NO. 419: SOME THOUGHTS FOR THE MEMORIAL

No. 419

Comes again the Memorial of Him who perished on the cross, the correct hour this year being after 6 p.m., March 28, the time being determined as follows: The Vernal Equinox arrives at the 30th Meridian (the one nearest Jerusalem) at 5:24 a.m., March 21; and the moon coming new nearest that date does so at 10:32 a.m., March 16, thus starting Nisan 1 at 6 p.m., March 15, Bible reckoning. Counting fourteen days from that, Nisan 14 begins at 6 p.m., March 28; and any time after that hour that evening would be appropriate for the service. We shall hold it at Mount Dora, Florida, at 7:30 p.m.; and all who wish to join with us then “in sincerity and in truth” will have cordial welcome and fellowship.

EAT THE FLESH – DRINK THE BLOOD

“Indeed, I assure you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves... My flesh is the true food, and my blood is the true drink... This is that bread which has descended from Heaven... he who eats this bread shall live to the Age.” (John 6:53-58, Dia.) These words are among the most commonly used throughout Christendom, particularly at the Lord’s Supper; and they are certainly intimately familiar to all our readers. Yet that very familiarity often causes us to overlook some of the vital details so necessary to a comprehensive understanding.

Jesus had said to the Jews, “Your fathers ate the Manna in the desert, and died. This is that bread descending from Heaven, so that any one may eat of it, and not die... The Jews therefore were contending with each other, saying, How can He give us His flesh to eat?” (vs. 49-52) “These things He said, teaching in a synagogue, in Capernaum. Many, therefore, of His disciples, hearing, said, Hard is this saying; who can hear it?” (vs. 59, 60) The full impact of this recitation can be fully realized only as we keep in mind that the diet of the religious Jew at that time was much more rigid than it is today; they then adhered scrupulously to the ritual given them thru Moses. This is forcefully revealed in Acts 10:9-16, wherein Peter was in a trance, saw the great sheet lowered to the earth from Heaven, wherein were all manner of beasts, and he was commanded to rise, kill and eat. His answer was quick and positive: “I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” And this same statement was true of the majority of Jesus’ listeners that day. Thus, their sensibilities were shockingly mutilated when “this man” said they must eat him if they would gain life. The very thought of it would nauseate and repel them. Little wonder that they complained, This is a hard saying!

Knowing as we do that Jesus would clarify this matter on the night in which He was betrayed by offering the loaf and the cup as representing His flesh and His blood, His comment offers no problem to us. But we suggest here that this particular portion of Scripture offers the strongest refutation against infant baptism. What salvation can possibly come from that ‘sacrament’ when the infant does not partake of the bread and the wine – nor does he do so representatively by those who present him for the ceremony. If there can be no life without those two things, then what saving feature could be conveyed in the sprinkling of the water on the infant?

“From this time many of His disciples withdrew, and walked no longer with Him.” (v. 66) Yet Jesus, “knowing that His disciples were murmuring,” made no effort to explain – made no effort at all to soothe their abhorrence at His suggested cannibalism. But this also is explained, “Jesus knew from the beginning who those were that did not believe” (v. 64); they were probably some of those who would believe only if one of the prophets should return from the dead. They were not of the leadable and teachable that Jesus was then seeking to be “heirs of the Kingdom,” so it was just as well that they should not clutter up His audience further by their presence. And as these walked away, Jesus said to those remaining, “Will ye also go away?” To which Peter was quick to respond, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the Living God.” (vs. 68, 69)

Peter was undoubtedly puzzled by what Jesus had told them, because he had been thoroughly schooled in the Law, and knew that blood was a forbidden thing: “Whatsoever man there be of the House of Israel... that eateth any manner of blood; I will set My face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood... Whatsoever man hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. For it is the life of all flesh... whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.” (Lev. 17:10-14) Actuated by this prohibition, we find the Jews to this day most meticulous to drain all the blood possible from the animals they kill for food.

All of our readers are intimately familiar with the fact that the “life is in the blood” – in the blood of Him who gave Himself for us. Our faith in the atoning features of that blood is the foundation for life now and in the life to come – as it will also be for all the human family. And this is emphasized by the pointed statement in Ex. 12: 13: “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” This is further corroborated in John 19:34: “One of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.” Therefore, the same Apostle was prompted to elaborate: “This is He Who came by water and blood – Jesus the Anointed One; not by the water only, but by the water and by the blood... There are three which testify; the Spirit, and the water, and the blood; and the three are of one... This is the testimony that God has given to us aionian life, and this life is in His Son [in His blood].” (1 John 5:6-11, Dia.)

“LOOKING UNTO JESUS”

Having this strong assurance, it is only logical and proper that we should “look unto Jesus” – “looking away to the Leader and Perfecter of the faith, Jesus, Who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, disregarding the shame... Consider Him attentively Who has endured such opposition from sinners, so that you may not be wearied, being discouraged in your souls. You did not yet resist to blood [as He did], contending against sin.” (Heb. 12:2-4, Dia.) Not only have those in “Present Truth” imbibed intimate knowledge of these facts, but we find many throughout Christendom who have been aroused to finer and better things, and to sublime expressions concerning them. We offer here a few lines from one poet:

I wonder what He charged for chairs at Nazareth!

And did men try to beat Him down,

Then boast about it round the town

I bought it cheap for half a crown

From that mad Carpenter?

And, did they promise and not pay,

Put it off another day?

Oh, did they break His heart that way,

My Lord, the Carpenter?

I wonder, did He have bad debts,

And did He know my fears and frets?

The Gospel writer here forgets

To tell about the Carpenter.

Ah, Christian Glory! Here below

Men cheat and lie to each other so –

It’s hard to be a Carpenter.

 “WITHOUT THE CAMP”

Says St. Paul in Heb. 13:10-13, Dia.: “We have an altar from which those who serve in the tabernacle [the Jewish priesthood] have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals... are burned outside the camp. Therefore, Jesus, also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood [the life is in the blood], suffered outside of the gate [the gate of Jerusalem, having been crucified on Golgotha Hill outside the City proper]. Let us, then, now go forth to Him outside of the Camp [St. Paul uses interchangeably the City and the Camp, the City having embraced the Temple – just as the Camp had embraced the Tabernacle in its midst], bearing reproach for Him.”

Let us note that the City (Jerusalem) here stands for the nominal people of God; and for Jesus to suffer at Jerusalem just without its gates represents the fact that He was cast off as a blasphemer and a rebel (“He stirreth up the people”), excommunicated and outlawed from among the nominal people of God, and thus died as an outcast from the nation. And all during this Gospel Age God’s faithful people have been “beheaded for the Witness, and for the Word of God” – with the nominal people of God being the instigators of their death. “He [the Papal “horn”] shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High.” (Dan. 7:25) “They will expel you from the synagogues [from their assemblies]; but an hour is coming, when every one who kills you will think to offer service to God.” (John 16:2, Dia.) And by enduring such afflictions, we also suffer “outside the gate” – go “forth to Him without the Camp, bearing His reproach” – the shame and disgrace that was heaped upon Him.

And as such, St. Paul declared we have here “no continuing City” (no religious Government) – “your brethren that hated you, that cast you out.” (Isa. 66:5) The main feature of our doing good, and in offering sacrifice that is well pleasing to the Lord, is our faithful witness to the Truth. “For this I have been born; and for this I have come into the world, that I may testify to the Truth.” (John 18:37, Dia.) And note here the Berean comment: “It was this good confession before Pontius Pilate [His witness to the Truth] that cost our Lord His life.” He was indeed “without the gate” – beyond the pale of His Jewish brethren –  “He was numbered with the transgressors.”

“AS HE WAS”

“We know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has imparted to us of His spirit... As He is we also are in this world.” (1 John 4:13, 17, Dia.) Having “His spirit,” we must self–evidently have agape love – disinterested good will toward all men, but especially toward the Household of Faith. “He went about doing good”; and those with “His spirit” during this Age have also gone about doing good as they had opportunity. This in turn has brought upon them the opposition of the organized religion of their time. The Papacy, with its tremendous power through the Roman Government, and with its tenacious determination to annihilate the ‘heretics,’ produced the most heinous crimes against God’s faithful people. And those very sects thus persecuted – once they were well established, and their original good leadership had passed on – joined in to persecute the new reformers, those who were treading the same path that their own leaders had trodden. All of which left a sorry tale – no tribute to Christianity. The Presbyterians persecuted the Baptist and Servetian reforming brethren. The Episcopalians and Presbyterians persecuted the Congregational and Quaker reforming brethren. The Episcopalians moderately persecuted the Methodists. All of these in milder form persecuted the Christians and Adventists. And “in the time of Harvest” the hated “Russellites” were persecuted by Catholics and Protestants of all sects. They were indeed the “spotted birds” during the Parousia period.

And these persecutions were fanned to white heat after the outbreak of World War I, as is so graphically typed by the three Hebrews in the fiery furnace. Then indeed did they “heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.” (Dan. 3:19) The memory of this is still vivid with some of our readers, as some of the brethren were badly manhandled – some even unto death; but with others experiencing almost miraculous delivery – “the fire had no power, nor was an hair of the head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.” (Dan. 3:27) And in that experience there had appeared a fourth one with them, whose “form is like the Son of God.” “In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them.” (Isa. 63:9) Jesus Himself had much the same experience on various occasions, as His enemies tried to lay hold on Him, but could not because “His time was not yet come.”

The above details are presented as a special “Memorial” lesson – lest we also fall in the same manner of unchristian performance. Almost always during this Age the minority has been right, and the majority wrong. Truth people know of their own knowledge how true this was during the Parousia part of the Harvest; and, when one is fully convinced he is right, it is all the more difficult to exercise proper Christian restraint. There is a special lesson, given right at the Memorial season, of the two thieves on Calvary with Jesus. (Luke 23:39-43) The one of them, in his agony of the cross, “railed on Him, saying, IF thou be Christ, save thyself and us.” But the other one, in the same predicament, took a most commendable attitude, “rebuked him, saying, Dost thou not fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds [what we are getting here we have coming to us]: but this man hath done nothing amiss.”

It has often occurred to us that this one thief must have heard and been close to Jesus many times before he was crucified with Him. As Jesus fed the multitudes, and received gratuities from some of His wealthy admirers, it would be only logical that the flotsam and jetsam of the human race would be drawn to Him as a magnet attracts other metals. If they would become hungry, this Man would produce something; it is well to be around Him, even if we don’t go along with His teachings. Thus, this thief could know that Jesus had violated no human or Divine laws, which he himself had done. But in all this dialogue between the two, Jesus did not join, did not take the occasion to assert how right was the one thief that He was innocent. Here we have an example of perfection of fortitude – of resigning to a most cruel situation, having already said, “Thy will, not mine, be done.”

Jesus was disposed to be winsome. “All bare Him witness, and wondered at the gracious words that proceeded out of His mouth.” (Luke 4:22) He wanted the good opinion of others, so that on one occasion He asked the disciples, “Who do men say that the Son of Man is? They replied, Some, John the Immerser; some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Said Jesus to them, But who do you say that I am?” (Matt. 16:13-15, Dia.) He was intent upon knowing what impression He was making upon His listeners. Nor is He to be criticized for that. We often hear people say, “I don’t care what others think about me.” This is indeed a very shallow and unsound summation. If all men looked upon us in disagreeable manner, we would soon be forced outside the limits of human society – to the life of a hermit. And, as such, our opportunities for useful service to the Lord, the Truth and the Brethren would be ended. Of course, Jesus studiously avoided such a situation. He calmed, pacified, conciliated and delighted wherever and whenever He could do so without compromise. Even in the discussion between the thieves He did not attempt at all to answer the one who “railed on Him,” because He realized that nothing would be gained by it. The lesson for the occasion was better taught by allowing the friendly thief to answer. Here He left us an example of perfection – no doubt beyond the reach of any fallen man under the same circumstances.

And in all of this His faithfulness is predominately apparent – perfect loyalty to truth and righteousness, to the persons and things to which He had pledged Himself. “I delight to do Thy will, O my God, Thy law is written in My heart.” (Psa. 40:8) Just the very opposite is apparent on every hand today. Officials in high position are influenced by the “beggarly elements” to compromise their views, their conduct, even often their honesty – all of which has contributed overly much to the turmoil we see on every hand. This is what we should expect, of course, as we come nearer to the complete “time of the end.” But in it all we have again the example of Jesus for our guidance: “Jesus held His peace.” (Matt. 26:63) Apparently He was the most calm of all present on that turbulent night, knowing their intent, and what they would actually do in the morning; yet He kept His poise in perfect manner – so much so that He could turn and look at Peter after the cock crew. (Luke 22:61) It is little wonder that Peter never forgot that look!

IN REMEMBRANCE

It should be emphasized that there was but one Passover. But, “Ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons forever.” (Ex. 12:24) Each subsequent observation over the centuries has been but a “Memorial” of that all-important one that awesome night in Egypt. And there is also but one antitype: “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” To this day all orthodox Jews are most meticulous in their observance of the remembrance, although it varies considerably from the original Passover itself. Wine plays an important part in the observance; whereas, there was none with the original. And this apparently was considered proper, because Jesus Himself seemingly followed the custom of the time to use four different cups of wine on the night in which He was betrayed. Note Luke 22:17, 18: “He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves... I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the Kingdom of God shall come.” Then, further, in Luke 22:20: “Likewise also the cup after supper.” It was with this cup – “after supper” – that He instituted our Memorial: “This do in remembrance of Me.”

“And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place.” (Ex. 13:3) The Jews were also commanded that when they would come into goodly Canaan land they should not forget that they were once “in bondage,” and not attempt to inflict such hardship upon their fellows. Canaan for Gospel–Age purposes types the sphere of the Truth and its spirit. And applying this antitypically, we, too, should “remember this day” – when we came from the “house of bondage” (when we were rescued from antitypical Egypt, the world in sin), and brought into goodly Canaan land, into the Truth and the spirit of the Truth. But there are the many who are still in antitypical Egypt, and toward such St. Paul offers the proper course for all of us: “In meekness correcting the opposers; perhaps God may give them a change of mind [even as He did with us] in order to a knowledge of the Truth.” (2 Tim. 2:25, Dia.)

With these comments comes the prayer that each reader may come to a clearer understanding of this service “in remembrance of Me,” that it will enable each one to “gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the Grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:13) And, “Be not anxious, then, about the morrow; for the morrow will claim anxiety for itself. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.” (Matt. 6:34, Dia.) And complement to this we would add a line by a radio commentator: There are two days in the week we should not worry about – yesterday, and tomorrow!

The Jews were ordered to take up the lamb on Nisan 10, which gave them five days in which to contemplate the solemnity of the occasion, and the enormity of God’s power (“Is there anything too hard for the Lord?”). Antitypical of this the antitypical Lamb of God (Christ our Passover) rode into Jerusalem five days before He was offered up, at which time the people shouted, “Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.” (John 12:13) And it would seem proper for us also to anticipate our Memorial at least five days before its arrival by reading the chapter on the Passover in Parousia Volume 6, with some of the Scriptures pertinent thereto. And to this end we wish all Israel everywhere the Lord’s rich blessing in their preparation for and participation in this year’s Memorial on the evening of March 28.

“Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that Great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to Whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Heb. 13:20, 21) (Brother Hoefle, Reprint No. 177, March 1970)

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THE NEW MIND VS. THE MIND OF THE FLESH

 “To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (Rom. 8:6)

There is a distinction between the new mind and the new will which we all must recognize. The new will is the determination of the new mind. There must be some mind there in order to have a will, in order to reach a determination, and there must be knowledge upon which a will can be intelligently exercised. We are “born in sin, and shapen in iniquity” (Psa. 51:5); we have this natural tendency to begin with. Our minds at first conformed to earthly things, generally take the earthly view of matters, the selfish view. Then the Lord, through His providences, brings certain propositions to our attention and sets before us that there is another way, “a more excellent way”; that God is now holding out a special prize to those who will live contrary to the flesh and according to His will.

When this proposition reaches the individual, our Lord says that he should “sit down and count the cost.” He should not rashly say “Yes, yes”; but he should deliberate as to what this means – the cost in self-denials and the giving up of earthly preferences. After having counted the cost, and after having made the consecration his will or determination should be so set as not to allow it either to favor the flesh or to be guided by the flesh. He should resolve that henceforth whatever is God’s will shall be his will, whether he understand all about that will or not. He must, however, see the outlines of the Divine will and something of the advantages accruing, before he can form the decision. This is the class which the Father accepts and begets of His Holy Spirit.

The new mind may sometimes be misled by false reasoning of the flesh. Our natural minds have their preferences, ambitions, aims and desires and they sometimes argue about certain things, and say, “God never intended that should be given up; God would not expect you to do anything so unreasonable as that!” And so, perhaps, the New Creature is deceived, and allows the flesh to have its way; but Just so surely as it is a New Mind it has not intelligently nor willfully assented to a wrong course; but, as the Apostle says, “Sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me.” (Rom. 7:11) So there is a continual battle on the part of the new will, the New Creature, after being begotten of the Holy Spirit, and he must watch lest the adversary try to make him think that which is wrong to be right, and that which is right to be wrong. These, then, are snares which the adversary places for the feet of the New Creature, and he uses the flesh in connection with its ensnarement; but the New Creature in his will, his intention, must remain loyal to the Lord and to righteousness. If he yield his will to unrighteousness or ignore God’s will, then he has ceased to be a New Creature; the new things are passed away, and all things become old again. This is a condition, we understand, from which he can never be recovered. (Heb. 6:4-6)

In this connection, the Apostle James, in speaking of saving a soul from death, is evidently referring to one who is going into that careless condition where the new mind has become, as it were, stupefied, where the old mind has gotten the ascendancy over it. If we see one of the Lord’s people getting into such a condition, we should seek to restore him, “considering ourselves, lest we also be tempted” (Gal. 6:1); and those who do recover such an one “save a soul from death.” (James 5:20) Thus, brotherly kindness and assistance are specially commended of the Lord. A special blessing comes to all those who have an earnest desire thus to save an erring brother; a great reward is suggested for those who are successful in such an attempt.

HOW MAY WE KNOW WHEN WE ARE IN DANGER?

It might be asked how one could know when he was traveling toward that point of danger, so that he might arrest his progress. To one not blinded by the adversary, the point of deflection from harmony with God’s will would be as easily detected as would the border line between two States. The only ground upon which we were granted our present standing was our renouncement of sin and our consecration to the Lord – the giving up of our wills, complete surrender to Him; and thus we came into the position of having the imputation of Christ’s merit. If we should go back again and our will for righteousness become dead, this, of course, would imply that another will is there. We must have a will of some kind. If our will is no longer a righteous will, then it has gone across the border line and, according to the great Apostle, such never retrace their steps. “Christ dieth no more.” (Rom 6:9) There can be no more imputation of Christ’s merit to such. They have had their blessing and if they, as the Apostle says, “return like a dog to his vomit,” the step must prove fatal. (2 Peter 2:21,22)

True, the new mind at first is weak, undeveloped; and so the Scriptures represent the New Creature as being merely “a babe in Christ,” a babe in knowledge and a babe in the development of grace. But the Scriptures tell us that just as we care for a babe specially handle it, specially feed it, specially deal with it, and do not treat it as we would treat an adult – so the Lord proposes that He will deal with all those who are babes in Christ. “He will not suffer them to be tempted above that they are able to bear, but with every temptation will provide a way of escape.” (1 Cor. 10:13) The temptations will be permitted only in proportion to their feeble strength. He will supply for them the milk of the Word, that they may grow thereby, and gives them the assurance that all things shall work together for good to them. (Rom. 8:28)

The trials at the beginning, therefore, are commensurate with the weakness of the New Creatures. It is true in some instances, however, that the New Creature seems to have a great deal of courage and strength at the beginning – perhaps more than is ever exhibited afterward. This, of course, is not a satisfactory condition of things. We ought to go from grace to grace, from knowledge to knowledge; after a time, we ought to be teachers, as the Apostle says, and not need to be taught again the first principles of the doctrines of Christ. God deals with us now as New Creatures under the direction of the Head. He supervises all the interests of each member of the Body. All things, if properly accepted, are overruled of the Lord for good to us individually.

This is one of the great lessons of faith that the Lord’s people need to learn, even after they have been in the way a good while. There are some Christian people who seem to have the impression, or at least give it to others, that they did this and that or saw so and so by their own wisdom. True, we all should use all the wisdom and strength we have; but the Christian who is relying upon himself is in a very dangerous position and quite likely the Lord will find it necessary to give him a lesson. For a while it is his duty to rule his life so as to walk in the right paths, yet he needs continually to exercise faith in God and in the Lord’s oversight and direction of his affairs, for “the steps of a righteous man are ordered of the Lord.” If, in the Father’s providence, some of the circumstances connected with our earthly affairs turn in this or that direction, our hearts should look to the Lord for the lesson to be drawn therefrom, and thus be able to glorify God thereby. The Christian should never view any experience as being lucky or unlucky, but should remember that all things connected with him, if he be living close to the Lord are ordered and directed by the Lord. (Psa. 37:23) (Pastor Russell, Reprint 4628, June 1, 1910)

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THE FIRE OF THE DAY OF THE LORD

The earth . . . and the works therein shall be burned up.” (2 Peter 3:10)

If this text were the only one bearing upon the subject of the fire of this Day of the Lord we would conclude that it should be considered as literal; but it is not the only Scripture. Many other Scriptures which refer to this same fire show clearly that it is a symbolic fire of destruction that is coming. We can see that fire is very properly a symbol of destruction and is so used throughout the Scriptures – the lake of fire, for instance, “which is the second death.” (Rev. 20:14) We find that many Scriptures refer to the coming Time of Trouble. Some refer to it as a whirlwind of trouble; others as a tempest and flood – a flood shall sweep away the hiding places; mountains shall be removed and carried into the midst of the sea, etc. – as though there would be great earthquakes and sinking of the earth and flooding of the whole world. Yet other Scriptures speak of it as a burning fire. Manifestly it cannot be all three of these in a literal sense. Then there are other Scriptures which show that these expressions are used in a symbolic sense; for instance (Zeph. 3:8, 9), “Wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey; for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.” This seems to be a literal pouring out of something and a consuming of the earth with literal fire. But that it is not literal fire is proven by the very next sentence, which declares, “Then will I turn unto the people a pure language [message] that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent.” Evidently the people would not remain if the earth is to be consumed with literal fire. But if, as the Scriptures show, the fire be symbolic, it is plain that people will still be here after the trouble. Then the Lord will, according to His promise, turn to them the pure message.

THE BABEL OF VOICES IN CHRISTENDOM

At the present time the message that the people receive is represented in many creeds, probably hundreds in all; hence the message is a very indistinct one and the Scriptures represent it as “Babel,” or confusion. One tongue or voice cries that the message of the Lord is free grace; another tongue or voice says it is election; a third says that only a few will get salvation; while another declares salvation will be universal; a fifth informs us that election is with water and that without the water no one will be saved. So a variety of voices is heard, and the poor world is not able to determine which is the truth. As a matter of fact they all have so much error that they condemn themselves in the minds of all reasonable people who have not been born in prejudice and steeped in error. When the Lord will turn this pure message to the people, Babylon will no longer be. She will have come to her end. The voice of the Lord will be known through the glorified Church, “And the Spirit and the bride shall say, ‘Come’! And whosoever will may come and drink of the water of life freely!” (Rev. 22:17) The Bride class are now on probation that it may be determined which will eventually be of that class. When the marriage of the Lamb shall have taken place, it will be the work of the “Spirit and the Bride to say ‘Come’... and whosoever will may take of the water of life freely.” This will be after the “burning” time is over; hence it proves that the fire refers to a Time of Trouble – a time of destruction against iniquity. The Lord’s anger will burn against all kinds of injustice and iniquity. Wrong doing, and wrong-doers will then be punished.

The Apostle’s statement respecting the Church implies that this judgment, or testing or fiery trial will begin with the church and extend to the world. If it “begin first with us” what will the end be to those who make no pretense of following the Gospel message? The Apostle again states that the “fire of that day shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.” (1 Cor. 3:13) This we understand to refer especially to the Church. Every one in the church is to be tried; his work is to be tried. However, in great measure it will be a trying time for all the world as well; all iniquity and injustice will be exposed, reprobated and destroyed. We see increasing instances of this of late – in the number of fire insurance presidents, for instance, who have been exposed. Fiery trails come upon them as the result of exposures etc. Some of these men undoubtedly hastened to the tomb, “burned” to death, we might say, by fiery trials. And a great deal of burning, heart-burning, and headaches and prostration are caused today by various exposures of one kind or another as the time advances. No doubt that Day will bring forth further developments and trouble until the prophecies respecting it shall have been completely fulfilled – until the picture of utter destruction of everything evil, both root and branch, is carried out. (Mal. 4:1) (Pastor Russell, Reprints 4627-462 8, June 1, 1910)

NO. 419A: WHAT KIND OF A MAN IS SADDAM HUSSEIN?

SPECIALNo.  419A

Dear Brethren: Grace and peace be multiplied!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Compare Arabs and Jews:

(1) Both descendants of Abraham.

(2) Both practise circumcision.

(3) Both originally had 12 patriarchs or heads of tribes.

(4) Both marry among themselves.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Your brother in His service,

Roy Ekroth

========================

A SAVIOR AND A GREAT ONE!

A ghastly sight shows in the shivering air

On Calvary’s brow:

The Savior of mankind, in love, hangs there;

While followers bow

The head low on the breast and sadly sigh,

“How can he be Messiah – if he die?”

A jeering mob surrounds the cursed knoll

And mocks the Lord;

Yet to his lips comes from his stricken soul

The precious word –

“Father forgive; they know not what they do

E’er o’er his face creeps dissolution’s hue.

“‘Tis finished,” rings in triumph through the sky;

He bows hishead.

And, while the querying soldiers mark the cry,

The Lord isdead.

All anguish past, his triumph doth begin,

The world is saved, a death blow dealt to sin.

A Sabbath’s journey from thecitygate,

With sorrowshod,

Two sad disciples bear their sorry weight

To theirabode.

The Christ appears, while holden are their eyes,

And doth expound wherefor Messiah dies.

Emmaus reached, the Lord would further go.

They gentlychide–

“Thou hast beguiled our weary tears, and so

With usabide.”

He brake their bread, – then vanished from their sight.

Their hearts did burn with holy joy that night.

The tale is old, but ever sweetly new,

Why Jesusdied.

The nail prints, doubting ones, he shows to you,

And in hisside

A spear thrust gapes – a passagerentapart,

For easy access to yourSavior’sheart.

It was for you, my brother, that he shed

His life sofree.

For you, for me, he bowed hisgodlikehead

On Calvary’s tree;

That trusting in the merit ofhisname,

We might be saved from sorrow, sin and shame.

The past sufficeth, surely, to have spent

In sinful deeds.

Come, join our band;  and be our footsteps bent

Where Jesus leads.

So in his righteousness serenely dressed

We’ll meet him face to face among the best.

H. Hardie

NO. 418B: RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT - PART TWO

No. 418B

THE JEWS

“Jerusalem – A Brooklyn-based rabbinical leader hailed as a miracle worker by thousands of Jews, says Iraqi President Saddam Hussein could be the forerunner of the Messiah and a sign that the day of judgment is approaching. In a weekly message to his organized followers worldwide, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 87, said Jews should not fear mounting conflict in the gulf that secular analysts have said could spill over to Israel. ‘There is nothing to fear or worry about in the events now taking place. They should not affect the spiritual or bodily peace of any Jew because these events are a preparation to bring Messiah very soon,’ the rabbi said. The Jews believe the coming of the Messiah will be accompanied by the resurrection of the dead and establishment of the Kingdom of God for the righteous of all nations.” (The Orlando Sentinel, August 20, 1990)

“Israel From Curse To Blessing: – Down the centuries the Jews were dispersed, abused, persecuted, disowned, expelled, robbed and murdered in pogroms, crusades and the Holocaust. The cup of curses prophesied in Lev. 26 and Deut. 28 has been drunk to the full. However, the Jews now have a land – their land given to Abraham. They have a language – their own as spoken by the prophets of old, and they have their capital Jerusalem plus a new blessing – waves of new Jewish immigrants from Russia! May Almighty God in His infinite mercy now witness a new Israel – one which can be healed in accordance with His promise.

“Let me state simply that united Jerusalem is, has always been and will forever be the capital of Israel and the Jewish people. Jerusalem is not a subject for ne­gotiation. We will not be party to any action that brings into question the status of Yerushalayim as Israel’s capital and the heart and soul of the entire Jewish people. Yerushalayim was united, and will never be divided again.” By Prime Minis­ter, Yitzhak Shamir. (Second Quarter 1990, Christian Action for Israel, P.O Box 5242, Cape Town, Africa)

Israel has always been God’s Chosen people (Deut. 14:2; Psa. 135:4) even though they have been scattered among all nations and been abused, murdered, etc. However, her past sins have been pardoned (Isa. 40:2), and we should comfort His chosen people. Pastor Charles Taze Russell was a friend of the Jews and gave them the “comfort of the Scriptures.” He predicted that the Jews would be back in Jerusalem after 1914 and become a state, which they have.

God has promised to cleanse Israel after her return. This hasn’t been done yet. But God is faithful that promised (Heb. 10:23). Israel is suffering with the rest of the world during this Time of Trouble (Dan. 12:1; Matt. 24:7, 21) – although not for her past sins. But Israel will rise and never fall again, but the Gentile nations will be removed and never rise again. (Isa. 24:20; 25:7) “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.” (Isa. 25:8 – also see Rev. 21:4 and Rev. 22:3) Jerusalem will not only be the capital of Israel but will be the capital of the whole world in Messiah’s Kingdom.

“Israel – A New Government: – Mr. Yitzhak Shamir has formed a new (Likud) government with a slim majority. Arabs are labeling it as a ‘war cabinet.’ Tough action is promised to end the 3-year–old intifada. The USA sternly opposes excessive violence as well as any expansion of West Bank settlements. Israel appears set for a rough ride. She needs US political and financial support. She does not need renewed ‘Peace Now! demonstrations and calls for a PLO state on West Bank. The pressure will mount. Many voices in the Christian Church will no doubt be raised in strident condemnation of Israel.” (Second Quarter 1990, Christian Action for Israel, P. O. Box 5242, Cape Town, Africa)

“Anti–Semitism On The Rise: – At its weekly session Sunday, the Israeli government heard a report submitted by the inter-Ministerial follow-up Committee on Anti Semitism. The report speaks of a rising tide of anti–Semitic acts and publications all over the world.

“The official report also states that the desecration of Jewish gravesites – a fashionable modern expression of practical anti-Semitism – has reached epidemic proportions ... The Cargantras horror stunned public opinion and touched off a wave of strong protest in Europe and elsewhere. President Francois Mitterand participated in almost spontaneous demonstration of over 200,000 people in Paris ... But the loud and vigorous condemnation did not have an effect on the anti-Semite criminals. Vandalizing the Jewish cemeteries was reported in Britain (where this type of ‘fun’ seems to be more popular than anywhere else), in France, both Germanys, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden as well as in Canada, some Latin American countries, the Soviet Union, Hungary and Poland ... Many incidents of physical anti-Semitic acts were also reported in Latin America as well as some in the U.S., South Africa and New Zealand.

“The ‘ideological’ grounds for the anti-Semitic approach in the Soviet Union has been well known for many generations in Czarist as well as in post-revolution Russia. The extreme nationalist factors put the blame for Russia’s ‘deterioration to Communism’ on the ‘Cosmopolitan’ Jews.

“Concluding the debate that followed the report at the government session, Prime Minister Yitzchak Shamir said that even though there is no chance to entirely root out anti-Semitism, that it is as old as the Jewish People, a constant fight against it is essential so that it remains in the framework of the shameful and illegitimate, and be deplored in every enlightened society.

“‘But our foremost, best and only answer to any form of anti-Semitism everywhere,’ said Prime Minister Yitzchak Shamir, ‘is the one word: Aliyah.”’ (The Jewish Press, September 28, 1990)

The Lord will bless all who are fighting anti-Semitism, even though all man can do will not stop it. Only the Lord can do that. He will! The Messianic Kingdom will be Israelitish, and all will have to become proselyte Jews to get the blessings. And those who do will gain eternal life. It will be humiliating for Jew-haters.

“To Admit Wrong & To Be Right: – The ability to admit error and to alter one’s course in kind is a prerequisite for the legitimate soul searching that is expected of us at the dawn of the New Year. If ideas or actions are existentially beyond reproach then self-introspection would be an exercise in futility and the meaning of Rosh Hashana would be lost...

“The world’s attention has most recently been drawn once again to the Middle-East where yet another mustachioed madman is holding the world hostage through threats of war, chaos and bloodshed. While the reaction of the free world this time seems altruistically noble and so far, correct, there still seems to be something missing.

“Some admission of error, and some regret. When in 1981 Israeli pilots sent Saddam Hussein’s Osirak nuclear rector into early retirement, Israel was roundly condemned by all. It is not difficult to imagine just how serious the situation would be today if the world was facing a Saddam Hussein with nuclear capability. Israel is to be thanked that this is not the case. The condemners should say ‘we are wrong.’

“In its war with Iran, Iraq received arms and technology from Western Europe and more than tacit support from the U.S. Saddam’s aggression against Iran, his mass murder of the Kurds, and his sponsorship of terrorism were ignored. No admission of responsibility or sense of regret has been heard.

“If there is no admission of error and there is no regret, there is no determination not to repeat these mistakes in the future. Several policies employed by the U.S. in the Gulf Crisis seem to prove this point.

“The PLO perceived as a legitimate interlocutor has squarely aligned itself with Iraq against the U.S. Some of their chief henchman such as Abul Abbas, George Habash and Abu Nidal now reside and operate from Baghdad. There has not been a policy reversal on the part of the administration.

“Syria, under Hafez el Assad, whose fetes in savagery do not pale to those of the ‘Butcher of Baghdad’ has become an ally of the U.S. His despotism, crimes against humanity and mortal hatred for Israel are being ignored, or wished away, but accepted, recognized, and lived with. That is the message the U.S. should be sending to its friends.

“To be right though is at times more challenging than the admission of wrong. That is the message of Avraham Avinu-Haivri, from the other side – and is why we read about his life in the Torah portion of Rosh Hashanah. As in Abraham’s life, the courage to say no when the world wants to hear yes has been Israel’s crucible and it has in most cases passed valiantly.

‘Let us hope that the New Year shall bring with it added resolve and courage of conviction to stand apart and do what is right.” (Yechiel M. Leiter, Executive Director – Hebron Today, issue 10, Fall 5751)

Jeane Kirkpatrick And Ruth Moore Speak Up! United Nations (WUP) – Former Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick and Author Ruth Roberts Moore of Kansas City have come out with sharp criticism of the recent Security Council condemnations of Israel and of America’s role in it.

“This is the way it works for Israel and the United Nations: Sentence first, investigate later,” Dr. Kirkpatrick declared in her recent syndicated column.

“We here in Kansas City, have been disturbed about the action of our Government in condemnation of Israel,” stated Ruth Roberts Moore, a leading publicist active in a Christian pro-Jewish group. “I felt so strongly about it that I wrote my views down and our Church membership concurred with me to draw up a petition entitled ‘The UN Does Not Speak for Us!’ It opens thus:

“We, the undersigned, are citizens of the United States. We support a Democratic government and believe in the basic laws of this land. Yet, today, October 13, we hung our heads in shame at the acts of our leaders. How can we support a condemnation of the nation of Israel in the United Nations? Is it possible that we have become arrogant to the point of taking the attitude of ‘King of the World?’

“The first nation to greet the new State of Israel, back in 1948, was the United States. President Harry S. Truman congratulated the new nation and promised support. From that time to this, Israel has been a faithful ally of the United States, sharing many technological discoveries, medically and otherwise. It is the only true democracy in the Middle East...”

Dr. Kirkpatrick, voicing the view which this writer believes is held by the majority of the American people, explains her criticism thus:

“First the Security Council votes to condemn Israel for ‘excessive violence’ of security forces at the Temple Mount. Next it votes to ‘deplore the refusal of the Israeli Government’ to cooperate in a UN investigation of the ‘excessive violence.’ Neither resolution takes note of the stones literally showered on Jewish women worshiping at the Temple Mount, nor of the subsequent murder of Jews in Jerusalem.

“The U.S. joined in both resolutions, making them unanimous... Sources said Bush feels heavy pressure to take a firm stand against Israel to preserve the alliance he has organized against Iraq... In fact, there is not even a superficial resemblance between Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and the Israeli army’s firing into rioters at the Al Aksa mosque. The one is a case of invasion and occupation of a whole country, a systematic deprivation of rights of a whole people, of torture and murder of many thousands. The other involves a single instance of excessive use of violence...”

In referring to the constant pressure which the Arabs and their many supporters are exerting on the U.S. and the Security Council members, Dr. Kirkpatrick notes, to the shame of the Administration and these members, that “it has not mattered much that Arab nations have been implacably hostile to Israel, have doggedly refused to make peace with Israel, and have ostracized Arab governments which broke ranks,” adding that “if Arab states back an attack on Israel, most other member states of the UN do so also.

“No clearer example of this double standard can be found than in the UN treatment of violence in Lebanon. More than 750 Christian soldiers were killed in Lebanon by Syrian and local Moslem forces in Syria’s latest push to consolidate power... The failure of the Security Council even to call for Syria’s withdrawal from Lebanon mocks that body’s stated concern with national self-determination and with aggression. Its silence concerning the many Lebanese victims of Syria’s expansion mocks its concern for excessive violence in Israel.”

We salute Jeane Kirkpatrick for this her forthright statement, and we hail Ruth Roberts Moore for having gotten the Kansas City Gospel Tabernacle Membership to issue the special petition which adds further:

“We are fellow Christians and Jews. We believe righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people. How dare the leaders of America join with the cutthroats, murderers and terrorists of the world, only for selfish gain! What kind of a leadership would back such an act, and in the world community of the United Nations?”

Jeane Kirkpatrick knows the United Nations. Ms. Ruth Roberts Moore knows the feelings of Middle America. Why does our Government refuse to learn from them both? (By David Horowitz – Behind the Scenes, 22 November 1990)

“The PLO Response To ‘Exodus Ii: Open fire on the new Jewish immigrants – be they from Soviet Union, Ethiopia or anywhere... I want you to shoot on the ground or in the air, at every immigrant who thinks our land is a playground, and who thinks that immigration to it is a vacation or a picnic... It makes no difference whether they live in Jaffa or Jericho. ‘I give you explicit instructions to open fire. Do everything to stop the flow of immigration. I will jail whoever refuses to do this. My words are not just a threat, they are a reality.”’ A statement made by Yasir Arafat, quoted in ‘Al Muharrar’ 10th April, 1990. (The Vinyard, July 1990)

“Zionist Affairs: Throughout the Middle East crisis Israel is showing restraint and dedication to principles of decency and humanity. It is part of our heritage. We glory not in war. We glory in helping the oppressed all over the world... Surely the terrible happenings will be explained in the weeks to come. Meanwhile we are being asked to write President Bush, our senators and representatives to advise them of the following FACTS:

“1. Aid to Israel is a cost Effective Expenditure for U.S. Security. 2. Current aid to Israel is less than 2% of U.S. expenditures for NATO’s defense. In addition, Israel has never asked the U.S. to deploy its troops in Israel. 3. Most aid to Israel in the U.S. generates 60,000 American jobs for every billion dollars of assistance. 4. A strong U.S./Israel relationship is vital to U.S. foreign policy objectives in the Middle East and U.S. strategic, diplomatic and moral interests, as Israel is the only politically stable, democratic U.S. ally in that region. 5. U. S. assistance to Israel is essential to ensure Israel’s continued survival against Arab states which remain committed to its [Israel’s] destruction.”

“JULY 7, 1990 – Heard on CSPAN discussion by Middle East experts: Natan Scharansky, well known Soviet Jewish refusenik who spent 12 years in prison and is now in Israel, that he expects not one million but two million Soviet Jews to leave for Israel! This commentator said that it will be a ‘bonanza’ for Israel. He added that it is so very important to the Israel Government that these Soviet Jews be allowed to come, despite desperate efforts by Arab Countries and the PLO to put a stop to it, that the Shamir Government will be agreeable to many U.S. demands, such as that no new immigrants be settled in the West Bank or Gaza.

“He also said that the break-up of Communism in Europe is proving a real benefit to Israel. Russia is no longer bankrolling the PLO, nor other Eastern European countries which heavily supported the PLO.” (By Elva Lanowick)

========================

We express our thanks to the brethren and friends for the many beautiful Christmas cards received. We are grateful for the love and prayers expressed. We were unable to send as many cards as we would like to have due to the general work and other hindrances. Nevertheless, our warm Christian love and prayers are with you. We wish all our readers a prosperous and blessed 1991.

“The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry.” (Psa. 34:15) “For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.” (Psa. 91:11)

THE PROPER DATE for the Memorial for 1991 is March 28 after six p.m.

NO. 418A: RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT - PART ONE

No. 418A

At the beginning of the New Year, we again express our gratitude and thanks to God for all His benefits to us, and for His overruling providence in the year just past. “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and sing praises unto thy name, O most High: To show forth thy loving kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night.” (Psa. 92:1, 2)

Many of our patriotic and loyal young men are stationed in the Middle East waiting for “they know-not-what.” They not only are undergoing rigorous training together with the hardship of desert life, but also the loneliness of being away from family and friends. It is our hope and prayer that they won’t be forced into a bloody war.

Thursday, November 28, 1990, the UN Security Council, led by the United States, issued an ultimatum authorizing the use of force against Iraq if it fails to withdraw from Kuwait by Jan. 15. Some say we are not giving Iraq enough time; that eventually Iraq will have to give up because of the embargo and the shortage of food. Iraq has declared that it will defy the resolution, as it has in previous 11. It will mean war if Iraq doesn’t withdraw, or if the resolution isn’t withdrawn. There has been later talk about trying for a negotiation.

In addition to the Middle East crisis, here at home murder, rape, armed robbery and theft are escalating. This is happening in big cities but has reached small towns as well. People are advised to lock their doors and for women and children not to walk the streets alone at night. Teenagers are responsible for many crimes.

“Eight Boston Youths Charged In ‘Wilding’ Slaying: Boston – Eight teenagers have been charged with raping and killing a young mother in a ‘wilding’ attack that police said rivals New York Central Park jogger case in savagery.

“The eight were arraigned Monday in the slaying of Kimberly Rae Habour, 26, who was beaten with a branch and broken bottle, repeatedly raped, stabbed and kicked. Her body was found in a field near the housing project where she lived. Police said the Boston youths went out as a group on Halloween night looking for women to rob. They bragged about the crime the next day, news reports say.

“Carlos Garcia and Forey James, both 18, and Che Barnes, 17, all of Boston’s Dorchester section, were jailed without bond on charges of aggravated rape, murder and armed robbery. Five juveniles ages 14 and 16 were arraigned in the attack. Their names were withheld.

“‘I haven’t seen anything this bad in 15 years,’ said court probation officer Billy Stewart. ‘You’re not talking about major-league wilding here. You’re talking animal, pure vicious.”’

(The Associated Press – The Orlando Sentinel, November 21, 1990)

“Another Teen Shot To Death In New York: New York – A 13-year-old boy was slain Thursday, the second child to die in gunfire since Sunday. Nine children have been shot in New York City this week.” (Associated Press – The Orlando Sentinel, September 28, 1990)

“In New York Fashion Circles, Safety Is In: New York – Bulletproof back-to-school clothes are the latest thing for New York City children who run a dangerous gauntlet to and from class. School blazers and other jackets fitted with bullet-resistant Kevlar 125 pads are providing a feeling of security to parents who are undaunted by price tags ranging from $250 to $600.

“They are offered by former New York police officer Stephen D’Andrilli, whose security company, Guardian Group International Corp., is fielding inquiries in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. Demand comes after a rash of summertime child deaths in New York, often by random gunfire. Four children were slain in an eight-day period in August. New York is on its way to a record number of homicides for the third straight year. There were 1,905 homicides citywide in 1989.” (Associated Press – The Orlando Sentinel, September 11, 1990)

In addition to crime, incurable diseases are causing many deaths – such as cancer, ALZHEIMER, AIDS, etc. Medical science has been diligently researching for these cures, and are still faithfully doing so.

“Latest On Aids Crisis – ‘The Worst Is Yet To Come’: Atlanta – The AIDS crisis is getting worse and not better, with an estimated 8 million people worldwide now infected, international AIDS experts and America’s top health officials said Thursday. ‘This is still a very new pandemic,’ said Dr. Jonathan Mann, director of the International AIDS center at Harvard, speaking to a worldwide AIDS symposium in Atlanta. ‘The worst is yet to come.’... ‘There is clearly going to be a wave that makes the experience of the 80’s look relatively small – at least a 10-fold increase.’

“‘The United States, where 4,000 AIDS cases were reported between 1981 and 1984, reported that same number in just the past four weeks,’ said James Curran, medical director of the HIV-AIDS division at the Centers for Disease Control. ‘Those at greatest risk have to learn to change their behavior or die. It’s that simple,’ Curran said.

“A total of 146,746 AIDS cases have been reported in the United States since the disease was first detected in 1981 and 89,761 patients have died. The U.S. Public Health projects between 390,000 and 480,000 AIDS cases in this country by the end of 1993, with between 285,000 and 340,000 deaths.” (Associated Press – The Orlando Sentinel, September 28, 1990)

“Haifa Researcher Claims Discovery Could Lead To Cure For All Cancers: A Haifa scientist claims to have made a major breakthrough in the development of a cure for human cancer. Rigorous tests carried out on live animals and on human cancer cell cultures have proved overwhelmingly successful, he says.

“The substance used in the experiments is of human origin and marks a totally new approach to cancer treatment, according to its discoverer, Dr. Eitan Barnes, 41, a gynecologist and reproductive endocrinolgist...

“In reporting on his find in an exclusive interview with The Jerusalem Post, Barnea was reluctant to give details. The entire project has been wrapped in secrecy. ‘It appears that we have discovered a form of human-origin material which can combat and eradicate cancer,’ said Barnea. ‘The compound we have isolated, and further developed, has been tested on animals injected with human cancer cells and has been found to prevent the development of cancer in all cases ...’

“‘So far, we can safely say that this has opened up whole new fields and avenues regarding cancer treatment. Nevertheless, a great deal of work remains to be carried out, including tests on human patients, in order to make the cure for cancer a reality for people,’ he said. He added that this extra work would involve tests on human patients. Barnea disclosed that the discovery of the compound had evolved from studies and observations on the process of human reproduction and research into ‘the basic mechanisms of life.”’ (By David Rudge – The Jerusalem Post, November 17, 1990)

“Climate Is Key To Life On Mars: Tallahassee – Scientists searching for life on Mars agreed Saturday at an international seminar that they must focus on learning more about the planet’s environment.

“‘If we’re going to find life on Mars, it’s not going to be just sitting around in the dust someplace,’ said John D. Rummel, who directs life biology at NASA in Washington. ‘We’re going to have to find places on Mars that are more likely to contain life forms than you would find at random.’

“E. Imre Friedmann, a Florida State scientist who organized the meeting, said it is likely that life once existed on Mars. ‘To me,’ said Friedmann, ‘the exciting problem is the following: If life arose on Mars, did it progress along the same lines as on Earth? Or, in other words, is there only one way for life, only one way to heaven, or several roads to heaven?” (Orlando Sentinel, October 28, 1990)

IN FINANCE

As we progress further and further into the Time of Trouble we find the economy in this country and the world deteriorating more and more. In the US the national debt has increased to the point where many economists say that the debt will never be paid. In the recent session of Congress our legislators argued back and forth about taxes, spending, waste, fraud, etc., with no solution to the problem – only a compromise to conclude the discussion with no satisfactory answer to the problem.

In addition to the long standing problem of the unbalanced budget, there is the tremendous problem of the failed and failing Savings & Loan Associations. Where is the money coming from that was guaranteed to be safe by the US government? To further burden the economy we now have the expense of the Gulf Crisis as well as the deterioration of the domestic conditions – monetarily, socially and otherwise.

One of the few consistently accurate US economic forecasters now reveals that at the beginning of 1990 that 41 states out of 50, and 80% of US households within these states, are now into a mild recession. By many yardsticks today’s speculative excesses are at unprecedented high levels. As a result, an economic “deep clean” could occur at any time in the 90’s. While supposedly still in an economic expansion, 80% of US households are already feeling pinched. How then will things turn out when a full fledged recession unfolds and unleashes its destructive force against a debt riddled US economy? The entire world unquestionable sits on a debt time bomb as dangerous as a series of multiple megaton nuclear devices. In this instance reference is being made to our global debt acculturation megalomania [GDA]. At present the world’s GDA stands at a mind boggling 17 trillion US dollars.

It can therefore be conservatively summarized as we enter 1991 the financial underpinnings of the US are in such a fragile state that the following should be considered: (1) The nations entire financial structure is wobbly. Consider the S. & L. crisis which originally estimated to cost the US taxpayers no more than 50 billion US dollars, the latest prudent long term estimates have now reached 500 billion dollars; 200 billion dollars more than the Resolution Trust authorities now admit. Almost incredibly, that sum is ten times more than foreseen only a short twelve months ago. How much of such fantasy accounting can the US economy and the American taxpayer survive? More worrisome still, one study by a leading East Coast University now puts the eventual price tag of the S. & L. mess at one trillion US dollars.

10% of all US banks now could face a major liquidity crunch. Few have more than 15-20% cash on hand to repay all depositors. Even if US bankers themselves admit that a 35% ratio is the more appropriate level, it will make very little difference. As a consequence of the size of this liquidity problem, US banks as a whole have fallen by more than 50% below their own recognized safety levels. Of course in times of crisis FDIC insignia won’t be worth the paper it is printed on.

(3) The entire US residential real estate market is at a risk of further severe devaluation. In California alone, contractually outstanding mortgage debts represent some 400 billion dollars. How badly could this debt edifice be hit by a severe recession? Commercial real estate is fairing no better. As one example amongst many which could be presented is Stamford, Connecticut where more than 50% of the available space is vacant. Similar severe emptiness ratios are now mushrooming throughout the US East Coast.

(4) It appears all too probable that the next institutional financial calamity to befall the American financial system is going to emanate from the US Insurance industry. This may even occur simultaneously with a US banking crisis. It is worrisome enough that the insurance industry should have to cope with its imprudent investment of 399 billion US dollars in Junk bonds. In a study titled “Will the US Life Insurance Industry keep its promises,” the IDS Financial highlighted that the insurance industry’s largest risk, by far, is not Junk bond exposure. It is poorly managed and ill protected capital risk, which will now result from any major swing up or down in US interest rates.

Conditions in the Soviet Union are in a deplorable condition. In a recent issue of the US News and World Report, a lengthy feature article described how Russia is falling apart at the seams and evidences of civil revolt were occurring in many areas. A Soviet prime minister is quoted as saying the economy “is sinking further each month.”

We have given you the report of experts of financial conditions in the world today, which reveal that “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven [the ecclesiastical powers] shall be shaken.” (Luke 21:26) “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” (Luke 21:28)

In Zeph. 3:8 we have a description of the time in which we are now living: “Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.” Our advice is to “Seek ye the Lord, all the meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment: seek righteousness, seek meekness, it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.” (Zeph. 2:3) (Contributed)

IN RELIGION

“BAPTISTS CHOOSING SIDES: – More than 30,000 Southern Baptists are expected to take their seats in the Louisiana Superdome on Tuesday and decide whether conservatives who have been in control for 11 years will maintain their reign. ‘We’re split almost right down the middle,’ said Rev. Charles Horton of Orlando, a moderate and president of the Florida chapter of Baptists Committed to the Southern Baptist Convention. ‘If it swings either way, it depends on who gets their people on election day.’

“The two groups have political and theological differences, sometimes including varied interpretations of the Bible.

“Members of the Pine Hills church aren’t the only ones who won’t attend. President Bush, who was expected to address the convention, cannot attend because of a scheduling conflict.

“There is one topic on which both the conservatives and moderates tend to agree – evangelism. Mitchell, the pastor of First Baptist Church of Winter Park, hopes to make a formal recommendation encouraging the denomination to join other faith groups and mission agencies worldwide in working toward major evangelism goals by the year 2000 and beyond.

“‘If somehow Southern Baptists could get their eyes off fighting one another and be caught up in a vision of reaching the world [by] building churches, that’s the way we’re going to be healed,’ Mitchell said.” (By Adell M. Banks – The Orlando Sentinel, June 9, 1990)

The headlines in The Orlando Sentinel of September 9, 1990, reads, “Rift Widens Between Baptists – Final Split In Denomination Is Uncertain.”

It seems we have enough church buildings and Evangelists to evangelize the world. Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matt. 6:10) Jesus went about preaching the kingdom. Jesus went throughout every city and village, “preaching and strewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him.” (Luke 8:1) The world is full of crime and diseases that are incurable. So the Good News of the Kingdom brings hope to those who are in despair because of poverty and incurable diseases. We are promised a Kingdom in the which our Lord will judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31). He will heal all diseases at that time – open the eyes of the blind and unstop the ears of the deaf (Isa. 35:5). So we will be following in the footsteps of Jesus if we do as He did – go about preaching the Kingdom.

“Presbyterians Remove Dissident Pastor In Daytona: – The pastor of a Presbyterian church in Daytona Beach has been removed from his position because he plans to join another denomination. The decision concerning the Rev. Howard Chadwick of Southminister Presbyterian Church was made Tuesday at the quarterly meeting of the Central Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (USA) 

“‘I wasn’t surprised,’ said Chadwick, who until Tuesday was pastor of the 400-member church. Chadwick said he thinks Presbyterian officials were concerned that his desire to change denominations might influence members of his church.

“Chadwick has a number of differences with the Presbyterian Church (USA), which has almost 3 million members. He thinks the Bible is the infallible word of God, while the denomination thinks it is God-inspired, but not necessarily infallible...

“More than 50 members of the Daytona Beach church tried to attend the meeting at Lake Yale Baptist Assembly but were not allowed to hear the one-hour discussion about Chadwick. Jenkins said about 150 members of the presbytery – ministers and lay persons who represent 73 churches – met in executive session.

“Chadwick, his lawyer, and a representative of Southminster Presbyterian Church, were allowed to hear the discussion. Chadwick requested that he be dismissed from the congregation on November 12, but the presbytery decided to remove him immediately.” (By Adelle Banks – The Orlando Sentinel, September 12, 1990)

Rev. Chadwick thinks the Bible is the infallible word of God. The manuscripts, which were used to translate the Bibles we have, are the inspired Word of God; but our Bibles are only translations of the Word of God. There are numerous mistakes in all the translations, and the mistakes are not infallible. The church believes the Bible is God-inspired, but not necessarily infallible. We don’t know what they mean by saying the Bible is God-inspired. If the men who wrote it were inspired of God, they made no mistakes in recording His Words. As said, we are foolish to believe the mistakes of the translators are inspired. How can we know whether the texts are spurious or misinterpreted? A doctrine must harmonize with itself; with all other doctrines and with God’s attributes of Love, Justice, Wisdom and Power.

“Can Catholics Maintain Priesthood And Celibacy Rule? – Though married for three years, Patrick Powers still gushes with the enthusiasm of a newlywed when he talks about his wife, Sandra. In his 18 years as a Catholic priest, Powers had accepted that his life would not include marriage. Powers left the active ministry and is now the executive director of the Christian Service Center in Orlando ...

“Catholic officials view celibacy as the way a priest can give total service to the church and show that love can be real without being physical... ‘To say it’s only a thousand-year tradition is to miss the point,’ said Rev. David Brinkmoeller ... He noted that Jesus was celibate.

“Richard Schroenherr, a sociology professor who has studied the priesthood for more than 20 years, said 13,200 priests in the United States have resigned since 1966. CORPUS’ figures are much higher – 19,000 since 1965.

“Schroenherr, who left the priesthood to marry, said ‘This problem is not at its height. It’s only at its beginning stages, because the shortages of priests is going to get worse.”’ (By Adelle M. Banks – The Orlando Sentinel, November 18, 1990)

Most of Jesus’ Apostles were married, perhaps all of them except the Apostle Paul. Do the Popes think their priests are more saintly than the Apostles because they are celibate? The Apostle Paul said, “Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other Apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas?” (1 Cor. 9:5) “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith [the truth], giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.” (1 Tim. 4:1-3)

The Popes have set aside God’s inspired Word as above quoted for doctrines of their own imagination. “How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart.” (Jer. 23:26)

“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.” (Rev. 22:18)

“S.C. ‘Freethinkers’ Know Creeds Are Fightin’ Words In Bible Belt – South Carolina’s atheist candidate for governor hasn’t campaigned by sticking out his hand and saying, ‘Hi, I’m Herb Silverman, and I don’t believe in God.’ In fact, prior to launching his principle-of-the-matter campaign, Silverman was something of a closet atheist. His beliefs were a surprise even to his 75-year-old mother, who is Jewish and lives in Philadelphia. ‘That’s the first political fence I had to mend because it’s not too easy to find out through the paper that your son is an atheist,’ said Silverman, who teaches math at the College of Charleston.

“Silverman is one of the ‘freethinkers’ – atheists, agnostics and humanist – who say their god-less creeds are fightin’ words anywhere, but even more so in the Bible Belt. The Freedom from Religion Foundation has 3,700 members nationwide, 30 in South Carolina.

“‘The South is pretty well infested with Baptists,’ said Josie Van Gent Edell ... Humanist believe existence can be reasoned out in human terms... ‘Religion is not fashionable in Europe,’ she said. Ms. Edell said she is troubled by the tax-exempt status of churches and other religious institutions. ‘If they were taxed,’ she said, ‘there would not be a budget deficit.’

“Silverman started his write-in campaign to challenge the state’s constitutional taboo against atheists becoming governor. He doesn’t expect to win (‘I’m an atheist, I’m not a fool,’ he says), but satisfied that his platform of religious tolerance is being heard.

“Someone tacked an obscene sign to Silverman’s door, and he has been called the anti-Christ and a Satan-worshiper. The latter particularly bothers him because he doesn’t believe in a devil either... ‘Religion,’ he said, ‘is the adult version of Santa Claus. I can see why there is a need for inventing a God – to keep people good, because people might not be good just because it’s the right thing to do... Just like with children, you make up a Santa Claus. It keeps children good, at least for a month.’

“‘I would rather have an eternal bliss after I die, but I would also like a Santa Claus, too,’ Silverman said. ‘I know what’s going to happen to me after death. I’m going to medical school. I donated my body.”’ (By Jennifer Nicholson – The State/Columbia, S. C., November 3, 1990)

Silverman knows more about death than many people do. “All go to one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.” (Eccl. 3:20) The dead know not anything (Eccl. 9:5). But what he doesn’t know, there will be a resurrection of all that are in their graves (John 5:28, 29; Acts 24:15). The dead are “Asleep in Jesus.” He doesn’t believe in a devil or God. However, if he had any faith in the Bible he would know there is a God and there is a Devil. Many religious people – so-called – don’t believe the dead are dead. Silverman says he is no fool, but the Bible calls atheists fools (Psa. 14:1). But in His Kingdom (Acts 17:31) there will be a Highway of Holiness there (Isa. 35:8) and the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.

“Unbelievers Not Against Religion: – Don Cameron doesn’t believe in God but regularly attends church. Cameron, 66, has been an atheist since his youth. Because of the social stigma often attached to non-believers, he has maintained a church affiliation. ‘The Christian theme is overwhelming in our society ... It’s a big problem,’ he said. ‘If you don’t go to Sunday school or have some affiliation, you are ostracized. I didn’t want that for my kids.’

“Cameron’s five children are now grown; two are active in religion... “Many people think that if you don’t believe in God, there’s something wrong with you.’ Inconsistencies between religious teaching and practices contributed to Cameron’s early wrestling with religion. ‘I was extremely bothered by the hypocrisy of people who were devout and Christian-oriented in church on Sunday and horses’ asses the rest of the week,’ he said.

“Dale Hagen, a 56-year old art teacher can’t offer a definitive answer either way [whether God exists]. ‘I would have to honestly say I’m agnostic,’ he said. ‘I haven’t seen a good case built either way.’ ... His doubting began as a child. ‘I always thought these stories I heard in Sunday school were nice, but I didn’t separate them from Aesop’s fables,’ he said.

“Hagen thinks many believers accept religious teachings without fully considering the ramifications. ‘I don’t worry about heaven or hell because no one has ever been there and come back,’ he said. ‘I can’t quite understand how someone can believe these things without enough facts to support their belief.’

“‘Attitudes have changed,’ said Anne Nicol Gaylor, president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation ... ‘I grew up understanding that the Bible was a book of myths and fables. Religion was something other people did, and it wasn’t regarded as a very intelligent thing to do. A lot of people are afraid to think about their religion. They’re afraid to question it too closely.’

“‘The most offensive thing is when they start talking about hell,’ she said. ‘The ones you’re apt to hear from are fanatics who want you to rot in hell. Theirs is an unkind religion. But being a freethinker has its drawbacks, too. Namely, the occasional harassment received from believers.’

“James Fetzer describes himself as ‘intellectually agnostic, emotionally atheist.’ Fetzer was an active Episcopalian until college. He attributes his movement from religion to his intellectual development as a philosopher rather than any negative church experience. ‘I don’t claim to know that there is a God, and I don’t claim to know that there isn’t a God,’ he said. ‘I just think that if there were a God then he or she would have made a kinder and gentler world. Individuals who are agnostic tend to become more concerned with the well-being of their fellow humans in this life. They have no expectations or beliefs that there’s going to be an afterlife during which things are going to be set right,’ he said.

“‘Religion has been used to make people such as serfs, slaves and servants, more accepting of a very unhappy lot in life.”’ (By Susan Hogan-Albach – The State/Columbia, November 3, 1990)

We have more understanding why a person becomes an agnostic, than we have for religions that teach that God is more vengeful than the average person is. No one of any compassion would torture a dog much less put him in eternal torment. The Bible tells us that God is love. He is a God of Love, Justice, Wisdom and Power. He is now permitting people to experience evil. Experience is the best teacher. He has appointed a day to “judge the world in righteousness” (Acts 17:31). He is plenteous in mercy and compassion. “God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all” (Rom. 11:32) in that Day. He knows that the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not (2 Cor. 4:4) and will rescue all from unbelief, whether agnostics, atheists or religiously misled. “When thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness” (Isa. 26:9) in His Kingdom.

Jehovah’s Witnesses: – In the October 15, 1990 Watchtower, p. 13, col. 1, there is this: “The most important reason why God’s Son came to earth was not to save mankind. Rather, it was to settle the slanderous issues raised by Satan with regard to Jehovah’s sovereignty.”

We find no place in the Scriptures that supports the Witnesses’ claim that the “most important reason why God’s Son came to earth was to settle the slanderous issues raised by Satan with regard to Jehovah’s sovereignty.” They imagine anything, without rhyme or reason, to invent something new for their devotees. But we find plenty Scriptural support for His coming to save mankind.

“The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10) Christ Jesus “Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” (1 Tim. 2:6) “Our Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity.” (Titus 2:14)

“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” (1 Tim. 1:15) “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; who will have all men to be saved [saved from the Adamic death], and come to a knowledge of the truth [in the Kingdom].” (1 Tim. 2:3, 4) God does not save all eternally as some teach. The incorrigible will be destroyed in the Second Death (Rev.20:14, 15).

God is not judging the world now while Satan is blinding the minds of them that believe not (2 Cor. 4:4). All who learn to love righteousness and hate iniquity in the Kingdom (Acts 17:31) will gain eternal life. “For when thy Judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.” (Isa. 26:9) It is blasphemy to teach that a loving God is so unmerciful that he would judge the individuals of the world while Satan is blinding their minds.

“How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart.” (Jer. 23:26)

On p. 15, col. 1, October 15, 1990 Watchtower, they say: “God’s covenant relationship with natural Israel was to cease before long. Therefore, the future Messianic Kingdom would not be restored to that unfaithful nation. Jesus told his Jewish opposers: ‘The Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing fruits.’ (Matt 21:43)”

The Jehovah’s Witnesses continue to offer proof that they are the counterpart of the Papacy. The Pope recently referred to the Jews as that unfaithful nation and claimed God’s promises to the Jews now belonged to his organization. God’s promises to the Jews are unilateral unchangeable. God was referring to the High Calling the elect class – when He said the Kingdom will be taken from you. It was “to the Jew first” in the elect salvation; and it will be “to the Jew first” in Christ’s Kingdom.

There were 3,000 Jews added at Pentecost and 5,000 more, as well as others, added later. The message was given to the Gentiles after selecting from the Jews first.

“Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt; but the Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them.”(Jer. 16:14,15)

“For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and will not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.” (Jer. 24:6,7)

There are many more promises to the Jews in God’s Word, but the above should be sufficient. We are witness to the return of some of the children of Israel from the lands whither he has driven them. “The truth of the Lord endureth for ever.” (Psa. 117:2) The Witnesses must write these Scriptures out of their Bible. It seems impossible for them to twist them around to apply to themselves. When has the Lord driven them out of their country? The Witnesses haven’t been given a special country. At no place has the Lord said the Jews will not have the precedence in His Kingdom. He did say, “Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.” [plural] (John 4:22) The Kingdom will be Israelitish.

In the November 1, 1990 Watchtower, pp. 11 and 12, the Witnesses refer to Rom. 13:1 under the heading of “Identifying The Superior Authorities.” For some years, they say, they taught that the superior authorities in Rom. 13:1 were Jehovah and Christ Jesus. However, in line with Proverbs 4:18, light increased.

It is not “new light” for Bible Students, as Brother Russell taught that Rom.13:1 referred to principalities and powers, and magistrates, the same as Titus 3:1. If the Witnesses would read and study more of his teaching, they would be able to get other “new light,” and hopefully they would correct other errors they teach.

Brother Russell advised the brethren not to accept anything he taught without first proving it by God’s inspired Word; also, not to accept the teaching of others without proving it by the Scriptures. He did not forbid the brethren from reading what others taught. When they received the truth they were free indeed! “Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.” (2 Cor. 3:17) “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God.” (Heb. 5:12)

NO. 417: “WE SEE JESUS”

No. 417

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

Comes again the time of year that we consider the birth of Jesus. However, at the outset we would say that nowhere in the Bible are we told to remember His birth, although He emphatically told us to remember His death – “This do in remembrance of Me.” (Luke 22:19)

Most of our readers know that December 25 is not the correct date for Jesus’ birth. This date has been plucked out of thin air; the Atonement Day type and other Scriptures inform us that He was born on the tenth day of the seventh Jewish month – Tishri – ­Tishri being approximately our October. But we would not haggle about the exact date. We are persuaded that the Christian world does receive some moral uplift and spiritual encouragement through the observance of His birth; and we readily join with others in the observance. Many in Christendom reveal a milder and more pleasant spirit at that time. Quite often we have noticed people on the street humming some sort of Christmas tune; and we are happy to make this observation.

“WE SEE JESUS”

Coming to the analytical phase of this subject, we make note that if we ask many believers, Do you see Jesus? – That is, do you understand Him? from many we would re­ceive a ready answer: “Of course, we do!” So we would now offer our own analysis of how we “see Jesus.” And we would present some comment by the Apostle Paul in Heb. 2: 6-9: “One in a certain place testified (Psa. 8:3-9), saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownest him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands. Thou hast put all thing in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”

To present a proper foundation for our analysis we would first quote from the Gos­pel of John 1:1-5: “In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was a god. This was in a beginning with the God. through it everything was done; and without it not even one thing was done, which has been done. In it was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shown in the darkness, and the dark­ness apprehended it not.” This is taken from the Emphatic Diaglott translation; and the following is a footnote from that same translation: “This term (the Logos) should be left untranslated for the very same reasons why the names Jesus and Christ are left untranslated. As every appellative of the Saviour of the world was descriptive of some excellence in his person, nature, or work, so the epithet Logos, which signified a word spoken, speech, eloquence, doctrine, reason, or the faculty of reasoning, is very prop­erly applied to him. See 1 John 1:1, for a clear and useful comment by the Apostle John on the proem to this gospel.”

And further from John 1:14, Dia.: “The Logos became flesh, and dwelt among us ­and we beheld his glory, a glory as of an Only-begotten from a Father – full of favor and truth.” Also, from Phil. 2:5-7, Dia.: “Christ Jesus, though being in God’s form, yet did not meditate a usurpation to be like God, but divested (emptied) himself, taking a bondsman’s form, having been made in the likeness of men; and being in condition as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

Note now the exact language found in Psa. 8:3-9: “Made a little lower than the angels.” This description in both texts is identical, so we would apply the geometric theorem, “Things equal to the same things are equal to each other.” To make this very plain: two half dollars equal one dollar; four quarters also equal one dollar. There­fore, the four quarters are the exact equivalent of two half dollars – equal to each other. Here is clear Scriptural proof that Jesus was a man – “made flesh” – “a little lower than the angels.”

THE DUST OF THE GROUND

“The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Gen. 2:7) Not the identical process, but a similar one, may be given for the Man Jesus. When He came to birth from the Virgin Nary, he began to partake of the foods common to man, and grew into a man – the exact du­plicate of Adam – when He was thirty years of age, when he presented Himself to John in the River Jordan on the day He was thirty, the age at which the Jews reasoned, with Scrip­tural authority, that their males reached full manhood.

To analyze this a little further: Presently, the grass grows from the earth – the dust of the ground; the grass is consumed by the flesh-producing animals, which in turn are eaten by man. All of these things are the direct result of “the dust of the ground.” Thus, are we all formed from “the dust of the ground” – even as Jesus was; and the record is clear enough: “Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” (Gen. 3:19) Thus, at the age of thirty Jesus was in every detail an exact duplicate of Adam when “Cod breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.”

By this statement we do not infer that God was thirty years in producing Adam. But the moment he was animated, Adam was the exact image of Jesus when He was thirty. “The son of man came to give himself a ransom for many.” (Matt. 20:28) The word ransom is from the Greek anti-lutron, which means an exact duplicate, a replica; therefore, Jesus had to be an exact duplicate of Adam – no more, no less – that He could provide the ran­som for Adam, which none of the other human beings was able to do. “They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him.” (Psa. 49:6,7)

“That disciple whom Jesus loved” reveals the intimate acquaintance and understand­ing that the Apostles had of Jesus: “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands felt, concerning the word of life (the Logos); and the life was made manifest, and what we have seen we also tes­tify, and declare to you the aionian life, which was with the Father, and was manifest to us.” (1 John 1:1,2 – Dia.) “Our hands felt” – here the Apostle reveals the intimate re­lationship which he had had with our Lord when He was on earth – a comradeship of the closest nature.

JESUS

“We behold Jesus.” It is in order to stress here that the Apostle does not say, “We behold Jesus Christ.” And there is good reason for this. When the angel was speak­ing to Joseph, the advice was given: “Thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matt. 1:21) Here is one scholar’s comment on the name: “The name Jesus means the salvation of God. For Joshua among the Hebrews is salvation, and among them the son of Nun is called Joshua. The name Jesus is above every name.”

However, from birth to His baptism by John in Jordan our Lord was known by the single appellation Jesus, and not Jesus Christ. Christ means anointed; and He did not become the ‘anointed’ Saviour until He received the Holy Spirit without measure at His baptism in Jordan. Therefore, it was not Jesus Christ who was made “a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death”; because the Christ – the Anointed – was not sacrificed on the cross, but merely Jesus, the perfect man. Had Jesus the Christ been nailed to the cross, He would have offered much beyond what the man Adam had, because Adam was never anointed with the Holy Spirit; he was simply “a living soul” – a man from any view­point. Christ was not “lower than the angels”; and, when He said on the cross, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46), He was referring to the spiritual life that had begun in Him at Jordan, which was raised from the tomb three days later, when “God supremely exalted him, and freely granted to him that name which is above every name .... that every knee should bend, of those in heaven, and those on earth, and of those beneath; and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, for the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:9-11) He now “sits at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb. 12:2)

VARIOUS NAMES AND POSITIONS

Logos – During His existence our Lord has held three positions in relationship to God; and these various positions are indicated by the various names He has had. Be­fore His first advent to the earth He was known as the Logos – the Word. And as the Word of God He was the principal agent of God’s creation; He was second to God, but above every other creature in Heaven or earth. As such, the Bible tells us, “without him was not anything made that was made.” (John 1:3) As such He was a spirit being, not capable of description with our limited knowledge. Before his deflection, Lucifer was described as The son of the morning” (Isa. 14:12); but the Logos was superior to that, because Lu­cifer came into existence through the agency of the Word.

Jesus Christ – When the Logos came to earth, and became Christ Jesus, the situation is vividly described by St. Paul: “Christ Jesus ... made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men ... became obed­ient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Phil. 2:5-8) The Diaglott translates this in much finer style: “Christ Jesus ... divested himself (He laid aside His high position, much the same as a man might take off his coat), taking a bondsman’s form (a slave’s position), having been made in the likeness of men..... he humbled himself, be­coming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

“In The Likeness Of Men” – He had the appearance of a man, although a most unusual likeness of men – so much so that Pilate exclaimed in admiration, “Ecce homo” – “Behold the man!” (John 19:5) And St. Paul writes of Him: “He was in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin.” (Heb. 4:15) although Pilate saw the excellent features of a most unusual man, he could not see that Jesus was “without sin.” Yet Jesus’ sinlessness had set Him apart from all men. All of us find description in the words of David: “Born in sin, shapen in iniquity.” (Psa. 51:5)

Express Image Of God’s Person – Presently, and henceforth forever, Jesus occupies a third position, described by the Apostle in Heb. 1:3: “the express image of God’s per­son ... the right hand of the majesty on high.” In Heb. 2:9 we have the subject of this treatise – “We see Jesus – a little lower than the angels”; but in Heb. 1:4 it is stated that He is now “so much better than the angels.”

Scores of names and titles are used in the Bible in discussing Jesus; but we shall offer just a few of them here: In Rev. 1:8 He is the “Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending ... the Almighty”; in Rev. 22:16, “The bright and morning star”; in Isa. 51:9, “the arm of the Lord”; in the Song of Solomon 3:1, “Rose of Sharon and The Lily of the Valleys”; and 5:10, “the chiefest among ten thousand”; In John 8:12, “the light of the world ... the light of life”; in Luke 1:78, “the dayspring from on high”-, in 1 Tim. 6:15, “the blessed and only potentate ... the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords;” and in Heb. 13:20, “that great shepherd of the sheep.”

Four Great Offices – The risen Lord is now the possessor of four great offices, in which He is to do a certain work for the human race. There are many sub­divisions of these four, but we shall not go into that detail. These offices are pres­ently operative only in a very limited way; but He will come into the full glory of them all when He establishes His reign on earth – “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth.” These offices are Biblically stated as follows: The world’s Prophet – “A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you..... him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you” (Acts 3:22); and the world’s High Priest – “Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec” (Heb. 5:6); the world’s King – “Thou Bethlehem..... out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2); the world’s Judge – “The Lord cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteous­ness, and the people with his truth.” (Psa. 96:13) In treating of just these four, we do so be­cause each of them is close companion to God’s four great attributes – Wisdom, Justice, Love and Power; and we shall offer brief comment on each of these descriptive pairs:

World’s Prophet – The word prophet in Acts 3:22 is from the Greek ‘prophetes,’ from which the English word prophet is derived; and it has the meaning of public expounder, or teacher. And to be a good teacher, one must be endowed with Wisdom. Thus, the Lord’s office of Prophet is readily linked with the Divine attribute of Wisdom. In making this statement we should be alert not to confuse wisdom with knowledge, because wisdom is the proper application of knowledge. It is well stated, “Knowledge is power”; but this is true only if we know what to do with knowledge. Also, it is a sound observation that “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” Knowledge in inexperienced hands often causes great disaster – in the laboratory, in construction, in the operation of intricate machin­ery, etc. But we have strong Bible assurance that our risen Lord will know perfectly what to do on every occasion, and how to do it. Thus, it is properly foretold of Him: “The government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor” (able to advise and counsel in every situation). (Isa. 9:6)

World’s High Priest – The office of a Priest is to forgive and bless. Therefore, we are counseled in Heb. 4:16: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy (forgiveness of sins), and find grace (blessing) to help in time of need.” All of this is clearly an operation of LOVE: therefore, we team the High Priest with the Divine attribute of Love.

World’s King – “Of the increase of his government and peace (kingdom) there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom there shall be no end, to order it with judgment and justice from henceforth even forever.” (Isa. 9:7) In the operation of this kingdom the Divine attribute of Power is self-evidently coupled.

World’s Judge – “Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation ... Judgment will I lay to the line, and right­eousness to the plummet; and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies.” (Isa. 28: 16,17) It needs no elaboration to declare that the Divine attribute of Justice is the fitting counterpart of the World’s Judge.

Analysis Of The Four Offices – Now further comment on the foregoing:

Teacher ­wisdom – He who discerns clearly teaches clearly. Of the Teacher it is recorded: “Jesus needed not that any should testify of man; for he knew what was in man.” (John 2:24,25) And His crushing answers to all the tricky questions of the Scribes and Pharisees offer ample proof that Jesus did know what was in man. Therefore, “He taught them as one hav­ing authority.” (Matt. 7:29) Concerning the Jews St. Paul said: “Israel hath a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.” (Rom. 10:2) Quite a contrast to the knowledge that Jesus had! The Egyptian proverb goes well here:

He who knows, but knows not that he knows, is timid;

encourage him.

He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, is ignorant;

teach him.

He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool;

shun him.

He who knows, and knows that he knows, is wise,

follow him.

The great World’s Teacher knows, and knows that He knows. “By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many.” (Isa. 53:11) And the Apostles stressed this point concerning the true followers of Jesus: “We know of whom we have believed. We have known him.” (1 John 2:3) “We know that we are of the truth.” (1 John 3:19) And the philosophers, the comics, the ignoramuses all have had their play on this subject – some of it good and sound. As one of them has put it: “It’s not what we don’t know that hurts; it’s what we know that ain’t right that floors us.” This truth may be emphasized in pol­itics, religion, finance, patriotism, etc. One of our present-day philosophers said of Jesus: “He is the greatest teacher of all times.” Also, one of the poets has contributed an excellent bit on this subject:

Truth forever on the scaffold, Wrong forever on the throne –

Yet that scaffold sways the future, and behind the dim unknown,

Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above his own,

However, we know “When thy judgments are in the earth (when the Great Teacher supervises the teaching) the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.” (Isa. 26:9)

Priest-Love – The great love-work that Jesus will accomplish is well expressed in Hos. 13:14: “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: 0 death, I will be thy plagues; 0 grave, I will be thy destruction.” Of Jesus, our Priest, it is written: “Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.” (Heb. 5:10)

Of Melchisedec it is recorded that he was a Priest upon his throne; that is, he was not subservient to any earthly power – which is an excellent description of our High Priest Jesus. One author gives us this description: “Melchisedec, King of Salem (probab­ly Jerusalem before the Jews conquered that country after their Exodus from Egypt) and priest of the Most High God. Jerusalem means city or foundation of peace or safety, so that Salem is an appropriate abbreviation. In Salem also is God’s tabernacle (Psa. 76: 2), God’s dwelling place in Zion. Melchisedec as described in Heb. 5:10, was without father, without mother, without genealogy. This means that his pedigree is not recorded. He is further described as having neither beginning of days, nor end of life, of whom it is testified that he lives. It is not known whence he came, or whither he went; he is a type of undying priesthood. When thus our Lord was made a high priest after the order of Melchisedec, he held a higher office than the Aaronic priesthood.”

It is a sad record that all movements, religious, governmental, or political, have been relatively pure at the outset. And almost all of them have followed a very fixed pattern as the years have come and gone. Regarding religious movements, they have gone through three stages: Priesthood, Priestcraft and Priestgraft. The pristine purity of the early Christine Church under the leadership of the Apostles is a thing of beauty, earnest­ly striving for the welfare of its adherents. But the Apostle Paul said that already in his day “the mystery of iniquity doth already work ... whose coming is after the working of Satan... with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth.” (2 Thes. 2:7-10) Much the same could be said for the Jewish Church. When it was organized under Moses at Sinai, Aaron was the ideal priest. “No man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.” (Heb. 5:4) But by the time Jesus had arrived the noble ideals of Aaron had dis­appeared; the priesthood had degraded to the bottom of the dirty barrel – priestgraft. “My house shall be called the house of prayer: but ye (the Scribes and the Pharisees) have made it a den of thieves.” (Matt. 21:13)

Judge-Justice – One of the classic Scriptures describing Jesus as Judge administer­ing quick and perfect Justice is found in Isa. 11:1-5: “There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.”

The most just and well-intentioned of our Courts today must judge according to the seeing of the eyes and the hearing of the ears. Thus, some guilty go free, and some inno­cent are convicted. That is the best we have today; but that will not be so when the Great Judge administers Justice. We have “the sure word of prophecy” to verify this con­clusion: “God hath appointed a day (the 1000-year day – shall “reign with him a thous­and years”—Rev. 20:6) in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” Acts 17:31) Indeed, “man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” (1 Sam. 16:7) Often do our judges favor the strong, and burden the weak. A man’s face may be pushed out too far, or in too much; thus, our judgment is often based on the “outward appearance.” It is a recognized truth that the very rich, the very powerful, or the highly educated find it almost impossible for them to receive a fair appraisal of themselves from others, because their position strongly influences the judgment of their admirers, or their enemies. Let us consider the case of Pilate: He admired the fine physical features of Jesus; thus, he said to the Jews: “I find in him no fault at all.” (John 18:38 – repeated in John 19:4) But the “envy” of the Jews was so pronounced and clamorous that they prevailed. Thus the law is often decided through prejudice, trickery, oratory or brute force. And the doctrine “Might is right” often prevails. We close the Justice feature of “We see Jesus” with Isa. 28:17: “Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

King-Power – As King over all the earth Jesus will exercise the Divine Attribute of Power. Since the time that historical records began to be kept men have striven to im­prove their living conditions; and, while some progress has been made in certain respects, yet the overall picture is well described by the Prophet Isaiah (1:6): “From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores; they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.”

It is a sage observation that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. And the Bible emphasizes this in classic and emphatic fashion. In Dan. 2:26-44 there is portrayed the dream of King Nebuchad­nezzar’s metal man – head of gold, breast and arms of silver, belly and thighs of brass, and legs of iron. Here is given us a picture of the four universal empires as viewed through the eyes of man. And Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar: “Thou 0, king art a king of kings... a kingdom, power, strength and glory. Thou art this head of gold.” (vs. 37,38)

But the seventh chapter of the same book these same kingdoms are described by four beasts: a lion, a bear, a leopard, and “the fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it.” (7:7) In both instances the four universal empires are described – Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. The last of these ­Rome – is well portrayed by the iron legs, as history is replete with the records of “the iron rule of Rome.” But in Dan. 4:17 there is this terse summarization of all of them: “The Most High setteth up over it the basest of men.”

And as we consider Nero, Ivan the Terrible, the Pharaohs of Egypt, the emperors of Rome, etc., we recognize the truth of this statement. They were conquering heroes in their time; but they do not appear at all favorably when compared to The Prince of Peace! The shibboleth of the Roman rulers was: Without slaves there can be no leisure; without leisure there can be no thinking; without thinking there can be no progress. And his­tory bears sad testimony to the rough time many of those Roman slaves had. And one of the heads of our own Government made the remark not so many years ago: “The average man is so dumb you can tell him anything.”

It is a proper analysis that the human race is divided into three groups – the magnetics, the repulsives, and the neutrals. The magnetics are a very small minority, but so are the repulsives. It is seldom we see a human face of such disagreeable appear­ance that we instinctively turn away from it. But some secular writers – not overly re­ligious – have been caught up with the magnetism of Jesus; and one of them in his im­pelling way treats of the wife of one of the high rulers in Palestine at the time Jesus was being tried and led to the cross. She said to her husband: “O, Lodbrog, I have seen him; and I cannot forget his wonderful face. Save him, and I will go with you any­where to the ends of the earth.” But the husband answered, “I should save God!” Jesus was indeed magnetic, “The common people heard him gladly.” (Mark 12:37)

“We see Jesus” with the eyes of our understanding; and we can join with St. Paul in his superb exclamation, “Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift.” (2 Cor. 9:15) With this comes our warm wishes to all for a blessed Holiday observance.

Sincerely your brother,

John J. Hoefle Pilgrim

Reprint of No. 306, Dec. 1980