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wate herald of christ s presence watch.man what of the night the morning cometh jsaiah xxi 11 vol v pittsburgh pa january 1884 no.6 view from the tower with the opening of another year we look backward over the past and forward into the future the year just buried will be one long remembered by quite a number of our readers as the one in which they first gained a knowledge of god s word and the gracious plan therein revealed to some it has been full of trial as the great refiner and purifier has had them in the furnace to separate the dross from the gold and to cause them to reflect his image mal 3 3 happy are they who being tried by the fire have not been found wanting but have had their hearts more firmly established in the truth and who have let go of the traditions of men and taken hold more firmly than ever of god s gracious favor in christ jesus our lord looking forward we can but expect the same work to continue until every part of our faith-building is tried and the wood hay and stubble all consumed for the day that cometh [is now present shall try every man s work of what sort it is mal 4 1 1 cor 3 13-15 if in the past your building has stood the test and not been destroyed rejoice but still with trembling remembering that the trial is not all over yet be not high-minded but fear let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall if there is in your building anywhere that which will not stand the test of fire it must go-replace it quickly by that which will abide if there is anything lacking in your consecration-if in anything you have a will not surrendered to and harmonized with god s will-take heed to it for he will discover it if as one of his jewels you are being polished to radiate his light take heed that in you there shall be no self-will which as a grit might cause a flaw and mar your beauty and acceptableness with him when making up his jewels it is not probable that trials besetments and difficulties in the narrow way will be less in the year begun than in the one ended the furnace gets hotter rather yet let us remember that the greater our difficulties the greater the supply of grace to help in every time of need for which it is our privilege to call at the throne of the heavenly grace call to mind the words my grace is sufficient for thee and count it all joy when ye fall into temptations knowing that if exc1 cised thereby they will work out for us an exceeding and eternal weight of glory the past year has made us acquainted with a larger number of sacrificers priests-l pet 2 9-the levites did not offer sacrifices than we had before known men and women who not only hazard but spend of their consecrated time money talent and reputation in spreading the glad tidings of great joy which shall be unto all people through these consecrated agencies the truth is reaching other sheep of the flock who were famishing and ready to perish by the way for want of its sustaining power and these methods and exertions are being abundantly blessed not alone in feeding and refreshing the hungry but also in the growth and development of those so engaged every exertion in the lord s service and done unto the lord is sure to bring a compensating reward and blessing upon the heart of the laborer the year commenced offers fresh opportunities for sacrificing service none should feel discouraged at opposit.ion and because few will believe our report-our gospel it is the few who have an ear to hear that we should expect to reach if you at any time feel discouraged call to mind the master s experience if the majority heard his words you might expect them to hear yours but if as a mass they rejected his words they will reject yours also if they have called the master beelzebub what more should we expect it is sufficient that the disciple be as his lord matt 10:25 john 13 16 then with thanks for the past and present and earnest prayer and confidence for the future let us go forth with the whole armor of god girded on yet more securely with the girdle of truth and trust and grasping yet more firmly our shield of faith in his protecting care and with the sword of the spirit -his own word-in hand let lis fight a good fight until we finish the work given us that we may be of those accounted worthy to enter into the joys of their lord a happy new year new mercies new blessings new light on thy way new courage new hope and new strength for thy day new notes of thanksgiving new chords of delight new songs in the morning new songs in the night new wine in thy chalice new altars to raise new fruit for thy master new garments of praise new gifts for his treasures new smiles from his faee new streams from the fountain of infinite grace new stars for thy crown and new tokens of love new gleams of the glory that waits thee above new light of his countenance radiant and dear all this be thy joy in the happy new year an interesting letter brunsuiick maine dear bro russell i have read the tower from january last with absorbing interest god bless and speed the good work i have long believed in a pure consecrated and holy ministry and church but never have i so fully enjoyed my privilege as for the past few weeks and especially since aug 30 1883 i spent forty years five months and ten days in the wilderness but glory be to god i then entered canaan i am an evangelist and have been preaching the truth as i understood it for many vvars i intend to keep on doing so god hag been wonderfully opening to me the scriptures of late 1 find a few huugrv oile s everywhere i go your s truly i [571]

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the school of christ in t he hope of strengthening the children of god who have pla ced themselves in the school of christ we would offer a few practica l suggr-st.iona on methods of study and discipline and first we remark that none should expect to make progress in the truth who do not devote time and patient persistent effort to it yho would expect to become proficient in an brand of mathematics science or philosophy without sl11 h study and how much more important is bible study the bible seems to be an unfailing mine of wealth at least none have ever yet exhausted its treasures and we must give it patient faithful study if we would attain that degree of proficiency in it which the great teacher has a right to expect and which the exigencies of the time in which we iive necessitate if paul said we should need the whole armor of god to be able to withstand the fiery darts and wily arts of the adversary in this evil day in all probability we shall not be able to stand with much less than the whole armor ye well know the difficulties and disadvantages under which many labor we know the business household and family cares that press upon the majority but did you ever think that this very pressure of seeming necessity is permitted to give you an opportunity to overcome and to sacr ifice if all the hindrances were taken out of the way your privilege of running the na 1 ow way for the high cailing would be gone the lord says be not overcharged with the cares of this life luke 2 i 34 and again paul says god is faithful who wiii not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able but wiii with the temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it 1 cor 10:13 if then you are strongly tempted to be overcharged with the cares of life know this that such is not the wiii of god and look out for the way of escape which he indicates we are all more or less the creatures of habit and generally we cling to them long after the necessity which first demanded them has passed the brethren generally have their hours of labor fixed by the prevailing business customs and have their evenings left free from care for study but if they should find business demanding all their time and all their effort for any length of time this is not the lord s wiii they are being overcharged and oppressed of the devil for the very purpose of retarding their spiritual progress and a way of escape by change of business or otherwise should be sought with the lord s assistance with the sisters the case ia somewhat different they have their time and arrangements more at their own command but habit and early training prompt them to spend all available time in care for many things which ought to be dispensed with habits of close economy prompt many to do things which might be done by others long after the necessity for such economy is past and so they carry burdens themselves long after their children are able to share them that daughter will be much better prepared for the after duties of life who early learns to share a mother s cares and so also that son who learns early to feel and share the father s cares thus much valuable time may be gained and utilized in the study of the word of god we know also that many have not formed habits of study and consecutive thought yet all these difficulties may be overcome it should be borne in mind also that mere reading is not study to take a bible or a paper and sit where we are subject to interruptions etc is not study your children could never prepare their lessons for school in such a way how then you ask shall we study first we would say have some regular place and time also if possible as free from interruptions as you can make it let the helps for study all be there then read critically searching out references and endeavoring to bring the subject in hand clearly before your mind take one subject at a time and master it before you leave it keep a file of your old papers on hand and within easy reach and make an index of subjects we are sorry to find that some have given away back numbers which cannot now be replaced but we hope none wiii do so in future if you want sample copies for friends you can send for them after studying any subject take pencil and papcr and write out your understanding of it this wiii greatly aid you in thinking and searching out all thc evidence supplied in the word on every subject as you thus study you wiii be surprised to find how beautifully the scriptures will fall into harmony on the line of truth and how lack of harmony wiii reveal and expose error some wiii think they cannot do this because they have not been used to so studying but the sooner you get used to it the better it is possible for all and your ability wiii increase with practice you will then have a certainty of knowledge beyond the painful shiftings of doubt-a full assurance of hope well worth your most careful effort the spirit also wiii help our infirmities and lead such into all truth he that seeketh findeth mrs c t r the lesson taught by a swiss guide sarah smiley in her account of a tour in the alps recounts a touching incident and gives a beautiful illustration of scripture-teaching concerning the generous help of our great burden-bearer in the summer of 1879 says the writer i descended the rhigi with one of the most faithful of the old swiss guides beyond the service of the day he gave me unconsciously a lesson for life his first care was to put my wraps and other burdens upon ,his shoulder in domg this he cal led for all but i chose to keep back a few for specia l care i soon found them no little hindrance to the freedom of my movement but still i would not give them up until my guide returning to me where i sat resting for a moment kindly but firmly demanded that i should give him everything but my alpenstock putting them with the utmost care upon his shoulders with a look of intense satisfaction he led the way and now in my freedom i found that i could make double speed with double safety then a voice spoke inwardly 0 foolish wilful heart hast thou indeed given up thy last burden thou hast no need to carry them saw it all in a flash and then as i leaped lightly from rock to rock down the steep mountain side i said within myself and even thus will i follow jesus my guide my burden-bearer i will rest all my care upon him for he careth for me selected human nature is a mass of wants the earliest cry of infancy means want of food or sleep or relief from pain the silent appeal of old age in its arm-chair is for a daily supply of daily necessaries columns of our daily journals are filled with the catalogue of wants the chief purpose of all trade manufactures and commerce is to supply the various needs of humanity and god s grandest ministtation of love is to supply the endless necessities of his dependent children what a glorious promise that is which paul records in his letter to the generous phillippians they had been kind to him and he writes back to them my god wiii supply all your need according to his riches in glory by jesus christ that is a divine promise made to be kept i can put that god s rich supply away where i put my u s bonds with a comfortable certainty of no defalcation this passage is one of the government securities of heaven it is my god who issued the promise my own personal father ill does not bind himself to give me all i may lust after no not even all i may pray for many of my wants are purely artificial and born of selfishness i may crave wealth and he may see that my soul would be richer if i were poor i may ask for some promotion and he may know that my way to holiness lies through a valley of humiliation and disappointment so he only agrees to give me what i need which is a very different thing from what i may be eraving t l cuyler the blood for a token god said to the children of israel on that dark night 10 n in egypt that the blood should he to them for a token and when he should see the blood he would pass over you will remember that the first-born in all the houses in egypt were to be killed but god was going to pass over every house where the blood was upon the door posts and lintels what blood the blood of the lamb they were to be per· fectly safe if the blood was there for god had said it read 2 carefully the account in exodus xii the lamb s blood pointed to jesus blood to be shed long years after and just as the children of israel were perfectly safe on the dark night sheltered by the blood of the lamb so everyone sheltered by the blood of god s lamb jesus is just as safe as in the presence of god as many as received him jesus to them gave he power to become the sons of god even to them that believe on his name selected [572]

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stand when you can do no more stand having done all things stand but beware how and where you stand stand fast in the faith stand on covenant ground stand with face to foe stand watching waiting victorious stand still and see the salvation of god stand not in your own caprice or by human order even though red sea barriers lie across your way it may be the will of god that you go forward without a halt it is easier to march than to stand it is easier to rush forward to the charge than to stand still and receive the fiery assault the good soldier must be ready for both they serve well who march and fight for their king but they also serve who only stand and wait pa tienr-o and fortitude are precious in the sight of god and to obey is better than sacrifice where patlcnce pan have her porfeet work whether in the stress and strain of conflict or in the trial of waiting there it is good to be selected behold the lamb of god look at the time of moses every morning perhaps at 9 o clock a sermon was preached we may sayan object lesson was given of which the text was the lamb slain and there might be twenty other offerings going on at the same time and others continuing all day in the evening the same sermon was preached from the same text for we may regard the morning and evening sacrifice of the lamb as the same sermon daily repeated for 1500 years i wonder what people would say if we gave the same sermon the same heads the same illustrations year in and year out e need not do exactly that for there is abundant variety in the bible but the subject for our preaching is one that never changes-the lamb of god that taketh away the sin of the world the lamb in the midst of the throne dr a .4 bonar a living christ of wondrous birth who trod the dreary paths of earth shedding abroad his holy light through the deep gloom of sin s dark night a dying christ whose precious blood beals the poor sinner s peace with god and fills the soul with fullest love like to the joy prepared above christ our all a christ ascended-all is done a world redeemed a victory 011 with angel hosts a glorious throng we ll sing with joy salvation s song aaaa living christ our spirits need loving christ our souls to fpl d dying christ our ransom he risen christ to set us free this to our need-a christ within a life with god afar from sin a christ whose love our hearts shall fill and quite subdue our wayward will -selected himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses matt viii since it is repeatedly stated in scripture that jesus was free from sin both personal and inherited that in him was no sin 2 cor 5:21 that no cause of death was found in 111m luke 22 23 etc some have wondered how these statements can be reasonably harmonized with others and with the tacts of jesus life we know well that death and all its accompaniments of pain and sorrow are the direct result of sin and that if any man were actually free from sin he would be free also from sin s penalty death we know that the same law which guarantees that the disobedient shall die guarantees also that the obedient shall live rom 10:5 gal 3:12 the question then is not an unreasonable one if mary s child did no sin and did not receive the imperfect and condemned adamic life through a human father but a perfect unimpaired and un condemned life transferred from his pre-existent condition should he be born an imperfect blemished pained and dying human being we answer no he should not and if jesus was thus born we should assuredly claim that it was an evidence either that in him was sin and over him death had power and dominion because of sin dwelling in him or that god s law had been violated and the innocent compelled to suffer the penalty of guilt but as either of these views would be opposed to the character and word of god we reject both as erroneous jesus being free from all sin was equally tree from all penalties or wages of sin were it otherwise he could not have given himself a ransom-an equivalent price-for the sin of the first adam and its consequences had he come into the world under condemnation of death he would have had no life to lay down for ours as our redemption price to be an acceptable sacrifice he must have been as shown in the types also a lamb without blemish and without spot 1 pet i 19 and the lamb of god which taketh away the sin of the world john i :29 was without blemish and was therefore an acceptable sacrifice and let it not be forgotten that this sacrifice was not made in the change of nature from spiritual to human but was made after he had become a man a body hast thou prepared me for tho suffering of death heb 10 5 hence it should be dear to a ii that death in no sense had any claim upon him until he offered himself-a man for men i cor 15 :21 and became obedient unto death phil 2:8 donbtless the desire to sacriflce himself and thus redeem men was in the mind of the youthful jesus long before he 17 reached manhood and presented himself in consecration to death in the symbol of baptism but he could not do 80 until then for though he had been coining to manhood all those thirty years he had not come until thirty years of age according to the law there finding himself a man he became [by consecration obedient unto death and conducted himself in such a way also as to exhaust and use up his perfect life if this reasoning be correct ann scriptural it prons that the man -iesus was a perject being-a plmfect ~1 n j hence he possessed not only vitality but every other quality of body and mind in it way not possessed by the adarnie race ouslav eel for centuries to sin and groaning under the bondage of corruption death in a word .iosus at the time of his consecra tion must have had that perfection of form and feature of mind and body originally possessed by adam before sin and death blighted and withered his crown of glory and honor psa 8 5 heb 2 7 and the same glorious perfection must have been in the man jesus which will be found in all the restored race when in the close of his glorions reign their redeemer shall have wiped away all traces and marks of sill and pain and death rev 21 :4 we know that jesus received a special anointing of tho spirit at the time of his baptism and it may not be possible for us to accurately determine how many of his miracles were the result of this anointing and how many of his wonrh-rful works were merely the exercise of powers belonging to a ii pcrject men undegraded and in full fellowship with goii find today prodigies among men rome ropresonting to a grl ater degree than their fellow-men one or another human quality yet it must be apparent that if one mall could hl imagined who possessed the great qualities and pow rs of all great men he could be no more than a perfect man and doubtless then would be found very imperfect if compared with either of the two perfect men adam and .iesus let us remember that the first man lost gn at dominion glory and honor which belonged to human na ture when he sold himself to sin psa 8 5 rom 7 ·l let us remember too that jernr possessed that same humanity and all its crown of glory honor and dominion when he became a man heb.2:9 before considerinjr further ,tpanr power as a perfect man let us examine a scripture usually supposed to teach that .iosus was one of the most disfigured and hideous of nu-n without a trace of beauty or anything to cause men to a d i [573j

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3 zion s watch tower pittsburgh pa mire him this view is the very opposite of the one we are presenting we claim that the face and form are the very index to the heart and life so surely and to the extent that dissipation and sin have hold on a man s mind and body so surely will his face declare it and as surely as purity and grace reign within the face will indicate it if jesus was a perfect man he must have been as far from physical deformity and imperfection as the east is from the west instead of horrible we believe him to have been altogether lovely the scriptures in question are found in isa 52 14 and 53 :2 please refer and read concerning these statements we would say that the translation of isa 52 14 in the common king james version is not as clear as in others the douay translation of verse 14 reads so shall his visage be inglorious among men and his form among the sons of men young s translation has it 0 marred by man his appearance and his form by sons of men in all the passage has evidently one of two meanings it might refer to the marring of his beauty with the thorns nails and sorrows if he had no beauty he could not have it marred and the more perfect his feature and form the more it could be marred hence if he was altogether lovely his beauty might be marred more than others because he had more to mar and yet not be after all inferior to others in appearance or it may refer to his character as suggested by the douay translation he was deficient in those qualities which the world esteems-inglorious and ignoble in their depraved sight depraved man has come to admire many things which in his perfection would have seemed horrible and he has come to despise that which is good and truly grand the jewish people looked for the saviour and deliverer promised but looked from the depraved standpoint their conception was a mighty warrior who by plunder and butchery should aecumulate a great army and with carnal weapons should conquer the world and thus save them from their enemies roundabout they overlooked the fact that their saviour must conquer death first before subduing all things unto himself in order that his might be an .everlasting dominion hence when jesus and a few humble disciples walked through palestine declaring the kingdom at hand and jesus the king and all eyes were attracted to him they despisf d him he was a young man and most of his followers the same he had no army and no wealth with which to collect one neither had he any influence among the great and when he said love your enemies do good to them that persecute you lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth and if thine enemy hunger feed him they concluded that such a one was the least likely to be the long-looked for deliverer even the purity and love and gentleness blended with firmness and manly fearlessness which marked his face and bore witness of his sinlessness were to their depraved taste marks of effeminacy they would have much more admired the deep set marks of sin ferocity passion with words of malice and hatred coupled with boasts and threats against their enemies so when they beheld him his visage was inglorious among men and his form among the sons of men this last is our view of the meaning of this text and it seems to agree perfectly with the context succeeding which we will now consider-we give the douay translation isa 53 212 our comments in brackets and he shall grow up as a tender plant before him and as a root out of a thirsty ground [his appearance and surroundings seemed unfavorable he was an unlikely king there is no beauty in him nor comeliness and we have seen him and there was no sightliness that we should be desirous of him [we found not in him those qualities generally found in earthly conquerors and preferred to have a robber and murderer among us-acts 3 14 v 2 despised and most abject [shunned of men a man of sorrows and acquainted with infirmity and his look was as it were hidden and despised as one hiding the face from us as in weeping young s translation whereupon we esteemed him not [jesus s weariness and sorrow and weeping etc were construed by men to result from weakness instead of as it really was from that perfection of organism which enabled him to sympathize with the sufferings about him and to alleviate it at his own loss the more perfect the organism the more sympathetic the finer its quality the more easily it is pained and more deeply wounded you who have never suffered severe ,privation but have things comfortable and clean about you if you will go into some of the garrets and cellars of the large cities will meet with such squalor filth and wretchedness that you would feel that death would be far preferable to life under such conditions yet there you will find men women and children who are so accustomed to such conditions that they can laugh and sing and be merry even there the cause is that their senses and tastes are coarser more depraved than yours think then of how the world must have appeared to the perfect man jesus as he saw men grovelling in sin misery sickness and death he had sorrows indeed but they were ours which his sympathy laid hold of and by which he was impressed more than others in his sympathy and love he gave of his own vitality to many of those groaning dying ones about him it is a fact coming daily to be more reeognized among scientific men that some personl l possess greater vitality than others and possessing more can communicate it to others who have less though such are liable to feel for a time the weakness which is cured in the weaker one jesus being perfect had an abundance of sympathy consequently he continued to heal those who came unto him though each time he was touched with a feeling of their infirmity while they were refreshed and revitalized by his strength few seemingly have noticed that this is the teaching implied in the scripture narrative of many of jesus miracles we therefore quote some instances a poor woman who had been sick twelve years touched his garment and was healed and jesus immediately knowing in himself that vmtue [power vitality strength had gone out of him said who touched me mark 5:30 luke 8:43-46 and 6 19 declares that the whole multitude sought to touch him for there went ymtue [strength vitality power out of him and healed them all matthew 8 17 gives the same testimony that when jesus healed the sick it was in ful fillment of isaiah s prophecy which we are now considering himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses what wonder then that such a man is said to have been a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief but let us never forget that if sorrows and pain left its impress on that noble face and form it was not because of his own weakness it was not because pain and sickness and death had hold of him but that it had hold of our race and he full of love and sympathy was bearing the burdens of others oh how far short of such perfect boundless love do we find ourselves it is only when we measure ourselves by such a perfect standard that we can realize how great was the fall which our race experienced through adam s disobedience no wonder we long for the restoration of mankind to such a conditio where each will love his neighbor as himself and be glad if necessary to share each others woes but it will not be neeessary then for when sin and its effects are all removed its penalty pain sickness and death will be remov~d als our conclusion above that the sorrow and inflrmitiea which jesus bore were those of our race and not his own is the testimony of the prophet v 4 surely he hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows and we have thought him as it were .a leper and as one struck of god and affticted [leprosy is in scripture a type of sin the ,implication here is that men considered jesus one contammated with sin because he was bearing its penalties not discerning that it was ours which he carried they thought him smitten of god righteously punished and saw not that in him was no cause ~f punishment and that he took the infirmities of his own free will but he was wounded for our iniquities he was bruised for our sins the chastisement of our peace was upon him and by his bruises we are healed verse 5 all we like sheep have gone astray everyone hath turned aside unto his own way and the lord hath laid on him [the willing burden bearer the iniquity of us all jehovah hath caused to meet on him the punishment of us all young s translation he was offered because it was his own will and he opened not his mouth he shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter and shall be dumb as a lamb before his shearer and he shall not open his mouth [he shall be nonresisting verse 7 he was taken away from distress and from judgment [wickedness who shall declare [to his generation because [or why he is cut off from the land of the living for the wickedness of my people have i struck [smitten him [his death would be of so ignominious a nature that few could realize that he was suffering the just for the unjust and he shall give [himself among the ungodly for his burial and [be with the rich for [in his death because [or although he had done no iniquity neither was there deceit in his mouth and the lord [jehovah was pleased [willing to bruise him in infirmity [for if he shall lay down his life for sin he shall see a long-lived seed and the will of the lord [jehovah shall be prosperous in his hand [the ob [574]

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january 1884 zions watch tower 4 ject of his sacrifice was two-fold he desired to do the father s will and he desired to be the everlasting father and to bring many sons to life in the re-generation bringing them to freedom liberty perfection and honor because his soul hath labored he shall see [the good results of his sacrifice and be filled [or satisfied verses 8-10 by his knowledge shall my jttst servant justify many and [or while he shah bear their iniquities therefore [because of his faithfulness and sacrifice will i distribute [or give to him very many [inheritances he becomes sole heir of the inheritance of each one who he purchased with his own precious blood-very many-all men and he shall divide the spoils of the strong [the strong prince of this world has obtained much spoil from mankind leaving him destitute but this great deliverer shall not only bind the strong man but then shall he spoil his house matt 12 29 and during his reign he shall divide or distribute the spoil to mankind until a;t its close they shall be very rich in glory honor and dominion of earth as at first he shall be enabled to do all this because he hath delivered his soul unto death and was reputed [reckoned with the wicked and he hath borne the sins of many and prayed [interceded for the transgressors verses 11-12 we conclude then that this very prophecy which was supposed to teach that jesus had an ungainly disfigured and hideous appearance-more than any other man teaches the very reverse of this that his perfection was ignoble in the sight of depraved men and that whatever of care or sorrow or pain marked that perfect lovely face was the selfimposed weight of our infirmities and sin and if we recall the various little incidents of his ministry mentioned by the apostles as it were by accident they all bear witness to the fact that he was a perfect man and far superior to those about him in childhood s days he was a prodigy whose questions and answers astonished the doctors of the law as a public teacher he has never had an equal among men what other teacher ever had five thousand people leave their employment and negligent of food follow him three days in the wilderness marveling at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth matt 14 13-21 and 15 29-39 call to mind the testimony of his enemies when they came back to report never man spake like this man john 7 46 mark the wisdom of his replies when they sought to entrap him in ids words matthew 22:20-22 and 21:24 25 recall their remark whence hath this man this wisdom matt 13 54 remember too the loftiness of his teaching although there have been great teachers in other days and among the heathen men who taught morality of a high type yet never before was heard such perfection of teaching as that of jesus the morality which teaches truthfulness and justice keeping of covenants and obeying of laws had been taught and it had been taught also thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy but none had ever gone so far as to say love your enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you if thine enemy hunger feed him if he thirst give him drink others had said thou shalt not kill but none before had taught that to hate a brother without cause was a degree of murder and with all his meekness and tenderness he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes and jesus physical form can have been no less perfect and beautiful than were his mental qualities crowned with the glory and honor of human nature he was by reason of his perfection a king among men whose very look calm and benevolent impressed those about him with reverential awe call to mind how the soldiers who came to take him in the garden of gethsemane overpowered for a time by the majesty of his presence were obliged to retreat before him though he rebuked them neither in word nor act john 18 3-8 it was much the same with another company sent to take him who came away without him john 7:30 32,4446 when pilate was beset with the jewish rabble headed and instigated by the priests crying crucify him he tried various methods to restore order and spare the innocent but as a last resort he brought jesus himself before the people and as though confident that his glorious face and form would captivate the hearts of the multitude he said behold the man as though he would say is that the man yoll would crucify if so his blood be upon you nor can we suppose that anything short of the blinding of the god of this world-the prince of darkness-could hinder them from realizing that he is altogether lovely the chrefest among ten thousand and even then had he chosen to give them a reproving look-to speak and to rebuke their sin-again the multitude would doubtless have said never man spake like this man and again they might have determined to take him by force and make him a king but he was there not to clear himself and prove his innocence but to suffer to die the just for the unjust to bring us to god hence he did nothing to interfere with his sacrifice of himself he answered him never a word matt 27 12-14 he chose rather to give himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time behold the perfect man jesus and reflect that through his ransom mankind in general has been redeemed from the present lost condition of degradation and death and may again reach perfection through the lamb of god that taketh away the sin of the world if such be the glory of mankind-a little lower than the angels-what must be the glory of that high exaltation to which jesus has attained as a reward for his obedience-e-the divine nature so much bic tter than the angels then while trying to grasp god s plan remember that though we know not what he is and what we shail be we do not know that we shall see him and be like him as he now is-so much exalted above what he then was grand as we have seen that to have been nor would we be understood to teach that all of jesus wonderful works were performed by the powers of manhood many unquestionably were more than human powers-the direct result of his anointing with the holy tspirit at baptism the power of jehovah in him in concluding this subject we desire to lay before you another translation of isa 53 it is by a hebrew and ttl the english translation accepted among that people from such a source one would not unreasonably expect that every item would be turned as far from fitting the general application of it to jesus as the language would permit yet it is clear and strong and it seems wonderful that in its clear delineation the poor jew cannot read the hfe of christ jesus our lord we give a literal quotation isaiah liii who would have believed our report and the arm of the lord-over whom hath it been revealed yea he grew up like a small shoot before him and as a root out of a dry land he had no form nor comeliness so that we should look at him and no countenance so that we should desire him he was despised and shunned by men a man of pains and acquainted with disease and as one who hid his face from us was he despised and we esteemed him not but only our diseases did he bear himself and our pains he carried while we indeed esteemed him stricken smttten of god and afflicted yet he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him and through his bruising was healing granted to us we all like sheep went astray everyone to his own did we turn and the lord let befall him the guilt of us all he was oppressed and he was also taunted yet he opened not his mouth like the lamb which is led to the slaughter and like a ewe before her shearers is dumb and he opened not his mouth through oppression and through judicial punishment was he taken away but his generation-who could tell that he was cut away out of the land of life that for the transgressions of my people the plague was laid on him and he let his grave be made with the wicked and wlth the godless rich at his death although he had done no violence and there was no deceit in his mouth but the lord was pleased to crush him through disease when now his soul hath brought the trespass-offering then shall he see his seed live many days and the pleasure of the lord sha ll prosper in his hand freed from the trouble of his soul shall he see the good and be satisfied through his knowledge shall my righteous servant bring many to righteousness uih ilc he will bear their iniquities therefore will i divide him a portion with the many and with the strong shall he divide the spoil because he poured out his soul unto death and with transgressors was he numbered while he bore the sin of iilany and for the transgressors he let evil befall him ljecscr send the names of any to whom you think samples of the tower would be a blessing or we will send you samples for your noighbors-e-free do not part with your own you will need them for reference lilp 1 s [575]

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prophetic pen pictures oon sideb god s ways isa 28 23-29 give ye ear and hear my voice hearken and hear my speech doth the ploughman plough all day [always to sow doth he open and break the clods of his ground when he hath made plain [prepared the face thereof doth he not cast abroad the fitches and scatter the cummin and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rye in their place for his god doth instruct him to discretion and doth teach him because of their short-sightedness men are apt to think of god s works as aimless and lacking definite object and time but the prophet shows us that god s times and seasons and plans are definite and methodical here he presents the familiar scenes of farm life saying that as god instructs the farmer to observe order in his work so he also observes the same order in his plans and methods he first prepares the soil of humanity and breaks it up and makes it ready for the seed of truth then follows the sowing of seed and the harvest of each in its season this gospel age has been a sowing time he that sowed the good seed is the son of man matt 13 37 and his disciples have assisted under his direction it will be followed by a harvest as it was preceded by an age of breaking up and preparing men by the plow and harrow of bitter experrences with sin and law so too there are as many harvests as there are kinds of seed l cor 15:38-44 but order governs all but while all recognize that there is a proper time to sow it is generally forgotten that a reaping time a harvest shall come but for the same reason that god did not forever prepare the soil he will not forever be sowing the seed but in due time will give his attention to reaping and threshing this is the point of the illustration the time of trouble coming upon the church should be recognized as the harvest the threshing time the time for separating the real grain from the chaff and tares the harvest represents two general classes with some variety in each the fitches and cummin verse 27 were small aromatic seeds used sometimes for food but more commonly for medicinal purposes these grew in little pods very easily crushed and hence required gentle threshing with a rod or staff to separate them these we presume represent a class of saints who not being closely wedded to the world and its systems can be quickly and easily separated from it the other grains mentioned of which much larger quantities are grown all cling closely to the chaff some more so than others and hence it was necessary to use rougher means to thresh it free cart wheels were passed over them repeatedly until the separation was effected so some of the lord s children cling so closely to the world its forms and institutions etc that they must be put through the severe ordeal and every true grain shall be saved by some process 1 cor 3 15 this is more clearly shown in another translation for the fitches shall not be threshed with a threshing instrument [with saw-like teeth neither is a cart wheel turned upon the cummin but the fitches are beaten out with a staff and the cummin with a rod but bread-grain [though it ultimately shall be broken small [or ground but [yet the thresher shall not thresh it forever neither shall the cart wheel hurt it nor break it with its [thresher s teeth this also cometh forth from the lord god of hosts to make his council wonderful and magnify justice vs 28 20 this shows us that though the lord will use severer and stronger measures to separate some of his children than is necessary with others yet it is not his design that the time of troubles shall destroy them but rather to bless them by thereby making them fit for his future service to realize that such is god s orderly plan enables us to understand the present threshing and sifting among god s children and thereby to be co-workers with him rather than to be found flghting against his work now due and in progress to realize this is also to catch a glimpse of god s goodness and justice woe to ariel [isa 29 1 here again the coming distress upon the nominal church is illustrated its necessity is shown and also god s compassron afterward woe to ariel to ariel the city where david dwelt add ye year to year let them kill sacrifices ver 1 j erusalem was the city of david and as jerusalem is sometimes 4-5 used to represent the nominal church so ariel here and zion in verse 8 refer to the same thing the prophet here declares that woe distress trouble is about to come on the nominal church but though the nominal church as a system has become corrupt the lord still permits her to add year to year to prolong her existence a few years that his truly consecrated children may complete their sacrifice one important part of their sacrifice is to separate from the nominal systems and to stand connected only with the true yet jehovah declares will i distress ariel and there shall be heaviness and sorrow verse 2 although the lord will distress ariel the nominal church yet he will remember that many within her are his own dear children some of them weak erring and negligent and the very object of this distress is to awaken them and to liberate them from their bondage and worldly conformity the fact that god will thus remember his own is clearly taught in various scriptures and is suggested in the latter clause of this verse and [although i will thus distress it it shall be unto me as ariel jerusalem or zion his own children now held in the bondage of the doomed systems are still dear to him and he will save them though with the majority it will be so as by fire through great tribulation the lord here describes the overthrow necessary to separate the true ariel-jerusalem or zion-from the multitude of the worldly and unregenerate which she has received as her children and because of whose presence in her she is sometimes termed babylon or confusion he says i will camp against thee round about [0 babbler-young and will lay siege against thee with a mount [camp and i will raise forts against thee [bulwarks to hide myself from thee and thou shalt be brought down and shalt speak out of the ground and thy speech shall be low out of the dust and thy voice shall be as of one that hath a familiar spirit out of the ground and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust already the pride of the nominal church begins to be humbled once she loudly and boldly proclaimed her teachings of eternal torment the damnation of non-elect infants etc but now her voice is low and she merely whispers these teachings in her writings or cautiously from the pulpit she has been puffed up by what she esteems her success-her wealth and members worldliness has filled her heart and the spirit of christ has been choked woe to zion for she shall find the lord arrayed against her and he shall bring down her pride to the earth that she may be humbled and cry unto him from the dust moreover the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust and the multitude of the terrible ones [tyrantsleeser s trans shall be as chaff that passeth away and this shall be at unawares-suddenly verse 5-leeser s trans the principal cause of nominal zion s distress is her multitude of strange children-the children of the world unregenerated who compose the greater part of her numbers these she has come to consider her strength her power their wealth their influence and their standing in the world she is trusting in and by these she has been puffed up thou shalt be visited of the lord of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and with great noise with storm and tempest and the flame of devouring fire verse 6 these are symbolic expressions of the great storm of trouble now gathering and soon to break with force on nominal zion the thunder and noise indicate controversy and we find infidelity in its most subtle form springing up in the midst of the church its most marked feature is the denial of the ransom given by christ our lord this error which strikes at the very foundation of god s truth is boldly proclaimed by some of the most prominent of the nominal church and many are following their leading under the general and widespread spirit of doubt and unbelief it will soon be discovered that none are able to give a reason for their hope and that much has been taught which is entirely without support dogmas hitherto unquestioned will be brought to the test of reason which unguided by the scriptures will surely lead to open infidelity and the nominal church systems with their clashing creeds will become more and more lightly esteemed as men throw off the yoke of superstition and yet fail to consult the word of god and to recognize the true church a fearful storm and tempest is thus gathering and the condition of the mass of the nominal church when it fully breaks upon it is here fitly symbolized by an earthquake the devouring fire is an apt symbol of the certain destruction that in the end shall surely consume these false systems before this fearful storm the multitude of strangers-the worldly-who come into the church for respectability society business inter ests popularity etc shall as verse 5 shows [676]

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ja>lu~ry 1884 zion s watch tower be scattered like the fine dust and the multitude of the terrible ones [tyrants-leeser s trans the leaders priests rulers or clergy shall be as chaff that passeth away many have entered the ministry of the nominal church for popularity ease money and respectability and these lord it over god s heritage strengthen the bondage of fear fetter thought and retard growth in grace and knowledge while they exact and devour her revenues but when these systems cease to be popular and financially successful these too will soon be scattered like chaff but while many of the clergy are of the stamp here described by the prophet we rejoice to know that among these as well as among the laity some true wheat exists yet few compared to the whole and these are rapidly being separated those who are not of the lord s true children shall be swept away in the coming storm when the lord s sharp threshing instruments shall have separated them as chaff from the grain in this day of harvest and separation the chaff and dust will be speedily removed from the chastened of the lord who shall be brought to the lowly and humble condition from which they should never have departed and the multitude of all nations that fight against ariel even all that fight against her and her munition [bulwark and that distress her shall be as a dream of a night vision it shall even be as when a hungry man dreameth and behold he eateth but he waketh and his soul is empty or as when a thirsty man dreameth and behold he drinketh but he awaketh and behold he is faint and his soul hath appetite [thirst so shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight against mount zion vs 7 8 in the lord s controversy with zion the infidel and worldly of all nations will be ready and willing instruments for her chastisement and for the overthrow of her errors but though like satan another of his agent whose wrath is made to praise jehovah they shall for a time seem to succeed yet it shall be only seemingly for out of the nominal zion arises the true stronger and better for her visitation and purification and those who fought against her munition or stronghold-s-tho bible-and who for a time will think that they have completely destroyed her stronghold will fwd on ly the wood hay and stubble of human tradition gone and the original bulwark impregnable their ictory will prove to be but the delusion of a dream when they sha ii hav e accornplished a work in which they are used a the lord s instruments it is not surprising that in their hl iudne « the unfaithful children of god in nominal zion mistake their most faithful friends for enemies through some of his chosen ones the lord hath a controversy with ius people micah 6 2 and these must obey his command cry aloud ~pare not hft up thy voice like a trumpet and show my people their tranvgressions isa 58 i these faithful reprovers are generally abused as enemies and to oppose the false systems that fetter the true zion is generally looked upon as infidelity but the prophet draws the line clearly and distinctly showing who are real enemies referred to it is the multitude of the nations not even professing to be the children of god but who boldly not only fight against zion god s children however strong or weak but also against her munition her bulwark-the bible this is just what the hosts of infidelity are endeavoring to do not only to overthrow the nominal church systems in which work they are unwittingly the lord s instruments but they are also endeavoring to demolish the bible-the blessed fortress of truth in which even the weakest child of god shall find a sure refuge to these enemies of zion and of god it shall even be as described in vss 7 and 8 the valiant for the truth have ever been considered enemies by the nominal mass thus to elilah it was said art thou he that troubleth israel kings 18 17 he was so considered because of his zeal for jehovah and his opposition to the worship of the images of baal so jesus was called by those termed orthodox of his day a perverter of the people luke 23:2 14 and paul was esteemed by the same class a pestilent fellow and a mover of seditron acts 24:5 hence all who endeavor to withstand error in its popular forms must expect to bear the same reproach and for a time be esteemed the troublors of israel light in darkness and it was a cloud and darkness to the egyptians how differently matters appear from different standpoints that which rejoices us as being evidence of our lord s presence-the separating of wheat and tares and the falhng of some earth s gigantic system is to others a dark cloud that which to us is a token of dawn of the millennial day-the unrest of nations-the raging of the tribulant waves of the sea are to others dark clouds which put the time of blessing afar off this is well illustrated in the following item clipped from a secular paper the writer and the world in gener~l !ook at the cloud from the standpoint of the ~gyptians-it is very .dark our rea~ers we trust ~an see it from the standpoint of israel smce the storm is to scatter the powers of darkness and let in the healing rays of the sun of righteousness the sooner it comes the better we quote as follows evil omens europe at the present time is full of signs and premonitions of a coming crisis visibly she is drifting upon another of those cataracts of events which break the course of history each one of them a series of rapids down which the past has descended into the present and the present will plunge into the near future far be it from us to dispel the comforting dream of that millenniai time when the nations shall rest in amity cultivating the arts of war no more doubtless it will come but the world is a long way from that happy goal speaking of the thoughtful classes it is no exaggeration to say that all over europe there is a sensation of disquietude rising in some quarters into anxiety and serious apprehension in national as well as individual life a vague and blind presentiment of evil has at times portended a disastrous conclusion but at present the presumption is not blind there are visible grounds for this disquietude yet no man can tell the exact shape which the present will assume still less-e-and this is the worst part of the disquietude-what will be its magnitude or where will it end that danger is ahead -d~nger to the peace of europe or more-hardly any intelhgent reader of the newspapers can doubt in these days is not the thought too shocking to be entertained that despite all our progress and much vaunted civi lizatton the closing years of the century may yet witness as bloody and momentous a contest as that by which the century was ushered in is it not to be told that europe is 1-37 but it gave light by night to israel exod 14 :w waiting for another waterloo ere it can hope to rca t ta in a new epoch of equilibrium and pe,h c how humiliating too is the thought that after all and when as it may seem we have all but perfected law government and society the dangerous classes and dissolving forces are becoming more formidable than ever and that the social revolution atheistic communism and nrlnlism may yet shake to its foundations the entire system of civi lrzation which modern europe has been so slowly perfecting as the highest product of the aryan community of nations on the continent it is no exaggeration to say that there is not a cabinet nor even a parliament that does not sn nf gunpowder in the air or does not quake at the thought of secret plans and machinations of statecraft which are believed at work in the dark slowly or swiftly working to an explosion-governments are quietly but eagerly keeping watch upon each other as if on ground which they suspect is undormined how different this some twenty years age when the great great exhibition of london was inaugurated it was the palace of peaee the palace of all xat ions a or ld s fair where all peoples and races came toget hor in peace lind prosperity making rivalry var as to be a thing of the past and instead of the conquests of mouarcluos and the fiei y collision of armies there was to be a brot herhood of nations and the only rivalry a series of great e i hibitions all over the world happv delusion fond dreams of statesmen and plu la nthropists how rudely have thov been swept away nor are the signs of trouble all ex ter nu l or confined to the attack ot state upon state 01 of ruce upon race most prtiful of all is not civilization itself upon its trial the fabric of society w luch under the muda nce of chr ist iu mt v europe has been slowly building up 8i our vont meut ellll q ci from the dark ages e cn it-our boasted and highest ach ievomont-c-is not exempt from the coming pl l lb-antt though we illay recorl trom the thought that oll modern civi lrz.u ion may perish as utterly as kliwh h awl bubv ion oi the pharaohs and of mighty rome iipr if t iii ill i an ignlll ant man who does not know that in the gal len of the world t he r are no plants of perennia l growth and ,i bhud one if he does not mark how w 11l ly tlu i ed litl 01 d -t ruct ion a lrea dy [577]

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5-6 zion s watch tower p,ttsburgh pa smoulderc-e-threateniug to burst forth and consume our social civi hzation the stately fabric of european society is it possible to conceive a greater contrast than that between the europe of 1851 and of 1883 again we ask what does it all mean viewed in the most practical of fashions what does it imply and forbode an english philosopher has suggested as a possibility that a whole nation may become insane at times even as individuals do and there is not a little in history that supports such a conjecture yet hardly a whole continent or even as it now appears a still larger mass of the varied population of the globe but even assuming a well-nigh universal insanity among the human race as the explanation of the present startling phenomena at least be it remembered that it is an insanity of war and one which is only too likely to lead to and end in a stern and an appalling reality blackwood s magazine groaning creation the rev robert laird collier former ly a prominent minister in chicago but now a resident of england in a letter to a chicago daily paper says england is panic-stricken dynamite dynamite dynamite everywhere the queen dare not move trom yindsor castle which is doubly guarded and the public for the first time in yeal s are debarred entrance upon these royal precincts you have heard of the arrests in birmingham and london of the men who l-ave been manufacturlllg nitro-glycerine in such large quantities and who have been caught just in time to save london from wide-spread and horrible disaster but you have not heard across 4,000 miles of land and water the echo of the feeling in england the feeling is very complex the public press suppresses this feeling as it deems in the interest of social order all soberminded persons look upon this fenian plot to carryon assassination wide-spread with detestation and horror the full power and penalty of the law must be used and enforced all this goes without saying but the dominant conviction is that we are just at the beginning of a european political and social revolution the old regime is drawing to its close it is given out that never again will a crown be permitted to be placed upon a head in europe men who are sober and prophetic as was isaiah solemn and as pathetic as was jeremiah call the world to order halt all along the lines these men are shouting halt education steam electricity have introduced man to man all over europe man is in solemn conclave in londonin its streets its clubs its galleries among all sections of society men are propounding questions in social statics that no phitosophy can answer except just one social revolution the wrongs of ireland are venerable and heinous england has been strong and confident the wrongs of ireland have been recognized and redress promised as far back as 1842 a royal commission reported to parliament in favor of certain reforms in ireland bill after bill has for forty years been introduced looking to reformatory legislation and they have either been defeated or dropped englishmen own ireland these few thousand land owners have up to now exacted every farthing of rent in good years and bad years and have spent their money in england ireland has been villianously governed and socially ill-used so to the end would ireland have been governed and ill-used had she not made her voice heard in the land but really the irish question momentous as dynamite is causing it to be is but a small factor in this general european revolution within gun s reach of buckingham palace men and women are dying not figuratively but actually-of starvation what redress have the people how can they make themselves heard parliament is the legislature of the rich and men who oppose these venerable wickednesses are counted as eccentric u agitators as dangerous there is no newspaper of influence in london if in england that raises its power against these legislative wrongs the tongues of the platform and the press and the pulpit are bribed by social considerations dynamite is horrible assassination hideous these are the ways that men are making themselves heard the presh the platform the pulpit are closed to their cause the manner of the second advent to all who love and look for our lord s appearing it is a spirrtual body is not composed of flesh and uoiwr luke of utmost importance to be acquainted with the scripture 24:39 it is a spiritual body and that which is born of the teaching as to the manner of his coming that we may know spirit is spirit but as to what a spiritual body is made of how to expect him remembering that israel after the flesh we know not it doth not yet appear what we shall be but stumbled over his first advent because they had false ideas we shall be like him christ i john 3 2 angels are spiritual bodies christ was raised from the of the manner of his coming briefly stated we believe the dead a spiritual body this was his second birth first he scriptures to teach that christ will not again as at the first was born of the flesh a fleshly body-for as the children advent appear in the flesh for says paul 2 cor 5 16 though we have known christ after the flesh yet now hence are partakers of flesh and blood he also himself likewise took part of the same heb 2 14 he was put to death in forth know we him [so no more he is now the highly the flesh but quickened [made alive in the spirit he was exalted spiritual being-a spiritual body phil 2:9 i cor 15:44 the express image of the father s person heb.1:3 raised a spiritual body this resurrection was his second birth he was the first-born from the dead the first-born we must not expect him then to reappear in the body which among many brethren the church are those brethren and he took for sacrifice but in his glorious body will have a second birth of the same kind as his-to spiritual as a basis then for further investigation we will inquire bodies by the resurrection when we shall arise in his likeness what are spiritual bodies-what powers are theirs and by what laws are they governed t we are here met by the ob -being made like unto christ s glorious body but this second birth must be preceded by a begetting of the spiritjection-we have no right to pry into the hidden things of conversion-just as surely as a birth of the flesh is preceeded god and eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither have by a begetting of the flesh when begotten of the flesh we entered into the heart of man the things which god hath are born of the flesh in the likeness of the first adam the prepared for them that love him to both of these proposiearthly but when begotten of the spirit at conversion and tions we assent but believe we cannot find out by studying god s word-and our investigation will be confined to it born of the spirit in the resurrection we shall be in the likeness of the heavenly the second adam as we have what he has not revealed the above quotation of scripture borne the image 01 the earthly we shall also bear the image 1 cor 2 9 refers to the natural or carnal man and by of the heavenly l cor 15:49 reading it in connection with the three verses following the by examining facts recorded of angels and of christ after objection vanishes for says the apostle god hath revealed his resurrection we may gain some general information with them unto us by his spirit which was given to us that we regard to spiritual bodies first we learn that angels can might hlow the things that are freely given unto us of god be and frequently are present yet invisible the angel of and in the last clause of v 13 he gives us the rule by which the lord encampeth round about them that are his and dewe may know viz comparing spiritual things with spiritlivereth them and are they not all ministering spirits ual we are very apt to change this rule and compare sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvaspiritual things with natural and thus get darkness instead tion heb i 14 balaam s ass saw the angel on the way of lig-ht let us then use the apostle s rule num 22:23 there is a spiritual body as well as a natural body a second angels can and have appeared as men the lord heavenly as well as an earthly body a celestial as well as a and two angels appeared as men to abraham who had supper terrestial they are distinct and separate i cor 15 :28-48 prepared for them of which they ate gen 18 an angel we know what the fleshly-natural body is for we now appeared to gideon as a man but afterward made himself have such it is flesh blood and bones that which is born known judges 6 12 22 an angel appeared to samson s of the flesh is flesh and since there are two kinds of bodies mother and father they thought him a man until he ascended we know the spiritual must be different and jesus said that [578]

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january 1884 zions watch tower 6 up to heaven in the flame of the altar judges 13:20,21 prophecy which shines as a light in a dark place 2 pet 1:19 third spiritual bodies are really bright and glorious in shall because of its light not be in darkness that that day their normal condition the countenance of the angel who should overtake them as a thief 1 thes 5 2-4 rolled away the stone from the sepulchre was like lightning he comes as a thief for the church-the waiting virgins mat 28:3 daniel in a vision saw a spiritual body whose both them that sleep in jesus and those who are alive eyes were as lamps of fire his countenance as the lightning and remain this gathering time at his appearing is the his arms and feet like in color to polished brass his voice harvest time of the gospel age and as in the harvest of the as the voice of a multitude before him daniel fell as a dead jewish age the prepared ones were gathered out to become man daniel 10 ti saul of tarsus saw christ s glorious coworkers with the lord in introducing the new dispensation body it shone above the brightness of the sun at noonday of the gospel age so those who are found ready and watching saul lost his sight and fell to the ground acts 26 13 1 cor at his second appearing shall likewise discern his presence 15 8 and become coworkers with him in introducing the new disthus we find spiritual bodies truly glorious yet without pensation of the millennial age and not only are these a miracle either by the opening of our eyes to see them or to be coworkers in introducing the new dispensation but as their appearing in the flesh as men they are invisible this soon as they learn of the special work of the hour they are conclusion is further confirmed when we examine the more engaged with him in completing the harvest work mmute details connected with these manifestations the lord but in all this change of dispensation the world will go was seen of saul alone the men that journeyed with him on as usual they will !lay where is the promise of his stood speechless hearing a voice but seeing no man acts coming greek-paroltsia-presence for since the fathers fell 9:7 the men that were with daniel did not see the glorious asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning being he describes but a great fear fell on them and they ran 2 pet 3 4 and hid themselves dan 10 7 again this same glorious the second advent like the first covers a period of time bemg declares daniello 13 the prince of persia withand is not the event of a moment the first lasted nearly stood me one and twenty days daniel the man greatly bethirty-four years the second advent as we have seen lasts loved of the lord falls as dead before this one whom much longer it includes the millennial reign and as prophecy persia s prince withstands one and twenty days how is foretold the object manner etc of the first advent so it this surely he did not appear in glory to the prince no also covers all the prominent features of the second advent either he was invisibly present with him or else he appeared and reign christ comes to reign-must reign until he has as a man put down all enemies the last being death 1 cor 15:25,26 chrrst is a spiritual body since his resurrection during in the application of prophecy to the events of the first the forty days of his presence before ascension he appeared advent we recognize order christ must be the child born some seven or eight times to his disciples where was he the and son given before the man of sorrows and acquainted remamder of the time present but invisible notice also with grief he must dte before he could rise from the dead that in each instance he is said to have appeared or he etc so also in studying prophecy referring to the second showed himself language never used of him before his change advent we must recognize order we must judge of the order from a natural to a spiritual body now as angels had done somewhat by the character of the event ail the ayife is }1h he appeared not only so but he appeared in different bodies glory of the husband so the bride is the glory of christ for as the gardener to mary after that he appeared to the two we are to be partakers of the glory that shall be revealed disciples as they went into the country mark 16:12 1 pet 5:1 10 and as the glory shall be revealed in us afterwards he appeared in a body either the same or like the rom 8 18 we know that christ could not come in the one crucified having the marks of the spear and the nails glory of his kingdom [church until he luis first gathered he came and stood in their midst the doors being shut it from the world and in harmony with this thought we read when he shall appear we also shall appear with him on these various occasions he appeared and talked with them then vanished out of their sight he came and went as inin glory col 3 4 the prophets foretold the sufferings of christ [head and visibly as the wind and they could not tell whence he came 1 nor whither he went so is e1 er y one that is born of the body and the glory that should follow if the sufferings spir-it john 3 8 when we are born of the spirit at were of the whole body so is the glory we suffer with him the resurrection we can do so also all spiritual beings that we may be also glorified together rom 8:17 enoch exhibit this same power but jesus said handle me for prophesicd saying the lord cometh with ten thousand of a spirit [pneuma hath not ftesh and bones as ye see me his saints jude 14 again we read the lord my god have and he ate with them true i believe it so did shall come and all the saints ldth thee zech 14 i thus the angels [pneuma heb 1:7 appear as men in flesh and we learn that when he appear» in glory we are with him and bones and they ate also their spiritual bodies did not eat of course we must be gathered to meet him before that nor were they flesh and bones but the body in which they we have further evidence to offer proving that he comes appeared was flesh and bones and it ate the disciples did unknown to the world j but attempt to answer the two supnot see christ s glorious spiritual body but they saw him as posed objections first viz this same .iosus shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven act« 1 ii he appeared in a fleshly body paul teaches us distinctly that christ was raised from the and the lord himself shall descend from heaven with a dead a life-giving spirit [pneuma the same word used by our shout with the voice of the archangel and the trump of god lord i cor 15 :44 45 but where did he get the various and the dead in christ shall rise 1 i hcs 4 16 these bodies in which he appeared i cannot tell you but i believe texts are supposed to teach that christ will come in a manner and you do also other things which we cannot understand visible to every eye while the air is rent with the blast of the archangel s trumpet at which amid reeling tombstones i cannot understand how that grain of wheat grows yet i know that it grows i know not how christ turned the and opening graves the dead will come forth it cortn inly water into wine or raised the dead yet i believe that he did has that appearance on the surface and douhtloss was not these things can you tell me where he got the clothes he intended to be rightly understood until due j but look at it wore after his resurrection they parted his raiment among again would that be corning in like manno as t hov saw them and for his vesture they cast lots the old were gone him go he did not go with the sounding of a trumpet and and the linen clothes lay in the sepulchre is it more difficult outward demonstration it docs not sav 1/011 shall srr him for spiritual beings with their powers to create a covering of r-ominjr nor that anyone would seo illlt he shall so como when he a rr ives it will be privntclv he comes to gn ther nnd flesh than a covering of cloth no the same power can and did do both to set up his kingdom he comes to be glorified in hi s sn ints thus we have found christ s spiritual body like those of in that dav 2 thes 1:10 the world saw him not n ft or angels glorious yet invisible to mortals with power to manihis resurroction they did not spl him ascend and we j fest the glory or appear as a man or in any form he may member that jpsus said yet 11 little whilo and the world choose in the resurrection we shall be like the angels in

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zion s watch tower pittsburgh pa and the prophets and sa ints rewarded then the seventh trump is the trump of god and the last trump there is a series of these trumpets evidently the same in kind but what the seventh angel sounded a sound on the air xo no more than the six which preceded it they are each said to sound and sir isaac newton clark and all commentators of note agree that five or six of these trumpets are in the past they have been fulfilled in events upon the earth each covering a period of time they certa in lv must all sound before the resurrection for that is nndp the seventh if the seventh trump were to make a sound on the air it would be out of harmony with the other six of the series that it covers the great day of his wrath the time of judgments upon the kingdoms of the world and of the pouring out of the seven vials of god s wrath and the time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation seems more than probable for we are told in the game sentence of the wrath of god coming on the nations we see then that the sounding of the trumpets and so roming in like manner do not ronflict but rather add force to the fad that he comes unawares as a thief and steals away from the world his treasure his jewels remember too that this is christ the spiritual body that could not be seen without a miracle that was present yet unseen during thirtv-three days after his resurrection the world will not see the saints when gathered or gathering yhen changed in the twinkling of an eye to spiritual bodies like unto christ s glorious body they will be as invisible as he and as angels the world will not see the graves open and thl tombstones thrown down for a spiritual body is not of the earth earthy rut do not forget that only the church if to b ra isorl spiritual bodies all others are to have a rest itution a restoration to human perfection presence of ohrist before rapture of church christ s personal presence and ministry of three and a half vears at the first advent he called a harvest it was the harvesting of the jewish age christ was present as the chief reaper and his disciples as under-reapers their work was the gathering of wheat into the higher or gospel dispensation that harvest was the end of that age jesus said to his disciples lift up your eyes and look on the fields for they are white already to harvest i sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor other men have labored [the prophets and ye are entered into their labors john 4 38 that work was not general nor for the world -jesus confined their labors to judea and the work to them did not entirely cease until the end of their harvest a d 70 but after his resurrection .iesus sent the disciples to preach the gospel to every nation but this was no longer a harvesting but a seed sowing paul plants apollos waters god gives increase etc but thoro i to be a han-est in the end of this age as illueirated in the parable of the tares and wheat and taught in the explanation of the same notice that both wheat and tares are in the kingdom of heaven-the church-and that this parable as also the other six of the series refers not to the non-professing world but to two classes in the church the son of man planted the church pure good seed during the days of the apostles there were special gifts of the spirit such as discerning of spirits etc by which they were able to prevent tares getting in among the wheathypocrites getting into the church instance 1 cor 5 j simon l lagus ananiafl and sapphira etc but when the apostles were dead while men slept the enemy began to sow tares among the wheat paul declares that the mystery of iniquity had begun to work even in his day now they grow side by side in all churches shall we separate them lord no we might make some mistakes and pull np wheat and leave tares let hoth grow together until the ilnrceet matt 13 the harvest is the end of the world [aion nrre in the time of harvest i will say unto the reapers gather together first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them but gather the wheat into my barn notice this harvest is the end of this age yet like the one ending the jewish age it is a period of time in the time of harvest secondly there is order gather first the tares there must come a time then in the end of this age when the reapers will be doing some sort of separating work in the church that we are now in this harvest we have abundant proof and yet as in the harvest of the jewish age the mass of the church and the world are wholly unconscious of it the separating work is accomplished in both cases by the sharp sickle of truth and the spirit of sacrifice some may have confounded these remarks concerning the presence of christ as a spiritual being with the presence of the spirit of christ but they are quite distinct the latter never left the church consequently in that sense he could not come again of his presence by his spirit he said lo i am with you always even unto the end of the world we refer to the personal presence which did go away and will corne again a spiritual body john 14:3 the greek word parousia frequently translated eominginvariably signifies personal presence as having come arrived and never significs to be on the way as we use the word coming this fact is recognized by many who are looking for the lord but the error under which the church in general is laboring is that of supposing that presence implies sight-manifestation-appearan e in the greek however other words are used to express revelation appearing and manifestation viz phaneroo-rendered shall appear in when he shall appear and apokalupsis-rendered shall be revealed 2 thes 1:7 when the lord .jpsn shall be revealed but we have christ s own words to prove that he will he present in the world and the world will know not of it in matt 24:37 we read as the days of noah were so shall also the parousia presence of the son of man he the presence of christ is not compared to the flood but to the days of noah the days that were before the flood as verse 38 shows as then they ate drank married etc and knew not so shall also the presence of the son of man be the resemblance here mentioned is that of not knowinq-tih y will not know of the presence of christ they may have been wicked then doubtless were and may be similarly wicked now in his presence but wickedness is not the point of cornparison as then they ate drank married-e-propcr enough things to be doing not sinful so shall it be in christ s presence they will attend to the usual avocations of life unconscious of his presence the harvest and change of dispensation now look at luke 17 :26 al l it was in the days of noah so shall it be also in the days of the son of man verse 27 tells how it was in the days of noah they were eating drinking marrying etc so shall it bc in the days of the son of man surely the days of the son of man are not before his days any more than the days of henry clay could be days before he was born no the more we examine the more we arc convinced that the world will go on as usual and know not until the harvest is paflt the summer ended and they are not in the ark nor with the little flock accounted worthy to escape the great trihulation watch therefore and take heed to the sure word of prophecy as unto a light in a dark place that knowing of his presence and the changes then due you may be found in harmony with the king working wisely in his vineyard that you and your labor may be approved of him forget not the master s words take heed to yourselves lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeit.ing and drunkenness and cares of this life and so that day come npon you unaware for as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth luke 21 :34-36 men and women ing my body soul and spirit jesus i gin to thee and yet we flee them living to themselves they sing were the whole realm of nature mine that were a present far too small and yet the offering which they make to god is the merest fraction of their possessions reader how much do you give to the lord have you ever taken the position of being yourself the lord s and therefore all you ha ve his property thcn how much is it consistent for you to appropriate to the lord is your business the lord s do you conduct it for him or for the making of a name and a position for yoursolf do you train your ch ildren for the lord and «are your r-hi idron for the lord and care that their is all really his education shall be sur-h as shall most serve the purpose of your god are your household arrangements such that they are elastic when the work of god calls for a change of mealtimes etc.t is your position in society tlu l lord s to he used or neglected just as it serves god s purpose do you make a practice of being faithful to those in your own position in life letting them clearly see that god is first with you caring nothing for the contempt in which they hold you is your money the lord s so that you practice the strictest economy in board lodging clothing and traveling that you may have all the rest for .iesus if not are you not keeping back part of the price gelected [580]

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questions and answers lt i a faithful saymg for if we be dead with him we ques please explain luke 12 :4 5 shall also live with him 2 tim 2 11 12 as many a_lis these words are addressed to the friends of jesus as are led by the spirit of god they are the sons of god and to those who believe in a future existence secured through the spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are jesus the life-giver the killing of the body represents the the children of god [i e our willingness to suffer with loss of the present measure of life but casting into gehenna christ proves our harmony with the spirit of god thus provtranslated hell represents utter destruction and extinction mg that we are the children of god and if children then because of god s favor all are redeemed from the first or hens-heirs of god and joint heirs with christ if so be that adamic death and those who believe and appreciate this will we suffer with him that we may be al-o glorified together realize that the present spark of existence is as nothing comfor the sufferings of this present time are not worthy pared to the future life made possible through our lord and to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us redeemer therefore such should lightly esteem the present rom 8:14 16 17 18 hfe and fear not to lose it in any righteous cause should such circumstances arise as they do where the favor of men and we know that all things work together for good to and the welfare of this present life on the one side stand them that love god to them who are called acr-orrlmg to hl opposed to the will of god on the other we should seek god s purpose v 28 who shall separate u l from the love of favor at any cost knowing that in his favor is life psa christ shall tribulation or distress or persecution or fam30 5 the future existence and that in his hands is the power me or nakedness or peril or sword nay in all these things of utter extinction the second death represented here by we are more than conquerors through him that loved us for neither death nor life nor angels nor principa l it ies gehenna ques a brother writes saying i find so few who can nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate or will receive the truth or what seems such to me that us from the love of god which is in christ jesus our lord i am left to do my thinking and studying almost alone vs 35-39 the eyes of the lord are over the righteous and orthodoxy so called has leveled its guns at me and in his ears are open unto their prayers and who is he that will the church where i was honored and looked after my name harm you if e be followers of that which is good but if has been cast out but there is something of more imye suffer for righteousness sake happy are ye and be not portance to me than this it is the question is my experience as an outcast in this present evil world fitting me for the afraid of their terror neither be troubled 1 pet 3 12-14 for all the tempted and tried ones-the faithful followers master s service i can bear this if sure that i will not of our lord-our fathers yord is full of cheering and helpbe rejected also by the master in the gathering of his jewels ful promises which we should often call to mind for needed fears sometimes arise within me that i have caught at the shadow and missed the substance and that would be loss strengthening and encouragement indeed help me if you can to answer to this question in ques cannot the real church of christ be identified that harmony with scripture another question think you that is can we not tell where to dr a w the lines again can a the world can see the beauties set forth in the scriptures man be in the church of christ and not he in christ ans unquestionably the world will in the coming age see ans the church of christ in it widest sense includes all much beauty in scripture for much of it is devoted to natbelievers in the redemption through his blood in a more ural or earthly things and it abounds in glorious earthly restricted sense it is such of the above a s have made a covepromises and even now some who are not consecra ted see nant to sacrifice earthly interests for heavenly interests and much beauty in god s grand and benevolent plans so then in the most restricted sense it is such onlv of this last clas« the fact that you see in god s character and plan that which as fulfill their covenant and accomplish the sa er iflce who constitute the church which is his boily col 1 :24 otherwise is grand and good is not a sufficient evidence that you will be among his jewels not all who believe in him and pray to termed the bride the lamb s wife rev 21 :9 him not everyone that sa.ith lord lord shall enter into each of us mav deflnitelv decide whether we h a lje taken the kingdom of heaven but he that doeth the will of my the first two of these steps and whether we are now t ak inq father which is in heaven matt 7 21 god s will for tlus the third ve may know of each other s position il gar

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zion s watch tower pittsburgh pa all of the john class to see them with the eye of faith as .iohn fell down to worship the messenger so there is always a danger that human weakness in the john class might lead some of them to over-esteem and almost worship those through whom god has been pleased to send them a knowledge of his plans the action and words of the angel show the way in which the true messengers of go,1 will treat such honor they will not be puffed up and receive the homage and praise but will say all wisdom comes from god worship not us but him we are your brethren and fellow-servants and fellow-servants with the prophets and with all that keep the sayings of godworship god be true to god thcv 101 erl t lu praise of men more than the praise of god the want of moral honesty is the pr mcipal impediment to cause them to remain through life in a false and hypocritithe progress of religions truth now as in the days of the cal position-their life a continuous lie nazarene many who heard him speak and beheld his prodichrist said to his disciples ye are the salt of the earth gies were convinced of the truth of his claims as a teacher but if the salt has lost it§ savor it is fit for nothing but to sent from god but his doctrines so conflicted with the be cast out and trodden under foot here we have the espopular customs that they could be accepted only at the cost timate jesus placed upon those christians who suppress their of social position the 1n tegrity of his hearers was put to convictions for the sake of popularity-he compares them to the test and the honest among them made the requisite saca man who lights a candle and puts it under a cover to conceal its light he says woe unto you when all men speak rifice and publicly accepted his teaching but those who loved the praise of men more than the approbation of god supwell of you so did the fathers of the false prophets ye pressed their convictions and hypocritically adhered to the are they who justify yourselves before men but god knoweth popular multitude it is just so now in regard to all at your hearts for that which is highly esteemed among men tempts to reform the absurd and conflicting creedal systems is abomination in the sight of god luke 16:15 but to those who are ostracised for defending the truth he says of our age a large majority of modern preachers and of the intelligent lay members of the churches are as fully con blessed are ye when men shall hate and revile you separate vinced of the fallacy of modern theology and the impotency you from their company and cast out your name as evil for the son of man s sake rejoice for great is your reward in of modern pulpits in reforming the world as the writer but their love of popular-ity and ease and lack of trust in god heaven d vinder christ s glory in his saints he shall come to be glorified in his saints and to be admired iii all them that believe 2 thess i 10 inaccessible light is manifested forth then will all that love word glorify christ glorifies us by making us glorious him shine forth too the light that was hidden below the he sheds radiance and lustre from himself upon us we obscuration and limitations of flesh-the life that was almost glorify christ by the exhibition of that reflected and derived smothered by this animal and natural life-the life that was light if we help any dim eye to apprehend his goodness and only faint and dim while in the world-that life shall blaze truth his perfect fairness and infinite beauty then we glorify out free from all obscurity and limitations and with him be manifested in glory god in this latter sense the word is employed here where the apostle is speaking about the wonderful things that are to acthe present is like a dark lantern with the slide scarcely company that great event the coming of jesus christ like up at all while that to which we are looking forward is like the eastern sun rising above the horizon and compassed with the same lantern with the slide up this is a wonderful rose-tinted clouds that derive all their lustre and color from metaphor in which the master himself puts it then shall his brightness he in the midst of thousands of them that the righteous blaze out like the sun in the kingdom of the love and serve him shall pour out it flood of glory upon the father you have seen the thing our lord refers to some waiting and wondering world cloudy and dark day with no color in the grass and flowers he shall come to be recognized as glorious and to manithe birds all silent everything cold and gloomy all at once fest forth his glory in his saints and to be wondered at some gust of wind or some thinning of the air canopy comes amongst all them that believe such shall be the illustrious and out streams the glad light and everything awakens beauty and strange perfectness of character with which scents and sounds music of the birds the grass gleams green christ s servants shall be arrayed at his manifestation that again and the waves of the sea glance in the sun as it blaze all the universe looking at them will receive a loftier imout upon them so says christ-the hidden light we carry pression of what christ himself is that is the thought of shall gleam out in its true properties the passage put into more modern though far weaker words all that we are in the depths of our desire and the imperfect but often infinite aspirations of our better selves-all the idea that runs all through the new testament is thisthat so absolutely and indissolubly one are christ and christhat we are shall blaze forth before all that are there to look tian people that his destiny is their destiny and his charin the manifestation of the sons of god the depths of their acter their character there is a time coming when all who nature shall be brought visibly to all men like the depths of are in christ shall be manifested in glory before the universe some pure sea where you can behold the sun at the bottom a s part of the manifestation of -iesus christ when the hidsparkling upon every little bit of rock that may lie there.don christ that is now lost in the blaze-the privacy of that a.leivander mclaren it is necessary to remember the double meaning of that power of christ s love hen st paul appeared so entranced and overmastered by t ho r-lairns of the gospel that some accused him of being be ide himself this you remember was the only explanation he offered for h is spiritual intensity for the love of christ oonstra ineth us because we thus judge that if one died for all then all died if one died for all oh this is the fact in the historv of jesus christ that touches the heart and draws it to g·od the life of christ inspires us the example of christ elevates us the teachings of christ convict us but beyond all thing-s else it is the death of christ that draws us and yet here is a point where evangelical religion finds a -harp i ue ~pringing up between itself and other forms of lx-lief divine lovc we insist on as rtrongly as you do ay the ohjr-r-tor a the only true motive-power for drawing flil to god lit in deflninp that love we take a wider rweep than you do we find its presence and it inspiration in every flower in every star in every mountain and hill and valley in the purple clouds and in the deep-voiced sea-these are its articulate voices and if you recall us from nature to the bible even there we take a broader range than you do in the life and example of christ in his works of mercy and beneficience and in the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth we find the highest exhibition of divine love isn t it somewhat narrow in paul to shut himself up so closeiy to the cross for the source of his inspiration and enthusiasm isn t it somewhat narrow in you to insist on the death of christ on calvary as the great motive to love narrow i admit but i remember also that sometimes narrow things are the most powerful i recall a stream with which i am familiar which at one point broadens out for miles into a wide and beautiful expanse of waters nothing could be more lovely than the tranquil flow and calm majestic sweep of the [582]

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january 1884 zion s watch tower 8 waters at this place but a little farther down the stream gathers itself up and plunges through a narrow gorge between the hills there is far less of beauty here but here is the place of power here is where the huge wheels of industry are placed here is where the factories with their ponderous machinery have been reared so we admit that nothing could be more majestic than the life of jesus christ nothing could be more beautiful and inspiring than his lofty teachings nothmsr could be more quickening to oui love than the study of his works of mercy but after all it is the cross where the love of christ culminates and manifests its greatest power there the current of divine love gathers itself up and pours its mighty tide through one act-the greatest and most powerful which the universe has witnessed there is where great souls like paul have placed themselves to get the fullest sway and sweep of the love god a j gordon did not know it was there a well-to-do deacon in connecticut was one morning accosted by his pastor who said poor widow green s wood is out can you not take her a cord 1 well answered the deacon i have the wood and i have the team but who is to pay me for it 1 the pastor somewhat vexed replied i will pay you for it on the condition that you will read the first three verses of the forty-first psalm before you go to bed tonight the deacon consented delivered the wood and at night opened the word of god and read the message blessed is he that considereth the poor the lord will deliver hun in tune of trouble the lord will preserve him and keep him alive and he shall be blessed upon the earth and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies the lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness a few days afterward the pastor met him again how much do i owe you deacon for that cord of wood oh said the now enlightened man do not speak of payment i did not know those promises were in the bible i would not take money for supplying the old widow s wants vol v pittsburgh pa february 1884 xo.7 view from the tower accounts of widespread and destructive floods of this past month with their accompanying distress have ere this reached you through the daily press such like events as floods fires earthquakes tornadoes pestilences cyclones etc have always elicited much comment both from press and pulpit regarding their cause the most commonly attributed cause is that god has sent the calamity as a special punishment for supposed greater wickedness of the people of the suffering districts and as a warning to others another and growing view is that it just happened 80 from natural causes and that if there is a god he either cannot help such things or does not care to do so for our part we cannot endorse either of these views we quote from the daily press notices of some of the sermons preached in this city the editor s comments we consider good the flood in the pulpits the flood which lapped the doorsteps of a number of churches last week overflowed into several of the pulpits yesterday quite a number of preachers found texts for their sermons in different phases of the disaster the lessons they drew were various rev mr eaton rejoiced that the worst is past without involving us in total destruction pictured man s impotence to combat the pitiless force of natural elements and drew a parallel with the floods of temptation which threaten all of us and overwhelm many rev mr prugh dwelt upon it as a proclamation of god s personal presence and power rev mr sands while giving due recognition to the potency of a heavy rain combined with the sudden thawing of a deep snow as flood-creating factors in their way maintained that god was back of it all with a purpose of his own in the calamity the exact design of providence he did not presume to fathom rev mr mccrory took altogether a sterner view of it he saw in it a visitation of divine wrath for the multiplied sins and called upon us to take comfort in the thought that we have not been given nearly the chastisement we deserve there is no question but this last will be the most popular view of it-in the hill wards to those who dwelt upon the high ground and so escaped the flood it will be positive satisfaction to know that the deluge was a punishment sent upon the lowlanders on account of their desperately wicked hearts the folks who never have water in their cellars however will probably cling to a more materialistic view-that the high-water line was drawn in accordance with the natural topography rather than comparative depravity the reasons which led people in general to suppose these calamities to be special judgments are founded we believe mainly on the dealings of god with israel upon whom he sent calamities captivities etc as national sins but let us remember that israel was a peculiar people chosen of god for a special purpose and like the saints of the gospel age dealt with in a peculiar manner different from the world to them he said you only have i known of all the families of the earth amos 3 :2 israel was the only nation which jehovah directly governed therefore he chastised their sins and made his promises to them while other nations were left under the domillion of satan the prince of this world until he who-e right it is shall have come and established the kingdom of god under the whole heavens while remembering that god has used calamities such as the deluge and the destruction of sodom as punishments and examples of an overthrow of the ungodly it should not be forgotten that those were examples of those who should afterward live ungodly and these examples are not examples of god s dealings in the present time but are examples of the punishment or destruction awaiting the finally incorrigible during or at the close of the millennial judgment period or day that peter so applies those calamities as examples of the future see 2 pet 2:4-9 in jesus day some had the same impression that great disasters indicated god s special displeasure but jesus corrected them saying suppose ye that these galileans were sinners above all the galileans because they suffered such things 1 or those eighteen upon whom the tower of siloam fell and slew them think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in jerusalem i tell you nay but except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish these words of jesus contain the key to what we bolrevc is the correct view of this subject in the last word pcrisli the fact is that the great calamity death of which pestilence earthquakes floods etc are only inctdentals has passed upon all men because all are sinners rom 5 12 we have become so accustomed to death the great calamity which is rapidly swallowing up the whole race that it the greatest of all losses and the cause of all others is looked upon as a proper and natural matter if however :hings i i e properly considered death as a whole would be seen as the great ca lumity and the floods etc which 01lly hasten it to a few would be of comparatively little importance as death the great calamity and curse was c.iused b st n so all these calamities spring from the sallie cause and an under the control of him that has the power of death that is the devil heb 2:14 whose dominion and llowpi thank god is soon to be taken away and given to the 1 i1iil e of peace as death is the result of sin so ale p ti1l n e tor nadoes etc by one man s disobedience death with its numerous channels of sickness and disaster passed upon all iiit li and those who meet it in one way avoid it in others but all iiipl t it iii some form this will be apparent when we remember that when adam became a sinner not only did the curse of death fall upon hi m but the entire dominion of his kingdom-the eu t th-s-sutf red and is in a cursed condition gen 3 17 for it time ~tltan is permitted to usurp the dominion of earth and wln le seemingly working out his own plans he at the _samp t uue acts as the agent of justicc to execute the penalty of sin tlii b illg true he is the one who by permission exer cises the do-t ruvr rve power upon the earth and jehovah does not iuterfcro because mankind has ju-t.ly comc under the 1 1 ~p of d viola ted law death and because man is gaining a va lua ble les-o n under the present dominion of evil and death wlu h will benefit him when the curse is lifted not only legally but act uull u by the redeemer who for this cause was man ifosted that he ll [583]

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1-2 zion s watch tower pittsburgh pa might destroy death [the great catastrophe in all its forms and lum that hath the power of death [and who brings to pass the various calamities that is the devil as soon as the new prince immanuel takes possession of the kingdom a great change will begin both in the world of nature and of mankind the curse being cancelled will be removed and the blessings purchased by the precious blood of christ will be bestowed so great will be the change under the new administration that in symbol it is called a new heavens [new spiritual ruling power behold he will make all things new he will re-new or restore all things to harmony with god and to a condition which from god s standpoint is very good hence we regard those disasters not as special punishments but as parts of the general curse results of sin but all working out in harmony with god s design an ultimate good to those rightly exercised thereby we have heretofore seen that the prophet job wiis made a type of mankind that the disaster and trouble and losses which befel him illustrated the losses sustained by mankind and that his restoration to favor and after-blessing foreshadowed the restitution of all things to mankind acts 3:19 and we call to mind that the source of his trouble was satan job 1 12 whom god in wisdom permitted to have power over him as then the whirlwind etc was the agent of satan so we claim it is today so too it was in je;1us day jesus did not go about opposing the father s will if the father had caused the death of lazarus would jesus have opposed him by undoing his work if jehovah had caused the storm on the sea oj galillee which nearly overwhelmed the lord and his disciples would jesus have been justified in stilling that tempest but if the sickness and death and storms which jesus counteracted were the work of satan the present prince of the world then all is clear and we and all creation groan and travail and wait for for the glorious reign of the new prince whose relief is foreshadowed by the acts of his earthly ministry praying thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth when the night of sin and suffering and weeping is over and the sun of righteousness arises with healing in his wings for the various troubles of man and of earth the mists of ignorance will be dispelled and it will be seen that not jehovah but man s sin and his present prince satan has been the direct cause of earth s woe and sorrow hillsboro oregon 1rs c t russell-dear sister i have some precious names to place before you to whom please send samples of the tower 1 1 5 i think truly god sent me here to break the cha ins of poor captives about two weeks ago i heard of a lady in this place who was a bible student i called found a plain quiet middle-aged woman in the midst of her family in the corner of the chief room was a stand with a large bible and some histories showing me instantly that mind and heart were at work i cautiously introduced the burden i should say joy of my life-the better way-and found she was of the christadelphian flock i did not in any way condemn them but after gaining her heart by my appreciation of her student life in the midst of cares i took up her bible well marked in the direction of a night of eternal darkness from a material standpoint and i quickly found some dawning light and sunshine i brought smiles to her face and tears not of sorrow but of joy to her eyes-oh how gladly she drank in the goodness of god love is so much better a master than fear since then she comes to see me and we feast from the deep unfailing fountain in the great storehouse i have loaned and given away most of my watch towers this lady wants to study these things now and she is a rapid student for she is so earnest she wishes now to go to her brethren some fifty miles away and tell them what great things the lord has done for her-god willing i will go with her in my weakness my master will show his power yesterday a farmer brought us some produce ann took dinner with us i found him quite scholarly but without faith in the god of resurrection nature is his book i improved the time in showing the goodness of the god whom we love and serve he was surprised that i did not get angry or defend popular theology and said he had not read a bible extracts from letters for twenty years i know he must be earnestly seeking truth but how far he goes away from it when he got his team ready he came in and asked me if i could go out to his place and stay a few days and teach them in our way he said he would bring his wife and the hack and take my boy robbie and me if my husband could not leave oh how earnestly i pray that my words may be blessed oh to bring joy and gladness into the regions of darkness it seemed almost like inviting persecution to introduce the subject of restitution in the disciple prayer-meeting i earnestly prayed that if i was to speak there the lord would open a door for me elder led and read matt 11 20-30 and spoke somewhat on the subject referred to then he very nobly and earnestly invited all present to present their views i waited until almost all present had done so neatly all reflected what the leader had said dare i let this rare opportunity go i did not and god gave me strength and clearness of expression i find jonah s prototype in preachers of today how offended they get to think god is going to be so good to the great mass of mankind the east wind is blowing thank god it comes from sun-rising and not from sunset and all shades gourds will wither and blow away even though the sun beat on the intellect of these college owls who blink in the sunshine i gave a copy of z w t to a missionary of alaska and will get the address of some men in portland whose homes are in abyssinia greece and sandwich islands dear lovely texas my former home i pray the truth will find a voice there i will write to a friend in brownswood -she is an episcopalian but not satisfied who knoweth if she be come into the kingdom for such a time as this she is good strong and true with a ioyful spirit but painful body i am lovingly your sister in christ mrs new readers in all parts of the country are constantly inquiring by what names do you call yourselves are you primitive baptists are you missionary baptists are yon universalists are you adventists are you primitive methodists etc etc v e have several times tried to make clear our position and now endeavor in a few words aga m to do so w i belong to xo earthly organization hence if you should name the entire list of sects we should answer no to each and to all we adhere only to that heavenly organization whose names are written in heaven heb 12:23 luke 10 20 all the saints now living or that have lived during this age belonged to our church organization such are all one church and there is 0 other recognized by the lord hence any earthly organization which in the least interferes with this union of saints is contrary to the teachings of scripture and opposed to the lord s wili that they may be one j no 17 i i by what name may this church be called we answer by the name of its founder and instituter-christ hence it is the church of christ or church of god for god founded it on the rock christ -iesus or christians as they were known in early times acts 11:26 26:28 and 1 pet 4:16 hut because paul and the other disciples were not followers our name of calvin s teachings therefore they were not called calvinists because they were not followers of luther s teachings and example therefore they were not called lutherans but because they followed the one example and teachings of christ only therefore they gladly acknowledged it when they were called christians what think you do we not occupy the only ground for union or suppose that all man-made creeds and forms and prayer-books and liturgies and names were laid aside or that all christians met in the one name of christ and in earnest simplicity studied his words under the direction of god s spirit and the explanations furnished in the apostle s writ ings would there ong be serious differences even of opinion in the church was not that old saint john bunyan who lay for years a prisoner in jail in bedford england because he preaehec the doctrines of jesus and the apostles in opposition to cer tain doctrines of the episcopal church right when he said since you would know by what name i would be distinguished from others i tell you i would be and hope i am christian and choose if god should count me worthy to be called a christian a believer or other such name which is approved by the holy ghoat and as for those faction or sect titles of anabaptist presbyterian independent or the like i con [584]

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