GREAT COMPANY NOT SHOWN IN THE PYRAMID
QUESTION.—Is there nothing in the Great Pyramid to represent the Great Company—the Bride's virgin companions, who will follow her? (Psa. 45:14.) We understand your interpretation to teach that the Queen's Chamber symbolically represents those who will attain perfection on the human plane, and that the King's Chamber symbolically represents those who will attain to the divine nature. Is the Great Company not shown in the Pyramid, or have you merely neglected to call attention to the feature which symbolizes it?
Answer.—God, during this Gospel Age of nearly nineteen centuries, has been calling the Church to glory, honor and immortality. During the next Age, under Messiah's Kingdom, He will open up a way of Restitution and return to earthly perfection for all the willing and obedient of mankind. God did not call any to be of the Great Company Class. Those who will ultimately be of that class, "saved as by fire," will get a reward to which they were never called, or invited. There is but one call during this Age; as we read, "Ye are called in one hope of your calling." (Eph. 4:4.) That call was to self-sacrifice—to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. Only by making that covenant of sacrifice were any of us accepted or begotten of the Holy Spirit or privileged to call ourselves the elect of God.
In view of these things it would seem quite appropriate that the Great Pyramid does not show a place for the Great Company, as though they had been invited to such a place.
The ante-chamber, as we have already pointed out, marks the experiences of the Church in the School of Christ, which are necessary before any could pass, by the power of the First Resurrection, into the Divine perfection symbolized by the King's Chamber. We may, therefore, assume that the Great Company class all come into this Ante-chamber, or School, but that only the "faithful unto death" pass beyond it under the granite leaf into the King's Chamber.
SIGNIFICANCE OF PLANES L AND K ON CHART
Question.—In describing the Chart you say, Vol. I, page 211, "These, when born from the dead in the resurrection, will have the divine nature and form." Please harmonize this statement with another found on page 235, which reads thus: "We know not how long it will be [R5060 : page 219] after their change, or perfecting, as spirit beings (plane L), before they as a full and complete company will be glorified (plane K) with the Lord, united with Him in power and great glory."
Answer.—The two quotations are in perfect accord. The questioner's difficulty is in respect to what is signified by plane "L" and plane "K" on the Chart. Plane "L" represents the personal glory of our Lord and the Church by the power of the First Resurrection, from human nature to divine nature. We understand that all the members of the elect Church will experience such a change, from mortal to immortal conditions, from human to divine nature, from weakness to power, from dishonor to glory, from animal to spirit conditions (I Cor. 15:44), before being ushered into the glory of power and dominion represented by plane "K." In other words, the first quotation refers to the personal exaltation of all the spirit-begotten, overcoming class in the First Resurrection, to plane "L," and the second to their exaltation to plane "K," which will come when the Heavenly Bridegroom shall present His Bride complete, without fault or blame, before the Heavenly Father, as pictured in the 45th Psalm.
THE RESURRECTION POWER NOW AT WORK.
Question.—Does the resurrection power now work in the lives of the saints?
Answer.—The resurrection power is now working in the lives of the saints. In Romans 8:11 the Apostle says, "If the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit indwelling." This does not refer to future resurrections. It refers to the energizing of your mortal body. The Apostle argues that we were alive unto sin once, but that when we made our full surrender to the Lord we became dead to sin; that when we were begotten of the Holy Spirit we became New Creatures, in this earthen vessel; and that the body is reckoned dead to sin and the New Creature alive to God. Now, the Apostle says, the Spirit of God is able to so quicken our mortal body that instead of being a servant of sin, as it once was, it will be a servant of righteousness.
There is a great difference between the immortal body which we shall have by and by, and the quickening of the mortal body. The new body will not be a flesh body at all. "It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spirit body." (I Cor. 15:42-44.) This animal body is to be quickened by the Spirit of God that dwells in us; and by degrees this resurrection process in which the New Creature is engaged becomes stronger and stronger. If this continues, our resurrection progresses; and the time will come, at the end of our course, when the Lord will count us worthy of the glorious change, to be like Him and share His glory on the high, spirit plane.
Question.—When on Calvary our Lord said, "It is finished!" to what did He refer as being completed?
Answer.—This did not mean that our Lord had finished [R5061 : page 219] all the work of the Divine Plan, for both the work of calling out the Bride and presenting her blameless, and the work of the Millennial Age were yet future. Our Lord had come into the world to do a work of personal sacrifice. When He was thirty years of age, He presented Himself in consecration at Jordan. During the three and a half years of His ministry He continued to offer Himself; and this course, figuratively, became a sweet incense ascending before God beyond the veil. This work was one which could not be accomplished in a day. It required three and a half years. To this He referred when He said, "I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!" (Luke 12:50.) He was anxiously awaiting its completion, which was reached at Calvary.
GOD IS MAKING THE WRATH OF MAN TO PRAISE HIM
Question.—If the Kingdom of Christ is not yet set up on earth, how may we explain the various reforms, charities, etc., of our time?
Answer.—Apparently, the Adversary is trying to run things in his own direction, but the light itself which we are enjoying today is the promised light of Divine Providence. We read that "many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased," and that "there shall be a time of trouble such as never was."—Dan. 12:1,4.
But God has supervised the matter of inventions, such as the printing press, the power of steam, and the effects and influences of these in the world. It seems, too, that the movements in the way of better government, etc., are influences based upon the general enlightenment and the efforts of mankind to do as well as they can by each other—specially in ways that selfishness does not hinder. But selfishness has, no doubt, much to do with all manner of reform.
In speaking of the present time, our Lord said that the secrets should be proclaimed on the housetops. Today we see that many real exhibitions of vice, immorality and wrong-doing are brought to light—proclaimed from the housetops. While we do not say that the Adversary brings these things to light, yet we can see how the Adversary may have had to do with the movement toward communism that once had sway, as well as the movement toward socialism and toward anarchism. These are the things which will tend to bring on the time of trouble. So the wrath of man is made to turn to the praise of God. He is able to make the wrath of man praise Him. "Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee; the remainder of wrath shalt Thou restrain."—Psa. 76:10.