THE HERALD
of Christ's Kingdom
VOL. IV. August 1, 1921 No. 15
Table of Contents
WHAT
IS PRESENT TRUTH?
BEREAN
STUDIES IN THE REVELATION
THE
REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST
PAUL
AND BARNABAS ATTEND IMPORTANT CONFERENCE
FROM
ASIA TO EUROPE
VOL. IV. August 15, 1921 No. 16
Table of Contents
WHO
MAY ADVANCE IN THE LIGHT?
THE
REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST
BEREAN
STUDIES IN THE REVELATION
FROM
PHILIPPI TO ATHENS
PAUL
IN ATHENS
LETTERS
OF ENCOURAGEMENT
VOL. IV. August 1, 1921 No. 15
"Wherefore I will not be
negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be
established in the present truth."--2 Pet. 1:12.
TRUE to the promises of the Divine Word, the pathway of God's
servants down through the ages has shone brighter and brighter with the light of Truth. As
time and events have made due the knowledge of certain truths, pertaining to the Divine
Plan, those who have been in a right attitude of heart have been given to understand the
things that were meet for them in their day. The statement made in the Old Testament
times, "The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto
the perfect day!" (Prov. 4:18), though fulfilled in preceding dispensations, has
continued in process of fulfillment throughout the present Age. Going back to the First
Advent of the Savior, we note how distinctly His coming marked the due time for a fuller
revelation of the Divine plan's and purposes. What some now call the "spirit
dispensation" was ushered in; and no statement is more significant of a new
dispensation, with a new work privileges and blessings, than that recorded by the
Evangelist, saying of the Savior that "He came unto His own, and His own received Him
not" but as many as received Him, to them gave He power to be come the sons of
God,, even to them that believe on His name."--John 1:11, 12.
In fulfillment of this, we find that those who became disciples of
Jesus were admitted-into a special relation ship, arid given to receive certain rich and
distinguished blessings, represented in the Savior's address to His followers,:
"Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the Kingdom of God," etc. (Mark,
4:11.) Following the completion of our Lord's earthly mission and His ascension, there was
even a more pronounced manifestation of Divine favor, in the coming of the Holy Spirit,
which resulted in the enlightenment of those who were in a. waiting and ready attitude;
and there the Gospel Church was fully instituted. We have abundant testimony in the lives
and ministry of those whom Jesus appointed to be the twelve foundations of the Church that
a special dispensation of Truth was due, the general purpose of which was to accomplish
the satictification and transfor-mation of those who should constitute the Body members of
Christ throughout the Age.
Perhaps none,, therefore, knew better than St. Peter the meaning of
his own language with regard to being established in the present Truth. His thought
evidently was that I of
being grounded and fixed in the Truth that was then due the, Church; and, of course, the
inference is that there were truths then enjoyed by God's servants that it was not proper
to reveal prior to that time; hence the term "present truth," as distinguished
from whatever truths might have been possessed not to that time.
Inasmuch as the followers of Christ have been admonished to continue
to walk in the light and to continued make progress in the pathway of Truth, we observe in
our study of the history of' the Church's experience Of the past nineteen centuries that
the faithful have been kept, protected, and blessed with an increasing understanding of
the Divine purposes, even though it has seemed at times that the surrounding powers of
superstition and darkness would almost overwhelm the' seemingly weak and insignificant
vessels of light.'' The, promise of the Master, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto
the end of the Age," is seen. to-day to have
been verified, and His true followers have never been permitted at any, time to be
overcome by any deluge of darkness or by the triumph of any of the forces of evil.
"BRIGHTER AND BRIGHTER UNTO THE PERFECT DAY"
Now that We
find it our happy privilege to be borne down the stream of tithe to the end of this Age,
Where we witness the closing Scenes of this dispensation, we have seemed, to see a
new" and deeper meaning in the promise of the Savior, "Unto you it is given to
know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God," in view of the fact that a fuller
revelation of the Divine program is due to be made known to the Church, I according
to the' promise of the Master Himself, as well as by the mouth His inspired
representatives. (Luke 12:37; 1 Thess. 5:4, 5, 6.) Therefore, the knowledge that has been
committed to followers of Christ in modern times has become the occasion for them to make
special application again of the language of the.
Apostle, "though ye know them and be established. in the present truth."' The
assembling together of the various fragments of Truth by which we have been enabled to see
the harmonious whole of the Divine Plan, has constituted the message for these days that
has been. most appropriately designated "Present truth," as distinguished from
the more or less hazy and beclouded presentations of the Message of the darker past; and
throughout the days of the Harvest of this Age, servants of God have realized it their
privilege and mission to herald this further message concerning the Divine program, and
call the attention of all Truth seekers to the fact that this is the Present Truth, or the
light for the last days, by which all the faithful might become so strengthened and
fortified as to endure faithfully the remainder of their pilgrimage in, the Narrow, Way.,
But the "perfect day" has not yet been reached in the final
sense; and, as we find throughout the past forty or fifty years, during which there
appears to have been a general harvesting work going on, the path of, the saints has been
growing brighter with the rays of Truth; so faithful servants of the Lord continue to
realize it their privilege to press on in the path way that continues to shine by reason
of time and events making manifestly more clear "the more sure word of prophecy"
that was promised to continue to shine in a dark place until the day dawn. What more
inspiring. example of this gradual progress into the light could we possibly observe than
that of PASTOR RUSSELL? At no point in his experience do we ob serve a disposition to
recline in idleness or to conclude that there was nothing more to be known. How keen
indeed has been the interest of the Lord's people in the history he has given us of the
development of Present Truth! Referring to the earlier years of his study and progress, he
explains:
"But when, in 1872, 1 came to examine the subject of restitution
from the standpoint of the ransom price given by our Lord Jesus for Adam, and consequently
for all lost in Adam,, it settled the matter of restitution completely, and gave me the
fullest assurance that all must come forth from
their graves and be brought to a clear knowledge of the Truth and to a full opportunity to
gain everlasting life in Christ.
"Thus passed the years 1869-1872. The years following, to 1876,
were years of continued growth in grace and knowledge on the part of the handful of Bible
students with whom I met in Allegheny. We progressed from our first crude and indefinite
ideas of restitution to clearer understanding of the details; but God's due time for the
clear light had not yet come.
"During this time, too, we came to recognize the difference
between our Lord as 'the man who gave Himself,' and as the Lord who would come again, a
spirit being. We saw that spirit beings can be present, and yet invisible to men, just as
we still hold and have set forth, in 'Millennial
Dawn,' Vol. II., Chap. 5. And we felt greatly grieved at the error of Second
Adventists, who were expecting Christ in the flesh, and teaching that the world and all in
it except Second Adventists would be burned up in
1813 or 1874, whose time'-settings and disappointments- and crude ideas generally, as to
the object and manner of His coming brought more
or legs reproach upon us And upon all who longed for and proclaimed His
coming Kingdom.
"These wrong views so generally held of both the object and
manner of the-Lord's return led me to write a pamphlet--'The Object and Manner of the Lord's Return,' of which
some 50,000 copies were published.
"It was about January, 1876, that my, attention was specially
drawn to the subject of prophetic time, as it relates to these doctrines and hopes. -- Z
'06-230.
PASTOR
RUSSELL CEASED NOT TO MAKE PROGRESS
We have but to read his story of the opening up, progress and
development of the great Truths of this time to be convinced that we are indeed in the
days of the Presence of the Son of Man, and that what we have received is in fulfillment
of His promise to come forth as a servant, girded for the purpose of serving the household
with things new and old; but what we desire to have impressed upon our minds is that it
has been a gradual, unfolding and clarifying of the Divine message, as we have just noted in the example of
the one whom the Lord has apparently used more than any other in discerning and,
proclaiming the Truth. 'We Observe that the life of our Pastor throughout was one of
progress without cessation. His clearer elucidation and unfolding of the Truth with regard
to the Mediator, Sin-Offering, and Covenants during his latter years is also evidence in
confirmation of our claim that, he never ceased to make progress. Moreover, an important
phase of the Truth that had PASTOR RUSSELL'S careful and most serious consideration was
that of the "Times and Seasons," for he considered that it was meet and proper
for God's children to make humble and earnest inquiry into what had been written in the
sacred prophecies bearing upon the end of this Age; and concerning this feature, we note
his gradual progress from the cruder conceptions and understand ing to a clearer and
more reasonable appreciation of what the facts were concerning the Times and Seasons.
Our Pastor informs us that earlier in his investigations, it was his
thought and firm conviction that the year 1878 would witness the translation of all the
remaining members of the Church in the flesh-that that date would mark their glorification
and the completion of the Church. Following the failure of his expectations regarding that
time, he set forth in his writings what seemed to be the reasonable and right conclusions,
stating that the year 1910 would probably mean the con-clusion of the Church's experience.
in the flesh and her glorification, and that by 1914 the time of trouble would be over
with and the Kingdom established, with the Ancient Worthies in charge of affairs upon the
earth. It was early in the year 1904, however, that PASTOR RUSSELL published his further
explanation bearing upon this subject, stating that whereas he had expected the passing of
the time of trouble by 1914, he now believed this was an erroneous view, and that we
should rather expect the Harvest work to continue on approximately up to 1914, and that
the time of trouble and overthrow of the nations should be expected subsequently, together
with the establishment of the Kingdom. He continued, however, to look for and expect the
glorification of the Church before or by 1914.
It is now a matter of history, of course, that these views, hopes and
expectations have proven failures, as each of these years; 1910, 1914, etc., while indeed
bringing. significant events, did not witness just what we had hoped for. It is, indeed,
to the credit and honor of our beloved Pastor that, passing all of these dates he did not
insist that his expectations had been correctly founded anyway, contrary to the facts but
humbly admitted that, we: were in error in expecting certain things to happen; and his
faith and trust in the Lord and His Word continued undisturbed and unshaken, and he
remained trusting. It is recalled that as be further investigated, it appeared, as he set
forth in his last messages, that the year 1918 might probably witness the long-looked-for
"end of all things," with the Church's glorification and the establishing of the
Kingdom. This latter date, we now observe, is in the past, and the expectations of the
brethren still unrealized so far as the final consummation of their hopes is concerned.
NO REPUDIATION OF PRESENT TRUTH
These points we have briefly reviewed, we trust for our mutual
encouragement, and to make manifest the steady progress of the one whose memory we cherish
and whose life-work and ministry hold that exclusive place in our hearts sacred and dear.
In the presence of such noble examples as the one we have just been discussing and that of
other godly servants of the Lord of modern times, as well as of the past, we seem indeed
to hear the voice of the same Divine Master today urging upon His followers, "Onward,
Christian soldiers!"--and the lesson appears to be that we should still give heed to
"the more sure word of prophecy" that we should suppose would continue to shine in the "dark place until the
day dawn," and that we should betake ourselves earnestly to the study of our Father's
Word, to know assuredly what His will concerning His true followers might be in these
days.
The brethren who have been engaged in the ministry represented in our
INSTITUTE and "The Herald of Christ's
Kingdom," have been earnestly inquired of by some, if our recent investigations
and presentations bearing upon the Times and Seasons, and chronological lines in general,
do not indicate to some extent a departure from,
and repudiation. of Present Truth. Our reply
has been that there is no. departure from, or repudiation of what we have regarded as
Present Truth to any extent whatever- If the term "Present Truth" signified
merely the believing in some particular day or year as representing the end of the
Church's career and the overthrow of the present order of things, then we must all agree
that there have been several departures and repudiations of "Present Truth" in
the past, and that by PASTOR: RUSSELL also; for, as we have pointed out foregoing, there
have been several dates to which he and we all looked forward as marking the ultimate and
final climax, but we have seen also how as each of these dates have passed, leaving our
expectations unfulfilled, that the Present Truth has
remained the same, and that our faith and confidence in the Lord have continued on.
Therefore, in pointing out as we have recently done in the pages of the HERALD certain
lines of thought that indicate where I we
have been probably in error in I the
past, and pointing out certain logical deductions that would lead us to look toward the
future for the fulfillment of our hopes and expectations--all of this procedure is exactly
what PASTOR RUSSELL and other godly men have done in the past. At we have before stated,
the knowledge of Present Truth does
not mean the discerning of some particular date or year in which all things are to end.
WHAT IS PRESENT TRUTH?
The understanding of Present Truth rather involves a knowledge of the
great facts and truths relating to the various features,. steps and developments of the
Divine Plan of the Ages and its consummation in the Age to come, in the glorification of
the Church, the removal of the curse from the earth, and the restitution of all the
willing and obedient of humanity to Paradise. That this was the substance Of PASTOR
RUSSELL'S thought as to the significance of the term "Present Truth," is most
evident from his own exposition bearing upon this line. Let the following be carefully
noted:
"To be established in the Truth signifies that we have carefully
studied and thoroughly proved it by 'the law and the testimony' (Isa. 8:20), and that as a
consequence we are convinced of its verity, so that our faith is steadfast and immovable:
we know whom we have believed; we have tasted and seen that the Lord is good; we have
partaken of the sweets of. fellowship with Him; we have partaken of His spirit of
meekness, faith and godliness to such an extent as to be led into a joyful realization of
the fullness of His grace as manifested in the wonderful Divine Plan of the, Ages; and we
have been permitted to see, not only the various features of that Plan, but also the
necessity and reasonableness of all its various measures in order to the full
accomplishment of its glorious outcome in the fullness
of the appointed times. This is what it is to be 'established in the Present Truth.' It is
indeed a most blessed condition, bringing with it such peace and joy as the world can
neither give nor, take away."--Z '02-307.
Surely we can gather from the foregoing expression that it was not
PASTOR RUSSELL'S thought that the essential features of Present Truth necessarily include
the believing in any particular day or year as marking the time when this, that or the
other thing would hap-pen, although we do properly include in the term "Present
Truth"' the thought of a general knowledge of the Times and Seasons, of time
prophecies as we are permitted to understand them in the light of developments and events
of modern times. It is most evident that a knowledge of the exact day or year of the
Second Advent of the Savior or the glorification of the saints, is not to be regarded as
the all-important thing; rather, the point of utmost importance is to be able to recognize
the fact that the Master is present, after He has
come, and to be able to read in the events of our day the fulfillment of "the
more sure word of prophecy."
LESSONS FROM OUR LORD'S FIRST ADVENT
But do. we have evidence today of the Lord's presence outside of any
chrono-logical data? Oh yes, we answer,--there are signs all about us we believe, that
eloquently speak of the presence of the Son of Man, and of the fact that He is supervising
a work in the affairs of men today, preparatory to the establishing of His Kingdom. Let us
take a lesson in this connection from some of the incidents associated with our Lord's
First Advent. John the Baptist, having been cast into prison, apparently became depressed
and somewhat of doubtful mind with regard to Jesus. He therefore sent a message to the
Master asking Him to state definitely if He was the Messiah, or should they look for
another. It is of significance that Jesus in replying did not refer to any chronological
lines whatever to establish the fact of His Advent, and presence then. There is no doubt
that He could have done this. Jesus was familiar with the prophecies of Daniel that had
announced seventy weeks of favor for Israel. Very probably Jesus under-stood that they
had already entered upon the
seventieth week and were approaching the middle, in which it had been declared that
Messiah should be cut off. Jesus could indeed have gone into the details of this prophecy
and explained to the messengers of John certain chronological data to establish his faith
in Jesus as the Messiah purely from that standpoint alone, but we observe that Jesus
proceeded altogether differently. He made no reference to the seventy weeks or any other
chronological lines. What did He say? He merely called the attention of the messengers of
John to what was then in evidence; namely, the
works of Messiah. Jesus said, "Go and shew John again those things which ye do
hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed,
and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to
them."--Matt. 11:2-5.
Thus it is seen that Jesus desired the faith of John the Baptist and
that of others to rest more upon the signs and evidences of His presence
than upon the basis of anything else, and may we not indeed consider that this may, be the
will of the, Lord concerning the faithful today; namely, that instead of endeavoring to
ingeniously establish some particular day or year when the Master became present, or some
particular day or year when the final collapse would come may it not be more pleasing to
the Lord for us to look rather, at the signs about us of His presence and of the
consummation of all things, and thus have our faith confirmed in this way? We recall that
the Master in answering questions concerning His Second Presence gave a description of
general circumstances and conditions that would be associated with His return; 'and
amongst other remarks, he said: "Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Matt, in heaven [the ecclesiastical
heaven]," He further remarked, "When ye
see all these things, then know that it is near, even at the doors."
Surely, the lesson in these remarks of the Savior is that our
confidence and faith in His Second Presence now, and the close proximity of His Kingdom,
should be based upon the signs and indications about us, rather than upon certain
chronological data. As our readers should be aware, we do not wish to discredit or
discourage investigation along the lines of chronology, but to the contrary we would say
that as faithful watchers it is our privilege to take heed to "the more sure word of
prophecy" and see therein all the corroborative testimony possible for the
confirmation of our faith; ever bearing in mind, however, that a knowledge of the
particular day or year when events will happen is not so important as is the thought that we should maintain that attitude of alertness and
readiness for any event at any time, even though it mean our long-promised change. The
variation in our chronological calculation need not be, considered of vital importance,
though it amount to one year or even several years.
EVEN TWENTY YEARS A "TRIFLING VARIATION"
Some years prior to the death of our Pastor, in reviewing his
deductions with regard to Gentile Times and what he expected to come to pass in 1914, he
said:
"If any be disposed to dispute the exactness of these figures we
need have, no quarrel, but simply say that any difference in the calculation must of
necessity be but small--possibly one year, POSSIBLY TWENTY YEARS-but in so. long a period
[as the 2520 years] HOW TRIFLING WOULD BE SUCH A VARIATION.
"What we are specially interested in is THE FACTS OF THE CASE,
AND WHAT WILL OCCUR WHEN THIS LONG PERIOD TERMINATES."--Z '11-238.
Who, in reading the foregoing lines, could fail to appreciate the
thought Of PASTOR RUSSELL; namely, that even though his calculations might be as much as twenty years out of the way, it would be such a trifling matter after all as to make no difference,
because, as 'he said, ,ewe are specially
interested in the facts of the case." And what did he mean by "the facts of
the case"? Surely he could mean nothing less than this: That at the conclusion of
Gentile Times or thereabouts, the reign of sin and death would cease, the Kingdom of 'God
would be established, the restitution of all things would commence, and the abolishing of
the curse from the earth. These are the facts he said we were all interested in, and that
a variation of one year or twenty years in our. calculations should make no difference so
far as our faith or the "facts" are concerned. And, indeed, was not this the
substance of one of his latest remarks, shortly before his death:
"If 1915 should go by without the passage of the Church, without
the Time of Trouble, etc., it would seem to some to be a great calamity. It would not be so with ourself.
We shall be as glad as any one if we shall all experience our change from earthly to
spirit conditions before 1915, and THIS IS OUR EXPECTATION; but if this should not be the
Lord's will, then it would not be our will.. If in the Lord I's providence
the time should come TWENTY-FIVE YEARS LATER, then that would be our, will. This would not
change the fact that the' Son of God was sent by the Father, and that the Son is the
Redeemer of our race; that He died for our sins; that He is selecting the Church for His
Bride; and that the next thing now in order is the establishment of the glorious Kingdom
at the 'hands of this great Mediator,,- who during His Mediatorial Reign will bless all
the, families of the earth. THESE FACTS REMAIN THE SAME. THE DIFFERENCE WOULD BE MERELY
THAT OF A FEW YEARS IN THE TIME OF .THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE KINGDOM."--Z '14-4.
Here again we have very plainly stated PASTOR RUSSELL'S thought that
though the time might be twenty-five years later than what he had been, expecting, this,
he said, would not change Present Truth, the
great facts in which we are all interested,--
for, as he said, "the difference would be merely that of a few years in the time of
the establishment of the Kingdom." It was in that same connection that PASTOR RUSSELL
distinctly pointed out that should there be a failure of his expectations with regard to
the change of the Church and the present order, of things in 1914 or 1915, that he would
say that "evidently we have been out
somewhere in our reckoning. In that event we would look over the prophecies further, to
see if we could find an error."
WHAT ARE THE ESSENTIALS OF OUR FAITH AND FELLOWSHIP?
Dearly, beloved of the Lord, do we not indeed see in the example and
attitude of PASTOR RUSSELL that which should constitute for us today the voice of wisdom,
the voice that urges great carefulness and sobriety in these days? We have heretofore
urged upon the brethren that any difference of opinion that there might be amongst us with
regard to the particular days or years for things to happen should not be allowed to
hinder or disturb the fellowship of the saints. The grounds of our fellowship are not
along those lines, and in fact, the kernel of our Message does not imply that we shall
announce to others any particular day or year; nor should we permit our own personal views
with regard to the matter of dates to be tests upon one another to any extent or degree.
Here again let a wise message be heeded:
"This, then, proves that the kernel of the Gospel is not the
Jewish law, nor certain scientific theories and abstruse problems; but the simple
teachings which our Lord delivered to the Apostles. What were these?
"(1) He taught that all men were sinners.
"(2) That He came into the world to 'give His life. a ransom --
a corresponding price for the sins of the whole, world.,
"(3) That no man could come unto the Father, but by Him. I
"(4) That all who would come by Him must, in addition to the
exercise of faith in Him, also take up his cross and follow Him.
"(5) That ail believers are one with Him, as the branches of a
grapevine are parts of the vine.
"(6) That every branch to abide in Him must bring forth fruit,
else it will be taken away,
"(7) That those who trust in Him are to hope for and to expect
His Second Coming--'I will come again, and receive you unto Myself.'
"(8) That the ultimate end of our hope for all promised
blessings is in and through a resurrection of the dead.
"(9) That Love is the law of the New Covenant -- 'Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind, soul and strength; and, thou shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself."
"We are fully authorized, therefore, to teach and to believe
that these are the points. of faith and practice which are necessary to, both Jews and
Gentiles who, shall be favored with the call of this Gospel: Age; and that nothing else is
necessary or pertinent to the doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ or the faith once
delivered to the saints.' WHO EVER MAKES TESTS GREATER OR LESSER THAN THESE IS IN ERROR.
– Z '98-176.
"BUT IF YE BITE AND DEVOUR ONE ANOTHER"
In, conclusion we- urge again upon all that our most ,serious
consideration and attention be given to the things that are thus set forth to be the
essentials and fundamentals of our faith and that we thus seek by every honorable, means
to be fortified ourselves and to assist others to remain steadfast in this, the Present
Truth because it alone can sanctify and separate unto the Lord and unto, holiness,
preparatory to our sharing with Him in His glorious Kingdom, in the inheritance of: the
saints in light; and whether or not we shall be given, to see eye to, eye, with. regard to
the particular year of the end of all things and the time of our glorification--let this
matter not, but let us press forward in the development of the Christ character, in the
development of the spirit of patience, meekness, long-suffering, brotherly kindness and
love. And in this connection we cannot but have before us the solemn warning of the great
Apostle Paul, applicable to Christians of all times--to beware of and to put away the
work's of the flesh,. "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old
man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and
anger, and clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. But if ye bite
and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. Now the works of
the flesh are manifest . - . hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions,
heresies, . . . of the which I tell you before, as I, have also told you in time past,
that they which, do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, -gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,
temperance: against such there is, no law."--Eph. 4:22, 31; Gal., 5:15, 19-23.
Surely the Apostle's language is so, plain that the simplest follower
of the Lamb must recognize its spirit and its import--that the image of the Master set
before' us as our, ideal signifies that we must develop very largely of the love of Christ
in our hearts; that all disposition to speak evil of and to slander our brethren is
positively forbidden; that all disposition toward malice, anger, hatred and strife must be
overcome in order that we may be accounted worthy to share in the First Resurrection of
the Blessed and the Holy. So it is in view of this fact that the, Apostle earnestly
admonishes the Church to be firm and steadfast in the "Present Truth," saying:
"for if ye do these things, ye shall, never fall: for so an entrance shall be
ministered unto, you abundantly into the
everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."--2 Pet. 1 :10, 11.
STUDY LXXIII--JULY
24
THE VISION OF THE LAMB ON MOUNT ZION (cont.)-- REV.
14:2-5
(461) Where, and at what point of time should we logically look for
the fulfillment of the "Voice" as that of Harpers, and the singing of the
"new Song"? What:, are the similes used in verse 2 and how should these be
distinguished from symbols? H '20-72.
(462) In view, of the lessons in other visions preceding this one,
what would, we reasonably suppose to be the symbolical, significance of the Voice from
Heaven and in what way is it like "the Voice of many Waters" and "the Voice
of a great Thunder"? H '20-72.
(463) What is. signified by the "new Song," and what is the
marked distinction between the "Voice as that of Harpers" and the singing of the
"new Song"? Who are those represented by the "Voice as that of Harpers
playing on their Harps;" and who sing the "new Song"? H '20-73.
(4,64) Explain verse 4: What constitutes being defiled with women and
"follow-ing the Lamb"? What in this verse confirms the thought that the 144,000
include all of the Church class? H '20-73.
(465) What important characteristic is brought to our attention in
verse 5 as being possessed by, this class? What beautiful, and harmonious. sentiment was
expressed by A. J. GORDON bearing along the line of the fulfillment Of this vision? H
'20-73, 74.
STUDY LXXIV--JULY 31
THE FIRST HARVEST ANGEL'S MESSAGE--REV. 14:6, 7
(466) In harmony with our previous observation as to the symbolical
use of the term "angel": what would be the significance of the angel flying in
"Mid-heaven"? Was its proclamation a true message? 'H '20-86.
(467), At what time should we look for the fulfillment of this vision
and what feature of the vision would enable us to locate the time? What is the thought of
many earlier expositors as to this, and what is the particular objection to, these views?
H '20-86.
(468) What was the import of the message of this angel and for whom
was it intended? What would- seem to be the distinction between the proclamation of this
message and the "new Song"; and what particular ministry would therefore fulfill
this feature of the 'vision? H '20-86, 87.
(469) What effect was this message to have upon the hearts of, men ?
Has the work of proclaiming this message yet been completed? H '20-87.
(470) How does this vision correspond with the preceding one in point
of time, and when will they both have been fulfilled? How did PASTOR RUSSELL apply this
vision? H '20-88.
SERIES III-A
THE SEVEN STARS AND THE SEVEN GOLDEN LAMPSTANDS
"As for the Secret of the
Seven Stars which thou sawest in my Right hand, and the Seven Golden Lampstands; the Seven
Stars are Messengers of the Seven
Congregations, and the Seven Lampstands are Seven Congregations."--Rev. 1:20.
THE Savior speaks of the seven Stars and the seven golden Lampstands
as a secret, and in explaining their meaning, He not only shows
that they are symbolical, but also that His, relationship to them, as described in the
vision, is symbolical. A Star evidently represents a teacher who spreads the light of
God's Truth in the circle that surrounds him; and a Lampstand represents a Church of
Christ supporting such a teacher in the station he was qualified by Christ to fill; and
the thought evidently is that the Lord upheld and directed such teachers or
representatives of His Churches.
In considering the significance of this vision of the seven Stars and
the seven- golden Lampstands, etc., in the midst of which the Savior is represented as
standing, and following closely His interpretation of its meaning, we may with confidence
say, that there were seven Churches of Christ (at the time St. John had the vision)
existing in Asia Minor in the different, cities mentioned, namely Ephesus, Smyrna,
Pergamos, Thyatira , Sardis,, Philadelphia and Laodicea; and the messages primarily
applied to them.,
We will examine first the primary signification' of the Lampstands
and Stars, i. e., as they relate to the seven Congregations, or Churches existing in Asia
Minor at the time St. John had the vision,- and to, whom he was commanded to send the.
messages. In doing this we believe we will be. better able to correctly apply the symbols.
The primary application to seven local Churches existing in St. John's time would seem to
be the basis of interpretation to be followed.; The number seven denoting completeness
would seem to signify that these seven Churches were selected as representatives of the complete 'Church existing at that time. It would
hardly be reasonable to -suppose that these seven messages were intended for these seven
Churches alone; and this would imply that the many other Churches existing at the time
would also need the exhortations, reproofs and en couragements contained in the
messages. It is quite certain that at this time these Congregations contained both
"wheat," true Christians,, and "tares," mere professors. This is
proven both from history as well as from the character of the messages themselves. The
"Lampstands," therefore, would symbolize these assemblies as a whole,
containing both true and nominal believers. This has, indeed, described the condition of
the Churches of Christ ever since that time. And "there are many reasons for
concluding that while the messages were given to the seven Churches specified, and were
applicable to them, nevertheless these messages should properly have a still wider
application to the whole Church of Christ, the number seven rep resenting completeness
and the order representing different epochs in the history of the Church. Thus the Church
at Ephesus would represent the condition of the [whole] Church at the time of the writing
of the messages; while the Laodicean Church would rep resent the Church in our day--in
the end of the Gospel Age. The other Churches would correspondingly rep resent different
epochs intermediate, between then and now."--Z '16-343.
In all of the seven phases, it has been the professed mission of the
Churches represented by the 'Lampstands to hold forth the light of life, the Word of
Truth, and thus cause it to shine out in the surrounding darkness. "Alas, how poor
the wicks have some times been! How feeble the light that has sometimes shone out into
the darkness of this world! How much trimming has been necessary and how much more may yet be required!"
PASTORS AND TEACHERS FOR THE ENTIRE CHURCH
St. John was commanded to send the messages to the assemblies,
congregations through their" Angels, Messengers, designated by the Savior,
"Stars." Who are represented by these "Stars," is a very important
matter to settle. It is quite certain that they were not Apostles; neither was there a
custom to have diocesan bishops, -- a bishop's appointed over certain territories
containing several Churches, as has been a custom since. 'If there was anything, of this
nature existing in St. John's day, it did not have the sanction of Divine authority or
approval. It was indeed, this unauthorized kind of an official in the: Church, that
gradually but surely developed, into prelacy; or Papacy. It is well known, that the. order
established by the Apostles was that each congregation have its teachers--elders, bishops
or pastors. These, doubtless, were the ones referred to, as the "Angels,",
Messengers, symbolically called "'Stars," in the seven local Churches in Asia
Minor. It should be borne in mind that the Savior has never abdicated His right, never
given to another, the honor and responsibility of, qualifying and placing and upholding
any of His ministering ones. The only Apostolic succession taught in the Scriptures is
that referred to by St. Paul in his epistle to Timothy: "And the things that thou
hast heard of me, the same commit thou, to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others
also."
Recognizing that these seven assemblies, represented all the
assemblies existing at that time, it is a most reasonable and Scriptural deduction then
that the term "seven Stars" Would represent in the complete sense all the
pastors and teachers of the different Churches over the world at that time-those duly and
Scripturally selected by the different Congregations under the Lord's direction, to fill
the positions, and thus represent them. These, like the
assemblies themselves, would be more or less imperfect, but according to their
faithfulness would be upheld and used by Christ in ministering, serving their respective
Congregations. The responsibilities of these pastors would be first to Christ; and their
services, etc., would be as far reaching as the Lord in His providence might see best to
make them.
NO PRELATICAL BISHOPS OR LORDS OVER GOD'S HERITAGE
Concerning the Messengers to whom the messages were addressed, MR.
BARNES has very truthfully urged that "this does not refer to them as a collective or
associated body, for the addresses are made to them as individuals--an epistle being
directed to 'the Angel' of each particular Church. (Chap. 2:1, 12, &c.) The evident
meaning, however, is that what was recorded should be directed to them, not as pertaining
to them exclusively as individuals, but as presiding over, or representing the Churches,
for what is recorded pertains to the Churches, and was evidently designed to be laid
before them. . . . There has been much diversity of opinion in regard to the meaning of
the word Angels here. By the advocates of
Episcopacy, it has been argued that the. use of this term proves that there was a
presiding bishop over a circle or group of Churches in Ephesus, in Smyrna, etc. . .
"It cannot be proved that the reference is to a prelatical
bishop presiding over a group or circle of Churches, called a diocese, for there, is nothing in, the word Angel, as used in this connection, which would be
peculiarly applicable to such a personage-it being as applicable to a pastor of a single
Church as to a bishop -of many Churches. There is no evidence that there were any such groups of Churches then as
constitute an episcopal diocese. The use of the word 'Church' in the singular, as applied
to Ephesus, Smyrna, etc., rather implies that there was but a single Church in each of
those cities. Compare chap. 2:1, 8, 12, 18; see also, similar language in regard to the Church in Corinth, 1 Cor. 1:1, 2. . .
"If it does not refer to a prelatical bishop, then it follows
that it must refer to some one who, presided over the Church as its pastor, and through
whom a message might be. properly sent to the Church. Thus understood, the pastor or
'Angel' would be regarded as the representative of the Church; that is, as delegated by
the Church to manage its affairs, and as, the authorized person to Whom communications
should be made in matters pertaining to it--as pastors are now. . . . . The supposition
that a pastor of a Church is intended, will meet all the circumstances in the case: for,
(1) it is an appropriate appellation; (25 there is no reason to suppose that there was
more than one Church in each. of the cities referred to; (3) it is a term which would
designate the respect in which, the office was held;, (4) it would impress upon those to
whom it was applied a solemn sense of their responsibility. Further, it would be more
appropriately applied to a pastor of a single Church than to a prelatical bishop-to the
tender, intimate, and endearing relation sustained by a pastor to his people-to the
blending of sympathy, interest and affection, where he is with them continually, meets
them frequently in the sanctuary, administers to them the bread of life, goes into their
abodes when they are- afflicted, and attends their kindred to the grave, than to the union
subsisting between the people of an extended diocese and a prelate-the formal, unfrequent,
and, in many instances, stately and pompous visitations of a diocesan bishop; to the
unsympathizing, relation between him and a people scattered in many Churches, who are
visited at distant intervals by one claiming, a 'superiority in ministerial rights and
powers,' and who must be a stranger to the ten thousand ties of endearment which bind the
hearts of a pastor and people together. The conclusion, then, to, which we have
come is that the 'Angel of the Church' was the pastor or the presiding presbyter in the
Church; the minister who had the pastoral charge of it, and who was therefore a proper
representative of it."
Bearing in mind that all these messages are addressed to the
"Stars," or ministering class which has been duly selected and recognized as
representing each separate assembly, we observe that the' messages are not meant for these
alone, but for the various individuals who make up these assemblies. The command is for
everyone to hear "what the Spirit saith to the
Churches," and we ask, To whom could the instructions, the exhortations, the
encouraging commendations, the reproofs, the severe rebukes and threatenings contained in
these messages of Christ be more properly intrusted to in St. John's day than to the
several pastors of the different congregations mentioned as existing in the cities
designated. It would be supposed that the necessary qualifications for such a ministry had
been recognized in the men selected by these Churches, and were chosen in the Scriptural
way by these Congregations to serve them in this capacity.
"HE SHALL GIVE HIS ANGELS [Messengers]
A CHARGE CONCERNING THEE"
Applying the matters contained in, these messages, indeed the whole
system of Truth, to our day, we ask, Are not these
duties expected of those chosen to fill these positions as teachers in the Church? It
would seem as though there could be but one answer. This conclusion is in perfect harmony
with the words of St. Paul, that there is a ministry in the Christian Church,--that
various gifts or ministries are distributed in the Church; and as these gifts are
recognized by the Churches, those possessing them are, in the Scriptural way, elected by
the, Churches to represent them. By this election, these persons become bishops or elders
(the terms being synonymous), possessing more or less the pastoral gift. From the fact
that these are addressed, we are enabled to discover something of the nature and
responsibility of those filling these positions in the Church. From this we learn, in
harmony with St. Peter's words, that the position these hold, is not a lordship, but a service--a service, according to
the manner in which it is fulfilled, they are, and will be held, responsible to God and to
Him. alone. It is the business of this Angel, or bishop, or, pastor, to read, expound, and
make forceful the exhortations and the lessons, etc., contained in these messages. And so far as
these are faithful in their special sphere
of service and work, they are, upheld by the Savior, who holds the seven symbolic Stars in
His right hand. This indeed., is the thought clearly annunciated by PASTOR RUSSELL in
expounding the 91st Psalm, verse 11, as follows,:
"'For he shall give His Angels [Messengers] a charge concerning
thee, to guard, thee in all thy ways.' That is, God will raise up some faithful pastors and teachers who will 'watch. for
:your souls as they that must give an account.' True, there shall arise false
teachers, perverting the. Word of the Lord and seeking by cunning sophistries to, subvert
your souls; but if in simplicity of, heart God's children require a. 'Thus saith the Lord'
for every element of their, faith, and carefully prove all things by the Word, they will
be able to distinguish readily the true from the false. And having done so , the Apostle
Paul (Heb. 13:17) counsels us to have confidence. The Lord, our Shepherd, will care for
the true sheep."--Z '04-75.
Let it be understood then, that the messengers, elders or bishops of
all the Churches throughout the whole Gospel Age are as much "Stars" in Christ's
right hand as these seven primarily addressed by Christ, and they certainly should not be
left out in the solemn representation.
ST. JOHN THE WRITER OF THE MESSAGES
Again we urge the reader to observe that these Divine messages were
addressed to the "Stars" or "Angels" of the, seven Churches, and that
the form of address to each of the symbolical messengers was the same. The Common Version
renders it, "Unto the angel of the Church . . . write." The Diaglott
translation, which in some. instances is preferable to that of the, King James Version,
renders these words, "By the messenger . . . write, etc., instead of "Unto" or, "to the messenger . . . write," as all
other translations do. A recent expositor, accepting the Diaglott as the correct
translation, when applying the messages to seven distinct periods of the Church's history,
has interpreted the text as teaching that the messengers are to do the writing for these
several periods--a single individual writer for each period. We believe all will
recognize. the importance of our determining whether I or
not this is the- correct applica tion before we proceed to unfold the messages them
selves. And how shall we decide this feature? The answer is, the whole matter is settled
in chapter* 1 : 10, 11, 19, where it is very plainly stated that St, John, himself, is to
do the writing. "And I [John] heard behind me a loud voice as of a Trumpet, saying,
'What thou lJohn] seest write in a Scroll, and send to those Seven Congregations,
etc."' "'Write therefore the things thou sawest, even those which are, and the
things which are about' to transpire after these? '" (Vs. 10, 11, 19.) These'
utterances comprehend everything contained in the book of Revelation; there fore, St.
John was the writer. St. John was also the sender, and the messages we are about to
consider are the translations of the same into the English language, and the "Stars
... . Angels," or Messengers, primarily, were the representative bishops or pastors
of the seven local Churches- to whom they, were sent. We con clude therefore that
(1) St. John was the writer.
(2) What was written has been in the possession of ,the Church since
he wrote.
(3) St.
John was instructed to employ the duly chosen Messengers or, represen-tative bishops or
pastors to -read 'and explain them to the Churches.
(4) Christ has given these messages for the whole Church today to
study.
(5) It has ever been the duty of the duly appointed bishops, elders
or pastors," to read and unfold these messages, as they may have ability, to the
individual members 'of the various Churches.
(6) The facts, of history have proven that these messages have, to a
greater or, less degree, been read and studied in the Churches.
(7) The facts of history have also proven that many have assisted in
explaining the significance of the messages, and this has been in the usual way, both by
writing and speaking. The learned and devout Dr. Bengal recommended these epistles above
everything to the study of especially young ministers.
Having therefore clearly recognized that the things commanded by
Christ to be written were written by St.' John over eighteen centuries ago, and the things
written by him We have in our possession today, preserved for us, we would next logically
examine what is written, taking advantage of the help to be derived from the explanations
of others to whom these messages belonged, as much as they belong to us today. .In' doing
so, we find that as the history of the Church has unfolded, the light has increased, and
therefore more and more clearly- do we see that these seven messages have been applicable
to all of the Church throughout its entire history. There can be no doubt of the fact that
there is contained in each and all of these messages very important matters that were -
intended by Christ to apply to all of God's consecrated ones throughout the whole Gospel
Age. This is plainly implied, indeed, stated in the words of the Savior addressed to each
Church: "He, that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the -Churches." The vital importance of
this exhortation is emphasized by the fact that these words are repeated seven times; and in each instance reference is made
to all the Churches. (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3 :6, 13, 22.), Not to understand the matter
this way would be to deprive the whole Church of the benefit of the most edifying
exhortations and warnings to be found in all the volume of Divine inspiration.
MESSAGES APPLY TO ALL THE CHURCHES
We may therefore conclude assuredly, that the exhortations, the
warnings, the threatenings, the encouragements, and the promises contained in them, apply
in -the following special ways:
(1) To the seven particular Churches mentioned by Him, as existing at
the time St. John wrote.
(2) To all the Churches of St. John's day scattered over the Roman
Empire.
(3) To the individuals of all these Churches.
(4) To local Churches existing in every generation since St. John's
day. The words. of an eminent Scripture writer of the middle of the nineteenth century are
very pertinent on this point: "The seven must be regarded as constituting a complex
whole-as possessing an-ideal completeness. Christ, we feel sure, could not have placed
Himself in the relation which He does to them,--as holding in His hand the seven Stars,
walking among the seven golden Candlesticks, these Stars being the Angels, of the Churches
, and the Candlesticks, the Churches themselves-unless they ideally represented and set
forth in some way or other, the universal Church militant on earth."--Trench on the Seven Epistles--44
Another of these. older writers has thus very truthfully expressed
himself on the same: "The number seven is used throughout the Apocalypse in a
symbolic sense., and is admitted to be expressive of -completeness or perfection. Why
should -the 'seven Churches' be an exception to the rule ? Were the seven local Churches,
the names of which - are given, the only Light-bearers or Candlesticks? Did the. light
entirely cease to shine when, these Asiatic Churches ceased to exist? Let these seven
Churches, or Candlesticks, be regarded as a sevenfold or perfect representative of the one
Church in its responsibility to Christ, as His Light-bearer or witness before the world,
and we have an interpretation at once consistent with the entire character of the book,
and sufficient to account for the selection of seven local Churches, the divers state of
which furnish for this sevenfold or perfect view of the whole professing
body."--Plain Papers--418.
(5) To individuals in the Churches, existing in every generation
since St. John's - day. A& one has truth fully said: "In dealing with these
epistles, every man, of every age, has a Divine thermometer whereby to tell exactly where
he or his Church stands in Christ's judgment, and one constructed and delivered to him by
Christ Himself for this specific purpose. They tell what Christ's judgment of each of us
is, and what we may expect in the great Day of His coming. In every age, and in every
congregation, Christ is walk ing among His Churches, with open, flaming eyes; and these
epistles give us His opinion of what His all revealing glance discovers."
(6) In a prophetic sense, to seven distinct periods or epochs of the
Church since St. John's day
(7) In a very special sense, to the period in which we find ourselves
as Christians today.
One writer who has given very close attention to the unfolding of
these seven messages has noted that each one embraces seven distinct parts, which fact of
itself is of very deep significance: First. An
address: "Unto the messenger . . . write.',' Second.
A citation of some one or more of the sublime attributes of the speaker, Christ, being
different for each particular .Church. Third. An
assertion of Christ's complete .knowledge of the sphere, duties and doings of the persons
or Churches addressed. Fourth. A description
of the state of each, and such interspersions of praise and promise or censure and
admonition as the case required. Fifth. An
allusion to His promised coming, and the character it will assume
to the persons described. Sixth, A universal
command to hear what is said to all the
Churches. Seventh. A special promise to the
ultimate Victor or overcomer.
In the last four, the order of succession of these parts is different
from the first three, and the call to "hear"
the messages is placed after the promise to the "overcomer;" but in each
one, these seven parts may be distinguished, thus showing that there is a fullness, a
completeness about the whole, which proves that in their significance and application they
cannot be confined to the few particular Churches to which the messages were originally
addressed.
MESSAGES APPLY TO SEVEN DISTINCT EPOCHS
The Churches existing in St. John's day were doubt less, from the
world's standpoint, of little importance, scarcely noticed by the world, and despised or
held in light esteem by the people of the world in general. However neglected, despised or
persecuted, we see by ,these special epistles of the Savior to them, that imperfect as
they were, they were considered of more importance in heaven than any organization of
earth, and had, the first, chief place in the Savior's mind, as -well as that of the
Heavenly Father Himself. We again emphasize the fact of the very wide and general
application of the reproofs, the rebukes, the warnings, the dangers and evils pointed out,
as well as the spe cial words of comfort and promise to the overcomers, to all the
generations of the Church's history, both in dividually and collectively. However, the
facts of his tory themselves have proven, beyond any reasonable doubt that the peculiar
characteristics described of each of these Churches, fits exactly seven distinct,
successive epochs in the order mentioned of the history of the Church, and this
establishes and fulfils the prophetic character of the messages, themselves. Still
further, we add, that in the measure that we become familiar with the history of these
seven epochs, will we be able to see their most remarkable fulfillment. The prophetic
character of these messages has been seen by many, if not nearly all, of the expositors
Who have written on the Revelation for the last two centuries. How ever, we believe it
is perfectly reasonable that all the various matters associated with these messages in
their primary application to the seven particular Churches mentioned and their ministry,
must be the. Divine basis, as well as rule, by which we interpret the symbols of the seven
Lampstands among which the Savior is walk ing, and the seven Stars held in His right
hand.
In a very particular way these messages show us the moral and
spiritual condition of these primitive Churches. We would most naturally expect, from the
fact that they were founded by the Apostles, that they would be perfect patterns and
models of excellence; that they would be pure in morals and free from evils, false
doctrines, and the defections we find later on in history, as also in this last time.
However, as we examine these messages, we find that they were, very much like the Churches
since, and in fact, of all the different generations of the Church throughout the Age.
There was equally as much to censure as there was to commend. There were loyal and true
children of God whose affections were centered on things above and whose citizenship was
in heaven, but there were many whose love for Christ had lost its fervor, some whose
affections were set on worldly things; others who had a name to live, but were dead to a
real experimental knowledge of the saving power of Christ; and still others who were
proud, boastful, claiming- to be rich and increased with goods, i. e., with all that they
thought was necessary for a Church to possess, and were so blind to the real riches that
they are represented by the Savior as wretched, and miserable, and blind, and
naked-actually possessing nothing of the true inward qualities, necessary to represent the
Savior and to perform His work. With five of the Churches out of the seven, the Savior
finds serious fault. In one of these five, Laodicea, He finds nothing whatever to commend;
and two alone, Smyrna and Philadelphia, are able to pass the searching inspection, and
these find themselves in contact with elements which He severely condemns.
MESSAGES SHOW WHEAT AND TARES GROW
TOGETHER THROUGHOUT THE AGE
We conclude this general description of these messages in the
language of a godly pastor long since passed beyond: "Viewing these epistles, then,
as descriptive of the entire Church, I find in them this item of fact: that the professed,
Church, as, pronounced upon by Christ Himself, is a mixed society, embracing,
interminglings of good and evil from its beginning to the end. Whether we take, the seven
Churches. as significant of seven successive or seven co-existing phases, they must needs
reach to the end, and so depicture
the entire Church. And as there is not one of these epistles in which the presence of evil
is not recognized, so there can be no period in the earthly history of the, Church in
which it is without bad admixtures. Whether the Ephesian Church extends, as in some sense
it must, from the Apostolic era to. the consummation, or whether it relates mainly to the
first period alone, and the Laodicean the last, we still have A vast deal. which the Lord
and judge of the Church condemns, stretching its dark image from the commencement to the
close. There were fallen ones, and some whose love had cooled, and some whose first works
had been abandoned, and some giving place to the base deeds of the Nicolaitans, and some
false, ones claiming to be Apostles, and were not, even among the [few] warm, patient,
fervent, enduring and faithful Ephesians. In Smyrna were faithless blasphemers, and those
of Satan's synagogue, as well as faithful, suffering ones, and those whom Christ is to
crown in heaven. In Pergamos were those who denied the faith, and followed the teachings
of Balaam, and the doctrines of the detested Nicolaitans, as well as those who held fast
the name of Jesus, and witnessed for Him unto death. In Thyatira we find a debauching and
idolatrous Jezebel and her death-worthy children, and multitudes of spiritual adulterers,
as well as those whose works and faith, and charity, and patience are noted with favor,
and who had not been drawn into Satan's depths. 'In Sardis there was incompleteness,
deadness, defalcation, need of repentance, and threatened judgment, as well as names of
those who had not defiled their garments. 'In Philadelphia we discover 'the synagogue of
Satan,' falsifiers, those who had settled themselves upon the earth, and such as had not
kept Christ's Word, as well as such as should be kept from the sifting trial, and advanced
to celestial crowns. And in Laodicea there was found disgusting lukewarmness, empty
profession, and base self-conceit, with Christ Himself excluded.
"Never, indeed, has there been a sowing of God on earth, but it
has been oversown by Satan; or a growth for Christ, which the plantings of the wicked one
did not mingle with and hinder. God sowed good seed in Paradise; but when it came to the
harvest, the principal product was tares. At earth's first altar appeared the murderer
with the saint--Cain and Abel. And in all ages and dispensations, the plants of grace have
ever found weeds upspringing by their sides, their roots intertwining, and their stalks
and leaves and fruits put ting forth together. The Church is not an exception, and never
will be, as long as the present dispensation lasts. Even in its first and purest periods,
as the Scriptural accounts attest, it was intermixed with what pertained. not to it. There
was a Judas among its Apostles; an Ananias and a Simon Magus among its first converts; a
Demas and a Diotrephes among its first public
servants. And as long as it continues in this world, Christ will have His anti-Christ, and
the temple of God, its man of sin. He who sets out to find a perfect Church, in which
there are no unworthy elements, and no disfigurations, proposes to himself a hopeless
search . Go where he will, worship where he may, in any country, in any age, he will soon find tares among the wheat, sin mixing in
with all earthly holiness; self-deceivers, hypocrites, and unchristians in every assembly
of saints; Satan insinuating himself into, every gathering of the sons of God, to present
themselves before the Lord. No preaching, however pure; no discipline, however strict or
prudent; no watchfulness, however searching and faithful, can ever make it different. The,
Savior Himself has taught us that in the Gospel field, wheat and tares are to be found;
that it is forbidden to pluck up the bad, lest
the good also be damaged; and that both are to 'grow together until the harvest,'. which is the end of the
economy-the winding up of the present order of things-'the end of the Age.' "--SEISS.
--AUGUST 2l-ACTS
15:1-16:5--
Golden 'Text' "But we
believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the, Lord
Jesus."--Acts 15:11
CHRISTIAN liberty is to be sharply differen tiated from the liberty
of license, lawlessness, anarchy; and this lesson furnishes a good illustration of this
fact. To the Jews who had been under the Mosaic ritual and its washings, fastings, feasts,
new moons, sabbaths and holy days, Christian liberty meant a re lease from a
considerable measure of these institutions, many of which were, typical and
educational--suited to the "house of servants," but not appropriate to the
"house of sons." To the Gentiles to whom
God had never given the Law, and who were therefore, not under any of its provisions or
conditions or requirements, but who were under certain superstitions, wrong appetites and
customs, Christian liberty meant, the abrogation of all wrong customs and superstitions,
and additionally, the imposing of a law;--not the Mosaic Law and 'its institutions and
ceremonies, however, but "the Perfect Law of Liberty"; the "Law of the
spirit of life in Christ Jesus"--restraints of the will of the flesh, under the law
of love. (Jas. 1:25; Rom. 8:2.) We are not to be surprised that both Jews' and Gentiles,
coming from opposite directions into the Church of Christ and its perfect law of liberty,
were somewhat confused and bewildered respecting its requirements and proprieties.
It was nearly twenty years after the day of Pentecost that the
conference noted in our lesson took place in Jerusalem. It was held for the purpose of
reaching a decision respecting this very subject -- the Law of Christ, its bearing upon
Gentile converts, and upon Jewish converts -- to what extent the Mosaic requirements were
abolished as regarded the Jews, and to what extent the Law of Christ put restraints upon
the converts from amongst the Gen tiles and to what extent these two classes, previously
separated socially and religiously by the requirements of the Mosaic Law, might now come
together with full brotherly fellowship and affinity, without the violation of the con
science of any, and without unnecessary restraint of the liberties of any.
QUESTIONS OF CHRISTIAN LIBERTY
The Church at Antioch had become the center of Christianity amongst
the Gentiles, and Jews born in Gentile lands. Its Gentile surroundings, no less than its
membership, tended to cultivate in. it a broad spirit of Christian liberty;--some of its
membership, under the influence of brethren who had come from Jerusalem, feared that it
had gone too far in the matter of Christian liberty, and held that Gentiles, upon
accepting Christ through faith, should likewise accept Judaism and the Mosaic Law, and
come as fully under the conditions of these, 'including circumcision, as though they had
been born Jews. Certain brethren who, had recently arrived from Jerusalem accentuated
these fears, and as a result there was quite a dissension in the Antioch Church,
amounting, as the Greek word shows, almost to a schism, a split. But the right spirit
evidently prevailed;. because, instead of splitting over a vexed question , each party
respected the conscientious convictions of the other, and it was wisely determined to
appeal the matter to the Church at Jerusalem for, such, words of counsel and advice as its
leaders, the Apostles and Elders, should see fit to give. The Antioch brethren evidently
had full confidence that God had appointed the Apostles, and that their conclusion on the
matter would ultimately be. the correct one. At the same time, knowing. that the brethren
at Jerusalem were surrounded by the Judaizing influence, tending rather to narrowness of
view as respected the Mosaic customs, they sent their two leading representatives, Paul
and Barnabas, to present before the Jerusalem Council the views which seemed to the
majority of, the Church to be the correct ones, that thus the entire subject might be
fully, fairly, thoroughly investigated, and the mind of the Lord determined as accurately
as possible.
This Was a beautiful spirit--the right spirit; far more commendable
in God's -sight and in the judgment of sound-minded men than any immoderate course they
could have taken. People who take the immoderate
course are generally those who do not have' sufficient faith in the Lord as the real Head
of the Church, and in His overruling providence in the affairs of those who are seeking to
know and to do His will;--they are generally those who feel too much self-assurance,
as did even the meek Moses, when he erred in smiting the rock in the wilderness, the
second time saying: "Ye rebels, must we fetch you water out of this rock"?--Num.
20:10.
The Truth has nothing to lose by fairness, openness, and a reasonable
moderation and the turning on of all light obtainable. And while the Church at Antioch
evidently had great confidence in Paul and Barnabas, they properly also had great
confidence and respect for the Apostles at Jerusalem, and reasoned that since these men
all gave evidence that they were truly the Lord's special servants and mouthpieces, it
would be strange indeed if meeting together and hearing all that could be said on both
sides of the question, they could not arrive at a unanimous decision respecting the Lord's
will, that would assure the Church in general. We commend this noble principle which is as
applicable now as it was then. Today, however, as we cannot refer questions to the living
Apostles, we must refer them to the recorded teaching of our Lord and the
Apostles,--seeking assistance in this amongst the brethren who appear to have the best
knowledge of God's Word and the greatest insight into the Divine Plan.
EN ROUTE TO THE JEWISH CONFERENCE
The journey from Antioch to Jerusalem brought Paul and Barnabas in
contact with many of the household of faith, a few, here and there, in almost every city
through which they passed. Of course, the brethren were glad to hear, as these
ex-missionaries were glad to tell them, of God's favors upon their missionary labors in
Galatia and vicinity; and although the brethren reached were almost exclusively Jewish
converts, it is with pleasure we read that the report "caused great joy unto all the
brethren." (Acts 15:3.) This shows that they had the true Christian spirit-that they
had largely, if not completely, lost the Jewish prejudice and jealousy, as concerned the
giving of the Gospel to the Gentiles. It shows us that with the majority of the previously
Jewish brethren the contention for the Mosaic Law and ceremonies implied no opposition to
the Gentiles themselves, but merely a confusion of mind concerning the Lord's will on
these subjects;--they had not yet discerned the lengths and breadths and heights and
depths of the Divine Plan, as they subsequently learned these, and came to appreciate the
perfect Law of Liberty wherewith Christ makes free indeed, in the true sense, all who
become truly His.
Arrived at Jerusalem, the representatives of the Antioch congregation
were met with a hearty welcome, for such is the significance of the Greek Word rendered
"received" in verse 4. As they had given to the others en route, so the returned
missionaries gave the Jerusalem brethren detailed accounts of the Lord's blessing upon
their journey, telling what miracles and wonders He had wrought, that a considerable
number had believed, and how loyal, faithful and enduring were some of these newly-found
brethren in Christ, who had previously been aliens, strangers, Gentiles.
There is some reason for believing that previous to this Paul and
Barnabas and Titus had made a visit to Jerusalem, in which they did not, as now, appear
publicly before the congregation to give their testimonies, but had secret conferences
with the Apostles and chief brethren, Paul explaining to them what he understood to be the
perfect Law of Liberty under the Covenant of sacrifice the will and plan of God regarding
the Gospel amongst the Gentiles. It would appear that the Apostles had been largely
influenced by those presentations, although they had not uttered any public testimony on
the subject, nor engaged in any manner in the missionary work amongst the Gentiles.
Apparently they had 'not considered it necessary to stir up the subject to any extent, and
thus possibly to breed more or less of strife amongst the Jewish converts. Thus the
subject had been left for some years for gradual development and enlargement of heart and
mind on the part of the believers. This thought is based upon the Apostle Paul's statement
in his letter to the Galatians, on this subject.-Gal. 2.
But now the question, of receiving Gentiles, and how they should be
treated, and what were their obligations, etc., came up in a natural way, without forcing
-- rather, it forced itself for decision. The Apostles and Elders heard the reports of
God's blessing upon the Gentiles, and offered no objection, evidently being quite in
accord with the matter from the first; but, as was to be expected, there was
dissatisfaction amongst brethren who previously had been Pharisees. This sect of the Jews
was firmly set, not only for the Law of Moses and all of its ceremonies, but also for many
additions and accretions to it; so that they were quite dissatisfied, we remember, with
our Lord's observance of the Law, which we know was perfect. These, in all honesty,
objected that the missionaries were too lax, too slack in their work, and that all
believers should be required to be circumcised and to keep the Mosaic laws respecting
fasts, new moons, sabbath days, washings, etc.
NOBLE DEFENSE OF THE TRUTH OUR DUTY,
STRIFE AND WRANGLING IMPROPER
Thus the question was brought forward, and a special meeting was
appointed, at which, the Apostles and Elders heard all that was to be said on the subject,
and we read that there was "much dispute." We do not want to say a word in favor
of disputes, wrangling, etc., amongst the Lord's people. On the contrary, we understand
the Scriptures to teach that wranglings in general are improper, out of order, injurious
to the interests of the Church and of the Truth; because such wranglings and disputes are
generally about things to no profit, but to the subverting or unsettling of the believers,
and especially of those who are new or weak in the faith. But it is a different matter
when the question is an important one, as was this under discussion; and at such a time
dispute, ,in the proper manner, with the spirit of love, with force and yet with kindness,
love and gentleness of word and manner, is most appropriate.
We rejoice that there was such a spirit of broadmindedness in the
early Church as is represented in the course pursued-we rejoice that when an important
subject was to be considered, with a view to knowing the mind of the Lord, that there was
fullest liberty granted for as much dispute or debate, in a proper manner, as was
necessary to bring the whole subject before those who had it under consideration. There is
a difference, however, between disputes and discussions inside the pale of faith and
disputes outside that boundary. As the Apostle says, "He that is weak in the faith
receive ye [do not reject him because he has not such full, strong, vigorous faith as we
should like to see], but not to doubtful disputations"--do not receive him to dispute
his doubts--what he doles not believe. Let him have a full opportunity, for hearing the
faith discussed; if his doubts do not then disappear, probably he himself will
disappear-drop out of the assembly.
PAUL AND BARNABAS UPHELD
The fact that the question at issue was-the obligation of Gentile
converts to the Law, is not to be understood as signifying that the Law of Moses
was recognized as being of binding force upon Jewish converts. All were bound to concede
that the Law Covenant had saved none -that Christ's fulfillment of it brought all under
Divine grace. It was more a question of usage-the Jews were used to circumcision which
preceded the Law, used to abstaining from pork, not only merely because the Law forbade
it, but because aside from the Law they considered it unclean. What the Jew did in the
exercise of his liberty he thought the Gentile should be forced to do;--a very common
error with many. It requires development to learn to use our consciences and liberty and
to let others use theirs, even though they, differ.
When a fair hearing had been granted to both sides of the question,
Peter, one of the leading Apostles, and doubtless the eldest, rehearsed his experiences
with Cornelius; then Paul and Barnabas were beard, and James closed, the discussion. All
upheld the teachings and practices of Paul and Barnabas, and cited the leadings of the
Lord's spirit, as well as the prophecies of the Old Testament, in corroboration of this
position which, doubtless, as above suggested, they had held tentatively for some time,
though they only now thought it necessary to make a public statement regarding it. The
conclusion was satisfactory to the Apostles and Elders and the whole Church; and an answer
in harmony with this was sent to., the friends at Antioch, Syria, and throughout
Silicia--the regions which had been affected by the Judaizing teachers.
To give weight to the letter, two of the prominent brethren of
Jerusalem were sent with Paul and Barnabas and the letter, that, they might confirm the
letter orally, and thus establish the hearts of those who had been somewhat troubled by
the false teachings. The letter first disclaims any authority for those persons who had,
however honestly intentioned, taught error with truth, and confused the hearts of the
believers on the subject of circumcision and the Law. It states also the conclusions of
the conference, and commends Barnabas and Paul, calling them "beloved," and
noting the fact that they had hazarded their, lives in the Lord's cause. The decision
rendered is expressed as being the mind of "the Holy Spirit and us." We may
reasonably presume that the meaning of this is that the Church not only found the
teachings of the Scripture and the leadings of the Divine providence to be in- favor of
the acceptance of the Gentiles to Christian liberty, without, becoming Jews or coming
under the Law, but that this finding of the Lord's will was not against the wishes or
prejudices of the Apostles and Elders at Jerusalem; that it found a ready echo, a hearty
response in their hearts.
RECOMMENDATION RESPECTING OUTWARD. CONDUCT
God's dealings and, instructions commended themselves both to their
hearts and, to, their reasons, and covered four points. (1) Abstaining from meats offered
to idols, which might appear to be giving sanction to idol worship. (2) Abstaining from'
the eating of the blood of animals. (3) Abstaining from eating things that, had been
strangled, in which the blood 'Would remain, which would imply the eating of blood. (4)
The avoidance of fornication.
In considering these rules we are to keep in memory the circumstances
and conditions of the times, and the objects sought to be attained. (1) The idol worship
which prevailed at that time had connected with it A great deal of sensuality, which would
be contrary to the spirit of Christ in every sense of the word. (2) The object was to
permit a ground of fellowship and brotherhood between those whose previous experiences and
instructions had been lax, and those. whose previous instructions had been rigid. And the
things here required of the Gentiles were not merely features of the Mosaic Law, for the
forbidding of the use of blood, and the explanation that it represented the life, was
given long previous to Moses' day-to Noah after the flood, when he and his posterity were
granted the privilege of eating meat, because of the changed conditions and the
impoverishment of the race, and the need of more stimulating food. The use of blood was
still more common then than now, being used, not only in blood puddings, but also as a
drink mixed. with wine, as some today use beef extract blended with wine.
The message was received in faith by all, and caused universal
rejoicing in the Church. There was a general recognition of the Lord's providential care
in the Church's affairs, and this faith and confidence in God prepared all parties to
receive the message on this subject, which they believed God would assuredly give them,
and which they had rightly looked for through the channels which God had previously been
using for their blessing and edification. Thus we have a. lesson' respecting the proper
course of the Lord's dear people today,--not to
carry disputes, even on important matters (not fundamental) to the length of rupture,
division, but, with hearts anxious to know and to obey the Truth, inquiry should be
made of the oracles of God, and the results, after a fair hearing of -all the testimony,
should be conclusive, satisfactory, and bring consolation--peace and joy-so that. the
unity of the faith in 'the bonds of love may continue within the walls of Zion.
The two brethren who came as representatives of the, Jerusalem Church
were prophets, or public teachers, and, as was intended, they exhorted the Church in
harmony with the letter they bore, and confirmed and strengthened them., Thus what might
have been a serious rupture,, resulting in much damage and in many roots of bitterness,
antagonisms, etc., became really a means of increased blessing to all connected therewith,
because wisely and properly handled. May such occasions be likewise treated by the Lord's
people today, and with similar blessed results, under the guidance of the same Lord and
Master who more than eighteen centuries ago guided by His Word and Spirit.
THE LIBERTY WHEREWITH CHRIST HAS MADE US FREE
Strange to say, a peculiar combination-of too much liberty and too
little liberty-is creeping over nominal Christendom today. The too little liberty feature
objects to any discussion. of the doctrines of Christ, and the teachings of the, Apostles,
for fear some differences of. opinion. should be manifested. This is an endeavor to have
an outward ."union" Without a union of the heart and a union of the head. It is
injurious, both to those who hold the error, which cannot be -exposed, and injurious also
to those who hold the Truth and who permit, themselves thus to be bound, and hindered from
growth in, grace and knowledge by the proper exercise of the liberties wherewith Christ
has made His people free. The general trend along this line favors the covering over, the
concealment, of truths as well as errors, in a wrong assumption that the appearance of
union will, serve the purpose of real union, and be real effective as respects the
prosperity of the true members of the Body of Christ. Such a false union, however, may be
effected, and to such extent cause prosperity in the nominal church, but can only last for
a brief season, when the time of trouble shall overwhelm all..
On the other hand the too great liberty which we see drawing on, is
that represented by the teachings of the higher critics and evolutionists. Their teachings
are given in quiet, -in the theological seminaries, at the fireside, in the daily
interchanges, and in the, pulpit; and any attempt to contradict these false doctrines is
tabooed, as being calculated to stir up strife, and destroy the unity of the Church. Thus
the too great liberty and the too great bondage are, working together in the nominal
church, systems today, to thoroughly expel and ostracize the, Truth, and all who love it
and wish to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made them free. It is
calculated to, install and multiply and qualify and honor the error, which, so, rapidly is
gaining control, although the control be generally denied. Let all who are the Lord's
people, and who have tasted of the liberty wherewith Christ makes free, see to it -that
they., stand fast in that liberty, and as soon as an attempt is made to restrain it, if
not sooner, let them get out completely. from all the bondages of human systems, that they
may stand firmly and loyally with the Lord, our Redeemer, our Instructor, our King.
The question may arise, Does this direction to abstain, from meat
offered to, idols conflict with the Apostle's later teachings addressed to the
Corinthians? (1 Cor. 8.) We answer, No. The Apostle is not advocating the eating of meat.,
previously offered, to idols; but on, the contrary, is answering some who so practiced, He
is admitting the logic of their argument, that an idol being nothing but so much wood or
metal or stone the meat could be neither benefited nor injured by the offering. But he
shows that the restrictions should be practiced in the interest of some of less logical
mind who would be unable to -comprehend, this and who would thus be led to defile their
consciences, and thus into sin;--which might abound more and more, eventually, to their
destruction. For the voice of conscience must be obeyed: it is at our peril-, that, it is,
violated--no matter how erroneous and superstitious, may be its standards. Let conscience
be educated; but let its ignorance never be violated. Every violation of conscience is so
much of character destruction All need, to remember this in respect to their own
consciences as well as in dealing with. Others -- especially with children.
--AUGUST 28-ACTS
16:6-18--
Golden Text.--"And they
said, Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house."--Acts
16:31.
TODAY'S lesson is connected with the introduction of the Gospel into
Europe. After the. conference at Jerusalem, noted in a previous lesson, Paul and Barnabas
remained for a time at Antioch. But seeing that there' were many laborers there and that a
larger field was little worked, a second missionary journey was planned. Barnabas and his
nephew John Mark went in one direction, while with St. Paul went Silas (Sylvanus), with
whom he had become acquainted, at the Jerusalem conference and who is reported to have
been a Roman citizen, as was St. Paul. It is with this latter couple that we have to do in
this lesson. Their course lay through Syria and Cilicia, Derbe and Lystra. In these places
they confirmed the faith of such as had already been accepted of the, Lord through the
Apostle's first missionary tour, and the working of the Truth during the interim. It was
at Lystra that Timothy was found, a young man of Jewish mother and well trained in the
Scriptures by her and his grandmother-his father being a Greek. We note that amongst the
things presented to the Churches was, the decision of the Jerusalem. conference that the
Jewish Law should not be considered binding to the Gentiles, except in certain, features
noted in our previous lesson.
After good success in 'the mission up to this point the Apostle had
in mind a journey through Asia Minor; but apparently things went unfavorable until the
Apostle concluded that the Lord was hindering their efforts and in perplexity began to
think of other fields of labor. His, moment of uncertainty was the Lord's opportunity for
directing him. He dreamed that he saw a man dressed in the costume of the Macedonians
beckoning to him and saying, "Come. over and help us." The Apostle accepted,
this as of Divine leading, and promptly began the journey; which took him into Europe. We
have here an evidence of God's supervision of all the interests, of His Church. He was not
averse to permitting the message to, go into Asia Minor, for it did go there later,
possibly at a more opportune time. But this was the time for sending the message to
Europe.
It is supposed that it was about this time that Luke, the physician,
became attached to St. Paul's company. A man of education, a scribe, as well as a
physician, the Lord evidently provided him as St. Paul's amanuensis, that thereby the
Apostle's letters should :reach many of the Churches of that time, as well as the Lord's
people from then until now. Thus it came that Luke wrote not only a version of the Gospel,
but also the Book of Acts and nearly all of St. Paul's epistles. Here we have another
illustration of the privileges of the various members of the Body of Christ. Luke could
not be the Apostle Paul nor could he do St. Paul's work; but he could be used of the Lord
honorably and efficiently in a greater spread of the Truth.
So it is with us. We cannot be Apostles. We cannot do, anything very
great; but, if filled with the Spirit of the Lord, it is our privilege to be used to some
extent in some service of the Truth. And any service for the Lord and for the brethren,
even to the washing of feet and any menial service, is, as our Lord shows, honorable and a
privilege.
LYDIA OF THYATIRA.
Philippi, one of the chief cities of Macedonia, in Greece, appears to
have been the first place for the preaching of the Good Tidings in Europe. As usual, on
the Sabbath day the Apostle and companions sought for some who worshiped God, who hoped
for the Kingdom that God had promised, knowing that such would be the better prepared to
receive the message he had to deliver; that Jesus had appeared as the Redeemer and had
laid the foundation for the Millennial Kingdom in the sacrifice of Himself; that the
blessings of His sacrifice would ultimately be made available to every creature, but that
now, in advance of the dealing with the world in general, the Lord is' calling out a
spiritual Israel, a "little flock," to be His kings and priests with Jesus in
the administration of the Millennial blessings.
Apparently there was no synagogue in Philippi, and matters may have
looked very unfavorable to St. Paul and his companions. However', they heard of a little
religious, meeting held every Sabbath by the river side, outside the city gate. It was; a
prayer meeting principally and place, of Divine fellowship. Not having
the facilities; of a synagogue they probably had no Scripture parchments, and, hence no
reading of the Law, but merely prayer and worship. All this was favorable to the Gospel
Message the Apostle had to present. He spoke to those who resorted thither, commending, the importance of their
worshipful condition of heart and the importance of praise to the Giver of all good., Then
he proceeded to declare the, Good, Tidings of the sacrifice of Jesus, of His death and
resurrection, and His Second Coming in power and great glory. He showed surely that the
invitation now being given was for joint-sacrifices with Jesus whose reward would be
joint-heirship with Him in the Millennial Kingdom', as members of His Body, the Church.
However many or few were at the meeting there, was one present whose
heart was in the right condition to receive the Message -- a woman named Lydia, a dealer
in purple. Dyes were much more expensive in olden times than now and the secret knowledge
of how to make them was turned to financial profit. Thus it is supposed that Lydia was. in
quite comfortable circumstances financially. Not only
did the Truth open her heart, en lightening the eyes of her understanding, but she
was prompt to obey it in full consecration and prompt to symbolize that consecration in
water baptism--"She and her household."
It is not always that religious parents have religiously inclined
children. - Several instances of the kind are mentioned in the Scriptures. Personal
experience' teaches us also that the parent who is earnestly consecrated to the Lord and
guided by His Word has generally a good influence upon those nearest to him and directly
under 'his care. Such an influence should be hoped for, prayed for, sought for by every
parent. But it cannot be obtained except by carefulness, circumspection of word and deed..
These in subjection imply that the very thoughts of the heart are brought, into captivity
to the will of God in Christ. Nevertheless, parents who have failed to discern the Truth
-and recognize its, responsibilities until their children have outgrown parental
instruction must not chide themselves unmercifully if their children do not respect them
and their religious convictions. Rather they should remember that the Lord is thoroughly
acquainted with the situation and Will hold them accountable only for what they do or do
not after they have come to know Him and to an opportunity for understanding the
instructions of His Word respecting their own lives and the training of their children in
the nurture and admonition of the' Lord.
"AND SHE CONSTRAINED US"
The fact, that Lydia's household believed implies that she was the
mother of adult children. And these were so thoroughly under. her influence that they
worshiped with her the true, God, neglecting the idolatries prevalent in Philippi. We may
infer that she was a widow' since her husband is not -mentioned., Hence it was her, right,
without conference with, anybody, to invite the Apostle and his companions to share the
hospitality of her home. She 'seems properly to have realized that, instead, of honoring them, she -was, honoring herself, and,
her, home by having such guests--the ministers
of God,' the brethren of Christ--under her, roof. Note
her language when inviting, "She besought us saying, If ye have judged me to be
faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. Aria she,: constrained
us.". The latter, statement, implies that the Apostle was not too ready to force
himself upon anybody, that he did not urge, saying,. Surely., myself and companions who
have preached to you should be served by you in temporalities--though that was the, truth.
Rather, the Apostle made no reference to, temporalities Indeed, after the suggestion of
Lydia had been made it was apparently not quickly accepted, but with the indication that
the disciples of Jesus had no desire to intrude: upon others. This, is implied in the
statement that they were "constrained," gradually drawn or led to accept the
invitation. How beautiful it is to see God's children wisely exercised in such matters!
How much more is their influence upon one another for good!
This lesson may be considered as specially teaching Divine
supervision of the true Gospel and its ministers,. Yet how diversified God's dealings and
how necessary that His children in -ministering the Truth should have fullest confidence
in His wisdom, love and power! Note the sharp
contrast that, after specially guiding the Apostles to this place and then to a very small
meeting and apparently one family of converts, the Lord next allows what seems to be a
great catastrophe to befall His, faithful servants. This trial came through the evil
spirits. A young woman, possessed, (obsessed) by an evil spirit (one, of the 'fallen
angels), was used for fortune-telling, etc.,,,
the spirit working through her, divining or giving intelligence of things that were
lost, telling fortunes, etc. She was a slave girl and very profitable to her owners a
syndicate apparently of influential men.
For several days, as the Apostle and companions went to and from the
home of Lydia attending to the Lord's work, this obsessed girl followed them, shouting in
a loud voice, "These be the servants of the Most High God, which show unto us the way
'of salvation." Of course, the girl did not know them but the evil spirits knew them,
but the evil spirits knew them. To what extent they forecasted the results we may not
definitely know but quite possibly what occurred was what they had premeditated, namely,
that the Apostle would. cast out the evil spirit and that this would bring upon. them and
any, converts a violent attack from the owners of the girl and their friends and all whom
they could arouse to, a frenzy of excitement, of wrath and rioting. Or the evil spirit may
simply have told the truth, without considering the possibility of the Apostle
commanding it to come out of the woman--possibly supposing that they would be rather
pleased with a testimony from any quarter. But we read that St. Paul was grieved as day
after day this testimony was made. He was not grieved that a testimony was borne to the
Truth, but grieved that it should come from such. an evil source, for he knew that it
would have no respect for the Truth;. for any of the fallen angels who would have respect
for God and the principles of righteousness would not seek to obsess humanity when it knew
that it would be to their injury and contrary to the Divine will. The Apostle said not a
word to the young woman, assuming that she was not at all accountable. He addressed, the
evil spirit as such, and commanded it in the name of Jesus to come out of the woman --
just as Jesus and the Apostles under His instruction
had frequently cast out these spirits.
In proceeding thus the Apostle was of course doing. what was right,
and doubtless was acting under the direction of the spirit or mind of the Lord concerning
the: matter. In so doing he was privileged to relieve the cause of Truth of the reproach
and odium that were being brought upon it by the conduct of the obsessed woman. Not only
so, but the casting out of the evil spirit' from: the woman was undoubtedly an act of the
Lord's favor toward her in being dispossessed of an influence that could have only a
demoralizing effect. Thus, as is always the case, the operation of, the Lord's power and spirit
tend toward relief from the powers of darkness,the leading of 'those operated thereon into
a state of peace.
Present-day higher critics and lower critic's are, disposed to
dispute that there are evil spirits, and that. human beings ever are or ever were
possessed by demons. Such incline to suppose that either deception or insanity, was
mistaken by the Lord and the Apostles in these cases of obsession. However, to those who
have learned to respect the Word of God there is no room for questioning the. accounts.
Our Lord commanded evil spirits to come out of possessed ones, and they obeyed Him; and in
this case the Apostle Paul invoked the same Divine power, for the healing of this young
woman -- for her deliverance from the evil spirit being which had obtained possession of
her and made her its slave, speaking through her, and otherwise using her mouth, ears,
etc., as channels of communication. These fallen angels adapt themselves to the' varying
conditions of humanity in all parts of the world, and in connection with all the various
systems of religion, all of which we may properly accredit, more or logs directly, to the
great Adversary of the Truth, who worketh by and through those who will submit themselves.
VOL.
IV. August 15, 1921 No. 16
WHO IS AUTHORIZED TO MINISTER IN HOLY THINGS?
WHAT SAY THE SCRIPTURES?
"And the things that thou
hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be
able to teach others also."--2 Tim. 2:2.
A BROTHER has raised the question as to the propriety and consistency
of any brother or brethren in these days endeavoring to set before the friends any lines
of thought or interpretation in addition to and beyond what was presented in the ministry
-- sermons and writings -- of PASTOR RUSSELL. It is urged that in view of PASTOR RUSSELL'S
unique and important, office and position in the ministry of the Divine Word, does it not
seem presumptuous, and is it not treating the memory Of PASTOR RUSSELL with disrespect,
for any brother to attempt to investigate the Scriptures or to present anything that was
not taught by him. And, furthermore, it is questioned: In. view of the fact that PASTOR
RUSSELL was used so largely in clarifying the Truth and setting it in order, should we not
therefore decide conclusively that the Lord gave His people, through PASTOR RUSSELL, all
His messages-absolutely every detail of the Truth that there is to be had for the
remainder of this Age-and is it not therefore in vain, and displeasing to. the Lord, that
anyone since PASTOR RUSSELL's death should seek to walk in further light on any point or
attempt to help others so to do? -- reference being made in this connection to the
Revelation expositions and articles on chronology recently presented in the HERALD.
The brother presenting the above reasoning urges a second
proposition, namely: Should not any brother or brethren who would seek to make progress in
the path way of Light and Truth at this time, or help others to see more clearly the
import of the Divine messages, be able to point themselves out as being clearly referred
to in certain figurative or parabolic statements of the Bible, and should not such
brethren be able to prove that they are thus peculiarly ordained and referred to under the
figure of some symbolical angel or messenger for the last days, before they could consider
themselves authorized to handle the things of God's Word and help others to clearer light.
regarding any question in these times?
We acknowledge, of course, that the foregoing lines of reasoning are
very interesting, and that it is indeed important that we arrive at wise and sound
conclusions with regard to the various questions involved. For this reason we have deemed
it proper and profitable to here present before others what we believe to be the teachings
of the Scriptures concerning these matters.
It should be entirely unnecessary to here state that the brethren who
have the ministry of our INSTITUTE in charge, bold the memory and life-work Of PASTOR
RUSSELL in the most sacred 'regard; that in the ministry of this institution the most
unswerving loyalty to the interpretations of the Truth as presented by PASTOR RUSSELL has
been shown: in fact, we feel that we can safely state that there are no brethren who hold
more sacred and hallowed the work and ministry of PASTOR RUSSELL than the brethren of our
INSTITUTE; and this has been demonstrated in our reprinting so much of his writings in
these pages and in quoting so lavishly from his interpretations, as well as in the
frequent use of his name in the pages of this journal; and that in the most reverential
and respectful manner that we know how. Nor has there been any change in the attitude
toward PASTOR RUSSELL of any of the brethren of the HERALD staff; but contrariwise, our
love and esteem for, and confidence in our Pastor have only been enlarged from time to
time as we have observed increasingly how broad and comprehensive has been his insight
into, and his -vision of, God's will and purposes; and we are not surprised, therefore, to
find that he has doubtless excelled all other Christian leaders of modern times in the
quality as well as the scope of his ministry of Gospel Truth.
"ONE CONTINUOUS AND INCREASING LIGHT"
But while all of this is true, we find ourselves unable to agree with
the propositions set forth above, because the reasoning contained therein is quite
positively in opposition to the plain teachings of the Bible, as well as contrary to the
clear and sound elucidations given by PASTOR RUSSELL himself as to the increasing progress
of Truth and Light. We believe that no one will be able to locate anything in the Bible to
the effect that upon the departure of any of the spiritual teachers of the Church, the
revelation of Truth would cease; nor is there anything in PASTOR RUSSELL'S writings to
lead us to conclude that he believed that his death would mark the end of progress for
God's people in the path of light, and that thereafter followers of Christ should settle
down and expect no further illumination--should make no further progress in the study of
Truth. His teachings are most explicitly to the contrary, and we can do no better than
quote his own words along this line:
. . . 'The path
of the just that 'is as, the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect
day.' . . . Patriarchs, prophets, apostles and saints of the past and present have walked
in its increasing light; AND THE LIGHT WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE BEYOND THE PRESENT--unto
the perfect day. It is one continuous path, and THE ONE CONTINUOUS AND INCREASING LIGHT is
the Divine Record, illuminating as it becomes due.
"Therefore, 'Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous,' expecting' the
fulfillment of 'this promise. Many have so little faith that they do not look for more
light, and, because of their unfaithfulness and unconcern, they are permitted to sit in
dark-ness, when they might have been walking in the increasing light.
Surely no one who believes the Scripture statement that the path of
the just shineth more and more unto the perfect day, will claim that the perfect day came
in Luther's time; and if not, we do Well that we
take heed to our lamp as unto 'a light that shineth in a dark place UNTIL THE DAY
DAWN.'--2 Pet. 1:19.
"Nor is it sufficient that we find ourselves now in the path of
light; we must 'walk in the light,' CONTINUE TO
MAKE PROGRESS, else the light, which does not stop, will pass on and leave us in
darkness. The difficulty with many is that they sit down, and do not follow on in the path
of light. Take a concordance and examine the texts under the words sit and stand,
then compare these with those found under the words walk and run, and you will find a great contrast: Men 'sit in darkness,' and with 'the scornful,' and stand among the ungodly, but 'walk in the light,' and 'run for the prize.'--Isa. 42:7; Psa. 1:1; Heb.
12:1.
"PERFECTION OF KNOWLEDGE IS, NOT A THING OF THE PAST, BUT OF THE
FUTURE-the very near future, we trust; and until. we recognize this fact we are unprepared
to. appreciate and expect fresh unfoldings of our Father's Plan."--Studies, Vol. 1-20, 21, 25.
Such was the wise and, we believe, Scriptural view presented by
PASTOR RUSSELL. It is most evident that he did not consider that the time had come for the
Lord's people to stand still and cease to make progress; nor did he consider that that
time would ever come, until 'the perfect day' was fully ushered in. Therefore, whatever views any of us shall hold
concerning the important place that PASTOR RUSSELL occupied in the ministry of the Truth, such views must
not be allowed to stand in the way of, or in opposition to, plain statements of the Bible,
on the grounds of which PASTOR RUSSELL urged all
followers of Christ to "walk in the light," and to continue to make
advancement "unto the perfect day." As was pointed out in a preceding issue of
this journal, PASTOR RUSSELL'S entire life is seen to have been one of unceasing progress;
and he urged the brethren always to be in the progressive attitude, to discard error as
fast as they saw it. His own example shows that he was repudiating error throughout his
entire lifetime. It is very well remembered by those who were in close association with
PASTOR RUSSELL that frequently in reply to a question, he would say: "I am not sure
as to the proper answer to the question. I am hoping to see the matter more clearly
later." Or, at another time, he would answer: "I am expecting certain
developments and events to make more clear the truth with regard to that point." Or,
at still another time, he would answer; "I am not just sure. I am waiting to
see," etc. It is plainly evident that in these answers his attitude was that of
holding himself open to see certain lines of Truth more clearly, and this attitude he
encouraged all the brethren to hold. It would not therefore seem reasonable that he would
now advise the brethren, in his absence, to close their minds and eyes to all further
developments and refuse to see or make further progress.
"HALTED AROUND FAVORITE LEADERS"
Another thought advanced by our Pastor and most important to be
considered in this connection: It is quite evident that he did not wish the brethren after his death to gather
around him personally and form a creed fence that would prevent them from making
further progress. His teachings were strictly, against this procedure, and as students of
his writings we well recall that he frequently, referred to, the great mistake that
Christians in the past had made by gathering around such as Luther, Calvin, Wesley,
Campbell; each of these groups forming creeds and establishing themselves inside the creed
fence around these leaders, and thus prohibiting and preventing further progress. Our
beloved Pastor advised the brethren everywhere not to do this sort of thing, but urged us
to "prove all things" by the infallible Word; to recognize the Scriptures alone
as the source of information, as out spiritual guide, and as that which should settle all
dispute. Let us carefully consider his exact words. Speaking with regard to the great
Reformation and its results,, he said:
" .
. . God raised up bold champions for his Word, among whom were Luther, Zwingli,
Melanchthon, Wycliffe, Knox and others. These called attention to the fact that Papacy had
laid aside the Bible and substituted the decrees and dogmas of the church, and pointed out
a few of its erroneous teachings and practices, showing that they were built upon
tradition, contrary to truth, and opposed to God's Word. These reformers and their
adherents were called Protestants, because they protested against Papacy, and claimed the
Word of God as the only correct rule of faith and practice. Many faithful souls in the
days of the Reformation walked in the light, so far as it was then shining. But since
their day Protestants have made little progress, because, instead of walking in the light,
they have halted around their favorite leaders, willing to see as much as they saw but
nothing more. They set boundaries to their progress in the way of truth, hedging in, with
the little truth they had, a great deal of error brought along from the 'mother' church.
For the creeds thus formulated many years ago, the majority of Christians have a
superstitious reverence, supposing that no more can be known of God's plans now than was
known by the Reformers.
"THIS MISTAKE HAS BEEN AN EXPENSIVE ONE; for, aside from the
fact that but few great principles of truth were then recovered from the rubbish of error,
THERE ARE SPECIAL FEATURES OF TRUTH CONSTANTLY BECOMING DUE, and of these Christians have
been deprived by their creed fences. To illustrate: It was a truth in Noahs day, and one
which required the faith of all who would walk in the light then, that a flood was coming,
while Adam and others had known nothing of it. It would not be preaching truth now to
preach a coming flood, but THERE ARE OTHER DISPENSATIONAL TRUTHS CONSTANTLY BECOMING DUE,
of which, if walking in the light of the lamp, we shall know; so, if we have all the light
which was due several hundred years ago, and that only, we are measurably in
darkness."--Studies, Vol. 1-23, 24.
True enough, our Pastor frequently cautioned the brethren against
being too anxious after new light, and sought to put the brethren on guard against
foolishly speculating and guessing along any line. We all admit that this was very wise
advice, which has been sadly neglected and has gone unheeded since his death. There is
really no "new light," however; it is the same light as of, old, only shining
brighter and brighter.
In consideration of the foregoing, therefore, we fail to see wherein
any disrespect is shown to our beloved Pastor, or wherein it can be at all displeasing to
the Lord, for the brethren of our INSTITUTE to proceed as they have been doing., In fact,
we must conclude that the best way to express our respect and loyalty to PASTOR RUSSELL
his ministry and life-work, is to act upon, 'and in accordance with, his, own advice and
teachings on the subject of giving heed to the "more sure word of prophecy," and
to "watch," and "walk in the light, as Christ is in the light," and
surely by so doing we Will also be pleasing to the Lord. It is in accordance with this
view and conclusion that the brethren who are readers of this journal generally express
themselves as very much refreshed and consoled in what has been presented before them in
the Revelation expositions and in the chronological lines recently published. Nor has the
reading of this journal resulted in any less confidence in, or love for BROTHER RUSSELL on
t he part of any, but rather we are assured that their faith in, and esteem for him have
been in creased; as the Revelation expositions are made up largely of his own
interpretations; and the chronological views we have presented, while noting now certain
obvious errors in the deductions we have hitherto held, really go to substantiate and
support the general system of faith and knowledge which our beloved Pastor so fully
brought together, we believe, under the Lord's direction.
BY WHAT AUTHORITY
Coming now to the second proposition of the subject noted above,
namely, that any brethren who would make advancement in the path of light or assist others
to do so in these days, should, in order to be consistent, be able to prove that they have
received of the Lord some unusual unction under the figure of some special messenger
referred to in the Bible: We must disagree most fully with any such line of reasoning or
conclusion, for the reason that we 'find it to be emphatically contrary to the teachings
of the Word of the Lord. The instruction given by the great Head of the Church is that
primarily His Church has but one teacher, and that is Himself: "One is your master,
even Christ, and all ye are brethren," and H e distinctly announced that He was
appointing twelve Apostles, to be special witnesses and under-teacher, whose messages and
ministries were to play a very important part for the instruction of the Church throughout
the entire Age. These twelve are referred to in the Book of Revelation as the "twelve
foundations of the new Jerusalem." One of their number, St. Paul, who occupied a
unique position amongst the others, declared that the Divine order for the Age, in his day
and subsequent thereto, was that "He [Christ] gave some, apostles; and some,
prophets, and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the
saints, for the work of the ministry, for the. edifying of the body of Christ: till we all
come," etc. The history of the early Church shows that this was the order in the
beginning of the Age: there were evangelists, pastors, elders, etc., selected by the
different companies of the brethren to serve in spiritual things; and those who have
maintained the simplicity and purity of the early Church down through the Age have
followed the order outlined in the instruction given by the. Apostles. We do not find in
any of their messages any word authorizing any of those who would be teachers in the
Church throughout the Age to look for, or identify themselves as some symbolical angel or
messenger, and to trust in this as an ordination to proclaim Divine Truth; and we cannot
but add here that this disposition to seek for such identification in the Bible does not
appear to us to be in keeping with the spirit of the Lord, the spirit of meekness and
humility. It would seem that the best evidence or credentials that any minister of the
Truth can present is, his possession of the Holy Spirit and the exemplification of that
Spirit in the illumination of his ministry.
Our Lord was asked by His disciples respecting important matters
relating to. His Second Advent. The Master in reply said, "Take heed that no man
deceive you," and He went on to explain that there would be false teachers who would
arise and deceive many. In fulfillment of our Savior's prophecy there have been those who
have arisen from time to time throughout the Age and have announced themselves as
specially anointed of the Lord to. speak His Truth. The time came early in the Age, when
the most popular bishop of that time, living in the city of Rome, was finally announced as
the successor of St. Peter, and specially anointed of God to be the Head of the Church-the
Vicar of Christ on earth. This man accepted the office and took to himself honors and
dignity really belonging to the Lord, because he
thought he saw himself in the Bible as appointed of God to take the place of Christ in the
Church on earth. It is now a matter of history that one great evil after another was
permitted to enter in, which resulted in a dreadful apostasy.
Others since then have arisen from time to time, even to this day,
and have taken to themselves the position and honor of being specially anointed teachers
sent from God and as having received an extraordinary anointing, because they have claimed
to see themselves in some picture or symbol of the Bible; and as Jesus predicted, have
deceived many.
ORDINATION BY THE HOLY SPIRIT
We ourselves can place no confidence in the claims of any brother or
brethren to see themselves in any portion of the Bible as an extraordinary anointed
channel to lead others into the Truth. We feel that it is indeed significant that our
beloved Pastor, when he was assailed by his adversaries in nominal Christendom and was
charged with not having been properly ordained, made no attempt to establish the fact of
his ordination to preach the Word by referring to any particular symbol or statement in
the Bible as referring to himself, but to the contrary, in great simplicity and modesty,
he referred to the anointing originally given to Jesus as the Head of the Church, the
anointing of the Holy Spirit. He referred to how this anointing had extended to all
consecrated believer; in Christ from that day to this. He claimed for himself merely that as a consecrated follower of Christ he
had come under this original anointing, and so taught that every one receiving the
anointing of the spirit is a qualified ambassador of God to speak in His name. We are glad
indeed that we have this, the only Scriptural ordination, explained and set before us in
the teachings and example of our Pastor.
It is in accordance with the foregoing, therefore, that we believe
the readers of this journal have observed that our brethren of this ministry claim for
themselves only such ordination and privileges
as the weakest and humblest follower of Christ is privileged to claim, namely, that
anointing of the Holy Spirit shared in by every member of the Church; which anointing
qualifies them to study the Word of the Lord, and authorizes each and every one to make
advancement in the path of light as rapidly as the Lord may be pleased to reveal the
Truth. None are authorized to do more than-this.
Asked as to whether or not the brethren in charge of the INSTITUTE
claim to have any special privilege or call to minister to God's people today, and, urged
by others, that probably some of the symbolical angels in the Book of Revelation personify
the PASTORAL BIBLE INSTITUTE, we. reply most emphatically that we make no such claims and
see no foundation whatever for anything of the kind. We feel that we cannot be too
outspoken or speak too plainly with regard to this point, and wish all the brethren to
understand once and for all time that our brethren here wholly reject and repudiate all
such suggestions and applications. The friends Who read this journal well know that our
brethren here lay no claims to any special office and do not see themselves pointed out in
the Scriptures in a figure of a channel or any symbolical servant, angel or messenger.
Nor is there any claim that the messages presented in this journal have any special
inspiration or guidance of the Lord more than that of other brethren; for, as before
stated, our professions and claims in the ministry of the Truth are such only as every fellow-member of Christ is
permitted to entertain, namely, an anointing of the Holy Spirit to preach the Word, to
assist others to discern the mind of the Lord and to pursue successfully their course in
the Narrow Way. This much we believe to be the privilege and duty of all consecrated
believers; as the Apostle Paul suggests, the spirit of Christ in any and every member of
His Body would lead such to make use of their talents and opportunities in doing good unto
all men as they have opportunity, especially unto the household of faith.
SERIES IV-A
CHRIST'S MESSAGE TO EPHESUS
"By the Messenger of the
Congregation in Ephesus, write; These things says He who Holds the seven Stars in His
Right hand, He who walks in the Midst of the Seven Golden Lampstands."--Rev. 2:1.
THE CHURCH AT EPHESUS was the first of the seven to be addressed by
the Master. In His message to this Church the Savior is announced as the One who holds the
seven Stars in His right hand, and who walks in the midst of the seven golden Lampstands;
and then, addressing the Church through its
messenger, describes its condition in the words: "I know thy Works, and thy Toil,
and thy Patient Endurance, and that thou art not able to endure wicked men; and thou hast
tried Those who Declare themselves to be Apostles but are not, and hast found them Liars;
and thou hast patiently endured and hast suffered on account of my Name, and thou hast not
been weary. But I have this against thee, That thou hast relaxed thy First
Love."--Rev. 2:2-4.
Let the fact be borne in mind that these words are addressed to the
Church of Ephesus through its pastor or its minister
who serves in spiritual things. We inquire Who alone of all its members will
hear--give heed? The Savior Himself, seven times repeated, answers this question in the
words: "Let him who has an ear, hear what the
Spirit says to the Congregations." (V. 7.) It is important that we give earnest
heed to this fact, that the only one who hears, in the sense of giving heed, be he
minister, bishop, or one who holds no position of responsibility or trust, is the
"overcomer"; he alone is the one who truly hears and finally is chosen to
inherit the promises, and to at last become. of the Little Flock of joint-heirs in the
Heavenly Kingdom. This thought has been well expressed by another: "How hard is it to
understand that while we may obey in much that in fact cost us little, the true test of
obedience is just in that in which we are called to renounce our wills, and our wisdom, perhaps to forfeit the esteem and companionship of
others, by doing what has only the Word of God to justify it, and must wait for eternity
to find right appreciation!"
The one great specially important point in this. message to Ephesus
is plain and it is left to stand in solemn contrast with all the other matters that
receive unmingled commendation. What, were the seemingly commendable characteristics
possessed by this Church and its angel or minister? Briefly summing these up we discover
that He who holds the seven Stars and walks in the midst of the Candlesticks, found in
Ephesus, works, labor, endurance, steadfast opposition to evil, faithfulness and firmness
in discipline, cheerfulness in bearing any burden, and a just hatred of deeds and
practices which Christ also hates. One who fails to look closely At these qualities and
contrast them with the one solemn charge: "Thou hast left thy first love," will
most naturally inquire, Can it be possible to possess all these qualities and yet be
lacking in this one all-important thing? The words of Him who walked among the Lampstands
plainly answers that it is. The words also imply that the loss of first love must be the
immediate cause of departure from true Christian life. Let us then examine more closely
this Message to Ephesus.
"LEFT THY FIRST LOVE"
Ephesus was the first Church, and as its name (first, desirable)
indicates, it possessed advantages that were indeed desirable. Ephesus it was that labored
and was patient and could not bear evil, -etc., to whom these words were addressed by the
Savior, so expressive of disappointment on His part. We inquire then, What is this
"first love"? Was it love for the Truth alone? Was it love for the work, or
service of proclaimingof giving out the Truth? Ah, no! Ephesus did not fail here. Wherein
then was their failure? What was their "first love"? Was it not that for which
the Truth was made known to them? Was not the Truth given to them for the purpose of
begetting in them a true, a deep love for the Lord, to, enable them to become acquainted
with Christ Himself, as an ever present Savior, friend, counselor and guide? There can be
but one true answer: It was.
The infallible test of "first love" then is something
beyond the love of the Truth, and the desire for and service of it; it is the love for the
Lord Himself ; first for what He has done for us; love for His own glorious personality
which reflects the Divine attributes; this, the supreme and highest form of love, finds in
Him, its full and complete satisfaction. All other forms and degrees of love are
incidental to, this, our "first love," which finds expression in our desires and
aims to please Him -- He who first loved us and "whom having not seen we love."
A comparison of St. Paul's words of commendation to the Thessalonian
believers will, we believe, enable us to discover the deep significance of these reproving
words of Christ to the believers at Ephesus. The Apostle when writing to the Thessalonian
believers thus commended them: "We give thanks to God always for you all, making
mention of you in our prayers; remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and
labor of love, and
patience of hope in
our Lord Jesus Christ, and our Father - knowing brethren beloved your election of
God." (1 Thess. 1:2,3.) The fact that in the Savior's words to Ephesus,
"works," "labor" and "patience" are mentioned , but
"faith, love and hope," are not coupled with them is remarkable, and seems to
explain the situation and condition of these, in Ephesus. In the Thessalonian- Church each
one of -these latter were active, and were that which produced the others. These three
most important of all graces, faith, hope and love, clearly indicate that the Thessalonian
believers were in the sweet enjoyment of the person of Christ as Head, and that their hope
of His Second Coming was clear and bright.
ESPOUSED AS A CHASTE VIRGIN
"Works" were in Ephesus, but Christ does not say "of
faith"; "labor" was there, but He does not say of "love";
"patience'' was there, but He does not say "oil hope." These were evidently
dimmed. Let all three of the others be active, but the freshness of what called them into
action be. lacking, they could become a creed , a mere belief, without the power. To
assist to a better realization of the matter, we inquire, What is the first love in the
natural, human relation, in one who is espoused as a chaste virgin to one husband-who
belongs to him, and who looks upon him as the one ideal man of the whole world? We answer,
she is absorbed in him, guarding his honor and reputation; watching his countenance,
living as in his presence, and forsaking all others for him alone. This, and this alone,
is what the Church of God is called out of the world for--for Christ alone, His person. It
is to reign with Him, because she will be with Him. She will wait for His coming because
He is hers. As has been truly said: "To leave this first love is to lose all. For
whom are all the varied excellencies and beauties [of character] named but for Him? The
assembly is not adorned for the world; it is not to improve the world; it is not a
companion and caterer to the world; is not responsible to it; owes no allegiance to it. If
it is not absorbed with Christ, living in and for Him, only for His admiration and smile
and comfort, it has nothing distinctive from the nominal believer.
"Leaving this, then, all other apostasy is possible of the
grossest and most abandoned kind. When a maiden betrothed to a man loses him out of her
heart, she is ready for another. The assembly of God is thus. It (the loss of first love)
is the root of all the sad things in the mournful story of the decline and fall of the
Church, told in the book of Revelation. Unfaithfulness of heart is a crime to the
sensitive heart of the betrothed; to get used to doing without the man of her affections,
to be content without him, to be engaged with things that have not him in them. To the
people of God, this prepares the way to be engaged with what Christ abhors. This is to be
"fallen." 'In the first stage it is fallen-all these graces, industry, patience,
sensitiveness to His Headship, and fallen! A possible condition is this, is the teaching
of these words of Christ."
"THE FAIREST OF TEN THOUSAND"
One well versed in the things of the spirit of God has thus expressed
what "first love" is, and the one unfailing remedy to apply when it has relaxed:
"How dreadful a dishonor to Christ is this, to lose our first
love! It is as if at first He was More than He proved on longer acquaintance! Is not here
the very germ of final apostasy? . . . Here is what makes the world such a battlefield
[for the Christian]. Capable, on the one hand, of enjoying all the joys of heaven; capable
on the other of being attracted by that which lies under the power of the wicked one-the
eye affecting the heart-day by day we are solicited by that which daily lies before us and
from which there is no escape. Our danger here is first of all distraction, some gain to
us which is not loss for Christ, or that dulling of the spiritual sense; . . . the dust of
the way
settles upon the glass in which Faith sees her eternal possessions. Our remedy is
the presence of Him who with basin and towel would refresh His pilgrims, cleansing away
the travel stains that they may have part with Him.
"Here alone first love is maintained. Here in His presence, we
learn His mind and the holiness of Truth is accomplished in us. What is unseen, which is
eternal, asserts its power in us. The illusions of the prince of this world pass from us.
The glory of Christ is revealed, and the eye also affects the heart; He becomes for us
more and more the light in which we see light, the Sun which rules the day, not only
enlightening but life giving; the light in which we walk is the 'light of life.'
"Now here . . . first love cannot but be maintained. Who could
be daily in His presence, ministered to by Him, having part with Him, and yet grow cold in
response to His love? It is impossible. Where this is the case, intimacy has not been kept
up. We have not. permitted the basin and towel to do its work. Assurance of heart before
Him has, been replaced by an uneasy unfitness for His presence, the true causes of which
we have not been willing fully to face, and for which the remedy has therefore not been
found. . . .
"What is the test, then, of 'first love'? Not 'work-activity in
outward service; this they had at Ephesus;, not 'labor,' for this too they had; no, nor
yet 'endurance'--though a more manifest sign than either [of the above] of Divine power in
the soul. Not zeal against evil, nor boldness to, examine and refuse the highest
pretentions of those who claimed Apostleship; not suffering, even for Christ's name and
that unwearied. All this is good and acceptable to God, and the Ephesians had it all, and
yet says the Lord, 'I have against thee that thou hast left thy first love.'
"What then, is the test of first love? It is in the complete
satisfaction of the heart by its object. We know what power often there is in a new thing
to take possession of one for the time being. And in 'first love,' it is characteristic
that it engrosses the subject-of if. The Lord claims again and again the power to give
this complete satisfaction of heart to His people."GRANT.
THE DEEDS OF THE NICOLAITANS
One special evil is mentioned by the Savior as existing in Ephesus,
or at least seeking to gain a foothold there, which the Ephesian Church resisted, even to
the extent of hating it. It is specially singled out by the Savior, and words of
commendation are given to this Church for hating it. His words are: "But This thou
hast, That thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate."--V. 6.
There is quite a general agreement among expositors concerning -what
Nicolaitanism is. It is interesting to notice that it was a thing that started in practice
in Ephesus, and afterwards embodied itself in theory; and finally in Pergamos it is
mentioned as becoming a feature of doctrine, and the Savior thus again expresses Himself
concerning it in the message to, Pergamos: "So in like manner thou hast also those
holding the Teaching [doctrine] of the Nicolaitans." (Rev. 2:15.) It has been
forcefully described as "something which put down the people [of God], superseded
them in their rights, and set them aside; for this is the plain import of the name, which
Christ gives it, and the names which are divinely given are always exactly descriptive of
the things or persons that receive them. We also know from the Scriptures and from the
common representations of all ecclesiastical historians that the Church was hardly founded
until it began to be troubled with the lordly pretentions and doings of arrogant men in
violation of the common priesthood of believers, and settling upon ministers the
attributes and prerogatives of a magisterial order against which Peter, Paul and John were
moved to declare their apostolic condemnation, but which grew nevertheless and presently
became fixed upon the [professed] Church as a part of its essential system. We know that
there is to this day a certain teaching and claim and practice in the largest part of the
professed Church according to which a certain order severs itself entirely from the laity,
assumes the right and titles of priesthood, asserts superiority and authority over the
rest in spiritual matters, denies the right of any one, whatever his gifts or graces, to
teach or preach in the Church, who has not been regularly initiated into the mysterious
puissance of its own self-constituted circle, and puts forward its creatures (however
glaringly deficient in those heavenly gifts which really make the minister), as Christ's
only authorized heralds, before whom every one else must be mute and passive and whose
words and administrations every one must receive, on pain of exclusion from the hope of
salvation [or of losing their crown].
"We also know that
this system of priestly clericalism and prelatical hierarchism. claims to have come down
from the earliest. periods of the Church, and traces for itself a regular succession
through the Christian centuries, and appeals to patristic practice as its chief basis,
vindication and boast. We know that it first came into effective sway in the period
immediately succeeding the Pagan persecutions, reaching its fullest embodiment in Popery,
and has perpetuated itself in the same, and in Laudism, Tractarianism, and high-churchism,
even to our day, and to our very doors. And if we would know what the Lord Jesus thinks of
it, we have only to recur to these epistles, in which He lays His hand right on 'it, and
says: 'THIS THING I HATE."'--DR. SEISS.
"The 'doctrine of the Nicolaitans' seems to be the theory of
lordship or headship in the Church. The strife as to who should be greatest existed
amongst many of the patriarchs--fathers--of the prominent Churches. At their councils
there was a bitter fight for supremacy. The tendency was toward an earthly head, and of
course many coveted the honor. The patriarchs of Jerusalem, Antioch, Constantinople and
Rome were the most prominent. The first two dropped out of the conflict, but the strife
continued for several hundred years between Constantinople, and Rome, It was settled only
by a division of the Church: the Eastern or Greek Church, accepting the Patriarch of
Constantinople for its head; and the Western or Papal Church, acknowledging the Bishop --
Pope or Father of Rome.
"Many of the true followers of the Master in the Churches
denounced this attempt to disobey the direct command of Jesus, 'Call no man father.'
(Matt. 23:9.) Of course, they received the promised persecution. (2 Tim. 1:12.) This class
in Pergamos is commended by our Lord under the symbol of 'Anti-pas, My faithful martyr.'
In the Greek, anti means against, and papas signifies
father. In this stage of the development of the Church those who sought to be popular
received the emoluments of the Church; but the promise to the overcomers is that of
pleasure and honor that shall be eternal."--Z '16-346, 347.
HISTORY HAS REPEATED ITSELF
It was only in its incipiency when mentioned in the message to
Ephesus. It, as we have shown, only becomes a doctrine
in Pergamos. The evil of "Nicolaitanism" has always existed in the Church
since shortly after its establishment. Every reform movement in the Church since the
Apostles' day-every effort to get back to primitive simplicity of doctrine, of Church
order, and of methods of service, have, in the course of time, resulted again in
sectarianism, and have left the faithful few (Protestants) in the "wilderness."
Lording it over God's heritage, idolizing messengers, and human organizations, symbolized
by "Nicolaitan ism," is respon-sible for these sad results. This evil has been
repeated again and again in the Church's history. Even in the very closing hours of the
Church's pilgrim age we are witnessing again its repetition.. Let him that readeth
understand! How neces-sary, how significant, how timely the Savior's warning: "Take
heed, let no man deceive you." The worshiping
of fallible men, of imperfect human systems-making idols of them, allowing them to
occupy the place that Christ and Christ alone should
have, has ever been Satan's method to take away the liberty that is in Christ Jesus,
and thus mar the fellowship and destroy the unity of "the Church of the living God,
the pillar and ground of the Truth."
As a faithful shepherd, when his sheep become frightened by strange
voices in their midst,, or bewildered and exhausted by the storm, utters, his wellknown
welcome call, and thus gathers his sheep, so Christ, the Good Shepherd, who gave His life
for His sheep, speaks, and His sheep hear His voice and gather around Him and are led into
the shelter of the true fold; their fears are allayed, and once again they go in and out
and find the green pasture and are led beside the still waters.
Are not the words of PASTOR RUSSELL fraught with timely significance
to us now! "Dearly beloved, one and only one
deserves all the honor of the Church both now and forever, and that one is her true
Lord and Master; and His name only should she own in any manner. He leads, He teaches, He
feeds; and the various human agents used by Him, . . . should neither take His place in
her heart nor share His honor before the world."--Z '08-116.
The Good Shepherd, through His messages, reminds the sheep that they
were called by Him out - of bondage into liberty. (John 8:31.) His Word reminds them that
the enjoyment of Christian fellowship and unity is based upon their relationship to Him as
members of His Body; for all such are to be partakers of the one spirit; called in one
hope of their calling, to recognize but the one Lord, to be of the one "like precious
faith ," experience the one baptism, and trust in the one God and Father of all.-Eph.
4:4-6.
But are we not to appreciate and hold in proper honor those older
ones, who in humility and faithfulness minister to our spiritual needs; who, in a certain
sense, are under-shepherds, and who watch for our souls? We answer, Yes, but how shall we
honor them? Let us note the Apostle's words, "Remember them which have the rule over
you [margin, are your guides], who have spoken to you the Word of the Lord: whose faith
follow considering the end [object] of their conversation [conduct]. Jesus Christ the same
yesterday, and today, and forever." (Heb. 13:7, 8.) Ah! yes, these are the ones that
we are to honor, to appreciate--those who have as the
only object of their entire service for the
saints, to please Jesus Christ. Does not the Apostle Paul say, "Follow me"?
Yes, but hear him further,. "Even as I follow Christ." Who among men does the
Apostle tell us to follow? Note his advice: Those "who through faith and patience
inherit the promises."--Heb. 6:12.
There is indeed a marked
difference between giving worship and homage to servants, and loving and appreciating and
esteeming them very highly for their works' sake. A severe test is often required to
make manifest the difference. The one who gives undue honor to a servant of the Lord,
possesses, though perhaps unconsciously, a
man-worshiping spirit; and when one object of worship
is taken out of the
way, naturally such a person desires another, and will soon find another, and transfer
his allegiance to the same. On the other hand, the one manifesting the true spirit of
appreciation for -service rendered, does so because he sees in the servant the humble,
submissive, unselfish, self-sacrificing spirit of the Master Himself, and thus is caused
to long for and strive for that same spirit. Many saw these characteristics of the
Master's spirit in the one who faithfully ministered during the past forty years and have
not ceased to appreciate that spirit, as they continue to derive encouragement and
assistance from the messages he left when he passed beyond.
"I WILL REMOVE THY-LAMPSTAND"
Ephesus, however, hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans, and were
commended by the Savior for so doing. Yet, notwithstanding this--notwithstanding all her
other good and commendable qualities, she had left her first love, and the words of the
Savior are not only Significant and applicable to Ephesus, but to all individual believers
since, who have done likewise. These words are:
"Remember, therefore, whence thou hast fallen, and reform, and
do the First Works; but if not, I am coming to thee, and I will remove thy Lampstand out
of its Place, unless thou reform."--V. 5. 1
Did Ephesus repent? We mean that local, Church existing in St. John's
day. History does not give us any information regarding this matter, so far as those
particular persons who made up that obscure, and doubtless despised, Church are concerned.
We do know, however, that the descendants, the successors, in later generations departed
farther and farther away from the Savior , both in life and precept; indeed, went into
apostasy, and today there is not the slightest semblance of a congregation that bears even
the name Christian in the City. The Lampstand was removed. But still we may be sure that
there were a few individuals who heeded the words, "Let him who has an ear, hear what
the Spirit saith unto the Congregations," and will inherit the promise given by the
Savior to the overcomer: "I will give to eat of the grove of life which is in the
Paradise of God!'
Concerning the meaning of this promise as applying to the spiritual
overcomers, the heavenly joint-heirs, it is stated in the Scriptures that the Paradise of
God refers to both the heavenly and the earthly, future state. "Our Lord refers to
this paradise in language which identifies it with the first Paradise of Eden, saying, 'To
him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the
Paradise of God! It will be remembered that all the trees in Eden were trees of life, but
that the one in the midst of the garden was then a forbidden tree, the disobedient eating
of which brought death on Adam and his race. That tree in the midst of Paradise was called
the tree of knowledge, and our Lord's promise is that the overcomers of this present Age
shall have full liberty to partake of that tree of knowledge, and under most blessed and
satisfactory conditions, when the knowledge will be of benefit to them under Divine
approval, and not bring a curse. It is this same Paradise of the future on this earth that
our Lord referred to when, addressing the penitent thief, He said, 'Verily, verity, I say
unto thee this day, Thou shalt be with me in Paradise.' This Paradise, we recall, is
elsewhere referred to by the Apostles as 'the third heaven'--'a new heavens and a new
earth.'2 Cor. 12:2; 2 Pet. 3:13."--Z '01-198, 199.
Having considered this message of Christ to Ephesus, as it related to
the Church of that name in St. John's day, we now view it from its representative
standpoint, i. e., as it related to the period or epoch in history that was described by
it. In regard to this we will say that all expositors who apply these messages to seven
periods of Church history, are agreed that this Ephesian message described the condition,
of the Church as it was in St. John's day, about 100 A. D., at that time about closing. We
find ourselves in agreement with one who gives us the following significant statement:
"The nature of the vision in which John received these epistles,
assumes that not these seven Churches alone, but in them the entire Church is to be
contemplated. These seven Churches, then, besides being literal historical Churches, stand
for the entire Christian body, in all periods of its history. But how, or in what respects
? In the first place, the seven Churches represent seven phases or periods in the Church's
history, stretching from the time of the Apostles to the coming of Christ, the
characteristics of which are set forth partly in the names of these Churches, but more
fully in the epistles addressed to them. There has been an Ephesian period--a period of
warmth and love and labor for Christ, dating directly from the Apostles, in which
defection began by the gradual cooling of the -love of some, the false professions of
others, and the incoming of undue exaltations of the clergy and Church offices."--DR.
SEISS.
The further statement we also endorse: "The Church at Ephesus
would represent the condition of the Church in the Apostle's day, at the time of the
writing of the messages."--Z '11-341.
THE "STAR" OF EPHESUS
Referring again to the "Stars" in the right hand of the
symbolic personage representing Christ in the vision, the Savior Himself makes the
explanation that the Stars are the messengers of the Churches, and in the light of the
general testimony of the Divine Word we have seen that the symbolic Stars may be applied
variously:
(1) To the bishops or pastors of the seven particular Churches
addressed in the epistles.
(2) To all the bishops or
pastors over all the Churches existing in St. John's day.
(3) To all the bishops or pastors of all the Churches existing in the
different periods or epochs of the Church's history. The faithful angels or messengers of
all Churches in the different periods or epochs may in a sense be considered as symbolized
by the Stars in Christ's right hand, even as the particular seven addressed, originally;
and a reasonable exegesis will not admit of leaving them out.
While it is not to be doubted that at different periods -- critical
periods in the history of the Church, Christ has called different men, special men, to
declare or give emphasis to certain neglected truths, or to bring forth from the Lord's
storehouse truths long hidden, lost sight of, or truths only due to be understood at
special epochs, it would, however, be utterly
erroneous, be carrying the matter too far, to say that the truths they thus brought forth
were to be the ones, and only ones, necessary for the Church to know and to be proclaimed
during these special times. It would be savoring of Nicolaitanism or Popery to claim
that those truths that each specially chosen one gave out were to be sufficient for the
Church until another was called. To illustrate: It cannot be doubted that Martin Luther
was a specially prepared and called servant to emphasize certain neglected or hidden
truths necessary for the Church to know; it would, however, be unreasonable and even
dangerous to think that during the long period intervening between his call and that of
John Wesley or any of the later reformers, no other truths were to be understood or made
known. This has always led, when carried to its
logical conclusion, and believed, to the most
egregious kind of sectarianism, and clericalism, and is by the Savior in this epistle
denominated Nicolaitanism. It has had the effect of inculcating the doctrine of
Nicolaitanism, which thing Christ has plainly set His
seal against. If it would be Scriptural
and proper to apply the seven messengers of the seven Churches to seven special men,
called in these different epochs, it would be only
consistent to do so, by recognizing that these men would cease their work at death; and that their messages would not cover all features
of truth, but only certain special truths needed. To do otherwise than this would, as
we have stated, lead to very serious and egregious error. The unwholesome effects have
been to cause certain Christian leaders to be looked upon as inspired. It has caused some
to believe and teach that it is wrong to expect any further light than that proclaimed by
the one supposed to be the messenger of each epoch; and some have been misled into trying
to settle all matters of doctrine by the special "Star" or teacher, instead* of
by the Scriptures, which are ever the sole rule by
which all matters must be finally determined and settled.
That PASTOR RUSSELL did not have any established conviction that the
seven Stars must represent seven individual
teachers throughout the Age is evident from the fact that in referring to Ephesus, the
first period, he names three of the Apostles as of the "Star" class for that
particular period. Note his statement following:
"The word Ephesus means first, desirable. During this period our
Lord 'holdeth the seven Stars in His right hand, etc. (Chapter 1:20.) The messengers of the
Churches--St. Paul, St. Peter, St. John, etc.--were so powerfully led and kept in the
grasp of our Lord Jesus during this epoch that we accept their teachings as His, believing
that their words were really His words. This stage of the Church is commended for its
faithful, patient labor and for its discernment of Truth and true teachers.-Act 20:28-30; 1 Cor. 11:19."--Z '16-346.
STUDY LXXV--AUGUST 7
THE SECOND ANGEL'S MESSAGE-REV. 14:8
(471) To what movement does this vision refer; and what relation as
to time does it bear to the two preceding visions? H '20-88,89.
(472) What term do we find used in this vision for the first time in
the Revelation? Give a description of the ancient empire from which this symbol is drawn?
H'20-89.
(473) What is the symbolical significance of "Babylon"? H
'20-89.
(474) Point out the parallel features between literal and symbolical
Babylon as given by MR. BARNES; and how do expositors in general agree with this
interpretation? H '20-89.
(475) What elucidation did PASTOR RUSSELL give bearing upon the
subject of symbolical Babylon? H '20-89; D 21-31.
STUDY LXXVI--AUGUST
14
THE SECOND ANGELS MESSAGE- (Cont.) -REV.. 14.8.
(476) Explain how Catholicism and Protestantism as at present
existing constitute a fulfillment of the symbolic Babylon of the Revelation vision. What
is the result of the decline of the Reformation of the sixteenth century, and what bearing
has this on the Fall of Babylon? H '20-90; Studies, Vol.
IV-28, 29, 30.
(477) What are the special elements and characteristics of Babylon
that the true Christian is to recognize and avoid? H '20-90.
(478) Give briefly the sum of the teachings of several godly
expositors of modern times on the subject of the symbolic Babylon, and state whether or
not these are harmonious and appear to be sustained by other portions of Scripture. H
'20-90, 91.
(479) What is the significance of the statement "drink of the
wine of the wrath of her fornication"? and describe its fulfillment. H'20-91.
(486) Who is represented by the angel that proclaims the Fall of
Babylon; and what is the full import of this' message? H '20-91.
STUDY LXXVII--AUGUST
21
THE THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE--REV. 14:9-12
(481) What was the third angel's message, and at what period of time
may we look for the fulfillment of this portion of the vision? H '20-101.
(482) What class is symbolically represented by this angel; and what
are 'some of the necessary developments to be looked for before all the requirements of
the vision would be met? H '20-101.
(483) Give a brief review of what we have previously observed as to
the significance of "worshiping the Beast and his Image" and receiving the
"Mark"? H '20-9, 58, 59.
(484) How do we harmonize the Apostle's admonition to "Be
subject to the powers that be," with the fact that those who do yield to the systems
mentioned in this vision and obey their requirements are to receive retribution? What
should be the attitude of the Christian under these circumstances? What is the
significance of the statement "Here is the patience of the saints"? H '20-102,
103.
(485) What is the significance of the "torment" mentioned,
and of the expression "in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the
Lamb"? H '20-103.
STUDY
LXXVIII--AUGUST 28
THE FIRST RESURRECTION FORECAST--REV. 14:13
(486) What unusual and important announcement is made in verse 13?
What are some of the views of others, of this text? Explain why expositors of the past
have encountered special difficulty in interpreting and applying the language. H'20-103,
104.
(487) What is the meaning of this proclamation? and what in this
application confirms the interpretation already offered of the vision of the Lamb on Mount
Zion? H '20-104.
(488) What is the significance of the expression "From this
time"? What class of "Dead" ones can be said to "die"? Give
Scriptures confirming the explanation. H'20-104, 105.
(489) How are these referred to "blessed"? In what sense do
they rest from their labors and their works follow? H '20-105.
(490) Reviewing the visions of chap. 14 thus far, what are the
different features of the Harvest Message pictured, and what relation does the text of our
lesson bear to these visions? H '20-105.
--SEPTEMBER 4--ACTS
16:19--17:15--
Golden Text.--"The angel
of Jehovah encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them."--Psa.
34:7.
NOTHING will so greatly move men as love or selfishness; and under
present conditions selfishness moves the vast majority, and with intense power. The young
woman out of whom St. Paul cast the evil spirit was a money-winner for the people who
owned her. We can imagine what consternation was aroused amongst them when they found
that, not only was their source of gain for the future gone, but also, that the large
amount of money invested in this slave was lost (for such spirit-possessed ones had a high
market value). They became desperately angry. They had no hope of getting the evil spirit
back into the woman; they must, have revenge upon those who had financially ruined them.
There is much of this spirit abroad in the world today: so long as the Truth and the
Lord's servants quietly go their way the world will generally be too busy with its affairs
to molest them; but so soon as they perceive that truth and righteousness are inimical to
their earthly interests and prospects their opposition becomes intense. Nor should we
consider it to, be the chief business of the Lord's people to stir up the animosity of the
world and to bring persecution upon themselves. As a rule it is best that we leave the
world to watch its own affairs, while we preach the Gospel, not using it as a sledge-hammer, to break men's
hearts, but as the message of peace and love and blessing and joy to those whose
hearts under Divine providence have been already broken; and who have ears to hear the
message of the grace of God. Very generally the Apostles pursued as smooth a course as
principle would permit, and in this instance very evidently St. Paul acted under special
guidance of the Lord. The Apostle's general instruction is, "So far as lieth in you,
live peaceably with all men"--do not go out of
your way to stir up trouble, but if the Lord in His providence allows it to arise, be
courageous and full of faith in Him who has permitted it, that He will overrule it for
good.
The owners of the Pythoness evidently had influence, and succeeded
quickly in arousing a mob determined to have revenge against Paul and Silas. Of course
they did not attempt this by telling the truth. They did not say, We were using a poor
slave girl, possessed of an evil spirit, for our financial profit, and these men have
restored her mind, her will-released her from mental enslavement to saneness of mind. No;
like all who are engaged in a bad cause, they ignored the truth of the matter, and raised
spurious charges-that the prisoners were teaching a religion contrary to the laws of Rome,
and likely thus to raise sedition. We see that this was contrary to the truth, for the
Lord's servants went, according to law, outside the city gates for their worship. However,
under the circumstances, the false charge, without proofs, was sufficient to bring down
upon the Lord's representatives the severest penalties their judges could inflict: their
clothing was torn from them, and the command was given that they should be beaten with
rods and imprisoned. The customary sentence of, the time was, "Go, victors! Tear off
their garments! Scourge them!" This was one of the three times St. Paul was beaten.
(2 Cor. 11:25.) He referred to it in his letter to the Thessalonians, declaring that he
was "shamefully" treated at Philippi.--1 Thess. 2:2.
HAPPY ARE YE WHEN MEN REVILE YOU
The prison was constructed with outer cells, which were more or less
accessible to the light and air, and with an inner or central dungeon for the most vicious
criminals. It was into the latter that Paul and Silas were thrust, and their feet made
fast in the stocks, which often were so constructed as to separate the limbs widely and to
make any movement very painful. It was under these unfavorable circumstances, with their
backs bleeding and raw from the scourging, that reflecting upon the wonders of the Divine
Plan" and their own association with that Plan, these faithful brethren were so
filled with the spirit of rejoicing that they gave vent to their feelings in hymn-prayers
of thankfulness for their privilege of suffering in connection with the Lord's service, of
enduring tribulation for righteousness' sake.
Since as Christians we have learned that it is our privilege to be
always rejoicing -- to rejoice evermore and in everything give thanks -- we need not, like
the world, wait for special manifestations of Divine favor to call forth our praise, our
homage of heart and our grateful obedience to the Lord. Rather, learning that
Divine providence is in all of our affairs, ready to shape them for our good, we may
rejoice "whatever lot we see, since 'tis God's hand that leadeth us." Someone
has Well said: "If we are not ready to praise God where we are, and with our
conditions and circumstances as they are, we should not be likely to praise Him if we were
differently circumstanced and our conditions just that which now seems to -us most
desirable. Daniel could sleep better in the den of lions than Darius in the royal palace;
he who could not find rest in a lion's den, when that was the place for him, could not
gain rest by a mere removal to a palace. It is the man's self which must be changed, not
his circumstances or his possessions, in order to his having a heart overflowing with joy
and praise."
When, in 1695, Madame Guyon was imprisoned in the Castle of
Vincennes, she sang praises to the Lord, composing one of her own hymns, as follows:
"A little
bird I am,
Shut from the fields and air;
And in my songs I sit and sing
To him who placed me there:
Well pleased a prisoner thus to be,
Because, my God, it pleaseth thee.
"My cage
confines me round,
Abroad I cannot fly;
But though my wing is closely bound,
My heart's at liberty;
My prison walls can not control
The flight, the freedom, of the soul."
The shaking of the prison, the loosing of the chains, the opening of
the doors, the waking of the jailer, his dismay and intended suicide, fearing the ignominy
which would attach to him from the escape of the prisoners, Paul's call to him to do
himself no harm, assuring him 'that the prisoners were all safe, constitute together a
thrilling episode, more remarkable to the jailer than to anyone, else. Doubtless he had
heard something respecting these men, so different from the ordinary criminals with which
he had to do. Doubtless, he had been impressed with their unresisting attitude; their
Christlike demeanor even under severe provocation; their moderate submission even to their
severe treatment at his hands. In any event he seems to have felt a heart-hunger for
fellowship with his Creator such as these discredited men under his care enjoyed. Quite
probably he had already been reading the Gospel of Christ in the features and conduct of
his prisoners, whose living epistles were always open to be known and read by those about
them. Had there not been some such preliminary instruction of his heart, we can scarcely
suppose that he would so quickly have resolved to walk in the footsteps of the prisoners
-- that their God should be his God, and their salvation which was able to make them
joyful in tribulation, should, if possible, be his salvation. And this was his inquiry:
"What must I do to be saved?"--saved from sin, saved from its penalty-death,
saved from its degrading influence, saved from its unrest of heart and mind, saved to the
same peace and joy and comfort and consolation which his prisoners exemplified .
The answer to the jailer is one which commends itself to the
Christian mind as being the proper one-no more, no less: he should believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ as his Redeemer, as the one who had died on his behalf, through whose stripes
he might be healed, saved, and through whose sacrifice he might rejoice in at-one-ment
with God; and having thus believed with all his heart, whether it required a moment or an
hour to explain and to understand these -simple first principles of the Gospel, his next
step was to consecrate himself, to be baptized into death with his Redeemer, and to
symbolize this consecration into death by a baptism in water. And he was encouraged to
hope, not only for his personal salvation, but that his family might be sharers with him.
BE INSTANT IN SEASON
There is a lesson here for us in regard to the promulgation of God's
Message. We are not to use words of man's wisdom; not to attempt to philosophize and to
show our learning; nor are we to say, Now, do not be in, too much haste; there is plenty
of time, and after we are comfort ably fixed we will have all day, tomorrow to talk this
matter over. We are to remember the declaration of the wise man, "A word in season,
how good it is!" The dis position of Paul and Silas to preach Christ to the jailer
regardless of their own convenience and comfort and need of rest was in perfect accord
with the joy of the Lord which filled their hearts and led them to sing. Dissatisfied
Christians, disposed to grumble, would be inclined neither to sing praises under such
circumstances, nor to preach the Gospel to a poor inquiring fellow on so out-of-season an
occasion. We are to distinguish, how ever, between out-of-season to ourselves and
out-of-season to others; and to be willing to serve others at any time, however out-of-
season to ourselves, if it be in- sea son and opportune for them. We are not to intrude
even the Gospel itself at inopportune times, however convenient the occasions may be to
ourselves.
The next morning the rulers, learning something of the circumstances
of the night, ordered the release of Paul and Silas; but the Apostle sought to forward the
interests of the cause he served by returning word that he was a Roman citizen, and that
Roman law had been violated in three particulars in his case: (1) That they had
"beaten" him; (2) that this had been done "publicly"; (3) that it was
especially reprehensible in that he had not been legally "condemned."
These charges against the -rulers might have gone hard with them;
hence, it is not to be wondered at that they came to the prison, as the Apostle requested,
and brought their prisoners forth publicly, thus giving 'evidence to the people that they
conceded that an injustice had been done them on the previous night. It was agreed that
the Lord's representatives should leave the place, and evidently this was as wise a thing
as could have been done, at the time, for the publicity given to the Apostles and their
teaching would now have opportunity to work, and the new disciples might have a better
chance for presenting the Truth quietly, in the absence of their leaders, against whom
strong enmity had been aroused on account of the healing of the woman.
HE NOURISHED THEM AS A FATHER
When released from the prison, Paul, Silas and Timothy went about a
hundred miles direct to Thessalonica, the largest commercial city of that district --
Macedonia. Nothing daunted by their experience at Philippi, apparently not even waiting
for their backs to thoroughly heal' from the wounds there received, Paul at once began a
vigorous presentation of the Gospel. As was his Custom, he went first to the Jews. The
propriety of, this course is evident: the Jews were familiar with the prophecies of the
Messiah, and although making their home amongst the Gentiles, nevertheless, as the Apostle
declares, they were continually hoping for the fulfillment of the grand promises made to
Abraham, confirmed unto Isaac and unto Jacob, and that by Divine oath, or
affirmation.--Acts 26:7.
The result of his labors at Thessalonica was the nucleus of a
flourishing church, to which two of his epistles were addressed. The Apostle's attitude
toward these brethren may reasonably be taken as the criterion of his general attitude
toward all of the Lord's dear flock. He dealt not with them as a lord or master amongst
slaves or subordinates; but, using his own words, he was gentle toward them, as a nursing
mother to her children. (1 Thess. 2:7.) He admonished, comforted, instructed them,
"as a father doth his children.", (1 Thess. 2:11.) He lived an unflamable,
unselfish life in their midst, giving them the Gospel, and with it his very life.--1
Thess. 2:5-8, 10.
The method of the Apostle's teaching is expressed in the statement
that he "reasoned with them out of the Scriptures," opening and showing forth
"that it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead." The Greek word
used signifies that the teaching was in the nature of a dialogue. He appealed to the
Scriptures, offered explanations of their meaning, pointed out how this meaning found its
fulfillment in the experience of our Lord, and heard and replied to queries and
objections.
The Apostle's work was evidently well done, his arguments
effective-the result was that- some of them (Jews) were persuaded and took sides with St.
Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks quite a good. many-who had been feeling after God
and who probably had realized that there was more true religion with the Jew than
elsewhere--were now, because of having less Jewish prejudice, more ready than their Jewish
friends to hear and appreciate the Gospel of, Christ. Of the chief women of the city, too,
quite a number were influenced by the message, and became followers of Christ.
Evidently the discussions of those three Sabbath days were all that
the Jews as a whole could endure;--apparently the ministers of the Truth, thenceforth
excluded, went to the house of a prominent believer, Jason, and from there continued their
propaganda, possibly holding meetings at his house. Meantime the opposing Jews at
Thessalonica received information from their brethren, opponents of the Truth at Philippi,
respecting these servants. of the Lord and the message they carried; and, doubtless, the
Adversary persuaded them that they were engaged in a noble cause when they gathered a
rabble of market-loungers, "roughs and toughs," to raise a commotion, and as a
mob to make an assault upon Jason's house, to take the Apostle and his companions before
the authorities and have their work stopped. So some of a similar class in spiritual
Israel today feel toward the Truth and its servants, if we may judge from the epithets
sometimes used.
Not finding Paul and Silas, the mob dragged Jason and others of the
believers before the rulers. The charges were very serious ones-inciting to anarchy and
treason -turning the world upside down, and teaching that there is another king, Jesus,
whose kingdom is to be universal in due time. While these charges were fraudulent as
respects the true standpoint, they nevertheless had in them a sufficiency of truth to make
them appear serious.
The decrees of the emperors respecting riots and treason were very
strict, and all rulers were held rigidly to account. Hence, when the charges were made of
anarchy and treason, both the multitude and rulers were "troubled;" the
multitude, because more or less of a riot had occurred, seemingly because of treason, and
this might lead to the taking away of some of the city's privileges and liberties, its
loss of commerce, etc. The rulers were troubled because they were in danger of being
called to account unless they took active steps for. the repression of anything resembling
treason. They knew, nevertheless, that the charges were fabrications, and hence got out of
the difficulty by placing Jason and his companions under bonds to keep the peace-to see
that similar riots did not occur again. This necessitated the sending of Paul and Silas
away as quietly and as quickly as possible.
Leaving Timothy at Thessalonica, Paul and Silas journeyed about fifty
miles to a rather obscure Grecian city, called Berea, and, according to their custom,
realizing that the preaching of the Gospel of Christ was their chief business, they lost
no time in engaging therein. Again they sought the Jews in the synagogue, and this time,
found some specially susceptible to the Truth, referred to as "more noble than they
of Thessalonica." The Greek word used here for "noble" seems to imply
persons of noble birth, a higher and nobler class than those of the more commercial city.
Nobility of character is favorable, wherever it is found, and from whatever cause, and
true nobility implies reasonableness, as distinguished from prejudice. The Bereans were
reasonable, professing to believe all that was written in the Law and the Prophets; to be
looking for the Messiah; etc., and they welcomed the servants of God who sought to draw
their attention particularly to the "things written aforetime." With all
readiness of mind they began to examine the Scriptures, not merely on the
Sabbath days, but daily, to see how well the Apostle's arguments were supported by the
testimony of the Law and the Prophets. As we should expect, many of so noble a class
accepted the Good Tidings. Indeed, the wonder is that any person of noble and reasoning
mind, once becoming acquainted with the glorious message of God's love and mercy in
ChristHis plan for selecting the Church now, and by and by of blessing all the families of
the earth through it-could disbelieve or could attribute such a Gospel to any human
source. Surely its internal evidences are convincing that it is not of man nor by man, but
of the Lord.
-SEPTEMBER 11-ACTS
17:16-34--
Golden Text.--"In Him we
live, and move, and have our being."--Acts 17:28.
PERSECUTION followed the Apostle to Berea, where we, in our previous
lesson, left him teaching a very noble class of inquiring and searching minds. His enemies
in Thessalonica discovered his whereabouts, and at once began to create a disturbance --
no doubt believing that thus they were doing God service. The Apostle's own experience as
a persecutor of the Body of Christ must have helped him to very charitable views of those
who so viciously pursued him. The evidences of coming trouble were so strong that the
Berean friends feared to have him em bark at a regular port, at which he might have been
recognized, and the direction of his journey anticipated, and thus prejudices might have
gone with him or before him into new fields; they, therefore, secretly hastened him to the
near seashore where he obtained coastwise shipping to Athens. The Apostle, as the chief
spokesman, "drew the fire" of his enemies to such an extent that their hatred
seems to have been confined to him alone-not affecting Silas, his companion, nor Timothy,
at this time his assist ant or servant. The latter two were left behind, to strengthen
and encourage the believers, whose faith already had been established.
Under these circumstances the Apostle arrived at Athens, once the
world's capital in every sense of the word; but still its capital in respect to science
and art and theology and schools of general instruction-its commercial and political
influence having gone to Rome with the imperial control. To Athens came the youth of
wealthy families of the world, and many others possessed of a. special craving for wisdom,
to avail themselves of the teachers, studies and lectures-practically the only means of
instruction at that time.
Without a miracle no other one of the Apostles would have been
competent to secure a hearing before the Atlienian Council of the Areopagites--composed of
the teachers of the various 'schools of learning, and generally speaking, of the reputedly
wisest men of the world. That the Apostle Paul, without letters of introduction, without
political or other influence, serving as such, should succeed in a few days in obtaining
an invitation to address this august body of men, indicates clearly that he was a man of
remarkable talent, as well as learning. These natural qualities in him were reinforced by
the spirit of a sound mind, the spirit of the Lord, the spirit of the Divine revelation ,
the true Gospel. The Apostle lost no time in beginning his special work: true, he first
made a general inspection of the chief features of the city's attractions, noting its
numerous public statues to the gods, whose number Pliny gives as over three thousand in
the time of Nero. It was while making this inspection of the city and considering how best
he could launch the Gospel message there, that his attention was drawn to one altar
erected "To the Unknown God." He kept this as a text for his principal effort
when the time should be ripe, and meantime, as usual, he began his ministry by going into
the Jewish synagogues; but apparently finding little interest here he resorted to the
public squares and markets, and discussed religious topics with the numerous students and
others who gathered there.
Amongst those who heard him were some of a cynical turn of mind who
said, Let us listen to what this babbler is saying; the word "babbler"
signifying seed-picker, inferentially meaning that the Apostle had gained a mere
smattering of knowledge, picked up some seeds of thought from others of the great
teachers, and was now attempting to set himself up as a teacher. Others, disposed to
persecute, said, He seems to be a setter forth of strange gods, for to set forth any,
strange gods in Athens was a, crime it being held that they already had them in plenty,
and that to admit that any one could present a new god of which the Athenian teachers knew
nothing, would be an insult to their learning and evidently a fraud, This, together with
the Apostle's talents, secured for him a hearing before the Areopagites, or Council of the
Learned. It was this Council which had the power to sentence to death anyone who should
attempt to set forth strange gods in Athens; and hence the Apostle's hearing before them
was probably, more or less, in the nature of a trial, for life, because he had been
preaching Jesus-an unheard of god amongst the Athenians up to this timeand the
resurrection.
PREACHED JESUS AND THE RESURRECTION
The Apostle's theme is worthy of our notice. Under the Divine
guidance he seethed to have a way of approaching the pith of the Gospel most directly, and
the words, "Jesus and the resurrection," really embraced the whole of the Gospel
preached. The world, under Divine sentence, was dead or dying: the redemption price, our
Lord's ransom sacrifice, had just been paid, and the hope to be built upon His work, and
to be announced to the people was the resurrection
of the dead-that our Lord's death was the purchase price for the sins of the whole
world, and that as a result, in God's due time, an awakening of the dead shall come, and
eventually the full raising up to the perfection of life of all who will accept the
Redeemer as their leader and guide. This is the Gospel which should still be preached, but
which, by reason of various errors that crept in during the dark ages, has been beclouded
and forced out of its way to such an extent that remarkably few lay any stress whatever
upon the grand doctrine of the resurrection of the dead; and some are even dropping from
their teachings "the ransom for all" given by Jesus.
We can picture before our minds the Apostle addressing the Council of
Mars' Hill,, composed of "the noblest blood of Athens, the first politicians, the
first orators, the first philosophers; accordingly the most august, not only of Athens,
but of Greece, and, indeed, of the whole world, under whose supervision 'came the
transactions of the popular assembly, religion, laws, morals and discipline.'" Now
the Apostle had use for the text he had found. He must prove to these men that he was not
the setter forth of a new theology, but an old one. -He at once brought forth his
argument, not in the discourteous language of our English Common Version, intimating that
his auditors were ignorant and superstitious, but, on the contrary, in complimentary
language, which we paraphrase, he said to them: I perceive that more than others you
Athenians have respect for whatever is Divine. The conviction of this came to me as
passing through your city I beheld the various evidences of your devoutness, and amongst
other altars noticed one with the inscription, "To the Unknown God." Information
regarding this God I am setting forth. He is the God that made the world and everything
therein, and is the Lord of heaven and earth, too great to dwell in any temples made with
hands, for He is the Lord of heaven as well as earth; neither can He receive service at
our hands, for He needs nothing which we have to give, but is' the author of life and
breath and all things; who Himself created every nation of men dwelling throughout all the
earth-and even all their affairs are subject to his regulations and appointments.
Thus did he set before them the greatness of the true God, in
contrast with their numerous gods whom they feared or hated, reverenced or placated, and
whose vices and frequent impotency they admitted. The Apostle thus brought his teachings
within the rules and regulations, as being not a new teaching, but a fuller declaration of
a God already recognized 'by his hearers: And indeed, so high, so noble, so great a
thought of God, must have impressed his hearers favorably. We cannot doubt that the
teachings of the Jews, supplemented by the Gospel presentations, have done much to lift
the minds of men out of the deep degradation which came upon them soon after the flood, as
explained by the Apostle.--Rom. 1: 20-32.
A god who was not merely the God of one nation or of one city or of
one precinct, but who had created all races and nations, and had had to do with the rise
and fall of nations, was certainly a very different God from anything that had ever been
heretofore suggested to the minds of these philosophers; for although the Jews had
preached the same God, undoubtedly their presentation of Him as the God of the Hebrews
must have favored the impression that each nation had its own god or gods, demanding its
worship, reverence, sacrifices, etc.
WE ARE ALSO HIS OFFSPRING
In verses 26 and 27 the Apostle implies that the Lord's ordering of
the national affairs had something to do with the propagation of the knowledge of Himself
, and so we find it has been. The bringing of the world under successive empires-the
Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Grecian and Roman-had tended to unify the race to some extent,
and to make more possible the promulgation of the Gospel. During the Grecian period the
Greek language was spread abroad throughout various lands, and it still maintained its
supremacy as the language of the world, although the reins of government had passed to the
hands of the Romans, under whose pushing, warlike power the world in general would be
brought much closer together than it had ever been from the time of the confounding of
tongues at Babel. All this had occurred at the proper juncture of time as concerned God's
favor to Israel, according to the flesh, the birth of Jesus, His crucifixion and the
gathering of the ripe "wheat" from that nation, and the scattering of the
remainder. All these things were, under Divine supervision, working in the interest of
mankind, "that they should seek God, if haply they might feet after Him and find Him,
though He is not far from each one ,of us." The Apostle would assist his hearers in
finding this true God, who was to be found of them, and whom they had indicated their
desire to know when they erected the altar referred to.
Describing the true God further, the Apostle assured his hearers that
none could live or move or have existence even, aside from the power and good intent of
this great God. His words are equally truthful, whether we restrict them to the imperfect
existence of the present time and the dying condition of the world, with but a spark of
life, or whether we apply them in the fuller sense to the Lord's provision for the future
by restitution processes and arrangements. Still wishing to offset the thought that his
message was a new one, the Apostle declares that certain Grecian poets had practically
expressed this thought in saying, "We are also His offspring." Carrying the
mind, then, to the logical conclusion, he urges that if we are the offspring of God our
thoughts respecting Divinity should not lead us. to make or to worship images of any kind,
all of which are professedly of man's device.
An explanation was necessary as to why this great God who had created
all nations, and was directing their welfare, had neglected to send word to the Athenians
until now., The Apostle did not go into a full explanation of the matter, with which his
hearers would not have sympathy--he did not attempt to show how God in the past had merely
been giving the world lessons in respect to the wages of sin, neither did he mention how
Abraham's seed had been selected as the line through which Divine blessings were to be
carried eventually to all the families of the earth, and that God had been dealing with
the natural seed of Abraham for the preceding eighteen centuries, :making types of them
and through them illustrating the progress of the Divine Plan as it shall ultimately be
carried out. He did not explain, either, how that Christ offered Himself to this nation of
Israel, and (in harmony -with the Divine foreknowledge) had been rejected, and that now
God was seeking a spiritual seed of Abraham -- spiritual Israelites-to take the place of
the broken-off branches of the fleshly house.-Rom. 11.
He contented himself with the bare statement of the truth, that in
times past God had "winked at" or overlooked or disregarded and paid no
attention to the idolatries of the world, but that now the time was come for a change of
dispensation; that now God was sending His Message to them, and to all who had ears to
hear, commanding repentance from sin and turning from idolatries to true worship and
righteousness. Quite possibly, though the account does not state it, the Apostle explained
that the foundation or basis of this call to. repentance was the fact that Christ had been
a propitiation (satisfaction) for the sins of the whole world; clearing men thus from the
original condemnation of death and alienation from God, and permitting the return to His
favor of whomsoever would.
The word "because" commencing verse 31 has a special
significance which should not be overlooked. God calls upon all men to repent and reform, because He has appointed for them a day of
judgment--a day of trial or testing. Not a trial for testing or judging whether or not
they are imperfect and fallen, for this God already knows, even better than we do, and His
Word expressly declares that "There is none righteous, no, not one." Such a
trial, such a judgment day, therefore, to see if any were righteous, would be a farce. The
object of the day of trial or judgment referred to by our Lord is totally different from
this.
GOD HATH APPOINTED A DAY
It is to be a trial day or judgment day to see, to test, to prove
which of the world of mankind desire fellowship with the Lord, desire to be obedient to
Him, desire to walk in His ways. The Millennial Age is this trial day, and the Lord
assures us that a full opportunity shall be granted to each and every member of the race
to hear, to know, to comprehend His goodness, His love, His redemption of the world
through Christ, and His willingness that they should come back into. fellowship with
Him-back to a condition in which He could justly accord to them everlasting life. God
could not reasonably command any to repent and return until the ransom was secured at
Calvary, because it was His own law that had forbidden them to have fellowship with Him,
and that law must first be satisfied; and because He could not reward with life
everlasting any who would seek His face, until He had made provision through the death of
Christ for the payment of. the death penalty against the race and through His
resurrection, for the times of restitution.
It is a further part of this blessed assurance that the judgment or
trial of the world will be "in righteousness" -under a reign of righteousness
when the besetments of the Adversary and his deceptions will be at an end, and when,
therefore, a clear and explicit knowledge of the Lord and of the Truth will fill the
earth, as the waters cover the great deep. What a gracious Gospel the Apostle had to
preach! It was so good, indeed, that he had to be guarded in his expression of it-too good
for his hearers to appreciate, with their debauched ideas of the cruelty and perversity of
the gods, even as it is too good to be appreciated today by those whose minds have been
more or less confused by the horrible theological nightmares coming down to us from the
"dark ages."
The Apostle was proceeding logically to show that the resurrection of
Christ from the dead was God's assurance to all that He would ultimately carry out this
great plan of blessing the world, by granting to each member of it an individual trial or
judgment for life, under the favorable conditions of the Millennium; and that the
resurrection of Christ was not only God's attestation to men that His sacrifice had been
satisfactory, but was also necessary, that our Lord Jesus as the risen and glorified Son
of ,God might exercise in due time "all power in heaven and in earth," and thus
bring about the great ThousandYear judgment Day, or "times of restitution of all
things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world
began." (Acts 3:21.) But with this his hearers, who must have been amazed with the
logic of his argument, and must have wondered how their various disciples would be
influenced by the new teacher, and to what extent they would lose caste, as being less
logical or less lofty in their sentiments, found occasion for an expression of
dissatisfaction, and of thus logically casting aside the entire argument, dismissing it as
unworthy of further consideration.
Their objection rested on the resurrection, which the Apostle made so
prominent, so indispensable to the carrying out of the entire Plan of God; indispensable,
first, as to the Redeemer, that He must rise from the dead, ere He could be the agent of
Jehovah in prosecuting the work of blessing the world; necessary to the world of mankind,
that they might come forth from the tomb and be granted a knowledge and opportunity of
restitution or resurrection to all that had been lost by Adam's disobedience. When the
resurrection was mentioned the occasion for expressions of derision was furnished, as
though they would say: We knew that there could be no thorough-going philosophy superior
to our own; we were ,on the look-out for the weak point in the argument of this speaker
who sets himself up to be a teacher, and now we have found it;--the resurrection !
Nonsense! Whoever saw or heard of a resurrection from the dead?
Others of his auditors were less violent in their expressions, but
agreed that they had heard enough for the present--implying that the argument was not very
satisfactory when it needed to be supported by a resurrection hypothesis, which, to them,
seemed very much less reasonable than their own philosophies-that a man never died, and
that when he appears to die he really becomes more alive than he ever was before. From
their standpoint of view there could be no resurrection of the dead, since there were none
dead-all being more abundantly alive from the moment of apparent death.
However, one member of the Council of Mars' Hill (the Areopagite
Society) bad been deeply interested in the Truth he had heard; also a woman of some
distinction, and others with them; for although the Society alone occupied the place of
prominence in such discussions, the people in general were privileged to surround the
court. The Apostle's experience here, as elsewhere, like our own, demonstrates the fact
that at the present time not many have ears to hear the Word of the Lord; not many are
seriously, "feeling after Him if haply they might find Him." The majority are
blinded by the god of this world, Satan, through various traditions, heathen and
Christian, so that they cannot discern the lengths and breadths and heights and depths of
the true Gospel. At the present time it is not given to all to see and to understand
(Matt. 13:11; Mark 4:11), but we thank God that the time is coming when all the blind eyes
shall be opened, and all the deaf ears shall be unstopped; and then the preaching of
"Jesus and the resurrection" will mean a great blessing, and all shall come to
the knowledge of the Truth, from the least to the greatest, as the Lord, through the
Prophet, has declared.--Jer. 31:33, 34.
APPRECIATES CHRISTIAN LIBERTY ALLOWED TO ALL
Dear Brethren:
Loving greetings in our dear Redeemer's name!
Enclosed find check, for $ to cover "Good Hopes" from the
Class for the quarter ending June 30th.
As we read the encouraging letters that are published in the HERALD
from time to time, we feel sure that your own hearts must be blessed from the many that
you receive and that they must be an incentive to you to continue on in the same way of
giving out the food to the dear ones everywhere as the Lord may lead you and direct you
all. It has always been a great
pleasure to us to note the loving, Christlike spirit that has always permeated the
writings in the HERALD, and we are very thankful that the Lord has seen fit to place the
same brethren in charge of the work for another year. We know that He will quicken and
energize your minds by His Holy Spirit so that the Lord's people will be provided for
their every need spiritually through the articles that will be published under His
supervision.
One thing that especially appeals to us, dear brethren, is the
Christian Liberty allowed to all. Nothing is forced upon any: no one is asked to see
"just as I see"; but every one is left free to see and accept, or reject, as
much as he likes without in any way making it a test of fellowship. Whether all see alike
or not on non-essential points, this attitude -on the part of the HERALD committee is, we
are sure, appreciated by those who believe in this principle of Christian Liberty.
May you, therefore, realize more and, more that the Lord's favor and
approval are resting upon you all in your endeavors, to serve His people, and may His
grace and strength be sufficient for your every need, is our prayer., Be assured, dear
brethren, also, of our daily petitions on your behalf at the Throne of Grace. With fervent
love, we are
Yours in Christian fellowship, PROVIDENCE ECCLESIA.
REALIZED SHOWER OF BLESSING
Dear Brethren:
I write to express our appreciation for service rendered us at the
Toledo Convention through the ministrations of certain brethren and of the INSTITUTE
brethren in particular, and which was, specially blessed to our hearts by the operation of
God's Holy Spirit.
The heat was so intense and the mental faculties so dulled at times
that I feared I could not receive the. spiritual food we were all seeking, but when the
season of fellowship was at an end, we realized We were the recipients of a shower of
blessing, 'and as a result we are setting our faces as a flint, Zionward.
We realize anew our wonderful privilege in Christ and that the time
for the perfecting of that Christlike character is rapidly fleeting. A familiar text
sounded to our hearts as a trumpet call--"Blessed and holy is he that hath Part in ,the first
resurrection." Ali, yes, it is no half-hearted effort that is implied in that word,
"holy,"' but a complete and continual setting apart unto 'God and the Lamb,
feeding richly from the storehouse of. His Word and holding ourselves in an abandonment of
loving trust in Him 'who has said, "According to your - faith, be it unto you."
Another portion of the Word dispensed to us at the Convention which
has remained richly in our mind and heart, and which we hope: to apply henceforth to our
daily walk is,. ."He that dwelleth in
love, DWELLETH IN GOD." What a privilege! and how simple -it can be throughout the
moments and the hours that stretch before us to apply this measuring line to our progress
in His steps.
Dear brethren, we desire here to express our appreciation of the
Revelation studies given in the- HERALD. We believe that they are 'from God because
throughout they I bear
the stamp of Truth and their effect upon both of us has been a blessedly sanctifying one. We render praise to God
for this evidence of His favor toward His little ones. Truly, "Blessed is he that
readeth, and they that understand."
At Convention we received a clearer focus on what we have felt
assured is a solemn fact, namely, that "the
fire of the day 'is trying every man's work," and I feel concerned lest I have
not built faithfully enough in the golden hours that have passed to withstand the tests
ahead; but in a spirit of hope and determination I am pressing forward.
It was a matter of thanksgiving to God that the representatives of
the little handful of brethren, who back in the early days of the HERALD said,
"Brethren, pray for us," gave humble evidence that God has graciously answered
our daily prayer on their behalf. The evidence of their love and faith and humble waiting
on God was to our souls a benediction. For this manifestation of Divine grace, we give
thanks unto our God.
May the Lord continue to sustain you, keeping you low at the foot of the Cross, and may it
continue your privilege to refresh the weary, scattered sheep with the pure nourishment of
our Father's Word; for the words which He speaks, "they are spirit and they are life.,,
Your sister by His grace, MRS. A. K.-Mich.
THE TRIAL OF YOUR PATIENCE
Dear Brethren:
Please accept this humble offering as a little to help as you may see
fit to use it, in the glorious work of sending out the messages which are so helpful to us
and so refreshing, as meat in due season. I am sure the HERALDS are beautiful. We are
seeking to "Prove all things, and hold fast that which, is good," and the Lord
is blessing us in doing it. As we see the time approaching, we dare not speculate; but how
it tries our patience--waiting--and this may be good for us, as we have the Divine
promise. With much Christian love, I remain
Your brother in Christ, I. B.-Ont.
TRUSTING IN THE ROCK OF AGES
.Dear Brethren in Christ:
Enclosed find money order, which is just a little help from grateful
hearts. Being so far away we cannot do much financially, having local interests also.
There are about thirty who meet here at P----- on Sundays, and we
enjoy sweet fellowship. We would esteem it an honor if we could have a visit- from a
Pilgrim brother, if it were possible to come so far. Brother Nicholson has been a help
throughout Australia during the testing time, pointing us to the Word of God or helping us
to see clearly the e true situa tion. The HERALDS are a blessing and great help to us
also. The Revelation articles are truly uplifting, the spirit of the ,Master (humility)
being manifest throughout. . . . We feel so thankful to our Heavenly Father for opening
our eyes and giving us grace to stand in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free,
realizing more fully the beautiful words of Isaiah, 26:3, 4,--Peace, through trust in
Jehovah, the Rock of Ages, instead of earthly organizations, etc.
We remember you daily before the Throne of Grace, with all of like
precious faith. Looking forward to the congummation of our hopes, with Christian love,
Your brother and sister in Christ, G. and L. B.--W. Aus.
1921 Index |