The Harp of God Part 30

[424]Jesus defines the wheat cla.s.s as the true followers of himself, children of the kingdom, and the tares as the imitation Christians, who are Christians in name only. He declared: "Let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn."--Matthew 13: 30.

[425]It is a well-known fact that since 1878 there has been a tendency on the part of all denominations to bind themselves into leagues and combines, a.s.sociations, Interchurch World Movement, etc., thus fulfilling this prophetic statement of the Lord of binding together the merely nominal Christians preparatory for the great fire, the great time of trouble, which is now upon the earth. To the truly consecrated people of G.o.d, who have been identified with these various sectarian or denominational systems the Lord has been calling in this time of the harvest, saying: "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and receive not her plagues". (Revelation 18:4) Concerning his work with the others, the wheat cla.s.s, Jehovah through his Prophet long ago said: "Gather my saints together unto me, those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice". (Psalm 50:5) The great work of the harvest, that is to say, the proclaiming of the second presence of the Lord and the gathering together of those who truly love his appearing, has been so remarkably fulfilled since 1874 that it is one of the most striking and conclusive proofs of the Lord's second presence.

SCOFFERS

[426]It might be reasonably expected that the clergy of various denominations would be anxious to know and anxious to tell the people about the presence of the Lord, and would therefore joyfully receive any news concerning his presence. We find the facts to be just to the contrary, however, and we again notice that this is one of the evidences given by Jesus himself marking his second presence. He said: "But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming [presence] of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming [presence] of the Son of man be."

(Matthew 24:37-39) Instead of these clergymen as a cla.s.s joining in the proclamation, 'Behold the Bridegroom! the Lord has returned, the kingdom is at hand,' they scoff and jeer, and if they say anything concerning the Lord's second presence, even though they get all their information from what Pastor Russell wrote, they discredit him and mock and scoff at what he wrote or said. Of course the Lord foreknew this and therefore he caused the Apostle under inspiration to write: "There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own l.u.s.ts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming [presence]? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation".

--2 Peter 3:3,4.

END OF THE WORLD

[427]Jesus having taught his disciples concerning his second coming, and having informed them that the world would end at or during that time, they desired to know how they might be able to ascertain the fact of his presence and what would be the indication or proof of it to them or to any one. He was sitting on the side of the Mount of Olives when his disciples came to him privately and propounded the question: "Tell us, _when_ shall these things be? and _what_ shall be the sign [proof or indication] of thy presence, and of the end of the world?" (Matthew 24:3) The word world as here used does not mean the earth. The earth will never end or pa.s.s away, because "G.o.d himself that formed the earth and made it, he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited". (Isaiah 45:18) "The earth abideth forever."--Ecclesiastes 1:4.

[428]The word world means the social and political order or rule governing the people. From Adam to the time of the great deluge was the first world or social order of government; which was under the administration of angels (Hebrews 2:5), and which pa.s.sed away in a great flood, during which only Noah and his family, consisting in all of eight persons, were carried over from the old to the other or newer world, and were saved. (2 Peter 3:6; 1 Peter 3:20) There began with Noah and his family a new order or world, which in the time of the Apostle's day and before that time had grown evil, and which he designated as "the present evil world". (Galatians 1:4) The Apostle clearly shows that that world must pa.s.s away to make way for the new and righteous kingdom, which will rule and govern and bless the people.

[429]It was during the early part of this world that G.o.d made promise to Abraham that through his seed all the families of the earth should be blessed. Later, at the death of Jacob, G.o.d organized the nation of Israel or the Jews into a nation and at Mount Sinai made a covenant with them. Jehovah dealt with the nation of Israel exclusive of all other nations for a number of years. They had many kings, some good and some bad. Zedekiah was their last king, and because of his wickedness G.o.d said concerning him: "Therefore thus saith the Lord G.o.d: Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.

And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, thus saith the Lord G.o.d: Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same; exalt him that is low and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it [to] him,"--Ezekiel 21:24-27.

[430]In the year 606 B.C. Zedekiah was overthrown. He was taken a prisoner, carried away to Babylon, and Nebuchadnezzar established in the earth the first universal empire and the gentile times dated from that time forward. The length of the gentile times is definitely fixed in the Scriptures as a period of seven symbolic times of 360 years each, or a total of 2,520 years. This period beginning with the year 606 B.C.

necessarily must end in 1914 A.D. G.o.d had declared that he would overturn the right of the descendants of Abraham to rule, thereby permitting the gentiles to have an uninterrupted sway until he should come whose right it is. The one whose right it is is the great Messiah, Christ Jesus the Lord. It would be reasonable to expect him to be present some time before he would take unto himself his great power to reign. His presence beginning in 1874, he has carried on his harvest work from 1878 forward, but has not interrupted the gentile dominion until that dominion should end. The end of the gentile rule, therefore, would mark necessarily the end of the present order; therefore, the end of the world. We should expect, then, to find 1914 as the beginning of the end of the old world or order of government. And that this would take place during the presence of the Lord he definitely stated.

[431]When the gentile dominion legally ends, the order being a wicked one under the supervision of Satan, the G.o.d of the evil world (2 Corinthians 4:3,4), and all these nations lying in the wicked one (1 John 5:19), it would be expected that the gentile kingdoms and nations would strive to hold on to their power. But when the proper time should come it would also be expected that the Lord, whose right it is, would take over the affairs into his own hands. And so he said: "We give thanks, O Lord G.o.d Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth."--Revelation 11:17,18.

[432]It will be observed that the Lord does not do all of his work in a twenty-four-hour day, but that gradually he performs his sovereign will.

Specifically answering the question concerning the end of the world during the time of his presence, Jesus said: "Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes [literal and symbolic--revolutions] in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows." (Matthew 24:7,8) Exactly on time, at the end of the gentile dominion, at the beginning of the end of the world, nation rose against nation and kingdom against kingdom in the most devastating war that man ever dreamed would come to the world. There followed in its wake a great pestilence, the Spanish influenza, which swept the earth; and the famine is still raging amongst many peoples and kindreds of the earth; and there have been revolutions, as well as many literal earthquakes in various parts of the earth. And these, said the Master, mark the beginning of the end of the world, which takes place during the time of his presence. The evidence here is overwhelming, proclaiming his presence and the end of the world.

[433]These facts mark a corroboration and a clear fulfillment of the words of Jehovah's Prophet announced centuries before, namely: "In the days of these kings shall the G.o.d of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever". (Daniel 2:44) Literally the kingdoms of earth are being broken in pieces, and any one who takes a map of Europe today and looks it over can see how completely this prophecy is now in course of fulfillment. Nearly all the kings of earth are gone and their kingdoms are broken in pieces and are being consumed. This is being done because the Lord is present, because the old world has ended and he is clearing away the unrighteous things to make way for his new and righteous government.

[434]Furthermore Jesus said concerning the end of the world within the time of his second presence: "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake". (Matthew 24:9) "But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils [courts]; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them." (Mark 13:9) "But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake. And it shall turn to you for a testimony."

(Luke 21:12,13) Literally did these Scriptures have fulfillment in the years 1917, 1918, and 1919. The World War furnished the excuse for the world-wide persecution of humble and honest and faithful Christians.

[435]The Christian truly consecrated to the Lord believes and follows the Lord's teaching: "Thou shalt not kill". (Matthew 5:21) And again: "Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh; for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal". (2 Corinthians 10:3,4) During the World War many of the nations pa.s.sed laws to govern conscientious objectors, that is, those who object to taking human life. The officers of the present evil order upon whom devolved the duty and obligation of construing and enforcing this law, disregarded it; and at the instance of an apostate and dishonest clergy, truly consecrated Christians, particularly those known as Bible Students, were, in fulfillment of Jesus' utterances, hated, beaten, persecuted, haled into the courts and imprisoned, and some of them killed. But the Lord's protecting care has been about them through it all.

[436]In Germany they were persecuted, some put in the front ranks of the a.s.saulting army. One Christian man, for instance, who refused to take human life because of his faith in the Lord, was placed in the front line of attack during a battle. A soldier was placed on either side of him with gun and bayonet and instructed to kill him if he attempted to escape. He went through the battle. Most of his regiment was annihilated, including the two guards by his side. When the battle was over this Christian brother had not a scratch. Again he was put in a similar position; and again he went through another battle without injury. He was then charged with being insane because he would not fight and placed in an insane asylum and kept there for a period of time, until he was turned out; and then he proceeded with proclaiming the message of the Lord's presence and his glorious incoming kingdom.

[437]The persecution in Great Britain of the same cla.s.s of Christians, and in Canada, and in the United States--long boasted of as the land of the free and the home of the brave--was so terrible that words are inadequate to describe it. Number 27 of the GOLDEN AGE magazine, issued September 29, 1920, gives a detailed description of many of these wicked persecutions, which mark a clear fulfillment of these prophetic utterances of the Lord. The ones who had the privilege of pa.s.sing through them and who had the many evidences of the Lord's blessings, rejoice because accounted worthy to suffer as our Lord had suffered, remembering his words: "The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you".--John 15:20.

[438]Jesus furthermore said: "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come". (Matthew 24:14) In the year 1919 many of the Bible Students in different parts of the earth, emerging from army camps and prison dungeons, rejoicing in their privileges, again a.s.sembled together and with united action went forth to proclaim the message of the presence of the Lord; and particularly the message, "The World Has Ended--Millions Now Living Will Never Die," clearly in fulfillment of the words of the Master in the text last above quoted. Numbers of public lectures delivered upon this subject throughout Christendom have gladdened the hearts of hundreds of thousands of people, comforting those that mourn. In 1920 this message was put into printed form in the booklet ent.i.tled "Millions Now Living Will Never Die", and in the lands where the greatest persecution prevailed against the people of the Lord, greatest has been the witness. Within eight months 2,500,000 copies of this booklet were placed in the hands of the people; and yet the message goes on, giving a wider and wider witness, looking forward to the full consummation of "the time of the end", the end of the old order and the incoming of Messiah's kingdom.

REGATHERING OF ISRAEL

[439]Jesus furthermore said that the regathering of Israel to Palestine (Luke 21:24) would be one of the most conclusive proofs of his presence and of the end of the world. A full discussion of this point, together with many other points concerning the end of the world, is set forth in detail in the above mentioned booklet, "Millions Now Living Will Never Die". Therein is shown conclusively that the prophecies have been fulfilled exactly on time; that Israel is now being regathered and is rebuilding Palestine exactly as the Lord foretold. Jesus said: "And when these things begin to come to pa.s.s, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh".--Luke 21:28.

[440]Jesus, speaking further through his chosen vessel, refers to the harvest of the tare cla.s.s, saying, "The harvest of the earth is ripe.

And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped." (Revelation 14:15,16) This gathering of the elements of Christendom, the vine of the earth, and the reaping of it for destruction, is now in progress. It is one feature of the Lord's work, which proves his presence at this time.

[441]There are many other corroborative evidences of the presence of the Lord, but s.p.a.ce will not permit the examination of all of them here. We leave the reader to find a more detailed explanation of these great corroborative truths set forth in Volumes 2 and 3 of STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES.

[442]Why should any one deceive himself by being induced to cease an investigation of this subject because some self-const.i.tuted wise one will say: 'You can never know when the Lord will come'? Jesus himself said to his faithful followers: "Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come". (Matthew 24:42) "And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch." (Mark 13:37) The clear inference here is that the watchers in due time would recognize the evidences of his presence, and recognizing these, would rejoice.

[443]Suppose we admit, for the sake of the argument, that no man knows the day nor hour of the Lord's appearing. What difference does that make?

The hour and the day have already pa.s.sed. He is here! And let all truly consecrated Christians rejoice. "But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you," says St. Paul.

(1 Thessalonians 5:1) The times and seasons are clearly established by the overwhelming proof that the Lord is now present. Therefore, "ye, brethren, are not in darkness, ... ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness". Why quibble now about dates, days or hours? The physical facts, the fulfilled prophecy and prophecy further in course of fulfillment, prove overwhelmingly and beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Lord is present, that the world has ended, that the kingdom of heaven is at hand! And the true watchers are joyfully exclaiming: "Behold the Bridegroom!" As faithful members of his body, as the feet of him, they are standing upon the mountains, that is, upon or above the kingdoms of earth, singing out to the peoples of Zion: 'Thy G.o.d reigneth! The kingdom of heaven is at hand!' The Prophet of the Lord describes them thus: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy G.o.d reigneth! Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion."--Isaiah 52:7,8.

[444]These are they who, having the harps of G.o.d, are singing the song of Moses the servant of G.o.d and the song of the Lamb, harmonizing the great truths of the Old and New Testaments, the Mosaic law and the gospel of Christ Jesus, singing: "Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord G.o.d Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and wors.h.i.+p before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest."--Revelation 15:2-4.

WHY THE LORD COMES

[445]There are three primary purposes or reasons why the Lord appears the second time. These are: (1) To bind Satan and destroy his kingdom and all the false systems inaugurated by his agencies; (2) to receive unto himself his bride, the church, which includes the work of the harvest of gathering them unto him; and (3) to set up his kingdom, for which he taught his followers to pray.

[446]The purpose of our Lord's second coming has been much misunderstood and misrepresented. Some have said that he is coming to burn up the earth. The Scriptures answer this charge: "The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's; but the earth hath he given to the children of men".

(Psalm 115:16) How then can we harmonize this statement of the Scriptures with St. Peter's words?--"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pa.s.s away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.... The heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat."--2 Peter 3:10,12.

[447]It is manifest that the Apostle is here using symbolic language. He states that the Lord comes as a thief, ill.u.s.trating how quietly and un.o.bservedly his second coming or appearing takes place, as we have already noted. Then we must conclude that the other main elements here mentioned are symbolic. The heavens taken symbolically mean the invisible power of control, consisting of Satan and his unseen agencies, as well as his visible agencies in the earth. The earth symbolically represents organized society under Satan's dominion. The elements here meant are the various selfish elements of the earth, composed of ecclesiasticism, political parties, lodge systems, etc., that go to make up the various elements of human society; and we can see that these are all discordant and warring amongst themselves. They shall all be dissolved and shall melt with fervent heat; that is to say, during the heated time of trouble.

[448]But the Apostle states in the thirteenth verse of this chapter: "Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness"; meaning thereby that we look for a new invisible power of control, Messiah's kingdom, and a new earth, society organized along new lines, to take the place of the old.

The words here have no reference to the mundane sphere or globe upon which the human race resides.

[449]The symbolic fire is now burning fiercely in the troublesome time that we see amongst the peoples and nations of the earth; and it will continue to burn until all the false systems of Satan's empire are completely destroyed. This is a further evidence of the Lord's presence at this time, as well as one of the purposes for which he comes.

[450]In speaking of the proof of his presence, Jesus further stated that at that time there would be "upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea [restless humanity] and the waves [various organized parts of it] roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven shall he shaken. And then shall they see [discern] the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory;" that is to say, they will discern the Lord's presence through the clouds, symbolic of great trouble, and glory, the manifestation of his justice and power. (Luke 21:25-27) No one will attempt to gainsay the fact that just now, in the year 1921, all the nations are in distress and the people in all branches of business--socially, politically and otherwise--are in perplexity and know not what to do. And men of earth who are engaged in business affairs are so fearful that their hearts are failing them, not knowing which way to turn nor what to do.

[451]On one hand we observe the employers who own the factories and the mills and who employ the laboring element to do the work, striving to curtail their expenses, reducing wages, discharging men, resulting in millions being out of employment with no means of earning a livelihood for themselves or families. On the other hand is the laboring cla.s.s of men, who have received their employment at the hands of the wealthier, who are distressed in mind. And because of the injustices heaped upon them they are becoming more restless each day and are threatening to take complete possession and control of the factories and mills and mines and operate these themselves. The political cla.s.s, striving always to do the will of the financial powers, are perplexed and frightened as to what they shall do, yet constantly acting in a vain attempt to help their allies in the great beastly order; while the apostate clergy, which goes to make up the third element of the beastly order, is trying to induce the order-loving people to unite themselves with church systems and thereby support the employing cla.s.s.

[452]These various elements, selfishly exercising what power they have, are going from bad to worse, leading on to a great disaster for the unrighteous systems of earth. Jesus points this out as the final and conclusive evidence of his presence and of the end of the world, saying: "Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." (Matthew 24:21,22) The prophet Daniel corroborates the words of the Master to the effect that in this time of trouble the great Messiah will manifest himself and put into operation his kingdom. He says: "And at that time shall Michael [G.o.d's representative, the Messiah] stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book".--Daniel 12:1.

[453]The world is madly rus.h.i.+ng on now to this time of trouble. It is the time spoken of by the prophet Haggai, who says: "And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come; and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts". (Haggai 2:7) And when this great shaking is over, then the desire of all nations and peoples will come, namely, an honest, righteous government, administered in behalf of mankind under the supervision of the great Messiah. The apostle Paul refers to this time as a time of great shaking, which immediately precedes the full establishment of the Messianic kingdom.

(Hebrews 12:18-28) The Lord by his presence is bringing to light every hidden thing. The Apostle foretold it would be thus, saying: "Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts".--1 Corinthians 4:5.

[454]Thus the Lord is letting the light of truth s.h.i.+ne out, and by the truth is binding Satan, which means the great adversary, the devil, and his various agencies and influences in the earth. And this is further evidence of the Lord's presence. Truly Satan's house is divided against itself and cannot stand. It is going to pieces. Jesus in his revelation to St. John caused to be written these words: "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled; and after that he must be loosed a little season,"

(Revelation 20:1-3) This is the time that Jesus foretold when the nations shall be "as vessels of a potter, ... broken to s.h.i.+vers".

(Revelation 2:27) Satan soon shall be restrained and his empire completely and forever destroyed. (Isaiah 34:1-4; 51:6) Thus shall the Lord be revealed to the world, and they shall know of his presence by the fiery time of trouble which shall take vengeance upon the unrighteous systems and things of the earth. (2 Thessalonians 1:7,8) This is the day of G.o.d's vengeance and his fire will continue to burn until all parts of the Satanic order are destroyed. The Prophet wrote concerning this first work of the Messiah: "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel".

--Psalm 2: 9.

TO RECEIVE HIS BRIDE

[455]Jesus is likened unto a bridegroom, while the church is likened unto a bride. (John 3:29; Revelation 21:9; 2 Corinthians 11:2) Many beautiful word pictures or types appear in the Old Testament, which G.o.d caused to be made for the purpose of teaching his great plan to those who would search for the truth. One of these pictures is that of Isaac and Rebekah. Abraham the father of Isaac sent his servant Eliezer into a distant land to find a wife for his son Isaac. The servant took ten camels and went into Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor. There he found Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, a virgin very fair to look upon.

Eliezer "took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold". Rebekah agreed to accompany Eliezer to become the wife of Isaac. "And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man [Eliezer]," who brought her unto Isaac. "And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's, tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife," after his mother Sarah's death.--See Genesis 24.

[456]In this picture Abraham is a type of Jehovah; his wife Sarah, a type of the Abrahamic covenant, from which the Messiah springs; Isaac, the son, a type of Jesus Christ; while Rebekah is a type of the church, the bride of Christ. Eliezer, Abraham's servant, is a type of the holy spirit, whose mission it is to invite the church and to a.s.sist her, and ultimately to bring her and her companions to the ant.i.typical Isaac, the Lord Jesus, the Bridegroom. Before Jesus departed from the earth he said to his disciples: "I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, ... even the spirit of truth.... I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also," (John 14:15-19) Eliezer here pictures the comforter, the holy spirit, which was given at Pentecost, at which time the way was opened and the invitation was given to men who love the Lord to become followers of the Lord Jesus and be of the bride cla.s.s. The ten camels which Eliezer took with him represent the Word of G.o.d, the ten strings of the harp. The golden earring presented to Rebekah represents the blessed and pleasing effect of hearing the call to be the bride of Christ; while the two bracelets picture the happy effect of responding to the divine call and doing with our might what our hands find to do.

[457]The call to become members of this glorious bride cla.s.s is beautifully pictured by the Psalmist thus: "Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house; so shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and wors.h.i.+p thou him". (Psalm 45:10,11) Responding to that call, one consecrates his all to the Lord, is begotten of the holy spirit, and henceforth being borne up by the spirit of the Lord through his Word grows in the likeness of his Master and prepares for the coming of the beloved Bridegroom. The death of Sarah, Abraham's wife, pictures the end of the Sarah-Abrahamic covenant, from which springs the bride of Christ; and Isaac receiving Rebekah and taking her as his wife after his mother's death foreshadowed the complete union of Christ Jesus the bridegroom and the church his bride at the end of the world.