NO. 692: EASTER

No. 692

“But now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of them that are asleep.” (1 Cor. 15:20, ASV)

The name Easter is of heathen origin, Easter being the name of a goddess of olden times. Likewise, the days of the week are also named after heathen deities, although these names have gradually lost their heathen significance. For Christian people today, Easter Sunday commemorates the resurrection of our Lord Jesus from the dead on the third day after His death. To those that appreciate Him as the great Light sent into the world for man’s deliverance, to those who appreciate Him as the Sun of Righteousness (Mal. 4:2) which shall ultimately shine forth to the blessing of all the families of the earth, to such there could be no more appropriate day named than Sunday to mark the day upon which He rose from the dead, and entered upon the new life which is yet to bring such blessing to all mankind.

Given that Christians generally celebrate Easter as the memorial of Jesus’ resurrection, why is it that today resurrection is considered of little significance by the vast majority of Christians? It appears that a change in theological beliefs has made void and meaningless the Bible teachings on the subject of the resurrection. During the days of our Lord and the Apostles, believing Jews and Christian converts alike generally held the view that death was as real with mankind as with the brute creation, and that man’s hope of a future life consisted not in his possession of an indestructible nature, but in the promise of a resurrection. It was clearly understood that death not only affected the body, but the entire man; the penalty for original sin was death in the full, complete sense of the word, in harmony with the decree “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” (Ezek. 18:4)

Among the Jews there were two principal classes: (1) the Sadducees and agnostics who denied a resurrection and future life, and (2) the Pharisees who believed the resurrection hope taught in the Scriptures. Our Lord Jesus refuted the arguments of the Sadducees that the dead were hopelessly dead and would have no resurrection by quoting God’s words to Moses at the bush, pointing out that it would have been inconsistent for God to say that He was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob if they were hopelessly dead as are the beasts that perish. Our Lord said these words proved the resurrection of the dead; from the divine standpoint Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were not dead in the sense of being extinct. (Mark 12:26,27) Our Lord further declared that the hour was coming when these Ancient Worthies and “all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth.” (John 5:28, 29)

RESURRECTION ESSENTIAL

On one occasion St. Paul was in the hands of a Jewish mob and, perceiving that they were part Sadducees and part Pharisees, he cried out, “I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.” (Acts 23:6) The Pharisees, who believed in a resurrection, at once insisted that Paul should not be persecuted by those who denied the resurrection – the Sadducees and agnostics.

Paul presented the strongest possible arguments proving the resurrection in chapter 15 of First Corinthians. He met the issue squarely and declared that none could be Christians who denied the resurrection, who did not believe in it thoroughly. The chapter opens with the declaration that the foundation for the gospel lies in the fact that Christ died for our sins and arose again on the third day. He recites that this fact is well attested by the words of reliable witnesses. Then he says: “Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised.” (1 Cor. 15:12-16)

How clear and distinct this argument is. The Apostle in so many words shows that anyone who denies the possibility of a resurrection of the dead must deny the resurrection of Christ from the dead, and if this be denied the entire bottom falls out of the Christian faith. And if we acknowledge that Christ rose from the dead, and thus admit the power of God for the resurrection of the dead, then we have the foundation upon which to build a hope of our own resurrection in due time and of the resurrection of others, that all that are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God and come forth.

OTHERWISE CHRISTIAN FAITH IS VAIN

Paul was not one to quibble or dodge issues because some of his hearers were lacking in faith. Mark the force of his argument when he says, “For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised; And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.” (1 Cor. 15:16-18) Note his argument: Christian faith is vain without the resurrection of Christ. Why would that be the case, if it be true that good men go at once to heaven in the moment of death? How could faith in Christ’s resurrection affect their interests either one way or another? How could the Apostle say that those who have fallen asleep in Christ are perished, if He did not rise from the dead?

The difficulty is that during the Dark Ages the Lord’s people seriously departed from the Scriptures and from facts, following false, heathen doctrine, doctrine that implied that when a man dies he is not dead, but more alive than ever before, and hence needs no resurrection from the dead. This heathen error, engrafted upon Christian theology long ago, has become so interwoven with the body of Christian faith and hope that it has gradually perverted it and nullified the scriptural teaching of the necessity for the death of Christ, the necessity for His resurrection, the necessity for His coming again and the necessity for the resurrection of both the just and the unjust.

We are only beginning to awaken to a realization of the confusion that has come to us through this neglect of the Word of God and acceptance of platonic philosophy. Surely no one can read thoughtfully this argument of the Apostle without being convinced that the writer believed that those who go into the tomb must “sleep” until the resurrection morning. Moreover they must see that this sleep is a figure of speech, which signifies that the dead are really dead, but are reckoned to be asleep because of the promise of a resurrection. Mark the Apostle’s statement: if Christ has not risen from the dead, those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished; that is to say, those we thought of as sleeping in Christ, and waiting for the Millennial morning for the Master’s call to come forth from the tomb are not really sleeping but are eternally dead, if there has been no redemption accomplished for them, if He who died at Calvary stayed dead and did not rise from the dead on the third day as He foretold He would, and as the Apostles as witnesses declared He did.

BUT NOW IS CHRIST RISEN

Our opening text sums up the Apostle’s argument: he assumes that he has convinced any Christian who is inclined to doubt the value, the necessity, the fact of Christ’s resurrection. He says in effect: We Christians acknowledge the fact that Christ did rise from the dead: this is the very foundation of our faith. And more than this we believe that He was the first fruits of those that have fallen asleep. Note carefully the thought here expressed that Christ’s resurrection was a first fruits or sample, in some respects at least, of a resurrection that is to apply to others. The meaning is plain; the world of mankind had been dying for more than 4,000 years when the Apostle wrote these words.

Adam and all his posterity would have been hopelessly dead, extinct, as the brute beasts, had it not been for divine grace. Intimations of the coming redemption and deliverance were given as far back as Eden when the LORD said that ultimately the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head, implying that the victory of sin and death over Adam and his race would not be perpetual but be reversed. (Gen. 3:15) The same divine grace was still more clearly stated to father Abraham in the words, “In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” (Gen. 28:14) Upon these words, further corroborated and reiterated through the Prophets, the people of Israel came to have hope in a resurrection of the dead, building their hopes upon Messiah’s power. The Apostle’s argument is that Jesus is the Messiah, that by His death He paid the ransom price for father Adam and redeemed him from his death penalty and thus redeemed all of his race, since all were condemned in Adam, while in his loins. (Rom. 5:19)

THEM THAT ARE ASLEEP

The words “them that are asleep” should leave no doubt in the minds of any as to what the Apostle meant. The sleeping ones, the dead, were still dead, still asleep, when he wrote, although this was years after Jesus had died for our sins and risen from the dead. Later on in this same wonderful resurrection chapter the Apostle shows clearly both how and when all these sleeping ones shall be called forth from the tomb. He points out a first resurrection of holy blessed ones who shall come forth in the resurrection spirit beings, heavenly beings. (1 Cor. 15: 43,44) This class will constitute the first resurrection or, as the Apostle puts it, they will share in His resurrection because they have shared also in His sufferings and in His death. (2 Tim. 2:11,12; Rom. 6:5) Here is further corroboration then that our Lord was not risen from the dead a man, but He was “put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit,” a spirit being. (1 Pet. 3:18) Or, as the Apostle again declares, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.” (Phil. 2:9) Of Him the Apostle again declares that He is the second Adam, the second life giver and head for the race, and he adds, “Now the Lord is that Spirit.” (1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:17)

He assures us that our Lord was manifest in the flesh at His first advent in order that He might suffer death on our behalf, in order that He might pay the ransom price for Adam and his race by dying the just for the unjust, to sacrifice Himself as the man Christ Jesus. His resurrection was then in the nature of a reward for His obedience unto death and placed Him back again on the spirit plane, “Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named,” and the express image of His Father’s person. (Eph. 1:21; Heb. 1:3)

FIRST FRUITS AND AFTER FRUITS

Jesus was the first fruits of all who ever died in the sense that He was the first to rise from the dead, as the Scriptures so plainly declare. Some have confusion on this point when they think of some three cases in the Old Testament and as many in the New Testament in which the dead were brought back to life before our Lord’s death and resurrection. The explanation of how Christ could be the first that should rise from the dead, without ignoring these Scriptural cases, is a very simple one. According to the Scriptures, life and death are opposites; hence the very beginning of the working of death and imperfection in any being vitiates his life to that extent. He is no longer a living being but a dying being. From this standpoint Adam’s dying began the moment the death sentence was pronounced against him, although he did not fully succumb to the death powers for nearly 930 years.

Christ Jesus Himself was the first one to come under the power of death and be raised completely out from under that power to full perfection of life and being. He was therefore in the highest and fullest sense of the word, as our opening text states, “the firstfruits of them that are asleep,” and “the first that should rise from the dead.” (Acts 26:23) This expression “firstfruits” surely implies there are “after fruits;” that as Jesus was the first to come completely out from under the power of death, so eventually others will be fully delivered.

The Apostle James speaks of the Church, saying that in God’s plan “we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” (James 1:18) Here we have an elaboration of the same thought. Jesus Himself was the first fruits of all, and the Church adopted and begotten of the Holy Spirit as the body members of the glorified Christ are declared to be with their head “a kind of firstfruits.” This shows most distinctly that there are others besides the Church for whom a blessing is in reserve, a blessing of rescue from the power of sin and death by a resurrection.

The Apostle Paul refers to this same participation of the Church with her Lord a little later on in his argument. After pointing out that the blessing of the Lord is to be upon two classes, a heavenly class and an earthly class (the one as the stars of heaven the other as the sand upon the seashore – Gen. 22:17), and after pointing out that the Church, the elect, is to constitute this heavenly class of the first resurrection (1 Cor. 15:40-44), the Apostle proceeds to indicate that the resurrection of the Church will bring the elect into the image and likeness of their Lord and Redeemer as spirit beings, while the resurrection of the world will bring them to the standard of human perfection represented in father Adam. He says, “As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy; and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.” (1 Cor. 15:48)

Continuing to speak of this heavenly class, the elect Church, he says, “As we have born the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.” (1 Cor. 15:49) He proceeds then to point out a mystery or secret, assuring the Church that in the resurrection the Lord will complete that work of “change” already begun in them. (1 Cor. 15:51)

The Apostle further shows that after the Church shall have experienced this change from mortal to immortal conditions, from earthly to heavenly conditions, the promise of God through the Prophet will have fulfillment, namely, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, [hades] where is thy victory?” (1 Cor. 15:54,55; Isa. 25:8) Thus the death of Christ, operating first for the deliverance of the elect to the heavenly conditions, will be made available to the world of mankind during the Millennial Age to deliver them to perfect earthly conditions, so that death itself may be swallowed up in victory. The power of the grave shall no longer prevail against the human family who have been bought with “the precious blood of Christ” (1 Pet. 1:19); all who will accept the divine favor then extended to them may come to a full victory through Christ over sin and over death.

The Apostle refers to Christ as the first fruits twice in this connection but evidently with a difference. In 1 Cor. 15:20 he speaks of Christ Jesus as “the firstfruits of them that are asleep,” while in 1 Cor. 15:22,23 he draws a different picture in which he again speaks of Christ as the first fruits, here, however, signifying the entire Christ, Jesus the head and the Church His body. He says, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits [Christ the head and the Church His body, gathered during the Gospel Age]; afterward they that are Christs’s at his coming [presence].”

With the completion of these first fruits will come the great harvesting of the world, the great ingathering from all the families of the earth the great time of blessing to all who were cursed in Adam and redeemed by the blood of Christ. Such as will be saved during the Millennial Age are here briefly referred to as “they that are Christ’s at his coming,” that is to say those who will become His during His presence, His parousia during the Millennial Age under the mediatorial Kingdom. That this is the Apostle’s argument is evident from the verse following which says, “Then cometh the end [of the plan of salvation], when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.” (1 Cor. 15:24)

INTELLIGENT EASTER JOYS

Those of God’s people most clear in their knowledge of His word have the greatest joy and blessing in connection with every feature of His truth, including those precious things represented by Easter Sunday. To these the significance of the day is one of spiritual exhilaration and refreshment; their faith grasps the fact that the human race, condemned to death because of sin, has been provided by the heavenly Father with a great Savior. This Savior has already given His life as our ransom price, and been raised from the dead by the power of God to that high glorious station in which we recognize Him as King of kings and Lord of lords, possessed of glory, honor and immortality. We hail Him as the one who is to be the Lord of all in His coming Kingdom and who is already the Lord of our hearts; Lord of all those who have heard and tasted of the grace of God, by faith, in advance of the world.

Easter Sunday means the “adoption” of the elect Church through faith, to be “heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ” in His heavenly inheritance and glory and work of the Millennial Kingdom. (Rom. 8: 17,23) It bids us wait with patience for our share in the resurrection; then “shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings,” (Mal. 4:2) to bless the sin-benighted world of mankind, “to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning;” (Isa. 61:3) to bid them to look up, and to help them rise up in the glorious restitution, which the LORD has promised to all the families of the earth. (Acts 3:19-21)

Not only Easter Sunday but every Sunday celebrates the resurrection of our Lord and head. Let us be assured by the words of the Apostle, “God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have showed toward his name.” (Heb. 6:10) Let us be assured that every sacrifice made in the interest of the Lord’s name and honor and cause and for His brethren’s sake will be appreciated by Him who knows the secrets of the heart and who knows those that are His. (Psa. 44:21; 2 Tim. 2:19)

 (Based on a sermon given by Pastor Russell in 1907 and printed in Harvest Gleanings, Volume 3.)

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THE SUPREMACY OF GOD’S KINGDOM

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations [peoples] shall flow unto it.” (Isa. 2:2)

This text tells of great events in the “last days.” It would be a mistake, however, to suppose that these words imply the end of time or the end of the world, in the ordinary sense. The Bible declares that “the earth abideth for ever,” (Ecc. 1:4) and it tells of the wonderful blessings of Restitution, when the Lord’s footstool shall blossom as the rose – Paradise restored. (Isa. 35:1; 60:13) All this is to come in the “last days.”

The Jews understood that the seven days of the week, six of labor and the seventh of rest, were typical of seven greater days of a thousand years each. Some say we are living in the Friday night of the world’s history which means that the great Sabbath of Rest, the thousand years of Messiah’s reign, is about to begin (the Jewish day beginning in the evening).

The New Testament writers seem to have had the same thought. Thus our Lord declared, “The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” (John 12:48) Similarly, Martha declared her faith in the resurrection of her brother, saying, “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” (John 11:24) The last day is the Millennial Day, the Day of Christ, the great Day which will witness the overthrow of sin and death and the uplifting of humanity.

Of that Great Day we read that the righteous will flourish and evil-doers will be cut off. (Psa 72:7, 37:9) This Seventh Day is frequently spoken of as “that day,” as indicating the time when Divine power will no longer permit the reign of sin among men, but Messiah’s Kingdom will actively intervene. The overthrow of Satan, sin and all unrighteousness will then take place. During this Day the Messiah will put down all things opposed to righteousness: “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” (1 Cor. 15:26)

The resurrection process will be in operation throughout that glorious Day; mankind will be rising out of its meanness, sin, sickness and death, back to all that was lost in Eden, and redeemed by the Cross. “After those days” (the days of the reign of sin), God promises to make a New Covenant with the House of Israel and with the House of Judah, through which they shall be uplifted; and the blessings will flow from them to all nations. (Jer. 31:31,33) After those days also God promises, “I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh.” (Joel 2:28) After those days, in the promised Day of Messiah, the Mountain of the Lord’s House shall be established, fixed, in the very top of the mountains above all other kingdoms. A mountain symbolizes a kingdom and, as the Prophet declares, God’s Kingdom will be the highest Mountain; it will be over the top of all other kingdoms. It will be established or fixed permanently above all others. (Isa. 2:3)

Messiah, the great King, with His Elect Bride and Associate with Him, will exercise His Divine power, Satan shall be bound for a thousand years, and sin will no longer be permitted. (Rev. 20:2) From the invisible plane of glory and majesty, justice will be executed in the earth; every good word, thought and deed will be rewarded, and every evil thought, word and deed will be punished, “for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.” (Isa. 26:9) It is certain that, “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Isa. 11:9)

How speedily the world will then learn righteousness! Now it doubts the very existence of God, and declares that if He exists He pays little or no heed to wrong-doers: “And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.” (Mal. 3:15)

But the New Day will change all this: “Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.” (Isa. 28:17) “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.” (Isa. 35:5) “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD.” (Hab. 2:14) “And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them.” (Jer. 31: 34, Heb. 8:11)

TENDENCIES REVERSED

The present tendency is to gravitate downward, but our opening text tells of a reversal of this order. All nations shall then flow or gravitate upward toward the righteous Kingdom of Messiah. The Kingdom, in its original establishment, will be Israelitish; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets will be made “princes in all the earth.” (Psa. 45:16)

The Jews will naturally rally to their standard and begin to recognize the fulfillment of the prophecies of old. Other nationalities will begin slowly to realize the significance of the great, new Jewish dispensation. While their ideas and ideals will be antagonistic for a time, they will gradually see the Restitution blessings coming to Israel, in harmony with the Divine arrangements of the Kingdom. Then, as the scripture declares, “Many people shall go and say, come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the House of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us [as well as the Jews] of his ways, and we [as well as they] will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” (Isa. 2:3)

Both Spiritual and Natural Israel are in the picture. The law shall go forth from Zion (the Spiritual Kingdom, the Messiah Head and Body, Bridegroom and Bride) while the word of the LORD, the directing and instructing, will go forth from Jerusalem (the Earthly Kingdom, represented by the Patriarchal Princes).

The new King, Messiah, will judge the people, first as nations and later as individuals. The national judgments will mean calamities upon the nations, their great institutions and armies proving powerless as peacemakers. On the contrary, those who put their trust in these institutions will suffer most severely. All must learn the lesson that Messiah’s Kingdom comes not by human might or power, but by the power of the LORD, at His own appointed time.

The lesson will be so thoroughly learned in that Day of Trouble that war will forever cease. As the Prophet David tells us, God will make “wars to cease unto the end of the earth.” (Psa. 46:9) Thereafter, “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” (Isa. 2:4) Human energy will be fully employed in conquering sin, sickness and death.

HIDING IN THE ROCKS

The Prophet Isaiah tells us that idolatry to gold and silver shall be brought to an end, and the great trouble of that Day will cause many to hide themselves in the rocks for fear of the LORD and for the glory of His Majesty. “The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.” (Isa. 2:9-11) Those who worship the idols “shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.” (Isa. 2:18-21)

The same picture is presented in Revelation where the great ones of earth are represented as calling upon the mountain to fall on them and to hide them from the presence of the Lord: “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.” (Rev. 6:15,16) As the Prophet Malachi asks, “But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth?” (Mal. 3:2)

The mountains and rocks of society (all social, financial and political institutions and alliances, etc.), will all fail in that great Day of trial and judging; the result will be the overthrow of every human institution, in full accord with the Divine requirements of Justice, Righteousness.

WHO SHALL STAND?

Let us ask ourselves, where is our treasure? Where is our security? The long foretold Day of the LORD is near. The great Time of Trouble is upon us, a time “such as never was since there was a nation.” (Dan. 12:1) If our treasures are upon the earth and our confidence rests in human organizations, the time is near when we may seek protection in these holes, these social and financial arrangements, but there will be no protection possible. The Apostle declares respecting that Day that everything that can be shaken will be shaken; everything that is not in full alignment with the Divine standards will go down. (Heb. 12:26,27)

Knowing this, we should set our affections on spiritual things, not on earthly things. If we have been careless in this matter in the past, it is time for us to invest what little we have of time, influence, talent and money in the service of the King of kings, promoting the interests of the great Kingdom wherein we trust, which will be on earth as well as in heaven.

We are not counseling foolishness, the throwing away of money, of time and influence. On the contrary, we counsel the spirit of a sound mind, that every hour, every talent, every penny be used, not as our own, but as the LORD’s; not according to our selfish desires, but according to the Divine will, so far as we are able to understand it; that we may glorify God in our bodies and spirits which are His.

Jesus said, “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” (Luke 21:36) This watching means faithfulness in how we use our talents, knowing that we will be called upon to give an account of our stewardship.

THE CATASTROPHE CANNOT BE AVERTED

It is impossible for us, or for anyone, to avert the great catastrophe which is surely bearing down upon the world. The LORD’s people are to have nothing whatever to do with bringing about the great catastrophe, any more than had the Prophets who foretold it. It is for us to be faithful to our consecration and, as far as possible, to send out the Divine Message to all of God’s people, assisting them in the faithful use of their pounds and talents. As the Apostle says “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” (Eph. 5:15-17)

We see that the world has gone pleasure mad, “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.” (2 Tim. 3:4) The spirit of the world surrounds us, threatens to engulf us and destroy our spirituality. There never was a greater need than now for the soldiers of the cross to arise, to “take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day,” to “watch and pray,” and fight a good fight against their own weaknesses and against the darts and snares of the Adversary. (Eph. 6:13; Mark 13:33; 1 Tim. 6:12)

Many dear Christians realize that we are living in strange times, but do not realize that we are in the transition period between the reign of sin, sickness and death, and the reign of Messiah’s Kingdom of righteousness and light. Let each one whose eyes of understanding have opened to a better appreciation of God’s great Book be on the alert to “show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” (1 Pet. 2:9)

 (Based on a sermon given by Pastor Russell in 1911 and printed in Harvest Gleanings, Volume 3.)

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Please direct all correspondence to:

P.O. Box 2246, Kernersville, NC 27285-2246

epiphanybiblestudents@gmail.com.

NO. 691: SOME THOUGHTS FOR THE MEMORIAL

No. 691

“And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19)

The date for celebrating the Memorial to our Lord in 2015 is Wednesday April 1, 2015 after 6:00 p.m. The calculation is based on the new moon (in Jerusalem) nearest the spring equinox (March 21, 12:45 a.m.) which is March 20, 2015, 11:36 a.m. Thus Nisan 1 commences on March 19 at sundown. Counting forward from Nisan 1, Nisan 14 commences on April 1 at sundown.

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The supper which our Lord instituted “in remembrance” of His great sacrifice for our sins and “for the sins of the whole world,” (1 John 2:2) is striking in its appropriateness and its simplicity. Throughout history great men have sought to perpetuate their memories by very different means, by reminding their followers of their great deeds and qualities, not by a reminder and commemoration of their death, especially if, as in our Lord’s case, it was a shameful death as a criminal. Jesus did not, as others might have, leave instructions to His followers to strike medals commemorating His mighty works such as the awakening of Lazarus, or the stilling of the tempest on the sea, or the triumphal entry into Jerusalem while the multitude strewed the way with palm branches and cried, Hosanna to the King, the heir of David!

No, our Lord chose to be remembered by His mightiest work – His sin-offering on our behalf – the work which His real followers, and they alone, would appreciate more than any other of His works. His followers, as well as the world in general, would have appreciated something commemorative of His wonderful words or works, but the value of His death as our ransom-sacrifice, the basis of our reconciliation and atonement, has never yet been fully appreciated by any but the consecrated Little Flock, the Elect. It was for those that the Memorial, the remembrance, was arranged and instituted. And although a Judas was present, he was given a sop and went out from the others before the supper was ended. This no doubt represents that in the close of the Gospel Age, before the Little Flock will have finished their part of having fellowship with their Lord in His suffering, the sop of truth will have become so strong as to drive forth from the company and communion of the faithful all who do not rightly appreciate and value the ransom accomplished by the Lamb of God for the taking away of the sins of the world. (John 1:29)

THE PROPER DATE

The date of the Paschal Supper at which the Jews ate a lamb, commemorative of their deliverance from Egyptian bondage and of the sparing of their first-born at that time, was of course calculated by the Jewish method of reckoning time; viz., lunar time. (Exod. 12:2-14) Instead of dividing the months as we do, they allowed the new moon to mark the beginning of a new month; and the difference between the sun time (solar time) and moon time (lunar time) was equalized every year by always beginning the new year with the appearing of the new moon about the spring equinox. The Jews still maintain this method of reckoning in celebrating their religious festivals. And since our Lord, the Apostles and the early Church followed this same rule for determining the date for the annual celebration of our Lord’s Last Supper, we also follow it.

Beginning with the first of Nisan the Hebrews counted, and on the tenth day the Paschal lamb was selected from the flock. On the fourteenth day (the full of the moon), at any time between 6 p.m. of the 13th and 6 p.m. of the 14th of Nisan, the lamb was to be killed and eaten.

As the sun symbolizes Christ’s Kingdom, so the moon symbolizes Israel as a nation. (Rev. 12:1) The twelve and sometimes thirteen lunations symbolize the tribes of Israel. The moon was at its full at the time of Christ’s crucifixion. There it immediately began to wane and waned for as long as it had previously increased. So Christ’s death was the turning point between the two equal parts of Israel’s history. (See Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. II., p. 218)

As those Jews who were unclean, and hence could not keep the Passover properly in its proper season, were permitted to do so on the fourteenth of the second month (at the full of the next moon, Num. 9:8-13), the lesson taught seems to be that all prevented (by ignorance) from accepting Messiah as their Redeemer when offered to them, will have an opportunity of doing so when, in the “times of restitution of all things,” (Acts 3:21) their nation (moon) shall again be full of blessings in the latter harvest.

Their Passover Feast began on the fifteenth day and lasted seven days, the first and the seventh days being observed as especially holy, as Sabbath days. (Exod. 12:16) On the sixteenth day the omer of the firstfruits of the barley harvest was offered to the Lord, and fifty days after (Pentecost Day) they offered before the Lord two wave loaves. (Lev. 23:17)

These things done by the Jews every year were, as we have already seen, types of greater and grander occurrences. The choosing of the lamb on the tenth day typified how, if Israel would be blessed and recognized as first-born in the antitypical Passover, they must accept Jesus then, five days before that Passover Feast, and four days before His crucifixion. And it evidently was on that very date that our Lord offered Himself finally to that nation – when, as their King, He rode into the city on the colt. (Compare John 12:1,14,15) However, they did not receive the Lamb of God, were rejected at once, and ceased from being the typical first-born.

The fourteenth day was the day in which the Paschal lamb was to be killed and eaten; and the Hebrew counting of time (doubtless divinely arranged for this very purpose) permitted the eating of the “Last Supper” upon the same day that the Lord was crucified. The Passover supper of lamb and herbs and unleavened bread (fulfilling the Law, which was not ended until the cross) was eaten shortly after 6 p.m. The institution of the Memorial Supper of bread and wine then followed, representative of the body and blood of the antitypical lamb. This thereafter, as often as the occasion returned (yearly), was to be observed by His followers instead of the eating of the literal lamb – as the commemoration of the antitypical lamb and the greater passing over of the antitypical first-born.

The waving of the barley sheaf of firstfruits on the 16th of Nisan (“the morrow after the Sabbath” or Passover of the 15th – Lev. 23:5,6,11,15,16) typified the resurrection of Christ our Lord, as “the firstfruits of them that slept.” (1 Cor. 15:20)

The two wave loaves offered on the fiftieth day, Pentecost, represented the presenting of the Church before God and its acceptance through the merit of the great High Priest, indicated by the anointing of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The Church really is but “one loaf” (1 Cor. 10:17), the two loaves representing the same thing as the two goats presented on the Day of Atonement. It indicated that, although all presented were acceptable to God through Christ Jesus, He yet knew that all presented would not come up to the condition of faithfulness to the end. The two loaves represented, therefore, the two classes of the consecrated, the overcoming Little Flock and the “great company” of consecrated servants of God who do not make the high calling theirs by overcoming the world.

The method of calculating the date for Good Friday and Easter Sunday in vogue in Christendom differs from the foregoing in this: the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox is celebrated as Easter Sunday, and the preceding Friday is recognized as Good Friday. This method of counting was instituted by the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325, instead of the Jewish method which we recognize, although the name “Passover” continued to be used (not Easter Sunday) for a long time afterward. The name “Easter” was substituted for “Passover,” after Papacy had become established in political influence, and the ignorant pagans began to flock to the system which enjoyed the favor of the government. The pagans had been in the habit of celebrating, at about the same time as the Passover, the festival of their goddess whose name is thought to be derived from the ancient word for spring, eastre. The adoption of the name “Easter” was one of the many methods used by an ambitious clergy for gaining numbers and influence.

Sometimes the two methods of counting, Jewish and Roman Catholic, indicate the same days, but not often; and occasionally their results are nearly a moon or month apart.

We do not celebrate the feast-week but the day previous, the 14th of Nisan, beginning on the evening of the 13th. This was the proper date for killing and eating the Paschal lamb and consequently is the anniversary of the death of our Lord Jesus, the true Lamb of God, because of whose sacrifice the Church of the firstborn is passed over from death unto life (by faith or reckonedly while still in the flesh but actually in “the first resurrection”). The antitype of the Passover Feast week is found in the rejoicing of heart of all the firstborn of true Israel, the seven days signifying the perfection or completeness of the joy and the salvation.

While we have given the details as to the calculation of the date, we attach no importance or bondage to the exact anniversary day. We recognize no such bondage upon those made free by Christ. For though desirous of observing the Memorial Supper properly, upon its proper anniversary, as intended by our Lord when He said, “This do ye [every time you celebrate this yearly memorial] in remembrance [lit., for commemoration] of me,” we esteem it more as a privilege than as a duty; and if we should err in calculating the date, through ignorance or misunderstanding, we believe the Lord would accept our good intentions, and forgive the error and grant His blessing. Indeed, we believe that the Lord owns and accepts the good intentions of many of His children who, because of erroneous teachings and human traditions, select various other times and seasons for celebrating this memorial of His death, instead of its anniversary which He designated. Similarly we would sympathize with the patriotic intentions of any who would celebrate the independence of the United States three, four, or fifty times a year, forgetful of the date, or ignorant of the fact that the Fourth of July is the anniversary of the event, and was appointed as the appropriate date for celebrating it.

This like other truths long buried under the rubbish of the Dark Ages, God is now making clear to His people. And all who are truly His people are anxious for the truth and the right upon this, as upon all other subjects revealed in God’s Word.

YE DO SHOW THE LORD’S DEATH

“For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament [covenant] in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come.” (1 Cor. 11:23-26)

There is no necessity for discussing with honest minds what is and what is not meant by the expression, the Lord’s death. Some, anxious to get away from the doctrine of the ransom and the logical deductions associated with it, claim, regardless of all Scripture to the contrary, that our Lord Jesus had two deaths, one when He came into the world, and the other at Calvary; and that the death of the “man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all” (1 Tim. 2:5,6) at Calvary, was of small importance as compared with the other. They seem willingly ignorant of the fact that the Scriptures declare, “For in that he died, he died unto sin once;” (Rom. 6:10) and that this one death, the only one ever referred to by our Lord or His Apostles, was the death at Calvary.

This one and only death of our Redeemer is what is symbolized by this Memorial (this remembrancer). His body, His flesh was broken for us, and all who would have life everlasting must partake of its merits and life. “Let no man deceive you by any means,” on this important question. (2 Thess. 2:3)

But as water baptism is not the important baptism but only the symbol representing the real baptism, so partaking of the emblematic bread and wine is only the symbol of the more important feast – our appropriation of the merit of Christ, which secures to us eternal life through His broken body and shed blood. Thus by faith accepting His finished sacrifice, and by similar faith, as instructed by Him, appropriating to ourselves all the merits and perfections and rights which the man Christ Jesus possessed and laid down in death for us, we really feed our hearts upon the bread of everlasting life, the bread which God sent to us from heaven. (John 6:33) This is the true bread of which, if men will eat, they will never die – the flesh which He gave for the life of the world, that all the dead and dying race may have life. This is, primarily, what the literal bread symbolizes and signifies to all who partake of it rightly and intelligently. It is a Memorial of the ransom of Adam and His family from the bondage of sin and death.

Note that the bread was unleavened. Leaven is corruption, an element of decay, hence a type of sin, and the decay and death which sin works in mankind. So, then, this symbol declares that our Lord Jesus was free from sin, a lamb without spot or blemish, “holy, harmless, undefiled.” (Heb. 7:26) Had He been of Adamic stock, had He received His life in the usual way from any earthly father, He too would have been leavened with Adamic sin, as are all other men; but His life came unblemished from a higher, heavenly nature, changed to earthly conditions; hence He is called “the bread which came down from heaven.” (John 6:41) Let us then appreciate the pure, unleavened, undefiled bread which God has provided, and so let us eat of Him – by eating and digesting the truth, and especially His truth – appropriating to ourselves, by faith, His righteousness; and let us recognize Him as “the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6)

The Apostle, by divine revelation, communicates to us a further meaning in this remembrancer. He shows that not only did the loaf represent our Lord Jesus individually, but that after the Church have thus partaken of Him (after having been justified by appropriating His righteousness), they by consecration, become associated with Him as part of the one broken loaf – food for the world. (1 Cor. 10:16,17) This suggests the thought of the privilege of the Church as justified believers to share in the sufferings and death of Christ, the condition upon which they may become joint-heirs with Him of future glories, and associates in the great work of blessing and giving life to all the families of the earth.

This same thought is expressed by the Apostle repeatedly and in various figures of speech, but none of them more forceful than this, that the Church, as a whole, is the “one loaf” now being broken. It is a striking illustration of its union and fellowship with its Head. We quote: “Because there is one loaf, we, the many [persons] are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf.” “The loaf which we break, is it not a participation of the body of the anointed one?” (1 Cor. 10:16,17, Diaglott)

The “fruit of the vine” represents the sacrificed life given by our Lord. “For this is my blood [symbol of life given up in death] of the new testament [covenant], which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” “Drink ye all of it.” (Matt. 26:27,28)

It was by the giving up of His life as a ransom for the life of the Adamic race, which sin had forfeited, that a right to life may come to men through faith and obedience under the New Covenant. (Rom. 5:18,19) The shed blood was the “ransom [price] for all,” which was paid for all by our Redeemer Himself; but His act of handing the cup to the disciples, and asking them to drink of it, was an invitation to them to become partakers of His sufferings, or, as Paul expresses it, to “fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ.” (Col. 1:24) It was the offer to the Church that if they, after being justified by faith, voluntarily partook of the sufferings of Christ, by espousing His cause, it would be reckoned to them as though they had part in His sacrifice. “The cup of blessing, for which we bless God, – is it not a participation of the blood [shed blood – death] of the Anointed one?” (1 Cor. 10:16, Diaglott) Would that we all might realize the value of the “cup,” and could bless God for the opportunity of the Church to share with Christ His “cup” of sufferings and shame that they might be assured that they will be glorified together with Him. (Rom. 8:17)

Our Lord also attached this significance to the “cup,” indicating that it signified the participation of the Church in His dishonor, its share in His sacrifice – the death of its humanity. For instance, when asked by two of His disciples for a promise of future glory in His throne, He answered them: “Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of?” On their hearty avowal He answered, “Ye shall drink indeed of my cup.” (Matt. 20:22,23)

What is the full significance of the expression, “till he come”?

Since our Lord, who instituted the Memorial Supper, placed no limit upon its observance, this expression by the Apostle is not to be understood as limiting the length of time in which it will be appropriate to commemorate the death of our Lord Jesus, our ransom sacrifice, and our consecration with Him. Rather, He is showing that it was not to be considered a limited arrangement, for a few years, but was to be continually observed until the Lord’s second coming. When speaking of the second coming of our Lord, the Apostle includes in his expression the gathering and exaltation with Christ of His Church or Kingdom to rule and bless the world. The Christ, Head and body, is coming to rule the world in power and great glory. Even though the Kingdom may be considered as begun from the time the King began the exercise of His great power (Rev. 11:17) in 1878, it will not be set up, in the full sense of the word, until the last member of the Kingdom has been changed or glorified – until the breaking of the “loaf,” the Church, Head and body, is complete.

It is the coming of Christ as including the full exaltation of His Church or Kingdom that the Apostle evidently meant when he said, “For as often as ye eat this [Passover] bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death [as your hope and confidence] till he come.” [1]The same thought of the Kingdom glory being the end of the symbol may be gathered from our Lord’s own words on the occasion of the institution of the memorial – “I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom.” (Matt. 26:29)

And surely if it were ever proper and expedient for those who believe that our Lord’s death was the ransom-price for sinners to confess it – to show it forth as the basis of all their hopes – it is now, when this foundation doctrine of God’s Word is being traduced and misrepresented.

Let all who hold fast the confidence of faith in His precious blood (his sacrificed life) as the propitiation (satisfaction) for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world, be more zealous and fervent than ever before in confessing this great truth; “For even Christ our passover [sacrifice] is sacrificed for us; Therefore, let us keep the feast.” (1 Cor. 5:7,8)

WHO MAY PARTAKE?

The Lord’s Supper is not for the world, nor for merely nominal believers, but only for those who accept Christ as their Redeemer and sin-bearer, and are consecrated to Him and His service. But it is not for us – nor for any man or set of men – to decide who may and who may not partake. It is our duty to point out from the Word of the Lord what are the proper qualifications for participation in the “cup” and in the “loaf,” and then to say as did the Apostle: Let every man examine himself, and then, if he think proper, let him partake. (1 Cor. 11:28)

Now that God’s people are emerging from the errors of the Dark Ages, when this Memorial can be more clearly understood, the judging or examining of one’s self can be more thorough than ever before. Let each ask himself:

(1) Do I believe the Scripture teaching that I, as a member of the human family, was under that condemnation to death which passed upon all because of original sin?

(2) Do I believe that my only hope of escape from that condemnation of sin and death was through the ransom-sacrifice of the man Christ Jesus, my Lord?

(3) Do I believe He gave Himself – His flesh and blood, His humanity – as my ransom-price, pouring out His soul unto death, making His soul a sin-offering (Isa. 53:10,12) on this behalf?

(4) Do I see that the consecration to death, made at Jordan when He was baptized, was fulfilled by His sacrifice of Himself for mankind, which beginning there, was finished on the cross when He died?

(5) Do I see that the rights under the Law, which He secured by obedience to it (the right of lasting life and the dominion of earth), were what He through that same sacrifice bequeathed to the fallen, dying race – to as many as shall accept the blessings under the conditions of the New Covenant?

(6) Do I see that His flesh and blood, thus sacrificed, stood for, represented, those blessings and favors which they purchased for us?

(7) Do I see that the partaking of the bread and wine symbols of His flesh and blood signifies my acceptance of those favors and blessings which the flesh and blood of my Lord bought for me and for all?

(8) And if I do thus heartily accept of the ransom thus memorialized, do I consecrate to the Lord my entire being, my flesh and blood, justified through that ransom?

If we can answer these questions affirmatively we clearly or fully discern the Lord’s body, give credit to His meritorious sacrifice and may eat, should eat.

Those, however, that deny that a ransom for sin and sinners was required and given, who feel that they need not to partake of Christ’s merit, who deny that the merit of one can be imputed to another, who have cast off the wedding garment of Christ’s righteousness, who feel happier and freer in the filthy rags of their own righteousness, and who now consider the precious blood wherewith they were once sanctified a not-holy or an ordinary thing – such we advise to stay away from memorializing that in which they no longer believe; for they would merely be adding hypocrisy to unbelief. For such to partake, is to add condemnation to themselves and their no-ransom theories.

But, better still, let us advise all who have merely been entrapped into this error, by the sophistries promulgated through various channels by the great Adversary, to reject all vain human philosophies and to receive again the simple Word of God, the truths therein set forth: that all are fallen, and that the only way open for our reconciliation and restitution consistent with the divine law and sentence was the giving of the full and exact corresponding price or ransom for our sins; that in no other way could He be just and yet justify sinners. Let them recognize the fact that our Lord Jesus, as the Lamb of God, bore the full penalty for our sins in His own body on the tree, that He gave full ransom for all.

The philosophy is very plain, but if such cannot grasp it, at least let such grasp the fact that God declares it to be so, and let them return unto the Lord and He will abundantly pardon. Let them ask for the guidance of the spirit and the anointing of the eyes, that they may be able to comprehend this, the foundation of all the grace of our God in Christ. Thus in true acceptance of the broken body and the shed blood, realizing that the sacrifice was for their sins and that the blood shed [life given] seals the New Covenant for all, let them commemorate the greatest event of history, the shedding of the precious blood, the sacrifice of the precious life of God’s dear Son for our sins.

Many in the past have partaken of the emblems of the Lord’s body and blood without fully appreciating the philosophy of the ransom, who nevertheless did so with reverent appreciation of the fact that the death of our Redeemer had purged us from our guilt and relieved us from its penalty. Such discerned the real significance of the Memorial, but because of gross errors associated with the truth, they did not discern its simple philosophy as many of us may now do.

HOW TO PARTAKE

If there are in your neighborhood others of God’s consecrated people besides yourself, you should know it. Your faithful love for them and for the truth should have led you to seek them out to bless them with the truth shortly after you yourself received it. If there are such with whom you can have communion and fellowship invite them to join you in the Memorial; but not if you know them to be deniers of the ransom, lest you assist in bringing additional condemnation upon them.

Meet with few or many, as circumstances will permit, but better far with a few who can enter with you into the spirit of the Memorial, than with a throng devoid of that spirit of fellowship and union in Christ.

Provide for the occasion, if possible, unleavened bread (or crackers), such as the Lord used, and such as Jews now use; because the pure, sweet, unleavened bread best symbolizes the sinless flesh of the Lamb of God, who knew no sin (of which leaven is a symbol), who was holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from the race of sinners. Provide some drink from “the fruit of the vine,” as the Lord directed. Undoubtedly He and the disciples used light wines, and we regard wine as unquestionably the more appropriate symbol; but since our Lord did not stipulate wine, but merely the “fruit of the vine,” we can conceive of no objection that can be urged against unfermented grape juice. And surely this would be “the fruit of the vine” as much as wine is.

The Memorial service should be very simple – it is chiefly a season of communion. Have a table in the midst of the assembly for the bread and wine. After the singing of a hymn one of the brethren should, in a few chosen words, express the object of the service and read a few verses from the Scriptures on the subject; another might then give thanks for the bread of life, the broken body of our Lord; after which the unleavened bread should be passed to all the communicants. An opportunity for remarks on the bread of life might here be given. Then a prayer of thanks for the cup, and for the precious blood symbolized in it, should be offered, and the cup of “fruit of the vine” passed. Here an opportunity might be given for remarks on the precious blood. But avoid discussions at this meeting. However appropriate to contend earnestly for the faith on other occasions, this is not such an occasion. This is a meeting for fellowship and communion with the Lord, our Redeemer and present King. If any seem contentious, let him have his say, and let the others refrain from discussion, that the holy moments of special communion, which the Master appointed for our blessing, be not marred.

Of the first Supper it is written: “And when they had sung an hymn, they went out.” (Matt. 26:30) Let us do the same. Let each go to his home with his heart full. We suggest the omission on this occasion of the usual, general and proper after-meeting greetings, and all commonplace remarks and thoughts, that we may thus prolong our communion and fellowship with the Master. Keep within sight of Him throughout the next day. Hear the clamor of the people against the guileless one; see them incited by the clergy of Jerusalem; see Him before Herod and his soldiers; see Him arrayed in robes of mock-royalty and crowned with thorns, then buffeted and spat upon.

See Him crucified as a criminal, and taunted with the very gracious deeds which He had performed – “He saved others; himself he cannot save.” (Matt: 27:42) Remember that He could have saved Himself; that He could have asked for and would have received, “more than twelve legions of angels” (Matt: 26:53) to deliver and protect Him; that He could have destroyed His enemies and villifiers, instead of dying for them; and that our hope of a resurrection and everlasting life depended upon His willing offering of Himself as our ransom-price. Considering His love for us and for all it will surely strengthen us as His followers.

(Based on Pastor Russell Reprint No. 2270)

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FURTHER THOUGHTS

“When the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:51) The determination of Jesus as expressed in this text offers an example in perfection of the grace of patience in its true biblical meaning – ­cheerful continuance in well doing amid contrary cir­cum­stances. His course herein was against all human concepts as viewed by the natural man; hence, Peter said to Him, “Be it far from thee Lord: this shall not be unto thee.” And Jesus gave him appropriate correction: “Get thee behind me, Satan: …thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” (Matt. 16:22,23) Jesus knew full well that the “fulness of the time” (Gal. 4:4) had come – that it was not the time to wait for His enemies to come to Him (which, had He done, would have dis­played only the passive grace of longsuffering) – ­that the active aggressive grace of patience should now be perfectly revealed in and by Him. And, “hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.” (1 Pet. 2:21)

Be it noted that those who condem­ned Jesus to the cross were not the beggarly elements of that time, not the irreligious; it was the “good” people who were guilty of that – those who would not cross the Gentile door lest they should be defiled for the feast. As He was, “so are we in this world.” (1 John 4:17) The heathen Pilate strove to avoid the tragic miscarriage of justice; and it was the high priest of Israel who “hath the greater sin” in the matter. (John 19:11) It was those people schooled in the Law, who sat down and “watched him there” – watched the tragedy of the cross as the idly curious might watch a street‑corner side show – watched the final hours of agony of the Lord of Glory with a calloused indifference that would be unbelievable were it not written in the sacred record. (Matt. 27:36)

And Jesus, knowing in the final hours of that awful night, that He had finished the work God gave Him to do, resigned Himself to what was to be. (John 17:4) The time for contro­versy had passed – “this is your hour, and the power of darkness” (Luke 22:53); so He held His peace. “No man taketh it [my life] from me, but I lay it down of myself.” (John 10:18) There is in this a lesson for us, too: The day previous and the day following our observance of the Memorial should be a time of calm meditation insofar as lieth in us.

Nor should we allow (in the words of the poet) “the maddening maze of things” to make us bitter or morose or hateful. It is a time at which we should lift our minds to the highest spiritual levels possible – to repose in the sublime reflections of the past, to “consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself.” (Heb. 12:3) “To be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (Rom. 8:6) And again, “The kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Rom. 14:17) Nor should we allow those of contrary disposition to deter us in these resolves. As it was in Jesus’ day, so it has been all through the Age: “I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.” (Rev. 2:9) As we have now come into “the evil day” when “the end of all things is at hand,” let us embrace with full determination the Apostle’s admonition to above all things have fervent love among yourselves. (1 Pet. 4:7,8) Jesus stated of this time in which we live: “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold,” but, “he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” (Matt: 24:12,13; Mark 13:13) These words are a warn­ing to all; and blessed are they who give ear to them. “The leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypoc­risy” abounds in all quarters; but God’s faithful people will accept and do – particu­larly at this season – what St. Paul admonishes: “Purge out therefore the old leav­en.” (Luke 12:1; 1 Cor. 5:7)

In the type the lamb was taken up five days before it was killed; and that was typ­ical of Jesus, the Greater Lamb, presenting Himself to the Jews on Palm Sunday, five days before He was “lifted up.” (John 12:32) But there was another compelling reason for the five­ day interval: That most memorable of nights, when the Angel of Death would “Pass over” the Jewish firstborn, was not to be approached flippantly or carelessly. As each family took up its own lamb, and removed all leaven from the home, the course of these five days would put them into a proper mental attitude and contrition of heart for that awe­some night. And this is well in keeping with St. Paul’s words to all who commemorate the antitype: “Let a man examine himself” – not five minutes before the service, per­haps in public confessionals; not just an hour before the service; but let each do so in “sincerity and truth” during the days preceding it. (1 Cor. 5:8) As most of us know, Brother Johnson always counseled all to read Brother Russell’s treatise on the Passover in Vol­ume 6; and we now counsel the same. Over the years this writer has each year read Exo­dus 12 five days before the Memorial, with the Berean Comments; then the same with the pertinent writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – one each day, with the Berean Comments. This has always proven most refreshing and helpful for this writer to “exam­ine himself”; and we venture the opinion that any who follow this, or a similar course, will most likely eat and drink worthily in full discernment of the Lord’s body and blood.

(By Brother John Hoefle, excerpt from No. 20, March 15, 1957)

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“IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW”

Sister Ruth Roach of Trinidad, West Indies finished her course on October 24, 2014 at the age of 97. She came into the Truth at an early age and remained faithful to the end. When such good brethren leave us we feel a deep sadness. We will miss the frequent inspiring letters she wrote to us throughout the years and we mourn her passing with her family and friends. She is now asleep in Jesus awaiting the resurrection of the Just. (Acts 24:15)

[1] We believe the command would apply also to those faithful ones here in the end of the Age who are not a part of the spirit-begotten Church of the Firstborn, because the merit of our Lamb has been tentatively imputed to all such – to the extent that the New Covenant cannot begin to operate toward the world until that embargo against Christ’s merit has been removed.

NO. 690: PROSPECT: "BEHOLD I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW"

No. 690

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.” (Rev. 21:4,5)

At the beginning of a new year many in all parts of the world take stock of their affairs – mental, physical, moral, financial and religious. Many no doubt look back to the beginning of the previous year, to the resolutions then made, and feel more or less disappointed with, if not ashamed of, the results. Indeed it is safe to assume that whoever is completely satisfied with his accomplishments during the past twelve months has either too high an estimate of his own victories or else he did not set his goals very high. It is important that we not be discouraged with the past, whatever it may have been; but as we turn over a new leaf we should make fresh resolves of faithfulness to God and His principles of righteousness, and fresh resolves to be more just, forgiving, kind, patient, and loving in our relationships with others.

God’s word in the Scripture quoted above contains some thoughts that should be helpful to us all. It implies that God is proposing a new order on man’s behalf, a new dispensation, with fresh help and assistances for the groaning creation, Adam’s posterity. History records the endeavors of noble-minded men and women who for the past six thousand years have labored to stem the tide of sin, depravity, imperfection, mental, moral and physical decrepitude, dying, and death. Contemplating all these efforts, we are obliged to say, in the language of the Prophet, “We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth.” (Isa. 26:18) We have been unsuccessful in saving the world from sin and its imperfections.

We sometimes endeavor to persuade ourselves that the world is growing purer and holier, more full of faith toward God, more full of the fruits and graces of the spirit of God, more free from selfishness and the crime resulting from it; but as we scrutinize, carefully and honestly, we must confess that the world is far from the divine standard. This conclusion is fully corroborated by the prophetical writings of God’s word, which directly state that “evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Tim. 3:13) down to the very end of this age, when it will give place to the new order of things. We note also the suggestion in the words our Lord Jesus addressed to His Church, which assure them that in the end of the age the deceptions will be so strong that “if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect,” (Matt. 24:24) and we appreciate the inference of His words, “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8)

OLD THINGS MADE NEW

Notice the Scripture does not say that God will make all new things, but that He will make old things new; He will take hold of the old things and renovate them. Before examining what things are to be renovated, we remember that the Scriptures do speak of a new creation, telling us that each member of the Church, the Elect, is a “new creature” in Christ Jesus. (2 Cor. 5:17) Therefore, the text does not refer to the Church. This work of God with respect to the Church, which He has been calling out of the world since the day of Pentecost, is distinctively separate from His work in other directions and in other classes. The Church is to be a new creation in the sense that it will be changed to a new nature. By nature the elect were children of wrath even as others of human nature and depravity. By God’s grace they were not only redeemed, but through faith were justified. Then as they followed on to know the LORD and hearken to His word they were called to be special disciples, a “little flock” of the Lord Jesus.

When they accepted this call and made full consecration to the LORD they received a begetting of the Holy Spirit to a new nature, the spiritual nature. Their instruction, disciplining and testing proceeded so that at the close of their sacrificial life they might be counted of the LORD as “fit for the kingdom.” (Luke 9:62) In the First Resurrection (the chief resurrection) these are to be made like their Lord Jesus, changed “in a moment,” sharers of His glory and “partakers of the divine nature.” (1 Cor. 15:52; 2 Pet. 1:4)

This is the New Creation; nothing in the Divine statement respecting the Church implies that they are to be renewed or made over again as perfect men. Theirs is indeed a change, because, as the Apostle explains, “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,” (1 Cor. 15:50) and these have been called to be God’s Kingdom class, in association with their Redeemer, our Lord Jesus.

We also must not confound this statement of Rev. 21:5 respecting the renewing of old things with the statement of Rev. 21:1 which says, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” Nothing in this verse implies that it refers to the same thing; on the contrary, the one is a renewing, the other distinctly states that it is a new creation and that the former passed away.

NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH

To keep our minds clear on the subject, let us note the significance of this symbolic statement respecting the new heaven and new earth. It does not mean that the heaven of God’s residence has become dilapidated and unfit for His service. The figures of heaven, earth, and sea, are symbols common to the entire scriptures and refer to humanity. The heaven represents the ecclesiastical influences and powers of control, while the earth represents organized society, while the restless sea symbolizes the uncivilized and anarchistic masses of mankind.

The time for this great change of religious, social, and political institutions is near at hand and will be accomplished by the disintegration of the present heaven and earth in the great time of trouble foretold by the Prophet Daniel: “…there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation…” (Dan. 12:1) Then, after that awful cataclysm of anarchy and disruption which will utterly overthrow present institutions, God promises that He will establish new and better institutions, the present heaven and earth being largely under the control or influence of the “prince of this world,” (John 12:31) who the scriptures declare is to be bound or restrained at the close of this dispensation. (Rev. 20:2)

The new dispensation is, on the contrary, to be under the control of Messiah, the glorified Christ Jesus and His Bride, the elect Church, which will then be complete. The heaven, or ecclesiastical systems of control, will be new in that they will be in the hands of the glorified Christ, who will then, as the scriptures declare, take unto Himself His great power and reign. He has possessed this power ever since His resurrection, but will not exercise it until the Father’s due time. The new earth will be the new social and political systems, constructed on the lines of justice and love, and under heavenly guidance. No wonder then we have the assurance that the sea class, the unruly and uncivilized masses of mankind, will be no more, for we are assured that this new order of things will be the “desire of all nations,” (Hag. 2:7) and that to the new King of the world every knee shall bow and every tongue confess to the glory of God the Father. (Rom. 14:11)

ALL THINGS NEW

Understanding that this verse does not mean a literal new heaven and a literal new earth, we are better prepared to understand what is meant by the expression, “behold I make all things new.” The preceding verses of this chapter picture the glorified Kingdom of the glorified Christ as the New Jerusalem come down from heaven to earth. (Rev. 21:1-4) This is in harmony with our prayer, “Thy kingdom come.” (Matt. 6:10) Elsewhere we are specifically told about this New Jerusalem whose symbolic foundations bear the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb. (Rev. 21:14) There can be no doubt that it signifies the Kingdom of Christ and His glorified Bride, the Kingdom that the Lord promised to His faithful, saying, “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.” (Rev. 3:21)

From New Jerusalem, the new government that will then be established in the world, there will proceed a symbolic “river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.” (Rev. 22:1) This water of life, without impurity of any kind, is Truth which will then be dispensed to all the families of the earth.

The establishment of this heavenly city or government among men will have glorious results: “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” (Rev. 21:3) This scene clearly belongs to the Millennial Age after the New Jerusalem, the heavenly government, shall have been established on earth.

The New Jerusalem will represent God among men, for God will dwell in the glorified Church and all of His powers and gracious characteristics will be manifested in it most thoroughly. But some will ask: Has not God been dwelling with mankind for all the past six thousand years? Why is God’s dwelling place with man represented as being of the future and not of the present?

We reply, No! God has not dwelt with man in any sense of the word. On the contrary He has rejected and condemned mankind on account of sin, and the Apostle tells us that the whole world as a consequence are aliens, strangers and foreigners from God and His promises. He did indeed favor Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and then all of Jacob’s posterity, the nation of Israel. Of this nation He made pictures and types of the blessings which He intended ultimately to accomplish for mankind through Messiah. Their Law Covenant represented in an imperfect manner the New Covenant to be made with the world in the future. Moses, their mediator represented imperfectly the mediator of the New Covenant – the Christ, head and body, Jesus the head, and the Church His body, His bride. Their tabernacle sacrifices represented the better sacrifices offered by Jesus first and chiefly, and secondly by those whom He accepts as members of His body, and who, under His guidance and direction, suffer with Him that they may also be glorified together as members of the world’s mediator in the Kingdom.

The blessing of God’s presence in the future was foreshadowed in the arrangements made with the typical nation of Israel. In their tabernacle, or moveable representation of the heavenlies, the LORD God appeared in the most holy, represented by the shekinah glory within and the pillar of smoke without. When later on, under the LORD’s direction, the temple was built at Jerusalem, it represented the perfect established Kingdom, Messiah’s Kingdom, the Millennial Kingdom of the new heaven and new earth. The LORD is also represented in the most holy of the temple by the shekinah glory.

These representations of God’s dwelling in the midst of Israel were foreshadows of the coming blessing to the world during the Millennial Age when the tabernacle of God will be with men. We have already seen that God will not meet with men in an earthly temple, but, as the Apostle explains, He has during this Gospel Age been preparing a spiritual temple, the Church. The Apostle Peter assures us that the elect are the living stones being prepared for the future glorious temple of God. The Scriptures explain that the trials and sufferings which the LORD permits to come upon His elect are to polish and chisel them, making them fit to be stones in the spiritual temple of the future, the tabernacle of God, the dwelling place of God among men. This temple will be the meeting place from which God’s mercy shall be disseminated and to which the world will approach to receive blessings.

WIPING AWAY TEARS

We see, then, that God’s proposition is to return to mankind through the glorified Christ (Jesus, the head and His body, the Church). He will accept the whole world of mankind through the merit of Christ, dealing with them for their enlightenment, blessing, and uplift out of sin and its resulting mental, moral and physical decay, sorrow, pain, and death. This will be the making of all things new. Thus we see God proposes not to make a new race, but to renew Adam and his race, and the channel or agency through which this renewing or restitution work shall be accomplished will be the New Creation, the “church of the firstborn,” the Christ, head and body. (2 Cor. 5:17; Heb. 12:23)

The Scriptures beautifully picture God’s work through the Christ, saying, “God shall wipe away all tears.” (Rev. 7:17; Rev. 21:4; Isa. 25:8) Through Isaiah the LORD informs us that these blessings will proceed from His mountain or Kingdom, which He will establish in the end of this age, the Messiah’s Kingdom:

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

The Prophet declares that through this mountain or Kingdom God will destroy the obscuring veil of ignorance and death which now covers all people, and that He will make for all “a feast of fat things.” The result is also declared, “He will swallow up death in victory.” (Isa. 25:6-8)

The human race has been under condemnation for 6,000 years, with divine favor and presence withdrawn from it. Sin and death have reigned and have swallowed up the human family. But with the return of divine favor at the second advent of Christ and the establishment of “Thy kingdom come,” everything will be reversed, with the result that death will be swallowed up in victory. All people shall be delivered from the power of death; the resurrection of the dead shall take place under the guidance and control of Him who declared that “all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth.” (John 5:28,29) They will not only come forth to consciousness; they will also come forth to an opportunity for restoration and renewal. If they are willing and obedient the resurrection process will culminate in the full and complete rise out of sin, imperfection, and death and a restoration to the full image and likeness of God and all that was lost in Eden. (Ezek. 34:16; Matt. 18:11; Luke 19:10)

How wonderful is the message of God’s word: when His tabernacle, His glorified temple, shall be established in the earth as the Kingdom of God, it will mean victory for mankind over sin and death, victory at the hands of the LORD’s Anointed, the world’s great Mediator. Ah! Indeed there is force and meaning in the expression, “God shall wipe away all tears.” The poetic expression speaks volumes for the blessing and comforting and assuaging of the griefs and sorrows of the world.

NO MORE SORROW, PAIN OR DEATH

The statement that God will wipe away all tears is explained: it signifies that there shall be no more death. Death has reigned as the result of Adam’s disobedience; but the right, the power, the authority of death to reign is broken by the atonement for Adam’s sin, and instead the Redeemer will become the Life-giver of the world to revive the dying and awaken the dead.

That there may be no misunderstanding, the LORD continues to explain that the wiping away of tears signifies not only that death will be no more, but that there will also be no more sorrow, no more crying, no more pain forever. O, glorious picture! How it shows us the great plan of our God, by which present evil conditions will be utterly eradicated, and by which mankind will be lifted out of all its troubles by the loving hands of the Redeemer who died, the just for the unjust, that He might have this right, this opportunity of bringing the unjust back into harmony and acceptance with God.

Yes, indeed! Jesus is “the propitiation [satisfaction] for our sins [the Church’s sins]: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2) Thank God for such lengths, and breadths, and heights, and depths of His love, which indeed, passes all understanding! (Phil 4:7) As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are God’s ways and plans higher than man can conceive. (Isa. 55:9) “This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.” (Psa. 118:23)

The explanation of these great changes is summed up in the few words, “For the former things are passed away.” (Rev. 21:4) What are these former things and why and how will they pass away? Man, as God originally created him, was “very good.” It was the introduction of sin that caused the difficulty, as the Apostle Paul explains, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” (Rom. 5:12) It is for this reason that the whole creation is groaning and travailing in pain together (Rom. 8:22), and this condition is the result of divine justice and the execution of the divine sentence against sin: “The soul that sinneth it shall die.” (Ezek. 18:20)

But if these conditions are the result of the just sentence of God, how and why can He ever set them aside or abolish them, so that He can say “the former things are passed away?” In other words, how could God set aside the curse or sentence of death? The answer to this question is the center of the Gospel hope, briefly stated in scriptural language: the present evil conditions are all to be set aside because God has had mercy upon our race. He did not manifest His mercy by overturning the sentence of His own court; but rather the requirements of the sentence have been met for the entire human race through the death of His Son, a “ransom for all,” a corresponding price for the world’s sin. (1 Tim. 2:6; 1 John 2:2)

“EVERY MAN THAT HATH THIS HOPE”

The opening of a new year brings a measure of fresh hope and courage to many. While some make fresh resolves to follow a nobler and more righteous course, to the vast majority life is a humdrum affair and sinful excesses are frequently indulged in with a view to breaking this monotony. It is, therefore, desirable that the world, having nothing better, should have business ambitions to fully absorb their time and energy.

How superior is the position of the Christian, who has the promise in the LORD’s word of not only the life which now is, but also of that which is to come. We see that the elect Church, called according to God’s purpose, will by and by be the glorious new Jerusalem, the government or Kingdom of God that will bless and uplift the world of mankind. This is a blessed hope. It gives us new aims, new ambitions, new energy and strengthens every good resolve in a manner nothing else could do. The Apostle declares, “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” (1 John 3:3)

The trouble with the majority of Christians is that they have not this scriptural hope, but vain unreal hopes and imaginings, built not upon the word of God, but upon the theories, creeds and traditions of the elders handed down from the Dark Ages. Let us go to the fountain head, and receive God’s message of love and mercy from His own word, through His inspired Son, His Apostles and the Prophets.

Even to those of the world, who have not yet given their hearts to the LORD, there is a message of encouragement in the Scriptures in the glorious promise of the coming time when God will wipe away all tears and there shall be no more sighing, no more crying, no more dying. This message is an encouragement to any whose faith can grasp it to any degree. It will help all such to fight against the allurements of the world, the flesh and the adversary. It will assure them that every good impulse and noble effort made now will bring corresponding peace and refreshment of heart in the present time, and it will help them to reach the future life, with its glorious hopes and promises, on a higher plane than if they now yielded to sin and Satan.

(Based on a sermon given by Pastor Russell in 1906 and printed in Harvest Gleanings, Volume 3)

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“THE PLACE OF MY FEET”

“Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?” (Isa. 66:1)

“The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.”(Isa. 60:13)

The word feet is sometimes used in Scripture, as in the above text, to represent permanent establishment, or rest. God used His footstool before sin entered the world, but since then He has removed His presence and allowed sin to reign and Satan to be “the prince [ruler] of this world.” (John 14:30) In type, He established His presence among the Israelites in the Tabernacle and Temple. All through the Gospel Age He has been present in the Gospel Church in a higher and better sense, as in a shifting tent or Tabernacle. Soon the Temple glory, His presence in the Glorified Church – head and body, will be manifested to the world.

That glorious reign of the Christ complete was typified by Solomon’s peaceful reign, and the glorious Temple was typified by the temple “made with hands.” (Heb. 9:24) Under this glorious reign, all the families of the earth shall be blessed, and brought into complete harmony with God. When all sin and every opponent of right has been destroyed, then the knowledge and glory of the LORD will fill the whole earth; the wilderness shall sing and the solitary place be glad. All the ends of the earth (people) shall remember and turn to the LORD. (Gal. 3:8; Isa. 35:1; Isa. 40:5; Heb. 8:11)

The LORD will prepare and cleanse His footstool to place His feet there, that His presence may abide with the restored race of men and be their joy and blessing. Thus we read His declaration: “I will make the place of my feet glorious.” In harmony with this thought, we find in Zechariah a description of when and how God will establish His feet, or residence:

“Behold, the day of the LORD cometh … And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives…” (Zech. 14:1,4)

These Scriptures, as well as some of those previously quoted, apply to the Father – the LORD God, Yahweh – but are often misapplied to our Lord Jesus. While Jesus and His Church will doubtless be the active agents of the Father in subduing all things (Phil. 3:21), yet the fact remains, that the work here mentioned is the Father’s, and the Hebrew text leaves no question about it.

Examining this prophecy further, we see the scene is laid in “the time of trouble,” probably near its close. It is surely during “the day of the Lord” when the first return of Israelites to Israel will have taken place (a second and greater returning mentioned by the Prophets evidently will not take place until after the time of trouble). Israel will have been in comparative peace and security there and measurably free from the trouble which, meantime, will have been disturbing and overturning and impoverishing the nations of the earth. Israel’s wealth and prosperity will excite the greed of the nations, which we read will come up against His people Israel dwelling safely in their own land “to take a spoil, and to take a prey.” (Ezek. 38:8,12)

The battle at first will go against Israel: “For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.” (Zech. 14:2) Then, the time having come for a manifestation of God’s justice against the nations and His favor to His anciently favored people, He will manifest His power and fight against the nations: “Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.” (Zech. 14:3) The fight will not occur by Jesus and the saints appearing on a mountain with carnal weapons, but rather as the LORD “fought in the day of battle.” God fought Israel’s battles in ancient times without being seen by other than the eyes of their understanding.

The Angel of the LORD put to death the Assyrians (Isa. 37:36); put to flight the Midianites (Judges 7:21), and “smote great nations, and slew mighty kings.” (Psa. 135:10) As He fought for Israel then, so He will do again at their deliverance. The deliverance will be so great and marked, that they will recognize God’s power and favor, and will be blessed by being brought to a condition of nearness to Him. In prayer and supplication, they will come to a full recognition that, as a people, they had rejected and pierced their Redeemer. “They shall look on [recognize] him whom they pierced,” and shall all mourn because of Him. (John 19:37; Zech. 12:10)

As the above Scriptures show how it will be manifested to fleshly Israel that God’s arm is ruling (Isa. 53:1), now we see how symbols are used in describing the spiritual view of the Kingdom’s establishment. God’s spiritual dominion is pictured in the description of the LORD’s feet standing in that day upon the Mount of Olives. The picture continues:

“…and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.” (Zech. 14:4)

A mountain is a symbol of a kingdom, and the Mount of Olives (the peaceful habitation), its location to the east (or sun-rising) of Jerusalem, signifies the Kingdom of Light and Peace. In this “day of the LORD,” already begun, the LORD God will establish Himself in a Kingdom of light and peace. This, we believe, will be accomplished through His representative, Jesus, who takes His great power and reigns along with His Church, resurrected to spiritual bodies. This we understand to be the organization of the Kingdom, whose exaltation to power invisibly smites and consumes evil systems and governments. By the teaching of the Word, we understand that this organization of the Kingdom began in 1878, and will be complete when the living members are changed. This Kingdom is the LORD’s foothold, and is to be the source of government from which shall emanate the laws, etc., for the guidance and blessing of mankind (Mount Zion is another figure representing this Kingdom).

The division of the mountain into two parts represents the two phases of the Kingdom of God: one the higher, spiritual, invisible Kingdom, composed of Jesus and the Gospel Church; the other the earthly phase of the Kingdom, composed of perfected fleshly beings, visible to humanity – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets, and all those of past ages justified by their faith.

The prophecy continues:

“And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains … and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.” (Zech. 14:5-7)

The valley represents a place of favor and protection, made and guaranteed by both the heavenly and earthly phases of Kingdom power; and into this place of protection and safety Israel is represented as fleeing. Then they shall recognize Him whom they have pierced.

The day of the LORD will remain a dark day until the close of this period of trouble, or until the evening “when it shall be light.” When the day of wrath is over the Sun of Righteousness will arise with healing in His wings, blessing and restoring morally and physically. (Mal. 4:2)

The earthly phase of the Kingdom will thus be seen to be essentially Israelitish, and according to the promises of God, ungodliness shall be turned from Israel (Rom. 11:26) and they shall come into the inheritance of the land, and the promises made to Abraham; and then the fleshly seed of Abraham will be used as the agents of God in carrying to the world the blessings purchased by Christ, the higher, spiritual seed of God, whom Abraham typified.

This earthly part of the Kingdom is to spread and increase until it fills the whole earth and is under the whole heaven, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honor into it, by coming into harmony with its laws.

These two parts of the Kingdom will be in perfect harmony; the earthly being under the control and direction of the heavenly: “And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion [the spiritual phase] shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem [the earthly phase].”(Isa. 2:3)

Though in due time there will be an earthly element of the Kingdom visible to humanity and praised throughout the whole earth, yet in the inception of the Kingdom it will not have this double character (the LORD’s feet first stand on the undivided Mount of Olives). And so we read that when demanded of the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God should come, Jesus answered and said: “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or lo there! for behold, the kingdom of God is within you [in your midst].” (Luke 17:20, 21) That is to say, the Kingdom of God will be among men but will be invisible to them in its coming. It is only after it has come and done a work, that the visible phase is due, during the Millennial Age.

It is for this Kingdom in both its phases that we pray “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matt. 6:10) Oh, may the time soon come when God’s feet will be established and His footstool made glorious!

(Based on Pastor Russell Reprint 286)

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Please direct all correspondence to:

P.O. Box 2246, Kernersville, NC 27285-2246

epiphanybiblestudents@gmail.com.

NO. 689: RETROSPECT

No. 689

“Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!” (Psa. 107:31)

At the beginning of another year we reflect upon our experiences of the past year, thank God and give praises to Him for the blessings bestowed upon us. Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to those throughout the world who have endured extreme hardship and loss of loved ones due to violence, armed conflict, and disease. God bless the good people who have risked their lives to aid those caught in these unfortunate circumstances. “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” (Prov. 15:3)

There were so many significant events in 2014 that it would be impossible to describe them all, but we will summarize a few of them and quote from some journalist reports touching on them.

The rise of ISIS: The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a former affiliate of Al Qaeda, is an extremist Sunni group striving to create an Islamic state ruled by strict Sharia law. After taking control of northern Iraq in early 2014, it headed south toward Baghdad, seizing the country’s largest oil facility. With the U.S. and other nations under pressure to consider a military response, in August President Obama ordered limited airstrikes against ISIS. In retaliation, ISIS beheaded an American journalist, releasing a graphic video of his killing. This was followed by the beheadings of a second U.S. journalist and three aid workers (two British one American). When ISIS invaded Syria, Syrian refugees flooded into Turkey, creating a humanitarian crisis. In late September, airstrikes began in Syria. By November, ISIS had spread to Libya, taking over the city of Derma, which is only about 200 miles from the southern parts of the European Union.

ISIS is particularly brutal towards women and girls, with reports of gang rape and torture. The group has threatened to kill all Christians, but it also targets other Muslims who are not Sunni. ISIS is so brutal that even other terrorist groups, including Al Qaeda, have distanced themselves from it.

“Gang warfare in Jihadi-land: They love death so much, these Islamist extremists, that they have taken to practising it on each other. Not content with inducing young people to blow themselves up, or with slaughtering innocent civilians who happen to get in their way, they have turned in on themselves. Like Chicago in the 1920s, rival gangs are scrabbling for supremacy in the lawless free-for-all battleground that is today’s Syria. At least 2,300 rebels and jihadists have been slain in the past month battling each other in that benighted country.

“The rebel infighting erupted in early January 2014 between a loose alliance of moderates and Islamists on the one hand, and on the other the violent and ruthless jihadist group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, commonly known as ISIS.” (The Jerusalem Post on-line, February 26, 2014)

Israel-Palestine peace talks break down: Peace talks began in 2013 after Israel released 26 Palestinian prisoners (the first of four prisoner releases agreed to by Israel in an attempt to bring Palestine back to the negotiating table). The talks showed signs of breaking down in November 2013 after Israel announced it planned to build 1,500 new homes in east Jerusalem. In March 2014, Israel failed to release the final group of prisoners when PA (Palestinian Authority) President Abbas formally applied to join 15 international agencies, an attempt to gain statehood benefits outside of the negotiating process. Negotiations ceased completely when Fatah and Hamas (opposing factions in Palestinian politics) announced a reconciliation, forming a “unity government.”

Israel-Palestine violence escalates: In June, three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and killed while hiking in the area known as the West Bank. The burned body of a missing Palestinian teenager was found days later in a forest near Jerusalem. Escalating tensions resulted in riots in East Jerusalem. Hundreds of rockets were fired into Israel from Gaza. Israel launched a ground offensive aimed at taking out tunnels used by Hamas to enter Israel. After several failed cease-fire attempts, an agreement mediated by Egypt was accepted by both sides on August 26. In a symbolic act, the British Parliament voted in October to give diplomatic recognition to Palestine.

Following numerous other terror attacks, two Palestinians, armed with a gun and meat cleavers, entered a synagogue in Jerusalem on November 18 during morning prayers and killed four worshipping Rabbis, three American and one British.

“Abbas Applauds Call for Jihad in Jerusalem: Jihadi fighters should not be fighting in Syria but should go to Jerusalem. This was the message of PA Minister of Religious Affairs Mahmoud Al-Habbash, in front of Mahmoud Abbas [President of the PA]:

“‘Whoever wants resistance, whoever wants Jihad, the direction for Jihad is well-known and clear... Those who send young people to Syria or elsewhere to die for a misdirected cause must stop and understand that Jerusalem is still waiting. Jerusalem is the direction, Jerusalem is the address.’

“Abbas, who was in the audience, applauded when Al-Habbash said that Jihadi fighters should not be sent to Syria but to Jerusalem.” (Palestinian Media Watch, January 14, 2014)

“The Palestinian get-together: The recently trumpeted Fatah-Hamas reconciliation brings to mind the notorious Hitler-Stalin pact of 1939 – a totally cynical alliance of sworn enemies, conceived in the temporary self-interest of the two parties without any regard for principle, and destined to be torn asunder within two years.” (The Jerusalem Post on-line, May 7, 2014)

“Hamas bombed Fatah officials’ homes and faked ISIS claim of responsibility: A Western intelligence source speaking exclusively to The Jerusalem Post on Thursday revealed that it was Hamas that bombed homes and vehicles belonging to Fatah officials in Gaza last Friday [November 7], and made sure to forge a false claim of responsibility by the Islamic State in Gaza. ‘We will not allow the return of internal conflicts, chaos and anarchy to the Gaza Strip,’ Hamas spokesman Eyad Al-Bozom said at the time of the blasts.

“The intelligence source said such activities may form a pattern of operation conducted by Hamas when it wants to hurt its rivals without being blamed.”(Jerusalem Post On-line November 13, 2014)

Boko Haram in Nigeria: Boko Haram (the name may be translated “Western education is sin”) is a militant Islamist movement based in northeast Nigeria. Its aim is to create a caliphate (a religious state) in Nigeria based on strict Sharia law. It has bombed schools, churches and mosques, and kidnapped and murdered thousands of people. While the group’s goal is to destroy the Nigerian government, it has expressed its willingness to attack the United States and Europe. The kidnapping of more than 200 girls from a school in the village of Chibok and the Nigerian government’s inept attempts to rescue them sparked international outrage.

“Boko Haram: Terror’s Insidious New Face: Among those moved to demand #BringBackOurGirls [Twitter campaign] have been Jesse Jackson, Angelina Jolie, the Iranian government, the Coca-Cola Co. and the prime minister of Nepal. Michelle Obama used her husband’s weekly address to tell Americans: ‘In these girls, Barack and I see our own daughters.’ …None of this has done anything to bring the girls home. Instead, Boko Haram has responded to the attention by stepping up its attacks… …#BringBackOurGirls is having to confront an awkward suspicion: that by ‘raising awareness,’ the campaigners may have given Boko Haram precisely the global profile it wanted.” (Newsweek.com., July 9, 2014)

Ebola outbreak: An Ebola outbreak in West Africa began in May 2014 and by the fall it had become the worst outbreak of the disease in history. According to the World Health Organization, 5,160 people had died of the outbreak as of November 12. In mid-October, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention placed restrictions on travelers to the U.S. from affected West African countries after several cases of Ebola were diagnosed in the U.S.

Russia and Ukraine: Protests arose in Ukraine in late 2013 when the country’s president, under pressure from Russia, backed out of a trade agreement with the European Union. Protests and violence escalated in early 2014, with the protesters insisting on integration with Europe. With the government in turmoil, the prime minister and the cabinet resigned. Opposing demonstrations broke out in Crimea, a pro-Russian region of Ukraine. Russia sent troops to Crimea, prompting international outrage. In a referendum in Crimea on March 16, 97% of voters chose to secede from Ukraine. On March 18, Putin signed a treaty stating that Russia had annexed Crimea. The U.S. imposed economic sanctions on Russian officials and Putin advisers. The events further deteriorated Russian’s relationship with the U.S. and Europe and complicated talks over Iran’s nuclear program and peace efforts in Syria.

Rise in anti-Semitism: Anti-Semitism is on the rise around the world, particularly in Europe. According to a study released by the Anti­Defamation League, it is estimated that 26% of the world’s adult population harbors anti-Semitic attitudes. A spike in hate speech, rioting and attacks against Jews on the European continent over the summer coincided with the violence in Israel and Gaza.

“Germany warns anti-Semitism rising on back of Middle East violence: Germany’s foreign minister said at an international conference on anti-Semitism on Thursday [November 13] that ‘hatred of Jews’ was on the rise once more in his country and across Europe, fueled by spiraling violence in the Middle East. Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Germany’s Jews were subjected to threats and attacks at pro-Palestinian demonstrations, and the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza must not be used as justification for an anti-Semitic behavior.

“As well as slogans like ‘Gas the Jews!’ during some marches, in July at the height of the 50-day Gaza war petrol bombs were thrown at a synagogue in Wuppertal which had been burnt down on Kristallnacht – a Nazi attack on the Jews in 1938 – and rebuilt.

“‘Bold and brutal anti-Semitism has shown its ugly face again,’ Steinmeier told an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) event.” (Reuters, November 13, 2014)

“Yale chaplain’s resignation reflects larger mainline tensions over Israel: When an Episcopal chaplain at Yale University seemed to suggest that Jews were culpable for Israel’s actions against Palestinians and a related rise in global anti-Semitism, his comments not only led to his resignation but rekindled a debate within mainline Protestant churches about how to respond to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“In a letter to The New York Times responding to an op-ed by Holocaust scholar Deborah Lipstadt about rising European anti-Semitism, the Rev. Bruce Shipman wrote that ‘the best antidote to anti-Semitism would be for Israel’s patrons abroad to press the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for final-status resolution to the Palestinian question.’

“While the Episcopal Church supports a two-state solution and advocates for peace and reconciliation between both sides, Shipman’s flare-up reflects ongoing debate within several mainline denominations about divestment from Israel, sensitivities around anti-Semitism and uneasy attempts to strike a balance.

“The Presbyterian Church (USA) voted earlier this summer to divest pension funds from three companies that sell nonlethal equipment to the Israeli military. Jewish groups denounced the move as biased against Israel and damaging to interfaith relations.

“‘These denominations that used to be uniformly pro-Israel are having significant pressure from groups to be critical of Israel,’ said Jeff Walton, communications manager for the Institute on Religion & Democracy, a conservative Washington think tank that is frequently critical of mainline denominations.” (Religion News Service on-line, September 16, 2014)

Comment: The LORD declared, “I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee.” (Gen. 12:3)

Ferguson Missouri shooting leads to violence in the U.S.: The August 9 shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer in Ferguson, a suburb of St. Louis, led to violent protests. The unrest continued for weeks despite curfews and deployment of the National Guard. Further unrest occurred in November after a grand jury decided not to indict the police officer.

U.S. unaccompanied minor humanitarian crisis: More than 62,000 unaccompanied children from Central America were reported to have entered the U.S. between January and July 2014. Children from El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico are fleeing extreme violence in these countries resulting from the drug trade, organized crime, gangs, and political instability. Children crossing the border are put into the custody of the U.S. border patrol. Some Americans have protested, demanding the children be sent back to their home countries.

“It’s time for church people to stop their usual fussing (COMMENTARY): When churches conclude their summer hiatus and resume full-scale ministries this week, much will have changed from a year ago – outside their doors.

“Conditions might have changed inside, too. But it is the world outside that demands fresh attention in mission and ministry.

“Ferguson, Mo., has happened, revealing disturbing trends in law enforcement and deep fault lines between white experience and black experience.

“Russia’s aggression against Ukraine happened, threatening a resumption of dangerous tensions between Moscow and Western democracies.

“The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria happened, raising the dreaded specter of a take-no-prisoners war on modernity, reason, progress, women and other faiths.

“The 113th Congress happened, mired in systemic dysfunction, with one party determined to cripple a black president and to channel more wealth to the wealthy.

“The Koch brothers and their megabuck cronies happened, changing the face of electoral politics with unprecedented infusions of cash and ideological vitriol.

“The two-tier economy happened, with one tier doing extraordinarily well and a much, much larger tier falling further behind, leaving despair among all age groups.

“Border wars between terrified migrants and swaggering white men bearing arms against children happened, threatening America’s true core value as a welcoming nation promising freedom.

“These outside-the-walls developments have little to do with the usual church fussing – except to say that it’s time for church people to stop their usual fussing.

“This year will be a test. Can American Christianity get over itself and truly serve a desperate society? If churches do nothing more than business as usual – the mega getting more mega in splendid isolation, the struggling trying to hang on by not offending anyone – the Christian enterprise in America will have declared bankruptcy.” (By Tom Ehrich, Religion News Service on-line, September 2, 2014)

Comment: In 1897 Pastor Russell wrote, “The attitude of the people of God should be that of great thankfulness to the Giver of every good. They should make provision for the great storm that is coming and keep very quiet, not unduly interested in the side of either rich or poor. We know in advance that the Lord is on the side of the people. He it is that will fight the Armageddon Battle, and His agency will be that peculiar army – all classes. When this great ‘earthquake’ of social revolution comes, it will not be a mere handful of anarchists, but an uprising of the people to throw off the great power that is strangling them. Selfishness is at the bottom of the whole matter.” (Studies in the Scriptures, Volume IV, Foreword)

Climate change: In March a UN panel released a report that predicted dire consequences for the entire world if leading nations do not take immediate steps to reduce greenhouse gases. The consequences cited include rising sea levels, food and water shortages, crop losses, destructive storms, and geopolitical conflict.

“Pulse of Our Planet: Watching Earth’s vital signs: NASA’s health check on Earth, provided by its satellites, gives a consistent diagnosis: Over the long-term, the planet is warming and this is influencing all aspects of our climate system… Does this mean we are doomed to a grim fate? Not necessarily… Science can influence policy and this can create change… In the words of one recent statement, released by the United Nations: ‘The Earth’s protective ozone layer is well on track to recovery in the next few decades thanks to concerted international action against ozone-depleting substances.’” (Excerpt from Nasa.gov., October 23, 2014)

“Israel surely in front line for climate refugees: As sea levels climb and extreme weather events intensify, climate change will not only impact global ecology, but will also pose a threat to national security, according to a report released by the US Defense Department…

“‘Climate change does not directly cause conflict but it can significantly add to the instability, hunger and conflict,’ Tal [Prof. Alon Tal of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev] told The Jerusalem Post… ‘That does seem to be the case in Israel and even more so among its neighbors.’

“For example, the acute water shortages in the Middle East – a combination of mismanagement and hyper-population growth, exacerbated by drought – can ‘easily be translated into political instability,’ Tal argued.

“Displaced farmers in Syria simply could not continue to produce food without irrigation water, a frustration that was manifested in unrest that led to the extremism of today, he explained.

“‘It surely serves as a cautionary tale for Jordan, Egypt, and even Lebanon,’ Tal said.

“Due to the shift to desalination for drinking water and recycled wastewater in agriculture, Israeli society is much less dependent on rainfall, Tal continued…‘Given its proximity to Africa, Israel is surely in the “front line” for the climate refugees which the anticipated droughts and floods in Africa will produce,’ Tal said.” (Jerusalem Post on-line, October 14, 2014)

Comment: In 1896 Pastor Russell wrote, “Great physical changes in nature may reasonably be expected as a part of the impending trouble (intermingled with the social, political, financial and religious troubles of this day of the Lord). What the changes will be we know not; but we do know that present conditions of climate, etc., are not such as we should expect or are promised ‘when the Kingdom is the Lord’s and he is the governor among the nations.’ If, therefore, any of the King’s Own shall witness at close quarters any of the fearful signs connected with the grand changes now due, let them remember that the Lord knoweth them that are his and will not permit anything to come upon them that he will not overrule for good.” (Reprint No. 2019)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU SPEAKS OUT

“For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle…Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.” (Zech. 14:2,3)

Prime Minister Netanyahu forcefully summarized the current state of the world in a speech before the UN on September 29, 2014. The following are excerpts from his speech:

“Ladies and Gentlemen, The people of Israel pray for peace. But our hopes and the world’s hope for peace are in danger. Because everywhere we look, militant Islam is on the march. It’s not militants. It’s not Islam. It’s militant Islam. Typically, its first victims are other Muslims, but it spares no one. Christians, Jews, Yazidis, Kurds – no creed, no faith, no ethnic group is beyond its sights. And it’s rapidly spreading in every part of the world. You know the famous American saying: ‘All politics is local’? For the militant Islamists, ‘All politics is global.’ Because their ultimate goal is to dominate the world.

“Last week, many of the countries represented here rightly applauded President Obama for leading the effort to confront ISIS. And yet weeks before, some of these same countries, the same countries that now support confronting ISIS, opposed Israel for confronting Hamas. They evidently don’t understand that ISIS and Hamas are branches of the same poisonous tree. ISIS and Hamas share a fanatical creed, which they both seek to impose well beyond the territory under their control.

“Hamas’s immediate goal is to destroy Israel. But Hamas has a broader objective. They also want a caliphate. Hamas shares the global ambitions of its fellow militant Islamists. That’s why its supporters wildly cheered in the streets of Gaza as thousands of Americans were murdered on 9/11. And that's why its leaders condemned the United States for killing Osama Bin Laden, whom they praised as a holy warrior.

“So when it comes to their ultimate goals, Hamas is ISIS and ISIS is Hamas. And what they share in common, all militant Islamists share in common: Boko Haram in Nigeria; Ash-Shabab in Somalia; Hezbollah in Lebanon; An-Nusrah in Syria; The Mahdi Army in Iraq; And the Al-Qaeda branches in Yemen, Libya, the Philippines, India and elsewhere.

“Some are radical Sunnis, some are radical Shi’ites. Some want to restore a pre-medieval caliphate from the 7th century. Others want to trigger the apocalyptic return of an imam from the 9th century. They operate in different lands, they target different victims and they even kill each other in their quest for supremacy. But they all share a fanatic ideology. They all seek to create ever expanding enclaves of militant Islam where there is no freedom and no tolerance – Where women are treated as chattel, Christians are decimated, and minorities are subjugated, sometimes given the stark choice: convert or die. For them, anyone can be an infidel, including fellow Muslims.

“Militant Islam’s ambition to dominate the world seems mad. But so too did the global ambitions of another fanatic ideology that swept to power eight decades ago. The Nazis believed in a master race. The militant Islamists believe in a master faith. They just disagree about who among them will be the master… of the master faith. That’s what they truly disagree about. Therefore, the question before us is whether militant Islam will have the power to realize its unbridled ambitions.

“There is one place where that could soon happen: The Islamic State of Iran. For 35 years, Iran has relentlessly pursued the global mission which was set forth by its founding ruler, Ayatollah Khomeini, in these words: We will export our revolution to the entire world. Until the cry ‘There is no God but Allah’ will echo throughout the world over… And ever since, the regime’s brutal enforcers, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, have done exactly that.

“Listen to its current commander, General Muhammad Ali Ja’afari… He said: Our Imam did not limit the Islamic Revolution to this country… Our duty is to prepare the way for an Islamic world government… Iran’s President Rouhani stood here last week, and shed crocodile tears over what he called ‘the globalization of terrorism.’ Maybe he should spare us those phony tears and have a word instead with the commanders of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. He could ask them to call off Iran’s global terror campaign, which has included attacks in two dozen countries on five continents since 2011 alone. To say that Iran doesn’t practice terrorism is like saying Derek Jeter never played shortstop for the New York Yankees.

“So don’t be fooled by Iran’s manipulative charm offensive. It’s designed for one purpose, and for one purpose only: To lift the sanctions and remove the obstacles to Iran’s path to the bomb. The Islamic Republic is now trying to bamboozle its way to an agreement that will remove the sanctions it still faces, and leave it with the capacity of thousands of centrifuges to enrich uranium. This would effectively cement Iran’s place as a threshold military nuclear power. In the future, at a time of its choosing, Iran, the world’s most dangerous state in the world’s most dangerous region, would obtain the world’s most dangerous weapons.

“Imagine how much more dangerous the Islamic State, ISIS, would be if it possessed chemical weapons. Now imagine how much more dangerous the Islamic state of Iran would be if it possessed nuclear weapons. Ladies and Gentlemen, Would you let ISIS enrich uranium? Would you let ISIS build a heavy water reactor? Would you let ISIS develop intercontinental ballistic missiles? Of course you wouldn’t. Then you mustn’t let the Islamic State of Iran do those things either.

“Because here’s what will happen: Once Iran produces atomic bombs, all the charm and all the smiles will suddenly disappear. They’ll just vanish. It’s then that the ayatollahs will show their true face and unleash their aggressive fanaticism on the entire world. There is only one responsible course of action to address this threat: Iran’s nuclear military capabilities must be fully dismantled. Make no mistake – ISIS must be defeated. But to defeat ISIS and leave Iran as a threshold nuclear power is to win the battle and lose the war.

“The fight against militant Islam is indivisible. When militant Islam succeeds anywhere, it’s emboldened everywhere. When it suffers a blow in one place, it’s set back in every place. That’s why Israel’s fight against Hamas is not just our fight. It’s your fight. Israel is fighting a fanaticism today that your countries may be forced to fight tomorrow.

“For 50 days this past summer, Hamas fired thousands of rockets at Israel, many of them supplied by Iran. I want you to think about what your countries would do if thousands of rockets were fired at your cities. Imagine millions of your citizens having seconds at most to scramble to bomb shelters, day after day. You wouldn’t let terrorists fire rockets at your cities with impunity. Nor would you let terrorists dig dozens of terror tunnels under your borders to infiltrate your towns in order to murder and kidnap your citizens. Israel justly defended itself against both rocket attacks and terror tunnels. Yet Israel also faced another challenge. We faced a propaganda war. Because, in an attempt to win the world’s sympathy, Hamas cynically used Palestinian civilians as human shields. It used schools, not just schools – UN schools, private homes, mosques, even hospitals to store and fire rockets at Israel. As Israel surgically struck at the rocket launchers and at the tunnels, Palestinian civilians were tragically but unintentionally killed. There are heartrending images that resulted, and these fueled libelous charges that Israel was deliberately targeting civilians.

“We were not. We deeply regret every single civilian casualty. And the truth is this: Israel was doing everything to minimize Palestinian civilian casualties. Hamas was doing everything to maximize Israeli civilian casualties and Palestinian civilian casualties. Israel dropped flyers, made phone calls, sent text messages, broadcast warnings in Arabic on Palestinian television, always to enable Palestinian civilians to evacuate targeted areas.

“No other country and no other army in history have gone to greater lengths to avoid casualties among the civilian population of their enemies. This concern for Palestinian life was all the more remarkable, given that Israeli civilians were being bombarded by rockets day after day, night after night. As their families were being rocketed by Hamas, Israel’s citizen army – the brave soldiers of the IDF, our young boys and girls – they upheld the highest moral values of any army in the world. Israel’s soldiers deserve not condemnation, but admiration. Admiration from decent people everywhere.

“Now here’s what Hamas did: Hamas embedded its missile batteries in residential areas and told Palestinians to ignore Israel’s warnings to leave. And just in case people didn’t get the message, they executed Palestinian civilians in Gaza who dared to protest. No less reprehensible, Hamas deliberately placed its rockets where Palestinian children live and play. Let me show you a photograph. It was taken by a France 24 crew during the recent conflict. It shows two Hamas rocket launchers, which were used to attack us. You see three children playing next to them. Hamas deliberately put its rockets in hundreds of residential areas like this. Hundreds of them.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is a war crime. And I say to President Abbas, these are the war crimes committed by your Hamas partners in the national unity government which you head and you are responsible for. And these are the real war crimes you should have investigated, or spoken out against from this podium last week.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, As Israeli children huddled in bomb shelters and Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system knocked Hamas rockets out of the sky, the profound moral difference between Israel and Hamas couldn’t have been clearer: Israel was using its missiles to protect its children. Hamas was using its children to protect its missiles.

“By investigating Israel rather than Hamas for war crimes, the UN Human Rights Council has betrayed its noble mission to protect the innocent. In fact, what it’s doing is to turn the laws of war upside-down. Israel, which took unprecedented steps to minimize civilian casualties, Israel is condemned. Hamas, which both targeted and hid behind civilians – that a double war crime – Hamas is given a pass. The Human Rights Council is thus sending a clear message to terrorists everywhere: Use civilians as human shields. Use them again and again and again. You know why? Because sadly, it works.

“We live in a world steeped in tyranny and terror, where gays are hanged from cranes in Tehran, political prisoners are executed in Gaza, young girls are abducted en masse in Nigeria and hundreds of thousands are butchered in Syria, Libya and Iraq. Yet nearly half, nearly half of the UN Human Rights Council’s resolutions focusing on a single country have been directed against Israel, the one true democracy in the Middle East – Israel, where issues are openly debated in a boisterous parliament, where human rights are protected by independent courts and where women, gays and minorities live in a genuinely free society. The Council’s biased treatment of Israel is only one manifestation of the return of the world’s oldest prejudices. We hear mobs today in Europe call for the gassing of Jews. We hear some national leaders compare Israel to the Nazis. This is not a function of Israel’s policies. It’s a function of diseased minds. And that disease has a name. It’s called anti-Semitism.

“It is now spreading in polite society, where it masquerades as legitimate criticism of Israel. For centuries the Jewish people have been demonized with blood libels and charges of deicide. Today, the Jewish state is demonized with the apartheid libel and charges of genocide. Genocide? In what moral universe does genocide include warning the enemy’s civilian population to get out of harm’s way? Or ensuring that they receive tons, tons of humanitarian aid each day, even as thousands of rockets are being fired at us? Or setting up a field hospital to aid for their wounded? Well, I suppose it’s the same moral universe where a man who wrote a dissertation of lies about the Holocaust, and who insists on a Palestine free of Jews, Judenrein, can stand at this podium and shamelessly accuse Israel of genocide and ethnic cleansing.

“In the past, outrageous lies against the Jews were the precursors to the wholesale slaughter of our people. But no more. Today we, the Jewish people, have the power to defend ourselves. We will defend ourselves against our enemies on the battlefield. We will expose their lies against us in the court of public opinion. Israel will continue to stand proud and unbowed. Ladies and Gentlemen, Despite the enormous challenges facing Israel, I believe we have an historic opportunity.

“After decades of seeing Israel as their enemy, leading states in the Arab world increasingly recognize that together we and they face many of the same dangers: principally this means a nuclear-armed Iran and militant Islamist movements gaining ground in the Sunni world.

“I want peace because I want to create a better future for my people. But it must be a genuine peace, one that is anchored in mutual recognition and enduring security arrangements, rock solid security arrangements on the ground. Because you see, Israel’s withdrawals from Lebanon and Gaza created two militant Islamic enclaves on our borders from which tens of thousands of rockets have been fired at Israel. These sobering experiences heighten Israel’s security concerns regarding potential territorial concessions in the future. Those security concerns are even greater today. Just look around you.

“The Middle East is in chaos. States are disintegrating. Militant Islamists are filling the void. Israel cannot have territories from which it withdraws taken over by Islamic militants yet again, as happened in Gaza and Lebanon. That would place the likes of ISIS within mortar range – a few miles – of 80% of our population. Think about that. The distance between the 1967 lines and the suburbs of Tel Aviv is like the distance between the UN building here and Times Square. Israel’s a tiny country. That’s why in any peace agreement, which will obviously necessitate a territorial compromise, I will always insist that Israel be able to defend itself by itself against any threat. Yet despite all that has happened, some still don’t take Israel’s security concerns seriously. But I do, and I always will. Because, as Prime Minister of Israel, I am entrusted with the awesome responsibility of ensuring the future of the Jewish people and the future of the Jewish state. And no matter what pressure is brought to bear, I will never waver in fulfilling that responsibility.

“In Israel, we have a record of making the impossible possible. We’ve made a desolate land flourish. And with very few natural resources, we have used the fertile minds of our people to turn Israel into a global center of technology and innovation. Peace, of course, would enable Israel to realize its full potential and to bring a promising future not only for our people, not only for the Palestinian people, but for many, many others in our region.

“There is a new Middle East. It presents new dangers, but also new opportunities. Israel is prepared to work with Arab partners and the international community to confront those dangers and to seize those opportunities. Together we must recognize the global threat of militant Islam, the primacy of dismantling Iran’s nuclear weapons capability and the indispensable role of Arab states in advancing peace with the Palestinians.

“All this may fly in the face of conventional wisdom, but it’s the truth. And the truth must always be spoken, especially here, in the United Nations.

“Isaiah, our great prophet of peace, taught us nearly 3,000 years ago in Jerusalem to speak truth to power.

“For the sake of Zion, I will not be silent. For the sake of Jerusalem, I will not be still. Until her justice shines bright, And her salvation glows like a flaming torch. [Isa. 62:1]

“Ladies and Gentlemen, Let’s light a torch of truth and justice to safeguard our common future.” (Published in the Jerusalem Post on-line, September 29, 2014)

____________________________________________________

ANNOUNCEMENT

The date of our Lord’s Memorial is April 1, 2015, after six p.m.

NO. 688: THE GLORIOUS PROCLAMATION

No. 688

“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10,11)

The message of the angels to the shepherds on the plains of Bethlehem becomes more and more precious to each child of God in proportion as he grows in grace and knowledge. As his ears and eyes of understanding open more widely to the lengths and breadths of God’s great Plan of the Ages, that prophetic message is the more highly esteemed as an epitome of the entire Gospel. Nor can we call attention too frequently to the great event which lies at the foundation of that message – the Savior’s birth.

It does not matter that December 25th is not the actual anniversary of the Savior’s birth. It is more likely around the anniversary of the annunciation by the angel Gabriel, the anniversary of the Virgin Mary’s conception, our Lord being born nine months later, or about October 1. One so great, whose birth, death and resurrection from the dead mean so much to the human family, may be remembered and celebrated any day, every day, by all who appreciate what He has done for the human race. Since the majority of Christian people celebrate December 25th as our Lord’s birthday, we make no protest, but join with all in celebrating that day with rejoicing of heart, giving gifts and remembrances one to another, thus copying Divine favor, which gave to mankind the Son of God as a gift of mercy and love for our redemption.

For more than four thousand years the promises of God were given to mankind clothed more or less in obscurity, intimating that ultimately the great curse of sin and death that had come upon the world through Father Adam’s disobedience in Eden would be rolled away. Instead of a curse, God promised a blessing of life-giving refreshment. In various types, figures and shadowy promises this lesson had come down through the ages to the time of our Lord’s birth, especially among the Jews, who were the Divinely favored and covenanted people.

Since the Jews were a people of commercial spirit, many of them were to be found in all parts of the civilized world. Thus the faith in the one God and the hope of Israel through a Messiah were more or less made known among every civilized people, so that at the time of our Savior’s birth we read, “the people were in expectation” of a coming Messiah. (Luke 3:15) The time of our Lord’s birth is quite clearly fixed in the Scriptures and doubtless this expectation was based upon the interpretation of Daniel’s prophecy, which we now see clearly marked the year our Lord reached manhood under Jewish law at thirty years of age. This is when He made His consecration to His work and received the begetting of the Holy Spirit, His anointing as the great antitypical Priest and as the great antitypical King over Israel and the world. (Daniel 9:24-27 – See Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. II, Study III for a detailed discussion)

FROM NAZARETH TO BETHLEHEM

In those times there were honorable cities and ordinary, dishonorable cities. Nazareth was generally recognized as one of the latter, while Bethlehem, the city of Israel’s beloved King David, was distinctly one of the former. The Scriptures explain how, in a seemingly accidental manner, the prophecy was fulfilled which foretold that Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. (Micah 5:2)

At that time the Roman Empire ruled over the whole civilized world, the Jews being subject to it, but waiting expectantly, restlessly, for the coming Messiah, who would deliver them from being a subject people and make of them the ruling class in His Kingdom, which would then have dominion over the whole world. The great Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus was in power at this time, and had sent forth his decree for a polling or census of the whole world for the purpose of taxation, etc.

Mary, our Lord’s mother, and her husband Joseph were both of the lineage of David. (Matt. 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38) St. Luke informs us that it was in response to the royal decree that Joseph and Mary left Nazareth and went up to their native city to be enrolled; thus it was that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. (Luke 2:4,5) Because of the great influx of people at the same time and for the same purpose, accommodations were scarce and the stable of the inn was used by some for lodging. Joseph and Mary, being late comers, were forced to occupy these humble quarters. Thus it was that the King of Glory, whose Kingdom is to soon rule the world, was in the time of His flesh born in a stable and cradled in a manger.

THE ANGELS AND THE SHEPHERDS

Those must have been noble shepherds to whom the Almighty sent the angelic message respecting the birth of Jesus, the Messiah – the message which has rung down through the ages and reached our ears. The more we are able to grasp its meaning, the more it thrills us. First, an angel appeared to the shepherds and allayed their fears, saying, “Fear not.” It would appear that fear is one of the dominating impulses of the human mind, especially in conjunction with Divine revelations.

Even the best of men realize that they are imperfect, and that the Almighty and His laws are perfect. The world seems to realize instinctively that a curse, or condemnation of the Almighty, rests upon it; and it fears instinctively a further curse, a further condemnation, realizing its increasingly sinful condition. This was true at the time of the angels’ proclamation and the same is true today with all except the comparatively few who are well informed respecting the Divine Plan. Thus the subject is generally obnoxious to the world – a subject which they prefer to avoid, because of a feeling of guilt and a dread of further knowledge and condemnation.

Just as the angels then assured the world that God is better than all their fears, the true children of God today should proclaim the same assurance: that “God so loved the world” as to redeem mankind from the just sentence of death, the curse that came upon all as inheritors of Adam’s disobedience and sentence. (John 3:16)

“Good tidings” is another translation of our word Gospel. How beautiful is the thought that the Gospel is really and truly good tidings! Sadly, God’s Plan has been so misrepresented that many of His professed people misrepresent His character and His Word, and apply the term Gospel to their various messages from the Dark Ages, teaching purgatory and eternal torment as the fate of the majority of the human race!

Let us shun this false thought and embrace the truth that the Gospel is good tidings for all people. Thank God, His Plan is wider, deeper, higher and grander than anything which we had ever conceived! The Gospel Message is not merely good tidings to the comparatively few that now have ears to hear and eyes to see its beauties, but in God’s due time it is to be good tidings of great joy to all people the world over. (1 Tim. 2:3-6)

As every member of Adam’s race shared in his fall and in the curse of death which came upon him as a result of his disobedience, so every member of the race was included in the great redemptive sacrifice which our Lord Jesus offered and which was finished at Calvary. (1 Cor. 15:22) God’s Plan in Christ, as it is being worked out and shall ultimately be accomplished, will mean great joy for all people; and the tidings of this fact were given at the very moment of our Lord’s birth, because He was the One through whom all the glorious things of the Divine Purpose and Plan shall ultimately be accomplished.

THE LOGIC OF THE MESSAGE

The message was meant for reasonable people, those who would wish to know why the unchangeable God, who had once pronounced a curse upon the human race, should at any time so change matters, supplanting the curse with a blessing. The messenger stated the philosophy of the Divine Plan: “For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour, which is Christ [Messiah] the Lord.” There we have the key to the entire Gospel statement of how God could be just and yet be the Justifier of sinners who accept Jesus. (Romans 3:26)

The word Savior here signifies Life-giver. How beautiful is the thought: Since death is the wages of sin, the sentence upon the human race, this Messiah was born to be the One who will rescue the human race from the sentence by giving them life again! The explanation of how He would give them life was not made, nor was it necessary at that time. But now, with the light of later developments and with the explanations furnished through the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, we see that our Lord’s voluntary sacrifice of His life, “the just for the unjust,” settles the claims of Divine Justice against Adam, and thus against all who share his death sentence, namely, all mankind.

Truly, the more we see of the Divine Plan for our salvation, which began to take shape in the birth of Jesus, the more we feel like shouting with the angelic choir praises to the God of Heaven, thankfulness for His mercy to the children of men! It did not matter that the babe born in Bethlehem was the Savior only in a prospective sense, that He could not even be anointed to do His work until He reached manhood’s estate thirty years later. It did not matter that even then it would be necessary for Him to lay down His life gradually during the three and a half years of His earthly ministry, to be finished at Calvary. Nor did it matter that His resurrection was still three days after His death, and His ascension forty days later; and that the blessing in general would be deferred for centuries thereafter.

As the angels could then sing and rejoice at the first budding of the Divine Plan of Salvation, so now all who have faith in the ultimate outcome can rejoice with joy unspeakable, giving praise to God in the highest and to His Son our Lord.

“SAVED BY HOPE”

Although nearly twenty centuries have rolled away since that angelic message was delivered, it has not yet been fulfilled, except by faith to those who have the eye and the ear of faith, a “little flock.” (Luke 12:32) But the bad tidings of great misery for nearly all people have been spread abroad in the name of Christ, much to the discredit of the Divine Plan and to the dishonor of the Divine character. Instead of carrying joy, the message has very generally carried grief and sorrow, especially to the kind-hearted and more generously disposed. Indeed we may say that no message of the Lord Jesus has ever reached all people. Even today, after twenty centuries of preaching and evangelizing, only a comparatively small portion of the human family have ever intelligently heard of the only name whereby they might be saved: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

What, then, shall we say of the salvation which has come to those who have truly accepted Christ as their Savior, who are today rejoicing in Him as such, and who by faith are seeing the salvation of God begun in their own hearts and yet to be fully accomplished under the whole heavens? The Apostle calls this the salvation by hope. His words are, “We are saved by hope.” (Romans 8:24)

We are not saved actually; we are still surrounded by sin, pain, sighing, crying and dying; the curse is not yet rolled away. All that the best of God’s people have yet received is salvation by hope, by faith. Yet this anticipation of the future salvation, of the resurrection from the dead, of a participation in the glory, honor and immortality of the Divine nature promised to the Church, and the “restitution of all things” (Acts 3:21) promised to all mankind, is so strong, so clear, that those who possess it are enabled to rejoice even in the midst of the trials, difficulties, weaknesses and unfavorable conditions accompanying the curse that still rests upon the world.

A PROPHECY OF GOOD THINGS

The angelic message was a prophecy of good things to be accomplished for the Church and the world during the Millennial Age, with the Church having the first blessing. The First Resurrection is to be composed only of those blessed and holy ones who shall live and reign with Christ during the thousand years. Then Satan shall be bound, and the good influences of truth and righteousness shall enlighten the whole earth. (Rev. 20:1-6) The Scriptures declare that the deliverance of the Church will come early in the morning of the Millennial Day: “God shall help her at the dawn of the morning.” (Psa. 46:5, Darby)

We are glad that the Divine mercy and love are of such lengths and breadths and heights and depths as to encompass the whole world of mankind, providing a blessing for every member of Adam’s race through Him who loved us and bought us with His own precious blood.

During the Millennium this prophecy will have fulfillment. The great Savior who has already redeemed us by His sacrifice will stand forth as the King, the glorified Messiah, and establish His dominion of righteousness in the world for the blessing and uplifting of every member of the human race. In the words of the Apostle, it will be a time of refreshing and restoration, “the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” (Acts 3:19-21)

If God had based the hope of the world upon the world’s righteousness or works of merit, then indeed we might have reason to fear the world’s fate. Indeed, the more we know about the world, the less hope we would have for it. But, on the contrary, God has based the entire proposition for the future blessing, not upon our worthiness, but upon the worthiness and sacrifice of His Son. To us all a Savior, a Life-giver was born, who is Messiah the Lord.

How it adds to our enjoyment of the blessings of the coming age to know that the trials and difficulties of the present Gospel Age are subject to the Divine supervision in the interest of the Little Flock gathered in advance from among men – the Elect, the Church! We recognize their trials and difficulties as the chiselings and polishings necessary to their development in the fruits and graces of the Holy Spirit in character-likeness of God’s dear Son, our Lord, our Hope, the Bridegroom. How joyful the thought that soon the elect number called from the world to be “the Bride, the Lamb’s Wife,” will enter into her glory! How precious the thought that then they shall be privileged with their Lord and Master to extend the Divine favor of blessing and uplift to the world! What higher honor or privilege or blessing could possibly come to anyone?

THE ANGELS’ SONG

It was after the giving of the message of good tidings of great joy by the Heavenly one that a host of angels appeared to the shepherds, saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14) This, too, is a prophecy. It is not yet true, but will be fulfilled in every detail in God’s due time, which we believe is soon. God does not yet receive glory in the highest, and not yet is there peace among men. Quite to the contrary! God’s name is blasphemed, not only by those who vulgarly and in ribald jest take the Divine name in vain, not merely by the heathen who worship devils and think that these are gods, but even by Christian people.

Every day God’s name is blasphemed by those who profess to be His people, who profess to uphold the Holy Name. Blasphemy is any dishonorable misrepresentation of another. God be merciful to us, for at some time or other doubtless every one of us has blasphemed His holy name in this manner – by misrepresenting the Divine character and the Divine Plan, by picturing the God of Love, of Mercy, of Justice and of Truth as the originator, the planner, the perpetrator of the eternal torment of the great mass of His human creatures, born in sin and “shapen in iniquity,” as prone to sin as sparks are to fly upward! (Psa. 51:5)

But God had mercy upon us because we did it ignorantly. Therefore we should have compassion upon others who still ignorantly misrepresent our God; and our energies should be continually bent to their assistance, that the eyes of their understanding might open more widely to perceive the lengths and breadths and heights and depths, and to know the love and peace of God, “which passeth all understanding.” (Phil. 4:7)

Noting that peace on earth and good will to men have not followed the Savior’s birth thus far, and not discerning that this is a prophecy of what is to be accomplished during the Millennium, many have been inclined to change the translation of this verse so as to have it read, “On earth peace among men in whom He is well pleased.” However, by this change the statement would not be true; for even God’s people have no peace upon earth. Whatever peace they have is in their hearts, and is based upon their faith in God and in the glorious things which He has promised. Our Lord Jesus Himself and the Apostles testified to this, assuring us that whosoever in this present time would live godly should suffer persecution, and that a man’s foes should be they of his own household. (2 Timothy 3:12; Matthew 10:36)

Let us not confuse ourselves nor abridge the testimony of the Word, but with the eye of faith look forward to the Day of Christ, when all these glorious prophecies will have their fulfillment, when peace shall indeed fill the whole earth with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD (Isa. 11:9), bringing Divine favor and rolling away the curse from the entire groaning creation, as pointed out by the Apostle. (Rom. 8:21,22)

FULFILLED IN GOD’S DUE TIME

This prophecy will not be fulfilled at the inauguration of the Millennium. The entire age will be required to lift the human family out of sin, sickness, pain, sorrow and death, up, up to all that was lost in Adam. Not until the end of the age will there indeed be glory to God in the highest; not until then will there be complete peace among men. Nor are we to understand that the entire human race will be appreciative of the Divine love and favor even after they have fully seen the righteousness of God manifested in Christ.

On the contrary, the Scriptures teach clearly that there will be a class who will then prove unfit for life eternal, unappreciative of the Divine favor. All such shall be destroyed from among the people in the Second Death. (Acts 3:23)

Thus by the close of the Millennium, Satan and all willful wrongdoers having been destroyed, the time will come, as declared in the Scriptures, when all voices in Heaven and in earth and under the earth shall be heard praising God and the Lamb forever. Hosanna! Glory to God in the highest! Peace and good will to men! This will be the final shout of a redeemed race when the great Plan of Salvation shall have been fully worked out according to the Divine Purpose from the beginning, as set forth in the Scriptures. (Phil. 2:10,11; Eph. 3:11)

GIFTS TO OUR KING

The wise men of the East came seeking the new-born Jesus, the King of the Jews, with presents of myrrh, frankincense and gold. We may gather from this event some valuable suggestions regarding what our gifts should be to the great Messiah.

God chose as messengers of His good tidings not only wise men but reverent men, men of faith. His choice of these messengers from the east to arouse the people of Judea and Jerusalem and to be heralds of the great King was not an exception to the rule. Although heathen men, in the sense of not being of the nation with which God had thus far dealt and to whom He had thus far confined His gracious promises, they were, nevertheless, good men, reverent men, who delighted to know of the coming blessing of peace on earth and good will among men, regardless of what channel or nationality from which God should be pleased to find His representative and messenger.

In one respect many of Christendom could learn numerous important lessons from these wise Gentiles. No false patriotism stood in their way to hinder their appreciation of any manifestation of divine favor to the children of men. And when they found the Savior they were not daunted by the humbleness of His surroundings.

They worshiped Him in three senses of the word: (1) They fell before Him, prostrating themselves, thus physically expressing their reverence. (2) They worshiped Him in their hearts and with their tongues gave expression to their rejoicing and confidence. (3) They opened their treasure-box and presented to Him three gifts appropriate to royalty: the myrrh representing submission, frankincense representing praise, and gold representing obedience.

If we would properly reflect on our own circumstances, the reverent spirit of these men who had so little light, so little knowledge respecting the great Messiah and His work, might bring us shame. We are favored with a still brighter light to guide us to the Lamb of God; we have seen His star in a still better and truer sense; we have been guided to Him by the prophecies; we have found Him not only a babe, but one who would bear our sorrows and carry our grief and make His soul an offering for sin, that we by His stripes might be healed. What manner of oblation should we pour at the feet of Him who loved us and bought us with His precious blood? Have we bowed the knee with deep reverence, prostrated ourselves, given outward evidence through our bodies of full submission to our great King whose gracious provisions for the Church and for the world of mankind we have heard, not uncertainly, but with the sure voice of the Word of God?

Have we offered our myrrh? Have we shown willingness for service even to the extent of bitterness? Have we shown joy to honor the King to the extent of suffering with him? Have we offered Him the frankincense of heart adoration, appreciation, and gratitude? Have we laid at His feet our earthly obedience, our substance, our gold? Have we realized that all that we have, all that we are, is too small an offering to be worthy of acceptance by the great King Immanuel?

That which was illustrated by the three gifts of the wise men is all represented in this brief statement, “Give me thine heart.” (Prov. 23:26)

(Based on Pastor Russell Reprints 3700-3702)

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THE SONG OF RESTITUTION

“And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image… stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of Nations [margin]. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.” (Rev. 15:2-4)

Who sings the “song of Moses” and the “song of the Lamb” and when? We recognize it as the very Song of Restitution sung by the Saints, those who have gained victory over the decrees of orthodox Christianity (the beast and it image).

This is the song which none as yet but the overcomers, the victors, can truly appreciate and sing, but in the Millennial Age its prophecy shall be fulfilled and all shall learn that song. All shall learn of the divine mercy, and all peoples shall bow to the LORD, to confess His goodness and His love, enjoying the opportunity of full reconciliation to God, the opportunity of a full return to the perfect conditions of mind and body, and the opportunity for life everlasting. As many as are willing upon God’s terms, will return to all these things lost by Adam’s disobedience, and brought back by the great Redeemer, Christ.

Sea symbolizes people of the world, the comparison to glass, showing that their condition is easily recognized by those who stand on or above them. The victors are all who can sing this song. We see the sea (people) mingled with fire, (judgments). Though pitying them we cannot stop to weep, for our hearts are filled with joy by the unfolding before us of the Word and Plan of God, and our mouths are filled with the Song of Restitution saying: “Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of Nations.”

Who except those seeing that there is to be a “restitution of all things” can say or think God’s ways with the Nations “just and true?” Look back to the great nations slaughtered without ever having a chance to know Him, the only name whereby they might have been saved: the Amorites, Amelekites, Hitites, Jebuzites, etc. Without understanding God’s Plan, none can do more than try in a feeble way to excuse God’s actions by saying that those were wicked people, forgetting that wickedness can only exist where there is law and knowledge of good.

Who could do more than attempt an excuse for the destruction of Sodom? After all, Jesus said that if His mighty works done among the Jews had been done in Sodom “it would have remained until this day.” (Matt. 11:23) It could not be excused – God doesn’t want us to excuse Him.

“God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.”

He will make it plain if we will only let Him, and not bind ourselves with creeds so that we dare not believe what His word tells us: that these same Sodomites are to be restored – brought back to “their former estate” for instruction in the next age under the New Covenant as “daughters” of Israel. (Ezek. 16:48-63) Only they who see these beauties of God’s plan, can truly say – “Just and true are thy ways, thou King of Nations.”

According to orthodox belief at least nine out of every ten shall not, either in this life, or hereafter glorify God’s name. But we reply: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” (1 Tim. 2:5,6) When in the Millennial Age, God’s “due time” for testifying it to the world shall have come, we believe that almost all will fear and glorify Him and love Him, too. What they lack now is knowledge:

“If all the world my Saviour knew,
Then all the world would love Him too.”

Who believes the next statement? “All nations shall come and worship before thee.” Not those who think that all but a very few are to be tormented in hell forever; not those, either, who believe that all will be annihilated except the Saints; and certainly not those who believe in only a partial restitution, that the living nations only are to come and worship God in the next age. No, none of these can or do sing this song. Those who can sing it in full are those who know the Truth about the “restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began,” restitution even to the Sodomites of whom no remnant was left when the LORD rained down brimstone and fire upon them.

“Thy judgments [righteous acts] are made manifest.” We can see in the unfolding of the great plan that God’s dealings are all righteous, and just, and we can make it manifest to any not blinded by the tradition of men, which makes the word of God of none effect. (Mark 7:8,13)

“Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.”

If we sing the Song of Restitution we have to some extent gotten the victory over the Beast and his image. But you ask, where are the “harps of God?” The harps are the Word of God and Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, David, Job, Moses and all the prophecies are but strings to the harp; they only require keying up and they will produce the sweetest harmony of this “Song of Moses and the Lamb,” for as Peter says, God hath spoken of restitution by the mouth of all these holy Prophets. (Acts 3:21)

Tune up your harps, dearly beloved, and sing aloud the glad Song of Restitution! Sing to your dear friends who love God, despite what seems to them His injustice. But if they will not hear, sing to the world. It will be a bow of promise to them when they go further down into the time of trouble. And if you cannot do this, sing it loudly in your own heart. It will bring you joy and comfort to think of our Father’s love and realize that “His mercy endureth for ever.” (Ps. 136) It will open and warm your heart and enrich it with love, love for the Father and for those who are the objects of His care and love.

“Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.” (Psa. 89:15) We couple with this a similar expression by the same poet prophet, who declares, “I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.” (Psa. 23:6) The members, living stones in the spiritual house, the heavenly Temple will indeed dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

This text will be true also of the world during the Millennial Age. All mankind will then be invited to approach the LORD in worship, to approach the spiritual Temple, the Christ, and through the Christ to approach the Father; and all who shall hear that message and who shall obey it will be glad indeed, even as the message brought by the angels at the birth of Jesus intimated that eventually the tidings of great joy shall be unto all people.

(Based on Pastor Russell Reprints 130 and 3282)

We wish all our readers a blessed holiday season.

“Thanks be unto God for his un­speakable gift.” (2 Cor. 9:15)

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