No. 758
“Them that honour me I will honour.” (1 Sam. 2:30)
October 31 will mark 104 years since our beloved Brother Russell left us. “Parousia Messenger” is the title we offer for Brother Russell because he officiated during the small Parousia from 1874 to 1914, and because he made crystal clear the meaning of the Greek Parousia – as presence, and not coming, as it is generally given in the King James translation. Once that became clear to him, it began to sweep away many of the accumulated errors of the past, leading directly to his understanding of the 16th Chapter of Leviticus, the same being a concise picture of the entire Atonement, which culminates in “the restitution of all things.” (Acts 3:19-21)
When the Parousia Messenger began his ministry, the erroneous doctrine of eternal torment as the wages of sin was so deeply entrenched that it was generally considered sacrilege to contradict it. Many were the prominent and forceful orators who appeared as evangelists in their crusades to save the poor sinner from such an awful fate, so that Brother Russell was faced with what seemed an impossible assignment. This is graphically illustrated by the portentous force against which Gideon was arrayed with his band of 300 – likely outnumbered by more than a thousand to one: “And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.” (Judg. 7:12; Judg. 6:5)
This was precisely the situation when Brother Russell began his attacks on human immortality, the consciousness of the dead, and eternal torment as the wages of sin. His most popular public discourse was, Where Are the Dead, which always included a good exposition on Restitution. When he sent out brethren from Bethel (the Bible House in Pennsylvania) for Sunday discourses he always urged them to include a good portion of their public discourse on Restitution; and he himself occasionally remarked to Brethren, “That’s the subject!” when he was to speak on Where Are the Dead. He kept steadfastly at the subject and its pertinent errors, so that he was able to see certain victory ahead by the time he had finished his ministry. By 1916, it was considered by many intellectuals as a distinct mark of ignorance on the part of those who still regarded eternal torment as the wages of sin.
Certainly Brother Russell was the “principal man” of God’s Household in his day; he was the “angel” (messenger) to the Church in Laodicea; he had a message to deliver and he delivered it with telling force – until the very day his Great Captain finally said to him: It is enough! But his ministry brought upon him the most vicious attacks from the “bright lights” of Satan, and they were legion. (2 Cor. 11:14-15) When they could not “gainsay nor resist” the Truth he preached, they devised the most vicious sort of slander against him – alleging he was grossly immoral, a thing he could deny, but he could not disprove. The human mind being as it is today, the advantage was with the slanderers. Many were ready enough to believe the evil side of things. Others referred to him as “That braying Balaam’s Ass!” Here was indeed the antitype of Jeremiah being cast into the dungeon: “And in the dungeon there was no water [truth], but mire [filthy words]: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.” (Jer. 38:6) All this he took in stride, being mindful of Jesus’ words: “It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?” (Matt. 10:25) The Lord Himself had called him “blessed” (Matt. 24:46) and this more than compensated for the slanders hurled at him by “the workers of iniquity.” (Psa. 37:1)
He was adamant against Combinationism, which had become prominent at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893. Combinationism takes the position that it does not matter what one believes so long as he is sincere in his belief. In that convention in Chicago such an attitude tended to place all the assembled heathen dignitaries on equal footing with Christian ideals. And it might be observed that the quality of Christianity that was displayed at that convention by some in attendance tended to confirm such a conclusion. In fact, some of the heathen were heard to remark that they thought they should be coming to America to convert us to their ways and beliefs, instead of us sending missionaries to them to change their ideals.
Combinationism is Scriptural fornication – a combining of forbidden things. It finds its type in the account of some of the Jews engaging in illicit union with the surrounding heathen in direct violation of the sixth Commandment against committing adultery. (Num. 25:1-18) St. Paul pinpoints this situation: “Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.” (1 Cor. 10:8) He added, “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples [as types]: and they are written for our [special] admonition, upon whom the ends of the world [ages] are come.” (1 Cor. 10:11) The “ends” are the closing of the Gospel Age and the opening of the Millennial Age (the closing of the Jewish Age and the beginning of the Gospel Age, when Paul wrote about it).
When That Servant appeared on the scene all of the fundamental doctrines of the Bible – except Restitution – were being taught in some section of Christendom; but all of them were either directly encumbered with some error, or were not clearly understood by those attempting to teach them. Before he had finished, every one of those doctrines, including Restitution, had been relieved of all rubbish, and had been made crystal clear. This was foretold by the prophecy of Malachi: “And he [the messenger of the covenant] shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. (Mal. 3:1-3) The word “purifier” in this text would be better rendered “polisher”; and who of us will not admit that Brother Russell did “polish” the Truth (silver) in admirable brilliance! And in doing this he never resorted to the tricks of oratory. There were better orators than he, but certainly no better preacher. And in him was a living proof of our Lord’s sure words, “For I will give you a mouth [eloquence] and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay [contradict] nor resist.” (Luke 21:15) Every one that was “of the Truth” heard his voice gladly.
He was engaged in “the good fight” until the very day he died; and it could be said of him as one historian wrote about Martin Luther: He fell peacefully asleep in Jesus. “Them that honour me I will honour” (1 Sam. 2:30), and the Lord did honor him greatly. And if we wish to honor him, we can do so in no better way than to adhere to and uphold that Truth that was so dear to him. As Jesus said of Himself: “He that hath my commandments [the Truth], and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me.” (John 14:21)
(By John J. Hoefle. Excerpts from No. 280, October 1, 1978.)
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A BLESSED HOPE FOR SUFFERING HUMANITY
“For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” (Rom. 8:22-23)
No thoughtful person will long question the Apostle’s declaration that the human family as a whole is a groaning creation. Although he does not include the Church in this declaration for reasons we shall see, he points out that the Church also groans under present conditions. When we hear music and laughter and see throngs engaging in all manner of entertainment, we might be inclined to say there is a good portion of the creation that is not groaning much. If we look more closely, however, we find that much of the laughter is an offset to tears and much of the entertainment is indulged in with the desire to drown care.
In the Bible we are informed about the angels and the joys of Heaven; we are given to understand that no sorrow enters there, nor any tears, nor any dying. Did not the same God who created man create the angelic hosts? Why is there such a wide difference between the conditions on earth and in Heaven, prompting our Redeemer to teach us to pray for God’s Kingdom to come to earth and His will to be done on earth as it is done in Heaven? Why does He tell us that the faithful in the resurrection will be made like the angels and not die anymore? Why are we not like the angels now? Why are we sick and why do we die? Why are we imperfect in our mental, moral and physical powers?
The answers to these questions require superhuman wisdom. There must be a reason; otherwise the same just, loving, gracious God would treat His human creatures as kindly and generously as His spiritual creatures. Why is it that all of our blessings are only hoped for while all the blessings of the angels are actual and present?
Note the prophetic declaration: “For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the Lord behold the earth; To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death; To declare the name of the Lord in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem.” (Psa. 102:19-21) This is in full conformity with the Apostle’s statement, and adds the further explanation that the groaning is because man is a prisoner and under the death sentence. But when did he become a prisoner? When did the death sentence come upon him?
The Scriptures answer that our race was sold under sin – became the slave of sin – and that the experiences of sorrow, degradation, imperfection and death are all parts of the wages of this great taskmaster. “For the wages of sin is death,” the Apostle declares. (Rom. 6:23) He personifies sin and death as great monarchs now reigning over the children of men. (Rom. 5:14, 21) The tomb, into which both good and bad go, is the great prison house where all figuratively sleep. There they await the Millennial morning when Messiah comes to vanquish Satan, who has the power of death, delivering the captives from the chains of sin and from the grave, the prison house of death, Sheol, Hades.
Mark the Redeemer’s words: “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell [hades – the grave] and of death.” (Rev. 1:18) Note the consistency of the prophetic statement referring to Messiah and the work of His gracious Kingdom: “I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.” (Isa. 42:6-7) And again: “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.” (Isa. 61:1)
Our Lord personally preached from this text, pointing out that it would be He who would release our race from its bondage to sin and death. (Luke 4:18) The Word of the Lord assures us that we have divine sympathy, and that a Savior adequate to all the conditions has been supplied by the Heavenly Father, and that the world merely awaits the proper time for Him to act, when He will strike off the shackles and unlock the prison door to let all the prisoners go free from this condemnation.
ORIGIN OF MAN’S SLAVERY TO SIN
To understand this condition that includes every member of the human race, we must hearken carefully to the Word of God. The Apostle gives the explanation: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” (Rom. 5:12) The Apostle’s words are abundantly supported by the Genesis account of Adam and his disobedience to God and his subsequent rejection from divine fellowship. He was expelled from Eden and subjected to dying conditions because of his disobedience, his sin. There the slavery began; there the groaning and dying of our race had its start. The Creator’s words were, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” (Gen. 3:19)
Nothing could be plainer or easier to comprehend for those whose vision is not clouded by human philosophy and the smoke of the Dark Ages. The “groaning” began with Father Adam and has continued ever since. His posterity has lost more and more of the original image and likeness of God and has become more and more depraved – mentally, morally and physically. “There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Rom. 3:10) None are perfect either in word or deed. We may have the will to do right, but how to perform what we will is another matter, as the Apostle suggests: “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” (Gal 5:17) The dying condition has made us incapable of absolute good and weak in the face of the temptations of the Adversary.
“THE HOPE SET BEFORE US”
Thank God the Bible holds out hope of the deliverance of our race from this bondage of the prison house. The context of our opening text makes this clear: “For the earnest expectation of the creature [humanity] waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” (Rom. 8:19-21) This is a remarkable declaration, for note that it is not referring to the Elect Church, but to the creation, the world in general.
Humanity was subjected to frailty (imperfection and weakness – “vanity”) by reason of Adam’s transgression, but this subjection was not without hope – a good, great, blessed hope, the “hope set before us” in the Gospel. (Heb. 6:18) Other Scriptures support this declaration that God will ultimately deliver the human family from bondage to sin and death – from “the bondage of corruption.” After all, this was exactly what the angel announced at our Savior’s birth: “I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” (Luke 2:10)
Moreover, the Scriptures give us a reasoned explanation, not only of why the reign of sin and death has been permitted, but of how and where that reign will be annulled and humanity be delivered. The Scriptures declare that the Lord Jesus paid the penalty for Adam, releasing not only Adam himself from divine condemnation to death, but also all those who came under divine condemnation through Adam’s sin – the entire groaning creation.
When speaking of the deliverance of the groaning creation, all Scriptures point to Messiah as the divine agent that will effect this deliverance. Throughout the Scriptures every hope for deliverance of the race from sin and degradation to eternal life is based upon Messiah and His work –His sacrificial work finished at Calvary and His work of glory during the Millennial Age during His Second Advent.
THE LIBERTY OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD
Just as corruption came upon all through Adam, the deliverance from that corruption is to come to all through the second Adam. All are to be delivered from bondage, but how they use the privilege of liberty will be their choice. Those who use it rightly will come into harmony with the Redeemer and with the Heavenly Kingdom, and will eventually be blessed with eternal life. Those who reject it after they come to understand it fully, comprehending its lengths and breadths, will thus be choosing for themselves the Second Death. This distinctly shows the liberty of the sons of God, their freedom from corruption – death. As sons of God, the angels are not subject to such corruption, such dying conditions.
The Scriptures declare that Adam, in his original perfection, was a son of God. (Luke 3:38) He lost his son-ship for himself and for all of his race and received instead degradation and bondage to corruption. The hope in Christ for Adam and for his race is deliverance from the power of sin and death into the liberty proper to them as sons of God. The entire Millennial Age will be devoted to this work of setting free the human family from the bondages of ignorance, superstition, weakness, and heredity. Through restitution processes, all who are willing will be brought back to the original image and likeness of God, making them again human sons of God like Father Adam before he sinned.
The Apostle argues on this subject: “For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one 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. 5:17-19)
How beautifully clear is this statement by the Apostle! How did we overlook the true significance of these words for so long? Our eyes were blinded by the unscriptural theory that after the selection of the Church – the “little flock,” the saints – the remainder of mankind would be condemned to an eternity of torture! Since we have gotten rid of that delusion, our eyes are opening more and more to behold the lengths and breadths and heights and depths of God’s great plan of salvation. His plan first deals with the Church during the Gospel Age and subsequently will deal with all of the redeemed – all of the children of Adam condemned for Adam’s disobedience and bought with the precious blood of Christ. They will be justified for their condemnation and set at liberty by the great Redeemer when He in due time takes unto Himself His great power and reigns. (Rev. 11:15-19)
WHY THE LONG DELAY?
Why would God delay so long to bring these blessings to the world? If God’s plan is higher and nobler than any of the plans and theories of men, why has it yet to be enacted? Why did He permit the world to remain enslaved for 4,000 years and more before He sent the Redeemer? Why has He continued to allow it to be enslaved for 2,000 years since the Redeemer purchased the world? Still only a handful of the human race has intelligently heard of the only name under Heaven and among men whereby we must be saved. Does the delay not contradict God’s claims of love and power? If He has the love which longs to help the world, does He lack the power to do it? If He has the power, does He lack the love?
No! The Scriptures assure us that the love of God is boundless and He has already accomplished for mankind a redemptive work at the cost of the human life of our Lord Jesus. They also assure us that God’s love is unchanging, that divine power is almighty, and that it only waits for the proper time to be exercised for the full blessing of all the families of the earth through the Redeemer. God’s purpose to bless Adam and his race is a restitution promise, and the Millennial Age will be “times” or years of restitution, uplifting mankind from the mental, moral and physical degradation into which it has fallen during the reign of sin and death. It will also be a time for blessing the physical earth and making it the perfect home for the perfect race, the footstool of God, filled with the glory of God. (Isa. 66:1; Isa. 60:13)
However, the Scriptures tell us that another work was first to be accomplished, namely, the selecting of the Little Flock, the elect Church. Instead of being restored to human perfection, the Church has proven her loyalty to the Lord by her self-sacrifice, even unto death, and has been granted a share with Christ in the First Resurrection, receiving a change from the earthly nature to the Heavenly nature, like unto her glorified Redeemer and Head. This work of selecting the Church has been an important one, and has occupied a long period. Those who have had the privilege of becoming members of this elect Church and joint-heirs with the Redeemer have considered any loss or sacrifice as dung in comparison with the excellence of the blessings promised. (Phil. 3:8)
Looking again at our opening text and its context, we note how the Apostle differentiates between the Church and the world and the groans of each. The Church does not groan after the same manner as the world. It groans quietly within, waiting with the glorious hopes for their adoption and deliverance. (Editor’s comment: To a degree, the same may be said of those who desire to and do serve God faithfully after the closing of the High Calling. They look forward to participating on the earthly plane in the blessing of all nations.) In contrast, the world, without God and without hope, groans in doubt and despair.
Notwithstanding all our hopes and joys in the Lord and our fellowship with one another, we do sometimes groan, being burdened. Our joyful anticipations for the future does not prevent us at times from feeling a measure of the trouble, sadness and discouragement of our earthly environment. Our physical, mental and moral weaknesses at times assert themselves so strongly that we cannot do as we would; we cannot exult in tribulation even though in our hearts we may rejoice. As the Apostle suggests, we are at times “in heaviness through manifold temptations.” (1 Pet. 1:6) But ours should not be an outward groaning. As our text suggests, we “groan within ourselves.” It is a subdued groan, modified because of the offset of our glorious hopes.
The Apostle shows that while both the world and the Church groan, they are waiting for different things. The Church has waited for the deliverance of her Body – not bodies, in the plural – but for the deliverance of the Church as a whole. Some of the members have gone before, but finally the entire Body of Christ, which is the Church, will be completed and they shall see their Lord and be with Him and share His glory, a united Church, a united Body of Christ, beyond the veil.
The world, the groaning creation, does not know of the divine plan, however. Its groaning is of a hopeless character, but we know what God has provided for mankind even though the world is blind and ignorant of it. We know that during the Millennial reign the Christ, head and body will be the channel for the blessing of all the families of the earth. They will be recovered from death and through restitution processes they will be lifted up to righteousness and eternal life. Only the incorrigible will die the Second Death.
Thus the Apostle says that the groaning creation is waiting for “the manifestation of the sons of God.” The sons of God are the Church. As the Apostle says, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2)
We see then that the world’s hope is in the glorified Church, whose glorious Head is the Redeemer Himself. When this Church is exalted in Millennial glory the world’s time of blessing will begin. Then all the groaning creation will be liberated and have the opportunity of coming out of the mental, moral and physical corruption of death, and into liberty and perfection of life as sons of God. All of these privileges have been secured for them through the merit of the precious blood.
How glad we are that in this dawning time of the new dispensation the true light is shining from the divine Word, as well as throughout the realm of nature! How glad we are that we no longer must think of the Church alone as the subjects of salvation and the world as a whole the subjects of condemnation and eternal torture! How just, how reasonable, how loving, are the divine arrangements! To see these things should draw our hearts near to the Lord in appreciative love, and we should worship with the greatest devotion One whom we thus see worthy of praise and adoration.
We are not, however, to expect the world to be able to realize these things. It is not the divine purpose that they should grasp the plan. As the Master said to the faithful disciples of old and still says to us, “Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.” (Luke 8:10) They will both hear and understand in due time, but the Gospel Age has been the time for the calling out of the Elect, the perfecting of the saints.
Let those whose ears and eyes have been blessed by the Lord respond with gratitude and humility. Let us respond not merely with outward praise, but let us also confess His loving kindness and tender mercy with our hearts. Let this appreciation more and more sanctify our hearts and separate us from the world, its aims, and its selfishness. Let us fight a good fight against sin, especially in our own mortal bodies. The Spirit of the Lord should lead us more and more to desire that perfection which is most pleasing and acceptable to Him, and to strive, therefore, to the extent of our ability, relying upon the merit of that great Atonement Sacrifice, offered once for all and sufficient for the sins of the whole world.
Jesus, our great High Priest,
Hath full atonement made;
Ye weary spirits rest;
Ye mournful souls be glad:
The year of Jubilee is come,
Returning ransomed sinners home.
Extol the Lamb of God,
The all-atoning Lamb;
Redemption through His blood,
To all the world proclaim:
The year of Jubilee is come,
Returning ransomed sinners home.
(Based on Pastor Russell’s Sermons, pages 609-620.)
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