No. 412
My dear Brethren: Grace and peace through our Beloved Master!
“Now all these things happened unto them [the Jews] for ensamples [types –see margin]: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world [the Ages] are come.” (1 Cor. 10:11) The various types described by St. Paul in this particular chapter of Corinthians have to do with the Jews after they left Egypt – during their forty years of wandering in the Wilderness of Sin, which we have discussed in a previous paper. But their delivery from the Egyptian army in the Red Sea is perhaps the grandest, most interesting and most instructive of all the Old Testament types, because it offers much detail and illumination about the delivery of the “sheep” and the destruction of the “goats” at the full end of the Little Season. (Matt. 25:31-46; 1 Cor. 15:24) The destruction in the Red Sea has to do with the final elimination of sin from the earth.
Before treating of the type proper it would seem to be in order to relate the circumstances leading up to its full accomplishment. “The children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled [swarmed] with them.” (Ex. 1:7) However, some years before this became fact, “Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. There arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.” (Ex. 1:6,8)
The first fourteen chapters of Exodus give typical information on the time from the end of the flood until the Age following the Little Season – that Age that will be entirely free from sin, with no evil personages to be found anywhere in it. “And Israel [typical of the “sheep” at that time] saw that great work which the Lord had done upon the Egyptians [by destroying the entire Egyptian army in the Red Sea]: and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses.” (Ex 14:31)
The bulk of these chapters is typical of conditions during the second world – “this present evil world” – from the end of the flood until the establishment of the earthly phase of the Kingdom, with chapters 14 and 15 typing Millennial and post Millennial conditions. Egypt, as a land, in this picture types “this present evil world” from the flood to the Millennium. “And their dead bodies [the Old and New Testaments] shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.” (Rev. 11:8) Pharaoh, king of Egypt, types Satan as “the god of this world.” (Eph. 2:2; 2 Cor. 4:4) The Israelites type God’s people during the Patriarchal, the Jewish, the Gospel Ages, and those who will yet become God’s people in the next Age. Israel’s oppression represents the oppression of the race under the curse of sin and death; whereas, the Egyptians type Satan’s servants, their nobles typing the fallen angels and prominent leaders among the human race, the balance of the Egyptians typing the generality of Satan’s servants. The “taskmasters” (Ex. 1:11) that Pharaoh placed over them type sin, error and death.
It is stated that the Israelites “increased abundantly” (swarmed). It is scientifically true that the air of Egypt is specially favorable to such rapid increase. If the Jews doubled in number every fifteen years, as it may easily have done at that time, the increase of seventy men (Ex. 1:5), with their wives, would amount to as many as 2,293,700 in two hundred years. During the Patriarchal Age, from the flood to the death of Jacob, God’s people were few. Their increase really began when they “multiplied” in Egypt, and has continued during the Jewish and Gospel Ages. Especially has this been true during the Gospel Age, with the Christians literally swarming in the more enlightened Caucasian countries.
The rise of “a new king, which knew not Joseph” types Satan in his capacity of not showing affection for, and benefaction toward God’s servants. The more eminent and capable and righteous their leaders were, the more Satan developed a dislike for them; and this prompted him to take a more oppressive attitude toward them. Pharaoh’s concern over the great increase of the Jews types Satan’s activity against Christians, especially during the Dark Ages, and up to the present time. The very word Christian was anathema to the millions of Chinese, Japanese, Mohammedan, etc., although these have now assumed a more tolerant attitude toward Christian countries because of their greater artistic and inventive genius. Almost all of the great inventions that have appeared since “the time of the end” began in 1799 (Dan. 12:4) have been produced by the Caucasian race – the first Bible Society in 1804, the steamboat in 1807, the steam locomotive in 1813, and so on with the typewriter, the telephone, the automobile, the airplane, etc.
And just as Pharaoh counseled his subjects to put the pressure on the Jews to prevent their increase, so has Satan done against true Christians. But, “the more they afflicted the Jews, the more they multiplied and grew.” (Ex. 1:12) The same has been true of Christians in the Gospel Age – “the blood of the martyrs has been the seed of the Church!” The persecutions have simply stimulated their spiritual might. The failure of harsh methods to retard the increase of the Jews then prompted Pharaoh to order the death of all male children at birth. (Ex. 1:16) However, the midwives “feared God” (v. 17), and did not carry out the order, which angered the king, and he gave orders that “every son that is born ye shall cast into the river.” (v. 22) This types Satan’s attempt to corrupt especially the leaders of the Jews after they left Egypt, and continued increasingly so during the Jewish Age and the Gospel Age.
It is historical fact that the plagues of the wilderness experiences, the spread of disease, famine, calamities and wars greatly increased the rigors of the dying process during the Jewish Age. The same has also been evident during the Gospel Age. Sin especially began to oppress God’s people during their wilderness journey, as is evident in the five great plagues as explained by St. Paul in 1 Cor. 10:1-11. After their entrance into Canaan their afflictions increased greatly – increasingly so whenever they had bad leadership, which was true a great part of the time, particularly after the rebellion of the ten tribes, when many of their kings forsook the Law and the counsel of the true prophets. And all of this was typical of what would follow in the Gospel Age, as the Christian leaders became more and more corrupt and fell into grievous errors of teaching and practice. This was one great factor contributing to the outbreak of the World War in 1914. It requires no elaboration to state that sin, error and death in this “evil day” are increasing at a tremendous rate since 1914.
The war in 1914 was the culmination of developed evils during the Gospel Age. St. Paul had predicted that there would be a “falling away” (2 Thes. 2:3), that it was already working in his day (2 Thes. 2:7). It really had developed in a pronounced way by about AD 315, when it was considered proper to unite the Church with the Roman Empire, which union quickly developed a debasing and secularizing spirit in teaching and practice. In chapters 17-19 of Revelation this union is blamed for all the false doctrines and secular spirit that gradually engulfed the church as a nauseating flood, embracing as it did the theoretical and practical elements of heathen religions – under Christian names. The revelator styled this combination as Babylon (confusion), which indeed it was.
This Babylonish union incited the leaders in civil and religious position to annihilate any leaders that might arise to oppose this contagion. Previous to AD 313 the Roman government had acted individually to rid itself of the Christians, the last pronounced effort of its kind being under Emperor Diocletian from 303 to 313 – the final years of the Smyrna period of the church. Smyrna means “bitter” and it fittingly describes the experiences of the church during that time. “The devil shall cast some of you into prison... and ye shall have tribulation ten [symbolic] days.” (Rev. 2:10) This would be ten literal years from 303 to 313.
MOSES ARRIVES
“He was a goodly child, she hid him three months... she took for him an ark of bulrushes... laid it in the flags by the river’s brink.” (Ex. 2:2, 3) Moses’ fine features and precociousness type our Lord’s splendid qualities of body, heart and mind from His temple presentation when He was forty days old (“present him to the Lord” – Luke 2:22) until He was twelve years old. The ark of bulrushes made waterproof types the careful religious teaching and character training that Mary, Joseph and the Levites bestowed upon the boy Jesus especially as He was approaching His twelfth year when He would soon undergo His “bar mitzvah” (Hebrew for “son of the commandment”), after which He would be considered an adult, responsible for His moral and religious duties.
“When Jesus was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast [the Passover].” (Luke 2:42) The story relates that Joseph and Mary then started back home, and did not miss the boy until they were a day’s journey gone. When they returned, they found Him in the temple “in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.” (Luke 2:46,47)
It is pertinent here to state that many of the better minds among the Jews memorized the entire Old Testament as a part of their religious education. In fact, in the early days of the Christian Church no one could be elected an elder in the church unless he had memorized the Old Testament. The historian Josephus relates of himself that, when he was only fourteen years of age, the priests often consulted him on certain features of the Law; and we may be sure that Jesus had a better mind than did Josephus. So it is probable that the boy Jesus had committed the entire Old Testament to memory by the time He was twelve years old.
In those days Jewish sectarianism was always on the lookout for brilliant young men to bolster their system; the same has been true of Christian sectarians during the Gospel Age. Of course, all sectarianism is of Satanic origin, because it so often closes the mind to the Truth. And Pharaoh’s daughter would well type these systems, since her father typed Satan himself. Moses being in shallow water would typify these systems being on the fringe of “this present world,” the Nile River as an overall picture representing the peoples of this world. Inasmuch as those Jewish leaders were rabidly sectarian at that time, they would enthusiastically embrace such a brilliant boy as Jesus then was.
The mother of Moses being called to nurse the baby was exactly what his parents had hoped to secure. In those days it was oriental custom to nurse an only child, or the youngest, for five years; and Moses’ bright mind would readily absorb this Jewish religious training, and lead him away from Egypt’s idolatry. As he continued in Pharaoh’s court for a total of forty years, but did not succumb to Egypt’s religion, so Jesus, after twelve years of age, did not become contaminated with Jewish sectarianism. Instead, He “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:52)
When Moses was forty years old he visited his people – “refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter... esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt.” (Heb. 11:24-26) And as he resented the “taskmaster” of Egypt, so our Lord, when He was come to full manhood and seeing the taskmaster death afflicting the human race, refused to join with Jewish sectarianism. “He was bruised for our iniquities.” (Isa. 53:5) “He was touched with the feeling of our infirmities” – physical, mental, artistic, moral and religious respects. (Heb. 4:15)
When Moses “slew the Egyptian,” and was forced to flee for his life (Ex. 2:12–15), he became completely separated from Egypt. So also our Lord, after His baptism in Jordan, completely separated Himself from the peoples of antitypical Egypt, represented by Moses losing himself in Midian for forty years, after which Moses was told by God to go back to Egypt to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage. Jesus likewise realized that His mission was to “bear witness to the Truth” (John 18:37), to free those who desired freedom from the bondage of antitypical Egypt – “if ye continue in my word... ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31, 32)
Before treating of the actual deliverance, it would seem in order here to discuss somewhat the plagues that were sent upon the Egyptians. The first was the water of the river turned into blood. (Ex. 7:20-25) “He smote the waters that were in the river... and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.” (v. 20) The second was the plague of frogs (Ex. 8:5-15). “The frogs came up, and covered the land.” (v. 6) Third came the plague of lice (Ex. 8:16-19). “Smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast.” (v. 17) Fourth, the plague of flies. (Ex. 8:21-24) “And Yahweh brought a grievous gad–fly into the house of Pharaoh, and the houses of his servants and in all the land of Egypt, and the land was laid waste by reason of the gadfly.” (v. 24, Rotherham) The gad–fly is much more vicious than the ordinary house fly, being defined by Webster as “a horsefly, botfly, or warble fly – that bite or annoy livestock.” Of course, such flies would be no respecter of persons – no reason to select the Egyptians instead of the Jews, unless restrained by some unseen power. Thus, this “first” of the seven last plagues must be described as a miracle of the first order; and only a befogged brain such as Pharaoh apparently possessed at the time would not be fully persuaded that he was making a fool of himself to continue his obdurate course.
The plagues were divided into two general groups – the first three, and the seven last plagues. Thus, the plague of flies is the first of the “seven last plagues.” Came then the fifth – No. 2 of the seven last plagues. (Ex. 9:3-7) “Upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep... a very grievous murrain” (v. 3), the same being a pestilence affecting domestic animals or plants. Next the plague of boils (Ex. 9:9-12) – “A boil breaking forth with brains upon man, and upon beast.” (v. 9) – (The third of the seven last plagues.) Then follows the plague of hail (Ex. 9:18-21) –“A very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof.” (v. 18) – (Type No. 4 of the seven last plagues.) Came next the plague of locusts (Ex. 10:4-7) – “Tomorrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast; and they shall cover the face of the earth.” (vs. 4,5) (Type No. 5 of the seven last plagues.) The sixth of the seven last plagues was a plague of darkness: “Darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.” (v. 21)
There is special significance in the expressions “first three plagues, and the seven last plagues.” The first three were general over Jews and Egyptians, but the seven last plagues were upon the Egyptians only; they did not plague the Jews at all. “I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there... and I will put a division between my people and thy people: tomorrow shall this sign be.” (Ex. 8:22,23) This significant protection was in itself a miracle, and should have taught Pharaoh a lesson, but “whom the gods would destroy they first strike blind.” although the Jews were markedly involved in the tenth plague – the death of the firstborn – they were not harmed by it.
THE DELIVERANCE
The foregoing is a very limited introduction to the actual deliverance of the Jews from Egypt (thru the tenth, or the last of the plagues), so we consider now some thoughts on Chapter 11 of Exodus, leading up to the institution of the Passover, and the beginning of the Law, with its wealth of types, the actual deliverance through the Red Sea being perhaps the grandest of them all. “The Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians.” (11:3) This first clause of v. 3 is poorly rendered in the King James version. The oldest Hebrew manuscript extant states it as follows: “For I will give the favor of the people in the sight of the Egyptians.”
Also, Ex. 11:2 is a very misleading rendition: “Let every man borrow of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.” Critics have pounced upon this text, declaring the Jews had no intention of ever repaying the Egyptians; therefore, they were defrauding them, and that God encouraged them in this evil. However, this text should be rendered. “Let every man ask,” etc. (from the Hebrew word “shaal,” which actually means “ask”). It is a historical fact that in the Orient, at the time we are discussing, it was common practice for a departing servant if he had been faithful – to “ask” for some reasonable compensation; and his employer was obligated to grant his request. Inasmuch as the Jews had been in Egypt about two hundred years as servants of the Egyptians, they were fully entitled to ask compensation for the work they had done.
Moses had spoken prophetically of the havoc, chagrin and sorrow that would result from the operation of the tenth plague: “About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt: and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it... But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the Lord cloth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.” (Ex. 11:4-7)
After the tenth plague had done its appalling work, the Egyptians were more than willing to comply with the Jews’ request for compensation, and they gave them generously of their silver and their gold. This is evident from the fact that, when Moses wished to construct the tabernacle in the wilderness, and asked the Jews for contributions of those precious metals to build the various pieces of furniture in the Holy and the Most Holy, they brought more than was necessary for the task at hand.
After the plague of locusts (Ex. 10:1-7) – plague No. 5 of the seven last plagues the Egyptians had had more than enough of the torments that had come upon them. “And Pharaoh’s servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?” (v. 7) Having had about all they could take after plague No. 8, we may readily understand why, after the next two – and especially so after the tenth plague which had killed all the firstborn of men and beasts – the Egyptians were more than willing to pay the Jews just to be gone, and leave them thenceforth alone. “There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.” (11:6)
PREPARATION FOR THE TENTH PLAGUE
The punishment that came upon all in Egypt – from the least unto the greatest – was typical of the punishment that came upon Christendom in 1914, when the great tribulation began, was intensified by the great world-wide depression from 1929 to 1933; and increased yet more in the second World War and the minor wars that have followed. The antitypical “taskmasters” have been doing their deadly work. All the religious sects in Christendom have been severely punished by these various features of the great tribulation, and this will be increased in the very near future.
Chapter twelve of Exodus gives exacting detail of how the Passover should be kept. “Speak ye unto the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb... without blemish, a male of the first year... from the sheep, or from the goats... keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side–posts and on the upper door post of the houses... and the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood I will pass over you.” (Ex. 12:3-13)
Here we have the origin of the Passover and the underlying meaning of the name. It is well to emphasize here that there was but one Passover – the one described above; the subsequent observances even to this day are but a “memorial” of that one Passover. “Ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons forever.” (v. 24) So also there is but one antitype – “Christ our passover” (1 Cor. 5:7). As we partake of the bread and the wine we are but keeping a memorial of the antitype – “This do in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19)
The exact date (Nisan 14), and the particular time of day (in the evening) are an exact guide for keeping the Memorial; also, the exact time for selecting the lamb (the tenth day of this month – v. 3), but it was not to be killed until the 14th day of that month. This is typical of Jesus presenting Himself to the Jews four days before He was crucified – observed throughout Christendom as Palm Sunday, although Jesus actually rode into Jerusalem on Monday, not Sunday.
Furthermore, the command to set the lamb aside on Nisan 10 must have been given to Moses some days before the tenth, as there was no means of quick communication at that time, and many of the Jews were housed some considerable distance away. Likewise, Ex. 12:2 (“this month shall be unto you the beginning of months”) infers that the command was given at the latest on Nisan 1. There is no particular significance to this so far as we know.
Nisan being indicated as the first month of the year involved a change in the Jewish calendar. Previously, the first month of the Fall – the month Tishri – had been the first month of the year. Consequently, thenceforth the Jews had a two–fold year, a secular year beginning in the Fall with the month Tishri, and an ecclesiastical year beginning in the Spring with the first month, Nisan, first called Abib.
There was an antitype in this change, which antitype is suggested in the name given to these two kinds of years, the secular year suggesting the earthly character of the dispensation before the present one, and the ecclesiastical year suggesting the spiritual character of the present dispensation. Thus, we understand the change from the secular to the ecclesiastical year to type the change from the previous dealings – especially from the Law through the Jewish Age to God’s dealings by grace during this Gospel Age. It is well established that God’s dealings with His people previous to this Age were along earthly, secular, lines; whereas, they have been along spiritual lines during the Gospel Age. Inasmuch as this change all hinged with the Passover, these conclusions seem to be entirely logical; they all forecast the events concerning “Christ our Passover.”
In the type (“a lamb for an house” – v. 3) a lamb was to serve for each house, each family. Thus each family was used to type the entire household of faith, and each lamb was used to type Jesus, our Lamb. Also, a lamb would very fittingly type Jesus’ innocence, purity and harmlessness – “a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1: 19). The unblemished condition of the lamb (v. 5) was required to type our Lord as perfect in His physical, mental, artistic, moral and religious faculties, as well as in His human character. Thus the freedom in His humanity from sin and error, and His perfection in every good thing were typed. “He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Cor. 5:21)
The lamb’s being a male was to type Christ’s perfect character strength as a human being; and its being a yearling was to guarantee its being a lamb, so that not as a sheep, but as a genuine lamb it might represent our Lord as the Lamb of God, not as the sheep of God. The stipulation that it might be the young of the sheep or goats was for the convenience of the Israelites, some having only the young of sheep, others having the young of goats, the provision being made broad enough to accommodate the actual possession of every Israelitish family; hence, nothing typical in this liberty of choice.
The order to keep the lamb for four days before killing it on Nisan 14 has two significant features, we think: So far as the Jews were concerned, having the lamb set aside for four days would surely impress the solemnity of the ceremony upon their minds and upon their hearts, thus putting them into the proper attitude for the awesome occasion; and there is nothing in the record to indicate that a single Jew did not adhere meticulously to every detail as it was told them through their elders – after they had received the instructions from Moses. (Ex. 12:21)
Secondly, though Jesus was marked for death on Nisan 10, AD 33, He was actually not put to death until Nisan 14. The charge that the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel should kill it, not before, but on the evening of the 14th, types Jesus so acting from Nisan 10 to Nisan 14 in His activities with the Jews during those four days that He gave them no opportunity to seize Him before the exact time that He was to be delivered up. His willing submission to them on the evening of Nisan 14 (the day actually began at 6 p.m. on Thursday evening), His forbidding the disciples to resist His accusers – and so on during that night through the trial before Pilate early Friday morning, then the cross itself – designate Him very emphatically as “the Lamb of God” to be put to death on Nisan 14. The whole house of nominal fleshly Israel became guilty through their leaders for His crucifixion; and His blood was upon all of them, as shown by the treatment they received at the hands of Roman Emperor Titus in 70 AD, when Jerusalem was almost completely obliterated, and the “wandering Jew” began the tribulation at the hands of the Gentiles.
The Jews at that time had two evenings, the first beginning about 3 p.m., and the second at 6 p.m. and ending at 9 p.m. Thus, slaying the lamb between the “two evenings” would place it at 6 p.m. This harmonizes the seeming difference in the statements of Matt. 14:15 and Matt. 14:23. Thus also was shown the end of the Jewish Age (which Age began at the death of Jacob 1812 BC), and the beginning of the Gospel Age. From this viewpoint the night of Nisan 14 would represent the entire Gospel Age – with each Jewish house and its occupants typing the entire Household of Faith during that time.
The sprinkling of the blood on the doorposts and on the lintel by the Jews types for us in this Gospel Age the “blood of Jesus Christ, which cleanseth us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7) It also reckons to all who come “under the blood” a righteousness they cannot attain on their own merit – “there is none righteous, no, not one.” (Rom. 3:10) Thus it provides for us forgiveness of sins. Therefore, the charge to eat the lamb’s flesh the night of Nisan 14 types the charge throughout the Gospel Age to partake by faith of Christ’s perfect humanity – His right to life, and His life-rights
That night the Jews were to eat the lamb with “loins girded, shoes on, staff in hand – eat it in haste.” (v. 11) Thus they would be ready for departure as soon as the command was given – for “against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment.” (v. 12) And this eventually occurred exactly as spoken.
Having given very briefly the events leading up to the Passover, and the actual act itself, we leave for a future article a discussion of the miracle destroying the Egyptian firstborn, then the grand finale of the great type – the destruction of the entire Egyptian army in the Red Sea, and what it tells us about the future. We pray the Lord’s blessing upon all who have read this far. “No trial has assailed you except what belongs to man. Wherefore, my beloved, flee away from image–worship.” (1 Cor. 10:13, 14, Dia.)
Sincerely your brother, John J. Hoefle, Pilgrim
(Reprint No. 265, July 1977)
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ISRAEL’S GREAT REGATHERING
St. Paul tells us that just as soon as the Gospel Church shall be completed, God’s favor will return to the Jews – return in the full sense. “Blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles [the full predestined number of the Church to be gathered from the Gentile nations] be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved. As it is written, There shall come out of Zion [the glorified Gospel Church, spiritual Zion] the Deliverer [The Christ, Head and Body, Jesus and His Bride], and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob [Natural Israel]: for this is My Covenant unto them when I take away their sins.” (Rom. 11:1-33)
The Lord purposed to take away all sins – the sins of Israel, the sins of those who were to constitute the Gospel Church, and the sins of the whole world. For this cause Christ was manifested, for this cause He died. This cancellation, or doing away with the sins of the whole world, will progress as each shall recognize the Heavenly gift of forgiveness and obey the Government.
The orthodox Jews, those who still hold to the teachings of the Law and Prophets, and have faith in God, will be the first to receive the blessings of the New Age. “As concerning the Gospel they are enemies for your [the Church’s] sakes; but as touching the election [the natural election], they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.” So, then, this condition of affliction in which the Jews have been throughout the Gospel Age, in addition to the overthrow of their nation in AD 70, has really been a favor from God. All the tribulation through which this people have passed during the entire “Seven Times” of chastisement will be finally found to have been to their advantage, preparing them for the blessings of Messiah’s Kingdom. The Church will be the first in the Kingdom, Natural Israel with the Ancient Worthies at their head will be the second. Subsequently all nations will come into Divine favor and blessing, becoming members of Israel. All will be blessed through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (What Pastor Russell Said, pp. 357, 358)
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LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST
Dear Emily,
As always, to get a letter from you is sheer joy! Thank you dearly for your kind letter. I am happy to see that your cataract operation is now behind you and that you are recuperating! And, too, I hope, of course, that the flu you were writing about, is now also as good as over and forgotten!
How is your eyesight now – and is your vision again as clear as it should be after such an operation? We keep our fingers crossed that things will further improve and that by now you are your own self again – active, forward-looking, doing and working and seeing the good and beautiful side of things in life!
Yes, I did receive your January paper. I am always amazed how much material you can put into such a relatively small space – and with such substance, which is the thing that matters! Yishar ko’ach! – i.e., more power to you!
You asked about my book [FAITH AND FULFILMENT], as far as I know, it still ought to be available... The German translation is scheduled to come out this coming fall.
As you know from the news-media, things here are far from easy in every respect. There is now a ‘care-taker’ Government which somehow ‘muddles through.’ I think we deserve better. Changes will come soon, I hope and pray – God willing.
Be well and take care. You have our blessing.
Cordially, Michael ------- (ISRAEL)
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Dear Sister Emily: Greetings in the Name of our Savior!
Today I have been so blessed with No. 409, about the Tabernacle. Please send me another to send to a sister I correspond with. This is my way to share and leave one free to subscribe if they want it. For if they don’t want it and just throw it away, it is such a waste to send several.
Those Consecrating Between the Ages to be accepted on the earthly plane, is exactly as I have come to believe. I rejected it for so long. This truth has grown slowly over several years. I do not accept new ideas without much pondering and prayer. You made reference to Reprint 4836. In my notes I also have “Share with the Great Company,” Reprint 4607, “Spirit-born after Millennium,” Reprint 4389, “Typified by Elisha,” Reprint 2341, and Second Volume 265, 266.
In “Construction of the Tabernacle,” p. 2, it was a new idea to me: the boards standing up, being alive and growing (or being alive and groaning as we all are – Ha!) The boards were stood on end, well seasoned to be as light as possible for moving. This was not green wood unsuitable for construction. It took me a couple of readings to understand the beauty of the thought. On p. 3 “more people came into the Truth than there were crowns available.” O yes! The earthly work of restitution will be where the sincere ones can serve.
This changeable weather has caused so many to have colds. I finished reading the Reprints. Will be looking for “Loosing the Four Winds of Heaven.” Yes, I believe the Church is complete.
Love and prayers, ------- (SOUTH CAROLINA)
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