by the preaching of the gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit as seen to-day, but by the glory and power of this outward and visible appearance of Jesus. This reign of Jesus, in which all evil is to be overthrown, is to last for a thousand years.

No Definite Answer from the Gospels.-Almost all of these ideas are gotten by a literalizing of the Old Testament and indirectly from Jewish writings of later times. There is no definite teaching upon the subject in the Gospels.1 The thousand-year reign is mentioned but once in the New Testament, and this in a book whose visions and symbols make it one of the most obscure of writings. The early church clearly expected the immediate and visible return of Jesus. This expectation was not fulfilled. It is apparent that the manner as well as the time of the establishment of the Kingdom was hidden from the disciples.

The Real Issue. The real question is simple: Is the Kingdom to come from without or from within? It is God who is to establish the Kingdom, that is clear. But is he to do this from without, by some act of sheer power, by some outward manifestation of splendor and glory in connection with a visible return of Jesus? Or is the Kingdom to come from within, by the word of his truth and the work of his Spirit in men's hearts, by his spiritual power transforming men's lives?

Light from the Nature of the Kingdom.-Here the Gospels give us real light. They show us Jesus' conception of the Kingdom as a spiritual power and life. If the kingdom of God is moral and spiritual, it can only come in moral and spiritual ways. No external splendor or power can bring it, it must come as a life within. And Jesus' own way of work clearly shows this. He refused the way of power and glory for the winning of men, as the temptation story makes plain, and took the road of truth and love and service.

Light from History.-Christian history, through which

1 For a discussion of the return of Jesus and the so-called apocalyptic passages of the Gospels, the reader is referred to the author's Life of Jesus, Chapter XIX.

God speaks to men, confirms this truth. Slowly but surely the kingdom of Christ has been advancing, and the progress has always been in one way. It has been a progress of truth and life, the work of a Spirit moving in men. The Spirit of God using the truth of God has gradually extended the sway of that spirit_of_Christ whose rule is the mark of the kingdom of God. It has been seen first of all in growing numbers won for Christ, then in the way in which the spirit of Christ has been changing the life of men. Autocracy is yielding to democracy. Slavery has been swept away. Ancient evils like the social evil are being fought as never before. Temperance reform has marched with rapid stride. China has shown what can be done with the even greater evil of opium. There is a new sense of industrial justice that grows stronger every day. The spirit of mercy and help toward the unfortunate of every kind was never so great, the spirit whose preeminent place Jesus set forth in Matthew 25. 35, 36. These words are written in the period of the world's greatest war; but the most striking feature of that terrible struggle is the determination of the leading nations to make this the last war. Evils are present in the world, dark and terrible and mighty, but the growing spirit of Christ has wrought three great results. First, men see evil and are facing it as never before; there is a new conscience. Second, humanity as a whole never had higher ideals than it has to-day, ideals of justice and brotherhood and love, and the master of those ideals, the master of the conscience of men is Jesus Christ. Third, men never had so firm a hope as to-day in the final triumph of good and the coming of the rule of God.

The Christian Hope.-The Christian hope should have a larger place in Christian thought. It should be for us, as for the early church, the spring of confidence and joy. Back of all differences of opinion there are certain central truths upon which we can stand together. (1) The kingdom of God is coming. (2) That Kingdom will mean the rule of the spirit of Christ in all the life of the earth, for Christ is the revelation of the heart and the will of

God. (3) It is our great task to preach his gospel, to live his life in the service of men, and to work for the rule of his spirit not only in men's souls but in all the relations and institutions of earth. (4) The Kingdom itself, in every step of its coming as in its final triumph, is God's gift. "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY

Scripture references: Mark 1. 15; 2. 19; 9. 1; Luke 13. 2830; 21. 31, 32; 22. 18; 10. 18; 4. 17-21; Matthew 11. 2-6; Luke 13. 18-21.

Read the first passages given above in which Jesus speaks of the Kingdom as that which is yet to be, and recall that this message was what stirred the hearts of his hearers.

Review in your mind our last lessons upon the Kingdom. If the Kingdom is of such a character, if it means the rule of God in men, the presence of a certain spirit, then may it not already be present?

Consider the next following passages given above, which suggest the Kingdom as present, especially those referring to the power of God as even now overcoming evil and to the children of the Kingdom.

Note the important parables of the leaven and mustard seed. Jesus uses the picture of something living to show how the Kingdom will come. The nature of the Kingdom determines how it will come. If it is an outward rule, it can be set up in some great revolution by a deed of power. If it is an inner life, then it will grow from little to great like the seed or leaven.

CHAPTER XXI

THE FORMS AND INSTITUTIONS OF RELIGION

LIKE every other mode of life, religion has need of forms and institutions in which to express itself and maintain its being. What was Jesus' attitude toward those that were present in the religion of his own day: temple, synagogue, Sabbath-keeping, almsgiving, fasting, and the rest? And what of his relation to Christian forms and institutions? We have our sacred day, the first day of the week, our sacred forms such as baptism and the Lord's Supper, and the organized Christian Church itself. Did he plan for these and found them? And what place do they have in his conception of religion?

A RELIGION OF THE SPIRIT

The Inner Spirit Supreme with Jesus.-The religion of Jesus was a pure religion of the spirit. Love was the one word in which he summed up this spirit. This love was not a vague sentiment; it meant a whole-hearted trust and obedience toward God, and a spirit of good will toward all men that went out in loving service. But it still remains that it was an inner spirit that counted. The pure in heart are to see God, not those that tithe and wash. The test that he sets up for final judgment is the loving service of men, not the keeping of Sabbath rules or the holding of opinions (Matthew 25. 31-46).

His Indifference to Forms.-As regards the forms and institutions of his own day Jesus was relatively indifferent. The rabbis spent most of their time discussing the rules about washing and fasting and tithing and Sabbath-keeping. Jesus spent his time in kindling in men the hunger for God, in turning them from their fears and hatreds, in

calling forth the spirit of trust and love. Sometimes, indeed, he definitely violated these forms. That was when they got in the way of these higher matters, in which he was interested. If there was a man to be healed, he disregarded Sabbath rules. If there were sinners to be won, he paid no attention to the rules of ceremonial purity. He was quite ready to touch the poor leper and to have the woman with the issue of blood touch him, or to sit at table with men like Zacchæus and Levi.

The Danger from Forms.-Sometimes this indifference gave way to severest criticism. That was when Jesus saw the devotion to forms stand in the way of devotion to God and of the service of men. All great teachers of religion have seen this danger. The form is a good means but a bad end; and it is always leaving its place as means and asserting itself as end. Men come to keep the form for its own sake instead of as a helpful means. As a result, men lose the heart of religion, which is love and obedience toward God, righteousness and love in relation to men. In place of this come empty formalism, self-content and pride, and often hypocrisy. In such case, the forms of religion become the enemies of religion. The prophets had seen this long before and had denounced sacrifices and songs, Sabbath-keeping and new moon, and all the other forms of Israel's worship, while they pleaded for simple righteousness of heart and life (Isaiah 1. 1017).

Criticism of the Forms of Jewish Piety.-In Matthew 6. 1-18 Jesus takes up the three chief forms in which the individual Jew expressed his religion: almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. Much of the Jewish practice was a good illustration of the wrong use of form. Alms were given not so much for the sake of the poor, as to be seen of men and to gain merit with God. Prayer had lost its meaning as simple worship and fellowship with God. There were many words, but little trust in God; there was much ostentation, but little humility in the sight of the Most High. So it was with fasting; there was little thought of the bowed soul, and much of what men might see. It was an