IN PS 107:29-31 we read:

He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

In Mt 8:24-27 we also read about a calming of a storm:

And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them. Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.

This psalm and the Matthew 8 citation prophetically express the experiences of the Church of Christ during the Gospel Age. It is characterized by great distress because God in his infinite wisdom has permitted sin to cause storms and difficulties in life. But the great Redeemer, whom God has chosen as a great Liberator, supplies calm and peace in due time.

During this age when the Church is being selected, life’s trials and difficulties have been precious to help her develop faith, hope, and patience, and to prepare her for her future work of restoring humanity, as well as the privileges and glorious honor as the Bride of Christ.

As far as the world is concerned, the great storm represents wars, invasions, calamities, injustices, revolutions, discontent which are the fruits of selfishness, hate, jealousy, and pride. Giant nations have pilfered the small, enriching themselves at the expense of the weak. The works of the great adversary the devil have disseminated their poison and provoked all these uprisings. In vain does humanity seek peace.

The increase of knowledge has been kindled in men regarding pride in themselves. This motivates them to claim their natural rights. The prophecies declare that by reason of the increase of knowledge a wide-spread, general discontent will culminate in a revolution that encompasses the whole world, and in the overthrow of all law and order. Anarchy and distress among all classes will be the result. But in the midst of this confusion, the God of all heaven will establish his kingdom which will satisfy the longing of all the nations. Exhausted and discouraged by their own lack of success, mankind will joyfully embrace the authority of heaven. Man’s extremity will become God’s opportunity and the desire of all nations shall come, the kingdom of God in power and great glory. Hag 2:7.

The Last Days

The holy scriptures tell us of the last days, the end of the present dispensation. In 2Ti 3:1-4 the Apostle Paul says:

In the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy . . . lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.

The prophet Daniel speaks of this present dispensation as a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation. Daniel 12:1.

But in the midst of this trouble and tumult in the world, what should be the attitude of the consecrated, faithful people of God? Is it fear? Oh no! It is confidence in the Lord who has said, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. (Joh 14:27) In the midst of the tumult and dangers which encircle us we hear the voice of the Lord and we rejoice because his word strengthens us. The Apostle Paul says in Ac 14:22 that the true children of God must all suffer: We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. And the Apostle Peter confirms this in 1Pe 2:21: For even hereunto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us.

So, dear brethren, in these troublous days, let us not erect a house of wood or stubble, but of gold, silver and precious stones upon the true foundation a house of truth and faithfulness to the Lord which can resist the fire of this great day and which yields a great recompense of reward.

We have confidence in the promises of the all-powerful Heavenly Father, and in his son, who has already given us an inner peace that no outside storm can disturb. What peace and serenity we have if only we accept the promise of God that all things work together for good to them that love God. (Ro 8:28) Hence blessed experiences can result for us in this time of trouble and testing of life.

The Lord gives peace to his people in his own way. He speaks to us of peace and we hear his voice through his word and by the knowledge that he gives us through his precious promises. He assures us of his wisdom, love, protection, power, and of his devotion to his people. Certainly this assurance gives us peace and repose of heart in spite of our trials. God teaches us the meaning of present conditions, the great time of trouble, and the glorious result to follow.

From where does this confidence of the people of God come? From dwelling in the secret place of the Most High [represented by the Holy of the Tabernacle] and abiding under the shadow of the Almighty [shown in the Tabernacle type by the cloud by day and the column of fire by night]. (Ps 91:1)

Furthermore David says prophetically in Ps 25:14,15: The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant. Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord.

Let us do as David and keep our eyes on the Lord. To those who dwell in the secret place of the Most High is given a clear knowledge of the divine plan, of its times and seasons, so that they may understand the necessity for and the method of discipline which God brings upon the world. Because, as David says in Ps 29:4,5,

The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. [vs. 1] Give unto the Lord glory and strength.

The Apostle Paul in Heb 12:14 counsels us to follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. Be at peace among yourselves. . . . Be patient toward all. (1Th 5:13,14) If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. (Ro 12:18)

The peace of God flows from the immense springs and reservoirs of his power and wisdom. The peace of God does not uniquely originate from this source because peace is a fruit of an inner goodness. God personifies all virtue and goodness, fullness of contentment and peace of heart because of a perfect moral conscience, just as he possesses all power and wisdom.

Thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created (Re 4:11) and Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man. (Eph 3:15,16)

God created man in his image, an intelligent creature with the same mental and moral faculties, so that he would maintain communion and family association with his children. The creator and his creation could thus find pleasure, happiness, and satisfaction both in communion and in a perfect family relationship.

Although sin brought about the fall of our first parents, the love of God for his creatures did not cease since it continued to be manifested in God’s serious vigilance in the development of the principles of righteousness.

The Bible tells us in 1Jo 4:8 that God is love; it reveals to us the joy and the goodness of the Heavenly Father at the things that are acceptable to him: the principles and laws of justice, as well as his delight in those who obey him. Perfect harmony and equity are attributes of the divine character which assure peace in every circumstance.

The peace of God has not been disturbed by opposition and discord among his creatures; it has been preserved through all time. The plans of God, constructed with care and absolute wisdom, required for their accomplishment long periods or ages. They will eventually culminate in the glorious appearance of an intelligent creature in his own image, established in righteousness and worthy of the divine gift, eternal life.

In the meantime, as God’s plans developed, discord and division inserted themselves into his family through sin. But God foreknew this state of events. It constitutes one of the necessary stages in his plan culminating in glorious results and, in his eyes, is well worth the disorder, ruin, and destruction which he foresaw and which, in turn, compel him to carry out the harsh task of enforcing discipline.

His love must remain hidden during the time when divine justice, implacable and severe, must do its work. During more than 6000 years God has endured the opposition of sinners. His all-righteous authority has been rejected and defied, his character has been disfigured and made to appear unjust. Nonetheless, oh wondrous grace, his love has not failed, as already noted, because the word tells us in Joh 3:16, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life; and that the peace of God might remain in the heart of the redeemed ones.

Can we ever understand what it might have cost the Heavenly Father to consent to sacrifice his beloved Son in whom he had placed all his confidence and affection? Jesus, from the very beginning of his earthly life, manifested an absolute obedience to the divine will, even when the way indicated was one of humiliation and sorrow. Our Lord Jesus manifested a great love for the Father, who patiently endured the slander with which men assailed his character. It was because of his love that Jesus agreed to carry out the great sacrifice of his life in order to glorify his Father, to make men see the goodness and kindness, the love and grace of God, and to lead them to love this God of mercy who, in order to free them from the slavery of sin, provided the necessary arrangement to assure their eternal salvation and peace.

The gift of divine love his only begotten son whom he sacrificed for the redemption of mankind certainly did cost him much, knowing in advance as he did the sufferings, humiliation, ignominy, and the death his son had to endure. Jesus also knew how to pay back his Father through his absolute obedience to do the divine will even though this entailed a way of humility and sorrow. The Heavenly Father knew all the sorrow of paternal love when our dear Lord said: O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. (Mt 26:39) And again, when he said, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. (Mt 26:38) Nevertheless the peace of God accompanied him even unto death.

During the seventh thousand-year period, our Lord will have the joyous privilege of bringing all creatures in heaven and earth to a knowledge of the glorious character of his Heavenly Father. The Father will then have the joy of seeing the success of his work, eternal peace and goodness for all humanity as all are united in the glorified Christ. (Eph 1:10)

On the last night of his earthly life, our Lord, with a heart overflowing with compassion and tenderness, poured out his last benediction upon his disciples. It was an inheritance of peace, a precious inheritance of inestimable value: 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. (Joh 14:27)

This inheritance of peace was not just given to the early church. The entire church even to the end of the age has a part in this blessed inheritance, which is PEACE. The Lord, in his priestly prayer, expressed his thought regarding all the church when he said, Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. (Joh 17:20)

If we want to know the basis of this enduring peace and the security which it provides, permitting one to surmount the most terrible storms of life, let us follow the example of our Lord and the apostles. They had faith in the love, power, and wisdom of God. They knew and believed that God was all powerful to do what he had promised. And it was in the confidence of the promises of God that the disciples obtained peace. Because of their faith, they were able to endure peacefully the terrible trials in their lives. It is only by a firm and unshakable faith that the peace of God, and also of our Lord, dwells with his children.

This peace of God which the Lord has given to his disciples and to us after his death, is a precious heritage, a serenity of the soul, a calm, a presence of spirit, an assurance and complete confidence in God in difficult times and in trials. The peace which the Lord has given to his disciples comes from God and is an expression of our rest in God by faith.

Lack of confidence, ignorance of the character and plan of God for our benefit, as well as God’s promises prevent us from having peace, rest in God, and security, and the adversary will not fail to sow doubt in our hearts. Can we doubt divine protection? We read in Matthew 10:30, The very hairs of your head are all numbered and that he feeds the fowls of the air (Mt 6:26)!

The peace of God which dwelt in the heart of the Lord in spite of all his trials, persecutions, contempt, and finally his death, was sustained by his faith in his father, and in his promises of a resurrection and glory. The perfect knowledge that Jesus had of his Father was the solid foundation of his faith in the purposes of God on behalf of the church and the world. It was that which assured him of peace, and this peace gave him confidence and helped him surmount all obstacles and triumph even over death.

It was by trusting in the promises of God that the disciples obtained peace. Their faith was rooted firmly in Jesus Christ. Even if they were frightened and afraid and had abandoned their Master after his arrest, they knew nonetheless that the all-powerful God would do what he promised, that his plan of righteousness and mercy would not fail to be accomplished. As a matter of fact, at Pentecost they were greatly rewarded by the peace that their Master had given them: Peace I leave with you, MY peace I give unto you. This blessed peace came from the assurance that they were recognized by God as his children, heirs and joint heirs with Christ, so long as they walked in the footsteps of their redeemer.

These words are directed also at us, at all those who have placed their will on the alter of sacrifice, who by the grace of God have become children of God. Only the children of God are justified by faith, are considered as righteous and as the church of the first-born. Our justification, represented by the wedding garment given to us through the merit of our Lord who accepts us, signifies our joining the family of God. The Apostle Paul states in Ro 5:1,

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace.

The child of God should then have a sense of security which the peace of God gives. If God be for us, who can be against us? says the Apostle Paul in Ro 8:31.

The prophet Isaiah also promised peace in chapter 26, verse 3 (Is 26:3): Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever.

So the peace of God which surpasseth all human understanding is thus assuredly granted to us if we but remain in the family of God. It should not be astonishing that we feel secure. God has promised us his peace and rest if we but submit our will to his. Let us do so with joy and we will have the peace of God that only he can give, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, and by his word of truth.

What is the secret of this peace? We read in Joh 14:1, Believe in God, believe also in me, said the Lord to the disciples. These words tell us that what God has promised, he is able to accomplish. The truth is the shield of our faith. Let us then never lose the anchor of faith so that we do not give an opportunity to the adversary to profit from our weakness and destroy our courage.

As a father has compassion on his children, the Lord has compassion on those who fear him because he knows of what we are formed. He knows that we are but dust. As the prophet has said, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee. (Isa 26:3) The Lord told his disciples, The Father himself loveth you (Joh 16:27) and David said, Delight thyself also in the Lord and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart (Ps 37:4), especially peace even in the midst of trials and troubles.

The love of the Heavenly Father for the new creature is far superior to any feeling parents might have for their children. He oversees the proper development of their character and of the fruits of the spirit: gentleness, patience, joy, faith, love, and above all, peace. God has a fatherly love for all his intelligent creation.

This peace of God is like a sentinel who watches our heart so that all hostile, distressing, or fear-filled thoughts are stopped. In Joh 16:33 the Lord warned his disciples that they would be dispersed and would have tribulations in the world. He said, These things I have spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace.

This promised peace is not for the world because the world cannot appreciate it. This peace is for those who, with the Lord and our Heavenly Father, work to accomplish the plans of God. They may have to follow a difficult way in the midst of storms. And so it is for all those who follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. But as they walk through storms, this peace dwells in them, as Jesus said [Joh 16:33], In the world ye shall have tribulation but you will have my peace.

The prophet Isaiah spoke in exalted terms of those who do the work of the Lord to accomplish God’s plan:

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God Reigneth!isa 52:7

This beautiful prophecy is addressed to the last members of the churchto usbecause it could not be publicized before the second presence of our Lord. It is the message of the presence of the Lord to his people. It is thus specially for those who live during the second presence of the King, the only ones who can say to Zion: Thy God reigneth!

The world searches in vain for peace. The prophet Isaiah tells us why the world does not find peace: There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the Wicked.isa 48:22

Selfishness, greed for money, the influence of the adversary, and deliberate ignorance of divine laws have caused the lack of peace in the world. The diverse religions have not been able to secure righteousness and avoid wars. On the contrary, how many bloody wars have been fought in the name of Christ and, recently, in the name of Allah but without his consent. Certainly there is a remedy: recognize God’s supreme right to direct our lives according to the laws of righteousness and love; hence, return to God.

God is all-knowing, being the creator of all things. He knows that humanity was going to tear itself to pieces in hate. This is why he provided a remedy: he opened the way of salvation by giving his son. He has opened a unique way of peace and happiness in his plan for the restitution of all things by redemption through Jesus Christ. The everlasting one is able to keep all in his power because the entire universe accomplishes his will without incident. From his power and wisdom spring forth a profound peace, serenity, and goodness without end. Ps 46:1,2 tells us:

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.

The call to repentance by the Apostle Peter during his discourse at Pentecost, which we find in Ac 3:19-21, is still applicable:

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord: and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things.

Today we say, the heaven HAD received him until the times of restitution of all things because the Lord is present. Let us rejoice because he is at work, as we read in Re 11:17,18:

We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And [as a consequence] the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come.

Do we see the nations angry? Yet, this day of vengeance of God is also the day of judging the nations. To do this God has anointed his king in Zion, his holy mount (spiritual ruling). He will break them with a rod of iron, and the nations will be dashed to pieces like a potter’s vessel as Ps 2:9 tells us. This time of distress has as its objective the destruction of the present evil world. Thus it can not bring peace to the world.

But the time will arrive where the divine promise of the restitution of all things spoken of in Ac 3:19-21 will be realized, when the King of kings will replace the disorder, confusion, and inability of humanity to establish peace, by his powerful reign of righteousness; humanity will learn to love and appreciate God’s ways, goodness, and love in the example of divine love, as shown by the Heavenly Father in the giving of his only begotten son to redeem humanity from sin and death. This will be an age of peace, happiness, and everlasting life for all who will obey the divine laws of the kingdom and submit themselves with joy to those laws, so that they may be benefitted by this marvellous, blessed grace. Thus the divine promises of peace will be fulfilled.

When the nations will no longer learn war, as expressed by the prophet Micah in chapter 4, verses 1 to 3 (Mic 4:1-3), then there will be peace.

But in the last days it shall come to pass that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills, and people shall flow unto it. . . . For the law shall go forth of Zion [spiritual government, the glorified Christ], and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem [the princes’ seat of government, the ancient worthies]. . . . Nations shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. . . . For the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.

Dear brethren, how appropriate a consolation the Apostle Paul gives us in Php 4:7 where he says: And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Amen.

O LORD, THAT I MIGHT view my present walk, each test, each trial, each concept of thy Truth against the glory of that perfect day. O that with retrospective wisdom blest I could retrace each step, remold each thought, with noon-day vision of my Father’s face.

The wisdom of retrospect is the ability to look back and trace the pattern of the Lord’s leading in life, to view the past with the advantage of a mind no longer limited to the immediate present, a mind that has gained by experience, the process of trial, and has seen the end of the Lord.

Whatever stage along the way we may have reached today, we may each look back and review our personal walk thus far and ask, Where am I? What have I become? How ready am I for the perfect day? And with this calm assessment let us note the path that led to the present state. Perhaps already we detect in past experience rough or smooth some concept of objective not then seen, a Master Mind at work and capable of using circumstance, creating situation, in relentless pursuit of that great purpose with which he first took hold upon my life. In doing this we well may realize some lesson glaring to us now, but at the time not seen. Perhaps what then we missed we now with retrospective wisdom may still use to his delight; what then seemed loss may yet be seen as gain if thus in me at last he finds designed response.

Revising hard at school, examination day in sight, we skimmed the pages of our work-book day-by-day, noting our Teacher’s comments. Those things once a mystery to our minds at last take shape, and now we see the reason for low marks and understand why the Teacher wrote: Point missed . . . Try harder . . . See me after school. With such intense reflection do we gain the confidence to enter that final test on which it seemed our future would depend.

So in the Christian way we realize that unless it reach the inward parts, Truth has failed its purpose, missed its goal. Each day the lesson set was to this end: not what we know, but who we know, how intimately twined his way with mine.

Before the church began her course she gained a text-book full of vivid pictures from a previous age. She could look back a thousand years and a half, and could begin again where countless others failed armed with the lessons written in their lives. She could observe their course and gain by adding to her own the vast experience of ten thousand more. These things were all typed out for us, Paul said, on whom the ends of ages come. Stark warnings these, spelled out in human blood, to which we must take heed. But many, oh so many, heeded not.

Today the church has reached the hour of final test. Another age has passed of nearly two thousand years. Were any people any age before so well equipped in lessons from all history past? What retrospective wisdom now assists the humblest saint to make his calling sure! For looking back through time we can survey the scene throughout its course from Pentecost until this final hour of gathering home. The Patmos messages of Jesus fell on ears made dull. The patient waiting for the Lord had given way to restless seeking of a seen immediate object of desire and worship. Again a calf was made of gold, apostasy arose, bearing poor likeness to the things divine, yet proclaiming over this man-made effigy that name of a covenant God. The people of the covenant sinned and fell by thousands and ten thousands at the very tent-doors of the Joshua and Caleb of this Christian age. These were the few of which the Master spoke, that find the gate so strait, and walk the narrow way, the footprints of a Lamb, with different spirit to the host that use the name of God and yet deny the power.

Yet greater still our privilege at this hour, for now behind us is the harvest work of more than a hundred years. At this late hour we can look back and note the harvest tests, the entrance of the sickle, bundling of tares, the heat of harvest days, the waiting of the wheat now severed from this earth, yet still not gathered home. Does he delay? Like snow in harvest comes the test, and even at this stage still many fall prey to doubt, not of their Lord, but of their proper grasping of his Word. The evening breezes of the harvest field still test the faith of those who wait.

Yet what a vantage point is ours at this latest hour. For, near the close of harvest, patterns now are seen which could not be discerned in earlier days. Those times of Brother Russell’s precious ministry to saints, who then could know how closely paralleled in time those years would be, that century and more that followed the coming of Cyrus, His Anointed, His Messiah, type of Christ’s return. Cyrus, whose very name foretold the rising of another sun, dawn of a better day: the long-drawn period of Babylon’s decline, the slow interminable course of Israel’s rise again. Those many lessons typed so long ago were for these corresponding years in which one age is closed and another age emerges, these days in which we live.

Although Messiah had come, long years would pass. The test of time and waiting still remained. Then, at the very time marked out in Esther’s day, a sinister hand would once again attempt to wipe out God’s elect, both natural and spiritual seed, Jews and saints. In Europe Jews were coaxed to enter the gas chambers unsuspecting of their fate. Saints began to flee for their spiritual lives when Jezebel once more pursued and used the very channel of such blessing of the past. What troublous days indeed, and yet accompanying the very signs of their Messiah’s works.

The threefold message of the Lord, so meaningful to them that century after Cyrus came, relates with even greater force to the needs of saints today. Haggai means Feast of the Lord from a Hebrew root implying dancing and delight. How well described that feast of Truth, the joy of early harvest days, and to what end? That his people turn from feathering their earthly nest, pursuing earthly things, to center all upon that sanctuary of God. Like David in Psalm 132, they should not rest until they had prepared with all their might a place full worthy of his name, where he would be at home. While Zechariah remembered of the Lord encouraged vision of faith surmounting earthly trial, and though so little progress could be seen in those long days awaiting still more tangible signs of hope achieved, yet should they never lose their vision of a present Lord abiding with his people there in the lowly vale of myrtle trees.

Malachi brought the Lord’s last word, the final messenger of the age. The test of time and waiting would reveal in our time as in those last days, such need for diligence sustained, the keeping of the heart entirely his. The passing years may dull the edge of sense once sharpened to perceive and love his perfect Will, and yet persist in outward forms of godliness. It may resent, like Peter hurt by repeated questioning of the Lord, Do you indeed love me above all else? and in amazement ask, Wherein did I fall short? Such are the lessons for this latest hour, directed to our hearts by heaven’s love that we might as a bride in full adornment wait that final knock to hear upon the door that says, I have come to take you to myself.

Though these days need bring searching of our inmost thoughts that we might share that joy of saints now raised above, the Lord knows well our need of courage too, and confidence well founded on his love and his abiding faithfulness. He sends his Ezra to our aid, his Nehemiah too, to meet our every need. For Ezra’s name means Help and Nehemiah Comfort of the Lord. This help and comfort from above will lead us on those last steps of the way. A light of truth he has sent forth, revealing divine desire so sacred to our hearts, to bring us to his holy hill, while every day of life his goodness and his steadfast love still follow in our wake. As Jacob’s face was turned at last towards his home, we read that angels met him on his way. (Ge 32:1) So at this special moment of all time as saints are gathered one by one, they know they are surrounded by a love so great. Many hands reach out to help and to sustain and keep from stumbling those who have found that closeness of Shaddai, and share with Jesus that special place near to the Father’s heart.

With the passing of time we now can see these giant patterns in the history of God’s dealings with those emerging from a Babylon doomed, then in the days of Cyrus, now in the days of Christ. Two mighty signs emerge to establish our faith on solid rock. For though so long a time each process takesthe going down of Babylon and the rising up of Israelneither takes place before Cyrus appears, neither takes place today before the second coming of the Lord. These are sure signs indeed that he has come. We see him in his work, the works of a present Messiah.

Other witnesses arise to add their testimony to this truth so full of meaning to his saints today. In Ex 4:1 Moses receives instructions from God concerning his return to the people of Israel in Egypt. This is his second advent! He had been rejected by his own people at the first, and during the intervening years since his departure had won the affections of his bride. Now he returns at God’s command to deliver. But behold, he says to the Lord, they will not believe me. They would fail to recognize the presence of God’s appointed deliverer. So God gave three signs that it might be known that the divinely ordained deliverer had come: the rod, the leprous hand, and the water that turned to blood.

The more we think about these signs the more remarkably suggestive they appear of the signs that mark the presence of the Lord today. They confirm to our hearts that the greater Moses is here and that the count-down to deliverance has begun. Time now allows the briefest consideration only of subjects on which much has been written.

Sign number one: Ex 4:4. Moses had fled before a fearsome serpent hissing at his feet. And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand and take it by the tail . . . and it became a rod in his hand. What does that suggest to the mind? The Serpent is the devil. Moses flees before it. Jesus first, then his people down through the age, suffer under the Satanic power of darkness. Revelation 12 speaks of the conflict between the dragon and the woman and her seed. The same Greek word for dragon in that passage is used again in the Septuagint Greek scriptures in Ex 7:9,10 for this very same serpent of Moses. A fearsome symbol of Satan, yet Moses put forth his hand, caught it by the tail, and paralyzed that serpent until it becomes stiff and helpless as a rod in his hand. And in that rod God had given to him a symbol of his great authority as the typical arm of Jehovah. 2Th 2:8 (Rotherham):

Whom the Lord . . . will . . . paralyze with the forthshining of his power.

We will return to this sign later.

Sign number two: Ex 4:7. The leprous hand of Moses is restored. Behold it was turned again as his own flesh. That expression turned again permeates the Old Testament. Repeatedly it is used for the turning, the repentance, recovery, and restoration of Israel to the Lord. They are the work of his hand. (Isa 64:8) They are the natural seed that the Lord will use to bless the families of the earth when he opens his hand and satisfies the desires of every living thing. They will perform the work of his hand, but this instrument of the Lord’s blessing has not been worthy to show forth his praise. The hand has been leprous, full of sin. (Isa 1:4-6) Isaiah describes their sorry state, a sickness that cannot be cured by human remedy. For so long has Israel lamented in the words of Ps 74:9-11,

We see not our signs; there is no more any prophet, neither is there among us any that knoweth how long. O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme thy name forever? Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even the right hand? Pluck it out of thy bosom.

The vineyard which thy right hand hath planted and the branch which thou makest strong for thyself [that is, for thy use], it is burned with fire, it is cut down, they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance. Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man [son of dust] whom thou makest strong for thyself. So will not we go back from thee. Quicken us, and we will call upon thy name. Turn us again, O Lord God of Hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. Ps 80:15-19

That hand which was made abhorred and useless by sin is to be restored as his flesh. It is to be cleansed, animated by his spirit, made responsive to his great mind, and performer of his work as epitomized by that perfect servant of Isaiah. Jesus himself was the very prototype of what Israel yet will be.

Brethren, the sign of the commencement of this process is evidence, infallible proof, of the presence and work of the deliverer. Let us review these two signs. First the taking by the tail of Satan and the beginning of the work of paralyzing that great system of Antichrist, Satan’s masterpiece of deception, Babylon the great. Second the commencement of the restorative process of Israel, first to their land, then to their Lord, that will ultimately result in their readiness to be used of the Lord for his kingdom work.

As we have seen, neither process could be accomplished before the advent of Christ, but both processes were demonstrated in the days of Cyrus to occupy many decades. The collapse of Babylon was not the work of a moment. Even after the coming of Cyrus, Babylon remained a religious center of much of the area it dominated. It also remained the center of trade by reason of its position in the world. But its temporal power was gone. No longer could it appoint governors and kings in any part of its once wide empire. Those days were past never to return. Israel’s restoration too after the 70 years in Babylon was a preview of the equally drawn out and eventful sequence of our day. Both processes are taking place. That fact cannot be denied. Both are the works of Messiah. They are signs so big that it would be difficult to conceive greater. Neither process (Babylon’s decline nor Israel’s rise) could commence before the approach of Cyrus then, or the coming of Christ at this end of the age. We commend all Bible students to carefully compare the century and a quarter history of events following the coming of Cyrus with those since 1874.

Those years were full of hazards and disappointments as well as those brighter moments of rejoicing. The same was true in principle in the days of Moses, though events were more consolidated. Things did not go smoothly for Israel at either period. There was a moment when Moses cried out to God, Why hast Thou sent me? It seemed then that the only result of his coming was greater fury on the part of the oppressor. Those new-born hopes of Israel that were to mark each typical period of her deliverer’s presence were to be dashed and shaken, her groans increase. Jewish tears were to be shed even in the days of the presence of her deliverer.

What of that third sign of Moses, the pouring out of water which turned to blood upon the soil of Egypt? In Ex 4:9 the Lord said to Moses that if they fail to recognize the meaning of the other two witnesses, this could be the third. Has there indeed been a third sign, a witness as unmistakable as the going down of Babylon and the rising up of Israel, and which particularly marks our day?

Water represents life and also truth. Why then when it is poured upon the ground does death result? Blood represents death when spilled on the ground. We believe that water represents here as elsewhere the living truth of God’s Word. The ground of Egypt is the territory of Pharaoh, representing the domain of Satan, the ground of his lies and deceptions. This then is the effect of the pouring out of the water of truth upon the territory of error and ground of lies. The pouring out of truth spells destruction, death, to darkness and error. To fully appreciate the force of this sign we would need to study closely the history of the 19th century.

In retrospect we now can see the preparations taking place during that 75-year period between the running out of the 1260 years and that of the 1335 years leading to the blessedness foretold. First the Bible societies, then the clarifying of the meaning of Bible languages and the growing interest in Bible matters. In 1800 one in every 14 of the population of the USA professed a Christian belief. By 1850 it was claimed to be one in three. The way was prepared for the great King of the sunrising to open the sluice-gates for the flood of truth that was to pour forth during the last quarter century and beyond.

The effects of that truth flood we all have come to know: Gladness of heart for the truth-hungry. But that which was a savour of life unto life for the Lord’s people proved to be the savour of death unto death for the very ground of Satan’s errors: the deathless soul, hell-fire, the second person of the trinity who could only pretend to die for sins because he was God, the lost hope for the world. For these and other errors the sweet waters of truth were to be a savour of death unto death. The waters turned to blood upon the ground of Egypt. It did the same for Egypt’s rivers and springs. It was to be the Master’s last supper with his people on earth, a feast indeed, enriched by the bringing out of the storehouse spiritual treasures new and old, beautifully prefigured in those chapters of precious sharing, John 13 to 17. And as he blessed those heaven-provided truths to our hearts, did they not burn within and were not the eyes of his loved ones opened to his presence, though now invisible to natural sight?

Three great signs, so immense, so incontrovertible. We have not followed cunningly devised fables concerning the parousia of the Lord for we are eye-witnesses of his majesty. These signs are for his people that they may know that THIS IS HE that was to come, their Master, Lord, and Deliverer.

Now with retrospective wisdom we can look back on those early harvest days and ask, Were we deceived? Has the passage of time disproved or has it vindicated those early convictions? The answer comes with resounding clarity and force: We were not deceived. Since the days of Brother Russell far greater confirmations have arisen than anything he was privileged to witness in his earthly course. Particularly has this been true with regard to Israel. There are Jews in Israel today who know that what they are witnessing taking place around them and before their eyes are the works of their Messiah. Because they cannot see him, they are puzzled. They speak of the days since 1948 as the Messianic Era! They know, as many Jews before them, that these works of restoration are the works of Messiah at his coming.

This was a great concern in the minds of the disciples when Jesus was about to leave them. He was Messiah, yet he was going without fulfilling his appointed role of restoring the kingdom to Israel. How could he do that? Later Peter had the task of telling his fellow countrymen that their Messiah had come and that he had also gone again. Immediately he knew he had to explain how this could be without the work of Messiah so long awaited. How could this be that he had not fulfilled Messiah’s role? So Peter explains that heaven must receive him UNTIL the time was due for the restoration work to proceed. It takes only a moment’s serious thought to realize that whatever other aspects of Messiah’s restoration work may be eventually entailed, it was this, the restoring of Israel, that was uppermost in mind both for Peter and his audience. This would be the sign that he was no longer retained in heaven. The great until has been reached as every phase of Israel’s restoration proves beyond all doubt. The other aspects of blessing are also mentioned in Isa 49:6, but this came first, that he should restore the desolations of Israel.

We are now living in a most wonderful time of that restoration process thus far. The Jewish year from the end of 1944-45 was to witness an outstanding turning point in the experiences of the Jewish people. The precise moment had arrived for them to leave the wilderness state and to infiltrate the land of promise. The wandering, suffering Jew became a fighting Jew, fighting for his land. Within so short a time there then emerged the sovereign State of Israel. That turning point just happened to be 30 years after the expiration of the Gentile Times in the Jewish year 1914-15. Another 45 years was to see a time of blessedness for Israel. So unexpectedly and dramatically it came, the answer to the prayers of Jews of so many years, as throughout Europe and other places too the gates were opened, restrictions lifted, for Jews to return to their land by the thousands. Even during the Gulf war the flow continued unabated. The story we know; it is still taking place. Yet so suddenly and unexpectedly it began just 45 years from that notable year of 1944-45. The year commencing at the autumn of 1989 had arrived. We are now just in a position to look back and notice with the wisdom of retrospect what we could not have guessed before the event, that Israel too was to have an eventful extension of a 1290 and 1335 years just as the spiritual seed before her following 1799.AD marked no particularly outstanding event but rather a point of time during the process of Papacy’s development, in a similar way a point 1260 years before 1914 of significance to Jewish history (i.e. 654 AD) was a point in the midst of the development of Islam, the Jews’ great enemy, between the coming of the prophet and the building of the mosque upon the temple site.

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings ofChrist abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. 2Co 1:3-5

I’M VERY GLAD I am here with you and that God has arranged this blessed time for us from many countries to meet together with those who lovingly carry on their shoulders the precious message of the faith once delivered unto the saints. We were dreaming and even had a conviction that such a time had to come, but only in the restitution of all things about which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets. We previously were like Elijah, feeling that we were alone. But thanks be to God that he has reserved to himself more than 7,000 who have not bowed the knee to Baal.

My dear brethren, since I am for the first time at a convention of this kind, I am especially moved. When thinking about my Romanian brethren’s invitation to serve here, a thought persists in my mind like that of Moses: O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send, (Ex 4:13) or as Jeremiah said, Ah, Lord God! behold I cannot speak: for I am a child. (Jer 1:6) But the Apostle Paul’s words have strengthened me: For the strength [of God] is made perfect in weakness, and when I am weak, then am I strong. (2Co 12:9,10)

Yet from ancient times since God began to work with fallen and sinful man through mediators, He has used His own methods that are unknown to men. At one time when trying to follow the philosophy of the plan of redemption and to know the mind of God concerning some things, the Apostle Paul exclaimed: O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! (Ro 11:33)

We see in God’s dealing with the patriarchs how God worked with His servant Jacob. Even from his youth Jacob valued the blessing and profited from an occasion to buy it when his brother Esau sold it easily. Though he really became the owner of God’s blessing, Jacob was obliged to leave the country and his father’s house empty-handed and to live for a time as a foreigner in Mesopotamia. When he became son-in-law to Laban, he was deceived in both marriage and in the changing of his wages.

Why did God permit these things? Although Jacob passed through all these difficult situations, the Father permitted further humiliations. The meeting with his brother Esau shook him tremendously when he heard of his rage and that he had 400 armed men. Although Jacob knew God was caring for him as communicated through a dream and through angels, nevertheless this hard trial made him cry out in prayer and say:

O . . . Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country and to thy kindred and I will deal well with thee, I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which thou hast shown unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan and now I am become two bands. Deliver me I pray thee from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau. Ge 32:9-11

As he meets his brother Esau, he humbles himself and bows seven times to the ground together with his wives, children, and servants. He calls himself his brother’s servant although he had received the right of the firstborn and the blessing.

That was not the end of Jacob’s trial. He had to be separated from his dear wife Rachel. When it seemed that his life began to be more peaceful, another wave of trouble came over him to jolt him once again. The disappearance of Joseph, the terrible famine, the departure of Benjamin to Egypt these all spiritually crushed Jacob and embittered his existence. So when he arrived in Egypt, he told Pharaoh: Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been. (Genesis 47:9) Even though his life was often very rough, nothing could stain his character. Nothing could make him bend beneath the burden of trials. From the love for Jehovah his God, the God of his parents Abraham and Isaac, he heroically suffered any trial that came upon him.

And who has not shuddered at the life full of testings of the irreproachable Job? In a single day he lost all his flocks and all his children. Few among us could endure more or even as much as Job suffered. These bitter sufferings and physical dehumanization made his friends abandon him. Even his wife misunderstood and said unto him: Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God, and die. (Job 2:9) In all this Job did not sin with his lips. It is as though we hear him saying: The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. (Job 1:21)

The Apostle Paul writing to the Hebrews about faith in chapter 11 leaves us an authentic testimony about those who through the ages have walked by faith, seeking a better country:

Through faith . . .[ they] stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire. Others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; of whom the world was not worthy: they wandered in deserts and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise. Heb 11:33,34,36-39

The ancient worthies of the Old Testament had few models of faithfulness before them, but in the midst of harsh experiences they nevertheless had their eyes fixed on the reward. Based on divine promises they hoped there would come a time when the head of the serpent would be crushed and all the families of the earth would be blessed. In this spirit our Lord Jesus spoke about Abraham: He saw my day and was glad. (Joh 8:56) Strictly speaking, Abram saw this day only by the eye of faith.

Although these champions of faith from past centuries held up the standard of their God and defied the world order of the rebellious, nevertheless they could not put even a drop of oil on the wounds of the one who fell on the way from Jerusalem to Jericho. The righteousness of God had to be seen. Thus the great Michael appeared on the world scene, he who was perfect, blameless, on whose shoulders God had placed the whole burden of mankind. With the cross on his shoulders he climbed the via dolorosa or road of pain. He signed with his own blood the final act of the ransom and became the secure hope for all mankind.

The prophet Isaiah speaks about our Lord Jesus Christ in chapter 53 verses 3-5 (Is 53:3-5) saying he was like one despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief: he was so despised that we hid our faces from him and we esteemed him not. Nevertheless he hath borne our grief and carried our sorrow: 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. Verse 10 says that it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief.

This was exactly what John the Baptist, who came to prepare his path, cried in the wilderness of Judea: Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Mt 3:2) Jesus began his mission on earth with the same words: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Mt 4:17) Calling unto him all who labor and are heavy laden and inviting them to take his yoke upon them, Jesus promised them rest unto their souls. He addressed the disciples with these words: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow me. (Mt 16:24) He in fact was calling his disciples to join him in preaching the messianic kingdom and establishing the solid foundation of the great edifice of peace and righteousness.

On the way to Jerusalem when Jesus talked about his death and resurrection, some of his disciples asked for the first place in that kingdom. Ye know not what ye ask, said Jesus unto them. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? (Mt 20:22) The disciples said they could, and truly we see later how they fortified themselves so strongly in this faith that when Stephen was stoned, he was full of the Holy Spirit and fell asleep like his master with these words on his lips: Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. (Ac 7:60)

Peter in a prison guarded by soldiers slept quietly although Herod had killed James, the brother of John, with the sword. He knew he was next. Paul and Silas were beaten with rods, cast into prison, and with their feet held fast in the stocks, prayed at midnight and sang praises unto God. Surely, my dear brethren, people who know not God see such things and consider it insanity. According to human wisdom Jesus wasted his life senselessly. They said he had a devil.

The apostles and their followers were a mystery for the world because they gave up their personal ambitions and worldly interests to preach the forgiveness of sin through the Lord Jesus. Paul left a high position. So did others. This was so mysterious for some that they said, Paul thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad. (Ac 26:24) But the apostles and all their followers throughout the age were not affected by the world’s considerations. They were glad every time they were able to suffer for the holy cause of our heavenly Father. The Apostle Paul writes to the Romans in Ro 8:18, For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. And he adds in Ro 8:28, We know that all things work together for good to them that love God.

Dear brethren, although we live in a transition time when the kingdoms of this world are dissolving and the kingdom of the great Emmanuel is on the ascendant, nevertheless on this sea of glass mixed with fire, we must use all the intelligence and wisdom that we have received so that we can stand firmly in this evil day. The assurances given by the psalmist comfort us: God shall help her, and that right early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved . . . the Lord of hosts is with us. (Ps 46:5-7) The prophet Isaiah speaking about this same time says in chapter 24 beginning at verse 17:

Fear and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth. And it shall come to pass that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake. The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it, and it shall fall and not rise again. And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the Earth.isa 24:17-21

The prophet Zephaniah speaking about this great time of trouble says that even the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. (Zeph 1:14) It is the Apostle Peter who asks if the righteous scarcely be saved (1Pe 4:18) and if all these things will happen, what manner of persons ought we to be? (2Pe 3:11)

The words of our Lord Jesus tell us that there shall be great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no nor ever shall be; the mobilizing forces of the adversary shall try to deceive even the very elect. This attempt by Satan does not sow seeds of doubt within us nor do we tremble in the face of our enemy. On the contrary, we put on the whole armor of God to neutralize any burning arrow aimed against us. We don’t fight against creatures but, as righteous Elihu said, I am according to thy wish in God’s stead: I also am formed out of the clay. (Job 33:6) Our fight is against the leaders, against the kings, against the masters of the darkness of this age, against the spirits of wickedness in heavenly places. The weapons of our warfare, says the Apostle Paul, are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. (2Co 10:4)

Satan, the chief general of the army of sin, is very skillful, sly, and capable of great surprises. We don’t have to fight directly with him but with his disastrous influence. If Michael, the protector of God’s children, were not on our side, our fight against this Cherubim would be doomed to failure. But thanks be to God that both in the small as well as in the great fights, His help is guaranteed for us. In this fight we are assured that even the hairs of our head are numbered. We have received the assurance of faith: I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. (Heb 13:5) Even if a mother should forget her sucking child, by no means shall I forget you. (Isa 49:15) All these assurances fill our hearts with trust. We look with joy upon Zion, the city of our solemnities. (Isa 33:20)

Living in the day of battle, brethren, we are not allowed to fight or recognize another flag other than that of Christ and his word. This is our protection against all enemies.

Even though God promised us help to overcome does not mean we have won the fight. For this war the prophet says we need counsel and strength. (Isa 36:5) Moments of grief, trouble, and fiery trials will be permitted by the heavenly Father for discipline and to balance our character.

So as the Father found it proper to make our Lord Jesus Christ perfect through sufferings although he was perfect as a human being "For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings" (Heb 2:10)so also his joint heirs must be prepared to partake of the same cup. Our Father will permit trials and testings such as He permitted for His son in the Garden of Gethsemane. Our place is always near the Man of Sorrows in the Garden of the Winepresses. There we will better understand why God did not listen to him when he prayed that, if possible, that cup would pass from him. The Apostle Paul also prayed three times for the thorn in his flesh to be removed, but God did not remove it. Later Paul consents to God’s refusal with joy.

The saints through the age have passed through testings and trials to be made perfect through sufferings like their Lord, to become monuments of divine mercy at the appropriate time. Every believer, looking back, will praise the way so full of thorns on which the captain of their salvation has lead them to the triumph of victory.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Re 21:4

Having these exceeding great and precious promises, let us every day make important steps and considerable progress toward the great goal which is Christ the Lord. As far as the life we must live in the flesh is concerned, let us live it moderately, righteously, and piously, waiting for our blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and saviour Jesus Christ.

We should have a continuous and burning desire for understanding more and more of that wonderful light that shines from the face of Jesus in unchanging greatness. Every step in this light means growth in gifts and in knowledge. In the life of every Christian comes a time to mature, to mature in knowledge and appreciation of God’s will. This is the condition that God asks of us, to become mature men in Christ and entrust all our spiritual interests to the Lord.

As we try fervently every day to live on the holy mountains, we will benefit from the inner peace and quiet soul God gives only to those who are completely devoted to Him, who enjoy life from this sanctuary. An ineffable happiness can be seen on their faces. These can say with the prophet Habakkuk,

Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. Hab 3:17,18

Brethren, this must be our state at this time. On the road to Zion we must not stop singing the song of Moses and the Lamb in spite of whatever restrictions the enemy imposes. There have always been agents who have discouraged those who were looking for a better homeland, but in truth God has always raised a faithful Joshua or a fearless Caleb who through their testimonies fortifies our character in the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

Brethren, no matter how much time may be accorded to us, we should not fall into the extremity of thinking that all the works of God are finished, that we do not need to do anything, that our fight is of little importance. Surely we as wise students who long for a better country desire to know where we are on the stream of time. Therefore when we finish our earthly course, we ask the Watchman, What of the night? And then the Watchman answers, The morning cometh, and also the night.

We have heard that some of God’s arrangements are fulfilled. But don’t think that there are gaps in the plan of God nor that when God finishes His work He allows the world to continue its course. Not at all! The plain fact that we are here now means that God is fulfilling some aspects of His plan through us. It is a fact that we are being used as messengers of the Good News for the whole human race. Those who understand this holy mission, who have a piety for God’s will, will be the first who will be blessed in the kingdom of Emmanuel.

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. Php 4:8

Like true soldiers of Christ who understand the value of our calling and the mission we are to fulfil under this royal banner, we fight with honesty and devotion in the front line of battle. Let us consume and be consumed in this righteous cause, for there is nothing more dear today on this earth than to be a hero for God and to work for the triumph of the King of Kings. We will neither murmur nor repine at what the Lord’s providence may permit, because faith can firmly trust him come what may.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all. My admonition to all is this:

Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. Php 4:1

Amen.

DEAR BRETHREN IN CHRIST, it is with joy that we address you today and are able to be with you in convention in Poitiers, France. I bring you the warm Christian love of your brethren in Canada.

We have chosen for our theme text 2Co 3:6 which reads, Who also hath made us ABLE MINISTERS of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

From our studies, we know that the testament referred to here is the New Covenant. We recall the scripture pertaining to the Memorial of our Lord’s death in Mt 26:28, For this is my blood of the new testament which is shed for many for the remission of sins. These, our Lord’s words, referred to his blood and the blood of those who would participate in his cup which would be used for the sealing the New Covenant.

In the time allotted today, we would like to examine three major points in understanding how we are able ministers of the New Covenant: (1) A comparison of the ministration of the Old and New Law Covenants; (2) An examination of the importance in the fact that blood is used to seal the covenants; (3) An analysis of what it means to be able ministers in a practical sense looking at both the present and future aspects.

The Ministration of Death

Let us turn to 2Co 3:6 and read to verse 9. Note what the Apostle Paul said about the Law Covenant.

Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament [or covenant] not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death [the Law Covenant], written and engraved in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: how shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.

We notice that the Law Covenant was referred to as the ministration of death or of condemnation, which it was to the Jews. No matter how hard they tried to keep the law, they could not. It was not because there was something wrong with the Law, but with the people. They were imperfect, but being unaware of this, they were trying to keep a perfect law, which is impossible. However, the Apostle Paul said that the ministration of that law, through Moses, upon tablets of stone, was glorious. And indeed it was. First, if fulfilled, it offered the prize of eternal earthly life. And even though Israel’s efforts to keep the Law were imperfect, it was sufficient to typically justify them. But the ministration of that Law Covenant had something lacking, at least in respect to ministering it to an imperfect race.

How was the Law Covenant Ministered?

We remember from the type that the typical Law Covenant was ratified or sealed by Moses its mediator with the blood of bulls and goats. We read in Heb 9:18-22,

Whereupon neither the first testament [or covenantit is the same Greek word] was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book [type of the Law], and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

It is important to notice here that not only was the agreement of the people required in establishing the covenant (as we read in Ex. 24:7 where they said All that the Lord hath said will we do and be obedient), but blood was also necessary to seal, ratify, or make obligatory the covenant with the people. God required the sealing of the covenant with blood to make it binding upon the nation of Israel as well as being intended as a type. In addition, the sprinkling of the blood upon the altar represented the satisfaction of God’s justice. The sprinkling of blood upon the people brought the obligation of keeping the covenant upon them, as well as typically cleansing them from sympathy with evil and thus indicating their harmony with the law.

So in brief, this is how the Law Covenant was inaugurated and sealed. Moses was required as its mediator because this covenant was conditionalIF Israel would keep the Law perfectly, THEN they would have the blessing of eternal life on earthunlike the Abrahamic Covenant which was unconditional and therefore did not require a mediator. The ministration of the Law Covenant was called glorious by the Apostle Paul in that the law was of God and is perfect, and that partial obedience to the law elevated the nation to typical justification. However, this typical standing had to be renewed by the annual Day of Atonement sacrifices. But, as the Apostle Paul states in Hebrews 10:4, It is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins What was needed were better sacrifices that could actually cleanse and purify the people so that they would be in a position to keep the law perfectly. These better sacrifices are used in the sealing of the New Covenant. The New Covenant is necessary because the old Law Covenant failed to bring the desired objective: life to the nation of Israel.

The Ministration of the New Covenant

Having reviewed some features of the ministration of the Law Covenant between God and Israel, let us now look at the ministration of the New Covenant. The New Covenant arrangements will be able to bring life to the world because its ministration is better than the Law Covenant. Within that ministration, we can identify a few constituent parts.

First of all, with Jesus as its mediator, it is superior to the mediatorship of Moses. Jesus, our Head, is the one, and the only one, who can stand uncondemned before God’s righteous law. He is a faithful High Priest who is able to sympathize with the problems plaguing the sin-sick human race. Jesus will associate with him in this work his tried and faithful bride.

The New Covenant will be superior in that it is built upon better sacrifices. The Apostle Paul says in Heb 9:23 that it was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these [referring to the sacrifices of the Law Covenantblood of bulls and goats], but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. Jesus’ sacrifice is the chief sacrifice upon which there could be any hope for life under any arrangement or covenant. But note that Paul is mentioning better sacrifices (plural), which indicates to us that by God’s arrangement, besides Jesus’ sacrifice, the sacrifices of the Church are also included in the inauguration of the New Covenant. We will expand upon this thought in a few moments.

The New Covenant is also better than the Law Covenant in that it is established upon better promises. In Heb 8:6 we read, But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also is he the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

To the fleshly house of Israel, the promises were all earthly while those to the spiritual house are all heavenly. The earthly promises were nonetheless great and glorious but those to spiritual Israel are even greater and more glorious. Under the Law Covenant any individual who could keep the law perfectly would have been granted life as a reward. Those who are being prepared to make up that Great Mediator give up the earthly promises for the better promises of glory, honor, and immortality. (Ro 2:7) And, under the New Covenant, all the willing and obedient will come under restitution so that they will actually be able to reap the reward of everlasting life upon the earth. In this way also is the New better than the Old. So we see that in these three ways at leastbetter mediator, better sacrifices, and better promisesthe New Covenant is superior to the Law Covenant.

Better Sacrifices Give Life

Why is the New Covenant arrangement able to give life to Israel and the world while the Law Covenant failed in this regard? It is able to do so because it is built upon better sacrifices, sacrifices which not only typically justify the people, but have the power to actually justify people and cancel sin.

As we mentioned a few moments ago, the chief sacrifice is that of our Lord and Saviour Jesus. By voluntarily giving up his life as that great ransom sacrifice, the hope of deliverance from the penalty of sin, Adamic death, has become a reality. It was the blood of Christ, poured out for the world of mankind, which secures all of the promises for life in the scriptures. There is power in his blood, which effects much more than the blood of bulls and goats. In Col 1:14 we read, In whom we have redemption [deliverance] through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.

Jesus has paid the ransom price in the sight of God’s justice, and that now faith in his blood can justify us in God’s sight. Everywhere throughout the scriptures this power of justification on the part of our redeemer is attributed to his sacrifice on our behalf. Various scriptures more or less distinctly speak of our being washed or cleansed or purified from sin. All of these scriptures point to the thought that the cleansing power is the blood of Christthe merit of our Lord’s sacrifice. (See 1Jo 1:7; Re 1:5; 1Co 6:11; 2Pe 2:22; Ti 3:5; Heb 9:14; 1Pe 1:19.) Thus we see from these scriptures that Jesus’ blood truly is precious because it can take away sin. This is the foundation of the sealing of the New Covenant.

Jesus’ ransom sacrifice enables the other sacrifices of the better sacrifices of Heb 9:23 to count in the sealing of the New Covenant. We noticed that there was more than one sacrifice which was used to inaugurate the Law Covenant. This was shown to us in Heb. 9:19 where Moses took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and the people. Since our Lord is represented as the bullock (or calf), then we see that the Church is represented in the goats. We see this beautiful (and astounding) feature of God’s arrangement, that we have been invited to share with our Lord in the blood which seals the New Covenant. What a wonderful thought!

In our Memorial studies, we have carefully considered the import of sharing in the Lord’s cup. It indicates that we are willing to share with our Lord in his baptism of death, that we are willing to undergo the shame, the ignominy, the suffering, and the reproaches for Jesus’ sake. But the additional meaning is that all those who share in drinking of the Lord’s cup also share in the sealing of the New Covenant. In Reprint page 4320 Brother Russell writes:

Only by thus sharing with our Lord, drinking his cup, being baptized into his baptism of death, surrendering all into his hand, can we have fellowship with him in his sufferings; and his death (including ours) seals the New Covenant in his blood, of which he said, Drink ye all of it. In his cup we are partakers, joint-sacrifiers. (1Co 10:16) We see that our only opportunity for gaining the great prize of the high calling is in connection with the sealing of a New Covenant between God and Israel. How beautifully the features of the Divine program balance. Their loss was our gain, and our gain through sacrifice will eventually become their gain; and altogether the Lord will be glorified.

How are we Able Ministers?

A question that might be asked is Has the New Covenant begun, or [if not] how can we be ministers of the New Covenant?

The New Covenant cannot begin until the death of the testator or the one who has made this good-will offering to Israel. Let us look at Heb 9:15-17,

And for this cause he [Jesus] is the mediator of the new testament [or covenant], that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead; otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.

From this testimony of the Apostle Paul we learn that the New Covenant cannot go into effect until the testator is dead. The testator as we have seen is not only Jesus, for the same Apostle Paul told us in verse 23 of Hebrews chapter 9 that there were to be better sacrifices which tells us that the Church is included as well. Since the Church also is counted in with Jesus’ blood to seal the New Covenant, and since the Church, the body of Christ, is not yet complete, then we can say that the testator is not yet dead, and therefore the New Covenant has not yet gone into effect.

Then how can we be servants of the New Covenant if it is not yet in operation? We quote from Reprint 4332:

We are ministers of the New Covenant in that we are laying down our lives in its service, in its interest, although it is not yet a covenant, but merely a promise. We are not only laying down our lives, but seeking our fellow-members of the Body of the Anointed One and assisting them in the laying down of their lives, under the assurance that these He hath made us accepted in the beloved, in whom we have redemption [deliverance] through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.

We have now received the atonement, the Apostle Paul tells us in Ro 5:11, which enables us to have a standing before our Heavenly Father. In this light, then, our only relationship to the New Covenant is that the Father drew us to Jesus and Jesus covered us with his robe of righteousness and thus made it possible for us to be called to joint-fellowship with himself in the better sacrifices, participation in the cup of suffering and death. This cup is also the blood of the New Covenant for the sealing of the New Covenant for Israel under which all the families of the earth will get a blessing. We see that only by our Heavenly Father’s good pleasure is Jesus now accepting the little flock as his members and counting their sacrifice or blood as part of his own.

One meaning then of being servants or ministers of the New Covenant is in yielding our earthly rights obtained by faith-justification and giving them back to the Lord. As we have obtained mercy through Israel’s unbelief, the Apostle Paul tells us that through our mercy in giving up our reckoned earthly life rights, they also (Israel) may obtain mercythe opportunity for life under the New Covenant arrangements.

What a beautiful thought and inspiration this adds to our Memorial participation of dying daily with our Lord. The cup was symbolical and pointed forward to Jesus’ own death and his blood which was to seal the New Covenant. Jesus offered the cup to his followers, symbolizing our privilege of participation with him in the sin offering, to fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church, as the Apostle Paul told us in Col 1:24. So in our daily dying with our Lord let us remember that our efforts along this line will eventually be used to bless Israel and the world.

In what other ways are we Ministers of the New Covenant? Since the New Covenant has not yet gone into operation, we cannot help Israel nor the world to follow the letter of the Law and expect to see them progressing to actual human perfection. We can, however, be ministers of the covenant in telling them that the time for these blessings is near. Since we have an insight into the nature of these blessings, which, if we are faithful, we will assist in administrating to Israel and the world. We can tell them of God’s beautiful character and his just laws. We can also relate to them that obedience will be required of mankind to God’s righteous laws which will bring about the desire of all nations.

In general our service now to the covenant is one of enlightenment and comfort. All those anointed of the Holy Spirit have the commission of service and of preaching the truths which have reached their ears and hearts.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn. (Isa 61:1,2)

Is this not our commission now? While we believe these words are directed in a primary sense now to Zion (the Church), in a secondary sense we are to comfort all that mourn. This we believe can also be seen as doing service to the New Covenant in that we are preparing them for the blessings to follow and hopefully helping them (the meek) to get in line with its spirit, because it will help them when actually under the New Covenant. We also see a special work to be done in this regard with the nation of Israel, also telling them of the blessings which God has in store for them under the New Covenant. This we read in Isa 40:1,2:

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably [affectionately] to Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

Able Ministers (Future)

We have looked at some aspects of how we are able ministers now. But what of the future? How will we be ministers of the New Testament when it is inaugurated?

Let us look at what our Heavenly Father tells us through the prophet in Isa 49:8-10.

Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee [the Gospel agenow is the accepted time (2Co 6:2)] and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee [Christ and the Church] for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; that thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places. They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.

Who is given for a covenant of the people? These words are directed to you and me, brethren, if we prove ourselves to be faithful unto death. The Christ, head and body, will form that great Mediator of the New Covenant, and have agreed to lay down their earthly life rights in order that these life rights might be passed on to Israel and the world.

This will be our future work under the ministration of the New Covenant. The Apostle Paul said that the Law Covenant was glorious, but the New Covenant is to be much more glorious. And from this scripture alone, Isa 49:8-10, we can see why. Can you imagine calling to those in the prison-house of death and saying Go Forth, get up from the grave? Can you fathom leading the world of mankind up the highway of holiness by feeding them the truth and the various instructions and corrections which like leaves of a tree, shall be for the healing of the nations? Can you see yourself sympathizing with those whose hearts have been broken by the reign of sin and death and leading them and comforting them as they progress in the law under the New (Law) Covenant? This, we believe, will be the nature of the work of those ministering to the New Covenant when it is inaugurated. Those whose blood is used to seal this covenant drink from a cup of sorrow, suffering, shame, ostracism, and heartbreak. But it will soon turn to a cup of joy and blessing in the mediatorial phase of the kingdom!

Brother Russell sums up this work beautifully in R3109:

When the entire mediator shall be complete, the covenant will come into force, become effective to all the families of the earth, thus constituting the blessing mentioned in the covenant made with Abraham. The curse of the divine sentence will then end, and divine favor and power will be given the great mediator who shall then begin his great work of ruling and teaching mankind in righteousness and administering laws and regulations for their benefit, for their physical, social, mental and moral uplifting. The whole arrangement shall be in the hands of the mediator and his work of helping and restoring the race which he purchased with his blood shall progress throughout the Millennial age.

So these works of uplifting the nations and helping the world progress in obedience to the laws of the kingdom under the New (Law) Covenant, we believe constitute some of the future responsibilities and privileges of the able ministers of the New Covenant.

Conclusion

In closing our thoughts for today let us turn to 2Co 4:1,10,11 and the Apostle Paul’s words of encouragement for the able ministers of the New Covenant. We read:

Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not. Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

The whole creation has an interest in our sacrifices, brethren. They are groaning and travailing in pain, waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. For not until the death of all the members of the testator can the New Covenant go into effect with the nation of Israel. Let us look forward with anticipation to God’s words in Jeremiah 31:31-34,

Behold the days come saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days [of the development of the Mediator], saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

We are thankful that the Lord has shown us mercy and grace to come into this arrangement whereby we can be Able Ministers of this New Covenant arrangement. We pray that we will come more and more in harmony with all of its features and arrangements. We pray that we may be faithful in our privilege of assisting our brethren in drinking of the cup so that the Church would soon be complete and the blood of the New Covenant may be applied to sealing the Covenant with our Lord and so that the blessings may begin to flow to mankind.

GOOD EVENING. I am Brother Dick Kindig of Newark, Ohio, USA. I would like to thank the committee for their efforts to organize this convention, and a number of brethren who helped immeasurably in the effort to prepare this presentation.

We felt that the interests of the Harvest work could best be served if we made a series of short audio-visual presentations which could be adapted for use in your own witnessing efforts. And so the first three presentations you will see tonight are designed to be understandable to a public audience. My remarks, and the short audio-visual presentation at the end, are intended more directly for you brethren assembled here.

Someone once said that the last person to recognize his need of water is the fish! Surrounded by water and living in it, it never occurs to a fish until he is deprived of water, just how important water is to him. And so it is with us. The Word of God is our source of light, of food, of life itself.

Tonight, therefore, we hope to remind all of you fish of very basic thingsin the language of the Apostle Peter, though you already know them, and are established in the present Truth.

Creation by the Word of God

Imagine the universe, as it flashes into being. Outbursts of energy assault the blackness. Raging storms of light . . . they press the limits of infinity, and yet are obviously held in check by some unseen control.

Who among men can comprehend the power? Man, indeed, has finally learned how to destroy our fragile little world. But all the bombs that the human race has made, would only light one star for one millionth of a millionth of a second. A force of superior power is warming the earth with light.

If our soil is rich, it is because that power has worked for ages past. If our cities bustle with traffic, it is just another form of the energy that came to earth as sunlight, eons and eons ago.

While the stars can still be seen, observe them see the meaning of infinite power. And then focus a microscope, to learn the meaning of infinite wisdom. Molecules of matter particles tinier than dust yet organized as energy systems. They, too, obey unseen control. They can bond together, firm and rigid, or associate freely, in a fluid. They can bend, stretch, and shrink. They can form into purest crystals, flawlessly guided by an inner plan. They can transmit the light of the stars . . . bend it into color. And, most amazing of all, these structures of inner space, can see the light from outer space . . . in that amazing organization of inanimate matter that we call, Life.

Consider the eye. The only transparent part of a living organism yet occurring in every one of the higher life forms. Living structures that can clearly transmit light like purest glass; adjustable lenses that can focus it; millions of nerve sensors that detect the difference between brightness and color; and a brain that can collect these impulses, discern patterns in them; gather information from them, react to them, remember them.

In five different classes of creatures sight occurs: mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and insects. In every case, a miracle of engineering, perfectly designed to meet the needs of that creature. To the great scientist, Isaac Newton, the eye was irrefutable proof that there is a God in heaven.

Except where man has destroyed the natural balance, we find that order prevails . . . we observe order within the workings of the tiniest cells; specialized activities, harmoniously carried out; communication with itself, and with the outside world.

Order and symmetry, abundant variety and superfluity, give evidence not only of practical response to an environment, but also of the work of a master designer. Strength . . . and delicacy . . . power . . . and mobility . . . speed . . . and grace . . . simplicity . . . and ostentation . . . camouflage . . . and grand display.

When we reflect on the variety and interdependency of life on earth, we see not merely a food chain, but a symphony of freedom, where every creation has its place, and the most important roles are played by the most insignificant participants.

What is the force that unleashed the raw, rebellious power of the universe, and yet imposed an order that controls even the stars? What is the power that transformed mud into granite, coal into diamonds, and ashes into life? The Word of God!

By the Word of God the heavens were made. God spoke, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood fast. By a word from the Almighty the mighty seas were gathered. By a word from the Almighty the mountains arose. By a command from God the flowers produced seed. The birds carried it away, the islands gave it ground.

By a word from God a stony earth became the mother of a thousand forms, a million varieties of life. By the word of God, mankind was made in God’s image. A voice that can whisper, and shout, and sing; a hand that can draw, and write, and build; a mind that can wonder, and search, and choose.

By the word of God, ordinary men were tapped by the finger of God. Men who walked with God, grew to become poets, or philosopher-kings, or simply, saints.

By the word of God, freedom is the law, disobedience is a thing that is permitted, and the judgments of God are difficult to trace. By the word of God, the path of righteousness, when it can be found at all, is not always met with pleasant rewards.

By the word of God, life for most people is a maze of shadows, where the darkest shades are felt in deeply personal ways. But by the word of God, the tragedies of this life will not be wasted. And the wisdom each man gains will not be lost forever. Even with its pain, life is always a blessing . . . and death, though sometimes a relief, is always the enemy.

When man first exploded an atomic bomb, its inventor repeated the ancient Sanskrit boast: I am become death, the destroyer of worlds. But God boasts of His creations. The universe he brought to pass through the power of His spoken word. And in His written Word, he tells us that He is not the God of the dead, but of the Living. He identifies himself as the one who created the earth. He assures us that He did not create the earth in vain. He formed it to be inhabited. He asks us, not to worship him in fear of destruction, but in thankfulness for creation. Because He, and He alone, has the power to create a galaxy, or a flower, simply by sending forth His word.

If we have questions, let us ask them. If we feel the pain of the human race, let us turn to God for answers. There is enough evidence of a God in heaven to justify our search: the stars can prove to us God’s power. The miracle of life can teach us His wisdom. And the Word of God alone can show us His justice and His love.

Defining Our Terms

Before we proceed, let us define our terms. The Words of God are His spoken commands, uttered in the heavens. Rarely has the literal voice of God been heard among men.

The phrase, Word of God sometimes refers to the actual written message of the Bible, the inscriptions themselves. This is the case in some places in the New Testament where the Greek word rhema is used, such as 1Pe 1:25.

But most of the time when the Bible uses the expression Word of God it is Logos the spirit that moved in the holy men of God as they wrote the Bible. It is the sacred truth they brought to us not merely the words, but also the significance behind them.

In this sense, the written Word of God is a living principle, an extension of God himself, that operates in the minds and hearts of those who approach God in sincerity and truth.

This is the force that Paul describes when he says that the Word of God is alive, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword . . . able to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The Word of God, as a principle, transforms us by the renewing of our minds. It shows us our sin and unworthiness of life apart from Christ. It shows us that fellowship with God is not achieved through self-examination, but by God’s examination of us. In Thy Light, we see light. In the language of David in Ps 139:23, God searches US. When His probing uncovers a need, we respond by looking at God’s Word, and like a mirror it shows us precisely what we need to do. We don’t look at ourselves, we look at the MIRROR God’s word. It corrects us, instructs us in righteousness.

The Word of God is also a person: our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the plan, expression, intention, of God Himself. The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, so that we can behold the glory of God. To Moses, God showed his back side. In Jesus, we are able to see God’s face.

And finally, the Word of God is personified in the Church of God. It is spoken of as the epistle of Christ. The apostles wrote words, but Christ writes his message to the world in the hearts and lives of his followers.

Not many miles from here, the great humanist philosopher Voltaire inaugurated the Age of Reason. The modern world can thank Voltaire that we are free to express religious views without fear of being burned at the stake. But Voltaire also vigorously attacked the Bible, laughing at the idea that it could be the Word of God. Crush the infamy was his cry.

While God allowed Voltaire to prevail against false religions, Voltaire’s attempts to destroy the Word of God met with utter failure. The wrath of man will praise him. The remainder of wrath he will restrain. Within a few short years of Voltaire’s death, Bible societies sprang up all over Europe and America. Some years later it was learned that the very room where these Bibles came to be stored had been the site where Voltaire issued his most famous tract attacking the Bible. The Word of God is always triumphant.

The Word of God Personified

There are many ancient books. What is so special about the Bible?

The Bible speaks in a straightforward way that has the stamp of truth. In its account of creation, the Bible passes by obvious opportunities to speculate, and describes with simple precision the order in which life appeared. The fossil record stands today as indisputable proof of the accuracy of the Bible account.

Like the people in a masterful novel, Bible characters come to life as we read. The complexity and good qualities of its bad men come through and the faults of even its most saintly people are honestly presented.

For the last century, scholars did not believe the Bible account of the destruction of Jericho. But recent discoveries reveal the complete destruction of ancient Jericho at the precise time that Bible chronology records. Even the Bible statement that one small portion of the wall escaped intact is verified by recent archeological evidence.

Higher critics once ridiculed Luke, the author of the book of Acts, as mistaken when he referred to the Philippian rulers as praetors. According to the experts, two duumuirs would have ruled that city. But recent archeological findings revealed that praetor was indeed the title they used.

The following passage in the Book of Luke, contains more than a dozen references that can be checked for accuracy against secular history:

In the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitus, and Lysanius was tetrarch of Abilene . . . Lu 3:1

Every one of these facts has been verified. This kind of historical accuracy led Sir William Ramsey, the Oxford professor who spent 15 years trying to refute the New Testament, to finally conclude, Luke is an historian of the first rank. [He] should be placed along with the very greatest of historians.

When critical scholars first began questioning the reliability of the Bible text itself, the oldest New Testament manuscripts were copies made almost a thousand years after the original was penned. But in the last hundred years, thousands of older manuscripts have been found. Two complete ancient copies date back to A.D. 325 and 350less than 250 years after the original writing.

The oldest surviving copy of Homer’s Iliad was made 500 years after the original was penned. Other surviving ancient texts, whose authenticity no one doubts, range from 500 to over 2000 years more recent than their ancient originals. But some recently-discovered copies of New Testament books date back to 125 A.D.just 25 years after the Bible was completed!

Only ten copies of Julius Caesar have survived from antiquity, seven copies of Plato, 49 copies of Aristotle. Among the major ancient books, the Iliad has by far the most numerous surviving manuscripts, with 643except for the Bible, which has 24,000!

In addition, scholars have now documented 89,000 quotations of the New Testament by ancient writers. These quotations contain all but eleven verses of the New Testament!

The Old Testament is equally reliable. Higher Critics who questioned the accuracy of the Masoretic Text have had to accept the overwhelming evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls that the Hebrew Bible was flawlessly preserved for two thousand years. The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered since 1948, have verified every book of the old testament except Esther.

Though written by forty writers across 1500 years, the Word of God has one harmonious theme. Its subject matter ranges widely from history to law to poetry to visionary prophecy, to personal letters. But one golden thread unites the entire book: the process by which a single creator-God plans to bring redemption and peace to the world of mankind.

One figure dominates the Bible from beginning to end: Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God. We read of Him in the first few pages of the Bible. The human race has been deceived. Paradise is lost. God’s face has turned away from man. But God stirred their hopes with one clear promise: that an offspring of the woman would bruise the serpent’s head.

We read of Jesus in the last few pages of the Bible. He is a King, reigning with his bride. He lays hold of the figurative serpent and destroys him so that the nations will no longer be deceived. Paradise is restored. God dwells with man, his face once again can be seen. The nations are healed, and death itself is destroyed. From Genesis to Revelation, Jesus Christ is the glue that binds all the pages of the Bible together.

Jesus, the Word Of God

The Word of God is so preoccupied with Jesus, the Son of God, that it shares its name with him. He is the Word of God personified.

The man who spoke of himself as the way, the truth, and the life, also said that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. And the writer of Hebrews made it clear that Jesus was the complete expression of God to man:

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke to us by his servants the prophets, has in these latter times spoken to us by His son. Heb 1:1,2

Jesus is the Son of God, because he fulfilled hundreds of prophecies of the Bible. The Bible is the Word of God, because Jesus was raised from the dead and proved the Bible true. Let’s look at what the Word of God said about the Messiah:

He would trace his genealogy to the tribe of Judah, and present himself to Israel as the Prince of Peace. (Ge 49:10)

As Messiah, he would purge the temple which implies that he appeared before the temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. (Mal 3:1)

He would present himself to Israel 483 years after the command to restore and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, and would die 3 years later. These chronological prophecies were fulfilled precisely on time. (Da 9:24)

He would be the Promised Seed of Abraham who would bless all the families of the Earth. (Ge 12:13)

He would be the great Prophet of which Moses wrote. (Deuteronomy 18:15)

He would be the great King who, in the new world, would reign on David’s throne. (Psalm 2)

He would be pierced. (Zec 12:10)

He would be crucified. (Psalm 22:14,17)

By being hung up on a tree, as despised as a dead snake, he would become the healing agent for the entire world. (Nu 21:8,9)

The reliable history of the Word of God identifies Jesus of Nazareth as this promised Messiah. He traced his human life back to David, and yet was David’s Lord. In fulfillment of scripture he was born in Bethlehem, fled to Egypt, and settled in Nazareth. Like Moses, he was led into the wilderness, and fasted 40 days before beginning his work.

When asked by John the Baptist’s followers if he was truly the Messiah, he asked them to go tell John of the work he had done: heal the sick, feed the hungry, comfort the brokenhearted, give sight to the blind, preach the gospel to the poor, and raise the dead all of them works that the Word of God had predicted of the Messiah.

He strikingly fulfilled Bible references to the manna or bread from heaven, the sacrificial lamb, the veil of the temple, the high priest, the blood of atonement, the passover lamb.

He was born at the time of the day of atonement, died at the time of the passover, and was resurrected at the time of the offering of the first-fruits itself a picture of resurrection.

Yes, Jesus was the Word of God personified. As he stated repeatedly, he came to do the Father’s will, as it was written in the scroll of the book.

By healing all who came to him, he demonstrated his title as Lord of the Sabbath Daythe great future Day of the Lord that all Jews hoped for.

He is the Ransom, the savior of the world.

Just as the sin of one man became the cause of hereditary death for all so the righteousness of one man became the cause of a hereditary blessing the free gift that in due time will come to all men, justification to life.

Even while dying on the cross, Jesus disregarded his own pain, and focused his mind on fulfilling the will of God, as expressed in the Bible. He meditated on prophecies about his death, and the glory that would follow it.

He recited aloud the first and last verses of a well-known Psalm. True to Jesus’ experience, the Psalm described the feelings of the crucified redeemer: his bones were out of joint, the proud and rebellious mocked him, the soldiers drew lots for his clothes. They pierced his hands and feet. Even his one mention of himself while on the cross was uttered, according to John, so that bystanders would recognize he was thirsty and fulfill the last remaining prophecy about his death: that in his thirst, he was given vinegar to drink.

As he breathed his last, he prayed yet again. Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit. Immediately, an earthquake shook the land, and the four-inch thick veil of the temple was torn in two.

The human Word of God had died, after fulfilling every detail of the written Word of God concerning him every detail, except one that God alone could now bring to pass: the resurrection.

The resurrection of Christ from the dead is held up as the central fact of the Bible. It is not enough to believe that Jesus was a great teacher. He TAUGHT that he was the son of God. He TAUGHT that he would be raised from the dead.

Five hundred eye witnesses saw him, not in a momentary vision, but repeatedly and in different circumstances, over a period of five weeks. They had time to cross-examine themselves, question what their senses were telling them. There were skeptical voices, and challenges to their reports. They had opportunities to touch, eat with, and converse with the resurrected Jesus. So convinced were these eye-witnesses of the reality of the resurrection, that their transformed lives transformed the ancient world. And though they often faced a martyr’s death, the eyewitnesses of Jesus’ resurrection insisted to the end that Jesus of Nazareth, the Word of God, lives again.

The only evidence for entire ancient races is often a few shards of pottery, a few fragments of bone. The identity of entire ancient dynasties is often found in a hieroglyph or a third-hand scrap of history.

By comparison, the evidence that Jesus lived, died on a cross, and was raised from the dead, is compelling, rational, and complete. Professor Thomas Arnold, professor and author of History of Rome, stated:

I know of no one fact in the history of mankind which is proved by better and fuller evidence than that . . . Christ died, and rose again from the dead.

Evidence to satisfy the human mind and hope to sustain the human heart: these are the treasures ofThe Word of God.

Where is the Word of God Today?

Let the little children alone for of such is the Kingdom of heaven.

In my Father’s house are many mansions . . . I go that I may prepare a place for you.

Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

If the Bible is the Word of God, where is it today? We read about the Love of God in the Bible, but where is the evidence of this love in the world? We read about the Justice of God, but where are His judgments among men? We are asked to believe in miracles because we read them in a book. Why doesn’t God do some indisputable miracles, now, miracles on a scale that is worthy of Godlike the widespread curing of cancer or the delivery of millions of children from starvation?

If the Word of God is true, why is it not more active in the world, NOW?

We will try to show that the Word of God is VERY active in the world today. God is painfully aware of the suffering of all peoples, that though the world SEEMS out of control, the troubled events of today are the necessary steps toward the peace and worldwide happiness of tomorrow.

Let’s start with miracles. 1900 years ago, at a time when legitimate miracles were common, the Word of God boldly predicted that special miracles would cease. (1Co 13:8) In fact, the only prophecies of future miracles given in the New Testament describe miracles that will be performed by false teachers. Repeatedly the true believers are warned to be suspicious of miracles done in the name of Christ. (Mt 24:24; 2Th 2:9; Re 13:14; 16:14; 19:20)

There is not a single New Testament assurance that miracles, or special powers, would be an evidence that God is with believers. The only outward sign of authorization promised to believers is that they would find themselves learning how to love one another, and all men. And that this love would be so unusual as to attract attention. (1Co 13:13; Joh 13:35; 1Jo 3:14) It is obvious that the number of people on earth who fit this description is just what Jesus predicted it would be: a little flock. (Lu 12:32)

The followers of Christ were told to preach the gospel all over the worldas a witness to all nations. The terms of this command have been met. Faithful Christians have introduced the Bible to over 500 people-groups around the world.

But were Christians told to expect the masses to hear the Gospel and be converted? Not at all! Christ predicted that the good seed he sowed would be almost completely overrun with weeds. He wondered aloud whether, when he returned, he would find any true faith in the earth. He compared the days of his return to the days of Noah, when preaching righteousness had no effect, and the people of the world at that time KNEW NOT that a great change was at hand. Instead, they went on with their own business until suddenly, the flood came.

The foretold dominance of unbelief, and the predicted lack of trustworthy miracles today, are themselves proof of the Bible’s reliability!

One reason why thoughtful skeptics assume that God is not active in the world, is that so many Christians keep on trying to win the world for Christ and keep failing. Today, there are more Avon or Amway salesmen around the world than Christian missionaries! Soap and makeup, we can sell salvation can hardly be given away.

Unbelievers find it either amusing or irritating to watch modern evangelists straining, and pleading to get a few converts all the time speaking as though these meager efforts are God’s attempt to reach the unsaved before Christ comes. No wonder unbelievers are convinced that God is weak and uninvolved in human affairs!

The fact is, that though faithful Christians do preach, they should do so in dignified ways, and they should not expect to convert the world now. Bible prophecy predicts that in the next age, the entire earth will be converted.

In that day, it will not be necessary to say to your neighbor, Trouble in the Church

The Word of God described the rise of large institutional churches on the ruins of the Roman Empire. It predicted that they would prosper for more than a thousand years. The near-total ban of the Bible during that time is clearly foretold. The return of the Bible to worldwide prominence was also predicted, along with the date when that rebirth would begin: 1799.

The word of God predicted that many who claimed to follow Christ would be more concerned with money and power than obedience to the simple teachings of the Gospel.

The word of God predicted that the weeds that infest God’s church would be gathered into bundles and that though there would be many different denominations of Christianity, God’s people would be individually known by Him spiritually one body, even if unknown to each other.

The word of God predicted that the hand of God would be especially heavy on those Christians who boast loudly that they are God’s people, while failing to demonstrate the appropriate fruits.

And concerning the joining of churches into two great camps, the Word of God predicts that their practical union just before the end of their existence will be an uneasy alliance, motivated by self-preservation.

Gathering of the Nations

In ancient times, we read that God scattered the world. (Ge 11:1-9) And for most of man’s history they have remained scattered isolated from one another by differences of geography, custom, and speech. But the Word of God declares that God is determined to gather the nations in the last days. Are the nations being gathered?

The age-old expression, it’s a small world, has new meaning today. It is now commonly said that we live in a global village. East is intertwined with West. The North cannot live without the South. China still has its wall, but it cannot avoid trading with the West. Japan is no longer an island. The deeds of African elephant and rhinoceros poachers are the subject of international conferences. Europeans will die to keep Asians from killing whales. The entire world sends observers to an election in tiny El Salvador, and watches with bated breath to see how people vote in South Africa or Pakistan.

The nations have been gathered. For what? For the nations to feel the heat of God’s anger. Not that they will be literally destroyed because the Word of God also states that God did not create the earth in vain. He formed it to be inhabited. After social structures are consumed by the intense probing of a righteous God, the people, we are told, will all call on the Lord, to serve him with one consent.

The prophet Daniel predicted that the time just before the full establishment of Messiah’s kingdom would be a great time of trouble. He described it as a time of much running to and fro when knowledge would be increased.

Modern man tends to be filled with pride at the many inventions of our day. Educated people seem to think that the explosive growth of knowledge and travel in this century points to some evolutionary advancement of mankind. But since the technical knowledge of the human race did not significantly change for thousands of years prior to 1800, we suggest that God should be given the credit for advances in modern technology.

The Vision Lives Outside the Church

The Bible describes in great detail the loss of power of the institutional churches which it criticizes for pragmatic cooperation with the kingdoms of this world. In the book of Revelation, this decline is signalled by a drying up of popular support.

And yet the Bible did not predict that the vision of a Golden Age would die. The vision of human potential burns brightly in the secular world.

God has opened the minds of man to the possibilities of human life. Two centuries ago, the masses of men were ground beneath the millstone of oppression. Today, most of them still are, but the full flower of human potential is now a vision before their eyes. People literally everywhere now aspire to the benefits that God created them to enjoy not just transistor radios and designer jeans(!)but beauty, health, opportunity, knowledge, happiness, with liberty and justice for all.

The vision is beautiful, but its contrast to the sad facts of human experience today make it destructive to present society.

Unless Those Days Were Shortened, No Flesh Would Survive

The Word of God boldly predicted that just before Christ takes control of human events, men will have it in their power to destroy the world. Imagine a writer whose only experience with weapons was spears and arrows, predicting that men would be literally able to destroy all flesh! And yet even this fantastic notion has been fulfilled in the frightful specter of overkill. But God gave us His word that this power will not be fully used. The earth will not be destroyed, either by men OR God.

The Word of God described a day when it will actually be possible for the entire earth to be conscious of a fact at the same time, a time when human knowledge will dramatically increase, when traveland stresswill greatly accelerate.

And yet though this is predicted to be a time of knowledge and invention, it is spoken of as a time when darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the people.

Yes, there is more darkness than light. In fact, the Word of God predicts that the era of Christ’s second coming will be accompanied by the energetic working of Satan spiritual enemies of God and His people who will be permitted to exercise all the power, and lies, and even miracles that they can muster, to deceive the world.

According to the Word of God, this increased conflict among competing spiritual forces is strong evidence that Christ himself is actively at work behind the scenes, breaking up Satan’s empire, and preparing to liberate mankind from the spirits that deceive them.

Avoid everything occult. Christ will not liberate you through spiritualism, theosophy, or the New Age teachings. Christ liberates today’s believers through the repentance and conversion described in the Word of God; and he will liberate tomorrow’s believers through the Kingdom of God, which he will establish throughout the earth.

Israel, the Harbinger of Hope

Perhaps the most striking fulfillments of the Word of God have been the many prophecies of the rebirth of Israel. The Word of God had repeatedly declared that His people, Israel, would be dispersed among all the nations, that they would lose their temple, and their priesthood, and their national identity. It predicted that they would have bitter experiences during this dispersion.

Notice: the Bible did not authorize anyone to persecute the Jews. In fact, it promises direct punishment from God for anyone who harms the Jews or even curses them. But the Bible predicted clearly that they would be harmed by the rest of the world scattered and in despair.

The Word of God predicted that the Jews would literally buy the land back. They have paying for their beloved land in cash, sweat, and blood.

The Word of God predicted that under cultivation by the Jews, the wastelands of Palestine would blossom once again. And it predicted that during the time of God’s blessing to Israel, rainfall would increase. It has.

The Word of God predicted that Jerusalem would be a hotly-disputed territory. It is.

It predicted that the community of nations would become involved in that debate. It has.

It predicted that the reborn Israel would be a mighty military power. It is.

The Word of God predicted that Jews and Arabs would, after a stormy period, live together in peace. It hasn’t happened yet, but the Word of God said it, and it will come true.

And the Word of God predicted that after that peace is reached, a future attempt by many nations to attack and destroy Israel will be the trigger that brings God forward to declare his sovereignty. Finally, the mystery will be over.

The temporary nighttime of earth will end. The morning will come. Worthy people of God, tested and proven to be honest, humble, and compassionate, will become the leaders of earth.

Heaven will show its face, and open its hands to bless. The Golden Age will have come, and there is not a person who has ever lived who will be beyond the reach of the Redeemer of the world.

Moses gave Israel a test by which they could evaluate a prophet. If what he said came true, you can have confidence that he speaks the Word of God.

The Bible passes that test. It is verified by fossil evidence, historic data, and prophecy fulfilled both in time and precise detail.

The final test is a personal one: does the Word of God deliver on its promise to bring spiritual transformation to the lives of those who seek?

That is its claim and anyone who feels the hand of God is invited to put it to the test. There need be no blindness in an act of faith, only a solid foundation the authority of the Word of God.

Applying the Word of God in Our Lives

We would now like to turn our attention to the Word of God in our own lives as brethren in Christ. As Bible Students, we have much to rejoice about. The Harvest Message has enriched our lives, and as the trouble in the earth increases, we can all have more and more appreciation for the Truth which we hold.

But we would like to suggest that it is not enough for us as footstep followers of Jesus to teach what the Bible says is true. To be fully in harmony with the Word of God, we must emphasize what the Bible emphasizes.

How can we tell what the Word of God emphasizes? By what it repeats often, by what it states clearly, by what it stresses with strong language.

Two quick examples: Paul seems to be using the strongest possible language when he states that even if he died a martyr’s death, if he had not LOVE, he would be NOTHING. (1Co 13:8)

And in speaking of the Resurrection, Paul stated that he delivered to us AS OF THE FIRST IMPORTANCE, that Christ died for our sins, and rose again. (1Co 15:3) These are examples of the ways in which the Word of God emphasizes some truths more than others.

The Word of God also draws contrasts and comparisons. Just as in the human body, every limb is controlled by opposing muscles which push and pull against each other, so it is in the Body of Christ, and so it is in the realm of ideas presented in the Word of God. The correct position can often only be found in the clash, or tension, of opposing views.

For example, we are taught in Heb 13:1 to have strong brotherly love. But in the next verse we are told to BALANCE this love among ourselves with active love toward strangers. The sense of the Greek text in these verses is that we should nurture brotherly love and affection Phila-delphia but balancing it with love of strangers: Phila-xeneas.

The Word of God is timeless, and fits all cultural situations. But we must be careful not to forget the historic context in which its principles are set.

For example, it was not really possible in New Testament times to ignore the brethren in our own vicinity, and forge instead relationships by telephone and travel with other, more like-minded friends. We suggest that we be very careful not to ignore the difficult relationship challenges that we find in our local ecclesias for the perhaps more agreeable, but more superficial relationships we can form at conventions. Travel may one day be restricted again. And we will need to master the art of loving one another in our local assemblies.

Let us consider some of the teachings of the Word of God that directly impact our relationships with each other.

In Eph 4:3 we are taught to keep, or preserve the unity of the body. We do this not by merely avoiding conflict the Word of God does not hold up tranquility as the goal, but rather by pursuing the Biblical peace in the sense of completeness common cause hammering out of differences, continual mutual work, dedication, and submission.

And so the Word of God is full of advice about how to act in a community of brethren. We are taught to love one another, pray for one another, forgive one another, submit to one another, admonish one another, serve one another.

Let’s consider one of the most under appreciated virtues on this short list: prayer. Daily Bible study, accompanied by prayer, is essential for walking with God. No one should be attempting to serve God without daily attention to prayer and thoughtful study of God’s word. Even Jesus, who had perfect powers of recall and a full, unlimited measure of the Holy Spirit, did not go without prayer for a single day as far as we know. He would lose sleep rather than miss out on his times of fellowship with the Heavenly Father.

Active prayer, based on our standing with God as justified believers, is the best way to resolve differences with employees, or bosses, or wives, or family members, or brethren.

There has never been a great man of God who was not a man of prayer: Abraham, Moses, David, Daniel, Peter, Paul, John and Jesus.

The Word of God records the things that great men of God have prayed for:

That a specific believer’s faith not fail. John 13

That we might be successful in c