NO. 584 ZIONISM IS GOD'S CALL

“Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion, for the time to favor her, yea, the set time, has come; for thy servants take pleasure in her stones and favor the dust thereof. Then shall the Gentiles fear the name of Jehovah and the kings of the earth thy glory. When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.” (Psalm 102:13-18)

The above Psalm is recognized as prophetic, both by Christians and Jews, each applying the matter to himself. We agree that there is a spiritual as well as a natural Israel. But we hold that Christian people have erred in applying all the Scriptures to themselves and in not discerning that a large proportion of the promised coming blessings belong to natural Israel. Failure to recognize this has worked injury and confusion to the minds of many Christian Bible students. Appropriating to themselves promises that belong to natural Israel, Christians have been led to turn and twist and spiritualize the Word of the Lord, until they have destroyed much of their own faith in it, as, for instance, the Scriptures declare that in Messiah’s Day the wilderness shall blossom as the rose and the solitary place be glad and that the people shall build houses and inhabit them and plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them, and long enjoy the work of their hands; and that “they shall sit, every man under his vine and under his fig tree and none shall make them afraid.” (Micah 4:4) An attempt to spiritualize these promises and make them appear to apply to spiritual Israel has been robbing natural Israel of his portion of God’s favor, and has caused darkness and perplexity amongst Christian Israelites in their endeavor to harmonize these Scriptures with others which assure us that “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God” (1Cor. 15:50), and that ours is the heavenly calling and that the saints must be changed in a moment from human conditions to spiritual conditions, in order to enter into their reward.

St. Paul urges upon followers of Jesus that they “Rightly divide the Word of Truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15) This admonition we have neglected, to our loss. From Genesis to Malachi, the Jew found not a suggestion of a change of nature from earthly to heavenly, from fleshly to spiritual. To whatever extent he has learned to spiritualize the teachings of the Law and the Prophets he has been swerved by outside influence. For instance, God’s promise to Abraham was, “Lift up now thine eyes and look to the East and to the West and to the North and to the South. All the land that thou seest will I give to thee and to thy seed after thee.” Abraham must get that land first, and from him it must pass to his posterity. He never possessed one foot of it, according to the Genesis account, which is confirmed by St. Stephen, who declared (Acts 7:5) that Abraham received not so much of the land as to set his foot upon. This promise contains nothing whatever respecting a spiritual land or a change of nature, either to Abraham or to his posterity. This promise and others like it belong to Abraham’s natural seed, and properly they should wait and hope for its fulfillment. It will be fulfilled when, shortly, Father Abraham and the other saintly ones of the Jewish family shall, with him, be resurrected from the dead to the glory of human perfection. Thus is it written, “Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.” (Psa. 45:16)

These princes amongst mankind will be the visible rulers and teachers of the world. To them first will be drawn the Jews. Then, as the remainder of the world will perceive the blessings resulting to Israel they will realize that this new order of things is advantageous for all, and will submit themselves to this Semitic government. The Jews are gradually coming to see that no human being could possibly fulfill all the glorious predictions made respecting their Messiah. They are quite prepared therefore, to note the force of Daniel’s prophecy (12:1) that Messiah will be one like God. It will not be difficult, therefore, for the Jews to comprehend that this God-like Messiah, who will combine in Himself the qualities of Moses, the great teacher and law-giver, of David and Solomon the great kings, and of Melchisedec, the great priest ─ all on a bigger scale ─ antitypical ─ must be a spirit being and not a human being. And if a spirit being like unto the angels, His Throne and glory will not be earthly nor visible to men except by the eyes of their understanding. Abraham, Moses, David, the Prophets, etc., will be the earthly representatives of this great invisible spiritual Prince ─ Michael ─ who as God shall rule the world in righteousness and lift up the poor and the needy and humble the proud and dispel ignorance and superstition and cause the light of the knowledge of Jehovah to fill the whole earth as the waters cover the sea.

DOMINION OF SIN TO BE OVERTHROWN

Satan is Scripturally designated the Prince of this Age who now worketh in the hearts of the children of disobedience (Eph. 2:2). The promise of the Scriptures is that his usurpation of earth’s dominion will cease. It has been carried on through ignorance superstition, and deception.

Because of it we read, “darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the people.”

The distinct promise is that when Messiah’s reign shall begin, Satan shall be bound and the reign of sin and death shall be at an end. Instead, Messiah and His saintly Bride on the spirit plane shall reign, promoting righteousness and everlasting life. Abraham and the other Ancient Worthies will be the honored earthly representatives of this glorious spiritual Empire. The object and work of Messiah’s reign will be not only to stop the reign of sin and death, but, more than this, to lift up poor, fallen humanity out of ignorance and superstition, out of sin and death, out of weaknesses and frailties. Messiah’s Kingdom, therefore, is properly termed the times or years of restitution (Acts 3:19-21) and it is properly symbolized by Israel’s Fiftieth Year of Jubilee.

THE HINDRANCE WILL BE REMOVED

The question properly arises ─ If God intended so glorious a future for His Chosen People, why was it necessary that there should be so long a delay? Why did He not at once exalt them in the days of Moses or in the days of David or Solomon? Why did he not at once bring in these great blessings which the Scriptures foretell?

The answer is a simple one which meets all requirements:

(1) Nearly two thousand years was consumed in finding the saintly few of Israel who with Father Abraham would be worthy to be Messiah’s Princes in all the earth during His reign of a thousand years.

(2) Additionally, God purposed that Messiah should have companions on the spirit plane with Himself and sharers of His nature, glory, honor and power ─ His Bride, even as Abraham sought a bride for the typical Isaac to be associated with Him in conferring the blessing. For nearly two thousand years this “little flock” of saintly people from every nation, people, kindred and tongue, Jews, French, Swedes, British, Germans, etc., a saintly few, will by a share in the First Resurrection be changed from earthly nature to heavenly.

Thus we see that God’s great Plan for the world’s salvation by Messiah’s Kingdom has been in preparation ever since the flood, but the preparation is not yet quite completed. The Princes of Israel have been found, have been approved, and are merely sleeping in the dust of the earth (Dan. 12:2), waiting until the other small elect class shall be completed, whom we shall designate the spiritual Princes or Messiah’s Bride. This work complete, the blessing of all the families of the earth will be ushered in with power and great glory. And although its introduction, it is declared, will come through a great time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation, nevertheless that trouble cloud has such a glorious silver lining of hope and joy and blessing for Israel and for the world that all who see it in its true character may really welcome it. Short, sharp and decisive, it will make the rough places smooth. It will overthrow the pride and arrogance of man. It will humble all. It will break many hearts and overthrow many ambitions, but the eventual result will be “The desire of all nations.” (Haggai 2:7)

“YEA, THE SET TIME IS COME”

So many are haphazard and thoughtless themselves that they naturally think of the Almighty from their own standpoint ─ as conducting a haphazard plan of dealing with humanity ─ a plan devoid of wisdom, justice, love and power ─ a plan which would reflect dishonorably on any human architect, on any human ruler, on any human statesman. Let us be through with such childish misconceptions of God. Otherwise, like the Higher Critics, we would soon esteem ourselves superior to the God of the Bible, and, correspondingly our reverence, our worship, our obedience to Him would diminish.

It is when we begin to get the proper focus upon the Holy Scriptures that we begin to realize our own littleness and the greatness of the Creator ─ the insignificance and absurdity of our human theories and creeds and the sublime majesty of the Divine arrangement for the children of men. We have just seen the selection of two companies of saintly characters for the Divine purpose of the world’s blessing. Should it surprise us to find that the Almighty has set time ordained from before the foundation of the world controlling every feature of His great Plan of the Ages? It should not. Should we expect that fallen and imperfect humanity will see the advisability for chronological exactness and that the Almighty God should ignore such a matter? Have men manufactured clocks and watches so that they regulate the affairs of life to the very moment in respect to the starting of a train or in respect to the hour in which a timelock would release the treasures of a safe, and shall we, then, be surprised to find that the Almighty Creator has times, yea, set times, connected with the ordering of His great Plan of the Ages? Surely not. Hence our text is quite reasonable in this declaration that God has the time, yea, the set time, for remembering His promises to Israel and for bringing about their fulfillment? Rather this should encourage us, should stimulate our faith and make us more and more obedient to Him who speaks from heaven and who tells us that the great clock of the universe is about to strike the hour which will end this present age and introduce the reign of righteousness, the Kingdom of God’s dear Son.

ZIONISM THE FIRST CALL

It is not by accident, but of Divine foreknowledge and clearly foretold in the prophecies that the nation of Israel has suffered shamefully at the hands of many Christian nations. And, alas, to our shame it must be said that many of the atrocities practiced against them are by Christians falsely so-called ─ Christians in name, but not in fact. Note, for instance, the recent disorder in Roumania, which, fortunately, did not result to the Jews in great loss of life. But note its malevolent misrepresentation of Christ and His teachings; the so-called Greek Catholic Christians went to the cemetery ghoulishly, dug up recently interred Jews, and flung the corpses on the doorsteps of their relatives. Alas, too, that there is no general protest from so-called Christian nations against such disorders, nor against the pogroms so common of late in Russia! But what does this prove? It demonstrates what all sensible people should know, namely, that there are no Christian Governments in the world ─ that the name Christendom is a sad mistake! When Christ’s Kingdom shall really be established amongst men no such brutalities will be permitted in any name or under any pretext.

By the permission of these severe trials upon the Chosen People, God has not only, we believe, been chastening them, but addition-ally, he has been keeping them together as a people, separate from all others. Had they been without persecution, doubtless they would have been swallowed up like the other peoples of the world. As it is, they are a living monument. To the truthfulness of God’s Word ─ they are a miracle.

And now when prophecy shows that God’s time has come for remembering and executing his gracious promises to Israel, his first move toward their recovery to his favor comes through Zionism. Not that Zionism was started as a religious movement; quite the contrary. It is a spasm of national pride, however commendable such a pride may be. Weary with the persecutions of centuries, the Jew hoped that by their re-establishment as a nation they would command a greater respect throughout the world and be saved from racial hatred and persecution. They hoped, also, that the land of their fathers would furnish an asylum for the Russian outcasts of their race. The enthusiasm of Zionism spread, especially amongst the poorer Jews. Meantime other hopes and aims were set forward. Some said that Mesopotamia was the proper place, and the British gave rights of colonization; others urged Argentine Republic, and millions of dollars were spent in seeking to place Russian Jews there.  Others thought to make Jewish colonies in New Jersey, and still others favored similar schemes in Texas. But none of these flourished. Colonies in Palestine alone seemed to prosper even moderately. Meantime other hopes arose ─ the Russian duma promised to be favorable to the Jew and to permit his maintaining his home in Russia, inducing bands of Russian Jews to remain in the land of their adoption. But this hope has also failed them. Persecution and evictions in Russia continue as before. The Jew is, therefore, more heart-sick than ever. His greatest prosperity has been in London and in New York City. In the latter place reside twelve hundred thousand of them. Now fear is taking hold upon their hearts that even in this land of liberty and enlightenment they may not be safe from accusations and persecutions leveled against them on account of race prejudices. Alas, poor Jews!

THE VOICE ─ “DIE STIMME”

It is at this juncture and under these conditions that God’s Chosen People today are awakening and listening to the voice of prophecy, which the writer has had the privilege of bringing to their attention. Zionism, we believe, is about to take on a new form. Instead of being any longer a movement of race pride and for race protection it seems evident that it will shortly be a religious movement. Back to the prophecies! Back to the Word of God! Back to the promise made to Abraham and repeatedly confirmed! Back to the oath-bound promise that Abraham’s seed shall yet bless all the families of the earth! The tide of Jewish sentiment is turning, and swiftly, too.

Long centuries of training in religion have marked the Jew as a religionist as well as a money-lover. He loved his money and labored for it, because his heart had no spiritual ideal for which to labor. But the message of the prophets is now ringing in the hearts of many; “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem and cry unto her that her appointed time is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” (Isa. 40:1-2)

At first, of course, the movement will only be amongst the poor, those not saturated with unbelief, Higher Criticism, Evolution, etc. Gradually it will take hold ─ we believe ─ upon those more intelligent and those of wealth. When that moment shall arrive, there will be a sufficiency of funds to forward a great movement Zion-ward. Not that all Jews, nor that even the majority of them, will go to Palestine, but surely the sympathy of all who are Jews indeed must shortly go thither, and that will mean the aid and comfort of co-religionists who will be seeking an asylum. Moreover, the great time of trouble which is nearing will be recognized by the Jews as soon as by others, and Palestine will be considered one of the best places of safety for personal property. Moreover, the Scriptures indicate that the persecutions of the Jews are not yet ended. These also will tend to drive them home.  This great time of trouble will not only prepare Israel, but all the nations, to welcome Messiah’s glorious Kingdom of righteousness, joy and peace.

(Pastor Russell, What Pastor Russell Wrote for the Overland Monthly, pages 108-112)

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FARMERS IN GAZA: HOW DO THOSE ISRAELIS DO IT?

After years of producing bug-free lettuce and other vegetables for Jewish farmers, the sands of Gaza have reverted to their old ways. PA farmers report failure in keeping the bugs away.

The Gaza Arabs who have taken over the hothouses of what used to be Gush Katif reported to the Israel-PA Coordination Office that they have failed in raising bug-free vegetables.

In addition, the PA workers complain that their wages from their compatriots and brethren are significantly lower now than what they received from the Israelis.

Arutz-7’s Haggai Huberman reports that the Jews of Gush Katif operated 3,600 dunams (890 acres) of hothouses as of last year, of which the PA ─ with international help ─ has managed to activate three-fourths. The Arabs had hoped to build on the Jews’ success, selling to the market the Israelis had built up over the years. The bug-free vegetables were particularly attractive to the religious and hareidi-religious publics, for reasons of kashrut.

The Jews who first arrived in Gaza some 30 years ago were repeatedly told by the Arabs who welcomed them that the land was “cursed” and that they would never succeed agriculturally. Benny Ginzberg, standing last May in the large Katif-Atzmona dairy he managed, pointed at the houses of the Arab city of Khan Yunis, several hundred meters away, and said,

“Those houses have been here since before the Six Day War. If they wanted this land, what stopped them from spreading out of here before?... When we first came, they told us that we were crazy for even trying to build something here. ‘The land is cursed,’ they told us. Well, we built something, something very great…”

Ma’yan Yadai, a 27-year-old mother of two who was thrown out of Gush Katif ─ she was originally a Croatian Catholic who converted to Judaism, fled Yugoslavia, and moved to Netzer Hazani ─ spoke about Gush Katif before a gathering of the National Council of Young Israel in New York recently. She said,

“It is difficult for me to believe that this obviously blessed area is the very same area that our Moslem neighbors called the ‘cursed land’ of El G’erara. They have told me that nobody lived in this area from the time that the last Jews left because there was not enough rain, and nothing could grow properly. They were happy when the Jews returned because the rain started again, and the land began to produce.”

Farmers in Gush Katif were considered among Israel’s most successful; their total annual exports totaled $100 million, or 15% of Israel’s agricultural exports. Of Israel’s exports abroad, Gush Katif exported to Europe 95% of the bug-free lettuce and greens, 70% of the organic vegetables, 60% of the cherry tomatoes, and 60% of the geraniums. Israel’s largest plant nursery was in the Gush Katif community of Atzmonah. Other Katif produce included spices, green, red and yellow peppers, celery and more.

Israel’s Defense Ministry sources told Huberman that the Palestinian Authority farmers were unable to develop the techniques necessary for bug-free produce.

Some of the original Israeli greenhouses were damaged or destroyed by Arabs immediately after Israel withdrew, but the PA was able to rebuild them. As of now, the only crop the Arabs are raising successfully is strawberry. (By Hillel Fende, Arutz-7, November 2005)

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THE GREAT WHITE THRONE: DAY OF JUDGMENT MISUNDERSTOOD

The false view of the Day of Judgment began to be introduced in the Second Century and human fear and superstition continually made it worse and worse. The Bible, on the contrary, represented it as a period of glory and blessing. The Psalmist’s declaration, calling upon humanity and all creation to rejoice because the Lord would come to judge the earth in righteousness and the poor with equity (Psa. 98:9), is worthy of note.

A BLESSED JUDGMENT DAY

According to the Bible, the world’s Judgment Day will be the world’s time of opportunity for coming to a knowledge of God and then being tried, tested, or judged, as to their willingness to serve and obey God and his righteous government. Those found heartily obedient will be granted everlasting life with every joy and blessing appropriate to man in his perfection. Those rebellious to the light of the righteousness of Jehovah will be destroyed in the Second Death without hope of any future whatever.

That will be the time when all the heathen will have their trial, after they shall all be brought by Messiah’s Kingdom to a clear knowledge of the Truth. That will be the one time when the great masses of Christendom will for the first time hear of the real character of God and His requirements of them. Although some of them may have been in churches occasionally and may have seen Bibles, occasionally, nevertheless the eyes of their understanding were darkened. They saw not; they heard not; they understood not. The god of this world blinded them (2 Cor. 4:4).

That Judgment Day, the thousand years of Messiah’s Kingdom, will not only bind Satan, but chase away with the glorious beams of the Sun of Righteousness all the darkness, superstition and error of the world.

The Church will not be judged during that thousand year Judgment Day because her trial, her judgment, takes place now ─ during this Gospel Age. The saintly few who will gain the great prize of joint heirship with the Redeemer, Messiah, will be his Queen and sit with him in the Great White Throne of Judgment mentioned in the text; as the Apostle declares, “Know ye not that the saints shall judge the world?” (1 Cor. 6:2)

FORMER VIEWS WERE ERRONEOUS

Our former and very unreasonable view was that man, “born in sin, shapen in iniquity,” depraved in all of his appetites, would be condemned of God in the Judgment Day on account of this heredity, and environment, for which he is not responsible. The theory was that the heathen also would be damned in that Judgment Day, because they did not know and did not accept “the only name given under heaven.” The theory was also that the masses of civilized society would in that Judgment Day be damned because they would not, and because they did not, live perfectly, notwithstanding their heredity.

Now we see that the death sentence was upon Adam and all of his race, who were in his loins when he sinned. We see that they could not be put on trial a second time until released from the first sentence. We see that their release will be at the Second Coming of Messiah in the glory of His Kingdom, when He shall cause the knowledge of the Lord to fill the whole earth and open all the blinded eyes. Then, because of having satisfied the claims of Justice against the race, the Great Redeemer, as the Mediator of the New Covenant, will grant the world of mankind another judgment or trial ─ additional to the one given to Adam, in which they all failed and from the penalty of which failure Jesus redeemed them.

True, the measure of light and knowledge now enjoyed and willfully sinned against will work a corresponding degradation of character; all downward steps will need to be retraced.

“THE GREAT WHITE THRONE”

Revelation 20:11

Symbolically, the whiteness of the throne indicates the purity of the justice and judgment which will be meted out by the Great Redeemer as the Messiah-King. The heavens and earth which will flee away from the presence of that throne are not the literal, but the symbolical. The ecclesiastical heavens and the social earth of the present time will not stand in the presence of that August Tribunal. The people will not be judged nationally nor by parliaments and systems in society, but individually. The judgment or trial will not merely test those living at the time of the establishment of the Kingdom, but will include all the dead.

The books of the Bible will then all be opened ─ understood. All will then see that the Golden Rules laid down by inspiration through Moses and the Prophets, Jesus and his Apostles, are the very ones which God will require of men in the future, and which Messiah will then enable the willing and obedient to comply with by assisting them up out of their sin and degradation. The judgment of that time, the test, will not be of faith, for knowledge will be universal and all the darkness and obscurity created by ignorance and superstition will have passed away. The test at that time will be of works, whereas the tests of the Church at the present time are of faith.

ANOTHER BOOK OF LIFE OPENED

Pastor Russell declared that the Lamb’s Book of Life alone is open now, and only those called to be members of the Bride class and who accept the call are written therein. But in the great day of the world’s trial or judgment another book of life will be opened. A record will be made of all who, by obedience, show themselves worthy of everlasting life on the human plane, and, if faithful, they will eventually be accepted of the Father to life eternal. All the incorrigible, all those who after the most favorable opportunities, will not give their hearts to the Lord and be obedient to the laws of the Messianic Kingdom “shall be destroyed from amongst the people.” (Acts 3:19-21)

(By Pastor Russell, What Pastor Russell Wrote for the Overland Monthly, pages 311,312)

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SOMETIME WE’LL UNDERSTAND

Perhaps ‘twill be in coming years,

                                               It may be in the better land,

                                           We’ll read the meaning of our tears,

                                               And thus, sometime, we’ll understand.

                                           We’ll catch the broken threads again,

                                               And finish what we here began;

                                           Heav’n will the mysteries explain,

                                               And then, ah! then, we’ll understand.

                                           We’ll know why clouds instead of sun

                                              Were over many a cherished plan;

                                           Why song hath ceased when scarce begun.

                                               Ah, yes! sometime, we’ll understand.

                                           Why what we longed for most of all,

                                               Eludes so oft our eager hand;

                                           Why hopes are crushed and castles fall―

                                               Some day, sometime, we’ll understand.

                                           God knows the way, He holds the key,

                                               He guides us with unerring hand;

                                            Sometime with tearless eyes we’ll see;

                                               Yes, there, beyond, we’ll understand.

                                           Then trust in God, thro’ all thy days,

                                               Fear not, for He doth hold thy hand;

                                           Tho’ dark thy way, still sing and praise;

                                               Sometime, sometime, we’ll understand.

NO. 583 "THIS DO IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME"

Matthew 26:17-30

While holding, in common with the great majority, that the Memorial supper was instituted by our Lord on Thursday night in connection with his last celebration of the Passover, and that he was crucified on the next day, Friday, we have no contention with those who suppose that these events took place on other days of the week. We lay great stress on the fact there accomplished and its significance as the antitype of the Passover instituted by Moses, and as the finishing of our Lord’s great sacrifice for sins ─ the sins of the whole world. For these vital principles we are willing to contend earnestly, as they are part of “the faith once delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3); but as respects the particular days of the week we will not contend, as in our estimation they are trifling matters, of no value, no consequence, and should therefore in no sense of the word disturb the minds or heart-fellowship of the Lord’s people.

Our lesson opens with our Lord’s instructions to his disciples as to where they should prepare for him and themselves, as a special and peculiar Jewish family, a place in which to celebrate the requirements of the law in the type which pointed to our Lord Jesus as the Lamb of God. Respecting this supper our Lord himself said, “With desire have I desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” (Luke 22:15) He did not refer to the principal feast, which lasted a week from the 15th day of Nisan. He was referring to the roast-lamb supper, eaten with bitter herbs, which preceded the general feast, and which reminded them of their deliverance from Egypt, and became the basis of their subsequent rejoicing as a liberated people. The upper room was provided for this supper. Things were made ready, and at even, at sundown, after six o’clock, our Lord and the twelve assembled. One of the accounts tells us that there was a dispute amongst the disciples respecting the more honorable positions at the supper, and that Jesus rebuked this ambitious spirit in them by washing their feet, thus illustrating his own humility of heart, his readiness to serve each and all of them. Thus He set them an example that he, whom they esteemed greatest amongst them, should be their principal servant, willing and ready to serve any and all.

“ONE OF YOU SHALL BETRAY ME”

While they were eating Jesus remarked that one of them would betray him, and at once a spirit of sadness spread over the company, and each one ─ feeling it incumbent upon him to prove his innocence of such a charge ─ asked, “Lord, is it I?” With the rest, Judas also put this question, realizing that if he did not also ask, it would imply his acknowledgment that he was the one, and in response to his inquiry Jesus replied, “Thou hast said,” ─ that is to say, “Yes, I refer to you.” Another account tells us that Jesus answered the query by saying that the one for whom he would dip a sup would be the betrayer, and having dipped the sup ─ a piece of the lamb and a piece of the unleavened bread they were eating ─ Jesus gave it to Judas, thus indicating him without directly naming him. It would appear, too, that the other disciples up to this time had not learned to know Judas ─ that it was subsequently they ascertained that he was a thief, etc.

Amongst the Jews and Arabs deceit and betrayal were not so very uncommon, but there was a code of honor recognized according to which no one would eat the food of the person he would in any wise injure. As food was seasoned with salt, it was probably this custom that was known as the “covenant of salt” (2 Chron. 13:5) ─ the covenant of faithfulness. To succeed in having an enemy eat at your table or take of your food seasoned with salt was at that time amongst those people the equivalent of a pledge of his lasting friendship ─ that he would never do you injury. Apparently Judas was so lacking of a proper spirit that he did not even acknowledge and obey this custom of the time ─ to be loyal and faithful to the one whose bread he ate, of whose salt he partook. Hence our Lord’s words, “He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.”

Nevertheless Jesus testified that his death was not a victory on the part of his betrayer and his enemies, but in harmony with what had been written of him before by the prophets. Nor are we to consider that Judas in this matter was merely fulfilling a prophecy irrespective of his own responsibility, his own willfulness in the matter: such a thought is negatived by our Lord’s statement, “Woe unto the man by whom the Son of man is betrayed. It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” These words leave no question, we think, that Judas had already enjoyed his full share in the great atonement work through the intimate opportunities he had of coming to a clear knowledge of the truth, and the corresponding responsibilities. Evidently his was the sin unto death ─ the Second Death. Hence, aside from any future existence we are to consider that his life was a useless, wasted one, and that its joys did not overbalance its sorrows and anguish when to the latter were added his subsequent despair and suicide.

“TAKE, EAT; THIS IS MY BODY”

It was after the Passover supper, after the eating of the lamb with the herbs and unleavened bread, etc., that Jesus instituted the Memorial supper which, with all of his followers, by his direction takes the place of the Passover supper of the Jews. This was a new matter, and the apostles listened with interest to His words as he blessed some of the thin cakes of unleavened bread and then brake them and handed portions to each of his disciples, saying, “Take, eat; this is my body.” What could He mean? During their three years in his company they had learned that he spake in parables and dark sayings. On another occasion he had declared in their hearing that he himself was the bread which came down from heaven, of which if a man partook he would live forever. Now He was handing them some unleavened bread and said it was his body. They evidently understood him to mean that this bread to them would represent or symbolize his body, for he told them on this occasion that thenceforth they should do this in remembrance of him ─ thenceforth they should remember Him as the slain lamb and use unleavened bread to represent His flesh, and partake of this instead of eating as previously of a literal lamb.

He would not have meant, as Roman Catholics and some Protestants believe, that the bread was by his blessing turned into his actual flesh, for he still had his flesh ─ he was not killed for about fifteen hours later. Hence all the arguments to this effect are foolishness and sophistry. When he said, “This is my flesh,” it was as much a figure of speech as when he said a little later, “I am the vine,” “I am the door,” “I am the Good Shepherd,” “I am the way, the truth and the life,” etc. The right, sane view of the Master’s words is apparent: he was represented in all these different ways. In the case under consideration the bread would represent him, his flesh, to his apostles and to all his followers throughout the Gospel Age.

As bread stands for and symbolizes all food (indeed wheat is said to contain every element of nutriment in its proper proportion), so the teaching of this symbol is that whoever would have the life which Christ has to give must accept it as the result of his sacrifice. He died that we might live. The rights and privileges which he surrendered voluntarily may be eaten, applied, appropriated by all who have faith in him and who accept him and his instructions ─ such are reckoned as having imputed to them the perfect human nature, with all its rights and privileges lost by Adam, redeemed by Christ. None can have eternal life except by the eating of this bread from heaven. This applies not only to believers of this present time, but also to those of the future age. Their life-rights and privileges must all be recognized as coming to them through his sacrifice. In a word, the bread representing our Lord’s body teaches our justification through the acceptance of his sacrifice.

“DRINK YE ALL OF IT”

Next our Lord took a cup containing the fruit of the vine. We are not told that it was wine; therefore it is an open question whether is was fermented or unfermented, and in view of all the circumstances of our time and the requirements of the Lord’s Word, we may feel sure that unfermented grape juice or raisin juice will fulfill the terms of his injunction. Since it is never called wine, but merely the cup and the fruit of the vine, there is no room for disputation amongst the Lord’s followers. Each may be free to follow his own conscience in the matter of what kind of a fruit of the vine he shall use; for our part we prefer the unfermented as being less liable to do injury or to awaken dormant passions for drink in the Lord’s followers.

In connection with the cup the Lord said, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (the two oldest Greek MSS. of the New Testament the Sinaitic and Vatican omit the word “New”). True the New Covenant must be sealed with the blood of the Christ before it can go into effect, and it is not to go into effect until the opening of the Millennial Age. But there was another covenant ─ the old covenant, the foundation covenant of all covenants ─ namely, the Abrahamic Covenant, which was sealed by our Lord’s death. That it would be thus sealed was typically represented in the figurative resurrection from the dead. The Apostle assures us that Isaac represented our Lord Jesus, and also declares, “We, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise” ─ the Oath-bound Covenant. (Gal. 4:28)

Applying our Lord’s words thus to the Abrahamic Covenant, which he was sealing or making sure, we see that it was by his death that he became the heir of that covenant and all of its glorious provisions for the blessing of all the families of the earth. And from this standpoint we see a special meaning and force in Jesus’ words to his followers, “This is my cup, drink ye all of it.” Thus understood, the invitation to drink of the Lord’s cup signifies an invitation to all of his elect church of this Gospel Age to partake with Him of his cup of suffering and death ─ to lay down their lives with him that they also might have a share with him in the coming glories of the Kingdom, which will be the Divine channel for the fulfillment of the Abrahamic promise, the blessing of all the families of the earth.

While the eating of the bread and participation in the justification effected by our Lord’s death and by the acceptance of the same, will be necessary to the whole world if they would have the restitution blessings purchased by our Lord’s sacrifice, nevertheless the cup is not for the world but only for the church, only for the consecrated of this Gospel Age. “Drink ye all of it” ─ not only all of you drink of it but all of you drink all of it ─ leave none. There will be none of the sufferings of Christ left over for the coming age, no more suffering for righteousness’ sake will then be known to the world ─ only evil doers will suffer thereafter. Now is the time when whosoever will live godly shall suffer persecution, and when all of the Lord’s followers who would be loyal to him and counted worthy to share in his Kingdom glories must expect to drink of his cup. Hence again the Lord unites the two thoughts, saying, “Except ye eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of man, ye have no life in you.” Those who consecrate during the present time as the Lord’s disciples, to walk in his steps, must not only share in justification through faith, but must also share through sacrifice the cup if they would gain the life eternal promised to the elect who now forsake all to be his disciples.

NEW WINE IN THE KINGDOM

In declaring, “I will not drink henceforth of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom,” our Lord implies a new wine under different conditions at some distant date. He thus confirmed in their minds what he had been teaching them for some weeks previously, namely, that he would not at this time set up his Kingdom, but that instead he would suffer, be crucified, and that they must expect also to suffer with him; and that by and by, when the Kingdom should be established and himself be in glory, his disciples should be with him in his throne. These new thoughts in their minds were confirmed by the lesson now given.

The cup in the present time must speak to them of the crushing of the grapes, the blood of the grapes, their Master’s blood, the life sacrificed, poured out, and their lives also sacrificed with him in his service, in his cause. But the sufferings of this present time were linked with the glory that should follow by the thought that all who would drink of the present cup of suffering, ignominy and death would also share in His cup of joy and blessing, glory and honor in the Kingdom. This same thought should be before our minds, and like the apostles of old it will help us more and more to look forward to the Kingdom as the time when suffering for the name of Christ shall cease, and when the glories shall follow and result in the blessing of all the families of the earth. Our Lord identifies his Kingdom with his Second Advent, and in no sense of the word intimates that they would drink of this new wine at Pentecost, nor at the destruction of Jerusalem, nor at any other time but in that mentioned in the prayer which he taught them, saying, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.”

This should be the thought before our minds also: in waiting for the Kingdom we are waiting for the second coming of our Lord and his subsequent setting up of the Kingdom; that is the resurrection change, the glorification of his faithful ones who must be with him and share his glory. No wonder the Apostle declared that he who hath this hope in him purified himself even as he is pure (1 John 3:3). He that hath this hope of the new wine in the Kingdom, the participation with his Master in those glories and honors and blessed opportunities for uplifting the world of mankind, will take lightly, yea, joyfully, suffering, trials, sacrifices of this present time ─ yea, he will be glad to suffer with the Master that they also may be glorified together.

“FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS”

So far as we are concerned, it is in vain that men teach that God forgives sins without exacting a penalty therefore from anybody. It is in vain that they claim that Christ was not the ransom price for the sinner, that it was not necessary that he should die, the Just for the unjust, in order that he might bring us back to harmony with God ─ in order that God might be just and yet justify the sinner. It is in vain, too, that they claim that it was sufficient that Jesus was a great teacher, by whose words the world should be saved. Our reply is in harmony with the Master’s statement here and elsewhere and the testimony of all the apostles, that it was necessary that Christ should die for our sins; that our sins could never have been forgiven by Divine Justice except through the Divine arrangement by which he paid our penalty. To us it is a most precious thought, therefore, that our Lord’s blood was indeed shed for the remission of sins of the many. And it is also a precious thought to us that we are privileged to be so intimately associated with Him as members of his body; that our [the Church’s] little sacrifices covered by his merit are in God’s sight esteemed as part of the great sin sacrifice for the world; (“He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our’s only, but also for the sins of the whole world. ─ 1 John 2:2) that as joint-sufferers with Christ we are permitted to drink of his cup and be immersed in his baptism into death.

It is equally vain for Evolutionists and Higher Critics to tell us that so far from man falling from God’s likeness into sin and death, he has been on the contrary evoluting upward step by step, from beastly conditions to where he now is. We believe them not. We hold fast the divinely inspired testimony that there was a fall, and that this made necessary the redemptive work; that Christ was the honorable servant of God, privileged and authorized to make atonement for the sins of the whole world; that he began this atonement work in the sacrifice of himself; that he has been carrying it on during this Gospel Age by the sacrificing of members of his body, and that is now complete, He, when all members are glorified shall during the Millennial Age distribute to the world the blessings of that redemptive work, causing all to come to a knowledge of the Truth, of the love of God; that its height and depth and length and breadth are immeasurable, yea, all accomplished through him who loved us and bought us with his precious blood.

“IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME”

The Apostle Paul, referring to this Memorial Supper, quotes our Lord as saying, “This do in remembrance of me,” and then adds, “As oft as ye eat this bread and drink this cup ye do show the Lord’s death till he come.” (1 Cor. 11:24-26) The thought is that we are to thus celebrate this great transaction until the time come for the Kingdom celebration of it with the new wine, the joy, the glory, the honors, which we are to share with him who loved us and bought us. The Apostle evidently does not mean merely until the parousia, the presence of the Lord to gather his servants and reward them, but rather until all shall have been gathered and the Kingdom class shall all thus have been set up and glorified.

The same Apostle in the same epistle (1 Cor. 10:16,17; 12:12) emphasizes the thought of the unity, the oneness of the church, with each other and with the Lord. He declares, “The loaf which we break, is it not the communion [the fellowship] of the body of Christ?” Are we not all as parts of one loaf broken with the Lord? “For we being many are one loaf and one body; for we are all partakers of that one loaf”; and again he adds, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion [participation, fellowship] of the blood of Christ?” Assuredly this is the thought then, that from God’s standpoint there is the one great Messiah, the elect Head and the elect members of his Body. These, as one loaf, constitute from God’s standpoint the bread of everlasting life for the world, and in order to fill this picture each and all must be broken, each and all must partake of the cup of Christ’s suffering and death before entering into his glory. And not until all these sufferings have been completed will the Lord’s time come for the new dispensation, the new day, the day of blessing instead of cursing, the day of restitution instead of dying, the day of uplifting instead of falling, so far as the world is concerned. (Pastor Russell, Reprints 3879-3881, October 15, 1906)

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QUESTION OF GENERAL INTEREST

QUESTION – May members of the Youthful Worthies participate in the Memorial Supper, as was their custom before realizing that they belonged to this class?

ANSWER – The primary participants in the Lord’s Supper are the Little Flock.  By their participation therein they are privileged to symbolize three things: (1) the death of our Lord Jesus (1 Cor. 11:26); (2) their faith, appropriating justification through His death (Matt. 26:28); and (3) their sharing with Him in the privilege of the sacrificial death for the world (1 Cor. 10:16,17). The Little Flock will be privileged to do these three things as long as it is in the flesh. The Great Company, as such, will cease in the Memorial Supper to symbolize death with Christ, when they recognize that they are no longer dying with Him; but they will not for that reason cease partaking of the Memorial Supper for the other two purposes above mentioned. So it seems to us the case stands with the Youthful Worthies. They are not privileged in the Lord’s Supper to symbolize death with Christ; for they are not dying as a part of The Christ. But they may partake of the Lord’s Supper to symbolize His death as the Lamb of God, and to symbolize their faith, tentatively appropriating justification through His death. We have two reasons for believing that it is appropriate for the Youthful Worthies to partake of the Lord’s Supper for the first two purposes above set forth. (1) Not only the firstborns, but all Israelites by Divine command and approval (Ex. 12:25-27; Josh. 5:10; 2 Chro. 35:1-19) partook of the annual Passover, the type of the Lord’s Supper. This types that all ultimate believers ─ the Youthful Worthies, as well as all new creatures ─ may celebrate the Lord’s Supper. (2) The Apostles partook of the first Lord’s Supper while consecrated but in a tentatively justified condition. At that time their condition was very much the same as that of the Youthful Worthies, though they had a prospect of membership in the Body of Christ denied the Youthful Worthies. (By Brother Paul Johnson, E-4-page 408, bottom, 409)

Announcement: As always, we suggest reading of the chapter on the Passover in Volume Six of the Scripture Studies. The proper date of the Memorial this year is the 10th day of April after 6:00 p.m. We here at 2501   Morningside Drive, Mount Dora, Florida invite all in the vicinity who are of this mind to join us at 7:00 p.m. on that date.

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HOW WE GOT EASTER SUNDAY

Easter this year [2005] falls on March 27. Yet Passover does not begin until April 23. How did these two commemorations, so inextricably intertwined through Jesus’ death and resurrection, ever become separated?

Replacing Passover with Easter Sunday on the Christian calendar apparently was no small task and generated an enormous church dispute known as the Quartodeciman Controversy, which endured for centuries.

Christians originally observed the Jewish Passover, which begins at sundown on the 14th day of Nisan. Thus they were called Quartodecimans, Latin for “fourteeners.” However, instead of feasting on lamb, they fasted until dawn, “when they broke their fast by partaking of the Lord’s Supper and an agape meal,” according to Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi, who has written a book on the origin of Sunday observances in Christianity.

Bacchiocchi said a document titled Sermon on the Passover by Melito, bishop of Sardis, dated around 165, “makes it incontrovertibly clear that Christians in Asia Minor observed Passover at the same time as the Jews, using the same story and metaphors of the Jewish Passover. The difference is that they did not sacrifice a lamb, because their Passover Lamb was already slaughtered. They did not commemorate deliverance from Egypt, but celebrated instead their deliverance from the bondage of sin,” and did not expect Messiah’s coming that night, but awaited His return.

However, after Rome destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in A.D. 70, Judaism and Christianity began to diverge. The definitive break came in 135 when the Jewish people revolted against Rome and declared Simon Bar Kochba their messiah. The Emperor Hadrian quashed the rebellion, had Bar Kochba killed, expelled the Jewish people from Jerusalem, and forbade them to practice Judaism. The Jewish-Christian church leaders were replaced with Gentiles, and the church became a Gentile institution that wanted no part of Jewish practices.

It apparently was at this time that Easter Sunday was introduced. A huge controversy over Passover then flared up, threatening to split the church, Bacchiocchi wrote. A key player was Bishop Victor of Rome (189-199) who wanted to institutionalize Easter Sunday, relating it only loosely to the timing of Passover. Opposing him was Polycrates of Ephesus, who wanted the traditional Passover observance.

In 325 Roman Emperor Constantine wrote an anti-Semitic letter at the Council of Nicea and ended the affair. He forced the church to sever its ties with the Jewish holiday because “the Jews… have impiously defiled their hands with enormous sin, and are, therefore, deservedly afflicted with blindness of soul… Let us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd.”

The Council decreed, wrote Bacchiocchi, that Passover “should be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring. To ensure that Easter-Sunday would never be celebrated at the same time as the Jewish Passover, the council decreed that if the 14th of Nisan fell on a Sunday, then Easter was to be celebrated on the following Sunday.”

Today Easter always comes on the first Sunday after the first full moon that falls on or after the vernal equinox (March 20 or 21). Passover, however, still comes at sundown on the 14th of Nisan on the Jewish calendar. (Based on, “How It Came About: From Passover to Easter-Sunday” by Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi)

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GOD’S MUCH DIVERSIFIED WISDOM AND MERCY

“For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? For if the first-fruit be holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root be holy, so are the branches.” (Romans 11:15,16)

The Jewish nation was reconciled to God in a typical way, and thus became His peculiar people. All His promises belonged to them ─ no such promises were made to the Gentiles. The relationship of the Jews to God was through their covenant. But after eighteen hundred and forty-five years of special favor, their rejection of Messiah demonstrated their unworthiness of a continuance of their special privileges. In the time of testing they were found wanting, and were given over to blindness and disruption until their “double” ─ eighteen hundred and forty-five years of disfavor ─ should be accomplished.

All, however, were not thus rejected from favor. A faithful remnant were gathered into the Gospel fold, while the remainder were “scattered and peeled.” This faithful remnant were the first-fruits class of the Church of Christ. God then sent his message out to the whole world. Romans, Greeks, British, French, Germans, Swedes, Norwegians, Danes, etc. ─ all nations ─ have had the same opportunity. This does not mean that all individuals of all nations have been given this opportunity; but that the Lord has selected here and there one of suitable character, who gladly responded to the message ─ those who, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, had the hearing ear. God gave to these the message of reconciliation, and sent them forth to bear the glad tidings to others of the same class.

All who believed that message were reconciled to God through the death of his Son. They have been a company of sacrificers, gladly laying down their lives as followers in the Master’s steps. The message of this great salvation has gone forth through all the years of this present age, and some from every nation have responded and come into the Body of Christ. This could not have been if the Jews had not proven unfaithful as a nation and been turned aside from favor. The Gentiles have known this. They saw that the favor of God, the blessing of God, turned to them at the same time that it was withdrawn from the Jews.

“LIFE FROM THE DEAD”

The natural Israelites, even after their rejection from favor as a people, had still an opportunity as individuals of coming into Christ, but no special favor as a nation. Indeed, their rejection of Jesus as their Messiah, and their bitter prejudice and blindness have acted as a great gulf to separate them as a people from the Gospel message; and but very few of them have ever accepted God’s message in Christ. As the Apostle here declares, their blindness as a nation is not to be removed until “the fullness of the Gentiles [to complete the Gospel Church] be come in.” This time is now here; the Gospel Church is  complete.

Do we remember how the restoration of natural Israel is to be accomplished? Yes. The Scriptures declare that it is to be brought about through the New Covenant ─ “This is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.” It will be at the establishment of Messiah’s Kingdom; Messiah is then to inaugurate this covenant. What will this mean to the Jews? It will mean that their “double” is fulfilled, that “their appointed time is accomplished, that their iniquity is pardoned.” [See STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES, Vol. 2, Study 7.] It will mean their resurrection from the dead ─ both nationally and individually, both symbolically and literally. “For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world [in the receiving of the Gentile ‘wild olive branches’ into the ‘olive tree,’ from which the majority of the Jews were broken off], what shall the receiving [back] of them be, but life from the dead?” (Rom. 11:15)

Here we have another Scriptural teaching of the doctrine of the resurrection from the dead. The promises are to be fulfilled which were made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, the prophets and others. Though God cast the nation off for a time, He will regather them, according to His promise, when their period of chastisement shall be ended ─ their “seven times.” [See Vol. 2, Study 4] Extending the thought, we see that the promise of God to Abraham of the blessing of all the nations and kindreds and families of the earth through his seed ─ the heavenly and the earthly, “the stars of heaven” class and “the sand upon the seashore” class ─ must yet be fulfilled. (Gen. 22:15-18) The fulfillment of this promise will necessitate the awakening of the entire human race from the tomb. Thus the munificence of God’s wonderful provision for his human creatures is soon to be manifested to angels for men ─ to the living and the dead ─ to all the human family.

FIRST-FRUIT AND AFTER-FRUIT ─ ALL HOLY

In verse 16 the Apostle is showing that as the first-fruit of the great “olive tree” growing out of the root of the Abrahamic Covenant is holy, so is the entire fruitage. Although this promise to Abraham was given directly to his earthly seed, nevertheless God, who knew the end from the beginning, knew that the first-fruit of this promise would be Abraham’s spiritual seed ─ the Christ, Head and Body. And yet this breaking off of many of the natural branches, and the grafting in of “wild olive branches” to take their place, which has been going on during this Gospel Age, was not the limit of God’s great plan. It was His purpose to have a holy seed. Abraham was first tested, and all who were to be used as agents in the hands of Jehovah for the carrying out of his plan of salvation.

As this first-fruit class is holy, the Apostle declares “the lump is also holy.” The word lump here would better be translated mass, for he is speaking of people. The root is holy ─ the covenant of Jehovah, confirmed by His oath to Abraham. So all who become joined to this root, and receive their life and their privileges and blessings from it, will also be holy.

Abraham typically represented Jehovah God; Isaac represented the Son, our Lord Jesus; and Rebecca, the wife of Isaac, represented the Bride of Christ, the members of his body. All these together ─ Father, Son and Bride ─ will bring forth a holy, earthly Israel. This will eventually include all mankind who shall come under the terms of the New Covenant. So Israel restored, and the entire world ─ all of the race of Adam who will return to harmony with God ─ will constitute the “holy lump,” or mass ─ the after-fruit.

  Looking at the deep workings of God’s plan thus, in the light of what he tells us is future, as well as of what is past, how wonderful it is! Oh, the rich depths of God’s wisdom and knowledge! How useless for us to try to discover His dealings except as He is pleased to reveal His plans to us. His doings are all mysteries to us except as we are enlightened by His Spirit. Who knew this gracious plan, so much beyond human conception? Who helped the Lord to arrange such a plan, think you! This is not human wisdom. God only could be its author. A Jew would never have planned to graft in Gentiles to share the chief blessings of the promise. A Gentile never would have arranged the original stock and branches Jewish and himself a favored graft. No, the plan is clearly of God, and well illustrates both His goodness and His just severity. Of Him is all the plan; through His power it is all brought to pass, and to Him be the glory forever. (Pastor Russell, Reprint 5533, September 1, 1914)

NO. 582 RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT - PART TWO

 JEWS

“Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.” (Leviticus 23:27)

“HOLY DAYS: Nothing is quite like the fall holidays in Jerusalem. Whether coming or going (or running in circles), another significant date heralds from our calendars to our street corners. Seasonal greetings reverberate through crowded busses and busy supermarkets, as neighbors shout their regards to one another, or offer invitations for the next elaborate holiday meal. Schools and businesses are closed. Storefronts feature distinctive foods, gifts, decorations and special attire. A wonderful sense of anticipation beams from the faces of people around us, as each day seems a festive segue from one celebration to the next.

“Indeed, these are days of joy and delight, but they are not days of lightness or frivolity. They are days of introspection, expectation and preparation. They invite us to a season of wonder and worship, calling us to remember who we are and Who God is. The sweetness of our New Year moves toward the solemnity of Israel’s Most Holy Day, followed by rejoicing for Heaven’s provision and the gift of His Word to mankind. We express our awe. We give voice to our appreciation. We demonstrate our dependence on God for all that we hold precious. But perhaps most significantly, we quiet our hearts (as well as our hands and our homes) to hear what holiness the Almighty longs to share with us.

“Job 26:14 declares, ‘And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of Him! Who then can understand the thunder of his power?’ If we are listening, we will hear His voice. If we are watching, we will see His face. If we are still, we will sense His presence. For truly, these are Holy Days.

“Love on Yom Kippur, Crystal”  (By Crystal Nelson, Internet,October 12, 2005)

Comment: We can rejoice with those Jews who celebrated Yom Kippur. We know many kept it in all sincerity, which is good. But we, as Christians, know that the Law began to be fulfilled in its antitype when Jesus Christ was slain as The Lamb of God. “Let not man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” (Col. 2:16,17) Of course all the Law is not yet fulfilled because Restitution has not come, except in the return of the Jews to their homeland. When it does come, the Jews, as well as all people, will have a celebration that will make the observance of Yom Kippur as stated above seem like a child’s tea party in comparison.

“The Palestinian Parliament has decided to appoint a committee of lawmakers to investigate the cause of the death of longtime leader Yasser Arafat, alleging Israeli involvement. ‘We believe he was killed’ by the Israelis, deputy parliament speaker Hassan Kreisheh told AP. Israel denies the charge.” (International Jerusalem Post, October 7-13, 2005)

Comment: If the Palestinians could they would blame the hurricanes Katrina and Rita, as well as the earthquake in Pakistan, on Israel.

“AUSCHWITZ IS EUROPE’S CHALLENGE: This week we commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Auschwitz liberation; at the same time, a BBC study has found that nearly half those surveyed have never heard of Auschwitz, suggesting that the memory of the Holocaust remains unacceptably corralled in a Jewish ghetto.

“Germany, as the nation that initiated and perpetrated the greatest of all human crimes, bears particular and unforgivable responsibility. But the recent struggle for moral and material restitution forced Europe to confront its sordid past, shattering decades of myths that Germany alone was responsible for the sins of the Holocaust.

“While apologists claim Holocaust fatigue, naysayers spread their lies in open forums, instructors teaching the Holocaust are shouted down by students and we experience insensitivity toward the Holocaust by Europe’s younger generation.

“In the past decade, Holocaust memorials and museums have sprung up around the globe. Yet, inexplicably, the world seems satisfied merely to remember the murder of 6 million Jews rather than confront the causes of their extermination.

“Holocaust conferences, memorials and museums attract government officials and myriad Jews and their friends, while the masses remain ignorant. The Jewish community has created important programs such as the one to bring Jews to the sites of European Jewry’s destruction…life-altering programs supported by European governments and institutions are long overdue. Teaching, not suppressing the Holocausts lessons shall be Europe’s covenant with the victims.

“Germany’s leaders, as they should be, are among the most sensitive and outspoken proponents of Holocaust education and protection of Jewish communities everywhere. Seizing on its unique position, Germany must lead and others should follow in the multinational effort to ensure lessons of the Holocaust are never forgotten. Through the European Union and Commission, Germany should advocate legislation similar to its own related to Nazism, extremism and anti-Semitism. A continental education program to teach about the Holocaust and its causes and promote tolerance should be promulgated and a European Holocaust memorial day accompanied by relevant programming in schools and the media should be established and funded.

“Those who believe these actions unnecessary need only observe the resurgence of anti-Semite rhetoric and violence in their city squares. Those who believe this is a uniquely Jewish problem need only examine Rwanda’s recent past, Sudan’s present, and Nigeria’s future. Europe’s governments, religions and institutions must summon the will to confront history and use it to protect the future. In this week of commemoration, the blood of the victims cries out for nothing less.” (Excerpts by Israel Singer, The World Jewish Congress Report, Fall 2005)  

“IRAN PRESIDENT, MARCHERS CALL FOR ISRAEL’S DEMISE: despite international outrage, the president continues to urge the destruction of Israel. TEHRAN, IRAN ─ Iran’s ultraconservative president ─ spurning international outrage over his remarks about Israel ─ joined more than 1 million demonstrators who flooded the streets of the capital and other major cities Friday to back his call for the destruction of the Jewish state.

“Mahomound Ahmadinejad stood fast behind his assertion that Israel should be wiped off the map and repeated the call during the nationwide protests Friday, the Muslim day of prayer.

“But in an apparent attempt to blunt international outrage about Ahmadinejad’s comments, the Iranian Embassy in Moscow issued a statement saying the Iranian leader did not want to ‘engage in a conflict.’

“Marching alongside the protesters, the 47-year-old former mayor of Tehran and one-time Republican Guard commander renewed his criticism of the West.

“‘They become upset when they hear any voice of truth-seeking. They think they are the absolute rulers of the world,’ he said during the al-Quds ─ or Jerusalem ─ Day protest, which was among the largest since they were first held in 1979 after Shiite Muslim clerics took power in Iran.

“His fellow marchers carried placards reading, ‘Death to Israel, death to America.’ It is not uncommon for an Iranian president to join marches in the capital. Ahmadinejad was accompanied by five bodyguards, but otherwise security was not out of the ordinary for such an event.

“Despite Ahmadinejad’s continued harsh attacks on the West, former President Hashemi Rafsanjani tried to dial back the rhetoric, suggesting that Israelis and Palestinians hold a referendum to decide the future of Israeli-Palestinian relations.

“‘If Muslins and Palestinians agree [to a referendum], it will be a retreat, but let’s still hold a referendum,’ Rafsanjani said in his Friday sermon.

“The Iranian Embassy statement in Moscow said Ahmadinejad ‘did not have any intention to speak in sharp terms and engage in conflict.’

“But that was not the message carried by the at least 200,000 Iranians who massed in Tehran to unleash virulent condemnation against Israel, the United States and the West in general, accusing them of oppressing Palestinians and Iran.

“Some demonstrators chanted ‘Israel is approaching its death’ and wore white shrouds in a symbolic gesture expressing readiness for their cause.” (By Ali Akbar Dareini, The Associated Press, October 29, 2005)

“FATAH AGREES: ‘WIPE OUT ISRAEL’: A Military wing of the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) ruling Fatah faction declared its support on November 6 for Iranian President Mahomound Ahmadinejad’s desire to see Israel ‘wiped off the map.’

“For those unconvinced that the various terrorist organizations that make up the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)/PA ever truly abandoned their own long-stated aspirations to eradicate the Jewish ‘stain’ from the Middle East, the announcement came as little surprise.

“In a leaflet published by Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Brigade, the group stressed its ‘identification with an overall support of the position and declaration of Iranian president, who called with all honesty to wipe Israel off the map of the world.’ Ahmadinejad was correct in labeling Israel a ‘fictitious Zionist state, which will disappear with the help of Allah,’ according to the leaflet.”

(Bridges For Peace, November 11, 2005)

Comment: “For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.” (Jer. 30:11) This is the Lord speaking to Israel, so what nations is it that He will make a full end of? All the nations in which the Israelites were scattered, and that includes all, not just the Christian nations. But He certainly has caused the Israelites to be punished many times, including their scattering. So there is nothing to fear from the Fatah’s grandiose words.

“ORLANDO: Muslim and Jewish inmates in the prisons of Seminole County, in central Florida, are being denied religious rights, according to a suit filed in U.S. District Court in early October. Plaintiff Ernest Holmes, a Muslim prisoner, claims he does not get a prayer rug for his regular devotions, and says he cannot be sure that he is consuming pork-free products. And Jews, Holmes suit asserts, do not get kosher food, a yarmulke or a tallit. A corrections official told the Orlando Sentinel newspaper that the county ‘considers any request that is of a religious nature, including requests related to diet.’” (The Jerusalem Report, October 31, 2005)

“SACRAMENTO: California’s  curriculum commission has rejected a 6th-grade textbook that Jewish and Hindu groups said was biased and culturally derogatory. David Gershwin of the Los Angeles Jewish Federation told the commission that the publisher, Oxford University Press, turned down a request to change a passage that says there is no historical corroboration for the story of the Exodus from Egypt, and which alleges that the tale’s only purpose is to set Jews apart from other people. Hindu spokespeople objected to a passage called ‘Where’s the Beef?’ and expressed resentment for having their faith represented in the manner ‘of an outdated TV ad.’” (The Jerusalem Report, October 31, 2005)

Comment: The Jewish people have been set apart from other people for many ages. The Lord God set them apart. He said, “You only have I known of all the families of the earth.” (Amos 3:2) And the fact that they have been preserved down to this day corroborates that they are set apart. Any other people who would have been scattered among all the nations of the earth, as the Jews were, would have become integrated with the people of whatever country they were in. But not the Jews, they remained apart, even as they obeyed the laws of the land they were in.

“Professor Chanan Eshel, an archaeologist from Bar-Ilan University, said on July 15 that the discovery of two fragments of a nearly 2,000-year-old parchment scroll from the Dead Sea area gave hope to biblical and archaeological scholars ─ frustrated by a dearth of material unearthed in the region in recent years ─ that the Judean Desert could yet yield further treasure. The two small pieces of brown animal skin, inscribed in Hebrew with verses from the book of Leviticus, most likely are from ‘refugee’ caves in Nachal Arugot, where Jews hid from the Romans in the second century.” (Jerusalem Post, July 19, 2005)

“An Israeli archeological group has been sorting through piles of rubble discarded by the Islamic Trust, custodians of Israel’s Temple Mount. They have discovered artifacts dating back to the First and Second Temple periods.

“Six years ago the Islamic Trust unilaterally constructed a mosque at an underground area in the Temple Mount (known as Solomon’s stables). Following the construction the Muslim custodians discarded more than ten thousand tons of rubble with history-rich artifacts at a garbage dump in the Kidron Valley. These discoveries prove a history, denied by the mufti of Jerusalem, of a Jewish presence on the Temple Mount dating from Abraham’s time to Jesus Christ.” (Bible Light International, Fall 2005)   

“RISING HATE: According to a recent audit anti-Semitic crimes in the U.S. are at their highest level in nine years, and, according to the report the increased activity of Neo-Nazi groups is cited as the cause.” (Bible Light International, Fall 2005)

“HAMAS: HAIFA, JAFFA ARE NEXT: Hamas leader Mahmound al-Zahar told tens of thousands of excited Palestinians at a Gaza Strip rally on September 13 that his organization would continue to fight Israel following the withdrawal from Gaza and vowed to liberate Haifa and Jaffa from the hands of its ‘Zionist occupiers.’

“‘We will win in Jerusalem and in Palestine, the whole of Palestine,’ al-Zahar told the cheering crowd. During the event, participants yelled out ‘Allahu akbar’ (God is Great) and chanted in support of izz al-Din al-Qassam, Hamas’s military wing, calling on the group to continue the liberation operation and refuse to disarm.

“The rally marked the climax of several parades and rallies held by the Islamist group two days prior. It was led by dozens of jeeps carrying gunmen, rockets, and shells, while Islamic songs calling for liberating the whole of Palestine were played. Al-Zahar, who was the keynote speaker said the victory was achieved thanks to the blood assassinated Hamas leaders Ahmad Yassin, Abdui Aziz Rantisi, and other martyrs. ‘We know our people is expecting us to continue the liberation journey, until the flag of Islam is raised over Jerusalem.’ he said.

“‘The Zionist enemy knows no other language aside from the language of the fire directed on him by the izz al-Din al-Cassam Brigades,’ he said. ‘We’ll continue to develop our arms industry.’

“Al-Zahar’s remarks came several hours after Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), in a televised speech, vowed to end the weapons anarchy in the Palestinian Authority (PA).

“The Hamas leader added that according to his group’s strategy, ‘This land should not have any Zionists in it.’ And said the Palestinian people and his movement would never renounce the right of refugees to return to Palestine.

“Meanwhile, the PA was planning to hold its own large-scale rally on September 14 in the former Gush Katif town of Neve Dekalim. Tens of thousands of Palestinians were expected to attend the celebration.” (By Ali Waked, Ynetnews, September 14, 2005)

“PA GETS $50M FROM U.S., THEN CALLS FOR TERROR AGAINST U.S. SOLDIERS: Palestinian Authority (PA) hatred of the United States is so deeply ingrained in its ideology that it continues to openly promote vicious anti-American hatred ─ even after signing a deal to receive $50 million in direct aid from the U.S.

“Radio and television sermons by senior PA religious officials in the past week have presented the U.S. as foremost among the ‘heretical’ countries and as an enemy trying to dismantle the Islamic world.

“In the presence of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), one religious leader called for Iraqis to intensify terrorist uprisings against American soldiers.

“The timing of these anti-U.S. sermons is particularly significant ─ and not just because they come on the heels of the $50-million grant from the U.S. The PA has received considerable worldwide criticism for the hatred and calls for violence in its official sermons. In recent months, it has been reported that the texts of these sermons are now presented to PA officials for approval before the public broadcasts.” (By Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook, Palestinian Media Watch, September 6, 2005)

“ISRAELI ARABS REJECT JEWISH ZIONIST STATE: A new poll of Israeli Arabs, conducted by a sociologist from the University of Haifa, shows an overwhelming rejection of Israel’s right to exist as a ‘Jewish Zionist state.’

“According to the survey, 73.1% reject Israel’s right to do so, while 72% claim that Israel is a ‘racist state.’ Only 30.4% agreed that Israel has a ‘right to exist as a state of the Jewish people.’ Yet, when asked if Israel has a right to exist as ‘an independent state,’ a large majority of 84.9% said yes. A majority of 70% also said yes when the question was phrased as Israel’s right to exist as ‘a Jewish and democratic state.’” (By Media Line, Dispatch From Jerusalem,BFP)

“HEALING HEARTS: Five Iraqi child-ren with heart ailments have received medical treatment in Israel. The patients and their families received treatment through the Save a Child’s Heart Foundation, which provides urgently-needed pediatric heart surgery and follow-up care for children of the Third World, in conjunction with the Wolfson Medical Center near Tel Aviv. (World Jewry, September-October 2005)

“ISRAELI PRISONER MOVING RUBBLE FINDS SITE OF ANCIENT CHURCH: MEGIDDO PRISON ─ Israeli prisoner Ramil Razilo was removing rubble from the planned site of a new prison ward when his shovel uncovered the edge of an elaborate mosaic, uncovering what Israeli archeologists said yesterday may be the Holy Land’s oldest church.

“The discovery in the town of Megiddo, near the biblical Armageddon, was hailed by experts as an important discovery that could reveal details about the development of the early church in the region. Archaeologists said that the church dates from the third century, years before Constantine legalized Christianity across the Byzantine Empire.

“Israeli officials were giddy about the discovery, with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon calling the church ‘an amazing story.’” (Wire Service, November 7, 2005)

“ISRAELIS DEVELOPING ALTERNATIVES TO ARAB OIL: An Israeli inventor and company are trying to use garbage and leftover olive pulp from olive-oil factories, respectively, to replace oil in providing fuel and electricity to the Jewish State. From one ton of garbage, half a ton of oil or 300 kg (662lbs.) of gas or 150 kg (332 lbs) of green coal can be extracted to produce electricity, according to inventor Dr. Sergel Rosenbery…

“Another company, Genova Ltd., is also working on alternatives to Arab oil. The company signed an agreement according to Globes, with an olive press in the village of Julis, in the Galilee, to establish a small facility to produce electricity from the waste from olive pressing…”

(By Ezra Halevi, Arutz 7, November 9, 2005)

“DEAD SEA, A WORLD TREASURE, IS DYING: Water that kept it supplied is diverted for other purposes. EIN GEDI, ISRAEL ─ When the Ein Gedi Spa opened in 1986 to pamper visitors with massages, mud wraps and therapeutic swims, customers walked a few steps from the main building to take their salty dip in the Dead Sea. Nineteen years later, the shoreline is three-quarters of a mile away. A tractor hauls customers to the spa’s beach and back in covered wagons.

“‘The sea is just running out, and we keep running after it,’ said Boaz Ron, 44, the manager of the resort. ‘In another 50 years, it could run out another kilometer,’

“The Dead Sea, one of the world’s cultural and ecological treasures, is dying. In the past 50 years, the water level has dropped more than 80 feet and the sea has shrunk by more than a third, largely because the Jordan River has gone dry. In the next 20 years, the sea is expected to fall at least 60 more feet, and experts say that nothing will stop it.

“The decline has been particularly rapid since the 1970s, when the water began dropping three feet a year. That created a complex domino effect that is slowly destroying some of Israel’s most cherished plant and wildlife reserves along the Dead Sea’s shores, a key resting stop along the annual migration route for 500 million birds that fly between Europe and Africa.

“The receding waters have left vast mud flats with hundreds of sinkholes that threaten to collapse roads and buildings and have led to a development freeze on Israel’s side of the sea, which lies on the border with Jordan.

“The main problem, experts agree, is that most of the water that once flowed into the sea ─ at 1,371 feet below sea level, the lowest point on Earth ─ is being diverted for drinking water and agriculture.” (The Washington Post, May 20, 2005)

“HAMAS RELEASES VIDEO OF DEFIANT BOMB MAKER: GAZA CITY, GAZA STRIP ─ The militant group Hamas today released a rare videotape of a man it said is the shadowy bomb maker who has eluded Israeli forces for more than a decade. The man, who had a dark shadow over his face, was identified as fugitive bomb maker Mohammed Deif. He described Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip as a victory for armed resistance, rejected calls for his group to disarm and vowed to continue attacks on Israel until the Jewish state is erased from the map.” (Orlando Sentinel, August 27, 2005)

“ISRAEL DEVELOPING TECHNOLOGY TO REDUCE HURRICANE DAMAGE: Israel is on the forefront of developing solutions to mitigate the damage from hurricanes such as Katrina, which lashed the southeastern United States earlier.

“The Tnufa, ‘Momentum,’ committee, which is headed by Chief Scientist Dr. Eli Opper, has approved a preliminary research and development program aimed at advancing the development of an innovative technology for barriers against floods like the ones that followed Hurricane Katrina, according to a Globes Business report. The technology will make it possible to speedily build anti-flood barriers of any length and height necessary to protect a population center from the kind of massive flooding that destroyed thousands of homes in New   Orleans.

“The committee has also approved a preliminary Research and Development program for the development of a small personal water purification system, to be used by those stranded during disasters. Many died of thirst or from drinking contaminated water following the U.S. hurricane.

“‘The recent events in the U.S. lent urgency to these plans,’ said Tnufa director Jacob Fisher. ‘The Tnufa committee has approved $350,000 for 16 preliminary R&D programs. Six of the programs are in the life sciences, three are for information systems, and seven are for consumer products or in other fields.”

(Artutz Sheva, www.israelnationalnews.com, September 22, 2005)

“Israel researchers have grown a date palm from a 2000 year old seed found on Masada. The palm is from a variety that became extinct in the Middle Ages and is thought to have powerful medicinal qualities. The plant is now nearly one foot tall and comes from what scientists believe to be the oldest seed ever germinated.” (BBC, June 13, 2005)

“Canada does not recognize the sovereignty of Israel in Jerusalem and has recalled the passports of Canadians who have ‘Jerusalem, Israel’ written in their documents in order to erase the name of the Jewish State from alongside its capital. The B’nai Brith has been fighting a legal battle with Canada’s Ministry of the Interior in order to prevent the move, which is seemingly an emulation of the United States’ policy regarding not writing ‘Jerusalem, Israel’ in passports.” (Arutz 7, November 2, 2005)

“HISTORY ON SALE: A rare early handwritten draft of the Balfour Declaration ─ the document in which the British government gave its blessing for the creation of a Jewish state in the land of Israel ─ has sold for $888,000 at a New York Sotheby’s auction.

“The original draft of the 1917 letter from then Foreign Secretary Lord Arthur James Balfour to Lord Rothschild was written by English Zionist Leon Simon at a meeting at a London hotel.” (World Jewry, July-August 2005)

“TRANSPLANTED HOPE: The circumstances of 12-year-old Ahmed Khatib’s death were tragic. Toting a toy rifle in the Jenin refugee camp, he was shot dead at a range of 130 meters (427 feet) by Israeli soldiers, who were being attacked with gunfire and stones. There is no suggestion that the soldiers acted improperly. From the distance and in the middle of a riot, a toy gun looks chillingly like the real thing, and the soldiers were not to know they were aiming at a child.

“Sadly, Ahmed Khatib is not the first innocent Palestinian child to be killed as a result of the violence, but the awe-inspiring response of his family to this terrible event gives hope to the belief that hatred is not necessarily an inevitable part of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“In explaining the family’s decision to donate his son’s organs to Israelis, Ahmed’s father, Ismail Khatib, said: ‘This is a message to the Israeli people that we are not all terrorists. We do not love killing Jews… I do not care who received my son’s organs, whether they are Druze or Muslims or Jews. They are human beings.’

“This noble sentiment mirrors the decision made by the Jesner family, who lost their son Yoni in a Tel Aviv bus bombing three years ago and who donated one of his kidneys to a seven-year-old Palestinian girl. Such gestures are proof that there is genuine hope for co-existence in the Middle East, and it is on such foundations of human decency that Palestinian and Israeli leaders must build.”  (Excerpted from a Jewish Chronicle editorial, November 11, 2005)

 “U.S. JEWISH LEADER CALLS ‘RELIGIOUS RIGHT’ ‘ZEALOTS’: HOUSTON ─ The leader of the largest branch of American Judaism blasted conservative religious activists in a speech yesterday, calling them ‘zealots’ who claim a ‘monopoly on God’ while promoting anti-gay policies akin to Adolf Hitler’s.

“Rabbi Eric Yoffie, the president of the liberal Union for Reform Judaism, said that ‘religious right’ leaders believe that ‘unless you attend my church, accept my God and study my sacred text, you cannot be a moral person. What could be more bigoted than to claim that you have a monopoly on God?’ he said during the movement’s national assembly in Houston, which runs through today.” (Journal Wire Report, November 20, 2005)

“DREYFUS STAMP: The French Postal Service is launching a new stamp in memory of Alfred Dreyfus, the Jewish army captain who was wrongly accused of treason in a case that rocked France in the 1890s. The case was considered one of the most glaring examples of national institutional anti-Semitism.

“The Dreyfus case inspired the great French novelist, Emile Zola, to write a now famous article, J’Accuse, in a Paris newspaper, and is said to have been the catalyst for Theodore Herzl’s turn to Zionism.”

(World Jewry, November 2005) 

NO. 581 RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT - PART ONE

 “Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you.” (Isaiah 35:4)

The year 2005 was a very volatile one with wars on two fronts, the very devastating tsunami in the east and then hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the U.S. There is much discussion about the slow response to help for the victims of Katrina and Rita. Then came the earthquake in Pakistan with deaths reported to be 50,000 and probably more to come. Not only that the U.S., along with Mexico, experienced another hurricane, Wilma. But all of these things are mentioned in the Scriptures as signs of the change of dispensation. The experiences of Elijah show us how the great day of the Lord will be ushered in; first: the wind rending the rocks, representing World Wars I and II; second the great earthquake, representing revolution; thirdly, the fire, representing anarchy that will follow revolution; fourthly, “the still small voice” of God, which will follow anarchy through Messiah’s Kingdom speaking (1 Kings 19:11,12), “Peace! Be still!” (Mark 4:39) Beat your spears into pruninghooks and your swords into plowshares, and learn war no more (Micah 4:3).

Our opening text says God will come with a vengeance (to bind the Adversary, the Devil, and destroy his works). The transition period following the Gospel Age and preceding the Millennial Age is often mentioned as a “Day of Vengeance” to punish evil doers and prepare the world for the reign of righteousness.

Joel 2:3 describes what the fire of anarchy will be like. It says: “A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.”

All these wars, revolution, and fire tend to make a great religious impression on the people.  There is a natural tendency to turn to heaven for help. But will they turn to God in the right way or will they just return to the present religious systems and Kingdoms of this world? Partisan spirit, called patriotism, runs high in times of strife like the world is experiencing now.  Christian ministers should have long ago pointed out to the people that the present kingdoms of the world are not God’s kingdoms, but human institutions; and all of these, according to the Bible, will eventually pass away at the inauguration of Messiah’s Kingdom (Zech. 12:9). Then will be the time when our prayers “Thy Kingdom come” will be answered and there will be the “still small voice” spoken of by Elijah. So let us not be cast down by all the occurrences in the world today, but let us lift up our hearts and eyes to the approach of Messiah’s Kingdom. “Seeing then that all these things [present social, religious, and financial arrangements] shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conduct and piety? expecting and hasting unto the presence of the day of God, on account of which the heavens [present religious systems] being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements [present order of things] burning intensely [with discussion, tumult and strife] will melt. Nevertheless, we according to his promise, are looking for New Heavens [new Spiritual power] and a new earth [a new social order], in which dwells righteousness.” (2 Peter 3:11-13, Dia.)

“QUAKE KILLS THOUSANDS: The strong temblor ravages areas of Pakistan, India and Afghanistan. PAKISTAN - It began as a gentle swaying, but the ground’s convulsions quickly grew wilder - shaking walls, roofs and floors. Within seconds, mud-brick homes buckled, bigger buildings pancaked, earth and rock slid down hillsides, burying the helpless.

“The magnitude-7.6 earthquake Saturday [October 1, 2005] devastated a mountainous swath touching Pakistan, India and Afghanistan. Desperate Pakistanis huddled against the cold and some looted food stores Monday because aid had not reached remote areas of Kashmir, where the devastating earthquake flattened villages, cut off power and water, and killed an estimated 73,276, with more than 69,000 people severely injured and an estimated 2 million left homeless. Officials predict the death toll will climb because of exposure and disease.  With winter just six weeks away, the United Nations has said 2.5 million people near the Pakistan-India border need shelter.” (Excerpts from Orlando Sentinel, October 17, and Nov. 3, 2005)  

“NOW FOR KATRINA’S BRIGHT SIDE: Its not all devastation for the White House in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  Aides actually see some benefits, mostly to their policy agenda. Here’s the inside view: More fuel refineries will be built, regulations on energy will be cut, Davis-Bacon wage requirements will be eliminated, and major tax reforms will win a receptive audience in Congress.” (U.S. News & World Report, October 10, 2005)

 “APOCALYPSE IS ON WAY, SOME SAY: Recent quakes, floods, hurricanes stir anxiety about end of world.

“Every morning, the Rev. Michael Mitchell prays that if today is the beginning of the end of the world as we know it, he will be ready.

“‘Ever since the terrorist attacks four years ago, I try to live every day as if it will be the last day,’ said Mitchell, 46, the senior pastor of New Life Tabernacle United Pentecostal Church in New York.

“Mitchell’s belief that he is watching biblical prophecy unfold in the form of modern-day famines, floods and earthquakes has grown increasingly urgent.  What with a cataclysmic quake swallowing whole villages in South Asia, coming on the heels of a killer tsunami and hurricanes that flooded the Gulf Coast and brought lethal mudslides to Guatemala, apocalyptic anxiety is running high… (Newsday, October 19, 2005)

Comment: Yes the belief that the earth and everything and everyone in it will be destroyed can cause a lot of anxiety. The Scriptures state that “the earth abideth forever.” (Eccl. 1:4) Surely the events mentioned in the above article are harbingers, but not of the end of the world (earth) but of the end of a dispensation. In other words, God is preparing for a new heavens (Spiritual control) and new earth (society). “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” (2 Peter 3:13) 

“SCOPE OF CREATION AT CENTER OF TRIAL: Plaintiff’s object to school’s reference to intelligent design. HARRISBURG, PA - A school district is undermining science education by raising false doubts about evolution and offering ‘intelligent design’ as an alternative explanation for life’s origins, a biologist testified at the start of a landmark trial.

“Dover School district is believed to be the nation’s first school system to require that students be exposed to the intelligent design concept.

“Intelligent design holds that Darwin’s theory of natural selection over time cannot fully explain the origin of life or the emergence of highly complex life forms.” (Excerpts from The Associated Press, September 27, 2005)

Comment: The word science means knowledge and evolution is a “science falsely so called.” (2 Tim. 6:20) That is, it is profane empty sounds, and contradictions of that falsely named knowledge. The only true science is God’s Word.

We would ask evolutionists Whom do they worship? Everyone worships someone or something. Some worship fame, money, opposite sex, etc. So how did evolution imbue that desire to worship in mankind? We submit that evolutionists worship their man-made theory. Like the Apostle who said, “I am set for the defense of the gospel,” they are set for the defense of evolutionism at all costs (Phil. 1:17).

Certainly only an intelligent Creator could, or would, give His creation that desire to worship. Of course, they have not worshiped as He would have liked, but they will later in that true evolution of mankind from their imperfection back to the original perfection that was at first created.

Besides we believe the very intelligent teen-ager of today will not accept anything without considering it carefully.  To put it in one tenth grade students’ words, “My feelings are that if teenage students can face even the most formidable of opponents such as drug use, peer pressure, and other burdens of society, they should be able to form their own opinions on the creation of life without having ideas spoon-fed to them by a court system.”

We do earnestly hope and pray that this is a start of a movement to reverse the damage done by the Scopes trial of 1925.

“HEPATITIS A INFECTION RATES PLUMMET AFTER VACCINATIONS: The rate of hepatitis A infections in the United States has shrunk by 76 percent since the start of a vaccination program in 1999 targeting children in 17 high-risk states, federal researchers reported Wednesday.

“The program has driven the infection rates down to 2.6 cases per 100,000 people, or 7,653 cases, in 2003, the latest year for which figures are available.” (Orlando Sentinel, July 31, 2005)

 “SCIENTISTS ANALYZE 1918 FLU STRAIN: The 1918 influenza virus, the cause of one of history’s most deadly pandemics, has been reconstructed and found to be a bird flu that jumped directly to humans, two teams of federal and university scientists announced Wednesday.

“The scientists reconstructed the 1918 virus over the course of a decade, using lung tissue from two soldiers and an Alaskan woman who died in the 1918 pandemic. The soldier’s tissue had been saved in an Army pathology library, and the woman had been buried in permanent frozen ground.

“The scientists painstakingly sequenced the genetic sequence, synthesized the virus using the tolls of molecular biology and infected mice and human lung cells with it in a specially equipped secure laboratory at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Their research is being published in the journals Nature and Science.

“The findings, the scientists say, reveal a small number of genetic changes that may explain why this virus was so lethal. It is significantly different from flu viruses that caused the more recent pandemics of 1957 and 1968. Those viruses were not bird flu viruses but instead were human flu viruses that picked up a few genetic elements of bird flu.

“The research also confirms the legitimacy of worries about the bird flu viruses, called H5N1 viruses that are emerging in Asia. Since 1997, bird flocks in 11 countries have been decimated by flu outbreaks. But so far nearly all the people infected ─ more than 100, including more than 60 who died ─ contracted the sickness directly from birds. However, there has been little transmission between people.

“The 1918 virus, in contrast, was highly infectious, and in recent weeks the fear that a transformation of one of the current bird flus could make it infectious in humans has made politicians of both parties scramble to demonstrate that they are taking the threat of avian flu outbreak seriously.

“President Bush this week asked the leaders of the world’s top flu vaccine manufacturers ─ Chiron, Sanofi-Aventis, Wyeth and Glaxo Smith Kline ─ to go to the White House on Friday to discuss preparations for pandemic flu, according to people with  knowledge of the meeting who requested anonymity because the White House has not yet announced it.” (By Gina Kolata, New York Times News Service, October 7, 2005)

Comment: The 1918 pandemic killed 25 million people, so we do hope and pray that the vaccine manufacturers will respond quickly to the responsibility in their hands now.

“NEO-NAZI FOES RIOT, PROMPT CURFEW IN OHIO: TOLEDO ─ A crowd protesting a white supremacists’ march Saturday turned violent, throwing baseball-sized rocks at police, vandalizing vehicles and stores, and setting fire to a neighborhood bar, authorities said.

“When Mayor Jack Ford and a local minister tried to calm the rioting, they were cursed for allowing the march, and Ford said a masked gang member threatened to shoot him.

“At least 65 people were arrested, and several police officers were injured before calm was restored about four hours later.

“Ford blamed the rioting on gangs taking advantage of a volatile situation. He declared a state of emergency, set an 8 p.m. curfew through the weekend and asked the Highway Patrol for help.

“‘It’s exactly what they wanted.’ Ford said of the group that planned the march, which was canceled because of the rioting.

“At least two dozen members of the National Socialist Movement, which calls itself ‘America’s Nazi Party,’ had gathered at a city park to march under police protection.

“Organizers said they were demonstrating against black gangs they said were harassing white residents.

“The violence broke out about one-quarter of a mile away along the planned march route shortly before the march was to begin. One group of men pounded on a convenience store, and others overturned vehicles.

“About 150 police officers chased bands of young men through the area. Officers wearing gas masks fired tear-gas canisters and flash-bang devices designed to stun suspects, but the groups continued throwing rocks and bottles. At one point, the crowd reached 600 people, officials said.

“Finally, police marched shoulder-to-shoulder down the street shouting to people to stay inside, and the crowd broke up.” (By John Seewer, The Associated Press, October 16, 2005)  

IN FINANCE

The Financial conditions in the world reveal that “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven [the eccleastical powers] shall be shaken.” (Luke 21:26)

The G.N.P. (Gross National Product) was up 3.7% in 2005; the G.N.P. is predicted to be up 3.3% in 2006. The prime rate will be up 8% in 2006, and inflation will be up 3% in 2006. There will be 2 million more jobs in 2006 after a 1.8 million in 2005. This is amazing after all the trouble in 2005. 7.8 million houses are predicted to be sold in 2006 and retail sales growth will steady at 4-5%. The sale of autos will still be falling to 16.8 million and oil will contribute largely to the increase in inflation in 2006.

Oil will contribute largely to the increase in inflation. What is amazing is that with all the trouble in 2005 there will be over 2 million new jobs.

Princeton University geologist Kenneth S. Dffeyes is one of many experts who predict “a permanent state of oil shortage” beginning in about 2010. Major oil-consuming countries will experience crippling inflation, unemployment and economic instability. They believe that it will take a decade or more before conservation measures and new technologies can bridge the gap between supply and demand. There are many, however, who doubt the doomsday scenario will ever come true. Industry analysts think production will continue growing for at least another 30 years and peak at somewhere around 65 billion barrels per year. By then, substitute energy sources will be available to ease the transition into a post-petroleum age.

The Iraqi war is still going on. Terrorism is striking all over the world. Weather is costing the U.S. billions of dollars. The hurricane relief alone will cost billions and that doesn’t even include tornadoes and other disasters. It also affects the average American homeowner with increased insurance premiums.

 President Bush didn’t get the permanent repeal of tax breaks Congress passed during his first term. The tax breaks will lapse in 2010. Because of the war and weather there will probably be a modest revamp of the tax code.

The U.S. trade deficit was over $625 billion and in 2006 is predicted to increase to $640 billion. China is making a big difference ─ they are still buying steel and cement. Gold prices in 2006 will be high.

Even though things look good for 2007 some of our largest companies are in serious financial trouble. General Motors’ plant closing and layoffs are only the start. With pension plans being under-funded, a disaster can be avoided only with tough measures.

Since we are in the Time of Trouble it is difficult to predict the future. Our advice is “Seek ye the Lord, all the meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment: seek righteousness, seek meekness, it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.” (Zeph. 2:3)

IN RELIGION

THE LAYMENS HOME MISSIONARY MOVEMENT:  The Present Truth, Summer 2005: This issue of the LHMM’s Present Truth demonstrates their dire straits to come up with something to “prove” their Consecrated Epiphany Campers class. They cite Tabernacle Shadows, page 114, but it proves the reverse.  It says, “The white curtain, which sustained by those posts, formed the ‘Court,’ well illustrated the same justification or purity.  Thus, justified ones should continually hold up to the view of the world (the ‘Camp’) the pure linen, representing Christ’s righteousness as their covering.” This definitely says the curtain which formed the court, is held before the world, not any consecrated group.

Then on page 18 there is this: “The Camp” represented the condition of the world of mankind in sin, needing atonement and desiring it and its blessings, however indistinctly it analyzes its cravings and groanings.  In the type the ‘Camp’ was the nation of Israel at large, which was separated from all holy things by the curtain of white linen, representing to those within, a wall of faith, but to those without, a wall of unbelief which hindered their view and access to the holy things within.” So, the Campers, could only see the white curtain, which formed the Court, one purpose of which, was to hide the holy things within from them.

Then the LHMM says that the “other sheep” of John 10:16 will enter into the “one fold.” Here is what That Servant says: “One Flock, But Not One Fold - ‘There shall be one fold and one Shepherd,’ but this is not borne out by the Greek text, which is more properly rendered in the Revised Version and in the Diaglott - ‘There shall be one flock and one Shepherd.’ This is in full agreement with the Apostle’s statement (Eph. 1:10) that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one [literally, under one head] all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in him. Ultimately all of God’s creation will be under the headship of this great Shepherd.” (Reprint 4158, bottom) This indicates that the “other sheep” will not be of one flock until the end of the Millennial Kingdom, and will not be of “one fold.” To our understanding this means that the very elect will be in one fold (heavenly) and the Restitutionists will be in another fold (earthly).

As for their contention that there will be no more consecration for Youthful Worthyship after 1954, read what the Epiphany Messenger (founder of the LHMM) says, “Non truth Great Company and Youthful Worthy Brethren, the new ones not yet consecrated, are to be won for the Truth, some of whom will be won before Babylon is destroyed and others of them afterward.” (E-10-672) Also, there is this: “The Epiphany Camp in the finished picture is the condition of truly repentant and believing, but not consecrated Jews and Gentiles.” (E-10-209) And again from The Epiphany Messenger: “The Scriptural doctrine that those faithful consecrators from 1881 until Restitution sets in, for whom there are no crowns available, and no spirit begetting for Gospel-Age purposes possible, will be the Millennial associates of the Ancient Worthies in reward and service.” (E-4-342)

“INTERFAITH GROUP UNVEILS PUBLIC-SCHOOL BIBLE TEXT: An interfaith group released a new textbook Thursday aimed at teaching public high-school students about the Bible while avoiding legal and religious disputes.

“The nonprofit Bible Literacy Project of Fairfax, Va., spent five years and $2 million developing The Bible and Its Influence. The textbook, introduced at a Washington news conference, won initial endorsements from experts in literature, religion and church-state law…

 “Educators know biblical knowledge is valuable ─ 60 percent of allusions in one English Advanced Placement prep course came from the Bible ─ and that polls show teens don’t know much about Scripture. Yet few public schools offer such coursework, partly because of demands for other elective classes, partly over legal worries.” (By Richard N. Ostling, The Associated Press, September 23, 2005)

Comment: We submit that teaching the Bible should be done in the home, not in schools or Sunday Schools. “If any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” (1 Tim. 5:8) The wording of this passage definitely shows that it definitely refers to religious teaching. Besides teen-agers can make their own decisions about important matters, if given the opportunity.

“GRAND CANYON TOURS REVEAL CHASM BETWEEN CREATIONISM AND EVOLUTION: GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK ─ Tom Vail who has been leading rafting trips down the Colorado River here for 23 years, corralled his charges under a rocky outcrop of Carbon Creek and pointed out the remarkable 90-degree folds in the cliff overhead.

 “Geologists date this sandstone to 550 million years ago and explain the folding as a result of pressure from shifting faults underneath. But to Vail, the folds suggest the Grand Canyon was carved 4,500 years ago by the great global flood described in Genesis as God’s punishment for humanity’s sin…” (By Jodi Wilboren, New York Times News Service, October 7, 2005)

Comment: If we read the Genesis account of creation, we will see that it does not relate to the creation of the planet earth. It is only stating the ordering of the earth for human habitation. So we do not know how long before the ordering of earth was begun. It could be millions of years, but the scientists are merely guessing about that, but also about how the foldings were formed.

Tom Vail is correct in his statement that the flood of Noah’s day was 4,500 years ago. But both the geologists and the religious take the common belief that the earth was ordered for habitation in 6 literal days. This cannot be true, for the sun and moon were not created until the 4th day (Gen. 1:15-19). Then God rested on the 7th day. If we can determine how long God’s day of rest is, we will know the length of the creative days. God has rested for 6 thousand years, for he turned the earth over to mankind to allow them to rule it in their own way. But He will continue to rest for another thousand years, because Jesus bought mankind, the earth and everything in it and Jesus will reign over the earth for that length of time, and will then turn it back to God. So we see that God’s rest day lasts 7 thousand years and it stands to reason that each creative day would last the same amount of time. This would make up the creative days 6 x 7 = 42,000 years). Then God’s rest day would fill out the full week of 49,000 years. This is more reasonable than the 24-hour days of creation. “Come let us reason together.” (Isa. 1:18)

“HOW OUR COLLEGES GRADUATED FROM RELIGION: Book looks at how far schools have come since their founding by churches. A requirement for students at one prominent American college:

“‘Everyone shall consider the main end of his life and studies to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life.’

“Sounds like Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University or Pat Robertson’s Regent University? In fact this regulation (in modernized spellings) was established by Congregationalists soon after they founded Harvard in 1636,

“At the nation’s second campus, the College of William and Mary (1693), all teachers vowed assent to the Church of England’s 39 Articles of Religion and all students learned the mother church’s catechism.

“Those schools were followed by other pre-Revolutionary institutions under church auspices: Yale (Congregationalist, 1701), Princeton (Presbyterian, 1746), Brown (Baptist, 1764), Rutgers (Reformed Church, 1766 and Dartmouth (Congregational, 1773), alongside the multidenominational but Protestant University of Pennsylvania (1740) and Columbia (1754).

“Yet in the 20th century these and other campuses came to embrace thorough secularism, even hostility toward traditional belief. That evolution is depicted in a classic history written a decade ago, still available in paperback and well worth attention: The Soul of the American University: From Protestant Establishment to Established Nonbelief (Oxford University Press).

“Author George Marsden is a University of Notre Dame professor and past president of the American Society of Church History.

“His book sidesteps Roman Catholic and smaller Protestant colleges to focus on major universities that have dominated American intellectual life.

“The loosening of traditions on these campuses resulted naturally from immigration by Roman Catholics and Jews. It seemed only fair to drop doctrinal limits in hiring teachers and admitting students.

“In addition, Marsden recounts, the influential ‘mainline’ Protestants favored mildly liberal religion that didn’t resist full-blown secularism.” (By Richard N. Ostling, The Associated Press, September 24, 2005)     

CATHOLICS: “CATHOLIC BISHOPS WORLDWIDE MEET TO DISCUSS KEY ISSUES: VATICAN CITY ─ Bishops from around the world will begin tackling major issues facing the Roman Catholic Church today, including whether Holy Communion should be given to Catholic politicians who back abortion rights and to divorced people who remarry without getting an annulment.

“The priest shortage and whether celibacy contributes to it, as well as dwindling Mass attendance are also expected to be discussed at the three-week Synod of Bishops, during which bishops will offer recommendations to Pope Benedict XVI on running the church.”

(Associated Press, October 2, 2005)

Comment: This is a good example of the condition of the present ecclesiastical systems. These bishops are not to discuss Biblical doctrine or anything relating to that.  They are merely going to try to decide what is good for the Catholic church. They are concerned about politicians who back abortion rights and divorced people who remarry without an annulment, and other similar questions that they are afraid are weakening the church. All these things are more or less social or civil considerations rather than the concern of a church.

“HIDDEN HOLOCAUST CHILDREN: During World War II Catholic families hid Jewish children and their identities from authorities and the children themselves. It is unknown how many were hidden or how many were returned to their parents.

“The Vatican has been unwilling to open its documents on this subject and these children are still an issue 60 years after the end of the liberation of Auschwitz. Rabbi Shamuel Herzfeld stated at a news conference at the Vatican embassy in Washington said, ‘It is time for the Vatican to hear loud and clear: ‘We want our children back…’ As long as the children of all those murdered at Auschwitz do not know their true identities, how can we truly say that Auschwitz has been liberated?’

“There is additional Jewish interest because a short time ago a document came into Jewish hands indicating that Pope Pius XII had approved a church mandate not to return baptized Jewish children to their families. Rabbi Herzfeld also stated that court action would likely be the next avenue if the Vatican does not respond to the Jewish request for information about Jewish children and the Holocaust.” (Reported by Bible Light International, Fall 2005)

Comment: This is another instance where the Catholic church is looking out for its own interest rather than doing the right thing. It has always been the Catholic church’s purpose to increase its numbers in any way it can. So they are not going to give up these baptized Jewish children without a fight.

“Pope John Paul II’s Legacy includes recasting the Papacy into a global institution, projecting his personality through the media to extend the authority of his office.

“Although modern popes do not have the political clout of their medieval predecessors, they arguable exert more influence on moral issues. The Vatican maintains embassies with 175 nations (one more than the U.S.) and is in position to meet the imperative of the 21st century, ‘think global, act local.’ The next pope will hold an extraordinary position of moral influence and soft power.”

(Christian Science Monitor, April 8, 2005)

EPISCOPALIANS: “LIBERAL ALLIANCE GIRDING FOR A FIGHT: Episcopal Church looks at schism. Liberal Episcopalians, concerned that a split over homosexuality may be inevitable next year, have begun laying the groundwork for seizing control of church property and replacing bishops who leave the church.

“Leaders of Via Media, a loosely knit alliance of liberal groups in 12 conservative dioceses, sketched out the plan in a September 29 meeting in Dallas. Draft minutes from the meeting were leaked to the media this week.

“The ‘Day After’ blueprint ─ combined with conservative plans for ‘faithful disobedience’ and bishops who are already considering ways to divide property ─ is the latest indication that all sides are preparing for a battle royal when the church meets next summer in Columbus, Ohio…

“‘If a bishop is going to try to take a diocese out of the Episcopal Church ─ which (church law) says cannot do ─ then Episcopalians, the people who owned the property, are going to fight him on it,’ Deimel said.” (By Kevin Eckerstrom, Religion News Service, October 29, 2005)

Comment: It seems the biggest concern here is over the church property, precipitated by the question of homosexuality and gay bishops. They, and other denominations, have no agenda which is concerned with Biblical Truth. But this is a sign of how they have all fallen from grace. What is “faithful disobedience?” Our understanding is that disobedience cannot be faithful. Disobedience can be temporary, but it must be repented of and some atonement made.

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Many thanks and much appreciation for the beautiful Christmas cards received, with special thanks for the love and prayers expressed which we heartily reciprocate. We wish for all our readers that they will grow in Grace and Knowledge of the Lord for a blessed New Year.

Announcement:  The date of our Memorial is April 10, 2006, after six p.m.

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“IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW”

Brother Lev Bausch of Tiberius, Israel, passed away on November 5, 2005 at 63 years of age. Lev and his wife Hava, who survives, went to Israel in 1968 with Casimer and Elva Lanowick. They returned to Israel in 1973 and settled there. Lev was a good friend of Israel, corresponding all over the world on The Miracle of Israel. He and Hava have always been good friends of ours, too. Perhaps some of you remember reading their letters in our papers giving us much news of events in Israel, which we could not get from our news media. Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to Hava.

We are very saddened at his death, but are sure the Lord will remember him in His Kingdom.

NO. 580 THE SCOPE OF THE ANGEL'S SONG

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!”  (Luke 2:14)

The song which the angels sang at the birth of the Savior has been seized upon and misapplied by some who do not see the plan of God for the salvation of the world. Be­coming discouraged by the seemingly poor prospect for the world's conversion, these have put forth a version of this passage more in harmony with their own doubts and misconcep­tions. To these the prayer which our Master taught His disciples to pray, “Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is done in heaven,” has lost its meaning; for they see no hope of its fulfillment except in a very limited sense.  Hence they prefer to translate the latter part of the verse, “And on earth peace, among men of good will.”  Were this the proper rendering, our hopes for the ultimate good of all, as far as this passage is concerned, would surely suffer eclipse; for very few thus far in the history of the race have been “men of good will,” men who unselfishly endeavored to any appreci­able degree to bring about the good of their fellows. ­

But we do not believe this to be the thought of the original. It is not in harmony with what we have clearly seen to be the plan of God for mankind. Such a translation eliminates the thought of God's eventual good will toward all the world, and greatly minimizes the scope of this glorious song. It implies merely that men who have a feeling of good will are, or will be, at peace among themselves. How utterly barren of hope for all men would such an expression be! And how little the song of the angels would mean if this were its burden!      ­

On the contrary, this song was a prophecy of God's purpose to bring about through the newly born Child the abrogation of the curse and the establishment of peace and sin­1essness among mankind, in which God and man would become at-one. It was an expression of God's good will, His good purpose, to bring man back to the image and likeness of Himself, in which Adam was created. When this shall have been accomplished, then peace will dwell in all the earth; for the causes of inharmony will have been eliminated.

The world of mankind came under the curse, or sentence, of death because of the sin in Eden – because our first parents disobeyed God's righteous command. All humanity, therefore, are members of an accursed race – under penal servitude, which ends in the tomb. The race has been learning the lesson of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and its terrible effects. But God has promised to take away the curse and to bring a permanent blessing in its place. This will mean a return to His favor, to full harmony with Himself.

PROGRESSION OF GOD'S GREAT PLAN

We speak of this song as a prophecy because the peace has not yet come, nor the good will, in the sense that God's face is as yet not turned toward man. It is a declaration of what God purposes to do. He does not have good will toward the present sinful, re­bellious attitude of the race. He has never had good will toward sin. We are not to understand that God was expressing His good will toward man when He pronounced the sentence of death upon him. God's curse indicated His ill will toward man – in other words, His displeasure because of man's sin. He wished man to suffer ill as a just punishment for his willful disobedience. God cut him off from fellowship with Himself. He was not bound in justice to do anything more for the race. But in His infinite mercy He provided a deliverance for mankind. He foreknew man's fall, and planned his redemption from before the foundation of the world.

Through all the Ages since the fall of Adam God's plan has been slowly, steadily progressing. While men have been learning in pain and tears and trouble the nature and results of sin, God has been selecting His saintly ones, His elect – first, the elect who are to be the earthly princes in His Kingdom of blessing; then, the elect who are to reign over all as kings and priests of God on the highest plane of existence. The chief of all the elect is His well-beloved Son, the Savior of the world, whose birth the angels proclaimed to the shepherds watching on the plains of Judea, nearly nineteen centuries ago (Isa. 42:1). When all the elect ones are chosen and prepared, then the blessing of the world at large will be inaugurated.  “For the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God [the Church]. For the creation was made subject to frailty, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope; because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God.” (Rom. 8:19-21)

The coming of the Son of God to earth was only preliminary to his offering of himself as a ransom for the forfeited life of Adam, the father of the race, in whom all his posterity fell. But even when our Lord had died as man's ransom-price, God's favor did not come to the world. Jesus was next raised from the dead a glorious, Divine being. Then He ascended up on high, and appeared in the presence of God for those who were to be of the spiritual elect. Thus the last became first in God's plan. The merit of Jesus' death was utilized first on behalf of these. It has not yet been applied for any others. The Church of Christ now has this promised peace and good will. It is granted only to those who have come into vital relationship with God through Christ – the fully consecrated ones.

The Scriptures show that after these are all selected, prepared and glorified, the next step will be the application to all men of the merit which has been imputed to these elect, and through whom it is to go to the Worthies of old and to the entire world of mankind. This spiritual class has been chosen to be members of the body of Christ, ­joint-associates with him in the Messianic Kingdom. All of these who prove entirely faithful are to attain this exalted position. As soon as all the spiritual class have been glorified, the sins of all the world, those living and the dead as well, will be legally canceled by the application of the virtue, the merit, of the sacrificial death of Jesus. Then they will be freed from the condemnation of the sentence of death. The death penalty will be lifted. They will be turned over to The Christ, Head and Body, the Great Mediator. The curse will be removed.

The great work of the Millennial Age will then begin. It will be a work of gradual uplift during the entire thousand years of the reign of The Christ. The dead will be gradually awakened and brought to a clear knowledge of the salvation of God in Christ.  All will then have the opportunity of coming into the blessed condition of peace and good will proclaimed by the angels. By degrees they will be brought, if they will, to where they will be ready to be received by the Father, to be introduced to Him. This will be the blessed experience of all who will be obedient to the rules and requirements of the Kingdom.  If they prove unwilling and disobedient, after being brought to a clear understanding, they will be “cut off,” destroyed, as not worthy of further effort on God's part for their reclamation.

CHRIST'S DEATH A BLESSING TO THE UNIVERSE

We understand that the sacrifice of the Son of God will be a blessing also to the inhabitants of worlds not yet peopled, who will not have had any personal experience with sin.  God apparently purposes that after mankind has been restored, and all the incorrigible destroyed, He will allow no further infringement of the Divine Law. Indeed, we can see that if at the beginning of his deflection Satan had known the results of his own course, he would probably not have taken the step which he did. We are not to think of Satan as being foolish by nature. He was a glorious being, Lucifer, “the son of the morning.” If Father Adam and Mother Eve had foreseen the results of their disobedience, they would not have taken such a course; for to have done so with foreknowledge would have meant that they were very unwise, foolish, of unsound minds, whereas they were cre­ated perfect, in the image of their Creator.

We believe that if the angels who kept not their first estate had known the end from the beginning – if they could have looked down the Ages and seen the direful consequences of their course of sin and disobedience – they would have been appalled, and would have taken no such disastrous step. The fact that they have gotten into sin, and have developed such sinful tendencies, proclivities and preferences, is no proof that this would have been their course if they had known as much in advance as they now know. It is our hope that some of these may yet be reclaimed, if they are properly repentant, in their great judgment day, now at hand.

God seeketh such to worship Him as worship Him in spirit and in truth. Our thought is that all these worlds surrounding us are designed to be homes to many intelligent be­ings yet to be created. We believe that it is God's delight to give joy and blessing to many creatures, on various planes of existence. And God is making of this experience of mankind with sin a valuable lesson, a lesson that will be beneficial, not only to themselves, but to all the worlds that will ever be populated. These might be instructed and informed in advance of their developing any sinful tendencies just what the nature and tendency of sin is. They will probably be told the story of the tendency of sin – ­what it did for the people of earth, what it cost to redeem and restore them. They will be told, probably, that sin degrades mind, body and morals; that its influence is only deteriorating; that once deteriorated, one learns to prefer sin, notwithstanding all the misery and degradation it brings; and that God will never grant everlasting life to any except as they gladly cooperate to that end – that he will never influence any against their own will.

It would seem, then, that the great work accomplished at Calvary will have an influence as wide as the universe. And this thought might be applied to the first part of the song of the angels, “Glory to God in the Highest!” God will be glorified by all the angels, by every rank of spirit beings. He will be glorified by His exalted Church, then of the Divine nature; by restored humanity, by all the intelligent creatures on every plane, in every Age! Yea, more and more glorious will be His honor as the years of eternity roll on, and as other peoples of other planets are brought into being and brought to know Him and to share His wonderful bounties and blessings, and to learn the blessedness of loving and serving Him.

(Pastor Russell, Reprints 5576-5577, Nov. 15, 1914)  

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CHRIST'S TRIUMPHAL ENTRY

(Mark 11:1-11)

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King cometh unto thee." (Zechariah 9:9)

The message of John the Baptist was, “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” This same message Jesus bade His disciples carry from village to village throughout Pales­tine. This same message was the burden of His preaching and the theme of His parables. Finally, at the close of His ministry, the Kingdom came to the Jewish nation in the sense it was offered to them – it was theirs for the accepting. Today's lesson tells of the formal offer of the Kingdom by Jesus and of the neglect of the Jews as a people to accept it. Thus “He came unto his own, and his own received him not” (John 1:11) – except a few. His own nation rejected Him and five days later crucified Him. A little later, at Pentecost, a few who received Him were begotten of the Holy Spirit and became the nucleus of Spiritual Israel, in preparation for the glorious Kingdom and the work which is to be accomplished at His Second Advent.

On the evening preceding the story of this lesson, Jesus and His disciples were at Bethany, the guests of Lazarus, Martha and Mary, who had prepared a special feast for Jesus, whom they loved dearly. This was the Lazarus whom He had awakened from the sleep of death but a short time before. The feast took place at the close of the Jewish Sabbath day. The next morning corresponded to our Sunday, the first day of the week.

THE CRISIS OF ISRAEL'S EXPERIENCE

In preparation for presenting Himself as King, Jesus sent two of His disciples for an ass's colt, telling them where they would find it, and instructing them to say that it would be returned after the Master had used it. By the time the colt arrived, a con­siderable multitude had gathered – people of the village of Bethany and others who had come out of Jerusalem, about two miles distant, to see Jesus and to see Lazarus, upon whom the notable miracle had been wrought. It had long been the custom of the kings of Israel to ride to their coronation upon an ass; and the multitude seemed to enter into the spirit of this occasion and to realize what it meant that Jesus was about to ride into Jerusalem on this colt. It signified that finally He was ready to assume the office of King.

For some time the disciples had recognized Him as the Messiah, the glories of whose reign they were to share; and the multitude in general had learned to so regard Him, saying, “When Messiah cometh, will he do greater works than this man?” – could we expect anything more of Messiah than we see being accomplished by this man Jesus? But this was the first time Jesus had formally put himself forward. On previous occasions, when they had sought to take Him by force to make him a king, he had withdrawn himself, realizing the time was not yet come. Now, so far from withdrawing, He was taking the active part, sending for the colt, preparing for the triumphal ride to the capital of the nation as its King.

We may be sure that the hearts of the apostles thrilled with excitement as they thought of the nearness of their Master's glory and of their own share in it; for as yet they did not realize the full import of His words to the effect that He must be crucified and must depart to a “far country,” even Heaven itself, and be invested with authority, and later return to establish the Kingdom which would bless the world.

Jesus, however, was fully aware that the presentation of himself as King was a formal matter, fulfilling the prophecy and leaving the nation of Israel without excuse. If, when He entered the city, the people should rise en masse, acknowledge him and ac­claim him, then indeed they would be in line with the Divine requirements which would bring them the greatest of all blessings. But Jesus knew that prophecy had already de­clared that He would be despised and rejected, and that His own people would hide their faces from Him in shame (Isaiah 53:3). The journey and the preparation for it, there­fore, meant something very different to Jesus from what it signified to the disciples and the multitude.

“THE STONES WOULD CRY OUT”

When the ass arrived, some of the people put their garments upon it in lieu of a saddle; Jesus mounted, and the procession began. Some went before Him and some fol­lowed after. The people were familiar with the prophecy relating to Messiah's coming, which declared, “Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! behold, thy King cometh unto thee; He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass.” (Zech. 9:9) They were familiar also with the “shout” the prophets had foretold and the responses – one party crying, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the King of Israel, that cometh in the name of the Lord!” Again came the cry, “Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord!” Then the response, “Hosanna in the high­est!” These different expressions are recorded by the different evangelists.

But not all were enthusiastic acclaimers of Jesus; a discordant note was heard. Some of those who had come from the city through curiosity criticized the shouting, and wondered why Jesus did not rebuke the people for ascribing so great honor to him. They sent word to this effect to Jesus through His disciples. Jesus made the answer that a great prophecy was being fulfilled. The Prophet Zechariah had by inspiration said, “Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!” and such a shout must be made. Jesus declared that if the multitudes had failed to shout, the prophecy would still have been fulfilled­ – the very stones would have cried out.

THE FIRST PALM SUNDAY

It is customary with some Christians in various parts of the world to commemorate especially that Sunday of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The record tells that on the journey many of the people strewed their garments in the way, as a mark of respect and honor, waiting until the little animal had passed over them, and then run­ning on before and placing them again. Others brought ferns, flowers and grasses, and strewed them in the way. Still others, St. John's Gospel tells us, brought branches of palm trees.

It was a jubilant procession fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah. Yet to Jesus it had the sad feature, as indicated by the account. When they had reached the turn of the Mount of Olives, which brought Jerusalem into view, the Master halted the procession while He looked over the city and wept, saying, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathereth her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate; and verily I say unto you, Ye shall see me no more until that day [nearly nineteen centuries later] when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of Jehovah!” (Matt. 23:37-39)

Jesus realized that that day was a turning point with the Jewish nation – that their rejection of Him meant their rejection by the heavenly Father for a long time. It meant that they would be cast off from Divine favor, except a few who would become His disciples. It meant that during those long centuries the highly favored people of Abraham's natural seed would be in distress. It meant that the favor of God, which had been with them for centuries, would instead be extended to the Gentiles, to gather out of the Gentiles a company of faithful, saintly ones to be associates and joint-heirs with Jesus and the faithful ones of the Jews in the heavenly Kingdom. It meant that not until this elect, heavenly, spiritual Kingdom class should be received to glory would the Jewish people be again received into fellowship with God.

St. Paul markedly calls our attention to this fact that the rejection of Israel is not permanent, but only for a time – only until the complete number of faithful Saints be gathered out from amongst the Gentiles. Then God's favor will return to nat­ural Israel, and subsequently extend to all the families of the earth  (Romans 11:25-32).

JESUS THE PRINCE OF PEACE

How different was this entry of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, from the triumphal marches of earthly conquerors and kings! In the excitement of human passion and the prejudice of human minds a special halo of glory has surrounded the world's conquerors. Heroic deeds, valiant conquests, as pictured by historians have a charm. The rising gen­eration reads with thrilling interest of the prowess of Alexander the Great, of the Spartans of Greece, of the Caesars of Rome, and in more modern times of Robert Bruce, of Napoleon and Wellington, of Generals Grant and Lee, Sherman and Johnson, Sheridan and Stewart. The homecomings of all of these were triumphal marches, in many cases render­ing honor to whom honor was due.

Nevertheless, in every instance the mind's eye necessarily closes against scenes which led up to such triumphs. We try to forget the millions of slain and wounded, and other millions of mourning widows and orphans. We try to forget the smoking ruins of homes behind those victorious armies. However necessary war at times may seem to be for the maintenance of justice, nevertheless all must concede that the blessings purchased by the sword are procured at a terrible cost.

From this viewpoint Jesus, the Prince of Peace, followed by an army of Saints who are walking in His foot-steps, presents a beautiful picture – even to the worldly. These victors – Leader and followers – conquer by dying. Thus Jesus said to His follow­ers, “Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the Gospel's shall find it.” (Mark 8:35) Thus viewed, all the followers of the Lamb are self-sacrificers, as the Bible declares: “I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God – your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1) Such victory – victory through death – is difficult for the majority of people to understand! What is the philosophy of it? Where is the victory?

VICTOR-KINGS THROUGH DYING

Well may it be asked, Wherein is the victory of Christ and His followers in laying down their lives for the brethren and in support of truth and righteousness? Only the Bible answers the question, and only those who exercise faith can understand the Bible answer. The Bible declares that the real victory of Christ and the Church is over self. Their crowning day is future – their triumph will be then.

The triumphal entry of Jesus on the ass was only typical. The antitype will be glorious – beyond the veil. As Jesus after His resurrection was “received up into glory,” so also He has promised His Church that their resurrection shall change them from imper­fect human beings to perfect spirit beings, joint-heirs with their Master, their Redeem­er, in the glorious Millennial Kingdom which is to bless the world.

After Jesus had risen from the dead, He explained to His perplexed disciples what His death signified, saying, “Ought not Christ to have suffered these things [death] and to enter into His glory?” (Luke 24:26) So St. Paul has declared in respect to all who will be Jesus' associates in the Kingdom – they must suffer with Him if they would reign with Him. (2 Timothy 2:12) Christ and His Church die to human hopes and inter­ests, present and everlasting – laying down their lives, suffering for righteousness' sake. Their reward is two-fold: (1) Their own personal exaltation to a heavenly, spirit glory, like unto the angels, and yet more glorious – “far above angels, principal­ities and powers and every name that is named.” (2) The Kingdom glory – the joy of be­ing the Divine agents for human restoration.

From this, the Bible viewpoint, the Christian warfare is different from every other warfare known to the world. It is a fight against sin, a  fight  against  self-will,   a full submission to the Divine will, a victory through death. “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of Life.” (Revelation 2:10) “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” (Revelation 3:21) No wonder that a proposition of this kind is but imperfectly understood by the world! “The world knoweth us not, even as it knew him not.” (1 John 3:1) And this is one of the requirements of the Gospel, that Jesus and His followers shall submit themselves to be misunderstood by the world. We are counted fools for Christ's sake (1 Corinthians 4:10).

It requires some stamina to be a loyal follower in the foot-steps of Jesus, misunder­stood as he was misunderstood by those of his day, reviled as He was reviled. “They shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.” (Matt. 5:11) It is only when we understand through God's promises that in these trying experiences of Christ and His followers there is a glorious purpose, that we are able to endure them with any measure of rejoicing. Only these are granted of the Lord the eye of faith which can clearly discern things beyond the veil – the glory, honor and immortality, and the Kingdom which the Lord promised to His faithful followers.

“THE WRATH OF THE LAMB”

Since Jesus is the Prince of Peace, how shall we understand various passages of Scripture which refer to Him as a mighty Conqueror in bloodstained garments, taking vengeance on His foes? But especially, how shall we understand the declaration that, at His coming in the clouds of heaven, all the tribes of the earth shall wail because of Him?

Of this Prince of Peace it may be said that he will wound to heal, that whatever disasters he may bring or permit to come upon the world will be so overruled as to make of them blessings in disguise. Undoubtedly much that is said respecting our Lord is highly symbolic. For instance, He is to smite the nations with the sword that proceed­eth out of His mouth – the Word, or message, of truth. Such a smiting is in full con­formity with the declaration that when   St.   Peter   preached   the Gospel at Pentecost, some of his hearers were “cut to the heart” – not with St. Peter's literal sword, but with “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” Eventually, that sword will smite all opponents of righteousness for their good. Only the willfully wicked will eventually be destroyed.   ­

We are not to forget, however, that the inauguration of the Messianic Kingdom is to be in the midst of the Time of Trouble, and that Christ will have to do with the bringing, or at least the permitting, of that trouble. Apparently mankind will be per­mitted to bring the great trouble at the end of this Age upon themselves. There are forces of evil, Satan and his angels,  ready  to  do us  harm and, through human forces, sin-forces entrenched in human nature, ready to do harm to the social fabric. The Bible represents that Divine power holds these in check – the four angels holding the four winds – that they shall not blow upon the earth to its injury until the appointed time, until all of God's elect Church shall have been sealed in their foreheads – their intel­lect – with the truth.

At the appropriate time those “winds” of strife will be let loose, and great will be the trouble, until in due time the King of kings and Lord of lords shall intervene to rescue the race from itself and from the adversary. Then Satan shall be bound for a thousand years, and Messiah's Kingdom shall be established for the blessings of all the families of the earth.

Arm me with thy whole armor, Lord; 

Support my weakness with thy might; 

Gird on thy thigh thy conquering sword, 

And shield me in the threatening fight. 

From faith to faith, from grace to grace 

So in thy strength shall I go on,  

Till I appear before thy face,

And glory end what grace begun.

(Pastor Russell, Reprints 5494-5496, July 1, 1914)

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LETTER OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Emily, Marjorie and all there,

We send our warm greetings your way and indeed they are warm from the Galilee, as our temperatures stay above 100 degrees daily for the last two months [July and August]. We had such a beautiful spring due to the good winter rains again, but that all fades to yellows and browns as the heat started in May.

It has been hard to write due to the ever changing and rather frustrating events in Israel. Actually the last two weeks have been our most sad weeks of our nearly 32 years of living in Israel. We have been through wars, terror attacks, strikes, etc., but these days of the removal of Israelis en masse from Gaza has been like tearing the heart of Israel apart.  Not only was it hard for the people living in Gaza due to their belief that this is the Land of Israel, but it was so hard on the soldiers and police (both men and women) who had to take the people out. The settlers of Gaza are a people of strong faith and felt that even to the last moment somehow God would make a change or a miracle. That is because they have seen the miracles of God’s protection over the years that over 14,000 rockets have landed in their communities! But they and we have to trust that God has his reasons for it all. It seems now a fire of terror groups fighting for power will come on Gaza. Perhaps God wanted the Israelis out for their protection!! Maybe only later will we see the reasons.  For sure we will not have a “peaceful” neighbor living next door in Gaza.  Sadly we also see that this big, painful, costly, traumatic pullout is only considered the beginning now by the U.S. and Europe for Israel.  What more demands will be on the table in the next months?

Sadly many of the people who left Gaza have no place to go now, as the Israeli government didn’t get it all together to help them.  So many families are in hotels from Eilat to Tel Aviv wondering what next. Our hearts cry for them as well as I am sure God’s heart cries for his people. Now Israel will depend on Egypt to protect the Gaza area from arms smuggling. God never advised depending on Egypt - quite the opposite. Now Egyptian soldiers will be stationed on the southern border of Gaza! God’s time clock keeps ticking as we advance in His Plan. May we be watchful and faithful daily, and trusting in the Hope set before us.

May you be well and safe in Him!  Shalom and love from Israel, Lev and Hava Bausch