NO. 565 THE GLORY OF GOD

Most of our readers are familiar with the attributes of God: Justice, Wisdom, Love and Power.  In 2 Timothy 1:7 we are told that “God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind”; but this is not God’s power in the full sense of that word.  For us, it is not physical strength, as we recognize that many of the Lord’s people are very weak physically; but we are given will power.  St. Paul is an outstanding example of this truth.  The name his parents had given him was Saul, probably after Israel’s first king, who was a handsome physical specimen.  “There was not one among the children of Israel of goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.” (1 Sam. 9:2)  When he was anointed with the Holy Spirit Saul adopted the name of Paul which was more in keeping with his physique - “Paul” meaning “little one.”  But in will power he was one of the strongest of whom we have any record, so he could well say the Lord has given us “the spirit of power.”

In 1 Timothy 1:5 Paul says, “The end of the commandment [the entire Bible] is love out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.”  This text thus treats of the four great attributes of God - not in all ways, but to inform us of his intention in making the statement.  And he is telling us that the great purpose of God in all His dealings with His people through His Spirit, Word and Providences is to develop in them Agape love, flowing out of, based upon and acting in harmony with power, justice and wisdom.  These exact words are not used in the text; but he refers to them by calling attention to each one’s main ingredient or ingredients.  By the expression “unfeigned faith” he is giving us in sufficiency two of the ingredients of wisdom - trust and truth.  By “good conscience” the duty feature of justice is meant.  By the expression “pure heart” the Apostle means a will fixed in good principles and executing them.  Thus will be seen the relation of all three of these characteristics to agape love and its sources, bases and modifiers.

Therefore, agape love permeates and expresses itself in the various graces, as is succinctly shown in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8: “Charity [agape love] suffereth long [is very tolerant], and is kind [shows kindness wherever possible]; charity envieth not [is generously disposed - no covetousness]; charity vaunteth not itself [refrains from self-praise - the Germans have a proverb, “Self-praise has a bad odor”], is not puffed up [displays a proper humility], behaveth not itself unseemly [always polite], seeketh not her own [selflessness - always striving to give to others a little more than we receive from them], is not easily provoked [literally, is not enraged or infuriated, forbearance - “a merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones” - Prov. 17:22], thinketh no evil [without guile]; rejoiceth not in iniquity [abhors sin, never glad to see others indulging in evil], but rejoiceth in the truth [appreciates and delights in the Truth and its Spirit - always happy to see  others prosper]; beareth [literally covereth] all things [ever ready to forgive], believeth all things [trustfulness, always ready to give others the benefit of the doubt], hopeth all things [hopefulness, optimistic], endureth all things [patience, perseverance - stick-to-itiveness].  Charity never faileth [permanency is something no one can take from us].”

Thus charity sourced, based and modified in wisdom, power and justice, enfolds in its ample embrace all of these graces, as well as every lower primary, secondary and tertiary grace.

It is probably in order here to consider how these four dominating graces, especially love, carry on their domination over all our other affections, virtues and graces.  They do this first by detaching our affections from lower and earthly things and attaching them to higher and heavenly things; secondly, by using our other affections, virtues and graces as servants of truth, righteousness and holiness.  Thus, these, especially love, make our lower affections: love of self-esteem, of approbativeness, of rest, of secretiveness, of safety, of possessions, of self-defense, of aggressiveness, of nourishment, of health, of life, of friends, of home and country, of the opposite sex, of wife, of husband, of children, of parents, of brethren, serve truth, righteousness and holiness.  Accordingly, if justice and love are the rulers, they develop respectively the lower primary virtues and graces of self-esteem, approbativeness, restfulness, secretiveness, cautiousness, providence, combativeness, aggressiveness, alimentiveness, vitativeness, sexliness, husbandliness, wifeliness, parentliness, filiality, brethrenliness, friendship, domesticity and patriotism.

Thirdly, they use our lower sentiments, especially humor as safety valves, vents.  Fourthly, they, especially love, carry on this domination by suppressing the efforts that our lower affections and lower primary graces make to control us, and by such suppression develop the secondary virtues and graces.

It is written in Psalms 89:14 that “justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.”  And, while the Divine attribute of Justice is prominently discussed in the Bible, it was not the first attribute that operated in the creation of the universe and the creation of man.  St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:24: “Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.”  First of all God had to plan (wisdom) the universe: then His power was applied to carry out that plan.  For man justice was the next attribute to appear when He expelled him from the Garden of Eden for disobedience; then came “the kindness and love of God.” (Titus 3:4)

In Reprints 4917 (November 15, 1911) appears an excellent article on A PRACTICAL SELF-EXAMINATION OF LOVE, from which we quote a few paragraphs:

“Nothing in this signifies that one should neglect the caring for and providing     in every way for those dependent upon him by the ties of nature, in order that he may do good to others.  In every sense, ‘love begins at home.’ The proper thought, as we gather it, is that men and women, possessed of the spirit of perfect love, would not think exclusively of their own interest in any of the affairs of life.  Put into exercise, this element of Love would have a great influence upon all the affairs of life, inside as well as outside the home and family.

“Have I the love which is good tempered, ‘not easily provoked’ to anger - love that enables me to see both sides of a question, that gives me the spirit of a sound mind, which enables me to perceive that exasperation and violent anger are not only unbecoming but, worse than that, injurious to those toward whom they may be directed, and also injurious in their effect upon my own heart and body?

“There may be times when love will need to be firm, almost to sternness and inflexibility, where principles are involved, where valuable lessons are to be inculcated; and this might come under the head of anger, using that word in a proper sense, in regard to a righteous indignation, exercised for a loving purpose, for doing good; but it should be exercised then only for a time.  If justly angry we should see to it that we sin not either with our lips, or in our hearts, in which, at no time may we entertain any but loving and generous sentiments toward those who are our enemies, or toward those of our friends whom we would assist or instruct or correct.”

THE GREATEST OF THESE

In 1 Corinthians 13:13, Dia., St. Paul tells us “these three remain - faith, hope, love - but the greatest of these is love.”  Love in this text is from the Greek agape, which means good will motivated from unselfishness.  It means doing good for the love of doing good; and such love is a refreshing and uplifting thing for all who come into contact with it.

In Romans 5:3-5, Dia., we have this: “We triumph also in afflictions, knowing that affliction works out endurance; and endurance approval; and approval hope; and this hope is not put to shame, because the love [agape] of God has been diffused in our hearts, through that Holy Spirit which has been given to us.”  That spirit in the new spiritual will lays hold on our organs of veneration, benevolence and appreciation and exercises them toward God, Christ, the brethren, the world of mankind and enemies, and thereby cultivates all the graces mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.

This is the thought of Galatians 5:22, where the Apostle tells us that “the fruit of the spirit, the product of the new will, exercising our new spiritual capacities and affections is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith [fullness].  Thus, the full complete result of the Holy Spirit is a Godlike and Christlike character, disposition, mind, heart and will.  Isaiah 11:2-4 also tells us that the Holy Spirit gives us God’s disposition: “And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and He shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.”

It would seem that the following from Reprint 5668 (April 15, 1915) is quite appropriate here.

THE SUM OF ALL GRACES

“‘And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.’ (1 Cor. 13:13)  The Apostle Paul has just been referring to the various miraculous gifts of the Spirit then granted to all begotten of the Spirit to the new nature.  Anyone lacking some such special gift at that time would thus manifest to all believers that he had not become a member of the Church of Christ.  These supernatural gifts also served to assist the primitive Church in spiritual growth.  They did not have the Bible in those days [the New Testament], and if they had possessed it, very few could have read it; hence, they needed special assistance which the Church afterward did not need and was later taken away.

“In this letter to the Church at Corinth, the Apostle, after discussing these various gifts, says, ‘And yet I show unto you a more excellent way.’  Then he proceeds to point out the superexcellence of the fruit of love.  Whoever has the Holy Spirit must have a measure at least of this fruitage, whether it be the little flower that contains the fruit-bud or whether it be the partly developed fruit, the fully developed fruit or the ripened fruit.  God our Father, who looks upon the heart, knows how His Holy Spirit in the heart is seeking to control the flesh, to guide the mind and all the words and actions.  We are not able to judge one another’s hearts.  The Apostle said that he did not feel able properly to judge even himself, but left judgment to the Lord.  He knew that his heart was loyal and that he was endeavoring to be all that the Lord would have him be.  Though he was conscious of his inability always to ‘do the things that he would,’ he knew that the Master would accept his loyalty of heart; so he would do his best and leave the remainder with God.

“Our faith and our hope in the Lord lead us to earnest endeavor to develop the fruitage of love in all its varied and beautiful phases.  Gentleness is a part of love; meekness is a part of love; so also are humility and brotherly-kindness.  The question at issue with each child of God is not, How tall and well-built am I? or, How fine-looking or well-educated or well-connected am I according to the flesh? or, How many or how fine sermons have I preached? or even, How many have I brought to a knowledge of the Truth?  But the vital question is, How much of the quality of love have I developed?  How great is the likeness of my character to that of Christ?

LOVE IS THE PRINCIPAL THING

“Why is this quality of love made so prominent in the Word of God?  We answer, Because it is the first thing, the most important thing, the principal thing.  It is the fulfilling of God’s Law; and, indeed, the sacrificial love enjoined upon God’s Saints of this Age goes even beyond the requirements of the perfect law.  But why is love put first?  It is not because God arbitrarily so placed it, not because He exercised His power of fiat and declared that it should be first.  No, it is because no other quality of character is so lovely, so beautiful, so productive of happiness and joy, so great a blessing to all upon whom it operates.  It is the very essence of God’s character, ‘GOD IS LOVE.’  This quality particularly represents His personality.  While God is all-just and all-powerful, we do not say that God is justice or that God is power, but that God is Love.  He uses His great power only as love dictates and approves.  He uses His justice only in fullest harmony with His glorious attribute of Love.  Love is the mainspring of all His doings.

“Whoever, therefore, would be God-like must be loving, must have love as the dominating quality of his character and his life.  Love and righteousness are inseparable.  Love is to continue to all eternity; and only those who become the active embodiment of this gracious quality of character will live eternally.  Hence we see the paramount importance of its development in every life.”

THE SPIRIT OF A SOUND MIND

“EVIDENCES OF A SOUND MIND:  The fall of Adam has worked ruin to mankind, so that from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot there are none sound (Isa. 1:5,6).  None are sound of mind or body.  All are out of the way.  ‘There is none righteous; no, not one.’ (Rom. 3:10)  But in proportion as we receive the spirit of the Lord, and in proportion as that spirit of the Lord works in us and develops us and influences all the conduct of life, in that same proportion we receive the spirit of a sound mind.

“This soundness of mind will teach us how better to use our bodies.  A person of unsound mind may either eat too much or eat what does not agree with him.  In proportion as we have a sound mind, it influences what we eat, what we drink, and everything we do; it helps to regulate and control everything in life for us.  It gives us broad views of all the affairs of life.  It gives us more generous views of mankind.  We recognize that mankind is under the curse, and we have a feeling of compassion for them.  We have much advantage every way, because God has opened the eyes of our understanding.

“This spirit of a sound mind makes us more helpful.  We know better how to deal with each other as brethren.  We know better how to deal with our children, with our neighbors, with the butcher and with every one else.  The truth does not come to many of those who are naturally soundest of mind, and it takes time for the truth to bring in a measure of soundness.  But we notice that when one receives the truth in the love of it, it has a healing effect on his mind.  He will begin to think more correctly and to act more wisely.”

(Reprints 5977, bottom and 5978, top)

The Wise Man tells us in Proverbs 4:7 that “Wisdom [the wisdom that is from above - James 3:17] is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”  But how do we come by this wisdom?  In 1 Corinthians 1:30 we are told that Christ Jesus is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness [justification by faith], and sanctification [He sets us apart for His own good purposes], and deliverance.”

In 2 Timothy 1:7, Dia., we are given a very meaningful synonym of wisdom - a sound mind - which means a proper mental and religious disposition that is based upon the Truth and views matters according to reality in the light of the applicable Truth, and thinks, feels, speaks and acts accordingly tactful.  A sound mind, therefore, is a proper mental and religious attitude.  This Scripture also tells us that love and a sound mind are closely linked together.  “God did not give us a cowardly spirit, but one of power, and of [agape] love, and of a sound mind.”

The proper application of the Holy Spirit in a “Sound Mind” will little by little and more and more give its possessor an ever increasing sound mind, which will by and by “make such a person of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord” (Isa. 11:2,3) - that is, in the application of duty and disinterested (agape) love in accordance with the Divine will.  Thus, in cultivating wisdom (love and the spirit of a sound mind), we constantly improve ourselves in every good word and work.  In this there is a part that God, by Christ, does and a part that we do.  Thus we become “co-workers with God,” as we constantly improve our intellectual and providential circumstances.

The spirit of a sound mind is one of the dominating graces of the Holy Spirit, and sometimes operates negatively in keeping us from doing unwise things, but operates positively in helping us to do the wise things.  This is true in both our secular and religious relations.  We need the spirit of a sound mind in our dealings with the Father and with Jesus, the latter being the Agent as our Creator, Provider, Redeemer, Teacher, Justifier, Sanctifier and Deliverer.

Inasmuch as our own righteousness is as “filthy rags,” we cannot approach Him through works or merits of our own.  Therefore, the spirit of a sound mind forbids us to present ourselves, who are children of wrath, to God in any alleged merit or righteousness of our own.  On the contrary, the Divine wisdom prompts us to seek for ourselves an Advocate before God, which we recognize to be Jesus.  He has told us Himself “whatsoever ye ask in my name it shall be given unto you.” (John 15:16)  Thus, by the Divine wisdom wrought in us by Jesus’ ministry, we are prompted to ask forgiveness for our sins and a righteous standing before God through Him.  Thus, sufficient of the spirit of a sound mind, which we receive from Him as natural men, enables us to see the proper approach to God, and tends to keep us in a righteous condition, and prompts us to present ourselves to God in harmony with Romans 12:1: “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.”  Upon so doing in harmony with God’s will, He then gives us that sanctification that is necessary to do His “good and acceptable and perfect will.”  This prevents us from engaging in works not motivated by God and Christ.  On all sides today we see thousands zealously devoted to various reform and uplift works, which have no real standing in Heaven.  “Many will say to me in that day, Master, Master, have we not taught in Thy name, and in Thy name expelled demons, and in Thy name performed many wonders?  And then I will plainly declare to them, I never approved of you.  Depart from Me, you who practice iniquity.” (Matt. 7:22,23, Dia.)  Such will be the reward of all rabid sectarians.

The spirit of a sound mind teaches us what to do, and what to avoid doing in spirit, manner and method as to our works toward the world in religious aspects, and also in secular relations.  But a sound mind will give us increasingly the spirit of wisdom in our religious and secular actions.  While we are “not of the world,” yet we are in the world, and have secular relations toward the world.

Our secular relations toward the world may at times give us some consternation, especially with those of lower tendencies.  Yet these are vastly in the majority and if we are inclined to avoid such, we may find it difficult to make a livelihood.  St. Paul treats of this in 1 Corinthians 5:9,10: “I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators; yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.”  That is, if we would refuse to have any dealings with persons of disreputable leanings, we might find ourselves out of business.  This does not mean, of course, that we become partners with them.  St. Paul’s advice applies here, too - and positively so: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Cor. 6:14)  Our own experience in the business world over the past fifty years is that many put on quite a respectable appearance, but are ready enough to cut corners as opportunity may present itself.  A well-meaning businessman once said to Brother Russell, “Pastor Russell, you have set the standard entirely too high.”  His answer was, “I did not put it there; the Lord did.”  Of course, having a “high calling,” it necessarily follows there would also be a “high” standard.  And the more of a sound mind we have, the more apparent this becomes to us.  Also, the more of Divine wisdom we have the more of a sound mind will be apparent in us.

LOVE - HOW ACQUIRED

In any undertaking the “know-how” is fundamental to success.  And this is certainly true in the acquisition of Agape love.  We have pointed out that love and a sound mind are closely linked together.  All who have developed any degree of Agape love will readily testify that it has put soundness into their thinking.  Among the last words of Jesus to His Disciples are those to be found in Luke 21:12-15, Dia.: “They will drag you before kings and governors… And it will turn out to you for a testimony.  Settle it in your hearts, therefore, not to premeditate on your defense; for I will give you eloquence and wisdom, which all your opponents will not be able to gainsay, or resist.”  “Our sufficiency is of God; who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit… the spirit giveth life.” (2 Cor. 3:5,6)

FAITH COMETH BEFORE LOVE

Although, as 1 Corinthians 13:13 tells us Love is the greatest of all the graces, for the Faith Age, faith must come first: “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” (Heb. 11:6)  Nor can we develop perfect (agape) love unless we continue to believe He is a God of Love, Wisdom, Justice and Power, and also, to have faith in His Word that we have received.  Those who are faithful to the truth they have will be ready to “learn more of Him,” and as they do they will develop more and more of the “end of the commandment [the purpose of the commandment] is charity.” (1 Tim. 1:5)  All New Creatures will have to develop perfect love in their hearts during this Faith Age, their trial time for eternal life.  No others are on trial for life; although, it behooves all classes of the Household of Faith to constantly seek to develop perfect love, as they must eventually do if they remain in the Elect classes.  However, some of the unbegotten consecrators are not able to develop perfect love.  In the 11th chapter of Hebrews we are told that it was by faith that the Ancient Worthies were able to do what they did.  Abraham had faith and it was counted to him for righteousness.  He didn’t have Agape love, but he will have it in the Kingdom, or he won’t remain one of the Elect.

In the Millennium when the New Covenant is inaugurated, there will be no crucial experience - no suffering for righteousness sake - that will develop perfect love.  But Restitutionists will have to develop perfect Duty Love toward God and man - love the Lord with all their heart and their neighbor as themselves.  This will be a much easier requirement for them, for instead of suffering for righteousness, they will be rewarded for righteousness, and if their righteousness comes from the heart, they will be rewarded with eternal life.  There was no sacrifice required of Adam - just obedience and faith in God.  So Restitutionists will have a faith in God, but not a faith where He cannot be traced.  Each step of obedience will bring the reward for tracing Him.

From Reprint 5095, top: “The spirit of a sound mind is a most wonderful manifestation of the Holy Spirit in the Lord’s people.  It gives them much advantage every way over the remainder of mankind.  It sees in the present life opportunities for the attainment of character.  It broadens and deepens the mind along all good lines.  It makes one less touchy in respect to his own rights, privileges and preferences, and more considerate of the rights and feelings of others.

“The spirit of a sound mind makes one’s judgment clearer, truer, more trustworthy than before, for it impels him to accept the instructions of the Word of God in respect to what he should and should not do, and to reject his own faulty judgment.  The meek will He guide in judgment.  Whatever may be the imperfection of mind and body resulting from the fall, those who receive the spirit of a sound mind are thereby made purer, kinder, gentler, less selfish and more thoughtful in regard to others.  Those who are thus rightly exercised will develop the spirit of love increasingly until that which is perfect shall have come and that which is in part shall have been done away. (1 Cor. 13:10)”

GOD’S GLORY

In Exodus 33:18 Moses asked God to show him His glory; and in Psalms 104:31 we are told, “The glory of the Lord shall endure forever.”  In Isaiah 42:8 it is written: “I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another.”  From these and other Scriptures we conclude that God’s glory is synonymous with His character attributes of Justice, Wisdom, Power and Love.  All of God’s faithful people of the past have had some of these character qualities; but none of them, not even Jesus, have had them in the same magnificent and grandiose quantity and quality as they are in our Almighty God.  The word translated glory in Isaiah 42:8 is from the Hebrew kabod and one of its meanings is splendor; and the more we see and learn of His character and works, the more His splendor becomes apparent.  Thus, we enthusiastically join with David in his exclamation, “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.  For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.” (Psa. 95:6,7)

(Brother John J. Hoefle, Reprint 427, November 1991)

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QUESTION OF GENERAL INTEREST

QUESTION - How can I get faith when I don’t have it naturally?

ANSWER   - Faith may be cultivated as any other mental quality, and is increased in proportion to knowledge and reliance upon that knowledge.  To have faith in God, we must learn His character, plans, and purposes.  This we acquire by a study of His Word and relying upon the promises and truths therein stated.  False doctrines have made God’s character appear hideous.  “Fear (dread) of him is taught by the precepts of men.”  A true knowledge of His character and plan greatly increase our faith in and love for Him.  Faith is Scripturally defined as “the understanding of things hoped for, the proof of things unseen.”  Man hopes for eternal life in happiness.  A basis for that hope is found in the Word of God.  A doubter may become a most earnest and tenacious believer upon receiving proper evidence.  “Life is the gift of God through Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 6:23)  His Word is the only evidence pointing out clearly the way of obtaining that gift.  To increase our faith we must, therefore, study God’s Word in a humble and prayerful manner, with the desire to know and do His will, and to rely upon His Word.  One who knows the letter of His Word and fails to rely upon it has little faith.  Another both knows the Word and relies upon it and strong faith results.  This is illustrated by the following incident; A man doubting the strength of the ice to bear his weight crawled across the river on his hands and knees, and just as he reached the opposite shore he was overtaken by a man, who had confidence in the strength of the ice, gaily driving a team of horses hitched to a sled loaded with pig iron.

(What Pastor Russell Said, pages 774, 775)

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LETTER OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Emily and Marjorie,

We send you warm greetings from the Sea of Galilee.  It is getting warmer here as summer is upon us, but the wonder is that the Sea of Galilee is so full at this point.  Not only did the heavy winter rains fill it, but also the Mt. Hermon snowmelt filled it to the tip-top.  Really it looks like the boats could sail down the streets of Tiberias now.  In our 16 years living here on the shores of the Sea of Galilee we have never seen it so full.

However we missed news of how you both are, and how things are going there in Florida.  We do hope you had an illness-free winter, Emily, and are feeling God’s strength each day to carry you through.

We keep going one day at a time.  Lev was down to the Dead Sea in May for 4 weeks to have his sun treatments for his skin problem of psoriasis.  It had gotten quite bad over the winter.  What a miracle this “dead spot” on the earth produces in the healing of so many illnesses.  This time Lev had a wonderful healing of most of his skin.  We are so thankful to the Lord!

We don’t have so many guests this month, but this is the only month like this since December.  There has been a steady stream of visitors from some ten nations, so it is wonderful to see some brave tourists again in Israel.  It is a start to come back to the “normal” amount of travelers in this direction!  The overall economy is improving here as well, but there are still too many out of work.

There was a lot of tension over the Passover holidays after Israel eliminated the two top Hamas leaders.  Thankfully the eyes of the watchmen were open and the attempted bombings were stopped!  So it has been a rather quiet period, but only because Israel is on the alert day and night to stop the terrorists even when they try to use women and children to carry bombs.  A sick thinking!  So now we are being forced into Gaza withdrawal that will affect the lives of some 7500 people directly as their whole way of life for years will be destroyed.  The question is “and for what?”  There is no “peace agreement” or willingness for the Palestinians to stop fighting.  In fact they see it all as a “victory”!  It is hard to understand how Sharon and his government could change sides so much.  So good to know God has the real answers.

Have a good summer!                               Love to all, Lev and Hava Bausch       (ISRAEL)

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THIS TOO WILL PASS!

Poor heart, break not, though cruel be thy wound

This too will pass!

The weariest day will end in sunset light,

And dawn must follow e’en the darkest night!

Nor drink too deeply of Joy’s honeyed cup -

This too will pass!

Caressing hands will lose their loving touch,

 And words mean nothing, that once meant so much.

Ah, then, whate’er thy state, seek thou content - t

This will not pass!

True rest is found in God, He knows and cares,

His heart of love thy every sorrow shares!

NO. 564 WAITING FOR MESSIAH

(Malachi 3:1; 4:3)

“Behold he shall come, saith the Lord, even the Messenger of the Covenant, whom ye delight in.  But who may abide the day of his coming? for he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap.” (Malachi 3:1,2)

Malachi’s prophecy, the most striking features of which constitute the lesson, concludes the Old Testament canon.  It contains not only a Divine rebuke for sin, but also a Divine promise of rescue.  It fits well to the time generally assigned to it - Nehemiah’s period.  It remained for Israel to show thorough repentance and to institute thorough reforms.  The needed reformation fits equally well to our day.  In their professed devotions they were robbing God and impoverishing themselves.  It rested upon them to note what great blessings would be theirs if they rendered a whole-heart service to the King of kings.

The Jews, comparing themselves with other nations, perceived that as a result of being God’s people they had been held to a more strict account than other nations, so that although their nationality was superior, it was through repeated and severe chastisements.  They were even questioning the profitableness of being “God’s chosen people.”  The arrogant, proud nations around them flourished in temporalities more than they.  They could not stand this; they forgot that they were a people for a purpose and that to fit them for Divine service in the future trying experiences were permitted, and were really evidences of Divine favor.  “What son is he whom the father chasteneth not?  If ye be without chastisement, then are ye not sons.” (Heb. 12:7,8)

This lesson of a future reward is brought forward by the words, “They that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord harkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord and thought upon his Name.  They shall be mine, saith the Lord of Hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels.” (Mal. 3:16,17)

ISRAEL - TYPICAL AND ANTITYPICAL

The foregoing has revealed very much of all prophecies respecting Israel’s favors to be fulfilled - a portion in Spiritual Israel’s experiences and another portion in Natural Israel’s.  The faithful of the Jewish Age, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets, will surely have a great reward.  When Messiah’s Kingdom shall be inaugurated on the spirit plane, invisible to men, those Ancient Worthies, who were once called the fathers, will have a very high rank of service in connection with the Kingdom, in that they will be its earthly representatives and exponents.  “Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children [of Messiah], whom thou [Messiah] mayest make princes [rulers] in all the earth.” (Psa. 45:16)

Spiritual Israel, as history shows us, is the great Messiah for whom the Jews have so long waited.  This Messiah has many members - Jesus is its Head, the Church are His members.  This Messiah, Jesus and His members or Bride, constitute the spiritual seed of Abraham - “as the stars of heaven.” (Gen. 22:17)  These must first be completed, and will be glorified in Kingdom power before the Ancient Worthies can receive their blessing on the earthly plane, and before natural Israel can be gathered to them as the nucleus of the Kingdom of God on earth, to which ultimately all nations, peoples, kindred and tongues shall flow for a share in Israel’s New Covenant blessings.  Of these St. Paul says, “If ye be Christ’s then are ye Abraham’s seed [typified by Isaac], and heirs according to the promise.” (Gal. 3:29)  These are to be God’s jewels on the spirit plane, as the faithful Jews of the past are to be the jewels on the earthly plane, marked or enrolled for distinguished honor in connection with Messiah’s Kingdom.

“MESSENGER OF THE COVENANT”

The Israelites, discouraged with their failure to keep the Law and to get the blessings promised therefrom, were encouraged by the Lord with the promise that some day a great Messiah would appear - greater than Moses, with whom God would make a New Covenant on their behalf.  The New Covenant would be superior to the old one in that it would have a better Mediator, for Israel already had God’s perfect Law.  The New Mediator would not relax the law, either.  The advantage to accrue through Him would be that somehow His covenant and sin-offering would be more efficacious than that which Moses instituted, because it would put away sin forever and give willing Israelites a new heart, a heart of flesh, after which they would be given everlasting life on condition of their maintaining their relationship with the Almighty.

Jeremiah particularized this saying: “It shall come to pass after those days, saith the Lord, that I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers when I led them out of Egypt… but their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” (Jer. 31:31)

Israel’s hope thenceforth was in the Messiah, whose coming would bring to them the New Covenant blessings.  They have waited for Him since.  Who can help admiring the persistency of the Jewish faith - their loyalty to God!  Who can help noticing how sharply it is in contrast with their previous unbelief and idolatry!  Who can doubt that God still loves His people whom He foreknew and whom He has promised shall be regathered - back to their own land and back to His favor under the New Covenant! (Rom. 11:25)

But the Prophet Malachi clearly intimates that there might be disappointment in connection with the much longed for Messenger or Mediator of the New Covenant, in whom the Jews so delighted and hoped.  The declaration is that His day will be a strenuous one: “Who shall stand when he appeareth?”  “Who will abide the day of his coming?” (Mal. 3:2)  The intimation is that not many will abide, not many will stand - the majority will fall.

The reason is given.  He will require such purity, such holiness, that few will come up to His requirements.  The tests He will impose will be like fullers’ soap, which is the foe of every spot upon a garment white.  His requirements will be like those of a refiner of silver - all the dross must be eliminated, in a furnace hot enough to insure its separation.  The test will last a considerable time, for He will sit as a refiner sits, giving close inspection, that the heat be neither too great nor too little, the time neither too long nor too short.

This great Messiah, the Messenger of the New Covenant, began His refining and purifying work more than eighteen centuries ago.  He followed the Divine rule, “To the Jew first.”  He began to refine and purify a priestly class for association with Himself in the glorious Messianic work.  To the Jew first came the privilege of being the antitypical Levites.  Thousands of them responded at Pentecost, and subsequently, but not enough to complete the foreordained number of spiritual Israelites, members of the Body of Messiah.

Since then the selecting work has been in progress for eighteen centuries.  God has been calling and drawing from all nations, and as many as respond the great Refiner has been purifying; and if these suffer afflictions for righteousness they are sharing in the sufferings of Messiah that they may be accounted worthy also of a share in His glories to follow.  Soon the “elect” number will be completed: the blood of the New Covenant will be made efficacious for Israel and for all the families of the earth, and on that basis the Messianic Kingdom or reign of righteousness will begin.

(Pastor Russell, Reprints 4930-4931, December 1, 1911)

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JUDGMENT OF THE NATIONS

(Matthew 25:31-46)

“Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of the least of these, ye did it not unto me.” (v. 45)

Having given His disciples many parables illustrating the experiences of the Church, the Kingdom class, in their development and preparation for Kingdom honor, it was eminently proper that Jesus should give the parable of this lesson to illustrate the work of this Kingdom after its establishment - to show its purpose and its effect upon the world of mankind.

Many of us have in the past read the Bible too carelessly.  Our minds were sluggish respecting spiritual things.  For instance, this lesson was at one time applied to the Church.  We failed altogether to notice that it says not a word respecting the Church, but is entirely applied to the world, to the nations, the heathen.  For centuries the Jews had been accustomed to think of themselves as God’s nation, God’s people.  All others they styled heathen, Gentiles, the people, the nations; and in the prophecies God treated the matter from this standpoint.  So when spiritual Israel was received into Divine favor as the Royal Priesthood, the Holy Nation, the peculiar people, all the remainder of mankind were properly enough to be thought of and described as “the nations” - “the Gentiles.”

In line with this, our Lord in this parable tells what is to befall after His Kingdom shall have been set up - after the selection of the true Church class to be the Bride, the Lamb’s Wife, the joint-heir in His Kingdom, in His throne.  This, we notice, is very clearly stated by the Master, saying “When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory.”  Who, after proper consideration, will say that this is a matter of the past?  Who will dispute that this is a description of Messiah’s Kingdom following His Parousia and His Epiphania [the epiphania and the Time of Trouble are one and the same] at His Second Advent?

APPLICATION OF THIS PARABLE

Then follows a description of the work of the Millennial Age.  “Before him shall be gathered all nations.”  This means all the people of the world outside of the Lord’s holy nation, His peculiar people, the Church.  Everybody except the Church will be before His great white throne of justice, mercy and love; that will be their judgment time.

Six thousand years ago, Adam and his entire race were judged in Eden, and the sentence was death.  None of the race are worthy of everlasting life.  They are all sinners.  In due time God sent His Son to die for Adam’s sin, in order that, “as by a man came death [of the entire race], by a man [Jesus] also will come the resurrection of the dead [the entire race].  For as all in Adam die, even so all in Christ shall be made alive.  Every man in his own order.” (1 Cor. 15:21-23)

The first order to be made alive in Christ is the Church, called out of the world, separated, “begotten again” of the Holy Spirit.  These pass their judgment, their trial, for life everlasting or death everlasting in the present time.  Hence the worthy ones, with characters formed pleasing and acceptable to God, will be quite ready to be Messiah’s Bride class, joint-heirs with Him in His Kingdom and in His work of judging the world.  He has promised that all the faithful shall sit with Him in His throne - the very throne pictured in the words of our text - the throne before which all the nations, all the people outside of the Church, will be gathered.

The gathering of the world will be the result of knowledge.  The Time of Trouble will lead on to great enlightenment, in which all the blind eyes will be opened, all the deaf ears will be unstopped (Isa. 35:5), and the knowledge of the glory of God will fill the whole earth.  Some there will be those who, resisting this knowledge, will decline to accept Christ and will not come into this judgment; but after a hundred years of resistance these will be destroyed (Isa. 65.20).

Those in the parable are such as have accepted Christ’s terms and desire to be on judgment, or on trial, for everlasting life.  This will include all in their graves, who, the Master tells us, will come forth, not all at once, but gradually.  Messiah’s Kingdom will exercise its power and disseminate the knowledge of God and of righteousness, with a view to encouraging, helping and uplifting all the willing and obedient.  All such may rise more and more out of sin and death conditions - out of imperfection of mind and body and out of immoral conduct to the full image of God, as possessed by father Adam in the beginning.

It will be the work of the entire Millennial Age to bring this about.  Righteousness will reign then, as sin reigns now.  That is to say, it will be in control, in the ascendancy; and whosoever sins then will suffer promptly.  Hence all the nations will be avoiding sin.  Then the world in general will be a grand place, where “nothing shall hurt or destroy”(Isa. 11:9); where “the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick” (Isa. 33:24); where the curse shall be gradually rolled away, and there shall be no more crying, no more sighing, no more dying; and where the blessing of God, bringing perfection, will prevail.  “O happy day!” we exclaim.  And surely it will be such; for all who live through those thousand years will have a great blessing.

THE LAW OF RETRIBUTION OPERATIVE

But, some inquire, what about the sins of the world?  Will there be no chastisements, no punishments, for these?  We answer that it will be equally as just for God to forgive the sins of the world for Christ’s sake as it has been just for Him to forgive the sins of the Church for Christ’s sake.  If the one is just, so will be the other; for God is no respecter of persons, and is equally as willing to forgive the sins of the world as the sins of the Church, when the world, repenting of sin, will turn from it, accepting Christ as their Redeemer.

This does not mean, however, that justice is to be ignored.  In the case of the Church, note how the sins of youth may leave their scar and sting to the end of life.  And so we may reasonably assume that certain stripes, or punishments, will be permitted to follow the world in just the same manner.  It will be from these weaknesses and frailties that they will be gradually raised up to perfection during those blessed thousand years of Christ’s Kingdom, when Satan will be bound and not be permitted to deceive any during that period.

But what about heart condition?  If conformity to the Divine Law in an outward way will bring blessings to all, will there not still be a difference between the people - some coming heartily into accord with the Father, and others merely outwardly into harmony, because this outward harmony will be the way to restitution, perfection?

Undoubtedly this is correct reasoning.  It is along this line that the parable before us teaches; namely, that outwardly the “sheep” and the “goats” will have much the same appearance and demeanor, except to the Judge, the King, who will read the heart and ultimately will manifest to all that there has been a real heart-difference between the two classes, all of whom will have been on trial of a thousand years, receiving blessings of the Kingdom.

THE BASIS OF JUDGMENT

All the while each individual will be making character.  This character will be fully appreciated by the great Judge, and the individual will be rated either as a “sheep” or as a “goat.”  All the sheep class will thus be received at the right hand of the great Jehovah; and all the goat class will be rated as out of favor with Him, even though all the while they will be receiving the blessing of the Millennial Kingdom and outwardly rendering obedience to its laws.

Not until the conclusion of the Millennium will the decision of the Judge be manifested.  Then both parties will show great surprise at His decision.  To the “sheep” at His right hand He will say, “Come, ye blessed of my Father [the kind that my Father is pleased to bless and to grant everlasting life!  Come,] inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”  When God laid the foundation of the earth and planned its human habitation, it was His design to give it to you.  Now the time has come for you to enter into this kingdom and to possess it.

This is not the same kingdom as the Messianic Kingdom.  On the contrary, it is the kingdom which God gave to Adam, which Adam lost through his disobedience and which Christ redeemed by the sacrifice of Himself.  It will be given only to those who will have developed the God-like character - those who will have become the Lord’s “sheep” during the Millennium.

Then the other class, the goats of the parable, will be sentenced: “Depart, ye accursed ones [doomed ones], into everlasting punishment.”  Granted all the privileges, blessings and experiences of a thousand years of contact with righteousness, truth and the Spirit of God, you indeed render an outward obedience, but at heart you have not come into harmony with God.  I cannot recognize you as My sheep.  I cannot present you to the Father blameless and irreprovable.  You must be destroyed; the punishment is the Second Death, “everlasting destruction.”  The penalty upon you is an everlasting one because there will be no further provision made for your redemption or for your resurrection from the Second Death.  You will be as though you had never been.  You have failed utterly to appreciate the goodness of God and to copy His Character-likeness.  Eternal life is only for those who have God’s likeness and God’s Spirit.  “The Father seeketh such to worship him as worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23)

Both classes, the “sheep” and the “goats,” were surprised at what the King, the Judge, declared to be the basis of His judgment.  To the sheep He said, “I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.”  To the goat class He said, “I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat; I was thirsty and ye gave me no drink; was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick and in prison, and ye visited me not.”

Both “sheep” and “goats” claimed that they had no knowledge of any such experiences.  When did we minister unto Thee?  When did we fail to minister unto Thee?  The answer was, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of My brethren, or did it not unto him, ye did it, or did it not, unto Me.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SHEEP CLASS

Now, who are these respecting whom there will be a test upon the sheep class and upon the goat class?  Will there be people sick, hungry and in prison during the Millennium?  Does the Lord wish us to understand that there will be such?  We have, on the contrary, always assumed that sickness, poverty, hunger and prisons will then be gone forever.  What does it all mean?

The meaning is plain.  With the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom all who come into harmony with it will have the great privilege of doing something to help others.  The world is blind and starved now, for lack of spiritual food and the anointing eye-salve of the truth.  While the Millennial blessing will be showered upon those who accept the Lord’s terms, there will be others who will need assistance.  Those who have the Spirit of God, the spirit of love, will be glad to carry the heavenly message of reconciliation to all humanity, glad to apply the eye-salve to the blind, glad to unstop the ears of the deaf, glad to help the sin-sick back into harmony with God - to the blessings of Messiah’s Kingdom, to the way in which these may be obtained - helping them to cover their nakedness with the merit of Christ.

All who will take pleasure in this work will thus be manifesting that they have God’s Spirit and are co-laborers with Him.  All these will be the sheep.  On the other hand, those who will be careless in respect to their vow, and merely enjoy the Millennial blessings themselves, will be of the goat class and will thus be marking themselves as “goat,” and correspondingly will be out of favor with the great King of kings, their Judge, the Lord of Glory.

THE WORLD’S RESURRECTION

 The prison referred to in the parable is undoubtedly the great prison-house of death, into which approximately twenty thousand millions already have gone.  All these are to come forth.  But the Scriptures declare that they will not all come forth at once, but “every man in his own order.” (1 Cor. 15:23)  Only the Church will be in the First Resurrection.

During the Millennium the awakening from the sleep of death, the prison-house, will come about by Divine Power, of course, but we believe in answer to prayer.  Each family circle, as it can prepare for another and another member, will be glad to do so, and will make request for his return.  Thus the race will come out of the “prison-house” in reverse order to that in which they entered, and will be acquainted with, identified by, and prepared for by their friends, their relatives.

While the blessing of the Lord will provide an abundance for all, nevertheless we may safely assume that the provision will be in the hands of their fellows.  It will be the “sheep” that will be especially interested in praying for and preparing for those who are in the great prison-house of death.  Any by so engaging their time and energy these “sheep” will be manifesting a purpose, a will, in harmony with that of the Creator.  God has willed that all who are in their graves shall come forth at the command of Jesus (John 5:28,29), and those in sympathy with God and Christ will be co-laborers with God in accomplishing the work for which Christ died.  Any not interested in that work will be lacking in God’s Spirit; and this is exactly what is charged against the goat class.

He who sits upon the throne, having redeemed the world of mankind and having provided for the resurrection of all these redeemed ones, counts them as in a certain sense representing Himself - as He says in the parable: “I was an hungered, and ye fed me; I was sick and in prison, and ye visited me,” ministered unto Me and helped Me.

Likewise the reproof to the goat class: to these He said, You were not interested in the things of God.  Your interest was merely personal, a selfish one.  You have enjoyed the blessings of these glorious thousand years, and that is all that God has provided for you.  You are not of the kind of whom He is pleased to grant everlasting life.  You will therefore die.  You have more or less of the selfish spirit, which is the spirit of Satan, and as God’s provision for all who will not be in fellowship with Him in spirit is destruction, this is to be your portion - the Second Death (Rev. 21:8).

The eternal fire is the fire of God’s jealousy or anger, which burns against and destroys everything antagonistic to His righteousness (Zeph. 1:18; 3:8).  It is, of course, merely a figurative expression representing complete destruction.

(Pastor Russell, Reprints 5530-5532, September 1, 1914)

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THE WONDER OF ISRAEL

This coming Monday, the fifth day of Iyar, 5764, marks the 56th anniversary of Israel’s rebirth.  Absorbed as we are by our current struggles - existential, security, economic, social, political, religious - we often lose sight of the wonder that there is any type of Jewish state anywhere, let alone in its ancient ancestral home.  The usual rule in history, for mighty empires as well as weak nations, is that there are no comebacks; gone is gone.  All of the major empires that existed at the start of the 20th century - Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Turkey, Japan - failed to survive that bloody and turbulent century.  Out of this ash heap of nations and empires, somehow a Jewish state arose, unwanted and unappreciated by most of the world and even by major sections of the Jewish world.  Since the majority were not adults in 1948, they will never be able to truly appreciate what Israel’s rebirth meant to the Jewish world.

I remember walking with my father to synagogue in Chicago that Friday afternoon.  A Jew from Lithuania with 1,000 years of longing for Zion and Jerusalem baked into his soul, and who usually showed little emotion, he wept all the way.  I was shocked by his weeping, but as I became older and began to appreciate the moment in its historical context, I shared his tears.  Even the anti-Zionist parties here at the time blessed the occasion and appreciated the watershed event.  After the tragedy of the Holocaust, when Jewry the world over was exhausted emotionally, spiritually and physically, with hundreds of thousands of refugees in internment and displaced persons’ camps throughout Europe and Cyprus, the state arose as a beacon of hope and refuge, a place to settle and rebuild lives, personal and national.  I remember how the survivors of Europe limped into Chicago after the war - how despairing all of us were for the future, how few the students in the fledgling Jewish day schools struggling to establish themselves.

The creation of the state stiffened Jewish resolve and pointed us in a different direction, with a more positive mood and a renewed belief in ourselves.  The attempt to crush the state at its birth failed, as all the attempts since then have failed.  The current terrorist campaign against us will also fail, and at the end will have damaged our enemies far more than it hurt us.  In spite of tremendous difficulties, the state has grown, prospered and become strong and viable.  It is envy of us that fuels much of the anti-Israel hatred around the world.

If appreciation of the truly wondrous nature of this state’s creation and the timeliness of its birth is fading, then it should be replaced by vision.  The State of Israel is defined as being both democratic and Jewish, and somehow these two ideas must learn to live with each other as peacefully and harmoniously as possible.

A vision of what a Jewish state should look like - how it must be unique and not merely a pale copy of the worst aspects of Western culture - has to be formulated and articulated.

I feel that the greatest contribution of religious Jewry in this country could be to represent and publicize such a vision.  Sadly, until now it has not even attempted to address this task, let alone devise a program as to how to implement it.  No society can prosper without a positive sense of direction and purpose.  Merely wishing to survive - as important and necessary as that is - is not nation-building.

Addressing our future, infusing belief and faith, strengthening our sense of tradition, cleaning up our act and casting away the bad habits of exile and corruption, are necessary components of a visionary future. 

Realizing the wonder of the past 56 years will help us build such a future for ourselves and our descendants.

(By Berel Wein, The International Jerusalem Post, April 23, 2004)

NO. 563 REFRAIN THY VOICE FROM WEEPING AND THINE EYES FROM TEARS

The Lord through the Prophet Jeremiah sends a message of consolation for the heart of every bereaved parent trusting in Him.  We read: “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children because they were not.  Thus saith the Lord: Refrain thy voice from weeping and thine eyes from tears, for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.” (Jer. 31:15-17)

Five items in our text fasten our attention:

First: Sorrow for the dead, which is universal; as the Apostle declares, “The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together.” (Rom. 8:22)

Second: The nature of the comfort described - the hope of a resurrection, the hope of the recovery of the dead - “They shall come again,” they shall be restored to life.

Third: That in death our dear ones are in “the land of the enemy”; in harmony with the Apostle’s declaration, “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” (1 Cor. 15:26)

Fourth: That the labors of the parent in endeavoring properly to rear their children are not lost, “Thy work shall be rewarded.”

Fifth: Last but not least in importance in this text is the declaration that this is the Word of the Lord, which cannot be broken - the Word, which is sure of fulfillment, however different it may be from the word of man on this subject.

TEARS NOT WEAKNESS - “JESUS WEPT.”

Sorrow for the dead is not a sign of weakness, but rather the reverse - a sign of love and sympathy, of something more than selfishness.  If any demonstration of this thought were necessary it is furnished us in the statement of the shortest verse in the Bible - “Jesus wept.”  Our Lord’s tears were shed on a funeral occasion, too; Lazarus, His friend, the brother of Martha and Mary, was dead.  Our Lord entered fully into the spirit of the occasion, with a deeper appreciation of the awful meaning of the word death than could possibly be entertained by those about Him.  He appreciated more than any of the fallen, dying race the great blessing and privilege of living, and what a terrible affliction was death - destruction, annihilation.

On the other hand, however, He understood more clearly than any of His hearers the gracious plan of God for the rescue of the race from annihilation.  He realized that for this purpose He had come into the world, that He might give His life as the ransom price for Father Adam, and thus incidentally for every member of the Adamic race involved in death through the first transgression in Eden.  The Master realized from the standpoint of faith in the Father’s plan, and His confident intention to carry out His own part in that plan and to lay down His life as our redemption price, that thus resurrection blessings would come to every member of the race.

“NOT DEAD, BUT SLEEPING”

Let us note carefully the nature of the consolation which our Lord tendered to the sorrowing ones about Him on this occasion.  Let us be assured that “He who spake as never man spake” gave the soundest and best comfort.  The consolation which He gave was that “Lazarus is not dead, but sleepeth.”  He neither spake of him nor thought of him as being dead in the sense of annihilation, because He had full confidence in the Divine Plan of Redemption and in the resurrection blessings resulting.  Hence the interim of death He spoke of as sleep - quiet, restful, waiting sleep.

What a wonderful figure is this, so frequently used throughout the Scriptures by all those who trusted in the Divine Plan of a resurrection morning.  In the Old Testament Scriptures we read frequently of sleep.  Abraham slept with his fathers, so did Isaac, so did Jacob, so did all the Prophets, so did all Israel.

In the New Testament it is the same.  Not only did our Lord speak of Lazarus sleeping, but the Apostles frequently used this same figure of sleep to represent their hope in a resurrection - that the dear ones who went down into death were not annihilated, but, as our text declares, “Will come again from the land of the enemy” - will awaken in the resurrection morning.

Thus, too, of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, it is written that though stoned to death, he “fell asleep,” sweetly, restfully, trusting in Jesus and the great power which He ultimately would exercise to call forth from the power of death all redeemed by the precious blood.  This, too, we remember, was the comfort the Apostle set before the early Church, saying, “Comfort one another with these words” - “They that sleep in Jesus shall God bring from the dead by him.” (1 Thes. 4:14-18)  Referring to the matter on one occasion, the Apostle remarked, “We shall not all sleep, but we must all be changed.”  He referred to those who would be living at the second coming of Christ, whose resurrection “change” will not be preceded by a period of unconsciousness in death.

Let us go back to Jesus and the sorrowing sisters at Bethany, and hearken to the words of comfort extended to the bereaved on that occasion.  We cannot improve upon the great Teacher and the lessons which He presented.  Let us hearken to His conversation with Martha.  He says: “Thy brother shall live again.”  He does not say thy brother is living now.  He did not say, as some erroneously teach today, thy brother is more alive in death than he was before he died.  No!  No!  The Lord would not thus mock the common sense and reason of His hearers, nor could He thus violate the truth and declare the dead not dead.

Hearken!  The Lord admits that a calamity has befallen the household.  He says not a word about His friend Lazarus having gone to Heaven - not an intimation of the sort.  On the contrary, he has tears of sympathy, and holds out as the strongest and only truthful solution of the sorrow, the hope of a resurrection - “Thy brother shall live again!”  The hope of all the dead centers in Me.  My death will effect the cancellation of the original Adamic condemnation, and I shall have the right then in harmony with the Father’s plan to call forth all the dead from the great prison-house of death, from the tomb.  “Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of Man and shall come forth.” (John 5:23)

THE RESURRECTION MORNING

At the close of His conversation with Martha, explaining that her hope must center in a resurrection of the dead and that He was the center of that resurrection hope, our Lord asked for the tomb, intent upon giving an illustration of the power which by and by in the resurrection morning will be exercised toward the whole world of mankind.  Standing at the door of the tomb, our Lord cried in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” and the dead came forth - he had been dead, he was quickened by our Lord’s power and authority.

This, like our miracles performed by our dear Redeemer at His First Advent, we are particularly told, was a fore-manifestation of His coming glory and power, an advance exhibit of what He will do at His Second Advent, only that the work at the Second Advent will be universal, higher, deeper, broader every way, “All the blind eyes shall be opened and all the deaf ears shall be unstopped”; all that are in their graves shall come forth, not merely to relapse again into blindness and death, but a permanent recovery - not only recovery from the loss of natural sight and hearing, but the eyes and ears of their understanding will be opened also; not merely aroused from a sleep of death to a few years more under present conditions, but aroused to the intent that by obedience of the Divine arrangement of the Millennial Age all the awakened ones may attain to all the glorious perfections, mental, moral and physical, lost by Adam’s disobedience.

“TIMES OF REFRESHING SHALL COME”

Glorious hope of a glorious time.  What wonder that the Apostle speaks of it as “times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord when He shall send Jesus Christ.”  What wonder that he speaks of those years of the Millennial Age as “times of restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all the holy Prophets since the world began.” (Acts 3:19-21)

Lazarus died again, Jairus’ daughter died again, the son of the widow of Nain died again.  Their awakening from the tomb was merely a temporary matter, merely an illustration of the Lord’s power; as it is written, “These things did Jesus and manifested forth his glory.”  These were merely fore-gleams of the coming power and glory and blessed work of the gracious Prophet, Priest and King whom God had appointed not only to redeem the world, but in due time to grant to all the opportunities secured by that redemption sacrifice.

DEATH, “THE LAND OF THE ENEMY”

We cannot here go into details, but we doubt not that a majority of you have our full thought on this subject as presented in the “Studies in the Scriptures,” in which we endeavor to show amongst other things that the great blessing which will ultimately be for the world of mankind, as well as for the Church, centers in the coming of our Lord and Master, our Redeemer and King, and that the great blessings centering in Him are not merely temporary, but designed of God to be everlasting and eternal to those who accept Divine favors in the right spirit, reverently, thankfully, obediently.

Why should death be called “The land of the enemy?”  Why should it be written, “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death?”  All because, disguise the facts as we may, death is an enemy.  The suggestion that it is a friend comes not from the Word of God, but from heathen philosophies.  The suggestion that it is unreal comes not from the Scriptures, but from heathen-dom.  The suggestion that the dead are more alive than they were before they died is totally out of harmony with the Scriptural declaration, “The dead know not anything; their sons come to honor and they know it not, and to dishonor and they perceive it not of them,” because “there is neither wisdom nor knowledge nor device in the grave whither thou goest.” (Job 14:21; Eccl. 9:10)  The suggestion that we deceive ourselves and imagine without reason that the moment of death is the moment of greater life, is of the Adversary, who contradicted the Lord’s statement in Eden to our first parents, and when the Lord had declared, “Ye shall surely die” for your sin, declared in contradiction, “Ye shall not surely die.” (Gen. 3:2-4)

The Adversary has kept up this false teaching for 6,000 years, and at last not only heathendom is deceived by his misrepresentation of facts, but very, very many of Christendom likewise trust to the word of Satan, “Ye shall not surely die,” and believe that the dead are not dead, and reject the testimony of God’s Word that “the wages of sin is death,” that “the soul that sinneth, it shall die,” that “death has passed upon all men because all are sinners,” and that the hope of the Church as well as the hope for the world lies in the fact that Christ died for our sins and redeemed us from the death sentence, and in the Father’s due time is to effect a resurrection of the dead.

THE KEY OF DEATH’S PRISON

Let us comfort our hearts with the true comfort, the substantial comfort of the Word of God - there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust.  All that are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of Man and shall come forth.  The thousands of millions who have gone down into the great prison-house of death shall be released, because the Great Redeemer has the key, the power, the authority, to bid the prisoners to come forth, even as the Scriptures declare.

What a glorious resurrection morning that will be!  What a glorious reunion!  We understand the Scriptural teaching to be that the awakening processes will continue throughout a considerable portion of the Millennial Age, the thousand-year day of resurrection and restitution.  First will come the resurrection of the Church, the “Bride,” the “Lamb’s Wife,” the “Body of Christ.”  These, as the Scriptures declare, will constitute the First Resurrection - not only first in order of time, but first in the sense of chief.  In that company will be none except the saints; as it is written, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the First Resurrection; on such the Second Death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” (Rev. 20:6)  Nevertheless, that will be but a little flock, as the Scriptures declare, including “not many wise, not many great, not many learned, but chiefly the poor of this world, rich in faith, heirs of the Kingdom.” (1 Cor. 1:26,27; James 2:5)

Not long after the First Resurrection (the glorification of the Church), will come the resurrection of the Ancient Worthies - the overcomers of olden times prior to the Gospel Age.  The assurance is that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the holy prophets - yes, all who were approved to God by their faith and their efforts to obedience - will come forth from the tomb to human conditions, glorious, grand, earthly illustrations of the heavenly Creator, to constitute the earthly representatives of the Kingdom, the instructors of mankind.

The instruction of the world will forthwith proceed.  We are assured that “the knowledge of the Lord shall fill the whole earth as the waters cover the great deep” - to such an extent that “They shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord.”  We cannot stop to describe that glorious time and the grand opportunities it will give to every creature to know the Lord, to obey Him, to attain to resurrection in its full significance - a raising up to mental, moral and physical perfection.

After the Kingdom of God shall have been fully established in the earth, and Satan shall have been bound, after the darkness shall have rolled away and the true light shall have lightened every creature, the time will come for the awakening of all the families of the earth - not all at once, but gradually, “they shall come again from the land of the enemy.”  The Scriptures do not go into details on this subject, they leave much to faith: but give us a firm foundation for that faith, nevertheless, in the positive promise of the Lord’s Word.

THE LAST FIRST, THE FIRST LAST

To our understanding those who have fallen asleep last, will be among the first to be called back from the land of the enemy, to be awakened, and thus the work of awakening the sleeping ones will progress backward, as we might express it; the living ones will prepare for their brothers and sisters and parents, and they in turn for their brothers and sisters and parents, and so on all the way back, until finally Father Adam and Mother Eve shall come forth to see the world filled with their progeny, in accord with the Lord’s original commission that they multiply and fill the earth.

They will behold with astonishment the showers of blessing that have come upon the race from the Heavenly Father and through the Heavenly Savior; they will see what havoc was wrought by their disobedience, but that God in His wisdom and power was both able and willing to overrule the matter and to bring order out of confusion and resurrection out of death.  They and all will realize something of the lengths and breadths and heights and depths of the Love of God.  The grand plan of salvation shall loom up before them; they will see how Abel, their son, who suffered for righteousness, was a type and picture of the great Son of God who suffered for righteousness and for our deliverance, and they will see how his blood shed, speaks forgiveness and renewed harmony with God.

THE TRAGEDY OF SIN AND DEATH

They will learn, too, of the terrible degradation which came upon their race subsequently to their death; they will read with appalled hearts and bated breath of the terrible famines and pestilences which came upon the race as a part of the original sentence or death curse; they will learn about the mental aberrations which afflicted the world, so that men thought they were doing God service in persecuting one another because of religious differences of opinion, and how others, more or less consumed with selfishness, land hunger, etc, warred and fought and devised engines of destruction against each other, and killed one another by the thousands in battle.  They will wonder at the patience of God in so long permitting the evil.

“THY WORK SHALL BE REWARDED”

Then truly they will see what God has wrought: First, His Justice, which provided the great redemption price and would not otherwise clear the guilty.  Second, His Love, manifested in the same connection in the giving of His Son.  Third, they will come to understand how that during this Gospel Age God has been selecting His Church to be the Bride of Christ and joint-heir with Him in the Kingdom.  Fourth, they will perceive that when this election was complete and the members of the glorified company had all been tried and polished and tested and glorified, then the blessing of the world through the glorified Christ, Head and Body, came upon all mankind in the restitution of all things spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began (Acts 3:20).

Finally, consider the Lord’s Word to us all as a race, and particularly His word to parents, “Thy work shall be rewarded.”  What a blessing and comfort!  What a consolation and encouragement are in these words to those parents who, seeking to train up their children in the way they should go, are sadly wounded and discouraged when the arrow of death smites down the dear ones they had so loved and cherished.  They are disposed at first to say, Ah, my love, my counsel, my motherly care, my fatherly provision, were wasted.  But not so, saith the Lord; thy works shall be rewarded.

You shall see the fruit of your labor in the future; we shall know as we are known by and by.  Our dear ones will be with us, and to whatever extent time and effort will have been expended upon them to mold and fashion them along the lines of righteousness and truth, uprightness and godliness, these surely have not been spent in vain.  The child shall come forth that much more advanced in its mental and moral development; to that much more easy attainment of the grand heights which the Lord will then open up before it.

HOW REWARDED?

On the other hand, the parent who has been careless of his children, neglectful of his privileges and obligations as a parent, will undoubtedly have his negligence rewarded in the future as he shall see what he might have done for his children but did not.

And more than this.  By a Divine law of reaction, every parent who is faithful in the discharge of his parental duties shall have his work rewarded in himself, and likewise every parent neglectful of his duties shall have his work rewarded in himself.  For who does not realize that there is no greater privilege or opportunity for self-development than comes to the parent in his endeavor to train up his children in the way they should go, in the reverence and admonition of the Lord.

CHARACTER BUILDING IS INCLUDED

Undoubtedly it is true, too, that every effort to do good unto others, especially to your own children, has its compensating blessings upon your own hearts.  May this blessing deepen as the years go by.

In conclusion, I say to you, not only for today, but for the future days, “Comfort one another with these words” of our Lord to the effect that your little ones shall come again from “the land of the enemy,” and that their return shall be even much more blessed, under much more favorable conditions than at present.  Then, the great King reigning, all evil will be in subjection, all evildoers will be under restraint, all the influences of righteousness will be let loose, and the whole earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the great deep.  Blessed prospects are those before us, and to Him who loved us and bought us, and to the Heavenly Father, who designed the great plan, we give everlasting thanks and praises, and show this by our daily lives!

(What Pastor Russell Wrote for the Overland Monthly, Pages 212-217)

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“BLESSED ARE THE MEEK”

“The meek will he guide in judgment; and the meek will he teach his way.” (Psalm 25:9)

Even a perfect man would need divine guidance in respect to his judgment of matters, in respect to his decisions, in respect to his course, in respect to his ways.  And if a perfect man would need Divine guidance and oversight, in order to make no mistake from his limited degree of knowledge, because of not knowing fully the Father’s will respecting him, much more would an imperfect man need this!  The good and the bad, the wise and the foolish - all classes of mankind - need such instruction.  But there is only one class now in the proper attitude of mind to receive it, and that class is Scripturally called the meek.

We cannot say that the meek are those who feel themselves inferior and that there are superiors to be looked up to, necessarily.  Adam in that event could not have been meek; Jesus could not have been meek; the heavenly Father could not be meek.  While it is not Scripturally stated that the heavenly Father is meek, yet Jesus was meek, and He was the express image of the Father’s person in the flesh.  Hence we would assume that the heavenly Father possesses meekness, in distinction from haughtiness.

GOD RESISTS THE PROUD

Our Lord said, “I am meek and lowly of heart.” Our Lord was meek in that He was teachable.  He realized that even in His perfection there were things to be learned; and He learned obedience through the things which He suffered.  It was because He had this quality of meekness or teachableness that the offer was made to Him to be our Savior.  Without this He never would have been our Redeemer, we may assume.  Without this quality He would have been self-assertive and proud, not ready to do the Father’s will.  And as with the Master, so with the Church.

Even small talents that are rightly directed are more valuable than larger talents that are misdirected.  The pathway of life shows much large talent misdirected for lack of proper knowledge and guidance.  And this lack of guidance, we may assume, has resulted from the lack of the spirit of teachableness - the lack of desire to know the best way, the Father’s way.  We can see that even a heathen man, if he were meek, would have much more opportunity to learn about the Lord’s will than would one who thinks that he is above instruction.  Whoever knows it all to begin with, is not apt to be in a condition to receive any instruction.

The Lord declares that He resists the proud.  Even if they become His children they would be kept at a distance.  If the proud were permitted to come nearer to the Lord, it would make them more proud; whereas, if they are kept at a distance, they may become meek and teachable and humble.  We see then that all need instruction.  But the only ones who are in a position to receive it are those who recognize their need and who are in the attitude to avail themselves of the Lord’s offer of guidance of their judgment, of their way, of their course in life.  Such as avail themselves of the privilege get a proper estimate of everything - of the things of the life present, and also of the things of the life to come.

These are the ones whom the Lord is pleased to instruct and guide in the knowledge of His Son, and into all His blessings.  If they continue to be meek, He is able to make of them heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ their Lord.  We read in the Scriptures that the meek shall inherit the earth.  They will inherit it under the terms of the primary and original covenant.  These will be the seed of Abraham.  From these the blessing will go to all mankind who will be obedient during the Millennial reign.  After the final test at the end of the Millennial Age, the whole world will be teachable.  They will have learned the great lesson that God is the Fountain of all Wisdom; and they will have profited by this instruction.

(Reprint 5370, December 15, 1913)

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QUESTIONS OF GENERAL INTEREST

QUESTION: Will the heathen and others be saved by their ignorance?

ANSWER:    We believe not; for there is no power or anything else good in ignorance to save anyone.  Instead of ignorance being Scripturally a ground for salvation it is Scripturally set forth as a reason for alienation from God. (Eph. 4:18; Hosea 4:6; Rom. 2:12)  Furthermore, the Scriptures show that knowledge is essential to faith and salvation. (Rom. 10:14-17; Acts 4:12)  This is likewise implied in the fact that obtaining salvation presupposes personal acts by the intellect, sensibilities and will, i.e., a matter pertaining to the domain of character, requiring, as it does, on our part the steps of repentance, faith and consecration.  It is for this reason that the Church was commanded to teach, i.e., make others know, that those taught might by their knowledge gain salvation. (Matt. 28:18-20 - also see 2 Peter 1:2,3; 2:2-21)

Indeed the theory that the heathen and others are saved by their ignorance is a patent absurdity - although some good people want to believe they will be thus saved - believing as they do that they will have no opportunity of salvation otherwise.  But, why send missionaries to teach them salvation, if they are saved by ignorance?  According to this theory to teach them would cause most of them - those who will not believe - to be lost who otherwise would have been saved by their ignorance.  So all through the generations of the Gospel Age to preach to them would have been the cause of perdition to almost all who heard the message.  Are we to believe that God who desires that the people may gain life (Ezek. 18:32) is so lacking in common sense and practicability as to institute the office of teaching the Word of God as the means of saving people - when only a comparatively few are saved by that method - when leaving them in ignorance would have resulted in the salvation of all of them.  Manifestly the thought that the heathen are saved by ignorance is unbiblical, unreasonable and unfactual.

Actually the purpose of the Gospel Age is to take out a people for His name.  (See Acts 15:14)  There are comparatively few who become “footstep followers of Jesus,” - as He has said: “Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matt. 7:14)  The only “way” open for salvation in this Age is a “narrow way” - becoming footstep followers of Jesus, and bearing “witness to the Truth” as did Jesus. (See John 18:37)  Our Lord said, “Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.” (Matt. 5:11)  Not many are able to “drink of His cup”: they don’t have sufficient faith; “For all men have not faith.” (2 Thes. 3:2)

After He has selected a people for His Name, He will return, “and will build again the tabernacle of David… That the residue of men might seek after the Lord.” (Acts 15:14-17)  This “people” will bless the residue of mankind, which includes the heathen: “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.” (Gal. 3:8)  And the seed is expressly mentioned in Gal. 3:29: “And if ye be Christ’s then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Gal. 3:29)  Instead of a “narrow way” unto life as it is in this Age, there will be a Highway of Holiness. (Isa. 35:8)  “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped.” (Isa. 35:5)  It will be the reverse of what it is today when “The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.” (2 Cor. 4:4)  “Darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness [error] the people.” (Isa. 60:2)

In the Kingdom there will be no error there: “For when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.”  His way of saving the residue of mankind in the Millennial Age will be by the power of teaching - and by such teaching enabling them to use for their uplift the restitution processes (Acts 3:21) whereby all may be saved - but only the willing and obedient - and not others - will be saved.  There will be no “night” (error) there. (Rev. 22:5)  (Brother John J. Hoefle, Reprint No. 387, April 1988)

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QUESTION: Someone has said that St.Peter must have a higher position than the Lord Jesus because St. Peter has the keys to heaven, whereas the Lord Jesus has the keys to hell.  Where do we find this in the Bible and please explain?

ANSWER:   A “key,” in the symbolism of the Scriptures, is representative of the opening power vested in the one who has been duly authorized to act, just as its sometimes expressed in the vernacular - “He holds the key to the situation.”  St. Peter was given two “keys” (Matt. 16:19), one of which he used on the day of Pentecost when he opened the way for the Jews to enter into the Kingdom by preaching the Gospel of Christ and the Kingdom (Acts 2:22-36).  Three thousand Jews entered in through this opened door (verse 41) on that very day.  The second “key” was used three and one-half years later, when St. Peter opened up the way for the Gentiles to enter into the Kingdom by preaching the Gospel to Cornelius, who, accepting the message, and believing, became the first Gentile convert to Christianity (Acts 10:44,45).  In Revelation 1:18 the glorified Savior is represented as speaking, saying “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and death.”  The Lord Jesus, by virtue of His death and resurrection, accomplished the redemption of the race of mankind from death and hell - hades, the grave.  Because He thus bought the race, He has the “keys,” the opening power, to release all mankind from the great prison house of death and the tomb, as we read concerning the Lord Jesus - “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me… to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.” (Isaiah 61:1)  (Question Book, page 783, last question)

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QUESTION: How and to what extent were the Apostles inspired?

ANSWER:    There are some at the present day who believe that modern authors, teachers and poets are as fully inspired as were the Apostles.  Even some clergymen apparently have the thought that they themselves are as authentic and reliable authorities, and should be regarded as such.  If this view is the right one, then inspiration is a cheap article, and wholly unreliable when we reflect upon the many conflicting theories and doctrines that have been promulgated by modern theological authorities.  The Apostle Peter, in referring to the inspiration of the Sacred Writers, declares that “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:21)  That is to say, God’s holy power or influence operating upon the minds of the Prophets caused them to speak and to write of future things in relationship to the Divine purposes, which even they themselves did not understand (Dan. 12:8,9).  The Apostles likewise were caused to write of matters that would be necessary to the spiritual interests and welfare of the Lord’s people in after times (2 Tim. 3:16,17).  Plenary inspiration has not existed since the days of our Lord and the Apostles, and is not needed, as the Scriptures are complete and sufficient of themselves.  (Question Book, page 787, last question)

NO. 562 THE LAW OF MOSES - PART TWO

The Scriptural analysis of The Law of Moses is much more extensive than we had anticipated, believing at the outset that one paper would be sufficient; but later events have determined us to now offer the second paper on the subject.  So we proceed with an analysis of the 2nd Chapter of Galatians:

“I went up [to Jerusalem] by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preached among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation [the other Apostles], lest by any means I should run or had run, in vain. (v.2)  But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised [not being under the Law of Moses]: (v. 3)

“And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus [freedom from the Law of Moses], that they might bring us into bondage. (v. 4)  To whom not even for an hour did we yield by submission; in order that the truth of the glad tidings might remain with you, not entangled again with the yoke of bondage [yoke of the Law of Moses - v. 5, Diaglott translation: also see Gal. 5:1,13]

“Those who seemed to be… somewhat in conference added nothing to me: (v. 6) but contrariwise, when they saw the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me [freedom from the Law of Moses], as the gospel of circumcision was unto Peter; (v. 7)  (For he [the Lord] that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision [the Jews], the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles): (v. 8)

“And when James, Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship [knowing that these two were preaching freedom from the Law of Moses]; that we should go unto the Gentiles, and they unto the circumcision. (v. 9)

“When Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face in that he was to be blamed [v. 11 - for trying to make distinction between the Jews, under the Law, and the Gentiles, who were not under the Law].  Before certain persons came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself [forgetting the truths he learned at the time of the conversion of Cornelius - Acts 10:44-48], fearing them which were of the circumcision. (v. 12)

“And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. (v. 13)  But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel [that the Gentiles were not then, and never had been under the Law], I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? [v. 14 - Paul had a very fine logical mind, and he was emphatically demonstrating it here.]

“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. [v. 16 - There could be no plainer words to express this truth.]  I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. [v. 19 - “We walk by faith.”]  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me [“I can do all thing through Christ which strengtheneth me.”]: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (v. 20)  I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” (v. 21 - No need for a savior if we are already justified by the works of the Law.)

There are numerous other Scriptures that could be given here, but we believe the foregoing are quite sufficient to any one reading without prejudice.  Jesus and the Apostles are very clear in enumerating what our conduct should be - covering the moral concepts of the Ten Commandments - but they never at any time said that we should keep the Ten Commandments, which would have all the sins we should not commit.  Nor is our purpose to tell any one they should not keep the moral laws of the Ten Commandments (ten words) as best they can, just as did the faithful Jews, because it is a perfect law.  However, keeping Saturday, or the Sabbath, is not a moral law - although it would be well for us to keep a day out of every seven to rest and have more time for the worship and study of God’s word.  There is no emphasis by Jesus or the Apostles to “keep the sabbath day holy,” although Jesus was born under the Law and He kept the Sabbath, as well as all the Ten Commandments, as only a perfect man could do.  But the Pharisees criticized Him, saying that He broke the Sabbath.

CONCERNING THE SABBATH

In the fourth Word of the Decalogue we are told, “Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy.” (Ex. 20:8-11)  Thus, it needs no argument that the Sabbath is an indispensable part of the Ten Words.  And, if the other nine Words are binding upon us (Gentiles and Christianized Jews), then this fourth Word is also binding upon us.  But here again, we find no place in the New Testament where we are commanded to keep the Sabbath.  Nor is there any record that the Apostles kept it after the departure of Jesus.  In fact, no Commandment was given by Jesus or the Apostles to the Church to keep the Sabbath.

But the record is very clear that the Apostles and others did observe Sunday in much the same manner as the Jews attempted to keep the Sabbath, although, even here, none of them advocated the exacting restrictions for Sunday that the Jews had been doing for Saturday.  However, it is very clearly of record that this fourth Word was creating some uproar among the early Christians, which prompted the Apostle Paul to write:  “Let no man judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day… or of the sabbath days.” (Col. 2:16)  In 1 Cor. 16:2 there is something that clearly militates against the Saturday Sabbath: “The first day of the week [Sunday] let every one of you lay by him in store,” etc.  Also, Acts 20:7: “The first day of the week [Sunday] the disciples came together to break bread.”

Furthermore, Rom. 14:5: “One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike.  Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.”  Some Christians have what is almost a fanatical obsession about observing Saturday as the Sabbath; but it should be clear enough from these Scriptures that the Apostle Paul was not one of them.  However, we would not advise vituperative wrangling with those who hold to Saturday; rather, we would lay hold upon Paul’s words “esteem every day alike.”  We believe this is sound solid ground for all who name the name of Christ in sincerity and in Truth, although we are very much in favor of having at least one day each week - Saturday if you like; Sunday if you like - for rest from physical labor or business, a recognized arrangement throughout every sect of Christendom.

So strongly had this Sunday observance become fixed in the minds of the Christian world, that it had become impossible to dislodge it.  After the French Revolution, which followed rapidly upon the heels of the American Revolution, the atheistic revolutionaries determined to obliterate every vestige of Christianity, so they decreed a ten-day week; but they soon learned that their ten-day week was fully unworkable; and the French are now back on the seven-day week and the general observance of Sunday as the day of rest.

Not only do we have seven days in a week, but we also have seven churches and seven spirits (Rev. 1:4; 3:1); seven seals (Rev. 5:1); seven horns and seven eyes (Rev. 5:6); seven trumpets (Rev. 8:2); seven thunders (Rev. 10:3); seven last plagues (Rev. 15:1); and seven vials (Rev. 21:9).  From all these citations it should be apparent that the figure seven is a Divine number, and should not quickly be set aside in any of our calculations.

And, in a final effort to stop all argument about this matter, we now quote Rev. 1:10: “I [John the Apostle] was in the spirit on the Lord’s day” - not Saturday, but Sunday.  And this is that “disciple whom Jesus loved,” who was reclining in His bosom on that last night when He gave those sweeping instructions to His “friends.”  Indeed, to the Christian every day is Sabbath, every day should be used as holy to the Lord, and nothing should at any time be done contrary to the Divine will or the principles of righteousness and the Divine government.  Jesus’ declaration that He was Lord of the Sabbath reminds us afresh of St. Paul’s declaration that God the Father rested from His work on the seventh day; He left the work entirely for Jesus to do.  The seventh day of Jehovah’s rest was one of the great days of the creative weeks, each being seven thousand years long.  “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.” (Heb. 4:10)  And those who have thus entered will have “The peace of God, which passeth all understanding” - and He shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:7)

SOME TELLING COMPARISONS

It needs little argument that the Law of Moses is among the most prominent of Old Testament teachings, the Ten Commandments being the central point of this Law.  And with this great truth staring us in the face, is it not most strange that the Ten Commandments - as such - are not even mentioned in the New Testament?  It is true that Jesus referred to them when He speaks of the Law; and they are indirectly recognized in a few other instances, but without specific declaration of the Ten Commandments.  Is it indeed not strange that Jesus would have definitely stressed them, had it been the Divine purpose that we are now judged by the Ten Commandments as was true with the Jews in the Old Testament?  Yet we have this in John 14:21: “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them he it is that loveth me.”  And the question properly injects itself here: What are His Commandments?

Before discussing His Commandments, we would stress once more that the Law given to Israel at Mount Sinai, and summarized in the Ten “Words,” was not given to any other nation or people.  However, we would emphasize that it is upon the Jew still (excepting those that have accepted Jesus and become Christians), and is a bondage upon them only because it was made a part of God’s Covenant with that nation.  That Covenant was to give them certain special and exclusive blessings if they would keep it; and certain punishments if they would not keep it.  As to the Gentiles, they have been more or less a Law unto themselves, regulated somewhat by the exacting laws of nature, and the sins of the fathers have been visited upon the third and fourth generation (Ex. 20:5).  Most of us have witnessed some of the terrible results of such visitation, but we shall not discuss them here.

However, we make note here once more that none of the Jews received the blessings promised by that Law because none of them could keep it, try as some of them honestly did.  St. Paul says of himself that he was “a Pharisee of the Pharisees”; and of the three prominent sects in Israel - the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Essenes - the Pharisees were most zealous in their attempt to keep the Law.  But, as the great Apostle says of himself - What he thought was life unto life for him, proved death unto death unto him.  Thus, we find in his writings, as above described, why he was so outspoken in his discussions regarding the inability of the Jews to keep that Law.  And Jesus Himself had said unto them, “Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law?” (John 7:19)  But we would add here also that those Ancient Worthies who strove faithfully and loyally to keep the Law will in due time receive their reward therefor. (Heb 11:38-40)

THREE COMMANDMENTS FOR CHRISTIANS

Followers of Jesus from amongst the Gentiles, true Christians, never were under the Law of Moses.  Such come into God’s family under a different covenant - the one which reads, “Gather my saints together unto me, those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” (Psa. 50:5)  Jesus, after keeping fully all the conditions and requirements of the Law Covenant - under which He was born - was permitted to respond to this Covenant of Sacrifice.  He was the first, the Chief, the Head of the Household of Saints who entered into this covenant of sacrifice with God agreeing to sacrifice His earthly life and all its rights in the doing of the Father’s will even unto death.  It was His faithfulness in this that gained for Him the better resurrection to glory, honor and immortality.

THE FIRST AND SECOND COMMANDS

Speaking of the spirit of the Law, applicable to angels, to the world of mankind, and to Christians, Jesus declared it to be briefly comprehended in two commandments.  The first of these is, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind, being and strength.”  The second is, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”  Every Christian and every angel recognizes that law and feels a responsibility to it to the extent of his ability; but neither angels nor Christians are under the Law Covenant - that Covenant was made only with the nation of Israel.

Every follower of Jesus should realize that if he has enlisted under the banner of Divine righteousness and truth, he has pledged his very life in this service as a soldier of the cross.  How then could he do less than his very best in loving and serving his heavenly Father with his mind, being and strength?  How could he decline the Divine requirement to love his neighbor as himself - to be kind, generous, and not selfish?  True, he may find difficulty in devoting all of his mind and strength to the Lord, and in dealing in perfect fairness with all his fellow-creatures.  But this is the true Christian’s desire and intention; and to accomplish this he must strive daily, and war a good warfare against his inherited and acquired weakness.

OUR THIRD COMMANDMENT

At first it might appear that the two commandments mentioned above include everything that could be required by justice; and so they do.  Justice requires nothing more than what these two commands include.  Why then a third one, a new one over and above anything required by justice?  In answer we would reply that this third commandment is only to those who become the disciples of Jesus.  He voluntarily put this regulation upon Himself, and offered His life sacrificially, something that was not justly required of Him.

Jesus, therefore, did more than the Mosaic Law required of Him.  Therefore, when explaining to His disciples what would be required of them - something which would grant them a share in His Kingdom - He declared a third commandment: “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” (John 13:34)  This was a part of His last comments to them the night before He died on the cross.  St. Paul points out that Christ loved us to the extent of dying for us - “Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.  Ye are my friends.” (John 15:13,14)  Thus all of the true followers of Jesus, Christians to the fullest degree, should likewise count it a joy and a privilege to lay down their lives in the service of their brethren.  “Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow in his steps.” (1 Peter 2:21)  “We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” (1 John 3:16, Dia.)

This commandment goes far beyond the requirements of the Mosaic Law, a law of strict justice toward all men.  But toward those of our brethren in the Household of Faith we must go beyond the strict requirements of justice.  We are to love them, as He loved us, and gave Himself for us.  This may at first seem an easy matter; but, when we consider that “not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called [to be “footstep followers”]… but God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty” (1 Cor. 1:26,27); then it becomes much easier for us to understand this third commandment.  Jesus Himself was far superior to those humble fishermen He had attracted unto Himself; yet St. Paul tells us, “He is not ashamed to call them brethren.” (Heb. 2:11)  “Hereby we know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.” (1 John 3:14)  This sort of conduct is not even mentioned in the Law at all.  The Ten Commandments are a very far step below the “new commandment,” which Jesus gave the night before He died; and a proper appraisal of this point will enable us readily to analyze properly the Law of Moses and place it in proper perspective with the “new commandment” given us by Jesus.  We must remember that a faithful Christian not only keeps the moral laws of the Ten Commandments to the best of his ability, but in addition to that he should live above the Law of justice, sacrificing his all in the service of the Lord, the Truth and the brethren.  No one is commanded to do that except those who have made a “covenant by sacrifice” with God.

GOD’S GREAT COVENANTS

The Old Testament offers three great covenants between God and man.  The first of these was the oath-bound covenant made with Abraham: “By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, because… thou hast not withheld thy son… In blessing I will bless thee… thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand of the seashore… And in thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed.” (Gen. 22:16-18)  Of the three covenants, this one is the only unilateral covenant.  Herein God promises to do certain things without demanding any agreement of price or cooperation.  Also, we should keep in mind that at the time this covenant was declared there was no written Bible.  That did not come until Sinai, the Law Covenant made with Moses as Mediator.  And the third is the New Covenant (Jer. 31:31-34).  Thus, Abraham had no written precedent for what he did, but did so simply because the Angel of God told him to do it.

St. Paul writes of Abraham that he was “the father of the faithful” (Rom. 4:16), and that faith would be the justifier of all who followed in his steps.  Also in Rom. 4:15 the same Apostle says, “the Law [of Moses] worketh wrath” to all who seek justification under it.  Paul eulogizes this unilateral covenant with Abraham (which should eventually bless us all through faith): “When God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee.” (Heb. 6:13,14)

But there was some purpose in the Law Covenant, and let us not overlook that.  It not only manifested the pathetic weakness of the Jews, but it also provided certain typical transactions and prophecies, which benefited the Jews; but benefited even moreso those who would accept Jesus - become Christians - during this Gospel Age.

The Abrahamic Covenant needed no mediator; it was uni-lateral and self-sufficient.  But such was not the case with the Law Covenant.  Moses mediated that covenant, because it offered certain advantages to the Jews, as it also required from them certain compliances - which they promised to do, but were unable to comply because of their inherited weaknesses.  Moses, great intellect and grand character that he was, recognized this vaguely; and St. Peter comments on this in Acts 3:22,23: “Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me [Jesus primarily, and those who would truthfully and faithfully join His Christian army]; him shall ye hear.”  That “prophet” has been developing during this Gospel Age, but will not become operative in its grandest fullest sense until the New Covenant is established, with the Christ as Mediator - a better, a perfect antitype of Moses at Sinai.

The New Covenant will have a Mediator until all Adam’s race will have been perfected physically.  At the beginning of the Little Season the Mediator will step out and the perfected race will stand trial for life or death as did Adam.  All found worthy of eternal life will be a king - “inherit the kingdom.” (Matt. 25:34)  That Kingdom which begins at the start of the Millennial reign under the New Covenant, will continue throughout all eternity.  There will be no need of an additional New Covenant after the earth is restored to its Edenic condition - just as there would have been no need of any other Covenants if Adam had not violated his obligation in Eden; God had emphatically told him, “In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.”  But when the New Covenant has accomplished its purpose, “There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, or crying… for the former things are passed away.” (Rev. 21:4)

 However, during the progress of that reign, until it has fully accomplished its purposes, the world will be under a Mediator, exactly as was the case with Israel, except that the Mediator of the New Covenant will accomplish what Moses could not do.  Then, “The spirit and the bride say, Come.  And let him that is athirst come.  And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” (Rev. 22:17)  During the Mediatorial reign the Mediator that is better than Moses will have absolute control of the whole human family.  It will be an absolute monarchy; but a benevolent monarchy.  “There shall be no night  [error] there… The Lord giveth them light.” (Rev. 22:5)

SUMMARY OF THE THREE GREAT COVENANTS

As stated, the Abrahamic Covenant is first in order of time and importance. (Gen. 12:1-3)  This covenant has two parts. The first applies to the spiritual seed of Abraham, the Christ, Head and Body, the antitype of Isaac.  “We, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise” (Gal. 4:28); or, as shown in another figure of Isaac and Rebecca.  These are the spiritual seed of promise of Abraham, not the fleshly seed.

The second part of that covenant applies to the world of mankind - “all the families of the earth.”  These are to be blessed by the spiritual seed with an opportunity of becoming Abraham’s natural seed and heirs with him of the earth and the fullness thereof.  The conditions upon which they may obtain God’s favor, and a restitution to all that was lost, are that they shall exercise faith, and render obedience to the Divine provision which shall be represented in Messiah’s Kingdom when it shall be inaugurated.

The seed of Abraham - Jesus and the Church, His Body - is the legitimate heir of this Abrahamic Covenant, wholly regardless of the Law Covenant, which was made with Israel at Sinai, or of the New Law Covenant that is to be made with Israel at the close of the Gospel Age after Jacob’s Trouble has run its full course, and the new Kingdom is officially declared at Jerusalem.  As stated, the Law Covenant and the New Covenant are essentially different from the Abrahamic Covenant in that the Abrahamic Covenant, the first covenant, is unilateral, whereas the last two are bilateral, a fact that is well to keep in mind at all times.  Also, the Abrahamic Covenant had no mediator; but the Law Covenant had Moses as its mediator, and the New Law Covenant will have Messiah, the spiritual heir of the Abrahamic Covenant, as its Mediator.

The Abrahamic Covenant needed no mediator; for there are no terms and conditions upon which to base a mediation.  In it God merely declared His purpose to develop a seed of Abraham by certain selective processes of His own, and to bless and honor this seed in connection with the remainder of mankind.  This selective seed of Abraham, as the Apostle points out, is Christ and the Church - God’s elect. (Gal. 3:8,16,29; Rom. 8:29,30)  This selective process proceeded during this entire Gospel Age; and, we believe, has now reached its completion.

SECOND AND THIRD COVENANTS - TYPE AND ANTITYPE

The second covenant in order of time was the Law Covenant. (Ex. 19:3-8)  It was an addition to the Abrahamic Covenant, which addition, however, did not interfere with the original covenant.  It was typical - typical mediator (Moses), typical sacrifices of bulls and goats, a typical Atonement Day, a typical Holy and Most Holy in the tabernacle made with hands.

The third and last is the New Law Covenant - to be instituted in the future. (Heb. 8:6-13)  This will not set aside, or make null or void, the original Abrahamic Covenant of grace, any more than could the Law Covenant of Sinai.  However, the New Law Covenant cannot be introduced, sealed, made operative, until the Abrahamic Covenant shall have produced the seed of Abraham and invested Him with glory, honor and Divine majesty.  Then this antitypical Moses - the Christ complete, Head and Body - will mediate between God and the world of mankind for a thousand years. (Rev. 20:4)  The basis of this New Covenant’s blessings will be the merit of Jesus (the Messiah) - as against the blood of bulls and goats in the Law Covenant.  But this merit will not become operative and institute restitution (Acts 3:19-21) until first the completion of the entire seed of Abraham, Head and Body, shall be complete; and it cannot be completed until all the sacrificing has been done - in exact duplication of the sacrifices of the Law Covenant.  In this New Covenant the Head was completed two thousand years ago - typified by the bullock of the Atonement Day sacrifices of Israel.  The sacrifice of the antitypical goat (Lev. 16:8 - “one goat for the Lord” - the Little Flock, His Body) has been going on all during this Age since the year A.D. 33, which we believe is now completed.

In time, after this sacrificing has been completed there will be ushered in the blessings of the Messianic Kingdom.  “Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” These blessings will be secured to mankind by the great Mediator’s application of His sacrifice on their behalf.  Then the Lord’s Prayer will have its answer!  “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it.” (Isa. 9:7)  Then indeed it will be, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

MORE ON THE SEVENTH DAY:  Reasonable people, regardless of their religious convictions, are ready to admit the wisdom, the expediency, yea, the necessity, for a Sabbath day, a day of rest once a week.  But those of us who are not Jews by nature and not under the Law Covenant are not bound by its limitation that the Sabbath should be on the seventh day of the week.  Indeed, neither Jesus nor the Apostles ever placed the Gospel Church under the Law Covenant at all.  They tell us that those under it were the “house of servants” in bondage, and that we are the “house of sons,” if we “stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free.”

This does not mean liberty or freedom to do wrong.  But since Christians are not limited to the land of Israel, it leaves us free to follow the spirit of the Law rather then its letter.  This is true of the entire Ten Commandments, as well as of the fourth.  The Heavenly Father does not address His children of the Gospel Age with commandments not to kill, not to steal, etc., because such commandments of them would be unnecessary.  They love God and reverence Him alone, and would not think of homaging images, nor of profaning the Holy Name, nor of doing injury to a neighbor or a brother.  Faithful Christians’ love for God would lead them to honor His Name, to serve His Cause.  And their love for their neighbor as for themselves would prompt them to render him service - “doing good unto all men as we have opportunity, especially to the Household of Faith.” (Gal. 6:10)  All the faithful in other groups also are of the Household of Faith, and therefore are our brethren, regardless of our differences of opinion regarding the Word of God.  This love, the Apostle assures us, is the fulfillment of the Law, so far as we are concerned - the fulfilling of the spirit of the Law - for “ye are not under the Law [Covenant], but under [the] Grace [Covenant].” (Rom. 6:14; Gal. 3:29)

There is this in the Studies in the Scriptures, Volume One, p. 45: “The Decalogue is a brief synopsis of the whole law.  Those Ten Commandments enjoin a code of worship and morals that must strike every student as remarkable; and if never before known, and now found among the ruins and relics of Greece, or Rome, or Babylon (nations which have risen and fallen again, long since those laws were given), they would be regarded as marvelous if not supernatural.  But familiarity with them and their claims has begotten measurable indifference, so that their real greatness is unnoticed except by the few.  True, those commandments do not teach of Christ; but they were given, not to Christians, but to the Hebrews; not to teach faith in a ransom, but to convince men of their sinful state, and need of a ransom.  And the substance of those commandments was grandly epitomized by the illustrious founder of Christianity, in the words: ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength’; and ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.’ (Mark 12:30,31)”

In this connection, we consider a little more from Col. 2:14, Dia.:  “ordinances which was against us.”  We stress here that the us in this text refers exclusively to the Jews, and to no others.  But to those who accepted Christ that “handwriting” was lifted from them, although it did not do so to those Jews who refused to accept Him.  Thus those Ten Commandments were not abolished, nor will they ever be abolished.  When the New Covenant is inaugurated, those same ten Words will be the basis for that Covenant.  During that Kingdom, “He shall send Jesus Christ… Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” (See Acts 3:19-21)  Mankind will then be fully able to keep that Law, because they will have perfect bodies and minds before they are required to do so - exactly as was Adam before his transgression, and exactly as was Jesus when He was here.  So when He said, I come to “fulfill the Law,” He was telling us that He could do it; but at no time did He ever tell His Disciples that they too should keep the Law, because He knew they were unable to do so.

It is our fond hope that our two      articles on the Law of Moses have been informative and a blessing to all our readers.  “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean NOT UNTO THINE OWN UNDERSTANDING,” (Prov. 3:5)

(Brother John J. Hoefle, Reprint No. 435, August 1992)

NO. 561 THE LAW OF MOSES - PART ONE

In Luke 24:44 Jesus expresses the three component parts of the Old Testament: the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms.  By the Law Jesus meant the writings of Moses - the Pentateuch, or the first five books of the Old Testament.  By the Prophets He meant the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, etc. (the Prophets being subdivided into the Major and the Minor prophets).  And by the Psalms He meant the Psalms, the Book of Job, Proverbs, etc., the same being the more or less sentimental writings; and we believe that all of us will agree that there is much of sentiment in those writings.

To digress here just a little, we would offer the four component parts of the New Testament: the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John); the Acts of the Apostles; the Epistles (beginning with Romans and ending with the letter by Jude); and the Apocalypse (Revelation).  Thus we have pointed out to us the seven parts of the Bible, the seven revealing the Divine origin of the inspired writings, which we designate as the Bible.

MORE SPECIFIC DETAIL

Many good Christian people regard THE LAW as a reference to the Ten Commandments given to Moses by God, as set out in the 20th Chapter of Exodus, vs. 2 through 17.  This is definitely true, of course; but in Psalms 119:97 there is this: “O how I love thy law!  It is my meditation all the day.”  The Law here, however, embraces much more than the Ten Commandments.  It refers to the entire Bible, which is indeed the meditation of all true believers.  Next, it would refer to that part of the Bible as expressed by Jesus - the first five books of the Bible; then in the very narrow sense, the Ten Commandments.  The revelatory and strictly religious features of the Law have their beginning in Exodus 12, where the Passover was instituted, and which definitely ends that period from the Covenant with Abraham to the Exodus - a period of four hundred and thirty years. (Gal. 3:17)  The minute exactness of this period is stressed in Ex. 12:51: “It came to pass the selfsame day, that the Lord did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.”  And here we have the beginning of the Law - begun by the Passover and elaborated in great detail in the remainder of the Pentateuch.  It is well we keep this in mind in all our studies of this subject.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

Many sincere people consider the Ten Commandments as the Law of Moses; but they are just the nucleus of that Law.  The Ten Commandments are the mandatory feature of the Law of Moses - divided into parts, “Thou shalt” and “Thou shalt not.”  The secondary part of the Law of Moses is the Ceremonial features which was much more extensive, much more complicated, and much less understood - although we would stress here that the mandatory features of that Law are also greatly misunderstood by many sincere people.

In Lev. 18:5 the Lord said unto Moses: “Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them.”  This was certainly welcome news to the Jews; they would continue to live if they kept that law, and that they promised to do.  They did not realize that this was a perfect Law, which as imperfect beings, they were totally unable to keep.  When Jesus began His ministry at the age of thirty, the Jews shortly began to accuse Him of ignoring, or setting aside, this Law which was so sacred to them.  And in response, Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” (Matt 5:17)  And this He did fulfil (fill full that Law); but the Jews did not recognize that He was perfect, and could keep that perfect law, which they were unable to do.  Thus, the best of them, those who very earnestly endeavored to keep that Law, continued to die; and this is a vivid proof to the unbiased mind that they were unable to keep that Law.

The Law is set forth in the 20th Chapter of Exodus, vs. 2 through 17.  In referring to this section of Scripture the word commandment is not strictly correct.  In Hebrew it is properly given as word; thus, the first word, the second word, etc.  As a brief summary, we would express the first word thus: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”  And the second word: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images.”  The third word: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.”  The fourth: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

The second table of the Law begins with the fifth word: “Honor thy father and thy mother”; the sixth word: “Thou shalt not kill”; the seventh, “Thou shalt not commit adultery”; the eighth, “Thou shalt not steal”; the ninth, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor”; and the tenth, “Thou shalt not covet.”  Much elaboration could be offered on the foregoing, but that is not primarily the purpose of this writing.

As most of our readers know, we often become involved in extensive controversy regarding our understanding of the interpretation of the Scriptures; and these ten words are no exception.  Just recently we became involved with a Brother about these words, and especially so on the one concerning “The sabbath day.”  And our main reason now for writing this article is to help our readers to a better understanding of this subject.  Thus we reproduce some of the questions involved, with our answers, in the hope that our readers will profit thereby.  But before proceeding, we would offer the opinion that the Ten Commandments (words) are a grand law of justice, since they embrace every duty of God’s creatures to Him and to one another - perfection from every standpoint - and this does indeed prove them to be the inspired word of God.  And believing this, it should immediately become apparent that in nowise do we wish to abrogate - or even mitigate - any part of those ten words.

Now, for some of the questions: “Doesn’t your belief in the Creation Week help the evolutionists in their false teachings, since it does away with the Sabbath?”

Answer: Regarding the Ten Commandments, it seems we have a little different understanding on that - although you believe in them, even as I do.  But no man has been able to keep the Ten Commandments - neither the Jew nor the Christian.  Only the perfect man Jesus was able to keep a perfect law.  Paul says, “having blotted out what was written by hand [the two tables of the Law, the Ten Commandments] in ordinances which was against us, and has removed it from our midst, having nailed it to the cross.” (Col. 2:14, Dia.)  We know the Jews were able to keep the ceremonial features, because the High Priest was told to do it all exactly as Moses gave it that he die not.  And there is no record that any of the High Priests died because of failure to perform the ceremonial features - regardless of their moral delinquencies.  However, the Ten Commandments were the written Law, but not the ceremonial features.  The latter were all given orally to Moses.

Moses told the Jews that they would live if they kept the Law (Lev. 18:5); but they soon learned that they could not keep the Ten Commandments, because they all continued to die.  Jesus, being perfect, was able to keep the Law, and proved it by what He did; He knew that we could not keep it - thus He nailed it to His cross.  St Paul writes, “I was alive without the Law once [in the Abrahamic Covenant]: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” (Rom 7:9)  St. Paul says, “Do we then make void the law through faith.” (Rom. 3:31)  In answer to this we quote from Rom. 10:4: “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”  Also, “Love is the fulfilling of the law.” (Rom. 13:10)  If our life is motivated by love for God and love for man, we are fulfilling the law, which is the same for all who “walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Rom. 8:1)

We are in full agreement that we should keep the Law to the best of our ability, because it is a perfect law.  All these moral laws are incorporated in the New Testament, however, but there is nothing said about keeping the Ten Commandments.  Should we fall short on any of them through weakness of the flesh, we should immediately go to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in the time of need. (Heb. 4:16)  At the same time we are fully convinced that none of us have the ability to keep a perfect law - although we can keep it in spirit.  As Gentiles, we were never under the Mosaic Law; therefore, when Jesus “nailed it to His cross” it was only for the Jews that He did that; and He did that only for those Jews that became Christians - footstep followers of Him.  All other believing Jews are still under that law, but none of them can keep it; that is why they all continue to die.  “Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments; which if a man do he shall live in them: I am the Lord.” (Lev. 18:5)  And those Jews who kept the Law as best they could were blessed.

Some of those Jewish heroes are mentioned in Chapter 11 of Hebrews, but there is nothing said about their having kept the Law.  In fact, some of them lived many years before the law even appeared.  It is clearly stressed that they were victors “by faith.”  Also, some of them mentioned grossly violated the law, but later repented.  Consider, for instance, the case of David.  The Law was then here and David knew it, yet he grievously violated it.  But the Apostle Paul includes his name with the heroes of the Old Testament.  David’s heart was always right before God, but not toward man. (1 Kings 11:4; 15:5; 1 Sam. 13:14)  But there is no doubt that he had that “godly sorrow that worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of.” (2 Cor. 7:10)  The same with Rahab, the harlot, whose life was a gross violation of the law, yet her faith in the God of the Hebrews places her in the select company of the Old Testament heroes. (Heb. 11:31)  So they lived “above the Law” in many respects, and “by faith” and repentance because of their fleshly weakness in violating the perfect law, were reinstated in the “Household of Faith.”

In the third and fourth chapters of Galatians St. Paul treats of this subject in some detail; and in Gal. 3:22-24 he tells us that we are saved by faith, not by keeping the Law.  “The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ.  Then (v. 25): “But after faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.”  Here is a very clear and plain statement by a one time Jew, that “we [the Jews who accept Christ by faith] are no longer under a schoolmaster.”  However, those faithful Jews who are mentioned in Hebrews Chapter 11 lived above the law: they lived by faith, although punished when they violated the Law, as in the case of David.

Here we cite Martin Luther’s fundamental doctrine (by which he mutilated the Roman Church): “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God.” (Rom. 5:1)  He had the same difference with the Roman Catholic Church that we have with those who believe they can be saved by works.  That Church contended that we are saved by works; whereas, Luther correctly contended we are saved “by faith” and no longer under a schoolmaster (the Law).

  Note also this very pertinent Scripture on this subject: “Sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” (Rom. 6:13-18)  And 1 Kings 8:6-9: “The priests brought in the ark of the Covenant of the Lord unto his place… There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel.”  And so it will be when the New Covenant is inaugurated in Christ’s Kingdom. (Jer. 31:31-33)  This Scripture (1 Kings 8:6-9) relates to the dedication of Solomon’s Temple; and makes very clear what St. Paul meant when he stated what he did in Col. 2:14 - “the handwriting of ordinances.”  He is referring clearly and specifically to the two tables of the Law that ONLY were in the Ark when the Temple was dedicated.

Today many sincere people believe they are saved by works for a good cause.  And many unsavory characters are highly praised for their “works of charity.”  The Jehovah’s Witnesses tell their dedicated devotees (many of whom have our good opinion) that if they are faithful in serving so many hours a day or week, they will be chiefs in the Kingdom.  At one time they told them they will live right on through to the Kingdom, but have softened that somewhat, as many of their faithful followers have since died.

By the foregoing statements we would not have our readers believe that those who have faith are to sit idly down and do nothing but have faith in our Lord and in God.  “I will shew thee my faith by my works.” (James 2:18)  And that is our position, as all who have true animated faith will do with their might what their hands find to do.  They will demonstrate their faith by their works.  But faith cometh first!  Every man should be able to “give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear [reverence].” (1 Peter 3:15)

During this Gospel Age it is a “narrow way” that leadeth unto life; and, as Jesus said, “Few there be that find it.” (Matt. 7:14)  But, when the New Covenant is inaugurated (Jer. 31:31) - made with the Jews just as the Law Covenant was made - all will be given a chance to walk up the Highway of Holiness (an easy way compared with the “narrow way” now operating).  And all nations will be blessed by this Covenant as soon as they come under it and comply with its terms.  The “narrow way” during the Gospel Age is a call: “But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” (1 Cor. 1:24 - also see verses 25-30)  In the Kingdom it will not be a call but a command, if they get life.

Question: “When St. Paul told the Jews ‘we are free’ in Christ, is there anything here that says the Jews were not obligated to keep the Law - the Ten Commandments?  Or was he referring to the Ceremonial Law?”

Answer:   By this question we would not infer that the Brother is not sincere in his query, but sincerity alone is not sufficient.  When the nations went at each others’ throats - as they did in 1914 - there is no doubt at all in our mind that many were sincere on both sides.  However, at least one side had to be wrong; and some prominent individuals have contended that both sides were wrong.  But the latter point we do not argue.  We now confine ourselves specifically to one expression by St. Paul in Col. 2:14: “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.”

Now follows this same text from a more exact translation: “Having blotted out what was written by hand in ordinances which was against us, and has removed it from our midst, having nailed it to the cross.”  Let us stress here that the ONLY part of the Law that was written by God’s hand was the Ten Commandments - contained on two tables of stone - and nothing else.  The ceremonial law was all given orally to Moses; none of it was written by God’s hand. (Ex. 31:18; 24:12; Deut. 9:10)

As said above, when the Ark was placed in Solomon’s Temple, the only thing it contained was the two tables of the Law - written by God’s hand. (1 Kings 8:6-9)  Aaron’s rod that budded, and the golden pot of manna were no longer in the Ark.  This is to tell us that God’s eternal law - the Ten Commandments - will be perfectly implanted into human hearts and minds “in due time.” (Jer. 31:33)  Solomon’s Temple in this picture is a replica of what shall be when the “living temple” of God is established in the earth.  But for the present - and because of our frailty - it is “removed from our midst.”  Certainly this statement by St. Paul is plain enough and positive enough for a child to understand it.

When the lawyer wanted to know what he should do to inherit eternal life, Jesus said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” (Luke 10:25,27)  So it is love for God and man that will eventually give us eternal life.  This applies now in this Age, and will apply toward all men in the next Age.

  Question:  “When the Commandment says, ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy,’ is not this a perpetual obligation?”

Answer:       Yes, to those who have put themselves under it; but Gentiles have never done that - have never been asked to do it - so there is no obligation on their part to try to keep it.  However, that same Commandment says, “In it thou shalt not do any work, thou… nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant.” (Ex. 20:10)  Can any seventh Sabbath Day adherent honestly say he is keeping this commandment?  Does their manservant leave them a newspaper on Saturday?  Does their manservant leave them milk on Saturday?  Does their manservant operate a bus that carries them to church on Saturday?  Many years ago we lived next door to a very religious Jew, who scrupulously tried to keep the Sabbath; so, every Friday evening at six o’clock - when his Sabbath began - he gave us a penny to come into his kitchen, strike a match and light his stove fire.  Seemingly, he did not realize that in hiring us for that penny he was having his ‘manservant’ - or boyservant - do some work for him.

This general thought of the Ten Commandments - handwriting of ordinances - is further emphasized in Ex. 31:18: “God gave to Moses… two tables of testimony, tables of stone [the Ten Commandments are the only “tables of stone”], written with the finger of God.”  And to emphasize the superiority of the Ten Commandments (written by the finger of God), note now the record in Deut. 31:24-26: “When Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law [the ceremonial features, written by Moses - in contrast to the Ten Commandments written by God] upon a scroll [not on tables of stone]… Moses commanded the Levites… Take this scroll of the law, and put it at the side of the ark [not in the ark - as was done with the two tables of stone, written by the finger of God] of the covenant of Yahweh your God.” (Rotherham translation)

When Jesus said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another” (John 13:34), that terse statement embraced everything in the great addition problem set forth by St. Peter in 2 Peter 1:5-7: “Add to your faith virtue [fortitude]; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance [self-control]; and to temperance patience [stick-to-itiveness]; and to patience godliness [piety]; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity [love].”  And this addition circumvents all the ethical, ceremonial and mandatory elements of the Christian religion.  If any of us could keep the mandatory Law of Moses, we could not improve on what St. Peter has instructed us.  However, be it emphasized here that no one of the fallen human race has ever been able to do perfectly what St. Peter has prescribed.  In not one of these seven character qualities have any of us been able to reach perfection - just as none of the Jews could reach perfection in keeping the Law of Moses; but it is the ideal set before us - “that we should follow in his steps.” (1 Peter 2:21)

In no place does Jesus insist that His followers should keep the Law of Moses; on the contrary He tells us, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me… for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:29,30)  Here He was making a clear distinction between the yoke of the Law - which no Jew had been able to keep - and His yoke (“follow in His steps”), which we keep imperfectly, but, if faithfully, is satisfactory to God, because Jesus is with us in that yoke, bearing the heavier part of it - a help the Jews did not have in their attempt to keep the Law of Moses.

Solomon’s Temple should be considered here in connection with this discussion.  It was an elegant structure - one of the finest then in existence.  And in this it was typical of the grander Temple, the spiritual temple that will appear when the Kingdom is established.  At the dedication of Solomon’s Temple we are told, “The priest brought in the ark of the covenant [the golden ark from the Most Holy of the Tabernacle] of the Lord unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place [which now supplanted the Most Holy of the Tabernacle], even under the wings of the cherubims.” (1 Kings 8:6)  Then verse 9, “There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb [where the Jewish ritual was first established after they left Egypt], when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel.”

All during the Jews’ journey through the Wilderness of Sin, on their journey to Canaan, the golden Ark in the Most Holy of the Tabernacle had contained the two tables of stone, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the golden pot of Manna that never decayed; but two of these items were no longer there when the golden Ark was transferred to Solomon’s Temple - showing us very clearly that when the antitypical Temple appears in the Kingdom, there will no longer be need for the Rod or the Pot of Manna.  Only the eternal law of God will be there - the “words” engraved on the two tables of stone by the finger of God, which Jesus temporarily suspended, “Nailing it to His cross,” because no one had been able to keep it; but its presence in the Temple tells us very clearly that in the Kingdom all the willing and obedient will then be able to keep that Law - just as Jesus Himself kept it when He was with us at His First Advent - being a perfect man He could keep a perfect Law.

Question: “In Matt. 5:17 not one word is said about Jesus nailing the Law to His cross; why, then, do you quote it now?”

Answer:   He does not say anything in Matt. 5:17 about nailing the Ceremonial Law to the cross either.  He had disposed of that in Matt. 22:38 - as we pointed out aforegoing.  And, as for the mandatory feature of the Law (the Ten Commandments) certainly He did not nail that to His cross for Himself.  He had no need to do that, because He Himself kept that Law perfectly - something we cannot do.  Therefore, at His crucifixion He nailed it to His cross to remove that ‘schoolmaster’ that had afflicted the Jews for centuries.  “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Rom. 8:3,4)  That statement about ‘nailing it to His cross’ applied only to those Jews who had agreed to keep that Law; but it does not apply to any Gentiles, because they never were under that Law - had made no covenant with God to keep it.  This is no “private interpretation” on our part: it is just simple logic applied to a very much circulated illogical interpretation that quite a few good people mistakenly try to place upon it.

However, we would emphasize that both the Law Covenant and New Covenant are regulated by the same eternal Law of God, the Ten Commandments; and these must eventually be kept perfectly by all who will gain eternal life under the New Covenant - when “Satan is bound, that he should deceive the nations no more.” (Rev. 20:2,3)

Question: “If we are caught stealing, and plead exemption from prosecution because the Law was nailed to the cross, would the judge accept that excuse?”

Answer:   No, of course he would not!  There are some features of the Law Covenant that we can keep - such as stealing, thou shalt not kill, commit adultery, etc., but that is a far cry from including the entire Law.  The Gentiles who were not under the Law had enough light not to do those things, if they were motivated by right and wrong.  “But glory, honour, and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile.” (Rom. 2:10)

Question: “Why do you make so complicated the plain and simple statement of Jesus in Matt. 5:17,18?”

Answer:   We do not make it complicated; the question complicates it when it tries to put Gentiles in the same category with Jesus Himself.  In that text Jesus says, “I come not to destroy the law.”  Neither do we come to destroy it.  But He also said, “I am come to fulfil it” - which we do not do because we lack the ability and the heredity to do that.”

THE CURSE: “As many as are of the works of the law are under the curse.” (Gal. 3:10)  “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law… for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” (Gal. 3:13)  The whole human family is now under the curse of sin and death; when the Jews covenanted to keep the law, but were not able to do so, it put them under a double curse.  Thus, Jesus had to “hang upon a tree,” the cross, to redeem the Jews from the double curse which rested upon them - the curse inherited from Adam, and the curse of the works of the Law.

Question: “What about Matt. 5:19 - ‘Whosoever shall break one of these least commandments… shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven?” 

Answer:   Jesus had said that if any one break the least of the commandments, he is guilty of all.  Yes, here He says that even the “least” will be in the Kingdom of heaven.  Coupled with this, we have His statement about John the Baptist, a Jew who was scrupulously trying to keep the Law: “There hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” (Matt. 11:11)  Here is a clear statement that John the Baptist will not be in the Kingdom of Heaven (the heavenly phase of the Kingdom), although he painstakingly tried to keep the Law to the best of his ability, which he could not do.  By our Lord’s statement, we know that he will be included among the faithful, honored Ancients, mentioned by the Apostle Paul in the 11th Chapter of Hebrews - his reward being the earthly phase of the Kingdom and not the Spiritual phase, which is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Also, according to the questioner’s reasoning, the Apostles Paul, Peter, James and others will also be least in the Kingdom of Heaven, because they taught that the followers of Jesus - Jews or Gentiles - were not under the Law, as noted by the following Scriptures: “By him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses.” (Acts 13:39)  “By the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified.” (Gal 2:16)

More now from Acts 15:5-20: “There rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. [v. 5]  And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter. [v. 6]  And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the Gospel, and believe. [v.7]

“And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Spirit [Gentile believers], even as he did unto us [v. 8]; and put not difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. [v. 9]

“Now, therefore, why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers or we were able to bear? [v. 10]  [The fathers were able to bear the ceremonial: many of the fathers had very little to do with the ceremonial features, although they were faced daily with the mandatory yoke - the Ten Commandments.]  Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. [v. 12]

“And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me. [v.13]  Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a  people for his name. [v. 14]

“And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written. [v. 15]  After this [after selecting a people for His Name among the Gentiles] I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David [the earthly phase of the Kingdom], which is fallen down [since A.D. 70, when the Jews and their temple were devastated]; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up [v. 16]: that the residue of men [the world during the Kingdom] might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. [v. 17]  [After selecting a “people for His name” among the Gentiles, these saints will bless the residue of mankind in the Kingdom: “Know ye not that the saints will judge the world?” - 1 Cor. 6:2]

“Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. [v. 18]  Wherefore, my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God [v. 19]; but that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.” (v. 20)

Also Acts 15:24-26: “Forasmuch as we have heard that certain which went from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the Law: to whom we gave no such commandment. [v. 24]  It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul [v. 25], men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” [v. 26]

“For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; that ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if you keep yourselves, ye shall do well.  Fare ye well.” Acts 15:28,29)

  Note there is not one word here about those converts keeping the Law of Moses.  Nor do they criticize them for coming together on Sunday instead of Saturday.  The Apostles were readily agreeable with the Sunday meetings, inasmuch as the Lord had risen from the dead on that day, which would cause those assembled to manifest a sober and a happy attitude in their worship.

It should also be noted that from all the foregoing Scriptures there is not one word of criticism against the Apostles for accepting and preaching Jesus; their whole contention is against the teaching that the Apostles were then relieving Jew and Gentile of the burden of the Law yoke - “which our fathers were not able to bear,” the Law of Moses.

Note now 1 John 5:3: “This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” - not unbearable, as was the Law of Moses.  “For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to every one [Jew and Gentile] that believeth.” (Rom. 10:4)  “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.” (Phil. 3:9)

More will be given on The Law of Moses in Part Two.  For now it would be well for us to follow the Apostle’s advice in 2 Tim. 2:15: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”  “The fear [reverence] of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.” (Psa. 111:10)

(Brother John J. Hoefle, Reprint No. 434, July 1992)

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  “MASS PRAYER RALLY PLANNED:  Leading Israeli rabbis are hoping thousands will join them at the Temple Mount later this month to pray for the future of the Land of Israel.  The rabbis, including two former chief rabbis, say they oppose Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan to unilaterally withdraw from the Gaza Strip and parts of Judea and Samaria - all post-1967 territories.  The rabbis maintain Israel must keep control of the areas, which were an essential part of biblical Israel.”  (The Media Line, February 15, 2004) 

“PRAYER FORCUS:  Pray that Christians and Jews will all turn their faces toward God in prayer and supplication, asking for His holiness, righteousness, and salvation.  ‘You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to You.  Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my cry for mercy.  In the day of my trouble I will call to You, for You will answer me.’ (Psalm 86:5-7)”  (Bridges for Peace)