Our Mother by E. B. Saunders

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Apr 7, 1859

Our Mother.

By E. B. Saunders

Most of the professing Christians of our day have much to say about our Father, while our Mother is not known among them, or if known, is not appreciated as a mother ought to be. But who is our Mother? some will ask. Let us examine the Scriptures and learn. It is admitted by all that Christ is the Father of his people. Those who will be saved are counted as the seed, or children of Christ. "A seed shall serve him, it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation." Ps. xxii, 30. "His seed also will I make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven." Ps. lxxxix, 29. Here the righteous, or those who will be saved, are meant, for they are to endure forever. Who does not see the propriety of calling the faithful his seed, or his children? Seeing then that we are counted as the children of our Lord Jesus Christ, if the simile is a good one we must have a mother also. And if we are legitimate children, our mother will be the wife of our Lord. But who is the wife of our Lord? See Rev. xxi, 9, for an answer. "Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the New Jerusalem." This is sufficient here to show who the wife is.

Let us now see if we are the children of the New Jerusalem. Paul, speaking of the Jerusalem that now is, says that she is in bondage with her children. "But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all," and then he quotes Isa. liv, 1, to prove it. By reading the remainder of the chapter, we find that the New Jerusalem is the subject of the prophecy. Compare verse 5 with Rev. xxi, 9; also verses 11, 12 with Rev. xxi, 18, 19. The gathering of the nations is also mentioned. Compare verse 15 with Rev. xx, 7-9. "This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord." Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were the acknowledged servants of the Lord. This then is their heritage. But they looked for a city whose maker and builder is God, and he hath prepared for them a city. See Heb. xi. We learn also [Isa. liv, 5] that the maker and builder of the city is also her husband. This city is also called Zion. Heb. xii, 22; Isa. lx, 14. "And they shall call thee, The city of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel."

Having now found that we are, or shall be, the children of both our Lord Jesus Christ and the New Jerusalem, let us inquire if we are yet born unto her: if we are now being "dandled upon her knees," or are now being comforted "as one whom his mother comforteth." It is well known that the marriage of the Lamb is to immediately precede the second advent of Jesus, and immediately after the advent, the saints eat the marriage supper. Now Christ is ministering before the ark, consequently the marriage is not yet consummated. If Zion's children are born before the marriage takes place, they will be illegitimate, consequently it is plain that they will not be born until afterwards.

It is evident from reading Isa. lxvi, that Zion's children will not be born until after the voice of the Lord is heard roaring from on high, [compare verse 6 with Joel iii, 16; Amos i, 2; Jer. xxv, 30; Isa. xlii, 13] which evidently does not take place till the day of recompense to his enemies; which will be at his second coming, when Zion's children will be manifested, for the earth will cast out the people of God now hid away in her pits and vaults. Then will "a nation be born at once," for the earth shall cast out her dead, and the dead in Christ shall rise first, wakened by the sound of the trumpet, or the voice of God roaring out of Zion. Then, and not till then shall we be "dandled upon her knees," and nourished by the tree of life in the midst of Zion. Then the new birth is the resurrection or the change to immortality. As Christ is the first-born from the dead, we shall expect to see in him one who has been born again, as a specimen of Zion's children, and of what we shall be. We see him like the wind, appearing suddenly, and disappearing in an instant; so will all be who are born from above; and we, not being in that state yet, it follows that we have not been born again. Though not born, yet we may have been begotten by our Lord Jesus Christ, through the gospel; not by hearing the word preached, but by believing and obeying, manifesting our faith in Christ by our actions. The first action which shows our faith in a risen Saviour, is baptism; then having put off the old man with his deeds, and put on the new man, we have a prospect of rising in the first resurrection.

To those who are ready to cry out because we believe that a man is not regenerated till the resurrection, we will say that we would not undervalue the importance of conversion, or the necessity of putting off the old man, but let us not denominate this change of feelings the new birth. It is a popular doctrine, and one well calculated to lull the world to sleep, that the Jews will be gathered into the land of Palestine before the Saviour comes. With such, Israel and the Jews are one and the same. Let us see how long they are to be given up to be despised and cast off. "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me, that is to be Ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth; then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel." Micah v, 2, 3.

We learn from Isa. lxvi, that Zion is "she which travaileth," consequently they will be given up until the resurrection, when they will be redeemed from the hand of him that was stronger than he, by being redeemed from the grave, where they are kept until Zion brings forth her children, when the remnant shall join the resurrected dead, and together up to Zion. May your name, kind reader, be among those dear children who will rejoice in the lap of our mother, Zion. E. B. Saunders.