Gentiles only?" The inclusion of the Gentile, even as a wild olive in the olive tree of

Israel, presupposes Paul's glorious teaching concerning the reconciliation of the world in

its dispensational aspect (Rom. 11: 15), even as the gospel he preached (II Cor. 5: 21)

necessitated the reconciliation of the world, in its doctrinal aspect (II Cor. 5: 19, 20).

For our present purpose Rom. 15: 8-12 provides an abundant confirmation of the fact

that the inclusion of the Gentile was no new thing. We do not intend to make these

articles at all lengthy. Further evidence can be gathered from the remaining epistles of

the period, but enough, we trust, has been brought forward to establish the fact that the

inclusion of the Gentile, both in the gospel and in the Abrahamic promise, demands for

its confirmation "none other things than those which the Prophets and Moses did say

should come".

The conclusions that we have so far reached with regard to the gospel, and the

inclusion of the Gentile during the Acts, do not make a very great demand upon the

believer whose position is what we may call "orthodox". There are, however, other

subjects so close to the heart of the redeemed that anyone suggesting that present

traditional views with regard to strong opposition, but also to endure a good deal of

misunderstanding and possibly abuse. Among these sensitive themes is that of the Hope

of the Church. Many a believer who would be prepared to endorse all that has been put

forward in the three opening articles of this series, would nevertheless affirm with

conviction that the hope of I Thess. 4: is the hope of the Church of the Mystery.

Now, if Paul taught "none other things than those which the Prophets and Moses did

say should come", it follows that the hope set before us in Romans, Corinthians,

Galatians and Thessalonians must be the hope of Israel, and further that, if this hope is

also the hope of the Church revealed in Paul's Prison Epistles, then the word "mystery"

loses its meaning, at least in so far as it can be applied to the hope of the Church. In this

article we shall be content to present to the judgment of the reader exactly what is written

concerning the hope of the Church during the Acts administration, and we believe that he

will find abundant evidence to prove that, as in the case of the gospel and the inclusion of

the Gentile, this hope agrees with the testimony of Moses and the Prophets, and cannot

therefore be the hope of a company called under terms which were unrevealed until the

Apostle became the "prisoner of the Lord".

While I Thess. 4: is the passage to which we naturally turn for a definite statement

concerning the hope of the Church of the period, we will follow the rule adopted in the

earlier articles and investigate first the Epistle to the Romans. In Rom. 15: the Apostle