viously taught among men. It proclaimed the abrogation of the Mosaic ceremonial law. It proclaimed that the unsearchable riches of Christ were to be distributed as freely among the Gentiles as among the Jews. It announced itself as a new and independent religion; and popular speech recognized the correctness of the claim by calling its adherents Christians, and their doctrine Christianity.

SEC. 516. Apostolic Charge.-Soon after Jesus had selected his twelve apostles, according to Luke, he “gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. And he said unto them: 'Take nothing for your journey, neither staves nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece. And whatsoever house ye enter, there abide and thence depart. And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them."""

This is the entire charge of Jesus to his apostles when he sent them out to convert the world, as reported by Luke, who claims to give the address or a portion of it, and that presumably the most important portion, word for word. The language here attributed to Jesus conveys no idea that he had any purpose of founding a new church. Neither here nor anywhere else, in the language attributed to him in the New Testament, does he explain the phrase "the kingdom of God" to mean a new ecclesiastical organization. In several passages he does use it to signify the celestial dominion after the destruction of the world; and this is therefore presumably its meaning everywhere.

The gospel of Matthew is much fuller than that of

Luke in its report of the charge of Jesus to his apostles. Here is the text complete: "These twelve Jesus sent forth and commanded them, saying: 'Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils; freely ye have received, freely give. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass, in your purses; nor scrip for your journey; neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves, for the workman is worthy of his meat. And into whatsoever city or town. ye shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. And when ye come into a house, salute it. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive you nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.

"Behold I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men; for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; and ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak; for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

"And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death,

and the father the child; and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake; but he that 'endureth to the end shall be saved. But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another; for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

"The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? Fear them not therefore; for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.

"What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light; and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

"Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not, therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. Whosoever, therefore, shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth; I am come not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or

mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. He that receiveth you, receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whosoever shall give unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, He shall in nowise lose his reward.'"

This charge, as reported by Matthew, was evidently written by a weak man, who supposed that Jesus gave a charge to his apostles, and undertook to compose something suitable to the occasion. He omitted nearly all the main ideas that would have been appropriate in an address instructing the twelve to preach the foundation of Christianity. While pretending to instruct, the charge fails to give any important instruction. It does not say whether Jesus wished to reform or to supersede Judaism; whether his principal purpose was ecclesiastical, moral, political, or sanitary. The remarks about healing the sick and casting out devils are the most explicit of all the instructions. Certainly no reader can learn from that charge that Jesus intended to establish a new religion; and much less can he learn any feature of the faith or discipline of a projected new church. And this address is that portion of the New Testament where such information should be given most clearly.

There is not room here for all the speeches attributed to Jesus by the evangelists; but in none of those here

omitted is there any definite statement of doctrine or discipline that would suffice as a basis for a new church. He made no doctrinal definition and no ecclesiastical organization. He did not use the key words of the original doctrines necessary to Christianity or a new church, nor the key words of ideas afterwards associated with, but not necessary to, Christianity, such as Incarnation, Trinity, Immaculate Conception, and Transubstantiation.

SEC. 517. Judgment Day.-The subjects to which the most space or most prominence is given in the sayings attributed, in the gospels, to Jesus, are, first, the Mosaic law; second, judgment day; third, faith; fourth, the sins of the Pharisees; fifth, ascetic morality; and sixth, his divine commission. His remarks about the Mosaic law have been considered in previous sections; and we shall now pass to the other points.

We are told that Jesus, besides accepting the doctrine of a final judgment day, taught that it was near at hand, and was to come with the destruction of the world in his own generation. From the beginning of his public ministry the main idea of his preaching was, "Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand." That kingdom was to be established immediately after the end of the world. He not only preached this doctrine himself, but he told his apostles to preach it. He said, "There be some here which shall not taste death till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power." The terms "kingdom of God" and "kingdom of heaven" are used with various significations in the New Testament; but in this sentence the "kingdom of God" evidently means the rule of Jehovah after the earth shall have been destroyed, Satan finally imprisoned in hell, and the righteous admitted to their reward in heaven.