NO. 546a RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT - PART ONE

“Men fainting from fear and apprehension of the things coming on the Habitable; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” (Luke 21:26, Dia.)

This text certainly describes the condition of things that has existed among the world during the past year.  There is an air of tension and anxiety accompanied by events that warrant such feelings.  With the many bombings around the world and the threat of possible bombings on U.S. land, and worst of all the expectation of war to break out any moment, as well as the money problems, widespread layoffs and strikes, it isn’t any wonder that the people are very uneasy.  There is no outward show of worry, but there is an undercurrent of uneasiness.

“The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them that trust in Him.” (Nahum 1:7)  We recognize the trouble as the preparation, according to God’s Plan, for blessing the whole world.

The world does not understand these things, but we, if we are Bible Students, know that it is the working out of God’s Plan.  The increasing trouble will lead to worldwide Revolution, the second phase of the Time of Trouble, War, the first phase having already occurred.  After the Revolution will come Anarchy.  But after that comes the great time of blessing upon the whole earth.  This is what we keep our minds stayed on and that helps us to be at ease during the trouble time.  These three phases of the Trouble are pictured in 1 Kings 19:11,12 as Wind (War), Earthquake (Revolution) and Fire (Anarchy).  But after the Fire “a still small voice,” the voice of God, the Divine Power, which will bring blessings to the world.  This corresponds to Psa. 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”  So we look forward with great anticipation for that time of blessing for all the world.

2002 IN REVIEW:

1. Roman Catholic Church priest scandal.
2. U.S. prepares for war with Iraq.
3. Washington, D.C., snipers.
4. Corporate scandals.
5. Republican electoral wins.
6. North Korea nuclear violations.
7. Jimmy Carter wins Nobel Peace Prize.
8. U.S. economy sputters.
9. Europe splits with America.
10. War on terrorism.

“THE TERROR CONTINUES:  American troops remained in Afghananistan, fighting occasional battles with the remnants of the Taliban and al-Qaeda.  Meanwhile, the vice president of Afghanistan was assassinated by Islamic extremists, and an attempt was made on the life of the president, Hamid Karzai.  The hunt for Osama bin Laden continued, and there were differing opinions about whether the al-Qaeda leader remained alive.  The most–deadly terrorist incident of 2002 took place in Bali, where a nightclub frequented by Western tourists was blown up and almost 200 people were killed.”

“MAN IN THE NEWS:  In many ways, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein replaced Osama bin Laden as the biggest enemy to U.S. interest.  Throughout the year, the U.S. administration alleged that Saddam was creating or harboring weapons of mass destruction.  After a year of back-and-forth rhetoric between Baghdad and Washington, Iraq agreed to welcome U.N. weapons inspections.  (Associated Press, December 29, 2002)        

WORLD IN BRIEF:  “Siege of 2 Hindu temples in Kashmir leaves 12 dead.”

“Rioting in southern Jordan kills 1, injures several others.”

“U.S. warship visits China to rejuvenate strained ties.” 

“Venezuela’s president vows to crush any coup attempts.” 

“French truckers block roads to protest lack of pay deal.” 

“Ivory Coast attacks increase war fears as talks continue.”

“39 Countries Short of Food - 25 of them are in Africa.”

“Russian Soldier Opens Fire, Kills 8 Comrades, Injures 3.”

“37,000 Sleep on Streets of New York.  ‘It’s getting steadily worse out there.  All the shelters are full.  It’s tighter than it’s ever been.’”

(Orlando Sentinel, November 2002)

Comment:  The above headlines show that these events are worldwide and that the Time of Trouble is in progress.

“BROTHER OF JESUS:  Archeologists have authenticated what they say is the first physical evidence that corroborates biblical references to Jesus - an inscription of his name on the ancient bone box of his brother, James.

“The inscription found on the container, known as an ossuary, reads in Aramaic: ‘James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.’  The ossuary has been dated to approximately 63 BCE.

“Paleographer Andre Lemaire of Sorbonne University researched the box, which is owned by an anonymous Israel antiquities collector, while he was a visiting scholar this year at the Hebrew University’s Institute for Advanced Study in Jerusalem.  Lemaire published his results in the November/December edition of the Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR).  The findings were unveiled yesterday at a press conference in Washington hosted by the magazine’s publisher, the Biblical Archaeology Society.

“Hershel Shanks, editor in chief of BAR admits that the finding ‘confirms the Jewishness of both James and Jesus.’

“During the first century BCE, Jews often transferred bones of the deceased from burial caves to ossuaries.  This practice was halted after the destruction of the Second Temple.

“Based on extensive research, Lemaire concluded that approximately 20 Jerusalemites from the period would ‘be called James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.’

“‘It is, however, impossible to estimate how many of these ossuaries would be inscribed,’ he writes in the article.  According to Lemaire inscribing the deceased brother’s name on the ossuary was rare and likely occurred in this case, because Jesus - James’s brother - was a prominent figure.

“Dr. Amnon Rosenfield and Dr. Shimon Ilani of the National Infrastructure Ministry’s Geological Survey verified the authenticity of the ossuary.

“Researchers examined the chalk (lime stone), soil, and patina (the thin covering of the surface caused by age) of the ossuary.  They further concluded that the ossuary was not tampered with.

“The anonymous antiquities dealer purchased the ossuary 15 years ago from an Arab dealer for a few hundred dollars.  The item is believed to be from Silwan, a neighborhood in east Jerusalem.”

(The Jerusalem Post, November 1, 2002)     

“2ND DOOR FOUND IN PYRAMID:  CAIRO, EGYPT - Scientists using a robot have discovered yet another door deep inside the Great Pyramid, Egypt’s head archaeologist said Monday.  The discovery followed the September 17 revelation on live television of a chamber behind a similar stone door in an 8-inch-square shaft in the pyramid Pharaoh Khufu built more than 4,000 years ago.  ‘This find in the northern shaft, coupled with last week’s discovery in the southern shaft, represents the first major new information about the Great Pyramid in more than a century,’ said the director of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities.”

(Orlando Sentinel, October 24, 2002)

Comment:  The above article shows that we shouldn’t depend on the pyramid for truth because more discoveries are being made every day.  How will these new findings fit in with what has already been known and accepted?  In fact, the pyramid should not be used to teach a doctrine, but merely to corroborate doctrines that we already have learned from the Bible.  The pyramid has a great many truths revealed in its construction.  It corresponds to the Tabernacle and the Temple.  But the Lord’s people of this age and past ages have had all that the Lord has revealed from His Word, and that is sufficient to maintain faith.

But the world needs more and the pyramid has been an obsession for them for many generations.  The world has to have such things as a stone “witness” (Isa. 19:19,20) to convince them that what is in the Bible is the sure Word of God.  They will be convinced in the Millennium when they realize that their scientific witness shows them what is in the Bible is true.

IN FINANCE

Last year the largest corporation in U.S. history, the Enron Corporation, filed for bankruptcy taking billions of dollars from investors’ funds.  This year two of the largest airlines in the world filed for bankruptcy, United Airlines, U.S. Air, and more could be on their way after taking billions of dollars from guaranteed U.S. government loans.

The year 2002 may well go down in history as the year of the fallen giants.  A weak economy and widespread accounting irregularities fueled what by one measure has been the biggest year ever for corporate bankruptcies, with the value of 2002 filings soaring to a record $368 billion as of December 25.

The number of public companies filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection was actually higher in 2001 - 257 versus 186 this year.  But when measured by assets, the 2002 filings - bloated by big names such as WorldCom Inc., Global Crossing Ltd., Conseco Inc., Adelphia Communications Inc. and UAL Corp. - shattered last year’s record by 42 percent.

McDonald’s has been a public company 37 years and is the world’s largest restaurant company.  It anticipates reporting a loss in the fourth quarter - the first quarterly loss ever.

That left economists and business experts nervously discussing the “ripple effect” of such massive failures on the U.S. economy and investor confidence.

Maybe we are not all doomed after all.  After a few weeks of disappointing reports, this week’s data was more upbeat.  Retail sales were positive in November, excluding motor vehicles, climbing a solid 0.7% - the first time unemployment claims had also declined in November.

On December 10, 2002, Reuters Washington News office released “The Elite Panel of Economists that Rules on U.S. Business Cycles” saying it needs more time before ruling that the 2001 recession has ended.  The private National Bureau of Economic Research said, “The U.S. economy continues to evolve as in earlier months.”

Shoppers are spending less and many stores are struggling, but U.S. malls occupancy levels are strong at a 90.6%.  Simon Property Group, Inc., the nation’s largest mall company with 178 malls, saw occupancy rates increase a full percentage point to 92% for the third quarter.  Average sales per square foot also rose.  The gains took place even as consumer spending slowed. And many mall-based retail tenants struggled.

Interest rates are still lower in the short term.  Long-term interest rates are moving up sharply.  The improvement in retail sales and jobless claims along with this past month’s rise in consumer sentiment might be a signal that the recovery is now regaining momentum but yields will still be hemmed in by fears about terrorism and war.  The U.S. economy has been going down since Clinton’s last two years as president.  The unemployment rates and debt have both been going up over the past four years.

President Bush’s economic team will talk big about helping the economy but little can or will be done.  Bush will hold the line on government spending.  The Iraq situation will keep investors and consumers on edge.

In this Time of Trouble we need to watch for the “times and seasons” of the Lord.  “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.” (1Thes. 5:1)

IN RELIGION

JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES AND THE LAYMENS HOME MISSIONARY MOVMENT:  Both are continuing on in their errant ways.  Both have invented a new false class that Pastor Russell never taught and which is not Scriptural.  The JWs have long since invented “new doctrines” and have taken themselves out of a designation as a Truth group.  And it seems that the LHMM is fast approaching the same category.  They both have failed to adhere to Jude 3: “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”  Both these organizations have muddied the waters of the “common Salvation” with they’re false classes.  More could be said on this and other aberrations, but this should be enough to show their true colors.

“CHURCHES HAVE HECK OF A TIME WITH HELL:  Changing beliefs are forcing preachers to downplay damnation and emphasize life.  Bill Faris believes in hell, that frightful netherworld where the thermostat is always set on high, where sinners toil for eternity in unspeakable torment.

“But you’d never know it listening to him preach at his south Orange County, Calif., evangelical church.  He never mentions the topic; his flock shows little interest in it.

“‘It isn’t sexy enough anymore,’ said Faris, pastor of Crown Valley Vineyard Christian Fellowship.

“In churches across America, hell is being frozen out as clergy find themselves increasingly hesitant to sermonize on Christianity’s outpost for lost souls.

“‘There has been a shift in religion from focusing on what happens in the next life to asking, ‘What is the quality of this life we’re leading now?’ said Harvey Cox Jr., and author, religious historian and professor at Harvard Divinity School.

“Hell’s fall from fashion indicates how key portions of Christian theology have been influenced by a secular society that stresses individualism over authority and the human psyche over moral absolutes.

“The tendency to downplay damnation has grown in recent years as nondenominational ministries, with their focus on everyday issues such as childrearing and career success, have proliferated, and loyalty to churches has deteriorated.

“‘It’s just too negative,’ said Bruce Shelley, a senior professor of church history at the Denver Theological Seminary.  ‘Churches are under enormous pressure to be consumer-oriented.  Churches today feel the need to be appealing rather than demanding.’

“Hell is far from dead.  A May 2001 Gallup Poll of adults nationwide found that 71 percent believe in hell.

“They just don’t want to hear about it.  Even among some ‘born-again’ churches, hell is a rare topic of conversation.  Born-again Christians believe in hell, but they also believe their decision to embrace Christ has earned them a one-way ticket in the other direction.

“Where once hell was viewed as a literal, geographic location, it is more often seen now as a state of the soul.

“Even the Rev. Billy Graham, who came to prominence in the 1940s as a fire-and-brimstone preacher, reconsidered hell.  ‘I believe that hell is essentially separation from God.  That we are separated from God, so we can have hell in this life and hell in the life to come…’ Graham told an interviewer in 1991.

“‘But to describe hell in vivid terms like I might have done 30 or 40 years ago, I’m  not at liberty to do that because whether there is actually fire in hell or not, I do not know.’

“Hell’s roots are tangled up in the Hades of Greek mythology and the ancient Hebrew concept of Sheol - locales where the dead, both good and bad, resided.

“For churches, the fear of hell became a colorful - and effective - tool to teach the consequences of a sinful life devoid of God.

“In the centuries to come, scientific discoveries and the European Enlightenment would crack hell’s veneer, undercutting all things supernatural and questioning whether a merciful God would be so cruel.

“Amid this rethinking, more palatable theories of hell have developed: Souls not ticketed for heaven simply cease to be.  Hell is a temporary state before heaven.

“As a young preacher, Father Wilfredo Benitez of St. Anselm of Canterbury Episcopal Church in Garden Grove, Calif., warned nonbelievers they would burn in Satan’s lair.

“He later dropped the tactic.  ‘Can we accept a gift at gunpoint?  This is total nonsense and madness.’”

(By Mike Anton and William Lobdell, Los Angeles Times, July 6, 2002)

Comment:  The ancient Hebrew word Sheol has no equivalent in the English language resulting in various translations in the Old Testament.  The nearest English word that properly translates it is unconsciousness.  “For there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave [sheol], whither thou goest.”  “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing.” (Eccl. 9:10,5)  The Greek word Hades is merely a translation of the Hebrew word Sheol.

“MORE CHRISTIANS TURN TO ADVENT:  ST. LOUIS - Ashley Timm, 15, worries that the joyful Advent season of spiritual preparation gets lost.

“‘Advent is about helping others, because Jesus loved us,’ she said.  ‘I worry that some people think that it’s about getting lots of presents and seeing Santa Claus, instead of understanding the real gift of Christmas - that Jesus came into this world to save us.’

“The Advent season encompasses the four Sundays preceding Christmas and was celebrated by the early church as a period of penance and preparation for the celebration of the anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ.

“A half-century ago, Advent was observed by Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, Lutherans, and less commonly by other Christians.  However, Advent now has wider appeal as many Christians increase their appreciation for the importance of symbols and rites, said the Rev. Michael Kinnamon, a professor of ecumenical studies at Eden Theological Seminary in Webster Groves, Mo.

“He finds the growing interest in Advent and other liturgical rites especially strong in denominations like his own Christian Church Disciples of Christ and some Baptists.  Both were once adamantly proud of having services and churches that were ‘plain and unadorned,’ he said.”

(Excerpts from Patricia Rice, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 30, 2002) 

“POLL: AIDS Orphans On Own:  Only 3 percent of evangelical Christians say they are willing to help children orphaned by AIDS, a new survey shows.

“Overall, 5 percent of 1,000 adults surveyed by the California-based Barna Research Group said they would help children in such a situation.

“‘Nearly 2,000 years after Jesus gave us the parable of the Good Samaritan, we are still asking the question, ‘Who is my neighbor?’  And we’re still getting the answer wrong,’ said World Vision President Richard E. Stearns.”

(Orlando Sentinel, November 30, 2002)

“ATHEISTS BOOST POLITICAL MUSCLE TO BATTLE RELIGION IN PUBLIC LIFE:  WASHINGTON - Banding together against what they see as the encroachment of religion on American public life, more than 1,000 atheists organized on the National Mall for the first Godless Americans March on Washington.

“At the march last Saturday, they came bearing signs and banners with slogans such as ‘Religion Kills’ and ‘Believers Repent,’ marching past dozens of Christian counter protesters.

“‘We want the same rights of every other group of Americans who have marched down this mall,’ said Ellen Johnson, American Atheists president.  ‘We need to become a well-oiled well-financed political machine.’

“To that end, Johnson announced the creation of the Godless Americans Political Action Committee.  ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I see a sleeping giant that is waking up and ready to assert its political and cultural influence,’ Johnson said.”

(By Adelle M. Banks and Aparna H. Kumar, Religion News Service, November 9, 2002)

“ATHEISTS GIVE ‘GOD SLOT’ ON BBC A NEW PERSPECTIVE:  LONDON - Some of Britain’s most eminent writers and thinkers are demanding equal time for atheism on a daily religious radio spot that is a cherished ritual to many believers of all faiths.

“‘Thought for the Day,’ the British Broadcasting Corp’s venerable ‘God slot,’ responded yesterday by giving listeners a dose of atheism, as the debate continued over religion’s place on the national broadcaster.

“Richard Dawkins, Oxford University’s professor for the public understanding of science, was granted an experimental ‘Thought for the Day’ slot an hour after Anne Atkins, a newspaper columnist and the wife of a Church of England vicar, had presented the daily fixture.

“He summoned the nation to abandon religion - to ‘leave the crybaby phase and finally come of age.’

“The issue has touched a British nerve.  ‘Thought for Today’ may be just two minutes and 45 seconds long, but since 1970 it has been a fixture on one of the nation’s most influential news programs.” (Today on Radio 4, which draws 6.45 million listeners)

“The Atheist ‘Thought’ came a day after more than a hundred prominent atheists - including play wrights Harold Pinter and Arnold Wesker, authors Iain Banks, and John Fowles, and Joseph Rotblat, a Nobel Peace prize winner - published a letter demanding equal treatment.

“‘Thought for the Day’ has regular contributions from Sikhs, Jews and Christians but does not welcome contributors who hold no religious beliefs.

“‘By resolutely retaining the ban, the BBC is discriminating against the non-religious, and thus giving the impression of promoting religion as the one source of ethics’ the letter said.

“The debate over a program that is meant to encourage thoughtful contemplation quickly turned angry.

“‘To ask an atheist to contribute to (‘Thought for Today’) would be like asking an earthworm to comment on quantum physics,’ Gerald Aves commented in his e-mail to the Today program web site.

“Phil Healey responded: ‘this is an absolutely perfect example of the bigotry of those people who believe in fairy tales.’

“Church attendance has declined sharply in Britain, but a BBC poll two years ago found that 62 percent affirmed their belief in God and in Jesus Christ.” 

(Associated Press, August 15, 2002) 

Comment:  Satan is walking about like a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8) promoting the thought of Atheism and is having much success.

CATHOLICS:  “BISHOP QUESTIONS EUCHARIST:  Anglican Bishop of Oxford Richard Harries has suggested that the ‘cannibalistic language of the Eucharist’ is part of the reason Christianity is declining in Britain.  Harries outlined his views in his controversial new book God Outside the Box.

“The ‘Prayer of Humble Access’ reads, in part: ‘Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood.’

“In an interview with The Times newspaper in London, Harries said, ‘I do not think that Christians today take seriously enough people’s sense of horror at going to a Eucharist or Mass, if they have never been before, and hearing the imagery of sacrifice and eating God.’”

(Orlando Sentinel, August 24, 2002)

Comment:  At the Last Supper when Jesus initiated the antitypical Passover for His disciples to replace the typical Hebrew Passover that celebrates the Jews deliverance from slavery, He said, “This is my body, this is my blood.”  He was present there in the flesh saying these words, so how can it mean that the bread and the wine were His actual body and blood?  He meant that they represented His sacrifice as the antitypical “Lamb of God.”  Also, in the “Prayer of Humble Access” it says, “thy dear Son Jesus Christ.”  Then at the end of the item it says “eating God.”  Is Jesus the Son of God or God the Father?  How can He be both?

“LAY WORKERS JOIN UNION:  Lay workers at four Roman Catholic parishes in Texas who were worried about pensions and other benefits have joined unions - a rare move for church employees of any denomination, labor groups say.

“The employees have signed contracts with the United Farm Workers of America and AFLCIO.” 

(Orlando Sentinel, August 24, 2002)

“CATHOLIC CAMPUSES HEAD FOR SHOWDOWN:  A deadline looms Saturday that could ignite a smoldering conflict over academic freedom between the Roman Catholic hierarchy and theologians at the nation’s 235 Catholic colleges and universities.

“The winners and losers won’t be immediately clear, but in coming years jobs and the shape of Catholic higher learning may be at stake.

“Acting on instructions from the Vatican, U.S. bishops have ordered Catholics who teach their faith’s doctrine, morality, Scripture, law and history at Catholic schools to obtain a ‘mandatum’ (mandate, in English) from the bishop of the diocese where the college is located.

“The document, which the bishops agreed should be obtained by June 1 - Saturday - attests the theologian teaches only authentic Catholicism.”

(The Dispatch, Lexington, NC, May 22, 2002)

EPISCOPALIAN:  “UNWED UNIONS GAIN SUPPORT:  The Episcopal Church’s Kansas diocese will allow clerical blessings of homosexual couples and unwed heterosexuals for whom marriage is a financial hardship, Bishop William E. Smalley said.

“Smalley said Kansas is the first diocese to bless unmarried heterosexuals.  With homosexual union, ‘others are doing it, but are very quiet about it,’ he said.

“Smalley said he based his decision on a resolution at the 2000 Episcopal convention that ‘acknowledged’ some Episcopalians live in committed relationships outside wedlock.”

(Orlando Sentinel, July 6, 2002)

PRESBYTERIAN:  “PASTORS PROTEST:  Hoping to recapture the reformer’s spirit that led Martin Luther to spark the Protestant Reformation, five pastors gathered recently at the Louisville, Ky., headquarters of the Presbyterian Church (USA) with a list of grievances, saying the church is ‘irretrievably apostate.’

“About 100 church members also signed the document in support.  It calls on church leaders to discipline congregations and pastors who defy the church constitution, especially those who ordain noncelibate gays and lesbians as pastors.

“Arguing that church leaders ‘will respond to apostasy only when there is a financial crisis,’ the document also called on congregations to withhold their dues from any church agency that ‘tolerates defiance of our constitution.’”

(Orlando Sentinel, November 16, 2002)

“PASTOR QUITS AMID RIFT ABOUT GAYS:  The Rev. Howard Edington resigned from Orlando’s First Presbyterian Church.  The Rev. Howard Edington, who in two decades as pastor more than tripled the downtown congregation of First Presbyterian Church of Orlando, announced his retirement Wednesday in the wake of a controversy sparked by his conservative views on the role of gays in the denomination.

“The 60-year-old Edington’s vocal opposition to ordaining gay ministers and blessing same-sex unions - together with a sermon opposing the Orlando City Council’s recently passed ordinance protecting gays from discrimination - had roiled his congregation.

“At least two elders resigned.  At one point, the minister was urged to take a six-month sabbatical, an offer he rejected.

“Edington did not dispute that his involvement in conservative causes, especially those involving sexual orientation, has led some members of the congregation to leave in recent months for other Presbyterian churches.

“He said that ‘our denomination is in trouble’ because of ‘the watering down of the theological standards of the church as a whole.’  The official stance of the 2.6 million-member Presbyterian Church (USA) denomination is that all ordained ministers must be in a heterosexual marriage or celibate, and that the church will not bless homosexual unions.  However, Edington and others have charged that in practice the denomination does not discipline congregations that violate these policies.

“‘It is being defied by some churches, individuals and presbyterys,’ Edington said.  He said he would not accept another pastorate.

“Edington’s success in turning First Presbyterian into a multimillion-dollar complex with about 5,600 members and nearly 200 specialized ministries drew praise from around the country.  Bucking a national trend of churches moving their congregation out of downtowns, Edington decided in the 1980s that his flock would stay put in what he called the ‘Heart of the City.’  Since then, the church has grown into the fourth-largest congregation in the Presbyterian Church (USA) denomination.  In October, Edington’s was one of five names affixed to a list of theological grievances taped to the front door of the denomination’s Louisville, Ky., headquarters, in imitation of Marin Luther’s action that sparked the Protestant Reformation.”

(Excerpts from Mark I. Pinsky, Orlando Sentinel, December 5, 2002)

Comment:  The above shows what a hodgepodge of confusion there is among the different sects, as well as among some churches of the same sect.  It is reminiscent of the ancient Tower of Babel.  It is a real Babylon of confusion.  It should be noted that their quarrels are about such things as homosexuals, abortion, unions outside wed lock, etc.

They are never about real doctrines of the Bible such as the Ransom, Restitution, Justification, the Kingdom, which we pray always for, and other important doctrines.  Jesus said, “go thou and preach the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:60)  However, it seems that the squabbling over their mundane differences may be one cause that will bring their downfall.    

Correction:  In the November 2002 paper, No. 544, under Doctrine Number One, first paragraph, last line, should read:  reasonable to believe that the previous six days (epochs) were 7,000 years each (6x7=42,000) and the week 49,000 years (7x7=49,000).

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Our heartfelt thanks and appreciation for the many beautiful Christmas cards expressing love and prayers.  Be assured that our warm Christian love and prayers are ever with you.  We wish for all our readers that they will grow in Grace and Knowledge of the Lord for a blessed New Year, as “The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” (Prov. 4:18)

ANNOUNCEMENT:  The Memorial for 2003 is on Monday, April 14, after six p.m.

NO. 545 THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM

       “For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ, the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:11,12)

WHY WAS THIS BABE EXPECTED?

       “Unto us a Child is born; unto us a Son is given.” (Isa. 9:6)  This is a subject which will never grow old - a subject which, on the contrary shall to all eternity be a theme of angels and of men.  The birth of Jesus, to be rightly understood and esteemed, must be considered from the standpoint of a gift of Love Divine.  Any other view of the matter is merely the casket without the jewel.  The Scriptures give us the key to the thought: “God so loved the world that he gave his Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

       The world was under sentence of death; mankind had been dying for more than four thousand years.  God had pitied humanity from the first.  Yes, before sin entered, Divine Wisdom saw the end, and would not have created man, or would not have permitted the condition which led to sin and the sentence of death, had Divine Wisdom not foreseen and arranged in advance for human redemption.

       Why were all men in expectation of Him at the time of His birth?  What was to be peculiar about Him to lead Israel to expect His birth?  The answer to this question is that God had made a certain promise centuries before and the promise had not been fulfilled.  This promise contained the thought that a holy child would be born, and that in some way, not explained in the promise, this child would bring the blessing the world needed.  Therefore every mother amongst the Israelites was very solicitous that she might be the mother of a son rather than a daughter, that perchance she might be the mother of this promised child.  Thus the matter went on for years until, finally, the child was born.

       The promise back of the expectation was that which God made to Abraham, saying, “In thee and in thy Seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”  From that time forward Abraham began to look for the promised Seed - the promised child.  He looked first of all to his own children, and was finally informed that it would not be one of his children direct, but that through their children, at some remote date, this child should be born - the Seed of Abraham.  From that time onward, all the Israelites were waiting for the birth of the child that should bring the blessing.

       But why was a Messiah necessary?  Why wait at all for the birth of the child?  The answer to this question is that sin had come into the world; that God had placed our first parents, who were holy, pure and free from sin, in the glorious conditions of the Garden of Eden with every favorable prospect and everlasting life at their command if they continued in harmony with God.  But by reason of their disobedience they came under Divine displeasure and sentence of death.  This sentence of death has brought in its wake aches, pains, sorrows, tears, sighing, crying and death - all of these experiences as a result of sin.

       Our heavenly Father said to our first parents - and this was the first intimation that he gave them of a deliverance - that “The Seed of the woman shall bruise the Serpent’s head.” (Gen. 3:15)  The Serpent in this expression means Satan - all the powers of evil, everything adverse to humanity, everything adverse to the blessings which God had given them, and which they had lost by disobedience.  But the promise was vague and they understood little about the “Seed of the woman” and “bruising the Serpents head.”  It merely meant in an allegorical way a great victory over Sin and Satan, without explaining how it should come.  The total victory over Satan was to come later.  “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.” (Rom. 16:20)

       So humanity continued to die; they continued to have aches and pains and sorrows; they continued going down to the tomb.  They realized that what they needed was some Savior to come and deliver them from the power of sin, to deliver them from the death penalty of sin - a Savior who would be, in other words, a Life-giver.  They were dying and needed new life.  This is the meaning of the word Savior in the language used by our Lord and the Apostles.  They were hoping and expecting that God would send a Life-giver.

       It was on this account that they were so greatly concerned regarding the promise made to Abraham:  “In thee and in thy Seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 28:14) - they shall be granted a release from sin and death.  In no other way could mankind be blessed.  It would be impossible to bless mankind except by releasing them from sin and death.  Hence, the Scriptures tell us of God’s sympathy; that God looked down from His holy habitation, and beheld our sorrow, and heard, figuratively, “the groaning of the prisoners,” humanity - all groaning and travailing under this penalty of death -some with few aches and pains, and some with more aches and pains; some with few sorrows, and some with greater sorrows; but all groaning and travailing in pain.

       But God’s sympathy was manifested.  He looked down and beheld that there was no eye to pity and no arm to save and with His own Arm He brought salvation.  This is what was promised to Abraham - that one should come from his posterity who would be the Savior of the world; and because this promise was made to Abraham and to his Seed, they were marked out as separate from all other nations and peoples.  To the Jewish nation alone belonged this great honor - that through them should come this salvation.  Hence from that time onward the Jews spoke of themselves as God’s people, the people whom God had promised to bless, and through whom he would bring a blessing to all others.  Therefore, all other people were called heathen (or nations, which the word means).  Israel was thus separated because God’s Covenant was with them, and not with the others.  But God’s Covenant with Israel was for the blessing of all the others:  “In thy Seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”  Now we have the “Why” of this wonderful babe’s being born.

HOW WAS THIS BABE PECULIAR - HOLY, HARMLESS, UNDEFILED?

       How could He be a Savior?  In what way could He be different from any other babe?  Why not use some other babe as the one through whom salvation should come?  The answer of the Bible is that salvation could not come to mankind unless there should be satisfaction of Justice on account of Original Sin.  That must be the first consideration.  The penalty, “Dying thou shalt die,” pronounced against the first man, must be met before the world could be blessed.

       Why not let any man die?  Because all were under the sentence of the original condemnation, and none could be a Ransom-price or a substitute.  Hence the necessity for a specially born babe, different from any other babe.  In what way was this One differently born?  The Bible explains to us very distinctly that He was not begotten of an earthly father.  Although Joseph was espoused to Mary, yet this child was not the child of Joseph.  The Bible explains that this child was specially begotten by Divine Power, in the mother, though she was still a “virgin” when she brought forth the child.

A SAVIOR - CHRIST THE LORD

       It was prophetically, of course, that the babe of Bethlehem was called a Savior - He was to be a Savior, The Christ, the Lord.  But as the babe he was none of these.  He became The Christ before becoming the Savior and Lord.  The word Christ signifies anointed.  In the Divine purpose it was arranged that Messiah should be anointed High Priest of Israel on a higher plane than Aaron - after the order of Melchisedec (Psa. 110:4).  And every priest must be anointed to his office before he could fill it.  Similarly, it was prophesied that Christ would be the great King, greater than David and Solomon, who were His types and foreshadows.

       This is the Scriptural proposition; and while it may not seem clear to some, yet the Word of God stands sure.  If the Redeemer was not perfect then he could not be the Savior of the world.  The promised redemption implied that Jesus would be perfect; it implied that He would be as the first man was before he sinned.  “For since by man came death, by man shall come also the resurrection of the dead”; “As all in Adam die, even so shall all in Christ be made alive.” (1 Cor. 15:21,22)

       So this one must be, as the Apostles declares, “holy harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners.” (Heb. 7:26)  He must be entirely distinct and separate from humanity so far as sinful features were concerned.  If we had time it would be interesting to go into the scientific features - how a perfect child could be from an imperfect mother.  If we can have a perfect life germ we can have a perfect child from an imperfect mother.  If a breeder of stock wishes to raise the standard of his stock, he selects a fine bull, a male goat, or a male ram, and thus he improves the entire herd.  And so, if we had perfect fathers, we could soon have a perfect race.  But there is no father who can produce a perfect child.  Hence it was necessary in this case (and the Scriptures declare it was accomplished) that God should beget this Son by power from on high.  Therefore, that which was born of the “virgin” was separate and distinct from all humanity.  His life came not from an earthly father, but from His Heavenly Father.

WHO WAS HE THUS BORN?

       It is written that before he became flesh Jesus had an existence; as He declared, “Before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58)  Again in one of His prayers He said, “Father, glorify thou me with the glory that I had with thee before the world was.” (John 17:5)  The Revelator tells us that “He was the beginning of the creation of God” (Rev. 3:14), and Paul says that “by him all things were made.” (John 1:3)  And so our Lord Jesus was not only the beginning, but also the active agent of the Father in all the creative work in the angelic world and in the creation of humanity, and all things that were created.

       The whole matter is summed up by the Apostle John.  We will give a more literal translation of “In the beginning was the Word.”  [This expression, Word, in the Greek is Logos.  The thought behind the word Logos is that in olden times a king, instead of speaking his commands directly to his people, sat behind a lattice work, and his Logos, or messenger, or word, or representative, stood before the lattice work, and gave the message of the king to the people in a loud tone of voice.  The king himself was not seen by the people - the Logos was the one seen.  So this is the picture the Scriptures give us of how Jesus was the express representative of the Heavenly Father, the One through whom the Heavenly Father made Himself known - the Word, or the Logos.  So we read in the first chapter of John], “In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with the God, and the Logos was a god.  The same was in the beginning with the God.  By him were all things made, and without him was not anything made.” (John 1:1, Dia.)

       In other words, Jesus was the direct Creator of all things.  He was the Divine Power, Agent, Word, Messenger, the Logos of Jehovah.  He did all the great work of creation; but He Himself was the first of God’s direct creation, the First-born of all creatures, that in all things He might have the pre-eminence - the first place.

         When the time came that our Heavenly Father made known His great purpose that He would bless the world, He gave opportunity to this First-begotten One - this begotten of the Father - to be the servant in this great work He intended to accomplish for mankind.  Consequently, the Scriptures state that “for the joy set before him he endured the cross, despising the shame.” (Heb. 12:2)  And now He has sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.  He has this great reward because of His obedience even unto death, the death of the cross.

       The Apostle speaks of Him as having been rich, but for our sakes becoming poor, that through His poverty we might be made rich.  He tells us how He left the glory which He had with the Father and humbled Himself to the human nature.  Why?  Because, as already stated, it was necessary that some one should become man’s Redeemer; an angel could not redeem man, neither could an animal redeem man.  The Divine law is “an eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth; a man’s life for a man’s life.” (Matt. 5:38)  This was to teach us a great lesson; that perfect human life having been condemned to death, that it would require a perfect human life to redeem it.  It was therefore necessary that Jesus should become the “Man Christ Jesus,” in order “that He by the grace of God shall taste death for every man.” (Heb. 2:9)

WHAT RESULTS HAVE FOLLOWED?

       The results that have followed have been that He Himself proved His own faithfulness.  “Being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:8) - the most ignominious form of death.  It pleased the Father thus to prove Him, not only by death, but by the most ignominious form of death - dying as a culprit, being crucified between two thieves.  What a terrible ignominy to die thus!

       It would be ignominy enough for us in our imperfection, but for Him, perfect, “holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners,” it must have been a cause of deep and poignant sorrow.  Having completed the laying down of His life, at the end of three and half years, He cried, “It is finished!”  What?  Not His work, for much of that lay before Him!  He merely finished this part of the work, finished laying down His life a ransom-price.

       What next?  After His death came His resurrection, and we read that “God raised Him from the dead on the third day.”  According to the Scriptures He was raised up from death a glorious being - “sown in corruption, raised in incorruption; sown in dishonor, raised in glory, sown in weakness, raised in power; sown a natural body, raised a spirit body”; “Wherefore God hath highly exalted him and given him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, those in heaven, and those on the earth, and those under the earth; that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:10)

WHAT ABOUT THE FUTURE?

       All the families of the earth are to be blessed, as originally promised in Eden: “The Seed [The Christ] of the woman shall bruise the Serpents head.”  Also, as St. Paul states in the 16th chapter of Romans, “The very God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.”  So, then, the next thing in order in the outworking of God’s Plan will be to bruise Satan and destroy him.

       When and how will this be done?  Just as soon as this Age shall end; because this Age is merely for the development of the Bride class; then will come the promised Free Grace to all the families of the earth.  Messiah’s Kingdom shall come.  He has promised that when He shall reign, all His faithful shall reign with Him: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I overcame and am set down with my Father in his throne.” (Rev. 3:21)  All the Church will be associated with Him in His great Messianic Kingdom; and “He shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth” (Psa. 72:8); and “Unto Him every knee shall bow and every tongue confess, to the glory of God the Father” (Rom. 14:11); “The knowledge of the glory of God shall fill the whole earth.” (Hab. 2:14)  The whole earth will become as the Garden of Eden.  Paradise Lost will be Paradise Restored.  The Divine Image lost in Adam will be restored to man.  Human nature will be brought to perfection.  But the glorious reward to the Church will be the Divine nature, to be like her Lord, to sit at His right hand, and to bless the world of mankind.  Man will become not only perfect, having all that Adam had, but will have additional knowledge and character; and there is every evidence that this shall be an eternal blessing.

SHALL NONE BE LOST?

       Yes, the Scriptures tell us that some will be lost, and that the loss they shall sustain will be loss of life.  “They shall be as though they had not been” (Obad. 1:16); “They shall be destroyed from amongst the people.”  St. Peter says, “They shall be destroyed as brute beasts.” (Acts 3:23; 2 Peter 2:12)

       When?  When the eyes of their understanding shall have been opened to see the Lord and to understand His glorious character, and they shall have had opportunity to appreciate and enjoy His blessing.  When such intentionally reject the grace of God, they shall die the Second Death, from which there is no resurrection, no hope of recovery.  But thank God, there shall be no knowledge of suffering for them; they shall be destroyed as brute beasts.

       In proportion as we believe in this Babe of Bethlehem shall we rejoice today.  In proportion as we believe He was manifested on our behalf; in proportion as we believe He died for our sins; in proportion as we recognize Him as the glorified Savior; in proportion as we have surrendered our hearts to Him and seek to do the things well pleasing to Him shall we have the peace of God.

       Our hope on behalf of mankind in general is that in God’s due time His blessing shall reach all - not the same as that for the Church, but as St. Peter tells us in Acts 3:19-21, “Times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord, and he shall send Jesus Christ, who before was preached unto you, whom the heaven must retain until the times of restitution of all things spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets.”

(Based on Reprint 4963, January 15, 1912, by Pastor Charles T. Russell)

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       “ACADEMICS FIRED ‘FOR BEING ISRAELI’:  British Professor Mona Baker, the director of the center for translation and intercultural studies at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), dismissed two Israeli academics from the boards of her two independently-owned journals after signing an academic boycott of Israeli institutions last week.  The two Israelis were highly respected academicians, Gideon Toury from the Tel Aviv University, and Dr. Miriam Shlesinger, a respected American-born lecturer at the Bar-Ilan University.  Prof. Baker, a native of Egypt who has lived in England for 20 years, told the Telegraph (London): ‘I deplore the Israeli state.’  And was quoted by the media as saying: ‘Israel has gone beyond just war crimes.  Many of us would like to talk about it as some kind of holocaust which the world will eventually wake up to, much too late, of course, as they did with the last one.’

       “Prof. Baker is one of the signatories of a British-led petition of more than 700 mainly European academics launched by Prof. Steven Rose of Britain’s Open University.  Signatories include some of the most eminent Oxford professors, including Colin Blakemore and Richard Dawkins.  This organized ‘academic boycott’ is part of a campaign to suspend European Union funding of Israeli universities (though not, of course, the EU’s generous financing of Yasser Arafat).  Ten Israeli academics have also signed the petition.

       Baker’s actions brought an avalanche of international condemnation.  Several British media commentators, including those from newspapers traditionally hostile to Israel, have strongly criticized the sackings of the Israelis.  If you believe that Prof. Baker’s actions against the Israelis was improper, you may write her at:  monabaker@umist.ac.uk”

(By Rebecca Brimmer, July 19, 2002)

       “NOT MADE IN ISRAEL:  British supermarkets have been instructed not to label fruit, vegetables, flowers, wine and fruit as ‘Produce of Israel’ if they were grown and packed in Judea, Samaria, or the Gaza Strip.

       “A government spokesman said the directive had been agreed to by the European Union and applied to all member states.

       “As a result, Israeli produce from across the Green Line will no longer qualify for preferential EU import duties.  The British directive, the first to differentiate between goods produced within and beyond the Green Line, is widely seen as a capitulation by the government to a campaign by pro-Palestinian activists to advance an openly anti-Israel agenda.”

(The Jerusalem Post, July 19, 2002)

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WORDS OF WAR

       President Bush, it turns out, is keeping score.  Inside a drawer of his Oval Office desk sits a neat sheaf of classified documents containing the names and photographs of suspected terrorist thought to be responsible for the horrors of September 11, 2001.  As each man is killed or captured, according to the president’s daily intelligence briefing, Bush hauls out the list and puts a big check mark across the appropriate picture to signify that one more “evildoer” has met his fate.  Aids say the president takes considerable satisfaction in the private ritual.

       Clearly, Bush’s war has gotten personal.  This was illustrated once again by his tearful demeanor and emotional remarks at last week’s commemoration ceremonies marking the first anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  “For all Americans, it has been a year of adjustment, of coming to terms with the difficult knowledge that our nation has determined enemies and that we are not invulnerable,” the president said in a seven-minute address to the nation from Ellis Island.  “The attack on our nation was also an attack on the ideals that make us a nation.  Our deepest national conviction is that every life is precious, because every life is the gift of a Creator who intended us to live in liberty and equality.”

       Now Bush is applying that same sense of mission and resolve to what increasingly appears to be an inevitable war against Saddam Hussein.  In his much-anticipated address to the United Nations, Bush asked the court of world opinion to rally around him.  “Saddam Hussein’s regime is a grave and gathering danger,” Bush said in arguing that Iraq continues to develop nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, is a threat to peace, and is flouting the U.N.  Allowing the regime to survive, the president argued, would be a “reckless gamble.”

       All this means that Bush will need to add another role to his repertoire of consoler in chief and commander in chief.  Now, he must act as salesman in chief - and it won’t be easy.  As his first order of business, he will seek to impose an ultimatum with a tight deadline on Iraq in the form of a single sweeping U. N. Security Council resolution demanding compliance with stringent weapons inspections.  While Russia or China most likely will balk at an explicit threat of force if Baghdad resists, the Bush administration will work to make the implicit threat as clear as possible.  And it intends to act, with or without U.N. authorization.  “Standing idly by is not acceptable, and it will not be on our conscience,” Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told U.S. News.

       With his address, Bush fundamentally shifted the international debate onto more favorable ground by presenting the case as a fundamental test of U.N. credibility.  Yet several key Security Council nations remain wary of the administration’s underlying goal of “regime change” (a phrase the president avoided using in his U.N. address).  They appear to favor the approach used during the 1990s of forcing only weapons inspections, not Hussein’s removal.  Ousting him, these countries argue, would set the ominous precedent of overturning a sovereign government.

       Meanwhile, Bush will ask Congress to approve a war resolution before it adjourns next month.  As with the United Nations, he has a way to go.  “I don’t think that the case for a pre-emptive attack has been made conclusively yet,” says Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a South Dakota Democrat.  Sen. Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, argues that Bush has not adequately defined the Iraqi threat.  “I am troubled that the administration has not made the most basic intelligence preparation for the debate on Capitol Hill,” Durbin says.  “Until it’s done, Congress is in no position to vote on going to war.  We should not make a rash or hasty decision.”  All this will require a level of salesmanship from the White House that it has not yet displayed.  In fact, a “white paper” released by the White House detailing Iraq’s history of flouting U.N. resolutions presented no new intelligence about its nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons capabilities.

       War planning.  Nor does the military appear ready to pull the trigger.  The Joint Chiefs of Staff are still hashing out a war plan, although the chiefs did meet on September 10 to narrow down the options drawn up by Central Command, which would run any conflict.

       But Pentagon planners say things might be quite a bit easier than they were in the first Persian Gulf War.  For one thing, the Iraqi military was decimated the first time around, and the subsequent arms embargo made it very difficult for Baghdad to improve its conventional forces.  In addition, any U.S. or allied buildup would not take nearly as long as the months of preparation needed 12 years ago.  The U.S. military presence in the region already is being bolstered by additional deployments of military hardware and some U.S. troops.  Pentagon officials think the military could be ready to strike by the end of November.  Military planners don’t think it will require anything close to the half-million troops sent to the region last time; one estimate is that it would take 150,000 to rout the Iraqis.

       And while worries persist that a desperate Saddam Hussein may use chemical or biological weapons against U.S. forces or Israel, there is growing confidence among at least some of Washington’s cognoscenti that the war would be short and decisive.  Former President Bill Clinton, for example, predicts that Iraq could be defeated in a week.

       At that point, though, things could get murky.  “How do we get out?” asks a senior military official.  “That’s the cause of the most concern.  What is the exit strategy?”  Yet a senior White House official says Bush is not worried about that prospect and would accept a U.S. commitment to occupy and rebuild Iraq for a period of years.  “He believes that scenario is better than leaving Saddam in control,” says the official.

       That is a turnabout for Bush, who argued in the 2000 campaign that America was stretched too thin around the world and should avoid “nation building.”  Likewise, his decision to seek U.N. support represented another shift.  Going it alone was his first instinct, reinforced by his hawkish advisers led by Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.  But in recent weeks, Bush has been persuaded to take a more multilateral approach, at least temporarily.  One reason: the quiet diplomacy of Secretary of State Colin Powell, a pragmatic coalition builder.

       Also playing a role in the shift were advisers to Bush’s father, including former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft and former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger.  Both have publicly advocated the more cautious, multilateral approach.  And many people who know George Herbert Walker Bush have no doubt that he agrees with his former advisers, although he would never say so publicly because it would embarrass his son.  Yet several of the elder Bush’s senior strategists warn that in some ways the current situation is much different, and more difficult, than the one the father faced.  “In ’91, we had a defined threat - Iraq had crossed an international border by invading Kuwait,” says a former aide to the elder Bush.  “This time, the threat is not well defined.”  Further, the administration’s internal divisions have been on full public display, featuring leaks not only of the factions’ differing views but also of various military attack scenarios, apparently in an effort to discredit them.

       Finish the job.  Compounding President Bush’s current problem is that he lacks his father’s personal relationship with other world leaders, deepened by the elder Bush’s experiences as vice president and U.N. ambassador, making it more difficult for the president to rally international backing.  Finally, the Republican Party’s conservative wing feels that the father botched the endgame of the Gulf War by failing to depose Saddam Hussein.  These conservatives, some GOP insiders say, are pushing the son to finish the job.

       To that end, Bush’s bill of particulars against Hussein is lengthy and growing.  The president, like his father, believes Hussein is a barbarian.  This was reinforced by Saudi sources, who told him the Iraqi dictator had sent Arab leaders a video in which he berates a group of political opponents who were brought in to see him - and shoots one in the head as a lesson to his adversaries.

       In addition, Bush has concluded that Hussein is more dangerous to the United States than he was before the Gulf War because more terrorists are now willing to commit suicide.  “This gives him willing mules” to carry out attacks, says a senior White House strategist.  “The president feels that when all the variables are taken together, Saddam Hussein poses a unique threat to the world,” and he must be ousted, observes another top administration official.  “When people say, ‘Why now?’ he says, ‘Why later?’”

       Yet some Democrats find the timing suspect and argue that the administration is stirring up war fever to give Republican candidates an edge in the November midterm elections.  “They’re using a fight they waited to have with Saddam Hussein directly for political advantage,” says Joe Lockhart, a Democratic strategist who was White House press secretary for Clinton.  “They realized the midterms were slipping away on the basis of the economy, and now they’re using foreign policy.  This is uncharted territory… but it’s a highly cynical and dangerous strategy.  They’ve clearly set this thing up so that something dramatic has to happen or the policy will be seen as a failure.”

       On the other side, many Republicans argue that it is the Democrats who are playing politics.  “These guys are making the same mistakes the Republicans made in 1991 - they are too ideological, too political, too extreme,” says GOP pollster Frank Luntz.  “The average American really hates Saddam Hussein,” Luntz adds.  “The average American won’t spit at anything these days, but he will spit at a picture of Saddam Hussein.”  Partly as a result, the public will give the president the benefit of the doubt if and when he uses military force to oust the Iraqi ruler, Luntz argues.

       So far, the growing debate in Washington over Iraq has not yet dominated the political campaigns across the country.  Overall, the midterms appear to turn on a variety of issues, including the economy, education, corporate reform, and many local and regional concerns.  Ratcheting up war talk could yet change all that by sweeping nearly everything else off the radar screen.  And whether by coincidence or calculation, that would be just fine with the political strategists at the White House. 

(By Kenneth T. Walsh, U.S. News & World Report, September 23, 2002)         

NO. 544 THE TEN CARDINAL DOCTRINES OF THE BIBLE

       “All scripture given by inspiration of God, is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Tim. 3:16,17)

       This text is what the Bible says about itself.  It is profitable for four things: (1) Reproof (refutation of error); (2) Correction (instruction in what not to do); (3) Instruction in Righteousness (what we should do); (4) Doctrine (something that is taught).  Doctrine in secular use is a statement of principle, a rule, or a law, as in the Monroe Doctrine.

       In our text doctrine simply means teachings, as the Diaglott gives it:  “All scripture, divinely inspired, is indeed profitable for Teaching.”  Biblical Doctrine then is all of the Bible’s teachings on God’s Plan of Salvation (Eph. 3:11, Dia.) - teachings He set before us and asks us to believe.

       Among the many doctrines of Scripture there are ten primary doctrines, interrelated, so that considered together they embody the entire Plan of Salvation as revealed to us here in the end of the Gospel Age.  These ten, properly understood, are harmonious just as the strings of a harp, properly tuned, produce chords that are harmonious: “Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.” (Psa. 33:2)  “To show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound.” (Psa. 92:2,3)  In addition we have in Luke 15:8-10 the parable of the woman who had ten pieces of silver.  In Scripture a woman usually types the Church (Little Flock), and silver types Divine truth, which Biblical doctrines are.

DOCTRINE NUMBER ONE

       The Bible begins with a doctrinal statement: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Gen. 1:1)  The first of ten cardinal doctrines then is Creation.  Expanding on this the Bible continues in v. 2: “The earth was without form [no order] and void [in an empty or waste condition] and darkness was upon the face of the deep [no light from any heavenly body].”  From this state God began to prepare the earth to support life and began to bring forth life.  But God did this in a succession of six days, or periods, followed by a seventh day, or period, in which He ceased the work of creating plants and animals.  The seventh day, which began with the creation of man, we see to be 7,000 years (according to chronology, genealogy, prophecy) so it is reasonable to believe that the previous six days (epochs) were 7,000 years each (6x7=49,000).

       “Let earth bring forth grass, the herb seed, etc.” and “let the waters bring forth the moving creatures, fowl, etc.”  This is consistent with the findings of evolutionists that life evolved from the sea and the land.  But then there is a different statement: “Let us make man in our image.” (1:26)  God created man and called him “very good” (perfect) and this was not until the seventh day.  Psalms 8:3-6 sums up the creation of man: “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him?  And the son of man that thou visiteth him?  For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor.  Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet.”  Dominion over the animals proves that man was not evolved from animals or part of any evolutionary chain.

DOCTRINE NUMBER TWO

       In the third chapter of Genesis is found a second cardinal doctrine, which is the Fall, often called the doctrine of original sin.  Satan used the serpent, the most subtle or cunning of God’s creatures, to beguile Eve into eating of the forbidden tree.  Adam followed and the blight of sin entered the human race and has been passed down by heredity.  Therefore, we are all death stricken.

       This doctrine is stated in figurative language in Ezek. 18:2:  “What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?”  Romans 5:12 states it in literal language:  “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”

DOCTRINE NUMBER THREE

       The third doctrine of Scripture is the Law.  One of God’s purposes for establishing the Law Covenant with Israel was to demonstrate man’s fallen condition.  If Israel could keep the perfect law it would be redeemed from the death sentence: “Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them.” (Lev. 18:5)

       The Law served another purpose in that it was a schoolmaster preparing Israel for the coming Messiah:  “But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” (Gal. 3:23,24)

       The Apostle further shows that the entire experience of Israel under the Law provided a set of types foreshadowing the experience of the Church in the Gospel Age:  “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples [Greek - tupos, types]: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world [ages] are come.” (1 Cor. 10:11)  At the First Advent the Apostles lived in the end of the Jewish Age and the beginning of the Gospel Age (two “ends”) whereas now we live in the end of the Gospel Age and the beginning of the Millennial Age (two “ends”).  The types established during the Jewish Age apply to both periods.  God knew that Israel could not redeem itself through the Law so during the Jewish Age He raised up prophets who foretold of the coming Messiah, who would redeem Israel and the world by becoming a corresponding price or Ransom for Adam.

DOCTRINE NUMBER FOUR

       The Ransom then is the fourth doctrine of Scripture.  Since all had fallen short through Adam, no perfect man could be found to be a corresponding price; no angel or spirit being could be a corresponding price since they were on a higher plane than man; no animal could be a corresponding price since on a lower plane; so God’s Son, the Logos, was made flesh (perfect, sinless, separate from the sinful Adamic race).  The prospect of being man’s redeemer was set before Him - if He could successfully carry out a covenant of sacrifice (which He did) and if that sacrifice would be acceptable to God (which it was).  That sacrifice then would release Adam from the death sentence and consequently all from that sentence since death came to all through Adam.  The clearest statement of this doctrine is found in 1 Timothy 2:5,6:  “The man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom [Greek - anti-lutron, corresponding price] for all, to be testified in due time.”  This is the central doctrine of Scripture to which all other doctrines must conform.  This has been testified to the Saint class and all believers throughout the nineteen hundred years of the Gospel Age and will be testified to the world during the Millennial Age:  “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim. 2:3,4)

       As the dead world is gradually brought back from the grave during the thousand years of Christ’s Kingdom, they will be brought to a knowledge of the truth respecting God’s Plan of Salvation with the Ransom being at the center of that truth.

       The Ransom is stated another way in 1 Corinthians 15:21:  “For since by man [Adam] came death, by man [Jesus] came also the resurrection of the dead.”  The saints have part in the First Resurrection.  This implies more than one resurrection:  “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the grave shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil [less good] unto the resurrection of damnation [judgment - from the Greek krisis]. (John 5:28,29)  “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.” (Acts 24:15)  Both passages show two resurrections: the resurrection of life, the just, the first resurrection of the Gospel Age elect, the Saints; and the resurrection of judgment, the unjust, the resurrection of the remainder of the world during the Millennial Age.  Since Christ provided the Ransom, He is “the resurrection and the life.”

DOCTRINE NUMBER FIVE

       Therefore, Resurrection is the fifth doctrine.  In Isaiah’s description of the earthly division of the Millennial Kingdom, he pictures the resurrection of the world by saying:  “The ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” (Isa. 35:10)

       The word resurrection is from the Greek anastasis signifying to stand up or rise up again.  It is not merely the raising of a corpse to a standing position, but raising or uplifting of man back to his original condition once represented in Adam.  It is not merely an awakening from death but the process of overcoming the death sentence and all of its effects of disease, etc.  So the world’s resurrection in the fullest sense will take many years, but the work for all who will seek to be restored fully and live eternally will take a thousand years.  Resurrection is a process that is the reversal of the death process.

DOCTRINE NUMBER SIX

       At Christ’s First Advent the call to sacrifice went forth; the Heavenly or High Calling, which is doctrine number six:  “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:14; Heb. 3:1)  Those of this calling (the Little Flock) have been carrying out their sacrifice throughout the Gospel Age while being tried and tested and doing a witnessing work to the world and gathering out of the world and the nominal church others to be of this same class.  These will during the Millennial Age constitute, along with their Head, the Royal Priesthood (the Mediator between God and man) judging, blessing, and uplifting the world of mankind during the coming 1,000 years.

       Who are these who will make up this Royal Priesthood?  Some are the Apostles, reformers, martyrs, and others whose names are known in history:  Luther, Wesley, Zwingli, Hubmaier, Servetus, Miller, Russell, etc.  Of the rest we do not know their names but will know them in due time.  “Indeed the earnest expectation of the creation longs for the REVELATION of the sons of God.” (Rom. 8:19, Dia.)  We do have a description of them in 1 Cor. 1:26,27:  “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called; but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.”

       We are giving the Ten Primary Doctrines, but we believe that one of the secondary doctrines needs mentioning.  In Hebrews 11 there is given a long list of those we call Ancient Worthies and it says in verse 39, “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise.”  They were faithful but received not the chief promise which is to the Church, but they also died without receiving their earthly reward, which they will receive at the beginning of the Kingdom.  Thus we see that there are other elect classes.

       Joel 2:28 lists four elect classes and says that the spirit will be “poured out” upon the Old Men and the Young Men [the Ancient and Youthful Worthies].  Mentioned above are the Ancient Worthies that came before Jesus’ First Advent, before the time for selection of the Church.  The Youthful Worthies are those who come after the Church is selected up to the Times of Restitution.  The Ancient Worthies understood everything of God’s Plan that was due in their day.  So the Youthful Worthies understand all that is due in their day, which includes all that the Saints understood, except the begettal of the Holy Spirit.  But they have the Holy Spirit in that they have the disposition, mind and influence of God, given through Jesus.  Thus, if faithful, they develop the fruits and graces of the Spirit.  This is attested in Hebrews 12:23, which speaks of the “spirits of just men made perfect.”  The context shows that this is at the beginning of the new dispensation and the Saints will be glorified at that time and will not be “men.”  At that time, the Worthies will have characters that have been tested, tried and found faithful.

       We put this under the Doctrine of the Heavenly Calling because they are an elect class and will ultimately receive a heavenly reward if faithful throughout the Millennial Reign of Christ.   

DOCTRINE NUMBER SEVEN

       How are these acceptable to God seeing that through Adam “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”? (Rom. 3:23)  They are justified (reckoned perfect) by faith in the merit or virtue of their Redeemer’s sacrificial life and death.  Therefore, Justification is the seventh doctrine.  By faith they are covered by the robe of Christ’s righteousness giving them a standing before God.  “Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom. 5:1)

       The Ancient and Youthful Worthies could also be included in this category, because they are Justified by faith.

DOCTRINE NUMBER EIGHT

       Once justified, these are then called to consecrate, to offer their justified humanity as a sacrifice:  “I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Rom. 12:1)  These make a “covenant with me by sacrifice.” (Psa. 50:5)  If accepted by God then they are sanctified, set apart for God’s service.  Thus Sanctification is the eighth doctrine.  These sanctified are begotten of the spirit - begotten to a new nature - the spiritual nature, and if faithful unto death will receive that new nature fully by being born again, or resurrected as spirit beings in the First Resurrection.  “Blessed and holy are they that hath part in the first resurrection.” (Rev. 20:6)  Their reward will be the highest of all spiritual natures, the Divine nature:  “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature.” (2 Peter 1:4)

DOCTRINE NUMBER NINE

       This Christ class has been awakened and glorified now at the Second Advent and the Kingdom is coming to power bringing about the Times of Restitution or restoration in the earthly realm of the Kingdom.  This is doctrine number nine.  There are two parts of the Kingdom, an earthly and a heavenly, as the Lord’s Prayer indicates:  “Thy kingdom come in earth even as it is in heaven.”

       In prophecy the Mount of Olives symbolizes God’s Kingdom as the olive (whose oil was a source of light in ancient times) represents light or peace, and a mountain symbolizes a kingdom or government.  The Mount of Olives pictures the Kingdom of Peace, under the reign of the Prince of Peace.  “The meek shall inherit the earth and delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” (Psa. 37:11)  “His feet will stand in that day on the Mount of Olives.” (Zech. 14:4)  He will establish His reign or dominion and the Mountain will be divided in two parts, figuratively, representing the two divisions of the Kingdom - new heavens and new earth (2 Peter 3:13).

       The division forms a great symbolic valley between, a “Valley of Blessing,” replacing the valley we are now in “the valley of the shadow of death.” (Psa. 23:4)

       Restitution is stated in Acts 3:19-21:  “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive [retain] until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.”

DOCTRINE NIMBER TEN

       Acts 3:22,23 then continues:  “For Moses truly said unto the fathers, a prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me, him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.  And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.”  Here then is the tenth doctrine of the Bible, the Second Death.  All who willfully refuse the offer of restitution and life after being brought to a knowledge of the truth in the coming Age will die the Second Death, eternal death, as symbolized by the lake of fire (Rev. 21:8).

       These ten doctrines considered together reveal the mind of God and His Plan of Salvation for the world and will ultimately glorify Him in all His attributes of Wisdom, Justice, Power, and Love.

       “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” (Rom. 11:33)

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       “NIGHTMARE IN SAN FRANCISCO:  after being surrounded by a mob of students shouting ‘Hitler didn’t finish the job’, and ‘Get out or we’ll kill you,’ pro-Israel students at San Francisco State University are finally finding an ally against hate.  The university president is so fed up with the hate-filled atmosphere on the Bay Area campus that he has asked the local district attorney’s office to help bring pro-Palestinian hate mongers to justice.

       “The May 7 incident received widespread press attention after an e-mail was circulated by Prof. Laurie Zoloth, director of the Jewish studies program at SFSU, describing the virulence of anti-Semitic rhetoric and the campus’s seeming inability to halt such occurrence.

       “More than 100 anti-Semitic incidents including graffiti, vandalism, hate speech and violence have occurred on US campuses since January, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

       “Zoloth, who attended the campus Hillel’s Peace in the Middle East Rally along with several hundred students, faculty, and members of the community, describe how Palestinian supporters descended on a group of 50 students who stayed behind to clean up and conduct a prayer service, after singing Hebrew songs and hearing speeches in support of Israel.

       “‘They screamed at us to ‘go back to Russia’ and they screamed that they would kill us all, and other terrible things,’ she wrote in the May e-mail.

       “As the counter-demonstrators poured into the plaza, screaming at the Jews to ‘Get out or we’ll kill you’ and ‘Hilter didn’t finish the job,’ I turned to the police and to every administrator I could find and asked them to remove the counter-demonstrators from the plaza, to maintain the separation of 100 feet that we had been promised.  The police told me that they had been told not to arrest anyone, and that if they did, ‘it would start a riot.’  I told them that it already was a riot.

       “After approaching Dean of Students, Penny Stafford, who called the San Francisco police, pro-Israel demonstrators were marched to campus Hillel House under police protection and a guard was posted at the door.

       “Zoloth also described what life is like for Jewish students and faculty at SFSU, noting her despair at the emergence of posters around campus equating Zionism with racism and Jews with Nazis, and pictures of cans of soup labeled ‘Canned Palestinian Children Meat, slaughtered according to Jewish rites under American license. This is not civic discourse, this is not free speech, and this is the Weimar Republic with brown shirts it cannot control,’ she wrote.

       “After staying silent for nearly a week, university president Robert Corrigan posted a statement condemning the incident on SFSU’s Web site on Monday.  But in a move that Jeffrey Ross, ADL director of campus/higher education affairs, praised as a positive departure from many campuses’ public silence on anti-Semitic incidents, Corrigan noted a request to the office of District Attorney Terence Hallinan to assign a member of its hate-crimes unit to work with SFSU and consider bringing legal action against certain students.

       “Still, it remains unclear whether those who have been terrorized will be placated by Corrigan’s vow to crack down on anti-Semitic demonstrators after nearly two years of virulent anti-Israel demonstrations.  As Zoloth noted in her e-mail, the anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, and anti-American atmosphere that has pervaded campus extends far beyond the scope of one protest that spun out of control.

       “‘After nearly seven years as director of Jewish studies, and after nearly two decades of life here as a student, faculty member, and wife of the Hillel rabbi, after years of patient work and difficult civic discourse, I am saddened to see SFSU return to its notoriety as a place that teaches anti-Semitism, hatred for America, and hatred above all else, for the Jewish State of Israel, a state that I cherish,’ she wrote.”  (The Jerusalem Post, May 24, 2002)

       “PREPARING TREES FOR PLANTING AT JNF FORESTS.  Israel is the only land in the world which has today more trees than it had a century ago.”  (The Jerusalem Post, May 24, 2002)

       “TERROR SPURS EXODUS OF AMERICAN JEWS TO ISRAEL:  American Jews are emigrating to Israel in large numbers for the first time in decades, spurred by a growth in anti-Semitism and a belief that they might as well face terrorism in their ancestral homeland as in the United States.

       “More than 400 Jews from America and Canada arrived in Israel last week on board a chartered El Al jet to an emotional welcome from Benjamin Netanyahu, the former Israeli Prime Minister, and several members of the Israeli parliament.

       “Hundreds of thousands of Jews from the former Soviet Union have poured into Israel in recent years compared with only a trickle from North America.  Last year 1,378 American Jews immigrated to Israel, while already this year, almost 1,800 have arrived.  The new arrivals are mostly young professionals - their average age 35 - and while most acknowledge their strong religious or secular Zionist identity as motivation factors for moving to Israel, many said that the events surrounding September 11 were the trigger… 

       “September 11 was a turning point for Noa Hirsch, 22, a law student, who arrived in Israel last week.  She intends to live in Jerusalem, where she will study Hebrew for five months before continuing with her law studies,  ‘On September 11, everything changed,’ she said.  ‘I was going to a non-Jewish university, and I would get comments every day like:  ‘You Jews brought September 11 on us.’  Never before had I felt singled out as a Jew, and I had never felt so alone.  So I thought to myself, where is the one place where I would feel welcome as a Jew?  The answer:  Israel.  My family and friends are happy for me, even if they are worried.’

       “Ms. Hirsch admitted, however, that she would not have been able to make the move without the support of Nefesh b’ Nefesh, a group founded by a Florida businessman, which receives funds from the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.  The fellowship, with which Donald Rumsfield, the US defense secretary, and other leading American figures are associated, has donated more than $2 million (1.3 million pounds) to provide loans of between $5,000 and $35,000 (3,200-22,500 pounds) to help individuals and families with the cost of emigrating to Israel.”  (By Inigo Gilmore, The Sunday Telegraph, July 14, 2002)

       “‘AMERICA AT ITS BEST’:  All those who disagree with American support of Israel - the Arab world and its supporters in America such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the left and the State department (privately, if not publicly) explain American support of Israel by attributing it to the ‘pro-Israel lobby’ and its alleged power over Congress… it is very important to clarity why the charge is untrue.

       “The first reason is that it ignores Christians, specifically evangelical Christians.  These Americans have supplanted Jewish Americans as the most powerful support group for Israel.  They believe the Bible when it says, in Genesis, that the Creator will bless those who bless the Jews and curse those who curse the Jews.  They are, incidentally, quite right: America and the Arab world today are examples of that biblical promise.  They also believe that the return of the Jews to Israel was prophesied thousands of years ago in the Bible.  This, more than any other single factor, explains the powerful support given to Israel by President George W. Bush.  The president is a Bible-believing Christian (and therefore considerably more supportive of Israel than his father, whose Christianity was more ‘mainstream Protestant’)

       “If the ‘pro-Israel lobby’ were the reason for American support of Israel, and if it were synonymous with Jews, President Bush would hardly be susceptible to its influence.  President Bush received few Jews’ votes and few Jews’ money.

       “The second error is to suppose that pro-Israel support is a function of politics and money.  Opponents of Israel and the Jews do not want to acknowledge that most congressmen support Israel because their values impel them to do so.  Most Americans have a strong preference for free societies over tyrannies and understand that the real underdog in the Middle East is the tiny state of Israel struggling to survive in a sea of medieval hate.  American support for Israel emanates from the deepest of America’s core values - support for societies that reflect American values and opposition to those that threaten such societies.

       “In the final analysis, it is a libel of America, its president and its Congress to assert that they have all sold their souls for a pot of gold, when in fact their pro-Israel policies and votes reflect America at its best.”  (By Dennis Prager, Jewish World Review, July 3, 2002)

       “‘THE CORNELIUS CUP’:  The 14th of May is a special day in Israel’s history - it’s her birthday.  Israel was declared a state on May 14, 1948.  Only minutes after that declaration in Jerusalem, and at the direction of President Harry Truman, the United States was the first country to officially recognize Israel as a sovereign nation.  Thus the prophet’s word became a reality.

       “‘Who has ever heard of such a thing?  Who has ever seen such things?  Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment?’ (Isaiah 66:8)  Of course the answer is obviously ‘yes’!

       “May 14, 2002 was also a special day for Christians for Israel (USA).  A birth took place for us as well.  It was the birth of what we want to see as an Annual event - the presentation of ‘The Cornelius Cup.’  The idea for ‘The Cornelius Cup’ is based on the Acts 10 account of the Roman centurion, Cornelius.  You will recall, Cornelius was a gentile who, with his family, ‘were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.’  He was ‘a righteous and God-fearing man, who was respected by all the Jewish people.’ (10:2,22)  It is in this tradition that we made the first annual presentation of ‘The Cornelius Cup.’  The actual cup is an inscribed Jewish Kiddush cup, symbolic of the joy that begins the Sabbath and speaks of the fellowship and acceptance that Cornelius experienced by Peter and the Jews.

       “The purpose then, of the presentation of ‘The Cornelius Cup,’ is to recognize a distinguished gentile Christian who has a record of care and concern for Israel and the Jewish people.  After much thought and prayer for a worthy recipient of the first annual ‘Cornelius Cup,’ we settled on one that we thought perfectly filled the bill - Fred Barnes.  Mr. Barnes is the Executive Editor of The Weekly Standard, the new national conservative magazine on politics and public policy.  Mr. Barnes founded The Standard, along with William Kristol and John Podhoretz, after ten years as Senior Editor and White House Correspondent for The New Republic.  He is host, along with Mort Kondracke, or The Beltway Boys on the Fox news channel.  Also on Fox news, he is a regular panelist on the nightly ‘Special Report with Brit Hume.’

       “Mr. Barnes is an outspoken Christian and supporter of Israel.  As a matter of fact, he confided, ‘I was a supporter of Israel before I became a Christian.’  That support has been demonstrated over the years in his writings and speeches as well as his television commentaries.  As a matter of fact, The Weekly Standard is probably the most consistently pro-Israel opinion magazine in print.  Indeed, we were honored to have Mr. Fred Barnes agree to be the recipient of our first ‘The Cornelius Cup.’

       “We were doubly honored to have the presentation event of the ‘Cornelius Cup’ hosted by the Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C.  And to be able to make this presentation on May 14, 2002, the 54th birthday of the state of Israel was indeed icing on a very special cake.”

(The Jerusalem Connection, Summer 2002)

       “PEACE IN OUR TIME?  I have been reading and re-reading the text of President Bush’s Middle East speech delivered earlier this week from the Rose Garden.  It is an intriguing, ambiguous document…

         This speech puzzles me.  If it is meant as a practical series of steps to peace and the long-hoped-for Palestinian state, it is unlikely to be useful, because although it sounds reasonable, its details are unrealistic.  In his opening paragraph, the president states that ‘the hatred of a few holds the hopes of many hostage.’

       “But both polling and on-the-ground assessments suggest that it is not a few.  Between 40 percent and 60 percent of Palestinians support the terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.  Yasser Arafat, also a world-class hater, likewise has the support of about half the Palestinians.  A clear majority of Palestinians are in a fighting mood.  Terrorism is no longer a splinter activity; it is mainstream policy of the Palestinian people…

       “In the third paragraph of his speech the president makes explicit what the precondition for success probably will require: ‘If all parties will break with the past and set out on a new path, we can overcome the darkness with the light of hope.’

       “But that has been exactly the problem for the past 80 years (2,000 years?).  The Arabs and the Jews do little more than remember the past and stubbornly, murderously attempt to re-create their version of ancient history in the disputed present.  If the president’s plan relies on ‘all parties’ forswearing the past, it is doomed from the start…

       “But buried in this speech is a vital declarative sentence: ‘And the United States will not support the establishment of a Palestinian state until its leaders engage in a sustained fight against the terrorists and dismantle their infrastructure.’  There is the ice-cold reality at the center of this confectionary speech.  As there is no Palestinian will to end terrorism, there is to be no peace in our time.”  (By Tony Blankley, The Jerusalem Connection, Summer 2002))

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AN INTERESTING QUESTION

QUESTION - “Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.” (Isa. 24:6) Who are these few men?  And how were the others burned?

ANSWER   - In the great burning day the “heavens” will be on fire, and “the earth and the works therein shall be burned up.” (2 Peter 3:10)  This Time of Trouble will involve the whole world, practically everybody.  The Lord speaks of some who will be preserved in the midst of this trouble.  Just as the three Hebrews were preserved in the fiery furnace, so we expect that some will be spared in the Time of Trouble.

       “Seek righteousness, seek meekness; it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.” (Zeph. 2:3)  This invitation seems to be to others than the spirit-begotten.  It would not apply to the Church, for her deliverance will be over before the culmination of the trouble.  It would not apply to the “great company” class, for it is incidental to their deliverance that they shall suffer in this time of Trouble the destruction of the flesh, and come up to honor out of “great tribulation.”  This, therefore, would seem to apply to a class of the world who are not spirit-begotten.  (Reprint 5041, col. 2, June 1, 1912)  

NO. 543 IN MEMORIAM

       That Servant, Brother Russell, finished his earthly journey on October 31, 1916, and it is doubtful that there are any left today who knew him personally.  But many of us who never met him hold fond memories by considering his record of scholarly understanding of the Bible and related subjects.  Thus, we shall endeavor to pass along some of his teachings and observations.

       First, we shall offer 2 Timothy 3:16,17:  “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”  It will be readily noticed that this is a very poor translation as found in the King James version because “is” after Scripture is in italics, telling us there is no corresponding word in the original Greek.  But even if this were not so, we could easily deduce that the statement cannot possibly be true, because “scripture” in the broad sense is anything written - including newspapers, magazines, books of fiction, etc.  Certainly, no one would contend that such writings are given “by inspiration of God.”

       In a more restricted sense, scripture may be applied to cherished writings of the various heathen religions, such as those from Confucius, Mohammed, etc.  However, these likewise cannot be described as being inspired of God.  It would seem that any one even moderately schooled in Present Truth should know this; yet the Jehovah’s Witnesses published a book as late as 1963, the title of which is ALL SCRIPTURE IS INSPIRED OF GOD AND BENEFICIAL.  [Emphasis ours.]  And in their strenuous effort to be “different,” they offer the word “beneficial” for profitable; but of the leading Greek scholars - such as Doctors Young, Strong, Rotherham and Wilson - not one of them offer the word “beneficial” as a good translational substitute for “profitable.”  Even Brother Russell himself - who was not a Greek scholar - saw the error in the text as early as 1897, and omitted the word “is” from the Manna Comments of May 21; thus, the Witnesses would not have made this blunder had they held proper regard for Brother Russell’s excellent Biblical interpretations.

       Following is an excellent translation of the text by Benjamin Wilson.  “All Scripture, divinely inspired, is indeed profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for that discipline which is in righteousness; so that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly fitted for every good work.”  We have offered the detail foregoing because some of those who knew Brother Russell intimately before his demise in 1916 often referred to him as “that wonderful man of God,” their substance being taken from this writing of St. Paul.

“A PROPHET UNTO THE NATIONS”

       At the outset, we would stress that Brother Russell is shown in more Scriptures and types than any other person on this earth, except our Lord Jesus; and it is our belief that one of such typical instances is the Prophet Jeremiah in his acts and words.  In Jeremiah 1:4-6 there is this:  “The word of the Lord came unto me saying… I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.  Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold I cannot speak: for I am a child.”  In verse one we have “The words of Jeremiah” - the name meaning Jehovah is exalted.  Certainly the name itself applies most fittingly to Brother Russell, whose firm and repeated expression was “God first,” which attitude well applied to him all during his entire adult life.  Also, the statement, “I am a child” points fittingly to him.  At the outset of his ministry in 1874, knowing his ignorance of Hebrew and Greek, he considered himself but a babe in Biblical exegesis; and for seven years - to 1881 - he always tried to place those with superior education before him because he considered them better qualified.  But the Lord knew what He was doing when He called Brother Russell to be His special mouthpiece - “the prophet unto the nations.”  Note verses 7-9:  “The Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I shall command thee thou shalt speak… The Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth… said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.”

       Looking back, it is very easy to discern the fulfillment of these words.  That Servant predicted the end of the Gentile Times (Luke 21:24) 25 years before 1914.  During that 25 years he received much vilification and ridicule from various sources; and by 1913 - with the world then in seeming calm - some in high position said a general world war among the friendly (?) nations was just so much nonsense.  But, when 1914 came - with the great explosion of July 28 to August 1 - large numbers began to have a different view and respect for what he said.  In fact, a conference of southern ministers openly stated that Pastor Russell had been right in his predictions.

       To emphasize the strong parallel between him and Jeremiah we need only to consider the parallel dispensation:  It was just 2520 years before 1914 (in the Fall of 607 B.C.) that Jerusalem was taken by Nebuchadnezzar, the temple was ravished and the gold and silver vessels carried away to Babylon.  That was exactly what Jeremiah predicted - in the face of the severe criticism of the Jewish priesthood - just as Brother Russell had predicted against the disputations of the ministers of Christendom.  Jeremiah had not predicted the beginning of Gentile dominion, because it was not possible for him to see that then; but Brother Russell, knowing that “seven times shall pass over thee” (Dan. 4:24,25,32), and understanding that those “seven times” would be of 2520 years duration, did not have much difficulty in figuring out when they would end, once he knew when it began.

       Let us carry on now to Jeremiah 1:11-14:  “What seest thou?  And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree.”  As explained in Tabernacle Shadows, p. 122, the almond rod symbolizes the royal priesthood, elect and fruitful; and this fact was seen very clearly by Brother Russell in 1879, when he wrote Tabernacle Shadows.  “The second time, What seest thou?  And I said I see a seething pot… an evil shall break forth upon all inhabitants of the land.”  This “seething pot” was the Time of Trouble, which would come with the end of the Gentile Times; and those of us who were living at that time still have most vivid memory of that holocaust.  Even though the United States was not immediately involved (the U.S. did not enter the war until April 1917), the uproar was so great and the shaking of society in all great countries of the earth was so severe that the New York Stock Exchange was forced to close down for three months - “an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.”

       The great conflict - up to then the world’s greatest calamity - was also typed by Elijah smiting Jordan.  In that picture Jordan pictured Christendom; and its smiting portrayed how the various elements of society would be divided into two distinct classes - the conservatives and the radicals; and this has become more pronounced each year since 1914, with the radicals generally victorious - just as the Babylonians (who typed the radicals of our day) won victory until the final one saw the complete collapse of Jerusalem, and the beginning of the desolation of the land for seventy years:  “The word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths; for as long as she lay desolate, she kept the sabbath, to fulfill threescore and ten years.” (2 Chron. 36:21)

       God further instructed Brother Russell to confess the sins of Christendom over the head of Azazel’s Goat - “the house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel.” (Jer. 2:4)  In the Old Testament the Gospel-Age Christians are never called Jacob; rather, Jacob almost always refers to natural Israel; whereas, Israel usually is used to designate the Christian Household.  And of both these houses Jeremiah said; “I brought you into a plentiful country… but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, made mine heritage an abomination.” (v. 7)  This statement is indeed a true declaration of the Church history.  Under Jesus and the Apostles “the people which sat in darkness saw a great light.” (Matt 4:16)  But the intervening years up to 1874 had witnessed the distortion of that “great light” into all sorts of weird concoctions; with practically all of them - Protestant and Catholic - becoming infested with “their resemblance through all the earth.” (Zech. 5:6)  The four great errors that arose during the Gospel Age are the Trinity, immortality, eternal torment and probation limited to this life.  In these four errors most Protestants and all Greek and Roman Catholics resemble one another - they are “their resemblance through all the earth.”

       Once Brother Russell became fortified with the Truth against these great errors he employed all of his remarkable skill and energy in onslaught against them.  His favorite address to the public was “Where Are The Dead?”  For forty years he battled with all courage against the theory of eternal torment as the wages of sin, and so well did he analyze those Scriptures that treated of that subject, that toward the end of his ministry one newspaper carried four stanzas of poetry, the last quatrain of which was something like this:

                                                    There is a man in our town

                                                    Whose name I need not tell;

                                                    I’m sure you all must know him,

                                                    Because he put the fires out of Hell.

       Today few educated ministers believe in the doctrine of Hell-fire, although some of them occasionally preach it, perhaps believing it to be a restraint upon evildoers.  All concordances and critical translations of the Bible clearly dispute the thought of eternal torment as the wages of sin.  “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23)

       Brother Russell received strong assurance from the Lord for the work he was to do, as told to Jeremiah, chapter 1, vs. 17,18:  “Speak unto them [the people of Christendom] all that I shall command thee; be not dismayed at their faces… I have made thee this day a defenced city” - immovable and strong as against society, against the various sects in Christendom, against the four prominent classes in American society: Rulers, capitalists, aristocracy and labor, particularly against their leaders.  These are the “four angels” - messengers of wrath as set forth in Rev. 7:1-3 - whose destructive work was restrained “till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.”  Although these all, some more, some less, waged controversies against him, God assured him of full victory:  “They shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee… to deliver thee.”  Surely, as we look back, we are able to see how forcefully this was fulfilled in the work he did.

       When the prophecy was made, “They [the gainsayers] shall not prevail against thee,” it was not an idle promise; God gave him the Parousia Truth as his “strong tower,” which proved to be impregnable against the combined attacks of all adversaries.  The promise made to Joshua (1:5):  “There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life,” certainly applied to Brother Russell with great emphasis.  Those who attempted to engage him in controversy soon came within the scope of Revelation 16:10:  “They gnawed their tongues for pain.”  Many of them resorted to slander, which was their weapon of the last resort; but it may be said of Brother Russell that he never reciprocated in kind; with the strong and clear Biblical system of Truth he had, there was certainly no need to cheapen himself by using the tools of the “god of this world.” (2 Cor. 4:4)  The Parousia Truth was indeed a “defenced city” for him. (Jer. 1:18)

       Chapter 2 of Jeremiah carries on in much the same fashion as the first Chapter.  Brother Russell was commanded to shout his message from the housetops, and it is a matter of record that he did just that.  “Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem [type of Christendom here in the end of the age], saying, Thus saith the Lord:  I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth [when the pristine purity of Christianity was established under the guidance of Jesus and the Apostles], the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness.”  “The woman [the true Church] fled in the wilderness, where she had a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand and two hundred and threescore days [the 1260 years from A.D. 539 to 1799].” (Rev. 12:6)  Verse 3 continues: “Israel [the true Church] was holiness unto the Lord, the firstfruits of his increase.”

       But that condition had become greatly changed “in the time of the end” (Dan. 12:4 - from 1799, and especially after 1874).  Thus, antitypical Jeremiah was prompted to raise the question (Jer. 2:5):  “What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?”  The nominal church from 1874 is described in similar criticism to what Jeremiah said to the Jews before the fall of Jerusalem in 607 B.C.:  “Thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” (Rev. 3:17)  Following are some of the Berean Comments on this text: “Possessing little of the truth and spirit of the truth … Cannot see afar off … cannot see the high calling for the Church or restitution for the poor world … stripped of the robe of Christ’s righteousness by the clergy, in the name of Higher Criticism and Evolution.”

       Having come to the condition of full complacency - “rich and increased with goods” - they posed the insolent question (Jer. 2:6):  “Where is the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt [typical of the delivery of the Gospel-Age Church, which had been delivered from antitypical Egypt, “this present evil world”], that led us through the wilderness… the shadow of death [“the wages of sin is death”]… and (v. 7) I brought you into a plentiful country… but ye defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination.”  “We have need of nothing”!

       The question carries on in v. 11:  “Hath a nation changed their gods… but my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit”; and because of this they “be astonished… be horribly afraid… very desolate.” (v. 12) During this “time of the end” nominal Christendom committed two evils - they gave up God as their God, though He is the only source of life-giving Truth; and they developed creeds: “broken cisterns that can hold no water.” (v. 13)  “Their cities are burned without an inhabitant” - an evil which they brought upon themselves.  “Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou has forsaken the Lord thy God, when he led thee by the way?” (v. 17)

       “Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed.” (v. 21) When we review the superb religious system which God had given Israel under Moses and Aaron, and the downward course they pursued in the following years, it is most difficult to understand how that could have been possible.  Yet their course was but a forecast of the downward course of Christendom after the departure of the Apostles.  Indeed, “A just man falleth seven times, but he riseth up again.” (Prov. 24:16)  The words of Solomon in this text are a terse statement of the history of the Gospel-Age Church in its seven epochs, as outlined in Revelation, Chapters 2 and 3.  Each of these epochs began with a virile message of Truth - first with Jesus and the Apostles, then followed with the ministry of the remaining “six stars” (Rev. 1:16); but in every instance those that came after the various stars quickly retrograded into much error and decay of morals - as their predecessors had done.

       Finally in 1874 came That Servant (Matt. 24:46), faced with an accumulation of the colossal errors of the entire Age - a fact which would have discouraged any man who had not the encouragement of the Lord Himself; “I have made thee this day a defenced city and an iron pillar, and brazen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the priests thereof, and against the people.” (Jer. 1:18)  But just as in times past, the finely tuned system of Parousia Truth, which he left, was bandied about by some of his followers - particularly by the Jehovah’s Witnesses - so that if his writings and their writings are placed side by side now, no unbiased mind would believe they should be recognized as coming from the same source - which indeed they do not!

THE TRUE VINE VS. THE VINE OF THE EARTH

       The “noble vine” established through Moses and Aaron was all that the expression implies; and all will surely agree that had the Jews adhered to the Law Covenant through their continuing priesthood they would have developed into a nation the likes of which the world had never known.  On the last night before He was crucified Jesus had told the Disciples, “I am the true vine” (John 15:1), thus identifying Himself as the antitype of the “noble vine” God had planted in Israel; and Christians generally would have done well to “continue in His word.”  But instead, they developed the “vine of the earth” (Rev. 14:18,19); and the angel was commanded to gather it… and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God” - the great Time of Trouble, which began in 1914 at the end of the Gentile Times.

       “The vine of the earth” in these texts is the great Papal system which is slowly being consumed - much the same as are grapes that are pressed for their juice.  And Paul tells us that this system is “the wicked one” (2 Thes. 2:8), whom the Lord “shall destroy with the brightness of His coming.”  The word brightness in this text is from the Greek epiphania, which is literally bright shining; and coming is from the Greek parousia.  Thus, the text properly stated should read, “Whom the Lord will destroy with the bright shining of His Presence.”

       This has been progressing slowly, but surely, since 1914 - in harmony with the statement in Daniel 7:11:  “I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame” - just another expression for the Time of Trouble.  And just as much of Jeremiah’s message is harsh condemnation of the Jews, so much that That Servant wrote and preached was harsh condemnation of the “vine of the earth” - although he never resorted to reviling or slander in any of his statements; the Truth that he had was more than enough.  And just as Jeremiah had been told, “speak unto them all that I command thee,” so Pastor Russell uttered the scathing message against nominal Christendom as it was revealed to him in the Word of Truth.

       It is probably in order here to state that many features of the Gospel Age have been re-enacted here in the end of the Age, one of these being a Little Papal System in the organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses.  And just as the large Papal system “shall think to change times and laws” (Dan. 7:25), so this Little Papal system has also changed times and laws; in fact, they have made so many changes in their chronology and in some others of their teachings that few, if any, of them know just what they do believe.  However, when we analyze big and little Papacy we assuredly do not include all members of those organizations in our criticism.  It is our conviction that there are many noble and honorable people in both systems - some of whom are our good personal friends; but they have not given themselves to the research on the subject that we have done.

       Jeremiah continues his castigation in Chapter 2:21,22:  “I had planted thee a noble vine; how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me… Though thou take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me.”  Of course, such scathing denunciations aroused the sharp animosity of the Jews, who eventually did put Jeremiah to death by stoning him.  He was a “speckled bird” (Jer. 12:9) - a man marked for contempt and persecution from early manhood, as was also Brother Russell.  Yet the determination of both of them caused them to hew to the line to the end of life’s journey.

       But, as some men are determined to declare the Word of Truth in purity and sincerity, so others are just as determined to go the way of Balaam, who was a type of those who teach error for profit.  Thus they play the symbolic harlot with strangers.  “I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.” (Jer. 2:25)  “Have gone astray, following the way of Balaam.” (2 Peter 2:15)  “Thou hast them there that hold the doctrine of Balaam.” (Rev. 2:14)  See the Berean Comment on both these texts - “Type of a class that teach error for profit.”  The Revelation text was directed to the Church of Pergamos, the third epoch of the Gospel Age, which had its beginning about A.D. 315 when Emperor Constantine embraced the Christian religion and contaminated it with many of his former heathen beliefs.

       The heathen beliefs and customs accumulated with each succeeding epoch of the Gospel-Age Church, many of which were discernable even to worldly men of good character.  The nominal church had become clustered with hypocrites, as stated in Rev. 18:2:  “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.”  Many “jail” birds were members of some great religious system at 1914; thus, the call had gone out, “Come out of her, my people.” (Rev. 18:4)  This is emphasized by the Prophet Jeremiah (2:26,27):  “As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests and their prophets [many of the leading clergy at 1914 openly admitted they accepted only such parts of the Bible as suited their taste]… they have turned their back unto me, and not their faces; but in the time of their trouble [which came upon them in 1914] they will say, Arise, and save us.”

       At that time we were a faithful member of the Lutheran Church; and, when the preacher arose in the pulpit and urged the congregation to support the war in every way possible, we went to him to inquire how he could do such a thing, when the Lutheran Church had originated in Germany, with a large part of the population then members of that Church.  Therefore, he was advising Lutherans to kill brother Lutherans instead of “we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16) as we are instructed by God’s Word; and we left his house never to return.  The same could be said of the Roman Catholics in Italy, who were pitted against the Catholics in Romanist Austria.  Thus, Jeremiah continued his charge:  “Where are thy gods that thou hast made?  Let them arise if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble… Ye all have transgressed against me, saith the Lord.” (Jer. 2:28,29)  Wars always bring out the worst in people; and this was especially true of the 1914 conflagration.  They had made dead churches their mothers, having rejected God; yet they called upon Him in their Time of Trouble.  Thus, the accusation:  “Your children have received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.” (v. 30)  These truths were boldly and repeatedly proclaimed by Brother Russell; and he and his followers received much persecution from the nominal church; hence the charge, “In thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents.” (v. 34)  This is repeated in Rev. 18:24:  “In her [the nominal church] was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.”

       Thus far we have considered only two chapters of the 52 chapters in the Jeremiah writings; and we hope to continue the book at some future time.  [This was done in 1982 and reprinted in 1998, No. 497, free upon request.]  However, we believe all our readers who have been even passingly schooled in Present Truth will recognize the pointed application of the writings and sayings of Brother Russell as he repeatedly set them forth.  Briefly, Jeremiah was “the prophet unto the nations” for forty years before the capitulation of Jerusalem; Brother Russell was “the prophet unto the nations” for forty years before the collapse of Christendom in 1914.  The former foretold the overthrow of Jerusalem, with the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin (the ten tribes had already been transplanted to Babylon 133 years previously by Shalmaneser, the Assyrian king - see 2 Kings 17:1-7 - and subsequently became the “ten lost tribes” of Israel); Brother Russell foretold the collapse of Christendom 2520 years later; and he gave his forecast about 25 years before the event occurred.  The same conditions prevailed in both places before their collapse; and the current evils were repeatedly and truthfully castigated by both men.

WILL OUR PASTOR’S WORK ENDURE?

       Will our Pastors’ work endure?  If we were to answer our question from the standpoint of human experience and probability, we should have to admit that the trend of the teachings and practices among the vast bulk of the Truth people is in the direction of abandoning his work and nullifying his accomplishments.  That this will not actually be accomplished we are Scripturally convinced; but undoubtedly human reason, in the light of the vast and varied revolutionisms since his demise, among Truth people, would suggest that our Pastor’s work will not stand.

         But beloved brethren, despite the unfavorable aspect and prospect, we have the full assurance of faith that the work of our Pastor will not perish from the earth!  In due time his teachings will emerge unscathed.  His methods of doing the Lord’s work will be re-established and will successfully carry forward the Lord’s cause.  Faith having been fully assured of this outcome, can quietly await the Lord’s good time for the fulfillment of its confidence; “for the zeal of the Lord will accomplish it,” “in due time.”

       We take this occasion to pay grateful tribute to Pastor Russell, and, just as there were no successors to the twelve Apostles, so there was no successor to That Servant.

       We “continue in that which we have learned and been assured of, knowing of whom we have learned them.” (2 Tim. 3:14)  However, we would stress that none of the faithful mouthpieces of the Lord since the Apostles fell asleep were infallible; they made mistakes, as Church history relates.  The same may be said for the Parousia Messenger.  He never claimed to be infallible and made mistakes, especially relating to the duration of the Time of Trouble.  But we accept That Servant’s basic chronology exactly as he gave it. His expectations for the duration of the Time of trouble was immature, but he taught with Scriptural proof the events that would occur during the Time of Trouble:  “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.” (1 Thes. 5:4)  So we are not in darkness concerning the “times and seasons,” as we see the prophecies fulfilling today.  We feel his immature conclusions were permitted of the Lord for a “trial of your faith”; and we regard them in this light.

       We believe Brother Russell, The Parousia Messenger, comes well within the Scripture:  “The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.” (Psa. 112:6)

Will “that Servant’s” work endure?

                                              Ah, yes!  Of this we may be sure

                                              For he was faithful, wise and true

                                              And brought forth truths, both old and new.

                                              Though Satan’s error now enshrouds

                                              And hides the light with darkest clouds

                                              Our God will shake and then remove

                                              All things that He cannot approve.

                                              “Truth crushed to earth shall rise again”

                                              And in its purity remain,

                                              Unconquered by the Devil’s arts

                                              In even its minutest parts.

                                              Will “that Servant’s” work endure?

                                              Ah, yes, with all that’s good and pure!

                                              For sin and error flee away

                                              Before the light of the coming Day!

(By John J. Hoefle, Reprint 373, October 1, 1986)

NO. 542 "SPEAK YE COMFORTABLY TO JERUSALEM"

       “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.  Speak ye comfortable to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” (Isaiah 40:1,2)

       It has been our observation that not many of the Truth groups are speaking comfortably to Jerusalem, and they especially need encouragement now.  That Servant said in 1910 that he “attempted to tell Israel the good tidings that God’s set time to remember Zion had come.  But seemingly that was too early.  God’s set time for Israel to hear was still future.  I am still waiting for God’s own time and way for the fulfillment of Isaiah 40:1,2.” (Sermon Book, page 480, par. 1)

       Fulfillment of prophecy:  But now the set time has come (Psa. 102:13).  Israel has received the “double” [kophel - as a thing folded in the middle] for all her sins, and has been returned to her homeland.  The period of her disfavor, from A.D. 33 to 1878, was to be of the same length, 1845 years, as the period of her favor from the death of Jacob to the death of Christ.  Since 1878 favor has returned to Israel, even though it doesn’t seem like it with all the trouble they are having, but the fact of the matter is that no power can expel them from their homeland.  “The Lord said to Abram… I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee.” (Gen. 12:1-3)  “Behold, I will make thee [Jacob] fruitful…  I will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.” (Gen. 48:4)  “Fear thou not, O Jacob, my servant: for I am with thee: for I will make a full end of all nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure.” (Jer. 46:28)

       “Thus hath said the Lord who bestoweth the sun for a light by day, the ordinance of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirreth up the sea that its waves roar.  The Lord of Hosts is his name.  If these ordinances ever depart from before me, saith the Lord, then also shall the seed of Israel cease from being a nation before me during all time.” (Jer. 31:35,36)

       Thus we are able to say, with strong assurance, the Jews are to have their Biblical Homeland for an everlasting possession; and no force on earth will be able to evict them from it.  “I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.” (Amos 9:15)  And those that give them help will be correspondingly blessed; and those that hinder them will be cursed.  This restoration of the Jew to their Homeland is a beginning of Restitution.  Israel as a nation will be the first among the nations to come into harmony with the new order of things.  However, God foretold that Israel would return nationally before they recognize the Messiah, before the blessings of His Kingdom begin, before the New Covenant is made with them (Jer. 31:23-34).

       The fact that they are returned in a non-converted condition is one reason they are now having so much trouble.  Another reason is that there are forces that want to destroy Israel completely.  We know they will not succeed, but she needs our comfort and as much help of all kinds that we can possibly give.

       “Things To Come?  Before the rebirth of the Jewish State of Israel, a tradition existed in the Diaspora that one part of the Jewish home would always remain unfinished.  This was a reminder that at any moment anti-Semitism could again erupt and force the Jews to hastily leave and find refuge, however tenuous, somewhere else.

       “Israel was reborn in 1948, after nearly two thousand years of persecution and slaughter culminating in the Holocaust, in which one third of the world’s Jewish population was systematically destroyed.  With a Jewish state, Jews finally believed that at least they had a refuge to escape to should they be threatened.  But something terrible has happened since the Islamist atrocity against America on September 11, 2001.

       “Throughout Europe, and many other parts of the world, Jews are now witnessing a return of a virulent strain of anti-Semitism fueled by the terror launched by Yasser Arafat against Israel.  This may seem paradoxical.  How can Israel, which is the victim of terror on a scale no other nation can even comprehend, be portrayed as the aggressor and Jews, by extension, be demonized…

       “But Britain, like so much of Europe, has changed.  Enormous populations of Moslem, Arabs have entered France from North Africa.  Moslems from Indonesia have entered Holland and many Turks and Arabs live in Germany.  The Jewish population of Great Britain is shrinking through assimilation and now numbers less than three hundred thousand, compared to a Moslem population of 3,000,000 who entered Britain over the years from Pakistan and Bangladesh.  Strident anti-Jewish statements are routinely spewed in British mosques and British universities.  Many Christian Churches too are reverting to the ancient hatred of Jews, rooted deep in Christian theology, and now on widespread display once again.

       “Melanie Phillips, in an article in Britain’s Spectator titled ‘Christians who hate the Jews’ writes of the old and hateful doctrine of the Church, which was suppressed after the Holocaust, but has been revived under the influence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  She writes, ‘this doctrine is called replacement theology which, in essence, says that the Jews have been replaced by the Christians in God’s favor, and so all God’s promises to the Jews, including the land of Israel have been inherited by Christianity’…

       “One Palestinian Christian cleric, who is highly influential and who preaches liberation theology, Father Naim Ateek, is a regular visitor to Portland.  At a recent appearance in a Portland church, Ateek was challenged by local members of Bridges for Peace who reminded him of the inalienable rights of the Jewish people to their ancestral and Biblical homeland of Israel.  Father Ateek dismissed them in a sneering tone, as ‘Oh you are those Old Testament Christians’…

       “As Melanie Phillips adds, ‘the neurotic insecurity of the most persecuted people on earth is being fed by Arab terror.  British Jews caught between Christian replacement theology, Islamist blood libels, and a hostile media, suddenly find that Britain is a colder place.’

       “As Christian evangelicals, firm supporters of Israel, found in the Portland church a few weeks ago, there is the same hatred of the Jews and the Jewish State here in America.  Could the unthinkable shake Jewish Americans to the core?  Could Jewish Americans live to see another Holocaust, this time of 5,000,000 Jews in Israel?  And could Jews in America see their golden age crumble and be forced to pack their bags?”

(Excerpts from Victor Sharp, a writer on Jewish history and the Arab-Israel dispute.  He lives in Portland, Oregon.  Reported in Bridges For Peace, April 18, 2002)

       The above shows what a terrible time the Jews are experiencing.  We trust the Lord that He will preserve them in their land.  But, in the meantime, they are in need of a lot of support and encouragement.  They need us to remind them of God’s promises to them, but they also need material support.  It has been suggested to us that one good way to help is to contribute to their Ambulance Fund.  That can be done through American Red Magen David For Israel.  The address is:  ARMDI, 888 7th Avenue Suite 403, New York, NY 10102-0009.  Put the word Ambulance on your contribution.

       Now, there have been more reports of an increase in anti-Semitism activity in France, Germany and Italy, as well as in Great Britain.  It is very evident that we are in the “day of preparation” (Nahum 2:3,4) and those who cannot see that the Parousia Harvest is complete are not aware of the “day of thy visitation” (Luke 19:44), nor the Times and Seasons in which we are living (1 Thes. 5:1,2,4)

       That Servant writes of the “day of preparation” thusly:  “The ‘Day of His Preparation’ would be the day or period of time when the Lord God would prepare or make ready the elements and conditions for the new dispensation, sometimes alluded to as ‘The Golden Age of Prophecy.’  As a matter of fact, are we not living in a period of transition?  Marvelous changes are being wrought out, old things are passing away and new conditions are being developed.” (Question Book, page 759)  And this is true more so now than when it was written.

       It was That Servant’s mission to gather the Saints into the “unity of faith.”  The position God wished His people to accept during the Harvest is shown in Isa. 52:8:  “Thy watchmen… shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.”  Note the Berean Comments on this:  “In the harvest of the Gospel Age, clearly, harmoniously.”  It was Brother Russell’s Stewardship Doctrine centering about Restitution that brought “unity of faith” for the first time in history to God’s people as a collective group.  It is true that St. Peter preached Restitution (Acts 3:19-21); and it is true that St. Paul was “caught up into Paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter” (2 Cor. 12:4); but it is also true that the general Church of that time had not come to the “unity of faith,” had not come to a clear understanding of Restitution.  However, all in the Gospel Harvest were reasonably clear on the Restitution doctrine. 

       Read what Brother Russell says in Volume 4, page 610:  “’They [the disciples] answered and said unto him, Where, Lord?  [Where will these be taken?]  And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body [carcass, the food], is thither will the eagles be gathered together.’ (Matt. 24:28; Luke 17:37)

       “The lesson is that in that day, when the Lord is gathering His ‘elect’ from the four winds of heaven - from every quarter of the Church - He will attract them as eagles are attracted by food, for which they have a keenness of vision and appetite; that in due time the Lord would provide the proper food, and His true people would recognize it and be gathered to it - the ready and worthy taken and the others left.

       “The food of ‘present truth’ now provided by our Lord, and the gathering of His saints by and to it, fits the description of the prophecy exactly… Where and when before was there ever such a public recognition of all who trust in the precious blood of Christ and who are consecrated to him, as the one household of faith, all brethren, and the one and only Lawgiver Christ, regardless of human creeds and dogmas upon other subjects?  Never and nowhere since the days of the apostles, so far as we may judge.” (Written 1897)

       Therefore a prophet (Brother Russell) accomplished the first of two purposes for which the servants of the Church were appointed - “till we all attain the unity of faith.”  He also accomplished the second of these purposes - “the measure of the full stature of the anointed one.” (Eph. 4:13, Dia.)  When the last one was reaped in September 1914, there also for the first time was reached “the full stature of the anointed one” in that the Body was then full and irrevocably complete unto that unity which “every joint supplieth, to the effectual working in the measure of every part.” (Eph. 4:16)  Can it be said that the “watchmen” have seen “eye to eye” since 1916?  No!  Nor can it be said that this oneness is something attained by the Saint Class beyond the veil, because there would be no need for them to be “watchmen” then.

       Brother Russell said in 1892:  “Ah! Were it not that the Lord has favored us with a share in the work of gathering out the bride and helping to make her ready for the marriage of the Lamb, we would be here in Jerusalem and, by the grace of God, would do a part in the great work now due of turning away blindness from Jacob (Rom. 11:25).” (Reprint 1395, col. 2, par. 2)

       But what of those consecrated since 1916?  Brother Russell saw that the Apostle Paul said, “For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.” (Acts 20:27)  So he did likewise.  He saw that St. Timothy said there were four elect classes.  “But in a great house there are vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour and some to dishonour [less honour].” (2 Tim. 2:20)

       The great house is the Household of Faith.  The vessels of gold are the Little Flock, the silver, Great Company, wood the Ancient Worthies and earth the Youthful Worthies, those of honour, converted Jews, and those of less honour, converted Gentiles.         Here we have four elect and two non-elect classes.

       Joel 2:29 also lists four elect classes and says that the spirit will be “poured out” upon the Old Men and the Young Men [the Ancient and Youthful Worthies].  The Ancient Worthies understood everything of God’s Plan that was due in their day.  So the Youthful Worthies understand all that is due in their day, which includes all that the Saints understand, except the begettal of the Holy Spirit.  But they have the Holy Spirit in that they have the disposition, mind and influence of God, given through Jesus.  Thus, if faithful, they develop the fruits and graces of the Spirit.  This is attested in Heb. 12:23, which speaks of the “spirits of just men made perfect.”  The context shows that this is at the beginning of the new dispensation and the Saints will be glorified at that time and will not be “men.”  At that time, the Worthies will have characters that have been tested, tried and found faithful.

       We call the fourth elect class Youthful Worthies in contrast to the Ancient Worthies and because they will be associated with them.  You may call them by another name, if you so choose.  Brother Russell referred to them as the “unbegotten consecrated between the Ages.”

       These two classes will cooperate together in the Millennium to instruct the world in truth and righteousness.  They will take their instructions from the Glorified Christ.

“THE INTIMACY BETWEEN THE KINGDOM AND ITS EARTHLY ‘PRINCES’”

       “As we should expect, the communication between the two phases of the kingdom will be easy and direct; and thereby the supervision and instruction of mankind will be complete, the ‘princes’ (Psa. 45:16) being the channels of divine communication.  This seems to be the intimation of Jesus’ words to Nathaniel:  ‘Hereafter you shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God [the messengers of God the ‘princes’ of the new age] ascending to and descending from the Son of Man.’ (John 1:51, Dia.)  Was not Jacob’s dream of the ladder between heaven and earth, and passing to and fro of messengers, a prophecy as well as a dream, predicting the coming communication between the Heavenly Kingdom and the world, in which work, as one of the communication messengers, Jacob was to have a share in the blessing of the world?  We believe that it was so intended (Gen. 28:10-20).”   (Volume 4, page 629)

       This does not mean that the Worthies will literally ascend to heaven in order to receive their instructions.  We are not given explicit information as to how the two phases of the Kingdom will harmoniously operate; but we have an illustration of the manner in which they may operate in God’s dealings with Israel through their representatives, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, the prophets, etc.  But they will be able to communicate with The Christ in some way, possibly talk directly with them as God did with some of those ancients mentioned.  The world will not be able to communicate directly with God or The Christ until the end of the Kingdom when all are perfect.  These Worthies will be the examples among men, and their perfection will be an incentive to the world to strive to attain the same perfection.

       This Millennial position is a very great reward for the faith and obedience of these Worthies.  But the fullness of their reward comes after the Millennium, when they will be changed from human to spirit beings.  Reprint 5182 proves that by their being of the antitypical Millennial Age Firstborn and Levites without inheritance in the land, that the Ancient Worthies will be made spirit beings after their Millennial work.  Some of these arguments prove this of the Youthful Worthies, as much as of the Ancient Worthies.  (See Question Book, page 152, question 2.)  How can anyone not desire to be of such a class with such great rewards?  We do not know what their station will be, but there are two places vacant in heaven - the one occupied by the Logos, before He came to earth, and Lucifer’s place that Satan formerly occupied.

       It is not our intention to urge anyone to consecrate just for the reward.  We merely bring out the rewards to show that the subject of the Worthies is not a minor one, but is a doctrinal question, and one of no small importance, affecting the standing of thousands of people now consecrated and more that will consecrate.  The trial of these two classes is not for life, as the Saints, but for faith and obedience.  The Ancient Worthies suffered much - some as much as the Saints.  And it is possible some of the Youthful Worthies will have to suffer a great deal during this Time of Trouble in order to be faithful and obedient.

       The various Truth groups say very little, if anything, about the Ancient Worthies enumerated in Hebrews, chapter 11.  Why is that?  Is it possibly because they realize that the Youthful Worthy class will be associated with them and they do not want to bring attention to the fact of such a class existing?

       “Question (1911) - If any consecrated now and fail to be begotten of the Holy Spirit, where would the Lord place them?  Answer - We would presume that if they are faithful, as the prophets of old were faithful, to the extent of laying down their lives in the service of righteousness and truth, that God would give them a share some way with the Ancient Worthies.  In other words, that if such should pass into the Time of Trouble to a considerable degree, and there lose their lives because of faithfulness to the Lord, that He would do just the same for them that He will do for the Ancient Worthies - they will be counted in with the Ancient Worthy class.” (Question Book, page 152)

       What does all this have to do with the Jews?  Jesus said to the Jews, “Ye shall see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the Kingdom of God.” (Luke 13:28)  The Jew, long used to striving to do, and of trusting of works of obedience to the Law to secure for him God’s blessing will be to his advantage in the dawn of the Millennial Age, and no one will be more ready for the strict requirements and Laws of that Age than he, after his blindness as to Christ and the value of His sacrifice for sins shall have passed away; for works are required after faith in Christ, though not accepted before.

       “So the Millennial favors will be to the Jew first, even as by reason of the covenants, etc., the Gospel favors were offered to them first.  And so it shall be finally as Simeon prophesied: ‘This child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel.’  And the time for raising up that nation, so long fallen from favor, is at hand.’ (Vol. 3, page 256)

       It should be clear to anyone that our beloved Pastor thoroughly believed, and was in full accord with the teaching of St. Paul in Rom. 1:16 - “Salvation is to the Jew first” - not only in the Great Salvation but also in the Common Salvation (Heb. 2:3 and Jude 3); and also with the Apostle John in John 4:22: “Salvation is of the Jews.”

       In Isa. 2:3 we are told that “Out of Zion [the Christ Company in Heaven] shall go forth the law; and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem [The resurrected Worthies who will be the visible government here on earth - “princes in all the earth” (Psa. 45:16) and who will be assisted by the faithful orthodox Jews as missionaries, the “first” to receive the blessings of the New Covenant. (Jer. 31:31)].”

       We will close with Joshua’s words of assurance to the Jews: “And behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing failed thereof.” (Josh. 23:14)

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WHAT KIND OF A MAN IS SADDAM HUSSEIN?

         Our political and military leaders are asking this question, "What kind of a man are we fighting?"  The answer to this question was written in the Bible about 4,000 years ago.  Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac:  Ishmael by Hagar, an Egyptian, when Abraham's wife Sarah was unable to conceive.  Some years later God performed a biological miracle and permitted Sarah to give Abraham a son Isaac, the "seed of promise."  These two sons of Abraham each had twelve sons which became two mighty nations which later became known as the nation of Israel and the Arab nation or Ishmaelites.

          The Arabs or Ishmaelites are described in Genesis 16:12 (Rotherham):  "But he will be a wild ass of a man, his hand against every one, and every one's hand against him — yet in presence of all his brethren shall he have his habitation."  Genesis 16:10 states that Ishmael's seed, the Arabs, "shall not be numbered for multitude."

          The Ishmaelites and posterity have lived by prey and plundering, robbers by land and pirates by sea.  Genesis 16:12 states that Ishmael would dwell in the presence of all his brethren — viz., Moabites, Edomites and Israelites. They have been continually at war with the rest of the world and yet never defeated.  They did not acknowledge Alexander the Great as conqueror.  Alexander objected to this insult and determined to punish the culprits but died before he could accomplish his mission.

          When the Romans invaded the East and subdued adjoining countries, they were never able to reduce Arabia to a Roman province.  Time after time enemies sought to invade but were always forced out.

          About the 7th Century A.D., Mohammed appeared on the scene and set the desert and the Mid East aflame.  Ishmaelites under Mohammed strengthened and extended their power.  Under his successors these Arabs, imbued with their new and false religion and their hereditary thirst for blood and pillage, developed into a ferocious horde and carried the Islam banner throughout Asia, Africa and even into Spain.

          Since the fall of their Muslim empire, the Turks have made repeated attempts to subdue these Arabs, but instead of succeeding they have been obliged for several centuries to pay them yearly tribute, to permit the converted Turkish Moslems to have a safe passage to Mecca, the "Holy City" where Mohammed the Ishmaelite was born.

          Others, Gallas, Trajan, Pompey and Augustus, have been unsuccessful in conquering the Arabs — the Ishmaelites.  Emperor Severus, a Roman, laid siege and even made a breach in their defenses, but insurrection broke out in the ranks.  As an unseen power protected these Ishmaelites, Emperor Trajan sought to conquer them in about A.D. 110.  Whirlwinds, swarms of flies, lightning, thunder, hail, apparitions in the sky, heat and thirst all helped to repulse these Italians every time they attacked.  And so down the stream of time God's hand seems to have been on the Ishmaelites.  In spite of commerce and intercourse with others, they remain the same fierce, savage, intractable people like their ancestors.

          This people, with the Jews excepted, have for 4,000 years withstood the enmity as a distinct people from their beginning with Ishmael.

Compare Arabs and Jews:

          (1) Both descendants of Abraham;  (2) Both practice circumcision;  (3) Both originally had 12 patriarchs or heads of tribes and (4) Both marry among themselves.

A contrast:  Israel scattered — Deut. 28:64; Ishmael stayed at home — Gen. 16:12.

          The land promised to Abraham and his seed is given in Genesis 17:6‑8:  "And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.  And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.  And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."

          Also in Genesis 22:16‑18:  "And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:  that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice."  The stars of the heaven and the sand which is upon the seashore indicates a heavenly and earthly phase of Christ's Kingdom.  In Jeremiah 31:31 God promised to make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.  When this covenant is established with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, He will bless them and through them "all the families of the earth."

          The Ishmaelites too will be blessed thru the nation of Israel.  "And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee:  Behold I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation." (Gen. 17:20)

          In Isaiah 2:2,3 we read:  "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.  And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths:  for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."

          The Jews are to be gathered from the four corners of the earth where they have been dispersed until God gathers them by the hunters and fishers. (Jer. 16:16)  "And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." (Isa. 11:12)

          The headquarters of the Kingdom will be Jerusalem and from there flow throughout the world.

          God did not promise Ishmael and his seed the land of Canaan.  Isaac and his seed were promised the land from "the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates." (Gen. 15:18‑21; Ex. 23:31; Deut. 1:7,8; 11:24; Ezek. 48:1‑29)

          A similar picture is presented in the two sons of Isaac:  Jacob and Esau.  Saddam Hussein will be defeated eventually because God has promised Canaan to the Jews.  "He is faithful that promised." (Heb. 10:23)

(Reprint No. 495, by Brother Roy Ekroth)

           In the May 13, 2002, Time magazine there is a special report on “The Sinister World of Saddam.”

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NEW WAVE OF NORTH AMERICAN ALIYAH TO BEGIN NEXT MONTH

          “This July a planeload of almost 400 new immigrants may signal the onset of a new wave of American aliyah [immigration to Israel].  The large group - probably the largest single planeload of immigrants to arrive in Israel from countries other than Russia, Ethiopia and Yemen is sponsored by a new foundation that has set as its goal no less than to ‘ultimately change the face of North American Aliyah.’

          “The organization, Nefesh B’Nefesh - Jewish Souls United - was formed last year to ‘revitalize North American Aliyah and to expand it for generations to come by removing the financial, professional, social and logistical obstacles that are preventing many ‘would-be immigrants from fulfilling their dream.’  Co-founder Tony Gelbart specifies: ‘There indeed are hundreds of individuals [and families with] student debts, loans, tuitions, etc., and by the time they pay off their debts, they and their children are already too settled in their communities to make Aliyah.  We decided to eliminate those hurdles.’

          “The organization, wishing to ‘send an unmistakable signal of North American-Israeli Jewish solidarity and joint determination to strengthen the State of Israel,’ awards financial grants based on financial need to potential immigrants.  Those who remain in Israel for three years or more need not repay the monies at all.  Some 535 people have gone or are going through the Nefesh B’Nefesh Aliyah process.

          The financial assistance granted to Nefesh B’Nefesh recipients comes from private, corporate and foundation donations.  One group in particular, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), contributed $2 million to the cause.  ‘When we presented the project to IFCJ founder, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein,’ Gilbert said, ‘he pledged his support without hesitation.’

          Nefesh B’Nefesh also assisted in alleviating aliyah obstacles such as housing, jobs, social acculturation and the like, in cooperation with established aliyah organizations, the Jewish Agency, and government of Israel.  Co-founder and Executive Director Rabbi Joushua Fass stated, ‘Imagine people all over the globe understanding that Israel is not just a haven for those who are fleeing, but that Israel itself is a primary choice for those who have alternatives, current stability and comfort.  This plane will hopefully send an unmistakable message of solidarity to Israel citizens… and it will send an unquestionable message to all of our friends and relatives in North America that they can do it too.  This is the first plane of many to follow.’”  (Arutz 7, from Bridges of Peace, June 14, 2002)

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          “Russian Woman’s Sight Restored:  Titana Sofanova, a non-Jewish woman who was blinded when she attempted to uproot a booby-trapped sign reading, ‘Death to the Jews,’ has been cured by Israeli doctors.  She was traveling on a highway near Moscow with her mother and daughter when she saw the sign.  Offended by the message of hate, she stopped the car and tried to uproot the sign - and the ensuing explosion sent shrapnel into her right eye and caused bleeding in the left eye; and she was left practically sightless.  The Union of Jewish Communities in Russia decided that this humanitarian case was its responsibility and arranged an all-expense-paid trip to the Ophthalmologic Department of Tel HaShomer Hospital in Israel, where in fact doctors were able to restore her eyesight.  Philanthropist Lev Levayev told Arutz 7 today, ‘This was an act of courage by a non-Jew, and for sure, we and the entire People of Israel are obligated to this woman.’  Levayev said that all her family’s needs related to this incident would be covered.”  (Arutz 7, from Bridges of Peace, June 14, 2002)

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          “Inquisition Queen:  Spanish Jewish community leaders are rightsizing a proposal by the majority of the country’s 80 Roman Catholic bishops to move ahead with the canonization of Queen Isabella I, who with her husband, King Ferdinand V, established the Spanish Inquisition and subsequently expelled all Jews in 1492.”

(World Jewry, April 2002)

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LETTER OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Brethren:  Warmest greetings in His precious Name!

          I am glad to send you this report about an experience that the Bausches had a few weeks ago in Israel.  One of the Arabs killed in the suicide bombing of a café in Haifa was the nephew of a good Arab friend of theirs.  Lev and Hava went to the funeral and tried to be a comfort to the family, whom they had known and visited for some years.

          What impressed Lev and Hava Bausch that they communicated to me had to do with the reaction of their Arab friend, the uncle of the young man killed in cold blood at the Haifa café, operated, incidentally, by Arabs.  (It seems that many Arabs of the Galilee are involved in the restaurant business in Israel.)

          The uncle told Bausches that he “hated” the suicide-bomber (even though he was a fellow Arab!).  Lev had had arguments, friendly, with this Arab friend over the years about the Palestinians, so it surprised Lev that now the Arab friend expressed hatred for the suicide-bomber. 

          Lev said to him, somewhat humorously, “Why, you are becoming half Jewish!”  “No,” replied his Arab friend, “three-quarters.”

         Of course, it proved that a change of heart could take place in an Israel-Arab citizen, but sadly, at what cost.  We often wonder why the Lord permits these horribly tragic massacres in Israel, which, by the way, have opened the eyes of many Jewish Israeli to the futility of being kind to their Arab neighbors.  That is why, especially since the cruel Passover bombing in Netanya, some 85% of the Israeli support Ariel Sharon and his policy of routing out the murderers in various “West Bank” cities.

         Yet they are “kind” to the Palestinians, foregoing an easier way of destroying the terrorists by bombing them from the air, instead going in on foot, soldier by soldier, to save civilian lives, even though the Israeli solders, in turn, lost many of their own men.  An article from The Jerusalem Post points up the sensitivity of the Israeli soldier encountering bobby-trapped houses in those Arab towns, yet having time to hand food and water to beleagured civilians.

         Lev and Hava Bausch continue to be valuable ambassadors for Bible Students by living in Israel.  Pray for them and support them.  Their bed-and-breakfast business is down drastically.

Yours for the peace of Jerusalem, Elva Lanowick       (FLORIDA)