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his journal is one or the prime factors or instruments in ihe syste m of bible instruction or seminary extension now being presented in all parts of the civilized world by the watch tower bible tract society chartered a d 1881 for the promotion of christian knowledge it not only serves as a class room where bible students may meet in the study of the divine word but also as a channel of communication through which they may be reached with announcements of the society:s conventions and of the coming of its traveling representatives styled pilgrims and refreshed with reports of its conventions our berean lessons are topical rehearsals or review of our society s published studies most entertainingly arranged and very helpful to all who would merit the only honorary degree which the sodety accords viz verbi dei minister v d m which translated into englis h is minister of the divine word our treatment of the international s s lessons is specially for the older bible students and teachers by some this feature is considered indispensable this journal stands firmly for the defence of the only true foundation of the christian s hope now being so generally repudiated redemption through the precious blood of the man christ jesus who gave himself a ransom [a corresponding price a substitute for all l pet 1:19 i tim 2:6 building up on this sure foundation the gold silver and precious stones 1 cor 3 ii-15 2 pet i :5-ii of the word of god its further mission is to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery which has been hid in god to the mtent that now might be made known by the church the manifold wisdom of god which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men as it is now revealed eph 3 :5-9 10 lt stands free from all parties sects and creeds of men while it seeks more and more to bring its every utterance into fullest subjection to the will of god in christ as expressed in the holy scriptures it is thus free to declare boldly whatsoever the lord hath spoken i-according to the divine wisdom granted unto us to understand its attitude is not dogmatical but confident for we know whereof we affirm treading with im plicit faith upon the sure promises of god it is held as a trust to be used only in his service hence our decisions relative to what may and what may not appear in its columns must be aecording to our judgment of his good pleasure the teaching of his word for the upbuilding of his people in grace and knowledge and we not only invite but urge our readers to prove an its utterances by the infallible word to which reference is constantly made to facilitate such testing t this journal and its sacred mission to that the church is the temple of the living god peculiarly his workmanship that its construction ha been in proq;fl throughout the gospel age ever since christ became the world s redeemer and the chief corner stone of his temple through which when finished god s blessing shall come to all people and they find access to him l cor 3 16 17 eph 2:20-22 gen 28:14 gal 3:29 that meantime the chiseling shaping and polishing of consecrated believers in christ s atonement for sin progresses and when the last of these living stones elect and precious shall have been made ready the great master workman will bring all together in the first resurrection .and the temple shall be filled with his glory and be the meeting place between god and men throughout the millennium rev 15:5-8 that the basis of hope for the church and the world lies in the fact that jesus christ by the grace of god tasted death for every man a ransom for all and will be the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world in due time heh 2:9 jno 1:9 1 tim 2:5 6 that the hope of the church is that she may be like her lord see him as he is be partaker of the divine nature and share his glory as his joint-heir l john 17:24 rom 8:17 2 pet 1:4 that the present mission of the church is the perfecting of the saints for vhe future work of service to develop in herself every grace to be god s witness to the world and to prepare to be kings and priests in the next age eph 4:12 matt 24 14 rev 1:6 20:6 that the hope for the world lies in the blessings of knowledge and opportunity to be brought to all by christ s millennial kingdom-the restitution of all that was lost in adam to all the willing and obedient at the hands of their redeemer and his glorified church-when all the wilfully wicked will be destroyed acts 3 19-23 isa 35 charles t russell editor letttrs 1 or the 1 d1tor should de sl nt to all £ghl ny pl u s a us the scriptures clearly teach renewals of dispatch and world business communications and remittances addrl ss to watch tower bible tract society bibl£ hous£ 610 612 614 arch st all£gh£ny pa u s a o r to british branch-24 £vilrsholt st london n w g£rman branch-mirk£r str 45 £lb£rf£ld australasian br nc/i-equitabi.£ bi.dg·· collins st·· melbournit price $1.00 4s a year in advance money may be sent by express bank draft postal order or rl g· istered i rom foreign countries by foreign mon£y orders only term to the lord s poor as follows:all bible students who by reason of old age or other infirmity or adversity i are unable to pay for this journal will be supplied fde1 if they sena a postal card each may stating their case and requesting its continuance ve are not only willing but anxious that all such be on our list continually and in touch with the studies etc £nteri d as s£cond class mail mattei at allegheny pl post office we have arranged for dispatch subscriptions covering monday issue only at a very special rate clubbed with the watch tower both for $1.50 if you have already sent in your tower subscription you may still avail yourself of this privilege by remitting the difference we have made a similar arrangement with the toronto world for the benefit of our canadian friends other papers at same price are cincinnati enquire1 ft wayne news o1w,ttanooga ne!os and the atlanta jom-nal letters to newspaper editors this journal is pubushed in the fr£nch german swedish danish and italian languag£s sample copi£s free entered as second class matted at the post office dept ott wa canada friends writing should mention their interest in the people s pulpit sermons or the brooklyn tabernacle sermons or pastor russell s sermons and not so state themselves as though any and all sermons interested them brother russell prefers that his name be less and less used hence some sixty papers are publishing them without his name others prefer to use his name and no objection is offered so long as the improper title reverend is not used separate bible helps tbacts envelopes withdrawal letters etc any of these you may wish to order soon please order at once so that we need not pack ship and unpack them besides our moving will interrupt shipments for about two weeks if you ordered bibles or tracts and did not get them by mail inquire at th xpr ss offif for them ve will shortly ,have a very cheap edition of our hymns without music for conventions etc some time ago wh n recommending that we sing the same hymns of dawn phil 3 16 we remarked about the cost of the preparation copyrights etc inadvertently our words seemed to inf lude the 5c songs but of course we did not mean that they had co it you much or us anythin for they were not our puhlication vlt e no longer handle songs we have concluded that any balance of money after filling orders shall be placed in the tract fund unless you otherwise direet 2 these are ready in the leather-bound india-paper edition price $1.25 postpaid but we advise the bible and helps the cheaper editions of the helps on cheaper paper are not ready yet a bargain while they last hymns of dawn without llrosic we remind you of the two beautiful motto-cards by our own designers i sister sei,bert s in due time with the chestnut bough and 2 sister darlington s restitution design we have a large lot of these and rather than move them to brooklyn we will sacrifice them at but little more than custom s duty and freight and express charges as follows 2 of each 4 for 25 cents postpaid 10 of each 20 for $1.00 postpaid 100 of each 200 for $6.00 collect our address still the same lt will take considerable time to get our arrangements balances to the tract fund perfected and stuff removed to brooklyn address us at allegheny as usual until contrary notice appears in these columns [4302]

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vol xxx allegheny pa january 1 1909 no.1 views from the watch tower never before has the prospect for the successful spreading of present truth had so favorable an outlook as that for 1909 although vast preparatlons are under way for the conversion of the heathen and the federation of churches is expecting to increase the strength and effectiveness of all the federating denominations nevertheless there is a considerable element outside as well as inside those systems which is quite dissatisfied it hungers and thirsts for something different for something more than mere church organization salaried ministers and paid choristers this class feels a desire to get nearer to the lord rather than to be bound in a denominational bundle it feels that there is an emptiness and formality connected with much that is called christian and that many apparently are drawn nigh to the lord with their lips while their hearts their affections are far from him and really fixed upon earthly things good and bad the said class is ready for the truth but is in danger of falling into christian science theosophy the emmanuel 1 1 ovement or something of the kind alas poor sheep it is true of them as the master expressed it of a similar kind at his first advent that he beheld them as sheep and no shepherd needing guidance needing help we may be sure that the adversary is on the lookout for these and that none the less the good shepherd cares for them and surely he expect that we who have already tasted of his grace and obtained some knowledge of his plan will be interested also in their welfare because we have his spirit we may expect that he will use us in reaching these in considerable number because by his grace we have the only message that can bring them the true blessing of grace and peace through the knowledge of our lord and savior and of his perfect work past and to come opening the doors of opportunity tion with this department some time during the year you will receive a letter indicating how you can co-operate advantageously meantime be active in other departments of the service our british friends also may have opportunity of sharing in this work later the basis of our oonfidenoe our opportunities for the new year seem to be superior to those of any previous year 1 because the watch tower readers are more than ever awake to their opportunities and responsibilities and privileges of sepvice our volunteer force is larger and more zealous we believe than ever before and our new volunteer matter is in a new and attractive form which we believe will be blessed of the lord in reaching many both inside and outside of the various denominations we hope to hear from the dear friends in every direction promptly as to what they propose to do-how many of these they can and will judiciously use united effort is advantageous each one spies another and each one who labors receives a special blessing from the lord in his own heart besides the blessing which he may confer on others as an instrument of the truth the newspaper sermons some of the dear friends are expressing surprise but for several years we have anticipated increasing numbers becoming interested in the work our expectations have been so largely realized that it seems proper to rehearse the matter and to give the reason why these openings of divine providence for the spreading of the truth seem to us to be in fullest harmony with what we should expect from our view-point concerning the harvest field let us take a hasty resurvey it may enlarge our expectations and thus lead to an increase of energy for others and thus to an increase of our own blessings we still believe that in the year 1881 the special call of this gospel age ceased as a call our understanding still is that at that date a sufficient number had made consecration to complete the predestinated figure and that god would not permit others to be called for whom there would be no place that instead he arranged that others consecrating since that time should like the servants in the parable wait for an opportunity to enter the vineyard-peradventure it might come even at the eleventh hour we still understand that all the consecrated and accepted ones in 1881 will be subject to testings proving and that as one will be found unworthy his name will be blotted out and his crown set aside for another and that thus vacancies have occurred and been filled from time to time without a formal call-merely the consecrated being admitted to the privileges of the service and blessed with the begetting of the spirit and the knowledge of the truth looking back to 1881 we find that in a few years preceding that date a considerable work of evangelization took placemoody and sankey and later whittle and bliss revival meetings from 1875 up to 1881 their work appeared to be of a more substantial kind than that of revivalists generally since they made prominent justification by falth through the merit of the precious blood of christ and urged a full consecration to the lord to a degree that has seldom been equaled by evangelists large numbers professed thorough conversion under their labors and the depth of their work and of its hold upon the people is witnessed by a large sale and use of their gospel hymns it is our thought that the lord used these men and through their ministry the foreordained number was completed at the fore-ordained time 1881 the publication of the sermons in many newspapers has a suppositionary oase begun and appearances are that it will continue under the let us suppose that in 1881 when the call closed there lord s blessing and guidance and that thus millions of readers were altogether 40,000 justified and consecrated believers in will be reached including many on farms whom we could the precious blood some of these had been perhaps a long not hope to reach otherwise it is largely for this departtime in the way and their day of trial was nearly ended ment of the work that arrangements have been made for the but if our supposition respecting the moody work be correct transfer of the watch tower headquarters to brooklyn new a considerable majority of that 40,000 were in 1881 mere york we expect to give all of our subscribers in the united babes in christ freshly accepted of the lord and subject to states and canada an opportunity for co-operation in connecthe message testings and provings seeing the lord is very [4303 3-4

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4-5 the watch tower allegheny pa patient and long-suffering to usward it should not surprise us if many of those would have from five to twenty-five years of testing and proving before their crowns would be declared forfeited if these suppositions be measurably correct it implies that as usual only a httle flock of the consecrated make their calling and election sure and that the great majority of them have lost their crowns and had their names blotted out as respects a share in the bride company taking the whole number as 40,000 and taking the overcomers to number one-fourth of these and counting the threefourths as going into the great company it would mean the vacating of 30,000 crowns and hence mean opportumty tor a similar number to enter in to possess those crowns a preference would surely be given to the justified ones who exercising faith in the blood and consecrating themselves to the lord would be represented by the parable ot the vineyard as waiting and bidden to enter at the eleventh hour without a specific promise of reward it is our conviction in harmony with the foregoing that there is now a large number of crowns vacated and awaiting new clannants this is more than a groundless surmise for have we not the fact before us that a considerable number have lately come trom worldli· ness and sin into the light of present truth into the privileges of the vineyard and evidencing by thcir fruits of the holy spirit that they have been be~otten of the spirit since the divine methods are unchangeable and since the justified and the children of the justified hold first place in the divine opportunities of this gospel age the infcrence is plain that a large number of crownr are now unportioned and in full accord with this is the wider scope bemg granted for the circulation of present truth these are our grounds for our great expectations in connection with thc opening year additionally we might remark that it is only to be exppcted that those who have come mto the light of present truth and who have as it were been gathpred as wheat from the tares should begin to receive their threshing to separate fully and completely the wheat trom the chaff so then while anticipating great progress for the truth we must also anticipate sore trials and perhaps disappointments in respect to some of whom we had expected better things-even joint-heirship in the kingdom a thousand shall fall in harmony with our original vow m thought in word and in act as a result of obedience to this warning call numbers ot us have been drawn very close to the lord under the shadow of his protecting care where no harm can come nigh us and only with our eyes shall we see what will come upon others who refuse this refug~thers who will stumble in this evil day and be snared and taken by the great fowler and his demon hosts it is painful to write or even think of some who twenty and thirty years ago were with us heart and hand climbing up zion s hill fighting the good fight ot talth laying hold upon eternal life developing the fruits and graces of the holy spirit and anticipating shortly sharing with the redeemer the glorious work of the kingdom but who have sillce become weary or faint m their mmds or turned aside to strife or vain-glory it is both our duty and our privilege to do all in our power to recover such from the power of the adversary but after doing all that we can on their behalf it is not for us to question the wisdom and love of god in connection with the matter but rather with full rellunee to know that the lord is supervising the affairs of all who are his sheep and will not suffer us to come under greater temptations and trials than by his assistmg grace we shall be able to withstand let us set our seal that the lord is true faithtul whether we or others shall fail of gaming the promised prize it will not be the result of divine n gligence or inefficiency but our own vhile considering this subject we take the opportunity to point out that our trials and testings as spirit-begotten new creatures in the truth will surely be on tin e points 1 faith 2 humility 3 love to fail in any of these will mean disaster to come oil conquerer in all three of them will mean energy and de otion to know and to do the father s will the time is hort the tests will be severe but he who is on our part is greater than all that be against us and ready to render e cry assbt· ance needful if our hearts be but loyal along the points mentioned and if not loyal then it would not be the will of

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january 1 1909 the watch tower 5-6 this is a beautiful description yet we need to modify it to the extent of remembering that the sun of righteousness did not dawn there but is only now dawning our lord s expression was the truer one namely that each one of his followers was a lamp or candle lighted from his which must not be put under a bushel but elevated that the darkness might be dispelled it was the lightmg of fresh candles 80 to speak that carried the enlightening blessing god s word is the lamp for his people to guide their steps and as they become illuminated the world is proportionately blessed thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path psa 119 105 we have also a more sure word of prophecy whereunto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn 2 pet i 19 he showed himself alive briefly the historian reminds us of the forty days between our lord s resurrection and his ascension that he showed himself to his apostles and gave them certain instructions respecting the holy spirit that they should wait for its endowment as the father s seal of their acceptance to membership in the royal priesthood and to the ministries of the truth as his ambassadors all of these instructions etc were pertaining to the kingdom of god this central thought needs to be kept in mmd god s kingdom has been promised-that it may overthrow the kingdom of satan and deliver mankind from the bondage of sin and death messiah was to be the king and israel the seed of abraham to be his assistants and jomt·heirs in that kingdom and its work natural israel had proven unworthy ot the favor as god had foretold through the prophets and the privileges taken from them were to be given to the remnant of israelites indeed and a sufficient number from amongst the gentiles to complete the number divinely intended and foreordained properly therefore everything said and done directly or indirectly appertained to the kingdom as st luke in his gospel has set forth the personality of jesus as the magnet to draw the hopes and establish the confidence of the israelites indeed so in the acts he uses it to still point to our lord as the central figure the magnet indeed seen from the standpoint of the resurrected the glorified one highly exalted far above principalities and powers the magnetic qualities of the messianic per~onality are greatly enhanced while never forgetting his earthly life and sacrifices our hearts and minds look to him now as the one who ever liveth the head of the church the king of glory waiting for the completion of his bride and .in due time to take possession of earth s dominion and to begin the great work of restitution it is as important today as ever that we keep before our minds the thought of our lord s personal relationship to every feature of his work if it was his message to the early church to remember his words lo i am with you always even to the end of the age the thought of the lord s perbonal presence now in the harvest should be still more impressive to us if he kept a supervision or control of all the affairs of his people throughout the age does not the thought of his second coming and still more intimate association with every little detail of what is planned make us rejoice to be more careful more zealous 1 to the extent that we are able to keep this clearly before our minds it will make us happy in respect to right fighting and right doing for instance should the adversary make suggestions to us of discontent or dissatisfaction with the manner in which things pertaining to the lord s people have been progressing let us answer him that we know he is mistaken because the lord himself is present and is supervising his work if at any time matters seem to be going contrary to our hopes or expectations let us not think the lord has neglected the supervision of his work and is allowing the adversary to dash it to pieces on the contrary let us establish our hearts in the fact that the lord is too wise to err and is as able as he is willing to make all things work together for good to us and to all the called ones according to his purpose if tempted to intermeddle with matters that the lord has put l11to the hands of another let this thought restrain us and counsel us to give closer attention to that which the master has committed to our care and that to his own master each servant stands or falls and it is for him to approve or disapprove it is not therefore for us to grasp management or control or in any degree to force our views upon others but rather to do our part as faithfully as possible and to leave the results to the lord realizing his presence and his care his wisdom and his love wait for the promise ment of the christian church this was pictured to them as a baptism and immersion with the holy spirit and contrasted with john s baptism or immersion in water this baptism of the holy spirit would represent to them the fact that he died for human sm had been received into the father s presence and had offered of his merit on behalf of those who believed in him and accepted him it would constitute the sign evidently or mark not only that their sins were forgiven but that their consecration had been accepted and that they were now adopted into god s family begotten of him as spiritual sons who if they would develop in harmony with their covenant in the school of christ would in due time be born ot the spirit in the resurrection to the divine nature it was while they were with him and being instructed in things pertaining to the kingdom and regarding the necessity for tarrying for the spirit baptism that they asked the lord an important question lord wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to israel1 but he replied it is not for you to know the times or seasons which the father hath put in his own power or authority the disciples understood well enough that the restoration of israel to a place of mfiuence and power as a nation would be an incident of our lord s great triumph in taking the dominion of earth but they did not fully comprehend for this gospel age has been as it were a parenthesis in which the bride class has been in course of selection from amongst all mankind they perceived that the master was leaving them and were anxious for information but in sub tance they were told that they could see but one step in advance and that they must walk by faith and not by sight elsewhere we are informed that our lord told his followers that not only no man knew the day and hour marking the developments of the divine purpose in connection with the opening of the new dispensation but neither did the angels in heaven nor our lord jesus that the father had kept the whole matter in his own hands in his own power this is better illustrated in the symbolism of revelation fifth chapter where the divme plan is represented as sealed and given to our lord after his demonstration of his faithfulness at calvary and his ascension to glory nothing in the statement however implies that our lord and his disciples and the angels of heaven would never know of the times and seasons in due time each feature w111 be revealed to those for whom it would be meat in due season for to you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of god but to outsiders all these thmgs arc spoken in parables but while the due time had not come for the apostles to understand the particulars of the restitution of israel etc.· other knowledge and other work were awaiting as soon as the father marked them by the outpouring of the holy pirit it was not due time then to discuss matters that were a long way in advance the thing immediately in hand was their work of witnessing for jesus of telling out all that they knew about him that others might know and be blessed through their ministries in due time they would not be coll fined to jerusalem and ,judea but might go to samaria yea and to the uttermost parts of the earth for eventually the message would be for every creature the word here rendered witne8se is in the greek mmtyres from which comes our english word martyr signifying those who witness at a cost of suffering or death it may have seemed strange to the apostles that the telling of the good tidings would cost them suffering and it may seem still more strange to us today that the proclamation of the true gospel of christ should bring persecution and call for martyrdom but it is true and the master .explained the reason saying the darknesfl hateth the light the world in general includ· ing christendom is more or less under the adversary s deluflions and whoevcr is faithful in telling the meflsage of the lord in itfl length and breadth will speedily find opposition where least he might have expected it the goodnes of god his love and the length and breadth and height and depth of his plan of salvation are so foreign to the benighted mind that it induces persecution bpcausc the truth is stranger than the fiction a lesson here for us is that this witnessing is not yet finished and that to meet our lord s approval as his representatives we must be martyrs to one degree or another the more faithful we are probably the more we shah have opportunity for suffering and c orresponrlingly will be our share in the eternal weight of glory which god ha in reservation for those that thus love him and serve him so come in like manner while speaking our lord began to ascend and soon a cloud the holj spirit had be.en promised and must be waited for had enveloped and hid him from their sight they waited as the reahzabon and begmnmg of the new work the develop looking as though expecting him to descend again but instead [4305]

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7-8 the watch tower alugh!ny pa two angel appeared and said why stand ye gazing up into heaven l1ii same jesuf which is received up from you into heaven shall iso come in ilki manner as ye have sccn him go mto heaven acts 1 11 thc statemcnt is not that they would scc him omlng as tlwy saw him go for surely they did not they died and not until after he had come agam could thrir awakening thelf resurrection take place nor did the angf ls say that anyone would see him coming they merely dcelan d a great fact that he would so come and that his coming would be m like manner to his going noting this carf fully we ask ourselves vhat will be the manner of ills seeond coming thc answer is that as his departure was quiet secret unknown to the world known only to his most iiltlmate and dear followers so his second coming will be in i1ke manllcr-not with shouts and voices and trumpets but secretly quietly as a thief in the night the pentecostal blessing acts 2 l-ll-j nuary 10 golden text 1 will pray the father and he shall give you wnother comforter that he may abide with you foreverj even the spirit of truth john 14:17 our lord s mcssage to his disciples when leaving them the praylllg and waiting company on pentecost day but was that they should return from the mount of olives to th.ere was merely a sound which resembled that of a mighty jerusalem and tarry there until embued with power from on wmd it was the more miraculous that there was no wind high to many the ten days of tarrying would be considered from the reading of the greek it is inferable that the tongues a serious waste of valuable time thlllk of it one hundred of fire or blaze of light which appeared over the head of each and twenty of the lord s consecrated people idle for ten were not split or cloven flames but that the expression days-not prcaching nor healing nor engaging in any special cloven tongues of fire implies that a larger flame was first religious work-neglecting business and money-making and manifest which w!ls cloven or split or divided into these all earthly interests as well what were they doing the smaller flames which app~ared over the head ?f eac b.ut record implies that their special employment during t~ose ten no matter w~at the particular form of malll~estation .its days was prayer and supplication to god what did they object was qmckly discerned it was the promised blessmg want they alrcady were in relationship to god through from on high from the father s throne through the ~on j as faith and pcrmitted to pray to him as their father they st p~u:r explained as every man h h received the gift even already knew of jesus and had already been blessed by him so milllster the same one to ano.ther pet 4:10 we are in various ways some of them having been his mouthpieces not to un.dersta~d tha the multitude bemg of one mmd pro· why tarry why pray why not go out at once into the duce this malllfestatlon ~ut rather th the lord by ius vineyard and labor if they had becn left to guide their own providence brought them mto the condition of full accord steps doubtless they would have been at work but they were preparatoyy to th giving of this blessing similarly he says following their master s word remembering the testimony th3;t ~peclal bles~l~gs may be exp cted ~hen two or t~ree obcdience is bctter than sacrifice they knew not what ulllte m their petiti?n-not that their ullltmg e~ects anythmg qualifications they needed for their future service they were b~t that the lord is pleased to reward the ulllted efforts of merely trustmg all to their lord and obediently waiting for his people and thus to encourage them to forsake not the the promised blessing and preparation assembling of themselves the necessity for thcir tarrying was threefold:the entire house was filled with a wonderful power and 1 they were incompetent for the work designe l for every believer was apparently as it were electrified vivified them until empowered for it and they were all filled with this holy spirit this hallowed 2 they could not receive the blcf sed anoint.ing until first ~nfluence and began to speak in foreign tongues under the the redeemcr has ascended into heaven there to appear mflu~nc that hll:d come upon them ve a~e not sure now in the presence of god on our behalf on behalf of believers but it is our opinion that this special mamfestation ~as to members of the fallen racc they had already been privileged the eleven apostles only because the subsequent record is th t likc their father abraham to retul ll to favor with god as peter and others of the eleven apostles addressed the multlhis friends being justified by faith thl y could as justitude in these foreign tongues we know no ev~dence that others fied ones addresa him in prayer our father which art in of the one hundre and twenty preached iii the unknown heaven they wcre not enemies at heart but loyal even tongues on the oceaslon nor that they had the power to do so though to u le the apostle s language they had been enemies for centuries the lord s people have been more or less in through wi ked works through inability to keep perfectly strife respecting the holy spirit-what it is etc we will the divinc law they were not rebels needing a mediator not attempt here an elaboration of the subject but refer our but loyal though imperfect friends who needed a redeemer readers to dawn-studies vol v chapters 8-11 where the and advoc·ate their reun mer testified the father himself subject is treated in great detail incidentally we merely loveth you and .again in prayer to the father respecting notiee that the holy spirit is not a person but the spirit the t}l~m he sllld thli~e t~il y werc and thou gavest t~em me will mind energy power or disposition of a person it is stili lll fore dn ille .lustiee could acccpt them as hvmg sacri the spirit of the father it is the spirit of the son and fiet i up~lli the lorel s altar it was neccssary t.hat their ranit is the spirit of all who are in full harmony with these som prlc p ahould be dl fil11tcly set over to justice by the the masculine pronoun is used because our father and our redeeml r this was donl during thc ten days of their wait· lord jesus are both spoken of in the masculine gender and in i!0wer from on high the o~ltpouring of the holy their spirit would properly be so referred to nothing has splrjt evldclleed thc prc sentatlon and divme acceptance of the much more confused the mind of christendom than the un· nll it of ch.r~st s lac riflee on tlleir ix:half this permitted scriptural theory that the holy spirit is one of three gods th i recogllltlon as nt w creatnr~s the~r !jegettal to tl~e new equal in power and glory it is one of the manifestations of spirit nature a l lolls of .god thclr anomtmg of the spirit as the one living and true god he manifested himself in jesus memllprk of the royal pril sthoocl who was god manifest in the flesh he manifested himself 3 thesc tcn dars c?f prayer were necess~ry also to fit in this holy influence or power at pentecost ilnd sluce to an~l ,prepal c the lord dlsc lplcs for the reception of the h?ly those who received the begetting or anointing of that holy spirit the human mmd resembles a room the door ~f which spirit the spirit of the truth and indirectly to those of the must be ~pcn.l d bcfore treasure can be put !herem the world who discerned its operation in the children of light and d?or iii tills picture would symbohze th will which must first who were reproved and rebuked because of being out of hargive con lent to whatever enters the mmd the heart the hfe th th d 11 furthermorc a room that is already stocked and overcrowded mony wi i lv~ne wi has little space wllcrcin to place new valuables-the old must as some erred iii speakmg of the holy spirit as a thud be removed that placc may be found for the new our hearts person so other err in the oppos.it direction i ~laiming need to be cmptied of thcir earthly hopes aims and ambitions that there is nothmg of the holy spirit except a splrlt of the in order to makc plac for the ncw riche l of god s grace the t,r~t the proper th~u~ht ~e hold .is that the term .h?ly tcn days were prohahly nonc too long for the testing of the spirit stands for the divme will and divme power and divme faith and loying ohl dil nec and zcal for the lord and his truth exercised how and when and where the divine will purl anse wllil h tl1l v had ullllcrtaken to len-e as they prayed poses the power which came upon the waiting disciples was and fa lted and waitecl l pectantly for the promised blcssing not merely a field for the truth nor merely a knowledge of the from on high doubtlc is worlclly ambitions hoper and aims truth nor was it a person that fell upon them nor could we di lsolyl d all vanished fr0!1l thcir hearts i~aving them ready think of a person being divided up and inhabiting either for the blessmg the lord mtcnded and which he poured out eleven apostles or one hundred and twenty brethren or sound of a mighty wind thousands and ten of thousands of the lord s people in all we are not to understand that a mighty wind blew upon parts of the world tor [4306]

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january i 1909 the watch tower 8-9 he shall give you another our golden text represents the matter in clear light and in harmony with all the other scriptures on the subject when it declares that the holy spirit must come from the father not from the son when it declares that the son would petition the father to send the spirit when it declares that this special power or spirit of the father would be another comforter instead of our lord jesus himself whose going away was necessa.ry and expedient had our lord remained as a person in the flesh he would have been hampered by the fleshly and earthly conditions much as we are because he could not be everywhere at once it was preferable or expedient therefore that he should personally leave his disciples and appear before the father as their advocate and thus secure to them the holy spirit which would not only represent the father and himself but would also represent all truth all righteousness and be a channel for everyone that needed blessing following the miraculous sound and the electrical influences pervading the room and the manifestation of the lights upon their heads we may be sure a considerable degree of holy joy and excitement manifested themselves amongst the believers and this soon spread abroad and attracted a large concourse of people through curiosity because it was stated that they were continually in the temple luke 24 53 acts 2:46 it has been surmised by some that the large upper room occupied on this occasion was one of the numerous apartments connected with the temple and that the quick gathering of 3,000 people might thus be accounted for it was one of the annual festivals which drew the devout jews not only from all parts of palestine but also from neighboring countries most of them were jews by birth but some of them were proselytes or converts to judaism at first these heard various languages spoken and hastily concluded that the speakers were intoxicated but later they discerned that the various tongues spoken represented the dialects of various people in the vast throng so that each might hear in his own native tongue the message that was being circulated respecting jesus his death resurrection ascension and now this miraculous outpouring of the father s blessing at his hands to qualify his service to declare his message the significance of pentecost many wise rich great or learned hath god chosen but chiefly the mean things of this world nevertheless it is noticeable that those who are deeply interested in present truth who study it who love it under the guidance and instruction of the lord s spirit and the various helps which god hath provided for our time are far above the average of their fellowlaborers in general intelligence indeed whoever has a knowledge of the truth has an education whether he has ever taken a college course or not on the contrary it has recently been noticed that a large number of those who enjoy special earthly advantages of education gain comparatively little therefrom for instance note the following clipping from the new york world a few days ago evangelist k c mercer himself a reformed drunkard addressing the students of the northwestern university said during the last few years 1 have been working in the water street mission in new york and i have learned that one-third of the men that came there ragged and dirty and begging for food were college-bred i have found them on the bowery making up beds or waiting on tables and 1 h:lve even met them 1il the street-cleaning brigades during febru,lry of last year more than 400 of them stood in the bread hne at our mission seventy-five per cent of the prisoners at sing sing prison are college-bred men beyond question the wisdom that cometh from above is first pure then peaceable gentle easy to be entreated tull ot mercy and good fruits and is as the apostle declares the spirit of a sound mind jas 3 17 2 tim 1 7 the lesson here for us the day itself is an important one according to jewish tradition it was the anniversary of the law covenant at mt sinai it therefore by contrast would be a reminder of how christ makes free from the law and admits to the benefits of the original covenant all who approach the father through him it was a day of free giving to all in need according as the lord thy god hath blessed thee deut 16:10 thus the lord s followers dispensed to all who were in readiness to receive the blessings granted to them through jesus the flames of fire beautifully symbolize the light of truth the enlightenment of the mind which comes through the begetting of the holy spirit this power divine was remarkably manifested in the eleven apostles for while the multitude still recognized them as ignorant and unlearned men nevertheless they took knowledge of them that they had been with jesus and learned of him that they had a certain kind of enlightenment of mind and heart which could come from no other quarter and is not this same true of all those who have been begotten of the holy spirit only a few days ago in talking to one of the dear friends a carpenter in respect to the knowledge of the truth enlightening his mind and refreshing his heart he added yes brother russell and that is not all not only are my head and heart refreshed with respect to spiritual things but without boasting i can say that the truth has made me brighter and more proficient in every way it gives me a better balance of mind and soundness of judgment even in my trade as a carpenter we believe that this is true in general those appealed to by the truth are not more than ordinarily bright naturally indeed according to the scriptures we might infer that they would be below the average for the apostle declares that not although we cannot agree with those who teach that repeated pentecosts and spint baptisms are to be expected and prayed for we do believe that the lord s people need to come into a similar attitude to that of the brethren who were blessed on pentecost day m order to enter the favors and privileges which are ours throngh chnst there was to be but one pentecost there never will be another so far as the church is concerned the holy ~pirit which there came to the church has abode with us still and its blessing is the privilege of those consecrated ones whom the lord accepts and adopts into his family but before anyone is prepared to get a proper blessing of the lord s spirit he must first have the justification by faith and a heart free from the love of sin and must present his solemn resolution to be to do to serve the lord the truth the brethren-hi vows before he could be in the right attitude to receive a blessing and the enlightenment the comfort the f~llowsillp of god s holy spirit even though he be inflamed with desire to serve the lord the truth and the brethren he will do wisely to follow the course of the early church and tarry and study and praythat he may himself be filled with the spirit before he attempts to act as god s ambassador to others indeed no one is authorized from the scriptural standpomt to preach the gospel much or little except first he have received this anointing and authorization of the spirit from above the lord hath anointed me to preach the good tidings unto the meek isa 61 1 while opposing the unscriptural view with respect to praying for new pentecosts let us not lose sight ot the important fact that until we have received our share of the blessinj of that first pentecost we cannot have the perfect peace of god nor be properly and actively and successfully his servants and ambassadors vould that at the opening of the new year all of the lord s people would seek earnestly a l.trger measure of the holy spirit-watchmg and praying thereunto watching their words their thoughts and deeds the lcadmgs of thc lord s providence the opportunities for his service and praying abandon us not in temptation but deliver us from the evil one and let us ask him to grant us more and more the emptying of worldly ambitions desires and filling more and more with the mind of chnst the dispoflition of christ many are finding the vow very helpful along the~e jines and we still commend it to all of the sacrificers in christ jesus as a helping hand to keep us watchful and nearer to the lord-under the shadow of the almighty save yourself from this generation acts 2 32-42 januaby 17 golden text they continued steadfast in the apostles doctrine and fel101vship and in prayer acts 2 :42 which may come to those who are rightly exerdsed by lite s experiences as he was his very stumbling strengthened ius character by arousing him to the necessity of taking the right rtand at any cost each of god s children should learn tills lesson-and should be helped by his defeats as well as by his less than two months had elapsed since the apo ltle peter denied his lord with cursing but today s lesson shows him the leader of the apostles and the special mouthpiece of the lord in the opening work of the new dispensation at pentecost how marvelous is the change from weakness to strength [4307]

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9-10 the watch tower allitghitny pa victories one of the apostle s promises is to this effectthat all things shall work together for good to those who love the lord with loyal hearts st peter preached a most direct sermon taking for his text the miraculous events of pentecost which had drawn the crowd together he had no apologies to make but declared himself and ills brethren disciples of .jesus the messiah jesus claim to the office had been abundantly demonstrated by his mighty works and words never man spake like this man did they query if this were not the same jesus that had been crucified less than two months before the query was answered most pointedly yes with wicked hands you cruci· fied and slew the lord of glory did they ask how could a messiah thus ignominiously suffer and how could a dead messiah be of any use-of whom they preached the apostle s answer was a ready one that it pleased god that a suffering savior should be provided and that his death should be the redemption price for adam and his race and on this account forgiveness of sins might now be preached proceeding he declared that our lord was not a dead messiah but a living one for although put to death in the flesh god had raised him from the dead and that his disciples were witnesses of the fact and of his ascension the account given us is a meager one but we can imagine the apostle saying let me prove to you from the prophets whom you acknowledge that these very things were foretold of the messiah jesus for instance the most remarkable thlllg of all his resurrection did not the prophet david foretell of the same thou wilt not leave mv soul in hell sheol hades the grave neither wilt thou sutfer thine holy one to see corruption this said peter was not true of the prophet david he died his soul was not saved from sheol he still awaits rewrrechon but all of this was apparently true of iessiah whom dadd in the figure represented chri~t s soul was not left in hades god raised him from the dead the third day xow he is highly exalted-a prince and mighty sador ahle to solve ~·ou able to save all who come to him for the father hath highly exalted him that he might be the savior of you and of the world not only as respects spiritual interests but our temporal interests as well joel s prophecy of pentecost proceeding the apostle quoted joel s prophecy and showed that a portion of it foretold the pentecostal blessing he was not led of the spirit to show that there were two parts to that prophecy and that only one part was fulfilled at that timc and that the other part wiis to be fulfilled afterward i will pour out my spirit upon all flesh will be fulfilled in the future after the second coming of christ that was not yet meat in due season however the quotation was sufficient for its intended purpose his hearers were pricked to the heart-cut to the heart they felt terribly a.s they thought how true were hill words and how apt his scripture quotation they saw themselws as members of thcir nation red-handed murderers of the mes iah for whom they had been looking for centuries the great trouble which would certainly come upon their nation and to which their prophets referred they saw would be a reasonable penalty for their great sin what must thcv do contrition and r pentance must necessarily precede any thoroughgoing reform,lt!on of cljaracter-then or now if therefore anv onc shall read these words and realize that he himself luis heen liying ean·l sly as respcets his blessings of god and his faithfulne s to the truth it is well that he shoulel awaken from his lethargy with a start knowing assuredlv that til end of that wav will not luve the divine approval such should cry out to the lord for help from the weaknesses of his own natnre and from the delusions and snares of the adversary pcradventure he may be delivered in answer to their query the apostle deelared most graciously brethren i wot that through ignorance ye did it as did also your rulers for if they had known they would never have crucified the lord of glory the matter is bad enough the guilt is great as it is but surely the lord knows that those poor men who cried crucify him and those who helped to do it were to a large degree under the influence of our great adversary through ignorance and superstition and blindness into which he had led them doubtless the number of those who have sinned wilfully against clear light and knowledge anrl opportunity on the contrary is small especially if we exclude those sins attributable to weaknesses through the heredity of sin the gospel of mercy sermons of all the apostles this sermon contained not one suggestion of eternal torment but was full of mercy and grace speaking peace through jesus christ our lord the result was that three thousand were prompt to accept jesus as the messiah they were convinced by their reason and by the evidences presented in the sermon by the apostle and others of the brethren thus they complied with the advice of the apostle temporarily their sins were covered by the merit of the lord s sacrifice but for the full blotting out of those sins they with others must wait for the second coming and the resurrection the new bodies of all the faith· ful in christ will be without spot or blemish all sin will have been blotted out thus as the apostle paul says it is sown in weakness it is raised in power it is sown a natural body it is raised a spiritual body 1 cor 15:43 44 st peter s message to them was repent ye therefore and be baptized everyone of you in the name of jesus christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the holy spirit for the promise is unto you and to your children and to all that are afar off even as many as the lord your god shall call christ s sacrifice for sins was not intended to justify people living in sin but to justify those who renouncing sin bought to live separate from it and to come into harmony with god this is still our message no one has a right to alter or amend it in any degree the divine law condemns sin in the flesh still the divine provision for the covering of the sins of those who believe in jesus applies only to such as seek to put away sin and to strive for righteousness for such alone are all the divine arrangements and blessings baptism for the remission of sins was to the jew only to those who had already been baptized into moses in the sea and the cloud the sins thus figuratively washed away did not include original sin with its death penalty but merely minor transgressions against the mosaic law on the part of the covenant of the people 11ie symbolic washing represented a return to loyalty to obedience to god to the extent of their ability so far as their hearts were concerned thus coming into accord with moses the typical messiah they would be by faith transferred to his anti type christ this washing or cleansing of the jews preparatory to thcir acceptance in christ continued until the middle wall of par· tition was broken down between jew and gentile until the natural branches those who did not receive fellowship in the body of christ were broken off since then baptism for the remission of sins john s baptism is entirely wrong ac· cording to the scriptures for details on this see dawnstudies vol vi chapter 10 the apostle pointed out that the promise of the great blessing through messiah belonged to israel according to the flesh and that those promises had not yet lost their vitalityhad not yet lapsed hence it was for them and their ehil· dren as well as for all mankind even as many as your god shall call everywhere the scriptures remind us that no man taketh this honor to himself-the honor of being a member of the body of christ the honor of being a member of the royal priesthood etc only those called of god drawn by the father can now come unto the son and receive all of these blessings this remains true to this day the pity is that even some of those who have received and accepted the call are not sufficiently awake to rightly receive it our lesson assures us that this is but a small portion of the population with many other words st peter exhorted and testified saying save yourself from this untoward generation how sue· eessful was this message which was backed by the holy spirit may be readily seen from the statement that three thousand gladly received the message and were baptized and continued steadfast in this teaching and in fellowship and prayers save yourself from this generation the pentecostal message was a gospel of mercy of forg-iveness of sympathy even for those who had crucified the lord like the other sermons of this apostle and like the again we are in a harvest time the harvest time of this gospel age is now in progress as then was the harvest of the jewish age now as then there are tests and stones of stumbling purposely permitted of the father for our proving testing development not the head of the body is now to be crucified but the members-especially the feet of the body of christ yet upon the earth the great adversary has blinded in a most marvelous manner some of whom better things might have been expected our lord s words are proving true-that his message would cause a measure of strife which would thus reveal manifest those who are of a wrong spirit but indirectly bring blessings to the faithful who are willing to suffer with him and to lay down their lives for the brethren the persecutors number amongst them some of the great and noble and religiously prominent of the worlrl what is our attitude are we sympathizing with this condi· [4308]

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january 1 1909 the watch tower 11-12 tion of things or are we standing loyally firmly for the truth the lord as it was then in the lord s providence that he drew the attention of those in a wrong attitude to the true conditions of things that they might recover themselves from the snare of the adversary so he is now doing here he is willing and able to expose the wrong doing and to call the attention of the honest-hearted to the true situation it then remains with themselves as free agents either to continue to endorse the wrong or to stand out distinctly for the right the scriptures clearly indicate that the present generation is an untoward one-one that is unfavorable to righteousness l1j.e scriptures give delineations of the selfish spirit of our day the loveless spirit with its anger malice hatred envy strife backbiting and slandering tendencies and they tell us to what these will ultimately lead-to the great time of trouble with which this age will end what should we do the apostle peter s words are appropriate save yourselves do not wait to try to save christendom let each one of us get his own heart right with god it is an individual matter-who will stand and who will fall according to the scriptures and accordmg to israel as a type the many will fall to the few who will remain standing to save ourselves we must take prompt energetic action our repentance must be full our turning from the wrong ways must be positive the promises are unto you and to your children and to many afar off the word mediator used differently your attention is called to our use of the word mediator in the seventh line of the article homing the ark page 308 october 15th issue we there speak of the officiating priest who acted as the mediator between god and the nation it would have been better had we used a different word on this occasion for instance advocate strictly speaking the law covenant constituted the bond of union between god and natural israel and moses was the mediator of that covenant the priest strictly speaking was not the mediator but under the terms of the law covenant which moses mediated the officiating priest was the advocate friend and representative of the israelites before the bar of divine justice this well illustrates the too careless manner in which we and nearly all christians have been accustomed to use this word mediator for instance repeatedly in dawn-studies vol v we refer to our lord as the mediator of the atonement this is entirely correct if judged by the ordinary standards of our language as generally used by us all of late however this journal has endeavored to draw the attention of the lord s people to the fact that the bible uses the word mediator in a restricted sense and has urged that all bible students endeavor to take the bible viewpoint only and to use the word mediator from that standpoint alone the correction above made shows how difficult it is for any of us to rid himself of a habit the use of the word mediator in the scriptures is restricted to the mediating of covenants between god and man the assumption is that god being holy and unwilling to sanction sin in any degree not only condemned it in father adam and his race but cut off all fellowship with the smners whom justice had condemned to death nevertheless god in mercy had already purposed a reconciliation between himself and such of the human race as might desire fellowship with him on a basis of righteousness three great covenants the promised seed through whom with our lord and head god will bless all the families of the earth gal 3 29 a new covenant-ketljrah keep the matter clear before your mind and note that thus far there have been only two covenants the old or original one and the law covenant which was added four hundred and thirty years afterward gal 3 17 there have been just two classes developed under these natural israel and spiritual israel but the allegory continues for sarah died and abraham took another wife keturah which represented another covenant called in the scriptures the new covenant abraham had many children by keturah typifying the many children of god by the new covenant during the millennium but none of them as an heir as it is written all that he hath he hath given unto isaac the children of keturah therefore received their blessing through isaac and represent the restitution class of the millennium who will be blest by the anti typical isaac namely the christ two matters should be borne in mind here first keturah did not become a wife or covenant until after isaac s marriage which typified the marriage or union between christ and the church in the end of this age second abraham did not marry keturah until sarah was dead in other words this new covenant typified by keturah does not become a wife or covenant until after the original covenant represented by sarah shall have brought forth the seed the messiah through which the children of keturah the subjects of the new covenant are to receive their blessing it should be evident then to all that the messiah the christ head and body is not the offspring of the new covenant keturah but the offspring of the old the original covenant-sarah the first mention of the new covenant jer 31 31 was prophetic-a declaration to the jews that god intended to give them a better covenant than the law covenant which the divine purpose was outlined in three great covenants they had found a bondage and unto death that the new the first or all-comprehensive one was made with abraham covenant promises did not refer to the original one reprethe second or law covenant was made with israel at mount sented by sarah is evident not only by the fact that it is sinai it did not abrogate or set aside the first covenant but called a new one but also by the fact that it was to brmg was merely an addition to it which curtailed in a measure them earthly riches blessings restitution etc whereas the richer blessings so far as israelites were concerned their original covenant was to bring forth a spiritual seed law covenant which they thought to be unto life they found the promise of the new covenant is i will take away to the contrary condemned them to death as unworthy of life the stony heart out of your flesh and will give you a heart of god allegorically illustrates these two covenants by abraham s flesh and your sins and iniquities will i remember no more two wives as st paul explains in galatians 4 the original this will be grand for israel and subsequently for the world covenant was represented by sarah abraham s wife while of mankind it will mean for them restitution and will the law covenant was represented by hagar a bond-servant operate throughout the millennial age by the close of which and not the married wife as sarah was barren for a long stony hearts will be no more but mankind will have been time so god s covenant with abraham was barren the law uplifh d out of sin and death conditions back to the full covenant of bondage represented by hagar brought forth flrst perfection of manhood the image of god in the flesh with a the jewish nation represented in the allegory by ishmael heart of sympathy and love and kindness a heart of flesh who could not however be heir of the original covenant as another distinction between our covenant the original by and by hagar and her son were punished for pride and one and the other two is that both the law covenant and controversy and cast off so the jewish nation developed the new covenant have mediators while our covenant the under the law covenant was cast off from divine favor as original one had no mediator-needed none represented by the master s words your house is left unto st paul points out that moses was the mediator of the you desolate law covenant and that there was no mediator necessary in as sarah was long barren until after hagar s son was the original or sarah covenant gal 3:19 20 the new born and became persecutor so the abrahamic covenant covenant however is to have a mediator as the scriptures which was to produce the messiah was long barren that distinctly declare christ is the mediator of the new covesarah covenant has meantime produced the lord jesus and nant heb 9 15 12 :24 this new covenant is contrasted the various members of his body who have already passed with the law covenant and christ the mediator of the new into ~lory the seed of abraham the seed of promise covenant is contrasted with moses the mediator of the law will be fully born shortly now when the last member of the covenant showing that the new cove nant is better than elect church which is the body of the messiah shall have the law covenant because it has the better mediator heb stood the tests and been received beyond the veil completing 8 6 and that it supplants the law covenant but is not the first resurrection of christ the first fruits let us better than the original or sarah covenant make no mistake on this point but hear the apostle s words before we discerned the scriptural teaching of the plan we brethren as isaac was are the children of promise of the ages showing the law age the gospel age and the [4309]

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02-13 the watch tower millennial age and their several works we knew no future place to apply the promises respecting the new covenant and hence in common with others we applied them to ourselves and this gospel age entirely overlooking the various scriptures to the contrary it was very inconsistent for us to quote in one breath the apostle s statement that we are members of the isaac seed the children of the old original covenant and then in the next breath to class ourselves as beneficiaries of the new covenant the difficulty all along was our failure to clearly discern the mystery hidden from past ages and dispensations but now revealed unto the saints col i 26 had we studied the lord s word in a more saintly fashion we might the sooner have gotten rid of the errors of the dark ages and have apprehended afresh the apostolic teaching namely that the mystery is that the church selected from both jews and gentiles to be the body of christ are jointheirs with him in the abrahamic covenant and in his entire inheritance only those who discern the truth of this which is still a mystery with the world and the nominal church are prepared to understand the divine plan of the ages as a whole the blood of the new oovenant when our lord set before his disciples the first memorial supper he declared of the cup this is the blood of the new testament shed for many for the remission of sins notice that the blood of the new covenant was shed for the many the world of mankind but only a few the little flock the disciples the body of christ were invited to drink of it to participate with him in that cup for 1800 years that cup has been passed to all of the consecrated those wh have refused to drink of it have their names blotted out from the roll of the elect the bride class the royal priesthood those who drink of it have the promise that they shall share with their lord and head in all of his great work as the seed of abraham thus our lord said to his disciples who asked to sit on his throne are ye able to drink of the cup that i drink of and be baptised with the baptism that i am baptized with 1 mark 10 38 will you carry out fully the covenant of consecration to death which you made and on account of which you are reckoned as members of my body 1 if this is your will i will test you to make your calling and election sure those to whom it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of god and no others may see that this entire gospel age from the time of our lord s baptism at jordan to the present time and to the completion of the church is the one great day of atonement the one great day of high calling to the kingdom the one great day of sharing the sufferings of christ that we may have part also in his glory to follow all of our work therefore is merely the filling up of that which is behind of the afflictions of christ col 1 :24 when all of those atlfictions shall have been filled up the glorions work of the millennial age will follow that work comes under the new covenant israel being first to participate and subsequently all nations the world in the next age will not be blessed under our sarah covenant the seed of which is spiritual-no more than we are now blessed under the keturah covenant the new covenant whose seed is natural earthly when our lord said this cup is the blood of the new covenant we should understand that primarily the cup is his and secondarily it is ours who are his body sharing it and drluking it with him there will be none of it left for others to drink of afterwards for his command is drink ye all of it it was therefore primarily our lord s blood or death which was necessary to the sealing of the new covenant but by divine arrangement the blood or death of his church is also made necessary hence the new covenant cannot be sealed finished made operative until all the members of the body shall have died when the great high priest s better sacrifice shall be finished it is therefore quite proper that our lord s death or blood should be mentioned as the blood of the new covenant even though it be not applied until all the members of his body shall have been sacrificed by him then he will apply all the blood all the sacrifice all the death merit as his own on behalf of the world and seal the covenant with god on behalf of men after having sealed the covenant with the father christ with h.i church will at once enter upon the great w~rk of reconclhng the world restoring the world to harmony with the father in this connection notice that only the sins of the church have yet been cancelled for although our lord s death contained qu.ite sufficient merit for the sins of the whole world that merit has not yet been applied to any but believers ence w read that our lord ascended up on high there to appear m the presence of god for us believers it is because he did not apply the merit of his sacrifice to unbelievers that we read that the whole world lieth in the wicked one this is in full accord with these day-of-atonement sacrifices for sins th first for the household of faith the church the royal priesthood and the second for all the people representing mankind in general the world let no one get the misapprehension that the church does any offering to god we according to the flesh are dead and as new creatures only are we members of the high priest s body it .is the high priest who does all the offering and of that priest the head represents the entire body we have an advocate with the father bear in mind that our covenant the original one had no mediator it needed none because it did not attempt harmonizing rebels with the divine covenant as the new covenant proposes to do the world lying in the wicked one as declared in the lines of the parable we will not have this .man to reign over us will need strong restraints and coercions and stripes during the millennium to force them to obedience as it is written every knee shall bow and every tongue confess this being merely a preliminary to the intent that the reign of righteousness may be inaugurated so that all may taste of the blessings of the divine government so that as many as will may come into harmony with it a mediator is necessary and the messiah head and members will be that mediator in whose hands of control the entire world will be placed during the millennium so that even the willing and obedient will not be directly introduced to the father until the end of that mediatorial reign but how different now as soon as our eyes discerned the lamb of god which taketh away the sin of the world and as soon as our ears heard the message of god s love we needed no compulsion on the contrary it was the father himself who drew us to christ and accepting christ and being justified by faith in his blood we are at once introduced to the father by him and exhorted to present our bodies to the father so doing these sacrifices were accepted in the beloved and we were begotten of the holy spirit and at once become children of god joint-heirs with jesus christ our lord to an inheritance incorruptible it is these new creatures whom god has accepted that need no mediator we did need the blood of the everlasting covenant and we still need an advocate with the father because of our unwilling weaknesses of the flesh let us continually rejoice with our redeemer and advocate without whom we can do nothing and let us rejoice that in the lord s provision the man christ jesus the mediator between god and men the world has associated us with himself as his members to be participants with him in his great work of reconciling the world let us rejoice that the lord has made us able ministers of the new covenant that we with our lord may now be permitted to minister or serve to the laying down of our lives and thus be prepared to be ministers or servants of that new oovenant to the world in general at the second coming of our lord then will come the antitype of moses-inauguration of the law covenant moses came down from the mount in the lord s presence with a vail over his face and sprinkled of the blood upon all the people so we having been changed to the glorious plane of spirit beings shall be vailed from human sight and operating through the ancient worthies and others we shall show to all men the whole world the fact that divine justice has been satisfied and we shall ~prinkle them cleanse them justify them and bring them mto harmony with the lord during the millennium the new bibles with helps we did our best to fill all orders for the new bibles by to us at once giving date and put full particulars respecting christmas time and believe that we got them all filled before number price and the form in which the mon was sent the new year opened any order not yet filled kindly report so far as we have heard the dear friends are delighted [4310]

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help from the lord our year text for 1909 is my help cometh from the lord psa 121 :2 we have just received a large importation of most beautiful cards bearing this text and supplemented with a calendar the top leaf of which records the vow which can be torn off by those who so prefer the cards are dark green with a velvet finish embellished with a spray of pansies the white letters of the text embossed upon the velvety ground stand out beautifully we have filled all orders to dme but still have a good supply the usual price of such cards is 35 cents postpaid our price is 15 cents by reason of getting amounts in so large a quantity and supplying them to our readers at cost price we trust that this beautiful text will be very impressive and helpful to all of us throughout the year it is full of meaning from whatever standpoint considered if we mistake not the lord s dear people never needed help more than at the present time the difficulty with some however is that they do not realize their need when they are strong then they are weak let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall let us fear lest a promise being left of entering into his rest any of you should seem to come short of it heb 4 1 the text reminds us further that those who need help and who realize it should look to the lord for it-not relying upon their own strength or wisdom nor upon the assistance of their fellows we are not to despise assistance from any quarter but our chief reason for receiving any assistance should be our conviction that it has come from the lord whether through the ear or through the eye and the printed page or however ve are to remember that we are contending against a great adversary and wily foe and that we are not sufficient of ourselves to conquer but that our only hope is in abiding in the lord s love by seeking to do those things which are pleasing to him and heedmg the counsel of his word and the leadings of his providence a little carelessness along these lines and the adversary might readily entrap us and ensnare us and then lead us captive at his will ah yes t we have the assurance of the lord that there is but one place of safety at this time-into which more and more deeply we penetrate day by day this place of safety is under the shadow of the almighty which figuratively slgnities very close to the lord no harm can come nigh that dwelling place so far as the new creature is concerned trials tribulations slanders may be exercised against us according to the flesh but these cannot harm us as new creatures nor even disturb our peace of soul while we are close to the lord we abe not igno ant of a s tan s devices recently we called attention to the fact that the evil spirits the fallen angels are to be permitted special liberties in this evil day and that we might expect from them intrusions and deceptions from materializations but while guarding that pomt we omitted to note another perhaps equally dangerous or more so because more subtle this we must consider now undoubtedly the fallen angels have had more or less power throughout the }last not merely to obsess or physically possess those who yield their wills but power to measurably influence the minds of those who would resist them and always by putting darkness for light as a notable illustration of this remember judas who after brooding over the fact that our lord s cause was not bringing him great honor and wealth premeditated shaking mat· ters up incidentally gaining thirty pieces of silver and arousing our lord to practically assert himself and take a stand in harmony with his power it was after this brooding that he was still further offended while he ate at the lord s·table and said is it i and when the lord had intimated that it was he who would betray him he became more determined to do so we read satan entered into him his does not seem to be the case of obsession but rather of domination of the mind satan who had been striving to gain control got the mastery when judas was angry with the lord s reference to him as a traitor our thought is that the evil spirits have been restrained in considerable measure from intruding upon the minds of men otherwise the world would have become bedlam long ago but our thought now is that their liberties with the saints will be increased with a view to the closing test or decision in respect to character which is now due judgment must begin at the house of god but it is to extend in this hour of temptation or trial to all them that dwell upon the face of the whole earth that which will bep;in with the church will end with the world producing the most awful state of affairs imaginable a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation dan 12 1 this power of intrusion will contain we believe evil suggestions promoting slanders and back-biting and temporarily at least derange the judgment and lead to violences of various kinds of which the same person under other circumstances and conditions would not have thought in a word the difficulty will be a dementia of passion strife hatred and unreason we see evidences along this line at the present time and it is our duty to sound the warning for the benefit of those not already so twisted as to be unable to appreciate the situation such manifestations of evil spirits-malice hatred envy strife evil-speaking back-biting slanders etc circle around the vow and those who have taken it with violence and opposition for which we cannot otherwise account those under this influence seem impervious to argument to reason but open to every imaginable suggestion of evil they seem to lose entirely the spirit of love the spirit of truth the spirit of a sound mind at first we were dazed by such conditions affecting some whom we had highly esteemed but at last the solution above stated has come in the light of it the whole situation is clear it bids us have sympathy for the deluded ones and be on guard for ourselves to illustrate one dear brother to whose violent letter of opposition we adverted in our issue of october 15 afterwards came dangerously near a mental collapse in connection with which he received spirit messages by raps yet was so off guard that it did not occur to him to question the source his mind though previously humble was led to aspire to the management of the watch tower and he found types and evidences in the bible which led him to assume that god purposed a change in the management of the harvest work it was under the mfluence of this erroneous sentiment that this dear brother whom we have dearly loved and still love wrote us a terribly bitter letter for which he has since apologized in most kindly terms he now freelv acknowledges that he was under demoniacal influence and inspiration he has recovered his balance praise the lord but we regret that he has not yet taken the vow or resoiu· tion to god that he apparently does not yet see that it was this very item by which the adversary gained an entrance to his mind ah if the dear brother had taken the vow how it would ltave proved a power of the lord for his protection along the very lines of his besetment 1 desiring god s rule more and more in his own heart he would have asked god to keep him humble and in fear lest he should attempt to grasp something which the lord had not put into his hands 2 would not the resolution to more carefully than ever if possible guard every thought and word and deed have helped this dear brother to avoid every high imagination and have kept him from saying with his tongue and writing with his pen the acrimonious words which he has since retracted 3 would not the declaration of the vow to remember daily the harvest laborers and to c~li1sider his own privileges in the harvest work have helped this dear brother by tilhng his mind and hands with the work the lord had already committed to him and thus have kept him from hankering after and endeavoring to grasp what the lord had not com· mitted to him 4 would not the resolution to be on guard against spintism and occultism in every form have warned the brother against the spirit-rappings visions etc which almost worked his ruin we believe that it surely would have done so and we are hoping yet that the brother will heartily put himself under tha,t vow to the lord-whether calling it a vow or resolution dear brethren we cannot express to you our deep love for you all and interest in your welfare nor can we express our sorrow that our endeavor to help you by suggesting the vow or resolution to the lord should be so unkindly reo ceived by some and awaken in them such opposition and animosity the more often we read the vow the less do we see in it to cause offense to any sound-headed or soundhearted brother or sister-the less do we see that anyone could reasonably oppose unless his judgment were misguided by the evil spirits as in the case ahove cited we are not by any means condemninp those who have not taken the vow that is a matter of their own business and if otherwise they are children of god and manifest his spirit we should recogdlze and treat them and love them in every sense of the word as brethren if they do not yet see the importance of this safeguard we believe that they will see it later our urgency on this subject is similar to that of the apostle when he says i beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of god that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice holy acceptable to god which is your reasonable 13-14 r 4311]

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15-19 the watch tower allllghllny pa service rom 12 1 and make straight paths for your feet lest that which is lame be turned out of the way after what we have witnesscd of the power of evil operatmg in the mmds of some and producing characteristics whlc h the apo~tle dpnomlllates wor s of the flesh and the devil we can scarcely be surprisc d at anything which the adversary might accomplish along these lines but while we fear lest we should come under any such influence ourselves and while we watch and pray lest we enter into temptation we should not be cast down nor hindered in any measure or dpg-ree in respect to the service of our king he is able and willing to keep in perfect peace those who are trusting him those who are following his leadings and coming close to him even undcr the shndow of the almighty the vow hns helped many tv take this stand thank god and in proportion as it is taken we believe that it will still further help not only those who have taken it but also those who have not takcn it but have heard and appreciate in a measure its warning voice the words of the apostle who shall bc able to stand in that evil day never seemed more full of meaning to us than now and never have we felt more than now our need of every piece of the divine armor and vol of every cord at our disposal to bind the sacrifice securely to the altar so then while still expecting the attacks of the adversary along the lines of materialization hypnotism and occultism in general we perceive that from inoculation of our minds with evil surmisings saints have probably the most to dread an important question is how can we be on guard against this insidious snare the reply is by keeping very close to the lord apparently the least dcviation from the principles of righteousness in our thoughts the least violation of justice or love in our thoughts would open the way for the enemy to inject poison leaven malice envy hatred and strife we still urge the vow as a great help in tlus time of stress and one that you will appreciate more and more as you discern how the lord is using it for your blessmg and protection but if for fear that you cannot keep it or for any other reason you fail to take it we counsel that you at least have its various provisions in mind and seek to shape all of your various affairs day by day along those lines but do not forget that our help comes from the lord and that the vow is of assistance to us only as it helps us to approach near to him and to abide in his love and in harmony with his divine word in thought in word in deed xxx allegheny pa january 15 1909 no :2 the nashville convention as we expected quite a number of the dear friends who attcnded the nashville convention declared at its conclusion that it was the very best of all so long as we are growing in grace it must be true that a meeting of those of like precious faith for the discussion of our father s word must bring blessings increasingly precious as we increase in grace and knowledge this being so each day each month each year should be our best our happiest the one of our closest fellowship with the lord blessed are those who abiding under the shadow of the almighty are thus progressing from grace to grace from glory to glory and preparing for the final change when they shall see his face and hear the master s well done the convention was a success we had not expected more than one hunded in attendance but found three hundred to three hundred and fifty pilgrim wise served as chairman and with pilgrims sullivan rutherford johnson harrison w h bundy f h robison j a parker and c t russell shared in the addresses of the first four days on tuesday december 29 thirty symbolized their consecration by water baptism and that same evening we had our love feast which as usual is a most delightful occasion following this a number were obliged to leave but a larger number remained and had a delightful season of fellowship the next day a large number of brethren being heard from in a symposium of love there were about one hundred colporteurs in attendance and a splendid fl presentative company they were removal of the society s headquarters quite keenly do the dear friends of the allegheny-pittsburgh church seem to feel the near departure of the bible house family yet philosophically they have agreed with us that the lord is abundantly able to care for the interests of his people everywhere and quite likely he is giving them in this experipnce a special blessing throwing upon them a greater weight of responsibility in spiritual matters on the wednesday night before christmas wholly without our knowledge they had prepared for a special union meeting in the bible house chapel and requested brother russell to come in and say a few words on his arrival an appointed speaker in well chosen terms expressed the love of the congregation for their pastor and informed us that desiring to make a tangible expression of their love they had selected a fine velvet rug a fine mahogany desk a handsome chair besi

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january is 1909 the watch tower 20-21 as an assurance to him of their desire for his special oversight of their interests and with a view to making him feel the more at home with them at any time he could be present several brethren seconded the motion brother russell arose thanked the mover and seconders but assured the dear friends that they would always have his love best wishes and assistance every way irrespective of his election as suggested he wished them to understand that he could not hope to be with them frequently in the future he was glad even that for nearly two years he had addressed them only once a month or less frequently because it made the coming separation easier for all concerned he did not wish anyone to vote on the motion with the thought that it would bring him to pittsburg often for he must attend to the interests of the general work he remarked also that he could not think of accepting such an election unless it were practically unanimous the vote was taken and declared to be unanimously carried at brother russell s suggestion the bible house family declined to vote at this election because not expecting to remain long it would not be appropriate for them to express a choice chairman rutherford remarked this and then added that since th l~cal congregation voted unanimously there ?ould be no o~jectlon now to .taking another vote which would mclude the bible house family and show their love also for brother russell the motion was put and carried unanimously the bible house family voting following the custom of previous years brother russell suggested the names of some who he believed would make faithful servants of the church elders deacons and deaconesses he remarked that these were mere suggestions any or all of them subject to rejection he would not even nominate them but merely suggested and left the congregation to make its own nominations brother russell s suggestions were nominated and chosen-unanimously elected by the congregation altogether the occasion was an enjoyable one follow· ing the election a prayer praise and testimony meeting was opened which lasted until after midnight some of the dear friends remarked afterwards on the earnestness and unction of this watch night meeting greater works shall ye do acts 3:1-16 januaby 24 text hiij flame th.roug1t faith n m8 flame hath made this ma-n strong whom ye see and kftow acts 3 16 ollr lesson tells of one of the prominent miracles granted the preservation of the organization they represent they must of the lord at the beginning of this age peter and john were meet the public demand just as a theater manager feels that god s instruments in effecting an instantaneous faith cure a he must meet the public demand ~an deformed from bi.rth and unable to walk as made whole the emmanuel movement 1he only power exercised was the power of faith on the part 1 ~t this opportun moment whe mlmst~rs are in perof the apostles for the man healed so far as we know had no knowledge of jesus nor that the apostles were his representap ex~ty and c.ongre~atlons are dem~ndlllg physical healmg a~d tives nor should we understand the apostolic command parti?ularly implymg th~t ~hey will not serve a god who win look upon us to mean the exercise by them of any hypnotic permit them to .hll;v afflictions and to be touched with a feelmg of the mfhmlties of the rac the emma!1uel movement influence quite to the contrary the power by which they steps to the fr.ont ~t one bound it has leape mto gener~l .fahealed was the same by which their master had performed heal ings during the three and a half years of his ministry the vo becaus it avo!ds much of t.he abs~rdlty of chr.lstian science which implies that there is no sickness no l?am no testimony in a nutshell is silver and gold have i none but such as i have that give i thee in the name of jesus christ death the emmanuel mo~eme~t acknowl~dges t?e ills and of nazareth rise up and walk and he took him by the right seeks to reheve them and m this respect is certamly on adhand and lifted him up and immediately his feet and anklevanced g.ro~nd start:ed m boston a.ft7r more than a ye r s bones received strength acts 3 :7 s~ccess it is bemg la~d bef?re the .mmlsters of all denommations books are pubhshed mstructmg them how they may es· the desire for healing tablish these physical healings instituted in connection with perhaps there was never a time in the world s history chu~ches of 11.1.1 denominations special classes have been orwhen humanity manifested more desire for physical healing gamz~d m vanous c?l~eges for the purpose of instructing those than today nor can we blame the poor groaning creation for studymg for the mmlstry how to perform these cures the desiring relief it is with regret however that we note m:ttter ~as gone fo.rward .wi~h remarkable s pee how great that our lord s comment to the 5000 whom he fed miracuwill be its proportions wlthm a few years is difficult to say we have !10 pleas~re in m~rely fault-finding d~d we consider lously with bread and fish is still considerably applicable he these vanous heahngs as mnocent not to say dlvme as some told them that they sought him because they had eaten of the free luncheon and not because of their love of the truths which suppose them to be we would be either cooperating with them he was preaching he also told them to la,bor not for the or l1;t least saying nothing against them even as we decline meat which perisheth but for that meat which endureth unto to discuss the various schools of medicine believing that each everlasting life which the son of man shall give unto you for represents more or less skill helpful to humanity him hath the father sealed john 6:27 but in these various c~res for physical ailments now being p!omoted throu8:ho}lt ch:lst~n~om we see a gre.at and a seso today we could wish that the hungry and thirsty were for the real relief which god hath provided and which all of n~us danger ~eemg this it is our duty to raise a general us need-relief from sin and death in a word we could wish voice to those who have an ear to ~lear the message om pi uthat there were a greater appreciation of soul sickness from test is that thp.se are none such miracles as were wrought by sin and that there is but the one good physician who is able ~lur ~ord and his apostles tru.e there is a measure of similarto heal this malady and through whose ministry we may be ity just as some .of the electnc arc hghts of our day closely ~ese~ble the sunhght .to our understandl~g man of th?se healed note the fact that some of the strong delusions are supported by their claim to relieve physical pain this is the iden~lfied w~th the ~anous schem.es of mmd healing f~lth c~aim o spiritism-that disease can be relieved through meheahng chnstia sc.lence hypnotism etc are well-meanmg dlumlstlc powers under another s control it is the claim of thoroughly conscl~ntious and thoro~g~ly deluded to our the mormons that they can heal diseases miraculously this understandlllg their cures are not by dlvllle power but by that is the claim of christian science mind cure faith cure peo of the adversary whom the lord is permitting to use these means.o attrac!ing the lor s people and the world away fro.m pie divine healers etc som of these names are used m~rely as a cover and pretense while by others they are used the spln~ual thmgs and their necessity also fro .the spiritwi~h full faith that they are of some supernatural origin the ual ~ealing we are well aware th~t m thus wntlll we are attitude of the public sf ems to lje give us healing give us puttlllg ourselves on the unpopular side yet our duty is to the relief from our aches and pains if it is of god we are glad lord an to the truth and to those who have ears to hear and if it is of the adversary as you claim we still take it even who desire to hear the message of the lord though we know it to be in opposition to the divine will hypnotism tinctures all deception such great inroads have been made in the churches of all dedo not misunderstand us we do not dispute that cures nominations by these mind cures hypnotic cures that minisare accomplished nor that some of the proceedings and theaters of all denominations are perplexed what to do the domiries are legitimate enough what we do claim is that the truth na~t i~ea with many of them is-our organization must be and rationality connected with these systems are the sugarmamt~med at any cost as a business man would purchase coating which covers the poison the poison connected with an;y kmd of goods that would sell so must the churches they all of them is the poison of the adversary the power of the thmk supply to the public whatever it demands otherwise the fallen angels exercised in its most subtle form namely mental congregation would diminish the minister s salary would not suggestion-hypnotism this rational sugar:coating consists be coll~c~ed and the whole denomination would fa~l to pieces in the p;ctending of kindly sympathy to the bereaved in the the mlmsters therefore feel that for self-preservation and for recogmtlon of the fact that fear is one of the most potent [4313 golden

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21-22 the watch tower au.itghi ny pa causes of human trouble and that faith in the lord or in the devil for that matter has the effect of resting the mind relieving the nervous tension and thus facilitating the eradication of pain the doctrine of peace troubled soul is certainly a good and wise one particularly when based upon a scriptural faith in jesus as our ever-present help in every hour of need and when it promotes loyalty and obedience to him this spirit of restfulness and peace with god if built upon false doctrines and erroneous suggestions and hypnotic influences but llinders the soul from a proper approach to the life-giver and opens the way for the attacks of the adversary as christian science and mind cure pervert reason and thus destroy the power of reasoning logically so hypnotism undermines the will weakens it and prepares the way for further intrusions from the fallen spirits to our understanding christendom is thus permitting an undermining of faith and will power and is preparing for the great day of trouble with which this age will in a few years close a trouble which will result largely from the intrusion of the evil spirits into human affairs through the entanglement of human wills weakened by hypnotism we warn all to be on guard against these modern miracle-workers and we call attention to the fact that their operation is entirely different from anything recorded in the scriptures the church s miraculous establishment them now howbeit when he the spirit of truth is come he will guide you into all truth for he shall not speak of himself but whatsoever he shall hear that shall he speak and he will show you things to come john 16 12 13 the apostle tells us that the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of god for they are foolishness unto him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned · but god hath revealed them lmto us by his spirit l cor 2:14 10 our lord s mouthpieces there is a reason for the miracles wrought by our lord and his disciples they were for the establishment of the church-as a testimony to the lord without them christianity would not have grown as rapidly as it did these miracles ceased as the church secured an established footing the miraculous gifts of the spirit healing etc were supplanted by the spiritual gifts or fruitage of holy living as the apostle declares whether there be miraculous tongues they shall cease and so with all the other gifts including healing the physical healing was supplanted by the spiritual healing thus our lord s words were fulfilled greater works than these shall ye do because i go to my father what intelligent christian who has experienced the opening of the eyes of his understanding will dispute the fact that he has received a far more valuable gift than that of the opening of his natural eyes who that is deaf but has the ears of his understanding opened to spiritual matters would not claim that he had a greater blessing than a restoration of physical healing who that has eaten of the bread that came down from heaven and received spiritual strength does not realize that his blessing is far beyond that enjoyed by those whom jesus fed with the five barley loaves and the three small flshest who that has realized the healing of the soul does not realize that the healing of his heart affections is of much more value to him than the healing of any earthly disease who that was born in sin and shapen in iniquity and who has realized the for~veness of his sins and has received grace whereby he may walk in the footsteps of jesus does not appreciate this as a greater miracle than the one recorded in our lesson ah but some will say let us have both the spiritual and the physical healing did not jesus give both and should not we expect both 1 we reply that jesus did not give both but merely the phy sical not until he had finished his sacrifice and had ascended up on high there to appear in the presence of god for us could any of us receive of the holy spirit and not until then could any understand the spiritual things the deep things of god it is for this reason that our lord s sermons were generally limited to earthly thingr he said if i have told you of earthly things and ye believe not how shall ye believe if i tell you of lleavenly things y john 3 12 again he said i have many things yet to say unto you but ye cannot bear it is for this reason that we find some of the most helpful spiritual instructions in the writings of the apostles without which we should not be able to get so large a measure of spiritual nutriment from our lord s utterances which were in parables and dark sayings thus reserved for the future use of the saints under the picture of the church at laodicea the lord pictures to us the last stage of the gospel church he represents it as saying i am rich increased in goods and have need of nothing nominal christendom has been disposed to boast of its riches in scholarship and property and intelligence and influence and its high moral standing the one thing it has coveted is the healing power and now it is grasping this to its further injury to the increase of its pride and boastful· ness and to the bringing of itself still more fully under the powers of darkness notice how different is the lord s view of the loadicean church from that which it entertains of itself he says thou knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked i counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire that thou mayest be rich and white raiment that thou mayest be clothed and that the shame of thy nakedeness do not appear and eye-salve to anoint thine eyes that thou mayest see rev 3:17 18 it is for us to take the lord s viewpoint to see what con· stitutes the true riches the true source of happiness and joy in the lord it is for us to have our eyes opened and not to be deceived by our great adversary in this time we remember our lord s very words on this subject his intimation that at his second advent many would boast of their work and power of healing saying lord lord have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name cast out devils and in thy name done many wonderful works y matt 7 22 but our lord said to such i do not know you i do not recognize you you have no authority to make yourselves my disciples let us remember dear friends that the lord s blessings upon the apostles were not in the nature of preservation from sickness or calamity but the reverse we have records of several of the prominent brethren of the church but no records of any of them being miraculous healers the heatings which were done were performed for signs for those about we have records of disasters permitted to come upon our lord and upon the apostles and upon the church of that time hatred of the world thwarting of their plans cruel mockings stripes in perils of shipwreck in perils among false brethren hungering thirsting etc if god manifested his favor thus to our lord and the most influential members of his church and their associates what shall we choose for ourselves y if we allow the lord to choose our portion for us he doubtless will give us similar experiences in this time and g-lory honor and immortality by and by if we attempt to choose our own way the adversary will try to delude us and we may be relieved of some physical pains or difficulties which might have been for our eternal welfare let us choose the better part pray for the spiritual things and labor for them and accept as reo spects our earthly affairs whatsoever our father sees bestl reports for 1908 from the foreign branches of the watch tower bmle and tract society the prosperity of the good tidings in great britain is sense therefore great britain canada and the united states fully attested by the figures given below with the removal of are one country national prejudices and customs and superour office to brooklyn london will be about as near to us as stitions may influence us variously according to the flesh san francisco the reduced rate of postage between the two but the more fully we understand our father s word and countries will also tend to centralize the work we wish we come into fellowship with its spirit the more will every barcould tell the dear friends of great britain and everywhere the riel and every cause of misunderstanding vanish and enable world around how much we love all who are truly the lord s us to see eye to eye and who give evidence of their control by his spirit surely the lord has blessed the truth in great britain during we feel that oceans cannot separate us from one another s love 1908 greatly and it is our belief that there as well as in nor make us feel less interest than if we lived in one city america the next two years will be marked with marvelous while our love is the same for brethren of all languages nevprogress in the overthrow of error in the deliverance of god s ertheless we feel able to understand and sympathize most fully people from its chains in the spread of the lio ht of the knowlwith those of our own tongue in a very broad and very deep edge of god amongst his saints [4314]

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