Revelation 1

 

1  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

 

Revelation 1:1 (RVENDAG_)

 

CHAPTER 1 REVELATION

 

THE REVELATION OF JESUS TO HIS CHURCH

 

PRINCIPLES, INDIVIDUALS, UNDER DISCUSSION

 

"All Christian people credit the book of Revelation to our Lord, as St. John does (Rev. 1:1). Therefore we are not responsible for the symbolism used in that book. There are so many ways in which one might be misunderstood, even by good Christian people, that we naturally feel a delicacy about expressing our views. As we proceed to set forth our understanding of the symbols of the Revelation, we wish to state most emphatically that we are saying nothing whatever against godly Christians anywhere, at any time, whether in any church or out of any church. We have nothing to say respecting people. We discuss PRINCIPLES, DOCTRINES, ALWAYS; individuals, NEVER! God has not commissioned us to discuss people;  it is ours to discuss His Word.

 

"As we present our interpretation of the symbols of Revelation, we realize that the word of God conveys a very terrible arraignment of some of the great systems of our day... Let us, therefore, clearly distinguish between individuals and systems. We say nothing against the godly individual,  but in the interpretation of the Word of God what we have to say is merely in respect to these systems. Indeed, we believe that the saintly people of God are left out of these symbols, probably because the saints of God, as compared with the hundreds of millions of humanity, are merely a small company, as Jesus said: ‘Fear not, Little Flock.’ " D 1912 Foreword v; OV270

 

"Our Lord spent the three and a half years of his ministry in gathering out from Israel, and in training and instructing, the few disciples who should form the nucleus of the Christian Church. When about to leave them alone in the world he gave them the promise of the holy Spirit, which, during the entire age, should guide the Church into all truth, and show them things to come, and bring freshly to remembrance what he had taught—which promise began to be verified at Pentecost. It is also written that the angels are all ministering spirits sent forth to minister to these heirs of this great salvation (Heb. 1:14), and that our Lord’s special care is over them, even to the end of the age. (Matt. 28:20). All the writings of the apostles are addressed to the Church, and not to the world, as many seem to think; and they are full of special instructions, encouragements and exhortations, needful only to the saints who during this age are walking

 

1 in the narrow way. And our Lord’s Revelation, which God gave him after he had passed into glory, he sent and signified (sign-ified— told in signs, symbols, etc.) to his Church, through his servant John (Rev. 1:1). We are also told that the prophecies given aforetime by holy men of old were given, not for themselves, nor for others of their day and age, but exclusively for the instruction of the Christian Church—1 Peter 1:12. B203 Le 8,9,16 —TABERNACLE TYPES AND SHADOWS OF THE BETTER SACRIFICES.  "... The whole Jewish nation, during that entire age, was unwittingly engaged, under God’s direction, in furnishing for our instruction a typical view of the entire plan of salvation in all its workings... its Jubilees pointing out the final consummation of the plan in the blessing of all the families of the earth... Since such has been God’s care and abundant provision for the Christian Church above all other people of past and future ages, how important in his estimation must that knowledge be to us, and how eagerly should we avail ourselves of it." B203

 

"THEY SING THE SONG OF MOSES THE SERVANT OF GOD, AND THE SONG OF THE LAMB, SAYING, GREAT AND MARVELOUS ARE THY WORKS, LORD GOD ALMIGHTY; JUST AND TRUE ARE THY WAYS, THOU KING OF SAINTS"—REVELATION 15:3. See Luke 2:13-14.

 

"Jehovah thy God in the midst of thee... will joy over thee with SINGING"—Zephaniah 3:17.

 

"For the Word of God is quick and powerful (living and energetic), and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart"—Hebrews 4:12.

 

JESUS SAID, "THE WORDS THAT I SPEAK UNTO YOU, THEY ARE SPIRIT, AND THEY ARE LIFE"—John 6:63.

 

"And all the people went their way... to make great mirth (great joy—L.), because they had understood the words that were declared unto them”—Nehemiah 8:12.

 

"... And send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared... for the joy of the Lord is your strength"—Nehemiah 8:10.

 

"Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from Heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from Heaven.

 

For the Bread of God is he which cometh down from Heaven, and giveth life unto the world" (John 6:32-R33).

 

”In all respects Christ is the center which God has provided—‘THE WAY, THE TRUTH, THE LIFE.’ ‘’‘ 14-R5506 to R5508 "Divine mercy will be OF the Father and BY the Son and through the Church"—1 Corinthians 8:6. ‘09-R4464 "We have found the great Life-giver, the One who can and does supply this Bread from heaven. It is our great privilege to be the dispensers of this Bread. ‘Give ye them to eat.’ ‘He that bath an ear let him hear.’ "‘ 04-R3334

 

THE HEAVENLY JERUSALEM—Rev. 22:1-11 "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne"—Rev. 3:21.

 

"All those who would be finally accounted worthy of a share in the Kingdom, must be copies of God’s dear Son—in heart, in character, and like Him also in the resurrection, spirit-beings. This is a glorious predestination. It assures us that God will have none others in the Kingdom than those who are character likenesses of Jesus." ‘16-R5838 "The first three chapters of Revelation, containing the messages to the churches... suggest nothing to the effect that the church is now reigning, but, quite to the contrary, that it will be a suffering church down to the very last. It promises a coming reign to those who faithfully endure the trials of the present time preceding the reign. Each one of the messages closes with an exhortation, ‘To him that overcometh, I will grant,’ etc.

 

"All the intervening chapters between the third and the twentieth deal with conflicts between good and evil, and evidently cover the entire period of this Gospel age; yet in all of these presentations the evil is shown to be triumphant, and the people of the saints of the Most High God are worn out and cry from under the altar, etc. (Rev. 6:9,10). Not much a reign of righteousness that, surely; and how thinking people close their minds to all this is passing strange.

 

"It is at the conclusion of this book of symbols, from the eighteenth to the twenty-second chapters, that the close of this Gospel age and the inauguration of the Millennial age is pictured, and the triumph of the Lord and of his saints is shown. The introduction of that reign of righteousness, Christ’s Millennial kingdom, is shown, marked by wonderful events connected with our Lord’s second advent, the glorification of his church, the binding of Satan, the rising of the Sun of Righteousness, the blessing of the world, the scattering of its darkness, ignorance, etc. One would think that, even with no knowledge of the symbols of Revelation, no thinking Christian should have any difficulty in realizing that the book portrays trouble for the church throughout this Gospel age: and the triumphant Millennial reign at its close." ‘05-R3570

 

"I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy loving-kindness and thy truth"—Psalm 40:10.

 

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"Bible prophecies are rarely understood much in advance of their fulfillment." ‘16-R5842

 

"That we are living ‘in the last days’—’the day of the Lord’—’the end of the Gospel age,’and consequently, in the dawn of the ‘new’ age, are facts not only discernible by the close student of the Word, led by the spirit, but the out ward signs recognizable by the ‘world’ bear the same testimony, and we are desirous that the ‘household of faith’ be fully awake to the fact that—

 

"We are living, we are dwelling In a grand and awful time;

 

In an age on ages telling To be living is sublime.’

 

"When God has given us ‘a sure word of prophecy whereunto we do well to take heed,’ and when ‘the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show unto his servants the things which must shortly be done,’ shall those servants feel under no obligaton to seek to understand those heavenly messages?

 

"Or shall we heed God who declares ‘these sayings faithful and true’ and says: ‘Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep the things that are written therein?’ Surely he knows what is best calculated to inspire ‘a zeal according to knowledge, and what is necessary that we ‘be not soon shaken in mind’ "—Rev. 21:5 23:6 1:3 Ro 10:2 2Th 2:2. ‘79-R3.

 

"The Apostle John was the most remarkable seer, or prophet of all the apostles: his visions constituting the Book of Revelation, delineating in the most remarkable manner the ‘things to come.’ " F 222-F223—John 16:13.

 

"God has provided for his children a clear and connected record down to the present time. The Bible... carries us from the lost paradise of Genesis to the restored paradise of Revelation, tracing the pathway of humanity into eternity. Taken together, the history and prophecy of the Bible afford a panoramic view of the whole course of events from the creation and fall of man to his reconciliation and restitution." B38.

 

THE LAST BOOK OF THE BIBLE, FOR THE LAST END OF THE GOSPEL AGE.

 

"The Revelation of Jesus Christ Anointed, which God gave unto him (after his ascension) to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signfied (sign-i-fied) by his angel unto his servant John: who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. "( Revelation 1:1-3).

 

THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST—ANOINTED—WHICH GOD GAVE UNTO HIM

 

Isaiah 61:1-3: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord bath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek: He hath sent me...’

 

"The word anointed is used in the sense of ordination. The high priests of Israel were successively anointed, or ordained, of God, the anointing oil representing the holy Spirit. Their kings were anointed to reign over the typical kingdom of God... And so Christ, the great High priest and King, was ordained of God by the anointing of the Spirit. It was not an anointing of men or by men.

 

WHICH GOD GAVE UNTO HIM

 

"When our Lord came to John at Jordan to be baptized, and there presented himself in sacrifice to God, the divine acceptance of this sacrifice was manifested by the impartation of the holy Spirit. John the Baptist saw the Spirit as a dove descending upon the Lord, the sign given to John, but seen by no one else. Jesus recognized that he had received a special anointing and unction from the Father—and others from that time perceived it... As a perfect man he possessed the Spirit of God in the full measure that a man in the image of God would possess it.

 

"Full manhood under the law was not attained until the age of thirty. Our Lord came to give his life as a substitute for the forfeited life of Adam. Adam was a complete, perfect man, and our Lord must attain maturity as a perfect man before he could be a perfect substitute, a corresponding price... Jesus’ merit is all-sufficient, and it is his merit that purchases the world, through his body, the church.

 

"The anointing that was upon Christ Jesus continued with him throughout his earthly ministry—the fullness, or completeness, of God’s favor rested upon his every word and act. God was manifest in his flesh; for he was the perfect human representation of all the qualities of Jehovah’s glorious character. This was demonstrated in his resurrection from the dead after his sacrifice had been finished ... Jesus was begotten of the holy Spirit and anointed at his baptism, and was born a completed spirit being of the very highest rank at his resurrection. No other being had ever been created on this plane of life. Hitherto Jehovah alone had possessed divine, incorruptible life." ‘14-R5536

 

AT THE VISION OF CHRIST’S TRANSFIGURATION

 

"Our Lord Jesus Christ... received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; ‘HEAR YE HIM’. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.’ ‘And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of Man be risen again from the dead’ {2Pe 1:16-18’ Mt 17:5,9}. Please see end page of TRUE HUMILITY, in the Supplement.

 

"We have also a more sure word of prophecy. " 2Pe 1:19.

 

"And He saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this Book: for the time is at hand"—Rev. 22:10.

 

"What thou seest, write in a book, and send it... " Re 1:11.

 

"For I testify unto every one that heareth the words of the Prophecy of this Book, if any... shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written

 

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in this Book: And if any one shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the Book of Life, and out of the Holy City, and from the things which are written in this Book"—Revelation 22:18, 19

 

VERSE 1 "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear (understand,  akouo) the words of this prophecy, and keep (tereo,  observe, hold fast—Y., S.—"and keeping strictly the things which have been written in it"—Diag.) those things which are written therein: FOR THE TIME IS AT HAND"—Revelation 1:3.

 

This remarkable Revelation of God to our Lord Jesus was not given to him while here in the flesh, though he was a new creature with spiritual understanding. It shows that God dispenses his Light or Truth according to his plan, which contains times and seasons: reminding us of what came to our Lord at his baptism; when the heavens were opened to him, and gave to him the key to understand God’s will concerning his work and place in the Divine Plan of the Ages as contained in the Tabernacle Types of Leviticus, chapters eight, nine, and sixteen—that sent him to profound study. See versed; Rev. 21:14.

 

"Call unto Me, and I will answer thee and shew thee great and mighty (hidden) things which thou knowest not"—Jeremiah 33:3.

 

"My doctrine, teaching, is not mine, but His that sent me"—John 7:16.

 

"How beautiful it is to realize that the perfect Jesus was humble, and that all the holy angels are so!’ ‘12-R5029

 

The Word of God is powerful and sharper than a two edged sword"—Heb. 4:12.

 

"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. No man can come to me, except the Father which sent me draw him"—"invite him"—John 6:37, 44. Photo Drama Scenario pg. PD27.

 

"Jehovah bath prepared His throne in the heavens; and His Kingdom ruleth over all"—Psalm 107:19.

 

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy bath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time... receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls... as obedient children... because it is written (Leviticus 11:44), Be ye holy; for I am holy... redeemed... with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever." 1Pe 1:3-5,9,14,16,18-23.

 

"... Such a calling should cause us to bow our hearts in the dust before our God, realizing our great unworthiness of such stupendous grace—of bliss so transcendent! What can we render unto the Lord that can fittingly demonstrate our gratitude, our thankfulness, for so unspeakable a favor? Surely, the most faithful service we can give is but a very feeble return to Him who has so loved us, so blessed us, so honored us!" ‘16-R5855

 

SIMPLICITY OF INTRODUCTION

 

"Note the simplicity of the Apostle’s introduction to this most wonderful book. He did not write the title of the book as it appears in our Bibles—’The Revelation of St. John the Divine’—that is to say, the Revelation of St. John, Doctor of Divinity, Doctor of Theology. On the contrary, John claims no credit for the revelation; it was not his,  but, as he distinctly explains, it was from our Lord Jesus Christ—and to him from the Father. Nor was it even to John in any special sense, but, as he again declares, unto God’s ‘servants’ sent by his ‘servant John.’ This simplicity, common to all the apostles, commends them to us as men of humble minds—the very kind we should expect our Lord to use as special servants and messengers to his people. The apostolic simplicity is in striking contrast with the pomposity of the majority of those who claim to be their pupils and fellow servants, and who delight in the titles of ‘Reverend,’ ‘Right Reverend,’ ‘Very Reverend,’ ‘His Holiness,’ ‘Doctor of Divinity,’ etc. And in proportion as the spirit of the world is quenched by the Spirit of Christ—and in proportion as the Lord’s people are zealous in seeking and finding ‘the old paths’ (Jer. 6:16), in that same proportion do these human titles which seem so much to the world and to Babylon come to appear vain, inappropriate, deceitful." ‘01-R2826 For Scriptural reference to D____ D____ s, see F287.

 

"But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised ("developed as new creatures in Christ”) to discern both good and evil’—"to discern between truth and error... and uncompromising in declaring it; for ‘if the trumpet give and uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?’ " Heb 5:14 1Co 14:8 ‘15-R5688, R5689

 

"The messages of our glorious Lord, sent through the Apostle John and given to us in the symbols of the book of Revelation, are as truly the Saviour’s messages as those uttered during his earthly ministry and those subsequently sent us through the apostles.

 

"The book of Revelation was written at a time when severe persecution was upon the infant church—near the close of the first century, probably A.D. 93-96, in the reign of the Emperor Domitian... It was written at a time of special peril and severe persectuion. For a time the Lord allowed the truth to become well planted and to take root; the gifts of miracles and other gifts in the church at that time assisted in this matter.

 

4 "For a time, although there were persecutions of individuals such as are recorded in Acts, the believers as a whole were not subjected to the severest of trials at first. It was when the truth began to spread, and had not only the enmity of the Jews, but also of the Greeks, that emperors and governors found favor with the masses by persecuting the followers of Jesus. And for aught we know, so it will be in the not far-distant future. For a long time the pure truth has been hidden from men, and worldliness in the form of godliness has had the upper hand in influential circles: but doubtless, as the troublous times the Scriptures predict for the end of this age draw closer, those who will stand firm for the word of the Lord’s testimony may expect to be made the scapegoats under various pretexts ...

 

"John, the beloved disciple, in some measure or degree typified or represented the last living members of the little flock. Doubtless this was the meaning of our Lord’s statement, ‘If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?’ John did not tarry, but a class whom he in some respects illustrated are represented to tarry—a class who see with the eyes of their understanding the visions and revelations which John saw in symbols in a trance." ‘05-R3568

 

Revelation 1

 

2  Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

 

Revelation 1:2 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 2. Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

 

John himself was a new creature in Christ, and energized and guided by the holy spirit, to record correctly in writing? what he saw in all its symbols.

 

"Our Lord uttered one of the most remarkable prophecies of Holy Writ respecting the ‘Time of the End’—the closing epoch of the Gospel age {Mt 24 Mr 13 Lu 21:5-36 17:20-37}. D563 "Our Lord was the greatest of all Prophets.’ D614 (D Chapter 12) "....Worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit (power) of prophecy"—Rev. 19:10.

 

”No other prophet than our Lord has given us the needed details of this ‘harvest’ time, connecting these with the prominent events noted by the other prophets.”D614 "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God"—Matt. 4:4.

 

"What did Jesus mean?... He meant that all hope of attaining eternal life depends upon God—upon the Divine Plan and its promises... This is God’s Word... that obedience is the condition of life everlasting—abiding in faith, love and obedience in harmony with Him. "‘ 11-R4896 (Longer quote at Rev. 20:14-15)

 

”The mark for the prize of the high calling, is that of crystallization of character in the likeness of our Lord." ‘ 12-R5080

 

"THIS ONE THING I DO"—Phil. 3:13.

 

"I make everything else bend to this one thing of showing forth God’s praises and of helping others into His marvelous light." ‘12-R5045

 

"He did it, too, in view of the fact that all through the present life his chosen course would bring certain loss, privation, toil, care, persecution and continual reproach." ‘95- R1885

 

"Paul evidently had more abundant revelations than any other apostle. These revelations he was not allowed to make known to the Church, nor fully and plainly even to the other apostles {2Co 12:4 Ga 2:2}, yet we can see a value to the entire church in those visions and revelations given to Paul; for though he was not permitted to tell what he saw, nor to particularize all he knew of the mysteries of God relating to the ‘ages to come,’ yet what he saw gave a force, shading and depth of meaning to his words which, in the light of subsequent facts, prophetic fulfilments and the Spirit’s guidance, we are able to appreciate more fully than could the early church.

 

"As corroborative of the foregoing statement, we call to mind the last book of the Bible—Revelation, written about A.D. 96. The introductory words announce it as a special revelation of things not previously understood. This proves conclusively that up to that time, at least, God’s plan had not been fully revealed. Nor has that book ever been, until now, all that its name implies—an unfolding, a REVELATION. So far as the early church was concerned, probably none understood any part of the book. Even John, who saw the visions, was probably ignorant of the significance of what he saw. He was both a prophet and an apostle; and while as an apostle he understood and taught what was then ‘meat in due season,’ as a prophet he uttered things which would supply ‘meat’ in seasons future for the household.

 

"During the Christian Age, some of the saints sought to understand the Church’s future by examining this symbolic book, and doubtless all who read and understood even a part of its teachings were blessed as promised (Rev. 1:3). The book kept opening up to such, and in the days of the Reformation was an important aid to Luther in deciding that the Papacy, of which he was a conscientious minister, was indeed the ‘Antichrist’ mentioned by the Apostle, the history of which we now see fills so large a part of that prophecy.

 

"Thus gradually God opens up his truth and reveals the exceeding riches of his grace; and consequently much more light is due now than at any previous time in the Church’s history. "" And still new beauties shall we see, And still increasing light." Hymn 49, A27-R28.

 

"I HAVE NOT CONCEALED THY LOVING KINDNESS AND THY TRUTH... "

 

"Lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Jehovah, thou knowest. I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation; I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth... " Psalm 40:9,10.

 

"Take my yoke upon you and learn of me"—Matthew 11:29. "Ask, and ye shall receive that your joy may be full"—John 16:24.

 

"... Not until we have taken the Lord into our daily life as our living, personal companion and confidential friend and counselor and comforter and guide, as well as our Redeemer and Lord, can we fully learn of him those precious lessons which give to his disciples a joy which the world can neither give nor take away." ‘95-R1789 See Manna June 1.

 

5 "He that bath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him"—John 14:21.

 

"This matter of a definite contract with the Lord is a very important one..." ‘14-R5520 2Ti 2:15: "Study to show thyself approved. Study the Word. Study yourself... that you may know both your abilities and your shortcomings. Then study to avoid error and to shun all foolish questions and profane and vain babblings. Remember that only... ‘The foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity’—2 Tim. 2:10.

 

"The Lord giveth his favors to the humble—in God’s appointed way... Cleanse your earthen vessel, that it may be fit for the Master’s use"—"the diligent use of every available means to learn what is his will." ‘02-R3097; ‘14-R5511

 

Revelation 1

 

3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

 

Revelation 1:3 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 3. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear understand the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

 

The Book of Revelation is so full of symbols that many are discouraged even in the reading of it, forgetting the words of our Lord, "He that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." While reading, it is important to include the time, the due time, when it may be understood, as well as the due time for its blessing. So a blessing is promised, to encourage the reading thereof.

 

"The very reading of it will bring a blessing, and, as its mysteries gradually dissolve, the understanding thereof will bring still additional blessing. Note again in the introduction of the Book the statement of its mysterious and symbolic character. Its name, Revelation, signifies the uncovering, and implies something hidden." OM 7

 

HEARING AND OBEYING

 

”Blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it"—Luke 11:28.

 

"It is important that we should hear the Word of the Lord, that we search the Scriptures, that we have them well at our command, that we be able to give an answer to him that asketh us a reason for the hope that is in us, and we need more than all this.

 

"We need to obey the Word, to practice it to the extent of our ability. True, we cannot come up to the demands of perfection, for God’s law is perfect, but we can have the perfect attitude of heart, and nothing less than this will be acceptable to the Lord. We can show him and to some extent show to others the endeavor of our lives in the direction of righteousness and all the fruits and graces of the holy Spirit. If we had all knowledge and zeal and had not the spirit of obedience it would evidence a lack of the spirit of love, and prove us unworthy of the divine favor and blessings promised to those who are rightly exercised by the message from above." ‘05-R3678

 

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you"—Matthew 7:7.

 

"We are to ask and seek and knock if we would find the riches of God’s grace, and have opened to us more and more the wonderful privileges and mercies and blessings which he is so willing to give to us as we develop in character and in preparation for his mercies." ‘06-R3807 "Light (truth) is sown for the righteous and gladness (the gladness which comes from a realization of the truth) for the upright in heart"—Psalm 97:11. ‘99-R2453; ‘05-R3648 "Teach me good judgment and knowledge"—Psalm 119:66.

 

"He that dwelleth in the secret place (of consecration, communion and fellowship) of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty... He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: His Truth shall be thy shield and buckler"—Psalm 91.

 

"Individual Christians cannot shirk their personal responsibility, placing it upon pastors and teachers, nor upon councils and creeds. It is by the Word of the Lord that we are judged (John 12:48-50; Rev. 20:12), and not by the opinions or precedents of our fellow-men in any capacity. Therefore all should imitate the noble Bereanswho ‘searched the Scriptures daily’ to see if the things taught them were true" (Acts 17:11). D66

 

ONE IS YOUR TEACHER, EVEN CHRIST

 

"St. James (3:1-12) is not warning us against service, nor seeking to hinder us from all good works one for the other, as members of the body of Christ. His caution is against our attempting to be (school) masters or teachers. There is but the one Teacher or Schoolmaster for the entire church of Christ for all this age. He is the ‘Head of the church, which is his body’—the Director, Caretaker, Instructor of the ‘members. “ 09-R4380 "All will have in mind that the Lord is the only teacher and that the brethren dare not utter wisdom of their own-; but merely present to others that which their Head sets forth as the Truth. Let us apply this Scripture {1Ti 2:11,12} to the Lord and the Church, thus: ‘Let a church learn in silence with all subjection. I suffer not a church to teach,  nor to usurp authority over Christ but to be in silence.’ " F 120. Not "a voluntary humility" which the Apostle decries in Col. 2:18 "and NOT HOLDING THE HEAD," verse 19 and verses 20-23. "The Apostle warns us all against a wrong attitude which at all times has more or less threatened the body of Christ... the danger of looking too much to ourselves or to other men in the church and not enough toward the Lord, who is indeed ‘the Head of the church, which is his body.’ ONLY THE HUMBLE ARE SAFE. Thus our Lord marks humility as one of the prime essentials of a place in the kingdom. And we can see the importance, the reason for This..."how unnecessary we are to the divine plan and how able the Lord is to overrule every incident and circumstance according to the divine will...

 

"Let us ever keep in memory the Apostle’s example and words: ‘We preach not ourselves but Christ Jesus our Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake’—2 Cor. 4:5. "‘ 05-R3613, R3614

 

6

 

"And they shall be all taught of God"—John 6:45.

 

"He who would continue to be taught of the Lord must continue to listen for His voice, continue to be in the hearing and obeying attitude of heart... Let each of us resolve by the Lord’s grace that we will out of an honest heart continually seek to hear the pure Word of God, and that with a desire to obey it as far as we are able." ‘07-R4092 "‘ Oh, the blessedness of him that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days’—the blessedness of those who have been living from 1875 onward... This divine plan of the ages is not... a human plan or scheme; for no human being is capable of bringing such glorious things out of the Word of God... We are ashamed of all the creeds of the past." ‘14-R5568

 

CHRISTIANITY AND THE LAW—Matt. 5:17-26

 

"He that loveth his neighbor bath fulfilled the law"—Rom. 13:8.

 

"Jesus and his apostles expounded the harmony between Christianity and Judaism...

 

"The Great Teacher declared that he came not to destroy the law and the prophets, but to fulfill them... ‘12-R5006, R5007 ‘... It was his enemies who called Christianity heresy, and separation from Judaism, but their charges were false... Christianity, instead of being split off from Judaism, was the natural outcome and proper development of it—the fulfilment of the promises of God upon which the hopes and prospects of Judaism were all built.

 

"The Apostle shows this matter most distinctly in his letter to the Romans (chapter 11), where he pictures the Jewish nation as the olive tree whose root was the Abrahamic promise, and whose branches were the people of Israel. He does not picture Christianity as another tree, nor yet as a new shoot out of this original olive tree, but he does picture it as the fuller development of this tree, representing all Jews refusing to progress and to accept of Christ, as branches that were broken off.

 

"All the true Jews who continued to be recognized of the Lord—all the Israelites indeed—were the Christians who from Pentecost onward have been known as spiritual Israelites. ‘03-R3194 "In the days of our Lord’s first advent, as today, there were many widely recognized leaders and teachers; and various systems of human philosophy claimed the attention of thinking men. Among the Jews much uninspired teaching was added to the sacred literature of the Law and the Prophets, while the neighboring Greeks were diligently dealing in philosophic speculation and ever seeking something new. And now the long expected, but generally unrecognized, Messiah of Israel was about to introduce a new system of teaching, the philosophy and the ethics of a new dispensation of divine providence and grace, the outgrowth and the antitype of Judaism.’

 

"The Shepherd of the Lord’s sheep... entered the door of the divine plan and thus became to us... both the door of access to God and the good shepherd of the sheep. ‘To him the porter (the holy Spirit of God) openeth (the way to the sheep). ‘... in all the various ways which proclaimed him to us as the beloved Son of God, in whom the Father was well pleased, and our Redeemer and Saviour—in the testimony of his baptism, and again on the mount of transfiguration; in the veiled heaven and the rent rocks on the occasion of his death; in the fact of his resurrection and its testimony by angels and eyewitnesses; in the perfect agreement of all the prominent features of his life and character, with the testimony of prophets regarding him; and in the authority and character of his teaching and the simplicity and purity of his character which outshone that of every other man, so that even those who did not recognize him as the Son of God, declared ‘NEVER MAN SPAKE LIKE THIS MAN.’ "Though only a ‘little flock’ is now recognized as the Lord’s sheep, there shall by and by be a mighty host (John 10:16); and the redeemed of the Lord shall go forth with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads. Glorious plan of salvation! How worthy it is of the character of our God!" ‘94-R1647, R1648

 

Revelation 1

 

4  John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

 

Revelation 1:4 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 4. John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven spirits which are before his throne;  

 

Even the location is significant: Asia means "boggy" or "swampy"; as the true church can testify. Revelation is a message which God gave to Jesus Christ; and John’s introduction is from that standpoint. The seven spirits indicate God’s power or ability to bring to a successful conclusion any work or plan he wishes to have done.

 

"The first three chapters of Revelation contain particular specifications and general admonitions, not only for the local churches therein mentioned, but for all ‘overcomers.’ They apply not only to the different epochs in the history of the church as a whole, but to different classes in any one epoch in the history of the church." ‘11-R4870

 

THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT AND THE NEW COVENANT

 

"The Abrahamic Covenant is not the New Covenant, even as it is not the Law Covenant. The New Covenant is the name of that arrangement which God will make with Israel and all mankind who, during the period of Messiah’s reign, desire to become ‘Israelites indeed.’ That New Covenant will be inaugurated as a measure for carrying out the blessings purposed in the Abrahamic Covenant.

 

"The Abrahamic Covenant relates especially to the Seed of Abraham, which is to be made glorious and powerful, with a view to the blessing of the world. The New Covenant relates to the arrangement by which the antitypical Seed of Abraham, when glorified, will accomplish the honorable work assigned to it in the Abrahamic Covenant.

 

"The fulfilment of the Abrahamic Covenant began in the person of our Lord Jesus, not when He left the Heavenly glory, nor when He was born a babe at Bethlehem, but when God accepted his consecration and begat him to a new nature at the time of his baptism, perfecting him in the new nature at his resurrection. The man Jesus, before being begotten of the holy Spirit, was not the Seed of Abraham according to promise, capable of blessing mankind; for so long as Jesus was in the flesh, even though perfect, the blessing of the world through him was impossible. The world lay under a 7 death sentence and could not be blessed until provision should be made for the lifting of that death sentence.

 

"The provision of the ransom, therefore, was necessary for the world. Jesus in the flesh, in providing the ransomprice, would have had no life for himself that he might become the King of Glory and Priest after the order of Melchizedek (Psa. 110:4; Heb. 5:10) unless God had begotten and quickened and raised him to the higher, spirit nature. Hence, although Jesus, through his mother, was of the seed of Abraham according to the flesh, he did not inherit this Abrahamic Covenant according to the flesh, but as the new creature.

 

"In order, therefore, to attain this higher nature, in order to be the spiritual seed of Abraham and bless all the families of the earth, it was necessary for Jesus to enter into a special covenant of sacrifice. The church, members of his body, must share all his experiences and lay down the earthly life also; for whether Jews or Gentiles it would still be true that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom. Hence the privilege of the church is to enter into the covenant of sacrifice with Jesus. Thus we read, ‘Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice’—Psa. 50:5.

 

"It has required the entire Gospel age for the gathering of these saints and the making of their sacrifices. Those sacrifices must be accomplished before they can attain to the heavenly nature—before they can be members of the spiritual seed of Abraham and heirs according to the promise. Thus the Apostle declared, ‘Israel bath not obtained that which he seeketh for (to be the spiritual seed of Abraham); but the election bath obtained it, and the rest were blinded’—Rom. 11:7.

 

"The election obtained this blessed state through the covenant of sacrifice, in which Jesus acted as their Advocate. The first members were accepted at Pentecost. The last members, we trust, will soon finish their course with joy. Then the spiritual seed of Abraham will be complete and ready to serve the world as the great antitypical Mediator of the New Covenant.

 

"The Abrahamic Covenant was God’s own Covenant, or promise. Because it was unconditional, it has no mediator (Gal. 3:19,20), neither did it need to be sealed with blood. Rather, we might say that God sealed it with his oath (Heb. 6:16-18). The Law Covenant needed the blood of bulls and goats as an offset to the sins of the people, who were to be blessed typically. The new Covenant needs the blood of better sacrifices as satisfaction for the sins of the people, who are to be blessed actually. These two covenants could not go into effect without the shedding of blood and the remission of sins—Heb. 9:18-22.

 

"But the Abrahamic Covenant centers itself in the new creatures. From the first, God meant primarily the spiritual seed of Abraham, the new creation, which has never known sin. Jesus himself was holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners, and needed not any atonement for sin in order to enter into that covenant relationship and become Abraham’s spiritual seed and heir. Those accepted as his members would have had no such standing or worthiness except as he adopted them as his members, imputed his own merit to them and offered them sacrificially as his own flesh.

 

"Hence, strictly speaking, we cannot say that the Abrahamic Covenant has ever been sealed with blood, or that it will ever be so sealed. This does not alter the fact however, that not without blood (death) could we, his members, be accepted through him. Only in this indirect way can it be said that the Abrahamic Covenant is sealed with blood. St. Paul intimates that it was sealed by the oath of Jehovah—Heb. 6:13-18. ‘13-R5226, R5227

 

WHY JESUS LOVES HIS OWN

 

"Why did Jesus have this special love for them—’having loved his own, he loved them unto the end.’ There is something important here. You and I wish to know whether the Savior loves us. His is not merely a random love. There is a principle involved... His was an unselfish love. He purposed to do something for them.

 

"What was the reason that Jesus loved and called his disciples his own?... He loved them because they had those qualities of heart that would make them lovable from his standpoint... I am glad the Bible says that Jesus loved his own. I am glad I am one of his own and therefore can believe that Jesus loves me, not in the merely sympathetic sense that he loves the unbelieving world, but in the special sense made manifest in John 13:1.

 

"The quality that made Jesus love them was, I believe, first of all, their honesty. It seems to me there is no quality more estimable in the sight of God than honesty... The honesty which these disciples manifested was that they were ready to confess that they were nothing of themselves. They could not keep the law of God. They could not think of themselves as anybody. They knew, as all Jews knew, or ought to have known, that God had given them the law as the standard. They could not keep that law. They were honest enough to confess it. Their hearts were therefore in the attitude to look for something that God had to give that would be better than the Law Covenant—Romans 7; 8:1-4.

 

HYPOCRISY THE GREAT SIN

 

"Notice the great ones, the holy, the religious ones, of the Jewish nation—the scribes and Pharisees and priests. They were claiming that they kept the law; but they were not keeping the law, as Jesus pointed out. That meant that they were deceived. They were professing to keep the law. They made broad their phylacteries. They made long prayers to be seen of men. Jesus was continually reproving them. Doubtless there were many murderers, thieves and vagabonds in Palestine; yet we notice that Jesus passed all their criminality by as insignificant as compared with hypocrisy. The most serious denunciations the Master gave were toward this class. The further you and I can get away from being religious hypocrites the better...

 

"‘ The Father himself loveth you’ (John 16:27)! What would you take, my dear brother, for what that text teaches of the love of God toward us as his children? He has a love for the world. As a God, a Creator, he has the supervision of all his creatures. God has made provision for every creature, even the sparrow. But for all who have come into this loyal attitude of mind, he has love—sympathy, and more, esteem! ...

 

8 "It is not that we first loved him, but that he first loved us—the love we see reflected in his great plan for the uplifting of our race. And this tells us of the great God that we have. When we came into his family by surrendering our wills to him, and he begat us of his holy Spirit, we came into a precious relationship. There is nothing like it in the universe. The holy angels indeed are in God’s love and favor; they never were out of it. But we who were once sinners and who are now received back into his family, are begotten of his Spirit to the highest of all natures. How wonderful, my dear brother! I think, and so do you, that God loves us very, very much, or he would never have make such wonderful provision in the riches of his grace and in his loving kindness toward us who are in Christ Jesus. The provisions of God’s grace are not only those of the future, and it is not that he will ultimately change and transform us who are now willing to will and to do his good pleasure, but we are actually being transformed today, by this love of the Father.

 

"I believe that daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, as we think upon these things, as we consider, study out and understand the great love of God as expressed in his marvelous plan, we are getting a wonderful realization of how much ‘the Father himself loveth’ us. But we cannot understand it fully. But the very fact that any Father would do such wonderful things for any child would imply a great deal of love.

 

"God had love for the angels when he made them. He had love for the cherubim and the seraphim when he made them. They always will be grand characters and therefore worthy of God’s love. But here is the most wonderful expression of God’s love that we by faith can believe in—that God should have such love toward us who are in every way disorganized as a race. The Father looked down and beheld in this race some jewels; and he lifted these jewels up and washed them free from sin through the merit of the Savior; and then, through their consecration, began the work of polishing these jewels and getting them ready for the mounting in effulgent glory in the resurrection morning, when he shall set these jewels in the gold of the divine nature. Surely the Father himself loveth us!”‘15-R5725

 

BRINGING BACK THE KING

 

"Why Are Ye the Last to Bring Back the King?" 2Sa 19:9-12 "In the scrap of history here recorded we find an illustration of a very similar condition of things in the world today.... ‘’‘ 94-R1690 to R1693.

 

”A thousand years! Earth’s coming glory! ‘Tis the glad day so long foretold; ‘Tis the bright morn of Zion’s glory, Prophets foresaw in times of old.”"While there are not many rich or noble amongst the Lord’s brethren, yet when it comes to telling the truth, they manage it very well!”‘15-R5728 c2 p1

 

Revelation 1

 

5  And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

 

Revelation 1:5 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 5. And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first born of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.

 

The washed condition shows that this Book is for those only, who are consecrated, justified, spirit begotten, and anxiously studying their Father’s word to get the import of it, and not missing the fact that the correct understanding must take into consideration the time feature as to when the events are due.

 

"The conversion of the world in the present age was not expected of the Church, but her mission has been to preach the Gospel in all the world for a witness,  and to prepare herself under divine direction for her great future work." A95 top "Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins"—Acts 13:38.

 

"Although Messiah had long existed as the archangel, nevertheless the prophet David, speaking for God, said concerning him: ‘Thou art my son, this day have I begotten (literally borne or delivered) thee.’ The Apostle would have his hearers note that this birth mentioned referred to our Lord’s resurrection, as it is written, he was the ‘first born from the dead,’‘ the first born among many brethren.’—Psa. 2:17; Heb. 1:5; Rom. 8:29; Rev. 1:5.

 

"He quotes again the words of Jehovah through the prophet, addressed to Messiah—’I will give you the sure mercies of David,’—I will make sure to thee forever the mercies of David... Although Messiah as Michael the archangel had been great even before David’s time, yet it would be at a later date, and as a result of some work which he would perform, that the mercies promised to David and his seed would be made sure to Messiah. This transaction was the giving of ‘his life a ransom for all,’ and the making sure to him of the Davidic promises by the Almighty was evidenced ‘in that he raised him from the dead.’ "The center and pith of the Apostle’s discourse (Acts 13:26-39)... was an individual message to every heart before him in condition to receive it, namely, ‘Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins.’ The Apostle does not refer to something that was done by our Lord as the Archangel before ‘He was made flesh’ (John 1:14), nor does he refer to any work to be done by him in his new, highly exalted condition, ‘ set down with his Father in His throne’ and partaker of His Divine Nature; but he here refers to the work done by ‘the man,  Christ Jesus who gave himself A RANSOM for all’ {1Ti 2:5,6} at Calvary. Thus the Apostle again emphasizes the fact that ‘as by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead’ {1Co 15:21}.

 

"Yes, this is the center of the Gospel proclamation that the failure of the first perfect man was fully offset by the sacrifice of ‘the man Christ Jesus,’ and that it was to this end that it was needful for our Lord to leave the glory which he had with the Father before the world was (John 1:14), to become poor (in the sense of taking our lower nature—but not its blemishes, for he was ‘holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners’); and yielding up this human nature a ransom-price or corresponding price for the life forfeited by father Adam for himself and his race. This is the basis upon which every offer to grace is presented by the Scriptures.

 

9 "And now, he who was the Father’s agent in the redemptive work is to be the Father’s agent also in the work of ‘blessing’ all the redeemed with ample opportunities for return to divine favor—the first step of which is the forgiveness of sins." ‘97-R2149, R2150 Please see comments at Rev. 22:17 on the Testator—the antitypical Moses.

 

"The blood represents the surrender of earthly rights and privileges and life willingly, in pursuance of the divine will or arrangement." ‘09-R4428 "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them"—2 Cor. 5:19.

 

"Speaking the Truth in love... grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ"—Eph. 4:15.

 

"The church will be first in Messiah’s kingdom; natural Israel with the ancient worthies at their head will be the second. Subsequently all nations will come into divine favor and blessing, becoming members of Israel. All who have the spirit of obedience and sacrifice will be blessed through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." ‘15-R5721 "The teaching of Jesus was chiefly by induction. He had been with his disciples working miracles for probably two years before he asked them, ‘Whom say ye that I am?’ When St. Peter declared, ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,’ Jesus replied, ‘Flesh and blood bath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven’—Matthew 16:15-17.

 

"Did not St. Peter thus declare his faith that Jesus was the Son of God—not the son of Joseph? And did not Jesus approve this, and refer to the heavenly and not to an earthly father?

 

"What did Jesus mean when he declared, ‘Before Abraham was I am?’ By induction he told of a pre-human existence... Similarly he prayed to the Father, ‘Glorify thou me with shine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was’ (John 8:58; 17:5).

 

"Again Jesus told his disciples about this ascending up where he was before. If he had no previous existence, if he had not a special birth, how could we understand these words? Similarly Jesus referred to himself as ‘the bread which came down from heaven’—John 6:62,32-35,41.

 

"Surely Jesus was miraculously born... There is no middle ground.

 

"Having heard from Jesus and from St. Peter, let us hear from St. Paul. What is the force, or significance of St. Paul’s statement that Jesus is ‘the first-born of every creature,’ and that ‘by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible... all things were created by him and for him; and he is before all things, and by him all things consist’?( Col. 1:15-17) These words by the Apostle are surely not in accord with the theory that Jesus began his existence the same as others—that he was the son of Joseph.

 

"Again St. Paul writes, ‘Our Lord Jesus, though he was rich, for our sakes became poor’ {2Co 8:9}. Again he declares, ‘Who, existing in a form of God, counted not equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men’—Phil. 2:6,7.

 

"Again, what is the meaning of St. Paul’s declaration that Jesus was ‘holy, guileless, undefiled and separate from sinners’?( Hebrews 7:26) If Jesus was the son of Joseph, he was not separate from sinners, but belonged to the same stock with all others and would also have needed a redeemer." ‘ 15-R5767

 

"Verse 5 clearly teaches what the creeds of Christendom ignore, and what is in direct antagonism to their statements; namely, that the risen Christ was ‘the first born of the dead.’ That is to say, our Lord was the first to experience a resurrection in the full sense of the word, the first to experience a resurrection to perfection and eternal life. Although some before him were temporarily awakened, they relapsed again into death; for they were only partial illustrations of resurrection, to assure men of the divine power to accomplish it fully in the due time appointed of God." ‘16- R5991.

 

"To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth" John 18:37. "Many who realize that Jesus was indeed the Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief, and some who realize that he died for our sins, have never yet seen that he purchased not only man but the empire originally given to the first Adam. Many can realize our Lord in the attitude of priest who fail to realize that he is also to be a king, and that throughout the Millennial age he will be a priest upon his throne, ‘ after the order of Melchizedec,’ his Church and Bride being associated with him and sharing in both his priestly and his kingly offices.

 

"The priestly of ficespeaks mercy, forgiveness and grace to help; but the kingly office is no less essential to the world’s salvation—men must be delivered from the bondage of sin and death—and must be ruled with the iron rod in order to develop them and fit them for life everlasting; and all of this work belongs to him who redeemed us as with his own precious blood. It is well that we remember, too, that a very large proportion of our Lord’s parables related to the kingdom in its various stages—now embryotic, by and by to be set up with full power and authority to overthrow evil and to bring in everlasting righteousness.

 

"This kingdom is to be a kingdom of truth, of righteousness and of love, working well for its subjects, and our Lord’s mission at the first advent was to lay the foundation for that kingdom by witnessing to the truth—the truth that God is both just and loving, and is willing to receive back into harmony with himself all who love truth and righteousness. It was our Lord’s faithfulness to the truth that brought upon him the opposition of those who were blinded by the Adversary, hence his statement that he came to bear witness to the truth is a brief statement of his mission. It was his witness to the truth that cost him his life, and it was the giving of his life in defense of the truth that constituted the redemption price. Similarly all of the Lord’s followers are to bear witness to the truth—the truth in respect to God’s character and plan—the features of that plan accomplished at the first advent in the redemption of the world, and the features of that plan yet to be accomplished in the second advent, in the deliverance of the world from the bondage of sin and corruption. It is such witness to the truth that is to cost all the true followers of Jesus their lives in presenting themselves

 

10 living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God through Christ Jesus. Let each one who hopes to be a joint-heir with the Prince of Life in the kingdom witness to the truth—a good confession respecting the kingdom, its foundation and ultimate superstructure in glory." ‘99-R2471

 

JEHOVAH’S SUFFERING SERVANT—Isaiah 52:13-53:1-12 JEHOVAH HATH LAID ON HIM THE INIQUITY OF US ALL.

 

"In this study we have a divinely drawn portrait of the experiences which God foreordained should come upon the one whom he has promised shall ultimately be the great Messiah of glory who will exalt the nation of Israel and through it pour blessings upon all the families of the earth. Thus it is written, ‘In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ Much of the prophecy of this study has already been fulfilled, but not all of it—the glorious features are yet to come, and we believe are nigh, even at the door.... " Please read ‘11-R4831.

 

MESSIAH’S REIGN {Ps 72} "All kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him"—Psa. 72:11.

 

"In Acts 3:19-21 we read that ‘Times of refreshing shall come from the presence (Greek,  prosopon— face or countenance) of the Lord (Jehovah—from his favor, as indicated by the figure of his face turned toward us); and (at this appointed time of refreshing, their redemption having at great cost been legally secured for them through GOD’S only begotten Son) he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you; whom the heaven must retain until the TIMES OF RESTITUTION of all things which GOD bath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets, since the world began.’

 

"He bids us note the fact that this glorious time of blessing for the whole world is the inspiring theme of every one of his true prophets.... ‘92-R1414, R1415—a gem!

 

Revelation 1

 

6  And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Revelation 1:6 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 6. And bath made us kings and priests unto his God and Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

 

A ruling priesthood, after the order of Melchizedek, is in the offing; for which the garments of glory and beauty are waiting.

 

"Our Lord Jesus was ordained of God a Priest after the Order of Melchizedek;  but sacrificially He was the antitype of Aaron, and was first to offer up Himself, and subsequently to accept His disciples, justify them through His sacrifice, and then constitute them members, or parts, of His own sacrifice. It is evident that in the type only the high priest was ordained to offer up the sin-offering of the Day of Atonement. None of the under priests had such a right. So none of the antitypical under priests, the followers of Christ, are competent to offer up themselves. All that we can do is to present ourselves to our Redeemer, who justifies us—consecrating our lives unto death. He accepts us, imputes His merit to us, and counts us members of His fleshly Body; and then by His Holy Spirit, through Christ,  God operates in us ‘to will and to do His good pleasure,’ which is to carry out the work of self-sacrifice even unto death. But all this while the Church is not sacrificed as was the High Priest, nor presented to the Father in our own name. The Father’s dealing is only with our Advocate,  and we are accepted merely because we are His.

 

"All this is shown in the Atonement Day type of the sinoffering. The high priest offered the bullock first, as his own sacrifice—representing himself individually. Then the high priest, not the under priests, afterwards offered the Lord’s goat— one goat,  not many goats. This goat was offered,  not as the sacrifice of the under priests, but as the sacrifice of the high priest. So in the antitype. Our consecration is acceptable to the Father only because of the merit of Jesus imputed to us as His members when He adopts us as a part of His own flesh." ‘15-R5720 top

 

"SIGN-MEN" "Behold, I, and the children whom Jehovah bath given me, for signs (sign-men) and for wonders in Israel from Jehovah of hosts, which dwelleth in Mt. Zion"—Isaiah 8:18.

 

"Our Lord Jesus... says, ‘Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. And I will wait upon Jehovah... And Behold I and the children whom Jehovah bath given me’ ": Aaron, and the members of his body, the priesthood; for sign-members, typical of Melchizedek. Compare Hebrews 2:13 with Isaiah 8:16-18. E49 p 1

 

MELCHIZEDEK—THE REIGNING PRIESTHOOD "And they the Levitical priesthood after the order of Aaron—Heb. 7:11 truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death—v. 23: But Our Lord sprang out of Judah according to the flesh—Heb. 7:14: Jehovah swore and will not change, Thou art a Priest for the Age according to the order of Melchizedek—Heb. 7:21: By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better Covenant—Heb. 7:22. But He, on account of his continuing for the age, possesses the Priesthood which changes not; Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." See Diaglott. Hebrews 7:23-25.

 

"Thus gradually God has been preparing the great Prophet, Priest, King and Judge, who during the thousand years of Messiah’s kingdom will be the Mediator between God and all who desire to draw near to him and to receive his blessing. These will be related to the repentant world as the priests of Israel were related to their nation; but their work will be efficacious, and not a failure, because based upon the ‘better sacrifices’ for sins (Heb. 9:23), and therefore backed by divine power in the forgiveness of sins and the deliverance of the willing and obedient out of bondage to sin and death into the glorious liberty of the children of God. This grand antitype is before us and will, we believe, soon have its glorious accomplishment.

 

"The Messiah whom God is thus preparing, composed of Jesus the Head and all the elect of Israel and of the whole world, the body of Messiah, will, like the type, be very faithful, loyal, patriotic toward God and toward the people. Indeed, it is one of the tests of these that they shall be faithful to the principles of the divine character even unto death." ‘13-R5334

 

11 "The ‘Day of Atonement’ which in the type was but a twenty-four hour day, we see in antitype to be the entire Gospel age. And with its close the sacrificing ceases, the glory and blessing begin, and the great High Priest of the world (Jesus and his Bride, made one,  Head and members complete) will stand forth crowned a King and Priest after the Melchizedek order, a King of Peace—a Priest upon his throne—Heb. 5:10.

 

"In the end of the Jewish age Jesus offered himself individually to Israel as prophet, priest, and king, typical or illustrative of the offering of the whole Body, the complete and glorified Christ, to the whole world. As prophet he taught them; as priest ‘he offered up himself’ (Heb. 7:27), and as King he rode into their city at the close of his ministry. But they did not receive him in any of these offices.

 

During the Gospel age his Church or Body has acknowledged him as a ‘a teacher sent from God’—the great Prophet; as the ‘High Priest of our profession’; and as the rightful King. The Word of God teaches, however, that it is not by the Church only that he is to be accepted, but that he (together with his Body, the Church) will be the Prophet for all the people,  the Priestfor all the people,  and the King over ‘all peoples, nations, and tongues’;‘ Lord of all,’ Priest of all,  and Prophet or teacher of all.

 

"When, during the Millennium, under the government and teaching of this great Prophet, Priest and King, mankind is brought to perfect knowledge and ability, perfect obedience will be required, and all who will not render it will be cut off from life without further hope—the second death—Acts 3:22,23." T.S. 50-51.

 

THE GREATER THAN SOLOMON’S—1 Kings 11:4-13; Luke 8:20; Luke 2:11 THE ANTITYPICAL KINGDOM "The long-promised kingdom waits for the development of this ‘little flock’ of kings and priests, who shall reign with Christ in the earth, as members of the Messiah company of which he is the Head and Lord, as well as the Redeemer. With the glorification of the last member of this elect class comes the due time for the setting up of the kingdom of God’s dear Son in power and great glory. Then will be fulfilled the promise, ‘In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed,’ because the elect church is a part of the seed of Abraham; therefore the promise of which they are heirs with Christ cannot be fulfilled until their selection and glorification shall be completed. Toward that glorious consummation of human redemption all the promises and arrangements of the divine Word and plan are bent... " Please read ‘08-R4298, R4299.

 

JEHOVAH’S SUFFERING SERVANT—Isaiah 52:13-53:12 THE PROPHETIC SUMMARY "In the first three verses of our study (Isaiah 52:13-15), the entire work of Messiah, not only in its preparation, but also in its revelation in Kingly power, is set forth. It is applicable, specially, to the Head, but is applicable also to the members of his body. A preferred translation reads: ‘Behold my servant shall deal wisely; he shall be exalted and lifted up and shall be very high. As many were astonished in thee; but his visage was so marred more than any man. For so shall he startle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths to him, for that which had not been told them shall they see, and that which they had not heard shall they understand.’ "" There are two reasons why the world and its great ones will be astonished when the Millennial kingdom shall suddenly burst upon the world. They have heard such chimerical and unreasonable statements respecting Messiah’s kingdom, even from the people of God, that they will be takemcompletely by surprise when they shall behold the reality... When the Kingdom shall be ushered in, following a great social revolution, it will be so much more majestically grand than anything dreamed of that every mouth shall be stopped and, as the Lord through the Prophet declares, that kingdom of Messiah shall be the ‘desire of all nations’ "—Hag. 2:6,7 ‘11-R4831

 

YE ARE MY WITNESSES, SAITH JEHOVAH Isaiah 43:10; 44:8; Psalm 116:12-14 ‘14-R5539 "And we are His witnesses of these things..." Acts 5:29-32; 10:39; 13:31; (27-33).

 

"The apostles... under the Lord’s teaching... were uniformly recognized by the early Church as guides in the way of the Lord—especially appointed instructors—’pillars in the Church,’ next in authority to the Lord himself. In various ways the Lord prepared them for this position: (1) They were with him continually and could, therefore be witnesses respecting all the affairs of his ministry, his teachings, his miracles, his prayers, his sympathy, his holiness, his self-sacrifice even unto death, and, finally, witnesses of his resurrection. Not only did the early Church need all of these testimonies, but all who have since been called of the Lord and have accepted his call to the New Creation—all who have fled for refuge and are trusting in the glorious hopes centered in his character, in his sacrificial death, in his high exaltation and in the plan of God he is to fulfil—needed just such personal testimony in respect to all these matters, to the intent that they might have strong faith, strong consolation.

 

"The Apostle Paul, although not directly a witness to the same extent as the eleven, was nevertheless, made a witness of our Lord’s resurrection in that he was given a subsequent glimpse of his glorious presence, as he himself states the matter—’Last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time (before the time)’—{50 15:8,9}... See F213- 216, Chapter 5. See ‘01-R2824 c 2; R5050 c 2 bottom half

 

THE SUFFERING OF CHRIST—HEBREWS 9:27-28 "‘And as it is appointed unto men (Aaron and his successors, who were merely types of the High Priest of the New Creation) once to die (typically, as represented in the animal slain), but after this (following, as a result of this sacrifice) the judgment (of God, approving or disapproving the sacrifice), so Christ was once offered (never will it be repeated) to bear the sins of many ("every man"); and unto them that look for him he shall appear the second time, without sin (neither blemished by the sins borne, nor to repeat the sin-offering, but) unto salvation’—to give the everlasting

 

12 life to all who desire it upon God’s conditions of faith and obedience"—Heb. 9:27, 28. T 87 p 1; CRS 164 c 2 p 1

 

PAUL’S HEAVENLY VISION—Acts 22:6-16.

 

"I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision"—Acts 26:19.

 

"It was because Paul of Tarsus was... ‘an Israelite indeed,’ fighting the truth ignorantly, that our Lord favored him in the miraculous manner related in this lesson. Indeed, we may suppose that the Lord in some manner favored all ‘Israelites indeed,’ as we note, for instance, that he favored Nathaniel, who at first was skeptical respecting his Messiahship, but was granted convincing evidence because of his sincerity... The Lord had mercy upon Nathaniel, and assisted him in one way, while he assisted others, at Pentecost, in another way, through manifestation of the Spirit; and now in a still different manner he arrested the attention of Saul, convincing him speedily that he was doing the very opposite thing from what he intended to do.. " See ‘01-R2823 to R2825.

 

Revelation 1

 

7  Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

 

Revelation 1:7 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 7. Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so. Amen.

 

This verse is very definite that the second advent of our dear Lord does not wait for the conversion of the whole world. Indeed, as other Scriptures show, there are many heathen who have not even heard his name. This verse also covers much more time than a day, or a week, or a year. Many are to see him, but not with the natural eye. A95. ‘10-R4602; R4544 "The sheep see Him in character as well as nature... Because they thus look to that end. Now, we must see Him by having His character likeness in order to be members of the Little Flock. T84-T87. D600. Please see "HE COMETH WITH CLOUDS" ‘13-R5269 top of page.

 

"Behold, he cometh with clouds (incident to His Presence, setting up His Kingdom, the real cause of the accompanying trouble—’clouds’); and (in due time) every eye shall see him (Horao, discern him, recognize his presence, power and authority), and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so. Amen. "" When Christ who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with Him be manifested in glory"—Col. 3:4 RV.

 

"We are already in ‘the time of the end’.... We have been in ‘the time of the end’ since 1799... ‘the day of his (Jehovah’s) preparation’... the preparation that Jehovah God is making for the kingdom of his dear Son... lifting of the curtain of ignorance, and the letting in of the light... ready... when the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in his beams, and the Millennial day shall be ushered in, with all its multiplied blessings and mercies and opportunities. Acts 3:21... All men discern these things, but not all alike. The faithful, the Watchers, discern them not only as facts but also as fulfilments of prophecy; as proofs that we are already in the period termed ‘the time of the end.’ "‘ 02-R2973

 

"The Divine Revelation, the Bible, is the Wisdom from Above, the Noblest Science and the Best Instruction." PhotoDrama Scenario, Frontispiece.

 

"Yes, His Truth—that grand system of truth comprised in the Divine Plan of the Ages... is the armor of God." ‘04-R3332 top "... He is coming in clouds, in that the time in which he will first manifest himself to the world will be a very dark day to the world—’a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation,’ and, we are told, never shall be again (Matt. 24:21). That will be a dark, cloudy day.

 

"In that day, ultimately all eyes shall be opened; and all mankind shall see him with the eyes of their understanding—see him in the sense that we see him now, and have knowledge of him and of the Father... It is far better to see with the intellect than with the natural sight.

 

"... Every human being shall come to an understanding of the fact that the Lord’s kingdom is for the blessing of ‘all the families of the earth’ according to God’s promise made to Abraham and all the prophets after his day.

 

Matthew 24:30. Zechariah 12:10. "Thus they will appreciate Christ... not... with the natural sight... The whole world will be in mourning... In the midst of that trouble they will gradually learn of the grace of God... the glorious kingdom of Messiah, through which are to come all the blessings which God has promised." ‘13-R5269

 

"HE COMETH WITH CLOUDS" "Mr. Rabbinowitz says the Jews have kept up great questionings and controversies about the meaning of Zech. 12:10: ‘They shall look upon ME whom they have pierced.’ They will not admit that it is Jesus whom they have pierced, hence the dispute as to who is meant. Mr. R. points out that the word used consists of the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet,  Aleph Tay,  and adds: ‘Do you wonder, then, that I was filled with awe and astonishment when I opened to Rev. 1:7,8, and read these words of Zechariah quoted by John, ‘Behold, he cometh... and every eye shall see him, and they also that pierced him,’ and then heard the glorified Lord saying, ...‘ I am the Alpha and Omega.’ Jesus seemed to say to me, ‘Do you doubt who it is you have pierced? I am the Aleph Tay,  the Alpha Omega.’ "‘ 96-R1948

 

(PRECIOUS JESUS) THE CONTRAST OF HUMAN PERFECTION AND HUMAN DEPRAVITY "And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, ‘They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.’ And sitting down they watched him there"—Matt. 27:35, 36.

 

"Here, in marked contrast, are seen the glory of moral perfection and the depth of human depravity. Here was the most sublime heroism, the most perfect self-abnegation, the most exalted benevolence, and the most devoted loyalty, in contrast with the vilest hypocrisy, the most cold-blooded hate, and the most abject cowardice. The meanest, vilest selfishness, pride and conceit delivered to ignominy and death the fairest flower of virtue that ever bloomed on earth, and wicked hands and fiendish hearts executed the dark designs

 

13 of envy and hate, taking a morbid pleasure in the dying agonies of the Son of God, while he, as a sheep before her shearers is dumb opened not his mouth in self-defense, but meekly submitted to the terrible ordeal of suffering and death for the world of sinners, none of whom could then appreciate and understand his motives or his work. Truly, the contrast of such virtue, in comparison with such depravity, encircles the Cross of Christ with a halo of ineffable glory, the broken rays of which, falling upon us, express to us all there is of moral excellence and worth.  "In the apprehension, arraignment and crucifixion of Christ three classes of criminals come to view. First, there were those who, for envy,  delivered him to death. They were the proud, boastful, self-righteous hypocrites, who... hated the Lord without cause, save that which originated in their own depravity. These... the rulers and religious teachers, the educated men of the nation, the expounders of the law of God, and the interpreters of the prophets—these wickedly took counsel together against the Lord and against his Anointed...

 

"Second, there were those cringing, hireling, menials, too basely selfish to spurn a bribe, or to appreciate a principle....

 

"Third, there were those cold-blooded, cruel servants of the Roman state who... cared nothing for the honor of justice, or the vindication of right...’

 

"How strange it seems that humanity, originally in the likeness of God, can sink so low; ... Satan fell from a great height to a corresponding depth...’

 

"Every member of the anointed body can say with the Head, ‘The reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.’ "‘ 96-R1963, R1964

 

Verse 7 clearly teaches that at the time of our Lord’s second advent the world will be far from converted to God for ‘all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him....’ Christ comes before the conversion of the world and for the very purpose of converting all mankind; and that the glorified church of the Gospel age shall share with her Lord and Head in his reign, which is God’s appointed means of blessing the world.

 

"Christ and the glorified church, made ‘partakers of the divine nature,’ will be spirit beings, invisible to men. Our Lord’s presence will be manifested to the world by exhibitions of power and great glory. He will not be visible to natural sight, but to the eyes of understanding, as these shall open to an appreciation of the great changes which earth’s new Ruler shall effect. His presence and his righteous authority will be recognized in both the punishments and the blessings which will flow to mankind from his reign.

 

"Our King will reveal himself gradually. Some will discern the new Ruler sooner than others. But ultimately ‘every eye shall see (Greek,  horao,  discern) him.’ But ‘he cometh with clouds.’ And while the clouds of trouble hang heavy and dark, when the mountains—kingdoms of this world—are trembling and falling, when the earth—organized society—is being shaken and disintegrated, some will begin to realize that Jehovah’s Anointed is taking to himself his great power and is beginning his work of laying justice to the line and righteousness to the plummet. For he must reign until he shall have put down all authority and laws on earth which are contrary to those controlling in heaven.’

 

"Blessed Bible, precious Word!

 

Boon most sacred from the Lord; Glory to His name be given, For this choicest gift from Heaven.

 

"Tis a mine, aye, deeper, too, Than can mortal ever go; Search we may for many years, Still some new, rich gem appears.”16-R5991, R5992

 

HE SHALL COME FORTH AND BLESS THE PEOPLE.

 

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment; So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him, He shall appear a second time, not as a Sin-Offering, but unto salvation"—Hebrews 9:27.28; ‘15-R5731 "The Apostle is here (Hebrews 9:28) tracing the work of Christ as the great High Priest. He represents our Lord as having offered the sin-offering, on the Day of Atonement, in its two parts—the bullock and the goat—and as being now in the Most Holy (See T.S.). When he has accomplished his work, he will appear the second time—not to repeat any of the offerings of the Gospel age, not as a sin-offering—but he shall appear unto salvation,  to all those who look for him. We can see that his words might apply to the church. They will know of his secondary appearance. They will have an appreciation of that fact before he will be revealed to the world. He will appear to them that look for him.

 

"But we are to remember that our Lord’s going into the Most Holy at the close of the antitypical Day of Atonement with the blood of the Lord’s goat class, would indicate the death of the goat. The under priests will be with him, as members of himself. Then he shall come forth the second time, after this second presentation of the blood, not to offer a sacrifice—for the sacrificing will all be finished—but to bless the people.

 

"Who then are these who look for him and to whom he will appear the second time, unto salvation? We answer that in the Time of Trouble, and subsequently, the whole world will begin to look for the Deliverer. All nations will be desiring him—not as a sin-offering again, but for their salvation. As mankind will get their eyes open to their need of salvation, they will be looking for this deliverance by The Christ in glory. They will never see him with their natural eyes. But they will look for him in the same sense that we now see Jesus—they will see him with the eye of faith.

 

THEY SHALL FALL UPON THEIR FACES.

 

"At that time many nations shall say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord’s house. He will show us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths’ (Isaiah 2:3). Another Scripture assures us that, when he shall appear, we also, the bride class, shall appear with him in glory. It is after the sacrificing is all finished and the church glorified that he comes forth the second time unto salvation, saving and blessing all the people. The high priest in the type did not return into the Most Holy again, but lifted up his hands 14 and blessed the people. Then the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people, and the people gave a great shout and fell upon their faces (Leviticus 9:23,24). So the people of the world will prostrate themselves before the great Messiah. And this will be the work of Christ during the thousand years—uplifting mankind and giving them the benefit of the Atonement sacrifice." ‘15-R5655

 

Revelation 1

 

8  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

 

Revelation 1:8 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 8. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

 

He is the only being God (Jehovah) ever created, and used, to create angels and men and the whole universe. Without him was nothing made that was made. And since his resurrection that Sunday morning, he is Almighty. See R2888 c 1 p 3 Mt 28:18. ‘11-R4802-R4804 "The Scriptures tell us that our Lord was the beginning of the creation, the first-born (verse 5) of every creature, the first and the last (verse 17); that the Heavenly Father never created any other being; and that by our Lord all things else were made (John 1:3). In other words, the Father’s power was exercised through his Only Begotten Son. According to the Scriptures, man was the last of the creations in God’s image. But the Heavenly Father has purposed the creation of an order of beings higher than any that has been made, and has arranged that his Only Begotten Son shall be the one to occupy the highest position in that new creation.

 

"‘ For the joy that was set before him’ our Lord endured the cross, despised the shame, and then sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Matthew 28:18). Originally, he was the first creation. Now he was the second creation—the new creation, in contra-distinction.

 

"And the entire church has been invited to come up to this highest place, to be associated with Christ, to be partakers of the divine nature. But in order to attain to this high position, to be with him, they must become dead to the earthly nature and its interests, its aims and its projects, and alive with him beyond the veil. Jesus is the Head of this new creation, of which the church is the body.

 

"We do not understand that the ‘great company’ will be a part of the new creation. Only the ‘little’ flock will have the honor of being members of Christ’s body." ‘12-R5050

 

THE ALMIGHTY "But although our Redeemer had always occupied the place of honor in the heavenly courts, it was not until his faithful obedience to the Father had been tested to the extent of his changing his nature to that of man, and then giving himself as fallen man’s ransom,  that he received his present unexcellable glory and honor. It is since his resurrection that the message has gone forth—’All power in heaven and in earth is given unto me’ (Matt. 28:18). Consequently it is only since then that he could be called the Almighty. The heavenly Father has always been almighty, and this all-power or allmight was never given to him, but was his eternal possession. But now that he has given the same power to his Onlybegotten and well-pleasing Son, our Saviour, both we and angels delight to know it, and delight to honor him whom the Father has so highly honored, and whom he has instructed us to honor, saying: ‘That all should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father.’... Our Lord would be reverenced and titled ‘Very Mighty’ or ‘Very Great.’"‘ 93-R1514, R1515 "Keep your heart, your will, your intentions and desires full of love toward God and all his creatures—the most fervent toward God, and proportionately toward all who have his spirit and walk in the way of his direction....

 

"... 1Ti 4:2. Hence, the imperative necessity for carefully heeding the Lord’s Word ‘(the only way we can know Him)’—’14-R5432, and walking circumspectly according to its light.

 

"We are not to faint in our minds nor become discouraged, feeling that so much has been said against us that we must give up the race. On the contrary, we are to feel assured like our Lord, that nothing can befall us except with the knowledge of the Father, who is working all things for our good. It was thus our Lord was prepared for his exaltation. So we, if we are rightly exercised by our various experiences and follow as closely as possible the commands laid down for our guidance, will find that even revilings, slanders, oppositions to righteousness, will work out blessings for us, as they did for our Lord.’

 

"We are glad that Jesus was... full of warm, loving, tender feelings and sensibilities; and that we, consequently, can realize his ability to sympathize... more than could any other human being. He must have felt keenly the conditions under which he had placed himself in laying down his life on our behalf; for the more perfect the organism, the more sensitive and high-strung are the feelings; the greater the capacity for joy, the greater the capacity for sorrow. Being absolutely perfect, our Lord must have been immeasurably more susceptible to the influence of pain than are others.’

 

OFFERED UP STRONG CRYINGS AND TEARS TO HIM WHO WAS ABLE TO SAVE HIM "Besides this, he knew that he had a perfect life, unforfeited, and realized that he was about to part with it...

 

"‘ Who in the days of his flesh... offered up prayers and supplication, with strong cryings and tears, unto him who was able to save him from (out of) death, and was heard in (respect to) that he feared’ (Heb. 5:7)—extinction... Had he done the Father’s will perfectly? Could he claim, and would he receive the reward promised him—a resurrection from the dead?

 

"Had he failed in any particular to come to the exact standard of perfection his death would have meant extinction... None could know the full depth and force of its meaning as could he who not only had the perfection of life, but had recollection of his previous glory with his Father before the world was. For him the very thought of extinction would bring anguish, terror of soul... He saw himself about to suffer according to the Law as an evil-doer, and the question naturally arose, was he entirely blameless, and would the Heavenly Judge thoroughly acquit him whom so many were disposed to condemn?

 

"After praying... Could he rely upon it now, that having sought to do the Father’s will, having finished his course, he had done it acceptably? Could he have full assurance of faith that God would save him out of death by a resurrection?

 

15 "In answer to his petition a heavenly messenger was sent to comfort him, to reassure him, to strengthen him. We are not informed what message the angel brought, but we can see that it was a message of peace; that he brought assurance, not only that the Lord’s course had the Father’s approval, but that he would be brought again from the dead by a resurrection. These were quite sufficient to give our Lord all the strength and courage necessary for the ordeal before him; and from that moment onward we find him the coolest and calmest of the notable figures brought to our attention. When approached by Judas and his band, he was the most calm and self-possessed of all; when before Pilate, the same, when crucified the same. He had found peace in the message that he was approved of the Father, and that all the gracious promises of glory, honor and immortality were his; and now he could pass through any ordeal, he could submit himself perfectly to his enemies. "‘ 11- R4802 to R4804

 

"CYRUS MINE ANOINTED" "Cyrus my shepherd, shall perform all my pleasure... Thus saith Jehovah to His Anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations... " Isaiah 44:28; 45:1.

 

Cyrus means "sun" (Mal. 4:2) and refers to our Cyrus, Jesus the Messiah, who will turn the waters away from Babylon the Great, the Confederacy—and destroy it. Re 14:8 16:19 17:5 18:2,10,21.

 

"I hid not my face from shame... For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed"—Isa. 6,7.

 

DISTINCTION BETWEEN KEEPING AND FULFILLING THE LAW "Our Lord Jesus who loved his God with all his heart soul, mind and strength... had consecrated his life to do the Father’s will... As soon, therefore, as he learned that it was God’s will that a redemption price of a perfect human life should be paid for Adam and the world of mankind, he would present himself in consecration and faithfully carry out all that is implied in that consecration, because he loved God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength...

 

"The Father gave him an opportunity and set before him a great reward ... The Father set before Jesus the great reward, and... for the joy set before him he endured the cross and despised the shame"—Heb. 12:1, 2; 10:7.

 

GOD’S WILL EXPRESSED IN THE TYPES "There is a distinction between fulfilling the law and keeping the law. The Jews did neither. It is so great that it is beyond the power of man to fulfil all of its requirements.

 

"The law consists of two different parts. The one is a regulation of the morals—the duty of all toward God and toward fellow-men. In this sense of the word, the law stands for justice—for what is right. The Jews... were unable to do so on account of hereditary weaknesses.

 

"Our Lord Jesus, however, kept the law in this sense. By so doing He earned the right to everlasting life on the human plane. This the world will do in the next age. They will be enabled to keep the law and will get everlasting life, the reward of obedience to the law.

 

"But Jesus did more than keep the law of Justice. He also fulfilled that part of the law which was applicable to him, and he is still fulfilling the law.

 

"The other part of the law consists of the ceremonial features, which constitute the types and shadows mentioned by St. Paul (Heb.10:1). These prophetic features of the law represent the divine will in respect to the means by which mankind will be restored from the plane of degradation, sin and death to divine favor. This prophetic fulfilling of the law consisted in carrying out in antitype of one important feature—the Passover institution. The killing of the lamb, the sprinkling of the blood and the eating of the flesh, were prophetical—typical.

 

"Jesus fulfilled his part of the type when he was put to death... by virtue of his sacrifice of his will entirely to the divine will...

 

"Jesus said that he came not to destroy, but to fulfil the things of the law (Matt. 5:17); and He will continue the fulfillment of the types of the law during the thousand years, until all is fulfilled at the close of the Millennial age. Some of these things are future; such as the sprinkling of the blood of the antitypical Lord’s goat, the sending away of the antitypical scape-goat, and the appearance of the antitypical High Priest to bless the people. It will take the entire thousand years of Christ’s reign to get back all that was lost through Adam’s disobedience and that is to be restored to mankind through the merit of Christ...

 

"Our privilege is to anticipate God’s will through watching the types of the law and the words of our Lord and Head. We are to count all things as loss and dross in comparison with this opportunity which we have. Nothing else should be counted so great a privilege as that of following in the footsteps of Jesus." ‘13-R5164, R5165

 

Revelation 1

 

9  I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

 

Revelation 1:9 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 9. I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

 

John was living in a rough age, so that his great age of one hundred years seems to have brought him no consideration. Working in the mines is tough and tiring for a young man; how did John stand any of it? Evidently he lived for several more years. One happifying thought is, that during our severest trial, we may be receiving our greatest blessings and opportunities for service. In some way John’s incarceration was brought about by his faithfulness to the Truth, and as a servant of Jesus Christ.

 

"Instead of adding loud and boastful titles to his name, as Reverend, Bishop, Overseer of all the Churches in Asia Minor, we find John introducing himself as ‘Your Brother,’ as the companion of all saints in tribulation and in the kingdom, and in the patient endurance of Jesus Christ. He was sharer with Christ, as a member of his body in his afflictions, in his endurance, and prospectively a joint-heir in his kingdom, and in all this he was the brother of all fellowdisciples, sharers of the same sufferings, and prospectively of the same glory. It is generally understood that John had already been severely persecuted, and that at the time of this

 

16 vision he was in banishment on the little island in the Mediterranean Sea called Patmos—a penal island where convicts were worked in the quarrying of marble, etc. Yet John himself, with remarkable modesty, passes over not only his previous service for the truth, which had brought him his persecution, but also lightly passes over the persecution itself, merely noting that he was in the island of Patmos because of his fidelity to the word of God and the testimony that Jesus was the Christ.  "This simplicity, this absence of boastfulness so noticeable in the writings of all the apostles, commends them and their words to our attention, and marks them as being in the ministry not for the gratification of vanity, or seeking earthly rewards of any kind; but simply as the servants of God, who delighted to do his will, and to tell the good tidings, to the utter ignoring of themselves, excepting in so far as mention of themselves and their affairs might be necessary and helpful to the church. All of the Lord’s followers do well to note this characteristic of the Master, and of these whom he specially chose to be his followers and our exemplars. In proportion as we attain to the Lord’s spirit it will similarly manifest itself in our sentiments and in all our conduct." ‘01-R2826 Please see Supplement, TRUE HUMILITY.

 

"John at the time of the trance vision was a prisoner, exiled to the Isle of Patmos, a penal colony of those days—an island almost uninhabitable, rocky barren. The crime for which he suffered this banishment was his faithfulness as a mouthpiece of the Lord. At the time he must have been between sixty and ninety years of age, supposing that none of our Lord’s disciples were younger than himself at the beginning of his ministry. If his exile in any degree symbolized ostracism, which the Lord’s followers may expect in the close of this age—a complete isolation from others and a treatment implying that they are prisoners—we may take comfort in the thought that as the Lord’s favor and revelations to John more than offset his persecutions, so the opening of the eyes of our understandings and the granting to us of greater lengths and breadths and heights and depths of knowledge and appreciation of our Lord and his plan will far more than offset the various experiences which in his providence he may permit to come upon us. His assurance is that all things shall work together for good to those who love God, to the called ones according to his purpose. Whoever rests his faith securely upon his promise may indeed with the Apostle Paul count all tribulation as loss and dross for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord." ‘05-R3568

 

A LIGHT TO THE GENTILES—Acts 14:11-22 ‘’I have set thee to be a light to the Gentiles"—Acts 13:47. Please see ‘97-R2151.

 

"Rejoice in hope"; ‘’Patient in tribulation." "We are not to expect to have much in the present life to rejoice in, if we are faithful to our ‘calling’; because, ‘through much tribulation shall ye enter the kingdom.’ Our rejoicing is to be in hope— looking into the future. The eye of faith is to see what the natural eye cannot see, the crown of life (Rev. 2:10; James 1:12), and all the glorious things ‘which God bath in reservation for them that love him (fervently).’ And here is the advantage of doctrinal knowledge: it inspires hope; it gives a foundation for hope. Knowledge cannot bring us to the kingdom; but it may be a great help in building us up and preparing us for it, by constantly holding before us the hopes which God designs should stimulate and encourage us while running the race for the great prize.

 

"Patient in tribulation. ‘’" Our word tribulation is derived from the Latin tribulum,  the name of a roller or threshing machine used in olden times for cleaning wheat, removing from it the outer husk or chaff. How appropriate the thought when applied to the Lord’s consecrated people, who in the Scriptures are symbolized by wheat. Our new natures are the kernel, the real grain: yet this treasure or valuable part is covered with the husk of earthly conditions. And in order that the wheat may be made properly ready for the ‘garner’ and for usefulness, it is necessary that each grain shall pass through the tribulation necessary to separate those qualities which, until separated, render us unfit for the future service to which we are called of the Lord. In proportion as we are able to realize our own imperfections, and the perfect will of God concerning us, we will be enabled to bear patiently, and even with a certain kind of rejoicing, all the tribulations which the Master shall see best to let come upon us. ‘We glory in tribulations also’—Romans5:3. ‘97-R2213

 

THE TIME OF THY VISITATION "And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, ‘If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from shine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that shine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and the children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another, because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.’ "—Luke 19:4146.

 

"The Lord’s earthly ministry was fast nearing its close, as also was the time of Israel’s special favor. To Israel first was the Gospel of the new dispensation preached; and the privilege of preparing to enter the spiritual phase of the kingdom of God was being withheld from the Gentiles to fulfill the promise of God to their fathers, that his special favor should be to them first—’to the Jew first,  and afterward to the Gentile’—Luke 24:46,47 Ac 13:46 3:26.

 

"It was in view of this dreadful condition of heart which prevailed throughout the nation, and for the national crime which was even then contemplated and which should so soon be perpetrated by his people—’his own people’ according to the flesh—and of the fearful retribution they were about to precipitate upon themselves, that Jesus wept over them.

 

"Their great national sin was the rejection and crucifixion of the anointed Son of God. On the part of the minority of the nation—the rulers and recognized teachers—the sin was active: they plotted and planned; they sought to catch him in his words... to find a legal cause against him; at different times they specially commissioned hirelings to arrest him; and finally they violently and publicly instigated an excited and clamorous mob against him.

 

"But on the part of the majority of the people the sin was passive,  both in the rejection and in the crucifixion. They weakly failed to exercise their right of private judgment, and

 

17 although often they heard him gladly, and hung upon his words, and said, Of a truth this must be the Christ, and on one occasion were even constrained to take him by force and make him their king, nevertheless they failed to act on their own convictions and dependently inquired, ‘Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?’ They blindly submitted to their erring and blind leaders, and both together fell into the ditch.

 

"Thus the whole nation, except the remnant that believed, were either actively or passively involved in the great sin of the rejection and crucifixion of the Lord.

 

"Both the active and the passive of the nation of Israel suffered alike the penalty of their national crime; for that which the Lord in the above words foretold soon came to pass... The punishment inflicted upon the nation extended, not only to the inhabitants of the capital city, but to the whole people... never again to be reinstated until their King should come ‘a second time without a sin-offering unto salvation’; when their blindness shall be turned away and they shall say, ‘Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.’ See Ps 118:25,26, by the Prophet-Psalmist.

 

"The forfeiture of this chief favor, together with the calamities and persecution they have suffered ever since, is their national penalty.

 

"There is something touchingly beautiful in this expression of the Lord’s sympathy for the blind and erring. What moral grandeur is this that could so triumph over vindictiveness and hate! What dignity and grace and glory! Lord, help thy children to ‘consider him who endured such contradiction of sinners against himself’;‘ who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously’; who seemed to forget the sting of persecution against himself in his deep sorrow and pity for the blindness and moral degradation of his persecutors.

 

"Hear him again: ‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate; for I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.’ "How long the Lord waited to be gracious, how slow was he to wrath, and how plenteous in mercy! But, nevertheless, the reckoning day must come and the harvest of an evil sowing must be reaped.

 

"‘If thou hadst known,’ O Israel, ‘the things that belong unto thy peace,’ how different would have been the consequences! But while we consider these words, we call to mind the fact that in all these things fleshly Israel was typical of the whole nominal Gospel church—’Christendom’—and see that these words of lamentation over their stumbling and fall apply with equal force, as the prophets also indicated, to Christendom—the nominal spiritual Israel, which at this parallel point of time, the harvest of this age, similarly fails to recognize the time of her visitation, and which, in consequence, is about to precipitate upon herself ‘a time of trouble,’therefore, even greater than that which befell fleshly Israel; and justly so, for her privileges and opportunities have been a thousand times greater." ‘95-R1846, R1847 (See B. Chapter 7.) "With great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all"—Acts 4:33.

 

"‘Jesus and the resurrection’ was the general theme of the early church to which was added the hope of glory—the second coming of Jesus to receive his bride to himself, to change her to his own nature, to associate her with him in his kingdom glory and then to begin the Millennial reign of righteousness, to bring all mankind to a knowledge of God. And all this was based upon the ransom sacrifice.

 

This witnessing was done with power, great power... It, and it alone, constituted the apostolic theme. And so it should be with us. The resurrection of the Lord and its value and signification to the church and the world through the divine plan should be ever prominent in our witnessing. Not only by their words and logical presentations did the apostles witness, but their lives were witnesses. As the apostle said, ‘Ye are our epistle... known and read of all men.’ The lives of the Early Church were the special witness to the Lord. Without the consistency of their lives and their consecration to the Lord and to the Truth, it is evident, the message would have had no such import as it bore. So it is with us today. It is well that we preach the Word. It is still more important that we live it. But it is the ideal thing to both preach and live the truth. ‘Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven." ‘09-R4391

 

Revelation 1

 

10  I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

 

Revelation 1:10 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 10. I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet.

 

Evidently, it is of the Lord Jesus, that we keep the first day of the week, Sunday, a memorial of his resurrection, instead of Saturday, the seventh day, as a symbol of rest. Jehovah set apart the seventh day as a symbol of rest, and now he sets apart the first day, commemorative of Jesus; first, by his resurrection, and now by the Book of Revelation, which took more than one day to write. John’s saying that he was in the spirit tells us something we already knew, that no human mind could bring forth that Book. And that book of prophecy is a witness to Jesus, as is every true prophecy at any time, past, present, or future (Rev. 19:10). The voice coming from behind indicated prohecies made long ago. Those in regard to the churches, of which there were seven, began at Pentecost. The seventh trumpet, or message began in 1876 A.D. and sounded until 1916 A.D. The messenger was Pastor C.T. Russell. There was only one messenger to each of the seven churches.

 

"The spirit of holiness in abundance can only be received by those who earnestly desire it and seek it by prayer and effort" (Rev. 1:10). E223 "John’s attention was first attracted by the trumpet-like voice from behind him (Rev. 1:10,11). The fact that the location is mentioned at all implies that it has a special symbolic meaning. It signifies that the beginning of this message was not in John’s day, nor from some future time, but that the things to be revealed had already commenced, and were already to some extent in the past—the voice from behind

 

18 going clear back, as some of the features of the book show, to the time of our Lord’s earthly ministry.

 

"The trumpet voice directed that its message should be written and sent to the seven churches named... There were seven churches in Asia Minor corresponding (v.11) to those mentioned by name in this connection; but while this revelation may have been applicable to them in some manner or degree it was evidently in but a small measure. Those seven churches of Asia Minor we understand were chosen of the Lord as symbols representing seven different epochs in the history of the one true church of Christ, from Pentecost day until the gathering to the Lord of the last grain of wheat in the end of this Gospel harvest." ‘01-R2826 "Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed"—John 20:29.

 

"His glorious voice now is the still small voice, which only the few who exercise faith can hear, appreciate, and understand. By and by the time will come when this voice shall shake the earth and cause the knowledge of the Lord to fill the whole earth. Obedience then will be proper and bring a blessing; but obedience now, even unto sacrifice of earthly interests in following the footsteps of him who set us an example, brings the greater blessings—the blessings which pertain not only to the life which now is, but also to that which is to come—the blessings of glory, honor, and immortality. "‘ 01 -R2804

 

HOW TO PROCLAIM THE TRUTH "Speaking the truth in love... grow up into Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ"—Ephesians 4:14.

 

"The truth is always to be spoken humbly, but fearlessly... an ambassador for God... the servant of the Lord...

 

"The great Apostle declared that he counted all things but loss and dross, that he might win Christ and ‘be found in him’—that he might gain a place in the everlasting kingdom of Messiah... win the ‘pearl of great price.’... The truth of God’s Word is to be enshrined above all else in the heart of the child of God, and he should esteem it a blessed privilege to speak it.

 

"... One must speak the truth in love... We, as God’s dear children are to grow in the likeness of our dear Elder Brother, our Pattern, our Head. We are to grow up into him in all things.’... He is the Head of the church; ... To be members of his body in glory, we must be developed. We are to bear the fruitage of the holy Spirit, that we may be qualified to share in the future that glorious kingdom which is to bless the world.

 

EXPRESSION DEEPENS IMPRESSION "We are to exercise our function of ambassadorship—we are to show forth the praises of him who bath called us out of the darkness into his marvelous light. And in telling the message of his grace we shall grow spiritually. ‘He that watereth shall himself also be watered.’ As we proclaim the truth from an honest, earnest, loving heart we shall become more and more filled with it ourselves. ‘There is that scattereth and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth and it tendeth to poverty’—to leanness of soul. As we give out to others, our own store of blessing is increased. We are to develop day by day this quality of love. Why is this? Because it will make us like God, and that is the one thing to be desired—the one thing necessary.

 

"Our God has other glorious attributes besides Love, but this attribute is the especially predominating, overruling quality of his character. God’s justice co-operates with his love. And his wisdom would not attempt to carry out any plans that his love would not approve. So as we grow, this quality of love should be more and more manifest. We are to see that our words are loving, kind, gentle. We are to curb any tendency to self-glorification or show in telling of God’s great plan to others. Let us keep self out of sight, that the beauty of the truth may be seen... Speaking the truth in love, we shall not only be accomplishing much more for others, but the message will also be more impressed upon our own mind.

 

"Whoever appreciates these things of God and then speaks forth in love and sincerity will receive a blessing in his own heart and mind, and the truth will become clearer and sweeter. In helping others he will be helping himself. Thus the various features of the plan of God become more firmly engraved upon his mind...

 

"But we are to remember that this is not a compulsory matter now. It is now an invitation, and is designed only for the meek, the teachable. By and by force will be needed, and used."...

 

"... Learn to speak the truth in love and in humility—to speak it out of love to God and love to the brethren. The plan of the ages is God’s plan. We have nothing whereof to boast. Therefore we should present that plan in meekness, gentleness, brotherly-kindness and love." ‘15-R5720

 

"THE DIVINE PLAN RUNS LIKE A GOLDEN CHAIN THROUGH THE WHOLE BIBLE, BOTH OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS. "‘ 15-R5706 "The RANSOM is taught on every leaf of the Bible.’

 

"The RANSOM is the scarlet thread running all through the Scriptures.’

 

"Visions are not realities, tho they symbolically represent them. This Is true, whether the vision come, as Daniel describes his, as ‘visions of my head upon my bed,’ or whether they come in broad daylight, as with the transfiguration scene, which our Lord declared was a vision (Matt. 17:9). The visions granted to John, recorded in the Book of Revelation, are in no sense and in no part to be understood as realities, and this is the significance of John’s statement... ‘I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day’—in a trance.

 

"Altho the words, ‘on the Lord’s day,’ might not unreasonably be understood to signify that John in vision was carried down the stream of time to the great Millennial day the day of Christ, the Lord’s day, nevertheless, we think it reasonable to understand him to mean also that he saw this vision on the first day of the week. And how appropriate it was that our Lord who arose on the first day of the week and who most frequently manifested his resurrection powers on that day, should on the same day reveal himself and certain great instructions to the church through John, honoring the same day of the week. It is no wonder, therefore, that Christian people from the very earliest times have held the

 

19 first day of the week in special reverence as the symbol of the fulfilment of all our hopes, whereof God gave us assurance in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus on this day. Besides, to confine the meaning of the expression to the Millennial day exclusively, would be to ignore the fact that the larger proportion of John’s vision related not to the Millennial day, but to the intervening time." ‘01-R2826 "Presumably John referred to the first day of the week, now generally called Sunday. It is peculiarly to us the Lord’s day—the day on which our Lord rose from the dead, and on which all the promises of God’s Word received life and our hopes through Christ were quickened. We may see in the expression also a reference to the Millennial age, called in the Scriptures frequently, ‘The day of Christ.’ We today according to our understanding of chronology, are living in the early dawn of this day of Christ, and it is here and now properly that we begin to see the wonderful things of the divine character and plan. But to see these things, to understand these things, we must be in the spirit. Only those who have become new creatures in Christ Jesus can be expected to understand and appreciate spiritual things, and this is the class whom John represented.

 

"As John heard a voice behind him and looked in that direction, so we who now are having the realities find that the message is behind us, and turn and look toward the past to see the fulfillment of the various features of the divine plan and to hear and understand the message given to his people by the risen Lord.

 

"The voice said, ‘What thou seest write in a book and send to the seven churches’—naming seven prominent churches in Asia Minor... There are many reasons for concluding that while the messages were given to the seven churches specified and were applicable to them, they should properly have a still wider application to the whole church of Christ, the number seven representing completeness and the order representing different epochs in the history of the church. Thus the church at Ephesus would represent the condition of the church in the Apostle’s days at the time of the writing of the messages, while the Laodicean church would represent the church in our day—in the end of this Gospel age. The other churches would correspondingly represent different epochs intermediate, between the beginning and now. To think otherwise would be to attach more importance to those seven comparatively small churches of Asia Minor than they would seem to have deserved, and would have implied an ignoring of other churches more numerous and more influential than they; as, for instance, the churches at Jerusalem Antioch, Corinth, Colosse, Philippi, Thessalonica, etc. Furthermore, the details of the messages given to these seven churches apply to and fit historically the one church of the living God, over every member and branch of which the Lord has a care. This thought, that the seven represented completeness, we find emphasized in the other symbolical representations—in the seven golden candlesticks, the seven stars, etc." ‘05-R3569

 

Revelation 1

 

11  Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

 

Revelation 1:11 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 11. Saying, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven congregaions: unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

 

As I am the first and the last of the creation of Jehovah, all the work of the Divine Plan of the Ages has been committed to me. Therefore,  what thou seest, write in a book and send it to the seven churches in Asia. As Asia means "boggy," or "swampy," it very well represents the standing, ground, or location of the church during the Gospel Age. And the names of the seven cities, all in Asia, signify the particular characteristic of each period of the Church’s experience. Ephesus means "first," during the time of the Apostles;  Smyrna means "bitter," on account of persecutions;  Pergamos, " earthly elevation";  Thyatira, " the sweet perfume of a sacrifice";  Sardis, " that which remains," just before the Reformation;  Philadelphia, " brotherly love," time of the Reformation movements; and Laodicea, " justice for the people," during clouds of trouble, which are signs of the Presence of the Son of Man, as proclaimed by Pastor C.T. Russell.

 

"Jehovah bath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God" Isaiah 52:10.

 

"To whom bath the arm of Jehovah been revealed?" cried the Prophet. Alas, it is so that few, very few, see in our Lord Jesus the powerful arm, the omnipotence of Jehovah stretched down for the aid of our fallen race. Few realize that the work finished at Calvary is the foundation, the basis upon which the great Jehovah will ultimately establish the Millennial kingdom for the blessing and uplifting of all the families of the earth. The majority see Jesus as merely the finger of the Lord, doing a comparatively small work for a comparatively small class. As our eyes open we behold to our joy that Messiah, head and body, will yet constitute the arm of Jehovah, that all- powerful force which shall overthrow evil and establish righteousness and bless all the families of the earth through the seed of Abraham. ‘If ye be Christ’s then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise’ "—Gal. 3:29. ‘05-R3590 "As in the days of Noah the world went on with its affairs as usual, not in the least disconcerted, and without the slightest faith in the preaching of Noah with reference to the coming flood, so in the early part of the Day of the Lord, the world, having no faith in the announcement of his presence and of the impending trouble, will go on as usual, giving no heed whatever to any such preaching until, in the great flood of trouble, the old world—the old order of things—goes down, passes away, preparatory to the full establishment of the new order, the Kingdom of God under the whole heavens. ‘As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days (of the presence) of the Son of Man. ‘" B141-B143 Matt. 13:34,35,55. "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life" John 6:63. "All these things spake Jesus unto the multitudes in parables, and without a parable spake he not unto them; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Prophet, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.’

 

"The entire matter is clarified when we recognize the difference between the salvation of the world to the human nature, during Messiah’s reign of a thousand years, and the

 

20 salvation provided for the elect, called during this age, and specially instructed and guided with the view of their making their calling and election sure.

 

"The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God... neither can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned"—1 Cor. 2:14.

 

AFTER YE WERE ILLUMINATED "When the spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth... and will show you things to come"—John 16:13.

 

"The apostles at Pentecost received an illumination of the mind which enabled them to understand the things of God, yea, the deep things of God; for he bath given unto us his Spirit, ‘that we might know the things which are freely given us of God’—1 Cor. 2:12.

 

"Jesus had this... thought in mind when he declared that there were certain things his disciples could not understand at that time, but would know afterwards, because he would send the holy Spirit, which would bring all things to their remembrance whatsoever he had spoken; and would show them things to come (John 14:26; 16:13). This was not only true with the apostles, but has been true with respect to all the members of the body of Christ throughout this age. Each one presenting his body a living sacrifice has been accepted by the great Advocate, and presented as a part of his own offering; and then the offerer has been begotten of the holy Spirit to be a new creature in Christ.

 

"It is to these new creatures that the statement is made, ‘All things are yours, for ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.’ It is to these the Bible has promised, ‘He will show you things to come.’ It is these that are to be guided into all truth as it shall become due. It is for these that the Word of God is a storehouse, from which ‘things both new and old’ are to be produced, under the Spirit’s guidance, as they become ‘meat in due season’ to the ‘household of faith.’ "The spirit begotten new creatures must make progress in their appreciation of spiritual things... if they would attain joint-heirship in the kingdom... each to use the ‘strong meat’ of divine truth... becoming a man, sanctified, developed as a new creature and filled with the Spirit, and ‘thoroughly furnished unto every good work’ by knowledge of the Word of God.

 

"Our Lord brought life and immortality to light... the general reward of everlasting life to be given to the world, and the special reward to be granted to the church." Please see ‘12-R5088

 

THE LOGOS MADE FLESH John 1:1-18 AND THE LOGOS BECAME FLESH, AND DWELT AMONG us—V.14 "Our... study is one of the most beautiful in the whole Bible. Genesis goes back to the beginning of all beginnings, when God was alone. The very beginning of divine operation was the Logos—‘the Beginning of the creation of God’—’the First-born of every creature’ (’the first brought forth of all creation’)—Rev. 3:14; Col. 1:15

 

THE FATHER’S HONORED AGENT—MESSENGER "Logos signifies mouthpiece, or special messenger. Not only so—not only was the Logos the beginning, or Alpha—but he was also the last, the Omega of divine creation, as he himself informs us (Revelation 1:8; 21:6). The first and only begotten Son of Jehovah was given an exclusive place, so that ‘all things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made’ (John 1:3). Thus highly did the Father honor him as his agent in all the creative work, both as respects angels, cherubim and men.

 

(See v.8, ‘12-R5050. "Originally, he was the first creation. Now he was the second creation—the new creation, in contradistinction—Gal. 6:15).

 

"The Greek text is not fully represented in our Common Version. Accurately translated it reads, ‘The Logos was with the God and the Logos was a god; the same was in the beginning with the God.’ Here the majesty of our Redeemer in his prehuman condition is fully set forth, and yet he is distinctly shown to be the Son and not the Father—to be a god and not the God. ‘13-R5351, R5352

 

"THE LOGOS BECAME FLESH "We are assured that his body was especially prepared, separate and different from others of our race, all of whom were of Adamic stock and all tainted with sin and the seeds of death—Heb. 10:5-9.

 

"He was ‘put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit’—I Peter 3:18—Emphatic Diaglott.

 

"As Bible students we must strive more earnestly than we have done to keep close to the Word of God. It was the perfect man Adam who sinned and was sentenced to death and under the divine law he could be redeemed only by the sacrifice of a perfect man. The Law declared, ‘An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and a man’s life for a man’s life.’ A perfect man had sinned.

 

"BLESSED ARE THE MEEK" "The meek will he guide in judgment; and the meek will he teach his way"—Psalm 25:9.

 

"While it is not Scripturally stated that the heavenly Father is meek, yet Jesus was meek, and he was the express image of the Father’s person in the flesh. Hence we would assume that the heavenly Father possesses meekness, in distinction from haughtiness.

 

GOD RESISTS THE PROUD "Our Lord said, ‘I am meek and lowly of heart.’ Our Lord was meek in that he was teachable. He realized that even in his perfection there were things to be learned; and he learned obedience through the things which he suffered. It was because he had this quality of meekness or teachableness that the offer was made to him to be our Savior... And as with the Master, so with the church.

 

"These are the ones whom the Lord is pleased to instruct and guide in the knowledge of his Son, and into all his blessings. If they continue to be meek, He is able to make of them heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ their Lord. We read in the Scriptures that the meek shall inherit the earth. They will inherit it under the terms of the primary and 21 original covenant. These will be the seed of Abraham. From these the blessing will go to all mankind who will be obedient during the Millennial reign. After the final test at the end of the Millennial age, the whole world will be teachable. They will have learned the great lesson that God is the Fountain of all Wisdom; and they will have profited by this instruction. "‘ 13-R5370

 

THE LIGHT OF-THE WORLD "The Logos was made Jesus. The work of Jesus in the flesh, however, is not the completion of the divine plan, but merely the beginning of it. His death constitutes the basis of all future blessings to the church and to the world. According to the Father’s plan, an elect class was to be gathered out of Israel and out of every nation to be the church of Christ, his bride, associates with him in his throne, glory and work. Jer. 31:34 "Thus according to his promise Jesus eventually will be ‘the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world’ (John 1:9). The great mass of humanity have never seen nor even heard of this true Light—not merely the heathen millions, but the masses in civilized lands.

 

"The resurrection of the just will be necessary to bring the church to glory and joint-heirship with her Lord. But the resurrection of the unjustified, which includes practically all humanity, will be for the very purpose of permitting them to see the true Light, which God has provided in his Son and which will be shed abroad during his Millennial kingdom. Only those who refuse the light, preferring the darkness, will die the second death.

 

"The world recognized not the great One who was in it, the Logos, by whom it was made. His own nation recognized him not, but crucified him. Yet some then and some since have received him, and to such he has given the power, the right, the liberty, the privilege, to become children of God. No such privilege was given to the Jews, nor to any of the fallen race, until Pentecost—after Jesus had appeared in the presence of God to make atonement for our sins.

 

"These sons are all begotten of the holy Spirit. Theirs is not a fleshly sonship. Their birth of the Spirit will be the resurrection change, when they shall be made like their Master, see him as He is and share his glory." ‘13-R5352

 

Revelation 1

 

12  And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;

 

Revelation 1:12 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 12. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;  

 

The symbol of seven golden candlesticks would indicate a complete message from a Divine source, such as Pastor Russell received early in 1881 A.D., as Tabernacle Types, or as the Lord Jesus received early in 30 A.D. Pastor Russell received all his Master’s goods that the Church would need for the work of Harvest. Of course this was not as much as the Lord received in 30 A.D.

 

"Turning and looking, John saw in symbol as we may now see with the eye of faith and understanding. He saw one like a Son of man (like a man—like a priest, as implied by the clothes described) walking amongst seven golden candlesticks, caring for them, trimming the wicks, seeing to the supply of oil, etc. We see that our Lord Jesus, our glorified Master, although absent from us, has been present with his church throughout the past eighteen centuries and more, protecting the interests of his cause and directing in respect to all of his people’s affairs, especially inspecting and caring for the church as a light bearer, a candlestick. Alas, how poor the wicks sometimes have been, how feeble the light that has sometimes shone out into the darkness, how much of trimming has been necessary! ‘05-R3569 "... Are not the incidental persecutions exactly what our Lord forewarned us would be part of the cost of faithful discipleship? And are not those the very persecutions whose absence earlier in our Christian experiences made us wonder whether or not we were acceptable sons of God? Heb. 12:8—see verse 2.

 

"Surely our answers to these questions must be, Yea, Lord! even though because of weakness of the flesh the answer be not joyous as it should be, but through unbidden tears. And with this answer on our part the Lord is pleased; and angels of his mercy—his promises exceeding great and precious—minister unto us and strengthen us." ‘99-R2412 "The degree of our success in this conflict will depend largely upon the keenness of our faith and trust in the great Teacher. If we have confidence in his wisdom, we will follow closely his instructions and keep our hearts, minds, with all diligence. Faith in the Lord’s wisdom and in his help in every time of need is necessary to us in order that we may be thoroughly obedient to him; and hence it is written, ‘This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith’; that is, it will be by the exercise of faith and the obedience which flows therefrom that we will be enabled to come off conquerors and ‘more that conquerors’ through him that loved us and gave himself for us—1 John 5:4; Rom. 8:37." ‘11-R4904 "Faith, or confidence, in God and in the ‘great and precious promises’ is the very basis of all Christian endeavor. Without this faith one cannot fight a good fight. In proportion as the promises are before our minds, in that proportion we have strength and courage to run the narrow way.

 

"... The rewards are for those who hold the faith even unto death... The Lord deals graciously and generously with us. He will do for us whatever is right... Those whose hearts are right are submissive to the divine will. The Lord wants us to have a faith that will continue in sorrow and in sunshine: that will trust where it cannot see, that will continue under all the leadings of divine providence. "‘ 12-R5095

 

JESUS REVEALED TO JOHN IN VISION—Rev. 1:9-20.

 

"Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever"—Heb. 13:8.

 

Revelation 1

 

13  And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

 

Revelation 1:13 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 13. And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son (a son) of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

 

The typical candlestick of the Tabernacle, pictures spiritual knowledge. The garment suggests the Of lice of High Priest; the golden girdle, Divine service; and the candlesticks, the nature of the service, as dispenser of Light, the light of God: the Plan of Salvation, the Permission of Evil, the High Calling, the Times and work of Restitution, etc.

 

"Turning to see the one who addressed him, John beheld seven golden candlesticks (lampstands), and standing in the 22 midst of these one having the resemblance to a son of man—not the Son of man*... What John saw in the way of light and stars and lamps and brightness was merely a mental vision, while that which Paul saw while on the way to Damascus was a very literal light, which permanently injured his eyes. What John saw in vision was not understood by him to be the Lord’s glorious body, nor even a representation of it, except in the sense that it was a symbolical representation.

 

"The whole body was covered, hidden from sight, with a robe, only the head, the hand and the feet being exposed to view, thus agreeing with the explanation given us by the Apostle Paul {1Co 12:12-31} in which he represents the whole church as being the body of Christ and members in particular... Thus the Lord would be present with his people by his spirit dwelling in them, using different members of the body to accomplish for his body different services.

 

THE ANOINTED—THE MESSIAH—THE CHRIST This vital message is found in its entirety in ‘14-R5391 to R5394 (Feb. 1, 1914).

 

"The teaching of the Law, in type and testimony, is to the effect that God purposed to raise up a great Priest, who would also be a King; and that this priestly King and kingly Priest should cancel the sins of the people, and be invested with power to rule, and with authority as a Mediator to help them back to God. To the surprise of the typical people, Israel, instead of assuming the office of Priest and King in conjunction, he merely died!—Luke 24:20,21.

 

"Then came the time for the holy Spirit to reveal to the church what had previously been a mystery (Rev. 10:7); for when God had through the prophets spoken of Messiah as a King upon his throne, he had declared that which would be mysterious to the people—would not be easily understood. God had purposely kept his plan a secret until the due time for revealing it should come. The secret was—‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’—Col. 1:26, 27. (The Holy Spirit of God, E Chapter 8).

 

"In other words, our Lord Jesus is, primarily, the Anointed One and, according to the Scripture testimony, is very highly exalted. But he was not the completion of the divine arrangement regarding the anointed. The heavenly Father purposed not to have Jesus alone, but that he should be the Head of the anointed, and the church the body {Eph 1:22,23 5:29-32 Col 1:24}. This was the mystery. The great Messiah was to bless the world as the antitypical Prophet, Priest, and King. God appointed Jesus as the Head, and elected certain saintly ones to be the members of his body. Until this body of Christ was complete, the blessing promised to Abraham could not come upon the world—Gal. 3:16, 29.

 

"The word anointed is the English translation of the Hebrew word Messiah, and its equivalent in the Greek is Christos, Christ. So, then, our thoughts properly turn to Christ as the Anointed of God. He is to do the great work appointed by the Father. We look back and see when he received his anointing.

 

"... When he was thirty years of age... he consecrated himself to do the Father’s will and work. Then it was that *Please see "The Son of The Man," and references, at Rev. 14:14-R16. he received the special anointing. This constituted him in an incipient sense the anointed King and Priest of God. Still he was not ready to take this great power and reign; but if he proved faithful in carrying out his covenant, he would in due time become in the fullest sense the great Anointed of God, would reign over the earth for a thousand years, and subsequently would have further great honors and privileges. We can see all this very clearly portrayed in respect to our Redeemer.

 

"And as we further study we find that this is the mystery mentioned in the Scriptures:... that the great Messiah so long promised should be composed of many individuals; and that these many individuals, with the exception of the Head, should be gathered out from the children of wrath, from fallen mankind, and should be justified through the merit of their Head—THE MERIT OF HIS HUMAN SACRIFICE.

 

"The Scriptures tell us that the anointing... at Pentecost... came from the Father through Christ after his ascension. Indeed, St. Paul tells us that all blessings come from the Father, who is the fountain of blessings; and all come through the Son, who is the Channel—1Co 8:6... The spiritual nature begins in us at the moment we receive this begetting. And whoever receives it cannot retain it unless he grows and has the Lord’s spirit perfected in him.

 

VARIOUS QUALITIES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT "The spirit is spoken of in the Scriptures from various standpoints—apparently with a view to giving us a conception of it, and with the thought that it is a difficult matter to grasp.

 

"It is called the spirit of truth... Growth in spiritual things will be in proportion to this growth in knowledge. If he does not grow in knowledge, he cannot grow in the spirit... the spirit of the TRUTH.

 

"It is also called the spirit of obedience in the sense that those who possess this spirit desire to do the will of God. It is an ANOINTING in the sense that it is the qualification by which God recognizes us as his children and as those who are heirs of his promises and who are to consider themselves his ambassadors. He recognizes only those who are thus designated by the holy Spirit. These are to FILL THE OFFICE OF KINGS AND PRIESTS.

 

"It is the new creature that is anointed and it is the old creature that is sacrificed.

 

"It is as JUSTIFIED men that we are baptized into death, and it is as members of the new creation that we are constituted members of the ecclesia, or body of Christ. It is the Father’s acceptance of us that is the basis of our begetting of the holy Spirit, our anointing.

 

"The begetting thought is one that pertains to the state of the new life, the state of the new nature. The ANOINTING thought pertains to THE OFFICE. God is calling out a people to become joint-heirs with Christ in the kingdom. The anointing is the divine recognition of them as KINGS AND PRIESTS.

 

"The word Christ signifies Anointed. God has declared that he will have an anointed King and High Priest to be his agent in the blessing of the world. He has declared that that 23 great King is, primarily, the Lord Jesus Christ. He also declares that... it is his good pleasure that... the adding of these members has been the completing of this Anointed One.

 

DOUBLE RELATIONSHIP TO CHRIST "The terms begetting and birth are used symbolically to represent the beginning and the completion of the new creature.

 

"The word baptism signifies immersion. St. Paul explains that we are all baptized, or immersed, or anointed, by the one spirit into one body. The anointing, or baptism, of the spirit came first to our Lord Jesus, extended down to the church at Pentecost, and has been with the church as an anointing ever since. All of us who come to God, by Christ, confessing our sins and asking forgiveness through his merit, and who yield ourselves to be dead with him, by baptism into his death, are immersed into membership in his body, thus coming under the anointing.

 

"The result of this action is two-fold; we become, first of all, members of Christ in the flesh, and he accepts us and treats us as such. We are first baptized, or immersed, into death—his death, his baptism. Then the figure changes; and we are raised up out of this baptism into death, as new creatures. Thereafter our flesh is counted as his flesh. So our relationship to Christ is two-fold: one appertaining to the flesh, the other to the spirit.

 

"Very many have not noticed this double relationship to Christ—as new creatures, and also in the flesh. The force of this is brought to us in the words of the glorified Christ to Saul of Tarsus: ‘Saul, Saul, why persecutes" thou ME?... I am Jesus whom thou persecutes"‘ (Acts 9:4,5). Thus our Lord declared that the persecution of the church in the flesh was a persecution of himself. What the church suffers is a part of the sufferings of Christ. The sufferings of Christ will not be filled up until the last member of his body shall have finished his course.’

 

THE LORD s DECISION STILL FUTURE ‘14-R5391 to R5394 "All the consecrated ones of both classes (the Lord’s goat class and the scape-goat class) pass through great trials and afflictions; yet by one class they are esteemed light afflictions, taken joyfully, which they rejoice to be accounted worthy to suffer. Theirs is a willing sacrifice,  like that of the Head. To the other class they are burdensome, great afflictions, almost without joy—an enforced destruction of the flesh. And proportionately different are their positions and rewards at the end of the race." TS72 "The New Creature must learn that he may have this peace of God, which passeth all understanding, to rule in his heart even while outward conditions are the reverse of peaceful; but that the condition of full harmony with the Lord is a reward for faithfulness to Him, whatever the cost, whatever the sacrifice.... The New Creature must first of all consider his primary obligation, viz., that he shall love and serve the Lord with all his heart, mind, being, strength, and that all dealings with family or flesh or neighbors must be subject to this primary law of OBEDIENCE TO GODS, F 602

 

Revelation 1

 

14  His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

 

Revelation 1:14 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 14. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes as a flame of fire;  His head, being white, indicates the purity of his mind; the whiteness of its hairs indicates wisdom. Since his resurrection he has been like Jehovah: even the exact impress of the character of His substance; infinite in Justice, Wisdom, Love, and Power. Such seeing eyes! such an understanding mind; he saves to the uttermost.

 

.. The head, with its white hair, corresponding to the Ancient of Days of Daniel’s vision (Dan. 9:27), is... merely suggestive and symbolic of venerableness, of knowledge, experience, wisdom. The fiery or electric glance of the eyes should similarly be understood symbolically to represent penetrating intelligence, and ablility to see and to know everything pertaining to his people, his church. ‘01-R2826

 

CHRIST CALLED TO SACRIFICE—THE BODY ALSO TO SACRIFICE "‘ If we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him.

 

The reason why the Father is so careful in making the selection of the church class, is that they are to reign... in the coming kingdom. He would not select those who had not first learned humility before he could use them to teach humility to others. God desires such a company of priests and judges to be associated with his son for a thousand years in ruling and blessing the world as will prove faithful under all cricumstances—those in whom he can place absolute confidence, who have been tested and found faithful. This is the reason that he tests and proves during this Gospel age every one whom he will receive for that future work.

 

"The call of the Gospel age is, therefore, one to sacrifice. God does not hide this fact from us... Whoever would follow Jesus must prove his faithfulness by his willingness to sacrifice.

 

"In the past, false doctrines confused us; but now ‘we see Jesus’—we see what he accomplished, and how he endured without growing weary or giving up. It makes our course plain when we consider him.... But in our Lord’s case it was different. He received the slanders, the misrepresentation, and everything else that came against him, without having any fault in him at all. ‘He was holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners,’ still he endured. We, though following in his footsteps, have not as much to endure as had the Master.

 

... While the Father let Jesus die on the cross as a malefactor, yet he... kept his promise to raise him from the dead.... In raising up Jesus the Father has given us a testimony to his faithfulness. In the case of Jesus, no one had set him an example. It was all by faith with him; none had gone before. With us it is different.... If we trust God, he is faithful to keep us and to do what he has promised—to raise us up with our Head. Consider what great things God has done for His son. Consider also that he has promised us a share in our Lord’s glory if we be found faithful. It is amazing—almost beyond conception!... But since He has stated it over and over again in so many ways as to remove all grounds for doubt, I must believe it. How wonderful it seems!

 

24 "Consider him! Consider that God has highly exalted him! Consider what a great privilege has been afforded us of walking in his footsteps, especially as our lives are so imperfect, so unsatisfactory.... What a thought that God will count our little sacrifice as a part of that which Jesus gave! We are to be heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ, ‘to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed at the last time.’ Then to think that we are in the last time now! We are right at the close of the age. The new dispensation is opening all around us, and the great majority of the people are so bewildered that they do not know what to make of the wonderful things of our day... The Lord’s true people are the only ones who have a correct understanding of these things.

 

"How carefully the people of God, therefore, should weigh their thoughts and deeds! ‘Seeing that these (present) things are to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy living and godliness, looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God!... According to his promise we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness... ‘Ye therefore, beloved, knowing these things beforehand, beware lest, being carried away with the delusions of the unsettled or lawless, ye fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forever. Amen"—2 Peter 3:13-18.

 

"Let us not live in the past and dwell upon our mistakes and shortcomings, and thus be cast down; but let us believe that ‘if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’ {1Jo 1:9}. And we should have such an appreciation of these mercies and blessings of forgiveness as to show it forth in our conduct.

 

"Let us give heed more and more to the suggestion of Hebrews 12:3, and consider him whom the Father has so greatly exalted—so highly exalted. Let us remember that he has called us with the same high and heavenly calling and has promised to help us all the way through! If we remember this, we shall cease to be weary and faint and shall become strong in the Lord and in the power of his might; we shall go on from grace to grace, from glory to glory; we shall be transformed by the renewing of our minds, more and more proving what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Then, finally, we shall attain unto the glorious things which he has in reservation for those who love him more than parents, or children, or self, or any other person or thing. "

 

"Hold on thy way with hope unchilled, By faith and not by sight; And thou shalt own his Word fulfilled—At eve it shall be light.’ ‘17-R6065 Delivered at the Brooklyn Tabernacle, Oct. 11,

 

Revelation 1

 

15  And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

 

Revelation 1:15 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 15. And his feet like unto fine brass copper, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

 

Feet may represent our standing or our conduct. As regards our Lord, his standing while in the flesh was in perfection, while ours is also, but by justification. In the type, the posts of both the Court and the Holy were set in copper. Feet also represent our conduct, as our Lord said to Peter, Unless your feet are washed, ye have no part in me. And Peter’s conduct soon indicated that of a new creature and an apostle.

 

"The feet, described as like furnace-refined copper would represent these members of the body of Christ who serve in... the Lord’s work. Copper is a symbol of humanity, and this copper being furnace-refined would seem to say that those who belong to the body of Christ, and whom the Lord would use in his service, ‘the feet’ members of the body, must, in their contact and dealings with the world, be refined, purified, clean—’Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord’s house.’ The feet would thus represent the living members of the body, all down through this age; and the refining process to each and all will be fiery trials.

 

"Thus understood, the figure of a son of man (a human figure) in the midst of the seven candlesticks, etc., symbolically represented Christ standing criticising, judging, directing, in the midst of his church, upholding his chosen stars or ministers, and represented in the various members by his people, is an impressive picture or symbol, full of instruction, leading us to expect the Lord’s guidance in all the affairs of his church, and to realize that things are not happening to her haphazard. To so recognize that the Lord’s people in every part of this age have been ‘feet’ members of the body, carrying forward his work, is not to contradict our previous application of Isa. 52:7, which merely represents the ‘feet’ who declare unto Zion, ‘Thy God reigneth’— in this manner distinguishing these from their predecessors in the pilgrim way. ‘01-R2827

 

WITHOUT A PARABLE HE SPAKE NOT "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life"—John 6:63.

 

"However dark and parabolic were our Lord’s teachings, nevertheless, rightly understood, his message is one that is spiritually helpful and life-giving to those who can and do understand it. It is the quality of the Lord’s message which makes the religion of the Bible different from that of all the heathen. It is a message of life as well as a message of holiness. It is a message of forgiveness as well as a message of condemnation. It is a message of life as well as a message of justice. His wonderful words of life—they are charming, beautiful, forceful! We may read them over year after year and we see still more beauty in them, still deeper significance, and that in proportion to our own growth in grace, our growth in knowledge, and in the spirit of our Master. ‘10-R4644 Concerning our Lord Jesus, whose heart was perfect—in whom was no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth, it was said, ‘Grace is poured into thy lips’; and again, ‘All bare him witness and wondered at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth’ (Psa. 45:2). Moses, personating Christ, foretold the blessed influence of the Lord’s words, saying, ‘My doctrine shall drop as the rain; my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass’ (Deut. 32:2). And Jesus said,

 

25 ‘The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life’ (John 6:63). So wise, just and true were the Lord’s words, that, though his enemies were continually seeking to find some fault, it is said, ‘They could not take hold of his words before the people; and they marveled at his answers and held their peace’ (Luke 20:26). And others said, ‘Never man spake like this man’—John 7:46.

 

"Thus our Lord left a worthy example to his people, which the Apostle urges all to follow, saying, ‘Let your speech be always with grace (with manifest love and kindness), seasoned with salt (a preservative influence)"—Col. 4:6. And Peter adds, ‘If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God’—wisely, and in accordance with the spirit and Word of the Lord...

 

"Job, in the midst of all his afflictions, was very careful not to sin with his lips {Job 2:10 31:30 1:21,22}. He knew that his words would be taken by the Lord as an index of his heart, and he was careful to keep both the heart and the words right, saying, ‘What! shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil (calamities, troubles—for discipline or refining)?... The Lord gave, and the Lord bath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’ There was no spirit of rebellion in a heart out of whose abundance came such words of loving submission, patience and faith under severe testings, and that, too, without a clear vision of the divine wisdom in permitting them.

 

"The Psalmist puts into the mouth of God’s consecrated and tried people these words of firm resolution—’I said I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue. I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked (who tempts and tries the righteous) is before me’—Psa. 30:1.

 

"How necessary to the stability of Christian character is such a resolution, and the self-control which develops under a firm adherence to it." ‘96-R1937

 

Revelation 1

 

16  And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

 

Revelation 1:16 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 16. And he had in his right hand seven stars; and out of his mouth went a sharp two edged sword; and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

 

The stars in his right hand were kept, whether we think of one particular angel or messenger to those particular seven classes at that time, or of the seven messengers of the Gospel Age. We like to think of the latter, for that takes in our Pastor, C.T. Russell. The two-edged sword, in our day, is made very sharp by two doctrines: the cross and thepresence. And His countenance never shone as brightly, as now. Please see CRS 164.

 

JEHOVAH THE SUPREME JUDGE "Beyond all question, Jehovah himself is the Supreme Judge, and his Law the supreme standard, according to which all decisions must be made respecting life eternal... Jehovah was the original Law-giver and Judge, and will forever maintain this position and relationship to all of his creatures. His honor he will not give unto another (Isa. 42:8)... Psalm 23:1; Isa. 49:26. In the highest sense of the word Jehovah himself is the center of the entire plan of salvation and of its every feature; and any other view of the matter is a defective one.

 

"However, as it pleased the Father to create all things through the Son (John 1:1)—so in all things it has pleased him to exalt our Lord Jesus as his honored instrument. From this standpoint we see that all blessing, all authority, all favors, proceed from the Father and by the son, and that the New Creation, associated with the son, are thus with him made ministers and joint-heirs of the grace of God...

 

"Strictly speaking it was from the moment of our Lord’s resurrection that the Father committed all of judgment unto the Son, and then it was that he declared, ‘All power (authority) in heaven and in earth is given unto me’ (Matt. 28:18), and his first exercise of this authority was the commissioning of his apostles, as his representatives, to commence the work of gathering the members of the Bride class, the Church, the Ecclesia,  his fellow members of the New Creation.

 

"We are in Christ Jesus, covered by his merit, and dealt with through him as our Head and Master, under the merciful provisions of the Abrahamic Covenant, made operative toward us, by his blood.

 

THE SUPERVISION OF THE GLORIOUS HEAD OVER THE BODY.

 

"We could not doubt the love and care of our glorified Head in respect to his Church—’body,’ ‘bride’—even if he had given us no explicit declaration of the subject. However, in his last message to his faithful, he very particularly shows that it is he who sits as the refiner and purifier of the antitypical Levites, including the Royal Priesthood. Hearken to his words to the seven churches of Asia Minor, representative of the seven epochs of the one Church’s experience: ‘Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent... else I will come upon thee quickly and remove thy candlestick.’ ‘Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.’ ‘I have a few things against thee... repent, or else I will come unto thee quickly and will fight against thee with the sword of my mouth.’ ‘To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna.’ ‘I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel... I gave her space to repent... I will cast her... into great tribulation... and I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that l am he that searches" the reins and hearts;  and I will give unto every one of you according to your works... He that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations.’ ‘I have not found thy works perfect before God... He that overcometh... I will not blot out his name out of the book of life.’ ‘These things saith he that bath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth.’ ‘Behold I will make them of the synagogue of Satan... to come to worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world.’ ‘Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God.’ ‘Because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.’ ‘I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich... As many as I love I rebuke and chasten;  be zealous, therefore, and repent’—Rev. 2 and 3.’

 

26 "... The key to the matter is found in our Lord’s words, ‘I and my Father are one’—we act in unison in every matter." F39-R6402 Please see Revelation 1:1.

 

OUR LORD s BEAUTY OF HOLINESS—John 19:5 "Pilate looked upon him in admiration, and exclaimed, ‘Behold the Man!’—John 19:5—or (see Strong’s Concordance) ‘Behold the countenance!’ I am a Gentile and not of your race, but here you have sent to me the most glorious Jew on earth... His face must have been one of marvelous beauty! No wonder the people flocked to see him because of his graciousness of speech and his wonderful beauty—the image of God! ‘13-R5291 "For the Word of God is quick and powerful, living and energetic, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, life and breath, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do"—Hebrews 4:12-13.

 

"The mouth, from which proceeded the sharp two-edged sword is not to tell us that this is the appearance of our Lord in glory, but merely to symbolize to us that his words in his church are to be as the sword of the Spirit, which the Apostle declares to be sharper than any two-edged sword, discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart, dividing and classifying his people, and separating from his elect every impure thing and every unacceptable element. ‘His voice, as the sound of many waters, (v.15)... might be understood as signifying peoples, nations and languages, as elsewhere explained in this book, and that thus our Lord, present with his church, would speak to her and through her by many tongues, in many languages.’

 

"The hand, in which were seven stars, is similarly to be understood as a symbolical part of the vision, representing the Lord’s power in his church. The stars, as he explains (vs. 20; chapter 2:1, 8, 12, 18, etc.), are the angels or messengers or special servants of the church in each epoch. The intimation is that the Lord would recognize in his church, in each of its seven stages or developments, one representative to whom he would specially address himself, and through whom he would specially instruct the church, and whom he would specially hold or keep as his instrument by his own power or hand." ‘01-R2826 ‘’It will be noticed that the messages to the various churches are all addressed to these stars or messengers or angels of the churches, as though he would have us understand that the appropriate message for each appropriate time or epoch in the church’s experience would be sent by the Lord through a particular star or messenger whom he would particularly commission as his representative. Our Lord himself is represented by the great light of the sun, and his special messengers in the church throughout the entire period are consistently enough represented as stars. The difference between the figures of the star and the candlestick is manifest: the star light is the heavenly light, the spiritual enlightenment or instruction; the lamp light is the earthly light, representing good works, obedience, etc., of those who nominally constitute the Lord’s church in the world and who are exhorted not to put their light under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and to let their light so shine as to glorify their Father in heaven.

 

"No part of the description could more thoroughly convince us that the description of our Lord here given is a symbolical one than does this statement that out of his mouth proceeded a two-edged sword. As a symbolic picture, however, it is full of meaning to us. It speaks of the Word of the Lord as the sword of the spirit, ‘sharper than any two edged sword.’ It reminds us that our Lord’s words are not one-sided, not merely directed against sin in one class, that his word is sharp and cutting in every direction, that sin is reproved by him as much when found in his most earnest followers as when found elsewhere. It assures us that none need attempt to pluck out the mote from his brother’s eye without getting rid of the beam in his own eye. It assures us that if we do not show mercy to those who are our debtors we must not expect mercy from him who has proposed to extend his mercy to us.

 

"How heart-searching is the Word of God when we get to understand it—not merely as a compendium of rules and regulations, but when we come to catch the spirit of it, when we come to see that its requirement is love out of a pure heart, first to the Father, secondly to our Lord and Head, and thirdly to all his brethren, fourthly to the world in general, groaning and travailing in pain, waiting for the glorious blessings of the coming day, and fifthly, sympathetically toward our enemies also, realizing that they are warped and twisted and blinded through the deceitfulness of sin and through the machinations of the great adversary." ‘05-R3570

 

Revelation 1

 

17  And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

 

Revelation 1:17 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 17. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying I am the first and the last:

 

When we thus really see Jesus, our impulse is to consecrate unto death, to follow in His footsteps, that we may arrive at the same condition of character, and hope of life. "That I may know him, the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable to his death; if by any means I may attain to THE resurrection of THE dead." See Rev. 1:8, ‘12-R5050.

 

"CONSIDER HIM"—THEN FOLLOW "Consider Him who endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds"—Hebrews 12:3.

 

"The Apostle had just been pointing out the faithfulness of our Lord Jesus. He had reminded the church of the shame and ignominy which the Master had endured for the great joy set before him by the Heavenly Father. He declares Jesus to be the Author and Finisher of our faith. He then urges that in our trials and difficulties as children of God we remember what extreme experiences in suffering the Master endured—such contradiction, such opposition, of sinners against himself—opposition to his doctrines, to everything that he did. This opposition to Jesus continued until it resulted in his murder.

 

27 "The Apostle says to the church, ‘Ye have not yet resisted unto blood striving against sin,’ as Jesus did. As a matter of fact, we really suffer very little and give up very little. At most we have but little life, as members of the fallen race, and it stretches out for only a brief span. We have very little to consecrate to God. And when that little is going we should consider how insignificant it is, and what great things the Master had—not merely the perfection that he had in his earthly life, but also what he had previously, and how, in obedience to the divine will, he humbled himself and left his glory to become a man—and then humbled himself still further, unto death, ‘even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also bath highly exalted (raised to the highest position—Strong) him, and given him a name which is above every name.’ "We should be glad to walk in his footsteps, to endure the same experiences, to drink whatever the Father shall pour out for us in our cup—his cup. As we consider thus our dear Master’s experiences and faithfulness, it makes our experiences seem only light afflictions, but for a moment, and working out ‘for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal’ {2Co 4:17,18}. For let us remember that we are ‘called... to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast’—2 Thess. 2:14, 15." ‘15-R5684 "It is not strange that John in vision fell down as dead at this glorious symbolical representation of Christ. John may be considered as a representative of the Lord’s consecrated ones, who in his presence feel their own deadness. Upon all such he places his hand (his power), and to them gives his message, ‘I am the first and last, I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold I am alive forevermore, and have the keys of hell the grave and of death’—vss. 17, 18.

 

"Not all, but only those who fall as dead before the Lord who recognize their own nothingness, who, in the language of this symbolical book, are beheaded, or lose their own wills, accepting the will of the Lord instead (Rev. 20:4)—these alone are ever able to fully receive this message from the Lord appreciatively." ‘01-R2827 "We must recognize our Lord as the one who was the beginning of the creation of God and the end of it, the one by whom were all things, the one who is next to the Father, his very representative in everything pertaining to the affairs of the universe." ‘05-R3570

 

THE MIRACULOUS BIRTH OF JESUS ‘15-R5767, R5768 Basis of the Doctrine of the Ransom. Basis of the Doctrine of Restitution.

 

"Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures"—1Co 15:3.

 

"At this time, the Passover season, we as Christians commemorate the greatest event of all history, the sacrificial death of the Savior of the world." ‘16-R5869 "Numbers of the Lord’s people all over the world... celebrate on its anniversary the most notable event in the history of the Universe of God." ‘99-R2436

 

"Calvary was the scene of the most wonderful event of history, the fulcrum as it were upon which divine Love and Justice operated for the rolling away of the curse resting upon humanity. "‘ 05 -R3560 "While the death of Christ was the greatest event in history, his resurrection from death readily holds second place. The death of Christ without his resurrection would have left our race just as helpless and hopeless as before." ‘05-R3563 "This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come, in like manner, as ye have seen him go into heaven"—Acts 1:11. "The manner of his coming will be like the manner of his going... quietly and secretly... having thoroughly convinced witnesses... his faithful followers.... The angel seemed also to give special emphasis to the fact that the coming again would be the coming of this very ‘same Jesus’— the same one who left the glory which he had with the Father before the world was, and became man— became poor that we might be made rich; the same Jesus that died on Calvary; the same Jesus that arose a quickening spirit the third day; the same Jesus that had manifested his change during the forty days—THIS same Jesus now ascended up on high. Yes, it is the same Jesus who has experienced two changes of nature—first from spirit to human, and then from human to divine... He is now of the divine spiritual nature... he is the same loving Jesus.... He has no further use for a human body prepared for sacrifice (Heb. 10:5). That is all over now: he dies no more, but now comes to rule and bless and uplift the redeemed race.

 

"Our Lord furnished us a most beautiful illustration of the manner in which his presence will be revealed, when he said, ‘As the bright-shining emerges from the east, and illuminates even unto the west, so will be the presence of the Son of man’—Matt. 24:27... How beautiful is the figure of sunrise, as illustrating the gradual dawning of truth and blessing in the day of his presence. The Lord associated the overcomers with himself in this figure, saying, ‘Then shall the righteous shine forth as the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father.’ And the Prophet, using the same figure, says ‘The Sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in his beams.’ The dawning is gradual,  but finally the full, clear brightness shall thoroughly banish the darkness of evil, ignorance, superstition and sin." B153-B156

 

Revelation 1

 

18  I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

 

Revelation 1:18 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 18. I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of the grave and of death.

 

Here is a plain statement that some may not sleep; but all new creatures must die, for our consecration is unto death, and we desire our house from heaven. "O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction.’

 

"We have seen (v. 17) that the ‘Arch-angel’—the chief messenger of Jehovah—is now our highly exalted Lord of all, the Redeemer of the world, the Head or Bridegroom of the Church. "‘ 83-R515 "Thus we see that in Jesus there was no mixture of natures, but that twice he experienced a change of nature; first, from spiritual to human; afterward, from human to the highest

 

28 order of spiritual nature, the divine; and in each case the one was given up for the other; "While Jesus as a man was an illustration of perfect human nature, to which the mass of mankind will be restored, yet since his resurrection he is the illustration of the glorious divine nature which the overcoming Church will, at resurrection, share with him." A180 "For these also is the wonderful message that this Redeemer, now glorified, has all power in respect to our race—the keys, the authority, the control, not only of hades (the great prison house of death), but also the power or control over death in its every degree; so that it is his privilege to raise up so many as will obey him out of the degradation and imperfection of this dying condition, up, up, up, to perfection of life, where death will have no power. These may know, also, that the time for the exercise of this power by the Redeemer is nigh at hand, and that the privilege of deliverance from the tomb and from death into the full liberty of the sons of God, into abundance of life and freedom from the bondage of corruption, will be extended to every creature of Adam’s race.

 

"‘ Blessed are our eyes for they see, and our ears for they hear!’ "‘ 01-R2827 "The more we understand the plan of God, the greater will be that power in our hearts, and the deeper our consecretion to the divine will, the more sympathy will we have and the greater will be our desire to do the divine good pleasure. "‘ 14-R5583

 

THE INCARNATION THEORY NOT SCRIPTURAL "The incarnation of our Lord is only a theory invented during the Dark Ages. For he humbled himself to become a man,  and ‘became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also bath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow (both in Heaven and in the earth)... and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father’—Philippians "Jesus says, ‘Blessed and holy is he that bath part in the First Resurrection.’ Such shall be kings and priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years—Rev. 20:6." ‘13-R5291 "All the blessings of everlasting life God has made provision for through Messiah. Messiah is to have a kingdom; and this kingdom is to rule the world in righteousness (see Ps 96$ , 97$, and 72), blessing not only the living, but also those who have fallen asleep in death {Isa 25:6-9 Ho 13:14 Ro 14:9 8:20,21, Diaglott}. Many Scriptures declare this in unmistakable terms. Indeed this is the tenor of the entire Word of God. This divine plan runs like a golden chain through the whole Bible, both Old and New Testaments.... ‘15-R5706 c 2; B135.

 

OUR EASTER LESSON—‘10-R4587, R4588—lovely short article.

 

"I am he that liveth and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore. "—Rev. 1:18.

 

"Our text comes to us as fresh as though delivered yesterday from the lips of the risen Redeemer—his special message to his people. How much there is in these few words!

 

They affirm with positiveness that Jesus really died, the just for the unjust, that he might bring mankind back from sin and condemnation to harmony with God. With equal force they tell us that he is dead no longer, that although unseen to our natural eyes, our faith may recognize the fact that he arose from the dead and ascended up on high, there ‘ to appear in the presence of God for us.’—Heb. 9:24.

 

"What was effected by his death and what is the value of his life to mankind?

 

"His death was necessary because death was the sentence against Adam and all his race, because of original sin—disobedience. St. Paul says, ‘By one man’s disobedience sin entered the world, and death as a result of sin, and thus death passed upon all, for all are sinners.’ It was not an angel that had sinned and hence an angel could not be the Redeemer. The divine law was an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, an ox for an ox, a man for a man. Hence nothing but the sacrificial death of a perfect man could redeem the race from their death sentence. Any perfect man could have thus been substituted, but there was none in the whole world; hence the necessity that our Lord should be ‘made flesh’ that he might redeem us (John 1:14). Hence, as the scriptures explain, ‘he who was rich, for our sakes became poor,’ leaving the perfection of the heavenly nature and coming down to perfect human nature; he was ‘holy, harmless and undefiled, separate from sinners’—Heb. 7:26." ‘10-R4588 of "Our Easter Lesson"...

 

IT IS FINISHED "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit"—John 19:30.

 

"Thus ended the awful tragedy of Calvary. Our Lord’s last breath with all his remaining strength was exhausted in his effort to utter with a loud voice that last grand truth, ‘It is finished.’ "Down to his very latest breath his mind was clear, as shown by every expression during those hours of agony of the cross. There he preached the gospel to the dying thief—‘Verily I say to thee this day (this dark day, when it seems as though I am an impostor, and I am dying as a felon), thou shalt be with me in Paradise—(when the Lord has established his Kingdom it will be a paradise, and the thief will be remembered and be in it)—F 668; he commended his weeping mother to the care of the beloved John; and when in the last agonies of death he cried, ‘My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?’ And then again his clearness of intellect, and his complete submission to, and trust in God, and his desire to utter a last word of instruction to his followers is manifested in his very last words, ‘It is finished; Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.’ "If such was our Lord’s dying effort to make this last announcement, how carefully should we consider his words. What was finished there? Taking the standpoint of this dreadful moment we find him in prayer referring to the same thing a few days before, saying, ‘I have finished the work which thou gayest me to do’ {Joh 17:11,4}. Referring again to his death (John 12:27) he said, ‘Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? But for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name.’

 

29 "Then it was for this cause—viz., death, as the world’s sin-bearer, for the world’s redemption—that he came to that hour; and this was what he finished when he bowed his head and gave up the spirit of life—existence. There it was finished; the substitute, the corresponding or equivalent price for the life of Adam and all who lost life through him, was paid. The death penalty which could not be annulled, was thus assumed and paid by another, and henceforth that gloriousfact was to be made known to all. Our dying Lord with his latest breath was the first one to proclaim the glorious message—’It is finished’; and after his resurrection he sent his disciples forth to tell to every nation the same blessed truth.

 

"The other side of the great work of atonement yet remains to be accomplished, viz., the converting of the world to God. By this sacrifice which was finished on Calvary, the way of access to God was opened up; the claims of justice were fully met, ‘That God might be just and yet the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus’ (Rom. 3:26). And now God can receive all who come unto him acknowledging the merit of the sacrifice and trusting for acceptance through it. The promise that the Redeemer will shortly take control of the world, open the sin and prejudice blinded eyes and bind or restrain their great deceiver, is but another way of assuring us that this great truth— the ransom—so necessary to be believed, shall be testified to all in due time {1Ti 2:6}, when all shall have full opportunity of accepting it." ‘87-R931 "I am he that liveth and was dead; and behold I am alive forevermore, amen; and have the keys of hell(hades, oblivion) and of death"—Rev. 1:18.

 

"This passage is given as an encouragement to God’s people, hence surely hell, hades,  here cannot mean a place of torment: otherwise, what would be the force of this expression? These words imply that the Lord’s people go to hades(oblivion), whoever else may go there, and that the hope of the Lord’s people, when going down to hades,  to oblivion, is that in due time our great Redeemer shall unlock this figurative prison-house of death, and bring forth the captives from the tomb, from sheol, hades,  oblivion. This is the significance of the statement that he has the keys, that is, the power, the authority—He can open and he can shut; all power is given into his hand.

 

"In preaching at his first advent, he quoted the prophecy of Isaiah respecting himself, which declares that he will open the prison-house, and set at liberty the captives, and declared this to be the Gospel (Isa. 61:1; Luke 4:18). It is the Gospel of the Resurrection, the message, the good tidings of deliverance of all the captives from the oblivion of death, from the power of the Adversary, ‘him that bath the power of death, that is, the devil.’ How full of meaning are these Scriptures, when viewed from the proper standpoint!" E378

 

Revelation 1

 

19  Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;

 

Revelation 1:19 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 19. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;  

 

To have John put these things in writing, shows that the author felt confident of their authenticity; and he was correct. "Wisdom is justified of her children.’

 

"John was instructed to write, to make clear, to make plain to us and to all of God’s people, the things already brought to his attention, and other things subsequently to be brought to his attention; to the intent that all of God’s people might be enabled to comprehend with all saints the lengths and breadths and heights and depths of the love of God which passeth all understanding and which can only be received through revelation from God. And here let us note the force of John’s expression (verse 3) to the effect that there is a blessing upon those who read this revelation, even thothey do not understand, and a special blessing upon those who hear and understand the words of this prophecy, and keep or conform their lives to the things that are written therein." ‘01-R2827 "And He said unto them... ye shall receive power, after that the holy spirit is come upon you, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth"—Acts 1:8.

 

WITNESSES OF THESE THINGS "Ye are witnesses of these things"—Luke 24:48.

 

"The apostles as witnesses were not merely to tell about the Redeemer’s virgin birth, nor merely about his holy, devoted life, nor merely of our Lord’s resurrection, nor merely of his ascension, but in addition to all these facts they were to tell that he was a properly qualified Redeemer, that he met all the conditions of the Law, and that now he ever liveth to succor those who come unto the Father through him. How faithfully the apostles performed their mission! How truly, as the Apostle Paul declared, they shunned not to declare the whole counsel! Worldly wisdom might intimate that to own a Master and Teacher who had been executed as a felon would be to their discredit, and thoroughly hinder them from progress in gathering followers to their Leader. But these faithful witnesses consulted not with flesh and blood as to what they should preach—they told the story simply in all of its details, not neglecting even those of Peter and Judas, and the disputing as to which should be greatest, etc. The truth in the simplicity in which God intended it to be delivered has evidently come down to us in the Bible account. "‘ 06-R3911

 

"HE IS RISEN, EVEN AS HE SAID" —Matthew 28:1-15.

 

"We are glad that there is such satisfactory evidence that Christ died, and that thus we have further foundation for the Scriptural assurance that he died as the Redeemer of the world. Even Strauss, the agnostic, is constrained to say on this subject, ‘The whole countryside knew he was dead.’

 

THE WITNESSES MOST RELIABLE "The resurrection of Christ is vouched for by many most honorable witnesses... The witnesses... testified to his resurrection, and preached in his name and through his power as the risen one the forgiveness of sins—and did this at their own expense, with sufferings, stripes, imprisonment and cruel death as the reward. Their testimony fully concurs with the Master’s own words before he died—words which his own intimate followers could not appreciate, could not comprehend—that on the third day he would rise from the dead. "

 

30 "The doctrine of the resurrection itself is peculiar to the Jewish and Christian religions. Other religions the world over ignore the necessity for a resurrection, and claim that those who die are more alive than they were before their death. The Apostles, on the contrary, admitted that all their hope rested in the fact that Christ did rise from the dead. Mark the Apostle Paul’s words, 1Co 15:14-18.

 

"Our Lord announced in advance that he would rise from the dead on the third day. In any view of the matter our Lord could not have been exactly three days and three nights in the tomb according to the record—it would have been either more or less, because he died in the afternoon and rose from the dead in the morning, hence no exact statement of even days and nights would fit the case. We recognize the custom of the times of reckoning a portion of a day or a year as though it were a complete one. For instance throughout all the records of the chronicles of the kings we find that a portion of a year is counted for a year; that if a king reigned three years and three months it would be counted a reign of four years, or if he reigned two years and three months it would be counted three years, since he did reign for a portion of the third year. So in the statement of our Lord’s period in the tomb, it is properly enough spoken of as three days and three nights, and shown thus:

 

JEWISH RECKONING 4 to 6 p.m. Friday = 2 hours 6 p.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Saturday = 24 hours 6 p.m. Saturday to 4 or 5 a.m. Sunday = 10 or 11 hours Thus reckoned fulfils the Apostle’s words, ‘He rose again the third day.’ "‘ 06-R3904

 

THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS "It is clear from the Scriptures that Jesus rose on the first day of the week (Mark 16:2), and also that this was ‘the third day’ after his death (Lu 24:21,46 1Co 15:4 ; also Lev. 23:11). It follows that he must have been crucified on a Friday. That this is of importance in estimating the dates of Jesus’ birth and death, is pointed out in ‘The Time Is At Hand,’ vol. 2, page 60. Some object to this that Jesus in saying (Matt. 12:40) that he would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, contradicted the statement by the Apostle Paul that he rose on the third day. Those who reason in this way have failed to note that the phrase used by Jesus was purely idiomatic, and implied that he would be in the heart of the earth ‘till the third day.’ The proof of this is to be found in Es 4:16 5:1 Ge 42:17,18 2Ch 10:5,12 . God is his own interpreter." ‘05-R3574—(J. Edgar) "Him God raised up on the third day" F214—Acts 10:39-43 "The waving of the barley sheaf of first-fruits, on the 16th of Nisan (’the morrow after the Sabbath’ or Passover Feast of the 15th—Lev. 23:5, 6, 11, 15-17), typified the resurrection of Christ our Lord, as ‘the first-fruits of them that slept’—1 Cor. 15:20.

 

"Here is the strongest possible confirmation of the correctness of the position taken in Studies in the Scriptures, Volume 2—that our Lord was not three full 24-hour days in the tomb, but only parts of the three days and nights; that he was crucified on the day corresponding to our Friday afternoon, and arose on what corresponded to our Sunday morning. The showing of the type, that the Paschal lamb was to be killed sometime during the 14th of Nisan, and the waveoffering of the sheaf of first-fruits was to occur on the 16th, should settle the matter for all. It agrees with the repeated statement {1Co 15:4 Lu 24:46} that our Lord rose on ‘the third day according to the Scriptures.’ This scripture concerning the first-fruits is the only type which we recall as in any way pointing out the time of our Lord’s resurrection ... The evidence is overwhelming that he died on the 14th of Nisan, and rose on the 16th—the third day after." ‘13-R5191

 

JESUS HIMSELF DREW NEAR—Luke 24:13-35 "Early in the morning of the day of his resurrection he had appeared to the women who came with spices to embalm his body. They had communicated to St. Peter and St. John that the Lord had been with them... In the afternoon, two of the company were walking home, discussing their disappointment in Jesus—how instead of becoming a great king, he had been crucified, and their hopes of associating with him in dignity and honor had all been dashed...

 

"It is Christ that died, yea rather, that was raised from the dead"—Rom. 8:24.

 

THAT JESUS IS STILL FLESH IS UNSUPPOSABLE "While they thus talked, Jesus overtook them. They knew him not, because of his resurrection change. The Apostle Peter tells us that he was ‘put to death in flesh, but quickened in spirit.’...

 

"‘ We shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye’; for ‘flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.’ The change which the church is to experience, in order to be fitted for the kingdom of God is the same change which Jesus experienced when he was raised from the dead, a life-giving Spirit—no longer a man.

 

"When the Logos was made flesh, the identity was not lost. Respecting our Lord’s human experiences, we read: ‘A body hast thou prepared me’—for the suffering of death (Hebrews 10:5-10). When he had accomplished that purpose, he no longer had need of human nature, but, as he had foretold his disciples, he ascended up where he was before—to the spirit plane, to the spirit nature, as well as, later on, to heaven itself.

 

"The Scriptures show that the Father highly exalted the Redeemer, not only restoring him to spirit-being, higher than human, but exalting him ‘far above angels, principalities, powers and every name that is named’ "—Phil. 2:9-11; Eph. 1:20-23.

 

JESUS SHOWED HIMSELF "St. Luke declares that Jesus showed himself alive after his resurrection (Acts 1:3). Again he speaks of him as appearing. The narrative shows both terms are justified by the facts. He appeared and disappeared. He showed himself to some and not to others, and in every way manifested the fact that some great change had taken place in him after those three days. Not only did he appear and show himself in different forms, in different bodies, unlike each other, but also in different clothing. Then, too, when he suddenly disappeared, the clothing disappeared also.

 

"Jesus, when he was the Logos—before his nature was changed from Spirit to human—appeared to Abraham, in company with two angels. We read that the Lord and two angels did eat and talk with Abraham, who knew them not, but ‘entertained angels unawares’ until, eventually, their identity was revealed. Hebrews 13:2; Gen. 18:3; 19:2 "Just so it was with the two disciples en route to Emmaus: The stranger who overtook them sympathetically inquired, Why look and talk so sadly? They opened their hearts to him, astonished that he did not know...

 

"This gave Jesus the opportunity he sought—to explain to his disciples... that the experiences they had had were part of the divine plan... He declared that it was necessary that he should thus suffer in order to enter into his glory—that without such suffering he never could be the King of Glory, with power to bless and restore humanity, bye and bye—Acts 3:19-21.

 

"Then he began to point out from the writings of Moses and all the prophets what God had foretold respecting Messiah’s experiences. He probably reminded them of how Isaac had been offered up by Abraham, explaining that Abraham typified the heavenly Father, and Isaac typified himself; and that the offering, even though not fully carried out, represented the death of himself as it had taken place, the subsequent life of Isaac representing the resurrection of Jesus, to be with his Father again.

 

"He doubtless told them about the smitten rock, from which gushed the waters—that the rock represented himself, who must be smitten in order to give the water of life to the dying world. He doubtless told them how Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, and explained that the serpent represented sin; and that he, in being crucified, was made to take the place of the sinner, that the sinner might, through faith, be made righteous in God’s sight through the Redeemer’s sacrifice.

 

"He doubtless explained to them the sacrifice of the Atonement Day, in which the bullock, which died, represented himself in the flesh; and in which the high priest, who lived, and who entered into the Most Holy and sprinkled the blood for the forgiveness of the people, also represented himself, a spirit being, who after resurrection would go into heaven itself and eventually offer up full sin-atonement on behalf of the world, and would come forth again at his second advent to bless those for whom he had died.

 

HE OPENED THE SCRIPTURES "He doubtless explained to them respecting the passoverlamb—that it typified himself, ‘the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." We may assume that he proceeded to the Psalms, Isaiah and the other prophets, explaining all the prophetic passages relating to the sufferings of Christ and the glory that would follow. No wonder those disciples afterward declared that their hearts had burned within them while he opened to them the Scriptures.

 

"Jesus could have manifested himself to his disciples otherwise than he did. Instead of appearing as the gardener and as the traveler, etc., in different forms, and then vanishing

 

31 after communicating with his disciples, he could have done just as he did with Saul of Tarsus, the last one to whom he appeared. As we read, ‘Last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born of the spirit in the resurrection. Then they will be spirit beings, like the Redeemer, see him as he is and share his glory. That will be the due time for all of his followers to see him as he is—not as he was—1Jo 3:2.

 

"But Saul of Tarsus saw him thus as a spirit being, ‘shining above the brightness of the sun’ at noonday—saw him before the time. The effect upon him was disastrous to his eyes, and required a miracle for his recovery of sight. And even then apparently a certain blemish was allowed to be a thorn in his flesh to his dying day, as a reminder of God’s great mercy toward him, and to keep him humble in connection with his powerful ministry—2 Corinthians 12:7.

 

"Who cannot see that the Lord’s way of manifesting himself after his resurrection was in every way the best! Had he appeared to many of them, or to all of them, as he appeared to Saul of Tarsus later, they would have been bewildered, shocked...

 

"It should be remembered that out of fewer than ten appearances during the forty days between our Lord’s resurrection and ascension, he only twice appeared in a form similar to that which they had seen, and bearing marks of crucifixion; and that on both of these occasions he appeared while the doors were shut, and later vanished while the doors were still shut, in order that his followers might learn a double lesson: (1) That he was no longer dead, but alive, resurrected; (2) That he was no longer flesh, but spirit—’Now the Lord is that Spirit.’ "‘ 14-R5415 to R5417 "At the end of the forty days our Lord appeared to all of the apostles at the time of his ascension. This was at the Mount of Olives—Luke 24:50,51 Ac 1:6-9.

 

"It was necessary that the apostles should be ‘witnesses,’ testifiers to the fact that Christ had not only died but had also risen from the dead; and in order that Paul as an Apostle might thus testify he was granted the vision of the glorified one. He saw him as we shall see him in that he saw him in the brightness of his excellent glory and not as the others, veiled in the flesh. Thank God... to be made like him, to see him as he is, to share his glory. Not all in the same moment, but each in his own moment, changed instantly—until gradually... passing from death unto life, the full number of the very elect shall be completed and the reign of glory shall begin." ‘06-R3905

 

Revelation 1

 

20  The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

 

Revelation 1:20 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 20. The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawestin my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches; and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest, are the seven churches.

 

How God’s dealing with his true church is laid out and explained in the Tabernacle Book! We have never seen one, grounded thoroughly in the Tabernacle Study and understanding, go back on Present Truth, as presented by Pastor C.T. Russell in the Scripture Studies.

 

"The Golden Candlestick or lampstand which stood opposite the Golden Table, and gave light to all in the ‘Holy,’ 32 was of gold—all of one piece hammered out. It had seven branches, each of which held a lamp, making seven lamps in all—a perfect or complete number. This represented the complete Church, from the Head, Jesus, to and including the last member of the ‘little flock’ that he is taking out from among men, to be partakers of the divine (gold) nature. Our Lord says, ‘The seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches’—the one Church whose seven stages or developments were symbolized by the seven congregations of Asia Minor (Rev. 1:11). Yes; that candlestick represented the entire Church of the First-born—not nominal, but the true Church, whose names are written in heaven—the true light-bearers—the ‘Royal Priesthood.’ "" The form of its workmanship was beautiful—a fruit and a flower, a fruit and a flower, following successively—representing the true Church as both beautiful and fruitful from first to last...

 

"The light from this lamp was from olive oil, ‘beaten’ or refined; and lamps were kept always lighted. This oil was symbolic of the Holy Spirit, and its light represented holy enlightenment—the spirit of the truth." The brilliancy of the flame or illumination depends on those antitypical spices (’07-R4093, comment Rev. 3:6) contained in the holy Spirit. That calls for the anointing. Our anointing depends on membership in Christ (Anointed). "Its light was for the benefit of the priests only, for none others were ever permitted to see it or to profit by its light. Thus was represented the spirit or mind of God given to enlighten the Church, in the deep things of God, which are entirely hidden from the natural man {1Co 2:14}... None but the truly consecrated, the ‘Royal Priesthood,’ are permitted to see into this deeper light, hidden in the ‘Holy.’ " T115, T116 "The anointing of the high priest in the type represented the divine appointment to office. Aaron was thus anointed of God. The Apostle Paul says that ‘no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that was called of God, as was Aaron.’ Even Christ took not this honor upon himself. God appointed him, saying, ‘Thou art a Priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek’ (Hebrews 5:4-6). God’s direct dealings were with the Lord Jesus Christ. He was the one acceptable to the Father. God gave his holy Spirit to our Lord in fullest degree...

 

"The holy Spirit being poured out upon the Head of the great High Priest, and flowing down over the skirts of his garments, all his body is thus anointed. We each receive our share of the anointing when we come into the body, and under the robe." ‘14-R5424 "Seven, as a symbolic number, represents perfection or completeness, and thus the seven candlesticks, the seven churches, represent the complete church, and this union of seven as one was most beautifully typified in the golden candlestick (lamp-stand) of the ‘most holy’ of the Tabernacle and subsequently of the Temple. That candlestick or lampstand was one, but there were seven branches or lights; while in this symbolical picture of the church in Revelation each is represented separately, and our Lord’s messages are directed to the seven churches of the seven epochs separately; nevertheless, in reality the church is all one {1Co 12:12}. The union and the separateness are merely as we view the matter from two different standpoints. It is the one high priest who cares for all the lamps, and the one holy oil that in every stage of the church has given light to all of the consecrated class, the ‘royal priesthood,’ who have access to the ‘holy’ and are seated with Christ in heavenly places (conditions)—Eph. 2:6." ‘01-R2827 "In the Tabernacle, and subsequently in the Temple of Solomon, the golden candlesticks or lampstands were placed by the Lord’s direction—not seven candlesticks, but one with seven branches, representing the whole church, the complete church during this Gospel age. In Revelation the same candlestick or lampstand is brought to our attention, but the parts are separated—the union, the relationship between them, being supplied by our Redeemer, the antitypical High Priest. The lampstand symbolized the Lorcl’s nominal people of this Gospel age, including his ‘members.’ It holds forth the light of life, the light that shines in the darkness and which he directed should be so let shine before men that they might see our good works and glorify the Father in heaven. Alas! the Master evidently found but few good works, but little glorifying light shining out from his earthly representatives in many of these epochs. This is represented by his messages, chidings, encouragements, etc., given to each of these epoch 33 churches represented by the different candlesticks or lampstands. It is to be noted that the lampstand represents the nominal church of Christ rather than the true. This is shown by the fact that in the Lord’s addressing each of these lampstands or churches he finds fault with the many and approves the few, especially so in the last, the seventh, the Laodicean church of our day." ‘05-R3569 c 1 p 3; B229 p 1.

 

"It is this one whom we thus know, thus recognize as the instructor and caretaker of the candlesticks, the churches; whom we are to recognize also as having in his right hand, in his favor as well as in his power, seven stars—the angels or messengers of the seven churches. These stars apparently represent special ministers or servants of the church.

 

"In Revelation 12:1 the church is pictured as a woman crowned with twelve stars. These stars evidently represent the twelve apostles as the special lights of the church. Similarly, in the picture before us, the seven stars which the Lord holds in his right hand seem to represent special light- bearers in the church in each of the seven phases or developments. That they are held in his right hand seems to teach us that these should be considered as in some special sense under the Master’s guidance and protection and care in the interest of the churches which they represented. ‘05-R3570

 

Revelation 2

 

1  Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

 

Revelation 2:1 (RVENDAG_)

 

CHAPTER 2:1-17 Revelation

 

"While the messages given to the seven churches specified in the Revelation were doubtless applicable to them, they properly have a still wider application to the entire Gospel church, the number seven representing completeness. The Book of Revelation is a book of symbols, which our Lord ‘sent and signified (told it in signs and symbols) by his angel unto his servant John’ (Revelation 1:1). Bible students know that the book abounds in symbols, or signs: and we are satisfied that these are the rule, and that the literal is the exception, being used only when unavoidable.

 

"To be in harmony, then, with the rest of the book, ‘the seven churches which are in Asia’ must be symbolic; and as the book is chiefly history written beforehand, they must symbolize seven successive stages in the history of the Christian church, covering the period between the first advent and the second coming of Christ. The fulfilment, we think, proves the correctness of this position.

 

"In the first chapter we have a description of ‘One like unto a son of man’ (1:13), as seen in vision by the Apostle John. Some one or more of the features of this description would seem to be peculiarly appropriate to each of the successive stages of the church; and in each case he who sends the message is thus described. The last part of each message is a promise to the ‘overcomers,’ and is also adapted to the different periods of church history.

 

"To give a bird’s-eye view of the arrangement (1:11), we would notice their chronological position. Ephesus covers the period during the lives of the apostles; Smyrna, the time of the Pagan persecution, reaching to about 325 A.D., when Constantine became Emperor of Rome and declared in favor of Christianity. Pergamos embraces the transition period during which the Papacy had its rise; Thyatira, the space during which the true church was in the wilderness, and the apostate church sat as a queen and lived deliciously with the kings of the earth. Sardis includes a short interval just before the Reformation; Philadelphia, the period from the Reformation until recent times; and Laodicea, the nominal church of today." ‘16-R5992

 

Verse 1. Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write: These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;  

 

35

 

The message of the High Priest, serving his seven churches, or candlesticks, is one of encouragement from the very beginning. It is a message of assurance to the first, or Ephesus period, of their safety: that his presence is sure and complete; He is holding them in his right hand of power; He is supplying the oil of anointing; overseeing the necessary trimming or discipline; supplying food according to the growth of the infant church; and providing the water of fellowship or association. (Comments on the anointing at Rev. 3:6)

 

MESSAGE TO THE CHURCH OF EPHESUS—Revelation 2:1-7 "The word Ephesus means first, desirable. During this period our Lord ‘holdeth the seven stars in his right hand,’ etc. (Chapter 1:20) The messengers of the churches—St. Paul, St. Peter, St. John, etc.—were so powerfully led and kept in the grasp of our Lord Jesus during this epoch that we accept their teachings as his, believing that their words were really his words. This stage of the church is commended for its faithful, patient labor and for its discernment of truth and true teachers—Ac 20:28-30 1Co 11:19.

 

"It was characteristic of this period that ‘they forsook all and followed him.’ They took joyfully the spoiling of their goods. They sold what they had and gave to those in want. Though often deprived of the bread of this present life, they not only had the Living Bread, but had the promise of ‘the tree of life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God’ (2:17). It will be remembered that all the trees in Eden were trees of life, but that the one in the midst of the Garden was then a forbidden tree, the disobedient eating of which brought death upon Adam and all his race. That tree in the midst of Paradise was called ‘the tree of the knowledge of good and evil’; and our Lord’s promise in today’s study is that the overcomers of the Gospel age shall have full liberty to partake of that tree under most blessed and satisfactory conditions, when the knowledge will be of benefit to them under divine approval, and will not then bring a curse." ‘16-R5992

 

Revelation 2

 

2  I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

 

Revelation 2:2 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 2. I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: There are two ways of weakening the words or influence of the apostles, the especial representatives of Jesus, the head of the church: one is to discount their word; and the other is to claim apostolic succession. Both are seen in the servants of Satan, even to the extent of denying that Paul was an apostle. See Rev. 21:14.

 

"About the year 300 A.D., Christian bishops began to claim Apostolic powers and to style themselves Apostolic Bishops. The claim is still made that the bishops of the church of Rome, of the church of England, etc., are of equal authority with the twelve apostles, while the Bible claims to the contrary—that the twelve apostles selected by Jesus (St. Paul taking the place of Judas) were to be the only foundations of the Christian church, orally and through their epistles. Jesus prophesied the falling away which would result in some falsely claiming to be Apostles. Compare 2Pe 2:1 Ac 20:30 ."‘ 15-R5751 "Long centuries ago a wrong step was taken by the bishops of the church in claiming that they were apostolic bishops—with apostolic powers, the same as the original twelve. Later these self-styled ‘apostolic bishops’ concluded that the people need not have the Bible, and that they could simplify matters for the masses by giving them the creeds. They made their first creed in A.D. 325, and afterwards they continued to make ‘worse and more of it,’ until the Sixteenth Century. Meantime the Bible was tabooed... It was during this time that the horrible doctrines of the dark ages were introduced by our great adversary.

 

"Then came a change when the people began to demand the Bible and to doubt the infallibility of the ‘apostolic bishops’ and their creeds. Early editions of the Bible were burned publicly, by both Protestant bishops and Catholic bishops, until the Bible triumphed and became too thoroughly entrenched in the minds of the people for this. The period of darkness lasted over twelve hundred years, the lamp of God’s Word being absent. Then came various attempts at Bible Study, all more or less handicapped by the insistence of the bishops that the Bible must be interpreted by the creeds they had made. Nor are many out of the darkness yet. We all feel like saying, with Cardinal Newman: "Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom, Lead thou me on; The night is dark and I am far from home, Lead thou me on!’

 

"Only within the past forty years are Bible students really ignoring all creeds and going straight to the Bible itself for the light of divine truth; and correspondingly their blessing IS increasing.

 

"It was during that long period of darkness, when the Lamp of Truth was hidden from the people, that the ‘apostolic bishops’ exalted themselves and separated from the remainder of the church—calling themselves the church, the hierarchy, the clergy, and denominating the masses the laity, contrary to the Master’s words, ‘All ye are brethren,’ and to St. Peter’s words to the whole church, ‘Ye are a royal priesthood.’ "The clergy, having exalted themselves, took another step, claiming power as well as authority. The claim went forth that the time had come for the church to reign. Accordingly, a chief bishop was named Pontiff, or Pope, and he and

 

36 all of his successors were decreed to be Christ’s vicegerents—reigning over the kingdoms of the world as Christ’s representatives. "‘ 15-R5765

 

BABYLON BEFORE THE GREAT COURT.

 

HER CONFUSION—ECCLESIASTICAL.

 

"And he saith unto him, Out of shine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant"—Luke 19:22.

 

"While we here consider the present judgment of the great nominal Christian church, let us not forget that there is also a real Church of Christ, elect, precious—consecrated to God and to his truth in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation... This class is described and blessedly comforted in Ps 91 and 46... There is a true Church, every member of which is known and dear to the Lord, whether known or unknown to us..." D157, D158 "The ‘Reformation’ movement discarded some of the false doctrines of Papacy and led many out of that iniquitous system. The reformers called attention to the Word of God and affirmed the right of private judgment in its study, and also necessarily recognized the right of every child of God to preach the truth without the authority of popes and bishops, who falsely claimed a succession in authority from the original twelve apostles. But ere long that good work of protest against the iniquitous, antichristian, counterfeit church of Rome was overcome by the spirit of the world; and soon the protestants, as they were called, formed new organizalions, which, together with the truths they had found, perpetuated many of the old errors and added some new ones; and yet each continued to hold a little truth. The result was a medley of conflicting creeds, at war with reason, with the Word of God and with one another. And as the investigating energy of the Reformation period soon died out, these quickly became fossilized, and have so remained to the present day..

 

"To build up and perpetuate these erroneous doctrinal systems of what they are pleased to call ‘Systematic Theology,’ time and talent have been freely given. Their learned men have written massive volumes for other men to study instead of the Word of God, for this purpose theological seminaries have been established and generously endowed; and from these, young men, instructed in their errors, have gone out to teach and to confirm the people in them. And the people, taught to regard these men as God’s appointed ministers, successors of the apostles, have accepted their dictum without searching the Scriptures as did the noble Bereans in Paul’s day (Acts 17:11), to see if the things taught them were so.”D160, D161 Ac 1:1-14: "The apostles were only those whom Jesus had especially selected to the office—St. Paul, by divine arrangement, subsequently taking the place of Judas. This is in contradiction to the claim of the Bishops of England and of Rome that they are Apostolic Bishops, with apostolic powers, but it is in full agreement with the Master’s statement that all others claiming to be apostles are ‘liars.’ "‘ 16-R5829

 

ORDINATION: DIRECTION

 

"The proper thought connected with ordination is that which the Bible gives when we read that the Apostle ‘ordained elders in every church’ (Acts 14:23). Similarly, amongst the Lord’s people today, Elders are chosen, or appointed, or authorized, by the congregation by the stretching forth of their hands—by the congregational vote. Every elder and every deacon scripturally chosen by the vote, ‘the stretching forth of the hand’ (not by laying on of hands), is thus ordained, or appointed, or authorized, to serve in the capacity indicated.

 

"In thus ordaining elders and deacons, the Lord’s people are instructed that they are to seek to know the mind of the Lord. Their voting for and electing one of the brethren to be a deacon or an elder implies that they believe that such a person possesses the divinely indicated qualifications for the service. No one should be voted for who does not give evidence of having received the begetting of the holy Spirit, which is the divine authorization to preach or to teach, as set forth in Isaiah 61:1.

 

"All of the Lord’s spirit-begotten people are ordained in this general way to speak in the Master’s name the wonderful Words of Life, according to their opportunities. But when a congregation of such ordained, spirit-begotten children of God chooses from its midst some to be elders, others to be deacons, it implies that they consider the ones chosen to be especially qualified, ‘apt to teach’—ensamples to the brethren in word, in conduct—1 Tim. 3:2-4.

 

"The wrong thought respecting ordination is the one which ignores the divine anointing (Isaiah 61:1), and which merely looks to the education and the talents of the one elected. Thus ignoring the divine test, many today are serving as ministers and elders in the church of Christ who would make no profession of being spirit-begotten and who give no outward evidence thereof. Such are not properly ordained Ministers of God, and their church ordination gives no divine blessing or power.

 

"The most erroneous thought respecting ordination is that held by the three oldest Christian denominations—the Roman Catholic, the Episcopal Church of England, and the Greek Catholic Church. With these ancient churches, ordination has a different meaning entirely. They claim to have apostolic succession of authority—that originally only the apostles had a right to teach or to preach, and that any other teachers or preachers needed to get authorization and divine power from the hands of the apostles. They claim that before the apostles died, there was a special order of bishops ordained in the church; and that apostolic power and authority passed to those bishops, and has thus come down to our day and is possessed by the bishops of these denominations. They claim that only such as they ordain are Christian ministers.

 

"In a word, these three ancient churches have set aside entirely the divine ordination, the anointing of the holy Spirit, and substituted an authorization through a so-called ‘apostolic succession’ of power and authority. Not only did Jesus tell us that there were only twelve apostles, but Revelation 2:2 points out this grievous error of those who claim to be apostles and are not, but do lie. 2Co 11:13-15 Joh 8:42-45 37 "What did St. Paul mean when he declared that he was an Apostle not of men nor by men, but by the Lord Jesus Christ? Galatians 1:1.

 

"No man or congregation is competent to appoint or elect an apostle. No congregational vote would make one of the brethren an apostle. That is a special office or function which is of divine appointment solely. Thus the Lord Jesus appointed only twelve apostles—‘twelve apostles of the Lamb’—St. Paul taking-the place of Judas, who lost his apostleship (Rev. 21:14; Psalm 109:8; Acts 1:20). It is in this particular that the Church of Rome, the Church of England, and Greek Church do violence to the principles of God’s Word, in that they claim to make, but do not really make, apostolic bishops—bishops possessed of apostolic power and authority.

 

"Keep in memory always that ceremony is not ordination, but that appointment and direction are ordination.

 

"Verbi Dei Minister": The English of this is, "Minister of the Divine Word." "When, during the dark ages, the divine Word fell into disuse and creeds were substituted, this title was generally lost and ignored. There were no ministers of the divine Word; for the divine Word was not preached, but, instead, the creeds of men. Instead of these simple words so expressive of the proper thought in connection with all the Lord’s public servants, we today have high-sounding titles, such as Reverend and Doctor of Divinity, which are quite unscriptural.

 

"In every case where a congregation of the Lord’s people has elected a consecrated, spirit-begotten child of God to be an elder, they have by their election ordained, or set apart, or indicated, that elder as being a minister of the divine Word—one who serves, distributes, dispenses the truth of God’s Word.’

 

"1 Timothy 3:1-7. Next to the importance of the election of only a consecrated, spirit-begotten child of God to eldership should be the question—To what extent has he availed himself of the privileges of study, information?" ‘16-R5940, R5941

 

Revelation 2

 

3  And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

 

Revelation 2:3 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 3. And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

 

The apostolic period was the period of Ephesus when the classes were free from error but under much pressure, calling for labor, patience and forbearance.

 

"But even to those established, strengthened and settled in the faith {1Pe 5:10} there is abundant opportunity to grow in knowledge; for while they will see nothing new or different in outline or design, they will be continually charmed and cheered with newly discovered lines of harmony and beauty in the divine drawings of the wonderful plan of the ages. As pupils we may ever study the master workmanship of the divine Architect." ‘03-R3215 "The most we claim or have ever claimed for our teachings is, that they are what we believe to be harmonious interpretations of the divine Word,  in harmony with the spirit of the truth. And we still urge as in the past, that each reader study the subjects we present in the light of the Scriptures proving all things by the Scriptures... that we so freely intersperse both quotations and citations of the Scriptures upon which to build.’

 

"Hold the Head (Christ) as the only real teacher, who is able and willing to guide all the meek in judgment, because they are his church—’his body.’ "It is a lesson, therefore, for all to learn—that each sheep recognize as leaders only such as are found in full accord with the voice and spirit of the Chief Shepherd (Christ), and the under-shepherds (the Apostles), and that each sheep see to it that he eats only ‘clean provender’ and drinks only ‘pure water’ as directed by the Shepherd. (See Ezek. 34:17-19) This implies the exercise of the individual conscience of each member of Christ’s flock on matters of doctrine and practice, and tends to keep each one in sympathy and fellowship with the Shepherd, who knoweth each sheep and ‘calleth his own sheep by name.’ The same intimate relationship of the individual Christian with the Lord is illustrated in the figure of Christ the Head and the church as members of his body"—1 Cor. 12:12-27; Eph 4:15,16. ‘96-R2080

 

THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MARTYR—Acts 6:8-15; 7:54-60 "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life"—Rev. 2:10.

 

"Apparently Stephen’s martyrdom occurred not a great while after Pentecost, but the interim had been a period of considerable progress. At the time of the ascension ‘about one hundred and twenty’ were reckoned as being in full and deep fellowship in Christ; ten days later at Pentecost three thousand converts were added; shortly after, five thousand more as recorded in Acts 4:4; later (Acts 5:14) ‘multitudes, both men and women, were added to the Lord’; still later, ‘the number of the disciples was multiplied in Jerusalem greatly, and a great multitude of priests were obedient to the faith’ (Acts 6:1-7). This period of gathering the ripe wheat and establishing them in the doctrines of Christ was a very necessary prelude to the period of trial, persecution and suffering which shortly followed. The persecution, however, was no less a divine mercy than the previous peace and prosperity: the divine rule for the Gospel church evidently is that each member shall be ‘made perfect through suffering.’ The stoning of Stephen was merely the beginning of the general persecution which in one form or another has continued ever since, and must continue until the last members of the body of Christ shall have proven themselves faithful even unto death and been accounted worthy of the crown of life mentioned in our golden text." ‘97-R2108 "Stephen’s defence before the Sanhedrin Court turned out to be a defence of the truth, rather than of himself... Stephen was a Bible student—’a workman who needed not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.’... Now as in Stephen’s day, such courage can only come from a knowledge of the divine plan; and the knowledge can only come through a right dividing of the word of truth; and such abilities imply a devotion of time and energy to the study of truth, and the guidance of the holy spirit in the understanding of it." ‘02-R2957 "Let us mark and profit by the example of the faith and zeal and courage and true Christian heroism of the early church. "‘ 92-R1433

 

38 THE APOSTOLIC COMMTSSTON... None could have a gift, or special manifestation except as conferred through the twelve Apostles.

 

"These gifts of miracles, tongues, interpretations of tongues, etc., we are, however, to bear in mind, in no sense hindered or took the place of the fruits of the holy Spirit, which were to be grown or developed by each of the faithful through obedience to the divine instructions—as each grew in grace, knowledge and love. The conferring of these gifts, which a man might receive and yet be sounding brass a tinkling cymbal, marked the apostles, nevertheless, as the special servants or representatives of the Lord in the work of founding the Church—1 Cor. 12:7-10; 13:1-3.

 

"Our Lord in selecting these apostles, and in instructing them, had in view the blessing and instruction of all of his followers to the end of the age. This is evident from his prayer at the close of his ministry, in which, referring to the disciples, he said, Joh 17:6-9,20,21 ." F213 "In the early stages of the church there were ‘gifts of the Spirit,’ necessary to the inauguration of the church. These gifts of the Spirit ceased, however, as soon as the church had been established and the New Testament had been completed. We no longer have the gift of healing, of speaking with tongues, etc., but we have something more valuable than are gifts. These are for the infantile condition of the church. Instead, we have today the fruits of the holy Spirit, which are developed and matured gradually as the result of labor.

 

"In some characters the period of maturing fruit of good size and flavor is longer than in others. Nevertheless, as surely as we receive the holy Spirit into good and honest hearts and are submissive to the prunings of the Great Husbandman, so surely shall we bear large, luscious fruit in due time. The fruits of the Spirit, the Apostle says, are manifest; that is, they can be seen in our lives. They are meekness, self-control, faith, goodness, gentleness, longsuffering, brotherly kindness and love.

 

"At the beginning of our existence as new creatures the fruits of the holy Spirit germinate within us, but these must grow to maturity. We must bear fruit. The Lord says, John 15:2. There is more or less pain in the prunings and testings of loyalty and obedience, but every manifestation of obedience helps to prepare us for membership in the bride class.

 

"As St. Peter tells us—2 Peter 1:5-8.”‘13-R5208 "As those miracles discontinued, education in the Truth and in the knowledge of the Lord and in the graces of the Spirit took their places. Even while these inferior gifts of healing, tongues, interpretations, and miracles were in the Church, the Apostle exhorted the brethren to ‘covet earnestly the best gifts.’ "He proceeds to show {1Co 12:31} that far above any of these gifts or services in the Church is the honor of possessing in large measure the spirit of the Master—Love. "

 

KNOWLEDGE OF DEEP THINGS A GRADUAL DEVELOPMENT

 

"We are to have in mind the fact that God has so arranged that ‘the deep things of God’ cannot be known instantaneously; this knowledge comes gradually as an evidence of faithfulness to God.

 

"Those who have not yet learned fully to reverence God and who have not yet made progress in the development of the graces and fruits of the Spirit cannot expect to understand the deep things of God. It is our duty and privilege, not only to assist these brethren, but to build one another up and to strengthen one another. Let us see that we do these things. "‘ 12-R5134 "St. Paul knew and taught that there would be ‘a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust’ (Acts 24:15). He desired to have a share with his Redeemer in all of his glorious kingdom work and he knew that it could not begin until the completion of this Gospel age, when all the elect church, as members of the Bride of Christ, would share in ‘his resurrection,’ to glory, honor, immortality and glorious kingdom privileges—Phil. 3:10,11. "‘ 09-R4527

 

ST. PAUL ON THE GRACE OF GIVING—2 Cor. 8:1-15 "Remember the words of the Lord Jesus... It is more blessed to give than to receive"—Acts 20:35.

 

"The Bible is singularly free from monetary solicitations from first to last. The prophets were poor. The Savior himself had nowhere to lay his head, and... ‘the common people who heard him gladly,’ were ‘chiefly the poor of this world.’ And yet we know of no solicitations for money, either for personal use or for building churches. Acts 20:35 may be said to be the only appeal for money recorded in the Bible, and it was for the poor at Jerusalem, sorely pressed by the famine in the time of the Roman Emperor Claudius (Acts 11:28). If the pages of the Bible abounded with accounts of our Lord’s and the Apostles’ begging and ‘sponging,’ their lives and their words would have far less influence with us.

 

"The fact that their faith and their preaching did not bring them wealth, but cost them much in self-sacrifice, is a convincing proof to us of their sincerity, their honesty—that they believed what they proclaimed... It was of divine providence that the acceptance of the Gospel cost them ‘the loss of all things.’ What noble characters, not bought with money, but they gladly paid the price of the Truth... that they might share in the sufferings of Christ and thereby attain joint-heirship with him in his Millennial kingdom by the first resurrection—Phil. 3:8; Rev. 20:4." ‘09-R4526 In Luke 14:12-14 "Our Lord’s words were in part a commendation of the course pursued by his host in inviting Himself and His Apostles to dinner, for they were poor... If given with a proper heart his host might expect a reward in the future—besides the blessing that had already come to his house through our Lord’s presence and words of instruction. ""... Rewarding of everyone who has done good, either to the poor of this world or especially to the Lord and his faithful brethren walking in his footsteps, will come to them not in the first resurrection, but at that time—after the first resurrection shall have glorified the church and inaugurated the kingdom, then Millennial blessings and reign of righteousness beginning will bring rewards to everyone who has done kindnesses, helping them forward and abundantly 39 rewarding them; while all who have done evil shall have some measure of ‘stripes’ in compensation and retribution.’

 

A ROYAL BANQUET DECLINED—Luke 14:15-24.

 

"Come, for all things are now ready.’

 

"Let us all, like the Apostle Paul, lay aside every weight, every hindrance, every besetment, every thing precious to us of an earthly kind, that we may run with patience the race set before us, in response to this invitation to the great feast of joint-heirship with our Lord in the kingdom—Heb. 12:1,2 Ro 8:16-18 12:1,2." ‘00-R2700 to R2702

 

Revelation 2

 

4  Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

 

Revelation 2:4 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 4. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

 

The pressure caused the cooling off and loss of much of the warmth of the first love, in many of poor growth. The first love is warm, and very important.

 

"Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you"—Matthew 6:33.

 

.. Let us realize our own littleness and look rather to the Lord for the things respecting the present as well as the future life. Let us be diligent in his service leaving all of our present experiences as well as our future rewards to his wisdom, love and power.

 

"... Our Father knows better than we the things that we really need, and faith is not merely to trust him, but to accept what he gives as being for our best interests.

 

"... We have our Master’s assurance for it that whoever pursues this course will do wisely and that God will look out for his earthly interests, for his highest welfare. So doing our lives will be crowned with peace and joy and rest in the Lord, which in his Word he has promised those who trust him. "‘ 10-R4567 "Alas, how weary we would be if we could only rest in the sufficiency of Christ, one day in seven... "‘ 98-R2269 "The object of Christ’s kingdom will be to bring mankind to a full, clear appreciation of God’s character. Such as attain this and sympathetically enjoy God’s character will appreciate the principles of justice, love and mercy represented in him. Only as one appreciates these qualities in his own heart can he appreciate them in God. Only those who appreciate them will have everlasting life. Even though such should enjoy the full thousand years, they still might not be of the class to whom God would give everlasting life. "" Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God"—Matt. 5:8.

 

"A pure heart would be a fully consecrated heart—the whole mind given up to the Lord’s will." ‘13-R5277 "To continue in the light and truth and blessing necessitates character-development, for the privilege of the light of knowledge is God’s reward for purity of heart, of intention, of endeavor. So may we come into Christ and abide in him and bring forth much fruit." ‘11-R4885 "We are to remember that if we had all knowledge yet had not love, it would profit us nothing, but we are to remember, also, that in the divine arrangement it seems to be impossible that our knowledge should progress much in advance of our obedience to what we already know." ‘02-R3021

 

"How precious the thought, that we may attain to absolute purity of intention, of love, etc., toward all mankind as well as toward the Lord, and that God will thus accept us in His Beloved One, not counting to us the unintentional weaknesses and blemishes which we realize and which others realize perhaps still more that we. How blessed the thought that such will see God, that such have the clearest views of God’s character and Plan now, that such shall see Him shortly when changed in the resurrection, when they shall have awakened in the likeness of their dear Redeemer." ‘06-R3735

 

Revelation 2

 

5  Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

 

Revelation 2:5 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 5. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen; and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

 

The candlestick represented the nominal church; good, and not so good. The latter were in danger of losing their place in the candlestick.

 

"Some, who started out with an appreciation of God’s gift and their consequent reasonable service of full consecration to God’s service, have been side-tracked and hindered, by ‘the cares of this life or the deceitfulness of riches’ (sought, even if not secured). These... love righteousness in word, thought and deed, and wish that circumstances were favorable to righteousness, and long for the time when Satan and sin shall be bound for the thousand years of Christ’s reign, and pray fervently, ‘Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.’ Yet they are so in bondage to the customs of society, so fond of the approval of fellow creatures, and the spirit of Christ in them is so blended with the spirit of worldliness, that they are hindered from performing the sacrifice of earthly things and interests which they covenanted to do when flushed with their warm first love and appreciation of God’s goodness and grace in Christ. They have lost much of their first love...

 

"The only way out of their difficulty is to do their first works.... "‘ 96-R2020

 

Revelation 2

 

6  But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

 

Revelation 2:6 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 6. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.

 

Some wished to lord it over the church; but more wished to leave all matters of dispute to Jesus, who would make no mistakes; and the right spirit of love and meekness would prevail. "The word ‘Nicolans’ means ‘a conqueror or lord of the people.’ "

 

CONFESSION OF SIN ESSENTIAL TO FORGIVENESS "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness"—1Jo 1:9.

 

"The Apostle John is... addressing the justified and sanctified in Christ Jesus; and he classes himself with these using the plural pronoun ‘we’..." The Apostle John in writing this Epistle clearly states his object, saying, ‘These things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.’... The object of the Apostle’s writing them was to stir up the pure minds of believers to an appreciation and enjoyment of their privileges, that thereby they might grow and develop.

 

40 "The Apostle follows the example of our Lord Jesus in symbolizing truth and righteousness as light, and sin and every evil as so much of opposing darkness. God himself thus considered would be the very perfection of Light—’in him is no darkness,’ no sin, no imperfection ...

 

"Moreover, to the extent that we walk in the light and in harmony and fellowship with God, we shall find ourselves in fellowship with all others who are like-minded. So then, if we do not ‘love the brethren whom we have seen,’ so as to be able to have fellowship and spiritual pleasure with them, it would be an indication that we are not wholly in harmony and fellowship with God.

 

"But who are the ‘brethren’? Our Lord tells us that not all who profess his name are true brethren. He says, ‘Not every one that saith Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven (be recognized as his brethren and joint-heirs), but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.’ We thus see that it is by our deeds, and not merely by our professions, that we are accepted of the Lord. Again, he says, ‘Who are my brethren?... Verily, I say unto you, he that doeth the will of my Father, the same is my brother’—Matthew 7:21; 12:48-50.

 

"We are not, therefore, to anticipate ‘fellowship’ with all who name the name of Christ as a proof of fellowship with the Father, and that we are in the light. We are merely to anticipate this true fellowship with those who are earnestly seeking to do the Father’s will to serve his cause and exemplify the instructions of his Word, in their deeds as well as in their professions. Between all such there must be, whether hidden or open, a bond of fellowship and union. That bond is the one faith and one baptism into the one Lord. "" The Apostle seems to intimate in the Epistle... that quite a good number may claim an intimate knowledge of God falsely. Hence with great plainness of speech he informs us that, ‘He that saith I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.’ It is thus very evident that the Apostle does not mean merely a knowledge about God, but an intimate knowledge of God, implying fellowship and communion with him... The test is obedience." ‘16-R5938, R5939

 

Revelation 2

 

7  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

 

Revelation 2:7 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 7. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

 

The tree of life was different from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and applies to the Gospel Age.

 

"THIS DO IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME"—1Co 11:24

 

"Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake (klao) it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body"—Matthew 26:26.

 

"The bread, as our Lord explained, represented the bread from heaven—his flesh which he sacrificed for the sins of the world. He invites all of his followers to eat of it... We thus appropriate to ourselves the benefits of the sacrifice which secures to us the forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with the Father." ‘04-R3364

 

"We lay great stress on the fact there accomplished and its significance as the antitype of the Passover instituted by Moses, and as the finishing of our Lord’s great sacrifice for sins—the sins of the whole world. For these vital principles we are willing to contend earnestly, as they are part of ‘the faith once delivered to the saints.’ "‘ 06-R3879 "We lay great stress on the fact there accomplished and its significance as the antitype of the Passover instituted by Moses, and as the finishing of our Lord’s great sacrifice for sins—the sins of the whole world. For these vital principles we are willing to contend earnestly, as they are part of ‘the faith once delivered to the saints.’ "‘ 06-R3879 "The more of the true knowledge of the Lord we possess—the more of the knowledge which perfects our love for the Lord—the greater will be our faith, the more precious will be the results in this present life as well as in the life to come... Let us then, with full faith in him who has led us hitherto, go forth through the coming days conquering and to conquer, fighting against the world, the flesh and the adversary, strong not in ourselves but in him who has called us and led us hitherto." ‘07-R4064

 

TAKE, EAT, THIS IS MY BODY "When he said, ‘This is my flesh,’ it was as much a figure of speech as when he said a little later, ‘I am the vine,’ ‘I am the door,’ ‘I am the Good Shepherd,’ ‘I am the way, the truth and the life,’ etc. The right, sane view of the Master’s words is apparent: He was represented in all these different ways. In the case under consideration the bread would represent him, his flesh, to his apostles and to all his followers throughout the Gospel age.

 

"As bread stands for and symbolizes all food (indeed wheat is said to contain every element of nutriment in its proper proportion), so the teaching of this symbol is that whoever would have the life which Christ has to give must accept it as the result of his sacrifice. He died that we might live. The rights and privileges which he surrendered voluntarily may be eaten, applied, appropriated by all who have faith in him and who accept him and his instructions—such are reckoned as having imputed to them the perfect human nature, with all its rights and privileges lost by Adam, redeemed by Christ. None can have eternal life except by the eating of this bread from heaven. This applies not only to believers of this present time, but also to those of the future age. Their life-rights and privileges must all be recognized as coming to them through his sacrifice. In a word, the bread representing our Lord’s body teaches our justification through the acceptance of his sacrifice." ‘06-R3879 "Bunyan, in his story of how Christians fled from the City of Destruction to Paradise, tells ... how... he discovered that the lions were chained and... he had room to pass between... If we stand faithful to the Lord.... these tests that come to us will demonstrate that he is able to carry us through all the trials and difficulties and diverse experiences of this present time.

 

NO LION SHALL BE THERE "The Prophet Isaiah, pointing down to the grand highway of

 

41 Holiness which shall be open to the world during the Millennial age, the way of righteousness by which they may return to full harmony with the Lord and to full restitution and eternal life, declares respecting that way, ‘No lion shall be there nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon.’ Again at the same time it was declared, ‘Nothing shall hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain (kingdom).’... How encouraging it is to know that our experiences with these lions in the way, these oppositions of the world, the flesh and the devil and science falsely so-called, are all testing and proving us to the intent that the Lord may use us by and by in the great work he purposes, the deliverance of the whole world from that great adversary who goeth about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, and how then he shall be bound for a thousand years that he shall deceive the nations no more.’

 

"Our hearts may be joyful in him notwithstanding persecutions and difficulties. Thus the Philippian jailer perceived that the God of Paul and Silas was able to deliver them... Their songs in the night told that their God was able to deliver them." ‘05-R3641

 

JEHOVAH’S FOOTSTOOL MADE GLORIOUS ‘’Thus saith Jehovah, Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.’ ‘And I will make the place (footstool) of my feet glorious.’ ‘And his (Jehovah’s) feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives’ "—Isa. 60:13; 66:1; Zech. 14:4; Matt. 5:35; Acts 7:49.

 

"Our Lord... purchased not only mankind, the treasure, but also the field, the world, the earth from under the curse: and all who join with him, as members of the Kingdom class, share in that purchase of the field and the treasure—Mt 13:44.

 

"The entire work of the Millennium will consist in reordering and making glorious God’s footstool... a Paradise sufficiently large to accommodate all: the entire earth shall become as the Garden of Eden for fruitfulness and beauty and perfection. And all this is promised as the grand future consummation of the divine plan—Ac 3:2O, 21 Re 2:7,2Co 12:4.

 

"But the richest jewel of the Lord’s glorified footstool in the close of the Millennium will be mankind, in whose perfection, liberty, and likeness to God, in moral and intellectual graces, will be reflected the very image of Divinity. And most gloriously will the perfect man reflect honor upon his Maker and his wondrous plan for his creation, redemption and restitution. And with that wonderful plan will always be intimately identified first the Lord Jesus, Jehovah’s ‘Word,’ and second the Bride, the Lamb’s wife and jointheir in disbursing the blessings secured by the ransom.

 

"This beautifying and glorifying of the Lord’s ‘footstool’ will not be completed until our Lord Jesus, as the Father’s honored agent, ‘shall have put down all (conflicting) rule, and all authority and power. For he must reign until he bath put all enemies under his feet, before he delivers up the Kingdom at the close of the Millennium’—1Co 15:24-28 Ps 99:5 Zec 14:4,5. Surely, no one will err and get the thought that Jehovah literally rests his feet upon this earth as a ‘footstool.’ This language is symbolic, and refers to the Lord’s reestablishment of his dominion in the earth... Compare Zech. 14:8 with Ezek. 47:1-9, etc.—pictures of grand spiritual truths.

 

"... The term Mount of Olives is... the Kingdom of Light, Peace and Divine blessing. And the standing or establishment or fixing of Jehovah’s feet upon it, signifies that the divine favor and law will be reestablished in the earth by and through the holy Kingdom.

 

"The removal of one part of the mountain to the north and the other to the south is significant; the North is the direction of the group Pleiades, the celestial center of the universe, the supposed seat of divine empire (please see C 321). This would seem to indicate the ‘change’ of the Gospel Church at this time, from human to spirit conditions as ‘partakers of the divine nature’:and the removal of the other half of the mountain would seem to signify the complete restitution, to perfect human conditions, of those ancient worthies accounted worthy to constitute the earthly representatives of God’s Kingdom." Please see F128.

 

"The sun, the Sun of Righteousness, would stream through the valley thus produced from east to west... The valley of mercy,  between and under the care of the spiritual and human phases of the Kingdom of Light and Peace (the establishment of Jehovah’s feet) will surely be a ‘Valley of Blessings’ to all who enter it with broken and contrite hearts. Please see Ac 3:23 Re 20:9 22:1,2: Eze 47:1-12 Zec 14:8,9.

 

‘AS TRULY AS I LIVE, THE WHOLE EARTH SHALL Be FILLED WITH THE GLORY OF JEHOVAH" —Nu 21 Isa 11:9 Habak, 2:14.

 

"There shall be no more curse.

 

—————————‘I will make all things new.’ "" God’s footstool shall then be glorious indeed: as it is written." D Chapter 14 "Its sun shall never set.’

 

Message to the Church of Smyrna—Revelation 2:8-11.

 

"Smyrna means bitter. Myrrh and Marah are kindred words. This stage of the Christian Church was the period of most bitter persecution, under the Roman Emperors from Nero to Diocletain. In his message to the church of this epoch our Lord styles himself ‘the First and the Last, which was dead and is alive.’ In no other sense or way could he be the First and the Last than as the only direct creation of the Father, through whom all else was created. Any other view would be in conflict with the Scriptures—Revelation 3:14 Col 1:15 1Co 8:6 Joh 1:1-3, Diaglott.

 

"‘ The devil shall cast some of you into prison that ye may be tried, and ye shall have tribulation ten days.’ Thus the Lord informed his faithful servants of this period that theirs would be a time of great persecution. Pagan Rome, here symbolized as the devil, has been the most devilish of all earthly governments, when viewed in the light of its bloody persecutions. The ten symbolic days refer to the last and most severe persecution under the Roman Emperors—that of the reign of Diocletian, A.D. 303-313. Those who have read the history of this period can understand the depths of the words, ‘that ye may be tried.’ Some of the most sublime pictures of Christian endurance that the world has ever seen were

 

42 enacted during the Smyrna period of the church. The call was for faithfulness unto death; the promise was that the overcomers should ‘not be hurt of the second death,’ but should receive the crown of life—immortality." ‘16-R5992

 

Revelation 2

 

8  And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;

 

Revelation 2:8 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 8. And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;  Smyrna, the second period of the church’s history, signifies bitter experiences, as the reward of faithfulness. But the one who went before, says, that though he was faithful unto death, now he is alive for evermore—he possesses unlimited life.

 

"As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you"—Isaiah 66:13.

 

‘We neither sorrow nor mourn as do others, because of the good hope which is as an anchor to our souls, sure and steadfast—the hope of the mercy of God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

"The Lord’s people, having embraced the Truth, find themselves beset on every hand with oppositions from the Evil One and his servants; and were it not that they have the comfort and consolation of the Scriptures, and the joy and peace which the world can neither give nor take away, theirs would be a sad lot indeed. But under conditions, as the Lord has arranged them, it is their privilege, even while suffering the loss of earthly things for righteousness’ sake to rejoice in tribulation, and in everything give thanks.

 

"What is the secret of this rejoicing in tribulation? Whence comes so great comfort as this? We answer, it comes through the comfort of the Scriptures, made luminous by the holy spirit. For instance, take the inspired prophecy respecting Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are not—because they are dead. The Lord’s message of comfort to Rachel, and thus to all who have suffered loss through the great penalty of death, is Jeremiah 31:15-17. This brings a consolation, a comfort, with which no error can compare. There are, indeed, various delusive fancies which... have no foundation in the Word of God. Hence they cannot give real rest or peace in such a time of trial.

 

"But when we hear the voice of the Lord assuring us of the Resurrection... assuring us that, having gone to the land of the enemy, they are secure, because Jesus has prevailed, has bought the world with his own precious blood. Jesus has ‘the keys of death and of the grave,’ as he declares (Rev. 1:18), and will shortly open and bring forth all the captive prisoners of death from the prison-house, the tomb. There is a comfort... ‘the comfort of the Scriptures." ‘04-R3436 "My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places"—Isaiah 32:18.

 

"The man Christ Jesus entered into a convenant with the Father, which meant the sacrifice of his flesh, his earthly nature. As a reward for this sacrifice, the Father made him a new creature of the divine nature—’far above angels,’ constituting him the great Messiah who shall bless the world.

 

"Carrying out the Father’s plan, our Lord imputes his merit to such as now follow his example, and walk in his footsteps, performing the same covenant of sacrifice. If these are faithful, they will share in the great work of Messiah in blessing the world, and will constitute the New Jerusalem the Millennial kingdom. By faith we are its children. Even now, our citizenship is in heaven." ‘13-R5246 ‘’When the church shall all have been gathered, then Messiah’s kingdom will be established, for which we pray, ‘Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ ‘And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years’:For a thousand years Christ and his glorified church will bless mankind, uplifting them to human perfection, mental, moral, physical. Whosoever will may then attain to the everlasting life secured for all by the sacrificial death of him who was ‘holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners,’ by virtue of his special birth." ‘15-R5767, R5768 ‘We must recognize him as the one who was dead, the one who really died for our sins, but who as really was raised out of death by the power of the Father. We must realize that he is alive for evermore, that death has no more dominion over him, that the work is finished, that neither sacrifices of the mass nor death in any other sense or form has dominion over him nor ever will have, nor will ever be needed; his work is perfect, and, as he cried on the cross, ‘It is finished.’ We must recognize that he has the keys, the authority, the power over the tomb, to deliver from it all who are there imprisoned. We must also realize that he has the ‘key,’ the power over death, so that those whom he liberates from the prison-house of death, the tomb, like those who have not yet gone into it, but who are under the sentence of death, may ail be ultimately delivered, into the full liberty of the sons of God, righteousness and life eternal. ‘05-R3570 ‘I am he that liveth and was dead; and behold I am alive forevermore"—Rev. 1:18 There is no more important lesson in connection with the Gospel than that of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. The death of Jesus indeed exhibits to us his love, and the love of the Father on our behalf. But in the divine plan, in order for the proper benefit to come to man from the death of Jesus, he must rise from the dead; he must become the Captain of our salvation, as well as our ransomer... ‘Because I live ye shall live also’ (John 14:19).

 

‘Those who sleep in Jesus (whose death through his merit has been changed to a sleep) will God bring forth from the dead by him’ {50 4:13,14}. This is in harmony with the Father’s arrangement that there shall be a resurrection both of the just and the unjust, and that this work shall be accomplished by the Lord Jesus, his honored Representative.

 

‘The word cemetery, therefore, rightly understood, the sleeping place of the dead, teaches a volume in itself to those who have the ears to hear. It is in full accord with the... divine revelation that the ‘wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord’—by a resurrection from the dead (Rom. 6:23). In this connection let us remember our Lord’s words, ‘Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming in which all that are in their graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth,’ those who shall have passed their trial successfully unto life eternal, instantly perfected, while those who shall not have been approved will be brought forth that they may have the opportunity for rising up out of sin and death conditions by

 

43 the judgments, chastenings and corrections of the Milennial age. Our special attention for the moment is called to the word ‘graves’ in this text. We have already seen that sheol in the Hebrew signifies the death state and that hades is its Greek equivalent, but the word here rendered ‘graves’ is a different one, namely,  mnemeion,  which signifies ‘remembrance.’ The proper thought is that although our friends and neighbors of the world of mankind are passing to the tomb... every day, nevertheless they are not blotted out of existence, but are still in divine ‘remembrance’ and subjects of divine power and will eventually be released from the great prison house of death by him who bought us all with his own precious blood.

 

"It is in full accord with the Scriptural presentation that joy thrills our hearts as we come to the resurretion of our Lord Jesus and also as we think of the resurrection morning of the Millennial day and the promise that therein and thereby the Lord God shall wipe away all tears from off all faces, and there shall be no more sighing, no more crying, no more dying, because all the former things shall hve passed away... All who will obey the commands of the great King shall by his judgments then abroad in the earth be brought to perfection and life eternal, while those who will decline to be obedient at heart shall ultimately be destroyed in the second death—Acts 3:23.

 

"The Apostle Paul found the spirit of the Greek philosophers intruding upon the teachings of the Gospel even in his day, so that in the Lord’s providence it was proper for him to write a wonderful chapter {1Co 15} fully setting forth the doctrine of the resurrection and what would be our fate without the resurrection...

 

"The Scriptures point out that the Church is included with the Lord as a part of the firstfruits, ‘a kind of first-fruits unto God of his creatures’ (James 1:18). Thus the resurrection of the Christ began with the resurrection of our Lord and will be consummated with the change of the last member of the church, which is his body. ‘Christ, the first-fruits,’ will then be complete. But this will not consummate the divine plan, for it is God’s intention to have the after-fruits a great harvest, which will be gathered during the Millennial age... Our Lord will be present in the world for the very purpose of ascertaining how many of the world, under favorable conditions of knowledge and opportunity and assistance, will be glad to go up on the highway of holiness to perfection, to full recovery out of sin and death. That noble company will be the after fruits of the divine plan. Earth as well as heaven will be filled with the glory of God when all evil doers shall have been cut off; and then every voice in heaven and earth shall be heard praising him that sitteth upon the throne and the Lamb for the grand consummation of the divine plan!" ‘08-R4175

 

Revelation 2

 

9  I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

 

Revelation 2:9 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 9. I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

 

Many began to join the church, claiming spirit begettal, but were only enamored of restitution. Most of the church members were poor in this world’s goods, but rich in the priceless things of the Truth, and hope of Heaven.

 

"Like as a father pitieth his children, so Jehovah pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust" {Ps 103:13,14}—prone to err as the sparks to fly upward—Job 5:7.

 

"But the mercy of Jehovah is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children: to such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them." Ps 103:17,18.

 

"JEHOVAH HATH PREPARED HIS THRONE IN THE HEAVENS, AND HIS KINGDOM RULETH OVER ALL. " Psa. 103:19. Bless Jehovah, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. Bless ye Jehovah, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his that do his pleasure. Bless Jehovah, all his works, in all places of his dominion: bless Jehovah, O my soul." Psalm 103:17-22.

 

"One of the narrowing features of this way is that at the present time no one is accepted of God unless he makes a definite covenant with God. If he does not choose to make that covenant he may think he is a Christian, but he is not... The Bible very plainly states: ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.’ (Matt. 16:24) This self-denial and cross-bearing is the sacrifice necessary to discipleship in Christ at the present time. Many people are not Christians because they have not entered into a covenant with God... After having entered this straight gate and narrow way, we should continue therein—not necessarily without stumbling, not necessarily without making mistakes; if we can go on ever so falteringly, to the best of our ability and with hearts loyal to the Lord, we shall be granted to sit on his throne—members of his bride class." ‘12-R5055.

 

"Though but few take this step of entire consecration to God’s will, still fewer live it out practically,  keeping their hearts constantly submissive to the Lord’s will only." ‘93-R1563 "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom"—Luke 12:32.

 

"During the Gospel age there has been but one condition upon which any may come to the Father. The Lord does not propose many ways, but only one way. ‘Strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leadth unto life’—now. But when the kingdom comes there will be a highway, a more favorable, an easier way, as the Lord states through the Prophet Isaiah. In it there will be no stumbling-stones; it will not be narrow and difficult, but comparatively easy; and throughout Messiah’s reign of a thousand years, it will be the way by which the Adamic race may return to God. During that reign the whole world will be assisted, succored and disciplined, that they may be encouraged to go to the very end of the way...

 

"The narrow way has been dark; but we have had the ‘sure word of prophecy,’ which, as a lamp, shines on the pathway and will shine ‘more and more unto the perfect day.’ "When that day comes men will not need the lamp; for then there will be sunlight. Then the knowledge of God will fill the whole earth." ‘12-R5055.

 

44 "‘GIRD THY SWORD UPON THY THIGH, AND RIDE FORTH PROSPEROUSLY,’ is a cry prophetical of Jesus in his glorified condition"—Psalm 45:4. Please see Rev. 19:15. CRS164 "Wherefore, putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor"—Eph. 4:25.

 

ATTEMPTING TO DECEIVE GOD—Acts 5:1-11 "They did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues: For their heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast in his covenant. But he being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: many a time turned he his anger away... For he remembered that they were but flesh"—Psalm 78:36-39.

 

"‘ While men slept the enemy came and sowed tares,’ our Lord’s parable explains. After the Apostles fell asleep in death the adversary had a comparatively free hand in the sowing of the seeds of error, and cultivated in the church the tare class, as a result. But at the time of our lesson—shortly after Pentecost—circumstances were different. The Apostles were still in the church, and exercised the special powers of the holy spirit conferred upon them, as the Lord’s representatives, for the establishment of the church—sowing only the good seed, and hindering the adversary from sowing tares or hypocrites in it. Our lesson illustrates the method by which the Lord, through the apostles, kept the infant church free from hypocrites.’

 

"God desires ‘truth in the inward parts’—in the heart—and that any who have not this quality—candor, honesty, truthfulness—cannot be pleasing to God; and therefore cannot share in the glories shortly to be dispensed to the elect class of this Gospel age—Psa. 51:6.

 

"As we look at ourselves, we come to realize how imperfect are all the members of the fallen race; and when we consider God’s perfection, we can conceive of only one quality that the fallen creature could possibly possess, that would meet with divine approval—even when viewed through the merit of Christ’s atonement. That one quality is honesty. The true Christian must, in honesty, confess his own shortcomings, his own deficiencies. He must, in honesty, acknowledge that his sufficiency is of God, through Christ and not of himself. He must honestly strive for the standard set before him in the Gospel. He must honestly admit that he cannot do the things that he would. He must candidly and fully accept the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, as the covering for his blemishes. We are inclined to the belief that the greatest sin in the church—even amongst the consecrated believers—is the sin of dishonesty—the sin for which divine disapproval is so excellently illustrated in the case of Ananias and Sapphira." Ac 5 "Some professing to be ‘wheat’ and occupying very high positions in the nominal church, even as ministers of the Gospel... tell us plainly that they do not even believe the things which they vowed they would preach. They have grossly falsified... they have been dishonest... in respect to the things of God Truly this is a serious, a dreadful condition." ‘02-R2943, R2944 "Let those ambitious for this world’s luxuries and wealth seek them in the fields of trade or in the lucrative professions; but let none become ministers of the Gospel of Christ from any other motive than love for God and for his Truth and for his brethren: a love that will rejoice in sacrificing ease and wealth and honor of men—not grudgingly, but heartily. But alas! nominal Christianity has grown great and worldly, and her servants are honored with the titles Reverend, Very Reverend, Most Reverend and Doctor of Divinity; and with these honors and titles go salaries—not according to the minister’s needs, but on the commercial basis of his ability to attract large congregations and wealthy people. The natural result has followed—‘The priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the Lord and say, Is not the Lord among us? None evil can come upon us.’ ‘His watchmen are blind; they are all ignorant, they are all Dumb Dogs, they cannot bark; dreaming or talking in their sleep; lazy, loving slumber (ease).

 

Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough; and they are shepherds that cannot understand; they all look to their own way (welfare), every one for his gain from his own quarter (denomination).’ ‘They shall gather to themselves teachers having ears itching (for praise of men); and they shall turn their ears from the Truth and shall be turned unto fables.’ " Isa 56:10,11 Mic 3:11 Php 3:2 2Ti 4:3,4. F 287.

 

"For God bath not given us a spirit of timidity; but of courage, of love and of a sound mind"—2 Tim. 1:7.

 

"The Scriptures abound with testimonies to the effect that the severe trials of the near future will be along the lines of deception. They speak of lying angels and deceivableness of unrighteousness and ‘lying wonders’ and tell us that the Lord will send or permit a strong delusion that they may believe a lie... The ‘very elect’ will be preserved, not through their own wisdom or superiority, but through the power of God." ‘09-R4379

 

"AND HE HEALED MANY THAT WERE SICK" Mark 1:21-34.

 

"The people who heard our Lord’s discourse were astonished (1) At the things which he taught, and (2) at the manner in which he presented them. He taught with authority... Our Lord had a clear understanding for the subjects he handled, and his presentations were not vague suppositions and imaginations, and foundationless hopes and speculations; but were clear-cut and distinct; and well proven by the testimonies of the Law and the Prophets, so that they were conclusive in the minds of his hearers, who hitherto had been used to hearing the scribes guess, wonder, suppose, etc...

 

"The clear inference is that Jesus had been speaking against sin, and the power which it exercised over humanity, involving all in the death penalty, with its sickness and pain and trouble; and incidentally no doubt he had mentioned, demoniacal possession, so common at that time—and more common today than most people suppose ... The Gospel preached at Capernaum... similar to the gospel preached at Nazareth, declaring the time at hand in which God would be pleased to receive back into harmony with himself those who had been alienated through sin... He no doubt declared Himself to be the great Life-giver, the Good Physician, sent to heal earth’s woes and to reveal to mankind the 45 Heavenly Father, and to become to as many as would avail themselves of it, ‘the Way, the Truth and the Life,’ by which they might return to divine favor in fullest measure.

 

"The language of the evil spirit, speaking through the man as its mouthpiece, clearly implies that these fallen spirits... recognized Jesus and his mission and his holiness, and that he was the representative of the Heavenly Father, but they had no hope for themselves—no expectation other than that when the time should come they would be utterly destroyed, annihilated. From various Scriptures, however, we learn that these fallen angels, demons, wicked spirits, will not be destroyed without first being given an opportunity for repentance and reconciliation with God.

 

"Our Lord did not deign to hold conversation with these spirit beings, who had fallen under the ban of divine condemnation, and with whom the Heavenly Father could no longer have intercourse. He did not, therefore, explain to them that his first advent was merely to pay the ransom price, and to start the gospel message which would select the ‘little flock’ to be members of his ‘body’ and joint-heirs with him in the kingdom, that when complete and glorified should bless and judge the world and judge the fallen angels also {1Co 6:3}... And our Lord’s course in having nothing whatever to do with these fallen spirits, but on the contrary commanding them to hold their peace, should be a lesson to every one of his followers, who should seek in this and in every other matter to walk in his steps ... Their cunning and deceitfulness is far too deep for humanity, and he who seeks communion with them in any manner or degree does so in violation, not only of the Scriptural command (Lev. 20:6; Isa. 8:19), but in violation also of Jesus’ example; and such run great risk of thus being entrapped and falling from their own steadfastness. The Apostle gives us to understand that even unwillingly and unwittingly we frequently wrestle, not with flesh and blood, but with these evil spirits, who inspire and use fallen fellow-creatures—Eph. 6:12.

 

"The unclean spirit ‘tore’ the man in coming out, that is, caused violent convulsions, and used the man’s mouth in uttering a loud cry. Our Lord, of course, could have forbidden such manifestations for the demon spirit, but preferred to allow it to be so, that thus might be manifested the malignant disposition of the evil spirits, as well as the power of his command which, with all their malignity, they could not disobey. The effect of the miracle upon the audience of course was wonderful. They saw ‘the man Christ Jesus’ exercising in their very presence a superhuman power—controlling spirit beings. No wonder they were amazed, and no wonder his fame spread throughout all Galilee." ‘00-R2581, R2582

 

AS THE SERPENT BEGUILED EVE" -2Co 11:3, 13-15.

 

"Various have been the delusions of our subtle adversary "—’87-R910.

 

"Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness"—2 Cor. 11:14, 15. See ‘99-R2669 c 2 p 5.

 

Revelation 2

 

10  Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

 

Revelation 2:10 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 10. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life.

 

The ten years of terrible persecution were experienced from 303 to 313 A.D., under Diocletian, the Roman emperor. To receive THE crown of THE life is to receive immortality, or life inherent: to eat of the tree of life; to eat the hidden manna. See V. 7 and V. 17. Rev. 20:6 Comment. ‘15-R5609.

 

"Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God—Psalm 42:11. "" But if you have peace without the suffering, while all men speak well of you, BEWARE! That is the peace of a sleep in which one dreams that he is filled and crowned and awakes to find himself empty—the peace of a dead calm on the ocean... ‘Be thou faithful unto death,  and I will give thee a crown of life.’" Isaiah 29:8; Jeremiah 23:25-40—note verses 28, 32, 36.

 

"Blest be the sorrow, kind the storm, That drives us nearer home.’ " 82-R347

 

OUR LORD JESUS’ INSPIRING PROMISE "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life"—Rev. 2:10.

 

"These are the words of our glorified Lord, given through St. John the Revelator on the Island of Patmos. This thrilling exhortation is given to the church, to those who have entered into a special contract, a special covenant with the Lord. The invitation of the present time, to suffer with Jesus that we may reign with him, implies the attainment of membership in his body. His members are his disciples; they have been invited to walk in his steps.

 

"A faithful servant is one who demonstrates himself worthy of his master’s confidence, one who can always be relied upon. Daily we are proving our loyalty or our disloyalty. ‘The Lord your God cloth prove you.’ He proves us to see if we are worthy—to see whether we love him best or love self best, to see if our confidence in him is such that we will lay aside everything else to win this great prize which he has offered, to see whether we are trying to grasp this beautiful thing, this crown of life, without appreciation of its cost.

 

"In one of his parables, our Lord represents some who, when the sun of persecution arises, are not sufficiently loyal to the principles of righteousness to stand. They become offended. They wither away. So this word faithful seems particularly to signify loyalty, including also the thought of being full of faith. God’s children are to be full of faith, and those in whom God can have faith—those proving worthy of his entire confidence.

 

"Do any of the faithful in tribulation for Christ’s sake yet lack the peace? It is because you lack faith to lay hold of the promises—the exceeding great and precious promises made to those who take up their cross and follow in his footsteps—suffering with him.

 

46 "Our Lord will say to such as are wholly faithful to the end of the race, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.’ These shall have ‘a crown of life.’ Their loyalty must be proven even unto death...

 

"‘Unto death,’ therefore, would in this text mean a faithfulness which would persist until the sacrifice is finished in death, a faithfulness ready to encounter death at any moment, which would lead to the performance of the covenant of sacrifice even unto its consummation.

 

THE FADELESS CROWN OF LIFE "The thought in respect to the receiving of the crown is that it confers great honor. There is an election going on. It is for each individual to make his calling and election sure—2 Peter 1:10, 11.

 

"Each one who is victorious will receive a crown of life... a crown of everlasting life. And not only so, but the Lord shows us that this crown of everlasting life will be a crown of superior life—life on the very highest plane. Those who attain restitution during the Millennial age will have everlasting life on the human plane. The angels will have everlasting life on the spirit plane. But this crown of life given to the ‘more than conquerors’ will be the very highest form of spirit life—immortality—far above all other planes of life, as the special reward for being victors in this race. ‘Let us so run that we may obtain.’ The goal is near! "

 

"Run on, my soul, undaunted, Where duty shines before, Though deserts blaze around thee And Jordans surge and roar; The land on this side Jordan Is not thy birthright blest; Speed on, and find thy Canaan And enter into rest.’

 

‘16-R5913, R5914

 

"Love rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth"—1 Cor. 13:6 "The spirit of love has such an affinity for the truth that it rejoices to share loss, persecution, distress, or whatever may come against the truth or its servants. In the Lord’s estimate it is all the same whether we are ashamed of him or ashamed of his Word; and of all such he declares that he will be ashamed when he comes to be glorified in his saints." Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26 {Mt 10:32,33}—please see.

 

"Love’s hopefulness knows no despair, for its anchorage enters into that which is beyond the veil, and is firmly fastened to the Rock of Ages." Hebrews 6:19. ‘11-R4919 "The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints"—Ephesians 1:18. "If it was expedient, yea, necessary, that our Lord Jesus, with all of his experience in the heavenly courts, must ‘learn obedience by the things which he suffered,’ and prove his loyalty to the Father by faithfulness even unto death, much more must his followers—whose previous history was that of sinners—be tried and thoroughly tested in respect to their loyalty to the Lord.’

 

"... God is thus working in them through the Word of his grace, through its exceeding great and precious promises. Through these he works in them to will to be faithful to him; and then to do— conform their lives to the requirements of his Word. The same truth becomes also a power, a strength of God, in them, enabling them more and more to do those things which they should—the things pleasing in God’s sight. "

 

...‘ 03-R3168 "Hear what Jesus said to Saul of Tarsus. You remember Saul had been persecuting the Church, and how he was present when St. Stephen was stoned to death, and how he was hailing others to prison, and how Jesus hailed him by the way and said, Saul, Saul, why persecutes" thou me?

 

"Saul was astonished. Persecuting somebody up there? Why, I was persecuting some renegade Jews down here!

 

"I am Jesus whom thou persecutes".’

 

‘...Whosoever will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.’

 

"Now the proposition, you see, includes the whole Body. If we suffer with Him we shall also be glorified together. If we be dead with Him we shall live with Him on the spiritual plane, be partakers of His divine nature, share with Him in His glory. All of these things are conditional upon our demonstrating that we are members of His a Body, and actuated by the same spirit." CRS348 "With us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles"—2 Chronicles 32:8.

 

"What a lesson is here for all of the Lord’s people of spiritual Israel today! When our proudest, strongest foes seem triumphing over us the most, when they are loudest in their denunciations of the Lord and his promises, is the very time when we should lay hold on the Lord’s promises with the greatest confidence. Indeed, we give it as our experience that those who are most thoroughly rooted and grounded, whose hopes are most surely anchored within the veil, are those who have been attested very trying experiences, and have had occasion to call mightily upon the Lord for help, when there was no earthly arm to lean upon. How many have found that the breaking of earthly ties has meant the strengthening of the heavenly ones, that the opposition of the world and the Adversary has meant increase of spiritual favor, because ‘greater is he that is for us than all they that be against us.’ "‘ 05-R3582

 

Revelation 2

 

11  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

 

Revelation 2:11 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 11. He that bath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

 

The Second Death is caused by willful sin, when the New Creature becomes an Egyptian, and dies. The eating of the Passover lamb, showing heart appreciation of our SinOffering, saves us from second death—but is heart searching. See 19:11; 20—R4906 to R4909; "Foundation of Christian Doctrine: The Passover"—see Supplement.

 

47 HUMILITY PROPORTIONATE TO OUR APPRECIATION OF DIVINE GOODNESS "Thou shalt remember Jehovah thy God"—Deut. 8:18.

 

"The more we come into possession of the spiritual blessings which the Lord has promised us, and which we have accepted by faith, the more need we will have of humility; and our humility will be proportionate to our appreciation of divine goodness and our thankfulness therefor. The grateful, thankful heart may go on from grace to grace, from strength to strength; from knowledge to knowledge, from attainment to attainment; but if gratitude begins to wane and our advantages are accepted either as matters of our own attainment or of good luck, in that same proportion we’will find ourselves growing cold spiritually, and with unthankfulness will come unholiness, spiritual self-conceit and pride, and all of this will lead to spiritual dirth, and if persisted in, to spiritual death." ‘02-R3080 "Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered"—Rom. 4:7.

 

THE ROBE DOES NOT COVER SINS OF THE NEW MIND "In studying this subject it is well to keep in mind that the robe does not cover, as some seem to think, sins of the new mind. The Scriptures ascribe no sin to the new mind, and no perfection in righteousness to the fallen flesh. If the new mind were disloyal to God, the robe would not cover it; it would cease to be a new mind. To continue to have the imperfections of the flesh (which we have inherited from Adam) covered, the new creature must remain loyal to God, otherwise it will deserve the second death. Hence, these new creatures, with imperfect bodies under the control of the new mind, have the bridal robe granted to them, that they may have a standing in the sight of the Lord and of each other." ‘11-R4842 "There are three classes for whom Jesus becomes Surety, Guarantor: the members of the body of the Anointed; the Great Company class; failures... "There will be those who will be neither more than conquerors nor even conquerors, but failures—turning back to sin, like the sow to her wallowing in the mire. These will die the second death. In any event, our great Advocate, the High Priest, having endorsed for all of these, will thus be ultimately free from all liability for them in that they all will have died according to the flesh and none of them will receive or retain restitution rights or privileges. Those restitution blessings will be fully and completely released when the last member of the spirit-begotten shall have gone into death..." ‘16-R5973

 

CHRIST’S TRIUMPHAL ENTRY—Mark 11:1-11 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee"... Zechariah 9:9.

 

"Having Salvation: Safety"!

 

"The Stones Would Cry Out" "The people were familiar with the prophecy relating to Messiah’s coming, which declared, ‘Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! behold, thy King cometh unto thee; He is just, and having salvation ("yasha," having safety—the safety of the Passoer Lamb); lowly, and riding upon a colt" Zech. 9:9. They were familiar also with the ‘shout’ the prophets had foretold and the responses—one party crying, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the King of Israel, that cometh in the name of the Lord!’ Again came the cry, ‘Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord!’ Then the response, ‘Hosanna in the highest!’ These different expressions are recorded by the different evangelists.

 

"But not all were enthusiastic acclaimers of Jesus; a discordant note was heard. Some of those who had come from the city through curiosity criticised the shouting, and wondered why Jesus did not rebuke the people for ascribing so great honor to him. They sent word to this effect to Jesus through his disciples. Jesus made answer that a great prophecy was being fulfilled. The Prophet Zechariah had by inspiration said, ‘Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!’ and such a shout must be made. Jesus declared that if the multitudes had failed to shout, the prophecy would still have been fulfilled—the very stones would have cried out." ‘14-R5495 Let us recall that the heart appreciation of our justification will protect us from any danger of the second death; and that God first provided in the type that the safety of the Passover, was the first feature of the Law Covenant made with Israel three months later, and has continued ever since until the antitype came. We rejoice in our justification by faith in the merit secured by the antitypical slain bullock of the type on the Day of Atonement, in the fall.

 

"The Day of Atonement sacrifices were divinely placed exactly at the opposite end of the year, apparently to disassociate the two types ..."‘ 09-R4493 p 1.

 

"By faith the merit of his sacrifice, his blood, was to be sprinkled upon the door-posts of his people’s hearts; and his flesh, the merit of his earthly perfection, was to be eaten or appropriated by them in their minds..." ‘10-R4703 c 2 first sentence.

 

"That the blood covers more than the first-borns is shown by the fact that in the type it was sprinkled not merely upon the first-borns, but upon the house, as indicating the household of faith..." ‘13-R5273 c 2 p 4 last sentence of article. F459 p 1 Nu 9:8-13 Passover of the second month, footnote R2270, R5191.

 

"There were two passovers." R3319 p 3; R3959 bottom of page; R5640 last p; R5870 c 1 p 2.

 

THE PASSOVER IN THE FIRST MONTH ‘08-R4127, 4128 CHRIST OUR PASSOVER Is SACRIFICED FOR Us, THEREFORE LET Us KEEP THE FEAST—1Co 5:7.

 

"What a meaning is in these words when seen in connection with the Memorial Supper as the remembrances of the Jewish Passover! How the light of the type illuminates the antitype! As the firstborn of Israel were exposed to death, so ‘the church of the firstborn whose names are written in heaven’ are now on trial for life or death everlasting. As then all the typical firstborn were safe so long as they remained in the house and ate of the lamb whose blood was sprinkled upon the doorposts and lintel, so we who abide in the household of faith under the better ‘blood of sprinkling’ and

 

48 who eat of our Passover Lamb, Jesus, are safe from death—sure of life everlasting under God’s providence. ‘08-R4128 ("Foundation of Christian Doctrine: The Passover"—see Supplement.)

 

PERFUME VERY PRECIOUS MIGHT HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO THE POOR JOHN 1:4-6.

 

"Our lesson (John 12:1-11) says that Judas protested against such a waste of money, and explains that it was not because he cared so much for the poor... (RV). The person who is economical and penurious in his dealings with the Lord is sure to be the loser thereby, as the Scriptures declare, ‘The liberal soul shall be made fat’; and again. ‘There is he that scattereth yet increaseth, and there is he that withholdeth more than is meet (proper) and it tendeth to poverty.’ "It is a different matter for us to learn to be economical in respect to our own affairs and to be liberal to the extent of extravagance in matters which pertain to the Lord and his service. We sometimes sing, ‘Thou art coming to a King, large petitions with thee bring,’ but he who brings large petitions to the throne of grace should be sure also that he bring with him a large alabaster box of perfume of praise and thankfulness for the Lord... as a mark of his appreciation of blessings already received... They realize that they are already debtors to such an extent that they can never show properly their appreciation of divine favor. Properly they recognize that day by day they are receiving at the Lord’s hands exceedingly and abundantly more than they could ask or wish, and that in the spiritual blessings alone they have what satisfies their longings as nothing else can do. Such more nearly follow the course of Mary and bring alabaster boxes of perfume to the Lord—their prayers and thanksgiving of heart; and asking nothing, but giving thanks for all things, they receive from the Master such an outpour of blessing that they are not able to contain it.

 

"Those who view the matter rightly must certainly feel that none of us have anything worthy to present to our Lord—that our very best, our most costly gifts or sacrifices, are not worthy of him and but feebly express the real sentiments of our hearts. How glad we are if our humble efforts are accepted of the Lord, and how we hope that ultimately we shall hear the same sweet voice saying of us, ‘He bath done what he could,’ ‘She bath done what she could.’ "‘ He that giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord and the Lord will repay him.’ This promise is so rich and so plainly stated that the wonder is that there are not more willing to make investments in harmony with it, and to realize that the Lord not only repays, but gives large interest.

 

ME YE HAVE NOT ALWAYS.

 

‘‘The opportunity for honoring the Lord was limited—a little while and his sufferings would be ended and he would be glorified beyond the veil, beyond the power of human attention. It was appropriate then, when viewed from the right standpoint, that Mary should spend a great price upon her Lord—that the head upon which fell the slanders and anathemas of the chief priests and doctors of divinity of that day, and upon which shortly the crown of thorns would be placed, should now be honored by one amongst a few of those who realized his true worth, his true grandeur, his Kingship, that he was indeed the Son of God. It was appropriate, too, that those feet which had trodden the valleys and hillsides of Palestine, and that were so weary at times, and that symbolized the feet of consecration treading the narrow, rugged way, and that so soon would be pierced with the nails on the cross, should now be highly honored by one who appreciated and trusted them, who loved them and who was seeking to walk in he Master’s steps.

 

SACRIFICE OF SWEET ODOR "The Apostle, speaking of the ministries of the church one for another, says that ours is a sacrifice of sweet odor unto God, but again he adds that the Gospel referred to is of life unto life to some and of death unto death to others. That is to say, good deeds, kind words, and efforts will be appreciated by those who are in the right attitude of heart to appreciate them, and constitute a bad odor to those who are in a wrong condition of heart. How often have we seen it so, that with our best endeavors to serve the feet of Christ some have been comforted and refreshed, others have been angered—to one the effort was a sweet odor, to the others it was an offensive odor, because of their wrong attitude of heart toward the Lord and toward the body of Christ—because, perhaps, of their ambitions or what not that were interfered with.

 

"It was just so at Bethany: the sweet odors that filled the house, and the blessing and refreshment that came to Mary in connection with the ministration, had a very different effect upon Judas. He was angry; his selfishness hindered his appreciation of the honor done to the Lord... Let us, then, dear brethren, see to it that our hearts are in a loving attitude toward the Lord and not in a selfish attitude—that we appreciate everything done in his name and for his body, and that we be not self-seeking. Otherwise the result will be with us the savor of death unto death, as it was with Judas.

 

"It was the next day probably that the Jews began to gather in considerble numbers to see Jesus and Lazarus, and to take counsel respecting the putting of them to death—’for the good of the cause.’ And, by the way, let us remember that the ‘good of the cause’ has nearly always been the basis of every mean and despicable act against the truth from first to last. Let us beware of such a sectarian spirit; let us see to it that our love for the Lord and all of his brethren is sincere, and not a personal and selfish one for ourselves or some denomination, otherwise we know not into what evils we might be led." ‘05-R3535toR3537 See "Was Judas a hypocrite?" (’11-R4906 to R4909), Supplement.

 

Revelation 2

 

12  And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;

 

Revelation 2:12 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 12. And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which bath the sharp sword with two edges;  

 

At the time of earthly elevation, the sword of the spirit was very sharp: the two edges were the cross, and loyalty: both of which were necesary, to escape the ensnarement of the adversary into pride. See V.16 "Let us stand clad in the full armor which the word of God

 

49

 

supplies, and in his strength wielding the Sword of the Spirit... We have the sure word of prophecy and the instructions of our Lord and of his apostles, and if we love the Word of the Lord, we shall seek to be guided by it. ‘He that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not’—1 John 5:18." ‘13-R5184 F657, F658 "He who now takes his great power to reign is shown in symbol (Rev. 19:15) as the one whose sword went forth out of his mouth, ‘ that with it he should smite the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron.’ That sword is the TRUTH" (Eph. 6:17). B100; compare with A324.

 

THE CHURCH OF PERGAMOS-REVELATION 2:12-R17 "Pergamos means an earthly elevation. The Speaker is ‘He who bath the sharp Sword with two edges’ (Greek, twomouthed)—the Word of God. During this period, while the nominal church was growing popular, the true Christians were tested and proved by the introduction and development of Pagan and Papal ideas. The Pagan priests, unwilling to lose their positions of honor and influence amongst the people, sought to bend their ideas to fit the new religion. Thus while nominally professing Christianty, they brought many of their former ideas with them into the Christian church. These were eventaully grafted upon the true stock—‘the faith once delivered to the saints’—Jude 3.

 

"Thus gradually the church was led into error, evil practices, and away from God. This is what is meant in Verse 14 by the allusion to Balaam and Balak. It will be remembered that Balaam, who had been a prophet of God, instructed King Balak how to tempt Israel to sin, and thus brought about what he could not accomplish by his own powers {Nu 23 24 31:16}. So these Pagan priests taught the church to indulge in spiritual fornication, and thus brought upon her the withering blight of the wrath of God. "‘ 16-R5992, R5993

 

THE TABLE OF THE LORD "Let us consider now what is ‘the table of the Lord.’ It is the board richly spread with a bountiful supply of divine truth—bread of life and meat in due season and honey in the honeycomb, and the choicest beverages of milk and wine and of the pure water of life, clear as crystal (John 6:32-35 Matt. 24:45; Psa. 19:10; Isa. 55:1; Rev. 21:6; 22:1).

 

"This table of the Lord has been spread for his saints, his church, from the very beginning of the Gospel age; and it has always been supplied with meat in season;  and some of the Lord’s people have been appointed to serve. Thus, for instance, the apostles served in the beginning of the age, not only in setting before the Lord’s people the meat in due season, but also in laying up in store food for the church in future days {2Pe 1:15,19}... even to the present day.

 

"But now the end, the harvest of the age, has come, the richest season of all the year, when the buds of prophecy and promise have developed and are now bringing forth their golden fruit, and the table of the Lord fairly groans under its bounty. And not only so, but the Lord of the harvest himself, being now present, according to his promise, comes forth and serves his people (Luke 12:37). Here, as never in all the past, the richness and fatness of the purposes, and promises of God are made manifest in all their completeness. Here is a systematic theology such as the church has never before known—the plan of salvation set before us in such order and beauty that it surpasses our brightest hopes; a plan consistent and harmonious in every part and wrought out silently and grandly through all the ages past on principles of the most profound moral philosophy, and with a precision and exactness of time and order that are suggestive of the mathematical precision of the great Designer, Executor and Revealer. So glorious is it in its completeness, its symmetry and beauty, that the satisfied soul perceives that no addition could be made to it without marring its excellence, and joyfully exclaims: ‘It is the Lord’s doing and the Lord’s revealing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’; and ‘What more can he say than to us he bath said’ of his wisdom and love and grace?... To God belongs all the glory of both plan and execution; and to our Lord and Head belongs the praise of this service of the revealing, and of the anointing of our hearts to receive it. Glory to God in the highest and unto the Lamb forever and ever! Let the whole earth be filled with his glory!" ‘95-R1899 BE THOU STRONG AND VERY COURAGEOUS—JOSHUA 1:7.

 

SHINING EXAMPLES OF THE PAST "We have noted the courage of our Lord Jesus himself, with a whole nation against him! It has been thus with all his faithful followers—most of them the poor of this world, who have had very little wealth or influence or honor of men. The true people of God throughout the Gospel age have been a humble class, yet they have been very strong and courageous The people in the days of the Apostles ‘took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus’ and had learned of him. Those disciples of Jesus had seen his readiness to lay down his life in the Father’s service. They had seen his courage when he was facing death of the most cruel kind, when he said, ‘The cup which my Father bath poured for me, shall I not drink it?’ And so we who have followed the Master since then have taken more of the spirit which our dear Lord manifested at all times, under the most trying and crucial experiences; and it has proven a wonderful inspiration to us.

 

"The faithful ones have all along as a rule been little known in the world... but we may be sure that ‘the Lord knoweth them that are his’—2 Timothy 2:19.

 

"Our strength will be tried—our hold upon God and upon the truth, and our courage in defending the truth. These will surely be put to the test; for Babylon is opposing our way. God will not have any in the kingdom who have not faithfully endured. Yet in meekness let us seek to instruct those who oppose themselves to the Word of the Lord; and let us look for the hungry and thirsty ones.

 

"We do not know in what form some of our trials and tribulations will come. But we who are living in this ‘evil day,’ yea, in the very close of this day—in the final ‘hour of temptation’—surely need to have on the whole armor of God. We need to have our loins girt about with truth; we need the helmet to protect our minds, our intellects, from the shafts of error; we need the breast-plate of righteousness; we need the sword of the Spirit—the broad two-edged

 

50 sword; we need the sandals of ‘preparation of the Gospel of peace.’ We need all these to overcome the Canaanites in our own breast, and to overcome all the surrounding obstacles.

 

"Thus armed and furnished, we may indeed come off ‘more than conquerors’ in the great conflict which is daily increasing. We shall conquer ‘through him who loved us and bought us with his own precious blood.’ Let the promise of the Master be our daily inspiration: ‘To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne.’ "‘ 15-R5707 "FOR GOD WAS WITH HIM"—Gen. 41:38-39. "Them that honor me, I will honor"—1Sa 2:30. ‘01 -R2888

 

Revelation 2

 

13  I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.

 

Revelation 2:13 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 13. I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou boldest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you where Satan dwelleth.

 

Here the pope is freely spoken of as Satan; and his seat upon a throne is a reality. The past record, since 799 A. D., and the present rulership, testify to that, with only two short periods of no civil authority during that time. The pope ruled for one thousand years, from 799 A.D. when Charlemagne granted him civil authority, until 1799 A.D. when Napoleon took him prisoner. The pope died early in the nineteenth century, and another was elected. In 1870 under King Victor Emmanuel I of Italy, the pope lost the last vestige of civil authority till 1929 A.D. when he was granted what is now the Vatican, two miles by one mile, in area, by Mussolini then dictator of Italy. And now he is the eighth and last king, of Revelation 17:10-11, with temporal authority.

 

See Bel (the Pope) and Babylon (Christendom), and their just recompence as portrayed by Jeremiah in chapters 50,

 

RESIST THE DEVIL Be ye angry and sin not; let not the sun go down upon your wrath; neither give place to the devil"—Eph. 4:26.

 

"LOVE to God should prompt us to CONTEND earnestly for truth and to reprove error, especially such errors and perversions of his word as would tend to overthrow the faith of God’s children! A perfect man could be angry at evil or injustice, and his anger would be controlled by reason, justice and love...

 

"How grossly Jehovah’s character has been misrepresented and his anger misunderstood for malice and bitterness by nearly all the nominal Churches of today!...

 

"In the book of symbols—Revelation—it is claimed, Adam has been kept in torture, called a ‘lake of fire,’ for over five thousand years. All will agree that no being could continue to burn so long without burning up... No one can assume that justice would require such a penalty for Adam’s transgression, and certainly love finds no place in such dealing. Nay, more, it would be, as all who can and do reason must admit, a gross injustice, and if it were true it would give the lie to every expression of the love and justice of God in Scripture. But this is all a dark nightmare, conjured in dark ages of Papal priestcraft and without foundation in the words of inspiration.’

 

"What a blessed relief to awaken now in the morning dawn and see, as we now do, the justice and love displayed in the anger of the Lord—how all men were justly consigned to the state of death (sheoland hades,  improperly translated hell in the Bible), and that because love has redeemed all, therefore all shall come back into life again {Ro 5:18,19}.

 

"How blessed to think of such a God, whose justice and love have been exemplified in both our condemnation and redemption." ‘83-R438 to R440

 

"HE THAT IS BEGOTTEN OF GOD DOES NOT PRACTICE SIN"—’14-R5491, R5492 "My little children, these things write I unto you that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous"—1 John 2:1.

 

"According to history the Apostle John at the time of writing this Epistle was quite an aged man. He was the last of the apostles to die, according to tradition. In his ripe age he had naturally a tender, fatherly feeling toward all the church; he had become very mellow in character through his experiences. According to the original, our text would more properly read: ‘My darlings, these things write I unto you.’ The translators have taken the liberty of saying ‘little children’ instead. A little child is always considered a darling.

 

"The Apostle says, Realizing that you commit trespasses which are contrary to the desire of your heart, remember that there is a place to go, a mercy seat, where you may confess your sins and obtain forgiveness. Remember that ‘we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous.’ Remember that he gave himself a ransom-price for all, and that the merit of this price was applied by imputation on our behalf. Remember that all the sins of the flesh are forgivable through faith in his blood. Bear this in mind, too, that he knows that with our imperfect flesh we cannot as new creatures do perfectly, and it is because of this that God has constituted him our Advocate and Head over all things. "

 

CHRISTIAN, WALK CAREFULLY "If we realize that through lack of proper watchfulness, or through some infirmity of the flesh, we have taken a wrong step, contrary to the Lord’s will and to our interests as new creatures in Christ, let us lose no time in retracing the step and in calling upon the Father for forgiveness. ‘We have an altar whereof they have no right to partake who serve the (typical) tabernacle’; an altar not sancitified by the blood of bulls and goats, but by the precious blood of Christ; and we are urged to ‘come boldly (with holy courage and confident faith) to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need ‘—Hebrews 13:10; 4:16.

 

"How blessed this throne of grace, this mercy seat, provided by our Father’s love! How undone we should be without it!. Yet, beloved, let us walk with great carefulness—let us never presume upon the mercy of our God by being careless of our steps. Let us, instead, with earnest prayer and watchfulness, ‘work out our own salvation with fear and trembling,’ while our Father ‘worketh in us both to will and to do his good pleasure’—Philippians 2:12, 13. "‘ 14-R5491, R5492

 

51

 

Revelation 2

 

14  But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

 

Revelation 2:14 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 14. But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaan, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

 

Here the union of church and state is set down as abhorrent in God’s sight—spiritual fornication.

 

A GOD-FEARING BAD MAN—Numbers 22:1 to 23:10 "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways" James 1:8.

 

"After the Israelites had entered Canaan and were fully recognized as God’s holy nation, it would appear that all dealings between God and the Gentiles were discontinued. Before that, apparently men of faith in God were more or less recognized by him—for instance, Abraham, Job, Melchisedec and Balaam—the latter constituting the central figure of today’s lesson. Balaam lived on the Euphrates river, in the country which Abraham left when he came to Canaan. He was known far and near as one whose messages either for good or for evil were sure to come to pass. In other words, he was considered an oracle.

 

"When the king of the Moabites perceived the Israelites conquering all with whom they battled, he greatly feared them, even though they had not molested the Moabites. He conferred with the ruler of the Midianites, and then sent messages four hundred miles to the Euphrates to get Balaam to come to pronounce a curse against the Israelites. A considerble reward was offered.

 

"The Prophet Balaam inquired of the Lord whether or not he should go on this mission. The reply was, No; Israel was blessed of the Lord, not cursed. Balaam gave the decision, and the messengers returned. Balak was all the more insistent and sent fresh messengers of higher station, intimating higher rewards. Balaam knew the mind of the Lord on the subject, but was a money-lover and somehow hoped for a chance to get some of the rewards of unrighteousness. In response to this second inquiry, whether or not he could go with the men, he obtained permission to go.

 

”It was on this journey that Balaam was reproved by his ass. An angel of the Lord stood in the pathway, in a narrow place, where the ass, seeing the angel, could not pass him. Balaam’s eyes not being opened, he saw not the angel. The ass, being beaten, remonstrated. Even this miracle did not stop Balaam’s money-lust. He coveted the wealth, and would do anything in his power to obtain it—merely stopping where he must.

 

A DOUBLE-MINDED MAN "The double-mindedness of the prophet Balaam was abundantly manifested by his course... He wished to be a prophet of the Lord and to speak his Word in his name, but he also wished riches, and the honor which would accompany them. He wished for what God’s providence had not seen best to give him. Right and wrong—God’s way and the way of riches—both were before him. Which would be choose with all his heart? He chose neither one. He tried to have both—to be a servant and mouthpiece of God, and to gain the rewards of an opposite course.

 

"Alas, how many in every age have had the Balaam spirit! Jesus warned against this spirit, saying, ‘Ye cannot serve God and mammon.’How many have found the Master’s words true! How many have found that the Lord would reject from his counsels and his fellowship those who regard iniquity in their hearts; and who, if they have not love to serve it, at least would love its rewards. Let us remember that God looketh upon the inward parts—the heart. Let us remember how it was written of Jesus: ‘Because thou hast loved righteousness and hast hated iniquity, therefore God, even thy God, bath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows"—Psalm 45:7.

 

"In God’s dealings with our Redeemer, he has exemplified the principles of his righteous government. A double-minded man is unreliable in every way—not pleasing to God, not acceptable to him.

 

THE HEART WITH THE TREASURE "The Master said, ‘Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ Those who set their affection chiefly upon earthly things can with difficulty avoid the snares that go with them. Balaam’s only safe course was in heart loyalty to God. Knowing the mind of the Lord on the subject, he should have delighted himself therein, and should to the fullest have rejected every overture looking in an opposite direction. The nobles who took King Balak’s second proposition should have been kindly, but firmly, told that the divine will was the law of Balaam, the prophet; that he would not for a moment consider anything to the contrary of the divine will; that money, wealth and honors as inducements to a course of opposition to God’s will would be an insult. Let us each apply this lesson in life’s affairs. let God be first in our hearts, as well as in our words and acts.

 

"But if, overtaken in a fault, Balaam had gone so far as to start on the journey with the hope of somehow gaining the evil reward, he should have been thoroughly aroused by the incident of the ass. Even an ass knew better than to attempt to go contrary to the Higher Power. Evidently the greater reasoning power and courage of humanity above that of the brute may be used to great advantage.

 

"We see that Balaam’s heart was wrong. he still continued to be a prophet, but was ceasing to be a holy prophet... While outwardly he still remained loyal to God in that he would not utter a false message, yet inwardly his harmony with God was gone. The infection, from being a mere speck of a wish for the money, spread rapidly until it swallowed up everything noble and true in the man. The rot or blight which started in his heart, like the blight at the core of a beautiful apple, spread until nothing remained but the outward form.

 

"The professed man of God groveled in the mire of sin in his desire to obtain Balak’s proffered wealth. He said to the king, The reason I am not permitted to curse Israel is that they are blessed of the Lord; but I will explain to you that the Lord’s blessing is with them because they are his consecrated people, in covenant relationship with him, seeking to obey his law. The only way in which you could bring a curse upon Israel would be by tempting them to disobedience to God.

 

52 GOD PERMITTED THE LESSON "God’s covenant with Israel was that while they would be loyal to him and his law, their enemies could not prevail against them. They should be his people. They should be blessed in their every temporal interest. But if they would neglect his statutes and engage in idolatry, he would bring upon them various plagues. This course not only would punish them for their wrong doings, but serve as a lesson, a warning, to restrain them from excesses such as were common amongst the heathen.

 

"Not only did God punish the Israelites according to the terms of their Law Covenant, but he also punished the Midianites and Balaam. Under divine direction Moses called for a thousand armed men out of each of the tribes. This army completely wiped out the Midianites as a nation, including Balaam, the prophet, who, to secure the rewards of his nefarious advice, had evidently remained to oversee the work of iniquity.

 

"Our glorious Redeemer, in his last message to the church, foretold that some of his followers would imitate Balaam and, for earthly advantage, put a stumbling-block in the path of the brethren. The intimation is that the harlotry and false worship would be on a higher plane than that which stumbled natural Israel—even as everything in this Christian dispensation is antitypical.

 

BALAAM’S WONDERFUL PROPHECY "Several passages in Balaam’s prophecy are very striking in their fulfillment. For instance; "For from the top of the rocks I see him, And from the hills I behold him; Lo, it is a people that dwell alone And shall not be reckoned amongst the nations. Num. 23:9 ***‘ Blessed be every one that blesseth thee And cursed be every one that curseth thee.

 

Num. 24:9 ***" I behold him, but not nigh; There shall come forth a Star out of Jacob, And the Sceptre shall rise out of Israel. And One out of Jacob shall have dominion.’

 

Num. 24:17 "Surely we see fulfilled the declaration that Israel shall be separate from all other nations. What other nation of that day remains a people of preserved identity?

 

"How true the statement that those who have cursed, or injured, Israel have brought injury, upon themselves! As we scan the whole field of the world, we find that every nation which has dealt harshly with Israel has received severe chastisement or blight. On the contrary, Great Britain and the United States, nations which have blessed the Jew, have in turn received great blessings.

 

"The lines referring to Messiah’s kingdom are equally true. The sceptre did rise out of Israel. The One who is to have the dominion of earth is of Jacob’s posterity, according to the flesh. As the bright and morning Star, he is leading on to a glorious sunrise—the dawning of the Messianic day which is to scatter earth’s night and to bring blessings instead of the curse." ‘15-R5322, R5323

 

Revelation 2

 

15  So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.

 

Revelation 2:15 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 15. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.

 

The doctrine of fording it over the church is very prominent also. See B. Chapter 9; C.

 

"The ‘doctrine of the Nicolaitans’ seems to be the theory of lordship or headship in the church. The strife as to who should be greatest existed amongst many of the patriarchs—fathers—of the prominent churches. At their councils there was a bitter fight for supremacy. The tendency was toward an earthly head, and of course many coveted the honor. The patriarchs of Jerusalem, Antioch, Constantinople and Rome were the most prominent. The first two dropped out of the conflict, but the strife continued for several hundred years between Constantinople and Rome. It was settled only by a division of the church: the Eastern, or Greek Church, accepting the Patriarch of Constantinople for its head; and the Western, or Papal Church, acknowledging the bishop—pope or father—of Rome.

 

"Many of the true followers of the Master in the churches, denounced this attempt to disobey the direct command of Jesus, ‘Call no man father’ (Matthew 23:9). Of course, they received the promised persecution {2Ti 1:12}. This class in Pergamos is commended by our Lord under the symbol of ‘Anti-pas, my faithful martyr.’ In the Greek, anti means against, and Papas signifies father. In this stage of the development of the church those who sought to be popular received the emoluments of the church; but the promise to the overcomers is that of pleasure and honor that shall be eternal." ‘16-R5992, R5993

 

Revelation 2

 

16  Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

 

Revelation 2:16 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 16. Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

 

This was fulfilled in the work or ministry of Pastor C.T. Russell, and that former Roman Catholic Priest, Martin Luther.

 

"Can I truly affirm that I am ‘All for Jesus, all for Jesus—All my being’s ransomed powers; All my thoughts, and words, and doings, All my days and all my hours’?

 

"If so, then we are just narrow-minded enough to say, This one thing I do; and I make everything else bend to this one thing of showing forth God’s praises and helping others into his marvelous light. And to this end I cultivate and use what talents I possess as a wise steward of my heavenly Master: ‘Observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you—Matt. 28:19, 20." ‘03-R3200 See ‘12-R5054 c 2.

 

"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful: But his delight is in the Law of Jehovah; and in His Law cloth he meditate day and night..." Psalm 1:1-2.

 

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer"—Psalm 19:14.

 

53 "There should be in every child of God very perceptible and continuous growth in grace...

 

"Let us constantly keep before our eyes the model which the Lord Jesus set for our example—that model of the complete fulfillment of the will of God, in which the whole Law was kept blamelessly. Let us follow his steps of righteousness and self-sacrifice as nearly as a full measure of loving zeal and faithfulnes and loyalty to God will enable us to do, and we shall have a blessed sense of the divine approval now, and the glorious reward of divine favor in due time." ‘11-R4835 "Hearkening to the voice of the Lord, we perceive that he knew the end from the beginning, and that his plan is designed to be a lesson respecting his attributes of justice, wisdom, love and power, not only to men but to angels, not only to the unholy, but to the holy. When the divine plan shall have been fully accomplished, all shall see the lengths and breadths ad heights and depths of wisdom and love and justice and power exemplified in the divine arrangement. At the present time, however, only a few may see: ‘The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; He has covenanted to show it unto them’ "—Psalm 25:14. ‘04-R3371

 

THE UNCLEAN TABLES OF BABYLON "While the Lord’s table is thus richly spread with a satisfying portion for all who hunger and thirst after righteousness and after the knowledge of God, whom to know is life and peace, there are many other tables spread to which the people of God are invited. Papacy has its table upon which, with some fragments of truth, are found in abundant supply the abominable doctrines of the mass, of eternal torment and purgatory, and the idolatry of Mary and the presumed saints, and auricular confession, and implicit obedience to scheming priests, etc., etc. Protestants also have their several tables, upon which may be found some truth, such as the redemption through the precious blood of Christ, baptism, faith in God and in his inspired Word, etc., but oh! what fragments of truth they have all befouled; for, says the Prophet (Isaiah 28:8, and his words are true), ‘All (their) tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.’ They are full of rejected matter— old errors swallowed in the past with thoughtless complacency. But the shakings {Heb 12:26,27} of these judgment times are making the people sick, so that they cannot retain these horrid doctrines of eternal torment, etc., etc. And yet, lacking the moral courage openly to disown and abandon them, their tables are therefore polluted with the sickening rejected matter: their tables are all unclean.

 

"But now, harvest having come, and the separating work being due (Matt. 13:30), all the true people of God are called away from those tables to the bountiful harvest table where the Lord himself is now serving. In obeying the voice of the Lord and abandoning the unclean tables many enemies are made, but blessed are those who have the hearing of faith and obey the call to the Lord’s table. It was of this the Psalmist sung, saying: ‘Thou prepares" a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil: my cup (of blessing) runneth over.’ "But there are other tables besides the unclean tables of

 

Babylon. There are tables of devils: tables laden with all manner of subtle and ingenious evil doctrines, bringing in ‘damnable heresies, even denying the lord that bought them,’ wresting the Scriptures, perverting them, undermining their teaching, and substituting human philosophies. Of these are such tables as the Papacy—that ‘masterpiece of Satanic ingenuity,’ Theosophy, Spiritism, Christian Science (falsely so-called), Evolution, and all the various phases of human philosophy which ignore the doctrine of redemption through our Lord’s vicarious sacrifice, and aim to teach men how to climb up to eternal life by some other way. These are all tables of devils, against which the Apostle warns us, saying, Ye cannot partake of the Lord’s table and the table of devils.

 

"There is only one true foundation—Christ, the ransom. ‘Other foundation can no man lay’ {1Co 3:11 15:3}. And any one whose soul has been satisfied with the truth should perceive at once the deformity of error. As a musician’s ear, trained to the beautiful harmonies of sound, quickly detects a discordant note... so the mind and heart, educated in the beautiful harmonies... of the divine plan, quickly detect the discord of error... Feed at the Lord’s table only, if you would have that spiritual health and vigor which is proof against all the pestilences of this evil day.

 

"Nor are we narrow-minded in confining our studies to the divine plan, regardless of all vain philosophies and human traditions and speculations; for its scope is as wide as redemption, its science the most exact and its philosophy the most profound. Having learned the divine plan revealed in the Scriptures, it is the privilege of all who are imbued with its spirit to apply its measuring lines to the whole matter of divine revelation, and... we shall not be narrow-minded in thus following the guidance of the Lord into ‘the deep things of God,’ now revealed in his due time, ‘which things the angels desire to look into,’ and which will be the saints’ delight through all eternity. What think you? Will the saints and angels be narrow-minded when the devil and his tables are all destroyed? Let us away with every evil thing, and find our delight in God, and be satisfied with the consolations of his abundant grace." ‘95-R1899, R1900

 

Revelation 2

 

17  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

 

Revelation 2:17 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 17. He that bath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

 

The hidden manna at the present time is that spiritual food that enables a new creature to attain to the mark of the prize and a share in the first resurrection.

 

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6.

 

"It is well for the Lord’s people to have clearly in mind that as the Master designated himself the Way, the Truth, the Life, so all who are truly his disciples must be of the truth, must be sincere... honest-hearted... Only the sincere will ever be truly overcomers." ‘05-R3555 "I am the living Bread which came down from heaven"—John 6:51.

 

54 "Our Lord personified the truth, the great plan of God which centered in him, the life which he had come to give on behalf of the world, that we might live through him: To eat... of Jesus... in the sense of partaking of the blessings and mercies of God provided in him, and in the sense of appropriating his spirit and disposition, is the proper thought... As we feed upon him in our hearts we become strong in faith and in all the graces of his Spirit. Let us then daily gather our portion of manna and daily seek to use it all, and realize that it will be our portion until we reach the heavenly Canaan. Surely then all the supply of divine grace experienced by the Lord’s faithful should be stimulating to our faith and confidence in him who has called us from darkness into his marvelous light." ‘07-R4012 THE HIDDEN MANNA "O taste and see that Jehovah is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him"—Psa. 34:8.

 

"Those who have a mere curiosity interest to know what good things are found upon the table of the Lord can never know. Only those who come with sincere hearts to taste and see for themselves can ever know. Theirs is the ‘hidden manna.’ It is their blessed privilege to know and realize their relationship to Christ as his prospective bride and joint-heir: and, as his betrothed, to hold sweet communion with him here...

 

So PRECIOUS AN INVITATION "Truly so precious an invitation is worthy of our strivings and self-denials to attain it; and the truly appreciative will lay aside every weight and the sin that cloth so easily beset, and run with patience the race for this great prize.

 

"We are plainly told that the great majority who hear the call will reject, and that only a ‘little flock,’ a mere remnant, of both Jews and Gentiles will be privileged sharers of this ‘great supper’ (Luke 14:15-24). And ‘blessed’ indeed will he be ‘who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God’—who shall be counted worthy to share with Christ in the honors and glory of the spiritual kingdom established. ‘To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne.’ ‘Fear not, little flock (of overcoming ones), it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom." ‘96-R1958 "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it"—Rev. 2:17.

 

"The white stone signifies a precious token of the Lord’s love, and the new name written in the stone suggests the Bridegroom’s name. The statement indicates a special acquaintance with the great King of kings, secret between Himself and the individual. The overcomers are not to be recognized merely as a class—the Bride class—but each will have the personal favor of the Lord. Of this no one will know save himself and the King. There is an individual and personal friendship between the Lord and the overcomers, who may be said to receive the mark of identification—the antitypical white stone—now, in this life.

 

"This mark is the sealing of the holy Spirit by which the

 

Lord identifies the overcomers... The full seal of the holy Spirit will be given in the Resurrection... Then we shall have complete knowledge of the name by which we shall be known to the Lord and He to us forever." ‘12-R5113 "The Golden Pot of Manna represented immortality as being one of the possessions of the Christ of God. Our Lord Jesus doubtless refers to this when he says: ‘To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna.’ "Manna was the bread which came down from heaven as a life-sustainer for Israel. It represented the living bread, supplied to the world by God through Christ. But as the Israelites needed to gather this supply of manna daily or else want and starve, so it will be necessary for the world ever to seek supplies of life and grace if they would live everlastingly." TS 122p3,4 "The manna in the golden bowl, which was placed in the Ark under the Mercy Seat in the Tabernacle... was a symbol of our Lord’s flesh, the bread from heaven... {Ex 16:20,33 Heb 9:4 Joh 6:51-58}. B130 top "But to those who become Christ’s joint-heirs, members of the Anointed Body, God makes a special offer of a peculiar sort of manna, the same and yet different from that given to others—’the hidden manna.’ One peculiarity of this pot of manna was that it was incorruptible;  hence it well illustrates the immortal, incorruptible condition promised to all members of the ‘Seed’—which is the Church. The manna or life-support fed to Israel was not incorruptible,  and must therefore be gathered daily. So all the obedient of mankind who shall by and by be recognized as Israelites indeed, will be provided with life everlasting, but conditional, supplied and renewed life; while the ‘little flock,’ who under present unfavorable conditions are faithful ‘overcomers,’ will be given an incorruptible portion—immortality." TS 123 p 1. (See A185.) "A lesson of generosity went with the manna; for whatever portion was kept over to the following day corrupted. Nothing of the kind was known to the Israelites; and they asked, ‘what is it?’ and this became its name—’What is it’—or ‘that manna.’ The gathering of it helped them to remember the Sabbath also, for none fell on the Sabbath, but a double portion on the day preceding, and what was kept over that night did not corrupt.

 

Jesus reminded his followers of that manna given in the wilderness, and declared that it typified himself, the true Bread. As the Israelites would have perished without food, so the spiritual Israelites would not have sufficient strength for the journey without the heavenly food. Jesus gave himself the title of The Truth. Whoever therefore eats of this Bread from heaven partakes of the truth. ‘Sanctify them through thy truth; Thy Word is truth.’ Only by partaking largely, regularly, daily, of our Lord, his merit and his gracious arrangements for us, can we become strong in him, and prosecute the journey faithfully and enter into the spiritual Cannan.

 

"To grow strong in the Lord and in the power of his might, we must feed upon him daily—we must appreciate and appropriate the merits of his sacrifice." ‘13-R5279 "We rejoiced in our privilege to have both—the real feast in our hearts and the symbols which our Lord himself had

 

55 provided and instructed us to use.

 

"We considered the bread that it was unleavened—leaven, in the type, signifying sin. We noted the Apostle’s explanation that the bread not only represented our Lord’s flesh upon which we feed by faith, but that, having fed upon it and received of his spirit, we, as his church of the firstborn, are reckoned as being members together in one loaf or cake of unleavened bread. Thus he exhorts us to remember that, as a little leaven leaveneth an entire batch of dough, so a little sin might accomplish a great fermentation in our midst. Hence he exhorts, ‘Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven (rank wickedness), neither with the (less rank but more insidious) leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth’—1 Cor. 5:6-8." ‘98-R2292 "On another occasion Jesus had declared in their hearing that he himself was the bread which came down from heaven, of which if a man partook he would live forever. Now he was handing them some unleavened bread and said it was his body. They evidently understood him to mean that this bread to them would represent or symbolize his body, for he told them on this occasion that thenceforth they should do this in remembrance of him—thenceforth they should remember him as the slain lamb and use unleavened bread to represent his flesh, and partake of this instead of eating as previously of a literal lamb." ‘06-R3879

 

MOST VALUABLE FOOD AND DRINK KNOWN "When our Lord said, ‘For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed (John 6:55), we understand Him to mean that this is the most valuable food and drink ever known. No other bread has such value, and no other drink could be so precious as this, by the partaking of which one may attain to glory, honor and immortality—the divine nature, life in itself.

 

"The Bread from heaven was our Lord’s flesh, which he was to give for the life of the world. And Jesus explains this to be what was typified by the manna that fell in the wilderness. He said, ‘Your fathers did eat manna (in the wilderness), and are dead. He that eateth of this Bread shall live forever.’ He also said (John 12:24), ‘Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.’ And he did fall into the earth and die. And we become sharers with him in his death. We participate in his sufferings and death, which the world will never do. They share in its outcome.

 

"All the work of this Gospel Age, is the getting ready of the food for the world, and of the blood which will be sprinkled upon them. But the message of our Lord in John 6:53, ‘Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you,’ was not intended for the world. As he tells us. ‘Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.’ "‘ 13-R5343

 

THE CHURCH OF THYATIRA—REVELATION 2:18-19.

 

"Thyatira seems to mean ‘the sweet perfume of sacrifice.’ It was the period of Papal persecution. The virgin church was enduring the hardships of the wilderness; while the apostate church sat on the throne of her royal paramour. The message is sent by him ‘who bath like a flame of fire,’ to watch over his faithful ones as they wandered through the dark valleys or hid in the darker caves of earth; and ‘feet of hard brass,’ to walk by their side as they scaled the rugged mountains or wandered footsore and weary, seeking a place to plant the seeds of truth.

 

"The message contains an allusion to a faithful old Prophet who fled for his life into the wilderness from the wrath of the idolatrous wife of a king (v. 20). The picture is from the history of the Prophet Elijah {1Ki 18:19}. Jezebel was the protector of the priests of Baal. Her husband was king, and she wielded his power for her own ends. The drought of three and one-half years was evidiently a type of the ‘time, times and a half’—1260 years—of the spiritual famine, ‘not of bread nor of water, but of hearing the words of the Lord’—Amos 8:11.

 

Revelation 2

 

18  And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;

 

Revelation 2:18 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 18. And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet like fine brass;  

 

Thyatira was the "sweet perfume of a sacrifice" to God: because he saw there the growth of the Divine Family; becoming apparent in the faithful new creatures; their likeness to Christ; and the great reward he had for them in the Sarah covenant.

 

CONSECRATION-A SAINT’S TESTIMONY "The Lord God bath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. I gave my back to the smilers, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded; therefore have I set my face lie a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. He is near that justifieth me... "( Isaiah 50:5-8).

 

"And so our prayers should be, ‘Lord may all these matters which are so closely connected with my peace of mind be under Thy control. Order all entirely according to Thy will, for Thou art my Father and my friend. It is thy will that thy children shall have the very best of all things. Thou knowest what is best for me." Selected ‘96-R2058 How that modifies what is the best! He knows what is best for us, looking forward to the grand result. We are His children; He loves us. He is our Father. It is the New Creature He loves, being developed into the characterlikeness of His Beloved Son, as his prospective Bride.

 

"I wait for the Lord, my soul cloth wait, and in his Word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning’ {Ps 130:5,6}. In every experience of sorrow and distress, and when the strain of the jarring discords and the stinging vexations and wounds that make the heart bleed, threaten to overwhelm the spirit, let the child of God remember that ‘he knows, and loves, and cares,’ and that his ministering angel is ever near us, and that no trial will be permitted to be too severe. The dear Master is standing by the crucible, and the furnace heat will never be permitted to grow so intense that the precious gold of our characters shall be destroyed, or even injured. Ah, no! If

 

56 by his grace the experiences may not work for our good, they will be turned aside. He loves us too well to permit any needless sorrow, any needless suffering." ‘15-R5802 "The darkness hateth the light, because it it reproved thereby, is our Lord’s explanation. Nothing seemed so much to incite the Scribes and Pharisees of eighteen centuries ago as the reasonableness of the true gospel. The common people heard it gladly, unless intimidated by their religious rulers, and led to doubt... The rulers... ‘were grieved because they (the apostles) taught the people.’

 

SUFFERING AS CHRISTIANS—Acts 21:30-39.

 

"If any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed"—1 Peter 4:16.

 

"Paul... was suffering as a Christian—because he was loyal to the Lord and his Word... If only they can directly or indirectly trace their tribulation to faithfulness to the Lord and his truth, let them not be ashamed; let them glorify God on this behalf, rejoicing that they are accounted worthy to suffer for the name of Christ, and remembering that even thus also it was with our Lord Jesus. He was placed under arrest; he was bound; he was scourged; he was publicly insulted; he was even crucified as a blasphemer against God—1Pe 4:16.

 

"... If we find the rabble shouting against any one, either orally or through the press, ... we should remember the experiences of Jesus, the experiences of Paul, and of the other Apostles, and how the multitude cried out, ‘Away with them!’ The Christian whose mind is thus relieved of prejudice is the better prepared to judge wisely respecting whatever may properly come under his observation or criticism. And then, if he have similar experiences himself, he will be the better prepared for them." ‘03-R3189

 

SPARED IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE "The Lord stood by him and said, BE OF GOOD CHEER. PAUL"—Acts 23:11.

 

"They shall be mine, saith the Lord of Hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his only son that serveth him"—Malachi 3:17.

 

Please turn to ‘12-R5119, with final comments immediately preceding Rev. 22:21.

 

THE REWARD OF PATIENT WAITING "Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him’ (Psalm 37:5-7).

 

"We must not be disappointed and allow our faith to falter when the test of patient endurance is applied, while the outward peace and quietness which we crave tarry long. Our Father has not forgotten us when the answer to our prayers seems to be delayed. Outward peace and calm are not always the conditions best suited to our needs as new creatures; and we would not desire conditions in which the precious fruits of the Spirit would not grow and develop in us. Therefore, ‘Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which shall try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you; but rejoice’ {1Pe 4:12,13}. He who numbers the very hairs of our heads is never indifferent to the sufferings and needs of his weakest and humblest child. Oh, how sweet is the realization of such loving, abiding care! ‘When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble?’ "‘ 15-R5802 "We know our Father’s hand is ever at the helm, that His love and care are sure and unfailing." ‘15-R5803 Those who make that consecration vow, setting apart to the will and service of God, are met by our High Priest, who has made atonement for us, vouches for us as our Advocate to the Heavenly Father to whom we made the vows of consecration. Our dear Lord comes to our attention first of all as the Logos, a wonderful spirit being, spokesman, representative of the heavenly Father in the creation of the Universe. He seemed always imbued with the spirit of consecration to God. In all the work of creation of this vast universe, his heart was thoroughly loyal to His Heavenly Father. He was found worthy of all confidence of the heavenly Father: He laid aside that glory and nature when his life principle was transferred to a human condition—he became a man—for redemptive work; at the age of 12 he learned that according to the Law he must submit to his parents until 30 when he would be a counterpart for the perfect man Adam who had sinned and was condemned to death.

 

"JESUS INCREASED IN WISDOM AND STATURE"—Luke 2:41-52 "Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and Man.’

 

"The boy Jesus... as a ‘son of the law’... had finally about reached the conclusion that the types of the priestly of lice indicated clearly that his mission would not begin until he was thirty years of age... ‘And he was subject unto them’—Joseph and Mary... patiently waiting until the Father’s times should come and he should begin his ministry; patiently studying meantime, as best he could, to know more and more of the Father’s will and plan; patiently waiting for the baptism of the holy spirit, which would enable him to fully comprehend the situation and his own personal relationship to it. What a lesson there is here for all his followers... ‘Ye have need of patience,’ and again, ‘Let patience have her perfect work.’ ... we are not to attempt to hasten the divine plan, but to wait patiently for its unfolding... sure that his time has come... like our Lord, to be instant in season and out of season, when convenient and when inconvenient, under favorable and unfavorable conditions; to do with our might what our hand has found to do... in harmony with God’s providence." ‘00-R2559 "The more clearly we see present conditions and foresee those approaching, the more it should stimulate our zeal to be and to do while we have the opportunity..." ‘00-R2554 "When He began to be thirty," the spirit of consecration, plus certain instructions, brought Him to John the Baptist at Jordan to symbolize that consecration to the will of God unto death. He approached John as he evidently had been instructed to be immersed in water. John, with some persuasion, performed the ceremony. Then as our Lord came up out of the water, He received the evidence of His acceptance and the performance of all that was right in that He represented: the power to understand spiritual things; the memory of His prehuman existence as the Logos; the knowledge that He needed of the Heavenly Father, and the 57 assurance of a voice from Heaven that said, "This is My Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." Then according to the record a strange thing happened. The Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

 

With all this for a background for the assurance of His acceptance with the Heavenly Father, that He was taking the right course, came the testing of His consecration, the sincerity of it. He evidently was shown the Divine Plan of the Ages as He considered the matter as revealed in the Book. He speaks of the Book, "As it is written in the Book..." That is where He found His Father’s will in regard to the Divine Plan of the Ages. He found it written in the Book, evidently stored in His memory, and He studied it carefully, because He had received the key to its understanding of all that He Himself had conferred upon the Jewish Nation. Religion and religious ceremonies were covered up in Types and Shadows. There were various Scriptures wherein God’s will was written for Him. Studying God’s will so intently for forty days and nights He was not aware of His human nature.

 

Now came the temptations of the great adversary seeking to turn Him aside. Weak and hungry though He was, our Lord’s consecration was so sincere and so deep and so comprehensive that although Satan posed as a kindly friend, He faltered not. His answer was NO! "IT IS WRITTEN!" He had been studying the types and shadows. He saw the will of God written in the types. He saw them accompanied by fire, the best way to accomplish the best results. That was already settled in His mind.

 

"And, behold, angels came and ministered unto him" Matt. 4:11—the Father’s provision.

 

"What a beautiful example the Lord thus furnishes of Christian fortitude which never flinches nor hesitates, but with fixedness of purpose steadily pursues the course of sacrifice! "‘ 94-R1689 Please see CRS page 95 on Re 5, and Berean Comment on Hebrews 4:15.

 

He returned from the wilderness and began what He knew would be a "living sacrifice" which would in three and onehalf years culminate in His crucifixion. He must use His own vitality in the healing of the multitudes. On one occasion realizing that someone, exercising proper faith, had been healed He mentioned to His disciples, "Someone bath touched me, for I perceive that vitality bath gone out of Me.’

 

Again it was written of Him, "When He was reviled, He reviled not again." He accepted the experiences of life and drank of the cup which the Father poured for Him. Because of the depth of His consecration He did not resent the oppositions of sinners, misrepresentation, abuse, etc. When all was completed, He said, "It is finished." Justice is absolutely satisfied and can find no fault with the Ransom price. It was sufficient and completely satisfactory.

 

We were given to glimpse the depth of our Lord’s consecration on that almost fatal morning in the hospital, and to look into three other qualities, that we want to tell you about, which if you can enter into as we did, will be a wonderful help in your remaining days, to make your calling and consecration sure. We only regret my lack of command of language to make you see these characteristics to that extent.

 

And so the spasms of pain increased in volume and frequency until I was having five every hour, and Saturday morning the heart refused to bear more. Then came a straining for air and calling for oxygen for relief. At the same time came the thought that, while I was calling for relief, our dear Lord in the most terrible part of the pain and agony of crucifixion refused any alleviation. And we felt a great amazement. Then it appeared that we came to a door or wall beyond which was our glorified Lord and many faithful ones with Him. We could feel a wondrous sweetness emanating from him and we asked if we might enter. There was no sound, but we felt the answer "Yes, in due time. In the meantime, the great time clocks of the Divine Plan of the Ages are all set and will not be disturbed even by the Great Jehovah." So I withdrew as the body of flesh was relieved; but the sense of that wonderful sweetness remains; and will be my desire and comfort ‘till death. It is worth all the devastating pain.

 

Then I began to wonder why our dear Lord refused the proffered alleviation of the agony of the cross; and it seemed to me that He realized that for the deliverance of the Jew from the penalty of death for failing to keep their Law Covenant, Justice required the full measure of suffering of death by crucifixion. "Christ bath redeemed us from the curse of the ‘aw, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree"—Gal. 3:13 Deut. 21:23 His mind seems to have been clear enough to comprehend that, and his spirit strong enough to meet it (Isaiah 50:7). So He yielded instant submission. Otherwise he would have hung longer on the tree: but the time of His death was set. What firmness and Strength! What a Saviour! Now our eyes beheld consecration as never before. We say we are consecrated to the will of God unto death. That might be easy. What depth of consecration is here! Is ours like that? Are we willing to accept the hardness to the full as he did? Let us renew our vows of consecration with this in mind.

 

My love to every member of the class. Dr. and I are discussing the future as to what is best. The Lord knows now what will be done and every move and incident. It is all settled by one who knows all about everything and knows what is best for me. It is all settled. I rest.

 

There is a further lesson in that for us; and that is that this consecration of our Lord was based on His love for the Heavenly Father and the Divine Plan of the Ages and the Truth. "To this end was I born and for this cause came I into the world that I might bear witness to the Truth." He loved truth; He loved righteousness; He loved the heavenly Father; and because of that He made His consecration at Jordan; and then it widened and increased as He studied the Plan.

 

"Thus, while he joyfully worked out the grand plan of creation (John 1:3; Prov. 8:22-31), he probably knew nothing of God’s purpose for the subsequent permission of evil and the necessity for the great work of redemption. Before he came to that test of faith in God his confidence in his almighty power, wisdom and love had been firmly established by the experiences of the past. For centuries he had seen his mighty works, marked his wondrous wisdom and experienced his tender love. Could he doubt him, then, when another feature 58 of his plan made manifest the great work of redemption and restitution, and gave to him the privilege of understanding this work also, for the joy that the Father set before him?... ‘By this knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many’—Isa. 53:1.’

 

Then He could run and meet the Heavenly Father’s will even when it meant agony for Himself: and when the reward came to Him, I doubt if he ever remembered the cost and its suffering; but that He remembered no more the anguish—for JOY! because of the glorious results and the illimitable joys that were His in His exaltation to the Divine nature. In His pre-human existence in the spirit nature He was daily the Father’s delight, "rejoicing always before Him." Now the beloved Son is rewarded with the highest of all natures next to the Father Himself—His own Divine Nature. He has seen the travail of his soul: "He shall be satisfied!" In fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy (Ch. 53).

 

Bro. Russell points out that we receive a new will as we enter the Court; not a bad will changed to a good one, but that good human will was left there at the door; and a new will was begotten of love for God. And that new will represents us, and becomes the will of the new creature which carries our personality over from the human to the spiritual. That new will, because begotten of love, takes up the vows that were made before spirit begettal and seeks to carry them out in loyalty to our consecration that is increased by a study of the Word, until we love our Heavenly Father and the Truth and the Divine Plan supremely, having a consuming love for the Bridegroom withal. We are thankful that this Book that has been given to us is full of spirit and of life—the spiritual expressions of God’s mind, our food and our nourishment, our strength and our rejoicing as we become more and more filled with their spirit of consecration, of loyalty, and of love.

 

"While the Ten Commandments were not given to the church, yet every feature of the Ten Commandments is a command; for by the character of our consecration we are bound to seek to know God’s will, even beyond the mere letter of his Word. Hence, while the church is not under the Law Covenant, we are under the general instruction of the Ten Commandments. Therefore the Apostle says that ‘the righteousness of the law (the true meaning of the law) is fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit’—Romans 8:4." ‘14-R5404 We need the knowledge of the Truth that we may have a better acquaintance with God, coming into closer communion and fellowship with Him, that we may live in His loving embrace, close to Him every day and every year. He gives the knowledge of the Truth according to our faithfulness as new creatures, even the deep things of the High Calling which seem never to be plumbed to their depth even after all the years of diligent study and application in our daily lives. Neverthless there is continual increase in knowledge, according to the anointing of the furniture of the Tabernacle: increasing knowledge, wisdom, understanding, ability; increasing faith and love. "The anointing* means victory," and is maintained by ever increasing appreciation and love for, and study and practice of the Truth.

 

*Rev. 3:6 comments.

 

I have an intense desire that every member of this Ecclesia shall be present in the antitypical Most Holy, each an accepted member of the Body of Christ, of the Little Flock of the Bride, of the Divine Family beyond the veil.

 

Having seen consecration of our Lord in this new light, deeper light, then as we approached close to the veil, we sensed the presence of our Lord there. We could not see Him but we sensed His presence; and what impressed us so forcibly was the purity of His mind. I wish I could express it. His mind was so pure, holy, that it was clear-cut and manifest. The purity of it, the holiness of it precluded all possible entrance of any thought that was not absolutely pure and holy; and those with Him all seemed to have the same mind, wide open to everyone else, a condition of holiness. Oh, what an atmosphere in which to live! How we longed to be there!

 

People must have recognized our Lord’s mind so pure and clean. It must have been offensive to the Scribes and Pharisees, and what caused Peter to say, "Depart from me oh Lord, for I am a sinful man." He did not want the Lord to depart, but he felt His holiness and purity of mind. He felt unfit to be in His presence. When our Lord conversed with the woman of Samaria, no one said, Why do you talk with her? The purity of His mind was answer enough.

 

That is what we want as a result of consecration, and instant submission to the will of God in everything, through the study of His Word and its sanctifying power. We want to cultivate that purity of mind that will be "to feel in the presence of Jesus at Home.’

 

The next impression that came to our senses was the sweetness of His person. It was a sweetness that emanated from Him just like the waves of heat from a radiator. His mind was as chaste as ice, as pure as plate glass without an imperfection or shadow, so clear and solid and transparent, as the shining of a mirror highly polished. His mind and the minds of all about Him were absolutely holy. And the sweetness of His mind emanating from Him impelled one to remain with Him. And so we said, May we enter? The reply seemed to be, Yes, in due time. In the meantime—here comes the fourth point.

 

"... We come to recognize the systematic order of God’s plan, the ‘due time’ for the accomplishment of every feature of it, and the fact that every member of the human race has a place in it." A112 It seemed as though there was a lifting up, revealing a balcony running along with time clocks upon it. And right here next to me, a hand holding a time-clock. The great time clocks of the Divine Plan of the Ages are all set and will not be interfered with even by the great Jehovah. There followed a sense of power, such a sense of power that was sufficient to control the whole great universe: which made the things of earth, the powers of evil, and all the instruments of evil, seem as nothing at all in comparison with that infinite power—setting and controlling those time clocks. There was such a sense of assurance and comfort and safety and sureness of the Divine Plan being carried out on time that we received the lesson that was evidently intended, to go about your business and wait until the time clock strikes. Interesting is ‘95-R1867 including the last par.

 

We hope you will be able to enter into these four points

 

59 as we did: The spirit of consecration; the purity of our Lord’s mind most absolute, like the Holy of the Tabernacle. That holiness is a wall which nothing unholy can penetrate. So Brother Russell warns us not to go outside of that Holy condition by doing something that does not belong there. Let us see that we do not go outside of that line of holiness. It is a holy condition, and that is the way our Lord’s mind is, and so it is with all those beyond the veil.

 

"Under no consideration must we leave the ‘Holy’ to render evil for evil, reviling for reviling. No, all who would be faithful under-priests must follow in the footsteps of the great High Priest and love their enemies and do good to those who persecute them. They must copy him ‘Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again, when he suffered threatened not; but committed his cause to him who judgeth righteously’—1 Peter 2:23." T63 Such are the members, "and Fellows of the Order of Royal Priesthood"!

 

What an atmosphere of holiness in which to live! Let us live in it now, cultivate it now. Let there be no unkind thoughts, no harsh criticism. No. There is only the spirit of holiness, righteousness. And then the sweetness of our Lord! To be with Him beyond the veil is beyond description: while the power of Jehovah is infinite! Hymns 168, 169, 170.

 

Revelation 2

 

19  I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.

 

Revelation 2:19 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 19. I know thy charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last more than the first.

 

Paul’s letter to the Philippians had no rebuke: and this period of the church was very satisfactory; but the tendency to place too much confidence in works, instead of studying the philosophy of the Ransom as shown in the doctrine of justification by faith, required a check, or admonition.

 

"And shine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left"—Isa. 30:21.

 

"HE SHALL GIVE YOU ANOTHER COMFORTER"—John 14:15-27.

 

"The holy Spirit or holy influence that should come to the church and abide with it through the age, to supervise and direct in the interest of the faithful, was to be a representative of both the Father and the Son. Indeed, the thought that the holy Spirit is the representative of the Lord Jesus with the church is so strongly put that sometimes the Lord himself and his spirit or influence are spoken of interchangeably; as for instance, when he said to them: ‘Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the age’ (Matt. 28:20). And again, ‘I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you (through the holy Spirit).’ And again, ‘In that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I (through the holy Spirit) in you... and I will manifest myself to him (through the holy Spirit)... And we (the Father and the Son) will come unto him, and make our abode with him (through the holy Spirit’)—John 14:18, 20, 23.

 

"Thus it is that those who receive the holy Spirit, the spirit of the truth, the spirit of love, the spirit of the Father, the spirit of Christ, are enabled to see Jesus, and have a new life begun in them (John 14:19). They see with the eyes of their understanding, and do not walk in darkness. They hear the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘This is the way; walk ye in it.’ They taste the good Word of God, and realize that he is very gracious. The feel the love of God shed abroad in their hearts, producing in them love for the brethren and all the good fruits of the spirit—meekness, gentleness, patience, longsuffering, brotherly kindness, love —Isa 30:21 1Pe:2:3 Ro 5:5 Col 3:12,13.

 

”These experiences, however, are promised conditionally—they are not promised to those who have never heard of the grace of God, but to those who have heard, to ‘as many as the Lord our God shall call,’ who, hearing his commandments, are moved by responsive love to do them. Such have the Father’s love, such have the love of the Son, and such shall have the fellowship both of the Father and the Son through the medium or channel of the holy Spirit. This is declared in the 15th and 16th verses, and again in the 21st, 23rd and 24th {Joh 14}. Not only are faith and obedience of the heart necessary, before any can come into the spirit-begotten condition, but a continuance and growth in faith and in obedience are necessary in order to continuance and growth in the spirit of holiness, or the holy Spirit, the spirit of fellowship with the Father and with the Son.’

 

"It is one thing to have a begetting of the Spirit, and quite another matter to attain to that condition urged by the Apostle, saying, ‘Be ye filled with the Spirit’ (Eph. 5:18).

 

"Let the peace of God rule in your hearts"—Colossians 3:15.

 

"How beautiful, how consoling to their troubled hearts, and how refreshing to ours, is the legacy of love and peace left to us by our dear Redeemer, as expressed in the 27th verse {Joh 14}! This peace and joy which surpasseth all human understanding... is intended for and can be had only by those who receive riches of grace through the holy Spirit—those who by obedience to the Truth and its Spirit grow up into Christ their living Head in all things. Such have peace, deep and abiding, and ever increasing proportionately as they come to comprehend with all saints through faith and obedience the riches of divine grace—the lengths, breadths, heights and depths of the love of God": "such a development of heart and character as manifests itself in an endurance of wrong or affliction with contentment, without rebellion of will, with full acquiescence in the divine wisdom and love, which, while permitting present evils, has promised to overthrow them in God’s due time.’

 

"Our Lord shows us that patient endurance, constancy, is the final test... cheerful endurance." ‘99-R2455, R2456; ‘01-R2791.

 

Revelation 2

 

20  Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

 

Revelation 2:20 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 20. Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

 

To give way to the methods and doctrines of the Roman Catholic or Jezebel hierarchy, was belittling to Christ, the true head of the church, and would lead to an overbearing spirit of Nicolas, and affiliation with the world, while their creeds became their idols.

 

60 THAT WOMAN JEZEBEL THE PARABLE OF THE LEAVEN—MATTHEW 13:33 "The grace of God given to his people in the beginning of this age, (1) the faith once delivered to the saints, (2) the hope set before us in the gospel, (3) love, the bond of perfectness, summed up the three measures of the Lord’s provision for his people—in partaking of which they were to become strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. But gradually a woman arose, a false woman, represented in Revelation as a harlot, and as ‘that woman Jezebel.’ This Roman Catholic system obtained great power over the three measures of meal provided for God’s household, and proceeded to mix therewith the leaven of her own impurity. The result was that all the family food, all the holy doctrines were contaminated with her false doctrines—nothing was left pure and clean, as handed to us originally by the apostles. The faith once delivered to the saints was distorted out of all semblance to its original simplicity; the hope set before us in the Gospel was changed to another hope entirely, unlike the original; the spirit of the Lord, love, was perverted to a selfish love of creeds of men and human institutions. Alas, no wonder all Christendom is spiritually sick, because of this adulteration in its food supply.

 

"From this standpoint we readily see the force and meaning of the Master’s declaration, that at his return he would gird himself, and come forth and serve his people, and that he would send forth at the hands of his servants things both new and old from the storehouse of his grace, ‘meat in due season.’ "‘ 00-R2635.

 

"ART THOU HE THAT TROUBLETH ISRAEL?’

 

These are the words of Ahab, king of Israel, to Elijah. Ahab, it will be remembered, was the husband of Jezebel, the wicked woman, who persecuted Elijah, and from whom he fled into the wilderness for three and a half years. (See 1 Kings, 18:17.) "We have heretofore seen that all three of these Jewish characters were types or figures of classes in the Gospel age, and their actions were such as to illustrate the actions of those classes which they represented: Elijah represented the church—the true and earnest teachers of God’s Word; Jezebel is used to represent the false church, Papacy, which came into power by marriage with the Roman Empire, which is represented by Ahab.

 

"As Papacy used the Roman army and power to persecute the true teachers of the Lord (and slew many) for three and a half symbolic years, or twelve hundred and sixty symbolic days; so Jezebel used Ahab’s power to persecute Elijah and slay the Lord’s prophets for three and a half literal years. During those years there was a great drouth in the land; so, too, during the 1260 years of Papal persecution, ending in 1798, there was a great spiritual drouth and ‘a famine, but not of bread nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.’ Amos 8:11. Then the false teachers of Baal (Papacy), being refuted, an abundant shower has come; Jehovah is again recognized. But Jezebel and her daughters still hate the Elijah class and seek their destruction.

 

"Jesus in his day called the attention of the Jews to the judgments of God about to come upon them, saying; ‘These be days of vengeance that all things written should be fulfilled’ (Luke 21:22). Elijah gave warning of the death of Jezebel and Ahab, that dogs should lick his blood and eat her flesh. So here it becomes our place to speak the word of God as declared by him, that Ahab and his successors (the Roman and succeeding empires) shall be slain—i. e.,  destroyed (Dan. 2:44); also that Jezebel shall be ‘eaten by dogs’ (the degraded), i. e.,  Papacy, and in fact the nominal church, as it represents the same church and world-united system, shall be cast down and consumed.

 

"Elijah further represents the ‘little flock’ of despised ones, by being highly exalted, caught up on a whirlwind. Oh, that we may be among the little company now separating, who shall soon be changed in a moment into the perfect likeness of our Lord and head!" ‘81-R234, R235.

 

"The first Jezebel persecuted the first Elijah so that he fled into the wilderness, and even after his coming again and performing a great miracle and turning the hearts of some to the Lord, he was a second time obliged to flee from Jezebel, who sought his life. In the case of the second Elijah, John the Baptist, the experiences were somewhat similar, and the Herodias Jezebel succeeded eventually in accomplishing the destruction of the prophet. In the case of the third Elijah (the church in the flesh) the woman Jezebel is mentioned by name (Rev. 2:20); and her pernicious work, the flight of the church into the wilderness, and her return from the wilderness condition since Reformation times are all known. Now we are to anticipate a second attack upon the true church (not upon the nominal system); and this may mean, as in the case of John the Baptist, a second and a seemingly complete victory of the Babylonish woman and her paramour, the world, over the faithful members of the body of Christ in the flesh. We shall certainly not be surprised if the matter so results; but this and all things must work together for good to those who love the Lord. We must all die to win our heavenly prizes beyond the veil. The Elijah class this side the veil must and will be vanquished, but the apparent defeat only hastens the kingdom glories, powers and blessings promised. ‘Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life.’ "... Doubtless... the vengeance of the antitypical Jezebel upon the antitypical Elijah will move their friends and associates to still greater love and interest, and will be the means of attracting more closely to the Lord the great company. "" As there is a striking resemblance between John and Elijah, his type, so there is a strong resemblance between the experiences of John and those of the faithful church—the great antitype of Elijah. While Elijah fled from Ahab, his real persecutor was Jezebel, who sought his life. So John the Baptist was apprehended and finally executed by Herod, but his real opponent was Herod’s wife, Herodias. Similarly the greater Elijah, the faithful body of Christ in the flesh, has suffered and will yet suffer at the hands of civil power, yet the real persecutor behind the civil power has been the antitypical Jezebel mentioned in Rev. 2:20—the antitypical Herodias—the nominal church adulterously allied to the kingdoms of this world while nominally espoused to Christ. All Bible students will recognize the various pictures of this apostasy in Revelation, whether they understand the

 

61

 

resemblance distinctly or not." ‘04-R3325 to R3327.

 

Revelation 2

 

21  And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.

 

Revelation 2:21 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 21. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.

 

The time of 360 years, in which to recover herself, extended from 1518 A.D., in Luther’s day, to 1878 A.D., when reformation was demanded. She still believes in union of church and state.

 

"All Christians claim that there were erroneous doctrines taught in the past which cannot be supported in the clearer light of our Day ... The difficulty started in the doctrine of Apostolic Succession—the doctrine that Bishops of the Church were Apostles, inspired in the same sense as The Twelve...

 

"All are gradually seeing that the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb (St. Paul taking the place of Judas) are the only Divinely inspired authorities of the Church.

 

THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE "Gradually the name of Christianity spread among the peoples of Europe, without its Master’s Spirit. The name ‘Christian’ became popular. In the day of King Charlemagne, the title, ‘Holy Roman Empire,’ was established... Some claim this as a public acknowledgment of the marriage of the professed Virgin of Christ to Civil Power, in the Book of Revelation styled harlotry—Rev. 17:1-5.

 

"... The claims set forth were that it was the Divine intention that Christ should be represented in the earth by the Papacy, and that His government should be carried on through earthly princes... In the Sixteenth Century the Reformation movement sprang up. These daughters of the Church of Rome married earthly power, and started ‘Holy Empires’ of their own.

 

"This entire theory and its Systems received a severe blow when Napoleon Bonaparte took the Pope a prisoner to France. The spell of sacerdotal rule was broken. In September, 1870, Victor Immanuel took possession of Rome—a fatal blow.

 

"Bible students are generally agreed that Church and State union is contrary to the spirit of the Bible, an error of the Dark Ages; that the Church of Christ is not to reign with the princes of the Earth, nor to be married to them, but to wait for her marriage till the Second Coming of her Redeemer, to be united with Him in the First Resurrection. Then she shall reign with Him forever." Rev. 19:7; 20:6 ...

 

... Only Messiah’s Kingdom can restore man to God’s image and make God’s footstool glorious." Photo-Drama Scenario pp. PD78-PD80, D Chapters 13 and 14!

 

ANTITYPICAL AHAB AND JEZEBEL

 

"As all Christian students know, Jezebel, Ahab and Elijah were used of the Lord as types, and their experiences foreshadowed much greater things in the experience of the church, spiritual Israel, during this Gospel age.

 

"Ahab typified civil power. Jezebel typified a religious system. The improper marriage of Ahab and Jezebel, contrary to the Jewish Law, typified the marriage or union of church and state. The progress of evil under this union is portrayed in the Book of Revelation, where Jezebel is specially mentioned by name (Rev. 2:20-23). The Lord charged that the antitypical Jezebel, the church system, was suffered or permitted to teach and seduce his people from the proper course of Christian living. The same Scriptures represent Elijah, who was persecuted by Jezebel, through her husband, as a type of true believers of this Age persecuted by a false church through the arm of civil power. "‘ 10-R4730.

 

"Elijah was not only a prophet of the Lord, but also a type of the church’s earthly experiences. The Book of Revelation (2:20-25; 18:7) pictures to us Queen Jezebel as representing a great religious system of this Gospel age which did great violence to the truth. Ahab represented the worldly governments. His wife represented a false Christian church system married to earthly governments. As Ahab represented the worldly governments claiming to be Christ’s kingdoms, so Queen Jezebel pictured, a false church system, which, instead of maintaining its purity as the virgin church of Christ, became married or united to these earthly systems. Contrary to this, the true virgin church of Christ was to remain faithful to her heavenly Lord, awaiting his second coming; and her marriage to Him was then to be accomplished.

 

"As the Prophets of Baal were under the care of Queen Jezebel and under the patronage of King Ahab, so the priests and the religious representatives of a great church system have been the obedient servants of the great false institutions pictured by Ahab and Jezebel. Similarly, Elijah the Prophet and his dealings with Ahab, Jezebel and the affairs of Israel, was a type of the true church of Christ in the flesh—this side the veil. Although the true church is indeed represented symbolically by a woman, it is also represented sometimes by a man, when the picture includes the Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of the church. ‘15-R5751.

 

Revelation 2

 

22  Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

 

Revelation 2:22 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 22. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of her deeds.

 

In 1870 A.D. she lost all civil authority forever; i.e., she went into the bottomless pit. But, in harmony with prophecy, she came out in 1929, and now is the real, though secret, authority in Italy. There are too many factions in Italy to allow the election of a real President. Please see Rev. 17:8.

 

Revelation 2

 

23  And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

 

Revelation 2:23 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 23. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts; and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

 

The Catholic church and the Protestant churches, because of the great pressure of public opinion, are being brought together in a confederacy for mutual aid and support, and for a great downfall before the world.

 

"Finally, the solemn thought is being pressed home daily that a great trial time has come upon Christianity as a whole—a day of judgment; and that in harmony with the adage, ‘In union there is strength,’ all Christian people should draw together for mutual support. The cry is, ‘A federation (a confederacy—Isa. 8:12). This movement, foretold by the Scriptures, is now nearing a fulfillment, much as the 62 matter was disputed when we called attention to it thirty-five years ago.

 

"The feeling of fear, uncertainty, need of union, is so generally felt that undoubtedly many Christians of various denominations will be glad to be associated, federated. The hope is that thus they will present a solid, religious backing to the government and that the Government will give them in return a support. It will not surely amount to a union between church and state, as in the old world, but it will amount to an understanding between church and state, for the state also is feeling its need of backing. The result will be an apparently triumphant churchianity5 a brilliant flare-up of success. However, according to our understanding of the Bible, their prosperity will be short-lived, for it has no real foundation of Christian faith, but merely the excuse of necessity for its federative existence.

 

"With the flare-up of churchianity’s apparent prosperity all not joining in will be esteemed as enemies, however conscientious. And they will have hard experiences for a little while, until the Master shall say, ‘It is enough. Come up higher.’ ‘To him that overcometh will I give power over the nations; ‘To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne’;‘ Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life.’—Rev. 2:26; 3:21; 2:10." ‘12-R5063.

 

Revelation 2

 

24  But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.

 

Revelation 2:24 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verses 24-25. But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.25But that which ye have hold fast till I come.

 

To the faithful sacrificers of Thyatira, faithful not only in sacrificing, but in my Word: Hold fast to that, and to the Anointing,  by your membership in the Body of Christ. I come!!

 

For comments on the Anointing see Rev. 3:6.

 

"As though the Lord realized that his human creatures of humble mind would necessarily stagger in faith at the thought of such boundless interest and love for them on the part of the Creator as to invite them to the highest position in all creation next to his Son and next to Himself, we find that the matter is presented repeatedly and under different figures, as though the more completely to set at rest our every question, doubt and fear respecting his faithfulness—respecting the genuineness of this ‘high calling.’..." F 72-F73.

 

ANOINTING THE HIGH-PRIEST—Le 8 "This, under the ‘Law,’ was the ceremony for the installation to God’s service as high-priest. The form is described in Ex 29 and Le 8. Aaron was anointed to his office with a peculiar oil not used on any one except the high-priest, and not lawful for any to have or to make under penalty of death—Exodus 30:25-32. This doubtless typified the Holy Spirit" (containing antitypical ingredients—Isaiah 11:1, 2; please see Berean comment on Exodus 30:24.).

 

"For this service Aaron was washed and attired in the holy garments of ‘glory and of beauty’—Exodus 28. Then the anointing oil was poured upon his head. Thus was Jesus, our High-Priest, robed and anointed. He needed not the washing as did the type, for he was ‘holy, harmless, undefiled.’ The linen ‘coat’ represents him as pure and righteous; the girdle is the symbol of a servant; the linen girdle showing him to be a ‘righteous servant.’ ... The Ephod,  made of two separate pieces... represented, we think, the two great covenants... They were made of ‘gold, blue, purple, scarlet and fine twined linen, representing the blessings contained in those covenants... and linen—that righteousness was one of the conditions... humanity would have failed to be benefited by these glorious covenants had not God ‘laid help upon one who was mighty.’...

 

"There was a ‘curious girdle’ of the same materials as the ephod... This designates him a servant of a ‘curious’ or peculiar kind; a servant combining the various qualities expressed by the gold, blue, purple, scarlet and linen.’ Yes, he was the Royal servant,  the ‘messenger (servant) of the covenant (Mal. 3:1)’...

 

"Aaron as he stood robed and anointed represented the entire church, head and body—Jesus and his church, ‘ the seed’ in whom ‘all the families of the Earth shall be blessed’... They are... anointed for their work... The anointing oil must flow down and cover every member of the body and this requires the entire gospel age for its accomplishment.

 

"The boiling (Lev. 8:31) of the flesh of consecration, was no part of the sacrifice; it was merely the preparing of the portion which they ate. The flesh was all to be disposed of (Lev. 8:32) showing how we are entirely consecrated and none of our time or powers wasted— all used as consecrated...

 

"Thou hast made us unto our God Kings and Priests and we shall reign on the Earth.’ If... fully consecrated now, ...‘ If we suffer with him we shall also reign with him’ 2Ti 2:12." ‘80-R72, R73.

 

CONSECRATION TO A WORK "Among Christians there is much which passes for ‘entire consecration,’ but it is often a consecration to some selfimposed task, or work, instead of to God.

 

"Some are consecrated and are living sacrifices to business, some to their families, some to the temperance work, some to building up a denominational church or Sunday School, some to ministering to the poor and the sick. These are each good enough in their way, but none of these is the proper consecration for a follower of Jesus.

 

"Our consecration, like that of Jesus, should be to do the will of our Father in Heaven. Jesus says he came not to do his own will, but the will of Him that sent him (John 6:38). The fact that you have any choice or preference as to what you shall do, is an evidence in itself, that your will is not dead.

 

"Consecration to a work of our own choosing merely, will never bring us to the great reward. ‘I beseech you brethren, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable UNTO GOD’...

 

63 "If will-less, and seeking only to do his will it will bring us to His Word much and often,  to learn that will, and ‘He that seeketh findeth’... directions something like the following: "‘This is the will of God even YOUR sanctification’ {1Th 4:3}. Do ‘good unto all men (in any way) as you have opportunity especially to the household offaith’( Gal. 6:10). ‘Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together’ (Heb. 10:25); but meet for the purpose of ‘BUILDING UP YOURSELVES on your most holy faith’—Jude 20." ‘82-R317.

 

THIS GREAT PROPHET, PRIEST, MEDIATOR, KING, JUDGE "Our Lord was appointed a Priest because there was necessity for a Priest... an of lice necessary amongst men because of their imperfection... This of lice will end with the Millennial Age, when he shall have accomplished all this work and will deliver up the Kingdom to God, even the Father. Then he will be a Priest no more. There will be no need of a Priest of any kind, sacrificing or reigning. The very significance of the office is that of intercessor or mediator, or assister in some manner of those who are in some difficulty.

 

"The Apostle’s words... declare of our Lord, ‘If he were on earth he could not be a priest, seeing that there are priests who offer according to the Law. The Apostle then proceeds to prove that our Lord was a Priest after the order of Melchisedec, and that this Melchisedec priesthood was acknowledged of God with an oath, and that Aaron and his priesthood were never acknowledged thus. But respecting this man the Lord said, ‘I have sworn with an oath, thou art a Priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.’ "Melchisedec was... only the one priest, and that one priest, therefore, represented all our Lord’s members, and since the great work of the antitypical Priest is in the future, and is not the present work, we see that this is the reason why Aaron is not so particularly referred to in the type of the Great Priest. The Great Priest will really do his great work during the Millennial Age, and what is done in the present time is merely a preparatory work, preparing himself for work.

 

"... This great and honorable position of Prophet, Priest, Mediator, King, Judge of the world... will at the same time have to his credit certain merit which he can apply for the world and on account of which he can perform a priestly office for mankind. The priestly office... is more that of the future than of the present. The present time is the sacrificing time, the time for making a covenant with the Lord by sacrifice." QB 550-QB552.

 

HOLD FAST. I COME.

 

"Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me) to do thy will, O God"—Psalm 40:7; Hebrews 10:7.

 

"Such was the design of Jehovah for Jesus: that he would highly exalt him above the human plane, and above his prehuman condition; above all angels, principalities, and powers, to his own right hand (condition of chief favor, next to Jehovah) and make him a partaker of immortality—the divine nature. For these and other joys set before him, Jesus ‘endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the majesty on high’—Heb. 12:2 Php 2:9 Heb 1:3,4.

 

"The new nature which our Lord received instead of the human nature, and as a reward for its sacrifice, is what is here typified by the Priest...

 

"This acceptance of Jesus’ sacrifice by Jehovah, at the time of his consecration, as though it were finished, and he dead indeed, was indicated by the anointing with the Holy Spirit—‘the earnest’—or guaranty of what he would receive when death had actually taken place.

 

"Thus considered, we see that the death of the bullock typified the offering by Jesus of himself, when he consecrated himself. This is in harmony with the apostle’s statement respecting Jesus’ consecration or offering of himself. He quotes the Prophet, saying, ‘Lo, I come to do thy will, O God, as in the volume of the Scriptures it is written of me’—to die and redeem many. There,  says the inspired writer, ‘He took away the first (i. e., set aside the typical sacrifices) that he might establish (or fulfill) the second (the antitype, the real sacrifice for sins)’—Heb. 10:7, 9, 14. TS 52, 53.

 

"And Aaron shall come into the Tabernacle of the congregation (the ‘Holy’) and shall put off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy place (the ‘Most Holy’) and he shall leave them there; and he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place (the ‘Court’) and put on his (usual) garments (the garments of glory and beauty) and come forth and offer his burnt-offering and the burnt-offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself (the Body—the Church—the ‘little flock’) and for the people’ {Le 16:23,24}, the same atonement illustrated or typified from another standpoint...

 

"As the sin-offerings illustrated the sacrificial death of the Redeemer, so the burnt-offering following illustrated God’s manifested acceptance of the same sacrifice. Let us not forget that God thus indicates that he will not manifest his acceptance of the ‘better sacrifices’ than bulls and goats, until the sacrifices for sins are complete, and the true High Priest is robed in the honor and glory of his office, represented in the change of garments. During the time of making the sinoffering he wore only the white linen garments. Afterward (and usually) he wore the glorious garments illustrative of the honor and glory conferred upon him. During the gospel age the sin-offerings progress and no honor is bestowed upon the priests, but at its close comes the outward manifestation of God’s approval and acceptance of them in the putting of glory and honor upon the priests who made the sacrifices, and in the blessing of the people for whose sins they atoned." T 72, 73.

 

"Our Lord undertook to accomplish the divine will in the redemption of the world, and he has proceeded in the accomplishment of it, but has not yet completed the purpose. He laid down his life, but did not forfeit it. When he was raised from the dead he still had a right to that earthly life, with the understanding, however, that he was not to use it for himself, but that he would give that life to all the world who were willing to receive it, assigning it to them at the end of his reign of a thousand years, during which his church

 

64 will reign with him." ‘13-R5342.

 

"During the Millennial age, in fulfillment of the divine promise, our Lord will give mankind restitution to perfect human nature... as the LIFE-GIVER... since he possesses this right to human life, it is his to bestow during the thousand years of his reign.

 

"At the end of the thousand years our Lord will no longer be the Life-Giver. He cannot be the Life-Giver to angels nor to any other than mankind, for his right appertained merely to himself as a perfect human being. What he will give away to humanity in general, is what he now imputes, or loans, to the church, to permit us to share with him in sacrificial work and in his glorious work of the future.

 

RIGHT TO HUMAN LIFE OUR LORD’S PERSONAL GIFT TO MANKIND "... His earthly nature and earthly life-rights... were his by obedience to the law. As ‘Heir of all things’ he will be the Representative of the Father to all eternity. He takes the position at the right hand of authority on high. In due time, every knee shall bow to him, and even the angels shall be subjected unto him.

 

"All these things came to our Lord as a part of the reward which the Father promised. But this one particular feature, the restitution of all things lost by Adam, is a special privilege coming as his own gift to humanity—that which he purchased at his own cost; that is to say, the laying down of his earthly life is the basis upon which he obtained the new nature and the right to control that earthly life, which shall be applied in restitution in behalf of the world.

 

... Since he has this asset of earthly rights and privileges to give away, the process of bestowing it will continue during the Millennial reign; and what he will give is what he has by reason of his obedience to the law—Lev. 18:5." ‘12-R5086.

 

Jesus said, "I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me"—John 6:38.

 

"And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning me... And ye are witnesses of these things"—Luke 24:48 2Pe 1:16-19.

 

Tabernacle Shadows,  Chapter 4, Question 24: "As the garments of glory and beauty represented the glorified Christ, Head and Body, why did he wear them at the time of his consecration and anointing to the priesthood? See Lev.8:7-10.’

 

"Ans.—This shows how God foreknow and had foreordained the entire of lice and work of the antitypical priest, before Jesus was anointed. Those robes represented the High Priest’s future work.’

 

"In consecrating the typical priests the blood was not ignored. It was put upon all, upon the tip of the right ear, upon the thumb of the right hand and upon the great toe of the right foot (Lev. 8:23), thus showing that the hearing of faith, the work of faith and the walk of faith must all be touched and made holy by an appreciation of the precious blood of atonement—the blood of Christ—the blood of the New Covenant." ‘03-R3280.

 

"And then the garments of all the priests—their clean linen garments—were sprinkled with a mixture of the blood and the oil, implying that both justification through the blood and sanctification through the possession of the spirit of holiness are necessary in our consecration"—Lev.8:30. ‘03-R3280 c 2 p 3; and please see F131.

 

Quotes following from Leviticus 8:7-R10 are printed in italics. Each quote is followed by an explanatory excerpt from TABERNACLE SHADOWS, pages 29-R36.

 

" And he put upon him the coat," "The white linen coat’ represented the High Priest’s purity, while its embroidery showed the outgrowth of that pure character in works of grace.’

 

"and girded him with the girdle," "The ‘Linen Girdle’ indicated a righteous servant; linen—righteousness; girdle—servitude.’

 

"and clothed him with the robe," "The ‘Upper Robe,’ of blue,  represented his faithfulness. The fringe of it was made of golden bells and pomegranates... the Redeemer’s work of sacrifice had borne rich fruit... when our High Priest appears in glory and beauty, the fruit of sacrificial work will be.. Proclaimed to all.’

 

"and put the ephod upon him, "" The ‘Ephod’ was made of cloth of purple, blue, scarlet, white, and gold threads, skillfully and beautifully interwoven...The ephod typified the two great covenants ... bound to him by the ‘curious girdle’—a cord made of the same material as the ephod. "" and he girded him with the curious girdle of the ephod... "" This ‘Curious Girdle’... tells us that this one is ‘The Messenger (servant) of the Covenant whom ye delight in.’

 

"And he put the breastplate upon him", "‘ The Breastplate of Judgment’—was placed on the front of the ephod...This breastplate beautifully represented the Law: It was not a part of the Abrahamic covenant (ephod) but ‘it was added’ to it (Gal. 3:19)... Paul tells us that there are two seeds that God had in mind, the spiritual and the natural, and that the Covenant and the Law were distinct, ‘to the end that the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the Law, but to that also which is of the Faith’—Rom. 4:16. " R. 220 p 1: "Abraham was the actual father to one of the seeds and a likeness of the Father of the other—’even God.’ "" Also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim. "" There is nothing specific known on this subject... We know that they had the Urim and Thummim and that the answer was indicated in some way with the precious stones of the breastplate, but just how, nobody knows." ‘12-R5042 c 2 top. "... De 1:16,17. Such hard cases were, after Moses’ death, brought directly to the Lord through the High Priest, the answer being Yes or No by the Urim and Thummim. " A 49 "It was into the ‘Most Holy’ that the High 65 Priest went whenever he inquired of Jehovah for Israel’s welfare, etc., using the breastplate of judgment, the Urim and Thumim." T 91 Urim—lights;  the oracular brilliancy of the figures in the high-priest’s breastplate.

 

7h mmim—perfections;  one of the objects in the highpriest’s breastplate as an emblem of complete Truth. (Strong’s) "... In that perfect spiritual condition, the priesthood will instruct in every matter, as represented in the decisions and answers given to Israel by the Urim and Thummim." T 92 Exodus 28:30.

 

"And he put the mitre upon his head: also... the golden plate-... "" The ‘mitre,’ a strip of fine white linen (typical of righteousness), worn around the forehead, to which the golden plate, or ‘crown,’ was fastened with a blue lacer, showed that the crown was righteously his. Upon the golden plate was inscribed ‘Holiness to the Lord,’ thus proclaiming: This High Priest is entirely devoted to the accomplishment of Jehovah’s purposes. The golden crown also proclaimed his royalty: Christ is to be ‘a priest upon his throne’—’a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec’—Zech. 6:13; Psa. 110:4; Heb. 7:17.’

 

TO WHOM IS CHRIST THE AUTHOR OF ETERNAL SALVATION?

 

"And being made perfect, He became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him;  called of God an High Priest after the order of Melchisedec." ‘95-R1807 c 2.

 

Revelation 2

 

25  But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.

 

Revelation 2

 

26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:

 

Revelation 2:26 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verses 26-27. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations.2’And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they the empires be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. Compare Ps 149:8,9.

 

Sunday morning, Jesus said, All power is given unto me in heaven and on earth. What a change!!!

 

"This smiting and breaking properly belongs to the Day of Vengeance, and though the power belongs to the Day of Vengeance, and though the power and rod will still remain throughout the Millennial age, their use will probably be unnecessary, as all open opposition will be thoroughly rebuked in the great time of trouble. As the Prophet presents the matter, God in this smiting-time will be saying to babbling, clamoring, self-assertive humanity—’Be still! and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the peoples, I will be exalted in the earth’ (Psa. 46:10). It will, however, be the work of the entire Millennial age to ‘lay justice to the line and righteousness to the plummet’ in all the little and great affairs of each individual of the race, all of whom will thus be ‘taught of God’ through his ‘elect’ Servant of the Covenant, the great Prophet, Priest and King (Head and body): Prophet in the sense of teacher, King in the sense of governor, Priest in the sense of mediator who, having redeemed, is the advocate of the people and the dispenser of divine favor. The offices are united: ‘Thou art a priest forever after the order of

 

Melchisedec’—who was a priest upon his throne—Heb. 7:17; Zech. 6:13; Acts 3:22; Deut. 18:15. D 637.

 

SETTING UP THE KINGDOM THE IRON RULE "Many erroneously suppose that when Christ’s Millennial Kingdom is inaugurated every one will be pleased with its ruling. But not so... Liberty to deceive, to misrepresent, to overreach and to defraud others, will be entirely cut off. Liberty to abuse themselves or others in food or in drink, or in any way to corrupt good manners, will be totally denied to all. Liberty or license to do wrong of any sort will not be granted to any. The only liberty that will be granted to any will be the true and glorious liberty of the sons of God—liberty to do good to themselves and others in any and in every way; but nothing will be allowed to injure or destroy in all that Holy Kingdom (Isa. 11:9; Rom. 8:21)... Because of its firmness and vigor, it is symbolically called an iron rule—’He shall rule them with a rod of iron.’ (Compare Re 2:26,27 Ps 2:8-12 and 49:14.) Thus will be fulfilled the statement, ‘Judgment will I lay to the line and righteousness to the plummet. And the hail (righteous judgment) shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters (truth) shall overflow the hiding place,’ and every hidden thing shall be revealed"—Isa. 28:17; Matt. 10:26. A302, A303. Re 18 19:2-7: "The Prophet Daniel was divinely inspired to rehearse and explain to King Nebuchadnezzar his vision of Gentile power, represented by a great image. The vision showed a stone smiting the image on the feet, and as a result the utter wreck of Gentile power, and that stone then expanding until it filled the whole earth. The explanation given shows that God’s Kingdom will be set up and fully empowered, and that the wreck of earthly governments will be the direct result of the energy of that Kingdom. Daniel’s inspired testimony is as follows: "In the days of these kings (the last of Gentile power—represented in the toes of the image) the God of heaven shall set up a Kingdom (present representatively throughout the Gospel age, but not recognized by the world as a kingdom); it (unlike the changing Gentile kingdoms represented in the image) shall never be destroyed: and the Kingdom shall not be left to other people (as the power of the image shifted from one people to another), but it shall break in pieces and consume all these Kingdoms, and it shall stand forever"—Da 2:44,45.

 

"Our Lord assures his faithful, that at the time of the establishment of his Kingdom and the overthrow of Gentile power, the overcoming Church would be with him, and have a share in that work. His own words are Re 2:26,27. Compare Ps 149:8,9.

 

"We may be sure that they are active participants in the work assigned the members of the same Kingdom class, whose course and service are not yet ended on this side the vail—the harvest work (1) of gathering the living ‘elect’;( 2) of saying unto Zion, ‘Thy God reigneth’— the Kingdom is being set up; and (3) declaring the Day of Vengeance of our God." D623, D624.

 

66 "When Satan is bound (evil restrained), and outward temptations removed, the hours of release will be spent, under the guidance of the glorified Church, in studies which will become more and more attractive and interesting: studies of Nature and of Nature’s God, and of his glorious attributes; His Wisdom, Justice, Love and Power. And thus, pleasurably, they may progress toward human perfection—the end of their race or trial; for, be it remembered, the new government will not only take cognizance of the great affairs and interests of its subjects, but also of its smallest affairs. It will be a ‘paternal government’ in the fullest sense of that term.’

 

"The King of that Mediatorial Kingdom so loved those over whom he is to reign that he gave his own life as their ransom price,  to secure for them the right of an individual trial for everlasting life; and the very object of his Millennial reign is to assist them in that trial. What more could be asked? As the Redeemer, he has justly the right to control absolutely that which he purchased with his own blood; and all appreciating such love as he has manifested would... gladly accord to him all power and authority and promptly yield to his righteous will.’

 

"As Christ Jesus proved that he had the Heavenly Father’s spirit, and is ‘the express image of the Father’s person,’ so all who will be of that ‘little flock,’ his joint-heirs in the Kingdom, will have been proved to have ‘the spirit of Christ’—the holy spirit of Love. It is one of the terms of their ‘call,’ that they should become ‘copies of God’s dear Son.’... Yes, the under priests, as well as the Chief Priest of the Royal Priesthood can be trusted without a fear. God will entrust the power to these and this is the best of guarantee that it will be used justly, wisely, lovingly—for the blessing of the world." D635, D636.

 

"Let the saints be joyful in glory, let them sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouths and a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance upon the Gentiles, and punishments upon the people (of Israel): to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute upon them the judgments written"—Psalm 149:5-R9. See ‘14-R5451 c1 p4 for Psa. 149:5-9.

 

Continue, verse 9—"THIS HONOR HAVE ALL HIS SAINTS"—’15-R5803, R5804.

 

"The kings and princes and judges of that kingdom will be not only irresistible in power, but incorruptible, unbribable. With them the divine standard will be first, in the absolute sense.’

 

"Such devotion to the Lord... means that the followers of Jesus will be... counted fools all the day long for Christ’s sake—because we preach the wisdom of God and the love of God in preference to the wisdom of humanity and the love of humanity. Of such St. John writes, saying ‘As he was, so are we in this world’—ostracized, misunderstood, reproved, slandered. Only those who can stand such an experience can be winners of the crown to which Jesus referred, saying, To him that overcometh I will give a crown of life, and permit him to sit with me in my throne. "" Who is sufficient for these things? asks the Apostle. And he furnishes the answer: ‘Our sufficiency is of God’; and in the promises—’My grace is sufficient for thee; my strength is made perfect in weakness’; and again, ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."‘

 

"SALT IS GOOD, BUT— " LEV. 2:13; Nu. 18:19; MT. 5:13; MK. 9:49, SO; LUK. 14:34; COL. 4:6 "Salt has preservative qualities in connection with whatever it touches. It also serves to bring out the flavor of our food. In olden times it was used as a symbol of faithfulness, loyalty.

 

"Jesus used salt as a symbol, representing his own loyalty to God and the loyalty which all of his followers must have, and not only so, but which they must maintain. If salt loses its value for seasoning purposes, it is useless for anything else... It is absolutely useless except for its intended purpose. So the Christian has a purpose in the world—to be a preservative power, to have, as it were, antiseptic qualities, and to draw out all the good qualities of those with whom he is connected. This is the mission of the Christian in respect to the world. If he fail in this, he has failed in the purpose for which he was called, and is of no particular value in the Lord’s service...

 

"The world’s highest standard is the Golden Rule. The Christian’s highest standard is self-sacrifice, doing God’s will at any cost." ‘14- R5426.

 

Revelation 2

 

27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

 

Revelation 2

 

28  And I will give him the morning star.

 

Revelation 2:28 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 28. And I will give him the morning star.

 

The Morning Star is himself only. There were originally two, but one fell. See Rev. 20:1-5.

 

WHO WAS HE THUS BORN?

 

"It is written that before he became flesh Jesus had an existence; as he declared, ‘Before Abraham was, I am.’ Again, in one of his prayers he said, Father, glorify thou me with the glory that I had with thee before the world was.’ The Revelator.tells us (3:14) that ‘He was the beginning of the creation of God,’ and Paul says that ‘by him all things were made.’ And so our Lord Jesus was not only the beginning, but also the active agent of the Father in all the creative work in the angelic world and in the creation of humanity, and in all things that were created.

 

"The whole matter is summed up by the Apostle John... in the first chapter of John.

 

"In other words, Jesus was the direct creator of all things. He was the divine Power, Agent, Word, Messenger, the Logos of Jehovah. He did all the great work of creation; but he himself was the first of God’s direct creation, the firstborn of all creatures, that in all things he might have the preeminence—the first place.

 

"The Scriptures tell us that before he begins his great work for the world of mankind, he first does a work for the elect, the church, those who desire to walk in his footsteps, to gather out of the world a bride, to be co-workers with him in all the great work of the Father... We see how he gathered out the saintly ones from amongst the Jews, ‘Israelites indeed, in whom there was no guile.’ Not finding enough to make the desired number, he proceeded to gather 67 them from all nations, kindreds, tongues and peoples.

 

"The Apostle tells us that when this bride class is united with him they shall be parts of the seed of Abraham; as we read, Gal. 3:29.

 

"The invitation to become the bride of Christ is a very special invitation* and those who would be his must walk in the ‘narrow way.’ If they will sit in his throne, they must suffer with him. If they suffer with him they shall also share his glory... All the church who are justified through faith in his blood... have a share with him in his sufferings and will share in his glory; they have also a share in the first resurrection; as the Revelator declares, ‘Blessed and holy is he that bath part in the first resurrection, on such the second death bath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years’—Rev. 20:6.

 

"Saint Paul says, ‘I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord,’ ‘that I might know him and the power of his resurrection’ (the special resurrection) to the divine nature. How? By being made conformable to his death; for, ‘If we suffer with him we shall also reign with him.’

 

WHAT ABOUT THE FUTURE?

 

"All the families of the earth are to be blessed, as originally promised in Eden: ‘The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent’s head.’ Also, as St. Paul states in the 16th chapter of Romans, ‘The very God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.’ So, then, the next thing in order in the outworking of God’s plan will be to bruise Satan and destroy sin.

 

"Our hope on behalf of mankind in general is that in God’s due time his blessing shall reach all—not the same as that for the church, but as St. Peter tells us in Acts 3:19-21, ‘Times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord, and he shall send Jesus Christ, who before was preached unto you, whom the heavens must retain until the times of restitution of all things spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets.’ "‘ 12-R4964, R4965.

 

"The New Law Covenant cannot be introduced, sealed, made operative, until the Abrahamic Covenant shall have brought forth the seed of Abraham and invested him with glory, honor and divine majesty. Then this antitypical Moses, The Christ complete, Head and body, will mediate between God and the world of mankind for a thousand years.

 

"Not until the Messiah shall have finished all of his sacrificial work of the Gospel age, not until the last member shall, under his hand, have passed from the earthly condition of membership to the heavenly condition, will the sufferings of The Christ be finished, will the sufferings which he left behind be filled up; and not until then will he usher in the blessings of the Messianic kingdom. And those blessings will be secured to mankind by the great Mediator’s applying the merit of his sacrifice on their behalf. "‘ 13-R5301.

 

"Jesus said, his consecrated followers are his ‘little flock’ of the present time. But during his glorious reign he will gather another flock. As he said, ‘Other sheep I have which

 

*Please see ‘93-R1494—quote at beginning Re 2. are not of this fold—them also I must bring, that there may be one fold and one Shepherd’—John 10:16.

 

Ephesians 1:10. "Of these ‘all things’ the church, the bride, will be chief, on the plane of divine nature. The great company, cherubim and angels will follow in order, and redeemed and restored mankind in human perfection will be the lowest order in the divine fold.

 

"St. Paul tells us about the enemies from whom ultimately all of God’s people shall be delivered. Satan is an enemy. He shall be bound for a thousand years and ultimately shall be destroyed. "‘ 11-R4940.

 

SATAN FELL!

 

PAPACY IS SATAN S OWN WORK "Referring to his fall, the Lord, who declares that he has no pleasure in the death of him that falls into sin and the consequent condemnation to death, says, ‘How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,  son of the morning!’ Then he shows that undue ambition was the cause of his fall, saying, ‘For thou hast said in shine heart, Into heaven (the position of power) will I ascend; above the stars of God (other sons of the morning) will I exalt my throne; and I will sit also upon the mount of the assembly in the farthest end of the north (universal dominion); I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be equal to the Most High’ (Isa. 14:12-14). (That this language applies also, symbolically, to Papacy is entirely proper; for Papacy is Satan’s own work in his own likeness.) "Thus, instead of humbly and thankfully appreciating the favor of God which brought him into existence and crowned him with glory and honor as a bright star of creation’s early morning, and instead of returning due filial reverence, love and submission to his Creator’s righteous will, Satan cultivated a spirit of pride; until his rising ambition aspired first to be a leader and chief of the other stars of the morning (the position already filled by the only begotten Son of God—John 1:1-3; Col. 1:15-17), and finally to rival the Most High himself, as king of the universe.

 

"How different was the course of him who was actually above the morning stars, the angelic sons of creation’s morning—the only begotten Son of the Father, his honored Agent in the creation of all things—not only of all the physical universe, but of all intelligences as well. Of him we read that, ‘though being in a form of God (a mighty one), yet he did not meditate a usurpation, but (on the contrary) divested himself (of his glory), taking a bondman’s form, and was made in the likeness of men. And, being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself (yet more), and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’ Phil. 2:8.

 

"‘ Wherefore,’ says the Apostle (because of his humility and obedience), ‘God also bath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, both of things in heaven and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:6-11— Diaglott). Thus, in accordance with a principle which God has laid down—that he will abase the proud and exalt the humble (Matt. 23:12; James 4:6)—we see our Lord Jesus now exalted to the very

 

68 position to which Satan through pride and ambition aspired, while Satan has been degraded, ‘cut down (or limited) to the earth’ (Isa. 14:12), and sentenced to final destruction.

 

"But nothing daunted, Satan, the defiant rebel, began his work after the flood among the sons of Noah, and with varying success has since pursued his policy among the kingdoms of this world. And God has not specially interfered, and will not, until the end of this present evil world, when his time will have come for the setting up of Christ’s kingdom. Then, he declares, Satan shall be firmly fettered and imprisoned for a thousand years...

 

"Our Lord’s reference here (John 14:30) is to the great adversary of God and deceiver of men who for six thousand years past has pursued a course of systematic opposition to, and defiance of, the Almighty Jehovah, the great Emperor of the universe...

 

"Yet in the beginning of his existence he was pure and perfect, an intelligent creature of God, created through the agency of his only begotten Son, without whom nothing was made that was made (John 1:3). Previous to his fall into sin he is spoken of as Lucifer, a morning star (a glorious being of creation’s early morning)." ‘94-R1686.

 

Revelation 2

 

29  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

 

Revelation 2:29 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 29. He that bath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches.

 

The reward is sure. Ye shall not all sleep. But ye shall all die.

 

ISRAEL S PRIESTS DIED TYPICALLY "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment"—Hebrews 9:27.

 

"The whole thought has gotten into people’s heads upside down and back end first. They all think it refers to the time when people die. The Apostle Paul, in that statement in Hebrews, is giving a lesson on type and antitype. He is comparing the work of the Jewish priests every year with the work of Christ, and telling how these earthly priests went into the Holy, and afterwards into the Most Holy. The priest took with him the blood of a bullock, then of a goat. He went into the Holy; and, after the cloud of incense had passed through the second veil and covered the Mercy-Seat, he went into the Most Holy, representing heaven itself.

 

"The antitype is that our Lord Jesus offered up himself as the bullock. The bullock represented Jesus as a man, the goat represented the human nature of the church. As High Priest, Jesus slew the bullock; at baptism he offered the sacrifice of his humanity. The typical priest took his two hands full of incense and crumbled it in the fire on the incense altar—that represented the three and one-half years of our Lord’s ministry. This picture of the incense falling upon the fire represented the glorious qualities of Jesus as He came in contact with the trials of life. In every case His faithfulness yielded a sweet perfume. (Leviticus 16:12-14; T55, T56.) "... The sweet incense went before Him and appeared in the presence of God before He finished His course at Calvary. His death upon the cross was the last crumb of incense falling into the fire, in the antitype. Then our High Priest went under the veil—into death. He was parts of three days under the veil, arising on the other side of the veil on the third day. This was the resurrection of Jesus. He arose on the spirit side of the veil, a spirit being. Then forty days later, He sprinkled upon the Mercy-Seat in the Most Holy, in Heaven, the blood of Atonement on behalf of the church.

 

"The Apostle here is trying to get the Church to see that the Jewish high priest did something of this kind in type. The Jewish high priest went into the Most holy of the Tabernacle, not without blood. That blood, in every case, represented the blood of the high priest—his life. Every high priest, when he passed under that veil on the Day of Atonement, was in danger of being stricken dead. If he had not done perfectly, according to the requirements of the Lord, he would have died as he attempted to pass that veil, under that curtain. And so it would have been death to Jesus if He had not done perfectly the will of the Father.

 

"Then the Apostle declares, ‘It is appointed unto men (men-priests—get the thought) once to die (typically, in passing under the veil) and after that the judgment,’ or decision. They typified their death in the sacrifice of the bullock, and carrying its blood under the veil. If the priest had not done it perfectly, he died. The bullock represented the priest. After he had sacrificed it he passed with its blood under the second veil. "After death the Judgment." There is no reference here to the death of mankind, but merely to these priests offering their sacrifice. Jesus died, passed the second veil, and was raised on the third day. After the high priest in the type had made his offering, and had passed beyond the second veil, and sprinkled the blood upon the MercySeat, he came out and blessed the people.

 

"Our Lord Jesus, the great High Priest, has not yet come out to bless the people. The antitype is a very large thing. Jesus went under the veil into the Heavenly Holy over eighteen hundred years ago. He has not yet appeared for the blessing of the world. But ‘To those that look for him, He shall appear a second time, not as a Sin-Offering, but unto salvation.’

 

IT WILL SURELY COME—IT WILL NOT TARRY—HABAKKUK 2:3.

 

"God has provided in his Word a great vision, a great revelation. It is a picture, so to speak. He has given this picture of his plan more or less clearly through the prophets and through the law. The Jubilee prefigured Restitution to all the world. Other features of the Law, such as the Atonement Day sacrifices, etc., pictured other features of God’s Plan. * The Passover represented still other parts. These pictures were all harmonized into one great picture, or view—God’s great plan to bless the world. ‘In thy seed shall all

 

*See ‘09 R4493 c I—mentioned at Rev. 2:11 comments.

 

69 the families of the earth be blessed,’ God declared to Abraham. All this went to make up the great vision, or picture, that God purposed to give his people.

 

"In proportion as we come to have the mind of God, we can understand more and more clearly what these things mean. The most important part of the picture was that Messiah would come, and that he would set up his kingdom. All of these promises would be parts of that great view, or vision... It does not really tarry... But the vision is still for an appointed time... The vision is sure. All these blessed things are positively certain to come; it is simply a matter of His time and of our understanding of His time." ‘15-R5730, R5731.

 

"Now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand"—Romans 13:11,12.

 

"Yes, ‘the night is far spent’ and ‘the day (the glorious millennial day) is at hand.’ Even now the gray streaks of dawn appear. It is the day when the kingly Bridegroom shall receive unto himself his ready and waiting bride, and the time is short in which to make ready for our gathering together unto him." ‘06-R3830.

 

JEHOVAH OUR GOD IS ONE—Deuteronomy 6:4.

 

"To us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things"—1 Corinthians 8:6.

 

"Jesus says of himself, ‘I proceeded forth and came from God"‘—John 8:42.

 

"In our writings we show the clear teachings of the Bible, that Jesus in his pre-human condition was the Logos, the Word, or message, from the Father; and that as such he was called a god, but not the God—the Father. On so important a question as the equality of the Father and the Son, we must not rely upon any man’s testimony except that of the inspired writers of the Scriptures. We should accept no dictum save that of the divine Word itself. Let us ask Jesus. He replies, ‘My Father is greater than I’,‘ I can of mine own self do nothing; as I hear I judge’;‘ My Father is greater than all’;‘ I ascend to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God’;‘ This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent’—John 14:28; 5:30; 10:29; 17:3; 20:17..." Do continue reading the entire discourse—’15-R5747 to R5749. SubHeads include: Jesus Became a New Creature; The Logos Transferred from Heaven to Earth; Testimony of Scriptures Re the Holy Spirit; and others. "See Diaglott rendering of Joh 14:17,16. For further elucidation of the subject of the holy Spirit, we refer the interested reader to our fifth volume of Studies in the Scriptures,  Chapters 8-11, where we have treated the subject at length." ‘15-R5747 to R5749.

 

Revelation 3

 

1  And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

 

Revelation 3:1 (RVENDAG_)

 

CHAPTER 3 REVELATION

 

THE LORD’S SECOND COMING—REVELATION 3:1-6.

 

"Sardis is said to mean that which remains, as if it signified a useless remnant, something out of which life or virtue had gone. The nominal church during this period had the appearance of being what it was not, having a form of godliness without its power. Sardis was the remains of the true church, which had been driven into the wilderness; but when the persecution began to subside, her zeal also abated. Persecution has always developed the vigor of the church.

 

"Many today have the Sardis characteristics. To such there is a fatal warning in Revelation 3:3. Seven times our Lord’s second coming is described as being thief-like, stealthy.

 

"Only to those who are watching is the approach of a thief known. Those who are asleep will be awakened only after he has taken full possession, after his work of destruction has progressed. Although they may then arouse themselves, it is too late. They have been overtaken. Thus our Lord will be present, but invisible and unknown—except to the watchers—for some years after his arrival; and his presence will be recognized by the sleepers only as the noise of spoiling the strong man’s house gradually increases. Then slowly will they realize what it is and what the outcome will be.

 

"The reason why many professing Christians cannot recognize our Lord’s Parousia—presence—is that they are looking for a fleshly Christ, visible to the fleshly eye, and making an imposing demonstration which they cannot mistake. Failing to realize the fact that spiritual bodies cannot be seen by human eyes without a miracle, they cannot understand how he can be present while ‘all things continue as they were since the beginning of creation’ {2Pe 3:3,4} . Thus they are unable to understand ‘the signs of the times,’ revealing his return." ‘16-R5993.

 

Verse 1. And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that bath the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

 

Sardis means "that which remains," and refers to that time in the life or history of the church, when the work of persecution had reduced the nominal church severely, in numbers: but the percentage of faithful ones was considerable. The time is just before Luther and the Reformation, which the Roman Catholics call the apostasy. The speaker is the Lord Jesus; and he claims to have the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars. The seven spirits of God, indicate plenitude

 

70 of power to handle the affairs of the church during the seven periods of its life and warfare: and the seven messengers are safe also in his hands; for he, also, is now infinite in Justice, Wisdom, Love, and Power. Thou hast a name,  but few are worthy of it; but the Lord is merciful, and gives them the time and opportunity to make better advancement in developing the Christ likeness of character.

 

SEEKING MEMBERSHIP IN GOD’S KINGDOM

 

" Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness"—Matt. 6:33.

 

"Throughout this Gospel age there have been a few who have heard the call and accepted the conditions, who have determined to make the kingdom of God the first consideration of their lives. Satan has tried to make many of these think that papacy is that kingdom, or that... some one of the other kingdoms of earth is that kingdom. To others he brought a misinterpretation of the words of the Apostle, ‘The kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and joy in the holy Spirit,’ and endeavored to make them think that all there was of the kingdom of God was merely righteousness and holiness of life, having a godly life through the power of the Lord’s spirit. How far all this is from the teaching of the Scriptures regarding the kingdom can be readily seen by a study of the subject of the kingdom of God as presented by the holy prophets, the apostles and our Lord Jesus himself. Truly we have a wily adversary!

 

HOW CHRISTIANS MAY KEEP GOD’S LAW

 

"By these false ideas the true thought of the kingdom was obscured—the thought that God was selecting the members of the kingdom class, the thought that we not only make a full consecration of our little ‘11 to the Lord according to his terms, but that we should continually put this vow of consecration into practice, counting all other things as loss and dross that we might win a membership in this glorious company of which Jesus is the Head... But the full complement of body members of Christ is being secured, despite Satan’s vigorous efforts to prevent it...

 

"In seeking the kingdom of God we as Gentiles are to realize that the Lord has not changed from his original position when he made the proposition to Israel that in order to obtain everlasting life they must keep the law. There is no other way. God will not exalt to kingdom honors any who are violators of his law. The question then comes in, How can we keep the law? If the Jews could not keep it in all those sixteen hundred years, how could we keep it? And does not the Lord say through the Apostle that by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight? To understand this is to understand some of the deep things of God; namely, that ‘God is in Christ reconciling the world (those from the world who now accept the Gospel call) unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them’—2 Cor. 5:19.

 

"Christ kept the Law and satisfied divine Justice for all who become his during the Gospel age; and his merit is imputed to those who keep the Law in their heart and are hindered from keeping it absolutely by the weaknesses of their fallen flesh which they are unable to control. And so the Apostle Paul says that the righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. First of all, through the imputation of his merit to their mortal bodies, their flesh, our Redeemer covers their natural imperfections. Second, because that body so devoted, so justified, is sacrificed, he reckons them dead as human beings. They are then begotten to a new, a spirit nature. Thenceforth their mortal body is counted as the body of the new creature, no longer as a human body; for this was sacrificed. Actually, however, it is quickened to be the servant of the new creature. Being still actually human, it must be given a robe of righteousness to wear until the end of the present life. This is furnished by the Savior.

 

"The Apostle Paul, in speaking of our human bodies from the standpoint of our new relationship in Christ Jesus, says, ‘Know ye not that your bodies are members of Christ?’ {1Co 6:15} God no longer counts our fleshly body as the body of a human being. It is a member of Christ, the property of the spiritual new creature. This new creature keeps the law of God. Wherein there is failure, it is not the new creature that fails, but the imperfect flesh, which is covered by the pure, white, robe of Christ’s righteousness ("covered by the merit of Christ’s sacrifice"—’02-R3060 top). God looks upon it as the spotless body of this new creature. Thus we stand perfect before God’s law; thus the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us who are walking, not according to the flesh, but in the footsteps of Jesus.

 

"The new creature is so in accord with the Lord that he will seek to bring his mortal body fully under the control of the law of love. He will seek to be altogether just toward his fellow-men, toward the brethren, and kind and merciful toward all. His entire life will be given up to attaining membership in the heavenly kingdom. This will lead him to serve the cause of God’s righteousness. Wherever God’s plans are set aside, he would be called upon to defend them in every reasonable way. He will be on the side of righteousness and truth. All who truly seek the kingdom have this disposition.

 

"The Apostle Paul says that the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in the holy Spirit..."the chief element of their freedom in Christ was that true righteousness and holiness which is the blessing and comfort of all those who are the sons of God. Nor was it the Apostle’s thought that righteousness, peace and joy constitute the kingdom, but that these are the blessed results of

 

71 membership in the kingdom class. They are blessings which are the heritage of those who are heirs of the kingdom, even while they are still under age, as it were, still being tutored and prepared for kingdom service beyond the veil. All of the Lord’s people are now to rejoice in true righteousness, the righteousness of God, and to seek it above all else." ‘16-R5918.

 

SONGS IN THE HOUSE OF OUR PILGRIMAGE

 

"Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage"—Psa. 119:54.

 

"All through this pilgrimage we are standing at the bar of our Lord’s judgment: he is testing us, proving us, to see whether or not we love him and the things which make for righteousness and peace; and if so, how much we are willing to sacrifice for righteousness’ sake. He marks the degree of our love by the measure of our self-denials and self-sacrifices for his sake, the truth’s sake.’

 

"If Christ be in you the body is (reckoned) dead because of sin; but the spirit alive because of (the imputed) righteousness’ of Christ. The new nature of the saints, begotten by the Word of truth (James 1:18), is really only the new will,  which however is henceforth addressed as the real person, and it alone is recognized of God who knows us not after the flesh but after the spirit of our new minds—Christminds. Ro 8:10,11 6:3,4 2Co 4:16 Col 3:9,10 Eph 4:23,24 1Pe 3:4.

 

"It is written, ‘He giveth songs in the night,’ and ‘He bath put a new song into my mouth.’ Respecting this joy our Lord declares, ‘Your joy no man taketh from you.’ ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid—John 14:27; 16:22.

 

"And such joy, produced by the true Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ received into an honest heart, naturally and properly awakens the ‘songs in the house of our pilgrimage.’ "

 

‘Mid all the tumult and the strife I hear the music ringing, It finds an echo in my soul. How can I keep from singing?’

 

"The word ‘song’ has a wider meaning than simply a musical cadence: it is used in the Scriptures and elsewhere to indicate a joyful message of any kind. For instance, we say, referring to the Gospel, the knowledge of the divine plan, ‘Thou hast put a new song into my mouth, even the loving-kindness of our God.’ And it is a fact that those who have tasted that the Lord is gracious, those who have received the joy which no man can take from them, those who have tasted of the grace of God in Christ... will also rejoice to have their entire lives a song of praise and thanksgiving unto God; ... so fully will the cleansed, justified and consecrated heart appreciate God’s goodness and so greatly will it desire to—"Tell the whole world these blessed tidings, And speak of the time of rest that nears.’

 

"Let us remember Paul and Silas praising God in the prison of Philippi, while their backs were still lacerated and bleeding.’

 

"And the more we have of this new mind, and the closer we are in sympathy with the Lord, the more we will desire to sing heartily ‘The old, old story of Jesus and his love.’ ‘97-R2231, R2232.

 

Revelation 3

 

2  Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.

 

Revelation 3:2 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 2. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. I have found no works of shine perfect before my God—R.V. Be watchful. How necessary always, in order to not only stay in the Truth, but to advance in its understanding and application to one’s self as a new creature; to have all the truth that is due and permissible for the church at any time; especially today, when, after the death of Pastor Russell, so many gave up the thought and hope of membership in Christ. Our works are never perfect; but the justification that is in Christ Jesus is perfect: do not fail to claim that justification—eating the flesh of the Passover Lamb.* "The ‘wedding garment’ mentioned in the Lord’s parable (Matt. 22:2-14), is the Robe of Justification, which becomes ours at the time of consecration. At the very moment of our begettal, when the Lord accepted us, we became probationary members of the body of Christ, the bride class, and were covered with the wedding robe.

 

"This ‘wedding garment’ is given, not to the old creature, but to the new creature, to cover the blemishes of its imperfect body.

 

"While in this body of flesh, the new creature is expected to demonstrate such faithfulness in the development of character that he may be accounted worthy of being raised in the first resurrection as a divine being. Having this imperfect body he needs the robe of Christ’s righteousness to cover his imperfections.

 

"To continue to have the imperfections of the flesh (which we have inherited from Adam) covered, the new creature must remain loyal to God; otherwise, it will deserve the second death. "‘ 11-R4842.

 

"When we see that it was the pure, spotless nature of our Lord Jesus that was laid down on behalf of sinners, we see what it is that we are privileged to appropriate. The very thing that he laid down for us we are to ‘eat,’ appropriate to ourselves; that is to say, his perfect human life was given to redeem all the race of man from condemnation to death to enable them to return to human perfection and everlasting life, if they would; and we are to realize this and accept him as our Savior from death.’

 

"... The Gospel church of this age receive by faith in their Redeemer ... justification to human nature, which Father Adam possessed and lost, and which Christ redeemed by giving his own sinless flesh, his perfect human life, as our ransom-sacrifice... restitution rights and privileges secured by our Lord’s sacrifice of these." ‘16-R5870, R5871.

 

"We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous"—1 John 2:1.

 

"Why do we need an Advocate? Because... ‘in our flesh dwelleth no perfection.’ But if, through the weakness or ignorance of the flesh we err, the divine provision for us is that our Advocate, whose ransom merit was applied to us, *Rev. 2:11 first comment; and "Foundation of Christian Doctrine," sub- head—"There were Two Passovers"—Supplement.

 

72 will appear for us (figuratively apply his merit) for the cancellation of our unintentional misdeeds and thus maintain us in the Father’s sight without spot or wrinkle." ‘09-R4516, R4517.

 

"By faith the walls of Jericho fell down"—Hebrews 11:30. "But we must have crossed the Jordan; we must have been justified; must have partaken of the antitypical Passover; must have been sanctified before we could have received of the Lord either a promise of victory over our Jericho, or before we could exercise such a faith as would result in that victory. If in the type faith could bring the fall of the strong walls of a city, how great must be the value of faith in the antitype! ‘This is the victory which overcometh the world, even your faith,’ but only so long as we trust in the Lord and seek to do those things pleasing to him, can we exercise this overcoming faith—I John 5:4. "‘ 02-R3088. See ‘02-R3086 c 2 CROSSING JORDAN INTO CANAAN.

 

"‘ Ye see your calling, brethren’—your invitation to the priesthood—the Melchisedec priesthood." ‘04-R3319.

 

"Not until the sacrifice of the goat had been complete, and its blood had been sprinkled upon the Mercy Seat, was there a Passing over* or remission of the sins of the people. "‘ 04-R3319.

 

THE GOSPEL OF HOPE Re 21:3,4 "Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you—1 Peter 3:15.’

 

"The very word Gospel is full of hope; for it means good tidings. Whoever, therefore, would preach the Gospel should be sure that his message is one of good tidings, one of hope. The world has a latent fear respecting the future. A secret fear lurks in the mind lest there should really be something terrible awaiting the masses after death—a Catholic purgatory of awful severity, if not the endless torture of Protestantism.

 

"What the world specially needs is what the Bible alone can give... comfort of the Scriptures. Bible students alone are qualified to introduce others to this comfort of the Scriptures.

 

"Give them also the message of hope, the message of joy, the message of peace! What are the privileges of the Christian, if through great tribulation he must enter the Kingdom? They are, oh, so grand! It is his to know the joy of sins forgiven; and many need to have this told them over and over again, that they may fully appreciate it. It is his to know of the heavenly Father’s love and care—matters so easily forgotten in the stress of life. These assurances of the Word need to be repeated over and over: ‘The Father himself loveth you.’ ‘God is for us.’ ‘All things shall work together for good to them that love God.’ "Following this course then—of preaching the Gospel of hope—we are following the Master and the apostles. They had so much of this spirit of hope, trust, confidence, love, joy and peace, that they could rejoice in tribulation; and they did so.

 

*See Exodus 12:5. See Passover of the Second Month, Nu 9:10-11 2Ch 30:2-3—Footnotes ‘13-R5191, ‘98-R2270.

 

"Hearken to the words of Jesus, ‘God shall wipe all tears from all eyes.’ ‘Be ye perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’ As it will be God’s great work in the future, through Christ and the church, to wipe away earth’s tears, let us chase away some of those tears at the present time. Thus we shall help to prepare the way for the world to come back into fellowship with God by and by, for the faithful of the present time to walk more carefully in the footsteps of Jesus and to encourage one another in the good way." ‘13-R5213, R5214.

 

"I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward" Gen. 15:1.

 

"We have promises which pertain to the life that now is and also to that which is to come but all of these together are inferior, subordinate to the one great thought that God, the great Creator is ours—our Father, our God, our Friend. "‘ 01-R2853.

 

PREPARING THE WAY OF THE LORD—John 1:19-34 His WORK Is BEFORE HIM

 

"In harmony with the divine plan, the taking away of the sins of the world is divided into two parts: (1) The taking away of the sins of those whose hearts long for reconciliation with God and forgiveness, and to be in harmony with that which is right and true and just and good. These, called believers, have their sins taken away reckonedly; or rather, as the Apostle and the Prophet express it, their sins are ‘covered’ from God’s sight by the robe of Christ’s righteousness—to be entirely blotted out or taken away when, by the Lord’s grace they shall have finished their course and as faithful ones been counted worthy to enter into life eternal. In that new body then to be granted there will be no blemish, no sin to cover, all will have been blotted out. Then will begin the reign of Christ and his glorified church, his bride, the blessing of the world—the Millennial reign, the kingdom of the heavens, the rule of righteousness. (2) But before that reign shall begin, the Lamb of God—who redeemed the world more than eighteen centuries ago—will present the merit of his sacrifice and the sacrifice also of the church, his body members (made worthy, acceptable through his merit), to the Father as the second offering of the great Day of Atonement sacrifice—for all the people—Leviticus 16.’

 

"As the Lord’s presentation of his sacrifice when he ascended up on high was accepted of the Father and the blessing came upon the church, the household of faith, so surely will the second presentation in the end of this age when offered by the great High Priest be acceptable to the Father for the sins of the whole world—all the people... By the end of the Millennial age, the blessing of God—through the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world—shall have accomplished such wonderful gracious blessings for mankind that all shall have reached the full perfection of restitution to human nature except the incorrigible, who will be ‘utterly destroyed from amongst the people’—Acts 3:23. "‘ 08-R4114.

 

Revelation 3

 

3  Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

 

Revelation 3:3 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 3. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard; and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

 

73 Remember the delight experienced when we first realized that we were spirit begotten and could understand the Tabernacle Types. This coming is not necessarily the Second Advent, but a daily inspection and decision, on which further light depends. God, Himself, has blessings to give to those who ask for them.

 

"With the Lord Jesus in the chief place... the church is to be displayed before men as ‘a thing of beauty and a joy forever’—God’s handiwork.’ "‘ 11-R4914 Isa 62:2,3.

 

PAROUSIA, EPIPHANIA, APOKALUPSIS—

 

"When we come to study the matter of the second coming of the Lord carefully we find it variously referred to: first the parousia of Christ in the end of this age is drawn to our attention. The word parousia signifies presence, but it does not signify outward show or demonstration of that presence. Thus our Lord was present during all of the forty days after the resurrection, but He was manifested or visible only a few times and altogether only a few hours. The word Epiphania,  used in respect to our Lord’s second advent, signifies a shining forth brightly; still, however, not indicating in what manner the shining forth shall come.

 

"Another word used in respect to our Lord’s second advent is Apokalupsis,  which signifies revelation, making known, disclosure—as, for instance, the Lord may have been in the upper room with the disciples, present but invisible for some time, noting their words and conduct, and then manifesting Himself, revealing Himself by appearing in a body of flesh which they could see and handle and talk to. As we have seen, our Lord’s revealings after His resurrection were in bodies of flesh, but revealing in that manner was necessary because the disciples were not yet begotten of the Spirit. There is nothing to indicate that our Lord’s apokalupsis at His second advent will be in a body of flesh. On the contrary, the Scriptures speak distinctly of His being revealed (apokalupsis) in flaming fire.

 

"... During the time of the Lord’s parousia,  in the harvest, the end of the Gospel Age, there will be a bright shining and mental illumination granted to His people through His Word, which will enable them to appreciate the fact of His presence and to feel fully assured on the subject. This is in accord with the Lord’s promise to His followers that at His second coming, in His parousia,  He would knock, He would give such indication of His presence as would be sufficient to arouse those who were in the proper attitude of heart to investigate the matter, to open the door of their ears by faith to receive Him, and He declared that to such He would come in and sup with them, nourish them with special spiritual refreshment. He declares that for all of His people in this time He would gird Himself as a servant and come forth and serve them. They should not only know of His presence by the testimony of the Scriptures, but they should have a special demonstration of it by the clearness and beauty of the Plan as it would shine into their hearts under His ministrations. Lu. 12:37*; Rev. 3:20.

 

*"... All who recognize these things must recognize these STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES as being identified with the fulfillment of that promise." ‘10-R4709, R4710 "Later on will come the public revelation or demonstration that the Lord has assumed the control of the world. Every eye shall see Him, not in the sense of seeing the flesh of Jesus who walked the vales of Palestine, but in the sense of recognizing the power and authority and government and judgments of Him who in the end of this age shall take to Himself His great power and reign. The world is represented as seeing the Lord thus with the eyes of its mind in the judgments that are coming, and they are represented as calling for the rocks and mountains to cover them from His presence... they will recognize the beginning of the reign of righteousness, and they will seek to be covered or shielded from those troubles by entering into the caves of the rocks—that is, by seeking protection and cover of social organizations, hoping thus to escape the ‘wrath of the Lamb’... the anarchistic troubles coming upon the whole world... But there will be no escaping the trouble...

 

"... The heavens of ecclesiasticism rolling together, uniting for mutual protection or strength, will eventually be destroyed by the conflagration of the great day of the Lord." Rev. 6:14-17. Harvest Gleanings, Vol. 2, pp. B198-B199.

 

"Hebrews 5:7: "We find that the Father sent his angel to minister unto his dear Son, in his deep distress. As soon as the angel had given our Lord the assurance of the Father that he was well pleasing in his life and conduct, he became perfectly calm. And the assurance sustained him in all the trying experiences which followed—the trial before the Sanhedrin, before Pilate, the treatment of the soldiers, the journey on the way to Calvary, and in the midst of the trying process of execution which followed.

 

"Only at the last, when the Father, because Jesus must take the sinner’s place, withdrew his presence from him in his dying moment did our Lord manifest disturbance of mind. Then he cried out in agony of soul, ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ It was necessary for our Lord to experience the entire cutting off from God and from all relationship to God, in order to pay the full penalty for Adam’s sin. This experience was at the very last moment. The heavenly Father permitted this, for it was necessary to our Lord that he should realize the meaning of the sinner’s separation from God.

 

"We do not consider it necessary that in every case our Lord’s true and faithful followers should have a similar experience...

 

"We can be content to leave our experiences entirely in the hands of him who loves us, and can have an inward peace and calm and a rest of soul, knowing that no outward storm will be permitted but such as the Father sees will bring forth in us the peaceable fruits of righteousness, if we are properly exercised thereby." ‘14-R5403.

 

"The Lord is our angel (luke 22:42, 43) who speaks to us the Father’s message, telling us that if we abide in his love all will be right in the end, and that he is able and willing to bring us off conquerors, yea, more than conquerors through his own merit." ‘06-R3887.

 

‘IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME "The Apostle Paul, referring to this Memorial Supper, quotes our Lord as saying, ‘This do in remembrance of me,’ and then adds, ‘As oft as ye eat this bread and drink this cup ye do show the Lord’s death till he come’ {1Co 11:24-26}... until all shall have been gathered and the

 

74 kingdom class shall all thus have been set up and glorified...

 

"The same Apostle in the same epistle {1Co 10:16,17 12:12} emphasizes the thought of the unity, the oneness of the church, with each other and with the Lord... From God’s standpoint there is the one great Messiah, the elect Head and the elect members of his body. These, as one loaf, constitute from God’s standpoint the bread of everlasting life for the world, and in order to fill this picture each and all must be broken, each and all must partake of the cup of Christ’s suffering and death before entering into his glory. And not until all these sufferings have been completed will the Lord’s time come for the new dispensation, the new day, the day of blessing instead of cursing, the day of restitution instead of dying, the day of uplifting instead of falling, so far as the world is concerned." ‘06-R3880. F465.

 

"Likewise also the cup after the supper, saying, This cup is the New Covenant (future) in my blood, which is shed for you (now)" Luke 22:20.

 

Revelation 3

 

4  Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.

 

Revelation 3:4 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verses 4-5. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. sHe that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels holy servants.

 

Not one faithful one is overlooked or forgotten; and while the white robe of Christ’s righteousness takes care of the new creature while in the flesh, and because of the flesh, in the resurrection the new creature will have a perfect body, and white linen all its own. And then comes the introduction to the Heavenly Father and the host of bright ones, some of whom knew us, and gave us a helping hand.

 

THE WHITE RAIMENT OF THE KINGDOM—Rev. 3:5 "In this text, as throughout the Bible, the thought is maintained that the elect class, who will receive the highest glory, honor and blessing from the Lord, must demonstrate their loyalty by overcoming... The Lord has promised that his grace shall be sufficient in every time of need—2 Cor. 12:9...

 

"The will must be loyal. We must triumph in the mind, otherwise we shall not be overcomers.

 

"This overcoming is a gradual work, progressing throughout our Christian course, from the moment of consecration down to the conclusion of life. But the text apparently takes hold of the conclusion... and implies that the individual has at the end of the trial, the end of his racecourse, this overcoming degree of righteousness, so that he may be classed as an overcomer. Such an overcomer will be clothed in white raiment.

 

WHITE RAIMENT LOANED To Us

 

"The Scriptures give us to understand that at the very beginning of our Christian experience, we figuratively are clothed in white raiment. This white raiment represents justification—we are justified freely from all things. It is a robe without a spot. It is sometimes spoken of as Christ’s robe of righteousness, because it comes to us through Christ.

 

It is to be had only through him. He is able to impute to us, to loan to us, grant to us temporarily, this robe. It is spoken of as the wedding garment...

 

"White linen signifies purity. So when Christ gives us the use of his merit, it is as a white garment to cover our imperfections. It is an imputation of his righteousness, which is to us justification. We are exhorted to keep our garments unspotted from the world... Hence, God has provided a way by which our blemishes or transgressions may be eradicated—those not wilful. This way is our daily application for the cleansing of these unwilling transgressions, through the precious blood. Thus we keep our garments unspotted from the world. Thus our justification, our white robe, is maintained—should be maintained.

 

WHITE RAIMENT OUR OWN

 

"But it is not sufficient that we have the imputation of our Savior’s righteousness. This imputation is only a temporary arrangement... Our flesh is imperfect; as St. Paul says, we cannot do the things which we would. But we are to prove ourselves overcomers—’more than conquerors.’ The Lord has arranged that at the conclusion of our trial, at the end of the present life, all the overcomers shall receive the new body. This new body will be a body of actual purity. Thus, as the Apostle says, we shall ‘be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven.’ So our raiment will be changed from a garment of imputed perfection, our justification by faith, to that which represents actual perfection. At the resurrection we shall receive that body of inherent purity, without blemish, without spot, which is here pictured as ‘white raiment.’

 

BROUGHT BEFORE THE KING

 

"Furthermore, we read of each of these that the Lord ‘will not blot out his name out of the book of life,’ in which are written the names of all those who become truly the Lord’s people, those who have made with the Lord ‘a covenant by sacrifice,’ all who renounce their wills, who present their bodies a living sacrifice... If they are faithful their names will not be blotted out of that book of life; and they will attain all those glorious things which are promised to those who love him supremely"—Rev. 21:7.

 

"More than this, the Lord says, ‘I will confess their names before my father and before his angels.’ The intimation here is that the overcomers will have such characters that the Lord will not be ashamed of them, but will be pleased to own them in the presence of the Father and the holy angels. We are to be ‘changed from glory to glory,’ into the likeness of our Lord {2Co 3:18}. In the end, these overcomers will each be so grandly developed that the Lord will not be ashamed to confess any of them and to say, Here is one of my followers. Here is another. They have walked in my footsteps and have overcome. But he will be ashamed of any who are ashamed of him. Of such he says, ‘Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels’—Luke 9:26.

 

"It is not a matter of favoritism, but of characterdevelopment. If they will not endure to the end, if they do not prove overcomers, they will not be fit for the kingdom 75 and association with their Lord. Please see Ezekiel 44:15-16.

 

"This brings up the thought that there is another class mentioned in the Bible—the great company class, as in contrast to the little flock—or the antitypical Levite class as in contrast to the antitypical priestly class. The great company had their names written in the Lamb’s book of life, but they were not overcomers in the truest sense. They did not stand faithful. Because of not proving faithful, they will not be confessed before the Father and the holy angels in the same sense as the bride class.

 

"It is stated that the bride will be presented before the Father, and that ‘the virgins, her companions’ (Psalm 45:13-15) will be there also—but the latter will not be confessed as the bride class... Those who go into the second death will surely have their names blotted out of the book; they will be destroyed with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord.

 

ROBES WASHED IN THE GREAT TRIBULATION

 

-See Revelation 7:9-14." ‘15-R5668, R5669 Please see Ezek. 44:10-14.

 

NAMES WRITTEN IN THE LAMB’S BOOK OF LIFE "The invitation of this Gospel age is to a special class, a class which professes to be out of harmony with present conditions—out of harmony with sin...

 

"As Jesus laid down his earthly life in the service of the Father and of the truth, and was misunderstood by those about him, so those who follow in Jesus’ footsteps must in like manner suffer disappointments in earthly matters, if they would be sharers in his glory and immortality. As Jesus overcame and sat down with the Father in his throne, so those who overcome will sit down with Jesus in his throne ... if they manifest righteousness of heart. But they must show this overcoming spirit else they can never be associated with our Lord in his kingdom. They must be copies of their Master in spirit, even though imperfect in the flesh.

 

"Thus the very moment that we take the step of consecration and are accepted, all our blemishes and imperfections are covered by the robe of Christ’s righteousness. But it is not only while we have blemishes that we need to be covered; even all those represented in the symbolic pictures of the Scriptures are there shown as clothed. The pictures given of the heavenly Father represent him as clothed, and the pictures of our Lord represent him as clothed. The Revelation pictures represent our Lord and the saints as clothed in white garments. The angels who appeared at the time of our Lord’s resurrection are represented as clothed in white. Our Lord said: ‘Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.’ "The glorified church is represented, not as taking off the robe of righteousness, but continuing to walk in white raiment. It will no longer be an imputed robe of righteousness, however; our righteousness will be our own. To be clothed in white garments then will be to be recognized as one of the pure ones—not as now, in a robe of reckoned righteousness, but in a robe of actual righteousness. ‘It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.’

 

Two BOOKS OF LIFE

 

"The Bible mentions two books of life—one appertaining to the present time, and the other to the Millennial age. As we read: (Rev. 3:5; 20:12) The special book of life that is open at this present time is the one in which the names of all the overcomers of this Gospel age are written. When we take the step of consecration and are begotten of the holy Spirit, it is appropriate that we should be reckoned as belonging to the family of God: Just as a family will keep a record of its members—Joseph, Mary, Martha, etc.—so with those who become members of the family of God, through Christ; their names will be recorded.

 

"This recording has been going on throughout this present age. This means that those whose names are therein written are not only members of the family of God, but also members of the bride class... The bride class is referred to as ‘more than conquerors.’ They will gain the abundant entrance into the heavenly kingdom.—2 Peter 1:10, 11.

 

INTRODUCTION TO THE FATHER

 

"‘ I will confess his name.’ This gives us, first of all, the thought that, although we have been begotten of God, we have never been introduced to him—in his actual presence. Our Lord is not only represented as our Bridegroom, but also as our Elder Brother, and is pictured as waiting on the other side until we, his brethren, shall pass over. And as we shall pass over, our Lord being the One to whom the Father delegated the work of instructing us in the school of Christ, it will be appropriate that he should introduce us to the Father.

 

"Those especially confessed, introduced, are the bride class only. And we are to hope and strive that we may have a place amongst these. The place that the Father would prefer us to have is the place we would prefer to have.’ ‘14-R5377.

 

Revelation 3

 

5  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

 

Revelation 3

 

6  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

 

Revelation 3:6 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 6. He that bath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches.

 

The hearing ear is so important. Everything depends upon it; and it depends on sincerity of consecration, and the spirit of consecration, and faithfulness, and love of the Truth—the deep things of the spirit. And above all, let us not forget the anointing. Pastor Russell said that as the church got nearer and nearer to the end, the anointing would be most important. See comments at 2:24, 25.

 

EVIDENCES OF THE ANOINTING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WONDERFUL WORDS OF LIFE

 

"Christ in you; the hope of glory" —Col. 1:27. ‘13-R5227 to R5229.

 

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he bath anointed me to Preach..."(luke 4:18) "And they were astonished at his doctrine, for his word was with power"—Luke 4:32.

 

"... The Word of God whether sent through the prophets of old or through the apostles and reformers of the age has been God speaking from heaven—and his Word is quick

 

76 and powerful searching beyond any human message. It will separate, it will distinguish; it will find the truth hungry, it will separate the others; it is the light of which the Apostle declared, Whatsoever cloth make manifest is light. The attitude assumed by the people toward the light, the truth, demonstrates better than all their professions would do whether they are of the light or of the darkness ... Let us wait patiently on him to bring about the separation with divine wisdom and love—we know that His Plan is the best.

 

"The glorious plan of the ages—its beauty, its power, its reasonableness—it glorifies God... More and more we are convinced that the eyes of our understanding must be anointed in order that we may appreciate the lengths and breadths and heights and depths of the love of God, which passeth all understanding." ‘06-R3860, R3861.

 

THE HOLY ANOINTING OIL

 

"In Ex. 30:23 we read God’s instructions to Moses regarding the holy anointing oil, as follows: ‘Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh 500 shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even 250 shekels, and of sweet calamus 250 shekels; (verse 24) and of cassia 500 shekels after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil an hint’ "Notice here it reads ‘principal spices,’ in contrast to v. 34, same chapter, where it reads ‘sweet spices’ used in the incense or holy perfume. So these principal spices would represent principal things which would go to make up the anointing which we receive to become priests and kings with Christ...

 

"Christ humbled himself even unto death, yea, to the ignominious death on the cross... From there he came forth with the right to life for every human being, and is the Light of the world, as Uri signifies light; and now he is the shadow of the Almighty, the robe of righteousness provided by God for us, as signified in the word Bezaleel, ‘shadow of the Almighty.’ Exodus 31:3: "And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and in understanding, and in knowledge and in all manner of workmanship.’ This is the typical anointing of Bezaleel; and the antitypical anointing of Christ recorded in Isaiah 11:2 contains the identical component parts as that of Bezaleel, viz. ‘The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord.’ The only difference in the two verses is in respect to the terms ‘counsel and might’ and ‘workmanship,’ but both embody the same idea, i. e., deputyship and ability, or how to go about a matter and the ability to accomplish the same...

 

"We find knowledge parallel with calamus, and understanding with cinnamon, and of each a like quantity is prescribed, even 250 shekels. So we would also expect in our anointing from above to find our knowledge and understanding equal—that is we would have the understanding of all the knowledge received of God, so that seeing we might discern and hearing we might understand...

 

"So knowledgefrom God is accompanied by its equal of understanding, and this is how we have become established in the faith. If God gives us knowledge he also gives us a test on that knowledge, and fortifies it with the understanding thereof.

 

"Myrrh, which represents and is parallel with wisdom, is equal in amount with calamus and cinnamon combined, 500 shekels of myrrh and 250 shekels each of calamus and cinnamon. So we find God in the anointing also gives wisdom equal to our knowledge and understanding combined. Wisdom is knowing what to do...

 

"Workmanship may also be translated deputyship, but never means work or labor. It has the two ideas embodied in itself that are expressed in its parallel in Isa. 11:2, viz., counsel and might. Counsel here means advice, or how to do a thing; might here means the ability to perform. Now, cassia, which represents workmanship or counsel and might, amounted to 500 shekels, the same as myrrh, which represented wisdom, or knowing what to do. So God, after showing us our responsibility or what we should do, accompanies it with an equal amount of advice or information how to do it, and also enough ability to perform what is expected of us. All that is expected of us is to will—a full consecration to the Lord and his service—and all the rest he will supply in knowledge, understanding: knowledge of what we should do and ability and information how to do it. With more than this he cannot anoint us...

 

"God gives no knowledge except for a purpose, and establishes our faith by giving the understanding thereof, then shows us what that knowledge is for, by showing us what is expected of us, and also gives us the advice and ability needed for the accomplishment thereof, and we must make active consecration to complete the Lord’s will.

 

"Chapter 30 (Exodus), verse 32, in Rotherham’s translation reads, ‘And according to the proportions thereof shall ye not make any like it; holy it is.’ V. 33, ‘Whosoever compoundeth any like (according to the proportions thereof) shall be cut off from among his people.’ This would show us that after the same proportions thereof no other anointing would be allowed...

 

"Paul, in Col 1:9,10, prays that the saints may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and spiritual understanding—being fruitful in every good work and walking worthy of the Lord—these very same four again.

 

"These four produce the fruits of the Spirit, therefore they are the principal spices. The odor emanating from such a typically anointed one is symbolical of the fruits of the Spirit we show forth—the more anointing the more fruits; and surely it is desirable to be in the presence of one so antitypically anointed...

 

"Whatever amount of anointing a member in Christ receives from the Head, it has its constituents of knowledge, etc., in their proper relative proportions. "‘ 07-R4092, R4093 (Reimer)

 

THE ANOINTING

 

"Under the law, the anointing was the ceremony by which the priests were installed in their service. They were anointed to their office with a peculiar ointment, called the ‘Holy Anointing Oil,’ used upon none but the priests, and unlawful for any one else to have or to make {Ex 30:25-33,38}. This oil typifies the Holy Spirit of adoption whereby we, the real ‘royal priesthood,’ are sealed as sons of God. Only the consecrated ones, the priests. are ever to be thus anointed.

 

77 "Aaron, the typical High Priest, represented Jesus, the Head, and the Church as members of the body—the great antitypical High Priest. Being but a sinful man, like others, Aaron had to be washed in order fitly to represent the purity of the antitype, Jesus, who knew no sin, and his Church, cleansed through his precious blood, and the washing of water by the Word—Eph. 5:26.

 

"After being washed, Aaron was clothed with the holy garments of ‘glory and beauty’ {Ex 28}, and lastly the anointing oil was poured on his head (Exod. 29:7). Each article of this glorious apparel was typical of qualities and powers of the Great Deliverer—Head and Body—as Jehovah discerned them, looking down into the future to the time for ‘the manifestation of the Sons of God,’ and the fulfillment in them of his promises." T28-T29. Ps 133

 

"Behold, how good and how pleasant for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, Aaron’s beard; that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there Jehovah commanded the blessing, life for evermore.’

 

"Those whose hearts are loving to their enemies, and loving to the household of faith, and above all, loving to the Lord... seeking the welfare of others, and praying for them; in such hearts there would be no room for anger, bitterness, strife, envying. In such hearts the love of God is shed abroad as represented by the holy anointing oil, the unction from the Holy One, which lubricates all of the sensibilities, smoothing not only the countenance, but also the tongue and the heart; for ‘out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh,’ and bitter water cannot come from a pure fountain."—Luke 6:45; James 3:11." ‘08 R4201.

 

"The prophet David was guided by the Lord to give us a pen-picture of the Anointing, and how it was all poured upon our Head and must run down to us from him (Psa. 133:1-3; 45:7; Luke 4:18). The members of the Church are the ‘brethren’ whose spirit impels them to ‘dwell together in unity.’ All who are one with the Head must be in sympathy with fellow-members of his body the Church—and only proportionately do they receive of the holy Spirit of Anointing (Vol. V., Chap. ix.). This holy anointing oil represented the holy Spirit and the enlightenment which it gives to all those whom God accepts as probationary members of this Royal Priesthood, the New Creation, each of whom is ‘sealed,’ or marked, or indicated by the holy Spirit given unto him, as already shown (Ibid.)."f132.

 

"The proper thought respecting the baptism of the holy Spirit is that of an outpouring, a shedding forth, and anointing, which, however, is so complete (covering every member of the body) as to be properly designated an immersion,  or ‘baptism. ‘ And this same anointing or baptism continues upon the Church down through the age—covering, permeating, sanctifying, blessing, anointing, from then until now, each one who comes into the anointed ‘body.’ And this will continue until the last member has been received and fully anointed. The Apostle John speaking also of this baptism, styling it an anointing, says, ‘The anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you’ {1Jo 2:27 Ps 133:2}.

 

He does not say, the numerous anointings which you have received, but the anointing, the one anointing, more being quite superfluous and out of harmony with the divine arrangement." E215.

 

THE CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA—REVELATION 3:7-13.

 

"Philadelphia means brotherly love, as is well known. This stage of the church’s history evidently began at the Reformation; and there are many still living who possess the characteristics described.

 

"There is considerable similarity between the work begun on Pentecost and that of Luther and his friends. The Reformation was, in a sense, the beginning of a new era, a dawning of light where all had been darkness, the separation of the true from the false, and a new start in the way of truth. No doubt all the powers of Satan were exerted to close the door then opened; but ‘he that is true’ had said, ‘which no man can shut.’ Compared with the mighty hosts of their enemies, the little band of Reformers had but ‘a little strength’; but they knew that they had the truth, and they fully trusted the Giver. Thus the Master could say (3:8), ‘Thou hast kept my Word and hast not denied my name.’ "During the Philadelphian period, especially during the first and the last phases of it, the faithful have either been obliged to come out of the nominal temple or have been cast out for their straight testimony. The reward promised them is that they will be, not simply an unimportant part, but a vital one—a pillar in the true and eternal Temple—a part which cannot be removed while the structure exists. During their trial state their names were cast out as evil. They were branded as infidels and heretics. They were not recognized as children of God, as citizens of the heavenly country, as Christians. All this is to be reversed. ‘The Lord knoweth them that are his,’ and in due time will fully and eternally acknowledge them." ‘16-R5993.

 

"The prophecies... though recorded aforetime, and made to bear witness to the divine foreknowledge and arrangement, were for the learning of those living in the due time for their fulfillment, and not for those who uttered them (Rom. 15:4)... Thus our Heavenly Father has closed up and sealed many features of his plan during the night with his great Time-Lock, which was so set as to prevent their being opened until ‘the time appointed’—in the morning of the great day of restitution.... And then Jehovah’s Anointed, ‘he that bath the key’ and understands the combination upon which it has been set, ‘openeth, and no man shutteth (Rev. 3:7).’ He opens unto us by giving us the necessary information as to how the key of prophecy is to be operated by those desiring to find the treasures of infinite wisdom. And we may unlock the treasures of divine wisdom now, because the morning hour has come—though it is early and not yet light to the world. But only by carefully heeding the instructions, and applying the key to the combination set by the great Designer, will its treasures open to us.

 

"In fact, this illustration fits the entire plan of God in all its parts: Each feature of truth and each prophecy is but a part of the one grand combination, which may be opened now because it is morning—because the bolts of the great Time-lock are withdrawn. And this grand combination, once

 

78 opened, discloses fully and grandly the boundless treasures of divine wisdom, justice, love and power. He who opens will indeed know God as never before." B23, B24.

 

"I think the same about the Chronology that I ever thought. I see no place where there is a flaw. I would not know where to put my finger on any item there and say, that is a mistake. I do no know any such place. It all looks to me as it did thirty years ago." Q90 (1914) "The chronology of the Bible is so thoroughly interwoven with its narrative that the two are bound up together as web and woof: to destroy the one destroys the other; to invalidate the one invalidates the other; to corroborate the one corroborates the other." ‘03-R3220.

 

"The only reasonable and connected account of the first three thousand years of man on the earth is found in the Bible; and this fact is surely in harmony with its claim to divine origin, direction and preservation.

 

"As with history, so with dates; the world has, aside from the Bible, no means of tracing its chronology farther back than B.C. 776." B36 "The Bible record extends to the first year of Cyrus, B. C. 536, a well established and generally accepted date. There the thread of Bible chronology is dropped—at a point where secular history is reliable. God has thus provided for his children a clear and connected record down to the present time... The Bible is therefore the only record in the world which furnishes a view of human history as a whole. It carries us from the lost paradise of Genesis to the restored paradise of Revelation, tracing the pathway of humanity into eternity... Taken together, the history and prophecy of the Bible afford a panoramic view of the whole course of events from the creation and fall of man to his reconciliation and restitution. The Bible, therefore, is the chart of all history... a sure foundation for reasonable faith." B38, B39.

 

Revelation 3

 

7  And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; 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;

 

Revelation 3:7 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 7. And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; 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;  The message to the church at Philadelphia: How fitting to introduce the speaker as holy, seeing that the message is justification by faith. David means "Beloved," and refers to Jesus, who is God’s Beloved and our Beloved, and we are loved by him. How the pope tried to close that door; but his attempts were so futile that Martin Luther died a natural death. And so the promise to David of a ruling house, through Christ, must be fulfilled; for the one back of that promise and prophecy is both holy and true.

 

"The subject of Justification has not changed, but it has expanded and clarified.

 

"We now see that a justification to life is one thing, and a justification to more or less of friendship with God is another. Abraham, for instance, and the faithful before Pentecost, were justified to friendship with God and to have more or less communication with Him by prayer, etc.; but they could not have full justification until the Blood of Atonement had been shed, and until it had been presented to and accepted by Divine Justice—the Father. Just so the sinner today approaching God might be said to be in the way of justification—he would have more of God’s favor than if he faced toward sin.

 

"We once spoke of a sinner in this condition as being justified, because he believed in Jesus as his Redeemer and was reaching forward to a full consecration of himself. Now we see that while the sinner’s attitude, like that of the Ancient Worthies, might be styled ‘tentative justification,’ it could not reach the condition of a full, complete justification from sin until the sinner had fully presented himself in consecration to our great High Priest, Jesus, and had been accepted of Him in the name of the Father. Then, under the covering of the imputed merit of Christ’s sacrifice, the sinner would be acceptable to the Father under Christ’s Robe and begotten of the Holy Spirit.

 

"Fortunate it is for the masses who have heard of Jesus and partially believed, that their standing with the Lord is not that of full justification, that He refuses to fully justify any until they have become by covenant, His disciples, His footstep followers. This is because justification can come only once to each individual, and if he should misuse that justification and fail to get eternal life, he would be in a worse state than if he had never been justified. If not justified and spiritbegotten in the present time, he is not of the Church, but will have a share in the merit of Christ’s sacrifice and in the justification which His kingdom will offer to every member of the human family—aside from the Church—the Church receiving that better thing which God bath in reservation for them that love Him—glory, honor, immortality, the Divine nature.

 

"To many it would not seem worth while to mention these fine distinctions upon the subject of justification; and yet, having received this clearer appreciation of the Divine Plan, we have pleasure in passing it on to all who hunger and thirst after righteousness—to all Bible students everywhere." Fiii 1916 Foreward, iii.

 

"The very chiefest of all treasures is the personal love and friendship of God and of Christ. Jesus becomes to us ‘the fairest among ten thousand, the One altogether lovely.’ He is an unfailing Refuge in every time of need, our daily joy and solace and comfort.

 

"Nor will any other creatures either in heaven or in earth receive such marks of special favor as are and ever will be the portion of the beloved bride of Christ. Although the whole family in heaven and in earth will be blessed through him, his wife, cooperating with him in his work, will alone be his companion, his confidante, his treasure. Hear the Lord’s exhortation to the bride class: ‘Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline shine ear. Forget also shine own people and thy father’s house (the ambitions, hopes and aims of the children of Adam); so shall the King (Jehovah’s Anointed) greatly desire thy beauty (beauty of character, of heartloyalty); for he is thy Lord, and worship thou him’ (Ps 45:10,11; Canticles 4). How unworthy we feel of so great honor and love from our beloved Bridegroom! And no wonder! When we look at all our imperfections, it seems that there is little in us to call forth such love and admiration. To think that the angels with all their purity and faithfulness should have been passed by; and that we poor, blemished mortals, should be chosen instead!

 

79 "Is there not some mistake? Ah, no! We have the infallible words of inspiration to assure us that it is even so. This bride of Jehovah’s Son is to reign with him in the future over a fallen race; and who could so well sympathize with them in all their weaknesses and frailties as those who have themselves partaken of the same? And who could bear the infinite heights of glory to which the Lamb’s wife will be raised, with such humility as those who realize that it was not through any worthiness of their own that they were chosen to so high an exaltation, but that it was all of divine grace? Clad in the glorious robe of our Bridegroom’s furnishing, we can stand all complete, even now, in the eyes of Jehovah. And possessing the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, the faith that trusts under every condition, the love that delights to do the Fatheris will, we are lovely in the eyes of our Beloved, our Bridegroom and our King.

 

"Having this confidence, we can with unspeakable joy and gratitude lay hold of the exceeding great and precious promises which are ours through Christ, and without presumption press along the line toward the prize of our high calling, humbly trusting that he who has begun the good work in us will complete it unto the day of our glorification with our Bridegroom in the heavenly kingdom, when we shall be presented before the Father ‘without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,’ gloriously complete and perfect, in the most absolute sense, fitted and prepared for the wonderful work which we shall share with our blessed Lord and King." ‘16-R5862.

 

Revelation 3

 

8  I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

 

Revelation 3:8 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 8. I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

 

For the sake of the faithful few, God is giving them, the church at Philadelphia, the privilege and responsibility of carrying on a great and wonderful reformation in the nominal church of Christ Jesus.

 

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy bath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you"—1Pe 1:3,4.

 

"I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of death and of oblivion"—Revelation 1:18.

 

"Such a calling should cause us to bow our hearts in the dust before our God, realizing our great unworthiness of such stupendous grace—of bliss so transcendent! What can we render unto the Lord... to Him who has so loved us, so blessed us, so honored us!" ‘16-R5855.

 

"We can never do enough to show our appreciation of the God of love and his wonderful plan of the ages. We are not profitable servants, but on the contrary are our Lord’s debtors to a degree that an eternity of His service will only continually increase. "‘ 08 R4152.

 

"If the Lord’s consecrated people could all be brought to the point where the chief aim in life, the burden of all their prayers, would be that they might have a larger measure of the Spirit of the Lord, the spirit of holiness, the spirit of the

 

Truth, the Spirit of Christ, the spirit of a sound mind, what a blessing it would mean! Nevertheless, He withholds it until they learn to appreciate and earnestly desire it. "‘ 01-R2866.

 

"It is God’s good pleasure to give us this spirit of love; but He gives it only to those who desire and seek it with patient perseverance." ‘03-R3153.

 

"Since none can know when the elect number will be fully completed, all should be alike anxious to lay down their lives in the service of God and of his truth. To say that we would refuse to serve because any uncertainty would prevail in our minds respecting the character of our reward would be to show our unworthiness of any favor of God, for, to be acceptable to Him, our service must not be rendered to obtain the reward, but to serve righteousness and to please God! ‘I delight to do thy will, O God’—everything written in the book.

 

"... Parents, therefore, should do their best by their children and leave the results with the Lord, with full satisfaction with whatever may be His wise, just and loving decision for them, either on the earthly or on the heavenly plane. We are to remember, however, that none can enter either of these planes of instantaneous perfection in the resurrection unless his trial be finished successfully in the present life and by passing into death. The remainder of mankind, however, as already shown, will then have glorious opportunities and possibilities before them." ‘11-R4836.

 

"The temple of God is holy, which temple ye are"—1Co 3:17.

 

"Let us remember that none may engage in this work as true Israelites unless they be in full accord with the Master Builder, and by their ability in rightly dividing the Word of truth show themselves to be workmen that need not to be ashamed—manifest a circumcision of heart." ‘99-R2512.

 

"Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice"—Psalm 55:17.

 

"Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before God, as he did aforetime"—Daniel 6:10.

 

"To the Christian this privilege is still further enhanced by a realization that ‘We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous,’ in whose all-prevailing Name we may approach with courage the throne of heavenly grace, and obtain mercy and find grace to help in every time of need—Hebrews 4:16. "‘ 11-R4875.

 

"Having an high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith"—Hebrews 10:21, 22.

 

"Without this full assurance of faith the child of God cannot come close to Him." ‘14-R5425.

 

"Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love"—Eph. 4:1, 2.

 

"We show our appreciation of God’s mercy toward us by schooling ourselves in his character and becoming more and more merciful and generous toward all... As we remember our own weaknesses and blemishes, it will make us sympathetic with the brethren and with all mankind. And mercy,

 

80 generosity, sympathy, God delights in. Such as cultivate these graces of the Spirit will be pleasing in the Lord’s sight, and they will thereby be fitted and prepared to have a share with Jesus in his throne of glory, for that great Messianic Kingdom will be established for the very purpose of showing mercy unto thousands of mankind, who will return to divine favor and blessing, under clearer knowledge and with the assistance that will then be afforded." ‘12-R5135.

 

"... In all the words of comfort and encouragement in the Apocalypse, given to the seven churches, none shine out more clearly and forcibly than those which declare, ‘To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his throne’ and, ‘To him that overcometh will I give power over the nations.’... They who would overcome must do so by death in the service, and thus gain the kingdom honors—Rev. 20:6.

 

.. Present suffering and self-denial are the narrow path to glory, honor, immortality and joint-heirship in the kingdom. Wherefore, I beseech you, be ye followers of me. Suffer and be reviled and persecuted now, that you may share with me the crown of life, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me at that day;  and not to me only, but unto all those that love his appearing—1Co 4:10-17 2Ti 4:8.’

 

"Jesus and the apostles taught that there can be no kingdom until the King comes {Re 20:6 3:21 2Ti 2:12}. Consequently the kingdom of heaven must suffer violence until that time, when it shall be set up in glory and power." A285-A287.

 

"The opposition is daily becoming more and more intense; for Satan realizes that his time is short, and he is determined by any and every means to exert his power against the consummation of the Lord’s plan for the exaltation of the church.

 

"Consequently we have had within this harvest period many and severe storms of opposition, and still there are doubtless more severe trials to follow. But those who, with overcoming faith, outride them all—who patiently endure, who cultivate the spirit of Christ with its fruits and graces, and who valiantly fight the good fight of faith, rather than withdraw from the field, such will be the overcomers to whom the laurels of victory will be given when the crowning day has come!" ‘94-R1656.

 

"LOOKING FOR THAT BLESSED HOPE" -Titus 2:13

 

"I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also"—John 14:3.

 

"What joyful hopes, what exuberant anticipations, cluster around this promise, in the hearts of the Lord’s faithful! In a few words it sums up all the good things that God bath in reservation for them that love him.’

 

ERRORS BECLOUD TRUTHS

 

"Every feature of divine truth... has its power as a sanctifying medium, as explained in our dear Redeemer’s prayer—’Sanctify them through thy truth, thy Word is truth.’ Whoever has even one item of truth to nine items of error? has to the extent of that one item, a sanctifying power; whoever has five parts of truth and five parts of error has a considerable measure of sanctifying power; and whoever, by the grace of God, can get rid of all the error, will have the tenfold power of the truth working in him to will and to do God’s good pleasure—sanctifying him.

 

"These ten various points of truth are not alike powerful either, and amongst them all we know of none which has greater purifying influence than this one referred to in our text—’that blessed hope’—the appearing of our glorious Lord. ‘He who bath hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure’ {1Jo 3:3}.

 

FEW KNOW OF OUR LORD’s PAROUSIA

 

"Let us, dear brethren, keep well before our minds the Master’s promised return, and now in the time of his ‘parousia’( invisible presence), let it have its full weight and influence upon our every word and act; yea, upon our very thoughts. ‘03-R3191, R3193.

 

Revelation 3

 

9  Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

 

Revelation 3:9 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 9. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie: behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

 

The synagogue of Satan, very evidently, is made up of professing Christians, picked or selected by Satan, to falsify the doctrines of Christ; being a part of the permission of evil. They may have had a view of restitution, but were slack in their consecration and justification and begettal. They oppose the new creature class, and brotherly love is not in them. As those who crucified the Lord will yet be caused to confess and abhor their wickedness, so the opposers of this period will have the shame of seeing, and confessing their wrong doing; and they will worship God, by acknowledging the righteousness of this class of faithful ones. When the blessings are flowing out to all the earth, it will seem to be impossible not to do so.

 

Isaiah 25:9: "In the clearer light of Messiah’s teaching, all faith in the vain traditions which they still hold as valuable additions to the law of God will vanish away. The time is fast approaching when God will speak peace to Israel and comfort them and fully turn away their blindness... But no special favor will come to these infidel Jews at the time of the returning favor; for ‘he is not a Jew, who is one outwardly’—merely by family relationship and facial expression. The Jews recognized by God as children of Abraham are those who hold to the faith of Abraham and trust in the divine promises." C249-C250.

 

"If, instead of reading Rabbinical fables, the Jews would study the Bible, they would find that the Lord Jesus, the true Messiah... even the man Christ Jesus, has made his soul an offering for sin—Isaiah 53:10. " The Hebrew-Christian. C256.

 

"He is not a Jew who is one outwardly... but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart"—Romans 2:28, 29.

 

"Thank God for our portion of blessing under the Abrahamic Covenant and our glorious Redeemer-Advocate! And praise God for the world’s coming blessing under a Redeemer-Mediator! "‘ 10 R4586.

 

81 "This disposition is a growing one: Patronize every religion that will maintain superstition...As the Pharisees and rulers and Doctors of Law, in the harvest of the Jewish Age, were ‘grieved that they taught the people’ and fearful that the truth would lead to dire calamities upon their nation, so we apprehend it will ere long be in this harvest of the Gospel Age... in suppressing anything that would ‘unsettle the faith’ of Christendom—Daniel 12:10.

 

"Zion’s Watch Tower (Published from 1879-R1916) cheerfully takes its place amongst the uneducated who refuse to accept the guesses, philosophies and conclusions of ‘science falsely so called’ in contradistinction to the testimony of ‘holy men of old who spoke and wrote as they were moved by the holy Spirit—the Bible.’

 

"No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper"—Isaiah 54:17.

 

"What is the true explanation?... The explanation is that ‘Ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit’... ye are new creatures in Christ Jesus... {Ro 8:9 2Co 5:17}. The weapons and tongues merely do injury to the old creature—to the flesh, which we have already consecrated to death anyway. By helping to kill or to mortify the flesh, our adversaries are really helping us as ‘new creatures’ instead of hindering us as designed. God thus turns what seems to harm us into everlasting joy and blessing." ‘02 R3050.

 

DID JESUS REVILE HIS ENEMIES?

 

"Who when he was reviled, reviled not again"—1 Peter 2:23.

 

"The import of the Apostle’s words was that Jesus did not retaliate. When evil things were spoken of him, He did not speak evil of those who did him injury... but committed himself to God and left his cause in the hands of divine justice.

 

"The Evangelists record some of these revilings against our Lord. On one occasion his enemies said of him, ‘He bath a devil and is mad.’ Again, Jesus himself implied that he was also called ‘Beelzebub’—prince of devils. The Scribes and the Pharisees acknowledged his works, but denounced him, and attributed his good works to Satan. They implied that his birth was illegitimate. They attempted to prove that he was guilty of blasphemy in saying that if the temple were torn down he would erect it again in three days. They did not get the spirit of his teaching, and tried to make out that his statement was sacrilegious. They endeavored to entrap him in his words. They held that if he were really a great man, he would fellowship with them and not with publicans and sinners. Finally they reviled him to the extent of crucifying him between two thieves.

 

"But how was it that Jesus said some very sharp things to the Scribes, Pharisees and chief priests of that day? For instance, he called them ‘a generation of vipers,’ ‘whited walls,’ sepulchres full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.’ On one occasion he said, ‘Ye hypocrites! Ye can discern the face of the sky; but how is it that ye cannot discern the signs of the times?’ Again, ‘Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers! How can ye escape the condemnation of Gehenna!’ He declared, ‘Ye are of your father the devil, for his works ye do.’ At another time he called them, ‘Ye fools and blind,’ ‘Ye blind guides,’ and denounced them saying, ‘Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them who are entering to go in... Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of Gehenna than yourselves... Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithes of mint, anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith; these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat and swallow a camel! Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee! cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the platter, that the outside may be clean also. ‘ Were these revilings?... Where does the line of difference come in?

 

JESUS DID NOT STRIKE BACK

 

"We answer. The line of difference is in that our Lord was not striking back at them; his charges against them were made in advance, and were not, therefore, retaliation against something which they had said to him. He did not refer to any one of them as having a devil. He spoke of their system in general as being a pernicious system. If the Lord had not declared that these rulers of Israel were hypocrites, how could we have known that they were hypocrites, when they appeared outwardly very anxious to keep the law? The people said, ‘See how these holy men go about and pray on the street corners! Look at their broad phylacteries! We do not see Jesus pray half as much as they pray. And they are always watching, watching, to keep the Law.’ It was therefore right that our Lord should point out that their matchings, their tithings and their long prayers were hypocritical. They were so very careful about tithing the mint and the anise seed, but had no hesitation about devouring widows’ houses—by some technicality getting hold of the property of the needy widow and then swallowing it up themselves.

 

"Jesus declared that on the outside these professedly holy men were indeed ever so white and clean and beautiful, but that on the inside they were vile and unclean. They were of their father, the devil; for they had his disposition. They did not do good and serve God from purity of heart; theirs was merely an outward service. Their whole system was honeycombed with hypocrisy—in the language of today we would term it ‘rotten.’ It was necessary that these men be exposed, and all who were pure of heart be saved from the blight of their influence. Jesus called out no one of them by name, but merely denounced them as a class. He was not seeking to do them injury, but good, if possible, and to warn them and all of the evil of such a course. Our Lord wished to deliver the people... Our Lord’s words, then, would not come under the head of evil-speaking. He was speaking about a system...

 

"So we believe that we have a perfect right to call attention to the flagrant errors of today... If our Lord had not rebuked some of these things that their leaders did, the people would not have known but what those Pharisees had the Lord’s endorsement. There they were going about with sanctimonious

 

82 faces and saying so many prayers, etc. Were they really holy people? Jesus was there as a representative of God and exponent of His views. So Jesus let the people know that these Pharisees were not doing the things pleasing to God. He merely did his duty." ‘15-R5678, R5679.

 

"THE WISE SHALL UNDERSTAND" —DANIEL 12:10.

 

"Dearly beloved, we are permitted to enjoy wonderful things!... entering by hope ‘into that which is within the veil.’... As we perceive the consistency of the divine plan of the ages, our hearts are full of thanksgiving to God... From what source do the wise receive their instruction? They will understand according to the wisdom from on high—in humility accepting the divine Word and being blessed in so doing." ‘12-R5092.

 

"The Scriptures point out the fact that the Lord’s consecrated people belong so completely to him that in all their afflictions he is afflicted (Isa. 63:9). When Saul of Tarsus was persecuting the early church, our Lord called out to him on the way to Damascus, and said, ‘Saul, Saul, why persecutes" thou ME? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutes"‘ {Ac 9:4,5}. Saul was not persecuting the glorified Savior directly, but he was persecuting the followers of Jesus—not the new creatures, but the flesh. Since, then, our Lord adopts the flesh of his followers as his, the church is said to be filling up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ—Col. 1:24.

 

ANTITYPICAL BURNING OUTSIDE THE CAMP: THE OSTRACISED CONDITION HEBREWS 13:11-13; LEVITICUS 16:27

 

"The Apostle Paul explains that only those animals which were sin-offerings were burned outside the camp. And then he adds, ‘Let us go to him, without the camp bearing the reproach with him’ (Heb. 13:11-13). Thus is furnished unquestionable evidence not only that the followers of Jesus are represented by this ‘Lord’s goat,’ but also that their sacrifice, reckoned in with their Head, Jesus, constitutes part of the world’s sin-offering. ‘The reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me’—Psalm 69:9.’

 

"The antitypical sacrificing began at the time of our Lord’s consecration, which was his full surrender of his life to God, to be used in any way that the Father saw fit and that his providences might direct. The church follows in his steps. Our consecration is our death to the world, to earthly hopes, aims and ambitions. In our Lord’s case we see that his sacrificial death not only meant the giving away of his physical strength in healing, teaching, etc., but included also the suffering resulting from the opposition of those about him. Even from members of his own family he experienced ostracism. So Jesus died daily." ‘13-R5173.

 

"The things which God offers us are eternal things. Is it any wonder that the Bible sets forth the importance of doctrine? Whoever is well indoctrinated from the real Bible viewpoint is strong in the Lord. Whoever is without this knowledge of the kingdom and without this spiritual sight and hearing will necessarily be weak, and will lack the evidence of being a new creature in Christ Jesus—2 Cor. 5:17.

 

A COMMON BUT DANGEROUS PRACTICE

 

"Incidentally we remark that some are disposed even to speak jestingly of the Lord and the Scriptures. This is a dangerous practice. ‘The REVERENCE of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’; and it must continue in us, and increase as the years go by, if we would make our calling and election sure to the glorious things which God has in reservation for them that love him and reverence him—Job 28:28; Psalm 111:10.

 

"God prefers to use natural means rather than supernatural agencies; and all of his children should be alert to serve his cause at any and every moment. God’s purposes will be accomplished. But happy is he who is accounted worthy of the privilege of any service to the Lord or to the least of his brethren. Let us, then, be continually on the lookout, in an inquiring attitude of mind, desirous of knowing the mind of the Lord in every matter." ‘16-R5952, R5953.

 

"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in truth"—John 4:24.

 

"He seeketh only such to worship him, and of this class there are but a few at the present time." ‘09 R4410—please see last p also; and ‘11-R4926 c 2 p 4.

 

Revelation 3

 

10  Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

 

Revelation 3:10 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 10. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

 

Because the faithful of Philadelphia were so patient, cheerfully enduring the very sharp trials of martyrdom, therefore the trials of holding to the truth of today, were kept from them—the philosophy of the ransom, etc., and the facing of the great falling away of this period. See Rev. 3:21.

 

"THE HOUR OF TEMPTATION" Revelation 3:10

 

"... The Apostle wrote, ‘I hear that there are divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must also be heresies among you, that they which are approved may be mace manifest among you"—1 Cor. 11:18, 19). Here the division evidently must come; and evidently the sooner it comes, the better it will be for the Truth and for all who love it.

 

"BY MY SPIRIT, SAITH THE LORD" "... Even after we have been begotten of the holy Spirit our ability to understand spiritual things depends, not only upon our study of the Scriptures, which are able to make us wise, but also upon the measure of the holy Spirit which we possess. Hence the Apostle’s exhortation, ‘Be ye filled with the Spirit!’—Eph. 5:18.

 

"This means that only the spirit-begotten may understand the deep things of God at all; and that their understanding would be in proportion as they attain more and more a filling, a saturation with the spirit of holiness, the spirit of God, the spirit of Christ, the spirit of Truth...

 

"Additionally, let us remember that a correct understanding of the Lord’s Word... comes to those who are of a meek and teachable heart, who study the Lord’s Word and who live it and absorb its spirit. Thus we have illustrated 83 to us the divine declaration, ‘Not by might (greatness), nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts’—Zech. 4:6.

 

".. It is the thought of churchianity that only the great, the learned, the talented, should be the ministers of the Lord’s Word; but the Bible’s presentation is to the contrary of this. ‘The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because he bath anointed me to preach the good tidings to the meek’—Isaiah 61:1. ‘16-R5982.

 

"Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler (the deceptions of Satan), and from the noisome (havvah— mischief, calamity) pestilence (the pestilence which destroys).’

 

"Let our moderation be manifest to all, and let the fact that we know only in part and understand only in part help to keep us humble and moderate in word and deed and thought. Thus we shall best serve the interests of our Master and his cause, and be most in harmony with the teachings of his Word." ‘13-R5249.

 

"Let your moderation be known"—Phil. 4:5. "It is our conviction that the great time of trouble will come upon the world through the great adversary, Satan, and his fallen host. It will not surprise us to find evidences accumulating that the work of breaking down the human will through hypnotism, etc., is all a part of the great scheme by which shortly, gradually, increasingly, power will be exercised upon the minds of mankind—to excite them to unwisdom and to passion. Such of God’s children as shall have learned the lessons of his Word along the lines of moderation of thought, rest of heart in the Lord, patient waiting for his time and way, and assisted by the vow to careful self inspection and government daily, will be greatly blessed and by this means kept from the snare of the adversary—the hour of temptation is coming upon all that dwell upon the face of the whore Barth—Rev. 3:10." ‘13-R5250.

 

"The pestilence of infidelity will stalk abroad." ‘86-R844.

 

"Every error held obscures and hinders some truth; and we have now come to the time when every child of God needs all the panoply of truth—the Armor of God. He who has not on the ‘whole Armor of God’ is sure to fall into error in this ‘evil day,’ this ‘Hour of Temptation.’... And ‘judgment must begin at the house of God.’ ‘Who shall be able to stand?’ None except those who are ‘building themselves up in the most holy faith’ with the precious promises and vital doctrines of the Word of God. " Eph 6:11 1Pe 4:17 Re 6:17 Jude 20. ‘15-R5801.

 

"THE HOUR OF TEMPTATION"

 

"Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth"—Revelation 3:10.

 

"Our Lord’s words addressed ‘to the angel of the church in Philadelphia,’ had their fulfillment, we understand, during the period which closed somewhere about the time when the harvest of this age began. We are not to think of the different epochs represented in the messages to the various churches as being exact periods, as though there was a particular instant of beginning and a particular instant of closing. Rather we are to understand each to be a general period, which laps over the one on the other. So this period of faithfulness to the Lord’s Word of which our text treats seems to have been one of some length, just as this Laodicean period in which we live has covered a considerable time, but is nearly ended now, we think." ‘15-R5718

 

TRANSITION PERIODS OVERLAP

 

"Man’s creation, the final work, came in the close of the sixth day, or epoch, and the beginning of the seventh: as it is written—’And on the seventh day God ended his work which he made, and he rested.’ "The next few years shall give us further paroxysms of nature; for we are in another transition period—the opening of the Millennial age, for which changed conditions are requisite.

 

"The achievements of one epoch-day were carried over into the next, and we are justified in supposing that the light of the first day became more and more distinct during the next two, as ring after ring came down from the waters above the firmament to the waters below it, until by the fourth epoch-day the sun and moon and stars could be seen...’

 

"We may reasonably assume that it was just at the close of the sixth epoch-day that God created man; because his creation was the last, and it is distinctly stated that God finished his creative work, not on the sixth, but ‘on the seventh day’—the division of the man into two persons, two sexes, being, evidently, the final act.’

 

"The relationship of the Son to the work of restitution with which this Seventh Epoch-Day will close and bring terrestrial perfection, will be wholly different from any of his previous works. In all the previous creations the Son simply acted for Jehovah, using powers and energies not in any sense his own; but in this grand work to come he will be using a power and authority that are his own—which cost him 34 years of humiliation, culminating in his crucifixion. By that transaction, which the Father’s wisdom and love planned for him, he ‘bought’ the world, bought Father Adam and all his progeny, and his estate—the earth—with all his title to it as its monarch ‘in the likeness of God.’ The Father delighted to honor the ‘First Begotten,’ and therefore planned it thus, and rested, or ceased from creative processes, that the Son might thus honor him and be honored by him.

 

"It is now a little more than six thousand years since Jehovah rested in the sense of ceasing to create. His rest will continue throughout the Millennium—the thousand years of the reign of the great Mediator, effecting ‘the restitution of all things...’ Acts 3:21." Please read F Chap. 1; and D 642 "The Glorious Prospect" through chap. 14, "Jehovah’s Footstool Made Glorious.’

 

Please resume reading ‘15-R5718 p 2 through "Disappointment of Miller Movement a Sifting", and "Fall of Faith for a Time" c 2 p 1, 2; C, chapter 3, pages C84-C94.

 

"So the present crisis is surely a time of great trial upon the whole world. Many of these have constituted a nominal church; and in this period of testing and shaking all church systems will go completely to pieces. Babylon will fall; for she is neither able nor worthy to stand in this great trial day. and great will be her fall! It will mean for a little time the general destruction of faith—the fall of faith, we think. This 84 seems to be the meaning of the prophecy, ‘For the Lord shall rise up as in Mount Perazim, he shall be wrath as in the valley of Gibeon; that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act’ (Isaiah 28:21). Those not having understood, not having given heed to the Word, will be entirely disconcerted." ‘15-R5718.

 

"We shall never lose our courage if we keep our eyes continually fixed on him, and our hand closely clasped in his. God’s eternal promises are the foundation upon which all that we hope, either of character, or of coming glory, is built. And what a strong foundation! Let us be faithful to him who bath called us. Let us hold the glorious truth not only in the letter, but also in the spirit. Let us hold it in the love of it, because it is the truth, as well as because of its matchless beauty and grandeur.

 

"Let us ever remember the importance of patient endurance, constancy, that we may develop the fruits of the holy spirit, that we may take joyfully every trial, every persecution, every difficulty, which our God in his infinite wisdom and love may permit to come upon us for our testing and the ripening of that character which is of paramount importance, and without which we can never hope to see our Father’s face, nor partake of the glory to which we have been called with Christ. Let us indeed ‘hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful who promised.’ Let us, ‘hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope, firm unto the end.’ Yes, ‘we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope’ unto death—Hebrews 3:6; 10:23; 6:11. ‘14-R5497.

 

"The reign of the Prince of Righteousness has not yet begun. We are under the reign of the Prince of darkness." ‘15-R5778 Hymn 27 Numbers 6:24-26.

 

"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord bath promised to them that love Him"—James 1:12.

 

"As the Apostle says, these ‘fiery trials must try you.’ It is a matter of must, of necessity, as respects all who would be graduated from the present school of Christ to a share in His glorious Kingdom—that they must pass the examination... enduring faithfully and cheerfully whatever our loving Master sees best to permit, knowing that thus He is working out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. From this standpoint ‘How light our trials then will seem! How short our pilgrim way!’ "‘01-R2793. Hymn 7 "Help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee"—2 Chron. 14:11.

 

"Deal courageously, and the Lord shall be with the good"—2 Chron. 19:11.

 

"By and by God’s loving care over all his creatures will be manifested in the glorious kingdom of his dear Son, which shall bless and rule, instruct, and uplift mankind in general. ‘The groaning creation’ will then be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God—so many of them as will then accept the blessings. Then all will see that God so loved the world as to give his Son to die for us and to thus open the way for his kingdom blessings. "‘ 04-R3393.

 

Revelation 3

 

11  Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

 

Revelation 3:11 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 11. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

 

The Second Advent is here referred to, and indeed, it was very near. The stone of stumbling was to be present once more; and we say, What has become of the 32,000 in the account of Gideon’s Band?

 

THE PEOPLE THAT KNOW THE JOYFUL SOUND

 

"Nor need we suppose that the fact that only the 144,000 can sing this song (Rev. 14:3) implies that those able to sing the song could not fall from their steadfastness and become castaways, and lose the privilege of singing it. On the contrary, the Scriptures most distinctly assure us that only by unceasing faithfulness will any be permitted to continue to be reckoned as members of that elect company, foreknown and prearranged of God. Our Lord clearly intimates that he will blot out the names of those who are unfaithful, that other names may be written in their stead. He clearly intimates that unfaithfulness will cause that the crown set apart for the faithful will, if he prove unfaithful, be given to another—Re 3:5,11. ‘00-R2570.

 

"At no time in the church’s history has our great adversary been so active in multiplying false doctrines and in diverting attention from the truth by introducing unprofitable and irrelevant questions as at present. Just when the exaltation and glory of the church are soon to be accomplished, and when the faithful are about to be received into the joy of their Lord, every device is resorted to, to beguile them of their reward and to frustrate this feature of the divine plan. To really frustrate any part of the divine plan is impossible; God has purposed to take out from among men a Little Flock, ‘a people for his name,’ a royal priesthood; and such a company is assuredly being gathered; but whether all of those now in the race for the prize will surely be of that number is still an open question. Take heed, beloved, that no man take thy crown (Rev. 3:11).

 

"We beseech you, brethren, as you value the glorious hope set before you in the Gospel, that you give no heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, as the Apostle terms them {1Ti 4:1}; but that, with fixedness of purpose, you apply yourselves to the one thing to which you are called and are privileged to do as prospective members of that royal priesthood. "‘ 16-R5970.

 

Judges 7:13-23. "As Gideon’s band may be considered a figure or illustration of the overcomers of this Gospel age—the church, the little flock—so Gideon himself would fitly represent the Captain of our salvation, whose example we are to follow, and, whose character is to impress all his followers. Of Gideon it is declared that he looked like the king’s son—that in appearance, form, etc., he had a nobility which marked him as above the ordinary rank and file. So our Lord Jesus is the King’s Son, and so all whom he accepts to be of the little band, his little flock, are to be conformed to his image by the power of God working in them ‘to will and do of his good pleasure’; working in them through a knowledge of the truth—the knowledge of the exceeding great and precious promises of God’s Word. Whatever they are by nature, it is God’s design that eventually

 

85 they shall be like their Lord and Captain, see him as he is and share his glory, honor and immortality.

 

"After receiving the Lord’s invitation to be the deliverer of his people, Gideon also received a test, he was to hew down the trees constituting the grove of Baal and was to overthrow the statue and was to offer to the Lord sacrifices upon a rock, using the wood from Baal’s grove and image as the fuel. Sure that he was following the Lord’s command, he did not wait to gain even the consent of his father, much less that of his people in that vicinity, who he knew would be greatly incensed by such a procedure. Assuring himself that his commands were of the Lord, he hesitated not one moment, but accomplished the destruction and made the offering, doing the work by night, knowing it would be interrupted by the people if done in the day time. The citizens of his clan demanded his life, appealing the matter to his father, who evidently was a chief amongst them; but the wise decision of the father was that if Baal could not defend himself against his son, there was certainly no need of any one taking up the cause of Baal.

 

"Thus the Lord protected the one whom he had chosen for his servant and brought him more markedly than ever, before the attention of the people, so that when he sent out invitations for volunteers from various quarters, an army of thirty-odd thousand assembled to his standard. But the Lord said to Gideon that there were too many, and that all were not of the kind desired. From the human standpoint the thirtytwo thousand of Israel had no show of conquering the hundred and thirty-five thousand of their enemies Budges 8:10); but from the standpoint of faith in God, who called them to this service, victory was certain, though none could foresee in what way it should be brought about.

 

"The Lord had in mind a glorious victory, but it was to be achieved by His might and power alone. The honor due to the human instruments who were privileged to share in it was not to be in their skill and strength in battle, but in their faith in God and in their zeal in obeying his orders, as an evidence of the strength of their confidence in God.

 

"Then the Lord commanded Gideon to prove them. Gideon’s army had a chance to see the hosts of the enemy; they had a chance to consider that their enemies were used to warfare while they as a people had for now a long time been accustomed to the peaceable pursuits of agriculture. Accordingly, the first test of faith applied was permission for all the fearful to return home. This reduced the army to ten thousand; yet many if not all of those who first volunteered, but were now rejected, probably had an opportunity a little later on of joining in the battle after the Midianites had been discomfited and were in full retreat.

 

But the ten thousand courageous men, fearless in the presence of an enemy many times their own strength, must have been men of faith in the Lord, men who, in some respects at least, resembled Gideon in their hearts, in their courage, in their trust in Jehovah; nevertheless there were still too many for the Lord’s purpose.

 

The next test was a test of zeal. When led down to the brook to drink, all but three hundred halted very leisurely and knelt down to drink, which required the loosening of their armor and unfastening of their swords. But three hundred did not stop to do this, but hastily scooped up a little water and lapped it from their hands. This zeal, inspired by a living faith in God, was just the element of character for which the Lord was looking; and these three hundred ‘peculiar people,’ full of faith and active zeal, were the only ones acceptable to God and privileged to share the honors of delivering Israel from a mighty host of oppressors.

 

"Just so the Lord Jehovah contemplates the conquest of the world for Christ (Zech. 14:3); and Christ, like Gideon, is called of God to lead a ‘little flock’ of ‘called and faithful and chosen’ ones (Rev. 17:14) forth to the conquest of the hosts of sin. The selection of Gideon’s army was an illustration of the Lord’s method in the selection of a ‘peculiar people’ who will share with him the honors of victory in the conquest of sin and all its defiling host...

 

"It is not sufficient that we should have faith in the Lord and in the Captain of our salvation and should make our consecration to the Lord’s will; but further tests are made with a view to making a final selection of a very special class to constitute the little flock. It will be a test of water—symbolizing the truth. It becomes a very important question to every consecrated one as he is brought to a knowledge of the truth how he will receive it—appropriate it. In the picture or type those accepted of God to be Gideon’s little flock used their hands to lift the water to their mouths, a sup at a time, as a dog uses his tongue to lift the water; while the others drank like as a horse who puts his mouth into the water and sucks it.

 

"The hand is a symbol of energy, and we might understand this to signify that the persons most approved of the Lord will use energy and discretion in partaking of the truth—these will not bow down in the mire of human servility, but will maintain their own erectness of manhood and will partake of the water of truth, lifting their heads upward and acknowledging its heavenly origin by whatever stream or channel it may come to them.

 

"THE SWORD OF THE LORD AND OF GIDEON"

 

"The selection complete, the remainder of the brave men were not sent home but to Gideon’s tent or headquarters, there to be ready for their share in the battle later. Those whom God would specially use were supplied with peculiar implements: (1) a ram’s horn; (2) a pitcher; (3) a lamp, or torch, placed inside the pitcher and thus obscured from the view of their enemies. The three hundred were divided into three companies and the individuals of each company were scattered.

 

"They approached close to the enemy and practically surrounded their camp. When Gideon blew, all who heard the blasts made similar blasts upon their trumpets; when Gideon broke his pitcher and let the light of his torch or firebrand gleam forth, the others did the same, blowing meantime with their trumpets and alternately shouting, ‘The sword of the Lord and of Gideon.’ "It was the Lord’s battle and the Lord’s arrangement, and it was carried out as intended; the Midianites awakened from their slumbers panic-stricken, believed themselves surrounded by immense hosts, and fled precipitately, killing one

 

86 another in their fright and confusion.

 

"Perceiving the routes they would take, Gideon hastened with his ten thousand followers to intercept them and to complete the defeat. Meanwhile others of the people, learning of the condition of things, joined in the battle to the ultimate and utter discomfiture of the Midianites, and the destruction of the vast majority of their hosts, including their leaders.

 

"Our captain, the Lord, has given special instructions to those whom he will specially use in the conflict of evil now in progress. Each one shall follow the example of the Captain of our salvation. First, he shall blow upon the trumpet, representing the proclamation of the truth, and proclaim that the sword of the spirit of truth is of Jehovah and of his anointed Son; and secondly, they shall break their pitchers and let their light shine out.

 

"The pitchers represent our earthly vessels, and the breaking of them in order to let the light shine out signifies that to which we are exhorted by the Apostle, saying, ‘I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God your reasonable service.’ "We see how our Chief-Captain broke his earthen vessel; we see what a light streamed forth. Our highest ambition must be to follow his example, to walk in his steps, to lay down our lives for the brethren as he laid down his life for us. Meantime the blowing of the trumpet is to progress as well as the shouting in the name of Jehovah, our Captain, and the sword of the spirit of truth is to be wielded. The result will be victory; the enemies of the Lord will be overwhelmed.

 

"But many others than the little flock will be associated in the work of overthrow, though theirs will be a special work as specially chosen instruments of the Lord. Now is the time for response to the call of our Captain; now is the time for standing the tests and being full of faith and confidence in the Lord that he is able to give us the victory. Now is the time for understanding the will of the Captain, following his example, and imitating him and laying down our lives for the brethren, and as sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God and our reasonable service. Now is the time for the proclamation and for publicly declaring our confidence in him who called us, who gave us the light, and who has privileged us to be his little flock; and very shortly will come the time for the fleeing of the enemy. Let us be faithful to our tests and opportunities, and thus be accounted worthy of a share in the service and the glory that shall follow." ‘07 R4082, R4083 Isaiah 9:2-7.

 

"Verse 4 {Isa 9} delineates the cause for the rejoicing (v. 3): it will be because the great oppressor, Satan, will no longer have control; his yoke of sin, pain, sorrow and death, his rod and staff of affliction and slavery, will be broken and that forever, as the Lord explains, ‘That old serpent the devil, Satan, shall be bound for a thousand years that he shall deceive the nations no more until the thousand years be finished’ (Rev. 20:3).

 

"The victory over the great Adversary is not to be a slow and gradual one, not to be by missions or any power of ours, but the Lord himself shall interpose His power.

 

... Thus it will be in the end of this age: as soon as the Gideon band, the Royal Priesthood under the captaincy of the glorified Christ, shall have given their message and let their feeble lights shine out, that the Lord will grant the great victory for truth and righteousness through a time of trouble which shall come upon the world but which will eventuate in a great blessing upon all people, the binding of Satan and the release of all the oppressed... The picture shows us the world cleansed of every opposition to the divine government and law of righteousness, and accords well with Revelation 5:13." ‘05-R3686, R3687.

 

Revelation 3

 

12  Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

 

Revelation 3:12 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 12. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God; and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. See Re 21:2,10.

 

All such are pillars in the temple of God, while in preparation; and will have a place in the finished temple of the near future. Their character likeness to Jesus is genuine and beautiful; and they will be illustrations of God’s likeness also, and of that city or government the New Jerusalem. Conquering self, they will receive from Him that new name, Our Righteousness of Jehovah. See Rev. 14:1.

 

"It is a good thing to give thanks unto Jehovah, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High"—Psalm 92:1.

 

"‘ Because he bath set his love upon Me (saith Jehovah), therefore will I deliver him (from the pestilence, etc.,): I will set him on high (exalt him to joint-heirship with Christ, make him a member of the ‘Royal Priesthood,’ and a ‘Partaker of the Divine nature’), because he bath known (appreciated) my name’ "—Psalm 91:14. ‘04-R3332.

 

"Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed (adored, honored) be thy name"—Luke 11:2. "Holy and to be reverenced is our God; His name stands for everything that is just and wise and loving." ‘06-R3806.

 

"God’s name represents his character, his kingdom, his personality. First of all, then, we ascribe honor, reverence, majesty, glory to our great Creator who through his appointed way we delight to call our Father in Heaven." ‘12-R5022.  "Our Lord declares Joh 17:25,26. "And I have made known unto them thy name, thy character, thy greatness, thy goodness, thy love, thy benefactions, and will make known still further..." ‘05-R3553. See Psalm 138:2.

 

"This consecrated or temple class stands related to the nominal church, as a whole, as the literal temple stood related to the holy city Jerusalem, as a whole. After the city was given up the temple was cleansed: so now the temple class must be cleansed: every selfish, carnal thought and all worldliness must be cast out that the temple may be clean, the dwelling place of God’s holy Spirit—the temple of the living God." B239.

 

THE SPIRIT AT PENTECOST—Acts 2:1-13

 

"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?"—1 Cor. 3:16.

 

"Pentecost was a notable day in the Jewish calendar. It marked the fiftieth day in the harvest—after the gathering of the first ripe sheaf. Our Lord in his glorious resurrected

 

87 condition was the antitype of that sheaf, the First-fruit of God in the great plan of redemption...

 

"The fruits are more valuable than the gifts, because they represent character and not merely powers—I 12:31 13.

 

A TEMPLE OF GOD

 

"The figure of a temple is variously used in respect to the church ... The church as a whole when gathered to the heavenly condition will be God’s temple, in that God will dwell in them. According to another figure, each Christian is a living stone in preparation for the great temple of the future, now being chiseled, polished, made ready for his place in the temple above.

 

"The thought is that as God in olden times was represented in the Tabernacle by the Shekinah glory of the Most Holy, and was also represented in the literal temple of Jerusalem, so he is represented now in all those who are begotten of his holy Spirit, and will be represented further by all who walk in harmony with their spirit-begetting and continue to abide in the Lord’s love." ‘16-R5830, R5831.  "The name of the Bridegroom is given to His Bride—‘They shall be mine, saith the Lord, in that day when I make up my jewels.’ "‘ 07-R3970.

 

"Bride of the Lamb, awake! awake!... Christ is shine; He comes... To scenes of full unmingled joy To call his bride away.’

 

"He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked"—I John. 2:6.

 

"We thus see that it is by our deeds and not merely by our professions that we are accepted of the Lord who again says, ‘Who are my brethren?... Verily, I say unto you he that doeth the will of my Father the same is my brother’—Matt. 7:21; Matt. 12:50. ‘97-R2235.

 

MAKE STRAIGHT PATHS FOR YOUR FEET—Hebrews 12:13

 

When the Apostle says, MAKE STRAIGHT PATHS FOR YOUR FEET, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed,’ What does he mean?..." See ‘09-R4348 "Oh, for a trumpet voice with which to call upon the Lord’s people everywhere to be on the alert to resist our great foe—Satan! And in the word ‘Satan,’ we include all the arts of our great adversary, whereby he lies in wait to deceive and entrap the soldiers of the cross. He is indeed the adversary of the whole world, in that he is the adversary of God and of all the wise and gracious provisions and laws which God has made for human protection against the downward and destructive tendencies of sin.

 

"From information reaching us in various ways, we incline to the belief that a great wave of immorality and sensuality is passing over the civilized world. No doubt the War and the various new conditions which it has opened up have much to do with this evil condition. It could hardly be otherwise. But additionally, it would appear that our great adversary has for thousands of years found sensuality, immorality, to be one of his best avenues through which to attack mankind, and especially those of humanity who have acknowledged the Lord and the righteous regulations which he establishes for all those who will be his people.

 

"Bible students familiar with the history of typical Israel will recall that it is along this line that Balaam and Balak (See ‘15-R5322, R5323 at Rev. 2:14 comment.) plotted against Israel with so great success, bringing upon the Israelites divine judgments. St. Paul tells us that it was in this manner that our race, originally created in the image of God, fell so far into degradation—Romans 1:21-32... a full explanation...

 

"Our adversary’s early tactics are again prevailing! Again the learned are professing to be wise, and are foolishly rejecting the wisdom from above; and again immorality is rampant: anger, malice, hatred, strife, backbiting, whispering, wars, and murders are prevailing. The Lord seems to be letting mankind learn the lesson that civilization does not spell salvation, as some had expected.

 

"The Bible represents mankind as birds, and the great adversary as the hunter seeking to entrap and to kill them; but the saints are pictured as speckled birds, especially attractive to the hunter. Against these he uses his arts and snares with keen interest in their downfall.

 

A BLESSED MEANS OF GRACE

 

"Some years ago, in the Lord’s providence, we were guided to a presentation of A Vow UNTO THE LORD which we earnestly recommended to his people and which we believe has done them great good. Not that this Vow, or any other vow, could be greater or wider in its scope than the vow of self-sacrifice which each of the Lord’s people took upon himself before he was acceptable to the Lord and begotten of the holy Spirit; but this Vow has proven helpful to his saints in that it has drawn to their particular attention certain dangers of the way, counseling as respects their abiding in the Lord’s favor.

 

"About 20,000 of the Lord’s consecrated people have written us, desiring to be enrolled as amongst those who have taken this Vow. From very many of these we have heard what great blessings have come to them through their endeavors to observe faithfully the various items of that Vow—how their feet have been kept from stumbling; how they have been helped in respect to their fellowship with the Lord; how they have been refreshed in spirit as they remembered daily at the throne of grace all others who have taken the Vow; how they have been blessed also in their daily remembrance of the harvest work and their own privileges therein; and how they have been made the more cautious by the resolutions respecting Spiritism and Occultism, and respecting their fellowship with persons of the opposite sex.

 

"With the thought that many may be readers of THE WATCH TOWER now who were not at the time this Vow was presented, we print it afresh:

 

A VOW UNTO THE LORD

 

1. Our Father, which art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. May Thy rule come into my heart more and more, and Thy will be done in my mortal body. Relying on the

 

88 assistance of Thy promised grace to help in every time of need, through Jesus Christ our Lord, I register this Vow.

 

2. Daily will I remember at the Throne of Heavenly Grace the general interests of the Harvest work, and particularly the share which I myself am privileged to enjoy in that work, and the dear colaborers everywhere.

 

3. I Vow to still more carefully, if possible, scrutinize my thoughts and words and doings, to the intent that I may be the better enabled to serve Thee and Thy dear flock.

 

4. I Vow to Thee that I will be on the alert to resist everything akin to Spiritism and Occultism, and that remembering that there are but the two masters, I shall resist these snares in all reasonable ways as being of the Adversary.

 

5. I further Vow that with the exceptions below, I will at all times, and in all places, conduct myself toward those of the opposite sex in private exactly as I would do with them in public—in the presence of a congregation of the Lord’s people.

 

6. And, so far as reasonably possible, I will avoid being in the same room with any of the opposite sex alone, unless the door to the room stand wide open.

 

7. Exceptions in the case of Brethren—wife, children, mother, and natural sisters. In the case of Sisters—husband, children, father, and natural brothers.

 

A WORD OF WARNING

 

"We have heard from some that, while they had great blessing when they carefully observed the Vow, they gradDally grew careless of it and began to lose their blessings, and stumbled into sin. We shall never be beyond danger, dear Brethren, as long as we are in the flesh. Hence, everything that we can do on the side of the Lord, on the side of righteousness, as New Creatures enlisted under the banner of our Redeemer, we should do—for the maintenance of our own standards and for the assistance of others in the fight against the world, the flesh, and the adversary, in which we have enlisted.

 

"The text at the head of this article (Hebrews 12:13) should never be forgotten by any of the soldiers of the cross. The strongest need to remember it, and surely the weaker ones need to obey it. We are all lame. None is able to walk uprightly, perfectly, in the footprints of our Lord. At very best, we limp. How necessary, then, that we do our best to avoid trials and temptations which would be a special strain upon us because of our weaknesses of the flesh! How we should seek to walk close to the Lord and to hold firmly to his hand while passing through the trials and the difficulties of the present time!

 

"Does some one suggest that such a course represents weakness and dependence? Surely, it does; and surely the one who does not know of his weakness and dependence upon the Lord has not learned his primary lesson! Let us not be ashamed of regulating our lives so as to avoid temptations as far as possible; for this is the wise course admonished by the Lord’s Word. To be proud, self-confident, and willing to trust in ourselves anywhere bespeaks the spirit which is not in close fellowship with the Lord, who shows his face to the humble and the meek.

 

"If there are special trials upon the world and upon the Lord’s followers now, we may expect that these will be increasingly severe in coming days, and years. How necessary it is that the Lord’s followers shall be courageous, strong, determined for the right—especially in all matters of self control! ‘He that ruleth his own spirit (his own mind) is greater than the warrior who captures a city,’ is the inspired announcement. Let us seek to be great from the divine viewpoint—pleasing to the Lord; guarding well our words and thoughts and doings, not merely on our own account but additionally in the interest of all with whom we have to do. Thus we shall more and more be bright and shining lights, showing forth the praises of him who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light’—1 Peter 2:9. "‘ 16-R5974, R5975.

 

"According to your faith be it unto you"—Matt. 9:29. "Those, therefore, who can and will exercise full faith, full confidence in all of the divine promises may go from victory to victory, from blessing to blessing, from joy to joy, from one attainment to another, and have a glorious victory in and over the world, the flesh and the Adversary, through the imputed merit and continued assistance of him who loved us and bought us with his precious blood.

 

"To this class the giants of opposition and despair lose their power, even as did Goliath before the clingstone of David. The pebble from the brook—the message from the divine Word—vanquishes the enemy’s power to those who have the sling of faith. To these the fortresses of sin are not so strong as to be invulnerable, unassailable; entrenched depravity is recognized as being subject to divine power, and when attacked in the name and strength of the Lord and encompassed repeatedly with prayer, finally its strong walls fall down... thoroughly conquered so far as our hearts are concerned... the triumphs of the new mind under the leadership of Jesus.

 

"As these victories of faith progress the fruits of the victory become ours... Of these fruits and graces the Apostle speaks, naming meekness, gentleness, patience, longsuffering, brotherly kindness, love. And the assurance of the Word is that if we do these things, if we maintain this good fight of faith as new creatures, we not only shall enjoy the spiritual refreshment, but eventually ‘an entrance shall be administered unto us abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’ "—2 Peter 1:11. ‘07-R4046, R4047.

 

Revelation 3

 

13  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

 

Revelation 3:13 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 13. He that bath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches.

 

Here God suggests that all such consider the prize of the High Calling, and study how to attain that greatest of all exaltations, and to do so in the spirit of self-sacrifice.

 

"The more we study and understand this plan, the greater will be the operation of this holy power of God in our hearts. The deeper our consecration... the more fervently shall we desire to do the divine good pleasure." ‘16-R5931.

 

"Those things which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you"—Philippians 4:9.

 

"Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am Jehovah your God. And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am Jehovah which sanctify you"—Le 20:7,8 89  "This sanctifying work should affect our minds, our hands, our eyes, our ears, our tongues—our all—that we may be fully used of the Lord. It is the will that is given up first, and the will, of course, includes the service of our mortal body... to bring every thought, word and act into subjection to the will of God.

 

"It is one thing for the will to be made holy, and another thing to bring the mind and the body into line with this holiness of the will. The will is present with us, but how to perform is the problem. Not only are our wills to maintain this sanctified state, but we are to broaden our appreciation of the Lord’s will for us, and thus have more and more of the spirit of sacrifice.’

 

SANCTIFIED THROUGH THE TRUTH

 

"Our Lord Jesus in his last prayer to the Father before his death, prayed, ‘Sanctify them through THY TRUTH’ (John 17:17). Here he gives us the key as to how this work of sanctification will proceed.’

 

"We are sanctified, through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all’ (Heb. 10:10). "The sacrifice of Jesus Christ opened the way. His merit cleansed us and made us acceptable to Jehovah.

 

"We are of the elect, ‘through sanctification of the Spirit’ {1Pe 1:2}... accepted and begotten of the Spirit... into the body of the Anointed. The spirit of the truth inspires us and guides us in the heavenly way... accepted as sons of God, led on step by step... Thus the Spirit through the Word brings about our complete sanctification.

 

"It is ‘the blood of the covenant wherewith we are sanctified’—Hebrews 10:29. It is a covenant of sacrifice—Ps 50 5." ‘16-R5877.

 

"The eyes of Jehovah are upon the righteous and His ears are open unto their cry"—Psa. 34:15. ‘96-R1999 c 2 p 5; ‘16-R5862 cl p4.

 

The things of the Spirit of God... are spiritually discerned. ‘Eye bath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man (by any other sense or power of perception) the things which God bath in reservation for those who love him—but God hath revealed them unto us (the ‘New Creation’) by his Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth (out) all things, yea the deep things of God’—1 Cor. 2:9, 10, 14.

 

"This spiritual sense may be called the sixth sense of those begotten to the New Creation; or they may be considered as having a complete set of spiritual senses—five additional senses corresponding to their earthly senses. Gradually ‘the eyes of their understanding’ open wider and wider to the things not seen by the natural eye; by degrees the hearing of faith increases until every good promise of the Divine word is forceful and meaningful; in time they come into touch with the Lord and his invisible powers; little by little they taste that the Lord is very gracious; after a time they come to appreciate those sacrifices and incense-prayers which are of sweet odor to the Lord. But as the natural senses can be cultivated, so can the spiritual; and the cultivation of these spiritual senses (or, at least, the endeavors to cultivate them) constitute marks indicating our growth in grace—our development as embryo New Creatures for the resurrection birth—to the completeness of our new selves in the glory, honor and immortality of the divine nature." F79-F80.

 

STANDING AT THE MARK

 

"... And strong meat of divine truth should speedily bring to full maturity the Christian character... The severest temptations come after we have reached the mark... ‘09 R4470 c2 p5; ‘04-R3325 c1 p1; R3307 c2 p1.

 

"To this service—to this carrying out of the divine program—God attached a very great reward of glory, honor and immortality. The Logos, ‘the beginning of the creation of God,’ ‘the first born of every creature’ (Rev. 3:14; Col. 1:15), accepted the divine arrangement gladly and humbled himself. Leaving the honors and favors of his high position on the spirit plane, he was made flesh in order ‘that he by the grace of God, should taste death for every man’ (Hebrews 2:9) as the Ransomer of Adam. St. Paul tells us of him as the One ‘who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame,’ and now as a result, ‘ is set down at the right hand of the throne of God’ (Hebrews 12:2), henceforth expecting, waiting, until the time shall come for him to bless Adam and his race for whom he has already died—waiting that the Father in due time, after the selection of the bride class, may put all things in subjection under him—under the Messiah—that he may reign a thousand years for the uplifting and blessing of those for whom he died. "‘ 16-R5972.

 

"Which things we speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but by the teachings of the Spirit; unfolding spiritual things to spiritual persons"—1 Corinthians 2:13, Diaglott rendering. Please see the explanation, E202.

 

"For we dare not... compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise—understand it not"—2 Corinthians 10:12. Please see margin.

 

"For if readiness of mind be present, one is acceptable according to what he may have, and not according to what he has not"—2 Corinthians 8:12. Please see Diaglott rendering.

 

IN REPLY

 

"The conviction has been for some time growing upon me that the only thing in us commendable in the Lord’s sight is honesty—sincerity... Your son cannot be injured by consecration, but may be greatly helped. If the Lord sees him incompetent in any sense or manner for the high calling he will not accept him to that, but to the earthly favor in due time... "‘ 14-R5477.

 

"The Lord’s fiery or spiritual chariot, drawn by spiritual doctrines, is to do a final, separating work. But the weakest and humblest of the consecrated ones need not fear this chariot... Thank God our overcoming is judged... by our willingness and the earnestness of our endeavors to do and to suffer all we can in His cause. "‘ 89-R1132 Please see ‘14-R5594 to R5596; CR120.

 

90 "Let the person being taught the word, communicate to the instructor in all good things"—Galatians 6:6 (Diag.). "They are urged to communicate, to criticize... Honesty to the Truth is a prime essential to progress in it... Next to the Lord, the Truth is the most precious thing in all the world; it is not to be trifled with, not to be played with; and whoever is negligent along this line will himself sustain injury—See 2Th 2:10,11. " F 263-F264. Isa 1:18 Jude 3 2Pe 3:1,2.

 

"These were more noble than those... in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so"—Acts 17:11 2Th 2:13 to 17; 3:6; Eph. 3:11—Diag.

 

"He who really believes the Bible to be God’s Word believes its every authentic testimony, whether by the Lord or an apostle or prophet, and whether stated once or many times reiterated." ‘00-R2651.

 

"As seekers after truth, it will not do for us to say... that the majority of these passages seem to favor whatever view we incline to prefer, and then to ignore the others. Until we have a view of the matter in which every Bible statement finds a reasonable representation, we should not feel sure that we have the truth on the subject. One statement of God is as true, and as firm a foundation for faith, as a hundred. And it would be wiser to seek for a harmonious understanding... " B143-B144.

 

GOD RICH IN MERCY VERY PITIFUE

 

"The statement of one reliable prophet is good and sufficient ground for faith and many of the notable proofs at the First Advent were foretold by only a single prophet; nevertheless, God, who is rich in mercy and very pitiful, considered our weakness of faith, and has answered... providing the three prophecies of different prophetic standpoints, relating to Israel’s ‘double.’ Jeremiah (16:13-15); Zechariah (9:9-12); Isaiah (40:1-2)... Combined they are a three-fold cord of wonderful strength to the humble, studious, trustful children of God... They lived and wrote hundreds of years apart." B224-B228.

 

"Let us be ‘gentle toward all.’ Let ‘the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, which is quick and powerful, do all the cutting. "‘ 11 R4803.

 

"We must daily carry our earthen pitcher to this great heavenly Fountain to be replenished; for we are leaky vessels.’

 

THE NOMINAL CHURCH OF TODAY—Re 3:14

 

"Laodicea is interpreted to mean a tried, or judged people. The description shows us that they were tried and found wanting. If we understand Christ’s meaning in this message, it is sent particularly to those who profess his name, but deny the truth which he himself here presents. Let those who read this special message do so with special care.

 

"‘The Beginning of the creation of God.’ ‘What think ye of Christ? Whose Son is he?’ (Matthew 22:42) This question has had many answers. More Bible and less hymn-book theology would have made the subject clearer to all. The doctrine of the trinity is totally opposed to Scripture, and has not even one reasonable text to support it when the well known interpolation of 1Jo 5:7 is discarded and when John 1:1 is properly understood. We suggest that any reader who does not see this subject clearly should read carefully and prayerfully the 17th chapter of St. John’s Gospel. ‘16-R5993 (Please see Q716.) "The Bible, while showing the absolute Unity between the Father and Son and holy Spirit in the various steps of the great plan of salvation, most positively contradicts the thought that the Father and Son are one in person... He was the Heavenly Father’s first and only begotten Son... The Son cheerfully and fully acknowledges that he ‘came forth from the Father,’ that he ‘came not to do his own will’ but the Father’s will.

 

"Various Scriptures all consistently and harmoniously teach a distinction of person and glory and power as between the heavenly Father and the heavenly Son; but a most absolute and profound unity of plan, will, purpose {Joh 6:38,39}.

 

"To us there is one God, the Father (Life Giver), of whom are all things... and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things." 1Co 8:6.

 

"The Trinity, an admittedly incomprehensible doctrine, is one of the dark mysteries by which Satan, through the Papacy, has beclouded the Word and character and plan of God {2Co 4:4}.  "It has always been Satan’s policy to misrepresent the truth, to misrepresent the Bible, and to make its teachings appear unreasonable and self-contradictory, in order to hinder mankind from seeing the great beauty and reasonableness and harmony which inhere in the divine plan and Word." E59-E64.

 

"The message to the Laodicean stage of the church pictures the nominal church of today as our Lord sees her. In one sense she is not cold. She has much zeal, but not according to knowledge. She has organized her armies, developed her machinery and multiplied her stores; but yet the enemy does not fall before her. She claims that her principal object is to convert sinners, to bring forth spiritual children. The Prophet puts these words into the mouth of nominal Christians when they awake to a knowledge of the situation: ‘We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the earth fallen’ (Isaiah 26:16-18). This is said after they have realized the presence of the Lord.

 

"We should not look for light where little remains but the fading reflections of a former glory. The sickly hue which now appears is only the smoke illuminated by the piercing rays from the Hand which, high upon the wall, is writing, ‘MERE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN’ (Daniel 5:25-29). Unknown to the Laodicean church, our Lord has returned. He has stood at the door and knocked. Had they been awake, they would have heard. Our Lord clearly foretold that he would come as a thief; but he did not tell at what hour.

 

"While the nominal church is still seemingly in power, while the old glory still hangs about her, while it is still respectable and honorable to be a church member, the Little Flock of truth-seekers are despised and rejected. They are covered with reproach because they dare to point out the 91 faults of a worldly church. They are looked down upon by her who sits as a proud queen, lifted up in order that she may have the greater fall"‘—Revelation 18:7, 21. ‘16-R5993.

 

Revelation 3

 

14  And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

 

Revelation 3:14 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 14. And unto the angel ("And by the messenger"—Diag.) of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;  

 

Thus saith the AMEN, suggesting the end of the seven periods, to the last of the seven stars, Pastor C.T. Russell the last messenger for the church in the flesh. The word Laodicea means "justice for the people," and how they are crying for it and demanding it, even by force. How plainly the speaker identifies himself with the Logos, who became our Lord Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega.

 

ELOHIM

 

"The word elohim,  with its modifications eloah, elah and el,  occurs over 2,500 times. These most frequently refer to Jehovah; but in many instances with evident propriety are applied to others: hence the connections must determine who is referred to. We will give Scripture illustrations which will make the matter perfectly clear, and prove beyond a doubt that elohim signifies mighty. It is properly applied to Jehovah, because he is All-mighty,  all-powerful. It is properly applied to any angel, for they are mighty,  powerful, and in their visits to man recorded in the Old Testament they were specially mighty because representatives of Jehovah, the All-mighty. Great, influential men were also properly described as elohim—mighty. Like our English word ‘sheep,’ elohim is used either in the singular or plural as occasion may require.

 

"These are facts, and our quotations from the Common Version Bible will substantiate them thoroughly; and thus will demonstrate the Scriptural propriety and consistency in referring to our Lord Jesus Christ as God (elohim) and as Adon (Master, Lord) and as Adonai (my Lord), and yet never as Jehovah.

 

ELOHTM (MTGHTY) TRANSLATED ‘ANGELS’:ELOHTM (MTGHTY) TRANSLATED GODS; JEHOVAH THE (ALLMTGHTY) ELOHTM CONTRASTED WITH OTHER ELOHTM (MTGHTY ONES); ELOHTM APPLIED TO MEN; THE SAINTS CALLED ELOHTM; ELOHTM RENDERED GREAT, STRONG, ETC." E66-E69.

 

"In the glorified Christ, who is the Head of the Church, dwells all fulness-plenitude of wisdom, grace and power, not only to guide all the affairs of the Church, his body, but also as the Father’s representative to do any and every thing necessary to be done in carrying forward to successful completion the great divine plan committed to his care." E71, last par.

 

Genesis 1:26-30: "And God said, We will make man in our image, after our likeness," etc. "The plural form of the pronoun used here calls to mind the statement of John with reference to the ‘only begotten Son’ of God, ‘the beginning of the creation of God,’ ‘the first born of every creature,’ that ‘he was in the beginning (of creation) with God’; that ‘all things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made’—1 Joh 4:9 Re 3:14 Col 1:15,16 Joh 1:2,3. "‘ 94-R1609.

 

"It may be said that nothing whatever in the words used, distinguishes the Father from the Son in the words rendered Lord and God. The matter is left entirely to the judgment of the reader, and indicated only by the construction of the sentence—except that where the word Theosis used twice in the same clause the Greek Prepositive Article is sometimes used, so as to give the effect of the God in contrast with a God. An illustration of this is found in John 1:1—’The Word was with the God (ho theos) and the Word was a God (theos).’ But the careful student (freed from prejudice) will generally have no difficulty in determining the thought of the Apostle. Indeed, the language is so explicit that the wonder is that we were heedless of it so long." E.70.

 

GETHSEMANE—WATCHING AND PRAYING—Matt. 2646. "Not my will, but shine, be done"—Lu. 22:42.

 

"No one can thoughtfully read this lesson of our Lord’s dark hour in Gethsemane, and his ‘strong cryings and tears unto him (the Father), who was able to save him out of death’ (Heb. 5:7), without feeling that there is something thoroughly incorrect in the idea so prevalent amongst Christian people that our Lord Jesus was his own heavenly Father, Jehovah; and that it would have been a pretense, a mockery of prayer, for him to have supplicated as here represented, unless it were true also that instead of being in any sense the Father, he was simply what he claimed to be, the Son, the sent of God, the only begotten of the Father, the firstborn of all creation, THE BEGINNING OF THE cREATTON OF GOD (John 10:29; 1:14; Col. 1:15; Rev. 3:14). There is absolutely no other standpoint from which the language of our Lord and the apostles and his course of conduct are reasonably interpretable. On this point the earnest truth-seeker is referred to Millennial Dawn, Vol. V." ‘01-R2773. Ps 145:18,19 ‘01-R2775 c 1 p 4.

 

WHY GETHSEMANE’S AGONY? Mark 14:32-42.

 

THE AMEN: FAITHFUL AND TRUE!

 

THE LOGOS! JESUS SORROWFUL EVEN UNTO DEATH’

 

"Well had it been expressed by the Prophet, ‘Of the people there was none with me’ (Isa. 63:3). He trod the winepress of grief alone.

 

"Not until he had finished giving admonitions to his apostles and had left some to watch at the entrance of the garden, did the Master seem to give special thought to himself and to the momentous events anticipated within a few hours. As he was leaving his favorite three, he gave utterance to the weight of oppression which seemed suddenly to rest down upon his soul. He exclaimed, ‘My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death!’ (Matt. 26:38)—I feel as if I would die now, without coming to that great crisis which is before me. We read that ‘he was greatly amazed and sore troubled.’ The Greek is equally strong: "And began to be greatly amazed and full of anguish—’My soul is encompassed with a deadly anguish"—Mark 14:33, 34, Diaglott—signifying utter amazement and sore trouble, carrying the thought of loneliness, home-sickness, friendlessness.

 

"This feeling of wretchedness, despair, which suddenly

 

92 came upon the Savior, continued for some time; for he went in prayer to the Father three times, petitioning that this hour might pass from him, this terrible oppression which was breaking his heart.

 

"Jesus... comprehended, as others had not comprehended, what death really is. He appreciated, as others did not appreciate, the meaning and value of life.

 

"Jesus had left the heavenly glory, divesting himself of the higher nature on the spirit plane, exchanging it for the human nature, because man had sinned and because in the divine purpose and arrangement he was to die, the just for the unjust, as man’s redemption-price. This was the Father’s will concerning him. He tells us that for this purpose he came into the world. This thought dominated his entire life. Daily he was laying down his life, in doing the will of God and in serving humanity. Now he had come to the great climax.

 

"The heavenly Father had promised that if our Lord was faithful in this work given him to do, he would be raised from the dead by divine power to the spirit plane of being and to a station still higher than he had before. He doubted not the Father’s faithfulness in this matter, nor did he doubt the Father’s power. But the Father’s provision and promise were conditional; only if our Lord would perform his part faithfully would he receive the resurrection to the higher life. If in any sense or degree, great or small, he should yield to sin, the penalty for sin would be upon him—’Dying, thou shalt die.’ "For three and one-half years his life had been devoted to God and to the doing of the divine will. The only question was, had he done the divine will fully, completely, and absolutely in such a spirit as had been pleasing to the heavenly Father? More than this, could he, would he, pass through the experiences of the next few hours with proper courage, proper faith, proper obedience; or would he fail, and lose his all in death?’

 

No ADVOCATE FOR THE MASTER

 

"Had the Master failed, there was no one to make good for him. His failure meant everlasting death... In a word, the Master’s personal eternal life was in the balance that night in Gethsemane, as also were all his prospects of glory, honor, immortality and high exaltation at the right hand of the Father, far above angels, principalities and powers.

 

"... Part of the horrors of that experience surely was the fact that he must be dealt with as a malefactor, as a blasphemer of God, as an enemy of God and of righteousness.

 

"Yet even in his greatest distress the Master prayed, ‘Nevertheless not my will, but shine, be done.’ "St. Paul assures us that the Master’s Gethsemane experiences were linked with fear—not fear of dying, but fear of remaining dead, fear that he would not be accounted of the Father worthy of that glorious resurrection which had been promised to him on condition of absolute obedience. St. Paul says, ‘Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him out of death (by resurrection), was heard in respect to the things which he feared’ (Hebrews 5:7). He was saved out of death; and more than this, he was given the assurance by the Father that he would be saved out of death." ‘14-R5550, See ‘14-R5585 c 2 p 5.

 

"From that moment onward, all the fear and agony were gone. If the Father had approved him thus far, and if the Father’s blessing and smile went with him, he could endure all things, come what might. Throughout the remainder of that night and the following day, Jesus was the calmest of the calm, under the most trying circumstances. He comforted those who wept about him; he committed his mother to the faithful St. John, etc.

 

"One great difference between the Master and his followers should be remembered: Whereas ‘of the people there were none’ with him, with us it is different; the Master is with us, saying, ‘I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.’ Moreover, with us also there is a fellowship of spirit amongst the brethren of Christ, whose words of encouragement by the way, as they watch with us and pray with us, are a source of strength in every time of trouble. Thanking him for all the divine provision and arrangements, let us go onward to our Gethsemane, strong in the strength which God supplies through his Son." ‘14-R5551.

 

Revelation 3

 

15  I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

 

Revelation 3:15 (RVENDAG_)

 

THE CELEBRATION IN THE KINGDOM 16-R5871, R5872

 

Verses 15-16. I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. "So then because thou art lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

 

Thy works indicate that thou art neither cold nor hot—a most displeasing and unsatisfactory condition to the dear Lord, the Head of the Church. Therefore, I will spue thee out of my mouth! what an expression of contempt! This was done in 1881, since which time, spirit begettal has gradually come to an end.

 

"The fall of A.D. 1874, where the Jubilee cycles point out that our Lord was due to be present, corresponds to the time of his baptism and anointing by the holy Spirit when he became Messiah the Prince (Dan. 9:25), and began his work of reaping the Jewish harvest. The Spring of A.D. 1878 (three and a half years after) corresponds to the date at which our Lord assumed the office of King, rode on the ass, cleansed the temple of its money-changers, and wept over and gave up to desolation that nominal church or kingdom; and it marks the date when the nominal church systems were ‘spewed out’ (Rev. 3:16), and from which time (A.D. 1878) they are not the mouth-pieces of God, nor in any degree recognized by him." B235.

 

"I ceased not to warn everyone night and day with tears"—Acts 20:21.

 

"We see in the parting of the beloved apostle with the elders of the church at Ephesus, who had come to bid him farewell before he set sail for Jerusalem and to receive his parting counsel, another reminder of his faithfulness and a worthy example for our imitation.

 

"He said to them, ‘I know that ye shall see my face no more. Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men (he was bearing in mind his personal responsibility as a steward of the Lord and the solemn significance of it as indicated by the Prophet Eze 93 33:7-9,30-33): for I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God’ (Acts 20:27). On the part of Paul there was no compromise of the truth, no mixing of it with human philosophies to make it more palatable to either Jews or Gentiles, or to avoid thus any measure of the otherwise inevitable persecution. The Christian teacher who can truly bear such testimony under such circumstances is indeed a soldier of the cross." ‘93-R1558.

 

"I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God... I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse (distorted, twisted) things to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears (Acts 20:27-32)." "The great Apostle felt properly the weight of responsibility resting upon him as a servant of God and an ambassador of the King of kings and an over-shepherd and overseer of the Lord’s flock... delegated by the Great Head to assist in calling out those who will be the members of his body, for their instruction and building up in the ‘most holy faith,’ that eventually they might all come to the full measure of the stature of manhood in the body of Christ, as the great Mediator, Prophet, Priest and King of the world. " Acts 20:32: "The Word of God is able to build us up, to give us the necessary development of character... and to give us ultimately a share in the great Inheritance which God has in reservation for all those who are sanctified by this message. "‘ 09 R4459.

 

"What consternation would follow in the various churches of today, if the professed ministers of the Gospel should follow the Master’s example in similarly declaring the whole counsel of God! How quickly they would become unpopular and be charged with breaking up the churches! The congregations of the great temples of fashion ostensibly dedicated to the service of God and the teachings of Christ would not stand it... they do not want the truth...

 

"A disciple is a pupil, a learner; and when a man ceases to be a student and pupil of Christ, the great teacher, he is no longer his disciple. This was very manifest when the Lord was present, and when his name was one of reproach among men; but later, when his presence was withdrawn, and when his doctrines were unscrupulously mixed with human philosophies to such an extent as to divest them of reproach, and to make them really void, then men began to claim to be his disciples. This was long after his doctrines had been utterly repudiated...

 

"It is the duty of every member carefully to prove their teaching by the infallible Word." ‘14-R5507, R5508.

 

"The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them that trust in Him"—Nahum 1:7.

 

"The saints... will recognize the trouble as the preparation, according to God’s plan, for blessing the whole world, and they will be cheered and comforted through it all. This is forcibly stated in Ps 91 Isa 33:2-14,15-24.

 

"Thus comforted and blessed by the divine assurance, the first duty of the saints is to let the world see that in the midst of all the prevailing trouble and discontent, and even while they share the trouble and suffer under it, they are hopeful, cheerful and always rejoicing in view of the glorious outcome foretold in God’s Word." A338.

 

"The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy"—Psalm 103:8, "and we see this well illustrated in the case of fleshly Israel in the wilderness experiences, in the history of the Lord’s people of this Gospel age, nominal spiritual Israel, and also in the cases of the faithful ones. Can we not all realize how patient and merciful the Lord has been to us in our various experiences in life? Can we not see how he would have been fully justified in canceling our covenant long ago, and that only of his mercy and love have we been permitted to come thus far on the way toward the heavenly kingdom? Surely a realization of these things should make us both humble and trustful. Moreover the Lord informs us that he has a still higher requirement, namely, that if we would appreciate his greatness and mercy through Christ in our own cases we shall exercise similarly mercy and forbearance toward others who may transgress against us. Indeed, so earnest is the Lord in impressing this matter upon us that he positively declares that none of us can maintain relationship with him except as he shall develop this spirit, this character, in relationship to his brethren and fellow-servants. How generous, how considerate, how moderate, how forgiving all this should lead us to be in our dealings with the brethren, especially with those who have in any measure wounded or injured us or our interests.

 

"Finally, let us remember Moses on Mount Nebo looking across Jordan into the promised land—and preparing for his burial. Let us more and more realize that this should be our attitude; that as the body of Christ in the flesh we are soon to die, and that beyond the vail we will be new creatures. Let us remember that the mountain-top of Christian experience should now be our portion, and that from thence the clear eye of faith should be able distinctly to discern the outlines of the glorious inheritance which the Lord bath in reservation for them that love him, the possession of which we are hoping so soon to share." ‘07-R4056.

 

"Well has the prophet, as well as the apostle, declared that, to appreciate the great doctrines of God, so essential to our growth in grace and in the knowledge and love of God; we must leave the first principles and go on unto perfection—‘weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts’—Heb. 6:1; Isa. 28:9." C143 bottom page.

 

Revelation 3

 

16  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

 

Revelation 3

 

17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

 

Revelation 3:17 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 17. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

 

That class here addressed, still continue to call themselves members of the Bride Class and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind. The absence of the Anointing, manifests their loss in that membership. Please see the comments on the Anointing at Rev. 3:6.

 

"Thou prepares" a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over"—Psalm 23:5.

 

"I am the living Bread which came down from Heaven"—John 6:51.

 

94 "Our Lord personified the Truth, the great Plan of God which centered in him, the life which he had come to give on behalf of the world, that we might live through him... partaking of the blessings and mercies of God provided in him... appropriating his spirit and disposition... As we feed upon him in our hearts we become strong in faith and in all the graces of his Spirit." ‘07 R4012.

 

"I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE"—John 6:22-40.

 

"O that all could realize the importance of faith in the Lord’s sight! ‘Without faith it is impossible to please God’... a belief in what God has said, and a firm, confident trust therein; this is acceptable with God, and becomes to all who exercise it the ground or base of justification, that ‘being justified by faith we might have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ"—Rom. 5:1.

 

"... Whoever appropriates to himself the merit of Christ’s sacrifice is thereby eating, partaking of the great benefits and blessings provided by God in the Anointed one, who gave his life for the life of the world, a ransom price. Whoever mentally accepts this fact, and feeds upon it in his heart, is represented as feeding upon the flesh of the Son of Man—partaking of the human rights, privileges and blessings of restitution (or in this age justification) provided in him." ‘00-R2652.

 

JESUS WALKING ON THE SEA— Matthew 14:22-33.

 

"Of a truth thou art the Son of God.’

 

"Not only the natural winds and waves obey his power and command, but all the storms and billows of trouble and persecution which may impede and weary us are amenable to his control.

 

... All the exceeding great and precious promises which the Son of God left for us may be relied upon, built upon, anchored into; and such reliance in them will give us the faith requisite for the overcoming of all the difficulties and obstacles of life, that we may come off more than conquerors through him who loved us and who bought us with his own precious blood." ‘00-R2650.

 

"We, as the Lord’s people are accepted of him, counted as friends, are made to sit down to a bountiful feast, secure from the enmity of those who would injure us—secure from the great adversary and all the wicked spirits in high places mentioned by the Apostle (Eph. 6:12)—secure so long as we are under the care of our great friend, our heavenly Father...’03-R3270.

 

"God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble"—James 4:6.

 

"The heavenly Father has deeper love for those who are humble... Humility is one of the basic principles of a properly crystallized character... the attitude in which God can give us the greatest blessing." ‘16-R5843.

 

"We have been considering the true riches, present and future, provided for the true Israel, the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven, and whose Head is Christ. But the Scriptures draw to our attention the fact that the nominal church of this present-time, symbolical Laodicea {Re 3:17,18}, claims also to be very rich... deceiving themselves with a counterfeit wealth... not being begotten of the truth, but begotten of error. See 21:9-10.

 

LAODICEA’s COUNTERFEIT RICHES

 

"Laodiceans look upon their material prosperity, and the numbers of wealthy people associated with their confederating denominations, and count their money and their donations by millions, and say, We are rich as never before. Alas!... these... our Lord declares are no evidence of his favor during this Gospel age, but rather to the contrary. And they see not the true riches... which are the foretaste of his favor and the coming kingdom wealth.

 

"And so the Lord declares to Laodicea, ‘Thou knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.’ She is poor, in that she has so little of the Master’s spirit, so little of the truth and the spirit of the truth... Laodicea is blind, in that the god of this world bath blinded her perceptions of God’s character and plan and is leading her further and further away from confidence in his Word... making her naked." ‘01-R2763 ‘03-R3125.

 

ANOINTED TO PREACH

 

"We have heretofore seen that the commission to preach the good tidings comes to all the anointed company—the body of Christ—and that for this very purpose we have received the anointing. That which was true of the Head is also true of the whole body—’The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord bath anointed me to preach’ Isa. 61:1).

 

"But while we who are consecrated and anointed realize that we are thus called of God to preach, it is of very great importance that we consider well what, when, how, where, and to whom, we may preach... The first duty, then, of everyone who would obey the call to preach is to become an earnest, faithful, diligent student of God’s Word, that he may be able to minister grace to the hearer, having his speech seasoned with salt (Eph. 4:29; Col. 4:6).

 

"Power in presenting the truth comes now to the anointed as the reward of diligent study of the Word.

 

"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" 2Ti 2:15 ... Truth, rightly divided, and fairly presented, commands the respect even of its opponents. Its symmetry and beauty will irresistibly stamp itself upon the mind. Thus it was in the case of Jesus’ preaching, when the very men that were commissioned to lay hands on him and deliver him to death returned, saying NEVER MAN SPAKE LIKE THIS MAN (John 7:46)...

 

Paul’s eloquence was the eloquence of truth—the result of a thorough understanding and conviction of the truth, which carried force and commanded the respect of even its enemies. He was a diligent student as well as a preacher, and his hearers could not say, Paul, you don’t know what you are talking about, nor turn with disgust from the sound of empty words.

 

"When Jesus our great example went out to preach—to teach— the people listened with astonishment, and said, ‘Whence hath this man this wisdom?’ (Matt. 13:54) And thus

 

95 it is to some extent with all who follow in his footsteps—Acts 4:13. ‘84-R646, R647.

 

"The Gospel was to be preached by the Anointed Head and by the anointed members of his body, to all who have ears to hear it, in the special interest of... the ‘poor in spirit,’ the humble-minded, who are also the sympathetic, the tender, the heart-broken, as in contrast with the hardhearted... chiefly the poor of this world in purse and intellect, but rich in faith {1Co 1:26-29, Jas 2:5} ... pouring in the oil and the wine of the divine promise, to cheer and comfort and bless, and prepare for jointheirship in the kingdom, some of the very class whom the Lord will be pleased to accept. To these the gospel may be preached freely; they will not turn again and rend the messengers, but will hear it, and it will comfort and bind up their wounded hearts." ‘00-R2580.

 

Revelation 3

 

18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

 

Revelation 3:18 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 18. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint shine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. Please see Rev. 3:6.

 

Buy of me gold: divine truths, promises, and graces of the spirit, which have been tried and proved by experiences to be true, blessed, helpful, energizing, to the new creature; and which stands all analyzing, because logical, true, and dependable for us, and honoring to our good God; working out also a robe of righteousness for thy new creature, one of the garments of glory and beauty. See Rev. 21:18.

 

"We should be so earnest, so fervently desire the things that we request, and be so confident that they are the Lord’s will, as guaranteed by the promises of his Word, that we would hold on and wait for the mercies the Lord thus prepares us to receive. Mt 6:31,32. "... Spiritual Israelites are exhorted by the Lord to appreciate the spiritual clothing, the spiritual food, the heavenly riches, which moth and rust cannot corrupt, and to seek for these.

 

"The Master tells us what we may freely ask, what we may be assured that the heavenly Father will be very willing to grant to us, though he bear long with us, though he give it gradually to us... His words are Luke 11:13. The holy Spirit is the spirit of love—to God and to man. It cannot be given to us under present conditions except gradually, as the old selfish, wrong spirit is deposed from our hearts. This, therefore, must be continually our prayer to the end of life’s journey, that we might be filled with the spirit of the Lord, and thus praying means that we will be thus laboring day by day, and that the Lord will continually bless us, giving us the fruits of his spirit in our hearts and in our lives more and more, its joy and peace and blessing." ‘05-R3664, R3665.

 

"Our Lord declares, ‘After all these things (food and clothing) do the Gentiles seek; but seek ye first (chiefly) the kingdom of God and His righteousness.’ God’s people are consequently to attain a joint-heirship in Messiah’s great kingdom according to the divine invitation that we should be ‘heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ our Lord.’ We are to seek possessions in that kingdom with our Lord in his throne, by seeking to develop characters which will have divine approval and make us fit for that high exaltation. Our Lord speaks of these as seeking the righteousness of the kingdom—that kingdom which will be established amongst mankind for the very purpose of enforcing righteousness, and whoever will be a joint-heir with Christ must love righteousness and hate iniquity, and must develop this character before he dies in order to hope for a share in this kingdom and its glory, honor and immortality. For this he will be seeking, striving, praying—above all else." ‘11-R4913.

 

‘THE FATHERLESS FIND MERCY" —HOSEA 14:3 ‘11-R4811 LAST 2 P

 

"Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in faith, in purity"—1 Timothy 4:12.

 

"Whether you eat or drink, whether you buy or sell, whatever you do, be a worthy exponent of the doctrine of Christ and of the effect of His spirit in the heart." ‘16-R5860.

 

"What man is he that feareth the Lord? him shall He teach in the way that He shall choose"—Psa. 25:12. "Beloved, our advice to you in these perilous times, when error is taking on its most baneful and deceitful forms, and when it is finding its most active agents amongst false brethren and sisters in your very midst... yes, in these times let us again urge the counsel of Paul—Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them’ {2Ti 3:14}; for it is written (John 6:45; Isa. 54:13), ‘They shall be all taught of God."‘

 

DIVINE SECRETS REVEALED

 

"The secret of Jehovah is with them that fear (reverence) Him; and He has covenanted to show it unto them"—Psalm 25:14. "This is stated as though it were a very important matter to see or clearly understand God’s Covenant." ‘97-R2209 c1 p5.

 

"... The Lord’s ‘Oath-bound Covenant’ is really the kernel or pith of this ‘Secret of the Lord."‘ CR9.

 

"It is an important matter, for God’s Covenant is really the key to the entire divine plan.

 

"What God promised to Abraham in the Covenant, ‘In thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed,’ included directly and indirectly all the riches of Divine grace... With our eyes anointed, and our hearts fully consecrated to the Lord and fully desirous to know just what is His will and His way, we look at the great Covenant, and behold, it opens gloriously before us into three parts... (1) All the families of the earth—every member of the human family is to receive a blessing. (2) The Seed of Abraham is to be the channel of these Divine blessings to every creature. (3) This Seed in its primary sense we find meant our Lord Jesus Christ; but in its secondary sense it includes the ‘Bride the Lamb’s Wife’, His joint-heir in this Covenant and in all of the Divine mercies. This is clearly set before us by the Apostle in his letter to the Ga 3:16,29 Re 21:9,14.

 

"Romans 11:31: And after Israel shall have obtained mercy, a blessing through the glorified spiritual Israel, then in turn natural Israel shall let the light shine upon others—’all the families of the earth’; until in due time the promise shall 96 be fulfilled that Christ as the true Light shall enlighten ‘every man that cometh into the world’ ano. 1:9). Oh, glorious covenant! luminous with divine love and wisdom—Rom. 11:33." ‘97-R2209; ‘95-R1787 c 2 p 5; R1788 c 1 p 1.

 

"THE MYSTERY HID FROM AGES AND GENERATIONS" —COLOSSIANS 1:26.

 

"Beautiful words! Wonderful words! Wonderful words of life—the words which proceed from the mouth of God!" ‘02-R3059 Hymn 264. T127, T128. Hymn 322, and 40 v. 7.

 

"My son, give me shine heart." "This call for the heart is a call for full consecration, for complete setting apart to the Lord and to his service...

 

"God, in his compassion, has been pleased to set before us certain features of his plan, and hence we hear his voice again in the ‘exceeding great and precious promises’ of his Word. In these he points out to us the wisdom of a full consecration and complete obedience to him—assuring us in these promises that by obedience to them we may become partakers of the greatest of all blessings—the divine nature {2Pe 1:4}. OH, HOW WONDERFUL....THE GREAT CREATOR ..."!!!!!!!‘ 02-R3059.

 

"I say, dear brothers and sisters, ‘What manner of persons ought we to be?’...

 

"Humility is a very prominent grace in the sight of God. ‘Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time.’ It comes right in as you find your weaknesses—humble yourselves and make it right with God...

 

"The gracious God has forgiven me and I will be gracious to forgive others. It will make you tender-hearted, you will not sympathize with sin because God has no sympathy for sin, but He has a great deal of sympathy for the sinner when weak and the fault is through weakness or disposition received down through all those generations of six thousand years since the fall. We get His spirit as we thus follow the directions of His word...

 

"We do not know what trials or difficulties will beset us, but His grace is sufficient for us, but only by the way He has arranged it—only in Christ—that is eternal. Every blessing and every forgiveness of divine favor comes through Him. All things are of the Father and all things by the Son, and we by Him. That is the way we must come.

 

"Then this keeping of our account is making character. When we rectify a wrong, we are doing something that will make us stronger; then it will help us to look around at the other points of our character, where we find we have weaknesses by nature. Fortify these points. This is the will of God, and this is growing in grace and knowledge and love, growing in the spirit of the character-likeness of our Lord... copies of His Son"... {Ro 8}. CR293-CR296

 

Revelation 3

 

19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

 

Revelation 3:19 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 19. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

 

The blessing of Jehovah it maketh rich; and he addeth no sorrow therewith. When we are chastened of our Lord it is a sign or evidence that he is dealing with us, and that so far, we are in line for the prize of the High Calling. What a cause of joy and encouragement!

 

"For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not? Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby"—Hebrews 12:6, 7, 11.

 

"As a father sparethnot the rod of chastisement from the son whom he loves, so the Lord will not spare the rod of affliction and chastisement from those who are truly his; because he loves them, and because he desires to develop in them such a character as will be pleasing to him, and as will permit him eventually to make them his sons on the plane of glory, heirs of God, joint-heirs with Jesus Christ, their Lord.

 

"... If we are rightly exercised by the disciplines, trials, experiences of life, they will ‘work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory’—they will work out in us such characters as the Lord will be able to use in the service to which he bath called us—the service of the Millennial age—the service- of the royal priesthood, to be associated with Christ in the work of judging and blessing the world of mankind. The proper response of all who have the true spirit of sonship is expressed in the language of our Lord and Master, ‘Not my will but shine be done,’ O Lord; ‘I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart.’ Such as thus respond to the chastisement of the Lord, step more and more into divine favor, and hear other words of comfort, of grace, of help.

 

"He points out to us as we grow in grace and in knowledge and in ability to comprehend—that the glory, honor and immortality to which he has invited the church of this Gospel age, is so high, so grand a position, that those who would share those honors must expect, necessarily, to be severely tried and tested that their absolute loyalty to the Lord and to the principles of his righteousness—justice, truth, love—shall be beyond question. Our characters must become crystallized along these lines, firm as adamant, before we shall be ready to be received as the ‘overcomers’ who shall inherit all things, and share the kingdom and glory with the Captain of our salvation.

 

"... The perfection he is expecting is... a perfection of the heart, of the will, of the mind, of the intention... as new creatures according to the mind, the new will.

 

"... We can be perfect in intention, in will, or as the Master expresses it, ‘pure in heart,’ even though we cannot be perfect in the flesh... Our minds can walk up to the spirit, our intentions can be perfect; and this is what our Heavenly Father seeks in us, perfection of intention.

 

"... He assures us... a part in the first resurrection thenceforth able to do the Father’s will perfectly in every respect—as they now show themselves desirous of doing his will so far as they are able. O gracious provisions! O wonderful words of compassion, inspiring us to wonderful hopes of eternal life and glory! It will be to such as thus overcome in spirit, in faith {1Jo 5:4}, that the Lord will give the final word of his mouth—’Well done good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joys of thy Lord.’ "Every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God—every admonition, every encouragement, every promise, is

 

97 necessary to the development of those whom God is now calling to eternal life as joint-heirs with his Son in the kingdom" ‘02-R3059, R3060.

 

THE PHILOSOPHY OF OUR DAILY EXPERIENCES "The word chastisement... in the Bible, ... is especially used to convey the thought of discipline or instruction in righteousness... Those who are trying to do right are continually receiving discipline of the Lord. There is a purpose in this training, or chastisement. The church is learning how to build character pleasing in the Father’s sight, to be well qualified for particular service; and discipline is the means employed for that instruction...

 

SUFFERING DEVELOPS CHARACTER OF A HIGH ORDER

 

"With those, however, who are to be associated with the Redeemer and ultimately to be exalted to the divine nature and glory, it is necessary that they make special manifestations of loyalty, of self-abasement and of self-sacrifice. What was true of Christ is also true of the church, which is his body, and which he purchased with his own precious blood (Col. 1:24; Acts 20:28). We are called to follow in his footsteps; hence every son whom the Father receives is chastised {Heb 12:6,7}.

 

"Every child of God will need chastening... that we might learn obedience. Our Lord himself learned obedience by the things which he suffered (Heb. 5:8). Of St. Paul the Lord said, ‘I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake’ (Acts 9:16). The Apostle was put through disciplinary experiences because he was a favored child of God....’ "These experiences with trouble are the very tests of character necessary for our development. The reason why some of the consecrated will get into the great company is that they have not had enough determination—enough strength of character. In the time of trouble, such will either develop that strength by faithfulness under severe trial or they will go into the second death ...’12-R5147.

 

"In our Lord’s Parable of the Sower (Luke 8:15)... the Lord shows that patient endurance (cheerful constancy) is the final test of character... through protracted trials which make necessary the nerving of ourselves to bear... At heart we must be sweet and submissive—in the fullest harmony with the Lord’s processes of development. This may be hard at times; but his grace will be sufficient, if we constantly apply for it. ‘Having done all, let us stand!’ "Ah, yes! We can see a new reason for the Lord’s arrangement that we should have our trial as our Master had his—under an evil environment—that we might not only have all the necessary qualities of Christian character, but have them rooted, grounded, fixed, established. "‘ 15-R5650, R5651.

 

"To him that overcometh, will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne"... "That where I am, there ye may be also"—Rev. 3:20,21 Joh 14:3.

 

Revelation 3

 

20  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

 

Revelation 3:20 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 20, Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

 

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock. There were to be signs of his presence: on earth; and in the heavens. The Advent took place in 1874. In 1875, appeared the first sign, the invention of the telephone. * What a fitting sign, though not understood in that sense. The sign in the heavens was by Pastor C.T. Russell in the bringing forth of Present Truth which began in 1876, and continued forty years to 1916. And oh, to sit at the table with our dear Lord! What rich food! capable of much mastication, needful to good digestion, which is what our Lord provides for the members of his body. To have this, we must maintain membership in his body, by constant study, appreciation, and application, and prayer, and practice. Please see comment from ‘96-R1957 at Rev. 19:11—PARABLE OF THE GREAT SUPPER, (beautiful!).

 

"No man knoweth the Son but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him"—Matt. 11:27. ‘00-R2624, R2625.

 

CONFIDENCE PROPORTIONATE TO KNOWLEDGE

 

"We have found our Bible... and we have studied about God’s justice, wisdom, love and power. And we have learned to have confidence in that dear old Book; for its message is so consistent, so reasonable, so loving.

 

"Others lay down their lives for earthly kings, and we have a King of kings, and if we would not lay down our lives in loyalty to him, what would we think of ourselves! We have a good God; worthy of all confidence, and we trust him. In proportion as we have knowledge of God, of the Bible, in proportion as we have grown in grace by seeking to walk in the narrow way, in that same proportion our confidence is growing stronger and stronger. (Psa. 91:2; 18:2).

 

"So we are to keep firm hold of our confidence; for this assures us that God is our Father. We all know something of the wireless telegraphy which is now being used in a marvelous manner on the sea and land. and this is only a feeble illustration of the wireless communication that maintains between the true Christian and the Heavenly Lord. In every circumstance this confidence, leaning on the Lord, will look to Him. There will be the wireless communication between Father and child... I have faith in his wisdom and his power and his love...  "... God purposes to reward greatly all faithfulness." ‘14-R5595.

 

THE TELEPHONE "If your mind and heart are rightly in tune with God you can have a good time with God anywhere. At one time it was difficult for us to understand how we could have fellowship with our heavenly Father; we used to wonder how God could hear so far, and if He could hear if we would whisper. Now, we have something that helps us, dear friends. Some of the inventions of our day, such as the telephone* and the telegraph and the wireless telegraph teach us wonderful lessons. If man can have wireless communication with

 

SUN TO POWER COMMUNICATIONS *Tel Aviv. “A new communication solar-energy operated instrument makes it possible to establish telephone communications in places without regular electricity supply, such as new settlements or military outposts." Jerusalem Post Reporter—October, 1980.

 

98 other men hundreds of miles away we can now see how the great God can have communication with His children. Our minds can the better grasp the facts. As we get this illustration, it helps our faith. Why, it seetos almost as though we were walking by sight and not by faith—particularly when we see the fulfillment of the Scriptures going on right around us every day, and more and more wonderful things coming, just as God said they would come, and just as we have been seeing in His Word before they came. We knew about their coming, and when they do come, they become confirmations of our faith and trust in God." CR293-CR294.

 

PARABLE OF THE GREAT SUPPER—Luke 14:15-24... "The time is fulfilled. " Please see ‘96-R1957, R1958—"Good news (Gospel) of the great feast now ready. " Luke 14:17; Mark 1:15. "... It is noticeable also that while this feast was announced as ready in the beginning of the Gospel age, and that while the bountiful board has been spread for a select company all through this age, the feast for ‘all people’ is foretold as a thing future—after the great time of trouble (Isa. 25:1-4), when great Babylon will have been destroyed.

 

"Both of these feasts consist of the good things pertaining to the kingdom of God; but the difference is that the feast of this Gospel age pertains to the spiritual phase of the kingdom while that of the age to come will pertain to the earthly kingdom. The feast now spread is for the elect Gospel church, while that of the Millennium is for ‘all people’—all the willing and obedient." Luke 14:15-24; Isa. 25:6—‘90-R1219.

 

"Truly so precious an invitation is worthy of our strivings and self-denials to attain it; and the truly appreciative will lay aside every weight and the sin that cloth so easily beset, and run with patience the race for this great prize. Compare 2Co 4:4 with Isa. 29:18; 35:5; and Rev. 20:1-3.

 

"We are plainly told that the great majority who hear the call will reject, and that only a ‘little flock’ a mere remnant, of both Jews and Gentiles will be privileged sharers of this ‘supper.’ And ‘blessed’ indeed will be he ‘who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God’—who shall be counted worthy to share with Christ in the honors and glory of the spiritual kingdom established. ‘To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne.’ ‘Fear not, little flock (of overcoming ones), it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.’ "‘ 96-R1957, R1958.

 

MORNING MEAL

 

"In Matthew the thirteenth chapter... you remember our Lord said, after telling about the gathering of the wheat, ‘ Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun.’ Why not now? Because all the wheat has not yet been gathered into the garner. Then shall the righteous shine forth, then shall the morning of the Millennial Age be manifested... We are glad to praise Him and to say that the morning is here not only for ourselves but for the whole world—that is glorious... the glorious hope that, very soon the knowledge of the Lord shall flood the earth and the sleeping ones shall awake and all be invited to breakfast. This will be a grand feast in the morning. He is going to gather all the people and spread a feast, a blessed feast. Singularly, in the original, it is not a supper, but a morning meal. Please see CR18-CR21.

 

"LIKE UNTO MEN WHO WAIT FOR THEIR LORD" Luke 12:35-48

 

"Blessed are those servants whom the Lord when he cometh, shall find watching.’

 

IF THOU WILT NOT WATCH THOU SHALT NOT KNOW

 

"... The knock is to be the evidence of the presence, and the servants are not to know in advance, but are to know at the time of the arrival and that without seeing.

 

THE MASTER WILL SERVE Has SERVANTS

 

What will be the special reward of these servants? The parable states it: their Master will ‘gird himself (He will become their servant) and will make them to sit down to meat and will come forth and serve them.’ This implies that at our Lord’s second coming he will be present before any of his servants know of his arrival. He will knock or cause announcement of his presence to be made. Those who will hear the knock will be such only as are awake and ready, expecting him and on the alert for the knock. These will receive a special spiritual feast. It will be special because it is on a special occasion and intended as a special reward for their manifestation of interest and devotion. It will be special also, because the Master of the household, turned to be its servant, would have all the keys to all the riches of grace and blessing, and, as elsewhere explained, will bring forth from his treasuries—his pantries—things new and old, substantials and delicacies. The faithful ones will surely have a royal feast, such as never before was granted them.

 

"These things, we hold, have already been fulfilled. The knock, or proclamation of the Lord’s presence, as indicated by the Old Testament prophecies, has been given since 1875 and is still being given. The knock of the parable might appropriately be but for a few seconds, but the fulfillment would properly cover a period of years. The servants of the household are taking notice, and each one as he opens his heart and mind to the fact of the Lord’s presence receives a fulfillment of the blessing promised—receives a feast of fat things, spiritual—an understanding and appreciation of the divine plan and a soul nourishment and strengthening such as was never his before. That this service of the servants by the Master should be understood to be an individual work and not merely a collective service and feast, is evidenced by the Lord’s statement in Rev. 3:20. Here the Lord represents the same event in connection with his message to the last phase of his Church nominal, the Landicean phase. He says, ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man (individually) hear my voice (knock) and open the door, I will come in to him and sup with him, and he with me.’

 

A THOUSAND YEARS... ARE AS A WATCH IN THE NIGHT "According to the ancient Jewish method of reckoning the night time, the second watch would be from ten to two o’clock and the third from two to six o’clock. The parable

 

99 does not state in which watch the Master may be expected. That question was left open; the faithfulness of the servants would be tested in proportion to his delay. Many would find it easy to keep awake and alert during the first watch, not so many during the second watch and still fewer during the third. It is in accord with this implication of the parable that we find today general lethargy prevailing amongst Christian people respecting the return of the Bridegroom and the glorious things of the kingdom then to be brought unto his faithful household. Many are asleep in Zion, many are overcharged with the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches. Not only have worldly people made a god of business, money and pleasure, but many who are at heart lovers of righteousness and who desire to be considered servants of the Lord, are seriously overcharged—absorbed in worldly things. Their hearts are so filled with these and their minds so occupied with dreams of Churchianity and pleasure and personal interest that they cannot hear the knock. They know not of the Master’s presence; they open not their hearts to this wonderful announcement, for which the Lord’s people have waited so long and prayed so earnestly, ‘Thy kingdom come.’ They are missing as a consequence, a great blessing implied in our Lord’s parable, and definitely stated in Daniel’s prophecy—’Oh, the blessedness of him that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days!’—Dan 12:12.

 

THE FAITHFUL AND THE WISE STEWARD

 

"... At various times in the past the Lord has used individuals... For instance, Peter used the ‘keys’ of the kingdom of heaven at Pentecost and again at the home of Cornelius, and in both places he was used as a special servant in connection with the dispensing of special truths. This did not constitute Peter a Lord over the other apostles or over the church, but merely a servant...

 

"... In the 42nd verse {Lu 12}, in the common version it is rendered,  that faithful steward; the revised version,  the faithful steward; as though a particular one were meant. Turning to the Greek text we find that the emphasis is there also and in double form—the faithful, the wise steward... The servant mentioned is to dispense food to the other members of the body, his fellow-servants ... It would be one who would be privileged to be a servant, and not many seem anxious to fill such a position in the true sense of the word. This servant, if found faithful, would be entrusted more and more with the distribution of every feature of present truth as represented in the parable, by his being given the dispensing of the food in due season to the household.

 

"The expression, ‘Verily I say unto you, He shall make him ruler over all his goods,’ should... be understood to apply... to a more general charge or stewardship as respects the dispensing of the Lord’s ‘goods’ or truths due to be protected or disbursed during the remainder of this ‘harvest’ time. In other words, the steward through whom the Lord will dispense present truth in this ‘harvest,’ will, if found vigilant, humble, faithful, be continued in the stewardship and be used of the Lord more and more in the service of the household—down to the close of the ‘harvest.’ "‘ 04-R3354 to R3356.

 

Please read "THAT SERVANT"—Luke 12:37-48; Matt. 24:42-51—’96-R1946 at Revelation 8:1 Comment.

 

Revelation 3

 

21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

 

Revelation 3:21 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 21. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. Php 2:9,10

 

"The exalted Jesus is a spirit being. of the very highest order—’of the divine nature’—who sat down at the Father’s right hand, on the Father’s throne, waiting for the time when he would take his own throne, establish the Millennial Kingdom and associate the church with him in his throne as his bride." ‘16-R5830.

 

He that overcomes the desire to say "How Long?" but patiently endures the long delay, the strain, discouragements, disappointments, doubts and fears, and keeps his armor of God, bright, putting on all of it, shall be rewarded with immortality and the privilege of sitting on his throne of the Millennial Age and Kingdom, and assisting in the rule of the whole world to bring it to God. See ‘13-R5359 top c2—quoted at Rev. 6:2.

 

"It will be our faith in God and in the Lord Jesus that will bring us the victory, if we gain it; but the victory will be accounted only to those who shall, to the best of their ability, work out their salvation with fear and trembling. God will work in such, and through Christ bring them off conquerors, yea, more than conquerors. 1Co 15:50-52 2Ti 4:8.

 

"Evidently nearly all Christian people, misled by the creeds of the dark ages, read into the Word of God many things which it does not at all contain.

 

"‘ Other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid—Jesus Christ.’ ‘But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon’; for the fire of that day shall try every man’s work of what sort it is—1 Corinthians 3:10-15." ‘14-R5407. T89. ‘04-R3322 c 2 p 4. F658 footnote (1904).

 

JESUS IS OUR EXAMPLE.

 

‘12-R5OO6 c1 P2; C2 P2 HIS WILL THEIR HIGHEST LAW

 

"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth"—2 Tim. 2:15. ‘14-R5511 c1 p7.

 

"All of the anointed have the mind of the great Head of the church. So we are to seek to abide in Christ individually as well as collectively; for as we have come into the anointed class, so it is possible for us to go out of that class. To abide in Christ, we must, as new creatures, grow in grace, in knowledge and in love; for as new creatures we shall, if faithful to the end of our course, be perfected in the first resurrection, and sit in the throne with our Lord and King." ‘14-R5550.

 

"He is now supremely exalted... the Prince of the kings of the earth. He has sat down with the Father in His throne. "‘ 14-R5481 c2 p2.

 

100 "All who will be members of the same glorious company must have the same glorious character that our Lord had; ... they must be loyal to the core. They must have demonstrated that they loved righteousness and hated iniquity." ‘13-R5359 c 1 p 3; c 2 p 1 Isa 53:12: "Other Scriptures inform us that the Father has given him Jesus) a portion with himself—he overcame and sat down with the Father in his throne. He has indeed been granted a portion with the great—the great Jehovah. In turn he shall divide the spoil with the strong, the spoil of his great conquest over sin and death at the cost of his own life, the spoil of victory, the reward of his own high exaltation far above angels, principalities and powers, and every name that is named—the reward of his high relationship with the Father, the reward of his Millennial kingdom and its opportunities and privileges of blessing the whole groaning creation, the reward of the Father’s smile and favor eternally.

 

"This ‘spoil,’ which all came to the dear Redeemer as the one who kept the Law and redeemed the world with his own precious blood, this spoil he proposes to share with the faithful of his followers, the overcomers, here called ‘the strong.’ O. what a thought! In all our weaknesses and imperfections we are by the Lord’s grace enabled to come off conquerors and more than conquerors through him who loved us and bought us with his precious blood.

 

"How emphatically the Scriptures point out to us that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins, that without the ransom price being paid there could have been no release of Adam and his race from the sentence of death, no hope of any of them attaining life everlasting.

 

"As we appreciate this great central thought of the divine plan, let us reverence our dear Master the more as the author of our faith, who, by and by, will be the finisher of it, and let us seek more and more to be faithful to him and to walk in his steps and to lay down our lives for the brethren." Isaiah 53:12. ‘05-R3592.

 

"So Christ in glory is not a man, not an earthly being, not the sacrificing one, as before. He is the glorified kingly priest, in power and great glory now as the King of saints, able and willing to succor them in all their trials and difficulties. And by and by, after he shall have changed them to his own glorious likeness in the first resurrection, beyond the veil—then he will become the King and Priest in glory to the world, and for a thousand years will reign to bless and to uplift all the willing and obedient who, under the enlightenment then afforded, will draw nigh to God." ‘14-R5472.

 

"... Satan will be bound for a thousand years, and Messiah’s kingdom shall be established for the blessing of all the families of the earth." ‘14-R5496.

 

"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne,  even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne"— Rev. 3:21.

 

"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying,  All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth"—Matthew 28:18. "On the third day our Lord was delivered and raised up to power and great glory, and to be next to Jehovah God in the throne of the universe. The divine signet was given to him, and the proclamation was that ‘All men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father,’ and that nothing should be done except at his command—that all power in heaven and in earth was committed unto him (John 5:23; Matt. 28:18)." ‘01-R2888.

 

RESTITUTION TO HUMAN PERFECTION

 

"The blessings of the New Covenant will begin to go into effect as soon as the great Mediator shall have applied the merit of his sacrifice ‘for all the people.’ This blessing will begin with the ancient worthies, because they already are acceptable with the Father. Under the New Covenant provisions they will immediately get the blessings of restitution to human perfection. They will represent Israel and thus the blessings will proceed through Israel to all mankind.

 

ISAIAH 42:6.

 

A COVENANT OF THE PEOPLE WILL OPERATE

 

"The mediating of the New Covenant with mankind during the thousand years of Christ’s mediatorial reign will mean the gradual bringing of the willing and obedient nearer and nearer to the standard of human perfection—by the rewards and punishments of that ‘day of judgment.’ ... At the close of the Millennium the perfected world (all rebels being destroyed in the second death) will be introduced to the Father on the covenant terms of full regeneration of both mind and body at the hands of the Mediator. Thus it is written, ‘I the Lord will give thee for a covenant of the people’ (Isa. 42:6).

 

FROM THE TIME THE MILLENNIAL REIGN BEGINS ‘10-R4571 c 2 p 3, 4

 

"This entire Gospel age has been devoted to the gathering of the members of the Christ body. And when the last member shall have made his calling and election sure, this age will end, and the more glorious work of the Messianic age will begin.

 

THE HEIRS OF THE KINGDOM

 

"The body of the spiritual seed of Abraham, of which Christ Jesus is the Head—his faithful, saintly followers—are now being tested as respects their worthiness for so high a station. St. Paul’s words in Hebrews 12:28 (R. V.) are very forcefully applied to these: ‘Let us have grace, whereby we may offer service well-pleasing to God, with reverence and awe.’ "‘ 13-R5285, R5286.

 

"The thousand years of the Millennial reign will constitute but a beginning of the exercise of the glory, honor and immortality of these New Creatures. At its close when the Kingdom shall be delivered up to ‘God, even the Father,’ and to mankind as the glorified agents of the Father to rule the earth, a still larger sphere for the exercise of their glory, honor and immortality will open before the New Creation; for is it not written that the Heavenly Father has not only made his Son a partaker of his own divine nature but also a sharer of his throne—and that the Son is set down with the Father in his throne? (Rev. 3:21) And even though in a sense he leaves that of ficial position during the Millennial age in order that he may specially administer the affairs of his earthly purchase and dominion, it surely does not mean that having in the fullest sense finished the work that the Father gave him to do, he will be any less glorious or occupy a position any less dignified than that accorded him when he ascended up on high after having by sacrifice of himself, paid for us the penalty of sin.

 

101 "We know not what great works in respect to the future our Creator may have in view for his Only Begotten and wellbeloved Son, whom ‘he bath appointed heir of all things’; but we do know from our Master’s own lips that the promise is ours that when glorified we shall be like him and see him as he is, and share his glory, ‘and so shall we ever be with the Lord.’ Whatever, therefore, shall be the future activities of the Only Begotten as the ‘heir of all things,’ we shall be with him and share his work and share his glory as we shall share his nature also." {1Jo 3:2 1Th 4:17 Heb 1:2 Joh 14:3 17:22,15-26 Ga 3:29} F 69-70.

 

"Seven great thousand year days make a great week according to Bible chronology. Christ’s kingdom is the seventh day. Now we are in the beginning of the seventh day and the blessings of the Lord are beginning to come in... All these things at the present time, and everything coming forth now, all show that we are in the lapping of these two ages. So to speak, we are in the Saturday night, and the dawn of Sunday morning is right upon us. And the glorious day of the future is to be glorious because it is the day of Christ. I remind you that it is a Bible expression, ‘the day of Christ, for He must reign for a thousand years...

 

"... The Bible says He is now ascended up on high and is set down with the Father in His throne. Christ will have no throne of His own until the right time, and that will be when the Church is completed and ready to sit with Him in His throne, and that will be at the beginning of the Millennial Age.

 

"He has been gathering the Bride of Christ from every nation, people, kindred, and tongue... Now the gathering of this saintly Church is only the beginning of God’s plan. They will be associated with Jesus in the Kingdom, and the Kingdom is for the very purpose of blessing the non-elect world.

 

"I hope that many of you will strive with myself to make our calling and election sure. If we are faithful we are to get the greatest reward imaginable. The blessing that is coming to the world that they will have if they will be faithful is a great blessing. It will be more than we ever dreamed of—human perfection in an earthly Eden.

 

"But Jesus calls this which He offers to the Church a great prize, a great treasure. He calls it a ‘pearl of great price.’ He says, that this privilege of becoming joint-heirs with Him in His Kingdom and sharers of His glory, honor and immortality is a pearl of great worth—a pearl—a pearl that is worth all you have. The Lord is seeking for this class who so prize this offer that they will lay down their lives in order to obtain it. He says, ‘Through much tribulation shall ye enter the Kingdom.’ But to those who are faithful, it is sure. He says, ‘Fear not, little flock, it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.’ But the Father will not give us the Kingdom until the right time—not until the last member of the ‘wise virgins’ has gone into the marriage. Then the glorious blessing will begin. The sufferings of the Christ will be ended. If we suffer with Him we shall be glorified with Him. Now, mark! We do not get this glory except at one time; the Bible and Jesus say, ‘Blessed and holy are all those who have part in the first resurrection; they shall be priests unto God and to Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years’ (Rev. 20:6).

 

"I hope then, my dear friends, that some of us will be amongst that glorious company, the Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ, the Church of the First Born." CRS243-244.

 

Revelation 3

 

22  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

 

Revelation 3:22 (RVENDAG_)

 

TRUE HUMILITY—Supplement, ‘16-5844; JESUS OUR SAVIOR—CRS 321 to 325.

 

Verse 22. He that bath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches.

 

How needful is the hearing ear, carried forward by a believing and appreciative heart: loving Jehovah and Jesus supremely (The Truth is what He has magnified above all his name); really loving one another, and possessing a sympathetic love for all. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Psalm 138:2.

 

"THE LITTLE FOXES"

 

"Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes"—Canticles 2:15.

 

"Every child of God should be especially on guard against the little things—the things that seem like jokes, which sometimes do more harm in the church than things which appear great; the little insinuations, that often leave a sting; the jesting about sacred matters, turning Scriptural passages into jests; the little acts of selfishness, etc.... Let us, dear brethren, strive to be more and more watchful to catch these ‘little foxes.’ Let us each individually, watch and pray that we do not by thought or word or act of ours hinder or lessen our own fruit-bearing or that of another.

 

"How earnestly we should each seek to upbuild our own character and the character of the brethren! Our Lord is marking all these things. Remember, ‘He that is faithful in that which is least, will be faithful also in much.’ "‘ 16-R5886.

 

‘’Praise God from whom all blessings flow!’

 

”The fear (Y. fear, reverence,  yirah) of Jehovah is the instruction (Y. instruction, chastisement,  musar) of wisdom; and before honor is humility"—Proverbs 15:33.

 

"The parable of a man with a beam in his own eye trying to pick a mote out of his brother’s eye was a forceful method whereby the Master inculcated the necessity of humility on the part of those who would be taught of God. Humility is here as elsewhere put as a foundation virtue. The Latin word for humility is ‘humus,’ ground. This implies that it is the soil out of which other virtues are produced. Those who think they know everything can learn nothing... As Wheatley remarked, ‘Ten thousand of the greatest faults in our neighbors are of less consequence to us than one of the smallest in ourselves.’ A knowledge of our sins and imperfections should make and keep all humanity humble; but how beautiful it is to realize that the perfect Jesus was humble, and that all the holy angels are so!" ‘12-R5029 See Supplement, "True Humility," ‘16-R5844.

 

COMMUNING WITH THE LORD— Luke 24:13-35.

 

"Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us by the way?’

 

”While we should greatly appreciate our privilege of... prayer, we are to recognize that it is not this that brings the full blessing; but our attentive hearing, understanding and appreciating what he says to us—the Word of Truth.

 

102 Our hearts burn while he talks and we listen...

 

"He had the message, they needed the instruction... He began to open unto them the Scriptures concerning himself—to expound them, to show their true meaning and fulfillment. We here see the proper course of the teacher illustrated by the great Teacher himself. As he went to the Scriptures and brought forth from them evidences of divine foreknowledge and prediction respecting the things that were transpiring before their eyes... ‘To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word there is no light in them’ (Isa. 8:20). And those who follow such teachers as have ‘no light’ are sure to get further and further into darkness.

 

"We are not informed what features of the law and the prophets our Lord enunciated; but we can surmise that he pointed out to them in Moses’ writings various features of the law which pointed to himself as the paschal Lamb, whose death must take place before the first-born and all Israel could be delivered from the bondage of sin, and from the great task-master, pre-figured by Pharaoh, and be led ultimately into the Canaan of promise. We can surmise that he recalled to them Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac, the typical seed of promise, and how this represented the actual death of Messiah, the antitypical seed, the Son of God. We may presume that he called their attention to various of the psalms which prophetically spoke, not only of the glories of his reign but also of his sufferings and his death, and his subsequent exaltation to the right hand of the majesty of God. No doubt he called their attention also to the utterances of Daniel the Prophet, respecting Messiah’s being cut off in death, but not for himself. Undoubtedly he reminded them of the words of Isaiah, that Messiah should be led as a lamb to the slaughter, be despised and rejected of men, and how, nevertheless, in due time God would set him as his King upon his holy hill, Zion. Spellbound with this wonderful exposition of the divine Word, his listeners drank it in, realizing its truth by the manner in which it harmonized the various testimonies of God’s Word—nor did they think for a moment of inquiring of their teacher whether or not he had an ordination from the scribes and Pharisees, with a license to preach. They perceived that he had a divine ordination, and this was fully attested by his ability to make clear to them what other teachers could not make clear...

 

"After the manner of the great Teacher, we seek to present to the minds of those interested the teachings of Moses and the prophets, and to voice the testimony of Jesus and the apostles, and to show the harmony of the Scriptures." ‘01-R2800 to R2802.

 

"God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all"—I John I:5. "The flame of sacred love, the holy Spirit of the Father and of the Son, was enkindled in our hearts through the Word of grace and the impartation of the holy Spirit. In proportion as we have fed this flame (the Spirit) with the Truth, we have become burning and shining lights in the world—the Spirit of the Lord in us." ‘09-R4419.

 

"Our Lord {Mt 5:16,15} was referring only to the light on God’s Plan... We need the light of God’s Word. The holy Spirit is the light of the Church by which we are being specially guided into the Truth..

 

"We must put on the armor of light. It is the armor which protects from the darts of the adversary, and includes the helmet of salvation—the protection of our intellects through a knowledge of the Truth, from the attacks of our great foe. "‘ 13-R5339.

 

"It was not by accident that the Apostle placed ‘sound in the faith’ before ‘sound in love,’ for since love is one of the fruits or graces of the spirit of truth, and since one cannot receive much more of the spirit of the truth than he receives of the truth itself—therefore the importance of the truth, in the having of the sound faith.’

 

"Often we are told it matters not what a man believes, but matters all how he does;  but to this we answer that a sound faith is all important, not only in shaping conduct, but also in inspiring it. It is only in proportion as we have the truth that we have the sanctifying power: in proportion as we hold errors which vitiate or nullify the truths which we hold, in that same proportion we will be lacking and deficient in the sanctifying power; and hence deficient also in the sanctification itself. We should ever remember and cooperate with our dear Redeemer’s prayer to the Father, ‘Sanctify them through Thy Truth; Thy Word is Truth.’ "{’00-R2723—Titus 2 1Pe 1:22} "Every one of us shall give account of himself to God"—Rom. 14:12; Luke 19:11-27.

 

THE EPISTLE OF CHRIST

 

"St. Paul describes the writing of the epistle of Christ and declares that he was one of the instruments used by the Lord in connection with the writing of the epistle. Here are his words: ‘Ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ, ministered (written) by us; written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in the fleshly tables of the heart"—2 Cor. 3:3.

 

”We are God’s workmanship’ (Eph. 2:10). Wherever there is a true Christian... spirit-developed in the character-likeness of the Savior in meekness, gentleness, patience, long-suffering, brotherly-kindness and love—we have the evidence of the power of God at work in him to will and to do His good-pleasure... in cooperation with the will of the individual.

 

"The Editor and all of the pilgrims and the elder brethren in the church have in St. Paul a noble example of faithfulness and loyalty ... The Lord used him more and more in the presentation of the glorious message of God’s love, as revealed in the great divine plan of the ages.

 

"... Writing the epistle of Christ is the writing, the tracing of the character-likeness of the Master in the hearts of his people—his meekness, his gentleness, his patience, his long-suffering, his brotherly-kindness, his love, his joy, his peace.

 

"It is the epistle of which the Apostle Peter says, ‘For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren (idle, inactive) nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ’; for knowledge will have its place. And thus with these characteristics of the Master deeply engraved upon our hearts, we shall be granted an abundant entrance ‘into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’—2 Peter 1:8, 11.”‘16-R5967, R5968. A347, A346. 2Pe 1:2-4 103 "The spirit of courage needs special cultivation by the Lord’s people...

 

"‘ Be of good courage and he shall strengthen shine heart,’ is one of the blessings assured us in his Word. In the divine order courage is necessary in order to strength and victory. Someone has said, ‘One with God is the majority.’ With the courage to grasp this thought and to hold it, things almost superhuman seem possible to the Lord’s people, while without this courage they may naturally be weak and easily vanquished. "

 

"NOT THE SPIRIT OF TIMIDITY"

 

"For God bath not given us a spirit of timidity; but of courage, of love and of a sound mind"—2 Tim. 1:7 ‘09-R4379, c 1.

 

"But whoso keepeth His Word,”"in an honest and good heart," "in him verily is the love of God perfected"—1 John 2:5; Luke 8:15.

 

”Whoso keepeth God’s Word will as a result find that God’s love is perfected in him... that we would have the very highest ideal—that we love as God loves. "‘ 13-R5276 c2p3, 6.

 

REDEEMING THE TIME Eph 5:16

 

"As new creatures our new hopes and aims and efforts are properly centered upon things above, the heavenly, the King’s matters... We obtain the necessary time wherewith to study... REDEEMING THE TIME ... especially to note the instructions in His Word... that by the grace of God we will be popular with our Father in heaven, whether or not it makes us unpopular with everybody else in the world. It will be sweeter far eventually to hear His voice saying, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord,’ than to have the well done of the world and its applause, and to come short of the glorious blessing to which we have been called!" ‘08-R4190 c1 p1; c2 top and p2.

 

LIVING BY EVERY WORD  OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD

 

"Man shall not live by bread alone; but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God"—Matt. 4:4; Deut. 8:3.

 

"What did Jesus mean? How can God’s words give us life? He meant..." Please see ‘02-R3058 to R3060.

 

"The more of the true knowledge of the Lord we possess—the more of the knowledge which perfects our love for the Lord—the greater will be our faith, the more precious will be the results in this present life as well as in the life to come.”‘07-R4064.

 

KNOWLEDGE AND FAITH REGARDING CHRONOLOGY

 

"I think the same about the Chronology that I ever thought. I see no place where there is a flaw... Q90 (1914). B49; ‘13-R5367 to R5368.

 

THE TABERNACLE AND ITS TEACHINGS

 

"Study till you do comprehend the lessons of the Tabernacle... Reading on this subject is not enough: it requires study... We know of no more strengthening and nourishing spiritual food than is afford us in the study of these wonderful pictures. "‘ 83-R451; ‘12-R5045; ‘03-R3199.

 

Please see "Tabernacle Shadows of the ‘Better Sacrifices’ ‘’ comment on Rev. 10:8.

 

THE TRUE VINE AND ITS FRUIT— John 15:1-12.

 

"Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit"—V. 8.

 

"Some have written us how they were too busy, too much absorbed in earthly matters and interests... that they had not the proper time to give to the study of the divine plan of the ages and the cultivation of their own hearts and the bearing of the fruits of the spirit, and how the Lord in much mercy had laid them aside for a season, and given them the opportunities which they needed for thought and for Christian development, for growth in knowledge that they might have growth in grace..." ‘05-R3545 c 1 last p (R3544 to R3547—a grand message)

 

104 "But, Nicodemus, one peculiarity of God’s dealings is that He requires obedience to the light already possessed before more light is given... a manifestation of faith is required..." A279.

 

"We are to remember that if we had all knowledge yet had not love, it would profit us nothing.

 

"But we are to remember, also, that in the divine arrangement it seems to be impossible that our knowledge should progress much in advance of our obedience to what we already know... obedience to the law of God—the law of love with its connections of justice and mercy and reverence.”‘02-3021 Please see Rev. 6:7.

 

"THANKS TO GOD FOR HIS INEXPRESSIBLE  FREE GIFT! " 2Co 9:15 Lu 2.

 

"Jehovah thy God... will rejoice over thee... with singing"—Zeph. 3:17 Zec 2:10 Re 5.

 

"The holy of the mighty universe of God, shall ascribe glory, honor and praise to the Almighty Creator and to His glorious Son throughout the ages of eternity... The majesty and glory of the Divine character will stand revealed: His unswerving justice combined with infinite compassion His glorious wisdom, His marvelous love, His mighty power. Then all will bow before Him and adore! "‘ 14-R5534 to R5536.

 

Revelation 4

 

1  After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

 

Revelation 4:1 (RVENDAG_)

 

CHAPTER 4 REVELATION

 

Verse 1. After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven; and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

 

This fourth chapter of Revelation has to do with the first resurrection and the message of Present Truth by Pastor C.T. Russell. The door is the opening to a spiritual entrance, into the condition of the Most Holy, which is into the Divine Nature; it may be in Heaven, or it may not. The date is 1878 A.D., when those asleep in Christ, members of the Bride Class, are called forth from the dead. The next resurrection will be the Great Company Class, who will have a spiritual resurrection; having the same Father, God; the same Mother, Sarah; but not the same glory; members of the one true church.

 

"I exhort you therefore... to walk in a manner worthy of the calling wherewith ye were called... in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one Faith, one Immersion, one God and Father of all... until we all advance into the ONENESS of the faith, and of the full knowledge of the Son of God; into a man of full growth, into a measure of stature of the fullness of the Christ; that we may no longer be infants, billow-tossed and shifted around with every wind of teaching in the craft of men, in knavery, suited to the artifice of error; but pursuing the truth in love, may grow into Him in all things who is the head, Christ... securing the growth of the body unto an up-building of itself in love" (Eph. 4:1-16—Rotherham’s Translation).

 

"We should not forget that every member of the anointed body is anointed to preach (Isa. 61:1)... fortifying the various members against attacks of error and strengthening in each the comprehension of the truth.

 

"Thus all the members of the anointed body in communion with the Lord, filled with the same spirit, and being baptized with the same baptism, may together advance into the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, being firmly bound together by the uniting bond of peace—love.

 

"Let us then no longer hinder our one-ness of faith by the vain and sinful idea that we must not see things exactly as others do, but must be ‘independent.’ He that is independent of the body is independent of its head also, and is not a member of the body... we are living in the time when

 

105 the ‘watchmen shall see eye to eye,’ with clearness and harmony of vision; all should be of one faith and enabled to point out the waymarks and bulwarks so clearly that every earnest member of the body may see light in God’s light" ‘85-768, 769.

 

"Every one of us shall give account of himself to God" {Ro 14:12 Lu 19:11-27}.

 

Rev. 2:1; 3:14; Matt. 24:30-32, 45-47; Luke 12:42-44.

 

"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you,  ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you"—John 15:7.

 

"Alas! that we must write it—There are few among God’s professed children, very few even among those who profess to be entirely consecrated to and abiding in him, who have his Word abiding richly in them.

 

‘’If your hearts and energies are thus absorbed in the Father’s Plan, you may ask all the desires of your heart—‘ye may ask what ye will.’ I make you this liberal promise, not... that the Father would change his plans to yours, and do your will, but... you can come so fully into sympathy with the Father and the Plan of the Ages which He is working out, that you will never be dissatisfied, but always able to see your wishes being accomplished, because your will and wish, your pleasure and satisfaction, will be to see God’s will and plan progressing in God’s own way and time. Thus your every prayer and wish will be accomplished—the very reverse of the experience of those who seek to do their own wills... and pray for their own desires." ‘96-1999.

 

HE KNEW HE HAD THE TRUTH

 

"St. Paul was an outspoken, uncompromising teacher. When he knew that he had the truth, he spoke it with confidence, and boldly declared that everything contrary to it is false doctrine. He also taught believers that it was not only their privilege, but their duty to be established in the faith, to know on the evidence of God’s Word, why they believed, and to be able to give to every man that inquired a reason for the hope that was in them.

 

PLACE IN THE DIVINE SYSTEM OF TYPES

 

"Let it be so with us also. Each consecrated believer should ask himself, ‘How carefully have I studied that which I recognize as divine truth? How fully capable am I of handling the Sword of the Spirit?’ Few indeed are those who can say they have fully. digested and assimilated all they have received; and that they have let none of these things slip from memory; that they have so treasured it up in their hearts that it is their meditation by day and by night; that they have a ready answer—a ‘Thus saith the Lord’—for every man that asks them a reason for the hope that is in them, concerning any point of doctrine; that they can clearly and intelligently portray the divine plan, quote the divine authority for each successive step of it, and, if need be, point out its place in the divine system of types. To gain such proficiency in the Word is the work of a lifetime; but every day should see a closer approximation to that proficiency, and will if we are faithful students and faithful servants of the Truth.

 

"May we, dear brethren, be able truthfully to express our position in the words of the Apostle: ‘This one thing I do; forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus’;‘ I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified’—Phil. 3:13,14 1Co 2:2. ‘12-R5045 to R5046.

 

RESPONDING TO DIVINE PROMISES  Gen. 28:1-5, 10-22.

 

"Behold I am with thee and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest" Gen. 28:15.

 

"2 Samuel 22 is one of David’s songs of praise and gratitude to God for his goodness and his loving providences which had been so manifest toward him ever since his anointing by Samuel the prophet ... Indeed, the writings of David, and all the prophets and apostles as well, abound in fervent expressions of praise and thanksgiving to God... With impassioned eloquence and holy enthusiasm, they call upon all the sons of men, and every thing that bath breath, and even inanimate nature, to laud and magnify his holy name... ‘Blessed be his glorious name forever, and let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen!’—Ps 33:2,3 50:1-6 72:19 Ex 15:1-21.”"In the cultivation of the spirit of praise, thanksgiving and loving appreciation of all the manifest goodness of God, is the Christian’s secret of a happy life... We love him because he first loved us; and every time we see some new mark of his love, our love, if we have truly appreciative hearts, is called out more and more, and we are made to rejoice in God, in whose presence is fullness of joy. It is to this end that our Lord encourages our frequent coming to God in prayer with large requests for his favor, saying, ‘Ask, and ye shall receive,  that your joy may be full’— John 16:24.

 

"We observe that in Israel the spirit of praise was cultivated by calling to mind and recounting what the Lord had done for them. Ps 137:6 15:1 -21 De 7:17,18 8:2 15:15 32:7 1Ch 16:12 Ps 20:7 63:5-7 143:5,6 77:10-12.

 

"The whole strain of thanksgiving, thus viewed in its wider application to the conquests of Christ, is eloquent in its prophecy of his glorious victory, as well as in praise to Jehovah {1Co 15:27,28}. The prophecy of a future wider dominion, contained in 2Sa 22:44-46, can only be considered as fully applicable to the wider dominion of Christ Jesus as earth’s future King.

 

106 ‘’The Lord is my reck and my fortress, and my deliverer’—2 Sam. 22:2, is a blessed assurance applicable to all of the Lord’s people, and it is amply verified to all those who delight themselves in the Lord, who meditate upon his goodness and render to him the praise that is due to his holy name: ‘The Lord is my rock (upon which I may safely build my hopes), and my fortress (in which I may safely hide), and my deliverer (in every time of trouble).’"‘ 96-R2031, R2032.

 

THE CHRISTIAN’S WARFARE AGAINST PRIDE 2Co 10:4,5.

 

"The fact is that we are all insignificant, of very little importance in the execution of the Lord’s plan... But we are to ‘show forth the praises of him who bath called us out of darkness into his marvelous light’ {1Pe 2:9}, who has called us with this heavenly calling, not for our own sakes merely, but for his own glory and the blessing of others. God’s glory is to be our chief concern always.

 

"In proportion as the Truth is received and assimilated, it brings to us the spirit of a sound mind.

 

"The Lord has in a way put around the human race a barrier against danger. This barrier is, largely, man’s will. Those who have given up their wills, their minds, to the Lord, to have his will done in them, are particularly liable to severe and subtle attacks of the adversary. He especially seeks to delude and entrap the true children of the Lord, thus again to bring them into bondage to sin. Upon such as come under his influence, the delusion is gradual.

 

THE LORD WILL JUDGE His PEOPLE-Heb 10:3O 1Co 11:31 means that when we neglect to judge ourselves, he has to do it for us. Then we are being chastened with a view to our correction, that we might attain unto the heavenly reward and favor that is to be ours as New Creatures in Christ, if we remain humble and faithful unto death. If we continue to be meek and filled with the spirit of humility, not craving present honors and exaltation, but willing in perfect patience to await the Lord’s own good time, our exaltation will come; and we shall share our Savior’s throne and his glory forevermore.’

 

"Oh blows that smite, O wounds that pierce **** Are each a proof that Thou hast set Thy seal of love on me!" ‘16-R5889, R5890.

 

Revelation 4

 

2  And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.

 

Revelation 4:2 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 2-3. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. 3And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

 

Immediately I was in the power of the holy spirit, and had a vision of the ecclesiastical heavens; there was a throne, upon which sat the Author of the Universe and of the Divine Plan of the Ages, all represented in Jesus. The rainbow calls to mind the Rainbow Covenant with Noah, which included all the families of the earth, and all that it takes to make up this earth or world. Isa 57:15 Ps 103:13,14. "Jehovah is the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity. Before the mountains were brought forth, or the hills, before the First-born was created, he is God... Our God is very great, very wise, very high. Nevertheless, the Scriptures show us that he is also very sympathetic. He is a God of mercy and of love." ‘13-R5217.

 

"LOVE CASTETH OUT FEAR"

 

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear; because fear bath torment"—1 John 4:18. "There is no DREAD in love.’

 

A CERTAIN KIND OF FEAR PROPER

 

Hebrews 5:7; 4:1: "Our Lord Jesus appealed to the Father, who, he knew, loved him; but he knew also, that the Father was absolutely perfect, righteous, just; and he feared lest he might have come short in fulfilling some of the requirements.

 

"So with us. Let us know that ‘God is love’ {1Jo 4:8}, but let us fear respecting ourselves and have such a carefulness, such a desire to please God, that we should feel fearful lest in any degree we should come short. Ignorance begets fear; but love for God will enable us to cast out that fear, and will also enable us to come to God with great confidence. So let us ‘Draw nigh unto God with great confidence (James 4:8) that he will bless us... who, walking in the footsteps of the Master... love and wish to do the Father’s will only. Nothing is acceptable in the nature of a sacrifice that is not prompted by that love. ‘The Father seeketh such to worship him as worship him in spirit and in truth’ "—Joh 4:23,24. ‘11-R4841.

 

"The Father bath delivered all of his great work into the hands of the Lord Jesus, and only by knowing him can we know the Father in the proper sense, in the intimate sense, because the Son, as the Great Teacher, reveals the Father to all who are pupils in his school... ‘10-R4599.

 

LIFE IS A GIFT: NO ONE COULD EARN IT.

 

"God’s just arrangement is that all who obey the principle of righteousness shall live everlastingly. Justice sees to it that any one who wanders from the right course pays the penalty. The sure consequence of sin will fall upon the sinner. This is a broad principle—’the wages of sin is death,’ and the wages of righteousness is everlasting life. Strictly speaking, however, everlasting life is a gift, no one could earn it: ‘The gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord—Rom. 6:23." ‘13-R5356.

 

Rom. 12:1: "This was the invitation”(to the tentatively justified) "to consecrate, or sacrifice, or be ‘baptized into his death.’ So many as heard the word gladly, in the proper condition of heart, appreciatively, were baptized—not only really baptized in their consecration vow, but also symbolically baptized in water, as an outward testimony of this.”F448 top.

 

THE LESSONS OF THE SCHOOL—1Co 13:1-13

 

"When we enter the school of Christ, the lesson, as a whole, set before us is expressed in the Great Teacher’s words ‘Be ye like unto your Father which is in heaven.’ The

 

107 same thought is presented to us in the Apostle’s words when he assures us that God has predetermined that only such as become copies of his dear Son—in character likeness—can be his joint-heirs in the promised kingdom. What we did consecrate to do, includes everything in our power and no more—even unto death. So, then, no lesson that can come to us is beyond our covenant or agreement to perform.

 

"The Apostle in the spectrum of love given in this lesson is delineating the various parts of this one great lesson of Christ-likeness, which is God-likeness. He is pointing out what constitutes such a character as God desires we shall have, and such as God has predetermined we must have, in order to be worthy of the gift of God, eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord... ‘09-R4443, R4444.

 

”THE LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and great of mercy... Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame, he remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass... For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone: and the place thereof shall know it no more. But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children; To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them. The LORD bath prepared his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over all... Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul"—Ps 103:8,13-19,22.

 

"... For He remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away and cometh not again”—Psa. 78:39. "How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!" v. 40.

 

”Although iniquity cometh not forth of the dust, neither cloth trouble spring out of the ground; yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks to fly upward"—Job 5:6, 7.

 

CONTROL OF THE TONGUE A NECESSITY

 

"I say unto you, that every idle (unprofitable or pernicious) word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment"—Matthew 12:36.

 

"Not only must we render up our account daily, but at the end of our course there will be a general summing up...

 

”Our Lord’s words, as recorded in Matthew 12:34-36, indicate that both the heart and the mouth are under special scrutiny. How necessary therefore is a right condition of heart, in order that the words of our mouth may be acceptable to our Lord and Redeemer!

 

”In our Lord’s statement, the heart is representative of the character, and the mouth is the index of that character. The word heart is sometimes used in Scripture with the force of the word mind. Out of the abundance of the mind the mouth speaks.’

 

THE IMPORTANCE OF  DAILY SELF-SCRUTINY

 

”If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged; but when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world"—1 Corinthians 11:31, 32.

 

"We judge ourselves when we criticize our own conduct, our own words—our own thoughts, even—and try them by the principles laid down in the Word of God—justice, kindness, mercy, love...

 

"So surely as we belong to the church class, we must receive our judgments and punishments in the present age. If we fail to give them to ourselves, our Master will give them to us." ‘14-R5517 to R5519.

 

"The Bible presents a God of intelligence, a God of sympathy, a God who cares for his creatures and who has a marvelous plan for their restoration to his own glorious likeness (Rev. 4:11). How glad we are that he has let us into the secrets of his counsels, that he has made known his wonderful plan to us in advance of the inauguration of the great work! How it rejoices our hearts, to know not only of our own glorious share and place in this great plan, but to know also of the blessings so soon to come to the poor groaning creation!

 

”Faith... is the acceptance of a thing because we have indisputable evidence of its reality, its truthfulness and its reliability. As we exercise faith in God, we come nearer and nearer to him...”‘15-R5717.

 

"Faith triumphs over reason by receiving the Revelation of the God of reason.”

 

HARMONIZING IN GOD’s WORD

 

"What shall I render unto the Lord my God for all His benefits to me?" ‘’That’s the question...”

 

WHAT SHALL I RENDER UNTO THE LORD?

 

"The more we see the length and breadth and height and depth of God’s great mercy and love, the more we feel ‘What shall I render unto the Lord?’ "There is no noble soul in the world that wants to be continually receiving, receiving, receiving, receiving blessings, mercies upon mercies, filling our lives... that wants to receive all the time and does not wish to make return... If he can give nothing but thanks, then he will give thanks." CR304.

 

IF YE DO THESE THINGS

 

”For if ye do these things, ye shall never fall; for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ"—2Pe 1:10,11 Re 3:21 2Pe 1:10,11: "This is the prize of the high calling of the overcoming saints of the Gospel age. True, when we consider its exceeding glory, faith is prone to stagger at the promise that, poor and imperfect though we be, God purposes in the ages to come to show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:7). Nevertheless, such is the case: ‘Unto us are given the exceeding great and precious promises, that by these we might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust’—through the worldly desires, ‘the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life’—2 1:4 1Jo 2:16.

 

"These exceeding great and precious promises contemplate the adoption of these called ones by the great Sovereign of the whole universe as his sons and heirs; as joint-heirs with

 

108 his only begotten Son, the heir of all things; they shall be with him where he is and behold his glory; and they shall put off this mortality, and, like him, who is ‘the express image of the Father’s person,’ they shall be clothed with immortality. So shall they be forever with the Lord, and see him as he is; for they shall be like him. Having overcome the world, they shall sit with him in his kingdom, even as he overcame and sat down with the Father in his kingdom—Rev. 3:21.

 

”There will be a glorious welcome, a joyous greeting and a coronation jubilee among all the heavenly hosts when the laurels of victory are placed upon the heads of all the overcoming soldiers of the cross, the heroes who nobly fought the good fight of faith—who kept the faith, fought the fight against the world, the flesh and the devil, and finished their course in faithfulness even unto death.

 

"If any man attempts to do this in his own strength, he must surely fail; for the Very trial that is to try every one will prove too much for the mind of the flesh; but God who worketh in the consecrated to will and to do his good pleasure, will so fortify and equip those who depend upon his grace, that, with the Psalmist, they can say, ‘It is God that girdeth me with strength; and maketh my way perfect. For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall’; and with Paul, ‘I can do all things through Christ, who strengtheneth me’—Psa. 18:32,29 Php 4:13." ‘97-R2154.

 

"The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.’

 

”All such may confidently sing with the Psalmist—the 23rd Psalm. ‘’‘ 02-R3116.

 

Revelation 4

 

3  And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

 

Revelation 4

 

4  And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

 

Revelation 4:4 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 4. And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders aged personal sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

 

And round about the throne were twenty-four seats for twenty-four ancients who were used of God or by the Logos to state prophecies of things to take place in connection with the Church. And the spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus. The twenty-four elders, ancients, prophets, are these: Enoch, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, Job, David, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Crowns of gold upon their heads indicate that the prophecies came from Jesus after his glorification in the Divine Nature. Indeed, with this whole book of Revelation, the white robes indicate that the prophecies are right, pure, and sure of fulfillment. The spirit of prophecy is the testimony or witness of Jesus. Rev. 19:10.

 

"ARE THEY NOT ALL MINISTERING SPIRITS?’ 2Ki 6:8-18

 

"The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them"—Psa. 34:7.

 

"The special feature of this Scripture lesson is that there are invisible powers on every hand for the protection and assistance of the Lord’s people, while doing his work. As we have already shown, there are ‘wicked spirits,’ invisible to humanity, whose fiendish delight is to deceive, mislead and ensnare mankind. (See "What Say the Scriptures About

 

Spiritualism?") But in this lesson we have the other side of the question presented to our attention. It is an encouragement to know that, tho beset by evil spirits, the Lord’s people are surrounded by other invisible agents no less powerful, whose interest in their welfare is of the highest order, and who are near to guard us in proportion as our hearts are pure, and loyal to the Lord and his Word. 2Pe 1:21. "Our suggestion is that the holy Spirit of God communicated information to the prophets through the holy angels, the invisible spirit beings who encamp round about them that fear God. But for God to use this instrumentality in communication would make it no less his power, just as He may use the lightning or the storm to do his work, and it be none the less his work; just as we may speak by telephone or telegraph or cable, and it be as really our word and deed as tho done without those agencies of communication.

 

"Elisha’s servant (not Gehazi, we may feel assured, but another more worthy), seeing the armed host surrounding the city, was in terror, but the Prophet, who likewise saw the armed host, also discerned another host, more powerful, more numerous; and he entreated the Lord on behalf of his servant that he might have an opening of the eyes, to see that all the mountains round about them were filled with spirit beings—’horses and chariots of fire,’ or like fire, as all spirit beings are described in Scriptures. {See Eze 1:13,14 Da 7:9 Re 4:3-5} The Lord answered the prayer; and then the young man saw what Elisha had already told him, that ‘they that be with us are more than they that be with them.’ "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? Heb. 1:14.

 

"It is important that every Christian should have the eyes of his understanding opened, that he may see by faith that which was shown to Elisha and his servant literally. During this Gospel age the Lord does not open our natural eyes to see the wonderful provisions He has made for us, and His power for our protection; but instead He gives us a still better knowledge of the subject through His Word of grace and truth, so that we are enabled to walk by faith and not by sight; to see the armies of the Lord encamped around about us and to recognize their protection of us, without any miracle being performed upon our natural sight. None of us are sufficiently strong to pass through the fight of Christian warfare without just such assistances as these which the Lord has provided, and which faith beholds, accepts, lays hold of, rests upon and is strengthened by.’ "Shall we call this faith in invisible spiritual powers and agencies of God the true spiritualism of the Scriptures—in contradistinction to the evil spiritualism which is of Satan and his fellows, the fallen angels, the ‘wicked spirits in exalted positions?’ "The best victories are the bloodless ones; the ones in which the spirit of righteousness and mercy and benevolence gains the victory over the spirit of rivalry, ambition and selfishness... fighting the good fight and overcoming evil with good... will develop in ourselves the peaceable fruits of righteousness, and prepare us for a share in the strong government of the future, which with one hand will restrain 109 the wicked and all the powers of evil, while with the other hand it blesses, washes, refreshes and anoints with the oil of gladness and blessing all the willing and obedient.”‘98-R2349, R2350.

 

"Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee”—Psalm 55:22.

 

"My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus"—Phil. 4: 19.

 

"Any saint of God may have tears in the trying experiences of the journey in the narrow way, but none is excusable for murmuring. Rather, each should say with the Master, ‘The cup which my Father bath given me, shall I not drink it?’ To those who approach the springs of bitterness with the proper faith in God as did Moses, the Lord makes known precious promises, which ‘steal the bitter from life’s woes.’ As the Israelites were led from the bitter waters to Elim and its rest and shade, so God’s spiritual Israel are not tempted and tried above what they are able to bear.”‘13-R5278.

 

"Not self-reliance is the more desirable, but rather confidence in God and reliance upon His promised ‘grace to help in every time of need.’ This maintains the desirable humility and meekness, yet gives the courage and force suggested by the Apostle’s words: ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me’ (Phil. 4:13). As St. Paul again declares, Our sufficiency is of God!’ ‘’Thus inspired by faith in God and in his promises those ‘taught of God’ become marvelously ‘strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might’ {Eph 6:10}. The righteous is strong as a lion, saying, ‘I will not fear what man may do unto me’ (Psa. 118:6). I will not heed what man may say of me or do to me. So long as I heave the Almighty Creator for my Father and the Redeemer for my elder Brother I shall be content, relying on their ‘exceeding great and precious promises.’ "‘ 12-R5113.

 

FULL ASSURANCE OF FAITH—PSA. 23:6. ‘00-R2642, R2643 A GREAT DELIVERER: LIKE UNTO ME

 

"Truly God’s promises were shrouded in mystery, and his ways seemed past finding out. However, in due time came Moses, a great deliverer, by whose hand God led them out of bondage, working mighty miracles on their behalf. Before entering Canaan this great deliverer died; but as the Lord’s mouthpiece he declared, ‘A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me" (Deut. 18:15; Acts 3:22). This gave a further insight into God’s plan, showing that not only would their nation, as a whole, be associated in some way with the future work of ruling and blessing, but that one to be selected from among them would lead to victory and to the fulfillment of the promise. Then Joshua, whose name signifies deliverer, or savior, became their leader, and under him they won great victories, and actually entered the land promised in the covenant. Surely then it seemed that the true leader had come, and that the promise was about to have complete fulfillment.

 

"But Joshua died, and they made no headway as a nation until David, and then Solomon, were given them as kings. There they reached the very zenith of their glory; but soon, instead of seeing the promise accomplished, they were shorn of their power, and became tributary to other nations. Some held fast the promise of God, however, and still looked for the great deliverer of whom Moses, Joshua, David and Solomon were only types.

 

ANOTHER SET OF TYPES AND PROPHECIES: OVERLOOKED

 

”About the time when Jesus was born, all men were in expectation of the Messiah, the coming king of Israel, and through Israel, of the world. But Israel’s hope of the glory and honor of their coming king, inspired as it was by the types and prophecies of his greatness and power, caused them to overlook another set of types and prophecies which pointed to a work of suffering and death, as a ransom for sinners, necessary before the blessing could come. This was prefigured in the Passover before they were delivered from Egypt, in the slaying of the animals at the giving of the law covenant (Heb. 9:11-20; 10:8-18), and in the Atonement sacrifices performed year by year continually by the priesthood. They overlooked, too, the statement of the prophets, ‘who testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.’ (1 Peter 1:11). Hence, when Jesus came as a sacrifice, they did not recognize him: they knew not the time of their visitation" (Luke 19:44). A78-A79.

 

Revelation 4

 

5  And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

 

Revelation 4:5 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verses 5-6. And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. 6And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts "Zoon,"living ones—see Diag. and R. V. full of eyes before and behind.

 

Lightnings, thunderings, and voices came as a result of the proclamation of Present Truth: the lightnings indicate diffusions of knowledge; thunderings, controversies; and voices, sermons on Present Truth, the Divine Plan of the Ages. The seven lamps of ire are the story of the seven periods of the church’s history during the Gospel Age. The seven spirits of God indicate that his four attributes are infinite: God is infinite in Justice; infinite in Wisdom; infinite in Love; and infinite in Power. The sea of glass represents the clarity of Present Truth; as for example, the philosophy of the Ransom, which has never been plumbed to its depth. Thefour beasts are the four living ones—Justice, Wisdom, Love, and Power. See Rev. 5:1-3, 9-10. Please see E, Chapter 15 and pages 450, 451.

 

"Is anything too hard for the Lord?"—Gen. 18: 14. "The spirit of God is powerful! God’s holy spirit raised Jesus from the dead in His resurrection... ‘You bath he quickened (made alive, resurrected figuratively) who were dead in trespasses and sins... and bath raised us up together, and made us sit together, in heavenly places in Christ Jesus’ "—Col 3:1 Eph 2:1,6. ‘03-R3203.

 

"Ah, Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and THERE IS NOTHING TOO HARD FOR THEE"—Jer 32:17 110  ‘’God permitted the adversary to overturn things, and has permitted sin to have its course, in order to illustrate certain great principles that operate in the universe, according to certain laws. Whoever violates the principles of righteousness will have proportionately an unsatisfactory experience, as sin is contaminating and contagious. And so what might appear as God’s inability to control sin and its evil influences will ultimately be seen from a different standpoint—illustrating his justice, wisdom, power and love.”‘13-R5334.

 

"We are not wise enough to direct the Lord as to what should be done in respect to our affairs; If we have committed our all to him, a proper faith bids us trust him, bids us rely upon the divine wisdom and love and power, which promises to make all things work together for good to us—better than we could ask for... Let the Lord do what seems best to him.

 

"‘Only believe,’... And so to each of us in the many experiences which affect our interests, we must learn the lesson of faith, confidence in the Lord’s wisdom, love and power.

 

JUSTICE

 

"As faith is able to recognize Jesus as the Redeemer whose sacrifice is sufficient for the satisfaction of Justice—as faith discerns that this ransom-sacrifice was made to the intent that the blessing of the Lord might reach every individual of our race—as faith is able to look forward to the second coming of this Redeemer as the Life-Giver to his people, in that proportion faith is able to rejoice and to permit even in the presence of sorrow, sighing, tears and dying, the looking forward beyond the tomb to the glorious morning of the resurrection. In proportion as faith can lay hold of the precious promises of God’s Word, it is able under the most trying conditions to sorrow, not as others who have no hope, but it is able to believe that as Jesus died and rose again as our dear Redeemer, so also all who sleep in Jesus, the world of mankind, will God bring from the dead through or by him—1 Thess. 4:14." ‘05-R3529.

 

”As a further explanation of the necessity for his going to the Father, our Lord declares that as a result of his going his followers should do greater works than he had done. It may perhaps be proper to think that some of these ‘greater works’ will occur after the kingdom has been established—the great work of awakening the world of mankind from the sleep of death and restoring the willing and obedient to the full perfection of human life. That, truly, will be a greater work than our Lord Jesus accomplished at his first advent, for then his greatest work was the awakening of the sleeping ones without bringing them to the full perfection of human nature.

 

”But in our opinion this is not the only sense in which the Lord’s followers are to understand that their works shall be greater than those of the Master... It is since Pentecost that ‘God bath revealed spiritual things unto us by his spirit,’ which ‘searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God’—1Co 2:10,14 Joh 3:12.

 

"In the midst of the house of servants, not yet begotten of the Spirit—not yet granted the privilege of sonship {Joh 1:12}, our Lord could do and teach on no higher plane than the earthly, except as he ‘spake unto the people in parables and dark sayings,’ which in due time the church would understand, under the leading of the holy Spirit. It was in consequence of this that our Lord’s miracles were all physical, and his plain understandable teachings were all on a plane appreciable by the natural man.

 

"But when the holy Spirit was come, after Pentecost, the Lord’s people, in his name, and as his representatives, began to do greater, more wonderful works than those which he himself had performed. Did the Lord open the eyes of the blind? His followers were privileged to open the eyes of men’s understandings. Did the Lord heal the physically sick? His disciples were permitted to heal the spiritually diseased. Did the Lord cure physical leprosy? It was the privilege of his followers to heal spiritual leprosy, sin. Did our Lord revive the dead? It was the privilege of his followers to preach a Gospel by which many ‘passed from death unto life’ in a much higher sense. And these privileges of these still greater works are yet with the Lord’s people..." ‘99-R2454, R2455 "... When we see that the testimony of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, reveals to us a God of justice, wisdom, love and power, our minds and hearts have something reasonable and convincing to lay hold upon, and we say: We can trust such a God, because he is trustworthy. This conviction deepens into joy as we step out upon his promises and prove them for ourselves, thus learning their reality and realizing their fulfillment. We rejoice that this loving God has called us to redemption through his Son. We rejoice that he has offered us eternal life, and has called us even to a glorious joint-heirship with this Son—Romans 8:17. ‘14-R5432.

 

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee" Isa 26 3.

 

"It is a peace which implicitly trusts to the divine wisdom, love, justice and power, a peace which remembers the gracious promise made to the Lord’s faithful—that nothing shall by any means hurt his faithful and that all things shall work together for good to them that love God.”‘99-R2456 c2 p6.

 

GOOD CONFESSION VERSUS BAD CONFESSION—Luke 12:1-12. ‘14-R5390, R5391 HONESTY FEAR NOT PERSECUTIONS

 

"Jesus intimated that honesty of life would bring his followers persecution from the hypocrites; but that they should not fear, even though the persecution resulted in their death. The present life is but ephemeral, at best. The life that is worth considering is the everlasting one which God has provided for all the willing and obedient, and which may eventually be attained through the merit of Jesus’ sacrifice. Those who thus believe should have no fear of what man can do to them, but rather should be fearful of anything that would separate them from God and his gracious provisions of a future life.

 

"The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and a reverential fear is always proper. But as God’s people become intimately acquainted with him, learning of his justice,

 

111 wisdom, love and power, and realize that he is the friend of all who love righteousness, they come to love God; and, as the Apostle declares, ‘Perfect love casteth out fear (dread to offend),’ which signifies rest. The Lord’s disciples were to realize their heavenly Father’s care for them and his wisdom—that as he forgets not the sparrows, so he will not forget them; and that not even a hair of their heads could be injured without his knowledge and permission; that everything that he permits to come to his people, to his children, he assures them, will work out for them some blessing.

 

"Whoever makes a profession of being a disciple, and then ignores the Master’s teachings, misrepresents him, slanders him, denies him, and will not share in the glorious presentation of the bride, in the end of this age...

 

"The Master’s teachings were purity itself. His conduct, his sayings and his miracles were all good works. Only a wilful perversity could attribute these to Satan... They would suffer punishment proportionate to the degree of their wilfulness. If the punishment would bring reformation, well and good; but if not, it would eventuate in utter destruction—the second death.

 

”Few subjects are less understood than this one—the sin against the holy Spirit. The word spirit in such a case as this stands for power, or influence.

 

THE HOLY SPIRIT SHALL TEACH

 

”Lift up your heads, and rejoice! Rejoice that the time is so near when the suffering will be over, and our opportunity for blessing all the families of the earth will have come. What a glorious future we have! The Apostle calls it an inheritance. Everybody is anxious to enter upon their inheritance. The Apostle says we have an inheritance reserved in heaven for us, ready to be revealed in the last time. It is now the last time, and it is ready to be revealed. When you see these things, they are signs that the kingdom is soon to be set up, your blessing is nigh, and the things promised are about to be accomplished—these things you have believed in are about to be accomplished—these things you have believed in are about to be fulfilled—therefore, rejoice!

 

”Then let our songs abound And every tear be dried We’re traveling through Immanuel’s ground To fairer prospects nigh.’ Hymn 40 (DH40)

 

”We are traveling through Immanuel’s ground... As a perfect man who kept the law, He had a right to the earth. Whoever would keep the law would be the one who would inherit all things. He, therefore, merited it because He kept the law perfectly. This was the divine arrangement. If He had not died at all, He would be the owner of the earth. So then, this is Immanuel’s ground. Everything is His. When we are His, all things are ours. ‘All things are for your sakes, for ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.’... Jesus has not yet applied the ransom-price on behalf of the world, but, there is a difference between the world and the earth. He did not need to give His life to become the owner of the earth. By keeping the Law He became the owner of the earth. But the merit of His sacrifice was necessary to purchase the world in due time. The imputation of that merit was necessary during this age that we might be acceptable to the Father and be received into His family by the begetting of His spirit to be sons of God. All this He has done through the imputation which He has in the Father’s hands as a deposit; and this He is about to apply for the world of mankind, and all the children of Adam... He is about to purchase the world of mankind, but the right to the earth He has had ever since He proved Himself able to keep the law. That is one of the reasons that restitution, so far as the earth is concerned, can begin before such blessings come to the world of mankind. Restitution has been going on since 1874, especially since entering the seventh great day. He had a right to bring these restitution blessings to the earth even before He applies the merit for the world of mankind.

 

Pastor Russell’s Last Sermon, page 4

 

Revelation 4

 

6  And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

 

Revelation 4

 

7  And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.

 

Revelation 4:7 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 7. And the first beast living one—Diag. was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast living one—Diag. had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.

 

The four attributes are set forth here: The lion, power; the calf, justice; the face of a man, love; and the flying eagle, wisdom—so far-sighted and so penetrating, discerning between the thoughts and intents of the heart.

 

WHOM THE LORD KNEW FACE TO FACE—De 34:10

 

”When thinking of the expression, ‘face to face,’ we should understand it to signify that Moses enjoyed a closeness of fellowship and favor with the Lord rather than that he really looked into the face of Jehovah, concerning which it is written, ‘No man can see my face and live’ (Exod. 33:20); and again, ‘Whom no man bath seen or can see’ {1Ti 6:16}. It may be that our Lord Jesus as Michael especially represented the Father with Moses, as it was he who prevented the adversary from having Moses’ body after death. But in any event, applying the matter antitypically to the Christ, we see that in a special sense the antitypical Moses in the flesh throughout this Gospel age has had a favor in connection with the divine presence not enjoyed by any others of previous times.

 

"We see the Lord’s face with the eye of faith, for we have seen our Lord Jesus, who represents the Father, and who declares that whosoever bath seen him bath seen the Father—has enjoyed the best possible revelation of the Father whom no man bath seen... Again we see the Father’s face in the sense that we see his love, which is displayed to us through a knowledge of the truth by the holy Spirit granted to us. Not merely divine power do we see, not merely divine wisdom do we see, not merely divine justice do we see—but God himself, is love, and he has shown us his love. We who with the eyes of our understanding have seen our Redeemer and come to a knowledge of him have seen the Father and become acquainted with him proportionately, for all things are of the Father and all things are by the Son." ‘07-R4055.

 

112 FERVENT IN SPIRIT—SERVING THE LORD ‘11-R4929 c 2 p 4, 5.

 

"How important, then that we discern clearly the necessity for this abounding love, this zeal for God and for righteousness which will amount to a hatred of iniquity, even while loving, succoring and helping the evildoers into right paths." ‘11-R4929.

 

"The reverence of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy is understanding"—Proverbs 9:10.

 

"When we consider that wisdom is one of the Divine attributes, it is evident that wisdom existed even before our Lord Jesus, although he was the beginning of the creation of God, the first born of every creature. But so perfectly did our Lord Jesus exemplify the divine wisdom that it is not at all strange that some have inferred that wisdom, here (Proverbs, Chapters 1-9), personified Christ, instead of recognizing Christ as the personification of that wisdom which from eternity was an attribute of Jehovah. It is described by the Apostle James (3: 17) as coming ‘from above, ...’ Please see E pp. E89-E93 and note page E93 p 1—(Proverbs 8:22-30.) "... As God’s faithful children... we study God’s revelation, and the heavenly wisdom begins to manifest itself in the peaceable fruits of righteousness." ‘93-R1518.

 

Please read T121-T126.

 

"Their deficiencies made up for them by their Redeemer’s meritorious sacrifice... the Divine arrangement is that each shall have imputed to him grace sufficient... counted perfect—counted as having walked up to the spirit’s requirements...

 

"This wonderful Divine arrangement for man’s necessities tells of the wisdom of God as well as of his mercy and love. Who else could have devised such an equitable plan, by which whosoever cometh unto the Father through the Redeemer, with full consecration of heart, of will, and full intention of life, might be acceptable—nothing short of perfection being acceptable?

 

"Those hearing the invitation in this present time, and desiring to accept God’s grace and call, are all thus put on an equality." ‘03-R3237, R3238.

 

"The qualities of wisdom, justice, love and power are fully harmonized and unified in the character of our Heavenly Father, our Creator. In him these qualities are supplemental to each other, and in the fullest harmony. And we are to strive to incorporate into our own characters these same qualities.

 

When we use these terms in reference to mankind, we are bound to recognize in how comparatively small a degree these character-qualities are possessed by humanity...

 

"We should notice that the law of God demands not only justice, but also love—love supreme to God, and love to our fellowmen. It demands mercy, kindness. Let us note the injunctions along this line which God gave to natural Israel under the law. Let us see how far-reaching they were...

 

{Ex 23:4,5 Pr 25:21,22}.

 

"... Man had forfeited all his rights, and had become a convict before God’s righteous law. But God’s great mercy in providing a deliverance for this convict race illustrated his glorious and beneficent character.... This was

 

Jehovah’s own plan... even beyond the measure of love demanded of a perfect character.

 

"The love of God and of Christ, as manifested in the great plan of redemption, was a sacrificial love. So those who are invited to become members of Christ’s body are to have this same love.

 

LET Us HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST

 

"As Christ redeemed us by laying down his life as a willing sacrifice, so let us have this same mind, this same disposition, this same will. This is the special covenant of the church—the covenant of sacrifice (Psalm 50:5). This is the covenant which our Lord made with the Father, and we are to follow in his footsteps. The world will gain everlasting life if they come up to the standard of justice required by God’s law. But as for us, we must have a still higher standard..." ‘15-R5643, R5644.

 

"Those who have entered the School of Christ know, we all know, that for everything which we deny ourselves now our God gives us abundant compensations in our spiritual blessings and joys even here; and then we have all the unspeakable glories promised to his saints awaiting us just beyond the veil." ‘16-R5933.

 

THE WISE CHOICE—Joshua 24:15.

 

"Every day we should renew our covenant with the Lord... We are exhorted to make this review of our lives and renewal of our consecration daily... to continue to keep this before our minds and hearts; to render our sacrifice unto the Lord... And this baptism into his death continues just as it was with our Lord. He had made his consecration and so it had to be completed; so it is with us; our vow, our covenant is unto death.

 

"The Lord’s consecrated people should be brought to the point where the chief aim in life, the burden of all their prayers, would be that they might have a larger measure of the Spirit of the Lord, the spirit of holiness, the spirit of the truth, the spirit of Christ, the spirit of a sound mind..." ‘11 R4780 c 2 p 2.

 

"Jesus will have all of this merit of his sacrifice to make satisfaction for the sins of the whole world—not a single individual omined. During the thousand years he will be giving to mankind that which he has secured by his death, and which he will make applicable to them by sealing the New Covenant. That New Covenant will be sealed as soon as the church shall have been completed, as soon as the church shall have passed beyond the veil.

 

SPIRITUAL AND HUMAN NATURE NOT THE SAME

 

"The Scriptures indicate that there is a difference in natures as St. Paul points out... {1Co 15:39-41}. Our Lord distinctly told that he left the glory that he had with the Father. He said to his disciples, ‘What and if you should see the Son of Man ascend up where he was before?’—John 6:62.

 

"The expression, ‘Where he was before,’ refers to a

 

113 difference in nature, in condition, from that he then had. Jesus had been in the world many times before, but never before was made flesh. Jesus perhaps was the Representative of God in the Garden of Eden with Adam. Very certain it is, he was the one who gave the law to Moses as the Representative of the Father. And most assuredly he was the one who communicated with Abraham at the time when the Lord and two angels went down to Sodom, and stopped on the way to tell Abraham about the matter. Incidentally Abraham remembered that they appeared like men, ate like men, talked like men, but he knew not till afterward that they were angels. When our Lord was made flesh, it was not the first time he was on earth. On previous visits he was a spirit being who merely assumed a flesh body as a convenience in communicating with men as the Father’s Representative.

 

"The Scriptures say that Jesus was a man, ‘the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us’ {Joh 1:14}—not that he pretended to be a man. To be the Redeemer of man it was necessary for him to become a man, not to pretend to be one. He must be really a man; otherwise he could not have been a ransom-price for Adam; for the divine law required like for like—’life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot’—Deut. 19:21.

 

"The word ransom (antilutron in the Greek) signifies a corresponding price. And so Jesus actually left the heavenly glory—not merely pretended to leave it. He who was rich for our sakes became poor, so that he was truly that which he appeared to be—the man—the only one who could be the corresponding price for Adam. The Scriptures represent our Lord as saying to the Father, ‘A body hast thou prepared me’ for the suffering of death (Hebrews 10:5). Many of us have overlooked the fact that this body was divinely prepared for a purpose—for the suffering of death, and not, as many think, a body for placing the Lord Jesus in a state of permanent humiliation before all the holy angels, as expressed in the old hymn...

 

"Our Lord is not parading heaven under the disadvantages of a body and a nature all out of accord with his surroundings. He has already accomplished the work of sacrifice, and the merit of his sacrifice is in the hands of God. God has accepted the sacrifice that was made more than eighteen centuries ago; and on the books of justice there are to our Redeemer’s credit those earthly life-rights to which, as a perfect man, he was entitled.

 

"When God conferred upon Father Adam human life and human life-rights, he immediately became the great king of earth. And so when Jesus became the natural man he became the natural ruler. He was the one to whom the earth belonged; and the perfect man would have had the right to earth and all the fullness thereof. Instead of keeping these rights and becoming the grand earthly Potentate, Jesus surrendered all these earthly rights and received the reward of obedience—not the reward of sacrifice, but the reward of obedience. He still has these human life rights, and is about to give them to the world of mankind, upon condition that they shall desire to come into harmony with God, that they shall enter into a covenant of obedience. By his own blood Jesus makes them eligible to full restitution to all that was lost in Eden and to all that was redeemed at Calvary." ‘15-R5622, R5623.

 

Revelation 4

 

8  And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

 

Revelation 4:8 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 8. And the four beasts lZoon, living ones] had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. See the Revised Version.

 

The wings indicate progress, and the means and times of progress, in the carrying out of the Plan. The eyes show or indicate fullness of knowledge and wisdom; and six indicates God’s care and understanding of the church during her earthly life, work, and experiences. They are always declaring, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. Amen and amen. The beauty of holiness is manifested in all his dealing, and leads us to desire the same character likeness.

 

"Supreme love to God is centered upon a glorious object—glorious in his personality, glorious in his character, glorious in his wisdom, glorious in his power, and glorious in his benevolence and love and grace.

 

‘Oh! what beauty Beams in his all-glorious face.’"‘ 94-R1738

 

"Our Lord’s virtue, his sinlessness, his separateness from sinners, was not through the flesh, not through his mother, but through his father, God. (See Volume E (5), chapter 4.)...

 

"His death as planned by the Father and accepted by himself was a propitiation ‘for the sins of the whole world.’ He died as the ransom price for Adam and his sin, and thus purchased from condemnation not only Adam, but his entire posterity involved through his transgression; hence, as the Apostle points out, ‘He is able to save (deliver) unto the uttermost all who come unto God through him’ (Heb. 7:25). Not only so, but our Lord’s circumstances of birth and early experiences in comparative poverty as a working man, impress us with the thought that he is indeed able to sympathize with mankind in every station of life; having passed from the glory of the Father to the lowest condition of humanity and back again, he is surely able to appreciate and to sympathize with all conditions and classes.

 

"It is the royal priesthood who, entering into the spirit of the divine arrangement, have realized themselves justified through faith in the precious blood, and in harmony with the invitation of the Lord have gone forward presenting themselves living sacrifices that they might have fellowship with Christ in the sufferings of this present time, and also, by and by in the kingdom glories that shall follow. It is this class chiefly that is now rejoicing in a still fuller opening up of the divine Word so long beclouded by the falsities coming down from the Dark Ages; it is this class that is chiefly now rejoicing in the discernment of the lengths and breadths and heights and depths of the divine love and of the divine plan which has purchased the whole world and will eventually recover from present degradation all who under the favorable conditions of the Millennial kingdom will develop the character which God demands of all who shall have eternal life—a love of righteousness and hatred of iniquity." ‘02-R3115.

 

"There is a wideness in God’s mercy like the wideness of the sea." "I know of no other religion that is so unbiased, that recognizes no national lines, that has the thought

 

114 that we are one race, which sprang from one man, condemned through one man, and redeemed through the man Christ Jesus, and that all are to have a blessing—no other religion under the sun.

 

"The religion of Christ, of which we are not ashamed, is best in this that it is the most God-like religion, because of its breadth, because of its justice, because of its impartiality, because of its love, its goodness and merciful qualities; it shows forth as does no other religion the Justice, Wisdom, Love and Power of Jehovah, our God.

 

"To Him be glory and honor and dominion forever." CR194. 2Co 8:9 Lu 22:42 Joh 6:38 10:29 14:28. "The Master always had this disposition of reverence for the Father and of full trust and confidence in the divine wisdom, love, justice and power." ‘16-R5846.

 

TRAINING FOR MEMBERSHIP IN THE KINGDOM

 

"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow"—Matthew 6:28.

 

"We are to seek first of all the interests of the Kingdom... Our God is very rich. All the gold and silver are His, and the cattle on a thousand hills... Things are left as they are, then, that we may practice economy, may have an opportunity of denying ourselves present blessings for the interests of the Kingdom...

 

"The lessons to be learned in connection with all the affairs of life will be helpful to such as approach the study from the right standpoint of faith in the Creator, and a realization that He is necessarily the embodiment and representative of the very highest and very noblest qualities of which the human mind could conceive—perfect in Justice, perfect in Wisdom, perfect in Power, perfect in Love.

 

"The heart that thus considers... grows in grace, in knowledge, in love...’13-R5220, R5221.

 

"Every leaf and every sunbeam bears a loving message of divine providence to the thoughtful. And every inharmony of nature, when viewed in the light of God’s plan, is seen to be but a part of that great process whereby God is preparing for the perfect order of things which shall continue forever, when sin and its entailments shall have been banished under the successful reign of Christ; and even the long permitted wrath of man and Satan will eventually be to God’s praise. "‘ 93- R1562.

 

"Who is a God like unto thee, that... retaineth not his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy"—Micah 7:18.

 

"Alas, how terribly our God of wisdom, justice, love, and power, has been misrepresented... But when our eyes open to a proper interpretation of God’s Word, his character becomes glorious before our eyes and commands our love and our devotion! As the apostle declares, it is the divine love which constrains us to be faithful and obedient." ‘11-R4892.

 

"They... went everywhere preaching the Word"—Acts 8:4. ‘09-R4330 c 2 p 3.

 

"We are building character for all eternity... by our resolving again and again to be stronger and firmer in building the character-likeness of our heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

"The Apostle Peter... urges the church to add quality after quality of character-preparation, that thus they may be fitted for the glorious things that God has promised to the faithful. He specifies faith as the primary qualification... To this he says that we are to add...

 

"What God approves is the new creature... If we fail to cultivate character, we shall fail to gain the kingdom.

 

"Dear brethren, let us take heed to our ways. Let us earnestly cultivate the fruits of the Spirit, that we may indeed be presented ‘faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.’ "‘ 14-R5460.

 

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God"—Matt. 4:25-5:12.

 

"Only the pure in heart have the promise of seeing God...

 

Ephesians 3:18: "Not all are privileged to see the glories of Jehovah’s character in symmetrical harmony, divine justice, wisdom, love and power coordinated and cooperating in unison for the blessing of every creature, according to the purpose which God purposed in himself before the world was.

 

"But who may enjoy this blessing, this clearer vision, and who may, by seeing it, be enabled more and more to grow in likeness of that glorious perfection? Only ‘the pure in heart,’ only the sincere, the honest-hearted..." ‘00-R2587.

 

WHAT CONSTITUTES PURITY OF HEART-Matt. 5:8

 

"Purity of heart is purity of motive, of intention, of effort, of will... transparency, truthfulness... Blessed are the honest-hearted—those who have absolutely right intentions. The word heart in this text does not refer to the organ which pumps the blood throughout the system, but to the intention, the will of the man... Only those who have given themselves to God in full consecration can belong to the class which shall see him.

 

"When one has made a full consecration of himself and has been begotten by the holy Spirit, he is said to have a new heart, a new will, new ambition, new desires... {2Co 5:17}. To accomplish so radical a change requires the operation of a powerful influence—that of the holy Spirit.

 

”Purity of thought, however, does not mean absolute perfection of thought, word and deed. To this condition no member of the fallen race can attain until the beneficent influences of the kingdom shall have restored the race to its original perfection. But to will right, to will perfectly, to be pure in heart, is quite possible; indeed, it is very necessary to all who desire divine approval. The standard set before us, to which our hearts, our wills, must give assent, is the divine standard, ‘Be ye perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect’—Matt. 5:48.

 

"As long as we are in the flesh, we are obliged to think, to speak and to act through the imperfect medium of the fallen body, whose affections are continually in opposition to the new will and must be resisted... All have need that the merit of Christ cover their blemishes, so that the new will, the new heart, may be judged of the Lord and tested as to its worthiness or unworthiness of eternal life and the attendant blessings which God has promised to the overcomer.

 

"Only the pure in heart have the promise of seeing God.

 

115 These continue faithful to the end of their pilgrimage; and not only do they attain the character-likeness of the Lord Jesus in their purity of heart intention toward all, but eventually they shall be made like him and ‘see him as he is,’ in the glorious change of the first resurrection’ "—1 John 3:2. ‘12-R5148, R5149.

 

Revelation 4

 

9  And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,

 

Revelation 4:9 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verses 9-10. And when those beasts living ones—Diag., RV give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, l°The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,  

 

And when the four attributes of God join, in praising his name, the twenty-four prophets, or all the prophecies, do the same. And some prophecies, even today, are very comforting to the church members who are well advanced in Present Truth, having been constant in study from the days of Pastor Russell: these include not only the deep things of the spirit which depend on the anointing, and assure us of membership in the body of Christ, but also some earthly things; as, e.g., there is comfort in knowing that there will surely be a confederacy, which precludes the possibility of a major bombing war.

 

"THE PEACE OF GOD"

 

"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" Phil. 4:7.

 

"As a Father he shows us that he bears a father’s love to all his intelligent creatures—’the whole family of God in heaven and in earth’—and that for his ‘pleasure they are and were created’ {Eph 3:15 Re 4:11}. He created them in his own likeness—with the same mental and moral attributes, so that he might have communion and fellowship with them as sons, and they with him as a Father, that thus, in mutual fellowship and communion, the Creator and the creature might find pleasure, happiness and delight. This likeness of God includes in all not only the same mental faculties, but also the free exercise of the same in the formation of character.

 

"What a dreadful thing is family discord!... He saw Satan, one of his sons {Isa 14:12}, an angel of light, as lightning, fall from heaven (Luke 10:18); and for six thousand years at least, that son has been in open and defiant rebellion against God and most actively and viciously engaged in inciting further rebellion and wickedness. He saw many of the angels leave their first estate and become the allies of Satan, and then he saw also the whole human race fall into sin...

 

"Consider the love against which these recreants sinned: that though from God cometh every good and perfect gift, his favors have been despised, his love spurned, his righteous authority conspired against and defied, his character maligned, misrepresented, made to appear odious and hateful, unrighteous and even despicable. Yet through it all ‘the peace of God’ continues, though for six thousand years he has endured this contradiction of sinners against himself. And still, O wondrous grace! His love abounds; and it is written that he so loved the world, even, while they were yet sinners, that he gave his only begotten Son to die for them; and that through him judgment (trial) is also to be extended to those angels that fell, with the exception of Satan, the leader and instigator of the whole conspiracy—the father of lies—John 3:16 Ro 5:8 1Co 6:3 Jude 6 Heb 2:14 Re 20:10,14.

 

"This gift of divine love was another indication of the cost to our heavenly Father of his great and marvelous plan. Not only did he behold the fall into sin of a large proportion of his family, but their recovery cost the sacrifice of the dearest treasure of his heart, and the subjection of this beloved one to the most abject humiliation, ignominy, suffering and death.

 

"When his beloved Son said, ‘My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death,’ and again, ‘Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt,’ did it touch no sympathetic chord in the heart of the Eternal? Yea, verily: the unfeigned love of the Father sympathetically shared the Lord’s sorrow.

 

"Our Lord Jesus also manifested his great sympathy for the Father in the misrepresentation of his character which he has so patiently endured for ages. It was the one effort of his life to glorify the Father and to rectify among men the false impressions of his glorious character—to show to men his goodness, benevolence, love and grace, and to lead them to love the merciful God who so loved them, even while they were yet sinners, as to seek them out and to plan for their eternal salvation.

 

‘Yes, there has been great commotion in the disrupted family of God—commotion in which the Lord declares he has had no pleasure (Psa. 5:4)...He has endured the contradiction of sinners against himself for six thousand years. But during the seventh millennium... it will be the joyful privilege of our Lord Jesus to fully manifest to all creatures in heaven and in earth the Father’s glorious character. Then will the Father rejoice in the grandeur of his finished work and in the everlasting peace and happiness of his family in heaven and in earth, ‘reunited under one head’ (Eph. 1:10— Diaglott.) This blessed consummation will not be realized, however, until the incorrigible fallen sons of God, disowned and disinherited because they loved unrighteousness and would not be reclaimed, shall have been cut off. This will be the last unpleasant duty of the Creator and Father of all, who positively declares that it is a sad duty, yet nevertheless a duty which he will have the fortitude to perform in the interests of universal righteousness and peace. Hear him: ‘As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?’—Ezek. 33:11.

 

”Thus we see that ‘the peace of God’ is... not dependent upon outward circumstances, but upon the proper balancing of the mind and the conditions of a perfect heart. Such peace—the peace of God—was enjoyed also by our Lord Jesus in the midst of all the turmoil and confusion of his eventful earthly life. and this brings us to the consideration of our Lord Jesus’ last legacy to his disciples, when he was about to leave the world, as expressed in the following his own words:

 

116 OUR LORD’S LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

 

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth (in stinted measure or in perishable quality), give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid"—John 14:27.

 

"Thus, with abounding compassion and tenderness, did our Lord, on the last night of his earthly life, bestow upon his beloved disciples his parting blessing, his legacy of peace. It was the richest legacy he had to bequeath, and was one of priceless value. It was the promise of that tranquility of soul, that rest and ease of mind, which he himself possessed—the peace of God... centered in God by faith.

 

"... The Apostle Paul tells us, ‘Where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament (a bequest) is of force after men are dead; otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth’ {Heb 9:16,17}.

 

”But not alone to the early church was this legacy of peace bequeathed: it is the blessed inheritance of the entire church, even to the end of the age. The Lord showed his thought for us all on that very day, when in his prayer he said: ‘Neither pray I for these alone, but for all them also that shall believe on me through their word.’ "The peace promised... was... ‘my peace,’ the peace of God, which Christ himself by faith enjoyed, who, though he was rich, for our sakes became poor, —the peace that endured through loss, persecution, scorn and contempt, and even amidst the agonies of the cross. This peace is something which none of the vicissitudes of the present life can destroy, and which no enemy can wrest from us.

 

"What richer legacy could the Lord have left his beloved people?’

 

"What was it that held the Lord and the apostles so firmly and gave them such rest of mind while they suffered? It was their faith— their faith in the love, power and wisdom of God. They believed that what God had promised he was able also to perform, that his righteous and benevolent plan could know no failure; for by the mouth of his prophets he had declared, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure... Yea, I have spoken it. I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.’ ‘The Lord of hosts bath purposed, and who shall disannul it?’ (Isa. 46:9-11; 14:27). On the assurances of God they rested. In him their faith was anchored, and it mattered not how fiercely the storms raged or how they were tossed by the tempests of life while their anchor still held fast to the throne of God.

 

"The language of our Lord’s faith was: ‘O. righteous Father, the world bath not known thee: but I have known thee.’ He had been with the Father from the beginning; had realized his love and his goodness; had seen his power, and had marked his righteousness and his loving kindness and fatherly providence over all his works. And so it is written: ‘By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities’ (Isa. 53:11). The knowledge which he had of the Father gave to him a firm footing for faith in all his purposes concerning the future. Hence he could and did walk by faith. And that faith enabled him to overcome all obstacles and secure the victory even over death.

 

"So it is also written for our instruction: ‘This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith’—that faith in God built, in our case, upon our Lord’s testimony of the Father; and again it is written that, ‘Without faith it is impossible to please God.’ It is only through steady, unwavering faith that the peace of God—the peace of Christ—will abide with his people. While the Lord was with his disciples, and they saw in him the manifestation of the Father, their faith was firm and they had peace in him, as he said: "While I was in the world I kept them’; but not until after he had left them was their faith anchored in God. After Pentecost they experienced the same peace that Christ had enjoyed—the blessed peace that came from a knowledge of the fact that God acknowledged them as sons and heirs, and jointheirs with Jesus Christ, if they would continue faithfully to follow in his steps.

 

"Herein is also the basis of our peace. No matter how heavily the storms of life may assail us, we must never let go our anchor and allow ourselves to drift, but always remember that ‘the foundation of God standeth sure’; that ‘his truth is our shield and buckler’; that ‘what he has promised he is able also to perform,’ notwithstanding our human imperfections and frailties; that covering these we have the imputed righteousness of Christ, our surety and advocate; and that ‘the Father himself loveth us,’ and ‘he considereth our frame and remembereth that we are dust,’ and so has compassion for the sons of his love and is very pitiful and of tender mercy. Indeed, ‘what more could he say than to us he bath said,’ to assure our faith and to steady and strengthen our hearts to patient endurance in the midst of the trials and conflicts of the narrow way of sacrifice?

 

"In the midst of the Christian warfare let our hearts be cheered and our minds stayed, not only with such assurances that all the divine purposes shall be accomplished, but also with such promises of personal favor as these: "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him; for he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust." "Can a woman forget her sucking child? ... Yea, they may forget; yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands." "The Father himself loveth you,”and ‘’It is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom." "Such as are upright in their way are his delight." "Delight thyself also in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of shine heart"—the peace of God which passeth all understanding, even in the midst of storm and tempest." ‘95-R1833 to R1835.

 

”We rejoice that this loving God has called us to redemption through his Son. We rejoice that he has offered us eternal life, and has called us even to a glorious joint-heirship with this Son—Romans 8:17.

 

PEACE DEPENDENT UPON FULL OBEDIENCE

 

"We rejoice, further, to know of the wondrous provision for the whole world in the future... It is the peace of Christ—’my peace.’ This peace and the faith which inspires it, can look up through its tears with joyful expectancy for the glorious fruition of our hopes, which God has promised and of which our present peace and joy are but the foretaste. "

 

117

 

‘’Peace, perfect peace? our future all unknown? Jesus we know, and he is on the throne!”‘14-R5432

 

Revelation 4

 

10  The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

 

Revelation 4

 

11  Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

 

Revelation 4:11 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 11. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

 

" For Jehovah taketh pleasure in His people: He will beautify the meek with salvation"—Psalm 149:4.

 

The four attributes, all the prophecies, and all of God’s finished works join in saying, Thou art worthy to receive glory, honor, and power from all thy creations.

 

Please see SPECIAL DIVINE PROVIDENCE ‘93-1560. (This is quoted near the end of TRUE HUMILITY in the Supplement.)

 

"IN THE BEGINNING.’

 

"Many are Jehovah’s agents, and innumerable his agencies... but back of them all is his own creative wisdom and power. He alone is the Creator, and, as the Scriptures affirm, ‘All his work is perfect.’ ... He assures us... that eventually, when he shall restrain and destroy evil, we shall discern that he permitted it only to test, to prove, to refine, to polish and to make his own holiness, gracious character and plan the more resplendent in the sight of all of his intelligent creatures.

 

"When in Genesis we read, ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth,’ we are to remember that this beginning relates not to the universe, but merely to our planet. Then it was that ‘the morning stars sang together’ and all the angelic sons of God ‘shouted for joy’—when the Lord laid the foundations of the earth and ‘made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness its swaddling band’ {Job 38 4-11}. But a still earlier beginning is mentioned in the Bible; a beginning before the creation of those angelic sons of God; as we read in John 1:1-3: ‘In the beginning was the Word Logos), and the Logos was with the God and the Logos was a God: the same was in the beginning with the God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made.’ (See E, Chapter 3.) "Since Jehovah himself is from everlasting to everlasting, he had no beginning: the ‘Only Begotten’ has the high distinct on above all others of being ‘The beginning of the creation of God’—’first born of every creature’ (Rev. 3:14; Col. 1:15).

 

"Other beginnings came in turn as the various angelic orders were one by one created; and these beginnings were in the past, so that their hosts could shout for joy when our earth’s creations, related in Genesis, had their beginning...

 

"The Bible does not say how long a period elapsed between the beginning when God created the heaven and the earth, and the beginning of the creative week used in perfecting it for man...

 

"We find in the Bible that the word day stands for epoch, or period... Ps 95:8-10 Nu 14:33,34 Eze 4:1-8 2Pe 3:8. Most assuredly these epoch-days were not sun days; for the record is that the sun was not visible until the fourth day—the fourth epoch." F Chap. I

 

‘’There is a grandeur of simplicity in that opening statement of revelation, ‘In the beginning GOD CREATED.’ "( F Chapter l—The New Creation pp. 17-20.)

 

"ALWAYS FOR ALL THINGS"—Eph. 5:15-21.

 

"All things however vexing or perplexing or trying they may be, are working together for good to them that love God—to the called according to his purpose; and therefore it is their privilege to rejoice at all times and under all circumstances, and their pleasure always to give thanks to God for all things— Rom. 8:28.’

 

"As for the days of national thanksgiving, we, as citizens of the heavenly kingdom, have no special need of them; for every day should be with us a day of thanksgiving for all things—for the prosperity of our ‘holy nation’ under the righteous authority of Christ our King, for its peace and joy and its glorious hope, for its privileges of spiritual enlightenment and blessing, for the perfection of its laws and the shaping of its course and destiny, and for the needed discipline as well, which is to prepare it for its future exaltation and glory.

 

"Let our hearts not only rejoice in the truly glorious common blessings which our loving and benevolent Father showers alike upon the evil and the just, but also in the higher spiritual favors bestowed upon the sons of God, giving thanks always and for all things unto God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.... ‘93-R1489, R1490.

 

"THE EXISTENCE OF A SUPREME INTELLIGENT CREATOR ESTABLISHED.”A, Study II.

 

"Back of all the intricate machinery of nature is the hand of its great Author, the intelligent, omnipotent God... the Designer and Creator of what we term nature... This one whose wisdom planned and whose power upholds and guides the universe, whose wisdom and power, benevolence and goodness so immeasurably transcend our own, we instinctively worship and adore... He is wise, just, loving and powerful; and the scope of his attributes is, of necessity, immeasurably wider than that of his grandest creation." A32, R33.

 

HOW WONDERFUL IS OUR GOD!

 

"God has established laws so governing the motions of all the heavenly bodies that no clash or discord occurs among them. Each world has its appointed pathway and its regulated time, and the most exact calculations of astronomers find them always true to time and order. How wonderful is our God!

 

"Truly in this view, ‘The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech, there are no words, their voice is not heard; but their melody extendeth through all the earth, and to the end of the world their words’ {Ps 19:1-4 —Leeser}.

 

"The magnificent pageantry of the heavens daily and nightly should elicit our praise and adoration, and should inspire in our hearts holy and reverent devotion. Let the noiseless activity, the perfect obedience to divine law, and the blessed shining of the heavenly hosts, impress their wholesome

 

118 lessons upon us—of zealous activity without commotion or ostentation; of perfect obedience to the will of him who doeth all things well, who is too wise to err and too good to be unkind; and of letting the glory of the Lord which has illuminated us shine from us in turn upon every beholder. Indeed, to those who have been brought into close fellowship with the Lord through a knowledge of his plan of the ages, all his works should be viewed with a keener sense of appreciation—from the tiniest organism seen through the microscope, to the worlds revealed by the telescope.

 

"With the Psalmist our hearts exclaim, ‘O. Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens’—for, however grand and glorious are the wonders of creation, they proclaim only the superior grandeur and greatness of their Creator." ‘95-R1814, R1815.

 

GOD IN NATURE

 

"What though, in solemn silence, all Move ‘round this dark terrestrial ball -What though no real voice nor sound Amid their radiant orbs be found—In reason’s ear they all rejoice, And utter forth a glorious voice, Forever singing as they shine, ‘The hand that made us is Divine.’ " J. Addison ‘’The secret of the Lord is with them that fear (reverence) him; and he will show them his Covenant"—Psalm 25: 14.

 

"This reverence continued leads into the very deepest work of grace obtainable—to a fulness of consecration to the Father’s will and service... The privilege of this ‘royal priesthood’ to know ‘the secret of the Lord,’ to comprehend ‘the deep things of God’ hidden from others, was beautifully symbolized and typified in the privileges of the Jewish priesthood. "‘ 97-R2209.

 

"Since sin is the cause of evil, its removal is the only method of permanently curing the malady.

 

"God could have prevented the entrance of sin, but the fact that he did not should be sufficient proof to us that its present permission is designed ultimately to work out some greater good. God’s plans, seen in their completeness, will prove the wisdom of the course pursued... His purpose was to make manifest the perfection, majesty and righteous authority of his law, and to prove both to men and to angels the evil consequences resulting from its violation...

 

"The Scriptures declare that all things were created for the Lord’s pleasure (Rev. 4:11)—without doubt, for the pleasure of dispensing his blessings, and of exercising the attributes of his glorious being. And though, in the working out of his benevolent designs, he permits evil and evil doers for a time to play an active part, yet ... he declares that he is ‘not a God that bath pleasure in wickedness’ (Psa. 5:4). Though opposed to evil in every sense, God permits (i. e.,  does not hinder) it for a time, because his wisdom sees a way in which it may be made a lasting and valuable lesson to his creatures." A117, A118.

 

DISINTERESTED LOVE—STRONG AND INTENSE

 

"Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth, unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently"—1Pe 1:22.

 

"This Love is different from the other love—brotherly love. It is disinterested love; so warm so intense, that we should be willing to lay down our lives for the brethren. This love is the kind exemplified in our Heavenly Father. While we were yet sinners he loved us. So the love of Jesus is unselfish, pure, benevolent; a love which undertakes to do good for us for our own sakes, not from a hope of getting anything from us. "‘ 11-R4766.

 

"As a Father he shows us that he bears a father’s love to all his intelligent creatures—’the whole family of God in heaven and in earth’—and that for his ‘pleasure they are and were created’ (Eph. 3:15; Rev. 4:11). He created them in his own likeness—with the same mental and moral attributes, so that he might have communion and fellowship with them as sons, and they with him as a Father, that thus, in mutual fellowship and communion, the Creator and the creature might find pleasure, happiness and delight. This likeness of God includes in all not only the same mental faculties, but also the free exercise of the same in the formation of character." ‘95-R1833.

 

"Ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints"—Jude 3. See Manna Sept. 23, and July 21.

 

”The contention which God would approve is that earnest desire to have whatever God’s Word teaches.”‘12-R5057.

 

WHO MAY PRAY AND FOR WHAT?

 

Luke 11:1-13. ‘14-R5378, R5379

 

"Apparently Jesus usually prayed alone. We read that on some occasions he spent the entire night in prayer to God... ‘My Father is greater than I’ (John 14:28); ‘I came not to do mine own will; but the will of him that sent me’ (John 6:38); ‘Of mine own self I can do nothing; as I hear (of my Father) I judge’—John 5:30...

 

"Realizing the importance of his mission, Jesus kept properly in touch with the great Author of the Plan of salvation, his heavenly Father...

 

"Our Heavenly Father... delights to give his good gifts, his holy Spirit, to those consecrated disciples of Jesus who earnestly seek it—desiring to be in harmony with him, desiring to be in his character-likeness... seeking we find, and to our knocking the door is opened." ‘14-R5378, R5379.

 

THE PRIVILEGE AND POWER OF PRAYER

 

"And Jesus spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray and not to faint”—Luke 18: 1-8.

 

"To the thoughtful, appreciative mind, one of the greatest privileges which the Word of God offers is that of personal audience and communion with the King of kings and Lord of lords. When we consider how great is our God, and how exalted his station, how wonderful is the condescension that thus regards our low estate! He it is whose glory covereth the heavens, and whose kingdom ruleth over the whole universe. He it is who is without beginning of days or end of years: ‘From everlasting to everlasting thou art God’—Psalm 90:2. ‘Great is our Lord, and of great power: his 119 understanding is infinite’—Psalm 147:5.

 

”He is the immortal, the self-existing One, ‘dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto, whom no man bath seen nor can see.’ The heavens declare his glory and the firmament showeth his handiwork. In all his vast universal domain there is nothing hidden from him, nor can he be wearied by its care. His wisdom, who can fathom? and his ways, who can find them out? or who bath been his counsellor? His mighty intellect grasps with ease all the interests of his wide dominion, from immensity to minutia. His eye never slumbers nor sleeps, nor can the smallest thing escape his notice, not even the sparrow’s fall; and the very hairs of our heads are all numbered.

 

"It is his skill which clothes with life and beauty the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven. And are not we, the creatures of his hand, ‘fearfully and wonderfully made,’ and the subjects, too, of his love and care?—’O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising; thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compasses" my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways; for there is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid shine hand upon me.’ "" Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in the grave, behold thou art there; if I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost part of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me... even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee, but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee’—Psalm 139:1-12.

 

"It is—because he loves us—that through Christ he extends to us the gracious favor of coming to him as children to a father.

 

"WONDERFUL! is the condescension, wonderful the love and favor of our God!" ‘95-R1864.

 

FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD—JAMES 2:20.

 

"... Jesus specially loved and favored the more zealous, vigorous and energetic of the apostles, Peter, James, John, and we may be sure, Paul also." "For God bath not given us a spirit of timidity; but of courage, of love and of a sound mind"—2 Timothy 1:7. ‘09-R4377, R4378.

 

"Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you”—James 4:8.

 

”Let us cultivate the Lord’s acquaintance more, drawing near to Him in prayer, in the study of His precious Word, in meditation upon all His goodness, His providential care, the marked manifestations of His grace in our own individual experiences, and His precious promises which are all yea and amen in Christ Jesus. Thus ‘draw nigh to God, and He will draw night to you.’ He will manifest Himself to you and take up His abode with you"—(John 14:23). ‘96-R1949 c2 p2; ‘03-R3157 c2 p4.

 

QUALITIES AND ATTRIBUTES OF JEHOVAH—‘13-R5209 to R5211.

 

"The completeness of the divine perfection is such that companionship is not necessary to the happiness of Jehovah. The One who ‘inhabiteth eternity’ is self-centered. The creation of angels and of man was indeed his pleasure, because, benevolently, he desires to do good, to give capacity for pleasure and to afford it opportunity for gratification. Furthermore, the highest good of his creatures calls for an exhibition to the full of all the elements of divine character—divine justice, love, power and wisdom (v. 6).”"One of old time said, ‘Thou art a God which hidest thyself’ {Isa 45:15} ... But we are glad that the time is coming when all the blind eyes shall see clearly. ‘As truly as I live,’ says Jehovah, ‘all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.’ ‘The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea’ (Num. 14:21; Hab. 2:14). Then all shall see what God bath wrought, and our temporary blindness will but accentuate 120 the glorious brightness of his wisdom, justice, love and power.

 

"The Bible... informs us that the great Creator of the Universe is not only almighty and all-wise, but loving and kind, with Justice as the foundation of his empire {Ps 89:13,14}. From the Bible we learn, too, that our Creator has been pleased to make us in his own image, in his own moral likeness, to the intent that we may enjoy him and the fruits of his righteousness to all eternity.

 

‘’When we see the perfect adjustment of God’s justice, wisdom, love and power, and realize that he has good purposes respecting the evil, that he has fully marked out what it shall do and what it shall not do, either in its present influence, or its ultimate influences, this gives us confidence in the character of God.

 

"From only one standpoint can divine wisdom and love be discerned in connection with the history of mankind. It must include the age about to be ushered in—the period of Messiah’s reign of Righteousness... Ultimately all evil shall be destroyed" (Rev. 5:13). ‘13-R5209 to R5211.

 

Revelation 5

 

1  And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.

 

Revelation 5:1 (RVENDAG_)

 

CHAPTER 5 REVELATION

 

"WORTHY THE LAMB THAT WAS SLAIN.’

 

"Our Lord Jesus himself has furnished us, in the last book of the Bible, ‘The Revelation of Jesus Christ,  which God gave unto him,  to show unto his servants’ (Rev. 1:1), a most beautiful picture of this subject of the Atonement, illustrating the general plan of man’s redemption from sin and its curse. This is found in Re 5. There the Heavenly Father, the Ancient of Days, is shown seated on the heavenly throne, and in his hand a scroll written inside and outside, sealed with seven seals. That scroll, representing the divine plan, known only to the Father, Jehovah himself, was kept in his own power—in his own hand—until some one should be proved worthy to know it, and become its executor as Jehovah’s honored agent and representative. The symbolic picture proceeds to show that up to the time our Lord Jesus suffered for us at Calvary, ‘the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God,’ no one had ever been found (proved) worthy to take up the divine plan and even understand its contents.

 

"But when our Lord Jesus had proven his loyalty to the Heavenly Father by his obedience, not only in humbling himself to take man’s estate for the suffering of death, but also in his obedience ‘even unto death,’ and still further, ‘even unto the (ignominious) death of the cross,’ then and thereby he did prove himself worthy of every confidence and trust. As the Apostle declares, ‘ Wherefore him bath God highly exalted and given him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, both of things in heaven and things on earth’ (Phil. 2:9-11). It is at this point that the picture that we are considering (Rev. 5:9-13) shows our Lord Jesus as the Lamb that had been slain, before whom obeisance was made, and who was proclaimed, Worthy the Lamb! ‘Thou art worthy to take the scroll and to open the seals thereof, because thou west slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation.’ Thus is pictured to us the high exaltation of the Heavenly Father’s representative, the ‘Messenger (servant) of the Covenant.’ Because of his humility and complete submission and obedience to the Father’s will he is proclaimed thenceforth the sharer of the Father’s throne, and, by the Father’s own arrangement, the proclamation was made throughout the heavenly hosts, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain,  to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and 121 blessing’; and finally ‘every creature’ shall catch the thought that Jehovah has very highly exalted his Only Begotten Son, even to association with himself in the Kingdom, and shout their approval, saying, ‘The blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the power be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne (of the universe—Jehovah) and unto the Lamb—for ever and ever!’ No wonder, then that we are instructed that thenceforth all men shall honor the exalted Son even as they honor the Father who thus highly exalted him—John 5:23.

 

"The Apostle declares that this glorification of Jesus furnishes an illustration of divine law, that ‘He that humbleth himself shall be exalted.’ But let us also notice in this symbolic picture (verse 13) that the exaltation of our Lord Jesus Christ to glory and honor and power and dominion does not imply that the Heavenly Father abdicates the throne of heaven in his favor, nor that the Father and the Son are one in person, for both persons are recognized, the Father, as always, being given the first place in praise and honor. And this again reminds us of our Lord’s words, ‘As the Father bath appointed unto me a Kingdom, so I appoint also unto you (my disciples) a kingdom’ (Luke 22:29). And again he says to his faithful followers, ‘Him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne’—Rev. 3:21.

 

"As a further evidence that the entire work of redemption is of the Father though through the Son, note the Apostle’s declaration, that God ‘in these last days bath spoken unto us by his Son, whom he bath appointed heir of all things (promised), by whom also he made the worlds, who... when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High (Jehovah), being made so much better than the angels.’ And again he declares of him: ‘We have such an High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty of the Heavens (Jehovah), a servant of holy things, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord (Jehovah) pitched, and not man.’ And again the same Apostle declares, ‘This man (our Lord Jesus) after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God’ (Heb. 1:2-4; Heb. 8:1; 10:12). Again he exhorts us to continue ‘looking unto Jesus, the Author (starter) and finisher of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.’ Again he exhorts us to consider ‘the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,  the Father of glory,’ and ‘what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe, according to the operation of the might of his power,  which he wrought in Christ,  when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenlies, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world but also in that which is to come, and bath put all things under his feet’ (Heb. 12:2; Eph. 1:17-22). Again the Apostle Peter declares of our Lord Jesus that he ‘is gone into heaven, and is at the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him (by the Father)’—1 Peter 3:22.

 

"All these various Scriptures indicate most clearly the very high exaltation of our Lord Jesus Christ, as the Father’s reward for his wonderful obedience and manifestation of the Father’s spirit of love, in the sacrifice of himself on behalf of sinners; but they neither indicate that the Lord Jesus was the Father, nor that he has been exalted to take the Father’s place upon the heavenly throne, or in the affection and worship of his intelligent creatures. On the contrary, they expressly show the Heavenly Father as the superior in honor and power, as the Benefactor who thus glorified and exalted the Son, and set him at his own right hand, or place of chief favor, and made him a sharer in the throne or dominion of the heavenly kingdom, angels and all the hosts of heaven being subjected to him. Indeed, so strong is the language sometimes used in respect to the high exaltation of our Lord Jesus, and the plenitude of power bestowed upon him by the Father, that in one instance the inspired writer deemed it very proper to call attention to the fact that none of these statements of his high exaltation implied either that he was the equal with the Father or his superior: hence he says, speaking of the Millennial reign of Christ, ‘He (Christ) must reign till he bath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he (the Father) bath put all things under his (the Son’s) feet. But when he (the Father) saith, ‘All things are put under him (the Son),’ it is manifest that he (the Father) is excepted, which did put all things under him (the Son). And when all things (earthly) shall be subdued under him (the Son), then shall the Son himself be subject unto him (the Father) that put all things under him (the Son), that God (the Father) may be all in all’—1 Cor. 15:25-28. E 33-E40.

 

Verse 1. And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book scroll written within and on the back side, sealed with seven seals.

 

This is a very important book, being sealed with seven seals, indicating how secret were its contents; and to be opened according to a Plan, with time features.

 

‘’To make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of the world bath been hid in God." "Wherein He bath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He bath purposed in Himself, according to a Plan of the Ages; that in the dispensation of the fulness of the times He might gather together in one all things, under Christ"—Eph. 3:4, 5, 9, 11; 1:8-10.

 

Revelation 5

 

2  And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?

 

Revelation 5:2 (RVENDAG_)

 

122  Verses 2-3. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? 3And no man in heaven, nor in earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.

 

The strong angel was not prepared to open the Book; neither was anyone else in Heaven or on earth. They all lacked something.

 

"God is just... If it was right six thousand years ago to deprive mankind of life because of sin, it would always be wrong to restore the life unless the pronounced penalty were justly cancelled by the payment of an equivalent price. And this could only be accomplished by the willing sacrifice of another being of the same kind,  whose right to life was unforfeited, giving himself as a substitute or ransom...

 

”As a race of sinners we have no foundation whatever for hope of a future everlasting life except in the fact that by God’s grace Christ died for us and thus satisfied the claims of Justice against us.

 

”Forever firm God’s justice stands As mountains their foundations keep.’

 

”This very principle of justice which underlies all of our Father’s doings, is the ground of our strong confidence in all his promises. The Scriptures declare that he is the same yesterday, today and forever, that with him is no variableness, neither shadow of turning (James 1:17).”E 463, 464

 

THE DIVINE SCROLL—WHO IS WORTHY TO LOOK THEREIN?

 

"Who is worthy?"—Revelation 5:2

 

"The words of our text are a part of the proclamation represented as being made throughout heaven: ‘Who is worthy to open the book (the scroll), and to loose the seals thereof?’ The book in this case seems symbolically not to represent the Bible, but the divine plan, with its times and seasons. The Bible is indeed a record, but God had the plan before the Bible was written. He had this plan from the very beginning. He had not disclosed it to the angels—not even to the Logos. Nor did he disclose its time features fully to our Lord Jesus while he was in the flesh. And after his resurrection Jesus spoke of these times and seasons as things ‘which the Father bath put in his own power.’—Acts 1:7.

 

"The fact that God had a plan relating to the fallen race had been intimated to Abraham. God had declared to Abraham unconditionally that he would bless the world of mankind. He also pointed out later in the types and shadows of the Law certain features of the way by which he would bless the world. He declared that there would be a Redeemer; but who the Redeemer would be was kept a secret. Although both angels and men desired to know they were not permitted the knowledge. The prophets spoke by inspiration some things concerning this Redeemer, but they knew not the meaning thereof.

 

"In due time the Logos was sent forth. He was a loyal Son before he was sent. He undertook to do the Father’s will, not yet knowing what it would cost to be the Messiah; for God had kept these things secret. He manifested his faith, his trust. He delighted to do the Father’s will, even to the taking of a lower nature. And so he humbled himself from the glorious condition in which he was and took upon himself the human nature, became a man—a perfect man, not a sinful man. Our Lord did this in order to carry out the great program which the Father had in his own mind and which he had not revealed to any other.

 

"When Jesus reached the age of thirty years, the earliest age at which he could present himself to God, under the law, he went to Jordan and made a consecration of himself with the determination to do everything that was in the Father’s plan—every thing that typically and prophetically had been written in the holy Scriptures concerning himself. ‘Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me) to do thy will, O God’;‘ I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart,’ were his expression, as recorded—Heb 10:7,9 Ps 40:6-8.

 

"This was our Lord’s consecration. His human nature became his sacrifice. He laid down his life. He did not finish laying it down at Jordan; but so far as his will was concerned, it was given there. He there became the Priest, the great High Priest, his flesh being typed by the bullock of sin-offering, sacrificed on Israel’s yearly day of atonement. During the three and a half years of his ministry he carried out this sacrifice satisfactorily. And everything that the Father had given him to do was finished at the cross.

 

THE DEEP THINGS UNFOLDED AT JORDAN

 

"Our Lord Jesus received the anointing of the holy Spirit when he came up out of the water at his baptism. Then the heavens were opened unto him. The higher things which he had not previously understood became clear. The Scriptures were unfolded to his view. He knew that he was going up to Jerusalem to be crucified. He knew that he would be betrayed by one of his chosen disciples, and he knew which of them would be the betrayer. He knew these things because he had been begotten of the Holy Spirit and accepted of God as a Son of the divine plane.

 

"During these three and a half years he was the Messiah, the Sent of God. He was the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. He had sacrificed his will, but this was not sufficient. God wished him to sacrifice not only his will, but actually to lay down his human life. And God purposed to prove him by certain crucial tests. So he was ‘tempted in all points like as we are; yet without sin.’ When all his testings were completed at his death on the cross, God gave him a name to which all should bow, both in heaven and in earth.

 

”Here the words of our text find their answer. The inquiry compassed the period from before Jesus came into the world up to his resurrection from the grave. God had given the most honorable One of all the host of heaven the first opportunity to prove his worthiness to loose the scroll of God’s great plan, and to fulfill its provisions. He was given this opportunity because, as the First-born of Jehovah, he had the right to the first privilege of service. And he did not allow the privilege to go by. He accepted it. He was faithful. He humbled himself to human nature, and thus he became the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, of which tribe he was born as a man. He did not have this title in his position as Logos. It was as the Son of Mary that he was the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David.

 

123 PROCLAIMED WORTHY BY THE ANGELS

 

"Our Lord’s worthiness was not then proven. It was not until he cried with his dying breath, ‘It is finished!’ that the demonstration was complete. All the way down from Adam to Jesus no one had been found worthy to open the great scroll. But Jesus was now found worthy. Speaking in vision of the three and a half years during which our Lord is represented as slain, John the Revelator says, ‘I beheld and lo, a freshly slain Lamb!’ And the voices of myriads of angels were heard proclaiming, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.’—Rev. 5:12.

 

”Jesus had not proven himself worthy of this great honor when he made his consecration, but when he had finished his course in death he was then worthy to receive glory, honor and power. After his resurrection and ascension the scroll was given into his hands to be opened. This means that the divine plan as a whole was here made known to him—for he already had knowledge of much of this—but all things were given him to unloose. There had been some things that our Lord did not know. He had said, ‘Of that day and hour (of his second coming) knoweth no man; no, not the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but my Father only’ (Mark 13:32). A part of the plan was written on the outside of the scroll, and a part was written on the inside. The things that were sealed were not proper to be understood by our Redeemer until he had received the all-power, after his resurrection. The execution of God’s plan was then given into his hands.

 

GRADUAL OPENING OF THE SEALS

 

"The opening of the seals has progressed during all the Gospel age. (Chapters 6-8) The whole plan of God is represented in this book—the scroll. It has required all of the present age and will require all of the next age to complete the plan. The plan of God included the ‘restitution of all things spoken.’ We are now able to see these wonderful things and to tell about them, because each of the seals as it has been opened has made the plan a little clearer. We may suppose that the Lord Jesus was made aware of all its features after his ascension to the presence of Jehovah. We who are God’s people are seeking to know these things more and more fully. The Master declared that as the Father revealed them unto him, so would he reveal them unto us; but this revelation has been gradual, as the successive seals have been broken.

 

Brethren, beloved in Christ, realizing that our God has hitherto counted us worthy to look upon the wondrous scroll of his great plan, which has been unsealed for us by Jesus our Lord, let us continue to prove ourselves worthy to look therein and to comprehend the glorious things of his Word, by faithfulness, obedience and loyalty to this plan in everything! Let our appreciation continually increase for our wondrous privilege in being permitted to share this blessed ministry of bearing divine truth to other hungry hearts, that they also may rejoice in the Lord and in the power of his might! "‘ 16-R5943.

 

Revelation 5

 

3  And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.

 

Revelation 5

 

4  And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.

 

Revelation 5:4 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 4. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.

 

And John was so disappointed that he wept much. Such interest!!!

 

"I HAVE FOUND A RANSOM!" Job 33:24

 

"Weep not!" "I HAVE FOUND A RANSOM!" A price to correspond—"Anti-lutron," "corresponding price.

 

"God will let go the prisoners out of the pit (out of death), because he has found a ransom. The man Christ Jesus gave himself a ransom (a corresponding price) for all {1Ti 2:6}. Therefore all that are in their graves (prisoners in the pit) shall hear his voice and come forth, in due time—when the Redeemer shall ‘take to himself his great power and reign.’ ‘’ E462

 

Revelation 5

 

5  And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

 

Revelation 5:5 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 5. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not, behold: the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, bath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

 

And one of the elders, Jacob, in his death bed prophecy, said, The Lion of the tribe of Judah has prevailed—the Messiah.

 

THE LOGOS MADE FLESH—John 1:1-18.

 

And the Logos became flesh, and dwelt among us. (And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.’

 

”Because all of the human family were children of Adam and sharers in his death sentence, no man could give to God a ransom for his brother (Psalm 49:7). God so shut up the matter that Adam and his race could not have been redeemed except by the finding of a perfect man who would be willing voluntarily to die on their behalf. It was because there was no such man that God arranged with the Logos, his Only Begotten, that he should become a man and be the Redeemer of the race—Adam and all his children.

 

"The heavenly Father set before his Son, the Logos, a great proposition; if he would demonstrate his faith and loyalty to the extent of becoming man’s Redeemer, the Father would still more highly exalt him and make him partaker of the divine nature, far above angels and every name that is named (Hebrews 12:2; Phil. 2:5-11). The Logos, full of faith and obedience, heartily entered into the proposition, was made flesh, consecrated his life, kept nothing back, finished the work at Calvary, and was raised from the dead by the Father to the heavenly nature and glory and honor." ‘13-R5352

 

”GOD SPEAKETH: I HAVE FOUND A RANSOM"—Job 33:14,24.

 

"‘ Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins’—Acts 13:8. The Apostle does not refer to something that was done by our Lord as the archangel before ‘he was made flesh’ {Joh 1:14}, nor does he refer to any work to be done by him in his new, highly exalted condition, ‘set down with his Father in his throne’ and partaker of his divine nature; but he here refers to the work done by ‘the man,  Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all’ {1Ti 2:5,6} at Calvary. Thus the Apostle again emphasizes the fact that ‘as by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead.’ {1Co 15:21}. Yes, this is the center of the Gospel proclamation that the failure of the 124 first perfect man was fully offset by the sacrifice of ‘the man Christ Jesus,’ and that it was to this end that it was needful for our Lord to leave the glory which he had with the Father before the world was, to become poor (in the sense of taking our lower nature—but not its blemishes, for he was ‘holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners’); and yielding up this human nature a ransom-price or corresponding price for the life forfeited by father Adam for himself and his race. This is the basis upon which every offer to grace is presented by the Scriptures. And now, he who was the Father’s agent in the redemptive work is to be the Father’s agent also in the work of ‘blessing’ all the redeemed with ample opportunities for return to divine favor—the first step of which is the forgiveness of sins.

 

"Paul preached the only genuine Gospel—the only one authorized—the everlasting Gospel, which ultimately must be preached to every creature.”‘97 R2150.

 

Revelation 5

 

6  And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

 

Revelation 5:6 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verses 6-7. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, zoon, living ones—Diag., RV, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb, as it had been freshly slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. ‘And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.

 

I saw a little Lamb, having been freshly slain, and thereby becoming a Lion; and he took the book out of his hand. The seven horns typify complete power to perform all of God s plan for the seven periods of the church’s history. And seven eves are to see, know, and understand every problem or necessity that could arise.

 

”Who is worthy to be granted the custody of the scroll, to open its seals, to know its mysteries, and to be entrusted with the honor of carrying them to completion?" OV7 ‘.The Scriptures give us two pictures of our Lord as an overcomer at his consecration, where he gained the first great victory over his flesh. The first of these pictures (Lev. 16:11). the killing of the Bullock on the Day of Atonement, represents the death of our Lord’s humanity at the moment when he consecrated himself at Jordan. There he gained a victory and continued victorious until the end of his course.

 

”The second picture is found in Rev. 5:2-7. Here our Lord is represented by a newly slain lamb. He was not this newly slain lamb at his death when he had finished his course, but at his consecration, when he began his course. The proclamation which the Revelator heard was, ‘Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?’ We read that John wept much. ‘And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, bath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof... And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.’ Our Lord alone was worthy of the honor of receiving the divine plan into his care. We also read that John looked and saw the newly slain Lamb open the book—Rev. 6.

 

”After our Lord had entered upon his consecration he was the newly slain Lamb. Then the Father gave into his hand the scroll of the great divine plan of the ages—the scroll written on both inside and outside. The outside he was already able to read. But the inside, which contained information on spiritual things, remained sealed.

 

"As soon as our Lord came up out of the water after his baptism, he was begotten of the holy Spirit and began to understand spiritual things. ‘The heavens (higher things) were opened unto him.’ The time when he began to be considered the slain Lamb, the time when the scroll was delivered to him, was the time of his consecration." ‘12-R5080.

 

"The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him"—Nahum 1:7.

 

"These ‘eyes’ referred to are the Lord’s influence, His power of knowing, whatever the means... God has means, no doubt, far superior to any of ours... He tells us that angels are His ministers, and that these have a charge over his people... We have... the words of our Lord Jesus, that the angels of God’s ‘little ones’ always behold the face of the Father, always have access to him...

 

"The angels of the Lord... have a charge more particularly over us of the Gospel Church than over any other of the Lord’s people at any previous time in the world’s history. The Lord is especially interested in Spiritual Israel. These angels, then, care for us, supervise our affairs, and are God’s agencies or channels of communication to us as to His will; that is, communication in the sense of providences for us, causing this providence or the other providence." ‘15-R5634, R5635.

 

THE ONENESS OF THE DIVINE FAMILY

 

"I pray for them... which thou hast given me: for they are shine. And all mine are shine, and shine are mine: and I am glorified in them"—John 17:9, 10.

 

THE GRAND PLAN OF CREATION:  HIS GREAT PLAN OF REDEMPTION

 

Mark 13:32: It is manifest that the revelation of that plan to the Son was a gradual one; and that He was led into the knowledge of its various features as they became due to be worked out through his instrumentality... Thus, while he joyfully worked out the grand plan of creation (John 1:3; Prov. 8:22-31), he probably knew nothing of God’s purpose for the subsequent permission of evil and the necessity for the great work of redemption. Before he came to that test of faith in God his confidence in his almighty power, wisdom and love had been firmly established by the experiences of the past. For centuries he had seen his mighty works, marked his wondrous wisdom and experienced his tender love. Could he doubt him, then, when another feature of his plan made manifest the great work of redemption and restitution, and gave to him the privilege of understanding this work also, for the joy that the Father set before him? No; doubtless he did not at first realize the depths of humiliation and sorrow through which he must pass; but step by step, along the painful way of humiliation and suffering, his faith in the Father, founded upon his previous experimental knowledge, sustained him, as it is written—’By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many’—Isaiah 53:11.”‘03-R3160 ‘As the opening statement of the most important of all truths, the great Prophet Moses, cried to the people, Hearken, O Israel!’

 

125 JEHOVAH OUR GOD Is ONE—JEHOVAH

 

"If this statement was true at the time of its utterance, it is still true; if its importance put it at the very top of the list of injunctions, it should still be regarded as the most important amongst the doctrines or teachings of the Lord’s Word. Yet what do we see? We see as respects fleshly Israel that they soon forgot the words of Moses, and time and again they were punished on the score of idolatry—for recognizing other gods, for forgetting the declaration that there is but the one, and his name Jehovah. Quite similarly we find amongst Christian people a tendency to forget this great integral truth that there is but one God and his name Jehovah. Our Roman Catholic friends make many gods... with various degrees of reverence, and objects of adoration and prayer. And even Protestants, while rejecting many of the lesser gods of Romanism, yet, contrary to this Scripture and every other Scripture and without any reason, persistently declare... ‘a great mystery,’ which neither they nor any one else can understand... no reasonable mind could grasp... it would be a mystery indeed. But why should we make a mystery out of the plain, simple statement of God’s Word? Why not accept the inspired statement of Moses that there is but one God, and that he has not three names but one name, Jehovah.

 

"Nothing in this need hinder us from recognizing our Lord Jesus as a god also, a ‘mighty God.’ Thus the Scriptures describe him, and clearly tell us of his greatness, his wisdom, his love, his power, his full harmony with the heavenly Father, Jehovah, and his full submission to his heavenly Father’s will in all particulars. As he himself said, ‘Of mine own self I can do nothing,’ ‘My Father bath sent me,’ ‘I came not to do mine own will but the will of my Father’; and again, ‘The Father is greater than I’ {Joh 5:30,36 14:28}. Is it not the part of true wisdom and faith to take the inspired Word on this subject as on every subject, and not to trust to wild theorizings of our own or those of other men, which admittedly make confusion and mystery and darken the counsels of the Lord’s Word? How beautiful the thought presented in the Scriptures in the language of the Apostle, ‘All things are of the Father—all things are by the son’ {1Co 8:6}. How beautiful the thought that the Son was the very ‘beginning of the creation of God,’ and that ‘by him all things were made,’ that he was the active agent and representative in all the great work, not only as respected man but angels also. The Bible teaching of the relationship between the Father and the Son honors both, does violence to neither Scripture nor reason, but leaves the teachable in a happy frame of mind, the more ready to be taught of the Lord on all subjects.

 

"How beautiful the thought that Jehovah God presented to his first-begotten Son—our Lord Jesus, in his prehuman condition—the proposition that he should be the Redeemer of the world, and that this should be accomplished by the humbling of himself to man’s nature, and then the further humbling of himself even to death,  even the death of the cross;  and that as a result of this humiliation and this evidence of loyalty to the Father, he should be raised from the dead to a plane of nature above and beyond his original glorious estate, made partaker of the divine nature, and share in all the glories of that nature. How grand the thought that the dear Redeemer did thus manifest his love and loyalty, and that he is now exalted and is set down at the right hand of the majesty on high, awaiting the time when in the Father’s flame he shall take possession of the dominion of the world to rule, to bless with light and knowledge, and to uplift the willing and obedient from the mire of sin and death to all that was lost in Adam and redeemed at Calvary. Truly all who really hearken to the Word of the Lord are made both wiser and happier thereby. ‘The secret of Jehovah is with them that reverence him, and he will

 

SHOW THEM HIS COVENANT

 

"That wonderful covenant, shown to all who are seeking the Word in honesty and sincerity, assures us that as our dear Redeemer humbled himself for our and the world’s redemption and has been highly exalted, so, if similarly faithful, we may suffer with him now and by and by share his glory and be co-laborers with him in the kingdom which is to bless all the families of the earth. O. what riches of grace! what loving kindness! what tender mercy! what evidences of divine wisdom, skill, justice, love and power! How this view of the Only Begotten of the Father shows him to us as our Redeemer and also as our Lord and Head, who by and by, according to his promise, will present us as his bride, blameless and irreprovable before the Father in love. Viewed from this standpoint, the recognition of Jesus, our dear Redeemer, the Sent of God, the Savior of the world, is not in derogation of the command of our text, ‘Jehovah, our God, is one;’ for the Apostle assures us that, according to divine authority, all should reverence the Son even as they reverence the Father—not reverence him as the Father, but reverence him as the Son whom the Father has appointed heir of all things, and who, as the Father’s associate, is to bless all the families of the earth, and who a thousand years later will deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father, that he may be all in all.

 

THE CHIEF OR PRIMARY COMMANDMENT

 

"Every one that loveth him that begat loveth him that is begotten of him" {1Jo 5:1}. "He who loveth the Father must love the Son also, who is the Father’s express image (the exact impress of the character of his substance) and who has manifested to us in his own flesh the glorious character of the Father. As the Son loved the Father, prayed to the Father, and felt that he must be about the Father’s business, and finally died in the accomplishment of the Father’s will—the work unto which the Father had sent him—so with us, imbued with the spirit of our dear Redeemer, our Head. We as his members must have such a reverence for the Father and for his will as is here specified ... This exhortation must be understood to be of an individual kind ...

 

"As Israel was exhorted continually to remember how God had brought them out of the house of bondage, so we should continually remember how the Lord brought us out of the house of bondage—bondage to sin and error, and that this was accomplished through the great antitypical Moses, our Redeemer."... ‘07-R4051 to R4053.

 

126 AS SEEN BY HIS FOLLOWERS

 

Isaiah 53:1-6 pictures the experiences of Jesus as viewed from the standpoint of the disciples of his day and since. Following their commission, they have told the wonderful story of the Savior’s love and sacrifice, even unto death. But how few have heard, in the true sense of hearing; how few have appreciated it; how few have seen in Jesus the Arm of Jehovah, stretched down for the relief of Adam and his race from sin and death! Only a handful, the saintly few, really and truly believe the message, for surely every true believer would not only accept the proffered share of the Redeemer’s merit, but also the proffered share of his sufferings, that they might have a share also in the glory to follow. We read: "‘ Who bath believed our report, and to whom is the Arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He bath no form or comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief; and we hid, as it were, our faces from him, he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he bath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord bath laid on him the iniquity of us all.’ "Not understanding that there must be a sacrifice for sin before the divine blessing could come, the Jews looked for a mighty hero, a conquering general, to deliver them from the Roman yoke. Hence their disappointment in finding Jesus a gentle teacher, full of tenderness and compassion, laying down his life for the ‘sheep.’ He, indeed, had the blessing of purity and Godlikeness, but this was not the blessing of their dreams and hopes. The experiences endured by Jesus were misunderstood by man—misunderstood even by his disciples, one of whom said, ‘Far be it from thee, Lord; this thing shall not happen unto thee’—his crucifixion; and when the crucifixion did come, it was accepted by the many as an evidence of divine disapproval, as an evidence that Jehovah repudiated the servant and the service." ‘11 R4831

 

Revelation 5

 

7  And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.

 

Revelation 5

 

8  And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

 

Revelation 5:8 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 8. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts living ones—Diag., RV and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, incense which are the prayers of saints.

 

The four attributes of God offered their services to the one on the throne, the Architect of God; as also did the prophecies, with odors (incense) of prayers, and Bibles in their hands. The Plan moves forward.

 

INCENSE, PRAYER, BEFORE GOD—Ps 141

 

"The Prophet David pictures the Christian in his distress coming to God in his appointed way: ‘O Lord... Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense.’ This is the same thought elsewhere expressed in the Bible—that the prayers of God’s people rise up before him as a sweet perfume (Rev. 5:8)... The incense of old, which typified the prayers of the saints, was composed of a rare mixture of spices, giving forth a peculiarly sweet odor; and... nobody was allowed to make that incense except the priests who were to offer it (Exodus 30:34-38; 37:29). Thus again the Lord shows us that the privilege of prayer, of approaching him in an acceptable manner, is confined to the antitypical priests, called by St. Peter the royal priesthood—1 Peter 2:9.

 

"Only those of the Lord’s people who have consecrated their lives to him, even unto death, are thus represented as members of the sacrificing priesthood, to whom the Apostle wrote, saying, ‘I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, and your reasonable service’ {Ro 12:1}. The Lord has pledged to this particular class that he will hear them, yea, that he will answer them—not necessarily according to their natural preferences, but he will heed the spirit of their cry and give to them, according to his wisdom, the experiences and blessings most helpful." ‘15-R5692

 

PRAYER THE VITAL BREATH  OF THE NEW CREATURE

 

"And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint"—Jude 18:1.

 

"In order to pray properly, the child of God should know what he may pray for... The things that the heavenly Father is pleased to give to his children are heavenly things...

 

THE NEW CREATURE ‘S GREATEST NEED

 

... New creatures should be persistent in their petitions to God. These may know what is proper to pray for, by studying the words of Jesus and the apostles and the prophets of old. The spirit-begotten ones may thus understand what are the rights and privileges of sons of God. To these the heavenly Father is more willing to give the holy Spirit than earthly parents are willing to give good gins to their children—Matthew 7:11.

 

"The holy Spirit is the one thing which the new creature needs. The new creature is on trial for the new nature—for glory, honor, immortality. And he can receive these only as he is worthy. The terms on which he is received into spiritual relationship with the Father are that he shall mortify, deaden, the earthly impulses and seek to have the spiritual impulses quickened. What, therefore, he especially needs to strengthen him and bear him up as a new creature is the holy Spirit of God. Consequently God is particularly willing to give us this, and especially pleased that we ask for it." ‘13-R5310 "The child of God should feel that it is a privilege to have the Lord’s approval of every thought, every act, and every word. What we do is God’s work, not ours... Today the Lord may be leading us by the still waters and in green pastures; tomorrow the pathway may be thorny and through rough places. Thus day by day we grow in knowledge and grow in love, and we should be ready for whatever experiences may come to us:

 

127 ‘Content whatever lot I see, Since ‘tis God’s hand that leadeth me.’ "‘ 13-R5312 The prayer of one who asks only in harmony with the Lord’s Word is certain to be answered... Our Heavenly Father, in bestowing his best gifts, waits for us to become really hungry for them. He does this that his blessings may do us the more good when they are granted." ‘15-R5709 "We cannot express in words our deep appreciation of the love of the brethren so often expressed in their letters... We assure these dear brethren and all that their love is most heartily reciprocated. We love the brethren and take pleasure in laying down our life in their service. We are glad to know that you remember us and the Lord’s ‘harvest work,’ which he as been pleased to center here in Allegheny, in your prayers. If we may judge from the letters received, thousands of prayers ascend daily on our behalf. We cannot tell you how deeply we appreciate this: it keeps us humble as we remember our needs, and it strengthens us as we remember the Lord’s sufficiency and his willingness to pour out his blessings in answer to your prayers and ours. These prayers and the divine power to which they are attached are to our hearts a bulwark against the many Satan-blinded foes who beset you and us continually because of our loyalty to the Lord and his Word.

 

PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM: They shall prosper that love thee"—Psalm 122:6.

 

"These words are as true of the Jerusalem (government of peace) the higher and her children of peace as of the earthly Jerusalem’... which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all’—Gal. 4:25-26.

 

"Those who are praying the Lord’s blessing upon his cause are seeking to serve it and are proportionately blessed. Those who are indifferent to the welfare of Zion and the Lord’s cause now, are standing in a slippery place and are in great danger of falling.

 

"Continue, dear brethren and sisters, to pray for us {1Th 5:25 Heb 13:18}, and be assured that, as the Apostle Paul said, we have a care for all the churches and for the scattered sheep, and continually bear you upon our heart before the throne of the heavenly grace, and watch as well as pray for your interests and welfare—See Heb 13:17 2Co 1:28 2Th 1:11 Php 1:9—Editor. "‘ 00-R2576 See Re 8:4,5. See ‘83-R494.

 

"The true worshipers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and in truth"—John 4:23. "Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work"—John 4:34.

 

”Worship in spirit and in truth does not apply simply to prayer, praise, supplication and thanks giving. It goes deeper than all these and takes hold upon the affections, upon the heart, and hence signifies not an ‘act of worship’ but rather a life of worship—a life in which, through the begetting of the spirit and the knowledge of the divine plan, the individual becomes so at-one with God and all the features of the plan of God that it is, in the words of our Lord his meat and his drink to do the Father’s will. This is worship in spirit and in truth. It will find its expression... also in all the acts and words of life. ‘96-R2071. ‘16-R5877 last p.

 

"It is the privilege of the Lord’s people to ask, in order that they may have fulness of joy. We have this joy and the ‘peace of God, which passeth all understanding,’ and we rejoice greatly in hope of the glorious things which the Father has in store for us and which the holy Spirit reveals through the Word. The joyful Christian is the thankful Christian. The thankful Christian is the one who is making the best use of his life. By reason of having exercised thankfulness of heart, he will be the better prepared for the kingdom. "‘ 13-R5203.

 

"My little children—’teknion’(S.), ‘darlings’—let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth"—1 John 3:13. John 13:33. ‘16-R5948 c2 p3.

 

"Although not under the Law Covenant, the will of God, which was the spirit of the Jewish law, is binding upon every Christian in proportion to his knowledge of it." ‘16-R5947.

 

"My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus"—Phil. 4: 19.

 

"As the Scriptures explain, prayer is the attempt to gain access to the presence of God, and to hold communion with him." F680 p 2.

 

"The New Creatures in Christ Jesus are... instructed concerning one thing which the Father will be very pleased to have them pray for, and concerning which he will be pleased to answer their petitions largely. That one thing for which they should specially seek and specially pray is the holy Spirit—the spirit of holiness, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of the Truth, the spirit of a sound mind, the spirit of love. The Master’s words are, ‘If ye, then, being evil, know how to give good (earthly) gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the holy Spirit to them that ask him?"—Luke 11:13.

 

"Here, then, we have distinct information respecting what should be the basis of all our petitions, if we would have them answered. Thus we must pray if we would not ask amiss. Our affections must be set on things above, and not on things beneath—upon the robe of Christ’s righteousness and our future glorious apparel, when we shall be like our Lord and see him as he is, rather than on earthly apparel. Our affections must be upon the spiritual food—upon the bread which came down from heaven and upon all the precious promises of God of which Christ is the center and substance. These we must seek, these we must appropriate; and for these, therefore, the substance of our prayers will be. Thus our watching, praying and daily seeking will be in full accord. Moreover, thanksgiving must largely take the place of requests, from the time that we learn of the lengths and breadths and heights and depths of the divine provision, for both the New Creation and for our dear ones according to the flesh, and for all the families of the earth. What could we ask for more or better than God has already promised?

 

"‘If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God, that giveth to all liberally and upbraideth not’ (James 1:5). By this wisdom we may be enabled so to conduct ourselves, so to speak and act, as will be helpful to others; and in this direction, therefore, should be our prayers, that we may cooperate

 

128 with God along the generous, benevolent lines which he has already marked out—to ask a betterment of which would be an absurdity.

 

"This great privilege of access to the presence of God, of entering by faith into the Most Holy, of approaching the throne of grace, and obtaining mercy and finding help in every time of need, may be adapted to all the varying conditions with which we are surrounded." F686 "In order to have the holy Spirit in large measure, we must keep near to the Lord... The illumination of the Spirit will... become brighter in proportion to our realization of our own imperfections and to the degree of our consecration to the Lord. This we manifest by the zeal with which we study his will as expressed in his Word, and with which we practice that will in the affairs of life. These are the means by which we may supply the oil to keep our light burning brightly. But while we are endeavoring to do this, we must see to it that we do not come into contact with anything which will tend to extinguish the flame of sacred love in our hearts.

 

"The world, the flesh and the devil are all in opposition to the light of the holy Spirit. To whatever extent they are brought into contact with the light, to that extent they smother it "We should ever be on our guard lest we allow anything to dim or to extinguish our love for the Lord, for the truth or for holiness and Christ-likeness." ‘12-R5129, R5130.

 

Revelation 5

 

9  And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

 

Revelation 5:9 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 9. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, scroll and to open the seals thereof: for thou west slain, and hast redeemed to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people and nation;  

 

And they sung a new song, saying,  Thou art prepared to take the Book and carry out the Plan, because thou west slain, and art thus able to carry out the work of Redemption.

 

"Few see that this ‘little flock’ has been selected during these nineteen centuries from every nation, people, kindred and tongue." ‘10-R4715.

 

FOR THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH

 

"Spiritual Israel can take an excellent lesson here: ‘Why should the children of the King go mourning all their days?’ It was proper that we should mourn for sin, that we should realize the need for a Savior, that we should lay hold upon him by faith; but once we have accepted the Lord and realized the forgiveness of our sins, the time for mourning is past, the time for joy and rejoicing is commenced... the Apostle exhorts that we should rejoice in everything, even in tribulation, realizing that since we have given ourselves to the Lord and he has accepted us as his children and given us the anointing of his spirit, adopting us into his family and made us heirs with Christ in the glorious promises to be fulfilled, our hearts should be so full of rejoicing that all the trials and difficulties of the way should seem as nothing.

 

”Whoever can exercise the proper faith in the Lord and in his Word can rejoice... The Lord is now seeking those who may firmly trust him, come what may; he is seeking those who will walk by faith, not by sight. Those who cannot walk by faith now will have the opportunity of walking by sight very shortly, when the kingdom shall be established. They indeed shall have a goodly portion, but the portion which God has specially provided for the faithful is joint heirship with his Son in the kingdom. Let us, then, who have accepted the Lord and his Word, cast away everything of doubt and of fear, and live rejoicingly day by day while seeking to walk in the footsteps of him who loved us and bought us with his precious blood.

 

"The joy of the Lord is our strength"—Nehemiah 8:10, "the joy which God gives, the joy which comes from realizing that the Lord is our fortress; and that no ill can betide us without his knowledge, and that he has promised that all things shall work together for good to them that love him—with all their heart, mind, soul and strength.

 

"Our present sojourn is toward the heavenly Jerusalem, the kingdom ... in a tabernacle condition, waiting for the eternal conditions which God has promised us." ‘05-R3677.

 

A MORE MATURED VIEW

 

"Verses seven to nine {Isa 53} portray the matured view of Jesus’ disciples as they began to consider more carefully and to understand more fully their Master and his work. As with the Head, so with many members of his body, the church; only after their decease is their real spirit understood and appreciated from the divine standpoint.

 

"We read (Isaiah 53:7) ‘He was oppressed, yet he humbled himself and opened not his mouth. As a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, he opened not his mouth. By judicial oppression he was taken away; and as for his future offspring, how could there be any, for he was cut off out of the Land of the living! For the transgression of my people was he stricken. And they made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; of all he had done, there was no violence, neither was any deceit found in his mouth.’ "How could one dying as Jesus died, without natural children and as a felon, ever expect to become the great Messiah, of whom it is written, ‘He shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, a Mighty One, the Prince of Peace, and the Father (or Giver) of everlasting life!’ How could the crucified Jesus give life to any one?

 

"The Scriptures explain that in the divine arrangement he purchases Adam and Adam’s race, condemned through Adam’s fall. Being raised from the dead by the Heavenly Father, Jehovah, Jesus is now the glorified one, merely waiting for the completion of the church which is his body, that he may take to himself his great power and reign, as the Messiah of Israel and of the world. During the Messianic reign, opportunity will be given to Adam and all of his race to be resurrected or uplifted out of sin and death conditions—up, up, up to full human perfection and everlasting life—to all that was lost in Adam, to all that was redeemed through the cross. This is explained in the following verse: ‘He shall see his seed’—his progeny; so many of Adam’s progeny as will obey him he will adopt as his children, giving them life everlasting on the plane of human perfection. "‘ l1 R4831, R4832.

 

129 OBEDIENCE THE TEST

 

"For who bath known the mind of the Lord? or who bath been his counselor?" (Rom. 11:34).

 

"The statement of the case is that no one ever knew God’s mind or character or plan... In Revelation the Lord pictures the matter symbolically... For some time the message went forth and it was understood that God had a great and wonderful plan, but who would be worthy to execute it?... The lesson taught is that the heavenly Father kept to Himself His great plan and purpose... But there were certain things which had been revealed and they were to be brought about through a kingdom...

 

”Everything was going smoothly up to the time man was created; then came a great deflection when Satan fell. He in turn brought a great temptation to bear upon our first parents and they fell... Then came the fall of the angels in trying to lift up man... God has patiently endured all this time. His word has been traduced, they evilly treated His Son, and finally killed Him, even though the message which He brought was that of love. God has permitted the reign of sin and death in order to manifest the various features of His character, and to test the various orders of His creation. All will have an opportunity of showing the real character of their hearts... OBEDIENCE TO GOD WILL BE THE TEST UPON ALL OF HIS CREATURES. The whole plan of God is a manifestation of His character. We have seen an exhibition of God’s justice in dealing with our race...

 

"Then God manifested His love when He sent His only begotten Son to die for the world.

 

"Then God’s power will be manifested in connection with His love in the resurrection... but not the one-thousandth part of His power... God is not only love, but just and powerful.

 

"Next will be manifest the wisdom of God...

 

"God will show the wisdom of His plan eventually, the justice first, the love next, the power next, and finally wisdom. That will be the last thing the people, or world, will see...

 

THE FEAR BORN OF LOVE

 

"What have we done that we should be made joint-heirs with Jesus Christ? Nothing. You cannot do anything. It is of His grace, mercy, love and compassion. We should be more and more conformed to the image of His Son, our great Redeemer... You are all called in one hope of your calling... The test is loyalty to Him—Obedience... God’s will should come into our hearts more and more each day, for the test will always be one of love. I hope I will always have that fear or reverence that will fear to transgress God’s holy will, the fear born of love, not the fear that He is going to eternally punish me. If anything comes as a spot upon our robe, let us go at once to the great Cleanser.

 

"Sun of my soul, I let no earth born cloud arise To hide Thee from Thy servant’s eyes.’

 

"Any spot that you do not get rid of is an earth-born cloud, and if any do not get rid of these spots, they must go through the great time of trouble. The Lord thus proves your love." CR53-CR54.

 

"In the visions of the Apocalypse we read of a wonderful scroll in the right hand of the great King who sits upon the throne of universal dominion. This scroll is a forceful representation of the divine plan, originally existing only in the mind of God, and which could not be made known to men until some one was found worthy to open the seals and display it to view. But ‘No one in heaven nor in earth was able to open the scroll, neither to look thereon,’ until one came whom the Revelator describes as ‘The lion (the strong one) of the tribe of Judah, the root of David,’ of whom the testimony is given—’Thou art worthy to take the scroll and to open the seals thereof; for thou west slain and hast redeemed to God by thy blood out of every kindred and people and nation; and hast made them unto our God a kingdom and priesthood; and they shall reign on the earth.’—Rev. 5:1-5, 9, 10.

 

"Excepting the bare promise (written on the outside of the scroll—verse 1) of salvation through the Seed of the woman, nothing could be known of the wonderful scheme for human restitution until the Son of God, having left the glory of the spiritual nature, took our nature and by the sacrifice of himself redeemed us from death. Then, having his righteousness (perfect human nature) imputed to us by faith, we are counted worthy to look upon the scroll as he opens the seals one after another...

 

"All along the way, as we have said, we will find tests applied to prove our worthiness to proceed from knowledge to knowledge and from grace to grace. Who is worthy?—worthy to receive the truth, worthy to continue in the truth, worthy to suffer and to endure hardness as a good soldier for the truth, and finally to be exalted to power and great glory when truth and righteousness shall be exalted in the earth and their glorious triumph begun?

 

"These tests God permits and even desires to have come upon us, in order that we may be thoroughly tried and proved either worthy or unworthy of the great reward he has in keeping for those who remain faithful unto death.

 

"The Lord is seeking his precious jewels. Many of them are indeed diamonds in the rough. The real diamond is a noble, loyal, faithful character, devoted and uncompromising in its allegiance to God... God’s eye is on them: character is what he is looking for, and in due time, when that character is sufficiently developed, confirmed, tested and proved worthy of exaltation, he can and will add to it all the glories of knowledge and wisdom and grace and beauty. But first he will subject it to all the necessary tests. If it is a true diamond it will receive and it will also transmit to others the light of divine truth. Nothing so gloriously reflects the truth as the worthy character of the true and faithful saint... Blessed is that diamond-proved character that endures to the end—James 1:12; Matt. 10:22...

 

"We are not left in doubt as to what is truth, but are enabled to give a solid Scriptural reason for the hope that is in us, on which hope we dare implicitly to rest our faith, and with humble boldness to successfully withstand the assaults of error. But oh, how dead to selfish ambition, how fully devoted to the will of the Lord such must be!

 

"Let us, dearly beloved... prove ourselves jewels of rarest value, diamonds indeed, heartily receiving and

 

130 beautifully transmitting to others the light of truth, and faithfully enduring the severest pressure that God may permit to come upon us; for, if faithful in these small things we shall in due time be counted worthy also to reign with Christ in power and great glory ... Let the good seed of divine truth sink down and take deep root, and then let it branch out in the light and bear its abundant fruitage to the Master’s glory. So shall we be accounted worthy to see the King in his beauty and to live and reign with him as his beloved bride and joint-heir. And when to the ‘worthy Lamb that was slain’ the voices of the multitude ascribe blessing and honor and glory and power, they will also exclaim, ‘Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife bath made herself ready’—Rev. 5:13; 19:7." ‘02-R3103, R3104.

 

Revelation 5

 

10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

 

Revelation 5:10 (RVENDAG_)

 

"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne"—Revelation 3:21.

 

Verse 10. And hast made unto our God kings and priests: and they shall reign on the earth.

 

And art able to make kings and priests unto God: and they shall reign on the earth. What a new song is now possible: it concerns the High Calling to the Divine Nature; and surrounding the Tabernacle with four families of Levites—antitypically. See F128-F129.

 

"The Tabernacle which God commanded the people of Israel to construct in the Wilderness of Sin, and in connection with which all their religious services and ceremonies were instituted, was, the Apostle Paul assures us, a shadow of good things to come (Heb. 8:5; 10:1; Col. 2:17).

 

"We shall fail to attach sufficient weight and importance to the shadow unless we realize how carefully God guided and directed all of its details...

 

"Realizing God’s care in making the ‘shadow’ should not only give us confidence in its correctness, that not one jot or little of it shall fail until all be fulfilled (Matt. 5:18), but should also awaken in us so great an interest in God’s plan as would lead us to examine closely and search carefully for the meaning of those shadows. And this, with God’s promised blessing, we now purpose to do, assured that among those who are truly God’s consecrated ones—his children begotten of his Spirit—’he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.’ " T11, T12. Please see ‘12-R5045.

 

"We, too, are to remember that we have here no continuing city; but as pilgrims, strangers, staff in hand, we are to gird ourselves for our journey to the heavenly Canaan, to all the glorious things which God has in reservation for the church of the first-borns, in association with our Redeemer, as kings and priests unto God." ‘16-R5870.

 

"Thou shalt be called by a new name; ... thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God"—Isaiah 62:2, 3.

 

"In one place the Prophet Jeremiah declares, ‘This is the name whereby He shall be called, Jehovah our Righteousness.’ In another place he says, ‘She shall be called, Jehovah our Righteousness or, the Righteousness of Jehovah.’ And so the Apostle declares, ‘That we might be made the righteousness of God through him.’—Jer. 23:6 33:16 2Co 5:21.

 

"He is selecting the jewels now, and is providentially dealing with them. When the process of polishing shall have been completed, he will use them in a very special sense for a thousand years. As a star blazes in glory, so the Lord will make use of each one of the church. But the use of the church which the Lord will make at that time will be only a part of the work which he intends to accomplish. The Apostle says, ‘That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus’—Eph. 2:7.

 

"... The glory of the church will be manifested in the sight of angels and of men. And so the Lord indicates the blessings that are to be ours if we are faithful in making our ‘calling and election sure.’ "‘ 11-R4913, R4914.

 

UNTIL THE LORD COME—1 Cor. 4:5. ‘92-1363

 

"We are God’s representatives and ambassadors." ‘13-R5339.

 

"I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing" —Genesis 12:2.

 

"The fulfillment has already commenced in our hearts but that is not the end, not the fulness, not the ultimate meaning of the promises; for by and by this holy nation (the body of Christ, the church), shall be great indeed when filled with the divine blessing and power as God’s glorified Kingdom. We realize too that while it is our blessed privilege to let shine upon others the light which the Lord by his Spirit has graciously shined into our hearts, nevertheless our time for bestowing the great blessing is still future—that it belongs to the period for which we pray, ‘Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth.’... The time is surely hastening when the name Christ shall be great throughout all the earth, and that being the name of our Bridegroom it will also be our name as his bride and joint-heir. We look forward with joy to the time when the holy nation, now so misunderstood and considered a peculiar people, shall recompense the poor, blinded, Satan-deceived world and nominal church for all the evils inflicted upon The Christ, Head and body, by blessing them, returning good for evil in the highest degree—instructing and uplifting all who will to return to divine favor. "‘ 01-2847.

 

"GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST"

 

For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord’—Luke 2:11.

 

"When our Lord was born, when he was made flesh and dwelt amongst us, ‘All men were in expectation of him’—not of Jesus, but of the promised Messiah, whom Jesus was... and so it was with the multitudes of Palestine. They heard; they listened. They said, Is this he? The rulers said, No, this is not the Messiah. Then the people asked, When Messiah cometh can he do greater works than this man? Never man spake like this man!

 

"Nevertheless, there were few ready to receive him, even amongst his own—only Israelites indeed,’ to whom, because of worthiness of heart, God specially revealed his Son. This was in harmony with the prophecy of old, ‘The secret of the

 

131 Lord is with them that reverence him and he will show them his covenant’ {Ps 25:14}. As again it is written, ‘I will give him for a Covenant of the people’ (Isa. 49:8). Neither Jews nor Greeks nor Persian wise men knew to expect that Messiah would first appear to offer himself, through obedience to the Truth, a living sacrifice for sinners. None of them knew that a long period must elapse from the time when Messiah would be the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, of whom the people would be ashamed, until he would appear in power and great glory to establish his Empire under the whole heavens, in fulfillment of the prophetic picture of Daniel 2:34; 7:13, 14-27.

 

A SAVIOR—CHRIST THE LORD

 

"It is prophetically, of course, that the babe of Bethlehem was called a Savior—he was to be a Savior, The Christ, the Lord. The word Christ signifies anointed. In the divine purpose it was arranged that Messiah should be anointed High Priest of Israel on a higher plane than Aaron—after the order of Melchisedec (Psalm 110:4). And every priest must be anointed to his of fice before he could fill it. Similarly, it was prophesied that Christ would be the great King, greater than David and Solomon, who were his types and foreshadows.

 

"The anointing of Jesus was... that which the oil upon the head of the kings and priests of Israel typified—the holy Spirit. He received this holy Spirit at the time of his baptism, the Spirit falling upon him and abiding with him, anointing him for his great work of antitypical Priest and antitypical King of Israel, who, as the Messiah long-promised, would bless them, and through them the world. But every priest was ordained to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins, and in this also they typified Jesus, who, under the divine arrangement, must first offer up himself as a sacrifice acceptable to God for the sin of mankind—in order that he might be the Savior or Deliverer of men from the curse of sin and death—that he might restore them and their earthly home to the glorious condition of perfection represented in Adam and his Eden home. Hence it was necessary that Jesus should not only consecrate his life to the divine service and be anointed with the holy Spirit, but that, sacrificially, he should lay down his life, even unto death—even the death of the cross. As a part of his reward he was raised to glory, honor and immortality, on the third day thereafter.

 

"As the glorified One he was now fully commissioned and empowered to establish the long-promised, Messianic kingdom, but has been waiting while a’little flock’ have walked in his footsteps—until the elect number shall be completed and shall share his glory. Then his kingdom will take the control of earth. Satan shall be bound for a thousand years and all the wonderful blessings promised in the law and the prophets and Gospels and epistles shall be fulfilled.

 

"In the Arabic, Savior signifies life-giver. The Redeemer, glorified as the antitypical Melchisedec, ‘a priest upon his throne,’ is to be the Savior or life-giver of the race, for whose sin and because of whose condemnation he died—’the Just for the unjust, to bring us back to God,’ some during this age and some during the period of his Messianic reign. Gradually he, with his saintly bride class, will uplift humanity from sin and death to righteousness and life eternal and will destroy all who refuse the blessing in the second death, from which there will be no hope of recovery. ‘10-R4714, R4715.

 

"The Lord knoweth them that are His"—2 Tim. 2: 19. "He is looking for those who humble themselves, and who are glad to have his truth at any cost... and who know the Shepherd’s voice, and who find in his message that which ‘satisfies their longings as nothing else could do.’... and by becoming faithful students will make it their own... These will be kept..." ‘09-R4439.

 

Revelation 5

 

11  And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;

 

Revelation 5:11 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verses 11-12. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts 11iving ones—Diag., RV] and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; ‘2Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

 

At Christ’s Resurrection and ascension, countless beings joined in saying, with power and sincerity, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches and wisdom, and strength (of the Divine Nature), and honor, and glory and blessing.

 

"Thus from Joh 1:18 5:36,37 we see that previous to his human existence, our blessed Lord was the honored agent of Jehovah in all his mighty works; that he was his only begotten and well beloved Son, his bosom friend and confidential companion, ever in fullest harmony, sympathy and cooperation with him. And whether we contemplate the vastness and grandeur of the physical universe, or the innumerable hosts of intelligent creatures, angelic and human, which, by the power delegated to him, he brought into existence, or the grandeur of the heavenly court and the presence of the divine Father, the great Emperor of the Universe, we are overwhelmed with a sense of the glory that he had with the Father before he humbled himself to the comparatively low estate of manhood. Yet he, that was so rich, for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich—2 Cor. 8:9.’

 

"When Christians think of the sacrifice of Christ in giving his life for us, too often they seem to forget our heavenly Father’s sacrifice in thus delivering up the precious Son of his love to such abject humiliation, suffering and death for our redemption. Surely herein is manifested the love of God to man, in that he gave his only begotten Son to die for us. You who have realized some measure of parental love may be able thus to gain some idea of the costly sacrifice on the part of our heavenly Father as well as of our Lord Jesus. "‘ 90-R1247.

 

"For 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 be rich"—2 Cor. 8:9. See R3115 c1 p2.

 

"In his pre-human conditions, when in the form of God, a spirit being, Jesus was humble. He did not meditate usurpation of divine authority to exalt himself, to seek a name higher than his own, as Satan did. He had no thought of robbing the divine glory and honor by putting himself upon an equality with God the Father. On the contrary, he had the

 

132 same spirit that he had afterwards, when he declared, ‘Not my will, but shine, be done’; and again, ‘I came not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me’, and again ‘My Father is greater than all’—Luke 22:42; John 6:38 10:29; 14:28. (Please see E 80, 81 for proper translations of Philippians 2:6—Diag.) "The Master always had this disposition of reverence for the Father and of full trust and confidence in the divine wisdom, love, justice and power. Hence, when the time came that the Father had purposed—when he would send a Savior into the world, first to redeem it and later on to become its king and deliverer—and the proposal to render this great service to God and to men was proffered to the great Logos—’the Only Begotten of the Father’—it was promptly accepted; ‘I delight to do thy will, O my God!’ was the response of the chiefest of all God’s creatures. This involved a great humiliation—leaving the dignity of the chiefest on the spirit plane, to become a human being—a man amongst men—’the Man Christ Jesus’—not a sinful man, but a perfect one, in the image and likeness of God, as was the first Adam originally—’holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners.’ ‘16-R5846.

 

THE PROPHETIC EXPLANATION

 

”Verses ten and eleven {Isa 53} give the following prophetic explanation of the experiences of Jesus: ‘Yet it pleased Jehovah to bruise him; he bath put him to grief. Thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin; He shall see his seed. He shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, when he shall bear their iniquities.’

 

THE REDEEMER’S EXALTATION

 

"The last verse of our study (Isaiah 53:12) points out to us that the exaltation of Jesus in his resurrection, far above angels, principalities and powers and every name that is named, was as a reward for his faithfulness in doing the will of the Father, according to his covenant of sacrifice. Jehovah also tells us that this great reward Jesus will share with his church, his bride, ‘the strong, the overcomers.’ Finally the Prophet summarizes the Master’s work as respects the present age: "‘ Because of this will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul unto death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bare the sin of many and accomplished intercession for the transgressors." ‘11-R4832.

 

"How little did Satan and those malicious Jewish priests and Pharisees and those heartless Roman soldiers know that they were assisting in the working out of the divine plan when insulting, mocking and crucifying the Lamb of God! Please see 1Pe 1:18-21. ‘14-R5402 c1 p4, 5; ‘08-R4219 c2 p4.

 

"MY COVENANT WILL I NOT BREAK"

 

”My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips"—Psa. 89:34.

 

"While seeking to copy the Lord in every particular, and to be fully rounded out in character-likeness to Him, let us now have specially in mind as a part of the lesson of this text, God’s faithfulness to His engagements; and let us, as His people, resolve that by His assistance and grace we will grow daily in this quality, in His likeness—that we, also, may say of ourselves, concerning our covenants or agreements, as the Lord says of Himself, ‘My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of My lips.’ "‘ 02-R3109.

 

ABOUT MY FATHER’S BUSINESS—

 

Luke 2:40-52 ‘12-R4957, R5958—Please read including "Jesus a Great Student" and "Jesus Increased in Wisdom.’

 

"How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?"—V. 49.

 

"BORN KING OF THE JEWS"—Mt 2:1-12 Isa 45:22

 

"Jesus is yet to be the King of the Jews and the King of the world ... There are... two classes of Israelites—a heavenly and also an earthly class. Thus there are two ‘seeds of Abraham,’ one of which is to be as the stars of heaven and the other as the sands of the seashore. The heavenly, the spiritual, must be developed first and be associated with Messiah in glory, honor and immortality, far above angels.

 

"It has required all of this Gospel age for the selecting of this spiritual seed. With its completion a new age will be inaugurated. Then the earthly blessings promised will be fulfilled to the natural seed of Abraham. ‘They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat the fruit thereof’;‘ the knowledge of the glory of the Lord shall fill the whole earth’; to him ‘every knee will bow and every tongue confess,’ for all who refuse shall be destroyed in the second death (Isa. 65:21; Hab. 2:14; Rom. 14:11). Messiah is already recognized as Lord by all Spiritual Israelites. During the next age he will be crowned Lord of all by natural Israel, and all other nationalities will enjoy the privilege of becoming proselyte children of Abraham in the flesh. Messiah will reign in his mediatorial kingdom for the very purpose of bringing these blessings to natural Israel and through her to all nations.

 

"The relationship of Messiah to spiritual Israel, the elect church, is quite different from what it will be toward the world. He is our Lord and prospective Bridegroom; we are his betrothed and prospective bride, and joint-heirs of his glory, and are to be associated in his glorious Messianic work. ‘If ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise’—Gal. 3:29.

 

"It will require the entire thousand years of the reign of Christ and his bride to accomplish that promise—the blessing of all the families of the earth with full light and knowledge and opportunity for complete return to harmony with God and for the recovery of all that was lost in Adam and redeemed at Calvary. We by faith hail him as King, even before the establishment of his kingdom, and loyally and gladly submit ourselves to him, pledging our lives in the service of his cause of righteousness and truth. We, when pray

 

133 ing, ‘Thy kingdom come,’ are expressing our sympathy with the righteousness which Messiah’s kingdom shall establish and our faith in his promise that we shall sit with him in his throne. And when we pray that God’s will shall be done on earth as in heaven we are expressing our confidence that the Messianic reign will be glorious and successful to the last degree—overthrowing all evil and adverse conditions and establishing righteousness amongst men on the same permanent foundation that prevails in heaven." ‘12-R4956, R4957.

 

Revelation 5

 

12  Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

 

Revelation 5

 

13  And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

 

Revelation 5:13 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 13. And every creature which is in Heaven, and on the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, the Blessing, and the honour, and the glory, and the power, unto Him that sitteth upon the throne of the Universe—Jehovah, and unto the Lamb—for ever and ever.

 

John also saw the future, in which every creature having life attributes it to the Lamb that was slain. Please see ‘13-R5183.

 

"THY JUDGMENTS ARE A MIGHTY DEEP!’

 

"The foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men"—1 Corinthians 1:25. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts"—Isaiah 55:9.

 

"Only those who gladly obey God, out of love for him and for his righteous laws, will be permitted to live beyond the harvest time of the Millennial age. All others shall utterly perish.

 

GOD’S GLORIOUS CHARACTER REVEALED

 

"Then the holy in every sphere of life, in every part of the mighty universe of God, shall ascribe glory, honor and praise to the almighty Creator and to his glorious Son throughout the ages of eternity. All will then see and acknowledge how marvelous was Jehovah’s plan of redemption, how far beyond the power of fallen man to fathom. The majesty and glory of the divine character will stand revealed—his unswerving justice combined with infinite compassion, his glorious wisdom, his marvelous love, his mighty power. Then all will bow before him and adore!’

 

"When all thy mercies, O my God My rising soul surveys, Transported with the view, I’m lost In wonder, love and praise!”‘14-R5535, R5536

 

”Jehovah thy God... will rejoice over thee... with singing!" Zep 3:17 Zec 2:10 Re 5.

 

”They sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints"—Revelation 15:3.

 

"Ho! to the land shadowed with wings!” ‘’In that time shall the present be brought unto the Lord of hosts... a people... a nation ... to Mount Zion”—Isaiah 18: 1, 7.

 

"THANKS TO GOD FOR HIS INEXPRESSIBLE FREE GIFT!"2 Cor. 9:15.

 

OUR LORD JESUS "In 2Co 9:11, the Apostle speaks of ‘being enriched in everything.’ We are not to understand him to mean that all of the Lord’s people will be enriched financially. St. Paul himself was an example of the fact that the Lord’s people do not become wealthy. He is speaking of the enrichment of the heart. In another place he speaks of himself and his co-laborers in the Gospel work, ‘as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things’ {2Co 6:10}. These faithful servants of God made many rich in hope, rich in faith, rich in love and in all the various concomitant graces which these qualities imply.

 

"Our Lord Jesus Christ is the grandest Example of selfdenial in the interests of others. He was rich in the possession of the spiritual nature with all its glory and honor. Yet for our sakes he became poor, taking the human nature in order that he might redeem mankind. To this end he surrendered life itself at Calvary, that through his sacrifice we might become rich—possessed of divine favor and the riches of divine grace in Christ—even joint-heirship with him who now is our exalted Lord at the right hand of divine Majesty. But to attain this joint-heirship with him, we must study to be like him, to have his spirit and to share with others whatever he may give us of either temporal or spiritual favors—either to feed or to clothe others (particularly those of the household of faith) temporally or spiritually, as circumstances may dictate.

 

"‘ Thanks be to God for his unspeakable Gift!’ That Gift is our Savior, our Redeemer {Joh 3:16}. In this connection it is impossible for us to tell the riches of divine grace toward us—the numberless blessings and mercies which are ours through our Lord. He represents to us the very fullness of every divine provision for our eternal welfare. As the Apostle elsewhere says, ‘In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Deity bodily’ (Colossians 2:9). As yet, only the church can now give thanks to God for his unspeakable Gift. But by and by the whole world of mankind will be in a condition to recognize that Gift and to render thanks. When, at the close of the Messianic reign for the restoration of the Adamic race to their original perfection, all wilful sinners shall have been destroyed, then ‘every knee shall bow and every tongue confess, to the glory of God. Then every creature in heaven, on earth and in the sea shall be heard saying, ‘Praise, glory, honor, dominion and might be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb, forever!’ (5: 13) for the Unspeakable Gift. "‘ 16-R5927.

 

THE NEW CREATURE’S RESPONSIBILITY TO DIVINE LAW—’12-R5102, R5103.

 

"CHRIST DIETH NO MORE"—Romans 6:9.

 

Those who really accept God’s proposition as laid down, heartily consecrate themselves, have passed from death to life, and the Apostle says that these are alive.

 

"The world will gain the right to life under the opportunities offered to them during the thousand years of Christ’s reign. We have that right to live now. Our life is hid with Christ in God’ (Col. 3:3). Men can kill the body, but no man can take from us the right to live. Our eternal life has already begun in a sense. We are on trial now, and if we pass the

 

134 trial successfully, we shall forever possess that right to life ...

 

"The church gets eternal life at least a thousand years before the world will be given the right to everlasting life; it is ours now and forever if we continue faithful unto death. Mankind will all be awakened from the tomb, but we do not know what proportion of them will get everlasting life. We hope that many will obtain it... We have a right to life because we are in Christ; because the Father so decreed for us.

 

"What dies is the human body, which was consecrated to death, but which has been loaned to the new creature to practice on, as it were. God gives the new creatures their new bodies in the first resurrection.

 

"Speaking of the first resurrection, St. John says, ‘It cloth 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’—not as he was’—1 John 3:2. This statement is satisfactory to the Lord’s people... The whole question is settled with the assurance that the church shall be like her Lord, and see him—not as he was in the days of his humiliation, the man Christ Jesus, nor as he appeared to his disciples after his resurrection, robed in flesh in various forms, with various garments—but see him ‘as he is,’ behold his glory, and be like him, sharing his glory." ‘12-R5103.

 

"The Scriptures speak to us of a ‘Mystery" 10:7.

 

"Through this worthy one, this divine mystery is to be revealed... It is God’s method of dealing with Satan, who was the original sinner. and God’s dealing with the whole Christ. This mystery ‘hid from past ages, but now made known unto the saints,’ was revealed to John who wrote about it in signs, sign-i-fied it, and so the mystery as a scroll has been gradually unfolding.

 

"Let us keep in thought that the Church being a part of this mystery is really the essence of it... and the Apostle says that we have fellowship in this mystery... Christian people in general do not know anything about this mystery. Look all through the church histories and you will not find this Church recorded anywhere—this is the Church which never had a history written... It is the greatest secret society in the world. It is not possible to make the natural man understand the things of God, because they are spiritually discerned, but as they thoroughly consecrate themselves, then they learn of these things... By and by the mystery will be ended—everything will be plain.

 

"Then there shall be no more crying, dying, sickness, or sorrow, and He that sat upon the throne said, I have made all things new {Re 21:4,5}. What will be new? O. it will be the perfection of the Holy Nation. Lower than they will be the Great Company, associated with her, and the angelic hosts also, then the human family, and then God will have a clean universe, then shall be everywhere heard in heaven and earth, praises to God and to Him that sits on the throne, and to the Lamb forever.

 

"Thus great lessons will have been brought forth, and His great character in Justice, Wisdom, Love and Power (the four living ones—Rev. 4:6) manifested in a way that could not have been manifested in any other way.

 

"God seeks-such to worship Him as worship him in Spirit and truth." CR45-CR47.

 

"The sons of God in glory will, with their Lord, constitute Emmanuel’s kingdom.

 

"The great Deliverer is the antitypical Cyrus—’God’s Shepherd’—Isaiah 44:28. Soon he will... establish his kingdom... Soon the church class, the saintly, ‘the elect,’ will be glorified, and then the time will come for the blessing of the non-elect—for their restitution to human perfection and to a world-wide Paradise, which Messiah’s kingdom and power will produce. ‘He must reign until he bath put all enemies under his feet; the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.’ Death will be destroyed;  sheol, hades,  the grave, will be destroyed, by the resurrection of the dead therefrom—’Every one in his own order."‘ ‘11-CR4892.

 

Revelation 5

 

14  And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

 

Revelation 5:14 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 14. And the four beasts living ones—Diag., RV said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

 

The four attributes of God also express their satisfaction; and all the prophecies express joy in their every fulfillment.

 

"We see in the Lord’s ways illustrations of his character—his wisdom, his justice, his love, his power....and all God’s ways call forth our admiration and reverence... as seen in His Word." ‘15-CR5703.

 

"... When the rough scaffolding of evil, which has been permitted for man’s discipline, and which shall finally be overruled for his good, has been removed, and the rubbish cleared away,  God’sfinished work will universally declare his infinite wisdom and power; and his plans will be seen to be in harmony with his glorious character." A65 "For 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 be rich"—2 Corinthians 8:9.

 

"Now then, let us not lose the point of the Apostle’s lesson expressed in 2Co 8:9. While the world by and by is to profit by the Redeemer’s great sacrifice and subsequent kingdom, and all are to have the opportunity of being restored to human perfection and a world-wide kingdom, a special blessing of God is for the church, who now accept the Redeemer, consecrate their lives, as he did his, to the Father’s will, and walk in the footsteps of Jesus.

 

"The essence of this lesson is elsewhere expressed by the Apostle Peter. ‘Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time’ {1Pe 5:6}. Only the humble-minded are prepared to learn the great lessons which must be learned before they will be ready for exaltation that would be profitable to themselves or to others. The course of selfishness and self-seeking is illustrated in Satan, who has failed and is ultimately to be destroyed. The same self-seeking spirit is styled the spirit of the world; and it is about to lead the world to the great catastrophe foretold in the Bible—from which, however, they will be rescued by Messiah and his kingdom, and will have the opportunity of learning the great lesson of humility and obedience and of getting the reward.

 

"Jesus, on the contrary, has illustrated to us the proper course, which leads to glory, honor and immortality; namely, the course of full self-abasement and of full submission to

 

135 whatever may be the divine will. As the Savior has entered into his glory as a reward for his obedience, so the faithful of his people, the church, demonstrating their humility and obedience, will be sharers, his joint-heirs in his future kingdom of glory." ‘16-R5846, R5847

 

GREATNESS THE REWARD OF SERVICE Mark 10:32-45

 

"The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many"—Mark 10:45.

 

"It was at the close of Jesus’ ministry. For more than three years the Master had been calling his disciples and instructing them. They had come to recognize him as the Messiah, the heir of all God’s promises, the one through whom the Messianic kingdom would be set up, which would bless all the world of mankind—the dead as well as the living.

 

"... He told the disciples that he was going up to Jerusalem, and that he would be delivered to the Gentiles to be crucified... receiving the treatment due to the vilest of criminals—crucifixion. The matter was incomprehensible to the disciples... He included the thought of his resurrection from the dead on the third day...

 

"After Pentecost... the holy Spirit began to make plain the divine arrangement—that the sufferings of all the church must come first before the glories of the kingdom would be revealed and the blessings to the world begin.

 

ON RIGHT HAND AND LEFT

 

"On several occasions the Lord took with him the same James and John and Peter. They were with him in the holy mount, and at the awakening of Jairus’ daughter, and in Gethsemane’s Garden. They were glorious characters, whom the Lord greatly loved.

 

”Let us mark carefully the words of Jesus... He declared that while there would be a throne, and while there would be places of preference in that throne, they would not be distributed by himself, but by the Father.

 

"The Father stands as the representative of absolute justice, while Jesus stands as the representative of mercy, compassion, forgiveness. Places in the Millennial kingdom are not to be given on the score of mercy or favoritism, but absolutely on the score of quality. The Lord Jesus himself will have the highest place, because he is worthy. ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.’ The Father will give these to him, as he has promised. Indeed, he has given our Lord honor and great glory, even though this kingdom glory still waits until the church, the body of Christ, shall have been completed by the change of the first resurrection.

 

WHAT KINGDOM Is MEANT

 

"The early church understood very well the promise that Messiah would come a second time, would receive the church to glory with himself and establish the kingdom of divine power for the rule of the world and the subjugation of all things to the will of God; and that this Messianic kingdom would require a thousand years to fulfil its mission. But by and by a theory sprang up to the effect that the church was to be organized as Messiah’s kingdom and was to conquer the world before Jesus’ second advent.

 

"This unscriptural view changed the whole course of church history. Instead of longer preaching the Gospel merely with a view to calling out and perfecting the saintly few who would have a hearing ear and an appreciative heart, to make these ready for kingdom honor and glory, the course changed. Thereafter, the endeavor was to grasp civil power. Intrigues were begun, false claims were asserted, and the endeavor was made to obtain control of kings and nations along the lines of superstition. Additionally, persecutions were used; and as much as possible civil rulers were cajoled, threatened, induced, to become the tools of ecclesiasticism, for the purpose of establishing a world-wide dominion of the church.

 

"For a time—through inquisitions, etc., etc.—these things flourished; but ever since 1799 all thought of ecclesiastical dominion of the earth has given way. In their confusion many have lost all faith in the Messianic kingdom, and few are looking for it at Christ’s second coming.

 

"What we need is to cease handling the Word of God deceitfully. We must learn to read our Bible reverently and to understand it by comparing Scripture with Scripture. Bible students who do so are receiving great blessings, and are perceiving that Messiah’s kingdom is not only future, but apparently nigh—even at the door.

 

"The Master’s real baptism into death progressed for three and a half years, from Jordan to Calvary; and when he cried on the cross, ‘It is finished,’ He meant that his baptism into death was completed. He was raised up out of that death baptism on the third day by the Father’s power, to the Father’s 136 right hand, which position he will always occupy.

 

"This was the Master’s baptism. It meant the full renunciation of all earthly rights... The same principle must apply to all the followers of Jesus... Only the lowly, selfsacrificing, will be able or willing to endure such an experience.

 

"We must see that the kingdom is the pearl of great price, to obtain which all else must be sacrificed—Matthew 13:46.

 

WE ARE ABLE—YE SHALL INDEED

 

"We have not the power that he possessed: we are sinners by nature. He was ‘holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners.’ We can merely, therefore, will to do right; and the Lord must needs take us under his care and into his school of affliction and experience, giving us the lessons necessary to prove our loyalty and faithfulness even unto death. How gracious, how God-like, that because of our weakness as members of the fallen race we could not do all ourselves. God has provided for us in the Savior whom he has appointed! Our imperfections are accounted as imputed to the Redeemer, while his perfections are accounted as imputed to us. Thus through him only may we hope to gain the kingdom and glory and honor and immortality.

 

CHIEF SERVANT—MOST HONORED

 

"The rule of the kingdom will be that the one who serves most will have the highest honor. Thus Jesus himself is preeminently servant of all. His position is the highest in the kingdom by divine appointment, and others will range next to him in proportion as they have his spirit of love, service, obedience and loyalty." ‘14-R5483, R5484.

 

Revelation 6

 

1  And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.

 

Revelation 6:1 (RVENDAG_)

 

CHAPTER 6 REVELATION

 

"The early Christians were scattered abroad and went everywhere preaching Jesus and the resurrection: Jesus as the One who redeemed us from the power of death, and satisfied for us and for all, the demands of justice; and the resurrection power or method by which the blessing of Divine forgiveness will profit Adam and his race, recovering them to all that was lost.

 

"....Christians are everywhere exhorted to hope and to allow this hope to be an anchor to their souls while they wait for the fulfillment of all the precious things God has promised through the Redeemer—to be brought unto us at His revelation, at His second coming, at the establishment of His kingdom {1Pe 1:13}. Let us then search the Scripture that we may enjoy this hope and, as the Apostle says, ‘Be ready to give an answer to everyone that asketh us a reason for the hope that is within us with meekness and fear reverence’ {1Pe 3:15}." CR22 "We are laborers together with God"—1 Cor. 3:9.

 

"The one work of the Gospel age has been the selection of the spiritual seed of Abraham, the gathering of the elect, through whom all the families of the earth shall be blessed—shall become of the earthly seed. This promise that all the families of the earth shall be blessed cannot be fulfilled until the spiritual seed shall be completed. ‘If ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.’ "‘ 13-R5302

 

PATIENT ENDURANCE THE FINAL TEST

 

"Let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing"—James 1:4.

 

"The final test of patient endurance must be passed before we can be accepted as of the very elect... Feet grow weary; trials and testings abound; therefore we need to ‘gird up the loins of our mind’ and looking to our great Exemplar for the needed inspiration and strength, to set our faces like a flint for the home stretch." ‘15-R5651.

 

Verse 1. And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts Riving ones—Diag., RV] saying, Come and see..

 

I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals;  there were seven seals, corresponding to seven periods in the life or history of the church, from the Day of Pentecost till the com

 

137 pletion of the church on earth. This seal covered the period known as Ephesus, "the first," the time of the apostles, a period of about one hundred years. The writer of the book of Revelation died at the age of a lithe over one hundred years. The voice he heard was like thunder, so heavy and impressive and full of authority. It must be so, since it is the voice of eleven apostles of Jesus Christ sending forth the Heavenly invitation to become members of His Bride Class. One of the four living ones or attributes, said to John, Come and see. This attribute of Jehovah, according to the second verse, is infinite power.

 

Please see ‘94-R1681 c 1 p 6—at Rev. 12:4. "And Isaac went out to meditate (to pray) in the field at eventide" Gen. 24:63. See ‘85-R799 c 1 p 6.

 

JEHOVAH’S ABIDING PRESENCE WITH HIS PEOPLE "My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest"—Exodus 33:14.

 

"When God speaks of his presence with his servants we... think of his being with them... by his Spirit and through his angelic messengers, sustaining, blessing and guiding them. He protects them from whatever will harm them. He watches over their every interest and tenderly cares for them.

 

"We understand the Bible presentation... that God has a personal, bodily presence, aside from the power and influence which he exerts; and that he has a central seat of government, where he resides. ‘Heaven is my throne, the earth is my footstool,’ says Jehovah... showing his allembracing power and control... Everything in the Bible teaches us that he is very great—infinite in power. And his power can be exerted everywhere throughout his mighty universe. He has means by which he can be cognizant of all earthly affairs and of matters pertaining to all his great domain. "‘ 14-R5547.

 

"The throne of God... is not a material one, but refers to his supreme authority and rulership; and the Lord Jesus has been exalted to a share in that rulership. Paul declares, ‘God bath highly exalted him (Jesus) and given him a name above every name.’ He bath given him authority above every other, next to the Father." A92 p2 "Jesus’ words to Caiaphas...: ‘Hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power,  and coming in the clouds of heaven’ (Matt. 26:64). He will be on the right hand when coming, and will remain on the right hand during the Millennial age, and forever." A93 top.

 

THE WRATH OF THE LAMB

 

"Since Jesus is the Prince of Peace, how shall we understand various passages of Scripture which refer to him as a mighty Conqueror in blood-stained garments, taking vengeance on his foes? But especially, how shall we understand the declaration that, at his coming in the clouds of heaven, all the tribes of the earth shall wail because of him? (Rev. 1:7) "Of this Prince of Peace it may be said that he will wound to heal, that whatever disasters he may bring or permit to come upon the world will be so overruled as to make of them blessings in disguise. Undoubtedly much that is said respecting our Lord is highly symbolic. For instance, he is to smite the nations with the sword that proceedeth out of his mouth—the Word, or message, of truth {Re 19:15}. Such a smiting is in full conformity with the declaration that when St. Peter preached the Gospel at Pentecost, some of his hearers were ‘cut to the heart’—not with St. Peter’s literal sword, but with ‘the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.’ Eventually, that sword will smite all opponents of righteousness for their good. Only the wilfully wicked will eventually be destroyed in the second death (Rev. 20:14). ‘14-R5495, See 19:15.

 

"IF YE BE CHRIST’S"

 

If ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise"—Gal. 3:29.

 

"To ‘be Christ’s,’ therefore... means to belong to Christ—to be his, body, soul and spirit—to be his today and forever; his servant, to do his will in his way and at his time;  when convenient and pleasurable, and when inconvenient, painful and difficult.

 

"It means, furthermore, that we cannot belong to anyone else in this complete sense, for no man can serve two masters. Here comes in a difficulty for those who belong to secret or other societies. The laws, professions and customs of these are almost certain to conflict with or infringe upon a full consecration to Christ...

 

"Not to compromisers, but to ‘overcomers,’ Christ’s very own, is given the promise of a share with him in his throne as fellow-members of the Seed of Abraham and heirs according to that promise or covenant... ‘Fear not,  little flock, it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.’ "‘ 94-R1697.

 

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might"—Eph. 6: 10.

 

"To us of today who are new creatures in Christ Jesus, servant-sons of the most High... faith in God and in the promises... is the power of God which enables us to endure all things as good soldiers of the Lord Jesus Christ, soldiers of the truth, soldiers of righteousness, fighting against sin and error and all ungodliness, including the artful wiles of the Adversary... misrepresenting the divine character by the ‘doctrines of devils’ foisted upon the Lord’s people during the Dark Ages... I pray God for you that you ‘may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the

 

138 breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge.”‘07-R4089.

 

ACCORDING TO THE POWER THAT WORKETH IN Us

 

"As the Apostle declares, ‘It cloth not yet appear what we shall be’ {1Jo 3:2}. He gives the key to our faith and knowledge when he adds, ‘But we know that we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.’... He has revealed himself to us; and as we come to a knowledge of the Lord and to an appreciation of his great wisdom and love and justice and power—as we come to realize that he is the grand exemplification and illustration of all that is good and great and loving and wise and beautiful and true, so we know that his heavenly home and all the arrangements which God has prepared for his special elect ones must be in some very special sense far above the very glorious things which he has prepared for those of the world in general, who during the Millennial age will accept his favors and his blessed provisions.

 

"... Those who have accepted the Lord’s invitation to become his bride—to leave the world, to be changed from human nature to spirit nature, to inherit with him the glory, honor and immortality unspeakable and unknowable until the change shall come... in proportion as we become followers in his steps our faith... in his words... in his wisdom increases day by day....We are confident, therefore, that he is able and willing to do for us exceeding more abundantly than we could have asked or thought, according to the riches of his grace and his loving-kindness toward us in Christ Jesus—Eph. 3:20.

 

"Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us"—Eph. 3:20.

 

"Unto Him be glory in the Church by Jesus Christ, to the generations of the age of the ages." (See Diaglott, Eph. 3:20.) "Let us, therefore, gird up the loins of our minds and be sober minded, and hope to the end for the grace that shall be brought unto us at the revelation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let us look not at things that are seen, which at most are temporal, but let us look at the things that are unseen, at the eternal things. Let us look unto Jesus with the eye of faith. Let us look unto the crown of life which he has promised, let us look unto the place that he is preparing for us in the many mansions of the Father’s house; let us look... with full confidence that the grandest of our hopes will be much more than realized when he shall bid us come up higher and enter into the joys of our Lord. ‘Faith can firmly trust him, come what may.’ The more we exercise faith along these lines of his direction, the more we are pleasing in the sight of him who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light; and the more such faith we exercise the more we will have in us the power of God, which will work in us both to will and to do his good pleasure—which will enable us more and more to live separate from the world, to overcome the world, and to fight a good fight against sin and selfishness, the world, the Adversary, and our own flesh." ‘06-R3891, R3892.

 

Revelation 6

 

2  And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

 

Revelation 6:2 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 2. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and he conquered.

 

I saw a white horse, indicating that the doctrines sent forth or proclaimed by the apostles, were righteous, pure, true; as God and Jesus Christ would have them. The bow, represents the authority, means, and power to send forth the true doctrines, promises, and terms and conditions of the High Calling. Also, the bow shows how the message should be sent out; and that is very important, to its result or success. The number and their qualifications are predestinated, but not the individuals. The number is 144,000, with Jesus at their head. Their qualification is a character likeness to Jesus, as the mark of the prize. The prize itself is immortality.

 

"This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith"—1 John 5:4.

 

"Faith in the Lord’s wisdom and in His help in every time of need is necessary to us in order that we may be thoroughly obedient to him ... it will be by the exercise of faith and the obedience which flows therefrom that we will be enabled to ‘come off conquerors and more than conquerors through him that loved us and gave himself for us.’ "‘ 98-R2249.

 

"The begetting thought is one that pertains to the state of the new life, the state of the new nature. The anointing thought pertains to the office. God is calling out a people to become joint-heirs with Christ in the kingdom. The anointing is the divine recognition of them as kings and priests." ‘14-R5393 c 2 p 2. Please see Berean Comment on Ex 30:24 Isa 11:1,2; ‘07-R4093.

 

"He that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not"—1 John 5:18—"may be permitted of God to work out for them, ‘a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory’; but the Adversary can do them no harm, because they belong to God, and He is pledged to defend in the highest sense the best interests of all those who have given their hearts to Him in full consecration." ‘10-R4660.

 

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity"—Psalm 133:1.

 

"It was the Lord’s own brethren who persecuted him, but... as the Apostle explains, ‘in ignorance they did it.’ We rejoice to know that when the Lord shall have fully established his kingdom, all who are the Lord’s people, all desirous of being on the side of righteousness, will hail him gladly as their King; and that the unity and peace and blessing of that glorious Millennial age will far exceed anything that our minds can grasp or our tongues express. Like our Lord, let us seek to be peacemakers, and to dwell together with all the brethren in the unity of the spirit, in the bonds of peace." ‘03-R3246.

 

"It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, Aaron’s beard; that went down to the skirts of his garments, As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion; for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore." Ps 133:2,3.

 

"To have the holy Spirit in us is to have the anointing in us. If we allow the holy Spirit to operate in us, and ourselves faithfully cooperate therewith, the end will be glorious.

 

139 "Thus the anointing which we have received—the Spirit of Christ in us—is the hope or basis of the glory which we are expecting—a glory which is to be like that of our Redeemer—a glory which is above that of angels, principalities and powers—a glory which is next to that of the Lord. This anointing, this Spirit of Christ within us, is the earnest, or hope, or basis, of all that is coming. Hence we should heed the admonition of the Apostle that we quench not the anointing, this holy Spirit of Christ. On the contrary, we are to cultivate it, develop it, give attention to it. If we should allow it to die, because of neglect of the help which God has supplied, if we should quench it by indulgence in sin, we should thereby demonstrate that we are unworthy of the blessing and fit only for the second death. "‘ 13-R5229.

 

"Our coming into the body is our coming under the anointing. One is a member of the Anointed the instant he is begotten... The anointed office may be forfeited, without the spirit-begotten life being forfeited, as in the case of the great company. "‘ 14-R5393.

 

AN ASTOUNDING STATEMENT

 

"At the epiphania, or bright shining, of the Lord’s manifestation, God will have completed his present work of directing the church, and the world will be informed that they are under a different dispensation. When the world shall have come to understand the matter fully, they will know the truth of our Lrod’s words, in his last prayer with his disciples, that the Father loves the church as he loves the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a very astounding statement. It shows that there is nothing selfish in our Lord. He did not say, ‘They will always be inferior to me. They will never have the glory that I shall have.’ "On the contrary, the Lord Jesus knows that the heavenly Father will exercise his love along the lines of principle, character. And all who will be members of the same glorious company must have the same glorious character that our Lord had; that is to say, they must be loyal to the core. They must have demonstrated that they loved righteousness and hated iniquity. We read, ‘Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, bath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows’ (Hebrews I:9). So he was anointed to be the Head of the church class. But the church class are declared in this Scripture to be his associates.... We understand that the church will be on the same plane with her Lord Jesus. Nevertheless, we are to keep in mind that God ‘made him to be Head over all—God blessed forever!’ (Romans 9:5) The church will never be on an equality of position with Christ.

 

"This is very wonderful to us, that our heavenly Father should love us as he loved Christ, that the Lord would love the jewel, in the mire or wherever it might be found! The Lord Jesus has been selecting these characters out of the mire of human sin. And those who prove to be of the ‘more than conqueror’ class—loyal as the Lord Jesus was loyal—the Father will love as he loved the Lord Jesus, and will glorify them with his Son.’

 

"‘When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee!’ Sure and sweet and all-sufficient

 

Shall his presence be. All God’s billows overflowed him In th’ great Atoning day; Now he only leads thee through them—With thee all the way." ‘13-R5359

 

Revelation 6

 

3  And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.

 

Revelation 6:3 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 3. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast living one say, Come and see.

 

So the time came to open the work of the second, or Smyrna period. The word Smyrna means "bitter," which well applies to this time of persecution of the true church by the heathen Roman Government, from about 150 A.D. to 799 A.D., the time of Pergamos or earthly elevation. This period takes in the Permission of Evil and it is wisdom speaking.

 

"While Love is a controlling principle in the divine government, it can operate only in harmony with Justice and Wisdom... when Love should in due time provide a ransom and a resurrection... favors of restitution and everlasting life... the great time of trouble... followed by full and clear manifestations of God’s love and favor in Christ and the glorified church during the Millennial age—Ro 1:18 ...

 

"Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee (and awake out of the sleep of Adamic death—compare Joh 5:28,29 Job 14:14,15).

 

"Elibu, whose name signifies God himself, in Job 33:23,24, shows the one thing necessary to man’s recovery from the power of death, and his restoration to divine favor, saying... Release him from going down to the grave; I HAVE FOUND A RANSOM.’ "This is indeed the case with man, God’s wisdom and justice cannot be impugned. The sentence of death is justly upon all men through father Adam {Ro 5:12}. But God has provided us a Redeemer, Christ Jesus our Lord; and he in harmony with the Father’s plan, became a man, and then gave himself a ransom-price for all by paying the deathpenalty that was upon Adam. And as soon as the bride, otherwise called his body and the temple, is complete, this great Mediator will stand forward to declare his righteousness as for, or applicable to, every one who will accept it.

 

"Then will follow restitution, as pictured in verses 25 and 26 {Job 33}. Physically, these for whom the Mediator stands shall be restored to a perennial youth, in which death and decay will find no place. They shall find acceptance and communion with God in joy and peace; and he will restore them to the original perfection, lost through sin in Eden. But an acknowledgment that God is just, and that the restitution was unmerited will be required. This is indicated by verses 27, 28: ‘He will chant it before men, and say: I have sinned and perverted the right; and it was not requited me. He has redeemed my soul from going into the pit and my life that it may be brought to the light.’ "‘ 14-R5402 c2. Please see A62-A63.

 

"Love led to the whole redemptive plan. It was because God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten Son to redeem it by paying to Justice the ransom-price. So Love has been active, preparing for the redemption ever since sin entered; yes, from ‘before the foundation of the world’—1Pe 1:20 140 ‘Love first contrived the way To save rebellious man.’ "When the Atonement Day sacrifices (bullock and goat) are complete, Love tarries to see the results of its plan. When the blood is sprinkled Justice cries, It is enough; it is finished! Then comes the moment when Love and Power may act, and swiftly they wing their flight to bless the ransomed race. When Justice is satisfied, Power starts upon its errand, which is co-extensive with that of Love, using the same agency—Christ, the Ark or safe depository of divine favors." T126. Please note "Wisdom" personified by Jesus in Pr 8 and verses 22-30. "Wisdom is justified of her children." Mt 11:19 Lu 7:35 Eph 3:9,10.

 

OUR SUFFICIENCY IS OF GOD—IN CHRIST JESUS CHRIST OUR WISDOM

 

"Christ Jesus, who OF God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness (justification), and sanctification, and redemption (deliverance): he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord"—1 Cor. 1:30.

 

"‘ Wisdom is the principal thing:’ ‘With all thy getting get understanding,’ thus wrote the wise man, Solomon, and so we all agree: wisdom is necessary at the very beginning of any matter that would result favorably... How important, then, that we discriminate as between the true wisdom and that which is so frequently misnamed wisdom, which is really folly!

 

”Notwithstanding the fact that those who accept... Christ as their wisdom makes them really wiser than others—not only in respect to the greater riches which they are laying up in heaven, but also wiser in respect to the most ordinary affairs of this present life. This is... because submitting their judgments on every subject to the will of the Lord, and walking according to his directions in every matter and in every particular, they have his wisdom, his spirit,  to guide them. Hence, altho their own minds are imperfect and unbalanced, as much or more than the average of the race, the Apostle is able to say of such, ‘God bath given us the spirit of a sound mind"—2 Tim. 1:7...

 

"Let us remember well this analysis of the wisdom that comes from above—James 3:13-18.

 

"First, It is pure,  guileless, sincere, honorable, open above board... honest...

 

"Secondly, It is peaceable... but purity first.

 

"Thirdly, It is gentle... Nevertheless, its gentleness follows its purity and peaceableness... sanctified with the truth...

 

"Fourthly, It is full of mercy and good fruits:... sure to proceed from the heart in which rules the spirit of love, honesty, purity, peaceableness and gentleness... The mercy of the spirit of wisdom can only exercise itself upon the unintentional wrong-doers, or the ignorant wrong-doers.

 

”Fifth, Without partiality (which would signify injustice)... no respecters of persons except as character shall demonstrate real value... It is impartial and loves that which is pure, good, peaceable, gentle, true, wherever found and under whatever circumstances it exhibits itself.

 

"Sixth, It is without hypocrisy... And it is bound to be out of harmony, out of sympathy and out of fellowship with all that is sinful; and in fellowship and in sympathy with all that is pure or that is making for purity and peace and gentleness—so that it has no room for hypocrisy.

 

"Let us, dearly beloved, as children of God, more and more fully accept Christ as our wisdom, for all the affairs of life—little as well as great, temporal as well as spiritual. Let us seek to be more and more filled with the spirit of true wisdom that cometh from above, whose ultimate teaching is ‘Holiness to the Lord.’ "‘ 98-R2262, R2263. Please see Lev. 8:9; T30 p 1, (29 p 5).

 

"All of the Lord’s consecrated people should realize that they have come into the present grace and truth, not by their own wisdom nor by the wisdom of others, but through the wisdom and grace of the Lord." ‘03-R3278.

 

"Grace sufficient to keep us from falling and to present us blameless in His presence, even in this ‘evil day’ is provided, but in such manner as to fully test the thoroughness of our consecration." ‘85-R806.

 

Revelation 6

 

4  And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

 

Revelation 6:4 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 4. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

 

Now the doctrines are red, which indicate sin or evil; not that they are right, but the true church has become the nominal church. Many members were only Christian in name, but had joined for evil or selfish purposes. The doctrines now divided the church, and peace was taken from the earthly condition of the poor church, and a great sword, partly ecclesiastical and partly civil, began to slay, literally, or to reduce membership.

 

"I remember a gentleman who called on me; he was not a minister, but had been educated for the ministry; he was a printer, and had been doing some work for us, and incidentally talking about the matter, he said, ‘Mr. Russell, how does it come that you seem to be trying so hard to tear down all our churches?’ "Why, my brother, you have misunderstood the matter. I am not trying to tear down the churches.’

 

"You are not?’

 

"No. "" What does it mean that we are printing so many of these tracts and booklets, etc., and what our shop is doing is very little compared to what other shops are printing for you; you are printing thousands and millions of tracts that are going all over the world. What does it mean if you are not trying to pull down the churches?’

 

"Why, this is what it means: In the first place, we do not want to pull down the churches; we want them to keep a tight band about all the tares, and hold them in there. If all of the tares got out, they would get in with us; we don’t want any of them; what we are looking for, my brother, is to get the wheat, so we look wherever we can and hunt for all the heads of wheat, and try to get them. You will never miss them, they are few; you will never miss them out of any of the bundles: so don’t you be afraid, my dear brother; the distributing of a lot of tracts does not mean we think that we are going to get a whole lot of people... not very many

 

141 wise, or learned, and not many all together... all of the wheat, and you will not have a single grain left; but you won’t miss them very much, because they are in the minority now, and you think them very odd, peculiar people, and you had better be rid of them maybe, and we just want those.’ "He said, ‘If that is all you are after, why do you make such a stir, and spread the thing around so?’ "I said, ‘I will tell you: that is the question, we do not know who the wheat are, and the only way for us to do is to take in everything, everywhere, so that we will be sure to reach the wheat in some way. If we only knew the wheat, we would not bother one of the others at all; we would take the truth right to the wheat; but we do not know the wheat; the Lord has kept that secret from us. The Lord knoweth the wheat, and He is going to guide the matter.’ "We think that is the reason the Lord allows us now to do the reaping work; it is necessary in His plan and it is necessary for our development; that we should not only have the opportunity of doing something in the Lord’s service, but see the reason for it." CRS 25

 

THE GREAT SHEPHERD AND HIS SON, THE GOOD SHEPHERD—John 10:1-16 "The Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”

 

"David, the Psalmist, wrote prophetically, ‘Jehovah is my shepherd; I shall not want’ {Ps 23}; for in David’s day the arrangements for the Shepherd and the flock Qf this lesson had not been completed... The Heavenly Father had... not yet sent his only begotten Son, the Good Shepherd, to give his life for the sheep, to call the flock, to open the door and to lead them out and into pasturage and to rest...

 

"At the time of the giving of this parable our Lord was laying down his life, and at the same time uttering his voice, that the true sheep might learn to know him. And not only will all the true sheep learn to know the Shepherd, but, precious thought! the Shepherd knoweth his own sheep individually, so that he calleth each by name as he leads them out. This suggests to us the intimacy of the relationship between Christ and each member of his flock...

 

"The link between the Shepherd and the sheep... is love. The Shepherd loves the sheep, and has demonstrated this in having laid down his life for them; and the sheep speedily learn to love the Shepherd, as their care-taker; they recognize him through his voice—the Word of God. This voice appeals to the hearts of all the true sheep, who quickly respond, ‘Never man spake as this man.’ "The voice of the good shepherd is a blending of various sounds in a manner in which they are blended by no other voice. His voice sounds forth the chord of justice commingled with the chord of love, and the whole intoned with wisdom and with power.

 

"Other theories, plans and schemes of men and devils, have no such harmony of sound as has the message which the great Shepherd has sent us through his Son.

 

"His voice speaks to us of a just penalty for sins—death; it speaks of love, in our redemption and the forgiveness of our sins, and the opening to us of the way of life, through resurrection. This ‘word of grace’ constrains all the true sheep as no other message or voice could do. Moreover, when the true sheep hear the voice of the Good Shepherd, it satisfies their longings as nothing else could do. They will no longer be in danger of being attracted by other sounds or voices, theories or schemes, but will reply to all.

 

‘Jesus has satisfied; Jesus is mine.’ "There are many false voices in the world today... sounded in deceptive tones, to imitate the Shepherd’s call to draw away sheep after those who would be shepherds, but whom the great Shepherd has not appointed... but we have the Good Shepherd’s word for it, that his true sheep will not be deceived by any of these... The Lord’s true sheep, whom he knows by name and who follow him, will not heed the voice of strange shepherds, but will flee from them. They... will flee from the voice of error..." ‘00-R2672.

 

GOD’S LOVE FOR ISRAEL

 

"I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love"—Hosea 11:4.

 

THE LORD LOVED THEE

 

"Love is the keynote of the Bible, notwithstanding the fact that it contains threatenings as well as promises, and declarations and manifestations of justice as well as of mercy. If God’s character were devoid of justice—if his love should override his justice—it would be a terrible calamity for all those dependent upon him. It would testify weakness of character instead of strength. It is the fact that God’s wisdom, justice, love and power operate in full harmony—in coordination—that gives us admiration for him, confidence in him, love for him; and all these appreciations are intensified as we realize his unchangeableness.

 

"From the beginning God foreknow his plan as we see it gradually ripening. He foreknow that man, allowed to take his course, would fall deeply into sin and be overwhelmed in its penalty, death. He foreknow his own purpose to provide in due time the Lamb of God as a ransom-sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. He foreknow the ultimate blessing of all the families of the earth, purposing that the glorified Redeemer should be the deliverer of mankind. He foreknew and arranged a thousand years of restitution work, when under Messiah’s glorious kingdom all mankind should be brought to a full knowledge of God and a full opportunity for returning to all that was lost in Eden, all that was redeemed at Calvary; and when the ultimately rebellious should be destroyed. He foresaw from the beginning the glorious result when every knee would be bowing and every tongue confessing the glorious work of Messiah’s kingdom. This entire program was to be of the Father and through the Son—1Co 8:6.

 

"It was incidental to this great plan that God foresaw the wisdom of having a saintly company associated with Jesus in the great work of his Millennial kingdom, which is to govern and bless thousands of millions. God determined to have two saintly companies. One class was to be of the earth, earthy, samples of what mankind might all eventually attain to through the assistance of the kingdom. The other class of saints, still more highly exalted, were to be the bride of Messiah and his joint-heir in the kingdom on the spirit plane.

 

142 God could have filled these honorable positions with angels, who would have been glad of the opportunity of thus serving. However, instead, he chose to gather these companies from amongst men—from amongst the sinners themselves.

 

"... During the thousand years of the kingdom, as the Scriptures declare, all nations shall bless themselves in becoming Abraham’s seed—in coming into relationship with the kingdom, which will have an Israelitish basis {Jer 4:2 Isa 65:16 Ge 12:3}. Eventually, all will be destroyed who do not thus become true Israelites. Thus Abraham’s seed will eventually include all the families of the earth—all for whom God has provided life eternal. As for Gentiles—strangers from God—none will remain.”‘15-R5809, R5810.

 

Revelation 6

 

5  And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.

 

Revelation 6:5 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verses 5-6. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and, lo, a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.6And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts "Zoon," living ones—Diag., RV say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

 

The third seal covers or uncovers the Pergamos period of "earthly elevation," beginning in 799 A.D. The attribute speaking here is Justice. The balances are dividing between members and non members of the Bride, as wheat or not wheat; also between doctrines, true or false. The black doctrine, or what made it so black, was in regard to the union of church and state, which gave the pope the use of the sword of the state to punish heretics (?). The relative value, or numerical results, are shown by one of wheat to three of barley. There was also a caution in regard to the holy spirit and the doctrines, both of which were grossly disregarded. See Rev. 4:7.

 

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report—if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things"—Phil. 4:8.

 

JUSTICE SHOULD BE THE RULE OF OUR LIVES.

 

"Justice should be the rule of our lives, of our conduct... We should think of the good things, the higher things, the happier things; not only the good things of this life, but the blessed things of the life to come; and thus have our minds running along the lines of justice at all times." ‘11-R4827.

 

"But though the ransom-price has been given by the Redeemer only a few during the Gospel age have been made righteous—justified—’through faith in his blood.’ But since Christ is the propitiation (satisfaction) for the sins of the whole world, all men may on this account be absolved and released from the penalty of Adam’s sin by Him—under the New Covenant." Please see A156, A157.

 

"The completeness of the ransom is the very strongest possible argument for the restitution of all mankind who will accept it on the proffered terms (Rev. 22:17)." A157.

 

"As Moses mediated the typical Law Covenant, so the antitypical Moses, the Christ, will put into operation the New Covenant with Israel. The Mediator will stand between God and the world, and will for a thousand years shield the peoplefrom the requirements of absolute justice;  that through him Divine mercy may extend through Israel to all, for their blessing and uplifting to perfection." CR98 p 1.

 

"The harvest work is great, the laborers are few, the Master has consented that we may serve! What a privilege is ours!" CR102.

 

"And over it (the Ark of the Covenant) the cherubims of glory shadowing the Mercy Seat (Hilasterion): of which we cannot now speak particularly"—Hebrews 9:5.

 

"The Apostle Paul uses the Greek word for Mercy Seat or Propitiatory (hilasterion) when referring to our Lord Jesus, saying—‘Whom God bath set forth to be a Propitiatory* (or Mercy Seat)... to declare his righteousness... that he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus’ {Ro 3:25,26}. The Justice, the Wisdom, the Love, and the Power are God’s own as well as the plan by which all these co-operate in human salvation: but it pleased God that in his well beloved Son, our Lord Jesus, all of his own fullness should dwell, and be represented to mankind. Thus in the type the High Priest coming forth from the Most Holy, was the living representative of Jehovah’s Justice, Wisdom, Love, and Power to men—the living representative of divine mercy, forgiveness, appeasement. Although the divine being is veiled, hidden from human sight his divine attributes are to be displayed to all men by our great High Priest, who, as the living Mercy Seat, will at the close of this age draw nigh to mankind and make all to understand the riches of divine grace.

 

"The two cherubim represented two other elements of Jehovah’s character, as revealed in his Word, viz., divine Love and divine Power. These attributes, Justice, the foundation principle, and Love and Power of the same quality or essence, and lifted up out of it, are in perfect harmony. They are all made of one piece: they are thoroughly one. Neither Love nor Power can be exercised until Justice is fully satisfied. Then they fly to help, to lift up and to bless. They were on the wing, ready, but waiting; looking inward toward the ‘Mercy Seat,’ toward Justice, to know when to move... It was Justice that said: ‘The wages of sin is death.’ When, therefore, the High Priest would give a ransom for sinners, it is to Justice it must be paid. Hence the appropriateness of the ceremony of sprinkling the blood upon the ‘Mercy Seat’—the propitiatory. " T 124 p 3, T125.

 

"Those who know the testimony of God’s Word recognize its statements to be that ‘Christ died for our sins’; that he ‘died the just for the unjust, to bring us to God’; that ‘he is the propitiation* (hilasmos— satisfaction) for our sins’...‘ and by his stripes (the things which he suffered in our stead—self-denial even unto death) we are healed.’ What harmony and consistency is seen in this Scriptural view of matters; and how utterly inconsistent are the unscriptural delusions of Satan, handed us by tradition and popularly received!—1 15:3 1Pe 3:18 1 John2:2; Isa 53:5,6." E 441, E442.

 

143 JUSTICE—RIGHTEOUSNESS—THE FOUNDATION OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER

 

"To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice." "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams"—Proverbs 21:3 1Sa 15:22.

 

"To do justice is to do that which is just, right, equitable; to do judgment would be to render righteous decisions in the mind, to decide justly...

 

"Before we can make much development in the cultivation of sacrificial love, we must learn to have a love of justice, righteousness...

 

"Obedience is a duty toward God. We ought to obey God. To his creatures God’s will is law. This is duty of the very highest type ... Obedience is a prime requisite... the earnest endeavor to be in harmony with that law of God. Then consecration to sacrifice is in order...

 

"God’s law demands justice... Comingdown to the ordinary affairs of life, we see that justice should be the very foundation of everything ... In Christian character justice, obedience to God’s law, comes first; mercy and benevolence come afterwards. We do not know of a principle that the Lord’s people need to learn more particularly than this one of Justice... As justice is the foundation of God’s throne and of God’s character, so justice must be the foundation principle governing the lives of his people.

 

THE OBEDIENCE OF THE CHRIST

 

"The lesson of obedience is one which should be deeply engraved upon the hearts of all the sanctified in Christ Jesus... Whoever has the true spirit of obedience will not only obey the expressed commands of the Lord, given in his Word, but will seek to know the divine will in everything... be very diligent to build character in harmony with his law, having justice in thought, in word and in deed at the foundation, justice in our relationship to God, to the brethren and to all, and then building thereupon all the various qualities of love, that thus we may grow up into Christ our living Head in all things, and be able to render up our account at last with joy and not with grief. "‘ 14-R5430, R5431.

 

LOVE AND JUSTICE

 

"Justice... is declared to be the very foundation of God’s throne. It is the principle which underlies all his dealings with all his creatures: it is his unchangeable business principle. And how firmly he adheres to it is manifest to every one acquainted with the plan of salvation, the first step of which was to satisfy the claims of justice against our race.

 

*"Two Greek words are rendered ‘propitiation.’ Hilasmos is correctly rendered ‘propitiation’ in two texts {1Jo 2:2 4:10}, but hilasterion is incorrectly rendered ‘propitiation’ in Rom. 3:25: it signifies propitiatory, i. e.,  place of satisfaction or propitiation. The ‘Mercy Seat’ or covering of the Ark of the Covenant was the place of making satisfaction—the propitiatory or hilasterion;  but the Priest in sprinkling the blood of atonement, the blood of the sin-offering, on the hilasterion accomplished hilasmos, i. e.,  he made satisfaction or propitiation for the sins of the people." E.442, Chapter 15

 

Though it cost the life of his only begotten and well beloved Son to do this, so important was this principle that he freely gave him up for us all—to satisfy its legal claims against us.

 

"The principle of love, unlike that of justice, overflows with tenderness and longs to bless. It is full of grace, and delights in the bestowment of favor. It is manifest, however, that no action can be regarded as a favor or a manifestation of love, which has not underneath it the substantial foundation of justice.’

 

"Justice fills the measure full, but love shakes it, presses it down, heaps it up and overflows justice. It is therefore something not to be demanded, nor its lack to be complained of, but to be gratefully appreciated as a favor and to be generously reciprocated. Every one who craves it at all should crave it in its highest sense—the sense of admiration and reverence. But this sort of love is the most costly, and the only way to secure it is to manifest that nobility of character which calls it forth from others who are truly noble.

 

"The Psalmist says, ‘Oh, how love I thy law (the law of love, whose foundation is justice): it is my mediation all the day’ (Psa. 119:97). Surely, if it were the constant meditation of all, there would be fewer and less glaring mistakes than we often see. Let us watch and be sober that the enemy may not gain an advantage over us." ‘93-R1534, R1535.

 

Revelation 6

 

6  And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

 

Revelation 6

 

7  And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.

 

Revelation 6:7 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 7. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast Zoon, living one, say, Come and see.

 

The fourth seal has to do with Thyatira, "sweet perfume of a sacrifice," whose experiences were so severe as to give to the next period the name of Sardis, "that which remains." The sweet perfume is the love shown by the sacrificers, and the great reward God has for the overcomers. The attribute is love.

 

"John 3: 16 suggests the cost of the world’s salvation to our heavenly Father. His only begotten Son was the delight and treasure of his heart; and all the painful process of his humiliation and sacrifice even unto an ignominious and cruel death were at the expense of the fondest affection of him who loves as never man loved. With the assurance of this example of divine love for our race, the Apostle Paul (Rom. 8:31-39) would further encourage our faith, saying, ‘He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" ‘94-R1696, ‘95-R1833, Proverbs 8:22-31 "To continue in the light and truth and blessing necessitates character-development, for the privilege of the light of knowledge is God’s reward for purity of heart, of intention, of endeavor. So may we come into Christ and abide in him and bring forth much fruit." ‘11 R4885.

 

JUSTICE, EQUITY, A CHRISTIAN QUALITY

 

"We are exhorted to ‘seek judgment (always be on the side of right and justice, desiring to do justice to all with whom we have dealings):... to recognize the basic principles underlying the divine laws, which apply to us from the moment we are adopted into the Lord’s family. The first of these basic principles is justice...

 

144 "We must learn to esteem love as next to justice in importance in the divine code. By love we mean not amativeness nor soft sentimentality, but that principle of kindness, sympathy, consideration and benevolence which we see manifested in our Heavenly Father and in our Lord Jesus. These two basic principles must cover all of our conduct in life. "" If justice must mark our conduct toward others, so love must be used by us in measuring the conduct of others toward us. We may not apply to others the strict rules of justice which we acknowledge as our responsibility to them. Love, generosity demand that we accept from others less than justice, because we realize that they are fallen, imperfect, not only in their flesh but also in their judgments...

 

"How clearly the Master sets forth these conditions, urging upon us the Golden Rule as the measure for our conduct toward others, and that in measuring their conduct toward us we shall be as generous as we shall wish our Lord to be in his judgment of ourselves, in harmony with his statement, ‘With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged.’ A right appreciation of these basic principles, justice and love, by the Lord’s people, and worked out in the daily affairs of life, would lift them above the world. It would save many an altercation, many a law suit, many a quarrel, and would make of the Lord’s people shining examples of kindness, generosity, love, and at the same time examples of justice, right living, sterling honesty, etc.

 

"Thus appreciating our standing, relationship and favors, we are to enter willingly and obediently into all the good will of God, seeking to cultivate in ourselves the principles of his righteousness—justice and love... Thus it is fulfilled:... ‘all things are ours, for we are Christ’s and Christ is God’s.’ "‘ 04-R3453, R3454.

 

"The measure of our appreciation of divine love will be the measure of our zeal in conforming our characters to the divine pattern... What a wonderful test this is!...”"The Apostle Paul counsels, ‘Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves’—2 Cor. 13:5.

 

"Yet we are not to understand that one could have a knowledge of the deep mysteries of God without having been begotten by the holy Spirit of love; for the deep things of God knoweth no man, but by the Spirit of God; but one might lose the spirit before losing the knowledge it brought him. In the measure of character, therefore, we are to put Love first, and to consider it the chief test of our nearness to and acceptance with the Lord." ‘11-R4917.

 

"Keep yourselves in the love of God"—Jude 21.

 

"The exceeding great and precious promises of God, by which these are called or begotten, are incorruptible seed and wherever retained and nourished will develop into being of the divine nature" (1Pe 1:23 and 2Pe 1:4—R1642).

 

THE DEPTHS OF GOD s MERCY Ge 18:16-33: "Abraham’s solicitude was not for the wicked but for the righteous... all who in every place love righteousness and hate iniquity... ‘Shall the righteous suffer as the wicked?’ was his plea... When Abraham subse quently heard the result of the disaster—that only his nephew Lot was found a righteous man, and that the Lord delivered the one from destruction... it must have brought a blush to his cheek—to think that he had questioned the justice of God... when here he beheld God’s loving mercy even to the extent of delivering the one righteous person and some of his dear ones. Thus it is with us all: we are finding continually that the ‘heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind’; that in our poor, imperfect, fallen condition we have no measures that will reach to those lengths and breadths and heights and depths of the love of God, which passeth all understanding. Truly, as the Word declares, ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my plans loftier than your plans.’

 

A RANSOM FOR ALE TO BE TESTIFIED

 

"By divine arrangement ‘Jesus Christ by the grace of God tasted death for every man’—’gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.’ Thus we see that he paid the penalty for the Sodomites and for all the rest of us—the death penalty... ‘God bath appointed a day (the Millennial age) in the which he will judge the world in righteousness (grant the world a fair trial that will take cognizance of these weaknesses and frailties through the fall) by that man whom God bath ordained’—Jesus and his church, his bride—Acts 17:31"... ‘07-R3948.

 

"No power in the universe is able to cope with our God." ‘14-R5539.

 

"Love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up"—1 Cor. 13:4.

 

"Have I the love that is humble... that tends to modesty, that... would do the same if no one saw or knew but God only; that boasts NEITHER of its knowledge NOR of its graces,  but in humility acknowledges that every good and perfect gift comes from the Father? And do I make return to Him in love and service for every mercy?... The spirit of the Lord is the spirit of a sound mind, which not only seeks generously to esteem others, but also soberly to estimate one’s self, and not to think too highly of his character and attainments. "‘ 11-R4918.

 

"If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love"—John 15:10.

 

"Our Lord’s statement of these commandments briefly comprehends them all in one word, love—love for God, and love for our fellows. Without this quality or characteristic, of love, being so developed in us as to be the controlling influence of our minds, we cannot hope to abide in the Lord’s favor...

 

"Love would necessarily mean the according of justice; because the law or requirements of the Lord are based upon justice, ‘the foundation of his throne.’... We owe him love, devotion, appreciation, because of what he has done and promises yet to do for us. Justice calls for our loving, reverential obedience to the Lord ... Justice, as well as respect for our Heavenly Father’s regulations, calls on us to do right to our neighbor—to do toward him as we would have him do toward us. This is not more than absolute justice, and yet it is the very essence and spirit of the divine law of love. But while justice is the first feature of the com 145 mandment of love, it is not the end of its requirements: it requires that going beyond strict justice, our love shall prompt us to the exercise of mercy and forgiveness. And in thus exercising mercy, we are again but copying divine love; for our Heavenly Father not only deals with all his creatures according to justice, but going beyond the lines of justice, in great compassion and mercy he provided in Christ Jesus a Redeemer for sinners...

 

"As we look back at the beautiful character of our Lord Jesus and see his love for righteousness, for truth, and his willingness to be obedient to his Father’s arrangements—even unto death—we can perceive readily that our dear Master had a love for the principles which lie back of the Father’s commandments. He obeyed the Father, not through restraint, not through fear, but from a perfect love... His sentiment was, ‘I delight to do thy will, O my God, thy law is in my heart’ (Psalm 40:8).

 

”When we consider ourselves, how weak and imperfect we are... we never could accomplish such a great transformation from selfishness to love, in our own strength. ‘02-R3020, R3021.

 

"Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these "by obedience to them" ye might be partakers of the Divine nature..." 2Pe 1:4,5,8 ("Oh, how wonderful the great Creator!"—R3059).

 

"The clearness of our comprehension of the promises is to us the power of God working in us to strengthen us and to enable us to overcome present obstacles and trials. The exceeding great and precious promises are unfolded to us gradually, as we prove faithful and go on, in order that by these—by the strength and courage which they infuse—we may be enabled so to run as to obtain the prize." C220 p 2.

 

"The steady persistent cultivation of these graces of character will also clarify our spiritual vision, enabling us the more fully to comprehend the Truth of God.... (’95-R1859 c 2).... Eph. 3:18... To appreciate with all saints, the principles underlying and constituting the divine law of love.

 

"Concessions of principles... are not permissible to anyone under any circumstances. And we are to rejoice in every experience in life—its trials, difficulties, sorrows, disappointments, etc., no less than in its pleasures, if by any or all of these means the Lord shall instruct us and give us clearer insight into our own deficiencies, and a still clearer insight into that perfect law of liberty and love which he has established, and to which he requires our full and loyal heart submission." ‘02-R3020 to R3022.

 

Revelation 6

 

8  And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

 

Revelation 6:8 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 8. And I looked, and behold a pale horse; and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts ttherion, a wild beast] of the earth.

 

A pale horse tells the story of how the doctrines were becoming very weak, and were not being lived properly. And the council of judgment was set up in the Roman Catholic church, as it had become, which judgment was expressed as follows; Will you accept the dogma of the church, or go to the stake? The beasts of the earth refer to the sword of the state which the pope invoked to carry out the dictates or decisions of that council. See Rev. 9:5.

 

"And his name that sat on him was death, and hell (hades, oblivion) followed with him: and power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with the sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth"—Rev. 6:8.

 

At Anaheim Stadium thousands heard the statement that Jesus taught endless torment—"hell." Did Jesus so dishonor His beloved and infinite Father with this foul stain upon His righteous character? or is it the slander of blasphemous creeds? which pervert its solemn truths and make the Word of God seem to support false doctrines. The blessed old Book shall not be moved; but error must go down whether it be ignorantly or wilfully cherished. See Re 22:18,19.

 

"It would require a very strong imagination to harmonize this statement with the commonly accepted view that hades is a place of torment of such immense size as to be capable of receiving and torturing the billions of the earth’s population. Nor could any one see the slightest consistency in using a symbol representing such a place of torment riding on horseback. But the reasonableness of the symbols, death and the state of death, destruction,  oblivion, unconsciousness,  stalking through the earth and sweeping off large proportions of the human family, is entirely consistent. We content ourselves here with merely showing this reasonableness, without offering any explanation of the symbols." E 378, E379.

 

"The doctrine of everlasting torment which was engrafted upon the doctrines of the Christian church during the period of the apostasy, the great falling away which culminated in Papacy, sprang naturally from the Platonic doctrine of human immortality which paved its way, and was part of her scheme for raising money from her ignorant and deluded subjects.’

 

Did God create the perfect ("very good") man immortal, or did he die the promised penalty of death for the sin of disobedience? Let us see: "And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed (Naphach, inflated, blew) into his nostrils the breath (Neshamah, life power) of life (Caiyah, lives); and man became (It does not say, ‘And man received’) a living soul (Nephesh, sentient being, as other creatures; ‘a living being’—Leeser’s translation of Genesis 2:7). ‘The soul (the being) that sinneth it shall die {Eze 18:4,20}. ‘The wages of sin is death.’ "It is affirmed by Biblical scholars that there is no such word as the Orthodox connotation of ‘hell’ in the Hebrew language, in the Bible, or in any other book. This is confirmed by the revisors, who confess that the Hebrew word ‘sheol’ and the corresponding Greek word ‘hades’ have no such meaning and is a wrong translation.’

 

"Isaiah 28:15, 18 tells the false teachers what shall be the outcome of their ‘covenant with death’ and ‘agreement with hell.’ "But death was our penalty, and ‘he died for our sins,’ and ‘also for the sins of the whole world.’ {1Co 15:3 1Jo 2:2}.’

 

146 "I have found a ransom... the Man Christ Jesus who gave Himself a ransom (anti-lutron, corresponding price) for all to be testified in due time... I will ransom them from the power of the grave’

 

CATHOLIC, MILITANT, TRIUMPHANT

 

"Catholic signifies general, inclusive. It cannot properly be applied to any church except ‘The Church of the Firstborn, written in Heaven’ (Hebrews 12:23). The latest thought of Bible students is that the names Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, are not catholic,  but are names of divisions. Likewise the terms Church of England, Church of Germany, Greek Church, Church of Rome, are sectional names and not properly termed catholic.

 

"The term, Church Militant, signifies the Church at War. It was the wrong thought when the Church undertook to war with carnal weapons, either against nations or against heretics through the nations. She has no commission for such a warfare. It will be hers, eventually, to ‘bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron, and to execute the judgment written. This honor have all His saints.’ (Psalm 149:9) It will be hers eventually, when glorified, to sit with Christ in His Throne, and to exercise dominion over the nations, and to break them in pieces as a potter’s vessel (Revelalion 2:27). But all this will be beyond the First Resurrection in her Heavenly inheritance of Glory, Honor and Immortality.

 

"The Church’s warfare in the present time is to ‘fight a good fight of faith.’ It is an individual warfare in which the consecrated members of the Church must stand their ground, and do their battlings by the assistance of the Captain of their salvation, and the support of His Word. The brethren may greatly assist one another, building one another up in the most holy faith. Those who are faithful unto death will receive a crown of life, and a share with their Redeemer in His kingdom.

 

"The Church Triumphant will be invisible to men because in the First Resurrection and perfected on the spirit plane. As St. Paul declares, ‘We must all be changed, for flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.’ It will operate through earthly representatives, the Worthies of the past—Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets." The Photo-Drama of Creation Scenario, Page 93 (PD93).

 

"SUFFER THE WORD OF EXHORTATION" Eph 4:31,32: "... The victory over this evil disposition must be won; else we shall never be granted an entrance into the kingdom. The Lord is watching to see the zeal and earnestness with which we strive to put off these works of the fallen flesh, these evil traits of character. Knowing our own natural weaknesses, each of us is so to watch and guard himself, so to cry unto the Lord for help, so to fill his heart and mind with the Word of the Lord, that he may be kept pure and free from the alloy of sin.

 

AS YE WOULD THAT MEN SHOULD DO UNTO YOU

 

"The Lord’s Word admonishes us, ‘Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.’ No matter what provocation one may have had, he should see to it that the matter is settled as quickly as possible... Evil speaking is a more refined, a more subtle matter, more deceitful, more malicious... All such conduct should be put far away from the Lord’s children, from those who have taken God’s holy covenant upon themselves and who profess to be God’s ambassadors.

 

"We are not saying that there is no such thing as righteous anger, righteous wrath. ‘God is angry with the wicked every day.’ Even now his righteous wrath is kindled against the nations of the earth, and he is smiting them to their final overthrow... But God’s wrath, his anger, is always of a proper kind. It is not fleshly anger or bitterness. God is angry with wickedness, and this anger signifies that he will punish it. The Scriptures, however, never refer to the Lord as being bitter or malicious. God is love; he is patient, and good, even to the wicked. He does everything in justice and love.

 

"... We should properly feel a certain degree of anger against ourselves... but strive more and more carefully, with the Lord’s assistance, to overcome, endeavoring to learn a lesson from every mistake we make.

 

NEED FOR EARNEST HEART-SEARCHING

 

"Not having the right or the ability to judge the heart of another, we should be very slow to anger, and very careful how we express ourselves. We are to remember that only the Lord has the right to punish. The Lord’s people should strive against all these weaknesses, these blemishes, of the flesh, which are stimulated by the adversary and his hosts—anger, wrath, strife, malice, hatred. We should fear these things as we would a plague.

 

"What carefulness, what scrutiny of ourselves, what earnest prayer for help, this thought should bring!... Therefore our heart must be made and kept so loyal to Christ, so in tune with God’s holy Spirit, that it will not send forth any such bitter waters.

 

"The Psalmist says, ‘Let not an evil speaker be established in the earth.’ See also St. Paul’s counsel to Titus (3:2, 8), and to Timothy {1Ti 3:11}. Oh, that this spirit of love and kindness and consideration one for another might so richly dwell in every member of the church of Christ that each one would not only refrain from speaking evil of a brother or sister, but that it would give pain to hear a defamatory tale about any one, and particularly about a fellow-pilgrim in the ‘narrow way.’!

 

”... The mischief that can be done with the tongue is almost unlimited. How watchful and prayerful, then, we should be of our influence! We urge a careful rereading of Vol. 6, pp. 583-588, of Studies In the Scriptures. It is good that our pure minds be stirred up by way of remembrance. We believe that our time is short in which to complete our work of character structure. This should be impressed upon us more and more as we see one after another of the body members of Christ passing beyond the veil. Let us seek by prayer and by daily, yea, hourly effort, that we may in all things become copies of God’s dear Son, and hear, when our time shall come, the Master’s sweet ‘Well done!"‘ ‘16-R5973, R5974.

 

"Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always 147 behold the face of my Father which is in heaven"—Matt. 18:10.  "PROPHESY AGAINST THE SHEPHERDS"—Eze 34

 

"I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep"—verse 15.

 

"Not merely the shepherds, the pastors, the preachers, the ministers, are reproved by the Lord, but also some of his flock not in of ficial positions. In the Day of the Lord’s presence, these also will be dealt with, as we read: Ezekiel 34:17-22:... Ezekiel 34:23-25.

 

"... We see then that The Christ, Head and body—Jesus and the church—are to be the antitypical David, or Beloved of God, into whose care all who are His sheep or who desire to become his sheep during the Millennial age will be committed. ‘The wild beasts’ (Ezekiel 34:25—Leeser’s translation. See verses 5 and 8 Re 6:8), representing the evil-doers, those who will devour, destroy and do harm, will be caused to cease; and the whole world will become the fold’ {Eze 34:14}. No longer will there be need of making a special fold, building the fences against the enemies, for the sheep will be in a quiet and restful condition—’in the woods’ (Ezekiel 34:25).

 

"In other words, the close of the Millennium will witness what the Lord has declared, that nothing shall hurt nor destroy in all his holy kingdom (Isaiah 11:9). It will witness also what Jesus has declared; namely, that from that time onward, there shall be no more sighing, no more crying, no more dying, no more curse, because all the former things shall have passed away. "And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new’ (Revelation 21:3-5). Even Satan shall be bound, to deceive the world no more until Messiah shall have fully accomplished the work of perfecting the flock." ‘15-R5693, R5694.

 

Revelation 6

 

9  And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:

 

Revelation 6:9 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 9. And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:

 

Now the scene changes. No more do we hear the attributes speaking, but in this period we hear the cry of those being killed, How long, O Lord, how long? Please see Rev. 16:16 comment R5951; ‘16-R5874 c1 p 5, 6.

 

"There is a correspondence between the end of the Jewish age and the end of this Gospel age in this way: As expiation for the taking of the life of Jesus was required of the Jewish nation, so at the end of the Gospel age, the sacrificed life of the church will in a measure be required of nominal spiritual Israel." ‘13-R5256.

 

"Let us remember, too, that all kinds of blindness are more or less contagious and let us guard our spiritual sight as one of the most precious boons given of the Lord." ‘09-R4429.

 

"As Elijah was discouraged until the Lord gave him the vision showing how He ultimately would be revealed through the winds, the earthquake, the fire and the still, small voice, so it has been with the church. There was a time during which much discouragement was felt, until the Lord began to make clear the divine plan by which Messiah’s kingdom would be inaugurated. Seeing this plan, the Bible students are now lifting up their heads and rejoicing, as Jesus instructed, knowing that their deliverance will be inaugurated through the great time of trouble, of which they see only the beginning." ‘ 15-R5753.

 

‘... How LONG, O LORD...?’

 

"‘ Sorrowing most of all... that they would see his face no more ..." Acts 20:38. "Doubtless the Apostle consoled them with the reflection that the time of partings would soon be over and the blessed eternity of union and fellowship soon begin, when they would meet not only one another, but above all meet the Redeemer himself and all the faithful in Christ Jesus. So our Lord also expressed himself on this matter, ‘ a little while.’ The eighteen centuries intervening would have seemed a long while had they lived from then till now—but since their ‘sleep’ would be an unconscious interval, it was well that God kindly veiled their eyes and merely comforted them from his own larger standpoint of ‘soon,’ ‘quickly,’ ‘a little while.’ But now that the kingdom is nigh, even at the door, our hearts no longer cry, How long, O Lord? but, HALLELUJAH! THE DAY STAR IS RISEN—THE MORNING IS HERE!" ‘03-R3173.

 

"If anyone is guilty of the death of one of the Lord’s saintly ones, he brings himself under a special obligation and responsibility. There seems to be a special charge of justice against whoever is culpable, or responsible for the death or persecution of his saints. There is a suggestion along this line {Re 6:9,10}, where the souls of those who were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and the testimony of the Word of God are said to cry out, ‘How long! oh Lord, cost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth.’ This seems to symbolically picture, not the crying of an individual, for these individuals were dead and had no knowledge, no appreciation of the things at all—‘the dead know not anything’—but it was justice that cried, as in Abel’s case, after he was dead. It was the voice of Justice.

 

"That there has been quite a large class of this kind all through this Gospel Age of more than 1,800 years, will be freely admitted by all. Many suffered for the cause of righteousness, for the name’s sake of the Lord; and apparently the Lord purposes that in the end of this age he will do as he did in the end of the Jewish age—having a summing up or accounting, as it were, and a satisfaction of justice. This is not the satisfaction of Justice which Jesus will accomplish with the merit of his own blood, satisfying all claims that would come under the head of Adamic condemnation and weakness, but a satisfaction of Justice as respects these special trespasses against ‘the body of Christ, which is the church’—’Whosoever shall offend one of the least of these my little ones, it were better that a millstone were hanged about his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea. ‘"‘ 10-R4651.

 

"The martyrs of the past, ‘the souls under the altar,’ are represented symbolically as crying out for the vindication of justice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, cost thou not judge and avenge our blood upon them that dwell on the earth!’ They were bidden to wait until others of their brethren should be similarly killed, when the guilt of all will be avenged.—Rev. 6:9-11." ‘14-R5462, R5463.

 

Leviticus 16:28: "‘ And he that burneth them (the bullock and the goat of sin-offering) shall wash his clothes, and bathe

 

148 his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.’ "This seems to teach that those principally instrumental in reproaching, reviling, and destroying the hurnanit, v of Jesus (the bullock) and the humanity of his ‘little flock’ (the goat) will have no special punishment for it, because they do it ignorantly—at the same time accomplishing God’s plan. They may wash and be clean and come into the camp—i.e., into the same condition as the remainder of the world, all of whom are by heredity sinners, all of whom have been ransomed from Adamic depravity and death, and all of whom await the return of the great High Priest and the blessing then to be extended to all. Le 16,

 

Verse 26. ‘And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp.’ "This teaches the same lesson relative to those who will be instrumental in bringing the trouble and consequent destruction of the flesh upon the ‘great company’ represented by the ‘scape-goat.’ They will be obliged to obtain of the Lord special forgiveness for these wrongdoings, but eventually shall stand on the same footing as other men." T75-T76.

 

"Not only those who persecuted the Savior will be forgiven and be assisted back into harmony with God through him, but those, also, who have despised the royal priesthood and persecuted them unwittingly, will be mercifully dearth with. ‘Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, said, The Lord be glorified: (We do it for the good of the cause) but he shall appear for your joy, and they shall be ashamed.’ "The shame that will then come upon all who in the meantime had resisted the Lord’s choice for his kingdom class will be a sufficient penalty. After the shame and God’s forgiveness to all the willing and obedient, The Christ will bring blessings of ‘restitution, which God bath spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began’—Acts 3:21." ‘15-R5636.

 

"Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory"—Psalm 73:24.

 

"The humble and believing children of God will realize that while they may not be able at all times to understand the Lord’s ways in all his dealings, they can know of his wisdom, love, and care, and they can therefore trust him where they cannot trace him. We should not expect to be able always to comprehend the divine wisdom, which is so much beyond our own; yet... patiently... submitting without reserve to the providence of God, to the guidance with his counsel.

 

"... Why God permits the wicked so to triumph at the expense of the righteous, the Psalmist says {Ps 73:16,17}, ... speaking for... God’s children, that the problem was too difficult for him to solve until he went into the sanctuary of God (into the holy place of entire consecration to God, typified in ‘the holy’ of the Tabernacle. See Taberr acle Shadows of Better Sacrifices). There, being specially taught of God through his Word and his providence, we are made to understand the reason for the present perverse order of things—that for a wise purpose it is permitted for a time; but that by and by there will be a great change, when the righteous, now being tested and tried under the reign of oppression, will come forth to honor and glory and power... Psalm 73:24-26), ‘Thou shall guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth (the flesh is too weak and the heart too faint to pursue the course marked out for the righteous in this present evil day, except as strengthened and upheld by power from on high); but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.’ "‘ 93-R1562.

 

"I will go in the strength of the Lord God: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of shine only"—Psalm 71:16.

 

"The tears and sorrows and battlings in strife against the world, the flesh, and the devil are all very necessary in the present time; and we should neither hope nor expect to be crowned as victors without passing through such experiences. In the battle we learn not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think; we learn of our own weaknesses and imperfections and our need to walk closely with the Lord, if we would keep our garments unspotted from the world. We learn also to trust his grace, and that ‘our sufficiency is of God.’ We learn that ‘greater is he who is on our part than all they that be against us.’ We learn that the victory that overcometh the world is neither the strength and perfection of our flesh, nor merely the strong resolution of our minds, but the latter helped and strengthened by him who assures us that His strength can be perfected in our weakness. It is here that we learn that all things are working together for good to them that love God.

 

"We learn also to appreciate the whole armor of God: the value of the ‘helmet of salvation,’ the intellectual appreciation of the divine plan and promises (F 657-658); the value of the ‘breastplate of righteousness,’ Christ’s righteousness covering our most vital parts; the value of ‘the shield of faith,’ which is able to quench all the fiery darts of the adversary; and the invincible quality and sharpness of ‘the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God’; and to put on the preparation of the gospel in a meek, patient and quiet spirit, which, as sandals, permits us to pass over the sharpest difficulties of life successfully. In this conflict we learn to cultivate the graces of the spirit, through many trials and temptations; which though for the time being are not pleasant but grievous, nevertheless work out for all who are rightly exercised thereby, ‘a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." ‘97-R2195.

 

Revelation 6

 

10  And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

 

Revelation 6:10 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 10. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, cost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

 

This is during the period of Sardis: How long till thou shalt judge and avenge our death? All times and seasons are set by the Plan. See Re 16:14 17:3 11:5 and 22:20 comments.

 

"The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord"—Lamentations 3:25, 26.

 

149 "As the quality of justice will always persist, so will the quality of patience, though not in the sense of patient endurance of evil... and in the ages of glory to come God will, we believe, still work out his purposes in perfect patience, probably in worlds yet uninhabited.

 

"The time is coming when there will be no more sin. God will have a clean universe by and by. But he will first give everybody an opportunity to rise out of sin. If they will not avail themselves of the opportunity, then God’s patience, long-suffering, will cease to be operative toward such. This will not mean that God’s patience has ceased, but that its activity has ceased in that direction.

 

"God’s patience has arranged the thousand years of Messiah’s reign for man’s blessing, and his wisdom has decided that those thousand years will be sufficient for the elimination of evil." ‘15-R5650.

 

"Blessed was the promise to the early members of the Church, that He whom they saw go away should indeed come again; and blessed has been the hope of his appearing all through the age to the tried and persecuted, faithful ones, who anxiously looked for his coming until they fell asleep with the prospect of awaking in his likeness; but still more blessed are your eyes, O ye saints of today; for your eyes see and your ears hear the signs of the presence of the longlooked-for Hope of Israel." C303.

 

"It is written that obedience is better than sacrifice, and this being recognized, how careful it should make us to inquire what the will of the Lord is; to search the Scriptures, that we may there ascertain the Divine program, and be found in harmony therewith. There we find that the Lord’s present work is the completing of the Royal Priesthood, the Royal Judge, the Royal Prophet, the Royal Mediator, the Great King, for the world of mankind—for the world’s deliverance from the bondage of sin and death, and their assistance back to harmony with God...

 

"When will the world be converted? When will Christ ask for the heathen? When will the Father give them to Him? How long, O Lord? The Scriptural answer, dear friends, is, that it has pleased the Father to select the ‘jewel’ class during the Gospel Age by means which the world would think foolish—by means of the preaching of the good tidings. But His program for the future age is different...

 

"In the next age force will be... employed in putting down the reign of evil {Re 20:1-3}. Satan will not merely be requested to desist from deceiving the world, but will be bound for a thousand years, and be unable to deceive the nations. Likewise, mankind will no longer be invited to accept Christ, and to give their hearts in obedience to Him, but, on the contrary, they will be compelled to be obedient. As it is written, Php 2:10,11 Isa 11:9. All shall know him... (Jeremiah 31:34).

 

"Psalm 45:3-5 describes Messiah’s triumph in the Millennial Age, ‘Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most Mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. And in thy majesty ride prosperously in the cause of Truth and Meekness and Righteousness... Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the King’s enemies; whereby the ‘heathen’ (people) fall under thee.’ Here we have a picture of the conversion of the heathen as it will shortly be accomplished... We are to under stand this picture to signify our Lord’s triumphal conquering of the world, and that the arrows of truth which will go forth unto the whole world will reach the hearts of men, and smite them down. Even so we read that when St. Peter preached at Pentecost that the Jews had taken and crucified the Son of God, the hearers were cut to the heart with the lance of truth. Thank God for such arrows from the quiver of Divine wisdom, justice, love. We rejoice that the heathen will thus be conquered for the Lord, and thus eventually every knee bow and every tongue confess." Ps 2:8,9 Re 21:2,10 22:1,2,17 ; CR51.

 

MAKE SURE OF WINNING IN GOD’S ELECTION "Brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure"—2 Pet. 1:10.

 

AVENGE HIS OWN ELECT "Shall not God avenge his own elect,  though they cry day and night unto him? (Luke 18:7)." "Here our Lord himself testifies respecting this elect class... Verily, God the allwise, all-loving and alljust heavenly Father shall avenge the cause of his elect,  although he has permitted them to be maligned, slandered, misrepresented, for over eighteen centuries; the time will come when he will give them justice, when he will exalt them; and when those who have wilfully and maliciously injured them shall certainly be punished—in the great time of retribution in which every such evil deed of mankind shall be rendered a recompense, and every good deed receive its reward—in the Millennial day.’

 

Matthew 24:31: "Here our Lord... assures us that he himself will father this elect class in due time; in the end of this age when he is ready to establish his kingdom, in which, as the overcomers, the elect of God, they will be jointheirs and sharers, as in the present life they have been sharers in the sufferings of Christ—Rom. 8:17 2Ti 2:12 Mt 13:43. "‘ 05-R3586.

 

"First, Paul declares, ‘We must all be changed (the living no less than the dead saints): this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality; for flesh and blood cannot inherit incorruption.’ And this ‘change’ from mortality to immortality, he assures us, will not be accomplished by gradual development, but it will be instantaneous—’in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,’ under the sounding of the ‘last trump’—which is already sounding—1 Cor. 15:53, 50, 52.

 

THE CLEANSING OF THE SANCTUARY. 2300 Days—Dan. 8:10-26. C95-C97.

 

"We saw the identity of the presumptuous, peculiar ‘little horn’ of Da 7:8,11,20-26, with the ‘Man of Sin’ of 2Th 2:3, and with the ‘Abomination of Desolation’ foretold by our Lord in Mt 24:15; and also that the same papal power is referred to in Da 8:9,10,23-25 ... its rise, its character, the breaking of its crushing power, and its final complete destruction, which is yet future...

 

"Another prophecy points out distinctly the one special false doctrine, or fundamental error, which led to the full rejection of that system by our Lord, and made it in his sight the desolating abomination. The prophecy... shows, further, the time at which the true Church, the consecrated 150 class—the Sanctuary—will be cleansed of the abominable defilements introduced by Papacy... a date... at which the misappropriated ‘golden vessels,’ or precious truths, would begin to be restored to this holy or Sanctuary class.

 

"We quote from Da 8 10-26: "And it became great even unto (controlling) the host of heaven (the entire Church), and it caused some of the host and of the shining lights to fall to the earth, and trod them under foot. Yea, it magnified itself even up to the Prince of the host. (It assumed to itself honors and dignities, and applied to itself prophecies and titles, which belong to Christ Jesus, the true Chief or Prince or Head of the Church.) And it took away from him (Christ) the CONTINUAL SACRIFICE, through transgression; and it cast down truth to the ground, and its doings prospered.

 

"Then did I hear a certain holy one speaking, and a holy one said unto another, I know not to whom he was speaking: ‘For how long shall be the vision, concerning the continual sacrifice and the transgression that maketh desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?’ And he answered, ‘Until two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings (days), then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.’ "And it came to pass when I, even I, Daniel had seen the vision, that I sought to understand it; and... Gabriel ... came and stood near where I stood... and he said unto me, ‘Mark well, O son of man! because for the Time of the End is the vision.’ ... And he said, ‘Behold, I will make known to thee what is to come to pass to the end of these evil predictions; for it pertaineth to the appointed Time of the End.

 

"... There will arise a king (Papacy) of an impudent (or shameless) face, and understanding deep schemes. And his power shall be strengthened (made mighty), but not with his own force (Papacy strengthened itself by using the force of the various nations of Europe.). And he will destroy wonderfully, and do more than can be believed; and he shall destroy (or corrupt) the mighty ones and the holy (saintly) people. And by his cunning skill he shall cause deceit to prosper (him) in his power; and in his heart he shall magnify himself, and by prosperity shall he corrupt (destroy) many: he shall also stand up (as Antichrist) against the Prince of princes; and he shall be broken without hand... but shut thou up the vision, for it will be fulfilled after many days." C95-C97.

 

SOME BETTER THING FOR US

 

"And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. Therefore also we, being compassed about with so great a cloud of martyrs (Greek marturon— who so nobly witnessed for God and righteousness), let us (emulate them and) lay aside every weight and the sin which cloth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the (higher, heavenly) race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 11-12:2).

 

"Again referring to the ancient worthies and their faithfulness {Heb 12:18-24}, we are reminded of our much more favored position on the stream of time; for we are not approaching, as were they, the established typical kingdom of God under the typical mediator Moses, ; but, in point of time, we are approaching the glorious antitypes of that—the kingdom of Christ. How inspiring is this thought of the proximity in time to the glory of the kingdom!... And if this was true of the early church, how much more is it true of us who are living in the end, the ‘harvest’ of the age?

 

"The Apostle would also lead us to a fuller appreciation of the glory to be revealed in the setting up of the real kingdom—the antitype—by a reference to the glory that attended the setting up of even the typical kingdom, and the enunciation of its righteous code of divine law (Heb. 12:18-21; see also 2Co 3:7-11 Ex 19). That was a scene whose majesty and glory caused all Israel to fear and tremble; and even Moses said, ‘I exceedingly fear and quake.’ But, he says, that manifestation of glory was nothing in comparison to the glory that excelleth, which shall attend the setting up of the real kingdom. That will be the glorious New Jerusalem, the true Mount Zion, the city (government or kingdom) of the living God, the city for which Abraham looked afar off. It will be the general assembly of the church of the firstborn in the midst of a welcoming host, ‘an innumerable company of angels’... What a glorious prospect!... of solemn import." Please see ‘96-R2035.

 

Revelation 6

 

11  And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

 

Revelation 6:11 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 11. And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they, should be fulfilled.

 

And white robes were given them by faith; while alive in the flesh, or posthumously, according to the judgment: They shall walk with me in white for they are worthy; for the white linen is the righteousness of saints: their own, as new creatures in Christ.

 

"None can be perfectly just, perfectly wise, perfectly loving; to be so in our present imperfect condition is impossible.

 

"Therefore, in his wisdom and love, God avoids making his test along those lines in which we are absolutely incompetent, and makes it along the line of faith—in his wisdom, his love and his promises...

 

"God desires that truth and righteousness shall become integral parts of our characters and that the principle of Love shall dominate in everything...

 

"Our faith, looking out into the world, asks of the Lord, ‘When will the promised time come in which Thy will shall be done on earth as in heaven?’ The Scriptures reply that the glorious time for the blessing of the world will not come until the church shall have passed into glory; that Messiah will then reign for a thousand years in order to put down sin and opposition to divine arrangements and to uplift those who desire to come into harmony with God; and that in order to accomplish this work he will establish a government based upon the principles of righteousness. By faith we accept this answer, and await God’s due time for the blessing of all mankind. "‘ 12-R5115.

 

151 "Trust in the Lord with all shine heart; and lean not to shine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths"—Proverbs 3:5, 6.

 

"If at times we know not whether to turn to the right or to the left, know not wherein to walk, let us lift our hearts to the Lord, and wait before him, remembering the divine assurance, ‘Delight thyself in the Lord; and he shall bring it to pass.’ ‘In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths’ {Ps 37:4,5 Pr 3:6}. Thus his dear voice brings comfort, strength, rest, in the midst of all the cares and perplexities of the way. ‘As many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God!’—Gal. 6:16. ‘15-R5807.

 

"Jehovah is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? Jehovah is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" Psa. 27:1.

 

"This text suggests the proper frame of mind for all the Lord’s people who are now fighting the good fight of faith. Though the situation may look dark and dangerous, and though the foes may multiply and perplexities increase, it bids them fear not." ‘96-R2016.

 

"This consolation, variously expressed throughout the Scriptures, comes with all its blessed potency in our times of greatest need... Courage, born of faith and strengthened by endurance, cries with humble boldness in the midst of the deepest darkness of the most perplexing difficulties, and in the midst of the wildest storms and most threatening dangers, ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall we fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" ‘96-R1915.

 

"Let your minds be continually turned heavenward. However difficult and thorny the path may be, forget not thepriv ilege of walking in it... If our Lord had to be so severely tested to prove his worthiness of high exaltation, we should not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try us, as though some strange thing had happened unto us {1Pe 4:12}. We must ‘endure hardness as good soldiers,’ and wait patiently for ‘the glory which shall be revealed in us.’ And for our encouragement let us bear in mind the exceeding great and precious promises: ‘To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I overcame and am set down with my Father in his throne’;‘ Fear not, little flock; it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom’;‘ Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.’ Glorious, indeed, will be that... blessing when fully realized; and even now, as by faith the prospect of its inheritance looms up before us, we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, reckoning that the sufferings of this present time, for Christ’s sake, are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." ‘90-R1263.

 

"Let us be watchful, active, alert, and co-labor with God and with the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to consider the offer made to us—the great high calling—the most wonderful thing ever known in all creation! We shall never have another opportunity of showing God and our Lord Jesus our zeal for righteousness and our earnestness of spirit. The present opportunity is a special one. God has made it possible for all of us, who are in harmony with him, to grow in grace and in knowledge, and thus to be more intelligent in our service. And we are to pray in harmony with that intelligence.

 

"My soul, be on thy guard, Ten thousand foes arise; The hosts of sin are pressing hard To draw thee from the prize. "‘ 13-R5332.

 

"I wait for the LORD, my soul cloth wait, and in His Word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch wait for the morning"—Psalm 130:5, 6. How necessary is this patient waiting for the Lord!" Please see ‘95-R1759, R1760.

 

"Yes, the ‘brethren’ wait for the Lord himself, longing to see The King in his beauty—the fairest among ten thousand, the one altogether lovely. Yes, truly our souls ‘wait for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning.’ ‘

 

THE VALUE OF MODERATION

 

"Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand"—Phil. 4:5.

 

"Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong"—1 Cor. 16:13.

 

"The marvelous courage of the apostles was shown (Acts 4:1-31): ‘Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.’ "The Bible directs the followers of Jesus to be subject to the powers that be {Ro 13:1-7 1Pe 2:13-17}. But while seeking to be thus law-abiding in every respect, Christians are to recognize that there is a still higher law and a still higher Ruler, and are to be subject to the worldly powers only in the absence of a contrary admonition from the Higher Power—from God...

 

"Their courage was really authorized by the law; and the Sanhedrin, in forbidding them, went beyond its bounds...

 

"1 Corinthians 16:13 is properly an exhortation to all of God’s people everywhere to be faithful and loyal to God and his cause. Let us each apply it to himself: ‘Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.’ "" How much St. Peter crowded into a few words, according to this record (Acts 4:1-31)! He identified Jesus the Nazarene, the one who had been crucified, as the Messiah, the One whom God had approved, as was manifested in the raising of him from the dead." ‘16-R5839 to R5841 "Jesus says to all, ‘I am the way; I am the truth; I am the life.’ I am the only one through whom you can come to the Father and become his sons; and abiding in me will bring you the grand consummation.

 

THE CHANNEL OF ALL OUR BLESSINGS

 

"We perceive, then, that Christ is the sufficiency which God has provided for us in all respects. He of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness (justification), and sanctification, and redemption (deliverance)’ {1Co 1:30}. We first received, through learning of his sacrificial work on our behalf, necessary wisdom, instruction and guidance, by which we may through his merit come to the Father. And he is our wisdom all along the way. The heavenly Father had a glorious plan before the foundation of the world... In all these things Christ is the center; through

 

152 him alone can we obtain these blessings. While the Father gives them, they are given through his Son, who is the Father’s representative..." ‘14-R5507.

 

FLEEING FOR REFUGE—Joshua 20:1-9

 

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble"—Psalm 46:1.

 

"It is necessary that we continue to ‘abide in him’—that we do not put off the robe of Christ’s righteousness. If we leave the city of refuge—if we abandon our trust in the precious blood which cleanseth us from all sin, we become liable again to the demands of justice and that without mercy... The Apostle explains, ‘It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God’—to depart from Christ, to abandon the mercy and forgiveness which the Father has extended toward us, as culprits—through the Beloved One.

 

"How LONG?

 

"How long must we abide thus in the mercy of Christ and have no standing or liberty outside of his provision of refuge? We answer that we must thus abide ‘until the death of the high priest.’ This is already in a large measure accomplished—the Head of the antitypical high priest, our Lord and Master, already has finished the work that the Father gave him to do, and the members of the body of the high priest, his church in the flesh, are filling up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ, and soon the entire high priest, its every member, will have died. Then the new dispensation will be ushered in and no longer will we be obliged to own our own imperfection and the need of a covering before justice; from thenceforth having been made perfect by a share in the First Resurrection, having been made like our Lord and Master, we shall be presented before the Father blameless, unreprovable, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, without any vengeance against us on the part of divine justice.

 

"The entire arrangement is of God—Justice is the avenger of sin, and Christ is the refuge and deliverance...

 

"Brethren, let us make a firm resolve that in view of God’s goodness to us we will ever be faithful to him; let us fear him in the sense of reverencing his commands, in the sense of fearing to displease ONE who has been SO GRACIOUS to us." ‘02-R3093.

 

Revelation 6

 

12  And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

 

Revelation 6:12 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 12. And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;  

 

This is the sixth or Philadelphia period, the time of Luther and the great earthquake in Christendom, so called. Also it is the end of the Sardis period when hardly anyone was left to uphold the doctrines. And the sun of the Gospel Light became very dim; and the law of the Old Law Covenant, the moon, was considered bloody and barbaric.

 

”Dr. Martin Luther was the head of a Catholic College for the instruction of German youth for the priesthood. He had heard about the Bible, but like others for thirteen centuries before him, he trusted in the decisions of the various ‘Apostolic Councils’ of the Church—the various promulgated Creeds. These he believed to be Biblical.

 

"But one day he chanced to see a Latin copy of the New Testament. His curiosity led him to read it. He was amazed at its simplicity. He wrote the Pope, suggesting the calling of a Council to ascertain whether there had been a gradual digression from the Bible. The Pope did not take the suggestion kindly. Luther was branded a heretic, unfrocked, excommunicated. This treatment only convinced him the more of the difference between the Bible methods and teachings and the modern ones. He began to write tracts which he scattered all over Germany, amongst the comparatively few people then able to read—in any language. Gradually, through much tribulation, the Bible became more prominent.

 

TETZEL SELLING INDULGENCES "About the time that Martin Luther began to study the New Testament and was amazed at its simplicity—when he was grasping the great Bible Truth of Justification by faith—he encountered Tetzel. The effect was to convince him the more that great errors had gradually crept into the faith and spirit of the Church. Tetzel was selling Indulgences under the Pope’s authority. The proceeds were to be used in completing St. Peter’s Cathedral at Rome.

 

"... The record is that Tetzel preached, not the merit of Christ’s sacrifice, but the power of the Pope, and of himself, his agent, saying, You have friends in Purgatory, suffering there for various sins. The Pope has the power to release them; I am his agent. Those who donate to this fund drop their money into this box, assured that the moment they do so their friends will be released from Purgatorial suffering.

 

"Catholic though he still was, and a believer in Purgatory, Luther could not tolerate such a commercial proposition as that the grace of God should be purchased with money. He denounced Tetzel vigorously." Photo-Drama Scenario pp. 82-83*

 

Revelation 6

 

13  And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

 

Revelation 6:13 (RVENDAG_)

 

 Verse 13. And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

 

The stars of heaven fell to the earth. The brightest religious leaders became earthly and worldly wise because of success, and they became practically the acknowledged heads of earthly governments.

 

*December 12, 1983 news included a report that Pope John Paul II for the first time in the history of the Papacy participated in a Lutheran Church service of evangelical ecumenical character, some five centuries following Martin Luther’s split with the Papacy. There were about four hundred present. The theme was unity of the churches. The pope said that many issues still divide their two churches. It was stated that for the past fifteen years or more they have been meeting to settle their difficulties, among them the claim of papal infallibility and their claim that Peter was the first pope as a symbol of unity. Rev. 17:5, 12-13; 21:14 F209, F220-;" The Pope and the Bible"—R1625 c 2.

 

January 10, 1984 News Item: A law enacted in 1867 prohibiting allocation of funds for formal diplomatic ties with the Vatican has been repealed allowing the United States of America for the first time in 116 years to establish full diplomatic relations with the Papal government at Rome. President Reagan is expected to appoint William Wilson as the first full ambassador to "Holy See." One hundred seven other countries, not including the Soviet Union and China, are reported to already have such ties with the Vatican.

 

153 LESSON OF THE BLIGHTED FIG TREE "Have faith in God"—Mark 11:22.

 

"As Jesus and his apostles passed along the road from Bethany to Jerusalem preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, they had seen, en route, a fig tree. Our Lord, being hungry, went to the tree, seeking fruit thereon; for the time of figs was not yet past. But he found that the tree was barren. Then he pronounced a curse, a blight, upon the tree. The next day as they passed by Jesus’ disciples noticed that the fig tree had withered from the roots. Then Peter said, ‘Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away!’ Jesus answered, ‘Have faith in God’ {Mr 11:13,14,20-22}. Then he called their attention to the fact that it was not merely himself who had blighted the tree, but that- the heavenly Father was to be recognized as behind him in this. He ascribed always the honor to the Father. He was merely the Finger of God. ‘The works which the Father bath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of men that the Father bath sent me.’ ‘The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself; but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works’—John 5:36; 14:10.

 

THE FIG TREE A SYMBOL "There is a further thought as regards the fig tree. We believe that the fig tree is a representation of the Jewish nation. This nation had been God’s fig tree. In due time God sent his son seeking fruit from that nation, but he found none. The tree was barren. He found a few faithful individuals, but nationally nothing—no fruit as a nation; and the blight, or curse, of the Lord came upon the Jewish nation because with all their privileges and advantages they had not brought forth the proper fruits. Our Lord Jesus, five days before his crucifixion, pronounced their house desolate. ‘Behold, your house is left unto you desolate!’—Mt 23:38,39 Lu 13:34,35.

 

"Ever since that time, the Jews have been desolate and blighted as a nation. But there is a promise that this blighted fig tree shall again become a living tree—a living nation. They are to be restored to divine favor, after their ‘double’ of disfavor has been fulfilled. (See STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES, Vol. 2 pp. B217-B230.) This ‘double’ we understand has been accomplished, and this is the meaning of the great awakening now among the Jews, and of the great Zionist movement.

 

"Speaking of the time of his second advent and of the nearness then of the kingdom, Jesus said, ‘Learn a parable of the fig tree: When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near; so ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors’ {Mr 13:28,29} . The Jewish nation has been having a long winter time. But the spring time of this nation is now at hand. We already see this fig tree putting forth leaves. So we see that the lesson of the blighted fig tree was not merely a lesson for an hour, but a lesson to all the Lord’s people from that time even until now. "‘ 16-R5920.

 

Ezekiel 37:7: "Those bones represent the whole house of Israel, which is referred to as saying, ‘Our hope is dead’ (verse 11); our ambitions are all gone or are asleep!

 

"So God is telling them that all the kingdom hopes of that nation are to be revived. as Jesus said to his disciples in one of his discourses—When ye see the fig tree beginning to put forth its tender leaves, we know that summer is nigh... See Matt. 24:32; Mark 13:28." ‘11-R4788.

 

We rejoice in the process of fulfillment. Since May, 1948, Israel is a nation!

 

"Pope Leo 13’s... encyclical letter is one of those remarkable features which, in company with other striking events and circumstances, distinguishes this day of the Lord from all previous times... and was evidently suggested by the fact, now so manifest, and long ago predicted by the Lord (Luke 21:26), that men’s hearts are failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth. Out of this very fear, which the shaking of this present order of things, preparatory to its final removal {Heb 12:26,27}, engenders, Satan, whose masterpiece of iniquity and religious deception the church of Rome is, desires to make some capital wherewith to bolster up the tottering walls of his ancient fortress and protect his kingdom from ruin in the midst of the great time of trouble.

 

"Consequently, the poor, deceived old man at the Vatican, who, as the professed Vicar of Jesus Christ, stands at the head of the great counterfeit Christian church, addresses himself to the whole world inviting all men everywhere, without respect to race or nationality, to come into the one fold, the Catholic church, under the pastoral care of the Pope—to ‘unity.’...

 

"Who cannot discern between the lines of this gauzy manifesto the policy-spirit which would lick the dust or play the tyrant as circumstances might require or permit, if by any means it might gain its unholy ends?

 

"The Pope... would suggest that the influence of all be united to reinstate the old and formerly potent power of that iniquitous system, the persecuting church of Rome.

 

"We have just that condition of things which the Lord predicted (Luke 21:26)... The powers of the heaven (the religious systems) are being shaken. This is true of all Protestant denominations, and increasingly so of the Roman Catholic church also, in which there are various splits progressing.

 

"Protestants, as well as Catholics, who, neither seeing nor being in harmony with the divine plan, are greatly disconcerted at the evident failure of present arrangements, which they had supposed would usher in the Millennium by converting the world." ‘94-R1704, R1705.

 

"Those who claim that Jehovah has been trying for six thousand years to convert the world, and failing all the time, must find it difficult to reconcile such views with the Bible assurance that all God’s purposes shall be accomplished, and that his Word shall not return unto him void, but shall prosper in the thing whereto it was sent (Isaiah 55:11). The fact that the world has not yet been converted, and that the knowledge of the Lord has not yet filled the earth, is a proof that it has not yet been sent on that mission." A95.

 

"It is time that Christian people learned that the only hope of the world’s conversion—the only hope that the Lord’s will shall ever be done on earth as it is done in Heaven—lies in the promised second coming of our Lord Jesus, to be earth’s King, and to set up the Kingdom of God which

 

154 we are assured will triumph over Satan and sin and every evil, and scatter blessings to every creature, and make possible to all a full reward to Divine favor and life-everlasting." ‘01-R2871.

 

Revelation 6

 

14  And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

 

Revelation 6:14 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 14. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together: and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

 

And the leaders of the various denominations began to talk about union: they even brought out a book for a creed, made to please every mind.

 

"And all the host of heaven (religious societies) shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together (not in one great roll, but) as a scroll (in two separate divisions or parts—Catholicism one part and Protestantism the other, in close affiliation and cooperation, so that whatever passes from the one passes to the other)”Isaiah 34:4; Nahum 1:10-14.

 

"The Bible points out that about this time the Nominal Church systems of the world will rise to great prominence again in connection with the Civil powers. We can readily see the grounds for this... The churches all will be ready and glad for such an opportunity. Already, they are rolling together as a scroll—the one side, Catholic, the other, Protestant, opposed and yet connected—each side united and federated to the best of its ability.

 

"But the Bible declares that this reign ‘as queen’ {Re 18:7,21} will be a short one, and that the fall of Babylon will be tremendous—like a great millstone cast into the sea. It will be during the power of this so-called ‘queen,’ for a little season, that the world will be under a great strain as respects any presentation of the Truth. And those found loyal to God and to principle will doubtless suffer therefor." D Foreword 1916 iii.

 

”The ecclesiastical powers, referred to in the Scriptures as the powers of the heavens (the nominal spiritual powers), are approaching each other, and truly; ‘the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll’ (Isaiah 34:1-4); but ‘while they be folden together as thorns (for there can be no peaceful and comfortable affiliation of liberty-loving Protestants and the tyrannical spirit of Papacy), and while they are drunken as drunkards (intoxicated with the spirit of the world, the wine of Babylon), they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry’ (Nahum 1:10), in the great cataclysm of trouble and anarchy predicted in the Word of God as the introduction of the Millennial Kingdom.”D267.

 

"In addition, there is a general tendency toward union, federation, ‘confederacy,’ which is popularly considered an evidence of growth in grace." ‘96-R1911.

 

"As heretofore shown, the Scriptures clearly indicate that just such a combination of religious systems as the Pope advocates will eventually take place, except that it will be in two distinct pans. Catholicism under the Papal head will doubtless absorb the Greek, Armenian and other eastern churches, and quite possibly the high church Episcopalians; the other division being a grand federation of the chief Protestant denominations. And these two great systems, for fear and for self-preservation, will heartily cooperate in order that the ‘peace and safety’ of present institutions and arrangements may be continued. This thought is set forth in the Scriptures in strong symbolic language, and the event is located in this day of wrath and time of trouble: ‘Come near, all ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear and all that is therein, the world and all things that come forth of it; for the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations and his fury upon all their armies: He bath condemned them to destruction, He bath delivered them TO the slaughter... —See Isa. 34:1-4; also Rev. 6:14-17.

 

"The Scriptures plainly show that the present order and condition of society cannot even by such combinations of power as proposed, be long sustained, but that shortly after this great religious federation has been perfected, the upheavals of socialism and anarchy will suddenly destroy them and ultimately every vestige of the present system. And no sooner will these elements be thus brought together than they will begin to realize what the Prophet Nahum suggests, that they are thorns in each other’s sides: ‘What do ye imagine against the Lord? He will make an utter end (of this present order of things): affliction shall not rise up the second time. For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards (intoxicated with the spirit of this world—the spirit of selfishness and tyranny), they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry’—Nahum I:9, 10. Please see Isa 34:4 8:12,13 Re 16:19 Re 17$, 18$ Jer 50$, 51$.

 

"Thus the way will be prepared for the establishment of a new social arrangement (’the new each’), on the basis of love and righteousness, and under the influence and control of the glorified church of Christ (the ‘new heavens,’ or spiritual power) in which righteousness and love will control and prevail. "‘ 94-R1705.

 

"Undoubtedly many dear people have a zeal for God and for church Federation—not, however,  according to the wisdom from above,  as we see it. Nevertheless,  what they are attempting will succeed, and, according to the Scriptures, will be the beginning of the end of ‘churchianity.’ "To us its success is an encouragement as demonstrating the fulfillment of prophecy. To the unionists it is a hollow self-deception to assume that any union in unbelief and ignoring of the Bible and of conscience can work real good. "‘ 10-R4720 c 2 p 5.

 

"The Church in association with her Head will be the Melchizedek Priest during the Millennial age. That Priest, Prophet, Teacher, is not yet fully raised up from amongst the people, but will be entirely raised up by the close of this age, perfected in the first resurrection (Acts 3:23; Eph. 2:10-16). Consequently no reigning takes place as yet, except as our Lord is taking to himself his great power and beginning his reign—the majority of the church already with him on the other side the veil, and we on this side gradually passing over.

 

"The Bible assures us that all power is possessed by our Lord Jesus since his resurrection... The church has the promise that in the resurrection she will be like her Lord. It is funkier written: ‘Now we know in pan; then we shall know even as we are known.’ "We honor the Father. Even so let us honor the Son also—as the Son, as the Father’s Logos and Chief Representative. "‘ 16-R5922.

 

155 "The Scripture declaration respecting the saints, the ‘overcomers’ is, ‘They lived and reigned a thousand years.’ The reign of the saints cannot be properly said to begin before all the ‘jewels’ have been gathered..." ‘00-R2739 Answer to Question.

 

"Jesus answered, ‘Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it and was glad.’ (Abraham saw Christ’s day with the eye of faith—believing the divine promise respecting Messiah. He may have seen his day of sacrifice typified in the offering of Isaac his only son, but at all events he saw Messiah’s coming glory-day, the Millennium, and its blessings upon all the families of the earth, through this promised Seed. And no wonder the prospect made him glad. He with the eye of faith beheld the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem, the glorified Church, the Kingdom class, and he beheld similarly the heavenly country—the world blessed by that Kingdom—Hebrews 11: 10, 16; 12:22; 13: 14). " E90. Mt 14:1-12. "It is... probable we think, that John’s course which brought him into conflict with Herod was in some degree typical of the course of the Gospel church in this present time; and the course of events that may be expected. If it be a type, Herod would represent civil government, and the unlawful wife would represent the nominal church, which throughout the symbolic Scriptures is represented as a woman, Jezebel, etc. Should it prove to be a type by its fulfillment in antitype, the fulfillment will probably be on something like the following lines: (1) A partial reunion of church and state. (This seems to be now in process of development.) (2) In such case it would become the duty of the true church, the forerunners and announcers of the Messianic kingdom, to reprove the civil powers as well as the nominal church systems, and to declare their union unlawful—contrary to the Word of God. (3) The effect of this would pretty surely be to awaken the animosity and venom of the latter. (4) The church nominal, in her false position would be anxious to stifle the reproofs and to destroy the reprovers, and the effect would be that the civil power would be induced to pass such legislation as would restrain the liberty of the faithful ones and hinder them from public utterance—as John was hindered by imprisonment. (5) Jezebel’s personal influence being insufficient may subsequently be augmented by the influence of her daughter (united Protestantism) who will be so fully in sympathy with her as to become her tool in the destruction of the most loyal servants of God.

 

"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life"—Prov. 4:23, is well worthy of being deeply engraver upon the hearts of all who seek to make their calling and election sure. If the heart, the thoughts, be kept strictly under control in full harmony with the Lord and his Word, all the opposition of the world and the flesh and the devil will not be able to overcome us. Being filled with the Master’s spirit and guided by him, we shall thus come off victors, conquerors and more than conquerors through him that loved us." ‘98-R2279, R2280.

 

"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth"—2 Tim. 2: 15.

 

"God seems to have greatly blessed and used in the harvest work the six volumes of STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES.

 

"And those who have only a partial understanding of the divine plan—those who have only a pan of the provided armor will find it difficult, if not impossible, to stand in this evil day the assaults of the world, the flesh and the adversary. If they have proper zeal for the Lord and a proper love for the plan, they should manifest that zeal by thorough and persevering study of the volumes. They cannot afford to do less.

 

"Such of our readers as have not read the STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES this year can scarcely appreciate how much they probably have lost of what they originally learned therein. "‘ 11-R4930.

 

Revelation 6

 

15  And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

 

Revelation 6:15 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verses 15-17. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; ‘6And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on overt us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. ‘7For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? See Rev. 11:15.

 

And a Judgment Day began to occupy the minds or attentions of all classes of men as they sought help, aid, and assistance from one another in unions, lodges, churches, etc., etc. See Rev. 9:20. ‘03-R3270 c 1 p 2.

 

"And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall over (cover, protect— epi) and hide us from the... wrath of the Lamb..."

 

Revelation 6

 

16  And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

 

Revelation 6:16 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 16. "The Greek word epi,  here used, is generally translated on,  but has also the significance of over and about,  and is so translated many times in the common version. The thought is that of protection, not of destruction... The great, the rich, and no less the poor, are seeking to the mountains and rocks and caves for shelter from the darkening storm of trouble which all see is gathering." B139.

 

"These caves and rocks of the mountains will not furnish the desired protection from the wrath of this ‘evil day,’ when the great waves of popular discontent are lashing and foaming against the mountains (kingdoms—Rev. 6: 15-17; Psa. 46:3); and the time will come when men ‘shall cast their silver into the streets, and their gold shall be as though it were unclean (margin): their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. They shall not (with their wealth) be able to satisfy their souls, neither (to) fill their bowels: because it was the stumbling block of their iniquity’ (Ezek. 7:19. Compare also verses 12-18, 21, 25-27.). Thus will the Lord make a man’s life more precious than fine gold, even the golden wedge of Ophir—Isa. 13:12.

 

"But those who have made the Most High their refuge need not fear the approach of such times. God will help Zion early in the Millennial morning; she shall be ‘accounted worthy to escape all those things coming upon the world"‘—Ps 46 Lu 21:36. D45-D46.

 

"FORCES MUSTERING FOR ARMAGEDON"—"For the great Day of His wrath is come; and who shall be 156 able to stand?"—Rev. 6:17. Pastor Russell’s Sermons, pages SM232-SM239.

 

LET US UNITE—AND KEEP SILENCE

 

"Unhealed Babylon will say, Let us unite—and keep silence. Jer. 8:7-13.

 

"We would have healed Babylon (Rev. 2:21), but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one unto his own country (to the true Church, or to the world, as the case may be, according as each is thus proved to be of the wheat or the tares): ‘for her punishment reacheth unto heaven’—Jeremiah 51:7-9. Compare Re 17:4 14:8 18:2,3,5,19.

 

"Unhealed Babylon is now sentenced to destruction: the whole system—a system of systems—is rejected... The prophet gives the reason... Because the word of the Lord by his prophets and apostles is made void, and set aside without attention, and creeds formed in the past ‘dark ages’ are the lightless lanterns of them that walk in darkness... her whole system is diseased, and needs thorough cleansing with the medicine of God’s WORD— the truth... Still blind to the real cause of their troubles, they will say, ‘ Unite ... and Keep silence.’ " Jeremiah 8:14.

 

"Many of the rejected will realize the troubles coming, yet will still be blind to their real cause. They will say, Let us unite ourselves and entrench ourselves in the strong cities (governments), and keep silence. They somehow realize that neither reason nor Scripture supports their false doctripes, and that the wisest method is to keep silent, in the shadow of old superstitions and under the protection of socalled Christian governments. They are here represented as saying very truly: ‘The Lord bath put us to silence, and given us bitter poison-water to drink.’ {Jer 8:14-15} The only refreshment they may have is the cup which they have mixed (the poison of bitter error, the ‘doctrine of devils,’ mingled with the pure water of life, the truth of God’s Word)..." Jer. 8:7-13; Isa. 29:10; Compare Isa 56:10-12 28:14-20 100:155-162—Chapter 6. ‘02-R2966 c 2.

 

"Every true Christian is ashamed to look back upon the pages of history and see what terrible deeds were done in the name of God and justice, and in the name of our Lord Jesus... These frog spirits {Re 16:13,14}... are doctrines of bombast and pomposity, representing themselves to be very wise and great, and having the backing of centuries... Accept the doctrine; for if you do not, and if men look into the matter, there will be a terrible revolution and everything will go down.

 

"The Beast and the False Prophet have similar creakings. The Catholic Church says, ‘Do not look behind! Do not question anything about the Church! ‘ Protestantism says, also, ‘We are great, we are wise, we know a great deal. Keep quiet! No one will then know that you know nothing.’ All say (croaking), ‘We tell you that if you say anything against present arrangements, terrible things will come to pass.’ "Unitedly they croak to the people that if any change is made, it will mean ruin to the present order... ‘Stand pat!’ is the order in Church and in State; but the people are being moved by fear... to the Armageddon battle and destruction." D 1912 Foreward xi-xii.

 

"The wise are taken in their own craftiness"—"They hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai"—Esther 7:10.

 

OUT OF THINK OWN MOUTH WILL I JUDGE THEE.

 

"Those who stand loyally in support of the teachings of our Lord and his Apostles in respect to the coming Kingdom ‘under the whole heavens’ have generally been content to be on the defensive. Those who trust fully in the promise of God to Abraham, ‘In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed,’ have too long endured the sneers of the worldly wise and refrained from pricking their bubbles of self-complacency, pride, sarcasm and folly set afloat by those who think themselves to be somebody, and discredit the inspired Revelation and those who stick closely to the Book.

 

"The time is come to forever silence these opposers of the divine Word... and remember that those who pose as ministers of the gospel of Christ should, according to the exhortation of the Apostle Paul, ‘Speak as the oracles of God’—truthfully, accurately—in a manner to be depended upon..." "A Criticism of Millennial Hopes Examined" (at the end of F pages 9-11).

 

BROTHER RUSSELL’s REPLY TO THE SLANDER

 

‘...How sorry we feel for those enemies of righteousness who in bitterness of spirit lend themselves as tools of the adversary in an endeavor to oppose the harvest work! I presume that the Lord permits such things as tests of faith and loyalty to him, and tests to his people as to what spirit they are of. Anyway, dear Brother, you will be glad to know that the more my enemies assail and falsely charge me with evil, the more the Lord blesses me and his work under my care. I am reminded here of the words of St. Paul respecting the thorn in the flesh which the Lord permitted him to have, but which he assured him would do him no injury, saying, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee.’ I answer, therefore, with St. Paul, ‘Most gladly will I rather glory in my afflictions that the power of Christ may rest upon me’—2 Cor. 12:9...

 

"We are glad to make these explanations, dear Brother, but you can readily see how useless it would be for us to attempt to chase after all the mean and contemptible slanders and misrepresentations which the adversary could find people mean enough to scatter. To chase slanders would waste our time and hinder the Lord’s work—the very thing the adversary would like to accomplish. We have given ourself fully and unreservedly to the Lord. This included not only all of our powers and talents, but also amongst these our reputation.

 

Yours in the love and service of the Redeemer, ‘10-R4660, R4661 C.T. Russell.

 

WHEN REVILED, HE REVILED NOT AGAIN! 1Pe 2:23

 

"Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad; for great is your 157 reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you"—Matt. 5:11, 12.  "From various quarters come jibes and misrepresentations and bitter invectives against MILLENNIAL DAWN, the OLD THEOLOGY tracts, ZION’s WATCH TOWER and the Editor. We keep a file of these, and wonder how much shame and confusion of face will come to the authors when, very shortly, ‘every hidden thing shall be revealed,’ and the Lord shall make manifest to the world the now secret motives which actuate men in their opposition to truth.

 

.. But, since the WATCH TOWER was started, we have carefully refrained from personalities except what we deemed necessary by way of explanation to keep the flock from being deceived—nothing as a defense or bombast of ourselves, nothing of an attack upon others. We attack false doctrines,  and, in the event of their being promulgated by well known, public men, we give their names... But we never discuss men,  nor personal affairs, their or our own. We are—Set for the defense of the Truth, and the overthrow of Error, pertinent to the Gospel; not for self-defense, nor for attack upon others.

 

... The so-called criticisms of MILLENNIAL DAWN so far are merely invectives apparently prompted by malice, which can command neither Scripture nor logic, and can use only epithets. They are worthy of silent pity or benevolence, according to the standpoint of the writers. The best answer to anyone inquiring concerning such misrepresentations is to hand him a copy of the DAWN to read. That will be answer enough for people desirous of comprehending the subjects.

 

"... All associated with the truth bear some of its reproaches (Psa. 69:9), and will in due time share the rewards with our Lord and Head.

 

"Let our watchword be, Onward! in the name and love and service of our King of kings. ‘Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your head’—Psa. 21:34. ‘95- R1798, R1799.

 

"THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH"—Heb. 10:38. Who shall ascend into the mountain (Kingdom) of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that bath clean hands, and a pure heart; who nath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully"—Psalm 24:3,4 Re 6:17 . A301; D582 p 1.

 

How TO MAINTAIN PURITY OF HEART ‘12-R5123 c 2, R5124. ‘85-R753 c 2. ‘13-R5229 c 1 p 6.

 

"Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. Which of you convinceth (convicts) me of sin? and if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God." John 8:42-47.

 

"Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me, and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels." Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26.

 

"I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth; for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name" Ps 138:2 158 "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently" 1Pe 1:22.

 

"To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness to the Truth" John 18:37.

 

CHAPTER 7 REVELATION

 

"In Revelation, Chapter 7, we have a picture of the church, the antitypical royal priesthood. Then following that picture we have one of the antitype of the Levite class. The first shows a definite number, one hundred and forty-four thousand—twelve thousand for each of the tribes of Israel. Thus God indicates that he is following out a definite purpose. Israel was first invited to be this royal priesthood {Ex 19:5,6}. At Pentecost a few out of the different tribes responded, and became the nucleus, or earliest members, of the church. Then the door of opportunity was opened to the Gentiles; and all coming in are assigned to places in the twelve tribes to fill up the vacancies. This the Apostle Paul pictures in Ro 11—the wild olive branches being grafted into the olive tree to take the places of the branches broken off because of unbelief.

 

"Those loyal to the Lord, yet not sufficiently loyal to be of the bride class, after having been tested as to their loyalty and proven worthy, will constitute a great company, an innumerable COMPANY, A COMPANY WHOSE NUMBER NO MAN KNOWS—A COMPANY WHOSE NUMBER IS NOT FORE-ORDAINED. The discipline through which these will be put is pictorially stated. They will come through great tribulation, and wash their robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. They must in the end be faithful; else they will not have any pan or lot with Christ in his work.

 

"But since this testing needed to come upon them as a judgment, because they did not voluntarily and full-souledly keep their covenant of sacrifice, therefore they cannot be of the elect body of Christ, They will miss the throne. They miss the glorious crown of the divine nature—immorality. But they receive palm branches, signifying victory, and we have the assurance that they will be permitted to serve God in and through his temple, the church, which is the body of Christ." ‘14-R5532, R5533.

 

"After the faithful ones have finished their course, then something will be done with the scape-goat—the great company. The account in Leviticus is very specific that the High Priest will then lay upon the head of the scape-goat all the iniquities of Israel (Lev. 16:21). ‘13-R5256.

 

"Nearly all the Scriptural pictures with reference to the Great Company would indicate that the special time for their tribulation would be at the close of this age—apparently just after the Church will all be gathered—as, for instance, the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. We remember

 

159 that when the wise virgins had all gone in, then came also the foolish virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us, and they were told that the Lord would not recognize them as the Bride Class, and that they would go into tribulation. That seems to indicate that the special tribulation upon the Great Company class will be after all the Little Flock have gone in beyond the vail into the Most Holy...

 

"Then in Leviticus it shows us the place where the Scapegoat is dealt with after the Lord’s goat has been dealt with... These types could not all take place at the same time... but the fact that the bullock is dealt with first, and that the Lord’s goat is dealt with... and then the scapegoat is dealt with... seems to imply that the tribulation of this class will come more specially at the end of the Gospel Age, after all of the elect shall have gone in, notwithstanding, we... suppose that there have been some of this Great Tribulation Class all through the age, while the great mass of them probably belong in this end, because of the peculiar circumstances now prevailing... Christianity now is in a measure popular... and there is not that open persecution now which is sharp and distinctive... In the past times when things were more turbulent and more sharply defined, it took more to make a decision. As our Lord mentioned they sat down and counted the cost. In our day, they are not disposed to count the cost..." Q289, Q290.

 

THE MERIT WAS IN THE BULLOCK

 

”The type also shows that until the bullock was offered the goat’s sacrifice would count as nothing, because it is distinctly stated that everything was to be done to the goat that had previously been done to the bullock, just as we are told by the Lord that we must walk in his steps, must suffer with him, must take up our cross and follow him, must go to him without the camp bearing his reproach, so the hoofs, hides, etc., of the goat were burned without the camp, in the place and after the manner that the hoofs, hide, etc., of the bullock had previously been burned. (See ‘Tabernacle Shadows. ‘)" Both sacrifices—that of the bullock and that of the Lord’s goat—were requisite to complete the atonement for the sins of the people... Before our sacrifices could have any value in God’s sight it was necessary that first we should be adopted or accepted as figurative members of the high priest. Thus the Apostle declares, ‘Ye are not your own, ye are bought with a price.’ And recognizing this we have given over our wills, ourselves to the Lord, agreeing to be dead to self and alive only as his members, and as his members we suffer under his direction as our Head... From this standpoint the prophets speak of the sufferings of Christ—Jesus, the head, and the church, his members—and the glory that should follow. The revelation of divine glory and the blessing of the world (Leviticus 9:24) do not follow the sufferings of Jesus alone, but will follow the completion of the sufferings of Christ when all of his members shall have been offered—presented as living sacrifices." ‘07-R4035.

 

"For our encouragement we should remember that the only ‘call’ yet made is to membership in the little flock. We are all called in one hope of our calling (Eph. 4:8)...

 

"Only to the one class were any of us called,  and all who have seen the prize, accepted the invitation can,  if they will, make their calling and election sure, by obedience to the conditions—full, complete self-sacrifice in the service of the Lord and under his direction. Those who... having consecrated all, even while they love righteousness and desire to see the truth prosper, are unwilling to sacrifice present comforts and interests by an open warfare on behalf of the truth and against error; these, while they love the Lord and the truth, do not love ardently enough to be acknowledged and crowned as overcoming soldiers of the cross... It is in vain that any profess great love, if when the Master and the truth are assailed and misrepresented, the specially recognized agents and ambassadors shall keep quiet and fail to protest against the error for fear of some earthly disadvantage resulting.

 

"... We serve the one Lord, in the one Faith, and by the one Baptism into his death; and for all such he has the crown of life reserved. ‘Hold fast that which thou hast, let no man take thy crown.’ Be strong in the Lord; be valiant; yea, be also of good courage." ‘88-R1046.

 

Revelation 6

 

17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

 

Revelation 7

 

1  And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.

 

Revelation 7:1 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 1. And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds on the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.

 

Four angels had orders from someone of great authority to stand upon the four coIners of the earth: one east, one west, one nonh, and one south; and hold back the four winds of the earth that they should not blow together, or at the same time, until a certain work was completed upon the servants of God. For the four winds to blow at the same time would cause a destructive whirlwind which would interfere with that work. Winds represent invisible, yet powerful interests; as financial, social, political and commercial. The earth represents society in general; the sea represents the restless masses of mankind; and the trees are those of the Lord’s own planting, especially the Little Flock—to be sealed.

 

"As the Lord forewarned, there is to be ‘a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation’—at the time, apparently when the ‘four winds,’ the fallen angels, will become loose." ‘13-R5318.

 

"We are not to forget, however, that the inauguration of the Messianic kingdom is to be in the midst of the time of trouble and that Christ will have to do with the bringing, or at least the permitting, of that trouble. Apparently man- 160 kind will be permitted to bring the great trouble at the end of this age upon themselves. There are forces of evil, Satan and his angels, ready to do us harm and, through human forces, sin-forces entrenched in human nature, ready to do harm to the social fabric. The Bible represents that divine power holds these in check—the four angels holding the four winds—that they shall not blow upon the earth to its injury until the appointed time, until all of God’s elect church shall have been sealed in their foreheads—their intellect—with the truth—Rev. 7:1-12.

 

"At the appropriate time those ‘winds’ of strife will be let loose, and great will be the trouble, until in due time the King of kings and Lord of lords {Re 19:16} shall intervene to rescue the race from itself and from the adversary. Then Satan shall be bound for a thousand years {Re 20:1-6}, and Messiah’s kingdom shall be established for the blessings of all the families of the each." ‘14-R5496.

 

LOOSING THE "FOUR WINDS"

 

"And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation" Dan 12:1.

 

"St. John mentions this whirlwind: Rev. 7:1. The winds of the earth referred to here are, of course, symbolic. The thought is that the winds from the four quarters—North, East, South and West—are being held back, and that when the restraint is withdrawn they will rush together, and the result will be a whirlwind. Certain Scriptures tell of a whirlwind that will be raised up from the coasts of the earth. See Jer 23:19 25:32,33 30:23,24. We do not understand that this will be a physical whirlwind, but this symbolic expression is used to convey the thought of a severe strife of the powers of the air.

 

"These ‘powers of the air,’ or ‘winds,’ are not powers of natural air, but are the powers referred to by St. Paul when he speaks of Satan as ‘the prince of the power of the air’ (Eph. 2:2). Those spirits who have been under the control of Satan—the fallen angels—were to be restrained in chains of darkness until the judgment of the great day {2Pe 2:4}. The letting loose of these winds, or air powers, would seem to show that God has let go his hand of restraint; that he will have to do with the permission of the terrible trouble that will come upon the world as a great cataclysm, which will result in the complete overthrow of the social order in anarchy.

 

"We find that in spite of the many advantages of our day and the blessings showered upon the world, people are unthankful and ungrateful. Discontent is growing; and the result will be a great strife, and the complete fall of present institutions. Our text seems to imply that this outside influence will exercise a baneful effect upon men, when finally granted the liberty. These fallen spirits have been under restraint for these many centuries, but they have exercised their influence to whatever extent they have had permission. If they had had unlimited power they would have wrecked the world long ago; but they have been restrained in chains of darkness.

 

FALLEN ANGELS SOON TO BE LOOSED

 

"Apparently God will soon cease to restrain the fallen angels, and they will then proceed to vent their fury upon humanity, so that the whole earth will be full of violence, the same as in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man’—Luke 17:26.

 

"It is true that the Savior gave the thought that at his second advent he would be present, unknown to the world, doing a work of gathering the church—of making up his ‘jewels’—and that the world would not know of his presence until the time of trouble was upon them. He said that they would be eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building (Luke 17:27-30). And this is true. The world is going into large contracts, etc., quite unaware of how near we are to the new arrangement, the incoming kingdom. But we believe that the very near future will be a time of great crime and angry passions.

 

"We read of the time that God beheld the thoughts of men, that man’s heard was evil and only evil continually—a very desperate condition. Our thought is that the loosing of these ‘four winds’ is still future. The power manifested by the demons when loosed, will, we believe, be with a view to the injury of mankind. We do not know but that many of our readers will have a share in that injury. We have every reason to suppose that, if these fallen angels shall get loose, they will vent their first anger upon the Lord’s people. We are not to fear this, however, but to take whatever the Lord’s providence permits to come, knowing that everything shall work for our good. ‘Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof,’ the difficulty thereof. Let us leave the whole matter in the Lord’s hands and trust in him." ‘14-R5470.

 

"... All occult, spiritual influences are evil; ... the holy angels indeed have a charge concerning the saints, but not to give them instruction of any kind. The Bible most explicitly declares that the Word of God is sufficient that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished {2Ti 3:16,17}. We are not therefore to expect visions or revelations or any kind of communications from the Lord or the holy angels. We are to conclude that all such attempts to communicate with us are of the adversary and to shun them accordingly.’ ‘13-R5355.

 

"Some there are who walk close to the Lord, who will not be driven from him by any of the arms and wiles of the adversary. They are such as are at heart fully the Lord’s—not their own; they follow wherever the Lord may lead, because they have no will except the will of God. These will follow the Lord in the narrow way of trial, discipline and testings during the present life, and by and by, as he has declared, ‘They shall walk with me in white; for they are worthy’ " Rev. 3:4. ‘14-R5459.

 

"We would be inclined to expect this great trouble to break out very soon were it not that the Scriptures apparently indicate that it will be preceded by a very powerful Church Federation, which will flourish outwardly in unrighteousness and which will be the first to succumb." ‘14-R5458.

 

Revelation 7

 

2  And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,

 

Revelation 7:2 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 2. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea.

 

The one from the East, having the seal of the living God, could be none else than Messiah. The East represents the

 

161 source of Light; that is the source of Present Truth. And he cried imperatively to the beings who were appointed to control these four earthly interests (to prevent their clashing too severely), to restrain their pressing policies, until the work of sealing God’s elect was accomplished. It was given to the four angels to hurt the sea and earth; but not just yet.

 

"All the special ‘servants of God’ having by that time been ‘sealed in their foreheads’ (given an intellectual appreciation of God’s plan), the four winds will be loosed {Re 7:1-3}, and will produce the great ‘whirlwind’ of trouble in the midst of which the remnant of the Elijah class will be ‘changed,’ and exalted to Kingdom glory." C225.

 

"Many Bible students understand that chronologically Messiah’s kingdom began its operation in the world in the year 1878, while the last members of the Elijah class are still in the flesh. How soon the entire company of the Elijah class will pass beyond the veil and the kingdom be ushered in with power and great glory is not definitely stated in the Bible.

 

"While in this condition Bible students the world over have been receiving of the Lord a special vision of the future. That is to say, through Bible study they have been learning that Messiah’s kingdom is to be inaugurated in a time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation—no, nor ever shall be afterward (Daniel 12:1; Matthew 24:21). They have learned that the winds of strife, the present war, have been held back for years by divine power, during the time when God’s people have been assisted in Bible study, symbolically spoken of as the sealing of the saints in their foreheads—Revelation 7:1-4." ‘15-R5753.

 

"The faithful class is pictured to us in Re 7:3,4 and 14:1-5. These are the 144,000 who have the Father’s name in their foreheads. They sing the new song, which none can sing but these 144,000. Oh, we long to be among them! We cannot afford to be anywhere else. The outcome is all in our own hands whether we succeed or fail, after God has given us his holy Spirit. It will be our own fault if we miss the kingdom. There will be no blame to attach to the Lord; for he has arranged for our continual cleansing day by day. His grace is provided for us at every step of the way; and his loving, protecting providences are continually about us if we are trustful and obedient to the best of our ability." ‘16-R5924.

 

"We can readily suppose that our adversary will have increased power as this time of trouble comes on. We can suppose that the evil work which will be done will be done by Satan and his fallen angels, who will exercise a very baneful influence upon humanity...

 

"We have no doubt that the things which will be permitted will be very stapling. Even to those who have the right understanding of the divine plan of the ages, the things which will be permitted will be very strange...

 

"The Lord’s people should have on at all times the whole armor of God that they may be able to stand in this parnicularly evil day." ‘12-R4977.

 

"Put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil... in the evil day" (Eph. 6:11-13)—"in the close of the age... in which Satan’s powers would be peculiarly exercised—’to deceive if it were possible the very elect.’... an armor that will be proof against all of Satan’s delusions... an armor... for the mind—for the New Creature. God is its maker, through human instrumentality. It is his provision, his Word, his message, his Truth... The Helmet of Salvation represents the intellectual, or philosophical, appreciation or understanding of the divine plan... Now, in the ‘harvest,’ when the Adversary is furiously attacking the Truth and turning everything scientific and educational into a weapon of destruction—now the helmet is indispensable... Now the whole armor is supplied... The Sword of the Spirit— the Word of God... ‘It is written!’... can only be possessed by careful study and leading of the Spirit after consecration..." F657-F658.

 

Revelation 7

 

3  Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

 

Revelation 7:3 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 3, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

 

Not till the work of sealing (mentally or intellectually) those of the Little Flock, with Present Truth, through Pastor C.T. Russell from 1876 A.D. to 1916 A.D. is completed. Winds also represent war, as in the case of Elijah; and the war began about September 20, 1914, the first world war—by Germany.

 

"Watchman, What of the night? The morning cometh, and also the night"—Isa. 21:11, 12.

 

"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)—See Revelation 7:3.

 

"The Master saith: ‘Work while it is called day; for the night cometh when no man can work.’ Ask yourself, What am I doing? Then lay aside weights and hindrances, and multiply your efforts. Be assured that if you are not a servant of the truth in some of the many ways now open, you are unworthy of it, and will lose your hold on it, because now is the harvest, the sifting and separating time. Various things will tend to draw you away from the truth; fathers, mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters will oppose and seek to separate you from the truth and its service. You must remember the Lord’s words, that the ‘harvest’ is not a time for peace, but on the contrary it will surely produce separation and alienations between true wheat and all else. See, and treasure up his words on this subject—Matt. 10:30-39 and Luke 18:28-30." ‘87-R969.

 

CATCHING THE FISH WITH THE GOSPEL NET

 

"Jesus saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men"—Matthew 4:19.

 

"... In fishing for fish there is a carefulness exercised that is very necessary to success. The skillful fisherman studies... Then he catches the fish individually. Likewise very much of the work of this age has been an individual work, accomplished by talking to people; those engaged in it should seek wisdom from on high to put this message into such form as would be most helpful to people—that they may be caught by the Gospel...

 

"... On the other hand, it may be that the work of the harvesting of the ‘wheat’ has been fully accomplished, and 162 that the work of the present time is for the great company class and for the world.

 

"We’d rather walk in the dark with God Than go alone in the light.’

 

"The consummation of the Gospel age is now upon us. We are expecting wonderful things, glorious things...

 

"... But we have the assurance that when he shall appear, be manifested—when his epiphania shall occur—we shall be with him, we shall be like him and see him as he is. He will not begin his great work of establishing the kingdom until the church shall be with him. We may not understand all that this implies. Perhaps we may be with our Lord, in service on this side the veil for a while. We had not thought so; but we are simply willing that the Lord’s will shall be done, whatever it may be, and we are waiting for the indications of his providence.’

 

"We know not what awaits us, God kindly veils our eyes.

 

****" One step we see before us, ‘Tis all we need to see...

 

And sweetly through the silence comes His loving ‘Follow me.’"‘ 14-5555

 

LOOSING THE FOUR WINDS TRIAL OF THE FALLEN ANGELS

 

..." Revelation 7: 1-3 seems to imply that at a very near date probably these fallen angels will have wonderful power, such as they have never had since the days of the flood, and that this wonderful power will be used in a very malevolent manner, to stir up mankind to evil doing; and that this will be the key, the secret connected with the awful time of trouble which the Bible tells us will mark the conclusion of this age and which will constitute the forerunner or beginning of the new dispensation.

 

THE HOLDING OF THE FOUR WINDS

 

"This symbolical passage speaks of the four angels which stand at the four corners of the earth and hold the four winds that they should not blow upon the earth or upon the sea ‘until we shall have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.’ To our understanding we are in that very time when the servants of God are being sealed in their foreheads. The forehead represents the intellect; and to be ‘sealed in the forehead’ is to be intellectually marked.

 

"The intimation is that at this time, in the conclusion of this Gospel age, God will grant some intellectual mark upon his servants that no others will have; that there will be a great work of sealing; and those in perfect harmony with God are to be his servants in the work of sealing. This seal is the truth. ‘Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free’ (John 8:32). The truth will mark in their foreheads those who receive it, branding them in a way that others of mankind are not marked or branded.

 

"All of the Lord’s truly consecrated children can see what a wonderful power the knowledge of the divine plan has been. HOW different everything in the world seems! HOW the eyes of their understanding have been opened to see many things that they could not understand before! Just as soon as the sealing of the saints is completed, just as soon as all the elect are thus marked, just as soon as this age shall be completed, then those four angels who are holding the four winds, that they should not blow upon the earth, will let them loose; and the effect will be—what? If four winds from the corners of the earth, come together, they make a whirlwind; and that is exactly what the Bible declares the great time of trouble will be.

 

SOME FORCEFUL SYMBOLS

 

"The thought we wish particularly to call attention to is that these ‘winds of heaven’ are symbolical winds—not literal winds; and that the ‘earth’ that is not to be hurt is the symbolical earth—not the literal earth; and that the ‘sea’ that is not to be hum is the symbolical sea—not the literal sea. We have previously shown, in our STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES, that these symbols are found throughout the Old and New Testaments; the earth represents the social order, government, restraint, etc.; and the sea represents the restless mass of mankind, which more or less lash and dash against the earth, the governmental power. ‘The winds of heaven,’ in this case, we understand to be ‘the powers of the air.’ "The Bible says that Satan is the prince of power of the air, that he is the prince of demons (Eph. 2:2; Matt. 9:34). Therefore we understand that in this symbolical sense ‘the powers of the air’ are the demons; that these powers of the air that are being held until the saints of God shall have been sealed in their foreheads, are these fallen angels. As soon as the power that is now controlling them shall be removed, we shall have a reign of evil all over the earth. The evil spirits will do all the evil that is in their power, and this will constitute the trial of all the fallen angels—the lifting of the restraints to see whether they will go contrary to the divine will. All who thus manifest their alliance with evil in any way will become subjects of the second death; while others who show their loyalty to God will mark themselves as worthy, presumably, of everlasting life.

 

"It may be something in connection with the saints that will constitute the test of these angels. However, we need not wait many years until we shall know." ‘11-R4880.

 

Revelation 7

 

4  And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

 

Revelation 7:4 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verse 4. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

 

There were sealed 144,000, and as there were only a few thousand of that number in the flesh, it means that nearly all of them must have been resurrected in order to receive Present Truth. Since that date of the Resurrection, 1878, four years from 1874, the date of the second advent, it has been true that, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord: they rest from their labors, but their works continue; because their change from human nature to the Divine Nature is instantaneous, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. Ye shall all die; but ye shall not all sleep.

 

Revelation 7:4 is a remarkable statement since the majority came from the Gentiles. These tribes do not refer to the Jews 163 after the flesh but to the number completely sealed in the Resurrection to the Divine nature.

 

"In Ge 49 we see that the Lord uses both names, Jacob and Israel (Verse 2), in connection with Himself. Verse l "... in the last days" suggests that someone by the holy Spirit is speaking through him to utter prophecy concerning Jacob’s sons. At the time of wrestling with the angel, Jacob’s name was changed from "Supplanter," to Israel, "Having Power With God. " The Little Flock Class are sons of Israel, in that he typifies the church which have power with God.

 

"The great time of trouble, which follows closely the second coming of Christ, will be an experience the like of which never was since there was a nation {Da 12:1}. In one figure the Scriptures liken it to a great tidal wave, carrying the mountains into the midst of the sea {Ps 46}. This pictures the governments of earth as being overwhelmed, swallowed up, by the raging sea of human passion when the masses become fully aroused. In another figure it is depicted as a mighty ‘whirlwind’ sweeping everything before it. In a third figure it is compared to the letting loose of the ‘four winds of the heavens’; in still another picture it is a great ‘fire’ (Isa 66:15 Jer 4:13 23:19 20,30:23,24 1Ki 19:11,12 Re 7:1-3; Danici 7:2; Zeph. 3:8, etc.). The whole earth is to be devoured by the fire of God’s jealousy, the fire of God’s righteous anger. The fire of God’s anger no more means a literal fire than does the expression a fiery horse. It is the fire of God’s wrath against sin that is being manifested at this time and will continue. "‘ 16-R5863.

 

THE CHARIOT, THE FIRE, AND THE WHIRLWIND

 

"We think that the chariot of fire in antitype signifies a division between the little flock and the great company... We are not to judge one another... ‘The Lord knoweth them that are his.’ "When the Lord’s time comes for separating his little flock class, he will make no mistake. It will be the little flock that will go in the chariot, and no others. Let us, therefore, keep ourselves in the love of God. Never mind what anyone else thinks... Some of the brethren may misunderstand us. But trust it all in the Lord’s hands. He will take care of the entire matter... St. Paul says, ‘Judge nothing before the time’ {1Co 4:5}. All will soon be manifested.

 

"Fire always represents destruction, and a chariot of fire would seem to signify some very trying experience that will separate the Elijah class from the Elisha class, and bring the deliverance of the Elijah class.

 

"When Elijah’s chariot came, it was in a whirlwind that he was carried into the heavens, into the atmosphere, beyond earthly vision ... The Lord pictures the great time of anarchy that is coming as a great whirlwind. He says, ‘Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; they shall not be lamented, neither gathered nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground’—Jeremiah 25:30-33; 30:23, 24.

 

"To our understanding the Elijah class will be amongst the first to be affected by the great whirlwind of anarchy. We believe it signifies that many of the Lord’s people—all of the faithful at that time—will be taken from the present life in some anarchistic movement... We think that our final experiences will be during some kind of anarchistic uprising. "‘ 16-R5845.

 

THREE IMPORTANT POINTS

 

"But here is the way the Lord pictures the matter: First, there will be the chariot of fire... We understand that some fiery experience will cause a separation between the two classes of the Lord’s people. Then will develop the whirlwind of anarchy... We are to be just as wise, kind, meek, gentle and as faithful to the Lord as we know how to be, and then have our minds perfectly calm and restful. When the Lord’s time for us comes, all will be right. Let us rest in his love and wisdom and care. What he provides for his children will be the very best thing for us, and we shall be glad to have it.

 

"... This matter of Elijah’s rolling his mantle together and smiting the waters of Jordan seems to mean something, and also the crossing of the river. This picture is not given for nothing. ‘What does it mean?’ you ask. Ah, we know that most prophecies are understood only after they are fulfilled!... In Bible language, water represents truth, and it also represents peoples. Both of these are given in Scripture as being symbolized by water {Re 17:1 Jer 51:12,13 Re 17:15 22:1,2 Eze 47:1-12 Eph 5:26}. Furthermore, Jordan means testing, or judging down. Now who or what would be judged in the antitype?

 

WHAT ELTIAH s MANTLE MAY SIGNIFY

 

"We answer, We believe that the peoples of earth, the public in general, are to be judged by the truth. The people are represented by waters. It would seem that in some way the people are to be judged and tested; and that a division of public sentiment is to be caused, in connection with the truth. Waters are to be separated from waters, people from people, the truth being received by some and rejected by others. Elijah wrapped his mantle together and smote the waters; and they were divided. Elijah’s mantle was the outward indication, or sign, of God’s power with him, and represented God’s power and blessing with the church. The mantle was in Elijah’s hand when he smote the waters with it. So the church, it would seem, will use what is in their hand, the power and authority of the truth, the power of God, in smiting the waters—peoples.

 

"... We are keeping watch to see in what way God will exercise some very wonderful power causing some division as respects the truth. We are merely thinking aloud with you. We are looking for some very pronounced division on the subject of the truth, something that will eventually lead up to a great hatred. You remember that in our Lord’s ministry he presented certain truths that caused the scribes and Pharisees to hate him. It was their hatred that led up to his arrest and crucifixion. The hate was there. They said, ‘We must kill him.’ "We shall not do anything foolish; we shall not go out on the streets to stir up trouble. We are to exercise the spirit

 

164 of a sound mind—gentleness, meekness, patience, brotherly-kindness and love. We are to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves’ {Ga 5:22,23 Mt 10:16}. All these instructions we must not forget. But when we see any trouble coming upon us when we are doing what is right, when we are obeying the Lord, then we are able to take it as from him. If we do not manifest the Master’s spirit, if we speak proudly or boastfully to people, then we shall have it to regret that we did not follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

 

"... And now, dear brethren and sisters, we leave you with these thoughts, asking God’s blessing upon us all.

 

"Mine eyes can see the glory of the presence of the Lord; He is tramping out the winepress where his grapes of wrath are stored: I see the flaming tempest of his swift-descending sword: Our King is marching on." ‘16-5846

 

"We are being more and more impressed with the closing features of the Elijah and the Elisha type. More and more we are impressed that Elijah’s smiting of the river Jordan, the waters thereof being thus divided, pictures a mighty work yet to be accomplished, and apparently in the very near future. What will be the antitype of the folding up of Elijah’s mantle, symbolizing his power, and how long it may require to thus concentrate the forces for the smiting, we do not know. We must wait, watch, and do our pans. Then how long it will require to accomplish the smiting of the waters is also an uncertainty; and how quickly the people will be divided by the truth is also an uncertainty." See R5845 Rev. 7:1-3 comment.

 

"It will be after the smiting of Jordan—after the division of the people by the message of the truth and the mantle of Elijah’s power—that the separation of the church into two classes will take place. Thereafter, the Elijah class, the Little Flock class, will be clearly manifested, separate and distinct from the Great Company class. The division, be it remembered, will be caused by the fiery chariot—some very severe, trying ordeal, which the elect class will promptly accept and enter into; the Elisha class holding back from the persecution, but not drawing back to sin or repudiation of the Lord. It will be but a little later on that the whirlwind (probably anarchy) will bring about the ‘change’ of the Elijah class.’

 

"The garnering of the wheat continues; but apparently the consuming of the tares will correspond very closely with the division of Jordan ... The smiting of the waters will reveal the truth in respect to what is the real church of Christ, and what are imitations; and the honest-minded tare class will be undeceived, and cease to longer pretend that they are the church of Christ—thus they will be burned or cease to be as tares, continuing however as noble-minded worldly people and will have a share in the general blessings of the ‘sweet by and by’ under the kingdom for which we still pray." ‘16-R5950, R5951.

 

Revelation 7

 

5  Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.

 

Revelation 7:5 (RVENDAG_)

 

Verses 5-8. Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.60f the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe

 

of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. 7Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.  Verses 5-8 speak of the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, by the twelve sons of Jacob (with the exception of Dan, meaning "judge"), as being the names of these twelve tribes of the Little Flock; and there were twelve thousand in each of these twelve tribes. The meaning of the names attached to the twelve tribes seems to be the key to membership in each antitypical tribe of the Elect. Dan, meaning "judge," has been replaced by Manasseh, "causing forgetfulness.’

 

"It might make no particular difference to us to which tribe we belong, and yet there is a bare possibility that since our Lord is ‘the Lion of the Tribe of Judah,’ there may be some special gradation suggested in this tribe; so this royal priesthood may be divided into twelve different classes.