NO. 496 "LIFE FOR LIFE"

In considering the question of the universal application of a one-man Atonement compared with the equitable Law of God -"life for life" (Deut. 19:21; Exod. 21:23-25), we herein present the answer to the question: How can the death of Jesus, one individual, be "a ransom for all?"

First, it is important to bear in mind that at the time of Adam's transgression of the Divine Law, he had no offspring; that the entire human race, unborn, was, representatively, "in Adam." (1 Cor. 15:22) The death sentence, "Thou shalt surely die, "which was passed upon Adam, not only involved him as one individual, but it involved the prospective lives of all the life-seed "in his loins." (Heb. 7:9, 10) By the same token, when Jesus "gave himself a ransom for all," His death as an Atonement-sacrifice not only involved the sacrificial death of Himself, as one individual, but it involved the sacrificial death of a posterity in Him. He was in every way the exact equivalent and co-equal of Adam. Jesus' life, and the race represented in Him, was a duplication of Adam's life and the race represented in him when he violated the Divine Law. Thus Jesus was a complete ransom for Adam and his posterity -a full satisfaction and corresponding price. The New Testament clarifies the matter: "As by the offense of one [Adam], judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of one Jesus], the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." (Rom. 5:18, 19)

The proposition is a plain one: Adam was made in the image and likeness of God and was given a dominion over all the earth and all that it contained. Head of the human race and lord of its home, he was pronounced by the highest Authority, "Very good." He was placed under law. The law was plain and positive as also was the penalty for its violation -death. Adam broke that law, and immediately came under the dying process of its penalty. The life, thus forfeited, was not merely his own individual life, but being the father, the life-giver, of the race, the life of the entire race (unborn) was forfeited in him. A perfect man's life was forfeited and its baneful effect and extent was universal. The Atonement-sacrifice of Jesus, another perfect man's life, was equal to the forfeit, and its blessed effect and extent is universal. In every particular in which Adam was originally perfect and different from his progeny, Jesus was his equal. The most unimpeachable testimony is given as to Jesus' sinlessness. He was "holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners" (Heb. 7:26), and "without spot" He gave Himself as our great Atonement. This was giving "life for life" -human life for human  life. Thus Jesus "tasted death for every man." (Heb. 2:9) By the act of one (Adam) the  account was opened, by the act of one (Jesus) the account was closed. The account now stands square -the assets on the one side being equal to the liabilities on the other.

A question may arise: If the Atonement-sacrifice has been given, why do the living continue to die, and why do the dead still remain dead? We answer: Because the resurrection hour has not yet arrived. Time is the essence of everything. In God's plan there is a "set time" (Psa. 102: 13) for the accomplishment of all His purposes. We are  told, "When the fullness of time was come God sent forth his Son" (Gal. 4:4); and in "due time" (1 Tim. 2:6) He became the Atonement-sacrifice for sin; and when the appointed hour comes, the dead will rise. "For the hour is coming in which all that are in their graves shall hear his voice and come forth." (John 5:2.8,29 R.V.) And in "due time" the "good tidings" regarding the Atonement-sacrifice will be "to all people" (Luke 2: 10), to the awakened dead as well as the living. Is this a second chance? No, not a second individual chance, for there is no Scripture whatever that supports the thought that if one gains a knowledge of the truth, and against full light and full ability, disregards ., it, that he will have another chance. The information or testimony once given and once understood is all that the Bible guarantees. If truth does not fall into a good and honest heart, a million repetitions would not change the heart condition. The testimony is co-equal with the Atonement in as much as both are given only once and both are universal. Universal Atonement and universal testimony are twin-elements of one plan. Limit either of them and the plan is mutilated.

Many Christians admit the universality of the Atonement-sacrifice, but deny that the testimony or knowledge concerning it will become universal. The New Testament declares that God "will have all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." (1 Tim. 2:4) The saving (from everlasting death through a resurrection) comes first; a knowledge of the truth comes second. Both are universal. There is another Scripture which declares, God is the "Savior of all men, specially of those that believe." (1 Tim. 4: 10) Here, then, is the dividing line between "all men" and those that "believe." "All men" will be saved from everlasting death by a resurrection of "both the just and the unjust." (Acts 24: 15) But since knowledge precedes faith, "all men" must first hear before they can "believe." If the angel of the Lord declared, "Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people" (Luke 2:10), who is man that he should say that the "good tidings" (the good message) shall not be to all people? The Atonement-sacrifice is for "all men" and will be testified (told) to all "in due time." (1 Tim. 2:6) "The knowledge of the Lord shall fill the whole earth" (Isa. 11: 9), and thus the knowledge will become universal, co-extensive with the Atonement. Sin is universal, death is universal, and the resurrection of the dead and the knowledge of "good tidings" will become universal. But there is no evidence to conclude that "all men" will "believe," or that the acceptance of the "good tidings" will become universal. On the contrary, history,  experience, and prophecy all prove that as it was in the days of Jesus, it is now, and will be – some who hear the "good tidings" or testimony will accept it and others will reject it.

Speaking of the unbelief of the Jews, Jesus said, "For had ye believed Moses ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me." (John 5:46) Jews, in the past, saw no connection whatever between Moses' writings and the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this reason Jews rejected Jesus though they trusted in Moses. To believe Moses and accept his writings involved an intelligent understanding of the meaning of his words. The Jews trusted in Moses and accepted the letter of his writings, but they did not believe in Moses, for if they had, they would have accepted Jesus. The Jews boasted of being Moses' disciples, and yet their ignorance was the ground of their inconsistency. The same inconsistency exists today. The method by which Moses wrote of Jesus was not by direct statements, but by figure and type. He declared, "Her seed, the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head," which refers to Jesus Christ and His work. (Gen. 3: 15)

So we see, as all mankind have shared death on account of Adam's sin, all mankind will have life-privileges offered to them by Jesus, who died for them and sacrificially took Adam's place before the broken law, and thus "gave himself a ransom for all" (1 Tim. 2:6) He died, "the just for the unjust, that He might bring us [back] to God." (1 Pet. 3:18) It should not be overlooked, however, that man's will must remain his own; that all of God's provisions for mankind recognize the human will as a factor in securing everlasting life. The Apostle's statement, however, is that, as the sentence of condemnation on Adam extended to all the posterity in him, even so, by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, which-death extended to all the posterity in Him, an opportunity for everlasting life will be extended to all of Adam's race. This, if accepted through the merit of the Atonement, will constitute the basis for life everlasting. "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be [not were] made righteous." (Rom. 5:18, 19)

The completeness of the Atonement-sacrifice of Jesus is the very strongest possible argument for the resurrection of the dead and the Kingdom of God on earth. The very character of God for justice and honor stands pledged to it; every promise which He has made implies it; and every animal sacrifice pointed to the great and sufficient sacrifice – "The Lamb of God, which taketh away [cancels] the sin of the world." (John 1:29)

Here we establish the fact that the Atonement-sacrifice of Jesus, who was the exact equivalent of Adam, is to be as far-reaching in its blessed results and opportunities as was the sin of Adam in its blight and ruin; that all who were condemned and who suffered on account of the oonwone, may as surely be set free from all those illoone, may as surely be set free from all those ills on account of the other. And all the willing and obedient will be as fully reinstated in God's favor through the merit of Jesus' Atonement-sacrifice even as they were completely debarred from Divine favor through the demerit of Adam's sin.

God assures us that as "condemnation passed upon all in Adam" (Rom. 5: 18), so He has arranged for a new Lifegiver for the race, and that as "all in Adam" shared the curse of death, so "all in Christ" will have an opportunity to share the blessing of restoration and the Kingdom of God on earth (Rom. 5:12,18,19). Thus seen, the death of Jesus, the undefiled, the sinless One, was an exact equivalent of Adam, and a complete settlement toward God of Adam's sin. As one man had sinned, and the race in him shared the result of his penalty, so Jesus, having paid the penalty of that one sinner, bought not only Adam, but all his posterity – all who by heredity shared the consequence of his sin. "The man, Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 2: 5,6), Himself unblemished, approved, and with a perfect race in Him, unborn, likewise untainted with sin, gave His all of human life and title as the full atonement and ransom-price for Adam and the race in him when sentenced to death. Thus, according to the equitable law of God, this is "life for life."

After fully purchasing, by His Atonement-sacrifice, the life of Adam and all his posterity, Christ offers to all of Adam's race an opportunity for everlasting life. Thus it is written: "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." (1 Cor. 15:22)

What Jesus did for us, what price He paid on our behalf, what He surrendered, or laid down in death as a "ransom for all" must correspond exactly to whatever was man's penalty. Jesus did not go to everlasting torment, hence we have this indisputable testimony and logic that everlasting torment is not the penalty for sin, but merely a delusion foisted upon the world by the devil, and those whom he has deluded. So surely as that which Jesus suffered in man' s stead was the full penalty which men would otherwise have been obliged to suffer, so surely this is proof positive that no such punishment as eternal torture was ever threatened, inflicted or intended. The only one who ever promised eternal life in disobedience was the great deceiver, Satan. His declaration to Eve in Eden -"Ye shall not surely die" -was the first lie and the first sermon ever preached upon immortality of the soul. This declaration, resting solely upon the authority of Satan, is echoed from practically every pulpit in Christendom, and is received by the majority of the world as readily as it was received by our first parents in Eden. But we do not wonder at the strange infatuation which renders men so credulous concerning the words of Satan, and so unbelieving in regard to the Words of God, for we know that Satan is "the god [the ruler] of this world." (2 Cor. 4:4) But we do wonder what "Christians" think God would gain by witnessing unceasing tortures; is He regaled with the groans and shrieks and imprecations of the suffering creatures whom He holds in flames of fire? Can these horrid sounds be music in the ear of Infinite Love? "Christians" urge that the infliction of endless misery upon the wicked would show God's hatred of sin as an evil which is ruinous to the peace and order of the universe. Is God's hatred of sin the reason He would have it perpetuated? Is His glory enhanced by perpetuating the evil that He hates, and which, as admitted, is ruinous to the peace and order of the universe?

Those who know the testimony of God's Word recognize its statements to be that "Christ died for our sins" (1 Cor. 15:3); that He died, "the just for the unjust" (1 Pet. 3: 18), to bring us to God; that "He is the propitiation [satisfaction] for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the Whole world" (1 John 2:2); that "the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all, and by his stripes [the things which He suffered in our stead] we are healed." (Isa. 53:5, 6) What harmony and consistence is seen in this Scriptural view of matters; and how utterly inconsistent are the unscriptural delusions of Satan handed to the world and popularly received by them!

"The wages of sin is death," "the soul that sinneth it shall die," declare the Scriptures (Rom. 6:23; Ezek. 18:4). And then the Scriptures show us how completely this wage has been met for us, in the declaration, "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and rose again for our justification." (1 Cor. 15:3; Rom. 4:25) Thus Jesus' death was our Atonement – the complete "ransom for all."

"Without the shedding of blood there is no remission" of sins (Heb. 9:22). Throughout the JewishJewish Law dispensation, God illustrated this feJewish Law dispensation, God illustrated this feature of His arrangement to Israel by requiring the blood of bulls and of goats; not that these could abolish sin, but that these might be recognized as illustrations of a "better sacrifice" through which sin would be blotted out and forever canceled. The expression "shedding of blood," signifies death, life poured out, yet points to a sacrificial death.

So far as being an Atonement-sacrifice was concerned, Jesus might have been put to death in any other form, and the requirements of a sacrifice have been equally well met. The necessary thing was the surrender of His innocent soul (being) as an off-set or in exchange for a guilty soul (being) whose existence had been forfeited by transgression. Neither was it necessary, so far as the Atonement was concerned, that the Messiah's person should be pierced with nails, and wounded. To pay the penalty for the Adamic sin meant simply death, the cessation of being. The crown of thorns, the nails and the pierced side were no part of the Atonement, and neither was the shame and ignominy of the public crucifixion.

"There is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who  gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified [told to all] in due time." (1 Tim. 2:5, 6) The Atonement – the “At-one-ment "between God and man" -was wholly dependent upon the presentation of an acceptable sacrifice for Adam's transgression. Unless the Divine sentence or "curse" could be lifted legally and lawfully from mankind, it would stand as a perpetual embargo to prevent man's recovery or restoration back to Divine favor and everlasting life. Under the Divine Law, Adam was a sinner; through his own willful transgression in Eden he brought his trouble upon himself. The sentence of death against him was just. God could not remove that sentence without violating his own justice – the very foundation of His throne (Psa. 89:14), hence the sentence must stand. It must be met by Adam or by his equivalent – an acceptable substitute who would be not only willing but also qualified to take his place.

We have seen that the penalty or sentence against transgression was distinctly stated by the Creator to Adam, death. To suppose that it was any other penalty than death would be to suppose that God had dealt dishonestly with Adam in Eden; that He misinformed and deceived him. We can see that a death sentence is a just sentence against sin; that life, being a conditional grant, the Creator had full right to revoke it. The death sentence, with all its terrible concomitants of sickness, pain and trouble, which came upon Adam, and which descended naturally through him to his offspring [inasmuch as an impure fountain cannot send forth a pure stream] we can see to be both reasonable and just -.a sentence before which all mouths must be stopped.

Death does not come now as an individual sentence from God, a penalty for personal disobedience; for not only do criminals and malicious persons die, but also saints and prattling babes. It is now a result of disease inherited and transmitted from one generation to another. But, looking back to Eden, we can see that matters were different there; disease was unknown until, as an element of death, it was incurred as the curse or penalty for transgressing the Divine Law. That God forced Adam into conditions productive of disease and death is evident from the record – "God drove him out of the garden and away from the trees of life" into the unfit wilderness, "lest he put forth his hand and eat and live forever" (Gen. 3: 22, 23), and thus, lacking suitable sustenance, gradually dying, he died. The proper view of the matter is: Adam, created in God's moral likeness and surrounded by His favors, violated His Creator's law knowingly, and without just provocation, and suffered the penalty of his transgression – death. But, as he died slowly over a period of 930 years, he begot children who, although not put on trial as Adam had been, and hence not sentenced individually to death as Adam had been sentenced, died nevertheless, because they had inherited from Adam a diseased and dying life-germ or life-seed. And thus it has been ever since, and is now. Death now is not a penalty for sin, it is a consequence. As the Apostle declares, it was "by one man [that] sin entered into the world, and death by [as the result of] sin." (Rom. 5: 12) As all mankind have inherited sinful weaknesses and tendencies through father Adam, so they also inherit death as a consequence of his transgression. A father can bequeath to his children no rights, privileges or conditions that he does not possess himself.

Therefore, knowing definitely the penalty which was pronounced against Adam, it can easily be seen what justice must require as a payment ere the "curse" could be lifted, and Adam and his posterity be released from the great prison-house of death (Isa. 61:1). As previously shown, it was not because the entire race had sinned that the penalty came, but because one man sinned, so that sentence of death fell directly upon Adam only, and only indirectly through him upon his race by heredity; and in full accord with these facts, Justice could demand only a corresponding price. Justice must, therefore, demand the life of another individual instead of the life of Adam before releasing Adam and his race. And if this penalty were paid, the whole penalty would be paid, one Atonement-sacrifice for all, even as one sin involved all.

We have already seen that the perfect Adam, the transgressor, who was sentenced was not an angel, nor an archangel, nor a god, but a man – in nature a "little lower" than that of angels (Psa. 8:5). Strictest Justice, therefore, could demand in his stead neither more nor less than one of Adam's equal – own human kind – under similar original conditions to his, namely, perfect, and free from Divine condemnation. We can see that none such could be found among men, all of whom were of the race of Adam, and therefore sharers, through heredity, of his penalty and degradation. Hence it was that the necessity arose that a sinless man must be found to take Adam's place, give himself a ransom for Adam – atone for his sin and thus for all who lost life through him. Then, in order not to be of the already condemned posterity of Adam, it was necessary that a human being must, somehow, be begotten in a way not connected with the life-germ of Adam; his life-germ must not come through the natural Adamic life-channel. To be able to ransom Adam, atone for his sin, he must be begotten separately and independently of Adam's condemned race. He must not be a son of Adam. And thus Jesus "proceeded forth and came from God." (John 8:42) He was begotten separately and independently of Adam's life-line. Both Jesus and Adam were sons of no human father; both were human sons of God. Thus Jesus was the exact equivalent of Adam, and His life a perfect Atonement and ransom for him.

Adam's failure to keep God's law had cut himself and his race off completely from Divine favor, and nothing that man could do would restore that favor. If there was to be any reconciliation at all, the initiative move must come from God, thus God is the author of the Atonement in providing not only a suitable but a willing sacrifice for our redemption, one equal in glory and honor and human perfection with the first man, Adam. "The man, Christ Jesus" was provided for the very purpose of "tasting death for every man." (Heb. 2: 9) He took the human nature "for the suffering of death" – the very penalty that was against our race. Thus we can see that our ransom and restoration, and full Atonement and reconciliation, have been amply provided for, and upon a plane of absolute justice in accordance with God's own law.

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

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EMUNAH -A MIGHTY WEAPON OVERPOWERING ALL ENEMIES

The UN once again, last week, invoked a special "Emergency Session of the General Assembly" attacking Israel -a third try within several months, after having failed to entice the Security Council into squeezing the Jewish State. Thankfully, the U.S. government, through Ambassador Bill Richardson, threatened to veto anyone-sided, anti-Israel resolution. It's good that the U.S., despite being pressured, is faithful to America's traditional pro-Israel policy.

The Assembly action came to naught. Very little attention was given to the proceedings, both here at the UN and in the press.

At the recent emergency session meetings, both Mr. Richardson and Israeli UN Ambassador Dore Gold put things into proper perspective. Commenting on the latest anti-Israel resolution which was adopted, the U.S. Ambassador said that it "would complicate, not enhance, the Middle East peace efforts." And he added that "with the Secretary-General about to visit the Middle East, the U.S. questioned the wisdom of holding holding the emergency special session and introducing the current draft resolution… " For his part, Mr. Gold wondered why, "despite the many real cases of aggressions and actual occupation since 1949 (he mentioned 1967 when the Arabs massed armies against Israel, and cited North Korea's invasion of South Korea in the early 1950's), the one case for which the General Assembly had actually recommended the convening of the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention was the case of Israel. "Ironically," the Israeli ambassador further charged, "Israel was the one state which had actually implemented, in practice, the provisions of the Convention with respect to the occupied territory… "All in all, this shameful event was nothing more than just another black-eye for the UN's reputation.

Many people continually ask the reason for these ongoing assaults against Israel and the Jewish people. My answer, of course, is the Hebrew Bible. It gives the pro and con for such enemies as Antiochus, Haman, Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Hitler, Saddam, etc.  Despite the many threats of our day, fear and confusion must not overcome us, the children of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, etc. To many friends who question and ask Why, my answer – which I give to both my Jewish and Christian friends – is one Hebrew word. That word is Emunah, whose root is Emmeth (truth). It can only be interpreted as faith or belief. And some may ask: faith in what or in who?

My answer is simple: Israel and its Torah. Israel's history as a people from the time of accepting the Torah to this day – a period of more than 3,500 years – has been testimony to its resurrection as a great and thriving democracy. How did this happen? Jewish Emunah is an ancient promise fulfilled! Take note, nations! Take note, Jewry! Take note, UN! Israel should be a lesson to the world.

Emunah is not an exclusive heritage of the Jews. Millions of non-Jews, Christians and others around the world, spiritually possess it. But it has a special meaning for us, Jews and Israelites, who should be emboldened by it. We must fear no threats or any new Hamans.

Among the millions who truly posses Emunah in the Jewish sense, are such souls as Chris Josephson, widow of Elmer Josephson, the author of a number of non-Jewish books, including a favorite of this writer: Israel – G-d's Key To World Redemption (we lost Elmer recently, and his obituary appears in the current edition of the United Israel Bulletin) .

Chris, who for many years jointly edited with Elmer the multiple pamphlets and magazines of the organization they founded, still continues this noble work, and issues a vital periodic newsworthy pamphlet entitled, "Bible Light In The News", which is strongly pro-Israel and is circulated around the world. The current issue contains a vital charge against those who are pressuring Israel to give up land. The following is a sample:

"Pushed into corner! After the '48 War of Independence, Truman pressured Israel to give up the northern Sinai and Gaza Strip to Egypt. After the '56 war, Eisenhower pressured Israel to surrender the entire Sinai to Egypt. After the 1967 miraculous Six-Day war, Nixon's team concocted the infamous Rogers Plan ('Jewish settlements are the greatest obstacle to peace'), calling for Israeli surrender of all territories won in fending off Arab invasion. After the 1973 war, Kissinger forced Israel to surrender chunks of the Golan and Sinai, and '75 he pressured Israel to give up even more of the Sinai. In 1978, at Camp David, Carter pressured Israel to withdraw from the rest of the Sinai. In 1982, the Reagan Administration pressured Israel to permit the escape of PLO forces from Lebanon. Now the pressure is on Netanyahu's Government, even causing the warrior Sharon to draw a compromise map! And Arafat is claiming that even the 'Western Wall' at the Temple Mount does not belong to Israel, and the PLO map eliminates Israel altogether!"

Emunah not only links the People of the Book to the Sinaitic Laws of Moses, but also those who hold the faiths of Islam and Christianity, all of whom found a common "Home" in the biblically inspired Charter of the United Nations. Emunah must replace politics during this 50th year of Israel's rebirth. 

(By David Horowitz, At the U.N., April 3, 1998)

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QUESTION OF GENERAL INTEREST

QUESTION: Does That Servant have a successor?

ANSWER: That Servant has no successor. Bible Students that emanate from That Servant's organization teach from the six volumes of Studies in the Scriptures in their meetings. The Jehovah's Witnesses and their organization do not in any way represent That Servant and his teaching. They are no longer called Bible Students. They are called Jehovah's Witnesses, a sectarian name. They also build churches in which to meet, and call them Kingdom Halls. Brother Russell was asked why he didn't build churches. He answered, "If we built churches we would be sectarian like any other denomination."

At our Lord's First Advent He appointed twelve Apostles. The Apostles had no successor. They were imperfect men, but their teachings were inspired of God. At His Second Advent our Lord appointed Brother Russell as That Servant. He, too, was an imperfect man but was not inspired of God in his teaching. He gave us more truth on God's Plan of Salvation for all mankind than had ever been given before. He did not take credit for this knowledge as it was "due truth" at His Second Advent. That Servant didn't claim to be superior to the faithful Reformers, as they faithfully taught the truth due in their day. At our Lord's Second Advent the Scroll (Plan of Salvation) was opened as it had never been before. (Rev. 5:2, Dia. Also see our No. 483, April 1997, The Divine Scroll.)

"Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom the Lord made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom the Lord when he cometh shall find him so doing [Brother Russell was searching the Scriptures]. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods." (Matt. 24:45-47)

These texts are clear that He appointed an individual to give "meat in due season," and made him ruler over all His goods. The Bible gives the truth in dark sayings, symbols, figures and types. None of these things will be understood until "due time." "But these things occurred to them typically for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages are come." (1 Cor. 10: 11, Dia.) The ends of the ages refer to the conclusion of the Gospel Age and the opening of the Millennial Age. "And I heard, but I understood not." (Dan. 12:8)

Since the demise of That Servant we still continue to grow in Knowledge and Grace: "But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." (Prov. 4:18) However, Satan will offer error and call it "advancing light." When such error is presented to us we can easily detect it if we are "rooted and grounded" in the truth that we have learned and been assured of, knowing of whom we have learned it (2 Tim. 3:14). New Light will be in harmony with what we have learned and in harmony with God's character. The Scripture tells us He is a God of love (1 John 4:15), and other Scriptures assure us of His attributes WISDOM, JUSTICE, POWER AND LOVE.

The Apostle Paul wrote more of the New Testament than did the other Apostles. He said, "For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God." He gave us the text, 2 Tim. 2:20, which contains all four elect classes and the two classes of the restitutionists in the Kingdom: "But in a great house [the household of faith, the house of God] there were not only vessels of gold [the Little Flock] and of silver [the Great Company], but also of wood [Ancient Worthies -Hebrews 11] and earth [the unbegotten class taught by That Servant in Reprint 5761, which we call Youthful Worthies]: and some to honor [sheep of the Kingdom] and some to dishonor [goats]." The Plan of Salvation is succinctly given in this text. Whether the Apostle Paul understood all he wrote is not the question, but he evidently had more abundant revelations than did the other Apostles, some of which it wasn’t necessary for them to know at that time. "He was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which is not lawful for a man to utter." (2 Cor. 12:4) See 2 Cor. 12:6, 7.

That Servant also taught four elect classes – two heavenly and two earthly – and gave us the truth of the Kingdom on earth for the world's salvation (Acts 17:31). So it could be said of him that he "shunned not to give us all the counsel of God."

If we are faithful to what we have learned and been assured of we will remember that all new light first comes from God's word: "All Scripture, divinely inspired, is indeed profitable for Teaching, for Conviction, for Correction, for that Discipline which is in Righteousness; so that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly fitted for every good work." (2 Tim. 3:16, 17, Dia.)

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LETTER OF GENERAL INTEREST  

Dear Emily,

Isn't it wonderful how God entwines our lives for His purposes? And how He takes care of us. I know you enjoy typing as I do but here I am having to learn to use the computer. I am told once you master it that you never go back to typewriters. Well, at our ages, I think we can stick to our typewriters.

We will pray or at least I will pray for God to sustain you as you mend. Our old bodies just don't recover as quickly. This past week I have been feeling tired and like I need a good rest.

I had surgery last November and had to rest and I did feel so much better. But I love the work here and like you, it is a part of our lives.

BRAVO! This week begins the Jerusalem Mosaic programs. Do pray that God will use these films to touch people with an understanding of Israel. There is so much negative press all the time. Clarence will be in Tulsa with the family in July and we are planning a big 50th Jubilee Celebration here for Bridges for PeaceWhat a marvel of history but how difficult it has been for the State to survive. God did have His hand on it through all the wars. When and if you feel up to it, drop a note. Meantime, know that we love and appreciate you and your friendship. I saw a note in your paper from Elva in Paradise. I recognized it to be Elva and sent her a note. Had not heard from her for years. She was so active. I'll send Clarence's letter on to him. 

                                                                                                             Love, Ann (OKLAHOMA)

NO. 495B GOD, THE AUTHOR OF THE ATONEMENT AND THE MILLENNIAL REIGN - PART TWO

Though written by many pens at various times, under different circumstances, the Old and New Testaments exhibit a singleness of pattern that makes them one. They furnish us with reasonable, philosophical and harmonious statements of the cause of evil in the world, its only remedy and the final result as seen by Divine Wisdom, which saw the end from before its beginning.

The teaching of Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament, that Adam was tried in a state of original perfection, that he failed, and that the present imperfection, sickness and death are the results, but that God has not forsaken man, and will ultimately recover him through a redeemer, born of a woman (Gen. 3: 15), is kept up and elaborated all the way through the Old and New Testaments. The necessity of the death of a redeemer as an Atonement‑sacrifice for sin is pointed out and illustrated in the Old Testament by the acceptance of Abel’s offering; by Isaac on the altar; by the death of the various animal sacrifices by which the patriarchs and prophets had access to God, and of those animal sacrifices instituted under the Jewish law and perpetuated throughout the Jewish Age.

All the prophets mentioned the eventuality of laying sins upon a person instead of a dumb animal, and in prophetic vision they looked down the stream of time and saw Him, who was to redeem Israel and the entire human race, led “as a lamb to the slaughter,” that “the chastisement of our peace was upon him,” and “by his stripes we are healed.” They pictured Him as “despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief,” and declared that the “Lord hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all.” (Isa. 53:3‑7) They told where He would be born (Micah 5:2) and when He should die, assuring us that His death would be “not for himself.” (Dan. 9:26) The prophets mentioned various virtues concerning Him ‑ that He would be “righteous,” and free from “deceit,” “violence” or any just cause of death (Isa. 53:9,12); they declared that not a bone of Him should be broken (Psa. 34:20, John 19:36); and though He should die and be buried, His flesh would not corrupt, neither would He remain in the grave (Psa. 16:10; Acts 2:31).

The New Testament writers studied the prophecies and found the fulfillment of all these Old Testament predictions in the man, Jesus of Nazareth, and by Scriptural evidence and logical reasoning they show that such an Atonement as He gave had already been predicted in the Law and by the Prophets (Isa. 1:18). They trace the entire plan of redemption in a logical and forcible manner, appealing neither to the prejudices nor to the emotions of their hearers, but to their enlightened reason and intelligence alone (Rom. 5:17‑19 to 12th Chap.).

Moses, who stood out preeminently as a deliverer, prophet, lawgiver and ruler, pointed to a blessing of Israel under a great Ruler and Deliverer, whose power and authority he declared shall be “like unto me.” (Deut. 18:15,19; Acts 3:22) The promised Ruler and Deliverer “like unto” Moses was to bless not only Israel, but by and through Israel He was to “bless all the families of the earth.” (Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4) The holy prophets continue the same strain, declaring that Israel’s Messiah shall be also “for a light to lighten the Gentiles” (Isa. 49:6; Luke 2:32); that the Gentiles should come to Him “from the ends of the earth” (Jer. 16:19); that His name “shall be great among the Gentiles.” (Mal. 1:11)

The New Testament writers, though biased as Jews to think of every blessing as limited to their own people (Acts 11:1‑18), were enabled to see that while this great Lawgiver and Deliverer, “like unto” Moses, would bless Israel, that “all the families of the earth” would be blessed also, through them. They could see that Israel’s Messiah was the center and seal of the promises made to Israel and through them as a Chosen People to bless others. They point out the harmony of this view with what is written in the Law and the Prophets.

The thought of a Messiah as a ruler of not only Israel, but through Israel, also of the whole world, suggested in the books of Moses, is the theme of all the prophets. The thought of a universal earthly Kingdom established by and through Israel was also uppermost in the teaching of the apostles; and Jesus taught them to pray, “Thy Kingdom come.”

The Old Testament abounds with promises and prophecies in which the Kingdom of God on earth and Israel’s Messiah figure as the very center. It was the hope of every Israelite (Luke 3:15) that, as a Chosen People, God would exalt their nation under Messiah, and when Jesus came, He presented Himself to them as their Messiah, their Deliverer and Lawgiver “like unto” Moses, to establish through them the long promised Kingdom of God on earth. Not only was the Kingdom the topic with which Jesus began His public ministry, but it was the main topic of all His preaching (Luke 8:1; 4:43; 19:11), other subjects being mentioned merely in connection with or in explanation of this one subject. The majority of His parables were illustrations of the universal Kingdom from various standpoints.

In His talks with His followers, Jesus strengthened and encouraged their expectation of a Kingdom, saying to them, “...ye may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Luke 22:29,30) And when, instead of being crowned and enthroned, their King was killed, His disciples were sorely perplexed and disappointed. As previously stated, they expressed their disappointment to a supposed stranger while on their way to Emmaus. In discussing Jesus they said, “We trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel” – delivering them from the Roman yoke, and making of Israel the Kingdom of God on earth in power and glory. But they were sadly disappointed by what had happened a few days previous. Then the supposed stranger, whom they later discovered to be the resurrected Jesus, opened their understanding by showing to them from the Old Testament prophecies that His atoning sacrifice was necessary first of all before a universally righteous Kingdom on earth could be established (Luke 24:21).

That in pointing out and explaining the prophecies, Jesus revived His disciples’ hope that Israel would yet be established as God’s Kingdom on earth is evident from the answer which He gave to their question as He was leaving them. They inquired, “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel?” His answer, though not explicit, coincided with their hope that the Kingdom would be restored to Israel, but that it was not expedient at that time for them to know the time of its establishment. He said, “It is not for you to know the times and seasons which the Father hath, put in his own power.” (Acts 1:6‑7) Thus He left no doubt in their minds that the Kingdom would be restored to Israel, but he gave them to understand that it was not for them to know the exact time when it should be set up and put in operation.

Jesus always held forth the doctrine of a Kingdom, a righteous government to be established on earth with Israel, and to rule among men. And He not only inspired in His disciples a hope for a share in the Kingdom, but He taught them to pray for its establishment – “Thy Kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.”

To the Scripturally ignorant, but worldly‑wise leaders among the Jews, Jesus seemed an imposter and a fanatic; and they considered His disciples mere dupes. His wisdom, His tact, and His miracles, they could not gainsay, nor reasonably account for; yet, from their standpoint of unbelief, His claim that He would establish with Israel the promised Kingdom on earth which would eventually rule the world, and that His followers, all of them from the humbler walks of life, would be joint‑rulers with Him in that Kingdom, seemed too absurd for consideration. Rome, with its disciplined warriors, its able generals and immense wealth, was the master of the world, and was daily growing more powerful. Who, then, was this poor Nazarene? – and who were His followers, these fishermen, without money or influence, and with but a meager following among the common people? Who were these that they should talk about establishing with Israel the Kingdom long promised to be the grandest and mightiest Kingdom earth had ever known?

The Pharisees, hoping to expose the supposed weakness of Jesus, claim, and thereby to undeceive His followers, demanded of him: When will this Kingdom, which you preach, begin to make its appearance? – When will your soldiers arrive – When will this Kingdom of God appear? (Luke 17:20‑31).

The Pharisees, in their ignorance of the Scriptures, were not aware that the prophets taught that before the Kingdom of God could be established on earth in permanent peace and everlasting righteousness, there must first be a complete cancellation of sin; there must first be a full and final Atonement. The necessity of an Atonement was illustrated by various animal sacrifices in the Old Testament Scriptures. And since “the blood of bulls and goats [were only types, and] can never take away sin” (Heb. 10:4), the only way to blot sin out and abolish its penalty once for all was by man’s equivalent – man – who alone could atone to Divine Justice, completely satisfy its claim, and thus cancel the penalty. We note that when God declared to Abraham, “In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 12:3), He illustrated to Abraham that before the blessing of “all the families of the earth” could come, there must first be a full and final Atonement for sin. This was illustrated to Father Abraham in a most significant way; his son, Isaac, (“In whom thy seed shall be called”) was required to be a sacrifice. And after Isaac had been figuratively sacrificed, Abraham received him back from the dead in a “figure.” (Heb. 11:19) In that “figure” God illustrated to Abraham that “the blood of bulls and goats can‑never take away sin”; that to atone for sin and to abolish its penalty forever required a “better sacrifice.” (Heb. 9:22‑24) Thus God gave Abraham a physical demonstration of this fact. Isaac’s figurative death was a shadow or type which pointed to the necessity of a human Atonement – one who should die for the cancellation of sin before “all the families of the earth” could be permanently and everlastingly “blessed,” and before God’s Kingdom could be established in righteousness and His will “done on earth as it is done in heaven.”

At this point a question may arise: How can God be the Author of the one‑man Atonement theory which conflicts with His established Law of Justice which demands an exact equivalent – “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, foot for foot, life for life”? (Deut. 19:21; Exod. 21:23‑25) How can the law of equity and justice accept the life of one individual as being sufficient to atone for the sinful lives of millions of people? – how can the sacrifice of one human being be an equitable Atonement and complete satisfaction for the sins of the whole world?

In considering the above question, we shall show in a subsequent chapter how the unalterable Law of God ‑“life for life” – was logically, lawfully, and Scripturally fulfilled by the death of one Man as a “Ransom for All.” (1 Tim. 2:6)

(Chapter One, This Is The Millennium, by Shelah Ben‑Hanan – In due course, we will publish chapter two, which will answer the above question.)

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WHAT KIND OF A MAN IS SADDAM HUSSEIN?

Our political and military leaders are asking this question, “What kind of a man are we fighting?” The answer to this question was written in the Bible about 4, 000 years ago. Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac: Ishmael by Hagar, an Egyptian, when Abraham’s wife Sarah was unable to conceive. Some years later God performed a biological miracle and permitted Sarah to give Abraham a son Isaac, the “seed of promise.” These two sons of Abraham each had twelve sons which became two mighty nations which later’ became known as the nation of Israel and the Arab nation or Ishmaelites.

The Arabs or Ishmaelites are described in Genesis 16:12 (Rotherham): “But he will be a wild ass of a man, his hand against every one, and every one’s hand against him yet in presence of all his brethren shall he have his habitation.” In Genesis 16:10, it states that Ishmael’s seed, the Arabs, “shall not be numbered for multitude.”

The Ishmaelites and posterity have lived by prey and plundering, robbers by land and pirates by sea. Genesis 16:12 states that Ishmael would dwell in the presence of all his brethren ‑ viz., Moabites, Edomites and Israelites. They have been continually at war with the rest of the world and yet never defeated. They did not acknowledge Alexander the Great as conqueror. Alexander objected to this insult and determined to punish the culprits but died before he could accomplish his mission.

When the Romans invaded the East and subdued adjoining countries, they were never able to reduce Arabia to a Roman province. Time after time enemies sought to invade but were always forced out.

About the 7th Century AD, Mohammed appeared on the scene and set the desert and the Mid East aflame. Ishmaelites under Mohammed strengthened and extended their power. Under his successors these Arabs, imbued with their new and false religion and their hereditary thirst for blood and pillage, developed into a ferocious horde and carried the Islam banner throughout Asia, Africa and even into Spain.

Since the fall of their Muslim empire, the Turks have made repeated attempts to subdue these Arabs, but instead of succeeding they have been obliged for several centuries to pay them yearly tribute, to permit the converted Turkish Moslems to have a safe passage to Mecca, the “Holy City” where Mohammed the Ismaelite was born.

Others, Gallas, Trajan, Pompey and Augustus, have been unsuccessful in conquering the Arabs – the Ishmaelites. Emperor Severus, a Roman, laid siege and even made a breach in their defenses, but insurrection broke out in the ranks. As an unseen power protected these Ishmaelites, Emperor Trajan sought to conquer them in about AD 110. Whirlwinds, swarms of flies, lightning, thunder, hail, apparitions in the sky, heat and thirst all helped to repulse these Italians every time they attacked. And so down the stream of time God’s hand seems to have been on the Ishmaelites. In spite of commerce and intercourse with others, they remain the same fierce, savage, intractable people like their ancestors.

This people, with the Jews excepted, have for 4,000 years withstood the enmity as a distinct people from their beginning with Ishmael.

Compare Arabs and Jews:

(1) Both descendants of Abraham; (2) Both practice circumcision; (3) Both originally had 12 patriarchs or heads of tribes and (4) Both marry among themselves.

A contrast: Israel scattered – Deut. 28:64; Ishmael stayed at home – Gen. 16:12.

The land promised to Abraham and his seed is given in Genesis 17:6‑8: “And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be‑ a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

Also in Genesis 22:16‑18: “And said, By myself have I sworn saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” The stars of the heaven and the sand which is upon the sea shore indicates a heavenly and earthly phase of Christ’s Kingdom. In Jeremiah 31:31 God promised to make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. When this covenant is established with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, He will bless them and through them “all the families of the earth.”

The Ishmaelites too will be blessed thru the nation of Israel. “And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.” (Gen. 17:20)

In Isaiah 2:2,3 we read: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

The Jews are to be gathered from the four comers of the earth where they have been dispersed until God gathers them by the hunters and fishers’. (Jer. 16:16) “And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” (Isa. 11:12)

The headquarters of the Kingdom will be Jerusalem and from there flow throughout the world

God did not promise Ishmael and his seed the land of Canaan. Isaac and his seed were promised the land from “the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.” (Gen. 15:18‑21; Ex. 23:31; Deut. 1:7,8; 11:24; Ezek. 48:1‑29)

A similar picture is presented in the two sons of Isaac: Jacob and Esau. Saddam Hussein will be defeated eventually because God has promised Canaan to the Jews. “He is faithful that promised.” (Heb. 10:23)

(Reprint of SPECIAL No. 419‑A, by Brother Roy Ekroth)

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END OF AN EMPIRE

“‘Welcome to England. The sun has set on the British Empire because of what we did to the Jews.’ With this candid confession from a young English Christian leader, Norma and I began eight intensive days of teaching God’s promises concerning Israel and the Jews.

“We were in Cheltenham, a couple of hours west of London, at the invitation of Ken Webb and Mark Surguy. In a few days, we would hear the gong over Hong Kong, with the last major outpost of the British empire and colonialism quietly slipping away. The ‘Empire Upon Which the Sun Never Sets’ is now reduced to a beautiful island in the Atlantic, a few miles from the continent of Europe, and concerned that it is about to be swallowed up in European personality, promise and problems.

“How refreshing to hear the truth from English Christians. How the British promised Jews a homeland and then reneged. How the Balfour Declaration calling for Jewish independence in then–Palestine became the White Paper with its call for a staunching and them a stopping of long lines of Jews who could still escape Europe’s building hate. How the British rulers of Palestine used their gunboats to turn away Jews fleeing Hitler, forcing many to remain in Hitler’s Fortress Europe with its ghettos, genocide, and gas-powered cremation ovens.

“We could make this article a book by going on. Like how the British powers in Palestine armed and trained their Arab clients for war against the Jews – while disarming and jailing any Jew caught with a weapon. But it was these very acts that caused desperate Jews to fight – and beat – the British colossus and send the Crown’s military might scurrying for home. That setting of the sun on London’s Mideast rule was like a loud voice to those in Britain who took God seriously, ‘I will curse those who curse you.’ And the payment for such British contempt for the Lord’s plan for a restored Israel? From Crown to footstool – reigning world power to just a footnote – respected monarchy to a castle that is the butt of jokes – separate from Europe in power and prestige to now being forced into Europe for survival.

“Now England has been humbled. And with humility always comes hope. My English brothers and sisters welcomed us with open hearts and arms. ‘Teach us what God would have us know,’ they said. They are determined to pay the price to be God’s extended hand of unconditional love to Israel.

“Part of our teaching each other took in the lessons of the blessing or the curse meted nations and individuals in their treatment of the Jews. And we couldn’t avoid America – now proud as the world’s only ‘superpower,’ rich beyond imagination, immoral as ancient Rome, and politically inclined to protect the oil flow at the expense of Israel. The White House and State Department offer hypocritical lectures to Israel to bow to American bigness, while a Congress that respects the U.S. Jewish vote won’t offer Israel too much more than rhetoric. And most of U.S. media and religion are often unashamedly anti‑Israel.

“Only a remnant of serious students of the Scriptures seem aware of the shaking that is coming. The sun has set on the British Empire. Now America looms on the horizon seemingly believing it is destined to enjoy sunrise forever. And God’s hit list continues...

THE TRUTH SLIPS OUT

“Arab dictators excel at the big lie – even blaming Israel for starting the 1967 war. David Dolan, in Jerusalem, has pointed out an interesting statement by Morocco’s King Hassan (made in 1993 to a French journalist) concerning Israel’s fears for survival.

“What did we expect when the Jews kept hearing people like Achmed Shukeiri (the first PLO leader) declare that ‘We shall throw the Jews into the sea and burst the wombs of pregnant women and crush the babies with our feet’? asked Hassan. The King said he warned the PLO in 1968 that it would never succeed in destroying Israel.

“‘Indeed it won’t,’ adds Dolan, ‘since He who keeps Israel is none other than the mighty God, who ‘neither slumbers nor sleeps.’ (Psalms 121:4)”

(By Frank Eiklor, Front Lines Report, Volume 21, February 1998)

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LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Friends,

A recent letter from a beloved friend, Virginia Cornwell, who lived in Israel for 19 years until her devoted husband died a couple of years ago, has so impressed me that I want to share it with you, having first received her approval. Would that all the followers of Jesus could be as enthused and inspired about Israel as is this dear Christian friend. Here are some excerpts from her letter:

“God is so special that He makes all the difference in our lives. He is doing some awesome things in my life just in the last month. It is so exciting! Let me tell you...

“I was sending a card to Yehada and Yona (owners of the fantastic dude ranch in the Galilee where Virginia and Ray worked and. lived for 19 years) and so gave it to my daughter Mary to write on it. She wrote: ‘Mother and I are coming to Israel in September, 1998. 1 can only stay two weeks but Mother can stay longer.’

“Oh, hallelujah, isn’t the Lord awesomel! I am so excited I could talk non‑stop. I try to console myself – everyone isn’t as interested as I am... I would shout it to the house tops... I must write or call or go up on a mountain top and shout”

Casimir and I first met Virginia and Ray Cornwell when they visited their son Mark here in Paradise many years ago. Mark arranged for us to meet and the four of us became fast friends due to our love for Israel and our love for the God of Israel. When we took tour groups to Israel after that we invited Ray and Virginia to speak to them about their experiences in Israel. We also became fast friends of Mark and Jeanette Cornwell and their delightful family here in Paradise. By the way, Virginia now resides with another son in Washington State.

Love from Elva ------- CALIFORNI

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Beloved Emily: SHALOM!

Your good letter with enclosure of Nos. 493 and 494 is received, which I read with deep interest. Congratulationsl Also received the chart.

Yes, I still have ever ready THE DIVINE PLAN OF THE AGES, which you gave me in 1984. YHVH’s Plan is being fulfilled daily in part until Zechariah, Chapter 14 fulfills itself – soon!

Deepest love, David   ------- (NEW YORK)

NO. 495A GOD, THE AUTHOR OF THE ATONEMENT AND THE MILLENNIAL REIGN - PART ONE

The doctrine of the Atonement and the Messianic era lies at the very foundation of Judaism and Christianity. Having thus the most important place in both theologies, a clear understanding of these subjects is very essential. The Atonement, though believed in, is little understood; the various ideas respecting it are disconnected as well as vague; and faith built upon disconnected and vague ideas of the foundation doctrine must, of necessity, be proportionately weak and unstable. On the contrary, if the Atonement, which is the basic principle of these two religious systems, be clearly understood, it not only will firmly establish faith upon correct principles, but it will serve as a guide in discriminating between truth and error regarding the Millennium. When the foundation is firmly established, and every item of doctrine built upon it is kept in alignment with that foundation, the entire faith superstructure will be perfect. But before we present the facts and philosophy that this is the Millennium, let us first establish faith in the Atonement, and in God’s Word.

The first five books of the Old Testament are known as the Five Books of Moses, though they nowhere mention his name as their author. That they were written by Moses, or under his supervision, is a reasonable inference, the account of his death and burial being properly added by his secretary. The omission of the positive statement that these books were written by Moses is no proof against the thought; for had another written them to impersonate Moses, to deceive and commit a fraud, he would surely have claimed that they were written by the great leader and statesman of Israel, in order to make good his imposition. (Deut. 31:9‑27) Of one thing we are certain, Moses did lead the Hebrew people out of Egypt. He did organize them as a nation under the laws set forth in these books; and the Hebrew people, for over three thousand years, have claimed these books as a gift to them from Moses, and have held them so sacred that a jot or tittle must not be altered.

The writings of Moses contain the only credible history extant of the epoch which it traverses. The account given in Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament, starts with the reasonable assumption that a God, an intelligent Creator, already existed. It treats not of God having a beginning, but of his work and of its beginning and its systematic, orderly progress – “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen. 1:1) Then stepping over the origin of the earth without detail or explanation, the narrative of the six day epochs of preparing it for man proceeds. That account is substantially corroborated by the accumulating light of science of four thousand years; hence it is far more reasonable to accept the claim that its author, Moses, was Divinely inspired, than to assume that the intelligence of one man was superior to the combined intelligence and research of the rest of the race in three thousand years since, aided by modern methods and millions of dollars in the last hundred years.

The system of laws laid down in Moses’ writings was without an equal, either in their day or since. The laws of this century are based upon the principles laid down in the Mosaic Law, and framed, in the main, by men who acknowledged the Mosaic Law to be of Divine origin.

The government of Israel instituted by Moses differed from all others, ancient and modern, in that it claimed to be that of the Creator Himself, and the people were held accountable to God; their laws and institutions, civil and religious, claimed to emanate from the great Jehovah. An order of priests was established, which had complete charge of the Tabernacle, and through them alone access and communion with God was permitted with regard to the proper administration of their affairs as a nation.

The first thought of a skeptic in this connection might be: “Ah! I see the object of that organization; the priests ruled and controlled the people; they imposed upon their credulity, and excited their fears for their own honor and profit.”

But no one should assume anything where there is such good opportunity for proving the matter by the facts. The unanswerable evidence is contrary to such a supposition. The rights and privileges of the priests were limited; they were given no civil power whatever, and wholly lacked opportunity for using their office to impose upon the rights or consciences of the people; and this arrangement was made by Moses, a member of the priestly line.

Moses was God’s representative in bringing Israel out of Egyptian bondage, thus the force of circumstances centralized the government in his hand. This made Moses an autocrat in power and authority, though, from the meekness of his disposition, he was the overworked servant of the people, whose very life was being exhausted by the onerous cares of his position. Israel’s government, regarded in the light of its own claim, was a theocracy, that is, a Divine government; for the laws given by God, through Moses, permitted of no amendments; they must neither add to nor take from their code of ‑laws. Thus Israel’s government was different from any other civil government, either before or since. “The Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be elders of the common people and bring them unto the Tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee. And I will come down and talk with thee there, and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee and will put it upon them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not alone.” (Num. 11 :16,17) Moses, rehearsing the matter, says, “So I took the chief of your tribes, wise ‑men, and known [of influence], and made them heads over you: captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes.” (Deut. 1:15; Exod. 18:13‑26)

Thus the distinguished lawgiver, Moses, so far from seeking to perpetuate or increase his own power by placing the government of the people under the control of his direct relatives of the priestly class, to use their religious authority to fetter the rights and liberties of the people, on the contrary introduced to Israel a form of government calculated to cultivate the spirit of liberty. The histories of Gentile rulers show no parallel to this. In almost every case the ruler has sought his own aggrandizement and greater power. Even in instances where such have aided in establishing republics, it has usually appeared from subsequent events that they were activated through policy, to obtain favor with the people, and to perpetuate their own power.

Circumstanced as Moses was, any ambitious man, governed by policy and attempting to perpetuate a fraud upon the people, would have worked for greater centralization of power in himself and in his family. This would have been an easy task since the religious authority was already vested in that tribe, and from the claim of that nation to be governed by God. Nor is it supposable that a man capable of forming such laws, and of ruling such a people, would be so dull of comprehension as not to see the possibilities and advantages which he might accrue to himself. So completely was the government of the people put into the peoples, own hands, that though it was stipulated that the weightier cases which the governors could not decide were to be brought unto Moses, yet the governors themselves were the judges as to what cases went before Moses. “The cause which is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it,” said Moses. (Deut. 1:17)

Thus seen, Israel was a republic whose officers acted under a Divine commission. And to the confusion of those who ignorantly claim that the Bible sanctions an established empire rule over the people, instead of “a government of the people by the people,” be it noted that this republican form of civil government continued for over four hundred years. It was finally changed for that of a King‑rule at the request of the people, without God’s approval, who said to Samuel, then acting as a sort of informal president, “Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they shall say unto thee, for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.” (1 Sam. 8:7) At God’s instance Samuel explained to the people how their rights and liberties would be disregarded, and how they would become servants by such a change; but Israel had become infatuated with the popular idea, illustrated all around them in Gentile nations (1 Sam. 8:6‑22). In considering this account of their desire for a king, is one not impressed with the thought that Moses could have firmly established himself at the head of a great empire without difficulty?

While Israel, as a whole, constituted one nation, yet tribal divisions were ever recognized after Jacob’s death. Each family, or tribe, by common consent, elected certain members as its representatives, or chiefs. This custom continued even throughout their long slavery in Egypt. It was to these that Moses delivered the honor and power of civil government; whereas, had he desired to centralize power in himself and in his family, these would have been the last men to honor with power and office.

The instructions which were given by Moses to those appointed to civil rulership were a model of simplicity and purity. He declared to the people, in the presence and in the hearing of these governors or judges: “I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother and the stranger [foreigner] that is with him. Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God’s; and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it.” (Deut. 1:15‑17)

In view of these facts, what would one think of a theory which suggests that these laws were written by knavish priests to secure to themselves influence and power over the people? Would such men for such a purpose make laws destructive to the very aims they sought to advance? The record proves conclusively that Moses, the great Ruler of Israel, a member of the tribe of Levi, and brother of Aaron, the priest, cut off the Levites and the priesthood from all civil power by placing that power in the hands of the people.

Again it is worthy of note that the laws of the most advanced civilization, in this twentieth century, do not more carefully provide that rich and poor shall stand on a common level in accountability before the civil law. Absolutely no distinction was made by Moses, law. And as for the protection of the people from the dangers incident to some becoming very poor and others becoming excessively wealthy and powerful, no other national law has ever been enacted which so carefully guarded this point. Moses’ law provided for a restoration of all property every fiftieth year – The Jubilee Year. This law, by preventing the permanent sale and absolute alienation of property, thereby prevented its accumulation in the hands of a few. (Lev. 25:9,13‑23,27‑30)

All the laws were made public, thus preventing designing men from successfully tampering with the rights of the people. The laws were exposed in such a manner that anyone who chose might copy them; and in order that the poorest and most unlearned might not be ignorant of them, it was made the duty of the priests to read them to the people at their septennial festivals (Deut. 31:10‑13). Is it reasonable to suppose that such laws and arrangements were designed by men scheming to defraud the people of their liberties and happiness? Such an assumption would be unreasonable.

In its regard for the rights and interest of foreigners, and of enemies, it is doubtful if the laws of the most civilized nation today equal the Mosaic law in fairness and benevolence. We read:

“Ye shall have one manner of law as well for the stranger [foreigner] as for one of your own country; for I am the Lord your God.” (Exod. 12:49; Lev. 24:22) “And if a stranger [foreigner] sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him; but the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shall love him as thyself; for ye were strangers [foreigners] in the land of Egypt.” (Lev. 19:33‑34)

“If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, wouldst thou cease to leave thy business and help him? Thou shalt leave it, to join with [assist] him.” (Exod. 23:4‑5, margin)

Even the dumb animals were not forgotten. Cruelty to these as well as to human beings was strictly prohibited. An ox must not be muzzled while threshing the grain, for the good reason that any laborer is worthy of his food. Even the ox and the ass must not plow together, because so unequal in strength and tread, it would be cruelty. Their rest was also provided for. (Deut. 25:4; 22:10; Exod. 23:12).

The priesthood may be claimed by some to have been a selfish institution, because the priestly tribe – the tribe of Levi – was supported by the annual tenth, or tithe, of the individual produce of their brethren of the other tribes. This fact, stated thus, is an unfair presentation common to skeptics who misrepresent one of the most remarkable evidences of God’s part An the organization of that system of government. It was not the work of a selfish and scheming priesthood; it was founded upon the strictest equality and justice, as we shall show: When Israel came into possession of the land of Canaan, the priestly tribe, the Levites, had as much right to a share of the land as the other tribes; yet, by God’s express command, they got none of it except in certain cities or villages for residences, scattered among the various tribes whom they were to serve in religious matters. Instead of the land, it was only just that some equivalent should be provided for them, and the tithe was therefore this reasonable and just provision. And be it noted, that the tithe, though, as we have seen, a just debt, was not enforced as a tax, but was to be paid as a voluntary contribution. And no threat bound them to make those contributions; all depended upon their conscientiousness. The only exhortations to the people on the subject are as follows:

“Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.” (Deut. 12:19) “And the Levite that is within thy gates, thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance (in the land] with thee.” (Deut. 14:27)

Is it reasonable to suppose that this order of things would have been thus arranged by selfish and ambitious priests – an arrangement to disinherit themselves and to make them dependent for support upon their brethren for whatever their brethren felt disposed to give them? Does not reason teach us to the contrary?

Consistent with this, is the further fact that no special provision was made for honoring the priesthood. In nothing would impostors be more careful than to provide reverence and respect for themselves, and severest punishments and penalties upon those who mistreated and misused them. But nothing of the kind appears; no special honor, no special reverence or immunity from violence or insult, is provided. The common law, which made no distinction between classes, was their only protection. This is the more remarkable because the treatment of servants, and strangers, and the aged, was the subject of special legislation. For instance: “Thou shalt not vex nor oppress a stranger, or widow, or fatherless child; for if they cry at all unto me (God] I will surely hear their cry; and my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall be widows and your children fatherless.” (Exod. 22:21‑24; 23:9; Lev. 19:33‑34) “Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of strangers that are in thy land, within thy gates. At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it, for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it; lest he cry against thee unto the Lord and it be sin unto thee.” (Lev. 19:13; Deut. 24:14‑15) “Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head and honor the face of the old man.” (Lev. 19:32) All this, yet no special provision for priests or their tithes. Would not a selfish, scheming priesthood have provided for themselves?

Our hasty glance has furnished overwhelming evidence that this law, which constitutes the framework of the entire system of revealed religion, is a marvelous display of equity and justice. In the light of reason, we must admit that it bears no evidence of being the work of wicked, designing men, but that it corresponds exactly with what reason teaches to be the character of God. And further, the pious and noble lawgiver, Moses, states emphatically that the laws were not his own, and attributes them to God. (Exod. 24:12; Deut. 9:9‑11; Lev. 1:1)

Let us glance now at the general character of the prophets of the Bible and their testimonies. A remarkable fact is that the prophets, with few exceptions, were not of the priestly class; and in their day their prophecies were generally repugnant to the then degenerating and time‑serving priesthood, as well as to the idolatrously inclined people. The burden of their message from God to the people was generally reproof for sin, coupled with warnings of coming punishments, intertwined with which were promises of future blessings, after they should be cleansed from sin and should return to favor with God. The experiences of the prophets were far from enviable; they were generally reviled, many of them being imprisoned and put to violent deaths. (I Kings 18:4,17,18,19; Jer. 38:6; Heb. 11:32‑36) In some instances it was years after their death before their true character as God’s prophets was recognized. (We refer exclusively to the Biblical prophets.)

When it is remembered that these prophets were mainly laymen, drawing no support from the tithes of the priestly tribe, and when, added to this, is the fact that they were frequently not only the reprovers of kings and judges, but also of the personal sins of the priests, it becomes evident that we could not reasonably conclude that these prophets were parties to any league of priests, or others, to fabricate falsehood in the name of God. Reason in the light of facts contradicts such a suspicion.

If, then, we find no reason to impeach the motives of the writers of the Old Testament, but find that the spirit of its various parts is righteousness and truth, let us next proceed to investigate whether there exists any singleness of pattern, any common link, or bond of union, between the record of Moses, those of the other prophets, and those of the New Testament writers. If we shall find one pattern, one purpose, one aim and one common line of thought interwoven throughout the law and the prophets and the New Testament writing, which cover a period of fifteen hundred years, this, taken in connection with the character of the writers, will be a good reason for admitting their claim ‑ that they are Divinely inspired ‑ particularly if the theme common to all of them is a grand and noble one, comporting well with what reason and common sense teaches regarding the character and attributes of God.

We find that the New Testament throughout constantly points and refers to one prominent character, Jesus of Nazareth who, it claims, was the Son of God. From beginning to end His name, office, and work are made prominent. That a man called Jesus of Nazareth lived, and was somewhat noted, about the time indicated by the writers of the New Testament, is a fact of history outside the New Testament, and it is variously and fully corroborated. That this Jesus was crucified because He had rendered Himself offensive to the Jews and their priesthood is. a further fact established by history outside the evidence furnished by the New Testament writers. We also find that the writers of the New Testament (except Paul and Luke) were the personal acquaintances of Jesus of Nazareth, whose doctrines their writings set forth.

The existence of any book implies motive on the part of the writer. We therefore inquire, What motive inspired the writers of the New Testament to espouse the cause of this man “who was made of no reputation,” who was condemned as a blasphemer and crucified as a malefactor, the most religious ones among the Jews demanding His death as one unfit to live? And in espousing His cause, and promulgating His doctrines, we find that these writers braved contempt, deprivation and bitter persecution, risked life itself and in some cases even suffered martyrdom. Let us admit that while Jesus lived He was a remarkable person in both His life and His teaching, but what motive could there have been for any one to espouse His cause after He was dead ‑ especially when His death was so ignominious? And if we suppose that these writers invented their narratives, and that Jesus was their imaginary or ideal hero, how absurd to suppose that sane men, after making a claim that He was the Son of God, that He had been begotten in a supernatural way, had supernatural powers by which He had healed lepers, restored sight to those born blind, caused the deaf to hear, and even raised the dead – how absurd to suppose that they would wind up the story of such a great and marvelous character by stating that a band of His enemies got together and executed Him as a felon, while all His friends and His disciples, and among them the writers themselves, forsook Him and fled in the trying moment. The writers themselves frankly acknowledge that they were perplexed by the apparent inconsistency of the situation and they expressed their sore disappointment, saying, “We trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel.” (Luke 24:21)

It was not until after they had carefully examined the Old Testament Scriptures that they were able to understand and clarify the seeming inconsistency regarding the tragic death of one who, Himself, manifested the power to raise others from the dead. After a careful study of the Old Testament prophecies, they then furnished a Scriptural and logical reason for their faith and trust; and all the writers without exception were perseveringly faithful to those reasonable convictions down to their very death. And nothing connected with the Gospel Narrative of the New Testament appeals to human judgment more forcibly than does its simplicity. The fact that the blunderings, weaknesses, failures, and shortcomings of the Apostles themselves are faithfully narrated, and that without apologies or excuses or attempts to gloss over the defects and imperfections, shows a sincerity of purpose and a truthfulness of intention. The record reveals the shameless perfidy of Judas, and the weakness of the remaining eleven, who, in Jesus’ darkest hours, forsook Him, and fled, seeking personal safety, one of them subsequently denying Him. The writers of the New Testament would have been excusable had they interjected explanations and excuses for their weak course and shameful conduct; but the narrative is stronger as it stands, for we might be loath to accept‑ excuses had they offered them for themselves.

And what we have here noticed, we found likewise applicable to the various writers of the Old Testament. We found that they too were men notable for their fidelity to the Lord; and the Old Testament as impartially records and reproves their weaknesses and shortcomings as it commends their virtues and faithfulness. Thus there is a straightforwardness about the Old and New Testaments which stamps them as truth.

Having then found that both the Old and New Testaments were written by men whose motives we see no reason to impugn, but which, on the contrary, we see reason to approve, let us next examine the writings claimed as inspired,. to see whether their teachings correspond with the character we have reasonably imputed to God, and whether they bear internal evidence of their truthfulness.

This we do find: One plan, pattern, spirit, aim and purpose pervades‑the entire Old and New Testaments. The opening pages of the Old Testament record the creation and fall of man; the closing pages of the New Testament tell of man’s recovery from the fall; and its intervening pages show the successive steps of the plan of God for the accomplishment of that purpose. The harmony, yet contrast, of the first three chapters of the Old Testament and the last three chapters of the New, is striking. The Old Testament describes the creation of man and his fall into sin, the new describes how the creation is to be restored, with sin and its penal‑curse removed; the one shows Satan and evil entering the world to deceive and to cause death, the other shows how his work is to be undone, the dead restored to life, evil extinguished and Satan destroyed; the one shows the dominion of I earth lost by Adam, the other shows how it will be restored and forever established by Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and God’s will “done on earth as it is done in heaven”; the one shows sin the producing cause of degradation, shame and death; the other shows the reward of righteousness to be glory, honor and life.

(To be continued)

NO. 494 "THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING"

“They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain [kingdom].” (Isa. 11:9) Accustomed as all mankind have been to misrule and misgovernment, it was necessary that assurance should be given to Israel that the kingdom of Messiah which God would one day set up in the earth would not only have good motives and intentions, but would also possess superior power of knowledge and judgment. And this is what the Prophet Isaiah pointed out. The new King will not need to rely upon the common channels of information in the giving of His blessings and in the administering of his reproofs and chastisements, but will have a superhuman endowment of power by which He will know the very thought and intents of the heart. He will not need to judge after the hearing of the ear or by the sight of the eye, as must all earthly rulers, however well intention­ed. (Isaiah 11:3,4)

It was proper also that Israel and all others should know that the kingdom of God to be established would be absolutely just and impartial; for their experiences have demonstrated that even the wisest and best of their rulers, lawmakers, judges, etc., have been largely governed by selfishness. The world’s great ones have amassed wealth at the expense of their subjects, and have made their special friends wealthy and have granted them special privileges, oftentimes at the expense of the poor, the helpless, the despised. Hence the Lord through the Prophet assures us that the earth’s new King will administer equity toward all; that the meek, the backward, the modest and unassuming, those who are indisposed to press their claims and to assert their rights, will have His particular assistance; and that the poor, who have few to sympathize with them or to encourage or help them, will find in the new King a Friend.

MILLENNIUM NOT THROUGH EVOLUTION

Those who expect the Millennial kingdom to come as a result of present efforts, under the order of society now prevailing, and who believe that the world is gradually approaching the Millennium by an evolu­tionary process, should carefully consider this Word of the Lord through the Prophet, as shown in our text and context. The Prophet declared that when Messiah shall take the reins of government, His first step will be to judge the poor, and to reprove the rich in equity, in the interests of the meek of the earth. How could this be possible, if equity had already prevailed by a gradual process, so that there were no poor and no rich, and so that all had become meek?

Other Scriptures in harmony with this testimony of the Prophet Isaiah, show that the very work which our Lord is to do at the beginning of His reign will be to correct the wrongs then prevailing. Our Lord Himself implies that the earth will be far from being a blessed condition at His Second Advent, when He asks the question, “When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find the faith [Truth] on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) The Revelator also gives no uncertain testimony on this subject. He says: ‘‘And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever ... And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear [reverence] thy name, small and great, and shouldest destroy them that corrupt the earth.” (Rev. 11:15‑18)

BIBLE HARMONIOUS AND CONSISTENT

Many Scriptures are of like import. The position of the Bible is throughout harmonious and consistent. It describes the present time, while sin is prevailing, as “the present evil world” (Gal. 1:4), in which “the prince of this world”  (John 14:30) rules, and in which the Lord’s true people, the body of Christ, the heirs of the kingdom, “suffer violence,” and declares that this violence is working out for those who are rightly exercised by it a character which will be approved by the Lord. The Scriptures point out that to God’s faithful saints who suffer now will be granted this glorious new kingdom in Joint heirship with Messiah. They shall be given the dominion “under the whole heavens,” as declared by the angel to Daniel the Prophet. (Daniel 7:27) This dominion Jehovah will wrest by force from the “prince of this world,” Satan (2 Cor. 4:4), and will give it to His Son, whose bride will share her Bridegroom’s kingdom. This transfer will be accomplished in a great time of trouble, which is to end this present world, the present social order.

In our context the Prophet goes on to say, “He shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked.” (Isa. 11:4) It is very evident, then, that at the time of the establishment of the kingdom there will not only be poor needing assistance and succor, but there will be the wicked also. The rod of Messiah’s mouth signifies the judgments which He has already expressed, and which have very largely gone unheeded by Christen­dom. We remember His declaration: “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath One that judgeth him; the Word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” (John 12:48) – the day of judgment, now present, since 1874. Christendom in general has admitted the righteousness of the Lord’s Word, but those who attempt to live in harmony with that Word are remarkably few. Consequently, when the time shall come that “judgment shall be laid to the line and righteousness to the plummet” Isa. 8:17), and when this judgment shall begin at the nominal house of God, the nominal systems will fall – condemned by that Word.

Only the faithful few, the Lord’s Jewels, shall “be accounted worthy to escape those things coming upon the world” (Luke 21:36), when, as elsewhere described, “He [the Lord] shall speak to them [the world] in His wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure” when He shall render vengeance to His enemies, and recom­pense to those who have known the Master’s will, yet have done it not. “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.” “Wait ye upon Me, saith Jehovah, until the day that I rise up to the prey; for My determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them Mine indignation, even all my fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. For then will I turn to the people a pure language [message] that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent.” (Zephaniah 3:8, 9) “Righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.” (Isaiah 11:5) The girdle represents diligence, service, and the proclamation here is that Messiah will be a faithful, diligent Servant of God, accomplishing all the work entrusted to His care.

GREAT CHANGES IN ANIMAL CREATION

The reference in this 11th chapter of Isaiah to the change of disposition in the animal kingdom, so that the wolf and the lamb, the leopard and the kid, the calf and the lion, will dwell in harmony, is in full accord with the general Scriptural outlines of “the times of restitution of all things.” Not only is mankind to be restored, to be brought back to his primeval condition of human perfection and harmony with his Maker, but the lower animals will also share in the blessing and the restoration of order to be accomplished by the Reign of Christ, now, we believe, very near at hand.

In the Genesis account there is no intimation that the animals over which Adam had control were wild, vicious, at enmity with man. On the contrary, the implication is that they were in complete subjection to their perfect master. We may reasonably suppose that while the race, under the disintegrating influence of man’s death sentence, gradually lost more and more of the likeness of their Maker in which the first man was created, they at the same time lost the power of control over the lower animals.

The nature of the power possessed by the perfect Adam may still be imperfectly traced in the superior ability of certain of the fallen race to control the brute creation. Thus we see that some men can exercise mental force and control, not only over wild horses, but also over the ferocious beasts of the jungle. Adam was declared by the Lord to be the king of earth, and as such he was recognized by the lower orders of creation. After mankind had lost his original mental power to control the lower animals, a warfare sprang up between them, in which man has been compelled to pit force against force, as he has lost his hold upon the animal creation.

The restoration of mankind to that exalted position which was lost by sin implies naturally, therefore, a restoration of the brute creation to primeval conditions, such as is suggested in the prophecy which we are considering. The same thought is conveyed in the statement that “a little child shall lead” (Isa. 11:6), or control, the wild beasts, when these are brought into their proper relationship with mankind. In Verse 65:25 of Isaiah’s prophecy, it is stated of the Millennial conditions that “the wolf and the lamb shall feed together.” The reference may be to men who were formerly of wolf like and of lamb like dispositions, or character; or it may refer to animals, or both. The expression in either case signifies a blessed reign of peace. The Prophet continues, “And the lion shall eat straw like the bullock, and the dust shall be the serpent’s meat.” If this refers to literal lions, it would imply that they will lose their carnivorous dispositions, and that they will undergo some change which will make them herbivorous, as animals were originally created. (Genesis 1:30) It would seem to imply that animals will not prey upon one another.

DAWN OF HOPE FOR THE WORLD

The expression “Dust shall be the serpent’s meat” (Gen. 2:7), is similar to the statement in Psalm 72:9, regarding Messiah’s coming dominion: “His enemies shall lick the dust,” signifying the destruction of the serpent, or rather of the great adversary, Satan, whom the serpent symbolizes. “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain [kingdom], saith the Lord.” (Isa. 11:9)

The birth of the true Zion, the church of Christ, will be the cause of rejoicing among all who truly love righteousness; for, though it will at first dash in pieces all their long‑cherished hopes, it will be the dawn of a real hope for all the world. It will humble their pride and despoil them of all their cherished possessions and of what they have come to consider their rights. It will break down their boasted institutions, civil, social and religious, and completely wreck the present social order. Yet it will be the necessary prelude to the establishment of the grand New Order, which will come to be “the desire of all nations” (Hag. 2:6,7), as soon as they shall see its vast superiority to the old order.

TWO CLASSES BORN OUT OF ZION

In describing the birth of the “Man‑child,” The Christ, whose head was born more than eighteen hundred years ago, and the body of whom is now soon to be born, the Prophet Isaiah exclaims (Isa. 66:7, 8), “Before she travailed she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man‑child! Who hath heard such a thing? Who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion travailed she brought forth her children.” The especially marvelous thing that the Prophet here records is that a “man‑child” is to be born out of Zion before Zion travails. This is a striking reference to the fact, elsewhere clearly taught, that the ripe “wheat” of the Gospel church are to be separated from the unripe wheat and the “tares” at the end of this Age, that they are to be exalted and glorified before the burning, the consuming, trouble shall come.

This “man‑child”, then, is the little flock, the body of Christ, the true Zion. Out of nominal Zion will come this first‑fruits class, before the nominal system will be overthrown; for she will die in her travail pains, and in dying, will bring forth her later children the great company. In this great day of the Lord, nominal Zion will bring forth the man‑child and these later children.

“Shall I bring to the birth and not cause to bring forth? saith the Lord. Shall I cause to bring forth and shut the womb? saith thy God.” (Isa. 66:9) Ah, no! As surely as the Head was brought forth, so surely shall the body also be born. The birth shall certainly be completed. The great composite Christ shall come forth entire, not one member lacking – and before Zion’s travail has begun. But “who hath heard such a thing? Who hath seen such a thing?” And so, after the man‑child is delivered, the mother system will give birth, when travail pains come on, to a great company of children! This great company is described in the Apocalypse as coming up out of “great tribulation,” and washing their robes, spotted and soiled, and making them white, “in the blood of the Lamb.” (Rev. 7:14)

Following the birth of these two classes of the Lord’s people, will come the birth of the Jewish nation. They shall be awakened from the sleep of hades, in which as a nation they have been for over eighteen centuries. All this will take place in the early dawn of the day of Christ. O what rejoicing there will be! Fleshly Zion and spiritual Zion will rejoice together! Then soon the poor, chastened world will begin to join in the songs of praise to the God of all grace. What wonderful times are just before us! Though clouds and darkness for a brief time obscure the bright beams of the blessed Millennial dawning, soon the glorious “Sun of righteousness” shall rise in splendor, and its beams will rapidly spread over all the earth, scattering the darkness of sin, dispelling the fogs of error and superstition, and bringing the world into the light of the knowledge of the glory of God.

RESTITUTION NOT CHANGE OF NATURE

The entire testimony of Scripture in regard to the blessings to come to the world in the new Age show that they are all to be earthly. The declaration that even the brute creation shall be changed in nature is a promise that in that blessed day there will no more be a condition of antagonism and enmity between mankind and the lower orders of God’s creatures, but all shall be peace and harmony. It would be wholly unnecessary to change the disposition of the animals, to bring them into subjection to man, if all the race were to be changed into spirit beings, and become like the angels. Many prophecies speak of mankind in the times of restitution as human beings, adapted to the earth and enjoying the blessings of the earth. They are to “sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid.” (Micah 4:4) “They shall build houses and inhabit them ... They shall not build and another inhabit ... they shall long enjoy the work of their hands.” (Isa. 65:21‑25)

These promises for the world in general have no reference to the class being chosen out of the world during this Gospel Age. The promises to these are all spiritual. They are to be made like Christ, and “see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2) They are called to the obtaining of His glory. As they “have borne the image of the earthly,” so shall they “also bear the image of the heavenly.” (1 Cor. 15:49) They are promised a share in Christ’s resurrection – the first resurrection. They are to reign as kings and priests in a kingdom which earthly beings cannot inherit. “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” (1 Cor. 15:50) They have been called with a heavenly calling. They are not of the world, even as their Lord and Head is not of the world. (John 17:16)

WHY MANY FAIL TO UNDERSTAND THE WORD OF GOD

With many the difficulty in understanding these distinctions is a failure to rightly divide the Scriptures, as St. Paul counseled Timothy, saying, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15) This process would enable them to discern that the kingdom of God per se consists only of our Lord Jesus and His “little flock” of overcomers, to whom He says, “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.” (Luke 12:32) These are to constitute the reigning class, as many Scriptures point out. At first the world of mankind will be subjects of this spiritual kingdom, and afterward become citizens, or members, if they come into harmony with its laws and regulations and into a condition of reconciliation with God, becoming the children of Christ, who will be the age‑lasting Father of the world during the Mediatorial Age. He will be the One who shall bring the entire race of Adam – both those who have a measure of life and those who have gone down into the tomb – back from the condition of death into full perfection of life, if they then prove willing and obedient. Otherwise they shall be cut off in the second death – everlasting destruction.

The Prophet Daniel, in explaining Nebuchad­nezzar’s dream regarding the Great Image, shows that the kingdom of God when first set up at the introduction of the Millennial Age will be but a small stone, which has been “cut out without hands,” but which will become a “great mountain and fill the whole earth.” (Daniel 2:31‑45) This stone kingdom is quarried out of the “earth” by the Lord. It is at first insignificant in size, and it seems to the world as powerless. But as soon as set up in power, this kingdom will smite the “great image” of earthly rulership, and shall grind it to powder (in the coming trouble), and the wind shall carry it away. This stone kingdom is the holy mountain referred to in Isaiah 11:9. A mountain is the Scriptural symbol of a kingdom. Hills seem to be symbolic of the smaller governments of earth. (See Isaiah 2:2; 40:4; 51:5; 59:18; Psalms 46:2,3; 97:5)

Nothing shall be permitted to do violence or to work injury throughout all God’s Holy kingdom, after it shall have been established. Love will be the law, and Divine power will be the means which will enforce that law. All who do not conform to it will be “cut off from among the people,” as the Lord declared through the Apostle Peter. (Acts 3:23) How evident it is that this kingdom has not yet come, when we see that amongst mankind selfishness is the rule, individually and nationally, and that there are many influences of evil which hurt and destroy throughout the world today. So we continue to pray: “Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth, as it is done in Heaven.” And we believe that this petition so long offered by the Lord’s saints is very soon to be answered.

After Messiah has crushed the power of evil, after He has overthrown all the great systems of error and vice, and has set the people free, He will accomplish the blessing of humanity by the spread of the knowledge of Jehovah’s character. The Apostle Paul also assures us that it is the will of God that all men shall come to a knowledge of the Truth in order to be saved. He assures us that there can be no salvation without knowledge. None will ever be saved by ignorance. As yet only a comparatively few of earth’s millions have come to such a knowledge of God as to be able to exercise faith in Him and in the great sacrifice which He has provided for the whole world.

COMPREHENSIVENESS OF PLAN OF SALVATION

But the fact that but few in the present life come to this saving knowledge shall in no wise thwart the great Divine Plan, not make the death of Christ on behalf of the entire race of Adam of no avail. The Lord assures us in His Word that, in due time, the true light shall lighten “every man that cometh into the world.” (John 1:9) This includes all the heathen and all those of imbecile mind, who could not in this life grasp the Truth, as well as all infants who have died before reaching the age where they could know of God and His Truth in Christ. It includes the dead, as well as the living. For “there is none other name given under heaven among men whereby they must be saved” (Acts 4:12) by the name of Jesus. God has thus made ample provision for all.

Nor are we to suppose that the knowledge which is to become worldwide during Messiah’s reign is merely a little sprinkling of knowledge, such as has come to a very limited portion of the world here and there in spots, up to the present time. The Lord’s people have received the droppings of grace and truth, but the provision for the next Age will be abundant and universal. The knowledge of the Lord shall be ocean deep like the fulness of the sea. Showers of blessings shall come down upon the world in copious measure. The effect will be “like rain upon the mown grass.” (Psalm 72:6) When the grass has been freshly cut and its roots are thus the more accessible, how quickly it responds to the refreshing showers! And how rapidly does it spring up in renewed vigor! So it will be with mankind, after they have been shorn of all that has encumbered them and prevented the showers of grace from reaching their hearts. How quickly they will respond to the refreshing rains and showers of blessing so copiously bestowed upon them, and will spring up into life and beauty as they drink in the rich supplies of grace! (By That Servant – Reprints 5573‑75, November 15, 1914)

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QUESTION OF GENERAL INTEREST

QUESTION: – Does That Servant teach that the Epiphany and the “Time of Trouble” are one and the same, as does the Epiphany Messenger?

ANSWER: – Yes, That Servant teaches the same as the Epiphany Messenger on the “Time of Trouble.” Both teach that the “Time of Trouble” began in its wide sense in 1874, but in its narrow sense the Time of Trouble began in 1914 when the World War started. In its “narrow sense” – beginning the destruction of Christendom and the Nominal Church – the Epiphany and the “Great Tribulation” are one and the same. As most Truth people know, Sodom types Christendom and the Nominal Church, and Egypt types the world of mankind – this “present evil world.” (Gal. 1:4 – See Rev. 11:8 and Berean Comments)

In “The Battle of Armageddon,” Parousia book 4, is this: “Her destruction will have a beginning by the end of the appointed ‘Time of the Gentiles’ – 1914.” And p. 158 of this book: “These [the Little Flock] have no share in the judgment of great Babylon, but are previously enlightened and called out of her. ” (Rev. 18:4) And from the Reprints we quote the following:

“To the very best of our ability we have endeavored to make clear that the parousia of our Lord is wholly different from His epiphaneia. Both of these Greek words are translated ‘coming’ in our common Bible, but in the Greek they have very different signification. The word parousia signifies presence, but does not signify any outward manifestation of that presence. It is used in respect to the first stage of the second advent, in which our Lord is said to come ‘as a thief in the night’ to reckon with His own servants and to take the faithful of them with Him to the heavenly mansion or condition prepared for them.

“Our Lord’s parousia and the gathering of the elect, we understand, has been in progress since October, 1874. It will continue until all of the ‘elect’ shall have been gathered and glorified. In one sense our Lord will continue to be present as the world’s King to the conclusion of the Millennial Age; but His parousia, in the sense of secrecy of presence, will terminate when, as the Scriptures declare, ‘He shall be revealed in flaming fire (judgments), taking vengeance on all who will not obey the truth,’ but enlightening and revivifying all who will hear and, to the extent of their opportunity, obey His message. The parousia is to the church and for the church only. The epiphaneia or apokalupsis of the Lord in power and great glory is not to the church, nor for the church, but to the world and for the world.” (Reprint 4543, bottom)

“Emphasizing the suddenness with which the calamity will overtake the world, Jesus said that on the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained down fire and brimstone from heaven; and He declared that thus it will be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. The Greek text shows a difference between the parousia, or presence, of Christ before the time of trouble, and the later epiphaneia, or revealing.” (Reprint 5456, top, col. 1, par. 2 – May 1, 1914)

“The Scriptures indicate that the Gentile governments will receive from their own peoples their first notice that their lease of power has expired. The people will take note of the sign of the Son of Man in the heavens. The judgments of the Lord will begin to be manifest in the world, and will run counter to many of their interests. This manifestation of His presence is Scripturally called the epiphaneia, the shining forth, the revealment, of the King of Glory. ‘He shall be revealed in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (2 Thes. 1:7‑10) As a result, the nations of earth will be broken to pieces like a potter’s vessel. ” (Psa. 2:8,9) (Reprint 5527, col. 1, top – September 1, 1914)

There is more from That Servant that will prove that the Epiphany Messenger simply elaborated on his teachings regarding the Time of Trouble, or the Great Tribulation, as the Epiphany period, but what we have given will suffice for now. Quite a few of the brethren have lost sight of this Truth – even the LHMM, founded by the Epiphany Messenger, now teaches that we are in the beginning Basileia since 1954 – the overlapping of the Epiphany – when three major stages of the Great Tribulation are yet future. One section of the Epiphany brethren teaches that there are four periods – the Parousia, Epiphany, Apokalypse (separate periods) and the Basileia – something never taught by Brothers Russell and Johnson; nor do the Scriptures support this claim. “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing [the Epiphany] and his kingdom [the Basileia].” The way the Apokalypsis brethren teach, this text should read: “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing [the Epiphany] and at his revealing, or Apokalypsis [a separate period from his “appearing”] and his kingdom [Basileia].”

To some extent the LHMM teaches four periods of the Lord’s Second Advent – the Parousia, the Epiphany, the “Overlapping,” which will witness three more severe stages of the Great Tribulation, as well as the annihilation of the Man of Sin (2 Thes. 2:8), and the Basileia. Their “overlapping” has no similarity to the overlapping of the Parousia of 26 months (1914 to Nov. 1916). As it is now more than 44 years overlapping, and we are not yet in Armageddon, the second stage of the Great Tribulation, with Anarchy and Jacob’s trouble still future after that.

We are living in the day when “they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (2 Tim. 4:3, 4) Some of the Lord’s people who have received present truth are now setting much of it aside for opinions of their own. Some now say the end of the “Times of the Gentiles” is still future, and we are not in the “Time of Trouble” since 1914 although some of the thinking worldlings realize the world is in a “Time of Trouble” such as has never been before. Some deny our Lord’s presence; the Jehovah’s Witnesses are teaching that Armageddon will destroy not only this present system of things, but also annihilate all who do not join with them before Armageddon. This is “bad news” to those whose eyes are blinded (?) and do not accept their teachings. They teach that the world is not so blinded today, as not to be able to recognize their truth (?), which they are now teaching – that when they have had a chance to “learn of them,” and don’t accept them, it will be their last chance. This is much the same as the Papacy has taught: You must accept us, or receive eternal torment! (John J. Hoefle, October, 1977)

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LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

'HONEST BIBI' MAY YET SHINE

Sir, -  Mark Heller  ("Two Outsiders," December 6)  drew an unfortunate parallel between former president Richard Nixon and Israel's current prime minister. Nixon was certainly not an outsider in Washington, since he had served in the House of Representatives in Congress and as a member of the U.S. Senate before becoming vice president to president Eisenhower for eight years. The only "outsider" president was Carter, and he would compare much better to the current leader of the Labor Party, General Ehud Barak.

A very good parallel can, however, be drawn between Bibi Netanyahu and president Abraham Lincoln. Each started as an outsider in their respective capitals, each was elected when the country was very much divided on the platform of "maintaining the integrity and unity of the land." Each had problems with his generals. Each was an intellectual.

Lincoln was eventually successful and became one of the greatest presidents so far, and "Honest Bibi" has a good chance of making the same mark.

                                                                                                            Bernard Linder,                  (LOS ANGELES)

(Jerusalem Post, January 3, 1998)

………………..

Dear Sister Emily,

It was good to get your letter of December 9th. When you asked about Sister Jackson that gave me news of Hermann and Joseph, it was not Sister Osceola Jackson but Dorothy Jackson. I do not believe you know her. She, and her husband who has passed away, got the truth here in California about 30 years ago. She is one of the few in the class who accepts Tentative Justification. She has these friends who operate a YMCA camp in Israel and know about Hermann and Joseph. She says they are in the Truth ... Anyway it is good to know that Hermann and Joseph are both better.

I do not have anything to report on the question I was going to ask on the Tentative Justification ...

I have had a blessing in connection with the tapes I am reviewing. There is a Brother Wilburn Poe from Cincinnati, Ohio who got the Truth in 1908. He heard Brother Russell speak, lived through the split off of P.B.I. and then Rutherford. I am sure he would be dead now since the interview was in 1976 and he was 86 then. It was such a blessing to me to know of such a loyal one - like my own mother and dad ...

We are going to begin a study of Volume Two. I voted to study that over Brother Russell's Sermons. There will be a good deal of controversy, I am sure. We have at least two very strong advocates of the P.B.I. view on the Jubilees and many who do not accept Brother Russell's chronology. I am asking the Lord to help me to do His will.

Hope you continue to improve in health and let us pray that the Lord will allow us to help in His Kingdom.

Much Christian love and good wishes,               (CALIFORNIA)

………………..

My Dear Sister Emily,

Grace and Peace be unto youl I'm acknowledging your letter of November 10th. Also want to thank you for your generous gift of the book "Pastor Charles Taze Russell an Early American Christian Zionist." I knew that Brother Hoefle had something to do with the book but didn't know how or-why. I'm glad to be enlightened about it. Thank you very much.

I don't know if I told you that I am 88 years young and live in a complex of three buildings. They are managed by the Quakers. I had to learn a few things about them so I could speak the truth with them. I understand that it was a Quaker that designed our cross and crown that we use so much. They are good people. But I've been to some of their sermons, etc., and they only have milk for the people and we should be thankful that we have "Meat in due season." What a glorious plan our God has for the church and for the rest of the people. I've had many experiences in my life for which I thank the LORD.

If I get any orders for the book I will send them to you. I wanted to write to you before going to the meeting to see the brethren. I enjoy the reprints too.

God bless you always, By His grace … (OHIO)

………………..

Dear Sister Emily,

The open market cost of "The Pastor Russell Anthology" disc is $49.95. However, a friend and I have made arrangements to make it available in lots of 10 @ $25 each. If less than ten - or single copies mailed to different addresses - is desired, the cost is $26 each which includes postage. If you think anyone would be interested in having the disc I will be happy to send ordering instruction.

May the Lord bless thee and keep thee,  

…(OREGON)

………………..

Dear Friends,

We believe that the heat from 700 oil wells burning at once put so much heat into the atmosphere it probably changed the weather pattern (wrecked it). Never has the world' experienced so much terrible weather. The Gulf war was a curse.

Why would Israel want to give Arafat more land? That is unbelievable. Hope they don't do that.

Love, your Colorado Friends. God Bless you …   (COLORADO)

NO. 493 SOME THOUGHTS FOR THE MEMORIAL

The annual observance of our Lord's death occurs this year after six p.m., April 9. This date is calculated as follows: The Vernal Equinox this year arrives at 9:76 p.m., March 20 at the 30th Meridian East. Thus Nisan 1 occurs at 6 p.m. March 27, Bible reckoning. The proper date for the Passover would thus be fourteen days later. We will observe this service at 7:30 p.m., 2501 Morningside Drive, Mount Dora, FL. We invite all of 'like mind' to join with us.

This date is exactly 3613 years since the typical Passover was kept in Egypt; and we would stress that the annual observance of that event is simply a memorial. for that awesome occurrence. There was only one real Passover; and the Jews were instructed: "Ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and thy sons forever." (Ex. 12:24) And this the orthodox Jews have scrupulously done every year since that time.

But we are told that "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us." (1 Cor. 5: 7) However, instead of using the lamb and unleavened bread, we use the symbols that Jesus Himself instituted the night before He died -the unleavened bread and the wine, being substituted for the lamb and bread. Some may object to this course, but there is no record at all that the early Christians ever again used the lamb and bread; it was always the bread and wine!

But the date should be the same for the Jewish Passover and our Memorial of Christ our Passover. The reason this is not done is because the Jews often allow the condition of the moon to govern their date; whereas, the Bible is very positive that the date should be Nisan 14, regardless of the condition of the moon on that date. And we use Jerusalem time because the Bible was written in that district. America was not known to the civilized world when the original and its subsequent memorial of the death of Jesus were kept in harmony with that truth; and it would be a mistake for us to depart from that established fact. Julius Caesar did not invade England until 55 B.C. However, the errancy of Jews, or any others, on the date should not be regarded as sacrilege on their part. All during this Gospel Age the majority of Christians usually used the wrong date for this service.

As we keep the Lord's Supper as the antitype of the Great Passover, it is well that we keep in mind that we commemorate the greatest event of all history, the sacrificial death of the Savior of the world. And, while there is extensive and elaborate observance of Passover and Easter, few people engaging in that memorial appreciate the real significance of the ceremony. Could their minds be thoroughly awakened to its true significance, there would undoubtedly be a religious revival such as the world has ever yet known. But, as St. Paul has written, "The god of this world has blinded the minds" (2 Cor. 4:4) of many; and even with some who are partially awakened, St. Peter says they are "blind and cannot see afar off." (2 Peter 1: 9) They do not fully appreciate things related to this ceremony, which has been observed now in type and antitype for more than three thousand years.

The Israelites were commanded to celebrate the Passover as the first feature of the Law and as one of their greatest memorials as a nation. And this has been scrupulously done by Jews in all parts of the world, even by renegades and agnostics. Respect for this ancient service is in their very blood, so it is one feature of the Law that has not been violated.

And they were told to keep this memorial joyfully. And thus they concluded that nothing could cheer them better than wine. Consequently, four cups of wine were used during the evening, the first before any food was eaten, and the last after the meal had been completed. So seriously was this followed at the time Jesus ate the last Passover with His disciples that poor Jews were provided wine from the public coffer if they could not afford it, because it was not only to be just wine, but good wine, the best there was to be had.

Of course, in the original Passover there is no record that wine was used. If any was used at all, we may be sure it was not done to the same degree that subsequent memorials used it. That night was a very solemn night, no rejoicing, but a sober readiness for departure from Egypt the next morning. But God had specifically said that they eat the lamb, and with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. with their loins girded, their sandals on their feet. and "ye shall eat it in haste; it is the Lord's Passover." (Ex. 12: 11)

With a reasonable God, all His instructions must be reasonable; and, while many do not now understand the reasonableness of the various features of the Passover. in "due time" they will be taught to all the people in a clear and understandable manner. The Jews do now realize that some features of their Law carried great significance. As instance, their sabbath day every seventh day was a foregleam of a rest from the labor of sin and death. They were told that those who kept the Law would live in it. The Jews did not want to die any more than the heathen, so they speedily answered, "All these things will we do, and live!"

FIRST-FRUITS AND AFTER-FRUITS

Blessed are those whose eyes can see that Jesus was indeed "the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29); that the cancellation of the world's sin is to be effected by the payment of man's penalty, by the application of Jesus' sacrificial merit in due time for the sins of all mankind. Only faithful believers have as yet received of the merit of Jesus' death. Greatly favored are those who can see that as the whole world lost Divine favor and came under Divine sentence of death, with its concomitant of sorrow and pain, so it was necessary that a satisfaction of justice should be made before this sentence, or curse, could be removed; and that therefore, as the Apostle declares, "Christ died for our sins" -"the just for the unjust." (1 Peter 3:18) Thus He opened up a new and living way -a way of life everlasting, not only for us, but for the whole world of mankind in that glorious Kingdom.

The Scriptures call the Church of Christ "the Church of the firstborn," "a kind of first-fruits of his creatures," "the first-fruits unto God and the Lamb." (Heb. 12:23; James 1:18; Rev. 14:4) These expressions imply that ultimately there will be others of God's family – later born; they imply after-fruits. Christian people in general seem to have overlooked these Scriptures, so far as making application of them is concerned, and have generally come to believe that only those who are ever to be saved are designated in the Bible as the first-fruits – that there will be no after-fruits.

But the Passover type indicates that it was God's purpose to save all Israelites; and that as a nation they represented all of mankind that will ever come into harmony with God and be granted everlasting life in the Land of Promise. Let us note that there was more than one passing over – the one in which only the first-born were passed over; and  another greater one at the Red Sea, when by Divine power the whole nation of Israel was miraculously delivered and led across the channel of the Sea – especially prepared for them by the accentuation of winds and tides. These passed over dry shod and were saved; while the hosts of Pharaoh, representing all who will eventually go into annihilation, were overwhelmed in the Sea. The passing over at the Red Sea pictures the ultimate deliverance from the power of sin and death of every creature of Adam's race who desires to come into accord with the Lord and to render Him worship, all who will ever become a part of Israel; for not one Israelite was left behind in Egyptian bondage.

But this secondary passing over is not the one we are about to celebrate. We shall celebrate the antitype of the passing over of the first-born of Israel by the angel of death that night in Egypt. Only the first-born ones of Israel were in danger that night, though the deliverance of the entire nation depended upon the salvation, the passing over, of those first-born. And of the first-born there is no record that anyone of them died that night; they were safe so long as they remained "under the blood." Thus the first­born of the human family, the true Christians, were to be passed over during this night of the Gospel Age; only these would be in danger of the destroying angel – but would be safe so long as they remained "under the blood" of Jesus – they were all under the sprinkled blood.

In harmony with all the Scriptures, we see "the first-fruits unto God of his creatures," "the church of the firstborn," alone would be spared, passed over, during the present Age. But the remainder of mankind who may desire to follow the great antitypical Moses in the Age to follow this one shall be led forth from the bondage of sin and death, typified by the bondage of the Jews while they were in Egypt. As the Jews were told to remain under the blood that night, or they too would suffer death, so the first-born of this Age are now also told to remain "under the blood of Jesus," or they will suffer death. Some of them have gone out from under the blood, and have suffered extinction as, for instance, Judas. "It were better for that man if he had never been born." (Mark 14:21) Divine mercy no longer applies to them.

In "due time" the night of sin and death will merge into the Millennial morning. Then the Christ, the antitypical Moses, will lead forth, will deliver, all the people of God – all who, when they shall come to 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 – annihilation. "They shall be as though they had not been" (Obad. 1:16) -cut off in the antitypical Red Sea.

The Apostle Paul clearly and positively identifies the Passover Lamb with our Lord Jesus, saying, "Christ our Passover is sacrificed 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. We are to partake of the Lamb: we must also eat of the unleavened bread of truth, if we would be strong and prepared for the deliverance in the morning of the new dispensation. Thus "we put on" Christ – not merely by faith, but more and more we put on His character and are transformed into His glorious image in our hearts and lives.

We feed on Christ as the Jews fed on the literal lamb. Instead of bitter herbs, which aided and whetted their appetites, we have bitter experiences and trials which the Lord prepares for us, and which help to wean our affections from earthly things and give us increased appetites to feed upon the Lamb and the unleavened Bread of Truth. We, too, are to remember that "we have here no continuing city" (Heb. 13:14); but as pilgrims, strangers, staff in hand, we are to gird ourselves for our journey to the Kingdom.

Our Lord Jesus also fully identified Himself with the Passover Lamb. On the same night of His betrayal, just preceding His crucifixion, He gathered His apostles in the upper room, saying, "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer." (Luke 22: 15, Dia.) It was necessary that as Jews they should celebrate the Passover Supper on that night – the night of the anniversary of the slaying of the passover lamb of Egypt, of the saving of the typical first-born from the typical "prince of this world" – Pharaoh – the same date on which the real Passover Lamb was to be slain. But as soon as the requirements of the type had been fulfilled, our Lord Jesus instituted a new Memorial upon the old foundation, saying, "This do in remembrance of me." (Luke 22:1) It is here properly in order to emphasize that in both Passover episodes not one first-born Jew in Egypt died that night, and not one first-born Egyptian escaped death. The same in the Red Sea; not one Jew died; and not one Egyptian remained alive. And in the Kingdom only Israelites will live, as all who refuse the Kingdom blessings will die. Little wonder that Moses and Miriam sang their songs of victory after that phenomenal performance (Ex. 15:1-21)

PRIMARY SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BREAD AND THE CUP

We recall the circumstances of the first Memorial -the blessing of the bread and of the cup, the fruit of the vine; and our Lord's declaration that these represented His broken body and shed blood, and that all His followers should participate, not only feeding upon Him but being broken with Him; not only partaking of the merit of His blood, His sacrifice, but also laying down their lives in His service, in cooperating with Him in every and any manner, that they might later share His honor and glory in the Kingdom. How precious are these thoughts to those who are rightly in tune with our Lord!

In presenting to the disciples the unleavened bread as a memorial, Jesus said, "Take, eat; this is my body." (Matt. 26:26) The evident meaning of His words is: This symbolized or represents my body; for in no sense had His body yet been broken. In no sense would it then have been possible for them to have partaken of Him actually or antitypically, the sacrifice not being as yet finished. But the picture is complete when we recognize that the unleavened (pure, unfermented) bread represented our Lord's sinless flesh -leaven being a symbol of sin under the Law, and especially commanded to be put away at the Passover season. On another occasion Jesus gave a lesson which interprets to us this symbol. He said, "the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world." "I am the bread of life." "I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread which came down from heaven, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." (John 6:33, 35, 51)

In order to appreciate how we are to eat, or appropriate, this living bread, it is necessary for us to understand just what the bread signifies. According to our Lord's explanation of the matter, it was His flesh which He sacrificed for us. It was not His pre-human existence as a spirit being that was laid down and its glory laid aside, in order that He might take our human nature. It was the fact that our Lord Jesus was "holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners" (Heb. 7: 26) – without any contamination from Father Adam, and hence free from sin – that enabled Him to become the Redeemer of Adam and his race, that permitted Him to give His life "a ransom for all to be testified in due time." (1 Tim. 2:3-6)

When we see that it was the pure, spotless human nature of our Lord Jesus that was laid down on behalf of sinners, we see what it is that we are privileged to appropriate. The very thing He laid down for us we' are to "eat," appropriate to ourselves; that is to say, His perfect Human life was given to redeem all the race of man from condemnation to death, to enable them to return to human perfection and everlasting life, if they would; and we are to realize this and accept Him as our savior from death. The Scriptures show us, however, that if God would consider all past sins canceled, and should recognize us as having a right to human perfection, this still would not make us perfect, nor give us the right to eternal life.

In order that any of the race of Adam might profit by the sacrifice of Jesus, it was necessary that He should rise from the tomb on the Divine plane of life, that He should " ascend to the Father and deposit the sacrificial merit of His death in the hands of justice, and receive from the Father "all power in heaven and in earth." (Matt. 28: 18) As relates to the world it was necessary also that in the Father's due time Jesus should come again to earth, invisibly, a glorious Divine Being, then to be to the whole world a Mediator, Prophet, Priest and King, to assist back to perfection and to harmony with God all who will avail themselves of the wonderful privilege then to be offered.

It is this same blessing that the Gospel Church of this Age receives by faith in their Redeemer – namely, justification by faith – not justification to a spirit nature, which we never had and never lost, and which Christ did not redeem; but justification to human nature, which Father Adam possessed and lost, and which Christ redeemed by giving His own sinless flesh, His perfect human life, as our ransom sacrifice. The partaking of the unleavened bread at the Memorial season then means to us primarily the appropriation to ourselves, by faith, of justification to human life-right – a right to human life – with all its privileges, which our Lord at His own cost prepared for us. Likewise the fruit of the vine symbolized primarily our Savior's life given for us, His human life, His human being, His soul, poured out unto death on our behalf (Isa. 53:12); and the appropriation of this by us also signifies, primarily our acceptance of restitution rights and privileges secured by our Lord's sacrifice of these.

DEEPER SIGNIFICANCE OF THE LOAF AND THE CUP

Now let us note that God's object in justifying the Church by faith during this Gospel Age, in advance of the justification of the world by works of obedience in the Millennial Age, is for the very purpose of permitting this class who now see and hear, who now appropriate the great sacrifice which love had made on man's behalf, to present their bodies a living sacrifice, and thus to have a part with the Lord Jesus in His sacrifice – as members of His body. This deeper meaning of the Memorial He did not refer to directly. It was doubtless one of the things to which He referred when He said "I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now; howbeit, when it, the Spirit of Truth, shall come it will guide you into all truth, and will show you things to come." (John 16:12,13)

This Spirit of Truth -the power and influence of The Father – bestowed through Christ – speaking through the Apostle Paul, clearly explains the very high import of the Memorial; for St. Paul says, writing to the true Church, "The cup of blessing for which we give thanks, is it not the participation of the blood of Christ? The loaf which we break, is it not the participation of the Body of Christ? For we being many are one loaf and one body." (1 Cor. 10: 16,17)

Both views of this impressive ordinance are very important. It is essential, first of all, that we should see that our justification is through our Lord's sacrifice. It is proper then that we should realize that the entire Christ, the entire anointed company, is from the Divine standpoint, a composite body of many members, of which Jesus is the Head (1 Cor. 12:12,13), and that this Body, this Church, as a whole must be broken – that each member of it must become a copy of the Lord Jesus and must walk in the footsteps of His sacrifice. They do this by laying down their lives for the brethren, as Jesus laid down His life – directly for His Jewish brethren, but really for the whole world, according to the Father's purpose.

It is not their spiritual life that they lay down, even as it was not Jesus' spiritual life that He laid down. As He sacrificed His actual, perfect being, His humanity, so they are to sacrifice their justified selves, reckoned perfect through Jesus' merit, but not actually so. Likewise the loaf and the cup represent suffering. Each grain must be crushed and ground before it can become bread for man; they cannot retain their life and individuality as grains. The same with the grapes; they must be crushed to extract their juice, thus losing their identity as grapes.

Our Lord distinctly declares that the cup, the fruit of the vine, represents blood; that is, life – not life retained, but life shed, given, yielded up. He tells us that this life poured out was for the remission of sins; and that all who would be His must drink it, must accept His sacrifice and appropriate it by faith. They must receive life from this source. It will not do to declare that life is the result of obedience to the Law. It will not do that faith in some great teacher and obedience to his instruction will amount to the same thing and bring eternal life. There is no way to attain eternal life other than through the blood once shed as the ransom price for the whole world. "There is none other name given under heaven or amongst men whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

THE CELEBRATION IN THE KINGDOM

On the occasion of institution of the Memorial Supper, our Lord, as usual, had something to say about the Kingdom, the theme of almost all of His discourses. "Jesus went about preaching the gospel of the kingdom." (Matt. 4:23) Those to whom He had promised a share in the Kingdom, if faithful, He told them again that He would go away to receive a Kingdom and would come again and would receive them to Himself to share in it. He now adds that this Memorial which He was instituting would find its fulfillment in the Kingdom, that He would no more drink of the fruit of the vine until He should drink it anew with them in the Father's Kingdom.

Just what He meant by this statement might be difficult to determine positively, but it seems not inconsistent to understand Him to mean that as a result of the trials and suffering symbolized in His cup, there will be jubilation in the Kingdom. "He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied." (Isa. 53:11) He will look back over the trials and difficulties endured in faithful obedience to the Father's will, and will rejoice in these as He sees the grand outcome – the blessings which will come to all mankind. This justification will be shared by all His disciples who have drunk of this cup – in justification and sacrifice with Him. These have His promise that they shall reign with Him; and when the reign shall have begun, when the Kingdom is eventually established, looking back they shall praise the way that God has led them day by day, even to the end of their earthly course – even though it has been a "narrow way."

Our Master's faith stood the test of all these trying hours which He knew to be so near the time of His apprehension .and death. The fact that He rendered thanks to the Father for the bread and the cup is indicative of a joyful acquiescence in all the sufferings which the breaking of the bread and the crushing of the grapes implied. Already He was satisfied with the Father's arrangement. In line with this spirit was the singing of a hymn (Psalm – part of the Hallel) as they parted, a hymn of praise, thanksgiving to the Father that His course on earth was so nearly finished, and that He had found thus far grace sufficient for His need.

In considering the events of those solemn hours which followed the Memorial Supper, let us follow the Redeemer to Gethsemane, and behold Him with "strong crying and tears" praying "unto him who was able to save him out of death" (Heb. 5:7) – expressive of our Master's fear of death lest in some particular He might have failed to follow out the Father's plan, and therefore be thought unworthy of a resurrection. We note that our Lord was in some way comforted with the assurance that He had faithfully kept His vows, and that He would surely have a resurrection as promised.

We behold how calm He was thereafter, when before the high priest and Pilate, and Herod and Pilate again. "As a lamb before his shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth" (Acts 8:32) – in self-defense. We see Him faithful, courageous to the very last; and we have His assurance that He could have asked of the Father and could have had more than twelve legions of angels for His protection. But instead of petitioning for aid to escape His sacrifice, He petitioned for help to endure it faithfully. What a lesson is here for all His faithful followers!

On the other hand, we recall that even amongst His loyal disciples the most courageous forsook the Master and fled; and that one of them, in his timidity, even denied his Lord. What an occasion is this for examining our own hearts as respects the degree of our own faith, our own courage and our willingness to suffer with Him who redeemed us! What an opportunity is thus afforded for us to buttress the mind with the resolution that we will not deny our Master under any circumstances or conditions – that we will confess Him not only with our lips, but also by our conduct.

Some of this article was taken from That Wise and Faithful Servant who had charge of the Gospel-Age Harvest of the saints: "Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice." (Psa. 50:5) We believe, with the help of faithful brethren, that work was completed during the ministry of That Servant. However, That Servant taught a second Harvest to gather an unbegotten class "between the ages." (Reprint 5761, September 1, 1915) We call that class Youthful Worthies; and they will be rewarded in honor and in service with the Ancient Worthies of Hebrews, Chapter 11, in the Kingdom (Acts 17:31). Such consecrators have the faith of Abraham and will be made "princes in all the earth" (Psa. 45:16) – the visible rulers in the Kingdom.

Do Youthful Worthies partake of the Lord's Supper? Most certainly they do! They are thankful and appreciative of what our Savior has done for them. They do not "suffer with Christ," nor will they "reign with Christ," – therefore they partake of the wine and bread, symbolizing our Lord's death as the Lamb of God and symbolizing their tentative justification. Their trial is for faith and obedience and not for life as was the saints trial, although they make the same kind of consecration as did the spirit-begotten: "Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger [the unbegotten], as for one of your own country [spirit-begotten]." (Lev. 24:22)

As has been our custom, we shall keep the feast in quietness and confidence – decently, orderly, quietly – without much form or ceremony, even as did Jesus and His disciples that last night.

It is our prayer that this year's remembrance may be profitable to all who partake in sincerity and in Truth. We suggest the Passover chapter in Volume Six; and we pray a rich blessing upon all who partake. We are living in wonderful times, and we know not what a day may bring; but we have the strong assurance that faith can firmly trust Him who "left us an example, that we should follow in His steps." (1 Peter 2:21)

LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Our dearly beloved Sister Emily: Shalom and Blessings!

Thank you for your good and encouraging letter. We are sorry that you had so much pain in your arm and hand, but it quiets us, that you are getting better and have a lot of help. The Lord also sends us the necessary help we needed so urgently. We are thankful for your understanding, that you rejoice about "the Christians" who joined us in brotherly help – although they do not have the full Truth. (It is a shame for brethren who have the Truth and do not come to help.)

We are glad to be with you in a oneness of heart and mind. We also do not worry about the future. We believe as you, that if we do all the best to serve the LORD now – then we can rest in full faith that HE will take care of every need.

As for ………, we had also the same thought. We too worked hard on a letter to him, but decided as you not to send it.

Thank you heartily for your daily prayers and all your loving care.

Connected in sincere love, Your Brethren from Emek ha Shalom, Hermann Bezner and Joseph Elisha. (ISRAEL)

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Dear Brother Herman and Brother Joseph!

I wish to send this greeting to you with all my prayers and good wishes for your every success in the Name of Our Redeemer.

My prayer is with you and Israel my every waking moment. I love Israel and her people with devotion not unlike the affection I have for the Dear Redeemer. Israel will prevail because God is Jealous for Her and all of His creation.

Satan comes against all of God's creation as the time is shortened. He (Satan) has a particular "like" for Mount Zion!

I enjoy hearing from you and the efforts you are making on behalf of Israel. It is wonderful and I know that it is well received by all brethren of like faith. For many, the road has been long but I believe that God begins now in earnest and His works are being manifest every day. Emek Ha Shalom is a work for God's glory and the people of Israel, I believe, are beginning to see that it is!

I will pray and fast this season and will especially have you and your disciples in mind and heart as the days go by. I only wish that I could be with you in body, but I hope that you know my prayers to our God for His mighty arm and coming Kingdom are resolute.

Please accept the enclosed check as a gift of money which you can use for your needs. I pray that the Lord will give assistance in your plans for Emek Ha Shalom. If you have trouble in handling this check, please advise if there is a better way to send funds.

I do pray that this letter finds you (Brother Bezner) feeling well. Don't forget to rest each day! In His Name, Russell Brown _(TEXAS)

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Dear Emily,

Thank you for your beautiful card. We are very slow in getting mail out, but we want you to know we are thinking of you as the year ahead begins. May it bring us closer to the Kingdom of our Lord. This week we have three holidays together -Christmas, Chanukka and the beginning of Ramadan. Everyone is celebrating.

The next two months do not look so busy, and it does not look good for the tourism in the months ahead, even if it is Israel's 50th year.

It must be God's biggest miracle that Israel has existed as a state for nearly 50 years despite all the odds from day one until now. We are so thankful that God is a "God of miracles"!

Hope you have some of God's miracles in your life in 1998! Do hope you will be able to see Elva while she is in Florida. May you and all there be blessed in the New Year! Love, Lev and Hava Bausch (ISRAEL)

P.S. Times are changing in Israel! The statement below boldly appeared in all Israeli papers over a week ago, supported by all Messianic Jewish Fellowships across the country.

WHO IS THE MESSIAH?

The Messiah our righteousness has turned from us, we have been smitten and there is none to justify us.

Our iniquities and the yoke of our transgressions takes upon himself and he is smitten for our transgressions.

He lays on his own shoulder our sins to find forgiveness for our iniquities. By his stripes we are healed, that he might create an eternal new creation.

(From the Yom Kippur Musaf, Eshkol Publishing, Jerusalem. Compare Isaiah chapter 53.)

If our Jewish tradition attributes Isaiah chapter 53 to the Messiah – why should we claim otherwise?

YESHUA IS ISRAEL'S MESSIAH

The Messianic Congregational Action Committee (The Committee working against the bill for religious censorship in Israel.) For information please contact us at: POB 75, Rishon Le Tsion 75100, Tel. 03-9661898 or any of the following:  POB 31878, Herusalem, 91378

POB 816, Eilat, 88106

POB 180, Beer Sheva, 84101

POB 1174m Tel Aviv, 61111

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