NO. 326: "LATTER TIMES"

No. 326

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

Several requests have come to us asking that we treat on the present‑day hallucination of “familiar spirits,” such as Mediums, Seances, etc., and what our attitude toward such should be. In 1 Tim. 4:1, we have a prophecy of the condition so prevalent on all sides in these ‘latter times.’ “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” (See Berean Comments) And Paul further exhorts, “If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.” (v. 6) “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them; for in so doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” (v. 16)

And he gives us further warning of this “evil day” in 2 Tim. 3:1 ‑ “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.” The Apostle is here referring to the Household of Faith, and not to the world in general. But the “Time of Trouble” is upon the whole world when these “perilous times” come to the Lord’s people. “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” (v. 13, Dia.) – and it is especially for the protection of the fully faithful that these exhortations are given. “But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them.” (v. 14) The measurably faithful will partially succumb to the evils so prevalent in these ‘latter times’ – and the unfaithful will wholly succumb; they will lose their standing in the Household. “And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (2 Tim. 4:4)

FAITH HEALING – HYPNOSIS ETC.

Prominent and widely‑read magazines today are publicizing the practice of faith healing and hypnosis, with such captions as “HYPNOSIS – an Old Science” – “Out of Ancient Magic Comes New Medical Tool,” etc. So appealing has this teaching become that it has engulfed many members of the ministerial profession, with one prominent Evangelist observing: “Psychiatry is becoming so popular that psychiatrists are calling upon each other for help.” One line in a magazine says this: “The ‘modern’ minister is learning to obtain psychiatric help in handling deep‑seated problems.” One prominent minister in Washington, D. C., several years back, hanged himself in a high tower of his own chapel; and the news comment said “he had a nervous breakdown in 1948 and had been under treatment by a psychiatrist.” If the psychiatrist could not cure the preacher, just how much chance, think you, would the preacher have of curing his flock that came to him for counsel and solace?

In another instance a minister was asked: “Do you think it is wrong – or against God’s will – for man to seek out hidden powers like hypnosis,” etc.? The answer – “Certainly, it is not wrong, or against God’s will to develop all powers of the mind.” In contrast, hear Isa. 8:19 – “When they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: Should not a people seek unto their God?” And in Isa. 47:13,14: “Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. Behold, they shall be as stubble... They shall not deliver themselves.” Here is a clear inspired answer given about 3,000 years ago; and we consider it as sound today as it was then. The “art” was a “science falsely so‑called” at that time; and it is just as much the same today.

It is not that we are wholly against psychiatry – because we readily recognize that in some cases some good has been accomplished; and in the profession there are some honorable and well‑intentioned men. If a person can’t get help from his family, his physician, or his minister, then he has no other source, apparently, but to see a psychiatrist. In many cases a married couple needs the counsel of an outsider – and in such cases if the couple consults a good psychiatrist, then he can help them adjust their marital difficulties. Many times the family and friends are too close to the matter to be able to advise impartially; and if their minister is unable to cope with the situation, then a psychiatrist may be the answer to their problem. In the case of the Lord’s people who have the promise of the Lord’s help in their every time of need, it seems they should be able to rest in the blessed assurance of His promises – and “wait upon the Lord” in full assurance of faith. The Lord’s people are not promised an easy way out, but they are promised “Grace (favor) sufficient” to bear whatever difficulties they may have, if the Lord doesn’t see fit to remove these difficulties. So in the case of the Lord’s fully consecrated people, when they go to a psychiatrist as a last resort, it is certain that the Lord is not answering their prayers. He does abandon those who come to Him with the lips, without full faith. “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” Nor does it mean that those who are abandoned at such times, are not God’s children – but it does mean that the Lord has temporarily abandoned them until such time as they are able to come to Him with the full assurance of faith in His promises.

The Lord’s Truth people have been forewarned of this “evil day,” when spiritism, faith healing, hypnotism, etc., would be rampant – more so than at any time in history, and that more far‑reaching. We have only to glance at the newspapers and leading magazines to recognize that fact. All sorts of weird cults are springing up like mushrooms, details of which we shall not offer here; but just recently one in particular has engaged our attention because of the distress it has brought upon the parents of youths “in their late teens and early 20’s.”

Says one of them: “We’re convinced they’re victims of some form of mind manipulation, or why else their sudden change of behavior, wanting to destroy our institutions, not knowing or wanting us.” One girl who has been recovered from the situation has this to say: “When I was a member of the Children of God, I would feel one way, but, when I opened my mouth to speak, the opposite meaning would come out. I had eaten rotten food and hadn’t bathed in two weeks, yet I told another member that I had never been happier. When I said that, I thought to myself, Why am I saying that? I’M miserable.”

From the foregoing it is apparent that not all who become contaminated with such antitypical witchcraft (especially deceptive false teachings) are irreparably damned; and it is well we keep that in mind – to lend a helping hand whenever opportunity should arise.

“MY HELP COMETH FROM THE LORD” – Psalms 121:2

David had many trials – not only in his own family, but also from many other sources – yet he looked to the Lord for his help. This is not true of King Saul. At one time King Saul had been very zealous in eliminating “familiar spirits” in Israel, but after he had forsaken the Lord, and the Lord no longer heard his prayers, he himself went to the Witch of Endor. And that has been true in our times of antitypical Saul (Great Company leaders) during this Epiphany period. We know of one such case where a Great company leader went to a psychia­trist for his mental anguish when he became a manifested crown‑loser, The Lord had abandoned him in his trial time – something the Lord never does to the fully faithful.

That Wise and Faithful Servant was well alerted to the evils set out above; and, if his warnings were pertinent in 1909, how much more are they wise and sound counsel today:

“‘My help cometh from the Lord’… The text reminds us that those who need help and who realize it, should look to the Lord for it – not relying upon their own strength or wisdom, nor upon the assistance of their fellows. We are not to despise assistance from any quarter, but our chief reason for receiving any assistance should be our conviction that it has come from the Lord... We have the assurance of the Lord that there is but one place of safety at this time… under the shadow of the Almighty.” (Reprints 4311)

Then further on p. 4313: “Peter and John were God’s instruments in effecting an instan­taneous cure... The only power exercised was the power of faith on the part of the Apostles, for the healed, so far as we know, had no knowledge of Jesus... Nor should we understand the apostolic command, ‘look upon us,’ to mean the exercise of them of any hypnotic influence... Perhaps there never was a time in the world’s history when humanity manifested more desire for physical healing than today. Nor can we blame the poor groaning creation for desiring relief... Note the fact that some of the strong delusions are supported by their claim to relieve physical pain. This is the claim of Spiritism – that disease can be relieved through mediumistic powers, under another’s control... This is the claim of Christian Science, Mind Cure, Faith cure people, Divine Healers, etc. Some of these names are used merely as a cover and a pretense... The attitude of the public seems to be: Give us healing. Give us relief from our aches and pains. If it is of God, we are glad. If it is of the Adversary, as you claim, we still take it.

“Such great inroads have been made in the churches of all denominations by these mind cures, hypnotic cures, that ministers of all denominations are perplexed what to do... We do not dispute that cures are accomplished, nor that some of the theories and proceedings are legitimate enough. What we do claim is that the truth and rationality connected with all of them is the poison of the Adversary, the power of the fallen angels exercised in its most subtle form, namely, mental suggestion – hypnotism... The doctrine of ‘Peace, troubled soul!’ is certainly a good and wise one, particularly when based upon a Scriptural faith in Jesus... The spirit of restfulness and ‘peace with God,’ if built upon false doctrines and erroneous suggestions and hyp­notic influences, but hinders the soul from a proper approach to the Life‑Giver... Trouble will largely result from the intrusion of the evil spirits into human affairs, through the entanglement of human wills, weakened by Hypnotism. We warn all to be on guard against these modern miracle‑workers and we call attention to the fact that their operation is entirely different from anything recorded in the Scriptures.”

And from page 3181: “We are already passing into these very fires of this day of trial. We are already in the time when the wood, hay and stubble are being consumed, and when Higher Criticism, Evolutionary Theory, Christian Science, Hypnotism, under its own name and known as Mind Cures, etc., are devouring as a flame all that are not fully devoted to the Lord, and therefore, especially kept by His power through His Word and providence.”

KING SAUL AND THE PROPHET SAMUEL

That many of the Measurably Faithful do ignore this wise counsel is clear when we consider the type of their leaders – King Saul. His dis­obedience went from a small beginning to an extremity which caused his death. In 1 Sam. 13:8‑14 King Saul offered a burnt‑offering, contrary to Divine arrangement, and was reproved by the Prophet Samuel. Then in Chapter 15 we have the record of his gross disobedience and lying tongue when confronted once more by Samuel; and v. 23: “Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord He hath also rejected thee from being king.” “And the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul” (1 Sam. 16:14). In due course he sought the Witch of Endor; then his ignominious and disgraced death in battle – a tragic instance and a sober warning to all that “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” Here is perhaps the outstand­ing example in all Biblical history of a man one time loved of God – “a choice young man and of noble appearance... not a man in Israel more noble than he” – who went from nothing to the very highest pinnacle in Israel; then back to nothing again – with his end much worse than if he had remained “little in his own sight” (1 Sam. 15:17), had never become king in Israel.

Then there is his pathetic pleading in v. 30 ‑ “Honour me now before the elders of my people” – the Lord’s favor gone, the kingdom to be taken from him in disgrace, he implores Samuel yet once more for that very empty and most fragile of possessions, “the praise of men.” But even this was denied him in the end, an end perpetrated by his own hand with his own sword – opportunity sublime (“the pearl of great price”) ignominiously and willfully desecrated. King Saul is a type of the Measurably Faithful (the Great Company) leaders from early in the third century until Armageddon. (See E‑14:5) These Measurably Faithful brethren, like King Saul, profess they are fully faithful ‑ insist they have done no wrong: “Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord” (1 Sam. 15:20). And this hypocritical profession has often deceived the brethren and others, but they have never fooled the Lord.

“OUR FRAME – WE ARE DUST” (Psa. 103:14)

Man has four physiological qualities, of which we may sometime write in a future article; but for now we shall consider briefly his four appetites, the first and most compelling being the Alimentative – the desire for food and drink; second, the Procreative – the affinity for the opposite sex; third, the Acquisitive – the urge to buy, sell and get gain, to lay house to house and field to field; fourth, the Religious the desire to worship a higher being. The extremes of the Alimentative are the glutton and the ascetic, the drunkard and the teetotaler; of the Procreative, the extremes are the pervert and the celibate; of the Acquisitive the extremes are the miser and the spendthrift; of the Religious the extremes are the spiritualist and the gross materialist. The variations between these extremes are legion, so that the truth is well given, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psa. 139:13) – a truth primarily applicable to the Christ Company, but true also of man as a physical organism. All lower mammals have the first two of these appetites; some of them have the third; but none of them have the fourth ‑ none of them have any urge to worship a Divine Being.

Companion to the foregoing is the premise that the human head has seven distinct features, five of which are to be found in the lower mammals – two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, one mouth, one skin, these functioning to produce the five senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. None of the lower animals have any chin, the possession of which by man lends a certain distinction and strength to his face – even among the very ordinary human beings. Then the seventh feature is mental ‑ the spiritual and benevolent qualities, which give man his Religious appetite. In none of the brutes do we find this quality; and in some human beings it is so lacking that it is impossible for them to exercise faith under the reign of evil (2 Thes. 3:2); but we should expect to find it predominant and increasing in strength in the Lord’s Household ‑among the fully faithful.

With such myriad of combinations, mentally and physically, we are able to understand more clearly the words of Jer. 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” But, having arrived at a certain sound foundation in the foregoing paragraphs, we should be the better enabled to understand the full meaning of the “spirit of a sound mind.” If any should have eye trouble, they seek out an oculist – a specialist; if they have other various physical ills, they should consult a Doctor of medicine if drugs are indicated; or one skilled in physical therapy and the like if drugs are not needed. This all seems simple enough to us; but why shouldn’t the formula he followed if one has mental distress? If the disturbance comes from physical failure, then have the proper physical practitioner attend it. But, if it be purely a mental deflection – distress of mind, etc. – then the child of God should just as readily seek those best qualified to help him – the same being the Mouthpieces of God, or their teachings, or those of lesser prominence who are qualified for the task. Note the advice of the Apostle in James 5:14,15: “If any one among you is sick, let him call for the elders of the congregation, and let them pray over him... and the prayer of faith shall save the sick person” – morally or spiritually weak. (See Berean Comments)

Psychology, Psychiatry, and such like, are high‑sounding words that carry a certain appeal to the “unstable and the unlearned”; but let us analyze them a bit. “Psychology” means the doctrine of understanding life or soul. Now just how well qualified is a Psychologist to treat the soul when he does not even know what the soul is? Would we think to call in a carpenter if the furnace is out of order? Or a plumber if the electric lights are out? And should the Lord’s people seek after those with “familiar spirits,” necromancers, or hawkers of hocus‑pocus, when the prescription is clearly outlined in the Scriptures? It is well stated, “You can always tell a man from Yale; but you can’t tell him much “ It is reported that one in every ten persons in the United States today is a mental case of some kind. That means about twenty million of them in this country alone. And many of those who attempt to qualify to treat such cases must themselves resort to others of their kind to receive help for themselves. Consider the tragic case of the minister related earlier in this paper: He ignored the Word he had vowed to teach others, thus coming to ruin himself. Yet he was being paid well, to supply to the members of his congregation what he could not supply for himself. How many, think you, would receive the “peace of God which passeth understanding” from such ministry? And of the crownlost leaders – especially those who claim to understand Present Truth – who are forced to seek out a psychiatrist, what should we expect of them? The answer seems simple enough – to us, at least: we should expect only “an energy of delusion for them.” (2 Thes.2:11)

Science – Christianity: – Without reservation, we are wholeheartedly at one with the science of Christianity. Science is “classification of facts,” says Webster; and the “facts” of Christianity are indeed “meat and drink” to us. But we are equally averse to “science falsely so‑called.” (1 Tim. 6:20) By the same rule, we are in complete accord with sound effort to influence the minds of others; and St. Paul gives precedent for this in his effort to influence the minds of the brethren at Philippi: “Whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, any virtue, any praise, think on these things.” If any think on such things, he is certain to be blessed with the “spirit of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7) – he will possess the real science of Christianity – nor is he likely to incur the “woe” of those who “go down to Egypt (type of this “present evil world”) for help” (Isa. 31:1). But those who do “go down to Egypt for help” will not be admonished to seek the “sound doctrine,” the Truth – the “true, honest, just,” etc.; they are‑more likely to receive a balm for “itching ears” – to be told what they want to hear, rather than what they should hear.

The following is a quotation from That Servant, as given on page 2629 of the Reprints:

QUESTION: – The world is full of aches and pains, diseases, and naturally we look about us for relief. You have already expressed your judgment that the cures effected by Christian Scientists and Spiritualists are probably produced by improper spiritual influences, although exercised to some extent at least in harmony with natural laws. I desire now to inquire respecting cures by hypnotism, and still other cures by so‑called magnetic healers. What shall we think of these, and will it be proper for the Lord’s consecrated people to avail themselves of such means for attaining health?

ANSWER: – We feel suspicious of magnetic and mental healing. In our judgment they in many instances are allied with or related to hypnotism; yet it is particularly difficult to draw the line here, because we all know that there is such a thing as a legitimate mental influence which we all exercise upon one another, favorably or unfavorably. We know, for instance, that hope and faith, love and joy, are healing and helpful influences whether exercised by our own minds upon our own bodies, or upon others. In this proper sense of the word every child of God possessing the spirit of love, the spirit of a sound mind, is a mental healer, and a heart healer, a wound healer; wherever he or she may be, the influence will be uplifting, comforting, strengthening to good impulses. If therefore the Lord’s consecrated ones visit the sick, their presence should be a refreshment, comforting, cheering and helpful, and so much the more if they carry in their hearts and communicate with their lips the exceeding great and precious promises of our Father’s Word. With this much of mental healing we are most thoroughly in accord.

“But Christian Science, Mind Healing and Magnetic Healing, running upon this same line, seem to carry it to an extreme ‑ in the case of Christian Science to the extreme of lying to oneself and believing the lie, and thus gradually becoming a liar, self‑deceived and deceiving others in respect to all of life’s affairs. We cannot believe that any course so opposed to that which the Scriptures mark out can be of God, nor can we believe that the cures it at time effects are either natural or of God; we can only suppose, therefore, that the Adversary favors this lying and deceiving process to the intent that he may beguile the mind through further lies and deceptions far from God and the truth.

“Magnetic Healing is more on the order of hypnotic healing; that is to say, the magnetic healer gains a control over the mind of his subject which is somewhat akin to the control gained by mesmerists and hypnotists, and akin to the spirit control of spiritualism over its mediums. We can have no sympathy with anything of this kind, for even if we were satisfied that the power of control was merely a human power and not a Satanic one (and we are not satisfied of this), we cannot feel that it is right for one human being to subject his mind, his will, to another, when the evidences prove that every such subjection decreases his will power and places the subject more and more in the position of a slave or machine, subject to the influence or control of others – breaking down his personality.

“The Lord’s people are admonished to make such a submission of their minds to the Lord, and no one else; and we are confident that the Lord will take no advantage of us under such conditions, to rob us of any good quality. On the whole, then, we urge the Lord’s people to be on guard against mind healers, etc., especially where, as in the case of Christian Science, the mind is to be given up to believe a lie (pain is merely a mental delusion), or in the case of hypnotism, it is to be given up or subjected entirely to another. Our minds are our greatest possession, and are to be given only to the Lord and to each other as directed by the Word of the Lord; and if we cannot have health without violating these principles, we can afford to be without the health for the few more days that remain under the present conditions, knowing that by and by, if faithful to the Lord, we shall have the perfect resurrection bodies promised.”

Thus, it is clear enough that the good that can and does come from a good cultivation of the mind has been badly sullied by the many perversions that have appeared during this Epiphany period; and we may reasonably expect much more of the same yet before the New Day fully dawns. All of this has a definite purpose, we may be sure; the Epiphany is the time for “making manifest the counsels of hearts” – revealing persons, principles and things, separating the true from the false. We are in “the evil day.” In the great harvest parable of Matt. 13:30, Jesus said, “Gather ye first together the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; then bring together the wheat into my granary.” (See Diaglott)

The binding of the tares was well accomplished by 1914, and we were all impressed with the truth that “Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest.” (Josh. 3:15) The River Jordan being a type of the curse, we should logically expect all manner of evil to be rampant, as the released erstwhile “spirits in prison” carried on their deadly work. These are the same “four winds of heaven that strove upon the great sea” (Dan. 7:2) – just as they are the “four winds of the earth” in Rev. 7:1 that are “restrained by the four angels” (the messengers of wrath) until the due time to bring about the great war of 1914. Some have mistakenly thought that the “four angels” of this text are the demons; but it should be kept in mind that the fallen angels are nowhere in the Scriptures ever called angels after their antediluvian transgression. They are the “four winds,” “demons,” – “spirits in prison,” etc., but never referred to as angels after the great flood.

“TRYING THE SPIRITS”

The ‘seducers’ of this our day are telling us to visit these seances, spirit mediums, etc., as we are heeding God’s word to “try the spirits” by so doing. In John 4:1, the text they refer to says – “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” There is no intimation that the Apostle is advising us to “try spiritism” – no record of any of the Apostles seeking out “familiar spirits” to try them to see whether they were of God. They knew they were not of God; they knew such a course was a forbidden path for the Lord’s people. And the Lord’s people today who “continue in His Word” know they are not to tamper with such seducing spirits. The “spirits” in this text refer to teachings, and the clear thought of the Apostle John is that we are to try the teachings that are presented to us – whether they be truth or error.

Over the centuries the pseudo pastors and teachers in Babylon have played upon the "itching ears” – just as have the politicians – by telling them what they want to hear. And what is it that people desire above all things? That they will not die’ So they are told they don’t actually die; they just appear to be dead. Even the Chaldean soothsayers employed the technique on Nebuchadnezzar: “Of king, live forever.” (Dan. 2:4) On rare occasions even “the father of lies” tells the truth; and he came pretty close to telling the truth in Job 2:4: “All that a man hath will he give for his life.” Nor has “Millions Now Living Will Never Die” (thee teaching of the Jehovah’s Witnesses), or survival through Armageddon, been devoid of appeal; it explains in large part the great increase in adherents of the group that promises such. And a close approach is made to this in the promise that “Campers Consecrated” may live right on into the Millennial Kingdom.

 But the real science of Christianity has never been popular. Jesus was crucified because of it; and Paul became the enemy of erstwhile brethren “because I tell you the truth.” (Gal. 4:16) All the Star Members have had the same experience; and we are witness of it especially as respects the last two of them. Therefore, we need “think it not strange” if the same experiences come to us. About the last thing the multitude wishes to hear is the Truth. Of this fact Jesus was well aware, as he offered the observation, “When the Son of Man cometh, will He find the faith (the Truth) in the earth?” When controversy arises, the truth usually comes forth ‑ and the Truth is the last thing false teachers and their partisan supporters wish to hear. The words of Mal. 3:15 are especially applicable in this “evil day”: “Now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.”

“THE SPIRIT OF POWER AND A SOUND MIND”

In 2 Tim. 1:7 we have the inspired assurance that “God did not give us a cowardly spirit, but one of Power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (Dia.) And St. Paul tells us in v. 6 that this Holy Spirit is a “gift of God” which we should not fail to “stir up” in ourselves and in others of like precious faith. To the fully faithful, there is the sure promise of the “peace of God which passeth understanding”; whereas, to the unfaithful and measurably faithful there is also the affliction of a “cowardly spirit.” Such shall “flee when none pursueth,” and “have sorrow of heart” (Lev. 26:16,17).

It should be kept clearly in mind that the condition of these various classes is purely a state of mind; the “spirit of power” is will power – mental power, and not physical brawn. And the fully faithful who have this “spirit of power” have the same blessed assurance as did St. Paul himself: “I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me.” To the unbelieving world such a statement from Paul would almost certainly cause smiles, and even ridicule. After he had received this “spirit of power” he had changed his name from Saul to Paul. It will be recalled that Saul, the first king of Israel, was head and shoulders above his fellows; thus, parents of that time would readily accept the name as a popular one for their sons, their hope being that their offspring would also “from the shoulders and upward be taller than any of the people.” (1 Sam. 9:2) But Saul of Tarsus came to manhood just the reverse of such hopes. He was a very small man, ascetic in appearance, frail of body, with a head much too large for the physique that supported it; and probably with a nose too large for his abnormally large head. Now it will be seen why he changed his name from Saul to Paul ‑ Paul meaning “little one.” His mental brilliance and unusually forceful and logical thinking ‑ coupled with the “spirit of power, and of love” – gave him a “sound mind” that invariably crushed all gainsayers. But it was these superb mental qualities that made him a “savor of life unto life” to many; and not in any physical, masculine appeal, so that those not “of the Truth” would find in him no attraction, but rather the reverse.

We have offered the foregoing in the hope it may be a firm and sound foundation for all who are seeking to “follow in His steps” and desire the “spirit of a sound mind.” The pronounced trend of our times throughout Christendom, and even among many Truth people, is to forsake the formula that gave to St. Paul his mental strength; and seek rather the shady consolation of such as have “familiar spirits,” despite the clear instruction that such a course is forbidden. “Do not turn to mediums, nor make search for oracles, to render yourselves unclean with them.” (Lev. 19:31, Rotherham) It is our fond hope that what has been written will bless and strengthen all those who are “of the truth.”

“All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep His covenant and His testimonies” (Psa. 25:10); and “Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.” (Eph. 6:24)

Reprint of No. 203, May 1, 1972

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

LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Brother Hoefle: Greetings in the love and fellowship of the Harvest Message!

I am writing a letter to ask you to give me a short history of yourself, as a Bible Student. Somehow I got you connected with P.S.L Johnson and Brother Jolly, but I may be mistaken on this, and I would like to become better acquainted with you.

My mother made her full consecration in 1914 after seeing the Photo Drama of Creation in Sedro‑Woolley, Washington at the Dream Theatre. I was 11 years old at the time and enjoyed the Drama. A few years later I made a full consecration and have recognized the Pastor as “That Servant” and he has been my Pastor all these years. I will be 79 the 19th of May, I am not identified with any organization and try to serve the Truth and the brethren as outlined in the Scriptures in our Pastor’s writings. Just now (1982 is the 13th year) I am quite busy with Discourse Service and have about 250 on the mailing list. I am enclosing a self‑addressed envelope for your reply to this letter.

Sincerely in Christ, ------- (WASHINGTON)

…………………………………..

Dear Brother Hoefle: Christian greetings!

Once more we have been spared to see the opening of another year ... in the many blessings received from our just, loving and wise Creator – notwithstanding the many obstacles, or failures, we learn by them as our Lord did. We still look forward for many more chastenings if necessary by our loving Father. He knows to fit the burdens to the back and the back to the burdens, making it all work together for good to our eternal glory.....

Your last letter is at hand and its contents noticed though with some regret, but the Father’s will is best, and that should be accepted. I daily pray for your renewed strength, spiritually and otherwise – also for the Bible House Family. With fond love for you and the Bible House family. Yours by His Grace, ------- (JAMAICA)

…………………………………….

Dear Hoefle Family:

Just finished binding the March‑April papers after reading them several times. Every sentence is full of information – no wasted words! No wonder our mother was anxious for every copy to arrive. I can see her sitting in the porch swing with her Bible and papers absorbing every word. They are all just wonderful’ and you make everything so clear – although we know much of it you bring it into focus more clearly, as some of the Truth may have been somewhat dimmed. But your comments make us remember we have heard it before. It is comforting to read every copy and when I open these big binders to add copies, I find I want to read them all over again.

Was shocked to read the letter from the Jamaica sister and her experience with a would‑be burglar – and the precautions she had to take with her windows. It brings the coming trouble closer to home.

The wind has caused many trees to be blown down, and David has to go around all the fields to pick up the branches before he can do any farm work. But it has been so wet he has not been able to get to it.....

Trusting you all are fairly well and able to do the necessary daily chores in spite of the infirmities. May the Lord’s blessing be with you all.

Christian love, ------- (OHIO)

NO. 325: TAKE, MY BRETHREN, THE PROPHETS - PART TWO

No. 325

Jeremiah, ­– member of a priestly family (Jer. 1:1) in the land of Benjamin, has his writing placed in the Bible immediately following that of Isaiah; and is one of the four major prophets. One writer refers to him as “The greatest of the prophets”; but some may dispute that. However, we consider it a very fair appraisal to consider him as one of the greatest of prophets. His daughter Hammutal was the wife of King Josiah; thus he would probably have had free access to the very elite of Judah’s society.

However, this proximity to Judah’s uppercrust gave him ready and accurate appraisal of their vices and virtues. And in the broad sense the vices were much more reprehen­sible than were the virtues worthy of praise. A prophet in Judah, this placed him in the very delicate position of openly condemning the social abuses that were so glaringly ap­parent. And his “lamentation” of those failings earned for him the epithet of The Wail­ing Prophet.

Thus, it may be in order here to quote from another writer, not specifically about Jeremiah, but applying to his general situation: “It is difficult to conceive any situa­tion more painful than that of a great man, condemned to watch the lingering agony of an exhausted country, to tend it during the alternate fits of stupefaction and raving which precede its dissolution, and to see the symptoms of vitality disappear one by one, till nothing is left but coldness, darkness, and corruption.”

He predicted the downfall of the smaller kingdom of Judah, similar to the one that had befallen the larger one – Israel – 133 years prior to that then slowly coming upon Judah. Concerning Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, Ezekiel had written: “Thou profane wicked prince of Israel (then called Judah), whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end. Thus saith the Lord God: Remove the diadem, and take off the crown; this shall not be the same; ... I will overturn, overturn, overturn it; and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it to him.” (Ezek. 21:25-27)

It is our understanding that the above prophecy applies to the time in which we have been living since 1914. It is telling us in another way what is recorded in the picture in 1 Kgs. 19:11,12: There the “wind,” the “earthquake,” and the “fire” represent three “overturnings,” as stated in the above. They are the three convulsions that will remove present institutions to make way for “Him whose right it is” – the Kingdom of our Lord, which He promised in the words: “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”

CONDITIONS PREVAILING IN THE PROPHET’S DAY

The conditions of that time are very ably stated by the historians, of which we shall quote a few: “The temple was polluted with idolatry ( 2 Chron. 36:14), and justice was not executed (Jer. 21:11,12). A strong party in the state, assisted by false prophets, urged the king to throw off the foreign yoke (ch. 27:12-22). At the beginning of Zede­kiah’s reign (v. 1, R.V. – margin) messengers from Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon came to him in Jerusalem to plan a united revolt from the king of Babylon; but Jeremiah was divinely instructed to condemn the purpose (vs. 2-11). Zedekiah sent an embassy to Neb­uchadnezzar, probably to assure the great king of his fidelity (ch. 29:3), and in his fourth year he himself visited Babylon (ch. 51:59). Ultimately he was rash enough to rebel. On the 10th day of the 10th month, in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, the Babylonian monarch took post against Jerusalem, and began to erect forts around the city. It was too strong to be taken by assault; and the Babylonians held it in siege.

“The advance of the Egyptians compelled the Babylonians to withdraw for a time (Jer. 37:5), but they soon returned. By the ninth day of the fourth month in the llth year of Zedekiah’s reign, the food in the beleaguered capital was exhausted. That night Zede­kiah, with all the men of war, secretly quitted the stronghold and, passing as noiseless­ly as possible between the Babylonian forts, fled in an easterly direction toward the Jordan. On learning that the king was gone, the Babylonian army pursued and overtook him in the plain of Jericho. He was brought a prisoner to Nebuchadnezzar, who had retired to Riblah, a little north of Palestine. There, after he had been tried and condemned, his sons were put to death in his presence, and his own eyes were put out; after which he was bound in fetters, carried to Babylon (2 Kgs. 24:17-20; 25:1-7; 2 Chron. 36:11­21; Jer. 39:1-14), and put in prison till the day of his death (Jer. 52:11). Jeremiah prophesied during the whole of Zedekiah’s reign. Zedekiah was the last king of Judah; thus, we have first-hand information of what the situation was at that time.”

Now, from another writer: “The corrupt religion and the moral degeneracy of the last days of the Judean kingdom are strikingly portrayed (Ezek. 8:11,22). It appears that almost from the first Zedekiah was restive under the Babylonian yoke. Jeremiah warned him not to participate in a coalition of neighboring states against his overlord (Jer. . 27). Possibly it was these activities which brought him under suspicion and necessitated his visit to Babylon (Jer. 51:59). The pro-Egyptian party was in the ascen­dancy at the court. Under its influence Zedekiah openly rebelled. This was not merely an act of political suicide, it was a flagrant violation of the oath of loyalty to Neb­uchadnezzar which the king had sworn in the name of YAHWEH (Ezek. 17).

“The essential weakness of Zedekiah’s character appears in his occasional consulta­tions with Jeremiah during the course of the siege (Jer. 21:1-7; 38:14-28) and his treatment of the prophet (Jer. 37:17-21; 38:1-13). Granted that he was surrounded by a group of worthless advisers, Ezekiel’s description of him as the deadly wounded wicked one, the prince of Israel (Ezek. 21:25, R.V.) is not over severe when we consider his perfidious conduct is remembered (Jer. 34:8-22).”

Jeremiah was called to the prophetic office by a vision. He was young at the time, and humbly felt his immaturity and inexperience and inability to speak to men. “Then said I, Ah, Lord God behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child ... But the Lord said un­to me, Say not, I am a child, for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee... I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense to other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.” (Jer. 1:6 ....16)

The opinion is expressed that Jeremiah was probably about twenty years old when the Lord called him to the prophet ministration; and we may well imagine his trepidation at that age, knowing the wayward and domineering bent of the Jewish aristocracy at that time. Moses was eighty years old when the Lord told him to go to Egypt and deliver His people from bondage. The Lord’s instruction to Jeremiah, were to root out, overthrow and de­stroy with one hand, but to plant and build with the other. He was well aware of the violent opposition that would be his from princes, priests and most of the people. He began to prophecy in the 13th year of the reign of Josiah; and continued his efforts to the full end of Zedekiah at the overthrow of the Jewish polity – in all about 41 years.

Like so many of God’s messengers, false charges were hurled at him. His predictions were discouraging the Jewish soldiers and encouraging the enemy. On one occasion, when he wished to visit his hometown of Anathoth, they accused him of deserting to the Chaldeans.

SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN JUDAH AT THAT TIME

The religious reform of Hezekiah’s time had been followed by a terrible reaction in the reign of Manasseh. “He built altars for all the host of Heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord” (2 Chron. 33:5), he set up an idol in the Temple itself and dedicated his sons to Moloch (typical of Satan and eternal torment) by making them pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom. His subsequent repentance, as re­corded in the books of Chronicles, seems to have come too late to have much permanent effect upon the ordering of the kingdom, and no improvement was likely under such a man as his son Amon showed himself to be during his brief reign.

That was the state of affairs when Josiah came to the throne. The land was then recovering from the effects of the frequent and destructive attacks of the Assyrian mon­archs, and its continued rest in the earlier years of Josiah was in itself favorable to the plans of that king for the country’s moral and spiritual welfare. With good advis­ers in Ahikam, Hilkiah and others, and with a nation probably more than half weary of idolatry and its attendant evils – even before the alarm was sounded by the discovery of the lost Book of the Law, it was an opportunity not to be neglected for an attempt at the revival of religion such as Josiah undertook. And yet the reformation, as in the time of Hezekiah, seems not to have penetrated much below the surface. Pretty much an act of outward show! And Jeremiah was told to protest openly about the condition of the people, of the prevalence of dishonesty, of open licentiousness, of murder, adultery, false swear­ing, was such that there was great need for one who might convict the Jews of their sins, and arouse them to the requirements of the Divine Law.

There is no record to inform us if Jeremiah ever attended the schools of the proph­ets that began with Samuel and existed at Ramah, Bethel, Jericho, Gilgal, and elsewhere. Those schools corresponded in some respects to our Theological Seminaries, the chief subjects being a study of the Law, music and sacred poetry. It would seem that Jere­miah was prepared for his work by the instruction and associations he received at Ana­thoth and the priestly members of his own family; and was directly called by God to open­ly expose the disobedient Jews. When we consider all this, the man Jeremiah looms great­er at every record of him.. The discovery of the Book of the Law a few years after God had called him – but before he vitally entered upon his life’s work – undoubtedly created quite a stir in his native town, as we know it did in Jerusalem.

Whether that Book contained all of the five books of Moses as we now have them, we cannot know, but it would have almost certainly included the graphic pictures contained in Deut. 28, which reveals the punishments that were to follow neglect of the Lord God and the subsequent lapse into idolatry. That book made a profound impression upon Jere­miah, and he refers and quotes copiously from those writings in his own declarations; and the solemn covenant entered into by the nation (2 Kgs. 23:3) must have affected deep­ly his mind and heart. “The king went up into the house of the Lord ... and all the people both small and great; and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the Lord. And the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments and all the people stood in the covenant.” These solemn words and the no less signifi­cant acts that followed, contrasted as they were with the state of wickedness which ex­isted around the prophet, wrought upon his mind that effect, which God employed as the means of calling forth his declarations of impending woe, and thus making him the typi­cal prophet of sorrow ( the “Wailing Prophet”), and a derivative from his name (jeremiad) a synonym of lamentation.

It was under such circumstances as these that the actual call occurred, and in a form evidently altogether unlooked for. It did not come to him in the shape of a vision of the Divine Majesty as to Isaiah (chap. 6), or of the mysterious living creatures and “wheels within wheels” such as came to Ezekiel (which we hope to discuss in a later paper), but without startling symbol or ecstatic trance the command was received. And the youth shrank from the prospect – as well might any of us have done under similar circumstances, not from fear of the innocent blood which the Jews “shed very much,” but from honest dis­trust of his own power (“I am a child”) to assume leadership and deal boldly and success­fully with the evils of the day, of gaining a hearing and producing an impression by the power of his language joined to the solemn import of his message.

How we are reminded here of the same condition that Moses plead regarding what the Lord told him to do – go to Egypt and deliver God’s people from Egyptian bondage; “I am not eloquent, but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.” (Ex. 4:10) However. the Lord reassured him, touched his mouth (“Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth I have put my words in thy mouth.”) (Jer. 1:9), and sent him forth as His prophet unto the nations. Then Jeremiah boldly addressed himself to the impurity and crime he saw around him. He condemned the worship of Baal and Astarte, and the unholy pleasures to which that worship ministered (the “iniquity” of the Amalekites and revolt­ing manner of the Philistines). The example of those nations round about stimulated the Jews to break through all restraint; and the sacrifice of their children to Moloch was merely the attempt of an alarmed conscience to atone for their crimes. The prophet told them that the restoration of the temple and the celebration of the Passover would avail them nothing so long as their hearts remained as foul as they were before these gestures. His “rising early and speaking” clearly exposed him to “reproach and derision daily.” (Jer. 20:8) Even the men of Anathoth sought the life of this “home-town boy,” and they dealt treacherously with him. (12:6) “A man of strife and of contention to the whole earth I have neither lent on usury, nor have man lent to me on usury; yet every one of them doth curse me.” (15:10)

The favor of the court was no longer on the side of the godly. Jeremiah thus ex­tended himself to condemn the king’s own glorification and neglect of the worship of God. The prophet stressed real, and not pretended service, which exasperated the priests and false prophets by the very truth of the charges which he brought. So they condemned his ‘disloyalty,’ and demanded his death. He answered that his message was not his own, for “The Lord sent me to prophecy against this house, and against this city.” (26:11,12)

And he continued to declare the signs of the times, and to maintain opposition to those who still advocated alliance with Egypt as against Babylon, because he said the latter would certainly prevail. He said that all these lands would be given into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the “servant” of God. He demonstrated his statements by the breaking of a potter’s clay vessel in the valley of Hinnom in the presence of the priests, which excited their wrath all the more against him, as they prophesied lies in the name of the Lord. This brought upon Jeremiah ignominious treatment, and some imprisonment for a time.

PARTIAL VINDICATION

About that tine the first and partial fulfillment of his prophecies came concern­ing the supremacy to be asserted by Babylon. In the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign Nebuchadnezzar smote the army of Pharaoh-nechoh in Carchemish. He then advanced into Palestine, driving many of its inhabitants to seek refuge within the walls of Jerusalem. Among such were the Rechabites, which was the occasion of the interview that the prophet had with them, and from which he pointed a moral to his countrymen (Chapter 35). Neb­uchadnezzar advanced to Jerusalem, and carried away Daniel and others, as well as ves­sels from the Temple, to Babylon (2 Chron. 36:6,7; Dan. 1:1) Nebuchadnezzar was then in charge of the army, and probably would have taken more positive steps against Judea had not word come to him of his father’s illness, which caused him to return hastily to secure his succession to the throne.

The Jews failed to profit by the warning which God had thus given them; but Jeremiah, hidden to avoid the wrath of the king, sent his friend Baruch with a roll to be read in the Temple on a solemn feast day – in the ears of all the people. Hear­ing of this, the king ordered the roll to be read to him and had it burned – in spite of the protest of some of the princes. Whereupon Jeremiah had Baruch to write another roll with the words of the first, plus many more words that were added by the prophet ­a rebuke to the king and further statements of God’s coming vengeance.

Jeremiah and Baruch considered it unsafe to return to Jerusalem, so they hid in the hole of a rock near the river Euphrates; and the king received no more warnings, although the Chaldeans had probably not yet returned to the siege. The Jews submitted, and paid tribute to them for three years, money which the king desired to expend upon his own luxuries and pleasures. He was attacked by a conglomerous horde of Chaldeans and others. In this the king was killed, and was given an ignominious burial. His body was cast out and exposed, dragged away, received the burial of an ass beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

Then Jehoiachin was set up by Nebuchadnezzar, reigned but three months, after which the city being besieged, he yielded himself to Nebuchadnezzar. The king, the treasures of the Temple and the king’s house, were taken to Babylon, where Jehoiachin spent thirty-six years in prison, after which Evil-Merodach, son and successor to Neb­uchadnezzar, released him. Jeremiah makes but passing comment about his reign. (22:24­30)

Next came Zedekiah, who differed much from Jehoiachin. He was weak, and inclined to submit to Nebuchadnezzar, in accordance with Jeremiah’s advice. But he had no real zeal for the service of God, vacillating in disposition, listening alternately to Jere­miah, then to those princes that advocated resistance to Babylon, the latter advising alliance with Egypt, or single-handed resistance. Jeremiah’s condemnation of the bad advice is shown in many places, but we shall quote just one: “Thus saith the Lord ... Pharaoh’s army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt ... and the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire.” (Jer. 37:7,8)

All the best and worthiest part of the nation had already been carried away captive, and the prophet had told them that the “naughty figs” would shortly be consumed from off the land. Jeremiah also wrote to those Jews who had already been made captive – they should submit to their captivity, and await restoration to their land. But a false prophet (Shemaiah) sought to stir up the people of Jerusalem against Jeremiah, accusing him of being “a madman.” In the ninth year of Zedekiah the wealthiest people, who had made slaves of their brethren, consented under pressure to release them. But at the departure of the besieging Chaldeans they reversed their decision. Zedekiah was too weak to oppose this latter course, but Jeremiah denounced it in the strongest of terms. Then the self-reliant irreligious men were much displeased with the prophet, and, upon manufactured charges, had him put into prison; but after “many days” was released by Zedekiah, who then gave him a daily supply of food, (Jer. 37:21), after which he spoke of brighter days to come. But the captains did not believe him, and seized him again.

At that time each house in Jerusalem had a cistern for storing up water to be used in the dry season. Into one of these, damp and slimy as it was, they lowered the proph­et, but he was eventually rescued by an Ethiopian eunuch. The prophet then held conference with the King and others, but to no avail; and in Zedekiah’s eleventh year the city was sacked, the temple burned; and Zedekiah and his leaders were given horrible treat­ment – as explained previously.

As for Jeremiah, the captain of the guard received a special charge from Nebuchad­nezzar concerning him – he had his choice of remaining under the new governor of Judea, or living under an honorable captivity at Babylon. He chose to remain in Judea; and a friendly family took him in; but the head of that house was murdered in a few months. Jeremiah emphatically warned the people not to go down to Egypt, of the misery that would befall them. However, the expectation of security from war and famine prevailed, and they forced Jeremiah to accompany them; and from Tahpanhes, a town near the eastern border of Egypt, there is the last information we have of his life. He there declared that Nebuchadnezzar’s throne would be set up at the entry of Pharaoh’s house (Jer. 32: 10).

He made one last protest against the idolatry of his countrymen, and their wanton worship of the moon – “the queen of heaven” (Jer. 44:17-25) – the “woman” in the moon being regarded as the resurrected diabolical Semiramis, whom we have described in pre­vious papers. The Bible does not give us a record of Jeremiah’s death, he being de­scribed by scholars as one of the greatest – if not the greatest – of the historical and literary prophets. In misery and continual peril of death, he had witnessed the fall of the Jewish state and destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, and eventually oc­cupied the silent tomb of an alien land. Tradition has it that he was stoned to death.

SUMMATION

The history of this great man of God would not be complete if we did not offer the opinions of some sound and reliable writers concerning him: Jeremiah is personally the most interesting to us of all the prophets because, unlike the others, he shows us the inmost recesses of his mind. The various qualities which made up the man are quickly and easily gathered from his own lips. There is hardly a clearer illustration of the Providence of God in raising up men for special sorts of work than is afforded by Jere­miah. We have just seen that they were no ordinary times in which he lived. ‘The snake’ of idolatry had been ‘scotched not killed’ by Hezekiah and Josiah. The spirit of disobedience and rebellion, which had been so long working in his countrymen, was now past remedy by all common means. Nothing but the nation’s total overthrow, at least for a time, could effect a radical cure.

Glowing appeals, such as had been made by an Isaiah, a Hosea, a Micah in former days would now have been of no avail. Those prophets had fulfilled their task, and the Holy Spirit had employed their special gifts for the work which belonged to their age. Jere­miah’s office on the other hand was to utter and reiterate the warning, though sensible all the while that the sentence of condem­nation was passed and would speedily be put into execution. It was not for him as for those who had preceded him to proclaim the certain­ty of God’s protection, to urge resistance to the foe, to present scarce any but bright pictures of the future. Hopes like these, bestowed through Isaiah, and since been for­feited, and now hardly anything remains save to mourn the downfall of the kingdom to point again and yet again to the canker that had eaten out the vitals of the nation.

Such a task as this demanded one who, however weak in body, should be a man of rare courage, unterrified by popular clamor or princely disfavor, fixed in resolve, and thoroughly devoted to the ascertained will of God. He needed not natural gifts of oratory. His work was not to persuade, but rather to testify, to express the thoughts of the few remaining pious ones of the nation, not to gain the ear or influence the hearts of the abandoned crowd. The wearing effect of constant failure, the intense pain of seeing his nation advance step by step on the road to its overthrow, his powerlessness to avert the evils which he saw impending, the hostility and abuse which it was his daily lot to bear from those whom he sought to warn, a solitary life and prohibition of marriage (Jer. 16: 2) – these required as a counterpoise a heroic spirit that should not shrink from the encounter, as well as ceaseless devotion to Him whose commission he had borne even from the womb. (chap. 1:6)

And yet he was naturally of a shy and timid disposition, shrinking from public life, deprecating all possibility of prophesying in God’s name. And after he had entered upon his work, his naturally desponding mind would suggest not only that the message he bore was a sad one, but that he had not received the proofs – the credentials which marked a true prophet – such as were granted to his predecessors. No miracle was wrought to at­test his words. No prediction was fulfilled with speed, so as to indicate the solidity of his claims. On the contrary “the word of the Lord was a reproach to him, and a de­rision daily.”

At times he seems to have well-nigh despaired not only of success but of life it­self. “Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of con­tention to the whole earth – every one of them doth curse me.” (Chap. 15:10) Immediate­ly afterwards he contrasts the joy in which, inspired no doubt by the promises given him, he had entered upon the prophetic office, with the disheartening reception that awaited him. “Thy words were found and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and re­joicing of my heart. Why is my pain perpetual and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed?” Such is the bitterness of his sufferings that on one occasion we find him relating his resolve to keep silence. “The word of the Lord was made a reproach un­to me and a daily derision. Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name: but his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.” (ch. 20:8,9)

Belonging to the orders both of Priest and Prophet, and living at the very time when each had sunk to its lowest state of degradation, Jeremiah was compelled to submit to the buffeting which they each bestowed upon a man who was by his every word and deed passing sentence upon themselves. He saw them permitted to vent their rage upon his person, he saw them held in esteem by the people, their way prospering, those that dealt treacherously were happy. For the greater part of his mission he had no man likeminded with him. From the first moment of his call he was alone, amidst a hostile world. But through it all, conscientious devotion to duty maintained its place within his heart. The promise that he should be as a brazen wall made at the time of his call and renewed later never failed him. (chap. 1:18; 15:20)

Jeremiah has been likened to several characters in profane history – to Cassandra, the Trojan prophetess, whose fate it was never to be believed, though prophesying nothing but the truth; to Phocion, the rival of Demosthenes in the last generation of Athenian greatness, who maintained the unpopular but sound doctrine that, if Athens were to escape worse evils, she must submit peaceably to the growing power of Macedon; to Dante, whose native state, Florence, was in relation to France and the empire as Palestine was to Egypt and Babylon, while the poet – like the prophet – could only protest without effect against the thickening ills.

His style corresponds closely with what we should expect from his character. It displays:

Absence of ornament. This thoroughly befits his inartificial nature. He is not only preeminently the prophet of sorrow, but, as shrinking from anything like display of himself, and full of humility as of zeal for God’s honor, he naturally was led to the simplest form of words to express the painful images which ever held possession of his thoughts. In him the glowing language and vivacity which characterize Isaiah’s writing have no place, and while his style has a beauty of its own, it has at its best a shade of sadness, and its fervor, when it rises to such, is the fervor of expostulation or grief. He emphasizes this-in Lam. 1:12:

“Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.”

The foregoing does not nearly exhaust the glowing descriptions voiced about Jeremiah, but we believe we have offered sufficient to give our readers a good eulogy of Jeremiah. And our own closer acquaintance of him magnifies our estimation of him; and affords keener understanding of St. James’ statement: “Take, my brethren, the prophets ... for an example” (Jas. 5:10); and St. Paul’s words: “Of whom the world was not worthy.” (Heb. 11:38)

Sincerely your brother,

John J. Hoefle, Pilgrim

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

LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Brother Hoefle: Christian greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior!

I feel I should apologize to you for not writing before. I have been receiving your helpful manuscripts regularly and received so much help and encouragement from them – especially April 1st, 1982 on the Memorial, which soon we will partake again in remembrance of Him.

May God bless you in the work you are doing for Him. This is a little donation to help.

Sister ------- (CANADA)

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

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

I hope this finds you both comparatively well – and also Sister Augusta feeling better. I am in quite good health all considered. I received the tracts in good order. Thank you for sending them and also for your good letter to me.

Enclosed is a short article by Andrew Greeley. It shows a little how many Catho­lics are questioning to some degree the teaching of Papacy. He writes as though he is a Catholic... Israel is having a lot of trouble with the Arabs, but we believe it will all turn out right in the end.

I wish you both and Sister Augusta and all with you a Blessed Memorial as we commemorate the death of our Lamb – our Lord Jesus Christ who gave Himself a ransom for all. As this will reach you afterwards, I’ll say I hope it was a Blessed experience for all.

With Christian love from Sister ------- (CALIFORNIA)

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

Dear John and Emily: Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior!

Please forgive the long delay in answering your letter of February 5th. I have been on the road speaking until late last week and have not been able to answer all my personal mail. I know you understand and will forgive my delay.

I had six (6) extra copies of the book I gave to you. I sent a copy to each of the six names you sent to me with a letter telling them that it was a gift book sent at your request. You should be hearing from them soon. I am enclosing the 7th book for you to give to someone locally. I am sorry I do not have more. When I return to Jerusalem, I can get some more copies to send to you. So, please let me know how many copies you would like and I will be happy to arrange for this.

Our speaking tour has been great. I have spoken to thousands of people with the message of love and reconciliation. I know that people are hearing the message and responding.

You will notice that you have not received a recent DISPATCH. We have decided to make the DISPATCH a quarterly publication for all of our readers with an interim UPDATE letter for our contributors. This is to save us money and allow for more contacts with our donors and those really interested readers ... 8 contacts in 1982 instead of 6 in 1981. I also plan to be more regular and predictable. If we can make the cash flow a little more smooth and even, then the cost of the DISPATCH would not prevent its pub­lication on schedule.

You mentioned about sending money for the books. I would not hear of it. You have been so kind and generous that I am blessed to be able to send the books to your friends. So, I am not revealing the cost and I thank you for your kindnesses to Brid­ges for Peace and Pat and me.

Should I get to the Orlando area again, I look forward to seeing you again. We had such a lovely time and the weather was so lovely, too. May the Lord prosper your ministry. Looking forward to hearing from you again,

Shalom in Jesus ------- (OKLAHOMA)

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

Epiphany Bible Students Association

P.O. Box 97

Mount Dora, Florida 32575

Dear Epiphany Bible Students:

Recently, I mentioned to a friend of mine that I was interested in this type of ministry, so he gave me this address to write to.

Will you please send me a complete price list of all books you have available by Mr. C. T. Russell, and any other books pertaining to this ministry.

Your kind cooperation will be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely, ------- (CANADA)

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

Dear Brother Hoefle: Greetings in Christ!

We have been receiving copies of your newsletters for some time now. We find that we are not in harmony with much of its contents. I will not take time to go into the nature of our disagreements, but we find the differences serious enough that we do not want to receive your papers.

We do appreciate your Christian concern on our behalf, even if we do feel that it is misplaced.

In the bonds of peace, ------- (LOUISIANA)

(Note: We do not have the brother’s name on our current list, or on any of our back lists, therefore cannot remove his name.)

NO. 324: THE ENDS OF THE AGES

No. 324

In 1 Cor. 10:11, Dia., it is stated, “These things (the five evils related to vs. 6 through 10) happened to them typically (from the Greek tupos, meaning type), and were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come.” This Scripture had its primary application in the end of the Jewish Age, with its secondary application ap­plying to the end of the Gospel Age. However, there have been “ends” of other previous Ages; and with the ending of each one some outstanding event occurred – either violent or of ominous portent, or both. But those occurrences were foreknown by only a very small minority, with the vast majority of mankind either having no knowledge whatever of coming events, or ignoring the warning concerning them.

Regarding Noah, it is written that he was “a preacher of righteousness,” so we may safely conclude that he did his share of preaching concerning the approaching deluge; but Jesus said that they went on eating, drinking, marrying, etc., in the ordinary affairs of life “until the flood came and destroyed them all.” Thus, the first world Age ended with a stupendous act of violence, which destroyed all human beings except those in the Ark.

Came next the Patriarchal Age, which ended with the death of Jacob. It also ended with a certain tenor of violence – Jacob and all his descendants (70 in number) were forced into Egypt because they were hungry. At the time both Jacob and Joseph (two of the “just” men described in Hebrews 11) considered the move into Egypt as a blessing from the Lord. Had they had the slightest premonition of subsequent events, they would cer­tainly not have made the move; but that knowledge was purposely withheld from them be­cause God was there beginning a “tupos” (Greek for the English word “type”), which was the most comprehensive of all Old Testament types in that it had application in the Gospel Age to the enslavement and deliverance of God’s people from antitypical Egypt (the world of sin), and to the deliverance of all the remaining individuals of the human race in the Mil­lennium, and having its grand finale at the end of the Little Season, when will be ful­filled the antitype of the destruction of Pharaoh and his host, and the deliverance of all the sheep into everlasting Paradise restored. While the event of the Red Sea was not the end of an Age, it was the end of an era, and with it came the mass destruction and violence of the Red Sea episode.

In the strictly limited sense, the Patriarchal Age (the “fathers”—2 Pet. 3:4) re­fers to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (the Jewish Age began with the death of Jacob – when his twelve sons each became the head of one of the tribes of Israel). They are definitely the ancestors of what we recognize as the Jewish race. However, in the broad sense the Patriarchal Age began with Noah, with his son Shem being the progenitor of the Jewish race – Shemites, or Semites, as the name is now used.

At the end of the Jewish Age and the beginning of the Gospel Age came again event; of great portent – the Advent of Jesus, followed by great violence in the year 70 in the destruction of Jerusalem and the unbelieving Jews, with only a very small minority once again understanding the turn of things. The Jews had been given the Divine revelation at Sinai, with the strict ritual of the Aaronic priesthood and their whole religious sys­tem; and that system had become so imbedded in their hearts and minds that it was indeed meat and drink to them – although they had strayed far afield from the real intents and pur­poses of the various ceremonies. St. Paul had told them that the things that happened to the fathers during their forty-year stay in the Wilderness of Sin were very pointedly “tupos” (types) of things that were happening during St. Paul’s life; but they “made their hearts as adamant stone (diamond point), lest they should hear the law, and the word which the Lord of hosts hath sent in His spirit by the prophets.” (Zech. 7:12) And extreme violence by the Roman Army resulted in the destruction of many of them, and the overthrow of their religious and political establishments.

Once more we have presently come to “the end of the age” – the Gospel Age; and again a “time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation” – extreme violence on every hand – a greatly enlarged repetition of the condition in the days of Noah, when “the earth was filled with violence.” (Gen. 6:11) And here once more only a mere seg­ment of the population have had even a blurred understanding of events. When the vio­lence broke forth in 1914 there was perhaps thirty or forty thousand Watch Tower sub­scribers, from a total of about two billion members of the human race. A certain num­ber of the latter had heard the forecast of impending doom, but gave little or no heed thereto, although many millions then living had not even heard of what was coming.

And just as great changes came with the passing of the Jewish Age, so even greater changes are now in progress, with just a small minority understanding their significance. And this applies with more or less force even to those who claim to understand “the pres­ent truth.” All who have even a smattering of present truth understand that the time will arrive here in the end of the Age when there will be no further opportunity to par­take of the “high calling.” Some have properly concluded that such a condition has al­ready arrived – in the rather distant past – that the “plowman overtook the reaper” when the reaping work came to a stop in those countries of Christendom that were engulfed in the world war in 1914.

The Jewish Age reached its fullness at its end – when the Messiah made His appear­ance. “The people that sat in darkness saw great light.” (Matt. 4:16) The time of favor for the Jews reached its sad end at the time they “crucified the Lord of Glory.” Immediately thereafter the nation began to wane, and was completely unbalanced in the year 70, when the dispersion began, the priesthood and the ceremonial features of the Law were completely obliterated. A certain degree of analogy may be made here in the end of the Age with the Truth Movement, which reached its climax in 1914-16, after which that Movement also began to wane. All who are at all familiar with conditions then know it would be an insult to Brother Russell to compare his brilliant performance with that which followed his death. And that change at 1916, when he died, has been sadly deter­iorating in the years that have followed. Shortly after the Apostles passed away the great Apostasy appeared, which developed in scope and strength until the Bible itself was given little or no study; people believed what they were told by their renegade leaders. And similar phase has been developing with us since 1914, so that today many so-called Truth people do not even know what Brother Russell taught; he is seldom quoted by many, as they also blindly accept what their leaders tell them.

It is a notable feature of the Jewish and Christian religious that each of them be­gan with a true priesthood (Aaron and his sons), which slowly degraded into priestcraft, then into priestgraft (a “den of thieves” when Jesus arrived—Matt. 21:13). The twelve Apostles followed the course of Aaron even more rigidly than did Aaron – never took up a collection. When St. Paul acknowledged a gift from some of his beloved supporters, he said this: “Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.” (Phil. 4:17) And he relates some very interesting features of his self-denials in 2 Cor. 11:21-28.

Most Truth people today still believe that the 144,000 described in Rev. 7:14; 14:1, etc., is a literal number; but it is impossible to reconcile that belief with some of their other teachings. Taken as a whole, those organizations that have developed from the Parousia Truth Movement contain many more than 144,000 who think they are of that number thus there is something sadly askew somewhere. Brother Russell was firmly con­vinced that he was conducting the reaping of the Gospel-age Harvest, which persuaded him to the further opinion that it would end shortly, after which no more would enter that select group of the 144,000 who “stood with the Lamb on Mount Zion.” He saw, too, that a considerable time would elapse between the selection of the last one of that group and the establishment of the Kingdom in power and great glory. This prompted him to write the following article (Reprints 4835), into which we have inserted a few comments of our own, none of which change the thought of the writer; they simply offer a little elaboration:

THE REWARDS OF SACRIFICE

“I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Rom. 12:1) Nowhere in the Scriptures are we commanded by the Lord to sacrifice our earthly rights and privileges. The Divine commands end at the line of justice. In other words, justice and righteousness are one and the same thing. Sacrifice, self-denial, taking up the cross to follow Jesus, are all propositions away beyond the Divine law. The Law Covenant proffered a perpetuation of human life to all who would fulfill its re­quirements. None of the Jews, with whom that Covenant was made, were able to fulfill those requirements, except the One who came from above and for whom was provided a perfect human body, which enabled Him to keep the requirements of the Law Covenant, entitling Him, therefore, to everlasting earthly life.

The New Law Covenant (Jer. 31:31-34), under the antitypical Mediator, will offer the same reward of everlasting human perfection to all who will fulfill its requirements. Its superiority over the first Law Covenant will consist in its having a better Mediator, capable of helping mankind fully out of condemnation, death and weakness and authorized so to do because of the merit of His “better sacrifices.”

But while Jesus, born under the Law, was obligated to the conditions of that Cov­enant and fulfilled them and through them had a right to everlasting earthly life – He did more. He sacrificed that earthly life – laid it down – permitted sinful men to take it from Him without resistance, although He had the power to call for legions of angels for protection. This was His sacrifice. He did not sacrifice sinful weaknesses, for He had none. He sacrificed perfect life and all His legal rights and privileges. His reward for so doing was exaltation from the human nature to the Divine nature – far above that of angels, principalities and powers. (Eph. 1:21) Thus exalted, He has the human rights (which He never forfeited) to give Adam and his race – their ransom-price. These He will give to them in the end of this Age, applying them to the sealing of the New Law Covenant, under which Israel and all mankind may be restored to all that was lost through the first man’s disobedience.

SIN-OFFERING SACRIFICES ACCEPTABLE DURING THE GOSPEL AGE ONLY

Throughout this Gospel Age the Law Covenant has continued upon the Jews only, the re­mainder of the world of mankind being without any Covenant with God and waiting for the “times of restitution” under the New Law Covenant of the future. (Acts 3:19-21; Jer. 31: 31-34) It is during this time (the Gospel Age) that God draws and calls a certain loyal class and gives them an opportunity of sharing with their Redeemer in sacrificial death. The faithful will be counted His members, or His bride of joint-heirs in His Kingdom of Glory and honor and immortality. All men, in proportion as they know the Divine will (what is just, from the Divine standpoint), are correspondingly duty bound to fulfill that righteous requirement or Law of God to the extent of ability. But those desirous of fol­lowing in the footsteps of Jesus are shown what they can do more than justice; but they are not commanded to do more. All sacrificing is a privilege, not a duty, not a command. “Brethren, ... present your bodies living sacrifices.” He did not command this. To have made it a command would at once prevent the opportunity of sacrifice. What we sacrifice is something that is not commanded. Whatever is commanded of God is obligation and not sacrifice.

The Ancient Worthies presented their bodies, laid down their lives, renouncing earthly rights, but they did not sacrifice for sin. Why? God did not call for human sacrifices for sin prior to Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself. God was unwilling to accept imperfect, blem­ished creatures at His altar. They might lay down their lives, but He would not count them sacrifices. Jesus was accepted as a sacrifice for sin because He was perfect, and His followers, since Pentecost, have been acceptable as sacrifices, because they were perfect – made so by the Redeemer’s imputation to them of a sufficiency of His merit to compensate their blemishes. The spirit-begotten are reckoned perfect so long as they are faithful.

Aaron was commanded to offer the sin-offering sacrifices of the Day of Atonement “without blemish,” which he scrupulously did. And it is probably true that the renegade priesthood that developed later also meticulously followed that procedure, because those priests would have died had they offered a blemished animal; and we have no record that any of them ever did die through failure to keep that law. Jesus in His perfection was the antitype of the Atonement Day bullock; and His Gospel-Age followers – represented in the Atonement Day Lord’s goat – are reckoned perfect because of the perfection of Jesus Him­self.

Thus this Gospel Age in called the “acceptable day (or time) of the Lord,” because, during this Gospel Age, God is willing to accept a predestined number as joint-sacri­ficers with Jesus. But as soon as that predestined number shall have been completed the acceptable time will immediately end. No more presentations will be accepted as sacrifices – the antitypical Day of Atonement will have ended in its sacrificial part.

But suppose that some should present themselves after the close of the “acceptable time”; what would be their status and God’s dealing with them? Since God is unchangeable, we must assume that He would always be pleased to have His creatures devote their lives wholly and unreservedly to the doing of His will, as He was pleased with the faithfulness of the Ancient Worthies to lay down their lives before a Covenant of Sacrifice was in force. We may reason that as God has promised human perfection to those Ancient Worthies who laid down their lives, He would be willing similarly to reward any who might fol­low the same course after the completion of the Church – after the ending of the “accept­able time” of sacrifice.

Quite likely, therefore, there will be some in the end of this Age who, although faith­ful unto death, will not have been begotten of the Holy Spirit and not attain the spirit plane of being in the resurrection, but who will come forth members of the same class as the Ancient Worthies, who were developed before this Age began.

THE PRESENTATION OF ONESELF ALWAYS A REASONABLE SERVICE

In view of these facts our advice to all who love the Lord and who desire to be in complete fellowship with Him is the same message that has gone forth throughout this Age – “We beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of Cod, present your bodies living sacrifices.” We cannot now assure them that, after presenting themselves as sacrifices, God will accept them as such and grant them spirit-begetting to a new nature; but we can assure them that God always gives large rewards to those who manifest their faith and loyalty towards Him and His cause. We can tell them, too, that, to our understanding, the Scriptures teach that the Ancient Worthies (of which they may be a part if they fail to be accepted to the new nature) will be highly honored of God, perfect on the human plane and made “princes in all the earth.” We can assure them that, to our understanding, these princes will have a glorious precedence over the remainder of mankind as the special representatives of the invisible Messiah class for a thousand years. We can assure them that, to our understanding, after participating in that glorious work, these princes will be uplifted at the close of the Millennium to the spirit plane of being – as part of the antitypical Levites.

Since none can know when the elect number will be fully completed (written in 1911, when the Truth on the subject was not yet due—JJH), all should be alike anxious to lay down their lives in the service of God and His truth. To say that we would refuse to serve because any uncertainty would prevail in our minds respecting the character of our reward would be to show our unworthi­ness of any favor of God, for, to be acceptable to Him, our service must not be rendered to obtain the reward, but to serve righteousness and to please God! It is not our privilege to try to drive a bargain with God. “I de­light to do thy will, O God” – everything written in the Book. Hence at Memorial season all of the consecrated should manifest their love, loyalty, obedience, faithfulness, by symbolizing the Redeemer’s death and symbolizing also their own desire to share in the sufferings of Christ as parts of the “broken loaf” and as participators in the cup of His suffering.

We are to remember that none can enter either of these planes of instantaneous per­fection in the resurrection unless his trial be finished successfully in the present life and by passing into death. The remainder of mankind, however, as already shown, will then have glorious opportunities and possibilities before them.

THE TIME IS AT HAND

The question properly arises, Is there any Scriptural support for the foregoing opin­ion of That Servant? If it is “due truth,” then we should logically be able to find clear and ample substantiation for it in the Bible. It may be well to insert here that the largest group to emanate from the Parousia Truth Movement is the Jehovah’s Witnesses; and they now accept the fact that the High calling is closed. In fact, they were the first to make such announcement, claiming the date for it was Passover 1918. Based upon this, they named their Seventh Volume “The Finished Mystery,” the name being derived from Rev. 10:7. “The mystery of God (the secret features of His Plan, but especially that the Christ is 144,000 and One) should be finished.” However, they have since changed the date for the closing of the door to the High Calling many times; and they no longer distribute this book to their followers or any one else.

The Witnesses’ fiasco on their 1925 date forced some pronounced errors into their system. Prior to 1925 – or about eight years – they were making a world-wide proclama­tion “Millions Now Living Will Never Die.” On that date the Ancient Worthies were to come back from the tomb, the Kingdom would be established, with the New Covenant in opera­tion. But 1925 nothing more happened than it did in 1975 when they predicted Armageddon; so after 1925 they “discovered” a new class of people, the Jonadabs. However, that inven­tion did not last very long; its appeal was just too thin to convince many people; so they then changed that class into another class, the Great Company, or “a great crowd” (Rev. 7:9), which error they teach to this day. Their “founder,” however, emphatically taught that the Great Company would be a spiritual class; and gave much logic and Scrip­ture to prove his point. This also does not bother the Witnesses; and they by now have changed so much of what he taught that they bear no resemblance to what he taught than does the Roman Catholic Church in their system of error bear to what St. Peter taught when he was on earth.

The Laymen’s Home Missionary Movement also teaches that the High Calling is closed; and up to 1954 they had a name for the new ones who came with them – namely, Youthful Worthies. But since 1954 they have changed that, too, now styling their new converts Consecrated Epiphany Campers. Note the striking similarity here with the course of the Witnesses as given above. However, here again, they pay no attention at all to what Brother Russell taught, or what their founder taught, because neither of the two faithful mouthpieces ever gave the slightest hint of a class of consecrated Campers in the Faith Age, as part of the Household of Faith.

More than this, the LHMM claims their “Campers” are now walking the same “narrow way” in the Camp as did those who came with them before 1954 in the Court, so we cannot know the difference unless we ask them about the date. And for these they offer the reward of supplanting the faithful Jews of their God-given promise – “To the Jew first” – and have set aside the faithful teachings of the Two Messengers, as well as the inspired teaching of St. Paul.

However, they have no Scripture to prove their teaching that their Consecrated Camp­ers will have a superior standing over other Restitutionists in the final separation of the Sheep and the Goats. At that time all Sheep will become kings – be equal – and have the same standing before God. Epiphany Volume 4, p. 334 substantiates this, as well as many other places. Brother Russell comforted the Jews by telling them that all faithful and believing Jews would receive the promise, “To the Jew first” – the believing Gentiles having an opportunity to join them by becoming proselyte Jews. As Brother Russell faith­fully taught, the Kingdom will be Israelitish and all who would get the Kingdom blessings will have to become Israelites. He never told the Jews that they would have to walk a “narrow way” to get their God-given promise; and it is our understanding that the LHMM still use That Servant’s teaching in their efforts toward the Jew – “Comfort to the Jews.” It is their duty to explain to the Jews that if they are to be the very first in Kingdom blessings, they will have to consecrate now, walk a “narrow way” and become Consecrated Epiphany Campers.

In the July-August 1973 Present Truth, the LHMM tells us that the Jews who become Conse­crated Epiphany Campers will share with the Gentile Consecrated Campers in being “first and chief” in the Kingdom. The Jehovah’s Witnesses also do that much for the Jews – even though they teach the Jews are no longer “God’s Chosen People” – they offer the individual Jew an opportunity of being Chief in the Kingdom by joining with them and be­coming one of their “great crowd.”

In the article quoted above, Brother Russell said such consecrators in “the ends of the ages” would be rewarded along with the Ancient Worthies, which the LHMM now re­jects – partially, at least. However, Brother Russell saw such a class, but gave us no Scripture to substantiate his opinion. But, when the Epiphany Messenger concentrated upon this teaching, he found numerous compelling Scriptures to substantiate the teaching, chief of which is Joel 2:28,29, from which text he coined the name Youthful Worthies.

Some may argue that this name is not found in the Bible, and we agree that it is not exactly so stated; but the same may be said for the Ancient Worthies. That name also was coined for the purpose by Brother Russell, but it has sound basis in Scripture. In Heb. 11:2 St. Paul says “the elders obtained a good report through faith.” The diaglott says “By this the ancients were attested.” In Psa. 119:l00 it is said, “I understand more than the ancients”; and the Hebrew word for ancients in the text is “zaqen,” which same word is translated “old men” in Joel 2:28. Paul refers to such as those of whom the “world was not worthy,” so we come easily by the name Elder Worthies, or Ancient Wor­thies. Much the same analysis applies to the Youthful Worthies, for the words translated “your young men” in Joel 2:28 are literally “your youthfuls,” from which we easily arrive at the term Youthful Worthies, because they are the same class of people as were the Ancient Worthies.

We leave for another writing the time elements pinpointing the above conclusions, other than to state now that the chronology is equally as convincing as the names them­selves. However, Brother Russell has stressed the importance of “rightly dividing the word of Truth” here in the end of the Age, and we would join with him in this counsel. If we do not do so, much confusion and useless effort is sure to result. ‘‘Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me,” (Isa. 101:6)

This paper is a partial reprint of our No. 193, July 1, 1971 paper, with some additions and deletions. We trust the Truths given are edifying and a blessing to all who are “of the Truth.” “Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in present truth.” (1 Pet. 1:12)

Sincerely your brother.

John J. Hoefle, Pilgrim

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

LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Brother & Sister Hoefle: Greetings in our Lord’s and Savior’s Name!

First, let me say how much I appreciated your hospitality. Secondly, I want to thank you for the literature you gave to me. It is interesting reading and I appre­ciate many of your thoughts and quotes.

I’m returning the letters in which you requested. You did an excellent job in answering the letter of Roger Chambers.

Thanks again for all you did and may the Lord bless you both abundantly.

Christian love ------- (FLORIDA)

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

Dear Friend in Christ:

We are in receipt of your publication of January 1, 1981 and find some of your comments on the Jews and Middle East events to be interesting.

From some of your statements we recognize that you are a follower of the late Charles T. Russell, founder-of the Bible Student movement. In the past we have had fellowship with Bible Student groups and are familiar with Pastor Russell’s doctrinal expositions. Much that he taught was true, although time has proven some of his chrono­logical concepts to have been mistaken, his basic teachings on the atonement and the gos­pel of the kingdom were largely correct. He demonstrated an extreme interest in, and sympathy for, the Zionist hopes of the Jewish people and recognized the imminence of their restoration. His efforts to reach them with a message of Truth and Comfort regard­ing their restoration were undoubtedly in response to Scriptural admonition such as Isa. 40:1-2 where the prophet Isaiah urges, “Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God. Speak ye tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” Isaiah is undoubtedly speaking here to those who can comfort Israel and give her the Truth regarding her warfare and the Gospel of the Kingdom. Unfortunately, many of Pastor Russell’s followers today have lost the vision and the insight which he had and have slumped into self-centered, sectarian concerns with regard to personal salvation only.

To regard present events in the Middle East as of no relevance to prophetic teach­ings and as of no personal concern, as many in the Christian churches do, is understand­able where there is no knowledge of the real promise and hope of the Kingdom. But it is difficult to understand a similar disinterest on the part of those, like the Bible Stu­dent groups, who have been given a better understanding of the purposes for the restor­ation of Israel, especially in light of Chas. T. Russell’s example. I sometimes think of the responsibility indicated in our Lord’s statement, “For unto whom much is given, of him much shall be required.” It seems to me that this would apply especially to spiri­tual matters.

We are happy to see that your own comments on Middle East events indicate a contin­ued interest in, and recognition of the significance of historical events there. We have a little different understanding on some points which you mention as the “double” of Jew­ish disfavor, the significance of the 1978 date, and the “time of Jacob’s trouble,” but we do agree with much that you have presented in your comments.

We were interested to see the letter from Africa which you published. It appears that this was probably written by Basil Jacobs of South Africa – a correspondent mad associate of ours in Christian Zionist activities. The Feast of Tabernacles conference in Jerusalem which he mentions is a very recent, interesting development in Jewish ­Christian relations.

We seem to recall having received some of your publications during the three years we were resident in Jerusalem. I note from the address label that you have apparently obtained our organizational address from a little blue brochure which we published some time ago, “Zionism and The Christian Church.”

We have published articles and brochures dealing with Biblical aspects and politi­cal events in the Middle East and have also sponsored local radio programs. If you are at all interested in presenting any of our material to your readers, please let us know. Some of our thoughts will be different than the usual Bible Student interpretive material particularly on chronological and eschatological matters. In the light of other expositors presented their thoughts, the meanings of some prophetic passages and the symbolisms of Daniel and Revelation have become clearer.

Yours sincerely in the love of Christ and the hope of His coming Kingdom ------- (WASHINGTON)

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

Answer to the above letter:

Dear Brother Grace and peace!

Your good letter of January 20 is received with much appreciation and thanks. And it is my pleasure to tell you that I admire your good knowledge of “Present Truth.” As you say, many of those who have been instructed in Harvest Truth have failed to retain it, and seem to have lost much of the basic Truth. For example, the Jehovah’s Witnes­ses have set aside the Jewish Hopes and Promises, one of the basic teachings of Brother Russell; and another group has set this teaching partially aside, as well as some other groups who seem indifferent to that Truth.

It is our conviction that Pastor Russell was that ‘‘wise and faithful servant” of Matt. 24:45-47. As such, we believe he gave us the full and correct truth on the Chro­nology; on the parallel dispensations, and the proper interpretation of the prophecies that pertain to our time. He left us the correct understanding of “the times and sea­sons” in which we live; and he is the one pointed out in Jer. 1:5: “I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” And when he predicted the end of the Gentile Times to be in 1914 – 25 years before that date arrived – many came with him after the World War One broke out. That was the beginning of the “Great Tribulation,” which will end when Arma­geddon – or world revolution – Anarchy and Jacob’s last trouble end. Then after the present order is completely wiped away, the Lord will set up His Kingdom – but not before the end of this “Time of Trouble.”

Please be assured that we do not consider him infallible, but we firmly believe that the dates he gave us are generally correct. He set out – and that Biblically – ­the events that would occur in this “Time of Trouble,” but his expectation of its dura­tion did not mature. The Epiphany and the Time of Trouble are synonymous as to the time; and I am enclosing papers 157 and 205, an article on the Epiphany and one about the Jehovah’s Witnesses. We have sent you Nos. 284, 263 and Special Extra No. 7, which we trust you have received by now. Your comments will be appreciated.

It will be a pleasure to receive your literature, as we reciprocate with some of ours. You will note that we never mention money in any of our papers, as we send them free of cost, with no obligation to any one. We are now placing your name on our regu­lar mailing list to receive all our future publications, because we believe you will be able to understand them, perhaps better than some of the Truth groups. We are changing your address to your home residence.

Yes, we correspond with Basil Jacobs and have quite a friendly relation with him. When he was in the States recently he called us by phone, but was unable to pay us a visit at that time. We have also had correspondence with other converted Jews, as well as some orthodox Jews. Some time ago we had an extended correspondence with Dr. Malachy of Jerusalem. He had the six volumes of the Studies in the Scriptures by Pastor Russell, and was well acquainted with what he taught. He ably refuted the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ errors on the Jews, and sent us quite a bit of material that he used. He wrote us that he was writing a book and asked permission to use some of the material in our papers if it was all right with us. Of course we were glad for him to use any part of our publi­cations that he wished. However, he died shortly afterward, and we never heard whether he wrote the book or not. Also, when we sent Dr. Young a few papers he wrote us a letter of thanks and requested to be put on our mailing list. From the book on Dr. Young it seems he and Dr. Malachy were good friends – and I am pretty sure that Dr. Malachy was able to give him a lot of Truth. So you can see from this that I have the same warm feeling for the Jews and Jerusalem that prompted Brother Russell’s extensive work toward them. However, ours is a small group, and our efforts are not so far-reaching as was his.

All here join my dear wife and me in sending to you and yours our warm brotherly love and prayers. The Lord bless thee, and keep thee.

Your brother & servant, John J. Hoefle..

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

Dear Friends:

Pat and I arrived back to Tulsa safely after a blessed speaking tour in Florida. It was such a blessing to be able to speak to Christians, Jews, and even to non-believers. It was a pleasure to meet you two and to see your beautiful home right there on the lake. What a wonderful place to live! We want to thank you for the blessing you have been to us. We so enjoyed the lunch and time of fellowship together And, for your most generous gift to the ministry of Bridges for Peace. We really did not expect that, but receive it graciously and know the Lord will truly bless you for your generosity. As I sit here typing letters, I think of the good typist you have there in Mount Dora. Please remember us in prayer as we remember you.

Shalom in Jesus, ------- (OKLAHOMA)

NO. 323: TAKE, MY BRETHREN, THE PROPHETS - PART ONE

No. 323

“Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.” (Jas. 5:10) In discussing the Old Testament prophets we shall speak of them in one of their two divisions: There are four Major Prophets, and twelve Minor Prophets. The Majors are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezek­iel and Daniel; and it is to these that we shall confine these articles. Also, we shall make only passing comment on the adversities of these great men, confining our­selves mainly to their ancestry, their work and their life.

ISAIAH

Much of what we shall write herein is taken from the works of a group of highly ed­ucated men – heads of universities and the like – but we shall refrain from quotation marks for convenience. One of these men says that Isaiah is the most distinguished of writing prophets who heralded the Assyrian crisis of the eighth century B. C. The spiri­tual movement inaugurated by these inspired men, was, from the political point of view, an episode in the expansion of the Assyrian empire, and the breaking up of small nation­alities in Western Asia. Of them all, Isaiah had the longest and most varied activity. His public career covered the last forty years of the century, being nearly coextensive with the successive reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah in Judah. During all that time he watched the course of events with the keen eye of a statesman and the profound insight of a prophet, and adapted his message to the exigencies of a rapidly evolving situation. Hence it happens that while in the case of Amos and Hosea, and his younger contemporary Micah, a general acquaintance with the historical circumstances may suffice for the under­standing of their writings, for any real comprehen­sion of the work of Isaiah a close study of political developments is an indispensable preliminary.

A Striking Coincidence – The following is from Isa. 2:5-8: “O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord. Therefore thou has forsaken thy people the House of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east (the worldly wise), and are sooth­sayers like the Philistines (type of Christian sectarians in this Gospel Age). ... Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses (animals of war), neither is there any end of their chariots (organizations of war): Their land also is full of idols (they are interested in about everything except the Truth); they worship the work of their own hands.”

Consider now the close similarity of the foregoing to Rev. 3:14-20: “Unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans (present-day church systems) write: ... “I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing (this was certainly the attitude of Christendom from 1874 to 1914) ... Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” As Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel were vociferous in pro­nouncing the overthrow of both the houses of Israel, so was That Servant doing the same for Christendom prior to 1914.

But after 1914 Isa. 1:8 is a most appropriate reference: “The daughter of Zion (type of Christendom) is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.” Here are suggested to the imagination of the Prophet a very strik­ing illustration: The “night lodge” was a frail structure, consisting of four poles stuck in the ground, with cross-pieces supporting a couch, and a slight roof or awning overhead, were erected for the watchers who guarded the fruit or crop from thieves and wild animals – like a besieged city, or watchtower.

And the prophets had to receive the scorn and ridicule of the “good people” in Israel – just as did That Servant during his ministry here in the end of the Age.

Back To The Prophet – The material prosperity described above had resulted in an out­burst of social evils, that seem inseparable from oriental government, is discussed on about every page of the prophet’s writings. In Israel it resulted in the creation of large landed estates and the expropriation of the race of peasant proprietors who had been the strength of the old Hebrew commonwealth. Writes the prophet, “Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth.” (Isa. 5:8)

Great prosperity proved to be the downfall of all the universal empires; and it seems Israel should be included with that group. On the night that the Medes overthrew Babylon - whose streets were literally paved with gold - the king was eating and drinking himself drunken in the banquet hall, when that peculiar writing came on the wall: “Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.” (Dan. 5:27) Much the same could be said of the Medes; then the Greeks under Alexander; then the Romans when their wealth had exceeded description.

When Isaiah began his prophetic work it is said there was systematic forms of abuse which turned the Law into an engine of robbery and oppression. “The princes are rebel­lious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.” (Isa. 1:23) It is little wonder that they were eventually carried away to Babylon for seventy years – “until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths.” (2 Chron. 36:21) And when viewing this debauchery the prophet read the sure presage of a terrible day of reckoning and judgment close at hand.

But the forebodings of the prophet were not heeded by the ruling classes of Samaria or Jerusalem. In both capitals the prevailing spirit was one of optimism and careless security. It seems the politicians did not realize that their sudden good fortune was mainly due to the Assyrians being occupied elsewhere. But eventually the Jewish King Menahem was forced to give to the king of Assyria a bounty of a thousand talents of sil­ver. (2 Kgs. 15:19)

When the Northern Kingdom was carried away (eventually becoming the ten lost tribes, because there is no reliable record what became of them), it put a real scare into King Hezekiah. He proceeded to strengthen the garrison at Jerusalem with a force of Arabian mercenaries. This and other actions that he took made a reconciliation with Assyria im­possible, and brought upon him the full fury of Assyria’s vengeance. Note here the proph­et’s summation: “O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.” (Isa. 10:5,6)

The gory fulfillment of the above is graphically described in 2 Kgs. 25:5-7 – 19-21: “They took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon ... and they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and they put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon ... they took the principal scribe of the host ... and threescore men of the people ... and the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah ... So Judah was carried away out of their land.”

Here are some of the king of Babylon’s own words on this affair: “I captured 200,150 people, young, old, male and female, horses, mules, asses, camels, oxen and flocks without number, I brought out from their midst, and reckoned as spoil ... I shut him up like a caged bird ... the Arabs and his brave soldiers whom he had brought in for the defense of Jerusalem, his royal city, took to flight.” They took also all the holy vessels of the temple, including the ark, which has never been recovered; and there is some talk that it may have been hidden in some cave, and will yet be found. A sorry end indeed for God’s “chosen people”!

Isaiah’s Vision – Going back now to sometime before the terrible defeat, we mention the vision that came to Isaiah in Isa. 37:21-35. The spiritual truths impressed on the prophet’s mind by this memorable experience are those which we shall see unfolded throughout his whole subsequent ministry. As of now, it is enough to say that the vision left on Isaiah’s mind an abiding sense of the reality of Jehovah’s power and presence in the midst of His people, and the consciousness of a life-long mission to be discharged in His ser­vice. His eyes had seen the King, Jehovah of hosts. The alacrity with which he offered himself for this work, without knowing in the least what it might involve, is an indica­tion of the ardent temperament of the man, which contrasts strikingly with the hesitation of another prophet at a similar moment in his experience. (See Isa. 6:8; Jer. 1:16)

It must have been soon after that vision that a son was born to Isaiah whom he named Shear-Yashub (“Remnant will turn”), thus giving expression to a distinctive ele­ment of his teaching, viz., the conviction that there was in Israel an indestructible spiritual kernel which would survive the impending judgment, and form the nucleus of the new people of God. That Isaiah quickly gained a hearing, and made good his position as the exponent of a definite religious conception of national policy is clearly apparent from several incidents of his appearance in public life.

Here it is convenient to divide Isaiah’s ministry into four periods, which although very unequal in length are marked each by features peculiar to itself. (1) The first period extends from the death of Uzziah to the beginning of the reign of Ahaz. (2) The second is the critical time of the Syro-Ephramite invasion. (3) In the third the center of interest is the fall of Samaria. (4) The fourth is the period of anti-Assyrian in­trigue at Jerusalem, culminating in the invasion and deliverance at that tine.

At that time the social state of Judah was very similar to that of North Israel in the days of Amos, and Isaiah deals with the evils of the age in the spirit of his prede­cessor. From the arrange­ment of his discourses his criticism becomes more incisive and discriminating as time goes on. In Chapter 2 of his book his attention is directed to the outstanding evidences of ungodliness and worldly pride in the still prosperous country of Judah. Idolatry, superstition, trust in wealth and warlike resources, which Isaiah declares can be purified by contact with the “Holy One of Israel.” Then in Chapter 3 he touches on the social evils, the oppression and injustice practiced by the rich and power­ful on the poor, and the luxurious fashions of the women of Jerusalem. Later he comments on the sins of action and of thought characteristic of the upper class and the lawless extension of landed estates, their drinking festivities, their unjust judgments, their heedlessness of Jehovah’s working, mocking and defiant skepticism and perversion of moral distinctions, and the prevalent delusion that Jehovah could be propitiated by costly and elaborate ritual without regard to the character and conduct of the worshipers.

His descriptions of the coming judgment exhibit all the qualities of his powerful and versatile genius. Indeed, he is probably properly described as “the gentleman of the Old Testament.”

His forecast of coming events that he proclaimed at the time of the Syro-Ephraimic war were remarkably verified in the subsequent history of Judah. It may be in order here to state that the Higher Critics in the past 150 years have attempted to discredit much of what Isaiah wrote – which they judge with the wisdom of this world, rather than relying upon the words of 2 Pet. 1:21: “Prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” Thus they often spoke in the present tense concerning future events (God calleth those things which be not as though they were—Rom. 4:17); and the skeptics try to make capital of such statements. The 53rd Chapter of Isaiah is an excellent example of such a statement.

It is readily apparent from what Isaiah wrote that he is one of the outstanding in­tellects of all time; and his great enlightenment by the Holy Spirit gives added bril­liance and inspiration to his book. He had attracted to himself at that time a band of men known as “disciples” – apparently much the same as Jesus also did – and this could represent the most influential phase of his activity. The history of religions shows that the most enduring of all spiritual influences are those communicated through the close fellowship of a great personality with a limited number of susceptible minds – through the relation of master and disciples. This was outstandingly true of Jesus. “When they per­ceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13)

Isaiah’s great ability with satire, his scathing criticism of the Jewish deflection, and his evasion of the Jewish aristocracy eventually caused him to be “sawn asunder.” (Heb. 11:37)

The fate of Samaria apparently profoundly affected the public mind in Judah; and it probably gave a new direction to Isaiah’s own thoughts of the future. The extinction of the kingdom of the Ten Tribes – by far the larger and the stronger of God’s people ­offered the most impressive vindication that had as yet occurred of the prophetic inter­pretation of Providence; and especially so of the truth of Isaiah’s predictions. In no way had he exaggerated the awful fate of the northern kingdom. The proud boast of the Assyrian could not but strike terror in the hearts of the people of Judah: “Shall I not, as I have done to Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her images?” If Jehovah had failed to avert the doom of Israel, what assurance was there any longer that He would or could protect the smaller Judah?

Isaiah had correctly foreseen the annihilation of Samaria; and he had predicted further judg­ment upon Judah. However, he foresaw the eventual “Kingdom of God”; but we may be certain he did not see that Kingdom with anything like the clarity which we now see it. Now comes the last and most eventful stage of his career, as he stood alone in opposition to the anti-Assyrian party that had ascendancy in the royal council. The nations about Judah were forming a confederacy against the Assyrians; and it showed a much better chance of success than did Samaria; but Isaiah foresaw and proclaimed the failure of this effort also. Judah was leaning toward Egypt for assistance; and the prophet told them: “Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not by me ... that go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth ... to trust in the shadow of Egypt. Therefore, shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame.” (Isa. 30:1-3; 31:1; 36:6-9) The prophet severely criticized all effort to gain political salvation by human wisdom, and the help of heathen states.

However, his later statements were very much modified, as he recognized the arro­gant offense that the Assyrian committed against the majesty of Jehovah, and that his humiliation was sure to follow such flagrant audacity. Thus he encouraged Judah’s king that their Great God would exact vengeance upon the Assyrians. Thus the prophet never wavered. His confidence remained unshaken, when all around him had become paralyzed with fear. To Isaiah Jehovah was “The Holy One of Israel.” Also, he conceived Israel as the “community” in which Jehovah reveals himself as He truly is, and by which His character as the Holy One is to be recognized, and exhibited to the world. The prophet’s one thought was “to sanctify the Lord of Hosts.” But his expression of Israel’s king was just about everything that a king should not be – which did not make him popular with the king, of course.

The operation of the Holy Spirit on Isaiah’s mind caused him to see Israel that would be in the distant future – when God’s kingdom would be established in the earth ­but he applied it to his day, which naturally befogged his judgment for that time, and which caused him to conclude that “Zion” would be spared in the coming judgment of the nation in general. Thus he wrote, “The Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of His people shall trust in it.” (Isa. 14:32) And further, “Jehovah has laid a foundation stone in Zion, and He that believeth shall not be ashamed.” (Isa. 28:16)

THE CHARACTER AND GENIUS OF ISAIAH

The possibilities of the prophetic office are nowhere more splendidly illustrated than in the career of Isaiah. More remarkable than any one feature of his make-up ­rarely found in one individual – is the balance and harmonious working of his writings and efforts. He speaks of himself as being in the grasp of the divine hand (Isa. 8:11); and of Jehovah of Hosts as revealed “in his ears” (Isa. 22:14).. Never perhaps has there been another prophet like Isaiah, who stood with his head in the clouds and his feet on the solid earth, with his heart in the things of eternity and a mouth and head in the things of time, with his spirit in the eternal counsel of God and his body in a very definite moment of history. No other Old Testament writer has the same power of picturesque and graphic description, or has at command such a variety of distinct and vivid impressions from nature. The forest conflagration, the inundating flood of waters, the earthquake, furnish him with emblems, strikingly effective, of the final catastrophe in which the existing order of things is to perish.

As a master of style Isaiah is supreme among the prophets. While others seem con­scious of the labor of expression, he wields the resources of the language with the ease and dexterity of a perfect artist in words. There is an astonishing directness and sure­ness of touch in his phrase, as of one who knows when he had hit the mark and does not need to strike a second time. The high level of literary excellence maintained in the prophecies depends largely on the fact that they faithfully preserve (though doubtless with some elaboration) all the effects of the spoken word. The style is one obviously formed for the purposes of the orator, who must carry his audience with him at the moment, trust­ing nothing to a sustained effort of attention on their part. Hence it is absolutely free from affectations and obscurities; and even the fondness for paronomasia which is often attributed to Isaiah is really shown very sparingly and never without telling ora­torical effect. It would hardly be possible to characterize the style of Isaiah better than by the statement of one writer, referring to the qualities of Homer’s genius: Plain­ness of thought, Plainness of style, Nobleness, and Rapidity. And each of these terms may be applied to Isaiah. In this case the style is the man; and in the plainness and nobleness, and rapidity of Isaiah’s recorded discourses we read the signature of the glow­ing and impetuous nature, the lucid intellect, and the quick decision of character which made this prophet so great a force in the history of his time.

The more we consider the Prophet Isaiah the more we are impressed with the superior quality of his mind. We would classify him as one of the greatest in human history. Gibbon – an unbeliever – has classified the Book of Job as the greatest piece of litera­ture in existence today; and we would include the Prophet Isaiah in his company.

The Prophet emphasizes the God of Israel – His greatness, His oneness, His strength – in contrast with the heathen gods that infested Palestine and the surrounding country at that time. God is magnified in His greatness, His strength in contrast to the worth­less visionary gods of the heathen roundabout. His writings were undoubtedly prompted in large part to the fact that Israel had gone after Baal and other fictional deities, which the Prophet decried in no uncertain terms. In Isa. 8:10 there is this: “Take counsel together, and it shall come to naught; speak the word (of the heathen gods), and it shall not stand: for God is with us.” Again in 37:16: “Thou art the God, even thou alone.” No multiplicity of Gods in the faith of Isaiah. This is further stressed in Chapters 44, 45 and 46. Our God is also the stronghold of Zion, whence cometh His Law.

The Jews greatly resented these expressions, which were indirectly a proper criti­cism of them; and they mishandled the Prophet in shameful fashion – so much so that tradition has it that they actually sawed him “asunder.” (Heb. 11:37) But it is well worthy of note here that subsequent generations of Jews held Isaiah in reverential awe; and fully accepted his expressions that the God of Israel was in Zion – and Zion would stand forever. That is why the Jews clung so tenaciously to Jerusalem under the deva­stating attacks of the Roman Emperor Titus in the year 70 A.D. At that time they could not understand that the great and precious promises concerning Zion were yet in the far distant future, many of which promises were to be considered figuratively and not liter­ally, as the Jews then attempted to do.

Many professed Christians make the same mistake today; and the superb quality of the Prophet’s writings have provided a Roman Holiday for the Higher Critics – some of whom capitalize on the 53rd Chapter of his hook (which is written in the present tense) and say the Prophet could not possibly have written that because Jesus did not appear until many hundreds of years after the Prophet was dead. Therefore, that part of his book must have been written by another. Of course, these people ignore completely St. Paul’s words that “God considers those things that are not as though they were” ­taking place in the immediate present.

Much of this article is taken from the writings of others, but we stand amazed at the glowing tribute and high esteem in which he is held by others than ourselves. The time and manner of his death are not known with certainty; but doubtful Jewish tradi­tion affirms that he was martyred by Manasseh, having been sawn asunder, and the suppo­sition is that Heb. 11:37 alludes to the manner of his death. The supposition is that he did not live through his 80th year.

His life’s experience and remarkable mental brilliance bear a striking resemblance to the history of That Servant; and we receive a great mental uplift from the known story of their lives. Truly, the words of Jesus apply to both of them: “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” (Matt. 13:43) Fur­ther from the words of Jesus: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and yet ye would not’” (Matt. 23:37)

A BEAUTIFUL KINGDOM PORTRAYAL

Our treatise on Isaiah would not be complete without mentioning Isa., Chapter 35, as it gives us one of the finest descriptions of the coming Kingdom of God that is to be found anywhere in the Bible; so we now embellish this article with a brief resume of it:

“The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them (the resurrected world of mankind); and the desert shall blossom as the rose.... the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it .... they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God .... Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: Behold your God cometh .... with a recompense; He will come and save you.

“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped (both literally and figuratively. “The knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth.”—Isa. 11:9) ... In the wilderness (this present evil world) shall waters (especially “the water of life”) break out .....

“An highway shall be there ... It shall be called the way of Holiness (no evil or ignorance will be found there); the unclean (the sinners—Acts 3:23) shall not pass over it (their uncleanness shall be washed away—Acts 3:19: “Your sins shall be blot­ted out”); the wayfaring men, though fools (“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God”—Psa. 14:1) shall not err therein – (be led astray by deceptive error) .. The Ran­somed of the Lord shall return (from the gave—”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”—John 5:28,29) ... with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads .. and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” – “There shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”—Rev. 21:4 – “And he – God – said unto me, Write, for these words are true.”—Rev. 21:5).

“Prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the holy Spirit.” (2 Pet. 1:21) However, they wrote mechanically, often not understanding what they wrote. “I heard, but I understood not.” (Dan. 12:8) We do not claim to write by inspiration; but we do believe we have the Holy Spirit sufficiently to understand now much of what the prophets did not understand. “The words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.” (Dan. 12:9)

The evidences are many that we are now in “the time of the end.” That the time of the end is not a 24-hour day is readily apparent. It is a period of time, beginning in 1799, and will yet continue for some years. During this time it is recorded that “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” (Dan. 12:4)

Aside from the printing press, gunpowder and the wheel, no notable inventions came until after 1799. In 1804 came the first Bible Society, which engaged in extensive distribution of the Bible. Then came “Fulton’s Folly” – the first steamboat – in 1807. Next the steam engine in 1813. In 1874 the first commercial typewriter; then the telephone and the electric light. Then the automobile; the airplane in 1903, fol­lowed quickly by the fine inventions of much useful machinery in agriculture, in con­struction, etc., with tremendous improvement in the printing press, computers, etc. etc.

It is our fond hope that this treatise of Isaiah will appeal to our readers. “Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.” (Psa. 97:11) “He that hath an ear let him hear.” (Rev. 2:7)

Sincerely your brother,

John J. Hoefle, Pilgrim

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

“IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW”

Brother Roman Nowotarski finished his course February 18, 1982, at the age of 89. He came into the Truth under Brother Russell, and attended a number of meetings where That Servant gave the discourse. He was a longtime friend and member of the Mount Dora Class – a loyal and helpful fellow servant and faithful to the Truth he received and loved. He received the Truth at an early age and never wavered from the Faith. It is our firm conviction that he will experience the resurrection of the “just.” (Acts 24:15)

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

QUESTION OF GENERAL INTEREST

QUESTION: – It has been said when Jesus “gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time (1 Tim. 2:6) that he bought the whole world. Is that correct?

ANSWER: – No, Jesus had not bought the world – or even the Church – when He gave Him­self a Ransom at His crucifixion. It was only after he ascended up to Heaven, and deposited His merit with the Father, that His merit was loaned to the Church, at which time He bought the Church. “Ye are not your own. For ye are bought with a price: Therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit (mind), which are God’s.” (1 Cor. 6:19,20) The price for this purchase was His “own precious blood.” (1 Pet. 1:19)

This truth is well typified in the Atonement Day service, when the blood of the bullock was sprinkled on the mercy seat of the ark in the Most Holy. The Most Holy in that performance typified Heaven itself. Thus, it is seen that purchase of the Church was made in Heaven.

So far as the world is concerned, Jesus indeed did give Himself a ransom for them – “to be testified in due time.” The “due time” has not yet arrived. During this Gospel Age the purchase price (His merit) has been imputed to the Church; and cannot be used for anything else until that merit in its entirety has been freed from its ap­plication to the Church. However, it is embargoed for the tentatively justified; and that embargo must also be lifted before any application can be made for the world in general.

When it is entirely freed, it can then be used to seal the New Covenant, under which the world will be “redeemed from death, ransomed from the power of the grave.” (Hosea 13:14) Then the world will be bought with the same price (the precious blood of Jesus) as was applied to the Church. When the last restitutionist has been per­fected, then that merit will have been completely consumed; there will no longer be any need for it.

At present no one can make an acceptable consecration until tentatively justified; in the restitution process there will be no tentative justification; when the merit has been fully and properly applied, it will result in actual justification. In the case of Cornelius he had been consecrated for some years before his consecration was accepted 3½ years after Jesus, because the “due time” had not arrived for him until then, but his prayers and consecration were held in remembrance by God until the “due time.” One great reason for so much error is due to the fact that men have not reasoned correct­ly on the “due time.” When John Wesley – great and good man that he was – preached “the spirit and the bride say, Come,” he was a few hundred years ahead of the “due time” for application of that text, because there was not yet any “bride” that could declare the truth he was trying to preach. It has been properly stated that consecration is al­ways in order, but the purpose for which that consecration is made determines its real validity. During the Gospel Age consecration is “unto death” – and for those who will deny themselves and follow in His footsteps; but in the Kingdom it will be consecration “unto life” – no sacrifices required or permitted.

There is a very distinct demarcation between justification now and what it will be under the New Covenant. No one has the ability to attain physical perfection now. Of Abraham it is said, he believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. He was not actually righteous, he was merely reckoned righteous. But when the Highway of Holiness is opened, the restitutionists will then advance toward actual physical perfection – a glorious prospect indeed!

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

LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Brother Hoefle: Greetings in His dear Name!

I am happy to have received your good letter – and trust there has been at least some measure of improvement health wise among you. I now gratefully acknowledge your answer to my question, which is quite comprehensible and very convincing.

Among others, I had scanned question 6 on page 320 of Vol. 4, but had not given consideration of the pertinent ones referred to in any other standing but that which relates to the finished picture; and so I entirely overlooked the trial, which would determine those who would stand, as against those who would fail so to do. This sub­ject was recently considered among us, and my interpretation differed from those of most of the friends, simply because of my taking the word, dishonour, to mean less hon­our, hence the question sent.

To be truthful, my deduction was really in no measure prompted by C. J. Woodworth’s comment on that particular piece of Scripture, but rather in connection with some other one. Yes, it is good to see that there are yet a few who are as careful as well as interested, as the printers you refer to; and now, you have awakened in me a measure of concern with regard to Rotherham’s translation of the Bible.

Some time ago, during Brother Martin’s lifetime, on my request of a good modern version of the Bible, you sent me a copy of the Revised Standard version by Thomas Nel­son & Sons, which I had come to believe was perhaps what one could term a classic of English literature. But I do not want to overburden you, but entreat you to include a copy of Rotherham’s translation among our first order for book made during this year, which may be soon.

May I once more thank you for a most enlightening and explanatory answer to my question. Be once more assured of the fervent and regular supplications of the friends over here on the behalf of you both. Sr. John joins me in sending you all wishes that Heaven’s rich blessings will continue to be showered upon you both throughout the entire­ty of the New Year.

Your brother by His Grace ------- (TRINIDAD)

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

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

Thank you for your good thoughts toward me as to my sister. I also received the tracts in good order. Thank you for telling me about your neighbors. There are many good people in the world who will love the Kingdom but they don’t see the Truth now..

I thought the enclosed clipping brings out how the “giants” of this time are clos­ing the factories. The labor unions have been at fault, too....... Only God and His dear Son Jesus Christ can bring order out of all this. God bless you all.

With Christian love to all from ------- (CALIFORNIA)

NO. 322: THE ADAMIC DEATH

No. 322

It is our intention to offer a clear analysis of the Adamic Death; and by way of introduction we would say this death is the one which Adam experienced as a result of his transgression in Eden. God had told him, “In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Gen. 2:17) The marginal comment offers a little help here by say­ing, “dying thou shalt die.”

DIFFERENT DAYS – It should first be noted that the word ‘day’ in the Bible has a number of different meanings: A day of our week – twenty-four hours; a forty-year day – “The day of temptation in the wilderness..... forty years” (Heb. 3 8,9); a thousand-year day – “One day is with the Lord as a thousand years.” (2 Pet. 3:8) “A thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.” (Psa. 90:4,5) And there are other days which we shall not examine here. Self-evidently Adam’s day in Gen. 2:17 was not a twenty-four-hour day, because he continued to live for 930 years. “Adam lived nine hundred and thirty years; and he died.” (Gen. 5:5) Adam was really not living in the full sense; and this will become clearer if we state it as it really was: “Adam was dying for nine hundred and thirty years; when he finally died.”

However, it should be stressed here that none of us are dying for the same reason that Adam died; Adam died because of his willful sin against God; the rest of us are dying from the death penalty inherited from him. Whether good or bad, this sentence rests upon all of us, as we can see from the procession to the cemeteries. “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; so death passed upon all men.” (Rom. 5:12) Thus, we are dying because of our inheritance – what was transmitted to us by Adam. None of us asked for it; and none of us can escape it. Before the Flood men lived much longer than they do now – the oldest being Methuselah, 969 years (Gen. 5:27). All within the thousand-year day. After the Flood men’s lives were much shortened: “The days of our years are threescore years and ten.” (Psa. 90:10) And with much sor­row have we eaten of our bread during those years. Gradually a Messiah began to be revealed through the Prophets; and, when Jesus appeared, this hope was mightily energized, so that much of the civilized world now “looks to Jesus” for escape from our wretched condition – sickness, sorrow, pain aid death.

SALVATION

Throughout the Christian world the doctrine of salvation is taught with emphasis; but the meaning of salvation among the various segments of Christendom is a tragedy to be­hold! Some teach that the chosen few are predestined to salvation (John Calvin and his adherents); with the remainder determined to an eternity of torture in a burning lake of Hell. Another extreme contends that since God “will have” all men to be saved that all will be saved whether or not they wish it.

This conglomeration is the result of a very erroneous understanding of the purpose of salvation. Luke 3:6 tells us, “All flesh shall see the salvation of God”; but seeing it does not mean that all shall receive it. However, as stated above, none of us are dying because of any evil we may have committed; therefore, God will save us from that for which we are not responsible; viz., the condemnation that has come upon us through Adam’s disobedience. St. Paul makes this quite clear when he says in Acts 24:15, “There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.”

That resurrection will save all who receive it from the penalty of the Adamic Death state, after which they shall “come to an accurate knowledge of the truth” (l Tim. 2:4, Diaglott); and that will enable them to decide if they wish to live under an absolute monarchy of righteousness, or, if they wish they can return to the grave from which they have been saved. From that standpoint God desires all men to be saved – saved from the Adamic-Death state, and from the gross ignorance that now engulfs the entire world. The Prophet tells us (Isa. 60:2): “Darkness shall cover the earth (the present social order), and gross darkness the people.” And it will be necessary for all men to be saved from that if they are to be changed from their present position to a better one. And once having reached that position, if they – of their own volition – determine they do not wish to live under that benign reign, they will then die the “second death” – “Death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death,” (Rev. 20:14)

Some believers who contend that God wills definitely that all are to be eternally saved go to the extreme and teach that even Satan and the fallen angels will also be saved. If not, God would suffer loss, which is an impossibility; but the record is clear enough in Heb. 2:14: “Through death He (Jesus) might destroy him that hath the power of death, that is, the devil.”

He is “the god of this world who has blinded the minds of those that believe not.” (2 Cor. 4:4) He has led men in his present condition, and he will eventually pay the price for it; he will be annihilated—destroyed.

It has been our privilege over the years to engage in written and oral discussions of this subject with those deluded by this error – which, according to God’s Word, is transparent nonsense. Some contend that if man and devils were completely destroyed that this would mean that God suffers loss; but this has no substance or bottom to it. In Gen. 2:7 we are told that “the Lord formed man from the dust of the ground”; and Gen. 3:19 states “dust thou art, and unto dust shall thou return.” Thus, if this is true - and we accept it as Truth – then, if man returns unto dust, God will have suf­fered no loss; He will have the dust which He had before he created man.

Others say that the “everlasting fire” of Matt. 25:41 (the punishment of the wicked) is simply to be “aionian”; that is, “age-lasting,” after which they are to be given another chance. However, we have answered by stating that the same sort of bliss is given to the righteous; therefore, it also will be only “age-lasting”; and this com­pletely silenced them. Following is the footnote from the Emphatic Diaglott:

“The common version, and many modern ones, render ‘kolasin aionian’ everlasting punishment, conveying the idea, as generally interpreted of basinos, torment. Kolasin in its various forms only occurs in three other places in the New Testament – Act 4:21; 2 Pet. 2:9; 1 John 4:18. It is derived from Kolazo, which signifies, (1) to cut off; as lopping branches of trees, to prune; (2) to restrain, repress. The Greeks write ‘The charioteer (kolazei) restrains his fiery steeds;’ (3) to chastise, to punish. To cut off an individual from life, or society, or even to restrain, is esteemed as punishment; – hence has arisen this third metaphorical use of the word. The primary signification has been adopted, because it agrees better with the second member of the sentence, thus preserving the force and beauty of the antithesis. The righteous go to life, the wicked from the cutting off from life, or death. See 2 Thes. 1:9.”

From what then is man to be saved? (1) He is to be saved from the Adamic-Death state (those in the tomb) which he inherited from Adam – through no fault of his own: “Death passed upon all men.” (Rom. 5:12) (2) He will be saved from the “gross dark­ness” – the error which now engulfs most of the human race – those who have been “blinded by the god of this world” – Satan. (2 Cor. 4:4) When man is eventually saved from these two conditions, we are assured that “there shall be no night there” – error as we now see it. (Rev. 22:5) Those who willfully refuse to accept that New Order of things “shall be destroyed from among the people.” (Acts 3:23) Jesus emphatically told us, “All that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and come forth.” (John 5:28, 29) They will then be able to accept or reject the Truth, as they wish. However, no one that is awakened will any longer be subject to the Adamic Death: Jesus purchased the world with His own blood – and when they are awakened by Him they will have been redeemed from the Adamic Death state. “There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.” (Acts 24:15) Why awaken the unjust if they have already been sentenced to a Hell of torment? We answer that the “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23); and “the dead know not anything.” (Ec. 9:5) God is not judging the unsaved world now, “Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” (Acts 17:31)

We are assured in Zech. 13:8 that some will survive this Time of Trouble (the “third part”—Zec. 13:8); but all of them will be subject to the Adamic-Death state until they come under the New Covenant (Jer. 31:31-33) and receive the “judgments” (in­structions) of the Kingdom. However, all those who are awakened by our Lord will be subject to the New Covenant regulations and no longer subject to the Adamic-Death state from which they have been delivered. At present it would be impossible for many to re­ceive the Kingdom instructions – due to their physical and mental lacks. Most of these will go – or already have gone – into the Adamic-Death state, from which they will be awakened ‘in due time,’ and be physically and mentally able to receive the benevolent instructions of the Kingdom. When they are awakened they will have opportunity to walk up the Highway of Holiness (Isa. 35:8) and gain eternal life if obedient. If not obedi­ent, they will eventually go into the Second Death (Rev. 20:14), from which there is no recovery. “Christ dieth no more.” (Rom. 6:9) They shall then be “as though they had not been.” (Ob. 1:16) But all the awakened will have the ability to receive the instructions of the Kingdom; and it will be due to their own willfulness if they are sent into the Second Death. “In those days they shall say no more, the fathers have eaten a sour grape (the sins of the fathers visited upon the children to the third and fourth generation), and the children’s teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.” (Jer. 31:29,30)

THE ADAMIC-DEATH PROCESS

The Adamic death and the Adamic-Death process are closely related, yet there is a wide divergence in them in some respects. The Adamic-Death process will still be with us for years – perhaps a few hundred years – after the Adamic death itself has forever disappeared. When the last one has been recovered from the Adamic-Death state, that will be the end of the Adamic death; but it should be clearly apparent that the evils that have been spawned by the Adamic-Death process now working in all men will still be prominently with those just returned from the tomb. “In the place where the tree falleth, there shall it be.” (Ec. 11:3) All will be awakened with the character they had at the time of death. The expression is often heard, I am living in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc., but actually we are all dying in those places; and, regardless of wealth, social standing, etc., the death toll is certain to have its way. Thus, all those that are in their graves, shall hear the voice of the Son of Man and come forth – some to a resurrection of life, and others to a resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:28,29)

The question properly arises, What is the Adamic-Death process? We answer that it is every evil in man – whether inherited or acquired. Some men – a few – reduce the Adamic-Death process they have inherited by receiving the instruction of the Holy Spirit, and resolutely resolving to improve their undone condition. Some of these have devel­oped into the “saints” (Rom. 1:7,8); at Corinth “called to be saints” (1 Cor. 1:2); “to the saints which are at Ephesus” (Eph. 1:1); “to all the saints at Philippi” (Phil. 1:1); “to the saints and faithful brethren at Colosse” (Col. 1:2). Note the words of the Apostle John in Rev. 20:14: “Death and hell were cast into the lake of fire,” a symbol of the utter destruction of these two enemies of mankind. Death in this text is from the Greek Thanatos, meaning ‘death, literal or figurative’: and hell is from the Greek Hades, meaning the death state, oblivion.

Consider now the Berean Comment on this text: “Death ... Including aches, pains, mental and moral imperfections of every sort; Hell ... oblivion, the great prisonhouse of the tomb in which mankind awaits a resurrection; ... were cast .... gradually, from the beginning of the Millennial Age to its close: ... the lake of fire ... Gehenna, utter destruction – there shall be no more death; ... the second death ... so-called, in contradistinction to the first or Adamic death; the devil, death and hell are never de­stroyed but once, yet their destruction is for them the Second Death, death everlast­ing.” We have quoted this Berean Comment because we ourselves cannot improve upon it; it is an excellent definition of Adamic-Death and the Adamic-Death process.

Perhaps it should be stressed here that when the voice of Jesus in the established Kingdom calls forth the human race from the death state they will still have their in­herited and acquired weaknesses which they possessed when they went into the tomb. They will have the same personality and character they had when they went into the tomb. Of course, they won’t have the same diseased bodies. If they did, the man consumed by vicious cancer would immediately die again; the man with his head shot off would never know he had been awakened from the grave, etc. However, they will then have sufficient physical and mental ability to understand the requirements of the “New Covenant.” (Jer. 31:31)

The Berean Comments on Jn. 5:25 are to the point: “When the dead ... whether ac­tually in the cells or the prison yard ... (“Let the dead bury their dead”), Shall hear the voice ... Gradually, line upon line, precept upon precept ... Calling them to awake and come to a full knowledge of God and to a full opportunity of everlasting life ... When the last one has thus heard, Hades, the tomb, will have been destroyed, but death (the Adamic-Death process—JJH) will still remain as long as there is any imper­fection; of the Son of God not the jargon of conflicting creeds; And they that hear ... obey; Shall lives .. In due time reach perfection of life. “

As Rev. 20:13 declares that all men shall be brought out of these conditions in due time for trial, so this verse declares that Adamic Death, and the sleep in obliv­ion consequent to it, shall be no more – after the Millennial Age – in that future no one will die for Adam’s sin; it will be out of view as a factor in the trial of the future. The only death thereafter will be the Second Death, from which there will be no recovery: “Jesus dieth no more.” “The soul that sinneth it shall die.” (Ezek. 18:4) That is not true of all who die now: Infants who die are not dying for their own sins. In the previous verses of this 18th Chapter, Ezekiel says much the same as does Jere­miah in what we have quoted from him. So we have here at least “two witnesses” to sub­stantiate our statements herein. Though such will have the weakness of the Adamic fallen condition, from which they will never recover if they refuse to use the means and op­portunities placed within their reach, yet under that New Covenant inherited weaknesses will not be reckoned against them so long as they use the means to overcome them, be­cause they are covered by the sacrifice of the Redeemer. As said, they then will have opportunity to gain eternal life if they choose righteousness. If they refuse the be­nevolent rules of the Kingdom, they will be subject to the Second Death – not the Adamic Death. There will be no recovery for those who go into the Second Death; but all those who have been subject to the Adamic Death will have an awakening. “God is faithful that promised.” (Heb. 10:23)

ASLEEP IN JESUS

The question has recently come to us: Is the general run of the world of mankind asleep in Jesus – the same as is true of the footstep followers of our Lord? This is a very delicate question; and we hope our analysis of it may have the essence of Truth in it. When Jesus said, “Let the dead bury their dead” (Matt. 8:22 – “leave the dead ones to inter their own dead,” Diaglott translation) it should be clear enough that Jesus reckoned all the unbelieving world – whether in the tomb, or those still alive now – as dead in God’s sight. However, in this particular statement He was re­ferring only to those whom we consider now to be living – those not yet in the tomb, Those, of course, could not possibly be “asleep in Jesus” – nor would they be so con­sidered up to the time of their actual physical death. But we believe that at that very instant their status will change. Henceforth they would be “Asleep in Jesus.” Why do we say this? Because their only hope for life thereafter would be through the power of Jesus; and thus He is described by the Prophet, “the everlasting father.” (Isa. 9:6)

Often do we refer to Adam as the father of our race; and so the Scriptures say: “God hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on the face of the earth.” (Acts 17:26) But Adam brought death upon the human race instead of life; and he is now powerless to give them life. But Jesus can do this; thus the dead are now asleep in Him. “He is the propitiation for our sins (the faith classes during the reign of sin and death): and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (l John 2:2) By virtue of His sacrifice all men are now asleep in Him, because He will eventu­ally give them an awakening from the death state, which no other could do. (l Tim. 2:4-6)

Much of what follows has been taken from Parousia Vol. 5, with some comments of our own interspersed therein. First, let us understand that all the Elect will have a special resurrection – instantaneous one – whereas the world will be resurrected grad­ually – a resurrection by judgment. The first part of the resurrection of the world will be the awakening of them. They will not be awakened with disease and emaciation, but will be awakened with what we call normal health – the start of a full raising up to life again. Then the Christ will have provisions made for their return with proper instructions given them to know right from wrong. After that it will be up to them to obey or disobey. But they will not be permitted to harm any one: “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)

But the goats – those who do not even outwardly obey – will be “cut off” from among the people after receiving 100 years of instruction and trial. (Isa. 65:20) Some of the goats will outwardly obey, but will not be in heart-harmony with righteousness, so they will be permitted to live until the Little Season (Rev. 20:3), at which time they will be manifested as such. They will be manifested by the tests of the Little Season after the iron rule of the Mediatorial reign will be lifted. However, during the Mediatorial reign, “The eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be un­stopped. And an highway 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, though fools, shall not err therein.” (Isa. 35:5,8) Now “the fool (the atheist) hath said in his heart, There is no God” (Psa. 14:1); but even he will then learn and ap­preciate there is a God.

Through the resurrection, God has arranged to show His love for the world. It is writ­ten, “When the fullness of time was come (exactly at the time stated by the Prophets in the Old Testament), God sent forth His son ... made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we (Gospel-Age believers) might receive the adoption of sons” – brethren of Jesus. (Gal. 4:4,5) “Who gave himself a ransom for all – for every man.” (1 Tim. 2:6; Heb. 2:9) Thus, St. Paul says, “Since by man (Adam) came death, by man (the man Christ Jesus) came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order.” (1 Cor. 15:21-23)

In the morning of that glorious day when the Sun of Righteousness shall rise “with healing in his wings” (Mal. 4:2), all that God has promised for that blessed time will come to pass. “All that are in the graves shall hear his voice (the voice of the Son of Man) and shall come forth.” (John 5:28,29) In this sense, therefore, we speak of the dead as asleep.

Heavenly Phase Of The Resurrection – The Scriptures tell us there will be several classes in the resurrection – Heavenly and Earthly classes. The chief resurrection, or the First Resurrection (Rev. 20:5,6) is the resurrection of saints. The Apostle Paul said, “We (the saints) shall not all sleep.” (1 Cor. 15:51) The inference here is clear enough that the Apostle himself expected to sleep. Of course, he did not know how long he would sleep, nor did the others of that time know.

Earthly Phase Of The Resurrection – In the Scriptures a class of faithful ser­vants of God are mentioned. Many of these are mentioned by name in the eleventh Chapter of Paul’s epistle to the Hebrews. We classify them as Ancient Worthies, who lived and were found faithful prior to the coming of Jesus. It was not their privilege to walk in the footsteps of Jesus (1 Pet. 2:21), because “the example” (Jesus) had not yet appeared upon the earth. But it is written that they will have “a better resurrec­tion” than the remainder of mankind (Heb. 11:35) – not to be raised on the spirit plane – as are the saints; but they will be raised in human perfection – which the remainder of the race will not have as they come forth from the tomb. The world in general will have a gradual raising up to life again; and this will undoubtedly require years for many of them.

At the beginning of the reign of Christ, the “Ancients” (Psa. 119:100; Isa. 3:14; 24:23) will come forth perfect human beings – perfect mentally and physically – that their bodies may correspond with their moral development. If they had scars when they went into the tomb, or if they are blemished in any way, they will be gone. It is not easy for us to picture to ourselves a perfect man, for we have never seen one, and all around us are in various degrees of imperfection. But we know that a perfect human being will be perfect in form, features, voice, sight, hearing, taste, and in all other organs, as well as in mind. “God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” (Gen. 1:31)

However, none of the Restitutionists will come forth physically perfect: they will have to develop physical perfection as they obey. The residue of men (Acts 15:17) will come forth – every man in his own order. (1 Cor. 15:23) Their awakening will merely bring them forth from the tomb in the condition in which they entered – minus of course, whatever of disease or violence that had put then there; for “in the grave there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom.” (Ec. 9:10) This awakening will not be the real resurrection (a full raising up to life again), but merely the preliminary step toward it. The Greek word rendered resurrection is anastasis, and means literally a standing up again. Adam fell, and ever since that fall the world lieth in wickedness – literally, in the wicked one. (1 John 5:19) The standing up again is, therefore, a return to the perfection lost in Eden; for the world of mankind the resurrection is Restitution. (Acts 3:21)

During the thousand years of Messiah’s reign the resurrection of the world will be in progress. The work will not be done by the Father directly, but will be committed to the Lord Jesus (John 5:28,29), and will require the whole thousand years for its completion. At the end of that Millennial reign the world of mankind will be perfect, as was Adam in his creation. All God’s work is perfect. (Deu. 32:4; Gen. 1:31)

During the Millennium God will not recognize the people because of their imperfection – their weakness; but all of their dealings will be through the Mediator – until they shall have been brought up to perfection. At the end of the thousand years they will be delivered up to the Father, faultless before Him. (I Cor. 15:24) God will then receive them as sons – just as was Adam (Luke 3:38) – heirs of the earthly bless­ings which He has provided for mankind – the things given to Adam. The very moment when the merit of Jesus is applied for the world in that same moment they will be turned over to the Mediator. Then they will be in covenant relationship with God, but only through the Mediator, until they shall have reached human perfection and shall enter into relationship directly with the Father.

The New Covenant will continue everlastingly; and as it is proper to say that Moses mediated the Law Covenant, so we may say that Christ will mediate the New Coven­ant. But it would not be proper to say that Moses is now the Mediator of the Law Cov­enant; for a covenant does not need a mediator after it has been mediated. So the New Covenant will need no Mediator after the thousand years. But the title Mediator may belong to Christ to all eternity, just as the one who has been a judge, ever after receives the title of Judge - continues to be called Judge.

At the end of the thousand years, when the Messiah will have accomplished His work of Restitution, He will cease to act as Mediator. But the covenant will con­tinue to stand; for if that relationship with God were to be removed from the people, they would have no blessing of everlasting life. Under the favorable conditions of the New Covenant, whoever will may have an opportunity to become the children of the Christ, the seed of Abraham. At the conclusion of the thousand years, the willing and obedient receive the commendation, “Well done,” and will be accepted as fit for the condition of everlasting life on the human plane. Those who prove to be unworthy of life will be destroyed in the Second Death.

Adamic Death State Vs. Adamic Death Process – Although we have treated on this subject, we repeat that while the two are closely related, there is a wide divergence of meaning between the two. Here are the Berean Comments on Rev. 20:14: “Death (from the Greek thanatos—JJH) .... Including aches, pains, mental and moral imper­fections of every sort.” This is the detailed description of the Adamic Death process. It is the cause of the bringing the human race to the Adamic Death state – ­that has put them in the tomb. When people have entered the grave, the Adamic Death state would eternally end for them when they “hear the voice of the Son of Man, and come forth.”

But not so the death process. Within limits, this will take up where it left off – will continue to harass its possessors until they fully eliminate it, or it eliminates them – in the Second Death. We are informed that Brother Russell ven­tured the thought that the entire race might be freed from the tomb in the first 500 years of the Kingdom reign. If that be true, the Adamic Death process will occupy a much longer period of the Kingdom than the Adamic Death state – the second 500 years, plus the Little Season. We have no argument with this; but we are emphatic that the “last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Cor. 15:26) – the Adamic Death process, some of which will continue in the goats until the last of them is destroyed at the end of the Little Season.

Asleep In Jesus – The very fact that it is Jesus who awakens the human race from the sleep of death offers indisputable proof that they are now “asleep in Jesus.” That is the first part to them of the New Covenant blessing. They belong to Jesus, as He purchased them with His own precious blood; therefore at their awak­ening they are under the New Covenant arrangements even before they have received the instructions of the Kingdom laws: they are no longer under Adamic condemnation ­no longer subject to the Adamic Death. Jesus is now their only hope of life, the One who will give them the initial impetus to Restitution, and who will “heal all their diseases,” etc., which have come upon them through the transgression of their original father – Adam. After their return from the tomb, it will be up to them as to what they do with it. But Adam will have nothing to do with it. While we owe it to him to have the little spark of life we have enjoyed, yet all have faced the awful sen­tence, “In sorrow shalt thou eat of it (the daily bread) all the days of thy life.” (Gen. 3:17-19)

During the Mediatorial reign even the Goats, who have outwardly obeyed, will re­ceive great blessings, although the Christ will know even then they have not rid them­selves of the Adamic Death process. But when the “iron rule” is lifted in the Little Season, they will outwardly manifest themselves. It will be true of all those who emerge from the tomb; they will immediately come under the blessings and restraints of that Covenant – even before they are properly instructed thereunder. None will ever again die the Adamic Death, even though they refuse to accept the conditions of the New Covenant.

With this comes the hope and prayer that we have made this subject clear to all our readers. “Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways.” (Psa. 128:1)

Sincerely your brother,

John J. Hoefle , Pilgrim

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

LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Friends:

I enjoyed the last two bulletins very much. I had toyed with the idea of asking if you had biographies of Brother Russell and Brother Johnson, so you can imagine my pleasure upon noting the subject of Bulletin 316. I shall look forward to more infor­mation if and when you are able to publish more.

We are experiencing some rainy, windy, and quite chilly weather right now, but even a gray day doesn’t seem to dim the panorama of color I see from my eighth-floor window. In the past few years I have been trying my hand at watercolors, but haven’t yet learned to do justice to nature’s beauty.

I am enclosing my usual stipend, and hope it will help a bit with the cost of mail­ing the Good News to others.

My best wishes to you and yours ------- (PENNSYLVANIA)

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

Dear Sirs:

I am writing to you about the Seventh Volume of Studies In The Scriptures. Is it ­or was it – ever printed? If so, can any one get one?

I would also like to ask a few more questions concerning the Epiphany Bible Students. Do you believe in blood transfusions? Do you build churches in which to worship? Do you believe in saluting the American flag? Do you believe in tithing?

In my youth I did not belong to any church. I believed in God, the Bible, and Christ, though when I grew up I became a Jehovah’s Witness for several years. It was then that I heard about C. T. Russell. I also read about the split that took place after Russell died. After a few years I could not accept their doctrine of allowing people to die because of not taking transfusions, especially little babies. So I dropped out. I became a Brethren member, and after that a Seventh Day Adventist. I still like the doctrines of C. T. Russell, however. I would like very much to have his Studies In The Scriptures. I live on a fixed income, however, and cannot afford to pay very much for books or other things,

If you would send me a set I would try to pay for them. I would also like to have any question booklets that might go with them. Could you do this?

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

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

Beloved Brother and Sister Hoefle: Grace & peace through our Beloved Master! (Psa. 133:1)

As always, it has been a long time since writing you last. However, every day I am praying and thinking of you with affection.

In my trade business there is much work for me in the good season. Also, with the actual crisis, I have to do some long displacements every day – to go to the work and come back – with some bad employers always more exacting....... Here are many, many working-class people out of work. That is the crisis, the trouble. But we are not with­out hope as others!

Concerning the Truth here, Z 4835-4836 is now translated in French language, and will be, thank God, published this winter for the first time in French.

During the bad season, with bad weather as every year, I will have more time for the Truth – writing and publishing articles..........

All your papers and letters are very good. Thanks for all! In one good letter Sister Hoefle said, “Brother Hoefle is marvelous!” And me, I am answering: Yes, Brother Hoefle is marvelous .... because Sister Hoefle always helps him, and is also marvelous!” And all the brethren with you and helping you there at Mount Dora, also are marvelous. All of you are my beloved brethren.

I am very sad when some among you are ill. Also, I am joyfully with you in the Lord because you are my beloved brethren and friends. (1 Cor. 6:26; Phil. 3:1,4:4)

And now my beloved Brother and Sister, I am assuring you of my warm Christian love and my Christian kiss for you all. May our Beloved Heavenly Father continue to bless you and support you, and the others with you, in your labor of the Lord, His Truth, and the brethren.

Affectionately yours in Him, Brother ------- (BELGIUM)