NO. 319: RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT

No. 319

Coming to a New Year, once again we offer a resume of many of the happenings in 1981, along with some opinion for the year ahead. “Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be estab­lished in the present truth.” (1 Pet. 1:12) Again we marvel at the inventive genius. The great “increase in knowledge” (Dan. 12:4) is alone sufficient to convince all in­quiring minds that we are indeed in the “time of the end.”

On November 14 a second Columbia Space Shuttle began its flight – at a speed of 17,345 miles per hour – a performance which dazzles the intellect. Our planet earth is about 25,000 miles around at the Equator, which means that the Space Shuttle went around the earth in about one and one-half hours; and continued this pace for two days and six hours, making a perfect landing at its conclusion. Ten hours before landing it was stated that the Shuttle would land in California about 4:20 p.m.; and it actually accomplished the feat at 4:22 p.m. – just two minutes off the estimate. The human skill involved in this feat is indeed a marvel of the first order.

Another most interesting item: A small hand-size clock has now come into the mar­ket, which, just by pressing the button, speaks out the correct time. What a blessing this will be to all blind people!

And our agriculture is keeping pace with the foregoing. It is reported now that one farm worker produces enough food for 68 people; and 150 to 200 bushels of corn per acre is common production. When we were a boy on the farm in Ohio we had a field that produced fifty bushels per acre; and it was the talk of the whole county. And now we have machines that go through the field at harvest time, shell off the corn and load it in bags for delivery to the grain elevator. Nothing is taken from the land but just the pure grain. After harvest a machine carrying about twelve-inch heavy chain then goes through the field, chops the corn stalks into small pieces of about ten inches, which are then plowed under and allowed to rot during the winter; then just enough fertilizer is required in the Spring to produce the large crops mentioned above. When the corn planted is about three inches tall a machine goes through the field spraying between the rows. This destroys all weeds without injuring the growing corn, and no further labor is necessary until harvest time. Thus a farmer may enjoy himself in the shade of his front yard and watch his bumper crop develop. The back-breaking labor of sixty years ago is no longer required for present production.

More Of The Same: “The nation’s micro-electronics industry may take a significant bound forward with the announcement of the development of a new ultra-sophisticated com­puter chip capable of processing the information contained in 1,000 books in a single second. A spokesman for the high technology firm said that scientists have developed a computer chip with 450,000 translator capacity – making it by far the most powerful and sophisticated computer chip in the world. ... Scientists say the new chip – a stan­dard one-sixteenth of a square inch in size – is so fast that all the information in 1,000 books can be processed in a single second – which will ultimately result in lower market prices and expand the fast-growing market for electronic products. This is a major breakthrough that will make computers smaller, faster and a lot more powerful, the spokesman said. An electronics professor called the announcement ‘incredible advance.’”

IN FINANCE

The national debt of the United States has now skyrocketed to One Trillion Dollars; and the annual interest on this colossal burden is more than One Hundred Billion Dollars. These figures are beyond the grasp of the human mind; and former President Herbert Hoover made this sage observation – when the national debt was less than five per cent of what it is now: “Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt.”

The pundits are now offering various solutions for this mess. One of them has told us they are now considering a shrinkage of ten for one dollar. If that should occur, we shall just wake up one morning to learn that the thousand dollars we had on deposit in the bank is now just one hundred. We do not say yea or nay to this; we just repeat it to show how some people are thinking on the money question.

One financial publication recently gave out this report: “The rise of new Arab banks threatens to politicize the international banking system.... They readily combine political and financial goals ... Although Arab bankers in the past worked through western banks both because of their conservative outlook and their own lack of managerial skills, today they want greater control of their money. By the end of 1981, it is predicted that Arab oil producing states will have $340 billion in assets world-wide, a figure that could rise to one trillion by 1984 should oil prices remain stable. Such astronomical sums not only translate into vast economic power but also to political influence and con­trol.”

And more from another publication: “At a time when business failures in the United States are up 43 percent from a year ago, when the housing industry is selling off as­sets and laying off workers and when the stability of a third of the nation’s savings and loan associations is threatened by high interest rates, banks at home and abroad have made $32.65 billion in loan commitments to nine companies linked to either the pursuit of or the defense against takeover bids... Critics complain that the borrowing binge for mergers represents an unproductive form of investment because no new plants, equipment or jobs are created, and profits may be reinvested outside the United States.”

Of course, the politicians know that the easiest way out is to print more money, thus creating greater debt, which doesn’t bother them very much because they feel they will be dead before the day of reckoning arrives. The one thing that gave Hitler such a build-up was to print sufficient paper money to wipe out the national debt of Germany, thus enabling him to start with a clean slate. Any ordinary intelligence can rule well for a time with a clear start like that. He also nationalized the banking system with the help of a very shrewd financier; and it would seem France may now be considering a move somewhat related to what Hitler did.

IN POLITICS

During this year 1981 the political turmoil in the United States has completely re­versed itself; and we seem headed for great confusion and social conflict. It is our opinion that conditions are now too much out of hand to permit correction. As one humor­ist has stated it: “Remember the good old days – when the Government lived within its in­come; and we kept ours.” All of the four Universal Empires – Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome – came to ruin because of too much prosperity. “Pride, fullness of bread and abundance of idleness” (Ezek. 16:49) explains rather well the reason for the downfall of all of them.

In desperation, the people rush to changes, which invariably result in worse government than the previous one. We need only to consider Russia, Cuba, Iran, etc. All of them had atrocious forms of government before the change was made; but in every one of them the present government is much, much worse than the previous one.

In Egypt – It is reported that one of the oil-rich moguls of the Middle East offered one million dollars to any one who would murder Anwar Sadat. Whether that is the direct cause of his assassination we do not know; but an interesting side light has developed: When the now President of Egypt was asked why they did not set up bullet-proof glass cages for their prominent speakers, he stated that nothing like that had ever before occurred in Egypt, so they were not expecting it, and did not prepare for it. Egypt, one time top ruler of the world, and among the very oldest of empires, had never had assassination it its history; whereas, in the present-day “advanced” countries such action is commonplace!

In France – The new Premier of France has stated that he is asking various employ­ers to lay off their present workers for one year – with full pay while they are idle – ­then for the employers to hire others to take their places at the same wage as those now working there. In the ninth Chapter of 2nd Kings we have recorded some of the ac­tions of Jehu, who was a type of present-day conservative labor; and it is said of him that “he driveth furiously.” A more explicit translation reads “He driveth crazily.” And about everywhere we look that seems to fit the picture pretty well. Here in the United States the air controllers were receiving only (?) $36,000 per year; and they demanded to the tune of $680 million per year for a few less than 12,000 men. At the Ford Auto Plant in Michigan the average hourly pay is more than $11 per hour; whereas, in Japan the same type of worker is receiving about $3 per hour. Is it any wonder we cannot compete with them?

IN RELIGION

Strange things are occurring in the religious world – much in keeping with the idiocy in the financial and political realms. Following is part of a news item: “It is not unknown for constitutional rights to collide head-on. In the news business, our rights to a free press may collide with the right of an accused to a fair trial. But you will seldom encounter a stranger collision than a Missouri collision now before the Supreme Court.

“At the University of Missouri’s Kansas City Campus, it is permitted for students to sit on the lawn and read the works of Karl Marx. It is forbidden for students to sit on the lawn and read the Bible. The University tolerates a student homosexual so­ciety and grants the gays a room to meet in; but such is the University’s bizarre view of the First Amendment that it prohibits a student Christian Society and denies its mem­bers the same privilege. On this Kansas City campus, free speech stops with ‘in the be­ginning.’

“Court observers cannot recall a case in which different provisions of the First Amendment are pitted so directly against one another. The Constitution says that Con­gress (and by extension, the States) shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech. Neither shall there be any law ‘respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.’

“In January of 1977 a group of evangelical Christian students applied for permis­sion to use a vacant classroom for Saturday night meetings. Their purpose was to join in group worship and Bible study. Their request was denied.

“The University’s position in Widmer vs. Vincentis is that the University is an agency of the state; its grounds are the property of the state. For the state to per­mit any organized religious group to use its grounds or buildings is to entangle the state in an establishment of religion, and this the Constitution forbids..............

“It’s worth remembering that our nation already has a kind of establishment of re­ligion. It is the religion of freedom. We ought to practice that religion more devoted­ly, in Missouri and everywhere else.”‘

Jehovah’s Witnesses – The following is from a Canadian publication: “A ‘witch hunt’ within the Jehovah’s Witnesses has touched a man who has done much to further religious freedom and liberty in Canada and to promote the cause of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Anne Penton, speaking on behalf of her father James Penton, says she is angered that the organization should turn on her father, stabbing him in the back. ‘The organization in past has used him a lot, whenever problems came up. They used him to go to the media.’

“Penton, a University of Lethbridge history professor and author of Jehovah’s Wit­nesses in Canada, Champion for Freedom of Speech and Worship, has been denounced as a blasphemer and for all practical purposes removed as an elder in the society, she says. Such action has affected the entire family. ‘I have heard of people being warned not to associate with us.’ Because the Witnesses are encouraged not to make friends outside the organization, such a move was aimed at isolating the Pentons in the community.

“Penton says her father will not sit back and ignore what is happening. He intends to launch a civil suit against an official in the Watchtower Society for slander and defamation of character, after trying for eight months to settle matters internally... Penton adds that what is happening here is happening across Canada and the United States. There is a witch hunt in the organization, using inquisition tactics.

“The organization is frightened because literally hundreds of thousands of Witnes­ses have left the organization since 1975 and have started questioning the chronology, she says. The Chronology is based on the belief that the end of the system is coming – ­that governments and the wicked will be destroyed...

“Among the Witnesses, any one who gets an education beyond high school is considered weak spiritually. The idea seems to be to keep them ignorant. If they don’t know a lot, they can’t say anything. ‘I was very bitter and hurt at first,’ she says, ‘but now I feel really good; I’m no longer under the oppressive weight. Our family is still very religious. We do what we feel is right, in accordance with the Bible.’”

There are other religious organizations that are firmly set against any education above grammar school. Some thirty years ago the congregation of one such group in Ohio practically ostracized one of its members because he rented an automobile to hurry his sick daughter to the city hospital. The father sued the elders for $5,000 and gained a judgment against them. By hitting them in their pocketbook the man changed their out­look considerably.

The Roman Catholic Church – It is reported that “influential Italian cardinals in the Vatican’s central government are unhappy about the way Pope John Paul II is running the Roman Catholic Church. They are unhappy about the Pope’s special emphasis on Polish issues and his retinue of Polish assistants. They do not pardon the Pope for being a Pole – for surrounding himself with an impenetrable screen of Polish followers, his speaking frequently about Poland and his favoring audiences with Polish pilgrims. No immediate comment from the Vatican.

“Also, a critical shortage of Catholic priests is developing in certain sections of the United States. Some of the priests are working ten hours a day seven days a week; then they cannot do the work necessary to be done.”

Scandal In Chicago – From a prominent newspaper: “Cardinal John P. Cody, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Chicago, had vowed to defy apparently unprecedented efforts by the Justice Department to investigate allegations that he improperly diverted up to $1 million in church funds to a lifelong woman friend, associates told the newspaper. This defiance could set the stage for a confrontation between the federal government and the church over the government’s right to investigate church finances and the Con­stitution’s guarantee of freedom of religion and the separation of church and state.

“The associates of the ailing 73-year-old head of the largest Roman Catholic archdiocese in the country said Cody has no intention of complying with grand jury sub­poenas seeking his personal banking records and some archdiocesan financial records covering the last thirteen years. Dan Webb, the US attorney in Chicago, would say only that his office ‘received allegations of improper diversion of church funds by Cardinal John P. Cody’ and was looking into them. But other Justice Department sources said the matter has been before a grand jury for some time and that subpoenas issued in January (date of this publication Sept. 11, 1981—JJH) to the cardinal and to the archdiocese had not been complied with. These sources also said that the Internal Revenue Service was involved in the probe.”

Shortly after the foregoing was given to the public press an order came from the Vatican to investigate Catholic seminaries. The news item goes something like this: The heads of seminaries across the country were calling each other this week to try to assess the intentions behind the Vatican measure and determine its probable impact on academic freedom. One seminary president described the study as a “rogue elephant” that he said is certain to go beyond the concern about finances and ‘the best use of personnel and resources’ that were expressed in the official church statement.

Enrollment at Catholic seminaries has been dropping steadily in recent years, and many seminaries have closed. Pope John Paul II has strongly emphasized the need for doctrinal conformity, and made that point during his visit to the US in 1979. The con­troversial study was discussed at a recent administrative meeting in Washington of about 45 American bishops. It is known that there have been vigorous attacks on the plan in some discussions of it between bishops and seminary educators. One of them called it a “witch hunt.”

Regarding Cardinal Cody, his lawyer stated that his client “answers only to Rome and to God.” One commentator said, “This is what is known as having a numbered account in Heaven.”

The Adventists – “The Seventh-Day Adventist Church, founded in the United States more than a century ago after a prophesied second coming of Christ failed to occur, and now a world-wide institution headquartered in Takoma Park, Md., today faces what may be the most serious crisis in its history. Already divided by theological differences, the church has been plunged into a financial tangle that may cost it and its members millions of dollars and, conceivably, ensnarl it in legal battles.

“The financial problems were precipitated by the bankruptcy suit filed last month by Dr. Donald J. Davenport, a California physician, who relied on his credentials as a faithful Adventist to solicit the investment of millions of dollars in his real estate empire. Davenport’s preliminary bankruptcy petition lists 27 Adventist institutions among his creditors, and more than 200 individuals, the majority of them fellow Adven­tists...

“The Davenport case comes at a time when the church is embroiled in theological differences that pit church administrators against some pastors and Bible scholars. In recent months several well-known pastors have been stripped of their ministerial standing, about fifty congregations have left the denomination, and some members report that an atmosphere of fear and suspicion has invaded the church, which traditionally has fostered strong bonds of fellowship...

“Adventists give their church massive amounts of money; well over half tithe ten percent of their income...... for the support of regional church bodies known as con­ferences and unions, and for mission work. Additional offerings are required to finance the local congregations, to build and maintain schools, to support a massive program of world missions and other special projects...

“A spokesman for the church said last week that officials expect to know sometime this month (September 1981) the full extent of investments by units and members of the church in Davenport’s real estate empire. Preliminary estimates put the total he owed to his creditors in excess of forty million.”

The Jews – “Christians for Israel on the GROW-HOUSTON-DALLAS: The Board of Direc­tors Christians for Israel Bible Fellowship in two recent board meetings outlined plans for expansion in 1981. Mr. Joe Dean will act as Executive Director and will spend time making presentations at Churches, Sunday School Classes, Bible Studies, and groups. Increased correspondence with all Christians who are interested in Israel will include more frequent newsletters, expansion of the ISRAEL Letter, educational materials and books on subjects relating to the role of Christian concern for God’s chosen.”

Following is a quotation from Heinrich Heine: “Even those Jews who have long drifted from the faith of their fathers... are touched when the old familiar Passover sounds chance to fall upon their ears.”

Now follows a quote from Dispatch from Jerusalem: “ISRAEL’S RED AMBASSADOR – ­What is red outside, sweet inside, and is rapidly becoming one of Israel’s best Ambas­sadors in the Common Market Countries? The answer: the huge, sweet, red pepper named Maor. What is the reason for its success? It is genetically styled for export – ­tailor-made to suit the tastes of Europeans – bright in color, the size, almost square box-like shape, meaty, sweet flavor.

“A few years ago, this product did NOT even exist! In 1972, a study was made of European tastes and the vegetable was bred to match these tastes. All of the develop­ment has been conducted by Dr. Chen Shifriss, senior research scientist at the genetics department of the Agriculture Research Organization. Benefits: High profit, high yield – six tons per dunam (1/4 acre), one of the healthiest of all vegetables, eaten raw, high concentration of vitamin C – 200 mg. of vitamin C per 3 Oz. – higher than any other vegetable!

“Dr. Shifriss is developing other varieties of sweet and hot peppers suited to taste – disease resistance – industrial use – dried and powdered for coloring agent. A few years ago, Israel did not export peppers. Today, over 10,000 tons are exported, with more on the way.”

FROM ANOTHER SOURCE: “The Israeli scientist Dr. Hugo Boyko, more than thirty years ago, discovered a method of raising vegetables and fruit in the desert with saline water... Here in this Israeli pilot project on the use of sea water mankind may find the so­lution of the great peril of famine facing the world ... This has brought about a miracle – sandy deserts restored to life... now possible to grow a variety of plants by irrigat­ing them with saline water, and even with salt water.”

This from another newspaper: “Baron Guy de Rothschild, head of the family that for almost two centuries has been the symbol of wealth in France, is a bitter man. ‘This office in which I am receiving you is empty because I’ve already taken all my belong­ings out,’ the soft-spoken, gray-haired banker and financier told a visitor to the head­quarters of the Banque de Rothschild on Rue Laffitte. ‘This has been my home, perhaps even more than where I live, because I’ve changed places where I live. This has been my constant home in every respect for the last fifty years.’

“The 72-year-old de Rothschild is in the process of leaving Rue Laffitte and the banking business. His bank is one of 36 private banks being nationalized by the new socialist government of President Francois Mitterand. ‘The government, even if they wanted to nationalize all banks, which I think is an extremely bad idea, should have done things properly. That means carefully,’ he said. ‘They are acting in haste as if they are being pursued by an enemy and they wanted to burn everything before the enemy caught up with them, which is totally absurd.’

“As of 1978, the Rothschild bank was 19th among France’s 53 largest banks, with an annual turnover of more than $1.8 billion.

“The future of the house of Rothschild is clouded. ‘It’s a very open question that I can’t answer,’ the baron said of what lies ahead... It is not the first time the French Rothschilds, who descend from Meyer Rothschild, early 19th-century German money­lender, have seen their domain ended... He said French banks that had been previous­ly nationalized operated in a competitive industry, keeping the outlook of private bank­ing.”

There is much more to this situation, but lack of space prevents our quoting it.

GENERAL – Newspaper item of Nov, 21, 1981: “Two Episcopalian priests who said it was ‘God’s will’ for them to ferry 402 Cubans to Florida ferrying the Mariel sealift, were just found guilty of violating the Trading with the Enemy Act ... No sentencing date was set. The maximum penalty would be ten years in prison and a $15,000 fine for each man ... The clergymen said they hired a former World War II sub chaser and took it to Mariel, Cuba, on May 18, 1980. The ship returned to Key West June 12... ‘Did they know they were violating the Law? Of course they did... of course they knew. They knew from their own experience that private deals with foreign governments concerning unscreened immigrants was illegal. These were no naive little men sailing to Mariel in a rowboat!”

Whether these Episcopalian priests knew the civil law or not, they should certain­ly know what the founder of the Episcopalian Church taught: “Let every person be sub­missive to the superior authorities; for there is not an authority, except from God; and those existing have been arranged under God; so that he who sets himself in oppo­sition to the authority, opposes the institution of God; and the opponents will procure punishment for themselves.” (Rom. 13:1,2--Dia.) It was this and other Scriptures that Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) used so effectively against the Church of Rome, to the praise of King Henry VIII of England. However, when Henry’s abominable daughter, “Bloody” Mary, ascended the throne after Henry’s death, she had Bishop Cranmer burned at the stake. She herself was a rabid Roman Catholic. All this can be found in any reliable history book, and would certainly be taught in any upstanding Episcopal theological sem­inary.

Another Episcopal Priest – “A used car salesman who became an Episcopal priest and subsequently confessed he was a two-time bigamist, has been suspended from his duties at St. Peters American Episcopal Church here (Deerfield Beach).

“‘It is a sad business,’ said Bishop Clavier, who ordered the suspension of Frank Pannitti Thursday........ Pannitti, 43, was ordained a priest Oct. 3 by Clavier and con­tinues his work in Delray Beach as a used car salesman. He is married to a third wife, Kristine. The unusual combination of priest and used car salesman drew media attention.

“Pannitti’s second wife saw a newspaper story and revealed the bigamous relation­ship. The priest then admitted he had married his current wife while still married to his second wife. He divorced his first wife in November 1972. But he was married to Laurie in 1968, four years before that divorce became final. Pennitti explained that in both cases, he thought the women had taken care of the divorce arrangements.”

Italy (May 1981) – “Prime Minister designate Arnaldo Forlani’s attempt to form a new government was rocked yesterday by newly discovered documents, indicating that scores of high-ranking officials were members of an illegal Masonic lodge whose leader has been charged with espionage. ... The latest documents were seized from a lawyer in Tuscany, the central region where police found the original list of 962 names of top officials apparently belonging to the lodge. ... The new documents listed lodge membership sub­scriptions paid by named personalities and in some cases substantial payments of up to $35,000 paid to some members for unspecified services.”

“Wisdom Of Their Wise Men” – The following from a recent newspaper item: “A cave in northern Spain has yielded what scientists say is the first intact religious sanctu­ary from the early Stone Age, a find dating back 14,000 years and including an altar topped by a sculpted stone head with a half-man, half-animal face. ... Dr. Leslie Fried­man said the find is unique because previous evidence, some dating back 50,000 years, deals almost exclusively with death, only a single aspect of a system of religious be­liefs...The El Juyo face is without parallel in the Paleolithic world. There is no other case in Paleolithic art of a face divided by a midline into two halves, each with a different nature... It seems almost certain that it represents the supernatural be­ing to whom the sanctuary was dedicated. That being had a dual nature, celebrated in the rituals.”

It requires a real well-educated man to understand this foolishness; and it gives us a better appreciation of St. Paul’s words: “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God; for it has been written, ‘He captures the wise in their craftiness.’” (1 Cor. 3:19) Also, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the under­standing of the prudent.” (1 Cor. 1:19) Lest we should be accused of offering unfounded criticism, we offer this constructive fact: The first date in secular history on which scholars can agree is 536 B. C. That is the year in which Cyrus the Great permitted the Jews to return to Palestine after they had experienced seventy years of captivity in Babylon.

Here we would emphasize, however, that other occurrences are recorded many years before 536 B.C. – both in the Bible and in profane history; but the various writers have different dates for those events. But here we would stress that it seems most strange that if human beings have been on this earth for 50,000 years or more, we should certainly have a reliable date prior to the last 2,500 years. Here again the words of St. Paul are pertinent: “Avoid profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called.”

In almost all quarters reports of corruption and fraud emanate; the moth-eaten condition of present governments are now being decimated. However, we have listed quite a few for the benefit of our readers – especially for those who “know these things” will transpire in this “evil day.” But we are told to “lift up our heads,” because our deliverance draweth near. The Scriptures tell us that the religious element of present institutions “shall pass away with a rushing sound” (2 Pet. 3:10); and other Scrip­tures indicate quite clearly that this segment of the economy will be first to go into annihilation.

With this comes our prayer that our readers may all be fortified against present difficulties – all of which offer cogent proof that we are now in “The Time of Trouble” spoken by our Lord and the Prophet Daniel. “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” (Matt. 24:21) And we thank God for “Nor ever shall be.” “But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord; he is their strength in time of trouble.” (Psa. 37:39),

We are most appreciative of the many Holiday good wishes, the love and prayers of our brethren, that have come to us in recent weeks; and we reciprocate now, as we have not been able to do so individually.

Sincerely your brother,

John J. Hoefle, Pilgrim

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ANNOUNCEMENT: The correct date for our Lord’s Memorial this year is after 6 p.m. the evening of April 6.

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LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Brother Hoefle: Grace and peace!

I hesitate to write to you as I am such a poor hand at writing and expressing my­self. I must thank you for the letters. I look forward to their coming. They keep me with the Truth. I have no one to talk with. Some of my family give me a bad time about my belief. I thank God for them, as they keep me defending the Truth. I grow stronger for them. I do pray for the day when we can all know of God’s Great Plan.

I met you once, when you were in Los Angeles with Brother Johnson. That has been many years ago. I had just left the Jehovah’s Witnesses. I was at the Convention in Los Angeles when it was announced that Brother Johnson had died. My sister and I used to have wonderful times studying. She has been ill for more than four years now. I miss her. Her grandson is in the Truth and a very fine man. He has his obligations and responsibilities to his family, and we don’t get together very often...

I have been reading The Ransom in Epiphany Vol. 15. Truly, the Ransom is the hub of the Scriptures! I am sending you a gift for you to use anyway needed. Sorry it can’t be more. I thank God for you and all in the Bible House. I need your prayers. May God bless you!

Your sister ------- (CALIFORNIA)

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Dear Brother Hoefle:

I received your letter a couple of days ago and also received the set of books that you sent me. I like them very much! I will read them very carefully. I read the papers over that you sent me. I like them also, and I believe that they speak the Truth. Yes! I would like very much to be put on your mailing list. I am 57 years old and am married. We have been married 35 years, and have six children...They are all grown up now...

God bless you and your family! Sincerely your brother ------- (OHIO)

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

I am writing to tell you that although I once greatly enjoyed your papers, I can no longer read them. I thought I’d tell you so that you could save postage. I have lost most of my eye sight... I can see only a little... I am very sorry because I do love to read and I did enjoy your literature. I often wish that all these articles were on cassette tapes so I could hear them, but I guess you don’t have the tapes. Thank you for your service to our Lord and the brethren. God bless you!

Christian love, Your sister, ------- (CONNECTICUT)

NO. 318: GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST

No. 318

As is our custom for this time of the year we try to bring to our readers “Good Tidings of Great Joy” when so many people have the Savior uppermost in mind. Even though we can’t agree that December 25 is the correct date of our Savior’s birth, it matters not as the Scriptures do not mention that we should celebrate His birth. However, the Christian world in general has done so on December 25, and we are happy that our Savior is specially remembered by all those who rejoice in Jesus as their Redeemer. So we join with all who have the proper attitude of heart in this remembrance.

God’s promise that the Seed of Abraham should ultimately bless all nations has in­fluenced thought the world over, but particularly amongst those nations living contig­uous to Abraham’s home and northward and westward from there, in directions in which the message of Divine favor has gone. At first the Jews thought of this promise as be­ing fulfilled in them as a nation – that, without assistance from on High, they could approve themselves to God through obedience to the Law Covenant, and then, as instruc­tors of the world, they would teach all nations to keep the Divine Law, and thus bring the world to the blessed state of perfection, Divine favor and life everlasting. This hope was crushed out as they found themselves unable to keep the Law, going down into death, instead of attaining to perfection of life. Even Moses, the special servant of God, could not, and did not, attain the blessing of the Law.

Then God made them the promise of some better thing – of a greater Mediator and of a more successful Covenant through that Mediator. The Mediator of the New Covenant (Jer. 31:31-34) was to be greater than Moses; as he himself declared, “A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you from amongst your brethren like unto me (but greater) – him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall speak unto you. And it shall come to pass that the soul that will not obey that Prophet shall be destroyed from amongst the people.” (Acts 3:22,23) Thenceforth their hearts and hopes looked down through the stream of time to when the glorious things hoped for through this great Prophet should be accomplished.

“THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS”

As surrounding nations and those afar off heard of Israel’s hope – that to them would come a great Savior, Deliverer, who would bless them and exalt them in the world and through them bless all peoples, the beauty of the thought took root in every direc­tion. Messiah was more or less looked for under various names, and the glories of His Kingdom were pictured by heathen poets as the Golden Age.

Thus it happened that when our Lord was born, when He was made flesh and dwelt amongst us, “All men were in expectation of him” – not of Jesus, but of the promised Messiah, whom Jesus was. Thus it was that wise men in the East were attracted to see and worship Him that was born King of the Jews. Thus it was also that during Jesus’ ministry certain Greeks came to the disciples saying, “Sirs, we would see Jesus.” They had heard of Him and recognized that in some respects His magic power implied a rela­tionship with the long-expected Messiah. And so it was with the multitudes of Palestine. They heard; they listened. That said, Is this He? The rulers said No, this is not the Messiah. Then the people asked, When Messiah cometh can He do greater works than this man? Never man spake like this man!

Nevertheless, there were few ready to receive Him, even amongst His own – only “Israelites indeed,” to whom, because of worthiness of heart, God specially revealed His Son. This was in harmony with the prophecy of old, “The secret of the Lord is with them that reverence him and he will show them his covenant.” (Isa. 49:8) Neither Jews nor Greeks nor Persian wise men knew to expect that Messiah would first appear to offer Himself, through obedience to the Truth, a living sacrifice for sinners. None of them knew that a long period must elapse from the time when Messiah would be the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, of whom the people would be ashamed, until He would appear in power and great glory to establish His Empire under the whole heavens, in fulfillment of the prophetic picture of Daniel 2:34; 7:13, 14-27.

Few understand God’s great secret or “mystery” hidden during past Ages and dispensa­tions (Col. 1:26), that, during this long period of the Gospel Age a saintly “little flock” would be selected from amongst men to be Messiah’s bride, and joint-heir with Him in His Messianic reign. Few see that this “little flock” has been selected during these nineteen centuries from every nation, people, kindred and tongue, and that they are all saints, in spirit of their minds, at least, and follow the Lamb, withersoever He goeth, walking in the footsteps of Jesus. Few understand that, as soon as these joint-sacri­ficers with the Master shall have filled up the measure of afflictions appointed, then the Kingdom of Glory will be revealed and all flesh shall see it together and all shall be blessed by it, the Jew, Abraham’s natural seed first, and also the Gentile – all the families of the earth.

A SAVIOR – CHRIST THE LORD

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

The anointing of Jesus was not with literal oil, but with that which the oil upon the head of the kings and priests of Israel typified – the Holy Spirit. He received this holy Spirit at the time of His baptism, the Spirit falling upon Him and abiding with Him, anointing Him for His great work of antitypical Priest and antitypical King of Israel, who, as the Messiah long-promised, would bless them, and through them, the world. But every priest was ordained to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins, and in this also they typified Jesus, who, under the Divine arrangement, must first offer up Himself as a sacrifice acceptable to God for the sins of mankind – in order that He might restore them and their earthly home to the glorious condition of perfection repre­sented in Adam and his Eden home. Hence it was necessary that Jesus should not only consecrate His life to the Divine service and be anointed with the holy Spirit, but that, sacrificially, He should lay down His life, even unto death – even the death of the cross. As a part of His reward He was raised to glory, honor and immortality, on the third day thereafter.

CONCERNING MESSIAH’S KINGDOM

Our understanding is that Messiah’s Kingdom will be a spiritual one, invisible to mortals, yet all-powerful, for the accomplishment of the great things promised in the Law and Prophets. The empire which He will establish, invisible to men, will take the place of the empire of Satan, of darkness. We now see the evils of Satan’s invisible presence, and will then see the righteousness of our Lord’s invisible presence in that blessed Kingdom. The King of glory will replace the prince of darkness. Principal amongst Messiah’s earthly agents and representatives will be Abraham, Isaac and all the Prophets, resurrected in full human perfection, we well as all the Worthies (Hebrews, Chapter 11). Instead of their being, as heretofore, the fathers, they shall be the children of Messiah, and all people will be privileged to come in under Israel’s New Covenant, then established by the great “Messenger of the Covenant, whom you delight in.” (Jer. 31:31-34) Jesus received the holy Spirit at the time of His baptism, the Spirit falling upon Him and abiding with Him, anointing Him for His great work of antitypical Priest and antitypical King of Israel, who, as the Messiah long promised, would bless them, and through them, the world.

The glorious Messiah, whom the Jews identify with “Michael, the great Prince, which standeth for the children of thy people” (Dan. 12:1), the Mohammedans also expect and identify with Mahamet of the Past. The Free Masons also expect the same glorious per­sonage and, in their traditions, identify him with Hiram Abiff, the great Master-Mason. This same great Messiah, Michael, the archangel, the antitypical Melchisedec, Priest as well as King, we identify as “the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” (I Tim. 2:5,6) But when the great King shall appear in His glory and establish His Kingdom with Israel He will be, as promised by the Prophets, “the desire of all nations.” (Hag. 2:7) Then all the blinded eyes will be opened and the deaf ears will be unstopped. (Isa. 35:5) Then who He is and how He should be iden­tified with Abraham’s seed and David’s line, will be clearly known to all – in heaven and on earth. Not now, but when the King shall reign in righteousness – after this Time of Trouble – all shall fully understand the significance of Zechariah’s prophecy in Zech. 12:7-10. Content that Messiah shall show the Truth in His Day of Revealment, we are glad to point Jews, Mohammedans, Christians, and all, to the glorious Messiah and the great work of blessing for all the nations which He will accomplish through the seed of Abraham, according to God’s Covenant and His oath.

GOD’S DEALINGS UNDER DIFFERENT COVENANTS

The Decalogue of the Law Covenant was composed of probations – “Thou shalt not.” God’s dealings with those who will become members of the “House of Sons” seem to be dif­ferent from this. Instead of telling us what we shall not do, He tells us what we shall do.

How will it be with those with whom God will deal during the existence of the Mes­sianic Kingdom, under the New Covenant arrangement? We answer that during the reign of Christ they will be under a very similar arrangement to that of the Jews under Moses. Thou shalt, and Thou shalt not, will be enforced by the great Mediator. And the enforc­ing will be necessary, because of the sins and imperfections and degradation in which the people will be. In harmony with this we read that “Whosoever will not obey that Prophet will be destroyed from among the people.” (Acts 3:23) The word obey implies a command to be backed up by the authority to enforce.

The fact is that there will be a reign of Law in Messiah’s Kingdom: “And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths; for out of Zion (the invisible Kingdom) shall go forth the Law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem (the visible ruling power – the Worthies).” (Isa. 2:3) And those who will not fall into line with this Law will have tribulation that they may learn righteousness. “The judgments (the instructions of the Law) of the Lord will be abroad in the earth” (Isa. 26:9) – and the people will take notice of these. They will not be dealt with as under the Covenant of Grace. The will to obey will not be taken as instead of the deed. They will have the ability to obey all that is required of them.

They will not have an Advocate as those under the Grace Covenant who have the will to do but due to the imperfections of the flesh are unable to do perfectly. We are promised, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:9,10) “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” (1 John 2:1)

On the contrary, the great Mediator will, during the thousand years of the Mediatorial Kingdom, instruct and reward and bless and uplift all the willing and obedient, to the in­tent that all those during that reign who desire to be helped will be helped and will be ready to be turned over to the Almighty at the close of the Age. “And when all things shall be subdued under him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him, that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.” (1 Cor. 15:28) Not until the end of that Age will any of the world, under the New Covenant arrangement reach sonship. But, by that time, they have been perfected as sons, and will endure the tests then given, the Father will accept them and give them the blessings of eternal life, etc., as sons.

A certain Scripture gives us intimation of how this will proceed. This Scripture shows us the injunctions and precepts God will put upon the world. “And this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Jer. 31:33) He also says, “And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of their flesh, and I will give them a heart of flesh.” (Ez. 11:19) This brief statement implies a full restitution to all that was lost in Adam.

Adam was created perfect, but depravity of mankind and the intensification of this in many cases have brought the world today in a condition of stoniness of heart, until the inhumanity of man toward man is appalling. The precepts of God will be gradually brought before the human mind and engraved and interwoven in the whole fiber of his be­ing, so that man at the end of the Millennial Age will be as Adam was in the beginning ­fully in accord with every principle of righteousness and unsympathetic with everything that is evil. This condition will come to be the very fiber of human nature again and only to such as will attain this will come the blessing of eternal life.

NEW COVENANT BENEFITS WORLD-WIDE

All mankind will receive some benefit from the New Covenant, irrespective of accep­tance of Christ. That benefit will be that they will be awakened from the tomb. As the Scriptures tell us, as by one man condemnation passed upon all, so likewise through one man justification to life is to pass upon all. (Rom. 5:12,18) Therefore, we would say that the benefits of the New Covenant will be applicable to everybody. If God had foreseen that nobody would adopt this arrangement, that fact no doubt would have altered His plan.

All of the accounts against humanity having been canceled by justice, mankind will be turned over to the Mediator. If man were not put under the Mediator. if he were kept under Divine justice, he would immediately be condemned, because of his inability to do right. Therefore the Father will not take cognizance of sinners. They will be left to the Mediator. All who will be obedient will receive the blessings of the King­dom, and those who do not become obedient under those conditions will go into the Second Death, from which there will be no recovery – unlike the Adamic death from which there will be a recovery by our Redeemer who died for us. “For the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice ... And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” – Krisis, Judgment. (John 5:28,29 – Also Acts 24:15)

FUTURE REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS

The Scriptures tell us that “out of Zion shall go forth the Law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” (Isa. 2:3) The Ancient Worthies are to be made princes in all the earth. (Psa. 45:16) This, of course, would appeal first and primarily to the Jew – those who have faith in God’s promises – who would naturally be the first to come under the new regulations, as the New Covenant will be made with the Jews. (Jer. 31:33)

We may not say that all of the Jews, who are Jews according to the flesh, will do so, but we believe that a considerable number of them will. The Jews who do not hold to God’s promises are not “Israelites indeed,” and will not be counted as Jews in the New Covenant arrangements. However, others will join them of every nation, and will come under the New Covenant with them. The Kingdom will be Israelitish. There are many good people who have not taken the vow of consecration during the Faith Age, but who would like to help rather than to hinder others. Such will in due time attach them­selves to the Kingdom, which shall be “the desire of all nations.” (Hag. 2:7)

In the case of the Worthies their freedom from imperfection will make them conspic­uous. As the world comes to know about these, they will say, Are not these God’s people? Mankind will perceive that God has rewarded the Worthies by giving them a better resur­rection, and will learn that their “better resurrection” was given because of the faith­fulness in the past. (Heb. 11:1,39,40)

SAVIOR OF THE WORLD

The fact is that Jesus is not merely the Savior of the Church, but that He is also the Savior of the world. In the past Bible students have overlooked this great truth, to their confusion. Now we see that God has provided two distinctly different salva­tions – one for the Church in the Gospel Age – the Faith Age – and the other for the world in the Age to follow this – the period of Messiah’s Kingdom. That period is the Judgment Day for the world. The world is under the sentence that was passed on Adam ­and are not sentenced for their own sins, but the sin they inherited from Adam. But in the Kingdom their judgment will be an individual one: all who love righteousness and hate iniquity will gain eternal life; and all who prefer unrighteousness will be cut off from among the people – will die the Second Death, from which there is no recovery. “Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world?” (1 Cor. 6:2) The Church’s sal­vation is the “great salvation” (Heb. 2:3), while the world’s salvation is the “common salvation” (Jude 3).

Not only do we see that there are two different salvations, but also that they are wholly different in kind. They are alike in some things, however. Both are salvations from sin and from its power and its penalty, the curse – sorrow, pain, crying, sighing and dying. Both are salvations to an everlasting happiness. But there the similarity ends; for the Church is to be saved by a change of nature, while the world is to be saved without a change of nature – by a resurrection to the perfection of human nature.

The Church’s salvation has its beginning in the “hearing” of faith. The message of God’s grace is proclaimed here and there by stammering lips, which do not appeal to many of the great or wise or learned, but chiefly to the poor of this world. “Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which he has prom­ised to them that love Him?” (James 2:5) These are charmed with the message of forgive­ness of their sins, as they approach and seek to draw near to God, who through His prov­idence draws near to them. If they continue to hunger and thirst after the Lord and His message, He will satisfy them and will show them His covenant. (Psa. 50:5) He will enable them to understand the terms and conditions upon which they may be received back into fellowship with God as dear children – no longer aliens, strangers, foreigners ­– no longer condemned to death, but on the contrary justified to life.

Here comes to them another test of their love of righteousness, their hunger for fellowship with God; for the requirements, as stated by the Master Himself, are: “If any man will be my disciple, let him deny himself (renounce his own self-will), take up his cross (begin to live contrary to his own preferences in that he will do according to the Divine will, instead of according to his own will, where it crosses the Divine), and follow me.” Then he must continue to follow in the Master’s footsteps – faithful unto death. But we are not to think of those who reject the Lord’s cross and refuse to make a full consecration of their lives as being, therefore, condemned either to eternal torment or to anything else. The Gospel Age is a Faith Age, and some do not have faith, or sufficient faith to walk a “narrow way” during this Age. “For all men have not faith.” (2 Thes. 3:2) And if all men who do not have the faith for a Faith Age, God is not unrighteous to condemn them because they do not have enough faith to walk a “nar­row” way, but will open up a “way” for them in the Kingdom – a Highway of Holiness, that will be easier for them to travel. (Isa. 35:8)

THE COMMON SALVATION

The point we are here especially making is that God has provided a salvation for the world, as well as a salvation for the Church. The Bible tells us of the general facts of these salvations. It assures us that “God so loved the world (as well as the Church) that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) We noticed at first that the sentence that is upon the world is not an eternal torment penalty, but the penalty that was passed on Adam – dying and death. (Gen. 3:19) Christ died that the race might not perish, but in due time recover from the death penalty through faith in Christ and obedience to Him. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23)

Only the few can exercise the great faith that is necessary to a place in the Heav­enly reward. It is an invitation to walk a “narrow way,” and not a command; but in the Kingdom it will be a command to walk up the Highway of Holiness if they attain eter­nal life. By and by, however, when the knowledge of God shall fill the whole earth as the waters that cover the great deep (Isa. 11:9; 26:9), all will understand; all will hear and be able to believe in God’s goodness and in His wonderful arrangement on man’s behalf. Those who will then believe, and who will then accept God’s favor on its terms of loyalty and obedience to the best of their ability, will be blessed by Messiah’s King­dom reign of righteousness.

The blessing, as the Bible describes it, will be the rolling away of the curse (Rev. 22:3) and the rolling on, instead of the curse, “the blessing of the Lord, which maketh rich; and he addeth no sorrow with it.” (Prov. 10:22) This work of rolling away the curse and the rolling on the blessing is the appointed work of Messiah’s Kingdom for a thousand years. We may be sure that by the time His Kingdom shall end, and shall be de­livered up to the Father, our Lord will have fully accomplished all the great work which was committed to Him of the Father and for which He has shown His worthiness by His co­operation in the Father’s plan, to the extent of dying for the race.

THE LAW COVENANT AND THE NEW COVENANT

There is a marked superiority in the Christmas message that has come through Jesus to the Law given at Sinai. The Law Covenant has two very distinct divisions: “Thou shalt” and “Thou shalt not.” While the New Testament does make clear mention against character depravities, its main theme is toward the development of the virtues and graces of the Holy Spirit as it works in those who have it. And all of this is presented in an ap­pealing manner; whereas, the Law Covenant is a definite command, which is typical of what the New Covenant will be like during the Kingdom. “God has given Him a name that is above every name; That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heav­en, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:9-11) We know that “every tongue” does not “confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” today. If it would be a command while sin and evil are in the ascendancy all would have to do so. But in the Kingdom it will be a command, which will be obeyed by all who will get eternal life.

Note now the difference in the address to “all the saints in Christ Jesus”: “That ye may approve things that are excellent ... sincere and without offense till the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness ... unto the glory and praise of God.” (Phil. 1:10,11) Then Phil. 2:12: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (with great carefulness). Note well that this address is not given to the world. However, if the world would now repent of their sins and “seek meekness and righteousness” they would be better prepared for the Kingdom. (Acts 17:31)

As is it now in the Faith Age with those who walk a “narrow way,” that they are not, required to do more than they are able to do, it will be the same in the Kingdom – no one will be required to do more than he is able to do. All of our readers know full well that now “there is none righteous, no not one,” but our imperfect works are accept­able to God through the merit of Jesus who “bought us,” so long as we are faithful in all we are able to do. However, in the Kingdom no imperfect works will be acceptable, but all imperfection will be corrected in the truly penitent until such time as they will be able to offer perfect works and praise to God. They will then keep the Law perfectly ­just as Jesus did it when He was here: “And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain (Kingdom) of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the Law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” (Isa. 2:3) And “Whosoever will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people.” (Acts 3:23)

We trust that this Christmas message has made the Plan of God clear enough for all our readers to praise God for all His benefits toward us, as well as to thank God for His “unspeakable gift” (2 Cor. 9:15)—the gift of His only begotten Son for our Redeemer! Hallelujah what a Savior! “Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!” (Psa. 107:31)

Our best wishes to all our readers for the Lord’s blessing during the Holiday Season and for a blessed New Year. Let the Lord be your trust and your guide – for “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.” (Prov. 30:5)

Sincerely your brother,

John J. Hoefle, Pilgrim

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LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Brother Hoefle: Grace and peace!

It is rarely that I write you, but I think you will be interested in the following, although you may know most of it.

Recently we made a short trip to Valdese (near Morganton), a Waldensian settlement in which they have an outdoor drama about the history of the sect. It was interesting. We went to the Museum there, too, and I told the women there that the Waldensians were the oldest Protestant sect, dating from about the llth or 12th century. They didn’t seem to know that, so one of them went to look it up. She found a book of their history and came back and told me I was right. The book was for sale, so I bought it, and have been reading it. It is kind of sketchy and not a very well written book, but it does give quite a bit about the persecutions, even naming some who were martyred. It makes you stop and think about how we might act under such circumstances. Contemplation of their faithfulness and zeal is quite inspiring.

One interesting thing in the museum was a Bible all charred and burned. It had been found in the wall of a building, or house in one of the cities that had been ravaged by the Papal armies. Evidently, it was hidden, and, as I understand, was found not too many years ago.

According to this book, they protested the mass, transubstantiation, absolution, confessing one’s sins (except to God), special fasting days forbidden, forbidding of marriage; and they claimed there were only two sacraments – Baptism and The Lord’s Sup­per, at which they included fish with the Bread and Wine. They also spoke of the Cath­olic church as the Anti-Christ. Of course, they kept the errors of trinity, eternal torment and predestination.

Well, this is a long letter for me. But this, to me, was something to write about. I could say more, but I won’t burden you to read all about it. I’m sure you know some­thing about this anyway.

My warm Christian love and prayers are ever with you.

By His Grace, ------- (NORTH CAROLINA)

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Dear Sirs:

I am writing to you about your Church or faith. I read some about it in the book that is called, The Encyclopedia of America’s religions at Springfield, Ohio Library.

I am very interested in what you believe. Could you please send me some of your literature? I have read about Charles T. Russell’s doctrines as well as some of his books. They seem all right. So I would like it very much if you would send me some of your literature. Could you do this?

Thank you! ------- (OHIO)

(Note: The above writer is a former Jehovah’s Witnesses)

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The Epiphany Bible Students Ass’n:

Please send the Creation book and Daily Heavenly Manna to me. Check enclosed. Thank you!

Sincerely ------- (OHIO)

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

I have received your letter and two papers. I have read both papers and enjoyed them very much. I am looking forward to receiving more from you. I would like to thank you, Brother Hoefle, for the letter you sent to me, and for putting me on your regular mailing list..........

I would certainly like to learn some of your thoughts on the Youthful Worthy class, I especially enjoyed what you had to say about Noah’s ark. Brother Hoefle, I want to thank you for your time and consideration. I’ll be in touch.

Your brother in Christ, ------- (CALIFORNIA)

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Dear Brother Hoefle: Christian greetings!

We trust you and Sister Hoefle are reasonably well and quite reconciled to Sister Dunnagan’s death. Sorry you were again saddened by the death of another of your relatives. We are sending you a card and trust it will be of some consolation.

As we are completely out of tracts, we will be glad if you would send us an assorted number at your earliest convenience.

All join in sending warm Christian love to you, Sister Hoefle and all the friends there.

By His grace ------- (TRINIDAD)

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Dear Hoefle Family:

This envelope has been “on hold” until I was certain the mails would go through. We are having telephone trouble since the last storm, and the repair man has been here all morning to locate our trouble.......... Just one of life’s minor problems!

The advance copy of the Armageddon paper is with my sisters. We all enjoyed it very much, and appreciate the fact you sent it to us. It follows so well the releas­ing of the Four Winds. It will be interesting to see just how much turmoil on this earth it will take to make people see that these are not ordinary times. Many I know do realize that something unusual is going on. Begin in Israel seems to have courage to take a more positive stand against the world – because I suppose he knows God is with them in the end. I hope he has some knowledge of the Truth. David Horowitz should be able to give him encouragement.

Just discovered a second telephone man has been called in. Hope we have a phone before the day is over.

Christian love to you all, ------- (OHIO)

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Dearly Loved Ones; Loving greetings in our Beloved Savior’s Name!

Our thanks are long overdue. We enjoyed the write-up on Horowitz – United Nation’s most human touch, etc., and the advance copy of Armageddon, very much. Also received tracts in good order.

It is very heart-cheering to observe the stately workings of our Heavenly Father and our Beloved Savior. Surely the dissolving of the nations is progressing! The handwriting is plain, But Oh, how we long for the blessing feature of His Kingdom!

How long, Oh-Lord! Heard reports on TV of the multi-million dollar business on foods, shelters, guns, etc., for dooms day or Armageddon. How good to have the assurance of His Word that all things shall work for our good. Also, seek meekness and righteous­ness, etc. His Grace is sufficient.

Trust this finds you comfortably well. Our thoughts and prayers are with you often for His peace and strength sufficient for every time of need. Thanks again for your kindness to us.

Our warm Christian love, ------- (MASSACHUSETTS)

NO. 317: ARMAGEDDON

No. 317

In these days we hear much about Armageddon being imminent, although many of the Lord’s people knew about Armageddon long before now – already in 1897 Pastor Russell had pub­lished the fourth book of the Studies in the Scriptures, “The Battle of Armageddon.” This book is so descriptive of our day, it is as though it were written by some one observ­ing the turmoil that is now upon us. Of course, the Jehovah’s Witnesses have been pre­dicting Armageddon for many years, and have prophesied dates for it to occur. However, as Armageddon didn’t occur at the times predicted, the Witnesses were so disappointed they have not set another date since 1975, when Armageddon did not begin as they had ex­pected.

Pastor Russell predicted that the great Time of Trouble would begin in 1914 with the World War. He predicted the World War 25 years before 1914 – in 1889 – and many people laughed at this “preacher of doom.” But he had arrived at the date 1914 from Bible chronology, Bible prophecies and the parallel dispensations. However, when the world seemed so calm in 1913, a World War seemed unthinkable, so he and several other capable scholars went over the chronology very carefully to see if there might be some mistake. They couldn’t find a thing wrong, so Pastor Russell let his prediction stand, and continued to proclaim 1914 as the date for the World War, as well as the end of the Gentile Times.

But when the World War broke out in 1914, many unbelievers became believers. How­ever, after 1918, when conditions became more stable, quite a few believers became un­believers. Many will say that we still have the Gentile governments, social systems, etc. Which we do! But their lease expired in 1914; and the present turmoil in every nation today is due to the fact that these govern­ments are being evicted.

Pastor Russell taught a very different Armageddon than do the Witnesses today. They teach that Armageddon will be the end of the Gentile Rule – and after that Christ’s benevolent Kingdom will be established, with their Great Crowd as earthly rulers of that Kingdom. Pastor Russell taught that there would be other Gentile governments estab­lished after Armageddon – a socialistic or Communistic regime – but the Gentile govern­ments will not be fully destroyed until Anarchy, which will set in shortly after Arma­geddon. The Witnesses not only teach error on the Time of Trouble, but also error on Christ’s Kingdom and its benevolent purposes for all mankind.

It does not surprise us that the world is waking up to realize that something is now happening that cannot be stopped by human hands, even though this Time of Trouble was taught and predicted in practically every country in the world long before 1914. But it was not the time for the world to wake up, as this message was to enlighten and encour­age the Lord’s faithful people. The prediction then was that the world would not re­ceive it until it reached a crisis – extreme disorder, crime and social unrest in every country in the world as it is today. So many people are waking up, including quite a few clergy today who are preaching an imminent Armageddon – talking as though they were the first to see it from their study and search of the Bible. Surely most people know that the Witnesses have made Armageddon prominent in their world-wide ministry! But the cler­gy don’t mention that, or them. And they (the clergy) are “profiting” by their proph­ecies! When Pastor Russell taught these things they were for those who had “an ear to hear.” He spent not only his time, energy and health, but all of his large fortune to “bear witness to the Truth,” in which there were other capable people who joined him.

These clergymen today are educated men, but they seemingly haven’t had time to read a book published long before 1914 – the Battle of Armageddon – which is still distributed and sold to all interested people. In fact, there are groups of Christians today who are studying this book in class studies. But these educated clergy are too busy with their own ideas to bother with the Truth as given in this informative book written by Pastor Rus­sell, just as the Scribes and Pharisees were too busy with the “traditions of men” to be bothered to learn of that “Carpenter,” when Jesus was here teaching the Truth to all who had an “ear to hear.”

So 37 years after His crucifixion (in 70 A.D.), their city was taken by the Romans and their beautiful temple demolished. And so it will be today with those who are ignor­ing the Truth: they, too, will have the same experience of those Jews who did not have an “ear to hear.”! They, too, will have their “temples” destroyed. The Witnesses will also witness the destruction of their errors – especially when Christ’s Kingdom is estab­lished. They are more responsible for their errors, as they have received more light than have these clergy. The Witnesses still claim Pastor Russell as their founder, while dis­carding many of the fundamental Truths he left them. His message to the world was indeed “Good Tidings of Great Joy,” while theirs is bad tidings of great misery to all who do not join with them before Armageddon. Pastor Russell is not the founder of their errors, but he is the founder of their organization, which they unlawfully seized after his demise in 1916.

THE HISTORICAL RECORDS

The word Armageddon occurs only once in the Bible – Rev. 16:16: “He gathered them together into that place which is called in Hebrew Armageddon.” Here is the descrip­tion given of it by one writer: “(Mountain of Destruction) a place in Samaria, east of Caesarea; the Mountain of Mageddon, or Megiddo, a city at the foot of Mount Carmel, and noted for scenes of carnage. The Canaanites and Philistines, Jews and Egyptians, Chal­deans and Persians, Greeks and Romans, Moslems and Christians, of almost every age and nation, have encamped around Megiddo, because of its commanding position, its abundant supply of water and rich pastures, ... In the Apocalypse this place is referred to prob­ably as a symbolical name for great slaughter.”

Another writer, who spells the name as Har-Magedon, says this: “A prophetic battle­field, where the kings of the whole world gather together unto the war of the great day of God. The name is framed with evident reference to the sanguinary contests which took place near the town of Megiddo; the first, that in which Sisera and the Canaanites were defeated at the waters of Megiddo (Judg. 5:19); the 2nd, that which resulted in the death of Ahaziah, King of Judah, at Megiddo (2 Kgs. 9:27); and the third, that in which King Josiah, was killed when in conflict with the army of Pharaoh Nechoh (2 Kgs. 23:29; Zech. 12:11). The historical associations with Megiddo in the past were seized upon by the prophet to supply a name appropriate in a description of the future sorrows and tri­umphs of God’s people.”

And this further comment from another source: “The fact that the tell of Megiddo was about 70 feet high in John’s day, and was in the vicinity of Carmel Range, justified the use of Hebrew ‘har,’ used loosely in the Old Testament for ‘hill’ and ‘hill country.’ The ‘waters of Megiddo’ (Judg. 5:19) and the ‘valley-plain of Megiddo’ (2 Chron. 35:22) have witnessed important battles, from one fought by Tuthmosis III in 1468 B.C. to that of Lord Allenby of Megiddo in 1917. The ‘mountains of Israel’ witness Gog’s defeat in Ezek. 39:1-4. This may be in the writer’s mind.”

THE BOOM IN DOOM

A few months back there came to us an article captioned as above; and we believe our readers will appreciate reading quite a lot of it, interspersed with some remarks of our own, for which reason we shall avoid much of the quotation marks:

“Fear No Evil,” a new horror film about Lucifer battling three archangels over the second coming of the Creator, was only two weeks into its shooting schedule when trag­edy struck: A mobile home used as a makeup and wardrobe studio exploded in the middle of the night and burned to the ground. The next morning, hair stylist Frank Montesanto searched the rubble for salvage. All he could find was a Bible. “It was slightly charred, but mostly intact,” he said. “The plastic cover had been melted, and fused to the Bible was a charred copy of the ‘Fear No Evil’ script. I couldn’t believe it.”

Montesanto thinks the episode might have been some sort of omen. For those who seek them, portents of catastrophe are not hard to find these days. Fascination with fini­tude is spreading. Fundamentalist Bible believers who take prophecies of the end of days quite literally number in the tens of millions, according to polls. And there are signs that the public at large is detecting omens. “Impending disaster has become an everyday concern,” says historian Christopher Lasch, who believes that humanity has lost faith in the future and awaits some kind of ending.

Armageddon is a growth industry as well as a box office draw. In addition to ‘Fear No Evil’ the latest in a spate of devil and disaster mania films is ‘The Final Conflict,’ the last chapter in the ‘Omen’ trilogy. The chilling saga of Damien Thorn, son of Satan, as an adult is said by production consultant Robert Munger to be “part of a mission to warn the world of what is coming.” A burgeoning array of books on apocalyptic themes are selling briskly in supermarkets, drugstores and airports as well as in Bible book­stores.

Hal Lindsay, chief apostle of biblical future fright, has sold 18 million copies of his “The Late Great Planet Earth,” the New York Times No. 1 best-selling non-fictional book of the 1970s. Lindsey’s update “the 1980s – Countdown to Armageddon,” is expected to land quickly on topseller lists. And now, to keep pace with prophetic events, Lind­sey is offering a monthly cassette service, “Prophecy Hotline.”

Jim McKeever, an Oregon investment counselor, Bible teacher and futuroligist, is urg­ing the discerning to join – at once – the 250,000 subscribers who already read his End­Times News Digest. And, for those who can’t wait for the mail, Salem Kirban of Pennsyl­vania offers a weekly recorded prophecy message over a toll-free line (for a donation of $10 or more).

Television preachers Jerry Falwell, Billy Graham, Pat Robertson (of “the 700 Club”) and others are keying on Armageddon apprehension. They preach that Jesus will return very soon and they warn believers to get ready for grim worldwide and personal adversity.

The staples of the modern-day fundamentalist interpreters of the Bible prophets are the rise of the Antichrist and Jesus’ imminent return to and judgment of America.

Based on a patchwork of passages from the Old and New Testament, the most popular scenario for the Second Coming unfolds along these lines:

After the Israelites return to the ancient land and set up a government, Israel’s neighbors and other nations turn against her. Their hostile armies move on Jerusalem, the capital city, and conquer half of it, looting houses and raping women. At that point God intervenes, and the attackers, alarmed by supernatural signs, fall back to Megiddo, or Armageddon (a site southeast of modern Haifa). There, a climactic and incredibly gory war involving the entire world takes place. (Same of these “prophets” have heard the real Truth on these things, but they have heard a bell ringing, but can’t locate the bell.—JJH)

At some point – prophecy scholars disagree about exactly when – Jesus visibly par­ticipates (his visibility will become more and more apparent as He ejects the present powers in a more pronounced manner—JJH), leading an army out of heaven, and touching down on the Mount of Olives just outside of Jerusalem. He destroys the remaining armies and establishes a reign of a thousand years of utopia and peace – the Millennium. (With all the ignorance of that blessed Millennium, it will far surpass the prediction of the imagination of the worldly-minded. They, too, will appreciate God’s Great Plan of Salva­tion if they are in harmony with righteousness and justice, when they see the wonderful works of Christ’s Kingdom for all mankind—JJH)

The Second-Coming scenario includes the rise of a “one-world” dictator who, as the Antichrist, heads a 10-nation confederacy in the Middle East and leads the world to nu­clear holocaust. (It will indeed be a “one-world” dictator – The Christ – who will head all nations—JJH)

Most of those who hold this view believe that Jesus will snatch up believing Chris­tians to heaven just before the terrible tribulation breaks out. Or, at least, he will give true believers supernatural strength to endure until he returns. Why apocalypse now? Told that all previous predictions of the Second Coming – and there have been many through the centuries – have been wrong, fundamentalists counting down to Armageddon reply that never before have all the elements described in Bible prophecies occurred to­gether. “All is falling into a predicted-plan,” says Lindsey, 51, who is in great de­mand on talk shows and the prophecy lecture circuit. “Today’s dramatic international events conform exactly to the Bible’s signs of the last days.”

Lindsey, a mustachioed, muscular man whose expression sometime conveys a hint of impishness, quotes Matthew 24:34, in which Jesus says: “Truly, I say to you, this gen­eration will not pass away until all these things take place.” What things? In his books and in personal interviews, Lindsey lists the following:

“Israel has been miraculously reborn as a nation,” the United States is fading as a superpower and the Red Chinese “continue to build their awesome army.” All of the world’s powers appear ready to involve themselves in a Middle East war because of their need for oil. Meanwhile, Arabs and the world’s Moslems threaten a war that would de­stroy the state of Israel. The European Common Market community of 10 nations grows stronger and begins to doubt the effectiveness of the United States as an ally. Nuclear holocaust “seems more possible every day”: Famine spreads as population explodes; pol­lution threatens survival; and earthquakes, volcanic activity and droughts increase. Told that leading scientists disagree with some of his observations about natural dis­asters, Lindsey shrugs and says: “I don’t major in that aspect of prophecy..... Hal Lindsey may be wrong, but the Bible can never be wrong.”

Lindsey, who promotes biblical prophecy theories that he learned when he was a stu­dent at Dallas Theological Seminary about 20 years ago, denies that he possesses super­natural insight or that he is a prophet. (Pastor Russell denied that he possessed “super­natural” insight, too, before 1897 and was only proclaiming prophesies taught in the Bible; and these prophecies concerning a World War in 1914, etc., were fulfilled accordingly ­and much more accurate of the events transpiring today than those of present-day “prophets”—JJH)

Though he (Lindsey) may be a non-prophet, his products are not non-profit. The hard­cover edition of Lindsey’s “Countdown to Armageddon,” has sold 360,000 copies in nine months. With 50 cents’ royalty per copy, it has brought Lindsey $180,000. And with 8 percent royalties on the first printing of the new Bantam paperback “Countdown,” Lind­sey will be counting up at least as much. His prophecy cassette tape service grosses another $150,000 a month.

McKeever, the economist, advertises his books and newsletters widely in Christian pub­lications. His End-Times News Digest, grossing $3 million annually in subscription fees, capitalizes on disaster mania: “I see a time of famine, earth upheaval, persecution, wars and economic calamity coming,” McKeever predicts. “God has laid it on my heart to warn the Body of Christ about this coming period of intense turmoil that will precede his re­turn, and to encourage Christians to get ready.”

Salem Kirban, head of Second Coming Inc. in Huntington Valley, Pa., advertises, “the first toll-free prophecy hotline in the United States” and sells by mail the 35 books he has written. Titles include “Guide to Survival,” “666,” “The Rise of the Antichrist” and “Satan’s Angels exposed!” The latter, one of “two extra bonuses” sent to persons who contribute $25 or more, is anti-Catholic in tone and reveals “how secret organizations, whose threads of horror reach back centuries ago, are carefully weaving their power plot to control the world for Satan.”

Here we would emphasize: “Prophets and Profits usually go together!”—JJH.

Then the paper goes on: If Armageddon is inevitable, why fight it? As Radio Bible preacher Vernon McGee has said, “You don’t polish brass on a sinking ship, a capsule rationale for not wasting time and effort on political activism or improving the social order. Most historians believe that premillennialism, the doctrine that Jesus’ return is imminent, has inhibited social action by fundamentalists. But surprisingly, perhaps, many religious leaders who stress a Second Coming, soon manage to harmonize their social action and apocalyptic views.

Jerry Falwell, who heads the new right political and religious coalition called Moral Majority, preaches about Jesus’ imminent return. His apocalyptic message appar­ently heightens his urgency to transform American culture. He warns godly people to keep their thumb in the moral dike or “we may have only a few years left.”

Our comment on the foregoing: With many of these preachers, their preaching is so saturated with error that it is a wonder indeed that they can attract any substantial following at all. They often quote the Bible for their authority, but every false relig­ion in existence does that. They all have some Truth in them; otherwise, no one would believe them. However, we believe the words of St. Paul are most appropriate here: “When for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God.” (Heb. 5:12)

Some months back one of these uplifters (?) told his television audience that if one million of them would each send him just $12 per month (only 12 million a month, or 144 million a year), he would not only explain the intricacies of prophecy to them, would make Christians of enough of the social ax-wielders that Armageddon could be avoided here in the United States. Surely the words of St. Peter loom largely here: “They shall make merchandise of you.” (2 Pet. 2:3) And it is certainly in order here to note that Jesus or the Apostles never at any time took up a collection to help them make more Christians! “Judge” Rutherford, one-time president of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, told his trusting ‘ded­icated’ supporters that, if he could obtain a million dollars, he would break the Devil’s back in one year’s time. His deluded devotees went to work with unstinted vim and vigor and secured the million for him. But, even though he got the million, the Devil is more ac­tive and more mischievous than ever to any unbiased mind.—(JJH)

Then the article continues: Lindsey, credited with being the most influential person in the current prophecy movement, is fully convinced that Armageddon cannot be stopped – ­only temporarily delayed at best. On the one hand, Lindsey says the Antichrist is al­ready alive, thus making the final conflict less than a lifetime away. On the other hand, he advocates a massive U.S. armament buildup to stop the Soviet Union from taking over the world. This hawkishness, coupled with his call for America to return to moral right­eousness, is an effort to insure that the nation is spared “until the Lord comes to evac­uate His people.” (Note now the words of St. Paul: “Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”—2 Tim. 3:13—JJH) In other words, Lind­sey hopes this generation of American Christians will be spared from seeing the destruc­tion of their country. They would be gone – raptured – before the holocaust.

McKeever has a different slant on the end times, combining prophecy and pragmatism. He teaches that Christians will live under the reign of the Antichrist and must endure famine, persecution and nuclear war before Jesus returns to end the great tribulation. In his survival handbook, “Christians will go through The Tribulation,” McKeever tells Christians how to build bomb shelters, live without utility and food distribution systems and get along without police, fire and other services.

Sitting snugly in their solar-powered, radiation-proof underground homes, Christians must nonetheless face a knotty ethical problem, McKeever warns: What if, during a fam­ine, a Christian householder’s ample food supply is threatened by takeover from others? McKeever’s answer: “You must do whatever God tells you to do at the moment .... I be­lieve that God might lead one Christian family to protect their food with all their might, even to the point of killing those who would attempt to steal it.

I also believe that God would lead other Christians to give most or all of it away. (Remember, our confidence is not in the food we have stored, but in God!)

Some religious observers say that today’s purveyors of doom, lacking a clear scrip­tural blueprint, seem to base their projections more on secular news, military pessimism and right-wing political tracts.

If this is so, Lindsey’s opening sentence in the final chapter of “Countdown to Armageddon” may be telling: “Even if I didn’t know anything about prophecy, I would know enough from studying what is going on in our world to see that we are headed toward catastrophe. In any case, millenarian fever is likely to spread as the end of true mil­lennium the year 2000 – approaches.” (Jesus’ words are appropriate here: ‘‘Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven (the present ecclesiastical systems) shall be shaken.”—Luke 21:26—JJH)

THE TRUTH ON THE SUBJECT

All of the foregoing “prophets” freely admit that they are somewhat in a fog about this Armaged­don matter; but the Bible gives us a very vivid pre-view of the whole sit­uation in 1 Kgs. 19:11,12, where the great War, Armageddon, and Anarchy are portrayed in symbolic language as “a great and strong wind” (war), after the wind an earthquake (Armageddon – certainly a world revolution will cause the earth – present society – to quake); “and after the earthquake fire” (Anarchy – Fire in the Bible is usually used to describe destructive force of some kind; and when the Bible tells us that the final spasms of this trouble will bring “every man’s hand against his neighbor”—Zech. 14:13 – that will be the final great destructive force).

In connection with the above, we quote St. Paul in 1 Thes. 5:2,4: “Yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night .. But ye, breth­ren are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.” From other Scriptures we know definitely that we are “in the time of the end” (Dan. 12:4); there can be no guesswork about it! For more than 25 years before 1914 the “watchers” were well informed about the approaching holocaust, and made public declaration of it, but they received the scorn and ridicule of most of the wiseacres. The idea was pure non­sense, they said. Follows now a quote from Reprints 5659 (written April 1915):

“The Battle of Armageddon, to which this war is leading, will be a contest between right and wrong, and will signify the complete and everlasting overthrow of the wrong, and the permanent establishment of Messiah’s righteous kingdom for the blessing of the world. All these things are probably easier to be seen from this side of the ocean than by the dear friends who are nearer to, and more directly influenced by the war and their national and personal interest ... Our hope is broad enough and deep enough to include all in the great blessings which our Master and His Millennial Kingdom are about to bring to the world.”

Further now from Reprints 5735 (written July 1915): “The Lord’s faithful, watching people, guided by the Word of Truth, will have an understanding of temporal affairs. As St. Paul has assured us, though this day shall come as a snare upon the whole world, it shall not so come upon God’s children who are living up to their privileges. ‘When these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads; for your deliv­erance draweth nigh;’ ‘When ye see these things ... know that the Kingdom of God is nigh at hand.’ (Luke 21:28,31) The Master does not say, When ye see all these things, but When ye see the beginning of them (In World War One the Lord’s faithful people saw the beginning of these things, and lifted up their heads and rejoiced, gladly proclaiming the “good news” of the Kingdom to others.—JJH) – not rejoicing in the trouble, nor in the sufferings of others, but in the fact that these things are the foretold signs that the present order is about to be succeeded by a new order, which will be far better, and more advantageous and desirable for all.

“Now we who are living in this day see the beginning of these foretold events. We see the prelude to the great Battle of Armageddon. Our thought is that Armageddon it­self will be the mighty ‘Earthquake’ spoken of in Rev. 16:16-18 (and enacted in panto­mime in 1 Kgs. 19:11,12--JJH). In this great revolution and in the succeeding anarchy all earthly institutions will be swept away. The result of the anger, hatred and strife – if permitted to continue indefinitely – would be so terrible that it would bring about the total destruction of the race; but for the elect’s sake (“on account of the chosen” —Matt. 24:22, Dia.—JJH), they may begin their glorious reign, God will cut short the carnage, and will set up His own Kingdom under Christ and His elect Church. Christ and His bride will take over the kingdoms of this world, and thus will hinder the strife of men from going to the extreme that it would otherwise go. But it will not be stopped until the present order shall have been wholly dissolved.

“With the uproar so prevalent everywhere, our readers are admonished to be peace-­makers and not strife breeders. When all around men’s souls give way, a special oppor­tunity comes to the people of God for pointing their distressed fellow-creatures to the great blessing which God has provided for the near future, and for re-establishing faith in the Creator and in the future life, and for pointing out that it is to be attained only by those who learn the true lesson of life and who come to love righteousness and hate iniquity. We would be inclined to expect this great trouble to break out very soon were it not that the Scriptures apparently indicate that it will be preceded by a very powerful Church Federation, which will flourish outwardly in unrighteousness and will be the first to succumb.”

“You know the Bible gives us the symbols of the loosing of the ‘winds,’ which is the Great War. Then comes the ‘earthquake,’ which is the great Revolution (Armageddon—JJH) to follow. Then comes the ‘fire,’ the Anarchy-Armageddon experiences. I think the Church, the Bride Class, will be gone before that Armageddon experience, but we cannot be sure. We will leave the subject here.” (Question Book, p. 617, middle)

Our comments: In all this Armageddon hullabaloo the Jehovah’s Witnesses take first rank, and have accumulated considerable resources in the things of this world and in the very large following they have amassed; and it is quite some spectacle now to see the leaders in Babylon joining the procession, and making it pay well, as evidence the many citations listed in the earlier pages of this article. So here we would quote also the Apostle James (5:3, Dia.): “Your gold and silver have become rusted; and the rust of them will be for a testimony against you, and will consume your bodies like fire. You have laid up treasures for the last days.”

Now from reprints 5456: “Emphasizing the suddenness with which the calamity will overtake the world, Jesus said on the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained down fire and brimstone from heaven; and He declared that thus it will be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. (World War One – the reference here is to Christendom, “the great city, which is called spiritually Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified”—Rev. 11:8—JJH) The Greek text shows the difference between the Parousia, or presence, of Christ before the Time of Trouble (before the World War One) and the later Epiphania, or revealing.” (The “revealing” began with the outbreak of the Great War, and is becoming increasingly manifest ever since; and will become much more pro­nounced in the very near future—JJH)

Further now from Reprints 5523: “The judgments of the Lord will begin to be mani­fest in the world (which began in 1914 with the world War—JJH), and will run counter to many of their interests. This manifestation of the presence is Scripturally called the Epiphania, the shining forth, the revealment, of the King of Glory. (To the world in the Time of Trouble – the Epiphany—JJH) ‘He shall be revealed in flaming fire, taking ven­geance on them that know not God, and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (2 Thes. 1:7-10)

“These Bible students call our attention to the fact that the Bible distinctly dif­ferentiates between the Parousia of Christ and His Epiphania, at His second coming. The word Parousia signifies presence, without in any sense of the word indicating that the presence is visible. The word Epiphania signifies the revealing of one who is al­ready present, invisible to men, during a period of forty years (1874 to 1914—JJH), do­ing a work especially in His church – rewarding the faithful, as shown in the parables of the Pounds and the Talents, and receiving the ‘wise virgins,’ as in the parable of Matt. 25:1-13 ... In other words, the revelation of Christ to the world will be subse­quent to His revelation of Himself to the ‘wise virgin’ class. The world will know that He has taken His great power and begun His reign of righteousness, not by seeing Jesus in the flesh, but by seeing the great Time of Trouble which then will break upon the world – ‘a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation.’—Dan. 12:1; Matt. 24:21.” (May 1915) (The great World War of 1914 was something the world had never wit­nessed before – the greatest calamity up to that time—JJH)

As to those who are making merchandise of their “prophecies,” our Lord said to those of His Day as He drove them out of the temple: “Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.” (John 2:16) “The Lord shall have them in deri­sion.” (Psa. 2:4) “Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion ... Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance.” (Psa. 2:6,8) Also, “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

At His first Advent Jesus “went about preaching the gospel of the kingdom.” (Mark 1:14) The “gospel” means “good news,” and we emphasize the good news that is to fol­low “this evil day.” (Eph. 6:13) Isaiah Chapter 35 gives us a beautiful picture of the Kingdom. “And an highway (an easy way of traveling) shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men (the world of mankind), though fools (atheists – see Psa. 14:1), shall not err therein.” (Isa. 35:8) The reason no one will err therein is because, “When thy judgments (instructions) are in the earth, the inhabitants will learn righteous­ness.” (Isa. 26:9) And further: “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)

All will surely agree that the “knowledge of the Lord” is not abroad in the earth today. We are indeed living in that “evil day” when erroneous teaching is more ac­ceptable to the masses than the Truth – even though the “gospel” is indeed good news and the error not palatable. But all that will be changed in the Kingdom: No error will be taught there. All who wish to learn righteousness can do so, and they will be given the ability to do righteously if that is their hearts’ desire. So we who have believed continue to preach the “good tidings” to all who have an “ear to hear,” because we know God is faithful that promised. (Heb. 10:23)

Much more could be written on this subject; but we believe we have made sufficient­ly clear the real meaning and import of Armageddon – what it will accomplish, and also what it will not accomplish. The Jehovah’s Witnesses are presently teaching a very different explanation of this subject from what the founder of their organization taught, as is readily apparent from the many quotations we have presented from what he taught about it. We continue to believe and teach the Truth as he gave it to us, as “the truth of the Lord endureth for ever.” (Psa. 117:2) The Lord has promised to give the faithful a “mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.” (Luke 21:15) And verily we have found it so!

It is not our wish to overly dramatize present conditions; but being forewarned is being forearmed; and it is our fond hope that our readers will accept this article from that standpoint. “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me.” (Jer. 9:23,24)

Sincerely your brother,

John J. Hoefle, Pilgrim

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LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Brother John:

Oh, I enjoyed your teaching. And I shall look forward to your future papers. Thank you for putting me on your list.

At the end of the month some friends will be returning from Israel. Hopefully Clarence will have the book for you. Thanks again for your donation. It helps so much.

Sincerely ------- (OKLAHOMA)

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Dear Friends: Greetings in the blessed name of our risen Lord and Saviour!

I have been reading through a leaflet entitled The Herald of the Epiphany” ... and I will be very grateful if you will send me the following: Where Are The Dead, The Resurrection of The Dead, Two Distinct Salvations, The Three Babylons, God’s Great Sabbath Day and the Great Reformer. Thank you and may the Lord bless you richly.

Yours truly, ------- (ST. VINCENT)

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NOTE: Additional copies of this paper will be sent free upon request. Also, The Resur­rection of the Dead, Two Distinct Salvations, etc.

NO. 316: IN MEMORIAM

No. 316

Recently a biography of Brother Russell has come into our possession; and we be­lieve our readers will benefit from reading some of it. The author does not give his name, so we cannot identify him, although he apparently is some one who was very close to That Servant. The book was copyrighted in 1923. We have tried to secure more cop­ies of the book, but so far have failed.

We now quote from that book, and begin with some statements in the FOREWORD: “Our motive has been to do GOOD, as God has given us to understand what that means; therefore, we have no further explanation to make or apology to offer; merely pleading that we have earnestly and consistently striven to absorb the Truth and the spirit of the Truth which was so beautifully exemplified in the life of the subject in this book – our beloved Brother Russell, who labored so hard and earnestly to teach us how to walk as Christians should. God bless his memory!

“The Bible is THE BOOK of books in every sense; first, there is no other book like it in the world – for it is God’s Book or Message to the human family; second, it is a Book of Books for the reason that it is made up of many books, or portions, by many writ­ers – sixty-six divisions,

“In a complete and connected sense, this Book, though containing the Great Author’s Wonderful Plan of the Ages, was sealed to human understanding until our Lord’s PAROUSIA in 1874, when it was given him to ‘loose the seals,’ using a human instrument, ‘a chosen vessel,’ for this purpose,

“Charles Taze Russell was the one ‘chosen of God and faithful’ to this end; so he, under the Lord’s guidance, gave us ‘The Keys’ to the Scriptures – and to all sincere Christians these ‘Keys’ or Studies, have fulfilled the design of the author; for they have proved to be Helping Hands in the systematic study of the Bible. This book – MEMOIRS – tells you something about how and under what difficulties ‘That Servant’ attained the desired end - something of the discouragements he met and the obstacles he overcame........ It is important to ponder well the revealments herein given pertaining to the Life, Works and Character of one of the greatest men the world has ever known “

Now to the book proper: “Charles Taze Russell was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., Feb. 16, 1852, of consecrated parents who were of Scotch-Irish descent.... In private Pastor Rus­sell admitted his belief that he had been chosen for the great work he had accomplished, as ‘that Servant,’ from before his birth... Up to the age of fifteen he believed as gospel truth all and only such doctrines as had been taught him... The clergy usually discouraged individual Bible research, and the asking of questions was considered equiva­lent to doubting, and to ‘doubt was to be damned.’ .........

“By skillful questions, which were unanswerable by either minister or laymen from their sectarian standpoints and by the maneuvering of many seemingly paradoxical Scrip­tures, an infidel completely routed young Russell, who within a few months became an admitted skeptic......

“At twenty-one Mr. Russell was possessed of much knowledge and voluminous data on religion as believed and practiced in all parts of the world. Apparently these were to become of no value to himself or others, because of large business responsibil­ities that were placed upon him at the time. The question that here confronted him was, ‘Shall I try longer to find the truth on religion? Or, shall I smother the hope of finding it and strive for fame and fortune among the financial and commercial captains of the time? Fortunately, he decided first to search the Scriptures from a skeptic’s standpoint, for its own answer on hell-fire and brimstone.

“Amazed at the harmonious testimony, proving an unexpected but satisfactory answer, he undertook systematic Bible research and was brought to a complete confidence in the Bible as being inspired by an all-wise, powerful, just and loving Creator, worthy of ador­ation and worship. Thus a sure anchor for a fainting hope was found, and an honest, truth-seeking heart was made glad........

“In 1877 Pastor Russell called a meeting of all the ministers of Allegheny and Pitts­burgh, showed them the Scriptures which indicated our Lord’s presence and urged them to investigate and proclaim the message. All the ministers of the two cities were present and all of the ministers of the two cities refused to believe. In that same year he gave up his secular work to devote his entire time and fortune to the work indicated in the Scriptures as incident to the close of the Gospel Age and the change of Dispensations im­pending. As a means of determining whether his purposed course was in harmony with the Scriptures, and also as a means of demonstrating his own sincerity, he decided to test the Lord’s approval, as follows:

“(l) Devote his life to the cause; (2) invest his private fortune (about $300,000.) in the promulgation of the work; (3) prohibit collection at all meetings; (4) depend on unsolicited contributions (which must be wholly voluntary) to continue the work after his own fortune was exhausted. Furthermore, in 1881 there were distributed free 1,400,000 copies of Food for Thinking Christians to the Protestant Churches in the United States, Canada and Great Britain, on three consecutive Sundays, by A.D. T. messenger boys. This was said to have been at a cost of $40,000.00.

“Charles Taze Russell enjoyed the immeasurable advantages of good birth. His par­ents were Christian people of marked intelligence and refinement. His father was a suc­cessful retail merchant of Allegheny, Pa. His mother died when he was about eight years of age, leaving him to be thereafter the boon companion of his father. As such, he learned to keep the rooms in which the father and son lived, and developed the traits of neatness and precision so marked in after life.

“He began at a very early age to take great interest in his father’s store. At the age of fifteen, so great was his sagacity as a wholesale buyer of merchandise that his father often sent him alone on purchasing tours to Philadelphia. A young man of such commercial talents would not long be working for others. He soon started a store of his own; this rapidly increased to a chain of stores. He was one of the pioneers in the de­velopment of the marvelously successful idea of the chain-stores, an idea which has since enriched many men. His wealth increased by leaps and bounds. This was in the early sev­enties of the nineteenth century. Rockefeller was then unknown, nationally. The known millionaires of that day could have been counted on one’s fingers.........

“Still he yearned to know God; but the creeds of Christendom only confused him. The young man began to see what all the theologians of the ages had failed to see – the harmony of the Word of God and the beauty of His plan. At the age of twenty-four this young Bible student became aware of the time features of the Scriptures. It was at this age that he began to see that the end of the Gospel Dispensation would be marked by a great world war. It was the unfolding of these features of the truth that swept his earthly goods onto the altar of burnt-offering and took him out into the campaign of preaching which ended only with his death.

“One truth led logically to another, and made it possible for him to become recog­nized as the only theologian of the Gospel Age who had been able to demonstrate the harmony of the Bible with itself. ‘Unto the Angel of the Church of the Laodiceans write: These things, saith the Amen, the faithful and true Witness’ – and the angel did as com­manded, and long since ‘reported the matter.’ ‘Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, that he shall make him ruler over all his goods.’ (Matt. 24:45,46,47)”

Concerning the phenomenal work he did, we offer just a few short statements from him: “Many are the inquiries relative to the truths presented in my writings – whence they came and how were they developed to their present symmetrical and beautiful propor­tions .... I claim nothing of superiority, nor of supernatural power, dignity or author­ity; nor do I desire to exalt myself in the estimation of my brethren of the Household of Faith, except in the sense the Master urged, saying, ‘Let him who would be great among you be your servant.’ And my position among men of the world and of the nominal church is certainly far from exalted, being ‘everywhere evil spoken against.’ I am fully contented, however, to wait for exaltation until the Lord’s due time. .... Presently overcoming many besetments, discouragements, etc., to press along the line toward the mark of our high calling, and claiming only, as a faithful student of the Word of God, to be an index fing­er, as I have previously expressed it, to help you trace for yourselves, on the sacred page, the Wonderful Plan of God – no less wonderful to me, than to you, dearly beloved sharers of my faith and joy.

“No, the truths I present, as God’s mouthpiece, were not revealed in visions or dreams, nor by God’s audible voice, nor all at once, but gradually, especially since 1870 and particularly since 1880. Neither is this clear unfolding of truth due to human in­genuity or acuteness of perception, but to the simple fact that God’s due time has come; and if I did not speak, and no other agent could be found, the very stones would cry out ... Nor can I name all the little points of Divine Favor in which faith was tested, pray­ers were answered, etc., remembering that our Master and the early Church left no such example of boasting faith, but rather admonished otherwise saying, ‘Hast thou faith? have it to thyself!’ Some of the most precious experiences of faith and prayer are those which are too sacred for public display..... The Reformation movement, or rather move­ments, from then until now, have all done their share in bringing light out of darkness. Let me here confine myself to the consideration of the Harvest Truths as set forth in the Scriptures and the Watch Tower........

“I soon began to see that we were living somewhere near the close of the Gospel Age and near the time when the Lord had declared that the wise, the watching ones of His children, should understand – come to a clear knowledge of His Plan. At this time, my­self and a few other truth-seekers in Pittsburgh, Pa., formed a class for Bible study and from 1870 to 1879 was a time of constant growth in grace and love of God and His Word. We came to see something of the love of God, how He had made provision for all mankind; how all must be awakened from the tomb in order that God’s loving Plan might be testi­fied to them......

“But though seeing that the Church was called to joint heirship with the Lord in the Millennial Kingdom, up to that time we had failed to see clearly the great distinction between the reward of the Church, now on trial, and the reward of the faithful of the world, after its trial, at the close of the Millennial Age: that the reward of the for­mer is to be the glory of the Spirit Nature, the Divine; while that of the latter is to be perfection of the human nature, once enjoyed in Eden by their progenitor, Adam.

UNDERSTANDING THE RANSOM

“However, it was not until 1872, when I gained a clearer view of our Lord’s work, as our ransom price that I found the strength and foundation of all hope of restitution to be in that doctrine. Up to that time, when I read the testimony that all in their graves should come forth, etc., I yet doubted the full provision – whether it should be understood to include idiots or infants who had died without reaching any degree of understanding, beings to whom the present life and its experiences would seem to be of little or no advantage. But when in 1872 I came to examine the subject of restitution from the standpoint of the Ransom Price given by our Lord Jesus for Adam, and conse­quently for all lost in Adam, it settled the matter of restitution completely and gave me the fullest assurance that ALL must come forth from !heir graves and be brought to a clear knowledge of the truth and to a full opportunity to gain everlasting life in Christ.

“Thus passed the years 1869 to 1872. The years following, to 1876, were years of continued growth in grace and knowledge on the part of the handful of Bible Students with whom I met in Allegheny. We progressed from our first crude and indefinite ideas of restitution to a clearer understanding of the details; but God’s due time for re­vealing the clear light had not yet come.

“During this time, too, we came to recognize the difference between our Lord as ‘the man who gave himself,’ and as the Lord who would come again, a Spirit Being. We saw that Spirit-Beings can be present, and yet invisible to men. We greatly grieved at the error of Second Adventists, who were expecting Christ in the flesh, and teaching that the world and all in it, except Second Adventists, would be burned up in 1873 or 1874; their time settings and disappointments and crude ideas generally as to the object and manner of His coming, brought more or less reproach upon us and upon all who longed for and proclaimed His coming Kingdom.”

Here we would inject some conclusions of our own. We are fully persuaded that the full and complete understanding of the Ransom enabled Brother Russell to understand and clarify many Scriptures whose meaning had not been understood at all by God’s people. We explain just one: “I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.” (Isa. 6:5,6,7)

The “live coal” in the above is Present Truth, and particularly the Present Truth upon the Ransom. While in Babylon we were all contaminated with the errors that pre­vailed there – and especially was this so about the Ransom. But once we came to a clear understanding of the Ransom, a great part of that error was purged from our minds. None of us could say this was true until That Servant had given us a clear explanation of the Ransom and kindred teachings. Then the words of Jesus assumed real meaning for us: “Thy whole body shall be full of light.” (Matt. 6:22)

In the text quoted above, the Prophet Isaiah pictures God’s people in Babylon be­fore the Harvest – “those that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.” (Eze. 9:4) But it can properly be applied to Brother Russell himself, who was certainly much disturbed as he dwelt “in the midst of a people of un­clean lips” – those obsessed with much confusing error.

Now more from the book: “It was about Jan. 1, 1876, that my attention was spec­ially drawn to the subject of prophetic time, as it relates to these doctrines and hopes. It came about in this way: I received a paper called The Herald of the Morning, sent by its editor, Mr. N. H. Barbour. When I opened it I at once identified it with Adventism from the picture on its first cover, and I examined it with curiosity to see what ‘time’ they would next ‘set’ for the burning up of the world. But judge not a book from its cover! To my surprise and gratification I learned from its contents that its editor was beginning to get his eyes open on the subject which for some years had so greatly rejoiced our hearts in Allegheny – that the object of our Lord’s return is not to destroy, but to bless all the families of the earth; and that his coming would be thief-like, and not in the flesh, but as a Spirit Being, invisible to men; and that the gathering of His Church and the separation of the wheat from the tares would progress in the end of this Age without the world’s being aware of it.

“I rejoiced to find others coming to the same advanced position, but was astonished to find the statement very cautiously set forth that the editor believed the prophecies to indicate that the Lord was already present in the world (unseen and invisible) and that the Harvest Work of gathering the tares was already due; and that this view was warranted by the time prophecies, which but a few months before he supposed had failed.

“Here was a new thought; could it be that the “Time Prophecies,” which I had so long despised because of their misuse by the Adventists, were really meant to indicate when the Lord would be invisibly present to set up His Kingdom – a thing which I saw could be known in no other way? It seemed, to say the least, a very reasonable thing that the Lord would inform His people on the subject – especially as He had promised that He would not leave them in darkness with the world, and that although the day of the Lord would come upon all others as a thief in the night, it should not be so to the watch­ing, earnest Saints.

“I recalled certain arguments used by my friend, Jonas Wendall and other Adventists to prove that 1873 would witness the burning of the world, etc. – the chronology of the world showing that 6,000 years from Adam ended with the beginning of 1873, and that other arguments drawn from the Scriptures and supposed to coincide. Could it be that these time arguments, which I had passed by as unworthy of attention, really contained an impor­tant truth which they had misapplied?

“Anxious to learn from any quarter whatever God had to teach, I at once wrote to Mr. Barbour, informing him of my harmony on other points and desiring to know particulars why and upon what Scriptural evidences he held that Christ’s presence and the Harvesting of the Gospel Age dated from the Autumn of 1874.

“The answer showed that my surmise had been correct, namely, that the time prophe­cies – arguments – chronology, etc., were the same as used by Second Adventists in 1873, and explained how Mr. Barbour and Mr. J. H. Paton, of Michigan, a co-worker with him, had been regular Second Adventists up to that time; and that when the date 1874 had passed without the world being burned up, and without their seeing Christ in the flesh, they were for a time dumfounded. They had examined the time prophecies, which seemingly passed unfulfilled, and had been unable to find any flaw, and had begun to wonder whether the time was right and their expectations wrong; whether the views of restitution and bless­ings to the world, which myself and others were teaching, might not be the things to look for.

“It seems that not long after their 1874 disappointment, a reader of The Herald of the Morning, who had a copy of the Diaglott, noticed something in it which he thought peculiar – that in Matthew 24:27,37,39, the word which in our Common Version is rendered coming is translated presence. This was the clue; and, following it, they had been led through prophetic time toward proper views regarding the object and manner of our Lord’s return. I, on the contrary, was led first to proper views of the object and manner of our Lord’s return, and then to an examination of the time, indicated in God’s Word. Thus God leads His children from different starting points of truth; but when the heart is earnest and trustful the result must be to draw all such together.

“But there were no books or other publications at that time setting forth the time prophecies as then understood; so I paid Mr. Barbour’s expenses to come to see me at Philadelphia, to show me fully and Scripturally, if he could, that the prophecies indi­cated 1874 as the date at which the Lord’s presence and the harvest began. This was in the summer of 1876. He came, and the evidence satisfied me. Being a person of positive convictions and fully consecrated to the Lord, I at once saw that the special times in which we were living have an important bearing upon our work and duty as Christ’s disci­ples; that being in the time of the Harvest, the Harvest work should be done; and that the present truth was the sickle by which the Lord would have us to do a gathering and reaping work everywhere among His children.

BEGINNING OF THE HARVEST WORK

“I inquired of Mr. Barbour as to what was being done by him and the Herald. He replied that nothing was being done; that the readers of the Herald, being disappointed Adventists, had nearly all lost interest and stopped their subscriptions; and that thus, with money exhausted, the Herald might be said to be practically suspended. I said to him that instead of feeling discouraged and giving up the work since with his newly found light on restitution (for when we first met he had much to learn from me on the fullness of restitution, based upon the sufficiency of the Ransom given for all, as I had much to learn from him concerning time), he should rather feel that now he had some good tidings to preach, such as he never had before, and that his zeal should be correspondingly in­creased. At the same time, the knowledge of the fact that we were already in the time of the Harvest gave me an impetus to spread the truth such as I never had before. I, therefore, resolved upon a vigorous campaign for the truth.

“So I determined to curtail my business cares and give my time, as well as my means, to the great Harvest Work. Accordingly, I sent Mr. Barbour back to his home, with money and instructions to prepare in concise book-form the good tidings, so far as then understood, including the time features, while I closed out my Philadelphia business, prep­aratory to engaging in the work, as I afterwards did, traveling and preaching. ...

“This little book of 196 pages thus prepared was entitled ‘The Three Worlds’; and as I was enabled to give some time and thought to its preparation, it was issued by us both jointly, both names appearing on its title page, though it was mainly written by Mr. Barbour. While this was not the first book to teach a measure of restitution, nor the first to treat upon the time prophecies, it was, I believe, the first to combine the idea of restitution with time prophecy. From the sale of this book and from my purse, our traveling expenses, etc., were met. After a time I conceived of adding another har­vest laborer to the force, so sent for Mr. Paton, who promptly responded and whose trav­eling expenses were met in the same manner.

“But noticing how quickly some people forget what they have heard, it soon became evident that while the meetings were useful in awaking interest, a monthly journal was needed to hold and develop that interest. It seemed, therefore, to be the Lord’s indi­cation that one of our number should settle somewhere and begin again the regular issu­ing of the Herald of the Morning. I suggested that Mr. Barbour do this, as he had had experience as a typesetter and therefore could do it the most economically, while Mr. Paton and I would continue to travel and contribute to its columns, as we should find opportunity. To the objection that the type had been sold and that the few subscrip­tions which would come in would not, for a long time, make the journal self-sustaining, I replied that I would supply the money for purchasing the type, etc., and leave a few hundred dollars in the bank, subject to Mr. Barbour’s check, and that he should manage it as economically as possible, while Mr. Paton and I continued to travel. This, which. seemed to be the Lord’s will in the matter, was therefore done.

NEW ADHERENTS TO THE WORKING FORCE

“It was after this, while on a tour of the New England States, that I met Mr. A. F. Adams, a young Methodist minister, who became deeply interested, accepting the message heartily during the week that I preached to his congregation. Subsequently, I intro­duced him to little gatherings of interested ones in neighboring towns, and assisted otherwise, as I could, rejoicing in another one who, with study, would soon be a co-labor­er in the Harvest field. About this time, too, I was much encouraged by the accession of Mr. A. D. Jones, then a clerk in my employ in Pittsburgh, who was a young man of ac­tivity and promise, one who soon developed into an active and appreciative co-laborer in the Harvest work. Mr. Jones ran well for a time, but ambition or something eventually made utter shipwreck of his faith, leaving us a painful illustration of the wisdom of the Apostle’s words, ‘My brethren, be not many of you teachers, knowing that we shall have the severer judgment.’

“Thus far all had gone smoothly and onward: we had been greatly blessed with the truth, but not specially tested in our love and fidelity to it. But the Spring of 1878, the parallel in time to our Lord’s crucifixion, and of His statement to Peter, ‘Satan hath desired to have you, that he might sift you as wheat,’ the sifting began which has Continued Ever Since; and which must, sooner or later, test every one who receives the light of present truth. For this fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is ­whether he has built his faith flimsily of wood, hay and stubble, instead of valuable stones of God’s revealed truth; or whether he has built it upon the shifting sands of human theories, or upon the solid rock, the Ransom, the only foundation which God has provided.

“They who build upon that Rock shall be safe personally, even though they have built up an illogical faith, which the fire and shaking of this day of trial will overthrow and utterly consume, but they who build upon any other foundation, whether they use good or bad materials, are sure of complete wreckage.

“The object of this trial and sifting evidently is to select all whose heart-de­sires are unselfish, who are fully and unreservedly consecrated to the Lord, who are anxious to have the Lord’s will done, and whose confidence in His wisdom, His way and His Word is so great that they refuse to be led away from the Lord’s Word, either by sophistries of others, or by plans and ideas of their own. These, in the sifting time, will be strengthened and shall increase their joy in the Lord and their knowledge of His plans, even while their faith is being tested by the falling into error of thous­ands on every hand.

FIRST HARVEST SIFTING

“The sifting began thus: Regarding St. Paul’s statement, ‘We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,’ etc., we still held the idea which Adventists, and indeed all Christians hold, that at some time the living saints would be suddenly and miraculously caught away bodily, thenceforth to be forever with the Lord. And now our acquaintance with the time prophecies led us to ex­pect this translation of the saints at the point of time in this Age parallel to the Lord’s resurrection; for many of the parallelisms between the Jewish and Christian Dis­pensations were already seen by us, and formed one of the features of the little book – ­The Three Worlds.

“We did not then see, as we do now, that the date, 1878, marked the date for the be­ginning of the establishment of the Kingdom of God, by the glorification of all who al­ready slept in Christ (that is, the dead in Him), and the ‘change’ which St. Paul mentions is to occur in the moment of death to all the class described, from that date onward through the Harvest period, until all the living members of the ‘body of Christ’ shall have been changed to glorious Spirit-beings. When at that date (1878) nothing occurred, which we could see, a re-examination showed me that our mistake lay in expecting to see all the living saints changed at once, and without dying, an erroneous view shared in by the whole nominal Church, and one which we had not yet observed or discarded. Our present clear view was the result of the examination thus started.

“I soon saw that the Apostle’s words, ‘We shall not all sleep,’ that the word sleep was not synonymous with die, though generally so understood; but, on the contrary, the ex­pression sleep, here used, represents unconsciousness; and that the Apostles wished us to understand, that from a certain time in the Lord’s presence, His saints, though they would die like other men, would not remain for any time unconscious, but in the moment of dy­ing would be changed and would receive the Spirit bodies promised. Throughout this Gospel Age death of the Lord’s children has been followed by unconscious­ness – ‘sleep.’ This continued true of all who ‘fell asleep in Jesus’ up to the time when He took the office of King, which we have shown was in 1878 (Volume 2, Studies in the Scriptures, pp. 218, 219).

“Not only did the King at that time ‘awaken in His likeness’ all the members of His body, the Church, who slept, but for the same reason (the time establishing His Kingdom having come) it is no longer necessary that the ‘feet,’ or last remaining members should go into ‘sleep’ or unconsciousness. On the contrary, each now, as finishes his course, faithful unto death, will at once receive the Crown of Life, and being changed in a mo­ment, in the twinkling of an eye, can not be said to sleep, or to be unconscious at all. Here, then, 1878 is applicable, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.’ So this re-­examination showed further light upon the pathway and became a great cause for encourage­ment, as evidencing the Lord’s continued leading.

“But while I was thus helped to clearer views and brighter hopes, and while I dili­gently endeavored to help others, the Spring of 1878 proved far from a blessing to Mr. Barbour and to many under his influence. Rejecting the plain, simple solution presented above, Mr. Barbour seemed to feel that he must of necessity get up something new to di­vert attention from the failure of the living saints to be caught away en masse.

“But, alas! how dangerous it is for any man to feel too much responsibility and attempt to force new light. To our painful surprise, Mr. Barbour wrote an article for the Herald denying the doctrine of the Atonement; denying that the death of Christ was the ransom-price of Adam and his race, saying that the death of Christ was no more a settlement of the penalty of man’s sins than would the sticking of a pin through a fly and causing it suffering and death, be considered by an earthly parent as a just settlement for the misdemeanor of his child .. ....

As our beloved Pastor has so truly said, “How dangerous it is for any man to feel too much responsibility and attempt to force new light.” We have found this true in JFR after he became President of the Society. He disposed of Tentative Justification, and also replaced the “great multitude” as a spiritual class to an earthly class; and one error brought on other errors, such as “dividing the sheep and the goats” before the New Covenant is inaugurated. The Jehovah’s Witnesses now teach that there will be no resurrection for Adam, the Scribes and Pharisees or any of the wicked. Those who do not join them before Armageddon will not be resurrected, etc.

Another group has invented a new class because of the disappointment of 1954. They felt “too much responsibility” and attempted to force new light; and that new light (?) has forced them into many other errors – such as a narrow way in the Camp, perverting Tentative Justification, their newly-invented class to be first in the Kingdom blessings instead of “to the Jew first” as taught by the Apostle Paul, etc. However, they still distribute the Studies in the Scriptures, which is a far-cry from the Witnesses, for which we commend them.

As is readily apparent, we have not nearly completed the treatise of the Memoirs of That Servant, as given in the book we have quoted; but must leave it for some future paper. However, it is our hope and prayer that what we have thus far given may prove a rich blessing to all our readers, and that the subject of That Servant has been magni­fied and strengthened in the hearts and minds of all.

“Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause; yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.” (Psa. 35:27)

Sincerely your brother,

John J. Hoefle, Pilgrim

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LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Brother Hoefle: Loving Christian greetings through our Lord!

This is just to give you news I know you will be glad to hear. Can you remember Brother ....... whose first wife died? He married again and his second wife divorced him – and he married again. She told us in our testimony meeting that she had made her consecration to the Lord, for after seeing how sweet the Truth is that if she didn’t she would be taking His grace in vain. She said for these eight years she was counting the cost.

I’m wondering if you understood my P.S. ordering tracts. Please send the follow­ing: No. 1, No. 2, Nos. 5, 6 and 8. We could use 400 each.

God bless and keep you all. Warm Christian love, ------- (JAMAICA)

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

Dear Rev. Hoefle:

Friends have just gone to Jerusalem and we have sent your request for Josephus, The Jewish War, Penguin Books along to Clarence. We will also search around here too to try to find this for you.

You mention “your papers” in your letter. We would indeed love to read what you send out.

We will continue to appreciate your prayers at this dangerous time for Israel.

Gratefully, In the name of our Messiah, ------- (OKLAHOMA)

NO. 315: TIMES OF REFRESHING - TIMES OF RESTITUTION

No. 315

In Acts 3:19–24 the Apostle Peter was calling to the attention of the Jews the promise that God had made to Abraham, saying, “In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.” The word ‘restitution’ in the text means restoration; or, as Rotherham states it, “the times of the due establishment of all things..... But indeed all the prophets – from Samuel and those following after – as many as have spoken have announced these days.” The Apostle here is contrasting the ‘refreshing times’ to come with the present dry and dying condition of the human race – likened to grass that with­ers and sears for lack of rain. And he proceeds to stress that the Prophet Samuel and all who came after him had spoken of these ‘refreshing times’ to come. This was one of the first public speeches that came from any of the Apostles after Pentecost, and it is in fact just another way of preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom. Often it is recorded of Jesus that He ‘went about preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom’ (Matt. 4:23; 9:35 Mark 1:14), which the Apostle Peter here declares to be the ‘times of restitution,’ so the question is properly in order, What conclusions are we to draw from this?

It would seem that such an important and far–reaching doctrine as this should have prominent recognition wherever and whenever the Christian religion is preached. But what do we find? So far as we are concerned, we have never once – over the past sixty years – ever heard Acts 3:19–24 even mentioned from the pulpits of Big Babylon; much less has any attempt been made to explain it. Since men usually preach the things they understand and love, we can but conclude that the silence on this part of Scripture is due to the lack of knowledge of those who should be declaring it.

Perhaps the most of us who have any understanding at all of Harvest Truth would testify that one of the very first things we heard from the platform and in private conversation, too, was discussion of the “times of restitution”; and this is still a very prominent and favorite discussion among the various groups of Truth people who were emanated from Parousia Truth. But, tragic though it be, some of them have perverted the real truth on the subject – have twisted it out of all recognition to the way That Servant gave it to us – prominent among them are the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

All during the Age, since the death of the Apostles (or shortly thereafter), the doctrine of Restitution was completely lost, as represented in Luke 15:8,9, by the woman in the parable who had ten pieces of silver, had lost one – sought diligently till she found it, then “calleth her friends and neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.” The woman in the parable is the Church, which had lost sight of one cardinal doctrine of the Bible – Restitution – and it was not until the Harvest that this great truth was once more recognized with great rejoic­ing. After the Harvest work had attracted a following, and the Pilgrims began to cir­culate, That Servant often urged them all to preach Restitution. That was especially emphasized with those Sunday speakers that were sent out from the Bible House on week­ends. It was indeed “Good Tidings of great joy” to all who received it with grateful hearts.

Those of us who are at all familiar with the situation know that That Servant gave a very clear and convincing presentation of the times of Restitution; and his entire following was almost a solid unit in accepting it the way he taught it. But what do we find since his death? We find many who once seemed to understand the subject have now perverted it out of all recognition to the manner in which they had once accepted it. Chief among these is Jehovah’s Witnesses, who now have consigned Adam to annihilation, which idea is actually a denial of the Ransom – although they would not admit that. How­ever, since Adam was the only perfect man on earth aside from Jesus Himself; and since the word Ransom itself means a corresponding price, an exact duplicate, Adam is actually the only one who could be ransomed. Therefore, St. Paul gives the philosophy, “As all in Adam die, so all in Christ shall be made alive.” When ransom is provided for Adam, that act becomes the inheritance for all of us – just as all of us inherited the death penalty for sin which was passed to him. But the Witnesses now leave out a very large section of the human race in their presentation of Restitution. To all who understand the phi­losophy of the Ransom, it is an elementary conclusion – that if Adam wouldn’t be awakened, none of the rest would be awakened.

They are now telling us that all living today who do not accept them will never be awakened – never experience restitution – at a time when the Devil is bound, and nothing but Truth will be taught. In Isaiah, Chapter 35, there is this: “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. (v. 5) And an highway (an easy way) shall be there, and a way (Christ the Mediator), and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men (the restitutionists), though fools (‘fools’ according to Psa. 53:1 are atheists), shall not err therein.” (v. 8) Also Rev. 22:5 tells us, “There will be no night (error) there.” The Jehovah’s Witnesses admit that Satan is still blinding the eyes of those who believe not – yet they are dividing the Sheep from the Goats during this Time of Trouble when Satan is more active “blinding the eyes of those who believe not” than ever before.

When they say all present “unbelievers” in them will be annihilated in the approaching Armageddon, it is a far–cry from the “good news” taught by That Servant, who had a message of hope for the groaning creation; and they claim That Servant as their founder! He is not the founder of their errors, but is the founder of The Watch Tower Bible and Tract So­ciety, which the errorists took over after his demise. This simply reveals that they do not understand, or will not accept, the meaning of “the gospel of the kingdom,” as St. Paul so clearly states it in Gal. 3:8: “The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, in thee shall all nations be blessed.” Most of these heathen have never even heard the name of Christ; and there are quite a few today who have never heard of Jehovah’s Witnesses despite their world–wide ministry.

So this “annihilation” in Armageddon, according to the Jehovah’s Witnesses, will in­clude the majority of the people living – quite a few of whom are honorable, benevolent and kind to all with whom they have to do – their besetting sin being that they cannot accept the Jehovah’s Witnesses and their errors. We continue to teach the gospel of Christ (Good Tidings to all mankind), which not only includes all unbelievers in the Wit­nesses, but the believers in Jehovah’s Witnesses, the grand and glorious restitution work of that blessed Kingdom. Those who teach the Truth are far more generous to those who teach error than the errorists are to them.

They can no longer teach John 5:28,29: “Marvel not at this: for the hour is com­ing, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice. And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment.” (Damnation is a mistranslation: judgment is the cor­rect translation, which is for all Restitutionists. See Diaglott.) Also, Acts. 24:15: “There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.”

Many of our readers are familiar with the teaching of the Witnesses, by which, for a number of years, they put forth their ‘Jonadabs’ as the Restitution class. They still retain much the same view, except that they now call their Jonadabs the Great Multitude of Rev. 7:9-17. All Bible logic is against such an interpretation, because the language and setting of Revelation 7 clearly depict a class on the spirit plane – “before the throne” – which is in Heaven. This is another text that they have set aside the interpre­tation of That Servant and substituted their own interpretation, which is error. There are at least two other Truth groups that likewise teach a superior Restitution class that is being developed now – Consecrated Epiphany Campers and Quasi–elect Consecrated. To refute these errors we need only bear in mind that we are still in the Gospel Age – ­the Faith Age; and during this Age the merit of Jesus is only for Himself and His house – for all those who honestly accept Him as their Savior and walk a ‘narrow way.’ And during this Faith Age there is only one place where His merit can be obtained – tenta­tively or reckonedly – that is, in the Court of the antitypical Gospel–Age Tabernacle.

But both these groups have their non–existent classes outside the linen curtain of the Tabernacle – outside the righteousness of Christ in this Faith Age. The antitypical Camp is Christendom in general – those people, those systems which make at least a token acceptance of Jesus as their Saviour – who wish to be on ‘speaking terms’ with Him, although they do not wish an intimate acquaintance – they do not wish to know Him well enough to do His “good, and acceptable and perfect will.” (Rom. 12:1–3) “I am the way”; and there is only one manner in which that “way” can be obtained, and that is by taking the step from the Camp, through the Tabernacle Gate, and into the Court, whereby “Justification by faith” has been obtainable all during the Faith Age; and it is still the only way, be­cause we are yet in the Gospel (faith) Age.

There would seem to be little excuse for such distortions. According to Mal. 3:3, one of the specific missions of Jesus at His Second Advent would be to “sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.” The ‘silver’ in this text is the Truth; and all familiar with the situation know that the Truth has shone with great brilliance during the Harvest pe­riod. The meaning of the text is better revealed by a better translation: “refiner and polisher of silver” (the truth).

While the truth on Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, the state of the dead, etc., were understood fairly well by some groups of Christendom before 1874, it remained for the Har­vest Messenger to refine and elaborate upon every one of them with telling force. This is better understood when we consider that the word ‘purifier’ in our text would be better rendered ‘polisher.’ It is from the Hebrew ‘metaher,’ one of whose meanings is brighten­er or polisher. Thus, at His Second Advent our Lord not only refines – purges the dross of error from the Truth – but He also brightens or polishes it.

Our text says He ‘shall sit’ as a refiner and polisher. At the time of the first Advent the speaker usually sat down, as the audience stood up; and in the Talmud ‘to sit’ is almost synonymous with ‘to teach.’ Jesus was indeed the teacher; but when He said the Scribes and Pharisees “sit in Moses’ seat,” He meant they were setting themselves forth as the teachers of the people – just as Moses had done when he gave them the Law at Sinai. Also, Jesus now sits on His throne, as does a king, a judge on his bench, etc. Thus, He is the executive, the authority, the official opponent of error and developer of truth. And this is not only true of religious truth, but it is also true in great degree of secular truth, as is apparent on every hand. Satan has done an excellent job of cor­rupting secular and religious truth over the centuries; and none but our all–powerful Divine Lord would be capable of undoing the damage. But He has come with the golden crown on His head as evidence that He has the power and the authority to extirpate the damage of the past.

To polish anything requires a cleansing agent to be applied with muscular strength. And how has this been specially done since 1874? Mainly through much controversy. In con­troversy the Truth comes out – just as necessity is said to be the mother of invention. Therefore, those who object to controversy are actually objecting to one of the special missions of our Lord since 1874, and are imposing a deception on those who listen to them. But our chief purpose in giving this explanation is to focus attention upon the ‘outer darkness’ (See Matt. 25:30 on the “unprofitable servant” and the Berean Comment) of those who once saw Restitution in its brilliance and clarity, but who have now sullied it so badly by their perversions. We can but conclude that this reveals something woefully wrong in the hearts of such; the evidence clearly points to just that.

SEEKING THAT WHICH WAS LOST

In Matt. 18:11 we have the words of Jesus, “The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that–which was lost.” The question now properly arises, What was lost? We would answer that four things have been lost – things which man once had in his pristine purity. First of all, after the transgression in the Garden of Eden, he lost his intimate and friendly relationship with his Creator. Second, he lost his perfect home in the Garden. “The Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So He drove the man out.” (Gen. 3:23,24) Third, man’s dominion was lost. “Let man have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the cattle, and over the fowl of the air... and over ever every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” (Gen. 1:26–28)

In Heb. 2:8 St. Paul quotes from Psa. 8:4-8: “Thou hast put all things in subjec­tion under his feet. ... But now we see not yet all things put under him.” It surely needs no argument that man has lost his dominion; animals often trample man under foot, instead of man dominating them. We have been told that the Kodiak bear (a brown bear larger than the grizzly) is so ferocious that it is not necessary for the hunter to look for him; once he knows there is a hunter in his locale he will come looking for him ­and often with deadly results to the hunter. And the fourth thing that man lost is his life. “Lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.” (Gen. 3:22) Man was not created to die; he was created to live; and the Scripture is clear enough that he would have continued to “live forever” had he remained in his perfect Edenic home. And all four of these things Jesus said He came to “seek and to save.” We shall offer detail on this later in this article.

THE RESTITUTION PROCESS

Just as there were four things lost, so we have four component parts to accomplish the Restitution, the restoration. These are clearly set forth in Psa. 103:2–5: “Bless the Lord, 0 my soul, and forget not all His benefits: (1) Who forgiveth all thine iniq­uities; (2) Who healeth all thy diseases; (3) Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; (4) Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies... Thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

The first two of these processes come to man without any effort on his part; and, generally speaking, with little, or no knowledge that he is receiving these “benefits “ St. Paul says of us, who presently believe, “God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8) Thus, “He made Himself an offering for sin” for us before we knew anything about it being done. And, “Christ gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due tine.” In “due time” all men will rec­ognize what we now know – that a propitiation for sins was provided by the Redeemer with­out men asking for it – Christ “forgiveth all thine iniquities.”

And the same may be said for the second restitution process, “healing all thy dis­eases.” In the resurrection day it is self–evident that the disease which brought man to the grave must be cured before his resurrection; otherwise, he would immediately die again. The natural and artificial causes that have caused death for centuries must be eliminated in all men before they are returned from the grave. This also will be accom­plished without men asking for it. If a man has died by having his head shot off, he will certainly have it back when he returns from the grave.

The third and fourth processes will operate somewhat differently. The third: “Who redeemeth thy life from destruction,” will require cooperation on the part of the recip­ient. “God will have all men to be saved, and come to an accurate knowledge of the Truth.” (1 Tim. 2:4-6, Dia.) But this “knowledge of the Truth” will not be forced down the throats of the unwilling; they must all show some desire, and willingly cooperate, in the educational process. That educational process will not only teach men the religious truth on the facts of life and death, it will also teach them the physical, mental, moral and religious philosophies of life which will enable them to live forever in perpetual youth. “I will ransom them from the power of the grave (that power which now turns man to destruction, to the grave, will be stayed); I will redeem them from death: 0 grave I will be thy plagues (by depriving it of its present power over all); 0 grave, I will be thy destruction.” (Hos. 13:14) Then will come to pass the prophecy of Job 33:24, 25: “Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom. His flesh shall be fresher than a child’s: he shall return to the days of his youth.”

The fourth process will also require man’s cooperation, and will receive it with a clear understanding of its import: “Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies.” This is emphasized in the parable of the Sheep and the Goats: “Then shall the King say to them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the king­dom prepared for you.” (Matt. 25:34) Today, in earth’s affairs, when a prince inherits a kingdom from his father, he is seated on the throne, and a crown placed upon his head. Figuratively speaking, this same procedure will be followed when the restitution process has completed its work. Each one of the ‘sheep’ will then inherit a kingdom – his full right to life and its accompanying life rights – just as Adam had it in Eden, when he was given dominion over all things on earth. He was then in every sense “monarch of all he surveyed, lord of the fowl and the brute.”

However, this cannot become true in the full sense of things until the causes that now send men to the grave have been eliminated. St. John states this very graphically in Rev. 21:3–5: “I heard a great voice out of Heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men... And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” And the Angel who gave those words to John evidently realized the disbelief with which the message would be received by the present sick and dying race, for he then emphasized it with these words: “Write: for these words are true.” This forces the logical conclusion that the Restitution processes will eliminate all crime – all thievery, physical violence, moral depravity, sickness; no more need for locks on doors; no more destructive armies; no more rigid police protection. “And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” (Isa. 2:4)

THEN COMETH THE END

Confirmation of the foregoing is graphically stated by St. Paul in 1 Cor. 15:20–26, which we quote from the Improved Version: “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and be­come a firstfruit (Jesus) of them that slept. For since by man (Adam) came death, by (a) man also (Jesus) shall come the resurrection of the dead. For as all in Adam die (this would exclude Jesus, for He was never ‘in Adam’), even so all in Christ shall be made alive. But every man in his own order; Christ a firstfruit (meaning the entire Christ Company, and not merely Jesus only); afterward they that are Christ’s at His presence.

“Then cometh the end (the end of the Little Season, when He shall have ruled over the earth to the full elimination of death and the dying processes), when He shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and all power (complete elimination of Satan and his evil acts). For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”

The “last enemy – death” is not only evil persons, but their evil characteristics, which include Adamic defilements, the dying process – all the mental, moral physical and religious ills now prevalent in the human race – is the last great enemy, which will finally be destroyed at the end of the Little Season.

The foregoing is vividly illustrated in Ex. 15:26–31 – a picture which is probably the grandest type of the entire Old Testament: “And the Lord said unto Moses (type of Christ), Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians (Pharaoh and his hosts being typical of Satan and his henchmen)... and the sea returned to his strength... and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea... All the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one.” Then the conclusion of St. Paul in Heb. 2:14 will be realized: “Jesus (through His sacrificial death) would destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.” And the destruction of the Egyptians in the Red Sea typically sets forth how and when that will be done. At that same time the ‘goats’ of the parable in Matt. 25:41 will come to their complete annihilation from earth’s activities, leaving the ‘sheep’ the unmolested and perfected rulers of all they survey – free from all the evils that Satan’s deceptions have inflicted upon the human race during the past 6,000 years. Some one said when hear­ing this “good news” of the Kingdom, “It is too good to be true!” And an old wo­man exclaimed, “It is too good NOT to be true!”

SOME CONTRARY VIEWS

“God will have all men to be saved.” (1 Tim. 2:4) Like all other fundamental teach­ings of the Bible, this text has been given the extremes of erroneous interpretation. Some contend that if God will have all men to be saved that is a guarantee of eternal life for every human being that has ever lived. Universalism goes even further, and in­sists that even the Devil and his angels will also eventually be saved – despite the clear statement of St. Paul quoted above. Others contend the text to mean that God would like to have all men saved, but He just can’t seem to accomplish it. These perversions are based upon a misunderstanding of the salvation process.

God will have all men to be saved. But saved from what, to what? St. Paul offers the proper help here in Rom. 5:12: “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; so death passed upon all men.” All of Adam’s progeny inherited the death sentence from him – through no fault of their own; and it is relief from that sentence from which God wishes all men to be saved. Often in human affairs we hear of a condemned man be­ing ‘saved from execution’ by official decree; but that does not mean that he shall continue to live forever. It simply means that he is saved from the sentence passed upon him by judicial process.

Much the same explanation may be given for the entire human race being saved; they will be saved from the sentence now hanging over them, and thenceforth will be given the privilege of regaining perfect life – as Adam had it – IF they wish to take advantage of it. If they do, they will be classified as the ‘sheep’ of the parable; if they do not, they will be classified as the ‘goats’ of the parable, and will be sentenced to death once more – that time for their own transgressions, and not for something they have in­herited. This is well stated in Jer. 31:29,30: “In those days they shall no more say, The fathers have eaten a sour grape (sins of the fathers visited upon the children unto the third and fourth generation), and the children’s teeth are set on edge. But every man shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.”

Some years back we exchanged quite some correspondence with a preacher in Jamaica, who insisted that St. Paul’s words mean that every man will eventually receive eternal life – although there is just nothing in the text to warrant such a conclusion. Man will be relieved from the present load upon his back, and given the opportunity, under favorable conditions, to free himself from its effects if he will take advantage of the opportunity. Nothing more than that; nothing less. During our exchange of letters the brother cited Matt. 25:46, and argued that “everlasting punishment” simply means age–lasting; that man will continue to receive one opportunity after another – for a full Age – until he eventu­ally avails himself of eternal life. But the same adjectives are used for the righteous as are used for the unrighteous – which forces the logical conclusion that the life re­ceived by the sheep will also be limited to the Age. It is well to note here the foot­note for verse 46 in the Emphatic Diaglott:

“The Common Version, and many modern ones, render ‘kolasin aionion’ everlasting punishment, conveying the idea, as generally interpreted, of ‘basinos,’ torment. Kolas­in is derived from ‘kolazoo,’ which signifies ‘to cut off’; as lopping off branches of trees, to prune... Thus, the righteous go to life, the wicked to the cutting off from life, or death.”

If we cut the limb from a tree, we know that limb no longer will continue to live; it withers and disintegrates – in much the same manner that Adam withered for 930 years, then disintegrated in the grave. “Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” (Gen. 3:19)

A SUMMATION

At the birth of Jesus the angel declared, “I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” In 1 John 2:2 this is elaborated. “He is the propitiation for our sins (those who accept Him in this present Age): and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” “He forgiveth all thine iniquities.” As we look back with joy at the Saviour’s birth and subsequent atonement for “all men,” so the ancients looked forward to it. “Abraham rejoiced to see My day: and he saw it and was glad.” (John 8:56) The 72nd Psalm gives considerable detail on the subject, too: “God shall come down like rain upon the mown grass (times of refreshing): as showers that water the earth. In His days shall the righteous flourish (the ‘sheep’ of the par­able); and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. He shall have dominion also (that which was lost) from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. The kings of Tarshish shall bring presents – the kings of Sheba shall offer gifts (“every knee should bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord”—Phil. 2:10,11): all nations shall serve Him... to Him shall be given the gold of Sheba... daily shall He be praised... they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth... All nations shall call Him blessed ... Let the whole earth be filled with His glory.”

Biblical names are often significant of the character and accomplishments of the persons to whom they are given. Thus, Jesus is the Latin word for Joshua, or Jeshua, which means ‘Jehovah is salvation,’ the same being very expressive of the work He would do. Thus, He not only delivers, saves, believers in this Age, but in the next Age He will deliver the world in general from the sentence now resting upon men. This He will accomplish by His Priestly, Mediatorial, Kingly, Legislative, Judicial, Prophetic and Pa­ternal offices by His good Word and works. He is indeed mighty to save!

Then will be realized the words of Psa. 22:26–31: “The meek shall eat and be satis­fied (none to hurt or make them afraid): They shall praise the Lord that seek Him. All nations shall worship before thee. For the Kingdom (Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth) is the Lord’s and He is the Governor among the nations... A seed shall serve Him... They shall come, and shall declare His righteousness unto a people that shall be born.”

Sincerely your brother,

John J. Hoefle, Pilgrim

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LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Brother Hoefle;

Brother ------- of Philadelphia has introduced me to your paper, Please! find enclosed money order for a year’s subscription. Please send me additional litera­ture if possible with price lists. Thank you very much.

Yours in His joyful service, ------- (PENNSYLVANIA)

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Dear Bible  Students;

I am very much interested in learning about your organization – and I would greatly appreciate any old or current literature that you may be able to send me. I am particularly interested in the history and belief of your organization.

Sincerely ------- (SOUTH CAROLINA)

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Dear Friends:

Thank you for the recent bulletins. Even with my limited knowledge of God’s plan, I found them most interesting and helpful. The bulletins also served to remind me that I have been much too neglectful in getting my small gift to you,

I was sorry to read of the death of your dear one, You have my sincere sympathy.

Sincerely, ------- (OHIO)

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Dear Brother Hoefle: Grace and peace!

We did enjoy our visit with you. It is always good to fellowship with those of “like precious faith”! Fellowshiping with you dear ones reminded me of the text, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.” (Psa. 138:1)

But, alas! that is not true of quite a few brethren, especially so since the demise of That Servant. Some brethren will not fellowship with brethren who disagree with them on even minor doctrines; while others will not speak to brethren who disagree with them on vital issues. It grieves us to see brethren depart from the Truth they once received, but being warned (2 Tim. 3:1–5) we are forearmed about the conditions in this “evil day.” The faithful are still striving to “keep the Truth” and its Spirit, “knowing of whom thou hast learned them.” (2 Tim. 3:14)

When some were beginning to question chronology and various minor points of our faith (and some not so minor), Pilgrim Brother Zahnow (a Pilgrim appointed by Brother Russell) gave us these “words of wisdom”: “The Lord has given us a six–course dinner (the six volumes of the Studies in the Scriptures) and dessert (Tabernacle Shadows) for this Har­vest time, but there are some who like to take their feet out from under the Lord’s table and make their own sandwiches.”

Our warm Christian love to you, Sister Hoefle and the Bible House family, with the assurance of our prayers. The Lord continue to bless and guide you!

By His Grace -------

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Dear Brother Hoefle: Grace and peace!

This is just a brief acknowledgment of yours of the 20th which arrived today – and to send you two donations which have been handed to me for you to use in the Lord’s ser­vice. One note is from Sister ......... who told Brother Cyril she considered your papers the only ones she wanted to continue receiving. Also, the other is from a brother who for personal reasons wishes to remain anonymous.

We trust you are managing to cope amid present untoward experiences, and we pray the Lord’s continued blessing upon you and yours. Glad to say we are all reasonably well. With Christian love,

Yours by His Grace ------- (ENGLAND)

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Dear Brother Hoefle: Grace and peace in the Name of Jesus!

Thank you for your good letter of the 15th – also for the tracts which arrived in good order..........

World conditions are moving fast, yet it seems there are many things to be accom­plished before the Kingdom is established. God will make all things work out for good in due time.

Take care! God bless and keep you all and make all work out for good. In Jesus’ Name – Amen!

With Christian love to you and all ------- (CALIFORNIA)

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My very dear Brother & Sister Hoefle: Grace and peace through our Beloved Savior!

There is much work for me here, but I should have written you sooner........ However, every day I am thinking and praying for you; and with all my heart I am hoping this let­ter finds you in good health.

April 17 the Epiphany Bible Students celebrated the Memorial, with 17 brethren pres­ent, and 11 participating in the service – one from the LHMM.

Concerning the Passover, the leaders of the LHMM in France published a circular for a counter attack on our papers, with this order: “No communication to Mr. ------- ­(meaning “yours truly”) However, I managed to get one of the circulars. I was told by one brother with the LHMM: They are throwing out the teachings of Pastor Russell and Brother Johnson who taught that the Passover is a feast of the Spring and not of the Win­ter! There are some brethren in the LHMM who stay with them for one reason or another, but they “do not agree with the error of the LHMM, such as Basileia from 1954, Epiphany Campers Consecrated, etc.”

May our Heavenly Father continue to bless you and all in your labor of love......

Affectionately in Him, Your brother for eternity, ------- (BELGIUM)