MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION. 



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CHAPTER I. 



THE CHURCH OF GOD BEFORE THE CHRIS- 

 TIAN ERA. 



JEWISH CHURCH ABRAHAM — PROMISES TO OUR FIRST 



PARENTS — DOCTRINE OF THE UNITY OF GOD — AGES 

 OF PREPARATION. 



Although we speak of the Christian Church as 

 having been organized on the day of Pentecost, 

 A. D. 34, in the city of Jerusalem, it would be a 

 mistake to think of it as starting out then as some- 

 thing entirely distinct from all that had preceded 

 it. In one view the Christian Church is the con- 

 tinuation of the Jewish Church. More than this, 

 it is the continuation of the Church of God which 

 existed from the calling of Abraham out of idolatry. 

 And still beyond this, it is the development of the 

 promise of redemption made to our first parents. 



We are not to think of the all-wise God as trying 

 one experiment and abandoning it for another, but 

 as carrying out His plans by most gracious provi- 

 sions, suited to the growing capacity and prepara- 

 tion of the human family. 



