NO. 217: TIMES OF REFRESHING - TIMES OF RESTITUTION

No. 217

My dear Brethren: Grace and peace through our Beloved Master!

In Acts 3:19–24 the Apostle Peter was calling to the attention of the Jews the promise that God had made to Abraham, saying “in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.” The word ‘restitution’ in the text means restoration; or, as Rotherham states it, “the times of the due establishment of all things.... But in­deed all the prophets – from Samuel and those following after – as many as have spoken have even announced these days.” The Apostle here is contrasting the ‘refreshing times’ to come with the present dry and dying condition of the human race – likened to grass that withers and sears for lack of rain. And he proceeds to stress that the Prophet Samuel and all who came after him had spoken of these ‘refreshing times’ to come. This was one of the first public speeches that came from any of the Apostles after Pentecost, and it is in fact just another way of preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom.” Often it is recorded of Jesus that He “went about preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom,” which the Apostle Peter here declares to be the ‘times of restitution,’ so the question is prop­erly in order, What conclusions are we to draw from this?

It would seem that such an important and far–reaching doctrine as this should have prominent recognition wherever and whenever the Christian religion is preached. But what do we find? So far as we are concerned, we have never once – over the past fifty years – ever heard Acts 3:19–24 even mentioned from the pulpits of Big Babylon; much less has any attempt been made to explain it. Since men usually preach the things they understand and love, we can but conclude that the silence on this part of Scripture is due to the lack of knowledge of those who should be declaring it.

Perhaps about every one of us who has any understanding at all of Harvest Truth would testify that one of the very first things we heard from the platform, and in pri­vate conversation, too, was discussion of the “times of restitution”; and this is still a very prominent and favorite discussion among the various groups of Truth people who have emanated from Parousia Truth. But, tragic though it be, almost all of them have per­verted the real truth on the subject – have twisted it out of all recognition to the way That Servant gave it to us. All during the Age, since the death of the Apostles (or shortly thereafter), the doctrine of Restitution was completely lost, as repre­sented in Luke 15:8,9, by the woman in the parable who had ten pieces of silver, had lost one – sought diligently till she found it, then “calleth her friends and neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.” The woman in the parable is the Church, which had lost sight of one cardinal doctrine of the Bible – Restitution – and it was not until the Harvest that this great truth was once more recognized with great rejoicing. After the Harvest work had attracted a following, and the Pilgrims began to circulate, That Servant often urged them all to preach Restitution. That was especially emphasized with those Sunday speakers that were sent out from the Bible House on week–ends. It was indeed “Good Tidings of great joy” to all who received it with grateful hearts.

Those of us who are at all familiar with the situation know that That Servant gave a very clear and convincing presentation of the times of Restitution; and his entire following was almost a solid unit in accepting it the way he taught it. But what do we find since his death? We find many who once seemed to understand the subject have now perverted it out of all recognition to the manner in which they had once accepted it. Chief among these is Jehovah’s Witnesses, who now have consigned Adam to annihilation, which idea is actually a denial of the Ransom – although they would not admit that. How­ever, since Adam was the only perfect man on earth aside from Jesus Himself; and since the word Ransom itself means a corresponding price, an exact duplicate, Adam is actu­ally the only one who could be ransomed. Therefore, St. Paul gives the philosophy, “As all in Adam die, so all in Christ shall be made alive.” When ransom is provided for Adam, that act becomes the inheritance for all of us – just as all of us inherited the penalty for sin which was passed to him. But the Witnesses now leave out a very large section of the human race in their presentation of Restitution.

Also, the Laymen’s Home Missionary Movement now perverts Restitution, though not nearly to the same extreme as do the Witnesses. Their chief errors are to be found in their down–grading the Jews in Kingdom standing, and by insisting that 1 Cor. 15:24 ­“then cometh the end” – refers to the beginning of the Little Season, instead of at its full end.

Many of our readers are familiar with the teaching of the Witnesses, by which, for a number of years, they put forth their ‘Jonadabs’ as the Restitution class. They still retain much the same view, except that they now call their Jonadabs the Great Multitude of Rev. 7:9–17. All Bible logic is against such an interpretation, because the lan­guage and the setting of Revelation 7 are clearly depicting a class on the spirit plane “before the throne” – which is in Heaven. There are at least two other Truth groups that likewise teach a Restitution class that is being developed now – Consecrated Epi­phany Campers and Quasi–elect Consecrated. These are identical twins to the Jonadabs, now styled the Great Multitude by the Witnesses. To dispute these errors we need only bear in mind that we are still in the Gospel Age – the Faith Age; and during this Age the merit of Jesus is only for Himself and His house – for all those who honestly ac­cept Him as their Savior. And during this Faith Age there is only one place where His merit can be obtained – tentatively or reckonedly – that is, in the Court of the anti­typical Tabernacle.

But both these groups have their non–existent classes outside the linen curtain of the Tabernacle – outside the righteousness of Christ in this Faith Age. The anti­typical Camp is Christendom in general – those people, those systems which make at least a token acceptance of Jesus as their Saviour – who wish to be on ‘speaking terms’ with Him, although they do not wish an intimate acquaintance – they do not wish to know Him well enough to do His “good, and acceptable and perfect will.” (Rom. 12:1–3) “I am the way”; and there is only one manner in which that “way” can be obtained, and that is by taking the step from the Camp, through the Tabernacle Gate, and into the Court, whereby “justification by faith” has been obtainable all during the Faith Age; and it is still the only way, because we are yet in the Gospel Age.

There would seem to be little excuse for such distortions. According to Mal. 3:3, one of the specific missions of Jesus at His Second Advent would be to “sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.”  The ‘silver’ in this text is the Truth; and all familiar with the situation know that the Truth has shone with great brilliance during the Har­vest period.

While the truth on Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, the state of the dead, etc., were understood fairly well by some groups of Christendom before 1874, it remained for the Harvest Messenger to refine and elaborate upon every one of them with telling force. This is better understood when we consider that the word ‘purifier’ in our text would be better rendered ‘polisher.’ It is from the Hebrew ‘metaher,’ one of whose meanings is brightener or polisher. Thus, at His Second Advent our Lord not only refines ­purges the dross of error from the Truth – but He also brightens or polishes it.

Our text says He ‘shall sit’ as a refiner and polisher. At the time of the first Advent the speaker usually sat down, as the audience stood up; and in the Talmud ‘to sit’ is almost synonymous with ‘to teach.’ Jesus was indeed the teacher; but when He said the Scribes and Pharisees “sit in Moses’ seat,” He meant they were setting themselves forth as the teachers of the people – just as Moses had done when he gave them the Law at Sinai. Also, Jesus now sits on His throne, as does a king, a judge on his bench, etc. Thus, He is the executive, the authority, the official opponent of error and developer of truth. And this is not only true of religious truth, but it is also true in great degree of secular truth, as is apparent on every hand. Satan has done an excellent job of corrupting secular and religious truth over the centuries; and none but our all–powerful Divine Lord would be capable of undoing the damage. But He has come with the golden crown on His head as evidence that He has the power and the authority to extirpate the damage of the past.

To polish anything requires a cleansing agent to be applied with muscular strength. And how has this been specially done since 1874? Mainly through much controversy. In con­troversy the Truth comes out – just as necessity is said to be the mother of invention. Therefore, those who object to controversy are actually objecting to one of the special missions of our Lord since 1874, and are imposing a deception on those who listen to them. But our chief purpose in giving this explanation is to focus attention upon the ‘outer darkness’ (See Matt. 25:30 on the “unprofitable servant” and the Berean Comment) of those who once saw Restitution in its brilliance and clarity, but who have now sul­lied it so badly by their perversions. We can but conclude that this reveals something woefully wrong in the hearts of such; the evidence clearly points to just that.

SEEKING THAT WHICH WAS LOST

In Matt. 18:11 we have the words of Jesus, “The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” The question now properly arises, What was lost? We would answer that four things have been 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. Second, he lost his perfect home in that Garden. “The Lord God 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 hast 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 he knows there is a hunter in his locale he will come looking for him ­and often with deadly results to 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. And all four of these things Jesus said He came to “seek and to save.” We shall offer detail on this later in this article.

THE RESTITUTION PROCESS

Just as there were four things lost, so we have four component parts to accomplish the Restitution, the restoration. These are clearly set forth in Psa. 103:2–5: “Bless the Lord, 0 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 eagles.’”

The first two of these processes come to man without any effort on his part; and, generally speaking, with little, or no knowledge that he is receiving these “benefits.” St. Paul says of us, who presently believe, “God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8) Thus, “He made Himself an offering for sin” for us before we knew anything about it being done. And, “Christ gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” In “due time” all men will recognize what we now know that a propitiation for sins was provided by the Redeemer without men asking for it Christ “forgiveth all thine iniquities.”

And the same may be said for the second restitution process, “healing all thy dis­eases.” In the resurrection day it is self–evident that the disease which brought man to the grave must be cured before his resurrection; otherwise, he would immediately die again. The natural and artificial causes that have caused death for centuries must be eliminated in all men before they are returned from the grave. This also will be ac­complished without men asking for it.

The third and fourth processes will operate somewhat differently. The third: “Who redeemeth thy life from destruction,” will require cooperation on the part of the recipient. “God will have all men to be saved, and come to an accurate knowledge of the Truth.” But this “knowledge of the Truth” will not be forced down the throats of the unwilling; they must all show some desire, and willingly cooperate, in the educa­tional process. That educational process will not only teach men the religious truth on the facts of life and death, it will also teach them the physical, mental, moral and religious philosophies of life which will enable them to live forever in perpetual youth. “I will ransom them from the power of the grave (that power which now turns man to destruction, to the grave, will be stayed); I will redeem them from death: 0 grave I will be thy plagues (by depriving it of its present power over all): 0 grave, I will be thy destruction.” (Hos. 13:14) Then will come to pass the prophecy of Job 33:24, 25: “Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom. His flesh shall be fresher than a child’s: he shall return to the days of his youth.”

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 the 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 one 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.

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. “And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” (Isa. 2:4)

THEN COMETH THE END

Confirmation of the foregoing is graphically stated by St. Paul in 1 Cor. 15:20­26, which we quote from the Improved Version: “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become a firstfruit (Jesus) of them that slept. For since by man (Adam) came death, by (a) man also (Jesus) shall come the resurrection of the dead. For as all in Adam die (this would exclude Jesus, for He was never ‘in Adam’), even so all in Christ shall be made alive. But every man in his own order; Christ a firstfruit (meaning the entire Christ Company, and not merely Jesus only); afterward they that are Christ’s at His presence. (His presence – Parousia – will continue for at least 1,000 years, while Satan is bound.) Then cometh the end (the end of the Little Season, when He shall have ruled over the earth to the full elimination of death and the dying processes), when He shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and all power (complete elimination of Satan and his evil acts). For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death (not only evil persons, but their evil character­istics. The dying process – all the mental, moral, physical and religious ills now prev­alent in the human race – is the last great enemy, which will finally be destroyed at the end of the Little Season).”

The foregoing is vividly illustrated in Ex. 15:26–31 – a picture which is probably the grandest type of the entire Old Testament: “And the Lord said unto Moses (type of Christ), Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians (Pharaoh and his hosts being typical of Satan and his henchmen)... and the sea returned to his strength... and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea... All the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one.” Then the conclusion of St. Paul in Heb. 2:14 will be realized: “Jesus (through His sacrificial death) would destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.” And the destruction of the Egyptians in the Red Sea typically sets forth how and when that will be done. At that same time the ‘goats’ of the parable in Matt. 25:41 will come to their complete annihilation from earth’s activities, leaving the ‘sheep’ the unmolested and perfected rulers of all they survey – free from all the evils that Satan’s deceptions have inflicted upon the human race during the past 6,000 years.

SOME CONTRARY VIEWS

“God will have all men to be saved.” Like all other fundamental teachings of the Bible, this text has been given the extremes of erroneous interpretation. Some contend that if God will have all men to be saved that is a guarantee of eternal life for every human being that has ever lived. Universalism goes even further, and insists that even the Devil and his angels will also eventually be saved – despite the clear statement from St. Paul quoted above. Others contend the text to mean that God would like to have all men saved, but He just can’t seem to accomplish it.

The above perversions are based upon a misunderstanding of the salvation process. God will have all men to be saved. But saved from what, to what? St. Paul offers the proper help here in Rom. 5:12: “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; so death passed upon all men.” All of Adam’s progeny inherited the death sen­tence from him – through no fault of their own; and it is relief from that sentence from which God wishes all men to be saved. Often in human affairs we hear of a condemned man being ‘saved from execution’ by official decree; but that does not mean that he shall continue to live forever. It simply means that he is saved from the sentence that had been passed upon him by judicial process.

Much the same explanation may be given for the entire human race being saved; they will be saved from the sentence now hanging over them, and thenceforth will be given the privilege of regaining perfect life – as Adam had it – IF they wish to take advantage of it. If they do, they will be classified as the ‘sheep’ of the parable; if they do not, they will be classified as the ‘goats’ of the parable, and will be sen­tenced to death once more – that time for their own transgressions, and not for something they have inherited. This is well stated in Jer. 31:29,30: “In those days they shall no more say, The fathers have eaten a sour grape (sins of the fathers visited upon the chil­dren unto the third and fourth generation), and the children’s teeth are set on edge. But every man shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.”

A few years back we exchanged quite some correspondence with a preacher in Jamaica, who insisted that St. Paul’s words mean that every man will eventually receive eternal life – although there is just nothing in the text to warrant such a conclusion. Man will be relieved from the present load upon his back, and given the opportunity, under favor­able conditions, to free himself from its effects if he will take advantage of the oppor­tunity. Nothing more than that, nothing less. During our exchange of letters the Ja­maican brother cited Matt. 25:46, and argued that “everlasting punishment” simply means age–lasting; that man will continue to receive one opportunity after another – for a full Age – until he eventually avails himself of eternal life. But the same adjectives are used for the righteous as are used for the unrighteous – which forces the logical conclusion that the life received by the sheep will also be limited to the Age. It is well to note here the footnote for verse 46 in the Emphatic Diaglott:

“The Common Version, and many modern ones, render ‘kolasin aionion’ everlasting punishment, conveying the idea, as generally interpreted, of ‘basinos,’ torment. Ko­lasin is derived from ‘kolazoo,’ which signifies ‘to cut off’; as lopping off branches of trees, to prune... Thus, the righteous go to life, the wicked to the cutting off from life, or death.”

If we cut the limb from a tree, we know that limb no longer will continue to live; it withers and disintegrates – in much the same manner that Adam withered for 930 years, then disintegrated in the grave. “Dust thou wast, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

A SUMMATION

At the birth of Jesus the angel declared, “I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” In 1 John 2:2 this is elaborated: “He is the propitiation for our tins (those who accept Him in this present Age): and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” “He forgiveth all thine iniquities.” As we look back with joy at the Savior’s birth and subsequent atonement for “all men,” so the ancients looked forward to it. “Abraham rejoiced to see My day: and he saw it and was glad.” (John 8:56) The 72nd Psalm gives considerable detail on the subject, too: “God shall come down like rain upon the mown grass (times of refreshing): as showers that water the earth. In His days shall the righteous flourish (the ‘sheep’ of the par­able); and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. He shall have dominion also (that which was lost) from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. The kings of Tarshish shall bring presents – the kings of Sheba shall offer gifts (“every knee should bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord”—Phil. 2:10,11): all nations shall serve Him... to Him shall be given the gold of Sheba... daily shall He be praised... they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth... All nations shall call Him blessed... Let the whole earth be filled with His glory.”

Biblical names are often significant of the character and accomplishments of the persons to whom they are given. Thus, Jesus is the Latin word for Joshua, or Jeshua. which means ‘Jehovah is salvation,’ the same being very expressive of the work He would do. Thus, He not only delivers, saves, believers in this Age, but in the next Age He will deliver the world in general from the sentence now resting upon men. This He will accomplish by His Priestly, Mediatorial, Kingly, Legislative, Judicial, Prophetic and Paternal offices by His good Word and works. He is indeed mighty to save!

Then will be realized the words of Psa. 22:26–31: “The meek shall eat and be satis­fied (none to hurt or make them afraid): They shall praise the Lord that seek Him. All nations shall worship before thee. For the Kingdom (Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth) is the Lord’s and He is the Governor among the nations... A seed shall serve Him... They shall come, and shall declare His righteousness unto a people that shall be born.”

Sincerely your brother,

John J. Hoefle,  Pilgrim

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QUESTION OF GENERAL INTEREST

QUESTION: – In 2 Pet. 3:3,4 we have the prophecy, “There shall come in the last days scoffers, saying, Where is the promise of His coming?” If we are living in the ‘days’ referred to by our Lord, do we have any evidence that this pre­diction is being fulfilled at this time?

ANSWER: – Before giving such evidence of this ‘scoffing,’ we quote from That Servant something pertinent to our subject from Parousia Vol. 2, page 167: “The Apostle Peter describes how the unfaithful servants and hypocrites will scoff during the presence of the Lord, even as they scoffed in the days of Noah. Notice that the Apostle wrote to the Church, and that the scoffers he describes are in the nominal church and professedly interested in the Lord’s work and plan, and believers, therefore, that He will come some time... Christians generally, until they investigate the subject, have such ideas of literal manifestations of fire, trumpets, voices, etc., and of seeing the Lord descending through the air, a shining body of flesh, as when they hear of His invisible presence, without taking time to investigate a subject upon which they feel so sure... they will dismiss the matter quickly as unworthy of investi­gation. It is to this class of professed Christians the Apostle refers.”

Recently a popular magazine commented on this very subject; and it would seem from the expressions used that they are affiliated with some religious group. They say:

“IS THE END NEAR? Jerusalem has been recaptured by the Jews. Soviet power threatens the Mideast. Communist China is working on an H–bomb delivery system. Nine nations are now in the common market. To growing thousands of us Christians, these political facts are portents of doom, part of a detailed scenario for the Apocalypse. While most Christians were concentrating last week on the First Coming ­Jesus’ nativity at Bethlehem – these believers were concerned with Christ’s second com­ing at the end of time, which they are convinced is at hand... The 19th century was rife with Second Coming excitements: one movement, the Millerites, eventually became the Seventh–day Adventists. The ‘Millennial Dawn’ group expected the end in 1914; they are now the Jehovah’s Witnesses... Both the Apostles and the Nicene creeds at­test belief in a returning Christ who will judge the living and the dead... There is the Revelation of St. John, that stunning piece of apocalyptic biblical literature that has fascinated and frustrated interpreters for nearly 19 centuries... in Chapter 20 the vision of Christ’s 1000–year reign, the Millennium. Oxford Scholar G. B. Caird, a modern interpreter of Revelation, calls Chapter 20 ‘the paradise of cranks and fanat­ics.’ In Modern times, much of main–stream Protestant scholarship has virtually dis­missed the idea of a second coming, preferring to view the apocalyptic literature as a metaphor... To be curious on this score merely proves that one does not understand the events of history. The coming salvation can only be awaited in a state of com­plete preparedness. That would seem to be good advice. After all, the Gospels carry Jesus’ own warning about expectation of the end: ‘Of that day or hour no one knows.’”

Immediately upon reading the foregoing, we recalled the words of Jesus, “Wisdom is justified of all her children.” (Luke 7:35) Also, the worldly axiom, A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. These people not only attempt to take figurative statements literally, but they also rely upon false translations; and a combination of these two vagaries can do nothing but make their readers dizzy and skeptical. They quote Rev. 10:6 from the King James version – “There should be time no longer” –, but just a little consideration should suggest that there must be something wrong here. If there is time no longer, then there couldn’t possibly be anything at all to continue.

When J. F. Rutherford’s time predictions failed completely one after the other, causing him much spiritual indigestion, he came up with the interpretation that this really means we should no longer include time in our Bible considerations. (However, it would seem the Witnesses are again attempting to inject ‘time’ elements into their declarations – especially regarding impending Armageddon.) Once the text is properly translated, it removes much of the confusion – “The time shall be no longer delayed.” The context has to do with the blast of the seventh angel; and the clear inference is that the proclamation of the seventh angel would be that the time had come for fulfill­ment of the sayings of the book – things that had been delayed for 1900 years would now certainly come to pass. Thus, the correct translation proves the exact opposite of the opinions we have quoted above.

Further, “Of that day or hour no one knows”: If we wish to be argumentative, we could answer that this may be true concerning the day or the hour; but this would be no proof at all that we may not understand the generalities as respects the time ­just as we may not know the exact hour when the Vernal Equinox will arrive, but we do know that about that time Spring is sure to arrive. However, there is more to Matt. 24:36: “Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of Heaven, but My Fa­ther only.” At the time Jesus made that statement He is telling the Disciples that He Himself did not know the day or the hour, but He later – after His resurrection – said, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.” (Matt. 28:18) And, in keeping with this, the very first verse of Revelation states that He “would show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass.” Today no one may know when he will die, but that certainly is no reason to conclude that no one ever will know about that event.

The Apostle Paul gives proper analysis of the present situation: “Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolishness the wisdom of this world?” (1 Cor. 1:20) Also, 1 Cor. 3:19,20: “The wis­dom of this world is foolishness with God... He taketh the wise in their own crafti­ness... The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.” This forces us to the conclusion that ‘scoffers’ are the so–called ‘wise’ of this world; and that we have now, and have been having during most of this century, plenty of evidence that we are “in the last days,” and that such scoffers are legion, and their words are even more so.

No intelligent person will now say that we are not in a world of trouble, but when this “time of Trouble” was predicted to start in 1914 with a World War, many of those ‘without’ (Mark 4:11) laughed at such a prediction; but quite a few intelli­gent people of the world now tell us that since 1914 there has been no peace for him that cometh in or for him that goeth out. (Zech. 8:10) Some of the wise and good men of this world are doing their best to find a solution to present-day crime, but they have found none so far; rather, it grows steadily worse. “For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent...... the world by wisdom knew not God.” (1 Cor. 1:19,20) Surely no one will dispute that “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.”

The prediction for 1914 was based on the chronology of the Bible – also the end of the “Times of the Gentiles,” and the returning favor to the Jews. All this has come about at the right day and hour: we now know it is here, and were informed ahead of time that it would be here. Thus, we have confidence that any other important phase of this great “Time of Trouble” will come at the appointed time and hour – and that the Lord’s faithful servants will not be in ignorance concerning that time.

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LETTER OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Brethren: Christian greetings!

Enclosed is a check for which please extend my subscription to your periodical. Please note the change in address. Wishing you and all at the Bible House the Lord’s continued blessing and guidance. Your brother in the love of the Truth’. ------- (VIRGINIA)