NO. 343: RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT

No. 343

The scientific achievements of this nation continue to evoke our admiration. The Space Shuttles have again performed with great precision. The miles they travel in such short time we would have considered impossible as little as twenty‑five years ago; and their entire performance is a great tribute to the scientific ability of the men who operate them.

Some months back a newspaper columnist headed his column article with these words: “Israel an exciting nation with its high technology and modern industry.” And here is part of what he wrote: “I will never forget the emotion I felt the afternoon I crossed the Allenby Bridge from Jordan and first set foot in Israel. It was an almost mystical experience, and I’m neither Jewish nor particularly religious. But there is an excitement in the very air, and you can feel the vibrant life and energy all around you. The country literally hums and has an aura.

“Israel’s birthday always is a happy occasion. If you are ever in need of having your faith in miracles restored, hop on a plane and visit Israel where miracles still occur on a daily basis. This is the Israel where there are 50,000 engineers doing innovative research and scoring breakthroughs in everything from telephone systems to solar energy to cancer research to computerized irrigation systems.”

It is indeed inspiring to note that Jewish scientific minds have transformed large parts of Palestine from a pile of sand to a flourishing Garden of Eden. For three thousand years the Arabs sat on that sand, and did nothing to improve it; but, now that the Jews have performed many wonders with it, they want it. Thus, the attacks on Israel continue to increase; but little do they realize with whom they are dealing. The Prophetic Page had recorded these events some thousands of years ago; and those statements were read by many devout Christian believers as interesting reading matter, and that was all. Now those writings have become living reality – humanly speaking, by the tremendous surge in scientific process.

IN FINANCE

Many of the top financial writers continue to paint a very gloomy picture about money matters. A number of the third rate nations, to whom many billions of dollars have been loaned, are said to be ready to repudiate their foreign debts. If just one of them should do this, we shall see “All faces gather blackness” (Joel 2:6) in the money markets. One of these writers reports an interview with Dr. Franz Pick, the world monetary expert, in which he says, “We are now witnessing the destruction of the U.S. dollar. The growing invisible debt will be the pacesetter for a new inflationary cycle. We can continue this for another two or three years,” he warns. “The final step in the crash of the dollar will be the government’s confiscation of gold.”

Although we quote the above, we do not say we are endorsing it fully. In fact, we ourselves do not have a real firm opinion about future money events, although we are positive that serious trouble lies ahead; and we simply quote the opinion of this Doctor Pick to inform our readers how some of the financial authorities are thinking. Thus, we advise all to keep out of debt, because “we have a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well if ye take heed”(2 Pet. 1:19) that the immediate future will produce much peril to all, and particularly so to those encumbered with financial obligations.

IN POLITICS

The political situation throughout the world is on a par with the financial condition. As usual, money is involved with politics. It is the wretched condition of the money that is prompting upheaval in politics in many nations. However, changing politics is not changing anything for the better; in fact, almost all the changes that have been made only put a worse group in the government – as instance, Cuba, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and others. Many people here in the United States were quite happy when Batista was forced out of Cuba; the same goes for Nicaragua. But what they have now is probably ten times worse than what was formerly there. But, assuming that a change would be made for the better, with the new government well intentioned and honorable, the temperament of the people is so badly worn that they would not give such an administration time enough to put its methods into operation.

Again, we mention Israel: It is our opinion that Mr. Begin earnestly tried to give a good and honorable administration; and we believe he did an excellent job, despite vicious obstacles both within and outside the nation. It is common knowledge that some mideast countries are determined to destroy Israel, thus placing all the obstacles possible to accomplish their purpose. We have the sure Word of God that they will not succeed, that eventually the enemies will be destroyed; but they are making things difficult now.

In this connection we have a booklet written by a woman on “Modern Israel – Fulfillment Of Prophecy”; and we offer some material from that booklet because we feel it has a direct bearing on much that is going on there:

“Why is it, I used to ask myself, that when prophecy was being fulfilled, people never seemed to recognize it? Today in Israel, however, the evidence of prophetic fulfillment is overwhelming. Events are taking place which confirm the Bible’s prophecies of the return of the Jewish people to their ancient homeland, and of what would happen to the land and the people when they returned. ....

“In a seemingly spontaneous movement, they have come home to build a new nation on the foundations of the past. After 2,000 years, the Jews in Palestine all learn to speak their ancient Hebrew language for use in the modern world. .....

“The area we think of as Palestine was defined by the Balfour Declaration and the League of Nations. Jews began to return, singly and in groups, buying small parcels of the worn‑out old land as they could. In the 1940s hundreds of thousands of Jews poured in from the ghastly death camps of Hitler’s Europe to the only haven offered them. Then, upon the creation of the modern state of Israel in 1948, nearly a million escaped to Israel from the Arab lands in the ensuing years. .....

“For I will take you from among the heathen and gather you out from all countries and will bring you into your own land, and a new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and do them, and ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers and ye shall be my people and I will be your God. (Ezek. 36:24; 26; 28)

“The Rev. Norman McLean, chaplain in the British royal family, said, ‘There is no other experiment in human uplift, now to be seen on the face of the earth, that can compare to the work of the Jews in Palestine. If I were a Jew, I would deem it the highest honor earth could offer, to have a part in a work so noble.’

“When a new independent state of Israel was created from a portion of Palestine, Leon Keyserling, economic advisor to President Truman, stated, ‘Israel, relative to its size and resources, has rescued more victims of tyranny, sheltered and fed more people, provided more jobs, developed more medical facilities than any other nation in history ancient or modern! ‘ .....

“Jesus Christ, the Savior of the Christian faith and the greatest teacher that the world has ever known, was a Jew. ……Asked how the thirteen American colonies were formed into a democratic republic such as had never been before, Thomas Jefferson replied that it was copied from the social organization laid down by Moses in the wilderness. Thus the ancient Jews provided the blueprint for the United States of America.

“Moses issued a decree that when a father died, daughters were to have equal rights of inheritance with sons. This established greater respect for women in Biblical times and through the ages. .......

“Development of serums to do away with the curse of polio and the blindness of trachoma, are among their recent contributions. Jews are among our greatest scientists, writers, scholars and physicians. ......

“The Balfour Declaration of 1917 was Britain’s recognition of the Jews’ right to their homeland in Palestine. In 1923 the League of Nations gave Great Britain the Mandate ‘to facilitate in the establishment of a Jewish National Homeland.’ But Great Britain soon decided that she did not want this new progressive movement in Palestine to upset the status quo in which she ruled through the princes of India, the pashas of Egypt and the effendi of the Middle East as they exploited the masses. She partitioned off four‑fifths of the Jewish National Homeland and set up Jordan as an Arab kingdom under Sheikh Abdullah. In the 10,000 square miles west of the Jordan River left for the Jews, she exercised a divide‑and‑rule policy and continually obstructed Jewish development.

“The final tragedy was brought on by Britain’s ‘White Paper,’ which in 1939 forbade all further Jewish immigration into Palestine on the basis that there was ‘no further economic absorptive capacity for the Jews.’ Thus the British shut and padlocked the doors of Palestine during the dark years of Hitler’s extermination policy, cutting off the only place in the world where the Jews could go by right. Those who entered during the 1940s came illegally, spirited into the country by their brethren in the night, and absorbed into the homes of Jewish Palestinians‑. ......

“Great Britain decided, however, that her interests lay with the large Middle Eastern Arab countries and their vast oil fields. She repudiated her obligations to the Jews. The British Ambassador to Washington at the time stated, ‘There are times when moral obligations must give way to political expediency.’ This ‘political expediency’ brought down on the British Empire the same curse that befell all other nations who had mistreated the Jews. Britain’s colonies broke away, and we have seen her stripped of her possessions, prestige and riches, and left a small, poor little island struggling with massive problems. .........

“Britain armed the Arabs and allowed armies of neighboring Arab nations to come in and occupy 70 military fortresses as she vacated them. Meanwhile she had thoroughly disarmed the Jews. They were to be ‘driven into the sea’ by combined Arab armies. The new nation was to be stillborn. Then the God of Israel took over and miraculously gave the lusty newborn nation stunning victories.

“The Arabs did not accept Israel’s existence. In 1956 they again prepared for war, this time with air runways in Sinai which brought in Russian arms and volunteers to assure the total defeat of Israel. But again the God of Israel gave a stunning victory to His people, although President Eisenhower caused a cease‑fire just before the Jews reached Suez, forcing them to withdraw. Along with them, however, the Jews brought back about a billion dollars’ worth of Russian and Egyptian equipment, and the promised use of the Gulf of Agaba and the Suez Canal ....

“Israel’s enemies then sold their souls to Russia for equipment for another attempt to defeat Israel. They‑mortgaged the cotton crops of generations to come and allowed their ports to be taken over by the Russians in return for military supplies. Again the God of Israel tried to show the enemies of Israel that the return of the Jews to their promised homeland was a part of His plan to bring about a better way of life for the masses of exploited farmers of the Middle East through Israeli example and technical assistance. The 1967 six‑day war proved to be the most stunning victory of all history, one that will be studied by military experts for years to come. .......

“The enemies of Israel still refuse to accept Israel’s victories and are openly planning her destruction. In reality, they are creating situations which will only bring about more trouble for their own peoples, for they are fighting not only against Israel, but against the God of Israel. .... Perhaps the outcome of these conflicts was intended to show the enemies of Israel that God is still the Jehovah of Israel and that the return of the Jews to Palestine is part of His plan. If God is for a thing, who can stand against it? Had other nations recognized this fact, there would have been no battles, no Arab refugees, no humiliating defeats and bitter hatreds. Instead, Israel would have spent more energies on land reclamation, on a TVA for the Jordan River and on progress in all fields of endeavor that would have been an example and benefit for all the peoples of the Middle East. ......

“Israel is the success story of all the emerging nations. She did what no other nation in the history of the world has done – she doubled her population in four years and at the same time reclaimed worn‑out lands to increase production, keeping pace with her increasing population. Israel now produces the bulk of her food needs, and she already exports enough agricultural products to pay for the food she imports, such as tea, coffee, hard wheat and some meats. The details of Israel’s progress and industry are an inspiration and an example for the world.

“No nation in history has ever treated her defeated enemies as Israel has treated the Arabs. In none of her wars has Israel demonstrated any boasting, gloating, looting or raping after her stunning victories. Rather, the Israelis provided tens of thousands of loaves of bread and cartons of milk for the besieged Arabs in Jerusalem and certain other cities. They cared for Arabs wounded in Israeli hospitals, and immediately implemented vaccination programs for all Arab children against polio and trachoma ....

“During the seventh and eleventh centuries fierce Arab nomads swept into Palestine from the desert and gradually killed off the inhabitants. They cared nothing about a permanent abode, but cut down trees or pulled up vines for fuel and moved about wherever their herds could find food. Gradually their herds broke down the terrace walls. Then soil erosion – the great enemy of the good earth – like a cancer, began to tear away the soil with each winter rain. .... Once prosperous inhabitants became peasants among Arab nomads and their herds. Thus the high Roman culture was supplanted largely by a ‘goat culture’ which brought progressive destruction to the land until the modern return of the Jews brought a new era of reclamation to the land. The success of the Jews in this effort has been fantastic. ........

“And what does the Bible say about the neglected and long‑eroded mountains? ‘But ye, oh mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people of Israel, for they are at hand to come. For behold I am for you and ye shall be tilled and sown, and I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, and the cities shall be inhabited and the wastes all be builded, and I will multiply upon you man and beast, and they shall increase and bring forth fruit; and I will settle you after your old estates and will do better for you than in your beginnings, and ye shall know that I am the Lord. Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people of Israel, and they shall possess you and thou shalt be their inheritance.’ (Ezek. 36:8‑12)

“How could the mountains be better than in their beginning, before at least three feet of soil had eroded off all the mountains of Judea and Galilee? The soil had been devastated for centuries. Fortunately the hills are of limestone and are shot through with solution pockets which retain the ancient fertile terra rosa, the famed red soil of the Holy Land. The roots of planted trees seek out these soil pockets and trees grow beautifully today. By 1975 the Jewish National Fund, Israel’s official land reclamation agency, reported that the Jews of Israel have planted 140 million trees! Many of the forests have already transformed the barren hills into green emeralds on the landscape. ....

“Water formerly sank completely underground in the limestone hills, flowed steeply downhill and emerged far out onto the floor of the Mediterranean Sea. Israeli geologists discovered that by sinking deep wells immediately at the foot of the mountains they could tap this Turonian water aquifer (the permeable material which carried underground water) and pump water to the surface in abundance. Thus the very mountains are productive, with vineyards and orchards on the reconstructed terraces, cities and towns rebuilt and waste lands too rocky for grazing or farming turned into green forests ‘shooting forth their branches.’ The United States and the Middle East should have an added Eleventh Commandment concerning man’s responsibility to the Holy Earth, something like this: ‘Thou shalt inherit the Holy Earth as a faithful steward, conserving its productivity and resources from generation to generation. Thou shall safeguard thy fields from soil erosion, thy living waters from drying up, thy forests from desolation, and protect the hills from over grazing by thy herds, that thy descendants may have abundance forever. If any shall fail in this good stewardship of the earth, thy fruitful fields shall become sterile, stony ground or wasting gullies, and thy descendants shall decrease and live in poverty, or perish from off the face of the earth.’

“The people of Israel took this challenge from the very beginning. The visitor today finds an Israel well on the way to restoring the Holy Land to its ancient fertility. Her people combine this ambition with an ever‑constant search for peace. While so doing, they work toward this fulfillment of this Bible prophecy: ‘And I will make them a covenant of peace, and I will make them and the places around my hill a blessing. And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land and shall know that I am the Lord.’”

The above was written some years before 1982; consequently, no mention could be made of the smashing victory the Jews gained in Lebanon in the summer of 1982. However, that victory was incomplete because our President commanded the Jews to refrain from the clean‑up that should have been made at that time. Therefore, we now have the devastating uproar in that country. It is our opinion that our President did not wish to restrain the Jews because of any animosity toward them; it was probably an honest mistake – doubtless prompted by what then seemed to be political expediency. But we rest in the calm assurance that in spite of some colossal blunders, we have “the sure word of prophecy” that Israel shall eventually prevail.

In this connection, we consider it apropos to reprint here an article by That Servant in the March 15, 1914 Watch Tower, with the heading: “The Memorial Supper April Tenth.” We quote from this article as follows:

“In the Lord’s arrangement the moon symbolized the Jewish prospects (as the sun now symbolizes the Christian prospects – the Christian prospects outshine all others, just as the sun outshines the moon – JJH), the sun symbolizing the prospects of the Gospel Age. The Law dispensation was a shadow, or reflection, of the things future (see Heb. 10:1‑3 – JJH), as the moon’s light is a reflection of the rays of the sun. We are near the time of the rising of the Sun of Righteousness with healing in his beams, to flood the world with the light of the knowledge of God. Seeing this, we lift up our heads and rejoice, as the Master directed. Since all the overcoming members of the Church are included in that Sun of Righteousness, according to our Lord’s parable (Matt. 13:43), it follows that the elect church must all be gathered, and her glorification must be completed before the full light of the Millennial glory will shine forth upon the world.

“In partaking of the Memorial we may look forward with the eye of faith to the rising of the Sun of Righteousness, in contrast with the conditions which prevailed at the time when the first Memorial was observed (the evening before Christ’s crucifixion – JJH) Then, the Moon (the Law Covenant) was at its full; and immediately after the rejection of Jesus and His crucifixion the Jewish polity began to wane. (Matt. 23:38) It is worthy of note that the very day on which Jesus was crucified the moon was at its full, and the waning began at once. So this year (1914) on April 11, the moon will be at its very full, and will then begin its wane. The 11th, therefore, corresponds to the day on which our Lord was crucified; and the evening of the 10th corresponds to the night of the first Memorial Supper.”

As it was with the Jewish nation then, so now, with the outbreak of the Great War of 1914, the Gentile Halo began to fade, and is becoming increasingly obscured with each passing year ‑ until these Gentile nations will be completely obliterated, as was true of the Jewish nation in the year 70 AD – when the Romans broke down the walls of Jerusalem, leveled the Temple to the ground, and dispersed the Jew to all corners of the civilized world. Now, just the reverse is occurring: the Jews are being regathered into the Land from every far‑distant point to which they were scattered in the year 70 AD. Thus, the prophecies herein cited are having a fulfillment, which is plainly visible to all who have an eye for the Truth on the subject. And much more is yet to come’ “Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.” (Zech. 14:3)

IN RELIGION

Under the headline, Lutherans, Catholics Find Grounds For Unity, we quote the following: “An official panel of Lutheran and Roman Catholic scholars announced Monday that it has reached substantial agreement on ‘justification by faith,’ a key issue that divided the two churches in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. The issue – whether any human merit or faith in God’s grace alone brings about a person’s salvation – has been a source of mutual misunderstanding and conflict ever since the churches broke apart.”

There is considerably more in the paper, but we believe the above is sufficient for us to declare the error on both sides of the subject. Luther’s key Scripture on the subject is found in Rom. 5:1, 2: “Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ; through whom also we have been introduced into this favor in which we stand: and we boast in hope of the glory of God.” (Diaglott translation) But to have a clear and correct understanding of any Scripture, it must be in harmony with all other Scripture; and there are certainly other Scriptures which greatly modify the Lutheran contention based upon this Romans text when standing alone. For example: James 2:20: “Faith without works is dead.” And further in v. 18: “Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.”

In this faith controversy, as was true of so many of the reformers, they clearly saw the error in their opponents, but they were much off the truth on their own subject so that their opponents made them look equally ridiculous. St. Paul tells us in another text in Rom. 10:17: “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” From these Scriptures it should be clear enough that we should have a moving faith before we can offer any acceptable work to God; but without such a faith, it is dead; because the faith of such a person has not become vitalized sufficiently to motivate activity in acceptable works.

Follows a recent News Headline: Pope Will Preach To Lutherans, with the following comments: “This will be the first time a pope has participated in a Protestant service in his own diocese. It is considered by some Vatican observers as one of the most significant and symbolic steps toward reconciliation in modern times. .....

“In another apparent effort at Christian unity, John Paul took note in a letter that November 10 is the 500th anniversary of the birth of Luther and said that Luther was not solely to blame for the divisions that led to the foundation of the first Protestant church 462 years ago.”

Now we offer some Biblical prophecy clearly foretelling this performance: “The Heavens Shall Be Rolled Together As A Scroll” – Isa. 34:4. The ‘heavens’ in this text refer to our present‑day church systems – reconciling their differences for the sake of peace. This union would have been considered impossible a hundred years ago; but the disturbed condition of the world today is causing many to decide that union is the best price of safety. Of course, the clear Bible teaching is opposed to such a thought. Again from the Apostle Paul: “There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.” (Eph. 4:5,6)

Quoting now from another news item: “In a recent flurry of ecumenical activity, Lutheran theologians have looked right to Rome and announced a major doctrinal breakthrough. Then they looked left to the Reformed tradition and urged steps just short of a merger .... The Lutheran Reformed statement could be sweeping in its implications, It is recommending more than any other Lutheran theological discussion has ever recommended. The question has been raised, Why not merge? The recommendation was made that joint communion services be approved, thus acknowledging that differences between the two traditions are not as great as they were in the 16th century.”

The “differences” in the 16th century are something like this: In performing the Mass, Rome contends that the real presence of the body and blood of Jesus are in the sacrament – known as transubstantiation; the Lutherans say the presence of the two are implied – known as consubstantiation. The real truth of the matter is that the bread and the wine represent these two things. This thought has been analyzed very thoroughly in past papers, so we shall not detail them here, but just a little reflection will reveal the fallacy of the two teachings. If actually present, then the Lord’s Body would have to be in thousands of places all over the world at the same time – an impossibility! And when Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, He was still living and talking with His disciples, as He had not yet been crucified.

Isa. 34:4 tells us that “the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and shall fall down as the leaf falleth from the vine.” And Rev. 6:14 says, “The heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together, and every mountain (strong Gentile governments) and island (republican governments, such as the US and Great Britain) shall be moved out of their places (be dissolved by the anarchistic masses) – as a millstone cast into the sea (the lawless elements of society).”

Much more could be said about this, of which we may treat in a subsequent paper; but for now we offer a few texts concerning the Jews and their position in the coming Kingdom:

“Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters (the Gentile nations) and I will give them unto thee for daughters (the Gentiles are to be instructed and blessed),but not by thy covenant (by the New Covenant – Jer. 31:31) And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.” (Ezek. 16:61,62)

The Gentile nations will be blessed through the Jews, as the Kingdom will be Israelitish. Now one nation out of every four is at war with some one else; but we have the strong assurance that all this will be completely reversed in the approaching Kingdom. “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” (Isa. 2:4)

A pamphlet giving much detail about Jerusalem, ends by saying, “This Is The Jerusalem Of Today – The Capital Of Israel. This Will Be The Jerusalem Of Tomorrow,”

We add to the above, Jerusalem Will Be The Capital Of The World in the Kingdom, when the New Covenant is made with Israel.

Once more we wish to express our appreciation and gratitude for the loving concern, the prayers and good wishes that have come to us for our health and prosperity. As some of our readers know, we experienced a very bad fall in 1983, which could have crippled us or any one else. However, we are recovering, although not completely. But we are thankful to our gracious Heavenly Father for His overruling providence, and for giving us strength sufficient to do the work He has given us to do.

We reciprocate the moral support of our faithful brethren and friends, and quote the words of the Apostle John as our message to them:

“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” (Third John, v. 2)

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ANNOUNCEMENT

The proper date for the Memorial this year is any time in the evening of April 13 – after 6 P.M. On the Jewish Calendar this should be Nisan 14.

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LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Brother and Sister Hoefle: Grace and peace!

Yours of Oct. 19 is received and again I apologize for the delayed answer. My job in the government is reflective of the world situation .... and that, as you might imagine, is very, very busy these days. I, too, am not certain of just what 1984 will prove in regard to prophecy and the Time of Trouble. However as ... “wars and rumours of wars; ... many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased; and ... there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places” are certainly with us and seemingly becoming more common place on a daily basis.

I am keeping a fairly complete notebook of articles relating to what is happening in the world today; and on the first page I have placed a copy of a quote from our dear Pastor:

“It is not our purpose, in calling attention to this subject, to arouse a mere sensation, or to seek to gratify idle curiosity. Nor can we hope to produce that penitence in the hearts of men which would work a change in the present social, political and religious order of society, and thus avert the impending calamity. The approaching trouble is inevitable: the powerful causes are all at work, and no human power is able to arrest their operation and progress toward the certain end: the effects must follow as the Lord foresaw and foretold. No hand but the hand of God could stay the progress of present current of events; and His hand will not do so until the bitter experiences of this conflict shall have sealed their instruction upon the hearts of men.

“The main object of this volume is not, therefore, to enlighten the world, which can appreciate only the logic of events; but to forewarn, comfort, encourage and strengthen ‘the household of faith,’ so that they may not be dismayed, but may be in full harmony and sympathy with even the severest measures of Divine discipline in the chastening of the world, seeing by faith the glorious outcome in the precious fruits of righteousness and enduring peace.

“The day of vengeance stands naturally related to the benevolent object of its Divine permission, which is the overthrow of the entire present order of things, preparatory to the permanent establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth, under Christ, the Prince of Peace.” Brother Johnson was right: “Hallelujah, what a Savior”’

What will be the result of those potential Youthful Worthies of today that are spreading error – such as LHMM? I particularly enjoyed Issue 341 on the Jews and Issue 342 on our Beloved Lord and Savior. Bless you for the wonderful work you are doing! I must close for now. I love you both, ------- (VIRGINIA)

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Dear Brother and Sister Hoefle: Greetings in our dear Savior’s Name!

I feel so sorry I haven’t written you sooner. I have looked for your phone number, but can’t find it. I promised Sister Hoefle I would call a long time ago. We are the people who lived in Scottsdale, Arizona and came to Missouri in 1979. It seems we are so busy, but have decided not to farm anymore.

We do enjoy your papers very much. I try to read them as soon as I get them. They are food for our souls! I do wish we could have a study here. All we have are Jehovah’s Witnesses, and they are too dogmatic. Most people here are Baptist or Church of God – Pentecost. Church of God minister said he would come over and study sometime, but hasn’t come yet. I do hope every one there is well and happy in the Lord.

Thank you for your literature. My husband has been in the hospital or I would send you some money. Christian love, Sister ------- MISSOURI)

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Dear Mr. and Mrs. Hoefle:

My heartfelt gratitude to you and your Association for your most kind support of Israel and her people!

Kindly mail me information on your Association ‑ and feel free to place my name on your mailing list. Best always ‑ Shalom, ------- (CANADA

NO. 342: BLESSED IS THE KING

No. 342

“And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord: Blessed be the Kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.” (Mark 11:9‑10) The multitude hailed Him King, but a few days later they cried, Crucify Him! “And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye that I shall do unto Him whom ye call the King of the Jews? And they cried out again, Crucify Him.” (Mark 15:12‑13)

The message of John the Baptist was, “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” This same message was the burden of His preaching and the theme of his parables. Finally, at the close of His ministry, the Kingdom came to the Jewish nation in the sense that it was offered to them – it was theirs for the accepting. Thus “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not” – except a few. His own nation rejected Him, and four days later crucified Him.

A little later, at Pentecost, a few who received Him were begotten of the Holy Spirit and became the nucleus of Spiritual Israel, in preparation for the glorious Kingdom and the work which is to be accomplished at His Second Advent. On the second evening preceding the story of this lesson, Jesus and His disciples were at Bethany, the guests of Lazarus, Martha and Mary, who had prepared a special feast for Jesus, whom they loved so dearly. This was the Lazarus whom He had awakened from the sleep of death but a short time before. The feast took place at the close of the Jewish Sabbath day. The next morning corresponded to our Sunday, the first day of the week, and on Monday Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

In preparation for presenting Himself as King, Jesus sent two of His disciples for an ass’s colt, telling them where they would find it, and instructing them to say that it would be returned after the Master had used it. By the time the colt arrived, a considerable multitude had gathered – people of the village of Bethany and others who had come out from Jerusalem, about two miles distant, to see Jesus and to see Lazarus, upon whom the notable miracle had been wrought. It had long been the custom of the kings of Israel to ride to their coronation upon an ass; and the multitude seemed to enter into the spirit of this occasion and to realize what it meant that Jesus was about to ride into Jerusalem on this colt. It signified that finally He was ready to assume the office of King.

For some time the disciples had recognized Him as the Messiah, the glories of whose Reign they were to share; and the multitude in general had learned so to regard Him, saying, “When Messiah cometh, will He do greater works than this man?” – could we expect anything more of Messiah than we see being accomplished by this man Jesus’ But this was the first time Jesus had formally put Himself forward. On previous occasions, when they had sought to take Him by force to make Him a king, He had withdrawn Himself, realizing that the time was not yet come. Now, so far from withdrawing, He was taking the active part, sending for the colt, preparing for the triumphal ride to the capital of the nation as its King.

We may be sure that the hearts of the Apostles thrilled with excitement as they thought of the nearness of their Master’s glory and of their own share in it; for as yet they did not realize the full import of His words to the effect that He must be crucified and must depart to a “far country,” even Heaven itself, and be invested with authority, and later return to establish the Kingdom which would bless the world. Jesus, however, was fully aware that the presentation of Himself as King was a formal matter, fulfilling the prophecy and leaving the nation of Israel without excuse. If, when He entered the city, the people should rise en masse, acknowledge and acclaim Him, then indeed they would be in line with the Divine requirements which would bring them the greatest of all blessings. But Jesus knew that prophecy had already declared that He would be despised and rejected, and that His own people would hide their faces from Him in shame (Isa. 53:3). The journey and the preparation for it, therefore, meant something very different to Jesus from what it signified to the disciples and the multitude.

ENTERING JERUSALEM

When the ass arrived, some of the people put their garments upon it in lieu of a saddle; Jesus mounted and the procession began. Some went before Him, and some followed after. The people were familiar with the prophecy relating to Messiah’s coming, which declared, “Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! behold, thy King cometh unto thee; He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass.” They were familiar also with the “shout” the prophets had foretold and the responses – one party crying, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the King of Israel, that cometh in the name of the Lord” Then the response, “Hosanna in the highest!” These different expressions are recorded by the different evangelists.

But not all were enthusiastic acclaimers of Jesus; a discordant note was heard. Some of those who had come from the city through curiosity criticized the shouting, and wondered why Jesus did not rebuke the people for ascribing so great honor to Him. They sent word to this effect to Jesus through His disciples. Jesus made answer that a great prophecy was being fulfilled. The Prophet Zechariah had by inspiration said, “Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem”’ and such a shout must be made. Jesus declared that if the multitudes had failed to shout, the prophecy would still have been fulfilled – the very stones would have cried out. The record tells that on the journey many of the people strewed their garments in the way, as a mark of respect and honor, waiting until the little animal had passed over them, and then running on before and placing them again. Others brought ferns, flowers and grasses, and strewed them on the way. Still others, John’s Gospel tells us, brought palm tree branches.

It was a jubilant procession, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah. Yet to Jesus it had the sad feature, as indicated by the account. When they had reached the turn of the Mount of Olives, which brought Jerusalem into view, the Master halted the procession while He looked over the city and wept, saying, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the Prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your House is left unto you desolate; and verily I say unto you, Ye shall see me no more, until that Day (over nineteen centuries later) when ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of Jehovah’

Jesus realized that that day was a turning point with their rejection by the Heavenly Father for a long time. It meant that during those long centuries the highly favored people of Abraham’s natural seed would be in distress. It meant that the favor of God, which had been with them for centuries, would instead be extended to the Gentiles, to gather out of the Gentiles a company of faithful, saintly ones to be associates and joint‑heirs with Jesus and the faithful ones of the Jews in the Heavenly Kingdom. It meant that not until this elect, Heavenly, spiritual Kingdom class should be received to glory would the Jewish people be again received into fellowship with God. St. Paul markedly calls our attention to this fact that the rejection of Israel is not permanent, but only for a time – only until the complete number of faithful saints be gathered out from amongst the Gentiles. Then God’s favor will go to Israel, and all earth’s families. (Rom. 11:25‑32)

THE KINGS OF THIS WORLD

How different was this entry of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, from the triumphal marches of earthly conquerors and kings! In the excitement of human passion and the prejudice of human minds a special halo of glory has surrounded the world’s conquerors. Heroic deeds, valiant conquests, as pictured by historians have a charm. The rising generation reads with thrilling interest of the prowess of Alexander the Great, of the Spartans of Greece, of the Caesars of Rome, and in more modern times of Robert Bruce, of Napoleon and Wellington, of Generals Grant and Lee, Pershing and Eisenhower. The homecomings of all of these were triumphal marches, in many cases rendering honor to whom honor was due. Nevertheless, in every instance the mind’s eye necessarily closes against scenes which led up to such triumphs. We try to forget the millions of slain and wounded, and other millions of mourning widows and orphans. We try to forget the smoking ruins of homes behind those victorious armies.

However necessary war at times may seem to be for the maintenance of justice, nevertheless all must concede that the blessings purchased by the sword are procured at a terrible cost. From this viewpoint Jesus, the Prince of Peace, followed by an army of saints who are walking in His footsteps, presents a beautiful picture – even to the worldly. These victors – Leader and followers – conquer by dying. Thus Jesus said to His followers, “Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the Gospel’s shall find it.” Thus viewed, all the followers of the Lamb are self‑sacrificers, as the Bible declares: “I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (Rom. 12:1) Such a victory – victory through death – is difficult for the majority of people to understand! What is the philosophy of it? Where is the victory?

VICTOR‑KINGS THROUGH DYING

Well may it be asked, Wherein is the victory of Christ and His followers in laying down their lives for the brethren and in support of truth and righteousness? Only the Bible answers the question, and only those who exercise faith can understand the Bible answer. The Bible declares that the real victory of Christ and the Church is over self. Their crowning day is future – their triumph will be then. The triumphal entry of Jesus on the ass was only typical. The antitype will be glorious – beyond the veil. As Jesus after His resurrection was “received up into glory,” so also He has promised His Church that their resurrection shall change them from imperfect human beings to perfect spirit beings, joint‑heirs with their Master, their Redeemer, in the glorious Millennial Kingdom which is to bless the world.

After Jesus had risen from the dead, He explained to His perplexed disciples what his death signified, saying, “Ought not Christ to have suffered these things (death) and to enter into His glory?” (Luke 24:26) So St. Paul has declared in respect to all who will be Jesus’ associates in the Kingdom – they must suffer with Him if they would reign with Him; they must be dead with Him if they would live with Him. (2 Tim. 2:12) Christ and His Church die to human hopes and interests, present and everlasting – laying down their lives, suffering for righteousness’ sake. Their reward is two‑fold: (1) Their own personal exaltation to a Heavenly, spirit glory, like unto the angels, and yet more glorious – “far above angels, principalities and powers and every name that is named.” (2) The Kingdom glory – the joy of being the Divine agents for human restoration.

From this, the Bible viewpoint, the Christian warfare is different from every other warfare known to the world. It is a fight against sin, a fight against self‑will, a full submission to the Divine will, a victory through death. “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” (Rev. 2:10) “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My Throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His Throne.” (Rev. 3:21) No wonder that a proposition of this kind is but imperfectly understood by the world! “The world knoweth us not, even as it knew Him not.” And this is one of the requirements of the Gospel, that Jesus and His followers shall submit themselves to be misunderstood by the world. We are counted fools for Christ’s sake. (1 Cor. 4:10)

It requires some stamina to be a loyal follower in the footsteps of Jesus, misunderstood as He was misunderstood by those of His day, reviled as He was reviled. “They shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake.” It is only when we understand through God’s promises that in these trying experiences of Christ and His followers there is a glorious purpose, that we are able to endure them with any measure of rejoicing. Only these are granted glory, honor and immortality, and the Kingdom which the Lord has promised to His faithful followers. Since Jesus is the Prince of Peace, how shall we understand the various passages of Scripture which refer to Him as a mighty Conqueror in blood‑stained garments, taking vengeance on His foes? But especially, how shall we understand the declaration that, at His coming in the clouds of heaven, all the tribes of the earth shall wail because of Him?

Of this Prince of Peace it may be said that He will wound to heal, that whatever disasters He may bring or permit to come upon the world will be so overruled as to make of them blessings in disguise. Undoubtedly much that is said respecting our Lord is highly symbolic. For instance, He is to smite the nations with the Sword that proceedeth out of His mouth – the Word, or Message, of Truth. Such a smiting is in full conformity with the declaration that when St. Peter preached the Gospel at Pentecost, some of the hearers were “cut to the heart” – not with St. Peter’s literal sword, but with “the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” Eventually, that Sword will smite all opponents of righteousness for their good. Only the willfully wicked will eventually be destroyed in the Second Death. We are not to forget, however, that the inauguration of the Messianic Kingdom is to be in the midst of the Time of Trouble, and that Christ will have to do with the bringing, or at least the permitting, of that Trouble. Apparently mankind will be permitted to bring the great trouble at the end of this Age upon themselves. There are forces of evil, Satan and his angels, ready to do us harm and, through human forces, sin‑forces entrenched in human nature, ready to do us harm to the social fabric.

The New Covenant is the Scriptural name for the new arrangement between God and man which will be instituted at the beginning of the Age to follow this, and by which God purposes to receive the world of mankind again into favor with Himself. The covenant relationship which Adam originally enjoyed with his Maker, and its resultant harmony with Him, was contingent upon obedience to the expressed will of God, and was forfeited by disobedience. This covenant relationship with God was renewed typically at Mount Sinai, with Israel (Ex. 19:1‑9; 24:3‑8). Through Moses as mediator, God promised that if Israel would keep His Law they should have everlasting life. The inauguration of that Law Covenant was effected by their mediator, within six months after Israel left Egypt, through the sacrifices of bulls and of goats, the children of Israel solemnly agreeing to their part of the covenant. Later the Atonement Day sacrifices were repeated year by year continually: “for the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin.” (Heb. 10:1‑9) Israel failed to gain the blessing promised in their Law Covenant. God foreknew that Israel would fail; but through their endeavors He was giving an abject lesson which in the future would be a lasting blessing to Israel and to the whole world.

God will introduce this new Law Covenant through the Mediator of the New Covenant, Christ Jesus, in whom the entire arrangement centers, and through whom it will be carried out. He will be assisted in this work by the Church and the faithful Worthies, who will be the visible representatives in the earth. (Hebrews, Chapter 11) This New Covenant will succeed, because of its better Mediator. And He will be not only Mediator, but Priest, Prophet, King and Judge. As a Priest, He will uplift and bless humanity and receive their offerings. As King, He will rule mankind in righteousness; as Prophet, He will teach them; as Judge, He will test them, decide and pass sentence, favorable or unfavorable. It will require the full thousand years to Bring the people out of their condition of death and degradation, to restore whosoever will of all mankind to the image and likeness of God, lost in Adam.

OUT OF ZION AND JERUSALEM

The Scriptures tell us that “out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isa. 2:3; Mic. 4:2). So Jerusalem will then be the capital of the world, and the Ancient and Youthful Worthies will be made “princes in all the earth” (Psa. 45:16). This arrangement will appeal first and primarily to the Jew, who would naturally be the first to come under the new regulations, because a nucleus of these Jews who were faithful to the Law Covenant, will be in Jerusalem when the Kingdom is inaugurated. The Scriptures tell us they will be humbled by the last phase of Jacob’s trouble in Jerusalem, and they will “cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses. He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” (Psa. 107:19,20) They will then recognize their Messiah, and will become the most active and zealous missionaries of the Kingdom. They will receive their instructions first‑hand from the Worthies in Jerusalem, and will then appreciate the Lord’s promise to them: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake... I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Jer. 31:31‑34)

We may not say that all the Jews will do so, but that this will be true of at least a considerable number of them. Quite a few have become infidels – unbelievers of God’s promises: “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh.” (Rom. 2:28) There are many well‑meaning people among the Gentiles who have not taken the vow of consecration to the Lord. They have accepted Jesus as their Saviour, and have practiced righteousness to the best of their ability; but have not taken the second step of full consecration to the Lord, because the narrow way was too difficult for them: “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matt. 7:14) during the reign and ascendancy of sin and evil. These Gentiles will be the first to join with the Jews and become Israelites – and like the Jews, they will become faithful and zealous Missionaries of the Kingdom. We refer to these Gentiles as the quasi‑elect Jews.

In that day “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and excellency of our God. And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it: but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.” (Isaiah, Chapter 35) This Highway of Holiness will be an easy way for all who love righteousness, and we believe there will be many who find it – which is in contrast with a “narrow way” under the reign of sin and evil.

By the close of the Mediatorial Reign those who have responded and made earnest effort to advance will be brought to a condition of human perfection, as was Adam at the beginning. Then they must be subjected to the same loyalty as was Adam, with no Mediator between them and God’s justice. How many will maintain their loyalty under the test, and how many will lose out and suffer destruction, we cannot know – because there will be some who have obeyed outwardly during the thousand year, but not inwardly – were not in heart‑harmony with righteousness – the goats of the Mediatorial reign.

Covenant relationship with God means perfection, either reckoned or actual. During the thousand years of Messiah’s Kingdom, mankind will be approaching actual perfection. The New Covenant, with all that goes with it, is the blessing which The Christ gives to mankind. It is God’s Covenant, and He has arranged that it shall go to the world through the Christ class, Head and Body. These glorious things are clearly set forth in various types in the Old Testament, as well as plainly stated in the New Testament.

For instance, St. Paul explains that Isaac, the heir of Abraham, was a type of The Christ, Head and Body. Isaac did not receive his inheritance by a new covenant, but by the original Covenant with Abraham, as does the Church (Gal. 3:8,16,29; 4:22‑31). In Mic. 4:1‑4, we read: “In the last days ... that Mountain (Kingdom) of the House of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains (kingdoms of earth), ... and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord, and to the House of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His way, and we will walk in His paths.”

The succeeding verses of the chapter depict the influence that will be exerted. The blessings and prosperity will then be with those who will be in harmony with God. Now it is different, “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecutions.” (2 Tim. 3:12)  The world thinks that Christians, true followers of Jesus, are making their lives miserable. But the world is greatly mistaken on this matter. On the contrary, we are enjoying ourselves greatly, we are having a good time. We have much advantage in every way, in spite of our afflictions; for we know that in a very little while our trials and afflictions will all be over. We know that the glorious Kingdom of Messiah, in which, if faithful, we are to share, is about to be set up on the earth.

OUR BLESSED HOPE

When ‘er the storms come down on thee,

And days of peace all seem to flee,

This thought thy peace again shall bring,

Why should I fear? – the Lord is King.

E’en when the tempest rages high

And darkest clouds are drawing nigh,

With hands of faith to this, oh, cling,–­

Why should I fear? – the Lord is King

Amid the stormy waves of life,

Above the tumult and the strife,

The chimes of hope still sweetly ring,–

Be not afraid, – the Lord is King.

Thy ship is toss’ d by wind and wave,

But there is One whose power can save;

Across the sea He hastes to bring

Both rest and peace – the Lord is King.

Yes, Jesus walks upon the sea,

And in the storm He comes to thee;

Then trust in Him, rejoice and sing;

He calms the waves, – the Lord is King.

He stretches out His hand to thee,

And from thy fears He sets thee free;

Beneath the shadow of His wing

He keeps thee safe, – the Lord is King.

In the future Dispensation, God tells us, the tables will be turned. None of the wicked shall prosper. THEN whoever is unrighteous shall suffer, and whoever does righteously shall receive a blessing. (Psa. 37:1, 2, 7‑17, 22) NOW the wicked very often prosper, and the poor and needy and the good of earth are oppressed. When the Times of Restitution come to the world, all will be changed. The result will be a clean universe in which everyone in heaven and on earth, and such as have been in the sea, the rebellious race, will glorify and praise the God of perfect wisdom, Justice, love and power, and the Lamb that sitteth with Him on His throne forever and ever, saying, “Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.” (Rev. 5:13)

The basic concepts of the foregoing are from That Servant as he sought to encourage and uplift the saints during the Gospel Harvest. But he also taught that after that Harvest work was finished there would be a class of unbegotten people who would make the same kind of consecration as did the saints – and that they would, if faithful, be rewarded in honor and service with the Ancient Worthies. We believe such opportunity is available for them now. We know this “Time of Trouble” is a precursor to the establish of the Kingdom, and so it is the only time such a class can have such an opportunity. However, when the “Time of Trouble” becomes so disrupting there will be little chance of appealing to outsiders for such consecrations.

It is our desire to reproduce the “faith once delivered unto the saints,”’ so we now quote from Question Book, p. 162, answer to a question under the heading of CONSECRATION – REWARD FOR THOSE NOT BEGOTTEN:

“We would presume that if they were faithful, as the prophets of old were faithful, to the extent of laying down their lives in the service of righteousness and truth, that God would give them a share some way with the Ancient Worthies. In other words, that if such should pass into the Time of Trouble to a considerable degree, and there lose their lives because of faithfulness to the Lord, that He would do just the same for them that He will do for the Ancient Worthy class.” (Also see Vol. 6 of Studies in the Scriptures, pp. 156,157; Z 1911, p. 181, pars. 5‑10; Z 1915, p. 269, pars. 11, 12, for That Servant’s teaching on this class, as well as in other places. – JJH)

It seems that all the faithful Truth people should realize that we are in the “Time of Trouble,” and if there is such a class of consecrators that this is the only time they will have such opportunity. Also, please see Question Book, p. 150 and 152 for further information on this class.

Brother Russell also teaches that the Worthies will have a Heavenly reward at the end of the Millennium. So we would say that all will be amply rewarded for walking a “narrow way” – especially during this Time of Trouble – whether begotten of the spirit, or the unbegotten class who later make a consecration. No one will be disappointed in the reward God has in store for the faithful.

As much of the beauty and harmony of the Truth has been distorted, set aside, and revolutionized against, since the demise of That Servant, it is our hope that what is presented herein will commend itself to all our readers and better enable them to appreciate the “Good Tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” (Luke 2:10)

“May that peace of God which surpasses all conception, guard your hearts and your minds by Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:7, Dia.) Our cordial good wishes to all for a Blessed Holiday Season – and “The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it” (Prov. 10:22) be yours.

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LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Brother Hoefle:

I received your letter of the 29th, and I want to say you are the most unusual Brother I have ever had correspondence with. Even though we have sharp differences, yet you are so nice about it all. You have created a special place of respect for you in my heart and I value you very much as a Brother in Christ.

I think you will find that we are of the same spirit in our view of the Pastor. I would feel selfish to accept your check for this work as you have sent so much already. No doubt you have spent many thousands of dollars in your printing. Perhaps much more than I have. I am in the 13th year of this activity, and I think the average would be at least $2,500 per year. Just out of curiosity I took a tape on the last two years of the printing costs and found them a little over $2,500 per year. Yours is perhaps much, much more, and you turn out beautiful work to send out to those on your mailing list.

You ask about some of my history. I was born May 19, 1903. My Mother took up the Truth in a big way in 1914 after seeing the Photo Drama of Creation. I was 11 years old at the time and the truth appealed to me very strongly. It took a little time to bring me to full surrender. I never did have robust health, neither did my mother. She was a heavy woman and died Oct. 25, 1929 when she was 50 years old. My Father never caused us any problems on religion, but he simply did not have faith. He was a very slim man and was a shingle weaver. My Mother and I were very close to one another. Neither of us had good health. I was plagued with much heart palpitation in my young years, and did not feel capable of going out to earn a living or marry. I kept up a home for my Father and myself for 12 years and used much of my time in Reprint studies and taking notes. I became acquainted with Bessie Stampfly who came down from Canada to live with her folks after she lost her husband, Bro. Jo Stampfly. We met at conventions and were very close Truth friends and corresponded much. In 1919 we decided to marry, thinking it the Lord’s will to do. She had a 17‑year old daughter who finally married and had five children. She finally died in Southern California (she was married to a Navy man) with a bad case of cancer.

Bessie was an ideal companion in the Narrow Way. We were married almost 40 years when she died on my 76th birthday, in 1979. She had liver cancer. So I have been a widower for a little over three years now. Bessie was 80 when she died. We think an electric and also a shock of losing her daughter contributed to the breaking down of her defenses and that is why she finally died of cancer.

My Father lived to Be 95 and died in 1970. I have never had to go out and struggle for a living. My Father and Mother were both very careful in their finances, and my Father worked up enough financial backing to keep things going comfortable. Being the only child, my Father gradually transferred his investments in real estate mortgages and contracts to my name and also to Bessie’s. I am the trustee for Bessie’s share of the investments. ... I think I have dwelled enough on my personal life, but I thought you would be interested to know a little bit about me. ....

We are a very small group and there are two elders, one from Vancouver, B.C., and myself. We have two studies Sunday forenoon. The Canadian friends (three) go back in the early afternoon. Sunday evenings, those of us who live in Bellingham, have Reprint studies. Wednesday nights we have Testimony meetings – just the three of us. ......

In reading over this letter I see it is a very rambling epistle, but I will send it anyway. Christian love to you and Sister Hoefle.

In the best of bonds, Bro. Ted ------- (WASHINGTON)

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NOTE: We are happy to give this brother our tribute of praise, as we believe he was an example of the believers – faithful in all his commitments. He will be missed by those who loved and knew him well. As he said, we did have our sharp differences, but, even so, we enjoyed our fellowship by mail. His main difference, of course, was in the teachings of the Epiphany Messenger. However, we told him to take what we sent him and appreciate that with which he could agree, and let the other pass until he could accept it as Truth. This was the advice of Brother Johnson to us when at first we could not agree with all he presented. He said we are brethren, and this advice helped me much. So such study eventually worked out to be a great blessing to us. Brother Smith finished his: course February 21, 1983.

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Dear Brother and Sister Hoefle: Grace and peace’

Your letter of May 21 is received, and I was quite saddened to hear of the condition of Brother Hoefle. I was quite cheered to hear that he is lots better and stronger, and I sure hope he will continue to gain his strength. Sure was glad to hear that your niece came to help out, as I know the burden was too much for you to bear alone. The Lord always provides somehow. We often wonder to ourselves, Why? Why? this had to happen to us ?

My burdens are as heavy as ever it seems, as Sister’s mental condition does not seem to improve. She has lost interest in about everything, and gets quite confused at times. .....

Well, I must close for now. I sure hope and pray that Brother John will continue to improve. Drop me a card now and then if you get the time. Rest assured that I will pray for you folks always, as I know you do For me. With much Christian love and greetings, I remain as always, Your Brother by His Grace, ------- (MICHIGAN)

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Sirs: Please send me monthly mailings concerning Biblical prophecy and Israel. I desire to be kept ahead of prophetic occurrings. Your in Jesus.------- (PENNSYLVANIA)

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Dear Brethren:

Many thanks for the papers as you are sending me every month. I am sending you a check to cover some of the costs of postage, Your sincerely, ------- (SWEDEN)

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Dear Mr. and Mrs. Hoefle: Christian greetings!

Could you please send me information about the Epiphany Bible Students? I would greatly appreciate it, Thank you’ Sincerely ------- (MARYLAND)

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Dear Mr. Hoefle: Christian greetings!

Enclosed is my personal Money Order for the renewal of my subscription to your magazine. I would like also to bring to your attention that I am still waiting for the May issue that I have not received. I thank you in advance.

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

  

NO. 341: MORE ON THE JEWS FROM THAT SERVANT - PART ONE

No. 341

Since our past articles do not nearly cover the prolific writing of Pastor Russell, we are reproducing more from his pen, which is as up‑to‑date today as is the Bible from which he gained his knowledge. We are quoting excerpts from Volume One and Two of the Studies in the Scriptures, as well as some from the Reprints and Question Book, with which some of our readers are acquainted. However, we do this not only to stir up their pure minds, but also for those that have no knowledge of his writings.

We begin with Volume 2, first published in 1889: “In previous chapters the fact has been referred to, that God’s dealings with the nation of Israel were of a typical character; yet few have any adequate conception of how fully this was the case. It has doubtless been observed by many that the apostles, particularly Paul, in instructing the Christian Church, frequently refer to some striking features of type and antitype in the Jewish and Christian dispensation. But a closer attention to the Apostle’s teachings will show that he does not only make use of a few illustrations drawn from the Jewish economy, but that in his close reasoning he calls up the whole Jewish system, but that as Divinely instituted (ignoring entirely the ‘traditions of the elders’ which were no part of that system), and shows that in all its features it was typical of the then dawning Christian dispensation, mapping out most clearly the course of the Christian Church in the Gospel Age, as well as pointing out its glorious work in the Millennial Age. (p. 201)

“Paul says that God has cast off the fleshly house from favor, during the time of the selection of the spiritual house; and that when the spiritual house has been selected, God’s favor will return to the fleshly house. He says: ‘I would not, brethren (the Church, or spiritual Israel), that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits, that blindness in part is happened fleshly Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. As it is written: ‘There shall come out of Zion the (promised) Deliverer (the Christ, our Lord, the head, and the remnants or faithful few, of both the nominal houses of Israel, which shall compose His body, the Church) and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. And so all Israel shall be saved (for this is my covenant unto them) when I shall take away their sins. As concerning the gospel (the High Calling), they are enemies (cast off) for your sakes (that you may have the preference and inherit the choice, the spiritual parts of the promises); but as touching the election (by which they were chosen to receive special earthly favors from God, promised to father Abraham and his natural seed), they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes; for the gifts and calling of God are not things to be repented of.’ What God has promised is sure of fulfillment. Knowing the end from the beginning, Jehovah never made a covenant which He would need or wish to break. (pp. 210 and 211)

“All these prophetic points in the past are clearly marked, and we should expect some evidence of God’s returning favor to Fleshly Israel, Jacob, in or about AD 1878. This we do find, in the fact that the Jew is now permitted privileges in Palestine denied for centuries past. And it was in that very year, 1878, when their double was full, and God’s favor was due to return to that people – that the Berlin Congress of Nations was held, in which Lord Beaconsfield, a Jew, then Prime Minister of England, was the central figure and took the leading part. There England assumed a general protectorate over the Asiatic provinces of Turkey, among which is Palestine; and the Turkish government amended its laws relating to aliens, which ameliorated the condition of the Jews then residing in Palestine, as well as partially opened the door for others to locate there, with the privilege of holding real estate. Previously, the Jew was but a dog, to be cuffed, kicked and abused by his Mohammedan ruler, and was denied the most ordinary privileges of existence, in the land sacred to him with memories of the past, and with promises touching the future. (pp. 218, 221)

“But we must remember that the year 1878 was but the turning point of returning favor to Fleshly Israel. We have already learned, from our study of The Times of the Gentiles, that Jerusalem and its people will continue to be trodden down, controlled and oppressed by the Gentiles, until the Times of the Gentiles be fulfilled, and hence, though favor was due and began in 1878, the Jew will not be received back into full favor until after 1914. (Not until the Gentile governments are “trodden down” in this “Time of Trouble” – and not fully until the inauguration of the New Covenant, after the Gentile rule is destroyed – JJH) Their rise again to favor will be gradual, as was their fall from it. (p. 221)

“As none but our Lord Jesus knew the import of the end of the Law Age and the beginning of the Gospel Age (the apostles know only in part  …. until after Pentecost), so we can expect only the Body of Christ, anointed with the same spirit, to clearly see the end of the Gospel Age and its weighty import. (Quite a few of the consecrated of both Jews and Gentiles, who are not of the Body of Christ, can now see the grand “steppings of Jehovah.” Too, there are quite a few of the nominal Christians who realize that this is the “Time of Trouble,” and are predicting Armageddon. Since they are ignorant of the grand Plan of the Ages, their predictions are erroneous – JJH) The poor Jews and many pro­fessed Christians do not yet know of the great dispensational change which occurred at the First Advent, the end of the Jewish Age and the start of the Gospel Age, and that 1878 marked so important a point as it did. Nor was it intended others than the faithful few should know, and not be in darkness with the world. To you it is given to know, said our Lord.” (p. 224 – published in 1889)

The following is from Volume One of the Studies in the Scriptures: ‘The time of trouble, as it will affect the world (since 1914, and most particularly during the past few years – JJH), will be after Babylon has begun to fall and disintegrate. It will be an overturning of all human society and governments. During the time of trouble, fleshly Israel, which was cast off until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in, will be restored to God’s favor, and the Gospel Church, or spiritual Israel, will be completed and glorified. During the Millennial Age Israel will be the chief nation of earth, at the head of all on the earthly plane of being, into oneness and harmony with which all the obedient will be gradually drawn.

 “Their restoration to perfect human nature, as well as that of the world in general, will be a gradual work, requiring all of the Millennial Age for its full accomplishment. During that thousand years’ reign of Christ, the results of Adamic death will be gradually swallowed up or destroyed. Its various stages – sickness, pain and weakness, as well as the tomb – will yield obedience to the Great Restorer’s power, until at the end of the Age... will be complete... Israel after the flesh, including only Israelites indeed will be at the head of earthly nations; then the world of men, restored to perfection of being, like the head of the human race, Adam, before he sinned. This restoration will be accomplished gradually during the Millennial Age – the ‘times of restitution.’ (Acts 3:21)” (p. 241, published in 1886)

This will finish the quotations from Volumes 1 and 2 of the Studies in the Scriptures, although it is a small part of Pastor Russell’s teaching in the six volumes. But it is enough to prove that our dear Pastor taught these things, with Scriptural support, long before the world began to see that we are now in the “Time of Trouble’“ and many who realize it have a very imperfect view of the holocaust we are facing, and the Kingdom blessings that will follow.

We will now take up some of his voluminous teaching as given in the Watch Towers before his demise:

HATRED OF THE JEWS

“Benjamin Disraeli, better known as Lord Beaconsfield, wrote a political biography which is attracting considerable attention. Goldwin Smith thus refers to it: ‘It is natural that in the course of this political biography Disraeli, who had witnessed the exclusion of Jews from the House of Commons and who had found and was still finding his own Israelite descent an almost insuperable bar to advancement, should diverge for a moment from the main current of his narration to consider the grounds of the disabilities to which the Hebrew race had been so long subjected in Christian Europe. He begins by reminding us that the Saxon, the Slav and the Celt have adopted most of the laws and many of the customs of the Jews, together with all the latter’s literature and all their religion. The former are, therefore, indebted to the Israelites for much that regulates, much that charms and much that solaces existence. The toiling multitude rest every seventh day by virtue of a Jewish law; they are perpetually reading, that they may be taught by example, the records of Jewish history; they are continually singing the odes and elegies of Jewish poets; and they daily acknowledge on their knees with reverent gratitude that the only medium of com­munication between the Creator and themselves is the Jewish religion. Yet, at the hour when Disraeli wrote, the Saxon, the Slav and the Celt were accustomed to treat that race as the vilest of generations; and, instead of looking upon them logically as the channel of human happiness, they were accustomed to inflict upon them every term of obloquy and every form of persecution. Had it not been for the Jews of Palestine the good tidings of our Lord would have been unknown forever to the northern and western races.

“‘The first preachers of the Gospel were Jews, no others; the historians of the Gospel were Jews, no others. No human being has ever been permitted to write under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit except a Jew. They nursed the sacred flame of which they were consecrated and hereditary depositories. When the time was ripe to diffuse the truth among the Gentiles it was not a senator of Rome nor a philosopher of Athens who was personally appointed by our Lord for that office, but a Jew of Tarsus, who founded the seven churches of Asia. That greater church, great even amid its terrible corruptions, that has avenged the victory of Titus by subjugating the capital of the Caesars and has changed every one of the Olympian temples into altars of the God of Sinai and of Calvary, was founded by another Jew, a Jew of Galilee. From all which Disraeli concludes that the dispersion of the Jewish race, preceding as it did for ages the advent of our Lord, could not be for conduct which occurred subsequent to his nativity, and that they are also guiltless of that subsequent conduct which has been imputed to them as a crime, since for him and his blessed name they preached and wrote and shed their blood, as witnesses.

“‘Disraeli says: The creative genius of Israel, on the contrary, never shone so bright; and when the Russian, the Frenchman and the Anglo‑Saxon, amid applauding theaters or the choral voices of solemn temples, yield themselves to the full spell of a Mozart or a Mendelssohn, it seems difficult to comprehend how these races can reconcile it to their hearts to persecute a Jew. In the course of the same remarkable chapter Disraeli refers to the futility of persecution in the case of the Jew. Egyptian Pharaohs, Assyrian kings, Roman emperors, Scandinavian crusaders, Gothic princes and holy inquisitors have alike devoted their energies to the fulfillment of this common purpose. Expatriation, exile, captivity, confiscation, torture on the most ingenious and massacre on the most extensive scale, and a curious system of degrading customs and debasing laws which would have broken the heart of any other people have been tried, and in vain “

“‘The Jews, after all this havoc, are probably more numerous at this late date than they were during the reign of Solomon the Wise, are found in all lands, and prospering in most. All which proves that it is in vain for men to attempt to baffle the inexorable law of nature, which has decreed that a superior race shall never be destroyed or absorbed by an inferior. Disraeli adds that all the tendencies of the Jewish race are conservative. The bias of the Jews is toward religion, property and natural aristocracy. For which reason Disraeli pronounces it got the interest of statesmen that this bias of a great race should be encouraged and their energies and creative powers enlisted in the cause of the existing social orders – Watchword.”’ (Reprints 3881, 3882 – October 15, 1906.

It is an appropriate supplement to the above to quote from the Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 3, p. 270:

“Lord Shaftesbury of England said recently: ‘There is a great jealousy of that wonderful people who are now coming to the front. And what a sign of the times it is, that, wherever the Jews are, they are either the most prominent people to be persecuted, or the most prominent people to take a lead in all the various professions!’ A prominent citizen of Berlin was asked, ‘What is the history of this strong anti‑Jewish feeling which you have in Berlin and throughout Germany?’ He replied, ‘I will tell you: These Jews, if they go into commerce, become the first merchants; if they go into the banking line, they become the first bankers; if they go into law, they become the first lawyers; or if they go into literature, they beat us all, Whatever career they undertake, they drive out the Gentiles; and I tell you, sir, we won’t stand it.”’

Alas, Disraeli’s efforts didn’t stop a Hitler, et al, although the Jewish Hopes still continue; and will continue until the fruition of their hopes is accomplished after this “Time of Trouble” upon all Gentile governments, which affects Palestine, and Jews in general. But God’s promises are sure, when they are replanted on their land they will NEVER be uprooted – even though it takes Jacob’s last trouble to bring them to the understanding of what God will do for them.

“The attempt of the Law Covenant to bring forth the natural seed first was abortive – a failure. First must come the spiritual Christ, Head and Body, partaker of the Divine nature, heir of all things. Then God’s favor will return to natural Israel. But since the Law Covenant completed its purpose and was demonstrated to be unavailable for them, because of the weakness of the flesh, God purposes to make with that nation, and with that nation alone, a New Covenant. Not a single statement of Scripture identified the New Covenant with the Gentiles. (This eliminates the Campers Consecrated of the LHMM, as well as the Great Multitude of dedicated Jehovah’s Witnesses – JJH) On the contrary, it is Israel’s New Covenant given to displace the Old or Law Covenant. Let us note well that the great mass of the early church were Hebrews and that the Apostle’s references to the New Covenant are almost exclusively in his epistle to the Hebrews. One exception is in Rom. 11:27, where the Apostle, although addressing Christians of Gentile birth, tells them that natural Israel was cast off for their sakes, but is still beloved for the fathers’ sake, and is again to have Divine favor, under a special covenant. The other (2 Cor. 3:6) refers to the royal priesthood as able (qualified) servants of the New Covenant – dying with Christ for its sealing. (Mal. 3:1)

“The more closely we investigate the New Covenant, the more we must be convinced of this fact – that it belongs to Israel alone, including the two nations into which they have divided at the death of Solomon – Israel and Judah. Note the statement of the Prophet, ‘Behold the days will come, saith the Lord, when I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant (the Law Covenant) which I made with them when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt.’ The Apostle, endeavoring to prove to the Jews that they could gain nothing under the Law Covenant, points out this prophecy, and tells them that the fact that God speaks of this as a New Covenant implies that a preceding (Law) Covenant had become old, valueless, and was preparing to pass away – ‘In that he saith, a New Covenant, he hath made the first old; now that which decayeth an waxeth old is ready to vanish away.’ (Heb. 8:13)

“The Oath‑bound Covenant Sure – Heb. 6:17‑20: The New Covenant is to take the place of the old and unsatisfactory one. There were two old Covenants, the Grace, or Sarah Covenant, and the Law, or Hagar Covenant, Which did the Apostle mean had grown old, valueless, and would pass away and give place to the New Covenant? Surely there can be no doubt for misunderstanding on this point. He meant the Law Covenant, for he says so. He did not mean the original Grace or Sarah Covenant, for he points out that our claim to relationship to God is under the original covenant, as members of the Body of Christ, members of the bride of Christ, joint‑heirs with Him...They did not need to wait for the New Covenant, the provisions of which apply only to those on the earthly plane...

“We come now to the other part of the question. What provision has God made for those Jews who bound themselves under the Law Covenant, from Moses’ day down to the First Advent; and for those who since then have not discerned the death of the Law Covenant and who will not be made aware of it until after the spiritual seed shall have been completed and glorified? If they have NOT LOST ALL SHARE AND PRIVILEGES IN CONNECTION with God’s special mercies, where do they come in? We answer that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and others before the Law Covenant were not bound by it, yet were not in the fullest sense justified to life until the Abrahamic Covenant had been established at Calvary. Their faith, then, entitled them to a share in the merits of that sacrifice. Likewise throughout the period of the Law Covenant, before it was annulled at the cross, there were Ancient Worthies who lived above the masses of their time, and who, although bound by the law, had above it a living faith in the original Oath‑bound (Sarah) Covenant of Grace... Although they lived while the Law Covenant was alive, they foresaw its death and trusted not in it, but in the superior Covenant of Grace....

“Thus the Scriptures account for the faithful ones of the past under the Covenant of Grace. But what now shall we say respecting those earthly Israelites, who lived not on that higher plane of faith, but of whom the Apostle says, ‘Our twelve tribes instantly serving God day and night hope to come’ into this promise. (Acts 26:7) Were they all deceived? Will they get those special blessings?

“God’s Gifts and Callings Sure – Rom. 11:29‑32: Nay, we answer, the gifts and callings of God are things not to be repented of. He knew the end from the beginning – knew exactly what Israel would be and do, and was not disappointed, and all of the plans and promises to that nation were made from the standpoint of this knowledge. Although the chief feature of the Sarah Covenant was secured by our Lord Jesus as a trophy of His victory over sin and death, and although He laid down His human nature completely to this end, nevertheless, the Divine arrangement is such that the blood of Christ, the merit of His sacrifice of earthly things, must accrue to the benefit of the natural seed of Abraham, because it all goes to seal the New Covenant, which belongs exclusively to fleshly Israel...

“Thus while natural Israel had been counted enemies for our sakes, for the Gospel’s sake, our only opportunity for gaining the great prize is in connection with the sealing of a New Covenant between God and Israel. How beautifully the features of the Divine program balance! Their loss was our gain, and our gain through sacrifice becomes their gain; and, altogether, the Lord will be glorified!...

“The New Covenant will be the Law Covenant over again, only that it will have a better Mediator – The Christ, Head and Body, who will be able to make allowances for the imperfections of Israel’s heredity. The sins of the past will all be forgiven’ their physical blemishes waiting for restitution. They will be dealt with according to what they are, allowances being made in each individual case, and each will be required to heed the voice of antitypical Moses. ‘And it shall come to pass that every soul which will not heed that Prophet, shall be utterly destroyed from amongst the people!’ (Acts 3:23)

“Since God’s favors are thus marked out for the heavenly and earthly Seeds of Abraham, it follows that the blessings of other nations will come about through their affiliation with these. In other words, we may understand that the Divine government established in Israel in the hands of the Ancient Worthies will be the center of Divine favor, and the people of other nationalities must come to this center for their supplies of truth and grace. Thus the Prophet represents the matter, saying, ‘Many nations shall go and say, Come and let us go up to the mountain (kingdom) of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for the law shall go forth from Mount Zion (the spiritual kingdom) and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem (the center of the earthly kingdom).’ (Micah 4:2)

“‘For this is my Covenant to them, when I shall take away their sins. As concerning the Gospel they are enemies for your sakes; but as touching the elect, they are beloved for the fathers’ sake.’ (Rom. 11:27, 28) There is no room to doubt that the Apostle here is referring to Israel’s covenant, the New Covenant, which Cod will make with them after this Gospel Day.” (Excerpts from Reprints 4319, 4320, 4321 and 4322, January 15, 1909)

“This expression, New Covenant, is not used in connection with any others of mankind than the Jews, because it is not true that God will make a New Covenant with the remainder of mankind. As the Apostle suggests, the word ‘New’ here implies a precious covenant which was counted Old, and this Old Covenant was not made with other nations or peoples than the Jews, of whom God declared that He ‘took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, which my covenant they brake.’ (Jer. 31:32) Hence, we should understand that all references to the New Covenant are references to God’s arrangement under Moses, under the conditions of which they are still condemned and bound. By this new, substitutionary covenant, God will shortly release the Jews from the condemnation of the Old Covenant.

“It will be in an incidental way that other nations will be granted the privilege of coming under the same laws and arrangements with natural Israel in the blotting out of sin and in being restored to the Divine image and thus to full harmony and fellowship and covenant relationship with God, which relationship all may maintain, if they will, throughout eternity. ....

“We are not necessarily to understand the blotting out of sin to signify the blotting out of the recognition of sin. We may rather assume that through all eternity this great insurrection or rebellion – the reign of sin and death for over 6,000 years upon this earth – will be a standing lesson to all of God’s creatures throughout His universe. True, it is said of Israel, ‘Your sins and iniquities will I remember no more,’ but this should be understood as signifying that their sins will be remembered no more against them in a condemnatory sense.” (Reprints 4659, August 1, 1910, excerpts from top, cols. 1 and 2)

“The Jewish Question: Some one may say, We do not see the Jews back in Jerusalem yet. Is Jerusalem still trodden down of the Gentiles? (Written in 1914 – JJH) In reply, we ask, What do you think our Lord meant when He said that Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled? Do you think that the walking over the stones and streets in Jerusalem was what the Lord meant by the treading down of Jerusalem? If so, you were very foolish in your thought. Jerusalem represents the Jewish polity, government, institution, people. The Jews had already been trodden down for centuries before our Lord’s remark – in fact, they were under the heel of the Romans at the time Jesus uttered those words; and they would continue to be under the dominion of those Gentile governments ‘until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled.’ (more about the Gentile Times later in this article – JJH)

“Gradually the Jewish people have been emerging from their down‑trodden condition – persecuted for eighteen censures. The time is here when the message has been and is still being delivered to them, as recorded in Isa. 40:1, 2: “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.’

“This prophecy was fulfilled, as pointed out in the Studies in the Scriptures, in the year 1878; and ever since that time, the star of Judaism has been rising; the Jews have become more prosperous ever since, as they themselves realize. Nowhere have they been so prosperous as in the United States, where they have received their greatest blessings.” ... (Reprints 5568, col. 1. Nov. 1, 1914)

One might say, even though they now have their own polity, government, etc., that they are still in much difficulty with the Gentile governments. And so they are, but it is not due to the fact that her “warfare” is not accomplished – as Israel is not now suffering because of her past sins. However, we are now in that great “Time of Trouble” in which the Gentile governments are being trodden down; and Israel is suffering the same as the rest of mankind during the process. But Jerusalem will never be completely trodden down by Gentile governments, although she will have one last trouble during Anarchy, in which she will call upon the Lord, and He will fight her battles like in the days of yore. The Lord will hear their cry, and deliver her – and praise be to God, that will be the last of the great “Time of Trouble.” The next will be the inauguration of the New Covenant, in which the Jews will be the chief nation; in fact, by the end of the Kingdom, all will be part of that Jewish polity and will receive the blessings of the New Covenant, first made with the natural Jews. (Jer. 31:31 – also see Psa. 107:17‑20)

Now we will quote some from Pastor Russell’s Question Book:

“Question (1909): Kindly give us some idea regarding the Jews returning to Palestine, and in what numbers are they returning, and is the land more produc­tive than it used to be?

“Answer: The Jews are not going back very rapidly, but they are making ready to go back, and the land is becoming more productive. The prospects are that the new Turkish government, which has a kind of control over Palestine, will be more favor­ able to the Jews than the former Turkish government was, and so we look for something in that line before long.

“You remember when we pointed out in the Dawns about the return of the Jews to Palestine, they themselves had not found it out. It is not coming as fast as we might have been inclined to expect. The Jews are to be re‑established in Palestine, not that all Jews that are in this country are going back, for many are better satisfied here. Those likely to go there are the ones called ‘orthodox’; and their hearts are turning toward Jerusalem. No doubt but that when the land shall be open to them, then Russia will thrust them out of their country, and they will go back in large numbers.” (Bottom of p. 354, and top of p. 355)

“‘Before I was Afflicted I went Astray’ (Psa. 119:67): During the ‘Seven Times,’ then, the Jews have had severe tribulations and discipline. All of God’s people, of every Age, have needed chastisements for their correction and development, some more and some less. God says to Spiritual Israel, ‘For what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? If ye be without chastisement, then are ye bastards (spurious) and not sons.’ (Heb. 12:8) And so it has been with the House of Servants, Natural Israel. Because they were God’s Covenant people, therefore He dealt with them; and He has really given them, during these 2,520 years, experiences which will prove favorable to such of them as will incline to do right. Those bitter experiences proved so favorable that when Jesus came, they as a people, were the holiest in the world; and at that time they had suffered only a small portion of these ‘Seven Times.’

“So we find that the preaching of the Gospel by our Lord and His Apostles found about five hundred of the Jews ready to believe and accept Jesus as Messiah. And soon afterwards, just after Pentecost, there were quite a number of thousands who believed. These, we are told, were Israelites indeed in whom there was no guile. It is very remarkable that there was so large a number in Israel ready to receive the Messiah. This would not have been the case had they not been passing through disciplinary experiences. These experiences were all such as would tend to keep them separate from the Gentiles, keep them from mixing with any of the peoples of the earth,

“If the Jews had prospered under the various governments – Babylon, Medo‑Persia, Greece and Rome – they might have intermingled with these other peoples and have ceased to be Jews altogether. And the same is true of their prosperity since their national overthrow under Titus, AD 70. In God’s providence the Jews have continued to have such tribulations throughout this Gospel Age as to have kept them separate from the rest of the world; and thus their minds have been kept in that condition of humility in which they will be best prepared for the Lord’s service when the time of their complete restoration to favor shall come.

“Our thought is that when the proper time arrives the Israelites will be more ready for the Kingdom than any other nation. The afflictions through which they have passed, their obedience to the Law, etc., will have prepared them for the Kingdom. We are not, therefore, to consider this long period of their suffering and affliction merely as tribulation, as punishment. For their ultimate good the Jews were to be trodden down of the Gentiles until the full Gentile dominion.” (pp. 356,357)

Israel’s Double – This article would not be complete without giving some explanation about Israel’s ‘double.’ Four times in the Old Testament there is emphasis placed upon Israel’s double. One of these is Isa. 40:2: “She hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” The double in this text is from the Hebrew ‘kephel,’ and means a thing folded in the middle, as when we fold a piece of paper exactly into two pieces, each half is exactly the same. This same double is given three other times in Isa. 61:7; Jer. 16:18 and Zech. 9:2. It is translated from the Hebrew Mishneh; and means “a second portion, a repetition.” The words kephel and mishneh are not synonymous, although they are almost identical in meaning.

Thus the question properly arises, What do these words mean in relation to Israel? They tell us Israel is to receive this ‘double’ “for all her sins.” Thus, the double of punishment must apply to the double of favor which came to Israel. In Amos 3:2 we are told, “You only have I known of all the families of the earth.” When Moses read the Law to Israel at Sinai he gave them something no nation before or since ever received directly from the Lord God. However, the Jews did not actually become a nation until the death of Jacob in 1812 BC, at which time they were banded together – the twelve tribes – as a unit; and God dealt with them as such. His blessing was with them so long as they tried to keep the Law Covenant, and they were punished when they failed to do so. But even those punishments were a blessing to them because they brought them to repentance and an earnest desire to have God’s favor once more.

During all those years God dealt with them much as a father deals with his children. It should be stressed here that during all that time they never persecuted any of their heathen neighbors because of their religion; their wars were never because of that. But they shamefully mistreated their own prophets. Why? Because those prophets gave them stern reproof for their transgressions – truths which they would not hear. And Jesus reminded them of this in Matt. 23:31; Luke 11:49, 50; 13:34. Then He told them God had finally sent them His own son – surely, they would hear Him! But what did they do? They crucified “the Lord of Glory.” Adding 1812 B.C to 33 AD (their final and most shameful act) was a favorable period of 1845 years; and the texts we have given say they would receive punishment of the same length of time; namely, 1845 years; and adding this 33 (the year of the crucifixion) would bring us to 1878 – when their ‘double’ of disfavor would cease,

And do we find this true? Most certainly, as we have pointed out, Disraeli gained for them concessions at the Berlin Congress of Nations which they had not previously enjoyed, although they had used their wealth, their keen intellects, even their armies, to secure such rights for 1845 years, but had been unable to so do. And since 1878 favor has been visibly returning to them; thus, they are now established as a nation once more in their beloved Canaan land, offering to our minds indisputable proof that “her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned.” (Isa. 40:2) And may our reader be strengthened and encouraged by this “Present Truth.” (2 Pet. 1:12)

Our Pastor has treated on the Jewish promises and prospects voluminously, and he was consistent in all he presented, as he gained his knowledge from God’s Word, and continued therein until his demise. It is little wonder that many Jews have fondly called him their Pastor, as no other man since the days of the Apostles has done more for the Jews than he. It is our purpose to renew and revive as many of our brethren as we can reach, by reproducing the teachings of this wonderful man of God.

“My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.” (Psa. 89:34) “O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in Him. “ (Psa. 34:8)

NO. 340: IN MEMORIAM OF THAT SERVANT

No. 340

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE PATH OF THE JUST

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

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

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

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

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

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

BELOVED OF GOD

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

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

“He will ever occupy in our hearts the large place that his holy character, unselfish service and faithful sufferings have won for him. That his memory may still continue fragrant and blest to us, let us together briefly review the activities, achievements and attainments of this eminent saint of God. He certainly was a SCHOLAR in the true sense of that term. Those who require a university diploma as indispensable evidence of learning will deny him the merit of scholarship. However, there are not a few cases of scholars that were self‑made, gaining their knowledge apart from the schools of the learned world. Among such our Pastor won a high place. Apart from English he was not a linguist, though he learned how to use well for his Biblical work the gains of the best scholarship in Greek and Hebrew. He was deeply versed in history, as his writings attest. So thoroughly did he understand business that able financiers eagerly sought his advice. His writings show that he was at home in the perplexing questions of industry, economics, sociology, capital and labor. The realms of philosophy were deeply explored by him, and he was an expert in theoretical and practical psychology and phrenology. Few have understood the workings of the human intellect and heart so well as he. Human anatomy and physiology were open books to him. His knowledge of these sciences, combined with that of medicine, made him a physician; and though he had no medical diploma, he attained better results in healing art than the average physician. However, his real eminence in learning was in the domain of theology, in which he was without a peer since the days of the Apostles. His knowledge of the Bible was phenomenal; and when other theologians will have been discarded, he will be recognized as a standing authority in this greatest of all sciences.

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

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

THE PAROUSIA MESSENGER

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

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

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

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

THE EPIPHANY MESSENGER

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

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

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

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

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

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QUESTION OF GENERAL INTEREST

QUESTION: – Will you please give us your analysis of the Scapegoat as found in (Lev. 16:8)?

ANSWER: – Scapegoat is a contraction of the word ‘escape goat.’ It is rather a street expression to the goat over which Aaron confessed the sins of the children of Israel, and sent it away into the wilderness. “The goat for the Lord” was kept in the Court of the Tabernacle, where it was sacrificed on the brazen altar in the Court. But the scape goat avoided such sacrifice; and it was easy to come to the conclusion that it had escaped. The word is a coined expression, found only in the sixteen Chapter of Leviticus. In a sense it is an interpolation, because there is no word in the Hebrew that justifies such a translation. The Hebrew word so translated in the Authorized Version is Azazel, which is amenable to several interpretations. As one writer explains Azazel: “A phrase of unusual difficulty; the subject is one of great doubt and difficulty. It has been generally considered that the goat was dismissed to signify the carrying away of the sins of the people, as it were, out of sight of Jehovah.”

The Atonement Day service was held annually on the tenth day of the month Tishri, the seventh month of the Jewish religious year, and corresponds to our month of October. Thus, it is a Fall festival – just as the Passover is a Spring festival. There is no disputing that the goat for Azazel was an important part of that Atonement Day service and highly typical. We shall not here discuss its typical explanation; but in the past the Jews generally regarded Azazel’s Goat as the embodiment of the “Evil one,” the mischief maker in the affairs of men and women, who taught both sexes about all their bad habits. To a limited extent, we agree with this, but we now quote something from Reprints 4034‑4037, August 1, 1907, with which we are in full agreement:

“We shall not go into all the details of this Day of Atonement, surmising that all of our readers possess the little pamphlet, “Tabernacle Shadows of the Better Sacrifices,” in which the matter is treated in considerable detail. In harmony with the arrangement of the lesson we are giving special prominence to the two goats.

“In the Hebrew, when the lot had been cast upon the goats, one was declared to be for Jehovah and the other for Azazel. The significance of the word Azazel is not very clear, but according to the majority of modern scholars it stood for the prince of darkness; and in Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’ Azazel is represented as the standard‑bearer of the infernal hosts – the prince of devils. We agree with this interpretation because it corresponds well with the expression of the Apostle, who – when referring to one class of the consecrated members of the Body of Christ who had not been living up to their privileges – declares “Absent in body but present with you in mind, I have delivered over such an one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." (1 Cor. 5:3‑5). Similarly we understand that the Great Company, those who have consecrated but failed to sacrifice voluntarily, will be delivered over to Satan for his buffetings, and pass through a great tribulation, with a view to effecting in them by this means a proper penitence for sin and a proper appreciation of the Divine standard of truth and righteousness. The majority of this neglected class the Scriptures seem to intimate will be found in the end of this Age – though doubtless there have been some of the same class throughout the Age.

“The scape‑goat does not represent a sin‑loving class, but a class of consecrated believers overcharged with the cares of this life and the deceitfulness of riches, and not sufficiently loyal to the Lord and their covenant to forsake all and walk in the footsteps of the Master in self‑sacrifice. This class, particularly large in the present day, will be delivered over to the adversary – to suffer in a time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation – the great time of trouble with which this Age will end. Such of them as fail to respond to those tribulation. and to seek the Lord will die in the Second Death, but such as respond faithfully and loyally will be counted as overcomers, and be granted the palms of victory shown in Revelation 7, and be privileged to a share at the marriage supper of the Lamb and the glories and honors of that occasion. It is only their failure to appreciate their present privileges in voluntary sacrificing that will deter them from gaining membership in the bride class, and their highest position of honor will be as the ‘virgins, her companions, who follow her (the bride).’ (Psa. 45:14).”

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LETTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear Brother Hoefle:

Thank you for your letter, as well as for your monthly papers, including some of the back ones.

You said you knew Rutherford personally, as well as some of the officers, including Frederick Franz. I am aware of the doctrinal and in practices, changes made after 1917. I have read Merariism (E‑6), and I think that is the only book in the world that gives the whole Truth about the changes made. Other books, such as Schnell’s Thirty Years Slave, etc., are published under a Protestant point of view, not under a Truth point of view.

But the purpose of this letter is to ask you, why? Why do they change the Truth to create a sect out of the Little Flock? Perhaps you have some information not published yet, because of your former close association with them.

On the other hand, how do we do about them? For example, there are some 42,000 publishers in Argentina, and growing. (All speak Spanish only) There are some 11,000,000 people in great Buenos Aires, and a very hard, despairing, economical situation. For example, the Dawn booklet, Grace of Jehovah is very opportune and timely. But they still teach that the High Calling is open. I feel the need of newly special literature for them. It must be appealing to them, specially on the destruction of all the human race (more than 4 billion people) in Armageddon. Some evangelical organizations, like the Missionary Crusader, and the ex‑JW’s, of Canada, are doing more in this direction than the Epiphany brethren. But the Missionary Crusader teaches that all JW’s along with nearly all mankind, will go to eternal torment in hell.

The following words may be appealing to them: “Yea, many of those who are now God’s children (the WTS remnant) will be confounded and amazed when they see how God so loved THE WORLD, and how much His thoughts and Plans were above their own. (A‑115)

But in this connection it will be, perhaps, a very special work to do. Perhaps in the future there will be more literature in Spanish or some new, appealing literature.

Of course, take all the time you need before answering me. Thank you for your kind answer to the present letter. I understand you have only little, or limited time.

Your brother because of Jehovah and Jesus.. (ARGENTINA)

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Dear Brother and Sister Hoefle: Grace and peace’

Many thanks for Sister’s letter of May 14 with the sad news of Brother’s bad fall, which has caused us all much concern. We appreciate the details you have given us, and we do pray for the Lord’s overruling Providence and providential care in these untoward experiences to be your happy portion. His will be done! Brother Hoefle will have to take extra care in the future.

We have just returned from a few days holiday in Kendal, staying with friends. Hence the enclosed contribution in appreciation of the good work being done by Brother in ministering to the brethren with such good, uplifting and instructive articles. The contribution is from the same brother who wishes to remain Brother X.

We called at Darlington to see Brother ------- on our way back from Kendal, and found him enjoying a glorious day sitting in the garden.......

We do look forward to your next – we hope favorable – report on Brother’s health and, in the meantime we are sending you our Christian love and prayers, to you and yours.

Yours by His Grace, ------- (ENGLAND)

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Dear Brother Hoefle: Shalom in Jesus’ Name’

Please, by all means, send me all of your literature, and put my name on your mailing list. ......

I am a Jewish believer in Jesus. I do not wish to be associated with denominations as such. I am married to a Gentile wife ‑ have four children, two boys and two girls. I have been a believer for 11 years. Please send me Brother Russell’s books (the six volumes of the Studies in the Scriptures).

Yours in Jesus, ------- (PENNSYLVAN IA)

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Dear Bible Students:

Please send me some free publications and literature about your religious society. I’m very much interested in your literature. Please send me some of it.

Thank you already now for sending literature. Very sincerely ------- (AUSTRIA)

NO. 339: TAKE, MY BRETHREN, THE PROPHETS - PART SIX

No. 339

Joel – Since almost nothing is known about Joel except the little he says about himself, we simply make inference from his own statements. In his first verse he tells us he is “the son of Pethuel”; but the Septuagint has it Bethuel. We are not even certain about the period in which he lived. His prophecy is concerned wholly with Judah; thus it may be assumed that his home was in that country. He speaks repeatedly of Zion, the children of Zion, Judah and Jerusalem; and he shows a close familiarity with the Temple and the ministrations of the priests.

The Book is one of the shortest in the Old Testament, containing only three chapters; but it may properly be said those three chapters contain some of the most potent and difficult parts of the Bible. He comes right to the point in v. 4: “That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten.” It seems the visitation of locusts was of unusual severity (of which more later in this paper), accompanied with a devastating drought. (v.20)

Desolation prevailed thruout the land; the corn, grapevines, and fruit trees were all destroyed together; man and beast were alike in despair. The means were gone not merely for providing the banquets of the wealthy or dissolute, but even for maintaining the daily services of the Temple, or for that matter the sustenance of life generally. While the Jews are the main targets of all this, it reaches out and touches also their heathen neighbors. Joel emphasizes “the Day of Jehovah” and the subsequent revival of Judah, and the gathering of all nations to “the valley of Jehoshaphat,” and contends with them there in judgment. Inasmuch as we are fully persuaded that we are now in “the Day of Jehovah,” we may conclude that the entire prophecy is definitely applicable to the time in which we are living. There is strong difference of opinion among scholars about the date of Joel, as well as the real meaning of his writing; but these differences we shall presently pass over, as we stress some of them later on. As was the case with Daniel, Joel apparently “wrote, but understood not.” And the Apostle Peter tells us, “Not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you... which things the angels desire to look into.” (1 Pet. 1:12)

The Locusts – While some writers think the pest of locusts mentioned by Joel is figurative in meaning, yet the actual experiences with that contagion are described by others; thus, we need not write off the actuality of the pests, as some comments by the following writers readily verify:

“Modern travelers speak often of the literally incalculable numbers in which locusts came. An observer to South Africa writes; ‘For the space of ten miles on each side of the sea‑cow river, and 80‑ 90 miles in breadth, an area of 16 ‑ 1800 square miles, the whole surface might literally be said to be covered with them; the water of the river was scarcely visible on account of the dead carcasses which floated on the surface, drowned in the attempt to come at the weeds which grew in it.’

“Again in Cyprus, the locusts lay swarming above a foot deep in several parts of the high road, and thousands were destroyed by the wheels of the carriage driving over them. A writer in Nature states that a flight of locusts that passed over the Red Sea in November 1889, was 2,000 square miles in extent; and on the assumption that the flight was 48 miles square, half a mile deep, and contained 144 locusts, each weighing 1/16 ounce, to a cubic foot, he calculated that it contained 14,420 billions of insects, and weighed 42,850 millions of tons. A second similar, perhaps even larger flight, was seen passing in the same direction the next day. In Cyprus in 1881, up to the end of October, 1,600,000,000 egg‑cases had that season been collected and destroyed, each case containing a considerable number of eggs. By the end of the season over 1300 tons of eggs had been collected; and yet not less than 5,076,000,000 egg‑cases were, it is believed, deposited in the island two years afterwards.

“The locust’s teeth are edged like a saw, and very powerful; hence, though infinitely smaller, they may for destructiveness be compared to those of a lion. Locusts first attack plants and vegetables; when these have all been consumed, they attack trees, consuming first the leaves, then the bark. The effects of such ravages are felt sometimes for many years – ‘the wine of Algiers, before the locusts in 1723 wasted the vineyards, was in flavor not inferior to the best Hermitage. Since that time the wine has much degenerated, and has not yet (1731) recovered its usual qualities.’ Joel 1:7 undoubtedly refers partly to the fragments of bark and wood which have been bitten off by the locusts; but being uneatable by them, have fallen to the ground and partly to the barked branches and trunks themselves, which the insects have ‘cast away.’ After they have passed, nothing remains but the large branches, and the roots, which, being underground, have escaped their voracity. The bushes were eaten quite bare, though the animals could not have been long on the spot. They sat by hundreds on a bush gnawing the rind and the woody fibers.

“‘The corn, the wine, the oil’ (Deut. 7:13) – apparently the three principal products of the soil of Palestine, are often mentioned together as a triad of blessings, bestowed by Jehovah upon His people; or, it withheld in the event of their unfaithfulness – at which time the locusts moved in with their devastating gluttony. The oil from the olive was almost a necessity of life in Palestine; used in cooking and for food, as we use butter. Olive oil was burnt in lamps; and used for anointing the person; it has medicinal virtues; was used in ancient times in sacrifice and was prized as a gift. It was a valuable commodity, subject to tithe. (Deut. 12:23)”

“Joel 1:9: ‘The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the Lord’ – the means of providing them having been destroyed by the locusts. The cessation of the daily sacrifices would be regarded as a national misfortune: even during the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans, they were maintained as long as possible; and when ultimately they had to be suspended, the people, we are told, ‘were terribly despondent.”’ (Josephus)

The Day Of The Lord – While the foregoing certainly leaves no doubt about the literal visitation of the locusts, yet the prophet speaks of a far greater calamity that will come upon the people – Joel 1:13,14: “Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests, as ministers of the altar... the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God ... Gather the elders into the house of the Lord, and cry unto the Lord... For the day of the Lord is at hand.” Clearly enough, “the day of the Lord” was not then immediately at hand. That statement refers to the day in which we are now living when “all faces shall gather blackness.”

Let us consider now the fate of Great Babylon (Christendom) as compared with the devastation of the locusts in Joel’s time: “A mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea (the anarchistic‑masses of men, the antitypical locusts), saying, thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.” (Rev. 18:21) As the vegetation was so completely consumed by the locusts, so shall Great Babylon be destroyed by the lawless elements here in the end of the Gospel Age. Joel 3:1‑3 elaborates some on this situation (although it is clearly evident that the prophet did not clearly grasp what he was saying): “In those days (the present day), when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah (as they are now gathered in Palestine), I will also gather all‑nations, and will bring them down to the valley of Jehosphaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations... they have cast lots for my people, and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine.” Certainly the prophet was here speaking of a future time – a time of far greater calamity to come, even the great “Day of Jehovah” itself; and he sounds the alarm which that prospect should create – a destruction from the Almighty. Joel 1:15 quotes verbatim from Isa 13:6: “The day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.” In the original Hebrew this is even more emphatic: “an overpowering from the over‑power shall come.”

Joel 2:1‑11 offers greater detail, and the people are invited most earnestly to repent – if perchance Jehovah may be induced to stay the threatened judgment; and the “day” as depicted is borrowed from the recent visitation of locusts. Note the striking similarity of this with Rev. 9:3‑11, of which we quote just a small part: “There shall come upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power... to hurt those men which have not the seal of God (the Truth) in their foreheads... And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle... teeth as the teeth of lions.”

Here we offer a quotation from another writer: “A column of locusts which appeared in India was so compact that, like an eclipse, it completely hid the sun, so that no shadow was cast by any object; and some lofty tombs, not more than 200 yards distant, were rendered quite invisible. Our attention has often been attracted by the sudden darkening of the sun in a summer sky, accompanied by the peculiar noise which a swarm of locusts always makes moving through the air... The day before the locusts arrived, we were certain that they were approaching from a yellow reflection produced by their yellow wings in the heavens. As soon as this was observed, no one doubted that a vast swarm of locusts was at hand. Of a flight of locusts in the Sinai peninsula, it is related that they soon increased in number; and as a people and a strong, there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after them, even to the years of many generations. A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness. Many settled on the ground, which was soon in many places quite yellow with them, and every blade of grass soon disappeared. Their flight may be likened to an immense snowstorm, extending from the ground to a height at which our visual organs perceive them only as minute, darting scintillations... a vast cloud of animated specks, glittering against the sun. On the horizon they often appear as a dust tornado, riding upon the wind like an ominous hail‑storm, eddying and whirling about and finally sweeping up to and past you, with a power that is irresistible – as blackness on the mountains.

“‘A fire devoureth before them’ (2:3: A hyperbolical description of the destructive march of a swam of locusts: The country which they have passed over is left as bare as if it had been wasted by fire; and Joel imagines poetically a fire as preceding and following them on their course. Many travelers have used the same comparison: one says, for instance, ‘Wherever they come, the ground seems burned, as it were with fire.’ Another: ‘They covered a square mile so completely, that it appeared, at a little distance, to have been burned and strewed over with brown ashes,’ And a third: ‘Wherever they settled, it looked as if fire had devoured and burned up everything. Palestine was invaded by locusts in 1865; from June 18 and 15 they poured into Nazareth. The trees an eyewitness wrote are as bare as in England in winter, but it looks as if the country had been burned by fire.’

“‘None hath escaped them.’ The prophet’s words are literally true. On whatever spot they fall, the whole vegetable produce disappears. Nothing escapes them, from the leaves on the forest to the herbs on the plain. In one instance they had – for a space of eighty to ninety miles in length – devoured every green herb, and every blade of grass. Not a shrub or blade of grass was visible. An Arabic poet writes of them: ‘They have the thigh of a camel, the legs of an ostrich, the wings of an eagle, the breast of a lion, a tail like a viper’s; and the appearance of a horse adorns them about the head and mouth. When I was in the midst of them, it was as loud as the dashing of waters occasioned by the mill‑wheel. While passing over our heads, their sound was as of a great cataract. In flying they made a rushing, rustling noise, as when a strong wind blows through trees.

“‘Like the noise of a flame of fire.’ This noise they make while feeding, like the crackling of a prairie fire or a strong wind, as the rushing of flames driven by the strong wind. They prepare for the attack like a mighty nation – arrayed in order for the fray. The people are distressed – like a woman in travail. The panic terror produced by an invasion of locusts can be readily imagined if we remember not only the immense loss of property, of which they are the cause, but also the terrible destitution, which follows in their train. In Algiers, after an invasion of locusts in 1866, 200,000 persons are said to have perished from famine. The destruction wrought frequently by the Rocky Mountain locust, over a large area of the United States, is almost incalculable. The onward movement of the locusts is compared to that of a well‑appointed army, nothing impedes their advance; there is no disorder to their ranks; they climb the highest walls, and penetrate into the strongest cities.

“It is practically impossible to arrest or divert the advance of a body of locusts. The guard of the Red Tower attempted to stop their irruption into Pennsylvania by firing at them; but when the balls and shot swept through the swarm, they gave way and divided; but having filled up their ranks in a moment, they proceeded on their journey. When locusts on the march approach a village, the inhabitants endeavor often to stop their advance by kindling fires, or digging trenches and filling them with water, but to little effect; but a flight of locusts is sometimes deferred from alighting by the noise of pots and pans, kettles, drums, etc. But no sooner have they gained an entrance than they make the city their own and take possession of the walls. They are likened to a roaring lion, a raging bear, and of chariots charging the suburbs of a city.”

The Day Of Jehovah – From the foregoing it is clear enough that there have been literal pests of locusts, although some superficial readers have concluded that the prophet was merely giving us a play on words when he says in 1:19: “O Lord, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field.” His statement here is not nearly so clear and decisive as that given us in Psa. 21:8,9: “Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies; thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee. Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in time of thine anger (in the Day of Jehovah now upon us); the Lord shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.” Even more to the point is Mal. 4:1: “Behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up ... that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.”

Joel elaborates upon this day of “fire,” and one writer has this to say about it: “The fate here predicated of the locusts must in reality be emblematical of the fate of the human invader – is identical of the scourge which he describes, but is far beyond any plague of locusts.” And with this we would agree. And this from another writer: “What then may be said of the prophecy of Joel? The prophecy springs out of the circumstances of the time (the degradation of the people – JJH). Its central thought is the idea of the Day of Jehovah, which is suggested to the prophet by the drought and the visitation of locusts from which at the time the land of Judah was suffering. Joel sees in the locusts more than a mere swarm of insects, however vast: they are Jehovah’s army. Note v. 2:11: “The Lord shall utter his voice before his army... the day of the Lord is great and very terrible.”

We have given much detail on the locusts, and the devastating effect they have had upon the areas in which they operated. We did this because the locusts described by Joel are typical of a more far‑reaching devastation in the antitype. We refer to the “Day of Jehovah” – the Time of Trouble which we are now experiencing. The antitype is always greater than its type; and this is emphatically true of the antitypical locusts. As Jesus foretold, we have had “wars and rumors of wars” (Matt. 24:6) thruout the Gospel Age, but World War I (in 1914) was the world’s greatest calamity up to that time. It affected all nations – even those not directly involved in it. That was the beginning of the real “Time of Trouble,” which trouble accelerated with the great depression of 1929‑32; then World War II (1939‑1945), with other major calamities since that time.

Our Lord warned us what to expect in this great day: “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” – for the last clause of which we are most grateful. Jesus said this trouble would be the one prophesied by Daniel 12:1: “At that time shall Michael stand up ... there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time.” Michael is another name for our Lord Jesus, who is now “standing up.”

But we are not pessimistic about this situation, because we know these things must occur to remove the existing evils now so prevalent – after which the Lord will establish that Kingdom for which He taught us to pray: “Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven” – which is the essence of all our prayers. Thus, we have a picture of this time in the locusts described by Joel; and we are certainly not out of order when we explain the meaning of his writings. The surgeon wounds to heal and this is a portrayal of what we are now witnessing.

THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM

As most of our readers know, the word gospel is from the Greek meaning “good news.” Thus, “Jesus went about preaching the gospel of the Kingdom” – the good news of the Kingdom. And most of the prophets offered limited comment on that great subject. Jesus had specifically told his disciples to pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth.” Thus we have some statements in Joel that promise relief from present troubles – “in due time.” Many learned scholars hold the opinion that the Kingdom – complete suppression of evil, and full triumph of righteousness will never be realized on this planet; but Jesus was certainly not tantalizing His followers when He told them to pray for that condition. His instruction clearly teaches that it will some day be realized; and it is our opinion that the full realization of the Kingdom is in the very near future. The present distress is the firm assurance of that fact. “When ye see these things begin to come to pass, lift up your heads and rejoice.” (Luke 21:28)

Of the afflictions now present Job offers some consolation: “Despise not the chastening of the Almighty: For he maketh sore, and bindeth up; he woundeth, and his hands make whole.” (5:17,18) And the Psalmist puts it this way: “The people stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end (“The earth – Society as presently organized shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage” – Isa. 24:20). “Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm. Then are they glad because they be quiet... Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.” (Psa. 107:27‑32) And Joel 2:25 tells us: “I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten.”

Joel 3:1, 2: – “In those days (when the Kingdom has been established) ... when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem. I will gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people, and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.” This prophecy is now being fulfilled in a limited way, but it will become very much more apparent when the Kingdom is fully set up.

Noah’s Ark – This picture presents one of the strongest types concerning this “present evil world” and the Kingdom just ahead. Here are the Berean Comments on Gen. 7:7: “Noah and his family, with the ark, represent the Church, lifted up above the whole earth during the time of trouble, preserved from the terror of the trouble, and afterward coming down from heaven to bless and replenish the earth.” All classes of mankind are represented in the Ark and its contents: The four elect classes of men are represented in Noah and his three sons and their wives – The Christ Company, the Ancient Worthies, the Great Company and the Youthful Worthies.

Noah undoubtedly types our Lord, who is the Heir of the righteousness which comes to us by faith (Heb. 11:7). These classes very well represent in the order stated: Noah and his wife, Shem and his wife, Japheth and his wife, Ham and his wife, the males apart from Noah representing all the leaders of their respective classes, and the females the rest of these classes. The animals in the Ark fittingly represent the non‑elect who will ultimately be saved. The clean animals represent the Jews as typically clean and the believing Gentiles who will be saved.

One of the outstanding features of the clean animals is their split hoof. Feet in the Bible represent character: “Make straight paths for your feet.” (Heb. 12:13) Therefore, the clean animals having the split hoof would typify those believers in Jesus who have a character acceptable to God and man; whereas, the unclean animals – such as the hog, dog, etc. – would represent the Heathen world and unbelievers in the Christian world. Thus the people and animals in the Ark would represent substantially all people who will eventually be blessed through the sacrifice of Christ and His faithful followers.

Summing Up: – The Ark and its contents were all that survived in the world that was. “The world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished” – was completely annihilated. (2 Pet. 3:6) Thus, Noah and his family began a new world – the world that now is. While “this present evil world” (Gal. 1:4) is slated for destruction, we have the sure record that it will not be destroyed by water: “Neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth” – the present social order – (Gen. 9:11). “The earth (the planet) abideth forever.” (Eccl. 1:4)

Joel 2:28‑31 – Much of the foregoing is corroborated by Joel, although in such veiled language that it will not be noticed by the casual reader. “It shall come to pass afterward (after ‘those days’ – the Gospel Age) that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh.” This would be better translated “for all flesh.” This is simply a promise of one of the blessings that will come to the human race when the “Kingdom” is set up. “Your sons (the ‘clean’) and your daughters (the ‘unclean’) shall prophecy (teach the Truth to others who have not yet learned it), your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.” The “old men” here are the “Ancients” – the Ancient Worthies, who will dream dreams – for another book of the Bible (Rev. 20:12) – much the same as Joel and others wrote as they “were moved by the Holy Spirit” in Old Testament times. “And your young men – your “Youthful” – shall see visions. The distinction here is much the same as the four Major and twelve Minor prophets of the Old Testament. “And also upon the servants (the Christ Company) and upon the handmaids in those days (the Gospel Age – the New Testament days) will I pour out my spirit. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth.”

In the days of the approaching Kingdom we shall see the fulfillment of Ezek. 36:34, 35: “The desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. And they shall say, This land that was desolate shall become like the Garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.” Thus far in our study of “the prophets” we observe emphatic justification for the statement in Acts 3:21: “The times of restitution (restoration, as was Eden) of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.”

Much in the foregoing part of this article has stressed a very gloomy picture; but it is no different than what the Prophet Isaiah says in Isa. 24:20 – although the “Gentleman of the Old Testament” offers a more refined explanation of the picture: “The earth (the present social order) shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall and not rise again.” Giving this a practical everyday explanation, we would state it about like this: If a man has an expensive piece of land upon which he wishes to construct a magnificent building, but that land had a decaying shack, the first thing he would do would be to remove that shack. And that is exactly what the Lord is now doing. This is abundantly corroborated by the Prophet Daniel (2:44): “In the days of these kings shall the God of Heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed ... it shall break in pieces and consume all those kingdoms (the ones now existing), and it shall stand forever.”

Some of the brilliant commentators of our day present a glowing picture of the coming Kingdom, but they then water it down with their own conclusions. We now present just one of them, including his doubts about the accomplishment of the Biblical statements: “The prophets, in their visions of the future, throw out great and ennobling ideals, but ideals which, in many cases, are not destined to be realized literally in fact. That is the case with Joel. The contrast between Israel and the nations is typical of the great contrast between good and evil, between truth and falsehood, which is ever being exemplified in the history of the world, which has already resulted often in partial triumph of right over wrong, and which, we may be sure, will in the end result in its complete triumph: but this triumph, we may be not less sure, can never be gained in the form in which Joel’s imagination pictured it.”

Of course, some of the above statement smacks of Higher Criticism, and thus makes the Word of God of no effect. Joel was not giving his own thoughts when he wrote what he did; he was writing by inspiration; and we may be sure he wrote correctly. He says further: “Joel draws a magnificent picture of Jehovah’s coming to judgment... The Day of Jehovah can never come precisely in the form in which Joel pictured it; nevertheless, it is a day which comes constantly to nations... and often in ways which they do not expect.”

To the above we would quote the words of Jesus, which He gave to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus – after His resurrection: “O Fools, slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have written.” Here Jesus was emphasizing that we should believe what the prophets have written; and He further emphasizes this in John 5:39: “You search the Scriptures (the Old Testament writings), because you think by them to obtain eternal life, and they are they which testify of me.”

“Be strong and of a good courage: be not afraid neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” (Josh. 1:9) “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant.” (Psa. 25:14)

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QUESTION OF GENERAL INTEREST

QUESTION: – Is it proper for Youthful Worthies to indulge in worldly pleasures?

ANSWER: – A similar question is in E‑4, pp. 458‑460, which please see. However, we will give some excerpts from that answer: “Those who consecrate while sin is in ascendancy in the world cannot carry out their consecration apart from renouncing selfishness and worldliness, because Satan sets against a consecrated course the allurements of sin, selfishness, worldliness and error; and one cannot proceed faithfully in consecration without denying himself of these, therefore of selfishness and worldliness.” (E‑4:458)

We would add to that, that in our self‑denial, it is from our natural rights – the things that a worldly man could enjoy without being sinful. We do not deny ourselves of sin: We should have renounced sin before our consecration – that is, when we were “repentant and believing.” Sin in any form will not help us serve Truth and righteousness.

“We properly satisfy our desire for food, drink, rest, etc., every day and these are human, selfish and worldly propensities. We may make use of any of these propensities, if we employ them to help us serve Truth and righteousness.” (E‑4:458)

“If it is merely a selfish and worldly purpose, apart from better qualifying us for the Lord’s service, the indulgence is to be abstained from. Let us remember the Apostle Paul tells us to use the world, but not to abuse it; and let us not take the monastic view of sacrifice. Jesus is our example in sacrifice; and He participated in the festivities of the Jewish wedding at Cana, where worldly pleasure ran to the very climax; and we are sure that Jesus’ course there was not one that chilled and squelched the pleasures of the participants.” (E‑4:459)

“The principle contained in this answer applies to all the consecrated alike – the Little Flock, the Great Company and the Youthful worthies,” (E‑4:459, Bottom and p. 460 top)

“And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the passover unto the Lord; according to the ordinance of the passover, and according to the manner thereof? so shall he do: ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land.” (Num. 9:14) We understand the ‘stranger’ to be the Youthful Worthies, and those born in the land to be the spirit‑Begotten.

Also, “And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him; as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death.” (Lev. 24:16)

However, in the case of the spirit‑begotten, they are on trial for life? while the unbegotten are on trial for faith and obedience. If the spirit‑begotten commit the sin unto death, there will be no other trial for him: it means the second Death for him. But it means the death of their standing in the Youthful Worthy class when the “stranger who commits the sin unto death.” It means they are remanded to the restitution class.

This is well described by the Epiphany Messenger in another question on pp. 461‑462 regarding the Youthful Worthies having to develop perfect love: “The Youthful Worthies must now develop disinterested love in some measure, though not necessarily unto perfection; for to carry out a consecration unto death, which is not a demand of justice, duty love, but is a matter of privilege, disinterested love, it is inevitable, if one is faithful, that he develop a measure of disinterested love, though not necessarily unto perfection, i.e., crystallization.

“In the case of the Little Flock and the Great Company, their trial being fog life? they must develop disinterested love unto crystallization, otherwise they could not get life. .... We would not even say that they (the Youthful Worthies – JJH) must develop perfect untested love, i.e., gain the mark, though some of them do it, which will bring them a higher reward in the Millennium than those of them who do not develop it,

“Apparently God does not now permit to come upon them such trials as would be necessary to develop disinterested love unto perfection, crystallization. But He does have come upon them such trials as will test their faith and devotion to righteousness sufficiently to quality them for Millennial princeship, as well as such as will measurably test their disinterested love.” (E‑4, p. 461 bottom and p. 462)

It could not be said better than the above quotations, although we add that all who are capable of developing disinterested love to the mark, though not to crystallization, should certainly do it. If we retain our standing as Youthful Worthies, we will have to develop disinterested love to crystallization in the Little Season if we get eternal life, which will mean our heavenly reward, as we will be spirit‑begotten in the Little Season. The Restitutionists will not have to develop disinterested love to that degree.

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LETTER OF GENERAL INTEREST

Dear loved Ones: Loving greetings in Jesus precious name!

Thank you both for your kindness to us while with you. Trust you are improving daily, John. It was good to see you both. Our trip down and back was tiring but very interesting and rewarding.

Our time spent with our son was good for him and their study of Volume One. We met a Korean minister and gave him Vol. 1 in Korean which he asked for. Trust it will prove fruitful. Oh for the Kingdom! How long, Oh Lord!

The Lord bless and keep you in His loving care. As always, ------- (MASSACHUSETTS)