VOL. XIX March, 1936 No. 3 "This
Do in Remembrance of Me" Signs
of the Master's Presence Lessons
from the Life of Joseph Notice
of the Institute's Annual Meeting VOL. XIX March 1, 1936 No. 3 "Prophecy and the Jew"THE FOLLOWING editorial from The Globe (Toronto), January 15, 1936, needs no comment of ours: "Last June a young Jewish girl in Hartford, Conn., went to New York City, and from there she and another girl 'hitch-hiked' 1,000 miles to an old farm in North Liberty, Indiana. On the farm they were two of a dozen young Jewish girls and boys getting agricultural training so that they might go to Palestine equipped to help to rebuild the 'Jewish National Homeland.' The Jewish Ledger, a weekly newspaper in Connecticut, tells the story. Last month the bright-eyed, enthusiastic young woman returned to her Hartford home, only waiting to continue her training and then go on to Palestine. "She probably does not know that she is fulfilling prophecy, as Jews have fulfilled prophecy for almost 4,000 years. She went from Connecticut to Indiana to get her training to take her place and 'do her bit' in the land given to her and her ancestor Abraham in 1920 B. C. God called Abraham to leave his country and people in Mesopotamia and go 'unto a land that I will show thee.' Abraham, the first Zionist, obeyed; he and his family 'went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.' Later God said to him: 'Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.' That included a great expanse of country, from Egypt to Mesopotamia, now called Iraq. "Abraham's descendants, the Jews, have gone in and out of that land more than once since then. God predicted that they would be driven out of the land if they turned away from Him. He promised their return to the land after seventy years of captivity in Babylonia; and this prophecy was fulfilled on schedule time, to the letter. But the world-wide dispersion of the Jews, predicted in Scripture, has continued according to prophecy until now we are seeing the beginnings of an amazing fulfillment of another prophesied return of Israel to her divinely covenanted land. Jeremiah uttered this inspired prophecy six centuries before Christ came: "'Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.' "The Jews are pouring into Palestine by the tens of thousands. In 1929 they were returning at the rate of 6,000 a year; last March over 7,000 legally entered, in the one month. Tel Aviv, the new Jewish city, now has a larger population than Jerusalem, and all are Jews. "A well-known Christian worker, George T. B. Davis, has just written a remarkable book telling what he saw in that land last summer. He calls it, 'Rebuilding Palestine According to Prophecy'; the chapters of his book were published as a series of articles in the Sunday School Times and aroused world-wide interest. "Mr. Davis quotes prophecies in Isaiah and Ezekiel which he believes are being fulfilled today. 'And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.' 'And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.' "The facts of Zionism in Palestine today, brought out in this keen observer's book, are impressive and convincing. "Palestine has known no depression during the past few years. New buildings are springing up like mushrooms all over the land. There is no unemployment or national debt, but abundant work for all and a steadily increasing surplus in the national treasury. Real estate values have been going up by leaps and bounds. A man bought an acre of land four years ago for $45,000 and recently refused $145,000 for it. "Modern agricultural methods are turning desert and wilderness land into a garden -of Eden. Not many years ago it took more than sixty acres of land in Palestine to support one Jewish family. Today, with irrigation and intensive cultivation, only five acres are needed to sustain a family comfortably, and they believe that soon three acres will be sufficient. "The recently discovered chemical riches of the Dead Sea seem like fiction, but are fact. Two of the valuable mineral salts found there are potash and bromine. A Jewish and a British engineer made exhaustive studies of the Dead Sea water, and an international corporation of Jews and Gentiles, called Palestine Potash, Ltd., was organized to commercialize the marketing of this vast wealth. One is staggered by the computed wealth of the chemical salts in this body of water that had been supposed to be worthless-it is estimated at $1,270,000,000,000, or four times the wealth of the United States. "Haifa has now been made one of the most modern and important seaports on the Mediterranean, with a harbor costing over $5,000,000. The oil discovered in Mesopotamia is piped nearly a thousand miles to Haifa by the Iraq Petroleum Company, representing British, American, French and Persian oil interests. Oil pours into Haifa at the rate of about a million gallons a day. And Haifa is in the territory of the tribe of Asher, upon whom Moses pronounced the blessing and uttered the prophecy: 'Let him dip his foot in oil.' "Hebrew has become a spoken language again in Palestine. And the first money issued in Palestine since our Lord's day is now the currency in use. The coins are stamped in three languages, Hebrew, Arabic, and English; and on each coin are two Hebrew characters which are the first letters of the words meaning 'Land of Israel.' Thus the land is recognized, by the 'authority of the British Government, as belonging to Israel in accordance with God's covenant-prophecy. "The Psalmist tells us to 'Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.' And the great prophetic message of the Bible is that peace can come to Jerusalem and the Jews in fulness and finality only when the Prince of Peace comes again and is recognized and received by His own people Israel as their rejected and long awaited Messiah. When He came the first time, 'He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.' When He comes again, 'every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him.' For the climax of prophecy, given by inspiration to that Jew of heroic spiritual stature, the Apostle Paul, tells us: 'And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob."' "This Do in Remembrance of Me""For as often as ye eat this Bread and drink this Cup, ye do show the Lord's death till He come." - 1 Cor. 11:26. CHRIST our Passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." (1 Cor. 5:7, 8.) Here, in one sentence, brief, but pregnant with meaning, the beloved Apostle Paul, writing as always under the guidance and in the power of the Holy Spirit, draws our attention to the great Antitype, the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world, of whom the Jewish Passover lamb was but a type. How well the type prefigured our Lord! To begin with the lamb selected was to be without blemish, reminding us of the fact that our Lord Jesus had no blemish of sin in Himself, and that He did not contract any stain or spot of sin by His contacts with the world. As the Apostle Peter reminds us "We were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold.... but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." - 1 Pet. 1:19. The blood of the typical lamb was sprinkled on the doorposts and lintels of the Israelite's house, but the blood of Jesus, the unforfeited life which was made available to us by the shedding of His blood, has been graciously applied to our hearts, removing from us the burden of unforgiven sin, setting us free from all consciousness of evil. Again, in instituting the typical passover, we read in the 12th chapter of Exodus that the Lord said unto Moses: "This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. How truly this feature is fulfilled in the experience of a consecrated believer of this Gospel Age! Everything in his life dates from the time when he came "under the blood." Before that, all is darkness; before that, all is death. He does not care to even think of the darkness of his unconverted days, and when he does occasionally mention them, it is only that his Savior may be the more magnified in the hearts and minds of those to whom he speaks; and that the contrast of that past with his present happy state may awaken in him a still greater sense of gratitude and devotion. First-fruits and After-fruits Towards the close of his life, in a choice passage from his pen, our dear Brother Russell sought to stir up our pure minds by way of remembrance. We quote: "Blessed are those whose eyes can see that Jesus was indeed 'the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world'; that the cancellation of the world's sin is to be effected by the payment of man's penalty, by the application of Jesus' sacrificial merit in due time for the sins of all mankind. Only the Church have as yet received of the merit of Jesus' death. Greatly favored are those who can see that as the whole world lost Divine favor and came under Divine sentence of death, with its concomitants of sorrow and pain, so it was necessary that a satisfaction of justice should be made before this sentence, or curse, could be removed; and that therefore, as the Apostle declares, 'Christ died for our sins', 'The just for the unjust' that He might bring us back to God. Thus He opened up a new way -- a way to life everlasting. "The Scriptures call the Church of Christ, 'the Church of the First-borns,' 'a kind of First-fruits unto God of His creatures,' 'the First-fruits unto God and the Lamb.' (Hebrews 12:23; James 1:18; Rev. 14:4.) These expressions imply that ultimately there will be others of God's family later born; they imply after-fruits. Christian people in general seem to have overlooked these Scriptures, so far as making application of them is concerned, and have generally come to believe that only those are ever to be saved who are designated in the Bible as the First-fruits-that there will be no after-fruits. "But the Passover type indicates that it was God's purpose to save all Israelites; and that as a nation they represented all of mankind that will ever come into harmony with God and be granted everlasting life in the Land of Promise. Let us note that there were two Passovers-the one in which only the first-borns were passed over; and another greater one at the Red Sea, when by divine power the whole nation of Israel was miraculously delivered and led across the channel of the Sea especially prepared for them by the accentuation of winds and tides. These passed over dryshod and were saved; while the hosts of Pharaoh, representing all who eventually will go into the Second Death, were overwhelmed in the Sea. The passover at the Red Sea pictures the ultimate deliverance from the power of sin and death of every creature of Adam's race who desires to come into accord with the Lord and to render Him worship, all who will ever become a part of Israel; for not one Israelite was left behind in Egyptian bondage. Responsibility of the First-borns "But this passover is not the one which we are about to celebrate. We are to celebrate the antitype of the passing over of the first-borns of Israel by the angel, in the land of Egypt. Only the firstborn ones of Israel were endangered on that night in Egypt, though the deliverance of the entire nation depended upon the salvation, the passing over, of those firstborns. So only the First-borns of the sons of God from the human plane, the Church of Christ, are now being passed over during this night of the Gospel Age; only these are in danger of the destroying angel. These are all under the sprinkled blood. "We see, in harmony with all the Scriptures, that the 'Little Flock,' 'the First-fruits unto God of His creatures,' 'the Church of the First-borns,' alone is being spared, passed over, during the present Age. We see that the remainder of mankind who may desire to follow the great antitypical Moses, when in the Age to follow this He shall lead the people forth from the bondage of sin and death, are not now in danger of eternal destruction -only the First-borns. "The Church of the First-borns are those of mankind who, in advance of the remainder of the race, have had the eyes of their understanding opened to a realization of their condition of bondage and their need of deliverance and to God's willingness to fulfill to them all of His good promises. Furthermore, they are such as have responded to the grace of God, have made a full consecration of themselves to Him and His service, and in return have been begotten of the Holy Spirit. With these it is a matter of life or death whether or not they remain in the household of faith-behind the blood of sprinkling. "For this class to go forth from under the blood would imply a disregard of divine mercy. It would signify that they were doing despite to divine goodness; and that, having enjoyed their share of the mercy of God as represented in the blood of the Lamb, they were not appreciative of it. For such, the Scriptures declare, 'There remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins'; 'Christ dieth no more.' They are to be esteemed as adversaries of God, whose fate was symbolized in the destruction of the firstborns of Egypt. The Church of the First-borns, through the begetting of the Holy Spirit and the greater knowledge and privileges which they enjoy in every way, have a far greater responsibility than has the world; for they are the only ones yet in. danger of the Second Death. This is the lesson of the Passover type, and applies only to true Christians. "By and by the night of sin and death will have passed away, the glorious Morn of deliverance will have come, and The Christ, the antitypical Moses, will lead forth, will deliver, all the people of God -- all who, when they shall come to know, will be glad to reverence, honor, and obey the will of God. That day of deliverance will be the entire Millennial Age, at the close of which all evil and evildoers, symbolized by the hosts of Egypt, will be utterly cut off in the Second Death-destruction." Jesus Our Passover Lamb As the Jews fed on the literal lamb, so we are to feed on Christ; that is to say, we are to appropriate to ourselves, by faith, His merit, the value of His sacrifice. Not only so, but if we would be strong spiritually, and prepared for the deliverance in the morning of the new dispensation, we must eat of the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. What is it to "eat" of the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth? Ah! this means much more than might at first be supposed. It involves not merely. a belief in the truth concerning Christ and His atonement-it goes beyond, even, a confession of that belief. It includes a loving surrender to this and related truths, so that they are grasped by the moral no less than by the intellectual side of our complex nature. Thus partaken of, the truth will accomplish our sanctification; day by day, the renewing of our minds with His precious Word will gradually transform us into His likeness. In the typical arrangements bitter herbs were included, which aided and whetted the Israelites' appetite for the lamb and unleavened bread. Commenting on this feature Brother Russell has observed that instead of these, "we have bitter experiences and trials which the Lord prepares for us, and which help to wean our affections from earthly things and to give us increased appetite to feed upon the Lamb and the unleavened Bread of Truth. We, too, are to remember that we have here no continuing city; but as pilgrims, strangers, staff in hand, we are to gird ourselves for our journey to the Heavenly Canaan, to all the glorious things which God has in reservation for the Church of the First-borns, in association with our Redeemer, as kings and priests unto God." On the night of His betrayal, just before His crucifixion, our Lord Jesus clearly identified Himself as the antitypical Passover Lamb. Peter and John had been sent ahead, and in the "upper room" to which they had been led, they had "made ready the Passover." At the appointed time, "when the hour was come" He gathered His Apostles round Him and said: "With desire have I desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer." "It was necessary that as Jews they should celebrate the Passover Supper on that night-the night of the anniversary of the slaying of the Passover lamb in Egypt, of the saving of the typical first-borns from the typical 'prince of this world' -- Pharaoh -- the same date on which the real Passover Lamb was to be slain, But as soon as the requirements of the type had been fulfilled, our Lord Jesus instituted a new Memorial upon the old foundation, saying, 'Do this in remembrance of Me.'" * ---------------------------------------- *In our February issue we noted that the appropriate time for observing the Memorial this year will be after six o'clock in the evening on Sunday, April 5th. "This Do in Remembrance of Me" We recall the circumstances of the first Memorial -- the blessing of the Bread and the Cup, the fruit of the vine, and of our Lord's words in connection therewith. Year by year, as we "keep the feast," and the time of our departure draws nigh, the appropriateness of the symbols, and the humility and love of our Lord are more deeply impressed on our hearts, and the longing desire within us grows more earnest that we, too, though imperfect, may faithfully follow in His steps. Quoting again from our dear Brother Russell: "In presenting to the disciples the unleavened bread as a memorial, Jesus said, 'Take, eat; this is My body.' The evident meaning of His words is, This symbolizes, or represents, My body. The bread was not actually His body; for in no sense had His body yet been broken. In no sense would it then have been possible for them to have partaken of Him actually or antitypically, the sacrifice not being as yet finished. But the picture is complete when we recognize that the unleavened (pure, unfermented) bread represented our Lord's sinless flesh,-leaven being a symbol of sin under the Law, and especially commanded to be put away at the Passover season. On another occasion Jesus gave a lesson which interprets to us this symbol. He. said, 'The Bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.' 'I am the Bread of Life.' 'f am the living Bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this Bread, he shall live forever; and the Bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.' - John 6:33, 35, 5:1. "In order to appreciate how we are to eat, or appropriate, this living Bread, it is necessary for us to understand just what the bread signifies. According to our Lord's explanation of the matter, it was His flesh which He sacrificed for us. It was not His prehuman existence as a spirit being that was sacrificed, although that was laid down and its glory laid aside, in order that He might take our human nature. It was the fact that our Lord Jesus was holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners-without any contamination from Father Adam, and hence free from sin-that enabled Him to become the Redeemer of Adam and his race, that permitted Him to give His life 'a Ransom for all, to be testified in due time.' - l Tim. 2:3-6. "When we see that it was the pure, spotless nature of our Lord Jesus that .was laid down on behalf of sinners, we see what it is that we are privileged to appropriate. The very thing that He laid down for us we are to 'eat,' appropriate to ourselves; that is to say, His perfect human life was given to redeem all the race of man from condemnation to death, to enable them to return to human perfection and everlasting life, if they would; and we are to realize this and accept Him as our Savior from death." The unforfeited life of Jesus, laid down in sacrifice for us in obedience to the Father's will, is thus seen to be that which alone has value in the Father's sight. As the Apostle declares: "the Man Christ Jesus who gave Himself a ransom for all." (1 Tim. 2:6.) It is important to observe, however, that the work of recovering Adam and his race from the power of sin and death, while based on that ransom-price, goes beyond the mere provision of the ransom. While the provision was made now nearly two thousand years ago, it is manifest that the work of recovering Adam and his race from the power of sin and death has not yet been accomplished; indeed it has scarcely begun. The only disposition thus far of that Ransom has been to make it available for the Church, and this only by faith. Only by faith has even the Church passed "from death unto life"; not even this little flock has been fully recovered from the power of sin and death; still less has the rest of the race. Manifestly, then, it will require a considerable time, (the Scriptures indicate the entire thousand years of Messiah's kingdom) to restore, to deliver, to set free, from the power of sin and death, Adam and his children. Evident it is that the work of restoration, for which the foundation was laid nearly two thousand years ago, is still to be accomplished. To quote once again from our Pastor "In order that any of the race of Adam might profit by the sacrifice of Jesus, it was necessary that He should rise from the tomb on the Divine plane of life, that He should ascend to the Father and deposit the sacrificial merit of His death in the hands of justice, and receive from the Father 'all power in heaven and in earth.' As relates to the world, it was necessary also that in the Father's due time He should come again to earth a glorious divine Being, then to be to the whole world a Mediator, Prophet, Priest and King, to assist back to perfection and to harmony with God all who will avail themselves of the wonderful privileges then to be offered." This blessing, restoration to human perfection (not perfection on the spirit plane, but on the human plane) which. will 'be the happy portion of the entire race (all the willing and obedient), the Church of this Gospel Age receive now, by faith; that is to say, human perfection is reckoned to them by God. And the partaking of the unleavened bread at the Memorial season means to us, primarily, the appropriation, by faith, of this right to perfect human life, with all its privileges, the blessing which, at the cost of His own life, our Lord procured for us. Likewise the fruit of the vine symbolizes our Savior's life given for us, His human life, His being, poured out unto death on our behalf; and the appropriation of this by us also signifies, primarily, our acceptance of Restitution rights and privileges secured by our Lord's sacrifice of these. Two Additional Significations In our showing forth the Lord's death in this, the way appointed (1 Cor. 11:26), we may not improperly associate in our minds two additional thoughts of great beauty and solemnity: (1) Our consecration to be "dead with Him" (Col. 2:20), even as we remember the Apostle's words, "if we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him" (2 Tim. 2:12), and (2) the oneness of spirit which obtains between fellow-members of the Christ company. The fruit of the vine fitly represents the life given by Jesus, the sacrifice-the death-"this is My blood (symbol of life given up in death) of the New Covenant, shed for many for the remission of sins"; "Drink ye all of it." (Matt. 26:27, 28.) It is by the giving up of His life as a ransom for the life of the Adamic race, which sin had forfeited, that a right to life comes to men. (Rom. 5:18, 19.) Jesus' shed blood is the "ransom for all" and the dominant idea of our "feast" is this fact and the benefits which as consecrated believers we derive therefrom; but in addition we may remember also and rejoice in the fact that we may (indeed we have covenanted, have we not? to) drink of His cup, even as (though beyond their then understanding) He spake to His close disciples: "Ye shall indeed drink of My cup." (Matt. 20:23.) Verily this is a "high calling" (Phil. 3:14), and well might we question our ability to drink (unaided) of His cup. But our sufficiency is of God, and so with the Apostle we too count all things loss, that we may know the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of His sufferings (Phil. 3:10), not repining, but all the more rejoicing at any evidence which may come to us that the sufferings of Christ may be abounding in us. -2 Cor. 1:5. With regard to our second additional thought-that of the oneness of spirit possessed by fellowmembers of "His Body" the Church (Eph. 1:23), how close to the heart of our Lord does this thought bring us when we recall that it was just about the time when He instituted this "remembrancer" that He offered that matchless intercessory prayer on our behalf, that is recorded in the 17th chapter of John: "That they all may be one." (Not His close disciples only, but us also, who have since believed.) "As Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us." (John 17:20, 21.) What thoughts are these, which just before His passion our Lord entertained with regard to His consecrated followers! What grand and noble hopes respecting the mutual love, the sympathy, affection, and interest which should prevail amongst the members of this "one Body" of our Lord! Let us then, beloved in Christ, as we surround the table to commemorate our Lord's death, call to mind the meaning of what we do; and being invigorated with His life, and strengthened by the Living Bread, let us drink with Him into His death and be broken in feeding others. "For if we be dead with Him, we shall live with Him; if we suffer, we shall also reign with Him." - 2 Tim. 2:11, 12. Dwelling upon this scene the words of another are appropriate here: "We have tasted, through grace, the cleansing efficacy of the blood of Jesus; as such it is our privilege to feed upon His adorable Person and delight ourselves in His 'unsearchable riches'; to have fellowship in His sufferings and be made conformable to His death. Oh! let us, therefore, be seen with the unleavened bread and bitter herbs, the girded loins, the shoes and staff. In a word, let us be marked as a holy people, a crucified people, a watchful and diligent people-a people manifestly 'on our way to God'-on our way to glory 'bound for the Kingdom.' May God grant us to enter into the depth and power of all these things so that they may not be mere theories in our intellects -- mere principles of Scriptural knowledge and interpretation; but living, Divine realities, known by experience, and exhibited in the life, to the glory of God." Those Privileged to Partake It is left open for each to decide for himself whether he has or has not the right to partake of this bread and this cup. "But let a man examine himself," says the Apostle, let him see to it that in partaking of the emblems he realizes them as symbolizing the ransom price of his life and privileges; and furthermore, that he by partaking of them is pledging himself to share in the sufferings of Christ and to be broken for others; else, otherwise, his act of commemoration will be a condemnation to daily life before his own conscience"condemnation to himself." Through lack of proper appreciation of this remembrancer and the profound truths which it so beautifully symbolizes, the Apostle says, "Many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep." (1 Cor. 11:30.) The truth and logic of this remark are most obvious: a failure to appreciate and a losing sight of the sacred truths represented in the Supper are the cause of the weak, sickly and sleepy condition that is often to be observed in the Church. Nothing so fully awakens and strengthens the saints spiritually as a clear appreciation of what their Master has done for them, of His ransom sacrifice and of their share with their Lord in His sufferings and sacrificial experience. May we all then realize afresh the solemn import of the Apostle's admonition, "Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup." Heart Yearnings after God"I beseech Thee, show me Thy glory." - Exod. 33:18. IN ALL ages this request of Moses has been the deep heart longing of all the true people of God. As an outstanding evidence that God intended that eventually our supreme joy would be found in Himself alone, there can be none greater than this deep yearning of devoted hearts for more and more revelation of Him. Thus it was with Moses. the Psalmist David, and other Old Testament saints. In Philip, the Apostle, we find that same cry introduced into our own wonderful day and age of grace, for he too pleads, "Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us." And God, who planted this hunger for Himself in our hearts, has met that yearning by revealing His glory to us in Jesus Christ-"Emmanuel, God with us." And truly our opportunities for beholding His glory are wonderful, beholding as we may, "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." - 2 Cor. 4:6. Wonderful though the revelation of God had ,been as Moses conducted Israel through experiences in which divine protection was marvelously demonstrated, yet there was this fervent longing in his heart for a still greater and clearer vision of God's face. He had witnessed much, but, "Show me Thy face," was still his prayer. And is it not always so? The nearer a receptive, loving soul comes to God, is there not an ever-increasing fervency in the prayer, "Nearer my God to Thee, nearer to Thee"? And what promise is more precious than this one left us by Jesus Himself, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Who of His saints would not at once exclaim with joy, "That will be glory for me." And there is no higher aspiration of which we are capable. To "see Him as He is," sharing His image as members of the divine family, represents the very summit of attainment; therefore all we long for in spiritual life is summed up in this vision of God's face. "Show Thy face and all is bright," all complete, is the universal verdict of all who are drawn into close heart fellowship with our adorable heavenly Father. Thus it is when God reveals Himself to the eye of faith and begets love in a receptive heart, that He awakens unquenchable yearnings for a still fuller unfolding of His glory. When David compared his thirst for God with that of the hunted hart seeking refreshing water brooks, he is not in this passage representing one who as yet had not found God. Rather, the illustration is intended to portray the intensified thirst which can be experienced by one who has discovered the goodness of God. To such an one each new revelation of divine glory creates increasing thirst, for such a vision means loving Him and knowing Him better, and such knowledge means eternal life-eternal bliss. It is the heart most gloriously flooded with the light and love of God which prays most sincerely, "O may no earthborn cloud arise to hide Thee from Thy servant's eyes"; for the hiding of His face means to such the loss of all that makes life worth while. Blessed, then, are they who hunger and thirst, for they shall be filled and satisfied. Without a Vision the People Perish This enjoyment of unfolding glory is not of course intended to be just a sort of spiritual luxury. Such a blessing comes very closely associated with the life work and responsibility of the Christian. Indeed the very purpose of such revelations as God permits us to enjoy in the day of our probation, is that thereby we may understand His will and have strength to follow His commands. This fact is well illustrated in many of the special men whom God has used in carrying forward His purposes. Of Moses it is written, "He. endured as seeing Him who is invisible." The significance of this statement is worthy of our attention. Call to mind the tremendous burden laid on the shoulders of this man of God's choice. From the time that he made his first appearance in the court of Pharaoh, demanding the release of Israel, until he stood with a delivered nation on the Canaan side of the Red Sea, he surely needed an unclouded vision of God. Then throughout that memorable wilderness journey with its constant murmurings and frequent lapses into rebellion against God on the part of the people, how necessary it was that Moses should stand firm as "seeing Him who is invisible." What a sad moment it was for this remarkable servant when in his anger and impatience he lost sight of God and instead of speaking to the rock he smote it, and thereby closed the door to the promised land against himself! How greatly then Moses needed the vision of God because of the work required of him. He needed it to strengthen his faith in the ultimate triumph of God's purposes. He needed it because of the tests of patience everywhere required in those strenuous days of leadership. And how he needed an unobscured vision of 'God when he was offered the leadership of a new and more obedient people, since those he had led were so stiffnecked and disobedient. What devotion to his appointed task, when, notwithstanding all the discouragements he experienced, he was ready to die with those he wanted to help and among whom his lot was divinely cast, rather than go on without them. What a lesson for many today! How many discouraged servants today would eagerly accept a proffered -change in their appointed place like that presented to Moses. Flow many today, called to a higher station than Moses can ever know, are casting longing eyes on some other field or environment than their own. How many are wishing that it was their appointment to brighten some other corner than the one assigned them by the Lord. How easy it is to forget that God's test is faithfulness to our stewardship wherever our own sphere of service lies, and that it is disloyalty to Him to grow weary in well doing, however great the difficulties may be. Only let us see His face and there behold the untiring love and patience of our undiscouraged God, and in toil and service we shall endure "as seeing Him who is invisible." In the experience of Job we can find another rather good illustration of the strengthening power of seeing God's face, if it be but by the eye of faith. The afflictions of this upright man are a source of real perplexity. He will not charge God foolishly. He will not curse Him and die, and neither will he accept the arguments and explanations of his "miserable comforters," who would have him believe that sin was at the bottom of all his affliction. But by and by the cloud passes, and then he understands it all. He sees God's dealings as being wholly just and loving, and all his questions are silenced. Yes, Job, like the rest of us, needed a clear vision of God in order to understand the ministry of affliction. In times of prosperity and undisturbed surroundings it is easy enough to feel wonderfully strong and say, "Faith can firmly trust Him, Come what may," and yet how many prove so absolutely unquestioning and trustful when the trial comes? -- when it seems as though all things can work together for good except, perhaps, this sore trial of ours. Here is where saints do need a vision of God, to see that smiling face, hidden it may be behind a frowning providence, but radiant with a divine love and a purpose which, when accomplished for us in the school of sore affliction, will call forth our eternal praise. David needed this vision of God in order to understand the seemingly great inequalities of life. Beholding the wicked flourishing and spreading himself in great prosperity, while the righteous suffered, his feet, David says, "well nigh slipped." But in the house of God, where He beheld "the beauty of the Lord," all the seeming inequalities are fully explained. In the secret place of the Most High he sees God's wonderful law of adjustments unfolded. And how much we too need that vision. How easy it is at times to let ourselves dwell so much on the weight of our cross in comparison with the seemingly much lighter and easier one borne by the brethren by our side. And when some dear brother or sister seems never permitted a moment's respite from a furnace of affliction heated seven times, do we not ask and wonder why it should be so? But here again the strength and grace to endure comes in seeing .the invisible hand of God. Oh could we know now the place such a polished jewel will have in that royal diadem of God in glory, would we wonder why the affliction? "Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth." This is the way of divine love; therefore, "every painful circumstance, every sorrow I may know, will that glory but enhance, heavenly love the brighter grow." Our feet will never stumble over such seeming inequalities if we live continually where our eyes look out upon the invisible but eternal things. Be Clothed with Humility At the present time only the humble-hearted may enjoy fellowship with God. He resisteth the proud and self-sufficient, but showeth favor to the meek and lowly. And in the Prophet Isaiah we have another Bible character illustrating this need of a vision of God. We recall that on one memorable occasion this holy' man was given a vision of the Lord in His glory, and the effect it had on him. Of that experience he wrote, "Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." (Isa. 6:7.) Nothing can reveal our deformities and utter unworthiness like a vision of God. When God speaks to Abraham, he falls on his face. When Job passes from a mere hearing with his ears, to a sight of God, he prostrates himself "in dust and ashes." When Isaiah beholds the Lord "sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up," his first or chief thought is not of the inferiority of others as compared with himself-no indeed! His first discovery is his own unclean lips and his own undone condition. The marvel is not that God should condescend to deal with a "people of unclean lips," but that He should have to do with the Prophet himself. Saints of God today, is there not a great need among us of such a vision of God's holiness as this? With such a vision of God revealing the depths of our own deformities by the very contrast, how much will there be of superiority complex about us? And is there not a need today for such a reproof as Paul administers to some brethren of his day? "For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise." (2 Cor. 10:12.) A true vision of God is the unfailing remedy for all spiritual pride. Before His glory our heart's deepest wonderment will be, "O depth of mercy! can it be, that gate was left ajar for me." Can it be that one so undone as I am may even now live in the light of His face and endure, "as seeing Him who is invisible"? Reflecting by Precept and Example Paul was granted exceptional visions of the Lord also. It may be correct to say that some of these were given him for the purpose of strengthening him in the extraordinary sufferings his ministry brought upon him. But additionally, can it not be considered possible that some of these unusual visions and revelations of his were for the purpose of enabling him to tell out of a personal experience the greatness of the believer's inheritance in Christ. If he is to write about being "seated together in heavenly places," must he not be personally abiding there himself? When he exhorts the Church to live where it can be said, "Our conversation is in heaven," must he not dwell himself in that higher atmosphere? If he would lift the saints up out of all carnal distinctions, and set forth in ministry and deportment the high splendors of the "unity of the Spirit," he certainly must be a man of vision, Christ-centered and Spirit-filled. And so in all his unsurpassed ministry he is saying to us all, "For this cause, I bend my knees to the Father, . . . that the anointed One, through the faith, may dwell in your hearts; that being rooted in love and well established, you may be fully able to understand with all the saints, what is the breadth and length, and depth and height, to know even that which surpasses knowledge -- the love of the anointed One; so that you may be filled with all the fulness of God." (Eph. 3:14, 16-19.) What will it not mean to us when such a range of spiritual vision is ours in reality? And is there any other way whereby we may "reflect as in a mirror the glory of God," and by precept and example reveal the present power of "seeing Him who is invisible"? Behold! He Cometh Speedily The beloved John, amid the isolations of Patmos is given a panoramic vision of Church history covering the entire Gospel Age. And as the thrilling climax is reached in the closing chapters of this revelation, and the words of promise are heard, "I am coming speedily," his spontaneous plea is, "Amen! Come! Lord Jesus." And how this same prayer has rung down through the centuries of the Age as waiting saints have yearned for His glorious appearing. Surely without such a vision the Church must long since have gone down under the weight of the oppositions and trials endured in so long a period of waiting and hope deferred. But now, O what buoyant hope and transporting expectation should be ours. Truly the air today is quivering with the throb of this impending consummation of our glorious hope, and with what quickened and gladdened hearts we cry, "Hail happy day!" How much this vision is also needed just now! If we would be ready to meet Him "without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing," how important it is that now, more than ever, the vision of our imminent change should be fulfilling the Apostle's statement, "And every man that bath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure." - 1 John 3:3. Hidden in the Cleft of the Rock When Moses had made request for a vision of God's face, the word was, "I will put thee in the cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with My hand while I pass by." (Exod. 33:22.) It was only after being hidden by the hand of God that Moses might dare to look upon even a partial manifestation of God's glory. How condescending is the love of our God! Moses yearned to see the face of God, the glory upon which no man may look and live, and it is God Himself who removes the barrier so that His servant may behold Him. How suggestive this is to us. God has said, "Draw nigh to Me, and I will draw nigh to you," and our very yearning to draw nigh originates in Him. He planted these longings in our hearts, and it was that He might satisfy this hunger for Him that He gave His beloved Son to redeem us from all iniquity. It is the love of God that so graciously invites, "Seek ye My face," and that same love provided the smitten Rock wherein we might find a hiding place, and out from the cleft of that Rock gaze with unveiled face upon the glory of that celestial effulgence which "no man hath seen nor can see." And so it is, if we would live under the influence of such visions of God as we have been considering, then it is imperative that we understand the need of our being hidden by the same loving hand of God. Only by eyes opened and healed by the darkness removing power of the shed blood of Christ, may the light of the glory of God be seen. It is in the glory light as it "shines in the face of Jesus Christ," and through His atoning work for us, and the illumination of His Holy Spirit, that God speaks to us and says, "I will make all my goodness to pass before thee." Blest hiding place! Blest Rock of Ages cleft for us, we are hidden safe in Thee! And, amazing grace, as we gaze with increasing delight upon His glory and goodness, the miracle of miracles goes on, "We all beholding the glory of the Lord in a face unveiled, are transformed into the same likeness, from glory to glory, as from the Lord, the Spirit." (2 Cor. 3:18, Diaglott.) This is the vision of God for which all devoted Christian hearts are yearning, the transforming, unclouded revelation of Him which causes them to truthfully testify, "Since my eyes were fixed on Jesus, I've lost sight of all beside."
Doubtless to many it would have been sufficient revelation to satisfy their ambitions had they witnessed all that Moses had seen of God previously; but not so with Moses, the more he saw of God, the greater his longing for clearer vision. How many, if they witnessed the whirlwind, earthquake, and fire manifestations of God, would linger hidden as Elijah was, until they could hear the "still small voice"? God was not in the convulsions of nature, but He was in the quietness of the voice the Prophet heard. The voice of Sinai speaks in thundering tones of law inflexible, but God speaks to His spiritual sons not by thunder but, "speaking peace through Jesus Christ." The convulsions of Sinai awed those who saw and heard, but it is not so with us. Placed in the smitten Rock by the hand of divine love, we are brought near to God, and in this nearness to Him our spiritual senses of sight and hearing are marvelously quickened to behold the unfoldings of the Living and the written Word. There we are indeed, "Near to the heart of God," near, blessedly near to God, near enough to really know that,
Thunder, Angel Voice, or the Voice of God, Which? Jesus, above everything else yearned for nearness to God. He lived in the Father's will, and rejoiced to know that the Father dwelt in Him. And what that nearness meant to Jesus we can know much. As illustrating something of its worth to Him we may gather lessons from an incident recorded by John: "Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and I will glorify it again. The people therefore that stood by and heard it, said that it thundered; others said, An angel spake to Him." To Jesus alone was it the voice of God. Nearness to God on the part of Jesus meant ability to understand His voice, and only such as today long above all else to live "near to the heart of God," can hope to distinctly hear His voice. 0, then, what a world of meaning there is in the words of Jesus: "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." What increasing revelations of God are possible to every such yearning soul who will pray with Moses, "I beseech Thee, show me Thy glory," and to whom God can make reply, "Thou hast found grace in My sight, and I know thee by name, I will make all My goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee." This is real nearness to God. This is living under the joy and inspiration which enables a believer to "endure as seeing Him who is invisible." "O, Savior, precious Savior, Signs of the Master's Presence"What will he the sign of Thy presence, and of the consummation of the Age?" - Matt. 24:3, Diaglott IN THIS article we continue the discussion commenced in our last issue. Christians of mature experience will not need to be reminded that divergent views on this subject ought certainly to be no occasion for strife or bitterness. Nor will they be amongst them, whatever the effect amongst others. Differences of opinion are unhappy only when they sharpen tempers and occasion ill-will. Otherwise they may be profitable and result in a larger education for us in the school of Christ. Does Christ come Before or After Millennium? The importance of a doctrine may be judged to some extent by the proportionate space and prominence given to it in the New Testament. Measured by this standard, the theme of Christ's coming is second only to the Atonement, in the claim which it makes upon our consideration. "A real pearl of Christian truth and knowledge" is the term used by one eminent expositor in reference to it. And since the merchantmen who seek this goodly pearl are too few, it becomes those who have proved it, both by spiritual experience and scriptural study, to be, indeed, a pearl of great price, to do their utmost to set forth its excellency. Would that such a theme might be divested of all controversial aspects! But here, as everywhere, there are schools of interpretation between which one finds himself obliged, whether he will or not, to chose. Premillennial or Postmillennial advent-Christ's coming before the Millennium or after the Millennium-is the issue which divides two great parties of biblical students. With only kindly thoughts for those who differ with us, we humbly, but nevertheless firmly, hold with the first school on this question. To our understanding the Scriptures present clear and convincing testimony that Christ comes not after but before the Millennium, that He comes to introduce that glorious Age. Has Antichrist come or is He yet to Appear? Premillenarians, again, are divided into two schools, the Futurist and the Historical; the former of whom holds that Antichrist is yet to appear and that the greater part of the prophecies in the Book of Revelation awaits fulfillment; the latter maintains, with the Reformers and the expositors of the early post-reformation era, as well as outstanding preachers of more recent times, including our own dear Brother Russell, that Antichrist has already come in the bloody and blasphemous system of the Papacy, and that the visions of the Apocalypse have been continuously meeting fulfillment from the time of our Lord's ascension to the present day. Here, again, we hold in very high esteem many of those who take the Futurist viewpoint, and freely concede their right to hold and express their views. If we cannot share them, but on the contrary express our firm adherence to the Historical interpretation, it is only because we believe the latter is more scriptural and rests upon the more obvious and simple interpretation of the Word; and also because we find that it has such verifications in fulfilled history and chronology as to compel even some of its strongest opponents to admit that it is a true interpretation --although they do not think it the complete and final one. Manner and Time of our Lord's Parousia This school of Historical Pre-millennialists is divided once again into two schools of thought and interpretation, the main points of difference being as to the manner and time of our Lord's parousia. One school holds to the view that our Lord will be visibly present, and, consistently with that view, believes the event still future; the other viewpoint, and the one to which we subscribe, is that our Lord's second presence is an accomplished fact and that for some years past He has been invisibly present. If, while granting those of the opposite viewpoint fullest liberty of thought and utterance, we ourselves maintain a similar right and duty, it is not because we love them less. On the contrary we regard many of them very highly, though differing in the conclusions they have reached. Both schools, without question, gladly confess the same Lord, and it certainly becomes us all, while rejoicing in the light we have, humbly to wait for greater light, assured that, in what one school would speak of as the foregleams of His approaching advent, but which we ourselves think would he better referred to as the shining of His presence, contradictory views will more and more vanish, till in our final gathering unto Him, the "watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion." - Isa. 52:8. Two Propositions Distinguished In our last issue we discussed briefly the glorious object of our Lord's return; before we take up the study of the manner and time when that blessed hope is to be realized, and even before we undertake the consideration of the signs which were foretold, it is of the highest importance that we sharply distinguish two propositions which have been very close together in our past thinking, but which, in our opinion, should be considered separately. We refer to: 1. Signs of the Master's presence and of the consummation of the Age. In expressing our opinion that these two propositions should be considered separately, let us not be misunderstood. It is not our thought that they are entirely unrelated to each other. On the contrary, we realize that the glorification of the Church could not take place without the return of the Master and the end of the Age. But the point we wish to make is that our inability to determine the date for the glorification of the Church does not necessarily prevent us from recognizing the signs of the Master's presence, nor does it prove that there are no signs awaiting our recognition. Whether there are or are not such signs, remains to be considered. But if it be conceded that our Lord is now a spirit-being, and therefore able to be invisibly present, should He so desire-facts which we believe all our readers are satisfied are well established by the Scriptures, then it follows that the Master might be present, the end of the Age might have been reached, and these facts might be satisfactorily evidenced to us, even though the date for the glorification of the Church still remained among the "secret things" belonging unto the Lord. (Deut. 29:29.) To appreciate this point we have but to remember that the conviction that the Lord was present and that the consummation of the Age had been reached, rested upon several different, independent "signs," whereas the inference that 1914 would see the glorification of the Church was deduced solely from the parallels drawn between the Jewish and the Gospel Ages. That these two Ages do correspond in many respects there can be no question; but that the parallels drawn between them, especially their time features, were strained and forced, seems equally clear, and in respect to their harvests we have already noted, in. our last issue, that before he left us, Brother Russell recognized this mistake, and the consequent unjustified inference based on such mistake. Jewish and Christian Parallels It is our thought that had our dear Pastor continued with us he would have given the subject the thorough re-examination it deserves, and that, in the light of the events which have since transpired, his keen spiritual mind would have seen the necessity of discarding* still more of the "parallels" than those particular features to which, in the article cited (Watch Tower Reprints Vol. 7, page R5950), he referred. However, his brief remarks are quite sufficient for our purpose. They not only admit mistake, but what is of still greater value, they explain the nature of the mistake it was not merely that we had been mistaken in the year in which the Church was to be glorified (1914). Had that been the extent of our mistake, he would, presumably, have been able, by a more accurate calculation, to tell us how many years we were in error, and just what the correct date would be. No! our mistake was of a different character than merely an error in arithmetic. It lay ;in supposing that the date of the Church's glorification could be ascertained at all by the "parallels" method. His actual words are: "We should not have looked for parallelisms between the starting of the Gospel Church and its experiences, and the starting in this harvest time of the heavenly Church and its experiences. These are no part to the parallel." Again, he said: "We imagined that the harvest work of gathering the Church would be accomplished before the end of the Gentile Times; but nothing in the Bible so said. Our thought was purely an inference, and now we see that it was an unjustified one." Yet again, he wrote: "The harvesting of the Jewish Age, gathering 'Israelites indeed' into the Gospel Church, did not close with A. D. 70, but progressed in various parts of the world thereafter. Quite a good many Jews, doubtless, profiting by their terrible experience, were all the better prepared to be gathered into the Gospel Garner after the destruction of their national polity. Similarly, we may expect that quite a good many [Christians] will yet be gathered to the heavenly Garner, and we know of no time limit here." ---------------------------------------------- *See "Parallel Ages" by J. A. D., "Herald" 1921, page 335. We know of no time limit here, either. With Brother Russell we are quite satisfied that it was a mistake to try to arrive at such a "time limit" from the "parallels," and no other method has occurred to us, or been brought to our attention. That the time will one day arrive when the last member of the Church will have been faithful unto death we are, of course, assured. And we have confidence, too, in His promise, that to those who are thus faithful, He will give a crown of life. In this confidence, and in the assurance that He is making all things work together for our good, and will under no circumstances permit us to be tempted above that we are able to bear, we rest. - Rev. 2:10; Rom. 8:28; 1 Cor. 10:13. In the foregoing paragraphs we have endeavored to show: 1. That in so far as the glorification of the Church is concerned, not only is the date, 1914, erroneous, but that the true date is not to be ascertained from the "parallels" of the Jewish and Gospel Ages. 2. That up to the present time no other method of determining this event has occurred to us, or to any Christians of our acquaintance. 3. That the absence of a revelation on this matter does not give us any occasion for unrest, but leaves us content, rejoicing in the . continued privilege of ministering the glorious Gospel (a message angels fain would sing) to all who have ears to hear, and while seeking to assist others, to endeavor, by His grace, to make our own calling and election sure. 4. That while the "glorification of the Church" is closely associated with the "second presence of the Lord" the determination of the date when such glorification is to take place is quite another matter, and 5. That this was a fact clearly seen and stated -by Brother Russell prior to his departure. (To be continued)
Lessons from the Life of Joseph[Contributed] Scripture Reading: Psalm 105: 17-23; Genesis chapters 37, 39-50 AN INTERPRETER FOR GOD THE LIGHT which shines from this story of Joseph ought to shine into a great many lives today with its beam of cheer and hope for those who are waiting amid discouraging circumstances. At last came the time for Joseph's deliverance and exaltation. Pharaoh had a double dream. It was not an ordinary dream: it was God's way of revealing the future to the king, that he might be a true father to his people. Seven fat cows feeding in a meadow; seven lean and poor cows standing by the Nile. The seven fat cattle eaten up by the seven lean, which are lean as ever, afterwards. Seven rank, good ears of corn; seven thin, blasted ears. The thin ears devour the rank ears and are thin as ever. The dream troubled the king. He sent for Egypt's famed wise men, dream-interpreters, but they gave him no light. Now, at last, after two years of ungrateful forgetting, the butler remembered his fault and told Pharaoh the story of the Hebrew slave in the prison who had interpreted his own dream. Swiftly runs the messenger to the prison, and Joseph is called into the presence of the king. He is thirty years old. He has been thirteen years in Egypt, as slave, and prisoner. This is the hour, and here the duty for which all his former life has been a preparation. Pharaoh tells his dreams. A vain man would have had his head turned, and have spoken boastfully. But Joseph speaks with the humility of a child. "It is not in me; God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace." They who teach others find a lesson here: None should seek to show his own wisdom, but should hide himself, and point to God as the source of whatever wisdom his lips shall speak. "It is not in me; God will give you an answer." Then Joseph told the king what the dream meant. It was God's message to Pharaoh, a glimpse into the future. There would be seven years of great plenty in Egypt, and after these, seven years of sore famine. And the famine would be so grievous that it would eat up all the food of the abundant years. Joseph went on to advise the king what to do: to find a wise man and let him gather the extra food of the seven years of plenty and lay it up in great storehouses to meet the needs of the coming years of famine. Let no One Grow Impatient in God's School At once the king appointed Joseph himself to this place of honor and trust. He took off his signet ring and put it on Joseph's hand, thus giving him almost royal authority. He arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck-insignia of princely rank. He caused him to ride in a chariot next to the king's own, in a royal procession. He gave him a new name, Zaphnath-paaneah, which means "bread of life" -in allusion to Joseph's great service in saving the land from famine. He gave him also in marriage a daughter of one of Egypt's priests, thus elevating him into the priestly caste. All this honor came suddenly to Joseph. Was it not worth waiting for? The way seemed long from the pit at Dothan to the steps of Egypt's throne, yet in all these years God was training him for his work. The butler's dream came true in three clays, but there was not much to it when it was fulfilled. It took thirteen years for Joseph's dreams to be realized. If a man's work is of small importance he can be prepared for it in a little while. But when he has a great mission to fulfil, it requires a long time to fit him for it. Let no one grow impatient in God's school, however slow the advancement may be. The longer time God takes with your training, and the harder the discipline is, the larger may be your opportunity when the work is completed. No doubt Joseph believed in God's providences in all those slow years when he was being prepared for his mission, and that this was the secret of his unconquerable hope and courage. He knew lie was in God's school, and providence was a Bible to him. The same may become just as true in our life as it was in his. We may accept our condition as God's appointment for us, and if we do, we will accept it uncomplainingly. Then we may read God's will for us as clearly in each day's unfoldings as if the divine finger wrote it out for us on a sheet of paper under our eye. We shall cease then our restless struggling. We shall no longer fight for our own way, but will gladly take God's way. Thus, and thus only, can any one be what God made him to be and do what God made him to do in this world. God has a plan for the life of every one of His children; but we can fulfill that plan only by reading daily the little page of God's Bible which He writes for us on the tablet of the day's providences. To be able to say always in disappointment, in sorrow, in loss, in the suffering of injuries at the hands of others, in the midst of pain and trial, "God is teaching me some new lesson, training me for some new duty, bringing out in me some new beauty of character," is to live as we should live. One incident left out in Joseph's career would have broken the chain and spoiled all. So it is in our lives: all the events are necessary to fit us for the place for which God is preparing us. Joseph was an interpreter for God. In him we see shadowed forth God's purposes in Christ. Like our Lord, he was his father's beloved son. He was sent by his father to visit his brothers on an errand of love; so Jesus was sent. He was seized by his brothers and sold by them for silver; so was the Son of God. Through his bondage and humiliation he became the deliverer, the savior in an earthly sense, of his brothers sand of the world; Jesus crucified became the Savior of the whole human family. Joseph as an interpreter for God was again typical of Christ, the great Interpreter. In the largest sense Jesus is the interpreter who alone has made plain the nature and the will of God. It is only in Christ that we can know God. "No man bath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him." As Jesus walked among men and was asked to reveal the Father, He said, "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father." He was the love of God made visible on the earth. Joseph interpreted men's dreams in which God's words were wrapped up. Jesus made plain and clear the meaning of the divine teachings. The mysteries are dispelled as we sit at Christ's feet. He is the great interpreter for God. Joseph was an interpreter for God. Two instances are recorded in which he made known the meaning of dreams. The first was in the prison in Egypt -- that of the two officials from the king's palace, the butler and the baker. The other was that of Pharaoh. We know how important was the message of God that Joseph read in Pharaoh's dreams. He read the divine meaning that was enfolded in the dreams, and the king was enabled by gathering the surplus of the harvests in the years of plenty to feed his people and the starving people of other lands in the years of famine which followed. There is a sense in which we who know God's love, are called to be interpreters. When Joseph came to the cell of the prisoners from Pharaoh's palace, he saw a deep gloom on their faces. When he asked why they looked so sad, he learned that the cause was their uninterpreted dreams. They were sure that the dreams had a meaning which concerned their future, and they were burdened and anxious to know what the meaning was. So it is with people all about us. There is sadness in their faces. There are lines that tell of perplexed thought, of earnest questionings which get no answers; of deep cravings to know, which they cannot satisfy. It is the old story of these prisoners-unanswered questions, uninterpreted mysteries, unexplained trials, unsolved perplexities. Only a knowledge of the love of God and of His Plan of salvation for all -- the knowledge which He has entrusted to us as His ambassadors-can answer their perplexities and dispel their gloom. There are Mysteries of God's Providence Take another viewpoint: We all need an interpreter. We bend over the Bible and find texts we cannot understand. The Ethiopian treasurer sitting in his chariot, and reading the words of the ancient prophet-reading with deep interest, but not knowing what the words meant, illustrates the position of many. "Understandest thou what thou readest?" asked the interpreter who stood beside the chariot. "How can I, except some one shall guide me?" answered the, puzzled reader. Then the Evangelist sat beside him and showed him a blessed revelation of the Christ in the words which he had not been able to understand. Who of us has not bent over what seemed obscure Bible texts, unable to find out their sense, until some interpreter carne and made the meaning plain? But it is not alone for the words of God which are written in the Bible that we need interpreters. There are mysteries in providence; they come into every life at some time. There are dark days in which no light breaks through the clouds. There are nights in which no star shines. We sit with sad heart, and with gloom in our face. All things seem to be against us. We cry out with pain and fear. Yet in these very providences there are words of God hidden-good words, words of love, words of mercy. God gives His messages in many forms: in nature; in the lives of others; in His providences for us; in history; in circumstances. But how often does the writing baffle us! We need interpreters to read for us the mysterious handwriting. Others Who have Interpreted God All of us in our turn are to be interpreters to others. Joseph found the two prisoners sad and his heart was touched with sympathy. He became eager to comfort them. That showed the noble spirit within him; he had a warm, gentle heart. No one can ever be greatly useful in this world who does not enter into the world's experiences. Christ was moved with compassion when He saw human pain, sorrow, sin. At once His love went out to the sufferer and He desired to help and to save. Take the treasures of spiritual truth which we possess today, and see how they have come to us through God's interpreters. God took Moses up into the mount,, and talked with him as a man talks with his friend, speaking to him great truths about Himself and His Son, and giving him statutes and laws for the guidance of men; then Moses became an interpreter to the world of the things God had shown him. David was an interpreter for God. God drew him close to His own heart and breathed heavenly songs into his soul; then David went forth, struck his harp, and sang, and the music is still cheering the world. John was an interpreter for God. He lay in Jesus' bosom and heard the beatings of that great heart of love, and learned the secrets of friendship with his Lord; then he passed out among men and told the world what he had heard and felt and. seen; and the air of the world has been warmer ever since and more of love has been beating in human hearts. Paul was an interpreter for God. Christ took him away from men and revealed Himself to him, opened to him the mystery of redemption as to no other man, and Paul wrote the thirteen or fourteen letters we have of his, which have been marvelous in their influence all these centuries. Another disciple in recent years, dissatisfied with the theories and creeds of men, set himself to discover, anew the truths of God's Plan of salvation hid away in the Bible, and by God's grace became an index finger pointing men to such a coordination and harmony of divine truth as had not appeared since the days of the Apostles. He too was an interpreter for God. Must Live Near God to Interpret Him God gives to every one of us some message to speak out to others. , To every one of us, even the lowliest, God gives some secret of truth which He wants us to interpret in word or act to others. We cannot all make books, or write poems or hymns which shall bless men; but if -we live close to Christ, there is not one to whom He will not give some revealing of grace or love; or to whom He will not give some experience of comfort in sorrow, some glimpse of light in darkness, some glimmering of heaven's glory in the midst of the world's care. That becomes your message, God's own peculiar word to you, to tell again to the world. Let each one speak out what God has given him to tell, that 'it may be a blessing in the earth. It is the, interpretation of life that makes for most in blessing others. Our doctrines may be good, but unless we interpret their terms into sweet, beautiful living, our orthodoxy will count for little. If we would try to get men to know of the love of Christ, we never can do it in sermons and lessons alone; we must do it in deeds, in living, in ministry, in love that interprets itself in kindly helpfulness, and in truth that is wrought into honesty, integrity, uprightness and holiness. If we, like Joseph, are to be interpreters for God, we must live near to God, so as to hear what He has to say to us; we must study His truth that His words may become plain to us. Like Joseph, we must keep our heart gentle and warm, our hands clean, our faith strong, our character right, if we would be God's interpreters to others. Let us seek for the key to God's strange providences, that when we are beside those who are perplexed and in darkness, we may speak to them the interpreting word of divine peace. Let us get into our heart so much of the word, the spirit, and the love of Christ, that we may show in our daily life the beauty of Christ. (To be continued) Notice of the Institute's Annual MeetingMEMBERS of the Pastoral Bible Institute are hereby reminded of the privilege which is theirs of nominating in the pages of this journal the brethren they wish to elect as directors for the fiscal year 1936-1937. While the attention of new members is especially drawn to this matter, we desire to emphasize in the minds of old members also, not only the privilege, but also the responsibility, which continued association with this ministry brings. All should be aware of the fact that the affairs of this Institute are in the hands of seven brethren who are elected from the Institute's membership to serve for a period of one year or until their successors are elected. In accordance with the bylaws the next annual meeting is due to be held on Saturday, June 6, 1936, and arrangements will be made to hold same at 2 p.m. in the parlors of the Institute, 177 Prospect Place, Brooklyn, N. Y. In meditating on this forthcoming election members should realize that those in charge of any work, which has been carried on for some time in a certain manner, and with some degree of success, often fail to see opportunities for improvement and expansion apparent to others not charged with such responsibility. For this reason changes in office not infrequently have beneficent results. In recent months this consideration has been very' much in the minds of the seven brethren now serving, and they are wondering if an entirely new Board, or at least some changes in the present personnel might not be the Lord's will next June. They themselves are making the matter one of special prayer and request all the members and friends of the Institute to join them in this. If after prayerful meditation any member is led of the Lord to nominate other brethren and will forward the names and addresses of such brethren so as to reach this office-on or before April 15, 1936, such names will be published in the May issue of the "Herald" so that all members will have an opportunity of knowing what brethren are candidates for election, and may vote for them, if led of the Lord to do so. |
