NO. 479: TAKE, MY BRETHREN, THE PROPHETS – PART THREE

No. 479

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

EZEKIEL – Ezekiel was a member of a priestly family, contemporary with Jeremiah, whose sayings and writings undoubtedly had great influence on Ezekiel. And, although he offered much sharp criticism of the Jewish rulers, priests, Levites and false prophets, he did not offer the objectionable predictions that were the substance of Jeremiah's teachings, and he also held out some future hope for the Jewish people. He probably reached manhood in Jerusalem in the environment of the Temple during Jeremiah's ministry. He was carried captive from Judah eight years after Daniel's deportation. Josephus says he was a youth at the time. He was not a child at the time but under the age when Levites assumed their duties and were reckoned in the census as men. He lived with the Jewish exiles on the Chebar, a canal in Babylonia.

His prophetic ministry began in the fifth year of Jehoiachin's captivity on the Chebar. He was then in his thirtieth year (Ezek. 1:1,2). Though an exile in a foreign country, Ezekiel had freedom to utter his prophecies, and was consulted for advice by the elders of the people (chapters 8:1; 14:1; 20:1), although those elders did not follow faithfully the advice he gave them. He takes up brief doctrinal remarks, or suggestive allegories, or short speeches of Jeremiah, and often gives them a literary finish. His prophetic activity seems to have extended over a period of at least 22 years. The time and manner of his death are not recorded.

THE BOOK – The book of Ezekiel is regarded by analysts as more simple in its arrangement than any other of the great prophetical books; and was probably committed to writing late in the prophet's life, not piecemeal, but issued in its complete form at once. The prophecies are pretty much in chronological order, but it is questionable whether any of his prophecies are recorded exactly as he spoke them – not literary, but practical, designed to influence the minds of the people in general. His book is occupied with two great themes: the destruction of the city and nation; and the reconstruction of the people, and their eternal peace – two equal divisions of 24 chapters each.

The first 24 chapters prophesy the destruction of the city and nation; and secondly, the restoration of the people and their eternal peace as the people of the Lord. Over the years the Jews have greatly erred in applying this promise to people as they are today, and not from the overall grand application to "all people" under the beneficent reign of the Christ in the eternal establishment of the Kingdom for which Jesus taught us to pray.

The book itself contains little that is historical; rather, a summation of general principles, yet sound in their generalities. Thus, he resembles somewhat Isaiah, but he lacks the breadth of sympathy and the grand glow of emotion that distinguishes the "gentleman" of the Old Testament. Chapter One tells of his vision of Jehovah, who calls and sends him. Then follows his mission to Israel and his inspiration by Jehovah. In subsequent chapters he tells of the restitution of the people, as Jehovah sanctifies them and dwells among them. This thought is given with much greater force and clarity by the Apostle John in Rev. 21:3, Dia.: "I heard a loud voice out of the throne, saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will tabernacle with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them – their God." This promise is not exclusively to the Jews, but "good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." Here we have quite a wide difference of fact to the teaching of present-day Jehovah's Witnesses!

Presently, there are far-off peoples lying in the ends of the earth who have never heard Jehovah's name nor seen His glory. The real "glory of God" is His marvelous character perfectly balanced with Wisdom, Justice, Love and Power; and of this sublime condition God had declared, "My glory will I not give to another." (Isa. 42:8) While He is recorded as "the God of Israel," yet it is thru Israel that "all shall know me, from the least to the greatest." (Jer. 31:34) As the far-off nations come to and touch Israel, the Lord's glory shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together. History as Ezekiel conceives it, whether of Israel or of all nations, is Jehovah's revelation of Himself to all mankind; every movement of it carries this sobering thought: "Ye shall know that I am the Lord." (Ezek. 6:7)

Ezekiel offers a very glowing picture of the future for the Jews, probably not realizing himself that that day would come when God's Kingdom is fully established in the earth, when 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 summarizes His thoughts with these words: "I will hide my face from them no more; for I have poured out my spirit on the house of Israel, saith the Lord God." (Ezek. 39:29) The people are all righteous, led by the spirit of the Lord, and knowing that Jehovah is their God. Ezekiel does not explain how salvation is to be attained, for the salvation is realized and enjoyed; it describes the state and life of the people that their redemption is come now. The fact that the prophet details the final blessedness of the people accounts for the supernatural features of the people's condition and are to be understood literally. The Temple, the services, etc., are meant in a real sense, just as the supernatural presence of Jehovah is meant in a literal sense. At that time the desert will be turned into a garden, along with the sweetening of the waters of the dead sea. (Isa. 25:1,2)

Perhaps it is in order here to describe the present condition of the Dead Sea. Its surface is about 1,300 feet below sea level; its waters are about 27% salt; and no creature is able to live in it. A human being cannot sink in that water. In view of all these extreme conditions, we may readily understand why the scoffers are loud in their ridicule of the Bible in general, and especially so concerning the predictions of Ezekiel.

When the prophecy is fulfilled, the boundaries of the Holy Land will be changed considerably, with a new disposition of the twelve tribes within it. A life-giving stream will issue from the Temple. The Temple is described in very dark and symbolic terms, with the gates of the Holy City occupying special attention.

MORE ABOUT EZEKIEL

Here we pause to offer further facts about the prophet himself. He was the son of Buzi, of whom nothing further is known. Like so many of the Old Testament prophets, Ezekiel had a very humble beginning, which would tend to keep him, along with others, in a keen understanding of the condition of the common people, with great sympathy for their problems. The name Ezekiel bears some resemblance to the word to despise, and a rabbinical fancy interprets it of Jeremiah, the despised, making Ezekiel the lineal descendant of this prophet, as he is his child in thought and faith. Ezekiel is styled the priest, and in all probability he was of the family of Zadok. At that time the priests had already attained great influence; they were the aristocracy, standing next to the royal family. It is not certain whether Ezekiel had actually been engaged in priestly duties before his captivity, though it is not unlikely, both from the name priest applied to him and from the vast acquaintance which he shows with the Temple, its dimensions and furniture, and with the sacerdotal rites. Much of the conclusion concerning the prophet is merely sound considered opinion, with absolute proof lacking. The age at which the priests undertook their duties is not clearly stated in the Law; but we have good assurance that Jesus began His ministry at the age of thirty; and it was Jewish custom then to consider the males as reaching manhood when they arrived at thirty years of age. According to Ezek. 24:18, he was married and had a home, to which the elders often came for consultation.

EZEKIEL'S YOUTH – The period at which the prophet's youth was passed was rich in influences that must have powerfully affected him. Though too young to take part in the reform of Josiah – or perhaps to remember it – he grew up in the midst of the changes which it had introduced, and probably learned to estimate previous history from the point of view which it gave him. The tragic events which followed one another closely at this epoch, such as the death of Josiah, the exile of Jehoahaz to Egypt and of Jehoichin to Babylon, made a lasting impression on his mind. The last event formed the chief landmark of his life, and that not solely because his own history was so closely connected with it, and how deeply the fate of the two young princes touched him, and how well he could sympathize with the country's sorrow over it, a sorrow recorded also by Jeremiah, is seen in his elegy on the princes of Israel. He had a fondness for historical study, and no history is to him without a moral; and silently the events of this time were writing principles upon his mind to which in after years he was to give forcible enough expression.

It was not, however, merely the silent teaching of events from which Ezekiel learned. He had a master interpreting events to him to whose influence every page of his prophecies bears witness. Jeremiah, indeed, may not have been Ezekiel's only master; there were other prophets of the time like-minded with him, such as that of Urijah whom Jehoiakim dragged from his hiding-place in Egypt and slew with the sword (Jeremiah 26). And perhaps others of whose names no record has been kept, for it is almost an accident, and only because his fate cast light on the history of Jeremiah in a moment of peril, that the name of Urijah has been preserved. There were also priests who cherished the same aspirations as these prophets, and pursued in their own province the same ends. It is not without significance that Jeremiah no less than Ezekiel was of a priestly family – and that, too, a rural one – for it was not in the capital alone that true religion had its representa­tives. Like Micah, Urijah was a prophet of the country, being of Kirjath-jearim. And among Ezekiel's predecessors in the priesthood, and also among his contemporaries, there were some who, if they had spoken to the world, would have spoken in the same manner as he did, for the favorable judgment which he passes on the Zadokite priests is not altogether due to mere caste prejudice.

Still the teaching and life of Jeremiah was probably the most powerful influence under which the young priest grew up. It would, no doubt, be a mistake to ascribe every idea in Ezekiel which coincides with Jeremiah's teaching to the influence of that prophet. There is a common circle of thoughts and feelings which even the greatest minds share with those of their own age. Striking out some new conceptions, and opening up some lines of advancement which mark an epoch, the chief elements of their faith and life are common with others of their day, and have been inherited from the past. The surprise with which we read Jeremiah might be lessened if the means of comparing him with others were not so narrow as the paucity of writers in the century before the exile causes it to be. At any rate, his influence upon the language and thoughts of Ezekiel can readily be observed. It could hardly have been otherwise. For thirty years before Ezekiel's captivity Jeremiah had been a prophet, speaking in the courts and chambers of the Temple and in the streets of Jerusalem, and having such a history as made him the most prominent figure of the day.

Ezekiel was familiar with Jeremiah's history and had listened to his words from his infancy. Many of his prophecies had circulated in writing for a number of years previous to the captivity of Jehoiachin which Ezekiel shared, and the constant intercourse between Jerusalem and the exiles kept the prophet of the Chebar well informed regarding the course of events at home, and the views which prominent persons there took of them.

However, with all this conjecture, we stress again that "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 Peter 1:21) Thus, the fundamental source of all Old Testament prophecy – as well as of the New Testament – was the Holy Spirit; so we should expect a very strong similarity in all that was written by inspiration of God.

It is clearly stated by Daniel that "I heard, but understood not... the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end." (Dan. 12:8,9) And in the New Testament some of the things written were not understood by those who wrote them; but this is moreso in the Old Testament than in the New Testament. It is generally conceded that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible – all of which is identified by Jesus as "the Law." But Moses lived more than 2500 years after Adam was created, so he could only give us the Genesis account thru inspiration of God. There are seven clear divisions in the Bible: The Law, the Prophets and the Psalms in the Old Testament; and the gospels, the Acts, the epistles and Revelation in the New Testament. And Jesus stated of the Old Testament: "They [the Old Testament Scriptures] are hey which testify of me." (John 5:39)

FURTHER THOUGHTS ON EZEKIEL

When Nebuchadnezzar took Jerusalem he carried into captivity the young king Jehoiachin, the flower of the population including many priests, Ezekiel among them, as well as a multitude of other citizens, particularly craftsmen. Ezekiel, with a community of other exiles, was settles at Tel-Abib by the river Chebar – not to be identified with the Chabor which falls into the Euphrates near Carchemish, but some stream or canal in Babylonia proper; and five years later he was called to occupy among them the place of a "watchman." How large the community was is not known – nor what kind of place Tel-Abib was – for the reference of the prophet to walls hardly justify the conclusion that it was a walled town.

The community appears to have been left, as was usually the case, to regulate its internal affairs and govern itself according to its own mind. The prophet repeatedly mentions the "elders"; and though he calls them elders of Judah, or Israel, he identifies them with the captivity, of which they must have been the heads and representatives. The lot of the exiles in some cases may have been hard, but there is no evidence that they were harshly treated by their conquerors or suffered want. When the prophet speaks of famine he refers to Canaan; and the phrase "made servants of them" has more a national than an individual reference, like such expressions as "prison houses" in the second part of Isaiah (42:22). The exiles possessed houses, and there is no allusion to persecution from their heathen neighbors.

The picture – if it may be called such – which the prophet gives of the life of the exiles and their circumstances is singularly colorless. His interests were exclusively religious, and any insight which he affords us is into the religious condition of his fellow-captives, from whose mouth he occasionally quotes an expression very suggestive as to their state of mind. His own mind was occupied with the largest conceptions, and the exiles were to his eye representatives of a larger subject. When bidden go to "them of the captivity" he felt sent to the "house of Israel"; and while addressing his fellow exiles he fancies before him the people of Canaan or the nation scattered abroad throughout the world. This identification of the exiles with the people as a whole, and this occupation of the prophet's mind with great national interests, makes it difficult to know how far is his apparent addresses to the exiles he is touching upon their actual practices. Nothing is more likely than that the captives continued the evil courses in which they had grown up at home, so far as this was possible in a foreign land. They certainly shared in the fanaticism or optimism of those left in the country, and heard with incredulity the prophet's predictions of the speedy downfall of the city.

It is known from Jeremiah (Jer. 29:8) that there were false prophets among the exiles who confirmed them in their delusive hopes; and Ezekiel may be referring to these prophets in such passages as Chapters 13 and 14. But such language as "ye have not gone up into the breach" (13:5), "I sought for a man that should stand in the breach before me for the land" (22:30), shows that it is the circumstances of the nation as a whole and not those of the exiles that occupy the prophet's attention. The same appears from such expressions as those in 14:7: "every one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that layeth his idols on his heart." In one passage (20:32) the people are represented as resolving to adopt the religion of the nations. "We will be as the nations, to serve wood and stone"; and such a spirit might very naturally reveal itself among the exiles surrounded by heathen neighbors.

But probable as this is, the chapter is a review of the nation's history, and the language may be little more than the prophet's interpretations of the spirit shown by the people all thru its history. It is only on rare occasions that Ezekiel draws any distinction between the exiles and those remaining in the land. When he does so he shares the feeling of Jeremiah (Chapters 24, 29) that the flower of the people had been carried into captivity with Jehoiachin, and that the hope of the nation lay in them (11:14-21) But usually the exiles are regarded as the representatives of the house of Israel; the "elders" are the elders of Judah or Israel; and, when addressing them, the prophet desires to speak in the ears of all his countrymen – just as it is the fate of Jerusalem, the history of the nation, and its future destinies, that form the theme of his discourse. The idea that Ezekiel's office was limited to the exiles, among whom he was a sort of pastor, with a cure of souls, is supported by nothing in the Book.

It would be a mistake, however, to press this general bearing of his mission, and his preoccupation with the destinies of the house of Israel as a whole, so far as to infer from it that he had no actual prophetic ministry among the exiles; that he was a writer simply, unused to the life of men – a solitary theorist whose "stuff for removing" (12:4), if he had brought it forth, would have been little more than an "inkhorn"; and that the form of oral address which he gives his words is a mere literary artifice.

It may not be allowable to assume that his operations among the exiles were literally altogether such as he describes them; but, apart from his own representations, several things afford evidence indirectly that he did exercise a ministry of some kind, and of some duration. When commanded to prophecy of the great conflagration which the Lord would kindle in the field of the south, he exclaims, "Ah, Lord God! they say of me, Is he not a speaker of parables?" And in 33:30 he is represented as being the subject of conversation among the people: "The children of thy people talk of thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, saying, Come, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the Lord."

These incidental allusions imply that the prophet had a manner which the people had learned to recognize and to discount, and that they were in the habit of meeting to consult him. The frequent assembling of the elders before him implies the same thing. It is true that those elders were very subordinate figures; they are mentioned and then the discourse passes on to the "house of Israel," or even to the strangers that sojourn in Israel. However, promises of restitution are evidence that Ezekiel was merely writing what God had revealed to him. Also, the actual occurrence of what he had predicted; he had clearly foreseen the downfall of the state, so the Jews could not accuse him of just talking; he had spoken "in the name of the Lord."

And he was then just as emphatic in his predictions of reconstitution of the Kingdom of God on a better basis. But it is well to keep in mind here that what he foresaw was not at all clear to him. His ideas of restitution of Israel were a far gap from what the actual restitution will be – a new arrangement "wherein dwelleth righteousness," with no evil or physical affliction as is promised by the Apostle John in Revelation. His public reproof of the nation in the earlier parts of his book are to be taken literally as applying to that time; but the elevating promises of the future are of much grander viewpoint than Ezekiel himself recognized at that time. Because of the severe opposition of his predictions about the fall of Jerusalem, he had been comparatively silent; but when the city fell he could then speak with the authority and voice of a true prophet. And he frequently warns Israel that "ye shall know that I am Jehovah." (Psa. 83:18)

It is the opinion of some writers that the Apostle John was motivated in much of his style by what Ezekiel had written, although the Apostle has improved on what he learned from Ezekiel. Ezekiel had a wide knowledge of designing and architecture, and an excellent familiarity with foreign lands and their natural and industrial products. Although the ten tribes of Israel had been "lost" for more than a hundred years before Ezekiel's time, yet he forecast the reunion of the twelve tribes in the distant future (37:15-17); and we know this will be an accomplished fact in the near future. Then will be fulfilled the vision of "the dry bones" (Ezek. 37:1-8) and their resurrection, along with a new Temple, partially, if not totally, "made without hands."

The following observation of two Old Testament prophets is made by one capable writer: "The difference between Isaiah's knowledge of God and that of Ezekiel, and consequently the greater detail of the latter in chapter one compared with Isaiah six, is very prettily expressed by Abarbanel, who says that Ezekiel was a villager who saw the Divine Majesty but rarely and therefore minutely described it, while Isaiah dwelt in the capital and was familiar with the great King."

Foregoing we stressed that both those prophets spoke by inspiration of God; but God always allowed His mouthpieces to be "themselves" while speaking the Truth. This is also true of the New Testament, where St. Paul's superior education and mentality overshadow some of his fellow Apostles who were "ignorant and unlearned men." (Acts 4:13)

Nothing is known of Ezekiel after 570 BC; but tradition asserts that he met his death in Babylonia at the hands of a prince of his people whom he had upbraided for his idolatrous practices.

GENERALITIES – Ezekiel's general doctrine of God does not differ materially from that of other prophets of the same age, such as Jeremiah and Isaiah, though the character of his mind caused him to bring some Divine attributes into more prominence than others; and his education as a priest leads him to a way of thinking or at least to the use of a kind of phraseology not observed in other prophets.

His conception of Jehovah appears in "the visions of God" which he describes. These visions were all alike, and they reveal his general impression of that which Jehovah is. The fourfold nature of the cherubim, of their faces and wings and of the wheels, all forming a chariot moving in every direction alike, and with the velocity suggested by the wings and wheels, symbolizes the omnipresence of Jehovah, while the eyes of which the whole was full are a token of His omniscience. The throne above the firmament on which He sat indicates that He is king in heaven, God over all, omnipotent. The Divine being Himself appeared as of human form, while His nature was light, of such brightness that fire fitly represented Him only from the loins downward; from the loins upwards the effulgence was something purer and more dazzling, and He was surrounded by a brightness like that of the rainbow in the day of rain. This "glory," which contains Himself within it, is that which is manifested to men.

At the sight of His glory the prophet fell upon his face, but it is not Jehovah's will that His servants should be overborne by His Majesty (Job 9:32-35; 13:21); and He says to the prophet "stand upon thy feet that I may speak with thee." (Ezek. 2:1) He is the living God – "a likeness as the appearance of a man" (1:26) – "A mighty hand and a stretched out arm." These representations in Ezekiel mean neither more nor less than they do in other prophetical writings; all taken together they express the idea of a living personality possessing all the powers of personal being. The Lord brings Himself near and dwells by His spirit in men's hearts – even tabernacling in a visible form among them forever, so that the name of the new Jerusalem to all generations is, "The Lord is there." The prophet says he ate the roll which the Lord had given him, "and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness." (Ezek. 3:3) The same joy in God's service – even amidst persecutions – was felt by Jeremiah: "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; they were the joy and rejoicing of my heart." (Jer. 15:16)

The prophet states that God is Lord over all; and the self-exaltation of peoples or their rulers in any place is an offence against the majesty of Him who is alone exalted. The moral forces are also subject to Him, as well as the physical. Indeed, the prophet represents God as the Author of all that occurs, whether on the stage of history or in the minds of men. The laws given to the people were "good" – statutes of life; but the people neglected and disobeyed them. But, "I will make myself known in the eyes of many nations; and they shall know that I am the Lord." (Ezek. 38:23)

THE PEOPLE – The Book contains much condemnation of the people, but we shall offer just passing comment: He asserts that Jerusalem has outbid Samaria in wickedness, and that both peoples have been more perverse than the heathen. The degeneracy had infected all classes and persons; and it was in vain to look for a "man" in the streets of Jerusalem. "I sought for a man among them to stand in the gap before me for the land, but I found none." (Ezek. 22:30)

However, Ezekiel saw a future for Israel, especially in Ezekiel 36:24-38, of which we shall quote brief excerpts, but we first offer the opinion of one brilliant commentator as introduction: "This remarkable passage has no parallel in the Old Testament, and reads like a fragment of a Pauline epistle. The doctrine of the spirit of God receives fuller development in it than anywhere else in the Old Testament."

"I will take you from among the heathen, saith the Lord, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land... A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh... And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness; and I will call for the corn, and increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree... Then ye shall remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities... Then will I also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and the ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited. Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it," (Ezek. 36:24-36)

The above prophecy is now being fulfilled in this our own day; and believing Jew and Gentile alike may take strong assurance from those promises that the Jews are now in goodly Canaan land to stay there. No more will they be the "wandering Jew"; and all the uproar about them being pushed of out Israel is nothing more than just loud talk; and time will eventually prove it so. It is with much pleasure and strong assurance of faith that we present this paper on the Prophet Ezekiel.

(Reprint No. 329, November 1982)

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LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Brethren:

Yes, I enjoy very much the newsletters, especially the May-June 1996, No. 475, and I do want to be on the mailing list.

I'm very sorry to be so far behind in letting you know. I read to Vicki Kostiw in the Westland Convalescent Center. Sister Ruth Cunningham and I visit her. God be with you. Sister ------- (MICHIGAN)

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Epiphany Bible Students:

Thank you for the material you send me. Are there many Bible Students in your area? Do you have a class?

I wish it were possible to meet with you.

Christian love, ------- (VIRGINIA)

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Dear Emily,

As always it is a pleasure to hear from you. I am afraid that I do not receive David Horowitz's bulletins. I do get your papers and have noticed how much space is devoted to Israel. As yet I have not visited Emek ha Shalom. If I get a chance to do so I will certainly bring them your regards.

Our Susie, 28, who has been holding down two jobs, special education in a Jerusalem hospital, and secretary to a Jerusalem lawyer in the afternoons, has decided to go back to school to further her background in special education and enhance her status in her field. She will have all she can do to support herself with a part time job, and we have agreed to help her with the tuition. She is a good girl and hard working...

Carol, 25, is between jobs again and will be moving in with us until she finds something. She has been struggling to keep her weight down, even as Susie struggles to keep some meat on her bones. She too needs to find a husband. Andrea and I have been waiting patiently, watching our friends marrying off their children and become grandparents. Our days of joy will come when it is meant to come. Meanwhile we do pray for our children.

Dina, 18, has graduated high school and will be filling her national service obligation (in lieu of military service) at Kibbutz Migdal Oz, not very far from Kiryat Arba. She will be living there and helping on the Kibbutz. We are happy that she will be close to home.

Avi, 15, is already taller than me! He is a very brilliant young man and loves to play computer games. Largely as a result of his fascination with computers, his English is impeccable. He is an excellent student and always makes us proud.

Rachel, 12, our "baby," is already a young lady. She will be entering the junior high school of Kiryat Arba this year. It is hard to believe how fast time passes. I cannot remember when my children became adults. They are certainly a joy to us.

Andrea and I both are just recovering from a similar back problem. Something to do with spinal discs shifting due to age. We both couldn't bend down and had difficulty walking for several days. The orthopedist assured us that it was a typical problem which only rest could cure. We had to take off a week of work and just rest in bed. Thank G-d we seem to have pretty much gotten over that now. The technician who took my X-rays in Kiryat Arba, was murdered two days later, along with his wife and father, as he drove home near the Bet Shemesh area late at night. He was such a nice young man. It is no wonder why Andrea refuses to drive at night any more. I don't know if the daylight makes things any safer, but the helplessness of not being able to see your surroundings at night only enhances the fear. Strangely, Andrea will not agree to have me carry my pistol any more. She is even more afraid that I will shoot someone and go to jail!

We still travel to Jerusalem an average of once a week. If we have a wedding to attend we either find a friend to put us up for the night, or splurge on a hotel. If neither option is open we just don't go. In any event we try to live as normal a life as we can...

I think you are correct in your assessment of Netanyahu. No one is perfect, but he is certainly much better than was Peres. We just must stay strong in our faith and continue with our lives as best we can.

Thanks again for keeping in touch. I pray for your continued good health and strength, and treasure your friendship.

With Blessings from Hebron, --------------- (ISRAEL)

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Dear Sister Hoefle:

Thank you for your letter. My health has improved greatly, thank G-d! We have received your materials (2 Divine Plan books, David Horowitz's book and the Overland Monthly). We greatly appreciate these items and wish to request, at your approval of course, twelve additional copies of the Divine Plan book, as well as one additional copy of the Overland Monthly book, for which we will send you full payment within ten days of receiving them.

MAY THE BLESSING OF AVRAHAM COME ON THE GENTILES THROUGH MESSIAH – GAL. 3:14.

Yours in the L-rd's Service, ------- (TENNESSEE)

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NO. 478: IN MEMORIAM OF THAT SERVANT

No. 478

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

In Ephesians 4:10-13 the Apostle Paul gives a terse outline of the Gospel‑Age Church in its organizational nature; and we offer some of this Scripture from the Diaglott: “He [Jesus] is the one having ascended far above all of the Heavens, so that He may fulfil all things. And He gave indeed the apostles, and the prophets, and the evan­gelists, and shepherds and teachers... for the work of service in order to the building up of the body of the Anointed One.” The Apostles in this text refer exclusively to the Twelve, who wrote by inspiration, and were given plenipotentiary powers by Jesus. “What­soever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.” (Matt. 16:19)

Next in order and in rank in the Church are the “prophets.” These cannot be the Old Testament prophets because they are not a part of the Church; therefore, they must be men of rank in the Gospel Age, and we understand them to be included in the “seven stars” of Rev. 1:16: “He [Jesus] had in his right hand seven stars.” On page 345 of the 1916 Watch Tower, there is this comment about them:

“This One whom we thus know, thus recognize, as the instructor and Caretaker of the candlesticks, we are also to recognize as having in His right hand – in His favor as well as His power – seven stars, the angels, the messengers, of the seven churches. That they are in His right hand seems to teach us that these should be considered as in some special sense under the Master’s guidance, protection and care in the interest of the Churches which they represented.”

So far as we know, That Servant never named seven individuals as these “seven stars”; however, immediately after Brother Russell’s demise, J. F. Rutherford named St. Paul, St. John, Arius, Waldo, Wycliffe, Luther and Brother Russell as the “seven stars.” While we agree that the above seven are a part of the “seven stars,” we believe there were oth­ers. This list omits Claudius of Turin, the first Protestant Reformer, John Wesley, Servetus, Hubmaier, and many other saintly reformers of the Gospel Age. We believe the “seven stars” are a composite group of forty‑nine – 7 X 7 = 49 – just as The Mystery of God, The Christ, is a composite group of 144,001 members. “The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand... The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches.” (Rev. 1:20) “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.” (Rev. 10:7)

It is not our purpose here to elaborate upon the “evangelists” (lesser lights in the general church than the “prophets”) or the “shepherds and teachers” (local elders), other than to note that these four classes of leaders constitute the full and complete organization of the Church ‑ and is not an organization made by man. This organiza­tion should not be added to nor taken from. “Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.” (Rev. 22:7,18) And, since St. Paul wrote by inspiration, we may accept his outline as being infallible. He further defines these two classes of Church leaders in Eph. 2:19,20, Dia.: “You are fellow-citizens with the saints... having been built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets.” During the Age many have attempted to add to, or take from this organization, or arrangement, for the Church, which has brought them the condemnation of Rev. 22:18,19. They are the class described in Psa. 107:11: “They rebelled against the words of God [the true Bible doctrines], and contemned the counsel of the Most High [the organization of the Church as given by St. Paul].”

The same Apostle gives the Church organization in slightly different words in 1 Cor. 12:27-29, Dia.: “Now you are a Body of Christ, and members in part. And those whom God placed in the congregation, are first Apostles; second, Prophets; third, Teachers... All are not Apostles; all are not Prophets; all are not Teachers.” Here again St. Paul says the Prophets are second to the Apostles, and given their place in the congregation for the work of the ministry, for the perfecting of the Saints. And, since God has so placed them, woe be to any who attempt to place themselves into such positions, or to ignore those that God has so placed. When the great apostasy devel­oped, after the demise of the Apostles, the Church of Rome tossed aside completely the organization of the Church – just as they did with all the important teachings of the Bible – they “rebelled [revolutionized] against the words of God, and contemned the coun­sel of the Most High.” And in like manner, the Jehovah’s Witnesses have done much the same thing since Brother Russell’s demise. “And on this account God will send to them an energy of delusion, to their believing the falsehood [such as Millions Now Living Will Never Die; and more recently, their establishment of the Kingdom in this “present evil world,” etc.]; in order that all those may be judged who believed not the truth, but approved the iniquity.” (2 Thes. 2:11,12, Dia.)

“Them that honour Me I will honour” (1 Sam. 2:30); and we do well also to honor those that the Lord honors – not as “angel” worshipers, but in sound and proper apprais­al of their position in the Household, their service in the Household, and as examples of the believers in the Household. Actuated by this text, we now offer some observa­tions concerning Brother Russell in memory of his passing beyond the vail October 31, 1916.

Some of the Gospel‑Age prophets had a special doctrine that they emphasized above all others, and which acted somewhat as the foundation of all their teachings; and we believe this was true of Brother Russell, which we would briefly describe as: A correct understanding of the Atonement as portrayed in Leviticus 16, the central teaching of which is RESTITUTION.

THE PATH OF THE JUST

“The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” (Prov. 4:18) This truth has applied all during the Age to the course of the individual believers, and to the Church as a body; and it was pointedly true of Brother Russell in his own endeavors to arrive at the truth on various subjects, some of which we now describe. First, however, we would commend the courage of the man for casting aside the vast accumulation of error that existed in the early days of his ministry. Many of those errors were firmly entrenched as the truth by the powerful leaders of Chris­tendom; and it required not only courage, but unusual brilliance of mind to separate the wheat from the chaff. Even those truths that were held by the various systems, such as justification by faith, baptism, etc., needed much polishing to bring them to the clarity with which we now understand them, and which we accept as fact, often not considering the great amount of work that was required to hand them to us as we now accept them in commonplace fashion. And one of these great truths was the doctrine of Restitution, which had been completely lost during the Dark Ages.

Some detail on the subject will clarify this. Brother Russell had been closely associated with Messrs. Barbour and Paton as co-editors of The Herald of the Morning; but in 1878 Mr. Barbour began to develop his errors in denial of the Ransom; and he cunning­ly stressed Leviticus 16 as proof of his contention. This distressed Brother Russell greatly. He knew the arguments were wrong, but he did not understand the truth clearly enough to refute them. Knowing they had come into the Harvest of the Gospel Age, he logically concluded that any error that appeared would be clearly refuted by the Truth, because the time had come for “the hail [hard sharp Truth] to sweep away the refuge of lies.” (Isa. 28:17) Therefore, he sent word to the foreman of his Pittsburgh store that he would not come that day, and for him to conduct the business as usual in his absence. Knowing that Hebrews discusses more than any other Biblical book the tabernacle types, and that St. Paul possessed a very clear understanding of those types, he spent that whole day in study and prayer in a strenuous effort to learn the truth about them. By evening he was still completely in the dark, so he spent the next day in the same manner, and with the same results. He went to his task the third day, and about noon came to Hebrews 13:10-16, wherein the Apostle contrasts the sacrifices of the Jewish ritual with those of the Gos­pel Age – first of all the sacrifice of Jesus as the antitype of the Atonement Day bul­lock. Realizing that his prayers and efforts had finally been rewarded, he jubilantly exclaimed to his wife: “I have it! I have it!” To which she answered, “Do not be too sure.” However, going over the verses again with her, he reassured himself that he had the truth, and that Restitution was the logical answer to the types in Leviticus 16.

However, he then became measurably afraid of his own findings, so that, instead of rushing into print with this phenomenal truth, he called a conference of leading breth­ren, and discussed the subject with them for eight days, making notes there that he later published as Tabernacle Shadows of the Better Sacrifices. Excepting Mr. Paton, those leaders were convinced of the truth, and began to preach it to the Allegheny ecclesia; but they, too, were hesitant about accepting it. But once finally convinced, they heartily began to preach it to others; thus, the light on this great doctrine shone more and more unto the perfect day. The “perfect day” in our text would be better rendered “median day,” meaning the position of the sun at high noon, when it is brightest and when it seems to stand still in the heavens.

The great truth contained in Tabernacle Shadows immediately swept away the refuge of lies on eternal torment, the consciousness of the dead, confusion on the establish­ment of the Kingdom, etc. However, almost always during the Harvest there was primarily a hesitance on the part of those hearing it for the first time to believe it; but persuasion and detailed explanation usually convinced them, after which they, too, accepted it with enthusiasm and then began to preach it to others.

Perhaps a little digression should be injected here. In Exodus 34:29-35 we are told that when Moses came down from Mount Sinai his face shone, “and the children of Israel were afraid to come nigh to him... Moses gave the children of Israel all that the Lord had spoken with him... Till he had done speaking he put a vail on his face.” St. Paul also tells us in Hebrews that those things that occurred at Sinai were typical of the establishment of the Kingdom here in the end of the Age. And the brethren, inoculated as they all were, with the colossal errors of the past, at first feared to receive the Truth. Of course, the first to respond fully to the Tabernacle truths was Brother Russell himself, although even he was overwhelmed by its brilliance for a time; but the Lord then used him as the vail between Him and the brethren to buffer the dazzling effect at first experienced. From this standpoint, Brother Russell was the antitypical vail that the Lord used to con­vey new and radical truths to the Harvest workers.

As stated aforegoing, Leviticus 16 reveals the offerings for sin, which in turn effects atonement, which “in due time” will accomplish “the restitution of all things.” (Acts 3:19-23) After clearly understanding this great truth, Brother Russell repeatedly preached it in his public lectures; and he urged all the pilgrims to do likewise. This in turn aroused the vicious antagonism of the Hell‑fire preachers throughout Christendom; but the more they opposed, the more the message prospered; and by the time Brother Russell died in 1916 it was considered by many in Christendom as a reflection upon the intelligence of any one who still believed in eternal torment as the wages of sin.

BELOVED OF GOD

Those who knew him well loved Brother Russell as a father – probably loved him more than they did any other human being. And this affection shown toward him was never abused, nor did it mar his humility. He was also greatly beloved of God. We understand he was the antitype of Daniel in certain of his activities; and three different times (Dan. 9:23; 10:11,19) we are told he was greatly beloved. “O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken to me, I was strengthened.” (10:19) He was also the antitype of Eldad in Num. 11:26,27; and Eldad means Beloved of God.

His demise in 1916 greatly saddened the entire Truth movement, although it was not long after 1916 before sundry and subtle errors beclouded the minds of many, as the errorists endeavored to take from Brother Russell what God had given him. The following from E-9-319 is a glowing tribute still cherished by many who knew him well:

“He will ever occupy in our hearts the large place that his holy character, unself­ish service and faithful sufferings have won for him. That his memory may still contin­ue fragrant and blest to us let us together briefly review the activities, achievements and attainments of this eminent saint of God. He certainly was a SCHOLAR in the true sense of that term. Those who require a university diploma as indispensable evidence of learning will deny him the merit of scholarship. However, there are not a few cases of scholars that were self‑made, gaining their knowledge apart from the schools of the learned world. Among such our Pastor won a high place. Apart from English he was not a linguist, though he learned how to use well for his Biblical work the gains of the best scholarship in Greek and Hebrew. He was deeply versed in history, as his writings at­test. So thoroughly did he understand business that able financiers eagerly sought his ad­vice. His writings show that he was at home in the perplexing questions of industry, economics, sociology, capital and labor. The realms of philosophy were deeply explored by him, and he was an expert in theoretical and practical psychology and phrenology. Few have understood the workings of the human intellect and heart so well as he. Human anatomy and physiology were open books to him. However, his real eminence in learning was in the domain of theology, in which he was without a peer since the days of the Apostles. His knowledge of the Bible was phenomenal; and when other theologians will have been discarded, he will be recognized as a standing authority in this the greatest of all sciences.

“Naturally such a scholar would be a writer. Very few human beings have written more than he. His correspondence alone was sufficient for the life work of an indus­trious and talented man. When it is remembered that some years over 300,000 letters and postals were written to him, and that he supervised the answers to this huge mail, we can realize something of the amount of his correspondence and the time and labor in­volved. As an author he produced six unrivaled books on the Bible whose combined circulation during his life aggregated 10,000,000 copies. As a bookleteer he published a number of booklets of great value, one of which, on Hell, has been circulated more wide­ly than any other booklet ever written. He produced over 200 tracts, some of which at­tained a circulation of over 50,000,000 copies. His sermons, appearing regularly every week for thirteen years, were published part of that time simultaneously in over 2,000 newspapers, having a combined circulation of over 15,000,000 copies. He edited a semi­-monthly religious magazine with a circulation of about 45,000 copies.”

The foregoing is the comment of an eminent scholar, a scholar who had the advantage of higher institutional learning; yet his superiority of schooling did not deter him in giving to Brother Russell the glowing tribute reproduced above. He freely admitted that Brother Russell was his intellectual superior, and gladly rendered honor to whom honor was due. And, as respects Brother Russell’s executive ability, we were told that a prominent industrialist once said of Brother Russell that he would be worth two million dollars a year to any corporation large enough to afford such help.

THE PAROUSIA MESSENGER

It is our opinion that the opening words of the Jeremiah prophecy are well adapted to describing Brother Russell: “The word of the Lord came unto me, saying... I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. 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, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee. Then the Lord put forth His hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put My words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.” (Jer. 1:4‑10) In his youth Brother Russell was acutely conscious of his lack of higher learning; thus, he considered other prominent religious leaders more quali­fied than he to declare the truths that had been given him. But he soon recognized that the task was his – that the Lord had indeed put His words into his mouth.

With the great advances that had come since 1874 in inventions, in learning, and in the professions, Christendom was basking in the security that no evil could befall them. This was truly a strong deterrent to the preaching of a great world war breaking forth in 1914; and it required exceptional courage and faith to continue to announce it. In fact, we are told that the Gideons (the group that place the Bibles in the Hotels) had a convention in Toronto in 1913, and there made the proclamation that it was nonsense to expect a great war in a year, that Christendom was much too advanced for any such folly. With everything so calm on the surface, the casual observer was inclined to agree with them. It was causing Brother Russell some concern, too, so he made careful re‑check of the chronology, but could find nothing wrong with it.

When the war did start right on time in 1914 it was like a bolt of lightning from a sunny sky. With the assassination of the Austrian Archduke and his wife, as they were taking a carriage drive thru a part of Serbia, the world became a holocaust in a twenty- four hour period; and it gave loud testimony to the world that Brother Russell had been “ordained a prophet unto the nations.” Inasmuch as he had made crystal clear the meaning of the Lord’s Parousia – over the thousand years, and in its various stages – Brother Johnson began to refer to him as the Parousia Messenger. This title is not to be found in the Bible by direct statement, but it is easily conceived by considering a few texts. In Psa. 91:11 it is stated, “He will give his angels a charge concerning thee”; and the Manna comment for November 17 explains that these angels would be human messengers provided for the special oversight and welfare of the Church. Thus, Parousia Messenger could aptly be stated Parousia Angel, but Parousia Messenger makes the thought a little clearer to the average reader.

He was not only the Parousia Messenger, but he was That Servant (Matt. 24:45‑47), he was the prophet unto the nations (Jer. 1:5), he was “that faithful and wise steward” (Luke 12:42), he was one of the stars (Rev. 1:16), he was one of the prophets in the Gospel-Age Church, and those who knew him intimately would readily testify that he was one of the foundation stones in the Parousia Church (Eph. 2:20), he was a pilgrim, he was a warrior and, as such, he was the antitypical Parousia David. He was also the antitypical Eleazar of the Gospel-Age Harvest. As such he had full charge of the anti­typical Tabernacle, the Church: “He shall make him ruler over all His goods.” (Matt. 24:47) In this he was the parallel of the twelve Apostles in the Jewish Harvest. He was a genteel man, but most of his adult years were spent in fighting – set for the defense of the Truth. In Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, under biographical names, it lists Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916) “American Pastor.” And the same dictionary lists Joseph Franklin Rutherford (1869-1942) “Judge – American leader of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” It is our hearty recommendation that wherever two or more brethren may meet together that they hold a memorial service the last week in October, which meet­ing could include testimonies, and perhaps a reading of some sort pertinent to his life, work and character, as we all join in saying, God bless his memory!

THE EPIPHANY MESSENGER

As Pilgrim, Brother Paul S. L. Johnson was Brother Russell’s special helper dur­ing the final years of his life. The title Epiphany Messenger is likewise not found in the Bible; but, using Psa. 91:11, there is no difficulty in coining the expression. He did for the Epiphany what the Parousia Messenger did for the Parousia, although his ministry was not nearly so extensive or compelling. At the death of the Parousia Messen­ger we believe it could truthfully be said that all the living Saints had come into his organization, leaving none to be found elsewhere; but this was definitely not the case with the Epiphany Messenger. He often said that there were more Saints in the other Truth groups than he had with him ‑ which means it was not necessary for them to come under his direction to retain their saintly standing, although those who did so received special blessings, particularly in service, that did not come to those in the other groups.

He was one of the stars – one of the prophets, but much less important than the Parousia Messenger had been. He was certainly the son of the Parousia David; and this is the record in 1 Chron. 22:5: “David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the Lord must be exceedingly magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will now therefore make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.” Indeed, the Parousia David left a goodly heritage not only to his son Solomon, but to the entire Household, in the clear and logical structure of the Parousia Truth; although many of the former pilgrims began to tamper with that Truth, and it then fell to the lot of the Epiphany Messenger to de­fend almost every important tenet of Parousia Truth. And now it has become so vitiated by some that it is no longer recognizable for what it once was.

Recognizing the colossal task which faced him, the Epiphany Messenger made special prayer for wisdom and strength sufficient for the job to be done, and this is what 1 Kings 4:29‑31 has to say about it: “God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the seashore. And Solomon’s wis­dom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men.” Very often did various religious organizations write to him for his analysis on extremely difficult Bible texts; and those of us who were close to him know the skill with which he answered them.

As a young man, before he joined the Harvest Movement, he had gained extensive recognition as a Lutheran minister in Columbus, Ohio, and elsewhere. By intensive study for about three months in 1903 he had been able clearly to see the Truth on the unity of God, human mortality, death as the wages of sin, Papacy as the Beast, identity of the Millennium and the Judgment Day, and 1914 as the end of the Age. Thereafter he made no progress toward understanding Present Truth until he came into the Harvest movement. He was a true scholar of Greek and Hebrew, spoke German fluently; and in his earlier years he was able to give an oration in Latin – a feat which very few College professors of Latin are able to do. He graduated from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, with the highest honors of any one who ever attended that institution up to that time. We knew a prominent Lutheran minister in Dayton, Ohio, who had been his classmate, and he said Paul Johnson was known throughout the campus as the mental giant. All this is simply a statement of fact, and in no sense intended to give undue praise, in like manner as he wrote about the Parousia Messenger after his death. Thus, we conclude this present appraisal the same as we did that of the Parousia Messenger – God bless his memory!

We invite all of like mind to join with us in giving honor to whom honor is due, and in honoring those whom the Lord honors. Our Lord Himself said, “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.” (John 12:26)

Sincerely your brother, John J. Hoefle, Pilgrim

(Reprint 340, October 1983)

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QUESTION – Is there a call given in the Bible for any elect class other than the one for the High Calling mentioned in Phil. 3:14?

ANSWER  – The High Calling is for the Bride of Christ – those that suffer with Him: “Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” (Psa. 50:5) The Little Flock, the Bride class are “more than conquerors.” (Rom. 8:37) Another elect heavenly class runs concurrently with the High Calling. They were originally called to be of the Little Flock, but lost their crowns because of measurable unfaithful­ness (Rev. 7:14). They loved the Lord and when they washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 7:14) they were “overcomers” but not “more than conquerors” as were the Little Flock. “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.” (Rev. 7:9) The palms in their hands mean they were victorious. “And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.” (Rev. 19:9) (The Diaglott translation is better: “And he says to me, ‘Write: Blessed are those who have been invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ He also said to me, ‘These are the true words of God.’”)

That Servant taught four elect classes, two heavenly classes and two earthly classes – the Ancient Worthies of Hebrews, chapter 11, won before the High Calling was open, the Little Flock, the Great Company referred to in the Scriptures as the “great multitude” and the unbegotten class we call Youthful Worthies. That Servant taught in Reprint 5761, col. 2, paragraphs 1 and 2 as follows:

“Those Consecrating Between The Ages”

“It is our thought that with the closing of the ‘door’ of this Gospel Age there will be no more begetting of the Holy Spirit to the spirit nature. Any afterward coming to God through consecration, before the inauguration of the restitution work, will be accepted by Him, not to the spirit plane of being, but to the earthly plane. Such would come in under the same conditions as the Ancient Worthies who were accepted of God. The Ancient Worthies came in, no call being opened to them ‑ the High Calling not being yet open, and the restitution opportunities not open. But they freely gave themselves up to God without knowing what blessings their consecration would bring, except that they had the intimation that they would, in the future life, have a “better resurrection” than would the remainder of the world.

“Our thought is that whoever under such conditions as these will make a full consecration to the Lord, to leave all to follow in His ways, and will live up faithfully, loyally, to that consecration, may be privileged to be counted as a similar class to those who preceded this Gospel Age. We know of no reason why the Lord would refuse to receive these who make a consecration after the close of the Gospel Age High Calling and before the full opening of the Millennium.”

The question is: Is there a calling given in the Scriptures for the two classes that will receive an earthly reward? We do not know of any Scripture that says there is a calling for these classes. However, there is an opportunity to serve the Lord in faith and obedience. That is the requirement for these classes. They are not on trial for life, but for faith and obedience. If unfaithful they will be demoted to the world and have restitution opportunity as described in Acts 3:19-23. It seems they would be in a worse condition than some who had never made a consecration to do God’s will while evil and sin are in the ascendancy. But we leave such things for The Christ to judge during the Kingdom (Acts 17:31). If faithful, however, they will be the visible earthly rulers – “Princes in all the earth.” (Psa. 45:16).

That Servant gave three ways that would indicate that the door to the High Calling is closed. (1) By a definite Bible statement of the exact date; (2) By such a reversal of public sentiment with reference to the truth, that fidelity and zeal for its service would no longer meet with opposition, and when suffering with Christ for the truth’s sake (Rom. 8:17) would no longer be possible; (3) Such a condition of affairs obtaining in the world that all opportunity for such service would be effectually obstructed, thus leaving no opportunities for candidates to enter into the work and to develop and prove their love and faithfulness by their activity and endurance. (Thy Kingdom Come, Volume 3, p. 207, par. 2)

We believe the second way applies to our times, as we receive no persecution for believing the Truth. Most people do not care what we believe. Persecution today is mainly political. But we should witness the Truth when we have opportunity. Witnessing, together with our untoward experiences in illness, disappointments and hardships will develop in us a character pleasing to the Lord. “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” (2 Tim. 2:3) If our trials are too much for us to endure and be faithful, He will make a way of escape, “that ye may be able to bear it.” (1 Cor. 10:13)

As for No. 3, there will come a time when “they will not endure sound doctrine.” (2 Tim. 4:3) This will be in Anarchy, but for now we still find some who will listen to “sound doctrine,” and we should be diligent in serving the Lord at every opportunity.

We do not find a definite Bible statement teaching us that the door to the High Calling is closed. However, we have no definite Bible statement for many of the dates that Brother Russell presented, such as 1874, 1878, 1881, and 1914, but all are given to us by Bible Chronology. That Servant predicted that 1914 would be the end of Gentile Times. World War One began right on schedule and confirmed our belief.

When Brother Russell announced that the Kingdom was set up September 21, 1914 in Reprint 5632, column 2, par. 4, we believe the ejecting of the nations began then and is still going on. The peoples of the world are protesting that their governments are unfair. The marching of the people against all institutions is God’s great army. When the Kingdom was set up September 21, 1914 the Saints were sealed in the heart, but had to be sealed in the forehead (sealed intellectually – know the truth) to participate in the Smiting of the Nations going on as given in the 1915 Reprint. The Smiting was done by the distribution of tracts and other reading matter, as well as the Photo‑Drama. Did Brother Russell make the announcement that the Kingdom was set up by his own imagination or by Bible Chronology?

Brother Russell wrote many times of the unbegotten class which we call Youthful Worthies. One instance is in Parousia Volume Six: “And we may be sure that any consecrating and performing a full sacrifice of themselves in the interest of the Lord’s cause after the heavenly class is complete, will find that the Lord has plenty of blessings of some other kind still to give; and that all of His blessings are for such conscecrators, self‑sacrificers. Possibly they may be counted in with the Ancient Worthies who had the sacrificing disposition that is pleasing to God prior to the beginning of the high calling.” (Volume Six of Studies In The Scriptures, p. 157, top)

The Ancient Worthies were “faithful and obedient” and will have a “better resurrection” than the world in the Kingdom – they will be resurrected perfect. (Heb. 11:39,40) The Ancient and Youthful Worthies are on trial for faith and obedience and not for life as were the Saints. If the Worthies are unfaithful they will go back into the world for restitution purposes.

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NO. 477: VESSELS OF GOLD AND SILVER

No. 477

“In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honor, and some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified and meet for the Master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.” (2 Tim. 2:20,21)

This text shows that the Apostle was solicitous for the Church because of a sectarian spirit of contention which prevailed where the spirit of fellowship should have manifested itself. This does not signify that the Apostle ignored the importance of fidelity to the Truth, for concerning this it was already written that the Church should “contend earnestly for the faith once delivered unto the saints.” (Jude 3) He here objects to the disposition of many to contend about matters of no moment, which he terms “words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers” (v. 14), and again “profane and vain babbling, for they will increase unto more ungodliness and... eat as doth a canker.” (vs. 16,17)

In a word, man-made differences should be ignored and only those doctrines which the Scriptures clearly and distinctly set forth are to be insisted upon and contended for by the Lord’s people. In all other things they are to have fervent charity and liberty among themselves. After exhorting Timothy, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (v. 15), he declares that notwithstanding these various babblings and twistings of the Scriptures, the “foundation of God standeth sure” (v. 19). God’s great plan will stand and will finally triumph, no matter who may babble against it and no matter how much the adversary may seek to draw attention away from the fundamental facts to the theories and fancies of the egotistical and hypocritical. The Apostle’s thought seems to be that some of the Lord’s people, by following the course he has outlined, and becoming thoroughly furnished in the word of Truth and able to rightly divide it to others, will be vessels of honor in the service of the Lord even in the present time. On the contrary, some – once God’s people, truly consecrated to Him, but neglecting these important principles and becoming fully willful – will be vessels of dishonor fitted to destruction (Rom.9:21‑23).

TO HONOR AND TO DISHONOR

How manifestly true this inspired declaration is only the more advanced of the Lord’s people may know. The world judges by outward appearance, and perceives the prosperity of many who have the form of godliness without the power thereof; it perceives the prosperity of many sects and parties, divided chiefly by mere quibbles, and it perceives the lesser prosperity of those who ignore sectarian lines and stand only for the word of Truth, and contend only “for the faith once delivered unto the saints.” Only the spiritually minded can see the situation from the Lord’s standpoint – only these can realize which, from the Lord’s standpoint, are the vessels unto honor and which are unto dishonor. Only this class can discern which vessels the Lord uses to honor – through whom He sends the great riches of His grace and truth. Of course, none can know the character of the heart, whether it be a new heart or merely that of the natural man or woman who has learned politeness, morality, etc. The only way in which we are permitted to judge is by the outward fruitage (Matt. 7: 18‑20).

The “great house” of the Apostle’s parable is the household of faith – the house of God – the Church of the living God. This Church of the Firstborn is now in an embryo condition, unfinished, imperfect; it bears a similar relationship to the resurrected Church that Israel’s tabernacle in the wilderness bore to the Temple at Jerusalem. We are not to understand that only the most proficient of the Lord’s people are recognized by Him and others entirely ignored, but, as the Apostle says, our sure foundation lies in the fact that “the Lord knoweth them that are his” (v. 19), and also in the fact that those who name the name of Christ should depart from iniquity. Every servant of God, every vessel in His house, must come under these conditions to be vessels at all: (1) The Lord must know them as His; they must be of the class mentioned by the prophet who have made a covenant with the Lord by sacrifice – self-sacrifice, consecration to death; (2) they must also be of the class that depart from iniquity – that recognize righteous­ness, truth, holiness, and strive toward perfect attainment.

But not all of those who make a full consecration and who strive for righteousness will occupy the same station in the Divine service, either now or hereafter. The degree of honor in the Lord’s service will depend upon their degree of honesty and zeal. While, therefore, we may well rejoice to be vessels in the Lord’s house, to be used of Him either in more honorable or less honorable capacity in His service, nevertheless He is pleased to have us aspire to such faithfulness in thought, in word, in deed, as would have His approval and win for us the higher stations in His esteem and service here and hereafter.

“IF A MAN THEREFORE PURGE HIMSELF”

The Apostle tells us how as Christians we may attain to the highest positions in Divine favor. He says, “If a man purge himself from these he shall be a vessel unto honor.” He does not mean, however, if any man do so, for here and elsewhere he shows, in harmony with the other Scriptures, that the world has nothing whatever to do with this matter – that the first step of approach to God must be through the door, through Christ, and that only those who come unto the Father through Him have any standing whatever at the present time. Hence the Apostle’s thought is that if any man in the Church will purge himself, will purify himself, will seek to put away these elements of dross and unrighteousness, will seek to avoid profane and vain babblings, will cease to strive about words to no profit, and will seek more and more by the Lord’s assistance to “rightly divide the word of truth” – such a man in Christ, whether his talents and opportunities be great or small, will be blessed of the Lord and reckoned of Him as one of the more honorable vessels for His service here and hereafter.

Continuing further, the Apostle declares that the man who thus purges himself and seeks to bring himself closely into alignment with the will of God, will not only be reckoned a vessel unto honor, but will be sanctified and set apart by the Lord for His service. He will give him opportunities, special opportunities, to do and to be assisted, which He would not have provided for him otherwise. Christian people too often seem to overlook this matter – to forget how much God has to do with His Church, with those who have made consecration of themselves to Him.

More and more should we all remember, as is urged by the Apostle, that “God hath set the various members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.” (1 Cor. 12:18) It is for us not to be ambitious for a high station, but to humbly desire to be and to do those things acceptable to the Lord, leaving it for Him to give us whatever experiences in life will be best for us – either larger opportunities for service or lesser opportunities, for the testing and proving of our loyalty. Selfish ambition in any of the Lord’s people would be the surest road to Divine disapproval. It might succeed in securing place and power in nominal systems of human origin, but such a course – so far from bringing these into greater prominence with the Lord or into greater opportunities of service in connection with His Truth – would work in an opposite direction, as it is written, “The Lord disdaineth the proud, but showeth favor to the humble.” The Apostle urges, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time” (1 Peter 5:6) – in the present life, or in the future life, or both. It is for God to choose our places and our work for us and also our eternal reward; it is for us to seek to be instruments willing and ready, “for the Master’s use made meet.”

“VESSELS OF GOLD”

Looking beyond our present opportunities and privileges of usefulness in the Lord’s service, and the degree of opportunities secured by us now through faithfulness, we perceive that the great work for which we are called, chosen, being schooled, is that of the future, of which the Apostle says, “That in the ages to come he [God] might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness towards us through Christ Jesus.” (Eph. 2:7) Our Lord referred to that glorious future condition when He declared to His Apostles, “In my Father’s house are many mansions... I go to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2) The many mansions, the many stations, the many planes of celestial being and blessing are here pictured, and the suggestion is further given that one special place in the Divine family would be made for the special followers of the Lord – those known throughout the Scriptures as “the Bride, the Lamb’s Wife,” and again as “the Royal Priesthood” under Christ, their Chief Priest. The chief mansion is for these who, called to the highest honor, are represented by the golden vessels.

And again they are called the “Lord’s jewels,” and He says of them, “They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels.” (Mal. 3:17) As jewels are scarce, so these are de­scribed to be only a “little flock” to whom it is the Father’s good pleasure to give the Kingdom (Luke 12:32). To be of this company, styled in the Scriptures as “more than conquerors through him that loved them and bought them with his precious blood,” the Apostle Paul declared that he was glad to suffer any loss – to count all things but as loss and dross that he might win Christ and be found in Him – as a mem­ber of His Body, a member of the royal priesthood, a partaker of the Divine nature.

In the tabernacle and in the temple gold was used as a symbol of this Divine nature, the highest of all natures, superior to the angelic. Our Lord described this immortal condition as signifying the possession of life in Himself – life not derived from other sources. “As the Father hath life in himself [immortality]; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.” (John 5: 26) And He has been given the privilege of giving this to whomsoever He will – to the worthy ones constituting His elect Bride, otherwise styled “members of the Body of Christ,” vitally connected with Him, their living Head. It is to this glorious quality of the Divine nature, symbolized by the gold and again in our text styled the “vessels of gold,” that Peter refers, saying, “[God hath] given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might become partakers of the divine nature.” (2 Peter 1:4)

“VESSELS OF SILVER”

All recognize silver as less precious than gold, but much more abundant. As one of the precious metals it is used in the Scriptures to represent a spiritual class, but a different, more numerous class than that represented in the vessels of gold. While all of the Lord’s people of this Gospel Age were called, as the Apostle says, “In one hope of their calling,” with at least the prospect or opportunity of becoming golden vessels, nevertheless the Lord foreknew that not all of His true followers would prove in the end to be “more than conquerors”; not all of those who love righteousness and hate iniquity would be so zealous for the service as to be esteemed worthy to be of that Little Flock, the Bride, because all would not run in the race with sufficient zeal, following in the Master’s footsteps; hence we find in the Scriptures another class, another division of the Church of the Firstborn, clearly pointed out. In the types of the Old Testament they were represented by the Levites, who had an important work to do in conjunction with the priests and as their assistants. In the New Testament this class is referred to in our text as “‘vessels of silver,” or less honorable vessels than the vessels of gold, and they are particularly brought to our attention in our Lord’s last message to His Church in which He pictures them as a “great multitude” in contrast with the “little flock.” (Rev. 7:9)

This Great Company He designates as in the end honored and honorable victors, with palm branches – the crowns being reserved for the Little Flock, the vessels of gold. In the same picture He shows us that while the Little Flock of more than conquerors are to sit upon the throne with Him, these others, worthy but less worthy, are to be before the throne. He points out that while the “little flock” will share His glory and honor as His Bride, this greater company, represented by the more numerous vessels of silver, will serve Him in His temple (Rev. 7:9-15). He points out further in the same message that while the Little Flock will be the Bride class, the Great Company will be honored with an invitation to be present at the marriage supper of the Lamb in glory (Rev. 19:9). And through the Prophet David He pic­tured the distinction between these classes, the Little Flock, the vessels of gold unto greater honor, and the greater multitude, the vessels of silver unto a lesser honor, picturing them as the Bride and her companions – bridesmaids. The picture shows the Bride all glorious in raiment of fine needle work, of embroidery and gold, brought in before the King, and then it shows the “virgins, her companions, who follow her.” (Psa. 45:14)

“VESSELS OF WOOD AND OF EARTH”

These represent two classes who will be servants of God on the earthly or human plane. First, represented by the “vessels of wood,” are the Ancient Worthies of the Jewish line, who will be resurrected to perfection and in an earthly glory will become visible representatives to men of the glorified spiritual Christ, Head and Body. Jesus emphasized this thought to the Jews, saying, “Ye shall see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom.” (Luke 13:28) As soon as the Kingdom shall have been set up in power, the Ancient Worthies will be raised from the dead as perfect human beings. Psalms 45:16 evidently refers to these faithful servants of God, who are to be princes in all the earth. They will have a great work of instruction to do for the rest of humanity. While they will have this service to perform, nevertheless they will have great honor in doing it; for it is always an honor to serve the Lord. The service which the Ancient Worthies will be given will be more than God would ordinarily entrust to a perfect human being. It will be a part of this service to deal with the imperfect, fallen creatures and to help them up out of sin and imperfection.

As associates of the Ancient Worthies in reward and service will be those whom we term Youthful Worthies [“young men,” literally, “youthfuls” Joel 2:28), in contrast with the former, “the old men” (Joel 2:28) or “ancients” (Isa. 24:23)], who are termed “vessels of earth” in our text. They, like the Ancient Worthies, will have a “better resurrection” (Heb. 11:35), but will have a subordinate position in the earthly phase of the Kingdom. As mentioned above, the Levites represent the “great company” but when the Kingdom is established the Ancient and Youthful Worthies will also be included. The Levites as distinct from the Priests were of three groups – the Merarites, Kohathites and Gershonites (Num. 3:17). These three groups of Levites represent these last three classes of vessels of our text: the silver, the Great Company; the wood, the Ancient Worthies; and the earth, the Youthful Worthies.

Besides those four already particularized, the Apostle in the words “and some to honor, and some to dishonor” goes on and mentions other vessels. In a great house, in addition to the vessels of gold, silver, wood and earth, there would naturally be other vessels. So we understand the additional vessels to honor to represent the faithful restitution class (the sheep of Matt. 25:33) and the vessels to dishonor to represent those who, either at the age of 100 years (Isa. 65:20) or at the end of the Millennium, will go into annihilation, the Second Death (the goats of Matt. 25:33; see also Rev. 21:8; Psa. 145:20; Obad. 16).

To be in any part of God’s great house – to be in His service in any capacity, either now or hereafter, is a great honor. Whoever through the portals of the Divine Word catches a glimpse of the coming glory of the earth during the Millennial Age – a glimpse of the “times of restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets” – can rejoice with any who will be found worthy to be a vessel of honor in the Master’s cause in the future on the earthly plane. To our understanding the majority of Christian people have never appreciated the glorious grandeur that is to come to earth during and as a result of the reign of Messiah and His Bride. It is beautifully described in Isa. 35; 65:21-25; 33:24; Rev. 21:1-5, etc. Surely, as St. Peter declares (Acts 3:19-21), these will be “times of restitution” which God has declared through all His holy prophets.

WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY

History of the Society in Brief

Between 1872-1876 Charles T. Russell, U.S.A. discovered that the Scriptures clearly teach that our Lord would not return in a body of flesh, but would return as a spirit being, invisible to human eyes. They say that his attention was drawn to the fact that Daniel’s 1335 years run out in 1874 by two brethren in Christ – with this the point of time for our Lords return was given. A booklet entitled “The Object and Manner of our Lord’s Return” was published. It got a phenomenal circulation.

As from 1876 to 1878 inclusive Pastor Russell wrote in a paper entitled “The Herald of the Morning” as a collaborator to its publisher N. H. Barbour. Different opinions about the ransom-price made Russell to publish a paper of his own “Zion Watch Tower,” later “The Watch Tower.” A first number came out in 1889. The information in this history is mainly taken from “ The Watch Tower” or “The Tower” which seems to be its title in brief.

In the U.S.A. there were many branches of the “Vine” (the Christian church) during the last half of the nineteenth century. In each of those there were some truths. It was a matter of getting a survey of these and then to proceed with studying the 39 plus 27 books in the Bible. To Russell, who already as a boy of sixteen was a member of a branch of the English Puritanism, who maintained each congregations independence of all ecclesiastical government, such a work suited well. The result became Harvest Truths, which at first were published in above-mentioned booklet and papers.

Russell was President of the Watch Tower and Tract Society from its organization in 1884 until his death in 1916. He was also President of the Peoples Pulpit Association organized in 1909, and the International Bible Students Association, incorporated in London in 1913, with both of the latter corporations being adjuncts to the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. Through these religious corporations, as well as by word of mouth, he promulgated the Gospel of Messiah’s Kingdom. He was the author of the following publications, issued between the years 1881 and 1914, with each having phenomenal circulation, as given below: (See the December 1916 Tower.)

Food for Thinking Christians --------------------------------------- 1,450,000

Tabernacle Shadows ------------------------------------------------ 1,000.000

Divine Plan of the Ages -------------------------------------------- 4,817,000

The Time is at Hand------------------------------------------------- 1,657,000

Thy Kingdom Come ------------------------------------------------ 1,587,000

Battle of Armageddon ----------------------------------------------- 464,000

The Atonement ------------------------------------------------------- 445,000

The New Creation----------------------------------------------------- 423,000

What Say the Scriptures About Hell ------------------------------ l3,000,000

He was also the author of What Say the Scriptures About Spiritism, Old Theology Tracts, etc. (SWEDEM)

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QUESTION OF GENERAL INTEREST

QUESTION – Is it your thought that those consecrating after the door to the High Calling is closed may have a resurrection to the spirit nature?

ANSWER – No, there will be no begetting of the Spirit that we know of after the High Calling is closed; and if there is no begetting of the Spirit then, there will be no birth of the spirit. The only thought we have in connection with that is what we expressed a moment ago, namely; that some might be accepted as of the Ancient Worthy class if they laid down their lives in loyalty to the Lord in that Time of Trouble, and then when the Ancient Worthy class may possibly have the spirit nature given to them at the end of the Millennium, such being of that class might have the opportunity to obtain the spirit nature.

(Question Book, page 152)

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LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

A Witness from a Swedish Brother about Emek ha Shalom

Is anybody preaching Christianity in Israel? Yes, many groups are. Is there anyone of them who has continued the work of Pastor Russell in Israel? Yes, at Emek ha Shalom!

Herman Bezner and Joseph Elisha are serious followers of Pastor Russell. That is not unique. Even today, almost 80 years after Pastor Russell passed away, we are thousands of followers reading and studying his books and articles.

Brother Herman and Joseph are preaching to the Jews the teachings of Pastor Russell. And the Jews are coming. These two brothers of the Truth have already had hundreds of thousands of visitors, mostly Jewish people. That is unique!

Pastor Russell was one of the most brilliant interpreters of the Bible. God gave him a lot of light which he used with talent and purposefulness. One of his very important predictions was the return of the Jews and the development of a new Israel. Read in his third book the chapter about Israel. Recognize his inspiration when he writes about the awakening of Zionism in the 1870s. The question now is, would be possible that the presence of the state of Israel and the two disciples at Emek ha Shalom would have made our Pastor think of a coincident? I think not!

I am convinced that a Pastor Russell of today would have taken part of the work at Emek ha Shalom. He would not have left Herman and Joseph in silence – not the kind of silence they have found from many of their brothers and sisters in the U.S. Why then, are the followers of Pastor Russell not more enthusiastic? Why?

We can not expect the Jews to wake up one morning and suddenly, like a miracle, having the knowledge of the truth. They must listen and learn – step by step. Therefore the foundation of Emek ha Shalom was made. But without You, because You are sleeping!

I therefore think we should be more active and take part of the work at Emek ha Shalom. I think on them every day! They are the best solution I can vision for the developing of the New World. Therefore I engage a lot in their work.

Next year it is 80 years since Pastor C. T. Russell died. In 80 years we have seen a split of his long work into a big group called Jehovah Witnesses and a handful of other followers. All members are surely serious in their thoughts and searchings. I do not blame them, but there is not enough willingness to continue and develop the work. It is just “old wine in new bottles.”

Except for Herman and Joseph. They are giving their life to continue the work of Pastor Russell. Are You helping them? You should.

Another Swedish Brother Writes

Many thanks for your letters. I am very pleased to hear that the visitors are getting “deeper” in the knowledge. When I look back on the year 1995, from our first visit at Emek ha Shalom to the latest visit in November-December and remember what you Joseph, Lev and Hava Bausch and Elva Lanowick said and also what I saw with my own eyes, is that our Creator is taking away the blindness.

I become so glad when I realized that you have tried to reach me on the phone. Anders and I spoke about a trip to you about two weeks ago. But we have not decided the date yet. We will of course let you know the date as soon as possible.

We both look, of course, very much forward to seeing you in Emek ha Shalom. You are in my mind every day.

------------------------------------

Our dear and beloved Sister,

We are indebted to you for your good support. We are glad that the Detzler brethren arrived for a visit. They cannot help us with labor or finances, as they are exhausted from the great work they have done in the United States, Canada and elsewhere.

We also had the joy of a visit from our Swedish brethren, Anders Karlen and Lief Malmkvist. They could not help us financially because they had to pay their way here. Now we have reached the days of the last decisions, and it is a struggle about the survival of Israel. We are in the midst of a trial for Israel. Once more we appeal to all with the request to help Israel.

Much is put on our shoulders, and the responsibility is enormous! The trust our visitors put in Emek ha Shalom is great. People expect much from us. Up to now the Lord has given us full support, and we hope and pray for His further overruling providence to stay upright. Israel is threatened by total annihilation and is shamefully abused by some parts of Christianity. Help is given to dangerous enemies of Israel.

But, thank God there are positive forces in Israel which gives reason for hope. Some of the faithful leading Jews in Israel are close friends of ours – even two of the most prominent ones. One of them is Benjamin Netanyahu. But the campaign against them is worldwide, even in the midst of nominal Christendom. The forces of darkness who are misleading many, as they know well that the coming election if won by faithful Jews Israel will be rescued. The present danger should awaken us and strengthen us to the Holy faith that will enable us to gain the victory and see the defeat of the enemies of Israel and ours. [We have the victory when Netanyahu is Prime Minister. However, he has a hard load ahead of him. We should not only pray for ‘Bibi,’ but we should support him in his fight for peace without giving their God-given land to their enemies for peace.] Whoever our enemies are they will not make us afraid and will not conquer us.

Let us give Israel the proof of our faithfulness. After centuries of being abused Israel needs our heartfelt love and support. We greet all Bible Students heartily in the hope of a deeper cooperation in our common care for Zion and Jerusalem.

Your brethren from Emek ha Shalom, Brothers Hermann and Joseph (ISRAEL)

[This letter was written before the election for Prime Minister of Israel had occurred.]

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Dear Josef:

When Leif and I were visiting you some weeks ago you gave us some papers about the fallen angels who are known as devils. Pastor Russell has written about these angels in Studies in the Scriptures, Series VI and in “What say the Scriptures about Spiritism.”

Both Jude and Peter speak of “those angels which kept not their first estate,” and whom, in consequence, God restrained of their liberties reserving them in chains, under darkness, until a great judgement day still future when their cases will be heard (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6).

These fallen angels, demons, have in every country and in every time, found it possible to obtain possession of numerous mediums. They are choice as to who their mediums shall be seeking, so far as possible, those possessed of mental capacity (for instance Erasmus of Rotterdam, 1466-1536). Those who submit themselves – because they are very tired or mentally deranged – to these evil influences, to be the channels of communication to men, are merely mediums through which the evil spirits communicate, either by words or imaginary pictures, visions, or raps, or writings or otherwise.

The general methods and general teaching of these demons, through such mediums, in all times and in all countries, have been practically the same. They misrepresent themselves, and personate the dead. They support the original lie promulgated by Satan in Eden, “Thou shalt not surely die.”

The fallen angels various efforts to gain control of the people of Israel are distinctly noted in the Scriptures, and the people are strictly warned against them.

I have been searching among the books I have gotten from my late father for “What say the Scriptures about Spiritism,” but I don’t have it in English. I wanted to give you a copy in order to make your work easier. Perhaps we can get one in England or Florida.

All the best and many kind regards. Your friend, ---------------- (SWEDEN)

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Dear Mr. Howowitz,

I greatly enjoyed our telephone conversation on Wednesday, 17th July, with regard to Pastor Charles Taze Russell.

For a long time both my wife and I have been wanting information on the organization of the Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs) as after over twenty years of association with them we saw things that a thinking person would say “did not add up.” But as an organization they are very subtle with the use of Scriptures used at the right time to manipulate the thinking of others, ourselves included, for a very long while. As with everyone who joins the “Organization” they do tell one of Pastor Russell, but as we started asking questions again the answer was always given by subtly quoting Scriptures, i.e., Proverbs 4:18: “But the path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established.” So also with the organization; it is moving forward and there is “New Thinking.” The old information is no longer relevant.

But this was not good enough for the “Stead Family” as we wanted to know all of the “Ins and Outs” of Pastor Russell so that we could make our own minds up. On the one hand they quoted the Scripture from 1 Thessalonians 5:21: “Make Sure of all things; hold fast to what is fine,” and then sway with their own thinking and select Scriptures to suit.

The joy that my wife and I experienced when we read your book entitled, “Pastor Charles Taze Russell” and other information we obtained either from the JWs or the Public Library we found no other source but yours could print out proof so concisely and clearly. That is exactly what we require and as such we would appreciate copies of some of the articles you wrote in the book. We still get JWs who come to us to try to “get us back into the fold,” and I cannot show your book until we have some other proof to back it up. We would like the Photograph of Pastor Charles Taze Russell preaching to the Jews at the Hippodrome that unfortunately we do not have as we only have the paper back version of your book.

We have asked them, the JWs, also if they could reprint Pastor Russell’s “Millennium Dawn” to benefit others in addition to ourselves, but they pass it off as no longer relevant. Do you have access to these books or know where they can be obtained? We would both also be very grateful for any information on the “Godly Activities” of the JWs.

I mentioned in our conversation some articles from the United Israel Bulletin of which we would like a copy. The following is that list.

1. March 1971: “Founder of Anti-Zionist J-Witnesses hailed Zionism as being biblically prophetic.”

2. February 1972: The article relevant to the betrayal of Pastor Russell and Peter-Shimon Olin Moyle’s article.

3. December 1963: “More light on the Watchtower’s deviations.”

4. Spring 1978: The article dealing with Pastor Russell’s betrayal by JWs organization.

5. Summer 1979: “The late Pastor Russell preceded Herzl in urging Jews to return to Zion.”

6. November 1971: “What happened to Pastor Russell’s original will?”

7. July 1971: “Pastor Charles T. Russell article evokes National interest; noted Bible scholars react favorably; events vindicate founder.”

I do apologize for the lengthy list but hope you will appreciate our need at this time. Please let me know the expenses incurred and I will let you have a cheque by return.

Yours very sincerely, ------- (ENGLAND

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NO. 476B: ISRAEL HOLDS A PRIORITY ON DIVINE FAVOR - PART TWO

No. 476B

PLEASE PRAY FOR ISRAEL

Dear Brethren!

After years of a growing distance between secular and believing Jews which declined into open hostility and violence, there are now (quite hidden besides the worsening and hateful atmosphere after the assassination), first signs for an approach and readiness for a dialogue between the camps.

We believe that quarrel between the brothers will end with a reconciliation and all Jews who kept a spark of Judaism in their hearts will unite.

Like at that time, Joseph’s brothers ready to sell him thought him a messianic-arrogant-dreamer. This faithfulness to God brought him first into prison. But the conflict ended with a wonderful union. Also today many see the God-fearing Jews as extreme-messianic-fanatics, but now there is the first dawn of an approach. The forces of darkness are already attacking this positive development and try to push it into false compromises.

Therefore it is necessary to pray now fervently for Israel. Pray without ceasing that those who are still blinded will come to faith, and that the already ongoing revival in many Israeli hearts may continue until the promised great spiritual awakening. In this most decisive situation no true Christian can stand by and do nothing.

The Lord has put a special responsibility about every Christian to look out for brethren who need help. Paul reveals to us in Romans 9:1-5 that we owe the Jews a heavy debt under God. And the Prophets showed that a constant God-given concern rests upon us to pray for the restoration and peace of Jerusalem! Prayer and assistance are specially commended by the Lord, and great reward is promised for those who are successful in helping and restoring their brethren who erred and took a wrong course.

The prayer for Israel now has a central importance. The Lord will cause His face to shine upon all who are doing His will.

In Love, Your Brothers from Emek ha Shalom, Herman and Joseph

P.S. Brother Herman feels that the Lord will this very month cause a positive change for Israel. Therefore:

“You who call on the Lord,

give yourselves no rest,

and give Him no rest till He establishes Jerusalem

and makes her the praise of the earth!”

Brother Joseph

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JEHOVAH’S FOOTSTOOL MADE GLORIOUS

“Thus saith Jehovah, Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.” “I will make the place [footstool] of my feet glorious.” “His [Jehovah’s] feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives.” (Isa. 60:13; 66:1; Zech 14:4; Matt. 5:35; Acts 7:49)

God’s footstool has been far from glorious for the past six thousand years: sin, pain, crying, mental and physical suffering and death have made it one vast charnel house in which now, conservatively estimated, at least twenty billions of humanity wait for the time to come when the curse of Divine Justice shall be lifted; and the light of Divine favor, shining in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord, shall rise as the sun of righteous­ness –

“Chase away sin’s dismal shadows,

Light the gloom with healing ray.”

 To this end God has made abundant provision. The ransom for Adam and all who suffered loss through him as his children, buys the whole world, and secures for each one of our race an opportunity of a trial for everlasting life under favorable conditions. It does more, it buys back Adam’s Paradise home (lost by his transgression), and his dominion as earth’s king, representative of God, his Creator and Father.

 Hence we read, “Thou, O Tower of the flock [Christ], the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion.” (Micah 4:8) Paul also speaks of the “redemption of the purchased possession.” (Eph. 1:14) Our Lord in one of His parables referred to this also, showing that He purchases not only mankind, the treasure, but also the field, the world, the earth from under the curse: and that all who join with Him, as members of the Kingdom Class, share in that purchase of the field and the treasure. (Matt. 13:44)

The entire work of the Millennium will consist in ordering and making glorious God’s footstool. Paradise, when lost through sin, was but a garden in a corner of the earth; but inasmuch as the race of Adam has multiplied to fill the earth, in accordance with the Divine intention (Gen. 1:28), and since they all have been redeemed, it will be necessary to provide a Paradise large enough to accommodate all. This will imply that the entire earth shall become as the Garden of Eden for fruitfulness and beauty and perfection. And all this is promised as the grand future consummation of the Divine Plan. (Acts 3:20,21; Rev. 2:7; 2 Cor. 12:4)

But the richest jewel of the Lord’s glorified footstool in the close of the Millennium will be mankind, in whose perfection, liberty, and likeness to God, in moral and intellectual graces, will be reflected the very image of Divinity. Most gloriously will the perfect man reflect honor upon his Maker and His wondrous plan for His creation, redemption and restitution. And with that wonderful plan will always be intimately identified first the Lord Jesus, Jehovah’s “Word,” and second the Bride, the Lamb’s wife and joint-heir in disbursing the blessings secured by the ransom.

This beautifying and glorifying of the Lord’s “footstool” will not be completed until our Lord Jesus, as the Father’s honored agent, “shall have put down all [conflicting] rule, and all authority and power. For he must reign until he hath put all enemies under his feet, before he delivers up the Kingdom at the close of the Millennium.” (1 Cor. 15:24-28)

The period of the reign of Sin and Death is described as the time when God “remembered not his footstool in the day of his anger” (Lam. 2:1); but following the start of the Millennium, the people are prophetically called upon to “Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his footstool, for he is worthy.” (Psa. 99:5) And this thought, that the establishment of the New Jerusalem, the Church of God glorified, as the new government in the earth, will mean the beginning of the restoration of Divine favor to Jehovah’s footstool, is clearly set forth through the Prophet Zechariah (14:4,5).

JEHOVAH’S FEET ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES

This prophecy is generally misunderstood, and applied to the feet of our Lord Jesus, at His Second Advent. Indeed, those who thus err generally go farther and assert that it will be the feet of flesh, pierced with the nails of Calvary – not realizing that our Lord gave His human nature, complete and forever, as our ransom; and that He was raised from the dead, by the Father’s Power, a glorious spirit-being, the express image of the Father’s person.

But a glance at the preceding verse (Zech 14:3) shows that the Prophet speaks of the return of Jehovah’s feet; for the verse (referring to the trouble by which the Kingdom will be established) is: “Then shall Jehovah go forth and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle [anciently for Israel]. And his feet will stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be divided in its center, from east to west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove northward and half southward.”

As soon as any see the fact that the feet mentioned are Jehovah’s feet, they will not dispute that this language is symbolic, and refers to the Lord’s reestablishment of His dominion in the earth, that has long been comparatively abandoned to the “god of this world” Satan, except as the Lord was represented first by the typical Tabernacle, secondly by the Temple at Jerusalem, and lastly by the present tabernacle condition of the Church of Christ, during this Gospel Age. Surely, no one will err and get the thought that Jehovah literally rests His feet upon this earth as a “footstool.”

And if the placing and resting of Jehovah’s feet is symbolic, and signifies the return of Divine favor and dominion to earth, so, we may be sure, other features connected in the same prophecy are symbolic: the Mount of Olives, its peculiar division, its valley, the flight of the people, the waters of life from Jerusalem (Compare v. 8 with Ezek. 47:1-9), etc., are all symbolic statements, pictures of grand spiritual truths.

The olive is a meaningful symbol: in olden times it was the source of artificial light, its oil being generally used for this purpose (Ex. 27:20). Indeed, in the Hebrew the olive tree was called shemen or oil tree. Olive oil was also used as the basis of many of the precious ointments of olden time – such as that used in anointing the priests and kings, typing the Holy Spirit upon the antitypical “royal priesthood.” (Ex. 30:25) And from time immemorial the olive branch has been used as a symbol of peace. (Gen. 8:11; Neh. 8:15)

If then the olive be the symbol of light, peace and Divine blessing through the Holy Spirit, and if mountain be considered as elsewhere the symbol for a Kingdom, the significance here of the term Mount of Olives is easily seen to be the Kingdom of Light, Peace and Divine Blessing. And the standing or establishment or fixing of Jehovah’s “feet” upon it, signifies that the Divine favor and law will be reestablished in the earth by and through the Holy Kingdom.

This application of the term Mount of Olives, is in full accord with Paul’s statement (Rom. 11:17,24) in which he compares Fleshly Israel with the original cultivated olive tree, and Gentile converts to wild olive branches grafted in where the natural branches had been broken off. (Compare Jer. 11:16,17.) He explains that the root of the tree is in the promise of God, the Abrahamic promise, that the seed of Abraham should finally bless all the families of the earth, etc. Finally the same root or promise will bear two kinds of branches, the ingrafted wild olive branches, and the re-ingrafted natural branches: when Israel shall have his blindness turned away, and shall look with the eye of faith on the Savior crucified and pierced eighteen centuries ago, a sacrifice for sin. We remember also that fleshly Israel was God’s typical Kingdom or mountain for a long time, and that spiritual Israel of this age is called to be the real Kingdom of God, as Jesus said, “Fear not, Little Flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.” (Luke 12:32)

Further, from these two Kingdoms (even before Jehovah’s glory rests on them to make them His channels of blessings to all mankind) has proceeded all “the light of the world” during all the darkness of the past: for are not these the representatives of the Old and the New Testaments, the two parts of the Oath-bound Covenant? Are not these related to the Lord’s two witnesses and to the two olive trees of Zech. 4:3,11,12, distinctly mentioned also in Rev. 11:4? – in that these two parts of the mountain symbolize the outcome of that covenant, the results of the witnessing – the Kingdom in its heavenly and its earthly phases?

Here we see, then, that the two halves of the Mount of Olives mean the two parts of the Kingdom of God, distinctly separated according to a Divine order or arrangement. The separation indicates no opposition between the two parts of the Kingdom. It is, on the contrary, for the purpose of making the “Valley of Blessing” between – to which all who desire Divine aid may flee and find succor under the blessed protection of both the heavenly and the earthly phases of the Kingdom.

The Prophet David (Psa. 84) seems to have been given a foreview of this great “Valley of Blessings,” close to Jehovah’s “feet,” when He sings first of the Saints of the Gospel Age and then of those blessed in the next age, saying:

 “How lovely are thy dwelling places

 O Jehovah of Hosts!

 My soul desired, yea, it even fainted

 For the courts of Jehovah.

 My heart and my flesh shout with joy

 Unto the living God.

 Even as the sparrow hath found a house,

 And the swallow a nest for herself,

 Where she may lay her young: (so

 I have found) thine altars, O Lord of Host,

 My God, my King.

 Happy are they that dwell in thy house:

 They shall be continually praising Thee. Selah.

 Happy is the man whose strong confidence is in thee

 Whose heart reflecteth (wholly) on the paths of (righteousness).

 Passing through the valley of mourning,

 They change it into a place of (joy) springs – [Valley of Blessings].

 The Autumn rain brings them blessings [Joel 2:28]:

 They go from strength to strength

 That each of them may be presented (perfect)

 Before God in Zion.”

The Eighty-fifth Psalm also pictures the return of Divine clemency and blessing under the Millennial Kingdom, the Olive Mountain (Kingdom) of two parts.

The removal of one part of the mountain to the north and the other to the south is significant; the North is the direction of the Pleiades, the celestial center of the universe, the supposed seat of Divine empire. This would seem to indicate the “change” of the Gospel Church at this time, from human to spirit conditions as “partakers of the Divine nature”: and the removal of the other half of the mountain would seem to signify the complete restitution, to perfect human condition, of those Ancient Worthies accounted worthy to constitute the earthly representatives of God’s Kingdom.

The valley thus produced would be one full of light – free from shadows: for the sun would stream through it from east to west. This speaks pictorially of the Sun of Righteousness and its full light of Divine truth and blessing scattering the shadows of sin, ignorance, superstition and death, and healing and restoring the willingly obedient of men who will flee to this valley of blessings, the valley of mercy. The valley of mercy, between and under the care of the spiritual and human phases of the Kingdom of Light and Peace (the standing of Jehovah’s feet) will surely be a “Valley of Blessings” to all who enter it with broken and contrite hearts.

We must recall, further, that while it is said to Israel only, “Ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains,” yet as a name Israel meant “The people blessed of the Lord,” “The people of God,” “The Lord’s people.” (2 Chron. 7:14) While, as we have seen, the first or spiritual blessing of the Kingdom shall come to spiritual Israel, and the second or earthly blessing shall begin with Israel according to the flesh, yet it will not stop there; for whosoever will may become an Israelite: by exercising the faith and obedience of Abraham, all mankind may become Israelites indeed, “the people of God.” Hence the Prophet Isaiah declares that when Israel is called back to Divine favor, at the establishment of the Kingdom, it will include “Every one that is called by my [Jehovah’s] name: for I have created him for my glory; I have formed him, yea, I have made him. [The name Israel will then apply to all who are God’s people.]” (Isa. 43:7; Rom. 9:26,33; 10:13)

“And [thus] will Jehovah my God come in, and all the holy ones shall [thus] be [united] with him.” (Zech. 14:5) When God’s time shall have come, when the lease of power to the Gentiles shall have run out, when the sacrificing of the Day of Atonement (the Gospel Age) shall have ended, when the High Priest shall have finished atoning, not only for His “body,” the Church, but also for His “house,” and for “all people,” and He shall come forth to bless all the people, then Jehovah’s sentence of death shall be lifted from the earth, His footstool abode will again be recognized, and its beautifying in righteousness, truth and the Holy Spirit of love shall begin and progress, until, in the end of the Millennium, all the willingly righteous shall have reached perfection, reunited with Jehovah, and all the unwilling shall have been destroyed. (Acts 3:23; Rev. 20:9)

Carrying the picture further, the Prophet declares, respecting that day in which gradually the earth shall be made glorious as Jehovah’s footstool:

“It shall come to pass in that day that the light shall not be bright nor the darkness thick; but the day shall be the one foreknown to the Lord – neither full day nor night: but it shall come to pass that at its close [evening] it shall be [clear] light.” (Zech. 14:6,7)

Some confounded the “day” here described with the “day of Vengeance” which is “a day of clouds and thick darkness with no light in it” (Joel 2:2; Zeph. 1:15) and the translators have, seemingly, generally tried to harmonize the translations. But not so; the day here referred to by Zechariah as only partially bright is the Millennial day, though in it the Sun of Righteousness will arise and shine, to scatter earth’s miasma of sin, superstition and death. It will yet be only partially bright, because it will throughout be dealing with generation after generation of the fallen race as brought from the tomb, and in various stages of restitution toward perfection. But how refreshing it is to be assured that in that day of the reestablishment of Jehovah’s feet upon His footstool, there shall be no more “thick darkness”; and that at the close of that Millennial Day, instead of growing darker, the world will only have reached the high noon of its “light of the knowledge of Jehovah”; and that its sun shall never set.

The reference to the rivers of living waters flowing from Jerusalem, during this Millennial Day of the reestablishment of Jehovah’s feet upon His footstool (Zech. 14:8,9), reminds us of the corresponding testimony of Ezekiel (47:1-12) and of John’s Revelation (22:1,2) which, under this same symbol of living waters preceding from the throne of the Millennial Kingdom, show us the restitution blessings under the symbols of “water of life,” to which whosoever will may come and drink freely, and fruitful trees of life everlasting whose leaves will heal the repentant peoples of earth of all imperfections.

Ah yes! “In that day the Lord shall be King over all the earth”; His Kingdom shall have come as His faithful have long prayed; and by the end of that day His will shall be done on earth even as it is done in heaven. God’s footstool shall then be glorious indeed; as it is written:

“As Truly as I Live, the Whole Earth Shall be Filled With the Glory of Jehovah.” (Num. 14:21; Isa. 11:9; Hab. 2:14)

(That Servant’s Vol. 4, Studies in the Scriptures)

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QUESTION OF GENERAL INTEREST

QUESTION – “What of chapter 35 of Isaiah’s prophecy, with emphasis on joy?”

ANSWER – This question was asked in the Watchtower of February 15, 1996: “That has also undergone a fulfillment in our time... It has been fulfilled in a restoration of spiritual Israel from a type of captivity. Let us examine the facts in what is recent theocratic history, falling within the lives of many still alive.” (p. 14, col. 1, par. 2) The reason they give for this captivity of their remnant is that their remnant had not kept entirely clean and was spotted with doctrinal errors and compromised when not taking a clear stand for Jehovah when put under pressure to support the warring nations in World War One. (See p. 14, par. 3)

The Witnesses say this “theocratic” teaching means it is God’s inspired teachings. What about their “theocratic” teachings of the past which they had to correct when time manifested it false? God makes no mistakes. They speak of the joy the Jehovah’s Wit-nesses have in walking up the Highway of Holiness of Isa. 35:8. They think to change times and seasons. There are only two ways during the reign of sin and evil: the narrow way for the Lord’s people and the Broadway of Destruction for the world. The Highway of Holiness is for the world during the Kingdom (Acts 17:31), which is future for Restitutionists. See the Divine Plan of the Ages, chapter 11. They advertise the Divine Plan of the Ages but haven’t read it, or don’t believe it. Satan will be bound during the Kingdom for the world (Rev. 20:3), and there will be no temptation to do evil. No error will be taught. The Highway of Holiness will be an easy way for the world. Today is a test of faith. The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not in that glorious gospel of Christ (2 Cor. 4:4). Satan makes sure that all sorts of temptations will come to those on the narrow way. Even the Witnesses’ eyes are blinded regarding that glorious Kingdom, otherwise they wouldn’t be preaching doom to those who don’t join them.

“What will ‘the end’ mean for those who reject God’s standards [meaning, of course, the Witnesses’ teaching]? It will mean their adverse judgment and destruc­tion.” (May 15, 1996 Watch­tower, p. 7, top) “Following the destruction of those who reject Jehovah’s ways of peace, God’s Kingdom will usher in a glorious era of security for the benefit of the righteous ones on earth.” (p. 7, col. 1, par. 2)

God is love (1 John 4:16), and we are assured that all the unbelievers will receive a resurrection in the Kingdom: “For God concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.” (Rom. 11:32) All means all unbelievers. God knows that the Devil has blinded the world’s minds. It is for the purpose of giving the world experience under an evil reign as well as to test the faith of His people. If they are faithful in the narrow way they will “rejoice in the Lord” and His Truth amidst all their afflictions and testings. They will be rewarded above Restitutionists. They are not looking for an easy way as the world will have in that glorious Kingdom.

The Witnesses have displayed That Servant’s picture in several Watchtowers and also advertised The Divine Plan of the Ages. In doing so it is Jezebel painting her face as their prototype, the Papal system, has done. They have cast aside Brother Russell’s chronology and have changed their chronology many times so that they are floating around in space and don’t know where they are in the span of time. Time has proven their predictions to be false such as “Millions Now Living will Never Die” in 1925 and their predictions for Armageddon. They are gaining more of those who are blinded to that glorious Kingdom but are losing some whose eyes are being opened to that glorious Kingdom and the Truth.

The Witnesses are the only ones emanating from Pastor Russell who have built churches, which they call Kingdom Halls. Brother Russell did not build churches, nor do Bible Student groups even though they have many brethren in all countries of the world. The Witnesses no longer call themselves Bible Students.

The Jehovah’s Witness claim Pastor Russell as their founder but have discarded many of his doctrines with their “new light,” which is actually “new error.” Instead of teaching, as Pastor Russell did, that the Papal system is the ANTICHRIST with Scriptural proof which he gave in The Time is at Hand of his Studies in the Scriptures, they now teach that the United Nations is the ANTICHRIST. The United Nations is a secular organization and does not claim God or Christ as its head. But the Papal system claims they are Christ’s Kingdom. In other words, they are ruling instead of Christ, therefore are the ANTICHRIST.

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LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Emily:

Back again from Emek ha Shalom a third time, and I am sending you some pictures of the life there.

Today there are much more visitors coming to Emek ha Shalom than earlier. This last week-end Herman and Josef were told to expect 7,000 visitors. According to Herman the Jews now have a new spirit, and they have been more interested in the truth. Herman and Josef have very much to do. They have to take care of the very beautiful garden and the farm, and they have to give many lectures. Josef is doing all the cooking.

Leif and I are worried; there is a risk of Herman and Josef being worn out. Where are the Bible Students? Are they waiting for signs of Christ’s government having been established before they will help with teaching the Jews the truth of the sacrifice and the New Covenant? I cannot imagine that they believe that they all must be dead and members of this government before they can help with this work.

About the work see Ezekiel 36:25: “Then [after gathering the Jews out of all coun-tries] will I sprinkle clean water [scanning] upon you.”

All the best and many kind regards. Your friend, Anders (SWEDEN)

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Our beloved Sister Emily: Loving greetings thru our Savior!

Please excuse our belated answer to your letter, but the enclosed report will explain it. We are glad that we are in such a unity and harmony of spirit and mind with you. It is very encouraging to have brethren like you who have the right understanding that Israel has now priority in God’s plan. We are to do what we can both spiritually and financially. Again and again we are touched anew by your sincere love. We see a great tribulation coming upon Christendom, if the present indifference will hold on. The love you have shown toward Israel we appreciate very much. It can be an encouragement to others and inspire the awakening which is also going on among the believers. Please labor for the unity that it may come to a united effort toward Israel.

Special prayer support is needed for continuing and increasing the process of the awakening among faithful Jews that the ministry we are doing toward them may be effective for His glory. These Jews are now being slandered as fanatics and opposers of peace. Please pray that they may be able to speak out, which the nation of Israel is not doing. Also, pray that they may in spite of all opposition become the example for Israel and speak out. If they do speak out their eyes may be opened to recognize the enormous deception they have had. Then the national awakening will come which is clearly prophesied: “The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins.” (Isa. 59:20)

This time we approach you also for personal help. Please pray that the Lord will strengthen us. After years of concentrated service we are completely exhausted. It is the first time that we were no longer able to serve all the groups of visitors who are coming to the Peace Valley. Although most of them are coming with leaders who know us and are able to give complete witness by themselves. It will be a great pity if such opportunities are lost. Visitors who did not meet us, left written messages like: “This is the most beautiful place we have ever seen. Thank you for creating such a wonderful settlement.” “We wish you blessings for a successful continuation.” Another message says: “This place breathes pastorality in its highest completeness.” Etc., etc.

This is an evidence of how the Lord identifies Himself with the work of Emek ha Shalom, and reveals Himself to the visitors. It would be harmful if we are no longer able to serve all our visitors. Brother Hermann is now 95 years old, gets up before dawn and starts to work until evening. Brother Joseph after 25 years of exhausting ministry reached the weight of 44 kg. For many years he slept only 3 or 4 hours a night. We cannot continue without your help. Israel without help would be swallowed up. Please come and help!

In the hope that the Lord’s people will shortly leave Babylon and unite themselves to the great prophesied Army of the Lord.

Your brothers, Hermann and Joseph (ISRAEL)

PS – Last year Brother ------------- brought us a small personal computer which works on 12 volts. It is a great help for us to settle the correspondence. Shortly after he received a new big computer from the company he is employed by. The Pastor Russell books arrived safely. We may need more later. Thank you!

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Dear Herman and Joseph:

Many thanks for your letters. I am very pleased to hear that the visitors are getting “deeper” in the knowledge. When I look back on the year 1995, from our first visit at E.h.S. to the latest visit in November-December and remember what you, Joseph, ---------- and -------- said, and also what I saw with my own eyes, is that our Creator is taking away the blindness.

I become so glad when I realize, that you have tried to reach me on the phone. Anders and I spoke about a trip to you about two weeks ago. But we have not decided the date yet. We will of course let you know the date as soon as possible.

We both look, of course, very much forward to seeing you in Emek ha Shalom. You are in my mind every day.

All the best and many kind regards, ------------- (SWEDEN)

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NO. 476A: ISRAEL HOLDS A PRIORITY ON DIVINE FAVOR - PART ONE

No. 476A

Israel, the Chosen People of God, have always held a priority on His favor except for an interval between Jesus’ death and His Second Coming dur­ing which time God “hid his face from them” (Isa. 59:2) and they experienced a period of in­terrupted commu­nion, not severed union. Al­though Jesus’ First Advent on earth was for the purpose of giving Himself “a ransom for all,” He did not come to all; “he came to his own” (John 1:11). When Pilate asked, “Art thou a king?” Jesus answered, “For this cause came I into the world” (John 18:37). He did not say, For this cause came I to the world, for Jesus did not come to the world; “He came to his own” – “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” He did not come into the world to be King of the world; He said, “My kingdom is not of this world” – this age, this dispensation (John 18:36). Yet, to be (future) King was the “cause” or reason He came into the world. It is time now for Him to be King, and He is beginning to “set up” His Kingdom – the Kingdom about which His disciples asked, “Wilt thou at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel?”

At Jesus’ First Advent, His Atonement‑sacrifice paid the redemption price for the whole world, yet He demonstrated only a casual interest in the Gentile world, and on one occasion He referred to them as “dogs” and this in contrast to His ref­erence to Israel as “children” (Mark 7:27). And, although the object of His human birth was to “give his flesh for the life of the world,” He “prayed not for the world” nor did He grieve about the world, but He prayed for His “own” and He “wept” over Jerusalem (John 17:9; Luke 19:41). He did not pine to take the world under His wing, but sorrowfully He said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how oft would I have gathered thy children together as a hen gathereth her brood under her wing...” (Luke 13:34).

Thus Israel held a priority of favor with God. Never at any time have Gentiles held equal favor with Israel; Gentiles have never had any oracles of God; nor have any of their governments ever been a Divinely sponsored and directed rule as were the kings of Israel and Judah. God has merely permitted Gentile nations to rule the earth during the period of Israel’s “double” of disfavor, but at no time has His blessing been upon their conflicting interests, their inconsistent doctrines and opposing armies. It is only as a few Gentiles have become true Christians that they have come into covenant relationship with God and have become recipients of His favor. Chris­tians should bear in mind that it was not every one of Israel that refused to accept Jesus; a few “received him” (John 1:12), and those who re­ceived Him remained in His favor, others were broken off. Paul, speaking to Gentiles regarding Israel’s family tree, says (Rom. 11:17‑19), “And if some of the branches be broken off [unbeliev­ing Jews], and thou [believing Gentiles], being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them [among believing Jews], partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree! boast not against the [broken off] branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou will say then, Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.”

The first point is, only some of the branches were broken off, not all the branches. Another point is, believing Gentiles were grafted “among them,” not instead of them; that is, believing Gentiles were grafted among believing Jews. An­other point is, Gentile believers were simply to become a partaker with Jewish believers. But it appears that Gentiles have tried to be a monopolizer instead of a partaker. They think they have taken the place of the Jew in God’s Divine Plan. No Gentile Christian should “boast over the natural branches; it is not you that bearest the root, but the root thee.” It is through the Jewish “root” that a Gentile Christian receives any blessing at all. It might be well for such to cultivate a little gratitude for undeserved bless­ings flowing through the Jewish channel. Paul anticipated what Gentile “Christians” would say. He says, “Thou wilt say then, branches were bro­ken off that I might be grafted in.” Paul anticipated the error into which “Christian” Gentiles would fall. “Thou wilt say.” Paul does not say, God saith, or I say, or the Lord saith; but he says, “Thou wilt say” – Gentiles will say – “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” Paul admits “some branches were broken off,” but the breaking off of the branches was not done for the purpose of grafting Gentiles in, but rather it was an occasion for grafting “a few” (Matt. 7:14) Gentiles in. In other words, the broken off bran­ches were made the occasion, not the cause, of grafting “a little flock” (Luke 12:32) of Christian Gentiles in. What, then, was the cause of some of the branches being broken off: “By unbelief they were broken off” (Rom. 11:20). The branches were not broken off simply to make room for Gentiles. It was the unbelief of the Jews which caused their breaking off from the favor of God, which breaking off occasioned a blessing to “a few” Gentiles.

True Christians, no doubt, understand their relationship to the Jewish national branches as partakers with, not instead of, believing Jews; but “Christians” (so called) appear to regard Jews as altogether cast off, and themselves as having taken the place of the Jew in God’s Divine arrangement. They call themselves “Spiritual Is­rael,” welcoming Gentiles everywhere and ignor­ing Jews. “For I would not, [Gentile] brethren, have you ignorant of this mystery, lest ye be wise in your own conceit, that blindness in part hath happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in” (Rom. 11:25). This shows that the partial blindness of Israel is a revealed mystery and that “ignorance” of this mystery is apt to produce conceit – “lest ye be wise in your own conceit.” Has there been no ignorance on the part of Gentiles of this mystery resulting in Gen­tile conceit and a sense of superiority in their relationship to God? Bear in mind that Israel’s blindness was only “in part” and was to continue only “until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.” Israel’s blindness was not arbitrarily inflicted by God; it had an adequate cause. The blindness is not a cause, but a consequence – a consequence of unbelief. Because of “unbelief” they were “broken off.” Their unbelief was not total, it was only partial – blind “in part” (Rom. 11:25).

Note Acts 15:14‑16 which says: “Simeon hath declared how God... did visit the Gentiles [for a specific purpose] to select out of them a people for his name [Christians]. After this, I will return and build again the Tabernacle of David [the Jewish polity] which is fallen down; I will build again the ruins thereof and set it up that the remainder of men might seek the Lord and all the Gentiles upon whom my name [Christian] is [commonly] called.” It is a common thing for Gentiles to freely and casually call themselves “Christians.”

When God “visited” the Gentiles, He did not visit them to bestow His blessing upon their conflicting interests and opposing armies, but to “take out” (select) a people (True Christians) to bear “his name.” Although Gentile governments have been permitted, temporarily, to exercise rulership over the earth, Gentiles, as nations, are no more in God’s favor than they were at Jesus’ First Advent when He referred to them as “dogs.” It will be “after” the Tabernacle of David has been “set up” that Gentiles “upon whom his name is [falsely] called” will have a universally favor­able opportunity to “seek the Lord.” When Israel shall have received her “double” of punishment; when she has paid for her insufficient faith, the Messiah’s first restoration act will be to “build again” the Jewish polity – the Tabernacle of David and “set it up.” And the security of David’s throne is guaranteed by the oath of God: “I have made a covenant with my Chosen, I have sworn unto David, my servant, thy seed I will establish forever and build up thy throne to all generations... my covenant I will not break nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. Once have I sworn by my Holiness that I will not lie to David. His seed shall endure forever... as the moon – the faithful witness in the sky” (Psa. 89:3,4, 34‑37).

Israel is promised the same restoration com­mon to Gentiles but more in detail. Their polity will be restored; their land will be restored; they will be restored to their land; their “judges and counsellors will be restored as at the first” (Isa. 1:26). The Lord has not, for one moment, turned away from Israel’s family tree – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the patriarchs and prophets of old, and though, in Jesus’ day, it was found necessary to figuratively break off some of the natural bran­ches, even these He will regather and restore, for they are still “beloved for their fathers’ sakes” (Rom. 11:28).

At Jesus’ First Advent He came as the world’s Redeemer, but he came to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” – God’s Chosen People. He offered them a special favor – the first to accept Him as Messiah and King. If they, as a nation, had had sufficient faith to have accepted Him, it is a logi­cal conclusion that no branches would have been broken off from God’s favor, and thus there would have been no occasion for their house to have been “left desolate” or for a grafting process. The consequences to the Gentiles as regards Israel’s rejection of Jesus was, a fraction of them accepted Him as the Messiah and became true Christians and were grafted into the Jewish family tree and received a blessing. This is in contradistinction to the universal blessing which Israel’s national restoration and conversion will bring to the world – the blessing of “all the families of the earth.” If the national “desolation of Israel’s house” and the temporary “breaking off” and “casting away” brought blessings to a limited number of Gentiles, how much more will their conversion, regathering and the rebuilding of their polity mean to the world? If Israel’s national calamity occasioned a blessing, how much more blessing will their conversion and restora­tion bring? (Rom. 11:15)

Some Gentile “Christians” seem to think they have a point by raising an objection: “But Jews are going back to Israel in unbelief.” We answer, Jews are not going back to Israel in total unbe­lief, only partial unbelief – “blind in part.” But suppose they were going back in total unbelief, would that make a difference with God? Would He change His plans? If His favor has returned to them, would their lack of faith affect the faithfulness of God? Shall their want of faith make His favor of no effect? “What if some did not believe, shall their unbelief make God unfaithful? God forbid” (Rom. 3:3). The unbelief of Jews cannot change, alter nor thwart the purposes of God. His purposes and promises will not be af­fected by Israel’s conduct. “For the gifts and the callings of God are without repentance” (Rom. 11:29). God has not repented, has not changed His mind or rescinded His oath respecting the gift of Palestine or the call of Abraham and his natural descendants to be a blessing to the world. He knew in advance what degree of faith Israel would have, therefore, in view of His foreknowl­edge, a change of plan cannot be necessary with God. Too much stress is placed on the conduct of the Jew as affecting God’s plan. Some people think and talk of God’s dealing as though He were dealing by a rule of chance, and governed entirely by circumstance. Knowing the end from the beginning, God’s plans and purposes are fixed and unalterable.

Again, some Gentile “Christians” tell us that the nation of Israel is composed of atheists. But every Jew knows and every Christian should know that Israel without God cannot be Israel. Israel without God is a contradiction in terms. The meaning of the name and the purpose of the existence of that nation is bound up with God, and Israel will always exist as God’s nation. “Though I make a full end of all nations... I will not make a full end of thee” (Jer. 30:11). Although Israel has been a stubborn and rebellious people, nevertheless, they are a Chosen People, “beloved for their fathers’ sake,” and they are to be the first people upon whom restoration blessings will be poured. “He will save the tents of Judah first” (Zech. 12:7).

Many inconsistent, contradictory and confus­ing doctrines have been taught in Christendom due to the fact that Israel has not been properly recognized in the Divine arrangement. For practically two thousand years, during the period of Israel’s Divine disfavor, Gentiles have had full sway and dominion of earth and have ruled with applause, parade and with no interference. Aside from a very few true Christians, Gentile Babylon has had a field‑day – the heyday of her national existence. For practically two thousand years Jews, because of their offenses against God, have experienced His wrath, and have had to wait until the “set time” for His favor to return. They have waited for the promised restoration of their Holy Land; they have waited for the promised re­building of their Jewish polity that fell down; they have waited for the “ruins” to be “set up” again. There will be a depth of meaning in their words which no other people on earth can feel when, recognizing their Messiah, and having been rehabilitated in their home land, they cry: “Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him” (Isa. .25:9).

Jews are going back home; the Lord is building “again” the Tabernacle of David, for the natural descendants of Jacob constitute a Divinely separated and preserved people which have a designated mission of service in the interest of the human race and which no power on earth can annul. “Salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22), which means that universal blessings are destined to come through Israel as the earthly instrumentality, and all the combined powers on earth cannot succeed in preventing nor frustrating. It is Israel’s Divine earthly heritage to hold up the glorious and everlasting torch of peace and truth on earth. It was Jesus who declared, “Salvation is of the Jews.” He did not say for the Jews nor to the Jews but “of the Jews.” Thus, the Divine provision is that “in the times of refreshing that shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19), Israel, recovered from blindness, shall be used as a medium through whom the streams of salvation, issuing from the Messiah, shall flow to “all the families of the earth”; as it is written, “Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isa. 2:3).

The time has come, to which holy men of old have looked with longing since the flaming sword barred the first pair from Eden – the time for the “redemption of the purchased possession” (Eph. 1:14). The earth, originally given to Adam as his dominion, usurped by Satan, and so long held by man’s mighty foe, has been bought by the great Atonement‑sacrifice of Jesus. All that was lost by transgression has been redeemed by Him who “came to seek and to save that which was lost.” “Thus saith the Lord... that formed the earth and made it, he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited” (Isa. 45:18). God’s original purpose in the creation of the earth will be fulfilled when it is made the eternal abode of the restored race. “The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever” (Psa. 37:29).

A fear of making the future inheritance of man seem too material has led many Christians to spiritualize away the very truths which should lead them to look upon the earth as their home. In speaking to Israel of their homeland, the Lord declares, “Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shall call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.” “They shall build houses and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat... Mine elect shall long enjoy the works of their hands” (Isa. 60:18; 65:21).

The rebuilt and restored Jerusalem will be the metropolis of the glorified earth, “a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God” (Isa. 62:3). “The nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it; and the kings of the earth do bring their glory into it” (Rev. 21:24). “I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people” (Isa. 65:19).

Israel, God’s Chosen People, will soon begin to feel ashamed of the measure of faith they have had in the prophecies, and nothing will humble them more than to realize how limited their acquaintance has been with the Word of God.

While nations are now absorbed in their national problems, alternately moved by hopes and fears, the grand and stately march of Israel’s restoration will progress onward and irresistibly to completion in fulfillment of the Divine purpose. Nations here and there may raise their puny voices as if to stay Israel’s advancement, and arrest the fiat of the Eternal, but they might as well attempt to stay the law which governs the universe. Gentiles had a fixed course to run, as fixed as the stars that dazzle in the blue vault above, and Israel, the bright star in the firmament amongst them, has been, in all its wanderings, true to its course as well. Its mission was foreseen and foretold, and its final restoration to the Holy Land prophesied. This prophecy is being fulfilled now, today. The re‑founding of a nation in the Holy Land once more means the exaltation of Israel, and places them among the nations of earth, and gives them that sovereign right which will, through the Lord’s guiding providence, eventually mean peace and righteousness to all.

It may be said that, geographically speaking, Israel will be too small to exert much influence among the nations of earth. We answer, It will not be the extent or expanse of territory that will make Israel great, but rather it will be the strength of moral power and the power of righteousness that will make Israel renowned among the nations. Knowing this, no one should suffer himself to stand by with folded hands when this new exodus is taking place. Jews have held, for nearly two thousand years, that the consummation of the ages of suffering which they have passed through will be reached only when they again possess the land of their fathers. Is that trust and faith to die now just at the moment when it is being fulfilled? Or was it expected that the return would be brought about by means so miraculous as to be beyond the cooperation of human beings? God’s plans are not above human cooperation and He works His will through the wills of men; and thus it may be expected that the prophecies will be fulfilled largely through human wills and energies.

The inhabitants of Israel, though now under a war cloud, will eventually resume all their ancient territory. The prophecies are clear as day that Jews are destined to repossess Palestine and, indeed, to rule from Lebanon to Euphrates; and that this event is to be the first of a great series of changes leading not only to vast improvement, by God’s guiding providence, in the condition of suffering Jews, but eventually of creation in general. Surely it is the duty of pious and sober men and women to watch precursory signs, and lend their humble cooperation, should so great a privilege be accorded them.

We see the beginning of the return of Divine favor to Israel manifested in the opening up of the Land of Promise and their expulsion from other lands, and also in the returning fruitfulness of the land itself. These outward signs alone, aside from any prophetic dates and times, would be strong evidences that we are living in the close of the “Times of the Gentiles,” and we have the positive assurance of the Scriptures that Israel’s blindness and cast‑off condition would continue only “until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in” (Rom. 11:25).

Thus the gradual closing of Gentile dominion and supremacy quickens the interest of those now waiting for the consolation of Israel. Such will be hungering for whatever information God may have supplied through the prophets, touching the end or closing period of this Gentile Age. In order to appreciate the logic and reasonableness of the prophetic teaching on these interesting subjects, it is necessary to have a clear understanding of the object of Jesus’ Second Coming. The object of His Second Coming is to bring into harmony “whosoever will,” of the world, especially through the restored Ancient Worthies – the judges and counsellors of Israel, by a process of ruling, teaching and disciplining in the Kingdom. Thus Jesus’ Second Coming is of paramount importance.

(Chapter Seven of THIS IS THE MILLENNIUM, by Shelah Ben-Hanan)