THIS TRUTH KINDLED ME
God has more light and truth to break forth from His Word. The truth waiting to be taught, and which will set God's people on fire, is that the Prize of the High Calling is a Share in the Millennial Reign with our Lord Jesus. Second Coming Teaching has already familiarized believers with the truth that we have to appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ. The varying degrees of reward and the possibility of suffering loss have all been dwelt upon. But who has settled down to the task of learning from the Scriptures what is the particular 'prize' that is held out which the believer can lose whilst retaining 'eternal life'? And who, seeing this, has yet girded himself to the task of making this truth clear to any section of God's people? Increasingly it stares me in the face, as I read the New Testament, that 'the Prize' is the Reign and that a share in the Reign may be lost. It is this latter phase of the truth that has not been proclaimed. Speaking for and concerning myself I can say that for years I have seen and taught that believers would, through unfaithfulness, be excluded from the Reign.
This new light broke on me some years ago. I began to preach it with both lip and pen. But I found it was a thing that many very good people and good workers were not prepared to hear. That the Lord would refrain from "Well done" to some was accepted; but that He would ever say a hard thing at the judgment seat to a believer, or that He would exclude a believer from a share in the Millennial glory, was something that should never be said. The opposition I encountered made me go quietly for a time. But I have been digging and digging into the Word, and I now know where I am, and I am praying that never again may I allow the testimony of the World to be quenched in me. This truth is possessing and kindling me, and the conviction is growing that if this is fearlessly taught it will prove to be the truth that will stir believers out of their ease and smugness.
We must learn to rightly divide the Word of Truth. One division to be kept constantly before us is: [Eternal] Salvation for sinners to be received by faith; and a Place in the kingdom for Believers as a reward for faithfulness.
Those who came out of Egypt with Moses came out by faith. They made a heroic stand; they were baptised into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. "They did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink." Their experiences and ours are wonderfully parallel. "But with many of them God was not well pleased." And that verdict is again to be repeated, for "Many are called, but few are chosen." The judgment seat will show it. The Children of Israel had an opportunity of entering Canaan. They refused. They fell in the wilderness, God swore that they should not enter into HIS 'REST'. They were excluded from Canaan; 1 Cor. 9: 24; 10: 1-11: and Heb. 3 and 4 show that this is the danger facing the unfaithful believer; exclusion from God's rest; God's Canaan, the Millennial earth, the reign of 1,000 years. "If we suffer with Him we shall reign with Him." But if we do not suffer with Him shall we reign with Him? "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne." But supposing we do not overcome?
- Herald of His Coming.
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