NO. 234: THE BIRTH OF OUR SAVIOR

No. 234

Of the four records, only John’s attempts to trace our Lord’s genealogy to the heavenly source, and to show us that before He was made flesh He was a spirit being with the Father and a sharer of His glory – a god with the God. But all of the Evan­gelists are clear in their statement that He “was made flesh” – not that he remained a spirit being, and assumed flesh as clothing in which to appear to men, but, however ex­plainable, that the life power of the spirit being, the Logos, became the life power of the human being, born of a woman and under the Law, subject to all the conditions and circumstances of the Jews. Matthew traces Joseph’s genealogy; for although the state­ment is clear that Jesus was not the son of Joseph, nevertheless, being adopted by him as his son, He might, without impropriety, inherit through him. Luke shows the gene­alogy of Mary, by which our Lord was actually related, according to the flesh, to our race and to the royal family of David through the line of Nathan.

The time of our Lord’s birth was an auspicious one in several respects, and very evidently Divine wisdom had exercised itself in respect to the world’s affairs by way of preparation for the important event: (1) the spirit of world-conquering that began with Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom was favorable to it, in the sense that it brought the various families or nations of mankind into closer contact with each other, broaden­ing their ideas. (2) This policy had resulted in the transplanting of peoples from one land to another, and thus had made them more cosmopolitan in their sentiments. (3) Israel and Judah, thus transplanted in their captivity to Babylon, became so at­tached to the new conditions that comparatively few of them availed themselves of the offer of Cyrus to return to their own land, only about fifty thousand of all the tribes, out of several millions. The Jews among the Gentiles were by no means lost and had by no means abandoned all of their hopes in the Abrahamic Covenant nor all of their faith­fulness to the Mosaic Law – although they were lax in these matters and too full of love of gain and ease to cultivate the spirit of Israelites indeed. Nevertheless, they had their influence amongst all the nations with whom they dwelt, and were witnesses to the hopes of Israel in the one God and in a coming Messiah, the Son of God, to be the world’s Deliverer. (4) The triumph for a time of the Greek Empire had brought to the civilized world a highly developed literature – the Greek language had reached its zenith, and was the literary language of the civilized world. (5) The Roman Empire had conquered the world and was in the height of its power, and as a result there was a time of universal peace, and hence a more favorable time than any before for the an­nouncement of the Gospel and for the safety of its represent­atives in passing from na­tion to nation. (6) Israel itself had reached probably its highest development, in­tellectually, morally and religiously, and additionally we are told in the Scriptures that “All men were in expectation” of the Messiah’s coming. (Luke 3:15)

The noting of these little incidentals by which Divine providence prepared for our Savior’s birth and for the sending forth of the Gospel message, is strengthening to the faith of the Lord’s people. Realizing God’s care in the past over even the little things, gives a foundation for confidence in His wisdom and provision for the features of His plan which are yet future – the fulfillment of all the exceeding great and precious promises which centered in Him who was born in Bethlehem. And so also a realization of the Divine providence in the larger affairs of the Divine plan stimulates faith also in the Lord’s providences as respects the personal and more private affairs of His people. Let us more and more realize that, as even the smallest inci­dents connected with the birth of our Savior were ordered of the Lord, so also He is both able and willing to order all of the affairs of His spiritual children. Let us reason with the Apostle that, if God loved us while we were yet sinners, so as to make such careful provision for our redemption, much more now that we are no longer rebels, aliens, strangers, foreigners, but have become His sons, fellow-heirs with Christ and all the saints, we may have confidence in His love and in His providential care, that according to His promise all things shall work together for good to them that love Him to the called ones according to His purpose. (Rom. 8:28)

The same decree that brought Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem brought many others of the numerous family of David, and as the inns or hotels of that time were comparatively limited in numbers and in capacity, it is not surprising that the inn proper was full of guests when Joseph and Mary arrived. Indeed, it was rather the custom for many travelers to carry with them their own lodging outfit, and to provide for their own conveniences in the courtyard connected with the inns. And hence the experiences of Joseph and Mary were by no means exceptional. When therefore the Babe Jesus was born, a manger became His most convenient cradle.

The city of Bethlehem still exists, and probably is not so dissimilar to what it was in that day, for in that land customs seem to have changed but little in centuries. A certain grotto is claimed to be the one which nineteen hundred years ago was the stable of the inn, and a certain stone manger is shown which, it is claimed, was the one in which the Babe Jesus was laid. Over this has been erected a Catholic Church, and various ceremonies are continually performed in and about and connected with “the sacred manger.” With such ceremonies we can feel little sympathy, believing them to be rather of the nature of idolatries. To us the center of interest is not the holy ground on which our Savior trod, nor the holy manger in which He lay as a babe, nor His holy mother; yea, though we reverence His flesh, and are deeply interested in all that pertains thereto, especially in all its experiences, from the time of its conse­cration to death at baptism; nevertheless, our greater interest is in our risen Lord, the new creature perfected, the spiritual One, far above manhood, far above angels, principalities and powers and every name that is named – next to the Father, and ex­alted to His right hand of power. The Apostle voices this sentiment well, saying, “Though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him (so) no more” – our knowledge of Him as the risen and glorified Lord and Savior thoroughly out­shines all of our interest in His earthly life. (2 Cor. 5:16) And yet His earthly life is interesting and profitable to us, as we have seen and shall see.

Had the people assembled at Bethlehem realized who this was that had come to their city – that He was from the heavenly courts, that He was the Logos made flesh, that He had come to “save His people from their sins” – how gladly they would have wel­comed Him into the inn and have given to His use and comfort its choicest apartment! But they knew Him not, and hence lost this great privilege of ministering to Him. Sim­ilarly, in every city and town where the Lord’s people are (His true saints), there are many who would make them welcome and give them the best at their disposal, did they but recognize them as the messengers of Jesus and of the Heavenly Father; but as the Apostle says, “The world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not.” (1 John 3:1) The disciple must not expect to be above his Lord, and hence, even when going upon missions of mercy and benevolence and as ambassadors for God, we should expect that the Lord’s providence would furnish for us, not the most palatial conditions, but probably very humble conditions. And when we find it thus we should rejoice that to some extent at least we have experiences which harmonize with those of our Lord.  The Lord’s people will obtain a blessing in proportion as they are prepared to receive all opportunities for God’s service as Divine favors and to appreciate them, no matter how humble the conditions; and it is noteworthy that neither Joseph, nor Mary, nor Jesus, nor the disciples, nor the Evangelist who recorded the incident, offer the slightest complaint or suggestion of dissatisfaction with the arrangements provided by Divine providence. In proportion as they would have felt dissatisfied with the arrangements provided, in that proportion the Divine plans would not have worked for their good.

SHEPHERDS WATCHING BY NIGHT

The vicinity of Bethlehem is a pastoral country, and today is covered with flocks. It was the custom of that time for the shepherds to remain with their flocks by night as a guard against thieves as well as against wild beasts. It was in this vicinity that David (afterward king), when a shepherd-boy protecting his flocks, slew on one oc­casion a lion and at another time a hear. The shepherds as a class were not particu­larly well educated people as respects schools, and yet many of them were thoughtful and thus secured, in their leisure time while watching their flocks, by reflection and by conversation, considerable knowledge, so that they might he termed an intellectual and thinking class of people – their minds being turned more to reflection on large subjects than are the minds of some who are constantly immersed in trade and mechanics. The shepherd whom God honored in making him king of His typical kingdom, was a great poet, and evidently much of his time while shepherding was given to the muse, and one of his most beautiful poems (Psalm 23) represents Jehovah himself as the Shepherd of His people – His flock, for which He cares. It was to men of this thoughtful class, and no doubt men familiar with David’s Psalms, and with the Messianic hopes therein set forth, that the Lord sent the first message respecting His Son made flesh.

The description of the appearance of an angel, and of the fear which the bright­ness of his countenance engendered, is both simple and natural. All mankind more or less feels instinctively a fear of the supernatural, a trepidation at the very thought of being in the presence of the holy angels. And this is proper as well as natural, for all realize their own imperfections through the fall, fearing more or less that the results to themselves would be unfavorable if Divine justice were laid to the line and to the plummet in respect to their affairs. All seem instinctively to realize their need of mercy at the hands of Him with whom we have to do. And so it was with these shepherds; they were affrighted as they beheld the heavenly visitor in their midst; but his message was not one of justice, nor in any sense of condemnation, but of Divine mercy. He soothed them with the words, “Be not afraid; for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be unto all people.” Can we wonder that joy took the place of fear in their hearts as they heard the gracious words? Surely not. And so it is with all who from that day to the present time have heard this true Gospel mes­sage, not merely with the outward ears, but truly, with the ears of their understanding comprehending and appreciating it.

How false and how sad has been the understanding of this message by many of God’s people as it has echoed to them down the Ages! How few have heard it gladly, appre­ciatively! How remarkable that nearly all of the different churches and their thous­ands of ministers and hundreds of thousands of Sunday School teachers should unite in a complete contradiction of this message of the angels – a contradiction which not only wounds their own sentiments and grieves their own hearts, but which robs our dear Sav­ior’s mission of nine-tenths of its majesty, and thoroughly dishonors and maligns the name of our gracious Heavenly Father by its misrepresentation of the salvation which He has provided in Christ Jesus. Even in our day there are some who have received the true “good tidings of great joy which shall be unto all people,” deny this great Truth: they say, “not all the people – only those people who join with us.”

GOOD VERSUS BAD TIDINGS

Some perhaps may be surprised, and even shocked, at such an arraignment of the message which they and other well-meaning but blinded Christians are delivering in the name of the Gospel – for the word “gospel” signifies by  derivation  glad  or  good  tidings. We are quite ready to believe that the vast majority of those who promulgate the bad tidings of eternal misery, as being the Divine message and sentence to the vast majority of mankind, are wholly unaware of how seriously they misrepresent the Divine character and govern­ment in the message which they carry to men; they misstate the Gospel, not of intention, but of blindness, the very blindness mentioned by the Apos­tle as originating with the great Adversary (2 Cor. 4:4) – the blindness by which he blinds the minds of the vast majority, to hinder them from realizing the glorious light of God’s goodness revealed in Jesus Christ our Lord.

O, if we could only get all true Christians to study Luke 2:10, and see the depths of its significance, it would quickly revolutionize the teachings of Christendom! But as our Lord declared, some of the deep things of the Divine plan are hidden from many of the wise and prudent according to the course of this world, and are revealed only to the humble – the babes. Nevertheless, the testimony of God standeth sure, and all whose understandings have been opened and who have been enabled to comprehend some of the lengths and the breadths, and the heights and the depths of God’s love, may rejoice that the ignorance of the world in general on this subject and the opposition of the great Adversary who is blinding them, cannot continue forever, but must soon give place, when the Lord’s due time shall come: when He who died on Calvary for the world’s redemp­tion shall begin His glorious reign by binding that old serpent, the devil, Satan, that he should deceive the nations no more for the thousand years of the Millennial reign. Then all shall see out of obscurity; then all shall discern what at present is the privilege of only the favored few to see, respecting the Divine character and plan ­that the message of the angel was true, every word of it – that the grand results to flow from the birth of the Savior in Bethlehem justified the message sent by the great Jehovah, -- a good message of great joy which eventually shall be to all people – whose enlightenment and blessing shall have no hindrance, no restriction, and as a result all shall come to “an accurate knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim. 2:4, Dia.) and to an oppor­tunity of availing themselves of the grace, mercy and peace provided for all in the great salvation secured by Jesus’ ransom-sacrifice. In that glorious reign, “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), in contrast to the present “evil world” when “the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.” (2 Cor. 4:4)

The angel further explained his great Gospel message, showing its basis, and de­claring that all the good things mentioned should come to pass because the Savior, Messiah, had been born – the one so long looked for in Israel, the promised seed of Abraham in whom not only Israel should be blessed and exalted to honor, dignity and cooperation, but in whom also “all the families of the earth should be blessed.” And let us here remark that the order of presentation used by the heavenly messenger, and evidently Divinely ordered, is the proper presentation of this subject which should be adopted by all who seek to be used of the Lord as His ambassadors. First, there is the grand pronouncement of Divine favor and blessing, that it is a cause for joy, and that ultimately it shall extend to every creature; secondly, there is the specific explanation of how all this is to be accomplished – through a Savior, a Deliverer, who as stated in our text, in order to deliver His people from the wages of sin, death, into eternal life and blessing, must first of all save them from their sins. And we see from other Scriptures that this salvation from our sins signifies not only the payment on our behalf of the penalty for Adamic Sin, but also, subsequently, man’s in­struction in righteousness and lifting out of sin; in which uplift each one is re­quired to cooperate to the extent of his will and ability.

So all teaching of the grace that is to come to mankind should be coupled with the philosophy of the salvation – the Savior made flesh and the flesh devoted or sacrificed for our sins, and the Savior glorified, that in due time after the selection of His Church, He might, with her, according to the Divine plan, establish His Kingdom of righteousness for the uplifting of the world of mankind out of ignorance, superstition and general degradation into which the great Adversary has gotten them into through the fall and through his subsequent blinding and misleading. In this connection it is well to remember that our Lord’s name, Jesus, signifies Jehovah is salvation, and that all who would be of the elect Church must have the spirit of the bridegroom (as well as by faith he covered with the garment of His imputed righteousness); and that His spirit is one of opposition to sin to the extent of self-sacrifice. We also are to “resist unto blood (death) striving against sin.” (Heb. 12:4)

Then the angel gave the shepherds an intimation of the humble conditions under which this great King of earth was born into the world, as a babe, wrapped in swaddling bands and lying in a manger. This was necessary, not only to their identification of Jesus, but necessary also to bring down their thoughts from the great and grand results to its humble beginnings, lest they should be misled in their expectations. And as it is with every part of the Divine plan, so also it should be in respect to all of our proclamations of the same. We are not only to tell of the future glory and greatness and grandeur, but we are to tell also of the present humiliation – not only of our Sav­ior who humbled Himself to take a low estate amongst men, and to die for our sins, but also to point out that the “elect” are called to walk in His footsteps, under similarly humiliating circumstances – to suffer with Him, if they would reign with Him; to die with Him, if they would live with Him.  And thus also the prophets spoke not only of the glory that should follow, but also of the sufferings of Christ (Head and Body) which must precede the glory. (1 Pet. 1:11) The lesson to every one who has ears to hear it is, “No cross, no crown.” Let us, then, humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, and rejoice in every step of the humiliation that He may exalt us in due time to share the glories of His Son, our Lord, and to share with Him the grand work of blessing all the families of the earth.

It was a fitting climax that, after the one angel had told the surprised shepherds of the good tidings of great joy for all people and was ready to depart, he should he joined by an angelic host, singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” This was but a reiteration of the Gospel message already de­livered. It declared that the work which should be accomplished by the babe just born, should redound to the highest glory and honor of Jehovah God, His Father. It declared also that through this work to be accomplished by Jesus should come to earth Divine good will and consequently peace, – and all that these would imply in the way of bless­ings of restitution and privilege of attaining everlasting life.

But how much in conflict with all this are the erroneous theories which have gained credence in Christendom, which teach that, notwithstanding the ransom which our Lord Jesus gave, and notwithstanding the turning aside of the original sentence upon our race as the result of the propitiation for our sins accepted by the Father, the vast majority of the human family will nevertheless, to all eternity, be in rebellion against God, and in torture will continually blaspheme His name; – and that without ever having had a full, reasonable opportunity to know the Savior or to accept His salvation. How strange that any should think that such a plan would be glory to God in the highest!

How strange that any should refuse to see the very plain statement of the Scrip­ture that God has provided through Christ that every member of the human family shall have a full opportunity of coming to a knowledge of the truth, and then of relinquish­ing sin and of accepting new life of righteousness under the New Covenant – and that then whoever still refuses and will not submit himself to this righteous arrangement (refuse to rid themselves of the Adamic Death Process – the defilements they had re­maining in their characters from the reign of sin) shall be utterly destroyed from amongst the people (Acts 3:23) – in the Second Death, –that none will be suffered to live in sin and opposition to God to blemish any part of God’s dominions, but that all the incorrigible shall be as though they had not been. In no other way can we pos­sibly imagine that the time will ever come when there will be full peace among men.

The only solution which God offers respecting the establishment of peace is in connection with the establishment of His Kingdom, for which our dear Redeemer taught us to pray, “Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.” That will mean peace in its fullest and most absolute sense. The Scriptural propo­sition does not include the violation of any man’s will, but merely the offering through Christ of any opportunity for the everlasting blessing and peace, or his cutting off in the Second Death if he fails to appreciate the Divine offer. (Acts 3:23) The 35th Chapter of Isaiah is a brief and beautiful description of that glorious Kingdom.

The shepherds having heard of God’s grace manifested their interest by visiting and paying their homage to the Savior; and so each one who has heard of the grace of God with an appreciative heart can do nothing less than seek the Lord and do Him rev­erence and serve His cause by proclaiming the gracious message with which he has been favored. Let us each do so, and thus more and more increase in our hearts our joys and our appreciation of the Gospel – the Good News.

THE GREAT SHEPHERD AND HIS SHEEP

“The Lord is my Shepherd.” (Psa. 23:1) The thought presented in this text – as in other Scriptures – is that the great Over-Shepherd appointed His Son to be the Under Shepherd of the Sheep, even as the Son has appointed under-shepherds in the Church sub­ject to Him. The great Under-Shepherd does not shepherd goats or wolves. The only ones who are shepherded are the sheep; and special care is taken of the faithful Flock of God. The great Over-Shepherd looks out for the interests of His sheep, provides for them, leads them into green pastures, as the Psalmist tells us. He also protects them from wolves and other ravenous beasts. The Scriptures give us good evidence that orig­inally the Jewish nation constituted this flock, and that King David recognized himself as one of the sheep. Israel was not chosen by the Lord because they were better than the rest of mankind; but God made an exception of the people on account of Father Abra­ham, for whose sake He became the “Shepherd of Israel.” Because of Abraham’s great faith in God and his implicit obedience under the most crucial tests, the Lord promised to make of his seed a peculiar people above all the peoples of the earth.  He promised to bless them, to assume a particular care over their affairs, and eventually to use them in blessing all other nations. So God made the Hebrews His chosen people. And in proportion as they were obedient to His commands, He blessed them; and whenever they went astray, He chastised them and brought them back again under His care. And this is true of spiritual Israel, during the Gospel Age, He chastises the “children of disobedience” (the Measurably Faithful new creatures) and abandons them for a time un­til they are penitent and repent of their willfulness – at which time He brings them back again under His care.

So while the Lord had a care over the affairs of Natural Israel, and still has a care, He has a still more particular care over the affairs of Spiritual Israel. How­ever, as we know, the first privilege of becoming a member of Spiritual Israel was offered to Natural Israel – just as the first privilege of becoming a member of Christ’s children when the New Covenant is inaugurated, will be to Natural Israel – to Israel after the flesh. But all now who are privileged to use these words are the fully faithful of the Faith Age: “Jehovah is my Shepherd; I shall not want.  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake.” In this 23rd Psalm there is a distinction between sheep and wolves in the Faith Age, just as there is a difference of sheep and goats during the works Age – during Christ’s Kingdom. God has chosen for the members of this nation those – few in number – who are sheep like in disposition and who desire to come into His Fold. For these He has provided a par­ticular way in which to enter this Fold. He does not have bears in His Fold, nor ti­gers nor wolves nor birds of prey. God does not recognize such; they are not to be fed and cared for as He cares for His sheep.

If, therefore, we would claim the promise of this beautiful Psalm, we must make sure that we are of sheep like disposition and desirous of being led of the True Shep­herd. We are to be careful to note that there is only one Shepherd who is able to care for our interest and who can be safely entrusted with them. A strange shepherd would lead the sheep astray, would lead them into difficulties, dangers and disaster. For this reason we do not trust everybody who wears the garb of a shepherd. There is but one Shepherd that we can trust. He has appointed as the Under-Shepherd the One who died for us, that He might fully deliver all the sheep from the Evil One – the roaring lion who walketh about seeking whom he may devour. Our gracious Savior left the Courts of Glory and came down to earth, and for thirty-three years He traversed with weary feet this vale of tears. He mingled with the poor and lowly; He wept with the sorrowing and the sinful; He had no place to lay His head. He bore the griefs and sickness of those about Him. He did all this to recover us from the bond­age of sin – to deliver us from the death sentence imposed upon Adam and all in his loins. How grateful we should be for such a Shepherd! How can we sufficiently show forth His praise! Truly we can never know this on this side of the veil, “how dark was the night that the Lord passed through,” that He might redeem us to God – and not only His sheep of the Faith Age, but also the sheep of the Millennial Age.

But the sheep of the present Age, who are to be exalted, and are to do a shep­herding work for the sheep of the incoming Age, are given a distinct and peculiar training, to fit them for their future great work. From the time they are accepted to this higher plane, they are dealt with accordingly. This means that they must have certain trials and afflictions, according to the flesh. They represent only a small portion of mankind – those who have special qualities of earnestness, humility and love of righteousness. It is a “narrow way.” But, having come into this Fold of God, we have every reason for confidence in the great Shepherd, and should recognize His constant care over us, His supreme interest in our spiritual welfare. Let us be good sheep! Let us not stray from the Fold, to the right hand or to the left, nor be attracted away from the green pastures and pure waters to go browsing on the thistles and poisonous weeds of some by-path, or to drink of the muddy, polluted waters of hu­man speculation and delusive theories of men. In other words, let us keep the Truth and the Spirit of the Truth even though we travel a very lonely way. The way has in­deed been lonely in this day of “special wrath,” with some of the Lord’s dear people becoming weary of well doing – attracted away from the green pastures, frequently into the ‘fold’ of the measurably faithful under-shepherds.

The basic concepts of the foregoing are from the writings of the fully faithful under-shepherds of the Laodicean period – much of which is verbatim. Since the demise of That Servant, however, the measurably faithful under-shepherds have perverted and distorted the “faith once delivered unto the saints” – especially so in regard to the Messianic blessings “to the Jew first,” those covenant-keeping Jews after the flesh. It will be through natural Israel that “all the families of the earth” will be blessed, even as we have been taught. And for these “good tidings of great joy which shall he unto all people,” we echo the singing of the angelic host – “Glory to God in the high­est, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

Our cordial good wishes to all our readers for a Blessed Holiday Season – and may “The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:7)

Sincerely your brother,

John  J. Hoefle, Pilgrim

==============================

LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Brother Hoefle: Greetings in Jesus, name!

Your very interesting publications No. 229 – The Great Commission – and No. 230 ­There Shall Be No More Curse – are received. Thank you very much! I read all your articles, and I’m very much satisfied. Your tracts help me very much, because you have the Scriptures to explain.  With much Christian love,

Your brother ------- (POLAND)

...........................................................................

Dear Brother Hoefle:  Grace and peace in Jesus’ dear Name!

I hope, D.v., this finds you both – also Sisters Dunnagan and Moynelo – quite well. Thank you for the tracts. I enjoy the Epiphany papers and read many of them over again. A few days ago two Jehovah’s Witnesses came by. One was more like the leader. I gave her a Divine Plan of the Ages and she took it. I think she was a little curious. I hope she will read some of it, but most seem so set in their ideas....

The economy has the leaders worried, yet how can prices come down when both labor and capital want all they can get.... But all will work out right in the end.

I am enclosing some things – a letter from Rabbi ------- and also Mr. .------- might read something.  Wishing you all God’s blessing and care through our Lord Jesus –  and with Christian love to all.

Your sister in the Truth ------- (CALIFORNIA)

...........................................................................

Dear Brother Hoefle:  Grace and peace!

By this time Sister Moynelo should be feeling much better. I sincerely hope so. My Christian love to her.......

You will have attended the LHMM Labor Day Convention by the time you get this. Hope your reception was good – by some anyway...

I had a surprise experience this past week. I was in a hobby shop and overheard part of a telephone conversation. The man was saying, “We are studying Tabernacle Shadows.” When he hung up the phone I told him what I heard him say, and wondered if it was the same book I had read by Pastor Russell. Of course it was and we talked a bit (his wife, too). He lives a few block from my cousin, and he has the T.S. study at his home – 8 attend. They belong to no group, receive no magazines, study Brother Russell only so afraid of error. He had heard very little about Brother Johnson – never heard of Brother Jolly. I shall go up some evening when it’s cool and get better acquainted.

Love and prayers (daily), ------- (FLORIDA)

...........................................................................

Dear Sir:

Will you please not send anymore of your papers to me, as I do not desire them... I don’t like your attitude towards our Dear Brother Jolly in always criticizing him and seeking to discredit him in the eyes of others. You are not showing brotherly love in continuing to do this, so I no longer wish to read your papers. I have no doubt you will find a way to justify yourself in doing this, but it is very unkind and unchristian.

Yours truly ------- (ENGLAND)

NOTE: Yes, any of the Lord’s faithful people who honestly and earnestly “contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints,” and seek to serve “the Lord, the TRUTH and the brethren,” are always able to justify their statements and actions to­ward errorists. Apparently this Sister gives full approval to “dear Brother Jolly’s” slanderous attacks upon us, and his multiplied errors and false statements as exposed in our November 1974 paper No. 233. Does she also ‘approve’ of RGJ’s sins as exposed in Epiphany Vol. 10, and condemn the Epiphany Messenger for being unkind and unChris­tian? The Epiphany Messenger was the recipient of many such letters from sectarian Society brethren for the exposures he presented against J. F. Rutherford’s slanders and scurrilous attacks upon him. This has been true of all the Lord’s people all down the Ages, who have been faithful to the Truth. “Blessed are ye, when men... shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.” (Matt. 5:11)

NO. 233: REVIEW OF JULY-AUGUST 1974 PRESENT TRUTH

No. 233

On pp. 59-62 of the above Present Truth we find a number of Questions and Answers in a feeble attempt to rebut our previous refutations of RGJ’s errors on Tentative Justification, and the like. And on p. 61, col. 1, there is this Ques­tion: “Was Cornelius already a ‘truly repentant and believing’ one in Christ as his Savior when the Apostle Peter and six accompanying brethren (Acts 11:12) came to his home at the end of the 70 weeks?” And RGJ’s answer: “The Scriptures show that he was not.”

He then offers numerous citations from Brother Russell to prove his point, although he offers one on p. 61, col. 2, par. 4, to the effect that Cornelius was “a man pre­pared to be a follower of Jesus – a Christian.” We now ask, At what time did Cornel­ius become “prepared to be a Christian”? It will be noted that Peter says not one word about consecration when he came into the home of Cornelius. If Cornelius were not already consecrated, would it not be logical first of all to inform him of that fact, and the obligations that go with it? That Servant teaches that Cornelius, as well as other Gentiles, were consecrated – although the Lord did not accept, or use their consecration, until the 70th week had expired, as we shall subsequently quote in this article.

Let us consider carefully what Peter said to Cornelius. In Acts 10:34-43 he used just 223 words. Of these 128 are words such as “a – an – and – the,” etc. Thus, it would not require rapid speaking to say the whole thing in one minute. Also, in Luke 14:28 Jesus counsels that we “count the cost” before taking such a step. So RGJ is now telling us that Cornelius became “repentant and believing,” and that he “counted the cost,” ALL in about one minute! He says the “Scriptures clearly show” this to him. But the “Scriptures did not “clearly show” this to That Wise and Faithful Servant ­although RGJ’s statements “clearly show” to us that this is just some more of his nonsense.

In Luke 23:47 the centurion (possibly Cornelius) said, “Truly, this man (Jesus) was righteous.” And Acts 10:2, Dia. states that Cornelius was “a pious man, and one fearing God with all his house, doing many charities for the people, and praying to God always.” Further in Acts 10:4: “Thy prayers and thine alms went up as a memorial before God.” Note the Berean Comment on this: “If prayers cannot be answered immediately, they are not forgotten, but are kept as memorials until the right time comes for their answer.” And Cornelius’ right time came when our Lord gave him instructions to send for Peter.

Therefore, with the probable exception of the 81 brethren (whose “names were writ­ten in Heaven”—Luke 10:20; Heb. 12:23), Cornelius was in much the same position as those in the upper room at Pentecost, as That Servant teaches. Those in that room could not receive the Holy Spirit until the “due time” – just as Cornelius could not re­ceive the Holy Spirit until the “due time.” And, in saying this we do not ignore the fact that the Jews as a nation were consecrated to God – “Baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them: and that rock was Christ.” (1 Cor. 10:2-4)

However, knowledge is not the controlling factor here (although they did require some know­ledge), for they all, even the Apostles and the Seventy, were very meager on what a Christian should be. “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, which the Father will send in my name; shall teach you of all things which I said to you.” (John 14:26,Dia.). The Berean Comment on this text says: “It was impossible for the Apostles to understand the plan of God until after Pentecost; .. To your remembrance – Enable you to recall and reproduce.” We mention here also Peter’s use of the sword in the Garden that night. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal...” (2 Cor. 10:4) Thus, those in the upper room needed the Holy Spirit to clarify things for them – just as Cornelius needed the Holy Spirit to clarify things for him; and even the Apostle Paul studied for three years to be sure he would know what he was doing.

In a ludicrous attempt to ‘prove’ his contentions, RGJ quotes (p. 61, col. 2, of this PT) from Parousia Vol. 5, p. 214: “Again, when the due time came for the Gospel to be preached to Gentiles, the Lord, in accordance with his choice, sent Peter to do this work, telling Cornelius to send for Peter, and telling Peter to go to Cornelius, and to speak the words of the Gospel to him and his household (accordingly, they had not been spoken to him before).”

The words “accordingly, they had not been spoken to him before” are included in this quotation, as though they are from Brother Russell, whereas, they are inserted by RGJ, and simply his own opinion – an opinion which is categorically contradicted in the next few lines of this same page: “On this occasion Peter used the second key, opening the Gospel door for the Gentiles, God witnessing to the fact by the miraculous manifestations of His Spirit upon Cornelius and the other consecrated believers from among the Gentiles with him.” If Cornelius and the others were consecrated, as Bro. Russell says, they were certainly “truly repentant and believing.” Here again he re­sorts to the same tactics of JFR, who used the same technique of the unprincipled trick­ster; and the Lord rewarded him accordingly.

Also, the truth on the Tabernacle clearly disputes the foregoing contention. Con­secration there is typed by the first vail, and spirit begettal by the condition of the Holy; but no one could get into the Holy without going under the first vail, the first vail typing consecration. As we have often pointed out, RGJ has lost the Truth on some important features of the Tabernacle, but this should not surprise us. He self-admitted­ly is one of those people of whom St. Paul says, “God will send to them an energy of de­lusion.” (2 Thes. 2:11, Dia.) He also admits his sins during Brother Johnson’s lifetime, as recorded against him by the Epiphany Messenger in Epiphany Volume 10. His inclina­tion to “make pictures and draw types from every chapter in the Bible” he also admits and records himself in the Nov. 15, 1910 Watch Tower. This should have served as a warning to him, but, self-evidently, this continues to be one of his “besetting sins,” as he “makes pictures and draws types” to substantiate his “strange fire” (false doctrine) of Campers Consecrated – his perversions of the Tabernacle types, and other related sub­jects. Apparently, his past experiences haven’t profited him very much. It seems he was too busy “making pictures and drawing types” in 1910 to find the time to read the Towers of that time – some of which we shall quote later in this paper.

On p. 62, col. 1, par. 6, he says: “Accordingly, in view of the above consider­ations from the Scriptures and oft-repeated and consistent teaching of Bro. Russell from the time he wrote the Z 1922 statement until 1916 (a statement quoted by us to which RGJ strenuously objects—JJH), it is clear that Cornelius was not already ‘.truly repentant and believing’ in Jesus as Savior when he was visited by Peter and six others at the end of the 70th week. And therefore it is clear also that this errorist’s statement is thoroughly erroneous, ‘Those in the (Epiphany) Camp in the ‘finished picture’ will be in the same relative position as was Cornelius before consecration was acceptable for the Gentiles.’” We shall now prove that RGJ’s ‘foolish,’ as well as false asser­tions, that Brother Russell did not teach in harmony with his Z 1922 statement since that time – until in 1916 – are just some more of his false accusations. Surely, if he were not so befuddled by Azazel he would not present such ridiculous false statements – state­ments that can be so easily proved to be false by numerous statements of That Servant after his writings in Z 1922. On p. 61, col. 2, par. 4, RGJ quotes a small excerpt from Reprint 4344, March 1909, to ‘prove’ his contention that Cornelius was not “repentant and believing” before St. Peter’s visit, but he ‘conveniently’ omitted the following from this same article, which is even more convincing than That Servant’s teaching in Z 1922 – ­that indeed Cornelius was “repentant and believing” before St. Peter’s visit:

“Cornelius had his vision first. He saw in a vision ‘openly,’ not in a dream, an angel of God coming in unto him. He talked with the angel and received the assurance that his prayers and alms of years had now been received of the Lord, because the ‘due time, had come – the end of Israel’s covenanted favor. We may be sure that at the same time the aims and prayers of all other Gentiles ascended up as incense to the Lord. We may be sure that blessings were arranged also for all such, and the Gospel sent to them, though not in so marked a manner as to Cornelius, because the Lord would make of his case a special lesson for the benefit of the Apostles and of all of us who have lived since. In recounting this matter elsewhere Cornelius says that the angel told him to send for St. Peter and gave him the address and added, ‘When he is come, he shall tell thee words, which will be the saving of thyself and house.’” (Reprint 4344, col. 2, par. 4)

Although from the above, it is self-evident that God was dealing with Cornelius before Peter came to him, because his “alms and prayers” which had been kept as a memorial, were now received, nevertheless, we now quote further from this same article:

“Let us note carefully what these words of life were. They were the simple story of the Cross... The essence of the message was that ‘Christ died for our sins, accord­ing to the Scriptures, and rose again for our justification.’ The message continued, and showed how the justified ones were invited to become joint-sacrificers with and thus joint-sharers in Christ’s coming glory. The centurion’s heart had been troubled, there was something in the message that satisfied his longings as nothing else had ever done. He believed in the Redeemer and was thus justified. His consecration to the Lord, of years’ standing, now became intelligent and specific. As his heart went out to the Lord in full acceptance of the Divine terms, in full consecration of his little all to the Divine service, the Lord accepted it, and manifested the acceptance; just as he had done with the consecrated Jewish believers at Pentecost. God having thus recognized Cornelius as a disciple and follower of Christ, a new creature begotten of the Holy Spirit, Peter tells us that he could not believe otherwise than that it was right for him to explain baptism to the centurion, and to give him water immersion, symbolic of the immersion into Christ’s death, which he had already experienced.” (Reprint 4345, col. 1, par. 2 – the same article from which RGJ quoted an excerpt to ‘prove’ Cornelius was not “repentant and believing” before Peter came to him.)

Why did RGJ omit the above in his quotation from this article? Is it possible that he can only see what he wants to see and believe – statements that he believes uphold his contentions? Or can it be that he is so blinded and befuddled by Azazel that he can­not understand clear and convincing statements by That Servant, when they dispute his present-day contentions for his errors? Or does he make such ridiculous statements, and omissions, because he believes his sectarian devotees will swallow anything he pre­sents without question – just as is true of a large majority of the Jehovah’s Witnesses who accept, without question, anything Headquarters presents? If we ourselves had made the statement that we quoted from That Servant in Z 1922, RGJ would have shrieked to High Heaven that we were revolutionizing against Parousia Truth, and ‘lawyer-like,’ twisting the Scriptures – an ‘unfit Truth teacher,’ and a ‘sifting errorist.’

In his desperation to make a case for himself and his “strange fire” (false doc­trine) of Consecrated Campers, he goes from one error to a worse error, and from one ‘foolish’ statement to a more ‘foolish’ statement, and from one false accusation to a worse false accusation against the sifting errorist,’ the ‘unfit Truth teacher,’ etc.”, all because we reproduce the teachings of the Epiphany and Parousia Messengers, and re­sist his revolutionisms of these Truths, as we attack his errors with indisputable Truth from the two Messengers and from Scripture. So we rest in the assurance that as we “continue in what we have learned and been assured of,” the promise is ours: “I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.” (Luke 21:15) So we are resolved to “watch in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, and make full proof of our ministry.” (2 Tim. 4:5)

Just a little reflection here will reveal RGJ’s shallow and irresponsible think­ing on this matter. Cornelius lived in Caesaria, a city on the Mediterranean Sea about 50 miles from Jerusalem and about 25 miles from Joppa, where Peter was staying before he was told to visit Cornelius. Caesaria was then the seat of the Roman governors of Palestine, and also the home of Philip the Evangelist (Acts 8:39); 21:8,9). However, at that time Rome was a pagan country, with its emperors emphatically opposed to Chris­tianity. How then did Cornelius become persuaded to forsake the Pagan Gods of Rome, and accept the true God of Israel? Certainly not by reading Roman literature, or by listening to the Pagan priests of Rome! There was only one way he could have learned about it. Probably he had heard Jesus during His ministry. Also, almost certainly, he would have learned about Jehovah from Philip, his four daughters, and his neighbors, because we may rely upon it that Philip and his daughters would preach “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” in the city where they lived.

Of course, he had not heard the exact words that Peter spoke in his home; but he certainly had heard enough persuasive speech by others – such as Philip, et al – to convince him that Jehovah was the true God, and that Jesus was His Son – “a righteous man.” Thus, when RGJ says our reasoning on this subject “is another prime evidence that this errorist (meaning JJH) is now unfit to be a Truth teacher,” we would reply that his own irresponsible prattle on this matter should logically go into some comic strip. It is little wonder that Jesus described his kind as a “foolish man who built his house upon the sand.” (Matt. 7:26,27)

RESTITUTIONISTS – “PEACE WITH GOD”

Then on p. 59 RGJ attempts to argue that Restitutionists will have “peace with God” during the Mediatorial reign; and at the top of p. 61 he assails our statement that the “truly repentant and believing” in the finished picture of the Epiphany Camp will be “without any kind of justification.” Well, our statement is simply in har­mony with Brother Johnson’s teaching that, “The tentatively justified, who will not consecrate, lose their tentative justification, i.e., cease to be tentative Levites and are put out of the Court” (into RGJ’s Camp with his Consecrated Campers—JJH). had when this occurs, they cease entirely to be of the Household of Faith.” RGJ may now resort to some more of JFR’s technique and say “Brother Johnson changed his mind about this,” or contend the same as he has about Cornelius regarding what That Servant gave in Z 1922 – that Brother Johnson “consistently taught otherwise in all his subsequent writings up to 1950.”

RGJ contends his Campers are of the Household of Faith in the Camp – but, be it noted, he discovered this Truth (?) for the first time AFTER the demise of the Epiphany Messenger. At least no one heard him teach Campers Consecrated prior to 1950 – nor did we hear him teach that the Household of Faith would be in the Camp after 1950. We, how­ever, continue to uphold and defend the teaching of the two Messengers on the Tabernacle types for the Gospel Age up to 1914, for the Epiphany, for the “finished picture” of the Epiphany, and for the Mediatorial reign. The Epiphany Messenger never changed his teaching on The Fourfold Tabernacle Picture as given in the January 1940 Present Truth. On p. 13 of that Present Truth he states that “the camp in the finished picture repre­sents the formerly faith-justified ones who hold to the Ransom and practice righteous­ness, and converted Israel.” Of course, he at times referred to the Tentatively Justi­fied in the Camp, just as we often refer to a former Judge as Judge “so-and-so” – and as our Lord is called “the Son of Man” (Acts 7:56) at a time when He was immortal and the “glorified Son of God” – after His office as “the Son of man” was finished at the cross.

Since the “finished picture” of the Epiphany, according to RGJ, is now 20 years gone, it would seem that the “finished picture” will be longer than the Epiphany proper. All opportunity for consecrations under the High Calling ceased in 1914 – and, if we accept the Epiphany Messenger’s teaching, all consecrations acceptable to God, while sin and evil are in the ascendancy, will cease at the beginning of the “finished picture” of the Epiphany. However, just as Cornelius’ prayers and alms were held in memorial until the “due time” for God’s acceptance, the Campers alms and prayers will also he held in memor­ial for them until their “due time.” But the difference in the memorials held for the Gentiles and the Campers now is this: Cornelius made his consecration to God, while the Campers will make their consecrations to the Christ, when the New Covenant is inaugurated.

A little reflection will demonstrate the Truth on Tentative Justification: In 2 Cor. 6:1 St. Paul says, “We beseech you that ye receive not the Grace of God in vain.” Thus, we ask, Just what is this “Grace of God”? Is it not tentative justification? And, if they lose this “Grace of God” (their justification), just what is then left of them so far as their standing before God is concerned during the Faith Age, when sin and evil are in the ascendancy? Surely no one will dispute the fact that “sin and evil are in the ascendancy.” If RGJ wants to contend that his Campers are consecrated, thus have not received the Grace of God in vain, we ask him for some support from the Scrip­tures and from the writings of the two Messengers, other than his own imagination, to prove consecration is available in the Camp in the “finished picture” of the Epiphany ­and acceptable to God.

In Rom. 5:1, Dia., there is this: “Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ; through whom, also we have been introduced into this favor in which we stand.” Note that “this favor” is the result of faith. And note the following from E-11:169, bottom: “When this Age ends Christ’s merit will cease to be an imputable thing.” Brother Johnson tells us in E-6:195, bottom, that the “finished pic­ture” contains those who are less than tentatively justified. And That Servant says in Question Book, p. 312: “At the close of this Age there will he no Tentative Justifica­tion.” And in E-15:261, par. 1, there is this: “Let us see the condition of justifica­tion that will prevail during the Millennial Age. During that Age there will be neither a tentative nor a vitalized justification, since both of these kinds of justification operate on the basis of the imputed ransom merit, as distinct from the applied ransom merit; and the Millennium will have no imputed, but applied ransom merit operating.”

But RGJ would have us believe that Brother Johnson changed his mind about Tentative .Justification, just as JFR contended That Servant changed his mind on Tentative Justifi­cation. Of course, the formerly faith-justified who retain the character qualities they developed when their faith-justification was operative, can be referred to as faith-­justified, as is often done of a Judge, Senator, etc., whose offices as such had expired. When one refers to him as Judge, after the tenure of his office had expired, that does not make his office as Judge operative, anymore than it makes the faith of the formerly faith-justified operative in the Camp after their ejection from the Court. Whether we refer to them as the tentatively justified or the faith-justified when in the Camp, that doesn’t make faith-justification, with all its privileges of consecrating, accept­able to God, as it was when they were in the Court.

RGJ proof-read the above statement in E-15, and this book was published in 1950. It now seems he was as careless with his proof-reading as he is with his statement that Brother Russell made one mistake in his earlier writing (namely, Jan. 1896, Reprint 1922), but consistently taught that Cornelius WAS NOT “repentant and believing” before Peter came to him, in all his general teaching from Jan. 1896 until 1916.

Also, from that same E-15, published in 1950, proof-read by RGJ, there is this:

“The Millennial justification will require the entire Millennium to complete, because it will be an actual as distinct from the reckoned justification of the Gospel Age. (But RGJ claims that the Restitutionists will have a tentative works justification, as distinct from the actual justification—JJH) And the conditions on which it will be bestowed will be faith and obedience unto perfection.” (p. 261) Does RGJ contend that “tentative” justification is NOT an imputable thing in the Mediatorial reign for his tentative works justification? And further: “They will have to obey the Millennial teachings and arrangements completely to gain justification in completeness... The result will be that they will be completely justified by works at the end of that Age. In a word, faith is the justifying instrumentality and thus the condition of justifica­tion of this Age, while obedience will be the justifying instrumentality and thus the condition of justification in the next Age.” (E-15:262, bottom and p. 263, top)

But RGJ sets aside the above Epiphany Truth, as he revolutionizes against both Parousia and Epiphany Truth on Tentative Justification, and heedlessly and wantonly con­tends for his perversions of the Camp and the Court. His loss of the “spirit of under­standing” on these Truths is as apparent as his confusion on what Brother Russell taught regarding Cornelius being “repentant and believing” prior to Peter’s visit. As Brother Johnson has aptly said, such crown-losers, while in the clutches of Azazel, not only cannot receive advancing Truth, but they lose the understanding of many vital Truths they once received and believed. And this seems to be RGJ’s trouble, as he makes one ‘foolish’ assertion after another – assertions that can be easily refuted by any one who takes the time to familiarize himself with the Scriptures, and with the writings of the Messengers.

We now quote from E-8:532: “Both tentative justification and vitalized justifica­tion are acts performed in heaven (Heb. 9:24). While the passage just cited strictly speaking, refers to vitalized and not to tentative justification, it teaches that in heaven is the place where justification is performed; and it therefore implies that there is where tentative justification is performed.” And on p. 548 of this same book: “The Youthful Worthies, accordingly, are of the tentative firstborn now, as they and the Ancient Worthies will also be such during the next Age.” The Worthies are Levites during the Epiphany, and are distinctly separated from the world of mankind; and so they will be in the next Age – they will be Levites and not counted in with the world of mankind, the Restitutionists, even though they are recipients of the New Covenant blessings.

Brother Johnson said in E-10:392 that JFR prevented many, by his perversions of various Truth teachings and arrangements, from entering into the justified state; and we believe the same is true of RGJ as he perverts “various Truth teachings and arrange­ments,” particularly as he upholds and defends his non-existent class of Campers conse­crated. The LHMM and the Jehovah’s Witnesses are unique in manufacturing such false doctrine – unique in the fact that no other groups emanating from the Harvest Truth have invented such classes. These two classes – Campers Consecrated and the Jonadabs, or “great crowd” – are indeed twins.

As we have previously stated, in this Age there can be no acceptable consecration without first having tentative justification – while the Restitutionists’ justifica­tion is actual, and gradual, which they cannot receive, even anticipatorally, until they are consecrated. There is a marked difference in consecration “unto death” dur­ing the Faith Age, when sin and evil are in the ascendancy, and consecration “unto life” under the Kingdom reign. In the Kingdom all who have pure hearts will receive actual and complete justification at the end of the Millennium – and all of this “profusion of words” by RGJ is just a desperate attempt to gloss over his contention that tentative justification will continue all during the Mediatorial reign. In view of our pulveriz­ing refutations of that error, he is now forced to modify it by saying it will be a ‘tentative’ works justification. And when RGJ says the Jews will then be tentatively justified, he is simply indulging in some more of his nonsense! There will be no tenta­tive justification in the Millennium, just as the Epiphany Messenger teaches – no tentative faith justification: The only kind of justification operating during the King­dom will he actual justification, which will he gradual, and will not be completed until the end of the Millennium when they are perfected in mind, body and in heart.

Once more we raise the question: Just what is Tentative Justification in this Faith Age? It is nothing more nor less than reckoned Restitution, reckoned perfection. Thus, there cannot possibly he Tentative Justification in the next Age; otherwise there would he no need for a Mediator. If RGJ’s contention that Restitutionists will have “peace with God” under a ‘tentative’ works justification is true, they would of neces­sity have a ‘reckoned’ actual justification (reckoned perfection). Such a condition would eliminate the need for a Mediatorial reign, because “peace with God” would mean that God would he dealing with them. However, they would need an Advocate before they reach actual perfection, just as those of the Faith Age need an Advocate. So in­stead of speaking of a Mediatorial reign, we should speak of the Millennial reign of the Advocate. If we keep this thought clearly in mind, we shall have no problem at all in giving RGJ’s errors their proper rating.

Such symbolic witchcraft (especially deceptive false doctrine) is abhorrent to God, and “God’s people by pertinent refutations are not to allow false-teaching churches, which practice symbolic witchcraft by erroneous teaching as Satan’s mouthpieces (2 Kings 9:22; Rev. 2:20-23), to go unrefuted, but are zealously to refute their symbolic witch­crafts (not suffer a witch to live, v. 18).” (E-11:388)

“REPENTANT AND BELIEVING”

Let us consider now “repentant and believing.” Repentance has two parts: one as to sin (which the repentant one forsakes and abhors), and one as to righteousness (which the repentant one embraces and champions). Thus, repentance is the first great step toward justification, the next step being faith – the combination of these two produc­ing justification by faith. During this Faith Age this produces “peace with God.” We emphasize, however, that faith is the dominating factor during this Age; but, while some faith will he necessary during the next Age, the real justifying instrument then will be works. Justification by faith will not be possible during the next Age. There­fore, none can obtain “Peace with God” by faith in the next Age, as is done in this Faith Age. And, since God does not accept imperfect works, the Restitutionists cannot have “peace with God” until their works are perfect. That is why a Mediator will then he nec­essary – the same being a go-between for parties who are at enmity with each other. The justification by faith in this Age is an instantaneous thing directly from God; justi­fication by works in the next Age will be a gradual thing obtained through the benevolent offices of the Mediator.

And, when RGJ tries to inject the peace offerings into this discussion, he demon­strates once more his ever-increasing loss of the “spirit of understanding” (Matthew 25:1-10 – See Berean Comments), as he continues in his revolutions and perversions of the Truth he once received, believed and taught – which is self-evident to all those who retain the “spirit of understanding” they received when they came into Present Truth. The peace offering then will he offered to the World’s High Priest, and not directly to God: “And for that reason during the Millennium God will put the race into the hands of the Mediator and will not deal with them at all.” (E-15:332) And further on p. 332: “These peace offerings include the vows that the world will make in connection with their consecration.... Jesus will direct all of the work of the Under priesthood as the World’s High Priest ministers the people’s peace offerings, their meat and drink offerings and their trespass offerings.”

The peace offerings of the Restitutionists will be in fulfillment of a vow, or a thank-offering, as That Servant tells us in Tabernacle Shadows, p. 98: “This offering was to be of the herd or flock; and it could be made either in fulfillment of a vow (covenant), or a willing ‘thank-offering.’” “But notice the difference between the treatment of such sin-offerings and the sin-offerings of the ‘Day of Atonement’ (the Gospel Age—JJH). The latter were offered to God (Justice) in the ‘Most Holy,’ as ‘the better sacrifices’; the former were offered to the priests, who, during the Atonement Day (Gospel Age—JJH) had purchased the people. The acknowledgment of the people will be made to their Redeemer. The Priest, indeed, took and offered to the Lord a portion of the offering, as a ‘memorial,’ as a recognition that the whole plan of redemption as executed on the Atonement Day (Gospel Age) was the heavenly Father’s, but appropriated to himself the remainder as his portion – by eating it.... The offerings of the Atone­ment Day (Gospel Age—JJH), as we have seen were always burned (Lev. 6:30; Heb. 13:11), but the later trespass-offerings, offered after the Day of Atonement (Gospel Age—JJH), were not burned, but eaten (appropriated) by the priests.” (Tabernacle Shadows, pp. 99, 100)

More from That Servant: “It can readily be seen that the world thus under the Mediator during the Millennium will need no Advocate, because they will have no deal­ings with the Father, but merely with Christ, the Mediator.” (Reprint 4584, col. 2 March 15, 1910) Also, “The Heavenly Father has assumed no responsibilities for the race; He is not dealing with the race; He does not even propose to do the judging of them, to see whether or not they shall attain to worthiness of eternal life; on the contrary, we are assured that He has committed the whole matter to the Son.” (Parousia Vol. 5, p. 470, bottom, p. 471, top)

And, if God will not deal with them at all, just how can they be said to have “peace with God”? Only those confused and befuddled with “strong delusions” could come up with such nonsense. (See 2 Thes. 2:11-12 and Berean Comments) We can pro­duce many more statements from That Servant stating that “God will have no dealings whatever with Restitutionists until the end of the Millennium,” statements with which RGJ was at one time in harmony – but we believe what we have given herein will be suf­­ficient for now. Whether he is so confused now on Tentative Justification and “peace with God” during the Mediatorial reign, that he cannot understand these clear statements from That Servant, just as ­he is over Cornelius not being “repentant and believing” when St. Peter came to him, ­remains to be seen. But it is our fond hope that these clear statements from That Servant will give him “repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.” (2 Tim. 2:26)

That Servant says that, “Any one may offer homage to God, bow the knee or express thanks and appreciation.” (Reprint 5379, Jan. 1, 1914) Even the thanks and apprecia­tion offered to God by good worldlings today will inure to their blessing in the King­dom – but that does not gain them “peace with God.” If Restitutionists desire to thank God during the Mediatorial reign, they may do so – but that will not give them “peace with God,” even though such an attitude will eventually lead to “peace with God” at the end of the Millennium. Even though the Christ will receive and appropriate the “peace-offerings” of the people, their thanks to God will be held in memorial for them until their due time for “peace with God” – just as was true of Cornelius before the 70th week had expired.

As we have said, we could multiply quotations from That Servant and the Epiphany Messenger that clearly dispute RGJ’s contentions and refute his errors on tentative justification, the Camp and the Court, etc., without further comment from us – but we believe what we have presented herein is all-sufficient to pulverize all his errors as given in his “Questions and Answers” in the Present Truth under review.

“By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me. And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face forever. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting.” (Psa. 41:11-13) And may the Lord add His blessing!

Sincerely your brother,

John J. Hoefle, Pilgrim

NO. 232: IN MEMORIAM

No. 232

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

Comes again the time of year that we are vividly reminded of the demise of the Parousia and Epiphany Messengers; and it is our fond hope that our readers will ob­tain some good information and uplift from what we now present.

Up to his death on October 31, 1916, almost every one in “present truth” was fully persuaded that Brother Russell was “that servant” of Matt. 24:46; and quite a few still hold that opinion – among whom we include ourselves. During the Dark Ages the doctrine of “restitution” (Acts 3:19-21) had become completely lost; and this lapse injected utter confusion into the Christian fraternity. Without under­standing restitution, it was impossible to produce any harmonious understanding of the general Bible structure; the “plan of the Ages” (Eph. 3:11, Dia.) was a meaning­less expression. The woman having ten pieces of silver of Luke 15:8 corroborates the fact that the doctrine of restitution was lost. (See Berean Comments on Luke 15:8,9)

This problem gave extreme difficulty to That Servant, so much so that he on a certain occasion betook himself to three days of intense prayer and study, at the end of which he was rewarded with a clear understanding of the Atonement Day sacrifices as they are outlined in the 16th Chapter of Leviticus. This enlightenment caused him to realize that God was during this Gospel Age merely laying the foundation for the full atonement of the entire human race with Himself “in due time” – the delay being caused by God now taking from among the Gentiles “a people for His name” (Acts 15:14), the same to be associated with His Son Jesus as His Heavenly Bride to give the human family a rebirth under a “new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2 Pet. 3:13) – in direct contrast to the degradation now prevailing in “this present evil world.” (Gal. 1:4)

However, the radical revelation of this understanding actually frightened him; it was actually difficult for him to believe this Scripture which seemed so logical, and with which he could find no fault. He needed to be doubly persuaded that it was actually the truth, so instead of broadcasting his findings immediately, or telling the general household of Faith about it, he summoned leading brethren to discuss this revelation – which he and they did during a period of eight days. When none of them could find any flaws in the picture, he eventually wrote a small book called Taber­nacle Shadows, which some of his ardent admirers have characterized as the biggest “little book” that has ever been written. No one with a clear understanding of that book will ever be confused on the “plan of the ages.”

THE PAROUSIA ELEAZAR

Eleazar was Aaron’s eldest son, and in line to become high priest in Israel at his father’s death.    But while serving as underpriest with his father, he was given very prominent service, as can be seen from Num. 4:16: “And to the office of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest pertaineth the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily meat offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, in the sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof.” From certain standpoints the Tabernacle typifies the Gospel-Age Church. Therefore, those people who officiated in connection with it would also typify certain people in the Gospel Age. Considering the sweeping powers that Eleazar possessed – “the oversight of all the tabernacle” – it puts no strain upon the imagination to recognize that he typified the twelve Apostles at the First Advent. “Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.” (Matt. 16:19)

Similar language is used concerning Brother Russell: “Shall make him ruler over all His goods.” (Matt. 24:47) And in Luke 12:42: “That faithful and wise steward, whom his Lord shall make ruler over His household, to give them their portion of meat in due season.” From this we do not wish to convey the thought that Brother Russell was infallible, or spoke by inspiration, as did the Apostles; but it is a self–evident fact that his power over the Harvest work and the Harvest Church was well nigh absolute. in course of time he recognized this; he appointed and dismissed Pilgrims as his judg­ment dictated; he was final authority on all Bible House matters, and made all appoint­ments of brethren to important executive positions. And being fully aware of this, he attempted to arrange things in such a manner that after his death would prevent any other individual from “stepping into his shoes,” as it were, by appointing an editorial commit­tee of seven brethren to supervise the Watch Tower publication. Those familiar with the situation know that his wishes were speedily ignored; in little more than a year, J. F. Rutherford had already enthroned himself “in Moses’ seat.”

However, it is not our wish to offer detail on the above statement; rather, we shall treat of the Gospel Harvest Eleazar from the standpoint of the type. In Numbers 4:16 seven executive and teaching functions are set forth, of which the first “pertain­eth to the oil for the light” – the lampstand. Among other things, oil represents the spirit of understanding (Matt. 25:3 – “the spirit of the Truth”––Berean Comment).  For Eleazar, therefore, to have charge of the oil for the lampstand would typify the privi­lege Brother Russell had of understanding the Truth as Pastor and Teacher – not only for himself, but also for the brethren as enlighteners of one another, as he conveyed his Biblical interpretations to them, giving them helps to learn and to teach the Truth. He did this orally and in writing. He gave clear and specific instructions for organ­izing classes, and for organizing distribution of the Truth literature to the general public.

Eleazar’s second duty had to do with “the sweet incense.” The unburnt sweet in­cense represented the actually perfect choice human powers of Jesus and the reckonedly perfect choice human powers of the Church – “much incense with the prayers of all saints” (Rev. 8:3,4). Brother Russell offered deep and truthful detail on such activ­ities of Jesus from Jordan to Calvary; and on the Church in general in their earthly pilgrimage all during the Gospel Age. As to the Church of his day, he acted directly both as the teacher and executive with respect to the sweet incense. He clearly ex­plained justification by faith through Jesus’ merit, which justification once fully ob­tained enabled such brethren to make their own offering of “the sweet incense” accord­ing to the providential circumstances of each one. We have been told that on one oc­casion, when Brother Russell was visiting a city, that a brother asked him to give his talk that morning on justification – which he proceeded to do, giving lucid analysis of the subject for an entire hour.

Thirdly, Eleazar had charge of “the daily meat offering,” – or, more properly, the meal offering.    When the drink offering is not mentioned (and it is omitted in Num. 4:16) it is understood as being included in the meal offering. This offering represents that part of the sacrifice with which the offerer occupies himself – such as setting forth the Truth – lecturing and preaching on the Truth by Pilgrims, Auxil­iary Pilgrims, elders, colporteurs and unofficial persons of lesser ability. It also included oral conversation in testimony of the Truth, serving in the Photo–drama work, serving as laborers of the Bible House and Bethel, doing office and home work in con­nection with spread of the Truth, and encouraging and supporting others in these vari­ous workers orally, with the printed page, by lectures, sermons, question meetings, conversation and letter writing. As executive he discharged this phase of  his  office by arranging for the various forms of service mentioned herein for spreading the Truth, as well as appointing specific persons to their pertinent positions – pilgrims, col­porteurs, department supervisors, etc., at Bethel and the Bible House. The fulfilled facts attest that he exercised his authority in all of these features.

Fourthly, Eleazar had the care of the anointing oil. This oil types the Holy Spirit from the standpoint of its qualifying the elect Church to serve each other. The ingredients of this oil are succinctly stated in Isa. 11:2, the contents of which may be stated thusly: the qualities of wisdom, justice, love and power each developed individually, developed in balance with others, with all of them controlling all our other qualities (2 Pet. 1:5-8), thus qualifying the various members of the Church for the “work of the ministry” (Eph. 4:12) – to the extent of their ability and providen­tial circumstances.

As antitypical Eleazar of the Gospel Harvest his charge as teacher was to instruct the Church as to the nature of the anointing, of the anointed class, of their duties, privileges in knowledge, service, development, endurance as “good soldiers,” etc. This he did in great detail in the Volumes, the Towers, and by his oral ministry. Es­pecially did he stress the development of the graces, the quickening, development, and balancing of the Holy Spirit. It logically followed that he would appoint qualified persons to the respective forms of service – pilgrims, colporteurs, photo–drama workers, Bible House and Bethel personnel, managers of the foreign branches and newspaper work­ers. Inasmuch as the great majority of classes had elected him as their pastor, he had supervisory capacity in their affairs – sometimes acting directly and sometimes indirectly in electing or unseating the officers of those classes – endorsing those qualified, and rejecting those he considered unqualified. All of this he did in efficient and im­pressive manner.

Fifth, Eleazar had charge of the Tabernacle itself – the whole structure, while it was standing, was under his supervision. The tabernacle proper in its Holy types the Church in its earthly ministry, and in the Most Holy in its heavenly inheritance. The humanity of such is typed in the Court, specifically with respect to the brazen altar. This typed the Harvest’s Eleazar’s capacity as Pastor and Teacher, with executive super­vision of the Church during the reaping and gleaning time – up to the time of his death. He also had similar authority over the antitypical Court, which contained the tentative­ly justified. Thus, he was the eye, hand and mouth of Jesus during his entire office as That Servant. While it is true that he did not produce all the advancing Truth dur­ing his ministry, he did produce much more of it than any other person. And, in that which others saw, they were obligated to secure his approval of it before he presented it to the general Church through the Towers. His authority in this respect was also well-­nigh absolute.

Sixth, he had full charge of the holy furniture in the Holy and the Most Holy – “the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is.” ­This would include the two altars, the laver, the lampstand, the table and the ark, all of which was in charge of antitypical Eleazar. The antitypical brazen altar in the Court represented the Church’s humanity in sacrifice; and Brother Russell gave great detail concerning this – the privileges of the brethren in using their human all whenever and wherever op­portunity afforded. This he did orally and in writing, and by his “example of the believers.” (1 Tim. 4:12) Thus he encouraged and directed the general Church as a “good soldier of Jesus Christ.” (2 Tim. 2:3)

His teaching charge to the Church concerning the golden altar in the Holy had to do with encouraging, comforting, strengthening, correcting, warning, and restraining the sacrificing and suffering Church – which he did by explaining, proving, and illus­trating the privileges of the Church toward one another. His executive charge toward the Church was accomplished by his encouraging and directing the Church in such work.

As our readers know, the laver in the Court types the Bible – the base the Old Testament, and the upper part containing the water the New Testament, the upper part built upon and growing out of the lower part. The water in the upper part types the cleansing features of Bible truths. The Harvest Eleazar’s executive charge of the antitypical laver means that the Bible was placed in his care – to preserve it, to com­mend it, and make it influential in its use for its Divinely intended purpose of fur­nishing the proper doctrinal, refutative, correctional and ethical teachings, and to direct the use of pertinent Scriptures to his purpose. (2 Tim. 3:15-17) His teaching charge of the antitypical Laver implied that he was to declare the doctrine of the Scripture, as well as its teachings in doctrinal, refutational, correctional and ethi­cal respects. Certainly those of us who are familiar with his work know that he har­monized the Bible in a manner equaled by none other since the days of the Apostles.

Here we may properly apply this statement to an error that has circulated among some of the Lord’s people to the effect that there are other books – Pseudepigraphs, like the book of Enoch, the Old Testament Apocrypha, etc. – that are inspired writ­ings; thus, a part of the Bible. If they were, Brother Russell would have accepted them as a part of the Bible; and he would wisely and faithfully have shown his teach­ing and executive functions toward them. But he resolutely rejected them; and it is not difficult for any one who reads them carefully to note their inferiority when com­pared with the 66 genuine books of the Bible.

The lampstand represents the Church as enlighteners of each other; it teaches them the Truth.  Brother Russell acted out his office as teacher with respect to the antitypical lampstand in that he explained the nature, the character, privileges, du­ties, etc., of the Church as enlighteners of each other, and how to go about this good work. He also encouraged them to enlighten each other by providing the means whereby they could do this, and the best method to use in doing it. The table of shewbread types the Church in its capacity of strengthening its members with the bread of life unto every good word and work; especially so, with respect to the Sarah features of the Abrahamic Covenant, this being the promises that mother the Church in its earthly pilgrimage toward the Heavenly Canaan, their entrance into the Most Holy when their work on earth is finished. Having charge of this table and bread means he taught the brethren the best means of strengthening each other to “fight the good fight,” and to gain eternal life. He also arranged for conventions and organized meetings in the var­ious classes for this purpose.

Much more could he said about the foregoing, but we would not wish our readers to conclude that we be overmuch given to ‘angel worship.’ However, we consider it perti­nent to stress here that certain members of the Gospel-Age Church occupied positions which could apply to them alone. For instance, there were twelve Apostles, and only twelve; thus, they had no successors, as some of the sects contend. Prominent among such is the Roman Catholic Church. And with Brother Russell it may be stated with equal emphasis that his office as That Servant and as the Steward was unique to him alone; and the words which Jesus spoke concerning Himself may well be repeated for him: “I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do.” (Jn. 17:4) Therefore, he had no successor; he supervised with full authority and finished the reaping feature of the Gospel-Age Har­vest, which provided everlasting tribute to him as antitypical Eleazar here in the end of the Age. We would qualify this, however, by noting that God did provide other faithful “stars” after the Apostles died; and continued to do this all during the Age, as He also did after the demise of antitypical Eleazar.

SOME SECULAR TESTIMONY

It has just recently come to our attention that one authority offers the follow­ing comment: “RUSSELL, CHARLES TAZE, popularly called Pastor Russell (b. Feb. 16, 1852, Pittsburgh, Pa. – d. Oct. 31, 1916, Pampa, Texas), founder of the International Bible Students Association, forerunner of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Of Presbyterian and Congregational background, Russell renounced the creeds of orthodox Christian denominations and in 1872 organized an independent Bible study class in Pittsburgh. From 1877 he preached that Christ’s second advent would be invisible, that the end of the Gentile times would come in 1914, followed by war between capital­ism and communist or socialism, after which God’s Kingdom by Christ would rule the whole earth. Russell (who was never ordained) dedicated his life and his consider­able fortune to preaching Christ’s Millennial reign. In 1879 he started a Bible jour­nal later called the Watchtower, and in 1884 founded the Watchtower Bible & Tract So­ciety, which became a flourishing publishing business. His own books and booklets (notably six volumes of Studies in the Scriptures) reached a circulation of 16,000,000 copies in 35 languages, and 2,000 newspapers published his weekly sermons.”

By way of comparison and marked contrast, this same publication says this regard­ing JFR: “RUTHERFORD, JOSEPH FRANKLIN, nicknamed Judge (1869–1942), religious leader and author, president of Jehovah’s Witnesses (also called the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society), 1916-42.”

The above statement concerning Brother Russell is so strikingly accurate that it sounds as though he himself had written it. From a purely secular standpoint, we would say it is an excellent testimonial; and, as more of his prophetic interpretations are fulfilled, we are fully persuaded that even better tributes will be forthcoming from similar writers. As Brother Johnson has so aptly written of him, Brother Russell will yet appear in the records of men as one of the greatest of reformers and Biblical logi­cians.

The same publication states further of “Joseph Franklin Rutherford that he was a lawyer who had been closely associated with Russell since about 1910. But he possessed little of the personal magic that Russell had wielded with such success, and, in addi­tion, challenged some of Russell’s views......... A number of small schisms resulted, but Rutherford eventually was successful in organizing the work of the Society so that the transition to his successor in 1942 was made without difficulty. Almost nothing is known about the life of J. F. Rutherford. He shunned publicity and toward the end of his life met with members of the Society only at their annual conventions. Russell had written a good deal, and his seven–volume (? ––JJH) Studies in the Scriptures was widely sold; but it was under Rutherford that the Society work took on its present character of a publishing house rather than a church. Rutherford claimed to have writ­ten 99 books and pamphlets, which appeared in more than 300,000,000 copies.”

When the above publication states that Rutherford “challenged some of Russell’s views,” it is making a major understatement; and the same may be said about the “num­ber of small schisms that resulted.” Those of us familiar with the truth on the sub­ject know that Rutherford challenged the majority of important doctrines in the truth structure taught by Brother Russell, so that at this time there is little resemblance between the teachings of the two men.

The publication states further that Jehovah’s Witnesses, along with Christian Science and Mormonism, constitute the three largest and most significant variants of the 19th-century American Protestantism. The Witnesses now have in excess of 1,000,000 in their world membership. However, when we consider that Rutherford is catalogued in the same group with Brigham Young and Mary Baker Eddy it presents some considerable light on why he “possessed little of the personal magic that Russell had wielded with such success.” We have been told that Rutherford on one occasion went to a woman photographer, one who had made photographs of Brother Russell, to have a photograph made of himself. When he was shown the finished product he remarked that his picture was not as impressive as that of Brother Russell; the woman answered, “That’s because the man isn’t there.”

Just one more quotation from the article: “The Witnesses believe that the King­dom of God began in 1914. Apparently they expected (as did the Millerite Adventists in 1844) some historical and worldly event to take place at that time, but have since taken the position that in 1914 Jehovah inaugurated the Kingdom in a manner apprehensible only to a believer.” Yes, this last clause is emphatically true; and it is just the extreme opposite of the teaching of Brother Russell, who based his belief upon the true gospel of Jesus, St. Paul and others: “God desires all men to be saved, and to come to an accurate knowledge of the truth... Jesus gave Himself a ransom for all” (not just for those who become members of the Witnesses’ sect)––l Tim. 2:4-6, Dia.

In keeping with this, Brother Russell also stressed the words of Isa. 35:5-10: “The eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped (those that are now unable to “hear” and understand the Truth)... wayfaring men, though fools , shall not err therein... and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Instead of “sorrow and sighing” diminishing and disappearing, it has been pyramided out  of all proportion to what was the case prior to 1914. And being in full accord with his clear and sober interpretation of this Scripture, we can enthusiastically exclaim, God bless his memory!

ANOTHER SECULAR EXPRESSION

Last Spring an item was brought to our attention that appeared in the Sunday feature section of a prominent Florida newspaper – the same written by a professor of one of the nation’s outstanding universities. Some of his contentions were so distorted that we were moved to write him the following letter:

My dear Professor: Christian greetings!

The general content of your “Poster Evangelism” treatise in the March 10 paper is read with considerable appreciation – very well written, I would say.

However, some of your statements regarding Russellism are very much askew; and I am persuaded that a man of your erudition and candor would not intentionally put false statements into your writings. For instance, you say “Russellism employed the sure–fire device of prophesying the imminent arrival of Christ (MILLIONS NOW LIVING WILL NEVER DIE).” At no time did Pastor Russell ever preach “the imminent arrival of Christ,” or use words that would convey such an impression. He did, however, offer elaborate and consummate analysis of such texts as Matt. 24:3: “What shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?” He contended that this was a very poor and misleading translation (the King James translation is replete with such mistakes).  Present-day Greek scholars give it this way: “What shall be the sign of Thy presence, and of the consummation of the Age?” The word world in the text is from the Greek “aion,” and it means Age or Dispensation.

Furthermore, the “Millions Now Living” idea was never even mentioned during Pastor Russell’s life. He died October 31, 1916; was succeeded in the Presidency of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society by J. F. Rutherford, who invented the “Millions” idea; and time has clearly proven that it was simply an odious vagary – hallucination with no foundation in fact or prophecy.

You also say Pastor Russell wrote seven volumes; whereas, he wrote only six vol­umes of Studies In The Scriptures. The seventh one – The Finished Mystery – is also a figment of Rutherford’s mind. He audaciously declared that it was the “posthumous work” of Charles T. Russell – and the book does contain many quotations from his writ­ings; but the errors injected into it by Judge Rutherford and his assistants offer in­sult to the clear and sober statements of Pastor Russell.

In Luke 21:24 Jesus said, “Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” Some thirty years before 1914 Pastor Rus­sell did forecast that the times of the Gentiles would end in 1914, the evidence of which would be a great world war. Even as late as 1913 he was scornfully ridiculed by his critics; but time has clearly proven that he was right, and they were wrong; the war came as predicted – almost to the day.

As a general statement, the Russellites were “moderately educated,” as you say; but they also did have among them a few brilliant Greek and Hebrew scholars – enough to reveal the erroneous translations of the Bible; and this made the Movement gener­ally basically sound in exegetical deductions. The most brilliant of these was Professor Paul S. L. Johnson, who was a master of Greek and Hebrew. He soon voiced em­phatic protest against the perversions that the Judge and his companions in error were attempting to inject into the harmonious truth structure that Pastor Russell had left. It was my privilege to be a very close friend of Professor Johnson, and I gave him very substantial support after he left the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society in 1917 – and which I continued to do until his death in 1950.

A pertinent analogy to the Russell Movement may be found among the Apostles, of whom it is written “they were unlearned and ignorant men” (Acts 4:14). But they also had a man named Paul among them, who was brilliant and highly educated. As respects Professor Johnson, I might add that he graduated from Capitol University of Columbus, Ohio, with the highest honors ever attained by any student up to his time.

It is my hope that you will find the copies of my papers, No. 194–223 and Special Edition No. 7, interesting and informative; and I send with this letter my cordial good wishes for your health and prosperity.  The Lord bless thee, and keep thee.

Sincerely,  John J. Hoefle

In due course we received a courteous reply to the above letter, thanking us for the information we gave him. He also said, “What I wrote was based on intimate con­tact with Russellism when I was in High School in the 20’s... My uncle could talk of nothing else. He was a fervent follower, first of Russell, then of Judge Rutherford. Of course, my uncle never knew of Paul Johnson’s protests, and I was too young to have been aware of the division of thought at the Brooklyn headquarters.”

From the foregoing we may readily discern how easy it has been to ‘make’ history; and that much of what is in the books today may be far from the truth. But when the record is written in full truth, then we shall have full appreciation of Jesus’ words, “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” (Matt. 13:43) And this will be especially true of those faithful Pastors and Teachers, such as That Servant, the Epiphany Messenger, and others of the Gospel Age, including all the fully faithful.

Sincerely your brother,

John J. Hoefle, Pilgrim

============================

LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Mr. Hoefle:

Some one has sent me a copy of your paper, No. 221. Brother Russell was totally and hopelessly in error in regard to many things he taught in his “Tabernacle Shadows” booklet. Brother Johnson took hold of these errors and expanded them into much greater and more “advanced” error. Both you and Mr. Jolly maintain that you are faithful dis­ciples of Russell and Johnson: but what you are doing is to tilt each other in this arena of “advanced” error, because each of you sees this error differently. One inter­prets it one way, and the other another way; and the whole thing is a complete waste of time and effort. Jesus and the apostles knew nothing of such stuff.

Even if you, or Mr. Jolly, were right, neither of you would qualify to be in the “Youthful Worthy” Class, because you both fail to give a witness against the two beset­ting sins of the Church and the world – usury, and contraception.  “Watch and be sober.” With Christian love – Yours in the Master’s service, ------- (ENGLAND)

...........................................................................

Dear Brother Hoefle:

I do enjoy your papers – especially the last one, “The River Jordan – Types and Antitypes,” and how it empties into the Dead Sea, and the landslides in Joshua’s time, etc. This is a very new thought to me of the happenings so Biblically mentioned. But you do have a way of bringing it out in plain language for better viewing.

As ever with Christian love ------- (NEW   YORK)

...........................................................................

Dear Brother Hoefle: Greetings in our Savior’s precious Name!

I received both letters, and I am still in Trinidad. On the 5th of this month I expect to be here. I shall appreciate it if you will send tracts of various titles for me to distribute in Saint Vincent. The interested ones are looking forward to receiv­ing this literature. I found out recently that an interested individuals father was a student of Brother Russell. We are praying that the Truth may find an abiding place in her heart.

God bless you both! Yours in His service ------- (SAINT VINCENT)

...........................................................................

Dear Brother Hoefle: Greetings in our Redeemer’s Name!

I acknowledge the receipt of a letter from Brother -------  with .... pounds enclosed for you. I have acknowledged same to him.

We are still on the threshold of a New Year, and it needs so much more to walk it than the years gone by. Let him that putteth on his armor boast not himself.... There­fore we see no room for boasting.  Our strength is not in self, but in the Lord. When we think of self we tremble, but in the Lord we are strong! Yes, the powers of the earth are being shaken, and will soon be at their end.

We enjoy your monthly articles immensely, and with much appreciation. We have lost one of our dear brethren. She finished her course faithfully, I believe. I spent quite a while with her in her last hours. She left us with the feeling “the Lord will provide.”

With all the efforts of the LHMM brethren, their character structure is falling ­they manifest the true spirit of Babylon. As Brother Johnson has said, We fear for them!

May the God of all Grace bless and keep you and all your co–laborers.

Yours by His Grace ------- (JAMAICA)

...........................................................................

Dear Brother Hoefle: – Grace and peace!

Thank you very much for sending me the May-June papers first class, in advance, as I surely appreciated them. I am enclosing $... as a small contribution, as I real­ize that it really costs to send the papers to me first class. Also, I enjoyed the last two papers – the one on “The Third Watch,” and the one on the River Jordan. They are masterpieces! And I agree 100% that they should be read by every Bible Student.

Well, must close for now. Hope this finds you and all there well.

With much Christian love, ------- (MICHIGAN)

...........................................................................

Dear Brother Hoefle: Grace and peace be multiplied!

Yesterday we sent ... lbs. to Brother ------- for you. Sisters ------- joined with us in this contribution. Sister ------- has asked us to send her some Resurrection tracts, which we were pleased to send. Then Sister ------- asked if we could send her a supply of “The Permission of Evil,” which we have sent to her. Sister and I have given out quite a few “What is the Soul.”

The Lord is marching on – and prophecies being continually fulfilled. The Dawn of the Millennium is revealing the corruption in high places – the whole of Society throughout the world keeps tottering like a drunken man. Israel as a nation now is having much trouble.

Sister joins me in much love to you and all the dear ones with you.

By His Grace, Brother ------- (ENGLAND)

...........................................................................

Dear Brother Hoefle:

I am the Grandmother of ------- of Fresno. Occasionally we have opportunity for a Bible study, but not nearly often enough. I have read and studied your literature for many years, and receive the papers regularly. I enjoy them very, very much! I met you personally when you were with Bro.  Johnson at the Los Angeles Convention. Please use the enclosed check for your work as you see fit.

Your sister in His Name ------- (CALIFORNIA)

NO. 231: KING SAUL - TYPE AND ANTITYPE

No. 231

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

In Vol. E–14, middle of p. 5, we are told that “Saul types the crown–lost lead­ers from early in the third century to Armageddon.” And in E–13:181 it is stated that “Samuel types the Little Flock as a whole, especially in its more prominent mem­bers, and more especially in the star–members and their special helpers during the interim.” In 1 Sam. 10:1 it is recorded that “Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head... because the Lord hath anointed thee (Saul) to be captain over His inheritance.” Sober reflection impresses us with the strange procedure – the greater (Samuel) anointing the lesser (Saul) to be leader over God’s faithful Israel, even while the Judge and Prophet Samuel dwelt among them. This situation can only be reconciled by the knowledge that God was here making a type of the Gospel Age, a most impressive type which unmistakably reveals the course events would follow after the Apostles would be no more. In the comments which follow we are offering much from Brother Johnson as set forth in E–13 and E–14.

Typical Saul was a “choice young man, and goodly... not among the children of Is­rael a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.” (1 Sam. 9:2) In all this he portrayed the admirable qualities of the Gospel-Age crown-lost leaders, many of whom were greater intellects than the star mem­bers who had “laid hands upon them.” And at the outset many of them waged valiant war­fare victoriously against the antitypical Philistines (sectarians). Also, just as the typical Saul presented a compelling magnetism for Israel, so the antitypes did like­wise. Among them were to be found the greatest intellects (“higher than any of the people”), the greatest moralists, zealous for human uplift and social reform, although blinded to the real purpose of the “call” to “take out from among the Gentiles a people for His name,” who would during the Kingdom reign have the power and authority to ac­complish to the full what has been impossible of accomplishment during the reign of evil. Also, most of them showed a commendable humility at the outset – just as did the typical Saul (“When thou wast little in thine own eyes I made thee king over Israel”); but they also followed his wayward course of power-grasping and disobedience; setting aside the instructions of the Lord as given through antitypical Samuel (the star-members), they ig­nored the clear exhortation, “to obey is better than sacrifice.”

And the wayward course of these “children of disobedience” (Col. 3:6) always brought them into open conflict with the Star Members that were living at the time ­“there was strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cat­tle.” (Gen. 13:7) Thus they obtained the present advantage (“the plain of Jordan..... well watered everywhere”), and became the mouthpieces to nominal spiritual Israel in most instances until the Harvest – although be it noted that in not a single instance did any of those crown-lost leaders become the Pastor and Teacher to the Fully Faithful, this being an office which the Lord alone could bestow. And in the picture presented in Numbers 7 by the offerings of the princes, in not a single instance did any of them offer a “cup” (symbolic of doctrines), the Lord there making clear to those who “have an ear to hear” that those crown-lost leaders (on up to Armageddon) would never occupy the seat of chief favor in His Household of Faith. In fact, every one of the Gospel-­Age princes (crown-lost leaders) perverted the truths given them by the fully faithful antitypical Samuel (“asses – Teachings – were lost”).

The foregoing far-reaching truths did not become clear until the Epiphany Messen­ger made them clear; and this was undoubtedly for a purpose also. Had these truths been understood throughout the Age, the “blinded Samson” would then not have been blind; he would not have “ground wheat in the mill” for the antitypical Philistines. Even in the case of That Servant who was “made ruler over all His goods” the same course of cen­turies past was trodden once more – he “anointed” crown-losers to carry on the Harvest work in the person of J. F. Rutherford and Company. But those crown-losers walked ex­actly in the footsteps of their kinsmen – they skillfully refuted the errors of the PBI on the chronology (defeated the Philistines), etc., while perverting the stewardship doctrine of Restitution that had been committed to their trust by the Parousia Messen­ger. And the Epiphany Messenger did likewise in anointing antitypical Saul, although we must make allowance for him, because he believed only crown-losers would remain after his demise, so he chose the logical person by asking the 1948 Detroit Convention to ap­prove his choice of R. G. Jolly. Some may now be inclined to fault that action; but we should bear in mind that some of his adherents were very insistent that proper provision he made in case of his death (once more the children of Israel crying unto the Lord, “Give us a king”); and R. G. Jolly at that time was certainly “higher than any of the people” who might he selected to carry on after antitypical Samuel’s death. So we our­selves offer no criticism of the Epiphany Messenger in the action taken at Detroit.

But the “anointing” of this member of antitypical Saul resulted precisely in keep­ing with all the ‘anointings” of the past. He did valiantly in refuting the issue of the High Calling still open; and his booklet exposing Jehovah’s Witnesses is a capable work – he defeated the Philistines. Yet in those very victories he, too, was going astray with the stewardship doctrine entrusted to him – The Epiphany in its relation to the Epiphany Elect – by declaring no more saints among the Epiphany Elect, and by other drastic and inexcusable perversions. For, just as Samuel continued in Israel after Saul’s anointing, so antitypical Samuel has continued in Israel after he anointed the last member of antitypical Saul – although the surviving members of the Samuel Class do not contain among them a star member. As Brother Johnson has expressed it in E–13:190 (8), “full qualifications for the pertinent leadership were given by antitypical Sam­uel to antitypical Saul,” so he also did in the case of R. G. Jolly – by letters and personal instruction before his death. In these endeavors he surely had the best in­terests of all Israel at heart to the day of his death, nor can he be blamed for the deflections that have appeared since 1950, even though it is now crystal clear to us that he gave us an exact blueprint of the actions of the centuries past that occurred in every sect in Christendom by the crown-lost leaders.

In this matter the supposedly enlightened adherents of the LHMM are the more to be blamed, and the words of Samuel to Israel apply with irresistible force to them: “I brought up Israel out of Egypt (from Satan’s evil order of affairs), and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you (the evils of sin, error, selfishness and worldliness); And ye have this day rejected your God, who Himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations.” (1 Sam. 10:18, 19) An excellent companion text is to be found in Psa. 77:20 – “Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses (the Lord) and Aaron (the Church).” We have the inspired warning in 1 Pet. 4:17: “The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” – the righteous (the fully faithful), the un­godly (the second-deathers), the sinner (the Great Company), each according to that which he has sown. And when we see those we once respected and loved now being “car­ried about by every wind of doctrine” we need no further testimony that they have left tragic flaws, erosions and rents in their past endeavors to “put on the whole armor of God.” This has affected different ones in various and sundry manner. Some have with­drawn to themselves in spiritual anarchy, making their own decisions, establishing their own arrangements for the study, practice, and spread of the “good word of God,” and flaunting the direct inspired command, “Forsake not the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is” (Heb. 10:25) – a counterpart of Judges 17:6 – “In those days there was no king (star member) of Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”

The Executive Trustee of the LHMM has also perverted another feature of the stew­ardship doctrine pertaining to the Epiphany Elect when he renounced the Epiphany Mes­senger’s teaching in E–10:672, that new Youthful Worthies would be won even after Arma­geddon. He now claims that work is all in the past – forsaking the truth that both Star Members taught regarding this Class (“flatly denying our dear Pastor’s thought that those who consecrating and proving faithful in the interval between the close of the General Call in 1881 and the inauguration of the earthly phase of the Kingdom and finding no crowns available for themselves, will become associated in reward and ser­vice with the Ancient Worthies in the Kingdom”––E–4:337); he has substituted his spir­itual hybrids (Campers Consecrated), which in turn has forced him to forsake the truth on Tentative Justification.

Bear in mind that it was only after he began his perversions that he began to suffer his defeats – just as was true of King Saul. The typical “child of disobedi­ence” went from one mistake to another worse one after he began his decline, culminat­ing finally in his own death – and the ignominious defeat of the entire nation of Is­rael. His experiences should be a solemn warning to all God’s people to “make straight paths for their feet.” Here was a man come from the smallest family in the smallest tribe of Israel (Benjamin), who rose to the highest office in Israel; then because of disobedience (“to obey is better than sacrifice”––l Sam. 15:22) he plummeted to an ab­ject humiliation far below what he had been when he was a simple herdsman caring for his father’s cattle and sheep. It seems he learned just nothing from his mistakes, because “the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul.” (1 Sam. 16:14)

It has been well stated that experience is a dear teacher, but a fool will learn by no other. But, when a man will not learn even by adverse experiences, he is then impoverished beyond description.   Be it remembered that it was the Gospel-Age Saul that built up Great Babylon, which in turn “made all the earth drunken” (Jer. 51:7); so that at this day “the earth is reeling to and fro like a drunkard” (Isa. 24:20) as a direct result of the bunglings of the “children of disobedience.” And, when the “drunkard” finally plunges over the precipice of destruction in Armageddon, then will antitypical Saul perish also (as such, though not necessarily as human beings, or even as New Creatures). This fate will be the direct result of their own sowing.

And, true to his kinsmen of the past, the Executive Trustee of the LHMM now fol­lows meticulously in their steps, he also having learned just nothing from the past failures and mistakes of antitypical Saul. It was when he began to pervert the Truth on Tentative Justification that his defeats also began – the abject failure of his $5 correspondence course – the humiliation of those conglomerate Conventions about which he was so loud and profuse for a time, but which are not even mentioned anymore – his defeats one after another in his various controversies on the Truth – his Flying Sau­cer tract – his bungling mistakes in the Present Truth, etc. “Bungling is the usual and natural activity of the Great Company,” says Brother Johnson; and his defeats will continue becoming more severe, until he drinks the cup of extreme humiliation and defeat of that part of Israel under his leadership – that is, if he is one to come out of the “great tribulation” and wash his robes in the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 7:14). Of this there shall be more comment “in due time.”

THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD DEPARTED FROM SAUL

In 1 Sam. 16:14 it is recorded that “The Spirit of the Lord Departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.” From this we should not conclude that the Holy spirit departed from the members of antitypical Saul. Had this occurred, they would all have gone into the Second Death.   Rather, they all lost the spirit of under­standing (See Matt. 25:3-9 and 25:30 Berean Comments), so that they not only could not see the advancing Truth, but actually lost important parts of the Truth they once pos­sessed. This is especially evident in this Epiphany period, where the leaders of all the groups in Little Babylon have cast aside large segments of the Truth that once sanc­tified them. Note particularly the confusion in the leader of the LHMM on Tentative justification, Campers Consecrated, the Saints all gone before the real ‘tribulation, of the Time of Trouble (Armageddon) has started, his Campers’ names prospectively (?) written in the Book of Life, before their Book is even opened, the Jews to become Campers Consecrated if they expect to get their promises of “first and chief” in the Kingdom, etc., etc.

The foregoing conclusion is clearly verified in 1 Sam. 28:14: “When Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.” The antitypical “dreams” we would understand to mean special revelations of advancing Truth from the Lord; the “Urim” meaning the doctrinal teachings of the Bible, which be­come unclear to those who lose the spirit of understanding (no longer understanding Ten­tative Justification, Consecration between the Ages while sin still prevails, etc.); the antitypical “prophets” are especially enlightened teachers, such as Brother Russell, Brother Johnson and others, whose teachings no longer motivate them. Especially here do we emphasize the teachings of both these Little Flock teachers on Abandonment to Aza­zel of all Great Company members, and their clear presentations on those consecrators be­tween the Ages who can no longer enter the High Calling.

AN EVIL SPIRIT TROUBLED HIM

The “evil spirit” that came over Saul is said to have been “from the Lord.” An evil spirit being is not here meant; rather, it means an evil disposition – resulting in God withdrawing His special help from him. Thus, God did not directly induce such a spirit; but it came about by allowing the Saul members to follow their own foolish de­vices – just as we are to understand the meaning of 2 Thes. 2:9-11, “God will send them strong delusion.” God is not the author of confusion, nor is He the disseminator of error. Note Brother Russell’s comments on some features of this text: “Because they received not the love of the Truth – But trifled with it to their injury”; “Strong delusion – That which, from certain standpoints, has the appearance of Truth” (such as Justification outside the righteousness of Christ, etc.). A self-confessed “trifling with the Truth” is to be found in RGJ’s letter published in the Nov. 15, 1910 Watch Tower, a little of which we now quote:

“I sought to make pictures and draw types from nearly every chap­ter in the Bible (just as he has attempted to do with the half Tribe of Manasseh on the west side of Jordan, the Hill Ophel, etc., etc.––JJH) .... Instead of using it to supply my much-needed armor, I was enjoying it more as one would a picture book or ‘Grimm’s Fairy Tales’ .... Finally I came to the point where it became quite difficult for me to distinguish between truth and error. Signed: R. G. Jolly” (And the above still seems to be his sad condition!––JJH)

THE MARK OF CAIN

“Cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then I shall be upright, and I shall he in­nocent from the great transgression.” (Psa. 19:12, 13) It is the usual procedure for one sin to beget other sins – for the offender to go from transgression to transgres­sion – just as it is also true that one error begets other errors, and one falsehood other falsehoods. This process is prompted by the necessity to alibi the wrongs or errors already committed; and David’s own experience is an outstanding Scriptural ex­ample of this. His moral offense with Bathsheba was a direct violation of the Seventh Commandment, which quickly led to violation of the Sixth Commandment in his murder of Uriah. Thus, David could well speak from experience when he composed the 19th Psalm.

And so it has also been where the evil of envy is allowed to spawn and grow. “Joseph’s brethren envied him” (Gen. 37:11; Acts 7:9), which in turn prodded them to “conspire against him to slay him.” (v. 18) It was envy that caused Cain to murder his brother Abel; it was envy that prompted the ‘good’ religious people to crucify the Lord of Glory. “Pilate knew that for envy they had delivered Him.” (Matt. 27:18) And after King Saul’s offenses had led Samuel to inform him that the Kingdom of Israel would be taken from him, it was then that the spirit of envy urged him also to attempt the murder of David. And, while he was prevented from actual commission of the crime, he was yet fully guilty; so that in due course he paid for his evil intentions with his own life, just as though he had really murdered the Lord’s anointed.

Envy was undoubtedly the motivation of those princes and presidents in Babylon who conspired to have Daniel thrown into the lions’ den. King Darius had promoted this foreigner, this Jew, over all of them; and it was more than they could bear. However, he who digs a pit for another falls oftener therein himself; and so it was with those conspirators against Daniel. When morning came, and King Darius perceived that some sort of miracle had been performed to spare Daniel from the hungry lions, he then commanded that his conspirators, and all their families, be thrown to the lions; of and all them were consumed. “Wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.” (Job 5:2) This picture had its fulfillment with those of our day who conspired to destroy Brother Russell; and it was re–enacted in a smaller way with those who tried to destroy Brother Johnson. On one occasion we asked him why the Society breth­ren treated him so shamefully. His answer: IT WAS ENVY, Brother!    Here was another despicable act of envy on the part of antitypical Saul right at our own doorstep!

A WORD FROM THAT SERVANT

Brother Russell has offered profuse comment on the typical Saul – his weaknesses, his failures, his abandonment by the Lord, and his final abject failure. Two of these articles are to be found in Reprints 4206 and 4210, from which we offer very brief sum­mations, although we believe all would do well to read carefully and consider the entire articles:

“Saul’s difficulty and tests may represent some of ours. (1) A selfish spirit... (2) A man-fearing spirit... (3) Saul’s third difficulty was that he had too slack an appreciation of the Lord’s word; and this is the difficulty which specially besets nearly every one of the Lord’s followers who stray away into error of doctrine or of conduct... The Scriptures clearly indicate a great trial and testing for the Church in the next few years. (Little did Brother Russell realize just how great that testing would be in 1917––JJH) It will determine with very many what Saul’s testing determined for him, whether or not God’s favor will continue, with its kingdom privileges and opportunities ... They will be answered as was Saul, ‘Obedience is better than sacrifice’; thou art rejected.”

It requires no great powers of discernment to perceive “too slack an apprecia­tion of the Lord’s word” among the multitudes of Christendom. “Behold the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.” (Amos 8:11) But this same situation is becoming increasingly so with many so-called Truth people. “Too slack an appreciation of the Lord’s word” starts at the top; and it is a sage observation that the disciple rarely rises above his Lord. Thus, the leaders in the various groups of Little Babylon who should be zealously stirring up a proper appreciation of the Lord’s word are unable to do so because of their own errors – errors which have become so appalling that it prevents them from giving a good defense of those truths which they still retain. That same situation prevailed in Big Babylon at the begin­ning of the century; and it provided many a spark for the controversialists of that time – until they realized that the Parousia David (That Servant) had a “sharp two-­edged sword” which they could neither gainsay nor resist. This led eventually to withdrawal from the battle on the part of the errorists – until today it matters very little what one believes so long as he creates no uproar about it.

And that same “lack of appreciation of the Lord’s word” is rapidly infiltrating the sects of Little Babylon. Let us dwell in peace, they say; the arguments are inconsequential anyway. Their appreciation of the Lord’s word is indeed becoming quite slack! Nor do they do very much about feeding the sheep. As Brother Johnson has ob­served, these crown-lost leaders do much better in their efforts toward the worldlings. Brother Russell and Brother Johnson left us plenty of material to enlighten and fortify us in this Epiphany period when these crown-lost leaders are so prominently manifested. “Therefore, by their fruits you will discover them.” (Matt. 7:20, Dia.) The crown-­lost leaders largely ignore these truths as they seek gain for their own quarters.

As stated above, Saul’s blunders and transgressions became worse with each deflec­tion, although the prophet of God was there to reprove and correct him each time. His was a vivid example of the admonition, “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” (Prov. 29:1) His first gross deflection is recorded in 1 Sam. 13, where Saul himself offered sacrifice in direct violation of what he knew full well was the Lord’s established arrangement. “Because they (the Great Company) contemned the counsel (arrangements) of the Most High” (Psa. 107:11). Immediately the Fully Faithful servant of the Lord was there to reprove him: “And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly” – 1 Sam. 13:13. And because of this he was told, “Thy kingdom shall not continue... because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee.”

And other acts of disobedience soon manifested other flaws in his character, and revealed three outstanding sins common among men. He had been told to destroy utter­ly the Amalekites and their herds, but his cupidity was stronger than the clear com­mand of the Lord. He did indeed completely destroy the Amalekites (excepting only Agag the King), but the sight of their fat cattle easily overcame Saul, so “Saul and the people spared the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and of lambs, and all that was good... but everything that was vile and refuse, that they de­stroyed utterly.” (1 Sam. 15:9)

And once again the Fully Faithful Samuel was there to confront him; and once again Saul made display of the flaws in his character, the sins of hypocrisy and lying: “Blessed be thou of the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” Reproved by Samuel’s stern countenance and sharp questions, Saul then attempted to take refuge in another sin as old as the human race: “The people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God,” repeating this falsehood in verse 21, but finally forced to admit, “I have sinned.” And, just as “Samuel came no more to see Saul” (v. 35), so the Lord God came no more to see Father Adam, after his impudent accusation following the transgression in Eden: “The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me” (Gen. 3:12). As Adam was bold and impudent enough to accuse the Lord Himself for his deflection, so Saul was ready enough to blame “the people” for his sins. All of which is warning enough for him that “hath an ear to hear.”

Century after century during the Gospel Age, as antitypical Saul was “anointed” by antitypical Samuel, the great majority of the Saul class was goaded by unholy ambi­tion to violate the teachings and arrangements of the Lord as presented through the Sam­uel class. Thus, they overshadowed the Fully Faithful and produced the “golden cup” which “made all the earth drunken: Therefore, the nations are (now in 1974) mad”! And, in exact imitation of their kinsmen of the past, the Epiphany Saul submerged the Fully Faithful, and presented a “cup” of rank intoxication. All of us who were in “the good fight” some fifty years ago remember only too vividly the treatment accorded the Epiphany Messenger by J. F. Rutherford and Company – how they submerged the Samuel class by “bowing the knee to Baal” in unprincipled power–grasping, as they presented to the general public their “Millions Now Living” mirage, their 1925 fiasco, etc., which failing fully in every detail they then seized upon the old Papal anathema of the Dark Ages: No salvation outside of our organization – the same being their shibboleth even at this day.

And in similar fashion the crown-lost leader of the LHMM mimicked his Epiphany kinsmen: he and his are now the “Fully Faithful,” the “light,” the “good and faithful servant” class, etc. – and those claiming to be the Fully Faithful are second–deathers, the same being the identical verdict circulated by the Society some fifty years ago against brother Johnson and his adherents. So once again we ob­serve antitypical Saul “anointed” by Samuel in crystal clear exhibition of the true picture given “for our admonition and learning” (1 Cor. 10:11) some three thousand years ago. The truth of this type will certainly impress all who are “of the truth,” and have even a smattering of Epiphany Truth.

“Fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what a great thing He hath done for you. But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your kind.” (1 Sam. 12:24) This prophetic warning saw exact fulfillment at the death of Saul and his three sons, as Israel also was “consumed” in defeat by the Philistines.

Thus, we close with Brother Johnson’s conclusion in E–13:251: “Let us learn the lessons chiefly inculcated by Samuel and Saul, i.e., that by God’s grace we stand, as we abide faithful, taught us by antitypical Samuel’s life, and that, despite God’s grace, we fall, as we prove unfaithful, taught us by antitypical Saul’s life.” And we would add – “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall he as a tree planted by the waters...” (Jer. 17:7,8)

Sincerely your brother

John J. Hoefle, Pilgrim

========================================

QUESTION OF GENERAL INTEREST

QUESTION: – Much has been said about the “repentant and believing” in the “finished picture” of the Epiphany Camp. Exactly what is meant by “repentant and believing” Jews and Gentiles?

ANSWER: – To repent means “to amend or resolve to amend one’s life as a result of contrition for one’s sins.” (Webster) And “believing” means to accept Jesus as Savior. Such people in the finished Epiphany Camp picture occupy the same character standing as did the tentatively justified in the Court during the entire Gospel Age. When the “finished picture” of the Epiphany Camp arrives, such people are in position to receive the Holy Spirit that is poured out “for all flesh” (Joel 2: 28) when the New Covenant is inaugurated – before the unbelieving and unrepentant Jews and Gentiles can receive the Holy Spirit – although it is poured out for all who eventu­ally become “repentant and believing”

The question may be asked, Can such “repentant and believing” Jews and Gentiles consecrate in the Epiphany Camp? Yes, of course, consecration is always in order. As That Servant has truly said, that is always the proper attitude for all mankind. But consecration has two parts – one part by the consecrator, and the other part, God’s acceptance. However, God does not deal with Restitutionists, either during this Age or during the Mediatorial reign. He has put all Restitutionists in the hands of the Medi­ator – Christ and the Church. When the New Covenant is inaugurated such “repentant and believing” Jews and Gentiles will be among the first to receive the Kingdom blessings, as they gladly accept its requirements.

Cornelius was in much the same position at the beginning of the Age – before the door was opened for the Gentiles – as the “repentant and believing” Jews and Gentiles of the Epiphany Camp here in the end of the Age. The difference with Cornelius, God did accept his consecration when the “due time” arrived for the Gentiles to become prospective members of Christ’s Body. But when the “due time” arrives for Restitu­tionists to receive the Holy Spirit, The Christ will accept their consecration.

The similarity of Cornelius and the “repentant and believing” Jews and Gentiles of the Epiphany Camp is this: That Servant has said, No doubt Cornelius and his house had already accepted Christ, because the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them “even while Peter yet spake.” However, God did not accept Cornelius’ consecration until the “due time” arrived – until the door was opened for the Gentiles. Nor will The Christ accept Restitutionists’ consecration until the “times of refreshing” have come (Acts 3:19-21), and the New Covenant is inaugurated.

Of course, when we speak of the “repentant and believing” we do not include the mere professors. There are many who claim to be “repentant and believing” but mere lip service and attendance at public worship is sometimes worse than nothing more than “tares ready for the burning,” as tares – not necessarily as people. Such are well described in Rev. 2:9: “I know the blasphemy of those which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.” “He is not a Jew which is one outwardly.” (Rom. 2:28)

Although there was no Great Company as a Class during That Servant’s lifetime, yet he well realized that many of those who associated with him were not saints. During the last ten years of his life he wrote copiously about the Great Company – prompted, no doubt, by his observation of those closely associated with him. He said if he hadn’t found such a Class in the Scriptures, that he would he looking for such a Class in the Scriptures. And his opinion of those around him was fully corroborated very soon after his death – when the real character of those people came to the surface. Clearly enough, they had built their house “upon the sand,” and the frailty of their foundation soon became apparent to close observers. Such, however, are not “tares,” although they have much the same experience in the end of the Age: they will come out of “great tribulation.” (Rev. 7:14)

Such crown–losers must not only repent of their sins against their covenant, but they must also be converted. Conversion from the Bible standpoint is the entire pro­cess of turning from depravity into the image of God. But when they become repentant of their partially willful sins, and converted, God will receive them. “Know you, That he who turns back a sinner from his Path of Error will save his Soul from Death (the Second Death), and will cover a Multitude of Sins.” (Jas. 5:20, Dia.) However, there is much more to true repentance than mere remorse for evil deeds. In strict Scriptural definition, it includes intellectual conviction of sin (John 8:9); heart’s sorrow for sin (Matt. 11:21, 2 Cor. 7:9-11); hatred of sin (Deut. 7:26); abandonment of sin (Prov. 28:13, Matt. 3:8); confession of sin (Ezra 10:1, Prov. 28:13, Acts 19:18); restitution for sin (Lev. 6:4,5, Ezek. 33:15, Luke 9:8); and opposition to sin (Rom. 7:15, 19, 23).

All of the foregoing should be considered as vital requirement to classify any one as a “repentant and believing” member of the Epiphany Camp “in the finished picture.”

...........................................................................

ANNOUNCEMENT OF GENERAL INTEREST

On October 31 it will be 58 years since the Parousia Messenger finished his course; and on October 22 it will be 24 years since the Epiphany Messenger joined him. We would suggest that the various Classes hold a joint Memorial service for them some time during the last week of October. Also we suggest our Special Effort in antitypical Gideon’s Second Battle this year to start with Sunday, Oct. 13 through Sunday, Nov. 3. Please order the pertinent tracts and literature if you wish to join with us in this good work. We invite all those of like mind to join with us in this good work and in the prayer, God bless their memory! (I Sam. 2:30)

NO. 230: "THERE SHALL BE NO MORE CURSE"

No. 230

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

The various writings that have been presented during this Laodicean period have carried copious references and explanations concerning the curse. No doubt this is due to the fact that “the time is at hand” (Rev. 22:10) to make the subject crystal clear. In Gen. 3:17 we find the sentence against Adam: “Cursed is the ground for thy sake”; and in Rev. 22:3 is the statement, “There shall be no more curse.” The Dia­glott states it thus, “There will be no more any accursed thing.” The “accursed thing” in this text refers to “death and hell” which would be cast into the lake of fire. Here are the Berean Comments: “Death including aches, pains, mental and moral imperfections of every sort; And Hell – Hades, oblivion, the great prison house of the tomb in which mankind awaits a resurrection.” Thus, Hell is the actual death state of man, with death referring to all the infirmities which have afflicted the human race for the past six thousand years. Therefore, the eradication of the curse includes not only the elimination of the death state, but also those things that have been incidental to producing death – including persons and things.

Pertinent to the foregoing is this quotation from Parousia Vol. 5, p. 193: “Thus shall the great Jehovah and His Spirit of holiness and all who ally themselves thereto finally triumph, and sin and Satan and the spirit of evil shall be forever extinguished and there shall be no more curse. (Isa. 28:17; 1 Cor. 4:5; 6:2; Acts 3:23; 2 Thes. 1:9; Rev. 22:3)”

All the present evils are the gradual result of the disobedience in Eden, Adam bearing the direct responsibility. And in direct contrast, the second Adam (the Lord from Heaven) will be directly responsible for the complete elimination of these evils. This is very clearly related in Heb. 2:14: “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He (Jesus) likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.” Clearly enough, if the devil has the power over death, death itself cannot possibly be for­ever eliminated until the one responsible for death – that is, the devil – is also eliminated.

It is stated that he (an angel from Heaven) “laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should de­ceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.” (Rev. 20:1-3) Self-evidently, if he who “has the power over death” is not destroyed at the beginning of the “little season,” then death also will not be destroyed at the beginning of the “little season.” This leaves but one logical conclusion – namely, death (the dying process) Will not be completely eliminated until “that old serpent” is likewise eliminated – and this will not take place until the full end of the “little season.” “Then cometh the end” (the end of the “little season”) when He (Jesus) shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death” (including Hades – the death state, and the dying proc­ess—1 Cor. 15:24-26). It should be emphasized here that “Hell” (the Adamic death state) will have been cast into “the lake of fire” many years before the Little Season even begins; therefore, “Hell” cannot possibly be the “last enemy.”

All during the thousand years that Satan is bound the foregoing evils will be gradually destroyed. As each one comes forth from the tomb, Hades (the actual death state) will be instantaneously destroyed for that particular individual; and, inasmuch as each person will be allowed at least one hundred years to make some progress up the “highway of holiness” (Isa. 35:8), it follows that the actual death state that has been inherited by all from Father Adam must be completely eliminated at least one hundred years before the “little season” begins. According to the chronological reckoning, this should be not later than 2774 AD, or approximately 800 years from now.

But with the dying process (all the evils – aches, pains, mental, moral and reli­gious imperfections) it will be considerably different. The release from the tomb for each one is brought about without any assistance or foreknowledge from such persons; it is a gift from God through Jesus. This is well described in Psa. 103:2,3: “Bless the Lord, 0 my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; though healeth all thy diseases.” Jesus made His soul an offering for sin, which guaran­tees to every man release from that iniquity that was inherited through Father Adam. “He will destroy in this mountain (the Kingdom of God, the New Jerusalem) the face of the covering cast over all people (Hades, the death state), and the veil (of superstition and ignorance) that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of His people (sin and error) shall He take away from off all the earth.” (Isa. 25:7,8) The forgive­ness of iniquities and the healing of diseases will be a free gift from God to every one as he emerges from the tomb; but the elimination of the various defects now inherent in man will only be eliminated by the cooperation of each individual himself – and those who do not wish to cooperate will, after one hundred years, die the second death – will be cast into the figurative “lake of fire, which is the second death.” (Rev. 20:14)

As the “little season” arrives, all who reach that time will have been freed from all physical imperfection – their physical diseases will all have been healed. But with some their mental and moral diseases will yet be present – (the Adamic Death Process will yet be present with them in their unholy hearts’ condition); and thus will come the division of the sheep and the goats of Matt. 25:31-46. “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand (the sheep), Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matt. 25:34) “Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire (the second death), prepared for the devil and his angels.” (v. 41) This clear separation, rewarding and sentencing to the “lake of fire” can occur only at the full end of the “little season”; the sheep could not receive a free, clear and unencumbered title to the Kingdom until all evil persons and things have been fully obliterated. Then will be fulfilled the promise, “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain (the microbes of disease and pestilence will be fully restrained): for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” (Isa. 11:9) “There shall be no night (error) there... for the Lord God giveth them light” (the pure truth)—Rev. 22:5. “They shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remem­ber their sin no more.” (Jer. 31:34).

Following is a statement from E–12:270: “In the Millennium He will actually heal all the physical, mental, artistic, moral and religious faculties and their con­tents of the unbelief class as from the heart they accept His medicines and other heal­ing helps. The following Scriptures prove this: Jer. 3:22; 30:17; 33:6; Hos. 6:1; 14:4; Ps. 107:20; 67:2; Ezek. 47:1,8,9,12; Rev. 22:1-3; Mal. 4:2. Thus our Lord as the Good Physician heals the faith class now, and will heal the unbelief class in the Millennium from the physical, mental, artistic, moral and religious diseases that sin and the curse (the Adamic death process—JJH) have brought upon them.”

And continuing from E–12:310: “The ransom price guarantees that there will be gradually given to the whole world what it lost in Adam, if and as it obeys in the next Age (Luke 19:10; 1 Cor. 15:21-26; 1 John 3:8; Heb. 1:8; 10:12,13; Rev. 20:4-9; Heb. 9:23). And through the ransom-price Jesus and the Church as the tree of life will actually give to the obedient world all that Adam lost for it – perfect humanity and life, the right to life and its life–rights (Rev. 21:3-5; 22:1–3; Acts 3:19-21).”

Follows now Hos. 13:14: “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: 0 death, I will be thy plagues; 0 grave, I will be thy de­struction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.” In the sense of rescuing from the power of the grave, the Elect Church will also have part in the ransom process; and, just as various plagues, injuries, violence in various forms now send men to that great abode “where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary be at rest,” so just the reverse is promised under the Kingdom. Then, instead of the people being plagued with diseases, it is the diseases that will be “plagued” out of the people.

Complementing the above is this from E–17:428: “We have now studied Millennial testimonies all the way from Genesis up to and including the last chapter of Revelation: from the time, after the curse of sin and death came upon the human family through Adam’s sin, that God promised Abraham that through him and his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed, until the time that the great Seed of Abraham, the Christ, Head and Body, developed during the Gospel Age, will have reigned over the earth as kings and priests for a thousand years and blessed all the families of the earth, living and dead, with the opportunity of obtaining everlasting life on a perfect earth; until the Adamic death state and the Adamic dying process (1 Cor. 15:26) will have been destroyed, and there will be no more curse; until Satan (Ezek. 28:19; Heb. 2:14), the unrepentant fallen angels (Matt. 25:41) and the ‘goat’ class – all the wicked (Psa. 145:20) – will have been utterly, completely and eternally annihilated in the second death, symbolized by the lake of fire (and by the Red Sea destruction of Pharaoh and his hosts—JJH) ­,they shall be as though they had not been’ (Obad. 16). Then ‘the righteous shall see it and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth’ (Ps. 107:42). Sin shall never rise again. God will be glorified forever and ever by perfect creatures, both in heaven and on earth. ‘And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.’”

GRADUAL WORKINGS OF THE CURSE

The question would seem in order here: Did Adam immediately realize the workings of the curse in him after the disobedience? We would say he felt no physical discom­fort. Gen. 3:22,23 would seem to confirm this: “Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden.” Here is a clear statement that the man could have continued liv­ing forever – even after the transgression – had he been allowed to remain in his ideal home.

However, there is no doubt that he had great mental disturbance because of what he had done. “I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid.” (Gen. 3:10) Here then appears the first human weakness to afflict man, which became greatly magnified in the human race as the years ticked on; and it is probably true that today it is pres­ent in varying degrees in every member of the human family. Shakespeare disputes this conclusion: “Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant only taste of death but once. Of all the things I yet have heard it seems to me most strange that men should fear, seeing that death, a necessary end, will come when it will come.”– Of course this statement is the contention of the fatalist; and it finds no support what­ever in the Bible. Nevertheless, some are much less oppressed by fear than others. We find some people afraid of the dark; others imagine that some one is always chas­ing them. Of the Jews it is written that if they would “despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant,” then “ye shall flee when none pursueth you.” (Lev. 26:15-17) About like the boy who ran from his own shadow.

A second defect – now universally common among men – immediately showed itself in Adam – that of blaming some one else for his mistakes. “The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” (Gen. 3:12) The impudence of this remark is readily apparent: It was God’s fault that Adam disobeyed; had He not given Adam the woman, none of this would have happened. This second failing also has been greatly expanded during the years that have followed.

Even so, these two things would not have been sufficient to inflict the death pen­alty upon the disobedient man; he could have continued to live forever had he been al­lowed to remain in Eden.   Therefore, “He drove the man out, and placed... a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” (Gen. 3:24) And it was only after he was faced with the trialsome task of keeping alive under very unfavor­able circumstances (“cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee... till thou return unto the ground”—Gen. 3:17-19), that the aches, pains, mental and moral im­perfections of every sort made their appearance, and have pyramided over the years. Such things are now accepted as a way of our life even by the finest minds, because none are able to escape the ravages of decay to be seen on every hand. And, while some eat their bread with a minimum of “sweat of the brow,” yet all do eat it with plenty of sor­row. All are now resigned to the fact that “The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” (Jer. 31:29) As Adam had to learn by experience what he could not learn by instruction, so all his descendants are being similarly edu­cated.

Cursed is the ground for thy sake” (Gen. 3:17), Outside of Eden the earth was not prepared to perpetuate life in keeping with the ideal conditions that had prevailed in the Garden. This condition of the earth outside of Eden was not the result of the transgression; it had been that way all along; it was simply then used as a convenience to exact the sentence “in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Gen. 2:17) This would be better expressed “dying thou shalt die”; the execution of the sentence was a gradual one – an eroding process, which was fully completed when Adam entered the tomb. “Adam lived 930 years: and he died” (Gen. 5:5). After the great deluge the dying process was greatly accelerated, the evidence of which is clearly ap­parent to this day.

However, for almost one hundred years now we have been “In the day of His prepar­ation” (Nahum 2:3) – the preparation for the new order which will “wipe the tears from off all faces.” This has been easing many of the back-breaking burdens of the past; but the span of life has not been greatly increased thereby. While it is true that the “average” age of life has been raised considerably, this is mostly due to fewer dying in infancy; there is yet no comparison to Moses, for instance: “Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died; his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.” (Deu. 34:7) Also, much of the earth itself has been much improved, although none of it is yet perfect, and much of it is yet very much untamed, very imperfect.

THE WRATH – THE CURSE

These two expressions are often used interchangeably, as can be seen from the following in Par. Vol. 5, p. 439: “The ‘wrath,’ the ‘curse’ will be lifted from all who come into harmony with God through Jesus the Savior, and all who do not avail themselves or this grace will be swallowed up of the Second Death – for ‘the wrath of God abideth on them,—Acts 3:23; John 3:36; Rev. 22:3.”

However, though the “curse” has but one application, applying to both man and the earth, yet the “wrath” has a broad and a specific definition. When Job exclaimed, “O that thou wouldst hide me in the grave till thy wrath be past” (Job 14:13), he was us­ing its general meaning. But other Scriptures speak of a specific time – a “day of wrath.” (Psa. 110:5) – “The Lord shall strike through kings in the day of His wrath.” And Zeph. 1:14,15: “The great day of the Lord is near... That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress,” of which we see plenty all about us now. Also Rev. 6: 17: “The great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” This “day of wrath” began in its broad sense in 1874; but in its narrow sense it began in 1914, when the violent features of the Time of Trouble broke forth. Since that date we have been living in that period of time known as the Epiphany, and which will continue for some years yet – until the end of Jacob’s Trouble – after Anarchy has leveled all ex­isting institutions.

This “day of wrath” in its limited sense has been designed for the world in gen­eral, and for a specific class in particular – “the great multitude, which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Rev. 7:14) But this day is decidedly not for God’s faithful people: “We are not of the night, nor of darkness... For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to ob­tain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thes. 5:5-9). However, some sections of the earth, and some people in particular, may experience much less of the “overflowing scourge” – the day of wrath – (Isa. 28:18) than will others. Thus, Zeph. 2:3 offers the counsel, “Seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s wrath.”

Complementing the foregoing is the following from Parousia Vol. 5, p. 410: “Hence, this Day of Vengeance and of special wrath, additional to what has prevailed previously, it is declared, will be ‘A time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation.’ God’s saints are assured that they shall be accounted worthy to escape all those things coming upon the world, and to stand before the Son of Man. They shall es­cape this special wrath, but they do not escape the general wrath which is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness. They share this with the world, in many respects, and yet there is this finely drawn distinction, which the Scriptures clearly point out:

“Those who accept Christ during this Age are reckoned as having passed from death unto life; as having escaped the wrath, the curse, ‘escaped the corruption that is on the world.” (2 Pet. 1:4; 2:18,20) True, they are still in the world, still subject to death, and may still share with the world the sickness, pain, sorrow and trouble inciden­tal to the curse, and from the worldly standpoint there is no difference; but from God’s standpoint, which is to be the believer’s standpoint, there is a wide difference. Such are not reckoned any longer as dying because of Divine ‘curse’ or ‘wrath,’ but in view of their justification and subsequent presentation as living sacrifices their death is reckoned as part of Christ’s sacrifice... ‘If we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.’ (Rom. 6:8)”

A GLARING ERROR

In recent years the Jehovah’s Witnesses have been loud in their claim that they are now separating the sheep and the goats of the great parable spoken by our Lord in Matt. 25:31-46. Concerning that time, when the true separation will be proceeding, there is this prophetic statement: “Judgment also will I lay to the line, and right­eousness to the plummet.” (Isa. 28:17) Properly interpreted, this text can mean only that earth’s affairs in that day will be squared and plumbed with righteousness and brought into strict conformity thereto. Manifestly, this could be accomplished only through perfection of administration. We doubt that even the Witnesses would claim per­fection for themselves; thus, their present attempt to do something perfectly through im­perfect agents can be described only as glaring error – a spiritual mirage. Since they have taken over there has been no relief whatever from the curse; rather, just the re­verse has occurred – “the evil day” is becoming daily more apparent and distressing.

In previous papers we have detailed the striking similarity of the Witnesses to the Roman Catholic Church; and on this particular aberration concerning the sheep and the goats they offer almost identical deception. When the Roman Church was in its hey­day, they also were separating the sheep and the goats, except that they consigned their goats (the heretics) to eternal torment, as they promised their sheep eternal bliss in Heaven. Today the Witnesses predict eternal extinction in Armageddon to the goats (all outside their organization), as they promise their sheep eternal life here on earth. Very few people want to die; thus, the promise of eternal life with unbroken bliss ­either in Heaven or on earth – is a very appealing enticement. They are telling them something they want to hear.

But the facts of the case belie their claims. During the thousand-year counter­feit of the Roman Church from 799 to 1799 the curse probably exceeded all previous ex­hibitions – a time known as The Dark Ages. And now, since the counterfeit reign of the Witnesses – from 1914 up to the present – the curse once more is exceeding all pre­vious experiences – “iniquity shall abound” (Matt. 24:12) – “a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time” (Dan. 12:1) – a clear state­ment that the curse would be worse than at any previous time. Instead of “no more curse,” there is curse more abundant; instead of “no more death,” death is everywhere rampant, and it is taking its toll with the Witnesses along with others of the human race. “God will send to them an energy of delusion, to their believing the falsehood”—­2 Thes. 2:11, Dia. Instead of “every man knowing the Lord,” 99% of those living today know little or nothing of the real God.

Even among the Witnesses themselves, a great many of their adherents have a very vague understanding of what their headquarters is teaching. And there is good reason for this: Since 1914 they have changed their teachings so much that today they bear almost no resemblance whatever to what they taught in 1914. Aside from the debacle of 1925 and Millions Now Living Will Never Die, they have changed their chronology so that they now cannot speak with certainty on any part of it. They first came out with the date 1918 as the time for the end of the High Calling; then they changed the date two or three times since then, with about 1935 as their last attempt – although they are even now not certain if it is closed or not. Instead of “the earth being full of the knowl­edge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Isa. 11:9), ignorance and superstition prevail in all quarters. Instead of the “law going forth out of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isa. 2:3), the Witnesses contend the Word of the Lord is going forth from them; but, in view of the frequent changes they are forced to make, it is not going forth with convincing clarity – rather, it is proceeding with the unsteady gate of an inebriate.

THE DOUBLE CURSE

While the curse has been passed on from generation to generation, including all nations, there has been a double curse upon a small segment of the human family; namely, upon the Jews. A hint of this is given by St. Paul in Rom. 7:9: “I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” Here the Apostle is speaking not only for himself, but for the whole Jewish race. Just what is he trying to tell us? Simply this – all men, including the Jews, were promised re­lief from the curse through the promise given to Abraham: “in thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed”—Gen. 22:18; but, when they agreed to keep the Law given to them through Moses at Sinai, they promised more than they could perform, which placed a double liability upon them – one inherited from Father Adam, and one from their broken agreement to keep the Law. That perfect law was far beyond the reach of the imperfect Jews. St. Paul confirms this conclusion in Rom. 7:10,11: “And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the com­mandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.”

Then the words of Jesus in John 3:14: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” Referring to this same situation, St. Paul says in Gal. 3:13: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us (which relieved the Jews of the double curse resting on them through their inability to keep the law): for it is written (Deu. 21:22,23), Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.”

However, although the Jews have been under a double curse, they will also be the recipients of a double blessing when that double curse is lifted from them. This is well stated in Reprints 5964, col. 1, Oct. 1, 1916:

“At the inauguration of the new Age of blessing; natural Israel will be granted a special place and privilege; “for the gifts and calling of God are not things to be repented of.” We see how in another way, also, this special privilege will come to them; namely, in that the law has been more or less of restraint upon them in their daily lives as a people. They have had more or less of loyalty to God, which has kept them separate from other nations. This special privilege of pre–eminence in the Messi­anic Kingdom, however, will not be granted to all who are Jews by blood; but only to those who prove loyal to the law and the prophets – those who are Jews at heart, and not merely outwardly. All others are merely Gentiles.—Rom. 2:28,29.

“The earthly phase of the Kingdom will be composed of the Ancient Worthies of the Ages preceding the First Advent of our Lord. Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job, and the Hebrew prophets and other faithful ones will be in power as ‘princes in all the earth.’ (Psa. 45:16)  The orthodox Jews will be more ready to receive the blessing of the new dispensation promptly than will any other people. Therefore, they will have the first blessing (a double blessing for their double curse—JJH) – not by reason of partiality on God’s part in showing favor to these people, but by virtue of the fact that He made a covenant with them as the posterity of faithful Abraham.”

Commenting further on this same thing, there is this on pp. 204,205 of the Book of Covenants: “Since the Mediatorial work of the Millennial Kingdom is to be accomplished through Natural Israel, and since all the families of the earth are to be blessed through them, it follows that nothing can be done until Israel shall have been recovered from their present outcast condition. Then the blessing of the Lord will go forth... will be accomplished through Natural Israel...

“Then, as the people of the various nations shall gather themselves to the Lord and seek to come into harmony with Him, the way of approach will be by coming into accord with the Holy Nation – God’s representative Kingdom in the world... The New Covenant is not to be made with any others than the Jews, for no others were in Cov­enant relationship with God. The words ‘New Covenant’ seem, therefore, to indicate the repetition of God’s favor to Israel under the better Mediator, who will bring the glorious blessings that they had expected under Moses, but failed to obtain because of the inability of Moses to make satisfaction for their sins; for the blood of bulls and goats could never actually take away their sins. The antitypes of these – the sacri­fice of the Lord and the members of His Body – must first be accomplished before this New Covenant with Israel could supersede the old or Law Covenant, which it then will do.”

While the New Covenant will have its initial working at the beginning of the Mediatorial reign, the full effect of the promise “THERE SHALL BE NO MORE CURSE” will not be realized until the full end of the Little Season – when the curse (all the evils which now afflict the human race), and all those afflicted with it in any manner, will be forever obliterated. Then will come “the end” of 1 Cor. 15:24 – “when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power” – when He shall have destroyed him that has the power over death, that is to say the Devil.

“Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.” (Prov. 3:13,14)

Sincerely your brother

John J. Hoefle, Pilgrim

==================================

LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Brother Hoefle: Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus!

Please forward a supply of your tracts, 1 through 10 – also No. 121, The Ro­man Church and Its Little Twin. I would appreciate a complete set of all your pub­lications similar to those requested, if available. If you wish to have your litera­ture distributed in Alaska, I shall be pleased to assist....

Please give me your views on The Dawn, East Rutherford, NJ, The Pastoral Bible Institute and The Crawfords, Sun City.

Yours in Christ and in memory of That Servant ------- (ALASKA)

...........................................................................

Dear Friends at Mount Dora:

Many thanks for your kind letter and your mention of us in your prayers. To me, and to all of us, this is the most important (saddest and most joyful) time of the year – and the meaning of it all fills us with wonder and amazement. How grateful we are to have been taught these precious truths!     Christian love, ------- (OHIO)

...........................................................................

Dear Friends:

Words cannot express how grateful I am for your kind and generous gift – The Herald of the Epiphany. I realize now how the Lord must have known how my mind and heart have been torn apart by thoughts of life after death and the resurrection. I have prayed for guidance and strength and now I have found both.

You mentioned additional literature available upon request. I would appreciate the following issues – Nos. 3 through 10. I already have Nos. 1 and 2. You have a beautiful way of explaining things which my mind was not capable of comprehending from the Bible. Once again, God bless you for your thoughts and help!

Sincerely ------- (FLORIDA)

...........................................................................

Dear Brother J. J. Hoefle, Beloved:

Hope this finds you and all the Bible House family well. You should have been answered before now, but due to pushing to put out the tracts, answer has been delayed.

Immediately when the tracts came I started folding in fours and twos, so that as I hand them out the people do not have much trouble in turning the papers. In doing them this way, it doesn’t seem to intimidate them – and in most cases they are well received.

However, two Adventists abused me about the paper, God’s Great Sabbath Day, saying, “The man doesn’t know what he is talking about!” But when she called back, I started to explain to her – and she and the crowd just stood there listening. The other quarreler was a Wesleyan – and at her church gate nearly every one else re­ceived the papers; but she started to quarrel. I said, Fancy, the Harlot Rahab was more holy than you, for she hid two men from the king, and you won’t even take a tract to read to change your thought-food. Yes, two Adventists in one bunch and one in the Wesleyan. But the Millennium is not known by hearing a sermon or by reading Rev. 20, Brother! The work is nice to serve the Lord, to tell His people of the good times coming.

I have given out about all I have. I certainly do like the size of the print in your publications, Brother. And may the Great Lord bless you in health and in strength to teach us how to carry on the good fight in the different localities, even as the Great Day requires it thus. May love, good hope and peace embrace your heart all the time through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Your brother in the Lord ------- (JAMAICA)