public worship of God. This is the Church according to the Divine intention. But as God permits men to mar the perfection of his design in their behalf, and as men have both corrupted the doctrines and broken the unity of the Church, we must not expect to see the Church of Holy Scripture actually existing in its perfection on earth. It is not to be found, thus perfect, either in the collected fragments of Christendom, or still less in any one of these fragments more than another may approach the Scriptural and Apostolic ideal which existed only until sin, heresy, and schism had time sufficiently to develop themselves to do their work." (Smith's Bible Dictionary, p. 458.)

LESSON XXVI.

(Scripture Reading Exercise.)

CLIMATIC EVENTS OF THE MERIDIAN DISPENSATION.

ANALYSIS.

I. Conspiracy Against the Christ.

II. Death and Resurrection of the Christ.

III. Post-Resurrection Ministry of Messiah.

1. In Judea.

2. On the Western Hemisphere.

3. Among the "Lost Tribes."

REFERENCES.

Matt, xxvi; xxvii:1-25. Mark xiv; and xv:1-15. St. John xxii and xxiii:1-27. St. John xviii.

St. John xix and xx:1-18 Notes 2, 5. Luke xxiii and xxiv. Mark xv and xvi:1-8. Matt, xxvii and xxviii. Matt, xxviii:11-20. Mark xvi; St. John xx:19-31. Luke xxiv:13-53. Acts i:1-14.

III Nephi chapters xi to xxx inclusive, cf. John x:15, 16. "The Fifth Gospel," Defense of the Faith and the Saints, pp. 373-399.

III Nephi, chs. xv-xvi-xvii.

NOTES.

_1. The Agony in Gethsemane:_ "(Matt, xxvi; vers. 36-46, parallel passages: Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46.) This conflict presents our Lord in the reality of His manhood, in weakness and humiliation, but it is impossible to account for it unless we admit His Divine nature. Had he been a mere man, His knowledge of the sufferings before Him could not have been sufficient to cause such sorrow. The human fear of death will not explain it. As a real man, He was capable of such a conflict. But it took place after the serenity of the Last Supper and sacerdotal prayer, and before the sublime submission in the palace and judgment hall. The conflict, therefore, was a specific agony of itself. He felt the whole burden and mystery of the world's sin, and encountered the fiercest assaults of Satan Otherwise, in this hour this Person, so powerful, so holy, seems to fall below the heroism of martyrs in His own cause. His sorrow did not spring from His own life. His memory or His fears, but from the vicarious nature of the conflict. The agony was a bearing of the weight and sorrow of our sins, in loneliness, in anguish of soul threatening to crush His body, yet borne triumphantly, because in submission to His Father's will. Three times our Lord appeals to that will, as purposing His anguish; that purpose of God in regard to the loveliest, best of men, can be reconciled with justice and goodness in God in but one way; that it was necessary for our redemption. Mercy forced its way through justice to the sinner. Our Lord suffered anguish of soul for sin, that it might never rest on us. To deny this is in effect not only to charge our Lord with undue weakness, but to charge God with needless cruelty. 'Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. ... He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.' Isa. 53: 4,5." (International Commentary, Matthew, p. 359.)

_2. The Cruelty of Crucifixion:_ "Crucifixion was a most disgraceful and cruel punishment introduced into Judaea by the Romans and inflicted only on slaves and the worst of criminals. Constantine the Great abolished it. The Jews often hanged those who had been stoned to death, but the corpse must be buried the same day, so as not to pollute the land (Deut. 21:22, 23). The Romans permitted the crucified to die slowly; and the sufferings sometimes continued for three days. Their flesh was given to the birds or other wild animals. As, according to Jewish custom, the bodies must at once be taken down and buried, death was hastened by the crucifragium, the breaking of the legs, to which was sometimes added a mercy-stroke, that is, the piercing of the body. If they were already dead, the latter alone was given, to make the matter sure. The physical sufferings of the victims were fearfully great Dr. Richter, a physician, thus describes them: 1. On account of the unnatural and immovable position of the body and the violent extension of the arms, the least motion produced the most painful sensation all over the body, but especially on the lacerated back and the pierced members. 2. The nails caused constantly increasing pain on the most sensitive parts of the hands and feet. 3. Inflammation set in at the pierced members and wherever the circulation of the blood was obstructed by the violent tension of the body, and increased the agony and an intolerable thirst. 4. The blood rushed to the head and produced the most violent headache. 5. The blood in the lungs accumulated, pressing the heart, swelling all the veins, and caused nameless anguish. Loss of blood through the open wounds would have shortened the pain, but the blood clotted and ceased flowing. Death generally set in slowly, the muscles, veins, and nerves gradually growing stiff, and the vital powers sinking from exhaustion. (From Lange on Matt. pp. 522 sq.) By the crucifixion of our Lord the cross of the bitterest sufferings and cruel death has been changed into a tree of life, that bears the richest fruits of penitence and gratitude. From the moment He was lifted on the cross He began to draw all men unto Him (Comp. John 12: 32)." (Commentary, Matthew, pp. 389-90).

_3. Death of the Christ Voluntary:_ Unbelievers delight to represent God, the great Law Giver, as unspeakably cruel in demanding such an atonement as Christ made for the salvation of the children of men. But let it be born in mind that he who made the atonement did so voluntarily. Testifying to his disciples respecting the matter, he says: "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have the power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father." When his enemies gathered about him,--a former friend betraying him with a kiss,--and Peter prepared to defend him with the sword, he chided him for his rashness, commanding him to put up his sword, and added: "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?" Thus down to the very last moment, it appears that Jesus could have been delivered from the sacrifice had he so willed it. But the principle which was the guiding star of his life--"Father, not my will, but thy will be done"--influenced him in this instance, and he drank of the cup given him of his Father, and wrung out the dregs in agony; but he did it voluntarily, and that, too, out of his great love for mankind. (Outlines, Eccl. Hist. Roberts, pp. 93-4.)

"It is manifest, from the history of the death of Christ, that he spake most truly when he said, No man taketh my life from me, but I lay it down of myself. John x. 18. For how easy would it have been for him, even without a miracle, to have avoided falling into the hands of his enemies? The insidious designs of the Jewish pontiff and chief priests were well known to him; and it is plain that he was no stranger to the treacherous intentions of his perfidious disciple Judas, since he expressly alludes to them on more than one occasion. On the other hand, it appears that he had several great and powerful friends, on whom he could have depended for support. Would he but have quitted Jerusalem, and returned into Galilee, every scheme that had been formed against him must have fallen to the ground. Indeed, even this was not requisite: for his safety would have been completely secured had he merely changed the place of his nightly resort, and, lest Judas should have discovered it, dismissed that wicked and deceitful man from his society. Besides these obvious means, there were others to which he might have had recourse, and which would have proved equally efficient in defeating and bringing to naught the evil councils and designs of the Jewish priests and elders. But it should seem that he disdained, or at least voluntarily neglected to avail himself of any of those precautions, which a very moderate share of human prudence would have suggested to any man under similar circumstances. He remained in Jerusalem; he permitted Judas to continue about his person, in the character of an intimate friend; he continued to pass his nights in the usual and accustomed place. All these circumstances being considered, who is there but must readily perceive that Christ voluntarily subjected himself to the punishment of death, and offered up his life to God as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind?" (History of Christianity, Mosheim. p. 98.)

_4. The Vicarious Work of the Christ:_ "Therefore. I command you to repent--repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore--how sore you know not! How exquisite you know not! Yes, how hard to bear you know not! For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent. But if they would not repent, they must suffer even as I, which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit; and would that I might not drink the bitter cup and shrink. Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men; wherefore, I command you again to repent, lest I humble you with my almighty power, and that you confess your sins, lest you suffer these punishments of which I have spoken, of which in the smallest, yea, even in the least degree you have tasted at the time I withdrew my spirit." (Doc. & Cov. Sec. xix:15-20.)

_5. The Appearance of Jesus After His Resurrection:_ "There are some slight discrepancies in the writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in respect to the order of the appearance of Messiah after his resurrection, as indeed there is in respect to the order of the events connected with his trial, condemnation and death; but the following, because of the fragmentary character of the four gospels, may be regarded as being as nearly correct as may be ascertained. First, to Mary Magdalene, in the garden where the tomb in which he was laid was located; second, lo the women returning from the sepulchre on their way to deliver the angel's message to the disciples; third, to two disciples going to Emmaus; fourth, to Peter; fifth, to ten apostles in an upper room; sixth, to the eleven apostles, also in the upper room; seventh, to seven apostles at the sea of Tiberias; eighth, to eleven apostles in a mountain in Galilee; ninth; to above five hundred brethren at once; tenth, to James; and finally to Paul while on his way to Damascus." (Outlines of Ecclesiastical History, p. 65.)

_6. The Christ's Post-Resurrection Ministry in Judea:_ "In all Jesus was with his disciples on the eastern hemisphere for forty days after his resurrection, during which time he taught them all things pertaining to the kingdom of heaven, and authorized them to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever he had commanded them; and promised that he would be with them even unto the end of the world. * * * Having thus taught the gospel to the people of the eastern hemisphere, organized his church and commissioned his apostles to teach the gospel to all nations, he prepared to depart from them. It was most probably at Bethany that this solemn parting occurred. His forerunner, John the Baptist, had promised that he who should come after him, Jesus Christ, would baptize them with the Holy Ghost, and just previous to Messiah leaving the apostles he told them that the promise was about to be fulfilled. He therefore commanded them to tarry in Jerusalem until they were endowed with that power from on high. Then he lifted up his hands and blessed them, after which he was parted from them, and a cloud received him out of their sight. As they were still looking steadfastly toward heaven, two men.--angels--in white apparel, stood by them, and declared that this same Jesus whom they had seen go into heaven, should come in like manner, that is, in the clouds of heaven, and in great glory." (Outlines of History, Roberts, pp. 66, 67.)

_7. Advent of Messiah on Western Hemisphere:_ I now turn to a passage I shall read to you from III Nephi, describing the appearance of Jesus on this land (America.) After fearful cataclysms had taken place, a company of men, women and children in the land Bountiful, numbering some 2,500 souls, were assembled together near a temple that had escaped destruction, and they were speaking of the great events of the recent past and the change that was apparent in the whole face of the land. As they were speaking of these signs that had been given of Messiah's birth and death, and conversing concerning Messiah himself, they heard a voice. What was said they could not at first determine, and whence the voice came they could not tell. It grew, however, more and still more distinct, until at last they heard the voice say:

"Behold my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name; hear ye him."

And it came to pass as they understood, they cast their eyes up again towards heaven and behold, they saw a man descending out of heaven: and he was clothed in a white robe, and he came down and stood in the midst of them, and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and they durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto them.

And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto them people, saying:

Behold, I am Jesus, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world;

And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.

And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, the whole multitude fell to the earth, for they remembered that it had been prophesied among them that Christ should show himself unto them after his ascension into heaven." (Defense of the Faith and the Saints, pp. 382-3.)

_8. Subject of Messiah Teaching in the Western Hemisphere:_ "Complaint is made that in his ministry among the Nephites Messiah merely repeated the ideas, and for that matter the words of his sermon on the mount; so wanting in originality, claim those who object to the Book of Mormon, were the authors of the book that they could not trust themselves to give Jesus the opportunity of preaching an original discourse to the inhabitants of this western part of the world. I ask these Christian objectors to consider this: Suppose the Book of Mormon were not in existence at all; suppose that we begin to reflect on the empires and nations which beyond all question did occupy this land of America in ancient times, and were civilized, intelligent people--God's children; suppose that it began to occur to some of our Christian friends that it would have been a grand idea if the Son of God had come and made proclamation of the Gospel to a people who were destined to be for so many centuries separated from the eastern hemisphere, where the gospel had been planted. Now, then, suppose these conditions, and suppose further that Jesus came here, what would be the nature of his mission? What should he first do? What truth do these Christian critics hold to be the most important truth to mankind? Would it not be the fact that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, the one who is to bring life and immortality to light through the Gospel? Would not that be the most important thing to have declared? I believe all Christians must necessarily say yes. Well, that is just what happened. The voice of God broke the stillness of this western world, and said to a company of people, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him." Then Jesus stands forth and declares himself and his mission, the most important truth that the Christian mind, at least, can conceive. The Fifth Gospel starts with that sublime, important truth. Then alter that, what would be the next most important thing? Would it not be to teach man his moral duty? His relationship to God and to the Savior having been fixed by the first revelation, what next? Why, the ethics of the gospel of Christ, the moral law, which is to take the place of the old Mosaic law--confessedly inferior to the Gospel law, being but the "schoolmaster" to bring Israel to the Christ. Christian principles, then, for light living was what Messiah imparted to the Nephites after his relationship to them was settled. And so Messiah starts out with the same doctrine that he taught upon the mount There are not wanting respectable Christian authorities for the assertion that that discourse called the sermon on the mount was not a single discourse, but that into it was crowded from the recollection of the apostles all the great ethical truths that Jesus had taught from time to time, and that here they are grouped together and appear as one discourse. Moreover, the Savior declared to the Nephites while he was yet with them that these truths which he had been teaching them were the same that he had taught in Judea. "Behold," said he, in the course of his explanations, "ye have heard the things which I have taught before I ascended unto my Father." (Defense of the Faith and the Saints, pp. 384-5.)

[Note: _To the Teacher:_ It is suggested that you make the appointment at this lesson for Lesson XXX--a discourse on "The Greatness and Influence of the Meridian Dispensation." One or more speakers may be appointed, and an effort should be made to give the subject a masterly treatment. It could also be made the occasion of a review of the eight lessons devoted to the theme, which may be conducted by questions after the speakers have concluded.

On such occasions as these a very fitting thing to do would be to invite brethren of other quorums, Elders and High Priests, as also the local authorities of the Ward or Stake to witness such exercises. Make it a special occasion and put those who are to treat the theme on their mettle and get the best out of them that it is possible for them to give.]

LESSON XXVII.

(Scripture Reading Exercise.)

PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL.

ANALYSIS.

I. Among the Jews--Pentecost--the Church at Jerusalem.

1. Among the Gentiles:

(a) Opening the Door of the Gospel to the Gentiles by Peter.

(b) Paul's Labors among the Gentiles.

II. The Apostolic Age.

REFERENCES.

Matt, xxviii:16-20; Mark xvi; 16: Acts i:1-9. Acts ii: ix, note 1 and 2.

Acts x, xi. Notes 3, 4 and 5. Also New Testament History, (Smith) pp. 426-29, 633-643.

Acts xxii-xxviii. Note 6.

Note 7 and 8; also Smith's New Testament History and Dictionaries heretofore quoted.

NOTES.

_1. The Acts of the Apostles: _The student should regard the whole book, "Acts of the Apostles," as the book of first importance in the history of the propagation of the Gospel in the Meridian Dispensation. It gives an account of the conflicts and conquests of the Gospel from the ascension of Messiah to the imprisonment of Paul in the city of Rome (33-63 A. D.), a period of sixty years. "It is the earliest manual of Church History, and the only one treating of the age of the apostles which has come down to us from the first century." (See note Seventy's Year Book, No. I, p. 85, notes 6, 7.) "True," as remarked by Dr. William Smith, "New Testament History," "the Book of Acts contains no full account of the acts of the apostles;" for "most of them are never mentioned even by name after the list given in the first chapter;" and the history of Paul which fills so large a space in the book is not brought down to his death." Still, it is the most important book of the Apostolic age treating of the Christian origins.

_2. Characteristics of the Acts:_ "The Acts makes prominent the agency of the Holy Spirit. He is referred to by name fifty times, or more frequently than in all the four Gospels together. The promise of the Spirit was emphasized by Christ just before his ascension. (1:5, 8.) He descended in tongues of fire on the day of Pentecost (2:1-13). Early believers (4:31) and preachers, like Stephen (6:5) and Barnabas, were 'filled with the Holy Spirit,' and the Apostles were sent forth to their work (13:4), or the elders appointed by Him (20: 28). It is a book of beginnings. The Holy Spirit begins his new and promised activity; the Apostles inaugurate their labors; churches are founded in many cities. * * * * * * * The Acts is eminently a hopeful book. It is the book of Joshua among the books of the New Testament, fresh as with the life of Spring. Old terms acquire a new significance, like 'believer,' 'brother' (9:17), 'the Way' (19:9), etc. There is no cant. Christianity goes forth conquering and to conquer, and the world is the heritage of Christ. It dwells much upon the resurrection, and looks forward with expectancy to the Second Coming. It is animate with the spirit of joy. In this respect, the Acts is set in the same major key as the Gospel of Luke. Confident of the presence of the Master and conscious of the power of salvation, the Apostles even rejoice that they were counted worthy to suffer for him (5:41). The tidings which they preach, like those the angels brought, are 'good tidings' (13: 32). Paul and Silas sang in prison (16:25), and the acceptance of the Gospel is everywhere attended with great joy (8:39; 13:52; 15:3; 16: 34, etc.). It is a book of missionary activity. Intensity of purpose and effort pulsates through it. It has no morbid tone. Much stress is laid upon the efficacy of Christ's death, but only the deaths of Stephen and James are mentioned, and the deaths of Paul and Peter are entirely passed over. This silence * * * * indicates that it matters everything how a Christian lives; little how he dies. Christianity advances with a steady and rapid progress from Jerusalem to Antioch, Antioch to Corinth, and Corinth to Rome. There are references to the numbers of the believers (2:40; 4:4), and constant statements that they were increasing rapidly (2:47; 5:14; 6:7; 12:24; 16:5). Besides the more formal notices, there are incidental allusions to the churches in Samaria and Phoenicia (15:3), Syria and Cilicia (15:23), Troas (20:6, 7), Tyre and Ptolemais (21:1-7), and other cities. The book is the missionary's best companion on the frontier and in foreign lands. The Acts is animated with the universal aims of the Gospel. It has a Gentile ring. Palestine was only the birthplace of Christianity, not its exhaustive theatre. Peter catches this tone in his speech on the day of Pentecost (2:39), whose various tongues were themselves a type, and witnesses a figurative representation of it in the vision on the housetop of Joppa. Stephen's eye takes in this larger horizon, and Paul, who uttered the significant words in Antioch of Pisidia, 'Lo, we turn to the Gentiles' (13:46), looks out to Rome itself when he insists, 'I must also see Rome' (19:31; 20:22). The motto of the Acts is the command of the ascending Saviour, 'to the uttermost part of the earth' (1:8), and continues to be the motto of the Church. The Acts of the Apostles is not yet a closed book." (The Acts of the Apostles, by J. S. Howson and H. D. M. Spence, p. xix and xx. International Commentary, Introduction.)

_3. The Gospel Taken to the Gentiles:_ The Apostles, being Jews themselves, appear to have shared the common prejudices of their race against the Gentiles; and treated them for a time as if they had no lot nor part in the gospel of Christ. It was not the design of the Lord, however, to thus restrict the application of the gospel. Jesus, himself, while he had said that he was "sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," had also said: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me;" and the commission of the risen Christ to the Apostles sent them to "all nations." (Matt. xxviii:19; Acts i:8.) Hence, when Cornelius of Caesarea, a devout man, one that feared God, though a Gentile, sought the Lord by prayer and good works, he found him; for an angel was sent to Cornelius, who told him his prayers and alms were accepted of God, and that he had come to direct him to send men to Joppa for Simon Peter, who would be able to tell him what he ought to do. The devout Gentile immediately started the messengers to find the Apostle. Meantime Peter himself was prepared by a vision to go with the gospel unto one whom both he and all his race regarded as unclean. In vision he thought he beheld a great net let down from heaven, filled with all manner of four-footed beasts, fowls of the air, and creeping things. And a voice said to him, "Rise, Peter, kill and eat." "Not so. Lord," was his reply, "for I have never eaten anything that was common or unclean." "What God hath cleansed," said the voice, "that call not thou common or unclean." This was done thrice, and as he was yet pondering what the vision could mean, the messengers of Cornelius were at the gate enquiring for him; and he was commanded by the Spirit to go with them, doubting nothing, for God had sent them. Peter was obedient to the inspired commandment, and went to the house of Cornelius, where he found many of the devout Gentile's friends and kinsmen gathered together in anticipation of his coming. Cornelius having informed the apostle how he came to send for him, Peter exclaimed: "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons; but in every nation he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted with him." He then proceeded to preach the gospel to Cornelius and all present. As he did so the Holy Ghost fell upon them, to the astonishment of all the Jews who had accompanied Peter; for they heard them speak in new tongues and magnify God. Cornelius and his friends were baptized and thus the door of the gospel was opened to the Gentiles. (Outlines Ecclesiastical History, pp. 81, 2.)

_4. Peter's Mission to the Gentiles:_ "This event was the crown and consummation of Peter's ministry. He, who had first preached the resurrection to the Jews, baptized the first converts, and confirmed the Samaritans, now, without the advice or co-operation of any of his colleagues, under direct communication from heaven, first threw down the barrier which separated proselytes of the gate from Israelites; first established principles which issued in the complete fusion of the Hebrew and Gentile elements in the Church. The narrative of this event, which stands alone in minute circumstantiality of incidents and accumulation of supernatural agency, is twice recorded by St. Luke. The chief points to be recorded are, first, the peculiar fitness of Cornelius, both as a representative of Roman force and nationality, and a devout and liberal worshiper, to be a recipient of such privileges; and, secondly, the state of the apostle's own mind. Whatever may have been his hopes or fears touching the heathen, the idea had certainly not yet crossed him that they could become Christians without first becoming Jews. As a loyal and believing Hebrew, he could not contemplate the removal of Gentile disqualifications without a distinct assurance that those enactments of the Law which concerned them were abrogated by a divine legislator. The vision could not, therefore, have been the product of a subjective impression; it was strictly objective, presented to his mind by an external influence. Yet the will of the Apostle was not controlled; it was simply enlightened. The intimation in the state of trance did not at once overcome his reluctance. It was not until his consciousness was fully restored and he had well considered the meaning of the vision, that he learned that the distinction of cleanness and uncleanness in outward things belonged to a temporary dispensation. It was no mere acquiescence in a positive command, but the development of a spirit full of generous impulses, which found utterance in the words spoken by Peter on that occasion, both in presence of Cornelius and afterward at Jerusalem." (Dr. Smith's New Testament History, pp. 428-9.)

_5. Rapid Growth of the Work:_ The knowledge once established in the minds of the Apostles that God granted to the Gentiles repentance unto life, seemed to unshackle those who were to preach the gospel, and gave a broader meaning in their minds to their commission to "Go unto all the world and preach the gospel unto every creature." Evidently before this they did not comprehend it in its fullest sense. The Apostles appear to have remained in Jerusalem a number of years--twelve years, tradition says--presiding over the Church and directing the labors of those preaching the gospel. Churches, or, more correctly speaking, branches of the Church were built up in Antioch, Damascus and other cities of Syria. The work also spread into Asia Minor, Greece and Rome; and everywhere great success attended the preaching of the elders, until the gospel was firmly established in various parts of the Gentile world. So extensive was the preaching of the ambassadors of Christ in those early days of the Church that we have Paul saying (about thirty years after the ascension of Messiah) that it had been "preached to every creature under heaven." (Outlines Ecclesiastical History, p. 83.)

_6. Personal Appearance and Character of Paul:_ "We have no very trustworthy source of information as to the personal appearance of St. Paul. Those which we have are referred to and quoted in Conybeare and Howson. (Vol. i, ch. vii. end.) They are the early pictures and mosaics described by Mrs. Jameson, and passages from Malalas, Nicephorus, and the apocryphal Acta Pauli et Theclae. They all agree in ascribing to the Apostle a short stature, a long face with high forehead, an aquiline nose, close and prominent eyebrows. Other characteristics mentioned are baldness, grey eyes, a clear complexion, and a winning expression. Of his temperament and character, St. Paul is himself the best painter. His speeches and letters convey to us, as we read them, the truest impressions of those qualities which helped to make him The Great Apostle. We perceive the warmth and ardor of his nature, his deeply affectionate disposition, the tenderness of his sense of honor, the courtesy and personal dignity of his bearing, his perfect fearlessness, his heroic endurance; we perceive the rare combination of subtlety, tenacity and versatility in his intellect; we perceive also a practical wisdom which we should have associated with a cooler temperament, and a tolerance which is seldom united with such impetuous convictions. And the principle which harmonized all these endowments and directed them to a practical end was, beyond dispute, a knowledge of Jesus Christ in the Divine Spirit. Personal allegiance to Christ as to a living Master, with a growing insight into the relation of Christ to each man and to the world, carried the Apostle forward on a straight course through every vicissitude of personal fortunes and amid the various habits of thought which he had to encounter. The conviction that he had been entrusted with a Gospel concerning a Lord and Deliverer of men was what sustained him and purified his love for his own people, while it created in him such a love for mankind that he only knew himself as a servant of others for Christ's sake." (Dr. Smith's New Testament History, p. 633.)

_7. The Apostolic Age:_ "The Apostolic Age naturally falls into three periods: (1) The time when the labors of the Apostles were confined to Jerusalem; (2) the time during which their ministrations were performed in all of Palestine, and (3) the time when they "went into all the world" (the Roman Empire) in obedience to the Saviour's behest (Matt, xxviii:16-20; Mark 16:15). * * * * * * * There is scarcely a movement, religious or otherwise, in the history of the world which can be compared, in quickness of development, with the first thirty years of the spread of Christianity. Up to the year 33 A. D. the name of Christ had scarcely been heard outside of a region no greater than one of the larger counties of Utah; over all the civilized world beside, paganism and Judaism held undisputed sway. Yet, by the year 63 A. D., through the active zeal of our Lord's followers, His name and the doctrines He came to establish had spread over Syria, Asia Minor, Arabia, Greece, Italy, and, we doubt not, some regions farther west. The Christians, as the followers of Jesus were called in derision first in Antioch (Acts 11:26), were everywhere known, and everywhere spoken evil against. Opposed by the combined forces of the two widely accepted religions above mentioned, the Gospel of Christ had spread "to the ends of the earth," and had been accepted by Jews and pagans everywhere." (Y. M. M. I. Manual, 1898-9.)

_8. State of the Church at Close of Apostolic Age:_ "A. the close of the first century, the Church was in a sadly demoralized condition. According to our best authorities, all the Apostles but John were dead, no attempt (for any great length of time, apparently) having been made to maintain the quorum. If so important a body was allowed to become extinct, there is no reasonable doubt that other quorums fell into decay and that the Church organization lost its original identity. With the disorganization of the quorums of Priesthood there was an opportunity for the predicted rise of false teachers, under whom occurred changes in the ordinances of the Gospel. These changes afterward increased materially, until, in connection with the loss of true and the usurpation of false authority, they produced a complete change both in the organization and the ordinances of the Church. Persecution and internal corruption and dissension had also done their work, until at the close of the century, when John wrote his Epistles and the Revelation, but few of the branches of the Church retained enough of their identity and faithfulness to be recognized by him. The deplorable condition of the Church can well be gathered from the warnings and threats given to the saints at Ephesus in the second chapter of Revelation. A full discussion of this subject will be found in Roberts' New Witnesses for God, chapters 2-7. From the evidences there presented, it cannot be doubted that at the close of the first century the high authority of the Church had fallen into decay, and the Apostolic Age was at an end."

LESSON XXVIII.

(Scripture Reading Exercise.)

CONFLICTING THEORIES.

ANALYSIS.

I. Questions Respecting the Meridian Dispensation and the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times Considered.

1. The Largeness and Glory of the Meridian Dispensation.

2. Identity of the Meridian Dispensation and the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times Considered.

(a) Joel's Prophecy of the Dispensation of the Last Days Considered.

REFERENCES.

The Authorities quoted in the notes are all the References the Editor and Compiler has to offer in this Lesson.

NOTES.

_1. The Greatness of the Dispensation of the Meridian of Time:_ With the period between Moses and John the Baptist spanned, we come to the Dispensation of the Meridian of Time. This dispensation begins with the preaching of John the Baptist in the wilderness. It was made glorious by the personal ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God; by His suffering and death, for the redemption of mankind; by His glorious resurrection from the dead; by His subsequent ministry among His followers, and His final ascension into heaven to the throne of His Father; by the faithful ministry of His Apostles, by whom the good tidings of man's salvation were published to the world; by the establishment of the Church as an agency through which the Gospel was to be more widely proclaimed, and those who accepted the Gospel more thoroughly instructed in its doctrines, guarded from error, and finally perfected in the Christian life. An inspired volume of Scripture, the New Testament, was also brought into existence, from the teachings of the inspired Apostles, in which the great fundamental truths of the Gospel were embodied and cast in a form that would be enduring, and to which men could appeal through all the ages to come, as an authoritative statement, not only of what Jesus said and what He did, but also a statement of what doctrines are to be believed; what precepts to be practiced; what ordinances to be observed. By thus embodying the chief doctrines of Christ in a volume of Scripture that should live forever, and be published in all the languages of the world, provision was made for such a dissemination of the knowledge of God, that the world would never again be wholly without that knowledge; and though the Church might become corrupted, as it afterwards did; though men ambitious of distinction and power might usurp authority and establish churches in which they taught for doctrines the commandments of men, as they certainly did; still in this volume of Scripture men henceforth would have at hand a standard of truth by which to test the utterances of would-be teachers, while at the same time it would keep above the horizon of a world's knowledge the great truths of the Gospel--the existence and character of God; the manifestation of Him through the person and character of Jesus of Nazareth; the relationship existing between God and man; the fall of man, and the redemption provided for him in the atonement of Jesus Christ. All this was achieved in the Dispensation of the Meridian of Time; a mighty work accomplished by the Son of God and His associates; a work sealed not only by the blood of Jesus Christ, but by the blood also of many faithful witnesses, which shall make their testimony of force in the world.

_2. The Identity of the Dispensation of the Meridian of Time and the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times Considered:_ Owing to the phraseology of certain passages of Scripture, making reference to the coming of Messiah in the flesh, and to the work of God in those days, the Dispensation of the Meridian of Time is mistaken for the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times. In Mark's Gospel, for instance, John the Baptist is represented as saying, "_The time is fulfilled_, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the Gospel."[A] The words in black type are usually understood to make reference to the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times. Again it is written: "_But when the fullness of the time was come_, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law." [B] The words, "when the fullness of the time was come," are supposed to refer to the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times. Other passages of Scripture referring to the days of Messiah's personal ministry among men in the flesh, speak of them as the "last days." Paul, in the opening sentence of his letter to the Hebrews, does this: "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath _in these last days_ spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things."[C]; So St. John, in addressing the Saints in his day: "Little children, it is the lost time: and as ye have heard that anti-Christ shall come, even now are there many anti-Christs; whereby we know that it is the last time."[D] These, with two other special passages of Scripture, to be separately considered, constitute the authority upon which the Meridian Dispensation is confounded with the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times. And yet all these passages are susceptible of quite a different and more natural rendering. Without controversy it will be conceded that the Lord had an appointed time for His Son Jesus to come to earth in the flesh and perform the mission that had been assigned Him; to suffer; to die; to arise again from the dead. And when the fullness of this time was come, God indeed sent forth His Son into the world. As for those inspired writers who speak of the "last days," and the "last times"--they speak relatively; that is, with reference to former days and times; and, of course, the days and times in which they lived to them were the last days, and the last times; but they were not the last days of the earth's temporal existence; they were not the last days in any general sense at all, as there have been now some two thousand years of days since then. They were not the "last days" that are understood as immediately preceding the glorious coming of the Son of God.

[Footnote A: Mark i:15.]

[Footnote B: Gal. iv:4.]

[Footnote C: Heb. i:1, 2.]

[Footnote D: John ii:18.]