NO. 482: THOUGHTS ON THE MEMORIAL

No. 482

“For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come.” (1 Cor. 11:26)

The Passover season, as celebrated by the Jews, is approaching. But the interest of Christians centers especially in the slaying of the lamb, which preceded the Passover Feast, and which typified the Lamb of God, Christ Jesus. Our celebration of this Passover season, therefore, relates to the great Antitype. At this time we as Christians commemorate the greatest event of all history, the sacrificial death of the Savior of the world. Our celebration this year properly begins on the evening of March 21, after six o’clock, which is the beginning of the 14th of Nisan.

We greatly regret that, while millions of professed Christians and Jews will in some formal ceremonies and in a perfunctory manner celebrate at that season this most important event, but few of either religion discern the real significance of the celebration. Could their minds be thoroughly awakened to its true significance, there would be a religious revival such as the world has never yet known. But, as St. Paul declares, “The god of this world hath blinded the minds” of many; and even some whose eyes of understanding are partially opened, St. Peter describes as being blind and unable to see afar off. They are unable to see the deep things of God in respect to these ceremonies, which have been celebrated for now more than three thousand years, in type and antitype.

The Passover of The First-borns: A memorial of first rank with the Israelites is the Passover. It celebrates one of the most momentous chapters in their history. It stands at the beginning of their ecclesiastical year, as the Day of Atonement stands near the beginning of their civil year. It is associated with their national birth. The Scriptures declare that God at that particular time had brought to the throne of Egypt a Pharaoh of indomitable will. The Scriptures declare that whereas other persons might have been in line for the throne, God specially favored this man’s attaining it in order that through his natural stiff-neckedness and obstinacy Divine Power might be manifested in one after another of the plagues which his course would make necessary and proper. We read, “For this very purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show forth my power in thee.” (Ex. 9:16) The ten plagues sent upon the Egyptians were manifestations of Divine Justice in opposition to their unjust treatment of God’s Chosen People. The last of the ten stands related to our subject, The Passover.

The edict sent forth was that all of the first-born of the Egyptians should die, and that the first-born of the Israelites should not die. And the Chosen People residing in Egypt were directed to take special steps whereby to mark themselves as separate and distinct from the Egyptians. They were to take for each family a lamb without blemish and bring it into the house on the tenth day of the first month. They were to cherish it and care for it until the fourteenth day, and then to slay it. Its blood was to be sprinkled on the outside doorpost and lintels while its flesh was to be roasted in the fire without a bone of it being broken. It was to be eaten in the night of the fourteenth with bitter herbs and with unleavened bread. On the morrow, in the strength of the food, they were to march forth out of Egypt to go to the Land of Promise for an inheritance under the Covenant made with Abraham.

The Destroying Angel Passed Over: The results were as the Lord by the mouth of Moses had foretold. The first-borns of the Egyptians died in that night, but the first-borns of the Chosen People were passed over or spared. This notable miracle was memorialized by Divine direction, and every year at the appropriate season a lamb was taken on the tenth day into each of the houses of the Israelites, one for each family or group. All leaven was put away from their dwellings. Everything representing corruption was burned, and unleavened bread alone was eaten with the lamb. The annual celebration of the Passover was for eight days, the first and the eighth day being high days, or to be specially commemorated.

The Passover is not only the oldest Jewish institution but the most joyous festival of the Chosen People. It celebrates one of the earliest manifestations of Divine favor toward them, and reminds them of the prophecies which declare that at some future time God will manifest Himself in their favor still more markedly; as it is written, “It shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the Children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, The Lord liveth, that brought up the Children of Israel from the land of the North, and from all the lands whither he had driven them.” (Jer. 16:14,15) Again, “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the Covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my Covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord.” (Jer. 31:31,32)

The intimation here again is that this deliverance from Egypt at the Passover time, the most notable event in the past history of the Chosen People, will be cast entirely into the shade when the due time shall come for establishing with Israel the New Covenant – old in respect to the Law and the Divine requirements, but new in the sense that it will be based upon better sacrifices and have a better Mediator, able to do for Israel exceedingly better things than Moses, the Mediator of the Sinai Covenant was able to accomplish – noble as he was in his every endeavor to serve the people as their Mediator. It is of this better Mediator and better Covenant which he would accomplish for them that Moses spoke, saying, “A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me [but greater – antitypical of me]; him shall ye hear in all things, whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that every soul which will not hear that Prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.” (Acts 3:22,23; Deut. 18:15)

The Meaning and Interpretation: For thirty-five centuries God’s Chosen People, obedient to the Divine Direction, have celebrated the memorial “Passover,” seeing merely its outward signification and not for a moment realizing the true significance of the grand fact which they celebrated – that it typified a grand feature of the Divine Program of great value to them and to all mankind. The lamb they slew typified “the Lamb of God,” Jesus, whose death constitutes the Ransom-Price for the sins of the whole world. His death was necessary before the promise to Abraham and through Him to the Chosen People could possibly have fulfillment. A redemption from sin, to be everlastingly efficacious, must be based upon a better sacrifice than the literal lamb repeated annually. It was not only necessary that Jesus become a man in order to give His life a sacrifice for mankind (Adam and his race), but it was necessary, additionally, that having finished the sacrificing work He should ascend up on High to Jehovah’s right hand, to be the Spiritual Messiah, who in due time will accomplish for the Chosen people all the gracious promises made to them in the Covenant with Abraham, in which they trust, and in harmony with which they will be used of the Lord in conveying His blessings to all nations, peoples and tongues. A sin-condemnation was on the world – “The wages of sin is death.” (Rom. 6:23) Man’s penalty must be met before this condemnation of death could be fully and forever set aside – before man could be entirely forever lifted out of death conditions back to eternal life and into harmony with his Creator.

In harmony with the Divine arrangement, Jesus first offered Himself to Israel as their King. But Israel saw not how He could be their Messiah, because He had neither wealth nor armies nor influential friends: they disdained Him as a deceiver. When He declared Himself the Son of God and their Deliverer, they thought Him an impostor and blasphemer, and worthy of death. After sentencing Him in their own Sanhedrin Court, not having the authority to execute Him themselves, they charged Him with the only crime which the Roman Governor would hear – treason to the Roman Emperor. By threatening Pilate that they would associate him with Jesus in treason, they finally effected the crucifixion of the Antitypical Passover Lamb. He was stretched upon the cross much after the manner in which they impaled their Passover lamb for its roasting.

“On The Tenth Day of The First Month”: Additionally, let us note the fact that just at the appropriate time, namely, the tenth day of the first month, when the Chosen People were taking up their lambs for the Passover, Jesus presented Himself as the Lamb of God, and was rejected. His presentation was on the exact day and in exactly the manner prescribed by the Prophet Zechariah, “Behold thy King cometh unto thee; he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass... He shall speak peace unto the heathen; and his dominions shall be from sea to sea, and from the river even unto the ends of the earth.” (Zech. 9:9,10) This was fulfilled to the very letter, as we have already seen. It was fulfilled as the Prophet foretold, on the very day that Israel’s “double” of experiences began. The Chosen People were blinded with self-satisfaction and repudiated the lowly King and refused to accept Him as their Lamb and to receive Him into their hearts and homes. Nevertheless, He proceeded to fulfill this wonderful type. As the antitypical Passover Lamb, He died on the fourteenth day, exactly in accord with the type.

The Antitypical Passover Lamb: The Israelites were commanded to celebrate this Passover as the first feature of the Jewish law and as one of their greatest memorials as a nation. As a matter of fact, we find that in some degree the Passover is celebrated by Jews in all parts of the world – even by those who claim to be agnostics and infidels. They have a measure of respect for it as an ancient custom.

Blessed are those whose eyes of faith see that Jesus was indeed “the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world” – that the cancellation of the world’s sin is effected by the payment of Adam’s penalty – that as the whole world lost the favor of God and came under the Divine sentence of death, with its concomitants of sorrow and pain, it was necessary before the sentence could be removed that a satisfaction of justice should be made; and that therefore, as the Apostle declares, Christ died for our sins – the just for the unjust, that He might bring us back to God. Thus He opened up “a new and living way” – a way to life everlasting.

Let us notice also that there were two Passovers. There was a great one, when the whole nation by Divine Power was miraculously delivered by the Lord and led by a sand-bar across the channel of the Red Sea especially prepared for them by the accentuation of winds and tides. That picture, or type, shows the ultimate deliverance from the power of sin and Satan of every creature who will ultimately come into accord with the Lord and desire to render Him worship – not an Israelite was left behind.

By and by the night will have passed, the glorious morn of deliverance will have come, and The Christ, the antitypical Moses, Head and Body, will lead forth, will deliver all Israel – all the people of God – all who when they shall know will be glad to reverence, honor and obey the will of God. That day of deliverance will be the entire Millennial Age, at the close of which all evil and evil-doers, symbolized by the hosts of Egypt will be utterly cut off in the Second Death.

“As Oft As Ye Do This”: The Apostle clearly and positively identifies the Passover Lamb with our Lord Jesus, saying, “Christ our Passover is slain for us; therefore let us keep the feast.” (1 Cor. 5:7,8) He informs us that we all need “the blood of sprinkling,” not upon our houses, but upon our hearts. (Heb. 12:24; 1 Peter 1:2) We are also to eat the unleavened (unfermented, pure) bread of truth, if we would be strong and prepared for the deliverance in the morning of the new dispensation. We also must eat the Lamb, must appropriate Christ, His merit, the value that was in Him, to ourselves. Thus we put on Christ not merely by faith, but more and more to the extent of our ability we put on His character, and are transformed day by day into His glorious image in our hearts.

Our Lord Jesus also fully identified Himself with the Passover Lamb. On the same night that He has betrayed, and just preceding His crucifixion, He gathered His disciples into the upper room, saying, “With desire have I desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” (Luke 22:15) It was necessary that as Jews they should celebrate the Passover supper on that night – the saving of the typical first-born from the typical “prince of this world.” But as soon as the requirements of the type had been fulfilled, our Lord instituted a new Memorial upon the old foundation, saying, “As often as ye do this [celebrate the Memorial of the Passover season – annually] do it in remembrance of me”! (1 Cor. 11:24,25) Your Jewish neighbors, whose eyes of understanding have not been opened, will not appreciate the matter in its true antitypical sense, but you who recognize Me as the Lamb of God, who in God’s purpose has been slain from the foundation of the world – who recognize that I am about to give my life as the world’s redemption price – will note this Passover season with peculiar and sacred significance that others cannot appreciate. Henceforth you will not celebrate any longer the type, but memorialize the antitype, for I am about to die as the Lamb of God, and thus to provide the blood of sprinkling for the Church of the first-born, and meat indeed for the entire household of faith.

“This Is My Body Broken For You”: That the Lord’s followers should no longer gather as the Jews had done previously to eat the literal Passover supper of the lamb, in commemoration of the deliverance in Egypt our Lord shows by choosing new emblems – “unleavened bread” and the “fruit of the vine” – to represent Him as the Lamb. Thenceforth His followers, in accord with His injunction, celebrated every year His death as their Passover Lamb, until after the Apostles had fallen asleep in death, and a great falling away had confused the faith of nominal Christendom, producing the epoch known as the Dark Ages. Even during the Dark Ages the teaching that Christ was the antitypical Passover Lamb persisted, though the celebration of His death in the Passover Supper which Jesus instituted fell into disuse. It was crowded out by that most terrible blasphemy, which has deceived and confused so many millions of Christendom – the Mass – introduced by Roman Catholicism. This in the Scriptures is called “the abomination of desolation,” because of the disastrous influence it has had upon the faith and practice of the Lord’s people. Although Protestants in general have repudiated the Mass, as being wholly contrary to the teachings of Christ and the Apostles, nevertheless the practices of Protestants are largely influenced yet by that terrible error, from which they have only partially escaped.

The Mass Is Not The Eucharist: Many Protestants will innocently ask, Is not the Mass merely the Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper, under another name? O, no! we answer – it is wholly different! The Lord’s Supper celebrates the death of Christ accomplished at Calvary. The Mass represents a new sacrifice for sins made every time the Mass is performed. Our Roman Catholic friends believe that when the priest blesses the wafer it becomes the actual body of Christ in his hands, for the very purpose of sacrificing Him afresh. High Mass is a particular sacrifice of Christ for a particular sin of a particular individual. Low Mass is a sacrifice of Christ for the general sins of a congregation. Roman Catholics claim to believe in the merit of Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary – that it covered the original sin, general sins that are past; but they claim also that daily sins, shortcomings, blemishes of every individual, require to be cleansed by fresh sacrifices of Christ from time to time. Thus, from their standpoint, as represented in the Mass, and as practiced by the Roman Catholics and Greek Catholics and High Church Episcopalians, Christ is being sacrificed afresh all the world over every day. This in the Scriptures is called an “abomination” in God’s sight, because it disregards, sets at naught, the fact as stated in the Bible, that Christ dieth no more, “that by one sacrifice he hath perfected forever all who come unto the Father through him.” (Rom. 6:9; Heb. 10:14)

It will be readily seen that the repeated sacrifices represented in the Mass would have the effect of nullifying or minimizing the value of the great Sacrifice at Calvary, represented in the Passover and in the Memorial Supper. How could those who had come to look especially to the Mass for the cancellation of their sins be expected to look with as deep concern and as high an appreciation as otherwise back to the antitypical Passover? While, therefore, the celebration of Good Friday has continued, the celebration of the Memorial Supper preceding it fell into disuse long ago.

As for Protestants, repudiating the dogma of the Mass as wholly unscriptural, they have abandoned it and returned to a celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Meantime, however, accustomed to the frequency of the Mass, they have considered it merely a matter of expediency how often the Lord’s Supper should be celebrated. Hence we find some celebrating it every four months, some every three months, some every month, and some every Sunday. This general laxity and failure to reach a common ground of conformity is due to two things: (1) Christian people generally have overlooked the fact that our Lord’s death was the antitypical Passover Lamb, and that its celebration is the antitypical Passover; (2) They have misunderstood our Lord’s words, “As oft as ye do this,” to mean, Do this as often as you please, whereas the words really signify, As often as you, my disciples (all of whom are Jews and accustomed to keeping the Passover), celebrate this occasion, do it in remembrance of me – not in remembrance of the literal lamb and the typical deliverance from typical Egypt and its bondage through the passing over of the typical first-born.

It would be a great blessing, doubtless, to many Christians if they could see this subject in its true light, could lay more weight upon the value of the death of Christ, and join more heartily in its celebration – on its anniversary, instead of at various other times and seasons, irregularly and without special significance. We believe that such a celebration brings special blessings to both heart and head. The nearer we come to the Divine requirements the greater is the measure of our blessing, the more closely are we drawn to our Master and Head.

The Cup Of Joy In The Kingdom: On the occasion of the institution of the Memorial of His death, the Master in His conversation with the Apostles, said: “But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” (Matt. 26:29) Our Lord was here contrasting two great days – the day of suffering and the day of glory. This Gospel Age has been the day of suffering. The Millennial Age will be the day of glory, and is especially spoken of as “the day of Christ.”

The fruit of the vine, the literal cup, represents two thoughts. The cup of wine is produced at the cost of the life of the grape. The grape loses its own individuality. The juice is pressed out, and thus the fruit of the vine is made ready for use. The cup of wine – the juice of the grape – represents, however, not only the crushing of the grape, but also the exhilaration that comes as the result. So it is in our drinking of this literal cup. To us it symbolizes our Savior’s sufferings and death. But wine also represents joy, gladness, and is thus used in the Scriptures. So in the sense in which the Lord used the words “fruit of the vine” in the text just quoted, it represented the joys of the Kingdom.

The Father marked out for our Lord Jesus in His earthly experience a certain specific course. This course constituted His cup of suffering and death. But the Father promised Him that after He had drunk this cup faithfully, He should be given a different cup, a different experience – glory, honor, and immortality.

At this Memorial season all of the consecrated should manifest their love, loyalty, obedience, faithfulness, by symbolizing the Redeemer’s death. As always, we suggest reading of the chapter on the Passover in Volume Six of the Scripture Studies.

“Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (Heb. 13:20,21)

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QUESTION OF GENERAL INTEREST

QUESTION – Do you believe That Servant’s announcement that the Kingdom was set up on September 21, 1914 in Reprint 5632 was by Bible chronology?

ANSWER – Yes, we believe it was by Bible chronology. We cannot believe he came up with that date because he decided it was time. That Servant gave us several dates by Bible chronology: 1874, 1878, 1881 and 1914. Time itself proved these dates correct. He had predicted that 1914 was the end of Gentiles times, but everything was so quiet the world over that he went over the chronology and saw no error in it. But when World War One, involving all nations, suddenly burst out, precipitated by the assassination of the Archduke of Austria, it was a sure indication that Gentile Times were ended.

There was no necessity for That Servant to announce the Kingdom was set up so far as numbers were concerned, as the number was complete in 1881 and remained complete from then until now. When one lost his crown someone else took his place. He taught the harvest work for gathering the saints was a 40-year period. We should accept all Brother Russell wrote on the Plan of Salvation for all mankind when he gave us Scriptural proof. However, he came to some wrong conclusions and expectations, which time has revealed. When the Lord came and found him searching the Scriptures He made him That Servant of Matthew 24:45-47. “Blessed is that servant, whom the Lord when he cometh shall find so doing [searching the Scriptures].”

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LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Brethren,

It is a huge spiritual battle that we are fighting now in Israel. We do it with our very last forces. Never before have the trials been so crucial and the battle so vehement. We send you some actual messages – for some of them we had to pay really with our lifeblood. We are thankful that many brethren are praying for us. Without this help we wouldn’t be able to continue here on the forefront.

We urge you, please continue with us to pray fervently, and let us draw even more closely together to one another, to become sufficiently united to overcome Satan. His empire puts up a desperate resistance against the progress of the ongoing preparations for Messiah’s Kingdom in Israel.

Your brethren in Israel depend upon your continued spiritual support in this crucial struggle.

Brethren Herman and Joseph  (ISRAEL)

P.S. We are receiving many requests from all over the world about Truth topics: Ransom and Redemption, The Kingdom, The Temple, Antichrist, etc. As answer, we are sending photocopies from Pastor Russell’s articles and reprints. For this we would need all his writings, but we still are lacking the Harvest Gleanings, vol. 1 & 2 (the newspaper sermons), the Laodicean Messenger and the Convention Report Sermons. We would also need some more Overland Monthly books, because we are sending them to prominent Jews together with a copy of the Pastor Russell biography which we composed out of various sources.

Your letter from September 20 was for us a special spiritual joy and comfort, but we did not find the time to answer. Now we received your letter from November 11 and are sorry that we caused you sorrows. Please excuse.

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Dear Emily!

Back home again from another visit to Herman Bezner and Joseph Elisha at Emek ha Shalom. My seventh, since February 1995, when my friend Anders Karlen and I visited Herman and Joseph for the first time.

The first time we in Sweden heard about the activity at Emek ha Shalom was in your publication, Epiphany Bible Students Ass’n of November 1993. Since then Anders Karlen has kept up a continual correspondence with Herman and Joseph and has also visited them on three occasions to help them with their work.

During our visits, we have had the pleasure of helping them with farming and gardening, among other things, in order to relieve Joseph of as much work as possible. And we have seen one group of visitors succeeding the other on the veranda and in the pavilion, where Herman and Joseph give their lectures.

Unlike my previous visits at Emek ha Shalom, it became obvious to me this time how totally burnt out Joseph is. He is the uniting force at Emek ha Shalom. Together with Herman, he takes care of the visitors who come to listen to him preach on God’s Plan. He keeps up all correspondence in Hebrew. He also keeps up correspondence in English and German with Bible Students all over the world. Furthermore he shall handle the machinery and see to it that it works, run the farm and do the gardening. All this work is an enormously heavy burden and Joseph’s health is in grave danger.

Hermann, Joseph and myself came up with an idea of maybe how to save the situation at Emek ha Shalom. Perhaps some guest-workers could help out, on a voluntary basis, in all sorts of work and stay at the farm for some time, giving Joseph the possibility of rehabilitat­ing himself. Such work could mean financial setback to those volunteering and it is important that we all support such activities through Herman and Joseph.

Dear Emily, I cannot emphasize enough upon the critical situation as it now appears for Hermann and Joseph at Emek ha Shalom.

All the best and many kind regard from your friend, ------------------ (SWEDEN)

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Dear Brother: Greetings in the name of our dear Redeemer.

I would like to share some of my experiences in Israel last October. I left New Jersey Sunday evening October 13th. The plane was filled with young Jewish boys going back to Israel. My traveling companion turned out to be a teacher from a nearby town in New Jersey. I had a wonderful opportunity to tell her about the truth which she eagerly accepted and freely admitted she was not aware of. She was on a mission for the Jewish people and needed to get to the Knessett as soon as the plane landed.

Ray and Carmela Luke were waiting for me at the airport. It was noon or later when the plane landed so we decided that we would drive to Arad to see Connie and Stuart. It was good to see them both doing so well. Our fellowship was wonderful as we exchanged thoughts. Later we were able to meet John Livermore who was very helpful with our baggage. That night we slept in the Old City of Jerusalem and learned that the building where we spent the night was built by Kaiser Wilhelm and is now owned by an Arab family. In the morning the hostess spent a lot of time while we ate telling us about the Arabs and how poor they were and many were given money to shoot at the Israelis and throw stones at them. The Hostess told us they are very poor and can use the money they get from this, but said they are very good people. She came from Florida to get more education and worked as a Hostess. She told us many interesting things as we had our breakfast. She also said they are basically very good people and work hard to make ends meet.

We drove up past the Allenby bridge on the way to Tiberias. We left Jerusalem early in the morning in order to get to a Kibbutz for their religious service which we wanted to experience. It was very interesting. They sang their hearts out. Most of the time it was singing in Hebrew. They had Sunday School for the many children that were there. Finally a young man gave a sermon from the New Testament on one of the parables which was very good. This was one of the many groups that are in Israel that are converted to Christianity. It was such a long service we could not stay too long to try to talk with them as we had to go on to Emek ha Shalom (the purpose of our visit to Israel.)

We already had a visit with Brother Bausche and stayed there two nights. We were sorry to miss seeing Sister Bausche. She was in the States for her mother’s funeral. She returned the day I had to leave Israel. One other visit we made was to visit the Brother I met at the International Convention. He was on the other side from Tiberias in Akko. He is the brother that I met at the Convention in Hungary and gave me his address and invited me to visit him. We were glad to make the connection since the next day He was leaving to visit Poland. He said he would have gathered together a group to have a meeting if he knew when we would be there. I doubt if it would have happened since his friends were all Jewish and Polish and Ray knew English. He wanted to show us the town but we had to get back before dark. He wanted Bausche’s address to contact him as he seemed very eager to meet brethren in Israel. He already knows Eleazer the young Jewish brother who I met on my last visit to Israel. He has the Polish volumes and is very active in spreading the truth. I tried hard to meet him. He sent me three addresses and we tried them all with no response.

Emek ha Shalom was our next stop where we intended to spend most of our time to see what we could do to help. Ever since the Jerusalem Convention I have been in contact with Brother Herman who is 96 years old and still working on the land up on the mountain. They have made it a beautiful Paradise where many of the Jews travel to see them and to hear his message. They have more opportunity to witness to the people there and many other groups ask them to come to them. The latest invitation they have is from Netanyahu. They find it difficult to leave their area when no one else is there. One young man that lived at a Kibuttz down the Hill comes up to help them once in a while and was there while we were there. They are all so very helpful and willing to help whenever they can without pay.

There is a lot of work to be done to keep the beautiful gardens in shape. Brother Bezner is not always able to work on the fields. Brother Joseph is also not too well and needs rest. He is very busy with correspondence.

It was seven months since they had rain and while we were there the rains came and a lot of it. Everyone was so happy to finally get some rain. On the Sabbath Brother Joseph was dressed up because he knew they would have visitors and sure enough as we were driving out, a group of about 16 young soldiers came up with two others who were probably the leaders of the group. We were just leaving and would have liked to hear the message but then realized it would have been in Hebrew which we could not understand. Later they had a few more that also came up. This was on the Sabbath when no one worked so it was a good time for them to come up the mountain and hear a good message of God’s Plan. Also during the week a few would come and go and there was always a table filled with Jewish articles for any that would be interested. They were all placed there in plastic see-through cases.

One of the interesting things we learned was the life of Brother Bezner who was an elder for many years in Germany. When things were getting bad in Germany Brother Bezner thought it best to leave, and he told his twin brother who didn’t think it was necessary. After Brother Bezner left his twin brother was taken by the Nazi’s to experiment on his body, and that was the last Brother Bezner saw of him. After that they began searching for Brother Bezner but he kept one step ahead of them and had to escape from one country to another. Finally he decided to go to Israel, bought some land up on a hill, and has been there for many years, 30 or more. The land was and still is full of stones. Not pebbles, but huge rocks. Ask Ray Luke, he worked digging out many of those rocks. After the large rocks were removed there still were plenty of smaller stones that had to be dealt with. Israel is full of rocks throughout the land. In spite of it they manage to make use of everything that is available.

The dedication and zeal of these two brethren has been remarkable. They are there ready and able to give a message of the coming kingdom to all who come up the mountain to hear a message that gives them hope for the future. They appreciate very much Brother Russell’s message of truth and continue to share it with so very many that they have had contact with. They do believe the door to the High-Calling is still open, and recognize that the time is short. Brother Joseph works hard to share the precious truth as well as Brother Herman. It has been a very interesting opportunity to see these two brethren laying down their lives to serve those who are hungering and thirsting for the truths that we all love. Many of the Jews realize things are not getting better and they have hope after hearing of God’s plan.

The Jewish people in Israel are very easy to talk to. When Ray and Carmella went to have a fax made at the home of a Jewish family they had a wonderful opportunity to witness to them and tell them about the coming Kingdom.

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem. It has been a wonderful experience, and I thank the Lord for this opportunity to see how many are looking for the coming Kingdom.

By His Grace, Alpha  (NEW JERSEY)

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NO. 481B: RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT - PART TWO

NO. 481B

THE JEWS

"BENJAMIN NETANYAHU – Prime Minister of Israel. The strange name of Israel's new Prime Minister is not strange in Hebrew: Benyamin ["son of my right hand"] Netanyahu ["gift of God"]." (Bible Light International, Volume 3, No. 7)

"MAKING TRACKS: Israel's Ports and Railways Authority director has announced an agreement under which the Jerusalem municipality will invest $40 million in the development of the city's rail links.

"One plan that is currently being studied is the routing of a Jerusalem rail link with Tel Aviv, with an underground train terminal and electric train service which would complete the journey between the two cities in 35 minutes." (World Jewry, May 1996)

"ISRAEL MISSING FROM THE HOLY LAND: The latest travel guide to the Holy Land, published by Alfred A. Knopf has a gaping hole. The guide, Knopf Guide to the Holy Land, boasts it has 'everything you need to know about the Holy Land,' and yet it neglects to mention Israel. 'The book wipes Israel off the map,' Tommy P. Baer, International President of B'nai B'rith, wrote to Knopf. 'The omission implies – wrongfully – that the State of Israel should not and does not exist.'" (Bridges For Peace, July/August 1996)

ISRAEL: "Investors want a piece of the Holy Land: Strong economy, chance for peace raise Israeli prosperity and attract businesses.

NEW YORK – Benjamin Gaon, the head of Israel's biggest industrial concern, is ready to deal.

"The president and chief executive of Koor Industrial searches the globe for partners who wouldn't have given him a second look just a few years ago. Now he's giving them a chance to tap into what has been one of the world's fastest-growing economies.

"Business is booming in the Holy Land, helped by a strong economy, an educated work force and promises of peace in the region. That's giving foreigners an abundance of opportunities, turning the land of milk and honey into the land of milk, honey – and money.

"Although smaller than the state of New Jersey, Israel has become attractive to investors because of its export-driven high-tech industries and increasingly prosperous, consumer-oriented population.

"Whether the success will continue depends largely on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose surprising election in May disappointed many business leaders.

"Netanyahu, a business graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, took office promising dramatic moves to open up Israel's economy. But his tough policies toward the Palestinians have placed a question mark over the Mideast peace process – an issue crucial to investor confidence." (Excerpt By Josef Federman, Associated Press, October 17, 1996)

"REPORT: Archaeologists find 3,200-year-old writing. JERUSALEM – Archaeologists have uncovered three clay tablets inscribed more than 3,200 years ago which may have been part of the royal archives of the largest city-state in ancient region of Canaan. The tablets date to the late Canaanite period, 1550 BC to 1200 BC, the Haaretz daily reported Friday. The period immediately preceded the first Israelite settlement in Canaan, which dates to 1200 BC and coincides with the biblical books of Genesis and Exodus. The report said archaeologists found the matchbox-sized tablets, inscribed in Accadian cuneiform scrip, while digging at the site of a Canaanite palace at Tel Hazor in northern Israel." (The Orlando Sentinel, July 21, 1996)

"Jews Praise Sweden's Cooperation: STOCKHOLM, Sweden – The Secretary-general of the World Jewish Congress praised Sweden on Thursday for agreeing to cooperate in the search for gold and other assets stolen by the Nazis from Holocaust victims.

"Once-secret Allied documents show that the Nazis sent gold to Sweden. The gold, some of it stolen from Jews, would be worth $150 million to $200 million at today's prices.

"World Jewish Congress Executive Director Elan Steinberg said information about Sweden emerged during a probe of Swiss banks.

"'We are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars in looted gold. Whether it was returned or not is immaterial. It was laundered by the Swedes,' he said during a World Jewish Congress meeting this week in Oslo, Norway.

"Although the gold was a fraction of that thought to have been laundered by Switzerland, Allied investigators said the Swedes and others should have known it was tainted.

"Swiss banks say about $32 million remains in accounts dormant after World War II, but Jewish groups claim $7 billion.

"'All gold that Germany sold after a certain date, probably from early 1943, was looted gold, since [its] own reserves... were exhausted,' said a 1946 Allied report, de-classified this year." (Excerpts from The Orlando Sentinel, November 29, 1996)

"Gold And Art Hidden By The Nazis: In the late days of World War II, the United States soldiers found a cache of art and gold hidden inside German salt mines, including fillings apparently ripped from the mouths of Holocaust victims, according to a declassified Government document.

"The document, which is dated May 10, 1945, also indicates that the cache, which included ceremonial cups used for Jewish religious observances, may have been part of a money-laundering scheme devised by Heinrich Himmler, the leader of the SS.

"Along with a cache of Nazi gold and art, the Americans discovered a special hoard of 'SS loot' which consisted of 200 boxes and bags.

"Each container bore a shipping tag listing the Reichsbank and the name 'Melmer.' The document stated the loot was deposited and then credited to another account that also bore a fictitious code name." (Excerpts from The New York Times, October 24, 1996)

"The Battle For Israel: Events in the Middle East remain complex and difficult. The Western alliance continues to pressure Israel to trade land for peace and the Islamic alliance with Iran as its instigator repeatedly calls for the destruction of all of Israel. The Palestinians press for greater concessions all the while declaring that their agenda remains the same as always. This is the phase by phase dismantling of the Jewish state. Naturally they only declare this in Arabic to their wider Arab constituency.

"CNN and other media giants attempted to tell the world that the liquidation clause in the PLO charter had been removed whereas it had in fact not been removed. Why the lie? Why is the world so eager to back Israel's enemies without due consideration of Israel's security?

"If we add to this the 'war talk' of Syria and Iran then the situation in the Middle East becomes even more volatile and uncertain. How do we respond to these things? The answer to these questions lies in a consideration of the following:

"1.  Israel Is Uniquely 'Tied' To The God Of The Bible: Israel's existence goes back to a unique encounter with God that took place 4,000 years ago. At that time God called Abraham, a Gentile living in Ur of the Chaldees, to be the father and fountain source of this nation. This call, extended to Israel through Abraham, was for the purposes of revelation (understanding) and world redemption. This effectively meant that the nation of Israel would become the tool in the hand of God that would effectively challenge and defeat the powers of darkness. Her very calling therefore presupposed a destiny of conflict and suffering.

"Bearing the above in mind it is clear that Israel has a relationship with God that no other nation upon the face of the earth enjoys. She is God's chosen people! History affirms this choosing since the word of God is Jewish as is Jesus.

"2. Israel Has Always Been Subject To Conflict: Given that the Bible bequeaths to Israel a role that brings the light, love and saving power of God into a world of sin, fallenness, hatred and domination by powers of darkness, one would expect the forces of  wickedness to assault her with every 'weapon' at their disposal. History clearly affirms this and thus much of Israel's suffering has been because of her calling and destiny.

"At the very outset when Abraham was brought into the covenant of God's blessing, the vultures – symbols of the powers of darkness – attempted to ravage and destroy the agreement. Abraham was required to chase them away! (Gen. 15:1-11) From that time onward the devil and his dark hordes have launched a never ending assault against Israel. The devil has known that hidden in her is the plan that will in the end destroy him and those who follow in his deeds. 'Salvation,' as Jesus declared, is 'of the Jews.' (John 4:22) This salvation destroys the devil and rescues those who embrace it from his tyranny! In a way conflict has been Israel's birthright.

"3.  Israel Has Always Furthered God's Plan Of World Redemption In The Land Of Canaan: The land of Israel has not only formed the nation but it has thus become the 'springboard' of God's plan of world redemption. Whenever Israel returns to her ancient homeland things take place:

"(i) Another major step in God's plan to save the world is taken...

"(ii) All hell breaks out against her. The powers of darkness throw everything against her so as to prevent or frustrate the birthing of another step in the plan of God, and;

"(iii) Miracle after miracle takes place thus verifying, for those who love God and have eyes to see and ears to hear, the purposes of God.

"All three of the above are now realities before us. In the natural the situation on the ground very often appears to be beyond human ability to resolve. We who know God's Word and love Israel must recognize that the conflict is not a natural one, it is a supernatural one. The issues facing Israel will only be resolved with God's help. She came into existence supernaturally, she has existed supernaturally and she will survive supernaturally. We must have faith to believe this and encourage as many as possible  to get into this prayer battle. Prayer will change events on the ground and be the 'secret weapon' that will see Israel's enemies overcome and defeated.

"This final return of the Jews to Zion will culminate with the return of the Messiah. No wonder the issues on the ground have become so complex and difficult. No wonder it appears as if all nations are being stirred up against Zion.

"Our readers are to be reminded that the powers of darkness take this last return of Israel to Canaan so seriously that Scripture affirms that three unclean spirits like frogs will go to the ends of the earth to gather all the nations against Jerusalem! (Rev. 16:12-14) The nature of this conflict is therefore great and we must not underestimate the intensity of it.

(By Malcolm Hedding, Christian Action for Israel Newsletter, 3rd Quarter 1996)

"A Jewish Observation Of The 'Third International Christian Zionist Congress': And now, just as the political arena in Israel seems to be rejecting Zionism as 'outdated,' the Christian Embassy has scheduled the Third Christian Zionist Congress to be held in Jerusalem for the purpose of declaring that Zionism is part of Divine destiny and to encourage the Jewish people to continue in that path.

"How ironic! For centuries Jews have suffered under persecution from Christians in all the lands of our Exile. Yet, after we have been returned to our homeland, we are persecuted by our own government and find Christians here who seek to comfort us, to renew our faith in Jewish destiny! They have consistently opposed every agreement with the PLO and every suggestion that Jewish land be compromised." (By Gary M Cooperberg, The Jewish Press)

"Arab Siege Against New Government In Israel: Netanyahu alluded to the renewed attacks on his government by a host of Arab leaders by mentioning the 'attempt to impose a political siege' on the new government when it first took office in June.

"Netanyahu recalled that 'when we took office we were faced with a concerted attempt by some circles in the Arab world to impose a diplomatic siege upon the new government and upon the State of Israel. This went so far that the first action we had to take was to break through this siege and to do it as quickly as possible.'" (By Sarah Henig, Jerusalem Post News, August 23, 1996)

"Peace Process Is Killing Us Softly: Benjamin Netanyahu is the last hope of the Jewish people to prevent the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state. The Israeli prime minister must hold firm.

"The American Jewish establishment is of no help. In a truly shocking phenomenon, it remains hypnotized by the views of Israeli leaders that were rejected by the over-whelming majority of Israeli Jews in the May elections. The U.S. Jewish leaders cannot see how they are endangering even the safety of American Jews, not to mention Israeli Jews. Neither are American politicans of any help. Democrats and Republicans, by abondoning their time-honored position that there shall be no sovereign Palestinian state, are endangering their own country as well as the future of Israel and Western democracy. I wish Bill Clinton or Bob Dole would have been more concerned with American interests rather than the Jewish vote.

"Almost two years ago in Washington, at a World Jewish Congress briefing by Dennis Ross, the State Department's special envoy to the Middle East, I asked whether the United States had junked that once firm position that there shall not be two states in the area now called Israel. This stance was adopted not only because the area is not viable for two states, but also because a Palestinian state can become the base for future military operations by Iran, Iraq and their allies for the conquest of Israel, Saudi Arabia and the vast oil deposits in the Middle East. The answer I received was evasive.

"Alas, Israel's peace brokers had agreed to the country's suicide. They were reconciled to having an armed enemy in their midst. Not many months passed and Israel learned with the tunnel violence what an armed Palestinian Authority can do. One or two such demonstrations were not enough to convince those impatient to gain peace – even if it spelled suicide.

"They make it appear that a few hundred settlers in Hebron are blocking the peace. They argue that the will of such a minority should not block what is good for millions

"Of course, if there were evidence that the Palestinians wanted coexistence, one could be more hopeful. That is what many of us dreamed about. But the Palestinians never agreed to make peace; they only use the process to fulfill the 'covenant' they never rejected, although they promised to do so. And the peace brokers do not realize that the settlers are struggling to make the majority realize this.

"And it is the settlers who are helping the United States to see where its real interests lie. A. M. Rosenthal of The New York Times considers pressuring Israel to yield to Yasir Arafat as the suicide of the West. He knows well the scenario of Iraq and Iran having an ally in the very heart of Israel – Jerusalem and the West Bank. And one does not have to be as prescient as he to imagine how rapidly this could come to pass.

"When the U.S. will have to capitulate to Iraq and Iran because they have a base in Israel, the very belly of the Middle East, Americans will be able to blame American Jews for the horrible situation. Jews who did not support the Pentagon, first in its commitment to a strong Army, then in its commitment for many decades to the proposition that America needs a strong democracy in the area – not a weakened, indefensible territory with no strong base anywhere.

"The promise that the Palestinians will have a sovereign state should be ignored. A lawful government made the promise, but no sovereign state must keep a promise that is suicidal. And in the tunnel dispute Arafat gave ample cause legally to terminate dealing with him.

"Jews are being denied the right to deal with the Western Wall as their own. They are being denied the right to worship in their own holy places. Is this coexistence as it exists in the United States and all other civilized countries?" (By Emanuel Rackman, The Jewish Week, December 1, 1996, sent by David Horowitz)

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Our heartfelt thanks and appreciation for the many beautiful Christmas cards expressing love and prayers. Be assured that our warm Christian love and prayers are ever with you. We wish all our readers a blessed and prosperous New Year. "Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord." (Psa. 31:24)

ANNOUNCEMENT:  The Memorial for 1997 is March 21, 1997 after six p.m.

NO. 481A: RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT - PART ONE

No. 481A

At the beginning of the New Year, we look back at the results of the year past with thankful hearts to the Lord for all our blessings. We express our appreciation in the words of the Psalmist: "I will be glad and rejoice in thee:  I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High." (Psa. 9:2)  "Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles." (Psa. 25:22) We are optimistic because we know the Lord will adjust all iniquities when He judges the world in righteousness.

Crime is rampant the world over. Also, we have had calamities, tornadoes, hurricanes and floods.  Good people have gone to aid those who have endured these calamities. God's eye is on the good and the evil (Prov. 15:3). "Do good, O Lord, unto those that be good, and to them that are upright in the heart." (Psa. 125:4)

1996 IN REVIEW:

(1) President Clinton is re-elected and Republicans retain control of Congress.

(2) TWA's Flight 800 crashes off Long Island, killing 230 people.

(3) A suspect in the Unabomber bombings is arrested in a Montana forest.

(4) During the Olympics in Atlanta, a bomb explodes, killing one and injuring 111. Security guard Richard Jewell is named as a suspect, then later cleared of the crime.

(5) A blizzard paralyzes Eastern states, causing 100 deaths and $1 billion damage.

(6) Scientists say they find possible signs of life in a meteorite from Mars.

(7) Hurricanes Arthur and Fran strike the U.S. mainland, and Hortense kills as least 16 in Puerto Rico.

(8) The Clinton administration is rocked by scandals, including Dick Morris' resignation, the Whitewater convictions of Robert and Susan McDougal, Paula Jones' sexual harassment case and controversy over missing FBI files.

(9) The standoff with a Montana militia calling itself the Freemen lasts 81 days.

(10) The U.S. Army is sent to Bosnia to enforce a peace accord. Clinton extends their stay through 1998. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown dies in a plane crash during a tour in the war-torn region.

(11) A whistle blower says tobacco companies knew their product caused cancer and covered it up. States file suits to recoup costs of Medicaid patients.

(12) A truck bomb in Saudi Arabia kills 19 American soldiers.

(13) A campaign-funding scandal emerges at end of campaign season with reports that millions may have been illegally donated.

(14) Rwanda, Burundi, Zaire erupt in chaos.

(15) Russian election returns Boris Yelsin to power. Yelsin later undergoes successful quintuple by-pass surgery.

(16) Bus bombings in Israel kill 44. Israeli election brings new conservative government led by Benjamin Netanyahu.

(17) China calls for unification with Taiwan. China conducts live-fire missile tests and U.S. sends aircraft carriers to Taiwan Strait.

(18) In an Army sex scandal, charges are brought against drill instructors stemming from their alleged sexual relations with female recruits.

(19) The Southern Baptist Convention calls for a boycott of Disney.

(20) Merger mania hits the telecommunications industry, affecting Time Warner, Turner, Disney, ABC and MCI.

(21) The O. J. Simpson civil trial begins.

(22) Sixteen schoolchildren and a teacher are massacred in Dunblane, Scotland.

(23) Prince Charles and Princess Diana divorce.

(24) The minimum wage rises.

(25) The stock market breaks the 6,400-point level of the Dow Jones industrial average.

(26) The Irish Republican Army ends a cease-fire in Britain with a new bombing campaign.

(27) Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan tours Libya, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Syria and Nigeria.

(28) Congress passes, and Clinton signs, legislation changing the terms of the welfare entitlement system.

(29) Federal appeals court overturns racial preferences in Texas college admissions case; California votes to eliminate preferences in state contracting, hiring and college admissions. Texaco settles racial discrimination suit for $140 million.

(30) Kurds fight each other in Iraq. Iraqis shoot at patrolling planes; the United States shoots back at missile bases.

(31) Congress opens up the nation's airwaves with passage of a historic telecommunica­tions overhaul.

(32) Corporate America fights a growing sense of insecurity among its workers.

(33) Explosion in San Juan destroys building, killing at least 17 people.

(Excerpts from The Orlando Sentinel, December 15, 1996)

"Marching Into Darkness: The Olympic myth of a peaceful world enjoying fun and games just blew up in Atlanta. The one world so beloved of speechmakers at the games is a world none of us lives in any more, if it ever existed.

"We live in a world being slowly closed in by security checks, iron gates and fear of flying. A random survey of the past 10 days of world news reveals more than a dozen terrorist actions around the globe, not to mention scores of other terrorist campaigns in progress but temporarily dormant or just being planned.

"Terrorism is the world war of our era, and it is getting worse, moving inexorably to what experts call 'the big one' – the entry of nuclear or chemical blackmail on the scene...

"Less sanguine observers might conclude that what we are witnessing is not new freedoms but new license, not global democracy but universal anarchy, a technological Tower of Babel. More contact with different people is not breeding understanding and tolerance – if anything, it is merely rounding up more faces into which more bigots can scream fewer coherent opinions.

"More technology is not proving liberating, it is becoming more dangerous. The FBI has warned that Islamic terrorists, planning to blow up dozens of American airliners, were communicating on the Internet using an unbreakable electronic code which was distributed freely against government advice by libertarian advocates of the philosophy that 'information wants to be free.' There again is that naive belief that good intentions will defeat evil beliefs – what an Israeli might call freier (sucker) philosophy."

(Editorial from The Jerusalem Post, July 28, 1996)

Science: "What's So Great About Mars? Life on Mars? Who cares except the scholars of great knowledge, who will seek billions of dollars to seek out life on Mars, a planet long dead? If you believe in God's word, man's life is here on Earth, and this planet is near death because of man's greed, and each day man poisons it more.

"Millions of people starve each year, and that problem could be solved here on Earth, yet man spends billions of dollars to seek out life in this universe. Let's get real and solve our problems among nations, for there is nothing out there in the vastness that can save our Earth, period." (By Fred O. Rogers, The Orlando Sentinel, August 18, 1996)

"'Calm down and watch your wallet.'  Ralph Degennaro, executive director of Taxpayers For Common Sense, warning that the finding of possible life on Mars could lead to big boosts in federal space budgets. (U.S. News & World Report, August 19, 1996)

"The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the word of the law." (Deut. 29:29) "That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." (Eph. 2:7) "Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit." (Eph. 3:5)

Forget space: "I suppose that you cannot discourage the dreamers. The rock from Mars – is there life there? The water on the moon – absolutely amazing. At this point we can produce hydrogen and oxygen. So what!

"A better idea, in my opinion, is to close down the whole space program and put all those talented people to work solving the problems we have here on Earth. Drugs, crime, poverty. If I seem like a bleeding heart, I am not." (By Ian Macdonald, The Orlando Sentinel, December 12, 1996)

Return  to earth:  "Every time I see a rocket go up, I see millions of dollars go up that could be used for food and health care. If we took those millions of dollars and made Earth a paradise, we shouldn't have to search for other planets to escape to after we've made this one hell." (By Audrey Ripel, The Orlando Sentinel, December 12, 1996)

VIEWPOINT: "There's much we don't know about life on Earth, why go to Mars? Some purport to have found evidence of life on Mars. So what? There is evidence of life on the African continent, and nobody seems too concerned about that.

"In my opinion the so-called evidence of so-called life on some so-called Martian rock is a scam to prime the budget pump for billions of dollars for a manned flight to Mars. I say no way.

"Assuming anybody ever got there and didn't die on the way, once they were there, what would they do? Take a few snapshots and come back. What would they report? 'Well, Mars looks just like its photographs – kind of rocky, reddish and empty.'

"Why spend a zillion dollars for that?  Especially when no government on Earth, least of all the United States, has a spare zillion to spend. As for the question, 'Are we alone in the universe?' heck no. There are 5 billion of us tripping over each other on this planet. We had better concentrate on preserving life on this planet rather than wasting billions of dollars to find out that life isn't on Mars.

"There are a lot of useful things the U.S. space program can do, but a manned mission to Mars isn't one of them. And the time to put the quietus on this project is before the publicity machine gets fully cranked up.

"You and I do not need to know if there is other life in the universe. We need to know how to live usefully on this planet without destroying it in the process. There is a lot of exciting work and study to be done in every field of human endeavor.

"We don't even know really how to live together without quarreling and frequently killing each other. We have a lot to learn about helping people learn. A great deal of what people suppose today is knowledge is pseudo-knowledge, unproven theories, and outright myths." (By Charley Reese, The Orlando Sentinel, August 18, 1996)

IN FINANCE

Looking back over the past two years and looking ahead at prospects, we must admit that there still is no agreement as to what will happen next. The bulls, bears, optimists and pessimists all have statistics to prove the opinion that the stock market will continue to rise.

The majority of financial people say that the reason for the stock market growth is that the people who we consider in the mature adult market invested in CDs back in the 1970s and 1980s when they were paid a premium interest, have invested this in the stock market. This has caused the stock market to grow. Two things drive the stock market – earnings and purchases. People buying stock that doesn't pay dividends can run up the price if there are more buyers than sellers.

It was very obvious that while running for re-election the President of the United States was not going to let the stock market deteriorate. At the time of this article, there are low earnings coming out in the fourth quarter, and how this will affect the market will be seen in the first quarter of 1997. Interest rates did not drop as low as predicted for 1996, but they are still at a low and satisfactory rate so that businesses can expand on borrowed money.

Christmas sales are reported as not good this year, and they were not good last year. One of the reasons is that personal debt is at an all time high. Last year one of the things driving the economy was new technology in the computer industry, but even computer sales have slowed down this year.

General Motors plans to get rid of 50,000 employees and farm out more work because small companies can produce the items they need to assemble their cars much cheaper than General Motors can.

Business outlook recession: There is no way to tell when it will happen, but business is getting soft. How serious it will get no one can be certain as evidence is very thin. Without a textbook recession the signs are becoming worrisome for 1998 and most economists watch for these danger signs of recession: spiking inflation brought on by shortage of energy and labor, which is true today; tight labor conditions in many areas are threatening to push wages higher and that will cause inflation. Most recessions come when the Federal Reserve raises the interest rates to nip inflation. Inventory building or lack of sales leads to production cuts and job losses. This can happen quickly if consumer spending dries up. Unexpected jolts such as the Gulf War or an Arab oil embargo will hurt.

There are no clear signs of a recession just around the corner. Signs will probably start showing up sometime next year, or possibly as late as 1999. We all know that it is best to keep in mind that a recession is out there somewhere. It will happen. Don't just shrug it off in your long term planning.

IN RELIGION

Jehovah's Witnesses: We would think the Witnesses would have us forget their fiasco of 1925 when they taught MILLIONS NOW LIVING WILL NEVER DIE. However, they say in their Watchtower of January 1, 1997, that was a mistake. "But today that statement can be made with full confidence." (col. 1, par. 1 on p. 11)

We have often compared the Witnesses to the chameleon that changes its color, as they frequently change their teaching. But usually there is "method to their madness." They now teach: "This 'great crowd [meaning them, of course] now 'renders sacred service' in the earthly courtyard of his house of worship. – Rev. 7:9,15." The offer of life is the bait used to persuade people to join them. Quite a few will join them because most people's strongest wish is to live. The Witnesses boast of their numbers, thinking numbers are their strength. But numbers are their weakness, just as others who teach error are much more numerous than are the Witnesses.

The Laymen's Home Missionary Movement: They teach that their Consecrated Epiphany Campers will be first in the Kingdom after the Worthies. But we see very little about this class in their magazines. However, we are told they continue to teach this error privately and in their conventions. Also, they teach that the "overlapping of the Epiphany into the Basilea" has been going on since 1954-56, which means that their overlapping is longer than their Epiphany proper. Brothers Russell and Johnson both taught that the Epiphany and the Time of Trouble are one and the same. When the Epiphany ends the Time of Trouble ends. The worst features of the Time of Trouble have not occurred yet – worldwide Revolution and Anarchy, with Jacob's last trouble at the end of Anarchy. The Man of Sin is to be destroyed in the Epiphany, and the Man of Sin is still with us (2 Thes. 2:3).

Catholics: "'The Pope Says We May Descend From Monkeys' is the headline in Rome's IL Giornale. The Pope and Darwin: Did God create mankind in his image, as the Bible says, or did humans evolve from animals, as Darwin theorized nearly 150 years ago? According to Pope John Paul II, evolution may be the better explanation. Weighing in on a debate that has divided Christians for decades, the pope declared that evolution is 'more than just a theory' and is fully compatible with the Christian faith. But in a letter to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, he also reaffirmed church teachings that while the human body may have evolved gradually, the soul 'is immediately created by god' in each person.

"The pope’s statement may rankle biblical fundamentalists, who take the Genesis creation story literally, but it is likely to have little impact on the Roman Catholic Church, which has long looked favorably on evolution. In 1950, Pope Pius XII called evolution a 'serious hypothesis' worthy of study. And as early as the fifth century, St. Augustine warned against a literal reading of the Genesis creation account. But John Paul II went further than previous popes in declaring that 'convergence' of scientific evidence gathered in the past 50 years makes 'a significant argument in favor of this theory.'

"This isn't the pope's first attempt to reconcile religion and science. In 1988 he declared that the church had erred in condemning Galileo Galilel in 1633 for asserting that the Earth revolves around the sun."

(By Jeffey L. Sheler, U.S. News & World Report, November 4, 1996)

At what point in the evolutionary process was the soul "immediately created by God" and put into the body? In Genesis 2:7 it is stated, "God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul." So the soul is made up of the combination of the body and the breath of life. As soon as man received the breath he became a living, conscious, sentient being – a soul – able to think, feel, smell, see and hear. Then when the breath is removed from the body the body disintegrates and the soul ceases to exist. But through the Ransom sacrifice of Jesus the soul (a body with breath) is to be restored in the resurrection (Acts 24:15; John 5:28,29). There is no Divine spark in man that lives on after the body goes back to dust. If scientist and religionists could but understand that the complete man is a soul, including body and breath, then they would not have so much confusion. "The soul that sinneth it shall die." (Ezek. 18:20)  If we had a soul that never dies, why should there be a resurrection?

"Pope will face hostility in France: Past Papal visits to France inspired barely stifled yawns. Many French, it sometimes seems, would give God himself a Gallic shrug.

"But as Pope John Paul II prepares for his fifth visit, apathy has given way to growing hostility.  The pontiff, who for years has tried to coax 'the eldest daughter of the Church' out of her indifference, may have roused a dozing giant.

"Leftist activists are protesting government funding of the September 19-22 visit. Hundreds of disillusioned Catholics are renouncing their baptisms. Thousands more, angry over the punishment of a popular renegade bishop, plan to simply sit this one out.

"This week, a crude homemade bomb was discovered in a church where the pope will make one of his first stops.  In the St. Laurent-sur-Sevre basilica in western France, police found an inscription in Latin and French: 'In the name of the pope, boom.'" [The pope's visit went off without incident as far as we know.] (Associated Press, September 4, 1996)

"CHURCH OF ENGLAND offers new description of hell: A Church of England commission this week rejected the idea of hell as a place of fire and unending torment, describing it instead as annihilation for all who reject the love of God.

"'Christians have professed appalling theologies which made God into a sadistic monster and left searing psychological scars on many,' said a report by the church's Doctrine Commission, titled 'The Mystery of Salvation.'

"'There are many reasons for this change, but amongst them have been the moral protest from both within and without the Christian faith against a religion of fear, and a growing sense that the picture of a God who consigned millions to eternal torment was far removed from the revelation of God's love in Christ,' the report said. (The Orlando Sentinel, January 20, 1996)

BAPTIST: "Southern Baptists vote to attempt to convert Jews: NEW ORLEANS – The Southern Baptist Convention on Thursday adopted a resolution calling for efforts to convert Jews to Christianity. And, for the first time in many decades, the denomination's domestic missionary agency has appointed a missionary to undertake such work.

"Early reaction to the Southern Baptists' resolution, adopted by nearly 14,000 delegates at the close of their three-day annual meeting here, suggested it may strain relations with Jewish groups.

"The resolution said the 15.6-million-member denomination, the largest in American Protestantism, would 'direct our energies and resources toward the proclamation of the Gospel to the Jews.'

"And a Baptist spokesman, Herb Hollinger, said that just before the meeting, the denomination's Home Mission Board, based in Atlanta, had appointed a missionary to work among Jews in the United States.

"Resolutions of the convention are advisory rather than being binding on any of the denomination's 37,000 congregations.  But both this resolution and the missionary appointment put the Southern Baptists at odds with several other major Protestant denominations, all of which in recent decades have encouraged dialogue between Christians and Jews while discouraging efforts at conversion.

"News of the resolution, and of the missionary appointment, brought criticism from leading Jewish specialists in interreligious relations.

"'My reaction is that this is a great setback,' said Rabbi A. James Rudin, interreligious affairs director of the American Jewish Committee. 'By singling out Jews as a target for conversions, its a great disservice not just to Baptist-Jewish relations but to Christian-Jewish relations.'

"Rabbi Leon Klenicki, interfaith affairs director for the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, said he felt 'very sad' about the resolution.

"'Especially after the Holocaust, Christians have no right to talk about a mission to the Jews,' Klenicki said." (By Gustav Niebuhr, N. Y. Times News Service, June 14, 1996)

Reformed Church In America: "One Way? Christian debate: can non-Christians be saved?  SPRING LAKE, MI – After 25 years in the pulpit at the head of a congregation of nearly 1,000 people, the Rev. Richard Rhem would seem fitted more for a role as a denominational leader than as a denominational lightening rod.

"But instead a storm is raging around him. Some here call him a heretic. The regional church authority censured him in July, holding him 'in disrepute before Christ, the church and the world.' His congregation, loyal to him, has voted to secede from the parent church.

"The reason for the dispute is that Rhem says he no longer believes that faith in Jesus is the sole way to salvation. Jews, Muslims and others, he says, may be as likely to enter heaven.

"In departing from traditional Christian doctrine that proclaims Jesus alone as Savior, Rhem has shaken the Reformed Church in America, a denomination of about 200,000 members that has roots in the Netherlands of the 16th century and its modern headquarters in New York.

"But the controversy illuminates a far broader division emerging among Christians over how to regard other faiths. Over the centuries church teachings on salvation have been varied and nuanced, but at their core is the conviction that only through Christ has God made salvation possible.

"In recent decades, however, some prominent theologians like the late German Jesuit priest Kurl Rahner have wrestled with the question whether non-Christians can be saved through their own religions.  And Roman Catholicism's Second Vatican Council, in the early 1960s, and subsequent Protestant efforts encouraged substantial interfaith dialogue, especially between Christians and Jews.

"But none of those initiatives changed the core teaching of salvation only through Christ, a tenet that for some Christians, particularly conservative evangelicals, means nonbelievers face hellfire. ["For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all." (Rom. 11:32)]

"Now, in a widening rift among Christians, some urge greater missionary zeal as the Southern Baptists did recently in resolving to convert Jews, while others argue for dialogue and seeking understanding with non-Christians, not proselytizing. And some, prominent Protestants and Catholics among them, have said God's covenant with the Jews was not superseded by the coming of Christ.

"In an often cited Biblical verse (John 14:6), Jesus declared, 'I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father but through me.' That essential teaching of the Christian faith, Rhem's critics say, is now at stake here in western Michigan. (By Gustav Niebuhr, NY Times Service, October 27, 1996)

This is just one example of how the traditional churches are disintegrating. "So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." (Rev. 3:16) This He has done and they are no longer His mouthpiece; they no longer receive the truth and what truth they did have has become polluted with nonsense.

For centuries Christians of all sorts have prayed "thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." But so very few realize that in this simple prayer is noted the two distinct salvations – one in heaven, the other in earth. Other scriptures which teach the same thing are: Jude 3, the "common salvation" and Hebrews 2:3, "so great salvation."

All will concede a heavenly salvation, but not the earthly. If there be no earthly salvation, what does Isa. 26:9 mean? "For when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness." Surely this does not mean those of the heavenly salvation for they have already learned righteousness. And Isa. 11:9, "for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." So we need not be overly concerned about the non-Christians for their time will come during the Lord's Kingdom reign – the times of restitution (Acts 3:19-21).

"Church accused of tricking youths into being baptized: WOBURN, Mass. – A Baptist church used promises of pizza and basketball games to attract hundreds of children, then gave them full baptisms, parents charge. Prosecutors and police in five communities on Tuesday were investigating complaints against Anchor Baptist Church. Parents say the church enticed teens and younger children onto buses on at least two occasions in July. Instead of getting pizza, the children allegedly were taken to the church in Woburn, made to sit through a long service, then told to undress and put on robes. Those who complied were dunked into a tank of water, parents say." (The Orlando Sentinel, August 28, 1996)

"Protestant Memberships Slide Further In Numbers: Membership in a number of mainline Protestant denominations is continuing to slide, according to the National Council of Churches' 1996 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches.

"Since the 1995 edition of the yearbook was published, the Presbyterian Church (USA) has become the mainline Protestant church that lost the most members, 98,630, a 2.6 percent drop. The United Church of Christ lost 28,868 members, a 1.89 percent loss, and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) lost 20,373 members, a 2.13 percent loss.

"The Roman Catholic Church remains the nation's largest religious body, with 60,190,605 members. It is followed by the Southern Baptist Convention, with 15,614,060 members; the United Methodist Church, with 8,584,125 members; the National Baptist Convention USA Inc., with 8,200,000 members; and the Church of God in Christ, with 5,499,875 members." (The Orlando Sentinel, March 30, 1996)

"Canadian Call: A resolution calling on members of the United Church of Canada in the province of British Columbia to encourage 'firm and positive attitudes' toward the Jewish community was unanimously approved at the Church's annual conference held May 4.

"The resolution acknowledges that anti-Jewish feeling and teaching in the Church 'have contributed to and are in large measure responsible for anti-Jewish atrocities through the ages.'" (World Jewish Congress, June 1996)

NO. 480: CHRISTMAS HOPES AND JOYS

No.      480

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ, the Lord." (Luke 2:10)

Christmas (or Christ's festival) by general usage is celebrated on December 25, and since its observance is not enjoined in the Scriptures, but is merely a voluntary commemoration of a great fact rather than of a particular date, we do well to celebrate it decorously at the usual time; notwithstanding the fact that we disagree with the date, and hold, according to the evidence, that our Lord was born about October 1, and that December 25, nine months previously, was probably the date of the annunciation (Luke 1:30,31).

Our confidence in Jesus that He was the sent of God to be the Redeemer, the Messiah, the deliverer of His people, rests not merely upon the testimony of the Apostles in the New Testament records, wonderful and convincing as these testimonies are. They gain nine­tenths of their weight and importance from the fact that they evidence the fulfillment of promises, types and prophecies given by the Lord with more or less explicitness from time to time throughout the preceding 4,000 years. He who does not discern something, at least, of the Divine Plan of the Ages in connection with our Savior, His birth, His three and one-half years' ministry, His sacrificial death, His resurrection, His ascension, etc, fails to get the real strength of the Divine revelation, designed by the Lord to be the firm foundation for His people's confidence in Him and in all the glorious things which He has promised He would yet accomplish through this great Savior.

Note the original promise of the Savior shortly after sin had wounded our first parents and brought them under Divine sentence (Gen. 3:15). Note the promise made to Abraham respecting Messiah that he should be of his posterity (Gen. 22:18). Notice the same to Jacob (Gen. 28:14), and to David (2 Sam. 7:12-16). Through Isaiah, the prophet, His coming and His greatness are foretold (Isa. 9:6, 7; 11:1-9). Daniel, the prophet, also refers to the importance of His work of making an end of sin and bringing in everlasting righteousness, and thus sealing the visions and prophecies which the Lord had just given respecting Him and the favor to come through Him (Dan. 9:24). We recall also how He was typified in Isaac, who was not only the heir of the promises made to Abraham, but who was also in figure put to death and received again from the dead. We remember also the types and figures of the Mosaic arrangement, and how Moses himself was declared to be like unto the greater one to come after him.

Had the hopes of Israel been merely concoctions to deceive the people, we may be sure that the deceiver would have been careful to have marked out some remarkable line of parentage for the coming Messiah -free from blights, scandals, etc.; but this was not done. Instead, the weaknesses of the flesh amongst our Lord's progenitors are fearlessly noted. Judah, the son of Jacob, and the head of the tribe from which our Lord sprang, was not above reproach, and his general character was faithfully portrayed; his son Phares, through whom our Lord's lineage runs, was born of an unlawful union. Rahab, the harlot of Jericho, a foreigner who became an Israelite indeed, was amongst our Lord's progenitors; so was Ruth, the Moabitess, another foreigner, adopted as an Israelite• The line even through David, is compromised by coming through Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah, the Hittite. The New Testament writers are similarly candid and make no hesitation in recording the genealogy. All of this is in full accord with the Scriptural presentation of the matter; namely, that our Lord's virtue, His sinlessness, His separateness from sinners, was not through the flesh, not through His mother, but through His Father, God.

According to the flesh, Jesus Christ took hold of the seed of Abraham, as the Apostle explains; but as we have already seen, through various circumstances He was indirectly related also to the outside world. All of this is interesting to us, but nothing to be compared to our still greater interest in the fact that our Lord Jesus, although born a Jew under the law, and redeeming those who were under the law, did more than this, in that His death as planned by the Father and accepted by Himself was a propitiation "for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:2) He died as a ransom price for Adam and his sins, and thus purchased from condemnation not only Adam, but his entire posterity involved through his transgression; hence, as the Apostle points out, "He is able to save [deliver] unto the uttermost all who come unto God through him." (Heb. 7:25) Not only so, but our Lord's circumstances of birth and early experiences in comparative poverty as a working man, impress us with the thought that hoe is indeed able to sympathize with mankind in every station of life; having passed from the glory of the Father to the low condition of humanity and back again, He is surely able to appreciate and sympathize with all conditions and classes.

The narrative of our lesson is so simple as to require few comments; our chief interest centers in the message which our heavenly Father sent us through the angels at the time they announced the birth of Jesus; "Fear not" -the angel understood well that through sin and degradation a fearful apprehension comes over man when he finds himself in contact with spirit beings; he is apprehensive of certain further condemnation or punishment; his acquaintance with man in influence, authority and power, leads him to dread the still greater authority and power of the Almighty lest it should be injurious to him. Only the Christian having the eyes of his understanding opened to appreciate the length and breadth and height and depth of the love of God, can have that perfect love toward the heavenly Father, which is built upon an intimate knowledge of His Word, and .__" which casteth out all fear. We are reminded of the prophet's words respecting the Lord's people of today. "Their fear toward me is taught by the precepts of men," (Isa. 29:13) The Lord would have His people free from this fear, though not free from a proper reverence toward Him.

The message continues, "I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." How slow the Lord's people have been to believe this message and to accept the Savior at His full worth! How prone they seem to be to suppose first of all that He was to be a Savior merely for the Jews, or secondly, a Savior merely for a special elect class; or thirdly, a Savior only for those who under present darkness, ignorance, prejudice, superstition and devilish influences, manifest a special love for righteous­ness! But how broad is the statement -great joy for all people! Our faith is not broader than the positive declaration of the Scriptures, when we hold firmly that our God graciously has arranged that every member of our poor fallen race shall yet be blessed with a clear understanding not only of his own weaknesses and imperfection through the fall, but also by clear understanding of the great redemption price paid by the Savior, and a share in the glorious opportunities thus secured to return, if he will, back to full harmony with God and to full blessings and everlasting life.

The angels did not declare that our Lord came to bring universal and everlasting salvation to all people, but they do declare that the good message of joy, of privilege, love, hope, shall extend to all people. The explanation of this is that a Savior had been born, a deliverer of the weak, the helpless, the dying, able to succor to the utmost all who would come to the Father through Him; able to open the blind eyes and to unstop the deaf ears that all may come to an appreciation of the goodness of God shining toward them in the face of the Lord Jesus.

There is a special force or meaning in this word Savior -it signifies life-giver. The Syriac version is the one in which Savior is translated life-giver, and Syriac was, likely, the language spoken by Jesus and others of Palestine at that time. And is there not a special fitness or appropriateness in this name Life-giver? What had man lost and what would he wish to have back? The Scriptures answer that Adam lost life and came under the penalty, "Dying thou shalt die." He did not lose heaven, for he never possessed it. He lost earthly life, an Eden home, human perfection. And Jesus declared that He "came to seek and to recover that which was lost." (Matt. 18:11; Luke 19:10)

No wonder after this message had been delivered, the Lord permitted an angel host to serenade the proclamation, and incidentally to prophesy also of the grand results yet to flow from the great work of redemption, which was then only beginning in the birth of the Redeemer I Properly the anthem begins with praise to Him that sitteth upon the throne, to Him Who devised the great and wonderful plan of redemption and who sent His Son, our willing Redeemer. Glory to Him in the highest -in the highest strain of heart and voice, with fullest appreciation of Him as a Savior!

Next came the consequences on earth; namely, peace -not such a peace as men might patch up between themselves and between nations and parties, and that under present conditions would be sure very soon to be scattered to the winds; but a peace with God, a peace which comes from a restoration to the race of the Divine good will. It was because Divine justice could not spare the guilty, that the sentence of death, the "curse" has borne down upon our race for now six thousand years. Under that Divine sentence of death the dying race has become impoverished, not only physically, but mentally and morally, and selfishness has become the rule, and in its wake have come all our selfish ambitions and pride and strife and vain-glory and money-love which have caused so much of the trouble that mankind has experienced.

But, now, glory to God in the highest! Because peace has been established upon a firm foundation -the lifting of the curse through the payment of our penalty by the Lord's own arrangement I As soon as the body of Christ has suffered with the Head, the Sin-offering will be complete, and peace between God and man will be established, will be renewed, and as a consequence the Redeemer shall take to Himself His great power and reign for the purpose of blessing and uplifting those whom He purchased with His own precious blood. In their interest it will be necessary that the great peace shall be introduced by the breaking into pieces of present institutions with the iron rod of the new Kingdom, as the vessel of a potter they shall be crushed as henceforth useless; that in their stead may come the grander and perfect institutions of the Lord's Kingdom. He will wound to heal, to bless, to bring in peace on the basis of everlasting righteousness; for ultimately He will destroy all those who, after being brought to a knowledge of the truth, will still love unrighteousness and tend to the corruption of the earth. He will destroy them, not in anger but in justice, in love, that an everlasting peace in full accord with that which is in heaven may prevail upon earth.

FOR OUR SAKES HE BECAME POOR

Few babes in all Judea or in all the world were born in a more humble place than Jesus. Joseph and Mary had gone to their native city, Bethlehem, for the registration, under the imperial edict. The little city was crowded with others of similar errand. And so it came that Jesus was born in a cattle stall, where Joseph and Mary had been compelled to lodge for the night. Ah! We cannot wonder that it is difficult for many to understand why our Heavenly Father sent forth His Son for our redemption under such ignominious conditions.

In order for Jesus to be able to give His life a redemption price for father Adam's life (and for the life of his race, forfeited by disobedience), it was necessary that He be perfect, sinless; as we read "He was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners." (Heb. 7:26) And again, "A body hast thou prepared me," (Heb. 10:5) for the suffering of death.

It is not enough, then, that we recognize Jesus as good, well-intentioned in mind. We must see in Him human perfection, sufficient as sacrifice to offset the forfeited life of the first perfect man, Adam. And we must see also that He was begotten from above ­that the Holy spark of life in Him as the Babe was transferred life principle from a pre­existent condition, mentioned by our Lord when He prayed, "Glorify thou me with the glory that I had with thee before the world was."  (John 17:15)  St.  Paul explains to us that "He was rich and for your sakes became poor, that ye through his poverty might be made rich."  (2 Cor.8:9) 

FEAR NOT -GOOD TIDINGS -GREAT JOY -ALL PEOPLE

The Message of the angels  was  surely  an  inspired one,  fully in harmony with God's promise  to Abraham  -only  an  enlarged statement  of the  same  -the  same  "all people"  to be blessed  -and it was  still good tidings and it still meant  great joy;  but now,  two thousand years  later,  the Message pointed out  the very individual through whom the good tidings would have fulfillment  -the Babe of Bethlehem. 

The angelic announcement, “Fear Not,” is interesting.  All humanity realizes that they are sinners and naturally have forebodings.  They find it difficult to believe that God is really gracious and loving.  The gods of the heathen nations are ferocious, unloving and unlovable.  But the God of all grace,  the Father of mercies is a God of Love, who  delights  to  use  His  Divine  Power  for  the  blessing  and  uplifting  of  His  erring children.  Therefore,  He  was  peculiar in sending the Message of "good tidings  of great joy unto  all people,"  as  well  as  in sending His  Only Begotten Son  at  great  cost  to  be man's  Redeemer  -that He might be just and still be the justifier of those who  believe (Rom.  3:26).

The Message had declared that a Savior had been born.  He was to be the antitypical Moses, the antitypical Aaron, the antitypical Melchizedek, the antitypical David.  In addition to the qualities pictured in these various typical characters, He was, also, the Son of the Highest. He was to be the Savior -the Deliverer -the Mediator of the New Covenant, so long looked for, hoped for and prayed for.

Hence, as we have seen, He was provided with perfect human life, that "he by the grace of God might taste death for every man."  (Heb.2:9)  And that by  thus  suffering, the Just  for  the unjust,  the penalty  of  the  sinner,  He  might  become  the purchaser  or Redeemer of Adam and all his  race,  with  a  full right  to  restore to perfect life and all that was  lost as many as would receive it at His hand -thankfully.  Throughout His entire Messianic reign of a thousand years He will be the world's Life-Giver, raising the willing, and obedient up out of sin and death conditions to perfection and everlasting life and earthly, human blessings. 

But our Lord also does a work for the Church, the "elect," Jesus’ Bride and joint­ heir in the Kingdom, and this blessing to the Church begins before the setting up of His Kingdom.  The Church "were by nature children of wrath even as others” (Eph.  2: 3), but  they  are  not  to  be  restored  to what  was  lost.  The  offer to  them  is  that  they  shall become copies of the Redeemer and lay down their lives, walking in His footsteps,  and that He will make up for all their deficiencies and that thus the Father of Mercies will bring them,  like their Lord to the Divine Nature, will assist them in making their "calling and election sure"  (2 Peter 1:10)  to the heavenly state which God has promised them,  for "if 

We suffer with him; we shall also reign with him; if we die with him we shall also live with him."  (2 Tim. 2:11, 12) 

In Luke 2:14 we have a kind of Hallelujah chorus or angelic response to the Message of the angel already given.  A heavenly host sang, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men."  How grand!  How inspiring!  But we see not yet this glorious condition achieved.  The proper glory to God is not yet rendered on earth as it is in heaven.  Nor does peace yet wave her banner, even over so-called Christendom. 

What is the matter?  Ah, said the Apostle, that is a secret, a mystery, hidden from past ages and dispensations!  The mystery is that God not only intends  to have Jesus  for His Anointed One,  to rule and bless the world,  but He has  foreordained also a  company of footstep followers  to be with Him and share His work,  and this entire Gospel Age has been devoted to the work of selecting this class, variously called the Body of Christ and the "espoused virgin," which eventually, at the second coming of the Lord, is to become "the bride," the Lamb's wife and joint-heir.

"Thou shalt call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins." (Matt. 1:21) At the time of the birth of the Savior, God made some astrological sign of the momentous event, which the wise men of the East understood. Reverentially they followed the guiding star from their home in the East, possibly Persia. How the star led we are not informed, but apparently its leading discontinued when they reached Judea, and naturally they went to the palace of King Herod inquiring for "him that is born King of the Jews." (Matt. 2:2) The mistake was quite reasonable. It required some time for us to learn that Divine favors and blessings are not always to the rich and the great, but most often for "the poor of the world, rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom." (James 2:5) The filled, the rich, the satisfied are frequently less interested in the Savior than are the poor, because they do not realize so great need for Him and for the Millennial Kingdom of righteousness and blessing which He is to establish. For that matter, however, only the comparatively few were interested at our Lord's First Advent, as the Scriptures intimate that comparatively few will be longing for His Second Advent and establishment of His Kingdom.

Herod affected an interest with the wise men in their search, but merely that he might thwart the Divine purpose by destroying the Child, that thus the Kingdom of Israel might be preserved to his own family -as it was through his six successors who bore his name, Herod. As the announcement of Jesus the Babe troubled the great at that day, similarly, we may be sure, any announcement of Jesus as King of Glory to take over the dominion of the world, if corroborated, would cause consternation amongst the rulers of earth today -financial, political, etc. All have unfinished plans more or less selfish, and all instinctively realize that the inauguration of a reign of absolute righteousness would interfere with the business and schemes and trusts and concerns, grafting and trickery, which are getting such a hold upon the highest civilization of our day.

The prophecies were searched and it was learned that the humble city of Bethlehem would be the honored place for our Savior's birth. The crafty Herod feigned reverence and his desire to worship the Heaven appointed King, but only that he might subsequently destroy Him -as a little later he attempted to do in causing the slaughter of the innocents from two years old and under. But how foolish was his endeavor to thwart the Almighty!

The wise men~ who sought the Babe of Bethlehem with worship and gifts, symbolized perhaps the great fact that those are truly wise who ever since have sought the Divinely appointed King and who bring to Him the incense of their devotion, and as gifts all their talents and powers. Such lay their very lives at the Savior's feet, as St. Paul explains; "living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God." (Rom. 12:1)

The Babe that was born to be King of the Jews was to be the Savior, the Life-Giver of the world. He has not become the Life-Giver yet, nor the King. His great work is still future. It will be at His second presence that He will appear in His glory and become the King of Israel -on the spirit plane. Then, too, as the outworking of that glorious Empire which He will establish on earth, He will be the world's Life-Giver, its great physician, and all mankind will be blessed with the glorious opportunity of becoming "Israelites indeed." The Empire of Sin will be overthrown and the darkness, ignorance and superstition connected therewith will be dissolved in glorious light of truth and grace which then will overspread the world. 

"The spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound." (Isa.61: 1)

PLEASE PRAY WITH US

True Christians have always prayed for the Jewish People. However, many are not aware that the Jews also pray regularly for the believers of all nations. Forty percent of all Jewish prayers contain supplications for the Gentiles who fear God. Indeed, we have a great gratitude for the Jews who have been praying for us for centuries. In these critical days, therefore, it would be inexcusable if we, the Christians, did not pray regularly for Israel and also help her in our deeds.

PEOPLE ARE TIRING: It is outrageous that the American government ultimately demanded of Prime Minister Netanyahu to meet with the arch murderer, Arafat. Therefore, please join us in prayer that the Lord may strengthen the leaders of Israel to withstand the enormous pressure to abandon the Divine Principles. This pressure is an almost compelling influence, so strong that people by themselves are not able to resist it. Many, who up until the elections fought so faithfully to rescue the Divine Values, are now tiring. Consequently, our backing is so critical at this time!

THE WILL IS GOOD: Prime Minister Netanyahu's first act upon becoming Prime Minister was to pray at the Western Wall. By this act he symbolized the intention of his government to govern according to God's Word. In his speech before the American Congress he stressed his belief in God and quoted Psalms 29. Following his return to Israel he proclaimed his intention that every child in Israel should become familiar with Biblical values.

BUT THE OPPOSING INFLUENCES ARE ENORMOUS: Ms. Ruth Matar wrote in an article that for people outside of Israel it is hard to understand why it is so difficult for the new government to make the promised reforms. The reasons for this difficulty are forces which / exert a stranglehold on government offices, the economy, law courts, the army, intelli­gence services, the media, etc. This influence deeply affects even the Israeli population and puts a heavy obstacle on the road to positive change.

The former Head of the Knesset, Dov Shelansky, warned in a radio interview of the serious danger that the new government would repeat the mistakes of the Begin Government. Menaham Begin made a great mistake which led to serious consequences. Upon assuming power in 1977 Begin left many Socialist and Atheist officials in their positions and even appointed Godless officials to high office. Begin believed that this was a noble gesture which would unite the camps. However, this was a fatal mistake with tragic consequences. The liberal behavior of Begin was not appreciated; many of those officials undermined his position from within, and consequently Begin resigned brokenhearted. It is unfor­tunate that he was influenced by the liberal spirit instead of hearing God's word which says, "Though grace is shown to the wicked, he will not learn righteousness, even in the land of uprightness he will go on doing evil, and will not regard the majesty of the Lord." (Isa. 26:10)

THE TASK OF BELIEVERS IN THE BIBLE AT THE END OF THE DAYS: An important part of the task for believers at the End of the Days is to help Israel in many folded ways. The Bible commands us very clearly to be intensively active for Israel. There are countless commandments to comfort and to exhort Israel, not to keep silent, but to cry aloud, to prepare the way for Israel; to mourn for Jerusalem and many more directives. We also have to assist in the regathering of the Jewish people. And we have to participate in the restoration of the land of Israel. Additionally, from Christ's followers are demanded even more than this. They have to lay down their lives for their Brethren - also the Jewish Brethren! They have to follow the footsteps of the Lord who carried out His mission tirelessly among the Jewish people. Under great privation He served the crowds of people who surrounded Him, helping and healing them at the expense of His own vitality. He sacrificed Himself every day, such that His life-forces were so depleted at the end of the three and a half years of ministry, that He was unable to carry His own cross. Therefore, let us pray that in the midst of Christianity may come a better understanding of our duty toward Israel, because so many are occupied with minor matters. The Lord exhorts us that many will fall asleep, and some even will miss Him. (Matt. 25)

THE LAST QUIET MONTHS BEFORE THE GREAT STORM: May these last months before the great storm become the best ones in our efforts to pay back some of that tremendous debt we owe to Israel. All the light and knowledge of God which we have has come to us through the people of Israel and from the Land of Israel. Let us ask salvation for Jerusalem! "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee. Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good." (Psa. 122:6-9)

The enemies of Israel are now very angry. They have begun an international propaganda campaign to force Israel back into the suicidal peace process. The prophets foresaw that Israel will challenge the nations and they would gather against Jerusalem. (Zech. 12 and 14) Please pray with us that this challenge may come according to God's will, and not by unfaithful behavior filled with concessions and compromises. This would rob Israel of her Divine protection. But faithful and obedient behavior toward God's will can only bring Israel God's help (Zech. 2:9; 9:15; 12:8; 14:3).

A part of the nation detaches from every tradition and eternal value of Judaism, and the present evil winds are scattering them into every wrong way… but there is another part in the nation who seeks a spiritual awakening. These are people who are talking together how to perform the commandments better, and how to love their neighbor more and how to better help him. They are praying for Messiah and Redemption. Please pray with us, that after the initial physical phase of the restoration of Israel, may this present phase of spiritual revival which has already begun, now continue in its realization, and bring about the recognition of the entire world that we are at the greatest turning point of human history in which Israel has a central task, and that it is a special nation chosen by God to be a light and a model in the fear of God for the rest of the world.

We send from Israel our warmest greetings to all of our co-watchmen on guard for the near Kingdom of Messiah!

Brothers Hermann and Joseph (ISRAEL)

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isa 55:9) God has an appointed time for all His important events: "The Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry [to us it seems to tarry], wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry." (Hab. 2:2, 3)

LETTER OF GENERAL INTEREST

Our beloved Sister Emily: Loving greetings in the Name of our Lord!

Thank you for your letters of August 8 and 28. They are a spiritual refreshment and comfort to us. We are blessed to have a sister like you who cares so much with love in spirit and practice. We are glad you appreciated our letter (Brother Joseph wrote by hand) and enclosures. We appreciate the papers giving us Present Truth without compromise, also giving the news of the Lord's work in Israel.

We do not protégé Benjamin Netanyahu but he was in a dangerous situation before the election. We gave him support because we believed he was the most qualified for leadership in Israel. We do not expect him to be able to solve all the problems. If he succeeds, as you say, to bring back the faith in God to Israel then he will be able to solve the other problems easily.

We began to send the Overland Monthly to important people who had received from us the Pastor Russell book by David Horowitz. We have been asked for help to supply a record for a dissertation by the Haifa University on the topics: "Jesus the follower of Moses," and "Jesus the Sacrifice." First of all we showed the wonderful Scriptural passages about the Messiah, then we added excerpts from the Reprints, Tabernacle Shadows and two books in Hebrew (which was translated by Sister E. Lenfast); The Divine Plan of the Ages in Brief, and the book, God through Isaiah Speaks to Israel.

We have an additional booklet translated into Hebrew by Hugo Karlen. He was appointed by Pastor Russell to do the Lord's work in Sweden. All this together will give a wonderful and complete witness of the Messiah.

We have received an announcement that the vice-minister of education, Moshe Peled, will come tomorrow to visit Emek ha Shalom. The last time when many visitors came they expressed their admiration for Brother Hermann still being able to give spiritual talks as well as doing hard labor every day.  It is for them like a wonder.  So you are not alone in saying Brother Hermann is a wonder to all of you. 

This morning I spoke to an official from the Jewish National Fund.  He has known us for 20 years. He said that Hermann is much loved by the Lord because the Lord gives him such forceful and prophetic spirit and much wisdom. He believes that Hermann is wiser than most famous Rabbis of the country.

However, I see every evening that Hermann is doing with his last forces. Both of us will not be able to sustain without your help and the help of others. Thank you very much for your prayers. We pray daily for you and pray we will be able to perform fully the goal that Brother Russell put in front of us: "They love each other from the new standpoint of intention and will be in harmony with God. Their friendship for one another grows increasingly as they perceive the energy in fighting the good fight of faith against evil influences of the world, the flesh and the Adversary."

Please greet heartily Brother and Sister Williams, Sister Delta Clinard and Brothers Roy Ekroth and Ralph Mehl. We remain profoundly grateful for all the help that has been given us, and we greet all with brotherly love from Israel.

Your brethren, Hermann and Joseph (ISRAEL)

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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