No. 353
“Thou shalt call His name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins.” (Matt. 1:21) In olden times it was customary for parents to give their children names which would represent their wishes or desires or hopes for the child’s destiny, and which would therefore be in measure prophetic of their future. The Bible mentions a few instances in which God Himself indicated the name, and thus prophetically marked the child in advance. One of these cases is the name in our text. Through His angel God had directed that the babe, miraculously born of the Virgin Mary, should be named Jesus, signifying deliverer, savior. In the Hebrew language this name is Joshua, or Yeshua. Thus the angel’s message was a prophecy that the babe to be named Jesus was the One appointed of God to deliver His people from their sins. It should be noted that Mary was not told to name him Jesus Christ. The word Christ means ‘anointed’ – and he did not become the Christ until He was ‘anointed’ with the Holy Spirit after His baptism by John in the River Jordan.
The more we consider the statement, “for He shall save His people from their sins,” the more wonderful it seems; and naturally we ask ourselves, “Who are His people?” It is true that at the time of our Lord’s birth the Jews were still the people of God, and that no other nation has ever had this distinction. For more than sixteen centuries He had dealt exclusively with the nation of Israel. (Amos 3:2) “You only have I known of all the families of the earth.” But it was not the Divine purpose to ignore all other nations forever. The promises of the Scriptures set forth this fact; for they declare that in due time God would make provision for all mankind, so all those who desire might become His people.
After His resurrection Jesus had gone into Galilee to meet the Disciples (Matt. 26:32); and there He spoke to them what is commonly declared to be “The Great Commission” (Matt. 28:19,20): “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” The Diaglott gives this much better: “Go, disciple all the nations, immersing them (submerging them in water) into the name (the heart and mind, the disposition) of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” (See also Acts 19:3‑5, Dia.) This opportunity for returning to harmony with God was embodied in the promise which He made to Abraham, saying, “In thy Seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” (Gen. 12:3)
The question naturally arises: Who are the “Seed”? The Seed are the “called out ones” whom He has been selecting in this Faith Age for His Name’s sake, to be the blessers of “all the families of the earth.” The Apostle Paul assures us, “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise,” (Gal. 3:29) So all the faithful footstep followers of Jesus will be part of the “seed” of Abraham they will be the blessers of all nations. The Seed has blessed quite a few during this Faith Age, but not with the blessing they will be privileged to do during the Messianic reign when “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” (Isa. 11:9) We know that is far from the case in this present “evil world.” Nor can they eliminate the suffering of the “groaning creation” during this Age: “For we know that the Whole Creation groans together and travails in pain together till the present time. And not only it, but ourselves also, possessing the First‑Fruit of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for Sonship – the redemption of our Body.” (Rom. 8:22-23, Dia.) Not only will His footstep followers suffer the physical infirmities of the “groaning creation,” but in addition have had to endure persecutions, as well as physical violence in many cases, in “bearing witness to the truth.” (See Matt. 5:10‑12; 24:9) “Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, and cast you out for my name’s sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy and they shall be ashamed.” (Isa. 66:5 – also see John 12:42)
In “due time” the Seed that has been so unpopular during the reign of sin and evil will bless mankind – will help and bless those who have persecuted them, and give them an opportunity to repent and believe, and turn away from their sins. God sent His honored Representative, the Logos (Jesus), into the world in order that He might deliver all mankind from the curse pronounced upon Father Adam and transmitted by the Law of heredity to all his posterity. “By one man sin entered into the world, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” All of us have inherited a sentence of death – through no fault of our own.
According to the flesh, the Jewish people, to whom our Lord Jesus had come, were His people, for they had entered into covenant relationship with God at Mount Sinai with Moses as mediator. From the Scriptures we learn, however, that only a few of them received our Lord, and that the remainder of the nation were cast off from special relationship to Him. “He came unto His own, but His own received Him not: But as many as received Him to them gave He power (privilege) to become the sons of God, even to them that believed on His NAME.” (John 1:12) He saved this remnant of Israel from their sins in the sense that by faith they were able to understand that their sins were forgiven them; that they were no longer under the domination of sinful injustice; that they were reckoned dead according to the flesh, but alive according to the spirit. (Rom. 6:11) The sins of the flesh would not be accounted against them; but they would be covered by the imputed merit of Jesus, their Savior, their Deliverer. Thus from Pentecost all down through the Gospel Age our Lord has saved all those who have believed upon Him. Their deliverance in full will be accomplished through the power of the First Resurrection. (See Rev. 20:6)
Even though the First (chief) Resurrection is for His Body – the Saints, the Very Elect – there are others who have been justified by faith who had no opportunity to be of the High Calling. The Ancients mentioned in the 11th chapter of Hebrews are one Class – a special “faith” class. Although they will have no part in the First Resurrection, they are promised a ‘better resurrection’ than the world of mankind. They, too, will have part in blessing all the families of the earth. Their resurrection will be glorious, but not so glorious as that of the Little Flock. The Seed is primarily Christ and the Saints. “Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?” (1 Cor. 6:2) “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) All know that a large number have died who not only did not believe in Him, but they didn’t even know about Him – never heard of Him at all.
When He came to the Jews and they received Him not, they knew something about a Messiah and should have recognized Him as their Messiah. But the majority did not recognize Him as their Messiah. Acts 3:17 tells us that “through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers,” even though they had “Much (advantage) every way: chiefly because unto them were committed the oracles of God.” (Rom. 3:1‑2) It is clear that the Jews are not cast off forever. “What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.” (Rom. 11:7) “Blindness in part is happened to Israel.” (Rom. 11:25) “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn ungodliness from Jacob; For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.” (Rom. 11:26)
And as the Jews were blinded, so is the world in general today: “In whom the god (Satan) of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light Of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them,” (2 Cor. 4:4) “For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Rom. 11:32, 33)
When we consider the evil influences so prevalent today, it is small wonder that so many of the people succumb to it – either from necessity, or from the thought that this is the only way to succeed. Some begin to think that Satan and evil are more powerful than the Lord. However, that will not always be the case, because Satan will be bound to deceive the nations no more during His Messianic Kingdom. (Rev. 20:2) At that time “the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.” (Isa. 35:5) “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” (Isa. 11:9) “And it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.” (Isa. 35:8) The “wayfaring” men in this text are those who are not “justified by faith” during this Age when sin and evil are in the ascendancy.
SAVED FROM WHAT?
“The son of man is come to save that which was lost.” (Matt. 18:11) The question arises, What was lost? We would answer that four things were lost, things which man once had in his pristine purity. First of all, after the transgression in the Garden of Eden, he lost his intimate and friendly relationship with his Creator – Fellowship with God. Second, he lost his perfect home in that Garden. “The Lord sent him forth from the Garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So He drove the man out.” (Gen. 3:23, 24) Third, man’s dominion was lost. “Let man have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the cattle, and over the fowl of the air...and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” (Gen. 1:26‑28)
In Heb. 2:8 St. Paul quotes from Psa. 8:4‑8: “Thou has put all things in subjection under his feet ... But now we see not yet all things put under him.” It surely needs no argument that man has lost his dominion; animals often trample man under foot, instead of man dominating them. We have been told that the Kodiak bear (a brown bear larger than the grizzly) is so ferocious that it is not necessary for the hunter to look for him; once the bear knows he is being hunted, he will come looking for the hunter, often with a deadly result for the hunter.
And the fourth thing that man lost is his life. “Lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.”’ (Gen. 3:22) Man was not created to die; he was created to live; and the Scripture is clear enough that he would have continued to “live forever” had he remained in his perfect Edenic home, It is a common expression for men to say, We are living in London, New York, or wherever; but the raucous truth is we are all dying in those places. The dying process is a matter of years, but it eventually exacts its terrible toll from all. “In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Gen. 2:17) Note the marginal reading of this text: “dying thou shalt die.” And in all four of these things Jesus, a Powerful Savior, said He came to “seek and to save.”
SAVIOR OF THAT WHICH WAS LOST
Just as there were four things lost, so our blessed Savior uses four component parts to accomplish the Restitution, the restoration. (Acts 3:19‑21) These are clearly set forth in Psa. 103:2‑5: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: (1) Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; (2) Who healeth all thy diseases; (3) Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; (4) Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies... Thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
The fourth process will also require man’s cooperation, and will receive it with a clear understanding of its import: “Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies.” This is emphasized in the parable of the Sheep and the Goats: “Then shall the king say to them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you.” (Matt. 25:34) Today, in earth’s affairs, when a prince inherits a kingdom from his father, he is seated on a throne, and a crown placed upon his head. Figuratively speaking, this same procedure will be followed when the restitution process has completed its work. Each of the ‘sheep’ will then inherit a kingdom – his full right to life and its accompanying life rights – just as Adam had it in Eden, when he was given dominion over all things on earth. He was then in every sense monarch of all he surveyed.
CORROBORATING TESTIMONIES FROM THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS
Because of Adam’s transgression the sentence was pronounced against him – “For the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Gen. 2:17 – “dying thou shalt die.”) After Adam’s transgression, he and his wife were driven from the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:23) to toil the ground among thorns and thistles. (Gen. 3:17‑19) Adam did surely die in that day: “Beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Pet. 3:8) “For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and a watch in the night.” (Psa. 90:4) Adam died in that thousand‑year day, and all his posterity have been dying ever since that time. “Adam lived Nine Hundred and Thirty years; and he died” – seventy years before his “day” had expired. (Gen. 5:5) But the Apostle Paul tells us, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Cor. 15:21‑22)
The Scriptures teach that all will “know the Lord” – meaning, of course, they will be properly instructed: “They shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, A New Covenant, he hath made the first old, Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.” (Heb. 8:11‑13) The ‘old’ is the Law Covenant which the Jews could not keep because it was a perfect Law, and they were imperfect. Only a perfect man could fulfil this Law Covenant, which Jesus did.
Also Jer. 31:31‑34 gives us a clear picture of the New Covenant: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the House of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
“The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment (instruction) for all that are oppressed. He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear (reverence) him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear (reverence) him.” (Psa. 103:6‑13)
Although God’s great attributes are WISDOM, JUSTICE, POWER AND LOVE, the Scriptures do not say God is Wisdom, God is Justice, God is Power – but the Apostle John tells us “God is Love.” (1 John 4:16) “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16, 17) David’s description of our great Jehovah certainly attests to a “God of love.”
TWO SALVATIONS
Not many people know there are two salvations taught in the Scriptures. Most of us have been taught that all are on trial now – and all the unsaved of this life will be lost forever. The majority of the world is not saved, according to the standard the Lord sets for His people – to be footstep followers of Jesus during this Age. However, there are two Salvations taught in the Bible – a ‘great’ salvation (Heb. 2:3), and a ‘common’ salvation. (Jude 3) The common salvation is future – for all the unsaved of the past and present – all Restitutionists. But the ‘great’ salvation is for this Faith Age. All who have part in the “great salvation” will be part of the “Seed” of Abraham that will bless all the families of the earth in the Kingdom. They are those “justified by faith” – the footstep followers of Jesus during this Faith Age when sin and evil are in the ascendancy. “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.” (Heb. 2:3) “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Gal. 3:29) “For as many as are led by the spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” (Rom. 8:14)
But there is also a common salvation – a salvation for all the Restitutionists for the world of mankind. “For all men have not faith.” (2 Thes. 3:2) “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.” (Gal. 3:8) It is through the faithfulness of Jesus and His footstep followers that they will have the privilege of blessing all nations in His Kingdom – those who have not come to a “knowledge of the Truth” during this Age. “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” (Jude 3) We are not to forget the ‘common’ salvation that will bless the world, because the Lord loved the world. (John 3:16)
These two salvations are separate and distinct and cannot be mixed in either Age, one for the Faith Age and one for the Kingdom, when the residue of mankind will receive their salvation – their judgment and their instruction: “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth.” Indeed, there is a ‘common’ salvation – common to all men not of the Faith‑Age salvation. “And he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2)
The faith “which was once delivered unto the saints” is clearly taught in Acts 24:15: “And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.” The ‘just’ are those who are “justified by faith” during the Faith Age – footstep followers of Jesus; and the ‘unjust’ are those who are not “justified by faith” (Rom. 5:1) during this Age.
Our Lord makes this very clear in John 5:28, 29: “Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life; And they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” The word ‘damnation’ in this text is from the Greek word Krisis, which means judgment. ‘Damnation’ is a misleading translation and has caused a lot of misunderstanding. So they who have done evil – all those who have not been “justified by faith” during this Age, whether they are good‑intentioned or bad‑intentioned, God counts “them all in unbelief that He might have mercy upon all.” (Rom. 11:32) The ‘good’ are those who will have a “resurrection unto life” – the footstep followers of Jesus; they are of the Household of Faith. The resurrection of the Evil, or Unjust, is for the very purpose of giving them an opportunity of coming to a knowledge of the Truth – the truth of the Divine Plan for human salvation. This will be a much less difficult way, because the Highway of Holiness will be there (Isa, 35:8): there will be no error there – the Truth, and only the Truth will be taught. Those who are fully submissive to the Lord will be privileged to become His people. However, there will be no compulsion – each individual must decide for himself whether or not he will obey and live, or disobey and die – be destroyed from among the people. (Acts 3:23)
The presence of the Lord will continue throughout the thousand years of the Messianic Kingdom – on earth. All who will take advantage of the opportunity then offered them will have a full deliverance from the curse of sin and death. Those who will neglect that opportunity will not be forced to come into harmony with the Divine arrangement, but they will be destroyed in the Second Death, from which there will be no recovery. (See Rev. 20:14‑15) Their destruction will be for their own good as well as for the good of mankind in general. It is because they prefer sin to righteousness that they will be accounted better off to be destroyed, as the Scriptures declare.
All who are saved from their sins during the Millennium will be the people of Christ by reason of being His children; for they will receive life from Him, “the Everlasting Father” of the race. (Isa. 9:6) They will be given the right to everlasting life on the human plane, which our Lord Jesus surrendered on behalf of the Adamic race, when He became the Redeemer of Adam, and thus indirectly the Redeemer of Adam’s posterity. Those who lost life in Adam will be privileged to receive it again in Christ.
Thus Jesus will save His people from their sins – not merely His Church of the Gospel Age, His Bride and Joint‑heir, but also all those of the world of mankind, the children of Adam, who will accept of His grace during the thousand years of earth’s coming glory, and became His people by the process of regeneration. They will be regenerated on the human plane; for our Lord will give them the life‑rights and the right to life which Adam lost in Eden, but which Jesus redeemed on Calvary. The earth was made for man: “The earth abideth forever.” (Eccl. 1:4) “Thus said the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.” (Isa. 66:1) “I will make the place of my feet glorious.” (Isa. 60:13)
However, this cannot become true in the full sense of things until the causes that now send men to the grave have been eliminated. St. John states this very graphically in Rev. 21:3‑5: “I heard a great voice out of Heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men ... And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” And the Angel who gave those words to John evidently realized the disbelief with which the message would be received by the present sick and dying race, for he then emphasized it with these words: “Write: for these words are true.”
This forces the logical conclusion that the Restitution processes will eliminate all crime – all thievery, physical violence, moral depravity, sickness; no more need for locks on doors; no more destructive armies; no more rigid police protection; no more jails, and no more criminals. “And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” (Isa. 2:4) “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” (Isa. 11:9)
The question is asked, “Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.” (Isa. 28:9) The Bible is not a text Book, as so many people think, but is a book of texts. “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little and there a little.” (Isa. 28:10) But, “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear (reverence) him; and he will shew them his covenant.”
JESUS A POWERFUL SAVIOR indeed! “Fear not; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”(Luke 2:10) “He shall save his people from their sins.”
Sincerely your brother, John J. Hoefle, Pilgrim
This is a reprint of No, 258, December 1976 with some editing.
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LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST
Dear Mrs. Hoefle,
I thank you for sending us copies of your husband’s writings. I have almost finished reading Part One and I find it very well written. I am sure that his being and writings will be missed by all. We are sorry that we never had the opportunity to meet with you both and to share our feelings.
In this world of struggle and strife it is heart‑warming to know that there are people still concerned with peace and love between all of G‑d’s children.
Sincerely, Dr. & Mrs. ------- (FLORIDA)
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Dear Sr. Hoefle: Grace and peace!
I was very glad to receive the Sept‑Oct papers today, which I have just read with great interest and profit. You may be sure that I agree with it 100%. I surely hope that the paper on Cornelius will do some good among the LHMM. When Bro. & Sr. ------- used to live in Richland, MI which was eight miles from where I used to live, Bro. Pierson and us used to go to the meetings when the Pilgrims came. Never once was the Epiphany Campers mentioned in their discourses. When Bro. Johnson stated that the Youthful Worthy call would not end until Restitution times began, or about to anyway, should have been sufficient – never to tamper with to my mind.
It sure seems good to hear from you again and to receive the papers. Sure hope they will be a blessing to all!
I have been alone the past couple of weeks, as Myrtle’s son and wife are on vacation. They drove to state of Washington to see their son Glen. He is in the Truth and enjoys it. I saw Myrtle just once before they left and she seems a lot better and more contented there.....
Oh yes, did you not have a paper called “The Third Watch” you published years ago? There has been a lot of favorable comments on it as various brethren have commented on it to me. Will you please send one extra copy, as I have displaced mine? Also, I think it would be a very good idea to reprint it, as it was a very timely article. ....
Hope you are well. Don’t work too hard. May the Lord bless and keep you, dear Sister. With much Christian love, ------- (MICHIGAN)
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My dear Sister Hoefle: Grace and peace through our Beloved Savior!
It was quite a shock to us when we learned of Bro. Hoefle’s passing, and in a moment of weakness I thought “where shall we turn now”? forgetting that the Lord takes care of His work.
Please accept our deepest sympathy in this hour of sadness. We, who have the Truth, sorrow not, as others who have no hope – and we commend to you Hymn 66. This was one of the hymns we sang on Sunday’s meeting as we remembered dear Bro. Hoefle.
We know that you, particularly, and all the others of the Mount Dora Ecclesia will miss him immensely – but you ever have in memory the wonderful and blessed work that he did. I treasure those papers immensely. I would not tire you with a long letter, for I know how taxing, although appreciative, the various expressions of sympathy can be. I cannot end without noting the text for the day that Brother Hoefle’s course was ended. It is rather appropriate.
With Christian love from Eustace and Vinessa, Your sister in Christ, ------- (TRINIDAD)
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My dear Sister Hoefle: Grace and peace be yours through our Blessed Lord & Savior!
The information of Brother Hoefle’s passing came to us as a shock. I thought he would be here with us for some time yet, but it has turned out to be not God’s will that he should continue – so we will have to accept it. I know the great stress you must be experiencing, both from the Bible House and your family tie. But the Lord has promised to give strength to His people and bless them with peace. I trust there will be perfect harmony at the Bible House with the endeavor to carry out Brother Hoefle’s will and instructions. If we look to the Lord it will work good by His control. In thee, O Lord do I put my trust, (Psa. 31 :1) – and the peace of God shall keep your heart and mind through Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:7) We all share with you in your bereavement, and you can be sure of our continued prayers and support.
May the good Lord keep you and make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you and give you peace. Sincerely yours, ------- (JAMAICA)
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Dear Sister Hoefle: May God’s grace supply thee with abundant fortitude, in this your hour of sorrow!
It was indeed a surprise to receive the information conveyed by your telegram on Monday, April 23 around 1:50 P.M. Remembering that not so long ago Brother sent some Jewish newspaper to be circulated among the friends here – recalling his last birthday anniversary, and the party you had then given in his honour, and suddenly this! Well, what can I say other than that in the Lord’s own time He has been placed to rest – another of His, who has rendered yeoman’s service to Him and the brethren, saying: “Thou good and faithful servant, take thou now, thy rest.”
Please accept the condolences forwarded by Sr. John and myself, as well as those extended on behalf of every member of the Trinidad Ecclesia, in loving memory of our dear Brother Hoefle. May God bless the memory of him in our hearts. “And those who knew thy name put their trust in thee, for thou, O Lord hast not forsaken those who seek thee.” Be assured of our ever constant prayers, uttered with loving thoughts of you both, and especially now in this hour of grief. May God richly bless and strengthen you to continue in His name, we pray in the Savior’s loving name.
Your brother by His Grace, ------- (TRINIDAD)
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Dear Sister Emily,
The biography is excellent – very inspiring. I notice that it says, “that there was nothing left for him to do but expose the “terrorists.” I assume this is a typographical mistake and should be “errorists.” However, I think the word “terrorist” very aptly fits some of the false teachers, for they do use the “spirit of fear” rather than the “spirit of Truth.”
It is rather short, though, for a man who was so productive. Aside from the 348 articles already published, I understand there are a number yet to be published. We will miss his January articles – Retrospect and Prospect – for in those he always gave an astute analysis of conditions in Finance, Politics and Religion. Also, he had copious correspondence with many brethren, as well as some not in the Truth. Some of this was refutative in nature, but some was for the help and encouragement of the brethren. Much of this correspondence would be helpful and interesting to others, if published.
There is mention of his friendship and help toward the Jews. I know that he had regular correspondence with some prominent Jews in this country and elsewhere. Some of these Jews had reproduced Brother Hoefle’s articles in their publications. I remember that a few years back Dr. Malachy, the Minister of Religion in Israel, asked permission to quote from Brother Hoefle in a book he was writing. Unfortunately, Dr. Malachy died without finishing the book.
Much more could have been said in the biography had space and time allowed, but the brevity in no way takes anything from his many accomplishments. So I say, “God Bless his memory”’
Much love, ------- (NORTH CAROLINA)
PS ‑ Brother Hoefle often said he was expecting something important to happen in the year 1984. Well, something important did happen – he finished his course!
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My dear Sister Hoefle:
It was with much sorrow I received the sad news of our Beloved Brother Hoefle on the 3rd day of May. ... I have received the promised detailed account of his departure and burial. This picture is the latest I assume, but I have an earlier one of him. Only two evenings ago I was reading one of his publications.
I have not been able to accept the view that the Great Company completed their course when Bro. Jolly’s course ended. He taught that he was the last GC. Nor have I been able to accept the Epiphany Campers to be the Truth. .....
I am hoping to be of the Youthful Worthies. .. However, the Lord Jesus knows and our Heavenly Father is the judge of us all. I was immersed in the year 1923, and since then I have been pressing on in the narrow way, striving to do His will. .... The prospect is glorious indeed, Sister Hoefle, which prompts us to be faithful. ... Many thanks for sending me the detailed account of the sad news – yet I am glad to know Brother Hoefle has ended his course faithfully. ....
Daily do I give thanks in my prayers for my parents who trained me up in the fear of the Lord. I was 13 years old when the sad news came that Bro. Russell was dead. I wept bitterly, as I loved him so very much!
In closing, Sister, accept my sympathy .... while I pray for you. The Good Lord continue to bless thee and keep thee. (Num. 6:24‑26) Your brother in the Faith. -------