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Holy Ghost sent down from heaven . . . . . Believers did not know this at the first; it was
not unfolded by the ministry of the twelve, as seen in the Acts of the Apostles, because
the testimony to Israel was still going on, and so long as earth was the manifested scene
of divine operation, and so long as there was any ground of hope in connection with
Israel, the heavenly mystery was held back; but when earth had been abandoned and
Israel set aside, the Apostle of the Gentiles from his prison at Rome, writes to the Church
and opens out all the glorious privileges connected with its place in the heavens with
Christ."
100: H. Mackintosh goes on to comment on the fact that so few believers have had "eyes
to see" and ability to grasp such exalted and wonderful teaching. The blinding power of
tradition and the pull earthwards of the senses all combine to prevent this:
"We have seen how long it was ere man could take hold of it . . . . . and we have only
to glance at the history of the Church for the last eighteen centuries to see how feebly it
was held and how speedily it was let go. The heart naturally clings to earth and the
thoughts of an earthly corporation is attractive to it. Hence we may expect that the truth
of the Church's heavenly character will only be apprehended and carried out by a very
small and feeble minority . . . . . to understand all this requires a larger measure of
spirituality than is to be found with many Christians."
". . . . . Those who will maintain Paul's gospel find themselves, like him, deserted and
despised amid the pomp and glitter of the world. The clashing of ecclesiastical systems,
the jarring of sects, and the din of religious controversy will surely drown the feeble
voice of those who would speak of the heavenly calling and rapture of the Church . . . . . I
am deeply conscious of how feebly and incoherently I have developed what I have in my
mind concerning the doctrine of the Church, but I have no doubt of its real importance
and feel assured that, as the time draws near, much light will be communicated to
believers about it. At present, it is to be feared, few really enter into it."
We make no apology for these lengthy quotations from this remarkable chapter. They
are so true, and in some respects prophetic. The writer sees clearly the dispensational
character of the Acts, with the people of Israel coming first right up to the last chapter.
He realizes that the truth of the great secret (Mystery) revealed through Paul the prisoner
for the Gentiles was not known or commenced at Acts 2: Neither is the ministry of
Peter or The Twelve connected with it. Rather the first unfolding of this Divine secret is
after Israel's rejection at Acts 28:, and made known in the first epistles written after
that event, namely those to the Ephesians and Colossians. It is all the more remarkable
when one remembers that this was written and taught a hundred years ago. How comes it
then that this teaching is dubbed as "ultra-dispensational" by many of the present day
followers of the movement to which C.H.M. was attached, and looked upon as a
concoction of Dr. 100: 1: Schofield, Dr. E. W. Bullinger and Charles H. Welch? If any
belonging to this same movement happen to be reading these words, we earnestly ask
them to consider these things afresh, earnestly and prayerfully. Either one of their much
loved and revered leaders was hopelessly wrong and teaching error, or he was ministering
supreme truth; there can be no half-way position. For ourselves we have no doubt as to
the answer.