THE HERALD
of Christ's Kingdom

VOL. XXIX JULY 1946 NO. 7
Table of Contents

God's Anointed Son--His Work

The Atomic Bomb

Liberty in Christ

The Christian's Future Worth

He Knoweth the Way That I Take

Another Question of Interest

My High Calling

Convention Echoes

A Word of Thanks

Report of Pilgrimage

God's Anointed Son--His Work

Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd:
and he began to teach them many things." - Mark 6:34.

AS SHEEP not having a shepherd"! Can words better describe the condition of humanity to­day? On every hand evidences continue of fearfulness and perplexity as, to quote a current writ­er, "the world drifts toward catastrophe." Multitu­dinous voices are being heard in pleading warning endeavoring to infuse into a bewildered people some panacea to end mankind's ills. Since the advent of the atomic bomb, grim apprehension has settled it­self in thoughtful minds. The destructive power now possessed by imperfect man defies his imagina­tion while it raises ominous forebodings for the fu­ture. Men's hearts are indeed "failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth." (Luke 21:26.) There is increasing realization that only in a world-wide spiritual rebirth, a transformation within, can man hope for the solu­tion of his problems.

General MacArthur summarized it in his speech at the time of the Japanese surrender. He said, "We have had our last chance. If we do not now devise some 'greater and more equitable system, Armaged­don will be at our door. The problem basically is theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence and improvement of human character that will synchro­nize with our' almost matchless advance in science, art, literature, and all material and cultural devel­opments of the past two thousand years. It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh."

President Truman in a recent address said, "The last five years have produced many awesome discoveries in material things. But it has been truthfully said that the greatest discoveries of the future will be in the realm of the spirit. There is no problem on this earth tough enough to withstand the flame of a genuine renewal of religious faith. And some of the problems of today will yield to nothing less than that kind of revival. If the world is long to survive, the gigantic power which man has acquired through atomic energy must be matched by spiritual strength of greater magnitude. All mankind now stands in the doorway to destruction or upon the threshhold of the greatest age in history. Only a high moral code can master this new power of the universe, and develop it for the common good. When the sages and the scientists, the philosophers and the statesmen, have all exhausted their studies of atomic energy, one solution, and only one solution, will re­main -- the Substitution of decency and reason and brotherhood for the rule of force in the government of man. If men and nations would but live by the precepts of the ancient prophets and the, teachings of the Sermon on the Mount, problems which now seem so difficult would soon disappear.... Unless it is done we are headed for the disaster we would de­serve. O, for an Isaiah or a St. Paul to reawaken a sick world to its moral responsibilities!"

Thus have two world-figures forcefully and dramatically expressed themselves in a diagnosis which few will dispute. As Bible students we recognize that these statements are in accord with God's Word with the exception that the Scriptures preclude any pos­sibility of human effort availing in this, the dying stage of the present evil order. Neither secular nor ecclesiastical organizations, yea, neither an, Isaiah nor a St. Paul can rescue humanity from their straits. One and only One, is "mighty to save," even He who shed his blood on Calvary. He is the world's des­tined ruler. Him hath God anointed and set as "king upon his holy hill of Zion." In Christ alone is there hope for the future. "Neither is there sal­vation in any other: for there is no other name un­der heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12.) As He once long ago taught the shepherdless "sheep" in the land of Judea, so now again, in the glorious near future, shall all nations find in him the same compassionate Shepherd of their souls. - 1 Peter 2:25.

OFFICE OF CHRIST

Twenty-seven centuries ago, the Prophet Isaiah (Isa. 61:1-3) described the mission of the Mes­siah and the manner in which he becomes a light to the nations; of his condescension and compassion in ministering to the humble, the lowly, the sin-bound and the heart-broken. Some of these magnificently expressive words were chosen by our Lord at Nazareth for the solemn introduction of his public min­istry. (Luke 4:16, 17) He opened the Book of Isaiah, found this passage, read the first six clauses, and then added: "This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears. And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth."

What a marvelously fitting text, and what a won­derful sermon that must have been! It is a matter of certainty that, in the judgment of the ancient Jew­ish Church, the person spoken of in all these passages was the Messiah; so that, in applying to him­self that particular passage, Jesus must have been perfectly understood by those present to advance the claim to be the Messiah of the Jewish Prophets. And of all that had been spoken concerning him by the Prophet Isaiah, there is not a passage to be found that could more fitly have been appropriated by Jesus, as it describes him in respect to the whole reach and compass of his divine commission, with all its restorative energies and beneficent results. We see as well the wisdom of the selection as the justness of the application. He is this Anointed One, and his work of mercy in preaching glad tidings to the poor, then begun, must be completed, for "he shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth." - See Isa. 42:1-7.

THE WORK OF CHRIST

Let us linger over these words so fittingly chosen by our Master that thus we may have a fuller vision of the glorious work of Christ, for in it we too, if faithful, shall share. Let us consider each clause, its partial fulfillment at his first Advent, and the future complete fulfillment at his second.

Once again we hear him say: "The spirit of the Lord God is upon me." Why, Lord, is the spirit of God upon thee? "Because Jehovah hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek." And what tidings the Master did preach! Were sweeter words ever uttered than those we find in John 3:16, the "little Bible"? "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." A message of hope and of love such as was never heard before. "Never man spake like this man." That message will yet reach into the hearts of all mankind for he has promised to draw all men unto himself. - John 12:32.

Again the Master speaks: "The spirit of the Lord God is upon me." And again we ask, Why, Lord, is the spirit of God upon thee? "Because He hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted." The Polish rendering is, "to bind up the wounds of the con­trite-hearted." How wonderfully did Jesus reveal his commission in this respect! One has but to re­call the account in Luke 7:37-50 to appreciate this: The despised woman creeping into the Pharisee's home to kneel at Jesus' feet, to wash them with her tears. Here was an example of broken-heartedness that required the touch of the Master Healer. Who knows how many wayward souls have since read this touching record and been moved to the same contrition and received the same blessing from Him who is "the same yesterday, today and forever"? For it is still true that "the sacrifices of God are a broken spir­it: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." (Psa. 51:17.) And still does the voice of the Anointed One come down through the Gospel Age as it will also be heard throughout his Millen­nial reign: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." - Matt. 11:28.

We continue. "The spirit of the Lord God is upon me." Why, Lord? "Because He hath anointed me to proclaim liberty to the captives." Prisoners in the great prison house of death! Who can proclaim to them liberty but He who has the "keys of death and hell"! (Rev. 1:18.) How marvelous were his demonstrations of this God-given power in the awakening of Lazarus and others! Only Christ can say, "I am the resurrection and the life: he that be­lieveth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." (John 11:25.) The near future awaits the glorious fulfillment of his promise to raise all from their graves. (John 5:25-29.) Then indeed will liberty be "pro­claimed throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof." - Lev. 25: 10.

The Master speaks. "The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because He bath anointed me to pro­claim the opening of the eyes to them that are bound." (A. R. V.) Blessed were the literal blind eyes that felt that healing touch, but far more blessed were and are and shall be those whose blind "eyes of the heart" are restored to sight. "Darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the people" (Isa. 60:2) but here is One who can say "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8:12.) Ah, yes! Not only light (illumination of mind to dispel the darkness of ignorance) but a special light, the light of life; the knowledge which illumines the mind and simultaneously invigorates to life and growth. Christ alone possesses such "light," and therefore God's Word has termed him "the Sun of righteousness who shall arise with healing in his wings" to bless all the nations. - Mal. 4:2.

Again, "The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because He hash anointed me to proclaim the year of Jehovah's favor." (A. R. V.) And so it is writ­ten: "As many as received him, to them gave he power [authority] to become the sons of God, to them that believe on his name." (John 1:12.) Now is the Gospel Age of favor, during which "by a new and living way [a "narrow" way] which he hath con­secrated for us," the followers of Christ have "bold­ness to enter into the holiest," even the presence of God. (See 2 Cor. 6:I, 2; Heb. 9:8; 10:19, 20.) Such are "elect according to the foreknowledge of God­-the called according to his purpose--holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling." (1 Pet. 1:2; Rom. 8:28; Heb. 3:1.) Unspeakable grace! Hidden until revealed by the Son of God! "Of his fullness have all we received and grace for grace." Wherefore brethren, "walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his Kingdom and glory." - 1 Thess. 2:12.

Having read thus far from Isaiah's prophecy, our Lord paused, and only later added the warning of "the day of vengeance." (See Matt. 24, Luke 21, Mark 13.) We would also pass by this clause with the one remark :that there is a year of favor but only a day of vengeance. Thank God that "His anger endureth not forever."

Returning to the prophecy we read, "The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because Jehovah hath anointed me to comfort all that mourn." Christ, the Comforter! What a glorious title and work! How well exemplified in the record of the three railings from the dead. They were those of the only son of a widowed mother, the only daughter of two fond parents, the only brother of two affectionate sisters. And in each case there was something singular in the tenderness of our Lord's conduct toward the mourners. He knew beforehand how speedily the anxiety would be relieved, the sorrow chased away^: but the "Weep not" to the mother before he touched the bier; the "Fear not, only believe," to the agitated father; the tears that fell before the grave of Lazarus -- what a testimony do they bear to the exquisite sus­ceptibility of the Savior's spirit to the quickness, the fullness of his sympathy with human grief! Halle­luiah! What a Savior! He shall yet wipe the tears from every eye.

Yet once again the Master speaks: "The spirit of the Lord God is upon me -- to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called the trees of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, that he might be glorified." Here we have summed up the work of Christ on behalf of his faith­ful footstep followers, they who shall share the throne of the Kingdom. Who shall measure what Christ has done for each true Christian?

"I stand all astonished with wonder
And gaze on the ocean of love."

Read with glowing heart these old familiar Scriptures in this order-Isa. 64:6; 1 Cor. 6:11; 1 Pet. 2:9, 10; Isa. 61:10; John 15:11. Then let us sing anew that song of joy and thanksgiving: "I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplica­tions. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. Then called I upon the name of the Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul. Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful. The Lord preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me. Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living." - Psa. 116:1-9.

THE EFFECTS OF CHRIST'S WORK

Thus walked God's Anointed Son and "manifested forth his glory." But the "greater works than these" remain to be done, and the "time is at hand." Already the effects of Christ's work begun in Galilee long ago are even to the unbeliever indisputable and historical. Farrar has well said: "It expelled cruelty; it curbed passion; it branded suicide; it punished and repressed an execrable infanticide; it drove the shame­less impurities of heathendom into a congenial dark­ness. There was hardly a class whose wrongs it did not remedy. It rescued the gladiator; it freed the slave; it protected the captive; it nursed the sick; it sheltered the orphan; it elevated the woman; it shrouded as with a halo of sacred innocence the ten­der years of the child. In every region of life its ameliorating influence was felt. It changed pity from a vice into a virtue. It elevated poverty from a curse to a beatitude. It ennobled labor from a vulgarity into a dignity and a duty. It sanctified marriage. It revealed for the first time the angelic beauty of a Purity of which men had despaired and of a Meekness at which they had utterly scoffed. It created the very conception of charity, and broadened the limits of its obligation from the narrow circle of a neighborhood to the widest horizons of a race. And while it thus evolved the idea of humanity as a common brotherhood, even where its tidings were not believed-all over the world, wherever its tid­ings were believed, it cleansed the life, and elevated the soul of each individual man."

The living, life-giving Christ! That is our sole and sufficient theme. Christ, the Sacrifice for sinners; Christ, the Teacher of the ignorant; Christ, the King of faithful souls; the Emancipator of moral slaves; the Consoler of the sorrowing; the sure Hope of the multitudes of earth; my Christ,. your Christ, humanity's Christ! In his devotional spirit, in his holiness, in his exertions to promote the divine glory, in his tenderness for sorrowing souls, in his zeal to do those around him good, in his self-denying per­severance, in his tender charity, his generous love, his meekness, his patience, his forgiveness of injuries -in these and all other moral excellencies of his char­acter, he stands before us for our study, our admira­tion, our imitation. Though we cannot work miracles like he did, we may imitate his acts of mercy, his prodigies of benevolence; though we cannot prophesy, we may yet proclaim his truth and make known his salvation; though we cannot forgive sins, we may yet pardon affronts and injuries; though we cannot die a ransom sacrifice for the sins of those around us, we may yet make many sacrifices for their sakes; and we may imitate his patience, his meekness, and suffer what befalls us for his sake, in the spirit in which he suffered.

EARTH'S COMING GLORY

Now we stand in the "latter days." The Kingdom of Christ is soon to be established, in which he shall finish the wonderful work for which he has been anointed. The nations know not the day of their visitation-that there stands One at the door able and willing to take charge of the affairs of earth, with a salvation greater than men have dreamed of. God is hastening the time when not only the doctrine of popular liberty, but the greater and inclusive doc­trine of a divine redemption, enunciated through a purely taught Gospel, shall become the open faith of mankind. And for the furtherance of this blessed result, how wondrous the work of God's providence, wrought through these later years in compacting the nations of the world, in multiplying thee facilities for their mutual intercourse, and in the transmission of thought in common to all. Into how few centers is he concentrating political power, and into what close relations and sympathies is he bringing all nations! Through the marvelous communication means of this day, not only the doings of men in every nation, the transactions of government and commerce, are instantly known in every other, but what is of vaster moment far, the world itself has become a great whis­pering gallery for the interchange of thought and opinion among its varied peoples. And for what purpose are these facilities of intercourse, this ex­change of thought, to what end this binding of the nations together, this making the world one, save that predicted by the Prophet concerning the time of the end, "that many should run to and fro, and knowl­edge," the knowledge of a Redeeming God, "shall be increased"; "that the knowledge of the Lord may cover the earth as the waters the seas"; nay more, that all flesh may glory in the coming of the Lord, and all nations accept his sovereign sway!

"There is a Stranger in the council hall
Where nations meet to plan the peace again.
He sits unnoticed by the farther wall,
His eyes upon the leaders among men.
His ears attend their clearly laid designs
For living in tomorrow's homes and marts,
As though beneath their spoken words and lines
He hears the inner voices of their hearts.

"But when the delegates of all the world
Have cried their million wants, and lists are long,
And after blueprints, charts, and plans are hurled
In varied protest at the core of wrong,
He is our hope; he is the peace, we seek.
O listen, world, and let the Stranger speak."

O listen, world, and let the Stranger speak." 

- W. J. Siekman

The Atomic Bomb

Athwart the heavens the angry lightnings ran,
And from the whirlwind God spake unto man:
"Account Me now for what I gave to thee
For thine own use and thy posterity;
Set forth full-tale the produce of the fields,
Thy flocks and herds and harvests' bounteous yields;
Gain from thy cities' marts and industry
And garnered wealth from past prosperity;
Tolls from the mine and trade by land and sea,
And hold in trust the tithes reserved to Me,
To spread My Word; relieve the poor's distress,
Comfort the widow and the fatherless;
To heal the sick; restore the blind and lame,
That all may bless and glorify My Name." 

Then man, low-grovelling in the dust, replied:
"Oh, how may we Thy righteous wrath abide?
What answer make to Thy most just demand
Save, 'Pity us, the creatures of Thy hand,
Destined by sin Thy laws to disobey,
Defy Thy mandates and Thy trust betray.'
Thou knowest all Thy fields in ruin spread,
Untilled and waste, while millions starve for bread;
Thy cities, homes of wealth and marts of trade,
By hand of war in dust and ashes laid;
Through man's vile envy, lust of power and hate,
Our sons lie dead; our world is desolate!
Yet though Thy wrath may justly doom to die
Man, made by Thee Thy works to justify,
Yet for the righteous' sake, we pray, forbear
And of Thy grace Thy sinful creature spare.
Denied Thy face, beset by mystery,
Men walk by sight with lessened faith in Thee;
Give them a sign that all may plainly see
With mortal eye Thy power and majesty!" 

Then, as again the angry lightnings ran,
God from the whirlwind answer made to man:
"O wretched man, unfit in peace to live,
How oft must I forbear, how oft forgive?
Blood of thy guiltless sons, in battle slain,
Cries from the ground against the crime of Cain.
Yet, as I did before, in ancient day
At Abraham's prayer, the hand of vengeance stay,
So now again I shall My wrath forbear
And, for the righteous' sake, in mercy spare.
Ye ask a sign that may men's doubt remove;
Signs man hath always had My power to prove­ --
Signs that he daily sees with naked eye --
­Creation's frame of earth and sea and sky;
Sun, moon and stars harmonious held in place
And equipoise exact in time and space;
Day, season, year alike his doubt confute --
­Renewal sure, succession absolute;
And, crown of all My works since time began,
Evolved from dust -- the hand and brain of man.
But as old custom dulls the power to see,
And veils the plainest truths in mystery,
As thou hast asked, so now thou shalt receive
That none may plead just ground to disbelieve. 

"A sign I give for all the world to see
That I am God and that man lives by Me.
This sign to man a mighty light shall show
Tenfold the strength of fire's intensest glow;
Pour forth a heat unknown on earth before,
More fervent than the sun's candescent core;
Release a power mankind to bless or curse,
The atom power that binds the universe..
This power is thine for man's weal to employ;
Or, used for war, thee and thy world destroy.
O wilful man who dared My laws defy,
Behold and tremble; live in peace or die!" 

- Sir Thomas White, G.C.M.G.

Liberty in Christ

"The Word of God is not bound." - 2 Tim. 2:9

Synopsis of a discourse delivered by Brother W. Sargeant
at the New York Convention, January 29, 1939

WHEN WE were boys and went to school after arriving home at noon we generally beheld various pots steaming away on the stove. Being anxious to know just what they contained, at times we would lift up the lid and look in. Or perhaps the steam was raising the lid up and down. Well, we are older now, and we have discov­ered that there are other and bigger pots than those of our school days, and pots that it is impossible to keep a lid on. For instance, there is the great pot of the earthquake, such as destroyed San Francisco and Chile. There is the mighty pot of the volcano, such as wiped out Herculaneum and Pompeii and St. Pierre. There is the vast pot of the ocean, which flowed over the city of Galveston in Texas some forty years ago. There is the cyclone. And there are other pots. or great natural forces which man cannot control and which are utterly beyond his power to cope with.

Now then, if man cannot control natural forces, most assuredly he cannot control spiritual forces. and the greatest of these forces is what is known as truth. At one time a certain king thought he could control this force. He set up a tall image in the plain and commanded men to bow down to it. Three young men refused to do so and were cast into a fiery furnace. Then the king beheld an exhibition of divine power, and learned that truth as represent­ed in God's servants could not be controlled by any human effort. The princes of Babylon learned the same lesson. They got the king to make a decree that was the means of casting Daniel into a den of lions, and then they found that they had God and his omnipotent power to deal with.

EFFORTS TO BIND THE TRUTH

All through the ages the enemies of righteousness have tried to overthrow the truth. Throughout the Gospel Age one attempt after another has been made to keep truth down. The Papal system tried to bind truth, and made it a crime punishable with death to have a copy of the Bible in the home. But in spite of all that it could do, in time came the Protestant Reformation, when chains of ignorance and preju­dice were broken and a great blaze of light was sent forth. However, the Protestant systems fell into something of the old error and soon forged creedal chains which bound them into denominations and sects, each claiming to be the exclusive channel of truth, and this state of things continued until the ending time of the Age, when another great burst of light went forth.

When a knowledge of the Plan of the Ages came as we have it today, we felt that at last the Church had stepped into full liberty. But gradually, in time, chains were forged again, and history repeated itself in a kind of bondage being forced upon God's peo­ple. ple. Eventually this became so bad that one could not open his mouth in Class to express an independ­ent thought unless that thought was backed up by the Watch Tower. And indeed all our discourses were required to be thoroughly in line with the doc­trinal presentations of the Tower. The restriction upon the conscience became so great that we were obliged to withdraw from that organization. Then once more we felt free and accordingly rejoiced. We called ourselves free brethren and said that never again would we come under any kind of religious bondage.

LIBERTY TODAY

Now then, the question is, Did we keep our word? Have we a full measure of liberty today? Or have we simply a certain kind of liberty which needs to be examined to see if its elements are sound? You see, the Catholics had what they called liberty, which was freedom to accept as truth what the Catholic Church taught. The Anglicans gave liberty to con­form one's religious life to their faith and practice. A similar kind of liberty obtained among Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, and others. Since that time all the Protestant denominations have broaden­ed out, but at one time each of them taught that the liberty of -Christ was confined to itself, and that the way to heaven lay in harmony with its creed. Well, the question for us to face is this. Is it possible that today there is manifested a certain brand of liberty -Bible Students' liberty, which is liberty to believe precisely what a certain number of "orthodox" Bible Students are handing out as truth cut and dried, mandatory and supposedly unassailable, which must be followed in all the letter of the law whether the spirit of the law be conformed to or not?

Just here some one may raise the question, After all, what is liberty? In answer to this suppose we say that liberty is freedom to do what we believe to be right according to commonly accepted moral standards so long as our actions do not interfere in any way with the rights of others.

Liberty then begins in the mind, in the thoughts. One learns to think independently. This is a big­ger thing than it seems, for in the case of most per­sons thoughts run in channels grooved out for them by others. People think they think when they don't think. They wear the thought-caps of pioneer think­ers. They fail to analyze and classify for themselves. They throw the responsibility for this upon some one else.

Then thought must find adequate expression. When untrammeled thought finds its inception in the sources of truth and love, and is directed to an avenue of expression that is altruistic and that rings true to itself, liberty is unfolded in all its beauty, producing the outflowering of virtues that ultimate­ly lead to the highest attainment.

Now liberty may be restricted in various ways. Thus coercion may be exercised by the opinion of a number of persons as expressed over the opinion of one. In this way there may be developed a sort of unwritten creed, to which all the friends may be called upon to subscribe. If the one person cannot bring his reasoning powers to endorse the consensus of other people's views, a pressure is gradually and subtly brought to bear upon him that makes things uncomfortable for him and in due time pushes him out of association with the rest. In this way new Classes are formed, and the friends say, "Why did certain ones go out from us? What a bad and un­warrantable thing they did!" Yet this process has gone on, repeated hundreds of times in the history of the Church. We find that through the tighten­ing of the lines of certain tenets of faith, brethren are being pushed out from us today, and the pity of it is that the views that cause the separation are not doctrinally vital, and are not made tests of in the Scriptures.

Years ago the test of Christian discipleship was a very simple one. If Pastor Russell knew that a certain brother was fully consecrated to the Lord, he deemed it quite proper to call on that brother for prayer, and did so on different occasions. At one meeting a Presbyterian preacher, a D.D. was present, and the Pastor asked him if he would like to address the assembled brethren, although all were expecting the Pastor himself to speak. Probably most persons would think that this was carrying courtesy too far. Formerly the questions put to candidates for immersion were concerning justification and consecration. Whatever the questions are today, it would seem that the lines have narrowed in. We talk a good deal about liberty, but have we the proper conception of this quality?

DIFFERENT CLASSES OF BIBLE STUDENTS

In a talk given in New York I tried to show that, analytically examined, there is no, real difference between the doctrinal teachings of various branches of Bible Students. One group I have in mind: these friends accept all the great doctrines of the Bible from the creation to the times of restitution. They believe in the state of the dead, the Abrahamic promise, the miraculous conception and birth of Jesus, his sacrificial death on behalf of mankind, his, resurrection, the call of the Church, justification by faith, sanctification by the truth, glorification to the divine nature, restitution for mankind, and the second death for the incorrigibly wicked. Their journal sets forth these various truths in its columns.

The tenets of faith of another group that are believed to distinguish them from other Bible Students are two in number, viz., as regarding (1) the Covenants, and (2) the Sin Offering, and are set forth as follows:

(1) The Bible is divided into two parts called Testaments (properly translated Covenants) the Old and the New. When the old Law Covenant passed away, there was instituted a new arrange­ment of things, calculated to give life, first to the Church, and then to the world. The Covenant therefore was of two parts-the Church's part and the world's part. What Pastor Russell called two separate covenants is better regarded as one covenant of two parts, and this was typified by the High Priest's ephod, which was one garment of two parts. Practically the whole difference here lies in terminology, for it is identically the same truth stated in slightly different terms and should cause no separation between brethren. In Jer. 31:31 the Prophet refers to the world's part of the covenant. The Apostle Paul refers to the Church's part where he says that "God hath made us able ministers of the New Covenant." The Church is under the covenant of grace or special favor (the first part of the new, life-giving covenant). In due time the world will come under the Millen­nial part of this arrangement.

(2) The Sin Offering. The expression, "The Church has part in the Sin Offering," is not found in the Bible. Those who think the Bible teaches this will find that the Bible does not set forth the truth in this form, but expresses the proper thought in another way, namely, "If we suffer with 'him, we shall also reign with him; if we be dead [with him] we shall also live with him." And, "Except a man forsaketh all he hath he cannot be my disciple." To say that the Church has part in the Sin Offering is calculated to be misleading and to give the impression that the sacrifice of Jesus was not sufficient for purposes of propitia­tion. When Scriptural terms are used no one can dispute them. Then why not use such terms as will admit of no dispute? Pastor Russell himself said that types must not be used to teach doctrine, but merely as illustrations of truths otherwise clearly presented in God's Word. All Old Testament types must measure up to the teachings of the New Testament, otherwise they can only mis­lead.

In regard to the doctrine of the presence of Christ, these friends do not make a test of this. Some of them believe it and some do not, but full liberty is granted to the individual to accept it or to reject it. However, they all believe that we are in the time of the end of the Age and that the divine Kingdom will soon be established.

I have briefly mentioned the foregoing points in order to show that there is no difference in substance between the above mentioned friends and other Bible Students, and all of us should exercise the fullest measure of love and fellowship toward these friends as well as toward all who accept the general features of the divine plan.

THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH

The Apostle said, "Though I do understand all mysteries and all knowledge . . . and have not love, I am nothing." Yet I have known so-called Bible Students to treat a man with black looks because he dared to think for himself. When, oh when will people get away from this narrow, sectarian spirit?

Our hearts should demand the strength of a pure faith, the power of an expansive love. In some Classes if an elder attends any function not approved by the other elders he is likely to be reprimanded and, if he goes again, will probably be voted out of office. That is not just or right, it is too restrictive. It is this policy that sectarianism has pursued all through the Gospel Age. It puts a ban on independent thought and expression, it kills initiative, it precludes growth. We have condemned this spirit in others, yet have cherished it in ourselves. We have made God's way narrow in a manner that He does not own. The narrowness of the Christian's pathway consists in the fact that it will not take in the world, the flesh, and the devil, but God never intended that it should be narrowed by prejudice, bigotry, and intolerance. O what a fight it is to keep out of ruts, and to keep in that way that will ultimately lead to life.

Do we not take pride in our narrowness? Do we not glory in out shame! We need to let our mental window shades fly up and permit the sunshine of divine love to pour itself into every chamber of our hearts. We need to sing and to believe,

"There's a wideness in God's mercy like the wideness of the sea,
There's a kindness in his justice that is more than liberty.
For the love of God is broader than the measure of man's mind,
And the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind."

Have we been most wonderfully kind? Or have we chiefly been kind to those who accept every point of doctrine exactly as we accept it? How have we treated God's other consecrated ones who are doing the best they know how? Have we regarded them with any suspicion as being not fully in the truth? If they are Christians, the Son of God associates with them, and they ought to be good enough for us to associate with.

THE VALUE OF PERCEPTION

Are we headed where went the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society? Is Satan making works look so great that the quest of truth and its sacred character is taking a subordinate place? Had we not better pause in the maelstrom of activity for a brief period and figure out just where we stand? Some of us may yet have to stand alone. Indeed, the Pastor thought that many of the Lord's true people might have to do so at the close of the Age. From Pentecost until now true Christians have been called upon to stand out from others in defending the truth. It is always easy to go with a crowd, and is easier to do things than to see things because it involves less mental effort. The first great thing in life is not fellowship and is not service, but is per­ception, for unless one has a clear mental vision, his service may turn out to be misdirected.

We must not think the truth all stopped with Pastor Russell, for truth cannot be tied down to one man. The Methodists made this mistake with Wesley, the Calvinists with Calvin, and the Luther­ans with Luther. In its very nature truth is pro­gressive and is marching on whether we keep up with it or not. In March 20 Manna the Pastor himself said: "Divine truth is never found except in the divinely appointed channels; and those channels are the Lord and the Apostles and Prophets. To con­tinue in the doctrine set forth in the inspired writ­ings, to study and meditate upon them, and faithfully to conform our characters to them, is what is implied in continuing in the word of the Lord."

MORE LIBERTY REQUIRED

A quotation from Vol. III, Scripture Studies, page 184 (C184) is the following: "There are different degrees of bondage. . Some who would indignantly resent the utter and absolute slavery of individual conscience and judgment required by Romanism, are quite will­ing to be bound themselves, and anxious to get oth­ers bound. . . . True, their chains are lighter and longer than those of Rome and the dark ages. .. . But why wear human shackles at, all? Why hind and limit our consciences at all? Why not stand fast in the full liberty wherewith Christ bath made us free? Why not reject all the efforts of fallible fellow men to fetter conscience and hinder investigation?"

"The real need of the Church is still more liberty until each individual member shall stand free and independent of all human bonds, confessions, etc." - Vol. VI, page 241 (F241).

The great foundation of the Church is Jesus Christ, for in Him is made manifest the love of God. "He that bath the Son bath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." That is the grand test. In order to have the Son we must have the Spirit of the Son, and that is the spirit of love, and that must find expression toward all God's people whether they are in one class of Bible Students or in another. Verily "we know that we have passed from death to life because we love the breth­ren. He -that loveth not his brother abideth in death." How shall we answer for it to God if we are unkind in our treatment or in our judgment of any of the Mast'er's followers?

Dear friends, I am saying these things to you be­cause I love you. If I loved you less I should not go to this trouble. But our associations together have been very pleasant ones. I feel that you have exercised toward me much good-will, and this has been fully reciprocated on my part. Knowing that all the knowledge in the world is useless if one fails to have the spirit of the truth, I want to see that spirit manifested by all the Lord's professed follow­ers. Whether I myself reach the heavenly inheritance or not, I want you to be there. It cannot be far away now; and God would not have called us if it were not possible for us to win the prize. Why then per­mit ourselves to set barriers that God never intended to be set? Why trifle with the sacredness of love? Why take away any liberties for the sake of pleasing others? We cannot transfer our individual responsibilities to the shoulders of any one. We stand or fall in our own personal relationship to the Lord. While we are trying to please him, we need not care what men will say of us. In past ages God's true peo­ple have been regarded as dissenters and heretics. It is much the same today. Of the great Head of the Church it was said that he had a devil and was mad. To take up our cross for him means that we are to follow in his footsteps until that cross be laid down.

So then -- may we all stand for the full liberty of Christ, for "one Lord, one faith, one baptism," for the great hope of immortality, and for our glorious heritage of faith and love. And may God bless you, each one. May his grace abound unto you. And may you finally arrive at the ineffable consummation of life in his divine Kingdom.

"Where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty." -2 Cor. 3:17.

The Christian's Future Worth

"The hope which is laid up for you in heaven." "Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that which is within the veil." "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, according to his abundant 'mercy hath begotten us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." - Col. 1:5; Heb. 6:19; 1 Pet. 1:3.

THE APOSTLE Paul who was transported into the third heaven, who "heard unspeakable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter, and who perhaps could have said that none suffered as he suffered for Christ's sake, could also say, "Our affliction . . . works for us an excessively  exceeding aionian [eternal - see the next verse] weight of glory." (2 Cor. 12:2-4; 4:17, Diaglott.) Surely he was qual­ified, if any one was, to reckon "that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us-ward. (Rom. 8:18, A. R. V.) And he links with that the unselfish hope that the world will in due time "be delivered from the bondage of corruption" because of the "revealing of the sons of God."

The same Apostle makes other illuminating references to the nature, in part at least, of the glory which shall be the Church's. He speaks of this as "the secret which was concealed from ages and from generations, but now is manifested to his saints; to whom God was pleased [A.R.V.] to make known [not all the details, but] what is the glorious wealth of this secret among the Gentiles, which is CHRIST IN You, the hope of glory." (Col. 1:26, 27, Diaglott.) His spirit in us, "the spirit of the promise" (Eph. 1:13, Diaglott) is a seal, a pledge, that we are being made ready to enter upon the inheritance our loving Father has planned for us. It is not necessary to tell Bible students which of the many promises is "the promise," and it should not be necessary to tell them what 'the "spirit of that promise" is-breadth, generosity, an all-comprising love. It should be fair­ly easy for one to know whether he qualifies under this description. If he finds himself disposed to close the doors of the Kingdom to any one by some man-made lock, he does not have the spirit of the promise God made to Abraham: "In thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be bless­ed." "Child of" is a figure used in the Bible seem­ingly to convey the thought that the thing of which one is a child has impressed its character upon him, of is in some way closely related to him. The "chil­dren of the Kingdom" (Matt. 13:8) can be only those who have the spirit, the characteristics of that King­dom, its love, its breadth, its mercy, its eagerness to bless -- more eager to bless than to condemn-and patience with the erring ones, that the blessing may be missed by none who have a desire for righteous­ness.

GLORIES BEYOND COMPARE

The glorious present wealth of the Church, which is "Christ in you," can be comprehended only by ex­periencing it, only by those who are "strengthened with might by his spirit in the inward man.." (Col. 1:27; Eph. 3:16.) Therefore it must be a "secret among the Gentiles"; and can be apprehended only dimly, if at all, by any who call themselves Christians but are not sealed by "the spirit of the promise." Nor is there reason to suppose that even any of those who are fully consecrated to the Father's will, know­ing and doing it to the best of their ability and joy­fully permitting him to do his in them, will in any short space of time comprehend "the breadth, and length, and depth, and height" of a wealth so glor­ious. Paul hints at the difficulty of attaining such knowledge in his ceaseless prayer for the Ephesian brethren (Eph. 1:16-18), a prayer to "the God of our Lord, the Father of glory," the "glorious Father" (Diaglott) that he might give them "the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him." Before these brethren can have such knowledge, or the knowledge, Paul is yet to pray for, there must be a great work done in them-"the eyes of their heart" must be enlightened. (See Diaglott and Revised Versions) To have only the eyes of one's intellect enlightened, as the King James Version has it, can give no assurance of knowing God or of knowing "what is the hope of his calling" -- an invitation to the divine nature and the perfect use of its powers for eternity. Even the spirit enlightened heart can hope to behold such glory only "through a glass darkly." There is a transforming power, however, in the fleeting glimpses they have of that glory. "Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." - 1 John 3:3.

But what of the Apostle's next phrase--"what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints"? Can it be that our translations are correct? It is easy to understand how any least thing the Heavenly Fa­ther would plan to give us, would mean our enrich­ing; but is there any thing or person in the universe, or can there be throughout all eternity, that will really be "the riches of the glory of his inheritance"? Our minds go back to that period when God was alone in the universe, from eternity to the creation of the Logos on the highest of the spirit planes, next to the Father's very own. This glorious One we could call the riches of the glory of the Father's in­heritance. By his creation the Father at last had fellowship with another being. A further enriching followed when the angelic hosts were created, a little lower than the Logos, and therefore a little farther removed from the fullness of divine fellowship. An­other creative epoch followed, and in it man was brought into being, but a "little lower than the angels" -- still farther removed from the divine plane. That fellowship lasted but a brief space when sin disrupted it. During the four thousand years that followed, however, some few of the fallen human beings did appropriate for themselves a measure of fellowship with the Father through faith in his prom­ises. This perhaps could be called the "riches of the glory" of his blessing of fellowship if we had not known of his fellowships on the spirit plane.

But now follows a phase of the Plan of the Ages that is to bring to the One who has been so careful to plan a perfect inheritance for all in the universe who are willing to receive it at his hands on the terms of full devotion to righteousness, a fullness of fellow­ship never before experienced. The Logos comes to earth and makes his will, willing all to his heavenly Father. He dies. He is raised to heavenly glory. He is given a name above every name that is named. He is now the express image of the Father's person. At last our heavenly Father has fellowship with One on his own divine plane of being, one like himself in character and person. Can there be anything in his Plan for "the ages to come" that will further enrich him so much that it can rightly be called "the riches of the glory of his inheritance"?

JEHOVAH^'S INHERITANCE

We turn to our text for an answer and read to our astonishment: "the riches of the glory of his .inheri­tance in the saints." "They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him." "Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God." "All the firstborn are mine: for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel both man and beast: mine shall they be: I am the Lord." (Mal. 3:17; Isa. 62:3; Num. 3:13.) Is it any wonder that they too must will their all to God, must learn obedience by the things which they suffer, and must learn it so perfectly that eternity will never see one of that company seeking his own will. That it must be forever dead, these must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom, tribulation furnished by the world, the flesh, and the devil, and at times even by their own brethren. No one that truly loves his Father will hesitate to endure any experience the outcome of which is to be to the Father's enriching; nor will such willingly overlook the smallest thing-any straw that can be moved, or any pin that can be picked up-"to his glory." Every day will be much too short for him to crowd into it all that he would delight to do or to suffer that the Father might be glorified .in him. Like the Psalmist, he will accept the sleepless night as an opportunity for undisturbed praise to Jehovah. The trials that for the present seem not joyous but grievous will have in them this element of rejoicing-that the vic­tory is the Lord's, the glory and the praise his, for it is he that directs the issue. Even dying daily brings no fear to the heart of those who "do all to the glory of God."

There is always with the Christian not only the in­centive that the Father is being, and will for eternity be, glorified in him, but also that by the same proc­esses there will be additional glory for himself. "We faint not; though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." (2 Cor. 4:16.) "Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you." (James 4:10, Fenton.) Not the least important cause of the diffi­culties of the Narrow Way that leads to life on the divine plane is this need for humility. To this the flesh is violently opposed. Its desire is to do something meritorious. If it could do anything praise­worthy, it would surely boast. We are saved, however, "through faith," and even that "is not of our­selves, it is the gift of God" and "not of works lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus." (Eph. 2:9, 10.) If then the consuming desire of the Christian is, as it must be, to glorify the Father as Jesus longed to glorify him, the one thing that is primarily necessary for him to make sure of is to "be found in him." "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye abide in the Vine," is practically what Jesus has said to us by 'his parable of John 15. The season between our being grafted into the Vine and the harvesting to the glory of the Father will be one of "much" fruitbearing. This is not the work of the flesh and therefore not an occa­sion for boasting; but it is the result of abiding in

the Vine, though the world, the flesh, and the devil oppose. Evidently it is on this account that the Apos­tle Peter pleads with us to give "all diligence" in character building, leaving no time for the world or self, which is the very best method of "being sober, being vigilant." In this exhortation which comes from the same Apostle, the reason is given: "For your Adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist, steadfast in the faith, not a faith in self (self-con­fidence should have been lost at the beginning of our way), but a faith in One who is able to bring each consecrated one off more than conqueror and thus glorify himself in us. - 2 Pet. 1:5; 5:6-9.

"But for a moment," the brief moment of this earthly pilgrimage, are the 144,000 weak and ineffi­cient, unprofitable servants, worthless. The first work of our returned Lord was the raising to life of all who did abide in the Vine, "faithful unto death." Of them and all yet to join them, our Father says, "They shall be mine." Moffatt translates it, "My own prized possession." More definitely Isaiah de­scribes them (Isa. 62:3): "Thou shalt be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God." These are "exceeding great and precious promises," given "that we may become partakers of the divine nature" (2 Pet. 1:4, Young's Literal Translation) , jewels set in the gold of the divine nature, but still "in the hand of thy God." For eternity our boasting will be not in self, but in the One who has wrought us by his wisdom and power into this thing of beauty, in the exceed­ing riches of his grace, making us to be the most fitting symbol of his kingly power, but always inn the hand of our God. Apparently no work of his for eternity will more completely manifest his wisdom, justice, love, and power, than this work of so trans­forming the "unprofitable servants" that they can be safely trusted for eternity with the powers of the divine nature.

^"E^'EN THOUGH IT BE A CROSS^"

Is it any wonder that we sing, "None of self, and all of thee"! And will that not be the burden of our song for eternity? Apparently so, for "we shall be like" our risen Lord. When he had fully learned his lesson of obedience, the Father highly exalted him "above every name," giving him his own nature. The first direct word from him after his exaltation was in the calling of Saul of Tarsus to apostleship; and the .Apostle in alluding to that speaks of the Son, though now invested with all the powers of the divine na­ture, as carrying out not his own plans, but the Fa­ther's: "Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God." (1 Cor. 1:1.) Is it any wonder that we who began with so much of self should need to give "all diligence" in the attaining of faith and the superadding of the various other Christ-like qualities? Is it any wonder that we are today being tested so minutely as to whether there is left any willfulness in our own affairs, in the conduct of the Church and its activities, and even in our searching of the Word -- whether we search it to know the truth to exalt self, or for its transform­ing power-in order that we may glorify God. They who are to "shine as the brightness of the firmament, and . . . as the stars for ever and ever" must learn to give forth a light undimmed by self and its willfulness.

The Apostle who delights to dwell on the miracle of Christ being formed in us, does not forget or per­mit us to forget that when we first heard the voice of the faithful Shepherd, we were "dead in sins," "without God and without hope in the world." If it had been otherwise we could never have fully appreciated how "rich in mercy" our God is. We were not only under the sentence of. death, but death already worked in our mortal members. But our dilemma was not too great for "the great love where­with he laved us." "Children of disobedience" even as others through' the working of the law of justice, we were "children of wrath." There was only de­struction to look forward to, but he who promised that "the ;dead shall hear the voice of the Son of- God; and they that hear shall live," is the Prince of life. He had pity on our undone condition and therefore was sent "that we might have life, and that we might have it more abundantly."

Our heavenly Life-Giver not only "quickened us," but "quickened us together with the Christ," and only by union with him can there be any life for us now. "Even when we were dead in sins, God, who is rich in mercy, for 'his great love wherewith he loved us, hath quickened us together with the Christ, and hath raised us up together [still in fellowship with our risen Lord and the quickened, raised members of his Body] and made us sit together [and oh, how blessed that fellowship can be] in heavenly places [because it is] in Christ Jesus." "The natural man receiveth not the things of God . neither can he know them for they are spiritually discerned. To him it is ut­ter foolishness to spend one's time with such fellow­ship; therefore, if there is any trace of the fleshly mind left in one, the most trifling and irrelevant of excuses will be found for limiting it or even disrupt­ing fellowship.

The one experiencing the fullness of the blessings of this communion of saints might easily suppose that lie is enjoying the ultimate of God's provision for him. But the text we have been considering (Eph. 2:5, 6) does not cease its wonders here. The next word is Paul's useful little hina, "in order that." All that has gone before is "in order that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace." Before we inquire how he will do this, let us examine that phrase, "ages to come." This letter was written in the beginning :of the Gospel Age, and the first of the coming ages would therefore be the Millennial Age. We know of one age to follow that, for, at the 'end of the Millennium, the Kingdom is to be turned over to the Father. So far as the writer knows there is no Scriptural hint of any ages to fol­low that, nor can he think of any reason why there should be, since the Plan of the Ages will there have reached its culmination in bringing all into harmony with the Giver of every good and perfect gift. If there are other ages they are included in the secret things that "belong unto the Lord." Only the natural mind would think to discover anything about them by human reasoning or "imaginings."

If we were to attempt to decide by human reason­ing how God is planning to show the exceeding rich­es of his grace in the ages to come, we would say that it cannot be in his dealings with the Church or the human family, for the one will have received the di­vine nature at the beginning of the first of these ages; and the other, before its end, the full blessing of a paradise home, and perfect human life and powers. Since we reason that the exceeding riches of God's grace cannot be for mankind or the Church, all that is left to our human judgment is to decide that some great blessing is to come to the angels or the brute beasts during the Millennium and the Age to follow, the two that can appropriately be called "the ages of the ages." We have however learned not to trust to the workings of fallen brains. Let us therefore turn again to the text for the inspired explanation. There, again in great astonishment, we read his pur­pose, "that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." We pause astounded at his love and our lack of appreciation. Can we give him less than twenty-four hours of every one of the days that remain to us here? Justice alone would require that much, for "we are his, bought with a price." Loving gratitude will seek to make it a sweet perfume, precious incense -on a golden altar, "a sweet odor of Christ to God." As Christ has been our "All in all" in this Age, so he will continue to be through eternity, for "the exceeding riches of his grace" will come to us "through Christ Jesus" "in the ages to come." "Now thanks be to that God, who always leads us forth to triumph in the anointed One ,and who diffuses by us the knowledge of him, in every place." (2 Cor. 2:14, 15.) And thanks be to our God and Father that he who was originally his "only begotten Son" is to be eternally our "All in all," and that to whatever far corner of the universe his errands shall send us, we shall still for all eter­nity be in the "hand of our God."

- P. E. Thomson.

He Knoweth the Way That I Take

My Savior knows the way I take,
How fierce the storms which o'er me break,
The stones that bruise my weary feet­ --
Knows every hurtful thing I meet.

Oh, yes, He knows, nor will forget­
Too oft His cheeks with tears were wet;
His heart by many a grief was torn,
For all our sorrows He hath borne.

He knows how enemies assail,
How hope, and strength and courage fail;
For all our helplessness He felt,
While in Gethsemane He knelt.

And since I know that Jesus knows,
'And shares with me in all my woes,
My heart is glad the whole day long,
For in His strength am I made strong.

And days to come once dark as night,
Now glow with heaven's eternal light,
For framed in every cloud I see
The Lamb of God on Calvary.

His sacrifice vouchsafes us life­
The end of sorrow, pain and strife;
And blessings on the good to be
As boundless as eternity.

O Thou Embodiment of Love!
God's Holy Spirit! White-winged Dove!
Upon my heart let Thy face shine
Till 'tis transformed and made like Thine.

- Margaret H. Black.

Another Question of Interest

Question:

In 2 Tim. 1:10 we read concerning our Savior that he "abolished death." In view of the fact that death continues, how are we to understand this statement?

Answer:

This question is an excellent one. To answer it satisfactorily requires a knowledge of the Divine Plan. All true Christians believe that the man Christ Jesus, by giving his life to be a ransom for all, abolished, OT rendered powerless, the death sentence passed upon our race. Not all, however, are able to see in what sense this is true: To some, every funeral service seems to speak in contradiction of the Apostle's statement. Moreover, did not the Apostle himself, in another place, speak as though the destruction of death, far from being a past event was yet to occur? In 1 Cor. 15:25, 26, he writes: "For the [Christ] must reign till he hath put all ene­mies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death," and that, the context plainly indicates, is an event to occur not even at the begin­ning of the Millennial Age, but at its close! How shall we reconcile the passage in Timothy with this one in the Corinthian letter, and how shall we reconcile it with the stern realities of death on every side, with which we are encompassed?

This reconciliation is not difficult if we do but remember that the work of recovering Adam. and his race from the power of death, while based on the ransom sacrifice, goes beyond the provision of that sacrifice. While that sacrifice was provided nearly two thousand years ago, it is manifest that the work of restoration has not yet been accomplished; indeed, it has scarcely begun. The only disposition thus far of the ransom has been to make it available for the Church, and for them 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 that it will take the entire thousand years of Mes­siah's reign -- 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. In order that any of the race of Adam might profit by the sacrifice of Jesus, it was necessary that he should be raised from the dead, 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, as distinguished from the Church, it was necessary also that in the Father's due time he should come again to earth, a glorious divine being, to be to them 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. The ransom sacrifice of Jesus, therefore, "abolished death" only in the sense of satisfying the claims of Divine justice against. Adam and the race condemned in him, but the restoration from the effects of con­demnation will not be accomplished until the results of death are entirely obliterated. If faithful to our covenant of sacrifice, we, the feet-members of Christ's Body, are promised a share with him, in his mediatorial Kingdom, as we sometimes :sing:

"O! that I may be one found worthy,
To reign with him a thousand years."

- P. L. Read.

My High Calling

1 Corinthians 1:26.

God calls just a few from the greatest and strong,
But comes to the weakest, sinful and wrong;
The chiefest of sinners He calls in His grace
Through Jesus, the Way, to the light of His face.

Thus great is the favor to me He has shown,
When leaving all else to be His alone!
Forsaking earth's treasures, be they ever so fair,
That I in His Kingdom of glory may share.

What a joy to my heart, and peace to my soul,
An aim for my life, with heaven my goal;
In His Word is my comfort, His Spirit my Guide,
I know He will keep me whatever betide.

My companion is Jesus, His presence my stay;
His grace all-sufficient, a strength for my day.
My pathway He brightens with words of good cheer
As onward we walk in friendship so dear.

Oh! what can earth offer with which to compare
My hope of a heaven with Jesus to share?
Salvation so great, and a calling so clear!
A treasure to cherish and ever hold dear.

- J. J. Blackburn.

Convention Echoes

Cicero, Ill.

The convention opened informally Saturday afternoon, May 4th, with Brother Siekman as the first speaker, on the "Resurrection." His subject was divided into three parts: Our Lord's resurrection; the Church's resurrection; and the world's resurrection. The fact was emphasized that we should hate death, but not fear it, because Christ has conquered sin and death. The second speaker was Brother De Groot whose topic was "Blessings." He pointed out that the Bible gives a for­mula for obtaining blessings, and stressed the thought of chastenings being one of the means. The speaker in the evening was Brother Thomson who delivered the baptismal discourse -- there being three candidates for immersion. "Not my will, but thine be done," was shown to be the meaning of full consecration. The immer­sion service was held the following morning, when Broth­er Miskawitz was in charge. Our hearts rejoiced as the dear ones gave evidence of God's call and their re­sponse to the Lord's "Follow me."

The formal welcome to the convention was given on Sunday morning following the immersion service. The fact was stated that all the brethren serving on the platform were selected because of their soundness in the fundamental teachings of present truth, and with the thought of their oneness of mind and heart, giving evidence of possessing that beautiful spirit typified by the "precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard; as the dew of Hermon, that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing." And it was the yearning for this blessing that had brought us all to­gether.

The first speaker Sunday morning was Brother Morehouse on the "Scapegoat." The necessity of not only doing God's will, but of doing it cheerfully, was emphasized. Brother Petran was the next speaker. He used 1 Timothy 1:5 (Diaglott): "The end of the command­ment is love out of a pure heart." The Apostle Paul's words were before us-"Now abideth faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love."

After dinner there was a testimony meeting led by Brother Stromherg, when many witnessed to the goodness and love of God. A duet by two of our sisters, "Why Did He Love Me So," was enjoyed by all. A second talk by Brother DeGroot followed, dealing with the prophecy of Habakkuk as it concerns the last days of this Age, and especially what the Church's experience will be during that Age -- closing period when Babylon the Great, falls before the armies of the antitypical Chaldeans.

The final discourse of the convention by Brother Thomson was on Noah, a man of faith. Noah's actions proved that he had faith in God's Word, and that his life was wholly committed to the Lord. He preached not so much with words, as with his conduct; and thus, we too, should preach to others with our lives as well as with our words. In the closing remarks by a local brother Christian love and greetings from the convention were extend­ed to all Classes represented, and a promise given that if it is 'the Lord's will a third annual convention will be held in 1947. Truly we could say, "How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity."

- C. A. Loucky.

Minneapolis, Minn.

Although not a large convention, the gathering in Minneapolis on June 1 and 2 was one which was thor­oughly enjoyed by the friends present. There were about eighty in attendance, and several of the brethren were heard to remark that it was one of the best conventions they had ever attended. Then, too, we were reminded of some dear ones who had met with us at previous con­ventions, but whose course had been finished with joy; two of these (Brothers Blackburn and Sargeant) having served as speakers on more than one such gathering. In memory of such we sang hymn 204: "Hail! Happy Day."

Brother Petran was the first speaker, on the "End to be Attained." M a later service his subject was "What must I do to gain eternal life?" Brother P. L. Read took us in mind back to the early Church at the time of Pentecost, using as his text Galatians 5:22, "The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentle­ness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, temperance." Brother Siekman spoke of the world's need of the King­dom, his topic being, "Thy Kingdom Come." Brother J. T. Read sang some inspiring hymns and served with two discourses, using John 4:14: "The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life"; and "Giving thanks always."

We are indeed thankful to our loving Father for grant­ing us this privilege of fellowship.

- H. M. Nosby.

A Word of Thanks

Dear Brethren:

So many expressions of deep sympathy have been received from the friends since the passing of my dear husband that I cannot begin to reply to them all. These messages have been of great comfort to me, and I would like to convey to the friends in some little way my ap­preciation.

Brother Blackburn is greatly missed by us here, and I realize how much the friends as well will miss him; but the Lord took him and he knows best. He fought a good fight and has finished his course with joy. May we be faithful and join him in the near future is my earnest prayer fox each of us. "Be thou faithful unto death."

Your sister in the One Hope,

Sister Blackburn.

Report of Pilgrimage

Dear Brethren:

Greetings in the Name of our blessed Redeemer and King!

It is with gratitude and "praise to him by whose kind favor heavenly truth has reached our ears," that I am writing you of my recent visit with the Lord's dear people in various places in Canada, New York and Massachusetts, when I visited 13 Classes, held 20 meet­ings, and covered 1,466 miles.

I can assure you it was a season of rich fellowship and a blessing to me, and I hope and pray it resulted in a blessing to others. Truly "our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son," Jesus Christ. Therefore, "If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another." - 1 John 1:7.

Everywhere the same sweet spirit of love and fellow­ship was manifested, which was heart warming and bound us closer in Christian love one to another. By the grace of God we tried to encourage and strengthen these dear hearts to "Fruitfulness" in the Christian walk and "The Life Faithful to God." Those who as­sembled to worship and give praise to the "Father of Mercies and God of all Comfort" gave evidence that their faith and hope are strong in the Lord, and all are determined by God's grace to make their "calling and elec­tion sure." I am sure that "God is not unrighteous to forget their work and labor of love" in their minister­ing to the saints. "The blessing of the Lord it maketh rich and he addeth no sorrow with it."

I am indeed thankful to my Heavenly Father for giv­ing me this privilege of service to the brethren, and above all I wish to glorify his great and holy Name. "Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors." - Prov. 8:34.

To abide in his love we must have fervent love among ourselves. If we meditate daily on his Word, continue in his love, and keep close to him in prayer, we shall soon see that

"Our daily road grows lighter,
The daily cares grow sweet;
For the Master is near, the Master is here,
We have only to sit at his feet."

May we be found "worthy" of his great love bestowed upon us by a faithful carrying out of our consecration vows.

I ask you to remember me at the Throne of Grace.

With Christian love and a prayer that you may be guided and blessed in your "labors of love," I am

Your brother in Christ,

Thomas G. Smith.

1946 Index