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THE HERALD
of Christ's Kingdom

VOL. LI. January/February 1968 No. 1
Table of Contents

Israel Today

The Memorial Date -- 1968

The Question Box

Solar and Lunar Measures of Time

The Resurrection of the Dead

A Pilgrimage in Britain

Pastor Russell's Out of Print Writings

The Year Before Us

Recently Deceased

New Year Reflections

"Tell ... how great things the Lord hath done for thee." - Mark 5:19.

As he considers the increased apprehension with which today's natural man enters the New Year, the Christian's own unique position must surely evoke heartfelt praise and thanksgiving for his "many benefits" received from the "Giver of every good and perfect gift." How beautifully is this expressed in the 30th Psalm!

"I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up,
And hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
O Lord my God,
I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.
O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave:
Thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit."
- Vss. 1-3.

Is not this descriptive of our own experience? Do we not remember "the hole of the pit whence we were digged"? We "who were dead in trespasses and sins . . . fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others" (Eph. 2:1-3). "What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death" (Rom. 6:21). Yes, our feet were almost gone; our steps had well-nigh slipped. We looked for some to take pity, but there were none; and for comforters, but found none.

Then "this poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles." For He "looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the Lord behold the earth; to hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death." "But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the holy spirit; which he shed on us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

And "when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? ... Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Psa. 34:6; 102:19, 20; Titus 3:4-7; 1 Cor. 15:54-57).

"Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his,
And give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
For his anger endureth but a moment; In his favor is life:
Weeping may endure for a night,
But joy cometh in the morning." - Psalm 30:4, 5.

Sing praise ("sweep the strings" or "make music" - Rotherham) unto the Lord for "praise is comely for the upright" (Psa. 33:1). Again, "Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely" (Psa. 147:1).

In its highest and truest significance, praise is the instinctive outburst of adoring worship that rises from a pure spirit at the knowledge and vision of an infinite, self-existent, all-creative, and sovereignly ruling God, a God of holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. It occupies a higher vantage-ground than thanksgiving, since it represents reverent homage for God in himself, as he is in his eternal, glorious, perfect, and blessed Being, and appreciative adoration utterly without thought of the good he bestows upon the worshiping, recipient creature. The offering of praise, therefore, is the one spontaneous act of the true saint, unaffected by promise of good and uninfluenced by expectation of return for service. As thus unmixed with any thought of self, praise is the highest expression of honor to God, and it brings the purest and loftiest element into the Christian's communion with him. In both Testaments it is characterized as an "offering" or "sacrifice" by which God is glorified (Psa. 50:14, 23; Psa. 107:22; Heb. 13:15).

The "remembrance of his holiness" means literally "his holy memorial" ("celebrate his holy memorial" (Darby) and refers probably to the passage, "This is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations," (Ex. 3:15). God's name is his revelation of himself in all his various attributes of love, wisdom, power, holiness, truth, righteousness. God's memorial is that great history of redemption, which was, so to speak, the setting up of a monument to his glory, on which all these attributes were inscribed. The Revised Version brings out the precise thought in translating: "Give thanks to his holy memorial name."

The fifth verse tells us of the bitter and the sweet, the dark and the light, which run in various distribution among human lives. The underlying doctrine is the great fact that "God is love," that love runs through all, rules over all, explains all. Rotherham renders this verse, "For there is a Moment in his anger, a Lifetime in his good pleasure [or favor]; in the evening cometh Weeping to lodge, but by the morning 'tis a Shout of Triumph [or joy]!" The parallelism is carefully preserved in each member -- "anger . . . favor"; "a moment . . . a lifetime"; "evening . . . morning" "weeping . . . joy." Weeping is described under the image of a wayfarer who comes in at evening to lodge for the night. The suddenness and surprise of gladness in the morning are beautifully represented by the simple "at dawn, a shout of joy."

From Isaiah we quote a beautiful parallel passage: "For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer" (Isa. 54:7, 8). And in the greater picture of the Restitution day which the Psalmist's words bring to mind, we in foretaste envision that new "heaven and earth," that never-to-end "Morning," when God's blessings poured forth upon astonished mankind will wipe away all tears and more than offset their experience under the terrible Night of Weeping (Isa. 65:17; Rev. 21:4; Isa. 35:10; Isa. 25:6-9).

"And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.
Lord, by thy favor thou hast made my mountain to stand strong:
Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. I cried to thee, O Lord;
And unto the Lord I made supplication.
What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit?
Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?
Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me: Lord, be thou my helper."
- Psalm 30:6-10.

In their times of trial God's people in all ages have been brought to feel their entire dependence on him. In days of flowing prosperity we have little sense of that dependence. As the Psalmist expresses it here: "In my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved." We are very apt to dream when things are well with us that they will always be so and never otherwise. "Tomorrow shall be as this day." But prosperity is more pleasant than profitable to us. For we are never in greater danger than in the sunshine of prosperity.

It is more common to pray for strength to endure through times of adversity and suffering than for strength to endure through times of prosperity and gladness. Yet it is these latter times of buoyant self reliance that are most full of peril. It is not in those perilous ways when every step gives fresh evidence that without our Leader we are lost, that we are most likely to turn away from him. That supreme peril comes rather when we walk in the open plain, and have forgotten the serpents that lurk among the flowers. For every soul that is harmed by adversity, ten are harmed by prosperity.

And how deceiving is that prosperity! When the days run smoothly, "involving happy months, and these as happy years," all seems certain to continue. But a change comes over our life. Ill health fastens on us; death invades our circle; relatives bring us into deep waters; our means of living fail; we are plunged into a very wilderness of woe. How falsely we judged when we thought that it was by its own inherent stability our mountain stood strong! No, it was solely the result of God's favor, for all our springs are in him; the moment he hides his face we are most grievously troubled. All the world does no good without the favor of God.

"O! may no earth-born cloud arise
To hide Thee from thy servant's eyes."

How moving is the Psalmist's plea to God in Psalm 30:8-9! And yet his prayer for prolonged life was not offered with the view of any earthly possession or enjoyment, but only with a view to the honor of God. He dreaded death as being an end of praise to God. His plea is, "What would my life-blood avail if thou shouldest send me to the grave? If I may live I shall praise thee and witness to thy truth before the living, and this will avail to thy glory and honor. But, cut down in death, my lips are dumb thenceforth as to any testimony for thee in the land of the living." Essentially the same reasoning appears in Psalm 6:5, Psalm 88:10-12, and Isa. 38:18, 19.

Thank God for the assurance that we shall not lie silent in the grave, but in the glorious Age of the future shall show forth the praises of him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvelous light -- him whose workmanship we now are, created in Christ Jesus unto good works. We therefore ask aright for life when we have in view that we may live and praise him.

"Lord, be thou my helper." In every duty, in every conflict, in every trial, in every effort to promote the Lord's cause, in every season of prosperity, in every hour we live, this short prayer is suitable. If the Lord help us, there is no duty which we cannot overcome; there is no difficulty which we cannot surmount.

"Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing:
Thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;
To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever."
- Psalm 30:11, 12.

To bless God for mercies is the way to increase them; to bless him for miseries is the way to remove them. No good lives so long as that which is thankfully improved; and no evil dies so soon as that which is patiently endured. The concluding words of this Psalm raise a responsive chord in our hearts: "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels" (Isa. 61:10).

"To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee." This word "glory" is also found in Psalm 16:9 and signifies "tongue," and is so translated in the quotation of this verse found in Acts 2:26. As light is the glory of fire (Ex. 24:17), so speech is the glory, the bright shining of the intellect. "Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee" (Psa. 63:3). For what have we to do in the world as his creatures, anew created unto good works, but to exercise ourselves in those, and by those to advance his glory? That all may return to him from whom all is, as the rivers run back to the sea from whence they came. Of him and through him, and therefore for him are all things. "I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning; for thou hast been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble. I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou Most High" (Psa. 59:16; 9:1, 2).

- W. J. Siekman

Israel Today

It is a pleasure to report that our new booklet, Israel and the Middle East, is attracting wide attention. Some five thousand individual requests have been received to date. Nearly all comments have been favorable. One, just at hand from a high official in the Israel government, notes that its contents are "so firmly grounded in Scripture."

Of special interest is the fact that young people are finding it helpful in connection with their college studies on the history of Israel. For these and other reasons, we are submitting the following article by Arthur W. Kac, M.D. Although written in 1956, it is relevant today and we believe its careful reading cannot fail to profit. Therein he presents what he believes to be The Truth About the Israel-Arab Problem, a belief shared by our Directors and Editors. - Ed. Com.

The Middle East is a land bridge between three continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe. To the east lie the vast reaches of Asia with the teeming millions of Russia, India, and China. To the west are the Mediterranean countries of Europe. Here lie the world's richest oil fields; here also is a concentration of the world's most abject poverty, filth, and disease. Here lies tiny Israel with a population of less than three million and surrounded on three sides by Arab States whose chief bond of union is their common hatred for Israel.

I
THE CENTURIES OLD JEWISH HOPE
OF NATIONAL RESTORATION

Throughout the long centuries since their dispersion from their National Homeland the Jewish people have never ceased to long and hope for their national restoration in the land of their forefathers. This hope occupies a prominent place in the Prayer Book of the Synagogue. The Prayer Book was the visible link between the various Jewish communities scattered all over the world. Every Jew, wherever he happened to live, would recite the same prayers, with perhaps certain minor variations, at a certain particular time of any given day. Three times a day the Jew would turn his face in the direction of Jerusalem and ask God for the speedy restoration of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel. Here are two representative passages culled from the daily Prayer Book: "Blow the great trumpet of our deliverance, and raise the banner of the ingathering of our exiles and assemble us together from the four corners of the earth." "And return in mercy to thy city of Jerusalem and dwell in her midst as thou hast spoken, and restore her with a perpetual restoration speedily in our days." There is hardly a page in the Prayer Book without some allusion to the national restoration in the Land of Israel.

In the winter months the Jew living in the dispersion would nevertheless pray for rain for the Land of Israel, and in the summer, for dew, in accordance with the climatic conditions of Israel. On the 15th day of the month of Shvat -- the first day of spring in Israel -- the Jew in the dispersion would participate in the spring celebration though it may still be winter in the country of his sojourn. On the 9th day of the month of Av, the anniversary of the destruction of Jerusalem, the Jew would fast all day and mourn the loss of national independence. In his Talmudic studies he busied himself with situations in existence in Israel before his dispersion, situations which he thought would be reestablished after the national restoration. Thus the Jew kept himself in constant readiness to proceed to Israel when the call comes. In his prayers and religious studies, in life's joys and sorrows, in the multitude of his daily tasks and duties, the Jew carried on as if the loss of the National Homeland was only a transient phenomenon. From time to time many Jews grew weary waiting for the long expected call to return and they liquidated their belongings and started out for Israel. Thus there was a constant movement of Jews to Israel varying, in accordance with circumstances, from a trickle to a broad stream.

II

THE GREAT RETURN

Only one time in the long centuries since the destruction of the Jewish National Homeland has the ideal of national restoration receded into the background. This was in the era of the French Revolution. The political freedom that came to Europe in the wake of the French Revolution had brought political emancipation to the Jewish communities in Central and Western Europe. For the first time in many centuries European Jews ceased to look upon themselves as strangers in foreign lands and were anxious to become part and parcel of the life of the countries of their residence.

But the Jews were not to enjoy their improved position too long. Within 75 years a political reaction set in which, among other things, proceeded to restore pre-revolutionary conditions in Europe. This gave rise to the so-called racial anti-Semitism designed to eliminate the Jews from the general life of the various countries. The Jewish reaction to racial anti-Semitism of the Post-French Revolution era was a return to the age long ideal of national restoration. A wave of Zionist nationalism swept through the various Jewish communities in Europe. It differed in one important respect from the Zionism of the centuries preceding the French Revolution. The Jews became now convinced that it is not enough to weep and mourn for the loss of the National Homeland and to pray for its restoration. They must themselves do something to bring about the realization of their national hope. Accordingly, various movements and groups sprang up in the second half of the 19th century, all aiming to settle Jews in Israel. The Zionist Organization established in the last decade of the 19th century came into being as the crystallization of these various nationalist trends among the Jews.

This movement among the Jews to restore their National Home did not escape the attention of the Gentile world. In a dispatch to the British ambassador to Turkey dated August 11th, 1840, Lord Palmerston, then British Foreign Secretary under Queen Victoria, made the following statement: "There exists at present among the Jews dispersed over Europe a strong notion. that the time is approaching when their nation is to return to Palestine, and, consequently, their wish to go thither has become more keen, and their thoughts have been bent more intensely than before upon the means of realizing their wish." * Lord Shaftesbury made in 1854 the following entry in his diary: "There is a country without a nation, and God now, in his wisdom and mercy, directs us to a nation without a country." * *

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

* S. A. Morrison, Middle East Survey (S C M Press Ltd.: London, 1954) p. 25.

* * Ibid.

The outgrowth of this revived ideal of Jewish national restoration was the Jewish Colonization Program in Palestine which began some 75 years ago. Agricultural settlements were established, and the Jewish people, whom centuries of Gentile oppression had turned into a nation of shopkeepers, plunged into the backbreaking but sacred task of rejuvenating the ruined soil and rebuilding the devastated country of their forefathers. At the beginning of this Colonization Program there were only some 24,000 Jews in Palestine. By 1914, some 30 years later, the number of Jews in Palestine rose to 100,000.

III

THE PALESTINE MANDATE

In accordance with the principle of national self-determination the Allies in the First World War declared that one of their war aims was to give to the various non-Turkish nations which formed a part of the Turkish Empire an opportunity to become politically independent states. At the same time the Allies made it clear to the Arab nationalists that Palestine was not to become an Arab State both on account of its significance to Christendom and its historical association with the Jewish people. To this the spokesman of the Arab liberation movement agreed.

On November 2, 1917, the British Government published the Balfour Declaration in which the Government declared its sympathetic attitude to the establishment of a Jewish National Homeland in Palestine and promised to lend its assistance in the attainment of this goal. In 1922 the League of Nations, representing some fifty nations, approved the Balfour Declaration and it incorporated it in the Palestine Mandate the execution of which it entrusted to Great Britain. The Palestine Mandate was in due time approved by the United States of America.

IV

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL

In World War Two the Nazis exterminated six million Jews in Europe. Had the European phase of World War Two lasted a little longer no Jews would have been left alive in Nazi occupied Europe. As it was, about 100,000 Jews were found alive in the Nazi concentration camps at the war's end. These people, many of whom were the only survivors of whole families, broken in body, mind and soul, had no place to go. Their own homes were wiped out of existence. Their families were exterminated. No outside countries, not even their native lands, would welcome them. The truth of the matter is that there was only one country in the whole wide world where they cared to go. That country was the Land of Israel, where they could be among their own people.

In the meantime the evils of the Chamberlain pro-Arab policy, continued by Bevin in the 1945-7 era, had brought Palestine to the brink of civil war. In the spring of 1947 Britain referred the whole Palestine Mandate problem to the United Nations. On, November 29, 1947 the General Assembly voted to terminate the Palestine Mandate and the creation of an Arab and Jewish State in Mandated Palestine. The surrounding Arab States replied to this decision of the United Nations with an invasion of Palestine by their armies.

The Jewish people in Palestine who at that time numbered about 650,000 rose in defense of their lives and their beloved Homeland. They crushed the combined strength of the Arab armies. An armistice was concluded between the Arabs and Israel under the mediation of the United Nations. A Jewish State came into existence in Palestine, but no Arab State, as the outside Arab States grabbed chunks of Palestine and incorporated them into their own countries. Jordan annexed a large part on the west side of the river Jordan, and Egypt seized the Gaza Strip on the Mediterranean seacoast.

V

JEWISH ACHIEVEMENTS IN PALESTINE

When the Jews began to return to Palestine they found a country denuded of trees, large areas covered with malaria-breeding swamps, mountain slopes made bare through the constant washing away of its soil, sand dunes rolling in from the seacoast, a country wrecked, ruined, and desolate. Though ancient Palestine supported a population of 3 to 4 million people two thousand years ago, at the time of the Jewish Return, some 80 years ago, the population numbered some 300,000. Most of the Arab peasants were illiterate, afflicted with diseases, and living in abject poverty and filth.

The Jews drained the swamps thus eliminating the deadly malaria-carrying mosquitoes. They cleared the rocks from the hills. Mountain slopes were terraced and cultivated. Trees were planted where nothing else would grow. Grass was seeded where crops would not grow. A new cow was evolved through crossbreeding one of the local strains with a European breed. Similarly, a new hen was produced. These new animal strains are far superior to those used by the Arabs for centuries. Their milk and egg production capacity compare favorably with that of the finest breeds in America. They have perfected the local sheep and goat. They have experimented with new seeds and introduced new varieties of vegetables and fruits never grown in Palestine before. They revolutionized Palestine's agriculture. "In roughly twenty-five years," says Edgar A. Mowrer, "they now have transformed a semi-desert into one of the garden spots of the world. They have established the only industrial center in a thousand mile radius." ***

King Abdullah of Transjordan once said: "I was astonished at what I saw at the Jewish colonies when I traveled from Jenin to Lydda. . . . They have colonized the sand dunes, extracted their water, quickened them to life and transformed them into a paradise." ****

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*** Edgar A. Mowrer, Problems of the Middle East (Proceedings of a Conference held at the School of Education, New York University, June 5th-6th, 1947), p. 102.

**** Mudhakkirati Abdullah B. Hussein, 1945, p. 249; quoted in The Jewish Plan for Palestine (The Jewish Agency for Palestine: Jerusalem, 1947), p. 121.

(To be concluded in March issue)

The Memorial Date -- 1968

In the early days of the "Present Truth" movement, independent attempts were made, from time to time, to calculate the precise date for the Memorial celebration, and difficulties were encountered. Many readers of this journal will recall that Brother Russell, on more than one occasion, undertook to explain these difficulties in helpful articles on the subject. However, regardless of the method of calculation followed, and the resulting date thus reached, he invariably emphasized the thought that the exact date was not the all-important matter, but rather the keeping of the Feast itself, and that with unanimity. In the latter years of his life he adopted the course of accepting, without question, the Passover date that had been decided upon by the Jewish authorities and according to Hebrew calculations, believing that they were generally reliable and based on the Scriptures.

Ever since the Pastoral Bible Institute was formed (in 1918), our Directors and Editors have consistently recommended the date determined by reference to the Jewish calendar. (As noted on the back page of this issue of the Herald, that date, in 1968, is after sundown on Thursday, April 11th.) They are unanimous in the belief that their course has had the Lord's approval.

In this connection we submit, at this time, two paragraphs from our beloved Pastor's pen, written more than fifty years ago, which still appeal to us as wise and faithful counsel.

"The Jewish method of reckoning, based upon the phases of the moon, was necessarily different from ours, and it was therefore very much less easy to determine an exact beginning for their month. Especially was this the case when the spring equinox had a bearing upon the matter, and when, as was the case with the Jews, another type demands that the Passover should come at the time of the harvest. All who have knowledge on the subject will admit that it would be practically impossible to fix dates for the beginning of the Jewish year by lunar time, in harmony with the harvest season, without there being room for dispute and difference of opinion. From our Lord's standpoint all that was settled for the people by the decision of the Scribes, whose business it was to fix a date as the beginning of the new year, and the fourteenth day of that year became the established date for the Memorial. In other words, whether the Scribes fixed a date earlier or a date later would not have particularly mattered; the object was to have a uniform date and to recognize the fourteenth day of the first month at even.

"So the matter remains today. We do not understand that any stress or hairsplitting is necessary in the ascertainment of the particular counting of the first day of the first month, Jewish time, but that there is appropriateness associated with a general commemoration upon the same day after sundown, a consensus of judgment as to which day shall be observed as the fourteenth of Nisan being all that is necessary and proper."

- Reprints, R3750.

The Question Box

In the past few months we have had an increasing number of requests for further discussion of scriptures relating to time prophecies. These requests have to do with related topics which, to facilitate discussion, may be grouped under five main headings, as follows:

1) Solar-lunar cycles
2) Prophetic periods
3) The Memorial Date
4) The "little horns" of Daniel 7 and 8
5) Gentile Times

As regular readers of our journal know, from time to time we have discussed all these subjects. However, the unfolding events of our times tend to put them in somewhat clearer light, as might be expected. (The path of the . . . just . . . is like the light of dawn, that shines more and more-brighter and clearer-until [it reaches its full strength and glory in] the perfect . . . day. Prov. 4:18 Amplified Bible.)

Moreover, today, our Herald list contains the names of many new readers. Furthermore, the works of most of the writers which would serve as "source material" for some of these subjects are no longer in print. We trust, therefore, to be excused if we occupy a little more space than usual on these subjects, in this, and the next few issues of the Herald.

Question No. 1

In discussing prophetic periods I notice that, in some of your booklets you speak of "lunar, solar and calendar" years. You do this, for example, on page 6 of your new booklet, Israel and the Middle East. Would you be good enough to define and discuss these terms?

Answer No. 1

The lunar year, of about 354 days, consists of twelve complete phases of the moon, or lunar months; the solar year, of about 365 days, is marked out by the circuit of the earth round the sun, through the four seasons; there is also a year of 360 days, consisting of twelve months of 30 days each, which is used in the narrative of the Flood, and in the Symbolic (sometimes called Prophetic) prophecies.

In his Approaching End of the Age, the first edition of which was published in 1878, H. Grattan Guinness, F.R.G.S., presented in detail the discoveries of a Swiss astronomer by the name of M. De Cheseaux. Even in 1878 M. De Cheseaux's book was out of print, although Guinness informs us that a copy, edited and published by De Cheseaux's sons in 1754, "exists in the library of the University of Lausanne, and another in the British Museum."

In 1918 (forty years after the first edition of Guinness' work) a new edition was published (edited and revised, and somewhat abridged, by E. H. Horne, M.A.). In view of the interest now being shown, we are condensing (on page 9 of this issue of the Herald) the chapter on Solar and Lunar Measures of Time as it appears in the Horne edition of Guinness' Approaching End of the Age.

Question No. 2

How many prophetic periods are there, to which you refer in your answer to the previous question and where are they to be found in the Bible?

Answer No. 2

There are six in Daniel and eight in The Revelation. They are as follows

Daniel

(1) Daniel 7:25 - The Dominion of the Little Horn
(2) Daniel 8:14 - The Desolation of the Sanctuary
(3) Daniel 9:24 - The time to Messiah the Prince
(4) Daniel 12:7 - Time, times, and a half
(5) Daniel 12:11 - Period of 1290 days
(6) Daniel 12:12 - Period of 1335 days

Revelation

(1) Revelation 2:10 - Ten days' tribulation, at Smyrna
(2) Revelation 9:5 - Duration of the scorpion torment
(3) Revelation 9:15 - Career of the Euphratean horsemen
(4) Revelation 11:2 - Time of downtreading of Holy City
(5) Revelation 11:3 - Time of prophesying of the Witnesses
(6) Revelation 11:9 - Time the Witnesses lay unburied
(7) Revelation 12:6, 14 - Sojourn of the woman in the wilderness
(8) Revelation 13:5 - Period of Domination of the Beast

In the Horne edition of the Approaching End of the Age, the author (Guinness) expressed his conviction that in each of the 14 scriptures cited above "the period of time mentioned is a symbol of another and a larger period" . . . and he proceeded, in the following paragraphs, to give his reasons for this opinion.

"If a geographer represents the surface of the globe on a sheet of paper, he must do so on a miniature scale: and to that scale he must adhere throughout.

"The symbolic prophecies of Daniel and John are of this character; they are miniature representations.

"Now it would be to impeach Divine wisdom to suppose that God has, in these miniature symbols, violated the laws of proportionate reduction. Every feature is therefore on a reduced scale; and among the rest, the chronology. The statement of time must, like the prophecy in which it occurs, be a symbolic miniature, intended to convey a reality immensely greater than itself.

"There are mentioned 3%z days, 10 days, 1260 days, and 1335 days: a halfweek, a week, seven weeks, sixty-two weeks, and seventy weeks: a 'day, month, and year': and 'time, times, and a half.'

"In order to be intelligible, these measures of time must all be interpreted on one scale. What scale is it?

"The answer to this question is found in the fact that one of these periods has been fulfilled, and supplies the key to all the rest. The 'seventy weeks' of Daniel 9 elapsed between the decree of Artaxerxes and the Advent of Messiah. That period was actually 490 years: the prophecy announced it as 490 days; and we are therefore led to conclude that in all the above instances, where time is predicted in miniature, a year is represented by a day.

"The principle once admitted, the chronology of these prophecies becomes simple and accurate. The plan of times and seasons is seen to be marvellous in its comprehensiveness, and in its harmony with other Scripture, and with Nature. But if this system is rejected, the chronology of prophecy becomes a strangely unmeaning thing, and these harmonies disappear. We look in vain for indications of Divine wisdom in the plan of the ages."

Space permitting, in the March-April Herald we will supplement the foregoing brief answer with a few additional expository paragraphs from Guinness, Horne, and T. R. Birks.

Question No. 3

Will you please discuss the Memorial Date?

Answer No. 3

Last year, and again this year, questions have arisen as to the method adopted by the Pastoral Bible Institute in determining the date it has recommended for the annual Memorial celebration. In view of this interest, we have presented a few paragraphs on this subject, on page 7 of this issue of the Herald. Questions Nos. 4 and 5

As above indicated, these questions relate to the "little horns" of Daniel 7 and 8 and the subject of Gentile Times, the discussion of which must be deferred to the next issue of the Herald.

- P. L. Read

Solar and Lunar Measures of Time

(Discoveries of M. De Cheseaux)

Note to the Reader:

Before commencing to read this article, you will find it helpful to read the first question discussed in the Question Box (page 8 of this issue).

The three great tasks assigned to the sun and moon in the first chapter of Genesis are to rule, to give light, and to divide; to mark out the boundaries that separate day from night, month from month, year from year. The sun and moon are thus constituted principal hands of the divinely constructed chronometer, by which, in all its course, terrestrial time is measured.

So obvious are the main revolutions of these "great lights," that in all ages men have divided time by their means. But this is not all; they have in addition less obvious cycles, which have been divinely employed as chronological measures.

Of these cycles we shall have much to say presently; and it is not in connection with them alone that we employ soli-lunar reckoning; our ordinary computation of time is soli-lunar. Our calendar is neither purely solar -- regulated by the sun alone; nor is it wholly lunar - regulated by the moon alone; but it is soli-lunar -- regulated by both, adapted to the motions of both sun and moon.

The day, measured by the revolutions of the earth on her axis, and marked by the apparent diurnal revolution of the entire heavens,-contains twenty-four hours, and is the fundamental measure of time.

The month, or interval between one new moon and another, occasioned by the moon's revolution in her orbit, contains 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, and 3 seconds.

The year, or apparent course of the sun round the earth, from any given point in his orbit to the same point again, occupies 12 months, 10 days, 21 hours; or 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 49 seconds.

How many days make a month? How many months make a year? In either case the answer involves a fraction, and the fraction involves more practical difficulty than can be easily conceived by the uninitiated.

The perplexities and difficulties which encumber the attempt to adapt brief periods of time to both solar and lunar movements, as in the calendar, disappear when it is a question of longer intervals.

Short periods have to be artificially harmonized, longer ones harmonize themselves. There exist various times and seasons, which are naturally measurable both by solar years, and lunar months, without remainder, or with remainders so small as to be unimportant.

Such periods are therefore soli-lunar cycles, and we shall henceforth speak of them as such. They harmonize, with more or less exactness, solar and lunar revolutions; and they may be regarded as divinely appointed units for the measurement of long periods of time, units of precisely the same character as the day, month, and year (created, that is, by solar, lunar, and terrestrial revolutions), but of larger dimensions. They are therefore periods distinctly marked off as such, on the same principles as those on which our calendar is based; that is, they are natural measures of time, furnished by the Creator himself for human use. Their discovery has always been an object with astronomers, as their practical utility is considerable. But it was exceedingly difficult to find cycles of any tolerable accuracy, especially cycles combining and harmonizing the day and the month, with the year.

About the middle of the eighteenth century a remarkable fact was discovered by a Swiss astronomer; M. De Cheseaux, a fact which is full of the deepest interest to the Christian mind.

The prophetic periods of 1260 years and 2300 years, assigned in the Book of Daniel, and in the Apocalypse, as the duration of certain predicted events, are soli-lunar cycles, cycles of remarkable accuracy, whose existence was entirely unknown to astronomers until, guided by sacred Scripture, M. De Cheseaux discovered and demonstrated them to be such. And further, the difference between these two periods, which is 1040 years, is the largest accurate soli-lunar cycle known.

M. De Cheseaux was engaged in some chronological researches, and in order to fix with certainty the date of the Crucifixion, he was led to examine certain parts of Scripture, and especially the Book of Daniel. He saw that the "time, times, and a half" of Daniel 7 meant a period of 1260 years. "The importance of this conclusion, he says, "will be perceived, when we show how it led to a discovery of the singular relation which exists between this period of Daniel, and the facts of astronomy. However strange it may seem, I can positively deduce from the periods of Daniel, as accurately as by the best astronomical methods, and even more so, the five elements of the solar theory."

He goes on to explain what a cycle is: "a period which brings into harmony different celestial revolutions, containing a certain definite number of each without remainder or fraction," and he shows there are four different kinds of cycles connected with the sun, moon, and earth.

1. Those harmonizing the solar day and year.
2. Those harmonizing the solar year and lunar month.
3. Those harmonizing the solar day and lunar month.
4. Those harmonizing all three, day, month, and year.

M. De Cheseaux adds that astronomers and chronologists have almost laid it down as a principle that it is impossible to find cycles of the fourth class. "It has been thus far," he says, "a kind of philosopher's stone in astronomy, like perpetual movement in mechanics."

M. De Cheseaux then describes the process by which he was led to the discovery that 315 years is such a soli-lunar cycle, ten times more exact than the 19 years Metonic cycle in use by the ancients; the sun and moon coming after a lapse of that period to within three hours, twenty-four seconds of absolute agreement.

He had no sooner discovered this cycle than he observed it was a quarter of the 1260 years of Daniel and the Apocalypse, and that consequently this period is itself a soli-lunar cycle, after which the sun and moon return, within less than half a degree, to the same point of the ecliptic precisely, and that within an hour of each other.

The agreement of this period, assigned by the Holy Spirit as the limit of certain political events, with the most notable periods of celestial movement, made him think it might be the same with the 2300 years. By the aid of the astronomic tables he examined this latter, and found that at the end of 2300 Gregorian years, minus six hours, fourteen minutes, the sun and the moon return to within half a degree of the place from which they started; and that an hour later the sun has reached its exact startingpoint on the ecliptic: whence it follows that the prophetic period of 2300 years, also remarkable for the number of its aliquot parts, and for containing a complete number of cycles, is a cyclical period; and one so perfect, that though it is thirty times longer than the cycle of Calippus, it has an error of only thirteen hours, a seventeenth part of the error of that ancient cycle.

The equality of the errors of these two cycles of 1260 and 2300 years led him to conclude that the difference between them, 1040 years, ought to be a perfect cycle, free from all error; and all the more remarkable as uniting the three kinds of cycles, and furnishing consequently a cycle of that fourth kind, so long sought in vain, and finally concluded to be impossible to find.

On examination of this period of 1040 years by the best astronomic tables, he found that it was even so. Its error was absolutely imperceptible, in so long a period, and might indeed be accounted for by errors in the tables themselves, owing to the inaccuracy of some of the ancient observations on which they are founded.

This period of 1040 years, indicated indirectly by the Holy Spirit, was found to be a cycle at once solar, lunar, and diurnal or terrestrial, of the most perfect accuracy; and M. De Cheseaux proposed to give it the name of the Daniel Cycle.

M. De Cheseaux continues, "As I before said, a cycle of this kind has long been sought in vain; no astronomer or chronologist has been able to light upon one for nineteen centuries; and yet for two thousand three hundred years there it has been, written - in characters legible enough, in the Book of Daniel: legible, that is, to him who was willing to take the trouble of comparing the great prophetic periods with the movements of the heavenly bodies; in other words, to him who compared the book of nature with the book of revelation.

"The slightest error, even of a few seconds, in the determination of the true length of the solar year, would remove altogether from these numbers their cyclical character. Only the perfection of modern astronomical instruments, in fact, can demonstrate it at all. So that we have the problem, how did Daniel, or the author of the Book of Daniel, whoever he was (if, as some assert, the prophecy is of later date than Daniel), light upon these undiscoverable and undiscovered, yet excessively accurate celestial cycles, at a time when there were no instruments in existence capable of measuring solar revolutions with sufficient accuracy to reveal the cyclical character of the periods?"

M. De Cheseaux adds, "I must close with one observation. For many ages the book of Daniel, and especially these passages of it, have been quoted and commented on by numerous and varied authors, so that it is impossible to call in question their antiquity. Who can have taught their author the marvelous relation of the periods he selected with soli-lunar revolutions? Is it possible, considering all these points, to fail to recognize in the author of the Book of Daniel the Creator of the heavens and all their hosts, of the earth and the things that are therein?"

- Condensed from The Approaching End of the Age written, in 1878,
by H. Grattan Guinness, F.R.G.S.

The Resurrection of the Dead

"All that are in their graves . . . shall come forth.," - John 5:28, 29.

There is a passage in the Psalms of David which rarely receives the attention it deserves, although of vital importance in understanding the resurrection of the dead as an integral part of the Divine purpose. "How precious is thy steadfast love, O God! The children of men take refuge in the shadow of thy wings. They feast on the abundance of thy house, and thou givest them drink from the river of thy delights. For with thee is the fountain of life" (Psa. 36:7-9 R.S.V.). God is here shown to be the fountainhead from which life comes and upon which all life depends. This is the normal condition of created beings, living eternally in dependence upon the Author of life and in harmony with him. "This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3).

It follows from this that death, so far as man is concerned, is abnormal. "Death reigned from Adam to Moses," said St. Paul; it has reigned ever since, so that men are accustomed to the idea that human life is necessarily brief and inevitably terminated by death. That which is intrinsically abnormal is thus made to appear normal. The Bible alone insists that death will eventually be overcome and men live in full union with God eternally. The Bible also explains why death does at this time afflict humanity and the process by which it will be brought to an end.

In this respect man stands in a position different from that of lower forms of terrestrial life. The animal creation, the denizens of land, air and sea, the insects and the microorganisms, plant life in all its varied forms, all are possessed of life during the span of their existence and all pass through their life cycles and then die. There is nothing here that is abnormal; the whole terrestrial structure is built upon the actions and interactions of countless living organisms, great and small, fulfilling their ordained purpose in creation and passing away to make room for others. Without this complex system the processes of Nature could not continue and life on earth for man would be impossible. The underlying principle is that the earth with all things upon it, inanimate or animate, is created for the service of man and to provide an environment in which he can exercise to the full his God-given powers of life and activity. Man alone among all terrestrial creatures possesses the faculties of reason, introspection, and mental communion with the Creator; everything else upon earth is contributing to man's exercise of these faculties. Thus God said at the beginning, "Let us make man in our image . . . and let them have dominion" over the animal creation (Gen. 1:26). "What is man?" asks David. "Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels ... thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands" which he then defines similarly as the whole animal creation (Psa. 8:4-8). The spirit of man, said Solomon, goeth upward; that of the beast goeth downward into the earth (Eccl. 3:21). All this is fundamental to the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. Death amongst men, then, is the result of an intrusion into God's creation -- sin. Man was created at the first "very good" -- perfect, sinless. But "by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned" (Rom. 5:12). The philosophy of the inclusion of all men in Adam's condemnation cannot be discussed here but the fact rests upon a logical foundation and it will yet be seen that God could have acted in no other way. The consequence of Adam's sin was death, and all men, necessarily involved in the sin of Adam and the sin of all the world, likewise pass into death. There are no exceptions. "What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death?" asks the Psalmist, "shall he deliver his soul from the power of the grave?" (Psa. 89:48). The answer, of course, is that no man has power so to do. The only hope of life after death lies in a resurrection from the dead, a re-creation of body and identity and a resurrection to life, and only God has the power to effect this. Thus the constant insistence of Scripture is that entrance into future life is by the door of resurrection.

Jesus made this plain when he said, "the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth . " (John 5:28, 29) and in that he reiterated the belief of Israel so well expressed by Martha after her brother's death in her reply to Jesus, "I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day" (John 11:24). The mission of St. Paul was consistently based upon the truth of the resurrection; the philosophers of Athens were interested in his message because "he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection" (Acts 17:18). Jesus demonstrated this truth to the doubting Sadducees by reminding them that their own Scriptures pictured God, the God of the living, as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; because those patriarchs were long since dead a resurrection was an obvious necessity that the word of God might be fulfilled. "[God] is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him" (Luke 20:38).

THE NATURE OF DEATH

In order to understand the process of resurrection it is necessary clearly to perceive the nature of death. To say that death is the absence of life would seem so self-evident that the assertion would appear unnecessary, but Christian theology has been overlaid with so many accretions from other religions and philosophies that there is a great deal of misunderstanding upon this vital subject. In the beginning "God formed man of the dust of the ground, breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul" (Gen. 2:7). It is generally realized nowadays that the old confusion between soul and spirit has to be rejected, that the "soul" is the resultant effect of the union of the Divinely-given spirit of life with the material terrestrial body. "Man became a living soul." The spirit of life comes from God and that spirit in any individual creates a separate, self-conscious identity; but it is only through the medium of the body with its five senses and its ability to correspond and interact with its environment that the individual can live, and move, and have his being, and in fact even know that he is alive at all. Conversely, when death ensues and the material body returns to its constituent dust, there is no more consciousness of life until God in his wisdom and by his power reconstitutes that spirit of life in a new body in which the individual again knows himself for what he is and can perceive his place in his new environment. This is resurrection.

The ancient Hebrews saw this truth clearly enough even though they did not understand, as do we, the essential connection between a living creature and the five senses upon which he depends for awareness of life and environment. They pictured the death state as a time of sleep and the resurrection as the awakening. "The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence." "Wilt thou show wonders to the dead? Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? And thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?" (Psa. 115:17; Psa. 88:10). "Man lieth down," says Job, "and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep . . . hide me in the grave .. . keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, . . . appoint me a set time, and remember me! ... all the days of my appointed time will I wait, until my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands" (Job 14:12-15). Here is a very clear definition of death followed by resurrection from the lips of one who lived at least fifteen hundred years before Christ. Hear him again: "I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. After I shall awake, though this body be destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God" (Job 19:25-26).

The desire to find some conscious state of well-being for the righteous dead whilst awaiting the "Last Day" and the Day of judgment, which is always associated in Scripture with the resurrection, led some in the early Christian centuries to incorporate in their thinking sundry Greek philosophies which envisaged disembodied "souls" existing in Hades, which to the Greeks was a dark and gloomy semiconscious state but under early Christian theological thought developed into "Paradise," a state of conscious happiness for the righteous, and "Hell," a state of conscious misery for the wicked. Later centuries saw the addition of "Purgatory" for those who were not good enough for the one but too good for the other. All these conditions were expected to come to an end at the Last Day and the resurrection, at which time men would enter upon their final destiny. Most of these ideas have been coalesced nowadays into a general conception of an "intermediate state" of usually undefined and very indefinite characteristics. Needless to say there is no basis in Scripture for any of these ideas of a pseudo-Heaven or a pseudo-Hell for the reception of the dead whilst awaiting the resurrection and the judgment. This has been recognized throughout the Age and many of the best known contenders for the faith have pressed this point home in varying degrees of intensity. Thus William Tyndale in 1530 declared, "ye, in putting them [the dead] in heaven, hell and purgatory, destroy the arguments wherewith Christ and Paul prove the resurrection ... if the souls be in heaven ... what cause is there of the resurrection?" Dr. Priestley (1733-1804) wrote, "had it not been for the authors Calvin, who wrote expressly against the doctrine of an intermediate conscious state would, in all probability, have been as effectually exploded as the doctrine of purgatory itself."

Strangely enough, Martin Luther seems first to have glimpsed the clue to reconciliation of these conflicting views. "In their sight [the dead] a thousand years before God are not even a day. When people shall be resurrected, it will seem to Adam and to the old fathers as though they had been living only half an hour before. There is no time there, therefore also there can be no ideal place, and there is neither day nor night. Before God it all happeneth in an instant. They will not come to the new day any sooner than we." It would seem the fiery reformer had vaguely sensed an idea that is much more familiar to us today, that time as we know it is relative to this earth and this life, but does not necessarily appear the same in other contexts. Our own sense of the passage of time is determined by the processes of Nature within us, the rate of the sequence of biological happenings in our bodies and in the operation of our brains. Without the body there is no sense of time; until the spirit of life is "clothed upon," to use St. Paul's expression in 2 Cor. 5, with a new body suited to the individual's new environment, the sense of time cannot be restored. Luther's suggestion is in full accord with all that present-day knowledge can suggest and the old-time men of God were absolutely right in their perception when they declared for example, "there is no, work nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave whither thou goest." "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish" (Eccl. 9:10; Psa. 146:4). To the dead, awaiting the resurrection, time does not exist. The moment of death is to them the moment of resurrection.

THE FIRST RESURRECTION

The first to experience resurrection to eternal life will be the Church, that assembly of dedicated Christians to the formation of which this Age has been devoted. These are to be the associates of Christ in the evangelical work of the next Age and on this account they must be with him in the celestial world when that Age commences. Hence the first work of the Lord at the Second Advent, before the Messianic Age is inaugurated, is the raising to conscious life all Christian believers who have been laid aside in death in the past. "The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout," says the Apostle, "and the dead in Christ shall rise first" (1 Thess. 4:16). Lest there should be any misunderstanding as to the nature of this momentous event the same Apostle explains in 1 Cor. 15 and in 2 Cor. 5 that we must not expect this resurrection to be to human nature upon the earth. The hope of those who aspire to membership of the Church is that they shall be with their Lord in the celestial realm and this implies resurrection in celestial bodies adapted to that realm. John stresses this when he says, "It doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is"
(1 John 3:2). The resurrection of the "dead in Christ," therefore, takes place in heaven and not upon earth; the first conscious perception of those risen ones is of celestial surroundings and not earthly ones and the bodies through which they find expression are celestial and not terrestrial.

The next aspect of the resurrection is the "change" of living members of the Church. Because the Second Advent takes place in history, and at the transition point between this present Age and the future Messianic Age, there will be some of Christ's disciples still living at the time of the Advent. The simile of sleep is not appropriate in the case of these who progress from death to resurrection instantaneously as measured by human time, so that the Apostle declares, "we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" (1 Cor. 15:51, 52). The comparison of this passage with 1 Cor. 15:39-49 shows clearly that the Apostle is referring to the discarding of the terrestrial body and its replacement by the celestial -- "as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly." This change of course involves death of the human body and re-creation in a celestial body so that the net effect is the gathering of the entire Church to the Lord in the celestial world, ready for the appointed work of service. Describing this process of gathering, St. Paul, after telling the Thessalonians that the dead in Christ will rise first as the initial event of the Advent, goes on, "we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (1 Thess. 4:17). This expression "caught up" has the significance of an abrupt and sudden transfer from one place to another and is synonymous with the same Apostle's use of the word "change" in 1 Cor. 15. The passage in Thessalonians is figurative; the place of meeting is not the atmosphere surrounding this planet, but the celestial world itself, which is outside the dimensions of space as we know them; a moment's thought will demonstrate the truth of this since the resurrection of the "dead in Christ" is of necessity in that celestial sphere and it is there that the "changed" ones will be united with their brethren of previous ages.

THE GENERAL RESURRECTION

The resurrection of the Church thus accomplished, and the work of the Second Advent having progressed to the point where the "kingdoms of this world" have become the kingdom of Christ (Rev. 11:15), the Lord Christ having asserted his power and taken control of earth's affairs, and the Messianic Age initiated, nothing hinders the commencement of the general resurrection of mankind. In the more metaphorical of the Scriptural passages describing the resurrection this is pictured as the raising of the dead to stand before the "great white Throne" and be judged worthy either of everlasting life or irremediable condemnation; what must be realized is that this judgment is a process. Before the final decision is made, the irrevocable judicial decree enunciated, there must first be the bringing of each individual to a clear perception of the issues involved, and an opportunity to choose, untrammeled by the ignorance and misunderstanding which is the lot of virtually all in this present life. That there is definitely such a resurrection is abundantly clear from several sayings of Jesus. "Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for i f the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago ... I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you ... it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee" (Matt. 11:21-24). The Day of judgment is consistently allied with the time that the Son of Man takes his seat upon the throne of his glory and gathers all nations before him (Matt. 25; Rev. 20) but Jesus calls this same era the regeneration ("in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory" Matt. 19:28) and this word regeneration means the giving of new life. Thus the resurrection is the giving of new life to men with the opportunity to have it merge into everlasting life and this is why Jesus said that of all those who will hear his voice and come forth from the grave in that day, some will rise to a resurrection to life and some to a resurrection to judgment. There are those who make use of this day of judgment to become sons of God by faith in Jesus Christ and those who never do depart from their sin; this is shown in the respective destinies of the "sheep" and "goats" in the picture of the Last Judgment outlined in Matt. 25. Similarly in the vision of the Throne in Rev. 20 the dead, small and great, stand before God and are judged from the things written in the books; only those found worthy are permitted eventually to enter the Holy City.

The consequence of the resurrection will be the end of evil and the reconciliation to God of "whosoever will." That involves physical and mental as well as moral perfection. In the truest sense, the resurrection of the dead will only become an accomplished fact when the human race has, at last, been fully recovered from sin and death, and has entered into eternal life.

- A. O. Hudson, England

A Pilgrimage in Britain

Having been privileged to have several months of visiting with and ministering to the brethren in Britain the past summer, we (Sister Essler accompanied me) acknowledge our indebtedness to many for the blessings of service and fellowship that we enjoyed: indebted to those of our own country who sponsored our trip, to those in the Isles whose sacrifices and care for our comfort made it a pleasant journey for us as we traveled and visited many scattered Bible study groups and individuals; and, above all, indebted to the Lord for the health and vigor necessary for such a ministry and for his spirit's presence and power without which the whole effort would have been profitless.

As on the previous occasion when with the brethren overseas in 1960, we desired only to be used of the Lord to the upbuilding of the Church in Christ, and to further cement the spiritual bonds which unite the American brethren with their British counterpart. Our reply to one who inquired as to what organization we were promoting was, that although sponsored by the Pastoral Bible Institute, we were not there to promote or demote anything of organization, but to encourage the saints in the Way of life.

Our passage eastward on the Queen Elizabeth was made enjoyable as we contacted several of a group of ninety who were on their way to visit Israel. The conductor of this group was using the cinema room for illustrated lectures showing places of interest they were to visit. It was a favor to us to be invited to attend a few of these showings. Thus we saw Damascus, Petra, Tyre, Sidon, Jericho, and other places prominently mentioned in the Bible. What made it more interesting than just seeing the pictures was the lecture given in connection with these and the Scripture citations relative to these places in prophecy, and the calling attention to the fact that some of these prophecies have been fulfilled to the letter.

The first weekend in England we attended a convention at Manchester. As we met some with whom we had had sweet fellowship during a former visit, it seemed that there had been no lapse of time since we were there seven years ago. The spirit of oneness began immediately to manifest itself. There were some missing who had departed this life, and there were some who, though youngsters when we saw them before, had now become integral members of Bible study groups.

We were scheduled to serve at each of the seven conventions we attended: Manchester, Blaby, Port Rush, Liverpool, Hoddeston, London, and Cardiff. All of these were "times of refreshing" as each one present sought to further the spiritual good of all, while those who served with discourses held forth the Word with "meat in due season." We mention two gatherings where it was not ours to serve previously. At Port Rush it was our part to serve with two discourses-the first at 7 p.m. on Sunday using the topic, "Ye Are the Salt of the Earth," and the second at 2:30 p.m. on Monday using the companion topic, "Ye Are the Light of the World." Both of these were well received by those in attendance. As for Liverpool, the Church there was delighted with the response of the friends to their first general convention. About one hundred twenty-five were present for the Sunday sessions. Our topic at this time was "Spiritual Growth," based on 2 Peter 1:1-15.

At each succeeding gatherings our hearts were knit closer to these dear ones of the "household of faith"; and inasmuch as the country is smaller in area than the U.S.A. one was sure to see some of the same brethren at one or more of the gatherings. This being so we often met our future hosts and hostesses before we were scheduled to be entertained in their homes. And in this connection we observe that, although the conventions are advantageous for general fellowship, the more intimate contact with the friends is in the home. Having been houseguests in fifty or more homes, we were able to enter into the more personal problems and cares and, here and there, offer words of encouragement and hope. This, a pastoral work, is very rewarding; hearts become more united, spirits are lifted, and the Lord is glorified.

What impressed us deeply while in Britain was the spirit of freedom from organization mindedness. These brethren do not want to be organized; they do not need organizational direction or leadership, nor a common center other than Christ. They are on their guard against being enticed into bondage of any sort, being mindful of past experiences of those who had gradually been brought into subordination to self-constituted authorities and final arbiters of what is true faith and acceptable service. We would that there were this freedom among all. As we know, Jesus never organized his disciples, nor did he ever authorize any to do so. True unity is of the spirit where brethren are one in the bonds of Christ, and not because of a mutual acceptance of a systematic, ready-made theology and method of service.

There was, of course, much elation at the immediate outcome of the Israeli-Arab war in June. The friends rejoiced at this evidence of God's favor gradually returning to the Chosen People, a sign that the "kingdom of God is nigh at hand" (Luke 21:31).

Our ministry of four and one half months took us from the English Channel on the south into Scotland on the north, from west to east of England, and into Wales, and over to Ireland. We addressed eighty-eight meetings with twenty-two different discourses. But this is only statistical, and in no way can convey the spiritual value and benefit received in the fellowship both by those to whom we served, and by ourselves.

Because the Queen Mary on which we returned to the States was leaving early on Saturday, September 16, we embarked on Friday evening. For this reason the final farewell meeting in London was canceled, but a group of sixteen friends were at the Waterloo Station to see us onto the boat train on Friday afternoon. And a few others were at Southampton to bid us goodbye, expressing a hope for a pleasant sea voyage home and a wish for our return in the Lord's good time. These scenes still are very vivid in our memory.

Now we leave the results of our ministry to the Lord, as only he can put the true value on it as to its real worth in the formation of the New Creation.

- F. A. Essler

Pastor Russell's Out of Print Writings

As most of our readers know, during the past two years, a group of brethren undertook the republishing of some of Pastor Russell's writings. Below is a "Progress Report" on four items.

(1) Watch Tower Reprints

While the Committee printed what they believed to be an adequate quantity, their stock is now exhausted. However, requests for sets are still being received.

It has occurred to the Committee that some of the brethren may have purchased several sets, some of which they may still have on hand, and which they would be willing to let others have. It is also suggested that anyone having purchased a new set of the Reprints might no longer need his old set (published in 1919).

If you are able to cooperate with the Committee in either of these two ways, will you please write to them (at the address below) stating how many sets you have available, and whether they are the new printing or the 1919 edition.

(2) Bible Student's Manual,

Tle supply of this work (sometimes called the Berean Comments) is rapidly becoming exhausted. The small stock on hand will be furnished on a "First-come, first-served" basis. Bound in maroon cloth. Price $4.00

(3) Where Are the Dead?

This 108-page paper-bound booklet includes the complete text of the "Hell" booklet plus the text of the discourse, "Where Are the Dead?" It is excellent for class study, and for follow-up witnessing activities. Price $.25

(4) What Pastor Russell Said

Popularly known as "The Question Book," a new edition is expected to be available in early June. In addition to containing all of the questions considered in previous editions, this new edition will include a number of questions that do not appear in any of the earlier volumes, but which have been collated from those discussed by the Pastor in the newspapers. This new edition, expected to contain approximately 900 pages, including a Scriptural Index not available in the earlier editions, will be bound in dark blue buckram (a hard-cover binding similar in style to the Bible Student's Manual). Price $3.50.

Correspondence and orders should be sent direct to:

Chicago Bible Students
Book Republishing Committee
11000 S. Mansfield Ave.
Chicago Ridge, Ill. 60415

The Year Before Us

Standing at the portal of the opening year,
Words of comfort meet us, hushing every fear;
Spoken through the silence by our Father's voice,
Tender, strong and faithful, making us rejoice.

Onward, then, and fear not, children of the day;
For His Word shall never, never pass away.
"I, the Lord, am with thee, be thou not afraid;
I will help and strengthen, be thou not dismayed.

Yea, I will uphold thee with Mine own right hand;
Thou art called and chosen in my sight to stand."
Onward, then, and fear not, children of the day;
For His Word shall never, never pass away.

For the year before us, oh, what rich supplies!
For the poor and needy, living streams shall rise;
For the sad and mournful, shall His grace abound;
For the faint and feeble, perfect strength be found.

Onward, then, and fear not, children of the day;
For His Word shall never, never pass away.
He will never fail us, He will not forsake;
His eternal covenant He will never break;

Resting on His promise, what have we to fear?
God is all-sufficient for the coming year.
Onward, then, and fear not, children of the day;
For His Word shall never, never pass away.

- Frances R. Havergal

Recently Deceased

Louis Alexandre, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Edwin Allbon,. Sussex, England
William L. Diether, St. Louis, Mo.
Maria Emack, Cabool, Mo.
Arnold E. Greaves, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Grace M. Harris, Beverly Hills, Cal.
A. Louise Herzog, St. Louis, Mo.
Angela Kalanuik, Winnipeg, Man.
Emily I. Kemp, Boston, Mass.
Neil MacLeod, Scalpay, Scotland
Amy Noldt, Rochester, N.Y.
Lylah C..Odden, Metaline Falls, Wash.
Ruth T. Ross, Atlanta, Ga.
Rudolph Salmen, Denver, Colo.
Stanley M. Tudor, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Philip Watts, Oxford, England

1968 Index

I THE CENTURIES OLD JEWISH HOPE OF NATIONAL RESTORATION

II