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THE SEVENTH SEAL

This power is also referred to as the stone
of stumbling, because of the deep mystery of
God which it holds, and over it we continu-
ally stumble until we can view it from the
spiritual aspect; then the "key of the house
of David" unlocks the mystery. We find
such reference to Joseph in Gen. 49 : 22-24 :

'* Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful
bough by a well; whose branches run over
the wall: The archers have sorely grieved
him, and shot at him and hated him. But
his bow abode in strength, and the arms
of his hands were made strong by the hands
of the mighty God of Jacob ; (from thence is
the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)''

This is the stone which the builders of the
temple have always despised. Jesus' refer-
ence to this is proof of its application to this
interpretation: '*Did ye never read in the
scriptures, The stone which the builders
rejected, the same is become the head of the
comer: This is the Lord's doing and it is
marvelous in our eyes?" What would be
marvelous about it in our eyes because it was
the Lord's doing, if it were not something that
our immature understanding had led us to
believe would not be the Lord's doing?

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SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES

But this is because the "Judah" in each
one of us is the lawgiver first, and when all
is said, this is just the way God ordered it.
We all have to come through this same ex-
perience of shock when this deeper truth of
God is borne in upon us. But we are told
that Judah and Joseph (or Ephraim, which
means the same), are to become one.
