| VOL. XXXV | NOVEMBER 1 | No. 21 |
'I will stand upon my watch, and set my foot upon the Tower, and will watch to see what He shall say unto me, and what answer I shall make to them that oppose me.' Hab. 2:1
Upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity: the sea and the waves (the restless, discontented) roaring: men's hearts failing them for fear and for looking forward to the things coming upon the earth (society): for the powers of the heavens (ecclestiasticism) shall be shaken. . . .When ye see these things come to pass, then know that the Kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Look up, lift up your heads, rejoice, for your redemption draweth nigh. – Luke 21:25-28, 32.
Our "Berean Lessons" are topical rehearsals or reviews of our Society's published "Studies," most entertainingly arranged, and very helpful to all who would merit the only honorary degree which the Society accords, viz., Verbi Dei Minister (V.D.M.), which translated into English is, Minister of the Divine Word. Our treatment of the International S.S. Lessons is specially for the older Bible Students and Teachers. By some this feature is considered indispensable.
This Journal stands firmly for the defence of the only true foundation of the Christian's hope now being so generally repudiated, – Redemption through the precious blood of "the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom [a corresponding price, a substitute] for all." (I Pet. 1:19; I Tim. 2:6.) Building up on this sure foundation the gold, silver and precious stones (I Cor. 3:11-15; 2 Pet. 1:5-11) of the Word of God, its further mission is to – "Make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery which...has been hid in God,...to the intent that now might be made known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God" – "which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men as it is now revealed." – Eph. 3:5-9,10.
It stands free from all parties, sects and creeds of men, while it seeks more and more to bring its every utterance into fullest subjection to the will of God in Christ, as expressed in the Holy Scriptures. It is thus free to declare boldly whatsoever the Lord hath spoken; – according to the divine wisdom granted unto us, to understand. Its attitude is not dogmatical, but confident; for we know whereof we affirm, treading with implicit faith upon the sure promises of God. It is held as a trust, to be used only in his service; hence our decisions relative to what may and what may not appear in its columns must be according to our judgment of his good pleasure, the teaching of his Word, for the upbuilding of his people in grace and knowledge. And we not only invite but urge our readers to prove all its utterances by the infallible Word to which reference is constantly made, to facilitate such testing.
Foreign Agencies: – British Branch: LONDON TABERNACLE, Lancaster Gate, London, W. German Branch: Unterdorner Str., 76, Barmen. Australasian Branch: Flinders Building, Flinders St., Melbourne. Please address the SOCIETY in every case.
Terms to the Lord's Poor as Follows: – All Bible Students who, by reason of old age, or other infirmity or adversity, are unable to pay for this Journal, will be supplied Free if they send a Postal Card each May stating their case and requesting its continuance. We are not only willing, but anxious, that all such be on our list continually and in touch with the STUDIES, etc.
Watch the newspapers closely, especially the Monday's editions of dailies in the larger cities. If Brother Russell's sermons appear, write a letter or card of appreciation to the paper at once, expressing your hope that the sermons may continue regularly. If you notice the sermons in a paper from a distance and write promptly the more will your communication be appreciated by the editor of the newspaper.
This year's Volunteer matter is specially appropriate. If you have any of it on hand, get it out quickly. If you have not had it, order all you can use within a month, but no more. It will not be republished. Its principal article is entitled, "END OF WORLD IN 1914 – Not the view of Pastor Russell, nor the I.B.S.A." It is just what a great many people need to counteract erroneous impressions. It is excellent for travelers on trains and street cars.
We suggest that the above name be used by all classes locally in newspaper advertising and otherwise instead of the title, International Bible Students Association, which name properly belongs only to national and international use.
When advertisements appear on the religious page of newspapers classified denominationally, this title, ASSOCIATED BIBLE STUDENTS, can be used instead of a sectarian name. page 322
Order in November, early as possible, whatever you desire from our stock for Christmas. This will accommodate us, and avoid disappointment on your part. We remind the classes of the advantage of ordering mottoes together for one shipment.
BETHEL HYMNS FOR DECEMBER |
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After the close of the hymn the Bethel family listens to the reading of "My Vow Unto the Lord," then joins in prayer. At the breakfast table the MANNA text is considered. Hymns for December follow: (1) 227; (2) 70; (3) 151; (4) 4; (5) 145; (6) 46; (7) 194; (8) 114; (9) 305; (10) 15; (11) 197; (12) 38; (13) 226; (14) 6; (15) 7; (16) 157; (17) 133; (18) 78; (19) 305; (20) Vow; (21) 19; (22) 12; (23) 214; (24) 110; (25) 130; (26) 331; (27) 303; (28) 104; (29) 326; (30) 128; (31) 29. |
"The nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants the Prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear Thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them that destroy the earth." – Revelation 11:18.
"The nations were angry, Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead that they should be judged." The Church are the first to receive their judgment, the decision in their case; for the world God has appointed a thousand-year Day. (Acts 17:31; 2 Peter 3:8.) "And that Thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants the Prophets [the Ancient Worthies] and to the saints [all the holy ones], and them that fear Thy name, small and great." All this latter class – the world of mankind – will [R5564 : page 323] be judged, will have the decision passed upon them, according to the way in which they will conduct themselves under the Millennial conditions. And Thou shalt "destroy them that corrupt the earth." If this verse contains so much that a thousand years will be required for its fulfilment, the same may be true of other Scriptures.
Another Scripture (Daniel 12:1), describing the period of transition from Gentile supremacy to Messiah's Kingdom, declares, "There shall be a Time of Trouble such as was not since there was a nation." Our Lord discussed this statement in His great prophecy, and added, "No, nor ever shall be." (Matthew 24:21.) After speaking about the tribulation that should come upon the Jews in the close of their Age, the Master said, "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the Times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." (Luke 21:24.) We think it reasonable for us to hold that if there are Gentile Times to be fulfilled, they must have been foretold; and that if they have been foretold, then they were foreordained, or planned of God, who knew beforehand how long those Gentile Times would be and when they would be fulfilled.
Our Lord's words, then, seemed to suggest to us the propriety of searching to see what we might discover concerning the Times, or years, of the Gentiles. Looking through our Bibles and our histories, we found that there was a particular date when God took away the Kingdom from His typical people, Israel; and that at that time He gave over the dominion of the world with more or less of a lease of power to the Gentiles. We also found that, as far as we can see from the Bible, this date when the Kingdom was taken from the last king of David's line, King Zedekiah, was the year 606 B.C. (We would not say that it was not 605 or 607, but that as nearly as we can tell it was the year 606 B.C.) Then we reasoned that if 606 B.C. was the time when God took away the typical kingdom, no doubt He had at that time the purpose of giving some lease of power to the Gentile nations; and we looked to see what history and the Bible had to say upon the subject.
Merely repeating what we have studied in the series of books called STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES, only putting the information in another form, we found that when God took away the kingdom from King Zedekiah, He gave the dominion to the Gentiles, the Emperor Nebuchadnezzar being the first of these world-rulers. We learned, in the Scriptures, that God gave Nebuchadnezzar a dream. By morning the king had forgotten the dream, but it was afterwards explained to him by the Prophet Daniel. In his dream Nebuchadnezzar saw a great image, the head of which was made of gold, the breast and the arms of silver, the belly and the thighs of brass, the legs of iron, and the feet of iron smeared with miry clay.
The Prophet Daniel explained that this great image, which stood before Nebuchadnezzar, represented all the Gentile kingdoms. Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom, was represented by the head of gold; next came the Medo-Persian, represented by the breast and the arms of silver; then Greece, represented by the belly and thighs of brass; then came Rome, represented by the legs of iron; next came the so-called Holy Roman Empire, represented by the feet smeared with miry clay; and last, the present governments of Europe, represented by the ten toes, also of iron smeared with miry clay. [R5564 : page 324]
According to this vision given to the Emperor Nebuchadnezzar and interpreted by the Prophet Daniel, God designed that picture, image, to represent all the Gentile governments that would ever have sway over all the earth.
When we had this matter clear, then we said, The period of time during which these universal empires will have controlled the world must be the Times of the Gentiles. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, God has mentioned the Gentile Times (Luke 21:24), and now in the Old Testament we find out how many Times there are – how many years; for in Scriptural usage a Time means a year.
As we studied the subject still further, we found that God had told the Israelites that they would come under His disfavor for Seven Times. (Leviticus 26:14-28.) These could not be literal years; for the Israelites passed through many tribulations as long or longer than seven years. The question then was, What kind of years were these Times to be? We concluded that if they were not literal years, they must be symbolical. Since a literal year, Jewish reckoning, contains 360 days, and since in prophecy a day represents a year of actual time (Ezek. 4:6), each symbolic "Time" would be 360 years. So then, this period of Seven Times must mean 7 x 360 years, or 2520 years.
Thus we found that this was to be the period of time during which Israel was to be overturned (Ezekiel 21:25-27) – to have their kingdom and their government subject to the Gentiles. Meantime, while setting aside His own typical kingdom, God said to the Gentiles, I will not be ready to set up My Kingdom for some time. In the interim you may have the opportunity to demonstrate what you can do for the world. Institute the best government that you can. Do your very best to rule the world justly and wisely.
Full of confidence that they would rule the world in the best possible way, the Babylonians essayed to do so, but soon reached a sad climax. There followed a general program by which the rights of the people were disregarded, the wealthy getting everything and the poor practically nothing. Next came into power the Medes and Persians, who also started out very well, with just designs and every endeavor to do right. We recall that Cyrus, the first Medo-Persian Emperor, set free the Jews and gave them permission to return to Jerusalem; and that he also sent back the holy vessels of the Temple, which were very valuable, but which he would not retain because they belonged to God. Cyrus attempted to maintain a just and righteous government; and yet before long, the Medo-Persian Empire failed to bring satisfaction to the people or to prove to be a great blessing to the world.
Then came the turn of Greece. Alexander the Great, before he was twenty-one years of age, had conquered the world. For quite awhile Greece ruled the world. Grecian civilization and various systems of Grecian philosophy went out world-wide. Greek theories on all kinds of subjects have more or less permeated all the great countries of earth; even in our day the influence which went out from Greece is felt in every form of religion the world over, the religion of Christendom being itself a mixture of Grecian mythology and Christianity along with the teachings of the Mosaic Law and the Jewish Prophets. But Greece had her day, and had to bid farewell to the sceptre of power.
Next came the Roman Empire, with its various forms of government, each of which was tried with the endeavor to rule the world wisely and justly. The result of all this was the centralization of power to a greater or less degree, the wealth regathered into the hands of a few, and the masses of the people neither blessed nor satisfied. Then the Roman system began to fall.
By and by came in that mixture of Christianity and Roman civil power which was represented in the iron feet of the image, which were smeared with miry clay; the gloss of Christianity covering the civil power as the clay covered the feet of the image. This gloss did not make the nations really Christian, but has merely caused these kingdoms and governments to look upon themselves as though they were Christian; and this is what they call themselves – Christian Germany, Christian Great Britain, Christian France, Christian Russia, Christian Italy, and Christian Austria-Hungary.
Miry clay looks very much like stone; and God used a stone to symbolize His Kingdom in the same symbolic picture that He used the miry clay smeared over the iron feet to represent nominal Christians. Christ's Kingdom has not yet been established; but it will be built on the wreck of these present institutions, which outwardly resemble Christ's Kingdom, calling themselves Christian nations on all their coins and declaring that God is reigning in these kingdoms. Collectively they call themselves Christendom, which means Christ's Kingdom; and they were led to do this through the teachings of the Church during the Dark Ages – not the True Church, but people who deludedly thought that they were the Church of Christ and who persecuted the real Church.
We include as sectarian churches all that are not the real Church. There are many spurious churches; all cannot be right. The question is, Which is the right one? None will acknowledge the others to be the right one, all claiming to be right. Not one of them is the right one, as we have concluded from the Bible description of the Church of Christ. God recognizes only the one composed of those who are consecrated to Him – found in the Greek, the English, the German, the Swedish Churches, amongst the Baptists, the Methodists, the Lutherans, the Presbyterians and amongst people who do not attend any church at all. All who are God's saints are members of His Church; all others are merely imitation Christians. These great systems calling themselves His churches are without authority of God, without Scriptural recognition. They are merely human institutions, and in them only the saintly ones are recognized of God at all as His people.
The Bible sets forth that these spurious churches are Babylon, a term which signifies confusion. They are a confused mixture, not only of all classes of people, but of all classes of doctrines, and quite contrary therefore to anything that God and His Word uphold. From this confused [R5565 : page 324] mass of people, God is calling out His people, saying, "Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues" (Revelation 18:4), and telling them that very suddenly a great calamity will come upon this great institution called Christendom, which will entirely demolish this system in every sense of the word.
Studying God's Word, we have measured the 2520 years, the Seven symbolic Times, from that year 606 B.C. and have found that it reached down to October, 1914, as nearly as we were able to reckon. We did not say positively that this would be the year. We merely left every one to look at the facts of history and reckon for himself. [R5565 : page 325] Would this date be the time or would it be some other date? we asked. Many of us concluded that as far as we could see, October of this year would show the end of the Gentile lease of power; for when October comes we are getting down to the end of the Jewish year. The year 1914 actually ended Sept. 20, 1914, Jewish reckoning.
Now the question comes, Have the Gentile Times ended or not? Some perhaps may be inclined to say, "No; they have not ended." Others would say, "When the Gentile Times shall have ended, we would expect that the Gentiles would be entirely ousted from all power and control, and that Christ's Kingdom would be established. Were there not a great many things that we expected would take place when the Gentile Times would end?"
We find that some have one idea and others another. Some think that just the next hour after midnight would see a great, grand change everywhere – evil blotted out in sixty minutes or in sixty seconds. But would it be a reasonable expectation that the Gentile kingdoms would be snuffed out inside of an hour or inside of a day? If God had said so, it would be different; we know that God has all power to do His will everywhere. But are we in any sense of the word to expect such a sudden transition – that going to bed on the night of September 20, we would find, on the morning of September 21, all the kingdoms of the world destroyed and the Kingdom of Christ set up, the saints in glory, etc. Such would be a lightning change! We do not think that any would have been justified in so thinking. If any had such expectation, it was unwarranted.
Now look back and see what happened immediately after the expiration of different time periods. For instance, there are great day periods mentioned in the Bible, namely, the 1260 symbolic days, the 1290, the 1335 and also the 2300 days. (Daniel 12:7,11,12; 8:13,14.) We have not the time to go into details concerning all of these time periods. They are familiar to us, and are treated in detail in the volumes of STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES. Therefore we merely refresh your memories.
The 1260 years ended in 1799. From their beginning to their culmination, the power of persecution held sway. When the 1260 years ended, was anything done in an hour, in a day, or in a year to stop the persecution? Nay! One of the results was that God's Two Witnesses were exalted to heaven. These Two Witnesses of God, the Old and New Testaments, were exalted to heaven, were lifted up in the sight of the people, taken up to a position of great influence and dignity which they never before had enjoyed.
Previous to that time the Church held that the Bible went hand in hand with the voice of the Church; that the voice of the Church was the voice of the bishops and the popes; and that the Bible was only to corroborate the voice of the Church. But after the expiration of the 1260 prophetic days, the Bible began to take a new position.
We remind you that it was between the years 1803 and 1813 that many of our great Bible Societies were organized. Only then the printing of the Bible in every language and in cheap form was commenced, and the Bible began to go out to all nations. The Bible was lifted up before the people – was exalted to heaven, in the sense in which our Lord meant when He said, "Thou, Capernaum, art exalted unto heaven." The Bible was greatly exalted in contrast to the degraded position which it had occupied during the Dark Ages. But several years were consumed in bringing it up to this high position.
Of course, error all along has more or less combated the Truth, but nevertheless the Truth has been going forward, step by step. The year 1799 marked the beginning of the "Time of the End," when various events were to occur. According to prophecy – "Knowledge shall be increased"; "the wise shall understand"; and "there shall be a Time of Trouble such as was not since there was a nation." (Daniel 12:1-10.) These various predictions, the fulfilment of which was to follow 1799, have been in process of fulfilment throughout the past century. The running to and fro did not reach any particular development for some time after the Time of the End had begun. The progress in the use of steam power was gradual. First came the steamboat; then came the first railway train. These inventions of necessity had to precede the predicted "running to and fro."
Only within the past few years have we reached a maximum of speed on railways and steamships. Apparently they have begun to slow down. Very few trains now go faster than twenty-four miles an hour; and so with the great steamships Mauretania and Lusitania, which are types of the very swiftest steamboats. Indeed, these vessels might not have been built were it not that the British government wished to have some very swift cruisers in time of war.
These wonderful inventions which characterize our day have come gradually since 1799. After the first part of the period came the increase of knowledge, which is reaching its climax. We are now at the place where in civilized lands compulsory education is doing about all it can do for the people; and some nations are trying to restrain education. A prominent Russian statesman recently said that education is the basis of all the revolutionary spirit amongst the people, and that if the people had less of it there would be less trouble. In due time all the other nations will learn the lesson that without some restriction, education is a dangerous thing. To an unregenerate heart it means power in an unregenerate hand – which is not always safe.
The Prophet Daniel's statement that "the wise shall understand" apparently refers to the end of the 1290 days mentioned in the same chapter. This period terminated in 1829. Shortly after 1829 the message of the nearness of the Second Advent of Christ began especially to be promulgated by William Miller. As a result of the exaltation of the Word of God, certain doctrines were brought forth in a very prominent way.
We have all read about the great Miller Movement started in this country. (See STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES, Vol. III., page 84.) We are not endorsing the teachings of Brother Miller. While he had some correct thoughts on Scripture, he also had some incorrect ones – just as had Brother Calvin and other brethren since his day. But the time had come for the announcing of the Second Coming of Christ; and while the Second Advent did not occur in 1844, as the followers of Brother Miller had anticipated, yet beginning gradually in the year 1829 certain doctrines were brought to the attention of the Church which had never before been noted – certain doctrines respecting man's immortality, spiritual and human natures, etc. These subjects led to a careful searching of the Scriptures and to confidence in the Word of God above the traditions of men.
The increase of light has gradually progressed, and has by degrees been dispelling the darkness of error in [R5565 : page 326] both doctrine and practise, until today the Lord's people have a great deal of blessing. We are now more than a hundred years from the beginning of the Time of the End; and this development of Christian knowledge has been steadily progressing, opposed in various ways, but nevertheless fighting on to victory.
Another prophetic period mentioned by the Prophet Daniel was the 2300 days. This period was to mark certain things, and at the expiration of these days the Sanctuary was to be cleansed. This work of cleansing the true Church, the Sanctuary class, from the defilements of the Dark Ages culminated, we believe, in 1846, the time of the fulfilment of the 2300 days. But the work of cleansing was not accomplished in a moment or a day or even a year; and the cleansing was but limited.
We come now to the 1335 days, which culminated in 1875. Of these days the Prophet had said, "Oh, the blessedness of him that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and thirty-five days" (years)! (Daniel 12:12.) At that time great blessings came to the people of God; for at that time our Master returned, preparatory to taking up His great power and commencing His long-promised reign of a thousand years. The time for His Parousia had come, and He was here! The nature of those blessings we need not repeat; in fact, they could not be explained in a few words. But ever since the Presence of the Master we have had evidences of the great blessings coming to us, as foretold by the Prophet Daniel.
In what way will the Lord take His great power and reign? The Scriptures show us very clearly. In line with the same chronology the Scriptures teach us that there is a time for the Parousia, or Presence of the Lord. That time, as far as we are able to calculate, began in 1874. Since that date we have been living in the Parousia [R5566 : page 326] of the Son of Man. Is there anything to corroborate this? Yes. In the first place, we look for the Lord's dealing with His people, the Church. We should expect that at the time of our Lord's Coming His people would hear His "knock" – the knock of the prophecies, and whoever would open his heart and receive the things in a consecrated attitude of mind the Lord would gird Himself as a Servant and would come forth and serve Him. – Revelation 3:20.
All of the special blessings that we, as a company of Bible Students, have received during the past forty years have been the result of the Lord's Presence. He has been our Servant and has been bringing forth things new and old out of His storehouse. These old things have been coming forth in a new way – not because of human ability or skill, but because it is the Lord's due time for these things to become clear – the doctrine of Redemption, the Ransom, the meaning of the term Body of Christ, the explanation of how the death of Christ is justification for our sins, the imputation of His merit for the Church, the giving of the merit to the world, what the sanctification of the Church really means, the begetting of the Holy Spirit, the begotten ones becoming New Creatures in Christ, and what this term, a New Creature, signifies, how the New Creature differs from the old creature, how the First Resurrection is to bring this New Creation glorious privileges and Divine blessing – glory, honor and immortality. – SCRIPTURE STUDIES, Vol. II., page 103; Vol. V., page 421; Vol. VI., pages 59-84.
Our Lord, present, but invisible, has brought us light along every feature of the Divine Plan, not only respecting those things that were old – justification, sanctification and redemption – but also respecting the philosophy of God's dealings – how our Lord became flesh and dwelt among us, how He was holy, harmless and undefiled, and yet was born of an earthly mother. All these things which were once confusing to us, but which are now brought to light, are evidences that the Lord is here serving His people. We know that we have received these things. We do not believe that we have received them from any human tongue or pen, but from the Lord, who is giving us "meat in due season." The result of receiving this spiritual food is that many people have been sanctified – have experienced a transformation of mind that leads them to rejoice in laying down their lives for the brethren and in walking in the footsteps of Jesus.
A gentleman recently called on us, and made the remark that after seeing the PHOTO-DRAMA OF CREATION he got his first glimpse of God's character and learned to love God. He had been an Episcopalian, then a Christian Scientist, and then for fifteen years an unbeliever; but now he has gotten clearer views of God and His Plan. Although he is a very talented man, he is doing what he finds to serve the Lord – helping to fold the volunteer literature. The first intimation we had of his interest was his giving of $50 for the work. After seeing the PHOTO-DRAMA, he had gotten so much good from it that he wished to help it along.
This we mention as showing the power of the Truth, in contrast with the opposite influence of error. While we cannot say that we number ourselves by millions, yet we can say that nearly fourteen thousand have taken a very special Vow that implies their full consecration to the Lord; many others are writing in to say that they have taken that Vow – some of them years ago; and there are some from whom we shall never hear – still others who have never taken the Vow, but who are fully consecrated, as far as we know.
If we ask Christian people whether or not they have given up everything they have to the Lord, the majority of them will say, "No. I want to live a good Christian life; but I never made full consecration to the Lord." All these blessings enumerated are the result of the very precious Truth that has come to us, and to thousands of others. These have been very greatly blessed and helped, even though they have not made a full consecration to the Lord. This is a good evidence that something unusual has occurred within the period of the Harvest time. Moreover, this work has been growing. It has been supported in a way that is marvelous to ourselves and to our enemies. Possibly many of the dear friends wonder if there is not a miracle performed. But there has been no miracle, yet it is marvelous in our sight that so much has been done with a comparatively small amount of money; for amongst the Lord's people there are not many rich, not many learned. – 1 Corinthians 1:26-29.
Our Lord indicated that at His Second Coming all His servants who would be in the right condition of heart would hear His knock; and that if they would open to Him immediately, He would come in and sup with them. What does this statement signify? It means that His knock showed that the time for the great Representative of God – our glorified Lord – to be here had come; and that all who were ready would hear that knock, the prophetic knock, calling attention to the prophetic testimony that thenceforth we could look forward to Messiah's beginning His Parousia, His Harvest Work, at once with all denominations.
When the year 1875 came, was everything accomplished [R5566 : page 327] within twenty-four hours? Surely not! Did everybody awake at the same minute? Have they not been getting awake all through the Harvest Time? And some of us have not been awake very long. Some of us did not hear the knock when first our Master returned; but just as soon as we did hear and opened our hearts, we got the blessing; for we were in the proper attitude of heart to receive. This is true in the United States, in Canada, in Great Britain, in Africa, Australia; true everywhere.
What has occurred during this time? We have had a Harvest period, and the work of the Harvest has been going on silently, gradually. The Lord has been judging amongst His people, just as He said He would. He said that He would call His own servants first and reckon with them. Of course, none of this was from anything that we saw with our eyes, but from an unfolding of God's Word.
Through the testimony of God's Word we understand that the Resurrection began in 1878; not that we saw anything by the natural sight of the eyes, but that through the eyes of our understanding we recognized that the time had come for that great transaction, the First Resurrection, as far as the sleeping saints were concerned; and we understand that there commenced the time mentioned by the writer of Revelation, when he declared, "Blessed are they who die in the Lord from henceforth," marking a particular time, before which it would not be a blessing to die, but after which it would be a blessing. "From henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them." – Rev. 14:13.
That particular time came, we believe, in 1878; then, not only the Apostles were awakened, but all the faithful in Christ Jesus, all the sleeping members of the Body of Christ. That was the beginning of the Resurrection of the Body of Christ – the Lord judging among His people first, before the judgment of the world. He foretold that when He would come He would call His own servants and reckon with them – not with the world – giving reward to those of His Church who had gone before, giving them part in the First Resurrection, and then afterward dealing with us, "who are alive and remain," so that each one of us who are of the Lord's people, may at death be "changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye," during the sounding of the last trumpet – the Seventh.
We are living now under the sounding of this great Trump of God; not that we are hearing anything with our natural ears, but that we are hearing with the ears of our understanding that God's time has come, and that the great institution which He is arranging for the future is now being inaugurated.
The next prophetic period is the Time of Trouble. In one sense, perhaps, this began back about 1872. That was the time when Communism began to be broached afresh, when Socialism began to spread itself. We believe that many people are counted Socialists who are not really Socialists, but who might become such under favorable circumstances and conditions – which likely will develop before 1916 A.D. This development of Socialism is connected with anarchy. The hopes and methods of Socialists will prove failures and then they will be so wrought up as to bring on the great Time of Trouble. Meantime, also, arrangements have been going on gradually for the present war. While outwardly proclaiming (1872 A.D.) at the Geneva Peace Conference that all the nations would band themselves together and advocate the peaceful settlement of difficulties, and while yet crying "Peace! Peace!" nevertheless, notwithstanding all this, the nations of the world have progressed in the building of great warships and the drilling of troops.
We will not go into details further; we merely wish to impress the thought that these fulfilments of prophecy did not come suddenly, but gradually – that they had a particular time for beginning, and were sure of accomplishment. In view of these lessons from the past, what should we think about the future? We should not conclude that everything would be transformed inside of one minute, or one hour, or one day, but gradually.
This leads us to expect that the remaining prophetic periods will have a similar fulfilment, and that September 20 of this year, 1914, probably marked the end of the Gentile Times. If so, what we are witnessing now amongst the nations is a conflict to their finish. This is exactly what we should expect. Evidently the Lord is behind the matter; [R5567 : page 327] the Lord's Kingdom will manifest itself more and more. It will not be fully manifested, however, until the Church is with her Lord in glory. "When He shall be revealed, we also shall be revealed with Him in glory."
Should we expect that the Lord would reveal Himself the very moment Gentile Times end? No. The Bible declaration is that He shall be revealed in "flaming fire." Just how long after the Gentile Times close will be the revealment in "flaming fire" we do not know. Seemingly, following this great war will come the greatest "earthquake" that ever occurred – a revolution that will involve all the civilized nations. (Revelation 16:18.) Then Socialism may loom up, but will be short-lived and develop into anarchy. That anarchy will be the "flaming fire" revealing the new Kingdom, taking vengeance, bringing retributive justice upon the world – preceding its blessing.
If the harvest work of our Lord's presence (parousia) has been a gradual work for forty years leading up to the present time, and if the Time of the End is a slow period, how long would this period be, in which present institutions will be ousted, and the present order of things be condemned and done away with, to make way for the Reign of Righteousness? We answer that according to such pictures we might expect the transition to run on a good many years. We might expect it to be five, ten or twenty years. But there is something, on the other hand, that leads us to anticipate that it will not be very long. The Lord has told us that He will "make a short work of it." Just how short the work will be would be conjectural. Every one may have his own opinion. At one time the Lord speaks of it as being "in one hour;" another time, as "in one day;" and the Apostle speaks of it as coming like travail upon a woman with child – suddenly.
We remember also that there is a certain parallel between the Jewish Age and the Gospel Age. The forty years' Harvest of the Jewish Age, which began with Jesus' ministry, 29 A.D., ended in the year 69 A.D. – just as we believe that the Harvest of this age began with 1874 and ended with this fall, 1914. It was in the year following the expiration of forty years of the Jewish Harvest that the end of the Jewish polity came – at the destruction of their city. And so the parallels would lead us to suppose that one year from the present time would finish this short parallel period, this great work of disaster upon the world, the overthrow of the nations, viz., the attempt of the different nations to gain supremacy – the failure of their efforts – then the fire of God's anger, anarchy, the destruction which will sweep the whole world and usher in Messiah's Kingdom.
The Master tells us that unless these days were shortened there would be no flesh saved. (Matthew 24:22.) [R5567 : page 328] It will be a part of Messiah's Kingdom work, not only to dash those nations to pieces, but to stop the anarchy when it shall have done its work, when it shall have demonstrated to the human mind the fact that nothing that man can do will be able to help the race. Then when man's extremity shall have been reached, Messiah's Kingdom will take hold; and the great disaster will be throttled, the blessings of the Kingdom will begin, and mankind will receive them in proportion as they are in the right attitude of heart to respond.
We see that God gave the lease of dominion to the Gentiles. The words of the Prophecy were that Zedekiah's crown would be overturned, overturned, overturned, until He comes whose right it is, and God would give it to Him. Has the Kingdom begun in any sense of the word? We so believe. We think that the light now going forth is under the direction of the Captain of our Salvation. We think that the present distress amongst the nations is merely the beginning of this Time of Trouble. They did not wait for the time to come when they would be smitten. In their "anger" they got into trouble before their lease had expired.
At present the nations show such a bitterness toward each other, such a desire to conquer and destroy one another, that they are determined to continue the war, even if it result in the loss of their own wealth, the destruction of their own homes, and of one another. The spirit of competition, which was supposed to have died, had only been covered up for a little while; and the spirit of the Adversary is still there. Although they are called Christian nations, they have not received the Spirit of the Lord; they have not received the spirit of meekness, gentleness, long-suffering, brotherly kindness and love, the fruits of the Holy Spirit; but on the contrary, the spirit which St. Paul says consists of hatred, wrath, strife, murder – works of the flesh and the Devil. For this reason they are angry and have involved themselves in the present turmoil.
The nations did not even wait for God's wrath to come, but began to bring it upon themselves nearly two months in advance. They became so angry that they began to destroy each other even before their lease of power had expired. God's wrath will continue in this great Time of Trouble to its completion – the "fire." The great dreadnaughts and super-dreadnaughts, great guns and little guns, Czars and Emperors, will soon dash each other to pieces. The anarchy that will follow this war will be the real Time of Trouble.
Our thought is that the war will so weaken the nations that following it there will be an attempt to bring in Socialistic ideas, and that this will be met by the governments – the wealthy and all classes interested in the present order of things, "the world which now is," the present "heavens," or ecclesiastical system, and the "earth," the social order. The present order will be supported by the rich, by financiers, politicians, princes of industry, and the kings upon the thrones. All these will do their best to maintain present conditions, and will summon the clergy to their support. Then will come a general uprising everywhere; on one side those who are beneficiaries of the present institutions will be against any change. Against them, on the other side, will be the masses, who are striving to better their condition; for in God's Plan, the time has come for a change.
Shall the Lord's people have any part in the struggle? Nay! Let us ever keep in mind that we are peacemakers. Not only are we peaceable ourselves and seeking to live peaceably with all men, but we are to be peace-promoters, and to help others to see things straight and right. That course would be tending toward putting away anarchy and strife; but anarchy will surely come, despite all endeavors to the contrary.
Nevertheless, the Lord shows us through His Word that there is to be a victory on the part of the New Order of things, now coming in. The Socialists do not want anarchy; but they are not far from it. Anarchy is the worst thing that could be – a lack of some form of government being the worst thing the world could experience. The warring element will fight out this battle; and this will be the way in which God will promote the change, which is represented in the Bible as a great "fire," which will consume the present "heavens," or ecclesiastical ruling powers, and the "earth," or social institutions.
Following that great "fire," then, will be manifested the "new heavens and the new earth." The new heavens, the new ecclesiastical ruling power, will be the Church of the future in Glory, the Bride of Christ, enthroned with Him. The new earth will be the new order of things on the earth, which will be in the hands of the Ancient Worthies, "whom the Lord will make Princes in all the earth," when His Kingdom shall be fully established.
Our text proceeds to say, "And the time of the dead, that they should be judged," that they should receive their proper rewards and punishments, and be righteously dealt with, is closely associated with this time of angry nations. The whole dead world will be dealt with during that thousand years of Christ's Reign. The object of that dealing is that He "should give reward to His servants the Prophets," beginning at the proper time. Their reward is that they are to be the earthly Princes in the Kingdom, in all the earth. "And to the saints." The saints will be changed in the First Resurrection, "right early in the morning." (Psalm 46:5, margin.) "Them that fear Thy Name, small and great," shows the reward of all those who will come into harmony with the Lord during the thousand years – this pictures the blessing of Restitution coming to all mankind. These blessings they are to receive as they show their obedience to Him in all things.
What will the consummation be? "And shouldest destroy them which destroy [or corrupt] the earth." Those that give forth a corrupting influence and that refuse to come into harmony with righteousness during the thousand years will be destroyed from amongst the people. Nothing will be left of them. Everything evil will be destroyed, root and branch; only the righteous will prevail throughout all eternity. All having sympathy with unrighteousness will be destroyed. We see, then, that the entire Millennial Age will be needed to accomplish the work outlined in our text. It is not to be suddenly accomplished; we are not to expect a sudden fulfilment of that work.
Will the culmination of Gentile Times bring in the Kingdom by a very slow change, or how will it be done? September 21 did not bring any great change, but it saw this anger and this war-fever already begun amongst the nations. The spirit of anger has been brewing in them for the past forty years. They have been in preparation all this time, not spending money for amusement, but for foreseen war. They have built great navies knowing that the majority of these vessels were to go to the scrapheap as soon as new types of battleships came in, making all the older ones obsolete. They were not wasting their money. They recognized that this great struggle was coming. In the German Navy, the custom is to instil into the men the thought that they will be the conquerors of the [R5568 : page 329] world, and they expect this great war to decide the matter.
We are treading upon what might be termed, perhaps, dangerous ground, in assuming the possibility, even, that during this year that has begun there would be such an upheaval of nations, such an attempt on the part of kings, rulers, political princes and merchant princes to hold things where they are; and that to do this they will probably raise up the churches to great power, in order that they may through them, if possible, hold back the new order of things. Whether this comes within this year or a longer period, no matter; we believe this is the way which the Bible indicates it will come. When the church systems shall be thus raised up, all who stand for the Plan of God will be evil-spoken of, evil thought of, whereas they are the best friends of the world, the truest – just as the Lord is the truest friend of the whole human family. But if Jesus was crucified, so will these have trying experiences, and although the offenders may be of the Household of Faith, we must feel kindly toward them. As St. Peter said to his Jewish brethren, "I wot, brethren, that in ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers." – Acts 3:17.
Some one may say, We do not see the Jews back in Jerusalem yet. Is Jerusalem still trodden down of the Gentiles? In reply, we ask, What do you think our Lord meant when He said that Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the Times of the Gentiles be fulfilled? Do you think that the walking over the stones and streets in Jerusalem was what the Lord meant by the treading down of Jerusalem? If so, you were very foolish in your thought. Jerusalem represents the Jewish polity, government, institution, people. The Jews had already been trodden down for centuries before our Lord's remark – in fact, they were under the heel of the Romans at the time Jesus uttered those words; and they would continue to be under the domination of those Gentile governments "until the Times of the Gentiles be fulfilled."
Gradually the Jewish people have been emerging from their down-trodden condition – persecuted for eighteen centuries. The time is here when the Message has been and is still being delivered to them, as recorded in Isaiah 40:1,2: "Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins." – Isaiah 40:1,2.
This prophecy was fulfilled, as pointed out in the STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES, in the year 1878; and ever since that time, the star of Judaism has been rising; the Jews have become more prosperous ever since, as they themselves realize. Nowhere have they been so prosperous as in these United States, where they have received their greatest blessing; while in Russia and Germany they have been persecuted to some extent, but not in the same degree as formerly.
The treading down of the Jews has stopped. All over the world the Jews are now free – even in Russia. On September 5, the Czar of Russia issued a proclamation to all the Jews of the Russian Empire; and this was before the Times of the Gentiles had expired. It stated that the Jews might have access to the highest rank in the Russian army, and that the Jewish religion was to have the same freedom as any other religion in Russia. Where are the Jews being trodden down now? Where are they being subjected to scorn? At present they are receiving no persecution whatever. We believe that the treading down of Jerusalem has ceased, because the time for the Gentiles to tread down Israel has ended.
As to a government in Palestine, the Jews have just as much of a government as any other people there. Nominally, the Turkish government has the rule. When we have the opportunity, we intend to call the attention of our Jewish friends to the fact that the time of their disfavor and the Times of the Gentiles have expired, and that they may re-establish their kingdom in Palestine; for there is nothing now that intervenes. Some years ago, we called their attention to the fact that the Gentile Times were fast closing; and the Message, by the way, went all over the various countries of the world where Jews live, it having been printed in the Yiddish and the German languages. That Message has carried peace to them, telling about their restoration and pointing out to them this very time. Now we are able to tell them that the Gentile Times have expired, and that they may go up and take possession of the land. We do not know how soon they will take possession. According to their faith it will be unto them.
A proper conception of the Divine Plan and arrangements shows that now is the time for the Jews to get the land of Palestine from the Turkish government. The Turks are anxious to get some money, and, as they do not have very much at the present, it seems as though they would be willing to get rid of something that is not doing them any particular good. Now would be a good opportunity for the Jews to offer to buy Palestine; and they would probably get their country for a few million dollars.
The Turks realize that if they lose in the present war, they would lose Palestine; in this favorable time the sale of that country would be of some value to them. There is nothing in our Lord's statement, "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the Times of the Gentiles be fulfilled," that would militate against this thought. On the other hand, everything is in its favor; for the treading down of the Jews has ceased. Now it is merely for them to go up and possess their land.
Some one may ask, Since the fulfilment of the various time prophecies demonstrates that God's methods of operating are slow, may it not be that the Kingdom will not be ushered in for five, ten or even twenty-five years? Our reply is, we are not a prophet; we merely believe that we have come to the place where the Gentile Times have ended. If the Lord has five years more for us here, we shall be very glad to be on this side of the veil; and we feel sure that all the Lord's truly consecrated children also will be glad to be on this side if it is the Lord's will. If the Lord has even one more year for us as good as the past year has been, what more could we ask?
Nothing could induce us to part with that knowledge of God and His Plan in which we rejoice today. All the world over, that which makes the Lord's people appear happy is not special beauty on the outside, but the Light on the inside, the Light of the Knowledge of the glory of God, the Light of the Knowledge of the Divine Truth in our hearts. This Light shining through these earthen vessels is heart-cheering and comforting. We cannot imagine anything better. As the poet says,
"It satisfies my longings, as nothing else can do." We are happy to be coworkers with God; and by and by we shall be coworkers with Him on the other side the veil.
Look back now and see how the Lord's promises have been fulfilled – how during this time of Harvest it has been, as He said it would be, a blessed time. Listen to the words of the Prophet concerning the time since 1875, and note how his prophecy has been fulfilled: "Oh, the blessedness of Him that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand [R5568 : page 330] three hundred and five and thirty days" – the blessedness of those who have been living from 1875 onward.
What blessings have we received? Just as the Bible has said to us, so has it been. Those who open their hearts to the Lord find that He not only comes in and sups with them, but that He becomes their servant, comforts them, and serves them with "meat in due season." This accounts for all these blessed truths upon which we have been feasting since we have entered into the light of Present Truth; and it proves that this Divine Plan of the Ages is not from any human being nor is it a human plan or scheme; for no human being is capable of bringing such glorious things out of the Word of God.
Looking back over the past eighteen hundred years at the futile efforts of able, good men and women to bring something reasonable and harmonious out of the Bible, we find nothing satisfactory. On the contrary, we are ashamed of all the creeds of the past. Even those made in the past century do not satisfy anybody's longings. Those who are paid to preach them are ashamed to do so, and cover them up as much as possible.
Our Lord said that at His Second Coming He would serve things "both new and old"; and this has been so. Not merely are new things coming to our attention respecting the glory of the coming Kingdom and the work throughout the thousand years of Christ's Reign, but old things are coming to us in a clearer, better light. Among these is the doctrine of Justification by Faith, about which Brother Luther preached centuries ago, and which we thought had been correctly defined and thoroughly understood. Now we find that we did not understand Justification by Faith at all. Sanctification was preached by good people, too. When we came to a Biblical understanding of the subject of Sanctification, all that we knew before seemed childish and contradictory. How beautiful and harmonious these doctrines became! Then there are the types of Leviticus, which picture all the glorious features of the Divine Plan. All these familiar subjects are now shining as new, having been brought forth by our great Master, who is doing the serving, who is giving "meat in [R5569 : page 330] due season," "things both new and old."
Take the doctrine of Baptism, which has been preached about for all these centuries past. Now we are finding out that what we did not know about it has filled volumes. When we come to an understanding of the subject of Baptism, it is beautiful, grand! We never supposed that it had so much meaning. The reason for all this increase of knowledge is that we are living in the blessed time mentioned by the Prophet Daniel, "Oh, the blessedness of him that waiteth and cometh to the 1335 days" – in other words, as aforesaid, those who are living after the expiration of the 1335 days. We are living in the time during which God has been pouring in upon our hearts and minds all this joy, peace and blessing mentioned by the Prophet; but it did not happen in one hour, in one day, or in one year. It has been a gradual unfolding of Divine Truth. The path of the just shines more and more.
We all agree that with the end of all of the different prophetic periods of the past, evidently there was no sudden explosion of new things; but that, on the contrary, the new conditions came in gradually. Now, however, in respect to this time in which we are living, there seems to be a little difference; for in speaking of this great Time of Trouble coming upon the world and about the changes to take place at this present time, the Lord everywhere represents it as coming suddenly. "In one hour," is a frequent expression; not meaning necessarily a literal hour, but a very short space of time. "In one day" is another expression, indicating a brief period of time. The Lord says He will make a "short work in the earth." We believe it. We remember again that the Master says, "Unless those days should be cut short, no flesh would survive; but for the Elect's sake these days shall be shortened."
What did He mean? We believe that this spirit of frenzy that is now manifesting itself in the Old World is bound to spread, and that this national anger, hatred, malice, of one nation against another will extend to persons. We think it very wise, then, that the public press and the various officials of this country are seeking to have all recognize the fact that we are a mixed people, and that we have our natural sympathies with those of our kinsfolk who are beyond the seas, and any special activity in seeking to defend any particular nation now at war would cause malice and hatred, would tend toward the condition spoken of in the Bible when "Every man's hand will be against his neighbor and his brother."
We think it very wise on the part of the government officials to advocate that we take no side in the present war; for to do so would foster the spirit of anarchy; and we think that so far as all religiously-inclined people are concerned, they should do all in their power to prevent the spread of this spirit of anarchy, even though it will surely come. In this way we shall be doing our duty, even if our endeavors to bring peace to the world are thoroughly ineffective. We should always bear in mind that we are representatives of the Lord of Righteousness and of the great King of Peace, who will ultimately take the Throne of Power.
What shall we expect concerning this great change coming in the next year? It seems to us possible that one year might work all this great change that we are expecting. But perhaps it will not be so. We must wait and see. We merely suggest the possibility that in one year all these great things will come. That will be very sudden, as travail upon a woman with child – without warning. This war came without warning, and very speedily the nations were fighting one another; for the time has come.
As these things were previously held more or less in restraint, now the Lord is letting them loose gradually; and He will let them loose more and more until the great anarchy comes which would entirely destroy our whole human race unless it was arrested. In the meantime the Kingdom class will have been glorified, and our great King will have taken unto Himself His great power, and with the Elect, the Body of Christ, the Church, He will bring in peace and blessing to mankind, as soon as the world shall have passed through the fire of anarchy and the present order of things shall have been dissolved in the great heat – not a moment sooner. Then the Elect of God will interpose that the world may not be destroyed, that humanity may not destroy itself; and then will be the beginning of the blessings that are to come to all people through Christ, through the merit of His sacrifice, through the channel of The Christ glorified – Jesus and His Joint-heirs in the Kingdom.
As we look at these things, we realize that we have every reason to do all in our power to prepare ourselves for this glorious work. We remember also what our dear Redeemer told us to do: "When ye see these things begin to come to pass [do we see them? We think so!], then lift up your heads and rejoice, knowing that your deliverance draweth nigh." Just how nigh, the Lord did not say. Therefore, we may not attempt to say. [R5569 : page 331]
But we cannot be far from our change; and we advise that all of the Lord's people live day by day just as though this was the last day on this side the Veil, and that tonight or tomorrow would usher us into the glorious things beyond the Veil. Living in this way will surely be at least a good experience for us, bringing blessings and ripening of character. What a blessed way to live! – every day in anticipation of seeing our Redeemer and sharing in His wonderful work! The things connected with this present time seem less and less important to us, on account of which our names are cast out as evil by those who are living for all they can get out of the present life.
What may be done to our mortal bodies? None have the power to injure us as New Creatures. We are waiting for our change, which will come to some in one way and to some in another. God be praised! His will be done! Our Master had a cup at the conclusion of His experiences, and it was an especially bitter one, His suffering as an evil-doer and as a blasphemer being especially severe. Under the Jewish Law, blasphemy of God's name was really one of the most grievous crimes, and was especially punished by ignominious death. Jesus was not the blasphemer, but the Scribes and Pharisees were the blasphemers. Yet Jesus was to die as the blasphemer, while those who were really doing the blaspheming were the ones who put Him to death!
We should not wonder if in the Divine arrangement God might have some such bitter cup for the feet-members of the Body of Christ. Why should we think so? For various reasons. We have so much favor from God, that it would seem that we would deserve to have severer testings and a fuller and more bitter cup than others have had. Furthermore, the Scriptures seem to imply that it will be so.
Elijah was a type of the Church, and we remember that at his departure he went in a chariot of fire; and we believe that this symbolically represents the time of trouble on the Church when the time of our departure shall come. Then, again, John the Baptist was a semi-type, the semi-antitype of Elijah. John's experiences were very bitter. He was imprisoned for a while and not permitted to do any preaching; and he no doubt wondered in the time of his imprisonment whether or not he had been mistaken in his glorious expectations in regard to the Messiah. Then came the sudden edict for him to be beheaded. Herodias and Salome were anxious to get rid of him, but King Herod was not. We remember that in our interpretation of this type the king represents the civil power, Herodias represents the Roman Catholic Church and Salome, the daughter, represents the Protestant Churches Federated. These are more or less united to the civil powers, the "Mother" especially. We remember that there was some special dancing on the part of Salome before the king, who was so pleased with her that he told her that she might have anything she desired, even to the half of his kingdom. After she had conferred with her mother, they decided that the best thing that could happen for them would be the death of John the Baptist.
So it was in the Master's case. The religious rulers decided that the best thing that could be done was that He should perish. We remember that it was the last high priest of the Jewish nation, Caiaphas, who prophesied respecting Jesus that it was expedient that one man should die for the people rather than that the whole nation perish. So it was in the case of John. Herodias and Salome concluded that John the Baptist should die, and thereby they would cease to have his continual reminder of their wrong course; and so they would have him beheaded.
Whether or not this is to be a part of the antitype remains to be seen. It would not surprise us if it will be so. We are not speaking positively; but we wish to be "wise as serpents." Let us not be surprised at whatever things the Lord may permit to come. Let us remember that our Master was given a bitter cup of suffering in His closing hours, and that the Father did not seek to remove it from Him. But Jesus meekly accepted it, saying, "The cup which My Father hath poured for Me, shall I not drink it?" So we should be well prepared for whatever cup of bitter experiences and ignominy the Lord may have for us. At the same time we should have in our minds the refreshing thought given us by the promise in the Scriptures, that the Lord will not permit us to be tempted, or tested, above what we are able to bear, but will with the temptation provide a way of escape. The further assurance is that "All things shall work together for good to them that love God, to the called ones according to His purpose." – Romans 8:28. [R5570 : page 331]
Have we heard the Call to be the Bride, the Lamb's Wife, to come out of the world, to be dead to the world, to give our wills to Him, to sacrifice our earthly treasures? Have we become footstep followers of Jesus? "If any man will be My disciple, let him deny himself [give up his own self-will], take up his cross and follow Me." Have we been following the Master, and will we continue to follow Him? In our hearts we should be saying, Yes.
The Master said that in the Regeneration those who would now follow Him would have glorious bodies, like His own. "We shall be like Him, and see Him as He is" – sharers in His glory. May that be the portion of all of us! Let us rejoice together in the glorious things that our God has arranged for those who are His Church – first for the great Head of that Church, our Lord Jesus, and later for us, His humble followers, who are seeking to become Joint-heirs with Him in His Kingdom.
Let us remember that it is not knowledge alone that sanctifies. Knowledge is valuable to the sanctifying of the spirit only when we comply with the conditions that we shall mortify the self-will of the flesh and cultivate more and more of the Spirit of our Lord, about which St. Peter tells us. We are exhorted to put off all these: malice, hatred, wrath, strife, etc.; and to put on all these: joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, brotherly kindness and love. The Apostle Peter says, "If these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ"; and "thus an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:5-11.) Let our ambition and aim be to have a share in that Kingdom!
Let us remember that we are in a testing season. The Apostles had a similar one during the interim between our Lord's death and Pentecost. After our Lord's resurrection, He appeared to His disciples a few times, and then they did not see Him for many days. Then they became discouraged and said, "There is no use waiting"; "I go fishing," said one. Two others said, "We will go with thee." They were about to go into the fishing business and leave the work of fishing for men. This was a testing time for the disciples. So also there is one now. If there is any reason that would lead any to let go of the Lord and His Truth and to cease sacrificing for the Lord's [R5570 : page 332] Cause, then it is not merely the love of God in the heart which has prompted interest in the Lord, but something else; probably a hoping that the time was short; the consecration was only for a certain time. If so, now is a good time to let go.
Very probably it is now as it was when Jesus said to His disciples on a certain occasion, "Will ye also go away?" The answer was, "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life." We would starve spiritually if we went to any other than the Lord's table. We know not anywhere else to go. We shall stay right at the Lord's table. He has been feeding us on the Message of Truth and Life, and we believe that He will put on the table everything necessary for those who are hungering and thirsting for the Truth; and that the Truth on every subject necessary for us will be given as the Lord is pleased to reveal it; for He has promised, "they shall be filled."
"Pilate saith unto them, What then shall I do unto Jesus who is called Christ?" – Verse 22.
Our last lesson showed us Jesus before the Jewish Sanhedrin as early in the morning as possible, before the people would be generally astir, before therefore there could be any general co-operation on the part of Jesus' friends, by the people, respecting His arrest, etc. As quickly as possible the high priest and representatives of the Sanhedrin hurried Jesus to the Praetorium, asking Pilate to condemn Him. Pilate inquired as to what charge they had against Jesus. They evasively answered that of course He was a wicked man, worthy of punishment; else they would not be there at all accusing Him.
Pilate reminded them that under the Roman usage they had great liberty in dealing with all disputes of a religious kind, that he was not posted in Judaism, and that therefore they should deal with the case themselves. The priests responded that they knew this; but that they had no power to inflict the death penalty. Thus they revealed the depth of their wickedness – that they had been plotting deliberately to have Pilate inflict the death penalty upon an innocent person. Then they began to accuse Jesus, claiming that He was perverting the nation – turning it away from loyalty and obedience to the Roman government – that He was telling the people that they should not pay taxes to Caesar, and that He was claiming Himself to be the Jewish King Messiah.
These were serious charges before the Roman Governor, which he was bound to consider; and we have noticed that they were totally different charges from those brought against Jesus by the Sanhedrin trial. Although the charges were false, Jesus made no defense. He knew that the time had come for Him to die. He would not attempt to turn aside that which He knew to be a part of the Divine Program for Him.
Pilate looked upon Jesus, no doubt thinking that one so gentle in appearance would not be at all likely to raise an insurrection that would be injurious to the interests of the Roman Empire. Another account tells us that Pilate perceived that the chief priests and scribes were moved with envy in making their charges. Pilate perceived that something in Jesus' teachings appealed to the people more than did the teachings of these religious rulers, and that he was being asked to perform a mean and unjust act for persons who sought to shirk their own responsibility.
However, Pilate must not appear to be sympathetic with the Nazarene. He must not appear to treat lightly the charges made respecting another king than Caesar. He therefore demanded of Jesus, "Do You not hear the things witnessed against You? Why do You not answer, and plead guilty or not guilty?" Jesus said nothing.
Pilate then went out to the Scribes and Pharisees, who had refrained from entering the Praetorium because the day was the beginning of the Passover. After conferring with the chief priests and hearing from them, apparently, Pilate asked the question, "Art Thou the King of the Jews? Do You acknowledge that?" Jesus responded by asking, "Is the question because of anything that you see and know of My teachings, or is your question merely based upon the assertion of My enemies?" Pilate replied that the chief men of Jesus' own nation had delivered Him, and now he would like to know what He had done that was the cause of this opposition.
Jesus answered that His Kingdom was not of this world – this present Age or order of things. He was, therefore, not in conflict with Caesar's kingdom. This would account to Pilate for the fact that neither Jesus nor His friends made any manifestation of rebellion against the civil government, as would have been the case if His had been an earthly government. His Kingdom, He declared, was of the future. Pilate replied, "You do, then, claim to be a King, and that some time and somewhere You will exercise dominion?" Jesus answered that He was a King and that to this end He had been born, to this end He came into the world. He must bear witness to the Truth; and all who were of the Truth, and only such, would be able to appreciate His testimony.
"Ah," said Pilate, "that is a question with everybody: What is Truth? Nobody seems to know." Then he went forth to the Jews and said, "I find no crime in Him. He is in no way a malefactor against Caesar or his laws. He has done nothing that could lead me to interfere justly with His liberty or His rights."
The high priests and the Doctors of the Law were alarmed. Was it possible that just at the moment when they had hoped to crucify Jesus, He would escape from them! Then they vehemently charged that Jesus was stirring up the people, preaching everywhere, and that His preaching had begun away off in Galilee. When Pilate heard the word Galilee, he asked, "Is He a Galilaean?" Being told that He was, Pilate said, "Then I can easily transfer this whole troublesome matter to [R5571 : page 333] Herod, King of Galilee," the latter at the time also having his palace in Jerusalem.
Jesus was sent to Herod, who had a curiosity respecting Him. He had heard many things of Jesus, and would have liked to see Him do some miracle. Herod asked our Lord questions, but there was no response. The chief priests and Scribes violently accused Jesus to the king. Herod and his soldiers mocked Him, and sent Him back to Pilate with a gorgeous robe on, a mocked King. This act of deference on the part of Pilate, and the return of the courtesies by Herod, bridged over an enmity which had existed between the two for some time.
Addressing the accusers of Jesus again, Pilate said, "Ye brought unto me this man as one that perverteth the people. Behold, having examined Him before you, I have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse Him: no, nor yet Herod; for I sent you to him (and he sent Him back unto us) and behold, nothing worthy of death has been done unto Him. I will therefore chastise Him and release Him." Evidently the chastising, or whipping, of Jesus was done to save His life – with the thought that the Jews would be appeased in having Jesus suffer to this extent.
At this time of the year on several occasions Pilate had released prisoners in honor of the Passover. The multitude at this time cheered Pilate, and inquired whether or not he would release some prisoner. Thinking this a favorable opportunity to dispose of Jesus and get Him out of the hands of the chief priests and leaders of the people, Pilate said to the people: "Shall I release this One to you who is in prison claiming to be the King of the Jews?" The crowd looked to their religious leaders and were incited to urge the governor to release Barabbas, the highway robber. Pilate said to the throng, "What, then, shall I do with Jesus, called the Messiah?" And the multitude, influenced by their clergy, cried out: "Let Jesus be crucified!" Pilate asked: "Why, what has this man done? I find no cause of death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and release Him." Jesus was therefore delivered over to the multitude, only too willing to mock Him, as well as to scourge Him. Pilate said to the waiting Jews, "I will bring Him out shortly, scourged, and you will know that I find no crime in Him."
Jesus, therefore, came out wearing the crown of thorns and purple gown. Pilate said unto them: "Ecce homo!" – Behold the Man! See the One whom you are trying to have me put to death. Behold that He is one of the noblest specimens of your race or of humanity. See Him in His sorrow and humility. Behold the beautiful dignity of His character. Whatever you have against Him, you will feel placated now that you see His humility. But they cried out, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" Pilate answered: You may crucify Him if you choose, but I find no fault in Him – I find no crime in Him. Then the Jews came to the real point of the matter, the real reason of their opposition, namely, that Jesus had declared Himself to be the Son of God and that they considered that blasphemy. When Pilate heard that he was all the more afraid and returned the question to Jesus: Whence art thou? But he got no answer. Then saith Pilate unto Him, Speakest Thou not unto me? Knowest Thou not that I have power to crucify Thee, and have power to release Thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldst have no power at all against Me except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered Me unto thee hath the greater sin." Then Pilate thought again to release Jesus, and yet it might stir up tumult in the city, which his office obligated him to keep in peace and quiet. But the Jews cried out: If thou release this man thou art not Caesar's friend; everyone that maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar. This was putting Pilate in an awkward position. To release Jesus would seemingly make him the supporter of Caesar's opponent – the more strange, because Jesus was accused by His own countrymen and really had nobody to defend Him except Pilate himself.
To add to Pilate's perplexity he had at this time received a message from his wife, urging him to have nothing to do with opposition to Jesus, and informing him that she had had a special dream respecting the matter. Again Pilate had recourse to the people, as in contradistinction to their rulers. Presenting the noble personage of Jesus before them he exclaimed, "Behold your King!" But this seemed only to incense the multitude, who cried the more vehemently, "Away with Him! Crucify Him! We have no king but Caesar."
In desperation Pilate had water poured upon his hands and washed them in the sight of the people, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this righteous man! See ye to it." The people cried, "His blood be upon us and upon our children!"
And has it not been so! For more than eighteen centuries the Jews have suffered – aliens from God! without prophet! without priest! without sin-offerings! without Atonement Days! (Hosea 3:4,5.) Ah! but the time nears when, their iniquity being pardoned, the Lord will pour upon Israel the spirit of prayer and supplication; the eyes of their understanding will be opened and they shall look upon Him whom they pierced and they shall all the more praise Him! – Zechariah 12:10.
Complying with the demands of the people in all things not contrary to the interests of the Roman Empire, as was his bounden duty, Pilate surrendered to the demand and delivered Jesus to death and released to them Barabbas, the robber.
Let us not think that human nature has changed during the past eighteen centuries. Rather let us believe that, the circumstances being the same today, Jesus or His disciples might be executed in any land, provided the civil magistrates desired their death and deemed it expedient in the interests of peace, and especially provided their religious rulers and teachers demanded such a sacrifice of the innocents, considering it necessary to their own hold upon the credulities of the people.
Let us not be surprised if similar experiences should come to some of God's saintly people in the near future. The pages of history show that so-called interests of religion, voiced by religious rulers, have been powerful with civil rulers to the subversion of justice and the death of the innocent throughout the Age. The course of God's people at all times should be that marked out by the Master – full resignation to the will of God – full realization of God's supervision of all the interests of His Cause – and full trust that the results will work out a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
"A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself." – Proverbs 22:3.
The most valuable lessons that any parent or counselor can give to those subject to his direction would be, first, the Golden Rule – inculcating absolute justice – nothing less; secondly, in addition to justice as represented by the Golden Rule, should be the lesson of mercy, compassion, sympathy, the spirit of helpfulness. The third lesson in the series should be meekness, gentleness, patience, long-suffering. The fourth lesson should be economy in everything – avoidance of waste – the realization that what he does not need, some one else does need.
In suggesting the foregoing lessons, we are presupposing a Christian basis – that our readers are themselves children of God, who have been feeding at the Lord's table upon spiritual, Heavenly food; and that they have been seeking to bless their families by training them in harmony with the Lord's Word.
For the dire distress which we see nearing, such character preparation is the best heritage that any parent could leave to his child. Bonds and stocks will be unavailable for food; bank accounts may become uncertain, and the possession of money may become a temptation to the vicious to rob and to murder; but a good character cannot be taken away. Its possession will give a measure of peace and security and confidence in the Lord that is beyond all price.
We recommend that none be urged unduly to make a full consecration of their hearts, their lives, their all, to the Lord and to His service. The lives of God's people should in every case be "living epistles, known and read of all men" – especially by their own families. Those lives should testify not only to the completeness of the consecration to the Lord, but also to the peace and joy and comfort resulting. "Let the peace of God rule in your hearts; and be ye thankful." (Colossians 3:15.) Your [R5572 : page 334] being a living epistle, without a single word of exhortation, will be powerful in its lessons to all those directly under your influence. Additionally, at a suitable time, it would be proper to intimate to your family, friends and neighbors the comfort and joy, peace and blessing, which you have received through a full acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Message of His Word, and what pleasure it would be to you to see your dear ones similarly blessed, comforted and spiritually healed.
It is better, however, that your children and friends should refrain from any profession of consecration to the Lord which would be a mere hypocrisy. There are too many hypocritical professors already. They are doing harm to the Cause of Christ as well as harming themselves; for hypocrisy seems to be especially disdained of the Lord, and an insurmountable wall of hindrance to the hypocrite himself. Our influence, therefore, should always be on the side of honesty, not only in matters financial and social, but also, and particularly, in respect to God and religion.
The Apostle urges God's people to provide for their own – for their own families – their necessities, and He urges that such provision shall be honestly made – if not honestly, then not at all. Again he exhorts the Lord's people to "labor with their hands," that they may have to give to others who may be in need. These exhortations are not to be understood as recommendations to lay up earthly treasure – an earthly fortune. The Lord's people are to live in harmony with their faith – to lay up their treasure in Heaven. These suggestions, therefore, respecting temporalities, are not recommendations to hoard wealth, but merely to "use this world as not abusing it."
In harmony with the text at the head of this article, and in accordance with our views of the possibilities of the future, we have some recommendations to offer to our readers. While we are not certain that all the dire calamities of the Day of the Lord will befall the earth within the next eleven months, nevertheless, there seems to be a sufficient possibility of this to warrant us in making certain provisions against the distress of that time – in the interest of our families, our friends and our neighbors.
We recommend to those having dry, clean cellars, or other places suitable and well-ventilated, to lay in a good stock of life's necessities; for instance, a large supply of coal, of rice, dried peas, dried beans, rolled oats, wheat, barley, sugar, molasses, fish, etc. Have in mind the keeping qualities and nutritive values of foods – especially the fact that soups are economical and nourishing. Do not be afraid of having too much of such commodities as will keep well until the heat of next summer begins, even if it were necessary to sell then, at a loss, to prevent spoiling. Think of this hoard to eat, not too selfishly, but as being a provision for any who may be in need, and who, in the Lord's providence, may come your way – "that you may have to give to those who lack." – Eph. 4:28.
Do not sound a trumpet before you, telling of your provisions, intentions, etc. "Hast thou faith? Have it to thyself before God." Only your own family should know of this storing of food, and they should be under strict injunctions not to tell it to others. At most, suggest to your friends or neighbors the wisdom of keeping a stock of staple foods ahead in view of the possibilities of storms and strikes, etc., during the winter. Do not attempt to go into too great details respecting the Time of Trouble; for the majority of people are blind and deaf anyway on this subject.
Do not make these purchases on credit if you have not the money. Leave the matter, and exercise the more faith; but remember that the Golden Rule is the very lowest standard that can be recognized by the Lord's people and that it comes in advance of any kind of charity.
I wish to tell you of a strenuous experience I had soon after leaving Atlanta, Monday morning following the close of the Convention. Soon after the train started, I went to the rear of the coach to hand out literature; and nearly everyone accepted the papers until I had almost reached the end of the car. I offered a fine-looking man one; he refused, attacking me violently, saying he "wanted nothing whatever to do with Russell's devilish literature." Said he knew all about Russell, lived in Brooklyn, had read his books and THE WATCH TOWER, knew all about the libel suit. He spoke loudly enough for all around us to hear him. And I saw we had the attention of nearly all in the car. So, while he raged with slander against our dear Pastor and all his followers, I lifted my heart to God to direct me, and quietly waited until he had subsided sufficiently for me to speak; and I said, "Sir, you are mistaken; all you have said about Brother Russell is as base and false as Satan himself, and you know it, and because you can't find fault with his teachings, or combat him with Scripture, you try to slander his character behind his back."
He replied, "I am a Baptist minister myself, and know all about Russell and his methods; and furthermore, you are paid $125 to hand out this stuff; and I have been offered $165 to do the same."* I replied, "You are mistaken, sir, I am not paid a cent, have not been offered a cent, have not asked for a cent, and do not want a cent – as it is a glad and willing service for the Lord." "For Russell," he hotly and quickly replied.
I said, "Furthermore, sir, no member of the I.B.S.A. has ever made you any such offer as you claim, and if you will prove it to me, I will sign a check for a thousand dollars in your favor. All you have said about Pastor Russell is as [R5573 : page 335] base and false as Satan himself." He made no reply, and grew silent. I said, "Brother, you say you are a Baptist minister and a professed mouthpiece of God, who tells us in His Word to 'speak evil of no man' (whether good or bad). Now, do you think you are showing the spirit of Christ, or of Satan, in your false and slanderous remarks just uttered? We know that there are but the two Masters."
He made no reply and grew very red in the face; and a gentleman sitting two seats ahead of him, who had been facing him and listening to all that had been said, and who knew him, said, "John, would you like to have some hot water?" to which the reverend (?) gentleman replied, "No, I'm in hot water enough now;" and the listeners simply roared with laughter, which made him madder and his face crimson. I then left him, saying, "Brother, I fear you will be in still hotter water before the Lord gets through teaching you some needed lessons." As soon as I got back to my seat, a young man came to me, offering me money, "for some more tracts like the one you gave me, if you have any more." I told him I did not want any money, that freely I had received, and freely I gave, and he was welcome to all he wanted. He took four or five and went back to his seat.
Another young man came with his Bible, asking me to explain some things he did not understand in Revelation. A sister sitting in front of me had a Bible with the I.B.S.A. Comments, which she handed me, and I turned to them and read to him. He looked at the Bible and said he must have one like it, and gave me his name and address, and promised to read some literature I would send him.
Then another young man came with his Bible, and asked to sit down by me and asked me to explain some Scripture texts he did not fully understand. He also gave me his name and address; and I promised to send him some literature. Both are traveling men and live in Atlanta. When I got home I mailed them each a copy of THE DIVINE PLAN OF THE AGES, Missionary Report, several different tracts, etc. Yesterday I heard from one of them, saying he was reading the PLAN OF THE AGES, and was deeply interested, and thought he would subscribe for THE WATCH TOWER if he was as much pleased when he finished reading as he now is. I see from his letterhead that he is a very prominent member of the __________ Baptist Church and a leader of its Bible Class. His name is __________.
All this was the result of one man's prejudice and opposition to the Truth; and shows how God can make the wrath of man to praise Him. I certainly felt honored, and thanked Him for the opportunity of witnessing for Him, though in an unpleasant and unexpected way. That preacher looked at me as though he could chew me to pieces, and I suppose he thought he would in a few words silence and put me to flight; but with the dear Lord's help I stood my ground and came off victor. Pray for me, dear Brethren, that I may be used more and more to honor and glorify His precious Name, and show forth His praises unto others; for I do delight to do His will, and I do so want to gain that most glorious of all prizes – immortality, beyond the Veil, and be forever with my God and Saviour.
I am realizing more and more the shortness of the time in which to prepare for the Kingdom. When I think of the change that is just ahead of us, I think of some fairy dream; and yet I know that the Gentile Times are ended and the new Dispensation is being ushered in.
I am glad that I shall not be here and have an inheritance in the flesh, but I shall be glad to see the work of Restitution begun, to see the earth blossom as the rose and to see man made perfect, a fit ruler for the restored Paradise.
I want to see the dead come back and to hear the shouts and songs of joy. And to be where we can see all this and to help to bring it about and to know that our efforts are wise, that our Lord directs and will succeed in the great undertaking, is a prospect most transporting.
Yours humbly in Christ's dear Name,
["This honor have all His saints" – to bind their kings with chains and their princes with fetters. (Psalm 149:8,9.) We are inclined to believe that this sister effectually bound a princeling of ecclesiasticism. No doubt the Lord will grant special opportunities and aid to others worthy of the honor – saints indeed.]
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November 1st
| VOL. XXXV | NOVEMBER 15 | No. 22 |
'I will stand upon my watch, and set my foot upon the Tower, and will watch to see what He shall say unto me, and what answer I shall make to them that oppose me.' Hab. 2:1
Upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity: the sea and the waves (the restless, discontented) roaring: men's hearts failing them for fear and for looking forward to the things coming upon the earth (society): for the powers of the heavens (ecclestiasticism) shall be shaken. . . .When ye see these things come to pass, then know that the Kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Look up, lift up your heads, rejoice, for your redemption draweth nigh. – Luke 21:25-28, 32.
Our "Berean Lessons" are topical rehearsals or reviews of our Society's published "Studies," most entertainingly arranged, and very helpful to all who would merit the only honorary degree which the Society accords, viz., Verbi Dei Minister (V.D.M.), which translated into English is, Minister of the Divine Word. Our treatment of the International S.S. Lessons is specially for the older Bible Students and Teachers. By some this feature is considered indispensable.
This Journal stands firmly for the defence of the only true foundation of the Christian's hope now being so generally repudiated, – Redemption through the precious blood of "the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom [a corresponding price, a substitute] for all." (I Pet. 1:19; I Tim. 2:6.) Building up on this sure foundation the gold, silver and precious stones (I Cor. 3:11-15; 2 Pet. 1:5-11) of the Word of God, its further mission is to – "Make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery which...has been hid in God,...to the intent that now might be made known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God" – "which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men as it is now revealed." – Eph. 3:5-9,10.
It stands free from all parties, sects and creeds of men, while it seeks more and more to bring its every utterance into fullest subjection to the will of God in Christ, as expressed in the Holy Scriptures. It is thus free to declare boldly whatsoever the Lord hath spoken; – according to the divine wisdom granted unto us, to understand. Its attitude is not dogmatical, but confident; for we know whereof we affirm, treading with implicit faith upon the sure promises of God. It is held as a trust, to be used only in his service; hence our decisions relative to what may and what may not appear in its columns must be according to our judgment of his good pleasure, the teaching of his Word, for the upbuilding of his people in grace and knowledge. And we not only invite but urge our readers to prove all its utterances by the infallible Word to which reference is constantly made, to facilitate such testing.
Foreign Agencies: – British Branch: LONDON TABERNACLE, Lancaster Gate, London, W. German Branch: Unterdorner Str., 76, Barmen. Australasian Branch: Flinders Building, Flinders St., Melbourne. Please address the SOCIETY in every case.
Terms to the Lord's Poor as Follows: – All Bible Students who, by reason of old age, or other infirmity or adversity, are unable to pay for this Journal, will be supplied Free if they send a Postal Card each May stating their case and requesting its continuance. We are not only willing, but anxious, that all such be on our list continually and in touch with the STUDIES, etc.
The European War is causing many people to think seriously. It so closely agrees with what they have from time to time seen in THE WATCH TOWER publications or have heard from WATCH TOWER subscribers, that they are now wondering if there is not some Truth connected with our presentation respecting the Millennium and the great Time of Trouble with which the Millennial Age will be inaugurated.
Pastor Russell's sermons on "Armageddon," "Distress of Nations," "The Financial Outlook," etc., have also stirred many thinking people. They are wanting to know more about these things. The present is a very opportune time for calling to their attention the true Gospel of the Bible, as it is presented in the six volumes of STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES.
Colporteurs who a short time ago had difficulty in getting the attention of the more well-to-do people, are finding matters different now. They are selling the STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES in complete sets (six volumes, and a year's subscription to THE WATCH TOWER, for $2.65) where formerly they sold a single volume.
Poverty or, at least, lack of wealth, has generally been a stimulant to Bible study. Now the wealthy are feeling themselves poor, or in danger of becoming poor by the depreciation of their stocks and bonds. These, therefore, are in a more favorable condition to hear the Word than they have been for a long time.
The STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES are still going forth. The October average sales amounted to over thirty-six thousand volumes. We mention this by way of encouragement to those who are in the Colporteur work, as well as for the benefit of those who are contemplating engaging in this most profitable section of the Harvest work. We have the Message which the people need. We have the heart to give it to them. And have we not confidence in God and courage sufficient to enable us to do all reasonably within our power in the Divine service?
Notice in our issues of August 1 and 15 the description of the Eureka Drama X. Many of our readers may like to buy for themselves, their families or their friends, one of these outfits as a Christmas gift. Records and all cost little more than an ordinary "Victrola" without records.
If you have a "Victrola" or graphophone we can supply the entire set of 96 Drama Lecture and 9 hymn records for $29.
"They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy Mountain [Kingdom]." – Isaiah 11:9.
It was proper also that Israel and all others should know that the Kingdom of God to be established would be absolutely just and impartial; for their experiences have demonstrated that even the wisest and best of their rulers, lawmakers, judges, etc., have been largely governed by selfishness. The world's great ones have amassed wealth at the expense of their subjects, and have made their special friends wealthy and have granted them special privileges, often-times at the expense of the poor, the helpless, the despised. Hence the Lord through the Prophet assures us that earth's new King will administer equity toward all; that the meek, the backward, the modest and unassuming, those who are indisposed to press their claims and to assert their rights, will have His particular assistance; and that the poor, who have few to sympathize with them or to encourage or help them, will find in the new King a Friend.
Those who expect the Millennial Kingdom to come as a result of present efforts, under the order of society now prevailing, and who believe that the world is gradually approaching the Millennium by an evolutionary process, should carefully consider this Word of the Lord through the Prophet, as shown in our text and context. The Prophet declares that when Messiah shall take the reins of government, His first step will be to judge the poor, and to reprove the rich in equity, in the interests of the meek of the earth. How could this be possible, if equity had already prevailed by a gradual process, so that there were no poor and no rich, and so that all had become meek?
Other Scriptures in harmony with this testimony of the Prophet Isaiah, show that the very work which our Lord is to do at the beginning of His Reign will be to correct the wrongs then prevailing. Our Lord Himself implies that the earth will be far from being in a blessed condition at His Second Advent, when He asks the question, "When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find The Faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8.) The Revelator also gives no uncertain testimony on this subject. He says: "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in Heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever....And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldest give reward to Thy servants the Prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear Thy name, small and great, and shouldest destroy them that corrupt the earth." – Revelation 11:15-18.
Many Scriptures are of like import. The position of the Bible is throughout harmonious and consistent. It describes the present time, while sin is prevailing, as "the present evil world," in which "the prince of this world" rules, and in which the Lord's true people, the Body of Christ, the heirs of the Kingdom, "suffer violence," and declares that this violence is working out for those who are rightly exercised by it a character which will be approved by the Lord. The Scriptures point out that to [R5574 : page 339] God's faithful saints who suffer now will be granted this glorious new Kingdom in joint-heirship with Messiah. They shall be given the dominion "under the whole heavens," as declared by the angel to Daniel the Prophet. (Daniel 7:27.) This dominion Jehovah will wrest by force from the "prince of this world," Satan, and will give it to His Son, whose Bride will share her Bridegroom's Kingdom. This transfer will be accomplished in a great Time of Trouble, which is to end this present world, the present social order.
In our context the Prophet goes on to say, "He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked." It is very evident, then, that at the time of the establishment of the Kingdom there will not only be poor needing assistance and succor, but there will be the wicked also. The rod of Messiah's mouth signifies the judgments which He has already expressed, and which have very largely gone unheeded by Christendom. We remember His declaration: [R5574 : page 340] "He that rejecteth Me, and receiveth not My words, hath One that judgeth him; the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last Day" (John 12:48) – the Day of Judgment, now present, since 1874. Christendom in general has admitted the righteousness of the Lord's Word, but those who attempt to live in harmony with that Word are remarkably few. Consequently, when the time shall come that "judgment shall be laid to the line and righteousness to the plummet," and when this judgment shall begin at the nominal House of God, the nominal systems will fall – condemned by that Word.
Only the faithful few, the Lord's jewels, shall "be accounted worthy to escape those things coming upon the world," when, as elsewhere described, "He [The Lord] shall speak to them [the world] in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure" – when He shall render vengeance to His enemies, and recompense to those who have known the Master's will, yet have done it not. "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, saith the Lord." "Wait ye upon Me, saith Jehovah, until the day that I rise up to the prey; for My determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them Mine indignation, even all My fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of My jealousy. For then will I turn to the people a pure language [message] that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one consent." (Zephaniah 3:8,9.) "Righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins." (Isaiah 11:5.) The girdle represents diligence, service; and the proclamation here is that Messiah will be a faithful, diligent Servant of God, accomplishing all the work entrusted to His care.
The reference in this 11th chapter of Isaiah to the change of disposition in the animal kingdom, so that the wolf and the lamb, the leopard and the kid, the calf and the lion, will dwell in harmony, is in full accord with the general Scriptural outlines of "the Times of Restitution of all things." Not only is mankind to be restored, to be brought back to his primeval condition of human perfection and harmony with his Maker, but the lower animals will also share in the blessing and the restoration of order to be accomplished by the Reign of Christ, now, we believe, very near at hand.
In the Genesis account there is no intimation that the animals over which Adam had control were wild, vicious, at enmity with man. On the contrary, the implication is that they were in complete subjection to their perfect master. We may reasonably suppose that while the race, under the disintegrating influence of man's death sentence, gradually lost more and more of the likeness of their Maker in which the first man was created, they at the same time lost the power of control over the lower animals.
The nature of the power possessed by the perfect Adam may still be imperfectly traced in the superior ability of certain of the fallen race to control the brute creation. Thus we see that some men can exercise mental force and control, not only over wild horses, but also over the ferocious beasts of the jungle. Adam was declared by the Lord to be the king of earth, and as such he was recognized by the lower orders of creation. After mankind had lost his original mental power to control the lower animals, a warfare sprang up between them, in which man has been compelled to pit force against force, as he has lost his hold upon the animal creation.
The restoration of mankind to that exalted position which was lost by sin implies naturally, therefore, a restoration of the brute creation to primeval conditions, such as is suggested in the prophecy which we are considering. The same thought is conveyed in the statement that "a little child shall lead," or control, the wild beasts, when these are brought into their proper relationship with mankind. In chapter 65:25 of Isaiah's prophecy, it is stated of the Millennial conditions that "the wolf and the lamb shall feed together." The reference may be to men who were formerly of wolflike and of lamblike dispositions, or character; or it may refer to animals, or to both. The expression in either case signifies a blessed Reign of Peace. The Prophet continues, "And the lion shall eat straw like the bullock, and the dust shall be the serpent's meat." If this refers to literal lions, it would imply that they will lose their carnivorous dispositions, and that they will undergo some change which will make them herbivorous, as animals were originally created. (Genesis 1:30.) It would seem to imply that animals will not then prey upon one another.
The expression, "Dust shall be the serpent's meat," is similar to the statement in Psalm 72:9, regarding Messiah's coming dominion: "His enemies shall lick the dust," signifying the destruction of the serpent, or rather, of the great Adversary, Satan, whom the serpent symbolizes. "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy Mountain [Kingdom], saith the Lord."
The birth of the true Zion, the Church of Christ, will be the cause of rejoicing among all who truly love righteousness; for, though it will at first dash in pieces all their long-cherished hopes, it will be the dawn of a real hope for all the world. It will humble their pride and despoil them of all their cherished possessions and of what they have come to consider their rights. It will break down their boasted institutions, civil, social and religious, and completely wreck the present social order. Yet it will be the necessary prelude to the establishment of the grand New Order, which will come to be "the desire of all nations," as soon as they shall see its vast superiority to the old order.
In describing the birth of the "Man-child," The Christ, whose Head was born more than eighteen hundred years ago, and the Body of whom is now soon to be born, the Prophet Isaiah exclaims (chapter 66:7,8), "Before she travailed she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a Man-child! Who hath heard such a thing? Who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion travailed she brought forth her children." The especially marvelous thing that the Prophet here records is that a "Man-child" is to be born out of Zion before Zion travails. This is a striking reference to the fact, elsewhere clearly taught, that the ripe "wheat" of the Gospel Church are to be separated from the unripe wheat and the "tares" at the end of this Age, that they are to be exalted and glorified before the burning, the consuming, trouble shall come.
This "Man-child," then, is the Little Flock, the Body of Christ, the true Zion. Out of nominal Zion will come this First-fruits class, before the nominal System will be overthrown; for she will die in her travail pains, and in dying, will bring forth her later children, the Great Company. In this great Day of the Lord, nominal Zion will bring forth the Man-child and these later children.
"Shall I bring to the birth and not cause to bring forth? saith the Lord. Shall I cause to bring forth and [R5574 : page 341] shut the womb? saith thy God." Ah, no! As surely as the Head was brought forth, so surely shall the Body also be born. The birth shall certainly be completed. The great composite Christ shall come forth entire, not one member lacking – and before Zion's travail has begun. But "who hath heard such a thing? Who hath seen such a thing?" And so, after the Man-child is delivered, the Mother System will give birth, when her travail pains come on, to a great company of children! This Great Company is described in the Apocalypse as coming up out of "the great tribulation," and washing their robes, spotted and soiled, and making them white, "in the blood of the Lamb."
Following the birth of these two classes of the Lord's people, will come the birth of the Jewish nation. They shall be awakened from the sleep of Hades, in which as a nation they have been for over eighteen centuries. All this will take place in the early dawn of the Day of Christ. O what rejoicing there will be! Fleshly Zion and Spiritual Zion will rejoice together! Then soon the poor, chastened world will begin to join in the songs of praise to the God of all Grace. What wonderful times are just before us! Though clouds and darkness for a brief time obscure the bright beams of the blessed Millennial Dawning, soon the glorious "Sun of Righteousness" shall rise in splendor, and its beams will rapidly spread over all the earth, scattering the darkness of sin, dispelling the fogs of error and superstition, and bringing the world into the light of the knowledge of the glory of God.
The entire testimony of Scripture in regard to the blessings to come to the world in the New Age show that [R5575 : page 341] they are all to be earthly. The declaration that even the brute creation shall be changed in nature is a promise that in that blessed Day there will no more be a condition of antagonism and enmity between mankind and the lower orders of God's creatures, but all shall be peace and harmony. It would be wholly unnecessary to change the disposition of the animals, to bring them into subjection to man, if all the race were to be changed into spirit beings, and become like the angels. Many prophecies speak of mankind in the Times of Restitution as human beings, adapted to the earth and enjoying the blessings of the earth. They are to "sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid." (Micah 4:4.) "They shall build houses and inhabit them. ...They shall not build and another inhabit;...they shall long enjoy the work of their hands." – Isa. 65:21-25.
These promises for the world in general have no reference to the class being chosen out of the world during this Gospel Age. The promises to these are all spiritual. They are to be made like Christ, and "see Him as He is." (1 John 3:2.) They are called to the obtaining of His glory. As they "have borne the image of the earthy," so shall they "also bear the image of the Heavenly." (1 Corinthians 15:49.) They are promised a share in Christ's resurrection – the First Resurrection. They are to reign as kings and priests in a Kingdom which earthly beings cannot inherit. "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption." (1 Corinthians 15:50.) They have been called with a Heavenly Calling. They are not of the world, even as their Lord and Head is not of the world. – John 17:16.
With many the difficulty in understanding these distinctions is a failure to rightly divide the Scriptures, as St. Paul counseled Timothy, saying, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth." (2 Timothy 2:15.) This process would enable them to discern that the Kingdom of God per se consists only of our Lord Jesus and His "little flock" of overcomers, to whom He says, "It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom." (Luke 12:32.) These are to constitute the reigning class, as many Scriptures point out. At first the world of mankind will be subjects of this spiritual Kingdom, and afterwards become citizens, or members, if they come into harmony with its laws and regulations and into a condition of reconciliation with God, becoming the children of Christ, who will be the Age-lasting Father of the world during the Mediatorial Age. He will be the One who shall bring the entire race of Adam – both those who still have a measure of life and those who have gone down into the tomb – back from the condition of death into full perfection of life, if they then prove willing and obedient. Otherwise they shall be cut off in the Second Death – everlasting destruction.
The Prophet Daniel, in explaining Nebuchadnezzar's dream regarding the Great Image, shows that the Kingdom of God when first set up at the introduction of the Millennial Age will be but a small Stone, which has been "cut out without hands," but which will become a "great Mountain and fill the whole earth." (Daniel 2:31-45.) This Stone Kingdom is quarried out of the "earth" by the Lord. It is at first insignificant in size, and it seems to the world as powerless. But as soon as set up in power, this Kingdom will smite the "great image" of earthly rulership, and shall grind it to powder (in the coming Time of Trouble), and the wind shall carry it away. This Stone Kingdom is the holy Mountain referred to in Isaiah 11:9. A mountain is the Scriptural symbol of a kingdom. Hills seem to be symbolic of the smaller governments of earth. – See Isaiah 2:2; 40:4; 51:5; 59:18; Psalm 46:2,3; 97:5.
Nothing shall be permitted to do violence or to work injury throughout all God's holy Kingdom, after it shall have been established. Love will be the Law, and Divine Power will be the means which will enforce that Law. All who do not conform to it will be "cut off from among the people," as the Lord declared through the Apostle Peter. (Acts 3:23.) How evident it is that this Kingdom has not yet come, when we see that amongst mankind selfishness is the rule, individually and nationally, and that there are many influences of evil which hurt and destroy throughout the world today. So we continue to pray: "Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth, as it is done in Heaven." And we believe that this petition so long offered by the Lord's saints is very soon to be answered.
After Messiah has crushed the power of evil, after He has overthrown all the great systems of error and vice, and has set the people free, He will accomplish the blessing of humanity by the spread of the knowledge of Jehovah's character. The Apostle Paul also assures us that it is the will of God that all men shall come to a knowledge of the Truth in order to be saved. He assures us that there can be no salvation without knowledge. None will ever be saved by ignorance. As yet only a comparatively few of earth's millions have come to such a knowledge of God as to be able to exercise faith in Him and in the great Sacrifice which He has provided for the whole world. [R5575 : page 342]
But the fact that but few in the present life come to this saving knowledge shall in no wise thwart the great Divine Plan, nor make the death of Christ on behalf of the entire race of Adam of no avail. The Lord assures us in His Word that, in due time, the true Light shall lighten "every man that cometh into the world." (John 1:9.) This includes all the heathen and all those of imbecile mind, who could not in this life grasp the Truth, as well as all infants who have died before reaching the age where they could know of God and His Truth in Christ. It includes the dead, as well as the living. For "there is none other name given under Heaven among men whereby they must be saved," but the name of Jesus. God has thus made ample provision for all.
Nor are we to suppose that the knowledge which is to become world-wide during Messiah's Reign is merely a little sprinkling of knowledge, such as has come to a very limited portion of the world here and there in spots, up to the present time. The Lord's people have received the droppings of grace and Truth, but the provision for the next Age will be abundant and universal. The knowledge of the Lord shall be ocean deep – like the fulness of the sea. Showers of blessing shall come down upon the world in copious measure. The effect will be "like rain upon the mown grass." (Psalm 72:6.) When the grass has been freshly cut and its roots are thus the more accessible, how quickly it responds to the refreshing showers! And how rapidly does it spring up in renewed vigor! So it will be with mankind, after they have been shorn of all that has encumbered them and prevented the showers of grace from reaching their hearts. How quickly they will respond to the refreshing rains and showers of blessing so copiously bestowed upon them, and will spring up into life and beauty as they drink in the rich supplies of grace!
"Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!" – Luke 2:14.
But we do not believe this to be the thought of the original. It is not in harmony with what we have clearly seen to be the Plan of God for mankind. Such a translation eliminates the thought of God's eventual good will toward all the world, and greatly minimizes the scope of this glorious song. It implies merely that men who have a feeling of good will are or will be at peace among themselves. How utterly barren of hope for all men would such an expression be! And how little the song of the angels would mean if this were its burden!
On the contrary, this song was a prophecy of God's purpose to bring about through the newly born Child the abrogation of the curse and the establishment of peace and sinlessness among mankind, in which God and man would become at-one. It was an expression of God's good will, His good purpose, to bring man back to the image and likeness of Himself, in which Adam was created. When this shall have been accomplished, then peace will dwell in all the earth; for the causes of inharmony will have been eliminated.
The world of mankind came under the curse, or sentence, of death because of the sin in Eden – because our first parents disobeyed God's righteous command. All humanity, therefore, are members of an accursed race – under penal servitude, which ends in the tomb. The race has been learning the lesson of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and its terrible effects. But God has promised to take away the curse and to bring a permanent blessing in its place. This will mean a return to His favor, to full harmony with Himself.
We speak of this song as a prophecy because the peace has not yet come, nor the good will, in the sense that God's face is as yet turned toward man. It is a declaration of what God purposes to do. He has not good will toward the present sinful, rebellious attitude of the race. He has never good will toward sin. We are not to understand that God was expressing His good will toward man when He pronounced the sentence of death upon him. God's curse indicated His ill-will toward man – in other words, His displeasure because of man's sin. He wished man to suffer ill as a just punishment for his wilful disobedience. God cut him off from fellowship with Himself. He was not bound in justice to do anything more for the race. But in His infinite mercy He provided a deliverance for mankind. He foreknew man's fall, and planned His redemption from before the foundation of the world.
Through all the ages since the fall of Adam God's Plan has been slowly, steadily progressing. While men have been learning in pain and tears and trouble the nature and results of sin, God has been selecting His saintly ones, His Elect – first, the Elect who are to be the earthly princes in His Kingdom of Blessing; lastly, the Elect who are to reign over all as kings and priests of God on the highest plane of existence. The chief of all the Elect is His well-beloved Son, the Savior of the world, whose birth the angels proclaimed to the shepherds watching on the plains of Judea, nearly nineteen centuries ago. (Isaiah 42:1.) When all the elect ones are chosen and prepared, then the blessing of the world at large will be inaugurated. "For the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God [the Church]. For the creation was made subject to frailty, not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath subjected the same in hope; because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God." – Romans 8:19-21. [R5576 : page 343]
The coming of the Son of God to earth was only preliminary to His offering of Himself as a Ransom for the forfeited life of Adam, the father of the race, in whom all his posterity fell. But even when our Lord had died as man's Ransom-price, God's favor did not come to the world. Jesus was next raised from the dead a glorious, Divine being. Then He ascended up on High, and appeared in the presence of God for those who were to be of the spiritual Elect. Thus the last became first in God's Plan. The merit of Jesus' death was utilized first on behalf of these. It has not yet been applied for any others. The Church of Christ now have this promised peace and good will. It is granted only to those who have come into vital relationship with God through Christ – the fully consecrated ones.
The Scriptures show that after these are all selected, prepared and glorified, the next step will be the application to all men of the merit which has been imputed to these Elect, and through whom it is to go to the Worthies of old and to the entire world of mankind. This spiritual class have been chosen to be members of the Body of Christ, joint-associates with Him in the Messianic Kingdom. All of these who prove entirely faithful are to attain this exalted position. As soon as all the spiritual class have been glorified, the sins of all the world, those living and the dead as well, will be legally canceled by the application of the virtue, the merit, of the sacrificial death of Jesus. Then they will be freed from the condemnation of the sentence of death. The death penalty will be lifted. They will be turned over to The Christ, Head and Body, the Great Mediator. The curse will be removed.
The great work of the Millennial Age will then begin. It will be a work of gradual uplift during the entire thousand years of the Reign of The Christ. The dead will be gradually awakened and brought to a clear knowledge of the salvation of God in Christ. All will then have the opportunity of coming into the blessed condition of peace and good will proclaimed by the angels. By degrees they will be brought, if they will, to where they will be ready to be received by the Father, to be introduced to Him. This will be the blessed experience of all who will be obedient to the rules and requirements of the Kingdom. If they prove unwilling and disobedient, after being brought to a clear understanding, they will be "cut off," destroyed, as not worthy of further effort on God's part for their reclamation.
We understand that the sacrifice of the Son of God will be a blessing also to the inhabitants of worlds not yet peopled, who will not have had any personal experience with sin. God apparently purposes that after mankind have been restored, and all the incorrigible destroyed, He will allow no further infringement of the Divine Law. Indeed, we can see that if at the beginning of his deflection Satan had known the results of his own course, he would probably not have taken the step which he did. We are not to think of Satan as being foolish by nature. He was a glorious being, Lucifer, "the son of the morning." If Father Adam and Mother Eve had foreseen the results of their disobedience, they would not have taken such a course; for to have done so with foreknowledge would have meant that they were very unwise, foolish, of unsound minds, whereas they were created perfect, in the image of their Creator.
We believe that if the angels who kept not their first estate had known the end from the beginning – if they could have looked down the ages and seen the direful consequences of their course of sin and disobedience – they would have been appalled, and would have taken no such disastrous step. The fact that they have gotten into sin, and have developed such sinful tendencies, proclivities and preferences, is no proof that this would have been their course if they had known as much in advance as they now know. It is our hope that some of these may yet be reclaimed, if they are properly repentant, in their great Judgment Day, now at hand.
God seeketh such to worship Him as worship Him in spirit and in truth. Our thought is that all these worlds surrounding us are designed to be homes to many intelligent beings yet to be created. We believe that it is God's delight to give joy and blessing to many creatures, on various planes of existence. And God is making of this experience of mankind with sin a valuable lesson, a lesson that will be beneficial, not only to themselves, but to all the worlds that will ever be populated. These might be instructed and informed in advance of their developing any sinful tendencies just what the nature and tendency of sin is. They will probably be told the story of the tendency of sin – what it did for the people of earth, what it cost to redeem and restore them. They will be told, probably, that sin degrades mind, body and morals; that its influence is only deteriorating; that once deteriorated, one learns to prefer sin, notwithstanding all the misery and degradation it brings; and that God will never grant everlasting life to any except as they gladly co-operate to that end – that He will never influence any against their own will.
It would seem, then, that the great work accomplished at Calvary will have an influence as wide as the Universe. And this thought might be applied to the [R5577 : page 343] first part of the song of the angels, "Glory to God in the Highest!" God will be glorified by all the angels, by every rank of spirit beings. He will be glorified by His exalted Church, then of the Divine nature; by restored humanity, by all the intelligent creatures on every plane, in every Age! Yea, more and more glorious will be His honor as the years of eternity roll on, and as other peoples of other planets are brought into being and brought to know Him and to share His wonderful bounties and blessings, and to learn the blessedness of loving and serving Him.
"Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted." – Isaiah 53:4.
The Savior was greatly weakened by His three years of ministry, in which He had given forth His vitality freely to the people in the healing of their diseases. Besides this, He had been on a constant strain, without sleep, from the time He had sent His disciples to prepare the Passover. This period had included the trying experiences connected with the Passover and the institution of the Memorial Supper, the journey to Gethsemane, the hours of agony and weakness there, the experiences following, the trial of the Sanhedrin by the high priests, the trial before Herod and before Pilate, the scourging, etc. – all had been a constant strain on Him. Now, condemned to crucifixion by those for whom He had sacrificed His Heavenly home and glory, He was additionally required to carry His own cross. He did so until finally His weakness under its weight hindered, and a passing farmer was compelled to assist – whether by carrying the cross entirely or by walking behind Jesus and carrying a portion of the weight is not made very clear by the original text.
Where were Peter, John, James, Thomas and the other Apostles, that they did not volunteer assistance? Doubtless they were deterred by fear. But oh, what a blessing they missed! Tradition has it that the Cyrenean farmer who bore the cross by compulsion afterward became one of the followers of the Nazarene, through having the Truth of the Savior's Message borne in upon his heart by the experiences of that hour.
Crowding around were weeping women, and we wonder that none of them lent a helping hand. Turning to them, Jesus said, "Weep not for Me. Weep for yourselves and for your children." The Master's words in this connection, respecting their seeking the mountains and hills for covering and protection, are assumed by some Bible students to belong in part to the great trouble which came upon the Jewish people thirty-seven years later in the destruction of Jerusalem. And it is assumed that that destruction of Jerusalem and this trouble were types which foreshadowed the greater distress which will occur in the closing time of this Age.
Certain it is that the same expressions in respect to the mountains and hills is used in respect to the end of this Gospel Age. When at His Second Advent Christ shall be revealed in flaming fire of judgments, it will consume the present order of things and prepare the way for the new King. We are not to assume that any one would pray for mountains to fall upon him when he could take his own life in a much easier way. Rather, the thought seems to be that many will seek and desire and pray for hiding, for protection against the raging troubles. The rocks of society are its social organizations, each of which seeks to protect its own membership.
"If they do these things in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry?" said Jesus. He here seems to liken the Jewish nation to the fig-tree which quickly withered away under His curse, or sentence. So, five days before His crucifixion, Jesus, riding upon the ass to Jerusalem and weeping over it, had said, "Your house is left unto you desolate." Now, in so short a time, while the fig-tree was still green, its rulers had reached a desperate place, so that they were willing to violate all law and set aside all conscience in His crucifixion.
If so quickly the evil worked to such a horrible outrage of justice, what might not be expected later on, when that Jewish fig-tree had thoroughly dried and all the sap (spirituality) had gone out of it? Similarly, in the end of this Age we may expect that the Church, the Body of Christ, the saints, will suffer violence, that thus the salt of the earth will be removed, and that quickly thereafter a general putrefaction will set in – anarchy.
Jesus had foretold His crucifixion, saying that "as Moses lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up" – be crucified. The brazen serpent was thus used as a type of Jesus. He was actually holy, harmless, undefiled; but He took the sinner's place – He was treated as the sinner. The severest penalty under the Law was crucifixion – "Cursed is every one that hangeth upon a tree." And so, says the Apostle, Jesus was made a curse for us. (Galatians 3:13.) Although He knew no sin, He took the place of the sinner. Jesus died for our sins, according to the Scriptures.
The words of our text that say, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," are not to be taken into account, because they are not found in the oldest Greek manuscripts. Besides, Jesus must have known that the sin of the Jews would bring a penalty. He had foretold in His parable that God would punish them and burn up their city. (Luke 20:14-16.) In the context the statement, "Weep for yourselves," implied a punishment upon the Jews for their sins, and that this sin would not be wholly forgiven them. As a matter of fact, we know that the Jews have been cut off from Divine favor for now eighteen centuries. It is proper for us to assume that Jesus was in full harmony with the Father in respect to all this Divine arrangement, and that He did not ask something contrary to the Divine will.
St. Paul refers to this matter also, saying respecting the trouble which came upon the Jews at the time of the rejection of Jesus, "Wrath is come upon them to the uttermost, that all things written concerning them should have fulfilment." – 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16.
On the other hand, we may well be assured that Jesus, who was giving His life for the Jews, would not wish that they should not have punishment that would be due to them for the great sin of destroying the One whom Jehovah had especially sent to them, as His representative, His Son. A just penalty for such wilful sin would undoubtedly be utter destruction. But the Apostle points out that "the blood of Jesus speaketh better things" – not justice. (Hebrews 12:24.) His blood speaks forgiveness of sins, not only for the remainder of the world, but also for the Jews. It speaks a full opportunity for reconciliation with God during the Messianic Kingdom.
St. Peter corroborates the thought that the Jews were not wholly responsible for their course because of (at least) a partial ignorance. Addressing some of them afterwards he said: "I wot that in ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers"; for if they had known they would not have crucified "the Prince of Life." (Acts 3:15-17.) The Prophet Zechariah shows us that in God's due time the eyes of understanding of the whole world will be [R5578 : page 345] opened. All will see things differently enough, and the Jews are especially mentioned – "They that pierced Him." Then the Lord will pour upon them the spirit of prayer and supplication, and they shall look upon Him whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him (Zechariah 12:10), realizing that they maltreated their best Friend, their Redeemer.
The stony-heartedness of the Roman soldiers is indicated by the fact that while Jesus was dying they cast lots for His seamless robe, dividing His other garments amongst them. We have God's promise that the result of the Millennial Kingdom will be to take away the stony heart out of the flesh and to give instead tender hearts. Oh, how much all mankind need full restitution to the image and likeness of God, originally represented in Adam and subsequently represented in the Man Jesus!
The attitude of the world is further represented in the two culprits who were executed at the same time, one on each side of Jesus, who by the inscription over His cross was styled King of the Jews. One of these companions in tribulation railed at Jesus as a fraud, bantering Him to manifest any power He had by saving Himself and His associates. Little did he realize that if Jesus had saved Himself He could not have been the Savior of the world!
The other thief befriended Jesus, declaring that He had done nothing amiss and was unjustly accused. Then, turning to Jesus, he expressed his faith in Him by asking a reward for his kind words. He said, "Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy Kingdom." The poor thief knew that Jesus claimed to be a King. He was standing near when Jesus was asked the question, "Art Thou a King," and heard the answer, "My Kingdom is not of this Age." The thief recognized that Jesus was worthy to be a King, so noble of character and of appearance was He. What if He were really what He claimed to be? What if finally, in the great Beyond, this One should prove to be the Messiah? He would at least tell the truth and declare a word in His defense, and he would at least ask kind remembrance if this One ever reached His Kingly Power.
The answer of Jesus seems to have been very generally misunderstood by us all in the past. We thought that He promised the thief to be with Him that same day in the Kingdom. Yet we knew that, according to other Scriptures, Jesus Himself was not in the Kingdom that day, but in Joseph's new tomb; that He did not rise from the dead, from Sheol, from Hades, the tomb, until the third day; and that even then He said to Mary after His resurrection, "I have not yet ascended to My Father and your Father, My God and your God." Evidently, then, Jesus could not have said that He and the thief would be together in Paradise that same day.
The true explanation is at hand. Paradise, lost through the fall six thousand years ago, is about to be restored by Messiah in His glorious Kingdom. It was then that the thief asked to be remembered – "when Thou comest into Thy Kingdom." The thief has been sleeping in death since, waiting for the time for Messiah's Kingdom to come. The answer of Jesus was in full accord with this: Amen. So be it. "Verily, I say unto thee, this day [this day when I seem not to have a friend, and when nothing seems more unlikely than that I would ever have a Kingdom, I tell you today], thou shalt be with Me in Paradise."
Jesus' Kingdom will quickly begin the work of turning the world into a Paradise. And, in the resurrection of the hosts who have fallen asleep in death, that thief will be remembered by the Master. Undoubtedly a great blessing will be his in Paradise, because of his comforting words spoken on the cross, and especially because those words indicated that he had a tender and contrite heart, such as will be the first to have blessings in the Kingdom.
Jesus commended His mother to His disciple John, which implies that the husband, Joseph, was no longer living. It shows us, too, the Master's careful thoughtfulness of the interests of His loved ones in His own hour of extreme suffering.
The Master's dying cry, "My God! My God! why hast Thou forsaken Me?" attests to us the fact that He did not claim to be the Heavenly Father, but the Son of God. It also shows us how the Master endured to the very limit the penalty of the sinner. The penalty of sin was not merely to die, but also to be cut off from fellowship with God. Jesus, in taking the sinner's place, must for a moment at least have the full experience of the sinner's alienation.
The Master's cry, "It is finished," reminds us of His statement of the day previous, "I have a baptism [into death] to be accomplished, and how am I straitened [in difficulty] until it be accomplished" – until it be finished.
"Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit," reminds us of the fact that Jesus was laying down His life, that the spirit of life which He possessed was that which had been transferred from a previous condition. He had not forfeited His right to life, as had Adam. He might therefore still speak of it as His own spirit, His own right to life – merely surrendered for the time, merely laid down under the Divine promise that it should be given to Him again in the resurrection.
"Why seek ye the living amongst the dead? He is not here, but is risen." – Luke 24:5,6.
The resurrection of the dead promised in the Bible is to bring back the personality and the consciousness of thousands of millions of humanity who have died, who have gone to dust under the Divine sentence, "Dying, thou shalt die." "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." There could be no resurrection – no escape from that Divine sentence – except in the way God has arranged; namely, that Jesus took the place of the original sinner, Adam. Purchasing him back from the death sentence meant the purchase of all who died in him. Thus we read that Christ died, "the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God." – 1 Peter 3:18.
Fallacious ideas have gone abroad to the effect that it will be the body merely that will be resurrected – that God will collect from the four winds every particle of dust which once composed a portion of a human body, and will reorganize the race out of the same particles of matter which once composed it. The absurdity of this proposition grows upon us as we consider that the carcases [R5578 : page 346] of the dead have more or less gone into vegetation, and thus into other animals and other humans. This is well illustrated by the story of the apple tree, the roots of which penetrated a coffin and assumed the shape of the corpse. The apples were eaten by various people, and some of them by swine, which in turn were shipped to various parts of the country.
This anecdote well illustrates the unreasonableness of the common misunderstanding of the Bible teachings. The difficulty has been that we lost sight of the fact that the Bible declares that it is the soul which dies. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." (Ezekiel 18:4,20.) Our bodies are being changed and renewed, Science tells us, every seven years. The body in which Adam sinned, therefore, passed away – and many other bodies – during the nine hundred and thirty years of his experience. But his soul, his personality, himself, died but once, nine hundred and thirty years old. It is the soul that dies, that has been redeemed, and that is to be resurrected. "Thou sowest not that body which shall be."
Christ, as the Logos with the Father, was a living soul, or being, on a high spirit plane. For man's sake He humbled Himself and became a bondsman – "took a bondsman's form, and was found in fashion as a man" – a human soul. As a human soul, or human being, He died – "He poured out His soul unto death." He made "His soul an Offering for sin." "He shall see [the reward of] the travail of His soul and shall be satisfied." – Isaiah 53:10-12.
It was Jesus the human soul that died, but He was raised from the dead a Soul of a higher order. At that time, as He foretold, He ascended "where He was before"; that is to say, on the spirit plane. He was "put to death in flesh, but quickened [or made alive] in spirit." (1 Peter 3:18.) He took the fleshly nature merely for the great purpose of giving man's redemption-price; and after He had surrendered that ransom-price by giving Himself up to death, the Father raised Him up to glory, honor, the Divine nature – "far above angels, principalities and powers, and every name that is named." (Philippians 2:9.) He that ascended thus in His resurrection was the same that had previously descended from the Heavenly to the earthly condition, as St. Paul says.
Because in His resurrection Jesus was so different, from this viewpoint we are prepared to understand why He conducted Himself so differently after His resurrection [R5579 : page 346] from what He had done before. After His resurrection He appeared and disappeared, we read. He showed Himself to His disciples for a few moments at a time, and then vanished from their sight. Never before had He done anything of the kind. After His resurrection He appeared in different bodies, different forms, different clothing. To Mary He appeared as the gardener. To the two walking to Emmaus He appeared as the stranger. He appeared not only as a different person, but also in different clothing; for His clothing had been parted amongst the soldiers.
How evidently He was put to death in the flesh, but quickened in spirit! It was the Spirit Jesus who showed Himself, assuming different human forms and clothing, as best suited the occasion. This Spirit Being could, and did, come into the assemblies of the disciples when the doors were shut and fastened for fear of the Jews. He created, or materialized, a body and clothing in their presence; and after a few moments He vanished out of their sight, dissolving the body and the clothing, while He, the Spirit Being, remained invisible. Thus He was with the disciples for forty days before He ascended; yet they saw Him not, except a few minutes at a time on seven different occasions.
Those forty days were very necessary for teaching the Jewish disciples, and all of the Lord's followers since, two great lessons:
(1) That He was no longer dead, but alive;
(2) That He was no longer a man, but a Spirit. "Now the Lord is that Spirit." – 2 Corinthians 3:17.
That our Lord was no longer flesh, but a Spirit Being with celestial glory, is clearly established by St. Paul's narrative of his own experiences. He explains that it was necessary that the twelve Apostles should be able to bear witness to the fact that Jesus had risen from the dead. There could have been no Gospel Message of hope of Divine favor through a dead Savior. If Christ had not risen, then who would there be who could ever establish the Messianic Kingdom? Who would there ever be who could give to the Church a share in the First Resurrection and make them sharers in His Heavenly glory? If Christ had not risen, who would there be who could call forth from the tomb the sleeping billions, awakening them, through the Voice which speaks peace through Jesus Christ, to the opportunities of everlasting life through obedience to the Kingdom?
The Apostle calls all this forcibly to our minds, saying, "If Christ be not risen from the dead, your faith is vain; and all who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished." (1 Corinthians 15:16-18.) From this we see that St. Paul in no way shared the views of those who unscripturally claimed that Jesus, while dead, was really alive; and that the resurrection of the dead is a mere formality, quite unnecessary to the carrying out of God's Plan. The Divine teaching is that the dead know not anything, and that the resurrection of the dead is an absolute necessity to any future life or hope or blessing.
The fact that Christ has risen from the dead is a guarantee of God's power to raise the dead. Additionally, it is a guarantee that Jesus accomplished the work which He came into the world to do. It proves to us that He must have kept the Divine Law perfectly; else He would not have been worthy of a resurrection from the dead. It proves, additionally, the value of His death – the efficacy of it as the offset of Father Adam's sin, and thus as the Ransom-price for the sins of the world.
St. Paul tells that he saw Jesus after His resurrection. He tells us that our Lord's appearance to him was as that of a bright light shining above the brightness of the sun at noonday. He tells us the effect that it had upon his character and upon his eyesight – that one glance at the glorious Jesus destroyed his sight, which was afterwards partially restored by Divine mercy. This was the eighth appearance of Jesus to His disciples. In seven of them He appeared in flesh; in one He appeared in glory above the brightness of the sun. He was the same at all times, but the manifestations were different.
The manifestations in the flesh during the forty days correspond exactly to those manifestations which Jesus had made long previously, one of which was to Abraham. He ate and talked with Abraham; but Abraham knew not that he talked with the Lord, and thought of Him only as a man, because He appeared in human form and ordinary clothing. He vanished from Abraham's sight as He vanished from the Apostles' sight and from Saul's. He was a Spirit Being when He appeared to Abraham; and He was a Spirit Being after His resurrection, when [R5579 : page 347] He appeared to His Apostles. It was in the meantime that He was made flesh for the very purpose of suffering, the Just for the unjust.
Having accomplished the suffering, there was no further reason why our Lord should remain flesh. The Lord of Glory in Heaven is not flesh, not a man. If He were, He would be "a little lower than the angels." But the Apostle assures us that in His resurrection He has ascended far above the angels. – Phil. 2:9-11; Heb. 1:3,4.
It was just as easy for Jesus to appear in one form as another, in one kind of clothing as another. He appeared in various forms, that the double lesson might be impressed that He was not dead, and that He was no longer a man. His second appearance with the wounds to convince St. Thomas is especially noteworthy. He was ready to give any demonstration that was necessary, because, unless His disciples really believed in His resurrection, they could not do the work that was before them, nor could they even receive the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit was not given except to those who believed in Jesus – who accepted the fact of His death as the Sacrifice for sins and who trusted in Him as the Savior through whom would come the Divine blessing, begetting them of the Holy Spirit and restoring them to fellowship with God as children of God.
If further evidence be necessary that Jesus is not a flesh being – that He is no longer a man – that evidence can be found in the Apostle's assurance that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, and that therefore every member of the Church must be changed before he can enter into and share Christ's Kingdom. The change will be from earthly state, or condition, or soul, to spirit condition, or soul, or being. The Apostle declares that we must all be changed, that we may be like our Lord. If our fleshly body must give place to a spirit body in order that we may be like our Lord, it is manifest that He is a spirit body, a spirit being, a spirit soul. This also agrees with St. Paul, respecting the resurrection of the Church. He says, "It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown an animal body, it is raised a spirit body."
A totally different thing, however, is brought to our attention by the same Apostle in Philippians 3:21, where he declares that the Lord Jesus will "change our vile Body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body." The thought here is in respect to the Church as a whole, and not the individual bodies of the Church. The Apostle is speaking of our vile Body, in the singular. The thought is that Jesus, the Head of the Church, had His experiences of humiliation prior to His death and His resurrection. The Head of the Church was exalted, was glorified, more than eighteen centuries ago. Since then, all who have espoused His Cause have become identified with a Body, or company, that is despised of men, a humiliated Body, of which St. Paul says, "We are counted as the filth and offscouring of the earth." But at the Second Coming of Christ the humiliation of the Church, His Body, will cease, because the Lord will gloriously change His Body in the First Resurrection. Thereafter it will no longer be a Church, or Body, reviled but glorified.
"Studies in the Scriptures." India paper edition, fine sealskin binding, gold edges, light, small, beautiful, $4.80 (£1).
"Studies in the Scriptures." Morocco, over boards, gold edges, but on paper the same as the ordinary cloth edition, suitable for book-shelf $3.60 (15s) of six volumes, postpaid.
"Studies," Volume I., with Pyramid Chapter added. This special edition is very suitable for presentation to uninterested friends. Many have had their interest awakened by the reading of the Pyramid Chapter. We recommend this Volume for gift purposes. Postpaid 50c. (2s 1d), but, to stimulate its wide circulation, ten copies for $2.50 (10s 10d).
Scenario of the Photo-Drama of Creation. The ninety-six short, pithy lectures of the Creation Drama can be supplied in print in four styles:
(1) A free edition with one picture to each page.
(2) A pamphlet edition with four times as many illustrations. Price 10c. each part – three parts complete 25c. – postage included.
(3) The same in cloth binding under one cover complete for 50c., postage included.
(4) The same de luxe, gilt edges, finer paper, $1 each, postage included.
This should be in every home. Its lessons are most entertaining and instructive for old and young. It has no peer.
Wherever the Drama has been shown should be excellent territory for colporteuring these Scenarios. Terms in lots of one hundred copies by freight or express, charges collect – one-half the above retail prices.
Classes bunching their orders are entitled to colporteur rates on similar quantities.
"Poems of Dawn." Nearly three hundred very choice poems topically divided, the very thing each should have near him for a leisure moment. The value of these as spiritual stimulants is inestimable. They can be appreciated by all Christians, though of course especially by those possessing a knowledge of Present Truth. Postpaid in cloth binding 25c. (1s); leather-bound 50c. (2s 1d).
"In the Garden of the Lord." This little booklet is a choice poem from the pen of Sister Seibert. It contains sixteen colored illustrations, twenty-four pages. Postpaid 6c. (3d) each; per dozen 65c. (2s 8d).
Choice Motto Cards for home embellishment and spiritual refreshment.
Packet Mz, containing fifteen small cards with different texts, postpaid 50c. (2s 1d).
Number Ma, containing fifteen small and six a little larger sized cards, $1 (4s 2d).
Number Mc, containing six small and six medium-sized cards, $1 (4s 2d).
Number Me, containing two large and two medium cards. $1 (4s 2d).
Where $5 (£1 10d) worth of these are sent to one address the saving in package and expressage would be 50c., making the price $4.50 (18s 9d). Order by number only.
Postcards. Assorted mottoes and designs, 15c. (7½d) per dozen; two dozen, 25c. (1s ½d); 100 for $1 (4s 2d).
Memory Cards. We have two different sets of these – No. 1 and No. 2. Colors of the cards indicate the topic. As for instance, purple represents royalty and the Kingdom, garnet represents the redeeming blood, etc. On one side of the cards are texts appropriate to the color. On the reverse side of the card is the citation of where it is found. Fifty cards to the pack, 25c. (1s 1d) per pack, postpaid. These can be used personally or with a company of friends. The design is to commit the text to memory and its citation. Many have found these very useful.
Jerusalem Remembrancers of Olivewood. Brother Russell purchased a quantity of these on the occasion of his last visit to Jerusalem. We still have some paper weights remaining – made of olivewood highly polished. Postpaid 10c. (5d) each. In quantities, 80c. (3s 4d) per dozen.
Write your letters and correct P.O. address very plainly; also give name of nearest express company.
Write your orders on a separate sheet of paper from your letter. If answering a letter marked File A, File R, or otherwise, refer to it in the opening paragraph of your letter.
[SEE OVER] We commend also, as aids, the following publications (not all our own), which we supply at specially low prices because of the assistance they lend to the study of God's Word. We mention these somewhat in the order in which they seem to us to be desirable aids.
Hereafter to distinguish our own special edition from other Bibles, we will refer to it as the "I.B.S.A." Bible. This Bible is becoming more and more indispensable to all readers as they learn how to use it. The translation, of course, is not at all different from that of other Bibles of the Common Version. We specially recommend it for its smallness of size, lightness of weight, and good-sized print, and above all for the helps to Bible students and teachers bound with it; printed on India paper; excellent press work. Its special feature, distinguishing this Bible from all others, is
BIBLE TEACHERS' MANUAL. Part I.
Biblical Comments from Genesis to Revelation, with references to the STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES and others of our publications showing the page where the text is more fully discussed and elaborated. We can scarcely imagine anything more helpful than these for Bible study. It is so easy to turn to the reference and ascertain if the matter has been treated and where and how. It represents four hundred and eighty-one pages of matter.
Part II. INSTRUCTORS' GUIDE TEXTS.
This is a topical arrangement of Bible subjects specially convenient for those who have opportunity for teaching others the Divine Plan of the Ages. Its various Topics are arranged under distinct headings and the various texts bearing upon the subjects are collated. With this help a novice has at his command, well-furnished, "the Sword of the Spirit." It is in condensed form, very convenient, and consists of eighteen pages solid matter.
Part III. BEREAN TOPICAL INDEX.
The Berean Topical Index, alphabetically arranged, presents a large variety of subjects showing references to the STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES and others of our publications treating the same. This feature covers twenty-eight pages.
Part IV. DIFFICULT TEXTS EXPLAINED. SPURIOUS PASSAGES NOTED.
In this, specially difficult texts are brought to the attention and references given showing where they are treated in our publications. Following this is a full list of various interpolations and spurious passages of the Scriptures not in the original MSS., as proven by the oldest Greek MSS. – fifteen pages.
These four features, representing five hundred and forty-two pages, are not to be found in any other Bibles on earth and, in our opinion, they are of almost priceless value. One of our interested readers if he could not procure another would not sell his copy for a hundred dollars – many of them surely would not take thousands for it.
All of our "I.B.S.A." Bibles contain the above, and some of them, the numbers of which end with a nine, contain additionally Bagster's Bible Study Helps, including an alphabetical index of proper names and Bagster's Bible Concordance and Maps – a total of one hundred and eighty-six pages.
We not only supply these Bibles at cost price, but, because of the large quantities ordered at a time, we are enabled to secure a cost price which is really phenomenal. The very low prices must not lead you to think that these are manufactured in any slipshod manner. They are first class in every particular. The prices are, many of them, less than one-half of what you pay for such books almost anywhere else.
So great is the demand for these "I.B.S.A." Bibles that hereafter we purpose carrying no others in stock except pocket Bibles and large type Bibles for the aged. We will still, however, be pleased to serve anyone who desires other Bibles. We can procure for these wholesale rates, usually twenty-five per cent. off, plus postage.
DESCRIPTION AND PRICES – "I.B.S.A." BIBLES
1918, price $1.65, postage prepaid, is a beautiful book. It is small and light. Size 4¾ x 6¾ inches. It has minion type, red under gold edges, divinity circuit, French Seal. Looks like the genuine sealskin, but it is in reality good sheepskin.
Number 1919, price $1.75, postage prepaid; the same book, the same Bible; the same every way except the addition of Bagster Helps, Concordances, etc., making this size a trifle larger.
Number 1928, price $2.65, postage prepaid. This is the same book exactly as number 1918, except that it has genuine morocco binding; leather-lined.
LITTLE LARGER, IONIC TYPE, SELF-PRONOUNCING
Number 1939, price $1.95, postage prepaid. This is the same book as 1919, the same binding and contents, but it has a coarser print and is a little larger book. Size, 5½ x 7½ inches.
Number 1959, price $3.65, postage prepaid. This is the same book as 1939 except that it has splendid morocco binding, is calf-lined and silk-sewed. Bibles similar in quality and finish are listed in many catalogues at $8.
The sale of these books is not restricted to WATCH TOWER readers. They are valuable aids in Bible study, and open to the public.
Remit with order. We can secure such prices only by paying spot cash and must sell on the same terms. Insurance, 5c. additional.
Anyone ordering patent index on any of these Bibles should so state and should add twenty-five cents to the price. Should any desire other Bibles we will be pleased to supply publisher's catalogue, giving full description and prices. We are usually able to secure a discount of 25 per cent. on the publishers' list prices.
The demand for this publication increases year by year.
Our present edition of the "Manna" contains the same texts and comments as all former editions. Every alternate leaf is blank-ruled, for use as an autograph and birthday record. Its value increases as additional autographs of friends are secured. It is printed on fine bond paper. We now have it in three different grades of binding, at very reasonable prices, considering the class of workmanship.
The following wholesale rates postpaid are granted to all WATCH TOWER subscribers:
Purple cloth, silver embossed....................................$0.35 Dark blue cloth, silver embossed, German......................... .35 Leatherette, blue edges, Swedish and Norwegian................... .35 Leatherette, gold edges, Swedish and Norwegian................... .65 Genuine Morocco, gold edges, English and Norwegian............... 1.10
We hope this little book will find a place at every breakfast table; that spiritual refreshment may thus be enjoyed with the natural food.
This very valuable work, published under the author's copyright by Fowler & Wells Co., New York City, has been sold by them at $4 in cloth and $5 in half leather binding. For several years a friend, an earnest Bible student, desirous of assisting the readers of our Society's publications, has supplied them through us at a greatly reduced price; now he has purchased the copyright and plates from the Fowler & Wells Co., and presented the same to our Society as a gift that the poor of the Lord's flock may have this help in the study of the Word.
REDUCED PRICES. – This will be sold with THE WATCH TOWER only. On thin paper, in full morocco leather, divinity circuit, red under gold edges, silk sewed, leather lined, $2.50 (10s. 6d.) includes postage and one year's subscription to THE WATCH TOWER.
This is the ordinary Common Version in cloth binding. As footnotes it gives the reading of the three oldest Greek MSS., Sinaiticus, Vaticanus and Alexandrine, wherever these differ from the Common Version. This is a very valuable little work, published in Europe, which we specially import. Price, 50c., including postage.
This is the standard translation amongst English reading Hebrews, by one of their own rabbis. It is not perfect, but is a valuable aid in critical study of the Old Testament. Our special price, in leather binding, including postage, is $1.10.
In English, Hebrew and Greek, by Prof. Young (Presbyterian). A valuable work for all critical students. We are not permitted by the publishers to cut their price, but we may and do give in addition, postage free, any four volumes of STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES, cloth binding, with each Concordance, or six volumes if purchaser pays expressage. Postpaid, cloth binding, $6.
In English, Hebrew and Greek, by Prof. Strong (Methodist). This is also an able work and useful in critical study. It has some advantages over Young's; after getting used to it we prefer it. Special reduced prices in cloth binding, $3.96; half leather, $5.96.
A valuable work, but scarcely necessary to those who have either of the above mentioned. English only. Cloth binding, $1, delivered.
This is one of the most desirable editions of Prof. Smith's work. It is a large volume of 1,020 pages. Cloth binding, $1.30, including postage.
This is the best book of its kind we have ever seen. It presents the Bible stories in simple, but not childish language, and seems remarkably free from the bad theology so common in this class of books. All Christian parents should have a Sunday Bible lesson with their children, and this book furnishes interesting topics, to which may be added as much concordant "Present Truth" as the age of the children will justify. Parents are responsible for their children's training in theology as well as in morals.
624 pages, 250 illustrations; cloth sides, leather back and corners, gilt edges. A subscription book at $3. Our special price, $1, postpaid.
Hymns of Dawn, with music (cloth)................................$0.35 Hymns of Dawn, without music (flexible).......................... .06 Poems of Dawn (leather) 50c.; cloth.............................. .25 Memorizing Text-Cards (100 in pkg. – two assortments, Nos. 1 and 2), per pkg..................................................... .25 CHARTS (Blue Prints, soft cloth): Plan of the Ages, 5 ft., $1.00; 8 ft............................ 1.50 Chronology of the Bible, 8 ft................................... 1.50 Tabernacle of the Wilderness, 8 ft.............................. 1.50 BINDERS for THE WATCH TOWER: Spring Back (holds 1 yr.)....................................... .50 CROSS & CROWN PINS (Gold, with red enamel): ½" and ⅝" (ladies' or gents' style) each..................$1 and 1.15 ⅝" celluloid, per doz. 25c.; each............................... .03 Missionary Envelopes, per hundred, 25c.; per M................... 2.00 Vow Bookmarks (paper) 25c. per 100; (silk) each.................. .05 Booklets (on Hell, Spiritism, Evolution, Tabernacle Shadows, Our Lord's Return), also Berean Question Booklets on each volume of SCRIPTURE STUDIES each 5c.; per doz.......................... .50 Report on Foreign Missions, each................................. .05 Tracts in all languages.......................................... FREE
"Of His own will begat He us with the Word of Truth." – James 1:18.
In inviting His disciples to follow Him, our Lord made it very plain that in so doing they must of necessity be baptized into His death and partake of His cup of suffering, that they might live and reign with Him. Throughout the Scriptures it is pointed out that the Church are to be members of the Body of Christ, of which He is the Head. They declare that He is our Forerunner, the Captain of our salvation; that "as He was, so are we, in this world"; that His experiences are to be our experiences. They declare that He is "leading many sons" – His brethren – to God, to glory.
The steps that we are to take, then, are exactly the steps that He took whom we are to follow. He is our great Pattern. We are enabled by faith to see, under Divine guidance, the redemption which Jesus accomplished [R5580 : page 349] for us, and our opportunity of becoming His disciples, of being baptized into His death. Baptism into death would be far from desirable, unless there were some way by which it might be made a gateway unto life; and this way was provided by God. It was opened first for His Son.
In the type of the Atonement Day, our Lord's human nature was represented in the bullock, which was offered for sacrifice. The high priest, clothed in the white linen garments of sacrifice, represented Him as a spirit-begotten New Creature, after His human sacrifice was accepted, and while the actual consuming of His human body was in process. The high priest, clothed in the "garments of glory and beauty," represented Him after His resurrection to the Divine nature, after He was born of the Spirit and highly exalted to glory, honor and immortality by the Father, as a reward for His faithfulness. – John 3:3-8.
So at the time when we present ourselves to God in consecration, and our sacrifice is accepted of Him, we die as men; but we are likewise begotten to the new nature, the new life. And this new life, begotten from above, continues to grow by the assimilation of spiritual nourishment, until it will, in due time, be born a fully developed spirit being, like unto our Lord. (1 John 3:2; Romans 8:29.) This process and its outcome are brought to our attention in the Scripture which declares of our Lord that He was "the First-born from the dead." And this word born [gennao, in the Greek] is the same word which is translated begotten. It relates to the entire process of bringing forth. This is a progressive matter; first there is the begetting, then the period of gestation, then birth.
Our Lord's baptism to the new life was at the time He made His consecration unto death at His baptism. The New Creature there begun was growing during the three and a half years thereafter. This period, as before mentioned, was represented in the high priest in the type. At His baptism He was begotten as a Son of God on the highest plane – the Divine. John the Baptist here bore witness of Him, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from Heaven like a dove, and it abode upon Him." The record of the Scriptures is that only those who are begotten of the Spirit can see spiritual things. – 1 Corinthians 2:9-16.
It is asked: Why is it that a fact of so great importance as the Lord's begetting of the Spirit is not stated in so many words, but must be proven by deduction? We reply: To those who are spiritually minded there is very strong evidence indeed, yet it might be passed over by others and not recognized at all. This is likewise true of other important Scriptural doctrines. There is one Scripture which declares that through the exceeding great and precious promises we may be made partakers of the Divine nature. Other Scriptures state that the followers of Christ shall share His glory, honor and immortality. These latter Scriptures imply the same thing as the first, though only the one text (2 Peter 1:4) states the matter in just those words.
In respect to our Lord's resurrection, it is declared that "He was put to death in flesh, and made alive in Spirit." (1 Peter 3:18 – Diaglott.) This Scripture does not say that He was raised a Spirit, but this is the evident meaning; and we know that this was the case: "Now the Lord is that Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:17.) In Colossians 1:18 we read of our Lord: "And He is the Head of the Body, the Church, who is the beginning [of this New Creation], the First-born from the dead." As our Lord was born from the dead a spirit Being, He must have been previously begotten of the Spirit, as birth is always preceded by begetting.
In speaking of the resurrection of the Church, which is declared to be Christ's resurrection (Philippians 3:10), the Apostle Paul says: "It is sown an animal body, it is raised a spiritual body." So it is "here a little and there a little" that we must find these precious truths. This seems to be the way in which the Lord has prepared the Bible – giving here a little and there a little of these jewels of Truth. Those who are superficial in their search will overlook the most important features of Truth, to find later that they have only a small part.
As we search the Scriptures, and learn how to rightly divide and rightly combine its various elements, now that the dawning light of the New Dispensation is shining on the Word, making it more luminous to our view, we see the wonderful whole – the great Plan that we and others had previously passed over and failed to discern. Those who are not of the right class will not be able to see the Truth in all its wondrous clearness, beauty and harmony. If we have the right spirit as children of God, we shall want to know what God has in reservation for His people.
This gives an opportunity for the operation of the Spirit of the Truth upon our hearts and minds. This desire leads us to come together for Bible study, when the worldly would say: Let us play billiards or chess or pool. They complain to us: You have already read that Bible several times. We tell them that we have and with a great deal of blessing.
Thus, as we are desiring to know the Lord's Plan and His will concerning us, He reveals it to us more and more; and thus, little by little, we gain a great aggregate of Truth, which greatly rejoices our hearts, gives us an intelligent understanding of the wonderful day in which we are living, and gives us calmness and confidence, while the hearts of others are failing them for fear.
We feel sure you will be glad to hear of the splendid witness that is being given by means of the PHOTO-DRAMA OF CREATION at The London Opera House, Kingsway. The guiding hand of the Lord has been so wonderfully manifest in every detail of this exhibition that the brethren are rejoicing greatly in the privilege of having a share in it. In fact, they are realizing that the message of the PHOTO-DRAMA is the only one that can bring comfort to the hearts of the people in these distressing times.
It had always been our desire to secure the Opera House for a presentation of the PHOTO-DRAMA, as it is, without doubt, the most suitable building in London for that purpose; but the state of our treasury did not admit of the payment of the large sum required to rent the place. We had, however, given the Solicitor of the Opera House to understand that we should be glad to enter into negotiations for the house if he could make a more favorable offer. About the beginning of October a letter was received from the Solicitor, stating that they had a period free from October 12th to October 27th which they could offer us. On receipt of this we immediately called upon them and told them that we had spent most of the money allotted for this particular purpose, that their offer had come too late. Upon going thoroughly into the matter, an offer was made of £100 for the hire of the building. Mr. Wylie, the Solicitor, who has lately evinced considerable interest in our work, closed with the offer. He has since visited the exhibition on two occasions, and states that the interest aroused in him has led him to read his Bible after many years of neglect.
It was resolved to advertise this presentation by means of a distribution of 400,000 DRAMA tracts. Although only a week elapsed between the definite booking of the Opera House and the commencement of the exhibition, the brethren entered into the work of distribution with such a zeal that practically all the tracts were given out before the opening day. In addition to the ordinary means of advertising by posters, circulars, etc., a large number of window-cards were produced and these proved very effective. Some of the brethren called upon large business houses, warehouses, stores, hotels, hospitals and all places likely to engage a large staff, with the show-cards and supply of tickets, which they were generally pleased to accept. Some houses desired as many as 500 tickets, which they guaranteed to distribute amongst their staff. In the same manner they called upon P.S.A.'s, Men's Bible Classes, Sunday Schools, etc., requesting them to announce the DRAMA to their members and providing them with tickets; it was reckoned that 90% of the places thus visited co-operated with us in this matter. As there were a great number of boxes available in the Opera House, special invitation cards for these were sent out to the aristocracy and persons of good address in London; and, as a result, our boxes were nearly always filled by a class of people that the DRAMA has not hitherto touched to any extent.
Having done our utmost to make the presentation public, we anxiously awaited its first exhibition on the afternoon of Monday, October 12th. A large number of brethren were required for ushering, stewarding and other duties connected with the exhibition; and all realized their great privilege of service and fulfilled their duties faithfully and well. Many of the public commented on the orderly and gracious manner in which everything was carried out. One gentleman who attended was so greatly impressed by the dignified and courteous manner in which the sisters performed their duties, that he particularly asked his mother to come to see how the DRAMA was conducted, as he felt sure that all who were taking [R5581 : page 350] part in it were Christians. At his suggestion she came the next day and enjoyed a time of fellowship with several of the ushers, and also on the succeeding Sunday at the Tabernacle. Another gentleman stated that he had been grossly misinformed regarding Pastor Russell and his teachings; for he saw the effect they had upon those who were helping to present them. He is a leader of a large Men's Bible Class, which he intends to bring to the DRAMA. Another stated that the spirit of the workers showed him that it was not a theatrical display, but that the work was being done for the glory of God. Each day, before the commencement, the brethren assembled to sing a hymn of praise and to request the Lord's blessing upon all the proceedings.
The audiences on the first day were not large, but the two following days noted good increases, while on the evening of the fourth day our house was completely filled, as was the case almost every subsequent evening. The public seemed so eager to witness the DRAMA that many hundreds waited in a queue outside for a long time, in order to gain admission and even then, because of the limitations of the house, we were compelled to turn away a great many. Quite a crowd, however, waited at the door for nearly an hour in the hope that some of the audience might come out at the intermission, when they would take their places. It was deemed wise not to admit children; but on Saturday and Sunday afternoons they were permitted to come in if attended by adults.
Our audiences were made up from all classes and kinds of people; we have noted many of the clergy in attendance. One vicar wished to know the object of the PHOTO-DRAMA. When we explained this to him, he seemed intensely interested and expressed his joy that this beautiful building should be used for such a worthy purpose. He asked for tickets that he and his wife might come and see it again. A Church of England Rector has attended the DRAMA several times, and found it so interesting that he has purchased five bound scenarios and has brought many of his friends to witness it. Two bishops have also been present, and several titled people.
Each day we receive, by mail, a great number of requests for tickets; and many of the applicants express their appreciation of the PHOTO-DRAMA. The following letter is from a gentleman who sends us a donation for the work: "I beg of you to accept the enclosed token of my appreciation of the beautiful pictures being shown by you at the London Opera House. I am convinced of the vast amount of good that is being done by the films and lectures. Let me add that I cannot but admire the disinterested spirit in which this good work is being carried out, especially in this self-seeking, commercial age." We had a letter, too, from a minister who, after seeing the DRAMA, writes, "While I could not see eye to eye with all Pastor Russell's views I must testify to his faithful Scriptural delineations. As a Biblical student I feel bound to wish him and his workers God-speed in their attack on the anti-Scriptural and God-dishonoring doctrine of eternal torment." He further requests that, if possible, one of our speakers come and address his Bible Class on the topic, "Pastor Russell's Message to the World."
We have been impressed by the manner in which the public assist us in advertising the DRAMA with the least expense. Many apply for window-cards that they may exhibit them in their shops, etc.; and others take supplies of tickets to distribute amongst their friends. Practically all who attend seem to be deeply interested in what they see and hear. The serious times in which we are living seem to be preparing the hearts of some to receive the truth. At the conclusion of one session a lady came to one of the stewards and said, "I have been to all the pictures and lectures, and I feel I must thank somebody. I do not know whom to thank; there seems to be nobody; so I want you to convey my message of thanks and appreciation to the right quarter." Another lady told us she had inquired at the Religious Tract Society's office respecting the PHOTO-DRAMA, and was strongly urged not to go; but she was evidently so impressed by the advertisement that she decided otherwise. She was delighted with the Message and considered it the finest thing that had yet been done to bring the people back to the Bible – which fact she did not fail to impress upon the R.T.S. officials.
At the intermission the lady ushers give opportunity of purchasing the Scenario to any who desire to do so; and, as a result, a great number of these have been sold. Altogether we have disposed of nearly 2,300 scenarios during the fifteen days. We enclose a detailed report of the attendances and scenarios sold for each day, from which you will see that very few of the latter were sold on the Sundays. The reason for this is that we did not mention the sale on Sundays, as a great many Christian people object to the sale of books on Sunday, and this might prove a stumbling-block to some who might otherwise have received the truth, as well as giving a better impression to the people in general.
Remarks regarding the beauty and acceptableness of the exhibition are frequent, and surprise is often shown at the generosity of so good a show being free. Expressions of appreciation have been offered by people of standing. One such lady stated, after the Finale, that it was good to come in touch with those who had a message of comfort and hope. Another expressed her intention of attending the Tabernacle. Both had signed cards.
These, and many other evidences of interest amongst those who were attending the DRAMA, gave us great encouragement and reason to suppose that we would have a most successful Finale. This took place on Tuesday, the 27th of October; and our hopes were realized in every way. In the afternoon, over a thousand people were present, while in the evening, the house was completely filled and hundreds were turned away, being unable to gain admission. Brother Hemery [R5581 : page 351] gave the lectures on both occasions; and at the conclusion many seemed eager to sign their cards, a total of twelve hundred being received.
Owing to the increasing interest in this particular presentation, we have arranged to continue at the Opera House for another twelve days, report of which will follow later.
Truly, the people appreciate the Message that the DRAMA has to give. It demands even the respect of openly avowed agnostics and is making many realize that Jehovah is their Rock and their Fortress, their Strength, in whom they will trust. With much love in the Lord as ever, we are,
Your brethren and fellow-laborers,
After a long, but unintentional silence, I will write to you again, hoping these lines will find you in good health, as they leave me.
Many things have happened over here since I last wrote to you. The newspapers in America must keep you posted about them. Respecting our personal experiences I can tell you, dear Brother, that the Lord has kept us wonderfully; we cannot thank Him enough for His goodness toward us.
Our dear friends at Muelhausen have passed through dreadful times; the city and surroundings have been twice the scene of very hot battles, where thousands of French and German soldiers have lost their lives. Within four weeks Muelhausen has been twice in French and three times in German possession, and even today the fights about Alsace continue. As the border between Switzerland and Germany, e.g., between Basel and Muelhausen, was closed for several weeks, we were left entirely without news from them. Lately, venturing to cross the border in order to visit the brethren, I learned of their wonderful preservation – for not one was hurt. They send you special greetings and ask you to continue to remember them in prayer that they may be kept faithful unto the end.
Our dear friends in Belgium and North France must have suffered much, too; I am sorry to say it is quite impossible to communicate with them.
Here in Switzerland, and especially in Basel, there was very great excitement; many people thought the "end of the world" was coming. All our army was called in and still guards the borders against invasion. Spiritually we had a good season, for very many who didn't believe our Message before are now on our side. The meeting halls are always overcrowded, and we have to look for larger halls. All public lectures are under the military censor; but they are not so strict here as in Germany.
By all these practical experiences we are more than ever convinced that the end of the present order of things is at hand and the Messianic Kingdom will soon be established. How we all do long for the realization of this grand hope and sure expectation! How true is the chronology and how precise its fulfilment! We are glad that we never gave up our expectations for 1914.
Re PHOTO-DRAMA: As the slides came so late, we were only ready for public presentation in Berne the very day the mobilization decree came out, disturbing the whole arrangement. Brother Krull will no doubt have given you an oral report of our experiences.
The first two weeks in August everything seemed upside down; but when the people became a little more quiet we profited thereby and started the Drama – though still under many difficulties. While all other cinematographic shows were shut by the Government, I succeeded in getting a permit for two weeks, but we were allowed to operate only four times a week. We had the large, magnificent hall on the Exhibition [R5582 : page 351] grounds packed full every time (1,400 visitors), so that more than 12,000 people saw and profited thereby.
Tomorrow we start again in Zurich (largest city in Switzerland). As we have no phonograph records I must read the lectures.
In France we were not able to do anything. Many of the brethren are in military service, and I might be called in any day.
The bank in Berne, where you sent the money, and which was, under normal conditions, a safe one, shut its doors, like all other banks, allowing only very small sums to go out. I succeeded, however, in getting more than half of the money by the following transaction: As the Government had put its hand over the banks, and as the brethren needed food, we put up a large stock of the most necessary articles, and the merchants, presenting their bills for this cause to the bank, received payment, as this was in the interest of the Government. As the social conditions will be still worse in winter we may be glad to have this lot of rice, dried bread, beans, condensed milk, etc.
I hope you approve this action, and would be glad if you could advise us of other good means for ameliorating the great tribulation which came so unexpectedly upon Europe. Many people have no work and many brethren in the Truth have lost their positions. We tried to employ some as Colporteurs, but the people of the cities have little money and cannot buy books. In the country the people are in better circumstances and the Colporteurs sell a few books every day. So we are trying to continue the Harvest work until our Master calls us to the Harvest beyond the veil.
We may not be able to communicate with each other much longer, and I take this opportunity to say again how much I love you, including with myself my wife and many other dear friends, all of whom appreciate the love and interest you have always manifested toward us.
Soon you will hear the blessed words, "Well done, good and faithful Servant! Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will now make thee ruler over many things, enter thou into the joys of thy Lord."
With hearty greetings to you and the Household of Faith at Bethel, I remain,
Your thankful brother in the Lord,
A lady had advertised a Lodge meeting for the same night and at the same hall, not knowing we had rented the hall. She had secured a number of new members to be initiated. When she came she found the "picture-show" in progress, and began to devise means of getting the people out of our meeting.
She sent the Town Marshall to notify them to come out. He saw the pictures and sat down and stayed until the close. Finding the Town Marshall did not return, she asked our doorkeeper to help her. He replied that he could not see how he could get the people out; so she sent another man up. After looking over the shoulders of about thirty who were standing, he returned to the lady and said, "Lady, you had better go home; they have the finest pictures I ever saw, and there is the 'talkiest' man up there I ever heard!"
She had six gallons of ice cream to treat her crowd, but she didn't get a chance to use it. "God moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform."
Our prayers go up daily for the Heads of the various departments of the Tabernacle Office, that they may have more grace and wisdom in the work that remains to be accomplished. Love to all.
Yours by His grace,
We are having some glorious encouragements in the work. There are wonderful crowds out here in Demorest. One man said, "It disgusts me to see how some of the very people who have misrepresented you folks are on hand early, and crowd forward to get the best seats."
The Methodist minister was present on Sunday when part three was shown. During the crucifixion scene the power was temporarily shut off. While waiting for its return he got up and spoke of the wonderful impression made by the pictures, and told the people that they ought to have a deeper realization of what the Savior had done for them as a result of the PHOTO-DRAMA OF CREATION.
Truly our God is a wonder-working God. What faith these things should develop in us!
A brother was telling at Convention about some ministers at a certain place where Drama was being shown, who were worrying for fear people would think they had something to do with it. A merchant present remarked, "There is no danger people will connect you with it, because it is conspicuously announced there will be no collection."
Yours in Christian Love,