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THE HERALD
of Christ's Kingdom

VOL. II. November 1, 1919 No. 21
Table of Contents

THE HERALD OF CHRIST'S KINGDOM - NOVEMBER 1, 1919

THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST

WITNESSES OF CHRIST'S GLORY.

JESUS CORRECTS JOHN'S NARROWNESS.

VOL. II. November 15, 1919 No. 22
Table of Contents

Published by
PASTORAL BIBLE INSTITUTE

RE CLIPPINGS

LET US CONTINUE GIVING THE WITNESS

OUTLOOK FROM THE WALLS OF ZION

A NOBLE CHRISTIAN LIFE

THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST

JESUS TEACHES PETER TRUE GREATNESS

PETER AND JOHN ASLEEP IN GETHSEMANE

AT THE TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS

VOL. II. November 1, 1919 No. 21

THE PRESENT MISSION OF THE CHURCH

"The present mission of the Church is the perfecting of the saints for the future work of service; to develop in herself every grace; to be God's witness to the world; and to prepare to be kings and priests in the next Age." - Eph. 4:12; Matt. 24:14; Rev. 1:6; 20:6.

THIS statement as to the present mission of the Church, taken from the second page of this issue of the HERALD, has been published editorially and otherwise for the past thirty years and more of the Harvest time. Its expressions are as true and abiding to-day as when first published. There is no reason for altering the wording or changing its meaning one iota. It stands more firmly than ever as a great monument to the wisdom and skill of the one who fashioned it from the inspired Scriptures-the foremost Bible student of the world in these last times.

Many have sought to improve on the Harvest Message and have only brought confusion upon themselves and upon others. Abortive attempts have been made to accomplish some great work in the world without the authorization of the Scriptures, and disaster has overtaken all such efforts. We would ask all to consider well what the Lord would have us do in these latter days, as expressed in the above summary of the Church's mission, and then to consider what has been accomplished by those who have attempted other lines of service than that outlined. The great nominal church systems for centuries have endeavored to perform "wonderful works" in the name of the Lord; and what are the results? True, they have gained large followings, for the majority are easily led and deceived by loud and boastful claims when presented with pious air and sanctimonious men. But what does the Lord think of these who claim to have done great and wonderful works in His name, and who also claim that their man-made organizations are the only ones recognized by the Lord? Every one of these ecclesiastical organizations lays claim to being the divinely recognized Channel and that the true Gospel proceeds from them and from no other.

"DEPART, YOU WHO PRACTICE INIQUITY"

What, we ask, does the Lord think of them? We read: "And then I will plainly declare to them, I never approved of you. Depart from Me, you who practice iniquity." (Matt. 7:23. Diaglott.) How careful then should God's devoted people be as to whose guidance they are following, and constantly to be examining their hearts to see whether they are being directed by their own wills or the will of another, rather than by the will of the Heavenly Father. Our Lord, in this very connection, after pointing out that great and wonderful works would not commend us in the sight of God, though performed in His name, declares: "Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord; Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." (Vs. 21.) What, then, would we think of those who would engage in a work whose exact nature they are in ignorance of, and who do so merely because they have been so instructed by some professing to be great ones and who claim to be divinely commissioned to achieve some "great work"? Can we think that these, who thus lightly consider what the will of the Father may be, are safe guides for us to follow? Let us hear the Apostle's admonition: "See that ye walk -circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the tithe, because the days are evil understanding what the will of the Lord is."-Eph. 5:15-17.

Directing our attention to the mission of the Church at the present time, we find it clearly stated in the Scriptures that first, it is the "perfecting of the saints for the future work of service." This is the primary object of the Christian era -- the development of Christ likeness in the Lord's people; This, then, is the will of God, "even your sanctification.," and to sanctify means not only to set apart to Divine service, a dedication of one's life to the Lord's service, but also to mike holy, to purify from sin and all the defilements of the flesh. The Lord's people are not merely, to attain to standards of morality and maintain these, but additionally are to be developed as New Creatures, attaining to conditions of spirituality, and this can only be reached through the sacrifice of all fleshly, earthly desires and ambitions, the transformation of the mind and heart from human considerations to those which are heavenly, as expressed by the Apostle, "And do not conform yourselves to this Age, but transform yourselves by the renovation of your mind, that you may ascertain what is the will of God." (Rom. 12:2. Diaglott.) The knowledge and understanding of the gracious arrangements of the Creator exercises an ennobling influence, and those who have received the invitation to be joint-heirs with Christ, are sanctified and purified by the hope placed before them in the Gospel. "And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as He is pure." (1 John 3:3.). This purity of heart and mind signifies the putting away of all malice, envy, hatred, bitterness and strife, and the gradual development of the fruits of the spirit, meekness, patience, humility, peace, kindness, long-suffering and love. It is the operation of the Holy Spirit of the Lord through the understanding of His Word which enables the consecrated followers of Christ in the daily experiences of life, fighting the good fight of faith against the world, the flesh and the Adversary, to overcome, and to acquire the Christian virtues necessary to an entrance into the Kingdom of the heavens. And not only is the soldier of the cross to engage in this warfare continually on his own behalf, but further; as he has opportunity, he is to encourage and assist others in overcoming, and is to do good unto all men, even to the extent of blessing his enemies, those who might be in opposition to himself.

In harmony with the foregoing views as to the recent mission of the Church, we desire to call special attention to the following article written by our Pastor, and commend it to the most careful consideration of all:

"THE CHURCH'S DIVINELY APPOINTED MISSION."

"Seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint, not." -- 2 Cor. 4:1.

"What is the mission of the Church? What ministry or service has the Lord appointed to his consecrated people? This question is one that should be prominent and clear before the mind of every consecrated child of God. It is of the utmost importance that the servant know what is expected of him before proceeding far in rendering service; otherwise he will be more than likely to waste his energies in wrong directions, leaving undone those things which ought to be done, and giving attention to matters which would better be attended to otherwise, according to the plan and arrangement of the great Supervisor of the Plan of Salvation -- the Lord . . .

"Although our sympathies are with every good work, we are at the same time to inquire of the Lord respecting how, where, what, we may do in His service, if we would be co-laborers together with Him -- 'Lord, what wouldst Thou have me to do?' Our query should not be addressed to fellow-men, nor should, we accept the burdens and duties and obligations which their judgments and consciences would lay upon us. Rather, we are to hearken to the voice of the Lord (the Scriptures), and are to follow his directions; regardless of our own and other people's conjectures as to what would be most expedient.

"Nowhere in the Scriptures are God's people directed to spend their time in efforts at morally reforming the world. Our Lord did not engage in this work, neither did the Apostles, nor did they offer any suggestion to the effect that the work of the Church should ever differ from the work which they performed and directed us to continue. On the contrary, they declare that we have the Apostles for ensamples of how we ought to walk. They declare that our Lord's course was in full, perfect harmony with the Divine will and Plan, and that the Apostles faithfully followed His example and we are exhorted to simply become coworkers with God in His work, already- instituted not apt to alter or attempt to improve on them. There were moralists and moral reformers in our Lord's day; some along the line of total abstinence, some along the line of asceticism, inculcating rigid self denials in food, clothing, etc. as essential to a moral uplift of the people. There were also political reformers who sought the establishment of republican institutions in His day, and social reformers who sought to establish forms of communism. There were also dress reformers at that time, who advocated certain peculiar styles of clothing beneficial to health, morals and religious sanctity. Do we find that our Lord of His Apostles ever associated with any of these, or that they ever in any word or act gave sanction or encouragement to any of these theories or reforms? No, not once. . . .

"If then, the teaching and example of our Lord and His Apostles are our criterion of the will of the Lord, the Church's commission is not to morally reform the world. But perhaps some will say times are changed from what they were and the Church's work should change accordingly. We answer, that: the Apostle Paul declares; in so many words; 'I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.' (Acts 20:27.) Whatsoever, therefore, is additional to that which was stated by the Apostle is not the counsel of God. And. any counsel from any other quarter is not to be received by Christians; and is sure to be misleading. Again, the Apostle says to Timothy, respecting the Word of God, 'All Scripture is given. by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.' (2 Tim. 3:16-17). If, therefore it was God's design that the Church's mission should change at some future time, we should be able to find in the Scriptures some intimation of this kind, and some authority for the change. And if we find no authority for a change in her mission we should make no change. . . .

"THE CORRECT VIEW OF THE CHURCH's MISSION"

"The question then arises, If the Church is not "to rule the world in this present Age, and if she is not to be the world's instructor, uplifter, by moral reforms, what is her mission, what other mission can she have? And this brings us to the third view, which quite a number hold in a more or less confused way, their commingled errors beclouding and vitiating the Truth.

"(a) Her chief mission is toward herself. She is to lift up the light in the world, the True Light, not with the expectation of enlightening, the world; not with the thought that her feeble lamp shall scatter earth's night of sin and, darkness of superstition, for that can be accomplished only by the coming of the morning, -- the Millennial morning, -- when the, Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His beams. She holds up the light of the truth, the light of the Gospel, during this night, to attract some, "peculiar people," not to attract and gather still, but 'even as many as the Lord our God shall call.' (Acts 2:39.) Her, message respecting the love of God and the salvation which is in Christ Jesus as it rings out into the world, is not expected to awaken the world and to lead the world to the Lord. No, she is merely bearing witness, a witness which will have to do also with a future knowledge and opportunity to be granted to the world during the Millennium.

"She is instructed by the Word of .the Lord not to expect that any but a comparatively small number will appreciate her light, or her message as the Prophet foretold, so she has found it. 'Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed ?' (Isa. 53:1; John 12:38.) As the Scriptures declare, so she finds it, that the. vast majority of mankind are blind, so that they cannot see the light: some are stone blind, so as to see nothing: while others are partially blind and, can get a. little glimmer of it by which they can discern some things indistinctly. In hearing likewise, the world's ears are dull of hearing -- 'deaf,' say the Some, hear nothing, others hear very imperfectly. Few hear the message of divine love and mercy clearly and distinctly. The Church is to realize that her mission is not to these; the blind and deaf, but to him 'that hath an ear to hear, let him hear!' -- Rev. 2:7; 3:6, 13, 22.

ONLY THE FEW BLESSED NOW

"Our Lord remarked this condition to His followers, when present with them, in the world, saying, "Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear;" and He declared that His parables and teachings were not uttered with the intention of making the blind see and the deaf hear, but purposely so that the deaf might not hear; and so that the blind might not see. When the disciples inquired -respecting, the interpretation of a parable, He said, "To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God; but to them that are without, all these things are done in parables; that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear; and not understand." (Luke 8:10.) They had indeed the natural sight; and the natural hearing; but they lacked the mental sight and hearing. And the message that our dear Master preached, And that He commissioned His Apostles and His Church to preach, throughout this Age, is the same, not for the blind; not for the deaf, but for those blessed favored ones who have eyes and ears:

"As our Lord did not expect many to respond to His preaching, and particularly implied that only a small number would be able to do so, saying, "No man can come unto me, except the Father which sent me draw him," so His Church throughout this Age is to realize that when she lifts the light and lifts up her voice no man will come in response except as the Father draws him. And as the Father drew only a comparatively small remnant of the Jewish nation to our Lord, so the Church should not be surprised that he has drawn only a comparatively small proportion of Gentiles throughout this Age.

"(b) It is another part of the mission of the Church to care for those who do see the, light which she holds up, and who are attracted by that light, and who come unto the Lord. She' is to teach and instruct such, and to introduce them to the full fellowship of the high calling by making clear to them, as the Lord's mouthpiece; what is the hope of our calling, present and future -- now to suffer with Christ for righteousness sake, to cultivate His spirit, His disposition, to bear much fruit of the spirit in our own hearts and lives, and thus; under Divine supervision, to be fitted; polished and prepared for a, place in the glorious temple of the future, for a share in the glorious work of the incoming Age -- the blessing of the world.-- 1 Cor. 1:26; Eph. 1:18; 2 Thess 1:11.

"The Church is supplied by her glorious Head, Jesus Christ, with certain gifts of the spirit, amongst her members of the earth; and these co-working together in their various offices are to strengthen, establish, upbuild, develop, one another, growing in grace and in the knowledge and spirit of the Head, until the whole Church shall eventually; by the close of this Age; be brought to the statute of the fullness of perfection As the Body of Christ, under the Lord Jesus as the Head, (Eph. 4:13.) But she is not to expect that all, even of those who see her light, and who hear her proclamation and who draw near in harmony with her message, will eventually come into full membership in this glorious Body, of Christ. On, the contrary, she is assured of the Lord in advance that, while only a few, comparatively, will hear her message, the call, a still smaller number will accept the call -- for many are called, proportionately, to the few who are chosen -- who make their calling and election sure by faithfulness to the conditions imposed. -- 2 Pet. 1:10.

CRUCIAL TESTS OF LOYALTY

"(c) The conditions imposed upon the Church are designed of the Lord to be crucial tests of her loyalty to Him, end-to the law of the Covenant under which she was received by Him. Trials, difficulties, persecutions, are useful in proving whether or not her covenant of consecration was from the heart. Those who have merely made a lip covenant will be sifted out, manifested, separated from the true ones whom the Lord designates His jewels, and His sons; and whom He purposes to make joint heirs in the Kingdom with His well beloved Son, our Lord Jesus. It is for this reason that this calling and election, or selection, of the Church takes place during this present Age, while evil is still permitted to reign in the World, and while the majority of mankind are under the blinding influences of the great Adversary, not yet bound. -- Rev. 20:1-3.

"As our Lord explained, the darkness of sin and error is in direct antagonism with the light of truth and consequently when His people lift up the light, let their light so shine as to glorify the Father in heaven, who has 'called them out of darkness into His marvelous light' -- the effect upon the he darkened world; will be to awaken opposition, antagonism; because the effect of the light is to make manifest the evils of darkness which would' not otherwise appear; and thus to disturb and make uncomfortable those in sympathy with darkness.

"It is in consequence of this conflict between light and darkness that our Lord suffered at the hands of those who professed to be children of the light, children of God, and who had at least a little light. Our Lord was not maltreated by the Roman governor and the 'Roman soldiers of their own volition, for they were so totally blind as not to appreciate anything of the light which He displayed. His, persecutors were those who had some light, but who hated the brilliancy of the great light which shone upon them. Similarly, all the way down through this Gospel Age, those who have been burning and shining lights in the world have been hated and persecuted largely, we might say chiefly, almost exclusively by those who had some light but whose light was darkness in comparison to the great light of the Holy Spirit shining in and through the Lord's fully consecrated ones. "Thus was fulfilled our Lord's testimony; If they have hated me, they will also hate you. Whosoever will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." The Lord's followers in the present time are called upon to suffer persecution for righteousness sake, not because it is either reasonable or proper; but because the Lord wishing to test, prove and punish His people, is willing to permit the evil, opposing influences to prosper, and persecute and oppose His 'members,' and thus to serve His cause in the preparation of His elect for a future work of service. Thus the persecutors of the 'Body,' like the persecutors of the Head, are cooperating to fulfill the Divine Plan in a manner they little suspect. -- John 15:18; 1 John 3:13; 2 Tim. 3:12; 1 Thess. 2:14-15; 2 Thess. 3:4; John 10:2; Acts 14:22.

"One of the particular, trials with many of the Lord's people is that they are frequently upbraided by less consecrated, worldly-wise professors, with the suggestion that they are selfish, and neglectful of the true work of the Church, because they do not join with others in the various political, social, financial and moral reforms of the world, or in 'revival' efforts to drive and scare the worldly, whom God has not 'called' by the truth along Scriptural Lines. If we are obliged to endure something on this score for Christ' sake, it is only a part of 'the sufferings of Christ,' in which we should rejoice, realizing that the Lord knows our faithfulness to Him and to His Word. We may realize also that in due time others shall see the Divine Plan actually fulfilling, as we are now permitted to see it by the eye of faith, and they will then see that the 'wise virgins' were wise in that they 'hearkened to and obeyed the Lord's. Word, and made themselves ready, for the future work of service for the world. -- Rev. 19:7; 7; Eph. 4:12.

SYMPATHY WITH ALL GOOD WORKS

"We can sympathize with those who see nothing; we can sympathize also with those who see a little, and who strive toward moral and other reforms, and in various ways for the sectarian prosperity rather than for the upbuilding of the saints, the Church of the living God whose names are written in heaven. We should have patience, particularly with those who give evidence that they are laboring in harmony with their convictions. If they are engaging, in good works of any kind they deserve our sympathy, and undoubtedly will obtain a blessing as a result. The true Church is laboring not merely for a blessing, but for the blessing -- 'the prize of our high calling of God in Christ Jesus.' (Phil. 3:14.) Let all the, who see the prize, and who see the light of God's glory shining in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord, be faithful to the Father's terms, conditions, calling, service. Let all such give attention to this ministry, (service) which we have received, and faint not; be not discouraged, whether men hear or whether they forbear; whether they think ill of us or whether they speak ill of us; let us remember that our report of the end of the trial is to be rendered to the Lord Himself, when He is making up His jewels. Let us remember that the first condition of acceptance with Him is loyal: obedience to His Word, -- the evidence of love for Him and faith in Him. (2 Cor. 10:5-6.) Let us remember, also, that the second qualification He will look for in us is love for the brethren, readiness to be, to do and to suffer; to die on behalf of those who are really, truly, consecrated children of God, seeking to Walk in His ways . . .

"All thus, following in the, ministry (the service) which we have received, of God, find themselves today walking in the footsteps of Jesus and the Apostles, and find the various predictions made respecting the entire Church applicable to its living members also, as, for instance, following our text, the Apostle declares: of this class who have this ministry

"'We preach not ourselves, but Christ: Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants [the Church's servants, not the world's servants] for Jesus' sake. . . . We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed, we are perplexed, yet not in despair, persecuted, but not forsaken, cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus [always representing Christ and His sacrifice as dying members of His body] that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live [as new creatures in Christ Jesus] are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake [our consecration at the beginning was a consecration to death; it changes not, it will always so: continue until we have finished our course and have actually died], that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh,'" -- Verses 5-11." -- Z. '99-611.

NO COMPROMISE WITH WORLDLY METHODS

Notwithstanding the clear Scriptural statement of the Church's mission foregoing, here are still those who ask if we have not now reached a time when the Lord's people should undertake lines of service differing from those outlined by our Lord and the Apostles in view of changed conditions among men, should we not now change our methods of appealing to men? Is it not, now due time that we compromise with the worldly spirit and with worldly methods, and undertake to appeal to the world by mixing the true Message with various worldly lines of wisdom and knowledge -- matters that pertain to the children of this world, such as Economics, Society, and Education, Finance, Transportation; Politics, Agriculture, Science and Invention, Hygiene, Traveling, etc., etc. Our reply to the above is that we are entirely out of sympathy with any such process of reasoning; which we believe savors of the Adversary and not of the things that be of God. As pointed out in the foregoing article by our Pastor, the Church's commission is a unique one -- she has but one theme, one Message to give out, and that is the Gospel Message. This theme of all who properly represent the Lord was well expressed by St. Paul. "I determined to make known nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." (1 Cor. 2:2 -- Diaglott.) As bearing upon this particular point, we can do no better than quote again the timely advice and wisdom of our Pastor:

"Similar [to those of our Lord] are the temptations which Satan presents to the consecrated followers of Jesus: Make a great show before the world and the nominal church; attract their attention by any means, and not simply by the preaching of the cross of. Christ; use the spiritual powers and blessings that you have received for doing some great and striking [smiting] work, which will appeal to the natural man, and thus secure quick and,-great success, do this instead of doing the quiet and less conspicuous work f presenting spiritual things to the spiritual class, which work the vast majority can in no wise appreciate, but will only shun you, consider you peculiar, and.-which .not only will lose you the sympathy of the lass, but will bring you specially the hatred of some of the principal professors of Christendom.

"Satan, through his various mouthpieces, is continually saying to the saints, Here is a more-successful way of accomplishing your object that that which you are pursuing, a more successful way than the Lord's way. Bend a little, make compromise with the worldly spirit; do not hew too close to the line of the Word of God and the example of the Lord Jesus and the Apostles; you must be more like the world, in order to exert an influence -- mix a little into politics, and a good deal into secret societies; keep in touch with the fads toward men. But our dear Master assures us that we are to be faithful to the Lord and to His Plan, and let things work out as best they may along that line; and that we may rest assured that in the end the Father's Plan not only is the best, but really the only Plan for accomplishing His great designs and that if we would be associated therein with Him as colaborers, it must be by recognizing Him as our only Master, and with an eye single to His approval.

"Our Lord's utter refusal of every other way of carrying out His mission than the one which the: Father had marked out, the way of self-sacrifice, the Narrow Way, was indeed a great victory."-Z. '0030, 3r; 32:

THE REAL MINISTRY OF THE SAINTS

Again our Pastor sums up the essence of our mission in the following:

"To follow the Lord's instruction the Royal Priesthood hood should first, when discipling, inform those who have ears to hear that they are sinners through the fall -- imperfect in thought, word and in act; and consequently unacceptable to God and under sentence of death, extinction; but that God has made a provision for their rescue, and their return to harmony with Him and to life everlasting: that Christ Jesus; in harmony with the Father's Plan, paid the penalty of Adamic sin and condemnation, and thus purchased the whole race of Adam, and proposes to set at liberty all who obey Him. That now He is offering release by faith to as many as have the hearing ear -- even as many as the Lord your God shall call, and, that such as hear and accept the call, may reckon themselves as justified by faith, as having their sins covered, and as being thus, reconciled to the Father through faith in Christ; and that now, they become followers or disciples of Christ, they may become joint sacrificers with Him and by and by be made joint-heirs in His Kingdom its great work of blessing the world.

"Let us: as the Lord's people, seeking for the old paths, note well the Master's instruction in this connection, and let each one of us who seeks to serve His cause labor exactly along the lines here marked out -- not thinking that his own imperfect judgment or that of fellow mortals is superior to the Lord's, but to the contrary, that the Lord, the Head of the Church, alone was competent to give the proper commission which must be followed implicitly. Let us remember too, while using all the wisdom we can in this service, that the Lord's object in giving us a share in His work is not so much, what we can accomplish is in the blessing that the labor will bring upon us. This will be an encouraging thought to the dear ones who are engaged in the 'Volunteer' work, and if they find many discouragements and but small results the reflection that the Master knoweth them that are His, and that He appreciates every sincere effort made to serve His cause and to lay down our lives on behalf of the brethren, will give courage and strength to those who otherwise might faint by the way."-Z. '01-154, 155, 156.

THE GREAT WORK BEYOND THE VAIL

In the light of the foregoing why cannot all see that pre-eminently the members of the Church this side the vail are to be witnesses for the Truth, the Glad Tidings of peace and comfort, heralding the coming Kingdom of Heaven, and in so doing they are thus acting as peacemakers, "pursuing peace with all, and that holiness without, which no man shall see the Lord." Hence we are not to suppose that it is a part of the mission of the Church to convert the world to the principles of Christianity under the present-conditions of evil. Nor are we to get the thought that it is the duty of the Lord's people to reform or change in any way the present social, political or ecclesiastical systems.

Nor is it our mission to undertake to smite them either physically or symbolically. It is not our mission to intermeddle with the kingdoms or governments this world either with their military regulations or otherwise; for to do so would be busy bodying in affairs of which the Lord never authorized His people to be engaged. If the Church were to oppose and smite the present institutions, social or ecclesiastical, then all persecutions or sufferings resulting therefrom would be deserved, as they would have the inalienable right to defend themselves and to oppose those who were seeking to injure or to destroy them. Those thus suffering would do so not on account of righteousness, but because of mistaken zeal directed along improper channels.

But, some one may say, Does not the Apostle clearly indicate that the Church is to engage in the work of demolishing the present systems of error, the religious denominations promulgating false doctrines, when he says, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds." (2 Cor. 10:4.) We answer, not so, but that the Apostle was referring to an individual work in the minds of the consecrated believer. The overthrowing and destruction of the strongly entrenched errors, or firmly established structures of systematic theology, contrary to the Truth, is the work represented in the expression "pulling down strongholds."

It is very evident that this was the Apostle's thought when we examine the context, for continuing, he says; "Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." -- Verse 5.

We may be assured that those who proceed, contrary to the Divine commission, to engage in a work of injuring and smiting present institutions, are sure to involve themselves in serious difficulties, and generate a condition of mind and heart in which they are easily misled and deceived by the great Adversary. It is but a slight step from this stage of smiting to that of smiting the brethren in Christ, and devouring one another. The light of recent events, aside from that of the Scripture, has demonstrated the truthfulness of this statement.

When the Lord's people are exhorted to "earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3), it does not necessarily mean to fight and oppose all who do not accept the Truth, but that they are to oppose the error in defense of the faith, and in the spirit of meekness and love, for the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all . . . in meekness, instructing those who oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth." 2 Tim. 2:24-25.

Let us then, dear brethren, labor on do the work the Lord has assigned us -- the work of perfecting the saints for the future work of the ministry, looking forward to the time when it shall be said of His glorious Bride: "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready." Rev 4:7.

THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST

SERIES XIX - THE ASCENSION OF THE WITNESSES

'"And they heard a loud Voice saying to them, 'Come up hither.' And they ascended to Heaven in the Cloud; and their Enemies beheld them." Rev. 11:12.

We urge the reader to bear in mind that this language like that used elsewhere by the Revelator is to be understood as being pictorial. The symbol of the ascension to heaven of the Witnesses will be seen to be greatly elucidated if we consider the words of Christ when speaking to the people of Capernaum who were privileged to witness His miracles, and hear the words of Him who spake as never man spake. His words were, "And, thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven." -- Matt. 11:23.

This expression is very evidently figurative and signifies that the people of Capernaum were "exalted to heaven" in the sense of privilege and opportunity that they were at the time having great favor shown to them and -exalted privileges. A similar thought is. contained in the vision we are considering, and briefly stated is, that whereas previously before the great Reformation movement began, God's consecrated ones, the little gatherings of God's people and the Scriptures, had been out of favor altogether with the nations, the civil powers -- they would now be brought gradually but surely into favor with them. The enlightening influences of the truths proclaimed by Christ's true followers after their revivification would materially effect nations to the end of liberating them from Papal bondage and fear, and thus give favor more and more to the Lord's people, to scatter and proclaim the truths of Scripture. It should be kept in mind, however, in considering this symbolism of the ascension of the Witnesses, that like the others of this remarkable series of visions of Rev. 10 and 11, the fulfillment covers a comparatively long period of time. Indeed, we believe it will be seen to cover the remainder of the period of the twelve hundred and sixty years. The vision of the ascension of the Witnesses embraces in its significance all the notable events of history affected by the great Reformation which have had to do with the bringing in of all the blessed privileges of freedom to worship God according to the dictates of conscience, the translation and giving of the Bible to the people, liberty to interpret it and proclaim it far and near without being molested or hindered by the powers that be -- indeed, all the wonderful privileges that the Lord's people have been in possession of since they were delivered from the domination of Papacy in 1799. It reaches down to the opening events of the nineteenth century, when were organized the great Bible Societies and the translation of the Bible into all languages, and its circulation amongst all peoples began to take place. It embraces all the great blessings that have come to the Lord's people in the period described by the Prophet Daniel as the "time of the end," when many run to and fro and knowledge has been increased. -- Dan. 12.

CONFLICT BETWEEN LIGHT AND DARKNESS

It should be kept in mind that the work of publishing the Scriptures into languages of the people began with Luther and was taken up by other Reformers However, its circulation continued to be bitterly Opposed by Papacy and some of the government of earth, even up to 1799. It was of frequent occurrence that large numbers of copies of the Scriptures were seized and publicly burned. The great work of proclaiming the Truth, however, continued steadily on in spite of terrible persecution. Some of the governments of Christendom became nominally Protestant, and thus were God's consecrated ones assisted in their work of scattering the Truth in the measure it was understood by them. The great Protestant movement spread all over Christendom and made great inroads upon the Papal Church even in France, which was the first nation in the early centuries to give its support to the Papacy. A war of extermination was waged by Papacy against this movement in France in 1572 occurred the horrible slaughter of St. Bartholomew's day in which many thousand Protestants were slain by the adherents of Papacy and some four hundred thousand were banished from the French kingdom.

However, as is described in the next verse of this vision, a reaction occurred at the close of the eighteenth century, and France became infidel in is belief, and revolted against the Papal government and the Roman Catholic institutions, inflicting upon Papacy's power a blow from which it has never since recovered. As some of the countries gradually freed themselves from Papal influence, the understanding of the Scriptures that Papacy was the anti-Christ increased in those countries. It was not, however, until the twelve hundred and sixty years reached their termination in 1799 that the Papal power to persecute ceased entirely.

We thus see that the fulfillment of the vision of the ascension of the Witnesses signifies the exaltation of the Scriptures to a place of dignity and influence, as the sole rule of faith and practice in place of the dogmas and decrees of Papacy. The fulfillment of the vision would further signify the gradual work of establishing little companies of believers all over Christendom where Papacy previously had full control. It would include the bringing of the Lord's people into favor with the civil authorities and giving to them the privilege of living under governments that accorded liberty of conscience in matters of religion to the extent of being permitted to promulgate the truths of the Bible without fear of molestation.

DECLINE OF THE REFORMATION

It is proper at this stage of our exposition to note that while the great Reformation of the sixteenth century was a great religious revival, like all movements of this character, it stopped short of accomplishing full results. Toward the close of the Reformers lives, there was a disposition to court the favor of and become united to the governments that became nominally Protestant, and in this way hold back to a certain extent the freedom necessary to obtain a full, clear knowledge of the Scriptures. This, however, was overruled by the Lord to accomplish His purpose. In this connection we quote the words of our late Pastor:

'"The love of the world and a desire to be in power, influence, and ease were the snares which first seduced the Church and brought forth Papacy; and the same desires and endeavors interrupted the Reformation. Luther and his companions at first boldly denounced, among other of the Papal errors, the union of church and state, but when, after some years of brave resistance to powerful opposition, the Reformation began to have some influence because of numbers, when kings and princes began to flatter the Reformers, and avenues to social and political preferment opened before them; the evils of church and state union; which once they saw and opposed in Papacy, were lost sight of. The reformed churches in Germany, Switzerland, etc., stepped into the very shoes of Rome, and stood ready to unite with and favor any political party, or prince, or government, willing to own and recognize them. Thus some of understanding fell, and from being leaders of reform they became leaders into temptation. Thus the reform movement, well begun, was greatly checked.

"But all this could not frustrate God's Plan. By His wisdom it was overruled for good: It served, as Papacy's error had done, to further test the true saints, to prove Whether they were really followers of men or of God. It has served this purpose all the way down, from that time to this-'to try them, and to purge, and to make them white.' "-Vol. III, PP. 48, 49.

THE PART PLAYED BY NAPOLEONIC WARS

As noting the still, greater work of reform that was marked at the ending of the twelve hundred and sixty years of Papal ascendancy over the sairits, we quote still further:

"If we are correct in placing the beginning of the time of the end at 1799; we should expect that there the falling into the error of church and state union would measurably cease, though it might require long years for the full recovery out of that snare of the devil. Looking back, we find that facts exactly correspond with this. Since that date there have been separations between empires and churches, but no new unions. Really, this date marks a new reformation on a more substantial basis. The influence of Papacy over the kingdoms of Europe had previously been so great that its curses were dreaded by the nations as a withering blight, and its blessings desired for national prosperity. When Protestants separated from Papacy, they were received by the world as being merely a less corrupt substitute for the Papacy; and their favor, advice or sanction was often very similarly sought. But when Napoleon [in 1799] boldly ignored both the blessings and the curses of papacy, yet prospered phenomenally, his course not only greatly weakened the Papal influence, over the civil governments, but it also weakened the influence of the various Protestant systems, in matters civil and political -- which influence had grown very strong in two and a half centuries [since 1517] . . . Napoleon and his co-workers were godless men, animated by their own selfish ambitions for power; but God, unknown to them, was overruling their course and causing it to work out His own designs, which it effectually did [in bringing favor to Christ's Witnesses].

"Napoleon's work, together with the French Revolution, broke the spell of religious superstition, humbled the pride of self exalted religious lords, awakened the world to a fuller sense of the powers and prerogatives of manhood and broke the Papal dominion against which the religious Reformation had previously struck a death blow; but which its after course had healed. (Rev. 13:3) The era closing with A. D. 1799, marked by Napoleon's Egyptian campaign, sealed and defined the limit of Papal dominion over the nations [and saints]. There the time appointed (1260 years of power) having expired, the predicted judgment against that system began, which must finally and destroy it unto the end.' -Dan. 7:26.

THE SPELL ONCE BROKEN, LIBERTY FOLLOWS

"This date also clearly marks the beginning of a new era of liberty of thought, and the realization of individual rights and privileges, and has already been distinguished by its rapid strides of progress toward the full accomplishment of the work mapped out for this Time of the End. As a single illustration, notice the rise and work of the various Bible Societies -- 'pestiferous Bible Societies,' Rome calls them, though it cannot now hinder them. And the sacred volume which once she confined in chains kept covered in dead languages, and forbade her subjects to read, is now scattered by the millions in every nation and language. The British and Foreign Bible Society was established in 1803; the New York Society in 1804, the Berlin Prussian Bible Society in 1805; the Philadelphia Bible Society in 1808; and the American Bible Society in 1817. The extent of work done by these societies during this [nineteenth] century is wonderful. Bibles by the million are published yearly and sold at low prices, and many thousands are given away to the poor. It is difficult to estimate the wide influence of this work. While much is doubtless lost, the result in general is to break the bonds of slavery and superstition; political and ecclesiastical. Its quiet teaching that popes, priests and laity, as well as kings, generals and beggars, must all render an account to one Lord is the greatest of all levelers and equalizers.

"Though the religious reformation movement throughout Europe had severely shaken Papacy's influence, yet the reformed churches had so closely imitated her policy of state-craft affiliation with earthly empires, and claims of clerical authority over the people (that the 'clergy' constitute a special and divinely appointed rulership in the world), that the first effect of that reformation became greatly modified, and left the people and the civil rulers largely under superstitious awe, and subserviency to everything called church authority. The reform divided among several sects much of the superstitious and unwholesome veneration formerly concentrated upon Papacy alone. But the political reform witnessed during this nineteenth century, dating particularly from 1799, the 'Time of the End,' though very different from the former; is none the less a reformation. The revolution and independence of the American colonies, the successful establishment of a prosperous Republic, a government by the people and for the people, without the interference of either royalty or priest-craft -- had set a new lesson before the now awaking people, who, for so many centuries had slumbered in ignorance of their God given rights, supposing that God had appointed the church the supreme rulership of earth, and that they were bound to obey those kings and emperors sanctioned by the church, no matter how unjust their demands, because she had declared them to be appointed by God, through her" -- Vol. III, pp. 49, 50, 51, 52.'

THE TWO WITNESSES ASCEND TO HEAVEN

While these Words quoted were not designed by their author to portray the gradual fulfillment of this vision of the "ascension of the Witnesses to heaven," as already noted in a previous exposition, they described what he understood was the significance of this symbolic expression. Let us note the explanation of another eminent expositor of this vision.

"'And they heard a great voice from heaven.' Some manuscripts read, 'I heard' -- but the more approved reading is that of the common text. John says that a voice was addressed to them calling them to ascend to heaven. Come up hither: To heaven. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud: So the Savior ascended, Acts 1:9, and so probably Elijah, 2 Kings 2:11. And their enemies beheld them. That is, it was done openly so that their enemies, who had put them to death, saw that they were approved of God, as if they had been publicly taken up to heaven. It is not necessary to suppose that this would literally occur: All this is manifestly mere symbol. The meaning is that they would triumph as if they should ascend to heaven, and be received into the presence of God. The sense of the whole [vision] is, that these Witnesses after bearing a faithful testimony against prevailing errors and sins, would be persecuted and silenced; that for a considerable period their voice of faithful testimony would be hushed as if they were dead; that during that period they would be treated with contempt and scorn as if their unburied bodies should be exposed to the public gaze; that there would be a general exultation and joy that they were thus silenced, that they would again revive, as if the dead were restored to life and bear a faithful testimony to the truth again, and that they would have the Divine attestation in their favor, as if they were raised up visibly and publicly to heaven. All that is here represented [the ascension of the Witnesses to heaven] would be fulfilled by a trip triumph of the truth under the testimony of the Witnesses; or by its becoming gloriously established in view of the nations of the earth, as if the Witnesses ascended publicly and were received to the presence of God in heaven. All this was fulfilled in the various influences that served to establish and confirm the Reformation, and to introduce the-great principles, of religious freedom, giving to that work ultimate triumph and showing that it had the favor of God. This would embrace the whole series of events, after the Reformation was begun, by which its triumph was secured, or by which that state of thing was gradually introduced which now exists, in which the true religion is free from which it is advancing into so many parts of the world where the Papacy once had the control, and in which with so little molestation, and with such an onward march toward ultimate victory, it is extending its conquests over the earth. The triumphant ascent of the Witnesses to heaven, and the public proof of the Divine favor thus shown to them, would be an appropriate symbol of this." -- Barnes.

SHALL THE TRUTH BE BOUND AGAIN?

How long shall we be permitted to enjoy these blessed privileges? Will the great anti-Christian system ever again, in God's providence, be permitted to lift its head in pride and arrogance regain and exercise the power it once possessed to make war on God's saints? We will not attempt to guess or speculate concerning these matters, but will watch closely the rapid unfolding of history as it fulfils other visions of the Revelation, concerning the closing proceedings of the Divine Drama of the Ages. These visions picture the utter destruction of this System, as also other systems that partake of is spirit and unite with it as prophecies seem to intimate they will in taking away the liberties of the sons of God. The consideration of these matters will come, in connection with the study of other visions found farther on in this grand book of symbols designed for the comfort and encouragement of God's saints in times of trial. Perhaps by the time we reach the consideration of them, certain features yet unfulfilled will begin to be matters of history, and we will thus be better qualified to understand their full significance.

We will now consider a the effects produced by the great Reformation, beginning with the sixteenth century, on Papacy, and the nation that for a thousand years was its most devoted servant want in carrying out its persecuting decrees against God's Witnesses. These matters are brought to view in the symbols contained in the next verse.

THE GREAT EARTHQUAKE

"And in That Hour there was a great Earthquake, and the Tenth of the City fell, and by the Earth were destroyed several Thousand Names of Men; and the Rest became afraid, and they gave Glory to the God of Heaven'' -- v. 13.

The expression, "in that hour," would, in harmony with our interpretation of the vision of the two Witnesses thus far, refer to that time when the twelve hundred and sixty years of Papal domination over the saints would be about closing. It was immediately after this time that the saints of God came under very favorable conditions to study and understand God's Word -- His truth concerning Michael's Kingdom, and thus was prepared to proclaim a last worldwide testimony.

We would, therefore look for the fulfillment of the events symbolized by the great earthquake, and the fall of a tenth part of the city, of this vision, to occur just before the opening of the nineteenth century. An earthquake, as we have seen in previous expositions, is designed to represent a revolution. While the general effects of the great Protestant Reformation movement caused many revolutionary disturbances amongst earth's nations, the one referred to in this vision must have reference to a particular, a very special one, occurring at this particular time just before the opening of the nineteenth century. It must refer to one that would not only weaken but end Papacy's power to persecute and "wear out the saints of the Most High." This great symbolical earthquake can refer to no other event than that of the great French Revolution and Reign of Terror. This event is by all historians said to be the most terrible of its kind that had ever occurred in human history up to that time. The tithe this event occurred, as we have already seen, marked the beginning of a new era, not only for the Lord's people, but for all mankind as well. It was also the most severe blow to Papacy's power and influence that had ever transpired since the great Reformation began in Luther's time. This "great earthquake" is applied by our late Pastor to this notable event of human history. We quote his reference to this event as fulfilling this part of the vision:

"In the symbolic language of Revelation, the French Revolution was indeed a 'great earthquake,' a social shock so great that all Christendom trembled until it was over; and that terrible and sudden outburst of a single nation's wrath, only a century ago, may give some idea of the fury of the coming storm, when the wrath of all the angry nations will burst the bands of law and order and cause a reign of universal anarchy. It should be remembered too; that that calamity occurred in what was then the very heart of Christendom, in the midst of what was regarded as one of the most thoroughly Christian nations in the world, the nation which for a thousand years had been the chief support of Papacy. A nation intoxicated with Babylon's wine of false doctrines in church and state, and long bound by priest-craft and superstition, there vomited forth its pollution and spent the force of its maddened rage. In fact, the French Revolution seems referred to by our Lord in His Revelation to John on Patmos as a prelude to, and an illustration of the great crisis now approaching."-Vol. IV, pp. 531, 532.

One writer, after describing some of the awful scenes of the Reign of Terror, has said:

"Let these things be considered in the light of a mighty and successful revolt against, and overthrow of, absolute monarchial power and Papal tyranny and usurpation, and it will at once be granted that nothing similar had ever occurred previously in the history of the fourth great empire. Terribly iniquitous had been the career of the monarchial [Roman Catholic] power thus rudely overthrown; and fearfully corrupt the priesthood and religion thus utterly and with abhorrence rejected. A solemn character of retribution attaches to even the worst excesses of the French Revolution. The Papacy in the hour of its agony was exultingly reminded of its own similar cruelties against Protestants. Papists were treated according to the example set by Papists of other days, and the worst barbarities of. revolutionary France could not out-herod the previous barbarities of Papal France." -- Approaching End of the Age.

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AS A FACTOR

Another writer has said concerning the terrible scenes in the Reign of Terror:

"They are withal eloquent of retribution, they bespeak the solemn presence of Nemesis, the awful hand of avenging power. They call to remembrance the Protestants murdered by millions in the streets of Paris, tormented for years by military dragoons in Poiton and Bearn, and hunted like wild beasts in the Cevennes.

"In no work of the French Revolution is this, its retributive character, more strikingly and solemnly apparent than in its dealings with the Roman Church and Papal power. It especially became France, which after so fierce a struggle had rejected the Reformation, and perpetuated such enormous crimes in the process of rejection, to turn its fury against that very Roman Church on whose behalf it had been so wrathful to abolish Roman Catholic worship, as she had abolished the Protestant worship, to, massacre multitudes of priests in the streets of the great towns, to hunt them down through her length and breadth, and to cast them by thousands upon a foreign shore, just as she had slaughtered, hunted down, and driven into exile hundreds of thousands of Protestants to carry the war into Papal territories, and to heap all sorts of woes and shames on the defenseless Popedom.

"In one of its aspects the Revolution may .be described as a reaction against the excesses, spiritual and religious, of the Roman Catholic persecution of Protestantism. .No sooner had the torrent burst forth, than it dashed right against the Roman Church and Popedom.

"The property of the church as made over to -the state; the French clergy sank from a proprietary to a salaried body; monks and nuns were restored to the world, the properties of their orders being likewise gone. Protestants were raised to full religious freedom and political equality. The Roman Catholic religion was soon after abolished.

"Bonaparte unsheathed the sword of France against the helpless Pius VI.. The Pontiff sank into a dependent Berthier marched upon set up a Roman Republic, and laid hands upon the Pope. The sovereign pontiff was borne away to the camp of the infidels, from prison to prison, and finally carried captive into France. He breathed His last at Valence in land where his priests had been slain, where his power was broken, and his name and office were a mockery and a byword. It was a sublime and perfect piece of retribution; which so amazed the world at the end of the eighteenth century, this proscription of the Roman Church by that very French nation that had slaughtered myriads of Protestants at her bidding, mournful end of the sovereign pontiff in that very Dauphine, so consecrated by the Struggle of Protestants and near those Alpine valleys where the Waldenses had been so ruthlessly hunted down by French soldiers. Multitudes imagined that the Papacy was at the point of death, and asked, would Pius VI be the last pontiff, and if the close of the eighteenth century would be signalized by the fall of the Papal dynasty. But the French Revolution was the beginning and not the end of the judgment. France had but begun to execute the doom, a doom sure and inevitable, but long and lingering, to be diversified by many strange, incidents, and now and then by a semblance of escape, a doom to be, through much pain and much ignominy."- The Papal Drama -- Thomas H. Gill.

Thus ended the "time, times and a half," the twelve hundred and sixty years of Papal domination over the saints of God. This great symbolical earthquake fittingly marks the beginning of that period described in the vision as the ascension to heaven of the Witnesses:

"AND THE TENTH PART OF THE CITY FELL"

This symbol has been variously applied by historical expositors. Those who crowd nearly all the events portrayed in the symbols of the tenth and the eleventh chapters of the Revelation into the brief period of the sixteenth century, have explained this symbol to refer to the breaking away of England (one of the ten kingdoms of Christendom) from the Papacy. However, if these grand symbols could be crowded into so brief a space of time, it would not be true that England was referred to in this symbol. England did not break away from the Papacy because of its accepting the Reformation or because it became infidel in its belief. It was rather because England's king. Henry VIII, was unable to obtain the consent of the Pope to divorce his queen Katharine. There was no protest on the part of England's government, as represented in Henry VIII, against Papal abominations. The Reformation in England was effected by more humble instrumentalities -- Ridley, Latimer, Cranner and others, who saw clearly the abominations of the Papacy, and embraced the truths of a pure Christianity. These were persecuted, even unto death by the government of England, and it was not until some time after the reign of Henry VIII that the government really favored the Reformers.

Others have applied this symbol to a loss by Papacy of a tenth part of its influence and power. However, the great Protestant Reformation was a cause of the loss of a greater proportion of Papacy's power and influence than would be literally represented in One tenth.

Others, (and seemingly, more reasonably,) apply it to the breaking away of the French government from Papacy. This seems to have been the interpretation held by our late Pastor. The "great city" is by him interpreted to be Christendom (Vol. IV, p. 608). Christendom is generally understood to represent the ten kingdoms, which on an average, occupied the territory of the Western Roman Empire during the twelve hundred and sixty years. These are symbolized always by the ten horns on the fourth beast (Roman Empire), of both Daniel and Revelation. In harmony with this then, the tenth part of the city would seem to represent in symbol one of these ten kingdoms. How strange and significant is that Divine providence, that the kingdom among the first to give its support to Papacy, in the beginning of its history and for a thousand years, had been a willing instrument in carrying out its cruel, persecuting decrees, should be the one that would turn against and become the instrument in God's hand of executing judgment upon it.

TIME-HONORED CUSTOMS SWEPT AWAY

"And by the earthquake were destroyed seven thousand names of men."-v. 13.

"The expression "names of men" is a very peculiar one, and needs to be examined closely. A very reasonable, and seemingly the correct interpretation and application of these words is that during the "Reign of Terror," there was swept away all the various names or titles belonging to the nobility and clergy, together with all the minor or petty offices attached to both. The historian's record of this occurrence is very significant in this connection

"In a country where every ancient institution and every time-honored custom disappeared in a moment where the whole social and political system went down before the first stroke, where monarchy, nobility and church, were swept away almost without resistance, the whole framework of the state must have been rotten royalty, aristocracy, and priesthood, must have grievously sinned. Where the good things of this world, birth, rank, wealth, fine clothes and elegant manners, became worldly perils, and worldly disadvantages, for a time rank, birth, and riches must have been frightfully abused. The nation which abolished and proscribed Christianity (?), which dethroned religion in favor of reason, and enthroned the new goddess at Notre Dame in the person of a harlot, must needs have been afflicted by a very unreasonable, and very corrupt form of Christianity. The people that waged a war of such utter extermination with everything established as to abolish the common forms of address and salutation, and the common mode of reckoning time, that abhorred 'you' as a sin, and shrank from 'monsieur' as an abomination, that turned the weeks into decades and would know the old months no more, must simply have had good reason to hate those old ways, from which it pushed its departure into such minute and absurd extravagance." -- The Papal Drama -- Thomas H. Gill.

THE REST OF THE CITY.

"And the rest became afraid, and they gave glory to the God of heaven "-v. 13.

"The rest would refer to those left in the ''great city" (Christendom). The knowledge of the downfall of the French government and the Roman Catholic hierarchy existing in France, became known all over Christendom, and the revolutionary sentiments which caused this overthrow were also spread far and near. The National Assembly passed a resolution offering assistance to the people in other parts of Christendom to overthrow their rulers, etc. All these things we are told by the historian, caused fear and consternation among the ruling classes and law abiding ones, lest the revolution should extend into their dominions and cause like disaster. The wars of Napoleon before he became Emperor, were waged in behalf of revolutionary, government, France. His successes in these Wars contributed greatly to increase the fears among the ruling powers of Christendom; both Roman Catholic and Protestant. There seemed to have been a general recognition that these terrible events that were occurring in France were indications of the Divine displeasure. One writer has thus described the state of affairs in Europe at this time:

"In the reign of Louis XVI came to its crisis a tremendous unparalleled movement which put an end at once to absolute monarchy, aristocracy, and ecclesiastical Power in France, and which communicated to the neighboring nations in Europe; the shocks of revolution and the fierce fires of democracy together with an anti-ecclesiastical mania, that has never since been allayed." -- Light for the Last Days

Concerning the expression, "They gave glory to the God of heaven," the following exposition is to the point:

"It does not mean necessarily, that they would repent, and become truly His friends, but that there would be a prevailing impression that these changes were produced by His power, and that His hand was in these things. This would be fulfilled if there should be a general willingness among mankind to acknowledge God, or to recognize His hand in the events referred to, if there should be a disposition extensively prevailing to regard the Witnesses as on the side of God and to favor their cause, as one of truth and righteousness; and if these convulsions should so far change public sentiment as to produce an impression that theirs was the cause of God." -- Barnes

WITNESSES OF CHRIST'S GLORY.

-- NOVEMBER 16 -- LUKE 9:28-36 --

Golden Text.-"This is my beloved Son: hear, ye Him." -- Mark 9:7

JESUS continuing His lessons to the Apostles, showing them that His glory and Kingdom could not come until after His suffering and death, our Lord declared, "There be some standing here who will not taste of death until they see the Son of Man coming in His royal majesty." (Matt. 16:28; 17:1) Then, six days later (or eight days, counting the one in which this was uttered and the one in which it was fulfilled) our Lord took Peter, James and John, the three Apostles most advanced in faith and zeal, into a high mountain, and while praying with them the transfiguration scene of our lesson ensued.

Peter, one of those present on this occasion, fully substantiates the view that the transfiguration was a picture of the kingdom -- for writing respecting it, he says "We have not followed cunningly devised fables in making known to you the presence and power of our Lord Jesus, but were eyewitnesses of that majesty, for He received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to Him from the excellent glory -- "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." And this voice which cane frown heaven we heard when we were with Him in the Holy Mount." - 2 Pet.1:16-18

The several account's show that our Lord entered into the mountain to pray, and that the Apostles fell asleep during the prayer, but subsequently awakened and beheld the vision, the Master's face shining like the sun, and His garments as glitteringly white and His company two persons who, for some reason, they recognized as Moses and Elijah, although of course they had never seen either of these men, and would not have known them without assistance. These they overheard talking with the Lord, the subject of the conversation no doubt being intended for the ears of the disciples to convince them that the matters which would occur before long in Jerusalem and on Mount Calvary would all be features of the Divine Plan, harmoniously working out the blessed results promised and longed for, through the Kingdom. "They spoke of His decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem."

VISION OF THE HEAVENLY KINGDOM

What is the interpretation of the picture? is a proper question. We reply that it represented, first of all, that although our Lord Jesus must suffer death, even the death of the cross; in harmony with the Divine Plan, "being made a curse for us" (Gal. 3:13), nevertheless, He was still the Son of God, whose glorious majesty and kingly power would later on be fully shown forth. And Moses and Elijah, representing the Law and the Prophets, illustrate how the death of Christ was fully attested beforehand. Moses spoke of the sufferings of Christ, in all the arrangements of the Law, its sacrifices, etc., and the Prophets declared not only the coming glories, but also the sufferings which must precede them, as our Lord subsequently pointed out to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus saying, "O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the Prophets have spoken, ought not Messiah to lave suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?" -- Luke 24:25-27.

Again, this picture may be understood to represent the Kingdom during this Gospel age -- the Kingdom as recognized by the Lord's, people, but not recognized by the world. In this view of the vision, our Lord's face shining as the sun, and His garments glistening white; would represent Him in His present condition, as no longer the man Christ Jesus, but the risen, glorified Son of the Highest, a spirit being. In this view of the matter, Moses might be understood to represent the faithful of the past ages, and Elijah the faithful of this Gospel age, the Body of Christ in the flesh, who are to be associated with Him in the glory of the Kingdom, and who meantime behold His glory with the eye of faith, and recognize the great transaction of Calvary as the basis for all Kingdom hopes, and blessings.

In harmony with this view is the fact that at the same time that this, vision was taking place, the other disciples of the twelve at the foot of the mountain were contending with the Adversary, seeking to cast out the devil from the young man. Thus the Lord's people of the present time are still in the valley of conflict, still contending with the will of the flesh, and the devil, yet their eyes of faith behold at the top of the mountain the glorious Lord, with all power in heaven and in earth, their Friend, their Teacher, and soon to be their Deliverer, who will cause them to share in the glories of His Kingdom into which He has already entered.

We have called this scene on the mountain top a vision, and so indeed our Lord calls it in the account given by Matthew (17:9) "As they came down from the mountain Jesus charged them saying, "Tell the vision to no man until the son of Man be risen from the dead." And indeed a vision was just as useful to the purpose as a reality could have been. Thus it was that the. Lord showed many things later on to one of these three witnessing disciples on the Isle of Patmos. He showed him in vision, angels and thrones and crowns and multitudes and dragons, etc., in a manner which served the purpose equally as well as though all those beasts, dragons, etc., had been actually created for the purpose. So in this vision, our Lord's transfiguration was merely an appearance -- actually He had undergone no change. He appeared like as spiritual beings are described, bright, shining like the sun, etc., yet He was not yet a spirit being, and did not become such until His resurrection from the dead. He was still "the man Christ Jesus." But in the "vision" His countenance and His garments were caused to appear to be bright, glistening, etc., and the appearance served every purpose. Likewise, Moses and Elijah appeared to be present, but they were not actually present, because it was merely a "vision." The Apostle distinctly informs us that Moses and Elijah and the others of the Ancient Worthies are not yet made perfect and that they cannot be made perfect until after the Church, the Body of Christ, is complete and glorified with the Head; "God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect," -- Heb. 11:40; John 3:13; Acts 2:34.

As a part of the "vision" came a misty cloud of light, which enveloped the group, including the disciples, who were fearful as they entered the cloud. This cloud, as a part of the vision, might properly be understood as saying to the Apostles and us, Although the glory and majesty of the Lord Jesus are unquestionably His, as testified to by the Law and the Prophets, and as a result of His faithfulness unto death, nevertheless that glory will in a considerable measure be hidden, covered, obscured for a time, so that you will see your glorious Lord and King only with the eye of faith, which, although more or less cloudy, will nevertheless be bright to those who look unto Him. And the voice of God speaking in that cloud and testifying to, Jesus as the Son of God; and instructing that we should hear and obey His Word, would seem to represent how that all through the Gospel Age, "while the misty cloud surrounds the glory, of the Lord, they will have great need to continually hearken to the Word of the Lord, and to repose faith in its declaration respecting the Son of God, our Redeemer.

LESSONS OF FAITH AND OBEDIENCE

After the vision the Lord and the Apostles descended from the mount to engage in the, duties of life -- to complete the lessons of faith and obedience, battling against the world, the flesh and the devil, and yet, as the quotation from the Apostle Peter's letter clearly shows, the influence of this vision continued with the Apostles through coming days, as it still encourages us today. And may we not learn a lesson to the effect that as this vision was granted, when Jesus and the disciples were at prayer, so all those who seek God in prayer may, to a large extent, with the eye of faith realize this same blessed vision of the Kingdom the glories to come and may, to some extent, with the hearing of faith recognize the voice of God saying, "This is my beloved Son" to some extent be enabled to realize that as members of the Body of Christ their sacrifice must also be accomplished in actual death before they can enter into His glory, since it is written that, "if we suffer with Him we shall also reign with Him."

We cannot build tabernacles on the mountain heights of faith and hope, and expect to dwell there in enraptured vision always. We must remember that the duties and trials of present experiences in conflicts with sin and with self and with the Adversary are essential to our development and part of our covenant; but like the Master we should frequently seek the' Heavenly Father's blessing in Prayer, and in proportion as we use this privilege will our hearts and our faces shine, and proportionately we will be enabled to "show forth the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light," and who has shined by His grace into our hearts, "to give the light of the knowledge of God as it shines in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord."

"Have you found, the heavenly light?
Pass it on!
Souls are going in the night,
Daylight gone!

Hold thy lighted lamp on high,
Be a star in some one's sky;
He may live who else would die --
Pass it on."

JESUS CORRECTS JOHN'S NARROWNESS.

--NOVEMBER 23-- MARK 9:33-42; 10:13-16; LUKE 9:46-56--

Golden Text. - "Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ with a love incorruptible:" -- Eph. 6:24.

THE subject of this lesson is one worthy of the most careful and prayerful consideration of every child of God, and especially of all those who are in any way tempted to ambition and rivalry or vain glory, in the Lord's service. While the humility of the Lord's Apostles is very marked in their subsequent career, in the beginning of their course they were all to some extent influenced by old ideas which it was the object of Christ's teaching gradually, to eradicate

After the peculiar experiences on the Mount of the Transfiguration and the selection by the Lord of three of their number for that notable occasion, there followed temptations. And this has not been an unusual course of events with the Lord's people ever since. Our highest and most glorious views of the heavenly things which the Lord has in reservation for this people are quickly followed by earthly trials and difficulties which serve to test and to prove us whether or not we be of the Kingdom class -- whether or not we will be submissive to the heavenly molding and fashioning, that we shall be made meet, fit, for the Kingdom -- whether or not, by full submission to the Divine instructions in the school of Christ, we shall make our calling and our election sure to a place in the Kingdoms to which He has, called us.

PRIDE AND AMBITION ARE REBUKED

The question of relative prominence in the Kingdom naturally suggested to the minds of the disciples, and apparently it led to a dispute which manifested some selfishness.

Jesus doubtless overheard some of their discussion, and therefore when they were all assembled in Peter's house He began His teaching by asking, What was it that ye disputed [discussed with some heat] among yourselves by the way? (Mark 9:33.) But they held their peace (v. 34.), for they were ashamed to tell Him. Doubtless the discussion arose, partly at least, from the selection of the three to go with Jesus up the mountain while the nine remained in the valley. Several times the three had been taken with Jesus apart from the others. They were not necessarily greater, but were more advanced, had reached a higher grade in the school of Jesus, and the others had the full opportunity of advancing with them, or beyond.

It was to correct this wrong disposition, and to show its antagonism to the spirit which must prevail in the Kingdom of God, that our Lord sought an opportunity to converse with them on the subject. (Verse 9 and Mark 9:33, 34.) The Master took advantage of this occasion to impart a lesson so important to the Apostles, who were subsequently to be specially exposed to great temptations to ambition and rivalry among themselves for the chief place in the estimation and in the hearts of the people of God -- the Kingdom in embryo -- among whom whom they were all to be leaders and teachers -- chosen witnesses of God. And the Lord would have them be not only witnesses of His truth but exponents also of the power of His spirit in transforming the heart and molding the character into graceful conformity to the Divine will. But if the lesson was thus important to the Apostles in their position as leaders, if is also important to the whole Church, all of whom are, to a greater or less extent, exposed to temptations to rivalry and ambition.

Verses 2-4; Mark 9:33. "And he sat down, and called the Twelve, and saith unto theta; If any man desire to be first [i. e.; if he manifest the spirit of rivalry], the same shall be last of all, and servant of all." The spirit of rivalry being the very opposite of the spirit of love and meekness which must characterize all who shall be counted worthy of the Kingdom, this statement is seen to be the logical sequence of such a course, for if such a one shall ever enter the Kingdom he must first have that disposition thoroughly eradicated; and if it be deep seated or long cultivated, it may take considerable time and discipline to accomplish it, while, mean time, others, not so afflicted, may be engaged in the more rapid development of those graces of character and of mind which fit them more and more for extended usefulness and exalted service, thus necessarily leaving the one under discipline to be the last and least instead of the first and foremost. Thus viewed, the saying, He that humbleth himself shall be exalted; and he that exalteth himself shall be abased (Luke 14:11), is seen to be the statement of a philosophical principle of Divine law: Let us; therefore, as the Apostle Peter urges (2 Pet. 5:6), humble, ourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt us its due time.

EXCEPT YE BE CONVERTED

"And He took a child and set him in the midst of them, and when He had taken him in His arms He said unto them, Verily, I say unto you [the manner is impressive and solemn: it is as though He would say, I want you to take this lesson to heart and ponder it well]. Except, ye be converted [i. e., unless ye turn away entirely from this self-seeking spirit of rivalry], and become as little children, ye shall not [even] enter into [much less be greatest in] the Kingdom of heaven: Whosoever, therefore, shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the Kingdom of heaven." The special characteristics of a little child are simplicity of heart, meekness, truthfulness; freedom from ambition and rivalry, faith, confiding trust, love, obedience, teachableness, indifference to social distinction and popular opinions, and guilelessness.

Such, our Lord declares, must be the spirit of all who will be permitted to enter into the Kingdom of heaven; and he who cultivates, it most will be the greatest; not however by any arbitrary law of retribution, but on the philosophical principle that humility leads to greatness, and is of itself a great achievement. It is just such, loving generosity and meekness as this that will be necessary and the part of the "royal priesthood" of the Millennial Age, to co-operate with Christ in the great work of lifting up the fallen to the high privileges of perfect manhood.

"HE THAT RECEIVETH YOU RECEIVETH ME"

Our Lord's discourse continues on the same lines when He says; "Whosoever receiveth one such little child in My name receiveth Me." He is not referring to the receiving of infants in His name but the receiving of disciples in His name, the receiving of such disciples, as have this child-like character and thus have the mark of being the true followers of Jesus. Whoever receives one of these humble, faithful, unpretentious ones, not because of worldly name or fame, not because of boasts of being some great one, but because they are the Lord's, because they give evidence that they have His spirit whoever receives such, the Lord says should be considered and rewarded as though they had received the Master Himself.

Reversely, the Lord says that whoever will do injury to one of these little ones -- these that are little or humbler minded; these that are meek and lowly of heart-it were better that a millstone were hanged about his neck and that h6 be drowned in the depths of the sea. The word here rendered "offended," and in the Revised Version "stumbled," is derived from the Greek word, "skandalon," and is closely related to our word scandal, which originally meant, "the stick in a trap on which the bait is placed, and which springs up and shuts the trap at the touch of the animal." Hence our Lord does not mean whosoever will anger or ill use one of these little ones of my discipleship, but whosoever will entrap, injure, hurt one of these spiritually, etc.

If a person were drowned in the sea it could do him no further harm and be no barrier in any sense of the word to his future life in the resurrection time; but should he entrap, scandalize, injure one of the Lord's little ones, to the spiritual damage of the latter, he will thereby subject himself to certain losses beyond, the present life-he will suffer loss or injury in the resurrection life provided for all mankind through the great redemptive sacrifice. Our Lord does not state what will be the character of the loss or punishment or stripes that such a one will have, but does intimate that its bearing upon his future and eternal interests will be so great that it would have been far better, for him to have had his earthly life shortened instead, and we all know how all mankind clings to every year of earthly life permitted.

A HASTY JUDGMENT REBUKED

The teaching of Jesus concerning true greatness in the Kingdom doubtless recalled to John an incident that occurred as the disciples were on their way through Galilee toward Capernaum. John had taken special notice, and he relates to Jesus what he, and apparently others of the company, had done with one man-they had seen.

Master; he said, we saw one casting out devils in Thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us. He was not named, and perhaps not more definitely known; not an impostor, but a true believer, who, instead of joining himself to the company of the Apostles, had gone out by himself to do good in the name of Jesus, with faith sufficient to control the demons they forbad him because they supposed that such power as he was using was reserved as a privilege for those who followed Jesus as they did. Having themselves a similar mission they supposed that none could be obtained, except as they obtained it.

And Jesus said; "Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us; for there is no man who shall do a miracle in My name, that can lightly speak evil of Me." Speak evil is scarcely a strong enough word, for the original almost means curse. Jesus expressly told His followers to recognize as their brother the man who was doing His work, though he might not follow with them or do it in their way. This was indeed a rebuke for the spirit of narrowness and sectarianism which was even intruding itself so soon upon the minds of the disciples. The Lord's people still need such rebukes. We are not to interfere with any who are preaching the Gospel, even through strife; for they may do some good. Neither are we to endeavor to stop any who preach what they believe to be the Gospel. This is not our, present commission, or any part of it. We are not as yet judges of the world, but we are to recognize the difference between such and those who are the true ambassadors, or ministers of God. Our Pastor, commenting upon this incident said:

"This one forbidden by John would correspond well with some now holding meetings other than those which we attend. What did Jesus say? 'Forbid him not; for there is no man which shall do a miracle in My name that can lightly speak evil of Me." -- Mark 9:38-40.

"Here is a general principle which will serve to wide, to instruct God's people of today respecting His will in similar matters. We, of course, think our arrangements most pleasing to the Lord, or we would not have them so. If others think differently, the responsibility is with them and with the Lord. It is not for us to forbid them, but it is for the Lord to bless them or not to bless them, according to His wisdom in the management of His work.

"Someone one may suggest, would not this thought, acted upon break up the meetings of the Lord's people into very small classes? We reply that this must depend upon the brethren themselves. They have the right to meet in twos and threes or in larger numbers. If they can find it to their advantage to meet in larger groups, no doubt they will be glad to do so. This means a great deal of liberty in the Church within the lines of the word and spirit of Jesus' teaching, directly and through His Apostles.

"Brethren meeting as a class should understand that in so doing they properly waive or make void, some of their personal liberties and privileges. Individual preferences are to be more or less subjected to class preferences. Even the majority of the class should be considerate of the wishes, of the minority, and if possible, should moderate the arrangements so that all can be accommodated and pleased in respect to speakers, and in respect to place and character of meetings. No one should selfishly consider merely his own preferences and welfare. The spirit of co-operation, the Golden Rule, the spirit of love, should prevail. And as this is true; all those- filled with the Spirit of the Master and living close to Him will find fellowship one with another in yielding personal preferences in the interest of the whole number.

"The only things that may not be yielded to the will of the majority are matters of conscience. No one is to do what he believes to be sin, injustice, wrong; even though the remainder of the brethren think it right. And no one is to leave undone what his conscience dictates, even though so directed by all the remainder of the brethren of the class.

"Conscience is always to be respected -- never to be throttled or violated. Nor is anyone who stands faithful to his conscience to be disesteemed therefore, by his brethren, even if their consciences view the matter differently. On the contrary his courage in standing. by his convictions is to be considered estimable.

"On these liberty may be maintained in the Body of Christ; and we shall find blessing in proportion as those of one mind can fellowship with each other. Where fellowship is not maintained the assembling is neither desirable nor in harmony with the Divine arrangement. But where the brethren find it advantageous to meet in different classes, it will usually generally be found, we believe, that originally too great restraint of personal liberty was exercised; and that the majority were too careless of the sentiments of the brethren constituting the minority.

"But even where it may be found necessary or desirable to have more than one gathering of the Lord's people in one city, it certainly still is true that they should have one heart and one mind, and be of one brotherhood under the Anointed Head. They should consider each other's interests and do all in their power to provoke one another to love and good works.' -- Heb. 10:24." -- Z. '14-218, 219.

WHAT SPIRIT ARE YE OF?

When the time was come (Am. R. "when the days were well nigh come") that He should be received up, including His trial, death, resurrection, and ascension, He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, for there were these to take place. James and John were sent on ahead to the Samaritan city for the purchase of bread and supplies for the party. The Samaritan recognized them and inquired would the Great Teacher recognize the Samaritans and heal their sickness or worth He treat them as Jews in general treated them unkindly? They believed the latter. The Apostles frankly told them that the Great Teacher was sent only to only to the Jewish nation, and would not stop to heal their sick ones because He was "not sent save to the lost, sheep of the house of Israel."

Naturally enough the Samaritans resented this and were angry. They said, Very well. Buy bread from the people whom you instruct and whose sick you heal. St. John and St. James were greatly incensed at this. Was not Jesus the greatest Teacher? Was He not the Messiah? Had He not, as such, the right to determine the will of God respecting who should and who should not receive His benefactions. With this answer they came to Jesus and relating the circumstances asked, "Wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven to destroy these men and, their city?"

We listen, with keen interest for the Master's response. In answer to their query we read; "Jesus turned and rebuked them," and said, "Ye know not what spirit ye are of! The. Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them!"

The language spoken in Palestine in Jesus' day was the Syirac. One of the. Great Teacher's titles is The Savior. And this in the Syriac language, signifies 'The Life Giver." The whole world was damned enough before Jesus came. He came, not to damn (condemn) them more, but that they through Him might have life! -- John 10:11; 3:17.

Life! Did they not have life? No. All human life was forfeited through father Adam's disobedience. All mankind are dying as a result. A Life Giver, a Savior from death (and not from eternal torment), was what was needed.

The fast work of the Savior is the redemptive work of Calvary. His second work is the selection of His Church to be His joint heirs in the kingdom. His third work will be the saving of Adam and all his race in sin and death from all the mental, moral, and physical degradation which came through father Adam's disobedience and through his children being born in sin and shapen in iniquity and in sin conceived by their mothers.

The saving of the Church is a great work! How faithful we should be if we have heard, if our eyes have seen, if our hearts have tasted of the grace of God in this wonderful privilege of becoming members of the Bride of Christ. However, we cannot suppose that the saving of merely a handful of select ones is the purpose of God in the creation of the world and the redeeming of the world. On the contrary, this elect "Little Flock" is spoken of as a "first fruits unto God of His creatures." (Jas. 1:18; Rev. 14:4.). This implies an after fruitage much more numerous. While God does not propose to save any one out of death and to life eternal contrary to the individual will, He does propose that every creature lost in Adam and redeemed by Jesus shall be brought to a clear knowledge of the Truth, that they may be saved. He does propose that only the willingly obdurate shall be lost, and their loss twill be the loss of life -- as the Apostle declares, "everlasting destruction."

VOL. II. November 15, 1919 No. 22

Published by
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LET US CONTINUE GIVING THE WITNESS

We desire to again remind the friends of the privileges of the ministry that all have. We still have on hand a good supply of the special Herald of June 1-15, dealing with important themes of interest to all thinking people and especially to Christians. The Second Coming of our Lord is treated exhaustively. The testimonies of our Lord and the Apostles and Prophets with regard to our Lord's Return, are brought together and their harmonious and wonderful statements are viewed in the light of the startling events of these latter days, with the result that the faithful Watchers who read, now realize that they may indeed lift up their heads and rejoice, knowing that their deliverance draweth nigh.

Likewise, the other theme, "What say the Scriptures about hell," in the same issue will be found to be treated most comprehensively-every text in the Bible in which the word hell is found, is examined, showing the original meaning in the Hebrew and Greek: additionally, the parables of our Lord, as well as other symbolic statements bearing upon the subject of future punishment, the penalty for sin, etc., are given full consideration, with the result that those who desire to know the Truth are enabled to banish from their minds the awful errors and misrepresentations of the past and to arrive at a clear, harmonious and satisfactory conclusion on this most important subject. Accordingly all such are given a sure foundation on which to rest faith in a glorious God of Wisdom, Justice, Love and Power.

While we have been much encouraged to know that many are making use of this special issue of the Herald in bearing testimony to the Truth, yet we are inclined to believe that many more of the friends could be using this means for preaching the Message during this very favorable time. May we not awaken to even a greater sense of our responsibility? "He that reapeth receiveth wages," as saith our Master.

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OUTLOOK FROM THE WALLS OF ZION

THE REAL REMEDY FOR INDUSTRIAL ILLS AS SEEN BY SOME OF OUR LEADING STATESMEN

THE industrial and social strife that bas been developing throughout the civilized world for years past. and greatly augmented by conditions produced by the world war, is indeed more and snore becoming the subject of the gravest concern on the part of all thinking people.

The withdrawal of the labor delegates from the Industrial Conference, recently conducted in Washington under the auspices of the government, marks a further decided development of conditions looking toward turmoil and upheaval such as our country has never known in the past.

While the majority are hopeful that a final catastrophe, plunging the present order of things into utter ruin, may be averted, we learn of some of our leading statesmen who seem, as if by instinct, to sense the real remedy-the one pointed out in the Scriptures. Whether these men have been looking into the prophecies of the Bible, or the writings of our Pastor, we, of course, do not know, but some of their utterances are in remarkable accord with what students of the Scriptures have been presenting for many years past, As showing how some of the foremost statesmen of our country recognize that the only remedy for the unhappy state of affairs among men is the regeneration of the hearts of all under the beneficent rule and reign of the glorified Christ, we call attention to the following unusual and significant statement recently made by the Vice-President of the United States, Thomas R. Marshall

"WASHINGTON, October, 23. -- Vice-President Thomas R. Marshall today prepared for the "New York American" the following statement on the existing conflict between capital and labor as reflected by the failure of the Industrial Conference groups to agree:"

"BY VICE-PRESIDENT MARSHALL"

"Just so long as capital and labor stand and glare at each other, we may expect everlasting turmoil and nationwide cataclysm.

"The Congress of the United States is a kind of doctor that treats symptoms and doesn't treat disease.

"No legislative remedy that I know of can be found to produce peace and quietude and good order-unless the manufacturers see something more in business than dividends and look upon the employees as brothers in the Republic, and not as cogs in the machine, or as numbers on a payroll.

"And unless the laboring men have some higher incentive to do their work than the mere wage which comes from the doing of it, if they put in their time finding how little they can do and bow much more they can get for the doing of it, it is hopeless from their standpoint.

"It is no part of government to boost one man and to boot another.

"It is hopeless if the mad passions of men are to hammer at legislative halls for their final and just settlements. A government of discretion dies.

"The only government in business life that can hope to live is a government of love and compassion.

"What the economic life of America needs is not a lawgiver, but an evangelist.

"REBAPTISM OF PEACE NEEDED"

"The country needs a rebaptism of peace patriotism such as it had of war patriotism.

"There never will be perfect justice in the world until the lion and the lamb can lie down together, and not, as they do now, with the lamb inside of the lion.

"Just now we need a body of citizens who are content to do a day's work for a day's wage; who are willing to pay a day's wage for a day's work; who believe more in the common good than in the larger good.

"Since the world began, business and wealth have had no such opportunity for the Angel of the Lord to write their names down beside that of Abou Ben Adhem as they have had just now.

"The trumpet call of conscience is not only to the meek and lowly, but to the high and mighty, and when dividends and wages are measurably forgotten in the love of service for our Christian country, if there is any hope at all, passion, personal preferment and personal success must all be put in the background and the capitalists and the laborers must realize that the consumer is also entitled to admission into the brotherhood, and business must be conducted and work must be done primarily for the love of promoting a contented and happy people.

"DIVIDENDS AND WAGES SECONDARY"

"Dividends and wages must be secondary. This is a Problem for solution by men who believe in the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man.

"It calls on every man of every creed to solve it; not for one person; not for one class; bat in the interests of the whole people.

"It is to be hoped that soon again the Nazarene shall walk through field and factory, through palace and hovel, leaving behind Him everywhere the only solution for every great problem, the healing influence of His golden rule.

"I am in favor of any alleviating measure for the time that would adjust these troubles, but I have no confidence in the proposed settlement of these difficulties. This offers no new solution, and I only say it in the hope that men of every creed may realize how futile has been our theology, when we have imagined that we could go to church on Sunday and love God whom we have not seen, without the rest of the week loving our fellowmen whom we have seen."

A NOBLE CHRISTIAN LIFE

IN MEMORIAM

"The memory of the just is blessed."-Proverbs 10:7.

IN the long centuries of the history of the Church it is only here and there, at rare intervals that some bright particular star stands out from all others in the spiritual heavens, shedding light upon the pathway of the Lord's saintly people amidst the darkness of superstition and ignorance which has prevailed throughout the ages. It is only once in several generations that special luminaries, messengers of the truth, have appeared along the aisles of time, rising above the horizon of worldly affairs, to minister to the Church during the seven epochs which have elapsed since the beginning of the Christian era. As we have heretofore seen, the seals of the great Divine Scroll were broken by the One found worthy (Rev. 5:1-5), and the Scroll began to unroll. The revelations of truth contained therein were made known to the faithful messengers who, one after another, went forth devoting their lives to the service for which they were divinely commissioned, until at last there came the final messenger to the Church, to make known to the saints, God's consecrated and sanctified people, the glorious and complete Message of the Truth. And what a Message was there and then revealed! In the light of the understanding of the Divine Plan of the Ages all the doctrines of the Holy Scriptures have been clearly explained and set forth in all their grandeur and wonderful harmony. And in this marvelous light now illuminating the minds of God's anointed ones, the prophetic Word is grandly unfolding as the events foretold are rapidly developing and transpiring over the world.

What joy and peace have been experienced by those who have received this sublime Message into good and honest hearts, and who continue to hold the Truth in righteousness! Is it any wonder that the Prophet should have exclaimed: "O the blessedness of him that cometh to the thousand three hundred five and thirty clays!" (Dan. 12:12.) And so great and marvelous is this knowledge of the Divine purposes of the Almighty God that all the universe is represented as resounding with His praises, with all the heavenly hosts rejoicing and celebrating its glorious revealment. -- Rev. 5:8-14.

"IN HIS RIGHT HAND SEVEN STARS"

These special messengers to the one true Church based their work and teachings upon the foundation Rock "Christ and Him crucified," as the Savior and Redeemer of mankind. And it was because of their faith in the precious blood of the Lamb of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, and because of their consecrated Christian lives that God was pleased to honor them with the Message and service of the Truth as it was due to be revealed to the household of faith.

These "seven stars" or messengers are not to be confused with the twelve stars or Apostles. In the symbolic expressions of Revelation, St. John did not have a vision of himself as one of the seven messengers. The Apostles accomplished a general work which would be of service to the entire Church, but the seven messengers did a specific work among the saints during the particular epochs of the Church in which they lived and were appointed to serve.

We may not know positively who these seven special servants of the Lord were. We know there have been several whose names and life-work shine forth with greater brilliance than others. As the lives and characters of the faithful worthies whose experiences are recorded- in the Old Testament writings have served as examples, and. a source of inspiration along the lines of faithfulness, loyalty and devotion to the Lord, so the narrative oil the pages of secular history, of the splendid zeal and devotion of these noble characters for the principles of righteousness and truth and the cause of Christian liberty, are a source of blessing and encouragement to God's people in the end of this present Age. The unfolding of the symbolisms of Revelation, that divinely inspired history of the Church written in advance, is bringing to light more and more the grand and magnificent examples of these faithful servants of the Lord throughout the Age now drawing to its close, and which doubtless will serve to comfort and strengthen the last remaining members of the Church as they experience the final persecutions, trials and difficulties, that by and by they may share with their Lord in His resurrection glories.

The greatness of these spiritual messengers was clue to the fact that they preached not themselves, but Christ. It was their loyalty to the Truth, the Word of God, which they handled reverently and with wisdom endeavoring to eliminate all vain and foolish lines of: speculative thought. They built upon the solid hock, Christ Testis, with the firm anti precious material of the plain doctrine of the Scriptures and not with the fanciful theories, vain imaginings, and flimsy guesses of others.

Each of these servants of the Lord, in tile long upward struggle of the Church to bold fast to the true faith once delivered by our Lord and the Apostles, had no thought or wish to found a church or denomination, but merely to advance the cause of truth and to establish freedom of conscience and judgment. Invariably, however, the majority of their followers and associates gathered together and in their mistaken zeal (verily thinking they were doing God's service) proceeded to form what is now represented in the innumerable sects who call themselves Churches of Christ, in the world. And all claim to be the special divinely appointed channel of truth and righteousness and each and all have at some time, either now or in the past, opposed and persecuted their brethren who dared to dispute these claims. History is repeating itself in our day!

And new, what shall we say of the splendid privileges of our times, of living in the days of the full revelation of our Heavenly Father's "Plan of the Ages, which He formed for the Anointed Jesus, our Lord!" What shall we say of the joy and blessings that have come to us of being associated with God's servant of "present Truth" who finished his work of setting forth the full and complete Message front the Word of God! The Divine Scroll has been completely unrolled, the whole counsel of God has been revealed. Are we not satisfied with this glorious Message from oil High' Do we think that we can improve upon it, and that we are qualified to do so, even as some have essayed to do and brought confusion and sorrow to themselves and others? It is a life work to master the details of this Message and then to hold fast to "the things which we have learned" will require our constant attention and care.-- 2 Tim. 3:14; Heb. 2:1.

THE ANGEL OF LAODICEA

Nor do the desire to bestow upon this great man of God that adoration and homage that is clue the Lord alone. Our Pastor did not wish any of the brethren to worship hint, nor to esteem him in that way that would hinder them from properly honoring the great Head of the Church, our Lord Jesus. Our Pastor frequently rebuked the brethren for fixing their eyes upon himself, and because they seemed bent on finding references to bin him in the historical accounts and symbols of the Bible. In true humility and meekness he disclaimed any special honor or power froth the Lord and said that he rejoiced to be merely an index finger to point out to the hungering souls the great truths that had so long been covered and lost, and that he desired none to adore him or become his followers. More than this, the spirit of domineering and of lording it over God's heritage was far removed from our Pastor. He urged the brethren to accept nothing because lie said it, but to prove all things, and to make the Truth their own, and, alcove ail things, to maintain their own individual liberty arid freedom in Christ, and to accept the will and counsel of no man or system unless they speak in accord with the Divine Oracle -- the Word of God.

Our Pastor's life from the days of his youth was wholly devoted to the service of God and His people. He gave his all, his life, his health, his superb intellectual powers, his strength of being all, were sacrificed upon the altar of his love and devotion to the cause: that was so clear to his heart-the cause of the Truth. He lived the Christ life: he died the sacrificial death of the Christ.

It can be truthfully said of him that, more than any other plan of his generation, he burst the shackles of creeds all superstitions, liberating the minds of thousands from the fossilized dogmas which for centuries had hampered free and independent reasonings on the sacred Scriptures. He did more to vindicate the Divine character of the awful misrepresentations, due to the false doctrines of eternal torment, the trinity, and inherent immortality of the soul, than any clergyman of his day. His portrayal of the attributes of the Heavenly Father -- the infinite Wisdom, Justice, Love and Power -and the harmonious operation of these in the salvation of the world of mankind, form an epoch - making addition tot the literature of our tithes beyond that of any other. Epitomized in his own words: "The Plan of Redemption, devised by Divine Wisdom, is the essence of unfathomable Love, based upon uncompromising justice, and which will be fully accomplished try Divine Power."

The life work of this faithful man of God was stupendous. The scope of its influence was as far reaching among men as the uttermost extremities of the globe. Wherever the consecrated people of the Lord could be found there was his message made known. With tongue and pen he proclaimed the Truth the world round, and both Jew and Gentile marveled at the gracious words of wisdom which he uttered, and millions were gladdened by the wondrous tidings of hope and joy set forth from the sacred Word. The splendid doctrines of the Bible, so long obscured by the ruck and debris of a former age, of superstition and error, were brought forth, and, like the beautiful golden vessels of the temple at Jerusalem, were cleaned and polished and set in their proper array, and for the first time since the days of the Apostles could he clearly seen and appreciated. Every doctrine in the Scriptures was revealed and made plain, where before, not a single doctrine was fully understood. There is not in the world today a bible scholar or a theological student who can give a clear, reasonable exposition of any single Scriptural doctrine, unless he has the knowledge of the Divine Plan of the Ages, received through the Message delivered by this great servant of the Lord God. In proof of this assertion we ask any student of the Bible to give an exposition of the foundation doctrine of the Scriptures, the doctrine of the Atonement, or any of the other doctrines, and note the resulting confusion, unless he has received assistance from the one sent to help the church in these last days. Who can explain and harp harmonize, reasonably and consistently the doctrines of Election and Free Grace, both taught in the Bible, excepting those who have the knowledge of the Truth?

The character of this devout servant of the Lord was all that could be conceived of in a follower of Christ, and was beautifully reflected in his writing, and in his actions. Meek and humble, gentle and refined, yet firm and solid for the Truth, he was ever seeking by word and deed to bring blessings to others. No one living was more devoid of selfishness than he. Those who knew him best loved him most, and all marveled at his indefatigable labors, his voluminous writings, his innumerable sermons, his vast correspondence and unending dictations, his attention to minute details, and yet his faculty for viewing matters comprehensively and generalizing situations as they might develop. His fearlessness in opposing error and in kindness in dealing with opposers were a source of wonder and admiration to his associates. Though grossly slandered and misrepresented, as all of God's faithful messengers have been in the past, by the small and narrow-minded moved by the spirit of the Adversary, who always resort to personalities in opposing principles, he exhibited a magnanimous disposition, forgiving his enemies, and even assisting those who had said all manner of evil against him falsely.

It is this noble Christian life, whose memory all who love the present Truth delight to honor. We loved him for his works' sake, and we honor him for his continued services to us, in the example he left and in the continued uplifting influences of the grand and glorious Message so faithfully delivered over the world to all who hunger and thirst after righteousness, and which have satisfied our spiritual longings as nothing else could do, and which is amply sufficient for its to the end of the Christian way.

Shall we not, dear brethren, continue to honor the memory of our Pastor, and hold as sacred and as most valuable treasures his life work, his arrangements, his advice and counsel, and his powerful example of obedience, zeal and loyalty toward God!

"Faithful found, among the faithless, faithful only he

Among innumerable false, unmoved, unshaken,

Unseduced, unterrified; his loyalty he kept,

His love, his zeal, nor numbers, nor examples

With him wrought, to swerve from truth

Nor change his constant mind, though single."

THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST

SERIES XX - THE SEVENTH TRUMPET

"The Second Woe is past; behold! the Third Woe is coming speedily. And the Seventh Angel sounded his Trumpet; and there were loud Voices in Heaven, saying, 'The Kingdom of the World has become our Lord's and His Christ's, and He shall reign for the Ages of the Ages.'" -Rev. 11:14-15.

AS introductory to the unfolding of the symbols of the seventh trumpet, we remind the reader that the three last trumpets, the fifth, sixth and seventh, are woe-trumpets. (Rev. 8:13.) Keeping in mind the fact that the beginning of the great sixteenth century Reformation movement inflicted a "deadly wound" on the Papacy, and that the terrible events of the French Revolution and Reign of Terror to a much greater extent weakened its power and influence, will assist us to understand that the expression, "the second woe is past," signifies that the events fulfilling the sixth trumpet symbol would be completed in the occurrences taking place in and resulting from the French Revolution. It will thus be seen that the events of the second woe trumpet were not fully disclosed in the vision of chapter 9. We have already endeavored to show that the judgment woes that came upon the apostate Christian communities of the Eastern Roman Empire were depicted in the vision recorded in that chapter. The power used to inflict this portion of the second woe judgment were showed was that of the Turkish-Ottoman Empire. The Turkish-Ottoman woe did not cease with the fall of Constantinople, which City was the center of the Eastern Christian apostasy. The capture of this City by Mohammed II only served to encourage the fanatical religious fervor of this great monarch of Mohammedanism. We quote from historical records a proclamation or vow of this monarch, made shortly after the downfall of Constantinople, establishing this, which conclusively shows that the great purpose of this Mohammedan power was the utter extermination of the idolatrous Christianity:

"I, Mahomet, son of Amurath . . . emperor of emperors, and prince of princes, from the rising to the setting sun, promise to the only God, Creator of all things, by my vow, and by my oath, that I will not give sleep to my eyes, that I will eat no delicacies, that I will not seek out what is pleasant, that I will not touch what is beautiful, nor turn my face from the West to the East till I overthrow and trample under the feet of my horses, the gods of the nations, those gods of wood, of brass, of silver, of gold, or of painting which the disciples (?) of Christ have made with their hands." -- Sisnrundi - History of Italian Republic.

CONCLUSION OF SIXTH TRUMPET-WOE

However, while the Mohammedan woe continued for a considerable length of time after this, it was unsuccessful in rooting out Christian idolatry, thus fulfilling the words of Rev. 9:20: "And the rest of the men who were not killed by these plagues did trot reform from the works of their hands, that they should not worship the demon, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of wood, which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk."

From time to time this great evil power of Mohammedanism has claimed Divine authority to put to death those of the Christian faith, and still exercises itself in persecuting and putting to death such, notwithstanding its agreement, as we have shown, in 1,844 with the professed Christian powers, not to do so. This is seen, even in our day, in its massacres of the nominal Armenian Christian peoples, who are under its governmental control. The Mohammedan part of the sixth trumpet-woe was held back from affecting to any great extent the Western apostate Christianity. A new feature of these, sixth trumpet-woes began to develop in the West. The events that produced it were of an entirely different character, however. They relate, as we have seen to the results and effects caused by the testimony of the Reformers and the resurrection of the Witnesses in Luther's day upon the great Papal system, inflicting a deadly wound, thus weakening its power and influence over the peoples of Western Christendom. This movement, called in history the great Protestant Reformation, began a little more than half a century after the capture of Constantinople by the Turks.

The French Revolution and Reign of Terror of 1789-1799 weakened Papacy's power and influence to even a much greater measure. It was at this time (1799) that the Papacy was humiliated by Napoleon; this feature of the judgment woe taking away Papacy's power to persecute the Lord's true people. Here ended the twelve hundred and sixty years of Papacy's domination over God's saints. The sixth trumpet, however, continued to sound, in the events of the several revolutions that followed from time to time in connection with Papacy's gradual loss of temporal power, until 1870 A.D. was reached, where it lost all temporal authority.

The seventh trumpet, in connection with which comes the third and last woe upon apostate Christendom, began to sound soon after that time. The first evidence of the sounding of this seventh trumpet was that of the giving by Christ to His consecrated ones the "present Truth" -- the "sickle" that was designed to separate His consecrated ones from symbolical Babylon and from all systems that partake of its dominating, persecuting spirit.

THE TRUMP OF GOD NOW AT HAND

The sounding of the seventh trumpet, like that of the other six, relates to events that occur in the earth. Like the other six, it is symbolic, and covers a long period of time; indeed, as will he seen in verses 15-18, it comprehends all of the events in connection with the establishment of, and the administration of, Christ's Kingdom over the human family for a thousand years. In 1902 Pastor Russell, unquestionably the greatest Biblical Commentator since the days of the Apostles, wrote concerning this text:

"Our text is another prophecy which we believe applies in this Harvest time, and which, consequently, has a beginning of its fulfillment now. As already pointed out in these columns, we, in common with almost all expositors, recognize that the seven trumpets of Revelation are symbolical and not literal -- indeed that this entire book is a book of symbols, and that so far it has been symbolically fulfilled. Christian people in general understand that five of these trumpets have already 'sounded,' and are in the past; -- we would say six, . . . The 'Last Trumpet' -- 'The Trump of God,' is as much symbolic as were its predecessors, and marks a much larger and more important fulfillment than any of them. Its fulfillment extends through a period of 1000 years; its events mark and coincide with all the various features of the Millennial reign of Christ. Its beginning we understand was in 1878, and its termination will be a thousand years future from that date. It will be 'sounding' for all that time during which its events will be in process of accomplishment. What the events are, is briefly explained in the verses following our text. (17, 18.)" - Z. '02-116.

The events connected with the beginning of the sounding of the seventh trumpet are now being seen and understood by the last living members of the Lord's consecrated followers. Indeed, they (these consecrated ones) have been a very prominent factor in the fulfilling of these events. A retrospective view of these events, which mark the beginning of the sounding of the seventh trumpet, will be a means of testing to many, as well as a special source of encouragement to the very last of the Lord's consecrated ones, just previous to their passing beyond these earthly scenes.

The first event to be made known to the members of the Body of Christ living at this time was the fact of His "presence," that earth's great king has come to Zion, that He has taken unto Himself His great power. This has been one of the first evidences that the seventh trumpet has begun to sound. This event was not to be known until after it had become a fact. He was to come as "a thief in the night" -- quietly, unobserved, and with no outward, supernatural demonstration. -- Rev. 16:15; 14:14.

In one of the parables our Lord revealed in what way His presence would be first made known: "Let your loins he girded about and your lights burning; and ye yourselves, like unto men that wait for their Lord when He shall return from the wedding; that when He cometh and knocketh, they may open to Him immediately." (Luke 12:35; 36.) These words evidently teach that His presence would be made known by what is figuratively described as "knocking." This, doubtless, refers to the "knock" of the fulfillment of the sure word of prophecy. "For we have a more sure word of prophecy whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day star arise." (II Pet. 1:19.) We refer the reader to a comment on this parable by our late Pastor:

"The parable implies that at our Lord's Second Coming, He will have arrived before any of His faithful servants will be aware of the fact. His presence will be made known by the knock, and the knock would correspond to an announcement through some special servant or servants, either orally or by the printed page, setting forth the evidence of the Master's presence. For instance, the publishing of time prophecies showing that the time is fulfilled-that certain prophecies marking events belonging to the close of the Gospel dispensation, and the opening of the Millennial dispensation are accomplished, and that certain signs mentioned in the Scriptures are fulfilled -- such testimonies are in the nature of a knock, which would be heard by such of the servants of the Lord as would be awake at that time . . . . The knock is to be the evidence of the presence, and the servants are not to know in advance, but are to know at the time of the arrival, and that without seeing." -- Z, '04-123.

CHRIST'S PRESENCE FULFILS SEVENTH TRUMPET SYMBOL

It is a matter of history now that there has been just such a publishing of time prophecies as would fulfill this figurative prediction, and the attention of all the "Watchers" in every part of the professed Christian world has been called to them. The unfolding of these time prophecies has served its purpose. That purpose has been to make known that we are in the transition period from the Gospel to the Millennial Age. This would be true even though some of our expectations have not been realized as to certain details, and as to the exact time of some of the events which the Scriptures indicate are to occur in connection with the inauguration of Messiah's Kingdom. They have served to show that we have been for over forty years in the clays of the presence of the Son of Man. The great object of these time prophecies has been to make known to the "Watchers" the change of dispensations, and to discover approximately their nearness to the full establishment of Christ's Kingdom. However, these are not all the evidences that the "Watchers" have given to them to prove that we are in the period of the sounding of the seventh symbolic trumpet. Another prediction mentioned in the parable of the Savior has met its fulfillment, and this is a still greater evidence that we have for some time past been living in the period referred to in the text at the beginning of this article.

The parable brings to our attention a special service that will be performed by the Master to His faithful ones at His Second Advent. This service is referred to in the words of the parable: "Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that He shall gird Himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them."-Luke 12:37.

The great central teaching contained in these words is that our Lord at His Second Advent, would make known to His people special truths, not before clue to be understood. These truths are those concerning the mysteries of Michael's (Christ's) Kingdom; in other words, the Divine Plan of the Ages. The same thought is brought to view in the symbol of the eating of the "little book," already considered in a previous article. The same thing is referred to in the prediction of Dan. 12:12, "O the blessedness of him that waiteth and cometh unto the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days"; also in the Message of the Master to the Church of Laodicea: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice [knock] and open the door, I will come in to him and sup with him and he with me." -- Rev. 3:20.

All these events have likewise been matters of history for some time, and while many who have once believed are beginning to doubt this, the faithful Watchers have no difficulty in seeing these events to have fulfilled these prophetic utterances. In 1904, the faithful Watcher, who has passed to his reward, referred to these things in the words:

"Those who will hear the knock will be such only as are awake, and ready, expecting Him and on the alert for the knock. These will receive a special spiritual feast. It will be special because it is on a special occasion, and intended as a special reward for their manifestation of interest and devotion. It will be special also, because the Master of the household turned to be its servant, would have all the keys to all the riches of grace and blessing, and as elsewhere explained, will bring forth from His treasures -- His pantries -- things new and old, substantials and delicacies. The faithful ones will surely have a royal feast, such as never before was granted them.

"These things, we hold, have already been fulfilled . . . . The servants of the household are taking notice, and each one as he opens his heart and mind to the fact of the Lord's presence, receives a fulfillment of the blessings promised -- receives a feast of fat things, spiritual -- an understanding and appreciation of the Divine Plan and a soul nourishment and strengthening such as was never his before. That this serving of the servants by the Master should be understood to be an individual work and not merely a collective service and feast is evidenced by the Lord's statement in Rev. 3:20. Here the Lord represents the same event in connection with His Message to the last phase of His Church nominal, the Laodicean phase. He says, 'Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man [individual] hear my voice (knock), and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.'" -- Z. '04-124.

In this connection it will be appropriate at this particular time to notice some of the words of the servant who was doubtless called, and in a very special manner used, by the Master to dispense this food to His household:

"That this servant must not act or be regarded as a lord is clearly indicated in the 45th verse, which shows that such a misuse of his appointment would work his downfall. At no time has the Church ever had need to be on guard against its servants, who really endeavored to serve it and to hand forth from the Lord's treasure house the meat in due season. The Church's dangers have always arisen from those who sought to lord it over God's heritage, and to dispense their own wisdom or the wisdom of other men, instead of the Word of the Lord . . . . While this exhortation [verses 47, 48] in general seems to apply to one particular servant [not Society) through whom the other servants are to be supplied (see Matt. 24:45-51), we can see that the same principles in a general sense would apply to each servant in turn, as he would receive either food or stewardship. His responsibility would be in proportion to what he received or had opportunity to receive and to the manner in which he used the blessing." -- Z. '04-126.

The Lord's special servant towards the close of his service seemed to see that there would be a very special testing brought to the Lord's consecrated concerning the truthfulness of the Divine Plan as unfolded in his writings, because of a seeming (to some) failure of the time features. (See Z. '14-229. 331; '16-328, 329.)

If we will examine carefully the use and benefit that the time features of the Lord's Word have been to His people in the past, in the different critical periods of their history, we will find that it has been not so much to enable them beforehand to fix definite dates in connection with the occurrence of definite events, but rather to arouse them to see that there were in the times in which they might look for the fulfillment of these events. This was true in connection with the ending of the four hundred years' affliction of Abraham's fleshly seed, to be followed by their deliverance from Egyptian bondage. It was also, true in the ending of the 70 years of the captivity in Babylon. The same was true in connection with the 70 weeks unto Messiah the Prince, referring to the First Advent of the Savior. In none of these occurrences did these predictions give to the Lord's people who lived in those critical tunes anything more than all approximate knowledge o f their nearness to these events. It was only after these periods had ended that they began to realize it, and this by the fulfillment of the events themselves predicted to come, after they had ended.

It seems to be the same at the present time. Certain great blessings were predicted to come to the Lord's people after the 1335 days had ended. (Dan. 12:13.) We look back and in the light of history fulfilling prophecy we see these events have occurred. These events were predicted to occur in connection with the Second Advent. We know from plain Scripture statements that the Second Advent of Christ, while a personal one, would, because of the nature of the case (His being Divine), he an invisible one, and therefore, as the Scriptures declare, would be like a thief coming in the night. In this manner do we have Scriptural ground for our faith. We reason this way: The blessings promised to be given to the last members of the consecrated class have come; therefore has the Lord come forth and served His people; therefore the 1,335 days have been reached, and the seventh trumpet is sounding. The testing, then, comes not so much along the line of the time features, as it does in connection with those wonderful events, now past history, that were to come at the ending of these prophetic times.

THE TRUMPET VOICES OF THE HARVEST TIME

"And there were loud Voices in Heaven, saying, "The Kingdom of the World has become our Lord's and His Christ's." - v. 15.

The "heaven" of this vision in which the voices went heard is not the "new heaven" of Rev. 21:1, which represents the new spirit-ruling order of God's Kingdom, but rather the present heaven, i. e., the present ecclesiastical systems of the close of the Gospel Age. It is among these ecclesiastical systems that these loud trumpet-voices will be heard. We inquire, Are these to be looked for in the future or are they things of the past and present? In this connection we quote again from the one who has so wonderfully elucidated these matters:

"We are not surprised that it is difficult for the Lord's people, and impossible for the world, to recognize clearly the fulfillment of prophecy at the time of its fulfillment. It has ever been thus. Looking back to the First Advent of our Lord, where many prophecies converged and met fulfillment, we notice with what difficulty even the 'Israelites indeed' were then enabled to grasp the reality of their fulfillment. We remember how the Lord's brethren and His disciples, although in close contact with the Master, hearing Him who spake as never man spake, and seeing miracles performed such as had never been performed before, were, nevertheless, 'slow to believe all the things written [concerning the Messiah] in the law and in the prophets.' . . .

"Indeed we see clearly that all prophecies were written with the Divine intention that they should be so obscured as to be unintelligible except to a particular class for whom their information was intended; and made known to these only through the guidance and interpretation of the Holy Spirit . . . .

"These things being obviously true, we are not to wonder that the fulfillment of prophecies now, in the end of the Gospel Age, in its Harvest time, should be similarly obscure, and require elucidation, and then be comprehensible only to the true spiritual Israelites, now keenly awake, and seeking to know and to do the Lord's good pleasure. In the Millennial Dawn series, we have called attention to many of these prophetic fulfillments, now transpiring to the end of the 6,000 years of the reign of evil, and to the opening of the seventh thousand, or period of rest and blessing; to the great antitypical jubilee, a thousand years long, in whose beginning we are now living, and whose trumpets of jubilee announcement are now antitypically being blown in the proclamation of the restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouths of all the Holy Prophets (Acts 3:21) ; to the times of the Gentiles whose full end will be with a great time of trouble, political, ecclesiastical, social, witnessing the full establishment of Christ's Kingdom upon the ruins of present institutions; to the close of the 2,300 days of Daniel's prophecy, and the cleansing of God's antitypical temple, the true Church, from the defilements of the dark ages, as now being due; to the end of the 1,335 days of Daniel's prophecy which were to bring in the present 'harvest' time, which, as foretold, has brought and is bringing to God's people great joy and blessing, through an expanded view of the Divine Plan of Salvation, enabling them to appreciate better the heights and depths, and lengths and breadths of the love of God which manifests itself in the Divine Plan; to the completion of the parallels between fleshly Israel, the type, and spiritual Israel, the antitype, by which we see that we are not in the Harvest of the present Age, and can know what to expect in the remaining years, if we look back at the closing years of the Jewish Harvest, the type. As our Lord Jesus said to some of His faithful ones when explaining the prophecies due at the First Advent, so, also, might now be applied, to some of God's people, the Master's words, 'Oh, slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken." -- Z. '02-115, 116.

What is applicable in the above significant words is especially so in connection with an understanding of the significance of the "loud voices," that were heard in the symbolical "heaven" of the beginning of the "seventh trumpet" period. The fulfillment of this part of the vision is also a matter of history now; and the voice that was heard above all the other; (although now hushed), proclaimed far and near, both orally and by the printed page, that we were in the time when, "Christ had taken into His own hands the government of earth's affairs and was engaged in the preliminary work of preparing the last members of the Kingdom class, to be associated with Him in ruling the nations at first with the rod of iron, preparatory to speaking peace to them. The influence and echoes of that voice continue on as represented in the efforts and ministries of others since, and as yet there has been no prevention of its proclamation.

"GATHER MY SAINTS"

For our encouragement, we again consider some of the words written by God's servant in 1902:

"If now we have gotten a glimpse of the purport of the seventh trumpet, and are no longer expecting its fulfillment as a voice upon the air, but in the glorious events of the Kingdom, what shall we say respecting the 'great voices,' which, at its very beginning are to announce that the time has come for the establishment of the Kingdom? We answer, that we are not to expect them to be angelic shoutings in the sky, nor mutterings of thunder. We are to remember that the voices are symbolic, as well as the trumpets, and in this direction we look for the fulfillment of this declaration which must be due about the present time, if we are correct in our understanding of the prophetic teachings, to the effect that the Kingdom power of Messiah was assumed in 1878, and that the King has since been ordering the events which will shortly bring about the great time of trouble, the angry nations and the wrath of God, manifesting itself in their destruction, as nations, and institutions -- not as a people, though, undoubtedly, many human lives will be sacrificed in that trouble.

"As we examine some of the parallels given to illustrate the work of this Gospel Age, especially the work of the Harvest in the close of the Age, we learn that like as the Lord and His followers at the First Advent did a reaping work in the Harvest of the Jewish Age, separating the 'wheat' from the 'chaff'-gathering the wheat into the garner of the higher, spirit dispensation, and leaving the chaff to be consumed with the fire of trouble which came upon the Jewish nation, utterly destroying its polity, so, likewise will it be in the harvesting of this Gospel Age, in the separating here of the 'wheat' from the 'tares'; in the gathering the wheat to the garner of the Heavenly Kingdom and the abandonment of the tares to the burning time of trouble, which will destroy the present institutions of the angry nations. As the reapers, who in the Jewish Harvest gathered the wheat into the garner, were the Lord's faithful servants (men in the flesh) so the reapers in this present Harvest will be the Lord's faithful servants (men in the flesh) under the guidance and instruction of His Word.

"Similarly we find that the Lord's people living at the present time are again referred to by the Lord in figurative language, which declares that He will send forth His messengers with the sound of the great trumpet [the seventh trumpet] and shall gather together His elect unto Him from the four winds of heaven. This work we understand to be in progress; each one who receives a knowledge of the present Truth is not only made glad and strengthened, refreshed individually, but is also put into service forthwith and permitted in a special sense to be a co-worker with his Lord in the Harvest work the gathering unto the Lord of all the ripe wheat of this present time . . . . The wheat is not to be gathered into another sect, or denomination, with another new sectarian name, but is to be gathered to the Lord, -- 'Gather my saints together unto me; those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.' -- Psa. 50:5.

"This work is going onward gradually, steadily; more and more the Lord's true people are coming to a knowledge of His true Plan, and getting free from the ignorance and superstition and blindness of the Dark Ages, superinduced by the great Adversary, Satan. Gradually these faithful ones are [still] being, individually, ripened, perfected, and made meet for the Kingdom, and passing into it, they all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye -- the moment of death.

"As in these various parables and figures, representing the end of this Age, the living members of the Church are evidently the active agents in the Lord's service; as we do not see angels going about through the world binding the tares with literal cords into literal bundles, and gathering the wheat into a literal barn -- neither do we see the angels flying through the heavens [symbolic of the religious institutions of the present time]; so we are not to expect that the voices under the seventh trumpet, proclaiming the Kingdom, will be any more than human voices, human agents. Nor should we expect them to be other than the voices of those who have some measure of light in respect to the times in which we are now living, the Harvest time, the time of the establishment of the Kingdom. Those who utter these voices declaring that the 'kingdom [dominion] of this world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ,' must of necessity be such as have first learned this fact from some quarter.

"There are some of God's people in all parts of the world (and their number is increasing daily) who do realize fully and thoroughly these very things, and who are doing all in their power to gather unto the Lord all who are His consecrated ones, . . . and to these we must look expecting to hear from them the 'great voices' announcing the Kingdom.

"We might say that the volumes of the Millennial Dawn have to some extent been such voices. . . . These voices have been circulated here and there throughout the whole civilized world, not by worldly agents, not through book-sellers, but by those who have themselves been blessed by the light and who desire to render a service to the Lord and to the Truth, and to lay down their lives for the brethren, by taking to them the glorious and encouraging message now due to the Lord's people. These voices have been uttered, and to some extent heard, in the symbolic heavens, the nominal church; yet they do not seem to fulfill all that is implied by the 'great voices' of our text; -- we note other voices . . . .

"For some three years past a 'volunteer work' has been steadily progressing amongst the brethren -- the work of rendering assistance to the members of the household of faith still in Babylon. . . . These 'voices' uttered for the past three years have been 'great voices,' in the sense of being widespread, and in the sense of exercising considerable influence -- they have been heard by many. But although they have been tending in the direction of the announcement mentioned in the text, they have not, up to the present time, made a distinct annunciation of the important matter mentioned in our text; namely, that the Kingdom time has come; that the King is present, and has assumed the authority, and that His work is henceforth to be accounted the chief factor in connection with all of earth's affairs; as leading up to the great disintegration of present institutions in the approaching time of trouble which shall make His people willing to hear His voice when many nations and peoples shall say, 'let us go up to the mountain [kingdom] of the Lord's house; He will teach us of His ways and we shall walk in His paths' -- when He 'will turn to the people a pure language [a pure Word of instruction which they can understand-in contrast with the present mysticism and confusion] that they may all call upon the name of the Lord to serve Him with one consent.' -- Zeph. 3:9.

"The volunteer matter prepared for this present year (the issues of our journal for February 15 and March 15) had already been prepared and contracts had already been made for a million of these issues, in equal parts, for this volunteer season, which will begin immediately after the Memorial -- April 27 -- before we thought of how wonderfully this year's distribution will agree with the declaration of our text [Rev. 11:15]. The matter was called to our attention by one of the brethren of the office force. Here will be a million voices proclaiming throughout the nominal church (symbolic heavens) the great message of this present time; namely, the second presence of our Lord as the Reaper of the Harvest of the Age, gathering the wheat into the 'garner,' and destroying the tares (as tares -- not as human beings) and establishing His glorious Kingdom upon a firm foundation of righteousness and equity, for the blessing of every creature redeemed by His own precious blood. These 'voices' summarize in a brief way some of the testimonies of the Scripture respecting the presence of Christ, its time, its order of events, and His final manifestation in the glory of Kingdom power. We have no assurance that the 'heavens' will hear, or respond to the Message, and glorify God on this behalf; indeed we can only expect that, at most, only a remnant will be counted worthy to understand respecting the great work of God now in progress -- just as only a few in the end of the Jewish Age were found worthy to understand and appreciate the truths concerning their Harvest time." -- Z. '02, 117-119

OTHER CONFIRMING THOUGHTS

Practically all of the Protestant, historical expositors of the Revelation who wrote in, anti lip to, about the middle of the nineteenth century, looked for the fulfillment of this part of the seventh trumpet vision in the near future from their day. The most noted, as well as the most scholarly of all of these -- Elliot, in his Horae Apocalypticae -- thus comments on what might be the significance and fulfillment of these "loud voices" in heaven:

"It does not appear clear thus far, whether these voices were from the heavenly ones in the inmost part of the mystic temple; or like other voices said [in other visions] to sound in heaven also, from servants of God elevated into the political heaven of human ascendancy and power. We may not improbably suppose the latter; and that they proceeded from the Witness or Protestant body, elevated into political ascendancy ere the close of the former (sixth) trumpet."

It will be noted by the careful Bible student that this expositor's forecast is in perfect harmony with the above interpretation by Pastor Russell, that the "loud voices" represent a feature of the last testimony given by the Church. It is also very significant, that this last testimony of the Witnesses on earth still continuing, is taken up by the "twenty-four elders" in the symbolical throne-vision. We read: "And Those Twenty-Four Elders who Sit in the presence of God on their Thrones, fell on their Faces, and worshipped God, saying. 'We give thanks to thee, O Lord God, the Omnipotent, Thou who Art, and Thou who Wast; Because Thou hast taken thy Great Power, and reigned.'" -Vs. 16, 17.

It will thus be seen how closely related is all that transpire in the symbolical throne-scene with the events connected with the Witnesses of Christ on earth. We will also notice how wonderful is the knowledge possessed by these symbolical twenty-four elders of the throne-vision. They continue in a very brief sentence in their words of thanksgiving and praise to make Mention of the great events that are to transpire for the whole thousand years of Millennial times. They first state the condition of the nations when the Divine sovereignty is assumed: "And the nations were enraged, and thy wrath is come," evidently referring to the last plagues particularly described in Rev. 16, that will cause the overthrow of Christendom.

They next rehearse the stupendous events that next shall occur during the reign of Christ: "And the Appointed Time of the Dead to be judged, and to give the Reward to thy Servants the Prophets, and to the Saints, and to Those who Fear thy Name, the Little and the Great, and to destroy Those who Destroy the Earth. And the Temple of God was opened in the Heaven, and there was seen the Ark of the Lord's Covenant in His Temple; and there came Lightnings, and Voices, and Thunders, and an Earthquake, and great Hail." -- Vs. 18, 19.

The "temple of God" in this vision symbolizes the Church. The "ark" of the Lord's covenant represents the Christ, Head and Body. The thought conveyed by the vision seems to be that the meaning of these symbols would, during the early part of the seventh trumpet's sounding, be clearly seen. It may also mean that the symbolical "measuring," already touched upon in a previous exposition, would he completed. And still further it may refer to the time when the world itself may come to understand; this would be when all the temple class are glorified.

The "lightnings" -- flashes of truth; the "voices" -- the proclamations of truth; the "thunders," -- controversies produced by these proclamations; the "earthquake," -- the great earthquake of Rev. 16:18, the downfall of Christendom; the "great hail" (Rev. 16:21), refer to the terrible judgment scenes in connection with the "last plagues" of Rev. 16. It will thus be seen that these events contain a brief summary of the final scenes connected with the downfall of Christendom, and the complete establishment of the Kingdom of God on the earth.

The visions of chapters 12 and 13 are retrospective; indeed they may properly be said to be parenthetical. They are deigned to picture in detail the gradual rise and development of the "beast" that came up out of the "abyss;" and made war on, and silenced the Witnesses, already considered. The woes or plagues of the seventh trumpet are then taken up in the close of chapter 14, also chapter 16. It will be seen, therefore, that the visions o f chapters 12 and 13 are not under the seventh trumpet chronologically.

JESUS TEACHES PETER TRUE GREATNESS

-- NOVEMBER 3O -- JOHN 13:1-16, 36-38

Golden Text. "The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many." -- Matt. 20:28.

ST. JOHN does not give a particular account of the Passover Supper, but seems merely to bring in certain valuable features and lessons connected therewith, omitted by the other Evangelists. His declaration is that our Lord knew beforehand that He had reached the end of His earthly career, and was specially solicitous of improving the closing hours with His particular, chosen friends and companions, by inculcating some good lessons. "He loved them to the end" -- completely, fully: His own sharp trials, present and approaching, did not distract Him, nor absorb His attention. He was, as heretofore, still thinking of and endeavoring to bless others.

From Luke's account it would appear that on this occasion there was another strife amongst the Apostles, a contention, respecting which of them should be esteemed greatest. (Luke 22:24-31.) This strife may not have been solely one of selfishness, in the evil sense of the word, but partially prompted by love for the Master -- it may have been in respect to their several positions at the table, the coveted position possibly being closeness to our Lord's person. We remember how James and John had made request that they might be on the right and on the left of our Lord in the Kingdom, and we remember that in connection with this narrative it is declared that John was next to our Lord, and leaned upon His bosom.

Apparently this question of who of the Twelve was greatest, and of which should perform the menial service of feet -- washing for the others, had developed the fact that none of them was anxious to take the servant's position.

Apparently our Lord permitted them to thus disagree, without settling their dispute, without appointing any of their number to the menial service. He allowed them to think the matter over-time to relent and reconsider, and they even proceeded to eat the supper, contrary to custom, with unwashed feet.

HE THAT HUMBLETH HIMSELF SHALL BE EXALTED

Then it was that Jesus arose from the supper, laid aside His outer garment, and attaching a towel to the girdle of His under-garments, took a basin and a ewer for the water, and began to pour the water and wash the feet of His disciples. It was not the custom of the East to pour the water into the basin and put the foot into the water, but to pour the water upon the foot being washed; thus each had clean water, and little was wasted -- for water is much more scarce and precious there than with us.

Our Lord very evidently had already washed the feet of several of the disciples before He came in turn to Peter. Seemingly none of them offered objection, although no doubt the thought of their own contentions upon this subject, and unwillingness to serve one another, brought them blushes of shame and confusion of face. But when it came to Peter's turn, he protested. It would never do, he thought, to permit our Lord to perform so menial a service. He asks, "Lord, dost Thou wash my feet?" But our Lord did not stop to reprimand Peter to give him a thorough "setting down" and scolding, as some of His followers might be inclined to do under such circumstances: He merely insisted on continuing, and treating Peter the same as the others, saying that He would explain the matter later, and that if He washed him not, he could have no part with Him.

One cannot help admiring the noble traits in Peter's conduct, even though with the sane breath we be forced to acknowledge some of his weaknesses, and herein all the Lord's followers find a lesson of encouragement, for though they find weaknesses and imperfections, if they find also the heart-loyalty to the Lord which was in Peter, they may continue to have courage and hope to press on as he did, from victory to victory, and at last to have the prize, the reward of faithfulness.

When Peter carried that there was more meaning to the washing of the feet than merely its kindness and comfort, and its reproof of the lack of the spirit of humility amongst the disciples, he wanted, not only his feet, but also his hands and his head washed. Noble, thorough-going, whole-hearted, fervent Peter? But our Lord explained that this was not necessary, saying, "He who has been bathed has no need except to wash his feet, but is wholly clean." (vs. 10 - Diaglott.)

There is an intimation in the Lord's words, too, that this spirit of pride which had manifested itself among them had been inspired to some extent by their treasurer, Judas, as evil communications always are corrupting. (I Cor. 15:13.) This final lesson from their great Teacher was a very impressive one upon the eleven, whose hearts probably were in the right condition to receive the reproof and the lesson, but upon Judas, although his feet also were washed, the effect evidently was not favorable. The spirit of evil which had entered into him before the supper -- the desire to obtain money, and the proposition to obtain it by betraying the Lord, evidently continued with him, and instead of being moved aright by our Lord's humility and service, he was the more moved in the opposite direction -- to think little of Him. So it is with all who have professed the Lord's name in every time. Those instructions, examples and experiences, which are working out blessings and proving beneficial to some, are proving injurious to others. The Gospel, in its every phase, is either "a savor of life unto life, or of death unto death." As it was God's goodness and mercy that hardened Pharaoh's heart, so it was the love and humility of Jesus that hardened Judas' heart, and these principles are still at work, and may be witnessed in the harvest siftings today. -- II Cor. 2:16; Exod. 7:13

All who tire truly the Lord's followers should heed carefully and follow exactly the true example of the Master's spirit of meekness, humility and service to the members of His body. The whole thought is contained in His words, "The servant is not greater than his Lord, neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things [if you appreciate these principles applicable to all the affairs of life], happy are ye if ye do them [if you live according to this rule, loving and serving one another]" - vss. 16, 17.

Feelings of emulation, strife and vain-glory seem to specially beset any of the Lord's people who are possessed of any degree of talent or ability or honorable situation in life, and especially those who are in influential places in the Church; and while these, therefore, need to be specially oil guard against this besetment of the flesh, it should not be forgotten that, as some one has said, "There is a pride that looks up with envy, as well as a pride that looks down with scorn." The Lord's followers arc to remember that pride in any person, in any station, respecting any matter, is highly reprehensible in God's sight and displeasing to Hint. "The Lord resisteth the proud, but showeth His favor to the humble." Hence, sill who would abide in the Lord's love have need to be very careful along this line-to keep very humble, very lowly in conduct, and particularly in mind -1 as. 4 :6; I Pet. 5:5.

PETER AND JOHN ASLEEP IN GETHSEMANE

-- DECEMBER 7 -- MARK 14:12-54

Golden Text -" Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation." - Mark 14:38.

OUR previous lesson closed with our Lord and His disciples leaving the upper room, where they had commemorated His death. They went to the Mount of Olives, to an orchard there, known as Gethsemane -- the name signifying "oil-press place," probably because olives were there pressed and the oil extracted used both for light arid for food. One of the Evangelists speaks of it as the "garden of Gethsemane," but the word garden, as used in olden times, corresponds more nearly with our word orchard; it was not a flower-garden. There: is a small enclosure now oil the side of Mount Olivet, about 150 feet square, which is reputed to be the place of our Lord's agonizing prayer. It contains eight very old and very gnarled olive trees, and whether the exact spot or not, it represents it sufficiently well.

THE CUP WHICH MY FATHER HATH POURED

The different accounts of our Lord's experience on this occasion, grouped together, show us that mental anguish seemed to come upon Him here with a force of poignancy He had never before experienced; and that the load became increasingly heavy -- "sorrowful even unto death," a sorrow which almost crushed out His very life says Matthew. Mark says (Mark 10:33) that He was "sore amazed," as though the sorrow had come upon Him unexpectedly, as though He were bewildered. Luke, who was a physician, says that He was "in art agony," a contest, a struggle, the language used in the Greek implying a struggle of increasing force and severity, so that "His sweat became as it were great drops of blood"; and this bloody sweat is not unknown to physicians today, although very rare. It marks an extreme tension of feeling-sorrow nigh unto death.*

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*Prof. Tischendorf shows that this account of our Lord's bloody sweat is not found in the Vatican MS., and that although it appeared in the original Sinaitic MS., it was crossed out by a later critic. The passage is therefore doubtful, or at least questionable.

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After praying awhile He went to the three disciples, in whom He had greatest confidence, and who, inure than any others, were His tried and trusted companions, but He found them asleep. Luke explains that their sleep was the result of sorrow. The night and its lessons hail been impressive; the. Memorial Supper, which they dill not fully understand, nevertheless left a weight of sorrow upon them, as the Master had intimated that it represented His death, and had further intimated that one of their number would betray Him. The reaction front the sorrow brought a measure of stupor. Very gently our Lord upbraided them: "Could ye not watch with me one hour "Watch and pray lest ye enter into temptation." .It is not merely that you need tee watch on my account; yon need to be in a watching attitude on your own account. An hour of severe trial ís upon us all; watch and pray lest ye fall in this evil time.

Then our Lord went to pray again. We arc told that His prayers were in the same words; that is to say, that the same sentiments were expressed; and again a third time similarly: the one matter was weighing upon His heart. Could He rely upon it trot- that having sought to do the Father's will, that having finished His course, He had done it acceptably? Could He have full assurance of faith that God would save Him out of death by a resurrection? In answer to His petition a heavenly messenger was sent to comfort Him, to assure Him, to strengthen Him. We are not informed what message the angel brought, but we can see that is was a message of peace, and that he brought assurances that our Lord's course lead the Father's approval, and that He would be brought again from the dead by a resurrection. These were quite sufficient to give our Lord all the strength and courage necessary for the ordeal before Him; and from that moment onward we find Him the coolest and calmest of the notable figures brought to our attention. When approached by Judas and his band He was the most calm and self-possessed of all; when before the Chief Priest, Caiaphas, it was the same way; when before Pilate, the same; when crucified, the same; He had found peace in the message that He was approved of the Father, and that all the gracious promises of glory, honor and immortality were His, and now He could pass through any ordeal.

We note that two of the disciples had swords, and that by our Lord's permission, if not direction (Luke 22:35-38), that it might be manifest that He was not overpowered by the High Priest's servants, but that He merely yielded Himself to arrest. The Apostle Peter probably reasoned that if the Lord had directed the bringing of the swords they were for use and not for ornament, and with commendable courage he drew hiss sword in defense of his Lord against the first of the party who attempted to lay hold upon Him. The blow was evidently intended for the head, but perhaps was providentially warded off so as to injure merely the ear. But what consternation it must have brought to Peter and to the others, when the Master objected to their using the swords, objected to their defending Him, and even healed the servant who was smitten! Confronted with such conditions, the can readily see that the faithful eleven could do nothing but one of two things-either stay with the Master, and, like Him, submit to arrest, or flee, and thus secure their personal liberty and safety, which the Mister evidently did not wish to secure on His own behalf.

Under full consideration of the circumstances, therefore, we must acquit the Apostles of anything like cowardice, and must say that under similar circumstances to theirs, few of the Lord's people would know how to do otherwise than flee, as they did.

OUR REFUGE IN TIME OF TRIAL

The Scriptures assure us that our Lord was tempted in all points like as we (His brethren) are, and we see in this, His experience in Gethsemane, an illustration of one of the most severe trials which come to the Lord's people. It would seem as though the Adversary at times attempted to discourage us by making us think that the trials and difficulties of the "narrow way" of sacrifice will be all unavailing anyhow, and that we might as well give tip. When such thoughts come to those who are earnestly and faithfully seeking to fulfill the condition of their consecration vows, they constitute one of the severest trials that could overtake them; if they have given up this world and its affections, hopes, aims, desires, exchanging all these for the heavenly, then anything which seems to becloud the heavenly hopes, leaves them in a darkness more utter, more dense, than they could have known had they never seen and appreciated the glorious promises. And what course should we pursue at such a time? We should follow the example of our Lord, and seek the Father's face, anxious to know whether or not everything is all right with Him; anxious for some assurances that while the world may hate us, and say all manner of evil against us falsely, we still have His approval; anxious for some fresh assurance that it will be well with us, that the Lord will grant its a part in the better resurrection of life eternal.

The Evangelist records that our Lord prayed, "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me:" It may be that our Lord meant by this, If your infinite love and mercy see it possible in any manner to accomplish your purposes of salvation for mankind without it being necessary for me to die, then grant it to be so. But if this were the Lord's thought, it would imply that He had not fully grasped the Father's Plan of a restitution for mankind, made possible through a ransom price for Adam and his sin; for, seeing this, our Lord could not have supposed that anything short of the full ransom could secure the results. Quite possibly, however, the thought which bore heavily upon Him was the realization now coming vividly to His mind that if apprehended as a blasphemer it would be the policy of His enemies not to destroy Him secretly, but to deliver Him over to the Romans; and He could realize the influence and power they would exert to secure the performance of their wishes, and He knew that the Roman method of execution was that of crucifixion, and He knew also that the Scriptures explicitly said, "Cursed is every one that hangeth on the tree."

Here, then, seems to have been the center of His thought: I shall be esteemed of all my countrymen as forsaken of God, and as accursed of Him; I shall die as a blasphemer, as a malefactor; whereas my every sentiment is, and has always been, fealty, loyalty to the Father. This, we believe, was the special feature of our Lord's anxiety, called the "cup" of sorrow, which He wished, if possible, might be removed. We believe that He knew His death to be necessary, unavoidable, as He had many times informed His disciples; but that it was this ignominious form of death, "even the death of the cross," that staggered Him; for it not only bespoke shame and misrepresentation before the people, and those whom He loved and to whom He sought to do good, but it carried with it also the thought that he leas accursed of God; and if accursed of God He could have no hope for a realization of the glorious promise of a resurrection. But when assured through the angel that He would not be actually accursed of God, even though He would for a time take the place of the accursed Adam and be "made a curse for us," his race, then even the cross and its shame could be endured with fortitude.

WATCH AND PRAY LEST YE ENTER INTO TEMPTATION

In the case of our Lord and the Apostles we sec illustrated the value of watchfulness and prayer in the dark hour of trouble. Our Lord followed the direction He gave to the disciples: He watched, He prayed, He got a blessing, He was strengthened, and came off victor. They did not watch and did not pray, failing to realize the necessities of the occasion, and as a result we find them scattered, bewildered; and one of them, the very strongest of them all, who boastingly had said a little while before, "Though all men forsake thee yet will not I," was so overpowered by his surroundings, and so weak through lack of the very strength he should have obtained through watching and prayer, that he denied the Lord with profanity.

Whenever we find the Lord's people attempting to live a life of holiness and consecration, yet ignoring the injunction of our Lord to watch and pray, we know that they are unwise; and that however much they may be virgins, pure ones, they are foolish; they cannot hope to gain the victory over self and sin and the Adversary, single-handed, alone. If the Master Himself needed strengthening, surely we also need it; and if He received it in response to supplications with strong cryings and tears, it is art intimation to us of the way in which God is pleased to bestow the full assurance of faith which is able to strengthen its as good soldiers to endure any and everything in His name and service. Those who seek the Lord earnestly and in prayer are as sure to receive a blessing as was the Lord Jesus Himself; and although there will not conic to them the same kind of heavenly messenger to comfort and encourage them, nevertheless a heavenly messenger of another kind will surely be sent. It may be in the person of a fellow-disciple, able to enter into and sympathize with its in our trials and difficulties, as none of the Apostles could sympathize with our Lord or assist Him. Or it may be that the messenger sent will be one of the Apostles themselves, through the many gracious words of inspiration which God has communicated to us through them in His word. But however the strength may come, it must be the assurance, not of men nor of angels, but of God, that we are pleasing and acceptable to Him, and that we may claim and expect the exceeding great and precious things which He has in reservation for them that love Him.

So to speak, we are now in the hour of trial which cometh upon the whole world to try them. The present is represented in the Scriptures to be "the hour of temptation" or testing at the close of this Age. It is the Gethsemane hour, in this sense of the word, to all who are the Lord's trite people, fully consecrated to Him. It is the hour, therefore, in which we, like our Lord, should be seeking the Father's face to receive the full assurance that we are His, and that He is ours; and that we may rely confidently on His strength to carry us through this time. It is the tithe in which we are to make sure, as we sometimes sing:

"O let no earthborn cloud arise,
To hide thee from thy servant's eyes."

It is a time in which those who neglect the Master's words, "Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation," will be sure to enter into temptation, and be tolerably sure to fall therein. And the fall will be severe, and even though, like Peter, they should afterwards be recovered out of it, it will be with weeping.

Some make the mistake of praying without watching; ethers make the mistake of watching without praying; but the safe and only proper method is that which our Lord directed,, to combine the two. We are to watch and to be on our guard against the encroachments of the world, the flesh and the devil. We are to watch for all the encouragements of the Lord's Word, the evidence of their fulfillment, the signs that betoken His presence and the great changes of dispensation just at hand. We are to watch for everything that will strengthen us in faith and hope and loyalty and love; and while watching we are to pray without ceasing. We are to pray together, -is the Lord's people; we are to pray in our homes, as families; the are to pray in secret, in private. We are to have the spirit of prayer in all that we say and do that is to say, our hearts should be going out continually to the Lord for guidance in all of life's affairs, that we may do with our might what our hands find to do, in a manner that will be acceptable to Him, and that we may be shielded by Him from temptation that would otherwise be beyond our endurance, and that we may be ultimately delivered from the Evil One and have a place in our Lord's Kingdom. Brethren and Sisters, let its more and, more remember and put into practice these words of our Lord, "Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation."

AT THE TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS

-- DECEMBER 14 -- JOHN 18:15-27; 19:25-27

Golden Text.-"God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that, whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have eternal life." -John 3:16.

ALTHOUGH it is declared that all the disciples fled, John paints out that Peter and himself followed at a distance. Their deep interest in the Master would not permit them to go to their homes; they must keep Him in sight, and note how things would go with Him to the very last. They were powerless to assist Him against such great odds, and in the face of His own refusal to be assisted, but they lucre not powerless to love still. John, it seems, was somewhat acquainted at the High Priest's palace, and readily gained entrance, not only for himself, but for Peter.

But these favors and privileges became tests to Peter, and led to his denial of the Lord. And so it is with some of the Lord's followers of today. When they are by themselves, or with others of like precious faith, they are bold and courageous to confess the Lord and to serve Him, but if perchance they get into palaces or amongst the servants and officers and high priests of nominal Christianity they are ashamed of the Master and fear to confess Him, lest they should be cast out of the privileges enjoyed in the society of those who have trot yet recognized the truth. Far better would it have been for poor Peter had he openly declared, "Yes, I am one of His disciples, and since I presume that none such are wanted here I will go out" How mach so honorable and proper a course would have reflected to his credit in the eyes of all just persons, and how much blessing it would have brought to him!

TEMPTED AND TRIED

Peter's failure to tape the proper course brought him later to a still more trying situation, when a kinsman of the man whose ear he had cut off asked him point-blank the question, "Did not I see thee in the garden with Him?" Matters were getting pretty close for poor Peter. It was more than a question of leaving the fire and the privileges and honor of the High Priest's court: it was now a question of his identity as the one who had defended Jesus with a sword, and hence a question of his own arrest anti trial at the same tribunal with the Master. One false step leads naturally to another; to have holy declared for Jesus would have been a public testimony that he was a liar, in addition to leading to his apprehension, and so Peter concluded that in self-defense he must not only repeat the lie, and again deny his Master, but to maize the matter more strong before his accusers he began to curse and to swear that he knew not Jesus.

Poor Peter! Truly, as our Lord told him, Satan had desired to have him, to sift him, and surely he was being severely sifted at this time. It seems almost a miracle that her recovered his balance and repented and found forgiveness for his sins. It would seem that our Lord's prayer on his behalf operated through His previous announcement to Peter of this denial, for after he had thus denied, and after he had noticed tire cock crow, Peter remembered the Lord's words, "The cock shall not crow till thou hast denied me thrice." With feelings better imagined than they can be described, Peter hastily left the High Priest's apartments now of his own accord, going out into the shadows of early morning, that he might weep bitterly and entreat the Lord's forgiveness.

There is a lesson for us in the fact that Peter's failure was along the very line of his strength. He was naturally courageous, had boasted of it, and yet failed for lack of courage. "When I am weak then I am strong," implies that he who feels himself strong is really weak, as in Peter's case. Let us all learn to specially guard our supposedly strong points of character, remembering that we have a wily foe. We are to realize our weakness, our vulnerableness at any point, except as we keep watch at every point and rely upon the great Captain of our salvation to assist us.

John does not tell the whole of the story; he omits reference to Peter's cursing and swearing. His love for Brother Peter evidently influenced him to omit that portion of the narrative not absolutely necessary to confirm the Lord's prediction. The account of the cursing and swearing is given by Mark, whose Gospel record is supposed to have been indicted by Peter himself, Mark being in a large measure Peter's amanuensis. -- Mark 14:66-72.

Jesus was examined of the High Priest: that functionary, however evil and murderously disposed at heart, felt bound to at least preserve the forms of justice, although from the records elsewhere we know that himself and his associates amongst the priests and Pharisees had already determined that Jesus must be put to death because His influence amongst the people was inimical to their own; because His teachings cast theirs into the shade and exposed their hollowness, bigotry and hypocrisy. Our Lord answered his questions accordingly; refusing to make any specific explanations, He merely referred to His teachings, appealing thus to His rights as a Jew. His answer was the perfectly proper and legal one; He had been arrested without just cause, and the judge was now seeking to find a cause. Our Lord merely pointed out that the cause for the arrest must be shown to have been something which preceded the arrest.

The trial before the Jews was of three parts: --

(1) The examination before Annas the legal High Priest, which was wholly unofficial. He sent Jesus bound to Caiaphas, the official High Priest of Roman appointment and as such the President of the Sanhedrin, whose court room was probably in the same palace, across the corridor, where Peter stood warming himself.

(2) The preliminary trial before Caiaphas is supposed to have been held between two or three o'clock on Friday morning-the members of the Sanhedrin or Jewish Court having been summoned by messengers as soon as Jesus was apprehended. This hearing was preliminary in the sense that it examined Jesus and formulated and decided upon the charges on which it would convict at the formal meeting at dawn, about five o'clock. For the Jewish law forbade a trial by night. -- Luke 22:66-71.

(3) The formal trial before the Sanhedrin at dawn was merely a ceremony-a farce. The determination to kill Jesus having been reached long before His arrest, the matter of His condemnation was rushed through for two reasons: (a) The great Jews feared the common people would defend Jesus against their trumped-up charges, which were the only ones even they could formulate. (b) The Passover was at hand and they wanted Him killed before it. Ah! how little did they realize that they were being permitted of God to exercise the evil desires of then- hearts and thus to fulfill types and prophecies to the very day.

A lesson in this for God's people is that it is not sufficient that we go through a form or ceremony of justice; nor is it sufficient that we know in advance that we cannot circumvent the Divine Plan or hinder its fulfillment. Many will find in the day of reckoning and revealing, that they have served God's purposes without honor or profit -- in a manner that brought upon them condemnation instead of approval. Even the great Adversary Satan sill ultimately find (but not in any degree to his credit or blessing) that all his opposition to God, to Christ and to "the brethren," has been overruled by Divine wisdom and power for good, by Him who "maketh the wrath of man to praise Him."

It is all-important then, that we have more than forms of justice, of righteousness; we must have the spirit of righteousness, a love of righteousness; a sincere desire to know and to do God's will, else like as the Jews condemned and killed the Just One we might with forms of justice condemn and injure His "brethren." And to have tire desirable condition of love for God and for righteousness implies a full consecration of heart to the Lord. Thus every examination of the subject brings us back to the fact that full consecration to the Lord, full self surrender to His will as revealed in His Word, is the only proper and only safe course for any to pursue if they would hope to hear the Master's words, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joys of thy God."

"HE REVILED NOT AGAIN'

It was during the interim between the 3 A. M. examination and the 5 A. M. formal conviction of our Lord by His influential enemies, that He was subjected for two hours to the mockery and insults described by three of the Evangelists. (Matt. 26:67, 68; Mark 16:65; Luke 22:63-65.) These insults were committed by the "servants" and well illustrate the fact that low minds delight in the misfortunes of those whom they realize to be their superiors. These servants manifested the same spirit as their masters -- the Chief Priests and Pharisees -- their methods were ruder because they were more ignorant and coarse. The spirit of Christ, the spirit of love, on the contrary, whether in the educated or in the ignorant, is a spirit of love, of gentleness, of sympathy, of kindness. By their fruits both spirits may be known. "If any man have not the spirit of Christ he is none of His."

Immediately they hurried Him to Pilate's judgment hall, intent on getting Him into the hands of the Roman soldiers for execution at the earliest possible moment, so that the multitudes might realize His case as beyond the power of their intervention. Nor had the Jewish rulers any particular reason to suspect that Pilate would hesitate at all to order an execution. Pilate seems to have had a reputation for cruelty.

We are reminded of our Lord's words to the Pharisees, -- "Ye outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity,"--when we read that these very persons who murderously were scheming for the destruction of the Just One would not enter into Pilate's judgment hall, "lest they should be defiled," and thus be hindered from celebrating the Passover. How wretchedly inconsistent and hypocritical they were! They feared that Pilate's judgment hall, being under jurisdiction of the Gentiles, might have in it some leaven (a symbol of sin), and realized not that the real leaven of sin had permeated and thoroughly saturated their own hearts -- anger, malice, hatred, envy, strife.

What a lesson the Lord's people have here: for we are to remember that these heart-corrupted conspirators were the professed holiness people of their day and church. While it is not in the power of any today to crucify the Lord and put Him to an open shame, it is within our power to put to shame, to crucify, His "brethren" -- the members of His Body. And we fear that some today are doing this with as much self-deception as was exercised by these Chief Priests and Pharisees who secured our Lord's crucifixion. True, the Pharisees knew not what they did; as Peter says, "I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers." (Acts 3:17.) And so likewise today any who put to shame the members of "the Body of Christ" probably are ignorant of what they do. Nevertheless they put themselves under the Lord's sentence, "It were better that a mill-stone were hanged about his neck, and he be cast into the sea." (Luke 17:2.) Let us each therefore beware, and keep the heart, out of which are the issues of life.

THE SORROWFUL WAY TO CALVARY

According to Mark's account (Mark 15:23) the death-warrant was signed by Pilate about nine o'clock in the morning -- the trial of Jesus, and Pilate's various attempts to secure His release from His enemies, having occupied three hours. At once they started, the two robbers bearing their crosses and Jesus bearing His cross, taking the place of Barabbas, who was to have been executed, but who was released. It was the custom in olden times to compel the convicts to bear the instruments of their own torture. Nor were the crosses so large and heavy as they are generally illustrated in modern paintings. On the contrary, the evidence is that the feet of the crucified were usually only twelve to eighteen inches from the ground. Although small, these crosses constituted a good burden for a reasonably strong mail; but our Lord, after passing through His Gethsemane experiences and the night of buffeting and scourging, and His further scourging by Pilate's orders, was sick, exhausted, weak, sore. Apparently every the hardened soldiers took pity upon Him, and meeting Simon the Cyrenian on the way, they compelled hire to relieve Jesus.

We know nothing respecting Simon, except that Mark relates that he was the father of Alexander and Rufus, which gives the suggestion that these, his two sons, may subsequently have become the followers of Jesus, and well known amongst the disciples. In any event, Simon himself enjoyed a great privilege which thousands since have almost envied. How the Apostles, Peter, James and John and others, must have regretted the fearfulness of heart which kept them all at a distance, and hindered them from proffering their aid to the Master in His trying hour: John we know was not far off; probably the others were near also; but what an opportunity they missed.

And very similar opportunities are still with us all opportunities to serve the Christ-opportunities for serving the members of the Body of Christ. As every one who follows the Master's footsteps must needs have some Gethsemane experiences, so also each must have a taste at least of all the Master's experiences. Let us not forget, then, to look about us for opportunities for serving the "brethren," the "little ones," the members of the Body of Christ, Let each be careful not to add to the reproaches that must fall upon all the followers of the Lamb, but on the contrary to offer words of sympathy, and to help bear each other's crosses, difficulties and trials by the way. Thus can we best show to our Lord and Head how we would have appreciated the opportunity of helping Him bear His cross oil the way to Calvary.

The place of crucifixion was called Golgotha, the Hebrew word signifying a skull, the Latin name for a skull being. Calvary. This name was given to the locality probably because the general contour of the hill, which teas just outside of Jerusalem, closely resembles a skull when viewed at a distance. It was Ion the way to this place, Golgotha, Calvary, that some of the charitable women of Jerusalem, according to their general custom, offered the condemned ones sour wine mixed with bitter myrrh--a draught which had a tendency to stupefy the nerves, thus rendering the execution less agonizing. The two robbers quite probably drank of the potion, but Mark (Mark 15:23) declares that our Lord refused it having learned that His experiences were the Father's will, He would do nothing whatever to hinder Himself from receiving them to the full.

The Apostle John had grown bolder as the day advanced, and while our Lord was crucified lie drew near and was within speaking distance-quite possibly encouraged by seeing "the wife of Cleophas," who is supposed to have been a relative. It was a sorrowful gathering for these whose hearts went out with sympathy for the Master whom they loved but were powerless to comfort or relieve. They were weeping and sorrowing while others jeered and taunted, saying, "if thou be Messiah, come down from the cross"-thinking doubtless that our Lord's crucifixion by His enemies was the best possible proof that His claim of Messiahship was a fraudulent one proving that He was an impostor.

BE THOU FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH

With the members of the Body of Christ it has been true at times also that the Father has permitted experiences to come to there in such manner as might imply that they did not have His favor, arid were really impostors. But as the true disciples had a heart-union with the Lord, which outward circumstances and misfortunes could not break, a love which adversity could not chill, so with all His "brethren," those who are in heart-harmony, in oneness of spirit, will be found faithful under the most trying circumstances and adversities, because they have one spirit, a spirit of love for the brethren, by which they are enabled to identify one another as members of the one Body.

How it gives us an insight into our Lord's sympathetic nature, to find Him thinking in the interest of others at the very time when He Himself is overwhelmed in trouble. His own agony did not hinder Him from thinking of His mother and making provision for her comfort, commending her to the care of the loving disciple, John. We thus see exemplified in the Master the teaching of the Scriptures that each should seek to make provision for his own dependent ones and, as the Apostle says, "1f any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." (I Tim. 5:8) "The faith" includes thoughts of love, sympathy, interest and care for 'others, especially for them of the household of faith. We note the choice of John: it was doubtless because, first of alt, of his loving, tender disposition; secondly, his zeal for the Lord and the truth; and thirdly, his courage in pressing near to be with his dying Master in His closing hours, at the risk of his own life. Let us note these characteristics, as being those which the Lord approves, that noting them we may cultivate them in ourselves, and be granted special opportunities for service by this same Master.

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"DEPART, YOU WHO PRACTICE INIQUITY"

"THE CHURCH'S DIVINELY APPOINTED MISSION."

"THE CORRECT VIEW OF THE CHURCH's MISSION"

ONLY THE FEW BLESSED NOW

CRUCIAL TESTS OF LOYALTY

SYMPATHY WITH ALL GOOD WORKS

NO COMPROMISE WITH WORLDLY METHODS

THE REAL MINISTRY OF THE SAINTS

THE GREAT WORK BEYOND THE VAIL

SERIES XIX - THE ASCENSION OF THE WITNESSES

CONFLICT BETWEEN LIGHT AND DARKNESS

DECLINE OF THE REFORMATION

THE PART PLAYED BY NAPOLEONIC WARS

THE SPELL ONCE BROKEN, LIBERTY FOLLOWS

THE TWO WITNESSES ASCEND TO HEAVEN

SHALL THE TRUTH BE BOUND AGAIN?

THE GREAT EARTHQUAKE

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AS A FACTOR

"AND THE TENTH PART OF THE CITY FELL"

TIME-HONORED CUSTOMS SWEPT AWAY

THE REST OF THE CITY.

-- NOVEMBER 16 -- LUKE 9:28-36­ --

VISION OF THE HEAVENLY KINGDOM

LESSONS OF FAITH AND OBEDIENCE

--NOVEMBER 23-- MARK 9:33-42; 10:13-16; LUKE 9:46-56--

PRIDE AND AMBITION ARE REBUKED

EXCEPT YE BE CONVERTED

"HE THAT RECEIVETH YOU RECEIVETH ME"

A HASTY JUDGMENT REBUKED

WHAT SPIRIT ARE YE OF?

RE SCRIPTURE TEXT POST CARDS

THE REAL REMEDY FOR INDUSTRIAL ILLS AS SEEN BY SOME OF OUR LEADING STATESMEN

"BY VICE-PRESIDENT MARSHALL"

"REBAPTISM OF PEACE NEEDED"

"DIVIDENDS AND WAGES SECONDARY"

IN MEMORIAM

"IN HIS RIGHT HAND SEVEN STARS"

THE ANGEL OF LAODICEA

SERIES XX - THE SEVENTH TRUMPET

CONCLUSION OF SIXTH TRUMPET-WOE

THE TRUMP OF GOD NOW AT HAND

CHRIST'S PRESENCE FULFILS SEVENTH TRUMPET SYMBOL

THE TRUMPET VOICES OF THE HARVEST TIME

"GATHER MY SAINTS"

OTHER CONFIRMING THOUGHTS

-- NOVEMBER 3O -- JOHN 13:1-16, 36-38­

HE THAT HUMBLETH HIMSELF SHALL BE EXALTED

-- DECEMBER 7 -- MARK 14:12-54­

THE CUP WHICH MY FATHER HATH POURED

OUR REFUGE IN TIME OF TRIAL

WATCH AND PRAY LEST YE ENTER INTO TEMPTATION

-- DECEMBER 14 -- JOHN 18:15-27; 19:25-27­

TEMPTED AND TRIED

"HE REVILED NOT AGAIN'

THE SORROWFUL WAY TO CALVARY

BE THOU FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH

-- NOVEMBER 16 -- LUKE 9:28-36 --

-- NOVEMBER 3O -- JOHN 13:1-16, 36-38

-- DECEMBER 7 -- MARK 14:12-54

-- DECEMBER 14 -- JOHN 18:15-27; 19:25-27