NO. 265: A MAGNIFICENT TYPE

No. 265

“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 our paper No. 257. 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. 1:8)

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 his servant Moses.”

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, Mohammedans, 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. 1:2) 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 315 A.D., 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 Revelation 17-19 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 313 AD 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) – ten literal years from 303 to 313.

MOSES ARRIVES

“He was a goodly child..., she hid him three months... 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 land, and it became lice in man, and in beast.” (v. 17) Fourth, the plague of flies. (Ex. 8:21–24) “And Yaveh 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 gad-fly.” (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 blains upon man, and upon beast.” (v. 9) – (The third of the seven last plague­). 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 (through 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 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 doth 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 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 was 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 Pet. 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, 33 A.D., 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 the year 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.” 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)

Sincerely your brother, John J. Hoefle, Pilgrim

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LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Brother Hoefle: Grace and peace!

Your letter of Jan 26 with enclosure is gratefully received. I was shocked to hear of the passing of dear Sr. Dixon. May her passing insure for her His well done.

We here are still in good spirits and enjoying your good articles which are so refreshing. The manifesting events of the day gives much evidence that the epiphania is twice as long as the Parousia. I have been noticing much the changes in the various Governments, which policies more or less are the same. The gathering and assembling of these kingdoms seem preparatory to their destruction in the great fire just ahead of us.

Much Christian love for you and all the dear ones with you – especially at the Bible House. Your brother ------- (JAMAICA)

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Dear Friends:

Thank you for your prayers and cards while I was in the hospital. I am slow in writing, but I am very grateful for your thoughtfulness.

Ruth and I observed the Memorial in her home last evening. She has such a wonder­ful knowledge of the Bible, and I feel very privileged to be able to study with her. Your Memorial leaflet was very helpful to me in understanding – and a better and in­creased knowledge of The Passover and Christ’s death. I hope this finds you both in good health. Sincerely, ------- (KANSAS)

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Dear Brother Hoefle: Greetings in our dear Redeemer’s name!

I am writing you this letter to thank you for sending your articles to my wife, She has not read any of them yet, and probably never will. I have not read them all completely but have gone over them pretty much, at least enough that we have decided to ask you to please not send us any more literature.

You see, we are not hard-shell “Russellites.” We do not figuratively place Bro. Russell on a pedestal by claiming that he is “that servant,” and thereby making him out to be a sort of an “infallible pope... We get the impression that “Russellites” are sitting at the feet of Bro. Russell much more than they are sitting at the feet of our Lord..........

We agree with Bro. Russell on a lot of his beliefs (He should name some—JJH), but reject entirely his chronology, which he also practically did before his death. We do not believe our Lord has been secretly present for over a hundred years... Has Jesus and Satan been reigning at the same time all these years? ........

We believe the “great crowd” of Rev. 7:9 is the whole human race. We do not be­lieve in “tentative” but actual justification. According to what our Lord said in Luke 21:24 (and I would never qualify what He said here), the “seasons of Gentiles” – Diag. Inter – ended on – was “fulfilled” – not in 1914 but in June 1967 when Israel recaptured the old city of Jerusalem and thereby liberated all of it from being “trod­den down” by the Gentiles after some 2500 years. .

We believe that the New Covenant went into effect at our Lord’s first advent... According to Rom. 8:28-30 and Eph. 1:11, we believe in individual predestination. We do not believe that the “time of trouble” has started as yet, nor that any of the sleeping saints have been resurrected. Furthermore, Jesus said to observe the Memo­rial of His death “until He comes.” Therefore, if He came about 1874, then, according to His command we should not be doing this any longer. Right? Your brother by His Grace ------- (NEW  MEXICO)

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NOTE: – Berean Comments on 2 Thes. 2:10, 11 seem to the writer of the above letter: “If we do not cultivate love for the truth until it outweighs all other things, we will not be fit for the Kingdom. Giving them over to error, which they prefer to the Truth. Great delusions are just before us, and some of these may come closest upon those possessing the most light of Present Truth.” (Of course, we have no way of knowing whether this brother was ever in Present Truth—JJH)

Also from That Servant: “Let us remember, too, that God has promised to keep and guide the minds of those whose hearts are loyal and true to Him. We should there­fore conclude that if the Lord is thrusting any one out of the light as unworthy of it, into the outer darkness of the world, if he is permitting unfaithful ones to be seduced by the great enemy, it is not our mission to follow them into the outer darkness by reading, conversation, etc. We are to remain with the Lord and those who are walking in the light... Neither are we to waste sympathy upon those who depart.” (Reprints 5949, col. 1, par. 1) (We feel honored by being called “Russellites” – not offended in the least—JJH)

Those who cast the teachings of That Servant aside for “new light” as have the JW’s (and the writer of this letter seems to be in harmony with quite a few of their errors), it is more difficult for them to receive “sound doctrine” than if they had never known the Truth. (See 2 Tim. 4:3 and Berean Comments)