THE HERALD
of Christ's Kingdom

VOL. XLIV January 1961 No. 1
Table of Contents    

Our New Cover

Greetings for the New Year

Elias Shall First Come

Compensation

Israel Today

Life's Empty Victories

The Question Box

The Pilgrim Ministry

The Ministry of the Word

Recently Deceased  

Our New Cover

For some time we have had under consideration the desirability of chang­ing the appearance of our front cover. Back in 1918, when the first copy of The Herald was issued, it carried the picture of a soldier of Christ, equipped with the whole armor of God. Later, our attention was drawn to an engraving showing the vision granted the Apostle John on the isle of Patmos, when he saw the New Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven. This appealed to us as very appropriate to our times, and we adopted the design it 1920. The plates of that design have now become quite worn out, we secured the kind cooperation of one of our younger brethren, skilled in the art, who sent us a few sketches, one of which we have adopted. We are sure that the sim­plicity of its design will appeal to our readers; and we trust that our pages will continue to be true to the theme ex­pressed on the cover, both in the title of our Journal and in the quotation from our Lord's own words - Matthew 6:10.

Greetings for the New Year

"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all." - 2 Thess. 3:18.

AS we enter upon another year could we do so with better words than these, or words of greater promise? As the old year passes and the new is ushered in, we greet each other with good wishes. Could we do so more fittingly than in the words of our text? The fashion of this world is rapidly passing away. As we face the future and realize life's uncertainties, whether we be young or old, if we take our life thoughtfully, and in a Christian spirit, especially if we have con­secrated ourselves to do the Father's will by walk­ing in the footsteps of Jesus to the best of our ability, we feel our need of a higher wisdom, a more pure and enduring energy than our own, to guide our steps, to mould our character, to shape our lot for us; and so we look up to God and ask, both for ourselves and for the whole dear family of God, His benediction for the year which lies ahead of us, His grace upon all our days and on all our ways-grace sufficient for every time of need, teaching us how to make all things contrib­ute to our highest welfare, thus securing alike from the bleak north winds of adversity as from the warm south winds of prosperity real and lasting benefits. - l Cor. 7:31; Heb. 4:16; Rom. 8:28; Song of Solomon 4:16.

"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you." Do not these words meet your sense of need, your craving for good, your hope of a bene­diction which will make your new year bright with the luster of a joyous, holy living? To St. Paul they conveyed and implied so much, they were so bright with hope, that, as another has ob­served, "they became his standing good wish for those whom he loved." They appear at the close of nearly all the letters he wrote, in one place read­ing, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you"; in another, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit"; and here, in our text, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all."

It is entirely possible, however, that the very fre­quency with which we meet these words, has served to dull their force and clearness. As another has ex­pressed, "People, in reading the Bible, are often not conscious of the extreme listlessness with which they pass along the familiar and oft re­peated words of Scripture, without the impression of their meaning being at all present with the thoughts,-and how, during the mechanical cur­rency of the verses through their lips, the thinking power is asleep for whole passages together." Per­haps this is true in regard to our text. We may never have asked what the words meant originally, and still mean, what the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ was and is, and in what senses that grace may be with us, and be the crown and benediction of our whole life. It will be worth our while there­fore, if we meditate on the text long enough to note that the phrase "grace of Christ" would con­vey at least three ideas to the members of the early Church, and should convey the same ideas to us; and that if the grace of Christ is to "be with us" or "with our spirit" we must in all these senses reproduce it, and make it our own.

The Gracefulness or Charm of Christ

The first thought which this phrase would sug­gest to St. Paul's readers, especially to his Gre­cian readers-and most of them were Greeks would be the gracefulness, the charm, of Christ. They would understand the Apostle to refer to that exquisite sensibility to beauty, the beauty of nature and of man, by which Christ was distin­guished, that love of all that is fair and pure and good which gave a beauty, a winning charm, an attractiveness, to His person, His character, His manner and bearing, and to His words, which no heart not wholly dead to beauty and goodness was able to resist. Both the Puritan conception and the Monastic, or ascetic, conception of Christ have gone far to hide this thought from us-so far that it has been argued from such texts as "His face was more marred than that of any man" that they do greatly err who attribute any comeliness to the Man of Sorrows. It is difficult, however, to be­lieve that One born of a pure virgin and begotten of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of goodness and beauty, could be other than the most pure, beauti­ful, and attractive of men. Who can believe that the one perfect Man, He whose majestic bearing was such as to elicit from Pilate the exclamation, "Behold the Man!" was destitute of any outward and visible sign of His inward perfection? A lovely spirit does, indeed, transfigure even the plainest features and lend them a charm beyond that of a simply formal 'beauty; but a lovely spirit in a lovely form is a still more potent force. And hence the great painters who have invested the face and figure of our Lord with all the perfections of manly beauty, and who have added a pathetic charm to that beauty by depicting the perfect face as worn and wasted with thought, with compas­sion, with all the toil and burden of His great work of love, have reason on their side, and give us, we may be sure, a far truer conception of Him than either the Puritan or the Monk.

For the whole story of His life shows both that He was exquisitely sensitive to beauty in every form, and that He had the still rarer power of re­producing that beauty in His words and ways. The whole world of nature lives again in His dis­courses and parables, to prove how keen He was to note the loveliness of the world around Him; while these same parables and discourses are so perfect, both in substance and in expression, as to prove that He could reproduce this beauty in still more exquisite and enduring forms. And what a keen eye for beauty of character, for a la­tent unsuspected goodness, must He have pos­sessed, who saw in doubting Nathanael an Israelite indeed, in fickle and impetuous Peter a steadfast rock, in timid and halting Nicodemus, and even in the wanton of Samaria, fitting recipients for the deepest truths of His Kingdom, in Mary's waste of ointment an insight which transcended that of the Apostles, and in the self-humiliation of the woman who was a sinner a love capable of transforming her into a saint! He who spoke the most beautiful words that have fallen from human lips; He who clothed perfect thoughts in forms so perfect that the noblest spirits of every subse­quent age have held them to be "sweeter than honey" and more precious than "much fine gold," and yet in forms so simple that the common peo­ple have always heard them gladly; He who was at home with all classes, learned and ignorant, rich and poor, powerful or enslaved, who saw good even in the worst, and found something to pity, something to love in even the forlornest outcast ;

He to whom little children ran for a caress, round whom wronged women and outcast men gathered as to a friend-was there no beauty, no charm, in Him? Was there not rather a charm which no open and susceptible heart could withstand?

This beauty, this charm, this gracefulness, is to be with us, is to be ours, if "the grace of Christ" is to be with us. That is to say, the wish, the ben­ediction of our text summons us to cultivate the love of all that is fair, all that is good-all that is fair in nature, 'all that is good in men; and to reproduce it, so far as we may, in our words, in our manner, in our lives. We are not to be content with being sourly or austerely good, but to aim at being winningly and attractively good. The beau­tiful mind, the beautiful manner, of Christ, the charm of His character, His speech, His dealings and intercourse with men, be with us all-this is part of what our new year's wish implies.

The Graciousness, the Genial Friendliness, of Christ

But graceful manners soon break down under the strain of change, familiarity, or time, unless they spring from and express a gracious heart. And hence we must be reminded of the second meaning latent in our text. For if "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ" would suggest graceful­ness to a Greek, to a Jew it would suggest gra­ciousness, a willing, friendly, genial spirit; not righteousness simply, but a genial righteousness; not beneficence simply, but a friendly beneficence.

There are men who are weighted all their lives by an unwilling, a reluctant, an unsympathetic temperament. They do not easily consent to what is proposed to them; their first impulse is to say No rather than Yes. Not courtesy alone is diffi­cult to them, but thoughtfulness for others, con­sideration for their wishes, a lenient judgment of their faults, a kindly interest in that which inter­ests them. Their instinct is to differ rather than to concur, to wrangle rather than to assent, to criticize and condemn rather than to work with their neighbors and yield to their influence. And hence, strive as they will-and few but them­selves know how hard and 'bitter the strife some­times is-they lack the friendly tone, the genial manner, which commands confidence and love, and even when they do good are apt to do it awk­wardly and in a way which hurts or offends even those whom they help. They do not give them­selves with their gifts.

But we find no trace of this stiff, reluctant, self­ contained disposition in Jesus Christ. Little though He had to give as the world counts gifts, the world has never seen a benefactor to be com­pared with Him. Not only did He give Himself for us all, but He gave Himself with all His gifts, gave all He had, or all they could take, to every man or woman who approached Him. There was nothing He could do which He was not prepared to do for any who asked His help. So gracious was He, so steadfastly did His will stand at the yielding or giving point, that virtue went out of Him without any conscious exercise of will, when­ever the hand of faith or need was laid upon Him. And how interested He was in all who spake with Him, however ignorant or faulty they might be! How deeply He looked into their hearts; how He drew them on, and drew them out, till they had told Him their inmost secret, till they had relieved their bosoms of the perilous stuff hidden there; and then how wisely and delicately He adapted His words and gifts to their needs; as, for example, when He talked with the woman of Samaria by the well! How ready He was to love them, or any trace of good in them, till they rose "to match the promise in His eyes as, for instance, in the faith of the Syrophenician woman! How much good He saw in them which the world could not see, and of which they themselves had lost sight; as, for example, in Zaccheus, that true son of Abraham, whom the Pharisees mistook for a child of the devil, and in the woman who bathed His feet with her tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head! How quick He was to detect any moment of weakness in those who had a little faith in Him but held it with a feeble grasp, and how prompt to strengthen them against any sudden pressure of unbelief; as, for example, when He said to the faltering ruler of the synagogue, "Only believe; all things are possible to him that believeth"!

But space does not permit, -- we should have to go through the whole story of His life, -- even to allude to the innumerable proofs of His gracious­ness, of His willing and friendly heart; the graciousness which enabled Him to give so much, though of outward good He had so little to give, and which made His every gift a charm, an elevating and abiding power, to those who re­ceived it, or who listened to the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And yet, with all this graciousness, there was no softness, no weakness, no insincerity, such as is often found associated with a kindly temperament; there was nothing inconsiderate, or indiscriminate, in His boundless charity; no yielding at a single point at which it would have been wrong to yield; no want of faithfulness, or even of severity where severity was needed. He was sincere as He was sympa­thetic, rare as that combination is. He who said to a sinful woman, "Neither do I condemn thee," said also, "From henceforth sin no more." And He who cured a sinful man of the paralysis induced by vice, also warned him, "Sin no more, lest a worst thing come upon thee."

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all in this sense also. May His graciousness, His kindly, consideration for others, His genial, warm manner, His friendly tone, be ours.

The Favor, the Redeeming Love of Christ

But perhaps one who has read thus far is saying to himself, "Well, if the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ means gracefulness and graciousness, then I am afraid it is impossible for me. For I am neither very graceful nor very gracious and while I am learning to appreciate better all that is love­ly and fair, both in nature and in men, to repro­duce such loveliness in my own thoughts and words and deeds is another matter, and as for being gracious, that does not come at all easily to me."

Ah! beloved reader, if the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ meant only His gracefulness or His graciousness, we would all be in great discourage­ment. But the word has another, a third, mean­ing, one with which we have long been familiar. The Apostle reminds us of this meaning in 2 Cor. 8:9 - "Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might become rich." Yes, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ means also His favor, His active, redeem­ing, and renewing love, freely bestowed upon us, and because of this we may entertain high hopes of having His grace, in the other two meanings of the word, fulfilled in us also.

In the New Testament, as every student of that blessed volume must know, the grace of Christ is constantly used in this third sense, far more commonly in this sense than in any other. Its most frequent use denotes a divine and loving en­ergy or quality which not only forgives, but also cleanses us from, our iniquity; which not only pardons, but redeems us from, our faults and sins; an energy which attends us through our whole ca­reer to guard us against temptation or make us strong enough to resist temptation; as able to change, elevate, and purify our whole character and disposition, and to recreate us in its own like­ness.

And who dare say that, with this giving, and forgiving energy, this redeeming and renewing grace, ever at work upon and in him, he cannot become pure, friendly, and gracious in heart, and, therefore, simple, courteous, and even graceful in manner and in speech? Who dare despair of him­self, or give up self-culture as hopeless, if the strong Son of God is ever waiting to come to his help, ever seeking to bestow His gracefulness, His graciousness, to exert His forgiving and redeeming power upon us, to recast our mind, our character, our disposition, our temperament, on the larger, fairer, lines of His own?

"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all"; the grace which redeems, renews, recreates the inward man of the heart, and so clothes even the outward man of behavior with a new and friendlier charm. Amen - so let it be.

- P. L. Read

Elias Shall First Come

'Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest [i. e. or else] I come and smite the earth with a curse." - Mal. 4:5, 6.

IN The Time is at Hand, written in 1889, the author, Charles T. Russell, undertakes to present "the evidences of the time being at hand for the establish­ment of Messiah's Kingdom in the
earth. In considering those evidences, he was careful to observe that "this prophecy, showing the priority of Eli­jah's coming, must not be overlooked."

 His exposition awakened much inter­est when it first appeared. Today, in the light of two world wars and their present-day aftermath, the subject of which it treats may be seen in clearer perspective. Because of this, we have condensed his luminous exposition in the following paragraphs, in the convic­tion that its review at this time cannot fail to profit the reader.

Malachi's prophecy, the last message sent by Jehovah to Israel, seems to have deeply impressed them -- especially the last two chapters, which particularly refer to Messiah's coming, and to the special trials which the day of the Lord's presence would bring with it. (See Mal. 3:1-3, 13-18; 4:1-6.) Gathering from this that the testing would be peculiar, they took comfort from the last verses quoted above, which promised that Eli­jah the prophet, who had once con­verted the entire nation from the wor­ship of Baal back to the worship of God, would come again to prepare them, before this severe testing time which Messiah's coming would bring.

This prophecy was not fulfilled at the first: advent of our Lordn - neither the portion which relates to Messiah nor that which refers to Elijah. The refer­ence of the prophecy is evidently to the second advent; to the coming of the "Messenger of the Covenant" in glory and power; and to the testing and great trouble of the Day of the Lord at that time. However, Christ's presentation to typical Israel, and the great trouble which came upon them as a nation when they rejected him, was, as God had foreseen and intended, another shadow which further illustrated in many par­ticulars the things presented in this prophecy. John the Immerser, in the spirit of Elijah, did a work for Israel similar to that of the Elijah promised, but failed of success; and, as a result, trouble (a curse) upon that nation fol­lowed. The real Elijah referred to by the prophet was to do a great work for the whole "earth," to prepare all man­kind for the second advent; and he will for a time also fail of success, and as a result the great time of trouble (the curse) will smite the whole earth.

Since the coming of Elijah mentioned by the prophet is to be "before" this "great and dreadful Day of Jehovah, it is important to show here that Elijah has come. To our understanding the antitypical Elijah -- has been the Church in the flesh -- the Christ in the flesh, Head and Body. He has failed to turn the hearts of the world to childlikeness and to the [true) wisdom of the just; and therefore the great time of trouble comes, as God foresaw and foretold. In it, God will teach mankind by severe and bitter experiences lessons they need to learn thoroughly, to prepare there to gratefully accept the Christ, Jehovah's Messenger of the New Cove­nant -- with all the just arrangements, laws, etc., of that covenant.

At the first advent, many of God's promises and plans were carried out on a small scale with one nation, Israel, as an illustration of the greater, grander realities to be accomplished at Christ's second coming. And as the miracles, cures, etc., represented the greater works of the Millennial Age, and our Lord's riding on the ass as King represented his assuming the greater power, majesty and honor at the second advent as King of kings and Lord of lords, so "the man Christ Jesus" and his little band of dis­ciples represented the Lord of Glory highly exalted, associated with the saints, his bride and co-heirs, at the second advent. And thus John the Baptist and his disciples engaged in the same work with and under him, in attempting to convert Israel and to prepare them to receive Messiah, represented the real Elijah (the true Christian Church), whose work has been to attempt the conversion of the world before the com­ing of Messiah to the world -- the spirit­ual Lord of glory and King of kings. John the Immerser, in the spirit and power of Elijah, failed to reform Israel, and, as a consequence (Matt. 27:12), Israel rejected Jesus in the flesh, and brought upon themselves a great "day of vengeance," trouble and wrath. (Luke 21:22.) So likewise, only on the larger scale, the real and greater Elijah has failed to convert and prepare the world to receive the King of Glory, and now, consequently, the great day of wrath must come upon the world, to melt and mellow and humble and prepare all to cry out from the heart -- Hosannah! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of Jehovah!

It is thus seen that the Church in the flesh (the Christ in the flesh, Head and Body) is the Elijah or forerunner of the Church in glory, Jehovah's Anointed. Not the nominal church, but the really consecrated Church, which on the other side of the tomb will be the great Anointed Deliverer, these constitute the Elijah. Their mission is to reprove error and sin, and to point to the coming Kingdom of glory. Our Lord Jesus and the Apostles, and all the faithful in Christ Jesus since, are of this great antitypical Elijah, prophet or teacher-the same class (Head and Body) which shall shortly compose the King of Glory. The work in which the Church is now engaged is merely preliminary to its future work, so far as the reforming of the world is concerned. In its kingly office the Church shall accomplish, for the world what it fails to do as the Elijah teacher.

Let us not be misunderstood: We have heretofore shown that God's Plan does not extend to the converting of the world during the Gospel Age. He did not intend it to do so, but merely de­signed the selection and trial of the Church, now, and the blessing of the world through the Church, the Christ, in an age to follow this. We do not contradict this when we say that the Elijah (Christ in the flesh) has tried to convert the world and failed, except in bringing about partial reforms; for though God knew and foretold that our mission to the world would be largely a failure, except in selecting a choice little flock, yet, knowing that the effort would react favorably upon ourselves, his commission to us through our Lord was to try to convert the world, when he said, "Go ye into all the world and preach the good tidings to every crea­ture." Seeing that he foretold our present failure, but our future success, when he shall glorify and endue us with divine power, we are enabled to rejoice even while viewing the comparative failure of the past eighteen centuries, realizing that the labor of the true Elijah class has not been in vain, but has served the divine purpose in developing the true Church while bearing witness be­fore the world which will profit it in due time.

John the Baptist was not actually Elijah returned to earth, neither is the Church; but as it was true of John, that he did an Elijah work to Israel (Luke 1:17) to prepare them, and introduced the Lord in the flesh, so it is true of the Church-it does the predicted Elijah work "in the spirit and power of Elijah" to the world, and announces our Lord's second advent in almost the same words which John used at the first advent: "There standeth one among you whom ye know not.... He it is who, coming after me, is superior to me." - John 1:26, 27.

All could not receive John's testimony nor realize that he was forerunner to the King in the flesh. Had they done so, they would have been prepared thereby to receive Jesus as their Messiah. To as many of them as could and did accept John's message and receive Christ, to these John did do the Elijah work. As our Lord said to them of John (Matt. 11:14), "If ye will receive it, this is the Elias which was to come"; though John and his work did not complete the pre­diction concerning Elijah, even as our Lord in the flesh did not fulfill all that was predicted of Messiah. He was, to all who could receive it, Jehovah's Anointed, even before he had finished his work of sacrifice, or had been glori­fied, or had come again in the exercise of the great office of Messiah or De­liverer. John, at the first advent, was really a finishing out, in a measure, of the type begun in the person and work of Elijah; and John's work at the first advent foreshadowed the closing work of the Church at the second advent. These, the feet of Christ in the flesh -- ­the feet of Elijah -- announce the King­dom. (Isa. 52:7.) To those who "can receive it" we announce, as at hand, the reign of the Christ glorified; and like­wise to those who "can receive it" we have pointed out the foretold antitypical Elijah. Some, probably, will not "receive it," but will still look for some one man to fulfill Malachi's predictions, and will "know not the time of their visitation" until the great day of trouble is burning as an oven.

It will be seen, then, that the failure of the Elijah (the Christ in the flesh) to convert and restore the world was as much a forseen result as was John's failure to convert Israel. Nevertheless it will be the same Elijah class, only glorified and empowered, which will during the Millennial Age bless and teach the world and restore all things, as promised by the mouth of all the holy prophets (Acts 3:19-21); only in the name and likeness the Elijah type ceases with our earthly career. In harmony with this were our Lord's words in reply to his disciples who asked, "Why then say the scribes that Elijah must first come?" Our Lord's an­swer does not attempt a full explanation of Elijah's being a type and John a continuation of the same while at the same time a shadowy fulfillment of it, etc. -- things which the disciples were not then prepared to understand, and which moreover were not then due to be understood; and hence, while point­ing out John's failure as a partial fulfillment of the prophecy, our Lord adds, "Elijah truly shall come, and restore all things." (Matt. 17:11.) Evidently he had in mind his own glorious work of the coming age, associated with his glorified "body which the Gospel Age would select and test. He was looking beyond the vail to the Millennial Age, and seeing the Elijah class caught up in the chariots of fire in power and great glory -- spiritual exaltation.

A woman is the figure used when the Church alone is referred to, separate from her Lord and Head. Separate and distinct from her Lord, the Bride­groom, she is an espoused virgin. But in this instance a man, Elijah, is the figure used, because the work prefigured is not the work of the Church separate from her Lord, but the one work of both. Our Lord was the Head and Forerunner of the Church in the flesh (the Elijah), as truly as he is Head of the Church triumphant -- the Christ. Other instances in which a man is the figure used, when a joint work of Christ Jesus and his body, the Church, is typi­fied, are numerous: for instance, Aaron and all his successors in the office of Chief Priest represented the Lord and the under priests, members of his body; Melchisedec similarly represented the whole body in glory; so did Moses, David and Solomon. Hence the use of Elijah as a figure, in representing a united work of Christ and the Church, is in harmony with the Scripture usage.

In view of the class which Elijah represented, how forcibly eloquent was that "vision" which the Lord showed to the three disciples on the mount of trans­figuration. (Matt. 17:19.) It was a vision of the coming Kingdom, Peter tells us. (2 Pet. 1:16-18.) Our Lord, transfigured, appeared radiant before their eyes, while a figure of Moses repre­sented the Mosaic or Law Dispensation and a figure of Elijah represented the Gospel or Christian Dispensation. Both dispensations look toward and point out and speak of the sacrifice and sufferings of Christ and the glory to follow.

We have no desire to draw before the mind a dark picture; but it is necessary that the saints should be at least in some measure forewarned of impending events, that when such come to pass they may not be alarmed or disheartened, but being fore-armed may know how to meet them; and also that they may more fully appreciate the blessings of the present, so as diligently to "work while it is called day; for the night [a much darker time in comparison with the present, called day] cometh, wherein no man CAN WORK."

The present little season, before the storm-cloud bursts upon the world, is a most favorable time for the work of the Elijah class, and corresponds to the successful days of both Elijah and John. It is favorable for personal growth in grace and knowledge, and also for the spread of the truth-the most favorable time that has ever been known.

What may we expect between the present comparatively favorable time and the coming blessed time of unhin­dered righteousness? Will it continue to be as favorable as the present for labor in the vineyard-or more so, or less so? Let us notice what these types indicate; for since our Lord has directed our atten­tion to them, whatever we find in the life and experience of either Elijah or John which seems to fit well to the ex­perience of the Church, and to the testi­mony regarding her future earthly course, we are justified in recognizing as typical.

Elijah was separated from earthly scenes by a chariot of fire, representative of the spiritual glory and exaltation awaiting, at the end of the earthly race­course, those of the Church alive and remaining to the last days. But we should also remember that it was by a whirlwind or storm that he was taken away; and a storm is the symbol of trouble, as much as the fiery chariot is a figure of victory and glorious escape from that trouble.

John the Baptist's closing experiences are still more clearly marked by the trouble feature. Though he was not obeyed bye the people (Matt. 17:12), they for a short time recognized him as a servant and prophet of God (John 5:35) yet when he had announced the presence of Messiah his influence soon began to wane, as he had testified it would do, saying of Christ, "He must increase, but I must decrease." So it must be in the end of this Age: the work of the John class (the Elijah class) closes with the announcement that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, and that the King is present. This is now being done; and the exact words of John's testimony apply with equal force at this time of the Lord's second ad­vent: "There standeth one among you [present] whom ye know not," "whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge [cleanse] his [threshing] floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire" -- the great time of trouble. - John 1:26; Matt. 3:12.*

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* To the day of his death (October 31, 1916) Pastor Russell believed and taught that October 1914 marked the close of the Times of the Gentiles, and that the period of our Lord's second advent began forty years before. However, as he himself stated, "there is enough uncertainty about the matter of chronology to make it a matter of faith rather than of positive knowledge." (Reprints R5336.) Because of this measure of uncer­tainty, when, in 1912, he listed various items of his faith, and unqualifiedly affirmed them, in some instances challenging statements to the contrary as unscriptural, he was careful to state his belief as to the date of our Lord's return in much more guarded phrase: "We do not affirm dogmatically, that he came in 1874, but we say that to us it is the evident teaching of the Scriptures." (Rep. R4956.) Would that some of his over-zealous followers could learn from his wise and faithful example here! Moreover, in the Fore­word to S.S. Vol. II, written October 1, 1916, still more light was beginning to break through, as his keen, spiritual mind pondered the unfolding scene: "We could not, of course, know in 1889, whether the date 1914, so clearly marked in the Bible as the end of the Gentile lease of power or permission to rule the world, would mean that they would be fully out of power at that time, or whether, their lease expiring, their eviction would be­gin. The latter we perceive to be the Lord's program; and promptly in August 1914, the Gentile kingdoms referred to in the prophecy began the present great struggle, which, according to the Bible, will culminate in the complete overthrow of all human govern­ment, opening the way for the full establish­ment of the Kingdom of God's dear Son."

As John decreased -- his special work being accomplished when his message was delivered -- so the Church in the flesh must decrease when its last message is given, until the last member has laid down his consecrated life, and passed beyond the veil into "glory," thenceforth to be a member of the glorious, reign­ing Christ. As John said that Jesus must increase, so now that the real King­dom is about to be established we can confidently say that the King is present, and that his kingdom must increase until it fills the earth. And John's announce­ment of the "harvest" work -- the gather­ing of the wheat, and the trouble coming upon the chaff -- also finds its parallel in the present time.

John's liberty was restrained soon after the delivery of his message, an­nouncing the present One and the work before him; and he was cast into prison because he had reproved the king of improper union with a woman (Matt. 14:4). And though the faithful children of God have often pointed out that union between the Church and the civil power is out of order, being in the Scriptures termed harlotry (Rev. 17:5), and though in a great measure the world has withdrawn from the churches, the union still exists, and the Scriptures seem to point out that, in the time of trouble approaching, the nominal churches, pro­fessedly virgins of Christ, will be on the side of the kings of the earth, and united to them; and the true Church, like its type, John the Baptist, will be unpopular and restrained of liberty, be­cause of faithfulness in opposing and condemning error.

The same necessity for restricting liberty on political and social questions will probably be supposed to apply equally to freedom of expression on religious questions, which really lie at the foundation of all liberty. It would not be surprising if a "strong govern­ment," a monarchy, would some day re­place this present Great Republic; and it is entirely probable that one common standard of religious belief will be deemed expedient and will be promul­gated, to teach outside of which will be treated and punished as a political of­fense. Such a persecution would not only furnish, in the end or harvest of this age, another parallel to the harvest of the Jewish age (Acts 4:10-13, 23-30; Acts 15:29-41; 11-19),** but would also give a wider and deeper significance to the words of the Apostles Paul and John (2 Tim. 4:3; Rev. 13:17), and to the typical illustrations of the close of the earthly career of the true Church, as represented in Elijah's whirlwind de­parture and John the Baptist's imprison­ment and beheading.

-----------------------------------

** Subsequent to writing The Time is at Hand, the author was led to see that the harvest of the Gospel Age extended beyond forty years and that there is no way of deter­mining its exact length. Under the caption "Our Mistake Respecting the Harvest," he wrote (September 1, 1916) "We imagined that the harvest work of gathering the Church would be accomplished before the en 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." - R5950.

Two lessons we may draw from this to advantage, whether future developments shall prove that we have read the pro­phetic testimony correctly or incorrectly; and they are these: First, we should be so prepared, so armed and so thoroughly furnished with the invincible truth, that persecution would move us only to greater zeal, and not lead us through surprise or fear to lower our standard, nor to surrender when the kings of the earth stand up, and, with the religious rulers of the people, are gathered against us, and against the truths to which God has granted us the privilege of witness­ing, as his servants and ambassadors. (1 John 3:1.) Second, such reflections relative to the future, contrasted with the privileges of the present, should serve to stimulate every consecrated child of God to make diligent use of the present grand harvest opportunities and privileges, remembering that "he that reapeth receiveth wages," as truly as he that planted and watered, and that now is pre-eminently a time for gathering fruit unto eternal life. The little quiet of the present favorable time, with its greater liberties and advantages in every way, is divinely arranged in order to the sealing of the true servants of God in their foreheads (intellectually, with the truth). - Rev. 7:3.

"Let the 'little while' between
In its golden light be seen."

The Master saith: "Work while it is called day; for the night cometh, when no man can work." "Labor not for the meat that perisheth, but for that which endureth unto everlasting life."

So, then, in the present due time, we see that Elijah the prophet came, as foretold, before the great and notable day of the Lord. And we hear his closing testimony, like that of John, saying, "There standeth one among you whom ye know not" -- whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing-floor: he will gather his wheat into the garner, and burn up the tares [as tares-not as men} with un­quenchable fire in the great time of trouble-the curse, which must needs come to prepare the way of the Great King of ' kings. He must increase, but the Elijah must decrease and finally be entirely restrained. Not only do we hear this testimony from a few of the Elijah class now, but every one who is of the Elijah class will ere long be found pro­claiming this message and engaging in the Elijah work. Such only as are thus faithful will be of the glorified Elijah, and permitted to share in the work of restitution of all things which, during the Millennium, will be a grand success. A depth of significance is found in the meaning of the name Elijah. It signifies God [mighty-one) of Jehovah. It is thus a fitting name for the Lord's Anointed, whose grand work will be to restore all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

Compensation

Oh, the compensating springs! Oh, the balance-wheel of life,
Hidden away in the workings under the seeming strife! 
Slowing the fret and the friction, weighting the whirl and the force,
Evolving the truest power from each unconscious source.
 
How shall we gauge the whole, who can only guess a part? 
How can we read the life, when we cannot spell the heart? 
How shall we measure another, we who can never know 
From the juttings above the surface, the depth of the vein below?
 
Even our present way is known to ourselves alone, 
Height and abyss and torrent, flower and thorn and stone;
But we gaze on another's path as a far-off mountain scene,
Scanning the outlined hills, but never the vales between.

How shall we judge their present, we who have never seen 
That which is past for over, and that which might have been?
Measuring by ourselves, unwise indeed are we, 
Measuring what we know by what we can hardly see.
 
Ah! if we knew it all, we should surely understand
That the balance of sorrow and joy is held with an even hand;
That the scale of success or loss shall never overflow, 
And that compensation is twined with the lot of high and low.
 
The easy path in the lowland bath little of grand or new, 
But a toilsome ascent leads on to a wide and glorious view; 
Peopled and warm is the valley, lonely and chill the height,
But the peak that is nearer the storm-cloud is nearer the stars of light.
 
Launch on the foaming stream that bears you along like a dart,
There is danger of rapid and rock, there is tension of muscle and heart;
Glide on the easy current, monotonous, calm, and slow, 
You are spared the quiver and strain in the safe and quiet flow.
 
Oh, the sweetness that dwells in a harp of many strings, 
While each, all vocal with love, in tuneful harmony rings! 
But oh, the wail and the discord, when one and another is rent,
Tensionless, broken, or lost, from the cherished instrument.
 
For rapture of love is linked with the pain or fear of loss, 
And the hand that takes the crown must ache with many a cross;
Yet he who hath never a conflict bath never a victor's palm, 
And only the toilers know the sweetness of rest and calm.
 
Only between the storms can the Alpine traveler know 
Transcendent glory of clearness, marvels of gleam and glow; 
Had he the brightness unbroken of cloudless summer days, 
This had been dimmed by the dust and the veil of a brooding haze.
 
Who would dare the choice, neither or both to know, 
The finest quiver of joy or the agony-thrill of woe? 
Never the exquisite pain, then never the exquisite bliss, 
For the heart that is dull to that can never be strung to this.
 
Great is the peril or toil if the glory or gain be great; 
Never an earthly gift without responsible weight; 
Never a treasure without a following shade of care; 
Never a power without the lurk of a subtle snare.
 
For the swift is not the safe, and the sweet is not the strong;
The smooth is not the short, and the keen is not the long; 
The much is not the most, and the wide is not the deep; 
And the flow is never a spring, when the ebb is only neap.
 
Then hush! oh, hush! for the Father knows what thou knowest not,
The need and the thorn and the shadow linked with the fairest lot;
Knows the wisest exemption from many an unseen snare, 
Knows what will keep thee nearest, knows what thou could'st not bear.
 
Hush! oh, hush! for the Father portioneth as He will
To all His beloved children, and shall they not be still? 
Is not His will the wisest, is not His choice the best? 
And in perfect acquiescence is there not perfect rest?
 
Hush! oh, hush! for the Father, whose ways are true and just,
Knoweth and careth and loveth, and waits for thy perfect trust;
The cup He is slowly filling shall soon be full to the brim, 
And infinite compensations for ever be found in Him.
 
Hush! oh, hush! for the Father bath fulness of joy in store, 
Treasures of power and wisdom, and pleasures for evermore;
Blessing and honour and glory, endless, infinite bliss;­
Child of His love and His choice, oh, canst thou not wait for this?

- Frances Ridley Havergal

Israel Today

"For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 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." - Romans 11:25, 26.

Paradise, California,
November 30, 1960

Recently a remarkable statement on the Israeli outlook was drawn to our attention at a Bible students convention in Denver, Colorado, when Brother Ted Smith of Bellingham, Washington read an article from "The Weekly Review," entitled, "A Strange Factor in World Affairs." We were so moved by its con­tents that we secured the publisher's permission to republish it in full in this column. Before quoting this most stimu­lating treatise we should explain that "The Weekly Review" is published in England and is "A summary of political and economic intelligence for business men and advanced students of world affairs." No doubt the Herald editors, and perhaps some Herald readers, are acquainted with it. While it is a small news digest yet its subscription price is $35.00 a year, which may give an idea of its quality. This news service com­menced in December of 1938 and today "is widely circulated to business execu­tives and is subscribed to by official agencies of every important Govern­ment in the world, universities, defence colleges, and other institutions." Now we will quote in full the article "A Strange Factor in World Affairs" which appeared in the August 26, 1960 issue of "The Weekly Review and is repro­duced here by special permission of the publisher.

"A STRANGE FACTOR IN WORLD AFFAIRS"

"Amongst the strange signs of our times, none is more significant than the evolution of Israeli thinking about world affairs.

"Drawn from all parts of the globe, the Jews in Palestine are in the most vulnerable military position imaginable. Many (though by no means all) have abandoned comfort and security else­where to place themselves in a position of extreme danger.

"This extraordinary adventure has been backed by the financial aid of a community generally inclined to think more of profit than a mad adventure. Israel is the outstanding phenomenon of our times.

"One detects amongst the Israel Jews a growing number of people who are developing a kind of exultation. Indeed there is a growing sense of a prophetic mission. More and more Israel Jews now see themselves as fulfilling ancient Bibli­cal prophecies. More and more Jews in Palestine believe that no matter what the military odds may be Israel is fore­ordained to both the inevitability of battle and victory.

"There are, of course, very many who hold no such opinions. Agnosticism and down to earth considerations remain widespread-but nothing like as wide­spread as ten years ago. The overall trend is towards belief in a prophetic mission and Divine protection.

"This is very important because it influences policy. These beliefs make many influential Jews far more ready to face unpleasant facts in a way which we in Europe and America would not dream of. We are without any sense of special protection and fear of war makes us exclude it from our thinking to a large extent.

"In Israel where the conviction of war, protection, and actual victory is now so widespread there is a growing tendency actually to look for signs of a coming conflict rather than as in the West to do the opposite.

"Our observers have been much struck by this. We find in Israel an outlook totally different from that anywhere else to be seen. Many in Israel are convinced of four things which we in the West can­ not bear to consider or, if we do, largely disbelieve.

"Israel believes in (i) the certainty of war; (ii) the certainty of victory; (iii) protection from the popularly envisaged consequences of nuclear war; and (iv) a future order of society under actual Divine rule -- a Messianic era.

"Indeed it is perhaps true to say that a new thinking has grown up in this strange country which is totally at vari­ance with Western thinking. If religious thinking in Europe and America is largely ethical, in Israel it tends more and more to belief in actual super­naturalism. This is the kind of belief which Moses had-that is to say belief in the actuality of Divine intervention in worldly affairs, totally upsetting the calculations and physical powers of a secular state.

"A large part of Israel deeply and sincerely believes that world events are not finally decided by men. We face in this small country an opinion which is actually Biblical and we know of no other country where policy is influenced by a mystical concept regardless of any human or physical factor whatsoever.

"It is partly because of this that either the Arab continent or Russia must back down or there must be a clash. The opinion held in Israel being as we have described, Israel herself will never do so. No Government in Israel could do so even if it so wished. If Communism is a driving force, Zionism in its present form is a far, far greater one. It is the only one of its kind on the side of the West. We may agree or disagree with it--but its absolute and forms an influ­ence in world affairs which may prove of the greatest possible significance.

"'Israel believes that her testing time lies not far ahead, and expects that when it comes, regardless of how powerful Russia may be or what alliances she may have, an actual intervention by God will destroy every human calculation and Israel will be saved.

"Not only is this believed, but a grow­ing number of Palestinian Jews believe that they will finally inherit the whole of the original area of the Promised Land and will be supreme in world affairs as the leaders of world religious and cultural thought. Many believe that this will occur as the result of the coming of a personal Messiah who will not only make Israel the world's leading nation, but will be the true physical descendant of King David.

"That such views should emerge from an immigration largely agnostic in ori­gins is a striking fact of which we in the West have far too little knowledge. Too little because it is a conviction of very great influence on policy in a vital area.

"It is in light of these convictions that many people in Israel have recently heard of Egypt's demands upon Turkey and Persia. These demands are believed by Israel to have been dictated by Russia and to be a sign that Israel's ordeal does not lie far away."

What a statement! Coming from a secular news source we thought it to be most significant and worthy, not only of careful reading, but of deep study in the light of the prophetic Scriptures. God is not merely bringing his ancient chosen people back to the land he deeded them, but also opening their eyes of under­standing and inspiring them with hope and confidence regarding their future. These are indeed momentous times! Israel is and will continue to be the touchstone in world affairs. (Zechariah 12:1-3.)

WHEN WILL THE ISRAEL ARMY MOVE AGAIN?

A correspondent of the well-known French newspaper, Le Monde, published in Paris, wrote:

"There is not a single diplomat, U.N. observer, serious journalist or political leader of whatever tendency in Amman, Jordan, who is not convinced that within three hours of the disappearance of King Hussein, Israel would militarily occupy all that kingdom's territory on the west­ern bank of the Jordan River."

Prime Minister Ben-Gurion could not afford to stand by idly while troops of a unified Syrian-Egyptian-Jordan army occupied a position less than ten miles east of Tel Aviv, Le Monde said.

In the Middle East, correspondents have frequently stated that the Hashe­mite Kingdom of Jordan exists today only by the grace of Israel. It is gen­erally believed that Nasser would have swallowed up Jordan long ago except for the fact that he has been very cog­nizant of Israel's determination to pre­vent such a move by a counter-military action. One has only to study a Middle East map to see how vulnerable Israel would be to a U. A. R. mass assault along most of her border if Nasser's forces were to occupy the Kingdom of Jordan, particularly that territory (west of the River Jordan) which bulges into the center of Israel.

As it is now, it is advantageous to Israel for the present regime in Jordan to be in existence, for it is in direct conflict with Nasser's ambitious schemes in the Middle East. The tiny state of Lebanon to the north of Israel was also subject to pressure from Cairo a few years ago, when the U. S. intervened. As long as the Arab rulers are at odds with one another, Israel will not be un­duly fearful.

The assassination of the Prime Minister of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, which many believe was planned in Cairo, indicates, however, that Nasser, as a dictator, cannot stand still but must make moves to show his power and prestige, and thus continually give the impression to the Arab masses that he is their great liberator. If he gets to the point where he feels that militarily he is strong enough to make a move in Jordan, in the face of direct Israel opposition, he will probably take the risk, and this may be the way in which Israel will annex further territory-in self-defense. However, the Government of Israel today is content with the present boundaries even though they are unrealistic.

PREDICTS SOVIET WILL LET JEWS GO

Commentary magazine predicts Soviet authorities will ultimately "open the gates for a Jewish exodus" rather than pursue their policy of anti-Jewish dis­crimination. The Commentary article, in analyzing Soviet anti-Semitism, find that it is a product of the fact that "the Soviet leaders consider their Jews to be security risks."

SOVIET REFUSES TO REUNITE FAMILIES

Tel Aviv-Hatzofe, religious daily paper in Israel, says that the Soviets are unwilling to relax their emigration regu­lations even for the reunion of families, "both because a humanitarian approach is uncommon in their regime and also because any emigration to Israel would run counter to their pro-Arab policy." Pressure must be brought to bear on the Soviets in every possible manner, says Hatzofe.

THEY SPEAK IN MANY TONGUES

Kol Israel (Israel's national radio station) broadcasts 32 hours a day (over several wave lengths) in 16 languages­Hebrew, Arabic, English, French, Yid­dish, Mograbi, Ladino, Rumanian, Hun­garian, Polish, Persian, Yemenite Arabic, Swedish, Serbo-Croation, Italian and Afrikaans.

QUITE A MARITIME FLEET

Jerusalem -- Forty-nine new vessels have been ordered by Israel shipping interests under the German Restitution Payments agreement. The total ton­nage is 415,320 and the investment in­volved-$122,000,000. So far 31 ves­sels, with a tonnage of 177,765, and costing $66,800,000, have been deliv­ered under the Restitution agreement. Another 19 ships are to be transferred in the course of 1960 and 1961.

ISRAEL AN IDAHO

Jerusalem -- A consignment of five hundred tons of potatoes left Haifa for Sweden recently. This brings Israel's total exports of potatoes this year (1960) up to 3,585 tons, most of which were sold to Great Britain.

LAND OF PLENTY

The first consignment of cauliflower ever sent from Israel to the United States was dispatched by the Agricultural Ex­port Corporation recently. The ship­ment of two hundred tons was packed in wooden casks.

STUDEBAKER ASSEMBLY IN ISRAEL

Haifa-The Kaiser-Frazer plant here has announced the assembly of seven ­seater Studebaker-Packard taxicabs. Ne­gotiations are in progress with the taxi­ owners association for bulk purchase of these cars to take the place of run-down taxis. The small Studebaker Lark (Compact) is also being assembled in Haifa.

-Casimir Lanowick.

Life's Empty Victories

The following article was written, just prior to his death, by a regular contributor to a secular newspaper, namely, "The Minneapolis Trib­une," December 19, 1932. When it was written, its stated purpose was to assist his readers in formulating their 1933 New Year resolutions. We thought enough of it at the time to publish it in the "Herald" (Feb. 1933) and have reprinted it once or twice since. But at no time in the past have its lessons seemed more appropriate than today; so, once again, we commend this article to the thoughtful consideration of our readers. Ed. Com.

AS A MAN grows older, yet has not reached ex­treme old age, when, presumably, all his past is mellowed and softened in the pleasant, tranquil light of sunset and both mistakes and right acts are equally overspread by the thought that nothing has mattered much, since the whole thing will be soon over; when he arrives at the stage in life's journey where he reviews the past, not alone for the gentle pleasure of reminiscence, but also to seek guidance for his remaining future, and while he still imagines that it is possible for him to mold his character into the secret ideal which he has all along vainly struggled to perfect, there comes, at least to the man of the average temperament, in this pause of review, this moment of rest before he completes his destiny, the thought of how much happier, and better and altogether pleasanter his life might have been had he avoided as he might easily have done, certain complications and con­flicts which, at the time, seemed to him mightily important.

When they occurred, he was absolutely certain that the triumph of his opinion was a matter of tremendous consequence; it was essential that he should override the opposition and impress upon his opponent the pre-eminent truth and right of his position; and so he went at him, hard and strong, and in the heat of the controversy, which ripened into a feud and perhaps ended in the permanent estrangement of one who might once have been counted a friend, he said or did things which were hard and bitter, and better left unsaid or undone.

Perhaps he gained his point; beat down his antagonist and sent him, humbled and mortified, from the contest, to nurse his grievance ever after, and nourish to the end of his days a smouldering hate of the man who got the better of him; or worse, to cherish the feeling that he had been hardly used.

Strange it should be that, in his later years, the outcome does not seem to have been of very great consequence. What remains permanently is the memory of the incident, and a regret that it should have occurred.

Looking back, he realizes the exact moment when he might have refrained from pressing his man to the limit, have perhaps sufficiently satisfied his self-respect and vin­dicated the justness of his contention without sacrificing a possible friend. Probably it would puzzle him now to' state exactly what it was all about then, this famous vic­tory, but he remembers it was a great fight and he was in it and he is sorry.

Not sorry that he stood up stoutly in defense of his positive convictions; no man ever regrets that, but sorry that he should have esteemed it necessary to go to such lengths in pursuit of his ends that it put reconciliation and ultimate restoration of friendship beyond the bounds of the possible. He remembers these incidents with a vague discomfort. No matter which of the two was in the wrong, he holds himself responsible for the outcome.

Did he convince the other of his error? Scarcely. "He that complies against his will is of his own opinion still." Did the encounter seriously contribute to the upbuilding of his own character? Hardly, unless it was desirable to encourage in himself the love of fighting for the fight's sake. His later calm and deliberate conviction is that it was not worth while, and he grudges the vitality and energy he put into it, which might well have been conserved to later, more mature and far better use.

The thing the man remembers at this particular point in his life with the most satisfaction is not such a fruitless contest, but rather the time when, by conceding a point, by some exercise of forbearance in pressing an advantage, he made a friend of his opponent, although they differed irreconcilably. Touching these other encounters, which at the moment it seemed so necessary to win, but which in the end were so barren of real gain, he says, somewhat sorely, "Let them be forgotten and forgiven."

He recalls with secret gratification not his paltry and vainglorious victories, but his flabby and perhaps senti­mental concessions: the small foolish, kindly things that he did, rare enough, he admits, but fruitful in pleasing memories. For, after all, we are men tarred with the same stick; more or less good, bad or indifferent, as the case may be, yet all capable of doing something kind for each other. He draws from his past the lesson of tolerance, for the future that is left to him, and resolves, perhaps vainly, but at least, for the moment, sincerely, that henceforth, while he may never falter in defense of a principle, he will try hard to so moderate his attacks upon the other man as to leave no sting past healing.

The assets he counts up with the most satisfaction are the friends he finds about him. What they may expect of him is the animus of his future. He will endeavor to be true to them and to his own convictions, but he will avoid the useless multiplication of enemies. This is his hope, as he takes stock of what lies before him.

Perhaps the writer could offer no suggestion to his readers, touching the form which good resolves, customary at this season of the year, should take, that would be better for ourselves and for the world we live in, than that we will lead kindlier lives; that we will be less sure and less harsh in our judgments; that we will refrain as far as in us lies from giving the other man "a piece of our minds;" that we will leave room for him to be convinced of his error, if he be wrong and we right, not through the might of our pounding, but rather through the gradual change in his own convictions; that we will finally try to, proceed on the way that we esteem the right and only one with less friction, believing that which is true and right will prevail anyhow, and the surer and swifter if it be not enforced by contention.

In a word, to resolve to make friends, not at the sacri­fice of conviction or principle, but by conceding to others the simple right of learning the truth in their own time and in their own way, helped perhaps by our, of course, pre-eminently wise suggestion and example, if truly they be such, but at least not hindered by our overemphatic dictum.

The Question Box

Question:

In Matthew 16:18 our Lord is re­ported to have said: "Thou art Pe­ter, and upon this rock I will build my Church." What is the signifi­cance of this statement? Please also explain the meaning of the words in the next verse, which read: "I will give unto thee the keys of the King­dom of heaven."

Answer:

Roman Catholic theologians teach that in the words "upon this rock," our Lord has reference to Peter, himself.

It will be recalled that when his brother Andrew introduced him to the Lord, Simon had been greeted by Jesus with the words: "Thou art Simon the son of John: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by inter­pretation Peter" (that is, a rock or a stone. - John 1:42 margin, A.R.V.). At that time Simon was anything but a rock, but our Lord's penetrating glance saw in the hot­headed, impulsive, rash, unstable Si­mon other qualities which, in his skillful and loving hands, could be, and would be, so trained and devel­oped, so molded and strengthened, as to give him the self-control he lacked; which would fit him for service, make him stout-hearted and strong where he was now weak -- helpful, no longer unreliable, in the cause which at heart he loved.

Catholics, indeed, contend for much more than this. It is their posi­tion that, after his resurrection, hav­ing previously conferred on Simon the name of Cephas, our Lord made Peter "Prince of the Apostles"; that when he thrice reinstated him in the under-shepherd's office (John 21:15-23) our Lord conferred on Pe­ter a primacy-a primacy which he began to exercise immediately fol­lowing our Lord's ascension.

Protestant expositors readily ad­mit the outstanding leadership of Peter during the early days of the Church. This is clearly in evidence in the events recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. Some, indeed, share the Catholic view that in the words, "upon this rock," our Lord had reference to Peter. However, such Protestant scholars reject the fur­ther Catholic claims that this pre­eminence descended to a line of suc­cessors. For this idea Protestants of all shades of belief find no Scrip­tural basis.

Most Protestant scholars, howev­er, do not believe that the words, "upon this rock," refer to Peter. Such believe that had that been our Lord's meaning, he would have said "Thou art Peter and upon thee will I build my Church." On this point there is an interesting footnote in Rotherham's translation.

Other scholars, too, have noted that in Matthew 16:18 the word "Peter" is a translation of the Greek word petros, which means a piece of rock; whereas the word "rock" is a translation of the Greek word petra, which means a mass of rock. On this point see the Greek Dictionary in the back of Strong's Concordance, Nos. SG4074 and SG4073. The word petra suggests the bed-rock out of which pieces of rock or stones are cut; whereas petros carries the thought of one of such stones; a large stone, indeed, and perhaps the first-certainly one of the first -- to be laid upon the great underlying Rock -- foundation on which all the faithful would be built.

Some of the early Christian Fa­thers -- indeed some modern Protes­tant expositors -- have supposed that the rock referred to was not Peter, but Peter's confession of faith, the faith to which he had just given ex­pression in Matt. 16:16, namely, that Jesus was the long-promised Christ -- the Messiah of Old Testament prophecy. Against this interpreta­tion, however, there has been urged, what appears to be a valid objection. The objection is this: In Scripture, whenever the word "rock" is em­ployed figuratively, it is applied to persons, never to things. Indeed, the designation "rock" in the Old Tes­tament is applied only to Jehovah; in the New Testament only to Christ. For example: "He [God] is the rock." (Deut. 32:4); "Who is a rock, save our God? " (2 Sam. 22:32); "In the Lord Jehovah is a rock of ages." (Isa. 26:4, margin "They drank of a spiritual rock that followed them; and the rock was the Christ." - 1 Cor. 10:4, margin.

Christ, then, not Peter, nor yet Peter's confession of faith, but Christ himself is the rock. And on this rock he has ever since been building his Church. The bedrock, the "Rock of Ages," is here, in Matthew 16:18, as elsewhere in the Scriptures, God, as revealed in his Son.

In harmony with this, the Apos­tle Paul declares: "Other founda­tion can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." - 1 Cor. 3:11.

We come now to those other words: "And I will give unto thee the keys of the Kingdom of heaven." What is the meaning here?

In these words the Savior varies his presentation. He had spoken of his Church as an edifice, himself as its bedrock, and Peter as likely to become an important foundation ­stone, to be well and truly laid upon it. The figure in his mind was evi­dently that of a temple. Now he likens his Church to a kingdom. The headquarters of a kingdom is a city; keys would be needed to open its gates.

Elsewhere in the Scriptures our Lord declares that he, and he alone possesses the key. This he tells us, in language unmistakable, in his message to the Church at Philadel­phia: "These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and no man shutteth; and shutteth and no man openeth." (Rev. 3:7.) The only one possessing the power to open the door into his Church was and is himself. But when lie spoke, his earthly course was about to be ended. Henceforth he would operate through honored agents. Whom shall he use to open the doors of the Kingdom? The answer to this question may be seen in the events which followed his ascension. Very evident it is that to Peter it was granted, in his great discourse on the day of Pentecost, to open the door of the Kingdom to the Jews. (Acts 2:14, 40.) To him also was as­signed the high privilege of open­ing that door to the Gentiles, in the case of Cornelius. (Acts 10; 11; 15 7.) In this privilege of opening the door to both Jews and Gentiles Pe­ter was, indeed, signally honored; but only in this did he have any pre­eminence amongst the Apostles. And of course, such a prominence, granted for a particular service, could not, in its very nature, be passed on to a successor.

It is worthy of note that the pow­er to bind and loose on earth and in heaven, mentioned in the closing words of verse 19, was granted not only to Peter, but to all the Apos­tles. (Matt. 18:18.) These phrases, "whatsoever thou shalt bind," and "whatsoever thou shalt loose," were common Hebrew expressions, hav­ing a definite and well-known mean­ing. "To bind" meant "to forbid," or "to declare forbidden." "To loose" meant "to allow," or "to de­clare allowable." The eminent schol­ar, Lightfoot, tells us that one might produce thousands of exam­ples from the writings of the Jews to prove that such was the meaning of the phrases in question. By our Lord's employment of them here, then, may be understood, in harmo­ny with his promise in John 16:12, that after he had been crucified, raised from the dead, and ascended to God's right hand, the holy spirit of truth would be sent to them, to guide and direct them in their min­istry, so that in their presentation of the Gospel, and in all related mat­ters, in connection with the unfold­ing of God's great plan of salvation, the true follower of the Mas­ter might have confidence that they were having revealed to them, not merely the thought of the Apostles, but the very mind and purposes of God.

To summarize then, Jesus is, as the hymn-writer has suggested:

" . . . The great Rock-foundation, 
Whereon our feet were set by sovereign grace;
Not life, nor death, with all their agi­tation,
Can thence remove us, if we see his face."

Meanwhile, while we do not wor­ship them, we delight to honor those whom Jesus honored, namely, the Twelve Apostles, as being, all of them, foundation-stones indeed. The wall of the City (of the New Jeru­salem), we are told by Peter him­self, is built of living stones. (1 Pet. 2:4, 5.) And the Master, in "the vision glorious," has told us that this wall has twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb. (Rev. 21:14.) And not only are their names in­scribed there; these foundations are seen to be "adorned with all man­ner of precious stones." (Verse 19.) Well may we honor them.

To close with words well known to us all, we "are being built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Christ Jesus himself be­ing the chief corner stone; in whom every building, fitly framed togeth­er, groweth into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom ye also are build­ed together for a habitation of God in the spirit. " - Ephes. 2:20-33, A.R.V., margin.

- P. L. Read.

The Pilgrim Ministry

As we enter the forty-third year of our association together, it is encourag­ing to report that far from diminishing, there is an increasing interest in the Pilgrim Branch of our ministry. At this time of the year, when most of the friends are renewing their "Herald" sub­scriptions, correspondents frequently take the time to assure us that the services of our traveling brethren are deeply appreciated.

In regard to the character of the meetings: While we have suggested to the friends that they arrange for a pub­lic witness on the occasion of Pilgrim visits, and while we still so recommend, nevertheless our convictions are that the richer ministry is realized in those meet­ings in which the discourses are more especially adapted to the spiritual needs of the friends themselves.

It facilitates the work and assists those who have matters in charge, when brethren throughout the country com­municate their wishes well in advance, so that when we are making out sched­ules we are in a better position to make appointments. It is helpful, too, if we are informed in advance of the probable number of discourses desired.

During the past few years our "Herald" subscription list has more than trebled, and it may well be that some of our readers are not aware of the availability of the services of our Pil­grim brethren. We take this oppor­tunity, therefore, of informing such that our traveling brethren frequently pass through cities where there are only one or two friends and that arrangements could easily be made for a stop at such points, without any additional expense, if we were informed in sufficient time to include such appointment in a Pil­grim's schedule. It will, therefore, assist us materially, and make it possible to accomplish more in this branch of our ministry if our readers will let us know, well in advance, their wishes in regard to Pilgrim visits.

The Ministry of the Word

"They that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name." - Mal. 3:16.

IN the rapid developments of our day, pointing to the steadily approaching kingdom of our beloved Savior, there is an evident seriousness amongst the Lord's people, and a desire to be ready to "enter in." During the past year it has been my privilege to journey by automobile a distance of almost 19,000 miles across this great country of ours, as well as in western Canada, accom­panied by Sister Muir for a portion of the trip. We travelled by the southern route to California and then north along the coast to British Columbia, east from there to Winnipeg, south to Iowa, west as far as Colorado and then east to points in Kansas, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michi­gan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, Dela­ware, New Jersey, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia and home to Florida. During this pilgrimage of ten months it was my privilege to address the friends at 247 meetings.

About 20 years had elapsed since my last visit to the Pacific Coast. We were warmly welcomed by loving hearts, at the various places visited, and it brought us much joy to experience something of the "love divine, all love excelling," that we sing about so often. This was true at every stop along the way, so that the physical effort involved was entirely for­gotten, as we all sat "together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." There is, there­fore, a very warm place in our affections for each of the friends in their labor of love toward us; a labor of love which was done, not only to us, but also to our Lord.

The object of our mission was to strengthen the brethren in their Chris­tian faith and practice, without regard to any affiliation they might have, be­lieving that whatever differences there might be so far as our heads are con­cerned, our hearts should be one in union with our Lord and Head. In order that all might share something of this oneness of fellowship amongst the heirs to salvation, we conveyed the indi­vidual greetings in love from place to place. We rejoiced to learn of different ones of the older friends having passed to their reward, and yet this knowledge brought, home to us the fact that the circle of such friends still with us is becoming smaller each year. Moreover, as we noted on every hand "men's hearts failing them" for fear of coming events, it was a satisfaction to us to note also a growing disposition on the part of the brethren, to be together as much as possible, for mutual encouragement and growth in grace.

Our message was not one of bondage to any individual or group, but a re­iteration of St. Paul's statement that we are bond slaves of Christ. (Gal. 6:17.) Indeed, if we have covenanted all to Christ and dedicated our lives in his service, how could it be otherwise with us? The New Testament assures us that in love we are to serve one another, not that we are to serve only those who agree with us. (Gal. 5:13.) Sectarian­ism comes in many guises and in the beginning is almost imperceptible, but once started it moves relentlessly for­ward to complete domination of the individual, unless resisted with the pebble from the brook -- a "Thus saith the Lord."

Between meetings, of course, were opportunities for personal discussions, including questions of practical import, as well as those having to do especially with prophetic matters. The result of these exchanges helped me personally, and were, I believe, mutually profitable. By engaging in them one is led to define the faith more precisely in his own mind, and thus to grasp more firmly, and to prize more dearly, the truth which sanctifies. In the Scriptures are such depths of meaning, so much re­mains to be comprehended, that its wealth is inexhaustible. Any one, there­fore, whose incapacity is not evident, may rightly claim from us a patient and attentive hearing when he offers to lead us into these depths. At the same time we must remember that there is a temp­tation to make Scripture mean more than its Divine Author intended, as well as a temptation to make it mean less.

Sometimes the expression is used when discussing some feature of truth: "that is unorthodox." Orthodoxy means "right thinking," but to many it has come to mean: "to think as I do." In these marvellous days, man is constantly learning fresh truth in the arts, astron­omy, chemistry, medicine, atomic and electronic developments, and through new applications of old principles. It ought not, to be counted strange that the Lord's people would learn fresh truths in God's Word (Col. 1:10); nd that that modification of some views which we once held as truth must be made, because facts have rendered our theories obsolete. Truth remains a living thing. (Eph. 3:18-19.) In theory I have found the rights of conscience and private judgment admitted by nearly all, but this is not always the case in practice. The Word of God is parallel to nature; nature is still yielding her secrets to the diligent student. Likewise the Lord's Word awaits the faith, patience and skill of those who seek, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to find "still increas­ing light."

It was my privilege to attend a num­ber of conventions. At one it was my privilege to deliver the consecration talk at a baptismal service for five candidates. Some friends contend that the Lord is still busily engaged in reaping the field and that we should be fully engaged therein with him. Brother Russell's view appeals to me as wiser. It was his counsel to urge people to consecrate themselves to the Lord as being their reasonable service, and then to leave him to decide their future reward. Was not this our Lord's own thought in Matt. 20:7, in connection with the parable of the labor­ers in the vineyard? Speaking to those engaged at the eleventh hour, he said: "Whatsoever is right that shall ye re­ceive." Let us be thankful that we have a loving and understanding Lord.

The prophecy of Amos 9:13 that "the plowman has overtaken the reaper and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed" seems to be in process of fulfil­ment, as we have long believed. As Brother Russell suggested, with World War I, the plowman (the great time of trouble) began operations, and in the world today we behold the "field plowed up throughout Europe, the Near East, the Far East, and now spreading throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Is it not the part of wisdom, that we adjust our spiritual sights in accordance with the developments taking place in the earth? "Blessed are your eyes for they see; and your ears for they hear."

While in Calgary, Alberta, Sister Muir met with an accident, breaking her wrist. The brother in whose home we were, was very solicitous and did everything possible under the circumstances. We assured him not to worry because this was covered in the grand promise in Rom. 8:28-"All things work together for good to them that love God," and in this instance the Lord had no doubt per­mitted the experience for our benefit. Sister Muir was somewhat inconveni­enced travelling with the arm in a cast, so decided to return home from Chicago. Subsequently she rejoined me at the Atlantic City convention at the end of September, to journey home with me.

As we now sit quietly at home, and reflect upon the wonderful care of our heavenly Father throughout this pilgrim trip, and also on the love and affection showered upon us by his people, it warms our hearts and makes us say: "How rich a lot is ours." If we have been a comfort to the Lord's dear ones, the ministry has been amply repaid.

Our feelings, as we look back, remind us of the words of Sir Walter Scott in his "Lay of the last minstrel":

"True love's the gift which God hath given
To man alone beneath the heaven: 
It is not fantasy's hot fire, 
Whose wishes soon as granted fly;
It liveth not in fierce desire, 
With dead desire it does not die;
It is the secret sympathy,
The silver link, the silken tie,
Which heart to heart and mind to mind,
In body and in soul can bind."

We surely can rejoice in "the tie that binds" and our prayer for each of the dear friends everywhere is, that they may be enriched as new creatures in Christ Jesus. And again we seek the prayers of the Lord's dear people, that the ministry of the spoken word and of the Herald may continue to have the Lord's blessing and guidance for the comfort of the saints. We hope the Lord will permit us to visit his people again in the coming year, and trust that he has found last year's ministry sufficiently to his pleasing, to crown it with his blessing.

-A. L. Muir.

Recently Deceased

Sr. Carolina Ledwinka, Ontario, Calif.  (Sept.)
Bro. R.. H. McCartney, Haddonfield, N. J.­ (Nov.)
Sr. Corey H. Mitchell, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Dec.)
Bro. A. L. Smith, Washington, D.C. (Nov.)

1961 Index