NO. 333: SOME THOUGHTS FOR THE MEMORIAL

No. 333

The Annual Observance of our Lord’s death occurs this year after six p.m., March 27. This date is calculated as follows: The Vernal Equinox this year arrives at 6:39 a.m. March 21 at the 30th Meridian East, this Meridian being used as it is the nearest to Jerusalem. Thus Nisan 1 occurs at 6 p.m. March 14, Bible reckoning. The moon becomes new at 7:43 p.m. March 14. The proper date for the Passover would thus be fourteen days later, or 6 p.m. March 27. We expect to observe this service at 7:30 p.m. at Mount Dora, Florida.

This date is exactly 3,597 years since the real Passover was kept in Egypt; and we would stress that the annual observance of that event is simply a memorial for that awesome event. 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.” (Exod. 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 BC However, the errancy of the Jews, or any others, on the date should not be regarded as a sacrilege on their part. All during this Gospel Age the majority of Christians usually used the wrong date for this service.

However, we would observe here that with all the brilliant Jewish minds – doctors, lawyers, financiers – that it is the enigma of the centuries that none of them has ever attempted to analyze the deep meaning of the Passover, and why Christians have never observed it. When our Passover Lamb entered Jerusalem on Monday (not Sunday, as Palm Sunday is generally remembered) He there presented Himself as the Antitype of the Passover, and said unto the Jews: “Your house (religious system) is left unto you desolate.” (Matt. 23:38) And desolate that “house” has been! Now the Passover and Atonement Day services are empty performances, because they do not have a High Priest to establish it. And why is this? Because their High Priest had to come from the Tribe of Levi; and their house is so desolate that they do not know which of them is from the Tribe of Levi. None of them can accede to the position of Aaron, their original High Priest, whose descendants succeeded to that position – much as the kings of England are the children of the former rulers.

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 the 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 never 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.” They do not fully appreciate the deep 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.

Yet they have never raised the pertinent questions: Why was the Passover lamb slain and eaten? Why was the blood sprinkled upon the door‑posts and lintels? 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.”

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”; 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 concomitants of sorrow and pain, so it was necessary that a satisfaction of justice should be made before this sentence, or cause, could be removed; and that therefore, as the Apostle declares, “Christ died for our sins” – “the just for the unjust,” that He might bring us back to God. Thus He opened up a new and living way – a way 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 first‑borns,” “a kind of first‑fruits unto God 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 are ever to be saved who are designated in the Bible as the first‑fruits – that there will be no afterfruits.

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 were two Passovers – the one in which only the firstborns 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 Passover 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.

RESPONSIBILITY OF THE FIRST‑BORNS

But this secondary Passover is not the one we are about to celebrate. We shall celebrate the antitype of the passing over of the first‑borns 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‑borns. And of the first‑borns there is no record that any one of them died that night; they were safe so long as they remained “under the blood.” “Thus the first‑borns of the human family, the true Christians, are now being passed over during this night of the Gospel Age; only these are in danger of the destroying angel – but are safe so long as they remain “under the blood” of Jesus – they are 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 first‑borns,” alone are being 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‑borns 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” (Obadiah 1;16) – cut off in the antitypical Red Sea.

JESUS OUR PASSOVER LAMB

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 the 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 appetite to feed upon the Lamb and the unleavened Bread of Truth. We, too, are to remember that “we have here no continuing city”; but as pilgrims, strangers, staff in hand, we are to gird ourselves for our journey to the heavenly Canaan, to all the glorious things which God has in reservation for the Church of the first‑borns, in association with our Redeemer.

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, “With desire have I desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” (Luke 22:15) It was necessary that as Jews they should celebrate the Passover Supper on that night – the night of the anniversary of the slaying of the Passover lamb of Egypt, of the saving of the typical first‑borns 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, “Do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19) It is here properly in order to emphasize that in both Passover episodes Not One firstborn Jew in Egypt died that night, and not one firstborn 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 all 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.” (Luke 22:19) The evident meaning of His words is, This symbolizes 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” – 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 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 that 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.” As relates to the world it was necessary also that in the Father’s due time He should come again to earth, 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 privileges 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; 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 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 yet 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 our justification 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. 12:12,14), 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. We do this by laying down our 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 our spiritual life that we lay down, even as it was not Jesus’ spiritual life that He laid down. As He sacrificed His actual, perfect being, His humanity, so we are to sacrifice our 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 instructions 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 the 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 fulfilment 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 sufferings 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 jubilation 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 cryings and tears” praying “unto him who was able to save him out of death” – 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 her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth” 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.

OUR OPPOSITION TO BE FROM THE RELIGIOUS WORLD

We are shocked with the thought that it was Jehovah’s professed people who crucified the Prince of Life! And not only so, but that it was the leaders of their religious thought, their chief priest, scribes and Pharisees and doctors of the Law, rather than the common people, who were responsible for this dreadful deed. We remember the Master’s words, “Marvel not that the world hate you; for you know that it hated me before it hated you,” We recognize that He referred to the religious world; and recalling this, we know that it will be the religious world that will hate us, His followers. We are not to be surprised, then, that opposition to the Truth and persecution of the light‑bearers should come from the most prominent exponents of so‑called Christianity. This fact, however, should not cause us to hate either our own opponents or those who persecuted our Lord to the death. Rather, we are to remember the words of the Apostle Peter respecting this matter: “I wot that in ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.” (Acts 3:17)

Yes, ignorance and blindness of heart and mind is at the bottom of all the sufferings of the Christ Company – both Head and Body. The Father permits it to be so now until the members of the Body shall have filled up that which is behind of the afflictions of their Head, (Col. 1:24) Soon, as our Lord declared, those who now partake of His broken body and suffer with Him in the service of the Truth, will drink with Him the new wine of joy in the Kingdom, beyond the veil, Then will come “times of restitution of all things.” (Acts 3:21

Some of our readers no doubt will recognize that much of this article is taken from That Wise and Faithful Servant who had charge of the gathering “My saints together with Me, those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice” (Psa. 50:5); and with the help of faithful brethren, we believe that work was completed with his ministry. However, he taught there would be an unbegotten class gathered “between the ages,” and his article to the saints has a secondary application to them – edifying and strengthening their faith. Such consecrators have the faith of Abraham, and who faithfully serve God while sin is in the ascendancy, will be rewarded in honor and service in the earthly phase of the Kingdom with the Ancient Worthies (Hebrew, Chapter 11) –made “Princes in all the earth,” (Psa. 45:16)

Do they partake of the Lord’s Supper. Most certainly they do – but with some reservations. They are not “suffering 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, as well as symbolizing their tentative justification. Although their trial is for faith and obedience, and not for life, 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 (the 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.”

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LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear John: Shalom!

Once again, John and Emily, heartfelt thanks for the additional aid for our work. Your added contribution helped much in covering the cost of the Summer 1982 UI Bulletin

..... It appears, once again, in Yah’s Providence, the Creator is using Israel as His battle-ax in judgment. Few in the world realize that YHVH’s Hand is in what we see happening in the Crescent. It seems to me, John and Emily, that we are now closely moving towards the fulfillment of “As in the days of thy (Israelis) coming out of the Land of Egypt will I show him (Israel) marvelous things.”

Zechariah 12, 13, 14 coincides with Ezekiel 38‑39 and the Russians are now getting into the act unto their destruction. YHVH alone shall be exalted in that day’

I, too, believe with you that “we are fully persuaded that we have the Truth – regarding Israel, and the world in general in these troublous times.”

Love from both of us to you and associates. As ever, ------- (NEW YORK)

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Dear Brother and Sister Hoefle: Greetings in the most precious Name of Jesus!

Thank you for your letter and the papers. Although I am quite familiar with the history of Zionism, having read quite a few books on this subject besides the Bible and Pastor Russell’s writings. Your paper added some new insights to my understanding, Some years ago, our Public Library was a good source of such reading material, but this like so much else, has changed a great deal.

I appreciate your statement that you had some “excellent elders who taught you the truth” in a Society class, for there were some excellent teachers teaching the truth in my hometown of Leipzig some years after Bro. Russell’s departure. ....As I recall, the big controversy then was over the subject of “the door being closed” Little Flock vs. Great Company. But there was one event in 1924 or 1925 which had a bearing on my leaving Germany. Our class had arranged for a special testimony to the large Jewish Community of our city. All went well – the best auditorium, seating several thousand, and the best public speaker were engaged, the meeting was well advertised, no effort was spared. But before the speaker could give his address, a number of “early” Nazis went to the stage and tried to prevent him. At that time we could still call on the police (in liberal Sachsen, but not in Bayern), they came and took them away, but not before they threatened us “we’ll get you later.” Which, of course, they did – especially in 1933. ...........

Well, Brother, your Nov‑Dec. papers have arrived in the same mail with the UN Bulletin by David Horowitz. I am enclosing a check for your work. Please keep your papers coming. I’ve felt the need for some spiritual fellowship for some time, and I appreciate the spirit which shines through your writing. May the Lord bless you and your wife, and everyone who works with you! Sincerely, ------- (DELAWARE)

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“IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW”

SISTER RUTH PRICE MEHL, Coffeyville, Kansas, finished her course January 1, 1983.

She was our beloved, loyal, and faithful co‑worker for forty years; and, as it is written of Jesus, “He went about preaching the gospel of the Kingdom,” it can be said of our dear departed Sister: she, too, was always seeking opportunity to “preach the gospel of the Kingdom” even to her dying moments – and this she did faithfully during her illness, even though many times wracked with pain. Also, like our Lord, she never asked to be relieved of her pain – only asked that our prayers would be for her faithful endurance.

She leaves a decided void in her family – and not only in her family, but also in the Truth work she loved so dearly. She cannot be replaced, even as other faithful brethren cannot be replaced. We sorrow for her, and we mourn our loss with those that mourn, but we rejoice with them in the blessed memory she has left us. We are glad, too, that the Lord has now said, “It is enough; rest now for awhile awaiting that glorious Kingdom.” She is now “asleep in Jesus.”

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NO. 332: TAKE, MY BRETHREN, THE PROPHETS - PART FOUR

No. 332

DANIEL – Daniel is recognized as one of the major prophets, although his book contains only twelve short chapters ‑ a small fraction of the other three: Isaiah with 66 chapters; Jeremiah with 52 chapters; Ezekiel with 48 chapters. However, the force and knowledge of Daniel’s twelve chapters probably surpass any twelve chapters that we may find in any of the other three.

One writer states this of him: “The celebrated Jewish prophet at the Babylonian court. He sprang from the princely family of the tribe of Judah. When a youth, he was carried off with the other captives by Nebuchadnezzar. At Babylon the boy was selected with other young captives of good birth and parts to be trained for the state service. He and three companions obtained leave from the master of the eunuchs; under whose charge they were, to substitute simple food for the viands assigned them by the king which were likely to be contrary to the Mosaic Law and defiled by heathen rites (Dan. 1:8). The four young exiles all became proficient in Babylonian learning, while the grace of God enabled them to manifest uncompromising principle, even when it brought them face to face with death.

“About that time Ezekiel cited Daniel as a notable example of righteousness and wisdom (Ezek. 14:14)... On the fall of the Neo‑Babylonian Empire, Darius the Mede appointed 120 satraps over the new kingdom, with three presidents over them, Daniel being one of the three. Jealousy of Daniel on account of his ability and eminence led to a plot against him, and he was cast into the den of lions... He was officially a statesman, and his life was passed in the business of the state. He does not use the common prophetic declaration, “Thus saith the Lord,” and he does not exhort his contemporaries, as it was the function of the prophets to do.

“The prophecy of Daniel is quoted by Christ as genuine and certain of fulfillment. Josephus, who speaks of Daniel as a great prophet, believed that the prophecies of Daniel were in existence before the time of Alexander the Great; in fact, before the days of Artaxerses.”

THE BOOK

It is probably no improper statement to say that the book of Daniel stands in a class by itself in Biblical writings. All that is known about the prophet himself is contained substantially in his own book, which consists essentially of two parts ‑ a series of narratives (chap. 1‑6) describing his experiences and those of his companions in the three reigns of Nebuchadnezzar (chap. 1‑4; Belshazzar (chap. 5); and Darius the Mede (chap. 6).

The latter half of the book (ch. 7‑12) is a series of visions – with introductions describing the circumstances attending them, purporting to have been seen by Daniel during the reigns of Belshazzar (ch. 7 & 8), Darius the Mede (ch. 9), and Cyrus (ch. 10 to 12). The principal link connecting the two parts of the book is afforded by chaps. 2 and 7 ‑ the four empires symbolized By the image in Nebuchadnazzar’s dream in chapter 2 being the same as the four empires symbolized by the four beasts seen by Daniel in his vision described in Chapter 7. However, there is a decided difference in the understanding of these two visions, In the great “metal‑man” picture of Chapter 2 the four universal empires are set forth as viewed by man in his present fallen condition ‑ the latter, the magnetism of rulership in this “present evil world”; with Chapter 7 portraying those same empires as viewed by God, dominated chiefly by “the basest of the kingdoms” (Ezek. 29:15; Dan. 4:17: “The most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.”

In the entire book there is very little, if any, of the acerbic criticism that the other three of the major prophets leveled at the human race, especially so against the “rebellious house of Israel,” with his superior mentality and dominant position with the Government, he was the target of envious men; but the Governments generally held him in high esteem ‑ as we shall see later in this article; There is no record that the common people persecuted him for any criticism of them.

The second Chapter of Daniel relates the engrossing “Metal‑man” image of King Nebuchadnazzar; and we now offer some detail upon it because it had great influence upon Daniel’s life!

The King had had a dream which disturbed him greatly; but, when he awoke, he could not recall what it was; so he summoned to be brought before him “the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to tell him about it.” But when the sleight‑of‑hand performers asked to hear what the dream was, the King became very angry, told them that if they are as good as they claim to be, they should be able to tell him what the dream was. “And the Chaldeans said, there is not a man upon the earth that can show the king’s matter” – no king, lord, nor ruler that had ever asked such an impossible thing. The king then became “very furious,” and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.” “And they sought Daniel and his followers to be slain.” (2:13)

The four Hebrew youths quickly realized their precarious position, and immediately betook themselves to prayer. There was really no reason at all for the king to include the four youths in his verdict because none of them had ever given any intimation of adhering to the tactics of the “smart boys.” But with God on their side, they were sure to win – which they did. “The secret was revealed unto Daniel in a night vision.” (2:19) And he showed real diplomacy in declaring it to the king: “Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory... Thou art this head of gold.” (2:37,38) Then he proceeded to describe three other empires which would follow Babylon: chest and arms of silver – Medo‑Persia; belly of brass – Greece, under Alexander the Great; and finally Rome – the two legs of iron representing the two divisions of the Roman Empire, dominated by the “iron rule of Rome” in the two iron legs of the King’s dream.

“Then king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshiped Daniel... made him a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon... and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel ‘SAT IN THE GATE OF THE KING”’ – the place of chief prominence! Later we shall discuss how those same men, whose lives Daniel had saved, conspired to destroy him; but admitted that the only accusation they could bring against him was his religion.

But there is more to be said about the book in general, especially in its apocalyptic, and some of the more characteristic doctrines that find expression in it. Some of the symbolism and the veiled predictions that form such conspicuous features of the Book had already been employed by other prophets. For instance, Ezekiel uses the allegories of the vine‑tree (Chapter 15); the abandoned infant (Chapter 16); the two eagles and the vine (Chapter 17); the lion’s whelps (Chapter 19) the two harlots (Chapter 23); the flourishing tree (Chapter 31); the shepherds and their flock (Chapter 34). There are striking instances in the writings of other prophets; but, applied to Daniel, the symbolism and the yelled predictions are characteristic of a species of literature which was then beginning to spring up ‑ known commonly by‑modern writers as Apocalyptic Literature.

The word “apocalypse” means disclosure, revelation; and the ordinary prophecy contains disclosures, whether respecting the will of God in general, or respecting the future, the term is applied in particular to writings in which the disclosure, or revelation, is of a specially marked and distinctive character. The beginnings of this type of writing are to be found in those post‑exilic prophecies of the Old Testament relat­ing to the future, which are less closely attached to the existing order of things as is usually the case, and which, though they cannot be said actually to describe it, may nevertheless be regarded as prophetic anticipations of the final judgment, and consummation of all things. But in due course apocalyptic prophecy assumed a special form, and became the expression of particular feelings and ideas.

Apocalyptic prophecy arose in an age in which there were no longer any prophets of the older type, addressing themselves directly to the needs of the times, and speaking in person to the people in the name of God. It consists essentially of a development and adaptation of the ideas and promises expressed by the older prophets, designed especially with the object of affording encouragement and consolation of faithful Israelites in a period of national distress. The call to repentance, and rebuke for sin, which formed the primary and central element in the teaching of the older prophets, assumed in the age of Daniel a secondary place. Israel was subject to the heathen and the crying question was: When would its long and humiliating servitude be at an end? When would the older prophecies of future glory and triumph over the heathen be fulfilled? The expectation of these promises in the immediate future has badly misled the Jews throughout the Jewish and Gospel Ages – although they are now beginning to be realized, especially since 1948 – when their national recognition was established. However, it must be that the full realization of those promises is still some years in the future, during which years they are yet to have further harassment at the hands of their heathen neighbors.

The Book of Enoch (not a Biblical writing) is nearest in date to the book of Daniel. In Gen. 5:24 it is stated that “he walked with God”; and the conclusion was reached that he not only led a godly life, but that God bestowed supernatural favors upon him. This is only tradition, of course. But the New Testament Book of Jude does tell us that “The Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints to execute judgment upon all” (vs. 14, 15): to punish the fallen angels and wicked men, and to reward the righteous with peace. This statement, of course, is not tradition; it is the inspired Word of God!

Jude also speaks of the “common salvation” (v. 3) – which will be an everlasting untroubled life on earth. “God planted a garden (a paradise) eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.” (Gen. 2:8) Great confusion has arisen about the actual meaning of these words; but we accept them as literal, and that they foretell a future bliss for the restored human race – not only for the Jews, but for all men – “Tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people.”

Then the story goes on that God Himself will appear to judge the world; Israel’s oppressors will be destroyed, and the Messianic kingdom will be established, In seeing all this, Daniel says, “I stood trembling... but he was told, Tear not, Daniel,... Thy words were heard from the first day thou didst set thy heart to understand… I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days”– that is, in the distant future. (Dan. 10:11‑14)

In due time – the distant future – the Kingdom will be established in the land of Israel; then spread over all the earth, after which the fallen angels will receive their judgment – after which there will be no end of goodness and righteousness, sin will no more be mentioned. Messiah will then be predominant and highly exalted, surrounded by myriads of angels ever praying before Him while sitting on the throne of His glory. Then the Books will be opened, having a record of all the sins committed by men, as well as the good deeds of the righteous. It is presumed that the Apostle John gained much material from Daniel for his Revelation, or Apocalypse, We mention here especially Daniel 12:7: “For a time, times, and a half,” A “Time” is a Jewish lunar year of 360 days; thus, 3 1/2 times would be 42 months, or 1260 days. Note now Rev. 13:5: “There was given unto him (the beast) to continue forty and two months.”

SOME OUTSTANDING TEACHINGS OF DANIEL

The Kingdom of God is one of the most fundamental ideas in the Book, and is a triumph of the Kingdom of God over the kingdoms of this world. This is greatly emphasized in his second chapter, on which we offered some comment in the earlier pages of this article; but we now quote from 2:44 regarding the performance of the “stone cut out without hands” smiting the metal‑man image on the feet: “In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” That will be the fifth universal empire; and, when people sometimes ask our politics, we answer them: We are a fifth‑monarchy man. That usually invites an explanation, which we are happy to present.

The breaking up of the toes of the image – afterwards the willing of the whole earth – represents the triumph of the Kingdom of God over the evil powers of this world. It is the same ultimate triumph of the Kingdom of God – with increasing distinctness of detail, and with more special reference to the climax of heathen hostility to the truth, that is detailed in Chapters 7 to 12, with the Divinely appointed Kingdom of God succeeding these evil governments in a universal and eternal government of the holy people of God – a kingdom which contrasts with all previous kingdoms – as man contrasts with the beasts of prey. Thus the prophet emphasizes not only an unshaken confidence in the ultimate triumph of truth, but also by an over‑mastering sense of a universal Divine purpose which overrules all the vissitudes of human history, the rise and fall of dynasties, the conflicts of nations, and the calamities that overtake God’s faithful people.

As declared by Daniel, when the need of God’s people is the greatest, the Almighty will interpose: His throne of judgment will be set up, and the powers hostile to Israel will be overthrown; everlasting dominion will be given to the people of God (“they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years” – Rev. 20:4). All men will then serve them, sin will be abolished and forgiven, and everlasting righteousness will be established. The dead of Israel will then be resurrected to life everlasting. The inauguration of the kingdom of God will follow immediately after the complete annihilation of the nations as represented in the ten toes of the metal‑man image.

The earlier prophets make mention of the coming Kingdom of God, but they lack some of the fine details given by Daniel. The earlier prophets, such as Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, all foretold of an age when the trials and disappointments of the present would be no more, when Israel, freed from heathen oppressors, would realize its ideal character, and live an ideal life of righteousness and peace upon its own soil Canaan, where they now are – at which time the willing nations will be incorporated into the Kingdom of God.

In Chapter 12 there is very positive stress given to the resurrection – not only of the nation, but of the individuals: “Many that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” And Daniel then raises the question: “When shall these things be?” And the answer came to him: “When he (the Papacy – from 539 to 1799 AD) shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.” Daniel treats of the general resurrection more distinctly and definitely than do any of the other Old Testament writers. But, as Daniel himself declared, “I looked, but I understood not”; so it was with all the Old Testament writers. It remained for Jesus and the Apostles to make very clear that “There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.” (Acts 24:15)

In the Old Testament the belief was general that the nation of Israel would return from the tomb and enjoy an earthly inheritance. At that time they failed to see the spiritual resurrection that the saints of the Gospel Age would inherit. This is one of the main reasons why Daniel “understood not.” It is probably true that Dan. 12:2 declares the resurrection more clearly than any of the other Old Testament writers; and the Jewish mind was very hazy on this doctrine at the time of Jesus’ arrival.

To the Jews it was an ennobling ideal, which the Pharisees cherished, but which the Sadducees rejected completely: “The Sadducees say there is no resurrection.” (Acts 23:8) The failure of the Pharisees to recognize a spiritual resurrection, as well as a resurrection here on earth, was one great cause for their failure to understand some of the sayings of Jesus. In Dan. 7:9‑14 Daniel gives a very vivid portrayal of the earthly Kingdom; it is magnificently described from the human and earthly standpoint. This is pretty much just the reverse of the present Christian view: Most of them today see only the spiritual resurrection, and ignore completely the earthly stage.

None of the Old Testament prophets – with the possible exception of Daniel ‑ even remotely dreamed that the future restoration and glory of Israel would be so far distant in the future. In fact, even the Apostles did not realize this either. During Jesus’ presence with them they were much imbued with the fact that He would restore the glory that was Solomon’s; and, even after His crucifixion and resurrection, they still held the opinion of a speedy restoration of Israel. “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6) Had they then known it would be more than nineteen hundred years before that would be done, no doubt many of them would have given up and quit. From Isa. 11:1‑10 they were firmly convinced that the restoration of the kingdom would be in the immediate future ‑ after the return from Babylon which Jeremiah had told them would be after seventy years in Babylon. (2 Chron. 36:21) And when “the root out of Jesse” (Jesus) arrived, it seemed to them a certainty that the time had finally come.

The ordinary belief of the ancient Hebrews on the subject of a future life was that the spirit after death passed into the underworld – Sheol, the grave, or the death state where it entered upon a shadowy, half conscious, joyless existence, not worthy of the name of “life” (a close cousin to the Roman purgatory) – where communion with God was at an end, and where God’s mercies could be neither apprehended nor acknowledged. The prophets did offer some beams of light – which was more fully revealed and explained by the New Testament writings, which, however, most Jews have refused to accept. And the Jews seized upon some of the Old Testament utterances that were prophetic of Jesus, and applied them to themselves: “Thou wilt not leave my soul in Hell (Sheol); thou wilt not suffer thy godly one to see corruption.” (Psa. 16:9,10) But such promises the Jews applied exclusively to themselves; the Gentile “dogs” would end up with the beastly dogs ‑ probably in Gehenna. The prophet Ezekiel had told them, “These bones are the whole house of Israel.” (Ezek. 37:11) This was a prophecy of the resurrection of the nation.

The Angels – Angels are quite often mentioned in the Old Testament, but it remained for Daniel to mention specifically two of them by name. Jesus had told the apostles: “In my Father’s house are many mansions” – different planes of being. (John 14:2) in Dan. 8:16 and 9:21 Gabriel is mentioned by name for the first time; and in Dan. 10:13, 10:21 and 12:1 Michael is given for the first time: “Michael... the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people.” All believers of any sort are familiar with evil spirits, Satan being chief among them in the Christian thinking. His original name is given in Isa. 14:12: “How art thou fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning.” Clearly enough, before his fall, Satan was one of the superior spirit beings. In the Greek and Roman mythology – with their many gods – they have one outstanding evil one – their Satan or what not.

Antiochus Epiphanes (215‑164 BC) is presumed by some to be the prototype of St. Paul’s Antichrist; but their mistake here lies in their idea that Antichrist refers to an individual, instead of a far‑reaching and long‑enduring system of evil. While the Jews had suffered much at the hands of heathen rulers, Antiochus was the first foreign king who persecuted them expressly on account of their religion. He not only forbade them, under pain of death, to practice any of its observances, but, when they resisted him, he avowed openly his determination to extirpate their nation. Thus all loyal Jews detested him much more than any of their previous oppressors. He not only openly glorified the heathen Hellenic deities, but bestowed divine honors upon himself. As an individual, he was indeed an excellent forerunner of the New Testament Antichrist.

It is presumed by some that Daniel was giving a prophetic history of Antiochus and his evil deeds against the Jews; but this is a subject open to argument. We simply mention it here because he did have a direct influence upon the Jews in this time.

Antiochus did indeed fit well the description given by St. Paul in 2 Thes. 2:4: “Who opposeth and exalted himself above all that is called God; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” The antichrist that St. Paul refers to is a system, and a future thing. (1 John 2:18) He also describes this same antichrist as That Wicked One, The Man of Sin, The Mystery of Iniquity, and The Son of Perdition; and Daniel calls it The Abomination that maketh desolate (Dan. 11:31; 12:11). Our Lord refers to the same character as The Abomination of Desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet (Matt. 24:15; and again in Rev. 13:1‑8 as a Beast). All these appellations fit Papacy in their recognition and power of 1260 years, from 539 until 1799, when its power suffered much defeat by Napoleon.

IN THE LION’S DEN

In his sixth chapter we have the account of Daniel being cast into the lion’s den. This is very well explained by the two Messengers, but we now try to offer some more details about the event. The record begins, “It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; and over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first; that the princes might give accounts unto them. Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.” (vs. 1‑3) Daniel was undoubtedly one of the best – if not the best at that time among the Jews. It was he who had won great favor with Nebuchadnezzar by handling the dream recorded in the second chapter; but, being an “outlander,” it was water of gall to the Chaldean bigwigs.

When Cyrus took Babylon at night – while Belshazzar was eating and drinking himself drunken in the banquet hall – he placed Darius over the Babylonia province; and he was probably well acquainted with Daniel. His handling of the dream would certainly cause active comment among all the people of Babylon; and the “mark of Cain” (envy) quickly asserted itself. They must get rid of Daniel; “but they could find none occasion nor fault, forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.” So they resorted to an underhanded ruse; they tricked Darius into signing a “decree” that none should worship gods other than those of the state religion. Then they persuaded the king to establish the decree, and sign the writing, which could then not be changed, because the decree of the Medes and Persians changes not.

Of course they soon found Daniel praying – which he did three times a day – and immediately reported it to Darius. “Then the king was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him... but they cast him into the den of lions. But the king said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee. Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting... and his sleep went from him... He arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions... He spake to Daniel, O Daniel, is thy God able to deliver thee from the lions? Then said Daniel... My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me... innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. Then was the king exceeding glad for him... And he commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and break all their bones in pieces before they came at the bottom of the den.”

“Then king Darius wrote... I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom man tremble and fear before the God of Daniel... He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.”

There is one outstanding distinction in this narration about Daniel: The Jews did not persecute him, as they had done with most of the prophets. They probably held him in high esteem and honored him, because of his eminent position with the government in Babylon, which brought to them favors they would not otherwise have had. Also, a glowing compliment is recorded of Daniel in Ezek. 14:14: “The word of the Lord came to me, saying... These three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness.” Daniel received just the reverse treatment they gave to most of the prophets before him. In the time of Moses they persecuted and harassed him – so much so that on one occasion he was so vexed that he smote the rock twice, which offense caused him to see goodly Canaan land, but he never set foot on it. In later years the Jews treated other prophets shamefully, while they were praising Moses as a great leader and a favorite with God. Then the Jews who were praising Abraham, Moses and all the prophets who followed them, “crucified the Lord of Glory.” (1 Cor. 2:8)

This pattern has been pretty much the same in the Gentile world. Today most Americans are high in praise of Abraham Lincoln; in fact, more has been written about him than any other human being, except Jesus and Shakespeare. Lincoln stands third in this select group; but, when he was alive, the cartoons of ridicule and verbal abuse that were hurled at him were of a most vicious kind. Here we might offer a fine compliment to those Jews back there: While they “killed the prophets, and stoned those that were sent unto them,” they never, so far as we know, persecuted any of the heathen for their religious beliefs, even though they held them in contempt.

It is our fond hope that the story about Daniel and the other three major prophets may prove a source of strength to all our readers; and that all will take “them for an example of suffering affliction. and of Patience.” (Jas. 5:10)

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QUESTION OF GENERAL INTEREST

QUESTION; – Will you please explain the meaning of the different characters in the parable of the Sowers – in Matt. 13:24‑30?

ANSWER: – There are seven characters or groups of characters in this parable; but we would first of all stress that in a parable the thing said is never the thing meant. In this parable there are seven distinct performers: (1) The Sower; (2) the men that slept; (:3 the enemy; (4) the tares; (5) the wheat; (6) the servants; (7) the reapers.

The Sower is Jesus Himself, who sowed the wheat that began the work of the Gospel. Age. The men that slept are the Apostles. So long as the twelve were on earth they maintained the early Church in its pristine purity; and it was not until they were gone that the Enemy (the Devil) made an appreciable progress with his system of error which eventually developed the great apostate church. The Wheat are the true believers; while the tares are the imitation believers. The tares bear a striking resemblance to the wheat, and we understand that this pernicious weed is quite plentiful in Palestine. The Servants are the true followers that came after the Apostles slept; then the Reapers in the “time of Harvest.” In the emphatic Diaglott it stresses the men that slept, indicating they were a special group, which indeed the Apostles were.

While the wheat was to be gathered into the barn “in the time of harvest,” the instruction is explicit that first the tares were to be gathered “into bundles for the burning.” Do we have any evidence that this was done? Indeed, we do! The “bundles” would indicate that certain groups are meant. The largest groups here in the end of the Age are the nations, and these were indeed gathered into bundles very early in the Harvest. In 1879 Germany and Austria‑Hungary banded together as a defense against other European nations. They were joined in 1882 by Italy in a secret pact, known as the Triple Alliance. When other nations realized what had happened – England, France and Russia formed another great “bundle” – the Triple Entente in 1907; and it was these two groups that really started the “burning” when they went to war in 1914; and it is now‑clearly evident that the burning has been going on ever since that date, and will continue to a completion when they will be fully consumed – in this “Time of Trouble.”

Next we have the lesser bundles – the various church sects – the Federation of Churches of Christ here in America, the Church of England and Ireland, and the various Catholic sects all over the world ‑ but particularly in Europe. Then we consider the outstanding individuals, Reformers, Philanthropists, etc., who have acted independently in the various countries; then the lesser individuals in‑the various systems who have been strongly sectarian in their individual groups. All of these different sets of tares are now being bound firmly together, but we may yet see a still stronger binding as the approaching holocaust threatens their annihilation. This parable of Jesus could not be clearly understood until “the time of Harvest,” but it is certainly very clear now; and all who now have their eyes of understanding opened are represented in the book of Revelation as “a sea of glass” ‑ “I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire” (the destructive Time of Trouble – Rev. 15:2) As we are able to see clearly through glass, so those with the spirit of understanding now see this whole situation as though they were looking through a window pane.

Wheat & Chaff – Wheat & Tares – John the Baptist said of Jesus: “He will gather the wheat into his garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. (Matt. 3:12) That was for the Jewish Harvest; and Jesus Himself said of the Christian Harvest: “Gather first the tares into bundles for the burning; and gather the wheat into my barn.” On the surface these two statements seem much the same; but there is a decided difference when we examine them closely. The wheat and the chaff grow on the same stalk; and this was definitely true of the Jewish wheat and chaff, as there was only one stalk in that nation: The Jewish priesthood with its system of error. And that system produced both wheat and chaff.

However, the wheat and tares grow on different stalks; and here in the end of the Age there was certainly more than one stalk; in fact, there are hundreds of them with probably all of them producing some wheat, and all of them producing an abundance of tares. And all of them will experience the destructive “fire” of this Time of Trouble. Therefore, it would be quite wrong to speak of the Wheat and the Tares in the Jewish Harvest – just as it would be wrong now to speak of the Wheat and the Chaff in the Gospel Age Harvest. There is now no chaff growing on the same stalks as the wheat.

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LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Brethren:

This letter is to ask you about your group. If possible, tell us the history or background of your ecclesia, when it was formed and its developments.

Also, about your present relationship with the Dawn, the LHMM, the WTS, and with other Bible Students groups.

What do you believe? Is the High Calling still open? Is Christ present now? Had the Thousand‑Year period started chronologically with 1874, etc.

Are there any publications that deal with the Truth groups since the death of Bro. Russell in 1916? Send also samples of any publications you produce (except for the Studies). Sincerely in Christ, ------- (ARGENTINA)

……………………………………

Dear Sirs:

Please send me some Bible information and some of your publications. I will sincerely study all material sent.

Thank you! ------- (RHODE ISLAND)

NO. 331: RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT

No. 331

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

Once again we stress the scientific achievements with great admiration. If all other human virtues could be equally praised, the conditions in the world would appear greatly different. As No. 1 we cite the following:

Two Teens Get Back Arms Cut Off On Hayride – “Doctors have reattached the arms of two teen‑agers whose limbs were sliced off while they rode in a church‑sponsored hayride. The girl 13 lost her left arm, and boy 13 his right arm. The arms were cut off by a metal rack protruding from a passing cattle truck. The arms of both patients were successfully reattached with bones re­aligned, blood flow re‑established and nerves reconnected,” said a spokesman for St. John’s Hospital and Southern Illinois University School of medicine.

A team of thirteen plastic and ortho­pedic surgeons and fifteen nurses, anesthesia logistics and technicians began operating on the two simultaneously at 10:30 p.m. The operation was completed at 1:30 p.m. the next day. The girl was taken back into surgery the following day so that the doctors could “re‑explore blood vessels” in her arm. The doctors were reassured that everything was functioning properly. But it was stated that it would be at least a week Before the doctors can determine whether the youngsters will regain full use of their arms. Two days after the accident they were reported in fair condition.

The Colombia Space Shuttle – About mid November this instrument made another of its phenomenal trips around the earth – this time for five days, covering about one million miles a day. It ended in California in what appeared to be a perfect landing. Without our present computers such a performance would have been impossible.

Scientific Discovery – Early in 1982 it was reported in the news that scientists had discovered a treasure of animal fossils in Antarctica, including the first bones of a land mammal ever found on the frozen continent. The National Scientific Foundation, which sponsored the research, said that finding the mammalian fossils “ranks as one of the most significant scientific discoveries in recent years.” Also found in the same area were fossils of a rare land lizard, skeletons of giant sea reptiles called plesiosaurs and the bones of man‑sized penguins.

An American research team made the discoveries on Seymour Island, located off the northeastern tip of the Antarctic peninsula. The team was sponsored by Ohio State University. “The confirmed presence of land mammals in Antarctica clearly shows that Antarctica and South America were attached during the late Cretaceous and early Tertiary periods.” Antarctica most likely was connected to South America by a land bridge – about 800 miles from the tip of South America. At one time Antarctica was a warm continent covered with forests and surrounded by tropical waters.

Agriculture – It is reported that here in the United States one agriculture worker produces enough food to feed 76 people. In earlier times major calamities were caused by wars or famines. Now one of the major problems is too much food – here, that is; it is not true in many countries of the world.

Construction – It is reported that in one locality a three‑bedroom home was completely built in seven hours.

In Finance – Many of the foremost financial advisers are advancing a most gloomy picture for our nation’s finances. The annual interest on our national debt is 110 billion dollars a year. The figure surpasses our understanding. It is reported that the overall debt here is now about five trillion dollars, Says one of these advisers: “Let there be no mistake, we are in a world‑wide depression, The only question is the ultimate outcome. Will we continue on a deflationary course or, will the government resort to the printing presses with a massive infusion of paper? The commodity prices and real property values are already down 75‑50%; they can still fall further.”

According to our understanding of the prophecies, the Bible Chronology, and other informative sources, there is no painless cure for this situation. That is, no human mind can suc­cessfully cope with what we now see. Thus, we try to be very moderate of criticism of the present heads of governments. Even, if any one of them – or a group of them – could come up with some plausible solution, the temperament of the people is such that they would not allow enough time to prove the efficacy of the cure. And with the quotations we offer herein, we would stress that we take pertinent exception to some parts of them; but we quote them for what benefit our readers may derive from them,

Now follows some comment from another source: “The following information was received from a confidential source: A reason­able chance exists that all Banks in West Germany, except the Deutsch Bank may have to close. Black Friday (an occurrence that came in October 1929) is threatening the country. A new currency may have to be issued. That is Germany’s confidentially kept secret. Chancel­lor Helmut Schmidt predicts that Germany will experience the hardest political winter since 1945.

“The reason: Romania, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union have notified Bonn that they are unable to meet payments. The German Bank had to borrow for the 1981 budget forty billion marks ($18 billion). When additional money was requested, back in October, to meet payments of Social Services; the Banks for the first time in the history of Germany had liquidated all assets. That means the banks are empty! Chancellor Schmidt described the situation as extremely dangerous.

“Because of the inability to meet payments of the East Bloc countries, many observers interpret this situation as ‘growing dangerous for war.’ Experts sent to investigate banks and industries in the East Bloc countries returned with the report, ‘Economic conditions in the East Bloc are hopeless. War seems to be the only way out!’

“Strange as it may sound, this is connected with Jerusalem. Because of the extreme political and economical difficulties, West Germany is being trained to willingly accept the establishment of the world empire led by the Antichrist. They... ‘received power as kings, one hour with the beast (Antichrist). These have one mind and shall give their power and strength unto the Beast’ (Rev. 17:12. 13

“We know that there is a great economic crisis in Poland. Romania is rationing food, Czechoslovakia is suffering under a severe energy shortage, and Bulgaria has closed its borders to avoid foreign purchase because its own population is already suffering food shortages, Summarizing, the socialist economy is unable to feed its own people. Even Russia is unable to help because they are in the deepest economic crisis at this time; and those expressing criticism are put away to shield the rest of Society from them and their foolish ideas. They are put into mental institutions and are forgotten.

“Even more frightening is the law concerning the children of religious parents. Soviet courts take the children away from their parents and ship them to another part of the country where they can receive a proper education and where their duties will not be neglected. One such duty is to teach the children that Communism is the only rule of life and proper way to live.

“The amazing thing about the Kremlin’s crackdown is the evidence it gives that Children of God still survive after sixty years of official repression. The regime’s fury is a tribute to the courage and devotions of the saints deter­minedly practicing their faith in keeping the Commandments of Cod rather than the inter­fering laws of man. It is a story unmatched since the days of the Roman persecution and the Spanish inquisition,”

And Now This: “Economic Outlook – Is Your Bank Failing? (Although Washington continues to see economic recovery waiting for us at the end of each season, many of the real indications of our nation’s poor fiscal health are being ignored. Consider, if you will, the implications in the following material, adopted from the excellent Newsletter, Personal Finance).

“More than a third of the nation’s 50 of the largest saving and loan associations are ‘failing’ by government standards, according to a computer generated report commissioned by Personal Finance.

“A companion survey of the top 50 commercial banks reveals that more than half do not meet the minimum equity capital requirements set by the federal banking agencies. Normally, a bank’s reserves of equity capital provide a ‘safety cushion’ for depositors in case the bank suffers unforeseen losses. These findings are based on the latest financial statements (Dec. 31, 1981) submitted to the federal banking agencies by more than 18,000 banks and S&Ls nationwide. Large commercial banks report quarterly to the Federal Reserve; S&Ls semiannually to the Federal Home Loan Bank Board. ....

“An enterprising Massachusetts‑based team of computer software analysts called Veribanc, has discovered a way to pinpoint trouble banks and S&Ls. Periodically, the federal banking authorities issue a series of little‑known computer tapes. These tapes contain detailed financial statements submitted by every federally supervised bank and S&Ls to maintain certain minimum financial ratios. By analyzing the raw data on the tapes, Veribanc states that it can determine whether an insti­tution is meeting the government stan­dards.”

Now from another source: “They Print It – We Borrow It And Pay Them Interest. We shall start with the need for money. The Federal Government, having spent more than it has taken from its citizens in taxes, needs, for the sake of illustration, one billion dollars. Since it does not have the money, and Congress has given away its authority to ‘create’ it, the Government must go to the ‘creators’ for the one billion. But, the Federal Reserve, a private corporation, doesn’t just give its money away’ The Bankers are willing to deliver one billion in money or credit to the Federal Government in exchange for the Government’s agreement to pay it Back – with interest!  So Congress authorizes the Treasury Department to print one billion in US bonds, which are then delivered to the Federal Reserve Bankers. ....

“By 1968 the Federal debt was $347,578,406,426 ‑ or $1,717.82 per citizen, and in only ten more years it doubled to $763,400,000,000 ‑ or $3,491.04 per citizen. That is a debt of $17,500 for every family of five in America, and it is still climbing. (It would be more if divided against only the working or taxpaying families’) These figures do not include State, Municipal, School District, Business, or personal debts, which total an additional $60,000 for every working family, or approximately $5 trillion, which is more than twice the total assessed value of all land and buildings in America. Of course, it is to their advantage not to take actual title to all of the property, so we will not know we do not own the country. Instead, they leave us with ‘ownership,’ so we will be willing to continue to work and pay ever higher tribute to the bankers.”

IN POLITICS

In all nations the politics is closely bound to the financial situation, as the foregoing clearly indicates. Thus, our comments on the political standards will be very limited. With the wonderful country we have here – never anything like it in the past – we would simply conclude that the politicians are responsible for its present undone condition. “Easy come, easy go,” is an expression as old as the money itself; and the ease with which the politicians have been able to borrow at will has permitted them to bring us to our present condition; and it brings vividly to mind the statement of the Apostle Paul in Heb. 1:11, 12: “They shall wax old as cloth as does a garment, And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed.” This text applies directly to the present order of things; and it is not at all difficult to see the “change” that has been going on since 1914.

IN RELIGION

The Jews – In view of the extensive publicity that was given to them in 1982, we shall start the discussion with the Jews. First of all, we consider God’s promise to Abraham: “I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee.” (Gen.12:3) History offers concrete proof of the truth of this promise. First, when Egypt cursed the Jews, they were indeed cursed. Perhaps the most prominent and powerful nation of that time, they were reduced to a third‑rate country. Note the sweeping statement of Exod. 14:28:

 “The waters returned and covered the chariots (of the Egyptians), and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them, there remained not so much as: one of them.”

The Mohammedan – The Moham­medan were sired by Ishmael, half brother to Isaac. The Prophet Mohammed is recorded as a direct descendant of Ishmael. The people have despised the Jews from the time Ishmael was nineteen years old; and they have dwelled on that pile of sand in the Middle East for several thousands of years, eking out a bare existence. Certainly they have been “cursed.” Of course, in recent years American capital has developed their oil reserves, and that has relieved their existence very much, although it has kindled their desire to “curse” Israel; and they will eventually come to the same grief – or worse – than did the Egyptians in the Red Sea.

Spain – The Spanish Inquisition began in the latter part of the 15th century – at the instigation of the Popes, and aimed primarily at the Jews. It is estimated that about 2,000 Jews were Burned at the stake. On March 31, 1492 the Jews were given the choice of exile or baptism into the Christian religion. This terrible “cursing” continued off and on until 1834, when it was finally suppressed. However, at its beginning Spain was one of the major powers of the earth. The Spanish Main was a byword with all seagoing people. But from that time their decline began. The Invincible Armada was so crippled by the English that the remnants of that adventure returned to Spain a hopeless wreck. Then other adversities followed – until the Spanish American War, when the Spanish Navy was decimated by the American Navy Today they are a helpless cripple. Surely, those that “cursed” the Jew have been severely cursed,

And in our time Germany, Russia, Poland and other European countries that have been anti‑Jewish have been greatly crippled. Prior to 1914, when President Roosevelt visited Germany, he told the Kaiser that he had an army that could lick the world. Today its military might and inventive genius have been brought to a very low point.

And the PLO – rabidly anti‑Jewish – received a devastating defeat from the Jews in 1982. In this Russia also suffered great loss, because the Jews captured most of the war material they had furnished the PLO to help destroy the Jews.

We have gone into perhaps overmuch detail in the foregoing to help our readers reach a proper appraisal of what is going on in the world, and especially so regarding the Jews. If their situation presently seems desperate, we may all rest in the assurance of prophecy of Zech. 14:2,3: “I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle ... Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.” We have enum­erated quite a few of past incidents, where the Jews gained miraculous victories under Joshua, Gideon, David, et al, so we shall not repeat them here.

However, it is worthy of note that quite a few good intellects among the Gentiles are presently elaborating upon Jewish prophecy and stressing the Divine writings concerning them. We shall now quote from one of them:

“There are those who believe textually in the Holy Bibles, which states (and repeats more than once) that Abraham and his descendants are to receive the whole land of Canaan as an everlasting possession… The betrayal of the Gentiles should strengthen the Jewish purpose, not weaken it... Far from being intransigent – the accusation commonly leveled at the Israelis – they are excessively accommodating, they appease too much, they fail to stand up for their God‑given historic rights. There are those Jews of little faith who are willing to barter their territorial heritage to placate the enemy. People like that damage our work. ......

“Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren said that his visit (to Palestine) was a fulfillment of Zech. 14:16: ‘We looked up the passage, and found the following prophecy: ‘And it shall come to pass that every one that is left of all the nations which came up against Jerusalem (that is, conquered the city and sent its population into captivity, but afterwards smitten by God’s hand) shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.”

We digress here to quote Isa. 2:3: “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.” Also Ezek. 33:19,20: “But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby. Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.” And so it shall be in that glorious Kingdom!

Now we continue with quotations from “Christians for Jews”: “The Christian Embassy in Jerusalem has twenty staff members working full time. plus three part‑time, from nine different countries. They get no salaries, though some help is given where necessary for board and lodging. Timothy King is the treasurer. He left his business in Canada to learn about Israel at the Institute of Holy Land Studies, The Institute was founded by the late G. Douglas Young, one of Israel’s most devoted supporters.

“The world chooses to brand Israel as aggressive. They don’t see that this nation is desperate for peace, and will make any sacrifice; only their own land they want to retain.

“Sadat declared he would not give up an inch of Arab territory, though he has no claim to Sinai remotely comparable to the Jewish claim on Eretz Yisrael. Nevertheless the world sees him as the great guy – Sadat with his pipe …This calls attention to the sins of the Christian world, whom he whips more severely than he does the Jews. ... In March the embassy put out a communiqué, released to all the press, slamming the Vatican for allowing its Secretary of State, Cardinal Casaroli, to meet PLO representative Farouk Kadumi – even worse, allowing Archbishop Capucci to welcome Kadumi at Rome airport.

“Don’t forget, we are not a Jewish organization that could be presumed to follow its own interest. We speak to them from within our own faith. And many of them truly want to receive our message.”

Jehovah’s Witnesses – In off­ering something about the witnesses, we would stress that they are very antagonistic to the Jews – because the Jews will not accept them. Of course, they are against all others who do not accept them, too. The following offers just a little something about these people and their Christian (?) conduct:

“Couple Leaves Witnesses – Schuylkill, Pa. – It was only a beard, neat and trim, but it has led Todd Ellis and his wife Betty to renounce their faith and the past dozen years of their lives. In notarized letters to sect elders in Pottsville, the couple has officially resigned as members of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society – the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

“And to even the closest friends they made during their twelve years as Witnesses, the Ellis’s became non‑entities. After today, no one in the organization will be allowed to talk to us, said Mrs. Ellis, 39. They ostracize you. They totally cut you off. It’s like you’re dead. Once we’ve Been disfellowshiped our closest friends can’t even say hello to us. They can’t associate with us, added her husband, 40, If they did, they could Be disfellowshiped, too. They’re afraid to.

“Sect elders announced last October the couple would no longer be allowed to pray with the Pottsville congregation because Ellis grew a beard during a summer trip to Florida. Ellis was also barred from weekly sessions of the Witnesses’ theocratic school. He said the beard was viewed as a violation of the Society’s teachings on ‘modesty and soundness of mind’ because it drew ‘undue attention’ to himself.”

Note now the sharp contrast to the foregoing in the teaching of Brother Russell in Vol. 6, p. 416: “Concerning Matt. 18:17, regarding treatment of disfellowshipped members of the Church – ‘Let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.’ ‘The object (of disfellowshipment – JJH) is not to cast the brother off utterly; But merely to show disfavor toward his wrong course with a view to assisting him to its correction. To treat such an one ‘as an heathen man and publican’ would not mean to slander or dishonor him even after he had been cast off. The Lord’s people are not to be slanderers or backbiters under any circumstances... We are neither to speak ill of, nor to look cross at, publicans and sinners, nor to refuse to do business with them; But we are to withhold from them the special fellowship and courtesy appropriate to the brethren of the New Creation and possessed of the Holy Spirit.”

Then further from Vol. 6, p. 303: “If the brother does not consent to the form of sound words ... he should be considered as so out of accord as to make it no longer proper that he should have the fellowship of the brethren until he would consent to these reasonable require­ments. He should not be passed by on the street unnoticed by the brethren, but treated courteously. The exclusion should be merely from the privileges of the assembly and from any special brotherly associations peculiar to the faithful.”

If we compare the action against the Ellis couple with the teaching of That Wise and Faithful Servant, there is not even a remote similarity. Therefore, when the Witnesses at­tempt to attach themselves to his coattail, they offer him a direct insult and degrade the high standing he had before the Lord and in the Church. They have replaced much of the Truth he taught with their “new light” (actually mud splashes) that he would be unable to recognize their magazine as Watchtower as it is today. They also forbid their followers to read the Six Volumes of The Studies in the Scriptures from which we have quoted on his teaching of disfellowshipment.

There follows now another of their Christian atrocities: ‘For forty years Raymond Franz devoted his whole being to the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The religion responded by raising him to its worldwide Governing Body. But it was a difficult period for the leadership. In 1975 the sect faced a debacle. The present world did not vanish, as Witness publications had all but guaranteed. In a faith in which doubt is not tolerated Franz began to question teachings. Now, in a downfall as dramatic as an excommunication within the College of Cardinals, he has been ostracized, or, as the Witnesses say, ‘disfellowshipped.’ The former leader is being shunned by almost every one he has ever worked with, cut off from all relatives except his wife, and denied any hope of eternal life. Officials of the Watchtower Society, as the religious organization of 2,257,000 followers is formally known, refused all comment on the unprecedented case. But Franz, 59, reluctantly agreed to break his silence and explained to Time the accusation against him.

“Franz is a third‑generation Witness. His Uncle, Frederick W. Franz, 88, has been the religions top ideologue for decades; and since 1977 its head. Raymond Franz began full‑time work for the sect as soon as he finished high school. He suffered penury during twenty years as a missionary in the Caribbean, became a trusted writer of official publications, joined the 17‑member Governing Body in 1971.

“Known to outsiders for their persistent door‑to‑door proselytizing, Jehovah’s Witnesses exist within what Franz calls a ‘hermetically sealed’ community. Every doctrinal blip or scintilla of sin is closely monitored. Nowhere is this more true than at Bethel, the sect’s Brooklyn headquarters. By Franz’s account, reading or studying of the Bible is considered ‘evil’ unless conducted in authorized discussions following Watch Tower doctrinal guides, lest staffers veer into error.

“Because of his own work as an author of an official volume about the Bible and a growing feeling that the WatchTower discipline was too harsh, Franz privately concluded that the religion emphasized human organization rather than Biblical teachings. Says he, ‘While producing people who were outwardly moral, they subverted the essential qualities of humility, compassion and mercy.”

There is considerably more of this in the paper from which we quoted, but we think sufficient has been reported here to satisfy our readers that the Witnesses in their present teachings bear no real ties at all to the magnanimous and brilliant intellect of Pastor Charles Taze Russell. Apparently he had some intuitive hunch that the present situation in the Witnesses could develop as it has, so he drew up a will naming seven of his close associates to act as Editors of the Watch Tower, with at least a majority of them to be in full agreement with any articles the paper contained. Rutherford speedily changed that in a very few years after he became President in 1917; and one autocratic act led to another until now there is just no similarity at all to what the Pastor had willed.

It should be emphasized here that Brother Russell taught there are only two reasons for disfellowshipping any one: Gross immorality and gross doctrinal deflection; and both of these doctrines are eminently and emphatically taught in various Scriptures. While he counseled against new fads, etc., in clothing or outlandish physical appearance, he never – to our knowledge – disfellowshipped any one for personal peculiarities; and we have studied closely his various writings; and have discussed them with some brilliant minds that knew Brother Russell personally. Gross doctrinal deflection does not mean that any one could not have a different opinion on subjects that are not basic teaching – such as the Ransom, Sin Offering, etc.

Hard Times Boosting Bible Sales – There was an article in the press with this heading telling us that Bible sales are on the upswing as more people turn to religion.

“I would imagine a lot of it has to do with the economy, at least indirectly,” said owner of Bible Store. “Harold Carroll, owner of the Bible Shop, reported a 50 percent increase in Bible sales over the past two months. I think a lot of it is Because people are seeing the times in which we are living, and they want to find out more about what will happen. Most Bible dealers I know say their sales are up.”

The above reminds us of what our Lord said: “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven (civil and ecclesiastical ruling powers) shall be shaken,” (Luke 21:26)

Another Religious Atrocity – A news item November 23, 1982: “A federal judge Monday declared unconstitutional the only law in the nation that requires teaching the Biblical account of creation in public schools. US District Judge Adrian Deplantier ruled favorably on a motion by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to throw out Louisiana’s creation science law. The Act, passed by the legislature in 1980, required the teaching of the Biblical version of creation in schools that taught the evolutionary version.”

Evolution itself is a religion, built upon a number of unfounded theories. In fact, today some of our finest scientific minds are emphatically opposed to the Evolution theory; and one of our colleges now conducts a special course exposing the vagaries of the idea.

In concluding, we are most grateful to our many readers for their cheerful Holiday wishes for our health and spiritual prosperity. Having lost another valuable aide here in the Bible House in 1982, we cannot give the individual acknowledgment we once did to the messages we received, but we repeat the good message of St. John (3 John 1:2):

“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”

Sincerely your brother, John J. Hoefle Pilgrim

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LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Brother Hoefle: Greetings in His dear Name!

Trusting that in health, and otherwise, you and Sr. Hoefle are enjoying the best as is permitted providentially at this time.

I acknowledge receipt of the most appreciated gift to be sent me in some years. ....May I once more thank you for your handsome gift, and ask that you pray that I may make the best use of it in my humble limitations.

Sr. John joins me in sending you all on that side warm brotherly love, and the assurance of the fervent prayers of the brethren over here on your behalf.

May the Lord make His face to shine on you and yours evermore.

Your brother, …..(TRINIDAD)

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

Thank you for your good letter, and also for the tracts. I hope this finds you both in comparatively good health. I am quite well, all considered. Thank you for your words about dear Sister ------- I hope D.v. she may be better and feel more comfortable. But I realize our times are in God’s hands. .......

It was good of David Horowitz to speak of Pastor Russell, and to bring out some of your words as to the manifesting of persons, things and principles – also the words of other Bible Students.

It will be good to have the papers on the prophets. Today I was reading in the Reprints about Nehemiah. He was wise, faithful, tactful and loved God and the people of Israel. He will be happy in the Kingdom! I hope we will all meet each other there.

Take care! With Christian love from ------- (CALIFORNIA)

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Dear John and Emily :

Thank you very much for your kind letter and donation which we greatly appreciate. We hope you are receiving our news and we look forward to yours.

God is greatly blessing us. We have a National Conference next week. We went to the Feast of Tabernacles in October – 80 of us and we are expecting 120 for the next feast. We might also go back for a week in March.

With all blessings in Jesus Christ: Ruth 2:12 – “May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” Yours in Him, ……(AFRICA)

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“IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW”

BROTHER WILLIAM ATKINS finished his course October 5, 1982. He was 90 years old April 21, 1982. He came into the Truth when a young man and had been a “good soldier” in the Lord’s Army for many years. He was loved by all who knew him well and was our good and loyal friend for 40 years – a faithful yoke‑fellow. When such good brethren as he leave us, it leaves a void that we cannot replace. With his family and friends we mourn his passing, as we hold him in fond memory and respect. We recline in the firm assurance that he will experience the resurrection of the Just. (Acts 24:15)

SISTER AUGUSTA HORN WELLS was a member of the Mount Dora Bible House, finished her course September 14, was buried September 17 in Winston‑Salem, N.C. beside her husband, Dr. C. H. Wells. She had been ill for four years. Her love of the Truth and her faithfulness thereto was an inspiration to all who knew her; and we will miss her loving contribution. Her passing also leaves a very noticeable void in our work force. Thus, we say of her, “She hath done what she could.”

It would have taken us three days to make the 1200‑mile round trip to North Carolina on a commercial plane, but our nephew provided a private Turbo Jet airplane, which accommodates seven passengers. Six of us left at ten a.m. September 17, arrived in Winston‑Salem at noon; held the funeral service at two p.m., and left at four p.m., arriving back in Mount Dora at six p.m. – a distance of twelve hundred miles in eight hours. This is a vivid illustration of Dan. 12:4: “Seal up the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”

Had we only this proof, it would be sufficient to convince us that we are “in the time of the end.” We are thankful to the Lord for His providence; and we are most grateful for the many expressions of love and sympathy that have come to us as we mourn her loss

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ANNOUNCEMENT ‑ Our Memorial in 1983 will be after six p.m., March 27.

NO. 330: THE PRINCE OF PEACE

No. 330

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

Even though Christmas day is not the real anniversary of our Lord’s birth, but more properly an annunciation day or date of His human begetting (Luke 1:28), nevertheless, since the celebration of our Lord’s birth is not a matter of Divine appointment or injunction, but merely a tribute of respect to Him, it is not necessary for us to quibble particularly about the date. We can join with the civilized world in celebrating the grand event on the day which the majority celebrate “Christmas Day.” The lesson for the occasion is a most happy choice, fitting well to the series of lessons it follows.

 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end.” (Isa. 9:6,7)

The standpoint of the Prophet in Isa. 9:2‑7 is the dawn of the Millennial Age, and in v. 2, “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light.” The reference here is to the world of mankind, all of whom will at that time recognize the presence of the Lord and His kingdom established; for it is written that “every eye shall see him” (Rev. 1:7) The world that has walked in the darkness of ignorance and superstition for six thousand years will then begin to see the glorious light of truth and righteousness, and in the earthly phase of the kingdom they will see the grand illustrations and rewards of righteousness.

They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death (i.e., fleshly Israel under the condemnation of their Law Covenant), “a light shineth brightly over them.” Yes, the light will shine with special brilliancy upon fleshly Israel: then their blindness will be turned away and the favors of the new dispensation will again be – “to the Jew first, and also (afterward) to the Gentile;” and through the secondary instrumentality of the fleshly seed of Abraham shall all the nations of the world be blessed. The Ancient Worthies of that nation will be the visible rulers of the world, and their new work will begin at Jerusalem, bringing order out of confusion, peace out of discord and making Jerusalem a praise in the whole world. It was with reference to this that the Prophet wrote again, saying: “Arise, give light, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is shining forth over thee. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but over thee the Lord will shine forth, and his glory will be seen over thee. And nations shall walk by thy light, and kings by the brightness of thy shining… And the sons of the stranger shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee.” (Isa. 60:1‑3,10)

“Thou hast multiplied the nation (Israel – a reference to their gathering together again as a nation after the long dispersion of nearly two thousand years as fugitives among all the nations; and also to their reinforcement by the resurrection of their Ancient Worthies and heroes), made great their joy: they rejoice before thee as with joy in harvest, as men are glad when they divide the spoil.” (Isa. 9:3) Such, indeed, will be the joy of Israel when the blessings of their restoration to Divine favor begin to be realized.

“For the yoke of their burden, and the staff on their shoulder, the rod of their oppressor (the heavy burdens of oppression imposed upon them and the persecutions inflicted by their Gentile enemies during the long period of their blindness and exile), hast thou broken, as on the day of Midian – when a great victory was won for them by Gideon’s little band of 300 under the Lord’s direction, without bloodshed and without strife. (Judges 7:1‑23) Even so shall it be when the Lord shall again fight for Israel; it will not be by their own power that the victory of the final battle will be secured. (See Ezek. 38:11, 15, 23 – also compare verse 4 with Ezek. 39:8‑15)

Isa, 9:6: Why is all this return of Divine favor to Israel? Is it because of worthiness in them? Surely not; for to this day they are a stiff‑necked people, and their blindness and hardness of heart continue, although we are within only a few more years of the time all these things shall be fulfilled. The reason for it is that the Lord hath remembered His Covenant with their fathers (Lev. 26:42,45; Jer. 31:34), and that in fulfillment of that Covenant a child has been born unto them who was destined to be a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of Israel; and now (at the time indicated in the prophecy) “the government is placed upon his shoulders.” Dimly this light of the world shone upon Israel at the First Advent of Messiah; but when “the light shined in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” (John 1:5) “He came unto his own, but his own received him not.” (verse 11) It is only at the Second Advent that they recognize Him as the promised seed of Abraham and their long‑looked for Messiah. They shall look upon Him whom they have pierced, and shall mourn for Him. (Zech. 12:10)

“And his name is called Wonderful (What a wonder indeed to Israel specially, that the despised Nazarene, the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, whom they hated and crucified and reviled, even to this day, was indeed their Messiah, and they knew Him not. What a wonder, too, to them specially, will be the forgiving love that so meekly bore their reproaches and sacrificed even unto death to redeem them from the curse of the Law, and that now returns to restore and bless them’ Wonderful, wonderful love, wonderful condes­cension and grace, and wonderful exaltation and glory and power!) Counselor (not counselor of the mighty God, as some translators rendered it; for Paul significantly inquires concerning Jehovah, “Who hath been his counselor?” (Rom. 11:34) He needed no counselor, but poor fallen humanity does need such a wise counselor, and He will teach them and they shall walk in His ways. (Isa. 2:3) The mighty God (“a Savior and a great one” – Isa. 19:20), The Everlasting Father (the new life‑giver to our dead race – the second Adam – 1 Cor. 15:46). The Prince of Peace (whose glorious reign shall be one of righteousness, bringing with it all the blessed fruits of righteousness – peace and joy and satisfaction and everlasting rest).

And in verse 7 of Isaiah Chapter 9: His dominion shall increase until all things are subdued under Him. It shall extend, not only to the ends of the earth, but eventually all things in heaven and in earth are to be united under His headship as the representative of Jehovah, who would have all men honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. (Psa. 72:7; Eph. 1:10; John 5:23)

“The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” (Isa. 37:32) Such is Jehovah’s purpose, and thus He declares that it shall be accomplished; and our hearts leap for joy as we realize, not only the glorious import of this prophecy, but also the fact that the time is at hand, and that a score or so of years future will see the kingdom established and its blessings beginning.

The common interpretation of this prophecy regards it as fulfilled upon Israel at the First Advent, and the Kingdom of God as established then in the Gospel Church; and the great increase in the numbers and powers of the nominal church of all denominations, Papal and Protestant, as the predicted increase of Christ’s government. (v.7)

Such a fulfillment would not be worthy of the record. Christ does not reign in Christendom; its general character is anti‑ Christian. The only sense in which Christ’s kingdom was begun at the First Advent was in its embryo condition; and this, the only true kingdom of Christ in the world, has, like the Lord, been unrecognized in the world, except, like Him, to be despised and forsaken and to suffer violence. Its numbers have always been small and its circumstances humble; for not many rich and great, etc., are called. (1 Cor. 1:26‑29; Jas. 2:5)

Nor did the nation of Israel at the First Advent see or comprehend the light of Christ, nor did He at that time break their yoke or deliver them from the rod of their oppressor; for in consequence of their failure to recognize the light when it began to shine upon them, they were blinded, the rod of the oppressor came upon them with increased force and they have never yet been relieved, nor will they be until their Messiah is recognized as having come again, a Second Time; this time without a sin‑offering unto salvation. (Heb. 9:28)

Let us rejoice for them and for all mankind that the blessed day is nigh, even at the door. Rightly viewed, this prophecy is full of rapturous inspiration.

JACOB’S RESCUE NEAR

But evidently the Prophet’s vision, while it glanced upon the preaching of our Lord and the apostles in Galilee, and glanced down through the Gospel Age and noted how this light glinted here and there as a wonderful “lamp,” never­theless rested not until it reached the very end of this Age. There in prophetic vision Isaiah seems to see the end of Jacob’s trouble – Israel’s deliverance from the blindness that has been upon her, her acceptance of the Lord as the Messiah the time mentioned by another prophet, when the Lord would pour upon them the spirit of prayer and supplication and they should look upon Him whom they had pierced and mourn for Him – at the time mentioned by the Apostle Paul, when the fullness of the Gentiles having come in (the full number of the Gentiles to complete the elect number of the church), Divine mercy shall go forth from the church to bless the world and shall first of all rest upon Israel according to the flesh, “They shall obtain mercy through your mercy.” (Rom. 11:3)

The third and fourth verses of Isaiah Chapter 9, we believe, are near fulfillment. In the Revised Version it reads, “Thou hast multiplied the nation, thou hast increased her joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For the yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, thou hast broken in the day of Midian.” The nation of Israel is very much increased today, but their joy is not yet accomplished because this great deliverance here mentioned has not yet been accomplished. It is to be accomplished in the “Day of Trouble” which began in 1914, and is now recognized by many.

The fifth verse of Isaiah, Chapter 9 seems to be more intelligently rendered in the Revised version: “For all the armor of the armed man in the tumult, and the garments rolled in blood, shall even be for burning, for fuel of fire.” The thought seems to be that at that time will come the end of warfare, as the Scriptures have declared. The Time of Trouble with which the Millennium will be introduced is the means by which the Lord will overthrow all the powers of evil, as it is written, “He shall cause wars to cease unto the ends of the earth.” Under the righteous reign which will then follow, men will learn war no more, but will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. At the present time the reverse of all this is in operation, nor can we hope for a change such as the Lord’s Word here and elsewhere predicts by any other power than from above. Hence our prayer as our Lord instructed and in harmony with our hopes, “Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.”

THE GOVERNMENT UPON HIS SHOULDERS

As the verses through five indicate the coming joys and blessings and cessation of war, verse six points out how this would be accomplished. This is shown by its introduction with the word “for.” This verse goes back of the promised blessings to point out how they will be introduced. (1) A child will be born – a son will be given – a gift from God. (2) Passing over his earthly ministry and faithfulness, whereby the Lord Jesus was tested and proven worthy of the favors here prophetically assured Him as the overcomer, we have the declaration that the government will be upon His shoulders. This is an old‑style figurative way of declaring that the authority and honor will be laid upon the Lord Jesus. The same thought is still carried out in the armies of the world, whose generals have upon their shoulders epaulets in which the dignity of their rank is noted, is indicated. So upon our Lord Jesus the heavenly Father has placed the dignity and responsibility of being the great King who in due time, as the Father’s representative, as the great glorified Mediator, shall reign for a thousand years to restore order in the world, to put down all insubordination, to destroy every enemy of righteousness and truth and to exalt every one who is the friend of these Divine principles.

It is worthy to note that this authority or government is conferred upon our Lord before He assumes the various offices subsequently made: remarkably few recognize the authority of this great Captain of our Salvation whom God has set forth. Only comparatively few recognize Him truly and render Him obedience and refuse not Him who speaketh from heaven. These few have the eyes of their understanding opened and see what the others do not see; and the ears of their understanding opened that they hear and comprehend what others do not comprehend. To them the Master is the Father’s representative and all in all even now – even before the time has come for Him to take His great power and reign, even before He has established truth and righteousness in the world. By the eye of faith they see Him, worship, adore, obey and follow Him.

KNOWLEDGE OF HIS GLORY WORLD‑WIDE

But it implies much more than such an acknowledgment of our Lord Jesus by the Church. It implies a world‑wide knowledge, as it is written, “Unto him every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:9‑11) The government or authority is not laid upon His shoulders in vain, and the fact that He has not exercised this authority in now nearly two thousand years’ triumph and ascension up on high is merely in accord with the Scriptural declaration that the Father has a “due time” (1 Tim. 2:3‑6) set at which the Son shall take unto Himself His great power and reign, and in association with Himself the Church, the Little Flock, gathered out from the world during this Gospel Age.

The time when the Lord shall manifest to the world His government, His authority, His rule, is represented in Daniel 12:1, 2 by the words, “stand up.” “At that time shall Michael (another name for our glorious Lord) will stand up, and there shall be a Time of Trouble such as was not since there was a nation; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one found written in the book.” Our Lord will not only have the authority He will use it, and one of the first works, we are assured, will be the suppression of evil – not only the suppression of Satan, the prince of this world, who now worketh in the hearts of the children of disobedience, and who, we are assured, will be bound at the beginning of that Millennial reign, but additionally all the works of the devil, all institutions of evil, moral, social, financial, that are now injuring the world of mankind and co‑operating in effecting the groaning and travailing of the whole creation. All these will be suppressed as soon as the proper time shall come, and He upon whose shoulders the power and authority have been placed shall take unto Himself His great power and shall begin to reign. No longer, we may be sure, will any evil be licensed; no longer will the making of spirituous liquors be permitted, authorized and licensed, nor the sale of these nor any other harmful thing be allowed to do injury in God’s holy kingdom. (Isa. 11:9)

It will be then, at that time, that the whole world shall begin to recognize the great King whom God will thus set in the throne of the world’s dominion to rule it, to order it, to subdue it, to lift it up out of sin and degradation and to bring it into harmony again with God as it was before sin entered.

“COUNSELOR,” MIGHTY ONE, FATHER

The great Mediator, the Christ, “Prophet, Priest and King,” Judge, the Seed of Abraham in whom all the families of the earth shall be blessed, shall have various names; His character and work shall be recognized from various standpoints. He will be the Wonderful One that in Himself He will manifest more than others the Father’s character and likeness and nature. He will be Counselor, Teacher, Instructor, Helper, Guide, for the whole world of mankind. He will be the Mighty God – the One with all power and authority to deal with mankind throughout the Millennial Age.

There will be no appeal from His righteous laws, regulations and decisions, because the Father hath committed all judgment unto the Son: the whole matter will be left in His hands. From another standpoint He will be “Everlasting Father.” Having purchased the life of Adam and His race with the sacrifice of His own Human life, our Lord having been granted a new life in His resurrection, will have at His disposal the life which He bought in the sacrificing of His own in such measure as will be sufficient to apply to every member of Adam’s race. Each member of our race as he shall respond to the knowledge that shall then be filling the whole earth, may receive life more and more abundantly from the glorified Christ – everlasting life, the life that was lost in Adam’s disobedience and that was redeemed by Christ’s sacrifice of Himself.

The one from whom all life for the world must proceed is fitly called the father of the world, since the word father signifies life‑giver; and since this father gives life everlasting, it is eminently proper that He should be called the father of everlasting life or the everlasting father. Prince of Peace is another of His titles, but this one evidently will not be appropriate to Him until, toward the close of the Millennial Age, He shall have accomplished the putting down of everything obnoxious to Divine righteousness, the subju­gation of all things to Himself – until He shall have finished the use of the iron rod in smiting the nations, in dashing them to pieces as a potter’s vessel. Then it will be seen that the motive beyond all this activity against unright­eousness was the bringing in of everlasting righteousness, the bringing in of everlasting peace, and it will be seen that the title well fits our great King, Prince of Peace.

THE LAW OF RETRIBUTION OPERATIVE

But, some inquire, what about the sins of the world? Will there be no chastisement, no punishment, for these? We answer that it will be equally as just for God to forgive the sins of the world for Christ’s sake as it has been just for Him to forgive the sins of the Church for Christ’s sake. If the one is just, so will be the other; for “God is no respecter of persons,” and is equally willing to forgive the sins of the world as the sins of the Church (the Little Flock), when to forgive the sins of the world, repenting of sin, will turn from it, accepting Christ as their Redeemer.

This does not mean, however, that justice is to be ignored. In the case of the Church, note how the sins of youth may leave their scar and sting to the end of life. And so we may reasonably assume that certain stripes, or punishments, will be permitted to follow the world in just the same manner. It will be from these weaknesses and frailties that they will be gradually raised up to perfection during those blessed thousand years of Christ’s kingdom, when Satan will be bound and not be permitted to deceive any during that period.

But what about the heart condition? If conformity to the Divine law in an outward way will bring blessings to all, will there not still be a difference between the people – some coming heartily into accord with the Father, and others merely outwardly into harmony, because this outward harmony will be the way to restitution, perfection?

Undoubtedly this is correct reasoning. It is along this line that the parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matt. 25:31‑46) teaches; namely, that outwardly the “sheep” and “goats” will have much the same appearance and demeanor, except to the Judge, the King, who will read the heart and ultimately will manifest to all that there has been a real heart‑difference between the two classes, all of whom will have been on trial for a thousand years, receiving blessings from the kingdom.

BASIS OF THE JUDGMENT

All the while each individual will be making character. This character will be fully appreciated by the great Judge, and the individual will be rated either as a “sheep” or as a “goat.” Not until the conclusion of the Millennium will the decision of the Judge be manifested. To the “sheep” at His right hand He will say, “Come ye blessed of my Father (the kind that my Father is pleased to bless and to grant everlasting life’), inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”

Then the other class, the goats of the parable will be sentenced: “Depart, ye accursed ones (doomed ones) into everlasting punish­ment.”

Some think that those who live unrighteous lives, and are very wicked, should not receive a resurrection. But our Lord tells us there will be a resurrection of the good and the evil – the evil to a resurrection of judgment (mistranslated damnation) – John 5:28,29; and He is faithful that promised’ (Heb. 10:23) “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow.. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.” (Isa. 1:18, 19) “When the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he has committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. ...For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God; wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.” (Ezek. 18:27, 32)

Just as the Millennial Age is for the world, the Gospel Age is for those who consecrate and are seeking to “walk in His steps” during the time when sin is in the ascension. They are being judged daily, and if some apparently are breaking their vows in their daily walk, but have not denied the Ransom, we are not to judge them as unfit for the Kingdom, even though we know what is right and what is wrong. “We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” (Rom. 14:10) So we should be content to await the unerring and righteous judgment of Christ. Let us “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” (Rom. 13:14) “For if we would judge (examine) ourselves, we shall not be judged (condemned – corrected and punished of the Lord) (1 Cor 11:31)

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SHEEP CLASS

With the establishment of the kingdom all who come into harmony with it will have the great privilege of doing something to help others. While the Millennial blessings will be showered upon those who accept the Lord’s terms, there will be others who will need assistance. Those who have the spirit of God, the spirit of love, will be glad to carry the heavenly message of reconciliation to all humanity, glad to apply the eye‑salve to the blind, glad to unstop the ears of the deaf, glad to help the sin‑sick back into harmony with God.

All who will take pleasure in this work will thus be manifesting that they have God’s spirit and are co‑laborers with Him. All these will be the sheep. On the other hand, those who will be careless in respect to their vow, and merely enjoy the Millennial blessings them­selves, will be of the goat‑class and will thus be marking themselves as “goat,” and correspond­ingly will be out of favor with the great Ring of kings, their Judge, the Lord of Glory.

NO END OF RIGHTEOUS GOVERNMENT

The seventh verse of our lesson gives another precious assurance, and that is that this kingdom once being attained by our Lord will never be surrendered to another, never pass into other hands. Of His government and of His peace which He will establish there will be no end. (Luke 1:33) Not only Israel, but all mankind will have been witnesses that the best of kings as well as the worst of kings have at times surrendered their dominion, and that the best of kings might be followed by the worst. How appropriate then the suggestion that when the kingdom of this great King of kings and Lord of lords shall have conquered the world and have subdued all things into harmony with the Divine will, it shall never again be overturned by evil.

The expression “upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with judgment and righteousness from henceforth even forever; the zeal of the Lord shall perform this,” signifies that this great kingdom which our Lord Jesus at His Second Advent will establish – His Church as members of His body, members of His kingdom class, His bride associated with Him – will be the outcome, the antitype of that which was typically presented to Israel in the kingdom, the government of David. As previously seen, the name David signifies “Beloved,” and the David who was the first king on Israel’s throne, and of whom it was said that he sat upon the throne of the Lord, was merely a type, a figure of the greater David, the Anointed, the Messiah. Jesus Christ, the first Lord of all, and the Church His body associated with him, constitute the antipycal David, the antitypical Beloved of the Lord, whose kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, “henceforth even forevermore.”

UNENDING KINGDOM TRANSFERRED

The Apostle points out (1 Cor. 15:28) that, at the close of His thousand‑year reign, our Lord (His Church associated with Him) will abdicate the throne of earth. Having accomplished the work which the Father has set apart to be accomplished by the Anointed in this Millennial reign, at its close the entire authority, with the world in complete subjection to the Divine law and fully restored to the Divine likeness and all willful transgressors cut off, will be surrendered to the Father’s hands, and in accordance with His pre‑arrangement will be redelivered to mankind, that the perfect human family, in the image and likeness of God, may rule the world in harmony with the Divine regulations. But the government will never cease, because the government with Christ will be even more particularly associated with the Father in His throne in the general government of the universe, it will be in that particular sense under the supervision of the glorified Christ.

The zeal of the Lord shall perform this. It will not be the arm of man nor the zeal of man, however good or well meaning, which could bring to pass such wonderful changes as those which the Lord has pointed out. Thee Lord Himself will accomplish it, He will put all things into subjection to the Son ‑ all things, the Apostle explains, except Himself, for He is excepted who thus puts all things under the Son. (1 Cor. 15:27)

From this standpoint, looking back over the history of the world, we get a grand view of the Divine Power and Wisdom, Justice and Love, We see how God has been continually overruling in respect to the efforts of man, to the intent that ultimately without interfering with the free moral agency of any, every man of the whole race of Adam shall be fully and thoroughly tested and proven respecting his loyalty to the Lord, and thus respecting his worthiness of life eternal. How glorious is the Divine Plan! What wonder is there that with its accomp­lishment every voice in heaven and in earth shall be heard expressing praise end thank­fulness, glory, honor, dominion and might to Him that sitteth upon the throne and to the Lamb!

It is our hope and prayer that what is given herein will increase the love and appreciation of our great Redeemer – and will give us pleasure in the contemplation of the prayer, Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven. Hallelujah, what a Savior! He is mighty to save! Our best wishes to all our readers for a peaceful and blessed Holiday Season.

Sincerely your brother, John J. Hoefle, Pilgrim

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LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Brother Hoefle and Brethren: Greetings in our Lord’s name’

Thank you for the September‑October articles, full of wisdom and truth as usual. I constantly remind myself of how blessed and privileged I am to have found truth people and especially those who are staying in line with the Truth as revealed through That Servant. We are all greatly blessed of our lovely Lord to be of the Truth as it is in Christ Jesus our Lord, Redeemer and King. May His Kingdom soon be set up is my prayer each day’

Just in case your local paper didn’t carry this article of the PLO, I’m sending it to you, thinking it may be of interest to you. It speaks to me that the Army to be used to fulfill Ezekiel’s prophecy of the end time of this present evil world, may now be being readied for its part in the fulfillment of this prophecy. What do you think?

I received a copy of “The Finished Mystery” or Seventh volume. No one seems to appreciate it because of the errors in it. My question is, why doesn’t some one rewrite it and update it? The copy I received has many corrections in it, but even without those corrections I’d find it very helpful as a beginning student. I wish some one would update and reprint it. But then, this is just me. I’ve a lot to learn. I hope you will pardon me if I’m wrong in my thinking.

May God add His blessing to all who work with you, along with you in your labor of love preparatory to the coming Kingdom of God.

I wish to continue to be a part of the work of Truth in Jesus’ name. So please find enclosed a gift in the love of Christ. Sincerely Your brother in Christ, ------- (OKLAHOMA)

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Dear Brother and Sister Hoefle:

Your letter of April 24 at hand. Your kind statements have indeed “refreshed our hearts in the Lord.”

Because of your understanding and sympathy for our efforts to serve Him in the way that He has given us a burden to do, we will from time to time send you items of information and exposition which we think that you will be interested in reading.

Also, because of our mutual under­standing of the fullness of God’s provisions for salvation as expressed in your article, “Two Distinct Salvations” we have a fuller fellowship than is the case with most of our correspondents and associates.

We are enclosing a copy of one of our articles which was published in Christian Life, one of the better known Evangelical publications, entitled “Why Jews Fear Christians.” Gradually the sins and short­comings of the nominal church systems are being brought to light. We see this as fulfillment of the statement in Isaiah 28:17 “and the hail (of truth) shall sweep away the refuge of lies.”

We are also enclosing a copy of a publication being put out by the Embassy program here in the states – the Review. This will be published periodically and I am sure that they would put you on their mailing list if you requested.

As the result of our activities on behalf of Israel, and our residence in Jerusalem, we have direct contact with many of the leading Christian teachers and expositors today – and we note a great seeking and a change taking place. The Truth is gradually coming through to many – not all at once but a little here and a little there. We are very grateful to the Lord for having an opportunity to share in this opening of eyes and ears – for both the Jew and Gentile. Again, our thanks for your sympathy and your prayers.

Yours by His grace, ……… (WASHINGTON)

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Dear Brother Hoefle:

It’s been a long time since I have sent you a letter. My eyes are getting so bad, so my daughter‑in‑law Betty will write for me.

Hope this note finds you and your wife in good health. Enclosed is a check to help you with your expense.

Soon I will be 98 years old, and in good health except for my eyes and my shaky legs. Still do read a lot but with much effort, using a magnifying glass for reading. My spirits are good, and the Lord sure has been good to me.

I stay with my son and daughter‑in‑law in Buffalo Grove. We have a very fine relationship – happy and healthy in God’s blessings.

With Christian love and greetings, I am your brother -------   (ILLINOIS)

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Dear Sir:

I am happy to receive your reply along with your monthly paper, and I indeed thank you for your lovely brotherly letter.

I am a subscriber of The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom and a seeker of the Divine Truth through the help of His beloved ones. Through a friend of mine I was informed about your Association, and I decided to write you a personal letter asking for your assistance in understanding the “present system of things” according to God’s teaching. Furthermore, I would like to receive the following eleven books. Enclosed you will find a money order for the amount of ….. Please expedite this order as soon as possible.

Sincerely, ------- (NEW YORK)

NO. 329: TAKE, MY BRETHREN, THE PROPHETS - PART THREE

No. 329

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

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

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

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

The book contains little that is historical, but rather is a summation of sound general principles. Thus, he somewhat resembles Isaiah, but lacks the breadth of sympathy and the grand glow of emotion that distinguishes the “gentle‑man” of the Old Testament. Chapter One tells of his vision of Jehovah, who calls and sends him. Then follows his mission to Israel and his inspiration by Jehovah. In subsequent chapters he tells of the restitution of the people, as Jehovah sanctifies them and dwells among them. This thought is given with much greater force and clarity by the Apostle John in Rev. 11:3: “I heard a loud voice out of the throne, saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will tabernacle with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them – their God.” This promise is not exclusively to the Jews, but “good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” Here we have quite a wide difference of fact from what is taught by the Jehovah’s Witnesses’

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

Ezekiel offers a very lustrous picture of the future for the Jews, probably not realizing himself that that day would come when God’s Kingdom is fully established in the earth, when there “shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying; neither shall there be any more pains, for the former things are passed away.” (Rev. 21:4) And he summarizes his thoughts with these words: “I will hide my face from them no more; for I have poured out my spirit on the house of Israel, saith the Lord God.” (Ezek. 39:29) The people are all righteous, led by the spirit of the Lord, and knowing that Jehovah is their God. Ezekiel does not explain how salvation is to be attained, for the salvation is realized and enjoyed; it describes the state and life of the people that their redemption is come now. The fact that the prophet details the final blessedness of the people accounts for the supernatural features of the people’s condition are to be understood literally. The Temple, the services, etc., are meant in a real sense, just as the supernatural presence of Jehovah is meant in a literal sense. At that time the desert will be turned into a garden, along with the sweetening of the waters of the dead sea. (Isa. 25:1,2)

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

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

MORE ABOUT EZEKIEL

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

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

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

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

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

However, with all this conjecture, we stress again that “Prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Pet. 1:21) Thus, the fundamental source of all Old Testament prophecy – as well as of the New Testament – was the Holy Spirit; so we should expect a very strong similarity in all that was written by inspiration of God.

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

FURTHER THOUGHTS ON EZEKIEL

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

However, Ezekiel saw a future for Israel – especially in Ezek. 36:24‑38 – of which we shall quote brief exerps, but we first offer the opinion of one brilliant commentator as introduction: “This remarkable passage has no parallel in the Old Testament, and reads like a fragment of a Pauline epistle. The doctrine of the spirit of God receives fuller development in it than anywhere else in the Old Testament.” “I will take you from among the heathen, saith the Lord, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land ... A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit, and I will take away the stony heart, and I will give you an heart of flesh. ... And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers ... I will save you from all your uncleanness: and I will call for the corn, and increase it ... I will multiply the fruit of the tree ... Then ye shall remember your own evil ways ... and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities ... Then I will also cause you to dwell in the cities ... And the desolate land shall be tilled ... And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden ... the ruined cities are become fenced ... Then the heathen shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it.” (Ez. 36:24‑38)

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

Sincerely your brother, John J. Hoefle, Pilgrim

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LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Brother:

I’m returning the studies on Zionism, which I believe to be part of godless communism in the world today. I believe the Jewish religion to be the synagogue of Satan Rev. 2:9, 3:9. The Christian (sheep) nations in the world today are Israel. I would like you to read the two enclosed studies by a man of God, students of the Word. Truth ever increases unto the end of this age. In Christ’s name, ------- (NORTH CAROLINA)

Our Answer:

Dear Brother---------: Grace and peace!

This is in answer to your letter of August 21. I have read Pastor Emry’s views some time back; but I read what you sent very carefully. I now enclose two articles ‑ Nos. 238 and 277, which I trust you will also read.

The Jews in Jerusalem crucified the Lord of Glory. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but ye would not’ Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” (Matt. 23:37‑39) They(the Jews) will indeed recognize Him as their Messiah, and will then say, “Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.” “And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.” (Acts 3: 17) They did not recognize that they were crucifying their Messiah.

After their 1845 years of favor, which ended when they crucified Jesus, their 1845 years of disfavor began. The pinnacle of their favor was when Jesus offered Himself to them. However, the first Christians in Jerusalem were all Jews. All the Apostles were Jews, and all others who accepted Him were Jews until the door was opened to the Gentiles. (Acts 10:19‑48) It was “to the Jew first” when our Lord came to establish His spiritual house; and it will be “to the Jew first” when He makes up His fleshly house in His glorious Kingdom. In 1877 that Wise and Faithful Servant (Matt. 24:46,47) predicted that the Lord would begin to bless the Jews in 1878, which He did at the Berlin Congress of nations, when Lord Beaconsfield – a Jew, the first ever to be Prime Minister of England – took the leading part. There England assumed a general protectorate over the Asiatic provinces of Turkey, among which is Palestine. The condition of the Jews in Palestine was then alleviated, and the door was opened for others to locate there with the privilege of owning real estate. Previously, the Jew was cuffed, kicked and abused and was denied the most ordinary privileges of existence, in the land so sacred to him.

“Blindness in part happened to Israel.” (Rom. 11:25) If Israel is not the Jews, when did “blindness in part” happen to the Israel that Pastor Emry teaches? The Apostle Paul ‑ who was a Jew – said, “He is not a Jew, which is one outwardly.” That means that God does not consider the Jew according to the flesh – only those are Jews who faithfully try to keep the Mosaic Law. The others are considered no more than heathen. That Wise and Faithful Servant also predicted that Jews would return in great numbers after 1914, and we are witnesses to this truth. If Pastor Emry’s Israel is God’s chosen people, why are they not in Jerusalem to receive God’s favor “in due time”? And they mocked Him, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews.” And when Pilate asked Him if He was King of the Jews, He did not deny it: “Thou sayest it.” (Luke 23:3) Jesus Himself also said, “Salvation is of the Jews.” (John 4:22) The Adversary and his blinded dupes have sought to destroy the Bible, as well as the Jews; but they cannot do it, as God is their preserver.

We know “the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ... should shine unto them” (2 Cor. 4:4), but we seize every opportunity to bear witness to the Truth; and “in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, if God peradventure give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.” (2 Tim. 2:25) However, I know full well that the world now lies in darkness, error and sin; but the majority will have their eyes opened in the Kingdom when “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” (Isa. 11:9)

With this comes my good wishes for your good health, spiritual and physical. The Lord bless and guide you as you seek to serve Him in sincerity and in Truth.

Sincerely your brother and servant, John J. Hoefle

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Dear John and Emily: Shalom!

Yes, beloved friends, the Israelis “simply beat them to the punch,” as you noted in your welcome communication of August 15, for which many thanks.

Indeed, the “real culprits are the leaders of Lebanon” who tolerated the PLO‑Russian inroad into their country. “They allowed those vermin into their country, gave them protection and encouragement.” How well you see the situation’

Moses routed Amalek and Joshua routed Israel’s enemies of his day, and Deborah in her day; Gideon in his time, etc. ... And YHVH was with them, and He is with Israel deserving or not – today’

The Everliving One has sworn with an oath that He would fulfill His word (Zechariah 12‑14;. Ezekiel 38‑39, etc.). Apparently, we are in the destined latter‑day period now.

Not a word of criticism of what you stated. I agree fully, and Jeane Kirkpatrick must be alerted. I am sure she must have read Morris B. Abram’s article as it appeared in today’s Times (copy enclosed).

Corresponding with a number of brethren who, like you, are fully familiar with the late Pastor Russell’s prophetic writing, I note that their views on the current situation in Lebanon are similar to yours. ....

Pastor Russell thus prepared the ground for the present generation by sowing seeds of Truth. In a sense, he “prepared a highway” for the “Day of the Lord”; removed the stumbling blocks. Yes, let us thank and praise Yah Yehovah for him and for having brought us into this path of Truth. There are but a few more steps to take, and we stand ready’

With love from both of us. Faithfully your brother, -------- (NEW YORK)

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Dear Sir:

Please send to us your price list. We are ministering to the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and would like to update our library. Yours truly, Rev. ------- (CANADA)